Welcome to, The RoundUp! This is our monthly news post summarising the past month in PC gaming, PC tech and new Thermaltake products. On today’s RoundUp for March: COVID-19 has a big affect on the games/tech industry, a Twitch streamer gets banned for firing a gun on stream, and the PS5 unveiling is quite underwhelming. All that and more, in this month’s RoundUp for March 2020.
GAMES RELEASED
March was a slightly busier month for bigger releases than we have had so far. First, the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, released on March 11, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Next came the big boys. Doom Eternal released on March 20, followed by the VR game, Half-Life Alyx. [1] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare also released a new free Battle Royale mode called Warzone,[2] later adding in a solo mode on top of their original 3-person squad mode[3].
GAMES NEWS
COVID-19
Probably the biggest news of the last month, is how COVID-19 has been affecting the games industry and the world. Stay safe out there everyone!
E3 is cancelled! This is on top of the cancellations of both GCD and SXSW. E3 is now looking into holding an online only alternative, but we might not have any clear confirmation for a while.[4]
We know at least 2 new games that were meant to be announced at E3. This includes the rumoured new Batman game from WB studios, and a new RPG Harry Potter game.[5]
Researchers from the University of Washington have developed a game that might help find a vaccine for COVID-19. Foldit allows players to try and solve a puzzle based on the cellular structure of the virus. It is free if you want to give it a try yourself.[6]
With many children stuck at home, Minecraft is adding educational worlds to their market place. These free words will enable kids to learn how to code, explore Minecraft versions of real landmarks and learn about marine biology.[7]
General News
The popular Play Station exclusive game Death Stranding is officially coming to PC. It’s due for release on June 2, 2020.[8]
3 months after the release of Halo: Reach for PC, the original Halo game is finally back to its PC roots! You can play Halo: Combat Evolved either by buying the entire Master Chief Collection, or buying the game individually for $10.[9]
After months of a cryptic teaser on their site, Frictional Games finally revealed their new game, Amnesia: Rebirth. The game will utilize very similar mechanics as past Amnesia games. It will release in Autumn 2020.[10]
CD Projekt Red have confirmed they have plans already for their next game, back in the Witcher universe. A small team will begin the new game after Cyberpunk 2077 releases in September. It will not be The Witcher 4. [11]
In Overwatch news, the game finally released a new hero after about nine months. They teased the character Echo for 2 years, the new DPS hero finally entering the PTR in mid-March.[12] On top of this, their lead writer Michael Chu has left Blizzard after 20 years. He hasn’t announced where he is moving onto, but he stated he hopes to continue to tell stories through games.[13]
It looks like Bioware has confirmed their working on something big. A job post for the companies’ Edmonton branch said they were looking for someone to work on the, “next major title in one of [our] most prestigious franchises”.[14]
The prequel to Neir Automata is getting a rework for PC. Neir Replicant, will be coming to Steam, though there is no confirmed release date yet.
In tragic news, the co-founder of Gearbox Studios recently passed away. Landon Montgomery founded the studio alongside four others back in 1999. There is no publicly confirmed cause of death.[15]
CONTROVERSIAL NEWS
Twitch has banned a streamer who fired a gun on stream. Call of Duty streamer Carl Riemer, accidentally discharged his handgun into a can while drunk on stream. He later apologised for his actions, but never the less the ban held up. His Esports gaming team SoaR, also removed him from thier roster.[16]
Despite many other events cancelling in advance, Gamescom is still going ahead for the moment. The event is based in Germany, but isn’t due to be held until August.[17]
A leaked trailer shows that a sequel for Tales from the Borderlands might be on the way. The low-res trailer appeared on Reddit, showcasing the game will get a a re-release with new art, commentary and a bonus mini episode. At the very end the release date of 2020 is shown, but then some of the numbers disappear and leave behind only a single 2.[18]
Data miners discovered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 art buried in files after the latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare update. The art features the iconic image of the MW2 solider, with the words, ‘Campaign Remastered’ under the title.[19] A few days later a trailer leaked for the campaign.[20] An offical trailer released the following day, revealing the remastered MW2 Campaign would release for PC on April 30.
TECH NEWS
A tweet from NVIDIA hinted towards an announcement on March 19. The cryptic tweet was quickly deleted, but it showed an image of a blinking eye.[21] But then in light of the recent virus outbreak, it seems they have postponed this announcement. The current assumption is they were to announce their new next-gen GPUs.[22]
In further tech news, YouTube have stated they will now play videos in standard definition by default. This is to combat the recent strain on the internet due to the amount of people staying home. You can still manually change the quality to higher definitions though.[23]
The world’s biggest tech hardware showcase Computex, has been postponed at least until the end of September 2020. It will also run for 3 days from the 28th – 30th of September, instead of the originally planned 5.[24]
In another bid to make working from home easier, Microsoft will pause non-essential Windows Updates from May. This will allow Windows to be more stable while people have to work from home. There will be some smaller updates still rolling out though, but anything not vital to your PC’s security will be left out.[25]
AMD found themselves in hot water recently, with some of their private files held for ransom. While AMD state that the files are not core to any of their security, the thief is now trying to sell the files or will release them for free if AMD don’t pay them for it.[26]
Intel’s new Comet Lake CPU’s look like they will be officially announced on April 30. This hasn’t been 100% confirmed by Intel, but it still looks like we’re a while off getting our hands-on Intel’s 10th Gen desktop CPU’s.
Google is implementing an AI algorithm to design AI chips. While engineers take weeks to figure out the complicated tasks, Google’s AI can produce better results in less than 24 hours![27]
Finally, the specs for the PS5 were unveiled. It was overall a pretty average reveal, with many sadly feeling like it lost out to the specs revealed for the new Xbox, however it will be utilizing custom built 825GB SSDs, unlike the Xbox.[28]
THERMALTAKE NEWS
As many of you are no doubt aware, the world is in a bit of a scary place right now with the COVID-19 situation. Us here at Thermaltake Australia are doing all we can to keep ourselves and others safe. So, for the latter half of March and until further notice, many of us will be working from home. That being said, we haven’t run out of content ideas just yet and we hope to be able to keep making awesome content for as long as we can!
In terms of new releases, we brought out our stylish new chair, The CyberChair! The gaming chair for people who don’t like gaming chairs! Check out our First look video on it right HERE!
Here on the blog it’s been posts like normal! If you missed it, we did a fun post where I counted down my favourite packs from the Sims 4, and we also talked about some easy upgrades for your PC. Next, we talked about some Games that would make great films, and posted an informative piece about How to Bend PETG tubing.
Over on our YouTube channel we made a video featuring Jono and our PC builder Nick, talking about things that annoying them when building PCs. And lastly, we taught you guys how to install a PSU.
Also, remember to check out our podcast Thermal Talk! We will 100% be continuing to make this (albeit recording it from our respective homes) during the lock down. So, for some A grade lockdown entertainment, check out the audio versions a week early on Spotify, SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.
Stay safe out there everyone <3
[1] https://www.releases.com/l/PC_Games/2019/12/ [2] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/call-of-duty-warzone-is-launching-tomorrow-free-for-everyone/ [3] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/call-of-duty-warzone-now-has-a-solos-mode/ [4] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/e3-has-been-cancelled-due-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak/ [5] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/batman-and-harry-potter-games-were-reportedly-going-to-be-announced-at-e3/ [6] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/this-game-might-help-create-a-vaccine-for-coronavirus/ [7] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/minecraft-is-getting-free-educational-worlds-to-help-kids-stuck-inside/ [8] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/death-stranding-comes-to-pc-on-june-2/ [9] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/halo-1-combat-evolved-pc-release-date/ [10] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/amnesia-rebirth-is-frictionals-next-game-coming-this-year/ [11] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/cd-projekt-red-already-has-plans-for-its-next-big-game-after-cyberpunk-2077/ [12] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/overwatch-unveils-its-next-hero-the-robotic-echo/ [13] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/overwatch-lead-writer-departs-blizzard/ [14] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/bioware-is-developing-a-new-game-in-one-of-its-most-prestigious-franchises/ [15] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/gearbox-software-co-founder-landon-montgomery-has-died/ [16] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/streamer-suspended-from-twitch-after-accidentally-firing-a-gun-on-stream/ [17] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/gamescom-2020-is-still-going-ahead-for-now/ [18] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/leaked-tales-from-the-borderlands-redux-trailer-also-teases-a-sequel/ [19] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/modern-warfare-2-remastered-art-has-been-unearthed-by-dataminers/ [20] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/modern-warfare-2-remastered-trailer-leaks-release-rumored-for-tomorrow/ [21] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-tweeted-then-deleted-a-video-of-a-blinking-eye-what-does-it-mean/ [22] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-postpones-exciting-product-announcements-planned-for-this-month/ [23] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/youtube-will-default-to-sd-video-to-help-reduce-strain-on-the-internet/ [24] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/computex-2020-postponed-and-scaled-down/ [25] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/microsoft-to-pause-non-essential-windows-updates-starting-in-may/ [26] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/stolen-amd-graphics-files-are-being-ransomed/ [27] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/google-is-using-ai-to-design-ai-processors-much-faster-than-humans-can/ [28] https://www.pcgamer.com/au/playstation-5-specs-sony-is-hedging-its-bets-on-ultra-fast-storage/
