Call of Duty: Warzone enjoyed record download on 25 February when its latest patch was published. An average user downloaded approximately 20GB of data, according to Virgin Media.
Gaming
EA to buy Codemasters for $1.2b
Electronic Arts is just getting bigger and more powerful. News making the rounds is that EA is acquiring Codematers for a reported £1 billion ($1.2b). This adds another lap to its arcade collection which is dominated by the Need For Speed franchise.
Codemasters is a British video game developer famous for racing games like Formula 1 and the Dirt Rally series.
In agreeing to his deal, EA beats off New York-based rival Take-Two Interactive who had bid $973m.
What is Amazon Luna?
The race for online game just got heated with the new Amazon Luna service. Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming service that allows you to play online games on any device you own. With an Amazon Luna account, you can play games on your TV, PC, or mobile device.
Much like fellow cloud gaming service, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna will offer users over 100 games to choose from.
Twitch and Apple on Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna comes integrated with Twitch. This is to be expected as Amazon already owns the game-streaming service.
In addition, Amazon Luna can be played on iPhones and iPads. While Apple have strict rules that prevent cloud gaming on its iOS platform, Amazon Luna has found a workaround by creating a Progressive Web Application (PWA) product. This means that Amazon Luna is not an app; rather, it is a website that can run independent of a web browser like Safari.
Most importantly for gamers, Amazon Luna will partner with game publishers to make new releases available to users when they are ready.
Fast Internet Access Needed
Amazon Luna will require a strong internet connection. Amazon recommends users have at least 10Mbps internet speed. To play 4K games, users would need internet speeds of up to 35Mps.
At 1080 resolution, cloud gaming can use up 10GB of data within an hour.
Devices
Amazon Luna is available on the following devices and applications:
- Google Chrome (version 83+) and Safari web app (iOS 14)
- Mac (OSX 10.13+)
- PC (requires Windows 10 with support for DirectX 11)
- FireTV devices (Fire TV Stick – 2nd gen, Fire TV Stick 4K, or Fire TV Cube – 2nd gen)
When to Play on Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna is yet to launch officially. However, there is an early invitation option for US gamers; this comes with special trial price of $5.99 per month.
In addition, gamers can play Amazon Luna using their keyboards, mouse, Xbox One and PS4 controllers. There is also a new Amazon Luna game controller available at $49.99; this can only be used to play Amazon Luna games.
Xbox Game Pass: Netflix for Video Games
After folding Twitch and sending its game streamers to Facebook Gaming, Microsoft is looking to launch Netflix-style games-streaming service for smartphones.
How will the Xbox Game Pass work?
Project xCloud has been in existence for a while now. Microsoft has been working on a cloud-based games-streaming throughout the Twitch era.
Instead of relying on consoles, hosting a game in the cloud reduces hardware expenses. It also relies on a reliable internet connection, meaning all you need is a smartphone with great memory to try out some of the Xbox games.
To play games, users would need an Xbox controller that connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth.
So far, about 30 Xbox titles will be able when the feature ultimately launches on September 15, 2020.
How much it costs
To be able to access the feature gamers would need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber account.
In the US, the subscription costs $14.99 per month. It is £10.99 in the UK. Subscribers will be able to access 100s of titles. They would also have access to the latest games that would ideally have been downloaded to a tablet or smartphone.
The expensive outlay could prove prohibitive for some. Microsoft would have to compensate users by increasing the number of games on offer.
No Xbox for iPhone users
The Xbox Game Pass will not be available on the iOS App Store. This is because Apple refuses to allow apps that have other apps embedded in them.
The Xbox Game Pass allows you to access many other games from one app. Apple wants each game to submitted for review, something Microsoft is not happy with.
More money for Microsoft
The new Xbox Series X will be launched in November 2020. Traditional gamers will no doubt be looking to get the new device instead of building a dedicated gaming computer.
The online subscription service, meanwhile, would allow more people to have access to the games without spending much on the device. With about 90 million people on the Gold Service, Microsoft stands to gain a lot more money if it can get some of them to upgrade their Xbox Game Pass subscriptions.
Would you pay that much to play Xbox games on your smartphone?
RWC Racing Vol 1: Inspiring Ghanaian Android Game
RWC Racing Vol 1 is a free to play android game created by Ghanaian developer, TheDynasto. The android game comes fused with Ghanaian themes such as local landmarks and street locations that make it familiar to many game players.
Features of RWC Racing Volume 1
- Road Worthy Certification Racing Vol 1 gives players the unique chance to experience racing cars with familiar designs. In addition to the fancy GT automobiles, the Ghanaian-themed taxi colours have left many online gamers excited.
- The game comes with high quality graphics and seamless gameplay.
- Racers get to clash with rival players on choked asphalt city streets, desert mountains, and seashore roads.
- Wrestle your way with three-tyre keke, trotro (minibuses), and American GT racing cars with an upgraded GT turbo engine.
- Choose from a wide selection of racer engines.
- Compete in championships and drag races with varying difficulty modes.
RWC Racing Vol 1 is designed to appeal to arcade video game lovers who enjoy a good street racing challenge. The game is free but comes with in-app purchases. The lifelike in-game 3D graphics has immense room for growth.
Get the game on the Google Play Store.
Have you played any other Ghanaian games lately?
How to create Pac-Man from scratch: NVIDIA
GameGAN has created the legendary Pac-Man game from scratch, according to reports. GameGAN is an artificial intelligence system created by NVIDIA Corporation.
How GameGAN created Pac-Man
- GameGAN was able to recreate Pac-Man by playing the game 50,000 times. The new Pac-Man respects the same rules and mechanics of the original version.
What is GameGAN?
- GAN refers to Generative Adversarial Networks. GameGAN learned how to create Pac-Man from scratch by observing it over a prolonged period. Eventually, it was able to recreate an exact copy of the original content.
- GameGAN’s version of Pac-Man will be available on NVIDIA AI Playground site.
- The original Pac-Man was published in 1980 by Bandai Namco. Bandai Namco is a Japanese game developer and has created games like Tekken, Ace Combat, among others.
Will you play the new Pac-Man?
AT&T looking to sell ‘Mortal Kombat’, ‘GoT’ gaming titles in $4b deal
The titles belong to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gaming division as part of Time Warner.
- AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 for $109 billion.
- However, the new larger company now has a debt of $165 billion.
- Selling the gaming division could help reduce debt.
The Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gaming division includes titles like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Lego Movie, and Mortal Kombat.
- Possible buyers include Take-Two Interactive Software, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard.
Source: Deadline.
Have you played the latest Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath game?
Mobile Techer 