Free-to-play cozy sim MMO Palia is currently in development at Singularity 6 and is gearing up to launch in beta this summer. Palia has been compared to Animal Crossing thanks to its relaxing gameplay, but it also features large multiplayer servers that truly drive home its sense of community. But when will the beta go live, how can you join, and what can you expect from it? Here’s what you need to know about the Palia beta.
The closed beta begins on August 2, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET and is available on PC. Then, on August 10 at 1 p.m. ET, an open beta will commence, allowing everyone to participate.
To sign up, players will need to create an account on the official Palia website. Players who sign up now have a chance at participating in a stress test, which begins on July 25.
While it’s unclear what sorts of limitations the beta will have, we do know you’ll get to experience Palia’s world, characters, and many of its gameplay mechanics such as fishing, farming, and housing customization. Keep in mind that your account progress will carry over from the closed beta to the open beta, and even into the full release.
For now, the summer beta is only scheduled for PC. Registering for a Palia account is limited to North America and Western Europe first, and will come to other regions later. Singularity 6 will offer a first look at gameplay on July 18 at 1 p.m. ET on the official Palia Twitch and YouTube channels.
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 One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it.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.