[Colleagues pay tribute to Metro Exodus animator who died fighting for Ukraine]

Andrii Korzinkin, an animator who worked on Metro Exodus at Ukrainian studio 4A Games, was reportedly killed during a "combat mission" against Russian forces invading the country. News of Korzinkin's death was shared on Twitter by Remedy gameplay designer Leonid Stepanov, who previously worked with Korzinkin at 4A Games.

"Andrii 'Nizrok' Korzinkin (@korzinkin_3d) died while performing a combat mission in the struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," Stepanov tweeted. "A talented animator, incredible person and real hero. Rest in peace, friend. We all miss you."

Andrii "Nizrok" Korzinkin (@korzinkin_3d) died while performing a combat mission in the struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. A talented animator, incredible person and real hero. Rest in peace, friend. We all miss you. https://t.co/2OC83CMdfUOctober 2, 2022

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Stepanov told PC Gamer that he befriended Korzinkin after joining 4A Games, where Korzinkin "was responsible for a lot of the animation of various characters and cutscenes."

"We got to know each other better while working on common tasks," Stepanov said. "I was immediately struck by his kind nature and desire to always help. This trait of his was noticed by many other colleagues too. And of course his technical skills were stunning."

Korzinkin was passionate about both developing and playing games, Stepanov said, and was inspired by the work of God of War creative director Cory Barlog. "[Barlog] was an animator at the beginning of his professional journey too," Stepanov said. "That's why Andrii was studying other components of development in order to be able to do as much as possible on the way to his own project."

Stepanov said he first became aware of Korzinkin's death through a LinkedIin post made by a mutual friend. Later, another friend of Korzinkin also tweeted about attending the funeral.

"My first reaction was denial. That this is impossible, that this could not happen to Andrii," he said. "And even later, when I was doing reposts of this terrible news myself, I hoped that it would all turn out to be a mistake. But then information about this was confirmed from other people. It was very painful. Now it remains only to keep wonderful memories of Andrii, pass them to other people and do everything so that his death is not in vain."

Other current and former developers at 4A Games also paid tribute to Korzinkin on social media.

"My friend, talented animator and great and humble person korzinkin_3d performing combat mission heroically died defending Ukraine," tweeted animator Serhii Krystiev, who worked with Korzinkin on Metro Exodus. "I don't have any words to describe this loss. He was a person who I always wanted to be alike as a professional. Rest in peace my friend."

"Good person, good artist, good coworker," former 4A employee Denys Mischchenko said. "So many good moments in memory from Metro Exodus production. So sad, no words. Rest in peace, bro."

Andrii - was only one animator in the world pashioned enough to animate nunchucks. We will never forget you pic.twitter.com/3c5TzK9QpMOctober 3, 2022

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"Andrii was an awesome human being, very responsive and supportive, always ready to help, incredibly responsible and dedicated person," Metro Exodus lead technical designer Vitalii Keda wrote in a LinkedIn post. "I've known him since our work together at 4A Games on Metro Exodus and he always stood out with his dry humor and strive for excellence. His positive attitude has always got me fueled up to keep going and instilled not to hesitate to face difficulties both professionally and personally. You will be missed, dear friend. Rest in peace."

Andrii Krasavin, a senior game designer on Metro Exodus, said he knew Korzinkin more professionally than personally, but described him as "ready to stand on duty" in the face of the Russian invasion. "He's from Mariupol and this terror touched his family a lot," Krasavin told PC Gamer via DM.

4A Games, which relocated its headquarters to Malta in 2014 following the first Russian invasion of Ukraine (it maintains a studio in Kyiv), has not commented on Korzinkin's death. The studio has been outspoken about Ukrainian independence, however: It joined other studios in decrying the second Russian invasion and calling for support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine earlier this year, and on Ukraine's Independence Day on August 24, it called on Ukranians to "stand strong and courageous" in the "fight for independence."

Korzinkin isn't the only 4A Games employee to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Stepanov said he knew "eight people for sure" from the studio who are now serving in the military, a number Krasavin confirmed.

"We have some more guys on the frontline from the first days [of the invasion]," Krasavin said. "First, some of them joined territorial defense, and after some time they got transferred to the battlefield. The rest were training and studying the military before the start to be prepared, because in the last peaceful months we all already knew that it’s gonna happen."

(Image credit: Serhii Krystiev (Twitter))

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[Elon Musk is buying Twitter again, for real this time]

In April, Elon Musk announced that he was buying Twitter for $54.20 per share, a cash transaction that was going to end up costing him roughly $44 billion in total. Before long, however, buyer's remorse set in. He tried to get out of the deal, Twitter tried to keep him in, and after months of legal wrangling (and, presumably, millions more spent on lawyers), Musk is once again planning to buy Twitter for—wait for it—$54.20 per share.

Twitter confirmed the resurrected deal, saying that it "received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC" and that it plans to "close the transaction at $54.20 per share."

Twitter issued this statement about today's news: We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.October 4, 2022

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The filing, available here, states that Musk "intends to proceed to closing of the transaction contemplated by the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein and pending receipt of the proceeds of the debt financing contemplated thereby." The only condition is that the courts immediately stay and adjourn the lawsuit between Musk and Twitter.

Musk's legal representatives sent a similar letter to Twitter on October 3, noting the same conditions and stating that the offer comes "without admission of liability and without waiver or prejudice to any of their rights" if the lawsuit with Twitter isn't stayed or Twitter, for whatever reason, refuses to agree to the resumption of the deal.

Musk hasn't tweeted about his reasons for reversing his reversal, but a Bloomberg report states that his lawsuit against Twitter has not been going well, and that it appeared likely he would be compelled to finish the deal he agreed to earlier this year. Others noted that the discovery phase was not painting an overly flattering portrait of Musk either, and that the embarrassment had the potential to grow even worse if the case dragged on. Recently, private texts between Musk and public figures such as Joe Rogan were made public as part of the process. The trial was set to begin on October 17.

Elon Musk got embarrassed on Twitter yesterday by a lot of the Western world, and continuing this lawsuit would've meant releasing more private texts.There's always a desire to over-intellectualize the decision-making of the richest guy in the world, but don't over think this.October 4, 2022

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Regardless of his reasons, it now seems all but certain that Twitter will end up in Musk's hands at some point in the relatively near future. What happens after that is anyone's guess, but Twitter's share price spiked immediately following the news, from $42.95 at 12 pm ET to $52 at 4:05 pm. Twitter's share price had previously dropped as low as $32, well below Musk's agreed purchase price.

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[Two Witcher spin-off games are on the way as well as the new trilogy]

CD Projekt Red is a busy bunny indeed. The studio has presented a Marvel-esque roadmap for its future game releases, and there are a ton of them on the way. We now know that there is going to be a full Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, a new trilogy of Witcher games, but that isn't all. CD Projekt also announced two more games inspired by the Witcher, but which will not be part of the current Geralt storyline. 

The games, codenamed Canis Majoris and Sirius, are being developed by studios outside of the main CD Projekt Red team. Sirius is going to be developed by Molasses Flood, a studio acquired by CD Projekt, and will be set in The Witcher universe. The tweet announcing Sirius says, "It will differ from our past productions, offering multiplayer gameplay on top of a single-player experience including a campaign with quests and a story."

Canis Majoris sounds like it's more in line with the RPGs CD Projekt Red has previously set in The Witcher universe. The Twitter description calls it "a full-fledged Witcher game, separate to the new Witcher saga starting with Polaris" that "will be developed by an external studio headed by experienced developers who have worked on past Witcher games."

Sirius is a codename for the game developed by @molassesflood, set in The Witcher universe and created with support from CDPR. It will differ from our past productions, offering multiplayer gameplay on top of a single-player experience including a campaign with quests and a story pic.twitter.com/aoX7wlIfROOctober 4, 2022

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And that's all we currently have on those projects. Though it sounds like the new trilogy of Witcher games is at least connected to the events of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in some way, Canis Majoris could be set in an entirely different time period or even be the story of other Witchers entirely. The story of Geralt is just a small sampling of the things Witchers have gotten up to in the history of that world. By the time we meet him in The Witcher 3, there are very few Witchers left. 

It might be time to go back to before the decline of the Witchers and see what the world was like when they were just becoming a regular part of the continent's society. Being among the first Witchers would be just as interesting as being among the last. 

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[WTF: Why do these World Cup security uniforms look exactly like Hitman DLC?]

The football world governing body, FIFA, is an organisation infamous for dodgy dealings, with allegations of corruption, bribery and vote-rigging never far from its gilt-edged (but high security) doors. We are in fact about to witness the outcome of one especially disputed decision: the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

I'll return to those issues around Qatar shortly, but first, the reason we are here. For reasons best known to itself, the modestly named Supreme Committee responsible for administering the world cup has released images of what the security staff at and around venues will be wearing. Like it's fashion or something. Adam Hurrey, a reporter for the Athletic, noted drily that this may be the first time World Cup organisers have "dropped" these kits in such a fashion.

Surely the first ever World Cup where the organisers have "dropped" the security uniforms like home, away and third kits pic.twitter.com/eIhguYHmZjOctober 4, 2022

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 Hold on, what's that in the first image. Computer: enhance! 

(Image credit: Qtara's Supreme Committee.)

I apologise for the grainy image, but Agent 47's always hard to get a clear shot of. As one wag noted, this looks like "Hitman hiding in plain sight." Yes, a World Cup already tainted by the host's human rights record will now apparently feature what looks like cosplay of a cold-blooded assassin among its event security staff.

It is almost impossible to believe someone didn't notice this: the red tie in particular feels especially like deliberate homage. I don't really know what else to say about this other than it's bizarre.

Controversy has surrounded the Qatar World Cup ever since it was first awarded amid allegations of corruption, which first surfaced in 2011 before a FIFA internal investigation found, naturally, that neither FIFA nor Qatar had done anything wrong. Independent investigations remain ongoing, but the event is going ahead regardless. More concerning than bribes is the fact that Qatar used what Amnesty International refers to as "forced labour" to build its stadiums for the events, with the Guardian leading the way in reporting on the dangerous and inhumane conditions these workers endure.

There's a stench around this World Cup, with many calling for protest against it: Denmark's national team will wear a kit intended as a symbolic rebuke of Qatar's human rights record; while cities such as Paris have said that this World Cup will not be shown in public squares as the tournament usually would be. Putting a fictional cold-blooded killer's outfit in its security uniform design is either one heck of a coincidence, or some unknown soul's own personal protest at what's about to happen. Good job 47. 

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[How to unlock Overwatch 2 heroes]

Overwatch 2's approach to new hero releases is much different than the original game. In the first Overwatch, heroes were free forever and immediately available. In Overwatch 2, you have to earn them.

The information out there on how Overwatch 2 hero unlocks will work after the first season is a little incomplete at the moment, but for the three new heroes at launch, it's pretty clear how to get them. If you want to unlock Sojourn and Junker Queen, you don't have to do much for season 1, but new support hero Kiriko has some caveats.

Overwatch 2: How to unlock Sojourn and Junker Queen 

Sojourn is a damage hero that zips around the map with a railgun and Junker Queen is a tank that cleaves through enemies with a massive axe.

To get both heroes for free, non-Overwatch 1 owners have to log into the game before season 2 and Overwatch owners have to log into the game before season 3.

The unlock process gets complicated once season 1 ends on December 5 though. It all depends on if you owned the original game or not.

If you didn't own Overwatch 1, you will only get Sojourn and Junker Queen for free until the end of season 1, which, again, will be on Dec 5.

If you owned Overwatch 1 before June 23, you get an extra season to log in and get the two heroes for free. As long as you get into the game before the end of season 2 in February 2023, you'll be able to redeem the Founder's Pack for them. After that, you're out of luck.

After both periods end, the respective players will have to get Sojourn and Junker Queen through the in-game shop with Overwatch Coins or earn them through hero challenges. Blizzard hasn't specified how many Overwatch Coins they'll be, but I suspect it'll be close to 1,000, or $10 each. The hero challenge unlock path, however is still unknown. Blizzard said the challenges will be "unique" but nothing else.

(Image credit: Tyler C. / Activision Blizzard)

Overwatch 2: How to unlock Kiriko 

Kiriko, the new support hero that can climb walls, throw powerful kunai, and summon a fox spirit to empower her allies, is the first character that's locked behind Overwatch 2's battle pass.

For anyone that owned Overwatch 1 before June 23, you'll get Kiriko for free as part of the Founder's Pack if you log into the game by the end of season 2 in February 2023.

For everyone else, Kiriko will be instantly unlocked if you pay 1,000 Overwatch Coins, or $10, to buy the premium battle pass (you can buy the $40 Watchpoint Pack too). If you opt for the free battle pass, you'll have to play matches and complete daily and weekly challenges. Kiriko is located on tier 55, and in my experience, this should take you a few weeks to complete if you're diligent about finishing your challenges and play in a group for the 20% XP bonus.

In season 2, Kiriko will be available in the in-game store for an unannounced price (probably around 1,000 Overwatch Coins or $10), and she'll also be available as a "unique" hero challenge, according to Blizzard. But as with Sojourn and Junker Queen, it's not clear exactly what that means.

(Image credit: Tyler C. / Activision Blizzard)

Overwatch 2: How to unlock Overwatch 1 heroes 

If you never owned Overwatch 1 and are playing Overwatch 2 on a new account, you'll also have to unlock most of the original game's heroes via the First Time User Experience. New accounts start with a handful of heroes in each of the three roles, but the rest require a bit of a grind.

To get them, it's a simple but long process: you need to complete a maximum of 150 unranked games. The actual number of matches will be fewer than 150 because wins count as two completed games, so expect to play around 100 to fill out the roster.

Blizzard doesn't offer another way to unlock the heroes either through the battle pass or Overwatch Coins. If you want the heroes, you'll have to simply play a lot of the game.

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[If you're stuck in the Overwatch 2 queue, you're not alone]

Overwatch 2 servers started going online a little earlier than the expected 12 pm PDT launch time, but if you're having trouble logging in, you're not alone.

If you pre-loaded Overwatch 2 and downloaded a small update today, you can hit the play button and try to get in. I've watched livestreamers on Twitch successfully reach the menus and queue for Quick Play, but there's quite a few who haven't, including me.

There's thousands of people in queue—I've seen the number climb to 40,000 (yes, really)—and the login page is spitting out messages like "unexpected error" that sends you to the back of the line or "lost connection to game server."

There isn't currently a fix for this error. The Blizzard customer support Twitter account hasn't mentioned it yet either. This seems likely a result of the servers going live early and having trouble with how many people are trying to get in. All you can do right now it keep trying to get in or wait patiently for the proper launch time.

We'll update this story as this issue persists.

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[CD Projekt is also working on something brand new that it 'created from scratch']

It's been a very big day for CD Projekt, which announced that a full sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and a whole new Witcher trilogy are happening. But that's apparently not enough to keep the studio's hands full, because there's also something entirely new happening called Hadar.

"Hadar is a codename for a third, entirely distinct IP, created from scratch within CDPR," CD Projekt Red tweeted. "The project is in the earliest stages of the creative process, which means we are not developing any game yet, but working exclusively on the foundation for this new setting."

Hadar is a codename for a third, entirely distinct IP, created from scratch within CDPR. The project is in the earliest stages of the creative process, which means we are not developing any game yet, but working exclusively on the foundation for this new setting. pic.twitter.com/1LdoXSTnivOctober 4, 2022

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CD Projekt said that conceptual work on Hadar began in 2021, and that at this point it is working "on the foundations of the world—laying the setting for a third separate product in the future."

"I am excited to announce that CD Projekt Red has begun creative exploration on a third, entirely distinct IP, codenamed Hadar," CD Projekt senior vice president of business development Michał Nowakowski said." We had started thinking about it a few years ago. Early stage conceptual works commenced in 2021, and for the first time in our history the IP is being incubated entirely within CD Projekt Red.

"It is important to understand that we are not making a game just yet. We are working on the foundation of this new setting."

Despite being founded almost 30 years ago, CD Projekt has only developed games based on two properties, both of them licensed: The Witcher, a series of fantasy short stories and novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, and Cyberpunk, a tabletop RPG created by Mike Pondsmith. Both have been huge successes, turning CD Projekt into one of the biggest game-makers in the world, but creating a wholly original setting for a new game falls well outside CD Projekt's established expertise. Regardless of what it ultimately turns out to be, this will be something genuinely new for the studio.

Hadar, by the way, is the proper name for Beta Centauri, a triple star system in the constellation Centaurus, but that doesn't necessarily point toward a sci-fi experience for CD Projekt's next game. The other projects the studio announced today, including the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel and new Witcher games, are also named after stars: Orion, Polaris, Canis Majoris, and Sirius.

CD PROJEKT's codenames one-pager. pic.twitter.com/ztQh6mAJqtOctober 4, 2022

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[Even the people behind it think USB branding is a mess]

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the governing body on all things USB, is rolling out a new set of guidelines that will simplify the branding of USB cables. This means new logos and, more importantly, easier-to-understand naming conventions for USB products. 

According to a report on The Verge, we should start seeing less confusing branding on USB cables and products in the near future. This means we can finally say goodbye to nonsensical USB cable types like "SuperSpeed Certified USB" and "USB4 Gen3x2" in favor of something a little easier to understand. 

This highlights the problem with the old naming convention: Most consumers don't know what USB cable they are getting without doing some research. The USB-IF is hoping the new naming convention will better explain what a cable is and what it does.

Jeff Ravencraft COO of the USB-IF, told The Verge, "What consumers want to know is: What’s the highest data performance level the product can achieve?"

"SuperSpeed USB10Gbps" would now just be "USB 10Gbps." "USB4 20Gbps" is now "USB 20Gbps." USB Type-C cables now have logos displaying power capabilities like 60W or 240W included in addition to transfer speeds on the packaging and the cable itself. So, you'll know if that USB Type-C cable will have enough juice to power your laptop without looking through reader reviews or hoping for the best. 

Cooling off

(Image credit: Cooler Master, EKWB)

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USB 2.0 or USB Hi-Speed isn't adopting the new name, the reasoning being that branding the ports as "USB 480Mbps" might end up confusing people into thinking it's faster than "USB 5Gbps" because 480 is a bigger number than 5.

As the report points out, the new guidelines seem to be focused more on displaying power delivery and transfer speeds. Some USB Type-C cables can do video out as well, but there seems to be nothing there in the USB-IF's new rebranding scheme.

USB is an open standard, meaning that there is nothing the USB-IF can do to prevent companies from still using whatever branding it wants on new USB products. It's not a mandate; these only apply to USB items that want to be certified by the USB-IF. So really, think of it as a loud suggestion on its part.

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[Sony says it'll be 'at least a year' before PlayStation exclusives hit PC, unless they're live service games]

PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has let slip that, going forward, we can probably expect to wait "at least a year" before first-party PlayStation games hit PC. There's one exception to that rule, though: PlayStation's live service games, which we might see "day and date" with their console releases. Considering the fact that the company has plans for ten live service games in the works, that's a fairly major commitment to PC.

In an interview with YouTuber Julien Chièze, Hulst said that, "because you want to have a really strong community, strong engagement right away when you go live" with live service games, Sony might opt to release them across multiple platforms at the same time in future. So, at least a year before we get God of War: Ragnarok, then, but PC-based Destiny fans can rest assured that Sony's purchase of Bungie shouldn't affect them too harshly.

Sony has, of course, undergone a remarkable shift in its relationship with the PC in the last couple of years. The company bought up PC port-house Nixxes in July last year, and the once-impenetrable fortress that housed PlayStation-exclusive games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Marvel's Spider-Man, and God Of War has fallen. Sony now expects to make $300 million from its PC releases in this financial year.

That relationship isn't going anywhere anytime soon, either. It was only this morning that Hulst was chatting—in frustratingly vague terms—about upcoming investments "to strengthen [Sony's] expansion on to PC". Dataminers have also uncovered references to a possible PlayStation PC launcher in the files of Marvel's Spider-Man, suggesting the company has plans to stake a permanent settlement on PC shores.

In terms of upcoming PlayStation releases on PC, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection comes to Steam on October 19. We've also seen so many hints and leaks about Returnal coming to our desktops that Sony really should just announce it at this point. As for The Last Of Us Part 1? Give it a year. And don’t mention Bloodborne, you’re only torturing yourselves by this point. 

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[The first Dead Space remake gameplay trailer looks just as awful as I remember]

The first-ever gameplay trailer from the upcoming Dead Space remake has finally been revealed, and I can say this about it: It's definitely Dead Space.

Memory is a wonderful filter. The original Dead Space is 14 years old and yet in my mind's eye, it looks just like this new video: The enemies, the environments, the ever-so-helpful (and clichéd) "cut off their limbs" written on the walls in smeared blood. Yet clearly it's come a long way: The original isn't hideous by any means (here's the 2008 launch trailer if you'd like to compare) but it's definitely dated.

The remake certainly looks a lot better, and it boasts a number of technological improvements including the "intensity director," which dynamically adjusts objects, enemies, environmental effects, and even Isaac's physical reactions. There are now no loading screens—the Ishimura, the ship on which Dead Space takes place, is now a single, fully interconnected environment. Isaac's weaponry now allows for super-precise enemy chop-chop courtesy of "layered flesh, tendons, and bones that break, tear and shatter in shocking new ways." That sounds awful, but hey, it's what we're here for, right?

Still, it's Dead Space, and I have to wonder whether that will resonate with 2022 horror fans, even with all the tech updates—and especially with The Callisto Protocol lurking on the sidelines. 

Dead Space is set to launch on January 27, and will be available for PC on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Origin.

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[A new Witcher trilogy is on the way]

CD Projekt Red is on an announcement spree at the moment. As well as a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel and plans to include multiplayer in upcoming releases, we've finally heard more about the future of The Witcher, and it's pretty packed. 

Project Polaris is the codename for the next Witcher game. According to the image post on Twitter, the game will indeed be a "story-driven open-world RPG built on the legacy of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt." But that's not where this stops. It's the beginning of a new full Witcher trilogy of games and all three of these games in the trilogy will be released within a six-year period. 

Project Polaris is only in pre-production right now so it'll be a while before the six years begins but in any case it's a very exciting time for Witcher fans. The subject matter is still yet to be revealed but CD Projekt Red have already shown us one detail that will be important to the story's plot—the school of Witcher the protagonist may be from. 

pic.twitter.com/sr6PDMQKI5October 4, 2022

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When The Witcher 4 was announced the image of a cat-like medallion was released to celebrate the new chapter of the series. Though at first many thought it was the School of the Cat, there were then other fans that thought it looked more like the School of the Lynx. This is supposed to be the school founded by Lambert (of "what a prick" fame) and sorceress Keira Metz with other School of the Cat veterans. 

The details are still thin on the ground of what we can expect, but three games is better than one. Well, as long as CD Projekt Red prepare themselves well for that six year period having learned from the release of Cyberpunk 2077. 

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[The next Witcher and Cyberpunk games will have multiplayer]

Though The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is known as one of the best singleplayer games of all time, the next Witcher game could feasibly one of the best multiplayer. CD Projekt Red is making some announcements today and one thing we didn't expect to see was that it announced that going forward there will be multiplayer elements to most of their games. What that means is still slightly mysterious: but it definitely involves The Witcher. 

In an image tweet CD Projekt Red showed both Ciri and Geralt with the caption "Introducing multiplayer to most of our new games to enrich the single-player experience". So looks like there will be some multiplayer element to the next Witcher but how deep that goes is yet to be uncovered. 

I have a few theories right now. The first is that Gwent and minigames within The Witcher 4 could have a multiplayer element to it. It's not impossible that the NPCs you play against could actually just be other people which would be a smooth way to incorporate the two together while not breaking immersion.

pic.twitter.com/a87NWyGsYiOctober 4, 2022

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But what might be more interesting is a co-op element where you could be joined by other Witchers on your missions. Raids on monster nests or big missions might be aided by other players but that would be a far more involved experience. Or maybe it's an entirely different part of the game that is separate in story and scope to the RPG. Who bloomin' knows but any one of these would be a neat addition to the world. 

The implication of the tweet is that it's not only The Witcher, and that Cyberpunk will also have multiplayer elements in the future. That's easier, at least for me, to imagine. There are enough weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 to make its own pvp shooter after alland, before the game's launch woes saw it cancelled, a multiplayer mode was in development.

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[Lord of Rigel is a 4X strategy game that tasks you with taking over the stars]

Ever since 1993, when Master of Orion first appeared on MS-DOS and Macintosh, PC games have been tirelessly setting out to the stars, seeking to explore, unite, and conquer unknown planets and galactic civilisations in compelling galactic campaigns. Where the likes of Civilization have covered the 4X genre right here on Earth, there have been myriad games taking the well-trodden Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate path into the vastness of space.

Now, a new 4X venture from Iceberg Interactive and Rhombus Studios, Lord of Rigel, is about to make its first expedition into Steam Early Access, hoping to go where no space-based 4X game has gone before.

In a galaxy that's on a warpath, you take control of one of ten vastly distinct species. Will you be the Warlord of the newly united tribes of the feline Katraxi, using industry and war to overcome your rivals? Will you pursue the goals of the mysterious insectoid Aranaid or Ornithon? Or perhaps you want to extend the galactic influence of humans, espousing the virtues of democracy and diplomacy to create a united cosmos (while firmly bringing into line those who would seek to undermine that noble goal).

Once you choose your species, you'll begin your journey on a home planet where you must research the necessary technologies for survival. Stabilise your home front with things like barracks, colony bases, and hydroponic farms, but don't linger for too long, because there's a whole galaxy and hundreds of stars to explore, and each turn your rivals are extending their own influence across them.

(Image credit: Iceberg Interactive)

Through a combination of procedural generation and smart AI factions that will adapt to the unique conditions a given game map presents, your every campaign through Lord of Rigel will be different, shaped by the emergent stories and challenges of that particular run. There's a good reason that 4X games keep players transfixed for so many hours - they're endless story generators - and Lord of Rigel aims to harness all that is great about this venerable genre while offering its own slant.

Each action you take in relation to other factions will affect the overall galactic tension. Take an aggressive stance, and this will have a destabilising effect on the cosmos, which in the full release will speed up the game's Doomsday clock. Seek the path of peace through trade, mutual aid, and alliances, and you may find yourself at the head of the Galactic Council, pushing for a diplomatic victory.

But your campaigns aren't just shaped by the actions of you and other factions. In this cosmos, many events are driven by two so-called Elder Races, the Rigelans and Arcturans, who are locked in a simmering conflict over control of the galaxy. They will seek to disrupt and sabotage your progress, via war and more cunning means, and you'll often be presented with events and threats stemming from these enigmatic beings. Their overbearing influence will be felt throughout your campaign, and you'll need to be both powerful and shrewd if you're to survive the impending Final War instigated by the Elder Races.

(Image credit: Iceberg Interactive)

Of course, the game's journey has just begun, but even in Early Access it's already expansive, with eight playable species and a vast galaxy of procedural possibilities. The final game will offer three different victory types, but at this nascent stage of Early Access you can only win by conquest.

So ready those battleships, planet killers, and biological weapons, and prepare to fight for supremacy of the galaxy. 

Lord of Rigel is out now on Steam Early Access. 

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[Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a full sequel]

CD Projekt has announced that alongside the upcoming expansion, Cyberpunk 2077 will also be getting a full sequel.

"Orion is a codename for our next Cyberpunk game, which will take the Cyberpunk franchise further and continue harnessing the potential of this dark future universe," the studio tweeted.

Orion is a codename for our next Cyberpunk game, which will take the Cyberpunk franchise further and continue harnessing the potential of this dark future universe. pic.twitter.com/JoVbCf6jYZOctober 4, 2022

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There are no details at this point except that it's happening, but multiplayer may be a factor: CD Projekt also said that its future plans include "introducing multiplayer to most of our new games to enrich the singleplayer experience." 

It's been quite a turnaround for Cyberpunk 2077, which was in a very rough state when it launched in 2020: Two years down the road, following multiple updates and a popular Netflix anime, player counts are surging, and it recently surpassed 20 million unit sales.

CD Projekt also announced that it's got a new Witcher trilogy in the works alongside an entirely original project codenamed Hadar, and that its long-term outlook is to establish "three enduring franchises" featuring both "singleplayer stories and multiplayer experiences."

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[Ultima Online's devs once identified item-dupers en masse, then burned all their houses and stores to rubble]

Ultima Online is one of the longest-running and most influential MMOGs out there, and is currently celebrating 25 years. (There's even a special shield to mark the occasion.) Such a prestigious anniversary has inspired some of the talent behind the game to reminisce about their time on the game, including programmer and game designer Tim Cotten. His story is an absolute doozy.

Cotten writes about an omnipresent gremlin for gaming, and particularly massively multiplayer games like Ultima Online: item duplicating, or duping. He first encountered the problem as a player of the game, way back in the heady launch year of 1997, when he witnessed two players dropping chests at a particular area of the map and excitedly jabbering "“it worked! omgz!”

"Yup," writes Cotten, "they had managed to, as they excitedly bragged, figure out a trick to drop a chest on one side of the 'laggy patch' while trying to pick-it-up/hand-it-over to the other player as they were both crossing from one side to the other and now each of them had a copy of the same chest: and its contents."

The post is titled 'That Time We Burned Down Players’ Houses in Ultima Online' and chronicles part of Cotten's personal journey from poacher to gamekeeper, as what he'd once witnessed from the outside he later, as a member of the dev team, decided to combat.

The whole thing is worth a read, but I'm going to skip over Cotten's technical explanation of how Ultima Online generated its map and kept track of player movements (the tl; dr version is 'ingeniously'), and how he eventually worked out a way to identify duped items and the players who had them. You can read the full post here.

The important point is that Cotten implemented a global hash registry on Ultima Online's rarest items, which he compares to "invisible dye" that would stain the duped items in a way only the developers could see. This code was allowed to run for a few weeks and then, with the gathered data, Cotten and his fellow devs could set about eradicating the dupes.

Except… management didn't want them to clean house. In fact, management had a pretty good point to make about this. Cotten says the reaction was something along the lines of: “Mmm, I don’t think deleting them all [the duped items] is a good idea, you’ll hurt too many players.”

"We identified the dupers themselves and their storage depots: they had homes full of their duped items and NPC vendors selling them to the players."

Tim Cotten

"I hadn’t considered that, actually," writes Cotten. "At all. I was too excited about having accomplished my long held goal to 'catch some dupers.'" Cotten bit his tongue, told the team they would not be auto-deleting all the dupes, then spoke to Ultima Online's customer service folks.

They agreed that deleting the items was a terrible idea. "The dupes spread so quickly once they were created that if we just deleted them all out from under all the players who had bought them (with their hard-earned gold) from the dupers we would be affecting a significant portion of the playerbase," writes Cotten. "Sure, some of them would be fine with the 'morality' of our action—but on the scale of hundreds or thousands of affected players (per shard) we were just asking for the frustration to cause a wave of quiet quitting."

Catching the dupers had raised questions of community management as much as game management, and Cotten realised that answering them was tougher than he'd expected. The customer service team, for example, asked how many duped items a player should have before they banned them. Bearing in mind that the whole point of duping is to sell these items to innocent players, how do you begin calculating a figure like that?

Nevertheless, Cotten and his team did come up with a target. While any kind of blanket action would inevitably affect innocent players, the devs had managed to identify those players who were making use of the exploit in a systematic way. These individuals were definitely going to be banned anyway: so it was decided to make an event of it.

"We identified the dupers themselves and their storage depots: they had homes full of their duped items and NPC vendors selling them to the players," writes Cotten. "The “duping ring” stretched across multiple servers, comprised of distinct groups not necessarily working together. They had all evolved the same behaviors though: making tons of UO gold from selling dupes and then selling the UO gold on secondary markets for hard cash."

Cotten and community manager Adida wrote a script that, when 'attached' to an in-game house, would in his words do the following:

• Delete the house and all of its contents. All of it. Instantly. Recursively. *poof*
• Spawn a bunch of immovable 'housing rubble' in a predetermined rectangular area that fit the same dimensions the house existed in. It was colored dark black to look like it had soot all over it.
• Spawn a bunch of eternal 'fire fields' amongst the rubble.
• Create a straw dummy labeled 'An Effigy of a Traitor' to place in the middle of the burning rubble.

In Britannia they certainly don't do things by halves. The dev team readied, picked a day, and then launched the attack. The dupers were mass-banned on a timer right before their chosen server was due to come back online after maintenance, while Cotten and Adida teleported from house-to-house, "attached the script, watched the fires erupt with joy, and moved on."

The duping rings had no warning and, because of the way the developers timed their attack across different servers, didn't have time to try things like logging in as alts to save their goods.

"Dozens of homes had been destroyed across the entire multiverse of Ultima Online, and the flames licking the sooty rubble were a visible testimony to our team’s determination to deal with cheaters," writes Cotten.

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(Image credit: Origin Systems)

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(Image credit: Origin Systems)

"It felt fantastic! And we were told not to do it again."

The problem wasn't with players, even though there was some flak for doing something so "daringly public" to cheaters, but Cotten says the team's actions "just barely skated by with upper-upper-upper management."

It was clear they wouldn't be allowed to do something like this again. Customer Service was given discretion to deal with dupers using the tools built for this. And no matter how good it felt at the time, problems did come from the economics after the great fire of Britannia: "especially when players wanted to compete for the now available, very premium, housing spots."

There's something irresistible about this story, not the least part of which is Cotten himself: because you can still tell, even as he fondly recalls something from decades ago, that this is a man who hates dupers. When Cotten writes about burning down the houses, stopping at each one to watch "flames licking the sooty rubble", you can almost imagine him licking his lips at the thought of such sweet justice.

Setting dupers ablaze en masse is yet another in the pile of fabulous stories to come from Ultima Online: the all-time classic is how the invincible avatar of the game's creator, Richard Garriott, met his own fiery end.

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[Valorant's most controversial map is getting a significant rework]

Fracture. What is there to say about Fracture that hasn't been said already. It's one of the newer maps in Valorant yet it's also the one I've seen most frequently dodged. This map is known for how difficult it is to coordinate on and, unless you're working with a team using comms effectively, it can be the most miserable map to play in the game. So Riot is trying to make Fracture that bit less controversial by polishing it up with a little love. 

If you're unfamiliar with Fracture, it's the most unusually shaped map of all in Valorant. It's got two attacking sides, with the defending spawn in the middle, which means that defenders have to be far more aggressive than other maps. If you're loading into a game and Fracture comes up, there is quite a high likelihood that someone quits out, even more so than tropical map Breeze.

So the changes that Fracture will undergo are pretty significant. Let's start with the changes to B. B site will have the ramp smoothed all the way up so there is no longer a jump to make the space easier to move in. Generator is having a small cubby at the back removed, again flattening the space. The biggest change here is that Arcade is becoming a lot thinner and having a large chunk of the entry area removed, making it a smaller hallway to run down. 

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Arcade Before (Image credit: Riot Games)

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Arcade after (Image credit: Riot Games)

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B Site before (Image credit: Riot Games)

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B Site After (Image credit: Riot Games)

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Generator Before (Image credit: Valorant)

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Generator After (Image credit: Riot Games)

 Then we have the defenders' spawn which is again having a cubby removed, making it harder to hide on one side of the hall. As for A main the corner before entering site has been smoothed-out with a long diagonal wall and less junk making this place easier to be aggressive on. A site is having that box in heaven moved back into the corner so the site is easier to clear.

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(Image credit: Riot Games)

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Defender spawn after (Image credit: Riot Games)

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A main before (Image credit: Riot Games)

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A Main after (Image credit: Riot Games)

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A site before (Image credit: Riot Games)

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A site after (Image credit: Riot Games)

The area around A Drop is seeing the most significant change, making it easier in theory for attackers to assault. So the drop is being moved backwards with a large cut out, and the boxers you'd hop onto to get up the drop are being replaced with a curb. A dish is also seeing a significant change with one of the two routes around the Dish being eliminated completely. And last but not least, A Rope is getting its own ledge to look into site from making that position a lot stronger.  

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(Image credit: Riot Games)

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A drop after (Image credit: Riot Games)

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Dish before (Image credit: Riot Games)

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Dish after (Image credit: Riot Games)

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A rope before (Image credit: Riot Games)

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A rope afer (Image credit: Riot Games)

Riot has been fiddling with the design of its more recent maps in its latest patches. The newest map, Pearl, went under a rework not too long ago with some changes similar to what we see here in Fracture. I probably still won't like Fracture as much as other maps, but at least this should make it more fun and the queue dodging less frequent.  

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[How to unlock the Garden of Endless Pillars domain in Genshin Impact]

The Garden of Endless Pillars is one of the domains you can find in Sumeru, the latest region added to Teyvat in the Genshin Impact 3.0 update. It's partially buried in sand so even if you find it when you're out exploring the new Dendro region, you might have trouble figuring out a way to get into it.

You can only run this dungeon once but the rewards include Primogems, Dendro Sigils, ascension materials, and Mora so it's worth unlocking it to nab those goodies. If you're ready to get started, here's how to unlock the Genshin Impact Garden of Endless Pillars domain.

Genshin Impact Garden of Endless Pillars location 

The Garden of Endless Pillars domain is found in the northwest area of Sumeru. It's almost directly north of the large mausoleum and you'll find there's no real way inside as the entire thing is buried with just the top sticking out of the sand. If you have a look around the immediate area though, you'll find several Pyro monuments and you'll need to activate these in a specific order to access the domain. 

How to unlock the Garden of Endless Pillars domain 

Explore Sumeru these Genshin Impact 3.0 guides

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact Sumeru: How to get there
Genshin Impact Dendroculus: Where to find them
Genshin Impact End of the Line: Get the fish-bow
Genshin Impact Scarabs: Where to find them

To activate the Pyro monuments, you'll need a character that uses the same element. The easiest option is Amber and her charged bow attack works perfectly. The order in which you need to activate the monuments isn't quite so easy to figure out, however.

First of all, look at the Flaming Flowers found around the area. You should notice that they are growing fairly close to the Pyro monuments and these will help you work out the correct order. Basically, the first monument you need to activate should have no flowers near it, the second should have one flower nearby, the third have two, and so on. The video above shows you the correct order if you're having trouble.

Once you've successfully activated all five Pyro monuments, the domain will rise out of the sand and you can access it whenever you want. Good job.

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[Acer shows off its own take on the Intel Arc A770]

Acer makes plenty of gaming hardware, including laptops, desktops, monitors, and peripherals. Now it looks like it will enter the graphics card market with a little help from Intel's Arc A770 GPU. So far, all we've got is a tweet showing off the Predator BiFrost, but that's enough to pique our interest.

Introducing the all new @intelgraphics #IntelArc A770 GPU, which we've christened #PredatorBiFrost. Paving the way for a new generation of gaming awesome! pic.twitter.com/MmN4rAszItSeptember 30, 2022

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The image shows a two-and-a-half-slot design with a pair of fans that appear to offer a mix of a blower design with an open-air approach. It also shows a dual 8-pin power connector, meaning it has plenty of juice to play with. Potentially even pushing the card harder than Intel's own limited edition version of the A770.

As this is an Intel Arc A770 GPU, we know that it is the top card in Intel's lineup, which means it has the full ACM-G10 silicon to play with. You're looking at 32 Xe-cores, 256-bit memory interface, 2,100MHz graphics clock, and 225W Total Board Power.

What isn't clear at this stage is how much VRAM the card lays claims to. We know that cards with 8GB of VRAM will be manufactured by board partners, although we should also see 16GB cards from them. So far, MSI, Gunnir, and now Asrock have been announced as official board partners.

This is, of course, assuming that Acer will make these cards available for DIY builders. There's a reasonable chance that these are OEM cards destined purely for its own Predator desktop systems and not available outside of that, but hey, we can dream. 

If it were to release these, it would be an interesting time for Acer to enter the market, particularly as we've seen EVGA announce it will stop manufacturing graphics cards recently. That these Intel GPUs are significantly cheaper than the competition shouldn't go unnoticed either, which means that Acer et al. won't have the leeway to ramp up prices so much—not exactly a bad thing. 

Intel is set to release its own Limited Edition take on the Arc Alchemist A770 for $349 on October 12th, the same day that Nvidia releases the GeForce RTX 4090. We don't have a date for the $329 8GB cards at this stage, though. 

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[Company of Heroes 3 has been delayed to early next year]

World War 2 has been postponed. Company of Heroes 3, the next entry in Relic's totemic RTS series, has been hit by a delay with barely a month to go until its original release date. Instead of releasing on November 17, Company of Heroes 3 will come out on February 23, 2023, around four months from now.

Relic is being pretty forthright about the reasons for the delay: the game just isn't up to snuff yet. In the extra few months' development time, the dev team will be focused entirely on fixing bugs, tweaking mechanics, and polishing up what's already there. "Over the next 4 months we will not be adding any new features," the delay announcement reads, "Now it’s just a matter of tuning and polishing everything to deliver on that core experience".

The devs have repeatedly emphasised the extent to which fans have shaped Company of Heroes 3's development, and Relic is framing the delay the same way. The announcement features a list of tweaks, fixes and improvements that the devs have already made on the basis of fan feedback, and promises that the back-and-forth will continue with "week-to-week" updates in the time between now and February 23.

Fans are being encouraged to involve themselves in the game's development on the Company of Heroes forums and Discord, though there probably isn't time for another player-invented faction in the next four months. Hey, maybe in Company of Heroes 4.

We've already had some hands-on time with Company of Heroes 3, and we enjoyed what we saw. PCG strategy connoisseur Fraser Brown had a whale of a time with the bloody mayhem of its multiplayer pre-alpha, at least when he wasn't composing odes to the game's tanks. It's a shame, then, that we're going to have to wait an extra few months to see Company of Heroes 3 in its full glory, but even a long delay is better than it being rushed out half-baked.

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[Welcome HenryVarro]

Hello HenryVarro,

Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

HenryVarro joined on the 10/04/2022.

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[The Medium is getting a TV series with The Witcher's executive producer]

More and more videogames are getting their moment on the silver screen and somehow, Bloober Team's critically dividing The Medium is next up on the list.

Yep, that 2021 horror game is being adapted into a television series, the developer announced today. In a machine-translated announcement, Bloober Team said it has signed a contract with Platige Image, a Polish VFX studio. It's had a hand in various short films and advertisements, but also produced a slew of cinematics across CD Projekt Red's library. Those were directed by Tomasz Bagiński, who also served as executive producer on the first season of Netflix's The Witcher as well as The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. He, along with The Medium writer Piotr Babieno are said to be at the helm of the project.

"Both the film industry and the videogame industry are close to my heart and I am very happy that there is finally an opportunity to bring them together," Babieno said in the announcement. "The story we told in the game was appreciated by players, and now more people will be able to hear about it." He also gives a mention to some adaptations that have found immense success recently, like League of Legend's Arcane series and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. "Participation in the creative supervision of such an important figure in Polish cinematography as Tomasz Bagiński proves that we want to create something truly amazing. The whole team working on the concept of the series felt they were working on something special, we hope that this enthusiasm will be visible in the quality of the series."

In fairness, it seems like a strong team to tackle The Medium and turn it into a respectable adaptation. Despite mixed reviews at launch (including Leana Hafer's very favourable review for PC Gamer), Bloober Team managed to recoup its entire development and marketing costs in just a few days. It was the biggest launch ever for the developer, who also released Observer, Blair Witch and the Layers of Fear games. As Babieno mentioned too, TV show adaptations of videogames are having their time in the spotlight, though not all of them have been certified hits. Looking at you, Netflix's Resident Evil. 

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[The prototype for Black's sequel sounds unsurprisingly amazing]

Criterion's Black is a product of its time: which is to say that, if you were there, it's simply one of the best shooter experiences there was. I say 'experience' because that's what Black felt like: a game that almost blew back the wallpaper as your ludicrously boombastic weapons chewed through enemies and scenery alike on the CRT. The studio, then and now known best for the Burnout series, had managed to pivot into the FPS genre and make an insta-classic.

Which is why it's a source of some disappointment, even now, that Black was it. Criterion never went on to make another shooter. Key talent involved in Black left Criterion: the lead programmer was some bloke called Sean Murray (yes that one), while co-creator Stuart Black (really) went on to Codemasters and the disappointing Bodycount. Perhaps more importantly, while some of Black's creators could see a future for the game (and it sold well enough to justify one), ultimately neither Criterion or EA did.

Several figures involved in Black recently spoke to ThatHitbox for a retrospective on the game, which is well worth a read (if, like me, you miss shotguns that sound like backfiring trucks). Criterion figures have in the past mentioned a mooted sequel to Black, but here we finally get a firmer idea of what it looked like, and where the team intended to take the series.

Richard Bunn, a senior game designer on Black, had moved on to what would become Burnout Paradise. "But I kept sneaking in to the Black office afterwards, " recalls Bunn. "I was still friends with Craig Sullivan [lead designer on Black 2]. There were a few things that they did. They wanted to continue to be influenced by movies. They employed a model builder to build miniatures of lifelike locations. They could then be used as reference material or as inspiration for design."

One of the sequel's big ideas was to move towards more 'realistic' scenarios, inspired by IO's Hitman concept of a player moving through populated levels to take out a target. A pre-visualisation scene was filmed outside Criterion's office where a developer wore a chest camera while wielding a replica gun in an imagined cafe scene, intended to showcase Sullivan's elevator pitch for a new type of aiming system: "eyes not head."

Bunn explains: "In most first person shooters, you use the stick to look around. Your gun and head are glued together. The idea was that you could look independently of your gun somehow. Criterion’s always looking for an angle. What words / terms can be used to describe it? What’s the hook?"

Then Bunn goes on to describe the only part of the unmade sequel that he ever got to play, and it's enough to make your innie Arnie weep. It's a scene set in Korea, presumably North Korea, on top of an ICBM launch silo.

"You’re trying to stop them from launching, but in a 'fail to do so' type scenario. You’re in a big open area, with great big concrete blocks as cover objects. There’s enemies coming in”. 

“While you’re fighting, other vents start opening up and the whole area gets filled with smoke and gas from the rocket launch causing loss of visibility," says Bunn. "It’s getting closer and closer to launch, and the whole environment gradually reflected that. Eventually it opens and this great big missile launches out the middle. It was all about the evolution of the gameplay environment.”

Why did this not get made! Get me Larry Probst on the phone this instant! 

Other aspects of the sequel mentioned by Bunn were the ambition for it to be co-op, including revive and 'dragging' mechanics for players to help each other. Black sound designer Ben Minto adds the detail that the game's proposed subtitle was going to be Rendition, as in the practice of extraordinary rendition.

"The idea centred on American troops going overseas, kidnapping people and bringing them back across borders," says Minto. "The subtitle 'Rendition' was sort of tying in to that. I’m not sure that there was a fully-fledged story mapped out though. For me, it was just weird that a car studio made a gun game, and then never made another one."

I know, right? Black was an extraordinary achievement for Criterion, and it's a bit of a tragedy for fans of virtual gunplay that its concepts only ever had the one airing. You see parts of the game in all sorts of modern shooters, but few have ever had the sheer bang-for-your-buck excess of this.

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[Where to find the Fecund Hampers in Genshin Impact]

Explore Sumeru these Genshin Impact 3.0 guides

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact 3.0: What you need to know
Genshin Impact Sumeru: How to get there
Genshin Impact Dendroculus: Where to find them
Genshin Impact End of the Line: Get the fish-bow

The Of Ballads and Brews event has arrived in Genshin Impact and Fecund's Blessings is one of the activities, tasking you with locating hidden hampers in and around Mondstadt. There are three parts to this quest though the final one doesn't unlock until October 5.

The event itself runs until October 17, so you've got a few weeks to find and collect the hampers. If you complete all the activities during the event—not just Fecund's Blessing—you'll be rewarded with an event-exclusive weapon, the Missive Windspear polearm. So if you're ready to start hunting hampers, here are the Fecund's Blessings hamper locations in Genshin Impact.

Genshin Impact Fecund's Blessings: How to unlock 

In order to gain access to the Of Ballads and Brews event, you'll need to be Adventure Rank 21 or above and have completed the Archon quest Prologue: Act 3 - Song of the Dragon and Freedom and the story quest Lupus Minor Chapter: Act 1 - The Meaning of Lupical.

To get started, you need to complete the Of Ballads and Brews starting quest, Sounds from Afar which begins by speaking to Katheryne in Mondstadt. Once completed, head to the event menu and look for the Fecund's Blessing activity. There are three stages in total and the first one is called When the Music Sounds.

You're given clues to find the locations of the hampers, and once you've collected all eight, you can move on to the next stage. Here are the locations for each.

When the Music Sounds

(Image credit: miHoYo)

When the Music Sounds: Fecund Hamper locations 

The map above shows the locations of each of the Fecund Hampers and you can find the clues below. 

1. I've placed the gift near the stage at the Wine Market. I hope that this gift will make the day of the person who finds it.
2. I have left my honest well-wishes beside the spring fairy.
3. The gift is near the house at the southernmost tip of Springvale.
4. I placed my gift behind a shop in Mondstadt City. The cats here are quite cute, and the cocktail made by that angry bartender is pretty good — not a match for our Snezhnayan Fire-Water, but still!
5. Thank Lord Barbatos for granting Mondstadt this lovely harvest. I have placed my gift at his feet.
6. The gift has been placed at the rear gate of Angel's Share.
7. Mondstadt has a place with a truly excellent view. Have you been there? I'll give you another hint. It's very, very, very high up! Take care when you head up there!
8. I have placed the gift at training grounds near the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. When you go and get it, please try to be quiet so as to avoid disturbing those training there. Thank you for your consideration.

The Feast in Full Swing

(Image credit: miHoYo)

The Feast in Full Swing: Fecund Hamper locations 

You can find the locations of the Fecund Hampers on the map above. If you're just after the clues for each, you can find those listed here too. 

1. Come, you who enjoy adventure! A gift prepared specifically by yours truly is waiting for you near a certain shop that sells souvenirs!
2. How do you do, friend? I have placed my gift near a venerable hotel in Mondstadt City (that is now being occupied by a group of guests from afar).
3. The giant leaves turn with the wind. The gift is close to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
4. I have placed the gift beside Cider Lake where I usually feed the ducks. Don't startle them while you're getting it!
5. People travail endlessly on the south wind's road; but gifts go unnoticed at the lake's side gate.
6. In the Magus-Custodian of Books' sanctum, the High Lady of Immernachtreich has bestowed upon thee a benediction!
7. So, there's this old battered cart at the place where I usually go fish blasting, right? I hid my present behind it! If you can find it, it's all yours! 
8. There is a small shoal in the Whispering Woods near Cider Lake where a small pier lies. I have placed my present in that area. (The road there is somewhat bumpy, so be careful not to fall.)

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[Sony remains frustratingly vague on future PC plans]

The past two years have seen Sony begin to stake its claim on the PC platform, porting over some of its greatest hits like God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Spider-Man. The ports have (for the most part) been pretty darn good too, so it looks like the publisher is serious about PC as a vector for PlayStation's finest.

On the other hand, it continues to remain pretty damn vague about what its future plans actually are. Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, kept his cards close to his chest in a brief interview with Reuters when speaking about continuing its push to PC and mobile. "Further investments in areas that will strengthen the expansion on to PC, onto mobile and into live services, that's definitely a possibility for us," he said.

Yep, that was it. Whether Hulst is winking towards investments already in the pipeline or simply making a throwaway comment is unclear. It feels strange for him to be so generic about potential plans for PC considering evidence pointing towards it being an incredibly strong market for them. A business segment briefing earlier this year showed that Sony made $80 million from PC sales in the 2021 financial year, expecting that number to skyrocket to $300 million by the end of 2022's financial year. Add to that its recent acquisition of PC port developer Nixxes Software and it really does feel like it wants to take the platform seriously, despite the weird lack of commitment in Hulst's comment.

Outside of PC possibilities, Hulst also touched upon branching out beyond the videogame medium when discussing Sony's recent minority stake in FromSoftware. "You should think of collaborations on the game development side first and foremost, but it's also not unthinkable with our PlayStation productions efforts that we explore opportunities," he said. Another vague statement, even if the idea of an Elden Ring show or movie sounds kinda rad.

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[Activision Blizzard withheld raises to retaliate against unionising staff, US Labor Relations Board finds]

The USA's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found that Activision Blizzard withheld pay raises from Raven Software quality assurance staff because of their union organising activity, the Washington Post reports.

Non-Raven QA staff at Activision Blizzard were offered a suite of improvements to their working conditions in April this year. Part-time contract workers—a group of about 1,100 people—became full-time employees, receiving full company benefits and a pay bump that put them on $20 an hour. Raven staff were not included in this sweeping upgrade, however, which the NLRB now regards as retaliation for their union organising activities.

The finding comes right in the middle of union contract negotiations between Activision and QA testers at Raven. QA staff at Raven voted 19-3 to form a union back in May this year, becoming the first union to form at a major North American game developer in the process. After initial hostility to the bid, Activision changed course, opting to recognise and negotiate with Raven staff instead.

An Activision spokesperson told the Post that it was precisely this vote that stopped the company from offering pay increases to involved employees. Activision said that, "Due to legal obligations [...] requiring employers not to grant wage increases while an election was pending," the company was unable to offer "new pay initiatives at Raven because they would be brand new kinds of compensation changes" of the kind prohibited in the run-up to a union vote.

PCG has also reached out to Activision about the NLRB findings, and will update if we hear back.

In the short-term, the NLRB finding is more ammo for the arsenal of Raven's negotiators. Wilma Liebman, former NLRB chair, told the Post that the Board's findings are a "very preliminary win" for the QA staff, who can use it as leverage in their back-and-forth with Activision.

In the longer term, Activision told the Post that it would be defending itself against the findings during the NLRB's litigation process and would, if necessary, defend itself in the appeals court too.

This is all of course happening in the context of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a deal worth a whopping $68 billion that is under intense regulatory scrutiny from various countries (apart from Saudi Arabia which, as part of its unwelcome push into games, rushed its approval through). Activision Blizzard's culture and significant prior failings have been under the spotlight as part of this and it says something that, once again, its past behaviour has attracted this kind of legal attention from a government agency.

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