Intel to unveil Xe-HPG gaming architecture with hardware ray-tracing

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-to-unveil-xe-hpg-gaming-architecture-with-hardware-ray-tracing

mid to enthusiast cards
gddr6
hardware accelerating ray tracing
2021
manufactured at external foundry

Assuming it doesn't get delayed and it's true... Looks like we could have a Player 3 entering the ring

Well, well, well. Look at Intel, trying to play with the big boys. Will Raja manage to do at Intel what he failed to achieve at AMD?

We'll have to wait and see how it performs, and how the market reacts to the new player.

And also if Intel will then finally do some driver updates to their GPUs. Has anyone of you ever seen a driver update for iGPUs?

I'm pretty sure the Intel GPU will be pretty powerful - but at the same time won't get the necessary driver support to get that power to the ground.

We've seen in the past 10 years that if a company cannot offer any halo products they might as well not be part of the industry. There is currently no compelling reason to ever buy an Intel GPU over AMD or Nvidia and as long as that doesn't exist, their GPUs don't either.

As expected

What perfect timing though, to make such an edition when the Steam release is a few weeks later...

PCGamer has articles about Intel's updates, at least some of them (they don't even do it for all the AMD and Nvidia updates either) but I haven't bothered to post them yet.

If you're interested, the latest Intel driver is from July 29. Videocardz keeps an up to date list of all the driver releases from AMD, Nvidia and Intel: https://videocardz.com/sections/drivers

I do find it amusing when I hear about the "free upgrade" and "smart delivery" and how some games will have them and some games don't. It reminds me why I like PC gaming cause when I get that fap worthy 3000 series next month, I don't have to worry about whether or not games will benefit from that upgrade as PC games scale with hardware.

With that being said, this is some nonsense as all the next gen upgrade is... Is just adding the PC version with ray tracing. I doubt it will take much effort as they already have the groundwork for it.

Wow that is kinda scummy. I haven't got Control yet. These days best to just wait and wait. Play the backlog and pvp in the meantime. 

I'd imagine devs would have to port assets and redo stuff for new hardware which takes work. II mean the games been out for a year already..

Remedy did a poo poo, but tbh I'd want to be paid for work I did and so do 505 :P Its not like the old games are unplayable on current gen consoles, both PS5 and Xbox SX have backwards compatibility. So they don't have to give it away for free. But I'm seeing it as a PC gamer and we don't have to deal with that BS, mostly lol.

Guess what: the news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated has sold one million copies
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom-rehydrated-has-sold-one-million-copies/
During Embracer’s Q1 report webcast presentation, CEO Lars Wingefors revealed that SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated has sold one million copies. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated came out on June 23rd, meaning that it took a little more than a month in order to hit its one million goal.
>> I'm actually surprised.

Destroy All Humans! Remake has exceeded Embracer’s expectations
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/destroy-all-humans-remake-has-exceeded-embracers-expectations/
During Embracer’s Q1 report webcast presentation, CEO Lars Wingefors stated that Destroy All Humans! Remake has exceeded the company’s expectations. According to Wingefors, the game exceeded the company’s expectations both in terms of sell through and community feedback.
Similarly to SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, Destroy All Humans! Remake sold well during its launch period. However, Embracer has not revealed the number of units that the game has sold.

Quake 2 is now available for free until August 15th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/quake-2-is-now-available-for-free-for-until-august-15th/
As promised, Bethesda is giving away the second part of the Quake series, Quake 2, for free for a limited time. From today and until August 15th, PC gamers can log into the Bethesda launcher and acquire their free copy.

You can now get the new Total War game, A Total War Saga: TROY, for free on Epic Games Store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/you-can-now-get-the-new-total-war-game-a-total-war-saga-troy-for-free-on-epic-games-store/
Now here is a pleasant surprise. SEGA and Epic Games are currently giving away for free the latest Total War game, A Total War: TROY. For the next 24 hours, PC gamers can visit the game’s Epic Games Store page and acquire their free copy.
A Total War Saga: TROY plunges players into the legendary Bronze-Age conflict of the Trojan War, where they assume the roles of Achilles, Hector, and many other legendary heroes as they fight to defend the great city of Troy or raze it to the ground.

GOG sees two new releases:

• Double Kick Heroes exits the development stage and launches with a 10% discount until August 20: https://www.gog.com/game/double_kick_heroes
• And Milky Way Prince - The Vampire Star launches with a 20% discount until the 20th: https://www.gog.com/game/milky_way_prince_the_vampire_star

Steam has two new deals:

• The Early Access title Foxhole is 45% off until August 17: https://store.steampowered.com/app/505460/Foxhole/
• And Edge Of Eternity, also in Early Access, will be 30% off until August 21: https://store.steampowered.com/app/269190/Edge_Of_Eternity/

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Far Cry 5, 86% off during the next 24 hours for UPlay: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/far-cry-5
• And the new Reaper Bundle 5 features 9 games with a 97% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/reaper-bundle-5

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Witcher 3 Redux V3.3 released, tweaks damage and stats, fixes a bug, and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witcher-3-redux-v3-3-released-tweaks-damage-and-stats-fixes-a-bug-and-more/
Aleks Vuckovic has just released a new version of his Redux Mod for The Witcher 3. The Witcher 3 Redux is a “light” gameplay overhaul, bringing enough major changes to its gameplay. Therefore, this is gameplay mod that we recommend using in your second playthrough.
According to the modder, The Witcher 3 Redux Version 3.3 increases damage resistance of all human enemies in Toussaint by 15%. It also increases increased Cloud Giant’s attack power and resistances.
Furthermore, this new version reworks English string file to be a smaller size. It also fixes bugged interaction between Metamorphosis Mutation and Katakan Decoction.
>> As with the previous versions, you'll find it at Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

Edge of Eternity enters its beta phase today, gets new trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/edge-of-eternity-enters-its-beta-phase-today-gets-new-trailer/
Midgar Studio and Dear Villagers have announced that their JRPG, Edge of Eternity, enters its beta phase today. In order to celebrate this announcement, the teams have also released a brand new trailer that you can find below.

Resident Evil Village to be the longest RE Engine game to date
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resident-evil-village-will-be-the-longest-re-engine-game-to-date/
A lot of Resident Evil fans were disappointed by how short Resident Evil 3 Remake actually was. However, it appears that the upcoming Resident Evil games will be longer than that. According to Capcom insider Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 8: Village will be the longest RE Engine game to date.

Marvel’s Avengers PC Details: PC requirements, unlocked framerates, 30GB HD Texture Pack & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/marvels-avengers-pc-details-pc-requirements-unlocked-framerates-30gb-hd-texture-pack-more/
Square Enix has revealed the official PC system requirements for Marvel’s Avengers. In addition, the publisher announced that the PC version will come with a 30GB high-resolution Texture Pack. Not only that, but the game will support ultra-wide resolutions and multi-monitor configurations.
>> i was shocked by the texture pack, until I remembered that it's a PS4/X1 port, unlike next gen games where this packs shouldn't exist anymore.

Cyberpunk 2077 aims to put a lot of emphasis on destructible environments
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/cyberpunk-2077-emphasis-on-destructible-environments/
According to senior gameplay designer Pawel Kapala, Cyberpunk 2077 will put a lot of emphasis on destructible environments. As Kapala noted, the game will have numerous destructible objects, destructible covers and destructible glass.

Horizon Zero Dawn PC Screen-space reflections are bugged in 4K resolutions
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/horizon-zero-dawn-pc-screen-space-reflections-are-bugged-in-4k-resolutions/
One of our readers informed us about a possible rendering issue in the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn. According to the report, the screen-space reflections are not being rendered correctly in 4K. And, after testing various areas, we can confirm that the screen-space reflections are bugged when using 4K resolutions.

G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout is coming to the PC on October 13th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gi-joe-operation-blackout-is-coming-to-the-pc-on-october-13th/
GameMill Entertainment has announced that G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout will be coming to the PC on October 13th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also released a new trailer that you can find below.
>> Did you know about this game? I certainly didn't. And it doesn't look too bad.

Embracer Group has acquired the developers of Metro Exodus, 4A Games
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/embracer-group-has-acquired-the-developers-of-metro-exodus-4a-games/
Embracer Group, the parent company of THQ Nordic, has acquired the developers behind Metro 2033 and Metro Exodus, 4A Games. In addition, Embracer Group has acquired DECA Games, New World Interactive, Palindrome Interactive, Pow Wow Entertainment, Sola Media, Rare Earth Games, and Vermila Studios.
>> It had been a few months since THQ bought a studio, so it was bound to happen. And they're under the umbrella of Saber Interactive.

GDC 2021 has been announced as a physical/digital hybrid event for July 2021
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gdc-2021-has-been-announced-as-a-physical-digital-hybrid-event-for-july-2021/
Game Developers Conference organizer ‘Informa Tech’ has just announced the GDC 2021 event scheduled for next year from July 19 through 23, as part of a ‘hybrid’ physical and digital show. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) will be both a physical and digital event when held in July 2021. As announced on its official website, the event will physically take place in San Francisco, at the Moscone Center.