Gaming - Page 922

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.

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.

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.

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".

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has sold over 7 million copies and has 617,000 concurrent gamers playing it at once, but now developer Bluehole has said that the updates for PUBG will be slowing down as we get closer to the release.

The developer writes: "Until the official release of the game, we will not have our scheduled weekly or monthly patches rolling out as often as before. We've found internally that being rushed to finish certain features, and having shorter QA test time between pushing updates caused more issues than it solved in regards to maintaining a high standard of quality. We want to put our best content out, and ensure that everything we do is making the game more enjoyable with every update".

This is great to see, as PUBG updates have been one of the best in recent gaming history. The developer takes in what the public has problems with, and they remove/tweak/add it to PUBG with steady patches. Bluehole continued: "Although we may not release a weekly patch, we will utilize the test servers for significantly longer periods of time and deploy patches and hotfixes when necessary".

PS4 gamers can now rent and host their own private slide of open-world prehistoric dino-hunting chaos.

Private rentable servers are now available in ARK: Survival Evolved's PlayStation 4 version, Studio Wildcard today announced. "These servers offer ARK survivors the opportunity to host private, player-run worlds for themselves and their console friends with up to 100 players per server, setting their own in-depth parameters and custom rules for games on their server," the developers said in an official statement.

The first server provider, Nitrado, has a variety of server tiers and plans with four main hubs in Miami, Los Angeles, London and Instanbul. ARK server prices on Nitrado range from $13 a month for 10 player slots to $87.70 a month for 100 players.

Contrary to popular belief, Sony won't be publishing Shenmue III, and Ys Net has partnered with Deep Silver to release the game across the globe in 2018.

Following a massively successful Kickstarter campaign, Shenmue III developer Ys Net has secured Deep Silver as publisher for their upcoming RPG Shenmue III for a digital and physical release on PS4 and PC worldwide. A subsidiary of German company Koch Media, Deep Silver is known for publishing acclaimed video games and franchises as Dead Island, Saint's Row, and the Metro series. "We are proud to have gained a wonderfully reliable partner to make sure Shenmue III reaches all its fans all over the planet," said Shenmue III developer Ys Net.

"Shenmue is one of a few game franchises that have historical value whilst continuing to ignite passion across gamers. We are delighted to have signed this publishing partnership and look forward to utilizing our global publishing network to maximize the potential of this highly anticipated game," said Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Koch Media/Deep Silver.

UK developer Frontier Developments today revealed sales milestones for its key franchises, including the popular space sim Elite: Dangerous.

Elite: Dangerous has sold more than 2.75 million copies cumulatively worldwide on all platforms, including Xbox One, PS4, PC and the virtual reality ports, since its initial release in 2014, Frontier Developments today announced. The game, which currently sits at a Metacritic score of 80 out of 100, has been well-received by gamers and critics alike for its vibrant interstellar exploration, survival, and trading aspects. Elite: Dangerous is also playable in VR on both PC and PS4, the latter of which is powered by Sony's PlayStation VR headset.

The UK-based developer also confirmed that its Planet Coaster simulation game has reached 1 million copies sold since it's release in 2016. Both games will receive a swath of new content updates to fuel unique adventures, the studio says.

As a die-hard Elder Scrolls fan, I hate writing articles like this. Like everyone else I want Elder Scrolls VI to release in the near future...but it's not going to happen. Here's why Bethesda's new hiring spree probably doesn't mean development of The Elder Scrolls VI is under way.

I've seen a few reports that Bethesda's new hiring spree could be connected to TESVI's development. It's true that Zenimax Media is currently hiring 20 people for its in-house Rockville, MD-based Bethesda Game Studios that's responsible for franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Remember that Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) isn't to be confused with Bethesda Softworks; the form is a dev team, the ladder is a publisher, however BGS is under the Bethesda Softworks umbrella. ZeniMax is the parent company, and ZeniMax Online runs Elder Scrolls Online with the help of key TES devs.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's take a closer look at the job openings and the reasons they're probably not for The Elder Scrolls VI. The listings show some interesting openings for key positions at Bethesda Game Studios, including Quest Designer, Character/Concept Artist, Level Designer, Graphics Programmer, and Senior Core Tech Engineer. Nine out of the twenty listings are for the Programming division, hinting the studio is aiming at shoring up its core infrastructure. Some of these jobs call for experience with the company's own powerful modding toolsets, the Fallout GECK and The Elder Scrolls Creation Kit, further hinting that the devs are to work on either a new Fallout or Elder Scrolls game. However Bethesda's leadership has repeatedly said that a new Elder Scrolls is at the end of their current dev pipeline, behind two "big and crazy projects" that are "totally different" than anything the studio has worked on before.

Microsoft's new high-end 4K-ready Xbox One X will go up for pre-order this Sunday, reports indicate.

The new Xbox One X console, which features a highly optimized and tweaked Polaris-grade GPU with 6TFLOPs of power and 40 CUs alongside a dramatically overhauled 8-core Jaguar CPU to enable native 4K console graphics, will be available for pre-order for $499 this Sunday following Microsoft's Gamescom press event, according to The Verge's senior editor Tom Warren. The console was revealed during Microsoft's E3 2017 Xbox press conference, and has since been unavailable for pre-order because it hadn't yet cleared FCC approval.

If this window is correct Microsoft will have little over two months to prepare shipments of the new machine, which is able to maintain native 4K 60FPS in first-party games such as Forza Motorsport 7 with GPU power to spare. Microsoft has confirmed that not every game will run at native 4K 60FPS, or even native 4K for that matter, and refuses to mandate strict performance guidelines for the system in a bid to give developers free reign on the system's power. The Xbox One X will indeed play all existing Xbox One games better than its predecessors (Xbox One and Xbox One S), but 1080p 60FPS performance isn't guaranteed either.

Bungie is ramping up to the big release of Destiny 2, with the sequel being made available to the PC for the first time, after the original Destiny was locked to being a console exclusive. The new trailer is available below, in 4K 60FPS.

NVIDIA is backing Destiny 2 as one of the biggest PC releases of the year, with Bungie and Activision offering 4K resolution support (which should be a default by now, and not a bragging point), as well as uncapped framerates (so should this).

Destiny 2 will be available to play through the PC Open Beta between August 29-31, and you can also pre-purchase Destiny 2 exclusively through Blizzard Battle.net, where you'll get 24 hour early access into the beta that will begin on August 28.