Steam Deck Hands-on Videos Show the Device in Action
Valve has been confidently talking about the Steam Deck's capabilities since announcing it a few weeks back. The device is apparently capable of running pretty much any PC game Valve has thrown at it during years of testing, consistently meets its minimum targets in terms of performance and resolution, and is supposed to be future proof as well- but we haven't actually seen it in action so far. Well, until now, that is.
Several outlets recently went hands-on with Valve's upcoming handheld gaming PC, and hands-on preview videos have been uploaded by quite a few that show us the device in action. The likes of The Verge, Giant Bomb, Linus Tech Tips, and Adam Savage's Tested have posted such videos recently, which show gameplay for several games, including the likes of Control, DOOM Eternal, The Witcher 3, Hades, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and more. It's looking quite good, with not many significant sacrifices to speak of- check it out below.
The Steam Deck will launch in select regions of the world (with limited stocks, as you can imagine) in December. Stay tuned for more updates.
Elden Ring Can Now Be Wishlisted on PlayStation Store and Steam
It's not exactly controversial to say that Elden Ring is one of the most highly anticipated upcoming games for millions of people out there, if not the most anticipated, as it has been since pretty much the day it was first announced a couple of years ago. And with the game now just a few months away from its launch, those who have been waiting for it with breathless anticipation can almost taste it.
Well, taste it a little more. The game's official pages on Steam and the official PlayStation Store have gone live, and you can now wishlist it on both pages. Of course, that means pre-orders aren't yet live for FromSoftware's open world action RPG, but with its launch just some months away at this point, it shouldn't be long before pre-orders are opened up as well. Unless, you know, things don't go to plan and the game gets delayed…
Either way, as things stand right now, Elden Ring is due out on January 21, 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, so go ahead and wishlist the game.
Take-Two Interactive Has Three Ports/Remasters Coming Before April 2022
It seems like Take-Two Interactive has a lot of irons in the fire right now. They've got several major upcoming new games in development across their various publishing labels, but it looks like other projects geared towards bringing back some older releases are also in the works.
In their recent quarterly fiscal presentation, Take-Two Interactive revealed that it has three unannounced ports or remasters, or as they refer to them, "new iterations of previously released titles" planned for launch in FY 2022 (which is the current fiscal year, running up until April 1, 2022). This is in addition to three that have already been announced- Grand Theft Auto 5 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, GTA Online's standalone launch, and Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition.
It's interesting to speculate on what these three games could be. Many would assume that PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Red Dead Redemption 2 are also going to arrive sooner rather than later, but honestly, all we can do right now about all three of these unannounced releases is speculate. We should find out soon though, so stay tuned.
Usually when we do one of these features, our tone is pretty… let's call it disgruntled. Bad decisions, poor management, murky communication, or a combination of all of the above have prompted more than a few similar features here at GamingBolt. In that sense, this feature in particular is cut from a different cloth. We are still looking at what's essentially a shift in the status quo for the topic on hand, but fortunately, here, that shift has definitely been a positive one.
EA has been on the receiving end of a tsunami of ridicule and criticism from all corners of the games industry for the better part of the last decade, and rightfully so. From their excessive focus on live services and mobile games to their absolute and consistent disdain of single player experiences, from their mismanagement of beloved franchises and developers to their dogged insistence on spearheading the charge of aggressive monetization in video games, EA has been the flag-bearer of some of the worst developments in the industry over the last decade. In light of that, the widespread criticism they've received from the masses is definitely justified.
It's been quite surprising, then, to see them shifting away from those things with very conscious steps in the last couple of years. EA has slowly but surely been taking feedback into account and actually acting on it, and in a number of ways, the company has shown that it is willing to make genuinely good decisions. And just as they have deserved the criticism they have received for all the countless stupid things they have done, so, too, do they deserve recognition for pivoting away from that sort of stuff.
Of all the things that exemplify this recent shift, it makes sense to kick this discussion off with Star Wars Battlefront 2. In many ways, it was with that game that all the negativity surrounding EA came to a head. A solid shooter was let down by what is probably some of the worst and most aggressive monetization we've ever seen in a major AAA game at launch- it most definitely wasn't a moment of pride and accomplishment for EA. But credit where credit is due, because over time, Battlefront 2 was transformed. Its most egregious issues were ironed out and the excellent game underneath was allowed to flourish, and with DICE consistently providing solid support for the game for two years after its launch, it amassed a dedicated player base that was more than happy to stick with the game. What started life as the symbol of EA's worst tendencies gradually evolved into something that actually allowed people to be cautiously optimistic about the company's future.
Battlefront 2 isn't the only Star Wars game that's flourished under EA in recent years. In 2019 came Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which was in so many ways completely antithetical to what EA has been about for so long. A single player only story-driven action-adventure game with no microtransactions- you don't expect to see something like that being made by an EA-owned studio, but Respawn did it, and did it with flying colours. Less than a year later came Star Wars: Squadrons, an excellent flight combat game that turned out to be an absolute treat for fans of the franchise- and best of all, was designed and sold as a singular experience that wasn't a live service and, once again, had no microtransactions, and was sold at $40.
Given its multiplayer-centric nature, Squadrons may have seemed like a perfect game to slap a live service model and microtransactions onto, and thanks to the Star Wars license, EA could have easily sold it for full price, but thankfully, they had the good sense to adopt the sort of pricing and monetization model that the game was better suited for. Of course, one has to wonder whether after the Battlefront 2 launch debacle, EA was mandated by Disney to keep any pricing and microtransaction-related controversies away from the Star Wars license – both Fallen Order and Squadrons were Star Wars games, after all – but then again, it does seem like EA's started changing its approach even beyond Star Wars.
Primarily, it's clear that the critical and commercial success of Fallen Order made EA realize that unlike what they so strongly believed until not so long ago, there's still a big market for well-made single player games out there. For instance, reports initially suggested that Dragon Age 4 was being built as a live service game with multiplayer elements, but earlier this year, new reports claimed that development had shifted gears, and the game was now being built exclusively as a single player RPG.
There's also Dead Space, of course, which is going to be a purely single player narrative-driven horror game that will not have microtransactions, either at launch or at any point afterwards. For a company that was notorious for shoehorning multiplayer into games where it didn't belong (like Mass Effect 3 and Dead Space 3, though the former's multiplayer was actually pretty good), it's great seeing them finally coming to understand that sometimes, a well-made single player offering is more than enough to keep players happy. Meanwhile, under the EA Originals label, EA has also been working with indie developers to consistently put out unique and excellent games, including the likes of A Way Out, It Takes Two, Knockout City, or the upcoming Lost in Random, which is looking quite promising.
And speaking of Dead Space, that's just one of many decisions EA has recently made that shows that the company is actually listening to fans. Skate is another fan-favourite franchise that's coming back soon, we recently got Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (which was excellent), the next mainline Mass Effect game is also in the works, Battlefield 2042 looks like the sort of return to form that series fans have been clamouring for for so long, while the future of Need for Speed is looking bright with Criterion back in the driving seat. We can only hope that the likes of SSX and Burnout will eventually come back from the dead as well.
Looking back over the last two to three years, it's not like EA hasn't screwed up at all. On the contrary, they've made quite a few high profile errors, whether that's the disaster that was Anthem and everything to do with it, or the parade of cancelled Star Wars games, or even, more recently, the controversy surrounding the price of Battlefield 2042. Something else that cannot be overlooked is the shambolic state of things on the EA Sports side of the company, where franchises like FIFA and Madden (the latter in particular) are consistently languishing in stale mediocrity and continue to engage in predatory monetization practices.
Even though things are still far from perfect though, they're significantly better than they have been in quite some time for EA. In more ways than one, the company has shown a willingness to change and improve in recent years, and most importantly, has put out quite a few really good games, while their catalog of upcoming releases is also looking promising. It may have seemed impossible until not too long ago, but it's easy to be genuinely – if cautiously – optimistic about EA's prospects right now.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
Back 4 Blood Will Not Have A Versus Campaign Or Equivalent
Back 4 Blood will launch later this year, and is in the midst of a beta, which you can read more about through here. Various impressions have come out, and people are getting a good feel for the game, one way or another. As most people probably know, the game itself was developed and is being billed as a spiritual follow-up to Left 4 Dead, but it seems it will lack a fan favorite mode.
As detail by Reddit user RadiumPwd, they went to the game's official Discord to ask if the game would get a Versus Campaign or something similar. While that question went unanswered for a bit, the game's Design Director, Chris Ashton, answered that there were no plans in place for Back 4 Blood's own version of Versus Campaign and elaborated to say, "We have a lot of defensive equipment and our specials are good at ambushing. Defending worked far better for our game than running from A-B."
It probably isn't too surprising since nothing had been said about that mode to this point, but Left 4 Dead fans will no doubt be disappointed. The mode in those games saw two team, one as the survivors and one as special Infected, battle over 3 rounds. It was a largely popular mode, so hopefully at least something similar down the road.
Back 4 Blood is set to release October 12th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. The game will also come to Xbox Game Pass day 1 of release.
Diablo 4 Is Planned To "Drive Engagement" For Years To Come
Later this year, we will revisit Diablo 2 with a new remaster that is looking to be quite the faithful recreation of the action RPG classic. But further down the road, a new entry in the series is being cooked up with Diablo 4. We don't know when we'll see that game, but we've been getting updates about it pretty consistently. While there isn't any new information, and the current state of Blizzard and Activision is one of a PR fire tornado, we do have an idea of what the parent company is hoping to achieve.
In the publisher's most recent quarterly earnings call, as documented by the folks at MP1st, Activision COO and President Daniel Alegre spoke briefly on the game. He said its development is going nicely and that significant resources are going toward the project. He also said the company looks for the game to drive engagement for the long haul, saying, "Blizzard continues to make strong progress on Diablo 4, the game is shaping up incredibly well and the team is allocating substantial resources to creating exciting content to drive engagement over multiple years."
This comes as little surprise as all the games, specifically Diablo 2 and 3 were updated and had expansions. We'll let you know when more details about Diablo 4 is released. For now, we know the game is in developer for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, though no release date or timeframe is set.
Very few games embody the "cult hit" spirit as well as Psychonauts does, so it follows that fans of Double Fine Productions' beloved and trippy platformer have been waiting for its sequel for a long, long time. And now, after several years in development, the wait is almost over.
Double Fine recently took to Twitter to confirm that ahead of Psychonauts 2's launch later this month, the game has wrapped up development. This means principal development is complete, with the game ready to be shipped out, and any and all improvements and polishing done now will come in the form of updates on the day of launch (or afterwards). It can be pre-ordered and pre-installed across all platforms.
Psychonauts 2 launches on August 25 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It will be available on Xbox Game Pass on PC and Xbox on the day of its release. You can get more details on what frame rates and resolutions it will target on the platforms it's releasing for through here.
It's been a long time coming, but Psychonauts 2 has officially gone GOLD.
Enjoy the adventure on August 25th on @Xbox and play it Day One with @xboxgamepass!
Pre-order here: https://t.co/XnDI6g0GRf … and then pre-install immediately too! pic.twitter.com/2580Zu8dy4
— Double Fine (@DoubleFine) August 6, 2021
Xbox Confirms ID@Xbox Twitch Showcase For August 10
In a recent Xbox Wire blog post, the Redmond-based giant has confirmed that it would be holding its second ID@Xbox Twitch showcase later this month. The showcase starts on Tuesday, August 10th at 9:00 AM PT and will showcase a number of Indie games slated to release in the future for Xbox.
The blog post mentions a few developers such as Rebellion and Chump Squad. It will also feature updates on games such as The Artful Escape, OlliOlli World and a few others. The last ID@Xbox showcase showed off over 100 different indie games, so it's reasonable to think that the showcase will be packed with announcements and reveals.
Microsoft's encouragement of indie developers for its platform is in stark contrast with Sony, who recently got under fire for charging extraneous amounts of money from developers for putting games on the platform's storefront. Anyways, it's great to see indies getting the love they deserve.
Epic Doesn't Expect EGS To Make A Profit From Until At Least 2027
A number of documents pertaining to the Epic-Apple lawsuit have been recently unearthed, and it has now come to light that Epic has spent over $500 million on it's storefront. Epic's lawyers mentioned during the proceedings of the court that it's not yet profitable, and the company doesn't expect to make any profit until at least 2027 – as reported by PC Gamer.
Of course, it's not that big of a surprise either – the Epic Games Store is known for spending extraneous amounts of money for exclusives, promising Sony millions of dollars for PC ports. Furthermore, it gives out 2 free games every week – which also costs money. Add in a number of exclusivity deals, and the number seems understandable.
"Epic lost around $181 million on EGS in 2019. Epic projected to lose around $273 million on EGS in 2020. Indeed, Epic committed $444 million in minimum guarantees for 2020 alone, while projecting, even with 'significant' growth, only $401 million in revenue for that year. Epic acknowledges that trend will continue in the immediate future: Epic projects to lose around $139 million in 2021."
"If we take the lower figures, that adds up to an investment on Epic's part of $493 million since 2019, and Epic itself has acknowledged that "unrecouped costs" will amount to at least $330 million. "At best, Epic does not expect EGS to have a cumulative gross profit before 2027."
However, Epic's biggest ace is Fortnite – which has transcended from a battle royale to a pop-culture icon. That does cover Epic's back to some extent of course, and these continued investements will probably bear a lot of fruit in the future.
Cyberpunk 2077's Latest Update Still Giving Performance Issues On Xbox Series X – Report
CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 has been a disaster on consoles, with the launch version plagued with unoptimized code causing a plethora of glitches and bugs. Seven months later down the line, it still seems that there's still a lot to be desired and even next-gen consoles are struggling to remain locked to their performance targets. This is according to a recent Digital Foundry analysis, and you can check out the video below.
The Xbox Series X version when running in performance mode struggles to stay locked at a steady 60 fps, dropping below by quite a lot in demanding sequences. PS5 seems to fare better in this regard, staying locked at 60 fps for the particular scene. A point worth mentioning is that both are upgraded versions of last-gen consoles, and dedicated next-gen versions are yet to drop sometime later.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, and Stadia.