Gaming - Page 1026

Microsoft's huge Ultimate Game Sale is back, and this time Redmond has slashed prices on both console and PC games.

The new Ultimate Game Sale slashes prices on 250 Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows 10 games like Quantum Break and Rise of the Tomb Raider are discounted up to 60% off, with Xbox LIVE Gold members getting an additional 10% off on all sale prices.

Notable deals include the newly minted backward compatible Red Dead Redemption for just $7.50, Halo 5, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate and The Witcher 3 for $29.99, Batman: Arkham Knight, The Evil Within, Saint's Row IV, and Wolfenstein: The New Order for just $15; and Metro Redux Bundle for just $7.50. Check below for the full list, or head over to Major Nelson.com for all the links.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition has been officially rated on German USK ratings site on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Although CD Projekt RED has no plans to release a Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition, it looks as though a Witcher 3 GOTY SKU is in the works. Presumably the Witcher 3 GOTY Edition will include the base game, the two huge Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions, all the free DLC packs, and new patch updates on a single disc. Before now the only way to get the expansions was to buy a $74.99 digital bundle or the $24.99 Expansion Pass, so this route will be much more affordable for gamers.

The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition was rated just a month after the game's one-year anniversary (June 22), but we still have no actual release information. Given Witcher 3 has been on sale on PSN and Steam for $24.99 or thereabouts (and will be 50% off starting today on the Xbox Ultimate Sale) I think it's fair to say almost everyone owns the game already, so CDPR isn't really losing much cash by bundling the game + expansions for $59.99.

It looks like Microsoft is going to be looking after PC gamers in a big way with the announcement that every new game published by Microsoft Studios will be on the PC.

All of these new Microsoft Studios games will support Xbox Play Anywhere, which is used through the Window Store. This means the new Halo game will be released on the PC, which is beyond exciting. Microsoft claimed in its "Windows 10 Anniversary Update Available August 2", the company teases:

"With the Xbox Play Anywhere program, you can buy a game once and play on your Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and shared achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store".

For those old enough to remember the original Unreal, you'll have to rewind your memory all the way back to 1998 - and you might remember the original fly-by intro scene that some of you might have used to benchmark your video card back in the day. I know I did, I put hundreds of hours into watching that scene, and have the best memories of it.

Well, someone has recreated the fly-by scene from the original Unreal, in the much better looking Unreal Engine 4. It isn't quite the stunner that it was back in 1998, but it's something that floods my brain with memories of Unreal. Do you remember the original Unreal? And more specifically, do you remember the fly-by intro scene?

Microsoft has officially confirmed the new slim $299 Xbox One S will upscale all games from 1080p to 4K, adding even more benefits to the upcoming system.

The confirmation came from Xbox exec Mike Ybarra, who Tweeted that all existing Xbox One games can be upscaled to 4K with the new Xbox One S. The upscaling capability is made possible by the Xbox One S' newly designed AMD SoC (System-on-Chip) that provides a GPU and CPU boost for the console as well as power efficiency and the 40% smaller size. It's also highly likely the Xbox One S makes use of AMD's brand new console-centric upscaling technology--the same tech that will allow Sony's new PlayStation 4 Neo to upscale to 4K.

We still have no clue what the AMD SoC is packing, and there's been no specification leaks or anything so far, but the $299 Xbox One S will directly combat Sony's new upgraded PlayStation 4K console in the 4K gaming department--at least when it comes to upscaling. Given the $299 price tag, the Xbox One S surely won't go head-to-head against the PS4 Neo's boosted specs, but it's quite interesting to see Microsoft offering 4K upscaling in its mid-tier system.

We've known for a while that Blizzard is hiring for a brand new Diablo game, but a new game director job opening tells us that the project won't be a small excursion.

According to a new Blizzard job listing, the company is looking for a brand new game director for a "new unannounced Diablo game," outright confirming that Diablo III's current game director Josh Mosqueira won't be overseeing the next game. Given the gravity of this position--the creative director will be the "vision holder for the franchise, setting the creative goals for the team"-- we can pretty much assume Blizzard is preparing the next chapter in the landmark ARPG franchise, Diablo IV.

"Blizzard Entertainment is seeking a game director with outstanding communications skills, proven experience in creative direction, strong ability in system design, and a stellar track record of shipping AAA games to lead the Diablo series into the future," reads the listing. There's absolutely no reason for Blizzard to hire a new game director unless they're working on a massive new chapter of the series, so it pretty much has to be D4.

Last week, Overwatch's Competitive Play mode launched on PC, and now Xbox One players can get in on the action too.

Competitive Mode means ranked matches, and an overall much higher skill level than what you see in Quick Play. It also means best of 5 rounds, sudden death, map tweaks, golden weapon rewards, and a whole lot of other things.

Remember, you need to be level 25 before you can try it out.

Pokemon in itself is quite weird, but in a good way...at least sort of. And over the years the series has gotten weirder and weirder, bringing us to the bizarre assembly of Pocket Monsters revealed today.

Remember those wacky creatures shown in the recent Pokemon leak? Remember how everyone thought they were fake? Well, it turns out they're 100% real--yes, even that weird bug-type Charjabug that literally looks like a bus, and Bruxish the fish with lips--and all of them will be featured in the upcoming Pokemon Sun & Moon 3DS games.

The Pokemon Company released a new video showcasing each of the seven new Pokemon in all of their peculiar glory, and check below for pics and full BIOS of Drampa (hi Falcor!), Togedemaru, Vikavolt (not so bad), Cutiefly (okay this one is awesome), Bruxish (why is this even a thing?!), Charjabug (hilarious) and Tapu Koko (pretty neat). There was also an eighth snake/gem-like Pokemon revealed in the trailer, but so far no details have sprung up about it.

The Xbox business is looking pretty bright these days and has for some time, but it wasn't always roses. According to Xbox co-creator Ed Fries, at the initial proposal meeting Microsoft founder Bill gates started things off by throwing the Powerpoint deck from Fries' team on the table and saying, "This is a f***ing insult to everything I've done at this company."

Fries recalls in his retrospective interview with IGN that former Xbox executive James Allard was "in shock for a minute", and then himself stepped in only to be quickly shut down by Gates. Others attempted to reason with Gates but were unsuccessful, around which time then-CEO Steve Ballmer backed up Gates and stated the Xbox was financially unsustainable.

After several hours, both Gates and Ballmer softened when an observer asked, "What about Sony?" and explained that allowing the company to dominate the living room could be a "future threat to Microsoft." This seemed to flick a switch, and shortly after the plan was approved. Even more, Fries and his team were given "full approval to do Xbox" and to work independently from Microsoft.

eBay is currently holding a promotion that gives you $15 off for every $75 spent, and we've found an ingenious way to use it in tandem with Best Buy to rack up some serious savings.

Right now eBay's new Flash Sale cuts $15 off any $75 or more PayPal purchase when using the code CRUISEN2SUMMER, offering a nice incentive for a huge array of purchases from games, Steam gift cards, video cards, tech and more. Remember all the items in your cart have total up to at least $75, you have to check out with PayPal, and the code only works once per transaction per PayPal account.

So you could pick up a $100 Steam Wallet card for $85, or 2x $40 and a single $50 ($90 in Steam Wallet cash) for $75. If you're an Xbox One gamer, you could pick up some Xbox Store gift cards to prepare for Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Summer Sale.

id Software's new arena-style shooter Quake Champions is all about blistering-fast FPS action, and is being made with "inhuman" enthusiast pro PC gamers in mind. The devs affirm that Quake Champions will rock an uncapped frame rate with up to 120Hz monitor refresh speeds--in other words, gaming experiences that are completely out of consoles' league.

In a recent interview with Gamespot, id Software creative director Tim Willits discussed why it's absolutely imperative that Quake Champions hits a consistent streamlined 120Hz at all times: "Most of us, and even me, I can't really tell the difference. But there are some players who are inhuman. And we can't come out and say we're going to make a game for them and not run ridiculously fast. Because if we lose the pro guys, we're in trouble. That's why it's a PC game. No excuses. No limitations."

During Quake Champion's official E3 2016 reveal, id Software promised that the multiplayer-only game is "aimed at hardcore fans" and provides the "challenge and rush you'd expect from our games," but the game won't be a true arena shooter for one big reason: classes. In an apparent attempt to make the game more accessible to new gamers, id is including classes which are made up of "diverse warriors with unique attributes and abilities."

Irrational Games today announced the BioShock: The Collection remastered trilogy, prompting a good portion of existing owners to ask about free upgrades. Luckily the studio will offer a free upgrade program for PC gamers, but console players are out of luck.

If you already own BioShock 1 or 2 and/or the Minerva's Den DLC on PC, then you'll get a free version of that remastered game on PC. You won't get the full collection, of course, but you will get an upgraded remastered port of whichever game you own--so if you own the original BioShock, you'll get a free copy of BioShock from the remastered trilogy. If you own both, then you'll get both. BioShock: Infinite won't be remastered on PC, however, as Irrational says the game "already meets current-gen console standards and runs smoothly on high visual settings." Since the trilogy includes all singleplayer DLC, I'm assuming you'll only get a free copy of the base game, not all of its DLC; so if you own BioShock 2 and no DLC, you'll likely only get BioShock 2 remastered free.

"If you already own BioShock, BioShock 2, and/or Minerva's Den on Steam, you will be able to upgrade to the remastered version of the respective title(s) for free after release. It's a circus of values!" reads the official announcement page on Steam. Right now both BioShock games are deeply discounted to just $3.99 as part of Steam's Summer Sale, so if you want a remastered version be sure to pick them up.

After months of teasing, leaks, and filibustering, 2K Games has finally announced the BioShock Collection, an all-in-one remastering of the original BioShock trilogy for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

The BioShock Collection features upgraded visuals and enhancements of BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock: Infinite, but 2K didn't say whether we can expect 1080p 60FPS on console flavors. The publisher did say that only BioShock 1 & 2 would be remastered on PC, as BioShock: Infinite "already meets current-gen console standards and runs smoothly on high visual settings." Sadly, BioShock 2's mutltiplayer isn't included. Along with touched-up ports of the original games, the remastered collection comes packed with all singleplayer DLC for each game (check below for a list) and even little behind-the-scenes featurettes with Irrational's Ken Levine.

Hopefully the remaster doesn't jam all three games on a single disc. Based on the absolutely failure that was Halo: Master Chief Collection and Gearbox's janky Borderlands: Handsome Collection, packing in three high-def ports on a single Blu-ray disc is a recipe for disaster. The BioShock Collection will launch September 13, 2016 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Sony isn't about to let Microsoft have all the console-upgrading fun: the Japanese gaming giant may reveal a new PS4 Slim model alongside its upgraded 4K-ready PS4 Neo in September.

According to Macquarie Securities analyst Damien Thong, Sony will unveil two new PlayStation 4 consoles at this year's Tokyo Game Show: a slimmer PS4 and the new upgraded PS4K that's built on AMD's new 14nm Polaris GPU technology for 4K upscaled gaming.

"Macquarie Securities analyst Damian Thong said Sony might also introduce a slimmer version of the PlayStation. Sony declined to comment on that possibility. The new variations of the console might be released at a game show in September, Mr. Thong said," reads a report from the Wall Street Journal.

If E3 2016 taught us anything, it's that there's some awesome games coming this year and in 2017. We have titles like Dishonored 2, Watch Dogs 2, Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided all coming to PC. Normally I'd advise against pre-ordering games before reviews come out, but if you've already decided, be sure to save some cash with the deals listed below.

UK key distributor Funstock Digital is currently holding an attractive sale on some of the hottest yet-to-be-released PC games, knocking down the usual $64 price tag to $37 for most games. Sure you pre-order these games on Amazon and get 20% off with Prime, or even grab them on Best Buy with your Gamer's Club Unlocked, but those all require extra fees.

Check below for a list of games and their sale prices, and note that these are all PC digital downloads across various stores like Origin, uPlay and Steam.

The wait is over: if you signed up for Battlefield Insider, you may have your Battlefield 1 Closed Alpha invite in your inbox now, as we've received ours, as have some others. Likely the invites will be slowly rolled out, so if you don't see one yet, just keep checking over the coming days. Not everyone who signed up for Insider is necessarily guaranteed to receive one, however, so you may have to wait until beta to try the game for yourself.

Unfortunately, the game isn't downloading for some, presumably due to the high demand, but the errors should stop once the Origin team get everything sorted.

Rumor has it console players will be able to get in on the action too, so if you don't play on PC, still keep an eye out.

PlayStation 4 gamers will have to wait an undetermined amount of time to get Fallout 4 mod support.

Bethesda has officially delayed Fallout 4 mod capability on Sony's PS4 console. "We regret to say that the PS4 Mods Beta for Fallout 4 has been delayed. We will update everyone when we can," the studio wrote on Twitter.

PS4 owners were supposed to get mod support right about now, but the studio has faced tons of unexpected issues on the platform including performance and memory issues. This is particularly interesting given the PS4's sizable power boost over Microsoft's Xbox One, but the console utilizes an entirely different hardware configuration. Meanwhile, Xbox One players have access to an ever-expanding suite of Fallout 4 mods, and the console's tight integration with Windows 10 could have something to do with that.

Nintendo has begun preparations for the manufacture new NX console ahead of its March 2017 launch.

In the latest Nintendo Investor Relations meeting, company director Hirokazu Shinshi revealed that the company is about to flip the switch on the NX's manufacturing. Nintendo outsources the creation of its products like the new NX console to automated fabless manufacturing facilities in China, and the company is currently trying to pinpoint an exact amount of NX consoles that should be manufactured for its launch.

"Manufacturing automation has long been practiced in Japan, and is now done in China. While making the same product for a long time, the amount manufactured changes based on things like the Christmas season," Shinshi said during the meeting. "It's easy to automate unchanging production amounts, but it's difficult when they do change. We're thoroughly communicating with our partners to make adjustments. As for the #NX, manufacturing is being prepped. We're considering how much to automate."

In turns out that Nintendo's "new idea" for the NX is rather precious--so precious that the Japanese gaming giant skipped a console reveal at the premiere games industry event of the year. So why did Nintendo hold the NX back from E3 2016? To protect it from copycats stealing their idea.

According to Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, the company would normally reveal the NX at E3, but they held off because of potential imitators. "Normally we would've shown the NX at E3, but we didn't. We're worried about imitators if we release info too early," Miyamoto said during today's Nintendo Investor Relations meeting, as translated by Cheesemeister3K.

So let's go over this, shall we? Nintendo has initiated a complete press blackout about the NX for the past several years in order to protect this "new idea". Nintendo also missed out on showcasing their new console at E3 in order to safeguard this idea. We don't even know if major third-party developers have NX devkits yet--this is how far Nintendo has gone to protect the console. This tells me that Nintendo is working on something special, something entirely different than we've seen before. Now Tatsumi Kimishima's promises that the NX is a "new way of thinking about consoles" seem to make a lot more sense.

Nintendo is actively researching its own virtual reality hardware solution that will be affordable, comfortable for extended periods of use, and family-friendly.

We've heard that the Nintendo NX would support VR at launch, and Nintendo has now officially confirmed its R&D sectors are investigating virtual reality. At the latest Nintendo Investor Relations meeting in Japan, Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto spilled the beans by saying Nintendo "has the core technology" for VR and wants to make a VR solution that meets certain criteria.

"I heard VR was a hot topic at #E3, so I went to check it out. It was on display, but it wasn't what I expected. We're also researching VR, so we have the core technology. Long play sessions are an issue. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease."