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

[JEMC]

The second part of the gaming news:

MindsEye's messy launch shenanigans has IO Interactive hesitant to play publisher for more games in the future: 'That remains to be seen'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/mindseyes-messy-launch-shenanigans-has-io-interactive-hesitant-to-play-publisher-for-more-games-in-the-future-that-remains-to-be-seen/
When it comes to messy videogame launches, MindsEye has certainly been a hot contender. The first third-party game to be published under Hitman developer IO Interactive's Partners programme, its debut has been rather sour—poor sales, a Mostly Negative rating on Steam, and layoffs at developer Build a Rocket Boy.
(...)
It's enough of a palaver to make anyone wary of trying again, and IOI CEO Hakan Abrak certainly seems apprehensive to re-enter the lion's den. During a recent interview with IGN, Abrak reflected on the initial response to MindsEye: "It was a tough reception," he said.

Silksong achievement suggests it'll take at least 10 hours longer to 100% complete compared to Hollow Knight—even for the fastest players
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/silksong-achievement-suggests-itll-take-at-least-10-hours-longer-to-100-percent-complete-compared-to-hollow-knight-even-for-the-fastest-players/
Hollow Knight: Silksong is out. I'm not playing it right now, because it is my accursed duty to write news for the hungry masses—given a lot of you are currently fighting Steam, tooth and nail. News like "hey, did you know that Silksong has two separate speedrun achievements?"
>> Naturally, speedrunners are already at work. By the way, there is a bench in the first nightmare area.

Civilization 7 studio Firaxis confirms layoffs as it 'optimizes its development process for adaptability, collaboration, and creativity,' which is somehow even worse than just saying 'agility'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/civilization-7-studio-firaxis-confirms-layoffs-as-it-optimizes-its-development-process-for-adaptability-collaboration-and-creativity-which-is-somehow-even-worse-than-just-saying-agility/
As Civilization 7 continues to underperform, developer Firaxis Games has confirmed that an unspecified number of employees have been let go.
Emma Kidwell, a writer on Civilization 7 whose past credits include Marvel's Midnight Suns, Hindsight, and Life is Strange 2, first reported the cuts earlier today on Bluesky. Several other Firaxis employees shared similar layoff messages on their own social media accounts.

Dune: Awakening will be on sale for the first time next week, along with a 'zero restrictions' free weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/dune-awakening-will-be-on-sale-for-the-first-time-next-week-along-with-a-zero-restrictions-free-weekend/
As the saying goes on Arrakis, the spice must flow—and for a limited time starting next week that spice will be on sale. Dune: Awakening is having its first discount starting on September 11 and running until September 22, during which Funcom's survival MMO will be on sale for 20% off.
This sale coincides with another free weekend, though unlike the last one in late August, this free to play period comes with "zero restrictions." Play as many hours as you want from September 11 to September 15 (the first free weekend, bizarrely, was capped at 10 hours).

Silksong is so popular, even people in the Piracy subreddit are encouraging others to just buy it: 'If we can afford to support them, we should'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/silksong-is-so-popular-even-people-in-the-piracy-subreddit-are-encouraging-others-to-just-buy-it-if-we-can-afford-to-support-them-we-should/
Hollow Knight: Silksong finally went live today—you may have heard something about that—and its arrival absolutely demolished Steam, which simply could not hold up under the crushing demand of Skongmania. As Steam crumbled like a train bridge made of soggy noodles, GOG did what it does best: Took a shot from the shadows.
"It appears that Silkzillion gamers worldwide are trying to get their hands on Hollow Knight: Silksong, and digital storefronts are struggling to handle the traffic," GOG posted on X. "But the DRM-free Bastion stands strong." Naturally, there was a link to Silksong on GOG.
(...)
Except, maybe not. Sure enough, Silksong was available through less-than-legal channels almost immediately after launch, but as noticed by GamesRadar, the 2.4 million strong Piracy subreddit seemed torn on the topic: Unexpectedly, quite a few of its members have been urging people not to pirate Silksong.
>> Another bit of the game: Stardew Valley's Eric Barone is in the Hollow Knight: Silksong credits.

'PLEASE DON'T NERF COYOTE': The new Helldivers 2 warbond has a fire-breathing rifle so good that players are begging Arrowhead to leave it alone
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/please-dont-nerf-coyote-the-new-helldivers-2-warbond-has-a-fire-breathing-rifle-so-good-that-players-are-begging-arrowhead-to-leave-it-alone/
While the metroidvania inclined celebrate the release of a long-awaited bug game, Helldivers 2's stalwart protectors of freedom are hard at work ensuring no bugs will know another day of peace. This week, the Into the Unjust update kicked off a new offensive into Terminid strongholds, a directive that's proving tougher than expected.
A new "Rupture" class of Terminid, recognizable by its red armor plating and burrowing technique, is wreaking havoc on reinforcements. While players have identified effective weapons to counter the novel threat, it's no coincidence that the latest premium warbond, Dust Devils, is packing what might be the ultimate anti-Terminid primary: the AR-2 Coyote.
The most active corner of the Helldivers 2 community has already anointed the Coyote to gun royalty, singing its praises against bugs and preemptively begging Arrowhead not to nerf it.

Cult of the Lamb's Woolhaven DLC will be 'almost the length of the original game' because the developers 'flew a little too close to the sun'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/cult-of-the-lambs-woolhaven-dlc-will-be-almost-the-length-of-the-original-game-because-the-developers-flew-a-little-too-close-to-the-sun/
Cult of the Lamb is releasing its Woolhaven DLC early next year, but with only a reveal trailer so far, there's still a lot we don't know about what it has in store for us. Fortunately, the Cult of the Lamb social media pages have been drip-feeding information to us about the size of the DLC in comparison to the first game, how it ended up getting slightly out of hand, and why the devs have chosen to release a paid update rather than another free one.

Coughing baby vs hydrogen bomb comes to Marvel Rivals: They just buffed Scarlet Witch's ult damage from 800 to 9,999
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/coughing-baby-vs-hydrogen-bomb-comes-to-marvel-rivals-they-just-buffed-scarlet-witchs-ult-damage-from-800-to-9-999/
We're a week out from Marvel Rivals Season 4 now, but before we can all enjoy the arrival of a new Vanguard and map, there's still some time to grind the battle pass and competitive, if you're brave enough. But before you do that, it may be a good idea to check out the new balance patch—there are some… interesting details in there.

Battlefield 6's Assault Class is finally getting a signature gadget that can rival the motion sensor and blowtorch: A ladder
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6s-assault-class-is-finally-getting-a-signature-gadget-that-can-rival-the-motion-sensor-and-blowtorch-a-ladder/
The Assault class for Battlefield 6 is getting a small upgrade in terms of its signature gadget. Instead of the old-school adrenaline injector, which grants temporary buffs like speed increase, explosive resistance, and super hearing, the basic grunts of Battlefield 6 will be granted the power and responsibility to wield a ladder.

Former Call of Duty director stopped making foreign countries the enemy because he wanted 'to go to these countries' without needing a bodyguard
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/former-call-of-duty-director-stopped-making-foreign-countries-the-enemy-because-he-wanted-to-go-to-these-countries-without-needing-a-bodyguard/
Call of Duty has been around the block a few times, and across the years it's turned a lot of foreign countries into videogame enemies. In the first batch of games, when CoD was still a World War 2 shooter, it was simple. Fighting Nazis is extremely cathartic, and they don't reflect modern Germany.
In contemporary or near-future games, though, it can be more problematic, as former Call of Duty director Glen Schofield realised when he was promoting the first incarnation of Modern Warfare 3.

It looks like GOG has decided to not launch more sales/promos on weekends, which is a shame. In any case, we can still check what Steam has prepared for us:

+Steam

• CarX Street is free to try during the weekend and 55% off until the 11th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1114150/CarX_Street
• Dorfromantik has a 60% discount until the 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1455840/Dorfromantik
• Heads Will Roll: Reforged will have a 75% discount until the 18th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/687800/Heads_Will_Roll_Reforged
• Fling to the Finish is going to be 80% off until the 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054430/Fling_to_the_Finish
• Rubber Bandits will be 90% off until September 18: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1206610/Rubber_Bandits
• And these are the 6 sales/events:
  • Avalon Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts until the 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36173274/sale/PUBLISHERWEEKEND2025
  • ANZ IndieFest has a lot of upcoming titles, some with demos, and (I think), up to 60% discounts on some titles. The page will be up until the 11th, but the length of the deals vary from tomorrow until at least the 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ANZIndieFest2025
  • Publisher Wired Productions will have its games up to 90% off until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/WIREDPublisherSale
  • The Outer Worlds franchise is on sale with up to 75% discounts until the 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/PrivateDivision/sale/outerworldssale
  • Focus Entertainment puts its games up to 80% off until September 15 (and Void Crew is free to try during the weekend): https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FocusPublisherSale2025
  • And the LEVEL UP Games Showcase 2025 has lots of upcoming games and one single game on sale with a 20% discount until the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/LEVELUPKL2025

Nothing else to add other than wishing you a happy and gaming weekend.