Intel's foundry arm says it has crossed a major lithography milestone: it has announced successful acceptance testing of ASML's TWINSCAN EXE:5200B High Numerical Aperture (High-NA) EUV scanner, one of the most advanced chipmaking tools currently in existence anywhere. It's the first time the higher-throughput version of ASML's High-NA platformIt seems like the teased Horizon OS headsets from Asus ROG and Lenovo won't be shipping after all.
In a statement to Road to VR, Meta says it has "paused the program to focus on building the world-class first-party hardware and software needed to advance the VR market".
“We’re committed to this for the long term and will revisit opportunities for 3rd-party device partnerships as the category evolves”, the statement continues.
UploadVRDavid HeaneyThe news comes just under 20 months after Meta officially announced that third-party headsets running Quest's operating system, which it branded Horizon OS, were in the works.
At the time, Meta said Asus was working on a "performance gaming headset" under its ROG brand, while Lenovo was working on "a line of headsets" for "productivity, learning, and entertainment".
We heard nothing official about the Asus ROG headset after this point, though a rumor back in January suggested that it would have face and eye tracking and use either QD-LCD panels with local dimming or micro-OLED displays.
Meanwhile, around a year ago at Lenovo Tech World 2024, the company confirmed that it was still working on its Horizon OS headset.
UploadVRDavid HeaneyThe decision to "pause" the program for third-party Horizon OS headsets may have come alongside the wider cuts to the VR and Horizon Worlds teams at Meta, widely reported by outlets like Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider earlier this month.
Shortly after those reports, Meta issued an official statement confirming "shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward AI glasses and Wearables".
Today's news doesn't mean the end of Horizon OS headsets, though, just that they won't be coming from third parties – at least not any time soon.
Meta's statement mentions building "world-class first-party hardware" for VR, and leaked memos from earlier this month reveal that the company is actively working on at least two Horizon OS products.
UploadVRDavid HeaneyAccording to those memos, Meta plans to launch its rumored ultralight "mixed reality glasses" headset with a tethered compute puck in the first half of 2027, and recently started work on a gaming-focused Quest 4 set to be a "large upgrade" over Quest 3, though at a higher price.
Given this timeline, Quest 3 owners hoping for a direct upgrade within the Horizon OS ecosystem could be waiting another two or three years, meaning Quest 3 would end up being Meta's all-in-one flagship for four or five years without a direct successor. And when that successor does arrive, it's set to have a notably higher price.
Bethesda is hard at work on The Elder Scrolls VI, per a recent interview with Game Informer. The hotly-anticipated game, already in playtesting, is currently "progressing really well" according to Todd Howard, with "The majority of the studio" working on it. Game Informer didn't just speak to Todd Howard, though—they also collected statements
It's the 2025 Holiday Season, and you know what that means—snowy-white motherboards, meant for PCs with cool temperatures and high performance. To encourage this, a number of reputable motherboard manufacturers have put their white motherboards on sale on Amazon, and we'll be highlighting the 7 most compelling options below, sorted by price.Quest's Hand Tracking 2.4 update significantly improves the Fast Motion Mode, better handling rapid movements like punching and swinging.
Since launching controller-free hand tracking as a software update for the original Oculus Quest experimentally in late 2019 and publicly in early 2020, Meta has continued to improve the feature, gradually bridging much of the tracking quality difference compared to controllers.
Comparison of Fast Motion Mode with 2.3 (left) and 2.4 (right).
Normally, Quest's hand tracking samples the tracking cameras at 30Hz. Optionally, the developers of apps can enable Fast Motion Mode, which makes the cameras sample at 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on your country's mains electricity frequency, to sync up with artificial lighting.
The higher sampling rate of Fast Motion Mode improves the tracking of fast motions, with the tradeoff of introducing some jitter that can make hand tracking feel slightly less accurate. Fast Motion Mode also requires brighter room lighting on headsets older than Quest 3S, because the camera exposure is lower, bringing less light, so without IR illuminators this will cause the tracking to degrade more.
Fast Motion Mode also cannot be used alongside simultaneous hands and controllers mode, and can only be combined with inside-out body tracking in VR, not passthrough mixed reality. Further, on Quest Pro, Fast Motion Mode can't be used alongside eye tracking or face tracking.
Still, these tradeoffs aside, Fast Motion Mode is ideal for fast-paced immersive games, and that's what Hand Tracking 2.4 is focused on improving.
UploadVRDavid HeaneyMeta says that Hand Tracking 2.4 arrived in Horizon OS v83, which started rolling out last month.
According to Meta, Hands 2.4 brings the following improvements to Fast Motion Mode:
Again though, keep in mind that Fast Motion Mode is a feature developers need to enable for their apps, so you'll only see this in games that chose to use it.
You should be able to test it out in Meta's free demo app from 2023 called Move Fast, which is designed to showcase how hand tracking can be used for immersive fitness games.
The problem with a memory shortage is that virtually every single part of a computer uses memory in some way. That, obviously, includes graphics cards, and despite the author's earlier optimism that GDDR might be one of the less-affected memory types, it turns out that NVIDIA may be cutting GPU production next year because it's concerned aboutMaestro adds two notable songs from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films, joined by other epic sailing songs in the latest DLC.
At the heart of the All Aboard! update are two iconic tracks from Pirates of the Caribbean, including Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt's instantly recognizable theme, “He's a Pirate,” and Zimmer's “Jack Sparrow.” These rousing pieces are joined by a selection of sea-inspired music, including the shanty “Wellerman,” Rimsky-Korsakov's “The Shipwreck,” and Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony (Overture).
As with earlier Maestro add-ons, such as the Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Fantasia themed updates previously covered here, the new DLC brings more than just music. All Aboard! adds a new environment to perform in (which includes a kraken and ghost ship) plus new buccaneer-themed costumes for the orchestra. Players can get into the swashbuckling spirit, too, with new accessories and cosmetic items, including a Kraken's Foot baton and The Cap'n gloves.
Our 2024 review of Maestro praised the game's bold use of hand tracking on Quest, and called the experience a “breath of fresh air” compared to other VR rhythm games. That's since arrived across almost every major VR platform, and it's one of the few games that currently supports PlayStation VR2 hand-tracking.
Maestro and the new All Aboard! add-on are available now in the Meta Horizon Store and Steam, while the Pico and PS VR2 release will follow “in the coming days.”
UploadVRDon Hopper
Dawn of Jets gets multiplayer support for the VR aerial combat game, and it's now left early access on Quest.
We initially covered eV Interactive's Dawn of Jets following its early access launch. Featuring ten different aircraft with the promise of more to come, this gives you a fully interactive cockpit with the stick, throttle, weapons systems, and more as you go dogfighting across the skies. Now, it's received online multiplayer alongside its full release.
Multiplayer footage
Detailed further in a recent update post, Dawn of Jets' new multiplayer mode supports up to seven other friends in free-flight, deathmatch, and team-based matches. eV Interactive states more modes and missions are coming “in the future,” though a specific release window wasn't mentioned for these.
Multiplayer joins three previously available gameplay modes in Dawn of Jets. These include a Career mode with dozens of missions, alongside different Challenges where you compete for the top of the leaderboards across combat, race, and aviation scenarios. Finally, Flight mode lets you explore this world at a more leisurely pace.
Dawn of Jets is available now on the Meta Quest platform.
visionOS 26.2 brings official support for using Apple Vision Pro in cars and buses via improved tracking in Travel Mode.
Apple Vision Pro was the first headset to deliver a Travel Mode, meaning a toggle that makes its positional tracking system work while in a moving vehicle, when it launched in early 2024.
Since then, over the years, Meta, Pico, Snap, and Google have followed with their own implementations of Travel Mode for their headsets.
At launch, Apple's Travel Mode was specifically designed for airplanes. With visionOS 2 last year, it was updated to officially support trains. And now with visionOS 26.2, released last week, Apple Vision Pro officially supports cars and buses too.
"Travel Mode lets passengers use Apple Vision Pro on cars and busses in addition to airplanes and train", Apple's release notes read.
UploadVRDavid HeaneyI say "officially" because the feature did already work in these scenarios. When picking up Apple Vision Pro in New York at launch, I used its Travel Mode in the back of an Uber. It worked, with some minor jitter.
I'll be sure to try Apple Vision Pro's Travel Mode again next time I'm in a long distance Uber, Waymo, or bus, as I'm curious to see how much improvement the official support brings.
The update arrived on the same week that Google announced and started rolling out a Travel Mode for Android XR on Galaxy XR, which officially only supports planes.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
GORN 2 received a new “dungeon brawler” mode in its winter-themed update on Quest, PC VR, and PlayStation VR2.
Now live on all platforms, GORN 2 is the comically over-the-top arena brawler where you battle the five sons of the God of the Afterlife after reaching your untimely demise. While the main campaign puts you into a series of arena fights as you defeat muscular gladiators, publisher Devolver Digital announced it's now received a dungeon crawler mode.
Appropriately known as the 'Dungeon Brawler' update, this also comes with various winter-themed additions like icy floors, new dungeon hazards, and the ability to freeze enemies. New weapons include hockey sticks, icicle swords, ice arrows, pitchforks and more, while developer Cortopia also introduced a jump button to leap over enemies.
New story content is also promised and this dungeon crawler mode features 25 unique rooms, with the studio confirming player and weapon modifiers can be found as you progress. Additional missions are also available for unlocking the dungeon crawler weapons.
This joins a growing list of seasonally themed updates that GORN 2 has received. October's 'Fight of the Living Dead' update celebrated Halloween by letting you fight the undead, also adding a crossbow, scythe, and a Resurrection Spire. That was followed last month by 'Shanksgiving' with its timed-exclusive 'Turkey Hunt' game mode.
GORN 2 is available now on Quest, Steam, and PlayStation VR2.
UploadVRHenry Stockdale
In case you missed our review of the Pixel 10 series, we're seriously impressed with Google's latest-generation Android phones, and many of them are currently offered at seriously big discounts. That includes the Pixel 10 Pro that, with the current limited time deal on Amazon, is marked down to its lowest price ever.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Is
Scientists are scratching their heads over a recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovery that looks more like a piece of fruit than your typical celestial sphere.
The planet, designated PSR J2322-2650b, has simply been described by astronomers to look like a lemon. This bizarre world, located 750 light years from us, is not only
The last time Apple released an iMac Pro was back in 2017. That could change next year, however, with the Pro designation for Apple's all-in-one PC making a comeback with a custom M5 Max chip in tow. Alternatively, Apple could be prepping a higher-end model of the iMac without the Pro moniker, while still having it aimed at power users.
Nothing
The OnePlus 15R delivers strong Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 performance and spectacular battery life at the expense of some camera versatility. OnePlus 15R - Starting At $699 Quality materials and build Beautiful 165Hz display Solid performance Outstanding battery life Fast wired charging, charger in the box Clean and responsive software IP69K ingress...
Texas has declared war on your smart TV's data collection, alleging that certain screens at the center of American homes are actually sophisticated surveillance tools designed to monitor the viewing habits of every user.
As such, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated a series of lawsuits against five of the world’s most prominentDrakkenRidge gets a free expansion tomorrow on Quest 3 and 3S, adding a new island, new enemies, and more.
Launched in September, DrakkenRidge is a retro-themed VR fantasy adventure that we favorably compared to old-school RuneScape in our impressions. As a Novice of the Mage Order, you're tasked with policing magic use across this land while exploring dungeons and solving puzzles. Now, it's receiving the Maruk's Hammer expansion as a free update.
While the main game sees you exploring five unique islands across the DrakkenRidge archipelago, Maruk's Hammer introduces a distant Dwarven Island that's home to a mythical Forge. With the island under siege from mysterious invaders and an ancient threat, you must fend off this threat to help the Dwarves defend their home and save the Forge.
This occurs over a multistep main quest, with four new side quests also available. You can find two new weapons, such as the talking 'Void Whisper' sword that's possessed by an ancient evil. New elemental arrows can also be crafted, while new enemies in this expansion include a new Dragon, a Frost Howl, Battlemages, and Corrupted Paladins.
It's the biggest update DrakkenRidge has received since its September launch, and Garage Collective previously released four separate updates. Patch 1.3 added a new distance grab ability and the option to summon weapons by grabbing from over your shoulder, while last month's Inventory Update delivered a new inventory layout and auto-sorting ability.
DrakkenRidge is out now on Quest 3/3S, while the Maruk's Hammer expansion goes live tomorrow at 10am PT.
AMD has quietly expanded its graphics card lineup with the Radeon RX 9060 XT LP, essentially a lower power version of the regular Radeon RX 9060 XT for mid-range gaming PCs. From what we can tell, the specifications between and regular and LP models are virtual identical, save for a lower TBP (typical board rating) on the new LP variant.
BothAs a result of what appears to be disappointing sales for Treyarch’s latest Call of Duty Black Ops 7, Activision confirmed that they would no longer be doing back-to-back releases within the same sub-series. While we’ve already seen a solid number of leaks regarding next year’s COD MW4, details surrounding Sledgehammer Games’ 2027 project have now been revealed.
A shared by known Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope, 2027’s Call of Duty is set to be led by Sledgehammer Games. While they were most recently put in charge of Modern Warfare III, Sledgehammer are reportedly working on a brand new sub-series for 2027 “with completely new characters set in the late 1990s/early 2000s.”
Details beyond this are light, however, TheGhostofHope did claim that omni-movement (first seen in Black Ops 6 and refined in BO7) will make a return in 2027. Interestingly, other recent leaks have stated that next year’s Modern Warfare 4 from Infinity Ward WON’T feature omni-movement.
Going back to Sledgehammer’s COD however, Ghost also claimed that the much-loved pick-10 system seen in earlier Black Ops releases could make a return.
The final notable detail shared was the fact that it appeared as though the Zombies mode won’t be present in COD 2027. While this may disappoint some, it should allow for Treyarch to recoup and put all their focus on Black Ops 8 in 2029 or whatever it ends up being called.
While all Call of Duty studios have been victim to decisions made by high-up executives, Sledgehammer Games have historically been given the shortest end of the stick, being brought in to finish up troubled projects or forced to work on other sub-franchises. As such, here’s to hoping that the team’s next Call of Duty manages to stand on its own and allow Sledgehammer Games to flex their creative muscles.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the current state of COD? Are you glad to see them moving away from back-to-back Black Ops / Modern Warfares? What’s your favourite Sledgehammer game? Let us know down below.
The post Sledgehammer to develop new sub-series for COD 2027 according to insider first appeared on KitGuru.Following half a decade of hype, excitement and anticipation, Hollow Knight: Silksong officially arrived in September with a level of interest so high that it temporarily broke pretty much all digital store fronts. Amassing over 500,000 concurrent players on PC alone, it was clear that Silksong had sold millions of copies already. That said, we now have official figures, with Team Cherry confirming that Silksong has so far surpassed 7 million copies.
As part of the surprise announcement for Hollow Knight: Silksong’s upcoming free expansion – Sea of Sorrow – Team Cherry confirmed that the game has already sold over 7 million copies, writing:
“We wanted to say a huge thank you to all the players who’ve braved Silksong’s distant and dangerous lands. That’s over seven million of you who’ve purchased the game, alongside millions more playing on Xbox Game Pass! It’s a truly staggering number of players, more than we could have ever expected (enough to crash all of the storefronts!)”
For context, the original Hollow Knight is confirmed to have sold over 15 million copies as of August 2025, meaning Silksong still has a ways to go to surpass its predecessor. That said, the first game had ‘only’ sold 2.8 million copies after over 2 years on the market.
With Silksong just a little over 3 months on from release, and plenty of post-launch support still planned, it would not be surprising to see the sequel surpassing the OG Hollow Knight – perhaps even by the time Sea of Sorrow releases next year.
KitGuru says: Are you one of the 7 million? Were you an OG Kickstarter backer? How long will it take Silksong to surpass Hollow Knight? Let us know your thoughts down below.
The post Hollow Knight: Silksong has already sold over 7 million copies first appeared on KitGuru.The U97 PZ Powered by MSI prebuilt desktop from CyberPowerPC is quite possibly the cleanest system we’ve ever had on the bench. Built around MSI’s Project Zero ecosystem, with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and a Project Zero RTX 5070 Ti Ventus 3X OC, it hides the cables almost entirely and leans hard into a sleek, minimalist look. We’ve put it through its paces at both 1440p and 4K to find out whether that clean aesthetic is backed up by the performance you’d expect at this level.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:06 Pricing / Giveaway / Specs / Warranty
01:42 CPU
02:15 Graphics Card
02:50 Memory
03:42 Storage
04:07 Motherboard
04:40 Rear I/O
05:10 PSU
05:32 AIO Cooler / Fans
05:56 Case and I/O
06:36 Build Quality and Appearance
07:53 Pre-benchmark setup
08:38 Call Of Duty Black Ops 7
09:35 Cyberpunk 2077
10:36 Forza Horizon 5
11:20 Marvel Rivals
12:10 Black Myth Wukong
12:55 Gaming Thoughts
13:17 CPU and GPU Power and Thermals
14:32 Noise Testing
14:52 Worth buying? You can WIN this system!
Specifications:
5070 Ti 16G Ventus 3X PZ OCThe core specs are confirmed in the following CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots:
We tested the U97 PZ across a range of modern titles at both 1440p and 4K, starting with native rasterised performance before enabling DLSS Super Resolution's Performance preset and, where supported, adding Frame Generation or Multi-Frame Gen. The screenshots below highlight a selection of results, while the full breakdown and on-screen analysis can be found in our video review on YouTube.
At 1440p, the system delivers consistently strong performance across all of the games we tested, with plenty of headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. Competitive titles in particular benefit from the pairing of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5070 Ti, while more demanding single-player games still run smoothly at native settings. Stepping up to 4K, performance remains solid, though the heaviest titles can dip below 60fps when running fully rasterised. Enabling DLSS and Frame Generation dramatically improves framerates, turning this into a very capable machine for both high-refresh 1440p gaming and more visually demanding 4K experiences without needing to compromise on settings.
Black Myth: Wukong (3840×2160 – Max Settings, DLSS Performance, Frame Generation On)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (3840×2160 – Max Settings, DLSS Performance, 4X Multi Frame Generation On)
Forza Horizon 5 (3840×2160 – Max Settings)
Cyberpunk 2077 (2560×1440 – Max Settings, DLSS Performance, 4X Multi Frame Generation On)
Marvel Rivals (2560×1440 – Max Settings)
There’s a lot to like about the U97 PZ Powered by MSI. The Project Zero ecosystem is the clear highlight here, delivering one of the cleanest-looking prebuilts we’ve ever tested. Cable management is excellent, the overall presentation is superb, and CyberPowerPC has done a very tidy job with the assembly. It’s a system that looks genuinely special when you take the side panel off.
Performance backs that design up nicely, too. The pairing of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5070 Ti delivers excellent 1440p gaming performance across a wide range of titles, with enough headroom to step into 4K when paired with DLSS and Frame Generation. Thermals are well controlled under sustained load, and nothing about the configuration feels mismatched or under-specced for its intended use.
It’s not completely perfect, though. The memory configuration is functional rather than premium, with speeds and timings that are a little conservative for a system at this price point. That said, given the current state of the memory market, it’s an understandable compromise to keep overall pricing in check. Aesthetically, white memory modules would also have suited the rest of the build far better and completed the look MSI and CyberPowerPC were clearly aiming for.
Pricing is fair overall. Building a near-identical system yourself comes out slightly more expensive once Windows licensing is factored in, and that doesn’t account for the quality of the cable management, assembly, and after-sales support included here. Taken as a complete package, this is a very strong 1440p gaming system with standout design and sensible performance choices.
You can purchase the U97 PZ prebuilt desktop for £2249 from Cyberpower PC HERE. We will also be giving away this system as part of our Advent Calendar so stay tuned for more details!
Pros:
Cons:
KitGuru says: A superbly clean Project Zero prebuilt that pairs standout design with excellent 1440p gaming performance, fairly priced and well assembled. The only thing holding it back is the memory specifications, and even then it's only a slight downside.
After nearly a decade stuck in development hell, the long awaited Dead Island 2 finally released thanks to the efforts of Dambuster Studios. Despite the long wait, interest did not dwindle, with the 2023 sequel going on to exceed 20 million total players. Though teased previously, a Dead Island 3 has now been officially confirmed.
Back in September, the team at Dambuster Studios celebrated Dead Island 2’s latest milestone achievement of surpassing 20 million total players, writing at the time “This isn’t the final cut though. Dambuster Studios are already carving out what comes next. For now, the details stay under wraps, the outbreak is far from over…”
While this was clearly hinting at a new Dead Island entry, we did not have official confirmation. As part of Dambuster Studios’ latest financial reports however (shared by Timur222), the company not only announced Dead Island 3, but offered a launch window, writing:
“After release of Dead Island 2 Ultimate Edition in October 2024, the primary focus for Dambuster Studios is now Dead Island 3. All developers are assigned to the project and once the Luna and Mac versions of Dead Island 2 are complete all of Dambuster's QA team will also be assigned to Dead Island 3.”
Offering even more on their current timeline, they continued, “Parts of the game are now in early production with feature, character, world and story design moving at pace. The current predicted release window for the project is Q1/2 2028.”
Given the fact that Dead Island 2 was clearly announced far too early back in the day, it perhaps makes sense that Dambuster would want to avoid making a big splash with Dead Island 3 until they are confident in its release. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another decade.
KitGuru says: What did you think of Dead Island 2? Was it a successful follow-up? Do you trust Dambuster to handle another entry? Let us know down below.
The post Dead Island 3 officially announced alongside 2028 release window first appeared on KitGuru.Pocket Lands delivers a promising new sandbox for building digital worlds, and it's out now in Early Access on Quest. Read on for our full impressions.
Creative minds always find a way to express their individuality, no matter the means at their disposal. Pen, paintbrush, digital tools. Video games such as Minecraft exploded in popularity through the freedom of shaping its voxel art world, to the point where people created futuristic spaceships, sprawling cities, and medieval towns by hand. If you build it, they will come, so the old quote goes. Pocket Lands aims to deliver a world-building sandbox to allow those with inspiration a new avenue to convey their imagination. It shows signs of a promising future, even if what's here in early access leaves me wanting.
A full-scale playground to design complex architectural ideas is not a new concept, as previously seen in cyubeVR and RealmCraft among others, yet Pocket Lands stands out for several small but defining features. The first is its flexible way to engage with your blank canvas, as the diorama is viewable from three different perspectives: a resizable island in mixed reality, as that same snippet of the world but with your surroundings covered, or a sprawling fully immersive mode where everything is rendered in the voxel world, even the day-night cycle. Snappy hand tracking or a controller quickly lets you see how expansive your imaginative kingdom is becoming.
Second is the fact that you can drop into your own world at any moment, going from a God-mode perspective to walking around next to your creations. This feeling, especially once laser-focused on more elaborate constructions, is a brilliant addition that inspires awe. That's helped by the ability to jump and, most importantly, fly around the map to look at the environment from another area. This entices you to perhaps add a new tower to your castle, mast to your airship, or neighboring skyscraper to your skyline.
Finally, no creative sandbox is complete without accessible building tools. From a quick 17-slide tutorial where Pocket Lands succinctly explains how it all works, the onboarding to pick up and play is as easy as it gets. Making the motion of grabbing a rectangle from two opposite sides lets you spawn a figure as long, wide, or short as you wish. A handy menu with over 25 full and half block types awaits to accommodate every type of building. Concrete, sand, wood, and lampshades are but a few foundations to build unique creations on. The calming music, ranging from medieval Oblivion-esque melodies to soothing piano sounds, instills a relaxing vibe in the creation process.
However, hand tracking feels a little hit or miss right now. There is a nifty feature that by tapping your thumb to your hand, you can “scroll” through the map as you would a smartphone, turning it yellow to signify selection. You can close your fist to move around the map, pinch to move the edges of the mixed reality diorama, or grab blocks and add new ones. But Pocket Lands doesn't always register when I stop making a fist gesture, only to end up on an entirely different side of the map. Or worse, the diorama itself ends up in another area of the room.
While Mountainborn Studios is aware of these false positives, the only current solution is to be gentle with the movements so that they can be properly registered to avoid such nuisances. A bit of comic relief against these issues is the addition of arm-swinging locomotion, which doesn't add much, but it's undoubtedly fun to make that primal motion while exploring. For the avoidance of doubt, artificial stick-based locomotion is also available.
An unexpected but welcome addition.
I wish that I could do more in Pocket Lands right now. Yes, it's a wonderful Early Access release with all the aforementioned details. But I'd love to see more items, block types, and creatures added. Thankfully, the latter is in development, along with new biomes and multiplayer. It's a great playground for creative minds, one that hopes to fill a void after Microsoft abandoned VR support for Minecraft. Here’s hoping that this sturdy foundation builds a lasting legacy.
Pocket Lands is out now in Early Access for the Meta Quest platform.
In recent years we’ve seen a number of veteran developers and studio founders leave their long-standing occupations, either to pursue other endeavours or simply to retire. Following in the footsteps of Insomniac Games’ Ted Price earlier this year, Sucker Punch Productions co-founder Brain Fleming has now announced the end of his tenure at PlayStation.
Making the official announcement via a press release, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed that “After nearly three decades helping bring to life iconic franchises like Sly Cooper, inFAMOUS, Ghost of Tsushima, and Ghost of Yōtei, Brian Fleming has announced he’s passing Sucker Punch studio leadership on to a new generation.”
Though this comes as a surprise to many, efforts on handing over the reigns has apparently been going on for quite some time, with Sony adding: “Over the past year, Brian has worked closely with PlayStation Studios to ensure that Sucker Punch was in the best hands moving forward with a strong foundation for the studio’s continued success.”
Come the start of 2026, Sucker Punch will now be led by “longtime creative and technical leaders Jason Connell and Adrian Bentley” as part of a joint role (something which we have seen with other first-party PlayStation studios). That said, it seems Connell will also keep his role as co-creative director alongside Nate Fox.
As mentioned, this isn’t the first big PlayStation departure of the year, with Insomniac Games founder Ted Price leaving the studio back in January; likewise following 30 years of service. While these teams have been left in good hands following the retiring of their long-time leaders, it is bittersweet nonetheless to see another major figure leaving.
KitGuru says: What’s your favourite Sucker Punch game? Is the studio in good hands? Let us know your thoughts down below.
The post Sucker Punch Productions Co-Founder departs studio after almost 3 decades first appeared on KitGuru.
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