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The latest PC gaming news and reviews of gaming PC hardware, software and accessories.

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HTC's Cosmos VR headset features a sharper display and six tracking cameras
HTC revealed back in January that its forthcoming VR headset, the Vive Cosmos, will be designed with comfort and accessibility in mind. Now, the company has unveiled a few more details about the device. Major features include a vented front design, to help users stay cool, and a flip-up design, which allows users to step out of VR without having to remove the headset.
'Moss' free VR missions come to PlayStation, Oculus Rift, Vive and Windows
Oculus Quest owners were treated to a free new chapter of Polyarc's adorable puzzle game Moss back in May -- now it's rolling out to other platforms. On June 25th, the "Twilight Garden" update will roll out across PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift/S, HTC Vive and Windows MR, giving all VR gamers the chance to guide young hero mouse Quill through an enchanting new world of puzzle adventures. The Twilight Garden will update automatically and for free, while the game itself is available for download through Steam, Oculus Rift and HTC Viveport stores for $30.
Canonical backtracks on pulling 32-bit support from Ubuntu Linux
Last week, Ubuntu announced it would end support for 32-bit applications, starting with its next release. But the decision was not well-received, especially by the gaming community, and Valve announced plans to drop support for Ubuntu in Steam. In response, Canonical (which produces Ubuntu) has decided to support select 32-bit i386 packages for Ubuntu versions 19.10 and 20.04 LTS.
Steam will stop supporting Ubuntu Linux over 32-bit compatibility
If you're a Linux gamer who prefers Ubuntu, you might want to look for another distribution in the near future. Valve is dropping official support for Ubuntu in Steam as of the operating system's upcoming 19.10 release, which will cut 32-bit x86 components. The Steam crew aims to "minimize breakage" for existing Ubuntu users, according to Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais, but it'll shift its attention to another distribution in the future.
'Dota Underlords' has more people playing now than 'Artifact' ever did
Just a day after going live, the Dota Underlords beta is off to a great start. According to stats from SteamDB, as of Friday night it had over 84,000 players at once -- higher than Valve's troubled Dota 2 spinoff Artifact ever had. It topped out at around 60,000, while Underlords has already had over 179,000 simultaneous participants -- a number that the tracking site believes includes players on mobile devices.
Valve's 'Dota Underlords' open beta launches on Android, iOS and PC
Less than a month after it was announced and just a week after being properly revealed, Dota Underlords is available for play. Valve's take on the popular Dota 2 mod, Dota Auto Chess, is a turn-based strategic battle game where players try to dominate the city of White Spire. The last Dota 2 spinoff, Artifact, did not experience the warmest reception and is undergoing major changes, but Underlords is already topping that game's peak number of players, and seemingly with good reason. It's been stress testing with Dota 2 Battle Pass owners for the last week and now anyone can try it for free. The plan is for it to remain in early access for "a few months" before it launches fully with more Underlord characters, ranked play and seasonal changes. It's available now on Steam, Google Play and the iOS App Store, complete with cross-play so you can start a game on one platform and finish it on another.
Mario Kart VR comes to Southern California
Mario fans in Orange County are in luck. Mario Kart VR is in Irvine for the next stop in its US tour. The game launched on June 12th at VR Zone Portal Irvine, located at the K1 Speed entertainment center. Players will get the chance to hop inside a Mario Kart and explore the Mushroom kingdom. The immersive VR experience previously had tenures in Washington, DC, London and Tokyo.
VR and microscopy help scientists see 'inside' diseases
You can only learn so much about cells by studying 2D pictures, and 3D microscope technology can produce an abundance of data that might be hard to decipher. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Virginia Mason have an answer, though: let scientists walk 'inside' the cells. They've combined virtual reality with expansion microscopy (which grows samples by over 100 times) to explore cell data that would otherwise be too complex to handle. Once the cells have been imaged, labeled and compiled into data, a custom technique turns the 2D info into 3D environments.
Facebook researchers are building virtual spaces to improve AI and AR
Will virtual assistants be able to tell the difference between your living room and your kitchen? Or even help you find a missing book or set of keys? With embodied AI -- which relies on data from physical surroundings -- they soon might. Facebook has unveiled an open-source simulation and dataset it hopes will help researchers create more realistic AR and VR, and eventually virtual assistants that can learn about your physical surroundings.
Valve's latest 'Dota' spinoff is 'Underlords,' free beta starts next week
Now that Dota Auto Chess mod maker Drodo has announced plans to release PC Auto Chess as an Epic Games Store exclusive, Valve is releasing its standalone version, dubbed Dota Underlords. In this game, players join the game with seven others while "building, combining, and leveling-up a crew in a battle of dominance for the city of White Spire." The point here is supposed to be the use of tactics over quick-twitch reflexes, and players who've purchased a $10 Dota 2 Battle Pass can try it out right now. An open beta is slated to begin after "approximately a week" of stress testing of the preview which includes eight-player multiplayer, play vs. bots, or teams against other players and/or bots. The open beta will be available for Steam on all platforms plus Android and iOS, with cross-play and progression carrying over no matter where you play. It looks like Valve has learned a bit from the launch of its last Dota spinoff, Artifact, and now it will be up to players to decide if it's more successful.
Google's Area 120 made a free, drag-and-drop 3D game builder
Google's in-house incubator, Area 120, has produced things like an app that teaches coding and tools to boost literacy. Now it wants to help gamers create their own 3D games, no experience necessary. Today, it launched Game Builder, a free platform that aims to "make building a game feel like playing a game."
Vertigo Games announces VR co-op shooter ‘After the Fall’
Vertigo Games previewed its new multiplayer VR shooter After the Fall today at the Upload VR conference. The game, set in the frigid aftermath of a 1980s post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, can be played solo or with up to four players. The objective is to gain control of the city as you face hordes of enemies and intimidating bosses.
Valve Index hands-on: Impressive, expensive, inconvenient VR
The Oculus Quest instantly makes every desktop VR headset seem antiquated. Instead of being attached to a computer, you're completely free to hop into virtual reality wherever you are. But the move towards simpler, more convenient VR also comes with plenty of drawbacks. With the Index SteamVR headset ($1,000 for the complete package), Valve aims to prove that there's still plenty of room for tethered high-end VR today. And after spending a week with it, I'm inclined to believe them.
The free 'Quake II RTX' demo is now available on Steam
To show off the capabilities of path tracing, NVIDIA has released an updated version of id Software's classic 1997 FPS Quake II. You can play the first three single-player levels of Quake II RTX for free, and if you own the full game, you'll be able to play the whole thing in path tracing mode, including multiplayer.
The magnificent reappearing act of Richard Hofmeier
Richard Hofmeier was an early superstar of modern indie games. In 2010, he released Cart Life, an unassuming, grayscale title that he described as, "a retail simulation for Windows." In actuality, it was a poignant and powerful portrayal of modern existence. Cart Life captured the loneliness, triumphs and hopeless frustration of maintaining friendships, providing for a family and dreaming big in the capitalistic rat race, all tenderly animated in a sharp noir palate. Cart Life became an underground hit, and then a mainstream success. It landed on Steam in 2012, and in 2013, it was nominated in three categories at the Independent Games Festival Awards, where it battled giants of the day, including Hotline Miami, Kentucky Route Zero, Gone Home and FTL. Cart Life won all three categories. Hofmeier was the first-ever winner of the Excellence in Narrative prize, plus he secured the $5,000 Nuovo award for innovation and the $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize. And then, he vanished.
Recommended Reading: Blame the apps for iPhone privacy woes
iPhone privacy is broken... and apps are to blame Joanna Stern, The Wall Street Journal Thanks in part to Facebook's privacy blunders, concern over personal data security is growing. And we continue to find things gobbling up our info that we didn't know were doing so. The Wall Street Journal tested 80 iOS apps and discovered that a lot of them are tracking users in ways we aren't aware of. It's a topic that could be a focus during Monday's WWDC keynote.
'Game of Thrones' VR experience lets you join the Night's Watch
If you haven't quite come to terms with Game of Thrones ending, you might be pleased to learn there's a VR title based on the series arriving this week called Beyond The Wall. You'll join the Night's Watch and defend The Wall against an army of the dead in the game, which will be exclusive to HTC's Viveport Infinity subscription service.
Nintendo adds a Labo VR view to 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' (updated)
It looks like you'll soon be able to beat up your friends in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from an entirely different perspective. It seems the hit Switch fighting game is getting a virtual reality mode via the Labo Toy-Con VR Goggles, according to a Twitter bot for SSBU patch notes (which has a track record of revealing them around 12 hours before Nintendo does).
HTC Viveport store will support Windows MR headsets on June 5th
HTC is continuing to widen access to its Viveport VR store. As of June 5th, all Windows Mixed Reality headsets will have access to Viveport, including its Viveport Infinity subscription service. Only about 200 of the 600 Infinity titles will work with WMR headsets out of the gate, but this should still significantly expand the catalog of titles you can try using Microsoft's official headset platform. Pony up for Infinity and you'll also get access to 'premium' material on Viveport Video.
Volvo designers are driving around in mixed-reality headsets
I'm sitting in a Volvo XC60 in Italy when a moose appears from out of a doorway. Except that none of this is real. I'm actually sat in an office chair in a San Francisco office building, wearing Varjo's XR-1 mixed-reality headset. It's a ridiculous scenario, but both virtual reality and augmented reality are adding a new twist on the car design process.

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