The grand strategy role-playing game Crusader Kings 3 is on its way to next-generation consoles very soon. Developer Paradox Interactive surprised fans with an announcement that the game is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 29.
Crusader Kings 3 is one of the most notable dynasty simulators out there. Players control their dynasty throughout the ages and generations until a certain end year is met. The game originally released as a PC exclusive on September 1, 2020.
The game is breaking new ground with this console port. Not only will millions of new players finally be able to enjoy the title, but it isn’t typically the kind of genre that’s readily available on console, according to Paradox.
“The interesting thing about moving Crusader Kings 3 onto console is that it’s not a genre that’s particularly well-represented,” technical designer Terry Goodwin says in the announcement post. “There’s a huge challenge in bringing such a huge game to consoles. We call it, not a port, but an adaptation, for that reason.”
Paradox Interactive goes into many details, revealing just how much work is going into putting the title onto consoles. Things as simple as changing mouse cursor menus into something more familiar to console players were pushed to make the game feel as familiar as possible while not dumbing down the experience.
“Because of that, we’ve had to redesign all the menus in the game so you can get that tactile feedback of going up and down a list on a D-pad,” Goodwin explains.
Current-gen console players can finally get their hands on Crusader Kings 3 and begin their own dynasty on March 29.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.