Each month, Sony offers 3 titles for ‘free’ to all those with a PlayStation Plus subscription. In celebration of the service’s 15th birthday, Sony has announced the line-up for July’s PS Plus Essential tier – alongside a bunch of “celebratory activities we have planned this summer.”
PlayStation Store Exclusive Offer Weekend (27–29 June)
15th Anniversary PS+ tournament (28th June)
Online Multiplayer Weekend (28–29 June)
While these various events are welcome, the biggest gift so far seems to be the aforementioned PS Plus Essential line-up for July. Hopefully Sony maintains this level of quality for the remainder of the year.
KitGuru says: What do you think of July’s offering? What’s your favourite fighting game franchise? How big is your PS Plus Essential library? Let us know down below.
Following years of waiting, the much-anticipated STALKER 2 finally launched late last year. While the title certainly received plenty of praise, the game was far from hitting its full potential. One of the biggest compromises was in the game’s famous A-Life system. Fortunately, with patch 1.5, this mechanic has been overhauled.
In the months following the launch of STALKER 2 late last year, the team at GSC Game World released a bunch of patches featuring thousands of fixes and improvements. One of the team’s biggest challenges was with its A-Life system – a mechanic which simulates and tracks all NPCs from across the map for a more lively and dynamic experience.
Previous patches brought significant improvements to the system. However, with this latest update, GSC have introduced A-Life 2.0; the improvements to which include:
Life in the Zone is now simulated for all characters, not just those in the player's view.
Characters continue to live their lives and pursue their goals in the Zone until they meet their end.
The player can meet the same stalkers after some time.
Players may encounter more A-Life characters resting or interacting in various locations, adding to the world's immersion.
Characters will no longer respawn directly in front of the player. When the player clears the mutants' lair, for example, those mutants won't simply reappear moments later.
A-Life Director will no longer respawn characters at the edge of visualization. Instead, respawn moved further away from the player, while maintaining the Zone's population.
Visualization range is slightly increased. Characters now appear in visualization range with relevant animations and equipped weapons. This reduces the ‘pop-in’ effect and contributes to a more seamless character visualization.
As with pretty much all previous STALKER 2 updates, the full list of changes is highly extensive. Available to view HERE, some of the other notable improvements include:
New weapons
Mutant part looting
New Anomaly
AI and Combat improvements
Balance changes
Improved mod support
The STALKER series became famous in-part due to its unique A-Life system, and so it is encouraging to see the much-lauded feature finally make its way into the sequel properly. That said, it will be interesting to see if/how it differs – even now – to the previous titles.
KitGuru says: What do you think of STALKER 2’s many updates? Did the game launch too early? Should more open world titles introduce an A-Life like system? Let us know down below.
Nvidia has officially revealed the GeForce RTX 5050, a new mid-range gaming GPU for desktop and laptop platforms. The desktop version will start at $249, with laptops featuring the RTX 5050 expected to begin at approximately $999. Both variants are slated for availability in the second half of July 2025.
The RTX 5050 is designed for 1080p AAA gaming at medium to high settings. It supports DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, allowing users to push framerates higher than expected from an entry-level gaming GPU.
The desktop RTX 5050 utilises the “GB207” silicon, which is fully enabled, featuring 20 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs) for a total of 2560 CUDA cores, 80 Tensor cores, and 20 RT cores. It also includes 80 Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) and 32 Render Output Units (ROPs). The GPU's base clock is 2.31GHz, with a boost clock of 2.57GHz. It has 8GB of VRAM (GDDR6 on desktop and GDDR7 on laptop) on a 128-bit memory bus. Nvidia did not specify the memory speed, but seeing the desktop version has a memory bandwidth of 320 GB/s, we assume the memory will run at 20 Gbps. As for the laptop version, it has a memory bandwidth of 384 GB/s, meaning the memory will run at 24 Gbps.
The desktop GPU has a Total Graphics Power (TGP) of 130W, allowing AIC partners to use 6-pin PCIe power connectors, though 8-pin PCIe is also expected. The laptop variant has a TGP up to 115W. Both models feature the latest NVENC and NVDEC video accelerators and a current display engine.
KitGuru says: Do you think the Nvidia RTX 5050 has what it takes to make a stand in the desktop market? What about its laptop version?
Skullcandy is launching a new entry into the gaming headset market with the launch of the Crusher Plyr 720. This new headset is notable for being the first gaming-focused product to incorporate Skullcandy's patented Crusher multi-sensory bass technology, combined with an open-back design.
The Crusher Plyr 720 integrates Skullcandy's new multi-sensory bass with THX Spatial Audio and an open-back acoustic design. This combination seeks to provide a distinct auditory and tactile experience: explosions are designed to resonate more, engine sounds are deeper, and an opponent's approach can be pinpointed to a specific direction.
The open-back acoustics and positional audio tuning contribute to a spacious soundstage. The headset features dual Crusher drivers that, according to Skullcandy, allow gamers to perceive events in the game by feeling them before they are seen or heard. Unlike typical haptic headphones, the Crusher Plyr 720's drivers direct sound into the head and ears, rather than just around the latter. Skullcandy claims this results in a more visceral sensation akin to adding an adjustable subwoofer.
The Crusher Plyr 720 also offers audio management through the Skull-HQ app, allowing users to customise their sensory experience. For console and mobile gamers, THX Spatial Audio with head tracking is available via the Skullcandy Mobile App. The headset is designed for cross-platform compatibility and is available in two models: Multi-Platform, which offers wireless play on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile, with wired support for Xbox, and “Designed for Xbox”, which provides support for wireless play on Xbox, as well as PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile. Both versions of the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 are priced at $259.99 and will be available through the company's website and Amazon.
KitGuru says: There are not many open-back wireless gaming headsets out there, so this is quite unique.
Noctua has officially revealed its next-generation flagship 120mm fan, the NF-A12x25 G2. Building upon the success of its predecessor, the G2 introduces a refined blade geometry and a new motor design, promising a significant leap in performance-to-noise efficiency.
The NF-A12x25 G2 is the successor to the NF-A12x25 and stands as the 120mm sibling to the already acclaimed 140mm NF-A14x25 G2. Like its forebear, this fan is crafted from Noctua's proprietary Sterrox LCP compound, enabling an incredibly tight tip clearance of just 0.5mm. However, the G2 version pushes the boundaries further with an enhanced progressive bend impeller featuring winglets, flow acceleration channels, and a redesigned centrifugal turbulator hub.
The NF-A12x25 G2 is designed as a versatile all-rounder, delivering superb results across various applications. It performs admirably in low-impedance, airflow-oriented scenarios like case cooling and in high-impedance, static pressure-demanding situations with heatsinks and water cooling radiators. For application-specific optimisation, the fan's Advanced Acoustic Optimisation frame can be paired with the included NA-AVG1 anti-vibration gasket for a tighter seal on radiators. Enthusiasts can opt for the separately sold NA-IS1-12 inlet side spacer frame, which can enhance suction acoustics and improve flow rates in some “pull” configurations.
Noctua's ultra-low-loss etaPERF motor powers this fan, which uses its Smooth Commutation Drive 2 technology to improve energy efficiency and running smoothness. The fans also feature SupraTorque, which allows the fan to leverage additional torque headroom. This ensures it maintains its desired speed even when operating against significant back pressure, leading to superior performance on heatsinks and radiators.
The NF-A12x25 G2 is available in three distinct versions. The standard PWM model offers a maximum speed of 1800 RPM. For those prioritising silence, a quiet LS-PWM variant tops out at 1100 RPM. Lastly, the Sx2-PP combination pack is also offered, bundling two fans with a slight speed offset of +/- ~50 RPM. This subtle offset is particularly beneficial in push-pull operations or multi-fan setups (like case cooling or radiators), helping to mitigate buzzing or other undesirable auditory interactions that can occur when fans run at perfectly synchronised speeds.
Backed by a 6-year manufacturer's warranty, the NF-A12x25 G2 establishes a new benchmark within Noctua's portfolio. The Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 PWM, NF-A12x25 G2 LS-PWM, and NF-A12x25 G2 PWM Sx2-PP are priced at €/$34.90, €/$34.90, and €/$64.90, respectively.
KitGuru says: Although expensive, the first reviews suggest that it's indeed Noctua's best 120mm fan to date. However, other brands have strong alternatives for about the same price.
Marvel Rivals took the world by storm when it released late last year, going on to amass over 40 million players in under 3 months. Despite a peak concurrent player count of almost 650k on Steam back during the launch of Season 1, the game’s honeymoon period seems to have ended – with both player counts and review scores falling.
A little over 6 months on from its initial launch, Marvel Rivals has started to see its popularity wane, with peak daily player counts on Steam (via SteamDB) consistently falling under 100,000 for the first since the game’s explosive arrival.
Beyond this, reviews for the title have also taken a turn for the worse, with recent Marvel Rivals reviews sitting at a ‘Mixed’ on Steam – with some of the concerns surrounding decreasing performance; EOMM issues; balancing and more.
We shall have to wait a while longer for the SilverStone FLP02 retro tower case that we saw at Computex 2025. In the meantime we were offered the new FLP01 which is also retro, but is HTPC instead of a tower. Whether you like it or not, there is no denying the FLP01 brings a breath of fresh air to the world of glass PC cases that are decked with RGB lighting.
Time stamps
00:00 Start
01:00 What's this all about?
01:36 A look inside / capabilities
03:45 Hardware and some limitations
08:51 Final fixes
09:15 It's built
09:35 Some testing
10:48 Closing Thoughts
Main features
Universal drive cage design compatible with 5.25″, 3.5″, and 2.5″ storage drives
Equipped with 1 x USB Type-C port
Retro floppy disk-style optical drive bay cover
Positive air pressure design ensures superior cooling performance, quieter operation, and effective dust prevention.
Includes quick-access filters for easy maintenance.
Fan mounts: 2x 120mm right side, 1x 120mm left side, 2x 80mm rear.
Radiator mounts: None:
5.25-inch optical drive bays: 1x external bay.
Internal drive bays: 1x 3.5-inch, 1x 2.5-inch.
Front I/O ports: 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C, combo audio jack.
Dimensions: 170mm H x 362mm D x 440mm W.
Testing
To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, Intel Arc B580 graphics card and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the SilverStone FLP01‘s cooling capabilities.
Test System:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
CPU Cooler: AMD Wraith Stealth
Motherboard: MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi
Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000
Graphics card: Intel Arc B580 12GB
Power supply: Seasonic Focus GX-1000 Gold
SSD: Crucial T700 Gen5 M.2 NVMe
OS: Windows 11
For the first time in living memory we are not posting a chart showing temperatures at various fan speeds for the SilverStone FLP01. The reason is that this case puts a strict limit on the height of the CPU cooler, and this is especially true if you are using the optical drive bay. As we show in our video the drive mount over-shadows the CPU socket so your options are limited. We ended up using a lightweight Ryzen 5 9600X CPU which draws 88W and ran at 95 degrees C under load while our Intel Arc B580 graphics card ran at 78 degrees C.
Closing Thoughts
Let's make the obvious point that the SilverStone FLP01 is an oddball PC case that is unlikely to interest the mainstream user.
It has quirky traditional looks and an HTPC form factor that are fun for those of us with long memories, however they won't be much of a selling point to the younger generation. Having said that, if you like retro the SilverStone FLP01 will surely be right up your alley.
The other main feature of the FLP01 is it's support for a 5.25-inch optical drive and this also presents a small problem. You have to choose your CPU cooler carefully to ensure it fits inside the case and also clears the drive bay hardware. This shouldn't be an issue for the typical low power CPU you use in an HTPC but is a severe restriction in a gaming PC.
You can buy the SilverStone FLP01 for £135.99 HERE.
Pros:
Humorous retro styling.
Support for a 5.25-inch optical drive and 3.5-inch HDD.
Plenty of space for a full sized motherboard and PSU.
Cons:
Limited options for CPU cooling.
This case would look bizarre as an HTPC under your TV.
Pricing is a bit steep and only includes one 120mm fan.
KitGuru says: The SilverStone FLP01 is quirky and different but not really our cup of tea.
If Techland is known for one thing, it’s supporting their titles for up to a decade after launch with a bunch of free and substantial updates. Despite its sequel now having been out for 3 years, the 10-years-old Dying Light from 2015 is set to receive a major update later this week.
Earlier in the year, Techland announced that Dying Light 1 would be receiving an update later in 2025 in celebration of the game’s 10th anniversary. Now, the team have fully detailed the update, taking to their blog to say:
“This week, we're not just looking forward – we're rolling out significant updates for both the original Dying Light and Dying Light 2: Stay Human. We promised to support our games for a long time, and we're committed to continuing that support, right through and beyond the launch of Dying Light: The Beast.”
Described as a ‘retouch’ and not a remaster, the patch – which is set to go live tomorrow on the 26th of June – brings with it some pretty notable visual improvements.
According to the team, textures have been enhanced across the board alongside better lighting and physics based rendering “improving how metallic surfaces reflect light or react physically to the world which makes them look a lot more realistic.”
Beyond these, the maximum level-of-detail range has been extended by almost 1/3rd and up-to 8K ‘Ultra’ shadow resolution options have been added – which in combination with the improved lighting makes “a lot of surfaces that previously looked rather flat now really pop out and get depth.”
Beyond visuals, the update also remastered all the game’s OST while also adding “brand new tracks and ambient sounds throughout the game”. All in all, an excellent update – especially for free.
Dying Light Retouched Update arrives on PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on the 26th of June. Full details on the listed improvements can be found HERE.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the Retouched release? Are you going to hop back into Dying Light? Let us know down below.
Ahead of the Switch 2’s launch, Nintendo released a smartphone app called ‘Nintendo Today’ which has since offered various titbits of new information, tips and more. In an interesting move, the console maker chose to use its mobile app to announce the release date for their Basketball title Drag x Drive.
First unveiled back during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, relatively little attention was given to Drag x Drive – with it seemingly being a somewhat smaller title in scope.
With the Switch 2, it is clear that Nintendo is covering all of its bases price-wise. From the £75 Mario Kart World to the £7.99 Welcome Tour (though that arguably should’ve been free), it seems we can expect a lot of variable pricing for Nintendo published games this generation.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Nintendo’s current price strategy? Are you more accepting of higher cost AAA games if smaller experiences are priced appropriately? Let us know down below.
As we move further into the PlayStation 5 generation, the PS4 emulator ‘ShadPS4’ has been taking strides in becoming a more fully-fledged and playable experience. Following a ton of great work on getting Bloodborne to work on PC, another title trapped on the PS4 – Driveclub – has reached its own progress milestone.
As recent as version 0.8, the game was barely able to boot. Now however, players have been able to get in-game and mess around with various aspects of the racing title – at 60fps for the first time (though with many issues still present of course).
For context, Driveclub was released for the PS4 back in 2014, and while it received some criticism, history has been quite kind on the game – with many fans still mourning the title’s official shutdown back in 2020.
Unlike Bloodborne, which HAS to get a current-generation release at some point or another, Driveclub is likely to remain a relic of the PS4 era. As such, it is exciting to see so much progress being made to ShadPS4.
Of course, there is still a ton of work to be done, with the most recent report putting just under 10% of tested titles as being ‘playable’ on ShadPS4. As we’ve seen over the past year however, progress has been ‘progressing’ quite quickly, and so it’s only a matter of time before Driveclub is revived.
KitGuru says: What did you think of Driveclub back in the day? Would you like to see the series return in any official capacity? What PS4 exclusives would you want to check out? Let us know down below.
Thermaltake has introduced the WAir CPU cooler, an air-cooling solution designed for workstation applications involving demanding tasks like 3D rendering and AI processing.
Brought to our attention by ITHome (via TechPowerUp), Thermaltake's new cooler measures 143.2 x 115 x 165mm and features a single-tower heatsink with aluminium fins. It is compatible with Intel LGA4677 and AMD sTR5/SP6 sockets and is rated to provide a cooling capacity of up to 500W TDP.The heatsink has six 6mm diameter copper heat pipes connected to a nickel-plated copper base.High-quality solder paste is used at the interfaces between the heat pipes and the heatsink fins and between the heat pipes and the copper base to optimise thermal conductivity.
The WAir cooler is equipped with two Thermaltake ToughFan14 Pro fans. Each of these 140mm fans operates at speeds ranging from 500 to 1500RPM, controlled via PWM. The fans utilise liquid crystal polymer (LCP) blades, designed to reduce vibration at higher speeds. Each fan provides an airflow of up to 83.4 CFM, a static pressure of 1.86 mm-H₂O, and a noise level of 24.4 dBA. They connect via 4-pin PWM connectors and have a rated operational life of 50,000 hours. The fan positions on the cooler can be adjusted to accommodate various memory module heights.
Thermaltake has not yet provided specific pricing or details on availability for the WAir CPU cooler series.
KitGuru says: Seeing its specs, the Thermaltake WAir seems quite capable for a compact workstation CPU cooler. However, those planning on getting one of these to cool a high-core-count CPU might be better off waiting for reviews or using another cooling solution that has been proven to be more robust.
This month, Capcom finally revealed Resident Evil 9. The latest mainline game, officially titled ‘Resident Evil Requiem', isn't due out until next year but fans have been quick to express their interest, with the game being wishlisted over 1 million times.
Capcom revealed on its social channels this week that Resident Evil Requiem has surpassed one million wishlists. That figure accounts for wishlists across several stores, including PSN, the Xbox Store, and PC platforms like Steam.
Resident Evil Requiem is not yet available to pre-order, but those who wishlist the game will be notified when pre-orders go live, and they'll be notified again when the game releases.
Resident Evil Requiem is releasing on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on February 27th 2026, The game caps off what fans refer to as the ‘reboot' trilogy, which began with the release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, saving the franchise from a string of poorly received titles.
KitGuru Says: Resident Evil Village ended up selling three million copies during its launch week. So far, signs are pointing to a similarly positive launch for the sequel.
Since completing the $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in late 2023, Microsoft has been looking to pump up Xbox's profit margins. That effort has already led to several rounds of job cuts, with another now set to take place starting this week.
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has learned that Microsoft is about to announce another round of job cuts, and sources anticipate that Xbox will be hit pretty hard. According to The Verge, managers at Microsoft have already been briefed on plans, but they have yet to be revealed to lower-level employees.
This will be described as a ‘restructuring' of Xbox and will also see Xbox teams in certain regions being culled. Specifically, it is claimed that some smaller Xbox teams in central Europe will be impacted.
Microsoft had already announced plans to cut 6000 jobs across its various divisions back in May. This next round of layoffs will be in addition to that. In 2024, Microsoft also cut thousands of roles across its gaming divisions.
KitGuru Says: The full scope of this has yet to be revealed but with the news hitting the press, Microsoft should publicly confirm its plans this week.
Ahead of the Switch 2 launch, Nintendo did hold a Nintendo Direct stream to showcase a number of launch-day and launch-period titles for the new console. However, outside of this summer, we know very little about the Switch 2 release schedule for the rest of 2025. That should change quite soon, as a Nintendo Direct is now expected in July.
Nintendo skipped this month's Summer Game Fest for new game announcements but news is just around the corner. According to popular Nintendo-focused YouTuber, BeatEmUps, a Nintendo Direct is going to happen in July.
Aside from discussing the rumoured Direct, he also delved into a few of the games expected to be shown, including the likes of The Witcher 3, Death Stranding, Metroid Prime 4, Animal Crossing and new GameCube titles for the Switch 2's emulator.
Most of these are safe bets for third-party titles, as Death Stranding is now available on everything, from PS5, to the iPhone and even Xbox. CD Projekt Red and Atlus are both well-known for their strong support of Nintendo platforms. On the first-party front, Metroid Prime 4 fans are already on red alert after recent public advertisements for the game proclaimed that it was ‘available now', leading to rumours that the release date could be much closer than previously thought.
KitGuru Says: Nintendo did just announce plans for Gamescom 2025, so if there is a Direct in July, some of what is shown could be playable at demo booths for attendees.
Following on from leaks last week, Meta and Microsoft have officially announced the Quest 3S Xbox Edition VR headset. It is a weird collaboration, as Xbox has had very little to do with VR gaming over the past decade.
The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition comes with an Xbox controller, alongside the usual motion controllers. The headset itself swaps from its typical white design to a black design, and the Xbox logo can be seen on the front faceplate.
The Xbox Edition headset also comes with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, so you can use the Game Pass VR app to stream Xbox console games to a virtual cinema screen in the VR headset. The bundle also includes three month's of Meta's subscription service, Horizon+, which grants access to free VR games every month.
This is part of Microsoft's ‘This is an Xbox' campaign, aiming to shift the public perception of Xbox from a console hardware brand to a platform-agnostic gaming service.
Peak, a new physics-based climbing simulator born from the collaborative minds of Aggro Crab (known for Another Crab's Treasure) and Landfall (the creators behind Totally Accurate Battle Simulator), has achieved a significant sales milestone less than a week after its release. The game has officially sold a million copies in its first six days, a remarkable feat given that it is currently available exclusively on Steam.
The impressive sales figures immediately sparked questions from fans regarding a potential console release. In a response on the official Landfall X account, the company stated it's “too early to say” but expressed hope for a console launch. Given Peak's success on PC, such sales numbers will undoubtedly strengthen the case for wider platform availability.
Peak's surge in popularity appears to follow a similar trajectory to other streaming-friendly indie hits like Lethal Company and Chained Together. The game's premise, where players must work together to scale a treacherous mountain, translates perfectly into engaging stream content. Watching streamers navigate treacherous climbs and inevitably tumble offers a unique brand of entertainment that resonates with the audience. Adding to its replayability, Peak features a dynamic map that changes daily. Even if players conquer today's challenging mountain, a new one awaits them and their friends tomorrow, ensuring a fresh experience with each session.
It remains to be seen if Peak can maintain its lofty position at the summit of the sales charts or if it will be displaced by the next “flavour of the month”. For those eager to test their climbing prowess, Peak is currently available on PC via Steam.
Hytale is a game that many Minecraft fans will be aware of. The game began life as a modified multiplayer server for Minecraft before spinning out into a standalone game. It has been in development for over a decade and when Riot acquired the studio behind the game in 2020, many thought that the long road to release would soon be over. Unfortunately, that was not the case and now, Hytale has officially been cancelled.
Hypixel Studios is ‘winding down' over the next few months and Hytale has officially been cancelled, founder and CEO, Noxy, confirmed this week. It appears that Riot was unhappy with the ever-increasing scope of the game and slow progress towards an actual release of the game.
Noxy essentially confirms this in his statement on the cancellation, saying: “Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn’t as far along as it needed to be. It became clear we’d need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game.”
Riot has funded Hytale's development for ten years at this stage. The company first invested in the project back in 2015 and then spent more money acquiring the studio in 2020. Now, five years after that, there was still no release date in sight.
KitGuru Says: Part of game development is setting up creative boundaries, otherwise you end up in a cycle of constantly trying to crack ‘the next big thing', leading to feature creep and constant delays. This seems to be exactly what Hypixel struggled with while making Hytale.
Arc System Works, the developer behind beloved fighting games like Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ, is gearing up for a dedicated “Arc System Works Showcase” on June 27th, 2025. While the stream itself is scheduled to start at 1:50 AM BST, the thumbnail reads the actual event will kick off at 2:00 AM BST.
Fans tuning into the livestream can anticipate a look at the studio's ongoing efforts, including updates on existing titles and the unveiling of entirely new projects developed and published by Arc System Works. A highlight confirmed for the showcase is the reveal of a new project spearheaded by Daisuke Ishiwatari, the creator of the Guilty Gear series, known for his integral role in character design, story, and even the soundtrack.
The showcase arrives on the heels of the recent revelation of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a new 4v4 tag team fighting game developed by Arc System Works in collaboration with PlayStation Studios and Marvel Games. Announced in June, this title is slated for release in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. This title reimagines legendary Marvel characters with a distinct visual style influenced by Japanese animation. Confirmed characters include Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Storm, Doctor Doom, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, and Ghost Rider. While not explicitly stated as a focal point for the showcase, its recent announcement makes it a strong candidate for further details during the event.
As with many live-service titles, Call of Duty has been going all-in on its crossovers for quite some time now. Following the likes of Squid Game; Jay and Silent Bob; the TMNT and Seth Rogen, Beavis and Butt-Head are set to soon answer the Call of Duty.
Ahead of the launch of Season 4 Reloaded for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the team at Treyarch have teased the game’s next big crossover, taking to Twitter to say: “Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-Head are coming to Call of Duty Season 04 Reloaded” – sharing alongside it a first-look at the upcoming operators.
As has been the case with a couple different skins over the Seasons, these upcoming operators feature a cell-shaded aesthetic.
Regardless, we should hear more on what to expect from Season 4 Reloaded over the coming days; ahead of its launch likely sometime before the end of the month.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this upcoming crossover? Do you bother spending any money on bundles? Has Call of Duty lost its identity over the years? Let us know your thoughts down below.
As they have done for a few years now, publisher THQ Nordic is hosting its own online video game showcase. Set to go live on the 1st of August, 2025’s THQ Nordic Digital Showcase will feature “a feast of world premiere announcements” and much more.
Releasing a teaser trailer to YouTube, THQ Nordic announced the 2025 edition of their annual Digital games showcase, writing: “Saddle your horses, rev your engines, and hold your breath – our Digital Showcase 2025 is charging back onto your screens August 1st, 2025!”
According to the publisher, “This year’s showcase promises a feast of world premiere announcements, fresh updates on previously announced titles, and a few surprises we didn’t hint at already… or did we?”
Set to go live at 8pm BST, we already know some of the games which will be featured, including the likes of Wreckfest 2; the Gothic 1 Remake; Titan Quest II; REANIMAL and The Eternal Life of Goldman. Of course, as stated by THQ above, expect some surprises in store as well.
Over the years, THQ Nordic has published a ton of games from a plethora of franchises, and so these ‘surprises’ could range from a new Darksiders to SpongeBob or even Destroy All Humans. You have a little over a month to speculate on what’s coming.
After a great deal of waiting, excitement and intrigue, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is nearly upon us, with the game set to officially launch on the 26th of June. Ahead of its arrival on PS5, critic reviews for the sequel have gone live – with DS2 seeing ‘Universal Acclaim’.
With a Metacritic score of 90 (based on roughly 100 reviews), Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has not only managed to far exceed its predecessor rating-wise, but also just about squeezed itself into the prestigious ‘Universal Acclaim’ club.
Death Stranding was a rather controversial game when it released back in 2019, with some loving the unique vibes and gameplay – while others viewed it as little more than a ‘walking simulator.’
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to DS2? What would you want from a sequel? Does more action sound like a positive to you? Let us know down below.
As part of the recent announcement of the ROG Xbox Ally, one of the biggest unique-selling-points for the upcoming handheld from Microsoft is its supposed tight integration between hardware and software – with Microsoft promising that players won’t be tied down to a single digital storefront. In aid of this effort, the company has now begun to detail its upcoming ‘Aggregated Gaming Library’ feature.
Taking to the Xbox Wire Blog, Manisha Oza – Product Manager for the Xbox Platform – wrote: “Hey Xbox Insiders, starting this week users enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview can get a first look at the new aggregated gaming library in the Xbox PC app for Windows 11 PCs and handheld devices.”
As stated, the feature is set to fully roll out later this year alongside the ROG Xbox Ally’s official launch. That said, an early form of this new library is being made available, with the team explaining:
“With the aggregated gaming library, players can conveniently launch games from Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts from a single library within the Xbox PC app. Whether you’re on a Windows PC or a handheld device, your Xbox library, hundreds of Game Pass titles, and all your installed games from leading PC storefronts will now be at your fingertips.”
Offering slightly more information, Microsoft claims that any newly installed games should “automatically appear in ‘My library’ within the Xbox PC app, as well as the ‘Most recent’ list of titles in the sidebar.”
Of course, this will be far from the first attempt at collating PC users’ libraries, with the likes of GOG having such a feature for many years.
That said, in looking at how the Steam Deck handles storefronts other than Steam (aka not the best), Microsoft could have something quite neat on their hands – assuming it is as seamless as they claim.
A couple of weeks back, CD Projekt Red teased a new update for Cyberpunk 2077. The new 2.3 update was initially supposed to be out for players this week, but unfortunately, it has hit a last-minute delay, but CD Projekt Red has given us a few more details on what to expect.
Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.3 will be similar in scope to previous content patches, like the previous 2.2 update. Unfortunately, CDPR doesn't want to reveal more than that until the patch is ready to hit all platforms. It is unclear why the update needed to be delayed, but CD Projekt Red did just add another console to support, increasing the workload a little bit for these updates. Update 2.3 for Cyberpunk 2077 should release on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 at the same time.
It sounds like there is not a concrete release date for the patch yet, but hopefully this is something simple, like a late console certification approval or something. Each console platform has a different process for approving patches, so sometimes we do see studios struggle to line things up for all platforms simultaneously. The most recent example of this was MindsEye, which had its day-one patch delayed on Xbox.
Recently, there have been rumours about a new Cyberpunk 2077 DLC in development in collaboration with Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered developer, Virtuos. However, this rumour has nothing to do with Update 2.3 and there has been no new information since the initial rumour began doing the rounds online a few weeks ago.
Dune: Awakening has seen huge success since its launch a couple of weeks ago. The game continues to hold an extremely high concurrent player count on Steam, and now the game has hit a new milestone, surpassing one million copies sold.
Dune: Awakening has now sold more than one million copies, making it Funcom's fastest selling game to date. The game has seen a much higher level of success than Funcom's previous survival hit, Conan Exiles, which was also popular, but took a year to reach one million copies sold.
As part of the milestone celebration, Funcom revealed a few fun stats from the game's first two weeks on the market. Since launch, players have been eaten by worms over 800,000 times, and more than 600,000 players have lost the battle in PvP, although PvP is in kind of a weird spot at the moment thanks to the helicopter meta. Over 120 million building pieces have been used to craft bases, just shy of 70K players have lost their lives to sandstorms and many, many grams of Spice have been consumed.
Dune: Awakening has maintained a high concurrent player count since launch as well. SteamDB shows that close to 190,000 players were all logged in at once in the weekend after launch. Depending on the time of day, the game tends to hover with over 100K active players at all times, with a few drops into the 50K region in quieter hours.
The whispers surrounding AMD's next-generation graphics architecture are picking up. While definitive branding remains unknown, with names like UDNA and RDNA 5 still circulating, it's becoming increasingly evident that this architecture represents a significant leap for discrete graphics cards and the semi-custom chips targeting the next-generation game consoles.
Kepler_L2 (via Wccftech) has offered a fresh update on the “UDNA” architecture. The leaker asserts that Sony's PlayStation 6 and Microsoft's next-generation Xbox will use this new architecture. This aligns with previous confirmations from Microsoft regarding their intent to utilise the Navi 4 successor in the upcoming Xbox and underscores the recently announced multi-year agreement between AMD and Microsoft for future gaming hardware.
Kepler's projections for UDNA's performance are particularly interesting. He anticipates a 20% increase in traditional rasterisation performance but predicts more substantial gains for ray tracing and AI workloads, expecting about twice the performance. Since RDNA 4 already marked a significant improvement over RDNA 3 in these specific areas, RDNA 5/UDNA appears poised to push these capabilities further.
Finally, the leaker addressed a long-standing point of speculation, confirming that these new GPUs will not integrate a 3D V-Cache on the graphics side. While there haven't been strong rumours to suggest otherwise, this clarifies that the large stacked cache, as seen in Ryzen CPUs, will not be a feature of AMD's next-gen graphics processors.
KitGuru says: Seeing that both consoles are supposed to feature similar hardware, it seems the difference between these two will once again lie in the software and games. If that's the case, Xbox might have to reinvent itself again, as its current strategy for consoles isn't working as expected.
A couple of years back, Blizzard announced a bold change to its World of Warcraft development plans. For the first time, WoW is getting a trilogy of inter-connected expansions. The first released to plenty of praise from fans, now, Blizzard is gearing up to reveal expansion 2, titled Midnight.
World of Warcraft: Midnight, the next expansion in the Worldsoul Saga and follow-up to The War Within, will be revealed in August as part of Blizzard's Gamescom attendance.
Here is Blizzard's full announcement:
“World of Warcraft will be at gamescom 2025! Join us for five days of non-stop community celebration. Get ready for a Mythic Dungeon and Arena Showcase, Cosplay Showcase, Developer and Creator Meet and Greets, and much more. During the show you’ll get exclusive news and updates on the next chapter of the World of Warcraft®: Worldsoul Saga—Midnight —directly from the development team, along with a few additional surprises we have in store.”
It is unclear when Midnight but hopefully Blizzard will shed some light on that at Gamescom next month. Gamescom is the world's largest gaming expo and has only grown in the years since E3 ceased operation. This year's event begins on the 20th of August, ending on the 24th of August. As always, the expo takes place in Cologne, Germany.
FBC: Firebreak launched last week but interest in the title quickly fell flat. The game has struggled to garner any significant player base on Steam, and feedback for the game has been quite negative for a variety of reasons. Now, Remedy says it is going over the feedback and preparing changes.
FBC: Firebreak is supposed to be a Control spin-off, taking place in The Oldest House. Unfortunately, the return to this grand playground does not make a very good first impression, with the first hours of the game being bogged down by grindy missions and a lack of interesting starting gear for each class.
“The game's first hours do not provide a great experience due to a combination of things. Some of this is down to a lack of onboarding (more about that in a bit), explaining the game’s systems, how to take advantage of the tools at your disposal, and a lack of clarity as to what to do in the Jobs and how to do the work effectively”.
This is something I can attest to. As I have PS+ Premium, I gave the game an install on my PS5 at launch and loaded into a few jobs with random groups. The end result was a messy experience as we all fumbled around trying to figure things out on the fly. The game doesn't immediately play to its strengths either, as the starting gear is all very generic and quite boring. Apparently, gameplay does improve once you start to access higher tier weapons.
“The power fantasy isn’t great in the first hours of the game as starting (tier 1) weapons feel weak, and unlocking higher-tier weapons requires a bit too much grinding”, Remedy said. In future updates, Remedy will work on getting players to the ‘fun' quicker.
Hopefully some of these updates don't take too long, as the game could have potential with less grind and quicker and easier access to better gear.
MSI has announced a unique line of Toy Story-themed PC components (only available through a pre-built system), bringing Pixar's iconic characters to the gaming arena. Unfortunately, this limited edition collection, emblazoned with Toy Story branding from the graphics card down to the motherboard's CMOS battery, will be sold exclusively in Taiwan for a limited time.
Spotted by Tom's Hardware, the MAG Pano Toy Story Edition PC includes specially themed versions of MSI's Pano 110R case, an RTX 5070 Gaming Trio GPU, a Z890 Gaming Plus motherboard, an 850W MAG A850GL power supply, and a MAG Coreliquid AIO cooler. The system also has an Intel Core Ultra 5 245K CPU, 32 GB of Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 RAM, and an MSI Spatium M450 1 TB SSD (these without the Toy Story branding).
Each of the five custom-branded components draws inspiration from characters or objects from the first two Toy Story films. The Woody-themed Z890 Gaming Plus motherboard sports heatsinks in Woody's signature yellow and cow-print patterns, with Lenny the binoculars subtly integrated onto the CMOS battery. The AIO cooler is adorned with small green aliens from Pizza Planet, complete with green, blue, and purple RGB lighting effects. The Buzz Lightyear RTX 5070 Gaming Trio, previously showcased at MSI's Computex 2025 booth, has Buzz's colour palette, with a white and green shroud and purple lighting. Fittingly, this Buzz-themed GPU is powered by a PSU featuring the design of Emperor Zurg, Buzz's arch-nemesis. Lastly, the MAG Pano 110R case is designed to resemble the claw machine from the original Toy Story movie.
This limited production run of 500 units comes with additional collector's items. The box set includes building blocks spelling out “Toy Story”, a collection of eight Toy Story figurines based on characters from all four films, an official Disney plaque with a unique collector's number (from 1 to 500), and a set of themed magnets. The complete system is priced at NT$79,900 (approximately £2000) and is currently available for pre-order directly from MSI in Taiwan. However, MSI's website indicates that the system and components are “currently” exclusive to Taiwan, which may imply an eventual international availability.
Battlefield 6 is well into development at this stage. EA is gearing up to reveal the game properly later this summer, but leaks have already spoiled a few surprises, including the first gameplay footage from the single-player campaign.
Battlefield 6 will include a single-player campaign and better yet, it appears to be a throwback to the campaigns of the Battlefield 3 and 4 days. The gameplay scene, shared by Battlefield Labs dataminer, Temporyal, gives us a look at a scripted sequence that involves blowing up a dam. As this gameplay clip originated from datamining efforts, it is not intended for public viewing but EA and DICE have been rolling with the punches so far in regards to Battlefield Labs-related leaks.
Here's a short clip from the Battlefield 6 singleplayer campaign in the latest BF Labs update.
This work-in-progress footage shows the explosive finale of a mission to destroy a dam in Tajikistan. pic.twitter.com/n9ikBpUrmQ
As you can see in the clip, the scene is missing textures and other key details, so it is clear WIP footage and not anything final. It is also entirely possible that this scene isn't intended for the final game.
We'll get our first official look at Battlefield 6 gameplay later this summer. The game is expected to release by March 31st 2026.
Lies of P represents one of the best non-FromSoftware games to tackle the Souls-like genre. Released back in late 2023, the game has gone on to be enjoyed by over 7 million players – while selling over 3 million copies. In celebration of the game’s continued success, studio NEOWIZ has given all of its employees massive bonuses and other goodies.
In celebration of this milestone, the studio has announced that it will be gifting all of its developers with a 10 million KRW (~$7,200) bonus. Beyond this, all team members have also received two additional weeks of paid holiday and a free Switch 2 console.
Considering the fact that most video game studios / publishers respond to record profits with lay-offs, closures and bonuses purely to its executives, the industry could learn a thing or two from NEOWIZ’s ethics.
KitGuru says: Are you one of the 3 million who purchased Lies of P? How does it compare to FromSoftware’s games? Should more studios treat their developers in this way? Let us know down below.
So far, in terms of confirmed characters, only SpongeBob himself (and Patrick Star) have been shown off – alongside a Bikini Bottom track.
Of course, with both the TMNT and Avatar franchises now announced to be joining the line-up, expect the list of crossover characters to balloon quite a bit.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the announced crossovers so far? Which TMNT / Avatar characters do you expect to be added? Could Sonic Racing: Crossworlds compete with Mario Kart World? Let us know down below.
The Topaz Supreme R from PCSpecialist comes in at under £1000, making it one of the most affordable prebuilt gaming desktops we've look at in a while – but it still packs in a modern Ryzen CPU and AMD’s latest GPU, alongside 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. Can it punch above its weight? That’s what we'll find out today.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
01:06 Pricing / Warranty
02:03 What do you get for the money?
06:06 Prism 2 RGB Case
07:19 Testing procedures
07:41 Cyberpunk 2077
08:14 F1 2025
08:37 Kingdom Come 2: Deliverance
09:04 Counter Strike 2
09:40 Oblivion Remastered
10:20 Fortnite
10:54 Marvel Rivals
11:26 Forza Horizon 5
12:00 Mats thoughts on gaming
12:52 Clock speeds / Thermals / Noise / Power
14:50 Closing thoughts
Specifications:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7500F
GPU: Gigabyte Gaming OC Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5200MT/s
Storage: 1TB PCS PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSD
Motherboard: Asus Prime B650-Plus
Power Supply: Corsair CX650W
Cooling: PCS FrostFlow 100 V3
Case: PCS Prism II ARGB
WiFi: PCIe WiFi card
The core specs are confirmed in the following CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots:
The Topaz Supreme R delivers impressive gaming results for a sub-£1,000 system. At 1080p, it consistently pushes high frame rates across modern titles like F1 25, Fortnite, and Cyberpunk 2077. 1440p gaming is also well within reach, especially when using FSR and frame generation in supported games. Competitive esports titles run smoothly, and even more demanding AAA games maintain over 60 FPS with sensible settings. For the price, it’s a capable performer that doesn’t feel held back by too many corners being cut in the parts list.
A selection of screenshots highlighting gaming performance are below, but for full details of all games tested, check out our full video review on YouTube.
The Topaz Supreme R proves that you can still get a capable gaming PC for under £1,000 in 2025, but it also shows where the cost savings have been made. While gaming performance is strong, especially at 1080p and even 1440p with a bit of help from FSR and Frame Gen, there are some clear compromises.
The RAM is very much on the budget end – slow, entry-level DDR5 that just about ticks the box. The SSD is just about fast enough, but crucially it is limited to 1TB and that feels tight in a world where game installs regularly top 100GB. Having to uninstall one title just to test another isn’t ideal on a brand new machine.
The case and cooling setup are functional rather than premium, and the overall design won’t win any awards. But the cable management is tidy, thermals are kept in check, and the system runs fairly quiet even under load.
Pricing is very competitive – a similar system came out at just over £1000 if you were to choose to go down the route of building your own machine. Plus the prebuilt option on offer from PCSpecialist comes backed by their quite generous 3 year standard warranty, which will offer peace of mind to anyone who isn't comfortable when troubleshooting any potential issues that may arise.
Overall the Topaz Supreme R is a well built system. Cable management is excellent and thermals and power efficiency both impress.
You can buy the Topaz Supreme R desktop directly from PCSpecialist for £999 HERE.
Pros:
Excellent 1080p and playable 1440p performance.
Radeon RX 9060 XT with 16GB of VRAM gives some future headroom.
Strong airflow and thermals, especially on the GPU.
Quiet operation even under load.
Great cable management and clean internal layout.
Solid warranty and aftercare from PCSpecialist.
Great pricing when compared to building you own system with the same specification.
Cons:
The case feels cheap in places and the tempered glass panel is tricky to remove cleanly.
No Gen 4 SSD despite motherboard support.
Only 16GB of fairly slow DDR5 memory.
A couple of early software hiccups during setup.
KitGuru says: The Topaz Supreme R is a compelling, sub-£1000 option for anyone looking for great 1080p gaming performance.
Back in March, it was officially announced that the beloved choice-based RPG Disco Elysium would be receiving a pseudo-reimagining for Android, with a switch-up in mechanics, game art and more. Now, the team at ZA/UM have detailed exactly when fans can get their hands on the title – with it set to arrive on the 5th of August.
As mentioned, this Android version of Disco Elysium is quite different from its console counterpart, with the mobile release featuring:
New “handpainted” art
360 degree scenes
Vertical orientation
New audio and voice over
Overhauled investigation mechanics
As revealed back when it was first announced, this upcoming Android release will be available to ‘purchase’ for free – giving you access to the titles first two chapters; at which point you can then pay a single fee to unlock the remainder of the game.
While this adaptation for mobile does seem like an interesting concept, the legal and ethical controversies surrounding ZA/UM does put a bit of a damper on this upcoming release. Regardless, hopefully they managed to translate the experience to mobile well.
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to this mobile port? Would you want more console games to be heavily adapted to work on mobile? What do you think of the whole ZA/UM situation? Let us know down below.
Epic Games has delivered a significant performance uplift with the recent release of Unreal Engine 5.6. Comparing an open-world tech demo side-by-side on an RTX 5080 in Unreal Engine 5.6 and version 5.4, we can see the framerate improving by up 35% in some scenes, and that's with Hardware Lumen enabled.
MxBenchmarkPC's video shows that improvements are immediately apparent, particularly in scenarios where the GPU is the limiting factor. Framerates witnessed increases of up to 25%, a direct result of better utilisation of graphics resources, even if this translates to a slightly higher power draw from the card. When the CPU becomes the bottleneck, Unreal Engine 5.6 truly shines, smoothing out frame-time spikes and delivering up to a 35% higher throughput than the older build.
Beyond the raw numbers, the new engine version also brings visual refinements to Lumen, Epic's real-time global illumination and reflection system. Lighting appears more accurate, and reflections are notably sharper, improving the scene's overall visual fidelity.
Unreal Engine 5.6 was officially released earlier this month, shortly after Epic Games concluded its Unreal Fest presentation, where many of these improvements were first teased. The update includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing enhancements that offload a greater portion of the Lumen global illumination workload onto modern GPUs. Furthermore, a new Fast Geometry Streaming plugin aims to make loading vast, static environments feel seamless and stutter-free, tackling a common performance pain point in large open worlds. Additionally, new device profiles have been implemented to automatically adjust settings and help achieve desired frame rates on consoles and high-end PCs.
KitGuru says: It's nice to see Epic Games improving resource usage on the Unreal Engine 5. However, users will only benefit from these improvements in newer games, as most released games rarely do major engine updates post-release. The Witcher 4 is one such new game confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 5.6 thanks to its improved performance.
FBC: Firebreak is the latest project from Remedy Entertainment – the team behind beloved titles including but not limited to Alan Wake, Max Payne and Control. Unlike all their other releases, FBC is a multiplayer-focused experience with an emphasis on co-operative gameplay. Unfortunately, it seems as though interest in this title has been middling – with the game failing to even hit 2,000 concurrent players on Steam.
According to SteamDB, since the launch of FBC: Firebreak on the 17th of June, the co-op multiplayer title has failed to garner any significant audience on the platform – with the game peaking at just 1,992 concurrent players (and a 24 hour peak of 608 CCU).
Of course, it is worth noting that FBC: Firebreak launched as a day-one release onto both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, meaning a majority of players likely hail from either platform/service.
Furthermore, the team at Remedy have promised to improve the game over time with additional content; including two major updates scheduled for later this year: adding new locations; new gameplay systems; new enemy types; new unique armour sets and earnable rewards.
Regardless of Steam’s troubling player numbers, FBC: Firebreak still has an opportunity to succeed, especially as the title supports crossplay with Xbox and PlayStation.
As long as the game has enough players to sustain itself, hopefully Remedy will continue to add to and improve upon FBC: Firebreak.
KitGuru says: Have you checked out FBC: Firebreak? What platform are you playing on? Have you struggled with matchmaking at all? Let us know down below.
Earlier this month during the Xbox Games Showcase, Persona 4 Revival was officially announced. Despite plenty of leaks surrounding the project, we did not get much official information during this announcement. Currently, the remake lacks a release date, but recent documents point to a longer wait than fans may have expected.
Following Sega's annual management meeting this week, a number of documents have been released online. In one such document, it was discovered that Persona 4 Revival is scheduled to release in the next fiscal year, putting its release date anywhere between April 1st 2026 and March 31st 2027.
Given how short the teaser trailer reveal was, there is a good chance that the game is planned for a later release, perhaps around the Fall season. This later-than-expected date also calls into question recent Persona 6 rumours. A few different sources have claimed that Persona 6 is in development for a 2026 release, but if Persona 4 Revival is coming next year, then there is little chance that we see Persona 6 within the same calendar year.
Persona 4 Revival was first announced at the Xbox Games Showcase, just like Persona 3 Reloaded. However, the game is not a console exclusive, so it will be coming to Xbox, PC, PS5 and potentially the Switch 2 as well.
Adi Shankar has become a fan favourite TV producer amongst the gaming crowd. So far, Shankar has successfully put out fan-pleasing animated shows for Castlevania and Devil May Cry. Next, Shankar will turn his attention to Duke Nukem.
Adi Shankar recently confirmed in an interview with Esquire that he will be continuing his streak of video game adaptations. He recently acquired the rights to make a Duke Nukem series from Gearbox. Better yet, he's already winning fans over with his comments on how he'll handle the IP.
“Duke Nukem can’t be made by a corporation, because the moment a corporation makes Duke Nukem, it’s no longer Duke Nukem. I don’t intend on having anyone tell me what to do on this one”, Shankar said.
There is no release date yet for Duke Nukem and work on it has barely begun, so it will be a couple of years before we get the first batch of episodes. In the meantime, the new Devil May Cry series will continue, with a second season planned to begin airing later this year.
KitGuru Says: Duke Nukem has struggled as a franchise over the years. For a long time, it has seemed that even Gearbox itself doesn't quite know what to do with it, so the studio has doubled down on its other shooter, Borderlands, instead. Given his previous successes with Castlevania and Devil May Cry, I'd put money on Shankar being the right guy for the task of adapting Duke Nukem.
Despite its mandate to safeguard intellectual property, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has inadvertently given us our clearest look yet at Logitech's upcoming MX Master 4 mouse. High-resolution photographs, presumably from a design filing, have leaked, revealing some notable departures from the familiar MX Master 3S while retaining the series' core identity.
Initial whispers surfaced weeks ago, and an official launch for the MX Master 4 is expected any moment now. The most obvious visual change seen in the images on the EUIPO entry (via Notebookcheck) comes at the front of the mouse. The two primary click buttons now span the entire width, creating a much cleaner aesthetic than the MX Master 3S, which featured a small plastic separation on the right side. These new buttons even appear translucent in the leaked renderings, though this might be a trick of the light or rendering style.
Another key highlight is the redesigned thumb rest area. The textured ridges from its predecessor have been removed, creating a smoother surface. The thumb rest “button” now seemingly encompasses the entire side surface, moving beyond just the bottom portion of the rest, suggesting expanded functionality or a larger actuation area. A circular pattern of dots on this thumb rest further suggests new capabilities, though their exact purpose remains unclear.
Adding to the array of controls, a third thumb button has been incorporated and positioned forward of the existing two. The thumb scroll wheel also appears to have undergone a subtle but significant change, now protruding slightly rather than being recessed as it was on the MX Master 3S. Finally, a small LED directly beneath the scroll-wheel lock button is visible, most likely serving as a battery or charging indicator.
These leaks suggest that Logitech is not just iterating on a successful design but actively refining it for improved ergonomics, aesthetics, and potentially, new levels of functionality for power users.
Sega recently held its annual management meeting. Typically, when the presentations from these meetings are made public, specific sales data is redacted. However, someone at Sega forgot to do this, revealing the lifetime sales for key games like Persona 5, Sonic Frontiers, Yakuza: Like a Dragon and more.
The document, spotted by IG, shows previously unseen sales data for 11 Sega titles over the past six fiscal years. The data confirms something we already knew – Persona 5 continues to be a massive hit for Sega, outselling franchises like Sonic, Yakuza and even its sibling franchise, Shin Megami Tensei. Since 2020, Persona 5 Royal has sold 7.25 million copies and continues to be a top-selling game each year.
For comparison, Persona 3 Reload, which launched in early 2024, has amassed 2.07 million sales. Soon, Sega will also launch Persona 4 Revive, which is regarded as a fan favourite for Persona enthusiasts. Persona 6 has not yet been announced.
Shin Megami Tensei, the original franchise that birthed Persona, has also maintained relevance in recent years, with Shin Megami Tensei V shifting over 2.11 million copies since launch.
Sonic Frontiers is the next major game on the list, having sold 4.57 million copies since its launch in late 2022. Team Sonic Racing isn't too far behind, with the kart racer achieving over 3.5 million copies sold.
Creative Assembly appears to be in a good position with its Total War franchise. Total War: Three Kingdoms is listed as having sold 3.21 million copies to date, and the studio has plans to unveil the next wave of Total War strategy games in a showcase later this year. Total War Warhammer 3 is a little further behind Three Kingdoms, having sold 2.34 million copies.
Yakuza 7, otherwise known as Like a Dragon, was a turning point for the franchise. With Yakuza 7, the series shifted from action combat to a turn-based system, reminiscent of classic JRPGs. The game has sold 2.86 million copies since 2020, and its sequel, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is closing the gap, reaching 1.66 million copies sold since its release in early 2024.
KitGuru Says: I anticipated Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Yakuza: Like a Dragon to be a bit further along in sales, but it seems to be doing similar numbers to the more recent Total War games.
Asus Republic of Gamers has unveiled the ROG NUC (2025). This machine, touted as the world's first sub-three-liter gaming PC, is a compact powerhouse driven by Intel's Core Ultra 9 (Series 2) CPUs and features Nvidia's latest GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, complemented by up to 96GB of memory. Designed with both gamers and creators in mind, this compact system aims to redefine expectations for small form factor PCs, promising up to four times faster rendering performance than previous iterations.
At the heart of the new ROG NUC (2025) lies an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor.Featuring a 24-core hybrid architecture and an integrated NPU, it can boost speeds up to 5.4GHz and supports up to 96GB of DDR5-6400 memory. For graphics, the ROG NUC (2025) is equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, with options also available for the RTX 5070 Ti, 5070, or 5060 Laptop GPUs.
Upgradability in this system is made simple, with tool-less access to both memory and storage components. Asus has also incorporated its signature ROG cooling technology to ensure optimal performance while maintaining minimal noise levels. Even under heavy loads, the ROG NUC (2025) is engineered to remain quiet, courtesy of its triple-fan system and dual-vapor chamber architecture. Connectivity is also a strong suit, featuring Intel Wi-Fi 7 for wireless speeds up to 46Gbps and speedy Bluetooth 5.4 support.
Physically, the ROG NUC (2025) measures a compact 282 x 187.7 x 56.5mm, resulting in a total volume just under 3 litres, and includes an integrated vertical stand for flexible placement. Its thoughtful modular architecture supports seamless updates, and a comprehensive array of I/O connections includes Thunderbolt 4 USB-C with fast charging capability and 4x USB-A 3.2 Gen2 Gbps ports in the rear and two USB-A 3.2 Gen2 ports and a single USB-C port at the front. To top it off, customisable Asus Aura Sync ARGB lighting lets users personalise the system to match any gaming setup. The Asus ROG NUC (2025) with the Core Ultra 9 275HX and RTX 5080 Laptop GPU is now available for pre-order in the US for $2849, with initial shipments expected to begin on July 2nd.
KitGuru says: You can pack some pretty powerful hardware into a very small chassis nowadays. Do you think SFF systems and mini-PCs will become more common for gaming?
It looks like Microsoft has more licensed Xbox hardware products on the way. During the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld was announced and now, Meta is preparing an Xbox-branded version of the Quest 3S VR headset.
The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition has surfaced online through retail leaks, as confirmed by Insider Gaming. The Xbox edition VR headset sports a black design, as opposed to the Meta Quest's traditional white colour scheme. The headset also has the Xbox logo placed front and centre, but aside from that, there does not appear to be any additional changes.
Microsoft had a relationship with VR headset maker, Oculus, prior to the company being acquired by Facebook (now Meta). Each original Oculus Rift headset shipped with an Xbox controller instead of the motion controllers VR platforms eventually moved to. In the years since then, Microsoft has continued to support Quest VR headsets with apps that enable Xbox game streaming to a home cinema screen inside the headset.
Microsoft has not developed any VR-specific games, nor has it implemented VR support on consoles, unlike its rival Sony, who has shipped two generations of PSVR headsets in the past eight years.
Chances are, the Quest 3S Xbox Edition bundle will include a few months of Game Pass, so headset users can access a library of Xbox titles streamed over the cloud.
KitGuru Says: This partnership sounds weird on the surface, as Microsoft has had little involvement in the VR space compared to its competitors. However, given Microsoft's long-standing support of the Rift and Quest, it does make at least some sense.
AMD appears to be putting the finishing touches on a compelling new mid-range CPU, the Ryzen 5 9600X3D. This CPU recently appeared accidentally in AMD's CPU support list for the newly released Radeon AI Pro R9700 graphics card. This quiet confirmation suggests AMD is gearing up to offer a potent option for gamers in the mid-range CPU market, potentially challenging Intel's Core i5-14600K and the newer Core Ultra 5 245K.
MelodicWarrior (via TechPowerUp) was the one who brought the Ryzen 5 9600X3D to our attention. It is expected to be a 6-core, 12-thread processor leveraging the latest Zen 5 microarchitecture and built on Granite Ridge silicon. As its “X3D” moniker suggests, the key differentiator is the inclusion of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology. This means an additional 64MB of stacked cache will sit atop the existing 32MB of on-die L3 cache, culminating in a formidable 96MB of L3 cache.
Early indications suggest that the 9600X3D's clock speeds might be similar to those of the standard Ryzen 5 9600X. This is attributed to an architectural change in how AMD stacks its 3D V-Cache die with the CCD. Unlike previous iterations where the 3D V-Cache sat on top, potentially impacting thermal dissipation and limiting clock speeds, the new method makes the die a base tile for the CCD.
The addition of 3D V-Cache has historically provided significant uplifts in gaming performance for AMD processors. Should this trend continue with the 9600X3D, it could emerge as a highly competitive option for gamers seeking maximum frame rates without investing in higher-core-count CPUs. This strategically positioned chip would offer a compelling alternative to Intel's offerings in the mid-range segment, where gaming performance per dollar is often a key factor for consumers.
AMD has not yet officially announced a release date for the Ryzen 5 9600X3D, but its appearance in official driver updates suggests a launch could be imminent.
New reports suggest that AMD's upcoming generation of graphics cards (likely named RDNA 5) will embrace the newer HDMI 2.2 standard. However, don't expect a full doubling of bandwidth right out of the gate. Reports indicate these next-gen GPUs will support HDMI 2.2 speeds of up to 80 Gbit/s, a significant bump from HDMI 2.1's 48 Gbit/s, but fall short of the standard's theoretical 96 Gbit/s maximum.
According to Kepler, the RDNA 5 (or UDNA) GPUs, internally codenamed GFX13, are specified to support two modes: 64 Gbit/s and 80 Gbit/s. This implies that the highest 96 Gbit/s mode, which would demand the new “Ultra96” HDMI cables, will not be supported, at least initially. It remains unclear whether this is a hardware limitation of the upcoming GPUs or if full 96 Gbit/s support could be enabled later (for example, through driver updates).
The leaker also noted that there is currently no information regarding DisplayPort 2.1b compatibility for the GFX13 architecture. On the other hand, Nvidia's RTX Pro Blackwell and GeForce RTX 50 series already support this standard, putting them ahead in that specific aspect.
Kepler's report doesn't distinguish between the Radeon RX (consumer) and Radeon Pro (professional) series of GPUs. The update refers broadly to the GFX13 display engine, and historically, AMD has sometimes differentiated display output capabilities between its consumer and professional lines. Whether this trend will continue with the GFX13 remains to be seen.
KitGuru says: Would you rather see AMD pushing the DisplayPort standard further on its upcoming GPUs instead of HDMI?
During the VLSI Symposium in Japan, Intel shared some details on its new 18A process node, which is poised to enter full production in the latter half of 2025. This isn't merely an incremental step; Intel 18A represents a fundamental re-engineering of the silicon foundation, combining Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors with their innovative PowerVia backside power delivery network, all wrapped within a completely revamped metal stack design.
The integration of PowerVia is a game-changer. By routing power through the back of the chip, Intel has managed to tighten the connection pitches on critical front-side layers, while simultaneously relaxing spacing on the very top layers. This strategic shift not only promises to enhance manufacturing yield but also significantly simplifies the fabrication process itself. As shown by HardwareLuxx, the numbers speak volumes: in standardised power, performance, and area (PPA) tests conducted on an Arm core sub-block, Intel 18A showcased approximately 15% better iso-power performance than Intel 3. Pushing the voltage to 1.1V, clock speeds can increase up to 25% without incurring additional energy expenditures. Even at a lower 0.75V, performance can improve by 18%, or power consumption can be slashed by nearly 40%.
Under the hood, this process node achieves substantial reductions in cell height. Performance-tuned cells now measure a compact 180 nanometres, while high-density designs shrink further to just 160 nm, both notably smaller than their predecessors. The structure of metal layers has also been refined, as the front-side layers have been reduced from a range of 12-19 on Intel 3 to 11-16 on Intel 18A. To facilitate PowerVia, three additional rear metal layers have been added. Moreover, the pitches on the lower metal layers (M1 through M10) have been dramatically tightened, going from as much as 60 nm down to 32 nm, before intentionally increasing again in the uppermost layers. Adding to the manufacturing efficiency, low-NA EUV exposure is employed on layers M0 through M4, which slashes the number of masks required by an impressive 44%, further simplifying the overall production flow.
Intel intends to debut its 18A technology in key upcoming products. This includes the low-power Panther Lake, aimed at mobile platforms, and the efficiency-core-only “Clearwater Forest” Xeon 7 series for server applications. Recognising the diverse needs of different markets, Intel will offer multiple variations of the 18A process, including a cost-optimised 17-layer variant, a balanced 21-layer option, and a performance-focused 22-layer arrangement, ensuring flexibility for a wide range of applications.
It would appear that fans have turned on Monster Hunter Wilds. While the game launched to generally positive reviews earlier in the year, fans have grown frustrated with the gameplay changes made in the sequel, and now the game's Steam review score has dropped down to overwhelmingly negative.
For Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom looked to make the game more accessible to a broader audience. As a result, new mechanics were introduced, like auto-pathing to targets, the ability to sharpen weapons and heal while riding, and a ‘focus mode' in combat that makes it easier for players to target monster weak points. This is all very different to Monster Hunter World, where hunts often required more careful planning and multiple chase attempts before taking a beast down.
Now, fans have begun putting all of these complaints front and centre under the Monster Hunter Wilds Steam page. The game's overall review score has dropped to Overwhelmingly Negative on Steam, and as pointed out by Windows Central, players have been dropping Wilds in favour of going back to Monster Hunter World on PC.
Aside from complaints around the ‘streamlined' experience in Monster Hunter Wilds, many PC players are also frustrated by the game's performance. Wilds runs quite poorly on mid-range PCs and older generation hardware, even on modern high-end systems, it is recommended that Frame Generation is enabled to bring an artificial boost.
KitGuru Says: Capcom has not yet responded to the rise in player complaints. However, a showcase is happening soon, so we expect to see some Monster Hunter Wilds related announcements.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has been off to a hot start, becoming the fastest selling console to date thanks to strong launch weekend sales. The Switch 2 also launched with a pretty strong line-up of third-party games, but so far, publishers are being disappointed by the results.
While Nintendo has already sold millions of Switch 2 consoles, and has observed strong sales for its launch game, Mario Kart World, third-party publishers have not yet benefitted from the boom in Switch 2 console sales. According to TheGameBusiness, analysis shows that the majority of Switch 2 game sales in the UK and US so far have been for first-party titles like Mario Kart World.
One third-party publisher told the outlet that Switch 2 sales have so far been “below our lowest estimates”. However, there is good reason to think that this is a temporary problem and not a sign that third-party publishers will struggle to find success on Nintendo's latest console.
So far, the majority of third-party Switch 2 games are ports of previously released games, and some of them were even available on the Switch 1. As the Switch 2 features backwards compatibility, many early adopters of the Switch 2 may be playing older Switch 1 games in their catalogue. As more brand-new titles land on the Switch 2, we would expect to see third-party performance lift up overall.
NetEase has primarily focused its game development and publishing efforts on games with broad multiplayer appeal. However, for the first time, NetEase is now working on its first single-player game, and it is coming from the studio behind Naraka: Bladepoint.
Blood Message is a new game coming from NetEase and 24 Entertainment. The game's reveal today comes paired with a trailer, promising a cinematic story-driven action-adventure for both PC and consoles. Like most major AAA projects this generation, Blood Message is being developed using Unreal Engine 5.
Blood Message is set during the final years of the Tang dynasty. Players will go on a 1000-mile journey to Chang'an the centre of the Tang Empire. This lengthy journey will take players across the vast wilderness of East and Central Asia, all the while surviving brutal sieges.
The game promises a blend of stealth combat and survival mechanics, expansive landscapes, cinematic storytelling and a “deeply emotional journey exploring themes of family, honor, sacrifice and cultural identity”.
This week has been a bit of a wild one in rumour land. A previously reliable source made the bombshell claim that Microsoft had hired the developers behind the Xenia emulator to work on an official Xbox and Xbox 360 emulation tool for PCs and new devices like the Xbox Ally. Unfortunately, it turns out that this rumour may have been all smoke with no fire.
Extas1s made a name for themselves online in recent years following a string of accurate leaks. However, this particular leak may be more fiction than fact. After claiming that Microsoft had hired developers behind Xbox 360 emulator, Xenia, for a push to bring the ‘Xbox Classics' library to more devices, one of the Xenia team members spoke out. According to Xenia developer ZoloKluk, Microsoft has not hired them and added that “Microsoft has their own Xbox 360 emulator” and would have no need to consult Xenia developers.
Another well known Xbox reporter, Windows Central's Jez Corden, also stated that while Microsoft is known to be looking at ways to bring more Xbox games to more devices, this emulation scenario “isn't a thing at the moment”.
As spotted by Insider Gaming, Extas1s did double down on his original report, claiming that Xenia project contributors were hired by Microsoft through an internal initiative that brings GitHub contributors into Microsoft for various projects. However, Microsoft just announced plans to let go of thousands of employees and has been actively shedding workers for the past 18 months, so it is unclear how reliable this claim really is.
KitGuru Says: At this point, I'd be putting my money against the idea that Microsoft is working on a new emulator destined for Windows. However, if Microsoft really does switch to a ‘gaming' version of Windows for the next Xbox, then I wouldn't rule it out in a few years' time.
Asus has just revealed the Pro WS Platinum power supply line, which was announced at Computex 2025. Available in whopping 3000-watt, 2200-watt, and 1600-watt variants, these heavy-duty PSUs are engineered to drive multiple high-end graphics cards.
The PSUs incorporate PCIe connectors with gold-plated copper pins. This design choice promises to reduce connector temperatures by up to 10°C compared to standard 12V-2×6 connectors and improve power delivery efficiency by increasing contact between internal socket pins.
For thermal management and durability, the units use dual-ball fan bearings, which are designed for longer lifespans than sleeve-bearing alternatives. Extruded aluminium heatsinks are also integrated to dissipate heat from internal components. The PSUs are housed in a 175 mm-long chassis, shorter than some other 1600W units available.
These power supplies are compliant with ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 standards. The cables are flexible and etched, with distinct colours for CPU and PCIe power connectors to aid installation and cable routing. Moreover, the Pro WS Platinum series carries an 80 Plus Platinum certification, indicating high power efficiency. This efficiency is partly attributed to the use of Japanese server-grade capacitors. A protective coating on the PCB is present to guard against moisture, dust, and debris. The power supplies come with a 10-year warranty.
The 3000W model is rated to support up to four GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards, the 2200W model can power up to four GeForce RTX 5080 cards, and the 1600W variant can run two GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards.
For the past six months, EA has been loudly playtesting Battlefield 6 with large pre-alpha gameplay sessions leading to numerous gameplay leaks. Now, Battlefield 6 has reportedly hit a new development milestone, and more content is hitting the Battlefield Labs testing platform.
According to Battlefield Labs playtesters speaking with Insider Gaming, Battlefield 6 recently changed from pre-alpha to alpha, marking a major development milestone. Battlefield 6 does not yet have a release date, but we expect to see more playtests in the coming months, and EA has confirmed that the game will launch in the current fiscal year, ending in March 2026.
Leaks through Battlefield Labs have also revealed new assets for the game's single-player campaign, and assets for a Battle Royale mode. DICE did previously attempt to bring Battle Royale to Battlefield with the Firestorm mode in Battlefield V, but it did not achieve broad popularity. The Battle Royale idea has been put on ice in subsequent games but appears set for a return in Battlefield 6.
Apparently we'll be getting the first official Battlefield 6 trailer before the end of the Summer, which puts Gamescom as a likely reveal event.
KitGuru Says: If DICE could just get a launch right, we'd be having much more positive conversations around the Battlefield franchise right now. Hopefully these extra months of playtesting will pay off when Battlefield 6 hits the market.
Back in March, the team at FuturLab officially announced that a sequel to the much-loved PowerWash Simulator would be arriving at some point this year. Though a release date has yet to be shared, a new trailer has dropped for the sequel – detailing many of its new gameplay additions and improvements.
Releasing a new Gameplay trailer alongside a blog post, the team at FuturLab officially detailed some of the many changes and enhancements coming with PowerWash Simulator 2. Alongside previously-confirmed details(such as 4-player co-op with shared progression; a new home base; customisation and more), PowerWash Simulator is said to include:
Multistage levels which unveil more to clean once you’ve completed the first stage
ProRise AE-300 abseil rope for greater verticality
ProRise SCF-5X scissor lift
Customisable home base decor
New ‘SwirlForce Surf Ace’ floor cleaning tool
The ability to pet cats
FuturLab promises to be “taking a deeper dive into some of these in the coming weeks”. PowerWash Simulator was a huge hit which managed to take the ‘simulator’ genre of games in new directions when it launched back in 2022. Hopefully PowerWash Simulator 2 is even more satisfying and zen than the first.
KitGuru says: What do you think of all the new features so far? Do you like the idea of the sequel expanding its scope? What was your favourite tool in the first game? Let us know down below.
A couple days ago it was officially announced that Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled – the remake of Naughty Dogs classic PSOne kart racer – had sold over 10 million copies. This is despite the fact that the game was released exclusively for the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Though it should be taken with a pinch of salt, a new ‘leaker’ has claimed that an enhanced port called the ‘Grand Prix Edition’ is set to come to current-gen consoles, and for the first time, PC.
Taking to the Crash Team Racing subreddit, a new user who claims to ”work for a small studio under Activision and Microsoft” has shared a ton of details for what is listed as ‘Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled – Grand Prix Edition’ alongside some blurry screenshots.
According to the leak, this enhanced version of the game is planned to come to PC platforms in 2026 (though they could not confirm whether Steam would be included) alongside the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 for $40.
Beyond this, the game is said to include “A few new characters,” a new track and the titular Grand Prix. Last but not least, the title will reportedly feature cross-play support for all current-gen platforms.
It is also worth noting that the leaker claims that Nitro-Fueled’s original developers Beenox had “absolutely no hands on what we did with this re-release” though gameplay remains entirely intact – “other than adding a reserve meter.”
Given the odd release of Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled in the first place, it would be highly appreciated if the game were to find its way onto current-gen systems – and more importantly PC. We will have to wait and see whether anything comes of this ‘leak.’
KitGuru says: What do you think of the leak? Do you believe it? Why do you think a PC version was never made in the first place? Let us know down below.
Over the past half a decade or so, we have seen an influx in adaptations of various video game IPs. One of the more obscure announcements was for a live-action Netflix film based on the classic Dragon’s Lair arcade game. Announced all the way back in 2020, the Ryan Reynolds-led project has finally found its director.
As revealed by TheHollywoodReporter, James Bobin is confirmed to be helming directorial duties for the Netflix distributed Dragon’s Lair. As mentioned, Ryan Reynolds is also attached to the project, said to be starring in the film while also serving as producer.
Announced back in 2020, Netflix offered few details at the time, aside from the fact that the plot will revolve around Ryan Reynolds starring as “noble Knight Dirk the Daring, on his quest to rescue Princess Daphne from the titular dragon.”
For the uninitiated, James Bobin is a rather interesting choice for director, having been a major part of the classic 2000s British comedy ‘Da Ali G Show’ while also co-creating the Australian comedy ‘Flight of the Conchords’. Beyond this, Bobin also directed 2011’s The Muppets film as well as 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted.
Given the fact that the film was announced half a decade ago, it is surprising to see the project is still alive and finally finding its footing.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest update? Do you have any hopes for the Dragon’s Lair film? What’s your favourite project from Bobin? Let us know down below.
Following a year of PlayStation 5 exclusivity, Stellar Blade (from studio SHIFTUP) launched on PC last week to huge numbers – selling over 1 million copies almost immediately and breaking records for Sony on Steam. It therefore comes as little surprise that according to new reports, a Switch 2 version of Stellar Blade appears to be on its way.
“ShiftUp has recently secured an official developer kit for Switch 2 and has begun initial work”. According to the report, this upcoming release is said to be “closely linked to ShiftUp's IP expansion strategy.”
Though far from proof of its existence, in celebration of the game selling 3 million copies, Stellar Blade studio SHIFTUP did gift all of its employees with Switch 2s – which does tie in nicely to this rumour.
Of course, as with all rumours, this should be taken with a pinch of salt. That said, with Stellar Blade no longer tied down to the PS5, and the PC version officially out of the way, it makes sense for the team to move on to another platform.
KitGuru says: Did you pick up Stellar Blade on Steam? How do you think the Switch 2 would handle the game? What do you think the team is working on next? Let us know down below.
AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series launched with the FidelityFX Super Resolution 4, AMD's upscaling method that leverages an AI-powered algorithm to boost image quality. Before the RDNA 4 architecture made its official debut, early tests hinted at significant visual improvements on the new GPUs. Officially, FSR 4 only works with the Radeon RX 9000 series, but theoretically, the Radeon RX 7000 series can also use it.
Sick of waiting for an official announcement from AMD, some users have been trying to mod FSR 4 (with success) using Optiscaler. One such user was Virtual-Cobbler-9930 (via Wccftech), who shared some performance and image quality results.
To get FSR 4 working on RDNA 3 graphics, you need to activate it with the command: WMMA_RDNA3_WORKAROUND. While RDNA 3 GPUs support WMMA (Wave Matrix Multiply Accumulate) for FP16 data, RDNA 4 further enhanced these instructions to natively accommodate formats like FP16, BF16, and INT8, which are crucial for the AI-powered upscaling. It appears someone has found a way to emulate these functionalities on RDNA 3.
The results from Cyberpunk 2077 indicate a clear improvement in graphic quality, with less smearing on elements like grass and bushes. However, this visual fidelity comes with a performance cost. Running the game's built-in benchmark with FSR Quality settings saw frame rates drop from 85.06 FPS to 56.28 FPS. Similar findings were observed in titles like Oblivion Remastered, where the visual artifacts were reduced. The performance hit ranged from 20% to 30%. The visual improvements in games like Oblivion and Marvel Rivals were also noticeable, but in Cyberpunk 2077, both cases had a performance hit compared to FSR 3.1.
This FSR 4 workaround offers a glimpse into enhanced visuals for RDNA 3 owners, showing that it could be worth considering for games beyond the most demanding AAA titles. However, one must be aware of the significant performance impact that it brings. On the other hand, this unofficial implementation sheds some light on why AMD opted not to offer the capability to older GPU series. Even with workarounds, the raw processing power needed for the AI upscaling appears to heavily tax the older hardware, consuming resources that would otherwise be dedicated to rendering the scene. Whether AMD will eventually find a more optimised official path remains to be seen.
Gamers who prefer to avoid graphics software from AMD or Nvidia and its overlays might be using Steam's Performance Monitor, assuming they're playing games on the platform. Valve has just introduced an update, adding new metrics and frame generation detection.
As first noted by SteamDB, the new Performance Monitor expands its capabilities dramatically, offering a wealth of real-time metrics. Players will be able to track crucial data points, including FPS, upscaled FPS, a live FPS graph, CPU clocks and utilisation, GPU usage, temperatures, and both memory consumption and utilisation. The overlay will also indicate whether frame generation is active with two FPS counters: rendered and frame generation frames.
This suite of information gives gamers deeper insights into their system's performance without leaving their game. Players can customise the display, from showing all available metrics to something simpler, like the FPS and its graph only.
Currently, this functionality is only accessible within the Steam Beta client. Those eager to try it out must opt into Steam's beta version. Valve has indicated that some metrics may not be available on all platforms initially, but broader support will be rolled out in future updates.
AOC is launching three compelling new QHD displays, each delivering esports-level refresh rates without demanding a premium price tag. Leading this charge is the AOC GAMING Q25G4SR, a compact powerhouse that achieves an astonishing 300Hz refresh rate within a 24.5-inch form factor. It's joined by two 27-inch models, the Q27G4ZR and the value-focused Q27G42ZE, both offering a 240Hz refresh rate with additional overclocking headroom up to 260Hz.
The Q25G4SR stands out in the crowded gaming monitor landscape, combining a QHD (2560×1440) resolution with its compact 24.5-inch screen size. This results in an impressive pixel density, delivering that blend of high resolution and smaller footprint many enthusiasts have been clamoring for. Its Fast IPS panel offers a 300Hz refresh rate, translating into smooth gameplay with rapid response times as low as 1ms GtG and 0.3ms MPRT when Motion Blur Reduction (MBR) is enabled. The monitor is also VESA DisplayHDR 400-certified and comes with a fully adjustable stand, offering 130mm of height adjustment alongside tilt, swivel, and pivot flexibility to adapt to any gaming setup. Connectivity options include 2x HDMI 2.1 connectors and a DisplayPort 1.4, ensuring compatibility with the latest graphics cards and next-generation consoles without bandwidth compromises.
Stepping into the 27-inch category, the Q27G4ZR offers a 240Hz refresh rate, with the flexibility to overclock to 260Hz. This model also provides comprehensive connectivity options with two HDMI 2.0 connectors and a DisplayPort 1.4, alongside integrated 2W stereo speakers. Its fully ergonomic stand mirrors the functionality of its 24.5-inch counterpart, providing ample adjustment. DisplayHDR 400 certification ensures bright imagery for all game content and comfortable viewing even in brighter environments. The Q27G4ZR maintains the same rapid response speeds of up to 1ms GtG and 0.3ms MPRT with MBR.
For gamers focused on value, the Q27G42ZE presents a highly attractive option. It delivers the same core performance as the Q27G4ZR, including a 240Hz refresh rate (overclockable to 260Hz) and nearly identical Fast IPS panel specifications. However, it streamlines certain features, such as a tilt-only stand, a single HDMI 2.0 port alongside its DisplayPort 1.4, and a 300 cd/m² brightness.
Each monitor is equipped with AOC's extensive gaming toolkit. Features like Shadow Control, Game Colour, Dial Point crosshair, and a Low Input Lag mode are available on all models. All three Fast IPS panels promise consistent performance across wide viewing angles with impressive colour accuracy.The Q25G4SR and Q27G4ZR cover over 114% of the sRGB area, while the Q27G42ZE goes even further, covering 123.6% of the sRGB colour gamut. Critically, all three monitors are designed to support current-generation gaming at QHD resolution, making them versatile for PC and console gamers.
The AOC Gaming Q25G4SR will retail for £239.00, the Q27G4ZR for £209.00, and the Q27G42ZE for a budget-friendly £199.00. These monitors are expected to be available in mid-June 2025.
In a major update this week, id Software added Path Tracing technology to DOOM: The Dark Ages. This enhanced form of ray tracing allows for higher fidelity and more ray bounces. The update has also quietly added an array of new in-game benchmarks to the game for those looking to quickly put their rig to the test.
Our GPU reviewer, Dom, has been putting the new in-game benchmarks to the test this afternoon. Here are the results for the Hebeth, Abyssal Forest and Reckoning benchmarks on an RTX 5070 Ti with DLSS and Multi-Frame Gen enabled:
There are seven in-game benchmark scenes in total, Hebeth, Siege, Abyssal Forest, Sentinel Command Station, Spire of Nerathul, City of Ry'uul and Reckoning. Benchmark mode creates a consistent, nearly deterministic path through a section of select DOOM: The Dark Ages levels to that players can see how their systems perform under a variety of video settings. Using this mode players can see how far they can push their system performance.
While running one of the benchmarks, you can display or hide graphs displaying frame rates, frame times for CPU and GPU, and total resource usage.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is available now on PC via Steam and the Xbox app. It is also available to play via Game Pass on both PC and console.
Capcom has had a major hit each year since 2017 with Resident Evil 7 and they've shown no signs of slowing down. Capcom kicked off 2025 with the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds, and it has followed that up with major reveals for Resident Evil Requiem and a brand new IP, Pragmata.
In recent months, Capcom has shown new trailers for both Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem, but the publisher is not done for the year yet. Capcom will be hosting the Capcom Spotlight showcase next week, a 40-minute stream containing new information on new upcoming releases and DLC updates for currently available titles.
Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata will be the new games being shown during the stream. On top of that, we'll be getting news on the latest updates for Monster Hunter Wilds and Street Fighter 6.
Gears of War: Reloaded is launching very soon. To ensure the game's multiplayer servers and crossplay functionality are all working correctly, a playtest did take place last weekend, but many encountered issues. As a result, a second playtest weekend is now coming up.
The Coalition and Microsoft have confirmed that a new multiplayer beta test for Gears of War: Reloaded will now take place on the 20th of June until the 23rd of June. Servers will open up at 8PM tomorrow night in the UK. Adjust for your local time zone, as the servers will be opening up in all regions at the same time.
The Gears of War beta contains five maps and three game modes – Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Execution. The final version of the game will include a bit more multiplayer content, but the multiplayer in Gears of War 1 wasn't a huge feature to begin with.
Gears of War Reloaded is a newly packaged version of the Gears of War Ultimate Edition remaster from 2015. The new version brings the game to Xbox Series X/S, PC (via Steam and Game Pass) and for the very first time, PlayStation consoles.
EA's Skate games were a staple of the Xbox 360 era. A few years ago, EA announced its return after more than a decade. The game has been in open development since, with frequent playtests being held. Now, the latest version of Skate is just a few months away from hitting the market.
Skate will soon become available to all. The game is set to have one last massive playtest in July and EA has stated that anyone who registers in time will be accepted to participate. Playtests for Skate have also expanded to consoles now as well, and it will be available on consoles alongside PC at release too.
To get into the final playtest you'll need to register as a Skate Insider before the 27th of June, so there is still plenty of time left at the time of writing.
Skate is an open world multiplayer skating simulator where players can customise their characters and group up at parks and compete in challenges across the map. There will be around 150 players per server, so there will always be plenty of activity around you, helping the game feel more alive.
The final version of Skate will be available ‘in a few months' time' according to EA. the game is expected to be free to play, supported by various cosmetic microtransactions.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on downloading the latest version of Skate when it becomes available? It looks like it'll be competing head to head with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, although it is worth noting that the strength of EA's version is in its massively multiplayer element.
Beat Saber took the VR world by storm when it officially launched back in 2019. In the years since, the game has sold millions of copies; released a ton of free (and paid DLC); and been ported to pretty much every VR capable device. Unfortunately, after years of support, Beat Saber is officially being discontinued on PlayStation VR / PSVR2.
“As we look to the future and plan the next big leap for Beat Saber, we have made the decision to no longer release updates for PS4 and PS5 starting in June 2025. Our passion for VR remains unwavering. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and what we can bring to Beat Saber fans who have been on this journey with us over the past 7 years.”
While Beat Saber and all of its DLC packs will remain available to purchase and play, as of the 18th of June the game will no longer receive any future content updates.
KitGuru says: Are you surprised by this announcement? What do you think this means for all the other versions in the near future? Let us know down below.
Last month, SEGA officially announced that they would be delisting a majority of their mobile ports of old-school classics. In a bittersweet move, ahead of the titles’ removal from storefronts, SEGA has made all of the games free to purchase.
SEGA pushed an update to many of its ‘classics’ on mobile last month with a message stating that “Support for this game will be discontinued, but you can continue playing offline!”
The list of impacted titles included:
Crazy Taxi
Golden Axe
Shining Force
Sonic CD
Sonic 4 Ep. II
Streets of Rage 1 & 2
Super Monkey Ball: Sakura
Virtual Tennis Challenge
These games are set to join the list of other SEGA classics which were discontinued back in 2023 (including the likes of Ristar; Vectorman; Comix Zone and a dozen more).
In a welcome move, all of the titles listed above have now been made free to claim and download ahead of their delisting. This means that you should be able to redownload the titles whenever, even after the fact.
That said, as iOS and Android devices get updated over time, API requirements change, and so eventually these titles will likely no longer work.
With no exact date for when the titles will be removed, make sure to ‘purchase’ any games which you plan to play as soon as possible.
Back in late 2022, Konami officially announced a ton of different Silent Hill projects, including the Silent Hill 2 Remake from Bloober Team. In the years since, many of these announcements have come to fruition; most notably the highly successful SH2 Remake. One project which we haven’t heard from in a while however is the ‘Return to Silent Hill’ film. Finally, the upcoming horror title has gotten a massive update – with the adaptation officially set to arrive in January of next year.
As reported by Deadline, Return to Silent Hill is officially coming to cinemas on the 23rd of January 2026. This marks the first major update since early 2023, when the project confirmed a number of details including its plot, cast and more.
For the uninitiated, Return to Silent Hill is an adaptation of Silent Hill 2 and is being directed by Christophe Gans who helmed the very first Silent Hill film all the way back in 2006.
“The film will follow James (Irvine), a man broken after being separated from his one true love (Anderson). When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil. As James descends deeper into the darkness, he encounters terrifying figures both familiar and new and begins to question his own sanity as he struggles to make sense of reality and hold on long enough to save his lost love.”
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to the film? Will it do the original game justice? What did you think of the 2006 adaptation? Let us know down below.
The CPS PCCooler DT360 ARGB Display features the usual micro-skived copper cold plate, high-pressure 120mm ARGB fans and an all-aluminium radiator. However, this cooler also includes a 3.4-inch detachable LCD screen that can be magnetically attached to any metal part of the PC. Is the DT360 ARGB Display all about looks, or does it also have the performance to match? Well, let's get this out on our test system and find out.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:51 Pricing and availability
01:15 A close look at the cooler
02:15 Radiator / Tubing / Fittings
03:54 The Block
05:25 The Pump and Fans
07:12 Install process
09:11 Software
09:44 Noise and Cooling Performance
11:42 Closing Thoughts
Features:
DT360 ARGB Display features a detachable magnetic 3.4-inch IPS LCD screen with 480 x 480 resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate that can display customisable themes and real-time system information.
It's equipped with a copper micro-skived cold plate suitable for installation on all current AMD and Intel desktop CPUs with an all-ceramic bearing pump solution.
The included F7 X120 fans feature a wireless modular connection for less cable clutter, with 28mm thickness for concentrated airflow and high static pressure and a 27mm thick radiator with fourteen water channels and a high-density fin array.
Specifications:
CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA115X/1200/1700/1851, AMD AM4/AM5
Radiator Material: Aluminium
Radiator Dimensions: L394xW120xH27mm
Radiator Tube Length: 400mm
CPU Block/Pump Dimensions: 82x80x62mm(LxWxH)
Pump Speed: 2600RPM±10%
Cold Plate Material: Micro-Skived Copper
Pump Connector: 3-pin
Pump LED: 3-pin 5v ARGB
VRM Fan: N/A
Fan Dimensions: 120x120x25mm
Fan LED: ARGB
Fan Speed (PWM): L:500-1500RPM±10%, M:500-2200RPM±10%, H:500-3000RPM±10%
Late last year, PC platform holder GOG announced that they were setting up a new game preservation program. In the months since, the initiative has seen a consistent influx of games being preserved for generations to come. As part of the service’s latest update, over a dozen titles are joining GOG’s preservation program – including Mortal Kombat, Devil May Cry and more.
Taking to their blog to make the announcement, the GOG Game Preservation team unveiled the latest line-up of inductees into the program, writing:
“We’re thrilled to welcome Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition and Devil May Cry HD Collection to both the GOG catalog and the GOG Preservation Program, fully DRM-free and ready to be played in their best form forever. The timing of this double arrival is perfect, as Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is celebrating its 10th anniversary!”
Beyond DMC however, a solid dozen other titles have also joined the program, namely:
Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded
Voyage: Journey to the Moon
Star Wars Rebellion
Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive
Populous
Mortal Kombat 1+2+3
Star Trek: Judgment Rites
Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds
Castles + Castles 2
Earthworm Jim 2
Imperium Galactica
Full details on how each game has been adjusted in order to remain playable into the future can be found on their respective store pages. In terms of DMC however, the HD Trilogy and Devil May Cry 4 have had their stability “validated;” added support for cloud saves and “Verified compatibility with Windows 10 and 11”.
The complete list of games available as part of the GOG Preservation Program can be found HERE.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the preservation program? Have you been eyeing up GOG more for your game purchases in recent months? How many titles are in your GOG library? Let us know down below.
Earlier this year, a rumour popped up claiming that God of War was set to receive a surprise spin-off title some time in 2025. Things then began to heat up when it was stated that the game would be a 2.5D metroidvania-styled experience. With Summer Game Fest having come and gone with no announcement, leakers are now claiming that the title has been pushed back to 2026.
As reported by known industry insider Jeff Grubb during the ‘Last of the Nintendogs’ podcast, the 2.5D God of War spin-off (which was originally claimed to be coming in 2025 in alignment with the franchise’s 20th anniversary), has seemingly been internally delayed, stating: “the unannounced new God of War Greek project…was pushed to 2026.”
For the uninitiated, this project is rumoured to be a 2.5D spin-off which is set in Greece and while being “much smaller in scale” will offer metroidvania-styled gameplay – an entirely new concept for the series.
Since 2005, the God of War franchise has remained mostly static in its presentation and genre – with the original trilogy and its spin-offs being hack and slash spectacle fighters with a slight emphasis on puzzles and platforming.
Of course, we’ve since gotten the God of War soft ‘reboot’ in 2018 followed by Ragnarok in 2022 – both being over-the-shoulder action-adventure oriented titles with a more Souls-like inspired combat alongside RPG elements.
As such, having a spin-off which is not only different in presentation, but genre to all prior God of War titles could make for a rather surprising and unexpected hit – if done well. Hopefully we at least get official confirmation of the game sooner rather than later.
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to this rumoured spin-off? Could a metroidvania God of War work? Do you think the game will be set in the past or during the current GoW timeline? Let us know down below.
The video games industry is bigger than it's ever been, with the Nintendo Switch becoming one of the best selling consoles of all time and the PS5 currently outpacing the PS4 despite supply setbacks. Even so, it is surprising to see just how lucrative the current generation has been for Sony, with the PS5 having generated more profit than all previous PlayStation consoles combined.
While an impressive figure in its own right, what is perhaps even more interesting is the fact that this represents more profit than Sony’s previous four home console generations combined – with profits for the prior systems being as follows:
PS1: $3 Billion
PS2: $2 Billion
PS3: -$4 Billion
PS4: $9 Billion
Of course, this isn’t too surprising when considering the fact that the 8th/9th generations have witnessed the rise of multiplayer live service games and ‘micro’ transactions – both of which generate a significant portion of PlayStation’s profits.
In addition, the rise of digital media means that the costs of selling and distributing games has become exponentially cheaper to operate.
Tie this in with the general growth of the industry and it begins to make sense as to how this generation has already surpassed all others combined. It’ll be curious to see just how much profit the PS5 will have made when all is said and done.
Gamdias has announced the launch of the Athena P3, its latest mid-tower chassis crafted for gamers and PC enthusiasts.This case is engineered to deliver good airflow and extensive hardware compatibility. It features a mesh-dominant front panel accented by two solid bars, contributing to a streamlined and aggressive aesthetic and ensuring system ventilation.
The Athena P3 has three 140mm PWM ARGB intake fans at the front and a single 140mm PWM ARGB exhaust fan at the rear, positioned to create optimal airflow paths. An interesting design element is the gap-bridging front bracket, engineered to eliminate airflow gaps between the mesh panel and the fan mounts. This ensures a consistent and concentrated stream of cooling air.
For ease of control, the case integrates an 8-port PWM ARGB hub, allowing users to manage fan speeds and lighting effects through motherboard synchronisation or a dedicated LED button. A tempered glass side panel offers a clear, unobstructed view of the internal components.
This case also features a high-speed USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connector on the top I/O panel, two USB-A 3.0 ports, an LED control button, and HD audio jacks. The chassis can house E-ATX motherboards, graphics cards up to a generous 430mm in length, and power supplies up to 220 mm. As for liquid cooling components, the case offers radiator mounting options, supporting up to a 360/420mm radiator at the front and a 280/360mm radiator at the top. The front and top panels also provide space for three 140/120mm fans, with additional mounting positions on the bottom for 140/120mm fans.
Sharkoon has unveiled the Skiller SGK50 S4 Gen 2 keyboards. Building on the strengths of its predecessor, the Gen 2 models now offer extensive hot-swap capabilities, alongside the sleek aesthetic of a coiled cable. Enthusiasts will be particularly pleased with the ability to fully customise the keyboard using open-source software like VIA and QMK, while internal enhancements such as a polycarbonate plate and double-layer silicone dampening promise an improved acoustic profile.
The Skiller SGK50 S4 Gen 2 arrives with gaming performance firmly in mind, featuring pre-installed Gateron Yellow linear switches. Moreover, this new version offers more versatility, as it supports any 3-pin or 5-pin mechanical switch, allowing users to experiment and fine-tune their typing experience. Sharkoon even includes the necessary hot-swapping tools right in the box. The keyboard maintains its 60% compact form factor yet retains full functionality through clever key assignment for essential commands. While the Skiller SGK50 S4 traditionally allowed for quick, on-the-fly adjustments without software, the Gen 2 models now push it to the next level thanks to open-source technologies such as VIA and QMK.
A considerable focus has been placed on the keyboard's auditory experience. The Gen 2 version uses a polycarbonate positioning plate and double-layer silicone damping, creating a deeper, more satisfying typing sound that elevates the overall feel. As with all keyboards in the SGK50 series, the S4 Gen 2 features a detachable coiled cable with a USB-C to USB-A connector, adding a touch of sophisticated flair to any desk setup.
Beyond its modern design, compact form factor, and vibrant RGB illumination, the Skiller SGK50 S4 Gen 2 PBT variant comes equipped with the latest linear switches from Gateron and durable, abrasion-resistant PBT keycaps. Moreover, Sharkoon offers the Skiller SGK50 S4 Gen 2 barebone keyboard for those planning to personalise and optimise every aspect of their typing experience from the ground up. The Skiller SGK50 S4 Gen 2 keyboards are now available in black and white. The standard model costs €69.90, the PBT keycap variant goes for €79.90, and the barebone edition is €49.90.
Supergiant has been hard at work on Hades 2 over the past year. The game's early access period is finally starting to wind down, with the studio putting the finishing touches on the game for PC players, opening the door for an eventual console release.
In the latest Early Access update post, Supergiant confirmed that it is approaching the end of the road and will soon reach Version 1.0 for Hades 2: “After more than a year of Early Access development, we're now starting to prepare for our v1.0 launch! We're heading into the final phase of Hades II development, which involves adding the story's true ending and other finishing touches.”
The game's true ending, in-game achievements and final art will all be put in place for the V1.0 launch. There is no release date yet, but the full game should land on PC this year. As for the console version, Hades 2 is set to be a Switch 2 console exclusive at launch, with PlayStation and Xbox versions to land at a later date.
All of this news follows the release of The Unseen update for Hades 2. This is the third major early access content update for the game. With the way things are going, it may also be the last major update for the game before leaving Early Access.
KitGuru Says: Based on the early access reviews, Hades 2 is already a great sequel. It will be interesting to see what the wider audience thinks, as there will be plenty of players waiting for the game to exit Early Access before jumping in.
At the Xbox Games Showcase last week, Microsoft announced its collaborative PC handheld, the ROG Xbox Ally. Now in a new video shared this week, Xbox president, Sarah Bond, teased the future via a continued partnership with AMD on chips.
In an update video this week, Bond confirmed that Xbox will once again be partnering with AMD for its next generation Xbox systems. Microsoft first began using AMD APUs in its consoles with the Xbox One, and that partnership has continued with the Xbox Series X/S consoles. The next generation Xbox, which is anticipated to launch by 2028, will also use an AMD chip at the heart of the console.
This new multi-year agreement with AMD may also extend to handhelds. For now, Microsoft is licensing out the Xbox brand to third-parties like Asus to produce handheld systems. However, Microsoft is said to be interested in making its own handheld gaming system, so we may see a custom designed chip for the first-party Xbox handheld.
Sony is also rumoured to be working with AMD on its own next-generation PlayStation console.
Earlier this year, Warner Bros made the shocking decision to shut down Monolith Productions, the studio behind the patented ‘Nemesis' system, as well as massive single-player hits like Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor and F.E.A.R. Now, more changes have been announced for the WB Games division, with the company splitting up into a number of divisions.
WB Games will now double down on its biggest franchises. The publisher is being split up into four divisions to oversee different franchises. One will oversee DC Universe projects, another will focus on Mortal Kombat, another on Harry Potter and a fourth division will lead work on Game of Thrones video games, of which there are surprisingly few on the market.
As you would expect, NetherRealm will fall into the Mortal Kombat division, while Rocksteady will continue to be heavily involved with DC. PortKey Games (Hogwarts Legacy) will be at the Harry Potter division. It is unclear if there is any true creative force behind the new ‘Game of Thrones' division at this stage.
This is all part of a larger restructuring going on at Warner Bros. Discovery. The newly merged company is now splitting up across the board with new divisions focused on streaming, traditional network TV and other key areas of focus.