2019-03-01_PC_Gamer

ABOVE, TOP:
Gambit mode is
great, and the focus
ofthenextseason.

ABOVE, BOTTOM:
Will sci-fi electro-
wizards still have a
home on PC?

independent, global studio, but we see unbounded

opportunities and potential inDestiny.”

It feels like Bungie’s staff will be happier to focus on

what success means to them as people who create the

games, rather than have targets imposed by a publisher

with shareholders to please. But it’s also sensible to expect

missteps as Bungie figures out this publishing malarkey.

And Bungie will still need to make money, so it will need

to figure out which methods of monetisation to keep and

which to ditch.

LIVING VICARIOUSLY

We’re particularly interested to see whether PC will be

part of Bungie’s future plans. Director Luke Smith

confirms that Vicarious Visions, which handled the PC

port, is winding down its involvement, so the question

will be whether Bungie can find another company for the

porting, or whether they staff up and bring it in-house.

Alternatively, independence might be temporary. Prior

to Activision, Bungie spent a decade working on Halo

with Microsoft. Perhaps Bungie fancies being single for a

bit before partnering with a new publisher and settling

down to produce Destiny 3 (and whatever that ‘Matter’

trademark filing from 2018 turns out to be).

Philippa Warr

Highs & Lows

HIGHS

RTX 2060

Nvidia’s £340 graphics card is the

most appealingly priced option from

their RTX lineup.

AGDQ 2019

Thespeedrunningeventpulledin

$2.4mforcharity.Ourhighlightwas

Spootybiscuit’sNecrodancerrun.

Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe

A low-key joy, you can just leave this

mobile game expansion open as you

workandcheckinonitsvisitors.

Star Wars

EA reportedly cancelled its

Vancouverstudio’sStarWars game.

We find its lack of faith disturbing.

Assassin’s Creed

Ubisoft’s latestOdysseyDLC missed

themarksobadlywithplayer agency

the studio had to apologise.

Atlas

Where to start? Bugs, a

compromised admin account, a

server rollback, stability issues...

LOWS

After strands of the UK press
and a well-known writer’s
scaremongering, the
Mermaids charity (which
supports gender diverse and trans
children) had its Lottery funding put
under review. Hbomberguy reacted with
a Donkey Kong 64 livestream, raising
£260,000 for Mermaids. PW

UP THE ANTE

MERMAIDS

I O, I O

IO INTERACTIVE

HAPE

N-BASED PILLARS

SHIPSH

TURN

Obsidian added an option for

slower, more tactical

turn-based combat to the

formerly real-time-with-

pausePillars of Eternity II. It might seem

likeasmallchange,butitmakes the

combatfeelbrandnew–whichis a

perfectexcusetosetsailfortheDeadfire

Archipelago again. AK

IO Interactive is launching a

second studio based in

Malmö, Sweden. The new

IO Malmö will support

Hitman development and, according to

CEO Hakan Abrak, help in “creating

brand-new and exciting endeavours”.

Here’s hoping a second studio means the

ace Hitman 2 will enjoy a long life. PS

NEWS | OPINION | DEVELOPMENT