Gaming News - Page 302

Microsoft's new DirectStorage API isn't living up to its full potential just yet, but a future version could help supercharge data streaming and loading speeds on M.2 drives.

DirectStorage aims to revolutionize data throughput on consoles and PC. The basic gist of the tech is to help streamline how game data is decompressed and loaded from SSDs storage into hardware like graphics cards.

The API's end goal is to stream data from an SSD directly to a GPU's VRAM memory pool for decompression and allow GPU data to completely bypass the CPU. This would theoretically result in a significant IO performance boost that would lead to benefits like faster in-game loading times.

Luminous Productions is leveraging both Microsoft's and AMD"s next-gen APIs and tools for its new game Forspoken, creating an experience that fully leverages the might of enthusiast PC hardware.

Luminous Productions just put out an extremely technical GDC 2022 presentation that breaks down Forspoken's new advanced technologies. The devs give a closer look at DirectStorage and how it enables ultra-fast loading on Forspoken on PC.

Forspoken is one of the first games to utilize Microsoft's powerful DirectStorage tech, a new DirectX 12 API that promises to supercharge loading speeds. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. Forspoken loads in just 1 second on PC using DirectStorage in tandem with a high-speed M.2 NVMe SSD.

A new Witcher game has been announced by CD Projekt RED with a mysterious medallion. Now the developer gives more clues on what to expect from the game.

The School of the Lynx could help kick off the new Witcher saga, as CD Projekt confirms the medallion is a lynx and not a cat.

"Ok, some mysteries should not be so mysterious. I can confirm that the medallion is, in fact, shaped after a lynx,"CDPR's communication director Robert Malinowski tells Eurogamer.

343 Industries has had no issues identifying what's next for the Halo franchise; things like TV shows, books, and big game beats are as stark and as readily apparent as porn.

Everyone wants to work with Halo, and rightly so--it's one of the most enduring franchises in games history. But 343 Industries is pretty selective on who gets to collaborate with Halo, whether it be promos or marketing deals to big transmedia deals.

Spotting the right opportunity isn't hard, though--once 343i sees the right thing, it's so naked that it's hard to un-see it. "It's kind of like porn. You know it when you see it," 343i's Frank O'Connor tells The Washington Post.

Tencent is the undisputed king of the gaming market with nearly $33 billion earned throughout 2021.

Chinese juggernaut Tencent is the single-largest video games entity on the market in terms of revenues and overall value. The company, who has ownership in dozens of video games companies including Supercell, Epic Games, Netmarble, Sumo Digital, Ubisoft, and even Activision-Blizzard, has announced its total-year earnings for 2021.

The numbers are colossal. Tencent has earned roughly $32.95 billion in revenues throughout 2021 across its myriad webwork of monetized, online-driven international and domestic titles. Tecent earns more revenues than Xbox ($16.28 billion) and Nintendo ($14.86 billion) combined ( Major contributors include Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Clash of Clans, Valorant, and League of Legends. The company's international games segment delivered roughly $7.13 billion revenues, up 31% YoY, whereas domestic games delivered over $20 billion in revenues.

Intellivision has released an official unboxing video of its new Amico console, showing consumers and investors a finalized version of the product.

The new $150 Intellivision Amico doesn't have a release date just yet, but the retro company has revealed what the retail console will look like. The latest unboxing video shows the box, the system, the two wireless touchscreen controllers, and the six pack-in games.

The video shows first-time setup and also reveals the Amico's built-in SD card reader and USB-C ports alongside the basic power and HDMI output slots.

Delay season strikes again! The latest casualty is Rocksteady's long-awaited Suicide Squad game, which won't release until next year.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a new four-player online live service game from the developers of the hugely-popular Batman: Arkham series. WB Games has been betting big on this game's development for years now, and the anti-hero project was due out sometime in 2022.

Now the game, which sees you hunting down corrupt versions of Superman and other heroes, won't be releasing until 2023--a move that makes sense considering the publisher's current slate and the current state of the game.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) is finally coming to the PlayStation 5 sometime soon, Sony has officially confirmed.

VRR is set to launch on PS5 "in the coming months," Sony has announced. The new feature will fully optimize frame rates across all PS5 games with real-time syncing between the refresh rate of a monitor or TV and the console's graphical output. If a game like Destiny 2 is set to output at 120FPS, for example, enabling VRR on the PlayStation 5 will offer more consistent and smooth frame rates when connected to an HDMI 2.1 capable display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Sony has also confirmed that the PS5's VRR option will work with games that don't officially support it, so any game you play on the console can technically benefit from the feature. This is something that the Xbox Series X has used in tandem with FPS Boost to supercharge last-gen Xbox games.

Bandai Namco and FromSoftware just released Elden Ring's new v1.03.2 patch and thankfully it doesn't nerf or debuff any existing builds.

Gamers are still lamenting the builds that were significantly downsized Elden Ring's original 1.03 patch (RIP mimic and hoarfrost stomp), and thankfully today's new patch doesn't make any more downgrades. The latest v1.03.2 update is mostly made up of bug fixes that adjust various issues with quests and co-op.

The developers are watching players closely and will continue tweaking, adjusting, and adding to Elden Ring over time, including new expansions and in-game content. After all, Elden Ring is now officially a new franchise for Bandai Namco.

Today Microsoft and SEGA revealed some bizarre and unsettling Sonic-themed Xbox controllers...and we have some concerns.

To celebrate Microsoft and SEGA have teamed up to celebrate Sonic 2's upcoming theatrical release with a special-edition Xbox Series S console.

The console looks okay enough, complete with a big golden ring in the center, but the controllers are rather strange. They're fuzzy. Yes, really. They have fur, and they look like something from another world--maybe they'll even go full Gremlin if you feed them after midnight. The red one is something that Gossamer from Looney Tunes would have in his collection.