Handheld

Anbernic has posted a full unboxing and gameplay showcase video for its next gaming handheld. While the company remains quiet about pricing and availability, a prominent YouTuber in the retro gaming handheld space has confirmed both details ahead of time.

The reveal is potentially slated for the end of this month, even as rumors of other ports continue to gain traction and confirmation from known leakers.

Sony is reportedly eyeing revenue from further multiplatform releases on other platforms including Xbox and Switch even as it gears up to bring Helldivers 2 to the former this August.

MSI claims to have improved the performance and battery life of its first AMD Ryzen-powered gaming handheld. Rolling out via new BIOS and MSI Center M updates, the enhancements have been joined by confirmation of the Claw A8 or Claw 8 Ryzen Edition's official release date too.

Any sale on Switch 2 games draws attention, particularly when it involves a reduced Mario Kart World price. The open-world racing game is experiencing one of its first Woot discounts. Buyers can benefit from improved Switch 2 specs with a pair of critically acclaimed, upgraded Zelda adventures.

The GPD Win 5 is the first gaming handheld equipped with AMD's Strix Halo architecture. Not only have tech specs now been revealed, but so has a release window and possible launch pricing.

It looks like Ayaneo has a few new high-end gaming handhelds up its sleeve. With GPD having just confirmed that it will be showcasing the Win 5 powered by AMD Strix Halo next month, Ayaneo has decided to schedule a new 'Strategic Sharing Session' before the end of July.

When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hits store shelves, it should showcase the improved Switch 2 specs. However, an insider has raised the possibility of another release date delay. Scheduled for 2025, Reece "Kiwi Talkz" Reilly has learned that development of the Switch 2 game remains ongoing.

Even after Phil Spencer hinted that Xbox games would arrive on the Switch 2, Nintendo fans continue to wait. The Game Business predicts that official announcements could come within a matter of weeks. With improved Switch 2 specs, there are fewer technical challenges when porting third-party titles.

YouTuber ETA Prime shares a first-look performance breakdown of the MSI Claw A8, the first AMD-powered handheld from MSI. Powered by the new Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, the device is tested against its predecessor, the Z1 Extreme, across synthetic benchmarks, real-world games, and battery life scenarios.

Lego has opened pre-orders for a 1:1 replica of the original Game Boy. Available to order now, the Lego Game Boy retails for less than $60 with 421 pieces included in the box.

GPD has become the first company to tease a gaming handheld powered by AMD's Strix Halo architecture. Officially debuting in a few weeks, the GPD Win 5 will replace the long-running GPD Win 4 with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU and Radeon 8060S iGPU that it appears capable of cooling effectively while playing triple-A games at exceptionally high frame rates.

Elden Ring: Nightreign dominated US sales for the month of June this year after releasing at the tail end of May on PC, PlayStation and Xbox simultaneously.

Deltarune, a highly anticipated RPG title offered a unique release pattern at launch, publishing its first two chapters as a free-to-play demo which may have contributed to its success with gamers.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console is going from strength to strength in the game publisher's native territory of Japan.

Some Nintendo Switch 2 users are facing HDMI signal loss and HDR issues on LG TVs. Disabling 120Hz and setting HDR tone mapping to HGiG are key workarounds as of now until official fixes arrive.

Gamers who rely on streaming may no longer have to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate. A Better xCloud leak hints that Microsoft could unveil separate Xbox Cloud Gaming plans. Some third-party and Xbox exclusive games would only be accessible on specific paid tiers.

The RG477M is Anbernic's next Android gaming handheld after releasing other options like the RG557 and RG Slide earlier this year. With the RG477M's launch presumed to be occurring before the end of the month, Anbernic has now revealed what performance to expect from its future KT Pocket KT-R1S rival ahead of time.

Borderlands 4 is scheduled to arrive on Nintendo’s Switch 2 on October 3, but fans expecting a traditional cartridge experience will be disappointed. Frame rate expectations have also been clarified ahead of launch.

Valve may be gearing up for a major hardware expansion, with speculation around a Steam Deck 2 and a dedicated home console gaining traction. A recent podcast discussion also hints at a quiet but strategic alignment between Valve and Sony in the handheld gaming space.

Nintendo fans will soon have access to the latest EA Sports FC 26 innovations. For the first time, the Switch 2 game will boast identical features as other current-gen consoles. Improved Switch 2 specs have encouraged more third-party publishers to support the handheld.

A fully formed Legion Go 2 prototype has turned up online in a lengthy video covering all aspects of Lenovo's next gaming handheld. Equipped with a 144 Hz VRR OLED display, Lenovo has employed an innovative solution to pack a 74 Wh battery inside its upcoming 8.8-inch gaming handheld, too.

The OneXSugar Sugar 1, with its innovative clamshell design, dual OLED displays, and a $599 price tag, joins the growing lineup of Android handheld gaming consoles. Russ from Retro Game Corps puts the device through its paces, revealing some intriguing performance and usability insights.

Donkey Kong Bananza is full of fast-paced exploring and destructiveness. Sadly, the furious action is causing motion sickness with some players. With the auto-adjusting camera system likely to blame, some settings can minimize dizziness and nausea.

MSI has now brought its next Claw gaming handheld to more markets after releasing the device in parts of Southeast Asia earlier this month. Now available to pre-order in Europe, the MSI Claw A8 costs slightly less than the existing Claw 8 AI+ but with AMD's new Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU and a more versatile M.2 2280 SSD.

The update to Mario Kart World, while welcomed by fans, was relatively unexpected given Nintendo's increasing focus on ensuring a successful launch for its Nintendo Switch 2 console with a solid content pipeline.

The Switch 2 specs include an internal microphone, which may seem like a convenience. On the other hand, the Portal 2 Switch version offers no option to turn off voice chat. Despite the console's native backward compatibility, some games require updates to solve issues.

A Reddit user creatively powered their ASUS ROG Ally X with a 48V eBike battery, enabling up to 24 hours of gameplay using a custom voltage step-down adapter. The DIY project sparked praise, curiosity, and safety concerns, showcasing just how far users will go to push the limits of their tech.

The Ayaneo Pocket S2 held up impressively through a 100-hour stress test, delivering stable performance, strong emulation across PSP, PS2, Switch, and even Windows titles, with excellent thermals and build durability. While not a major leap in raw power, its biggest strengths lie in improved compatibility, refined controls, and long-lasting battery life.

The Anbernic RG477M and KT Pocket KT-R1S are two new compact retro gaming handhelds that should be launching soon with similar designs. While both will also feature a metal design, Anbernic is rumoured to have created the RG477M to directly target the upcoming KT Pocket KT-R1S with no accompanying RG477H either.

One-Netbook has finally confirmed full specifications and launch pricing for its innovative hybrid gaming handheld. Launching early next week as one of the first options powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon G3 Gen 3, the OneXSugar Sugar 1 also features two OLED displays and a 16 GB of RAM too.

Workers should feel more secure in their Nintendo jobs than with positions at Xbox Game Studios. Statistics confirm that Nintendo's employee turnover rate is well below industry averages. Analysts believe that the company's rigid control over the development of Switch 2 games leads to the stability.

The Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World credits have some curious similarities. Two voice actors who appear in the 3D platformer also participate in the kart racing Switch 2 game. Now, some gamers expect the characters to become part of Mario Kart World DLC.

GameStop just raised $250,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals by auctioning off the infamous Switch 2 damaging stapler and a new Switch 2. A win for the children’s hospitals and for GameStop’s social profile.

Anbernic will likely start selling the RG477M later this month globally. In the meantime, specifications have emerged online that point towards the device being a blend of the RG557 and RG Slide aimed at up to PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii emulation.

Nintendo Support is providing buyers with more reasons not to export the Japanese-language Switch 2. On social media, the company linked to a support page revealing warranty restrictions. The lower Switch 2 price has tempted some international buyers to purchase the console in Japan.

The title will also have cross-progression for players who own the title on the older Nintendo Switch console that can be accessed via an upgrade pack.

Gradually, more Windows titles with kernel-level anti-cheat protection are becoming compatible Steam Deck games. Umamusume: Pretty Derby may soon become verified for the handheld gaming PC. Aided by the Proton compatibility layer, the popularity of Linux gaming is on the rise.

According to Digital Foundry, Nintendo's first-party Switch 2 game is an innovative 3D platformer. Even so, image clarity often suffers from the questionable use of FSR 1 instead of DLSS upscaling. Also, frame rates that plummet to 30 fps may have been avoidable without relying on double-buffered vsync.

The Anbernic development community remains alive and well. While the company continues to focus on new devices, several community members have managed to get GameCube games working on RG34XX and RG35XX series devices running the humble Allwinner H700 chipset.

It seems that TrimUI has a new retro gaming handheld in the works. Arriving in the wake of the TrimUI Brick Hammer, the so-called TrimUI Smart Pro Mini appears to adopt a smaller form factor than the existing Smart Pro to challenge the Anbernic RG40XX H and other circa 4-inch horizontal retro gaming handhelds.

MSI has released its latest 8-inch gaming handheld in another market. While the company has not set a full global release date yet, early indications suggest that the Claw A8 could retail for between the Intel Lunar Lake-based Claw 7 AI+ and Claw 8 AI+.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 has been benchmarked on Geekbench. While the listing gives us a decent idea about its GPU performance gains, the same can’t be said about the CPU.

The latest SteamOS beta update brings additional support for the Lenovo Legion Go S hardware, again making it evident that it is dedicated to the widespread adoption of the Linux-based OS.

A new Tipline episode from Gamers Nexus highlights a series of consumer tech issues, including Alienware laptop fire reports, widespread Anker power bank recalls, Wikipedia rejecting AI-generated summaries, Switch 2 device bans for flash cartridge use, and cultural institutions struggling with AI bot traffic.

A new Nintendo interview offers insight into how the Switch limited Donkey Kong Bananza development. Only as a Switch 2 game could the title's destructible environments become a reality. For the first time, the developers also provide a visual comparison of the two versions.

Firmware version 20.2.0 for the Switch 2, along with general stability improvements, has improved backward compatibility with some games that previously either crashed on startup or had stability issues. The patch notes, however, don’t mention any such fixes.

A new plug-in brings real-time frame generation to the Steam Deck, boosting FPS in demanding games and aiming to stretch the handheld’s capabilities further than ever before.

The Retroid Pocket Classic launched a few months ago in seven colors but Retroid has teased a new color is on the way. The new color will have six buttons like the Classic 6 version of the handheld but will sport an all-black look inspired by the SEGA Genesis.

Gamers have increasingly complained about spam dominating Nintendo eShop listings. In response, the company is adding more restrictions for Switch and Switch 2 games in select countries. Buyers can expect fewer inappropriate descriptions or titles that imitate popular competitors.