Recently it was claimed that next year's Call of Duty is already in development for the next-gen Xbox. However, a reliable source has now rebuked this claim, as the next generation Xbox hardware is being planned for 2027 and no development kits exist yet.

According to Microsoft-focused reporter, Jez Corden, the next generation Xbox will be with us in 2027 and currently, development kits do not exist. In a recent podcast, Corden also shed some light on the concept behind Microsoft's future console.

“The whole idea of the next Xbox is that it's going to be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind”, Corden said. He adds that this will mean that developers will be developing for a Windows PC in a way.

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox will need to focus on being a more open platform, as the company has opted to move away from exclusive games entirely.

KitGuru Says: What are you expecting to see from the next Xbox?

The post Next-gen Xbox to be ‘a PC with a TV-friendly shell’ first appeared on KitGuru.

Prior to being acquired by Sony, Insomniac had signed a deal with Oculus to bring three VR games to the Oculus Rift headset. These games were later made compatible with the Meta Quest headsets but all of Insomniac's VR titles mysteriously disappeared from the store a few years back. Now after a lengthy hiatus, they are finally becoming available again. 

Insomniac's VR classics, Edge of Nowhere, Stormland and Feral Rites, are now available on Meta Quest devices once again. Insomniac is also working on bringing back its fourth VR title, The Unspoken.

There was no reason given for the initial removal for any of these titles. What made the move particularly surprising was the fact that Meta did put money upfront to get these games made. Whatever the issue was, however, it appears to be resolved.

KitGuru Says: If you missed out on Insomniac's VR titles previously, you should consider giving them a look now that they are back on the store. 

The post Insomniac brings back three of its best VR games first appeared on KitGuru.

At SXSW this week, Kojima Productions made the most out of its panel appearance by debuting a new trailer for Death Stranding 2. Not only did we get a new look at the game, but a June 2025 release has also been confirmed. 

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be releasing for PS5 on the 26th of June. Below you can watch the new 10-minute trailer, showcasing an extensive look at gameplay, as well as the upcoming Collector's Edition of the game.

Pre-orders for the game go live on the 17th of March. The Collector's Edition, which includes early access to the game starting on June 24th, ships in a fancy box, complete with a Magellan Man statue, a Dollman figurine, Art Cards and a letter from Hideo Kojima. Collector's Edition buyers will also unlock a selection of in-game items, as well as all pre-order bonus content.

While Death Stranding 2 is releasing for PS5 initially, the game is expected to come to PC eventually, and potentially Xbox too, as the original game just landed on Xbox consoles last year.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to Death Stranding 2? How long do you think we'll have to wait to see it on PC? 

The post Death Stranding 2 gets extended gameplay trailer and June release date first appeared on KitGuru.

Early retail listings already tipped us off to a March 12th retail launch for the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D processors, but now, the company has made things official – complete with pricing details.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D processors will become available at stores starting on the 12th of March. The MSRP for these processors is set at $599 for the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and $699 for the Ryzen 9 9950X3D.

As the X3D in the name suggests, both of these high core-count processors utilise AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, which has proven very popular amongst gaming enthusiasts since its debut during the Ryzen 5000 generation.

Ryzen 9 9950X3D key specs include 16 cores and 32 threads, a boost clock speed of up to 5.7GHz, 144MB of cache and a 170W TDP. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D offers 12 cores and 24 threads instead.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up one of AMD's latest X3D processors?

The post AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D launches next week for $599, 9950X3D for $699 first appeared on KitGuru.

Following on from yesterday's report about a Dutch retailer informing customers of an MSI RTX 5090 recall, MSI has responded, denying that any recall is in progress and sharing a list of authorised resellers.

Here is the statement in full:

“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 fulfill 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”.

Below is a list of authorised MSI resellers offering GPUs throughout the Benelux region:

• Megekko
• Azerty
• Alternate NL
• Alternate BE
• SHS
• CPS
• PDC
• Bol
• Coolblue
• Copaco

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If you are looking to buy an RTX 5090, make sure you check the list of authorised etailers. Above, you can find the list of MSI's authorised resale partners. 

The post MSI denies claim of RTX 5090 Suprim recall first appeared on KitGuru.

Earlier today, a KitGuru reader reached out to us to let us know about a rather bold claim from a retailer based in the Netherlands. Our reader Ben, who spent €3399 on an MSI RTX 5090 Suprim more than a month ago, was informed by the store that they would not receive their graphics card anytime soon due to a ‘product recall'. Specifically, the claim was made that Nvidia had recalled a number of RTX 5090 graphics cards due to a potential fire hazard. Naturally, this piqued our interest, so we began getting in touch with our industry contacts to find out what was going on – MSI claimed to know nothing about the issue. We also reached out to Nvidia to get a statement.

To be clear, a product recall is a very serious claim and is usually a last resort in response to a very severe safety issue and public announcement is a requirement of any recall, for any product. We were surprised to see the message claiming that a product recall had been issued, as nothing had been announced publicly and our board partners and UK retail contacts had not heard anything about this.

Here is what the retailer email told Ben, their customer, translated from Dutch to English: “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.”

We got in touch with Jeroen Vukkink, CEO of the retail outlet Your Game Specialist, based in The Netherlands to find out exactly what was going on. 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 it ‘could not be found in our system'.

Obviously the images above could be faked, but Ben not only sent us the original email he received from uwgamespecialist, but also details of the payment to the company for the graphics card. 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. Ben confirmed with us the money was taken from his bank account more than a month ago and showed us images.  This completely validated Ben's side of the story. He still has not received the RTX5090 – as it was claimed 5 in stock were ‘recalled'. What on earth was going on?

After a little back and forth in email Jeroen claimed that ‘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.'

Our last email from Kitguru Editor In Chief Allan Campbell, said ‘We will update our story now. However I would consider telling a customer that 5x MSI RTX5090 cards returned due to a fire hazard recall is a little more serious than a simple 'email miscommunication'.

Jeroen ended the email chain stating they would be thoroughly investigating this matter and apologised for the situation. Ben has since emailed us tonight to say he will be getting his MSI RTX5090 next week which seems fortuitous. We asked Ben to let us know if he doesn't receive the card.

As of right now, there is no product recall on RTX 50 graphics cards, and the retail outlet has retracted the claim made by their customer service representative. We can't (legally) speculate on why this happened, but further investigation is taking place according to Jeroen. We will likely not get any update on exactly what happened internally at https://uwgamespecialist.nl/

We should also note that this situation is completely separate to the issue with defective GPUs going out to customers with missing ROPs. It also has nothing to do with earlier reports of RTX 5090 connectors melting due to overloading cables – an issue that so far, has impacted very few RTX 50 GPU buyers.

KitGuru Says: At the end of the day, KitGuru is here to support the enthusiast hardware audience. We would never want to see one of our readers getting ripped off and if we can help by leveraging our own reach – we absolutely will. Be sure to contact our editor in chief allan(at)kitguru.net if you need any help.

The post Dutch Retailer talks to Kitguru and retracts ‘RTX 5090 recall’ claim first appeared on KitGuru.

Samsung has been showcasing its foldable display technology at events like CES for over a decade, long before the first foldable smartphones hit the market in 2018. Now, Samsung looks to be showcasing a new use for this technology, with a prototype foldable handheld games console. 

What if the Nintendo Switch could fold in half? I'm sure none of you have asked yourself that question but the team at Samsung certainly has. At Mobile World Congress this week, Samsung began showing off its new concept device – the Samsung Flex Gaming.

The Samsung Flex Gaming uses foldable OLED screen, so you can snap it shut to fit into your pocket, and then unfold it for a full picture while gaming. The design honestly reminds me a little of the Gameboy Advance SP, but with the ability to fold out into the size of a standard Gameboy Advance with more convenient controls at the sides.

Whether or not Samsung ever releases this device still remains to be seen. While Samsung doesn't have the biggest presence in the gaming market, its Odyssey gaming monitors have become quite popular in recent years and the company has embarked on a number of mobile gaming initiatives, including a partnership with Microsoft for Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: What do you all think of the Samsung Flex Gaming? Would you like to see gaming handhelds evolve into this form factor? 

The post Samsung is now prototyping foldable gaming handhelds first appeared on KitGuru.

When Microsoft first launched the Xbox Series X/S consoles, it also introduced an option for customers to pay a smartphone-style monthly contract to obtain the console and two years of Game Pass for a monthly fee, rather than buying the console outright. Now, Sony has also adopted this idea for PS5, PS5 Pro, PS VR2, PS Portal and other products. 

On the PS Direct UK website, Sony now offers the option to ‘lease' a console. Depending on the product chosen, the monthly fee could be as low as £6.50 or as high as £20.

Those opting for this can choose between a 12-month, 24-month or 36-month contract. Below you can find the full list of products and the starting monthly price for each:

• DualSense Wireless Edge Controller – starts at £7.99 per month
• PlayStation Portal Remote Player – starts at £6.49 per month
• PS5 Digital Edition console – starts at £10.99 per month
• PS5 Slim – Starts at £11.99 per month
• PS5 Digital Edition with Two DualSense controllers – starts at £13.49 per month
• PlayStation VR2 headset – starts at £18.49 per month
• PlayStation VR2 Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle – starts at £19.99 per month
• PlayStation 5 Pro console – starts at £18.95 per month

While Microsoft received some online criticism for doing this back in 2020, it is also worth noting that the leased consoles did sell out pretty quickly. I expect that with Grand Theft Auto 6 coming out this year, PlayStation will see quite a bit of interest for this too.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Obviously, I wouldn't recommend anyone ‘rent' a console, but the option is now there. Console makers have been trying to garner the same level of repeated revenue as smartphones for quite some time, so to see a literal console contract system is not too surprising and could lead to more frequent generational upgrades in line with the graphics card and CPU market. 

The post Sony now offers PS5 consoles, controllers and VR headsets on monthly contract first appeared on KitGuru.

Recent evidence shows that the PlayStation Store has been updated with a hidden listing for the Gears of War Collection. Typically, these PSN Store backend leaks are legitimate, so it appears that after a decade of appearing in rumours, the Gears Trilogy will finally return in remastered form. 

As reported by Detective Seeds, the Gears of War Collection has now appeared on the PlayStation Store backend, revealing an apparent mid-August release date. The collection will include the three original Gears of War games, giving fans a chance to catch up and relive the story ahead of next year's prequel, Gears of War E-Day, featuring a much younger Marcus Fenix fighting in the first locust invasion, before being popped in a cell, leading directly into the events of the original Gears of War.

According to Jez Corden, fans should not expect multiplayer to be part of this collection. While the Gears of War PvP and Horde modes have always been popular, for this release, Microsoft appears to be focused purely on the campaign and bringing the trilogy to new players who never owned an Xbox 360 or Xbox One console.

With this collection set to arrive later this year, Microsoft will have more time to polish up Gears E-Day for 2026, although some rumours have suggested that the prequel could also potentially arrive this year.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Gears of War trilogy is incredible and will be well worth playing for anyone who never got to experience it before. Hopefully this collection spruces up the graphics a bit though, rather than just delivering a resolution and frame rate bump. 

The post Gears of War collection leaks via PSN first appeared on KitGuru.

AMD's RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics cards officially hit store shelves today but it appears that demand is astronomically high. Due to the sheer number of people trying to buy one of these graphics cards, OCUK has had to put a queue system in place just to access the storefront. 

Currently if you go to the OverclockersUK website, you will be placed in a queue due to “high volume of traffic”. For an idea of how high demand is, I've been sat in the queue to get onto the store for around 30 minutes at the time of publishing and my wait time just shot up from two minutes to an hour and 30 minutes – chances are, there'll be no graphics cards left by the time I am able to get onto the store to assess the pricing situation.

Alternatively, you can get straight onto the SCAN UK store and find RX 9070 XT graphics cards available. However, they are all going for well above the £599 MSRP set by AMD. The closest we can find in stock is a Gigabyte RX 9070 XT Gaming GPU at £570, but from there, prices for other models shoot up to £670 and some models are going for more than £700.

We have had better luck on Scan with the standard RX 9070, with several PowerColor listings to be found around the £525 mark, but other models are going for over £600, which puts it well into RX 9070 XT pricing territory. Be sure to double check you are ordering the correct version, as we would hate for any readers to spend £100 over MSRP just to get the standard, non-XT version of this GPU.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Have you been looking to pick up an RX 9070 graphics card today? What do you think of the pricing situation, and have you had any luck placing an order? 

The post AMD RX 9070 prices rise to over £600, over £700 for RX 9070 XT models first appeared on KitGuru.

UPDATE: Your Game Specialist has retracted the claim that Nvidia has issued an RTX 5090 recall. The customer who was told that they could not receive their graphics card due to the recall is now getting their unit next week and the retail outlet is conducting an internal investigation. The new story can be found HERE. 

UPDATE 2: MSI has responded, here is their statement in full: 

Here is the statement in full:

“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 fulfill 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”.

Below is a list of authorised MSI resellers offering GPUs throughout the Benelux region:

• Megekko
• Azerty
• Alternate NL
• Alternate BE
• SHS
• CPS
• PDC
• Bol
• Coolblue
• Copaco

There have already been a few RTX 5090 graphics cards sold only to burn out due to the amount of power going through the 12V-2×6 power connector. When this happened with the first RTX 4090 graphics cards two years ago, the issue was primarily pinned on user error due to the power cable not being pushed all the way in. However, this time around, it may not have anything to do with the user at all, as we have received reports of a recall in direct relation to a potential fire hazard.

Your Game Specialist, a retailer in the Netherlands, has emailed customers stating that “Nvidia has recalled a large number of video cards due to various safety issues”. One of our YouTube channel viewers reached out to us to supply us with a copy of the email along with proof of their RTX 5090 order. This viewer specifically ordered an MSI RTX 5090 Suprim graphics card.

Here is what the retailer email said, translated from Dutch to English: “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.”

 

 

Based on the email, the recall in question appears to have more to do with fire hazard concerns rather than the other situation currently going around – defective GPUs with missing ROPs, hampering performance by double digit percentage points.

The confusing part to us is, there have been no announcements and nobody we've spoken to has been made aware of any recall plans. We reached out to one of our contacts at MSI, but they did not have any information on the apparent recall. Nvidia has also not made any public announcement about a recall at this stage. In a conversation with a representative for UK retailer SCAN, we learned that there has been no recall announcement for the UK at this point in time. With that in mind, we also have to wonder if Your Game Specialist was mistaken.

We should also note that this situation is completely separate to the issue with defective GPUs going out to customers with missing ROPs. It also has nothing to do with earlier reports of RTX 5090 connectors melting due to overloading cables – an issue that so far, has impacted very few RTX 50 GPU buyers.

KitGuru Says: Have you managed to grab an RTX 50 series graphics card already? Have you faced any issues with yours so far?

The post UPDATED: Retailer claims Nvidia is recalling ‘large number’ of RTX 5090 graphics cards first appeared on KitGuru.

While Capcom was crowned as the best publisher in 2023 thanks to its high-ranking game releases, another Japanese publisher usurped them in 2024. Metacritic has now revealed that Sega was the highest-rated publisher of 2024. 

Sega released several projects in 2024. It kicked off the year strong with the release of Persona 3 Reload and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, a fantastic sequel to Yakuza 7 that further reinvented the franchise by taking our core group of characters to new parts of the world. Sega had another hit on its hands over the summer with the multiplatform release of Shin Megami Tensei V, which had previously only been available on Nintendo Switch. Sega's best game of 2024 was a brand new IP from Atlus – Metaphor: ReFantazio, which won a number of awards for its story and gameplay.

Metacritic takes the average metascore for each publisher's games, then factors in the percentage of good reviews versus bad reviews to calculate which publisher fared best each year. Sega ended up scoring 325.5 points based on this system, catipulting it from 9th place in 2023 to 1st place in 2024.

Capcom almost repeated as Metacritic's best publisher. After winning the award in 2023, the publisher went on to score 323 points in 2024, putting it just shy of Sega's total. This year also saw Microsoft rising through the ranks, achieving 9th place with 301 points.

KitGuru Says: Sega certainly released some great games last year, but for me, Square Enix was the best of 2024, in large part thanks to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, as well as the excellent PC version of Final Fantasy 16, which is a personal favourite of mine. 

The post Sega crowned as Metacritic’s best publisher of 2024 first appeared on KitGuru.

Bungie had to scale back pretty heavily on Destiny 2 content last year following the release of The Final Shape. This happened, in large part, due to the need for additional resources to get their next game ready – Marathon. Following multiple delays, Bungie appears to finally be set for a big launch in the coming months. 

The Steam backend has been updated, showing that Bungie is making behind-the-scenes changes to the Marathon store page. The new changes include extra ‘game editions', as well as pre-order bonuses. One of those free pre-order bonuses is exactly what you would expect – a set of Marathon-themed skins for Destiny 2. While the two games are not connected, Bungie looks to be planning on leveraging its multiple IPs to cross-promote each game. With that in mind, we wouldn't be surprised to see some type of promotional event for the game within Destiny 2 as well.

According to industry insider, Jeff Grubb, Bungie is going to announce Marathon details in April, during its own event, separate to Sony's State of Play streams for PlayStation first-party games. This would be in line with Bungie's usual schedule, as the company often makes announcements in April and August, with smaller updates from the studio sprinkled in-between.

Marathon is a PvP focused shooter with extraction-based gameplay, pitting teams of three players against each other to gather loot and get out of the zone alive. The game is set to release for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

KitGuru Says: Given how little Bungie has done with Destiny's PvP mode, I do wonder how many fans are going to be willing to pay more money to finally get a decent PvP experience. 

The post Bungie is preparing for imminent Marathon launch announcement first appeared on KitGuru.

Ubisoft has a lot riding on the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows later this month. Ahead of the March 20th launch day, the publisher has now announced details on pre-loading, as well as global unlock times for digital copies of the game across PC, PS5 and Xbox. 

Following on from two delays, Assassin's Creed Shadows is due to launch on the 20th of March. While fans have been asking for an Assassin's Creed game set in Japan for decades, much of the discussion around the game pre-release has been negative. This launch day will tell us whether or not that was a vocal minority, or if fans are, by large, done with Ubisoft.

It wouldn't be unprecedented to see this game do incredibly well despite the negativity online. After all, there was also a lot of negativity surrounding Hogwarts Legacy prior to that game's launch, but ultimately, that game went on to be the best-selling game of the year.

Those who have pre-ordered Assassin's Creed Shadows can begin pre-loading on March 4th for Xbox, March 17th for PC and March 18th of PS5. The game will unlock early for those on Ubisoft Connect, with the game becoming available at 10PM GMT on March 19th, those buying the game on Steam will have to wait several hours longer, with the game set to unlock at 4AM GMT on March 20th. On consoles, the game will unlock at midnight local time.

Assassin's Creed Shadows releases on March 20th for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

KitGuru Says: I have a feeling that this game is going to review better than expected and ultimately do well enough to keep Ubisoft afloat for a bit longer. 

The post Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-load details announced – game unlocks early on Ubisoft Connect first appeared on KitGuru.

It has been almost six years since the release of Gears 5, leaving fans with a lengthy wait for the next entry in Microsoft's famed third-person shooter franchise. While initially announced for 2025, it is now being reported that Gears E-Day will now be coming in 2026. 

According to reliable leaker eXtas1s, Gears of War E-Day is now targeting a 2026 launch date. This lines up with another recent delay from Xbox, with the company confirming that Fable is also now releasing in 2026.

According to the source, this delay also lines the game up to release day-one on PS5, alongside PC and Xbox. Fable is also rumoured to be releasing day-one on PS5 now, following its delay to 2026. There is no word on a version for the Nintendo Switch 2 and it is unclear if any Microsoft studios have development kits for Nintendo's next console.

It is also suggested that the long-rumoured Gears of War Collection, packaging together the original trilogy, plus Gears of War Judgement, is due out this year. However, we've been hearing that for about a decade now, so I wouldn't hold my breath for that one.

KitGuru Says: Gears of War E-Day was a great surprise when it was announced last year. Given how packed this year is about to be, in no small part thanks to the impending release of GTA 6, I wouldn't be surprised to see more Xbox titles being pushed to 2026 to give them a better chance of making a big splash. 

The post Gears of War E-Day tipped for 2026 launch for Xbox, PC and PS5 first appeared on KitGuru.

Former Uncharted writer and director, Amy Hennig, has been working away on a new Marvel game for quite some time. Her new studio at Skydance revealed more details about Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra last year, including a 2025 release window. Unfortunately, the game is going to arrive much later than anticipated and is likely to be delayed due to its proximity to Grand Theft Auto 6. 

Marvel, DC and Star Wars-focused news outlet, The Direct, spoke with Khary Payton, one of the voice actors involved in the project, revealing that the studio is planning on a Christmas-time release, meaning we are unlikely to get our hands on the game until December. Typically when games target a release that late in the year, it means that a delay is also being considered. However, the situation might not be that simple in 2025 due to one large elephant in the room.

Few studios have announced their planned release dates this year due to the looming threat of Grand Theft Auto 6, a game that is expected to break sales records and actively take sales away from other popular franchises. It is one of the reasons Microsoft recently delayed Fable from 2025 to 2026, and it is rumoured that Gears of War: E-Day has suffered a similar fate.

In an interview published in December last year, Marvel 1943 director, Amy Hennig, confirmed a few story details about the game, which is set to feature a young Captain America, and a Black Panther looking to shield Wakanda from the effects of World War 2.

KitGuru Says: If this release window is accurate, then I do expect a delay for this game. It would have to be out months before GTA 6 to avoid the impact that game is going to have on the market. A 2026 release date several months later could serve them better, particularly if you factor in the rise in current-gen console sales that is likely to take place alongside the launch of GTA 6. 

The post Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra reportedly targeting December release window first appeared on KitGuru.

A few weeks ago, EA officially announced Battlefield Labs, a new testing program intended to show more transparency on plans for future Battlefield titles and allow developers to gather feedback much earlier in the development process. Thousands of fans have already signed up to participate and now, the first playtest is ready to begin. 

According to Insider Gaming, the first Battlefield Labs playtest is set to begin this Friday (March 7th). However, you'll have a very limited time window to get in on the action, as the first test is reportedly planned to last just two hours, and it will only be playable on PC, which is common for alpha-phase playtesting.

EA previously called Battlefield Labs its “most ambitious community development collaboration ever”, but we'll have to wait and see how frequently these playtests appear. One two-hour session a month – on a weekday no less, likely isn't going to garner the level of feedback required to really get a finger on the pulse of what fans are looking for.

The next Battlefield game is expected to release later this year, so we would anticipate many more Battlefield Labs playtests to pick up steam in the months ahead.

KitGuru Says: Did any of you sign up for Battlefield Labs? Were you invited to this week's playtest? 

The post Battlefield Labs playtests begin this week first appeared on KitGuru.

2024 didn't exactly go to plan for many teams across the PlayStation Studios business. Many ‘live service' games have now been cancelled, two studios have closed entirely and on top of that, there have been multiple waves of lay-offs. Unfortunately, things aren't quite turning around in 2025 just yet, as more lay-offs have been announced. 

Sony is undergoing a restructuring effort across its US-based studios. As part of this, employees at Sony's Visual Arts studio in San Diego have now been let go. This follows a series of cancellations in recent weeks.

As reported by Eurogamer, the cuts have something to do with the recent cancellation of the next game from Days Gone developer, Bend Studios. Additionally, Sony had Bluepoint working on a live-service game set in the God of War universe, which has also been cancelled.

Under previous head, Jim Ryan, PlayStation spent billions embarking on a mission to reinvent its studios as live service teams. At one point, Sony had more than a dozen live service games in development at first party studios. Now just a few years later, the vast majority of those projects have been cancelled, with Sony scaling back its live service ambitions.

KitGuru Says: Jim Ryan really made a mess of things with the acquisition of Bungie and the big push towards live service. We're now at a point where even mentioning the term leads to bad PR for your game, as we saw with the announcement and eventual failed launch of Concord. 

The post Sony cancels more live service projects and lets go of more PlayStation staff first appeared on KitGuru.

Today, at MWC 2025, Intel unveiled its new lineup of Intel Core Ultra 200U, 200H, 200HX and 200S series processors, alongside the Intel Core Ultra 200V series. This expanded portfolio is aimed at ‘AI PCs' and businesses looking to improve compute performance, efficiency and manageability across desktop and mobile form factors. 

Speaking on the launch, Intel Client Computing Group VP, David Feng, said: “2025 is a pivotal year for PC refresh, and with Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processors, we’re delivering the most advanced commercial systems to date. Our AI PC processors cater to every form factor – from thin-and-light productivity devices to high-performance workstations – all backed by Intel vPro, which sets the industry standard in business computing with unmatched manageability and security.”

Compared with a four-year-old Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor, the new Intel Core Ultra 7 265H processor delivers up to 2.84x higher multicore performance in Cinebench 2024, up to 1.39x faster performance in Procyon office productivity tests and up to 1.97x faster video editing performance in Procyon tests.

Targeting the business sector, these processors use Intel vPro, which is built to provide advanced fleet provisioning and additional security.

Intel also introduced the Intel Assured Supply Chain (ASC) program, designed to provide customers with greater visibility and assurance in the silicon manufacturing process. This specialized client system-on-chip (SoC) solution, initially offered on select Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) mobile and desktop SKUs, ensures a digitally attestable chain of custody for each chip, leveraging a dedicated manufacturing pathway through specific production facilities. This added layer of transparency assures customers of the integrity and reliability of their silicon supply chain.

KitGuru Says: Intel Core Ultra 200 had a bit of a disastrous launch on desktop last year, but things have been fixed up at this stage and now, the rollout of additional chips is ready to kick off. Intel's future in the semiconductor segment is also starting to look up, as major tech companies have reportedly begun testing the Intel 18A process technology.

KitGuru Says: Intel's 2024 did not go to plan but perhaps things will turn around in 2025 now that Intel Foundry Services is beginning to get off the ground. 

The post Intel expands Core Ultra 200 line-up and launches Assured Supply Chain program first appeared on KitGuru.

Nvidia continues its rollout of RTX 50 series graphics cards today with the RTX 5070. While this card is decidedly an unambitious product, it can still serve a purpose on the market, particularly for those with an older RTX 20 series GPU, or a lower tier RTX 30 series GPU. We've rounded up details on UK pricing and availability, with a focus on GPUs targeting Nvidia's £539 MRSP price point. 

The RTX 5070 is launching at an MSRP price point of £539. Typically, we see very few GPUs actually meeting this price point, as we saw recently with the launch of the RTX 5070 Ti. There are a few more MSRP options available for the RTX 5070 at launch, coming from the likes of MSI, Asus, Palit and Zotac.

Over at SCAN, the MSI Ventus 2x OC RTX 5070, the Zotac RTX 5070 Solid, the Palit RTX 5070 Gaming Pro and the Asus RTX 5070 Prime cards can all be found at MSRP. The teams at CCL Online and ebuyer have the Asus RTX 5070 Prime in stock at this price too. Over at Overclockers UK, the Zotax RTX 5070 Solid can be found at MSRP.

What this does mean is that anyone looking for a higher-tier cooler, like the MSI Gaming Trio X, or an Asus Strix graphics card, should expect to pay a bit more, likely in the region of £100 to £200 more. It is also worth noting that we often see MSRP-level cards going up in price after launch depending on how quickly units sell out, so if you aren't ready right now on day-one, there is a chance that prices change by the time you go to make a purchase. With no RTX 5070 Founders Edition available on day-one either, board partners could use this opportunity to improve margins. We will assess the pricing situation further in future reviews over the course of the year.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up an RTX 5070? Are you happy with this card's starting price, or do you think it should go down a bit further considering its performance versus the previous-gen RTX 4070 Super? 

The post Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 launches at £539 first appeared on KitGuru.

Microsoft is kicking off March with a bang by bringing six titles to Game Pass over the next couple of weeks. The big headliner is one of my most anticipated indie games of the year – 33 Immortals. 

33 Immortals featured prominently on my list of indie games to watch out for in 2024. Unfortunately, the title was delayed to 2025, but it is now just a few weeks away. In this game, teams of up to 33 players will embark on massive raids, synergising abilities to take down powerful bosses along the way. The game enters Early Access (Game Preview in Xbox terms), on the 18th of March and will be available day-one to all PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

Here is the full list of titles heading to Game Pass over the next couple of weeks, including dates and platforms:

• Monster Train (Cloud, Console and PC) – Available Now
• Galacticare (Xbox Series X/S – March 5th
• One Lonely Outpost (Cloud, Console and PC) – March 6th
• Enter the Gungeon (Cloud, Console and PC) – March 11th
• Mullet Madjack (Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC) – March 13th
• 33 Immortals (Cloud, Xbox Series X/S and PC) – March 18th

There will be another wave of Xbox Game Pass titles announced in two weeks' time.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

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

The post 33 Immortals and five other indie hits join Game Pass this month first appeared on KitGuru.

While we were all expecting the next season of Call of Duty to kick off this month, complete with a return to the original Verdansk map for Warzone, Activision is opting to take a bit more time, pushing the new season back to April. 

If you've been keeping up with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2, you may be a tad disappointed to learn that you'll have to wait a bit longer for new content. However, if you are like me and struggle to finish the season pass, you could look at this as more of a blessing, as you'll now have a few extra weeks to earn the rest of the tiers.

Season 03 is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and we’re taking the time to deliver a great experience starting on April 3.

More to come following Call of Duty: Warzone’s 5th anniversary next week… pic.twitter.com/TmPJnoYBZS

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) March 3, 2025

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 is now launching on the 3rd of April. The new season will kick off celebrations for the fifth anniversary of Call of Duty: Warzone, by bringing back the game's original map, Verdansk.

While the return to Verdansk is supposed to be a celebratory event, there is some concern for the future of Warzone. One Call of Duty leaker has claimed that this upcoming season will serve as a test, meaning if player retention doesn't improve, Activision may axe plans for Warzone 3.0 with Call of Duty 2026, which is also supposedly going to be the first COD title for Microsoft's next-gen Xbox console.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Warzone is now a pillar of the COD experience, so I'm not sure I buy the rumour that Activision is looking to axe it. If it were to go, Activision would need to rethink its strategy as not having a free-to-play mode in today's gaming market could be disastrous for the future of the series. 

The post Activision delays Season 3 content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 first appeared on KitGuru.

We're already well aware that Monster Hunter Wilds has been a huge sales success. Just one look at the game's record-breaking player count on Steam would tell us that. Now, Capcom has revealed more specific sales numbers, with Monster Hunter Wilds being crowned as the publisher's fastest-selling game ever. 

Despite its issues, Monster Hunter Wilds has launched as Capcom's fastest-selling game ever. The game launched last Friday and sold through eight million copies over the weekend, putting it in prime position to eventually overtake Monster Hunter World as Capcom's best-selling game of all time. Currently, Monster Hunter World sits at 28 million copies sold, outselling every other Capcom title individually, although franchises like Resident Evil have sold more copies across the whole series.

Speaking on the sales milestone, a Capcom spokesperson said: “Monster Hunter Wilds has evoked massive excitement and achieved sales of 8 million units in 3 days, the fastest any game has done so in Capcom’s history. Capcom remains firmly committed to satisfying the expectations of all users by leveraging its industry leading game development capabilities in order to create highly entertaining gameplay experiences.”

Currently, Monster Hunter Wilds sits at a ‘mixed' user score on Steam, mostly due to optimisation. The game is far too demanding to run on many GPUs and the graphics don't quite justify the level of performance required. The fact that Capcom put Frame Generation in its recommended PC system requirements has many thinking that Capcom is relying on those technologies to save on additional development time.

Capcom has not yet mentioned any plans to improve the PC performance of the game for a broader range of hardware. It isn't just PC players facing issues, however, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game also suffer from low-res texture issues.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Have you tried Monster Hunter Wilds yet? How are you finding the game so far? Do you think it will eventually surpass Monster Hunter World?

The post Monster Hunter Wilds crowned as Capcom’s fastest-selling game ever first appeared on KitGuru.

The GOG Preservation Program is expanding once again. Last week, Warner Bros made the shocking decision to close down Monolith Productions, the studio behind Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and prior to that, the cult-classic shooter series ‘FEAR'. Now, GOG is aiming to preserve FEAR for generations to come. 

The GOG Preservation Program sees the team at GOG putting in the development work to keep old games running on newer operating systems and newer generations of PC hardware. The program already includes over 100 classic games, including the likes of STALKER, Heroes of Might and Magic, Diablo, Warcraft, Riven, Myst, Alpha Protocol, Resident Evil 1-3, Carmageddon, Empire Earth, X-COM: UFO Defense, Earthworm Jim, Ultima, Legacy of Kain and more.

Following the closure of Monolith Productions, GOG decided to bring FEAR into the fold. The FEAR Platinum Edition, which includes post-launch patches and additional content, will be maintained and tested to ensure it works on modern PCs and platforms. That means if you pick up the game through GOG, you'll always have the most up-to-date version, without any changes to the original content of the game.

It is unclear of the sequels, FEAR 2 and FEAR 3, will also be added to the program, but as a huge fan of the entire trilogy, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for exactly that.

KitGuru Says: Did any of you play the FEAR games back in the day? If you've never picked it up before, be sure to grab the DRM-free version from GOG. 

The post GOG adds classic shooter ‘FEAR’ to preservation program following Monolith shutdown first appeared on KitGuru.

The cancellation of Scalebound ended up hitting Microsoft's reputation pretty hard during the Xbox One era and Microsoft has been trying to improve its relationships with Japanese developers ever since. The director behind the game, Hideki Kamiya, has discussed the possibility of reviving the project before and now he's hoping to get Microsoft's blessing now that his new studio has started up. 

Kamiya's new studio, Clovers Inc, is currently working on one major project already – Okami 2, a long-awaited sequel to one of the best action-adventure games of the PS2-era. However, the team might be looking to take on more work, reigniting the discussion around Scalebound.

Let’s do it, Phil ! https://t.co/BLdBs3hxGt

— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@HidekiKamiya_X) March 3, 2025

In a recent video shared by Clovers Inc on social media, Kamiya can be seen rewatching old footage of Scalebound, which was deep into development when it was cancelled. Originally, the game was being developed by Kamiya and the team at Platinum Games but two years ago, Kamiya stepped away from Platinum and has now formed his own game studio to develop the games he wants to make. This directly led to Okami 2 being greenlit decades after the first game's launch.

Sharing the video on his own account, Kamiya added a message – “Let's do it Phil!”, calling for Phil Spencer to get back in touch. Unfortunately so far, Microsoft has shown no indication that it wants to bring back Scalebound, but as the owner of the IP, they would have to sign off on any plan to bring the game back.

KitGuru Says: I doubt Microsoft is going to go all-in on Scalebound again. However, there is some hope. We've seen in the past that Microsoft has released several IP back to their original studios to allow them to continue working on them. Remedy obtained the rights to Alan Wake back for instance, so perhaps Microsoft would be willing to hand the IP rights over to Kamiya and his new studio. 

The post Hideki Kamiya wants Phil Spencer to approve Scalebound revival first appeared on KitGuru.

Since launch, Blizzard has been hard at work on improving Diablo 4 but the game is facing increased competition in 2025 thanks to Path of Exile 2. As a result, Blizzard is taking some extra time with its next season. 

Diablo 4: Season 8 has been delayed by several weeks. Blizzard's Diablo franchise head, Rod Fergusson confirmed this over the weekend, saying: “In the spirit of serving the game, not the plan, Season 8 will take a couple of weeks longer to bake than we initially anticipated. The team is hard at work on some great updates coming in the next season, so stay tuned. Looking forward to seeing an old ‘friend'”.

Blizzard has revealed few details about the plan for Season 8 of Diablo 4, so we aren't sure who the ‘old friend' Fergusson mentions is, but it will hopefully lead to a new endgame boss fight, something Diablo 4 needs more of to improve variety.

Blizzard also recently announced that there will not be a new expansion for Diablo 4 this year, instead opting for an 18-24 month development window that will see the next expansion launch in 2026.

KitGuru Says: Have you been keeping up with Diablo 4 since the launch of Vessel of Hatred? Or have you moved on to other games? 

The post Diablo 4 Season 8 has been delayed first appeared on KitGuru.

Poor PC optimisation isn't the only problem players are having with Monster Hunter Wilds right now. Capcom has one-upped itself in the microtransaction department with £6 vouchers to edit your character after the initial set-up phase. Fortunately for those of us on PC, mods can bypass this entirely. 

The Monster Hunter games have always had plenty of cosmetic microtransactions but locking mere character edits behind a paywall seems like a step too far. The fact that these limited-use vouchers cost £5.79 a pop pushes things over the edge, but fortunately, modders already have workarounds in place.

Thanks to modder ‘Ridog8' on Nexusmods, PC players can freely edit their player character without buying one of these insane vouchers. The mod also lets you make changes to your Palico's appearance. Other mods available on Nexus also allow you to adjust the shading and colour balance of the game, which should help those who feel the game is too brown in areas and washed out in others. SFX replacement mods, game balance mods and other tools are also available to PC players.

Now we do have to take into account the potential for Capcom to start banning mod users. If you are planning on using mods, you should steer away from the online modes, particularly if you are using a cheat mod like Infinite Sharpness, Monsters ignore Camp or mods that increase item drop rates.

KitGuru Says: Monster Hunter Wilds is already a huge success, amassing over 1.3 million concurrent players on PC alone during its launch day. The game costs £60 for the base edition, which to me, makes microtransactions like character edit vouchers unacceptable. Unfortunately, those on console will be forced to live with their customisation choices, or be forced to start a new save to avoid paying. 

The post PC mods bypass Capcom’s crazy character edit microtransactions in Monster Hunter Wilds first appeared on KitGuru.

Since its release in 2008, Sonic Unleashed has remained exclusive to console platforms. Originally released for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and Nintendo Wii, PC gamers have had to rely on emulators in order to experience this legendary title in the 3D Sonic line-up. Fortunately, a group of fans have now changed that with their own PC port. 

Sonic Unleashed was the first game in the franchise to offer a perfect blend of classic side scrolling gameplay with the modern 3D style. In many ways, the game can be viewed as a prototype for Sonic Generations, but that would be doing a disservice to the quality of some of the levels in Sonic Unleashed. Now for the first time, PC gamers can experience the game via Unleashed Recompiled.

Sonic Unleashed Recompiled is a port of the Xbox 360 version of the game for PC. The fan team behind the port has even included modern resolution support, including support for Ultrawide displays, built-in achievements, controller icons for multiple styles of gamepad and more. You can even run the game with an uncapped frame rate if you want to push the engine to its limits.

The project is available on GitHub, so it can be freely downloaded and the source code can all be seen if you fancy taking a look at how it all runs under the hood.

KitGuru Says: Did you play Sonic Unleashed on console back in the day? Will you be grabbing the PC port while its available? We'd recommend doing so, as you never know when a project like this might get taken down. Typically, Sega is a little kinder to its fan creators than the likes of Nintendo, so it may end up being spared but time will tell. 

The post Fans port Sonic Unleashed to PC for first time first appeared on KitGuru.

Edge of Eternity resonated with JRPG fans and ended up being a huge success during its Steam Early Access phase. Now with development of that game complete, the team is moving on to its next big project, Edge of Memories, bringing in writers and designers from the Nier and Xenoblade series to help push the quality bar even higher. 

Based in Montpellier, Studio Midgar has now hired Sawako Natori (Nier) to aid in writing the story for Edge of Memories, as well as Raita Kazama (Xenoblade Chronicles X) to design key characters. The new game is set in the same world as Edge of Eternity but telling a new story with a blend of JRPG mechanics and French animation.

Fans of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack will also be pleased to know that composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, is also on board with this project, alongside Xenoblade Chronicles 3 composer, Mariam Abounnasr.

Edge of Memories is set to launch later this year for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It is unclear if the sequel will have an early access period like the first game, but typically, Early Access titles don't launch on PlayStation, so it sounds like the studio is aiming to have the full game ready for day-one this time.

KitGuru Says: Edge of Eternity was a great surprise and one of the few big Kickstarter success stories. The game's success has allowed the studio to hire on JRPG veterans to ensure the sequel is bigger and better. Now we'll just have to wait and see how it shapes up on release. 

The post Edge of Eternity studio hires Chrono Trigger, Nier and Xenoblade devs for sequel first appeared on KitGuru.

Update: This competition is now CLOSED. We are tallying the entries and will announce a winner here shortly. 

KitGuru has teamed up with Seagate to offer an incredible prize for business and tech enthusiasts alike. This is your chance to win a QNAP TS-264-8G NAS alongside a pair of 4TB Seagate IronWolf Pro drives, delivering a total of 8TB of high-performance storage.

If you’ve been looking to upgrade your storage solution, this competition is one you won’t want to miss. The QNAP TS-264-8G is a compact, high-performance 2-bay NAS designed for multitasking. With support for up to 24TB of total storage and 4TB of M.2 SSD caching, it’s perfect for file management, backup, collaboration and even video conversion. Whether you're a business user looking for reliable data management or a home user wanting a robust media server, the TS-264-8G delivers an impressive feature set at an affordable price.

To ensure your NAS runs at its best, the winner will also receive two 4TB Seagate IronWolf Pro drives—the ideal choice for multi-bay NAS environments. Designed for 24×7 operation, IronWolf drives offer high durability, sustained data rates up to 180 MB/s, and burst speeds of 6 Gb/s. With a 180 TB/year workload limit and IronWolf Health Management to monitor drive health in compatible NAS systems, these drives are built for reliability and longevity.

How to Enter:

Entering this competition is simple, all you need to do is head over to our competition post on Facebook or X and hit the share button – feel free to enter on both to double your chance of winning!

A winner will be picked randomly from the pool of entries and announced here and on our socials within a week of the competition closing date.

This is your chance to secure a powerful, scalable, and reliable storage solution, completely free! As part of this prize, the Seagate IronWolf Pro drives come with Seagate’s Rescue Data Recovery Service – offering you peace of mind in case the unexpected happens. This industry-leading service provides expert data recovery in the event of mechanical failure, accidental damage, or even natural disasters. With an impressive 90% success rate, Seagate’s professionals work to restore your valuable data, ensuring that your files, projects, and archives remain safe. This added layer of protection makes IronWolf Pro drives an even smarter choice for NAS users who rely on their storage every day.

You can find out more about the Seagate IronWolf Pro drives, QNAP NAS and Seagate Rescue Services using these links:-

• Seagate IronWolf Pro drives
• QNAP TS-264-8G NAS
• Seagate Rescue Data Recovery

Terms & Conditions:

This competition is running from March 3rd 2025 to March 10th 2025. A Winner will be picked and announced before March 30th. Due to shipping restrictions, this competition is open to UK residents only.  In keeping with GDPR guidelines, no personal information will be saved and all emails and correspondence will be deleted from our servers once the prizes have been delivered.

KitGuru Says: Good luck to all entering, we'll be back in a couple of weeks to announce a winner!

The post Win a Powerful QNAP TS-264-8G NAS and 8TB of Seagate IronWolf Pro storage! (CLOSED) first appeared on KitGuru.