Yesterday, AMD went a step too far with the latest Radeon software update for its graphics cards by forcing a shortcut on to Windows PC desktops.
Anyone opting to download the latest Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.4.4 software for their graphics card yesterday was presented with a desktop shortcut for Quake Champions after installation. According to VentureBeat, double-clicking the bit.ly shortcut took you to the Quake Champions beta test signup page.
Clearly a promotional deal had been done with Bethesda to get this link included with the Radeon software update. But that's not the problem here. The problem is users didn't have a choice in the matter. During installation there was no option to not add the shortcut. All you could do was delete it after the fact.
Understandably, this upset a few people, and AMD quickly responded (within 24 hours) by removing the forced shortcut from the installation package and releasing the following statement:
"We're very excited to be working with Bethesda and we wanted to make it easy for Radeon users to sign up for the Quake Champions beta program. Our installer placed a shortcut on gamers' desktops – we've updated our 17.4.4 release and this shortcut install has been removed. We apologize if this has caused any inconvenience for anyone."
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It's good to see AMD responding so quickly to the problem, but also concerning anyone ever thought this was acceptable in the first place. Forcing anything on to a user's PC without their knowledge, especially when it triggers a web page load hidden behind a bit.ly link, is completely unacceptable.
Those choosing to download the software today will not get the forced shortcut anymore, but will benefit from a seven percent increase in performance for the RX 580 GPU and support for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III. Full details are available in the 17.4.4 Release Notes.
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Relax Forced Quake Champions Shortcut Removed From Radeon Software stories
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