On March 4, Grand Theft Auto V on PC is getting a free upgrade with sought-after features previously only available in the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of GTA Online—including all the latest vehicles and performance upgrades available at Hao's Special Works, animal encounters, and access to purchase a GTA+ Membership—along with improved graphics options, faster loading times, and more. All players who currently own GTAV on PC will be able to upgrade to this new version for free, with the ability to migrate your Story Mode and Online progress.

New Features on PC
Once upgraded, current PC players—along with anyone playing the game for the first time—will have access to a full suite of much-requested GTA Online upgrades previously only available on the latest consoles. This upgraded version of GTA V on PC also features all of our recent player experience improvements for GTA Online, including kernel-based anti-cheat protections and proactive voice chat moderation to help keep GTA Online fun for everyone.

Under normal circumstances, Grand Theft Auto VI-related leaks have emerged from nefarious sources. Mid-February news reports have pulled information from an unlikely, yet fairly legitimate announcement. GTA franchise fans would not expect a leak to emerge from a company dealing in peripherals, but Corsair Gaming's Ronald van Veen disclosed a slightly surprising prediction during a recent company call with investors. The organization's financial VP believes that incoming AAA-blockbuster title will launch on PC mere months after an exclusive debut on home gaming consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series). Famously, Rockstar Games reserves a sizable time gap between its console and PC rollouts. An official statement—made back in December 2023—revealed a potential repeat of this release cadence; PC-bound GTA players feared another agonizing two to three year wait.

During an earnings call, Corsair's finance chief discussed the impact of high-profile franchises: "in terms of new games, I mean, there's been a steady stream of games. What we really haven't had for the last year or two is what we could call a 'Fortnite moment' or 'PUBG moment.' So, people are typically playing older games. And I think for our component business and for people looking at new cards, obviously, that tends to depend on new games that are super demanding that you need high-performance graphics in order to get 60 frames a second...If you actually look at the numbers across the last five years, peripheral sales are substantially up, like 50% or 60% up compared to pre-COVID. So, more people are gaming, but not all are gaming on new games. The activity around PC builds or gaming PC builds is roughly on par with pre-COVID now....GTA VI is probably the one everyone is talking about. And we'll get a glimpse of that, I think, later in the year for console. My understanding now it's going to come out in the fall for console, and then early 2026 for PC." Take-Two's CEO—Strauss Zelnick—believes that Grand Theft Auto VI will boost consoles sales upon launch.

Civ fans—Sid Meier's Civilization VII is available now! To the entire Civ community, thank you so much for joining us on this journey. We're honored and humbled to be starting this new chapter of Civ history with you, and this is just the beginning of our years-long commitment to Civilization VII. Thanks especially to everyone who has offered feedback and support in the days since Advanced Access began for Deluxe and Founders Edition owners. As we stated in our February 6 message to the Civ community, we're actively listening to all the feedback, and work is already underway on free updates to the game including a UI rework, the addition of community-requested features, and other quality-of-life updates. We're still determining what can be delivered when, so be on the lookout for a detailed roadmap in the future. We're committed to making Civilization VII the best it can be, and your feedback is hugely helpful as we continue to make improvements.

Thank you for being a Civ fan
We can't wait for you to get into the game and start building an empire you believe in - but first, we'd like to share some heartfelt thanks to the entire Civ community from some of the people who made Civilization VII possible: "It is a monumental day for all of us at Firaxis, and we couldn't let it pass without saying a heartfelt thank you. When Sid Meier started this series over 30 years ago, his vision for Civilization wasn't just about building a great game - it was about creating a canvas where players could shape the world and write their own history. That vision remains at the heart of everything we do, and it's what makes Civilization VII a true collaboration with you, our dedicated fans. On behalf of everyone at Firaxis, thank you for your trust, excitement, and love for this series. Here's to the next chapter of Civilization!"—Heather Hazen, President of Firaxis

Civilization VII global release timing—from Early Access to launch, find your Civ VII start time on our global release map! Sid Meier's Civilization VII is almost here! Check out when you can start playing. Whether you're jumping in for early access or waiting for launch, use this map to find your Civilization VII release time around the globe. Are you ready for one more turn?

The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier's Civilization VII is a turn-based strategy game that empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known! In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement.

Intel and 2K Games are teaming up to launch the Intel Builder Bundle, featuring the highly anticipated Sid Meier's Civilization VII. Starting today, gamers who purchase qualifying Intel Core Ultra processors (series 2) or Intel Core desktop processors (14th Gen) from participating sellers will be eligible to receive a digital copy of Civilization VII to play when the game launches on February 11, 2025.

"It's hard to come up with franchises in the PC gaming industry more iconic than Sid Meier's Civilization, and Intel is thrilled to continue its years-long partnership with 2K Games and Firaxis on the series' latest installment. Whether it's a marathon session with friends or just 'one more turn' before logging off, gamers around the world can depend on Intel Core and Core Ultra processors to deliver the best Civilization experience on a PC."

• Roger Chandler, VP and GM, Enthusiast and Workstation PC, Intel

The Firaxis team is happy to announce that Sid Meier's Civilization VII is officially Steam Deck Verified! Whether you're at home or on the go, get ready to take one more turn when Civilization VII launches on February 11, 2025! The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier's Civilization VII empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known!

In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement. Construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, improve your civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations as you explore the far reaches of the unknown world. Pursue prosperity in an immersive solo experience or play with others in online multiplayer.

Today, 2K and Hangar 13 released a new trailer for Mafia: The Old Country, introducing the brutal criminal underworld of 1900s Sicily at The Game Awards. Marking the start of a new crime saga for the acclaimed Mafia franchise, Mafia: The Old Country is an all-new story set in the Mafia universe, harkening back to the roots of organized crime with a compelling new cast of characters.

As a linear, narrative-driven game, Mafia: The Old Country is a focused package perfect for fans looking to engross themselves in an unfamiliar world of danger and intrigue. The graphically stunning cinematic experience features a story grounded in the brutal world of organized crime that authentically immerses players with dangerous combat systems featuring high-stakes, grounded stealth and gunplay mechanics.

Today, 2K and Hangar 13 officially revealed Mafia: The Old Country, a new entry in the critically-acclaimed action-adventure franchise launching in 2025 (during Take-Two's Fiscal Year 2026) on PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. Available to wishlist now, additional details about Mafia: The Old Country will be unveiled in December 2024.

Mafia: The Old Country announced with a stunning, tone-setting teaser trailer. Uncover the origins of organized crime with a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily. Fight to survive in this dangerous and unforgiving era, with action brought to life by the authentic realism and rich storytelling that the critically acclaimed Mafia series is known for.

There's a 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 coming. ⛈️Get ready to rain down pain when Storm arrives in Midnight Suns on May 11! Expand your adventure with Storm in Blood Storm, the fourth and final post-launch DLC for Marvel's Midnight Suns. Storm can unleash powerful wind and lightning based attacks, bringing with her 10 unique Hero abilities. Plus, enjoy new story missions, a brand new Abbey Upgrade, and some fresh cosmetics for one of the most powerful mutants on the planet!

Generally regarded as one of the most powerful mutants on the planet, Storm, real name Ororo Munroe, was orphaned at a young age and taken in by a village priestess while traveling to her mother's home in Kenya. When their village was suffering during a drought, Ororo used her newly awakening powers to summon much-needed rain to save her family. Years later, when word of her ability to control the weather had spread, Ororo was recruited to the X-Men by Charles Xavier and took the name Storm. She went on to lead the X-Men, using her mutant abilities to help people all over the world. While searching for an endangered mutant child in New York with Wolverine, Storm meets up with Magik, who encourages her to join the Midnight Suns in Blood Storm.

The host and producer, Geoff Keighley, has confirmed that Opening Night Live will be returning this August. Opening Night Live is the pre-show presentation or an opening show for Gamescom, held in Cologne, Germany.

The announcement comes as a welcomed news after E3 2023 cancellation and it appears that Gamescom 2023 will carry on the torch, as the last year show was the first in-person event since 2019. Opening Night Live last year was a big event, going for over two hours and featured more than 35 games. Geoff Keighley briefly tweeted that the show returns live on Tuesday, August 22nd and that he is "excited to be back in Cologne with the fans and industry, streaming video game news directly to you".

Late September, the customer support system of 2K Games and Rockstar Games was hacked according to the game studio. Both studios are owned by Take-Two Interactive. This support desk had access to every gamer registered with 2K, and so the hacker was able to use the vast mailing list to send out malware to gamers, which could steal credentials and compromise their security. 2K discovered this hack, and is sending out e-mails to gamers warning them about the incident, to apprise them of what it's doing, and to help them avoid this malware. 2K Games in the e-mail to gamers said that it's working with Law Enforcement to identify and bring to justice the people behind this hack. In the meantime, they warned gamers not to click on unknown links in e-mails and to use reputable antivirus programs.

In the latest episode of Inside Xbox, Microsoft showed off trailers for several new games including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Dirt 5. Alongside the new game trailers, Microsoft also published a list of over 140 publishers and studios all working on games for the new console. Big names such as 2K Games, Activision, Bethesda, Bungie, Electronic Arts, SEGA, Square Enix, and Ubisoft are all present along with countless smaller publishers and studios. The full list of publishers and studios can be found below.

Another one bites the dust: 2K Games has told NVIDIA that it is removing their games catalog from the GeForce Now game streaming service. Fresh out of beta little more than a month now - with a then-touted 1,000 plus games library - the green team's streaming service, which was received with good reviews and good customer feedback, is now looking ever more stale as publishers keep leaving the service in droves.

It is still unclear why publishers are quitting the streaming service, but this doesn't spell good to the future of streaming. The fact that users only need to import a copy of their already purchased game to GeForce Now can be a reason, with removed the need for gamers to re-purchase their games across multiple (mobile or non-mobile) gaming platforms. Another reason may be that publishers are fearful this streaming ability from NVIDIA could cut into sales from next-gen consoles, since users wouldn't have to upgrade their hardware to be able to play the latest and greatest, non-exclusive titles to be released for next-gen systems. Whatever the reason, this doesn't bode well for the future of NVIDIA's streaming efforts.

2K Games has confirmed that a new Bioshock game is under development. 2K set up a whole new studio, "Cloud Chamber", that will helm development on this (can I say much beloved?) franchise "for the next several years". Cloud Chamber will set up quarters in both San Francisco and Montreal. Kelley Gilmore, who has been attached to Firaxis Studios and worked in other 2K franchises such as XCOM and Sid Meier's Civilization, has been appointed Cloud Chamber's Studio Head.

The new Cloud Chamber studio opens its doors with "a deeply experienced group of game makers, including many responsible for BioShock's principal creation, advancement and longstanding notoriety." No other details were available at time of writing. While it's obviously too soon to scream happily from the top of your lungs (and it usually always is until you've actually finished the game), this is definitely a positive sign for the franchise and all those who value it.

In a bold, bold move that is already backfiring on them, games publishes 2K put out a statement clarifying their stance on the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) ruling against the specific loot box implementations on multiple games. In particular, the gaming commission made it clear that loot boxes were against the gambling laws of the country and several game publishers quickly complied, including Valve with CS:GO. 2K's NBA 2Kxx series (where xx is the year of the current decade) was one of the affected titles, with the "MyTeam" packs using a loot box-based mechanism for microtransactions.

The statement put out says that 2K is working to comply with the ruling and have made changes to the MyTeam mode, but they also disagree with it and are going to be, and I quote, "continuing conversations with the BGC in order to explain our view" to get around the ruling. Furthermore, they are actually asking players to contact their local government representatives, assuming they share this view, to try and get BGC to allow the old loot box system to be placed back in. To no one's surprise, 2K is collecting a ton of flak for this and we can only hope that fans of the NBA 2K franchise vote with their wallet and let the publisher know exactly what they feel about all this.

Our friends from the Humble Bundle are back at it again, and this time they are giving away free copies of Spec Ops: The Line. For those who have never heard of the game, Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person military shooter published by 2K Games back in 2012. Players lead a small group of soldiers into a post-apocalytic Dubai for a reconnaisance mission. The game allows players to make decisions that will ultimately have an impact on the game's ending. Spec Ops: The Line normally costs ‎$29.99 on the Steam, but you can get a free Steam key from the Humble Bundle Store. Better hurry up, though, since the offer ends on Saturday morning.

AMD today announced that it is partnering with Firaxis and 2K Games on the development of "Civilization VI," the next addition to the smash-hit turn-based strategy franchise. AMD announced that it is helping the developer take advantage of DirectX 12, including API-standardized Asynchronous Compute, and Explicit multi-adapter (MDA). This will let the game use setups that are a mixture of discrete and integrated GPUs, and mixed multi-GPU. The game is also said to feature a benchmark tool.

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the arrival of its "Never Settle: Reloaded" game bundle, the sequel to last year's monumental "Never Settle" bundle. "Never Settle: Reloaded" delivers by bundling up to four of this year's most anticipated PC games -- "BioShock Infinite" by 2K Games and Irrational Games, "Crysis 3" by Electronic Arts, "DmC Devil May Cry" by Capcom and "Tomb Raider" by Square Enix -- with select AMD Radeon HD 7900 and HD 7800 Series graphics cards. The bundle highlights the continued commitment by AMD to ensure an incredible gaming experience on the world's top PC titles optimized for AMD Radeon graphics cards

"AMD knows gaming and in 2013 we plan to make a huge mark on the industry. Today we begin that journey by showing the world that the best PC game developers are AMD Gaming Evolved partners," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD Graphics. "The 'Never Settle: Reloaded' bundle clearly stands apart from anything else in the market. Gaming has always been, and will remain, the core of the AMD Graphics strategy and success. In 2013, we plan to forge greater inroads into the gaming industry and it begins with packaging this year's biggest games with the best graphics hardware from AMD." The "Never Settle: Reloaded" bundle offers the following games when purchased with select AMD Radeon HD 7900 and HD 7800 Series graphics cards:

2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today the much anticipated Borderlands 2 is now available in North America and will be available internationally on September 21, 2012 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. The four-player cooperative shooter-looter already has critics raving, with review scores of 9 out of 10 from IGN, 9.75 out of 10 from Game Informer and a perfect 10 out of 10 from PlayStation: The Official Magazine.

"Borderlands 2 is a game made by gamers for gamers," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "The unique visual art style, all-new characters, loads of loot, 87 bazillion guns, and role-playing-shooting combine for a truly addictive experience, especially when played with three other friends. The initial response from the press has been fantastic and the game is poised to be one of the highest-rated titles in the history of 2K."

Turtle Beach, pioneers and market-leaders of the gaming headset category, is pleased to unveil its new fall lineup at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Turtle Beach has created a 6,000 square foot both that will showcase new products and a dedicated theater showcase featuring an immersive audio experience. In addition, Turtle Beach will also underscore its commitment to competitive gaming by offering attendees a tournament showcase. The tournament area, theater experience and full line of gaming audio products are available via its E3 booth; Los Angeles Convention Center South Hall #2447, from June 5 - 7, 2012.

The Turtle Beach Ear Force theater experience offers E3 attendees a unique and innovative audio presentation to demonstrate the importance of audio in the gaming experience. Through a custom system utilizing a 270-degree screen, three projectors and headset integration the presentation highlights Turtle Beach's advanced audio. As always, hundreds of Turtle Beach headsets will be powering the audio experiences for visitors to numerous E3 booths, including Activision, 2K Games, Warner Brothers, Konami, Project (RED), Snapdragon, Bethesda, Gameloft and many others.

Borderlands 2 is a big fall release for both 2K Games and Gearbox, timed to hit just when you might be getting sick of grabbing loot from a certain other game. And as a big fall release, it's getting a few special editions, because of course it is. Today 2K and Gearbox detailed the two special editions of the game and the goodies stashed within. The "Deluxe Vault Hunter's Collector's Edition" ($99.99) includes a Marcus bobblehead, a hardbound art book, sticker set, map of Pandora, digital comic download code, and bonus in-game DLC. If you want to go bigger, the "Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition ($149.99) includes those items, plus a scaled replica of a red loot chest, steel book case, creatures ID chart, lithograph postcard set, field notes from Sir Hammerlock, a cloth map of Pandora, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

As previously reported on Shacknews, pre-orders of either special edition will get access to the "Borderlands 2 Premiere Club," which nets you downloads of the Gearbox Gun Pack for extra weapons, a Golden Key to open a chest with a rare item in the Golden Sanctuary, the Vault Hunter's Relic to boost abilities, and the already announced Mechromancer class. Pre-ordering the standard edition will get you the Mechromancer as well, and 2K again reiterated that it will be post-launch content.

More and more publishers seem to be seeing Steamworks as the best viable DRM on the market and 2K Games is no exception. All PC editions of Borderlands 2 will use Valve's Steamworks suite as their DRM. Steamworks supports snazzy features beyond simple copy protection, Gearbox's shooter-RPG will also use it for multiplayer matchmaking, Steam Cloud storage, achievements, auto-updating, downloadable content, "and more." How Steamworks... works is that if you buy a boxed edition of Borderlands 2, you'll need to register the game with a Steam account, and launch it through Steam. The box will still contain a disc to install the game from, but you'll have the option to download it directly through Steam whenever you please. Digital distributors other than Steam will simply sell you a product key to activate on Steam. Steamworks was to be expected, really, as 2K Games has used it for PC editions of games it's published since Mafia II in 2010. It briefly dabbled in Games for Windows Live before then but, thankfully, that was a short-lived experiment.

Borderlands 2 is coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 18. As ever, a selection of shiny things are on offer as pre-order bonuses.

2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that Borderlands 2, the sequel to the multi-million unit selling breakout hit, Borderlands, will be available on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Windows-based PC in North America on September 18, 2012 and internationally on September 21, 2012. Currently in development by Gearbox Software, Borderlands 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed four-player cooperative shooter-looter that combined intense first-person mayhem with role-playing gameplay. In addition, fans who pre-order the title from participating retailers will receive access to the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club, including rewarding in-game items and bonuses.

2K Games announced today that Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & Kings, the expansion pack for the award-winning Civilization V, is being developed for Windows-based PC. Developed by Firaxis Games, Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & Kings introduces new gameplay content, enhancing the Civilization V experience and providing even more ways for players to achieve world domination. The Gods & Kings expansion pack spans the breadth of human civilization, taking players from founding the first Pantheon of the Gods and spreading religion across the world, to deploying spies in enemy cities to steal information and technology.

"Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword set a precedent in new content and game features in a Civilization expansion pack. 2K Games is continuing that tradition with Gods & Kings," said Sarah Anderson, senior vice president of marketing for 2K. "The Gods & Kings expansion is the quintessential Civilization V addition, making Civilization more addictive than ever before."

NVIDIA today released PhysX System Software version 9.10.0513. The software installs the NVIDIA PhysX runtime and GPU acceleration support by any NVIDIA GeForce GPU since 8-series that has over 256 MB of memory. While normally new versions of the PhysX System software accompany new GeForce driver launches, this release comes shortly after 2K Games released the PhysX-optimized version of Mafia 2 demo on Steam, which in turn came shortly after NVIDIA released its latest WHQL-signed GeForce drivers. The software fixes some important performance issues with the game. Apart from this, the new version also fixes an important bug that prevents PhysX GPU acceleration in notebooks with NVIDIA Optimus technology. This release will also be included in the next version of the GeForce driver.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA PhysX System Software 9.10.0513