Microsoft has introduced capture-card support for Twitch streams of Xbox One games, allowing gamers to automatically share their broadcasting status via Xbox Live without relying on the Xbox One Twitch app.
The new feature allows players to exercise greater control over their streamed content, and grants PC streamers all the networked promotional benefits normally reserved for Xbox One users.
“Previously, only Xbox One players broadcasting their gameplay via the Xbox Twitch app could take advantage of the several different ways to amplify their content and channel on Xbox Live to share updates and grow their audience,” Microsoft’s Major Nelson explained. “Now, any Twitch user who has linked their Xbox Live and Twitch accounts together and is broadcasting an Xbox One game using a capture card will automatically have their content amplified.”
While players always had the option of streaming Xbox One gameplay via a PC equipped with a capture card, Xbox Live promotional features were reserved for players who streamed via the console’s associated Twitch app. Initially, Microsoft’s recommended procedure for Xbox One streaming involved first launching the Twitch app and then using the console’s “snap” functionality to run it in the background during gameplay.
Starting today, PC players can use streaming software like XSplit and Open Broadcaster Software to stream Xbox One footage, giving them greater control over video capture, archiving, and editing while they reap the benefits of Xbox Live promotion.
Regardless of whether you stream Xbox One games via the console’s Twitch app or a PC capture card, your online status and updates will be automatically shared via the Xbox One Activity Feed and the Xbox app for Windows 10, iOS, and Android. Follower notifications are also available for both app and capture-card users, giving your friends a heads-up when Xbox One streams begin. Streams from both sources will also be publicly featured in appropriate Game Product Details Pages in the Xbox Store, further signal-boosting user broadcasts.
To take advantage of Xbox Live capture-card support, Xbox One users must link their Xbox Live and Twitch accounts within the console’s Twitch app. Capture-card users must then identify the game they’re currently playing on Twitch’s website to enable Xbox Live notifications and Activity Feed updates.
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.