Gaming

The Xbox Game Bar is getting a new Compact Mode that aims to make the overlay Windows gaming handheld-friendly. Microsoft is currently testing the mode in the Xbox Insider Program, and it is currently available to the members of the program.

Past reports claimed the Nintendo Switch 2 would launch in March 2025, but Chris Dring from Games Industry claims that none of the developers he spoke to are expecting the new handheld to launch in this financial year. That suggests the console may launch later than initially anticipated.

This model packs 16 GB DDR5-5600 RAM, 512 GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage and the signature keyboard with teal backlight. It is also part of MSI's budget gaming lineup, so it comes with compromises in the screen and connectivity departments.

CheckMag A Lenovo representative recently clarified rumours about the possibility of the company releasing new Legion Go gaming handhelds. While the company has sought to dampen rumours, its statement still leaves space for the arrival of a smaller Legion Go 'Lite' later this year.

The HP Victus 15z-fb200, which sports a 144 Hz 15.6-inch display, AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS, and Nvidia RTX 4050, is currently on sale for only $599 at Walmart. This is a 39% discount from its usual price at the retailer and a massive 49% discount from its MSRP.

Red Dead Redemption is now even available on the Nintendo Switch, but PC players have been left out in the cold thus far. This could soon change, as the PlayStation Store provides solid clues that the launch of a Windows version is near.

The 27-inch Alienware AW2725DR OLED gaming monitor was launched at CES in January 2024. The 1440p OLED gaming monitor has a refresh rate of 360 Hz, a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, and features AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for smooth gameplay, regardless of frame rate. Thanks to a 23% Amazon discount, the Alienware gaming monitor is $209.53 off.

RayNeo has announced the RayNeo Air 2s AR/XR glasses with a virtual 201-inch OLED display and quad-speaker sound. The lightweight glasses connect to phones, tablets, game consoles, and PCs to display games, media, and online content.

Razer is observing International Left-handers Day today (August 13, 2024) with a deal off one of its most popular accessories for southpaw gamers. The appropriate Edition of the Naga mouse has an ergonomic MMO-friendly shape and is replete with programmable buttons with all the correct placements.

GameSir continues its partnership with Marvel as it announces an Iron Man limited edition of its G7 HE wired controller. The controller is the latest in a stream of superhero-themed controllers in recent weeks.

Gaming insider Paul Gale recently reported that the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 will launch with major third-party AAA ports. Now, a new report from a reputed leaker claims that the gaming handheld will get ports of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and other entries of the series.

In the Humble Bundle sale, gamers can currently secure LEGO games from almost all franchises in one go - including Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Marvel and more. As always, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity.

Although Deadlock has not yet been officially announced, the hero shooter already has thousands of active players on Steam. This gives fans hope for an imminent unveiling.

It appears Lenovo is set to launch the latest iteration in its Legion Y700 gaming series. A device alleged to be the Legion Y700 (2024) has now been spotted on Geekbench with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in tow, potentially hinting at an imminent launch in China.

The M21 is a new retro gaming handheld that leans heavily on the designs of both the Game Console R36S and the Powkiddy RGB20S. Reportedly powerful enough to emulate up to PlayStation 1 games, SJGAM also equips the M21 with a pair of joysticks, a 3.5-inch display and an HDMI port for outputting to an external display.

Texas Instruments has introduced a new DLP (Digital Light Processing) controller, the DLPC8445. It's said to be the smallest of its type, with a 90% reduction in total package size when compared to previous generations. This promises ultra-compact gaming 4K projectors with up to 240 Hz refresh rate support.

Seek Thermal has released the improved Nano 200 and Nano 300 thermal imaging cameras for Android and iOS phones. The infrared cameras help PC modders detect cooling problems quickly when overclocking CPUs and GPUs.

8BitDo has released new versions of its Pro 2 wireless controllers. Available at a discounted price seemingly until next week, the refreshed 8BitDo Pro 2 controllers support practically every OS going, have decent battery life and sport Hall effect joysticks.

MagicX is preparing to refresh the XU Mini M, its 2.8-inch alternative to the Anbernic RG28XX and Miyoo Mini A30. Available soon as the Crystal Collections Edition, the new MagicX XU Mini M gaming handhelds will all feature translucent finishes with varying colours.

Nextorage has released its new G Series ME M.2 2230 SSDs, targeted towards gaming handhelds such as the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. The company claims it's the fastest 2230 PCIe 4.0 line in the market, promising speedier game loading times. It is also said to have high stability.

The Strix Point lineup introduced the most powerful iGPU to date, the AMD Radeon 890M. With RDNA 3.5 architecture and 16 CUs, it has what it takes to deliver discrete GPU-level performance, and as shown by a benchmark comparison video on YouTube, it can beat the desktop Nvidia GTX 1650 in many games.

ASUS is now selling a new version of its popular ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop. Available from $1,899.99 in the US, the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GA605 is one of the first laptops to feature AMD's new Strix Point APU architecture.

Amazon has discounted the Ryzen 9 7900X 12-core CPU by 35% following middling Ryzen 9000 performance improvements. Ryzen 9000 performance tests indicate that the Ryzen 9 7900X should be almost as fast as the Ryzen 9 9900X in most tests.

The 512 GB Lenovo Legion Go has seen the biggest discount ever. It has dropped to $551.76, the lowest recorded price for this SKU. Without any sale in place, it usually goes for $699.99, so the gaming handheld is currently enjoying a price cut of nearly $150.

The RedMagic Gaming Tablet 2 is slated to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Edition very soon. However, the 2025 iteration of its Android-powered series is now also under discussion on the leaks circuit. It is projected to come with even newer Qualcomm silicon; then again, there might be a greater choice of devices with the same specs on the market by them.

The Capcom Summer 2024 Humble Bundle sale has many popular Steam Deck games, including a couple of Street Fighter titles. Altogether, this bundle is worth $349, but you can claim all of them for as low as $30. Note that the offer will be available for a limited time, ending on August 28th.

CheckMag While Windows on Steam Deck might seem counter intuitive, having a dual boot or purely Windows system can offer the ability to play games that aren't compatible with Steam OS. While Valve isn’t known for providing regular driver updates to Windows users, there thankfully are other options.

The Ultra Plus Engine Control Panel mod for Cyberpunk 2077 has been updated. Its latest update optimizes path tracing even further on the game, allowing systems with capable GPUs to deliver near 60 FPS with all things turned up at 4K.

According to leaked delivery data, the Nintendo Switch successor is to receive a 60-watt charger. The existing rumors about a fan in the docking station are confirmed by the latest information.

Intel has presented its powerful Arc Alchemist GPU for vehicles, which is intended to not only power infotainment systems and enable AI features, but even triple-A gaming directly in the e-car. With 28 Xe cores and 16 GB GDDR6, the graphics chip is said to provide sufficient performance for most current games.

A recent Nintendo Switch 2 leak claimed Steam Deck-like performance from the upcoming handheld gaming console, and now, a new shipping manifest seems to reinforce that information. The supposed leaked documentation indicates that the Switch 2 will be need to draw nearly twice as much power from the wall as the original Switch.

MagicX has begun testing the XU Mini 2, Touch One, and Touch Two handheld devices. As per a new video, the XU Mini 2 features a vertical layout, while the Touch One and Touch Two have horizontal designs. The handhelds are expected to be released by year-end, with the final specs still under development.

Lenovo has responded to the recent alleged leaks surrounding a supposed upcoming Legion Go Lite, but it shrewdly avoided either confirming or denying the existence of a new Lenovo handheld gaming PC. Lenovo blamed the hype surrounding the alleged Legion Go Lite on incorrect information about the first-generation Legion Go.

ETA Prime on YouTube has recently demonstrated how to turn a broken Steam Deck into a fully functional mini PC on the cheap. You don't even need in-depth knowledge or specialised tools to accomplish the task, and the parts-bin Steam Deck can be found on eBay for as little as $142.

The Thumby Color is the latest effort by TinyCircuits, which has been behind the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini, among other miniature devices. Built around a Raspberry Pi and running open-source software, the Thumby Color is compatible with over 100 games and owes its design to the classic Game Boy Advance.

ASUS has begun selling the ROG Swift OLED PG39WCDM, which relies upon the same LG Display WOLED panel as the Acer Predator X39 and LG UltraGear OLED 32GS95UE. Officially available in the US for now, the ROG Swift OLED PG39WCDM will soon be headed to other markets like the UK and the Eurozone, where launch pricing has now been revealed.

Anbernic is preparing to launch another 4-inch gaming retro handheld. While the company has focused on horizontal devices recently, its next release will return to a vertical orientation with a design that looks like a Game Boy, as well as the AYANEO Pocket DMG.

While the Nintendo Switch lacks major third-party titles, fans can hope to play AAA games such as Halo Infinite or Cyberpunk 2077 on the Switch successor, according to recent rumors.

While Microsoft will be adding three new titles to the Xbox Game Pass by mid-August, four other games will be canceled. As always, subscribers can still take advantage of Microsoft's member discount until then and buy the games at a reduced price.

The entry-level HP Victus 15 makes a solid student productivity laptop with the performance chops to do a bit of gaming on the side. It has an AMD Ryzen 5-7535HS and AMD Radeon RX6550M, putting it in the same league as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU, and the sub-$500 price after the Best Buy deal makes it even more tantalising.

Bethesda has announced the release of the DOOM Anthology on October 22, 2024, featuring six games from the iconic franchise. The collection will be launched for multiple platforms, and includes a SteelBook case and a 5-inch LED-lit BFG gun replica. The anthology is currently available for preorder through the Bethesda Gear Store, with shipping anticipated in November 2024.

Epic Games has now revealed plans for next week's free game giveaway. Not only will the storefront offer a popular 2D platformer for free that typically sells for $19.99, but it will also include an add-on for World of Warships worth $25.

Acer has quietly released the Predator X39, one of many OLED gaming monitors that it has announced this year. Now available across multiple markets, including Australia and the Eurozone, the 240 Hz gaming monitor has also landed in the US with a healthy launch discount worth almost $200.

CheckMag Looking for something to do this weekend? These three modern remakes slap much-needed coats of paint on older PC games. These are essentially engine rebuilds that add modern features to the classic titles while staying true to the original games' feel and intention. The best part: they're all completely free.

The Lenovo Legion Go is a handheld console with detachable joysticks - unfortunately, they can't be linked together to create a single controller out of the box. JSAUX has applied its "advanced engineering" to the problem and come up with a potential solution. A set of the OEM's new Handle Straps can be ordered with or without a silicon bumper for the conjoined joysticks.

Sony has revealed the PC system requirements for God of War Ragnarok. Unlike many modern-day AAA titles, they're fairly relaxed and the game can easily run on even a five-year-old PC.

In the latest episode of the Broken Silicon podcast by Moore's Law Is Dead, Matthew Cassells from Alderon Games shared some insights on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2. Matthew says that the gaming handheld could be on par with Steam Deck in terms of performance, but its software could limit it.

Maingear has made new Zen 5 silicon available in the form of its new, all-AMD version of the MG-1 pre-built PC. It also comes packed with TEAMGROUP's T-Force memory and storage, which is also RGB and up to 6,000MHz in terms of RAM. The new desktop is available to order from now.

Asus is offering a new WiFi 7 router. The new model is said to offer a high data transfer rate and support for mesh networks, which should provide good coverage for larger apartments or houses.