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

[JEMC]

Wednesday gaming news, part two, with all the remaning news split into two groups:

Arc Raiders' Cold Snap event is over, which means I have my sights set on the next possible event: a toxic swamp and maybe even a volcanic eruption
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-cold-snap-event-is-over-which-means-i-have-my-sights-set-on-the-next-possible-event-a-toxic-swamp-and-maybe-even-a-volcanic-eruption/
The cold is no more, at least in Arc Raiders—it's rainy and cold as all hell here. The frost melting means that Arc Raiders' first major community event, the Cold Snap, has finally come to a close as the latest patch notes come into effect.
>> If you thought this was the only article about Arc Raiders or Embark, you were wrong: the game’s aim assist gets stronger at high frame rates (link); users aren’t happy about a cheater streamer getting unbanned (link); and players have found a way to get an achievement in an easier way (link)

EA delays Battlefield 6's next season a month to 'further polish and refine Season 2,' and the only words I want to hear next are 'bigger maps'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ea-delays-battlefield-6s-next-season-a-month-to-further-polish-and-refine-season-2-and-the-only-words-i-want-to-hear-next-are-bigger-maps/
EA is delaying Battlefield 6 Season 2 by a month, and its reasons for doing so are unnecessarily vague.
"During our ongoing development, we've continued to review community feedback and, in order to keep our promise, determined that our best path forward is to extend Season 1 and give ourselves extra time to further polish and refine Season 2," reads a Battlefield Studios blog post published today.

It's January 13 and Ubisoft just announced its second round of layoffs for 2026, at Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/its-january-13-and-ubisoft-just-announced-its-second-round-of-layoffs-for-2026-at-massive-entertainment-and-ubisoft-stockholm/
A "voluntary career transition program" at Ubisoft's Massive studio announced in October 2025 apparently wasn't enough to get the job done, and so now Ubisoft is going back to the old-fashioned way of doing things by simply laying people off.
"Earlier today, we informed all employees in our Swedish studios (Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm) about a proposed organizational restructure that may affect approximately 55 roles across Malmö and Stockholm," Ubisoft told IGN.

ARG developer finds out his email hint system doesn't work anymore because young people don't know how to use email
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/arg-developer-finds-out-his-email-hint-system-doesnt-work-anymore-because-young-people-dont-know-how-to-use-email/
After Hours is an Augmented Reality Game, which means its puzzles have to be solved with information from outside the game—mostly from your web browser. One puzzle apparently involves combining Brownsville, New York's zip code with a phone number to find an ISBN code, which leads to a book you need to look at the back cover of on Amazon, all so you can find a password hidden there.
It's pretty tricky stuff. Fortunately, there's a hint system. Unfortunately, that hint system also exists outside the game. If you're stuck in After Hours you're supposed to send an email to Sarah, who is actually an automated Gmail address that will check your message for keywords and then reply with relevant hints.
At least, that's how it should work. As developer Petter Malmehed explained on the gamedev subreddit, a system that worked fine when the game was released has started failing thanks to younger players. "Turns out people don't know how to write emails anymore. The whole message is sent in the subject box, leaving the actual email empty. Because of that, no keywords were found, and no hint message from Sarah was sent out."

Former Bethesda lead says The Elder Scrolls 6 got announced so early because the studio had to make sure 'people were not just pissed at us' for revealing Starfield instead
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/former-bethesda-lead-says-the-elder-scrolls-6-got-announced-so-early-because-the-studio-had-to-make-sure-people-were-not-just-pissed-at-us-for-revealing-starfield-instead/

GOG's new owner can't stand Windows either: 'It's such poor-quality software… I can't believe it!'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/windows/gogs-new-owner-cant-stand-windows-either-its-such-poor-quality-software-i-cant-believe-it/

Judge denies interim pay for fired Rockstar employees, but the decision 'does nothing to suggest that Rockstar will not be found guilty of unfair dismissal when the case goes to trial,' union says
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/judge-denies-interim-pay-for-fired-rockstar-employees-but-the-decision-does-nothing-to-suggest-that-rockstar-will-not-be-found-guilty-of-unfair-dismissal-when-the-case-goes-to-trial-union-says/

Larry Hryb, better known as Xbox hype man Major Nelson, has been laid off from Unity less than 2 years after joining the company
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/larry-hryb-better-known-as-xbox-hype-man-major-nelson-has-been-laid-off-from-unity-less-than-2-years-after-joining-the-company/

Hytale surges to the most-watched game on Twitch, attracting over 420,000 viewers with its long-awaited launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/hytale-surges-to-the-most-watched-game-on-twitch-attracting-over-420-000-viewers-with-its-long-awaited-launch/

Meta is closing 3 VR studios and laying off roughly 10% of Reality Labs as it shifts focus from the metaverse to AI wearables, its next sure-fire, can't-miss idea
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/meta-is-closing-3-vr-studios-and-laying-off-roughly-10-percent-of-reality-labs-as-it-shifts-focus-from-the-metaverse-to-ai-wearables-its-next-sure-fire-cant-miss-idea/

Stellar Blade's director says AI can see 'one person can perform the work of 100 people' but that won't wind up in job losses, somehow
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/stellar-blades-director-says-ai-can-see-one-person-can-perform-the-work-of-100-people-but-that-wont-wind-up-in-job-losses-somehow/