Game Freak wrapped up the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet generation back in 2023 with the release of two expansions. Since then, we've been waiting on the next major Pokémon title to hit Nintendo consoles, and it looks like we'll get some much-needed details later this week.
As is the case every February, The Pokémon Company will be hosting its own showcase stream. On the 27th of February at 2PM UK time, Pokemon Presents will go live once again, giving us a new look at the upcoming Pokemon Legends ZA, the next big open-world game that takes us back to an ancient version of the Pokemon region from the X & Y titles.
It is also worth noting that this year also marks the anniversary of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan. It is unclear if The Pokémon Company plans to do anything special to celebrate this, but given how beloved those original games are, I expect we'll get something. Perhaps some of those classic Pokémon games will finally become available on Nintendo Switch, something that fans have been asking for since the system first launched in 2017.
KitGuru Says: We'll no doubt be back next week reporting on the news as its announced, so stay tuned for that.
Back in 2022, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto V: Expanded and Enhanced for Xbox Series X/S and PS5 consoles. The main addition? New graphical features like Ray Tracing. Now years later, and just ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, those graphical enhancements are finally coming to the PC version of GTA 5.
Rockstar confirmed plans to release a GTA 5 PC graphics update in late 2024. Now, the update is ready and is freely available to all PC players. The update brings the game up to the same level as the newer Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions of the game.
Below you can see some of the key highlights of the update:
Ray tracing features only available on PC such as ambient occlusion and global illumination — plus ray traced shadows and reflections first debuted on consoles
Support for AMD FSR1 and FSR3, and NVIDIA DLSS 3
Faster loading times using SSD and DirectStorage on supported devices and configurations
Enhanced support for higher resolutions, higher aspect ratios, and higher framerates
DualSense® controller support, with adaptive triggers
Enhanced audio with support for Dolby Atmos and improved fidelity of speech, cinematics, and music
Due to the new graphical enhancements, the recommended PC system requirements for GTA 5 have been updated – a rare sight for a decade-old game. To utilise the new features, you will want a system with at least an Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB of RAM and an RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT graphics card.
This change also brings a whole bunch of new vehicles to the game, as well as access to GTA+, Rockstar's subscription service that grants monthly bonuses for GTA Online, as well as free access to classic games, like the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, Bully and more.
KitGuru Says: Do you still play GTA Online regularly? Has it improved since Rockstar added anti-cheat?
Valve has been putting a lot of its development resources into new projects in recent years. From Artifact and Dota Underworlds, to more successful releases like Half-Life Alyx and Counter-Strike 2. This has essentially meant that Team Fortress 2 has been left behind. Now, Valve has handed the keys to TF2 to the community.
Team Fortress 2 is now open source. The Team Fortress 2 Source SDK is now available. With this tool now available, people can essentially re-write Team Fortress 2, enabling game overhaul mods, new modes, new multiplayer experiences and more.
“Unlike the Steam Workshop or local content mods, this SDK gives mod makers the ability to change, extend or rewrite TF2, making anything from small tweaks to complete conversions possible”, Valve explains. “The SDK is licensed to users on a non-commercial basis, meaning that any mod created using the SDK must be free, and any content in those mods must be free. TF2 mods may be published on the Steam Store, and after publication will appear as new games in the Steam game list.”
Using TF2 as a base, developers could also create new game listings for the Steam Store. We've seen this happen with Half-Life projects in the past, like Black Mesa, a complete remake of the original Half-Life.
There is just one stipulation Valve has in place. As Workshop modders were responsible for a lot of in-game content for TF2 in the form of custom hats and other cosmetics, Valve does not want any developers to take those workshop items and then reutilise them for profit. It is unknown if Valve would make an exception for a developer willing to share a revenue split with the original workshop item creators.
KitGuru Says: With this move, I think we can safely say that there will be no more major content updates for Team Fortress 2. Now fans have to wonder – is Valve considering a Team Fortress 3?
Following on from pre-release reviews yesterday, today the RTX 5070 Ti graphics card is launching to the masses globally. As we've seen with the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, stock may be hard to come by. If you are looking to pick up an RTX 5070 Ti as soon as possible in the UK, we've compiled a range of listings for you to choose from, with a particular light shown on GPUs that actually get close to the MSRP price tag.
As we've already seen in the US, many RTX 5070 Ti models are already being marked up above MSRP pricing. While Nvidia's MSRP for this GPU is $750, there is no Founders Edition card for board partners to compete with, leading to a slew of $900 to $1000 versions of the RTX 5070 Ti. If you are seriously considering spending that kind of money on a new graphics card, be sure to check out a range of reviews first – here's our RTX 5070 Ti launch day review. So far, the general consensus seems to be that the RTX 5070 Ti is not worth its marked up price, but that could change from individual to individual based on when you last upgraded your graphics card. The jump is likely far more worth it to someone coming from an RTX 20 or a lower-tier RTX 30 GPU, compared to an RTX 40 graphics card.
The Asus Prime RTX 5070 Ti was supplied to reviewers in the US as an example of an MSRP-level card. Here in the UK, this graphics card is launching at £739 for the OC Edition. Pricing varies between Scan, eBuyer, OCUK and CLL, with Scan being the cheapest at the time of publishing.
Unfortunately, there are not many options available at launch for those wanting to only pay the MSRP price. PNY, Zotac and Gainward each have options available that come pretty close, with MSI being the cheapest with an MSRP-level £729.99 card.
Speaking of Scan, if you are looking to pick up an RTX 50 GPU, they have set up a very handy RTX 50 notification page with daily stock updates, as well as updates to currency conversion rates so customers know when to expect prices to rise or fall slightly.
Do note that all prices here are correct as of 2PM GMT on February 20th. Prices are subject to change due to a myriad of factors, chief of which is supply and demand, followed by currency conversion fluctuations.
KitGuru Says: What do you think of the RTX 5070 Ti launch? Will you be upgrading or avoiding this current generation until prices settle down?
There have been many disappointed enthusiasts who have been unable to get hold of an RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 graphics card since launch last month. In an effort to avoid scalpers buying up Founders Edition graphics cards, Nvidia has now set up a Verified Priority Access program.
In a statement shared on the Nvidia forums today, Nvidia confirmed plans for the Verified Priority Access program, saying that it will give “a limited number of verified GeForce gamers and creators” an opportunity to buy one RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card from the Nvidia Marketplace.
To be eligible, you have to A) be in the US. B) have a registered Nvidia account from before January 30th. You can sign-up to be considered for it by filling out a form where you simply select which graphics card you are looking to buy and then tick a box to say that you agree to Nvidia verifying participation “based on region, configuration, games and app usage”. From the sounds of it, Nvidia will be targeting power users who have spent time engaging with Nvidia's services.
There is no word on whether or not this program will roll out worldwide, or if Nvidia will have plans to put something like this in place for future Founders Edition launches. It certainly would have helped a lot of enthusiasts avoid the stress of retail queues and scalpers driving prices up.
KitGuru Says: Do you think something like this should be in place for enthusiasts looking to upgrade moving forward? Do you want to see this program open up in Europe and other regions?
Phil Spencer has been doing the rounds in headlines again this week thanks to a newly published interview. We've already heard that Microsoft is no longer interested in convincing gamers to switch to Xbox from competing platforms. Spencer has now confirmed that future Xbox game showcases will feature more multi-platform titles.
Typically, a Nintendo Direct, PlayStation State of Play or an Xbox Games Showcase focuses primarily on first-party games, releasing exclusively for each platform holder's console. As Microsoft takes on this more SEGA-like multi-platform approach, we will start to see the focus shift more from exclusives in showcases to multiplatform titles. While multiplatform games shown during these showcases often only appear with one console logo or splash screen, Microsoft plans to include PlayStation and Nintendo logos on trailers for its multiplatform games during showcases.
Speaking with XboxEra, Spencer confirmed the shift in strategy saying:
“I think it’s just being honest and transparent about where the games are, and we actually even had this discussion last year for the June showcase, and by the time we kind of made our decision, we couldn’t get all of the assets done and it felt weird to have some of them in and some of them out.”
“But I just want to be transparent with people – for shipping on Nintendo Switch, we’re going to put that. For shipping on PlayStation, on Steam… People should know the storefronts where they can get our games”.
If you needed any further confirmation that Microsoft plans to lean more into multiplatform games and do away with true exclusives, this should be it. We're still not a point where Xbox has ‘no exclusives', and for now, a lot of games are still coming to PlayStation and Nintendo months, or years after the original Xbox and PC release. However, as we've seen with Sony and its quicker pace of PC releases, those lengthy gaps are only going to get smaller.
KitGuru Says: I know Microsoft thinks it can still sell Xbox console hardware after all of this, but this weird in-between position they've taken cannot last. Eventually, the masses will notice that they don't need to own an Xbox to play Xbox games and from that point, they will invest in other platforms.
The Pillars of Eternity series was incredibly well received but due to the top-down, CRPG nature of the game, it wasn't as widely accessible to the gaming masses as something like an Elder Scrolls or Fallout. Obsidian is opening up the world of Eora to a new audience today with the launch of Avowed, which has released to a very positive reception on Steam.
Avowed is now available and sits at a ‘Very Positive' rating on Steam, based on close to 3000 user reviews at the time of publishing. Prior to release, Obsidian talked a lot about how the team wanted to perfect combat in this game, especially for those who prefer to cast spells over swinging swords. The developers will be pleased to see that many of the top-rated reviews absolutely rave about the combat in this game, from the dual-wielding functions to meaningful spells, destructible environments and all of the animations in-between.
As Avowed isn't meant to be on the same scale as a Skyrim or a Starfield, players get smaller open zones to explore rather than a sprawling map. That means that Obsidian is able to hide treasure in all sorts of interesting places across the map, making exploration rewarding and interesting. We've all had that moment of disappointment when reaching an out of place platform, or going behind a waterfall, only to find absolutely nothing there. Based on reviews so far, it sounds like that won't be a problem for those playing Avowed.
This is a nice change from last week. When Avowed first released to Premium Edition buyers last week, the game had a ‘mixed' reception based on early Steam reviews, but over the last few days, as the game has opened up to millions of new players, that overall review score has improved significantly.
KitGuru Says: As a big fan of Obsidian RPGs, I've been looking forward to Avowed for years and I'm looking forward to finally diving in. Have any of you picked up Avowed already? What do you think of the game so far?
Insurgency Labs, a new company in the PC hardware scene, has just launched its very first PC case. If you want something different from the usual rectangular or fishtank boxes we typically use to house our hardware, then the new ModuCase ITX modular chassis might be up your alley.
The ModuCase ITX Premium Modular Case is designed specifically for small form-factor builds. It uses an open-air configuration, so you'll always have easy access to your hardware and can easily swap parts in and out. Ultimately, you'll end up with an extremely small form factor build, but with a full-sized ATX power supply on the bottom, ensuring compatibility with high-end hardware.
The addition of support for ATX-sized power supplies makes the ModuCase ITX more flexible than standard SFF cases, which typically require an SFF-sized power supply, which aren't as common on the market. The chassis is crafted with durable materials, but they are also 3D-printed, opening up plenty of modding possibilities for hobbyists with a little CAD knowledge.
Here is everything that comes in the box:
Motherboard Mounting Base: A sturdy foundation to securely hold your motherboard.
PSU Mounting Base: Designed to provide a snug fit for ATX power supplies.
Routing Back Cable Support: Keeps your cables neatly organized for a clean build.
Motherboard Backplate: Adds additional support and stability for the motherboard.
SSD case (1x): SSD enclosure that fits perfectly between the motherboard base and the backplate for additional expansion.
GPU Support: Ensures your graphics card stays firmly in place, preventing sagging.
Screws (4x): Essential hardware for securing components.
Motherboard Spacers (8x): Helps elevate the motherboard to prevent contact with the case.
The Insurgency Labs ModuCase ITX Premium is available now, priced at $115 CAD, which equates to just over £90 GBP. As these cases are shipped from Canada, you may have to spend a little more on imports if you are buying from Europe, the US or elsewhere.
RTX 5070 Ti reviews are coming up shortly, but one popular reviewer has broken embargo to discuss the situation with pricing. Despite being sent an ‘MSRP' RTX 5070 Ti that is supposed to sell for $750, these graphics cards are already being marked up at retailers, bringing prices up to $1000 for certain versions.
JayzTwoCents, a popular tech reviewer on YouTube, published a video yesterday to discuss RTX 5070 Ti pricing. While he is not supposed to talk about which specific RTX 5070 Ti he is reviewing before the embargo lifts, he ran into issues when looking into retail pricing. While Nvidia had sent Jay an Asus Prime RTX 5070 Ti, which Nvidia had classed as an ‘MSRP' level card that should hit the market for $750, retail listings show this GPU as selling for over $900. Some other custom models already listed on Micro Centre from the likes of Asus, MSI and GIgabyte all feature prices between $900 and $1009.99, well above the $750 MSRP set by Nvidia.
Here in the UK, we have a list of RTX 5070 Ti's that are supposed to sell at MSRP, but currently, no UK retailer has put pricing details on their listings, which is in stark contrast to the situation in the US, where retailers have already revealed prices for pre-orders. Some of the cards we've been told will be ‘MSRP' cards are the same models already being marked up in the US, so we'll have to wait and see how the conversion rates shake out when the retail embargo lifts tomorrow afternoon.
While it is interesting to see this pricing discussion kicked off ahead of embargo, there isn't much ‘new' here. If anything, this is business as usual, as has been the case since RTX 2000 dropped in 2018. We rarely see custom cards from the biggest GPU brands, like Asus, MSI and Gigabyte, selling at MSRP. Here in the UK, we typically see cards from the likes of PNY, Zotac and Inno3D actually hitting MSRP. However, Nvidia has opted to use bigger-brand Asus graphics cards to send to reviewers as an example of MSRP cards, which is where the confusion comes in.
Since the release of Jayz' video, the Micro Centre listing for the Asus RTX 5070 Ti Prime has been knocked back down to $750. However, this is displayed as a discount on the store page, meaning the price may rise by $150 shortly after launch once supply sells out. The other cards from MSI and Gigabyte are still being listed at over $900.
KitGuru Says: The idea of paying up to $1000 for an x70 class GPU is going to put a lot of people off upgrading this generation. Hopefully over time as supply improves and initial launch demand wanes, we will start to see prices fall back to more ‘acceptable' levels for the PC gamers of the world.
PowerColor has been well known in the graphics card space for decades. Now, they are taking aim at the peripheral market, starting off with the new Alphyn AM10 wireless gaming mouse.
The Alphyn AM10 is designed to deliver everything you need from a gaming mouse. From the classic ergonomic palm-grip shape to the ultra-high 8000Hz polling rate, ensuring minimal latency between your mouse clicks and the PC. Using a PAW3395 sensor, you'll get top-tier accuracy with up to 26,000 DPI and 650 IPS tracking, blending speed and precision.
In the table below, you can see the full spec sheet for the mouse:
Model Name
ALPHYN AM10 BLACK
Connectivity
USB 2.0 HighSpeed
2.4G with dongle
BT5.2 or higher
The PowerColor Alphyn AM10 gaming mouse can be tweaked and customised to your liking using PowerColor Keystone, a new hub with options for customising mouse sensitivity, button shortcuts and RGB lighting. This software also works perfectly for those using the AH10 gaming headset, unlocking a host of EQ and mixer settings for your audio.
Nowadays, everyone wants an AIO cooler with an LCD display on the pump. Gamdias is launching one of the nicest looking AIOs yet this week with the new Chione P5 series, available in sleek black and white colours.
The Gamdias Chione P5 series AIO coolers feature a 3.4-inch IPS LCD display, so you'll get accurate colours even when looking at the display from an off angle. With a resolution of 480×480, users can set custom images or animated GIFs to the display. Just below the LCD display you will find an ARGB lighting strip to add a vibrant glow around your CPU.
Using the Gamdias Zeus Cast software, you can also access real-time monitoring of essential system information, from temperatures and clock speeds to clock time and calendar date.
So the cooler looks great, but does it have the hardware to tame today's high-end CPUs? The Chione P5 AIO cooler uses an upgraded coldplate with precise 0.12mm microflow channels to target CPU hotspots. The optimised fluid routing system and 10-pole motor ensure stable pump speeds of up to 2700RPM. To help move heat out of the system, the Chione P5 also comes equipped with Notus fans, which operate at just 25.48 dBA at 1600 RPM and peaking at only 34.91 dBA at 2200 RPM, so your CPU will be running cool and quiet.
The CHIIONE P5 Series AIO cooler includes an upgraded mounting kit for seamless installation on both AMD and Intel platforms, including the newest Intel LGA 1851 and AMD AM5. Prices start at $139.99 for the 240mm AIO and $159.99 for the 360mm AIO.
Counter-Strike has been one of the most popular games on Steam for over a decade but the game is showing no signs of slowing down. Just this past week, Counter-Strike 2 surpassed its old record and hit a new peak concurrent player milestone.
Not all players were happy about the transition from CS:GO to Counter-Strike 2, but that hasn't stopped the game from growing to new heights. The first Premier season for CS2 just wrapped up and Premier Season Two officially launched, introducing the new version of the map ‘Train' to the competitive map pool. As a result, players have been flooding back into Counter-Strike 2, leading to a new peak player count.
On the 16th of February, Counter-Strike 2 reached a peak concurrent player count of over 1.744 million. This happened around the afternoon in Europe, just as America was waking up and Asia was going to sleep, which indicates how strong the playerbase for Counter-Strike is in European regions.
Counter-Strike 2 has not yet surpassed the all-time high player count from CS:GO, which hit over 1.8 million concurrent players in 2023. Counter-Strike 2 isn't far behind though, and all it takes is one new operation and a set of new skins, or a new competitive season to send the numbers flying back up.
Fans of Overwatch have been calling Blizzard out for their missteps in the transition to Overwatch 2. Now with Marvel Rivals dominating the hero shooter space, the director behind Overwatch 2 has admitted that the game has not “evolved as much as it should have” over the past couple of years.
Overwatch 2 was originally exciting due to the announcement of a full PvE campaign and other changes, like hero talent trees, allowing players to customise their playstyle further. Plans for both of those things were cancelled, leaving us with an underwhelming sequel that added very little to the overall experience.
Now with Marvel Rivals providing tough competition, Blizzard is finally looking to take some risks with Overwatch once again. In an interview with Games Radar, Overwatch 2 director, Aaron Keller, admitted that the team has felt pressure to make changes after the success of Marvel Rivals.
“There is pressure on the Overwatch team, and a lot of it is internal. You know, a lot of the things that we’re announcing for seasons 15 and 16, like perks and Stadium, they’re things that have been in development for Overwatch for quite some time. And I think what’s driving that is, when we look at our game, we feel like it’s either missing something or it hasn’t evolved as much as it should have.”
“We’re obviously in a new competitive landscape that I think, for Overwatch, we’ve never really been in before, to this extent where there’s another game that’s so similar to the one that we’ve created”.
Blizzard just recently began announcing updates for the next two seasons of Overwatch. For starters, the cancelled hero talent tree system is coming back. Additionally, a new Stadium mode is being added to the game. Hopefully over the course of 2025, we see Blizzard trying more ideas as it attempts to make Overwatch interesting to the masses once more.
KitGuru Says: While it is good to see the Overwatch team finally kicking things up a notch and introducing interesting new ideas, I can't help but feel that this is all incredibly temporary. Blizzard was quite happy to sit on Overwatch for years, trying almost nothing to add to the game. If the competition from Marvel Rivals drops off, Blizzard may well just pull back and let Overwatch sit in stasis again.
Everyone is looking forward to Grand Theft Auto 6 later this year but for the first time in the franchise's history, the single-player campaign might be the least important part of the release. With GTA 6, we are also expecting a big new version of GTA Online, and it seems Rockstar might be taking tips from major online games like Roblox and Fortnite.
Fortnite and Roblox are both extremely popular for their creator modes, allowing players to create their own games. With the next version of GTA Online, Rockstar is reportedly looking to build a platform for user-generated content. We've already seen some steps towards this with Rockstar's acquisition of the FiveM development team, who were behind the insanely popular FiveM RP mod for GTA Online.
Rockstar isn't stopping there though. According to Digiday, Rockstar has been hiring some of the most popular creators on platforms like Roblox and Fortnite to prepare new modes for the next version of GTA Online.
At this point in time, it is unclear how these creators will be able to monetise their creations in GTA Online. We already know that some streamers are going to try and put together a blockchain, crypto-backed GTA Online RP server when GTA 6 drops, but Rockstar has previously banned attempts to link crypto currencies with GTA Online. Chances are, Rockstar's official implementation won't involve any crypto or web3 shenanigans.
Bethesda quite famously announced The Elder Scrolls 6 back in 2018 but to date, we've heard very little about the game. With Starfield now out of the way, the studio has been fully focused on the next mainline Elder Scrolls game and you can now put yourself in the running to be included as an NPC in the game.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is still several years away but if you'd like to see yourself in the game, Bethesda is offering up a once in a lifetime opportunity. In support of the Make-A-Wish foundation, Bethesda is auctioning off the opportunity to have yourself added to the game as an NPC.
“The Elder Scrolls series, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, is renowned for its vast open worlds, deep lore, and immersive storytelling. With this exclusive experience, you’ll work with the developers to create a custom character that will appear in the game, leaving your mark on the legendary franchise”, the description reads.
Bethesda already has another custom NPC in the works for The Elder Scrolls 6. Shirley Currey, a content creator better known as the ‘Skyrim Grandma', is also being added to the next game in the series as an NPC.
We don't know when The Elder Scrolls 6 is due to release, but the game has been in production for a couple of years now and there is a playable build of the game running inside Bethesda's offices. Considering that AAA games take five years to develop on average, the game likely won't be out until 2027-2028.
KitGuru Says: We're still some ways off from seeing The Elder Scrolls 6 in action but progress is being made. Hopefully we'll start getting more news on the game later in the year.
Last week, we heard rumours that Ubisoft was planning a big announcement for the future of Rainbow Six Siege this month. At the time, it was thought that a direct sequel was going to be announced. It turns out that isn't the case, instead, Ubisoft is working on a big update to the game, currently titled ‘Rainbow Six Siege X'.
To mark the 10th anniversary of Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft has announced Siege X, which aims to be “the biggest transformation in the game's history”. The new version of the game will introduce new game modes, “deepened tactical gameplay” and other upgrades.
Unfortunately, the full reveal isn't taking place for another few weeks. At 5PM (UK time) on the 13th of March, Ubisoft will put out the full reveal for the game, which will usher in “a new era” for Rainbow Six Siege.
With all of that in mind, the situation sounds similar to Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Both titles received ‘sequels' in the last couple of years, but in both cases, the sequel was an overhauled version of the game players already owned. The same seems to be playing out for Siege, with a transformative update coming in, rather than a fully separate game.
All the way back in 2019, around the same time that Microsoft announced its acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment, the Xbox team also announced the next game from Rare Studios – Everwild. Fans have been clamouring for more information on this game ever since, and this week we got an unexpected update.
Some sources have previously claimed that Everwild has been internally rebooted since its reveal in late 2019. It has also been claimed that the project was announced while it was still in pre-production, meaning the development team didn't exactly know what they were doing with the game yet, which is why the initial reveal trailer was so vague on details.
In an interview published this week, Xbox head, Phil Spencer, told XboxEra that he recently visited Rare to see the latest build of the game. According to Spender, Everwild is progressing but from the sounds of it, the game could take some more time in the oven, as Spencer also added that he is pleased to be in a position to give teams like Rare additional time to work on new projects.
Of course, that extra time is afforded to Microsoft by virtue of Game Pass and the many other studios at the company cranking out content for the service. For instance, in the time Rare has been working on Everwild, studios like Obsidian have released several games, padding out the first-party release schedule.
KitGuru Says: Rare has been working on Everwild for a long time but as someone who has been following the development, I still don't feel any closer to knowing what the game is actually all about. Hopefully at some point in the next couple of years, Rare will be ready to break its silence.
Elden Ring Nightreign is coming out in May and despite a rocky start, players are now able to log into the on-going network stress test for an early look at the game. As Nightreign is a multiplayer-focused game, many have wondered what kind of monetisation we can expect to see in the game. Now, it seems that we know that future bosses and characters will be available as DLC packs.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a very different type of game compared to what fans are used to seeing out of FromSoftware. In a recently removed update to the game's Steam Store page, the publisher behind the game revealed that “additional playable characters and bosses” will be available in the game as DLC.
Whether or not these will be free or paid DLCs still remains to be seen. So far, no cosmetic DLCs have been announced for Nightreign, nor is there any sign of a battle pass system, which is typically how a multiplayer game would be monetised in today's market. Selling actual in-game content for a multiplayer game can be a tricky task as it can break up the player base, so it will be interesting to see what the final plan is as we get closer to launch.
Elden Ring Nightreign is due to release for PC, as well as current and last-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles, on the 30th of May.
The Elden Ring Nightreign network test was due to begin last night but due to unexpected server issues, the beta was inaccessible to players for hours. Now, From Software has apologised for the downtime and is considering extending the testing period for those who missed out yesterday.
In an update shared on the official Elden Ring account this afternoon, From Software said: “We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the game server issues. Work is currently ongoing to improve the stability of the Network Test. An additional Network Test session is being considered.”
There is no word on when this extra day of testing may take place, but over the weekend, players will have the opportunity to participate in a few more three-hour long play sessions for the network test. We should get more news by next week.
In other news, From Software also recently announced the official release date for Elden Ring Nightreign. After the beta testing wraps up, players will get their hands on the game in full on the 30th of May.
Valve has really ramped up the number of Steam sales it holds each year and as a result, the company also often reveals planned sales dates well ahead of time so gamers and game creators can be prepared. The Steam Sale dates for 2025 have already been announced.
Many of these sales are smaller, week-long events focusing on specific genres, like Strategy, Couch Co-op, Simulation games, shooters and others.
Here is every Steam Sale announced for 2025:
Real-Time Strategy Fest: January 20 – 27
Idler Fest: February 3 –10
Couch Co-Op Fest: February 10 –17
Steam Next Fest: February Edition: February 24 – March 3
Visual Novel Fest: March 3 – 10
Steam Spring Sale: March 13 – 20
City Builder & Colony Sim Fest: March 24 – 31
Sokoban Fest: April 21 – 28
Wargames Fest: April 28 – May 5
Creature Collector Fest: May 12 – May 19
Zombies vs. Vampires Fest: May 26 – June 2
Steam Next Fest: June Edition: June 9 – 16
Fishing Fest: June 16 – 23
Steam Summer Sale: June 26 – July 10
Automation Fest: July 14 – July 21
Racing Fest: July 28 – August 4
4X Fest: August 11 – August 18
Third Person Shooter Fest: August 25 – September 1
Political Sim Fest: September 8 – September 15
Steam Autumn Sale: September 29 – October 6
Steam Next Fest – October 2025 Edition: October 13 – October 20
Steam Scream 4: October 27 – November 3
Animal Fest: November 10 – November 17
Sports Fest: December 8 – December 15
Steam Winter Sale: December 18 – January 5
The key thing to note here is that after years, Valve has finally moved the Steam Autumn Sale date. In previous years, the Autumn sale would end just weeks before the start of the Winter sale, making it a rather awkwardly timed event. Starting this year, the Autumn sale on Steam will take place over two months before the Winter sale.
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