From the peak of 1,864,421 concurrent players that was reached on January 23rd, the latest smashing hit of the gaming world, Palworld, is now above the 2,000,000 limit for the first time. However, more than 1,200,000 players still separate it from PUBG, which could lose the crown before the end of the month if Palworld continues its stellar climb.

CheckMag Dig into the fast-paced action of Ghostrunner II, seek revenge in Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice, or sail the open seas in One Piece Odyssey and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, all thanks to Steam's peculiar sale event. The Steam Pirates vs Ninjas Fest lasts until January 29, 2024.

MAINGEAR has marked the launch of the RTX 4070 Ti Super card by conducting a "limited drop" of a new "handcrafted and individually numbered" PC custom-built in collaboration with MSI. The Zero is touted to bring a revolution in gaming PC minimalism about with its new MG-RC cable-management system, not to mention a Panoramic Glass case through which an eponymous motherboard, branded cooler and "clean" RGB is displayed.

With a new all-time peak value of 1,864,421 concurrent players, Palworld only needs to beat PUBG for the crown of most played game on Steam. However, while Counter-Strike 2 is less than 50,000 players behind, the difference between Palworld and PUBG is rouhgly 1,400,000, so beating it might take a while.

Razer has now outlined the specs with which the Blade 14 2024 is available from today (January 23, 2024), the first day of its pre-order phase. They include the new Ryzen 9 8945HS silicon touted to confer "advanced AI" on this iteration of the compact, metallic ultrabook. Meanwhile, its 2023 predecessor has gone on sale on Amazon.

With a peak value of 1,291,967 concurrent players so far, Palworld got the leading position on Steam for this weekend, ahead of Counter-Strike 2's 1,008,813. However, there are still four places left to conquer in the all-time ranking, where Dota 2 and Lost Ark are leading by less than 30,000 players.

CheckMag There used to be a time when a single payment would get you full access to Windows for the lifetime of that version. However, in recent times hardware and software all seem to require a subscription. While there might be some legitimacy for subscription models, some providers have taken this a step too far. Can Microsoft justify a Windows 12 subscription?

Pocketpair's latest creation, the crafting and survival title Palworld, launched with a bang, breaking the one million sales threshold in just eight hours. This open-world game is available on Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S consoles and can be played by up to 32 players per server.

Sales of desktops, workstations and notebooks in the Christmas quarter of 2023 fell to an all-time low. Around 67 million PCs were shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2023.

CheckMag The Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU and its Arc iGPU in the MSI Claw A1M are set to break AMD's apparent monopoly on gaming handhelds, but hall-effect joysticks and a Thunderbolt 4 port are also strengths that cannot be ignored with this potential Steam Deck killer.

Even users who have no interest in AI applications may well benefit from the current trend because, in order to be able to market a Windows notebook as an "AI PC" in the future, Microsoft will require at least 16 GB of RAM in addition to surprisingly high NPU performance.

An update to popular FPS, The Finals, breaks compatibility with the Steam Deck and Linux. While the game still seems playable, players report in-game crashes and broken voice chat — a bit of a setback in a team-based game where tactics matter.

In addition to zero-day support for the new GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, the first Game Ready driver package of the year also comes with DLSS 2 optimizations for Palworld alongside GeForce Experience optimal settings for five titles, namely Apocalypse Party, Ash Echoes, Escape from Tarkov: Arena, House Flipper 2, and Pioneers of Pagonia.

Acemagic has just responded to customer concerns following their discovery that a certain search engine could pre-install itself on some mini-PCs from the OEM with a potential solution. The issue affecting some of the brand's Intel-powered desktops allegedly originates from a third party, yet may now be fixed with new software direct from the company. In related news, Acemagic has released a new discount coupon as a gesture of goodwill.

Popular free-to-play FPS The Finals has mysteriously started supporting Linux. Fans may want to temper their excitement, as Embark Studios has not officially acknowledged or announced support for the open-source operating system.

Does it still make sense to buy a 2-in-1 Windows device with (overly) timeworn hardware (Amber Lake) in 2024? Well, it depends. The reasonably attractive price does help: the base model Surface Go 2 is available now for as low as €266 (US$291) – Windows 10 Pro included. We took a chance on it.

Arm's CEO says Qualcomm's exclusivity deal with Microsoft for Windows on Arm devices could end soon. This opens up the market for other incumbents, such as MediaTek, Nvidia and AMD, to enter the market with their offerings.

The refreshed Asus ZenBook 14 OLED packs a punch with a bright 3K OLED display with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut. For CES, Asus is adding AMD's Ryzen 8040 CPUs to the line-up in addition to the Intel Core Ultra CPUs that have been available since late 2023.

Asus' newest ExpertCenter desktops include Intel 14th Gen CPUs and plenty of modern features for IT deployment, including tool-free maintenance, TPM 2.0 security, and Asus Pre-Deployment Service to get a fleet up and running quickly.

MSI has lifted the lid on the Claw, a gaming handheld that it also calls the Claw A1M in its press materials. The MSI Claw is the first gaming handheld that utilises Intel's Meteor Lake platform, which it combines with a 120 Hz display and a 53 Wh battery, among other features.

The Epic Games Store daily game giveaway event has finally ended. In its place, though, the weekly free games have returned, kicking 2024 into gear with one of 2021's best story games. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is free on the Epic Games Store until January 11.

With Meteor Lake, Intel's iGPU processors have received significant improvements for the first time since 2020. The Arc iGPUs even manage to sometimes outperform the Radeon RX 780M found in some AMD processors. For the Acer Swift Go, this primarily means a solid improvement in the area of 3D performance.

CheckMag Dig into the smashing beats of Metal: Hellsinger, soar through the skies in Solar Ash, or embrace your inner space scientist with Outer Wilds in five of the best 2023 Steam Winter Sale deals on indie games that defy expectations.

Lenovo differentiates the ThinkPad T14 G4 into Intel and AMD variants. One difference: Completely soldered RAM on the AMD model. To us, this is a mistake.

Infinix' latest INBook-series laptop has hit the Indian market with a metallic unibody design and Windows 11. The Y2 Plus offers HDMI and USB-C charging for ~$420 or less on its new retail platform. Then again, it is also powered by increasingly last-gen Intel platforms and could have a better display on paper.

CheckMag Steam's epic 2023 Winter Sale is in full swing, bringing with it some of the best RTS gaming deals of the year. Delve into legendary battles in A Total War Saga: TROY, an intense FPS-RTS hybrid in Silica, or hostile political machinations in Dune: Spice Wars.

GOG's Winter Sale is giving away Lost Ruins for free for a limited time. Lost Ruins is a 2D survival action side scroller about a young girl that gets lost in a dungeon without her memories. She must find a way out and uncover the secrets of the dungeon and her mysterious companion.

The Steam Winter Sale will start on December 21, 2023, discounting some of 2023's biggest games. Exact discounts are still a mystery, but Valve dropped a YouTube trailer revealing a few excellent games coming to the Winter Sale, including the addictive Satisfactory and the genre-melding Atomic Heart.

The latest (and most likely also the last) refresh of the year, which brings War Thunder to version 2.33, is called "Air Superiority" but also brings a few iconic tanks and ships. Its highlights include the Saab JAS 39A Gripen, Mirage 4000, and Su-27 jets, the M1A2 SEP2 and Leopard 2A7V, and many other pieces of military hardware.

Released yesterday with full support for The Finals, Squad, The Day Before, as well as Fortnite Chapter 5, the GeForce Game Ready Driver 546.33 also comes with one-click optimal settings support for six titles, including the recently released Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Sadly, there are no new G-Sync Compatible displays this time.

Fuji Games recently announced Mouse as a "gritty, jazz-fueled shooter," bringing much of what made Cuphead a standout success to the FPS genre. The official launch trailer reveals a boomer shooter full of charm, animated explosions, and genuinely hilarious kit.

Definitely a mature title with its depicting of drug dealing/using and implied violence, as well as the aftermath of various violent acts, Drug Dealer Simulator 2 will be up to play for free between December 18 and January 2. The release date is set for the first quarter of 2024.

Released in 2009, Grammarly became a popular assistant for students, professional writers, and people who need assistance with various projects from time to time. While the standalone Editor apps for Windows and Mac will be discontinued in the first days of 2024, their successors (Grammarly for Windows and Mac) are already available.

With its longer battery life, LTE modem, and low noise and heat output, the Lenovo business notebook is an excellent choice. There is plenty of processing power available with a Ryzen 7 APU. The dual RAM slot configuration is a noteworthy plus. The starting price is around $700.