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

[JEMC]

The Holidays are over and PCGamer has gone back to having a ridiculous amount of news. Here are the more interesting ones, at least to me:

The PvPvE extraction shooter where you build and drive a huge stompy mechanical base across a ruined planet gets a Steam release window
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-pvpve-extraction-shooter-where-you-build-and-drive-a-huge-stompy-mechanical-base-across-a-ruined-planet-gets-a-steam-release-date/
I love the idea of building a huge mechanical mobile base and using it to stomp my way around a post-apocalyptic landscape on giant metal legs. Throw in a PvPvE system where I can battle other players' bases and raid ruined cities for resources, and set the whole thing in an "industrial alternate history of 1910" ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire... yeah, Sand: Raiders of Sophie is ticking a lot of boxes for me.
The open world FPS from Ukrainian developer Hologryph has been on my radar for a while (it was just called Sand until late last year), but I've stupidly managed to miss all of the playtests it's had during development. It won't be much longer until I finally do get to try it out, though: Sand: Raiders of Sophie is stampeding its way onto Steam for a release in March. There's a new trailer to gawp at, too.

It's not the news we wanted but it's what we expected: EA has finally admitted Project Rene is a 'mobile-first' game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/its-not-the-news-we-wanted-but-its-what-we-expected-ea-has-finally-admitted-project-rene-is-a-mobile-first-game/
I'm going to hold your hand when I say this: Project Rene is a mobile game. When EA first teased the next Sims game, we understandably thought the pretty new lighting engine shots it showed off meant we were looking at The Sims 5. After a couple agonizing years of leaks, silence, rumors, and speculation, EA has finally just admitted what we'd all figured out: Project Rene is a "social multiplayer" mobile game.
>> Worry not, because “over half of The Sims development team is working on The Sims 4 and 'the next evolution'” (link)

Competitive demon slaying is about to take over Diablo 4 as its next update finally adds official leaderboards
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/competitive-demon-slaying-is-about-to-take-over-diablo-4-as-its-next-update-finally-adds-official-leaderboards/
It's not enough to slay thousands of monsters simply for the fun of it. What if all that bloodshed was to show off how much better you are at it than the rest of them? After years of asking for it, Diablo 4 players are finally getting leaderboards—and a new mode to go with them—in its next update.

If for some reason you can't get enough of Stranger Things' Vecna, you can now play as him in Dead by Daylight's latest crossover
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/if-for-some-reason-you-cant-get-enough-of-stranger-things-vecna-you-can-now-play-as-him-in-dead-by-daylights-latest-crossover/
I can't pretend to be anything other than relieved that Stranger Things is over. While I enjoyed the first few seasons of its pulpy Spielberg pastiche, it ultimately became far too big for its Nike high tops. But if you still haven't had enough of the gang explaining its preposterously convoluted plans to kill Vecna, you can carry on the adventure via Dead by Daylight, in the latest crossover for Behaviour Interactive's multiplayer slash 'em up.

Valorant's latest update adds a new pistol to spice up early rounds, as Riot plans to take 'a holistic look' at the shooter's arsenal through 2026
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valorants-latest-update-adds-a-new-pistol-to-spice-up-early-rounds-as-riot-plans-to-take-a-holistic-look-at-the-shooters-arsenal-through-2026/
When Valorant launched back in 2020, it was pitched as Counter-Strike with added superpowers, a combination that proved irresistible for shooter expert Morgan Park in PC Gamer's Valorant review. Over the last few years, however, the emphasis has gradually shifted to the point where Valorant has turned into superpowers with added Counter-Strike.
This problem came to a head last year, with Riot promising to cut back on supplementary utility powers to reorient Valorant back around gunplay. This initiative is set to continue through 2026, with Valorant's latest patch introducing a new gun as Riot promises more extensive weapon reworks in the future.

If you've got a spare 200 hours, the massively ambitious sci-fi grand strategy from the creators of X-COM: The Long War just launched out of early access
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/if-youve-got-a-spare-200-hours-the-massively-ambitious-sci-fi-grand-strategy-from-the-creators-of-x-com-the-long-war-just-launched-out-of-early-access/
I have a theory, which is that video games ultimately exist to create the most complex simulation of defending Earth against alien threats possible, so that in the event aliens really do invade Earth, there will be people who know exactly how to respond. Is this theory plausible? Unlikely. Have I just made it up right now? Maybe. Is it a fun way to introduce the most complex variant of such simulations yet created? Hopefully!
Terra Invicta, if you're not already aware, is a blend of X-COM and grand strategy games like Crusader Kings 3. Developed by the creators of X-COM: The Long War, Terra Invicta asks "What if that war was even longer?". It's a dazzlingly complex geopolitical simulation that starts with real world conditions, demanding that you prepare Earth for alien invasion while contending with the full force of regular Earth politics. To succeed, you need to sufficiently align Earth with your chosen goal before the aliens arrive in force, whether that's resisting the Xenos, exterminating them, submitting to them, or escaping them by evacuating Earth.
And when I say real-world conditions, I mean it. The 1.0 update's chief addition is a 2026 start condition, which reflects events like the ongoing war in Ukraine. It also adds text localisation for five new languages, namely Czech, Italian, Korean, Russian and Ukrainian.

Manor Lords' dev is experimenting with a new trading system that allows for 'deliberate economic strategies', including establishing monopolies on resources
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/manor-lords-dev-is-experimenting-with-a-new-trading-system-that-allows-for-deliberate-economic-strategies-including-establishing-monopolies-on-resources/
Medieval city-builder Manor Lords had a quiet 2025, as its developer adjusted to the game's enormous success following its release into Steam early access in 2024. Things picked up speed toward the end of the year, however, with a major patch arriving in December that introduced a rework to core systems and an overhaul to castle construction.
It seems Slavic Magic and publisher Hooded Horse are keen to maintain that momentum in 2026. In a Steam update, Hooded Horse's CEO Tim Bender provided a detailed rundown of what's coming to the management sim this year.

The Witcher 3's former lead quest designer says 'of course' there is romance in upcoming vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker: 'You can expect to build relationships with characters'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-witcher-3s-former-lead-quest-designer-says-of-course-there-is-romance-in-upcoming-vampire-rpg-the-blood-of-dawnwalker-you-can-expect-to-build-relationships-with-characters/
The Witcher 3 may notionally be about helping Ciri defeat The Wild Hunt, but real heads know CD Projekt's RPG is really about mending Geralt's fractured relationship with Yennefer with the help of a stuffed unicorn. Navigating the love triangle between Geralt, Triss and Yen was a big part of CDP's 2015' masterpiece, so naturally fans are curious about what role, if any, romance will play in The Blood of Dawnwalker, the new game from The Witcher 3's director and lead quest designer, the brothers Konrad and Mateusz Tomaskiewicz
Indeed, this question was posed directly to Rebel Wolves creative director Mateusz Tomaskiewicz this week. In an interview during the New Game + Expo, Tomaskiewicz was asked by streamer Luality if romance will feature in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Hytale launch times and release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/hytale-launch-time-release-date/
After seven years of waiting, the Hytale launch times and release date are almost here, a moment that wasn't quite so certain only a few months ago. For those unaware, development began in 2015 with funding from Riot Games, who would go on to acquire the team in 2020, only to pull the plug in June 2025, then be revived by its original founder in November.
Even after all this time, it's safe to say that there are a lot of people eager to check out what this crack team of Minecraft modders has been up to. Below I'll go over the Hytale launch times in your region so you know if you need to book the day off work or call in sick.
>> Two moere things: one of the devs has shown that you can even make a side-scroller with its creative tools (link) and they’ve secured funding for the next 2 years of development (link).

Arc Raiders is finally dishing out bans for cheaters, but some players think the punishment is too lenient: 'Anyone with cheats active just gets non-stop arc spawning on them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-is-finally-dishing-out-bans-for-cheaters-but-some-players-think-the-punishment-is-too-lenient-anyone-with-cheats-active-just-gets-non-stop-arc-spawning-on-them/
The day of reckoning has arrived. Those who have been cheating in Arc Raiders (or at least some of them) have been handed down their sentence: a 30-day ban. Embark promised last week that it would begin dealing with cheaters, and now the "significant changes" to the detection and ban systems have arrived.