Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) hopes to jumpstart sales of its graphics chips and PC video cards by bundling top-selling video games with them.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company is launching the Never Settle bundle that includes an AMD Radeon 7900 graphics card and multiple games for hardcore players. For those who buy the card, AMD will offer four major titles either free or at a discount. AMD needs the boost, as it recently reported a quarterly loss and said it would lay off 1,700 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce.
“This is the single most important game bundle of the year for Radeon graphics,” said Robert Hallock, AMD product marketing manager, in a press briefing. “This is the biggest graphics card bundle we have ever offered, and this is probably the biggest graphics card bundle that has ever been offered in the graphics industry.”
The bundle comes with an AMD Catalyst driver and free PC copies of Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution, and Sleeping Dogs. In addition, customers will be able to get a 20 percent discount on Medal of Honor: Warfighter. All of the titles are major releases for the fall.
The bundle has several options. If you buy an AMD Radeon HD 7800 series graphics card or a Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition card, you can get Far Cry 3 for free and Medal of Honor Warfighter for 20 percent off. If you buy two AMD Radeon HD 7850 series graphics cards ($399), two Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition cards ($239), or two Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition cards ($499), then you can get Far Cry 3 and Hitman: Absolution for free as well as the 20 percent discounter on Warfighter. The value of the games in the bundles ranges from $60 to $170.
The new Catalyst 12.11 driver software provides a 15 percent performance gain in titles such as Battlefield 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Sleeping Dogs, and Dirt: Showdown. The bundle will be available in October after the launch of Windows 8.