When Blizzard first conceived of The War Within, the next World of Warcraft expansion that would literally take players inside the planet of Azeroth, there was one big worry. "The concerns about claustrophobia were a major aspect coming into this, from the very earliest planning," game director Ion Hazzikostas said in a recent group interview with PC Gamer. It wasn't just the confined internal spaces developers were worried about: It was the dark. Players have historically responded poorly to zones that were unrelentingly monochromatic, dark or grim. The hellish Maw zone in the afterlife-theme ..read more

Geralt's adventures on Netflix are finally coming to an end: The network announced today that it has given the green light to a "fifth and final season" of The Witcher, which will be filmed back-to-back with season 4. "It is with huge pride that we begin shooting our penultimate season of The Witcher with a stellar cast, including some exciting new additions, led by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia," showrunner Lauren Hissrich said.  "We're thrilled to be able to bring Andrzej Sapkowski's books to an epic and satisfying conclusion. It wouldn’t be our show if we didn't push our family of ..read more

The first post-launch DLC for Cities: Skylines 2, Beach Properties, arrived in March, and it did not go well. Players already irritated by the state of the game felt the DLC—an asset pack, with no new features—wasn't worth its $10/£8.49 price, and predictably a new wave of negative reviews flowed into Steam. The Beach Properties DLC itself is rated as "overwhelmingly negative," with just 4% positive user reviews on Steam. Three weeks after its release, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen and Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja have released a joint statement apologizing for, well, pretty much ..read more

As Fallout fans we’ve lived through numerous Reclamation Days. But with the launch of the TV show on Amazon Prime, this might be the busiest yet. New dwellers are flooding out of their vaults, and you may well be among them—warily eyeing 2018's online multiplayer Fallout 76, wondering whether the kind of Fallout you like is hiding in its cranberry bogs and toxic valleys. Here’s my guide to what Fallout 76 is and isn’t—and some advice for getting the most out of the Appalachian wasteland, from somebody who knows it like their backyard after half a decade of survival on the surface. To quote the ..read more

Roll up for the greatest gaming extravaganza known to humankind, beast and Lovecraftian abomination alike: the Future Games Show Summer Showcase will return on June 8. Following on from the Future Games Show Spring Showcase, watched live by 8.5 million people, the event will feature over 40 upcoming games across PC and something called consoles.  Hosted by PC Gamer's sister site GamesRadar+, the Future Games Show Summer Showcase will air on June 8 (exact time tbc) and can be watched on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, X / Twitter, and TikTok. The Future Games Show aims to help players discover ..read more

The big focus of Larian's post on Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming Patch 7 was the game's expanded evil endings, but the studio also revealed that the first of Baldur's Gate 3's official mod tools are coming in this update.  In a conversation with me at this year's Game Developers Conference, Larian CEO Swen Vincke indicated that the tools won't be as expansive as Divinity Original Sin 2's, but rather will "focus on the things we know people want to mod and we're going to try to make that process easier." The Patch 7 preview doesn't give a full breakdown of the tools, but their scope seems to l ..read more

Final Fantasy XIV is now nearing the release of its fifth expansion, Dawntrail, this July 2, and Square Enix has released a benchmarking tool to help potential players find out what sort of performance to expect when they explore the sunny beaches and dense jungles of Tural this summer. It's a fairly hefty 3.9GB download, but what you'll find inside is a character creator that lets you build a custom avatar that makes an appearance in the benchmark itself. Once inside, you'll see your carefully crafted creation—or, let's face it, an absolute mess if you're anything like me—make their way throu ..read more

Still basking in a post-BAFTA sweep afterglow, Larian has shared an update on Steam detailing what to expect from Baldur's Gate 3 in the immediate future, and from the studio further down the line. The marquee inclusions of Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming Patch 7 are the game's expanded evil ending cutscenes, a corollary to the feel-good party all the well-adjusted and happy gamers already got. Spoilers for all those endings ahead. The post shared three teasers of what the new endings entail. They seem to be extended cutscenes instead of the small playable segment of Withers' Party, but that fits t ..read more

Larian might have decided against making Baldur's Gate 4, but the studio is already hard at work outlining its next project. Or should I say, projects. In its latest community update shared on Steam, Larian revealed that in lieu of another Baldur's Gate sequel, it is currently developing two new projects. "As an independent studio since 1996, we value the freedom to follow our creativity wherever it leads. In this case, after six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we've decided to seize the opportunity to develop our own IPs. We're currently working on two new pr ..read more

RSS Feed | Apple Podcasts | Spotify  Happy Thursday PC gamers, welcome back to the PC Gamer Chat Log podcast! How are we all this week? If y'all watch the video version of this pod, you'll know that I've discarded the beloved split dye hairdo I've been donning since before my time at PCG (and I've been here for over three years!!) It's quite strange getting rid of something I've spent so long associating as a huge part of my identity, but anyone who's bleached their hair for an extended period of time will know that it does an absolute number on your locks. Now my hair may change, but yo ..read more