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Discord now offers early access games on its PC store
The most popular chat platform for gamers, Discord, will now be selling early access games, adding to the growing catalog of titles on the Discord Store. Early access was popularized initially by Steam and allows gamers to buy games that are still in development. It gives players access to games months -- or even years -- before launch, while giving valuable feedback to developers.
Microsoft now lets you gift PC games from its digital store
Microsoft's Xbox gifting feature was a big hit with players last fall. Now, the company has expanded digital gifting to include PC games and PC downloadable content (so things like map packs and skins). It's also made all Xbox One games eligible for gifting. It's a pretty straightforward process. Head to the Microsoft Store, find your game and select 'buy as gift'. Just enter the recipient's email address -- or choose their Gamertag if you're gifting via Xbox One -- and they'll get a redemption code. Then you can sit back and wait for the gratitude to roll in.
'Left 4 Dead' character returns to haunt 'Dead by Daylight'
Dead by Daylight, the hit survival-horror game that pits a team of four players against a dangerous killer, is getting a new character as part of the title's free "Left Behind" DLC. Players of Valve's successful Left 4 Dead series of zombie games will recognize Bill, the bearded, loyal-to-a-fault Vietnam vet as a new Dead by Daylight playable character.
Valve has sold over 500,000 Steam Controllers
If you've been wondering how many people bought into Valve's bid to redefine the PC gamepad, you've got an answer: about half a million. That's the number Valve gave today in the Steam Controller's June Update post. That's a lot of controllers, but nowhere near enough to overthrow the dual-stick status quo. It is enough, however, to give Valve a diverse user base from which to harvest valuable user feedback. "With every controller that comes online we get the opportunity to get more feedback on how to make the Steam Controller even better."
Pirates are finding it harder to crack new PC games
Pirates at the infamous Chinese hacking forum 3DM are complaining that recent PC games are simply too darn hard to crack, according to Torrent Freak. The problem is apparently Denuvo, a copy protection scheme that prevents tampering of the underlying DRM. Two recent games that use the scheme, FIFA 16 and Just Cause 3, have still not been cracked, despite appearing in early December. Based on the current pace of encryption tech, "in two years time I'm afraid there will be no free games to play in the world," said one forlorn pirate.
Steam Controller's new trick is designed for strategy games
By default, the haptic touchpads that define Valve's Steam Controller are just thumb-friendly fill-ins for a proper mouse -- but that's not all they can do. Thanks to a new Steam client beta update, the Steam Controller's signature touchapds can now do something now standard PC mouse can: instantly warp your cursor anywhere on the screen at the touch of a thumb.
NVIDIA is testing online game sharing for GeForce Experience
You know that awesome PlayStation 4 feature that lets you digitally "pass" your controller to a friend over the internet? Soon you'll be able do that on a PC, too. The next big update to NVIDIA's GeForce Experience software includes something called GameStream Co-op -- a feature that pipes your games audio, video and controls to a friend over a low-latency stream. It's basically the same thing as PS4 SharePlay, and it sounds just as spectacular.
Good Old Games is taking on Steam with an (optional) PC service of its own
Anyone who's ever bought a game on Steam or Origin is familiar with the concept of a desktop client, but what if managing your game library through a piece of software was merely an option instead of a necessity? That's the question Good Old Games is exploring: the retro PC game seller just announced GOG Galaxy: a new PC gaming platform that promises to provide customers with auto-updating software, a player communication portal and the ability to play multiplayer games with both GOG Galaxy friends and users on other platforms. Oh, and like everything else in GOG's library, the client and every game that uses it will be completely DRM free.
AMD Never Settle bundle gives Radeon HD 7000 buyers free games they'd actually care to play
Just about anyone who has bought more than one aftermarket graphics card knows that bundled games rarely matter. They're usually year-old titles or neutered editions built only to showcase the GPU's performance for a few hours. AMD thinks its Never Settle bundle might finally get us to notice. Buy any modern Radeon HD video card from the 7770 GHz Edition on up and you'll get a download code for at least one new game you'd genuinely want to try, ranging from Far Cry 3 on basic cards to a full three-game deal that supplies Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution and Sleeping Dogs to high rollers buying the 7900 series. There's likewise a discount for Medal of Honor: Warfighter and promises of bundles in 2013 for Bioshock Infinite and the reimagined Tomb Raider. As long as you're not dead set on springing for a GeForce board in the next few months, one of the qualifying cards might be worth a look to jumpstart your game collection.
PBS mini-documentary explores indie game creation, shows what they do that majors can't (video)
The indie game world has undergone a metamorphosis over the past few years, transforming from an often overlooked niche into as much a staple of the game industry as once-every-year blockbusters like the Call of Duty series. It's that fast-rising side of gaming that PBS' Off Book has explored in a succinct documentary. As both developers and game journalists explain, the small and more flexible nature of indie teams lets them delve into game concepts, art and sound that major developers typically avoid -- you probably wouldn't get Bastion, Fez or Super Meat Boy out of a company focused mostly on hitting its quarterly revenue targets. Crowdfunding and internet distribution methods like Steam and Xbox Live Arcade have similarly removed many of the barriers that either kept these games from commercial success or forced uncomfortable deals with large publishers in the past. Accordingly, the indie sphere that PBS sees in 2012 is less about trying to become the next Activision or EA and more about experimentation and personal expression. If you've ever wanted an elegant summary of what makes Spelunky feel so special, the whole Off Book episode awaits after the break.
Steam Big Picture beta hands-on
Been keeping up with Steam's Big Picture interface? Then you probably know it's already in beta. The 10-foot UI hopes to help Valve's content distribution portal get comfortable in front of your couch, offering gamers access to their favorite PC titles from a gamepad-friendly interface. We piped the beta out to our own living room to take a look, and weren't surprised to find a sleek attractive UI with a heap of polish. That said, we were glad we didn't leave our mouse and keyboard at the office.
NYT: Steam's Big Picture public beta begins Monday
Can't wait to use Steam's forthcoming Big Picture mode to game from the comfort of your couch? Well, you're in luck, because it might be ready for a test drive tomorrow. According to The New York Times, the living room-friendly user interface is getting the public beta treatment starting Monday. Gabe Newell let loose last month that both the TV-geared view and Steam for Linux betas would be "out there fairly quickly," but there's still no word on when the Ubuntu-bound preview will land. In the meantime, we'll keep busy by gawking at Valve's augmented reality headset, which the NYT got a glimpse of during a trip to the firm's headquarters, at the source link below.
Valve launches Steam Greenlight to pick cream of indie game crop
Steam has developed a reputation as a haven for indie games like Super Meat Boy, so it's only fitting that store owner Valve has just launched a section to welcome more of those games into its tent. Greenlight lets small developers submit titles and have gamers vote as to whether or not the candidates should get space on Steam's virtual shelf. Pickier players don't have to see every game in contention; they can filter the list down to specific game types and platforms, and collections can narrow the selection to categories hand-picked by fans or publishers. No games have cleared Greenlight just yet, but it won't be long before the logjam becomes a flood -- between this and general apps, Steam is about to get a lot more crowded.
Square Enix Coreonline offers top-tier games on the web for free -- if you feed the ad meter
It's not hard to see that offering high-quality games through the cloud has its pitfalls, not the least of which is getting customers to pay. Square Enix may have licked that last problem through its new Coreonline web gaming service. Players can still pony up for the full-priced games or even single levels if they want unfettered access, but the cleverness comes through Coreonline's parking meter approach to ad-supported free play: the more ads you watch and the longer they run, the longer you'll get to play without spending a single coin. As our colleagues at Joystiq found out, however, the current level of OS support is inconsistent. Windows gamers can use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer to start playing, but their Mac-owning friends have to lean on Chrome for some games and can't even consider running the marquee title, Hitman: Blood Money. Square Enix's library of eligible games will start expanding in October; while there's no guarantee the Final Fantasy series or many other dream games will make it to the roster, Coreonline's approach might just be viable enough to spare us a few raids on the bargain bins.
Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 now working on Linux through Google Chrome, more or less
A Holy Grail of Linux gaming has been an Unreal Engine 3 port. Getting one for the OS would unlock a world of games that has been the province of, well, just about any other mainstream platform. Thanks to Google preserving Flash on Linux through Chrome, that dream is alive in at least a rudimentary form. Experimenters at the Phoronix forums have found that Chrome 21 has support for the Stage 3D hardware acceleration needed to drive Epic Games' Flash conversion of UE3. Tell Chrome to enable support as well as ignore a graphics chip blacklist, and suddenly you're running Epic Citadel from your Linux install. When we say "running," however, we're taking a slight amount of poetic license. Performance isn't that hot, and certain configurations might not show the medieval architecture in all its glory. We've confirmed with Epic that it works, but it's still firm on the stance that there's no plans for official UE3 support on Linux "at this time." It's still promising enough that maybe, just maybe, gamers can embrace an open-source platform without having to give up the games they love.
Sony takes SOEmote live for EverQuest II, lets gamers show their true CG selves (video)
We had a fun time trying Sony's SOEmote expression capture tech at E3; now everyone can try it. As of today, most EverQuest II players with a webcam can map their facial behavior to their virtual personas while they play, whether it's to catch the nuances of conversation or drive home an exaggerated game face. Voice masking also lets RPG fans stay as much in (or out of) character as they'd like. About the only question left for those willing to brave the uncanny valley is when other games will get the SOEmote treatment. Catch our video look after the break if you need a refresher.
Steam's latest beta client enables remote installation of games, with emphasis on 'beta'
Considering it's supposed to be a democratic free-for-all, Steam has been running a tight ship lately. We've already seen a video of a forthcoming native client for Linux, and now there's a new beta client for Windows and Mac that also brings something different: remote game management. This can save you time by letting you trigger the download and installation of a title to your home computer while you're still in the office or on the move, via any web browser. That said, this type of thing was already possible using remote desktop apps, and so far the community response to the buggy beta has been decidedly mixed -- so make sure you read up on Valve's forum (at the source link) before you expect to find your slippers, Pinot Grigio and Sniper Elite V2 all lined-up and waiting when you get home. [Productive workplace photo via Shutterstock]
Kainy remote desktop app brings PC games to Android (video)
Watching Skyrim run smooth and sweet on a Tegra 3 slate did a lot to re-kindle our excitement for remote gaming on mobile devices. Hoping to cash in on that buzz, a $5 app called "Kainy" has appeared on Google Play that promises to bring PC games to Android handsets at up to 60fps with customizable control interfaces, 100 preset templates and accelerometer control. The demo video after the break is full of fast cuts that make it hard to judge performance, and user reviews suggest Kainy may prioritize lag-reduction over resolution with some ugly results, but then these are still early days. One thing is for sure: picking an Android device for its processor grunt will make a lot of sense in 2012.[Thanks, Drew]
GameFly to launch 'Unlimited PC Play' download service, offer less incentive to leave the house
GameFly hasn't wasted any time jumping into the digital download waters after acquiring IGN's Direct2Drive platform a little over two months ago. Set to launch September 8th in beta form, its new "Unlimited PC Play" service will offer subscribers access to 100-plus downloadable PC and Mac titles, with hundreds more expected in time for the official end of year launch. Fans of the video game rental outfit's snail mail subscription service don't have to worry about a shift to digital only, as the company has no plans to abandon its "unique combination of console and digital PC game offerings." Interested in getting an early peek at the new platform? If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can look forward to a planned beta launch party next month, where access codes for the new, invite-only service will be distributed. The rest of you PC gaming warriors will just have to settle for a sign-up page at the source.
Ubisoft's Battle Tag lands at the FCC, we're already out of breath
Remember when we just about passed out from exhaustion following a rather short demo of Ubisoft's nouveau laser tag setup? Well, judging from its appearance over at the FCC, it looks like the RFID-packing Battle Tag is ready to play. Unlike some of our more fruitful dives into the commission's archives, this one doesn't uncover a whole lot about the product that we didn't already know. Internal photos show an RFID reader, used to communicate with ammo packs for reloading, and a thorough examination of the game's user manual revealed the accompanying software is compatible with Windows only. So, no, we won't be exposing any big secrets here, but for laser tag aficionados, whoever they may be, today is a good day. A Battle Tag setup for two is now available via Ubisoft for $130.
