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Tuesday gaming news, part two:

The Elder Scrolls 6 is 'Still a long ways off' says Todd Howard, but the slyboots says the Oblivion shadowdrop was 'A test run' and a select few have already played it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/the-elder-scrolls-6-is-still-a-long-ways-off-says-todd-howard-but-the-slyboots-says-the-oblivion-shadowdrop-was-a-test-run-and-a-select-few-have-already-played-it/
Bethesda has all sorts of irons in the fire right now. There's the second season of the Fallout TV show on the horizon, a 10th-anniversary version of Fallout 4, whatever's happening with Starfield, and Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls Online MMO stuff bubbling away contentedly in the background.
But more likely than not, all you want to know is what's going on with The Elder Scrolls 6. Well, great news: in a recent chat with GQ, Bethesda big boss Todd Howard said that "The Elder Scrolls 6 is the everyday thing" that its devs are working on right now.

'He was scared s***less': Baldur's Gate director was so panicked after playing Final Fantasy 7 that it changed the entire shape of Baldur's Gate 2 (and nearly every RPG since)
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/he-was-scared-s-less-baldurs-gate-director-was-so-panicked-after-playing-final-fantasy-7-that-it-changed-the-entire-shape-of-baldurs-gate-2-and-nearly-every-rpg-since/
I might be a Baldur's Gate 1 stan, but it's undeniable that Baldur's Gate 2 is the more important of BioWare's original duo of games. Heck, it created a mould for RPG design that studios still embrace today, at least in part. Just look at recent RPGs like Avowed or The Outer Worlds 2, and it won't take you long to find the BG2 DNA.
But BG2 didn't emerge in a vacuum, and in a recent chat with Slandered Gaming it emerged that—while we can thank BG2 for a lot of our favourite RPGs since—we have a whole other game to thank for BG2. That'd be Final Fantasy 7, which lit a fire under BG2 director James Ohlen to go all out with the game's structure and companions, per Trent Oster—who worked on the original Baldur's Gate and has since become CEO of Beamdog, the studio behind the BG1 and BG2 Enhanced Editions.

PC gaming's best free multiplayer shooter continues to be preposterously generous, with its latest update adding 50 new maps, custom music and more: 'We definitely want Straftat to live as long as possible'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/pc-gamings-best-free-multiplayer-shooter-continues-to-be-preposterously-generous-with-its-latest-update-adding-50-new-maps-custom-music-and-more-we-definitely-want-straftat-to-live-as-long-as-possible/
I'm beginning to grow concerned for Straftat creators the Lemaitre brothers. The rate at which they put out new levels for their brilliant small-scale FPS is simply not human. Have they been locked away against their will, forced to design levels by some crazed kidnapper with an unhealthy attachment to late nineties deathmatch? Or are they secretly some weird new type of game developing shark that dies if it stops mapping for more than a few seconds?
Whatever the reason, Straftat just got a whole lot bigger for the Nth time, with its 1.4.0 update adding over 50 new maps to the shooter. Titled the Bazaar update, the patch adds 24 maps appropriately themed around covered marketplaces, as well as 18 'basket' maps, 10 Hushardzan maps (I don't know what a hushardzan is, but it's fun to say), and four additional maps with no shared theme. Overall, there's 56 maps for you to blast up to three of your pals on. Double that number (minus the four random maps) if you own Straftat's DLC, which adds all the alternate versions of these maps.

Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim kicks off Steam Animal Fest by announcing a winter release date and full mod support alongside a warm demo that's available to play now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/tailside-cozy-cafe-sim-kicks-off-steam-animal-fest-by-announcing-a-winter-release-date-and-full-mod-support-alongside-a-warm-demo-thats-available-to-play-now/
Often at the centre of a wholesome life-sim is a small business, where life slows down and you can enjoy the simple life while integrating yourself with a charming, tight knit community. Cafés and coffee shops symbolise the pinnacle of cosiness, and Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim looks to be a warm hug against the bitter chill of winter, as you run a cafe with an array of appropriately rotund fluffy critters.
As Steam Animal Fest begins, Coffee Beans Dev has announced that Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim will be launching on Steam January 21, 2026. According to the press release, you’ll be able to beat the blues by customising your pixel-art cafe across multiple rooms with "hundreds of customisation items", brew a variety of coffees, and create latte art.

A Dispatch sequel is a whole lot more likely now that Dispatch season 1 is such a big hit: 'We're going to have to at least think about season 2 now'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/a-dispatch-sequel-is-a-whole-lot-more-likely-now-that-dispatch-season-1-is-such-a-big-hit-were-going-to-have-to-at-least-think-about-season-2-now/
The superhero workplace comedy Dispatch is something of a surprise hit: A relic of the Telltale era (and made by a studio founded by Telltale veterans), it sold one million copies in just 10 days. And even though the first 'season' of Dispatch isn't fully released yet, that success has significantly boosted the possibility of a second season.

The Metal Gear resurgence continues with a Hayter-voiced Naked Snake coming to Delta Force
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-metal-gear-resurgence-continues-with-a-hayter-voiced-naked-snake-coming-to-delta-force/
After a long fallow period, Konami's back on the Metal Gear bandwagon in a big way. The Japanese publisher dipped its toes back in with Metal Gear Solid: The Master Collection Vol. 1 in 2023, which after a year of patches turned out pretty good, before this year brought the excellent remake Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
Now it's announced a new collaboration with Team Jade's F2P tactical shooter Delta Force that will see David Hayter once more voicing Naked Snake (MGS Delta's protagonist). Delta Force is a decent Battlefield-style shooter that PCG's Morgan Park liked well enough, even if the monetisation feels like staring into the void.

Diablo 4 devs refuse to hint at the next expansion but urge fans to watch The Game Awards this year: 'Everyone should be watching it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4-devs-refuse-to-hint-at-the-next-expansion-but-urge-fans-to-watch-the-game-awards-this-year-everyone-should-be-watching-it/
It's already been a little over a year since Diablo 4's first expansion, Vessel of Hatred. In that time, the game has gone through several seasons. And just like last time, it's about to make sweeping changes to loot that feel like table-setting for an expansion-level update.
(...)
In a recent interview with Diablo 4 streamer Rob2628, the developers gave a pretty clear hint on when the expansion news will finally arrive. Rob brought up an image recently datamined from the game that reads December 12 in Chinese, which happens to be the same day (taking time zones in account) as this year's The Game Awards show.

Silksong's disastrous Chinese translation has received an official fan-made overhaul, and it's just been pushed live on PC with Patch 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/silksongs-disastrous-chinese-translation-has-received-an-official-fan-made-overhaul-and-its-just-been-pushed-live-on-pc-with-patch-4/
When Silksong arrived in early September it was close to a perfect launch, save one glaring problem: Chinese players quickly cottoned on to some big issues with the Chinese translation, namely that it failed to capture the tone of the Hollow Knight universe. "This isn't about effort, but about taste and direction," an English-to-Chinese translator noted at the time. Another expert noted that its tone resembled "a high-school drama club's Elizabethan improv night."
That sounds pretty bad. As a result, Silksong's Steam rating briefly fell to "mostly negative", and ever since a fan group called Team Cart Fix has been working away in the background to improve the Chinese translation. The fruits of their labour have been available as an unofficial mod for a while, but now, in Silksong's new Patch 4, the work of Team Cart Fix has been officially implemented in the game.

Fully recovered from a messy year, Path of Exile 2's next update is still on track to fix its most glaring issues and, if we're lucky, debut a new class
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fully-recovered-from-a-messy-year-path-of-exile-2s-next-update-is-still-on-track-to-fix-its-most-glaring-issues-and-if-were-lucky-debut-a-new-class/
The last update to Path of Exile 2 helped turn things around after developer Grinding Gear Games soured players with a gigantic pile of nerfs in the previous patch. It did not, however, include the new druid class that barely missed the deadline.
With Path of Exile 1's new Keepers of the Flame expansion going smoothly, GGG has dropped the first confirmation that the sequel's next update remains on track for next month. Patch 0.4.0 will be out in "early December," according to a post on the official forums. "We will reveal the livestream and release date very soon, so keep an eye on the news," it reads.

Fallout 4's Creations Bundle stumbles from the Vault to Mostly Negative reviews, as players lament the pack 'does not work' and 'made the game buggier'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fallout-4s-creations-bundle-stumbles-from-the-vault-to-mostly-negative-reviews-as-players-lament-the-pack-does-not-work-and-made-the-game-buggier/
Bethesda released a Creations Bundle for Fallout 4 yesterday as part of its tenth anniversary celebrations, adding 150 player-created items for the not-so-low price of £17.99. Unfortunately, Bethesda appears to have dropped the birthday cake on its way to the party, as players report some pretty serious issues with the Creation Bundle and its contents.
>> Speaking about Fallout 4, in that same interview from the earlier article, Todd Howard also said that the cinematic dialogue system from Fallout 4 “didn’t resonate with players” (link).