Valve is taking steps to expand its Steam Deck Verified program as its SteamOS platform begins appearing on hardware from other manufacturers. They've launched a new SteamOS compatibility system, specifically designed for “any device running SteamOS that is not a Steam Deck”. This move comes just as SteamOS-powered devices like the Lenovo Legion Go S are set to debut this month, marking Valve's readiness for its OS to move beyond its own hardware.

The SteamOS Compatibility rating system is designed to quickly inform users whether a game is supported (or not) by SteamOS on their non-Deck device. Valve says this includes checking features like core game functionality, launcher integration, and anti-cheat support. Games that pass these standards will be marked as SteamOS Compatible, while those that do not will be labelled as SteamOS Unsupported. Importantly, this rating does not assess performance, acknowledging that how well a game runs will vary significantly between devices running SteamOS.

Similar to the green checkmark for Steam Deck Verified, a new blue checkmark will display a successful SteamOS Compatibility rating. Valve initially intends to apply this rating to over 18,000 Steam games. Users already running the SteamOS beta on devices like the Lenovo Legion Go S or Asus ROG Ally should see the updated compatibility ratings in the coming weeks.

For developers, the process for generating SteamOS Compatibility ratings is automated, with Valve using current Steam Deck ratings as the basis. Valve stated in their FAQ that “SteamOS Compatibility results will all be the same or higher than Steam Deck Verified results,” implying that if a game works on a Steam Deck, it should also work on other devices running SteamOS.

KitGuru says: Even if it doesn't ensure the game will run fine on a system, one should note that most upcoming SteamOS handhelds are at least as good as the Steam Deck. So, if it runs well on the Deck, it should run equally or better on other handhelds with SteamOS.

Zotac is preparing for the official debut of its second-generation gaming handheld, the Zone 2, set to be unveiled later this month at Computex 2025 in Taipei. Ahead of the show, Zotac revealed an important detail about the upcoming handheld: Zone 2 will run an ‘all-new Manjaro Linux-based OS' designed explicitly for gaming handhelds.

Development on the Zone 2 has been ongoing since Zotac first promised the device in December, followed by a prototype reveal at CES in January. Zotac's first Zone model was somewhat late to the market compared to competitors like the ROG Ally, and four months after the CES prototype reveal, it appears development is still underway for the Zone 2. There is no information regarding when the handheld will be ready for release, but some details are starting to emerge.

Based on Zotac's special Computex 2025 page, the Zone 2 is expected to feature AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU paired with an OLED display, maintaining a similar screen to the previous version. Moreover, the company's press release also mentioned it would feature a Manjaro Linux-based OS specifically designed for handheld PCs, so there will be no SteamOS for the Zone 2, at least for now.

With Computex 2025 scheduled for next week, from May 20th to 23rd, we can expect Zotac to release more details on their switch from Windows to Linux for the OS, what features this ‘all-new Manjaro Linux-based OS' will offer, and hopefully, provide information on the release date.

KitGuru says: Do you think Zotac should have just gone with SteamOS for the Zone 2, or is it better to try something else to differentiate itself from the competition?

The next round of titles for PlayStation Plus Extra have been announced. Sony's PS5 alternative to Game Pass will add a fresh set of games on the 20th of May, including one of last year's biggest anime games. 

Sand Land, the video game based on Akira Toriyama's one-shot manga, will be available to all PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers this month. Atlus RPG, Soul Hackers 2, is also joining the list, along with Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, rounding out the Ani-May update.

Here is the full list of games joining the PlayStation Plus library on May 20th:

• Sand Land (PS4, PS5)
• Soul Hackers 2 (PS5)
• Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted (PS4, PS5)
• Battlefield V (PS4)
• STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy (PS4, PS5)
• Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising (PS4, PS5)
• Humankind (PS4, PS5)
• Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (PS5)
• Gloomhaven (PS4, PS5)

PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers will get an additional ‘classic' game for their expanded library – Battle Engine Aquila.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on installing any of this month's new PlayStation Plus titles? 

AMD has officially launched a new series of CPUs to bring the Zen 5 architecture to entry-level servers and commercial systems. These are the Zen 5-based EPYC 4005-series processors, leveraging the familiar AM5 socket form factor to bring the latest AMD CPU architecture to small businesses, edge deployments, and hosting providers.

The EPYC 4005 series offers up to 16 cores and 32 threads, a core count specifically chosen to align with the baseline Windows Server 2025 licensing limits. These CPUs are built similarly to AMD's Ryzen 9000 processors, featuring Zen 5 CCDs with the same 8MB of L2 cache (1MB per core), 32MB of unified L3 cache, and an I/O die. The flagship EPYC 4585PX variant includes 64MB of 3D V-Cache for enhanced performance in specific workloads. All models include a dual-channel DDR5 memory controller supporting up to 192GB of DDR5-5600 memory with ECC. Thermal design power ranges from 65W up to 170W.

The new EPYC ‘Grado' platform features some security features worth mentioning: a dedicated security processor, secure boot, TPM 2.0, and memory encryption capabilities. Connectivity is robust, featuring 28 PCIe 5.0 lanes, modern display outputs like DisplayPort 2.0 and HDMI 2.1, and flexible USB options including up to 20G Type-C and optional USB4. Below, you can find a table with all the EPYC 4005 CPUs listed:

AMD compares the EPYC 4005 series against Intel's Xeon E-2400 and Xeon 6300P CPUs, highlighting their core count advantage (up to 16 cores vs. Intel's up to 8). According to AMD's benchmarks, this leads to noticeably better performance, citing the 16-core EPYC 4565P as being 1.83x faster than Intel's eight-core Xeon 6369P in specific tests. Despite the performance difference, the EPYC 4565P is also positioned as being slightly less expensive compared to the Intel CPU, alongside other advantages like DDR5-5600 support and a larger L3 cache.

KitGuru says: It would be interesting to see how the new EPYC 4005 processors compare to the Ryzen 9000 series in everyday tasks..

When Nintendo announced the Switch 2, it did not confirm the technical specifications for the chip powering the console. Now a few weeks ahead of launch, the specifications for the Switch 2's Nvidia SoC have been revealed.

Digital Foundry has confirmed the technical specifications for the Switch 2's SoC. While the Switch 1 utilised a Tegra X1 chip based on its Maxwell GPU architecture, the Switch 2 will use an Nvidia T239 chip with graphics based on the much newer Ampere architecture. There is also confirmation on how much of the system's resources are reserved for operating things like the OS and background processes, versus how much of the hardware is accessible for games.

Here are the specs for the Switch 2 processor, up against the original Switch 1 chip:

The GPU in the Switch 2 is ray-tracing capable, measuring in at 10 gigarays per second while mobile and 20 gigarays per second while docked. However, so far, no game for the Switch 2 makes use of ray-traced graphics, so don't go into this expecting the same level of graphical fidelity we find on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S consoles.

The Nintendo Switch 2 launches on the 5th of June. Current-gen titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake have been confirmed for the console, and many Switch 1 titles are receiving graphical updates for the new Switch 2 hardware.

KitGuru Says: It is going to be a very interesting Summer with the Switch 2 dropping. We'll no doubt see an increase in third-party AAA support in the second half of the year too. 

Square Enix has revealed its latest financial results, seeing an overall year-on-year sales dip. However, Square Enix CEO, Takashi Kiryu, was quick to remind everyone that the company is in the middle of a ‘reboot' as it pivots towards multiplatform development. 

In recent years, Square Enix has primarily developed massive exclusives for PS5. However, after Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth both failed to meet sales expectations, Square Enix kicked off a new effort to transform its studios for multiplatform development. That effort began last year, and Square Enix has not released a tentpole title since Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

In the earnings report (via Eurogamer) Square Enix confirmed that its digital entertainment (video games) revenue dropped by 18 percent compared to the previous year. However, operating income saw an increase.

Looking ahead at the rest of the year, Square Enix has Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Bravely Default as major titles for the Switch 2 launch this summer, followed by Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D Remake later in the year for PC, PlayStation and Switch.

Due to the end of service for many mobile games in Square Enix's arsenal, mobile game revenue dipped this year too. However, the upcoming release of Final Fantasy 14 Mobile should bring a big boost.

Future tentpole releases, like the anticipated third part to the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, Dragon Quest 12 and Kingdom Hearts 4, should be multiplatform at release, which should in turn improve overall sales.

KitGuru Says: Square Enix will turn things around. These dips are to be expected in a year lacking a new game from one of the publisher's most well-known IP. 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has quickly risen to be one of the most critically acclaimed games of the year. The game is already available on PC, PS5 and Xbox, but a Switch 2 version could be next in line. 

Speaking in an interview (via Eurogamer), Expedition 33 director, Guillaume Broche, teased a Switch 2 version of the game, saying that the massive success of the game has opened up new doors, adding that a Switch 2 version of the game “could be interesting”.

While the Switch 2 is a significant power upgrade from the Switch 1, as the console has yet to release, we've yet to see how well the hardware handles many current-gen third-party games, particularly those built on Unreal Engine 5.

Pre-release hands-on demos of Cyberpunk 2077 running on the console did look good, but we won't know how easy it will be for current-gen projects to include the Switch 2 in development plans until the console has spent some time on the market and we have a broader sample size.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on getting a Switch 2? Do you think we'll see more current-gen UE5 titles coming to the console? 

Back in 2022, Square Enix announced a new Kingdom Hearts project – Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link. The game was set offer Pokémon Go style mechanics, where players are encouraged to explore their surroundings and play on the move. Now, the game appears to have been cancelled. 

Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link was initially announced as part of the series' 20th anniversary. In an announcement released today, Square Enix confirmed that it has “made the decision to cancel” development on the game.

“Although we worked hard on developing and adjusting the game in the hope that it would be enjoyed by lots of players, we determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time”, the statement reads.

While Missing Link is cancelled, the statement does end with a reminder that “the Kingdom Hearts series will continue” and that Kingdom Hearts 4 is still in development.

KitGuru Says: Missing Link isn't the first Pokémon Go clone to fail. Microsoft attempted something similar with Minecraft to no avail, and similar titles in the Monster Hunter and Witcher franchises have also struggled. 

EA Motive has been slowly working away on its next major game, based on Marvel's Iron Man. Recent job listings have given us a little insight into the plan for the game. 

EA's recruitment site has been updated with new job listings for the Iron Man project. As spotted by Insider Gaming, EA Motive is hiring for a Level Designer, who will oversee the creation of “major singleplayer levels”, indicating that the plan is to structure the game around levels and not a massive open world.

These levels could be expansive open zones like in Obsidian's Avowed, or they could be more traditional levels, with no open-world element at all, nobody really knows outside of EA at this time.

EA's Iron Man game is being built with Unreal Engine 5. So far, the game has not been shown off publicly and no release date has been announced.

KitGuru Says: An Iron Man game should be incredibly fun but we've yet to see anything. Hopefully some reveals are in the works. 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an asymmetrical multiplayer title based on the classic horror franchise which sees players “take on the role of one of the notorious Slaughter family, or their victims” – not too dissimilar to the likes of Dead By Daylight or the Friday The 13th video game. Published by the same team behind the aforementioned Friday The 13th, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has unfortunately shared a similar fate – with its post-launch updates ending suddenly and with little fanfare.

Making the surprise announcement on their blog, the publishers at Gun Interactive wrote: “we’re at a point where we feel The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has reached its full potential,” adding that the game “will not be receiving any further future content or support. This means that there will be no more DLC, balance updates, or bug fixes, after our upcoming May patch.”

While the team confirmed that players “can still expect a few more patches in the future in order to transition towards peer-to-peer matchmaking” alongside the fact that the game will not be delisted, this marks what they have deemed “the natural creative end” to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

While perhaps an earlier end-of-life than many had hoped – especially given that the game surpassed 4 million players in its first month thanks in part to a day-one Game Pass launch – at the very least it seems as though The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has ended in a spot deemed by the team themselves, as opposed to Friday The 13th’s sudden shutdown.

KitGuru says: Were you one of the 4+ million players? Will you keep playing even after post-launch support ends? Why do you think they made this decision? Let us know down below.

It's been a while since we last reviewed a screen from Philips Evnia, but that changes today as we analyse the 27M2N8500. Offering the same 1440p 360Hz QD-OLED panel that we've seen from the likes of the MSI 271QRX and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q3, the 27M2N8500 isn't doing anything groundbreaking with its technology. That said, with an RRP drop to just £500 as of May 1st, it's sure to raise an eyebrow or two, so let's dive in and see if this display is worth the cash…

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:49 Meet the Evnia 27M2N8500
01:23 Design first impressions
03:32 The usual QD-OLED caveats
04:46 Panel analysis – default settings
07:21 sRGB mode and calibrated results
08:12 Response times + motion clarity
09:06 The gaming experience
09:53 HDR performance
11:50 Best HDR mode to use?
12:37 Closing thoughts

There's no doubt the Philips Evnia 27M2N8500's USP is its overall value proposition. Based on a PCPartPicker analysis, this is one of the most affordable OLED screens on the market – yes, there are cheaper screens available, but none offering a 360Hz refresh rate. The next cheapest 360Hz model appears to be the Alienware AW2725DF at £569.

Of course, just by being the cheapest doesn't mean the 27M2N8500 is automatically worth buying. We put it through our extensive test suite today to find out just how good it really is.

Specification:

• Panel Size: 26.5 inch/67.3 cm
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Monitor Panel Type: QD OLED
• Pixel pitch: 0.2292 x 0.2292 mm
• Brightness: SDR: 250 (APL 100%) nit, HDR: 450 (APL 10%) nit, HDR E/P: 1000 (APL 3%) nit
• Display colours: Colour support 1.07 billion colours (10-bit)
• Colour gamut (typical): DCI-P3:98.5%, sRGB: 147.5%, NTSC 120%, Adobe RGB 118%*
• Contrast ratio (typical): 1,500,000:1
• SmartContrast: Mega Infinity DCR
• Response time (typical): 0.03 ms (Grey to Grey)*
• Viewing angle: 178º (H)/178º (V) @ C/R > 10000
• Picture enhancement: SmartImage game
• Maximum resolution: HDMI/DP: 2560 x 1440 @ 360 Hz
• Effective viewing area: 590.42 (H) x 333.72 (V) mm
• Scanning Frequency: 30–510 kHz (H)/48–360 Hz (V)
• sRGB: Yes
• Delta E: <2 (sRGB)
• Flicker-free: Yes
• Pixel Density: 110.84 PPI
• LowBlue Mode: Yes
• Display Screen Coating: Anti-reflection, 2H
• Low Input Lag: Yes
• EasyRead: Yes
• AMD FreeSync technology: Premium Pro
• G-SYNC: Yes
• HDR: DisplayHDR True Black 400 certified
• Ambiglow: 3 sided
• Pixel format: RGB Q-Stripe*
• Clear MR Tier: 13,000
• Signal Input: HDMI 2.1 x 2, DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, USB-B x 1
• Sync Input: Separate Sync
• Audio (In/Out): Headphone out
• HDCP: HDCP 1.4 (HDMI/DisplayPort), HDCP 2.2 (HDMI/DisplayPort), HDCP 2.3 (HDMI/DisplayPort)
• USB Hub: USB-B upstream x 1, USB-A downstream x 2 (downstream with x 1 fast charge B.C 1.2), USB 3.2 Gen 1/5 Gbps
• Height adjustment: 130 mm
• Swivel: -/+ 20 degree
• Tilt: -5/20 degree

Firmware tested: V1.05

AMD and Arm users can rest easy for this one, as it seems that CVE-2024-45332 only applies to Intel CPUs.  The problem is that it applies to almost all Intel chips currently…

Last month, Frogwares announced a surprise remaster for their H.P. Lovecraft-inspired action-adventure title The Sinking City. Set to be a free update for current owners of this 2019 title, the team have now detailed all of the many enhancements arriving with this Remastered release – available now.

Back in early April, the team at Frogwares officially announced The Sinking City Remastered for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series devices. While no launch date was provided at the time, they did offer initial details on what this new release will bring with it, namely:

• Enhanced locations with additional levels of detail and objects
• 4K textures and improved reflections
• Addition of a Photo Mode
• Support for DLSS, FSR and TSR upscaling

With the remaster officially out and available right now, we’ve gotten a bunch more information on what exactly has changed. Beyond what has been mentioned above, the remaster also offers:

• Full visual overhaul with new lighting and effects
• Improved materials
• HDR support
• Lumen global illumination and ray tracing
• Improved controls; combat; balance; crowds and more

As mentioned, The Sinking City Remastered is a free upgrade for all those who already own the original game. That said due to legal issues with the title’s original publisher back in 2019, only those with the 2021 re-release (published by Frogwares themselves) are eligible for the free upgrade.

All those who do not own the game meanwhile can purchase The Sinking City Remastered for £37 (or just £18.50 for the next week).

KitGuru says: What do you think of the remaster’s changes? Do you own the original game? Should more remasters introduce fundamental changes like combat and NPCs? Let us know down below.

Since its release last year, Arrowhead Game Studios have kept Helldivers 2 fresh and active thanks to continued support through the addition of new weapons, stratagems, enemies and more. In what is one of its biggest updates yet, Helldivers 2 is getting a ton of game-changing additions, including a new loadout system with added forms of progression and much more.

Making the announcement on the PlayStation Blog, Katherine Baskin of Arrowhead Game Studios wrote: “Helldivers, get to your Super Destroyers! In a surprise turn of events that even our top researchers couldn’t predict, the Illuminate have finally revealed their intentions, emerging from the Meridian singularity, and setting a course for Super Earth.”

This new update – dubbed the Galactic Emergency – represents one of Helldivers 2’s biggest content drops yet, adding a ton of stuff including but not limited to:

• Multiple new Illuminate enemies
  • Stingray
  • Crescent Overseer
  • Fleshmob
• Loadout customisation
  • Weapon leveling
  • Unlockable attachments
  • Weapon camos/patterns
• Expansion of old Warbonds
• SuperStore overhaul with no more item rotations

The addition of a weapon levelling and loadout system alone expands the potential of Helldivers 2 tenfold, offering a much greater sense of progression, personalisation and fun. Hopefully the team at Arrowhead continues to introduce further such substantial changes/additions.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest update? Is there enough to draw you back to the game? How big of a deal is the new loadout system? Let us know down below.

Since its launch back in late 2016 / early 2017, ATLUS have released countless spin-offs for its much-lauded JRPG Persona 5. The latest title to have been released was Persona 5: The Phantom X for mobile and PC. Currently limited to very select regions, it seems the game is finally headed for a global release.

Taking to Twitter, the official ATLUS page teased fans with the following: ”Think you dropped this…Stay tuned!” alongside an image clearly based on Persona 5’s art style and aesthetic.

Though nothing else has been shared at this time, fans have speculated that this teaser could be referring to the long-awaited international release of Persona 5: The Phantom X.

For the uninitiated, this gacha title was confirmed to be releasing globally almost a year ago back in July 2024. What’s more, P5X was also stated to be coming to consoles at some point following its global mobile/PC launch.

Considering the fact that it’s been almost a year since the announcement, hopefully ATLUS has been working on both the international version as well as the console release. We won’t have to wait long to find out.

KitGuru says: Have you been waiting for P5X to come to the west? What’s your general thoughts on gacha games? How many more Persona 5 spin-offs do you think we’ll get? Let us know down below.

Valve’s SteamOS has been a huge hit for the platform, with the company’s Steam Deck handheld reaping the benefits of this new operating system. With SteamOS officially set to arrive onto other non-valve handhelds, the platform has announced a new expansion to its game compatibility rating.

Taking to its blog to make the announcement, Valve officially unveiled their latest change to SteamOS’ game compatibility system, writing:

“With the Legion Go S – Powered by SteamOS shipping soon, we are expanding Deck Verified and introducing SteamOS Compatibility ratings. These new ratings will roll out over the next few weeks.”

Though somewhat similar to the Steam Deck’s own compatibility ratings, this expansion to the function sits alongside Valve’s official handheld, offering a slightly different metric for analysis.

According to the company, “If a game and all of its middleware are supported on SteamOS, we will mark it as SteamOS Compatible. If not, it’s marked as SteamOS Unsupported.”

It is worth noting that while Valve estimates that around 18,000 titles should be SteamOS verified from the get-go, they cannot guarantee that all verified titles will run smoothly on these devices as “this rating does not include testing results for performance and input, since we will not know (and have not tested) how all titles will run on all potential hardware.”

Full details on this new SteamOS verification system can be found HERE, including an FAQ section.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to more SteamOS handhelds? How do you think the Legion Go S compares to the Steam Deck? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Just days before its anticipated reveal at Computex next week, new leaks are shedding more light on AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics card, including clock speeds, video ports, and its PCIe interface.

Hardware leaker @momomo_us has revealed details circulating among retailers, including previously unseen specifications. The new information includes game clocks listed at 2700 MHz and 2780 MHz. This suggests the RX 9060 XT's typical game clock will be faster than the boost clock of the RX 9070. Boost clock speeds have also been leaked, with the highest boost clock documented for the RX 9060 XT sitting at 3320 MHz, notably higher than the RX 9070 XT's 3100 MHz boost.

The leak also suggests the Navi 44 GPU will use a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. That's particularly useful for those who wish to pair the GPU with PCIe 4.0 systems, as 16x lanes shouldn't hinder performance. The leak also verifies that the card will be powered by a single 8-pin power connector and feature 2x DisplayPorts and an HDMI port, consistent with other RX 9060 XT variants seen thus far.

Unofficially, the Radeon RX 9060 XT is expected to feature 2048 Stream Processors and be available in 16 GB and 8 GB memory options, both running at 20 Gbps across a 128-bit memory bus. AMD has not officially shared any pricing, performance benchmarks, or power specifications, which are expected to be revealed soon, potentially at Computex.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Seeing the rumoured specs for the Radeon RX 9060 XT, do you think it will be better, worse, or about the same as the RTX 5060 Ti in rasterisation?