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.

• EVGA Upgrades their GeForce GTX FTW2 and SC2 with 11 Gbps Memory
• Cooler, Quieter, Faster – CORSAIR Launches the Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti
• Inno3D Announces GeForce GTX 1080 11 Gbps and GTX 1060 9 Gbps Graphics Cards
• ZOTAC Intros the GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme with 11 Gbps GDDR5X Memory
• ZOTAC Also Intros GeForce GTX 1060 6GB AMP+ with 9 Gbps GDDR5 Memory
• Meet the Galax GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Hall of Fame (photos)
• Biostar Announces Mini-ITX AM4 Motherboards For Ryzen
• Phanteks Announces the Enthoo Evolv MATX Tempered Glass Edition
• ASUS Announces its Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 STRIX and Dual-X Graphics Cards
• Cherry Launches B.Unlimited 3.0 Wireless Desktop
• DeepCool Announces the Gammaxx 400 Blue CPU Cooler with AM4 Support
• Tt eSPORTS Announces New VENTUS X PLUS Smart Gaming Mouse
• Radeon RX 480 Cards Can Successfully be Flashed to RX 580
• Logitech Announces the G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
• EK Water Blocks is Releasing Full-Cover Water Blocks for the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce® GTX 1080 Ti
• AOC Announces C4008VU8 40″ Curved 4K UHD Display with 10-bit Color
• Razer Expands the Razer Hammerhead V2 In-Ear Audio Line with Bluetooth and iOS Lightning Models
• Sapphire Announces the Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 NITRO+
• ENERMAX Launches D.F. STORM, the 3500RPM Fan Featuring Self-cleaning Design

Publisher Strategy First and developer Graviteam, a studio with a long history of developing realistic wargames such as Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star and Steel Armor: Blaze of War, are teaming up to deliver the historically accurate World War II strategy war game Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943 to Steam.

“Set in North Africa during the Tunisian campaign in World War II, one of World War II’s most intense conflicts and offers real-time and turn-based strategy options, making it perfect for hardcore strategy fans, World War II enthusiasts and history buffs,” said Vladimir Zayarniy, Graviteam CEO. “We dedicated a lot of time, energy and passion into offering a painstaking level of realism and detail in all of our units and battle scenarios, and for the first time are featuring US military battling against Axis forces.”

Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943 offers two ways to play, with both turn-based and real-time strategy options, each featuring unparalleled levels of realism with adaptive soldier behavior and complex vehicle damage for more than 50 detailed vehicles created between Germany, U.S and the U.K. Players can choose between the Allied and Axis soldiers to relive the Tunisian Campaign and experience this ambitious and historically accurate tank warfare game.

Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943 will launch in May 2017 on Windows PC via Steam. Further details, including a date for commercial launch and an upcoming trailer, will be revealed later this month.

 Source: Gamers Hell

Ubisoft today announced that Narco Road, the first expansion for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, is now available for season pass owners across all platforms. Season pass owners will have access to Narco Road one week before it releases for individual purchase on April 25 on consoles and PC for the suggested retail price of $14.99.

Narco Road trades in stealth and assault for subterfuge and tasks players with infiltrating three gangs of smugglers led by the elusive El Invisible. Players will have to go undercover and work their way up the ranks and earn the trust of the mysterious leader if they have any hope of bringing him to justice. Playable entirely in solo or co-op, players will have to earn the respect of gang leaders by completing brand new campaign missions and taking part in adrenaline-fueled racing challenges.

Watch the Narco Road DLC Trailer HERE.

Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm has been updated to version 2.0.12 and this version brings decisive improvements to the game!

Numerous bugs affecting the Map editor, waypoints, radio traffic – and more! – have been solved, so don’t wait any further and check the entire changelog HERE!

You can download the update from here.

See you on the battlefield!

Get more information about the game on its official product page.

Today AMD introduced the Radeon RX 500 series, a new line of graphics cards featuring a powerful combination of improved game performance, higher clock speeds, and a refined 2nd generation Polaris architecture, giving PC gamers the best reasons yet to upgrade their graphics. Can AMD’s new graphics cards challenge the NVIDIA dominance? Will they make the same splash as AMD’s new Ryzen processors?  Check out the numerous reviews we have gathered featuring cards from ASUS, MSI, Sapphire, Gigabyte and Powercolor via the links below and find out.

• HARDWARE CANUCKS
• TOM’S HARDWARE
• TWEAKTOWN
• ANANDTECH
• HARDOCP
• HOT HARDWARE
• PC PERSPECTIVE
• HEXUS
• BIT-TECH
• GURU3D (ASUS)
• GURU3D (MSI)
• GURU3D (SAPPHIRE)
• EXTREMETECH
• ETEKNIX

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.

• AMD Announces the Radeon RX 500 Series Graphics Cards
• MSI Reveals Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 Graphics Cards
• GIGABYTE Announces AORUS Radeon RX 500 Series Graphics Cards
• PowerColor Announces the Radeon RX 580 Red Devil and Red Dragon Graphics Cards
• PowerColor Announces the Radeon RX 570 Red Devil and Red Dragon Graphics Cards
• KFA2 Intros GeForce GTX 1070 Single-slot Graphics Card
• NZXT Launches their S340 Elite Hyper Beast Mid-tower Case
• Scythe Intros Mugen 5 Rev. B with AM4 Support
• Palit Introduces GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GameRock Series
• Colorful Reveals iGame GTX1080Ti Vulcan X OC With 2GHz Boost Clock
• G.SKILL Announces DDR4-4333MHz 16GB (8GBx2) Memory Kit and Achieves DDR4-4500MHz Speed

It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like Call of Duty is finally heading back to where it all began, World War II, and that makes a lot of sense.

By Nathan Lawrence @ IGN

Around this time two years ago, I predicted that Treyarch’s 2015 Call of Duty game would go back to the trenches of World War II. I even labelled that prediction as “extremely likely”. Turns out I was on the wrong side of history with that one, and while I’m happy to eat humble pie, I firmly believe that Call of Duty 2017 will jump back to where the series began, in the trenches of World War II.

Naturally, it helps that recent leaks suggest that Sledgehammer Games’ 2017 series entry will be called Call of Duty: WW2. Obviously, it’s possible that these leaked images are fake – we do, after all, live in the Photoshop age – but it’s likely they’re on point. Here’s why.

Read on…

All Arma 3 players receive aircraft carrier as free bonus content

In follow up to their latest dev diary, which discussed the planned new content for Arma 3 in 2017, Bohemia Interactive today announced the release date of the first upcoming DLC package: Arma 3 Jets. Available worldwide on May 16th 2017, the Jets DLC will enhance the combined arms experience by adding three new air-superiority jets, an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), a new Showcase scenario, and more.

As is protocol with each Arma 3 DLC release, the Jets DLC will be accompanied by a free platform update that improves the game for everyone. The main highlights of this update are the ‘sensor overhaul’ to improve targeting and target detection, an upgraded fixed-wing damage model with more hitpoints and new damage effects, dynamic vehicle loadouts, and various other jets-related improvements.

In addition, as a special surprise, Bohemia Interactive is proud to reveal truly massive bonus content in the form of the CVN-83 “USS Freedom” Aircraft Carrier (watch new trailer). This nuclear-powered aircraft supercarrier, which will be available for free to everyone who owns Arma 3, serves as a naval main operating base, and can carry various aircraft and helicopters on board. In terms of in-game functionality, the ship is a static object that can be positioned across the map via the 3D Scenario Editor, but cannot be ‘driven’. The carrier supports catapult take-offs and tailhook landings, and features functional autonomous defensive weapon systems.

Arma 3 Jets DLC Key Features

• F/A-181 Black Wasp II – The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed primarily as an air-superiority fighter, but also has ground attack capabilities. Its additional external hard points enable the aircraft to carry a wide variety of weapons configurations. The Black Wasp is fitted with the required equipment for carrier operations.
• To-201 Shikra – The To-201 Shikra is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed by a CSAT and Russian joint syndicate with the goal to build a highly agile and maneuverable air-superiority fighter. Similar to the F/A-181, the To-201 also has ground attack capabilities, and is able to support various weapons configurations via its conventional pylons, but also its internal weapons bay.
• A-149 Gryphon – The A-149 Gryphon is a fourth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, and all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed as a multi-role platform at an affordable cost, and unlike some of the larger air-superiority jets, it can also perform well in low-altitude flight. Despite its aging platform, the A-149 has still been upgraded with the newest sensors and weapons systems.
• Sentinel – The Sentinel is a fifth-generation, state of the line, twin-engine, all-weather tactical Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). The Sentinel was designed primarily as a reconnaissance platform, but can also perform precision ground attacks. It typically operates from an aircraft carrier.
• Showcase Fighter Jets – Take to the skies above Altis and engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat in a brand new Showcase scenario.

The Jets DLC is now available for pre-order on the Bohemia Store and Steam with a 10% pre-order discount (original price: € 9.99 / $ 11.99 / £ 8.99). Alternatively, if they already wish to enlist for all planned upcoming DLC, players can purchase the Arma 3 DLC Bundle 2 on the Bohemia Store or Steam (€ 22.99 / $ 24.99 / £ 19.99), which saves more than 25% over purchasing the upcoming Jets, “Orange” (working title), Tac-Ops, and Tanks DLC separately.

For a complete overview of the Arma 3 Jets’ content and features, check out the official website at www.arma3.com/dlc/jets.

Source: Blue’s News

UbiBlog has details on Title Update 3 for Ghost Recon: Wildlands, which is now available on consoles, and is coming today to the Windows edition of the shooter. This includes game stability improvements and fixes for some issues with the game. It will also introduce Live Season Challenges, and they provide this explanation of what these are about:

The Title Update also introduces Live Season Challenges – a brand new feature giving players regular access to new objectives. These Challenges will be separated into Seasons, with each lasting six weeks and featuring a specific theme and specific rewards. The first Season starts on April 18th. The update adds a new in-game menu where you can see the current Challenges, check details of how to find them, and monitor your progression.

Because the Challenges are live content, you need to be online to activate them and update your statistics – though the missions can be completed offline during the same game session.

There’ll be a total of five new missions each week, gradually allowing you to discover new pieces of Operation Kingslayer.

• Three challenges playable solo (co-op is available, but your stats are counted individually)
• A challenge dedicated to members of Task Force groups (Task Forces can be created or joined on the Ghost Recon Network)
• A community challenge that requires the contribution of all players to reach an overall objective.

Players will receive a reward after completing each challenge, totaling three rewards per season. During a season, each challenge will be available for one week and will be updated every Wednesday at 9am UTC (that’s 10am BST) – so don’t forget to complete them before then to get the reward.

Source: Matrix Games

Juha Kellokoski is the main programmer and game designer of Armored Brigade. Together with his three fellow comrades Sam, Nikola and Dmitriy, they form the team developing the game.

We met Juha and we had the chance to ask him some questions about its latest work.

First off, thank you for answering these questions about upcoming game, Armored Brigade.

Matrix. Would you like to tell us what has been the driving force behind its design?

Juha Kellokoski. The starting point was to make a game I like to play. I’ve combined elements from games that I have enjoyed, including wargames and simulations, and even flavors from outside these genres. I’ve been an avid gamer since the mid-80′s. The original Steel Panthers is perhaps the greatest inspiration, if I had to name just one, but I’m sure that the players of many other PC wargame classics will feel like home when they try Armored Brigade. Also, especially in the earlier days, I did a lot of research about what the players think is missing from other games, and did my best to make sure Armored Brigade won’t be lacking in those respects.

M. When it was available for free, Armored Brigade got a strong reputation among wargamers. What is the story behind this incredible project?

J.K. Armored Brigade was actually my first game project. The initial steps were taken as early as 2004 when I decided to do something else than just modding the games of others. I considered different ideas, including a “Roguelike” game concept, but with real graphics. A bit later it evolved into making a Steel Panthers clone, with turn-based gameplay. I think the current real-time concept matured in late 2005, and later the ’87 equipment became the data set. Since then it’s been expanding and expanding in all directions. Basically, everything has been redone several times, and even now we’re ditching old stuff we know can be done better. The first freeware version was made public in March 2008. It was a very sincere effort, like “Hey, I made a game, do you want to try it?” I was fairly ignorant about the “grognard scene” and all that. I started receiving emails from the grognards, (ex-)servicemen and established publishers, saying very positive things about the game, even in its early, crude form. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very responsive those days, and even left some of the emails unanswered. Hopefully I’ve improved from that. Around the same time the discussion forum was opened, and I got feedback and help from the players, and kept developing the game. All of the current team members were “recruited” from the forum. I’m still the only programmer and the project leader. Sam is mainly responsible for the textures, Dmitriy makes the maps and additional artwork and Nikola is building the database. In 2016 I decided to work on this project full-time, to give it all the polish and chrome it deserves. For that purpose, I established my company, Veitikka Studios, and signed a contract with Matrix Games. That’s where we’re now.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE