Gaming - Page 260

A week ago, Microsoft teased a new update to DirectX 12 for developers that will usher in "a new era of performance and efficiency." Today, we've got more details on what the new 'Work Graphs' entail and what to expect from PC games that take advantage of this potential game changer. Will it help eliminate or minimize poorly optimized releases? Potentially, the big thing with 'Work Graphs' is that it will help eliminate CPU bottlenecks.

For those needing a crash course in GPU rendering in PC gaming, a CPU bottleneck is a situation where the CPU is limiting the overall performance of the game - leaving untapped GPU horsepower on the table. In my recent review of the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, you can see this in action when playing Horizon Zero Dawn at 1080p. In the chart above, 8 of the most powerful GPUs deliver roughly the same performance because the CPU, engine, or other factors bottleneck performance.

'Work Graphs' aims to reduce the need to use the CPU for tasks and scheduling and switch to a more robust GPU-driven rendering system.

Final Fantasy XVI's incoming PC port is almost finished and is set to meet its targeted 2024 release date.

Similar its predecessor, FF16 is also coming to PC, and sooner than later from the sound of it. Game producer Naoki Yoshi-P Yoshida tells Game Informer than FF16's PC version is on its last legs of development, and that the team has entered the optimization phase to ensure the game can run on as many PC configurations as possible.

"In terms of where we are in development currently, we're trying to figure out the final stages of optimization right now. When we can release the PC version might be dependent on the system requirements and specifications for PC that players will need, so we're trying to figure that out," Yoshi-P said in a recent interview with Game Informer.

We've been submerged in a steady stream of gaming handhelds of late, but what about a gaming tablet, of sorts. It's a bad idea, you say?

Well, hold your horses there, because there's a new concept design for such a device - well, technically a 2-in-1, as you can pair it with a keyboard and use it as a laptop - which has won an iF Design Award (in the Gaming category).

This is the Compal Rover Play (Compal is an ODM in Taiwan) and at first glance it looks like a normal tablet, but the clever bit for gamers is the 'FlexiRear Controller' around the back of the device.

PUBG: Battleground has announced some major changes expected to hit the popular battle royale title throughout 2024, and two of them are the adoption of destructible environments and the switch to Unreal Engine 5.

The team behind PUBG has taken to the official PUBG: Battlegrounds YouTube channel and a blog post to explain what players can expect from the battle royale title in terms of coming updates. The roadmap blog post confirms destructible environments are coming to the game, and it will enable players to add more strategy to their gameplay as they will be able to "destroy sections of buildings" and terrain.

The developers plan on releasing destruction elements in an update that is expected to arrive sometime in April, with more updates on environmental destruction planned in future updates. As for Unreal Engine 5, the blog post reveals that PUBG will be switching to the latest Unreal Engine version and that its adoption will be "laying the groundwork" to create "User Generated Content (UGC) service. This ambitious initiative aims to empower our players with the tools to craft and engage with their own content, fostering a vibrant, creator-driven ecosystem."

Star Citizen, the ambitious and perpetually 'in-development' sci-fi universe, not only lets you fly from planet to spaceport to planet in a variety of ships but also explore on foot and take on dangerous missions that require you to enter the situation with a gun in hand. In a new development update titled 'First-Person Assertion,' we learn how the next Alpha update "will bring the FPS combat to AAA standard."

One feature coming to the game, and a very cool one, is the new 'backpack reloading' ability. This ability increases the reload time but lets you access ammo clips and magazines stored in your backpack. With Star Citizen's focus on detail and realism, it adds an extra layer to the combat when you run out of mags or clips stored on your suit.

Also, Alpha Update 2.32 includes a more advanced recoil for all guns (including laser weapons) and a dynamic crosshair to match the movement of a gun's barrel (which can be disabled). Plus, it includes all-new UI and scope rendering (with zoom functionality).

Real-time ray tracing has been one of the biggest advances in GPU rendering and PC gaming in the past decade. Due to the sheer hardware grunt required to achieve it, it kickstarted the push into the world of DLSS AI-powered upscaling and Frame Generation.

In 2024, we're at the point where some high-end GPUs in the GeForce RTX line-up can run games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake II with full path-traced lighting, offering a glimpse into the future of immersive game visuals. So, the idea of real-time ray-tracing or going "RTX On" with just a CPU sounds like a recipe for poor performance.

And that's what you've got with the latest Mesa 3D Graphics Library and its Vulkan driver-CPU-level support for ray tracing. The library ports the work to support ray tracing on older Radeon GPUs to CPUs, with Mesa developer Konstantin Seurer writing 'don't ask about performance' underneath a Quake II RTX screenshot.

Helldivers 2 has been a mega-success so far, and we're only a month from its launch... but now industry insider "shinobi602" has said that the game has sold "way more" copies than 5 million.

We already know that Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has sold over 3 million copies of the Democracy-spreading cooperative game, but in a new post on the ResetERA forums, "Triggerhappytel" posted: "Wow, this is really incredible performance. Considering SM2 sold 4+ million in its opening week, Helldivers 2 could definitely be at 5 million sold by now."

In reply to that, shinobi602 said: "way more than that." We don't know how many more copies than 5 million is "way more," but I would dare say we're looking at the 6-7 million copies of Helldivers 2 sold so far without a problem. There are routinely 400,000+ players on a single planet, which is just under 10% of that total 5 million copies... and remember, that's without the game being on Xbox... it's just out on PlayStation 5 and PC right now.

Blizzard has just announced that they're introducing a brand new Porsche-inspired Legendary D.Va skin once Overwatch 2's upcoming Season 10 launches. Check out the D.Va skin below:

The new Legendary D.Va skin was inspired by Porsche's all-new Macan Electric vehicle. As part of the collaboration, Onyx Forge Studios created a life-sized, 7-foot statue of D.Va's new Porsche skin. It looks incredible, and I'm sure it looks even better in person.

This isn't the only new skin in Overwatch 2 Season 10, with Blizzard teasing that a second skin, additional cosmetics, and the full details of the event will be unveiled after the launch of Season 10.

We've done it! We've librated Tien Kwan, which means developer Arrowhead has unlocked mechs for Helldivers 2, and man... they're fun to blast enemies down (and up) with.

Helldivers 2 players can now access the new EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit, which features a heavy machine gun and rocket launcher. You'll need to check the stratagems list, where the new stratagem is at level 25 and priced at 20,000 requisitions. But for now, Arrowhead has unleashed the mechs for all players, where you can call down a single EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit through a temporary permit. After this limited time, you'll need to buy the level 25 stratagem to use it.

Before this, the highest-level stratagem was level 20, so now we're up to level 25, where things are getting harder in Helldivers 2. The ongoing Galactic War saw developer Arrowhead ask the Helldivers 2 community to liberate Tien Kwan or risk seeing a delay in releasing the new mechs.

NVIDIA has beefed up its GeForce Now streaming service with support for a couple of its key technologies for ensuring a smoother and less laggy gaming experience.

The cloud gaming product now has support for G-Sync, so if your display has it on board, you'll now benefit from its ability to minimize any screen tearing and stuttering.

On top of that, NVIDIA Reflex support is here (when streaming at 60 fps or 120 fps, so those running 240 fps on the Ultimate tier don't get it), which reduces input lag (with supported games). In other words, when you click the mouse to fire your gun, for example, that happens just a touch faster - which can, of course, be the difference between life or death in a competitive shooter.

Helldivers 2 will soon be tweaked with some much-requested changes since its launch: nerfs to the Chargers, Hulks, Bile Titans, and other heavy-duty enemies that are slaying players left, right, and center.

In a new post on Helldivers 2's official Discord, community manager "Spitz" confirmed the news, Spitz explained: "I can confirm that we're currently looking at changes to the spawn rates and health pools of heavy enemies, and will be attempting to spread them out more to prevent large spikes of tougher mobs appearing at the same time, as well as making them a bit easier to bring down."

The developer added: "In addition, we forgot to mention (oops) that the EAT-17 and Recoilless Rifle no longer suffer from a 50% damage decrease when hitting an armored enemy at a 'glance angle' that deflects the shot. Combined with the upcoming adjustment to health and spawn rates, this should make the larger enemies a bit less common, instead spawning more 'chaff' enemies to support them, and should allow players to bring these enemies down with a single well-placed shot. Hopefully this leads to less instances of endless kiting and players being left without any effective weaponry to kill harder enemies."

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has teased that its new Warbond, called Cutting Edge, will launch on March 14. It will feature new armor sets, new guns, new capes, new emotes, and so much more. Check it out:

Helldivers 2's new Cutting Edge Warbond will feature three new EX series prototypes: EX-03 Prototype 3, EX-16 Prototype 16, and EX-00 Prototype X. EX-03 Prototype 3 features a rubber underlayer for insulation, with wires operating at a shocking 400,000 volts.

EX-16 Prototype 16 has a warning: electric arcs generate a huge magnetic field, while EX-00 Prototype X is the end result of several billion Super Credits being spent and 12 years of research creating the "Soldier of Tomorrow".

A professional Apex Legends esports team has been denied entry by the United States immigration office despite the team providing a requested Electronic Arts representative to vouch for their credibility.

Moist Esports, an esports organization founded by YouTuber and streamer Charles White, also known as MoistCr1TiKaL, has been denied entry to the United States ahead of an Apex Legends tournament. White took to his personal YouTube channel to outline the back and forth his organization has had to endure with the US immigration office, with the YouTuber stating his organization is trying to get members of the Moist Esports Apex Legends team from Australia to the United States.

White says the organization has provided all of the requested information, involved lawyers specializing in immigration issues, and has still been rejected. More specifically, White says the immigration agent dealing with his case doesn't believe the esports team's rankings are real, despite Moist Esports submitting official standings/rankings to the immigration office.

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut has been announced for the PC, with the game dropping on May 16 with a huge array of PC features and technology support. Check out the trailer:

The PC version of Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut will support ultrawide monitors like the game was fully supported for it, offering support for 21:9, 32:9, and even 49:9 aspect ratios. So, if you've got Samsung's ballistic 57-inch Odyssey Neo QLED gaming monitor, you will be in heaven.

The PC version of Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut features support for ultrawide gaming monitors and AI upscaling solutions, including NVIDIA DLSS3, AMD FSR3, and Intel XeSS. The game also features controller support, so you can hook up your PlayStation 5 DualSense controller and enjoy that haptic feedback from the controller in your hands.

After 20 years of Halo memes and RWBY 3D action, Rooster Teeth is saying goodbye.

Today Rooster Teeth shared some sad news with fans: The production group has been shut down by parent WB Discovery. Rooster Teeth general manager Jordan Levin said this in a memo to loyal watchers.

Levin says that the Roost team has not currently been affected, and that the Roost Podcast Network will continue onward. But it sounds like axe could fall at any time, and WB Discovery is interested in selling the group.

Apple has terminated Epic's new developer account and effectively stopped the Fortnite-maker from launching the Epic Games Store on iOS.

Epic Games has a goal: The company wants to break open the so-called Google-Apple duopoly in a bid to effectively revolutionize mobile gaming. As it currently stands, both Google and Apple take a 30% cut on all game revenues from the Play Store and App Store. Epic, and practically all developers, want better earnings, and the pathway to get there is through consumer rights.

In the Epic v Apple antitrust trial from years ago, Epic argues that Apple's policies aren't good for consumers because in-game items could actually be purchased for lower prices if made available through an alternate method. If purchased directly from the developer, the in-game goods could potentially be cheaper for consumers. This would require a store on iOS, though, and Apple requires its games to be sold and distributed through the App Store; devs can't offer their own storefront solutions.

After speculation online, the developer behind the massively popular Helldivers 2 has denied the claims that Sony has acquired the studio.

On March 5, rumors began circulating around X about Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead, which was quietly on the verge of being acquired by Sony. It appears the rumors began spreading on Reddit and the NeoGAF forum, but now they have been put to bed by Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt, who took to his personal X account to answer the main question about the rumors - are they true or not. The Arrowhead CEO wrote that it was the rumors were the first he had heard about an acquisition by Sony, and that should be a "good indication that it's fake".

The rumors of Arrowhead being purchased were further put to bed with another response by Pilestedt, who replied to an X user claiming Arrowhead was a "Sony-owned studio". Pilestedt replied, "We are not owned. We are independently owned!" and that the only owners of the company are the four founders, Pilestedt being one of them. Notably, Pilestedt pointed out that optically, it would look very bad for Sony to acquire Arrowhead as they recently laid off 900 workers.

Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is coming to PC very soon, with the first-party PlayStation hit from Sony and Guerrilla Games launching on March 21. Nixxes Software is handling the PC version, and today, we've got the hardware requirements and specs for running the game. It's impressively modest, pointing to some excellent optimization for a game that supports cutting-edge visuals, ultrawide resolutions, and DLSS 3 Frame Generation.

Without any upscaling, the game will be playable with a 4GB GPU (either the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 5500XT) using the 'Very Low' quality preset and locking the game to 720p and 30 FPS. The recommended specs are pretty modest, too, with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 required for 1080p 60 FPS with a 'Medium' quality preset.

If you want the game to look as good as or better than the PlayStation 5 version, you'll need an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 for 1440p 60 FPS action with the 'High' quality preset or an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 or AMD Radeon RX 7900XT for 4K 60 FPS with the 'Very High' preset.

Many fondly remember the Nintendo GameCube, from classic games, including Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, to its iconic physical cube design with purple-colored console and controller. To this day, the GameCube controller is still used by many gamers, especially those who love the Super Smash Bros. games. The GC controller's unique ergonomic design and button layout are perfect for Nintendo's brawler.

NYXI's new NYXI Warrior controller for the Nintendo Switch is modeled after the GameCube controller and features premium components like optical microswitches for the multidirectional D-pad (a change from the Nintendo four-way design) and A, B, X, and Y buttons and Hall effect joysticks for a drift-free gaming experience. Even though it features a retro design, the design is very modern regarding compatibility and components.

It's versatile, with Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz wireless, and USB-C wired connectivity. It's compatible with the Nintendo Switch, GameCube, Wii, and Windows 10 or above PCs. Yeah, it actually works with a GameCube console - the wireless dongle even mimics the look of Nintendo's WaveBird wireless GameCube controllers! Very cool.

The success of Helldivers 2 doesn't appear to be slowing down whatsoever, racking up over 3 million sales, breaking records on concurrent player numbers on Steam... and now enjoying its third week in a row of continued sales.

In a new post on X, Circana executive director Mat Piscatella praises Helldivers 2 as sales have continued to increase in its third week since release. He said that Helldivers 2 is going through an "honest-to-goodness inverse decay curve so far," adding that he feels like Steve Irwin sighting a "rare bird or something, rare and amazing, in an Australian accent even."

He continued: "Normally, sales are biggest for a new release during week 1, and fall over time. With an 'inverse decay curve' the trend reverses. It's rare, particularly for bigger games. Just saying 'growth' doesn't explain the nature - as 'growth' could be temporary, ie from discounting. Using the term "inverse decay curve" denotes that baseline sales are improving, unrelated to short-term things that can impact incremental demand. I mean, or just keep saying it's pretentious or obnoxious that's cool too. Live your dream.."