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.
KitGuru Says: We've still got quite a long wait ahead. Still, we'll hopefully at least get a trailer before the end of the year.
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.
KitGuru says: Are you surprised by Silent Hill’s mild franchise sales? Has SH2 Remake revitalised the series? Let us know down below.
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.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the lawsuit overall? Is Nintendo overstepping? Let us know your thoughts down below.
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?
Today, Rockstar released the second trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, but that wasn't all. Alongside the trailer, Rockstar has issued a massive press kit, including 70 in-game screenshots and other details about the characters running modern-day Vice City.
In Grand Theft Auto 6, players will be invited to explore a larger, expanded version of Vice City. With the upgrade in technology since GTA: Vice City in the early 2000s, the new version is unrecognisable, offering a vastly different and more realistic view of the city.
In the gallery below, you can see all of the currently-released screenshots for Grand Theft Auto 6:
At the start of the Grand Theft Auto 6 campaign, players will take control of Jason, in his way to pick up his partner in crime, Lucia, from prison. The two begin plotting how to make it big in Vice City and like any good crime drama, things begin to spiral out of control.
Along the way, players will be introduced to characters like Cal Hampton, an online conspiracy theorist who spends his free time snooping on the Coast Guard radio. Boobie Ike is the club mogul of Vice City, operating a nightclub, a music studio and a drug empire on the side. Speaking of the music studio, that brings us to Bae-Luxe and Roxy, a rap duo signed to Boobie's record label, who also have a habit of shaking down local dealers.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is due to release on the 26th of May 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. A PC version has been confirmed but there is no release date for it yet and we are unlikely to get one until after the game releases on consoles.
Following on from last week's surprise announcement that GTA 6 will be releasing in May 2026, Rockstar has now followed up with the long-anticipated release of Trailer 2.
The second trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 is now live. The new trailer introduces us to key characters, including main protagonists Jason and Lucia, alongside some key side characters we'll be encountering along the way.
The trailer, which does appear to use some in-game footage, gives us a good look at the quality level Rockstar is striving for and as you may expect, it does appear to be the best-looking open world game to date.
Here is the story synopsis for the game:
“Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.”
Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on the 26th of May 2026. A PC version will release at a later, undisclosed date. The Rockstar website has been updated with new screenshots showing off the new version of Vice City, which you can find, HERE.
KitGuru Says: GTA 6 is looking great but the bitter part of all this week's excitement is that we still have no idea when the game will be coming to PC. I may have to dust off my Xbox for this one though.
Xbox Game Pass had a surprisingly big April thanks to the sudden release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Now, Microsoft has announced the first wave of Game Pass titles for May, with the biggest game of the bunch naturally being DOOM: The Dark Ages.
DOOM: The Dark Ages launches on May 15th and will be a day-one title for Game Pass on PC, and available on cloud and console via Game Pass Ultimate. The game is also releasing for Steam and PS5.
Here is the full list of titles coming to Game Pass in May 2025, including dates and platforms:
Dredge (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X/S) – Available Today
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Cloud, Console and PC) – May 7th
Dungeons of Hinterberg (Console) – May 7th
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (Xbox Series X/S) – May 7th
Metal Slug Tactics (Console) – May 7th
Revenge of the Savage Planet (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X/S) – May 8th
TMNT: Mutants Unleashed (Cloud, Console, PC) – May 8th
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (Cloud, Console) – May 13th
DOOM: The Dark Ages (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X/S) – May 15th
Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (Cloud, Console, PC) – May 16th
Firefighting Simulator: The Squad (Cloud, Console and PC) – May 20th
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (Cloud, Console, PC) – May 20th
On the 15th of May, there will be five games leaving Game Pass, including Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Chants of Sennaar, Dune: Spice Wars, Hauntii and The Big Con.
Today we're taking a look at the Onyx Pro prebuilt gaming desktop from PCSpecialist. It features an Intel Core i7-14700F and Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5070 at its core, alongside 32gb of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 memory and a 2TB Solidigm P41+ SSD. Priced at £1549, can the Onyx Pro deliver solid gaming performance at its mid-range price tag?
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
01:10 Price and Value
02:45 Specification
05:32 Mobo Support and Ports
06:49 PSU
07:20 CPU Cooler / Fans
08:08 Case
09:11 Front I/O
09:57 Thoughts on the build
10:45 BIOS and updates
11:15 Real World Gaming 1440p
12:59 Real World Gaming 4k
15:25 Cinebench / PL power limits / Sustained / BIOS tweaks
17:32 Thermal Camera readings
18:07 System power draw
18:30 Noise Sound Test
18:42 Closing Thoughts
Specifications:
CPU – Intel® Core i7-14700F
Motherboard – ASUS® PRIME B760-PLUS
Memory – 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE 5600MT/s CL40
GPU – 12GB Asus Prime Geforce RTX 5070
SSD – 2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2
CPU Cooler – PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Power Supply – CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES
Case – Fractal Design Focus 2 ARGB
The core specs are confirmed in the following CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots:
Gaming performance was unsurprisingly better at 1440P when compared to 4K in the titles I tested (for full details watch our video review on YouTube) – Escape from Tarkov Arena was a particular highlight when running at 2560×1440 with maximum settings, as the game can sometimes struggle on even high end machines. Call of Duty Warzone ran at roughly the same level when testing at 1440p.
Moving up to 4K does see the framerates tumble – dropping significantly in Warzone. However, as the system has an RTX 5070, the use of DLSS 4 and multi frame generation are an option and do improve fps significantly, as can be seen in the screen capture from Cyberpunk 2077 below.
Escape from Tarkov: Arena (1440p)
Call of Duty: Warzone (1440p)
Call of Duty Warzone (4K Native)
Cyberpunk 2077 (4K Native)
Cyberpunk 2077 (4K – DLSS 4 Quality – MFG 4x)
The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (4K – DLSS Quality, FG Auto)
Overall, the Onyx Pro desktop performed as expected and is much more suited to 1440p gaming, especially if playing competitive titles and targeting high framerates. However, it is still very capable of gaming at 4K, as long as you are willing to utilise DLSS and frame generation. If full rasterised gaming at 4K is your goal then you will need a little more grunt under the hood.
For details of synthetic benchmarks, power usage, noise and temperatures check out our full video review on YouTube.
You can buy the Onyx Pro desktop directly from PCSpecialist for £1549 HERE.
Pros:
Very competitive pricing when compared to build a similar system.
Solid 1440p gaming performance.
Good 4K gaming performance when using DLSS and frame generation.
2TB SSD.
Excellent cable management and overall build quality/attention to detail.
Cougar has introduced its latest case, featuring a new design that will certainly attract some attention. The Cougar OmnyX is built around the company's new Omnidirectional Dynamic Flow (ODF) system. This system enables a chassis offering complete build freedom without sacrificing airflow.
Thanks to the ODF design, the OmnyX ensures front-to-rear airflow, allowing for strong and efficient cooling. It comes pre-installed with four 160mm PWM fans in a mirrored arrangement, providing what Cougar states is the most powerful cooling right out of the box on the market.
The OmnyX includes an integrated base compartment for cable management. This means that during setup, all wires can be routed through and hidden beneath the main chamber, reducing cable clutter. Additional features include a sliding rail system for ambidextrous front I/O placement and bracketless vertical GPU mounting for cards up to 380mm long.
The case is fully compatible with reverse-connector motherboards such as Asus BTF, MSI Project Zero, and Aorus Stealth. Modular components, like removable fan and drive brackets, make installation easier. Inside the case you will also find a universal fan hub for PWM and RGB control without extra software. The OmnyX has an MSRP of $139.99 and will be available globally starting June 2025.
Nvidia celebrated Star Wars Day (May the 4th) by showing off some unique custom GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics cards. The company designed two distinct versions: one featuring a Star Wars X-Wing theme and another showcasing a Star Trek Enterprise design.
Unlike previous generations, when Nvidia could easily add large custom stickers to backplates for special events, the RTX 50 Founders Edition's Double Flow Through cooler typically limits them to much smaller branding elements. However, for this event, Nvidia created these full-scale custom designs as part of a promotion where they asked fans to vote between Star Wars and Star Trek.
If you want to win one of these special edition graphics cards, you'll need to head to Nvidia's social channels, like X, and reply to the post to be registered for a chance to win. Both the Star Wars card and the Star Trek card will be given away, although entries are limited to certain regions, including: Australia (excluding New South Wales, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory), Austria, Brazil, Canada (excluding Quebec), Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA (excluding New York and Florida), and Vietnam.
Returnal is an excellent and heart-pumping 3rd-person bullet hell rogue-like from the team at Housemarque. Released back in 2021 shortly following the PS5’s launch, the title saw solid support from the studio. 3 years on from its last major update (and two years since the PC release), Returnal has gotten a small yet welcome patch bringing full PS5 Pro support.
In celebration of the game’s 4th anniversary, Housemarque announced and released a surprise PlayStation 5 Pro patch – said to bring “up to 2.5X the pixels on PS5 Pro for a higher resolution experience of Returnal.”
While certainly a welcome upgrade, what you see is what you get with this Pro patch. As analysed by Digital Foundry, this update solely offers a boost to resolution, bringing it up from a native 1080p (temporally reconstructed to 1440p then upscaled to 4K) to a dynamic 1728-1350p. All in all, a solid enhancement.
Interestingly, Housemarque seemingly decided against PlayStation’s PSSR. Similarly, none of the ray-tracing effects added with the PC port have been brought over.
Still, a 2.5x resolution boost is certainly noticeable, making a fast-paced game like Returnal more easily appreciable – especially with how many particles the game throws at the screen at any given moment.
For a while now, we’ve known many of Ubisoft’s plans regarding the future of the Assassin’s Creed series, with the publisher themselves announcing a bunch of projects all at the same time. With AC: Shadows finally out and performing well, insiders have now begun to offer more details on the next 9 iterations of AC.
While Ubisoft Quebec is busy with their extensive post-launch support for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, known leakers Insider-Gaming have offered new details on the rest of AC’s line-up of titles.
According to the report, Ubisoft has 9 total Assassin’s Creed games currently in development in one form or another: “2 RPG's, 2 remakes, 2 smaller experiences, 2 multiplayer games, and 1 mobile title.”
As mentioned, we already know what some of these will be, with the mobile title being the Tencent co-developed AC: Jade; one of the multiplayer games being Codename Invictus and at least one of the smaller experiences being codename Hexe.
According to Insider-Gaming, the first game of the bunch to come out will be Assassin’s Creed Jade. (set in China). Following this will be the aforementioned Invictus, which will reportedly be a Fall Guys styled game with 5 years of support already planned out.
Then comes Obsidian, the codename for the Black Flag remake, which is planned to release around the same time as Invictus.
Following this will be Hexe. Said to be arriving after Shadows’ two years of support ends, this smaller experience will offer just one year of support.
The final 5 games Ubisoft currently has planned are:
Scarlet (RPG which will take place across India, the Mediterranean, and the Aztec Empire)
Stardust (Second remake project)
Emerald (Second multiplayer project)
‘RPG3’
‘Remake3’
While some could argue that Ubisoft is planning a bit too far ahead, Assassin’s Creed does represent the publisher’s biggest franchise and so it is somewhat reassuring at least to know that the team has a vision for its future.
One of the most interesting tidbits from the life of the Nintendo 3DS was the fact that it was used as a digital audio tour guide for the iconic French museum The Louvre. That said, with smartphones becoming the standard more than a decade ago now, the museum has decided that it’s finally time to retire the service.
In an update made to the website’s section detailing their audio guide, which allows you to “Explore the palace and collections with the audio guide on the New Nintendo 3DS” The Louvre made note of the service's impending discontinuation, writing:
“The New Nintendo 3DS console audio guides will go out of operation in September 2025, to be replaced by a new system.”
The new system has not been detailed, but as mentioned, with the ubiquity of smartphones nowadays, it will likely be a downloadable phone app of some sorts.
While the use of a 3DS for The Louvre was always a bit of an odd choice, it does feel somewhat like the end of an era for a handheld system which punched far above its own weight.
Since its shadow-drop two weeks ago, the remaster for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has been performing extremely well – selling over 4 million copies in mere days and achieving the 3rd biggest launch on PS5 this year. As time progresses and more data is gathered, we’re getting a clearer idea of just how well Oblivion performed; with the game currently sitting as the 3rd best-selling game of 2025 in the US.
As reported by industry analyst Mat Piscatella via BlueSky, “After just one week in market (w/e 4.26) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Remastered is already the 3rd best-selling game of 2025 in the US ($ sales) trailing only Monster Hunter: Wilds and Assassin's Creed: Shadows.”
As noted by Piscatella, this only represents the first week of sales, meaning it could have surpassed AC Shadows by now.
Furthermore, Oblivion was a day-one Game Pass PC / Ultimate addition, making the achievement more notable. Of course, Oblivion is a known quantity and so even with a shadow drop, the game was likely to see plenty of interest.
All that said, it will be curious to see how other rumoured Bethesda remasters wind up performing when they are eventually announced and released.
KitGuru says: Have you been enjoying the Oblivion remaster? Are you hyped now for the rumoured Fallout 3 remake? With GTA VI no longer coming out this year, could Oblivion become the best-selling game of 2025? Let us know down below.
A few weeks ago, a rumour went around claiming that Microsoft was working on a Gears of War Remaster, one that would bring the franchise to PlayStation for the first time. Now, Microsoft has announced Gears of War: Reloaded, and it is coming out later this year.
Gears of War: Reloaded is a remaster of the original Gears of War. It includes all of the improvements of the Ultimate Edition that Microsoft launched back in 2015 for Xbox One and PC. The key difference this time around is that Microsoft is including 4K and 120FPS modes for console.
While Gears of War: Ultimate Edition did release on PC, it did not come to Steam. Since then, Microsoft has opted to bring many of its first-party games to Steam, often day-and-date with the Windows Store and Xbox versions of a new release. With Gears of War: Reloaded, Microsoft will bring the game to Steam, joining the likes of Gears 4 and Gears 5.
Unfortunately, Gears of War: Reloaded only includes the original game, not the entire Xbox 360-era trilogy. On the bright side, while rumours claimed multiplayer would not be part of this new re-release, Microsoft has confirmed that multiplayer will be present in Gears of War: Reloaded.
The re-release will give new fans a chance to jump in and familiarise themselves with key characters like Marcus Fenix, before the prequel, Gears of War: E-Day, releases in 2026.
KitGuru Says: I love Gears of War and am happy to see the game finally coming to more platforms. However, I am a little disappointed to learn that this is more of a rebrand for Gears of War Ultimate, and not a new attempt to bring all three games to modern systems. While we've had a ‘modern' version of Gears 1 for 10 years now, we are still stuck with the old Xbox 360 versions of Gears 2 and Gears 3.
The rumour mill is buzzing again about Valve's long-awaited next entry in the Half-Life series. According to rumours, the game is currently “playable end-to-end”, which would mean that Valve may make a full announcement later this year.
In a video posted on YouTube, Tyler McVicker, known for reporting on Valve rumors, has stated that Half-Life 3 is entirely playable, and an official reveal might be around the corner. Although a shadowdrop is unlikely for a game like this, there's always a first time for everything. However, the leaker stated that the release date is likely set for later this year. For reference, Half-Life Alyx was first announced in November 2019, before releasing in March 2020.
Beyond McVicker's insights, there have been other clues recently. In March, Valve concept artist Evgeniy Evstratiy reportedly claimed to have been in the room where Valve created Half-Life 3. In the same month, fellow Valve leaker Gabe Follower suggested the game will mark the “end of Gordon's adventure”. Internet rumblings have also uncovered code mentioning “HLX”, widely assumed to be the codename for Half-Life 3, appearing in recent updates to Valve titles like Deadlock and Dota 2.
KitGuru says: Do you believe Valve will reveal Half-Life 3 soon?
Warhorse Studios' Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is proving to be a major hit, quickly racking up impressive sales figures. The studio has announced that the game has officially sold over three million copies just three months and one day after its release, solidifying its position as one of the most successful games of 2025 so far. In addition, the developer also announced that the first game has sold a total of 10 million copies.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 broke the two million sales mark in February and added another million in just over two months. While the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance has sold over ten million copies to date, reports from March indicated the sequel outsold its predecessor five times over during their respective first months on the market. This strong start suggests that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 might surpass the original's lifetime sales total.
A combination of factors is likely driving these strong sales figures. The game received excellent reviews at launch (90 over at OpenCritic), with critics praising its evolution from the 2018 original. Word-of-mouth from players has also clearly translated into sales. Warhorse Studios' commitment to post-launch support hasn't hurt either, with the studio providing free content updates for the game.
Players can also look forward to plenty more content soon. Warhorse Studios recently unveiled details about the game's first expansion, which is set to be released later this month, in May 2025. It has also been reported that three paid DLCs are planned for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 throughout 2025, so there's still much to come for this medieval RPG.
While Skype was at one point the dominant VOIP software in the market, over the 2010s, Microsoft saw a rapid decline in users thanks to competing technologies and nowadays, services like Discord, Microsoft Teams and Zoom have essentially replaced Skype entirely. Now, Microsoft is shutting Skype down for good.
Microsoft officially announced plans to shut down Skype earlier this year, citing the emergence of Microsoft Teams as a key reason behind the shutdown. Rather than working on two competing VOIP apps at once, Microsoft is cutting Skype off and focusing all future efforts on Teams.
The shutdown date happens to be today, May 5th. After today, Skype will no longer be functional, and you won't be able to continue making calls, or access Skype's Premium features.
At its peak, Skype attracted over 300 million users, a figure that had dropped to around 36 million in 2023 – a number that I personally find quite hard to believe given how irrelevant Skype has become over the past five years.
In an unexpected shift for a studio long synonymous with the genre, Codemasters is officially stepping away from rally racing simulators. While Formula One has become their primary focus under EA, rally sims have been an integral part of Codemasters' identity for decades, from the days of Colin McRae Rally to the Dirt series.
In an official blog post, the studio revealed they are ceasing development support for EA Sports WRC and ending their WRC cooperation after just one game. Not only that, but Codemasters stated they do not intend to create any further rally racing simulations for the time being.
As some may have anticipated following this significant shift, the studio has confirmed that layoffs sadly accompany this transition. Speaking to VGC, Codemasters confirmed they are “eliminating roles” as they complete their rally development pipeline. The exact number of affected positions wasn't specified, though the studio noted that efforts are being made to reassign some employees to other EA Sports projects and teams.
These layoffs at Codemasters are not isolated incidents within EA. They come shortly after EA announced broader job cuts affecting around 300 positions across the company, which reportedly included Respawn Entertainment cutting about 100 staff and cancelling a Titanfall extraction shooter project. Unfortunately, this also marks the second time Codemasters has recently had to reduce its workforce, having also laid off staff in December 2023.
Last year, a writer sued Bungie, claiming that Destiny 2's Red War campaign copied from his own stories published online. The Red War campaign was the original set of story missions that launched with Destiny 2. This campaign hasn't been available in Destiny 2 for several years at this stage and now, that fact is causing issues for Bungie as it attempts to fight the lawsuit.
Bungie filed to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming that its Red War campaign is ‘demonstrably' different to this author's writings. However, as the Red War missions now sit locked in the Bungie Content Vault, Bungie cannot actually ‘demonstrate' the differences at all.
As reported by VGC, Bungie tried to explain to the court that this ‘legacy' content can no longer be accessed and as a result, it can't be provided to the court in any “operable or reviewable form”. To work around this, Bungie submitted YouTube videos showcasing Destiny 2's launch campaign, as well as Wiki articles explaining the story events that are no longer present in the live game.
The judge ultimately ruled that third-party retellings of the Destiny 2 campaign can't be considered as evidence as their “authenticity has not been established”.
As a result, the case will move forward, which could lead to Bungie having to waste time and resources going through an expensive trial process.