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AMD Expands Never Settle Game Bundles

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Feb 26, 2007
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Some of you may remember last year’s Never Settle and Never Settle Forever free game bundles from AMD. In many ways they were a game changer, hearkening back to the days when gamers received a package of free CD-based games with high end graphics cards. Not only did the Never Settle bundles bring previously unheard-of value to potential customers but they also significantly increased the perceived value of Radeon GPUs at a time when AMD’s cards were fighting an uphill battle against NVIDIA’s 700-series. It basically tided them over until the R9-series made its debut a few months ago.

The new R9 290 series and rebranded 280, 270 and 260 cards didn’t initially need a free game offer since they were extremely popular from almost day one. Nonetheless, AMD offered (for a limited time) a free copy of Battlefield 4 with some parts while the R7 260X came with an entry to AMD’s Silver reward tier. However, fueled by the popularity of crypto coin mining, every one of the cards started flying off retailers’ shelves so there was no need to reinvigorate the Never Settle Forever program, until now.

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Before we go on, let’s have a quick refresher about the different tiers within AMD’s promotion since they’ve been updated to include the latest GPUs. The Gold Reward is accessible to anyone who purchases an R9 295X2, R9 290X, R9 290, R9 280X or R9 280 and includes up to three free games of your choosing from a pre-selected list. Meanwhile, the R9 270 series and R7 260 series are limited to two free games while the lower-end R7-series SKUs get a single free title from a reduced list. There are a few tertiary additions as well but we’ll get into those later.

One thing to remember is that Never Settle is only available through certain retailers. For example, here in Canada NCIX, Memory Express, Canada Computers and a few others have access to it while Newegg, Amazon, Tiger Direct and others are considered accepted partners. Make sure you research before you buy.

Unlike years-old programs that included hard copies with their graphics cards, Never Settle uses a system of coupon codes and digital distribution to get its wares to customers. One you purchase the card, an coupon will be emailed to you, sign into the Never Settle Forever site, redeem the coupon code and download codes for Steam, UPlay or Origin will be made available. For those wondering, AMD has ironed out the initial teething problems their email system experienced in the program’s early days.

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So other than the addition of current GPUs to Never Settle Forever, what’s so different this time around? First and foremost, AMD has added two new titles to the Gold and Silver tiers: Thief and the upcoming Murdered: Soul Suspect. There are also new “Indie Packs” which offer a pair of games, counting as a single choice and available in all tiers. These include When Mutant Blobs Attack!, The Banner Saga, Guacamelee! and Dyad.

In a nod towards gamers that already have all these games or have no interest in some of them, AMD is rolling some classic titles into Never Settle Forever as well. Sleeping Dogs and Deus Ex: Human Revolution make an encore appearance while Shogun 2: Total War, Darksiders & Darksiders II, Just Cause 2, Alan Wake, Payday 2, Company of Heroes 2, Titan Quest Gold, Supreme Commander Gold Edition and Dungeon Siege III have been added. There’s certainly something for everyone here with nearly every genre being covered and these are certainly not b-list titles. Once again the Bronze tier receives only a smattering of newcomers but the amount of value being added here is nothing short of incredible.

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As the perennial saying goes: wait, there’s more! Every Never Settle bundle includes a free 3 month subscription to Splashtop’s Remote Desktop Application, $10 off AMD’s Radeon RAMDisk program (check out our review) and access to the exclusive AMD Operator Bundle in FireFall.

Once again it seems like AMD is taking a straightforward approach to their value-added story, providing a breath of fresh air for those who thought the GPU market had stagnated. Not to be outdone, NVIDIA has also started including some freebies with the upcoming Daylight and Free to Play bundles being featured quite prominently. No matter which way you look at things or whatever your chosen GPU solution is, free games will at least allow for some instant gratification.
 

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