Splash Damage has announced that Outcasters, which it released exclusively on Google Stadia in July, won’t be ported to other gaming systems after the online streaming platform shuts down in January 2023.
Outcasters is a battle royale-style game that allowed players to get creative with their shots, controlling their direction and speed after firing them off. Unlike Fortnite, its multiplayer mode caps the number of players to eight. The London-based Splash Damage tweeted a statement Wednesday saying it had no plans to port Outcasters because it was programmed exclusively for Stadia, as its complex gameplay mechanics required the use of cloud streaming technology.
“It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that we do not have plans to bring Outcasters to other platforms at this time. Outcasters was designed and built exclusively for Stadia, with many of its systems heavily reliant on the platform, significantly increasing the complexity of the work required,” Splash Damage said. “We still firmly believe that cloud gaming has a bright future in our industry, providing easier access to games than ever before, and we are encouraged to see that other platforms still champion this cause.”
To give Outcasters a proper requiem, Splash Damage shared a video that takes a look back at the game’s development stages, from its early concept to its July 13 release day, as well as an idea of what the gameplay looks like for those who weren’t aware of its existence.
— Outcasters (@playoutcasters) October 12, 2022
While Outcasters is getting buried along with Stadia, some other Stadia-exclusive games will rise out of the ashes of the platform’s demise. Tequila Works is porting Gylt to other platforms next year, though it’s unknown what consoles will get it. Meanwhile, Ubisoft and other developers are giving players alternatives for playing games they purchased on Stadia.
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.
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