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

[JEMC]

The second part of the gaming news:

Balatro's big 1.1 update is delayed to 2026, for a very good reason: 'I'm slow'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/balatros-big-1-1-update-is-delayed-to-2026-for-a-very-good-reason-im-slow/
It's a good thing we have a lot of videogames coming down the pipe to keep us busy for the next few months (at least), because the big Balatro 1.1 update we've been waiting for since last year, that was supposed to come out this year, is going to take until next year to arrive. Balatro creator LocalThunk announced the delay today, and offered a relatable excuse: "I'm slow."

Stalker remasters hit 1.3 as GSC back-ports quick-inventory slots from Call of Prypiat to all 3 games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/stalker-remasters-hit-1-3-as-gsc-back-ports-quick-inventory-slots-from-call-of-prypiat-to-all-3-games/
I suppose in an ideal world, games would launch and then never need updates at all, but I won't pretend I'm not just a little happy to live in a world where the original Stalker games are getting patches again.
To rectify a few more issues with the remasters of Shadow of Chornobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Prypiat, GSC has just released a 1.3 patch for the entire remastered trilogy.

'We understand the disappointment': Funcom apologizes for Dune: Awakening DLC's 'building set' that's actually just four pieces
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/we-understand-the-disappointment-funcom-apologizes-for-dune-awakening-dlcs-building-set-thats-actually-just-four-pieces/
In what feels like a common occurrence these days, some new DLC for a game came out and was quickly followed up with an apology from the developer. Paradox did it earlier this week for Crusader Kings 3, and now it's Funcom's turn with Dune: Awakening, which just released its first post-launch DLC, Lost Harvest.
What's the apology for this time? The Dune: Awakening DLC, which costs $12.99, was listed as containing a new storyline, vehicle, cosmetics, and "the Dune Man building set, letting you build bases in the style of those pragmatic and weathered workers of Arrakis."
But that "building set" turns out to be just four new building pieces, which I think anyone would agree hardly qualifies as a set. Players quickly complained, and Funcom issued a response the following day.

Star Citizen fans sigh deeply, rub their foreheads as developer casts doubt on Squadron 42's 2026 release: 'I don't know if we're going to make it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/star-citizen-fans-sigh-deeply-rub-their-foreheads-as-developer-casts-doubt-on-squadron-42s-2026-release-i-dont-know-if-were-going-to-make-it/
Star Citizen may not be the most famously overdue videogame of all time, but it has to be a top-five contender, especially given that it is now just shy of $865 million (and no, there's not an errant zero in there, that's eight-hundred and sixty-five million smackeroos) raised in crowdfunding. Developer Cloud Imperium Games recently reaffirmed a 2026 launch for Squadron 42, Star Citizen's singleplayer campaign—the one with Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, and Mark Hamill—but a more recent developer's comment has sparked doubt among some fans.

Activision says CoD's anti-cheat system is catching more miscreants than ever, and permits itself a chuckle about dolts who 'promptly tell on themselves across social media, asking 'Why did this happen?''
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/activision-says-cods-anti-cheat-system-is-catching-more-miscreants-than-ever-and-permits-itself-a-chuckle-about-dolts-who-promptly-tell-on-themselves-across-social-media-asking-why-did-this-happen/
Activision's anti-cheat team has published an update on Call of Duty and Ricochet, claiming that with Black Ops 6 "we've made real progress." Over the month of August "over 55,000 cheaters were disrupted by Call of Duty's mitigations" and the Ricochet team even allow themselves a bit of a chuckle about how doltish some of these cheaters can be:

As Call of Duty flips a U-turn on goofy skins, Battlefield 6 devs are making their stance clear from the start: 'We're not chasing trends. We're not chasing other products'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/as-call-of-duty-flips-a-u-turn-on-goofy-skins-battlefield-6-devs-are-making-their-stance-clear-from-the-start-were-not-chasing-trends-were-not-chasing-other-products/
The vibe shift on goofy cosmetics in live service games is impossible to ignore at this point. Call of Duty has issued a full reversal on its plans to allow fantastical skins in Black Ops 7 after heavy backlash, and today, Battlefield 6 developers reaffirmed their commitment to not ending up like Fortnite.

Battlefield 6 devs knew 'everything' would leak from playtests but said the risk was worth it to get feedback from players: 'That had to come at any cost'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-devs-knew-everything-would-leak-from-playtests-but-said-the-risk-was-worth-it-to-get-feedback-from-players-that-had-to-come-at-any-cost/
Game developers, generally speaking, don't like leaks. Infinity Nikki studio Infold, for instance, recently described leaks as "poison to all creation." That's maybe a bit much, but it does capture the broad sentiment: When you're working on something that's meant to be a surprise, and someone blows that surprise, it sucks.
Developers do what they can to prevent leaks, but sometimes there's just no getting around it. Such is the case with Battlefield 6: Technical director Christian Buhl told IGN that Ripple Effect (formerly DICE LA) "did not want leaks," but it did want as much feedback from players as possible—and that meant rolling the dice.
>> One of the benefits: they’re toning down the spoting/ping of enemies.

Battlefield 6 is 'secretly console first,' says half-joking dev who has bravely risked resurrecting 2000s-era console vs PC bitterness
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-console-first-interview/
Speaking to IGN in a recent interview, Battlefield Studios developers said that Battlefield 6 has been built from the start with console players in mind, going so far as to describe their approach as "secretly console first."
I'd joke that we should keep our torches and pitchforks stowed, because there is some mitigating context to the statement, but haven't seen any PC gamers reaching for their angry mob gear yet anyway. (Well, except for a lone IGN commenter who says, "So BF6 is mainly a console game now? Gross.")
How far we've come! And in context, it does sound like the Battlefield 6 devs aim to correct an imbalance, not to disregard the PC version.
>> At least that allowed them to optimize the game.

Borderlands 4 has a volume slider specifically for muting Claptrap—if you're a coward
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/borderlands-4-has-a-volume-slider-specifically-for-muting-claptrap-if-youre-a-coward/
Borderlands 4 has had a complicated launch. Initial critical response was fairly positive, but some sites—including PC Gamer—didn't receive pre-release code and were unable to offer their own opinions at launch. And once the clock hit go time, early Steam reviews were dominated by reports of performance issues and crashes that we experienced in our own early performance analysis.
While it looks like Borderlands 4 still has a few kinks to hammer out, it does serve up one of the better features we've seen in the series: A chance to finally, mercifully silence Claptrap—and only Claptrap.

Furious Destiny 2 players accuse Bungie of secretly moving a stunning free armor set into the Eververse Store so players have to pay real money for it instead
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/furious-players-accuse-bungie-of-secretly-moving-a-stunning-free-armor-set-into-the-eververse-store-so-players-have-to-pay-real-money-for-it-instead/
Between a systemic overhaul that the playerbase hates, and a list of bugs that frankly beggar belief, Destiny 2 is currently in perhaps the worst shape of its history. Which, if you've been paying attention to the game's ability to self-immolate, is truly something. And yet Bungie still seems determined to find new ways to take Ls.
This time, it's the greed again. The studio stands accused of taking a very cool new armor set, which had been intended to be a reward from the returning Iron Banner activity, and instead placing it inside the Eververse Store where it sells for 1,500 Silver per character—$15 in real money.

This surprisingly great Arthurian Elder Scrolls clone just got a huge update that adds new game plus, extra dungeons, and tons more loot
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/this-surprisingly-great-arthurian-elder-scrolls-clone-just-got-a-huge-update-that-adds-new-game-plus-extra-dungeons-and-tons-more-loot/
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is one of the more surprising successes of 2025. Questline's open-world RPG gives Arthurian legend the Elder Scrolls treatment, letting players explore a decaying, war-torn version of Avalon while guided by the ghost of King Arthur.

This physics platformer about a wiggly worm that travels into space has even got Tim Schafer excited: 'It looks super cute and fun'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/this-physics-platformer-about-a-wiggly-worm-that-travels-into-space-has-even-got-tim-schafer-excited-it-looks-super-cute-and-fun/
"Have you ever wanted to just be a worm for a day?" asks Riley Neville, the creator of the wacky annelid simulator Wirm. To which my response is "Not until now." Crawling through the ground while pushing dirt through my pink and boneless body has, you'll be surprised to hear, never sounded like a fun time. But the adorable trailer for Neville's upcoming physics platformer has got me wondering whether I'm somehow missing out.

A Silksong gumshoe meticulously pixel counted both games to directly compare the size of their worlds, and Pharloom looks twice as big as Hallownest
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-silksong-gumshoe-meticulously-pixel-counted-both-games-to-directly-compare-the-size-of-their-worlds-and-pharloom-looks-twice-as-big-as-hallownest/
Reddit user Karmyuh has produced one of the first major works of Silksongology: A direct size comparison of Pharloom and Hallownest, taking into account that Silksong's world has been scaled up to account for the taller Hornet.
>> Meanwhile, someone has already beat every boss without getting hit.