Ubisoft announced on Thursday that the PC version of Assassin’s Creed Rogue will launch on March 10, 2015. This version will support Tobii Tech’s eye tracking technology, which powers SteelSeries’ Sentry eye tracker hardware. The peripheral is available now for only $199.99 at the SteelSeries website.
So what will PC gamers need to run Assassin’s Creed Rogue? For starters, a 64-bit version of Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8/8.1. PC gamers will also need an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor (2.4 GHz) or better, or an AMD Athlon II X4 620 CPU (2.6 GHz) or better. Additional ingredients include 2 GB of RAM, 11.4 GB of available space, a DVD optical drive and a DirectX-compatible sound card.
On the GPU front, PC gamers will need at least an Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 or an AMD Radeon HD 5670, both requiring 1 GB of VRAM. The company also provides a list of supported GPU cards, which includes Nvidia’s GeForce GTS 450, 500, 600, 700 and 900 series, as well as AMD’s Radeon HD 5670, 6000, 7000, R7 and R9. Supported Intel GPUs include the HD4600 and the HD5200.
“Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT officially supported,” Ubisoft warned.
As for the eye-tracking feature, Assassin’s Creed Rogue is billed as the first AAA title to make use of the technology in actual gameplay. According to Tobii Tech, when a player looks to the left of the screen, the game’s protagonist, Shay Patrick Cormac, will also look left in the game environment. The camera will continue to pan left until the player’s eyes focus on another point on the screen. Tobii Tech calls this process an “infinite screen” experience.
“The game auto-pans intuitively and in harmony with the player,” Tobii Tech explained. “Players can revert to their traditional mouse control by simply grabbing it. Assassin’s Creed Rogue will also pause and resume automatically if the player looks away from the screen and back again, preventing disruptions in gameplay.”
The first 500 customers who purchase the SteelSeries Sentry will receive Assassin’s Creed Rogue for the PC for free.
SteelSeries revealed its Sentry eye tracker during CES 2015 back in January. The Sentry bar resides at the bottom of the gamer’s screen and consists of three infrared “microprojectors” that scan the player’s eyes 50 times per second. The Sentry also comes packed with the Game Analyzer software, which tracks and records “key performance metrics” for gamers to analyze and use to improve their gameplay skills. This software is currently compatible with StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm and DOTA 2.
“Today, with our Sentry Eye Tracker, we are announcing an entirely new way for streamers and viewers to see the game,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO, during CES 2015. “This is just the tip of the innovation iceberg for Sentry.”
Tobii Tech said on Thursday that it’s currently working with other developers to incorporate the eye tracking technology into their games.
