Source: Blue’s News

Ubisoft officially announces  Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 following the inadvertant revelation of plans for the shooter sequel. The post there is the English version of the statement that leaked early. They have also posted a roadmap for the franchise, which they note is celebrating its second birthday. The roadmap includes plans to support the first The Division, which is covered in more detail in this State-of-the-Game update which discusses the next two patches. Here’s word on the road ahead:

The Division’s second birthday is finally here! We have been hard at work since the launch of the game and have some news to share with our community. Yes, there is a Division 2 that is currently under development by Massive! The supporting studios that continue to make The Division possible – Red Storm, Reflections, Annecy – will also play roles in The Division 2’s development. More information will be revealed at E3 this year, and we cannot wait to show the world what we have in store!

This does not mean that work on The Division 1 is coming to a halt. We are going to continue supporting the game as players look forward to the following timeline of content:

• April – Update 1.8.1, which includes the Xbox One X patch and the implementation of Classified drop rate changes discussed on a previous State of the Game. We are also introducing two new Legendary modes alongside a new Global Event: Blackout.
• May – New Global Event: Onslaught.
• June – Update 1.8.2, which will introduce two more Legendary mission modes and bring back Global Event: Outbreak. This update also marks the beginning of the brand new Shields monthly feature, in which achievements earned playing The Division will grant special rewards in The Division 2.
• July – Global Event: Assault, with the continuation of Shields.
• August – Global Event: Strike, with the continuation of Shields.
• September – Global Event: Ambush, with the continuation of Shields.

It has been quite the journey so far, and we are just getting started. A huge thank you to our community for the support over the years. Here is to the future of The Division!

Top-Selling Series in Call of Duty History Makes its Return 12th October

Black Ops is back! In what represents a game-changing experience, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will revolutionise the top-selling series in Call of Duty history when it launches worldwide on Friday, 12th October for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Call of Duty fans can tune in Thursday, 17th May, when publisher Activision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, and award-winning developer Treyarch host the community reveal to a worldwide audience.

View the official Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 teaser trailer HERE.

Evolving the original Insurgency formula, the multi-million selling FPS comes enhanced and expanded. Insurgency: Sandstorm is built in Unreal Engine 4 with upgraded graphics, taking the series into a new era. Coming to PC and, for the first time, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; Insurgency: Sandstorm brings extended gameplay possibilities, improved immersion, as well as new co-op and versus objective-based game modes. All this while retaining the lethal tactical action that made Insurgency the worldwide phenomenon it is today. Six new screenshots are available direct from the ongoing Closed Alpha.

Experience kinetic, gritty, and immersive combat on a modern battlefield that strikes a balance between action and simulation gameplay. Both you and your enemies can die in as few as one or two shots; there is no health bar, kill feed, crosshair, or regenerating health. Teams must move with speed and fluidity as they weave through dense urban environments, capturing and destroying vital enemy objectives.

Each weapon has unique ballistic calculations that take into account bullet drop, travel time, and penetration power. Bullets are tracked realistically in each magazine container, and magazines do not automatically merge together. Choose to drop magazines for faster reloads in dangerous situations, carefully open doors to keep quiet, or bash them down with a shoulder charge. Returning players will experience new features like fire support mechanics, driveable light vehicles, character customization, weapon customization, and competitive matchmaking.

View the new screenshots on this Insurgency: Sandstorm forum page.

Insurgency: Sandstorm is coming out later this year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

By Nathan Kirsch @ Legit Reviews

Intel has finally launched an Optane SSD for the mainstream market, the Intel Optane SSD 800P. The Intel Optane SSD 800P series is available as M.2 2280 single-sided ‘gumsticks’ that use the PCIe 3.0 x2 interface. Only two capacities are available, so you get your choice of a 58GB drive for $99 or a 118GB for $199. These won’t be large enough to be the sole storage drive in an enthusiast or gamers PC, but they’ll make for an ideal boot drive for a Windows 10-base system.

Read the Review Here

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

We review one of the most fascinating chassis of the year 2018, yes DeepCool send us their all new QuadStellar. A chassis that will follow up the TriStellar, this round with four compartments and a WIFI controllable FAN/RGB LED system. When you unpack this puppy, it almost feels like you have something alien in your house.

Read the Review Here

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• Thrustmaster Launches Y-350CPX and Y-300CPX Limited Edition Far Cry 5 Headphones
• Intel Launches New Optane 800P M.2 SSDs for Consumer Systems
• EK Water Blocks Announce Two RGB Versions of the EK-Supremacy EVO CPU Water Block
• Scythe Bundles New Ninja 5 CPU Cooler with Two Silent Kaze Flex 120 PWM Fans
• HyperX Releases Gunmetal Version of Cloud Revolver Headset
• EK Water Blocks is Releasing Full-coverage Water Block for ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega Series
• Colorful Offers New iGame SLI HB Bridge
• Swiftech Announces Maelstrom D5 Reservoir Line Up
• PNY Releases CS900 960GB SSD

Are you ready to beat back the imperialist aggression of the world’s bullies? Paradox Development Studio is happy to announce the release of Waking the Tiger, an expansion to Hearts of Iron IV that makes major improvements to many aspects of the game, while drawing players’ attention to the Chinese Front.

The Chinese Republic is barely 25 years old and has still not found the unity it seeks. But now, pressed by Japan, China’s factions might find in war the common cause that eluded them in peace. New leaders and focus trees for Nationalist China, Communist China, the warlord states and the Japanese vassals add more depth and history to one of history’s forgotten fronts.

Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger includes:

• Chinese National Focuses: Divided and under threat, China has great reserves of manpower and diplomatic flexibility
• Chain of Command: Unite your armies under a field marshal who can take advantage of the many skills of the generals under his direction.
• Decisions and Missions: Historical decisions and national missions give you new places to spend Political Power, as you deal with domestic politics or start special projects.
• Commanders’ Traits and Abilities: Commanders’’ traits can now unlock powerful Command Power abilities, allowing great flexibility and creativity.
• Updated Axis Focus Trees: Alternate historical paths for the German Reich and Imperial Japan, including parliamentary rule in Japan and the return of the Kaiser to Germany.
• Acclimatization: Over time, troops will learn how to survive in the desert or harsh winters, giving these veterans an edge on the battlefield.
• And More: Capturing battlefield equipment, and a revitalized air war system that has room for Volunteer air wings.

As usual, the expansion will be released alongside a major game update that is freely available to all Hearts of Iron IV players.

Watch the Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger Release Trailer HERE.

Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger is available now at the expansions webpage for a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Valour is superior to numbers. – Vegetius

When there is something greater than your own life to fight for, then there is no time for turning back. You must take your sword, your shield, say goodbye to your natural family, for you are joining men who will become your brothers in battle.

With them, you will fight until final victory or total defeat, sharing the destiny of your nation. Will you follow your brethren wherever the path of duty could lead?

Field of Glory II: Legions Triumphant, the new DLC in the series that is reviving highly historically accurate wargaming, is now available!

From the first Emperor, Augustus, until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, this new DLC features five centuries of constant war.

Take part in expanding the Pax Romana or fight it tooth and nail!

Witness the final disintegration of Western Roman power under pressure from the Germans and Goths (themselves attempting to outdistance the rising power of the Huns), and the desperate attempts of 5th-century leaders to hold at bay the barbarian tide, using armies at least partly consisting of barbarian troops.

This DLC greatly expands the base game content adding 10 new factions 19 new units, 24 new army lists, 10 new Epic Battles and 36 new Quick Battles!

With Legions Triumphant, the Custom Battles and the Sandbox Campaigns modules now include all 132 army lists.

4 new historically-based campaigns:

• Third Century Crisis
• King of Kings (Sassanid Persia)
• Stilicho
• Empire of the Huns

 Grab Field of Glory II: Legions Triumphant now!

Don’t forget to check out the changelog for the free patch accompanying the release! Version 1.2.5 brings many improvements to the campaign system with tons of new features, including the ability to name your units! Click here to check the full change list.

1941. Erwin Rommel is appointed commander of the newly created Deutsches Afrika Korps, with the goal of supporting Italy in their campaign against the Allied forces in North Africa.

It is the beginning of a great military campaign which will show the world the military genius of Rommel, a series of great accomplishments which will earn him the immortal nickname of the Desert Fox.

Order of Battle: Sandstorm, the new DLC in the Order of Battle series, will let you relive those years.

You will need exceptional strategical ability to succeed in the brand new campaign – one of the longest ever in Order of Battle, 14 scenarios! Beware, you will be outnumbered and time is against you. Deceive your enemy, then outmaneuver and vanquish them before you run out of supplies.

Sandstorm greatly expands the roster of Italy, adding many unique units as well as specializations. It also introduces a brand new terrain type to Order of Battle, Arid, as well as new terrain rules to represent the hazards of fighting in a desert environment (has anyone mentioned sandstorms?).

Sandstorm is currently in development and it’s about to enter Beta. If you would like to follow its development and give us a hand in testing it, please apply for the beta here.

We will show you more of the DLC soon, so stay tuned!

Source: TechPowerUp!

The Spectre/Meltdown road is long and pocked with lawsuits and security holes as it is, and Microsoft is one of the players that’s trying to put the asphalt back to tip-top, Autobahn-worth shape. The company has already improved users’ security to the Meltdown and Spectre exploits on its OS side; however, hardware patches, and specifically BIOS-editing ones are much harder to deploy and distribute by the PC chain. That may be one of the reasons why Microsoft is now again stepping up with software-based mitigations for Intel-based systems, specifically.

Click here for more information.