Gaming - Page 383

AMD has been steadily ramping into the unleashing of its new FSR 2.0 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0) technology, but now the company has announced at GDC that DSR 2.0 is "fully supported" on Xbox.

In a new post on the AMD community website, the company explains: "Additionally, for developers, we're happy to announce at GDC today that FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 will also be fully supported on Xbox and will be available in the Xbox GDK for registered developers to use in their games. Though for gamers, we do not have a timeline today of when you can expect to see any Xbox games with FSR 2.0".

It's not just the Xbox that gets that juicy new FSR 2.0 technology, but the first game with FSR 2.0 is DEATHLOOP. AMD took the time at Game Developers Conference (GDC 2022) to announce another FSR 2.0-powered title: Forspoken, which is developed by Luminous Productions. FSR 2.0 will be dropping in October 2022, with AMD also teasing "along with many other AMD FidelityFX technology effects".

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.

New gameplay for Square Enix's upcoming action RPG Forspoken reveals a strange UI decision that hinders gameplay.

Forspoken has a strange on-screen UI. Magic spells and abilities are presented in a wheel formation, which is pretty standard for most RPGs. Hold a button, time slows down as a wheel pops up, you select and ability, and then perform said ability. All pretty straightforward stuff.

What isn't straightforward--or even straight--is the actual UI itself. The wheel is tilted at an angle, making things unnecessarily more difficult to read. The presentation is meant to be stylish--this is Luminous Production's new savvy action RPG with slick combat, a bombastic protagonist, and incredible-looking traversal. But in reality the UI is just...awkward. It offends the eye and looks like something that should be in a VR game where angles are constantly changing as you move around a 3D space.

Ubisoft has today announced a surprise Stranger Things x Far Cry 6 crossover event alongside a free weekend for the game.

The Upside-Down is coming to Far Cry 6's bloody paradise of Yara, and your favorite wheely-boy pal Chorizo has gone missing. The new Vanishing crossover event brings monsters and environments straight out of Netflix's Stranger Things series.

Far Cry 6 is also free to play on all platforms from March 24 through March 27, including co-op action and the free Vanishing crossover event.

Halo today announced a new marketing deal with work boot-maker Wolverine while the latest Halo game continues shedding players.

Halo Infinite is in trouble. The game has shed tons of players since release due to a myriad of reasons including:

What I've found most interesting about Halo Infinite's release (and previous delay) was the dearth of marketing deals that Microsoft signed with other brands. Since December, it seems like Halo Infinite is everywhere. It's on Rockstar and Monster energy drinks, fingernail polish, and there's even Swarovski crystal collectibles. The marketing deals are so big that there's a Halopedia article just on Infinite's promos.

Friday the 13th: The Game developer Illfonic today announced Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed, a new asymmetrical 4v1 multiplayer game set in the beloved 1980s franchise.

A new Ghostbusters game is crossing over to the world of the living, and it looks pretty fun. The game follows Illfonic's penchant for 4v1 PVP multiplayer and pits four Ghostbusters up against one fearsome poltergeist. The ghosts are taken right from the old-school animated series (you can even play as Slimer!) and have all kinds of special abilities including teleportation, possessing nearby objects, vicious slicing attacks.

Original Ghostbusters cast members Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson are back, too. Ray has apparently retired and now runs Ray's Occult Books full-time, giving you advice and probably unlocking other anti-ghost abilities. Winston is now the head of the Ghostbusters and sends you on missions while running the HQ. As a Ghostbuster, you'll be able to upgrade your proton packs and other equipment like PKE Meters as well as unlock new abilities as you progress.

As a big fan of Overwatch, I don't know how I feel about Overwatch 2 just yet... but in saying that, the Overwatch 2 Closed Beta kicks off on April 26.

The upcoming Overwatch 2 Closed Beta is on the PC only at first, leaving console gamers swimming in their potato-flavored tears, where you can sign up for it right here. If you end up getting selected, then Blizzard will email you and you'll be able to participate in the Overwatch 2 Closed Beta.

But now we also know the PC system requirements for Activision-Blizzard's upcoming Overwatch 2, at least in its Closed Beta form. You won't need much, so there's not much change on your PC hardware requirements over the original Overwatch. 60FPS on Medium settings requires an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 5 series CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon R9 390, 8GB of RAM, and 50GB of storage space.

Unity has just revealed its latest visual masterpiece from its Demo and R&D teams, collaborating on Enemies -- showing off a next-gen demo that would stress any PC -- and will be fully unveiled during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) between March 23-25. Check it out:

The new Unity "Enemies" showcases all of the power and capabilities of the Unity platform for creating "high-end, visually compelling content". The developer explains: "Our real-time 3D (RT3D) technology is constantly evolving to meet the ever-growing expectations creators have for visual quality and realism".

"All High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) features have been improved and some new systems were introduced, including Adaptive Probe volumes and Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI). Real-time ray traced reflections, ray traced ambient occlusion, and native support for NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) allow the demo to run at 4K with image quality comparable to native resolution".

Fortnite players have raised over $36 million for Ukrainian relief in just one day.

Yesterday, Epic Games announced that it woulddonate 100% of all Fortnite purchases to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Microsoft joined in and offered to also give its cut of Fortnite revenues towards donations. Based on Fortnite earnings data disclosed in the Epic vs Apple trial, I predicted that this could lead to tens of millions of dollars in donations. This happened a lot faster than I expected.

Epic has confirmed that Fortnite players have spent over $36 million on in-game purchases in just one day's time. This includes Epic's total cut on all platforms + Microsoft's 30% cut from Fortnite purchases on Xbox platforms. Fortnite and Epic Games are now the single largest contributor towards relief efforts for Ukraine, followed by the Stand for Ukraine Humble Bundle that has raised over $10 million.

PlayStation has officially acquired Jade Raymond's new indie team Haven Studios in an effort to bolster its live service ambitious.

Sony wants to have 10 live service games on the market by 2026. Two of its latest buyouts have served this goal; First with the$3.6 billion purchase of Bungie, and now with its recent acquisition of Have Studios.

Formed in 2021 by industry veteran Jade Raymond (of Assassin's Creed fame), PlayStation had originally teamed up with Haven Studios to bring a new live game to its console platform. After a long courting process Sony today put a ring on it and officially purchased Haven Studios. According to SIE boss Herman Hulst, Haven Studios' new game is a "modern multiplayer experience that brings gamers together in positive and meaningful ways."

CD Projekt RED is teaming up with Epic Games for its new Witcher game...but it won't be exclusive to the Epic Games Store.

Today CDPR announced a new Witcher game is in development. The project promises a "new saga" for The Witcher franchise and is being built in collaboration with Epic Games. CDPR has signed a massive 15-year deal with Epic Games to use the Unreal Engine 5 for various projects. Through the development of The Witcher 4 on UE5, CDPR will help Epic innovate and iterate upon the engine for next-gen open-world games.

This collaboration won't extend to exclusivity, though. CD Projekt RED makes it very clear this isn't a marketing deal and Epic hasn't purchased exclusivity rights for the next Witcher project. The new Witcher game is planned to release on a bunch of platforms, likely including consoles, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.