This week, Red Dead Redemption 2 fixed more crashes (but not enough), Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare started its first season of new content, Rocket League ditched locked loot boxes, and DayZ graduated to real video game status by adding fishing. Read on for more of the week’s PC gaming patches in The Weekly Updates Update.
Red Dead Redemption 2 fixed more crashes
But Rockstar’s cowboy sandbox was still in a sorry state when its one-month exclusivity ended and it launched on Steam this week.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare started Season 1
The first blast of new content from this included new maps (and an old one), a new mode, and a battle pass with both free and paid tracks of rewards. They claim this is “the biggest free content drop in Call Of Duty history,” though do remember they sold DLC map packs for most of that history.
Apex Legends boosted the level cap
That means more Apex Packs of goodies for you as you keep on levelling. The levelling speed at lower levels is boosted too.
Conan Exiles added mounts and mounted combat
Thralls, pets, and mounts can now level up too.
Hunt Showdown gave gifts in apology for recent technical issues
Anyone who’s played since Crytek’s monster-hunting multiplayer left early access will get 1000 Blood Bonds and 5000 Hunt Dollars. This week’s update also added two new weapons and made a few tweaks to dissuade camping.
Rainbow Six Siege launched Operation Shifting Tides
That includes two new characters, a new bullet penetration system where hands aren’t made of steel, and some big changes for the Theme Park map.
Life Is Strange 2 has now concluded
Episode 5 launched this week and, uh, that counts as an update, right? Alice Bee and Brendy will soon deliver a verdict to tell us all wot they think of it.
Rust added musical instruments
While you need to buy DLC to craft instruments yourself, the finished instruments aren’t restricted to DLC owners. So, you know, you can kill someone and grab theirs. They even support MIDI input. The update also improved loading times, particularly on ye olde HDDs, and now you see your legs when you look down.
Dota 2 is trying to balance Snapfire and Void Spirit
The two new heroes arrived in last week’s Outlanders Update, and Valve have since released a string of patches trying to get them right. Void only get nerfs, while Snapfire got nerfs to her Lil’ Shredder but buffs to Firesnap Cookie.
Rocket League ditched loot boxes and added an item shop
Instead of locked loot boxes that need a paid key to get a random item, the game now drops blueprints which the specific random item you’d get if you paid. It added an item shop too, with a rotating stock. There’s still some randomness in all this but at more pleasant stages of the process.
Fifa 20 suspended Marco Van Basten after he said “sig heil” live on TV
His Fifa Ultimate Team card is suspended “until further notice” in accordance with EA’s “commitment to equality and diversity.” Fifa this week also got an update with wee changes including making referees less keen to hand out yellow cards for fouls.
DayZ added fishing and bears
The free update coming alongside the new paid island expansion, Livonia, also added new weapons.
Battlefield V kept fiddling with balance
Dice say this wide-reaching rebalancing focused “on the damage that weapons do outside of their designed ranges.”
Heroes Of The Storm added Deathwing
The big, bag WoW: Cataclysm dragon is now causing trouble in Blizzard’s MOBA too.
No Man’s Sky fixed a few crashes
Not a huge update but hey, that’s nice.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 switched to DirectX 11
A patch launched shortly before the new Black Sea DLC, switching the game from DX9 to DX11 for improved performance (and easier development) as well as adding detours. As in American Truck Sim, occasionally obstacles and problems will send you on a diversion to your destination. The update also expanded the France DLC with the island of Corsica.
Hades added new difficulty modes
Supergiant’s next game is finally on Steam next week too.
Brawlhalla crossed over with Steven Universe
While the headline feature of this crossover is paid Steven Universe skins, it also added a new Universe-y 1v1 map and Bubble Tag mode.
Ylands left early access and is now free-to-play
This is a colourful creation platform… thing? from Bohemia, the gag best known for the oh-so-serious Arma and DayZ.