Deathloop goes gold, gap between PC and console shrinking, Elden Ring Steam page – Weekly round-up

Deathloop goes gold, gap between PC and console shrinking, Elden Ring Steam page – Weekly round-up

6th August 2021
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Feature image provided by: Arkane Studios

Elden Ring Steam page is up!

Oh, Elden Ring. FromSoftware’s eagerly anticipated action role-playing game has received its own dedicated Steam page. Usually this is a relatively standard, run-of-the-mill affair in the games industry, but die-hard fans have waited so patiently for any measly morsel thrown their way.

It’s a staggering reminder the long-awaited creative collaboration between Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin and the Souls series creators is finally coming to fruition.

The page is a bit bare bones, lacking a pre-order button to smash or even system requirements. We’d love to see it running on a Steam Deck.

Though, it hasn’t stopped fans from sharing their excitable enthusiasm by humorously tagging the game as a ‘dating sim’.

In the meantime, there’s plenty of high-quality screenshots to pore over with a fine-tooth comb. Make sure to add it to your Steam wishlist so you’re duly notified when the game releases early next year.

Gap between PC and console is shrinking, says Capcom.

Like most Japanese publishers, Capcom was unfathomably slow to realise the untapped potential of the PC platform.

Whether it be behind-the-scenes exclusivity deals impeding progress, or simply an uneducated understanding of the porting process, releases like Monster Hunter: World were frustratingly delayed for PC gamers.

However, they’ve evidently started to take PC more seriously as of late, releasing games like Monster Hunter Stories 2 day-and-date across consoles and PC and stating in their latest investor question and answer conference call:

“While demand for PC versions of games did not exceed that for console versions in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, we feel that the gap between the two is shrinking.”

This is a reassuring acknowledgement they’re acutely aware of PC’s growing presence, but their recent PC efforts leave a lot to be desired.

Most controversial was their ridiculously poor implementation of anti-piracy measures in Resident Evil Village, which took two unnecessarily arduous months to address.

Interestingly, Sony also confirmed their recent acquisition of Nixxes will help port PlayStation games to PC. A fundamental shift in attitude towards PC seems to be taking place among publishers, an exciting development for PC gamers.

GTA 5 sells 150 million units

The Grand Theft Auto 5 hype train keeps chugging along, showing no signs of slowing down. Publisher Take-Two interactive announced in their latest earnings report the game surpassed yet another colossal milestone – 150 million units sold.

If you require help breaking down this incomprehensible figure and what the potentially problematic implications are for games development, check out our blog here.

Deathloop goes gold

Award-winning developer Arkane Studios announced their time-bending first-person shooter Deathloop has ‘gone gold’. This is a momentous occasion for any developer, worthy of celebration.

It’s essentially industry-speak for finalising a fully playable version of the game, ready to be pressed to physical disks for store shelves.

The game doesn’t release until September 14th on PlayStation 5 consoles and PC, so they’ve still got a few weeks to iron out any imperfections and squash pesky bugs in an inevitable ‘day one’ patch.

The game faced a significant delay earlier this year, citing the team’s commitment to quality while ensuring their health and safety.

Fortunately, we received an in-depth introduction to the game’s illusive concept at PlayStation’s State of Play to satiate our curiosity.

While we wait for Deathloop, check out Arkane’s under-rated Prey. It’s on Xbox Game Pass!

Back 4 Blood beta starting this weekend

What are you playing over the weekend? We’ll be keeping a keen eye on the live-stream coverage of the Back 4 Blood beta, a co-operative zombie shooter eerily similar to Valve’s enduring Left 4 Dead.

Will it be a spiritual successor, or a shambling imitation?

To try it for yourself, pre-ordering the game grants you immediate access to the early access period, running from August 5th to the 9th.

If you’d rather not pay just yet, you could watch an hours’ worth of Back 4 Blood Twitch streams to receive a redeemable code or wait for the open beta starting August 12th.

This beta is of crucial importance for receiving bug reports, fine-tuning the mechanics and stress-testing server capacity, before the game’s October 12th release date on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.