The gaming news, part two:
New Kingdom Come trademark filings mention 'online' virtual worlds—but we shouldn't assume Warhorse is making a multiplayer game just yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/new-kingdom-come-trademark-filings-mention-online-virtual-worlds-but-we-shouldnt-assume-warhorse-is-making-a-multiplayer-game-just-yet/
Last month, we covered Warhorse Studios' European trademark filings for Kingdom Come Salvation, which provided an early indication of what title we can expect for the third "Kingdom Come adventure" that Warhorse announced was in the works in May. Beyond the name, the filing featured tantalizing language about "services for matching users with computer games," leading to speculation that the next Kingdom Come could include online functionality.
This week, additional Kingdom Come Salvation trademark filings have emerged in the US (via Phrasemaker), containing expanded language about online services. But while it's tempting to read the trademark classification as a promise that there's jolly medieval Bohemian camaraderie in our future, we checked with a videogame IP expert who said we shouldn't get our hopes up.
Ghost Recon marks 25 years with a major update and free new missions for Wildlands, and a Ghost Recon: Future Soldier giveaway
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/ghost-recon-marks-25-years-with-a-major-update-and-free-new-missions-for-wildlands-and-a-ghost-recon-future-soldier-giveaway/
November 13 will mark the 25th anniversary of Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, but Ubisoft is getting the celebration ball rolling a little early with a major update to Ghost Recon Wildlands featuring major visual and gameplay enhancements, and an all-new mission "set in a darker, more oppressive Bolivia."
(...)
Anyway, with the 25th anniversary more or less upon us, Wildlands is being updated on both PC and current-gen consoles for "smoother combat, improved distance rendering, enhanced lighting and shadows, and a sharper image targeting 4K resolution."
(...)
In any event, this isn't the only Ghost Recon freebie in the pipe. Wildlands and Breakpoint are both free to play for the weekend on Ubisoft Connect, and on sale for 95% off on Steam—that's $2.49 for Wildlands and $3 for Breakpoint, which are both really good deals. You can also snag the classic Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for free until August 13.
>> The article has links to UbiConnect but, because they’re broken in my browser, I haven’t shared them with you.
Devolver Digital wants to get off the stock market, because 'the ongoing challenge of delivering growth in line with market expectations' just isn't worth the headaches
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/devolver-digital-wants-to-get-off-the-stock-market-because-the-ongoing-challenge-of-delivering-growth-in-line-with-market-expectations-just-isnt-worth-the-headaches/
Five years after going public on the London Stock Exchange, indie publisher Devolver Digital wants to go back to being a private company. In a message posted on the company's website, Devolver's board of directors delivered a frank assessment of the company's current state, saying they believe it is undervalued—in large part because of inherent incompatibilities between the videogame industry and the stock market.
>> I hope it goes well for them.
Diablo 4's newest class barely made a splash with Lord of Hatred, but it's shaping up to be king of the next season
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4s-newest-class-barely-made-a-splash-with-lord-of-hatred-but-its-shaping-up-to-be-king-of-the-next-season/
Nobody is particularly surprised anymore when the newest hero or class added to a game ends up being its strongest by far. You can't really be the new flavor of the month without some extra sauce. But sometimes developers don't get the balance right and the new toy gets left on the shelf for other, more exciting options.
This is basically what happened when warlocks debuted in Diablo 4 alongside the release of its Lord of Hatred expansion earlier this year. Despite being a marquee feature of the expansion, warlocks were criminally underpowered compared to the rest of the roster. Other classes–with their newly juiced up skill trees—could smash their way through the game while warlocks were left to limp along in their wake.
(...)
Blizzard will be giving warlocks another chance next season. According to people like creator MacroBioBoi, the fussy skills are fixed and the buffs are huge. On the PTR, warlocks are capable of clearing out the hardest dungeon tier in the game even using severely unoptimized gear. In the current season, this was only really possible by exploiting bugs.
WoW's changing how world bosses work because they've 'really been a little bit lackluster' in recent years, says dev
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wows-changing-how-world-bosses-work-because-theyve-really-been-a-little-bit-lackluster-in-recent-years-says-dev/
World bosses have been a part of the World of Warcraft player's diet since classic—in case you haven't played the game, what separates a world boss from any other raid encounter is the fact that it's (self-explanatorily) out in the world, something you need to party up to defeat without going into a cave somewhere.
That's changing with WoW's next patch, Curse of Ula'tek, as world bosses are shifting to a "lair" format. Essentially, they'll function like one-boss delves with larger groups—that also gives them the benefit of having scaling difficulties, all the way up to 15-25 man Mythic. You can queue up for them like you would any other dungeon.
Please excuse my bad English.
Former gaming PC: i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070
Current gaming PC: R5-7600, 32GB RAM 6000MT/s (CL30) and a RX 9060XT 16GB
Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.







