Intel, a grandfather of the PC hardware industry, is joining the GPU wars. The company announced a new brand today, devoted entirely to graphics. Called Intel Arc, the brand includes hardware, software, and services, and yes, that includes GPUs for gamers.Intel already has multiple generations of Arc planned, with the first being titled Alchemist (it was formerly titled DG2). The upcoming generations of Arc will be named Battlemage, Celestial, and Druid, names ripped straight from the pages of the D&D 5E player's handbook.We don't have any details, like technical specifications, about any future Intel Arc products. However, according to a page on Intel's site announcing the brand, first-generation Arc products will feature "hardware-based ray tracing and artificial intelligence-driven super sampling, and offer full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Dead By Daylight's Stranger Things content will become unavailable for purchase later this year. Announced on the game's official Twitter account, the two survivors and killer in the Stranger Things pack will be delisted on November 17.Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, and the Demogorgon--along with all related cosmetics--will all become unavailable later this year, but players who already own the characters will be able to continue using them in Dead By Daylight. To help out players who don't have these characters yet, they will all be 50% off starting August 18, with the sale running until the characters are delisted.Nancy, Steve, and The Demogorgon are leaving the Dead by Daylight store in November, but we're not ready to say goodbye just yet.Take part in their legacy before they go - details here: https://t.co/mR2pUJkrOz pic.twitter.com/BMOq1PsE3f — Dead by Daylight (@DeadByBHVR) August 16, 2021The Stranger Things Chapter, which includes the characters and some exclusive cosmetics, will be 60% off on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Stadia from August 18 through September 1. All Stranger Things cosmetics will be 50% off from August 18 through September 8.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Most players have been running the same set of perks since Call of Duty: Warzone's inception, but you'll likely want to adjust the perks in your loadouts due to Season 5's major changes. This new season adds two Warzone-exclusive perks, while also buffing an existing perk that probably wasn't in your loadout before.Season 5's new Warzone-exclusive perks will make you reconsider your loadout options, as these new additions give players the most viable perk options that Warzone has ever seen. Tempered is a new Tier 2 perk that lets you get armored up faster and with less armor plates. And the new Tier 3 Combat Scout perk will briefly highlight enemies you damage with an orange glow, allowing you to see them even through walls, while also pinging them for your squadmates. Cold-Blooded also received a major buff to counter more nuisances in Warzone. So, depending on your playstyle, you might end up swapping out your preferred perks for each tier.Here are some recommended perks for Season 5 of Warzone:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Sony and Amazon are close to signing a deal for the animated movie Hotel Transylvania: Transformania to stream globally on Prime Video. As reported by Variety, the deal is worth over $100 million.The news follows reports last week that Sony was looking to move the release date of two of its big fall movies, Venom: Let there be Carnage and Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, following a rise of COVID-19 infections in the US. But while the Venom sequel is moving back a few weeks to October 15, it is still maintaining an exclusive theatrical release. However, Sony has opted to release Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, which will attract a much younger demographic, via Amazon. Variety states that Sony has retained the rights for home entertainment, linear TV, and a theatrical release in China.Unlike many of its rivals such as Disney, Paramount, and Warner, Sony doesn't have its own streaming platform. Earlier this year, it signed a deal with Netflix to release its movies after they leave theaters, and throughout the pandemic, it has sold its films to a variety of other services, including The Greyhound to Apple TV+, An American Pickle to HBO Max, and The Mitchells vs. the Machines to Netflix.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A dataminer has uncovered leftover multiplayer assets within The Last of Us Part II's files that potentially point to a battle royale mode comprised of locations from the action-adventure game's single-player campaign.In a nearly five-minute-long video, "modding and exploring games" YouTuber Speclizer shared what are allegedly The Last Of Us Part II multiplayer assets. According to Speclizer, these contain a map prop to be used in multiplayer, as well as objects like a collar and "listen-mode-device" (likely a piece of equipment in multiplayer to use the listen mode feature).What's particularly striking about this leak, though, is that multiplayer map. It looks like it combines several locations from The Last of Us Part II's single-player campaign, like Adler Plaza and Camallito, to make "one big map." As Speclizer zooms into one referenced area after another, the battle royale map starts to make sense. Adler Plaza, with its four-story motel and spacious music center, looks like a great drop zone for loot and skirmishes. While Port 66, the spot near where Ellie tracked down Abby in the game, could be a solid hiding place to wait it out until you're the last one standing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The ability to output the Xbox Series X's UI at a higher resolution is coming to some Xbox Insiders later today. Shared on Twitter by Xbox Insider program lead Brad Rossetti, the new feature will allow Xbox Series X consoles connected to a 4K display to output the consoles' dashboard and UI at a higher resolution.Despite the Xbox Series X running games at a 4K resolution, the console's UI only outputs at 1080p. It now seems that Microsoft is planning to roll out a 4K user interface for all users in the future, after some testing with the Xbox Insider program.Xbox One Insiders - We have a new 2109 build today to Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha Users at 2.00pm (9.00pm GMT) -relnotes from @xboxinsider calling out a new feature we are flighting - Xbox Series X consoles connected to a 4K display can begin flighting an increased resolution UI. — Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) August 16, 2021Unlike the PS5, which got its own UI separate from the PS4, the Xbox Series X|S consoles share the same UI as the Xbox One. The UI was updated shortly before the launch of the Xbox Series X|S but did not take advantage of the new hardware to display it in 4K. Rossetti specifically calls out the Xbox Series X as getting the update, so its unclear if it will come to the Xbox Series S as well.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The hit reality series, Naked and Afraid, is getting its own spinoff. Coming to Discovery+ on August 22 is Naked and Afraid of Love. The spinoff features people in the buff surviving in the wilderness, but for the new series, they'll also be wooing each other. That might lead many to wonder, how exactly do you survive in the wilderness while also not smelling awful during a date?During the presentation for Naked and Afraid of Love at the TCA summer press tour, the show's executive producer Jay Bienstock explained how these contestants stay as least stinky as possible. "If somebody is undesirable to somebody else, it doesn't really lend itself to love right," explained Bienstock. "They got to clean off in the water because the water was there, and they would actually be able to just sort of rinse their mouths out real fast [for] bad breath and whatnot, but other than that, it wasn't much more than that. In terms of the show, they didn't get to cut their hair or anything like that. It was real basic stuff in terms of their breath, and they can wash up in the water."The usage of soap was not mentioned, so there's a chance that baking under a hot sun could lead to some smelliness. And while this new series is a dating show, it's still Naked and Afraid. "This is not a vacation," explained contestant Britt Whitmire. "I can assure you that we are living off of the land. We're sleeping in shelters on bamboo. It's scary. We have encounters with wildlife that you guys will see if you tune in. There were real risks out there, and there were some injuries that occurred."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In a blog post, developer Arc System Works announced the next DLC character for Guilty Gear: Strive's Season Pass 1 is Jack-O'. For those who own the game's Season Pass 1, Jack-O' will be available on August 27, with everyone else being able to play as her on August 30.Jack-O' is an artificial being created by Asuka R. Kreutz, also known as That Man, for the purpose of stopping the revival of Justice, the herald of destruction. She is a servant of his along with Raven and I-No. Aria Hale, the love interest of the series main protagonist, Sol Badguy, was used as the base for Jack-O'. This resulted in Jack-O' preventing Justice's revival in the past by fusing with Aria's soul within Justice.Aria's soul is restored within Jack-O's, but Aria's consciousness hasn't fully manifested yet. Jack-O is now in an unstable state as her personality hasn't changed. While she tries to keep her emotions under control, she tends to be childish when she fails. In order to mitigate that, she wears a special mask to keep her composure.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Even as lawsuits are stewing away over Black Widow's release, Scarlett Johansson is already on set for her next movie. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the actress will star in a currently-untitled film from Wes Anderson.Details on the film are sparse. The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox director wrote and is helming the film, but plot details are still locked away. Johansson will star alongside previous Anderson players Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Tilda Swinton; Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, and Rupert Friend are reportedly joining the cast as well. Johansson worked previously with Anderson on 2018's stop-motion film Isle of Dogs. Shooting will wrap in late September according to THR.Anderson's next movie, The French Dispatch, is expected to hit theaters on October 16, and features the aforementioned Brody, Murray, and Swinton among others. Johansson's Black Widow is finishing up its theatrical run even as the actress is suing Disney over the studio's handling of her film's simultaneous theatrical and streaming release. That move has also called plans for the Tower of Terror movie, which Johansson was set to produce and star in, into question.Info from Gamespot.com

Dragon Age without dragons seems incomprehensible now, as the monsters seem essential to the series. But early on in Dragon Age: Origins' development, the game didn't have dragons--or, as you might've guessed, a title. In fact, the title came first.According to a new interview with TheGamer, BioWare hadn't considered adding dragons until it started coming up with a title for its new fantasy game. The studio had originally conceived the game as a fantasy epic set in a world past the age of giant monsters and high magic, where dragons had been driven extinct. After the name "Dragon Age" was created (literally by chance), the team was directed to find a way to bring living dragons back to the game."Early on, Dragon Age didn't have a name," environmental artist Ian Stubbington stated. "There were some ideas but nothing concrete, so it was decided that one of the coders would make a quick random name generator. They knocked something together and added a whole bunch of fantasy words to the list. It was fired up and produced some names and the one that got the final vote by the team at the time was of course 'Dragon Age.' [Lead writer] David Gaider responded [with] something like, 'Hmm, we better add some dragons to the story then.'"Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Back to the Future's time machine was a fridge in the first draft, and Ghostbusters' original casting choice for Venkman was John Belushi rather than Bill Murray--even the classics go through huge changes from first draft to final cut. For James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, the big change was the villain; instead of Starro, at one point the plan was to have the Squad face off against Superman (via AV Club).Gunn went on the Script Apart podcast recently to talk about developing the script for The Suicide Squad. There, he said that he initially believed that the Squad should fight Superman, and that it would be "a very interesting story."Ultimately, though, he went with a bigger surprise in the form of Starro, a giant, cosmic starfish.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Axiom Verge 2 is almost a sequel in name only. It's still a metroidvania, and there are a couple of minor similarities between developer Thomas Happ's latest game and its 2015 predecessor, but these are minor aspects when compared to everything that's new and divergent about this unexpected sequel. Considering how revered the first Axiom Verge was as an affectionate homage to Metroid, presenting something that's vastly different is a surprising approach when building on those original foundations would have been more than enough for most. Instead, Axiom Verge 2 is a bold, daring, and ambitious sequel that falters in a few select areas.One such area is the game's story, which starts much like the first game, as our human protagonist is transported to a bizarre alien world. This time around, you play as billionaire CEO Indra Chaudhari, who ventures into an Antarctic research base--and eventually another reality--in search of her missing daughter. This clear-cut story thread does just enough to keep the 10-hour adventure ticking along, but everything around it is coated in the kind of jargon-heavy lore that can only be fleshed out by finding all of the notes hidden throughout the game world. Reading each of these abandoned jottings does fill in some of the blanks left by the frugal narrative, but they're mostly so dense with impenetrable technobabble that it isn't worth seeking them out.Fortunately, the narrative mostly takes a backseat to your exploration of its labyrinthian map. While your journey begins in the snowy tundra of the Antarctic, the adventure eventually takes you through several distinct biomes, such as an arid desert and flooded temple, that marks a clear departure from the subterranean expanse of the first game. These are detailed environments, too, with a sense of scale that extends far beyond the 2D foreground, with snow-capped mountain ranges and verdant forests stretching out into the horizon. If the first game was inspired by the "Metroid" part of the genre's namesake, then Axiom Verge 2 leans more heavily into the "Vania" side of the equation, swapping out the dark confines of its underground maze for a more spacious and detailed environment.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The democratization of music production has meant that just about anybody can make music from their personal computer. As a result, there's a lot of great music coming out from people who wouldn't have been able to create anything 10 years ago.That said, whatever personal DAW (digital audio workstation) you choose as your preference, you'll need to use plugins in order to procure certain sounds that you'll need for your music. The Complete 2021 Synth & Sound Software Bundle from Applied Acoustics sets you off immediately with a collection of 10 software kits that include psychoacoustic effects, piano tones, strumming patterns, sound effects, arrangements, and more.Specifically, you'll get the Objeq Delay filter, which grants effects ranging from echoes to modulations to loops. On top of that, the bundle includes a variety of arpeggiators from composer David Kristian, a collection of folk loops from Celine Dion's keyboardist, and a bunch of other stuff that, in total, almost completely encompasses every possible preset or filter you could ever want for creating your own music. You can go through the different plugins yourself, but suffice it to say that musicians have raved about the different features included here. Whether you are an accomplished musician, like many of the contributors to this bundle are, or a novice beginner who is looking to dip your toes into an ocean of different DAW software, there's something of value for everyone who purchases this expansive bundle.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

At long last, Arcade1Up is putting its The Simpsons arcade game cabinet up for preorder on August 16. The previously announced cabinet was first revealed during E3, though it was unclear when it would actually be available for purchase after briefly disappearing from the company's website. Now, finally, you'll have the chance to get your own. What's more, we've already had our hands on a prototype version. I had the opportunity to play an early take on the new Simpsons cabinet to get an idea of what to expect from Arcade1Up's next release, and came away largely impressed.First and foremost, it's important to note again that this prototype of the Simpsons cabinet was unfinished. The artwork, which you can see in the photos below, has not been finalized, and the cabinet's final shape has slightly changed. This particular cabinet did not include the Wi-Fi functionality or the second included game. The only playable game was the classic Simpsons arcade title, which took me roughly 38 minutes to complete in a single-player game.If you've ever owned or played an Arcade1Up game, you have some idea of what to expect. These are smaller versions of the classic arcade cabinets you know and love--roughly 75% of their original size--giving you the chance to build a home arcade without spending thousands of dollars on the machines you covet and without taking up quite as much space in your home as full-sized arcade machines would.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Back in K-12, Pokemon was the most popular game there was. We would rush home from school as fast as we could and try to level up our Pokemon as much as possible so that we could brag to our classmates the very next day. But there was one kid who always had the highest level Pokemon every single time, and none of us could ever keep up. That kid was always coy, but it turns out they were using cheats!Who else knew "that kid"? Who wouldn't be annoyed knowing we had had no chance to keep up? But looking back, those kids saved hours every day of grinding the most boring aspects of the game and only focused on what they enjoyed most. And today, you can do it too with a lifetime subscription to Cheat Happens .Cheat Happens will give you the best and most recent PC game cheat codes. Unlike websites that just compile tips from different users, Cheat Happens employs programmers whose jobs are to find the best exploits to help you with your game. As a premium user, you get access to the whole host of this information for over 6,000 different PC games, in addition to all of the trainers and cheats from in-house specialists (numbering over 27,000) you could ever want. There is also a forum where users can discuss new cheats and strategies, with an average of 170 new cheats a month for games both new and old.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com