Just days before its anticipated reveal at Computex next week, new leaks are shedding more light on AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics card, including clock speeds, video ports, and its PCIe interface.
Hardware leaker @momomo_us has revealed details circulating among retailers, including previously unseen specifications. The new information includes game clocks listed at 2700 MHz and 2780 MHz. This suggests the RX 9060 XT's typical game clock will be faster than the boost clock of the RX 9070. Boost clock speeds have also been leaked, with the highest boost clock documented for the RX 9060 XT sitting at 3320 MHz, notably higher than the RX 9070 XT's 3100 MHz boost.
The leak also suggests the Navi 44 GPU will use a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. That's particularly useful for those who wish to pair the GPU with PCIe 4.0 systems, as 16x lanes shouldn't hinder performance. The leak also verifies that the card will be powered by a single 8-pin power connector and feature 2x DisplayPorts and an HDMI port, consistent with other RX 9060 XT variants seen thus far.
Unofficially, the Radeon RX 9060 XT is expected to feature 2048 Stream Processors and be available in 16 GB and 8 GB memory options, both running at 20 Gbps across a 128-bit memory bus. AMD has not officially shared any pricing, performance benchmarks, or power specifications, which are expected to be revealed soon, potentially at Computex.
KitGuru says: Seeing the rumoured specs for the Radeon RX 9060 XT, do you think it will be better, worse, or about the same as the RTX 5060 Ti in rasterisation?
Guerrilla Games is pretty well known for being a leaky studio at this point. Through various sources, we've learned about the multiplayer Horizon spin-off early, and now, we are also starting to see leaks around plans for Horizon 3.
The next major installment in the Horizon series is claimed to be targeting a 2027 launch, according to a new potential leaker on the scene, TCMFGames. The account claims that Horizon 3, which will complete Aloy's trilogy, may also be a cross-generation game, releasing for both PS5 and the PlayStation 6, which is expected to arrive in 2027.
The Horizon series so far has sold 30 million copies, spanning two games – Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. The third game in the trilogy will supposedly focus on Nemesis, a rogue AI heading towards earth, as shown during the events of Forbidden West.
It is also claimed that the long-rumoured Horizon multiplayer spin-off will release before the next major single-player game.
KitGuru Says: It feels a bit too soon to be talking about next-gen consoles, as the pandemic led to so many game delays. Still, it seems as though the industry will be forging ahead, with both Microsoft and Sony apparently targeting 2027 for new hardware launches.
The Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 mod scene is poised to expand dramatically. Developers have officially released the game's Integration Studio, which provides players with the same toolbox used to construct and test the game, allowing modders to better integrate their creations within the game.
Director Dmitry Grigorenko announced the official Integration Studio for public use, giving the community unprecedented access to the game's engine. This release means Space Marine 2 modders now have more creative flexibility than ever before. The official dev toolkit is expected to ease mod production significantly and dramatically speed up development while providing access to powerful tools previously unavailable to the public, such as the game's AI behaviour trees, level scenario builder, UI and HUD components, and much more.
Released last year, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 effectively revived the Warhammer community and drew new interest. The game has seen consistent ongoing support, and this release of dev tools is arguably its most significant update yet. It is set to make modding easier and more open-ended than before. While many modifications have already been created (including a recent 12-player co-op mod), the official tools should empower the community like never before.
Looking ahead, developers have also revealed plans for periodic new releases as Space Marine 2's Year 1 cycle continues, promising more enemy variety, weaponry, and armour. By releasing their internal development tools, Sabre Interactive is showing a strong commitment to empowering the modding community, setting the stage for player-created content to potentially extend the life and possibilities of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2.
KitGuru says: Are you still playing Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2? Do you intend to use the native mod support to create something of your own, or will you wait to see what others do?
While it was previously reported by a voice actor working on Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra that the game would release this holiday season, the game needs more time in the oven. Today, a 2026 release date was officially confirmed by Skydance Games.
In a tweet shared this afternoon, Skydance Games confirmed that Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has been delayed and will now release in ‘early 2026'. Presumably, this means before the end of March, keeping the game well ahead of GTA 6, which lands in May next year.
In its statement, Skydance said that “taking this additional time will allow us to add more polish, and make sure we give you the best possible experience”.
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra showcases an early-career Captain America, fighting in the middle of World War 2. Black Panther also features prominently in the game, as he looks to protect Wakanda from being discovered by Nazi forces.
KitGuru Says: Hopefully we'll get a more concrete release date later this year. With this being a major AAA Marvel release, I'd expect to see a new trailer sometime this summer.
Regulatory filings often provide concrete evidence of upcoming hardware, and the latest from Maxsun, a Chinese PC hardware company, is no exception. Filings with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) confirm the existence of the previously rumoured Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card and a high-capacity variant of the Intel Arc B580.
The EEC entries shared by @Olrak29_ suggest that a discrete GeForce RTX 5050 GPU is coming soon. Listings show up to 16 distinct variants from various Maxsun series, including iCraft, Transformer, Terminator, and OTES. The filings confirm that the RTX 5050 will feature 8 GB of VRAM, although the EEC listings do not confirm the specific memory type (GDDR6 or GDDR7).
According to previous rumours and leakers, the RTX 5050 is expected to use the GB207 GPU with 2560 Cores and a TDP around 130W, likely on a 128-bit memory bus. Other Maxsun EEC filings also list higher-end RTX 50 series GPUs like the RTX 5080, 5070 Ti, 5070, 5060 Ti, and 5060 – the latter expected to be announced by Nvidia at Computex next week. Rumours suggest the RTX 5060 will also come with 8 GB of GDDR7 VRAM and a 128-bit memory bus, indicating the RTX 5050 will sit below it in the stack. Pricing and availability are still unknown, but with Computex right around the corner, we might learn something in the coming weeks.
Adding to these findings, the EEC filings (also via @Olrak29_) also confirm a specific variant of the Intel Arc B580 from Maxsun. The listing for the ‘ARC B580 iCraft 24G OC' provides concrete evidence that Intel is indeed developing a version of the B580 with 24 GB of VRAM. This supports recent rumours about a high-capacity B580.
KitGuru says: Would you be more interested in an RTX 5050 GPU or an Arc B580 graphics card with 24 GB of VRAM?
Recently, Amazon confirmed that filming had wrapped on Fallout Season 2. Now, barely a week later, the first teaser trailer for season 2 has dropped, and Amazon has renewed the series for a third season.
As reported by Hollywood-focused news outlet, Variety, Fallout has amassed over 100 million viewers since the first season released. That ranks the show in Amazon's top three ever and as a result, it is now amongst Amazon's top priorities for the Prime streaming service.
Amazon has quickly begun putting together Fallout's second season, releasing a teaser trailer and confirming a December 2025 premiere date. The previous season spent one year in editing before airing, but with the show now being a priority, it is beginning post-production immediately.
Recent comments from one of the Fallout series stars, Aaron Moten, point to a six-season plan for Fallout. Amazon clearly has faith in the show, having renewed it for Season 3 well ahead of Season 2's release. Now we just have to see if the show can maintain viewership.
KitGuru Says: As much as I enjoy HBO's The Last of Us, the Fallout series surprised fans in all the right ways and feels like the superior show to me. Are you looking forward to the next season of Fallout?
FBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment's first multiplayer game, is coming out next month. Ahead of the launch, Remedy has now announced plans for a public playtest, but you'll need to sign up to participate.
While this is a public playtest, it is not an open playtest. Those interested in trying Remedy's co-op shooter, set in Control's Oldest House, will need to sign up now and wait for an invite to participate. The playtest will take place between the 15th of May and the 19th of May, giving players just one weekend to put the game to the test ahead of its June 17th launch.
FBC: Firebreak will see teams of three FBC employees taking down threats throughout The Oldest House, armed with various inventive weapon types, as shown in a previous gameplay trailer.
The game will be launching on Steam and the Epic Games Store, a notable change from Alan Wake 2, which has remained an Epic Games Store exclusive since launch. The game will also be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Better yet, Remedy will be adding the game to both PlayStation Plus Premium and Xbox Game Pass (PC Game Pass included), on day-one.
KitGuru Says: Are you interested in FBC: Firebreak? Will you be grabbing it via Game Pass / PS+, or will you be buying it?
Shift Up teased plans for a PC version of Stellar Blade last year. Now, after months of development, the game is finally coming to PC, complete with a new boss battle, alongside support for all of the PC-specific features you would expect.
PlayStation Studios will be publishing the PC version of Stellar Blade. The new trailer showcases the PC build in action:
The trailer was initially published early on the PlayStation YouTube channel but was later taken down. The video above is a mirror.
PC gamers can expect 25 new costumes and a new boss battle in the launch version of the game. That same content will be available on PS5 as well, but it is included with the PC version of the game at launch. The PC version also sports higher resolution textures, support for ultrawide resolution displays, upscaling features like DLSS 4 and FSR 3, an unlocked frame rate and keyboard/mouse support. Shift Up has also made an effort to optimise the game for handheld PC systems like the Steam Deck.
Stellar Blade will release on Steam and the Epic Games Store on the 11th of June.
KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up Stellar Blade now that it is finally coming to PC?
Rockstar recently announced that GTA 6 has been delayed. The new release date is now set for May 26th 2026 and while this has been good for several games releasing this year, titles that had been internally delayed to Spring 2026 are now in a tricky spot.
According to Bloomberg's games industry expert, Jason Schreier, the GTA 6 delay has been good for a number of titles releasing this year, including The Outer Worlds 2, Ghost of Yotei, Marathon, Battlefield and the next COD game. However, at least one big multiplayer project has now found itself in a tricky position, as it had delayed to Spring 2026 to avoid GTA 6 and now risks releasing right alongside it.
The report also claims that there is ‘no guarantee' that GTA 6 does not get delayed again, so a second delay for this particular project could prove catastrophic for keeping within budget, thus raising the amount of sales required to achieve profit. Achieving even higher sales while being in the vicinity of GTA 6 will prove a tricky task for a smaller IP.
There are also developers hoping for clarification on the release of GTA Online. While GTA 6 Story Mode has been confirmed for May 26th 2026, the next iteration of GTA Online has not been confirmed for the same date. With GTA 5, Rockstar rolled out GTA Online separately from the single-player game. If the same thing happens with GTA 6, publishers will have two major release dates to watch out for, as GTA Online has proven to be one of the most popular live multiplayer games on the market.
KitGuru Says: Do you think GTA 6 will be delayed again? We did see two delays for Red Dead 2, so it wouldn't exactly be a first for Rockstar.
Back at CES 2025 we saw the brand new Omen Max 16 gaming laptop, with its reverse fan exhaust feature and futuristic design capturing our attention. Fast forward to now and we’ve had some hands on time with this gaming beast and put the Core Ultra 9 275HX and RTX 5080 through their paces. Will this high end laptop be able to keep itself cool enough to fully utilise the performance on offer? That’s what we'll find out in today's review.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:38 Pricing
01:10 The Design and RGB
02:05 The Keyboard and Trackpad
02:20 Build Quality
02:49 The Specifications
03:50 The Display
04:27 Battery / ports / connectors
04:53 Spec thoughts
05:56 How good is the screen?
06:25 Webcam
06:35 Running out of storage
07:03 Battery Life / Charger
07:40 Gaming Performance
08:05 Assassins Creed Shadows
08:18 Cyberpunk 2077
08:47 F1 2024
09:14 Forza Horizon 5
09:27 Oblivion Remastered
09:51 Black Myth Wukong
10:04 Gaming Performance Thoughts
10:25 Thermals / Power Modes
11:42 Noise and Sound Test
12:00 Reverse Fan (cleaning mode)
12:23 Modes
12:50 Should you buy it? Who Is It For?
Specifications:
Processor – Intel® Core Ultra 9 275HX
Memory – 32 GB DDR5-5600 MT/s (2 x 16 GB)
Graphics – NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU
Ports –
2 Thunderbolt 4 with USB Type-C® 40Gbps signaling rate
Keyboard – Full-size, per key RGB backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and NKRO Anti-Ghosting Key technology
Battery type – 6-cell, 83 Wh Li-ion polymer
Power supply type – 330 W AC power adapter
The core specs are confirmed in the following CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots:
I tested gaming performance on the OMEN Max 16 at both its native 2560×1600 resolution and also at 1920×1080. The latter unsurprisingly yielded higher framerate and was a better fit for the 240hz refresh rate panel. Performance varied from title to title by quite some margin, as can be seen in the screenshots below. For full details of all titles we tested, check out our full video review on YouTube.
Black Myth: Wukong (2560×1600)
F1 24 (2560×1600)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (1920×1080)
Cyberpunk 2077 (1920×1080)
Closing Thoughts
The Omen Max 16 is a great looking laptop, the model we were sent for the review is finished in a stunning white ceramic coating that certainly catches the eye. The finish is further accentuated by the great RGB implementation across the keyboard and underglow strip.
However, when we look at performance, it is plagued by the usual thermal issues that arise when manufacturers cram power hungry parts in to thin chassis. When using the ‘Unleashed' power profile found in the Omen Gaming Hub software, the Core Ultra 275HX very quickly hits its thermal limits and in turn throttles power usage, which results in substantial dips in performance core clock speeds and performance.
The 1TB SSD also disappointed when considering the £2999 price point. Game install sizes have grown year on year and we think 1TB just isn't enough for a premium gaming machine in 2025. The screen is a saving grace though – it's gorgeous, producing vibrant, crisp and smooth visuals which will satisfy even the most demanding pixel peepers.
For details of power usage, noise and temperatures check out our full video review on YouTube.
You can buy the OMEN Max 16 for £2999 directly from HP HERE.
Pros:
Svelte design.
Latest generation Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU.
Decent 1080p gaming performance.
Gorgeous screen.
Cons:
Suffers from CPU thermal throttling when under heavy workloads.
Expensive.
Poor battery life.
Only 1TB of SSD storage.
KitGuru says: The OMEN Max 16 is a beautiful laptop sadly hampered by poor thermal performance when under load.
The latest WD_Black SSD has arrived. The new WD_Black SN8100 NVMe PCIe 5.0 SSD utilises cutting-edge technology to deliver speeds up to 14,900MB/s, making it one of the fastest current-gen SSDs on the market.
The WD_Black SN8100 utilises advanced Sandisk BiCS TLC 3D CBA NAND technology to achieve top tier performance in the consumer SSD segment. The specs include sequential read speeds of up to 14,900MB/s, write speeds up to 14,000MB/s and random read performance of up to 2.3M IOPS. With up to 8TB capacity, this SSD is also perfect for storing high-quality 4K content and AI applications.
Speaking on the new drive, Eric Spanneut, vice president of devices for Sandisk, said: “Whether it’s for high-level gaming, professional content creation or AI applications, high-performance users now have a PCIe Gen 5.0 storage solution that matches speed with power efficiency to help them build the ultimate gaming rig or best-in-class workstation, enabling them to play and create with next-level performance and reliability”.
The new SSD is rated for up to 2,400 Terabytes Written (TBW) and will be available worldwide starting at £149.99 for the 1TB, moving up to £226.99 for the 2TB and £415.99 for the 4TB model. The 8TB version will be released later in the year and does not yet have a price tag. If you want a version of the SSD with a heatsink, you'll have to spend a little extra, with the 1TB version costing £166.99, the 2TB costing £244.99 and the 4TB costing £432.99.
KitGuru Says: The new WD_Black SN8100 SSD looks to deliver premium performance. It will be interesting to see them put to the test in the coming weeks.
DeepCool is getting ahead of the Computex rush with the unveiling of its new CH690 Digital chassis. This is DeepCool's next-generation PC case, combining high-performance airflow, real-time system monitoring and pleasing aesthetics for new professional and gaming builds.
The CH690 Digital features an integrated digital display that provides instant access to system statistics, including CPU, GPU, and PSU temperature (°C/°F), power consumption, usage, and frequency. With switchable modes, users can effortlessly monitor fan speeds and system performance.
The CH690 Digital also supports extensive cooling configurations, including liquid-cooling radiators up to 420mm long in the roof, a 280mm radiator on the side, and a 360mm radiator within the PSU shroud. The PSU shroud is made of mesh, so your radiator won't be starved for airflow. The case accommodates 450mm GPUs, 180mm PSUs, and CPU air coolers up to 182mm, making it ideal for high-end builds.
If you feel like you need some more airflow, the rear panel can be swapped out with a mesh panel and fan bracket. For the front I/O panel, users get USB 3.0, USB Type-C and an audio jack.
The CH690 Digital will be available starting this month in black or white colour options. Prices start at €99.99 for the black version, going up to €109.99 for the white version.
KitGuru Says: We look forward to getting a closer look at this case. Are any of you currently shopping around for a new build? Are you considering a case like the CH690 Digital?
Ever since Nintendo officially unveiled the Switch 2, one of the system’s many talking points has surrounded its use of a new Game-Key Card system which includes no data on the cartridge itself. Thanks to a recent leak, we have a greater idea of exactly how these cards will function – and it’s slightly better than expected.
With regards to the Game-Key Cards, the leak claims that these 0GB cartridges should (hopefully) be usable no matter where in the world you are.
This is due to the fact that instead of downloading the game from the eShop, these Game-Key Cards can access a dedicated server which is independent of Nintendo’s digital store.
Though yet to be confirmed, this could allow for faster download speeds as well as a greater level of long-term support – assuming Nintendo chooses to keep these servers up beyond the life-cycle of the eShop itself.
While still a rather controversial addition, Switch 2’s Game-Key Cards are perhaps slightly less egregious than previously thought. It’s just a shame that developers/publishers have very few options when it comes to printing physical Switch 2 games.
In an interview conducted by RPGSite, Nightdive Studios’ founder and CEO Stephen Kick spoke on a great deal of topics – ranging from their current projects; to their ownership under Atari and how they go about remastering games.
In discussing their increased success and cache within the industry, Kick was asked “Has it now reached a point where there are more people who want you to bring their games to modern platforms than you have time to do so?” to which he stated:
“Oh, absolutely. We've had that problem for quite a while now, actually. I'd say that probably around the time of DOOM 64 [2020], once we did that title, it was like, we could no longer afford to go out and find games.”
They continued, “It was more like, how are we going to handle the influx of people coming to us and asking us to do their game? So the whole thing kind of flipped on us where we weren't looking for work. We were looking for people to come and work for us to do more games. It's been like that ever since and it's great.”
With a team of just 40 developers (as of 2022), Nightdive has seemingly managed to succeed in a time and place where so many studios are under-performing or worse.
Of course, the studio is working with many popular and recognizable IPs, but even so, they could not have gotten there without proving their worth. It will be interesting to see how Nightdive expands and improves further over time.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Nightdive’s work? Which porting studio do you trust the most? What would you like to see the team remake next? Let us know down below.
While we’ve yet to get a brand new console NieR game since 2017’s Automata, the IP has not been dormant, with countless games crossing over with Square Enix’s burgeoning franchise. Following on from the likes of Stellar Blade; Soul Calibur; Granblue Fantasy; Gravity Rush and many more, series favourites 2B and A2 are now coming to The First Descendant.
During their PAX East panel, the team at Nexon Games officially detailed many of the changes and additions coming with Season 3 of The First descendant.
Alongside new areas; a hover bike; social space; weapon categories and more, Season 3 will cross over with NieR: Automata, in what is the game’s first collaboration.
Said to be offering cosmetic items, the crossover has only had sparring details revealed, with producer Beomjun Lee stating during the panel “the collaboration will focus on decorations, as we are in the process of solidifying the substance of our game, we decided to invest more in the content of Season 3 rather than other content related to the NieR: Automata collaboration.”
Further details on the crossover will arrive at some point “soon” alongside an official trailer. The full list of changes and additions coming with Season 3 can be found HERE.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Season 3’s content? Are you content with it? How many more NieR collabs do you think there’ll be before we finally get a new entry in the series? Let us know down below.
In the month following the official Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, we’ve gotten a drip feed of new details surrounding the upcoming system. While far from a game changer, the Switch 2 is set to include a much-welcome battery preservation feature – similar to that seen on other mobile devices.
Taking to their recently-released Nintendo Today app, the Switch maker offered a small titbit of new information on one of the Switch 2’s features. Listed as ‘Battery Charging Settings’, this feature allows you to choose to limit the device’s charging to 90% capacity in efforts to extend the system’s battery life over the long-term.
While certainly an appreciated feature, there remains concerns around the Switch 2’s total battery life even at 100% capacity – with the system stated to last between 2-6.5 hours.
For context, the original Nintendo Switch had a battery life of between 2.5-6.5 hours. This was then boosted to 4.5-9 hours with the refreshed base model as well as the OLED variant; marking a notable improvement over the original model and even more so the upcoming Switch 2.
As with the OG Switch, it’s possible that Nintendo might release a refreshed model with a more efficient chip leading to improved battery life. Until then however, if you are primarily a handheld player, you might want to keep this option disabled.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this new feature? How useful will it be for you? Do you play Switch 1 more in handheld or TV mode? Let us know down below.
Nowadays, there is no telling if or when your favourite show might get cancelled. Fallout fans may be able to shed that concern though, as one lead actor has confirmed a plan for around five or six seasons.
Aaron Moten, who plays Maximus in the Fallout TV series, recently spoke at Comic Con Liverpool (via Eurogamer), saying that when he signed on to do the show, he was given an estimate of around five or six seasons, adding that the show creators always aimed to take their time with character development and arcs.
“When I signed on to do the series, we would have a starting point, and they gave me the end point. That endpoint hasn't changed, but it is season five, season six, type of endpoint. We've always known that we're going to take our time with the development of the characters.”
Of course, it is worth pointing out that many shows begin with a multi-season plan, but that doesn't always save them from cancellation. As an example, Netflix's Witcher series was originally going to continue for more seasons, but as popularity dropped after season 2, Netflix made the decision to wrap things up with the fourth season.
Recently, the stars of the Fallout series confirmed that filming had finished up on the second season. The first season spent a year in editing before release, so we could be looking at a similar timeline for the next season.
There are already rumours going around that Liberty City will appear in Grand Theft Auto 6. However, it turns out Rockstar may have something bigger planned, as rumours claim that a new version of GTA 4 will be releasing.
According to long-time Rockstar leaker, Tez2, Rockstar has been working on a new version of GTA 4 for a year already. This new port of the game for modern consoles is cited as the reason behind Take-Two's decision to issue a DMCA takedown notice against the Liberty City revival project, a fan-led effort to bring the Liberty City map into GTA 5.
It is claimed that the new GTA 4 port will come out next year. However, that timing could be up in the air now, as Rockstar recently confirmed that GTA 6 will be coming out in May 2026.
It is also claimed that a port of Max Payne 3 will also be coming out once development on GTA 4 has wrapped up. This is all said to be part of Rockstar's effort to make its back-catalogue titles playable on modern consoles, which began with the GTA Definitive Edition trilogy, followed by the release of Red Dead Redemption for PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
KitGuru Says: This is being labelled as a port, so don't expect a major graphical overhaul. It should be similar in scope to the recent re-release of Red Dead Redemption 1.
Nvidia's driver-level frame generation technology, Smooth Motion, is expanding its compatibility. Before, this technology was limited to DirectX 11 and 12 APIs, but a new update has extended support to games using the Vulkan API.
Driver-level frame generation can be particularly useful for older or unmaintained games, often run via emulation. With the addition of Vulkan support, Nvidia graphics users can now force Smooth Motion frames into console emulators, and naturally, the addition of Vulkan support also extends the number of PC games that can benefit from this technology. However, Smooth Motion is currently only supported on RTX 50 series GPUs, although support for RTX 40 graphics cards is expected in the future.
Users on Reddit have stated that emulators such as Cemu (Wii U), RPCS3 (PS3), and even some PS4 emulators can now benefit from Smooth Motion with Vulkan support. While this adds a potentially useful application for RTX 50 series owners, the broader utility of Smooth Motion depends on Nvidia expanding compatibility to previous RTX generations in future driver updates.
To activate Smooth Motion, you can go to the Nvidia App and select the game where you want to enable it in Graphics > Program settings. Search for the setting under “Driver Settings”, and switch Smooth Motion to “on”. Alternatively, you can activate Smooth Motion by setting the environment variable NVPRESENT_ENABLE_SMOOTH_MOTION=1.
DOOM: The Dark Ages doesn't release until later this week, but fans have already begun receiving physical copies of the game. Unfortunately, those who purchased the game on disc have swiftly discovered that there is almost no data on it.
The physical version of DOOM: The Dark Ages on PS5 and Xbox only includes 85MB of data on the disc, forcing buyers to download the entire 80GB game before playing. This means that users will need a stable internet connection to complete the download, but once that is done, the game is playable offline.
This is not an uncommon practise. Many games over the years have shipped physical discs that merely contain a key to download the full game. However, it is increasingly frowned upon amongst those that value game preservation. It is also viewed as an environmentally unfriendly waste of materials.
Prior to DOOM, Bethesda published Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in December. That game also shipped with incomplete files on the disc. However, in that situation, the disc did contain 20GB of game data, allowing buyers to avoid having to download the entire 120GB game.
Moon Studios had a quick rise to fame thanks to its platforming title, Ori and the Blind Forest, and its excellent sequel, Will of the Wisps. The studio was making a splash in the ARPG scene with its latest title, No Rest for the Wicked, but slowing sales are now putting the studio in jeopardy according to CEO, Thomas Mahler.
In a series of Discord posts, Mahler warned fans of No Rest for the Wicked that the project, and studio as a whole, were in trouble. According to Mahler, the game has been ‘review bombed', despite the fact that the game has a ‘mostly positive' review score on Steam. There was a spike in negative reviews on the 1st and 2nd of May, as shown by the Steam reviews chart, but negative reviews quickly dropped back to normal levels that same week.
As reported by VGC, Mahler went on to say: “I think people think I’m joking when I’m asking for positive reviews cause in peoples minds there’s always some big publisher in the background who’ll cover costs”.
“I wouldn’t ask if our business wouldn’t be dependent on it. I also never write reviews on anything, but if you want to see us actually finish Wicked, it’s detrimental”.
No Rest for the Wicked was originally going to be published by Take-Two's former indie-focused label, Private Division. However, Take-Two sold off the business last year and eventually, publishing rights for the game were returned to Moon Studios. Now, Moon finds itself in a position where it has to self-fund the project, something that the studio is apparently not in a strong position to do.
KitGuru Says: Unfortunately, No Rest for the Wicked might be joining a growing list of projects that have suffered thanks to Take-Two's handling of Private Division.
Just a week ahead of Computex, Samsung is making headlines with its new Samsung Odyssey gaming monitor. The Odyssey OLED G6 boasts an incredibly fast 500Hz refresh rate, making it the world's first OLED monitor to achieve this spec.
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 is coming to Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia first, but Samsung states that the monitor will have a phased global rollout later in the year. Pricing will be over $1200 USD, although exact pricing in the US, Europe and UK has yet to be confirmed.
Speaking on the launch, Hoon Chung, VP of Visual Display at Samsung, said: “With the Odyssey OLED G6, the world’s first 500Hz OLED gaming monitor, we are pushing gaming performance, visual quality and immersion to entirely new heights — delivering the next evolution of display technology for gamers around the world.”
The Odyssey OLED G6 is a 27-inch monitor with a QD-OLED panel with 0.03ms GTG response time and 2560×1440 resolution. The monitor is also G-Sync Compatible and supports FreeSync Premium Pro. For HDR, the monitor has a peak brightness of 1000 nits, making it ideal for HDR content. Nowadays, most AAA games sport HDR, even on PC, although there are occasional outliers.
KitGuru Says: We look forward to seeing more of this monitor in the months ahead. How fast is your current monitor? Would you like to upgrade to a 500Hz display like this?
Last week, Rockstar unveiled a ton of new details about Grand Theft Auto 6. We now officially know that the new game will take players to a greatly expanded version of Vice City, the GTA universe version of Miami. Now, fans have pieced together evidence that shows we may also return to Liberty City in the new game.
A fan-run GTA news account has shared a bunch of evidence that points towards Liberty City playing a role within the GTA 6 story. For starters, one of the game's main characters, Lucia, is originally from Liberty City, but moved to Vice City after a stint in prison.
Throughout the latest trailer for GTA 6, we also see some other teasers, including bikers wearing Liberty City hats, and Liberty City license plates on cars. Signage shown on the roads of Vice City point to multiple airports and fans even spotted a map in the background of a store, that appears to show Liberty City.
This wouldn't be the first time that Rockstar has included multiple maps in a game. In Red Dead Redemption 2, players spend some time in Guarma, and the original map from Red Dead Redemption 1 is also teased. A small version of Liberty City was also included in GTA: San Andreas.
Players will primarily know Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto IV. In the GTA universe, Liberty City is a fictionalised version of New York. So far, Rockstar has made no official announcements but GTA 6 was developed under the codename ‘Project Americas', which hints at the ability to hop around the country, rather than being limited to one city.
KitGuru Says: If Liberty City is included in GTA 6, I would expect it to be a small instance like visiting Guarma in Red Dead Redemption 2. With that said, Rockstar does have a habit of surprising people, so there could be more to it.
DOOM: The Dark Ages launches this week and Nvidia is getting PC gamers prepared with a new Game Ready Driver. The new GeForce graphics driver is now available, promising optimisations for DOOM: The Dark Ages, and bringing DLSS support to a bunch of new games.
DOOM: The Dark Ages makes use of the idTech 8 engine, with support for ray tracing, DLSS, Multi-Frame Generation and more. Sometime after launch, there will be a patch for the PC version of the game introducing Path Tracing, a more intensive version of ray-tracing.
Aside from optimisations for DOOM, the new GeForce driver adds DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Gen support for New World: Aeternum. On top of that, Nvidia has expanded DLSS Override. This feature allows gamers to force enable DLSS for titles that don't already support DLSS. It can also be useful for games that utilise an outdated version of DLSS – force enabling the latest version of the technology can improve visuals and performance.
You can see all of the games that support DLSS Override, HERE. You can download the latest Nvidia GeForce graphics driver, HERE.
World of Warcraft has officially confirmed its next ‘Remix' event, following the popular Mists of Pandaria version. This time, players will return to the Legion expansion, revisiting classic content like the Broken Isles with some new twists. Associate game director Jeremy Feasel unveiled the event during a panel at PAX East.
Legion Remix will bring back the bulk of the original expansion's content and introduce new features. Feasel confirmed the team would also add the Shattered Timeline, inspired by Diablo 4's World Tiers. This setting will present high-difficulty challenges in the open world, allowing for experimentation that was not possible in the standard game. Mythic+ dungeons will also be available, introducing a new difficulty level to the instanced content. Moreover, Blizzard will also bring back the Mythic+ keystone system, which debuted in the original Legion, allowing players to push dungeons to previously unseen difficulty levels with overwhelming attributes and abilities.
Specific details beyond the core concept and a few features remain limited, but Feasel indicated more information is expected shortly. While the event doesn't have a precise release date yet, it's expected to launch later this year or early 2026. Based on the timing of the previous Remix event, which took place a few months ahead of The War Within expansion, the Legion Remix should start before the Midnight expansion, which is expected to launch in early 2026. As such, a winter 2025 launch for Legion Remix seems plausible.
Kingston's latest addition to the Fury line of SSD drives is an important one. The Fury Renegade G5 is the company's first consumer drive to use a PCIe 5.0 interface, and we check out the 2TB model that's launching for around £290.
The new Fury Renegade G5 model lineup at launch comprises three capacities: a 1TB entry drive, 2TB (the drive we are reviewing here) and a flagship 4TB model. The Renegade G5 uses a Silicon Motion SM2508 controller combined with what we think is 218-layer 3D TLC NAND.
Kingston quotes the sequential read/write performance of the 2TB drive as up to 14,700MB/s and up to 14,000MB/s respectively. The 1TB drive gets up to 14,200MB/s read and 11,000MB/s write ratings, and the 4TB drive is up to 14,800MB/s reads and the same 14,000MB/s write figure as the 2TB drive.
As for 4K random performance, all three drives have the same up to 2,200K IOPS for reads, the 2TB and 4TB drives get the same up to 2,200K IOPS for writes, with the 1TB drive rated as up to 2,150K IOPS for random writes.
Power consumption for the 2TB model is officially quoted as 0.27W average and 7W maximum. Kingston quotes an endurance figure for the 2TB drive as 2.0PB, and they back the drive with a 5-year warranty.
For years now, Epic has been trying to entice users to utilise their Epic Games Store – to somewhat mixed results. Following programs such as their weekly free games; reduced store fees and much more; the storefront is now adding even more incentives – especially if you play Fortnite.
In what is yet another attempt to get more PC users to invest in the Epic Games Store, the Fortnite maker has announced a new initiative, writing:
“Starting today, when you make a purchase in Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys using Epic’s payment system globally on PC, iOS, Android, and the web, you’ll get 20% back in Epic Rewards. You can spend your rewards in Fortnite and our other games, or on the Epic Games Store when you use Epic’s payment system. These 20% rewards in Epic's games are here to stay.”
Though in a more limited capacity, this initiative is also extending to all Epic Games Store purchases using their payment system. From now until the 31st of August, all EGS purchases will receive 20% back in Epic Rewards – a pretty substantial increase over the typical 5% they normally offer.
Of course, as with other similar programs, this initiative is designed to give you further incentives to purchase games on the Epic Games Store – ultimately building up your library in order to make you return to the platform more often.
Still, the final result is the same, with users having their gaming money go just that extra bit further – a welcome change – especially in the wake of the most recent price hike.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Epic’s latest initiative? Will it have any material impact on their position in the PC space? Are you too locked into Steam to give Epic a shake? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Virtua Fighter 5 received a huge upgrade on PC with Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. but now, Sega is bringing the upgraded game to consoles too. During the recent Virtua Fighter Direct Spring 2025 presentation, it was announced that Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. will be coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.
Alongside the announcement, Sega stated during the presentation that it would introduce cross-play capabilities for Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., allowing existing PC players to play with the upcoming console players and vice versa. To ensure seamless cross-play support across all platforms, the developers confirmed that all game versions will include rollback netcode for added gameplay stability.
The creators have stated they intend these console releases to be “more than a simple port”, with reports suggesting further material will be added to the game. However, details on this additional content were vague, with players told to wait for future updates for more information. While a specific release date for the PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2 versions remains unknown, they are expected soon. Given that the Nintendo Switch 2 is set to launch on June 5th, 2025, there's a strong possibility Sega might aim to release Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. around the launch of Nintendo's upcoming console.
KitGuru says: Are you a fan of fighting games? Have you ever tried a Virtua Fighter game? Will you do so now that Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is coming to consoles?
After 8 years of waiting, Killing Floor 3 – the much anticipated sequel to 2016’s round-based zombie killing FPS – was announced to be launching in March. Following a less-than-successful beta however, the game was delayed until sometime “later” in 2025. With these pre-release issues (hopefully) addressed, Tripwire Interactive has now announced Killing Floor 3’s release date.
Making the official announcement via a press release, the team at Tripwire Interactive unveiled the new release date for Killing Floor 3, writing: “the highly anticipated next chapter in the studio’s legendary Killing Floor franchise, Killing Floor 3, will launch worldwide on July 24.”
According to the team’s creative director Bryan Wynia, these months afforded them “additional development time to [respond] to the community’s feedback, ensuring the next chapter in the much-loved cult action/horror franchise lives up to our shared vision.”
While the team did not detail exactly what changes have been made, during the previous delay announcement they claimed that “performance/stability, Ul/UX, lighting, and weapon feel” should all be addressed – though perhaps not for launch.
All in all, Killing Floor 3 has been struggling to live up to its predecessor and the game has yet to even come out. Hopefully the extra dev time has allowed Tripwire to sort all of these issues out. We’ll find out when KF3 arrives in July.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the new release date? Do you have any confidence in Killing Floor 3? Did you check out the beta? Let us know down below.
Cheap AIO closed-loop liquid coolers are everywhere these days, you can pick up a good quality 360mm AIO for under £100 and there's loads to choose from at retailers like Amazon. This ID-COOLING FX360 fits into the budget AIO sector with a price of just £79.99. It comes with 2 ARGB lighting zones, PWM fans, a rotatable infinity mirror pump top and a three-year warranty. But what kind of performance should you expect from a budget AIO like this? Let’s find out.
The ID-COOLING FX360 INF features an infinity mirror display that projects 6 ARGB light loops with a manually rotatable pump head to support installation in any orientation.
According to ID-Cooling, the specially designed generation 7 pump runs at up to 2900 rpm for efficient and quiet operation, keeping temperatures low even at peak CPU performance.
The aluminium radiator is equipped with 12 waterways, a high-density fin stack and a standard 27mm thick core for optimal heat dissipation.
While the included AS-120 Fans have a PWM speed up to 2000 rpm, hydraulic bearing, and anti-vibration rubber mounts to keep noise output low.
Specifications:
CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA1851/1700/1200/115X, AMD AM5/AM4
Humble Bundles are a great way to get your hand on a bunch of neat games for a relatively low price. Following up from their id & Friends bundle a couple weeks ago, Microsoft is once again teaming up with Humble, this time for the ‘Xbox Game Studios’ Bundle.
While perhaps not the most recent slate of Xbox offerings, the bundle includes a solid selection of titles, including Insomniac Games’ Sunset Overdrive; Quantum Break from Remedy Entertainment and of course Moon Studios’ excellent Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
As always, an adjustable portion of the money will go towards charity, with this bundle supporting ‘Gameheads’ – “a tech training program that uses video game design, development and DevOps to create diverse talent and bold new voices, train youth of color for the tech eco-system, and prepare them for college, career and civic life.”
KitGuru says: What do you think of these offerings? Would you like to see a second Xbox Game Studios bundle? What games should be included? Let us know down below.
Ever since his departure from PlatinumGames, Hideki Kamiya has made a number of surprising-yet-welcome decisions, including but not limited to his return to Capcom to direct a sequel to Okami. In a similar vein, Kamiya has now claimed that would “love to” remake the original Devil May Cry if given the chance.
As part of the latest video in his Comment Reply series on Youtube, famed video game creator Hideki Kamiya candidly addressed various fan questions. In response to one user to who asked whether Kamiya would return to other Capcom franchises following Okami, the creative had this to say:
“As for a Devil May Cry remake, of course I'd love to do that. I usually don't replay my own games after release, and Devil May Cry is no exception. But once in a while, I catch gameplay clips and think, ‘yeah, this really does feel like a 24-year-old game design’.”
Offering a bit more of his thoughts, Kamiya continued, “With today's technology and game design approach, of course, I'd want to remake it from the ground up. If that ever happens… Well, I don't think seriously unless it's really happening, so right now, I don't have anything in mind. But if the time comes, I'll come up with something. That's what I do!”
While Kamiya’s repertoire is undeniable, the director has not had the best of luck in recent years, with his stint at PlatinumGames ultimately burning him out.
With a newfound sense of creativity and spark, hopefully the sequel to Okami proves to be a hit – allowing Kamiya even more freedom to pursue future endeavours. We will have to wait and see how Okami 2 performs.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Kamiya’s statement? Would you welcome a Devil May Cry remake? If so, how faithful would you want it to be to the original? Let us know down below.
Nintendo’s official big blowout reveal for the Switch 2 did not quite go as the company had hoped, with the upcoming console sparking backlash for its across-the-board increase in pricing alongside new incentives for subscriptions; the reduction in focus on physical media and more. With regards to the final point, a new leak has revealed another issue with Nintendo Switch 2’s cartridges and why so many publishers are opting for game-key cards.
In the wake of the Switch 2’s official reveal, we got our first details on how the upcoming system will handle physical game carts. While an updated version of the Switch 1’s cartridges remain somewhat intact, the introduction of game-key cards has led many to consider the ongoing erosion of physical media.
Unfortunately, so far a large portion of 3rd-party titles have announced their games to be utilising game-key cards exclusively. Though not explained explicitly at the time, it seems we now have a better idea of the options available to these publishers.
Thanks to a leak pertaining to Arc System Works (shared by NecroFelipe of UniversoNintendo), it was revealed that Nintendo is currently only offering one storage option for real Switch cartridges – those being 64GB variants.
Other than this, developers can either make use of game-key cards, or simply publish their title as a digital-only release.
Given the fact that these 64GB carts have previously been revealed to be more costly than an Xbox / PlayStation Blu Ray disc, it is beginning to make sense as to why most publishers are opting for the game-key cards.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the whole game-key card system? Does it bother you? Is Nintendo’s bespoke solution to cartridges a worthwhile trade-off? Let us know down below.
Noctua continues to refine performance for its long-standing CPU coolers. This week, Noctua made the new NM-IMB8 offset mounting bars for the award-winning NH-D15 G2 flagship CPU cooler available. By offsetting the heatsink, the cooler is better suited for handling the hot spots, of newer Intel Core Ultra CPUs, such as the Core Ultra 9 285K or Core Ultra 7 265K.
Under heavy multi-core loads, Intel's 24- or 20-core LGA1851 processors shift their primary heat output, or ‘hotspot', towards the northeast side of the socket. The NM-IMB8 bars address this by offsetting the heatsink 3.7mm to the north and 2mm to the east, providing more concentrated contact pressure directly over this hotspot for enhanced thermal transfer.
The enhanced contact can lead to noticeable temperature drops. Noctua states temps can be lowered by up to 3°C when using the bars with the NH-D15 G2's HBC version, and up to 1°C with the regular NH-D15 G2. While the regular NH-D15 G2 typically performs slightly better than the HBC version without the offset, the regular D15 G2 combined with the NM-IMB8 remains Noctua's recommended choice for LGA1851, offering the best overall temperatures with and without the offset. Installation is simple, replacing the standard mounting bars while reusing the cooler's original spacers and screws.
It's crucial to note that the NM-IMB8 bars are only compatible with a specific list of Noctua coolers. This includes the NH-D15 G2 (regular, HBC, and LBC versions), NH-D12L, NH-L12S, NH-L12Sx77, and the NH-L12 Ghost S1 edition heatsinks. The NM-IMB8 mounting bars are available directly from Noctua's website starting today for a service charge of $3.90/€3.90 via a website form. They are also expected to become available on Amazon in 2/3 weeks, priced slightly higher at $4.90/€4.90.
KitGuru says: Are you cooling an Intel Core 200K series CPU with a Noctua NH-D15 G2 CPU cooler? Are you planning on getting the offset bars to improve the cooler's performance?
Arctic's new Freezer 8 CPU coolers have arrived. These air coolers are ultra compact, offering a significant upgrade over stock coolers, while maintaining compatibility with SFF cases with limited space.
Standing at only 136mm tall, the Freezer 8 is designed to fit comfortably into a wide variety of chassis, making it excellent for systems with limited cooler clearance or large RAM modules. Cooling is handled by two offset direct-touch heatpipes and a pressure-optimised P10 100mm PWM fan capable of reaching a maximum speed of 2,300 RPM, aiming for quiet yet strong performance. Adding value and convenience, all Freezer 8 series coolers come with high-quality pre-applied MX-6 thermal compound.
The Freezer 8 series is available in four variants to cover a range of modern and recent CPU sockets. The Freezer 8A supports AMD AM5 and AM4 sockets, while the Freezer 8i is compatible with Intel's LGA1851 and LGA1700 sockets. Both these versions use FDB (fluid dynamic bearing) fans for a quieter operation. Dedicated CO versions (8A CO and 8i CO) with double ball bearings are also available for applications requiring continuous, long-term utilisation. Regardless of the type of fan, these fans have a spin range between 200 RPM and 2300 RPM and connect via a 4-pin plug.
The Freezer 8 coolers are now available starting at €18.99 for the standard versions and €19.99 for the CO variants. All coolers come with a 6-year warranty.
Razer is introducing a unique peripheral aimed at gamers who want an immersive audio experience without the limitations of wearing a headset. Meet the Razer Clio, a gaming chair attachment designed to provide headset-like sound directly from your seat.
The Razer Clio features integrated near-field twin speakers with 43mm full-range drivers, engineered to direct sound towards your ears, promising clear, high-fidelity audio even outside a traditional “sweet spot”. It can be used as a single primary speaker or combined with existing front speakers via Synapse 4 to create a more dynamic surround sound experience, acting as rear channels to enhance gameplay and entertainment. Support for THX Spatial Audio aims to elevate immersion with expansive acoustic modes for a more hyper-realistic listening experience.
Connectivity methods are varied, offering Razer HyperSpeed Wireless for ultra-low latency audio on PC and console, plus standard Bluetooth for compatibility with Android and iOS devices. The Clio boasts up to 14 hours of audio freedom on a single charge. It charges via a standard USB-C connector (USB-C cable not included in the box). Designed to attach to most high-backed gaming chairs using adjustable nylon straps, it integrates a plush memory foam head cushion for added support and comfort while listening.
The Razer Clio will be available globally starting May 16th for $229.99/€199.99.
Razer is expanding its lineup of gaming gear with the launch of two new wireless peripherals: the Razer Basilisk Mobile mouse and the Razer Joro portable keyboard. These devices are designed to bring high-quality gaming and productivity performance to users who are frequently on the move, setting a new standard for portable gaming gear without sacrificing key features.
The Razer Basilisk Mobile draws inspiration from the popular Basilisk line, aiming for comfort and precision in a compact form factor. Weighing just 76g, it features a small, ergonomic shape and boasts up to 105 hours of battery life with versatile tri-mode connectivity (including Razer HyperSpeed Wireless). It packs a Focus X 18K optical sensor (99.4% accuracy), durable Optical Mouse switches Gen-3 (90M click lifespan), a HyperScroll 4-way tilt scroll wheel (with Free-Spin/Tactile modes), and ten programmable controls. Notably, it adds a new AI Prompt Master feature, integrating tools like quick in-game search and allowing users to tailor gaming strategy via Synapse 4 shortcuts.
Complementing the mouse is the Razer Joro, billed as Razer's most portable keyboard yet. Weighing only 374g and 16.5mm thick, this tiny form factor keyboard includes a function row and full-size arrow keys. Its ultra-low-profile design promotes ergonomic hand posture, while the keys offer rapid, accurate actuation and satisfying tactile feedback on UV-coated ABS keycaps. Key gaming features include Snap Tap mode for responsive counter-strafing in FPS games and fully programmable keys supporting remapping, Hypershift, and macros via Synapse 4. It also features a Microsoft Copilot Key for easy AI access on Windows. Connectivity is done via multi-device Bluetooth 5.0, allowing seamless switching between up to three devices. It boasts an impressive battery life of up to 1,800 hours and includes single-zone Razer Chroma RGB lighting for a touch of visual customisation.
The Basilisk Mobile and Joro are designed for broad compatibility, connecting to PCs. Joro is specifically optimised to include Mac legends for seamless use with macos, iPadOS, and iOS devices, but Windows is also supported. The Joro is now available for £129.99/€129.99/$139.99 and the Basilisk Mobile for £89.99/€99.99/$89.99
Razer is also expanding its software ecosystem by launching Razer Synapse for Mac (preview), bringing the customisation and control tools expected from Razer's software to macOS users. The preview supports 17 Razer peripherals and allows users to access advanced features like Snap Tap (on supported devices like the Joro), macro creation, and RGB configuration.
Fractal is venturing into a brand new product category. They've announced their first audio product: the Scape wireless gaming headset, set to launch on June 18th. Designed to provide an intuitive wireless audio experience, the Scape combines its signature Scandinavian design philosophy with versatile connectivity.
The Scape features clean lines and soft fabric, embodying Fractal Design's minimalist Scandinavian design, and includes a functional wireless charging station. The headset offers flexibility for audio connectivity: it connects via a low-latency dongle for reliable wireless audio or via multi-device Bluetooth 5.3 for broader compatibility. Communication is handled by a Super Wideband microphone that is both detachable and features a convenient flip-to-mute function.
Adding a personal touch, the Scape allows customisation of ambient lighting and music settings. This is managed through Fractal Design's online configuration tool, Adjust Pro, notably without requiring software installation or user login.
The Scape is planned for a global release on June 18th, 2025, with an MSRP of $199.99. The headset will be available in black and light grey.
KitGuru says: Like it did with the Refine chair, the Fractal Scape offers a more understated design than your usual gaming headset. Do you prefer these aesthetics over those of the standard gaming headset?
Intel's investigation into ongoing instability issues affecting some Raptor Lake CPUs continues, with the company recently releasing another microcode update to help address the problem. The new version, 0x12F, comes after complaints that some systems, even those running for several days with minimal activity, were still experiencing stability problems.
While Intel (via VideoCardz) has not publicly confirmed the specific modifications made in the 0x12F microcode update, they have stated that this version has no performance impact compared to the prior microcode update (0x12B, released in September 2024), which focused on stability fixes.
Despite efforts to mitigate the issue and avoid a broad recall, it's evident that not all scenarios were entirely handled, and this might not be the final update required. As such, Raptor Lake users may still need to monitor for frequent microcode updates from motherboard manufacturers to ensure their systems remain stable.
Intel continues to suggest that consumers with Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors apply the most recent BIOS updates and use the Intel Default Settings profile (set in the BIOS) to reduce the risk of Vmin Shift Instability.
Alien: Rogue Incursion has been available for VR platforms since last year, but now, the full game is coming to PC and console for the first time, removing the need for a VR headset.
The non-VR version of Alien: Rogue Incursion will release for PC and PS5 later this year, titled as Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition. The game is similar to Alien Isolation in that players will be tasked with surviving on a ship where absolutely everything is going wrong, and Xenomorphs are crawling through the vents looking to take you out.
Alien: Rogue Incursion is described as Part One of a two-part story, so a sequel will be coming at some point.
Fans of the Alien franchise will also be pleased to know that Creative Assembly is also officially working on Alien Isolation 2, more than a decade on from the first game's release.
Alien: Rogue Incursion on PC (Steam) and PS5 will cost £24.99 for the standard edition, or £34.99 for the Deluxe Edition, which contains some weapon and armour skins, as well as a digital art book. The game becomes available on the 30th of September.
The first season of Amazon Prime's Fallout TV series ended up being a huge hit in 2024 and fans have been eager for news on Season 2 ever since. Following an unfortunate production delay, filming on Season 2 has now wrapped.
Fallout Season 2 began filming in late 2024, however, Los Angeles was hit by wildfires earlier this year, shutting down and delaying many productions, Fallout included. Filming picked back up again and now, as confirmed by the show's social media accounts, Season 2 has wrapped production.
Stars of the show, like Ella Purnell and Walter Goggins also shared the news on Instagram. However, there is no release date for season 2 at this time. Season 1 of the series wrapped filming in March 2023 and didn't air until a year later. With that in mind, we could be looking at a premiere date around March or April of next year.
Fallout Season 2 is expected to partly take place in New Vegas, a fan favourite setting in the Fallout universe. Season 1 largely took place around New California.
Love it or hate it, the Pokémon franchise is a juggernaut whose reach extends far beyond the gaming space. While the series has had its fair share of controversies stemming from GameFreak’s handling of the console titles, the games remain as popular as ever – with Scarlet and Violet already becoming the second highest-selling entries of all time.
As part of the company’s latest fiscal earnings report, Nintendo released updated sales figures for its hardware and software, revealing that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have now become the 2nd best-selling game(s) in the franchise – taking the second-place podium from the previous generation’s Sword/Shield with 26.79 million copies sold.
For context, this puts Scarlet / Violet at roughly 5 million copies away from the best-selling Pokémon game of all time – that being the original Red/Blue/Green – which amassed over 31.38 million sales.
Of course, the original Pokémon was a phenomenon which helped spark the franchise’s current-day popularity. Even so, Scarlet and Violet being just 5 million away from the top spot is certainly surprising, especially given the game’s tepid critical reception (and the fact that it’s only been out for just over two years).
It will be interesting to see how many units the upcoming Pokémon Z-A performs when it arrives later this year.
KitGuru says: What did you think of Pokémon Scarlet / Violet? Do the Pokémon games have an upper ceiling of 30 million players? Will a Pokémon game ever reach 50 million copies sold? Let us know down below.
G.Skill's Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 memory has been designed for overclocking on AMD platforms with EXPO support. It is available with a choice of two coloured aluminium heat spreaders and features customisable RGB lighting. We test a low-latency CL26 kit today.
G.Skill's Trident Z5 Neo RGB product line runs from 5600MT/s up to 8000MT/s in four kit capacities: 32GB (DDR5-5600, 6000, 6400, 7200 and 8000), 48GB (DDR5-5600, 6000, 6400 and 8000), 64GB (DDR5-6000), and finally 96GB (DDR5-5600 and 6000) in a wide range of latencies.
The G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB kit we are reviewing here uses a pair of single-rank 16GB DIMMs (using SK Hynix A-die 2GB ICs), EXPO rated at 6000MHz at 26-36-36-96 at 1.45V.
After a ton of trailers and a great deal of waiting, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is almost here. Ahead of its launch on the 26th of June, previews for the game have now gone live – alongside the announcement of a limited edition DualSense controller.
Making the announcement on the PlayStation Blog, Sony officially unveiled their limited edition DS2 controller, writing “Keep the supplies moving with the latest piece of hardware for Porters heading out on a new journey – we’re excited to reveal the new DualSense wireless controller – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Limited Edition.”
The Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Limited Edition DualSense officially arrives on the 26th of June; the same day as the game itself.
Considering just how creative many of Kojima’s characters/worlds/products have been, the DualSense controller feels a bit understated design-wise, though is admittedly still quite slick.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the controller’s design? Are you excited for Death Stranding 2? How do you think the game will further utilise the DualSense? Let us know down below.
Despite being an undeniable classic, the Silent Hill franchise has never been a massive seller. That said, its recent resurgence with the success of the Silent Hill 2 Remake has now helped push the franchise past its first major sales milestone of 10 million copies.
As part of the publisher’s latest fiscal earnings report, Konami offered updated stats for the sales of its top franchises. While Metal Gear Solid remains one of Konami’s biggest (with 62.9 million copies sold across the series), the success of the recent Silent Hill 2 Remake has finally put the franchise on the map – with the series now surpassing the 10 million sales mark with over 11.5 million copies.
So, while we don’t have the most up-to-date figures, the success of Silent Hill 2’s remake has clearly made an impact on the franchise. Hopefully Konami chooses to capitalise on its newfound popularity in the correct way. We will have to wait and see.
In the wake of Palworld’s explosive success last year, Nintendo wasted no time in suing the developers – Pocket Pair – due to the game’s Pokemon inspirations. With the proceedings still ongoing, the company has had to make further adjustments to Palworld – including an odd change to the gliding mechanic.
While much of the discussion surrounding Palworld was in its similar character designs to Pokemon, Nintendo opted to sue studio PocketPair based on patents it owns for particular game mechanics instead.
As a result, while the lawsuit is still ongoing, PocketPair have announced some changes coming to the game, writing: “On November 30th, 2024, we released Patch v0.3.11 for Palworld. This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed it to a static summon next to the player. Several other game mechanics were also changed with this patch.”
They continued, “we regret to inform our players that with the implementation of Patch v0.5.5, we must make yet another compromise. From this patch onward, gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player's team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide.”
While there could be an argument to make that the designs of the ‘Pals’ are inspired by Pokemon, Nintendo was far from the first company to use mounts/gliders in order to fly in a game, and so many of these changes feel unfortunately unnecessary.
Assuming the lawsuit goes their way, hopefully PocketPair will be able to restore these mechanics back to their original state at some point in the future.
AOC is expanding its gaming monitor lineup with four new models. The most interesting is the AOC Gaming U27G4R, a 27-inch display featuring pioneering Dual-Frame (dual-mode) technology. This first-of-its-kind monitor allows gamers to quickly switch between a 4K resolution at 160Hz and FullHD resolution at 320Hz refresh rate, aiming to remove the need to compromise between visual quality and competitive performance.
Built on a Fast IPS panel, the U27G4R provides strong response times, including up to 1ms GtG in both resolution modes and impressive low MPRT figures when Motion Blur Reduction is enabled. Visual performance includes DisplayHDR 400 certification and wide colour coverage, hitting around 125% of sRGB and 96% of DCI-P3 gamuts. HDR mode can reach a 1,000 cd/m² peak, while SDR luminance is rated at 250 cd/m². The display supports Adaptive-Sync for tear-free gaming across AMD and Nvidia GPUs, and is compatible with current consoles at UHD at 120Hz with VRR.
The U27G4R follows the aesthetic of the G4 series, featuring a space-saving base finished in matte black with subtle red accents. Its ergonomic stand offers versatile adjustment, including 130mm height adjustment, tilt, swivel, and pivot functions. Port selection includes two HDMI 2.1 connectors, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, and a USB 3.1 hub with four downstream ports for connecting peripherals. Moreover, it also packs a range of gaming features like a crosshair overlay, Low Input Lag mode, and controls for shadow/colour settings, all accessible via the OSD menu or AOC's G-Menu software. Utility features like PiP/PbP modes and comfort tech like anti-blue light are also included.
Besides the U27G4R, AGON by AOC is expanding its G4 series portfolio with three additional models arriving in May 2025. The AOC Gaming CU34G4 is a 34-inch ultrawide curved gaming monitor, offering a 3440×1440 resolution and a 180Hz refresh rate on a Fast VA panel with a 1500R curvature, positioned as a more accessible alternative to their higher refresh rate ultrawide displays. Joining it are updates to their mainstream line: the 24-inch 24G4HA and 27-inch 27G4HA. These models boast an increased 200Hz refresh rate (up from 180Hz on predecessors), and retain features like ergonomic stands and built-in speakers. Both also carry Nvidia G-SYNC Compatible certification.
All four new AGON by AOC G4 series monitors are scheduled for release in May. The AOC Gaming U27G4R will cost £299, while the CU34G4 will cost £289. Lastly, the 24G4HA will cost £134, and the 27G4HA will cost £154.
Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard back in late 2023, after fighting off an injunction from the US Federal Trade Commission that threatened to blow up the deal. Since then, the FTC has been appealing the original decision, looking to split Microsoft and Activision up after the fact. Now 18 months on, the FTC has lost its appeal.
Microsoft will face no more hurdles in its merger with Activision Blizzard. The deal already closed in October 2023 and since then, Microsoft has essentially abandoned its exclusive game efforts, instead opting to publish games on PlayStation, alongside Xbox, PC and Nintendo platforms. This has led to significant revenue gains for Xbox, with a good portion of that growth coming via the Activision catalogue.
In its lawsuit to block the merger, the FTC claimed that Microsoft would make major franchises like Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox, and thus squeezing PlayStation out of the market. Microsoft signed deals with regulators in Europe and the UK, and signed agreements with Sony, to ensure that Call of Duty would not become exclusive, but the FTC forged ahead with its case anyway.
According to the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals, the FTC failed to show that Microsoft would prevent rival companies from gaining access to IPs like Call of Duty. Considering that Microsoft has only increased its multiplatform efforts since the merger went through, that was really the only sensible outcome for the court to reach.
KitGuru Says: Now that there is no more legal threat to the merger, maybe we can finally see Microsoft ramp up its efforts to restore Activision's back catalogue, including long-lost licensed games like Transformers, Deadpool, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and others.
Last year, we received the first teaser trailer for the next Mafia game. Rather than a sequel, we are getting Mafia: The Old Country, a prequel that explores the origins of the Mafia families. Today, 2K Games and Hangar 13 revealed the latest trailer for the game, along with an August release date.
Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel, set years before the events of the first game. This is essentially an origin story, set in 1900s Sicily, presenting a gritty mob story during an era that was particularly dangerous and unforgiving for those involved.
You can watch the new trailer below:
While previous games in the Mafia series had small open-world maps, Mafia: The Old Country is described as a more linear experience by Hangar 13 President, Nick Baynes, in his statement accompanying the new trailer:
“Mafia: The Old Country is a focused, linear experience that combines quality storytelling, authentic era immersion and a refined take on the familiar Mafia gameplay. That focus allows us to deliver a story that’s gritty, grounded, brutal and emotional. Embracing early 1900s era Sicily, this is a mafia origin story that follows our protagonist, Enzo Favara, as he takes the oath and works his way up Don Torrisi's crime family.”
Mafia: The Old Country will become available for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S starting on the 8th of August, roughly one year on from the game's original announcement.
Last month, Acer kicked off its new gaming promotion, offering £50 in Steam vouchers to those picking up an Acer Predator or Nitro series RX 9000 graphics card. Now with Acer's new RTX 50-powered laptops hitting the market, the company is extending this offer to also cover gaming laptops.
If you pick up a new-gen Acer Predator Helios 16 AI, Helios Neo 16 AI or Helios 18 AI gaming laptop, you can register your purchase to get a code for £50 of Steam credit. You can then use that money to buy whatever you want on Steam, whether it be a game, DLC, an in-game item from the Steam Market or anything in between. The same offer is available to those buying an Acer RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT desktop graphics card.
With the next Steam Sale just around the corner, now is a great time to have some extra credit handy on your account. If you are on the market for a new gaming monitor, you can double-dip on offers and also nab a free £99 accessory bundle.
You can find Acer's redemption page with all of the information on eligible products, participating retailers and more, HERE.
While paid patches and $80 games has caused quite a stir amongst gamers, Nintendo still expects a record-breaking launch for the Switch 2. Nintendo has reaffirmed its forecast for the launch next month, with the Switch 2 expected to sell through 15 million units.
For the current fiscal year, ending in March 2026, Nintendo expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles, and it also expects to garner 45 million game sales for the new platform.
This would put the Nintendo Switch 2 ahead of its predecessor, as the original Switch console sold around 14 million units in its first year. Nintendo expects the Switch 2 to sell more and at a faster rate.
Those numbers aren't too crazy either, as Nintendo still sold close to 11 million Switch 1 consoles last year. Nintendo expects that number to drop to less than 5 million once the Switch 2 hits the market in June.
GeForce Now is adding more games this week. There are a couple of major day-one games joining the cloud gaming library, but the big highlight is the addition of 2K's legendary Mafia series.
Mafia, Mafia II and Mafia III are all coming to GeForce Now, in addition to the classic original versions of Mafia and Mafia II. If you own the games on Steam, you can take them on the go via GeForce Now.
Here is the full list of titles joining the library today:
Survival Machine (New release on Steam, May 7)
Revenge of the Savage Planet (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, May 8)
Spirit of the North 2 (New release on Steam, May 8)
Mafia (Steam)
Mafia II (Classic) (Steam)
Mafia: Definitive Edition (Steam and Epic Games Store)
Mafia II: Definitive Edition (Steam and Epic Games Store)
Mafia III: Definitive Edition (Steam and Epic Games Store)
Towerborne (Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass)
There will be many more games joining GeForce Now in the coming weeks, including DOOM: The Dark Ages.
After the success of ASUS' ProArt PA27JCV that we reviewed last November, today we are back with another look at a Pro-grade screen from the Taiwanese manufacturer. This one is a bit different, however, given it is using a 4K QD-OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate – a spec we are more used to seeing on gaming displays. Still, ASUS claims ‘world-leading ∆E < 1 color performance', while the screen also supports hardware calibration, alongside multiple HDR formats and Thunderbolt 4. Let's see what it can do.
The ASUS ProArt PA32UCDM is certainly packed with a range of features, all geared towards the professional user. It's a true 10-bit panel, and thanks to the QD-OLED technology, it boasts a super wide gamut, with ASUS claiming 99% DCI-P3 coverage. You also get true blacks due to the per-pixel dimming nature of the OLED panel, and up to 1000 nits peak brightness in HDR.
All of that doesn't come cheap, and the PA32UCDM retails for £1600 here in the UK, available now from Scan. Gaming screens using the same exact Samsung 4K/240Hz QD-OLED panel are available for considerably less money, with ASUS' own PG32UCDM currently on sale for little over £900 – so is the price premium justified? We find out today.
Mad Catz is diving deep into the fighting game community (FGC) with their latest peripheral. They've announced the N.E.K.O., a new all-button arcade controller. Designed in close collaboration with FGC pro gamers and fans in the Japanese community, the N.E.K.O. aims to deliver a competitive edge through performance and ergonomic design.
The N.E.K.O. features an ergonomically positioned faceplate, programmable inputs, an enhanced non-slip base, and precision-engineered buttons for smooth transitions and effortless combos. It offers flexible firmware options that are easily configured for standard use (enabling turbo, macros, remapping) or a competition-ready mode compliant with international FGC standards.
Customisation is a key focus for the N.E.K.O. Users can swap out the low-profile Kailh mechanical switches to get the right feel and extend the device's longevity. Panel artwork is easily customisable for a personalised look, and commands can be reassigned to the programmable buttons. It also supports custom macros of up to 16 commands and offers three different SOCD modes for additional flexibility.
The N.E.K.O. is compatible with PC, PS4, and Switch. While general pricing and regional availability details have not yet been announced, Mad Catz has confirmed that the N.E.K.O. will be exhibited and available for sale at their booth at EVO Japan 2025, held at Tokyo Big Sight on May 9th.
KitGuru says: Designed with direct input from the FGC and packed with customisation options, the Mad Catz N.E.K.O. all-button controller looks like a serious contender for players seeking a competitive edge, assuming you can adapt to it.
The latest Counter Strike 2 update has dropped and it contains quite a bit. Aside from new maps being added to the game, including one returning fan favourite map, Valve has also added new weekly missions to the game to keep players engaged.
The new weekly missions can be found on the main menu and players will get one each week. Upon finishing the mission, you'll get a big XP boost, which in turn will help you unlock your weekly case drop, which you are then free to open or sell on the Steam market for some extra gaming funds.
As for maps, Basalt, Edin, Palais, and Whistle have been removed from all game modes. Jura, Grail, and Agency have been added to Competitive, Casual, and Deathmatch modes. Wingman players get two new maps – Dogtown and Brewery.
Those who do play the casual and deathmatch modes will also find that the map pools have been shaken up. Defusal Group Alpha now includes Dust 2, Mirage, Inferno, Vertigo and Defusal Group Delta includes Train, Anubis, Ancient, Overpass, Nuke. The Community Map group includes Jura, Grail and Agency, while the Hostage Group includes Office and Italy.
KitGuru Says: I had my fingers crossed for Cache to make a return but I can't be too disappointed in this update, because Agency is finally back in the mix.
A potentially seismic shift in the PC market could be on the horizon if the latest rumours hold true. As you might have heard already, Nvidia and MediaTek are developing ARM-based CPUs, and according to recent reports, they'll be unveiled at Computex 2025. Both company CEOs, Jensen Huang and Rick Tsai, are already slated for back-to-back presentations at the trade show in Taipei on May 19th and 20th, setting the stage for such an announcement.
According to Tom's Hardware, the upcoming chips, which will be named N1X and N1, are reportedly geared towards Windows-on-ARM systems, including desktops and laptops. Instead of a single CPU, the two companies have apparently developed a new chip family combining MediaTek's expertise in Arm CPUs with Nvidia's Blackwell GPU technology.
This joint venture appears aimed squarely at addressing markets currently served by AMD's APUs (with Radeon graphics) and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X CPUs (with Adreno graphics). Nvidia's perceived advantage here would leverage their discrete Blackwell GPUs, which promise to be significantly faster and more compatible with games than current integrated solutions, potentially catching gamers' attention.
Early reports on the N1X and N1 processors suggest configurations with up to 10 high-performance Cortex-X925 cores and up to 10 Cortex-A725 cores, though less powerful options are likely to address different market tiers. Adding weight to the PC focus, reports late last year stated that MediaTek secured a substantial amount of PC-oriented packaging capacity for flip chip ball grid array (FCBGA) chips, implying use in desktops rather than just mobile devices.
Despite the excitement around a Computex announcement, multiple sources caution that the retail launch date remains uncertain. Last month, a SemiAccurate report suggested that retail availability could be postponed until 2026 due to unresolved technical issues, though no official confirmation exists for such extensive delays.
Earlier this week, Rockstar dropped the long-awaited second trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6. The first trailer already did unbelievable numbers when it released in December 2023, but the second trailer has gone on to shatter even Hollywood film records.
Following the trailer's release on Tuesday, Rockstar has been tallying up its performance across all platforms, telling The Hollywood Reporter that it has amassed over 475 million views across platforms. This shatters the previous trailer's record, which achieved around 93 million views in its first 24 hours. Nowadays the original announcement trailer sits at over 200 million views on YouTube.
Rockstar claims that the trailer release is the biggest video launch of all time. A few notable recent films it has beat include Deadpool & Wolverine (365M), and Fantastic Four: First Steps (200M). The song used in the trailer, Hot Together by The Pointer Sisters, has also had a 102,000% boost in Spotify streams since the trailer dropped.
Naturally, all of these massive numbers are going to lead to massive sales forecasts for Grand Theft Auto 6. The original game earned $10 billion over its lifetime and a chunk of that has been reinvested into developing the sequel, making it one of the most expensive AAA projects in history.
This would be far from the first Xbox game to not release physically. That said, it is interesting to see both PS5 (and especially PC) getting a physical version while the Xbox is not.
Of course, it is worth noting that Microsoft will be allowing all Xbox players who own the last-gen version of Gears of War to upgrade to Reloaded for free. Perhaps this is why they have opted not to give the Xbox SKU a proper release.
Still, following the likes of Indiana Jones and Avowed, Gears of War Reloaded not offering any form of disc on Xbox is a concerning look for the console maker’s future prospects in the hardware space. We will have to wait and see whether Microsoft confirms this report as being true between now and the game’s release in August.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Xbox’s shift away from discs? Is there a justifiable reason for this? Do you reckon the PS5 version will offer the full game on-disc? Let us know down below.
Back during the Nintendo Switch 2’s blowout reveal, one of the biggest 3rd-party titles to be announced for the upcoming console was Elden Ring. Dubbed the ‘Tarnished Edition’, the Switch 2 release is set to add a couple extra bits of bonus content – the details of which have now been shared.
Though these new additions will be made available as DLC for current platforms, the Switch 2 edition of Elden Ring will include two new starting classes: ‘Knight of Ides’ and ‘Heavy Knight’.
Alongside these classes, the Tarnished Edition also includes 3 new customisation options for your mount ‘Torrent’ as well as 4 additional types of armour; weapons and combat techniques.
As mentioned, FromSoftware previously confirmed that all of the added content from the Tarnished Edition will be available as DLC for current owners of the game on other platforms. Whether this will be paid DLC or available for free, we will have to wait and see.
One of the first GOTY contenders to release in 2025 was Split Fiction. Developed by Hazelight Studios of A Way Out and It Takes Two fame, the game saw near-immediate success, selling over 1 million copies in its first 48 hours. In the 2 months since, Split Fiction has continued to perform well – having now surpassed 4 million copies sold.
“4 MILLION!!!! So many of you have picked up Split Fiction already, it’s amazing…Seeing the fun you have with our game and the love you show for Mio, Zoe and each other warms our hearts here at Hazelight. And so many hot dogs made…”
As with both of these prior titles, Split Fiction requires just one copy of the game to play, letting you buddy up with any of your friends no matter their system of choice, making the milestone even more impressive.
Both A Way Out and It Takes Two had long legs, selling millions of copies years after release. If Split Fiction winds up going down the same road, then Hazelight will have another monumental hit on their hands.
KitGuru says: Are you one of the 4 (8) million who’ve played Split Fiction? Is it Hazelight’s best work yet? How long will it take to hit 10 million copies sold? Let us know down below.
Since its launch on Xbox and PC back in 2023, Bethesda Game Studios have sporadically released pretty substantial updates for Starfield – adding a few much-requested features, as well as some which should have been there at launch. Following on from November’s patch, Starfield has gotten another update which is now in beta — bringing notable Creation Kit improvements.
Detailing the update via a blog post, the team at Bethesda Game Studios wrote: “Starfield’s latest update features additional support for Creations as well as numerous fixes for Quests, vehicles, UI and the Shattered Space DLC.”
Available right now through Steam’s beta branch for the game, some of the most notable changes/fixes/additions brought with this update include:
Added Very Low display settings to improve performance on some devices
Creation Kit creations up to 2GB in size can now be uploaded
Creations UI fixes and improvements
Updated resolutions to include 32:9 and 32:10 resolutions as well as more 16:9, 16:10, and 21:9 resolutions
A keyboard binding is now available for the vehicle boost button on PC
While almost entirely focused on fixing the game’s various bugs and glitches, having improved resolution support – especially for ultrawide displays – is a welcome addition.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the update? Were you expecting more after 6 months? Is BGS gearing up for a 2nd expansion/DLC? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Arctic has introduced a way to check if the thermal paste you bought is genuine or a counterfeit. Using what Arctic calls the “MX Authenticity Check” system, builders can ensure they're getting the real deal when it comes to MX thermal paste. The company states the move is a direct reaction to the increasing prevalence of counterfeit thermal pastes on the market.
To combat fakes and guarantee ‘genuine Arctic quality,' Arctic launched a relatively straightforward QR code-based system. Buyers just have to check for the seal on the packaging, scratch it to reveal a QR code, scan it with a mobile device, and validate it online. Arctic claims this entire process takes just a few seconds, confirming whether your paste is genuine.
While the system has been in place for a while on newer packaging, older tubes without the QR code naturally offer no easy way for buyers to verify their authenticity unless purchased directly from Arctic. Arctic MX pastes are generally considered high quality and used by many as the go-to solution for a good price-performance paste solution, making the integrity of the product particularly important.
KitGuru says: Do you usually buy Arctic MX thermal pastes? Have you ever wondered if the tubes you purchased were counterfeit, or did you just assume they were genuine?
Earlier this year, Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 and alongside the console, it also announced plans to raise the prices of new first-party games, like Mario Kart World, to $80. Last week, Microsoft confirmed its own plans to also follow this pricing model. Surprisingly, EA is not jumping on this bandwagon just yet.
EA just released its latest earnings report, giving us a few insights into the company's plans for the rest of the year. Naturally, the question of raising prices to $80 for new games was brought up, but surprisingly, EA CFO, Stuart Canfield, stated that “no changes at this point” are planned.
EA has no plans to join other publishers in raising their new game prices to $80 this year. Crucially, though, the statement leaves the door open for a price increase at a later date.
That means for this year, games like Battlefield, Madden and EA FC should remain at $70 upon release. Depending on market reception to other publishers raising prices, EA will likely consider bumping up its launch prices in 2026.
KitGuru Says: It took a couple of years for some publishers to make the jump to $70 so I expect the same to be true now that $80 games are hitting the market. Eventually though, most AAA publishers will be charging $80.
Last night during a reveal stream, Bungie announced the next two expansions for Destiny 2. Surprisingly, one of them is a crossover with Star Wars, titled ‘Renegades'.
Destiny 2: Renegades is a new expansion for the game. It comes with Star Wars themed weapons and armour sets, including real lightsabers, which isn't too much of a stretch for Destiny, as energy swords have been present in the game for years.
The expansion will release this December, but specific story details are being kept under wraps for now. So far, Bungie has only revealed the themed cosmetics, but the DLC's trailer appears to showcase a desert planet from the Star Wars universe, but whether it is Tatooine or Jakku is up for debate. A Star Wars planet becoming a zone in Destiny would suggest a deeper narrative aspect to this crossover.
Destiny 2: Renegades launches later this year as part of the new year of content, dubbed, Year of Prophecy. The year will see two mid-sized expansions releasing for Destiny 2, rather than one large annual expansion.
In between releases, there will be seasonal content, although seasons in Destiny 2 have also changed this past year. Rather than having a new season every three months, Bungie has moved on to ‘episodes' and plans three of those a year.
KitGuru Says: I used to be a huge fan of Destiny but Bungie lost me around the time of the Lightfall expansion. Do any of you still regularly play? How do you feel about Bungie's plans for the game this year?
Development continues on the next installment in the Battlefield series, and Dice is now ready to ramp up community involvement significantly. Their playtesting program, dubbed “Battlefield Labs”, which aims to bring players into the early stages of multiplayer development, is set to invite many more individuals to participate throughout May.
In a recent development update, Dice summarised the progress made by Battlefield Labs since its limited public access phase began in March. They highlighted how early participants have helped improve stability and balance across several game elements. Concrete examples of feedback leading to changes include contributions to the gunplay, balancing movement speed across actions like crouch sprint, combat rolling, and vaulting, and increasing the gameplay effect of environmental destruction. Moving forward, Dice plans to focus on collecting input, iterating on weapon balance, and improving destructibility.
Beginning with prospective gamers in North America and Europe, Dice will soon introduce additional participants to Battlefield Labs, with access gradually spreading to Asia. This is expected to significantly increase the number of players getting hands-on time with the game. Despite players steadily gaining access through Battlefield Labs, the game remains largely unknown, with most information coming from limited developer remarks and playtester leaks. However, we know that the next Battlefield game is confirmed to take place in the current times, following the near-future setting of Battlefield 2042 and the historical Battlefield V and 1.
If you're interested in participating in these future playtesting phases, Dice still accepts sign-ups via a form they promote.
SilverStone is expanding its PC case lineup with a new option for users building powerful systems in a less conventional form factor. Meet the Crown 04, a new HTPC enclosure featuring an all-steel structure with a brushed aluminium finish.
Based on the 5U rackmount standard, the Crown 04 (via ITHome) measures 440mm wide, 239mm high, and 458mm deep. This substantial size makes it highly compatible with larger components, including big graphics cards like those from the Nvidia RTX 50 series, and likely leaves room for future GPU generations.
The Crown 04 offers broad motherboard compatibility, supporting form factors ranging from standard ATX to SSI-EEB, making it suitable for workstation-class boards. It includes eight PCI expansion slots for multi-card setups or extensive add-in boards and provides storage space for two 3.5-inch hard drives and three 2.5-inch drives.
SilverStone also includes three 120mm fans out of the box. Builders can install several more fans, with mounts for one 120/140mm at the back, three 120mm on the top, and three 120/140mm on the side panels. For liquid cooling, up to 360mm radiators can be mounted on both the top and sides. The front panel features a sliding cover with a convenient I/O selection, including one USB-C connector, four USB-A 3.0 ports, and an audio jack. SilverStone has announced the product but has not yet provided details on pricing or retail availability.
The G.Skill Annual OC World Cup returns at Computex 2025 with a $40,000 prize pool up for grabs. The top nine overclockers from the qualifying rounds will go head-to-head and we may see some records broken along the way.
G.SKILL will host two major annual extreme overclocking events at Computex – the 11th Annual OC World Record Stage 2025 and the 9th Annual OC World Cup 2025. The G.Skill booth won't be entirely overclocking-focused though. There is also the 5th Annual Extreme Mod Stage, where the most creative modded PC builds will be showcased.
Those competing in the OC World Cup will be up for a piece of a $40,000 prize pool. The OC champion will get $10,000, with the rest of the prize pool broken up between the remaining placements. Here is the prize pool breakdown:
OC Champion: $10,000 USD
2nd Place: $6,500 USD
3rd Place: $5,000 USD
4th Place: $4,200 USD
5th Place: $3,400 USD
6th Place: $3,000 USD
7th Place: $2,800 USD
8th Place: $2,600 USD
9th Place: $2,500 USD
We will be at Computex again this year with video coverage, so stay tuned for that in the weeks ahead. Computex 2025 takes place from May 20th to May 23rd.
Last year, Bungie announced a massive round of job cuts, eliminating over 200 roles. At the time, the company had confirmed that rather than getting fired, a small group of employees would join PlayStation Studios to continue working on a new game. Now, months later, teamLFG has formed.
teamLFG is a new studio at PlayStation Studios. It is founded by former Destiny and Halo developers as well as a few devs from franchises like League of Legends and Fortnite. The team's first game is underway, and it appears to be the same project that Sony took over from Bungie when layoffs were announced in 2024.
Like Bungie, teamLFG is based in Bellevue, Washington, although the studio does employ a few remote workers throughout the US and Canada. As explained in the announcement blog, the “LFG” in teamLFG stands for Looking for Group, a common phrase in multiplayer gaming, especially MMOs.
With that carefully planned name in mind, it makes sense that teamLFG will be one of PlayStation's multiplayer-focused studios. The studio's first game is described as a team-based action game that draws inspiration from platformers, MOBAs and weirdly, “frog-type games”.
KitGuru Says: When this studio first formed, the project was described as being in the early stages of development, so I don't expect to see this new game revealed in 2025.
EA has not been shy about its plans for the next Battlefield game. The company announced development had begun over a year ago and in recent months, it has been holding public playtests as part of its new Battlefield Labs early access programme. Now, EA is confirming that the next Battlefield will release later this year.
EA CEO, Andrew Wilson, gave investors an update on its Battlefield launch plans as part of the company's most recent earnings report. In his statements, he confirmed that announcements for the next Battlefield will begin this Summer and reaffirmed that the game will release during the current fiscal year.
While we will be waiting another month or two to get a proper reveal for the next Battlefield game, EA has recently begun expanding invites for Battlefield Labs and another playtest is due to take place this month.
With GTA 6 now pushed out of 2025, many publishers are beginning to solidify their plans. I expect that when Battlefield gets its full reveal in June, we'll also get a Q4 release date.
Square Enix is planning ahead for the Nintendo Switch 2, with plans to bring the full Final Fantasy 7 Remake series to Nintendo's new system.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth did not come to Nintendo Switch due to hardware limitations. However, the Switch 2 has a much more powerful chip under the hood, and benefits from technologies like DLSS. With all of that in mind, the pieces are now in place for these larger, new-gen games to come to Nintendo's platform.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade has already been confirmed for Switch 2. However, Square Enix has not yet announced its plans for Rebirth, or the upcoming third game in the trilogy.
Square Enix game director, Naoki Hamaguchi, has given some insight into that though. As spotted by Eurogamer, he repeatedly references the full trilogy while discussing the first game's release on Switch 2 in the latest Creator's Voice video on Nintendo's YouTube channel.
While Square Enix has not yet given a title to the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, development appears to be progressing well, with voice actors already recording dialogue. The game is likely to release in 2027, assuming Square Enix is able to stick to its current timeline goal.
In recent months, we've heard rumblings about an upcoming Xbox handheld, created in partnership with Asus. Xbox and Asus ROG began to tease that something was up back in April. Now, photos of the Xbox handheld have leaked online.
Following on from the teaser shared last month, the first photos of the ROG / Xbox handheld have been discovered. Videocardz spotted the photos on the US FCC website, after the handheld went through certification ahead of sale.
The handheld is internally known as Project Kennan and should be officially announced in the coming months. Microsoft has an Xbox showcase scheduled for June, so the unveiling could happen there, potentially with hands-on at Gamescom in August, with availability in the September / October timeframe.
There is still much we do not know about this handheld. On the surface, it looks to have a similar design to the ROG Ally, but less angular and with larger controller handles. This should go a long way towards making the device more comfortable to hold.
As we get closer to an official announcement, we should start to see more leaks regarding internal hardware. Currently, we still don't know which AMD chip is at the heart of the console, or other specs like RAM or storage capacity.
KitGuru Says: Are you thinking of picking up a PC gaming handheld this year? Will you be waiting to see what this Xbox handheld brings to the table, or are you after something battle-tested like the Steam Deck?
Klevv's CRAS C930 is a midrange Gen 4 SSD based around an Innogrit 8-channel controller and 176-layer 3D NAND. We put it through its paces today and see how it stacks up against the competition.
The CRAS C930 line-up consists of just two capacities at the time of writing: 1TB and 2TB, the latter being the drive we are looking at here. The C930 is based around an InnoGrit IG5236 8-channel controller combined with Essencore-branded 176-layer 3D TLC NAND. There is also a 2GB DRAM cache IC.
Performance-wise, Klevv rates the Sequential read performance of the 2TB drive as up to 7,400MB/s with writes up to 6,800MB/s. The 1TB drive gets the same 7,400MB/s Sequential read performance with writes rated as up to 6,400MB/s. Random performance for both drives is rated as up to 1,000K for both reads and writes.
Klevv rates the 2TB drive's TBW endurance at 1,500 (the 1TB drive gets 750 TBW), and the drives are backed by a 5-year warranty.
Physical Specifications:
Usable Capacities: 2TB.
NAND Components: 176-layer 3D TLC NAND.
NAND Controller: InnoGrit IG5236.
Cache: 2GB LPDDR4-4266.
Interface: PCIe Gen 4 x4, NVMe 1.4.
Form Factor: M.2, 2280.
Dimensions: 80 x 22 x 3.2mm (without heatsink), 80 x 23.6 x 8.7mm (with heatsink)
Each month, all those with a Humble subscription are privy to a select number of titles for ‘free’ as part of the company’s Humble Choice service. For the month of May, subscribers can obtain a strong and varied line-up of titles, including Amnesia: The Bunker, Evil West; Corpse Keeper and more.
Interestingly, alongside the regular suite of titles, Humble’s Choice subscription now also includes a free month of IGN Plus, said to offer “unlimited use of IGN’s in-game maps and guides”; ad-free access to the site and more.
Though there is perhaps no single standout title for the month, May’s Humble Choice line-up offers plenty of interesting and worthwhile experiences – especially when it comes to indie games.
KitGuru says: What do you think of May’s offerings? Which title are you most excited to try? Do you subscribe to Humble Choice more for AAA games or indie experiences? Let us know down below.
Ever since Marvel Rivals launched late last year – taking the hero shooter crown from Overwatch – the team at Blizzard seem to be finally putting their all into ensuring the once-great game remains a success in spite of its newly added competition. Following the massive drop of Season 16 a couple weeks ago, Blizzard looks set to keep hype up, having accidentally leaked some of their surprising plans for the mid-season refresh.
“Mid-season magic is alive. Keep battling in Stadium with a Street Fighter 6 collaboration and Dokiwatch Mythic Mercy Weapon Skin.”
Unfortunately, no images were shared of the collab, and so it is currently unknown how Street Fighter’s art style will translate into Overwatch.
Of course, this is far from the first crossover in Overwatch, with the game having previously collabed with the likes of One Punch Man; Diablo IV; Cowboy Bebop; My Hero Academia and World of Warcraft – to name some.
Even so, a crossover with Street Fighter of all games is an interesting choice. Hopefully we’ll hear more on this when Blizzard chooses to officially reveal Season 16’s second half.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this leak? How do you think the crossover will work? What video game series would you like to see Overwatch collab with? Let us know down below.
Ecco the Dolphin is one of SEGAs more underrated franchises from back when the publisher made its own console hardware. Following years of silence, a trademark popped up for Ecco the Dolphin back in January, suggesting that something is cooking. In a surprise announcement, SEGA has confirmed multiple Ecco remasters – and a new title – are on the way.
In what is perhaps one of the most unusual ways to announce a video game project, Microsoft recently published an article to their Xbox Blog celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
As part of this, the console maker gave a spotlight to Ed Annunziata, the creator of SEGA’s Ecco the Dolphin, discussing the game’s impact on environmental awareness.
In a surprise end to the interview however, Annunziata was asked “What does the future hold for gaming’s favorite Dolphin?” to which they responded:
“Me and the entire original team are going to Remaster the original Ecco the Dolphin and Tides of Time games. Then we will make a new, third game with contemporary play and GPU sensibilities. Stay tuned to eccothedolphin.com.”
Curiously, the listed domain currently just has a countdown timer set to last 8500 hours – or until the 25th of April 2026. In addition, data miners found a quote in the metadata which states “Something stirs beneath the surface. Are you ready to dive in?”
Ecco the Dolphin was always a unique and surreal experience, and so it is exciting not only to see the games coming back, but to see them maintaining their sense of mystery.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched under two weeks ago 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 1 million copies in just a few days. Since then, its momentum has continued, with the game now surpassing 2 million copies sold.
“Twelve days in, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has crossed two million copies sold. We’ve watched in awe as so many of you began your journey. Feeling every step, every emotion, every revelation alongside you. To those just joining us: welcome. Tomorrow comes.”
While the title was published by Kepler Interactive (a co-operative of sorts), Expedition 33 marks the debut title from studio Sandfall Interactive – making its continued success even more notable.
What’s next for Clair Obscur and Sandfall Interactive is currently unknown, however the team may be considering releasing DLC for the title at some point in the future. We will have to wait and see.
It looks like Western Digital will be launching new SSDs soon. This week, Amazon began displaying listings for the WD_Black SN8100 NVMe PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSD, with capacities ranging from 1TB to 4TB.
According to the now deleted listing on Amazon spotted by @momomo_us, the SN8100 is in the top tier of PCIe Gen 5 speeds. The drive is claimed to offer sequential read speeds of up to 14,900MB/s and write speeds up to 14,000MB/s. Random performance is also expected to be high, with claims of up to 2,300K IOPS for both read and write operations.
In Europe, MSRP appears to be around €200 for the 1TB, €300 for the 2TB, and €550 for the 4TB. UK pricing spotted shows figures around £170 for the 1TB, £260 for the 2TB, and £455 for the 4TB.
Chances are, these new SSDs will be shown at Computex later this month, with availability starting at the end of the month.
Starbreeze initially launched Payday 3 with a publishing deal in place, with Plaion taking on publisher duties for the game. Since then, Starbreeze has reacquired the publishing rights to the game, something that will allow the company to “significantly accelerate” its content development roadmap.
Payday 3 struggled at launch, in large but due to bugs and other quality issues. Since then, Starbreeze has been patching the game and putting together plans for new content, but progress has been a tad slow. With the acquisition of the publishing rights for the game, Starbreeze hopes to speed up content development and pursue “broader strategic opportunities” for the Payday franchise.
“This agreement enables Starbreeze to fully acquire the publishing rights to PAYDAY 3 from Plaion, significantly accelerate our content development roadmap, and pursue broader strategic opportunities for the PAYDAY franchise as a whole. We appreciate PLAION’s support, which underscores their confidence in Starbreeze’ future and strengthens our strategic alignment with major global industry players.”
Starbreeze will be paying SEK 29 million to pay back Plaion for the publishing rights to the game, which works out to around $3 million USD.
While Nvidia announced specs and pricing for the RTX 5060 at the same time as the RTX 5060 Ti, the standard edition graphics card has not yet been made available. That is finally changing this month, with Nvidia confirming a 19th of May release date.
This afternoon, Nvidia announced that RTX 5060 graphics cards, starting at $299, and RTX 5060 laptops, starting at $1099, will become available starting on the 19th of May. As a reminder, here are the specs for the RTX 5060, compared with the previous-gen RTX 4060 and RTX 3060 graphics cards:
GPU
RTX 3060
RTX 4060
RTX 5060
RTX 5060 Ti
Shader Cores
Ampere SM
13 TFLOPS
Ada SM
15 TFLOPS
Blackwell SM
19 TFLOPS
Blackwell SM
24 TFLOPS
Tensor Cores
3rd Gen FP16
102 AI TOPS
4th Gen FP8/FP16
242 AI TOPS
5th Gen FP4/FP8/FP16
614 AI TOPS
5th Gen FP4/FP8/FP16
759 AI TOPS
RT Cores
2nd Gen
25 TFLOPS
3rd Gen
35 TFLOPS
4th Gen
58 TFLOPS
4th Gen
72 TFLOPS
Memory Subsystem
12GB
GDDR6
8GB
GDDR6
8GB
GDDR7
8GB / 16GB
GDDR7
Launch Pricing
$329
$299
$299
$379 (8GB) / $429 (16GB)
Aside from the RTX 5060 update, Nvidia also used this opportunity to announce another wave of titles adding DLSS support in the coming weeks, including the likes of:
MechWarrior 5: Clans
New World: Aeternum
Spirit of the North 2
Bodycam
Lost Skies
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree
Necrophosis
AMD is also expected to be launching a new graphics card soon – the RX 9060 XT.
The latest Philips Evnia gaming monitor has been announced. The new esports-focused model, the Evnia 25M2N5200U, is overclockable out of the box, boosting its already impressive 360Hz refresh rate up to 390Hz.
The Philips Evnia 25M2N5200U gaming monitor uses a Full HD Fast IPS panel with 1ms GtG response times and a 360Hz native refresh rate. Through the OSD, users can switch in overclocking mode to push the refresh rate even higher, up to a maximum of 390Hz.
The display is VESA-certified DisplayHDR 400, so it can offer brighter highlights in HDR content. Other image modifying features include Smart Contrast, which automatically adjusts colours and backlighting, and ShadowBoost, which provides additional levels of saturation and contrast. To ensure complete connectivity to all peripherals and an easy upgrade of the gaming set-up, this model features 2x HDMI 2.0 and 1x DisplayPort 1.4 ports, a USB hub and headphone out jack, covering most gaming needs.
The Philips Evnia 25M2N5200U gaming monitor will be available for purchase from mid-May 2025 at an MSRP of £329.00.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up a new gaming monitor this year? Are you looking for something with an ultra high refresh rate, like 240Hz to 360Hz?
Connexion
Ultra 9 275HX
(@falloutonprime) 
