Every Thursday, the Epic Games Store gives away a title or two for free to all those with an EGS account. Available from today, Epic is offering the quirky management / simulation game Two Point Hospital.

Available to add to your library from today at 4PM UK time until the 19th of June, Two Point Hospital is a Sims-like management-simulation game in which you “Design stunning hospitals, cure peculiar illnesses and manage troublesome staff as you spread your budding healthcare organisation across Two Point County.”

Developed by Two Point Studios and published by SEGA, Two Point Hospital was the team’s debut title. Inspired by the 1997 ‘Theme Hospital’, it offers a quirky and comedic take on the business simulation genre.

Released back in 2018, Two Point Hospital received a welcome reception, seeing consistent and high scores upon its initial release – with particular praise being given to its faithfulness to old-school simulation titles while offering its own spin on the genre.

Two Point Hospital is available to add to your library for free from 4PM today, and will remain so until the same time next week, at which point it will be replaced by another title.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this week’s offering? Do you enjoy simulation games? What’s your favourite aspect of the Two Point series? Let us know down below.

The post Two Point Hospital is this week’s free Epic Games Store offering first appeared on KitGuru.

Intel sent me a handful of budget 65W CPUs from their 14th Gen and Core Ultra 200S ranges, which makes a pleasant change from the usual madness of 200W+ TDP and clock speeds approaching 6GHz. At first glance this looked like a chance to run a few benchmark tests and to have a chat about budget CPUs. That part of the plan worked well enough but things fell to pieces when we took a close look at Intel's pricing strategy which is utterly chaotic and bizarre.

Time stamps
00:00 Start
01:09 The processors and the (weird) pricing
03:52 Testing platforms and Intel’s strategy
06:21 Leo’s thoughts
08:27 A look at the 3 Core Ultra 5 processors
10:03 Cinebench 2024 Multicore
10:48 Cinebench 2024 Single Core
11:10 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core per £ of cost
11:48 CPU Power Consumption
12:16 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core Per Watt
12:48 Far Cry 6 (1080p)
13:46 Far Cry 6 (1440p)
14:20 Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora (1080p)
15:19 Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora (1440p)
16:00 Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p)
16:37 Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p)
17:10 So, what to think? What are Intel doing?
18:56 Charts with the Core Ultra 7 265k
20:39 Leo tries to come to a conclusion on a messy situation

We didn't expect Intel to offer us a handful of CPUs to review as the previous launch is a distance behind us while the next launch is some way off in the future. The fact of the matter is that Intel has had troubled times and recent reviews have not been kind. Indeed we did not review their 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs but instead did a round-up HERE, and then had to explain why their Core Ultra 200S CPUs were not ready for review at launch HERE. After a huge amount of remedial work by Intel we were finally able to review Core Ultra 200S HERE and the results were at best mixed.

Our conclusion was that Core Ultra 9 285K was too expensive, Core Ultra 5 245K was a bit weedy and Core Ultra 7 265K was the best of a mediocre bunch. The other problem was that Z890 motherboards and fast DDR5 memory jacked up the cost of a new PC to such an extent that we considered Core Ultra 200s to be a dead duck platform.

To our great surprise Intel sent us a trio of budget CPUs that are each rated at 65W TDP so we figured it best to take a fresh look at the lower end of their product stack.

We were sent the Raptor Lake Core i5-14400F which is a cut-down version of Core i5-14600K and while it has 6 P-cores it only has 4 E-cores. The power rating is slashed from 125W to 65W and as a result the maximum clock speed falls from 5.3GHz to 4.7GHz, however the UK price is a mere £120.

We were also sent two Arrow Lake processors. The Core Ultra 5 235 has the same 6P + 8E core configuration as Core Ultra 245K and here too the power is cut from 125W to 65W, however the clock speed for the P-cores only falls from 5.2GHz to 5.0 GHz. The current UK price for Core Ultra 5 235 is £246 which is very similar to the price of the 245K. Our third CPU is the Core Ultra 5 225F which has a 6P+4E configuration and the same 65W power limit. The current UK price is £215 which is a modest discount from the other models of Core Ultra 5.

As you will see in our video we tested these three CPUs and retested Core i5-14600K and Core Ultra 5 245K as direct comparisons. We also used recent data from other CPU testing which included AMD Ryzen 9000 which means we are dealing with three separate families of CPUs and three separate test platforms.

Test Systems:

CPU – Intel Core Ultra 200S
Motherboard – MSI MAG B860 Tomahawk WiFi
Memory – 48GB G.Skill Trident Z5 CK CUDIMM DDR5-8200

CPU – Intel 14th Gen Raptor Lake
Motherboard – Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master X
Memory – 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DR5-6800

CPU – AMD Ryzen 9000
Motherboard – MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi
Memory – 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DR5-6000

Common components:

Graphics Cards – MSI RTX 4090 Ventus 3X 24GB and Intel Arc B580 12GB
Storage – 1TB Crucial T700 PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD
CPU Cooler – Phanteks Glacier One 360D30
Power Supply – Seasonic Focus ATX3.1 GX-1000 Gold
Operating System – Windows 11 24H2

You can see the result of our testing in our video but a brief summary would be this:

• Core i5-14600K is long in the tooth but continues to punch above its weight.
• Core i5-14400F is very cheap but not very appealing to enthusiasts.
• Core Ultra 5 245K does well in some tests but does poorly in many gaming test.
• Core Ultra 235 gives the 245K a good fight while using significantly less power.
• Core Ultra 225F performs slightly better the the i5-14400F but is unimpressive.

The problem, as we show in our video is that Intel shot themselves in the foot in May 2025 when they cut the price of Core Ultra 7 265K and 265KF as you can see HERE with the result that anyone who is considering a Core Ultra 5 245K should instead buy the Core Ultra 7 265K which now costs the same and is better in every department.

KitGuru says: Intel's recent price cut for Core Ultra 7 265K is welcome however it makes Core Ultra 5 completely irrelevant. 

The post Intel Core Ultra 5 is Pointless – Here’s Why first appeared on KitGuru.

Almost exactly two years ago, Capcom released Street Fighter 6, the long awaited next entry in the publisher’s beloved fighting game series. Ahead of its release, the publisher had announced its hopes to sell 10 million copies by its end-of-life. With plenty of life to go left, Street Fighter 6 is well on its way to said goal – having now surpassed 5 million copies.

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, the official Street Fighter page shared the following: “Street Fighter 6 has now sold over 5 million copies! What a way to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! Thanks to all our fans out there around the world and to all the prospective fans in the future!”

For some context, Street Fighter 6 managed to sell 1 million copies in its first 3 days on the market back in June 2023 – going on to push to 2 million by the end of its first month. By January of 2024 SF6 had surpassed 3 million copies. Finally, the most recent figures prior to this latest announcement put the game at 4 million copies sold by September of last year.

2 years since launch and Street Fighter 6 is already halfway to its sales goal. With the game now available on Switch 2 (and confirmed to be getting at least another year of content), it might not be too long before SF6 surpasses its predecessor’s 7.8 million copies sold.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Street Fighter 6? How does it compare to its contemporaries? Will SF6 manage to sell 10 million units when all is said and done? Let us know down below.

The post Street Fighter 6 has sold over 5 million copies so far first appeared on KitGuru.

As part of Sony’s most recent PlayStation State of Play event, the console maker teased some of the upcoming line-up for their PlayStation Plus subscription service. Beyond these however, your regular suite of monthly games have now been announced, with June’s PS Plus Extra/Premium titles being officially revealed.

Taking to the PlayStation Blog to make the announcement, Adam Michel – the Director for Game Services and Content at SIE – detailed June’s upcoming PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium line-ups.

Going live on the 17th of June, those subscribed to PS Plus Extra can look forward to the following:

• FBC: Firebreak | PS5
• Battlefield 2042 | PS4, PS5
• Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 | PS5
• theHunter: Call of the Wild | PS4
• We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie | PS4, PS5
• Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes | PS4, PS5
• Train Sim World 5 | PS4, PS5
• Endless Dungeon | PS4, PS5

PS Plus Premium meanwhile is getting just one additional classic, namely: Deus Ex: The Conspiracy. As mentioned however, Sony previously announced and released a bunch of bonus titles as part of their Days of Play promotions. In case you missed it, earlier this month Sony added the following titles:

PS Plus Extra

• Another Crab’s Treasure
• Skull and Bones
• Destiny 2: Legacy Collection
• Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition

PS Plus Premium

• Myst
• Riven

KitGuru Says: What do you think of this month’s offerings? Will you be hopping into FBC Firebreak at launch? What’s your opinion on Battlefield 2042 in 2025? Let us know down below.

The post FBC: Firebreak, BF2042 and much more join PlayStation Plus this month first appeared on KitGuru.

Following years of leaks and rumours, Capcom finally announced Resident Evil 9: Requiem during Summer Game Fest. Since then, previews for the upcoming title have been published – revealing that the game will offer both 1st and 3rd person perspective options.

In the decades since the release of its first entry, the Resident Evil series has experimented quite a bit, changing many elements from the game’s core genre, to gameplay styles, pacing and more. Easily one of the biggest changes was in the game’s camera.

Of course, the original trilogy utilised an isometric perspective alongside static cameras. Then, with Resident Evil 4, the series got its first taste of an over-the-shoulder 3rd-person perspective. Of course, famously Resident Evil 7 would then take the series down the 1st-person route.

Since then, Capcom has been going back and forth – with the new games taking a 1st person view and their remakes going for 3rd person.

Ahead of the game’s launch early next year, previews for RE9 have now gone live based on a relatively short 30-minute play session. Easily the biggest revelation from this event was confirmation that Resident Evil Requiem will allow you to switch between first and 3rd person perspective at any point freely.

This could not only have implications for the gameplay, but the overall atmosphere and sense of tension / fear – especially for a horror game. That said, assuming both modes feel good to play, Resident Evil 9 could be one of the most replayable RE games yet thanks to this new addition.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this decision to offer both perspectives? Which mode will you use for your first playthrough? Let us know down below.

The post Resident Evil Requiem will offer both 1st and 3rd person modes first appeared on KitGuru.

Razer is taking a new step into the custom keyboard market by introducing its first-ever barebones keyboard kit, the Razer BlackWidow V4 75% Barebones. This product offers a fully customisable chassis designed for keyboard modders and DIY enthusiasts. Available in both black and white, the BlackWidow V4 75% Barebones provides a premium foundation for users looking to craft their ideal typing and gaming experience.

This barebone kit maintains the same standard of build quality as the original BlackWidow V4 75%, while providing complete freedom for users to integrate their preferred 3-pin or 5-pin mechanical switches and custom keycaps. Dual-layer dampening foam eliminates unwanted reverberation, while factory-lubricated stabilisers ensure smooth keystrokes. An FR4 plate contributes to a deeper, more satisfying sound profile, and pre-applied tape further refines the acoustics by softening high-frequency clacks.

The keyboard incorporates Razer's 8000 Hz HyperPolling technology, enabling it to respond eight times faster than conventional keyboards. Visually, the BlackWidow V4 75% Barebones shines with per-key RGB lighting and a two-sided underglow, all powered by Razer Chroma RGB. This extensive lighting system supports over 300 integrated games and applications, delivering synchronised illumination across your entire setup.

The Razer BlackWidow V4 75% Barebones is available now exclusively on Razer.com and at RazerStores. The Black Edition is priced at £139.99/$139.99/€149.99, while the White Edition comes in at £149.99/$149.99/€159.99.

KitGuru says: Have you ever built a keyboard using a barebone kit? Would you consider getting one of these as your first? Which colour option of this barebone kit do you prefer?

The post You can build your own Razer BlackWidow V4 with new barebones kit first appeared on KitGuru.

Earlier in the year when rumours of a Gears of War remake first surfaced, it was claimed that the game would feature no multiplayer. That turned out to be not true, with Gears of War: Reloaded set to include all the content and modes from the original game. Now, a multiplayer beta is set to kick off this weekend. 

Gears of War multiplayer holds a special place in the hearts of many Xbox 360 owners. You can experience it all once again in Gears of War: Reloaded, which launches for PC, Xbox and PS5 later this year. The full game launches in August, but you can try the multiplayer ahead of time by taking part in the upcoming beta.

The beta test is set to begin on June 13th for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members. The beta will also be available to anyone who owns Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on Xbox and PC, as well as those who pre-order Gears of War: Reloaded on any available platform.

Gears of War: Reloaded is a repackaged version of the 2015 remaster, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. The game will re-launch under its new title on August 26th and it will also be the very first Gears game to be made available on PlayStation.

KitGuru Says: This release is a confusing one as while this is being marketed as a new release, it is a decade old for Xbox and PC fans. If you are thinking about getting this, you should go back and double check you didn't already buy the Ultimate Edition back in 2015. 

The post Gears of War: Reloaded multiplayer beta begins this week first appeared on KitGuru.

Fans were excited for the return of Dragon Age last year. Unfortunately, Dragon Age: The Veilguard had stripped away much of what made the previous games great. It turns out the majority of those issues stemmed from a 2017 decision from EA executives, forcing BioWare to tap into the multiplayer market. 

In a new report, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier shares the complete behind-the-scenes story of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's development. Work on the next Dragon Age game began in 2017, but a mandate from EA to make the next game multiplayer pushed studio heads like Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah out of the company.

In the years that followed, BioWare began building a more light-hearted BioWare game, doing away with the high-stakes events and serious tone that fans knew from previous games in the series. The changes were supposed to improve the ‘mass appeal' of the game for a wider market of multiplayer gamers. Later down the line, playtesters specifically pointed to the ‘tone' of the game as one of its weak points, a sentiment later shared in reviews for the final game.

BioWare was able to convince EA to change its mind eventually. After the pandemic, Dragon Age: The Veilguard shifted back into being a single-player game, but EA would not provide more resources or time to allow BioWare to make the major changes the game needed. As a result, much of the game's original story had to remain in place. Some rewrites attempted to make the game more serious and some pivotal ‘player choice' moments were shoehorned in, but without the extra time to go back and undo past mistakes, Dragon Age: The Veilguard ended up suffering from inconsistencies.

Ultimately, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was not considered a sales success by EA and it is claimed that employees are concerned about the future of the studio. BioWare has had three sales flops in a row, starting with Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem in 2017 and 2019, followed by Dragon Age in 2024. At this point in time, a team of less than 50 BioWare devs are working on the next Mass Effect game.

KitGuru Says: After Veilguard, I doubt we'll be seeing Dragon Age again, even if BioWare does survive long enough to release Mass Effect 5. 

The post Sources shed light on why Dragon Age: The Veilguard flopped first appeared on KitGuru.

Many of Sony's internal studios have been mismanaged in recent years, with many single-player focused studios being pushed into live-service projects. One such studio was Days Gone creator, Bend Studio, which has just had its next game cancelled. 

According to sources speaking with Jason Schreier, Bend Studio had been working on a live-service game in recent years. Like many other live-service projects at PlayStation Studios, Bend's game was cancelled and now, roughly 30% of the studio's workforce is being let go.

We do not know the finer details of the cancelled game, outside of the fact that it was going to be live-service. Bend Studio has been working on something else since the cancellation, but there are no details on that either. Presumably, Bend Studio will be free to make a game it can feel confident in, rather than attempting to compete with the likes of Fortnite.

Sony has since confirmed that the lay-offs are indeed taking place at Bend Studio, but did not comment on the game cancellation.

KitGuru Says: The last two years have been quite dry for Sony's first-party game output and many fans are pointing to the massive internal push towards live-service games as the main cause. 

The post Days Gone developer Bend Studio hit with layoffs after live-service game cancelled first appeared on KitGuru.

Frontier has officially released the PC system requirements for Jurassic World Evolution 3, giving prospective park managers a clear idea of what hardware they'll need to build their prehistoric theme parks. 

Jurassic World Evolution 3 is set to feature over 80 ancient species, 75 of which are fully breedable and raisable through various life stages. Players will witness these creatures evolve from newborns to adults, each with distinct appearances for males, females, and juveniles. Park visitors will be treated to dynamic interactions between the dinosaurs and their environment, and managers will need to cater to their social needs while observing new behaviours, such as swimming dinosaurs plunging into deep waters and flying species gracefully walking on land.

The game's campaign mode will see players collaborating with Jurassic Park characters, including Dr. Ian Malcolm, once again voiced by Jeff Goldblum. The narrative will unfold across a vast world map, allowing players to chart their course through familiar territories like the Montana Badlands and new regions like Japan. Each setting will present unique challenges to manage dinosaur parks and ensure the well-being of humans and their prehistoric creatures.

After the announcement of the game, Frontier shared the system requirements for the latest entry to the Jurassic World Evolution series, which can be found below:

MINIMUM:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (min. version 22H2)
• Processor: Intel i5-6600K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 5600XT (6GB VRAM) / Intel Arc A750 (8GB VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 25 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:

• OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit
• Processor: Intel i7-10700K / AMD Ryzen 7 5800
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super (8GB VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12GB VRAM) / Intel Arc B580 (12GB VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 25 GB available space

Frontier is set to unleash Jurassic World Evolution 3 on October 21st, 2025.

KitGuru says: Have you played the previous Jurassic World Evolution games? Are you interested in the new one?

The post Frontier shares PC system requirements for Jurassic World Evolution 3 first appeared on KitGuru.

Nintendo has officially unveiled Splatoon Raiders, the first-ever spin-off title in the popular Splatoon franchise, confirmed as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. 

Splatoon Raiders will transport players to the enigmatic “Spirhalite Islands”, where they will assume the role of a mechanic. While the teaser offered a glimpse of gameplay, a specific release date for Splatoon Raiders was not provided. In an accompanying blog post, Nintendo stated that “in the role of a mechanic, players will go on an adventure in the mysterious Spirhalite Islands alongside the splat-tacular Deep Cut trio”, promising more details on the game in the future.

Meanwhile, Splatoon 3 is slated to receive a free update, Version 10.0.0, on June 12th. This update will be available for the original Nintendo Switch and the new Switch 2. For Switch 2 users, the update will bring noticeable graphical and performance enhancements in specific areas, including Splatsville and the Grand Festival Grounds. Moreover, Nintendo has confirmed that Splatoon 3 will support cross-play functionality between the two Switch console generations.

Beyond performance improvements for the Switch 2, the Version 10.0.0 update for Splatoon 3 will introduce the “Splatlands collection”, an extensive addition featuring 30 new weapon kits from the Barazushi and Emberz brands. These new weapons will feature new designs, complete with various sub and special weaponry. The update will also reintroduce the beloved Urchin Underpass area, a fan-favourite map from the original Wii U version of the game. Further enhancements include increasing all weapon freshness caps, new in-game badges, a new weapon stat, and a corresponding matchmaking mechanism designed to pair players of comparable abilities.

KitGuru says: Are you a fan of the Splatoon franchise? What do you expect from Splatoon Raiders?

The post Nintendo reveals Splatoon Raiders for the Switch 2 first appeared on KitGuru.

One of the more interesting aspects of the PlayStation 5 is the fact that its DualSense controller is able to receive updates, improving everything from connection stability to the accuracy of its haptics and more. In an update arriving later this year, the DualSense will soon be able to pair with multiple devices simultaneously.

Making the surprise announcement via Twitter, the official PlayStation page wrote: “Want to pair your DualSense controller to multiple devices at once? An update planned for later this year enhances pairing functionality. Stay tuned for more details.”

While a relatively minor addition, being able to pair your controller to a handful of devices takes away the unnecessary steps of re-pairing the controller anytime you want to switch from your PS5 to a PC / phone or vice-versa.

Considering the fact that PlayStation is increasingly entrenching itself into the PC market (and even smartphones), enhancing the DualSense to be more universal makes a great deal of sense.

KitGuru says: What do you think of multi-point pairing? Is it a must-have for Bluetooth devices? What other features would you like to see the controller receive via an update? Let us know down below.

The post Future DualSense update to allow for pairing with multiple devices first appeared on KitGuru.

Regular readers will likely recall the stories we published earlier this year, based around a raft of emails we received from unhappy customers who purchased RTX 5090 cards from Dutch etailer uwgamespecialist. Unfortunately these issues appear to be still ongoing based on communications we have received from various readers in the last few weeks. Time for quick recap, for the record.

The uwgamespecialist.nl story started in March this year when we noticed some comments on our RTX 5090 YouTube videos from Dutch enthusiast users. These comments followed a similar consensus – Dutch etailer uwgamespecialist (LINK) had store listings for various RTX 5090 partner cards, and despite showing as ‘in stock' they were not being sent to customers. I subsequently spoke to some of our Dutch readers directly. These customers were continually chasing their expensive 3k+ euros purchases to be told that MSI had ‘recalled' their RTX 5090 cards. When I spoke with our contacts in MSI they were unaware of any of this, and I ended up in a call with Nvidia as well at the time explaining the situation and what had unfolded.

uwgamespecialist.nl told one customer, Ben, at the time that “Nvidia has recalled a large number of video cards due to various safety issues. We currently have five units of this model in stock, but they all have to be returned due to an increased fire hazard. In this situation, we do not give priority to anyone; all customers are treated equally based on the ranking when pre-ordering or ordering the video cards.” (ORIGINAL STORY HERE).

I then got in touch with  Jeroen Vukkink, CEO of the retail outlet. When I detailed the email that Ben had received from customer service representative Robbe detailing a ‘fire hazard recall', it appeared that the CEO was not aware of this email and he said the email ‘could not be found in our system'.

Reader Ben sent us the original email at the time that he received from uwgamespecialist.nl and also details of the payment to the company for the graphics card, as shown above, so I knew for sure the facts were right.

CEO Jeroen at this stage did confirm that Ben was in fact a customer who did purchase an MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G Suprim SOC for 3,399.00 euros on the 30th of January 2025. After a little back and forth in email Jeroen claimed that it ‘is correct that the customer purchased this MSI RTX 5090, and there are no issues with the card. We will further investigate the emails and see what we can find. However, these emails are private, and at this stage, it appears to be a miscommunication.' Jeroen ended the email chain stating they would be thoroughly investigating this matter and apologised for the situation.

uwgamespecialist.nl subsequently issued a retraction on the ‘recall claim' (HERE).

I was involved in calls with Nvidia and MSI about this (supposed) ‘recall' around the same time and MSI were quick to act – issuing a press release on March 7th (HERE) and clarifying: “We had the unpleasant surprise of learning on 03/06/2025, through an article on the Kitguru website, that a Dutch retailer—UW GAME SPECIALIST [https://uwgamespecialist.nl/]—allegedly informed a customer that they were unable to fulfil their order because 5 Geforce RTX 5090 32G Suprim SOC from our brand had supposedly been recalled due to a fire hazard. With this statement, we would like to make it clear that these allegations are absolutely false, that no recall program is in progress, and that our products present no such risk. Furthermore, we would like to specify that this retailer is not one of MSI’s partners, and we do not work with them. We reserve the right to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for these highly defamatory allegations, which harm our brand’s reputation, as well as against anyone contributing to their dissemination”.

MSI also shared a list of authorised MSI resellers offering GPUs throughout the Benelux region, and uwgamespecialist.nl were not on that list (see the official MSI list HERE).

Shortly after all this happened Ben got his card. Other customers at the time emailed me saying they were in a similar situation after seeing our story. The customers also explained that the cards they bought seemed to be ‘in stock' at uwgamespecialist.nl (March time frame) and were selling online for 200-300 euros more than they originally paid back in January.

By this stage I was talking with several other uwgamespecialist.nl customers who showed me that the cards they paid 3399.00 euros for were being listed on the uwgamespecialist.nl at 3999.00. The customers did not receive the cards they paid for. At this stage it looked like a price hike scam and I published the story over here on March 7th (HERE).

Would a retailer really be taking people's money and then months later be trying to sell their cards to make more profit? It certainly would seem that way – and on a fairly regular basis too.

One of our latest examples came from Dutch reader Justin who said he was also awaiting delivery of his RTX 5090 and he has multiple emails from uwgamespecialist.nl claiming his card will be sent on different dates. He also said at this stage he has reported them to ACM. He also pointed out that uwgamespecialist.nl Trustpilot reviews seem heavily populated with 5 star reviews, most of which follow a very similar 2 line ‘posting pattern'.

Above, a handful of almost identical ‘two line' trustpilot 5 star reviews for uwgamespecialist.nl. (LINK HERE). This is giving them an 82% of ‘5 star positive reviews'. However if you filter by 1 star review (LINK HERE) – you can see the feedback certainly mirrors what our readers are telling us. (If you can't speak Dutch, Chrome can translate to English on the links above).

Reader Justin said ‘You cannot tell me these perfectly formatted 2 sentence reviews from a perfectly formatted name + surname with 1 review ever @ 5 stars are organic:'. It is hard to argue. Google reviews also seem to show a similar story unfortunately.

So as you can see above, if you look past the 82% of 5 star comments that all follow an almost identical structure on trustpilot, you can see that the 1 star reviews are less than flattering for this company. I have not reached out again to Nvidia about a follow up comment on this etailer, and they are unlikely to comment as it is not how they operate, but MSI have been quick to distance themselves from uwgamespecialist.nl saying that their customers should deal with authorised MSI etailers in their area (a list of which they provided HERE).

KitGuru is based in the United Kingdom so it is difficult for us to get into this on a much deeper level, however my own feelings are that people should definitely avoid buying their hardware from uwgamespecialist.nl , and I have passed over all these details to some of our colleagues in that part of Europe to perhaps look into this to a greater extent. I have tried calling uwgamespecialist.nl but have had no chance to talk directly with them. When Nvidia got involved behind the scenes with us, uwgamespecialist.nl CEO Jeroen Vukkink was quick to reply to us. Right now it seems that nothing has changed since earlier this year and uwgamespecialist.nl seem to be dealing with customers in the same off hand, disinterested manner that has clearly earned them a raft of 1 star negative reviews, which might be hard to find behind the array of suspiciously similar 5 star reviews on Trustpilot.

I would say that if you are in that region and are looking to buy new PC hardware that you look at other options before trusting your hard earned money to uwgamespecialist.nl – they clearly need to be under some kind of investigation. If you experienced the same issues, then report them to ACM in that region. Perhaps if enough people do that, action will be taken. We have already had over 10 different people in that region contact us with emails, screenshots and bank statements around this company. Do not let yourself get potentially scammed and play it safe by going to a brand with a much better reputation.

If you are currently having a problem not getting hardware you bought from uwgamespecialist.nl then do reach out and send me an email allan(at)kitguru.net subject line ‘uwgamespecialist.nl'.

KitGuru says: We advise all readers to exercise caution when dealing with uwgamespecialist.nl.

The post uwgamespecialist.nl is STILL scamming customers first appeared on KitGuru.

IO Interactive has made the most of the success of its recent Hitman trilogy, with the series being collated into one big title – alongside the addition of free updates, new modes and much more. In keeping Hitman: World of Assassination alive, IOI announced a new co-op mode coming to the game.

Making the announcement during the publisher’s recent showcase, IOI CCO Christian Elverdam took to the stage, saying:

“Speaking of playing Hitman with friends…we want you to team up with a friend and enjoy Hitman in co-op. So two new playable characters, Stone and Knight, return from their appearance in our sniper co-op mode to a full-blown Hitman co-op experience.”

They continued, “We invite you to play a set of exciting missions across our World of Assassination [and] challenge you to re-think your approach now that you're going to play as a duo.”

Little else was shared regarding this mode, including its release date, but based on the wording it seems as though this new mode is still a bit of a ways away.

It’s been interesting to see the way in which IOI have managed to take the Hitman trilogy and turn it into a long-running live-service type of experience. Considering how mechanically solid the game is at this point, it makes sense for IOI to simply continue to add to and build upon the game as a platform.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the teased co-op mode? Would you like to see IOI move away from live-service? Was the collating of the trilogy into one package a good or bad thing? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Hitman: World of Assassination to receive co-op in a future update first appeared on KitGuru.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched back in April to a flurry of strong praise, with the hybrid turn-based RPG becoming the highest-rated game of the year so far and going on to sell over 3.3 million copies in its first 33 days. Despite the game’s universal acclaim, no title is perfect, and as such, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has now gotten its most notable patch yet.

Making the announcement via their Steam page, the team at Sandfall Interactive officially detailed patch 1.3. First thing’s first, for those who enjoy using Steam’s points shop, a number of items have been made available to redeem.

In terms of the update itself however, some of the most notable changes/additions include:

• Story Mode Balancing with increased dodge windows and damage reduction
• At flag checkpoints, players can now:
  • Limit max player damage to 99,999 or 999,999
  • Multiply enemy HP by x2, x5, x10, x20, x50, or x100
• General polish across collisions, terrain, and scripting
• Cutscenes scale properly on ultrawide and non-standard resolutions
• Fixed performance drops from repeated resting on certain levels
• Fixed stability issues after extended play sessions

The biggest change is easily the adjustment to the parry windows on the game’s easy (story) mode – with an increase of 40%. Given the relatively unique style of gameplay of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it makes sense that the team might need to make adjustments to its core mechanics. Of course, those who want more of a challenge can pick from the other difficulty modes.

With the game blowing up in the way that it did, it is encouraging to see that the team are willing to listen to community feedback and make adjustments which allow for increased accessibility.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the latest patch? Did you struggle with the parry windows? What else would you like to see in future updates? Let us know down below.

The post Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 patch brings difficulty adjustments and more first appeared on KitGuru.

Ever since Microsoft began to bring its library of Xbox titles over to the PlayStation, we’ve seen two of the console’s ‘Big Three’ added – those being Forza Horizon 5 and the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day. It appears as though the 3rd pillar of the Xbox brand is set to branch out, with datamined APIs suggesting that Halo is coming to PlayStation “very soon.”

As reported by known dataminer grunt.api, it seems as though an entry in the Halo series could be gearing to release on PlayStation, taking to Twitter to say:

“I honestly didn't expect to come across this today… But I can now OFFICIALLY CONFIRM: A Halo game is coming (very soon) to #PlayStation. As of now, there's no sign of a version for the #NintendoSwitch (2). Digging…”

What game exactly this could be is currently unknown. What is known however is the fact that it is said to not be Halo The Master Chief Collection nor Halo Infinite. The only other bit of information gleaned so far is the fact that this game will seemingly offer crossplay with Xbox and PC.

Though there is no ETA for this title currently, the notion that it will be released ‘very soon’ seems to suggest that it is unlikely to be the rumoured Halo 1 remake. Perhaps one of the MCC games brought over as a standalone release? We will have to wait and see.

KitGuru says: What game do you think is being ported? Which game would make the most sense? Let us know down below.

The post Halo coming “very soon” to PlayStation, according to dataminer first appeared on KitGuru.

Last week, reports claimed that the unannounced RTX 5050 desktop graphics card may use GDDR7 memory, potentially due to high market demand for GDDR6 memory modules. Now, the rumours have reversed course, with claims that board partners are using GDDR6 memory for upcoming RTX 5050 graphics cards. 

A new report from Benchlife (via VideoCardz) mentions the actual vendors of these GDDR6 memory modules. Samsung is reportedly lined up as the primary supplier for RTX 5050 memory, with SK Hynix also on the list to provide modules at a later stage. Furthermore, Benchlife has corroborated the card's SKU and board number as PG152-F01 SKU 50, with “F01” potentially indicating an internal version designation for one of Nvidia's board partners.

The performance figures for the RTX 5050's GDDR6 memory remain unknown, but given the rumoured specifications, one could assume it will be similar to an RTX 4060. Based on previous reports, the RTX 5050 will pack 8GB of VRAM across a 128-bit memory bus, 2560 CUDA cores, and a 130W TDP.

KitGuru says: Given its rumoured specifications, what MSRP do you expect from the RTX 5050?

The post Nvidia RTX 5050 desktop GPU might feature GDDR6 memory after all first appeared on KitGuru.

Seagate has launched the first 4TB Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S. This new capacity option is designed to confront the ever-growing storage demands faced by Xbox console users globally and remove the need for users to delete titles to make way for new ones. 

With AAA titles often exceeding 100GB in file size, additional storage has become increasingly more important. Seagate's new 4TB Storage Expansion Card directly addresses this by enabling Xbox gamers to download and instantly play their games without the threat of running out of space. Developed in partnership with Xbox, this expansion card boasts plug-and-play simplicity, delivers fast load times, and integrates with the console's architecture.

The core benefit of this new offering is the massive storage capacity that allows users to save and play even the largest games. It offers seamless integration, mirroring the speed and performance of the Xbox Series X|S's internal SSD. Moreover, the drive is fully compatible with the Xbox Velocity Architecture, allowing Xbox Series X|S optimised games to be played directly from the expansion card without losing visuals, latency, load times, or framerates.

With the introduction of this 4TB option, players now have the flexibility to choose between 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, allowing them to choose the storage solution that perfectly matches their needs. The 4TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S is available now, priced at $499.99.

KitGuru says: Do you own an Xbox Series X|S? Would you consider a 4TB expansion card, or would you be happy with 1TB or 2TB of extra space? 

The post Seagate launches 4TB Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S first appeared on KitGuru.

SDC has just taken monitor refresh rates to the next level with its “Flash 540-Meta” OLED gaming panel. While the name seems to imply a 540Hz refresh rate, this screen is actually capable of refresh rates as high as 720Hz. 

The “Flash 540-Meta” display uses a fourth-generation LG OLED panel with a 2560×1440 resolution, 0.03ms response time, and 540Hz refresh rate as standard. However, by enabling OC mode, the refresh rate can be pushed up to 720Hz. The 720Hz “special mode” is targeted at competitive users, though it will likely necessitate a reduction in resolution to achieve such speeds, you'll also need a very high-end PC, even for less demanding titles. With a peak brightness of 1500 nits, 99.5% DCI-P3 colour coverage, and HDR TB 500 certification, the display offers a static contrast ratio of 1.5 million to 1. In addition, it features an anti-glare coating with a mere 2% reflectivity.

Connectivity options are below what one would expect from a high-end monitor with these specs. The SDC monitor inputs rely on DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1, rather than the newer DisplayPort 2.1 or HDMI 2.2 standards, meaning that 1440p at 720Hz on these ports would likely require Display Stream Compression (DSC).

The “Flash 540-Meta” OLED panel is built to last, with a lifetime rating of 30,000 hours. Its design includes a four-sided ultra-narrow bezel and a CNC-anodised aluminium back panel for efficient heat conductivity. With an estimated price tag of around 150,000 yen (approximately £770), SDC's ultra-high refresh OLED monitor is likely an exclusive for Asian countries. Still, similar panels from other brands might make their way to the West in the years ahead.

KitGuru says: The feasibility of consistently maintaining such extreme refresh rates remains questionable. Current flagship hardware can certainly do it in select games at low resolutions, but those are the exception.

The post The first 720Hz OLED monitors are on the way first appeared on KitGuru.

Each week, Nvidia provides an update on the latest games launching with DLSS. This week is shaping up to be one of the biggest of the year, with eight titles being announced with DLSS support, including the newly launched survival hit, Dune Awakening.

Dune Awakening is available now on Steam, following several days of early access for pre-order customers. The game has already achieved staggering player numbers and solid reviews from those who took part in the early access period. The game is one of the latest to make use of Nvidia's latest DLSS 4 technology, including Multi-Frame generation for RTX 50 GPUs and standard Frame Gen for RTX 40 GPUs. Those on older RTX GPUs will still benefit from the improved visuals achieved with the latest DLSS transformer model.

An older title in the roster, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, is also getting a tech upgrade this week. The game launched on PC earlier this year with DLSS 3 and Frame Generation. Now, the game is updating to DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a showcase for ray-tracing technology, just had its first expansion announced too, so RTX GPU users will continue to benefit from DLSS in that game.

Later in the week, former PS5 exclusive, Stellar Blade, will launch on PC and it will support DLSS 4 at launch, so RTX 50 GPU owners can make use of Multi-Frame Generation to increase frame rates by up to 3.4X. Nvidia claims the RTX 5090 will be able to push as much as 540 frames per second in this game, while the RTX 5080 will push the FPS counter over 300.

Launching today is MindsEye, the new game from Build a Rocket Boy, a new studio founded by former Red Dead Redemption and GTA producer, Leslie Benzies. The game will sport DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation, DLAA and Nvidia Reflex at launch. Through the Nvidia app, you'll also be able to force the game to use the latest transformer AI model for improved visuals.

The final games on this week's list are Mecha Break, Rematch and Dragonkin: The Banished. All three titles are launching soon with DLSS support.

KitGuru Says: Are you installing any of this week's new games?

The post Nvidia reveals eight more titles getting DLSS first appeared on KitGuru.

MindsEye, the new game from former Rockstar producer, Leslie Benzies, is about to have a somewhat complicated launch. The game releases on PC and consoles today but will require a day-one patch to play ‘as intended'. Unfortunately, this patch will not be made available to those buying the game on Xbox. 

If you buy MindsEye on Xbox at launch today, you won't get the necessary day-one patch. According to the studio, differing certification policies are to blame, but most developers have little issue lining up their launch patches across platforms, so I think it is more likely that the update was submitted past a deadline date, which could in turn indicate a somewhat rushed launch.

The studio says that this particular update is necessary to play MindsEye ‘as intended' as it contains key refinements. However, Build a Rocket Boy also says that it will be looking to ‘grow the game' with the players, so feedback after launch could lead to more changes.

This crucial game update for MindsEye will be available to PC and PlayStation players as soon as the game unlocks tonight. There is no word on when it will arrive on Xbox but it should be within the week.

KitGuru Says: Are you grabbing MindsEye this week? 

The post MindsEye launch gets complicated first appeared on KitGuru.

The latest generation of be quiet! Pure Power M power supplies have arrived. The new Pure Power 13 M units make improvements to achieve the spec for the latest ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 standards,

Today, be quiet is launching the Pure Power 13 M series of power supplies. There will be five models available, offering wattages of 550W, 650W, 750W, 850W and 1000W. Each Puwer Power 13 M features a single 12V rail for consistent power delivery and fully modular cables.

These PSUs also pack native 12V-2×6 support, something worth noting for those with an RTX 40 or RTX 50 series graphics card, or those looking to future proof for a future GPU upgrade. On the 550W model, you get 1x 300W 12V-2×6 cable, this jumps up to 450W on the 650W model, while the 750W, 850W and 1000W units get a 600W 12V-2×6 cable. This makes sense, as you are likely to be pairing a lower wattage PSU with a lower power graphics card, making the 550W and 650W models ideal for those going with an RTX 5060, or the rumoured RTX 5050.

The new be quiet! Pure Power 13 M power supplies are now available, priced at €94.90 (550W), €109.90 (650W), €119.90 (750W), €139.90 (850W) and €169.90 (1000W).

KitGuru Says: Are you currently shopping around for a PSU for a new PC build? 

The post be quiet! updates line-up with new Pure Power 13 M PSUs first appeared on KitGuru.

At the Xbox Games Showcase this week, Microsoft officially announced this year's Call of Duty game – Black Ops 7. Microsoft has a legal agreement with Nintendo to release COD titles on Nintendo consoles for the next decade but so far, Black Ops 7 appears to a no-show.

As part of Microsoft's push to get its Activision Blizzard acquisition through regulatory hurdles, the company signed a number of binding agreements with platform holders like Sony and Nintendo to ensure equal access to the Call of Duty IP for the next decade. Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in late 2023 but many assumed Microsoft would be waiting for the Switch 2 before bringing Call of Duty over to a Nintendo console.

However, the Switch 2 is now officially on the market and Black Ops 7 has now been announced for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PS5, with no mention of Nintendo in sight.

According to sources speaking with Kotaku, Microsoft and Nintendo are “still committed” to getting Call of Duty back on Nintendo platforms. So far, there have been no complaints from Nintendo's side, so chances are the explanations for the delay are reasonable. The Switch 2 is a brand-new system and Nintendo was very selective with which studios got early access. It is entirely possible that Activision only just recently got set up with development kits and no longer has time to port Black Ops 7 to Switch 2 in time for launch.

It is also possible that Nintendo has its own marketing plans and would prefer to announce any Xbox-published titles for Switch 2 during a Nintendo Direct. Rumour has it that Microsoft has big plans for Switch 2 support, so we are expecting at least a few announcements before the end of the year.

KitGuru Says: Considering that COD titles are still releasing on last-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles, I expect that the Switch 2 will be quite capable of running these games. We couldn't really say the same for the Switch 1, which had much weaker hardware under the hood.

The post Xbox ‘still committed’ to bringing Call of Duty to Switch 2 first appeared on KitGuru.

Back in 2023, following the box office success of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo officially announced its plans to make a Legend of Zelda movie. An early 2027 release date was confirmed previously but now with filming set to begin, Nintendo has revised the release date.

Unlike the Super Mario Bros. movie, Nintendo's Legend of Zelda film will be live-action. Some reports have previously claimed that there are plans for a trilogy, not just one standalone movie, but there is no official confirmation on that at this time.

Zelda co-creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, is involved in the film from Nintendo's side. In an update shared this week, Miyamoto said that due to “production reasons” the film's release date has been pushed back several weeks to May 7th 2027:

“This is Miyamoto. For production reasons, we are changing the release date of the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda to May 7, 2027. It will be some weeks later than the release timing we originally announced, and we will take the extra time to make the film as good as it can be. Thank you for your patience.”

Considering this news, we should get the first trailer for the Zelda film in 2026, and once filming begins, we should find out more about the cast of the film. Currently, we have no idea which actors will be involved in lead roles.

KitGuru Says: Zelda can certainly work in live-action. It will be interesting to see the first pieces of the film in the months ahead.

The post Miyamoto shares update on Legend of Zelda movie release date first appeared on KitGuru.

Microsoft confirmed earlier in the year that it would be pricing some of its newest titles at $80 moving forward. Now, it turns out that The Outer Worlds 2 will be leading that charge as the first $80 Xbox game. 

At the Xbox Games Showcase this week, we got a new trailer for The Outer Worlds 2, as well as a lengthy gameplay deep dive that showcased some of the exciting new weapons and abilities available in the sequel. Fans can also expect improved worldbuilding, including an in-universe propaganda system that will tell stories of your travels with various forms of editorial spin on them depending on the corp behind the radio station.

While the game is looking good, we have been told in the past that The Outer Worlds 2 will have a similar scope to the first game, making it a smaller, focused RPG with a shorter development cycle to AAA. The Outer Worlds 1 was a poster child for the types of games that can be made on a smaller budget. Now years later, Microsoft has decided to make The Outer Worlds 2 the poster child for $80 games.

There is one saving grace on the Xbox and PC side, and that is Game Pass. Few people are going to be able to spend $80 on each brand new release, but many more people will be able to afford a month or two of Game Pass Ultimate, thus granting them access to these more expensive games at a lower price.

KitGuru Says: I'm really not sure that smaller studios like Obsidian, Compulsion and Ninja Theory should be part of this $80 push, but Microsoft has spent a lot of money growing Xbox over the past seven years, and they do need to start recouping that money at a faster rate. 

The post The Outer Worlds 2 is part of Xbox’s push for $80 games first appeared on KitGuru.

The Nintendo Switch 2 had an impressive amount of stock for its launch weekend but ultimately, it did sell out in most places within the first 24 hours. Now, analysts are claiming record-breaking sales numbers for Nintendo's latest console. 

The Nintendo Switch 2 has apparently sold as many as 3 million units worldwide since the launch on June 5th, according to Nintendo Prime. That would beat out Sony's PS4 record, which sold one million units in its first 24 hours.

Nintendo forecasts over 15 million Switch 2 sales during the current fiscal year, ending in March 2026. If it has already sold 3 million, then that would put it on track to achieving that goal. However, Nintendo will need to be capable of constantly replenishing stocks around the globe.

KitGuru Says: Did any of you pick up a Switch 2 already? Are you happy with it so far? 

The post Switch 2 claimed to have a record breaking launch first appeared on KitGuru.

AMD officially announced two new additions to its Ryzen Z2 line of APUs: the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and the Ryzen Z2A. These are the same two APUs used in the recently announced Asus ROG Xbox Ally systems.

The Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme is an upgraded version of the Z2 Extreme, aimed at high-end handhelds. The “AI” designation signifies that its NPU (Neural Processing Unit) will be enabled, a part previously deactivated in the original Ryzen Z1 series. This NPU is based on the XDNA2 processor, and its activation is expected to be beneficial as AI integration in gaming becomes more prevalent. Other specifications for the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme remain consistent with its predecessor, featuring an 8C/16T Zen5 CPU (out of 12 available cores), 16 RDNA 3.5CUs for its iGPU (Radeon 890M), 15-35W cTDP and LPDDR5x-8000 memory support.

Concurrently, AMD confirmed the Ryzen Z2A. This APU features four Zen2 CPU cores with eight threads and an 8-CU RDNA2 iGPU. Unlike other Ryzen Z2 processors, the Z2A will have a reduced TDP of 6-20W. Also worth noting is that memory support is limited to LPDDR5-6400. AMD states that the Ryzen Z2A is designed to target long-lasting mobile PC gaming.

The first systems to feature these new APUs are the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, which will use the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, and the ROG Xbox Ally, which will be powered by the Ryzen Z2A.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: These APUs are currently only announced to be used in the Asus ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, but they aren't exclusive, so we should see more handhelds powered by these chips over the next year. 

The post AMD expands Ryzen Z2 lineup with Z2 Extreme and Z2A APUs first appeared on KitGuru.

MSI Afterburner has long been a popular overclocking tool for PC enthusiasts. Currently, the software lacks support for AMD's latest generation RX 9000 series graphics cards, but that is set to change with an upcoming update. 

Usually, the development of Afterburner's compatibility with new hardware hinges on MSI providing sample graphics cards to Unwinder (via VideoCardz). However, with MSI not currently producing RX 9000 series cards, the developer had no samples to work with to enable support for AMD's current-generation offerings.

Despite this, strong public demand for RDNA 4 compatibility and a clear desire to uphold Afterburner's reputation as a valuable cross-vendor utility ultimately prompted Unwinder to act independently. The developer reportedly purchased a PowerColor RX 9070 XT card to develop the software needed to update MSI Afterburner. This ensures that users will see support for RX 9070 XT cards in future versions of MSI Afterburner, maintaining the tool's broad appeal and functionality across AMD and Nvidia platforms.

While you wait for the MSI Afterburner update, AMD Software should be able to fulfil your monitoring and overclocking needs.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Do you have an AMD RX 9000 graphics card? What GPU monitoring and overclocking utility have you been using on your system?

The post MSI Afterburner update will introduce support for AMD RX 9000 graphics cards first appeared on KitGuru.

Ubisoft has officially announced Anno 117: Pax Romana, the next chapter in the long-running city-building strategy series. Gamers can mark their calendars for November 13th, when the game will drop for PC, PS5 and Xbox. To celebrate the announcement, a brand-new cinematic trailer has been released.

Anno 117: Pax Romana casts players as a Roman governor in 117 AD, granting them the power to shape the empire's future. The core premise revolves around fundamental choices that dictate your leadership style: will your influence expand through the peaceful avenues of commerce and agriculture, or will you opt for territorial gains through military might? The game challenges players to weigh the costs and benefits of peace against the allure of power, leaving the path of governance entirely in their hands.

As governor, you'll be tasked with building and nurturing your towns, navigating a narrative-rich adventure filled with branching decisions and multiple gameplay approaches. Players will venture into unexplored regions of the Roman Empire, tending to the two provinces under their stewardship: Latium and Albion. Each province will present its own opportunities and challenges, pushing players to strategise and expand their authority to capitalise on them. A central theme of Anno 117: Pax Romana is the profound impact of your decisions on your community. Your choices will directly influence your people's destiny during the era of Pax Romana.

While the launch date is set, Ubisoft has yet to disclose the game's PC system requirements. The game is now available to pre-order.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you a fan of Anno games? Are you planning to pre-order Anno 117?

The post Anno 117: Pax Romana revealed for November release first appeared on KitGuru.

Well over half a decade ago now, Hollow Knight Silksong was officially announced. Since then, fans have been eagerly anticipating the next game from Team Cherry. 6 years later and the game remains as elusive as ever. That said, we now have confirmation that Silksong is planned to launch some time this year – before the holiday season.

In the past few weeks there has been quite a bit of behind-the-scenes activity going on with Hollow Knight Silksong in the Steam back-end, leading many to believe some form of announcement was impending.

Sure enough, during the Xbox Game showcase, Microsoft officially showed off Silksong running on the company’s new partnered handheld the ROG Xbox Ally alongside confirmation that the title will be available by the time the system is released.

That said, no release date was given for the system, and so no release window was provided for Silksong. Fortunately, following the showcase, Team Cherry’s PR and Marketing manager ‘Matthew Griffin’ took to Discord to confirm that Silksong is “not tied to a console release” alongside the fact that the game is schedule to arrive sometime “BEFORE Holiday” 2025 – seemingly suggesting late Autumn as the furthest point.

Regardless, after half a decade of waiting, Hollow Knight Silksong is truly, finally almost upon us.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of the Xbox Showcase? Were you expecting to see Hollow Knight Silksong? What month do you think the game will release? Let us know down below.

The post Hollow Knight Silksong to release before the 2025 Holiday season first appeared on KitGuru.

Super Meat Boy first released over 15 years ago and became an instant hit through the Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360. Now, the gore-filled platformer is making a grand return, this time in 3D. 

Super Meat Boy 3D was officially announced last night during the Xbox Games Showcase. The original 2D platformer became a hit due to its tight controls, punishing difficulty and instant respawn system. Now, players get to run through the gauntlet once again, but this time in full 3D.

It is rare to see a 3D platformer with the same level of quality as a Super Mario game, but Super Meat Boy 3D looks to check all of the right boxes to achieve exactly that. Unlike the original game's 2D side-scrolling layout, the 3D version allows for more verticality and multi-layered levels, giving players multiple routes and enhancing replay value, especially for speed runners.

Sometimes the transition from 2D to 3D can be a tricky one to pull off as far as art is concerned, but the transition here looks as perfect as one could expect. For the first time in the series, players will also be challenged by new mini-bosses and large-scale battles, adding more complexity to the game overall.

Super Meat Boy 3D will be releasing in ‘early 2026' for PC, PS5 and Xbox. On the Xbox side of things, the game will be a day-one release for Game Pass.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up Super Meat Boy 3D when it drops next year? 

The post Super Meat Boy returns, this time in 3D first appeared on KitGuru.

The Xbox Games Showcase had some fantastic surprises. From the hefty gameplay reveal for Clockwork Revolution, to the return of an indie classic in Super Meat Boy 3D. One of the best trailers of the show is not being talked about enough though, as MUDANG: Two Hearts looks to offer the best of Splinter Cell and F.E.A.R. in one package.

MUDANG: Two Hearts is a new game from South Korean game developer, EVR Studios. The first trailer for the game dropped last night, promising high-octane stealth action, with supernatural thriller elements:

The game is set in a near-future version of South Korea, in a time where the North and South are about to unite once again. On the day of this historic reunification, a terrorist group attacks and sends the nation into chaos.

The gameplay trailer showcases clear inspiration from the great stealth games of the past, like Splinter Cell. The inspiration is so clear to me that I'm not really sure what else to say about it. This main character quite literally looks like South Korean Sam Fisher with the tactical gear, wall climbing, tunnel crawling and silent pistols. The supernatural thriller elements add in a dash of F.E.A.R. flavour for good measure.

MUDANG: Two Hearts is due to release in 2026 for Xbox, PC and PS5. The game will also be streamable via Xbox Cloud, and presumably other services too, but we won't get confirmation on that until closer to launch.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is about time some new developers swooped in to fill the massive Splinter Cell-shaped hole in the gaming market.

The post MUDANG: Two Hearts is Splinter Cell meets F.E.A.R. first appeared on KitGuru.

Almost exactly a year ago, Evil Empire (one of the teams behind Dead Cells) released The Rogue Prince of Persia in early access. Published by Ubisoft, this side-scrolling platforming rogue-lite has seen consistent updates in the months since, taking what was already an excellent game and making it even more fun. Now, one year on and countless improvements later, The Rogue Prince of Persia is finally leaving Early Access this August.

Making the announcement during the PC Gaming Show, Evil Empire released a new trailer alongside the confirmation that The Rogue Prince of Persia will officially hit version 1.0 sometime this upcoming August.

Taking to its Steam page, the team teased the content of this final 1.0 release, writing: “we need to finally finish the story, so we'll be adding an extra biome at the same stage as the Tower of Oblivion and the Temple, as well as a final biome and of course the big bad final boss – the infamous King Nogai – PLUS the ‘third act' of the story which has a true ending to discover and where you'll finally meet the Prince's father, the King of Persia. On top of that there'll be new enemies, weapons etc – the usual goodies!”

As mentioned, The Rogue Prince of Persia was already one of the most satisfying side-scrolling rogue-like metroidvanias around – before any updates were released. Since then, the game has only gone from strength to strength. It will be interesting to see what final touches the team at Evil Empire have in store for the game.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of the PC Gaming Show? Have you checked out The Rogue Prince of Persia? Are you looking forward to the 1.0 release? Let us know down below.

The post The Rogue Prince of Persia to leave Early Access this August first appeared on KitGuru.

A few years ago, a number of CD Projekt Red developers, including the director behind The Witcher 3, left the company to form a new studio, Rebel Wolves. At the start of this year, their first game was revealed to be The Blood of Dawnwalker. Last night during the Xbox Games Showcase, we finally got our first look at the game in action. 

The Blood of Dawnwalker is the first new game from the former Witcher 3 developers at Rebel Wolves studio, also based in Poland. We already knew that this game would be an RPG, but more specifically, it is a dark fantasy RPG centred around vampires. Following a cinematic trailer released earlier in the year, we now have a full gameplay trailer:

The Blood of Dawnwalker may have had its gameplay reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase, but it is not a console exclusive. The game will also be coming to PS5, and PC. There is no firm release date yet, but it will be arriving sometime in 2026, assuming there are no delays down the line.

The game is developed in Unreal Engine 5. In the game, players will take on the role of Coen, a young man turned into a Dawnwalker, forever treading the line between the world of day and the realm of night. Using your skills and vampire powers, you'll face off against foes both supernatural and human.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This game is looking good so far. Hopefully we'll get some release date news in the not too distant future. 

The post The Blood of Dawnwalker trailer reveals 2026 launch for PC, PS5 and Xbox first appeared on KitGuru.

The Outer Worlds released back in 2019 to a solid amount of fanfare – with the Obsidian Entertainment-developed RPG featuring an interesting blend of Bethesda Game Studios-styled design alongside the choice-based freedom which titles such as Fallout New Vegas offered. The Outer Worlds 2 looks to be leaning further into the gameplay stylings of its contemporaries – with the game confirmed to offer both a first and 3rd-person perspective option.

During The Outer Wilds 2 showcase (following the conclusion of the Xbox Games presentation,) Obsidian Entertainment confirmed that the upcoming RPG is the biggest game they’ve worked on.

As part of this, the sequel is set to include the option to play in first-person (as was the case with the previous game) – while also offering a 3rd-person mode.

Similar to a majority of titles which include the option, the first-person mode will likely be the primary way to play (considering shooters are often more satisfying in a FPP). That said, having more options is always welcome, and could lead to an influx of new players who prefer an alternative perspective on their games.

All that said, The Outer Worlds 2 still has a bit of an uphill climb, with the game confirmed to be the first $80 Microsoft title. It will be interesting to see what fans think of these changes when The Outer Worlds 2 arrives on the 29th of October.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of The Outer Worlds 2? Does it look better than the first game? What do you think of the optional 3rd-person mode? Let us know down below.

The post The Outer Worlds 2 will offer an optional 3rd-person mode first appeared on KitGuru.

Microsoft closed out the Xbox Games Showcase with the reveal of this year's Call of Duty game. We're in for another year of Black Ops, with Black Ops 7. The hook for COD campaign fans is the return of David Mason, the main protagonist of Black Ops 2. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set in the year 2035 and once again features David Mason as the team leader. The teaser trailer below sets the stage, but it is a cinematic trailer, so don't expect to see much gameplay until later on.

This trailer is described as the ‘initial teaser' for the game, so expect a staggered rollout of information, with new trailers and announcements in the months ahead, followed by a beta around August/September.

Black Ops 7 will launch later this year for PC, Xbox and PlayStation. Microsoft is still committed to bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch 2, but it is unclear if that will start with Black Ops 7, or if Activision will wait for COD 2026.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do you prefer the current strategy of back-to-back sequels for COD's main timelines, or did you like it better when Black Ops and Modern Warfare would alternate each year? 

The post COD 2025 revealed to be Black Ops 7 first appeared on KitGuru.

Back in 2022, Funcom officially announced Dune Awakening – an ambitious survival MMO set in the world created by Frank Herbert. Launching tomorrow on the 10th of June, those who paid for the game’s deluxe edition gained advanced access to the title on the 5th. Despite the rather hefty price tag, the Advance Access period is already massive – seeing well over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam.

Ahead of its official launch on the 10th of June, those who paid the not-so-insignificant price of £60 (compared to £40 for the standard edition) gained access to Dune Awakening on the 5th. Despite a 50% increase in price for relatively few benefits, the Advanced Access period for the MMO has been massive for Funcom.

According to SteamDB, Dune Awakening hit a peak concurrent player count of over 100k over Sunday evening – 117,087 CCU to be exact. While not quite the 200k concurrents seen during the beta/trial period, 117,000 concurrent users is massive when considering that an estimated 250,000-400,000 users paid 50% extra for less than a week of advanced access.

Given just how popular the game is already, it will be interesting to see what the Steam Charts look like when Dune Awakening goes live for the rest of us.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you excited for Dune Awakening? Have you paid extra for Advanced Access to any games? How many concurrent users do you think there will be on its launch day? Let us know down below.

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The Xbox Games Showcase last night had some excellent trailers for first-party games like Clockwork Revolution and The Outer Worlds 2. However, there was one third-party game that stuck in my mind in the hours after the showcase- Ninja Gaiden 4. 

Ninja Gaiden 4 is coming to Xbox, PC and PS5 later this year and is set to be a day-one Game Pass title. The new trailer for the game dropped last night, and it looks like it could be one of the most fun action games in years.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is described by publisher Koei Tecmo as the “definitive ninja action-adventure”. Based on this trailer, I'm inclined to agree with that sentiment, with a high-octane blend of stylish moves and numerous weapons at your disposal.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is the first mainline game in the series since 2012, so this has been a long time coming. The new game offers a number of key improvements, including new stealth mechanics, multi-weapon combos, destructible environments, new finishing moves and more.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will release on the 21st of October 2025.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This game looks like a lot of fun, and it is great to see Team Ninja bringing PlatinumGames into the fold to improve the action even further. Will you be picking this one up? 

The post Ninja Gaiden 4 shaping up to be the best action game of the year first appeared on KitGuru.

One of the best Game Pass titles of 2022 ended up being a brand new IP from Squanch Games – High on Life. Now several years later, a sequel has been announced, and it will be releasing later this year. 

High on Life 2 has been announced for 2025. Assuming there are no delays, the game should drop around the holiday season and just like the first game, it will be a day-one title for Game Pass.

The trailer promises a bigger sequel, with more whacky and zany characters, with humour that will fit right at home for the Rick and Morty crowd.

The big addition to the game this time around is the ability to skateboard, so you can quickly zoom around levels, jumping platforms and grinding rails along the way.

While the game was announced during the Xbox Games Showcase, it will not be an Xbox console exclusive. The game has already been confirmed for PC, Xbox and PS5. With the Switch 2 now out, there is potential for the game to head to Nintendo's platform as well, but nothing has been confirmed on that front yet.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Did you enjoy High on Life? Will you be jumping back in for the sequel later this year? 

The post Squanch Games announces High on Life 2 for Xbox, PC and PS5 first appeared on KitGuru.

Towards the end of the Xbox Games Showcase last night, Phil Spencer took to the stage to tease the upcoming 25th Anniversary. Next year will have been 25 years since the Xbox first released and the company has been stockpiling games for its major IP for the occasion. 

Next year as part of the Xbox 25th Anniversary celebration, Spencer has confirmed that we'll be getting Fable, Gears E-Day and Fable, but he also teased the “return of a classic” that has been on Xbox since the beginning.

As Forza Motorsport just launched last year, we'd expect to see Forza Horizon in 2026, although Playground Games has also been quite busy with Fable, its first crack at an RPG game.

As for the mysterious ‘return of a classic', my mind quickly goes to Halo. It has been four years since the release of Halo Infinite, and we've heard very little about the future of the franchise ever since.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do you think we'll get a new Halo next year? Or is Spencer talking about a different Xbox classic? 

The post Phil Spencer teases Forza, Gears, Fable and more for Xbox 25th Anniversary first appeared on KitGuru.