Epic Games has once again delayed Fortnite‘s long-awaited season 3.
In a letter to players on Wednesday, Epic said that Fortnite Season 3 will now launch on June 17, nearly a week after its planned release on June 11. A live virtual event called The Device that Epic had planned to hold in advance of the season has been pushed back to June 15. The company initially planned to host the event on Saturday.
Epic said in the letter that it made the decision following the tragic death of George Floyd last month and the racial injustice protests that have subsequently sprung up across the U.S.
“Recent events are a heavy reminder of ongoing injustices in society, from the denial of basic human rights to the impact of racism both overt and subtle against people of color,” the company wrote. “We’re acutely aware of the pain our friends, families, team members, players, and communities are experiencing.”
Epic said it will use the next two weeks to allow its “team to focus on themselves, their families, and their communities.”
Epic is the latest in a string of video game companies that have canceled or postponed events surrounding big announcements.
Electronic Arts was slated to unveil the new Madden NFL 21 on Monday but delayed the event because it didn’t want to distract from the protests. Sony had planned to hold a PlayStation 5 event on Thursday, where it was expected to unveil games for the console, but canceled it for the same reason. Infinity Ward, which had planned to release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty Warzone Season 4 on Wednesday, said “now is not the time” to be releasing new content.
Fortnite season 3 was supposed to debut on May 1, but Epic ultimately delayed it to June 4 without specifying a reason. The company then pushed its delay back again to June 11.
When the new season finally launches, it promises new maps and what Epic has called “fresh gameplay.” The company also said it has some surprises planned.
In its statement on Wednesday, Epic acknowledged the many delays, and said it appreciated player “patience and understanding during these difficult times.”
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.