Gaming News - Page 1

Apple isn't necessarily known for making products that are great at gaming, but with the rise of the company's own in-house chips that dream is becoming more of a reality.

At WWDC Apple showed its intentions to drive deeper into the gaming market, especially considering the popularity of the App Store and all of the games it offers. However, Apple isn't just looking at mobile, as the company explained it wants to expand the possibilities of its Mac product line to gamers that want to experience full AAA titles.

Apple stated during its keynote that its MacOS named Sequoia was going to usher in some considerable upgrades for gamers, such as the inclusion of Personalized Spatial Audio, which will arrive for games that support Game Mode. Additionally, this new audio feature will be launching on iPhone. According to Apple, Personalized Spatial Audio "significantly reduces audio latency with AirPods Pro (2nd generation).

According to NVIDIA and its CEO Jensen Huang, the AI PC era began with GeForce RTX and the 20 Series of desktop GPUs in 2018. For PC gamers, this meant using AI to make real-time ray-tracing a possibility with the arrival of RTX hardware and AI Tensor Cores. DLSS, or Deep Learning Super Sampling, is the not-so-secret ingredient.

Fast-forward to 2024, and AI-powered DLSS upscaling and DLSS 3 Frame Generation (which uses AI to generate entire frames) have pushed PC gaming performance to new heights across a wide range of hardware. With games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2, we're now at a point where full Path Traced lighting is a reality.

At Computex 2024, we saw two examples of how NVIDIA plans to empower game developers with new AI technologies. NVIDIA ACE helps create digital humans with whom you can interact. Project G-Assist uses AI and a general model trained by NVIDIA to provide in-game assistance, gameplay guidance, and even performance optimization, all through natural dialogue or text inputs.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf) is the long-awaited next entry in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare, and after a tasty reveal trailer during the recent Xbox Games Showcase, we now have close to 20 minutes of gameplay to chew through ahead of the game's 'Fall 2024' release for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

BioWare has been working on this for several years now, and even though what we see in the extended gameplay video is from the game's introduction, it all looks polished, promising, and authentic to the series (if a little cartoony). Like the original Dragon Age: Origins, you can choose your race (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Qunari), faction, and history (Grey Wardens!), which will play into relationships, conversations, and quests.

In the video, we see a familiar face in the form of Varric and the villain of the game - Solas, a pivotal character from Dragon Age: Inquisition. For fans of the series, there's some additional good news: you can import certain choices and decisions from Inquisition that will impact how the story begins.

Although Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer didn't outright come out and confirm that he and the Xbox team were developing an Xbox Gaming Handheld, he outlined what to expect from a potential portable Xbox device. One that we have to assume is in development.

"The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome," Spencer told IGN during a live interview following the company's big Xbox Game Showcase. "The work that the team is doing around different form factors, different ways to play, I'm incredibly excited about. Today was about the games, but we will have a time to come out and talk more about platform, and we can't wait to bring it to you."

When grilled for more information on what an Xbox "different form factor" handheld might look like, Phil Spencer stated that "being able to play games locally is really important," which means it will be more like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally than Sony's network-based PlayStation Portal.

Microsoft just announced it will be releasing three new Xbox consoles, two in the new Robot White color scheme and one in Galaxy Black.

The new consoles were unveiled by Xbox president Sarah Bond, who showcased the new Xbox Series X "Galaxy Black", which is exactly the same as the standard Xbox Series X performance-wise, but instead comes with a 2TB SSD.

The Galaxy Black console has drawn inspiration from constellations and space, featuring a silver, grey and green celestial effect that is meant to represent "thousands of games and millions of gamers playing on Xbox". The Galaxy Black edition will be a limited release and be priced at $559.99.

Being PC a gamer means you are exposed to an unfathomable number of new games that are released on Steam, and with the more than 100 new games released almost every day on Valve's platform some simply slip through the cracks of your gaming radar.

I believe one of those titles is Empire of the Ants, developed by Tower Five and published by Microids. This soon-to-be-released real-time strategy (RTS) game is powered by the latest version of Epic Games' stunning Unreal Engine 5, specifically Unreal Engine 5.4, and will take players on a journey that's based on the famous French novel of the same name (Les Fourmis) by Bernard Werber.

Personally being a big fan of real-time strategy games, as they were the catalyst to my now profound love for gaming, Empire of the Ants will let players assume the role of 103,683e, a determined ant on a mission to protect its colony. Microids explains the title will force players to make critical decisions that will need to be heavily considered as each strategic choice will have a great impact on the survival of the colony.

Star Wars Outlaws, the new open-world game from Ubisoft Massive (The Division) set in the iconic Star Wars universe, is just around the corner. It will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on August 30. As part of its Ubisoft Forward event, we got our best look at the game, including a 10-minute gameplay demonstration showcasing what you'll do in the game.

It's an impressive showing because the game will include several planets to explore, start systems, and more, with secrets, side quests, and key targets to track down. And when you're in a world with a heavy Imperial presence, living the smuggler and outlaw life will attract unwanted attention. Yes, Star Wars Outlaws handles crime the same way as Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.

Increase your notoriety, and you'll have squads of Stormtroopers looking for you, AT-ST Walkers (the iconic two-legged machines from Return of the Jedi), and even Tie Fighters. Very cool.

DOOM: The Dark Ages was announced at the big Xbox Showcase the other day, alongside an action-packed in-game trailer showcasing the new fantasy-meets-medieval setting for the franchise. Per leaks and rumors ahead of the game's reveal, DOOM: The Dark Ages is a prequel and origin story set a long, long time ago - when the DOOM Slayer was 'the ultimate super weapon of Gods and Kings.'

DOOM: The Dark Ages is described as depicting a 'medieval war against Hell,' but even as the Slayer, you'll still be armed with the Super Shotgun, in addition to weapons that fire skulls and explosive bones. The one weapon from the reveal trailer that everybody is talking about is the new 'versatile' Shield Saw that can rip and tear through demons while acting as a bullet-proof vest for incoming projectile fire.

DOOM: The Dark Ages comes from Xbox Game Studios and developer id Software and is coming to Xbox and PC Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S consoles, PC, and PlayStation 5 in 2025.

Microsoft has recently wrapped up its Xbox Games Showcase where it announced a slew of new titles it currently has in the works under its multiple labels.

One of the titles Xbox showcased during its show is a franchise that is more than 20 years old, and that is Age of Mythology (AOE). originally developed by Ensemble Studios, SkyBox Labs, and Westlake Interactive in 2002, the iconic real-time strategy game took players deep into the world of mythological stories by enabling players to embody gods that fell under different ancient pantheons.

For example, players could select from Norse gods, Thor, Odin, and Loki, while also having the option of choosing from Greek gods, Egyptian and Atlantean. Choosing a certain god gave the player a different build for the upcoming ages they would move through as their civilization advanced. For example, if a player were to choose Zeus, they may be gifted with a Pegausus, while Hades players' infantry will have higher defense and damage.

Antec is a brand best known for its cases and cooling tech. It is one of those trusted names that go back decades to the dawn of the PC gaming DIY scene. At Computex 2024, the company showed us several impressive case designs, but it also had something a little different - a PC gaming handheld called the Antec Core HS.

If it looks familiar, that's because it is a rebranded AYANEO Slide for the U.S. and European markets. It has the powerful AMD Ryzen 7840U Processor and the same floating slide-up screen that reveals a full QWERTY keyboard - adding a keyboard to a Windows 11 gaming handheld sets it apart from the ROG Ally X, MSI Claw, and Steam deck.

The Antec Core HS features a 6-inch Full HD 1080p IPS display with 368PPI pixel density, 400-nit brightness, and 100% sRGB color coverage. In addition to the full keyboard, the build incorporates an ergonomic design utilizing PC and glass fiber materials, with gamer-friendly hall-sensing analog sticks and hall effect triggers. It's a premium little unit.