Microsoft seems to have prematurely revealed its plan to hold an open beta for Halo Wars 2 next week during E3. Multiple outlets have found an active listing for the beta on the Xbox Store. It says players will be able to try the real-time strategy game’s multiplayer from June 13-20.
It just so happens that Microsoft will also hold its E3 press conference on June 13, prompting many to speculate that Microsoft intended to surprise players with the news that the beta would be available during or directly after the show.
Microsoft announced in August 2015 that Total War series developer Creative Assembly would take over for developer Ensemble on the sequel to its Xbox 360-exclusive real-time strategy Halo game. Unlike the original, Halo Wars 2 will be released on Xbox One and Windows 10.
Rumors that Halo Wars 2 would feature in Microsoft’s preshow press conference began last week when some concept art from the game showed up on Twitter. One of the images, which has since been taken down, was a concept version of the box art shown on the Xbox Store listing that did not include the Halo Wars 2 logo. Users who have been able to find the listing — it isn’t searchable — have disseminated the game’s box art and some screenshots from the game on Reddit.
The listing effectively confirms yet another of the many games that will be shown at E3. In the past week, developers have released trailers announcing a slew of games that pundits and fans expect to see at the show, including Watch Dogs 2, Saint’s Row developer Volition’s Agents of Mayhem, and Mortal Kombat maker Netherrealm’s follow-up to its DC Comics-themed fighter, Injustice 2.
Although Microsoft hasn’t said much about Halo Wars 2 since it was announced, the game is presumably on track to hit stores this fall.
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.