Gearbox is gearing up (sorry) to show off gameplay of Borderlands 3 for the first time on May 1 (today!) at 10 a.m. PT. Technically, the March reveal trailer had gameplay footage spliced alongside cinematics, but the latest stream will include hands-on gameplay. If you’re as excited for Borderlands 3 as we are, you’re definitely going to want to tune in. Here’s how to watch the Borderlands 3 livestream.
Gearbox will broadcast the livestream on Twitch, YouTube, and the official Borderlands website. We’ve included the Twitch stream above, so you can watch it right here! While you can feel free to just tune in, you actually have a chance to earn Borderlands 3 loot during the stream. While that sounds crazy, since Borderlands 3 doesn’t launch until September 13, a new Twitch extension called Echocast lets viewers snag loot while watching streams. The gameplay reveal livestream is your first opportunity.
In order to use Echocast to receive loot, you have to first link your Twitch and SHiFT accounts. For those unfamiliar, SHiFT is a Borderlands feature that lets you redeem unique codes for gear. You can create a SHiFT account here, if you don’t have one already. With Twitch and SHiFT account linked, and Echocast installed, you can participate in Rare Chest Events. As streamers find rare chests, you can grab all the goodies inside as well (gear scales to your character’s level).
The gameplay reveal will also give you a chance to check out the other Echocast features, such as seeing the build and skill tree of the streamer you’re watching. This feature essentially allows you to look at your favorite streamer’s inventory and skills as if they were playing on your console or PC.
Since the initial reveal at PAX East, we’ve learned a few things about Borderlands 3, including the four new playable characters at launch: Amara, FL4K, Moze, and Zane. Amara falls into the Siren class; FL4K is a cool robot in the Hunter class; Moze, as a Gunner, can spawn a super silly mech called the Iron Bear Mech; and Zane is a crafty hero from the Assassin class. Like previous Borderlands games, each character has their own abilities and skill trees to tinker with.
The new Vault Hunters will be up against Troy and Tyreen Calypso, twins who lead the Children of the Vault. Nothing is known about the organization yet, but we imagine it’s not super cheery.
Perhaps most importantly, Borderlands 3 will have level-syncing to balance co-op play and players will no longer have to share found loot with teammates.
We’re likely to learn even more details about Borderlands 3 during the gameplay reveal stream.
Borderlands 2 launched way back in 2012, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel arrived in 2014. That’s a long gap for dedicated fans of the series. Fans won’t have to wait much longer, though, as Borderlands 3 launches September 13 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via the Epic Games Store (six month exclusive).
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.