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CRYENGINE is one of the best-looking graphics engines available, it's just too bad that game developers don't harness the power of today's PC technology like 8C/16T processors like AMD's Ryzen 7 1800X, or high-end cards like the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Because if they did, this is the result of that.

Crytek's Senior Cinematic Artist, Joe Garth, made two environments inside of CRYENGINE. The first, is the beautiful mountain and forest tease. I mean, just look at these screenshots.

That fog looks so real it would probably bring NVIDIA TITAN Xp cards in SLI to their knees.

Microsoft is only a couple of months away from the launch of the Xbox One X, and now we have found out that Remedy is working on Xbox One X specific enhancements for Quantum Break.

Quantum Break launched last year for the Xbox One and was met with major performance issues, and even on the PC it wasn't the best performing game. Let's hope that the close collaboration between Remedy and Microsoft can solve this, but I'm sure it's going to poke a few angry gamers that they'll have to probably buy another version of the game - but let's hope it's just a download away.

Gamestop is giving interested gamers an opportunity to shave off up to $200 on a new Xbox One X with a trade-in promo.

Back in 2016 Microsoft confirmed it would offer a trade-up program for its high-end 4K-ready Xbox One X console, and now the company is living up to its word. Retailer Gamestop is holding what may be an attractive trade-in promo for the Xbox One X, however official details aren't available as it varies on a store-to-store basis.

"Get up to $200 credit when you trade select systems toward a new Xbox One X," reads the promo, which is only valid between today and November 1, 2017. A Gamestop tweet seems to counter the information provided on the site, reading: "Pre-order the Xbox One X, trade in your console later from 11/7 - 11/19 to save up to $200 toward your purchase." It's unclear whether or not there are two separate promos, or if users will have to pay upfront to secure their Xbox One X pre-order and then trade in their qualifying consoles at a later date.

Early access sensation PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds will be published by Microsoft for release on Xbox One, and developer Bluehole states they want to ensure parity between the PC and console version.

During a Gamescom 2017 stream, Microsoft today confirmed a partnership with PUBG's development team to publish PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on Xbox One for release on the Xbox Game Preview program in late 2017. This effectively means the games titan will publish a third-party early access game on its Xbox family of consoles, and eventually, the final launch release. Despite reports that PUBG may in fact come to PS4, this new deal may point to Xbox One console exclusivity for the last-man-standing shooter.

Armed with the might of Microsoft's publishing arm, Bluehole and PUBG creator Brenden Greene want to ensure cross-platform parity and quality on both PC and Xbox One, even though PUBG is sold on Steam and not Microsoft's Windows Store. "We want to get the PC version of PUBG on Xbox," said Brenden Greene, aka PlayerUknown, during the Xbox Gamescom 2017 showcase.

Microsoft's new "beastly" Xbox One X console is now available for pre-order ahead of its launch in November.

Microsoft today announced that its $499 Xbox One X is now available for pre-order across a number of retailers. The initial wave of pre-orders will snag the limited edition Project Scorpio edition, which comes with an exclusive vertical stand and green lettering on the controller and the console itself.

The console comes with a 1TB hard drive, and the base unit features a high-end 4K-ready 6TFLOP Polaris-grade GPU alongside a heavily tweaked Jaguar CPU and 12GB of GDDR5 RAM to enable enthusiast-grade console experiences. For more information on the Xbox One X be sure to check out or massive content index.

Microsoft today confirmed that 100 Xbox One games will be enhanced to leverage the power of its new high-end Xbox One X console.

As we've discussed previously, Microsoft's new $499 Xbox One X console will play all Xbox One games even better than original Xbox One consoles, but these titles will need updates and patches to tap the full potential of the console's massively tweaked 6TFLOP Polaris GPU. In order to hit native 4K 60FPS in games like Forza 7, users must first download required patches and content that essentially "unlock" the console's power. Microsoft has put together the Xbox One X Enhancement Program that will mark all retail and digital games with special icons so gamers know which titles are enhanced.

During its Gamescom 2017 press event in Cologne, Germany, Microsoft has confirmed that 100 games will be enhanced on Xbox One X, including both new and old third-party and first-party games. You can find a full list of Xbox One X consoles here. Remember that Xbox One X enhancements don't automatically mean the game will run in native 4K 60FPS with HDR, far from it; Microsoft has confirmed that developers have full freedom to choose how to use the Xbox One X's power. This means that the game could simply get a boosted frame rate for 1080p and not even add 4K support. It's all up to the developer.

To celebrate the upcoming home video release of 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2', we have ten Blu-rays prize packs to give away thanks to our friends at Disney Home Entertainment. Each winner will score a Blu-ray copy of the film, and some cool 'Guardians' merch including a T-shirt, cap, backpack, keychain, and notebook!

Anyone can save the galaxy once. Set to the backdrop of 'Awesome Mixtape #2,' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies, and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

To go into the running to win a prize, post this article to your social media profiles and send your correct answer to the following question (along with your postal address), to ben at TweakTown dot com before the competition closes on August 25:

Path of Exile will launch on Xbox One next week, developer Grinding Gear Games has confirmed.

Landmark action RPG Path of Exile, who's been called the "real Diablo III", will launch on Microsoft's Xbox One family of consoles on August 24, 2017. The game will be free-to-play with cosmetic-only microtransactions, and features the new Fall of Oriath expansion.

"The long-awaited release of Path of Exile on Xbox One is right around the corner. We're all set to make our console debut on August 24th at 2pm (PDT)," PoE developer Grinding Gear Games wrote in a recent blog post. "We are very excited to welcome even more exiles to our community. As per usual, the game will be free to download and available to everyone!"

BioWare today confirmed that Mass Effect: Andromeda won't get any more singleplayer DLC.

Avid Andromeda fans were hoping BioWare would muster up its resources and send off the Mass Effect series with one last big DLC bang before it went into cryo sleep. That won't happen: BioWare has officially confirmed that ME: Andromeda's singleplayer is dead. Not only will the game's singleplayer not get any add-ons or DLC to further the story, but it won't even be patched. "Our last update, 1.10, was the final update for Mass Effect: Andromeda. There are no planned future patches for single-player or in-game story content," BioWare wrote on an official blog post. The "fall of the quarian ark" will now be told through other mediums like comics and graphic novels.

BioWare says that Andromeda's multiplayer will live on, and for good reason: the online MP component is riddled with loot crate microtransactions, the kind that earned EA $420 million in revenue last quarter. The team that made Mass Effect: Andromeda, BioWare Montreal, doesn't even exist any more and has been totally absorbed by EA's new Motive studio. Reports indicate that the Mass Effect series has been put on hiatus as BioWare focuses on its massively ambitious new online-based IP Anthem, and a new entry in the Dragon Age series.

Despite the current flash memory shortage that's plaguing the industry, and reports from analysts who forecast Switch supply to remain constrained throughout 2017, Japanese games-maker Nintendo will likely have a strong surplus of Switch units ready for the holiday season.

Nintendo has been strategically holding back inventory of its popular Switch console-handheld hybrid and releasing a flow of new units to coincide with launches of its biggest games, including ARMS in June, and July's mega-popular Splatoon 2. This makes logical sense as Nintendo can't sell Switch exclusive games if the Switch consoles aren't out in the wild. NPD's recent sales charts for July confirmed this strategy, and indicates Nintendo has reserved a large surplus of Switch units for the launch of its biggest exclusive to date: Super Mario Odyssey.

Nintendo's reserved tactical and calculated release strategy is paying off, albeit met frustration from its key constituency. The Switch was the top-selling hardware platform of July in the U.S., and Splatoon 2 dominated the software revenues charts in the same region. "The Nintendo Switch was July's best-selling hardware platform," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said in the July sales report. "[That was] driven by new inventory released in support of the launch of Splatoon 2." Mr. Piscatella also highlights that the new inventory of Switch hardware helped push other Nintendo games on the top 20 sales chart. "Nintendo's Splatoon 2 was the best-selling title of the month. Three of the month's top seven best-selling games are published by Nintendo. Nintendo was also the best-selling software publisher in July."

Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks pretty good on the Nintendo Switch, but on the PC at 1080p or 4K... it looks so much better.

Now we have modder 'Xalphenos' has removed the 30FPS cap from Breath of the Wild, and cranks it up to a glorious 60FPS. Xalphenos said that the mod won't make the game run better, with no performance increases, especially for those chasing additional performance.

You'll need Wii U emulator CEMU, and the hardware to push 60FPS in order to use this mod. Xalphenos says that the 60FPS mod looks great with the outdoor environments, which are much more demanding.

Microsoft isn't far away from launching what the company is calling the first true 4K console, but now there's news that we might see a special Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition console.

The purported Project Scorpio Edition variant would feature a Project Scorpio logo printed in green vertically on the controller, and on the console. German online store MediaMarkt is the first to tease it, with a description of the console reading: "Be the first to experience the Xbox One X console for the biggest fans - the Project Scorpio Edition in individual design, both the console and the controller are labeled 'Project Scorpio.'".

Microsoft could release a limited edition day one version of Xbox One X, just like they did for the first Xbox One with the "Day One" limited edition consoles. We should know more about the Project Scorpio Edition consoles leading into the launch in November.

Samsung is just days away from unveiling its new Galaxy Note 8 smartphone, with what looks like a big emphasis on the rear-facing camera, which I think will be one of the first big tease of Qualcomm's next-gen camera tech.

Qualcomm held an intimate conference at SIGGRAPH a few weeks ago, showing off what I think will be one of the larger steps in smartphone camera technology (something you can read here). But now Samsung's marketing hype train is in full swing for the Galaxy Note 8, which is being unveiled on August 23... next week.

In the embedded video above, you can see the 'infinity' zoom that Samsung should bake into the Note 8. Samsung will be using a dual camera rig on the Note 8, and I'm sure there will be some impressive tricks up Samsung's sleeve.

Update: ASUS reached out to me about this article to clarify some of the going-ons of this benchmarking. I will put ASUS' replies under each one of the points they addressed, so you have the entire picture.

AMD is struggling with the launch of Radeon RX Vega, but it won't help that custom RX Vega cards are suffering from WORSE performance than the reference cards... something that is now being tested.

The new ASUS STRIX RX Vega 64 has been sampled out to a few reviewers so far, with the sites testing the new STRIX card. ASUS' latest Radeon graphics card has a 260W TDP, which is massive - even compared to the already large 240W+ on the reference card. This increased TDP allows for higher clock speeds than the reference card, but does it result in more performance? Nope. Actually, less performance.

Update: AMD has provided us with the following statement: "Radeon RX Vega64 demand continues to exceed expectations. AMD is working closely with its partners to address this demand. Our initial launch quantities included standalone Radeon RX Vega64 at SEP of $499, Radeon RX Vega64 Black Packs at SEP of $599, and Radeon RX Vega64 Aqua Packs at SEP of $699. We are working with our partners to restock all SKUs of Radeon RX Vega64 including the standalone cards and Gamer Packs over the next few weeks, and you should expect quantities of Vega to start arriving in the coming days".

Radeon Technologies Group seems to be in a world of tumbles right now, with the SEP on Radeon RX Vega stated to be $399, $499, and $599.

During AMD's recent Ryzen Tech Day in LA, the company underlined the pricing of Radeon RX Vega and the media (including TweakTown) were surprised with the strong pricing of RX Vega. Well, that has all changed after a huge $100 increase in price. Gamers Nexus is reporting that AIB partners confirmed the $499 launch pricing on Radeon RX Vega 64 was a limited time offer, with AMD reportedly offering e-tailers a $100 voucher - now that those vouchers have run out, RX Vega pricing has hit $599.

Tekken 7 is crossing over to the heavily monetized world of mobile gaming, Bandai Namco today announced.

Having failed to properly monetize Tekken 7 on consoles and PC in a way that fits with current industry trends, Bandai Namco will now tap the billion dollar mobile games industry as a vehicle for long-term revenues for the game. A new Tekken 7 free-to-play mobile game is on the way for iOS and Android, and from the looks of it, the fighter will be heavily monetized in a number of ways.

While Bandai Namco has yet to reveal official details about Tekken 7's monetization, the official screenshots and press release give massive clues on how the game will be monetized. Traditional mobile games offer players opportunities to pay real money for in-game content ranging from time-saving EXP buffs and helpful items to simple cosmetics. Developers use this money to continually update the game with new content and features while keeping it free for all users. Mobile gaming is massively lucrative, and is expected to rake in $46.1 billion in 2017, or 42% of all gaming revenues for the year, according to analyst firm Newzoo.

For the first time ever, Bitcoin has reached the dizzying heights of $4500, quadrupling its price since December 2016.

The naysayers of Bitcoin are coming out of the cracks, with The Next Web talking with CoinDesk, who said: "There's certainly a lot of bullishness about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and that's the case with bubbles in general. The psychology of bubbles fuels it. You just become more convinced that it's going to work. And the higher the price goes, the more convinced you become that you're right. But it's not going up because it's going to work. It's going up because of speculation".

TNW said that Peter Schiff, who they call a "longtime opponent to the idea that cryptocurrency has any long-term potential", said that the Bitcoin bubble is "about to burst". Now while it might deflate, I don't think it's going to go down and stay down - and if it does, it should scale back up just like it has done again now, to the heights of $4500.

The Ethereum mining boom hits its peak in June, but it hasn't stopped casual - and professional miners from continuing to mine the digital cryptocurrency. The current price of Ethereum is actually quite good, where at the time of writing it had reached $300.

Back to the mining, where I've scoped out the difficulty chart for Ethereum which is continuing to grow. Earlier this month it reached 1.5T, up from the 1.25T or so towards the end of July.

But now, Ethereum mining difficulty has spiked to 1.75T, its highest yet. If you're still mining Ethereum, I've written an article saying Ethereum mining is DEAD... and I still stand by those words. If you've got graphics cards laying around... sure. But I wouldn't advise ANYONE to invest in hardware to mine Ethereum right now, or ever again.

Bungie is just weeks away from releasing Destiny 2, but before then the company will be pre-loading the first-person shooter onto consoles and PCs across the world.

For those that digitally pre-ordered Destiny 2 on the Xbox One, your pre-load will start "early next week" according to Bungie. For those on the PS4, pre-orders will begin downloading on August 31. But as always with games of today, day one updates are a major thing.

Bungie will have a day one update for Destiny 2, with the update to be made available "closer to the release of Destiny 2". I don't know why Bungie couldn't just bake the update into the pre-load, especially since it hasn't begun pre-loading just yet.

Quake Champions has been in its closed beta stage for a while now, but Bethesda has just announced that Quake Champions will be pushed into Steam Early Access, and through the Bethesda.net launcher on August 22.

id Software will be baking in a bunch of new content into Quake Champions once it reaches Early Access, with new maps, features, a new special champion, and more. id Software boss Tim Willits explains: "With a fast, skill-based game like Quake Champions, nothing is more important than continual testing and refining, based on player feedback, to ensure the game is balanced, optimized, and fun for all levels of players, from pro to new".

He continued: "The Early Access version of Quake Champions is, obviously, a work-in-progress, but represents a solid and robust version of the game, with four modes, 11 Champions, a variety of maps, and a thriving community of fans. Early Access will allow us to work closely with players to improve the game and add additional features before the official launch of Quake Champions in the coming months".