Western Digital and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) teamed up to deliver the industry’s first official PlayStation licensed M.2 SSD for PlayStation 5 (PS5).

The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5 Consoles enables players to expand the high-speed storage capacity of their PS5 console and gives them peace of mind knowing that their new and favourite titles are stored on a drive that’s been battle-tested to take on the most intensive PS5 gameplay.

Optimized for the newest-generation console, Western Digital validated drive performance through multiple scenarios to ensure the drive has been fully tested for the PS5. This process included hundreds of hours spent rigorously testing some of the most graphic-rich titles across various genres to ensure that with games stored on the drive, gameplay is fast, smooth and visually immersive.

“We’re excited for this new journey with Sony Interactive Entertainment and the opportunity to bring the officially licensed drive to PS5 gamers,” said Susan Park, vice president of Consumer Solutions Product Management, Western Digital. “Western Digital’s WD_BLACK brand was created to bring high-performance products to gamers everywhere. Combined with this innovative partnership, we aim to deepen our current commitment to developing storage solutions that enhance the gaming experience for all gamers.”

With the WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5, gamers can store and play both PS5 games and PS4 games directly from the drive. The drive’s attached heatsink also makes installation quicker with its all-in-one design. Gamers can cut down on long load times with PCIe Gen4 technology, reaching up to 7000MB/s read speed to get them in the game fast so they can focus more on gaming.

The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5 will be launched at the PAX Aus event in Melbourne, Australia on 7th October, 2022.

At PAX Aus, Western Digital will be showcasing the latest WD_BLACK storage solutions for PC and Console gaming, selected SanDisk products, including the SanDisk Nintendo Licensed Memory Cards For Nintendo Switch and range of portable SSDs including the WD My Passport SSD, SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD and SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD.

The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5 will come in two sizes, 1TB and 2TB and will be available to purchase from Amazon and JB Hi Fi.

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Enterprising developer Free Lives and their overbearing publisher Devolver Digital have announced Stick it to the Stickman, a practical guide for hands-on management-type industry rockstars seeking to climb the corporate ladder in the fastest way possible.

A leaked company memo indicates that applications for aspiring interns will open in 2023.

Stick it to the Stickman is a groin-kicking, staple-gunning, chainsaw-wielding roguelike brawler loaded with high-impact, physics-based combat, copious amounts of coffee and weaponised farts!

Batter your way through compliant coworkers, menial middle-management and brutal bosses, learning more powerful “business techniques” on your way to becoming CEO of the worst company in America.

Attack is the best form of defence in business, and it’s kill or be killed. Pick up powerful upgrades and HR-approved weaponry to ensure your Stickman is more than just a yes-man.

Your career trajectory isn’t just vertical! Incorporate new subsidiary companies to squeeze out the competition, with each acquisition offering new gameplay, new enemies, new bosses, new weapons and more! Build a conglomerate that rules the marketplace and dominates our hearts.

Stick it to the Stickman’s corporate dystopian setting, with clever yet harrowing gags about the future under capitalism, is sure to raise a smile at next year’s company retreat.

Queue up for your first taste of the rat race at PAX West, September 2 to 6 2022.

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It’s no secret that we haven’t been able to come together at PAX Aus in person since 2019.

But if we’ve learned anything from sinking every available second into Elden Ring, it’s that the surefire recipe for success is to keep doing forward rolls over and over until you reach the desired outcome. And friends, lemme tell you, we have been doing so many forward rolls in preparation for the following announcement.

The PAX Aus community will come together live and in person on October 7th – 9th, 2022 for the biggest celebration of gaming in the Southern Hemisphere.

Badges for PAX Aus 2022 will be available for purchase from Midday AEDT on March 22nd, 2022.

“There is nothing quite like the feeling you get from standing on the PAX show floor. The whole team wants to get back to it just as much as you, and we’re already hard at work to give our community the event they deserve,” said Lauren Luciani, Event Director at Reed Exhibitions. “It’s our honour and our privilege to be able to put on the event, and we can’t wait for this October.”

PAX Aus will cap off Melbourne International Games Week (October 1st – 9th 2022) with all requisite and appropriate thunder, including the world’s biggest game publishers teasing upcoming releases, a three-day schedule jam-packed with panels, concerts, tournaments, and more, and a showfloor celebrating the best that the Australian gaming community has to offer.

“PAX means so much to so many,” said Luke Lancaster, Head of Content & Partnerships for PAX Aus. “I say, with a huge amount of reluctance and insistence from our marketing team, that it is downright ‘poggers’. With three years of planning going into PAX Aus 2022, strap in for everything you love about the show, as well as some brand new stuff we’ll no doubt tease you with over the coming months.”

PAX Aus is produced by RX (Reed Exhibitions) in conjunction with Penny Arcade. PAX Aus was the first international PAX event and has brought passionate gaming communities together in Melbourne since 2013.

Incorporating exhibitors with highly anticipated games, community tournaments, pro esports competitions, industry panels, and a plethora of gaming opportunities, PAX Aus is the biggest event of its kind in Australia.

The post PAX Aus is Back for 2022! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

With less than 9 sleeps until PAX Aus Online, we’ve decided to give you a little peek at what’s in store on October 8th to 10th 2021.

PAX Aus Online encompasses everything that fans have grown to love from the annual event with the legendary Omegathon, Speedrunning marathons, and 10 new Aus Indie Showcase winners. Taking place across Twitch, Discord, Steam, and our website, jump in for panels, games, community events, games, and more games.

The three-day event will be kickstarted by Among Us developers, Innersloth, who will be delivering the keynote address at 11:30am AEDT on Friday October 8th – a talk that is bound to play witness to a bit of betrayal, sabotage and general hijinx.

RPG fans can tune in for a star-studded 40th Anniversary actual-play of Call of Cthulhu, a spicy “C” Team charity special and the return of PAX Quest, as well as a host of other dice-fuelled goodness.

Scratching a AAA itch? Don’t miss panels with developers including fireside conversations with DEATHLOOP’s Dinga Bakaba and The Elder Scrolls Online’s Matt Firor and Rich Lambert.

If that’s not enough, there’s dozens of other panels (dozens!) being shown across the three days of the show, with topics including the power of ethics in narrative choice, gaming accessibility, education, indigenous narratives, and esports.

A virtual expo hall and Discord channel provide the perfect roadmap for this virtual playing field, pulling dedicated community spaces for discussions, giveaways and a brand new PAX Explorer text adventure that will almost make you forget you are watching from home.

For those wondering how to literally drape themselves in PAX, we’ve got you covered with the release of official 2021 merchandise, available from 10am on Thursday 30 September at store-paxaus.myshopify.com. From cute camp-themed PAX tees to beanies, mugs and water bottles, PAX merch has everything you need to get that sweet, retail-driven serotonin hit!

With under 2 weeks to go until the show, it’s time to lock in that new attire, assemble the virtual crew, and buckle into that gaming chair because we can guarantee that PAX Aus Online is gonna be much more entertaining than that 1000th Zoom call you had to do. Because we’re all about achievable goals this lockdown.

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PAX Aus recently announced that the country’s gaming community would once again be coming
together in person on October 8th – 10th 2021 for the largest and most diverse celebration of games in the
Southern Hemisphere.

Despite a slight inconvenience, PAX Aus is ready for ticket launch 2.0 (the improved edition).

And guess what? It’s right now! Truly.

There are limited quantities of Early Bird 3-Day tickets available and Early Bird Single Day tickets for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday available.

“We are very excited that PAX Aus will return as a live event in 2021, but rest assured, the safety of our community is our absolute priority,” said Jono Whyman, Event Director at Reed Exhibitions.

“Working closely with our partners and the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC), we are taking into account every necessary precaution for public health following COVID-19.”

These precautions include an updated refund policy and limited ticket sales to reflect the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s current capacity restrictions.

In 2021 PAX Aus will again form the centrepiece of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne International GamesWeek (October 2 – 10th 2021), Asia Pacific’s largest digital games celebration, and will still be bringing all requisite and appropriate thunder, including the world’s biggest game publishers teasing upcoming releases, a three-day schedule jam-packed with panels, concerts, tournaments, and more, and a showfloor celebrating the best that the Australian gaming community has to offer.

“We’re excited, humbled, and, honestly, a little awestruck at just how much being a part of the PAX Aus community means to everyone,” said Luke Lancaster, Content Manager for PAX Aus. “While I’ve been advised that laurels are a wonderful place to rest, we’re saying ‘screw you, weird leaf hat.’ On top of everything we’ll normally do, we’re serving up some new stuff for tabletop, cosplay, and content creators to make PAX Aus 2021 the show you all deserve. But like, deserve in a good way.”

Let’s summarize: PAX Aus is back October 8-10, 2021. Grab your tickets now. Get ready to embark on an epic three-day journey. See you at PAX?

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Joining forces to form the ultimate collab, the industry’s finest duos PAX and Gorgon City get set for exhilarating new single Alive on Gorgon City’s own REALM label.

Continuing to brighten up 2020 with another stellar release schedule this year, PAX maintain momentum from their massive remake of Rui Da Silva’s Touch Me via Nothing Else Matters which scored no.1 on Beatport’s House Chart.

Also gracing other tastemaker labels this year including Sola, Adobe and REALM that have received BBC Radio 1 support from Danny Howard and Pete Tong, PAX have also added further Beatport top five spots and 8 million plus streams across all platforms to their name.

Now returning to REALM, PAX’s final release with Gorgon City will see them raise the bar even higher as they close the year out in style. An equally impressive year for Gorgon City, the lads have continued to add to their 1.2 billion global streams and 8 million singles sold with releases like Burning,Nobody and House Arrest alongside Sofi Tukker amassing over 17 million streams combined. Now returning to their own tastemaker imprint, Alive marks their first release back on REALM following on from euphoric club track Roped In last year.

Making for a heavyweight team, PAX and Gorgon City’s Alive combines soaring harmonies with triumphant pads amongst a haunting vocal. Leading into a drop packed with chunky synth patterns, embroidered melodies and progressive tones, PAX and Gorgon City reinforce their tastemaker authority with this stunning dance anthem.

PAX & Gorgon City- Alive is out now via REALM.

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Hope you’re ready for more, Vault Hunters!

Just in time for Borderlands 3’s one-year anniversary, Gearbox Software and 2K have revealed their plans for the future of Borderlands® 3 – including full next-gen support, a new skill tree for each Vault Hunter, additional co-op features, and more – during the Gearbox PAX Digital Showcase.

Leading the way: confirmation that Borderlands 3 is coming to both Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. If you already own the current-gen version of the game on Xbox One and you’re playing on Xbox Series X, you’ll receive a free upgrade to the Xbox Series X version. And if you own the game on PlayStation 4, you’ll receive a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version if you’re playing on PlayStation 5. This applies to all content you’ve purchased, as well as all your saves. You’ll be able to bring everything over to the new console generation.

In addition to running at 60 frames per second at 4K resolution on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 in single-player, the next-gen console versions of Borderlands 3 will include two highly requested local co-op features, free for all players. For the first time ever, you’ll be able to play four-player split-screen, and when enjoying two-player co-op, you’ll have the option to divide the screen horizontally or vertically. That’s right, vertical split-screen! Better still, this vertical split-screen option will also be added to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game via a free patch.

Borderlands 3 will also receive additional add-on content later this year! Though the next paid add-on won’t look like the campaign DLCs of the now complete Season Pass, it will include a brand new game mode, as well as one new skill tree for each Vault Hunter – and with those new skill trees come new Action Skills.

During the Gearbox PAX Digital Showcase, Gearbox gave viewers an in-depth look at FL4K’s new “Trapper” skill tree – which emphasizes shields and survivability for both FL4K and their pet – plus FL4K’s new Action Skill: Gravity Snare, a throwable trap that tosses enemies up into the air before slamming them back into the ground. Enemies caught in its radius will have their attacks interrupted, giving FL4K a crowd control skill for the first time.

Gearbox also revealed FL4K’s latest pet option: a Hyperion Loaderbot. FL4K’s special Loaderbot buddy can be spec’d in a variety of ways as you work your way down the skill tree: there’s the range-based ION Loader, which fires slow-moving projectiles can be shot to create powerful shock novas; the BUL Loader, which charges enemies and knocks them into the air with its shield (or just roundhouse kicks them); and the WAR Loader, which packs an incendiary shotgun, can toss grenades, and unleashes homing missiles on command.

Expect more information on the other skill trees, the new game mode, and all the other content in Borderlands 3’s next downloadable add-on in the coming months. And come next near, you may even see some news about crossplay coming to Borderlands 3.

Everyone that works on STG is a volunteer. If you like the site and it’s contents please think about donating. Even a small amount helps keep the servers running.

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Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, creator of Cyberpunk 2020 Mike Pondsmith, and AAA panelists highlight a star-studded lineup at PAX Online 2020, the 9-day digital event transforming North America, Australia, and the UK’s most attended gaming events into a global celebration of gaming culture.

Taking place Saturday, September 13th through to Sunday, September 21st, 2020 AEST (12-20th Sept PT), the free show combines several of the industry’s largest events including PAX West, PAX AUS, and EGX to feature community activities, esports events, can’t-miss panels from fan-favourite industry creatives, journalists, and content creators, and hands-on demos from some of 2020’s most anticipated titles. The nine-day expo of gaming will open with the creator of the seminal Cyberpunk franchise Mike Pondsmith delivering the storytime keynote Sunday, September 13th at 3:15AM AEST (repeated Sunday, September 13th at 8:00PM AEST for Aussie audiences).

Tony Hawk

The official Discord server for PAX Online will bring together these hallmarks, which have delighted millions of PAX attendees over the years, alongside dedicated community spaces, gaming schedules, and easter eggs to create a central event hub with everything fans need to enjoy the celebration.

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk will appear at the PAX Arena to provide commentary for a special Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 tournament presented by OMEN. Alongside renowned skate photographer Atiba Jefferson, Hawk will break down top-tier play from a hand-selected group of the THPS community’s finest, including Prod1gyX and TylerLasagna. The winner will receive a skate deck signed by Hawk along with OMEN gear and the opportunity to donate OMEN setups to a charity of their choice.

The Telstra Tourneys and Freeplay will present a daily schedule of community tournaments and freeplay for Australia’s PAX Online, with live-streamed finals and a huge mix of games giving Aussies the chance to play with and against friends around the globe. Participants will be playing for bragging rights and exclusive PAX Online medals.

League of Legends

The prestigious PAX Online Indie Showcase will deliver a virtual showcase of home-grown games among the 20 winners, including TopplePOP: Bungee Blockbusters (SAI Team), Unpacking (Witch Beam), and Innchanted (DragonBear Studios).

PAX Rising also returns, showcasing Australian and international talent, including the best games proudly made in Melbourne, supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.

PAX Online continues other beloved show traditions, including a jam-packed panel schedule. Legendary creator Sid Meier will share the story of his career, and a fan Q&A and diversity discussion will unite the Overwatch voice actors who bring Pharah, Symmetra, Hanzo, Winston, Zenyatta, Echo, Baptiste, and Sombra to life. Ted Price of Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart) and Brian Fleming of Sucker Punch Productions (Ghost of Tsushima) will record a special episode of Game Maker’s Notebook, and Gearbox will host an hour-long segment sharing what’s coming next from the studio.

PAX Online will also highlight the best of the Australian & New Zealand games community, including DayZ creator, Dean Hall (NZ), and Battle Royale pioneer, Brian Hicks. Australia’s Jono Pech will host Yuri Lowenthal and Jennifer Hale, seasoned voice actors from some of gaming’s most iconic franchises. We’re also proud to continue to work with local gaming groups, including generOZity, Magnificent Nerds, CouchWarriors, and TGDA.

The hits keep coming with an exciting lineup of panels brought to attendees by EGX. Acclaimed composer-vocalist pairings Gareth Coker and Aeralie Brighton (Ori and the Will of the Wisps), Joris de Man and Julie Elven (Horizon Forbidden West), and Inon Zur and Mimi Page (Fallout 4) will share their collaborative process and how to imbue games with emotional, iconic scores. In celebration of the HITMAN series’ 20th anniversary, Agent 47 voice actor David Bateson will sit down with Eurogamer’s Ian Higton to reminisce on the series’ legacy, his acting career, and what it’s like portraying one of the most iconic and dangerous characters in video games.

PAX Online 2020 is a digital event and free to attend. For schedules, FAQs, and more, check out the official website of PAX Online and follow PAX on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram. The official PAX Online Discord server will host the global attending audience, with details to come.

Limited edition merchandise for PAX Online is now available via the online store, with more planned to go live during the event.

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