It's becoming clear what the 1.2.0.3e BIOS update is all about. While initial speculation pointed towards the addition of support for Ryzen 9000G APUs, it seems the immediate focus is elsewhere. New reports suggest these BIOS updates are laying the groundwork for a different kind of Ryzen 9000 series chip, notably without integrated graphics.

The report originates from Chiphell (via HXL), where it's claimed that the current AGESA 1.2.0.3e introduces support for a new Ryzen 9000 CPU series with the integrated GPU disabled. This explains why Strix Point or Grado is not mentioned in the latest microcode updates, as this new chip is still based on the “Granite Ridge” architecture.

One of the chips belonging to this series (Ryzen 9000F) has already been mentioned by MEGAsizeGPU and Wccftech. According to them, the Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core CPU, sharing the same core count and underlying structure as the existing Ryzen 7 9700X. As such, it's expected to feature 40MB of L3 cache and a 65W TDP. Clock speeds are TBC, but expect something closely matching the Ryzen 7 9700X.

AMD has already made the AGESA 1.2.0.3e firmware publicly available for AM5 motherboards. Beyond supporting the upcoming CPU series, this update also addresses a recently reported security flaw, AMD-SB-4011, which impacts systems using AMD's Firmware TPM (via VideoCardz). This vulnerability could allow a local attacker to expose data or impair system availability through an out-of-bounds read. Some motherboard manufacturers, like Asus and MSI, have already begun rolling out BIOS updates with the latest AGESA microcode update.

Given the widespread AGESA and BIOS updates from numerous motherboard manufacturers, the launch of the Ryzen 7 9700F seems to be just a few weeks away.

KitGuru says: For those who don't need an iGPU, a Ryzen 9000F CPU could be a good alternative for those looking to jump to the Ryzen 9000 series, assuming you can get them at a lower price.

The post AMD BIOS update to fix TPM security flaws first appeared on KitGuru.

Official MESA drivers have provided new evidence regarding Intel's unconfirmed higher-end Battlemage GPU. Previously listed under generic “Intel Graphics” IDs, four of these entries have now been associated with BGM-G31. This update, an official release from Intel developers, confirms the existence of the BGM-G31, a GPU that has been the subject of rumours even before the initial Battlemage launch.

Starting with this merge request (via VideoCardz), the IDs e220, e221, e222, and e223 are now linked to BGM-G31. For context, the already known BGM-G21 is categorised under IDs e202 through e212, though not all are currently in use.

Following the same logic, Intel should be developing at least four distinct versions of the Battlemage G31, potentially targeting both consumer (gaming) and professional market segments. While the appearance of these IDs doesn't guarantee that all four variants will come to fruition, it suggests Intel is developing products based on this GPU. Furthermore, two other unnamed IDs remain in the MESA listing.

The most significant takeaway from this MESA update is Intel's official confirmation of BGM-G31. Recent reports (from @KOMACHI_ENSAKA) also indicated that the BGM-G31 will support the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. Other rumours suggest that the BGM-G31 will feature 32 Xe2 cores and is slated for a release in the fourth quarter of this year.

KitGuru asks: Can a consumer-oriented graphics card based on the BGM-G31 increase Intel's GPU market share?

The post Driver hints at Intel’s long-rumoured ‘high end’ Arc Battlemage GPU first appeared on KitGuru.

Details have emerged regarding a new entry-level CPU from Intel, the Core 5 120F, which has appeared in marketing materials. Designed for the LGA-1700 socket, the absence of “Ultra” branding immediately signals that this processor is not based on the Arrow Lake or Meteor Lake platforms. Instead, this chip seems to leverage Intel's Bartlett Lake-S architecture.

Initial whispers suggested that Bartlett Lake-S would primarily target networking and edge computing systems. However, based on the marketing material shared by @momomo_us, Intel could be planning to adapt it to the consumer market, launching desktop processors based on what will probably be the last LGA 1700-based CPUs.

The leaked marketing materials show that the Core 5 120F is a six-core CPU. The presentation also indicates that the P-core frequency for the Core 5 120F is 2.5GHz base and 4.5GHz boost, making this processor similar to the Core i5-12400F. The sole distinguishing factor appears to be the 120F's slightly higher 100MHz boost clock. Beyond this minor difference, the CPU supports identical memory configurations (DDR5-4800 and up to 192GB) and maintains a 65W TDP.

Intel has not formally introduced the Core 100 series for desktops, leaving the total number of planned SKUs unclear. However, the “F” series designation confirms that this model shouldn't include integrated graphics, requiring users to pair it with a discrete GPU for it to work.

KitGuru says: Do you think the Intel Core 5 120F can disrupt the entry/mid-level consumer CPU market?

The post Intel Core 5 120F may not include any E-cores first appeared on KitGuru.

We first caught wind of Bethesda's unannounced game, SpyTeam, thanks to a Zenimax trademark filing in 2022. The game has disappeared from headlines since 2024, but that finally changed this week with new trademark filings. 

Bethesda / Zenimax have renewed their trademark for the game SPYTEAM. The fact that the trademark for this game continues to be renewed indicates that there are still development and release plans for this project, although not much is known about it publicly.

Previously, we have heard that SpyTeam is being developed by a team at Bethesda Austin, which has also primarily developed Fallout 76 since the game's initial 2018 launch. The studio had previously worked on Bethesda's cancelled multiplayer game, Battle Cry.

In the trademark application, SPYTEAM is described as an “electronic game program”, but that doesn't make it clear if the game is planned as a mobile title, or a full-fledged console / PC game.

KitGuru Says: There is still a lot we don't know about this game, and despite movement behind the scenes, there is no guarantee that this game is close to an official announcement.

The post Bethesda renews trademark for mysterious game ‘SPYTEAM’ first appeared on KitGuru.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be releasing almost 13 years after the previous game in the series, GTA V. In that time, Rockstar spent some time focusing its resources on Red Dead Redemption 2, and then underwent a huge change when company co-founder, Dan Houser, suddenly left the company. A new report claims that struggles getting a vision for GTA 6 off the ground contributed to his departure. 

A report from Favilys, translated by Insider Gaming, makes the claim that Rockstar made three different pitches for the Grand Theft Auto 6 campaign before Take-Two was happy with it. The first version of the game was apparently set to star three new characters, mirroring the structure of GTA V, and would have played out like more of a detective story.

The game was later reworked to centre around two protagonists, one being a member of the Police and the other being a drug smuggler. After 18 months of development on this version of the game, it was apparently cancelled in 2019. After that, Dan Houser made the decision to leave the company he co-founded. Nowadays, Dan Houser has a new media company, working on comics, radio dramas and eventually, it is believed that the company will produce a game.

If this timeline is accurate, then that would mean that the current version of GTA 6 began development in the second half of 2019, giving it a seven-year development window by the time it releases in May 2026.

KitGuru Says: It is easy to forget that Rockstar has lost some of its most prominent leaders since GTA V released. Still, with GTA being such a flagship franchise, I don't foresee the next game being bad in any way. 

 

The post GTA 6 reportedly restarted development twice between 2016 and 2019 first appeared on KitGuru.

It looks like Grand Theft Auto won't be the only game from Rockstar making headlines this year. According to the voice actor who plays John Marston, some new Red Dead news is on the horizon this week. 

Rob Wiethoff voices Marston in both Red Dead Redemption and its pre-sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2. During a stream in which he was playing Red Dead Redemption Wiethoff said that he'll have “exciting news” to share later this week, hinting at a new Red Dead related announcement (via VGC).

Fans have already begun expressing their hopes that this will be the impending ‘next-gen' update for Red Dead Redemption 2, alongside a new port of the game for the Switch 2.

Rockstar has not given Red Dead Online the same level of support as its GTA counterpart, but if there is new stuff happening in the world of Red Dead Redemption, then there is always the possibility of new content for the online multiplayer mode.

KitGuru Says: Do you think we'll finally get a next-gen update for Red Dead Redemption 2? 

The post Rockstar tipped to make Red Dead announcement this week first appeared on KitGuru.

Final Fantasy 16 had a surprise release on Xbox earlier this month. Now that gamers have had a chance to get a decent amount of playtime with the game, issues have arisen. 

The console benchmarking experts at Digital Foundry have published their test results for Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox Series X/S. Unfortunately, the game appears to run at resolutions ‘consistently lower' than the PS5 version, hitting lows of 720p in performance mode with lower levels of detail compared to the game on PS5.

One area where Xbox does have an advantage though is in frame rate. The 60FPS performance mode is more stable on Xbox than on PS5, where the game often drops down into the 40FPS range.

Unfortunately this means that neither console version of Final Fantasy 16 can be described as perfect. On PS5, you'll get sharper graphics, on Xbox you'll get a more consistent 60FPS. PC is really the only version of the game that can blend the higher detailed visuals with high frame rates.

KitGuru Says: Have you picked up Final Fantasy 16? Which platform did you get it on? 

The post Final Fantasy 16 hits lows of 720p on Xbox Series X first appeared on KitGuru.

Stellar Blade launched last year on PS5 to a wave of success – receiving high praise across the board and selling a ton of copies to boot. Following a great deal of anticipation, the game finally launched on PC last week – seeing over 100,000 concurrent players. Even so, Stellar Blade has only continued to grow, with the single player title now seeing just shy of 200,000 CCU.

In the immediacy following its PC release, SHIFTUP’s Stellar Blade amassed a record breaking number of concurrent players for a PlayStation published title on PC with over 100,000 CCU.

This marked a notable jump over all of PlayStation’s other single player titles on PC – the previous record holder of which was Ghost of Tsushima with 77K concurrents.

Over the weekend, Stellar Blade has only furthered its lead, with the title now easily doubling the peak CCU of GoT at 192,078 players.

Of course, it is worth noting that last year’s Helldivers II remains Sony’s biggest PC title with 458,709 concurrent players. That said, unlike Stellar Blade, Helldivers II is a multiplayer-only live-service title – and so concurrent player counts matter more in these instances.

Still, with almost triple the CCU of the next-best single player PlayStation title, Stellar Blade is undeniably a huge hit which was worth the wait.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the game so far? Were you checking it out over the weekend? How many copies do you think the game will sell on PC? Let us know down below.

The post Stellar Blade sets PlayStation record with highest single-player CCU on Steam first appeared on KitGuru.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best-selling games of all time, with the 2018 Rockstar Games title pushing over 74 million units since its release on PS4 / Xbox One / PC. Despite the huge sales numbers, RDR2 has yet to receive current-gen support in any form. That said, following recent rumours claiming that a current-gen patch is on its way, one of Red Dead Redemption 2’s stars has teased some impending “exciting news.”

Earlier this month, rumours popped up claiming that Rockstar Games are working on a current-gen version of Red Dead Redemption 2 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and the recently-released Nintendo Switch 2.

In the wake of this, the voice actor for RDR1 protagonist John Marston (Rob Wiethoff) teased that “exciting news” is set to be announced some time this week “definitely before Friday” – adding that he can’t think of anything else “especially while playing [RDR1].”

Given this statement, and the previous rumours, it seems as though a current-gen version of Red Dead Redemption 2 is truly in the works and set to be announced soon.

Interestingly, all the way back in 2022 reports claimed that Rockstar had cancelled plans for a current-gen port of RDR2 as well as a remaster for GTA IV. With both titles now rumoured to be in the works, it seems clear that these halted/cancelled plans have been undone – hopefully for the better.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to a current-gen release of RDR2? What enhancements are you expecting/hoping for? Will it include proper DualSense support? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Red Dead Redemption 2 actor teases “exciting news” this week first appeared on KitGuru.

During Epic Games’ recent State of Unreal presentation, CD Projekt Red made an appearance, showing off a vertical slice gameplay demo of The Witcher 4 running on a base PlayStation 5. Though still years away from launch, the team have shared some of their mentality behind the game’s development – including the fact that The Witcher 4 is being built with a focus on console for the first time.

Following the recent State of Unreal presentation, known analysts Digital Foundry broke down The Witcher 4’s tech demo while revealing some interesting titbits of information shared by CDPR during their interview.

According to CD Projekt Red, the decision to run the demo on a PlayStation 5 instead of PC was an intentional one, with The Witcher 4 being the first game from the studio to be made with a console first approach – meaning it is being built for consoles and will then be scaled up for PCs; as opposed to the other way round.

Interestingly, despite this, the team made note of some struggles which they expect to encounter; in particular when it comes to the Xbox Series S and getting its version of The Witcher 4 to run at high frame rates, claiming “60fps would definitely be extremely challenging,” adding that “this is something that we need to figure out.”

As mentioned, previous CDPR titles have been developed with a PC first approach – owing to their lineage in the space. Even so, it seems as though the Series S will remain a challenge somewhat (far from the first title to struggle in this regard).

All that said, even with greater ambitions, hopefully the console versions of The Witcher 4 wind up being better than the launch state of Cyberpunk 2077.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the interview? Are you disappointed to see them moving to a console-first approach for development? Will The Witcher 4 manage to hit 60fps consistently on Series S? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post The Witcher 4 is being developed with a console-first mentality to hit 60fps first appeared on KitGuru.

Ever since E3 went the way of the dodo, Geoff Keighley has been keeping the summer spirits alive with his annual Summer Game Fest Showcase. While a more recent creation when compared to The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest is easily THE video game showcase of the summer – with the most recent event seeing over 50 million livestreams.

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, the official Summer Game Fest page shared the following: “Thank you for being a part of #SummerGameFest 2025 – our most watched SGF to date.”

They continued, “The live show had over 50 million livestreams, with a peak concurrent audience of 3M+, up 89% YoY, according to StreamsCharts.”

While this easily makes it the most viewed Summer Game Fest showcase of all time so far, it still has a ways to go in order to reach the heights of Keighley’s other game showcase – The Game Awards.

Of course, the TGA’s have been going on for far longer than SGF (10 vs 5 years), but even so, the sheer size of the former is hard to beat, with last year’s Game Awards seeing over 150 million viewers.

It is worth noting that just 5 years ago the award show was sitting at around 45 million viewers, and so just like with the TGA’s it’s possible that Summer Game Fest will grow to reach an audience of over 100 million eventually. Still, even without E3, Summer Game Fest is keeping the spirit of the Electronic Entertainment Expo alive.

KitGuru says: Were you one of the 50 million viewers? Do you prefer SGF or the TGAs? Let us know down below.2025’s Summer Game Fest has broken yet another personal record – with viewership figures increasing by 89% to 50 million viewers.

The post Summer Game Fest viewership nearly doubles to 50 million livestreams first appeared on KitGuru.

Despite the heavy marketing of their xCloud game service, Microsoft's Xbox cloud streaming still pales in comparison to its contemporaries across a bunch of different categories. That said, Microsoft looks set to introduce a ton of improvements to its game streaming services – with reports claiming that the company is “working on the next generation of Xbox cloud servers.”

As reported by WindowsCentral, Microsoft is currently focused on improving its game streaming services, with “sources” revealing that “Microsoft is working on the next generation of Xbox cloud servers, which are in testing at Redmond HQ as we speak.”

According to the report, these servers will be “part of Microsoft's next-gen hardware offering” and as such should allow for “lower lag, improved bitrates, and higher resolution options.”

As mentioned, Microsoft has marketed its cloud streaming for years now, with the service said to offer similar levels of console-quality gaming on the go. Unfortunately, the service has suffered from somewhat muddy visuals, extended waiting times and other various issues.

Until now, cloud streaming has remained a small subset of Xbox’s Game Pass subscription – making these annoyances more tolerable.

According to the report however, in the wake of these improvements Microsoft will be offering a new cloud-only subscription “which would free it up from Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.”

While there is a time and place for cloud game streaming, hopefully Microsoft’s renewed focus on the service does not take away from Xbox’s (increasingly diminishing) hardware plans.

KitGuru says: What do you think of xCloud in its current state? Would you pay for a streaming-only subscription? Which game streaming service is the best right now in your opinion? Let us know down below.

The post Microsoft reportedly working on “next generation” Xbox cloud servers first appeared on KitGuru.

Ever since its launch back in late 2020, the PlayStation 5 has seen a strong level of support – only having been hampered by stock issues back during its first few years. 5 years on and the PS5 is seemingly stable enough to consider itself current-gen – with its monthly active users finally surpassing that of the PS4 for the first time.

As part of the company’s latest business segment meeting, Sony offered updated stats on many of its PlayStation services from hardware revenue, to software and more. Interestingly, for the first time since the console’s launch in 2020, the PlayStation 5 has now surpassed the PS4 for monthly active users.

Last year, the console maker confirmed that across its 97 million MAUs, 50% were on PlayStation 5 while the other half were on PS4. As of the 31st of March 2025 however, the PS5 has finally taken over.

While no exact figures were shared, based on the charts released, it seems around 2/3rds of the 124 million active PlayStation users are on PS5 now – with SIE President and CEO Hideaki Nishino claiming “The PlayStation 5 offers the best way for players to experience our content, and as such, its player base has continued to grow.”

With a solid majority of titles being released still supporting last-gen consoles, it is perhaps somewhat less important than in previous years for Sony to shift all of its users over to the latest system. Still, it is interesting to see the PS5 finally beat out the PS4 – right as Sony is starting to talk about a potential PlayStation 6.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the PlayStation 5? Do you feel as though we are now solidly within the 9th gen? How many monthly PS5 users do you expect to see by the time the PS6 rolls around? Let us know down below.

The post PlayStation 5 monthly active users finally surpasses the PS4 first appeared on KitGuru.

Every month, over 2.8 million technology enthusiasts, gamers, creators, and professionals from around the world visit KitGuru.net for honest, independent buying advice. Since we started working on KITGURU almost 17 years ago our mission has remained unchanged – to deliver accurate, real-world data to help our readers make informed purchasing decisions. Today, we present our picks for the very best tech products of 2025. 

Our YouTube channel is set to grow way beyond the 260,000 subscribers we have and – last year – we passed the ‘100 million certified views' threshold with YouTube.

At Computex 2025, KitGuru’s on-the-ground video coverage of the biggest tech show of the year drew over 2 million views across more than 20 original uploads. The rest of our social media channels have an additional >400,000 followers, extending our coverage and conversations well beyond the main site.

Once a year, the KitGuru editorial team steps back from the daily grind of testing, analysis and publishing – and votes for the ‘standout products' of the past 12 months. These awards are not sponsored, influenced or decided by outside parties. They’re chosen by the editors who’ve used, tested and scrutinised this year’s releases in real-world conditions.

Some awards go to a series of products, others to a single standout model. Each winner has been highlighted in the award graphic with clear references to ensure transparency.

Whether you're upgrading a specific component or building an entirely new system, the KitGuru Editorial Awards 2025 list is a strong place to start – and the winners are shown below.

KitGuru Says: As always, we want to thank our readers for your continued support – without you, none of this would be possible!

The post KITGURU Editorial Awards 2025 – Winners announced! first appeared on KitGuru.

After the launch of AMD's RX 9060 XT 16GB last week, we were keen to see what AMD’s board partners could bring to the table with their custom designs. To that end, today we are analysing the ASRock Steel Legend, PowerColor Hellhound, and Sapphire Nitro+. With prices ranging from £350 up to £380, is there a clear winner among these partner cards? We find out today.

While at launch we assessed the ASUS Prime model, today our attention turns to three other custom cards from AMD's partners. The ASRock Steel Legend is a premium model, offering a clean white-and-grey aesthetic, alongside plentiful ARGB lighting and a factory overclocked core. PowerColor's Hellhound model may not be so eye-catching, but at £350 it's the cheapest of the three on test today and still packs in features like dual-BIOS. Last but not least, the Sapphire Nitro+ is as elegant as ever, but at £380 it's also the most expensive card we are reviewing. Let's find out exactly how each of these cards perform.

	RX 9070 XT	RX 9070	RX 9060 XT	RX 7600 XT	RX 7600
Architecture	RDNA 4	RDNA 4	RDNA 4	RDNA 3	RDNA 3
Manufacturing Process	TSMC N4	TSMC N4	TSMC N4	6 nm	6 nm
Transistor Count	53.9 billion	53.9 billion	29.7 billion	13.3 billion	13.3 billion
Die Size	357 mm²	357 mm²	199 mm²	204 mm²	204 mm²
Compute Units	64	56	32	32	32
Ray Accelerators	64	56	32	32	32
Stream Processors	4096	3584	2048	2048	2048
Game GPU Clock	2400 MHz	2070 MHz	2530 MHz	2470 MHz	2250 MHz
Boost GPU Clock	Up to 2970 MHz	Up to 2520 MHz	Up to 3130 MHz	Up to 2755 MHz	Up to 2625 MHz
ROPs	128	128	64	64	64
AMD Infinity Cache	64MB	64MB	32MB	32MB	32MB
Memory	16GB GDDR6	16GB GDDR6	8/16GB GDDR6	16GB GDDR6	8GB GDDR6
Memory Data Rate	20 Gbps	20 Gbps	20 Gbps	18Gbps	18Gbps
Memory Bandwidth	645 GB/s	645 GB/s	322 GB/s	288 GB/s	288 GB/s
Memory Interface	256-bit	256-bit	128-bit	128-bit	128-bit
Board Power	304W	220W	160W	190W	165W

First, let's take a quick look at the specs. The RX 9060 XT is built on the new Navi 44 die, measuring just 199mm², and it's worth pointing out this is a monolithic chip, so AMD is not using a chiplet-based design as per RDNA 3. In total, Navi 44 silicon packs in 29.7 billion transistors.

As a full implementation of Navi 44, the RX 9060 XT packs in 32 Compute Units, and each CU houses 64 Stream Processors, for a total of 2048 shaders. There's also 32 Ray Accelerators – one per CU – and 64 ROPs.

As for clock speed, the RX 9060 XT has the highest speeds of any RDNA 4 GPU so far, given it sports a rated game clock of 2530MHz and a boost clock of up to 3130MHz.

The memory configuration offers either 8 or 16GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 20Gbps, operating over a 128-bit memory interface, for total memory bandwidth of 322 GB/s. 32MB of Infinity Cache is also present.

Power draw for the RX 9060 XT is rated at 160W Total Board Power (TBP), but we are using our updated GPU power testing methodology in this review, so read on for our most detailed power and efficiency testing yet.

The post RX 9060 XT Roundup: ASRock, PowerColor and Sapphire Tested! first appeared on KitGuru.

Intel has initiated the end-of-life process for its Arc A750 Limited Edition graphics card, with the company ceasing orders for the reference design from June 27th. Another unspecified version of this card will also reach its end-of-life on June 30th.

This move, brought to our attention by @momomo_us, was communicated through an Intel Product Change Notification (PCN). Note that the Arc A750 GPU itself is not being discontinued; Intel is just withdrawing its “Limited Edition” model from direct sales. As such, this PCN is not expected to impact the production of the graphics processor (the Alchemist ACM-G10 GPU) itself or the custom board designs of Intel's partners.

Furthermore, the latest PCNs also state Intel will be discontinuing the Arc Pro A30M on September 30th and the bulk-sold Arc A770, Arc 350M, Arc A570M, Arc A530M, Arc 770M, and Arc 730M on November 18th. The Arc A580 and other Arc Pro GPUs are absent from this discontinuation notice, but by the looks of it, it should join the list of discontinued Arc GPUs soon.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Have you already tried an Intel graphics card? How was your experience with it?

The post Intel has discontinued laptop and desktop versions of Arc A750 first appeared on KitGuru.

The danger with subscription services is the ever looming threat of monthly price increases. As it turns out, both Sony and Microsoft may have price increases coming in the near future, for PlayStation+ and Game Pass. 

As part of Sony's annual business update this week, Hideaki Nishino, CEO of SIE, confirmed that 38 percent of PlayStation+ subscribers are now utilising a higher tier version of the service, like PS+ Extra or PS+ Premium. Nishino added that pricing for its PS+ tiers will continue to be evaluated to “maximise profitability”. There are no dates yet, but we can assume that sometime in the next year, PS+ will get a bit more expensive each month.

On Microsoft's side, code on the xCloud website contains reference to a ‘subscription price increase', as spotted by data miner @redphx. Game Pass prices last rose in July 2024, so we're coming up to one year. With Microsoft making the jump to $80 games as standard, Game Pass looks likely to also go up in price.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you currently subscribed to PS+ or Game Pass? 

The post PlayStation+ and Game Pass set to get price increases first appeared on KitGuru.

Despite a lack of immediate retail presence, AMD has confirmed the launch of a new AM4 processor: the Zen3-based Ryzen 5 5500X3D. This SKU, introduced on June 5th, officially becomes the latest CPU available for the AM4 socket, already in its ninth year (started in September 2016).

The Ryzen 5 5500X3D (via MEGAsizeGPU) is a 6C/12T processor built on the Zen3 architecture, featuring 64 MB of first-generation 3D V-Cache. This translates to a total L3 cache of 96MB for the SKU, matching the specifications of the Ryzen 5 5600X3D. The 5500X3D can be seen as a slightly slower counterpart to the 5600X3D. While maintaining a 105W TDP, its clock speeds are notably lower, operating 300 to 400MHz slower than the 5600X3D, with a boost frequency up to 4.0GHz (the base clock stands at 3.0GHz).

It's worth recalling that the 5600X3D saw limited distribution, primarily through a few global retailers. As of now, the availability of the Ryzen 5 5500X3D also seems somewhat limited, as AMD's official product website states the new Ryzen 5 CPU will be exclusively available in Latin America. Hopefully, availability will be expanded globally so others can also consider getting what might end up being the cheapest CPU with AMD's 3D V-Cache.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Would the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D be a good CPU for an entry-level build?

The post AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is the company’s latest AM4-based processor first appeared on KitGuru.

Sony received a lot of praise for its efforts on PC initially, but complaints quickly came in when Sony began delisting games from sale in hundreds of countries. Sony has dropped its controversial PSN account requirements for its PC games after much backlash and now, a few games that had been delisted in various countries are now available for sale once again. 

As spotted by Wario64, Sony appears to have reversed its decision to only sell PC games in countries where PSN is supported. Titles like God of War Ragnarök, Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us Part 2 and Helldivers 2 are now available worldwide once again.

Sony has not said anything about this publicly yet, and certain major titles like Ghost of Tsushima are still unsupported but that could change in a matter of weeks, assuming this hasn't all been a mistake.

The issue here first appeared shortly after Helldivers 2 released on Steam. At first, the game was available everywhere, but it was later removed from sale in over 170 countries, as Sony was looking to push the PC player base over to PSN accounts. The decision to enforce PSN accounts was later reversed, but it has taken a lot longer for the sales restrictions to be lifted.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do you think Sony will make more of its PC games available worldwide again?

The post Sony lifts PC sale restrictions on Helldivers 2, Spider-Man 2 and more first appeared on KitGuru.

It has been a week since the ROG Xbox Ally handheld was announced. This is a collaboration between Xbox and Asus to produce a new handheld with an updated ‘gaming UI' for Windows 11 that enables easy switching of apps and quick access to the Xbox app, Battle Net, Steam and other launchers.

There will be two versions of the Xbox Ally system. A base version featuring a Ryzen Z2A APU, and a more powerful version with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme.

The Ryzen Z2A features four Zen 2 CPU cores with eight threads and an 8-CU RDNA 2 iGPU. The Z2 Extreme bumps this up to eight Zen 5 CPU cores and a bigger RDNA 3.5 iGPU, making it ideal for running more graphically intensive titles.

According to one prominent Xbox leaker, extas1s, the standard Ryzen Z2A version of the Xbox Ally will cost €599 at launch, while the Ryzen Z2 Extreme version will start at €899. These figures were claimed to be confirmed by two European retailers.

It is also claimed that pre-orders will begin in August, with availability in October. That means we may get more information around Gamescom.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: At these prices, the Xbox Ally will be a niche device. I am most interested in seeing this updated version of Windows though, as it looks to be a much better system compared to what is available on current Windows handhelds.

The post The ROG Xbox Ally tipped to launch in October starting at €599 first appeared on KitGuru.

Capcom has announced a significant sales milestone for Devil May Cry 5, revealing that the game has sold over 10 million units worldwide since its 2019 release. The company has explicitly credited the recent success of the Devil May Cry animated series on Netflix as a contributing factor to this surge in sales.

Devil May Cry 5 brought back fan-favourites Nero and Dante and introduced the enigmatic V as they battled the Demon King Urizen. The 2020 Special Edition enhanced the experience by adding Vergil as a playable character. Regarded by many as one of the standout launch titles for the Xbox Series X, the game's continued momentum has been bolstered by its gameplay, story, action elements, and the enduring appeal of Vergil's addition. The recent celebration follows a notable increase in the game's player count on Steam in April 2025.

Capcom highlighted the impact of the Netflix animated series, which debuted in April 2025. Produced by Adi Shankar (known for Castlevania) and animated by South Korea's Studio Mir, the series garnered 5.3 million views and landed in Netflix's top ten lists. The narrative follows Dante as he confronts a demonic invasion led by the White Rabbit and engages in conflict with the soldier Mary. Fans now await news of a potential second season from Netflix.

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KitGuru says: Have you ever tried Devil May Cry 5? Do you think the game deserves the praise it gets?

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NuPhy, a company that has carved out a distinct niche in the mechanical keyboard market since its inception, is now accepting pre-orders for its latest mechanical keyboard: the NuPhy Air75 V3. This new addition continues the brand's commitment to sleek aesthetics and robust functionality, packing 84 keys into a compact 75% layout.

The Air75 V3 (via TechPowerUp) features a slim 12.8mm profile, encased within a stylish aluminium frame that combines an aluminium top case with an ABS bottom, a PC plate, and double-shot PBT keycaps. Measuring 318.9 x 128.9 mm and weighing a mere 724 grams, it's designed for portability without sacrificing a premium feel. A significant highlight is its substantial 4000 mAh battery, promising up to 1200 hours of use when backlighting is off or 60-100 hours with RGB illumination activated.

Connectivity is versatile, offering 2.4 GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, and a USB-C wired connection, all of which support full N-key rollover. Performance is consistent across wireless and wired modes, with a 1000 Hz polling rate for 2.4 GHz and USB-C, while Bluetooth operates at 125 Hz. The keyboard also supports hot-swappable low-profile switches and features a gasket-mounted design with plate-mounted stabilisers. NuPhy's proprietary Nano switches are offered in Red (linear), Brown (tactile), or Blush (silent linear) variants, allowing users to choose the best fit for them. Adding visual flair, north-facing RGB LEDs offer 20 distinct illumination options and battery status information.

Ergonomics is also considered, with adjustable typing angles of 4°, 8°, or 10°. Compatible with Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS devices, the NuPhy Air75 V3 is available in white and black. Priced at $139.95, each purchase includes the keyboard, a USB-C cable, a 2.4 GHz dongle, a knob module, eight spare keycaps, a keycap/switch remover tool, and a screwdriver.

KitGuru says: Do you like low-profile keyboards and switches? What do you think of Nuphy's new Air75 V3?

The post Nuphy updates the Air75 for 2025 first appeared on KitGuru.

Razer announced the launch of its next generation of mobile gaming peripherals: the Razer Kishi V3, Kishi V3 Pro, and Kishi V3 Pro XL. This new Kishi V3 series is for gamers who demand console-grade performance and superior control, regardless of their preferred mobile device, be it iPhone, Android, small tablets, full-sized tablets, or even PC.

The Kishi V3 Pro and Kishi V3 Pro XL models are poised to elevate mobile gaming. They offer immense adaptability, Razer Sensa HD haptics, and various control layouts. Whether players are streaming AAA titles, playing competitive esports, or exploring new virtual worlds, the Kishi V3 series promises an unmatched gaming experience.

The Kishi V3 Pro is a full-sized USB-C gaming controller for phones, tablets up to 8 inches, and PCs. It brings the same comfort, precision, and responsiveness of a professional gamepad to the mobile arena, featuring TMR thumbsticks with interchangeable caps complemented by claw grip bumpers and dual mouse-click back buttons. Including Razer Sensa HD haptics provides tactile feedback, adding another layer of immersion. Razer Nexus support extends its utility to wired and remote play for PC, while its USB-C “island” architecture ensures flexibility with various cases and devices. Convenience is further enhanced with USB-C passthrough charging and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Expanding upon the Kishi V3 Pro experience, the Kishi V3 Pro XL caters to larger displays, supporting full-sized tablets up to 13 inches, including the iPad Pro and iPad Air. This XL variant shares all the features of the Kishi V3 Pro, effectively unlocking new possibilities for mobile gaming on bigger screens by delivering pro-tier grip, performance, and tactile feedback. For gamers seeking a more streamlined yet equally capable experience, the Kishi V3 game controller presents an ergonomic, full-sized form factor. It incorporates TMR thumbsticks, two mouse-click back buttons, silent tactile buttons, and a D-pad. Optimised for the latest iPhone 15/16 series and Android devices, the Kishi V3 offers USB-C passthrough charging, PC play compatibility, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

To celebrate the launch, the Kishi V3 Pro and Kishi V3 models will include three complimentary months of Apple Arcade for new and qualifying returning members. The Kishi V3 Pro XL further raises the bar, offering an extended six months of Apple Arcade for new and qualifying returning members, providing even greater value. The Kishi V3 costs ££99.99/$99.99/€109.99, the V3 Pro costs £149.99/$149.99/€169.99, and the V3 Pro XL £199.99/$199.99/€229.99.

KitGuru says: Of all the new Razer Kishi V3 models Razer is launching, is there one that interests you?

The post Razer expands controller lineup with Kishi V3, V3 Pro and V3 Pro XL models first appeared on KitGuru.

Earlier PCIe standards tended to last much longer than the latest ones, partly because of the increasing need for more bandwidth. Since the release of PCIe 4.0, PCI-SIG has been updating the standard every two and a half years (average), with PCIe 7.0 being the latest to be announced.

Continuing its trajectory, PCI-SIG has officially released the PCI Express 7.0 specification, marking yet another doubling of available bandwidth. This new standard propels PCIe to an impressive 128 GT/s, translating to a staggering 512 GB/s in each direction over a full x16 link. This monumental increase in data transfer capability is designed to cater to the demands of workloads in AI, machine learning, cloud computing, and quantum computing.

PCIe 7.0 integrates advanced technologies to achieve its speeds, including PAM4 signalling and Flit-based encoding. Furthermore, the specification emphasises increased power efficiency and maintains full backwards compatibility with all preceding PCIe versions.

While it will undoubtedly be several years before PCIe 7.0 makes its way into consumer products, PCI-SIG has already confirmed that development on the even faster PCIe 8.0 specification is actively underway to meet anticipated future industry needs. PCIe specifications typically find their initial implementation in AI accelerators, networking equipment, and high-performance storage devices, and we expect the same will happen for the first PCIe 7.0 devices.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Seeing PCIe 6.0 devices aimed at consumers are still scarce, when will consumers get their hands on the first PCIe 7.0 devices?

The post Final PCI Express 7.0 specification published first appeared on KitGuru.

We are one week out from the launch of Remedy's first multiplayer game. FBC: Firebreak will send players back to The Oldest House to in squads to investigate supernatural outbreaks. With the release date approaching, Remedy is starting to share some of its post-launch plans. 

FBC: Firebreak will get at least two major updates before the end of the year. The first, codenamed Outbreak, is scheduled for Autumn and will introduce a new location, new gameplay systems, new enemy types and new unique armour sets.

The second update, codenamed Blackout, is scheduled for Winter 2025 and will also add a new location to the game, new equipment and enemies, new earnable rewards and more cosmetics and unique armour sets.

There are plans in the works for 2026 as well, but some of that will depend on how well this initial launch goes. FBC: Firebreak will get a boost from subscription services, as it will be a day-one title for Game Pass and PS+ Extra. The game will also be available to buy on consoles and PC via Steam on the 17th of June.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I would have liked to have seen an open beta for this. Right now, it seems like we've seen quite little of the game and that very little hype has been built up around the launch. 

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It has been a while since the release of the last Total War game but Creative Assembly does have something cooking up. The studio revealed plans to showcase ‘the next era' of Total War later this year.

Total War is nearing its 25th anniversary and to celebrate, Creative Assembly will be revealing the next game in the series later this year. The anniversary showcase is set to happen in December though, so we've got quite some time left to wait.

“Taking place in early December, this show will unveil the new games that you can expect to play in the near and distant future, as well as introduce you to the development teams making them. We’ll have more details to share as we approach the end of the year, but whether you’re a fantasy or history fan, there will be plenty to enjoy!”

The statement hints at a return to Total War Warhammer with its reference to fantasy. As for history, there are plenty of directions that could go.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you a fan of the Total War games?

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There has been a lot of negativity surrounding two upcoming PlayStation live-service games in the past month – Bungie's Marathon and Haven Studio's Fairgames. There have been rumours of both delays and cancellations, but PlayStation's CEO is looking to put those rumours to rest. 

Sony's annual business presentation took place this week and included updates from PlayStation CEO, Hermen Hulst (via Eurogamer). Despite recent negativity surrounding Marathon, due to Bungie falling into yet another plagiarism scandal, Hulst says that PlayStation looks “forward to showcasing” the game's progress.

Marathon was notably not part of Sony's recent State of Play stream last week. However, the game is still being advertised as releasing in September, which would mean that marketing will need to ramp up soon.

Haven Studios has also come into the crosshairs recently. The studio's founder, Jade Raymond, suddenly left the company. Around that same time, reports emerged of a recent Fairgames playtest that left developers worried for the future of the project.

Hulst remains positive about the game's outlook though. Fairgames is a new co-operative heist game and given that Payday 3 flopped, there is a gap in the market waiting to be filled. As of now, the game is still on track to release in 2026. It is unclear if the game will carry a premium price tag or if it will go free to play.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are any of you interested in either Marathon or Fairgames? 

The post Sony ‘looking forward’ to showcasing Marathon progress first appeared on KitGuru.

We have known for a while now that the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake would include the Snake vs Monkey mode, but only on PlayStation consoles. Now, Xbox has its own alternative – Bomberman. 

The reason behind the Snake vs Monkey mode's exclusivity is simply, it uses characters from Ape Escape, which is owned by PlayStation. However, Microsoft was able to work out an alternative for Xbox gamers. Now, the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid Delta will include a mini game based on Bomberman.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is due to release for Xbox Series X/S, PC and PS5 on the 28th of August, so we've had a long road to release since the game's initial announcement. It is unclear which mini game, if any, will appear in the PC version of the remake.

There have been no announcements for Metal Gear Solid Delta on the Nintendo Switch 2. However, the console is brand new, so there is plenty of time for that to change.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake? Which platform will you be playing it on? 

The post MGS 3 Remake replaces Ape Escape mini game with Bomberman on Xbox first appeared on KitGuru.

In recent years, major publishers have made a push for more accessibility features in games. Nowadays, most major titles come with a set of features designed to make the game playable for those with various disabilities. Now, Valve is updating the Steam Store to allow users to easily find these games. 

The new accessibility features have now rolled out on the Steam Store. Moving forward, users can filter through the store by accessibility feature. You can be quite narrow in your search as well, filtering for games that are playable without timed input, or games with color blind settings.

Valve notes in its announcement post to that over 5000 games have been updated on the store to now include accessibility feature tags, and more developers are updating their store pages every day.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Steam Store is constantly improving, and huge strides have been made when it comes to search functionality, filters and recommendations. 

The post You can now filter the Steam Store by accessibility feature first appeared on KitGuru.

Despite relatively little public fanfare, Bethesda’s MMO-like experiences – Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online – have both continued to grow steadily over the years. More than a decade on from ESO’s release (and 6 years since FO76), both titles are sitting comfortably around 25 million players each.

In an interview conducted by Insider-Gaming, Bethesda Game Studios’ Jon Rush and Bill LaCoste spoke on the ongoing success of Fallout 76, revealing that since its launch back in late 2018, the game has managed to exceed 23 million players in total. Previous figures put the game at 21 million back in November of last year.

In a similar vein, a recent trailer for the latest update to The Elder Scrolls Online confirmed that it had now reached a new milestone of 26 million players (compared to 25 million in October of last year).

Of course, while impressive figures, with both titles being live service in nature, the number of active players matter more so than total accounts – especially as both ESO and FO76 are on Xbox Game Pass.

Still, while perhaps not the single player RPG experiences which many Fallout and Elder Scrolls fans have been waiting for, it appears as though both Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online continue to find a dedicated audience of players.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Bethesda’s MMO offerings? Have you given either title a chance? Let us know down below.

The post Bethesda shares updated player stats for Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online first appeared on KitGuru.

For years, Microsoft had been talking up the idea of releasing a dedicated handheld Xbox of sorts, with the company officially confirming such a device was in the works last year. Since then, insiders claimed that the device had been sidelined for now, with focus shifting toward improving Windows for gaming. With the ROG Xbox Ally having now been announced, it appears as though all plans for the internally-developed console have been cancelled.

Following the reports a couple weeks ago by Windows Central which claimed that “Xbox's first-party handheld has been sidelined (for now), as Microsoft doubles down on [ROG Xbox Ally] and Windows 11 PC gaming optimization,” new leaks have surfaced, stating that the handheld has now been cancelled entirely.

According to known industry insider Tom Warren via The Verge (paywalled), the recently sidelined internally-developed Xbox handheld has reportedly been “essentially canceled as the company focuses on Xbox's new software platform.”

No reason was given for the cancellation, but according to the report, Microsoft is planning to further develop its partnership with hardware manufacturers – suggesting that “we'll see next-gen Xbox hardware from Microsoft, but I also strongly believe we'll see multiple devices from PC makers like Asus that will also be considered next-gen Xbox consoles.”

Following generations of relatively standard console release strategies, Xbox seems to be throwing the entire guidebook out the window. It will be interesting to see if and how this shakes up the industry.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the ROG Xbox Ally? Were you looking forward to the Microsoft-developed handheld? Will Microsoft ever make their own Xbox hardware again? Let us know down below.

The post Microsoft’s ‘sidelined’ Xbox handheld has reportedly been cancelled first appeared on KitGuru.

Released over a decade following its first entry, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 launched in September of last year to a wave of success; both critically and commercially. As we continue through 2025, it seems as though momentum for the title has not slowed down – having now reached a sales milestone of 7 million players.

Taking to BlueSky to make the announcement, the official Focus Entertainment page shared the following:

“Here’s another big milestone that fills us with gratitude: 7 million players on #SpaceMarine2. On this occasion we want to thank each Space Marine out there for their unwavering support. Thank you (7M times).”

As mentioned, Space Marine 2 officially launched in September of last year to pretty wide acclaim. Since then, the game has continued to receive post-launch support, with the most recent update bringing the new PvE Siege Mode.

Warhammer games have been somewhat hit-or-miss historically due to its owners Games Workshop’s willingness to licence out the IP to various developers and publishers.

That said, with Space Marine 2, Saber Interactive have clearly hit the nail on the head. Hopefully the game continues to see further support – from both the developers and players alike.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you one of the 7 million players? What do you think of the Siege update? What’s your favourite Warhammer sub-series? Let us know down below.

The post Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 surpasses 7 million players first appeared on KitGuru.

Microsoft concluded its recent Xbox Games Showcase event with a lengthy deep-dive into the upcoming The Outer Worlds 2. While it appears to be a solid sequel to 2019’s AA affair, the game has seen some backlash for being the first in Microsoft’s new $80 push. Though unsurprising, the team at Obsidian have confirmed that the price was dictated by Microsoft, not them.

The recent Outer Worlds 2 showcase offered a ton of new details surrounding Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming RPG – touching on many of the sequel’s improvements, changes and additions.

That said, given the fact that the first entry in the series launched back in 2019 for the now-relatively cheap price point of $60, the increase to $80 for the sequel has given some fans pause.

In an interview conducted by GamesRadar+ during Summer Game Fest however, the director for The Outer Worlds 2 spoke on the pricing decision, clarifying:

“We're a game developer. We love to make games. We don't set the prices for our games. Like, personally, as a game developer, I wish everybody could play my game, because that's what I want out of this whole thing. But for the reasons and so like, why the $79.99 price point, you'd have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks.”

While this was known by most already, it is interesting to see the game’s director outright state this fact.

The discussion surrounding video games and their value is a rather complicated one, especially with different publishers having their own metric for what price a game should be. That said, hopefully the surprising price tag for The Outer Worlds 2 does not ultimately lead to lower-than-expected sales.

It will be interesting to see what Game Pass numbers wind up looking like when the game launches later this year.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the $80 price tag? Can The Outer Worlds 2 justify it? Can Microsoft justify it? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post The Outer Worlds 2 director responds to $80 price tag first appeared on KitGuru.

MSI has rolled out the new AGESA 1.2.0.3e BIOS update for its latest 800-series motherboards (AMD X870/E and B850), bringing several enhancements, including support for 256 GB memory and “future” CPUs.

According to Chi11eddog, this update introduces support for optimising high-density memory from Hynix, Micron, and Samsung. The new BIOS enables 64 GB RAM modules to run up to 6400MT/s across all four DIMM slots, effectively increasing the maximum supported memory capacity and speed to 256GB.

The update notes also mentioned that the new BIOS would introduce support for “future CPUs”, but it's unclear what these are. Kepler suggests that the updated BIOS incorporates support for AMD's upcoming Gorgon Point-based APU series, which is speculated to be a refresh or new stepping of the Strix Point series adapted for the AM5 socket. However, other sources, like westlake, don't agree with that, stating that Strix/Gorgon Point is not even mentioned in the AGESA update. Instead, they indicate support for new steps in the existing Raphael (Ryzen 7000) and Granite Ridge (Ryzen 9000) CPUs.

KitGuru says: AMD tends to support its CPU sockets for a long time, so the idea that there will be ‘future CPUs' for this platform isn't far-fetched. 

The post MSI BIOS update for AMD motherboards introduces “future CPU” support first appeared on KitGuru.

Microsoft has rolled out its June 2025 security update for Windows 11, identified as KB5060999. This cumulative update integrates a series of enhancements, focusing on resolving persistent graphics and display-related issues.

As shared on Reddit, this update addresses problems within the Graphics Kernel that have led to certain games stalling or becoming unresponsive for Windows 11 version 24H2 users. It also tackles memory leaks and various display glitches that have impacted users, notably those equipped with Nvidia graphics cards. Users must note that these specific Graphics Kernel difficulties are exclusive to version 24H2. Therefore, users on 22H2 or 23H2 should remain unaffected by this particular problem. However, if you possess an Nvidia GPU and have experienced memory leaks or display anomalies with previous updates, this new patch is expected to provide a solution.

Microsoft is implementing a phased rollout for this update, following the identification of a compatibility issue affecting a limited number of devices. If your system falls into this category, Microsoft assures you will receive a revised version of the update with all June security fixes. For Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, the June 2025 update is already fully functional and broadly available. Users who don't immediately see the update in their Windows Update settings can manually check for updates or opt to “Get updates sooner” to accelerate the process.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Have you encountered graphic issues on Windows 11 24H2? Will you update the system ASAP, or will you wait a bit to see if there aren't other issues introduced with this update?

The post Windows 11 update aims to fix game crashes for Nvidia GPUs first appeared on KitGuru.

The latest version of Intel PresentMon brings some significant improvements, focusing on enhanced telemetry, improved FPS overlay, and better system compatibility.

Intel has added new telemetry data, including effective frequency, voltage regulator temperatures, and total board power. This provides users with a more comprehensive overview of their system's performance. Moreover, Presentmont 2.3.1 introduces new FPS overlay indicators and the ability to disable alpha blending, which can help improve measurement performance.

Another update is that PresentMon can now run without requiring administrator privileges. This change directly addresses the issue where Windows Defender would flag the software as a virus due to its attempts to access hardware information.  The full changelog for PresentMon 2.3.1 can be found below:

New Features

• Introduced three new FPS overlay indicators to provide a clearer picture of frame delivery behavior, especially in scenarios involving frame generation. FPS-Presents measures how often frames are presented to the GPU, while FPS-Display captures the rate at which frames are actually shown on screen. FPS-App typically matches FPS-Presents except in frame generation scenarios.
• Added the following GPU telemetry metrics (currently supported by Intel Arc Battlemage GPUs):
  • GPU Effective Frequency
  • GPU Voltage Regulator Temperature
  • GPU Memory Effective Bandwidth
  • GPU Overvoltage Percent
  • GPU Temperature Percent
  • GPU Power Percent
  • GPU Fan Speed Percent
  • GPU Card Power (total board power)
• Reintroduced support for several timing metrics in the CSV, including MsBetweenPresents, MsBetweenDisplayChange, MsInPresent, MsRenderPresentLatency, and MsUntilDisplayed. MsBetweenSimulationStart and MsPCLatency are also included in the schema but are currently disabled until underlying event support is enabled.
• Added CLI option to disable overlay alpha blending (reduces overlay impact on target present timing seen in some circumstances)
• Added support to PresentMon console application for detection of Hybrid Presents
• Increased default PresentMon circular buffer size to 2048 to be able to handle higher FPS applications. In addition added a command line parameter to be able to manually configure buffer size.
• Stabilized binary version compatibility of PresentMon API by deploying PresentMonAPI.dll side-by-side with the service and moving to a dynamic loading model
• Added Loader .dll + static import .lib to facilitate discovery and endpoint resolution of the PresentMon API
• Added ETL trimmer utility for trimming ETL files to a timestamp range and pruning unnecessary event types (source only, currently no binary distribution provided)

Experimental

• Added ability to inject executable code into the target process to cause a flash to be drawn in-game whenever the mouse is clicked (intended for use in conjunction with specialized optical measuring instruments)

Security and Lifecycle

• Re-engineered multi-process architecture to enable PresentMon to be run without Administrator privileges
• Improved security by ensuring that Chromium UI frontend runs at lowered integrity even when PresentMon is run elevated
• Upgraded frontend from Vue.js 2 (past end-of-life and unsupported) & Vuex => Vue.js 3 & Pinia

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Do you use PresentMon? How has your experience been with it?

The post Intel PresentMon 2.3.1 brings new GPU telemetry features first appeared on KitGuru.

Just Cause has been on ice since the release of Just Cause 4 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. As it turns out, Just Cause 5 was in development for a number of years, but it had been cancelled before it could be announced publicly. 

A former Just Cause 5 developer listed their work on the game on their LinkedIn profile. This was later publicised by MP1st, noting that the game had been in development at Sumo Digital between July 2021 and July 2023 before being cancelled.

The Just Cause games were primarily developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix, so it is unclear how Sumo Digital ended up involved with Just Cause 5. Perhaps there was a deal in place for Sumo Digital to co-develop and handle some publishing duties, like Embracer Group's current deal with Amazon Games for the next Tomb Raider title.

At any rate, the version of Just Cause 5 that was in development a few years ago will not be seeing the light of day. If the game does get made, a new set of developers will likely be starting the project over again from scratch.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Much like Red Faction, I'm not sure there is much more you could do to improve on the theme park formula of the Just Cause games. An extended break, followed by a relaunch of the IP on next gen consoles might be the best way to go about bringing this series back. 

The post Just Cause 5 was reportedly cancelled after years of development first appeared on KitGuru.

The last couple of PlayStation-published PC titles, like Spider-Man 2, Until Dawn and The Last of Us 2, have failed to garner headlines. That changes this week with the launch of Stellar Blade, with the PC version amassing an impressive 100K concurrent players on day-one. 

Stellar Blade: Definitive Edition is now available on PC via Steam. On day-one, the game peaked at 100,904 concurrent players, making it the most-played single-player PlayStation-PC game.  Stellar Blade's launch beats out Ghost of Tsushima and God of War, which garnered around 75,000 concurrent players each.

Stellar Blade does fall short of Helldivers 2 though. Arrowhead's shooter shocked everyone when it surpassed 450,000 concurrent players on PC at launch. However, the key difference here is that Helldivers is a multiplayer title, and those tend to garner a lot more concurrent players than single-player titles.

The PC version of Stellar Blade launches with all the same content previously released on PS5. That means you get day-one access to 25 more costumes, a new boss battle and PC-specific features like support for ultrawide resolutions and upscaling methods like DLSS.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Have you picked up Stellar Blade already? How are you finding the game so far? 

The post Stellar Blade surpasses 100K concurrent players on PC at launch first appeared on KitGuru.

Blooper Team's Silent Hill 2 remake launched to plenty of praise last year. Now, Konami is turning its attention to other games in the series, starting with a remake of the original game. 

Silent Hill 1 is next in line to get the remake treatment. The game is being developed as part of Konami's continued partnership with Blooper Team, a horror-focused game studio.

Silent Hill first released in 1999, but this won't be the first time that the game has been remade. Back in 2009, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories came to the PS2 and Nintendo Wii platforms. The game is known for ‘reimagining' certain events from the original and expanding on the first game's story.

The Silent Hill remake does not yet have a release date. It took two years from announcement to release for Silent Hill 2, so we could be looking at a similar timeline here.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Did you pick up last year's Silent Hill 2 remake? Are you pleased to see Blooper Team returning to tackle the first game? 

The post Konami and Blooper Team reveal Silent Hill remake first appeared on KitGuru.

This week, nine more titles are joining the GeForce Now library, including two of this week's biggest new games – Dune: Awakening and MindsEye. 

MindsEye is a new game from Build a Rocket Boy, a new studio founded by former Rockstar producer, Leslie Benzies. The game has unfortunately not had a very solid launch, with the studio already coming out to apologise for the state of the game across all platforms, including PC. Optimisation issues are the biggest concern so far, with the game running quite poorly across a range of PCs. You may be able to brute force your way through some of that thanks to technologies like DLSS and Frame Generation, but you are probably best off waiting some time for patches to come through to fix the underlying issues.

As for this week, the following titles are available on GeForce Now starting this week:

• Frosthaven Demo (New release on Steam, June 9)
• Dune: Awakening (New release on Steam, June 10)
• MindsEye (New release on Steam, June 10)
• Kingdom Two Crowns (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, June 11)
• The Alters (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, June 13)
• Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (New release on Steam and Xbox, June 13, available on PC Game Pass, June 17)
• Firefighting Simulator – The Squad (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass)
• JDM: Japanese Drift Master (Steam)
• Hellslave (Steam)

While GeForce Now can be accessed for free, those wanting a better experience may consider upgrading to one of the paid tiers. Currently, the Performance tier membership is 40% off for a six-month membership until the 6th of July, and day-passes are also on sale for 40% off at the moment if you want to jump in and test cloud gaming for a few hours.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: What do you think of this week's additions to GeForce Now? 

The post GeForce Now adds nine more games this week first appeared on KitGuru.