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

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The second part of the gaming news:

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake is such a badly kept secret it's been leaked by a statue maker who just assumed we all knew it was coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-black-flag-remake-is-such-a-badly-kept-secret-its-been-leaked-by-a-statue-maker-who-just-assumed-we-all-knew-it-was-coming/
In days of yore, before we had all this internet nonsense, leaks happened organically, concretely. They happened in printed books and in frantic conversations in the cloisters. In the time of the Roman Republic, unannounced videogames were leaked by loose-lipped sculptors in unguarded moments, out of their gourds on hippocras.
A more civilised age, and one we've recaptured thanks to the good folks at PureArts, a merch-maker that deals in a line of swish Assassin's Creed statues, featuring the likes of Ezio, Altair, Kassandra, Bayek, and all the other hooded murderers you know and love from Ubisoft's long-running Pope-fighting sim.
Back in March (via Insider Gaming), PureArts took to the airwaves to show off its range of AC homunculi, and it wasn't long before eagle-eyed fans noted that one protagonist was strangely absent: AC4's Edward Kenway. They asked what was going on and, in a moment of confusion, one of the hosts seemingly gave the whole game away about the rumoured upcoming remake of Black Flag.

IO's James Bond game is called 007 First Light, will be revealed later this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/ios-james-bond-game-is-called-007-first-light-will-be-revealed-later-this-week/
IO Interactive has announced the name of its upcoming James Bond game, and says we'll get out first look at it this week. The title is 007 First Light which certainly sounds like an origin story, and the studio has previously made clear this is what to expect.

Surprise! Dune: Awakening will have private servers at launch after all, where players can disable taxes and enable 'free-for-all' PvP
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/dune-awakening-will-have-private-servers-at-launch-where-players-can-disable-taxes-and-enable-free-for-all-pvp/
Dune: Awakening is out in three days (for deluxe and ultimate edition pre-purchasers) but here's a last minute surprise: the survival MMO will support private servers. Funcom announced today that for Dune: Awakening "rentable private servers will be available from head start launch on June 5th!"

A new Dungeons and Dragons 'singleplayer action-adventure' game is coming from the former director of Respawn's Star Wars Jedi games
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/a-new-dungeons-and-dragons-singleplayer-action-adventure-game-is-coming-from-the-former-director-of-respawns-star-wars-jedi-games/
Larian is out of the D&D game and that's left Wizards of the Coast scrambling a little bit to figure out how to follow it up. Today the studio revealed at least one of its plans for a post-Baldur's Gate 3 world: A publishing deal with Giant Skull for "an all-new singleplayer action-adventure title set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons."
You may recall Giant Skull as the studio founded in 2024 by Stig Asmussen, the director of Star Wars Jedi: games, who left Respawn in 2023 "to pursue other adventures." Well, a change is as good as a rest, I suppose, even if it's just a change of scenery.

Jonathan Joss, who appeared in Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption, shot dead in Texas
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/jonathan-joss-who-appeared-in-cyberpunk-2077-and-red-dead-redemption-shot-dead-in-texas/
The San Antonio Express News reports that Jonathan Joss, an actor who appeared in videogames including Red Dead Redemption, Days Gone, Wasteland 3, and Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the long-running King of the Hill animated series, was killed over the weekend in an apparent dispute with a neighbor. He was 59.
>> I wasn’t sure to post this article, because I think it’s main point is the murder part. If you want to talk about it, CaptainExplosion has made a thread about it.

Torchlight 3 studio Echtra Games, acquired by Zynga in 2021 to help it move into PC and console gaming, is being closed without doing that
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/torchlight-3-studio-echtra-games-acquired-by-zynga-in-2021-to-help-it-move-into-pc-and-console-gaming-is-being-closed-without-doing-that/
Four years after acquiring the studio, Zynga has confirmed with IGN that Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games is being closed.
"Zynga has made the difficult decision to cease operations at its Echtra studio, ending development on future titles and reducing roles," the company told the site. "This decision is part of a strategic realignment of the company's resources and priorities. We will work closely with impacted employees so they are treated with the utmost respect and consideration as we navigate this difficult process."

Elden Ring Nightreign is finally getting Duo Expeditions as FromSoftware caves into pleas from players who can only find one other friend to match with
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreign-is-finally-getting-duo-expeditions-as-fromsoftware-caves-into-pleas-from-players-who-can-only-find-one-other-friend-to-match-with/
Elden Ring Nightreign has had a slightly tumultuous launch, at least for a FromSoftware game. Despite achieving a monumental 2 million copies sold in just the first 24 hours, Nightreign also had a somewhat poor reception, with it garnering Mixed user reviews on Steam (though it's since picked up to Mostly Positive).
Since then, FromSoftware has gone into damage control mode. Nightreign's first major update saw big changes to its singleplayer, adding in an auto-resurrect and other buffs after admitting that the game wasn't really balanced with solo in mind. But that's not the end of the patches.
"The Night is far from over," FromSoftware says in a social media post. "In addition to the DLC releasing later this year, new additions will be gradually implemented, including enhanced fights against existing Nightlords starting this month, as well as Duo Expeditions at a later date. Thank you for your support."

FF14 unofficial census finds what we were all pretty much feeling—before patch 7.25, Dawntrail's playerbase has likely been on the decline
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/ff14-unofficial-census-finds-what-we-were-all-pretty-much-feeling-before-patch-7-25-dawntrails-playerbase-has-likely-been-on-the-decline/
I concur with PC Gamer's Mollie Taylor, my fellow Final Fantasy 14 enjoyer on our illustrious staff, that FF14's Occult Crescent patch has made the game feel like an MMO again. I actually got downright emotional, hopping into my first critical encounter and seeing swarms of strangers crowding around a chance to give a boss a beatdown: 'Oh,' I thought, 'I'm playing an MMO again'.
But with that joy came a recognition of almost a full year of malaise, seeing desolate friend lists and linkshells lie empty. A malaise that, at least unofficially, has been backed up by numbers (thanks, Automaton).

Splitgate 2's official launch is just days away as devs tease 'a massive surprise' which will be unveiled at Summer Game Fest
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/splitgate-2s-official-launch-is-just-days-away-as-devs-tease-a-massive-surprise-which-will-be-unveiled-at-summer-game-fest/
Splitgate 2 has been in its open beta for about a month, with the first-person arena shooter opening its doors at the beginning of May alongside "a massive amount of new content", and now developers 1047 Games are gearing up for its main release.