Gearbox Software’s next shooter has the potential to be a highly streamed game and the studio is teaming up with Twitch to give it a solid rollout when it launches. Gearbox and 2K, the publisher of Borderlands 3, is partnering with the streaming platform to deliver the Echocast extension for streamers and communities.
The Echocast extension for Twitch gives viewers a look at the streamer’s loadout and the contents of their backpacks. The Borderlands series is a loot-driven first-person shooter and it will serve the developers well to allow the community to see the many different weapons and items they could come across in their own playthroughs. Further, audiences can use the extension to check out a streamer’s skill tree in Borderlands 3, hover over the items to see their stats and get a generally better idea what kind of build they’re seeing in action.
The streamers playing Borderlands 3 can also host Rare Chest Events that their viewers can opt into, enhancing the relationship and interactions with their audience. This element makes the new Echocast a one-of-a-kind addition to the platform. For those that decide to participate, they get a chance to earn a copy of one item that the streamer gets when opening a rare chest. That lucky viewer will get a Shift code that can be redeemed for whatever gun, shield, or grenade mod found in the chest. You can check out the official Borderlands blog for details on how to set up your Shift account if you don’t have one already.
Borderlands 3 is the long-awaited new entry in the loot shooter series that Gearbox confirmed during PAX East earlier this year. The game launches on September 13, but we won’t have to wait long to see the Echocast Twitch extension in action. Gearbox Software will be hosting a worldwide Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal event on Wednesday, May 1 and content creators will be streaming the game starting at 10 a.m. PT. Anyone who watches and links their Shift and Twitch accounts will get a chance to add some powerful gear to their arsenals well before they get their hands on the game later this year.
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.