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

[JEMC]

Let’s go with the Friday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Borderlands 2 is free to keep on Steam until June 8th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/borderlands-2-is-free-to-keep-on-steam-until-june-8th/
2K Games is currently giving away free copies of Borderlands 2 on Steam. Until June 8th, PC gamers can visit the game’s Steam store page and acquire their free copy.
>> Here’s the link. The game is currently review bombed because of a change in its EULA.

Dune: Awakening isn't even officially out yet and it already has almost 100,000 players
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/dune-awakening-isnt-even-officially-out-yet-and-it-already-has-almost-100-000-players/
Survival MMO Dune: Awakening isn't even really out, officially: we're now in the five day advanced access period (everyone calls it the "head start") where only players who have purchased the $70 deluxe edition or the $90 ultimate edition can play.
That hasn't stopped the desert planet of Arrakis from getting a ton of new citizens. According to SteamDB, just a few hours into the head start launch, Dune: Awakening already has nearly 100,000 players building bases, riding speeders, clambering up cliffs, and dodging sandworms.
>> Well, this makes it easy to find out how many people have bought the expensive editions of the game. Also, the reviews have gone from Mostly Negative to Very Positive in 24 hours.

Fanatical has two new deals:

• Star Deal is Shapez 2, 36% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/shapez-2
• Publisher Thunderful puts its games on sale with up to 94% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/thunderful-publishing

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.6877 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-6877

FIXED ISSUES

• Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs: Certain handheld devices may experience audio glitches and lower than expected performance while audio is playing.

>> This could have been a hotfix.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Half-Life 2 becomes a loot-hoarding roguelike dungeon crawl in this Next Fest mod demo
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/half-life-2-becomes-a-loot-hoarding-roguelike-dungeon-crawl-in-this-next-fest-mod-demo/
It is the year 2025 and everything is a roguelite now. Even the games of yesteryear are getting randomizers and procedural generation shoehorned in, and Half-Life 2 isn't escaping either. Good thing that SourceWorld is pretty dang fun, if its newly released Next Fest demo is any indication.
It's a standalone total conversion for Half-Life 2 (you only need to have the original game in your Steam account) that casts you as a dimension-hopping impoverished hitman from a liberated timeline, hunting Combine remnants across time and space on a shoestring budget.
I'd previously mentioned SourceWorld in my 2024 roundup of Half-Life 2's most impressive mods. Back then, it was closer to a proof-of-concept prototype. A technical feat, but unpolished. The version now available on Steam isn't much larger, but it has seen a lot of under-the-hood changes and refinement, including a complete rewrite of the game's procedural map generation system, more functional AI (Half-Life 2's enemies were never designed to feel their way around dynamic environments), a tutorial mission and a cleaner, more functional interface. It almost feels like a retail game, circa 2005. And yes, that was twenty years ago. I feel old too.
>> The article has a three minutes trailer of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Patch 1.3.2 Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-patch-1-3-2-available-for-download/
Warhorse Studios has released Title Update 1.3.2 for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

First Major Patch for Doom: The Dark Ages Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/first-major-patch-for-doom-the-dark-ages-released-detailed/
id Software has just released the first major update for Doom: The Dark Ages and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this first patch for the new Doom game brings to the table.

Here are 45 minutes of leaked gameplay footage from MindsEye
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-45-minutes-of-leaked-gameplay-footage-from-mindseye/
MindsEye releases in a few days, and apparently, some people got their hands on physical copies of the game. So, below, you can find a video showcasing 45 minutes of gameplay footage from it.