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

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Monday gaming news, part two:

PlayStation Studios boss admits Marathon response has been 'varied' but says Sony is taking steps to ensure it's 'not going to make the same mistakes' it did with Concord
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/playstation-studios-boss-admits-marathon-response-has-been-varied-but-says-sony-is-taking-steps-to-ensure-its-not-going-to-make-the-same-mistakes-it-did-with-concord/
It has not been smooth sailing for Bungie's Marathon reboot since it was revealed in March 2023 with a stylish but ultimately empty teaser. After two years of questions and uncertainty, PC Gamer's resident Bungie whisperer Tim Clark declared it "definitely good" after getting hands-on time with it in April. But he had significant concerns nonetheless, "from a spooked Sony, to the inherently hostile nature of the genre, and Bungie's own chequered history with Destiny's live service model, monetisation, and especially PvP balancing." And with the game now just three months away—it's currently set to launch on September 23—there's a low-key but persistent expectation that it will be delayed.
PlayStation Studios chief Hermen Hulst indicated no such movement during a recent "fireside chat," however, saying that Sony continues to see live service games as a "great opportunity," even as he acknowledged that they're faced with "unique challenges" as well.

A rumor that Nier: Automata's character designs were censored for Western audiences came from a mistranslation, creators say
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-rumor-that-nier-automatas-character-designs-were-censored-for-western-audiences-came-from-a-mistranslation-creators-say/
Nier: Automata producer Yosuke Saito and director Yoko Taro have both come out to deny a rumor about publisher Square Enix's restrictions over the game's character designs.
A mistranslated English subtitle during a stream on Tuesday sparked news stories and social media posts suggesting that Nier: Automata had to adhere to Western standards to avoid being banned in countries outside Japan. The cause for the error was a double negative in Saito's comment, which Japanese gaming site Automaton says is "tricky to translate, even for an advanced Japanese speaker."

Say goodbye to Overwatch hero Bastion and say hello to next season's Cooler Bastion who will be 10% smaller because he was such a bullet magnet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/say-goodbye-to-overwatch-hero-bastion-and-say-hello-to-next-seasons-cooler-bastion-who-will-be-10-percent-smaller-because-he-was-such-a-bullet-magnet/
In order to save Overwatch's friendly neighborhood robot Bastion from getting demolished every time he steps out of cover, hero designer Scott Kennedy made an unusual suggestion: shrink him. Smaller targets are harder to hit and that could be all it takes to keep him alive a little longer.
After some internal testing, the decision was made: Bastion will be 10% smaller in Overwatch's next season.

Sony removes regional restrictions on four of its biggest games on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/sony-removes-regional-restrictions-on-four-of-its-biggest-games-on-steam/
Sony has removed regional restrictions on at least four of its biggest games on Steam, making them available for purchase in dozens of countries where they were previously out of reach.
The changes were noticed and shared by Wario64 on Bluesky, who said that four games—God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2—had their regional restrictions removed. You can see the changes for yourself on the SteamDB pages for each game.
>> Sony finally sees the light and makes thing what should have been since launch. This will please a lot of gamers, like Chazore (who, by the way, has been awfully quiet as of late).

GTA Online's Money Fronts update is basically Breaking Bad minus the meth
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/gta-onlines-money-fronts-update-is-basically-breaking-bad-minus-the-meth/
GTA Online's next major update is called Money Fronts, and it introduces a trio of new businesses that players can use to butter up their bottom line with some extra passive income.
Landing on June 17, GTA Online's latest update is all about empowering small businesses and supporting the local economy with a little bit of money laundering. After 12 long years, we can finally buy the Hands On Car Wash and other San Andreas storefronts.

Oil rig horror game Still Wakes the Deep is going underwater in a surprise story expansion that arrives next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/oil-rig-horror-game-still-wakes-the-deep-is-going-underwater-in-a-surprise-story-expansion-that-arrives-next-week/
It's a scientifically proven fact that nothing good ever happens underwater, and that's especially true in videogames. Subnautica, SOMA, Barotrauma, Iron Lung, the list goes on: Basically, if you're in a videogame and you're underwater, you're in for a bad time. Which brings us to Siren's Rest, the newly announced DLC for The Chinese Room's oil rig horror game Still Wakes the Deep: That's right, it's going underwater.
There are spoilers of varying degrees to follow, so conduct yourselves accordingly.

Satisfactory's biggest patch since launch makes it friendlier for Steam Deck players: 'It's no exaggeration to say this update includes more than a year's worth of work'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/satisfactorys-biggest-patch-since-launch-makes-it-friendlier-for-steam-deck-players-its-no-exaggeration-to-say-this-update-includes-more-than-a-years-worth-of-work/
I've adored what I've played of Satisfactory, but I've held off on delving too deeply into Coffee Stain's extraordinary automation extravaganza. See, I know that it's going to obliterate my social life for at least a month, because that's what factory sims do. Hence, it only seems fair that I bring my partner on that glorious adventure of social self-destruction. Yet our only other PC in the house is a Steam Deck, and up until now handheld Satisfactory has been a suboptimal experience due to its mouse-heavy control scheme.
As of Satisfactory's recent 1.1 update, however, this has now changed. The update adds an array of new features to the game's sprawling tangle of conveyor belts, including an overhauled photo mode and a buildable personnel elevator. But the most exciting addition for me is proper controller support, which also applies to Valve's handheld PC.

Two Point Museum's latest update adds memorial exhibits for staff who vanish on expeditions, which you can put on display or sell for cold, hard profit
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/two-point-museums-latest-update-adds-memorial-exhibits-for-staff-who-vanish-on-expeditions-which-you-can-put-on-display-or-sell-for-cold-hard-profit/
It may not have caught the same attention as Clair Obscur or Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but Two Point Museum is quietly one of the best games released this year. Two Point Studio's latest management sim is comfortably its best yet, and a game that nudges the genre forward in small but meaningful ways. A big part of that is down to its expedition system, where you dispatch different brands of boffins on adventures to retrieve ancient, exotic artifacts for display.
This feature also happens to be at the heart of Two Point Museum's summer update, which targets the adventurers who fail to return from your relic hunting missions. Now, when one of your experts goes missing, you'll be granted a memorial exhibit that you can place inside your museum to commemorate the loss.

The Outer Worlds 2 director offers the most sympathetic answer I've yet heard for the $80 game question: 'We don't set the prices for our games,' and 'You'd have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-outer-worlds-2-director-offers-the-most-sympathetic-answer-ive-yet-heard-for-the-usd80-game-question-we-dont-set-the-prices-for-our-games-and-youd-have-to-honestly-talk-to-the-xbox-folks/
First reported by GamesRadar, The Outer Worlds 2 director Brandon Adler had the most reasonable and sympathetic developer-side explanation I've yet heard for a game's $80 price tag: Sorry, but it wasn't my call.
GamesRadar asked Adler about The Outer Worlds 2's retail price at last week's Summer Game Fest. "We're a game developer. We love to make games. We don't set the prices for our games," said Adler. "Personally, as a game developer, I wish everybody could play my game, because that's what I want out of this whole thing. But for the reasons why the $79.99 price point, you'd have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks."

Dark Souls narrator and prolific actor Pik-Sen Lim has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dark-souls/dark-souls-narrator-and-prolific-actor-pik-sen-lim-has-died/
As reported by Malay Mail, Malaysian-born British actor Pik-Sen Lim died on Monday, June 9 at the age of 80. Lim had an extensive career in British theater, film, and television. PC Gamer readers will recognize her as the narrator of Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3's opening cutscenes.

Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto says 'as the series progressed, I felt that the essence of Japanese horror was lost'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-series-producer-motoi-okamoto-says-as-the-series-progressed-i-felt-that-the-essence-of-japanese-horror-was-lost/
While the big news out of Konami's Press Start event was the welcome announcement that Bloober Team is remaking the original Silent Hill, there was also a substantial behind-the-scenes segment on the upcoming Silent Hill F, which we'll see a lot sooner than a remake Konami didn't even have footage of.
(...)
"Silent Hill was a series that fused the essence of western horror and Japanese horror," series producer Motoi Okamoto said, "but as the series progressed, I felt that the essence of Japanese horror was lost. I began to feel a desire to create a Silent Hill with 100% essence of Japanese-style horror."

Why was The Witcher 3 so dark? 'It's dishonest to always show and paint the world in a positive light'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/why-was-the-witcher-3-so-dark-its-dishonest-to-always-show-and-paint-the-world-in-a-positive-light/
As part of The Witcher 3's 10th anniversary celebration, CD Projekt Red spoke to GamesRadar about the "secret sauce" that made its quests so special. Maturity was cited as the main ingredient by Paweł Sasko, a quest designer on The Witcher 3, because the majority of its developers were entering their 30s and 40s. Also, importantly, they were Polish.