Gaming News - Page 318

No, Elden Ring doesn't load faster from a mechanical HDD than it does from an SSD. Here's a look at how fast Elden Ring loads on PS4, PS5 vs Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.

FromSoftware's new BotW Souls simulator Elden Ring has serious issues on PC. Thankfully consoles seem to fare better, and loading times are pretty speedy on next-gen SSDs. This is rightfully so given the advanced PCIe Gen4 x4 hardware and major OS tweaks used by the PS5 and Series X/S.

According to YouTuber El Analista de Bits, Elden Ring loads faster on the PlayStation 5 than it does on the Series X/S combo. This makes a lot of sense given the speed disparity between the two SSDs; the Series X/S hits 2.4GB/sec speeds on PCIe 4.0 whereas the PS5 is more than twice as fast at 5.5GB/sec.

FromSoftware says it is working on a fix for Elden Ring's frame rate issues on PC.

Elden Ring is one of the best-reviewed games of all time, but a a recent day one patch has borked the game on PC. Gamers with the most powerful graphics cards on the market still aren't able to hit 1080p 60FPS. Streamer DarkViperAU says the game hits anywhere from 20-60FPS in 1080p with an RTX 3090 and an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU combo. At this point it's practically a tradition that FromSoft games have wonky PC performance.

Luckily FromSoftware is on the case. The developer has issued a FAQ post discussing updates and fixes it plans to roll out. The FPS problems on PC are a top priority.

DICE 2021 awards show host Greg Miller calls embroiled Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick out on stage.

Greg Miller, the co-host of the 25th annual DICE awards had choice words to say about Bobby Kotick

"Of course, we can't talk about the industry we love so much without talking about the recent stories of abuse and harassment at Activision Blizzard and other companies. But since this is a formal event broadcasted to audiences across the world, I'm only going to say F Bobby Kotick. I'm just kidding! Fuck Bobby Kotick," Miller said to applause from the audience.

Valve boss Gabe Newell says most of the purchases made with crypto on Steam were not legitimate.

Why did Steam ban all crypto games? It's not because of the blockchain tech itself, but the "shady activities" that typically surround cryptocurrency including scams and fraud. Valve simply do not want to do business with those types of people, Newell says.

In a recent interview with Rock Paper Shotgun discussed why crypto games were removed from Steam.

Chinese online giant NetEase reports its full-year earnings for 2021, showing significant growth.

Strong post-pandemic spending on an even stronger games slate has helped NetEase generate $9.8 billion from online games. According to data provided by NetEase, the company made $6.9 billion from mobile and $2.9 billion from the PC across a mix of online-based and more premium titles like Naraka Bladepoint.

Data indicates that NetEase is #2 in total online digital/network game services revenues. Sony takes the top spot with $11.5 billion combined revenues from add-on content (microtransactions) and combined network services. NetEase remains one of the most powerful forces in the industry and a leading top mobile developer that serves gaming's most lucrative market.

NetMarble is working on six P2E blockchain mobile games, the company has announced.

Korean mobile games giant NetMarble is jumping into the blockchain sphere with a swath of new games. The developer plans to release its first crypto game in March 2022 followed by five other blockchain-based titles. One of these games may be based on Marvel characters--in 2020, Marvel Games teamed up with Wax to make custom NFTs.

"The company is also aiming to launch six blockchain games, with the first coming in March. These include A3: Still Alive Global, Golden Bros, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds Global, Champions: Ascension, Monster Arena (TBD) and Everybody's Marvel: Meta World," reads a press release.

Sony's new PlayStation Spartacus subscription service will reportedly combine some of its competitor's best perks in one package.

Sony's new subscription, codenamed Spartacus, is said to merge PlayStation Now and PS Plus in one service. Official details haven't been announced but sources tell Venture Beat's Jeff Grubb how Spartacus might work (via Grubbsnax).

There's three tiers with separate prices, and the most expensive $16/month tier will offer access to classic PlayStation games similar to Nintendo Switch Online's treasure trove of NES, SNES, and Genesis titles.

Microsoft, Obsidian, and Bethesda reportedly have "high interest" in making a Fallout New Vegas sequel.

Now that Obsidian and Bethesda Game Studios are under the same roof, Fallout New Vegas 2 might actually happen. Sources have told Venture Beat's Jeff Grubb that very early talks about a New Vegas sequel are under way and that everyone involved with the discussions has a lot of interest and confidence in the project.

"This is very early, but people have begun to have talks and say the words 'Obsidian' and 'New Vegas 2' in sentences," Grubb said in today's episode of GrubbSnax

The next Mass Effect game will not be ready for at least a few more years, BioWare has said.

Mass Effect 5 is currently in the earliest phases of development and will not be finished for quite some time. Right now the project is in pre-production prototyping stage and doesn't yet have an actual blueprint. We do know the next mainline game will continue the original trilogy canon and that Liara T'soni will be a main character.

"We're also working on the next Mass Effect. The team, led by Mike Gamble, is made up of a team of veteran developers as well as some new, really talented people. They are all actively prototyping new ideas and experiences," BioWare general manager Gary McKay said in an update post today.

Dragon Age executive producer Christian Dailey has left BioWare, marking the second producer to recently leave the series.

BioWare has lost another major developer with the departure of Christian Dailey, who departed right in the middle of Dragon Age 4's production. Dailey was brought in after the previous Dragon Age executive producer, Mark Darrah, left the company after 23 years with BioWare.

"Hi friends. I wanted to pass on the news that I am leaving BioWare. The next Dragon Age is in great hands. Looking forward to cheering on the team and playing as a fan. Thank you BioWare Electronic Arts (EA) for the amazing adventure," Dailey said in a statement.