Gaming News & Rumours

[Morbid_Angel]

I've been thinking about making this topic for a while, and now I just went with it.
I was thinking this could be about things that don't really merit it's own topic, like for example rumours about new graphics cards, new phone models people are interested in, questions about components, news that impacts the industry (like the chip shortage).. you get the idea.
I'll personally mostly "report" from a PC perspective, but all of the platforms are obviously welcome.

But I'll kick it off with some news you guys will probably have heard at this point.

Remedy Entertainment will Remake Max Payne 1 & 2, Rockstar to fund and publish.
https://investors.remedygames.com/annou ... 2-project/

Quick rundown of the announcement:
- standalone title (1+2)
- developed for PS5, XSX/S and PC using the Northlight Engine (Control)
- budget has the same size as "a typical Remedy AAA production"
- financed by Rockstar Games
- currently at "concept development stage"

Y'all know me by now, I'm an old pessimist at this point, and having Remedy on the Epic wagon with Alan Wake 2, as well as the forced exclusivity for Red Dead 2, when that first launched, I'm gonna be preemptive and say that I expect the PC launch to be an Epic/Social Club thing at first, with Steam, GoG and anywhere else down the line.
And don't expect to see this released before 2025 or something like that.

Rogue Legacy leaving Early Access on 28/04-2022
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app ... 1309108787

Launch Trailer:

Spoiler

Now for some stupid shit:

NFT Inclusion is reportedly being "considered" by Activision
https://twitter.com/RalphsValve/status/ ... 5663476742

Ubisoft working on NFTs for other titles (Ghost Recon: Breaking Point had Ubisoft Quartz)
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ ... her-titles

[Grape]

And of course, Unreal Engine 5 got released 2 days ago. I am really excited for the things that it is capable of.

[Morbid_Angel]

Oh yeah, that's huge news as well. Should be a good leap forward in fidelity and performance.
I'm also interested to see how older hardware can handle it. (obviously not on Ultra)

[Shodan]

Seeing how much it takes to develop a 3A game, we're gonna see UE5 full potential in like 5 to 10 years

I'm most excited for the AMD DLSS thing, bringing the upscaling for better performance should be a HUGE advantage for consoles specifically the Switch with its outdated hardware
It's both good and bad because it pushes the life of the switch a little more but does not encourages Nintendo to make a Switch 2 or Pro or wathever

[VOL-E]

Gearbox worker made mathematicly right Black Hole on UE5

https://mobile.twitter.com/OverdrawXYZ/ ... 4154202113

[Morbid_Angel]

Good stuff.

AMD dropped their new (and last) iteration of their AM4 CPUs, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and looks to be a really good chip if you're looking for an upgrade but don't want to buy a new mobo, or want to shell out for DDR5 RAM.. That is, if you're already on AM4 of course.
Most reviews have it trading blows with the 12900K and only losing out slightly to the KS in gaming, while it's worse than even its older brother, the 5800X, in productivity.
Its selling point, imo, is that it can do what a 12900K can do, (again, in gaming only) but at half the price, and on much cheaper RAM.

Some links:
Linus Tech Tips review:

Spoiler

PCGamer review, with some benchmark slides:
https://www.pcgamer.com/amd-ryzen-7-580 ... rformance/

[PC] Bethesda is scrapping their launcher - migrating to Steam

As of 11th of May, the Bethesda.net launcher will cease to exist and you'll no longer have to use it, but instead use Steams.
Migration starts on 27th of April, so you have plenty of time to get things sorted. ALL THE GAMES YOU OWN ON THE BETHESDA LAUNCHER WILL BECOME FREE FOR YOU ON STEAM!

To learn more about how all of this works, head on over to https://bethesda.net/en/article/2RXxG1y ... g-to-steam.

[Multi Plat] Bugsnax coming to XBOX & PC Game Pass 28th of April

Remember that weird game that launched with the PS5 where you could turn into the things you ate? Well that shit is coming to XBOX and PC in about 2 weeks time. Not something for me, but maybe something for you guys with kids, or something to chillout to.
Source: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/04/12/ ... game-pass/

[Multi Plat] Witcher 3 Remaster indefinitely delayed

Devs on Twitter:
We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice.
We'll update you as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding.

Source: https://twitter.com/witchergame/status/ ... 4553008135

[Multi Plat] Next Subnautica game is in development

Unknown Worlds has quietly announced that the next Subnautica game is in development -- and it looks like this one might be going to a whole new planet.
Subnautica is an open-world survival crafting game with three unique twists: it's largely set underwater, it has a compelling story, and it's an open-world survival crafting game that was actually completed. It was followed by the standalone expansion Subnautica: Below Zero which was first revealed in mid-2018 and launched the following year. Now, a brand-new game in the franchise is on the way.

Source with a little more info: https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/next ... evelopment

[Multi Plat] Cyberpunk 2077 expansion coming in 2023

Devs on Twitter:
As it was mentioned in @CDPROJEKTRED_IR financial call moments ago, Cyberpunk 2077's upcoming expansion will arrive in 2023. Please stay tuned for more details coming later this year.

As you can see, no info on what it'll be about or anything, just a confirmation. But hey, at least it's coming.

Source: https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/statu ... 7434987532

[Multi Plat(?)] Return to Monkey Island announced with a trailer

Spoiler

This is pretty big for me personally, as those games were a pretty big part of my early gaming years, and the humour has definitely stuck with me over all those years.
Not a lot of info is out, other than it's a sequel to Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge, and that Devolver Digital will publish the game in collaboration with Terrible Toybox, and Lucasfilm Games.

Also, here's a lengthy interview with Ron Gilbert. The mastermind behind the Monkey Island games:
https://adventuregamers.com/articles/vi ... key-island

Lastly, feel free to copy/paste any info that'd be relevant to the specific game threads on the forum, as I'm sure not everyone reads this topic.

[Morbid_Angel]

[PC & XBOX] Gamepass promotion for new players - free for 3 months

Microsoft has announced that it is offering a three-month free trial of its Game Pass service on PC to anyone who has played certain games between their respective launch and February 28 this year.

A new promotion is underway to attract new subscribers for Xbox Game Pass on PC. Microsoft offers you 3 months of subscription for free, but not under any conditions. Indeed, this time, to be eligible, players must have played Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, or Age of Empires 4 on PC from release until February 28, 2022. This also includes Halo Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer mode.

According to the company, this initiative is a way of showing a certain recognition to players who have supported their studios. All of the games listed below are available with Xbox Game Pass on console or PC.
OFFER IS FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS ONLY!

Source: https://techunwrapped.com/xbox-game-pas ... scription/

[PC] You can now update the firmware of your DualSense controller for PC - works with Wine (Linux)

PC players can now update their DualSense wireless controller with the latest firmware from Windows 11 and select Windows 10 devices, without connecting to a PS5. Details: https://controller.dl.playstation.net/c ... f255705398

Source: https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/ ... 2188781568

[Multi Plat] Sony is cooking up plans to run ads in PlayStation games as rival Microsoft plans a similar program with Xbox

Sony is working on a plan to put ads inside PlayStation games, sources said, similar to a move by Microsoft to run ads in Xbox.

Three people who are involved in the plans said Sony is doing testing with adtech partners to help game developers create in-game ads through a software developer program. The idea is to encourage developers to keep building free-to-play games, which have soared in the pandemic, by giving them a way to monetize them, they said.

PlayStation's current ad inventory is limited to in-menu ads like game publishers promoting their own titles in the console's store, the sources said. PlayStation also serves ads on streaming video to people who stream via their consoles through apps like Hulu .

The new effort, expected to launch by end of 2022, would put ads inside PlayStation games themselves, to be sold via a private marketplace, the sources said. The goal is for the ads to appear like they're part of the game, like digital billboards in sports stadiums. Formats could include ads that give viewers rewards for watching ads and promotions for in-game items like avatar skins.

Sony hasn't decided if it would take a cut of the revenue, the sources said; one said it's also considering charging developers and publishers for data on consumer activity on the PlayStation.

Sony didn't respond to requests for comment.

Sources said Sony started talking about building the PlayStation ad program about 18 months ago after launching the latest generation of its PS5 console. One said it's being strict about vetting adtech companies, ruling out collection of personal information like emails or names.

Dario Raciti, managing director of Zero Code, Omnicom's gaming and esports arm, said advertisers might be intrigued by the idea of putting ads in front of gamers, who are hard to reach with traditional ads. But he also expressed skepticism that the PlayStation and Xbox ad programs, as described by Insider, would be able to track gamers and measure the actions they took after seeing an ad. It'll be hard for adtech companies to convince developers to let them put ads in popular games, while many advertisers will want to avoid appearing in games with mature or violent content, he said.

"It's a new thing, just like the metaverse, and everyone rushes to try it out, but for the people who have done gaming and understand the gaming audience, we'll apply a wait and see approach," Raciti said.

Source (pay-walled): https://www.businessinsider.com/sony-pl ... ?r=US&IR=T

[Multi-Plat?]Skydance New Media & Lucasfilm Games team up for new Star Wars game

Skydance New Media today announced a collaboration with Lucasfilm Games to develop and produce a narrative-driven, action-adventure game featuring an original story in the Star Wars galaxy. Helming Skydance New Media is award-winning writer and director Amy Hennig, a game-industry legend whose credits include the blockbuster series Legacy of Kain, Jak and Daxter, and Uncharted... (More in the article)

Source: https://www.starwars.com/news/amy-henni ... -wars-game

[Multi Plat]First DLC for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands announced - Available today!

Spoiler

Source is the video

[PC] Next WoW expansion will be Dragon themed

Announce Cinematic Trailer:

Spoiler

Source is the video

[PC] WoW: Wrath of the Lich King Classic officially announced

Announce Cinematic Trailer:

Spoiler

Source is the video

[Morbid_Angel]

[PC] Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves PC launch release date leaked

A blogpost from Epic Games might have made a blunder and revealed the release date for Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves on PC ahead of schedule, setting the release date to be 20th of June 2022. The date has since been scrubbed from the blogpost, but the info is obviously already out.

Source: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/ ... es-of-2022

As an aside; like with all of Playstations other ports, this collection can be bought on both Steam and Epic at the day of release, and shouldn't feature bloatware like Denuvo.

[Multi Plat] Diablo: Immortal gets a PC release after all

The action RPG will be making its way to PC in open beta on June 2, the same day as its full release on iOS and Android. There'll also be cross-play and cross-progression between both platforms, so you can play on the go and then pick up where you left off on your desktop.

Furthermore in Immortal you can move your character both by left clicking like a madman, or you can use wasd, which imo seems like a pretty good, and obvious, addition to the control scheme.

You can pre-register for the Beta here: https://diabloimmortal.blizzard.com/en-us/

Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-immortal ... after-all/

[PC/Tech] AMD's upcoming AM5 platform won't support DDR4 at launch

Rumours abound that AMD's AM5 platform, due for release later this year, won't support affordable DDR4 at launch. Instead, the Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 chips will exclusively support the more expensive DDR5 memory standard. Potentially good news from a performance perspective, but bad news for your wallet.

Our sister site Tom's Hardware has been talking to motherboard manufacturers who state that the Ryzen 7000 chips will be supported by X670 and B650 motherboards at launch and that those motherboards will be exclusively DDR5 models. Those manufacturers also confirmed that AMD is moving to a chiplet design for the motherboards, with the top-end X670 motherboards using a two chipset design to bolster throughput.

Imo this could be a move that'd set them up for a less than stellar launch, but as it is with all technology, the first steps on new ground is always shaky, and I'm confident we'll see some massive improvements in the DDR5 space within less than a year. (With improvements I'm specifically thinking about timings - we already know they can reach speeds of up to 8GHz, only the timings are really slow)

[Morbid_Angel]

Elon Musk has bought Twitter for around $45 Billion. Thought it deserved a mention.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-b ... tter-deal/

[Shodan]

Can't wait to see every american going "democracy/free speech in shambles" because of this

[lilfrenchidiot]

By default fuck Elon Musk, but I’ll wait to see what happens there.

[ceero]

By default fuck Elon Musk

This & especially his fanboys, I have hard times thinking of something more obnoxious than those people

Couldn't care less about twitter tho tbh

[Morbid_Angel]

Personally, if he can implement a better system for bans etc. I have no problem with him buying Twitter. (I'm an avid user myself)

Some possible takeover news in the gaming-sphere:
[Tech/All Plats] Ubisoft reportedly in early talks for possible acquisition

It's rumoured that Ubisoft are in early talks with at least 2 separate private equity funds (Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co.) for a possible buyout.
Now, whether or not these talks will amount to anything, or if they'll prompt other, more powerful entities (Sony/Playstation, and Microsoft especially) to pull the trigger and try and buy the company, is unknown at this time.
Ubisoft's current market value is estimated at €4.8 billion/$5.2 billion, with their share values dropping over 40% over the past year.

Source and more info: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... t-interest

[Morbid_Angel]

[Multi Plat] Embracer Group has bought Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal for $300M.

Embracer Group (who already owns THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment, Easybrain, Asmodee, and Dark Horse) late last night EU time put out a statement revealing that they'd acquired 3 studios from Square Enix Holdings (SEH), which has a catalogue of IPs which are as follows: Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain, as well as over 50 back-catalogue games. (meaning the rights to these IPs older titles)

This acquisition is imo a positive one, because it frees these studios from an archaic publisher who has a history of being extremely lenient with their JP studio, often not caring if their "home" studios take 10+ years to develop a game, and not meeting sales expectations, whereas their overseas studios were always on tight deadlines and had massive sales expectations that they (for the most part) had no realistic way of meeting. (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a prime example of this practice)
Another positive about this is that we might have a chance now for a remaster/make of the original Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain games, as well as sequels to these franchises - and chance long dead in the hands of SEH.

Source: https://embracer.com/release/embracer-g ... er-assets/

[Tech] Rumour: AMD Radeon RX 7900XT could potentially feature 3 GHz GPU clock

The leaker now claims that the GPU might hit 92 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is 28% more than the previous claim of 75 TFLOPS. This new number is also four times as high as RDNA2 based Navi 21 GPU (RX 6900XT) model.

This sounds/reads absolutely insane in terms of performance and so on, but as always I'll remain skeptical because I want to see some benchmarks from independent reviewers before I board any sort of hype train.

[Freddy]

Could we have separate topics for Tech and for Game related?

Not sure why they are merged. Not interested in Games at all, but having only Tech related topic would be cool