Gaming - Page 362

Saudi Arabia is prepared to invest nearly $40 billion into gaming to make the country the "ultimate global hub for the games and esports sector" by the year 2030.

As announced by the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Arabia is funding its new game-centric plan through its sovereign Public Investment Fund, and is prepared to invest a total of 142 billion riyals ($37.8 billion based on today's conversion rates) into multiple key points. The Saudi-owned Savvy Gaming Group will execute the strategy which includes strategic minority stakes in various game developers and publishers similar to Tencent's approach, as well as a buyout of a major games publisher.

The kingdom is prepared to spend up to 50 billion riyals ($13.3 billion) for the "acquisition and development of a leading game publisher to become a strategic development partner."

Google is officially shutting down Stadia, its failed game streaming service.

Today Google confirmed that it will shut down its Stadia game streaming platform and storefront in 2023. Google is refunding all purchases of games, subscriptions, and hardware, and users have until January 18, 2023 to access their games. After that, the service will be pulled offline and access will be revoked.

"A few years ago, we also launched a consumer gaming service, Stadia. And while Stadia's approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected so we've made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service," Google's Phil Harrison said in the announcement.

Sony has plans to bring four more PlayStation 5 games to PC, and three of them are coming very soon.

First-party PlayStation games are no longer locked to consoles, and Sony is expanding onto PC in a big way. In a bid to help stabilize recurring game sales and buffer revenue streams, Sony has brought a number of high-profile PlayStation console exclusives to PC so far including Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, God of War, and Spider-Man. This is just the beginning.

Sony is releasing four new PlayStation 5 games onto Steam and the Epic Games Store, including Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection (October 19), Sackboy A Big Adventure (October 27), Spider-Man Miles Morales (Fall 2022), and Returnal, which has been outed on PC.

Intel has launched its XeSS technology which has found its way into Death Stranding Director's Cut, as well as Shadow of the Tomb Raider... now updated on the PC with support for XeSS.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider received its new patch over Steam, and then was confirmed with the new Steam notes for the game where the developer explains it "added XeSS graphics support for DX12-compatible systems". CapFrameX has already used an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card in Shadow of the Tomb Raider with XeSS enabled -- remember, XeSS works on Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA graphics cards -- with some surprising results.

In the benchmarks, Shadow of the Tomb Raider was running at 3840 x 1600 (not quite 4K) on Ultra settings with RT enabled on the Radeon RX 6800 XT with XeSS enabled. With XeSS disabled, the RX 6800 XT is capable of 46FPS average, while with XeSS on Performance mode the RX 6800 XT drives far higher frames up to 75FPS average.

Death Stranding Director's Cut has just been updated on the PC, adding support for Intel XeSS technology... before Intel Arc GPUs are even on the market, ironically.

Hideo Kojima's last game is now upgraded with Intel's AI-enhanced upscaling technology, delivering 4K visuals at performance levels of lower resolution rendering to create a "more immersive experience" in Death Stranding Director's Cut, explained in a post detailing the update on Death Stranding's Steam page.

It's good to see that a big title like Death Stranding has Intel XeSS technology support, but as big as the game is, it doesn't have a gigantic player base. Secondly, Intel (like AMD and NVIDIA do) throw money at developers like Kojima Productions, but it doesn't matter: XeSS needs to be in as many games as possible, as soon as possible.

It looks like Sony is about to deliver another PlayStation 5 game to the PC with Returnal teased, packing NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR upscaling technology support.

In the leak, we can see the PC graphics settings of Returnal which details DLSS without knowing which version (we should expect DLSS 2.x) while FSR is the same (we should expect FSR 1.x unfortunately, and not FSR 2.x) as FSR is listed as "spatial upscaler" in Returnal.

Returnal is a third-person shooter developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, released over a year ago in April 2021. It seems we have to wait over a year before Sony pushes its PS5 exclusives to the PC, but that's alright with me... it means we have some exciting PS5 games to look forward to on the PC in the future. Returnal seems to be another one of those, after the fantastic PC port of Marvel's Spider-man Remastered.

Sony's new PlayStation Stars rewards program launches next month on October 5 in North America.

PlayStation Stars is kind of like a side quest for, you know, PlayStation gaming: Get a quest from an NPC (in this case, the PlayStation App), complete the objective, and get a reward. It's a lot like the Xbox quests system that Microsoft put out many years ago.

The new program will reward players for completing various challenges and tasks in specific games, creating a perpetual cycle of fulfillment through playing games. There's even daily log-in bonuses, similar to those used in live service games.

Verizon has announced the Razer Edge 5G, a new powerful gaming handheld optimized for high-performance cloud gaming and remote console game streaming.

While the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch deliver dedicated games to the handheld market, a new frontier is emerging: cloud gaming handhelds. Following Logitech's muted jump into new market with its lower-powered mobile G Cloud handheld, Razer, Verizon, and Qualcomm are defining the upper end of the nascent market with the new Razer Edge 5G.

Razer's new Edge 5G is an Android-powered mobile handheld with controllers on the sides, a la Switch, and is based on Qualcomm's potent G3x Gen 1 gaming platform that was revealed back in November 2021. Qualcomm says the G3x supports TV or monitor output at up to 4K 144FPS for enthusiast cloud gaming.

After decades of making Dynasty Warriors games, Japanese developer Omega Force is about to try something very different.

Today Koei Tecmo announced Wild Hearts, a new Monster Hunter-like game that's coming from its famed Dynasty Warriors studio. The game is being published by Electronic Arts under its EA Originals label (the same one that brought best-seller It Takes Two) and takes place in feudal Japan with towering mythical beasts to hunt called kemono.

Combat looks fluid and slick, and what's most interesting about Wild Hearts is the new "karakuri" tech, which basically let's you create traps, fortifications, siege weapons, and other fabrications Fortnite-builder style to tackle enemies. There will also be three-player online multiplayer co-op so gamers can team up with friends to take down huge hulking behemoths.

Cyberpunk 2077 is back in the limelight after a huge comeback story as CD Projekt RED shares new sales figures.

CD Projekt RED today announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has sold 20 million copies worldwide since its launch in December 2020. To put the number in perspective, that is half of The Witcher 3's lifetime sales of 40 million.

For even more perspective we can chart the game's overall sales rates from release to present. Cyberpunk 2077 sold an astronomical 13.7 million copies at launch, making it one of the best-selling games of the year, but sales dropped significantly thereafter when the game was pulled off of the PlayStation Store due to big performance issues.

NVIDIA has just published its new GeForce Game Ready 517.48 WHQL drivers which have the best day-0 gaming experience for Overwatch 2, which launches on October 4.

The new GeForce Game Ready 517.48 WHQL drivers will not only be ready for Blizzard's controversial Overwatch 2 launch, but they also include NVIDIA DLSS support for Microsoft Flight Simulator. We've recently seen NVIDIA show off its next-gen GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with Overwatch 2, running the game at 1440p at 360FPS+ with parts of the game that were pushing over 500FPS+ which is more than impressive.

NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card is so powerful it can run Overwatch 2 at 400FPS, with NVIDIA requesting Blizzard boost the frame cap of Overwatch 2 from 400FPS to 600FPS... and now there's some day-0 support for the game. NVIDIA DLSS performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator on the new GeForce RTX 4090 is 2x faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, so DLSS being added to the new GeForce Game Ready 517.48 WHQL drivers makes sense.

Modern Warfare 2 had the most popular Call of Duty beta in the history of the franchise, Activision today confirmed.

Call of Duty is set to explode in October with the release of Modern Warfare 2. All signs point to MW2 shattering previous records and becoming the best-earning game in the series. The game has topped sales charts on Steam and the MW2 beta had more players than any other game in the series. Oddly enough, Activision didn't provide any numbers (the FTC and other worldwide regulators are watching, after all) but expect this to be in the millions.

Modern Warfare 2 will have a number of benefits working in its favor, including cross-gen releases, a brand new Warzone for consoles and PC, and even a special release of Warzone for mobile with cross-progression. Modern Warfare 2 isn't just a game, but a platform for the future of the Call of Duty franchise, and will link and tie into both Warzones in a meaningful way.

Take-Two Interactive has terminated its publishing agreement for Outrider developer People Can Fly's new game.

People Can Fly today announced that their new game Project Dagger will not be published by Take-Two Interactive as planned. The Grand Theft Auto parent company sent the Polish developer a "letter of intent to terminate the development and publishing agreement by means of mutual understanding between the parties."

Project Dagger was in development for the last 2 years at People Can Fly's New York branch, and is described as a new action-adventure IP with innovative ARPG features. The project was due to release by 2024, and would have been part of Take-Two Interactive's massive game release slate that includes 83 separate projects. According to shareholders documents, Take-Two was prepared to spend 40 - 60 million Euros on Project Dagger's development.

Assassin's Creed Infinity will include both singleplayer-only and multiplayer-only games, Ubisoft has said.

Ubisoft's most ambitious new project isn't a game. It's a platform. Assassin's Creed Infinity isn't actually a game but instead a kind of hub, or launcher, where players will go to buy, download, and play future Assassin's Creed games (think of it as a combination between a store, launcher, and a social interface). Infinity represents an emerging trend in gaming that I've called Games-as-a-Platform; while nascent, other developers like 343 Industries are trying to take this approach with Halo Infinite, which will be the nexus for all future Halo games and content.

Infinity is a big opportunity for Ubisoft to cross-monetize its franchise with microtransactions, DLC, and outright purchases. One of these biggest opportunities is the fracturing of games into smaller comparative experiences and give players a dearth of variety across historical timelines, play time, and content scope. Infinity won't just serve up massive games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but will also deliver more visceral and unique titles like Hexe, which will take place during the brutal 17th Century Holy Roman Empire witch trials in Europe.

Valve reiterates that it is 'always working on games' even as it readies new hardware like the Steam Deck.

Valve has made a big splash into the hardware market. Over the last decade Valve has released multiple new hardware platforms aiming to iterate and innovate the PC space. First there was the ill-fated Steam Machines, which were essentially cheaper console-like PCs that ran Steam games, then there was the Steam Controller, and more recently the popular Valve Index VR headset and the even more popular Steam Deck handheld-PC hybrid. So...where are the games?

In a recent interview with IGN, Valve's business development guru Erik Peterson says the company is still making software outside of Steam OS. "We're always working on games. We have nothing new to announce today, but we're a game developer in addition to working on Steam, and we're always working on things."

NVIDIA has used its next-gen GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card to utterly super-power Blizzard's upcoming Overwatch 2, to a blistering 1440p 360FPS+.

The next-gen GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card is so damn fast in Overwatch 2 that NVIDIA pushed Blizzard to increase the frame cap in Overwatch 2 from 400FPS to an even more insane 600FPS. NVIDIA posted the first ever Overwatch 2 gameplay on the GeForce RTX 4090 with over 360FPS+ and sub 10ms latency, with NVIDIA Reflex enabled and High graphics settings.

The company posted a new 1-minute video that shows Overwatch 2 running on the new GeForce RTX 4090 at 1440p 360FPS+ with parts of the game hitting 450FPS and even pushing through the 500FPS+ ceiling. It's pretty damn insane, and as an Overwatch player (it's my main game), I can't wait to play 1440p 360FPS+ myself. 4K 120FPS+ is already fun, but 360FPS would be interesting to see on the RTX 4090.

Electronic Arts is applying a new four-part concept model to its biggest franchises that is focused on embedding games as new social networks.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has a vision: Games will eventually be used as the new social network to bind players, communities, and families together using online frameworks and interactivity models. The plan will be (and has been) made possible by EA's emphasis on four major pillars: Watch, play, create, and connect. Each of these aspects will find their way into all of EA's most powerful IPs and franchises, including Battlefield, Apex Legends, FIFA, Madden, and The Sims.

"What I do think we'll see more is the creation. The Sims has been built on creation since it launched in 2001, and we've seen hours of creation in our Battlefield franchise with all those Battlefield moments, and we've seen FIFA expanding with team creation and collection and ultimate team. We're going to do more of that. We're going to open this up and offer a more interactive component and part of what you see with us in Skate is that we're going to be able to build this overall global universe with skateboarding as a cultural catalyst--skateboarding leans into fashion and into music and building and brand, we think that franchise can do that as well.

The new Saints Row reboot has been poorly received by critics and may have bombed on the sales charts, but the Embracer Group is still confident they will make money from the game.

The latest Saints Row game has its fair share of problems. It's being lambasted by YouTubers and streamers for cutting out popular franchise characters and completely rebooting the main story, location, and overall culture. The biggest issues are performance hiccups and glitches, which remain prevalent throughout the game. As a result, it looks like Saints Row is a sales dud.

In a recent shareholders broadcast, Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors attested the game has a "polarized" image and that Saints Row won't make as much money as other popular franchises--or even games in the Saints Row series--like Metro, which remains one of Deep Silver's most potent IPs.

Embracer Group reminds gamers, shareholders, and the games industry at large that it has the largest treasure trove of IP rights in the entire market.

The Embracer Group is fast becoming a megaton force in creative power. The company currently has access to a whopping 816 intellectual properties with rights stretching across media like film, games, TV shows, and various tabletop/board games. This is an absolutely massive amount of properties to choose from, including heavy-hitters like The Lord of the Rings, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Borderlands, Saints Row...and some surprising IPs like Hellboy, Timecop, and The Umbrella Academy.

In a recent shareholders presentation, Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors showed an interesting slide with a bunch of IPs listed on it. Wingefors was mentioning transmedia content, which is also interesting because some of this content hasn't ever been adapted into games.

Analyst firm Newzoo estimates the global video games industry will generate $196.8 billion in total revenues throughout 2022, including platforms like consoles, PC, and mobile devices.

Driven by strong software sales, billion-dollar monetization across all platforms, and new continuing subscription adoption, gaming is getting even closer to the $200 billion revenues mark. According to Newzoo's latest global games market report, the industry is set to make $196.8 billion throughout the year, up 2.1% year-over-year from 2021.

Mobile is on track to make up 52% of total worldwide earnings with $103.5 billion. Console gaming is down 2.2% from 2021 due to supply chain issues, however Sony is preparing to ship 18 million PlayStation 5 consoles from March 2022 - March 2023.