Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

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The news, the second part:

It's not looking good for D&D's virtual tabletop Sigil, as Hasbro follows a quiet release by reportedly laying off 90% of the people working on it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/its-not-looking-good-for-d-and-ds-virtual-tabletop-sigil-as-hasbro-follows-a-quiet-release-by-reportedly-laying-off-90-percent-of-the-people-working-on-it/
Hasbro's stab at a virtual tabletop (VTT) looks to be in deep trouble as over 30 developers working on it have reportedly been laid off. Dubbed Sigil, D&D's virtual tabletop released in a bit of an unfinished state, one I was a little harsh on.
Update, March 20:
An internal memo, confirmed by Collins to Rascal Gaming, has revealed more about Hasbro's motives for the layoffs, including the fact that Sigil's "distinct monetization path will not be realized". Click here for the full story.

Palworld's Crossplay Update does far more than let you play with console buddies, adding photo mode, a drafting table and 'dimensional Pal Storage'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/palworlds-crossplay-update-does-far-more-than-let-you-play-with-console-buddies-adding-photo-mode-a-drafting-table-and-dimensional-pal-storage/
Pocketpair's survival megahit Palworld received a new update earlier today. Titled the Crossplay Update, its main addition is, unsurprisingly, the ability to farm and shoot the game's Pokémon-like "Pals" with players from all other platforms.
But that's hardly the only feature the Crossplay Update adds, with this headline addition followed by a flock of smaller items. Chief among these is not one, but two new storage-related functionalities. Palworld now has a Global Palbox, which you can store Pal data inside to "transfer Pals between worlds".

American Truck Simulator’s latest teaser is just a sound effect and no one seems to agree on what exactly it means
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/american-truck-simulators-latest-teaser-is-just-a-sound-effect-and-no-one-seems-to-agree-on-what-exactly-it-means/
In the latest teaser for American Truck Simulator, SCS Software asks you to simply hear them out. More precisely, hear out the roughly thirty seconds of out-of-context engine revving followed by a mysterious tagline: "The future sounds a little bit different, right?"

Game developers launch North America's first industry-wide union 'to build worker power irrespective of studio and current job status'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-developers-launch-north-americas-first-industry-wide-union-to-build-worker-power-irrespective-of-studio-and-current-job-status/
Videogame workers throughout North America have launched a new union as part of the Communications Workers of America called "United Videogame Workers—CWA," a "direct-join organization" that enables "artists, writers, designers, QA testers, programmers, freelancers and beyond to build worker power irrespective of studio and current job status."
>> And they’ve already made noise at the GDC.

Silksong's weary hollows tossed another scrap of hope from Xbox on high, as a blog post namedrops it next to other 'upcoming games'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/silksongs-weary-hollows-tossed-another-scrap-of-hope-from-xbox-on-high-as-a-blog-post-namedrops-it-next-to-other-upcoming-games/
At this point, I'm wondering if we should be asking our world leaders if there's anything that can be done for our poor Silksong fans. Some kind of support program, maybe the memory-eraser from Men in Black—or a time machine so they can go to the year 9998, which was an (accidentally) projected release date for a minute.
(...)
Well, another scrap of hope has been dispensed from on high—not by Team Cherry, don't be stupid—but by Xbox, again. In an act of either innocence or hubris, the poor sod writing the blog post for ID@Xbox (Xbox's indie wing) name-dropped Hollow Knight: Silksong alongside a few contemporaries that are, you know, actually games that are probably releasing.

Here's how to watch the Future Games Show 2025 Spring Showcase
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/heres-how-to-watch-the-future-games-show-2025-spring-showcase/
Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, and this is when the Future Games Show Spring Showcase is: March 20, at 1 pm PT/4 pm ET/8 pm GMT. (…) The Future Games Show Spring Showcase will be viewable just about everywhere: Twitch, YouTube, Steam, Epic Games Store, X, Facebook, TikTok, GamesRadar, PC Gamer, IGN, Gamespot, BiliBili, Ginx TV, GOG and more.
>> The article has mosts of those links. Choose the one you like.

New Ark DLC gets AI-generated trailer so awful that the original developer's washing its hands of the whole thing, and fans are in uproar: 'This is disgusting and you should be ashamed'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/new-ark-dlc-gets-ai-generated-trailer-so-awful-that-the-original-developers-washing-its-hands-of-the-whole-thing-and-fans-are-in-uproar-this-is-disgusting-and-you-should-be-ashamed/
It's been an odd week for Ark fans, with a new tease for Ark: Survival Ascended DLC The Lost Colony, launching in November, featuring a blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention of Ark 2. This came alongside the announcement of an expansion for Ark: Survival Evolved from developer Snail Games called Ark: Aquatica, which is… well, a lot of people think it looks like AI slop.

A pair of Split Fiction players will be heading to Sweden for an early look at Hazelight's next game after completing a secret challenge so tough, some developers can 'barely' beat it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-pair-of-split-fiction-players-will-be-heading-to-sweden-for-an-early-look-at-hazelights-next-game-after-completing-a-secret-challenge-so-tough-some-developers-can-barely-beat-it/
A pair of Split Fiction players will be heading to Sweden to check out the next game from developer Hazelight Studios after becoming the first to prove that they'd completed a secret in-game challenge that's so difficult, some members of the development team can "barely" beat it.

The warframe with a guitar that shoots fire is out today alongside a bunch of metalcore-inspired skins, cementing Warframe's spiral into Y2K madness
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-warframe-with-a-guitar-that-shoots-fire-is-out-today-alongside-a-bunch-of-metalcore-inspired-skins-cementing-warframes-spiral-into-y2k-madness/
If you were ever put off by Warframe’s otherworldly, sleek sci-fi aesthetic, you might want to catch up: Warframe 1999 is in full-swing and has seen the game basking in nostalgic novelties and trading in the cyborg ninja shtick for motorcycles and rock and roll on an alt-history Earth.
Today’s update, Techrot Encore, continues the intense weirdness with a brand new playable warframe: Temple. While they’re the game’s second music-themed playable character, they’re the first to shred a flaming guitar and kill enemies with the power of distorted metalcore riffs. Not only will players be able to buff their allies and engulf their enemies in the flames of rock and roll, but they’ll get massive benefits if they play abilities in sync with a metronome.

Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/balatros-localthunk-isnt-trying-to-pull-a-banksy-he-just-wanted-to-be-left-alone-to-make-his-game/
Balatro may have started as a small hobby project, but several awards and millions of copies sold later, it’s easier to think of Balatro as the smash hit that now stars Geralt of Rivia and eats away the waking hours of anyone oblivious enough to fall under its spell. But developer LocalThunk never exactly craved the attention Balatro’s success has foisted on him, nor is his commitment to anonymity part of some performative bit.
(...)
In an interview with PC Gamer, Playstack’s communications director Wout van Halderen said, "For LocalThunk himself, he’s already a person who doesn’t really like the spotlight, and now it’s a lot harder to deal with that kind of pressure. I think his choice to be anonymous from the beginning is helping him now in the long run."
>> If you have the first demo of the game, you can unlock the whole game with Notepad.