Welcome to, The RoundUp! This is our monthly news post summarizing the past month in PC gaming, PC tech, and new Thermaltake news. On today’s RoundUp for July, two online gaming events released a ton of new trailers, and AMD’s share price overtakes Intel’s for the first time ever! All that and more, in this month’s RoundUp for July, 2020.
GAMES RELEASED
July proved to be a somewhat quiet month for releasing new games. Ooblets, a cute game in a similar vein to Animal Crossing entered early access on July 15. The gripping and emotional horror game What Happened released on July 30. The most recent addition to the PC Master Chief Collection, Halo 3, dropped on July 14. And finally, the latest Stuff Pack in The Sims 4, titled Nifty Knitting, released on July 28.
GAMES NEWS
Games Announced
While July wasn’t a busy month for game releases, it was for game announcements!
The long-rumored Harry Potter RPG will allegedly release in 2021, despite no official announcement yet. Reportedly an official announcement will occur during the DC FanDome event in August.
A new Shadow Warrior game is on the horizon in 2021. The game’s official Twitter account tweeted an image with the words “Teaser trailer filming in progress.” A day later, the trailer for Shadow Warrior 3 – Way to Motoko dropped.
Greedfall developer Spiders, also announced their upcoming game. SteelRising is set during what appears to be a parallel version of the French revolution, complete with robots. They didn’t announce a release date yet, sadly.
Throwing it back, the fourth Serious Sam game will release on August 3. The last Serious Sam game released back in 2011.
The popular Surgeon Simulator is getting a sequel! Surgeon Simulator 2 is due for release on the Epic Game store on August 27.
Ubisoft Forward
The Ubisoft Forward showcase was held on July 12. The event announced a ton of new games with a bunch of great trailers.
Firstly, a cinematic trailer and release date were released for the newest game in the Far Cry series, Far Cry 6. This game looks like it’s returning to the series’ roots, by going back to a tropical setting. The game will release on February 18, 2021.
Ubisoft also dropped a new game play trailer for Watch Dogs: Legion, the third game in the Watch Dogs series. It releases this year, on October 29.
They also confirmed the release date for the new Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The game will release on November 17. They also previewed a new game play trailer, showing off the stunning world and combat.
Finally, they showcased a new free battle royale Hyper Scape, which is available to play right now. The free to play sci-fi FPS battle royale promises a unique map design, precise air controls, and an uncomplicated loot system. It looks like a nice middle ground between Apex: Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone, with a style reminiscent of Valorant.
Xbox Games Showcase
On top of the Ubisoft event, Xbox held their showcase on July 23.
They did a big breakdown of the new Halo: Infinite, due for release still sometime in 2020. The campaign game play trailer showcased the significantly larger world, old favourites like the warthog, and revamped versions of classic weapons. Despite this though, some fans weren’t too happy with the graphics, declaring issues with the lighting, low texture details, and it overall looking quite flat.
Obsidian, the developers of The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas, dropped a teaser for their upcoming game. Avowed is a full-on fantasy RPG, far more akin to Skyrim than Fallout. Sadly, they did not provide a release date, but rumours point to it either having a 2022 or 2023 release.
The unsettling Hello Neighbour game is getting a sequel. Hello Neighbour 2 releases in 2021, and promises a new AI which will be fully dynamic.
Finally, rejoice for long time fans of the Fable series, it’s back! Forza Horizon studio Playground Games is developing the reboot of the series, and while there is no release date in sight, it’s very exciting to see the series get new life.
Delays
Now time for all the games that sadly won’t be coming out for a while longer.
The Crysis remaster looks like it won’t be out for a while. After a lacklustre trailer leak, the dev company Crytek announced their planned release date of July 23 would be pushed back to fix the issues pointed out in the trailer. They have shared no word on when the new release will be.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is also delayed. The game set in the same world as Vampire: The Masquerade, was due for release sometime in 2020. Now, the game is slated for release on February 4, 2021.
The Definitive Edition of the first Mafia game, has been pushed back until September 25. The game was initially expected for release on August 28, but not anymore due to complications with the recent COVID-19 situation.
General Games News
And now it’s time for everything else that didn’t fit in any of the above categories!
Beginning with some very sad news. Earlier this July, popular streamer Byron ‘Reckful’ Bernstein passed away. The well-known WOW and Hearthstone streamer was only 31 years old. His death was tragically due to suicide, after fighting a long battle with mental health issues. Thousands held a vigil for him in WOW to mourn his passing. If you are struggling with mental health, please check out the link HERE for worldwide numbers you can call. You are not alone <3
This past July saw a number of popular game adaptations announced. This includes a potential Fallout TV series and a My Friend Pedro TV series.
After much speculation, popular streamer Ninja looks to be moving to YouTube streaming. Since the demise of Mixer in June, many speculated where the Fortnite juggernaut would move to.
The Dark Pictures: Little Hope is back on track for release. After a slight delay, the game is now due to release on October 30. A very fitting date for the spooky looking game.
After numerous cases of ‘review bombing’, Metacritic has implemented a waiting period on reviewing new games. Users now have to wait at least 36 hours after a game has released before they are able to review it. This comes after multiple popular games in the last few months, most notably The Last of US 2, were targeted.
Lastly, some new upcoming online events are on the horizon. Gamescom 2020 will hold an online event, running over the weekend of August 27- 30. The event will feature daily shows, cover esports, cosplay, and other topics. Additionally, CES is officially going digital also. It’s 2021 event will follow the likes of other events like Gamescom. They have confirmed their intention to return to its usual Las Vegas showcase in 2022.
CONTROVERSIAL NEWS
Hacked accounts on the popular online game Roblox have been telling people to vote for Trump. The site, which tends to attract younger players, has been targeted by hackers who have created bot Roblox accounts. These bots dress like pro-Trump activists and tell players to get their parents to vote Trump. It’s unknown if this has been resolved yet.
Ubisoft Vice President Maxime Beland has resigned. This comes in light of numerous allegations of workplace abuse. Ubisoft states that they are still investigating the allegations around Beland, over alleged inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.
Dr Disrespect has finally broken his silence. After his Twitch account was mysteriously banned in June, the Doc is back, but not on Twitch. In an interview with PC Gamer, Guy ‘Dr Disrespect’ Beahm made it clear that his time with Twitch was now over and he was under legal counsel now. So, it seems his departure from Twitch was certainly not on the best terms. Beahm did also state that he does plan to continue streaming, but isn’t certain which platform to move to yet.
A rather awkward game trailer dropped a few weeks ago and it actually led to the entire game being pulled. Gamer Girl was an FMV thriller game centering around being the mod for a female Twitch streamer. The trailer was very negatively received, and it’s unknown if the game will ever actually release now.
For those who don’t know, the US Army actually has a Twitch channel specifically for their esports team. A few weeks ago when users in the chat began asking questions not quite pertaining to the game, channel moderators began to delete the questions, and many users found themselves banned. Funnily enough though, this could land the channel in hot water. This is due to the first amendment of the US constitution specifically stating the right to free speech against the Government, and the US Army falls under that. Since this occurred, the channel hasn’t been live again. So, it’s unknown if the channel will continue to ban these hard-hitting questions or not.
TECH NEWS
If you have been putting off updating your Windows 10, this might sway your opinion. The latest update might just help boost your gaming performance. Both AMD and Nvidia have released new drivers which feature Hardware accelerated GPU scheduling, a feature the new Windows update now offers. This can free up your CPU a bit and produce a small performance boost.
For the first time in history, Nvidia was officially worth more than Intel. The GPU maker’s share value increased by over 70% this year. This did eventually drop back though, with Intel clawing their way back to the top. Additionally, AMD’s share price also overtook Intel for the first-time during July. This was potentially brought upon due to the delay to Intel’s 7nm production process. Despite all this though, the juggernaut that is Intel still generally reigns supreme.
In further Intel News, the company has announced it has something big to share on September 2. Many speculate that this is something to do with their long-awaited Tiger Lake 11th Gen Core Mobile CPU’s.
It looks like DDR5 might be on the horizon, but don’t throw out your current RAM sticks just yet. The specification for DDR5 RAM SDRAM has officially finally been completed. This will serve as a blueprint of sorts for memory makers in future.
THERMALTAKE NEWS
This past month has been a bit quiet again. (However, August is shaping up to be a busy one, so stay tuned!) We released the full length RGB Mouse pad, the M900XL, as well as the gorgeous Pure Duo ARGB Fans, which come in both black and white and either 120mm or 140mm options.
Over on our YouTube channel, we’ve released some awesome fun content this past July. We started the month with our Marketing Manager/Graphic design wizard Gillian building her new PC. Then I explored the tough choice between Building or Buying your next PC. Then to celebrate my 12 months at the company, I built my SECOND ever PC and it was a bit of an upgrade from my first one. Finally, Jono gave some awesome DIY tips for extending your PC’s lifespan.
Here on the blog you may have missed our awesome post on 7 Games you should try playing again. I also gave some tips for spicing up your setup space while you’re stuck working from home. Additionally, I listed some of my personal favourite USB microphones for content creation. And lastly, I went on a trip down memory lane, to list my favourite Thermaltake Videos we have worked on since I joined the company.
As always, our podcast Thermal Talk is still uploading fortnightly. If you want even MORE content from us, remember to go give it a listen. Check out all our episodes on your podcast platform of choice: Spotify, SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.
SOURCES: https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ooblets-early-access-is-coming-on-july-15/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/what-happened-is-a-surreal-new-horror-game-inspired-by-a-real-tragedy/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/halo-3-is-finally-coming-to-pc-on-july-14/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-sims-4-nifty-knitting-trailer-reveals-more-ways-for-sims-to-express-themselves/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/long-rumored-harry-potter-rpg-will-reportedly-release-in-2021/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/it-looks-like-a-new-shadow-warrior-game-is-on-the-way/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/mars-war-logs-and-greedfall-devs-will-reveal-a-new-game-next-week/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-next-spiders-game-is-about-the-french-revolution-but-with-robots/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-new-serious-sam-4-gameplay-trailer-features-a-starship-for-some-reason/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/surgeon-simulator-2-gets-a-release-date-and-a-bonkers-new-trailer/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hands-on-with-hyper-scape-ubisofts-urban-battle-royale-shooter/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/far-cry-6-release-date-and-cinematic-trailer-revealed/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/watch-dogs-legion-releases-in-october-heres-a-gameplay-trailer/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/assassins-creed-valhalla-is-oming-in-november/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/xbox-games-showcase-announced-for-july-23/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hello-neighbor-2-is-coming-in-2021-with-a-bigger-game-world-and-self-learning-ai/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/fable-makes-its-long-awaited-return-at-the-xbox-games-showcase/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/avowed-is-obsidians-new-skyrim-like-rpg-check-out-the-first-trailer/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/halo-infinite-campaign-reveal-shows-a-ring-several-times-larger-than-the-last-few-halo-games-combined/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/crysis-remastered-delayed-after-leaked-trailer-gets-roasted/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/werewolf-the-apocalypse-earthblood-is-delayed-until-next-year/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/mafia-definitive-edition-has-been-delayed/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/prominent-wow-and-hearthstone-streamer-reckful-has-died-at-31/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/a-fallout-tv-show-is-coming-from-amazon-studios-and-the-creators-of-westworld/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/my-friend-pedro-is-being-made-into-a-television-series-by-the-writer-of-john-wick/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ninja-youtube-move/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-dark-pictures-little-hope-gets-an-appropriately-spooky-release-date/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/metacritic-implements-a-waiting-period-on-user-reviews-for-games/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ces-2021-all-digital/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hacked-roblox-accounts-are-telling-people-to-vote-for-trump/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ubisoft-vice-president-maxime-beland-resigns-amidst-allegations-of-workplace-abuse/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/dr-disrespect-i-will-not-be-returning-to-twitch/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/this-fmv-game-trailer-was-so-poorly-received-the-publisher-took-the-whole-announcement-back/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-us-armys-twitch-bans-may-violate-the-first-amendment/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/windows-10-may-update-could-boost-your-gaming-performance-for-free/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-vs-intel-value/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/intel-is-going-to-announce-something-big-on-september-2/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ddr5-memory-spec-is-finally-official-but-hold-onto-your-ddr4-ram-modules/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/amds-share-price-overtakes-intels-for-the-first-time-ever/
