Remember Raptr? It was a downloadable client for Windows, touted as a social-networking application for gamers, and supported communication via Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, Xfire while also tracking gameplay across Steam, XBOX Live and PlayStation Network accounts. It was a dinosaur that no one used even a few years ago, and only really got some traction among PC gaming enthusiasts when AMD bundled it as part of their "Gaming Evolved" application to offer their user base a screen capture and game optimization tool similar to what NVIDIA was doing with their (then new) GeForce Experience application.

Just about every service now offers what Raptr used to and, aside from being able to track gameplay across multiple services, often better too. No one seemed to really use it, or even like it I dare say, even when they offered points for simply gaming that could then be used on a rewards store. When AMD dropped support for Raptr in Q4 2016, and then launched their own Radeon Crimson ReLive Edition drivers for gameplay capture, it was probably the final nail in the coffin. To no surprise then, this week Raptr, Inc. announced that the service is completing shutting down at the end of this month. Farewell and adieu to you, Raptr, we shalt not miss thee!

AMD Wednesday released the latest version of Radeon Software Crimson Edition. Version 16.9.2 (beta). These drivers come with day-one optimization for "Forza Horizon 3," the latest addition to Microsoft's smash-hit race sim. The drivers also lack the AMD Gaming app by Raptr, the app that started out at AMD's equivalent to NVIDIA GeForce Experience. This move shaves the installer size by about 35 MB.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.9.2 for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8.1 64-bit | Windows 8.1 32-bit | Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 7 32-bit

In the beginning, there were NVIDIA Detonator and ATI Catalyst. Detonator made way for GeForce Software, but Catalyst pulled through for another decade. These are the brand names GPU makers use to label their drivers, because GPUs are devices that warrant frequent driver updates to keep up with new software and performance improvements. AMD, after consolidating most of its visual computing divisions into the Radeon Technologies Group under technocrat Raja Koduri, made its first major announcement, re-branding AMD Catalyst as Radeon Software. Its first release gets a special name - Radeon Software Crimson Edition 15.11.

AMD's new nomenclature for its drivers involves firmly placing the Radeon brand name, replacing "Catalyst," followed by "software," indicating that these are not just drivers, but a suite of applications designed to give you control over your visual computing experience; with "Crimson Edition" being the major version for the year 2015-16, and 15.11 denoting November 2015, retaining the date-based version numbering scheme. These could come with extensions such as "WHQL" or "Beta." The first Crimson Edition drivers will be WHQL-signed.

If bad news from the green team covered last week, this week begins with one from the red. AMD's Gaming Evolved Raptr app, designed roughly along the lines of NVIDIA's GeForce Experience, but with an added Raptr gamer-community extension, is in trouble. Raptr CEO Dennis Fong, in an e-mail to its members, reported that the Raptr service has been hacked, and the attackers may have stolen details such as usernames, first- and last-names (names given during sign-up), e-mail addresses, and Raptr password hashes (without salt).

Fong maintains that thanks to Raptr's 2-step verification system, Raptr Reward Points held by compromised accounts shouldn't be affected. He asks all users to change their passwords, with new ones that are tough (mix of capital and small letters, numbers, and special characters). If your Raptr password is similar to passwords you used on other online services (eg: e-mail accounts), you must change them as well.

The letter follows.

AMD today announced the AMD Rewards program powered by Raptr, giving AMD Radeon graphics and AMD APU-based PC gamers the chance to redeem points earned within the AMD Gaming Evolved application for prizes.

"We are thankful for the millions of gamers that support the AMD Radeon brand by using the AMD Gaming Evolved application Powered by Raptr," said Darren McPhee, director, Graphics Marketing, AMD. "The AMD Rewards program is our way of thanking our loyal customers and giving back to the community that has given so much to us."

AMD partnered with PC gaming social network and clan-base service Raptr to launch its very own PC game settings optimization app that rivals NVIDIA's GeForce Experience. Named Gaming Evolved, the app takes a slightly different approach to finding the right settings for games, than GeForce Experience. While NVIDIA has dedicated teams of people running games through countless combinations of hardware to find the optimal settings for a given hardware configuration, Gaming Evolved relies on Raptr's 16-million strong community. Raptr clients relay anonymous game settings and hardware configuration data to Raptr. The best settings for given hardware configurations are pulled out of that data, through collaborative filtering. In addition to one-click optimization of game settings (a la GeForce Experience), the app gives you three of its own presets unique to your hardware - "best quality," "best performance," and "balanced." Raptr released the first public beta of the app, which can be downloaded from the link below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Gaming Evolved by Raptr (beta)

Razer, the world's leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, today announced a new partnership with Raptr, the first social platform that allows users to know, in real-time, what games they and their friends are playing across multiple platforms. When combined with Razer's precision keyboards and mice, the joint offering provides Razer's millions of customers the opportunity to seamlessly join Raptr's community and build friendships, compete and connect while gaming.