Friday gaming news, the second part:
Overwatch 2 dips its toes into the horny pool with swimsuit skins and a shirtless new healer for its next season
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-dips-its-toes-into-the-horny-pool-with-swimsuit-skins-and-a-shirtless-new-healer-for-its-next-season/
Blizzard isn't going to let Marvel Rivals have all the fun. In Overwatch 2's next season, everyone is getting swimsuit skins for a summer-themed battle pass.
Plenty of other new things are coming when season 18 starts on August 26—a whole new support hero, for example—but I think we all know what the draw will be. Lifeweaver, Reinhardt, Mercy, Junker Queen, Illari, and new hero Wuyang are all getting skins that show more skin than I'm used to seeing in Overwatch.
Splitgate fans, rejoice: Peer-to-peer multiplayer is coming next week, so you can keep on playing after the servers shut down
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/splitgate-fans-rejoice-peer-to-peer-multiplayer-is-coming-next-week-so-you-can-keep-on-playing-after-the-servers-shut-down/
Finally, some good news for Splitgate fans: Developer 1047 Games says the original Splitgate will be moving to peer-to-peer multiplayer on August 29, meaning the game will continue to be playable online even though the servers are being taken down.
Why did Team Cherry's devs stay so quiet about Hollow Knight: Silksong? 'All we could really say is, we're still working on it', so they stopped doing that
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/why-did-team-cherrys-devs-stay-so-quiet-about-hollow-knight-silksong-all-we-could-really-say-is-were-still-working-on-it-so-they-stopped-doing-that/
Well, it's official—in under one month, Silksanity will be over, with Silksong releasing September 4. It's been one hell of a ride, marked with long periods of silence from Team Cherry. And when the studio did speak up, it was often like, via a Discord message or something.
Showcase after showcase rolled by without so much as a squeak. And now that the news is out, why'd it take so dang long? In a new tell-all with Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, studio co-founders Ari Gibson and William Pellen reveal the shocking truth. Are you ready?
Bloodlines 2 developers try to justify the game's DLC clans, but it's not very convincing: 'We have been expanding it from where we originally planned to land'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/bloodlines-2-developers-try-to-justify-the-games-dlc-clans-but-its-not-very-convincing-we-have-been-expanding-it-from-where-we-originally-planned-to-land/
It didn't go over super-well when Paradox revealed yesterday that two of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2's six playable clans will be available via some rather pricey DLC. Especially after the game's infamously rough development, you might think that Paradox and developer The Chinese Room would want to engender goodwill among existing and potential Bloodlines fans, and yet bizarrely they went the opposite way—and people reacted precisely as any reasonable person would have predicted. But why?
Eric Barone says he doesn't get paid for Stardew Valley collabs, and that's the way he likes it: 'I wouldn't want to make money from a collaboration'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/eric-barone-says-he-doesnt-get-paid-for-stardew-valley-collabs-and-thats-the-way-he-likes-it-i-wouldnt-want-to-make-money-from-a-collaboration/
We learned earlier today that Stardew Valley and Infinity Nikki are teaming up for a collaboration of some sort that's set to land on September 1—a crossover that PC Gamer's Infinity Nikki superfan Mollie Taylor as "surprising," because "Stardew Valley doesn't do this sort of thing very often."
A little while later, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone took to X to say that while such crossovers are a relative rarity, it's something he likes to do now and then—but not for the money.
To the dismay of sweaty 'movement kids,' Battlefield 6 is nerfing Call of Duty sliding and jumping to maintain a 'traditional Battlefield experience'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/to-the-dismay-of-sweaty-movement-kids-battlefield-6-is-nerfing-call-of-duty-sliding-and-jumping-to-maintain-a-traditional-battlefield-experience/
Duck, dive, and dodge: Following feedback from the Battlefield 6 beta that its movement was too squirrely and unpredictable, Battlefield Studios is planning significant changes for the full release.
>> And EA has revealed the most popular class in the beta.
One of Elden Ring's upcoming new starter classes is a freakishly strong jock with an intelligence score so low, they probably can't read, but the hardcore PvP kiddies are going ga-ga for them
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/one-of-elden-rings-upcoming-new-starter-classes-is-a-freakishly-strong-jock-with-an-intelligence-score-so-low-they-probably-cant-read-but-the-hardcore-pvp-kiddies-are-going-ga-ga-for-them/
First spotted by weliveinasocietyboi on the Elden Ring subreddit, Bandai Namco has finally clued us in on the stats for one of Elden Ring's upcoming new starter classes, an absolute unit of a knight who looks tailor-made for strength builds—and whose knuckle dragger spellcasting stats may leave them a prime pick for PvP tryhards.
Cheese Rolling is the best free Steam game about the age-old English tradition of hurling yourself down a hillside in pursuit of tumbling dairy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/cheese-rolling-is-the-best-free-steam-game-about-the-age-old-english-tradition-of-hurling-yourself-down-a-hillside-in-pursuit-of-tumbling-dairy/
Every year since at least 1826, hundreds of questionably-hinged individuals from around the globe gather at Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire to enjoy the privilege of throwing themselves down a steep slope to chase a rolling wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. Competitors risk any number of bodily injuries, as the annually overtaxed emergency medical services of the region will tell you.
If, like me, you've been faintly, distantly jealous of those cheese-crazed tumblers and their yearly submission to gravity's bone-shattering whims in hopes of claiming praise and prize (the prize is cheese), I have great news: There's a game for that now, and it won't cost you any money. Or fractures.
Bungie CEO Pete Parsons retires: With Destiny 2 sentiment at an all-time low and pressure from Sony growing, Parsons has decided it's time to 'pass the torch' and head for an exit
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/bungie-ceo-pete-parsons-retires-with-destiny-2-sentiment-at-an-all-time-low-and-pressure-from-sony-growing-parsons-has-decided-its-time-to-pass-the-torch-and-head-for-an-exit/
Longtime Bungie CEO Pete Parsons announced today that he is stepping down from the role, saying it's "the right time for a new beginning" at the Sony-owned studio. He will be replaced by Justin Truman, formerly the studio's chief development officer, who Parsons said "has been instrumental in bringing some of the most memorable moments in Bungie's history to life."
>> The reaction from fans is… maybe not what Bungie expected.
The creators of Deadly Premonition and No More Heroes are releasing a typically over-the-top roguelite 'fever dream' next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-creators-of-deadly-premonition-and-no-more-heroes-are-releasing-a-typically-over-the-top-roguelite-fever-dream-next-month/
Back in 2019, Goichi "Suda51" Suda and Hidetaka "Swery65" Suehiro announced a forthcoming horror game under typically bizarre circumstances. As Fraser reported at the time, the duo—who are responsible for No More Heroes and Deadly Premonition respectively—basically brainstormed the project during a livestream. At the time they decided it would be an indie horror game called Hotel Barcelona. The PS2 game Siren would be an inspiration, and Devolver would publish.
Six years later, it turns out Hotel Barcelona is an actual game that will see an actual release next month—on September 25 to be exact—but it has clearly evolved away from those early ideas. For one, Devolver isn't publishing: the relatively new Cult Games will handle that duty instead. Another big departure, at least to my eyes, is that Hotel Barcelona doesn't look scary. It's a 2.5D sidescrolling action roguelite set in a bizarre hotel, with all the surrealist flair you would expect from this duo. If you came away from that 2019 livestream thinking "great, two of the weirdest fellows in games are making a Siren tribute", then maybe keep your expectations in check.
You've got approximately 12 months left to enjoy Overwatch 2 because it just got the Persona 5 collaboration kiss of death
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/youve-got-approximately-12-months-left-to-enjoy-overwatch-2-because-it-just-got-the-persona-5-collaboration-kiss-of-death/
Legends tell of a videogame. A cursed videogame. One which, once it crosses paths with another, puts a year-long ticking timebomb on its victim. And the worst part? They never saw it coming.
Sorry, it's Persona 5, I get at least one Last Surprise joke. (...)
This time it's Overwatch 2's turn to Fortnite itself a little bit, and it's enlisting the Phantom Thieves to do so. Yup, the ultra-milked Atlus RPG is getting together with Blizzard's shooter in what is somehow the weirdest crossover announcement of the week so far.
So why am I yapping about the kiss of death and curses? Well, Persona 5 has garnered quite a reputation (particularly in the gacha game scene) for being a bit of a death knell whenever it announces a collaboration. Let's take a gander:
'Silksong lol': CloverPit devs delay the slot machine Balatro-like by 23 days to escape the blast radius of Silksong's launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/silksong-lol-cloverpit-devs-delay-the-slot-machine-balatro-like-by-23-days-to-escape-the-blast-radius-of-silksongs-launch/
You know what they say: The best laid plans of mice and men sometimes get abruptly derailed by a surprise launch announcement. Thanks to yesterday's reveal that Silksong's release date is only two weeks away, CloverPit developer Panik Arcade has decided to push back the launch of the slot machine roguelite to dodge the all-consuming attention singularity that we can safely expect the Hollow Knight sequel to be.
Time to check the new weekend deals at Steam, because there are no new promos at GOG:
+Steam
- Battlefield™ 2042 is going to be 95% off until the 2nd of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1517290/Battlefield_2042
- Smalland: Survive the Wilds will have a 65% discount until the 4th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/768200/Smalland_Survive_the_Wilds
- Luck be a Landlord has a demo and a 67% discount until the 4th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1404850/Luck_be_a_Landlord
- No Straight Roads: Encore Edition will be 80% off until September 4th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1726190/No_Straight_Roads_Encore_Edition
- And these are the new sales/events:
- The Forza franchise Sale features 50% discounts in all its items until the 25th of August : https://store.steampowered.com/sale/forzafranchise
- The Anthro Festival 2025 has lots of games with anthropomorphic animals up to 90% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/anthrofestival2025
- The KINGDOM HEARTS franchise is on sale with 40% discounts until the 28th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/kingdomhearts_sale25
- The Anno franchise Sake puts the games up to 90% off until August 28: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Anno_Franchise_2025
- The Kingdom Rush franchise is on sale featuring up to 65% discounts until the 29th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34004563/sale/KingdomRushFranchiseSale2025
- The Punic Publisher Sale launches with up to 80% discounts until the 4th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/panicsale2025
- And the Risk of Rain franchise has its games up to 80% off until September, the 4th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ror-franchisesale
That’s all for this week. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.
Please excuse my bad English.
Former gaming PC: i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070
Current gaming PC: R5-7600, 32GB RAM 6000MT/s (CL30) and a RX 9060XT 16GB
Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.
