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

[JEMC]

It’s time for the Monday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Slot machine roguelike CloverPit sells 1 million copies, and its developer celebrates the payout by adding its 'most requested feature yet'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/slot-machine-roguelike-cloverpit-sells-1-million-copies-and-its-developer-celebrates-the-payout-by-adding-its-most-requested-feature-yet/
Spooky gambling roguelike CloverPit has hit the jackpot for developer Panik Arcade, selling a million copies since it was released at the end of September. Seems a lot of people can't resist the allure of playing with a cursed one-armed bandit in a dingy basement that's possibly also in hell.
"Thank you so much for all your incredible support! We still can't believe how the launch went," wrote Panik Arcade in a Steam post. "We are truly in shock and deeply grateful to all of you who have supported us on this wild ride."
There's more to the post than just gratitude, however. Alongside celebrating the sales milestone, Panik Arcade released a new update for CloverPit, one that primarily introduces a hard mode to the game. This mode unlocks once players win their first run with a rules-modifying memory card, giving you the option to play that run again while doubling the deadline amount, yielding a special reward if you succeed.

Dispatch is set to hit its fantasy 'Bull case' 3-year sales target in just 3 months, and players have gone gaga for its episodic release structure
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/dispatch-hit-its-fantasy-bull-case-3-year-sales-target-in-just-3-months-and-players-have-gone-gaga-for-its-episodic-release-structure/
I've not gotten around to it yet, but it's my understanding that Telltale-style superhero sim Dispatch is really rather good. So good that it won the heart of our Fraser Brown, who scored it 89% in his Dispatch review and called it "one of the best superhero TV shows around." And that's without all the sex scenes the devs apparently cut. Sic transit gloria mundi.
It's not just us singing the game's praises, though (but we are definitely singing them in a cooler way than everyone else). At the time of writing, Dispatch has an enviable Overwhelmingly Positive rating in its Steam reviews, numerous games crit garlands and, probably most significantly for its devs, it's set to hit its best-case-scenario three-year sales target in, oh, about three months.
That's per Michael Choung, Dispatch's executive producer, who told GI.biz that, pre-release, AdHoc Studio had nurtured a dream "bull case" for the game's sales that it hoped to reach over the game's entire lifetime (which the studio's numbers guys put at three years). "We're on track to do that in three months," said Choung.
>> A shame that he didn’t provided any numbers, tho.

Black Ops 7's launch day Steam player count is significantly lower than last year's Call of Duty, suggesting Arc Raiders and Battlefield 6 ate a hefty portion of its lunch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/black-ops-7s-launch-day-steam-player-count-is-significantly-lower-than-last-years-call-of-duty-suggesting-arc-raiders-and-battlefield-6-ate-a-hefty-portion-of-its-lunch/
It's Call of Duty launch day—the yearly festival in which millions of eager revelers are presented with a fresh crop of maps, weapons, and killstreaks to enjoy as they slide, wallhop, and twitch their way through combat in a pseudonarcotic mania. This year's paramilitary bacchanal, however, seems a more muted celebration: On Steam, Black Ops 7 is drawing Call of Duty's lowest launch day player count since the series made its return to the Valve storefront in 2022.
According to SteamDB, which uses public data from the Steam API, there are 81,000 users playing Call of Duty on Steam at time of writing—well below the player counts of Arc Raiders and Battlefield 6, which are currently drawing around 370,000 and 236,000 simultaneous players, respectively. This does place Call of Duty in the top 10 of most-played games on Steam. But in comparison, when a similar amount of time had passed since Black Ops 6's midnight launch in 2024, Call of Duty was being played by almost 230,000 players on Steam.
In other words, Black Ops 7 is generating roughly one third of the launch day interest on Steam that Call of Duty had mustered last year.
>> Could it finally be the beginning of the end for CoD? Well, with things like the Drone Pod (link), maybe. Also:

Arc Raiders hits a new record after three weeks, scoring 480,000 concurrent players on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-hits-a-new-record-after-three-weeks-scoring-480-000-concurrent-players-on-steam/
Arc Raiders has been on an upward trend over the last few weeks since its launch. Reaching an impressive 100,000 concurrent players in just the first half an hour and then doubling that within a day, it seems like everyone's hooked on raiding.
Three weeks after its launch, Arc Raiders is still not letting up, reaching a new high over the weekend of 481,966 concurrent players on Steam. This follows a gradual but steady increase in players since launch. If you check out the Steam charts, then you'll see that only small dips appear on Mondays after a strong weekend.
>> By the way, don’t repair your medium shields, it’s not worth it (link).

The best artillery-themed party game is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and you can get all the series' best entries for less than five bucks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/the-best-artillery-themed-party-game-is-celebrating-its-30th-anniversary-and-you-can-get-all-the-series-best-entries-for-less-than-five-bucks/
You heard it here first: Mario Party is for scrubs, and Jackbox, well, Jackbox is pretty fun. But Worms is where it's at—the 2D tactics game might have started on the Amiga, but it's long been a multiplayer standard on PC where Team17 has pumped out sequels for three decades as of 2025. It's celebrating the occasion with a series-wide Steam sale where many of its best games can be bought for two or three dollars.

GOG starts the week strong, with quite a few sales/promos:

• Hypetrain Digital Publisher Sale features games with up to 80% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_hypetrain_publisher_sale
• Czech & Slovak Games Week will have games up to 90% off during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_czech_slovak_games_week
• Simulation Promo has up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_simulation_promo
• Surreal and Horror Promo will also have games up to 90% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_surreal_horror_promo
• Anything You Want Promo increases the deals to up to 91% discounts, during the same 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_anything_you_want_promo
• Awesome OSTs Promo has games up to 95% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_awesome_osts_promo
• And the Tactical Promo is like the previous promo, with up to 95% discounts during the same 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20251117_tactical_promo

Steam has these deals and sales/events:

• The Early Access title Cabin Crew Life Simulator, that has a demo, is going to be 35% off until the 23rd of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2959610/Cabin_Crew_Life_Simulator
• The Last Stand: Aftermath gets a 66% discount until the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1266840/The_Last_Stand_Aftermath
• I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream will b 70% off until the same November 23: https://store.steampowered.com/app/245390/I_Have_No_Mouth_and_I_Must_Scream
• Mini Motorways will have a 25% discount until the 30th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1127500/Mini_Motorways
• Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator is going to be 60% off until November, the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1926520/Ambulance_Life_A_Paramedic_Simulator
• And here are the other sales/events, other than the Worms one. Both have launched today, which means that more deals will get added later:
  • VR Games Showcase has several upcoming games and two deals between 20 and 45% off. The former will end on the 24th. And the later by today’s refresh: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45128337/sale/VRGamesShowcaseNovember2025
  • Dreamhack Stockholm 2025 Indie Playground has a few upcoming titles, some with demos, and one game on sale with a 50% discount until the 22nd of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1928540/Horticular_Build_a_Garden_Attract_Wildlife

Humble Bundle presents the Beyond Virtual Realities Bundle, with up to 10 games to get during 18 days : https://www.humblebundle.com/games/beyond-virtual-realities-bundle.

And Fanatical, that has gone back to normal, has these deals:

• The new Star Deal is PEAK, 45% off during 48 hours or until they run out of keys: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/peak
• And the BYO Titanium Collection (Winter 2025) features 16 titles to choose from for your 3+ or 5+ gamer bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-titanium-collection

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

PlayStation 4 Emulator shadPS4 0.12.6 Launches With Big Performance Upgrades
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/playstation-4-emulator-shadps4-0-12-6-launches-with-big-performance-upgrades
The team behind the best PlayStation 4 emulator, shadPS4, has released a new version of it. Version 0.12.6 comes with big performance upgrades, especially in Bloodborne. As such, this is the perfect time to experience this PS4-only game on PC.
YouTube’s ‘ProteinGaming’ has shared a comparison video between V0.12.5 and V0.12.6. As we can see, Bloodborne runs significantly faster in version 0.12.6. In some cases, the performance doubles. Thus, owners of weaker GPUs will now be able to run and enjoy Bloodborne on their PCs.
>> The article has three videos.

One of Elden Ring's best overhaul mods just received a massive update that adds fully functional multiplayer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/one-of-elden-rings-best-overhaul-mods-just-received-a-massive-update-that-adds-fully-functional-multiplayer/
One of the earliest and most ambitious mods for Elden Ring, which revised and remixed its core systems to facilitate more tailored runs through The Lands Between, has just got a huge overhaul.
Elden Ring: Reforged adds a vast array of new features like difficulty modes, runeforging, new combat mechanics like deflection and ducking, new weapons and bosses, and overhauled magic, weight and stamina systems to improve the viability of certain builds. It even introduces unique game modes.
One thing the original version of the mod didn't offer, however, is multiplayer, due to how FromSoftware prohibits modded games from connecting to official servers. But the recently released 2.0 version of Elden Ring: Reforged addresses this, with the team creating a custom server to enable fully functional, FromSoft-style multiplayer.
Update 2.0 introduces pretty much everything you'd expect from playing Elden Ring with other people. Summoning, invasions, and leaving messages for other players. According to Reforged's Nexus Mods page, it also offers "advanced seamless coop support", so playing with pals isn't limited to boss fights.
Reforged makes one other key change to Elden Ring's multiplayer, limiting PvP invasions to dungeon areas. The team has implemented this because it believes dungeon areas offer "more interesting invasion spaces where players may use the environment and enemies to their advantage".
Alongside multiplayer functionality, Update 2.0 also expands several environments. The Roundtable Hold has a new area called The Gilded Court, where players can participate in duels, while a new dungeon has been added beneath Mt Gelmir. Named the Serpentine Depths, it sees players delve into the history of Praetor Rykard.
There's a mountain of smaller additions too, like extra weapons, spirit ashes spells, including three incantations that come from the "Prince of Death" school. It also further complements Elden Ring's moveset with a sliding manoeuvre for additional evasion functionality.
>> The article has an over 2 minutes trailer of the new version of this mod.

Shortly after Concord's resurrection by fans, it looks like Sony might be about to kill it again: 'Due to worrying legal action we’ve decided to pause invites for the time being'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/shortly-after-concords-resurrection-by-fans-it-looks-like-sony-might-be-about-to-kill-it-again-due-to-worrying-legal-action-weve-decided-to-pause-invites-for-the-time-being/
Concord wasn't great, by our account. It was also one of the biggest black holes for development time and money in our medium's history, collapsing into dust a couple weeks after it came out following eight years of buildup. Its few fans brought it back though, despite all odds; but if you were interested in checking the game out as a result, it looks like the party might already be over.
As reported by The Game Post, which also shared the details on the original story about the fan revival, Sony has allegedly started cracking down on gameplay videos of the undead hero shooter. The Game Post article states that multiple videos uploaded by the team behind the revival have received DMCA strikes from MarkScan, a digital asset protection firm that has swung the enforcer bat for Sony in the past.
The article also relays a message from the project devs on Discord: "Due to worrying legal action we’ve decided to pause invites for the time being." It doesn't sound like Sony has come directly for the team or its fan revival at the time of writing, but this indicates it's likely already on the studio's radar and may not be long for this world.

The sequel to one of my favorite 3D platformers always had a janky PC port, but a huge fanmade patch just dropped in hopes to fix it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-sequel-to-one-of-my-favorite-3d-platformers-always-had-a-janky-pc-port-but-a-huge-fanmade-patch-just-dropped-in-hopes-to-fix-it/
American McGee's Alice is simply sensational, what with its weird, janky hybrid of shooter-inspired action and surreal 3D platforming, and though the sequel Madness Returns didn't hit me quite as hard, it's still well worth your time. The problem, for PC gamers at least, is that Madness Returns has a pretty rough port that's only gotten harder to work with since its release in 2011; until now, anyway.
Modder Wemino has undertaken the noble task of brushing up the port themselves, and released the initial build of their custom MadnessPatch Friday. It's remarkably feature-rich for a fanmade patch: not only does it improve textures, force subtitles to scale correctly above 720p, and adjust the camera for ultrawide resolutions, it also addresses crashes, fixes up broken physics at high framerates, and helps the game run in windowed mode without it throwing a fit. In other words, it's hard to imagine going back to an unmodded build.
You might know Wemino from their other excellent patches: EchoPatch for best-in-class horror FPS F.E.A.R. and VorpalFix for the original Alice game, which I used (with great results!) for a recent playthrough. All three are extensive iterations, and this new mod isn't just turning heads among Alice fans; it's caught the eye of series creator American McGee, who expressed his approval on X with a succinct "Wonderful."
>> Sadly, the article doesn’t have any media of this patch.

I don't know how I missed this playable Windows 95-era 3D Maze screensaver, but it's making me feel like I'm tripping out, man
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/windows/i-dont-know-how-i-missed-this-playable-windows-95-era-3d-maze-screensaver-but-its-making-me-feel-like-im-tripping-out-man/
Have you ever come across something so deeply rooted within your childhood memories, it triggers a physical sensation? I have. It's this playable 3D Maze screensaver project, which allows you to fulfil the fantasy of controlling your way through a nightmarish tangle of Windows 95-era digital brick walls. Or my childhood fantasy, anyway. I was a weird kid.
X user x86matthew originally posted their work back in February of this year, but I've just stumbled across it like a suddenly-remembered fever dream. It's the result of a reverse-engineered binary of the original screensaver, too, so it's not like the browser-based recreations you can find on some websites—this is as close as you'll get to the real deal beyond booting up an older machine yourself.
On their GitHub page, x86matthew reveals that the project wasn't particularly difficult, as the core game logic already existed within the original 3D Maze screensaver executable file, which debuted with Windows 95 in, well, 1995. Rather than being controlled by the computer, though, this version allows keyboard inputs via the injection of an extra DLL.
Which means you can control your jaunt around the computing version of a liminal space yourself, which feels like some sort of violation of the space time continuum. As does the inclusion of the occasional rat sprite, which gave me something of an internal jump scare when I first came across one.
>> The article has some screenshots and video.

GAMING NEWS

After Its Disastrous Launch, Cities: Skylines 2 Changes Developers
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-its-disastrous-launch-cities-skylines-2-changes-developers
Colossal Order has announced that it will no longer be working on Cities: Skylines 2. Instead, Iceflake Studios will be handling its post-launch support (and development). Not only that, but Colossal Order has parted ways with Paradox Interactive.
>> I'm not surprised by the change of studios, but Colossal Order leaving Paradox is certainly unnexpected.