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

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Friday gaming news, the long but last part two:

After warring with fans for years, Black Ops 7 will finally ditch aggressive skill-based matchmaking: 'Our team feels strongly about providing players with a more varied experience'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/after-warring-with-fans-for-years-black-ops-7-will-finally-ditch-aggressive-skill-based-matchmaking-our-team-feels-strongly-about-providing-players-with-a-more-varied-experience/
It's a landmark day in the greatest ideological conflict of our time: In a blog detailing its Black Ops 7 beta takeaways, Treyarch has announced that BO7 will launch with "minimal skill consideration" as the multiplayer default, reversing a series trajectory of skill-based matchmaking implementation that dates all the way back to Call of Duty 4.

Overwatch 2's Season 19 kicks off the spooky season with returning Halloween modes and a new addition, Haunted Masquerade
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2s-season-19-kicks-off-the-spooky-season-with-returning-halloween-modes-and-a-new-addition-haunted-masquerade/
We've got just five days until the summer season is finally kicked out of Overwatch 2 and Season 19 ushers in the season of scares. There'll be a new Halloween-themed battle pass, more Mythic skins than you can shake a stick at, and three modes for players to terrify themselves in.
>> The update also brings a huge update to Stadium (link).

Arc Raiders lowers its price in some regions 'to ensure a more fair price point for all'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-lowers-its-price-in-some-regions-to-ensure-a-more-fair-price-point-for-all/
Well, this is something you don't see every day: With Arc Raiders now three weeks from launch, developer Embark Studios has lowered the price of the game in several regions on Steam "to ensure a fairer experience for everyone."

After more than a year of delays, Cities: Skylines 2's big Bridges and Ports expansion is finally almost here
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/after-more-than-a-year-of-delays-cities-skylines-2s-big-bridges-and-ports-expansion-is-finally-almost-here/
Two years after the release of Cities: Skylines 2, and more than a year after it was originally supposed to arrive, the big Bridges and Ports expansion is finally almost here. Paradox and Colossal Order announced today that the big, twice-delayed DLC will finally go live on October 29.

Throwback strategy game Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is delayed to 2026, but a new demo on Steam means you can play some of it right now for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/throwback-strategy-game-heroes-of-might-and-magic-olden-era-is-delayed-to-2026-but-a-new-demo-on-steam-means-you-can-play-some-of-it-right-now-for-free/
It's going to take a little longer than expected for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, the throwback turn-based strategy game announced in 2024, to be ready for its early access release. Instead of rolling out this year as planned, Unfrozen and Hooded Horse now say the game will arrive sometime in 2026.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is getting a New Game+ mode and some new duds in a free update
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-is-getting-a-new-game-mode-and-some-new-duds-in-a-free-update/
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is getting a New Game+ mode as part of a free anniversary update that's set to go live on October 10—and yup, that's tomorrow.
First things first: You may be thinking that this is not an anniversary of any sort for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which came out on December 9, 2024. And you would be correct. But it is the 15th anniversary of developer MachineGames, and that's a pretty big deal in its own right.

After 5 years of stunning trailers, Skate Story is finally releasing in December, and its demo is so good it's immediately a GOTY contender
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-5-years-of-stunning-trailers-skate-story-is-finally-releasing-in-december-and-its-demo-is-so-good-its-immediately-a-goty-contender/
"You're a demon made of glass and pain" has to be one of the hardest taglines there's ever been for a videogame. Now that Skate Story has a December 8 release date and approximately hour-long demo, we've found out there's an addendum to that sick as hell pitch: "And you're on a quest to eat the Moon."
>> The game may be good, but fans won’t be happy with DLCs like this one that asks $35 for a cardboard Dead Space skin (link).

Grove Keeper is Dungeon Keeper versus woodcutters and your greatest weapon is a giant in his underpants
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/grove-keeper-is-dungeon-keeper-versus-woodcutters-and-your-greatest-weapon-is-a-giant-in-his-underpants/
Games like Dungeon Keeper and Evil Genius cast you as the villain repelling heroes as they break on your defences like waves on the shore. Grove Keeper is different. You play a noble god of the forest protecting trees from old-timey woodcutters and hunters who have come to cut down Old Man Willow and shoot all the wildlife. Fortunately, you can build an army of mythical creatures including satyrs and half-naked giants who rend and stomp loggers with abandon. Maybe you are a bit villain-adjacent.

EA exec pinky-promises there's no GenAI in Battlefield 6, but does say it's 'Very seducing' like someone being lured to an early grave in a Hellraiser film
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ea-exec-pinky-promises-theres-no-genai-in-battlefield-6-but-does-say-its-very-seducing-like-someone-being-lured-to-an-early-grave-in-a-hellraiser-film/
With EA now on the hook for $20 billion in the wake of its Saudi-and-Kushner-funded buyout, both the company and its new owners have been pretty obvious about their ambitions for AI-driven development to, somehow, miraculously help it start printing money quickly.
Which is concerning. Also concerning: One of EA's biggest releases this year hits in just a few hours in the form of Battlefield 6. Is it going to give us our first taste of the AI future?
You can breathe for now. In a chat with the BBC, EA VP general manager of Dice and Criterion promises that you won't run into anything made by GenAI in BF6. Phew. Time to take a big swig of coffee and see what else Coutaz has to say about the tech.

'I can never go back to paid': One of the best co-op indie platformers is free to play after its developer accidentally switched off the price
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/i-can-never-go-back-to-paid-one-of-the-best-co-op-indie-platformers-is-free-to-play-after-its-developer-accidentally-switched-off-the-price/
After 10 long years of Pico Park using colourful little guys to rip apart friendship groups, the developer TecoPark has accidentally turned off monetisation on the classic edition, making it permanently free-to-play.
"I was planning to switch to a paid plan after updating the online support, but I forgot that once you switch from paid to free, I can never go back to paid," TecoPark says in a Steam blog post (via GamesRadar). "If you enjoy playing this free version, be sure to try the series (Pico Park, Pico Park 2)."

All Genshin Impact 6.1 livestream codes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/genshin-impact-codes-6-1-livestream/
The Genshin Impact 6.1 codes have arrived, and alongside them, a sneak peek at what's awaiting in the next instalment of Nod-Krai's new story. Version 6.1 isn't *technically* 6.1 at all; it's actually Luna 2, the second chapter of the Traveler's journey in Nod-Krai. This autonomous region is in Snezhnaya (the next major region), but is kind of its own place, too.

'Cheated and manipulated' MindsEye devs eviscerate studio bosses who blamed botched launch on 'saboteurs' and say they'll see them in court: 'The games industry is not the Wild West anymore'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/cheated-and-manipulated-mindseye-devs-eviscerate-studio-bosses-who-blamed-botched-launch-on-saboteurs-and-say-theyll-see-them-in-court-the-games-industry-is-not-the-wild-west-anymore/
Current and former devs at Build A Rocket Boy (BARB)—the studio founded by former GTA producer Leslie Benzies and responsible for the disastrous MindsEye, released earlier this year—have published a scathing open letter to its leadership.

RPG devs stopped making games like Baldur's Gate 'because retailers told us no one wanted to buy them', says New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity director Josh Sawyer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/rpg-devs-stopped-making-games-like-baldurs-gate-because-retailers-told-us-no-one-wanted-to-buy-them-says-new-vegas-and-pillars-of-eternity-director-josh-sawyer/
Classic RPGs make up some of the most formative examples of late '90s to early 2000s PC gaming in my memory, but I also remember when they weirdly disappeared. If you loved games like the original Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, or Planescape, and also wondered why we stopped seeing these kinds of titles for a bit there, well it turns out you can blame physical retailers for the decline in Dungeons-and-Dragons-style PC RPGs.
(...)
"The reason we stopped making Infinity Engine games was because retailers told us no one wanted to buy them," says Josh Sawyer—who now serves as Obsidian's studio design director but cut his teeth working on games like Icewind Dale—during his keynote speech at GCAP 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. "We asked if we could see the research and they basically told us to trust them" he adds to sad chuckles from the crowd.

And here are the weekend deals at both GOG and Steam

+GOG

• Untold Tales Publisher Sale features up to 85% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251010_untold_tales_publisher_sale
• Kingdom Franchise Sale puts the games on the series up to 90% off during 13 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251009_kingdom_franchise_sale

+Steam

• Metaphor: ReFantazio has a demo and will also have a 45% discount until the 16th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2679460/Metaphor_ReFantazio
• PowerWash Simulator has a demo and will also be free to try until Monday. The game is not for sale, with the cheapest way to buy it being a bundle with 3 DLCs that is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1290000/PowerWash_Simulator
• IXION will have a 65% discount until October 16: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113120/IXION
• CarX Drift Racing Online is going to be free to try until Monday and will be 60% off until the 17th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/635260/CarX_Drift_Racing_Online
• Europa has a demo and gets a 50% discount until the 23rd of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2214880/Europa
• Recycling Center Simulator will also be 50% off until the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2928520/Recycling_Center_Simulator
• And these are the new sales/events:
  • All the Jackbox Games are on sale with up to 65% discounts until October 16: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/jackboxfranchisesale
  • Besides an update for Indiana Jones, MachineGames celebrates its anniversary with up to 75% discounts in its games until 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/MachineGamesDevSale
  • Publisher Dotemu puts its games up to 80% off until October, the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/dotemupublishersale2025
  • BCN Game Fest 2025 comes with lots of upcoming titles and also some games on sale with up to 80% discounts. The Festival will only last this weekend but the length of the deals vary between the 13 and the 17th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42214200/sale/BCNGAMEFESTIVAL2025
  • Publisher Hooded Horse puts its games up to 75% off until the 23rd. There are also some upcoming games to check: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38719421/sale/octobersale2025
  • PAX Aus Expo has lots of upcoming games and also some titles on sale, up to 50% off. The Expo will last until Sunday but the deals will end between the 16th and the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pax-aus-2025
  • Kingdom Franchise Sale also comes to Steam with up to 90% discounts until the 23rd. Two Crowns will be free to try until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/coronationweek2025
  • Metaroot Game Celebration has games up to 60% off. Except for one deal that will end with today’s refresh (it’s also part of another event), the rest will end between the 23rd and the 24th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44892821/sale/MetarootGameCelebrationOct

And that’s all. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.