Intel is working to build up hype and awareness around its discrete graphics efforts, of which we're still to see more off besides Intel's continuous acquisition of AMD-based talent for that particular endeavor. It's relatively hard to build up enthusiasm for something other than the fact there is a third competitor entering the high-performance graphics card space; the rest is mostly rumors, speculations, and declared intentions.

AMD today posted the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition. Version 19.2.1 beta ships with optimization for "APEX Legends" and "The Division 2 private beta." It also improves performance of "Assassin's Creed: Odyssey" by up to 5 percent, when tested on a Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card. The company also fixed a number of issues.

To begin with, a bug affecting "Battlefield V" in which character outlines remain on the screen after revive has been fixed. Radeon Settings not automatically installing when updating Radeon Software on machines with hybrid graphics has been fixed. Also fixed is a Radeon Settings application crash noticed when switching tabs too quickly with long game lists. Some displays experiencing a loss in video when maximizing to fullscreen any software with FreeSync enabled, also has been fixed. A white-screen bug affecting "Anthem" has been fixed. HDMI Underscan settings not restoring after reboot has been fixed. An inverted color bug with ReLive has been fixed.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.2.1 beta

The change-log follows.

AMD has released today the Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.12.1 beta drivers. Overall this release merely adds support for Just Cause 4, which is set to release on December 4, 2018. While it is good to see AMD improving support for games ahead of their release, this driver offers nothing else tangible, meaning no performance boosts in other titles, changes or fixes to speak of. That said, AMD has listed a few known Issues with these drivers, such as; mouse lag on multiple displays when they are enabled but one is powered off, and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey may crash at specific locations on Windows 7 systems. We have of course uploaded these latest drivers to our download section.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.12.1 Beta

Mixed reality headsets seem to present a new opportunity for the Virtual Reality segment, and Samsung has taken advantage of this trend by announcing the new Samsung HMD Odyssey+, a product that stands out for a novelty in its OLED displays that eliminates the screen door effect. This is a visual artifact of displays where the fine lines separating pixels become visible on the screen. This effect hurts the visual experience, but it can also cause dizziness or nausea.

Samsung say they have solved the problem with an innovation called "Anti-Screen Door Effect (Anti-SDE) Display". This technology helps to increased the perceived resolution of the displays, and according to Samsung the user will have a perceived screen density of 1,233 PPI. The actual density is 616 PPI on a conventional AMOLED, but with the new Anti-SDE AMOLED technology that resolution promises to double virtually before our eyes.

NVIDIA released its first GeForce software suite since Windows 10 October 2018 went official. The new GeForce 416.16 WHQL drivers add full support for the new operating system, including WDDM 2.5, and DirectX Ray-Tracing (DXR), which are essential for NVIDIA RTX to work. The drivers also add SLI profiles for a large number of games, including "Battlefield V," "Basingstroke," "Divinity: Original Sin II," "Immortal: Unchained," "Jurassic World Evolution," "Phoenix Point," and "Seven: The Days Long Gone." 3DVision profiles are added for "The Elder Scrolls: Online."

A small number of bugs are also fixed with this release. "Pascal" GPUs running "Quake HD remix" no longer experience black square glitches. Temporal AA sharp drops in performance with GeForce GTX 1060 running "Rainbow 6: Siege" has been fixed. Driver errors on TITAN Xp when waking up from S4 sleep have been fixed. Lastly, an issue found with "Turing" GPUs not exposing Netflix 4K mode to displays connected over USB-C, has been fixed. Grab the driver from the link below.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 416.16 WHQL

The change-log follows.

AMD announced the "Raise the Game" bundle. The company is giving away three AAA games with its Radeon RX Vega 64, RX Vega 56, RX 580, and RX 570 graphics cards (you get all three games when you purchase any of those graphics cards). Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the star attraction here. The latest addition to the Assassin's Creed franchise adds a straight $59.99 value to your graphics card purchase. You also get "Strange Brigade," a $39.99 upcoming co-op adventure shooter set in a Tomb Raider-esque setting. Lastly, there's Star Control: Origins, the upcoming space RTS by Stardock.

This is probably the first time that a GPU vendor is bundling only upcoming games, which at launch-prices add tremendous value to your graphics card, especially some of the cheaper RX 570 ones. Assassin's Creed Origins releases this October, while Strange Brigade lands late-August, and Star Control: Origins this September. The bundle is limited to participating retailers, and applicable to graphics cards sold between August 7, 2018 and ends November 3, 2018 (or until stocks last). You get a master coupon that must be redeemed on AMD website before 31st December, which puts out the UPlay and Steam keys for the games.

Today, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Ubisoft announced a new installment of the Assassin's Creed franchise, Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The game will be released worldwide on October 5, 2018, on the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X, PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. In addition, Assassin's Creed Odyssey has been enhanced with additional features for Xbox One X and PS4 Pro systems.

For the last three years, the team at Ubisoft Quebec has been creating an exciting new chapter for the Assassin's Creed franchise. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the action takes place in Ancient Greece, a world rich with myths and legend, in fifth century BC during the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens. Playing as Alexios or Kassandra, a mercenary of Spartan blood sentenced to death by their family, players will embark on an epic journey from a young outcast to a legendary hero and uncover the truth about their mysterious First Civilization lineage.

Assassin's Creed has been one of the staples in gaming ever since the original's debut way back in 2007. Since then, there's been a steady stream of new main entry Assassin's Creed games every year, except in the year leading up to 2018's Origins: the first time the series took a hiatus for some much needed time to reinvent itself. Whether or not it succeeded, though, is another matter entirely.

That said, a new entry in the series was always to be expected, and a 5-second teaser has already been released, leading up to an almost certain full E3 reveal. The games' title, Odyssey, alongside the iconography of a Spartan helmet, likely places the game in the 6th to 4th century BCE, in Greece. A parallelism has been made - and really must be - between the games' title and Homer's titular "The Odyssey", an epic recounting the events following king Odysseus' return to Ithaca following the fall of Troy.