Ubisoft and Nvidia Form PC Gaming Alliance
Several PC titles from Ubisoft will be optimized for Nvidia's GeForce GPUs.
Ubisoft said that it has formed an "alliance" with Nvidia that will see a number of popular PC games optimized for GeForce GPUs. Supported tech will include TXAA antialiasing that provides Hollywood-levels of smooth animation, soft shadows, HBAO+ (horizon-based ambient occlusion), and advanced DX11 tessellation.
"The PC remains one of the world’s most popular gaming platforms, and we’re committed to offering PC players the best possible experience with our games," said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Ubisoft. “Combining Nvidia’s visual computing expertise and the creativity of our development teams will give customers a stunning experience when choosing an Ubisoft game for the PC."
PC games that fall under this "alliance" include Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist, which is slated to arrive on August 20. The Digital Deluxe version is already made available in the new "Splinter Cell Blacklist" bundles featuring cards based on GeForce GTX 660, 660 Ti, 670, 680, 760, 770 or 780 GPUs. The Digital Deluxe Edition throws in two extra single-player and co-op maps, five pieces of "sneaktastic" gear, five bonus stealth suits, and five weapons. A code for Splinter Cell: Conviction is also included at no extra charge.
Additional Ubisoft PC games optimized for GeForce GPUs include Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs, which arrive on October 30 and November 15 respectively. Ubisoft said that Nvidia's Developer Technology Team worked closely with the developers of each game to create GeForce-optimized "worlds that deliver new heights of realism and immersion."
"PC gaming is stronger than ever and Ubisoft understands that PC gamers demand a truly elite experience – the best resolutions, the smoothest frame rates and the latest gaming breakthroughs," said Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at Nvidia. "We’ve worked closely with Ubisoft’s incredibly talented creative teams throughout the development process to incorporate our technologies and deliver the most immersive and visually spectacular game worlds imaginable."
The news arrives after AMD revealed its Never Settle Forever bundle that allows customers to pick games from a limited library of popular titles, depending on the Radeon card they buy. The program provides three tiers -- Bronze, Silver and Gold – that grants one, two or three free games respectively.
AMD is also supplying APUs for the upcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which should be incredibly lucrative cash cows for a company that's struggling to gain its footing in a declining desktop market. AMD has also entered the cloud gaming market with its Radeon Sky line of server-side single-and dual-slot cards.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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alidan i hate nvidia for personal reasons, and how they have screwed gamers in the past and present...Reply
depending on how the "optimization" happens, as in did nvidia lock basic code to make their cards look better, than i may just not buy the games on principal. -
lostgamer_03 This is simply just a step forward for the gaming PC in general, a few years back analytics said the gaming PC was dead, but this is just another step in the other direction. How can you be negative about that, really?Reply
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Bloob ReplyWell that sucks, on account of my using AMD
Until you realize that Ubisoft hasn't done anything interesting in the last 5 years. ;) -
Murissokah Reply11425744 said:Well that sucks, on account of my using AMD
Until you realize that Ubisoft hasn't done anything interesting in the last 5 years. ;)
I guess launching a popular game with crappy always-online DRM and a proprietary launcher (uplay) may count as interesting, albeit very frustrating if you happened to pay for it.
Ubi can call me when they get their stuff on steam. -
irish_adam Anyone remember 3dfx and their voodoo cards? they spent so much money on things like this to boost sales they went bankrupt pretty much over night tooReply -
blubbey Reply11425736 said:This is simply just a step forward for the gaming PC in general, a few years back analytics said the gaming PC was dead, but this is just another step in the other direction. How can you be negative about that, really?
Nvidia need to pull something out since they have nothing to do with consoles this time. Could be very good in the future.