Two months have passed since the release of Project CARS 2 and the community is racing hard and growing bigger day by day. Now, for those who haven't yet had the opportunity to be part of the Ultimate Driver Journey, Slightly Mad Studios and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment are proud to announce the Official Project CARS 2 Demo. The demo is scheduled for release on 23rd November, 2017 for PlayStation4, Xbox One and PC.

The Official Project CARS 2 Demo was designed and created to allow players to get a taste of the racing action on offer in the full game. Experience why Project CARS 2 is one of the highest rated multi-platform racing games of the year. Jump into a Ferrari 488 GT3, Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4, and Formula Renault 3.5 and race at the laser-scanned Red Bull Ring. Furthermore, the demo showcases the Xbox One X and PlayStation4 Pro enhancements that will be rolled out in an imminent update, as well as the extensive virtual reality support in the PC version of Project CARS 2.

Haven't had a chance to jump into Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus yet? Starting today you can download the free trial on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC and play through the entire first level of the game. Should you choose to upgrade to the full version of the game, all of your save data will carry over. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus launched on October 27 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, to widespread praise from the critics and community. Wolfenstein II has also been nominated in several categories for The Game Awards, including Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Action Game and Best Performance (Brian Bloom as BJ Blazkowicz). You can vote now for the winners, and be sure to tune into the live awards show on Thursday, December 7.

KOEI TECMO America eased fans' anticipation today by announcing that Omega Force's upcoming open-world epic, DYNASTY WARRIORS 9, will be released across the western regions on February 13, 2018 for the PlayStation4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC via Steam. DYNASTY WARRIORS 9 will venture into new territory as the classic, time-tested "one versus thousands" action, iconic to the Warriors series, is expanded to its first true open world installment.

KOEI TECMO America has put together an exciting bundle of bonus content for gamers opting to pick up the physical or standard digital version. Comprised of seven costumes for fan-favorite characters, the bundle includes an imposing Beijing opera-style costume for Zhao Yun and six costumes inspired by traditional Chinese undergarment styles - one each for Guan Yinping, Diaochan, Sun Shangxiang, Lu Lingqi, Wang Yi, and Wang Yuanji.

Today, Ghost Games and Electronic Arts Inc. announced Need for Speed Payback, one of the world's bestselling video game franchises, is available worldwide on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Origin for PC. With deeper customization, a diverse open world and blockbuster action moments never-before seen in the franchise, Need for Speed Payback delivers an edge-of-your-seat experience that will have players living out their ultimate action driving fantasy.

"Two years ago, we reinvigorated the franchise by listening to what our fans wanted and built a game that returned to the Need for Speed core tenets- fast cars, deep customization, and epic cop chases. With Need for Speed Payback, we've raised the bar by adding Hollywood-style, adrenaline-fueled action, a huge open world, even more customization options, and a narrative that drives gameplay forward," said Executive Producer Marcus Nilsson. "We're excited to deliver a new driving experience that not only delivers everything our players love about the series but also pushes the boundaries of what they've come to expect from the genre."

Activision's Call of Duty: WWII has surpassed more than $500 million in sell-through worldwide in its first three days of release, topping popular theatrical box office openings Thor: Ragnarok and Wonder Woman combined, according to company estimates. On PlayStation4, Call of Duty: WWII set a record as the best-selling digital full game by units sold on its first day of availability. Overall unit sales at launch doubled year-over-year globally.

The gripping, personal narrative, boots-on-the-ground multiplayer and terrifying Nazi Zombies mode attracted players worldwide resulting in the highest total connected users on current generation consoles and PC in Call of Duty history. "We challenged our players to get their squads back together and they answered the call, with the highest number of players we've ever seen on current gen consoles and PC," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision.

SteelSeries introduced a new Arctis gaming headset to the award-winning line-up, the Arctis 3 Bluetooth. This addition of Bluetooth allows users to hear audio from both Bluetooth sources and wired connections at the same time. Arctis 3 Bluetooth is designed for everywhere you game, with remarkable sound, comfort and style on all gaming platforms, including PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, VR and mobile.

Arctis 3 Bluetooth is now even more ideal for Nintendo Switch. Gamers can connect to their phones via Bluetooth to use the Nintendo Switch Online chat mobile app, while using the wired connection to hear game audio from their Nintendo Switch. This is the first headset with this type of compatibility for the Nintendo Switch.

Elgato Gaming today announced that Game Capture 4K60 Pro, a first-of-its-kind capture card capable of flawlessly capturing 4K footage at 60 frames per second, will be available on November 22, 2017. Originally teased at Gamescom 2017, Game Capture 4K60 Pro will be the first consumer-ready 4K capture card to hit the market. Game Capture 4K60 Pro is ideal for capturing Ultra HD footage from a PS4 Pro, Xbox One X, PC, or any other unencrypted HDMI device. Pre-Orders for Game Capture 4K60 Pro are available from Elgato and Amazon for an MSRP of £359.95 GBP.

"4K content is here to stay and demand is booming. Content creators shouldn't be limited by the constraints of their capture hardware," said Julian Fest, General Manager of Elgato Gaming. "Game Capture 4K60 Pro gives creators the tools they need to stay ahead of the curve and give their audiences nothing less than the best."

CCP Games today announced that Sparc, the energetic competitive virtual reality game currently available on PlayStationVR, is coming to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets on PC on November 16th. Sparc's unique full-body experience is only possible in virtual reality, where players' VR equipment becomes their sports gear.

Players on PlayStation 4 and PCs will be able to compete against each other seamlessly. In Sparc, players connect online to compete in fast-paced and physical one-on-one gameplay, using motion controllers to throw projectiles across the court at their opponent while dodging, blocking or deflecting incoming shots.

This morning, leading gaming headset and audio accessory brand Turtle Beach announced the global retail availability of the Stealth 700 wireless surround sound headset for PlayStation4. The Stealth 700 for PS4 is the company's fourth and final model released in time for this fall's big game launches as part of its all-new lineup of revolutionary wireless gaming headsets for the latest Xbox One and PS4 game consoles. The Stealth 700 for PS4, as well as the previously released Stealth 700 and 600 series headsets, are available today at www.turtlebeach.com and participating retailers around the world.

Beyond high-quality, wireless game and chat audio, the Stealth 700 gaming headset for PS4 features everything from Active Noise-Cancellation and Bluetooth connectivity with app-based settings to Turtle Beach's unique ProSpecs glasses friendly and comfort-driven design. It also offers the company's exclusive Superhuman Hearing sound setting that gives you a competitive advantage so you can win more. All this and much more for an unprecedented MSRP of $149.95.

Sony today announced an addition to its PlayStation family of entertainment systems, with the new PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro). The PS4 Pro isn't meant to succeed the PS4, and is still a "current generation" console, in that all of its games are compatible with the PS4, and there won't be PS4 Pro-exclusive games. What sets it apart is higher-resolution game rendering that looks best on 4K Ultra HD TVs. This doesn't necessarily mean that the games are being rendered at 3840 x 2160 pixels. They could be rendered at resolutions higher than 1080p, and using just the right upscaling algorithms, made to look significantly better than 1080p. Another key visual component is hardware HDR. The PS4 Pro falls in line with Sony's big push for 4K HDR TVs this holiday shopping season.

Under the hood, the PlayStation 4 Pro features an all new semi-custom SoC designed by Sony and AMD. The CPU component sticks to the "Jaguar/Puma" architecture, with 8 cores, but features higher CPU clock speeds. The 8 GB GDDR5 memory is said to run at higher clocks, too, and is bolstered by new lossless memory compression tech by AMD. The GPU component is where the action is. The GPU features over double the shading power of the PS4, and is based on the "Polaris" GPU architecture. The PS4 Pro also ships with a bigger 1 TB hard drive. There is seamless interplayability between PS4 and PS4 Pro. PS4 games you already own are being added with higher-resolution content meant for PS4 Pro. The console also has the muscle for PS-VR. For those still holding on to 1080p HDTVs, the PS4 Pro rewards with higher visual detail, more geometric complexity, and better effects, at that resolution. The PS4 Pro starts at $399.

Eidos announced that its upcoming AAA title "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided," which was touted as one of the posterboys for DirectX 12 by GPU manufacturers, won't ship with DirectX 12 support at launch. The game will release on August 23, 2016, with a DirectX 11 renderer, while the DirectX 12 renderer will be added via a patch, which will release in the week of 5th September.

Eidos said that it delayed DirectX 12 support because it needs some "extra work" by the developers, followed by optimizations. "We have some extra work and optimizations to do for DX12, and we need more time to ensure we deliver a compelling experience," the release reads. "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" releases for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on the 23rd of August, and is the 5th entry to the smash hit cyberpunk RPG.

Sony's upcoming 4K Ultra HD game console, which its fans are referring to as the "PlayStation 4K," while being internally referred to by Sony as "NEO," could feature a very powerful GPU. AMD could custom-design the SoC that drives the console, to feature an 8-core 64-bit x86 CPU based on the "Jaguar" micro-architecture, running at 2.10 GHz; and a GPU component featuring 36 compute units based on "next-generation Graphics CoreNext" architecture.

36 next-gen GCN compute units sounds an awful lot like the specs of the Polaris10 "Ellesmere" chip in its Radeon R9 480 configuration, working out to a stream processor count of 2,304 - double that of the 1,152 on the current-gen PlayStation 4. The SoC is also rumored to feature a 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 8 GB of memory. This memory will be used as both system and video memory, just like on the current-gen PlayStation 4. The memory bandwidth will be increased to 218 GB/s from the current 176 GB/s. Besides 4K Ultra HD gaming, this chip could also prepare Sony for VR headsets, leveraging AMD's LiquidVR tech.

Corsair, a leader in high-performance gaming hardware, today announced the immediate availability of the Corsair VOID Surround and Corsair VOID Wireless RGB White headsets, further expanding its range of multi-award winning gaming headsets. Offering universal compatibility for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, VOID Surround opens up its legendary gaming audio and supreme comfort for any platform, while the white version of the VOID Wireless RGB headset adds a striking, clean look to complement its 40 ft. wireless range and all-day battery life.

The VOID Surround Hybrid Stereo Gaming Headset brings Corsair's most advanced gaming headset to the widest range of devices yet. VOID Surround's mobile-compatible 3.5mm connector offers instant connectivity to virtually any audio source, as well as full headset capability with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One (requires Xbox One Wireless Controller with a 3.5mm port or Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter). The 3.5mm jack also enables use on smartphones, tablets and handheld gaming devices. For connection to a PC, VOID Surround includes a USB 7.1 Dolby headphone adapter, unlocking genuine Dolby Surround for deadly accurate positional audio, as well as a fully customizable EQ in the Corsair CUE (Corsair Utility Engine) software.

AMD is in no mood to let NVIDIA run away with the PC graphics market, with its GameWorks SDK that speeds up PC graphics development (in turn increasing NVIDIA's influence over the game development, in a predominantly AMD GCN driven client base (20% PC graphics market-share, and 100% game console market share). AMD's counter to GameWorks is GPUOpen, with the "open" referring to "open-source."

GPUOpen is a vast set of pre-developed visual-effects, tools, libraries, and SDKs, designed to give developers "unprecedented control" over the GPU, helping them get their software closer to the metal than any other software can. The idea here is that an NVIDIA GameWorks designed title won't get you as "close" to the metal on machines such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, or PCs with Radeon GPUs, as GPUOpen. Getting "close to the metal" is defined as directly leveraging features exposed by the GPU, with as few software layers between the app and the hardware as possible.

NVIDIA is giving final touches to a feature that's similar in function to PlayStation 4 SharePlay, called GameStream Co-op. Accessed through its GeForce Experience app, the feature will let you share your game over the Internet with your friend, letting them either take over control (and get you through a level you're stuck with), or play co-op multiplayer with. The way this works is that your systems renders the game, and streams it across the Internet to them.

NVIDIA is planning to get GameStream Co-op into the hands of as many gamers as possible, by the minimum system requirements of the host PC rather low. You need at least a GeForce GTX 650 graphics card to get started. The guest PC has even lower system requirements, including not needing any discrete-graphics, and just Google Chrome (the game streams to them as a web-page). The only notable requirement is an Internet bandwidth of at least 7 Mbps (upstream) for the host, and 7 Mbps (downstream) for the guest. NVIDIA plans to put a working beta of this feature in the hands of gamers by September.

Last year, Corsair captured the imagination of gamers with innovative RGB multicolor lighting that transformed PC gaming keyboards and mice. Today at Gamescom, Corsair raises the bar higher with new RGB gaming peripherals: the STRAFE RGB mechanical keyboards, Scimitar RGB MMO/MOBA mouse, and flagship VOID gaming headsets. Corsair is also unveiling the ultra-quiet STRAFE RGB Silent, the world's first keyboard with Cherry MX RGB Silent gaming switches. To complement the launch of these new products, an enhanced version of the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) software is available, enabling cascading rainbows, dynamic ripples, and other multicolor lighting effects to operate in tandem across all Corsair RGB keyboards, mice, and headsets.

Today Corsair unleashes two new mechanical gaming keyboard models with RGB lighting: STRAFE RGB and STRAFE RGB Silent. The STRAFE RGB Silent gaming keyboard is the world's first with Cherry MX Silent switches which deliver the speed and precision of linear mechanical switches with significantly quieter actuation. The new switches combined with the noise-suppressing architecture of the keyboard chassis, make the pro-level STRAFE RGB Silent 30% quieter than other mechanical gaming keyboards. The STRAFE RGB keyboard comes in versions with Cherry MX Red or Brown switches.

AMD's Graphics CoreNext (GCN) architecture does not support Direct3D feature-level 12_1 (DirectX 12.1), according to a ComputerBase.de report. The architecture only supports Direct3D up to feature-level 12_0. Feature-level 12_1 adds three features over 12_0, namely Volume-Tiled Resources, Conservative Rasterization and Rasterizer Ordered Views.

Volume Tiled-resources, is an evolution of tiled-resources (analogous to OpenGL mega-texture), in which the GPU seeks and loads only those portions of a large texture that are relevant to the scene it's rendering, rather than loading the entire texture to the memory. Think of it as a virtual memory system for textures. This greatly reduces video memory usage and bandwidth consumption. Volume tiled-resources is a way of seeking portions of a texture not only along X and Y axes, but adds third dimension. Conservative Rasterization is a means of drawing polygons with additional pixels that make it easier for two polygons to interact with each other in dynamic objects. Raster Ordered Views is a means to optimize raster loads in the order in which they appear in an object. Practical applications include improved shadows.

Nintendo is working on a next-generation gaming console to succeed even the fairly recent Wii U. The company is reacting to the plummeting competitiveness of its current console to the likes of PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Reports suggest that Nintendo would make a course-correction on the direction in which it took its game console business with the Wii, and could come up with a system that's focused on serious gaming, as much as it retains its original "fun" quotient. In that manner, the console could be more NES-like, than Wii-like.

Nintendo could ring up AMD for the chip that will drive its next console. It's not clear if AMD will supply a fully-integrated SoC that combines its own x86 CPU cores with its GCN graphics processor; or simply supply the GPU component for an SoC that combines components from various other manufacturers. The Wii U uses IBM's CPU cores, with AMD's GPU, combined onto a single chip. There's no word on when Nintendo plans to announce the new console, but one can expect a lot more news in 2015-16.

AMD has the unique distinction of supplying SoCs to all three leading game console vendors simultaneously - Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. The company, like NVIDIA, is looking forward with perched eyes for manufacturing partner TSMC to get its 20 nanometer silicon fabrication node running full-cylinders. Unlike NVIDIA, which may use the new process to shrink its GPUs, or launch bigger chips based on its "Maxwell" architecture, AMD will treat its console SoCs with optical-shrinks to the new nodes first, so the company could immediately eke out better margins, as console gamers upgrade to Xbox One or the PlayStation 4.

AMD's SoC for the Xbox One, could be the first in line for this optical shrink to 20 nm. This chip features a transistor count of 5 billion, and houses eight 64-bit x86 CPU cores, and a 768 SP GPU based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture; 48 MB of on-die cache, and a quad-channel DDR3 IMC. The chip also features an integrated core logic. AMD's chip for the PlayStation 4 features design inputs from Sony. The chip features the same CPU component, but a 1152 SP GPU, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, wired to 8 GB of memory that's virtualized for both system- and graphics-memory. The 20 nm shrinks of both chips are expected to lower not just manufacturing costs, but also step up energy-efficiency, which could then let Microsoft and Sony save additional costs on other components, such as power and cooling.

The recently introduced GSone Professional Gaming Headset in its latest revision is now compatible with the PlayStation 4. Thanks to the 4-pin 3.5 mm TRRS stereo jack the headset can now be directly connected to the DualShock controller of the PS4. Game sound and voice chat is then transmitted comfortably through the headset. Cable length is 1.1 meters with this connection option. The GSone can readily attach to current smartphones, MP3 players and mobile gaming devices with TRRS connectors (examples are the iPhone 5s, Samsung GALAXY S5 or PlayStation Vita). On a PC or notebook, the GSone is connected via the included 1.4 meter long adapter cable by means of two conventional 3.5 mm stereo jacks. Total cable length is 2.5 meters.

The lightweight, 325 gram GSone was specifically designed to meet the requirements of gamers. The ergonomic design, sturdy yet lightweight material characteristics and the padded, individually adjustable headband of the GSone ensures a good fit on a variety of different head shapes. The ear pads are circumaural in design and feature extra-large cushions. The volume can be easily adjusted by use of a dial on the right ear cup. The flexible and robust microphone is especially designed for voice applications. The microphone self-mutes by simply folding up vertically the microphone arm (Tilt-up Mute).

Rockstar Games bit the PC bullet, by announcing Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) for the PC platform, which debuted on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms, last September. Rockstar made this announcement on the sidelines of E3 2014. Alongside the game's Xbox One and PlayStation 4 variants, GTA V for PC, is expected to release in Fall 2014. The studio threw the game up for pre-order. It also showed off a gameplay trailer, which was captured on the PlayStation 4, which reveals more accurate shadows, higher-resolution textures, and lighting effects not seen on the Xbox 360 / PS3 variant.The trailer video follows.

AMD Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Business Units, Lisa Su has been named a winner in the EE Times and EDN 2014 UBM Tech ACE Awards in the Executive of the Year category. The awards program honors the people and companies behind the technologies and products that are changing the world of electronics.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony Tuesday, April 1, at The Fairmont San Jose, during EE Live! "I am flattered and honored to be selected for the UBM 'Executive of the Year' award. When I look at the list of this year's nominees and past winners, it is a who's who of the industry's leaders," said Su. "AMD is in the middle of an important and comprehensive transformation, but it is very much a team effort. On behalf of the entire AMD team, we very much appreciate the recognition for the work."

AMD announced its 2014 A-Series APU for the desktop platform, code-named "Kaveri," after the southern-Indian river. Built in the new FM2+ package, the APUs run only on socket FM2+ motherboards based on the AMD A88X, A78, and A55 chipsets; while the socket itself can seat older FM2 APU families, "Trinity" and "Richland." In many ways, the socket transition is similar to that of socket AM3+. "Kaveri" sees AMD integrate two of its newest CPU and GPU micro-architectures, "Steamroller" for CPU, and Graphics CoreNext 2.0 for the GPU. "Kaveri" is also built on newer generation 28 nm silicon fab process.

"Steamroller" is an evolution of the same modular CPU core design as its predecessors, "Piledriver" and "Bulldozer." AMD promises a 10 percent improvement in performance clock-by-clock, per core, which falls in line with AMD's normal scheme of annual incremental performance updates on its CPU micro-architectures. A "Steamroller" module is a combination of two 64-bit x86 cores, which feature dedicated and shared components. "Kaveri" has two such modules, and so physically, it features a quad-core CPU.

As a follow-up to our older article on how December-January will play out for AMD's next-generation APU lineup, we have news that the company will unveil, or at least tease its next-generation desktop APU, codename "Kaveri," on November 11, 2013. It's when the company will host its APU'13 event, modeled along the lines of GPU'13, held in Hawaii this September, where it unveiled its Radeon R9 200 and R7 200 GPU families. On its backdrop, the company will also hold its 2013 AMD Developer Summit, which brings together developers making software that take advantage of both CPU and OpenCL-accelerated GPUs. APU'13 will be held in San Jose, USA, and like GPU'13, will be live-streamed to the web. In addition to new APUs, the company is expected to make some big announcements with its HSA (heterogeneous system architecture) initiative that brought some big names in the industry on board.The agenda for APU'13 follows.

Graphics processors based on first-generation Graphics CoreNext micro-architecture, slotted inside the "Southern Islands" and "Sea Islands" families, and branded under Radeon HD 7000 and Radeon HD 8000 (OEM) series, don't fully support Microsoft DirectX 11.2 API. Exclusive with the upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system, the Direct3D component of DirectX 11.2 introduces a handful of revolutionary consumer 3D features, such as "D3D tiled resources," which is analogous to OpenGL mega-textures; HLSL shader linking, frame-buffer scaling, etc.

In an interview with German publication c't Magazin, AMD engineer Laylah Mah pointed out that a feedback routine Microsoft deployed in the final specification of DirectX 11.2 turned out different from the one AMD anticipated. Mah stressed that the incompatibility is not at the level of the hardware, but the driver. The GPUs inside next-generation consoles like Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 aren't fundamentally different from current AMD GPU micro-architecture, and at least one of the two, Xbox One, will leverage the latest DirectX.