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 September 2020: the new console prices are finally revealed, Microsoft buys Bethesda, and NVIDIA’s new graphic cards are released. All that and more in this month’s RoundUp for September 2020.
GAMES RELEASED
Crysis: Remastered released on September 19, after being delayed by a month. Additionally, the latest Halo game to join the PC Master Chief Collection, Halo 3: ODST, released on September 22.
September 4 was a busy day for releases! First, Marvel’s Avengers released across all platforms. Then Tony Hawk’s Pro Stater 1 + 2 also released on September 4. And finally, the latest installment in the NBA series, NBA2K21, ALSO came out on the same day. Tough day for the wallet if you wanted all three games!
The remaster of Mafia, Mafia: Definitive Edition, released on September 25. And finally, WRC 9 dropped on September 1.
GAMES NEWS
Announcements
Indie publisher New Blood Interactive announced their new game, Fallen Aces. The gritty noir game is a combination of Condemned: Criminal Origins and the Dick Tracy comics.
Classic 1996 game Rise of the Triad is getting a remaster in 2021. The new port will feature widescreen support, the ability to look around with a mouse, and will also come to console for the first time.
On top of this, another old school remake is on the horizon. 2003’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is being remade in the Assassin’s Creed engine. The game is expected on the Epic Games store and Ubisoft store in early 2021.
The sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Decent releases on October 20. Amnesia: Rebirth is set in a desert 100 years after the events of Amnesia: The Dark Decent.
There might be hope for Metal Gear fans on PC. It seems like Konami are finally organizing a port for the first 2 games in the series. Previously, they had both been unplayable on PC due to their absence on digital stores.
Due to the Xbox consoles launch date, the new Yakuza game is coming out earlier. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is now launching on November 10, instead of November 13. This will also be the case for PC, but any PS5 users will have to wait until March 2021.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond launches on December 10. The game is also no longer an Oculus Exclusive, and will be available on Steam. On top of this, Ubisoft announced new Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed games, however these WILL be Oculus exclusive games. They did not announce any release dates.
Delays
Luckily, September only saw one major delay. Dirt 5 has been delayed for the second time. It was initially due for release on October 9, but was then pushed back to October 16. Now finally it’s due for release on November 6. Hopefully this is the last delay for the popular racing game.
PlayStation Event
Despite this being a PC orientated blog, the PlayStation event on September 17 provided some great trailers and announcements.
Of course some more details were announced about the PS5. It’s launching on November 12. The digital only edition will launch for $599.95 AID and the disk version for $749.95 AUD.
The long-rumored Harry Potter RPG game finally released a trailer. Hogwarts Legacy takes place years before the Harry Potter series, and it is expected for release sometime in 2021.
There were also 2 games announced for a PC release, including Final Fantasy 6. Sadly, no release date was confirmed. Additionally, for a while there it seemed like a PC remake of Demon Souls was on the horizon. A trailer for Demons Souls included a disclaimer stating, “Also Available on PC”, but a Sony rep has stated it was human error and is not coming to PC after all.
General Gaming News
Rocket League has finally gone free-to-play after months of rumors. The game runs through the Epic Games launcher now for those of you who want to try the game for the first time.
The new Xbox console series had its big reveal this September also.The Xbox Series X is the larger and more powerful of the two, costing $749 AUD. The smaller cousin of this console, the Xbox Series S, only costs $499 AUD and has no disk drive. They will release on November 10.
After a while of uncertainty, Ninja is now exclusively streaming on Twitch once again. The full details of the new exclusivity deal are unknown, but it’s safe to say Ninja probably was offered a decent amount for his return.
Blizzcon will now be held online across two days, February 19 and 20, 2021. Additionally, massive popular event SXSW will now also be held online, and is scheduled to run from March 9 to March 11, 2021.
The Game Awards is running a little differently this year. It will be streamed live from 3 different locations: LA, London and Tokyo, and the awards will be hosted in empty studios while live streamed. The show will take place on December 10.
In one of the biggest pieces of news this past September, Microsoft purchased Bethesda. Through the purchase of Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media, they now also own a number of IPs. This includes: The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Quake, Dishonoured and more.
FarmVille is finally shutting down. The game everyone was addicted to after joining Facebook back in 2009 will finally be put down in December. So, to the five of you still playing, maybe it’s time to check out Stardew Valley.
TECH NEWS
The NVIDIA Ampere cards launched on September 17 and promptly sold out. The RTX 3090, 3080 and 3070 were without a doubt some of the biggest releases in the tech world of 2020. So much so, NVIDIA had to officially apologize for selling out and promised restocks will be arriving soon.
In further NVIDIA news, the company has purchased chip manufacturer ARM Holdings. They acquired the company for $40 billion. It seems that the acquisition relates to AI development.
Finally, it appears that GeForce RTX 3060 and 3070 TI/Super cards might be on the way. This speculation comes from an image shared during a Galax presentation in China.
Moving onto Intel news now. The CPU Juggernaut has had a bit of a makeover, with a new logo.
AMD have announced two upcoming events in October. The first of which will be on October 8, and the second on October 28. It’s expected that one event will unveil its next gen Radeon RX 600 GPUs, and the other will officially introduce their upcoming Zen 3 architecture.
Amazon has announced their new cloud gaming service. Luna has risen up from the ashes of Google Stadia, with another attempt at a cloud gaming platform. The main difference Luna boasts over Stadia is channels that you subscribe to, which gives you bundle of games to access. This more akin to how Netflix and other streaming services work. Ubisoft have also announced a partnership with Luna, and they will have their own Ubisoft channel. The early access of Luna is currently only available for US citizens.
The Oculus Quest 2 is coming. The base version of the Facebook owned VR device will set you back $479 AUD. Additionally, it will require you to have a Facebook account to use it. It begins shipping out in October.
CONTROVERSIAL NEWS
Epic Games vs Apple
So, last month in the Epic Games vs Apple saga…
First, Epic Games beseeched the court to stop Apple taking down their stuff while the case continues. Then, plot twist, Apple launched their own counter-suit, accusing Epic Games of merely doing this for money. They also argued that Epic Games is also doing this for the publicity, referring Fortnite’s slowly falling popularity.
However, Epic Games did have a little victory. Apple planned to pause the option to log into Epic Games accounts with Apple log ins, however this plan has been indefinitely delayed for now. Finally, the last update in this saga for September, is that the judge hearing the case slammed Epic Games for their actions. The judge was not buying any of their defense, stating that Epic were being dishonest.
For now, the saga continues, the case unlikely to go proper trial until July 2021.
Everything Else
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot issued a formal apology to everyone hurt from the reported workplace abuse suffered at their company. This comes after a number of their high-ranking executives were also fired over the past few months due to sexual misconduct and abuse at the company.
The Sims 4 has finally announced an update to their skin tones. The upcoming December update will add improved skin tones and hairstyles in response to critique over lack of proper representation.
Workers at CD Projekt Red will be ‘crunching’ to prepare for their November deadline. The company has moved to a six-day work week to ensure their highly anticipated game Cyberpunk 2077 will release in time.
THERMALTAKE NEWS
It’s been a busy month for us here at Thermaltake! This month saw the release of not one, not two, but FOUR different headsets. The Riing Pro, Shock XT, Argent H5 and Isurus Pro all released during September. Additionally, we released a new series of Power Supplies the Smart BM2, as well as the gorgeous performance orientated TOUGHFAN hybrid fan.
Over on our YouTube channel we’ve released a ton of content. First, Jono produced two videos about his journey picking parts for and then building a PC. Meanwhile, Justin put together an informative video about the importance of Desk Ergonomics. Additionally, we produced two First Look Videos for our Riing Pro and Argent H5 Headsets.
Here on the blog, you’ve missed a few posts if you haven’t been keeping up. I listed 7 Upgrades for your PC cheaper than getting a PS5, as well as 5 Games that I didn’t expect to like. Additionally, I ran through some tips for picking the best PC case for you, as well as listing some of my favorite Thermaltake Mice.
And finally a friendly reminder that 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://manofmany.com/entertainment/gaming/top-video-games-and-release-dates-for-september-2020 https://www.pcgamer.com/au/crysis-remastered-system-requirements/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/halo-3-odst-joins-the-master-chief-collection-september-22/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/crime-noir-shooter-fallen-aces-looks-like-a-combination-of-condemned-criminal-origins-and-dick-tracy-comics/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/classic-90s-fps-rise-of-the-triad-is-getting-a-remaster-next-year/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-remake-is-releasing-next-year/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/amnesia-rebirth-is-coming-on-october-20/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-launches-december-11-and-its-no-longer-an-oculus-rift-exclusive/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ubisoft-announces-new-splinter-cell-and-assassins-creed-gamesfor-oculus-vr/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hell-yeah-the-demons-souls-remake-is-coming-to-pc/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/playstation-5-is-coming-on-november-12-for-dollar500/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hogwarts-legacy-the-long-rumored-harry-potter-rpg-is-coming-next-year/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/final-fantasy-16-announced-for-pc/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/it-looks-like-the-first-two-metal-gear-solid-games-are-coming-to-pc/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/yakuza-like-a-dragon-will-be-out-a-few-days-earlier-than-expected/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/dirt-5-has-been-delayed-for-a-second-time/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/xbox-series-x-is-arriving-on-november-10-for-dollar499/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ninja-twitch/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/blizzcon-is-coming-back-for-an-online-event-in-february/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/sxsw-will-return-with-digital-events-in-march-2021/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/microsoft-now-owns-the-elder-scrolls-fallout-and-doom/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-game-awards-will-stream-live-from-la-london-and-tokyo-in-december/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/the-sims-4-will-get-100-new-skin-tones-in-december/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/end-of-an-era-farmville-is-finally-being-put-out-to-pasture/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-rtx-io/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-amperes-new-flagship-rtx-3080-costs-just-dollar699-launches-september-17/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/these-are-the-most-extra-nvidia-rtx-3090-rtx-3080-and-rtx-3070-designs-so-far/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidias-rtx-3080-is-going-on-sale-at-6am/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-are-apparently-about-to-buy-chip-manufacturer-arm-holdings/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/nvidia-confirms-dollar40-billion-arm-acquisition/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/leaked-roadmap-suggests-geforce-rtx-3060-and-3070-tisuper-cards-are-coming/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/intel-new-logo/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/amd-ryzen-big-navi-reveal/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/amazon-announces-a-new-cloud-gaming-service-called-luna/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/oculus-quest-2-officially-revealed-at-dollar299-preorders-are-live-now/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/epic-games-requests-courts-stop-apples-retaliation-against-fortnite-suit/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/apple-fires-back-at-epic-with-countersuit-demanding-punitive-damages/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/epics-games-are-losing-apple-id-logins-this-week-so-make-sure-your-accounts-are-updated/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/apple-says-epic-is-marketing-with-fortnite-lawsuit-epic-hits-back/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/judge-says-epic-was-not-honest-when-it-bypassed-apples-payment-system-in-fortnite/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/ubisoft-ceo-apologizes-for-workplace-abuses-promises-it-wont-happen-again/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/cyberpunk-2077-studio-is-reportedly-crunching-ahead-of-the-games-november-release/
