As part of NVIDIA and Microsoft's collaboration to bring more choice to gamers, new Microsoft Store integration has been added to GeForce NOW that lets gamers stream select titles from the Xbox PC Game Pass catalog on GeForce NOW, starting today. With the Microsoft Store integration, members will see a brand-new Xbox button on supported PC games and can seamlessly launch these titles across their devices, provided they either purchased the standalone games through the Microsoft Store or have an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription.

Hot off our recent Gamescom announcement, four blockbuster titles are coming to GeForce NOW this fall: Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion, Party Animals and PAYDAY 3. Plus, head to the cloud and stream the 25 new titles joining the cloud this week, including DOOM 2016 from Bethesda.

Remedy Entertainment announced last month, via a FAQ, that it plans to keep Alan Wake 2 exclusive to digital platforms for an October 17 (this year) release, with no consideration given to customers demanding physical copies. Eurogamer questioned the game's creative director Sam Lake, and director Kyle Rowley at Summer Games Fest (earlier this month)—the site's reporter demanded a more detailed explanation regarding the long-anticipated sequel's eschewing of physical media. Lake responded first: "Yeah, it is digital only, and kind of coming to this idea, both from Remedy and Epic's perspective, that's our current thinking. It just felt it makes sense for this, and the timing felt right." His colleague, Rowley added further insight: "As creatives obviously, by going digital-only it does allow us more time to polish the game. Like, a significant number of weeks actually. Because otherwise, the game that goes on the disc, obviously it has to be playable without a patch. We didn't want to release something that we weren't proud of basically, and that we didn't want players to play. So hopefully this way we can give you a better version of the game."

The gaming community has debated at length about the temporary nature of digital releases—termination of online services and changes in ownership rights have resulted in certain titles becoming completely inaccessible to players/fans. Preservationists have fought hard for the continued release of physical media, but some publishers have resorted to bundling a download code in a disc-less retail box. Remedy Entertainment's FAQ proposes that digital platforms provide a more cost effective option for customers: "There are many reasons for this. For one, a large number of players have shifted to digital only. You can buy a Sony PlayStation 5 without a disc drive and Microsoft's Xbox Series S is a digital only console. It is not uncommon to release modern games as digital-only...Secondly, not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99...Finally, we did not want to ship a disc product and have it require a download for the game - we do not think this would make for a great experience either."

Remedy Entertainment ("Remedy") has signed an agreement with 505 Games, an international video game publisher and a subsidiary of Digital Bros Group, under which Remedy and 505 Games will co-develop and co-publish Control 2 (formerly known as Codename Heron), a sequel to Remedy's award-winning game Control.

Control 2's initial development budget amounts to EUR 50 million, and Remedy will retain the ownership of the game's intellectual property. The development, marketing, and post-launch investments as well as the future net revenues generated by the game will be equally split between 505 Games and Remedy. The game will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and it will be built on Remedy's proprietary Northlight engine and tools. Remedy will publish the game on the PC platform and 505 Games will publish it on the console platforms. The project is currently in concept stage.

Remedy Entertainment, the creators of Max Payne, are pleased to announce that they will remake the iconic Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne video games in a new development agreement with Rockstar Games. The relationship between Remedy and Rockstar Games dates back to the original release of the critically acclaimed Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne games, developed by Remedy and published by Rockstar Games. Both games left an indelible mark in popular culture, lauded for their neo-noir atmosphere, groundbreaking storytelling and "bullet-time" gunplay.

"We were thrilled when our long-time friends at Remedy approached us about remaking the original Max Payne games," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games "We are massive fans of the work the Remedy team has created over the years, and we can't wait to play these new versions." "Max Payne has always held a special place in the hearts of everyone at Remedy, and we know the millions of fans worldwide feel the same," said Remedy CEO, Tero Virtala. "We're hugely excited to be working with our partners at Rockstar Games once again for the chance to bring the story, action and atmosphere of the original Max Payne games back to players in new ways."

Every now and then, the Epic Games store gets a major discount on popular games. If you have been following the free game deals on the store, you may have seen that sometimes even the AAA-class of games get a free offer and you can purchase them without spending a dime. Today is one of those days where Epic Games store is offering the Control game for free. The offer expires on June 17th, when it again becomes paid offer. If you haven't heard of Control, you can read the the game information below. You can check out the deal here.

After a secretive agency in New York is invaded by an otherworldly threat, you become the new Director struggling to regain Control.
From developer Remedy Entertainment, this supernatural 3rd person action-adventure will challenge you to master the combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through a deep and unpredictable world.
Control is Jesse Faden's story and her personal search for answers as she grows into the role of the Director. The world of Control has its own story, as do the allies Jesse meets along the way. Jesse works with other Bureau agents and discovers strange experiments and secrets.

Nintendo has launched limited game streaming trials with the Nintendo Switch in Japan however these have tended to be prohibitively expensive and were never offered outside of Japan. That is all changing with the launch of Control Ultimate Edition from Remedy Entertainment which is only available as a cloud version. The game is streamed from Ubitus servers to the Nintendo Switch at 30 FPS with the choice of a graphical or performance mode.

The graphical mode features limited raytracing enabled by the server GPUs which would not be possible with the local hardware. used by Ubitus, Control Ultimate Edition - Cloud Version is now available via the Nintendo eShop for players in North America, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and parts of Europe. The game is offered as a free download to test connection requirements but to play you will require a 39.99 USD Access Pass.

The 2020 DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Awards offered their Game of the Year title to "Untitled Goose Game", developed by Indie Studio House House. That game also took home the "Outstanding Achievement for an independent Game" award, as well as Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design.

The awards were also good for Control, the paranormal-esque game developed by renowned Remedy Entertainment. The game was victor in four different categories: Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition. Disco Elysium, the quasi-combatless story-based RPG from ZA/UM Studios that was 2019's biggest achievement (for this writer at least) won the Outstanding Achievement in Story award. Look after the break for the full list of categories, nominees, and winners.

Free games are always hard to pass, so if you are craving some meaty releases to tide you over until something new and fresh that catches your fancy comes along, this Epic Games Store might (and might not) be for you. From October 17th through October 24th, the digital storefront so many love to hate is offering two generally well thought-off games i the form of Observer and Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

Whether you crave a meaty, cyberpunk-inspired detective story in Observer, or a not so meaty, all-hell-broken-lose experience set in the excellent Alan Wake universe, you can drop by your Epic Games Store Launcher (we know you have it installed, come on) and just add them to your cart for free. They're yours to keep forever. And if you don't have the Epic Games Store launcher, perhaps you should. Observer might very well make it worth all the hassle of downloading and clicking through a menu three or four times. And as a very relevant footnote, the Epic Games Store has just started its Halloween Sale, which goes from today, October 18th, through November 1st. You can find some older games discounted up to 70%, with the discount decreasing somewhat linearly according to release date.