Bungie has been quiet on the subject of Marathon since the game's alpha ended earlier this year. The game had been on track for a September launch but today, Sony and Bungie made the surprise announcement that the game has been delayed indefinitely. 

Marathon has been delayed and currently, the game does not have a new release date. Bungie has outlined some key areas of focus for this extra development time, including enhanced visuals, more challenging AI encounters, more dynamic events, proximity chat and actual story content.

This marks a notable shift in strategy. Last year, Concord suffered from negative feedback during its playtests, but rather than delaying the game and making changes, the game was forced to release in August as originally planned. Ultimately, the game flopped and Sony pulled it from sale, before shutting down the studio entirely.

Bungie needs Marathon to be a hit and Sony also needs one of its live service bets to pay off after multiple years of failure. Marathon does not have a new release date yet, but the check list of issues to be addressed before launch reads like a wishlist based on alpha feedback. When Marathon returns, it should be a better, more interesting game.

KitGuru Says: It sounds like we won't be seeing Marathon again until 2026. if Bungie makes good use of this extra time, Marathon should be a much better game when it is next revealed. 

The biggest announcement at Microsoft’s recent Xbox Games Showcase was the official unveiling of its ROG Xbox Ally handhelds. That said, aside from a vague release window of later this year, no proper timeline has been shared. According to multiple insiders however, the Xbox Ally is “tentatively” slated to launch in late October – though apparently no prices have been finalised.

Recently, known industry leaker Extas1s claimed that the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally is currently set to launch this October – with the lower-powered Xbox Ally costing $499 and the more premium Ally X going for $799.

Following this, WindowsCentral’s Jez Corden clarified some of the details, stating that while they too have heard that Xbox plans to launch the handhelds in October (specifically later in the month), “Microsoft hasn't yet fully committed to a price point.”

Unlike most video game consoles, the more open nature of the Xbox Ally’s OS means that users aren’t tied down to a single storefront. As such, there is little reason for Microsoft to subsidise the cost of the ROG handhelds.

That said, considering the ‘last-gen’ ROG Ally X costs $899, Microsoft may try to shave a couple dollars off if they wish for their handhelds to be more than an extreme niche. We will have to wait and see.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the ROG Xbox Ally? Are you interested in either handheld? How much do you think they’ll cost? Let us know down below.

We heard about Phison's new PS5028-E28 controller at CES this year, but until now all we've had to go on were internal benchmarks; not our favourite way to judge performance.  This…

Intel continues to implement rightsizing, or whatever euphemism is currently being used for layoffs, with somewhere between 15-20% of Intel Foundry employees facing unemployment in July.  It's hard to say exactly…

It’s been a while since Mario upgraded his wheels. To be fair, Mario Kart 8 is a pretty tough act to follow, selling over 75 million copies between its Wii U and Switch iterations, but with the long-awaited launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, the Mushroom Kingdom crew are once again hitting the asphalt in Mario Kart World. Does Mario Kart World successfully expand the beloved franchise's horizons? Or does this open-world variation on the series take a wrong turn? Buckle up racers, it's time to find out... As its title implies, Mario Kart World goes the full-on open-world route, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/mario-kart-world/

Fresh details surfaced regarding Intel's Nova Lake-S processor series, painting a clearer picture of what to expect from the company's next-generation desktop processors. While the official name remains unknown, the flagship model is rumoured to pack a significant punch with a whopping 52 cores: 16 P-cores, 32 E-cores, and 4 LP-cores.

Beyond the flagship, and according to chi11eddog, Intel is also reportedly developing a Core Ultra 7 SKU with a 14P+24E configuration, alongside various Core Ultra 5 options featuring 8P+16E, 8P+12E, and 6P+8E configs. The entry-level Core Ultra 3 lineup is expected to include 4P+8E and 4P+4E variants. Note that all desktop SKUs are projected to incorporate four P-Cores. This means the Nova Lake-S series could span a wide range of core counts, from 12 to 52, depending on which configurations Intel rolls out for consumers.

The table below shows the processors in more detail:

Jaykihn also stated that this next-generation series will support faster memory speeds right out of the box. While the current Arrow Lake-S series officially supports DDR5-6400 memory and can be overclocked to 9200 MT/s, the upcoming desktop series is expected to default to 8000 MT/s. This applies to configurations using 1 DIMM per channel (1DPC) and single-rank memory. Whether this enhanced memory support is due to improvements in the CPU's integrated memory controllers or advancements in the new motherboard platforms remains unclear.

Intel Nova Lake-S, which will most likely be branded under the Core Ultra 300 series, is expected to launch next year.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Will increasing the core count allow Intel to recover its position in the desktop CPU consumer market?

GameMax has just unveiled two additions to its desktop case lineup: the Claw 360 and Claw 460. These new enclosures are aimed at gamers and creators looking for a distinctive aesthetic, uncompromising thermal performance, and robust, future-proof compatibility. Both models proudly sport GameMax's new identity, which is immediately noticeable through their aggressive, claw-inspired front panels, sculpted ventilation mesh, and the new brand logo. 

According to TechPowerUp, the Claw 360 is an mATX case built to accommodate the latest hardware, offering support for GPUs up to 420 mm in length. You'll find room for 240 mm ATX PSUs, air coolers up to 175 mm tall, and support for radiators up to 360 mm. Its internal layout is primed for outstanding cooling, supporting up to 12x 120-mm fans, with four pre-installed ARGB/PWM units wired directly to a built-in controller for illumination and speed management. The front I/O panel has a USB-C Gen 2 port and a USB 3.0 connector for connectivity. Moreover, an integrated, height-adjustable GPU support bracket prevents sag of the graphics card.

For those requiring maximum compatibility and expansion capabilities, the Claw 460 is a full-sized ATX case. It mirrors its smaller counterpart's GPU and PSU support, while extending compatibility to ATX motherboards. Like the Claw 360, it leverages a mesh front panel and a vertical airflow system to deliver consistent cooling even during intense periods of use. It can house 12x 120mm fans and has four pre-installed ARGB/PWM fans, complete with an integrated controller for customisable lighting and airflow. Connectivity on the front I/O panel is identical, offering a USB-C Gen 2 and two USB 3.0 ports. Like its compact sibling, the Claw 460 includes a height-adjustable GPU support bracket.

The more compact Claw 360 will hit the market first, with its full-sized sibling, the Claw 460, following suit next month. The Claw 360 will be available for $67.99 in black and $71.99 in white, while the larger Claw 460 will cost $77.99 in black and $81.99 in white.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Which Claw case is the most interesting to you? If you were to pick it, what colour would you prefer?

The latest GeForce Game Ready driver has dropped. The new driver delivers a ton of fixes for various games, and adds day-one optimisations for Remedy's new game, FBC: Firebreak. The driver also adds support for the new Path Tracing update for DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Today, FBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment’s fully ray-traced co-op action game, launches with day-one support for DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and all GeForce RTX gamers can activate DLSS Super Resolution to double performance.

And coming tomorrow, DOOM: The Dark Age update adds path tracing and DLSS Ray Reconstruction, amplifying image quality in the critically acclaimed shooter. DOOM: The Dark Ages features always-on ray-traced global illumination lighting – with path tracing, light from the sun, moon, and hellish skyboxes bounces multiple times, illuminating more game elements at a higher level of detail.

Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks and REMATCH both add DLSS today as well.

To support all of these games, Nvidia has rolled out a new Game Ready driver. The new 576.80 driver can now be downloaded directly from Nvidia or via the Nvidia App.

KitGuru Says: This driver update also seems to fix a lot of flicker and stability issues in various games, so if you've been having issues lately, hopefully this driver will fix things up.

Montech announced the launch of its latest air cooler series, the NX400. This new entry-level offering is poised to shake up the single-tower air cooling market, promising to redefine expectations for thermal regulation in its class, integrating a compact but dense heatsink and a newly engineered high-static pressure fan.

At the core of the NX400's cooling capabilities lies its enhanced heatsink, featuring 52 fins aligned with the heat pipes to optimise heat transfer. Further boosting its cooling prowess is the newly developed E28 fan. This 28-mm-thick, high-static-pressure fan has been specifically engineered for air cooling applications, ensuring powerful airflow while simultaneously minimising turbulence.

Available in both ARGB and non-ARGB variants, the NX400 coolers' fans come with premium corner-covered footpads that dampen vibration, ensuring stable operation and reducing noise. A sleek, glossy striped cover on the top of the cooler adds a clean finishing touch, enhancing visual appeal without dominating the overall aesthetic of the cooler and the build.

Montech designed the NX400 with broad compatibility in mind, ensuring it supports popular CPU platforms and is compatible with most PC cases. The standard version of the Montech NX400 is now available for $25.90, and the ARGB variant is priced at $29.90.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Using fans as thick as the E28 on entry-level coolers isn't very common, but maybe Montech can create a precedent to motivate other CPU cooler manufacturers to do the same.

The second wave of titles for Game Pass in June 2025 has just been revealed. For the rest of this month, Game Pass subscribers can look forward to more Warcraft, Call of Duty and indie hits like Against the Storm. 

While announced previously, today marks the availability of Remedy's new multiplayer game, FBC: Firebreak, as well as Crash Bandicoot 4 on Game Pass. There will be much more coming to the library from Activision Blizzard this month as well.

Here is the full list of titles coming to Game Pass over the next couple of weeks:

• Star Trucker (Xbox Series X/S) – June 18th
• Wildfrost (Console) – June 18th
• Rematch (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X/S) – June 19th
• Volcano Princess (Cloud, Console and PC) – June 24th
• Against the Storm (Cloud and Console) – June 26th
• Warcraft 1 & 2 Remastered (PC) – June 26th
• Warcraft 3 Reforged (PC) – June 26th
• Call of Duty: WWII (Console and PC) – June 30th
• Little Nightmares 2 (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 1st
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 1st

As always, a small number of titles will be leaving Game Pass at the end of the month. From June 30th, the following games will no longer be available:

• Arcade Paradise (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Journey to the Savage Planet (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• My Friend Peppa Pig (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Robin Hood: Sherwood Builders (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• SteamWorld Dig (Cloud and Console)
• SteamWorld Dig 2 (Console and PC)

The good news is that if you do want to continue playing any of these games, you can buy it at a 20% discount before it leaves Game Pass.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Will you be installing any of this month's Game Pass titles? 

A few weeks ago, Randy Pitchford caused quite the commotion thanks to his comments on the potential for Borderlands 4 to cost $80. After all of that, the game won't cost $80 after all.

Pre-orders for Borderlands 4 have now gone live. The standard version of the game will cost $69.99 on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch 2. On PC, the game is £59.99 via Steam in the UK. It is also worth noting that the Switch 2 version will not be available at launch on September 12th. The Switch 2 version does not currently have a release date.

Of course, there are pricey deluxe and collector's editions as well, which include extra cosmetic DLCs, but nothing particularly major. Currently there does not appear to be a ‘season pass' for the game, although paid DLCs are going to be available eventually.

Later down the line, Borderlands 4 will receive a mix of paid and free DLCs. New characters will likely be reserved for paid DLC, but exact details on post-launch content plans will arrive at a later date.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on getting Borderlands 4 when it releases in September?

There are some great freebies to claim in June through Amazon Prime Gaming. From June 17th, those with an Amazon Prime subscription can claim DRM-free GOG codes for several classic games, including last year's Tomb Raider I-III Remaster. 

Today, six more free games are available to claim through Prime Gaming, all part of an increased effort ahead of Prime Day 2025. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is the headlining game for me, and the second set of remasters, covering Tomb Raider IV-VI, is available to buy on the cheap, so you can easily complete your collection of classic Tomb Raider games.

The Tomb Raider remaster, TOEM, Star Wars: Rebellion, Saints Row 2 and Saints Row IV are all available to claim for your GOG account. For those who don't know, GOG is an independent digital game store that specialises in DRM-free games. It was initially started by the founders behind CD Projekt Red.

Dungeons of the Endless: Definitive Edition is also available to claim, but you'll need to access this title through the Amazon Games App.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Will you be claiming any of this month's free Prime games?  

BattleBit Remastered surprised many when it released back in 2023, offering a robust Battlefield-esque FPS experience with low-poly characters. Unfortunately, the game stopped receiving any updates over a year ago, leading many to believe it had been abandoned. In a welcome announcement, the BattleBit team have teased ‘Operation Overhaul’.

Releasing a brief teaser trailer to YouTube with the description simply reading “soon,” Operation Overhaul appears to be the long awaited update which BattleBit Remastered fans have been waiting for.

For context, BattleBit Remastered was released in Early Access back in 2023. Developed by a small team of three, the game saw near immediate success – selling almost two million copies in its first two weeks.

As mentioned however, the game had not seen any updates in over a year, leading many to fear it had been abandoned. The team did previously claim to be working on some pretty big changes, however the lack of news had led to BattleBit receiving a ‘Mostly Negative’ recent reception on Steam.

While there is no date given nor any proper details on what to expect, the fact that the long awaited overhaul is actually real and on its way could very well give BattleBit Remastered a second chance at life. We will have to wait and see.

KitGuru says: Are you surprised to see BattleBit resurfacing? Had you lost hope? What are you expecting from this update? Let us know down below.

Following a lengthy hiatus, the Crash Bandicoot series returned in 2017 with the PS4 remake of the OG Crash Bandicoot trilogy – which went on to sell over 20 million copies. In a similar vein, 2019’s Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled has reached a milestone of its own: officially selling over 10 million copies.

Making the announcement on its socials, the official Crash Bandicoot page wrote: “BOO-YAH! This one calls for a victory lap” alongside an image revealing that Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled has officially “sold through” 10 million units globally.

Considering the fact that Nitro-Fueled is a remake of the 1999 PSOne classic, 10 million units is a major achievement – especially as the game never made its way to PC for whatever reason; stuck on the PS4, Xbox One and Switch.

As mentioned, since the revival of Crash Bandicoot back in 2017, we’ve seen a decent number of games released, with 2019’s Crash Team Racing being followed up by Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time in 2020; Crash Bandicoot: On the Run (for mobile) in 2021 and most recently Crash Team Rumble back in 2023.

Of these titles, only the N.Sane Trilogy and Nitro-Fueled have had any sales data shared, and so it is safe to assume that CTR represents the second best-selling Crash title since the franchise’s revival.

Given the fact that Crash remakes seem to perform significantly better than original releases, it will be interesting to see where the series goes from here.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Crash Team Racing? Did the microtransactions put you off? Will we see a new Crash Bandicoot game anytime soon? Let us know down below.

Remedy Entertainment is a development studio that doesn't need any introduction. The Finnish developer has been around for a very long time, and in the long years of activity, it has released some incredible games that have etched themselves in the minds of those who experienced them, like the first two entries in the Max Payne series, the two entries in the Alan Wake series and Control, the game which effectively kickstarted the Remedy Connected Universe that connects the latter two series, and who knows what else in the future. Following the release of the incredible Alan Wake 2, everyone expected […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/fbc-firebreak-review-in-progress-dont-forget-to-shower/

Stellar Blade launched last year on PS5 to a wave of success – receiving high praise across the board and selling a ton of copies to boot. Following a great deal of anticipation, the game finally launched on PC last week to almost 200,000 concurrent players. It therefore comes as little surprise that in just 3 days following its PC launch, Stellar Blade had already sold 1 million units on the platform.

Making the announcement via a press release (translated by ReserEra user Neha), Stellar Blade developers SHIFT UP confirmed that “Stellar Blade has surpassed 3 million units sold across all platforms” adding “This milestone was achieved 1 year and 2 months after the PS5 version was released in April of last year.”

More interesting however is the fact that of those 3 million, 1/3rd of the sales hailed from the PC platform in just 3 days.

Of course, Stellar Blade was both a financial and critical success upon its release on PS5 last year, and so the game had a solid 12 months to build excitement and anticipation for the PC release of what was by then a known quantity.

Still, the success of Stellar Blade on PC is notable, and hopefully means that the previously-confirmed sequel is afforded even more resources to ensure it’s just as great if not even better.

KitGuru says: Have you been playing it on PC? Was it worth the wait? Let us know down below.

Back in 2020, Ubisoft officially announced and unveiled their remake of the classic Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Initially planned to launch in early 2021, the game was delayed multiple times and even rebooted – changing development studios along the way. Following confirmation that the remake is slated to release some time during FY2025, Ubisoft has now teased the illusive title.

Taking to Twitter to offer a surprising update, the official Prince of Persia page shared the following: “Yep, we’re still deep in the game — exploring, building, and ensuring the sands move with purpose. This game is being crafted by a team that truly cares, and they're pouring their hearts (and a lot of coffee) into every step. Thank you for sticking with us.”

For context, the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake was first announced back in Autumn 2020 with a January 2021 release date. Reactions towards the trailer were highly critical, leading Ubisoft to delay the title in December of 2020 to March 2021.

Cut to February of 2021 and the game was delayed again – this time with no updated release window. Since then, the game has been delayed a couple more times, changed studios and had its whole development rebooted; leading many to wonder whether the game would ever be released.

With the statement from Ubisoft earlier this year however that the title is planned to arrive during FY2025, and now a more direct update from the team itself, it looks like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake could finally be reaching a stable enough position to show off.

KitGuru says: What did you think of the initial announcement trailer back in 2020? Do you still have hope for the project? Can it do justice to the original? Let us know down below.

Forget the lousy rates your favourite artist gets for every Spotify play; what about the possible disappointment you would feel finding out they don't even exist?  Spain's newspaper El Pais found…

Apple's M4 Mac mini is on sale for $499.

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