Gaming

BenQ has finally released the MOBIUZ EX321UX, over four months after the monitor's initial debut. Available for as much as modern QD-OLED equivalents, the BenQ MOBIUZ EX321UX combines a 4K Mini LED panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate, DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity and 1,000 nits peak HDR brightness.

Cubot is launching a gaming smartphone on the market. Not only does it feature a powerful MediaTek 8200 SoC, it also has a large screen - with a high refresh rate.

Epilogue, the company behind the GB Operator, announced an update that will let the device use the Nintendo Game Boy Camera as a webcam. As per their latest tweet, they've established a live video feed from the camera, calling it "the worst and the best webcam you'll ever have."

HyperMegaTech has returned with a new set of Super Pocket retro gaming handhelds. Available to pre-order globally from July 31 ahead of an October 2024 release, the two new devices come pre-loaded with licensed Atari and Technos games, depending on the model chosen, and remain compatible with all existing Evercade cartridges.

The XG323-4K-OLED2 is ViewSonic's latest OLED gaming monitor after April's global release of the XG272-2K-OLED. Based on the same WOLED panel as the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE, the ViewSonic XG323-4K-OLED2 can operate at 4K/240 Hz or 1080p/480 Hz. ViewSonic has also included many high-end ports too, including a pair of DisplayPort 2.1 connections that have an 80 Gbit/s bandwidth each.

GOG is giving away another game this week. Available to download until July 6, The First Templar - Special Edition is an action-adventure title that blends 'RPG-inspired' character development with unique abilities and skill trees.

RedMagic has now unleashed the most up-to-date version of its flagship gaming smartphone, with the brand's latest performance-boosting, AI and RGB-enhanced cooling technology for top-end mobile devices. The 9S Pro has up to 16GB of RAM, not to mention an official July 2024 date for the launch of its international version.

In the first half of July, Game Pass subscribers can look forward to eight new games - including two titles that will be included in the gaming subscription directly on release.

AYANEO has now opened pre-orders for the Pocket DMG, its Game Boy inspired retro gaming handheld that it equips with an OLED display and a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chipset. Currently limited to a Chinese release, the AYANEO Pocket DMG will eventually be available globally through Indiegogo.

The Acer Predator Helios 16 in certified-refurbished condition has scored a whopping 48% discount. The laptop brings an RTX 4080 laptop GPU and a Core i9-13900HX, making the machine a high-end gaming laptop capable of playing demanding games at more than 60 FPS.

SEGA's new Crazy Taxi game is teased to be a large-scale driving title that will be powered by Unreal Engine. In the latest Japanese video posted by SEGA, the developers further described it as an open-world AAA game with multiplayer aspects.

ASUS has now listed the ROG Strix XG27UCG on its website, confirming various previously unknown specifications in the process. Currently, the ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCG is the only monitor that supports 4K/160 Hz and 1080p/320 Hz dedicated display modes.

MSI has confirmed new details about the MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2, its latest 27-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor. Arriving later this year with a 240 Hz refresh rate, the MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2 will undercut equivalent monitors with a $699.99 starting price.

The MPG 341CQPX is the second 34-inch QD-OLED monitor that MSI has introduced this year after the MAG 341CQP. Building on its MAG series counterpart, the MPG 341CQPX combines a 1440p resolution with a 240 Hz refresh rate, while also offering VESA ClearMR 13000 certification.

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 with an RTX 4060 laptop GPU and a 14.5-inch OLED display is currently enjoying a big discount of 38%. Thanks mainly to its solid performance and awesome display, the Legion Slim 5 14 is a stellar machine that is highly rated by both fans and media alike.

The bulky but fast QHD gaming laptop from Alienware is back on sale as Best Buy grants a huge $800 discount on the RTX 4080 configuration of the striking m16.

The president of Nintendo has once again outlined how the company will deal with the huge issue that is scalping when the much anticipated Switch 2 console finally launches. According to the president, Nintendo is set on delivering enough consoles to meet demand. Apparently, the semiconductor shortage that stood in the way of ramping up production rates in the not so distant past is really over.

AAA games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 4/Village have struggled to gain a strong foothold in the iOS market as a recent report has claimed that the titles have not sold well. For instance, users have apparently bought Assassin’s Creed Mirage less than 3,000 times since the game’s launch.

Gigabyte has revealed the G34WQCP, an updated version of another 34-inch curved gaming monitor that the company has been selling for a few years. While not yet available to order, the Gigabyte G34WQCP is likely to officially launch soon for roughly $399.99 in the US.

A Chinese company called Metaphyuni has launched Genesis Cube in China. While it may seem like any other mini PC with a powerful AMD processor, it's the first to feature the Ryzen 7 8845HS with an 80W TDP mode. This mode prioritizes performance over noise and should make this system perform better than any other similarly-equipped mini computer.

The Nubia RedMagic 9S Pro is set to be released in China on July 3. This new phone will feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 “leading version,” which has already been shown to be a better performer than the regular variant of the chipset. A day before the official launch, the company shared photos of the phone, offering a first look at the upcoming flagship.

The M25 is a new retro gaming handheld that closely resembles a particular Sony PlayStation accessory. Available for under $100 with 64 GB or 128 GB of storage, the M25 also has a modest battery capacity, a compact display, 4 GB of RAM and runs EmuELEC 4.3 by default.

Supposedly, a set of developers is working towards delivering the first FPGA console aimed at hardware emulating SEGA systems, including the Master System, Genesis and Saturn. Allegedly, a Virtex Ultrascale+ FPGA chip should be powerful enough to play SEGA Dreamcast games, too.

The 2024 Steam Summer Sale is in full swing, and the Deep Discounts category is where you'll find the best deals on games that can be best described as old but gold. Enjoy one of the best strategy city builder games in recent years, indulge in all-out insanity with Borderlands 2, or play as Gotham's most famous hero in Batman: Arkham Knight — all for under $6.

OnePlus has confirmed that its latest top-end smartphone has the extra Pixelworks "end-to-end tuning" necessary to play IRX-certified games such as Diablo: Immortal. The AI-based augmentations are touted to boost the Ace 3 Pro's powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 graphics and the Super Frame Rate features of its up-to-date Android 14-based OS.

Epic Games Store is currently giving away Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition. This free game will be available to claim until July 4, and after that, a new title will be up for grabs. As the store revealed, this new free game happens to be The Falconeer, an aerial combat game published by Wired Productions and developed by Tomas Sala.

The Rabbit R1, originally launched as an AI-powered device designed to offer a less distracting experience than a phone, got modded to run Android. This allows the device to be opposite what it was designed to be, to function like a phone. It also opens the door to doing much more than you can do with its Rabbit OS, such as running games.

While bringing one-click optimal settings for an additional four titles, the GeForce Game Ready Driver 556.12 also provides DLSS 3.5 optimizations for The First Descendant, as well as DLSS 3 and Reflex to Payday 3, a title that previously received DLSS 2 and DLAA support. The update targets both desktop and mobile GPUs, as usual.

Valve has offered up a bevvy of new updates for the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED. Rolling out on its Beta and Preview software channels, the updates not only add Game Recording functionality but also make various desktop mode and general improvements.

Starting with FSR 3.1, AMD is separating frame generation from image upscaling. This means that older GPUs from Nvidia as well as Intel's Arc GPUs can now benefit from frame generation in select games.

MSI has unveiled the world's second laptop powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D. It appears to be a China-only SKU and features 32 GB RAM, a 1 TB SSD and a 240 Hz IPS panel.

Nintendo is now selling its latest Switch Lite refresh, possibly one of the last before it finally announces a Switch 2 console. Launching this September to coincide with the release of a new Zelda game, the new version comes in a special gold colour option.

Earlier this month, rumours emerged of Powkiddy having created a new retro gaming handheld under the auspices of the 'K56'. Supposedly set to rival the likes of the AYANEO Pocket Micro, KT Pocket R1 and ZPG A1 Unicorn in terms of performance, it turns out that the Powkiddy K56 may have been nothing more than the stuff of fan fiction.

Anbernic has now officially confirmed the existence of the RG40XX H after a spate of alleged leaks. Resembling the RG Cube, the RG40XX H appears set to arrive in three colours. Specifications for the Anbernic RG40XX H have now been confirmed, too.

A Nintendo leaker accidentally outed their source to Bloomberg, while other leaks allegedly originated from a Google employee with access to Nintendo's YouTube channel. Nintendo retaliated by tightening up its IT security and pushing at least one leaker into hiding.

Valve tested the waters with its experimental Steam Controller, but it was discontinued in 2019. Now, nearly five years later, a new officially licensed gamepad is on its way, but it's not made by Valve. Instead, it's from Hori, and the gaming controller is called Wireless Horipad for Steam.

Powkiddy is now selling the V10 globally, a 3.5-inch retro gaming handheld that measures just 103.2 x 94 x 22.5 mm. The Powkiddy V10 comes in multiple colours, including a pair of nostalgic transparent options.

In order to get more people onto its Xbox Cloud Gaming service, Microsoft is bringing it to select Amazon Fire TV devices via the Xbox TV app. With an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and a Bluetooth controller, quite a few folks will be able to stream Xbox games using their TVs.

The Epic Games Store is giving away another free game this week. Described as a horror RPG, the game is available to play on Windows and Mac with low system requirements.

Following significant disgruntlement within the community, MSI has reconsidered its stance on firmware updates for OLED monitors outside of the top models. There are some quirks for end users, however, depending on the country and, in some cases, the specific monitor.

RedMagic is preparing to release a new Realm gaming monitor. Building on last year's 49-inch model, the new 32-inch edition features a new Gen 3 QD-OLED panel from Samsung Display that will rival the Dell Alienware AW3225QF and ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM, among others.

You can finally record gameplay natively using Steam overlay. The feature is in beta for desktop users and also available for the Steam Deck.

A patent filing has shown off what Microsoft's cloud-based console would have looked like. It was called Project Keystone and would have served as a cheap console replacement. However, it got scrapped due to pricing issues.

Nubia's upcoming gaming smartphone, the RedMagic 9S Pro, has shown up on Geekbench. It runs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version, which is essentially a regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with a slight boost on its Cortex-X4 core.

RedMagic, a brand that's best known for its gaming phones, has made its entry into the gaming laptop market. The first unit, called Gaming Laptop 16 Pro, will launch on July 3 in China. It features an Intel Core i9 14900HX, Nvidia RTX 4070, a 16-inch 2.5K screen, and an aluminum alloy chassis with "MacBook-level" craftsmanship.

Anbernic has not officially commented on the release of its next 4-inch gaming handheld yet. Nonetheless, new leaks have confirmed not only more information about the device, but also that it will launch as the RG40XX H with a native landscape display and not the RG40XX.

Team Red will present its new "Neural Texture Block Compression" next week at an event in London. The AI-powered method seems to be an alternative for Nvidia's "Random-Access Neural Compression of Material Textures" that has not yet seen actual implementation.

Interview Notebookcheck had an opportunity to speak with MSI's regional marketing managers Bruce Lin and Green Lin about the MSI Claw, Windows-on-Arm laptops and its future plans. While MSI will stick with Intel for the foreseeable future, it is open to the idea of collaborating with AMD for handheld chips at a later point.

The company is hosting a product launch conference on July 3, where the new 'Phantom Blade' controller is expected to debut alongside the Red Magic 9S Pro and an 'AI Gaming' Laptop.