Wednesday news, part two:

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time to 'add more endings to the game' along with some extra polish
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-has-been-delayed-again-this-time-to-add-more-endings-to-the-game-along-with-some-extra-polish/
The long-running saga of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2's development is going to continue for a while longer, it turns out. The unlucky RPG was expected out this year—after several delays, being temporarily shelved and getting a new developer—but The Chinese Room and Paradox have decided to push the release date back until 2025. 

MudRunner follow-up RoadCraft is all about natural disasters, heavy machinery and, yes, more mud
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/mudrunner-follow-up-roadcraft-is-all-about-natural-disasters-heavy-machinery-and-yes-more-mud/
Off-roading sims MudRunner and SnowRunner are poised to get a new sibling in the form of RoadCraft next year, which will once again see you veering off into unfriendly, slippery, boggy terrain with big vehicles. This time, it's to aid in the reconstruction efforts of areas devastated by natural disasters like floods and sandstorms—and that means it's time to play with some heavy machinery. 

'The greatest simulation game known to man and goat returns': Goat Simulator is back, and the first stop is Cash Grab Penitentiary
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/the-greatest-simulation-game-known-to-man-and-goat-returns-goat-simulator-is-back-and-the-first-stop-is-cash-grab-penitentiary/
A new Goat Simulator game is on the way and this time it's a remaster that'll be releasing later this year. We got to see this announcement along with a trailer during Gamescom's Opening Night Live. 
"The greatest simulation game known to man and goat returns with familiar caprine chaos, upgraded graphics and lighting, many intentional features that definitely aren't bugs, and fan-favourite DLC, all in one package," Coffee Stain Publishing says in a press release.

Embark's next shooter is ditching free-to-play so devs can 'focus more on the fun' and not 'encouraging players to make purchases'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/embarks-next-shooter-is-ditching-free-to-play-so-devs-can-focus-more-on-the-fun-and-not-encouraging-players-to-make-purchases/
Arc Raiders is finally coming out of the shadows. First announced back in 2021 as a free-to-play co-op shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by dangerous robots, Arc Raiders is the second game from Embark Studios, the Nexon-backed house of ex-DICE devs that also makes The Finals. Arc Raiders was developed in parallel with The Finals, and was once meant to be Embark's debut game, but was delayed as priorities shifted to the free-to-play shooter. We didn't hear anything else about Arc Raiders for a long time, until Embark shared last year that the project had pivoted from a purely PvE co-op shooter to a PvPvE extraction shooter.
Today, Embark reintroduced Arc Raiders to the public at the Gamescom Opening Night Live show, and dropped another major update: Arc Raiders is no longer free-to-play, and will instead have a regular price tag.

Thanks to Tarsier Studios' new horror game Reanimal, I'll never look at a sheep in the same way again
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/thanks-to-tarsier-studios-new-horror-game-reanimal-ill-never-look-at-a-sheep-in-the-same-way-again/
Tarsier Studios has announced Reanimal, a co-op adventure horror game that may instill fear in even the biggest of animal lovers—but I might just be projecting. With a spooky trailer shown off at Gamescom Opening Night Live, I guarantee anyone who loved Little Nightmares & Little Nightmares 2 will be excited for what the game has to offer. 

We got another look at the rock-em-sock-em robots of multiplayer mech game Mecha Break at this year's Gamescom Opening Night Live
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/we-got-another-look-at-the-rock-em-sock-em-robots-of-multiplayer-mech-game-mecha-break-at-this-years-gamescom-opening-night-live/
I'm calling it: 2024 is the year of the mech. We've got Helldivers mechs, farming mechs, and we just got a fresh look at Mecha Break at Gamescom Opening Night Live, showing off the mech-combat action that we first laid eyes on at last year's Game Awards.

Starfield expansion Shattered Space is out September 30, but you can drive its new moon buggy today
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/starfield-expansion-shattered-space-is-out-september-30-but-you-can-drive-its-new-moon-buggy-today/
Bethesda popped up at Gamescom Opening Night Live to reveal that the Rev-8, a vehicle for traversing Starfield's giant planets in bumpy style, is "available tonight" for free. I gotta say I'm getting big Mass Effect Mako vibes from this thing, but in a charming way—it looks bouncy, seemingly has the ability to hover to help you clear large gaps, and yeah, of course it's got a gun on it.

I didn't realize how much I wanted to shepherd a pack of big hairy beasts through the mountains until I saw the trailer for Herdling
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/i-didnt-realize-how-much-i-wanted-to-shepherd-a-pack-of-big-hairy-beasts-through-the-mountains-until-i-saw-the-trailer-for-herdling/
I think the last time I herded a bunch of animals it was for a side-quest in one of the Red Dead Redemption games, and I'm pretty sure I didn't like it. It felt like a slow, irritating chore, dealing with a bunch of dumb, slow animals who took every opportunity to break from the pack and make the job I didn't want to be doing even harder.
But what if they made a whole game out of the herding? And what if the developer was Okomotive, maker of Far: Lone Sails and Far: Changing Tides? And what if the trailer was drop-dead gorgeous? Take a look and tell me you don't want to drive a herd of... of... well, whatever those big monsters are, across a big and mysterious world.

Infinity Nikki looks like a fever dream of open world dress-up and I can't wait to come down with a case of it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/i-cant-wait-to-come-down-with-whatever-fever-dream-of-open-world-dress-up-infinity-nikki-is-going-to-be/
I've heard of riding outfits and hunting costumes and other such purpose-specific wardrobes of history. But the Victorians have nothing on Infinity Nikki, the open world dress-up adventure game where you'll unlock a floating outfit, gliding outfit (apparently not the same thing), shrinking outfit, fishing outfits, and more. Nikki showed up at Gamescom Opening Night Live today with a new trailer and also just opened registration for its closed beta.

Marvel Rivals reveals December release date, Captain America and the Winter Soldier join the team
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-reveals-december-launch-date-captain-america-and-the-winter-soldier-join-the-team/
The team-based hero shooter Marvel Rivals dropped a new trailer at Gamescom's Opening Night Live showcase tonight, revealing two new playable heroes and, more importantly, a release date of December 6.

The third, and last, part of today’s news:

He's baaack: Peter Molyneux announces new god game Masters of Albion, and honestly it looks really good
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/masters-of-albion-peter-molyneux-game-announcement/
Game designer Peter Molyneux is known for classic series Black & White (a personal fav), Dungeon Keeper, and Fable, but in the 2000s and 2010s, he also became known for making ambitious promises he couldn't keep, becoming the quintessential 'game dev who talks to much.' (...)
Surprise! He's not done yet: Molyneux appeared on stage with Geoff Keighley at Gamescom Opening Night Live today to announce a new PC and console game, and I feel like I've been transported back to the early 2000s, because, folks, I think it looks pretty darn good. What can I say? The guy makes a great pitch.
>> Even with Fable he overpromised. But anyway, do we follow the same hype path as before or have we learned something?

Monster Hunter Wilds reveals a horrifying spider and an electric apex predator in its Gamescom trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/monster-hunter-wilds-reveals-a-horrifying-spider-and-an-electric-apex-predator-in-its-gamescom-trailer/
Today at Gamescom's Opening Night Live, Capcom brought a new trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds, showing off new monsters, the latest hub area, and the return of well-done steaks.

Stellar Blade studio says a PC version is coming 'in the near future'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/stellar-blade-studio-says-a-pc-version-is-coming-in-the-near-future/
Korean developer Shift Up has now seemingly confirmed that Stellar Blade is coming to PC, saying in its most recent financial report that a PC release is expected soon.

'We won't see another game reach these heights until probably GTA 6': Palworld community manager congratulates Black Myth: Wukong for its continued success
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-wont-see-another-game-reach-these-heights-until-probably-gta-6-palworld-community-manager-congratulates-black-myth-wukong-for-its-continued-success/
Black Myth: Wukong has achieved considerable success since its release. In less than a day, it smashed Palworld's and Counter-Strike 2's concurrent players' records to become the second most-played Steam game ever. And despite leaving Palworld in the dust, the game's community manager doesn't seem to mind at all. 
"I hope Wukong breaks 4mil," Palworld's community manager John "Bucky" Buckley says. "We won't see another game reach these heights until probably GTA 6." As of writing, there are 1.5 million players in Black Myth: Wukong, and it currently has a 24-hour and overall peak of 2.2 million, about 100,000 more than Palworld. There's been a ton of comparison between the two games because of how close they are in peak player count. 

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford predicted that the Epic Games Store would kill off Steam 5 years ago, now the internet is mocking him as Borderlands 4 comes crawling back
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/gearbox-boss-randy-pitchford-predicted-that-the-epic-games-store-would-kill-off-steam-5-years-ago-now-the-internet-is-mocking-him-as-borderlands-4-comes-crawling-back/
Honestly? You'd almost feel bad for Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford. Not only has he been posting through it after the Borderlands movie crashed and burnt, now he's got everyone making fun of him for an ill-judged prediction he made five years ago: That the Epic Games Store's resources and willingness to invest them could have Steam looking like a "dying store" by now.
And then, well, Borderlands came crawlin' back to Steam. Five years after Borderlands 3 was announced as an (initial) Epic Games Store exclusive, Borderlands 4 made its debut announcement at last night's Gamescom Opening Night Live event. It's coming to Epic, sure, but it's no exclusive this time. You'll be able to pick the game up on day one on Steam if that's your store of choice.
>> Crow. Crow. Where’s the crow? C’mon guys, don’t hide it. He has a lot to eat and I’m sure he’s hungry.

Blizzard is bringing mercenaries back with Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred and one of them is a literal demon
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/blizzard-is-bringing-mercenaries-back-with-diablo-4-vessel-of-hatred-and-one-of-them-is-a-literal-demon/
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred will continue a Diablo tradition of letting you recruit a team of mercenaries to help you slash through hell. A shieldbearer, scoundrel, berserker, and a literal demon are teased in the latest trailer that debuted during the Gamescom Opening Night Live stream.

Blizzard will inject a little WoW into Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred with a new co-op dungeon and party finder
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/blizzard-will-inject-a-little-wow-into-diablo-4-vessel-of-hatred-with-a-new-co-op-dungeon-and-party-finder/
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is starting to look a lot like a budding MMO—or something closer to Destiny 2 at least—with the Dark Citadel, an endgame four-player co-op dungeon with weekly rewards.
Announced during an Xbox stream at Gamescom, the Dark Citadel is a multi-part dungeon with obstacles that require at least two players to clear. In the developer insights video, we saw characters opening doors for each other and taking turns reflecting attacks back at a boss. And just like in World of Warcraft, you'll be able to mark enemies with symbols to coordinate with your team.

A version of FF14's engine, which branched off very early from Luminous Engine to attend that game's demands. Makes sense considering that's what the developers would be familiar with.

That's kinda nuts how a fork in their engine can handle XVI like that. Makes me wonder if they'll even bother fine tuning it since it's a branched version and not the main one (maybe they could pass refinements made to the main engine to the branch).

AMD Ryzen 9000X3D 3D V-Cache CPUs Teased By ASUS

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-9000x3d-3d-v-cache-cpus-teased-by-asus/

Intel Core Ultra 200K series and Z890 motherboards rumored to launch on October 17th

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-ultra-200k-series-and-z890-motherboards-rumored-to-launch-on-october-17th

NVIDIA G-Sync monitors using MediaTek’s new chipset will not require dedicated modules

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-g-sync-monitors-using-mediateks-new-chipset-will-not-require-dedicated-modules

NVIDIA ACE and Digital Human Tech confirmed for the first game: Mecha BREAK

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-ace-and-digital-human-tech-confirmed-for-the-first-game-mecha-break

Stellar Blade to PC would be most welcomed. The game looks super fun.

Picard/Riker/Worf triple facepalm on this one.

I don't speak a word of Italian (well, few phrases here and there), but the only way I want to play Mafia set in Sicily is in Italian.

Hopefully, they do it justice in other areas, though I'm somewhat skeptical, since the same team that made Mafia 3 is making this one as well.

Well, he showed off everything in the game he was talking about (in a very lazy, sleepy monotone manner I might add), so doesn't look like he can overpromise that much unless they cut things from the game.

That may also be the reason why he was talking in such a sleepy monotone manner, though...

Apparently the game will have full voice acting in Sicilian, but not Italian.

Oh, honestly, then I'm good - it would be quite weird for me to play it in English, just like Tsushima if not played in Japanese.