Gaming

Anno 1800 is a city builder taking place during the Industrial Revolution. You’ll need to expand your empire and explore new lands. But you’ll also have to keep an eye on your enemies to maintain control. Update: Its price is back to normal.

Steam fans will see fewer PS5 exclusive games arrive on the marketplace. At a recent meeting, the PlayStation Studios CEO told employees that the change will affect single-player candidates. Sony may want to boost PS5 and PS6 console sales with titles only available on first-party hardware.

Microsoft says its Advanced Shader Delivery technology cuts Forza Horizon 6’s initial shader compilation from about 90 seconds to 4 seconds by downloading precompiled, hardware-specific shaders through its PC distribution channels. The feature is currently limited to Windows 11 users with supported AMD GPUs, Xbox Insider enrollment, and copies installed via the Xbox app or Microsoft Store, leaving Steam and Nvidia players without access for now.

Asus has partnered with CD Project Red on a custom version of the ROG Xbox Ally based on the hit game, Cyberpunk 2077. Made by AK Mod, the PC builder also made a Johnny Silverhand stand for the Windows handheld gaming PC.

Update Edited on Monday, May 18th with more detailed optimization info and a few corrections. The first installment of [Tuesday Tweaks] covers Lossless Scaling, its vendor-neutral Frame Generation, and how it can be used to achieve higher framerates in games locked to 30 or 60 FPS, including emulators, fighting games, and etc. The actual Scaling functionality will also be briefly discussed.

The Legion Pro 5i is equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, 32GB DDR5 RAM and a 2TB SSD, which means that gamers won't need to shell out more hard-earned money to upgrade the memory or storage right away. A 1600p OLED panel is also onboard.

Subnautica 2 creative lead Anthony Gallegos criticized players who pirated an early build and then bragged or sought support in the game’s official Discord, calling the behavior disrespectful to paying fans and developers. While acknowledging economic pressures and saying he understands why piracy happens, Gallegos urged players to buy the game, try it, and refund it if unsatisfied rather than play illegally.

Rumors indicate Rockstar may withhold early review copies and instead use controlled, supervised review events to prevent leaks ahead of the game’s November 19, 2026 launch even as insiders indicate that GTA 6's preorders are months away.

Party Animals developer Recreate Games apologized after a $75,000 AI video contest drove Steam reviews from "Very Positive" to "Mostly Negative" in under 24 hours.

8BitDo has expanded the Ultimate 3 series with a new model. The new wireless controller is officially licensed for Xbox and boasts features not available on other 8BitDo controllers.

Some PS5 price increases mitigated the expenses resulting from IEEPA tariffs. With the U.S. Supreme Court invalidating those fees, gamers want Sony to refund consumers. A new lawsuit follows a similar complaint made against Nintendo over higher Switch console costs.

Blades of Fire is set in a dark fantasy world and puts players in the role of one of the kingdom’s last blacksmiths. Their task: forge powerful weapons and overthrow an evil queen. In its review, Eurogamer compares the game to classic PlayStation-era titles that seemed to come out of nowhere, only to turn out far better than expected.

Anomaly: Warzone Earth turns the classic tower-defense formula on its head by putting players on the offensive in alien-occupied cities. The sci-fi strategy game is discounted by 90% on Steam until May 19 and costs just $0.99.

Primal Carnage: Extinction throws players into asymmetrical PvP battles between humans and dinosaurs. The multiplayer shooter is discounted by 90% on Steam until May 31, bringing it down to its lowest price to date at just under $1.30.

GTA 6's PS5 pre-orders sold out within hours on Italian retailer Showgame at €69.90, with no official Rockstar announcement behind it still. The Xbox version still has stock. Take-Two's earnings call, where an official reveal is widely expected, is on May 21.

The RedMagic 11S Pro series is now official in China, and it essentially brings one key upgrade over the non-S lineup. RedMagic's new gaming phone line is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Version, an overclocked variant of the current flagship SoC from Qualcomm. The starting price is CNY 5,499, about $807.

A recent leaked Best Buy affiliate email suggested that fans will be able to pre-order GTA 6 starting May 18. However, new internal emails suggest pre-orders will not open today after all.

In Forza Horizon 6, a player has recreated Han’s iconic underground garage from Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift using the new garage customization system. The creation is now available to the community via share code. The catch: players can use the garage themselves, but apparently cannot edit it.

Many Valve fans share the same dream: a secret launch title for the Steam Machine. There is no concrete evidence that such a game exists, but it cannot be ruled out entirely. As Reddit users are currently discussing, one thing would be especially fitting: a game with a “3” in its title.

A "Grand Theft Auto VI" category entry has been found in Walmart's backend database, joining a PlayStation Store ID update and the verified Best Buy affiliate leak as the third retail infrastructure signal, hinting towards imminent GTA 6 pre-orders in the US. The Walmart page currently shows a 404 error, however.

GTA 6 is probably the most anticipated game of the year. The open-world blockbuster can now be pre-ordered from a first retailer, both for the Xbox Series X and for the Sony PlayStation 5. The price of the game is significantly more affordable than analysts and fans had expected.

V Rising is currently 55% off on Steam at $15.74 — its all-time lowest price — until May 21. Stunlock's vampire survival RPG has 6 million players, a "Very Positive" rating, a new DLC, and a balance patch incoming. All this makes it a strong buy at any experience level.

The iconic Stardew Valley has dropped to its all-time Steam low of $7.49 as part of a Weekend Deal ending May 21. The 10-year-old farming RPG has sold 50 million copies and still has a major free update in development, which is why this is an easy recommendation.

Some players are expressing regret days after the Subnautica 2 early access release date. Steam reviews expose an End-User License Agreement (EULA) that limits ownership and content creation. Other fans believe the TOS is no more unreasonable than with most Steam games.

The low_latency_layer project from Korthos Software allows AMD Anti-Lag 2 and Nvidia Reflex to be used on any GPU, effectively making both technologies hardware-agnostic for Linux users.

After being announced back in June 2025, 007 First Light will finally launch later this month, on May 27. And if you're planning to jump into the game on day one, you'll be glad to learn it's already available at a discounted price.

Cossacks 3 is a strategy game that immerses you in historical battles across Europe. But if you want to win, you’ll need to lead your army using the right strategy, build prosperous cities, and develop new technologies.

In a recent interview, the Take-Two Interactive CEO asserted that GTA 6 would arrive in 2026. He also hinted that November 2024 may have been the original target. Rockstar Games claims it’s avoiding a time crunch, possibly contributing to multiple release date delays.

We are now giving away four Steam keys of Pragmata, Capcom's critically acclaimed sci-fi action-adventure title. To enter, you just have to comment on the YouTube video linked in the article below. The video covers the gorgeous Pragmata-inspired Zotac GeForce RTX 5070 AMP Limited Edition GPU.

Embers of the Gods launched on Steam as a free-to-play MMORPG on May 15 to a "Mostly Positive" rating — but a peak of just 121 concurrent players, alleged fake screenshots, and criticism surrounding the mobile port paint a way more complicated picture of its launch.

The Linux community has made significant progress in terms of gaming, especially when compared to gaming on Windows, and now, the latest Proton-CachyOS release is taking another step forward. It brings built-in OptiScaler integration.

The CRKD Nitro Deck 2 for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 consoles will arrive a little later than originally planned due to delays in evaluations and approvals. The delay also affects the release dates of the ULT Pro controller and the Atom+ Mini Controller.

The ROG Xreal R1 are now available to purchase, and while they bring many improvements over regular AR glasses, they are priced significantly higher. The pre-order price is $849.

Another round of free games has been spotted on Steam, but not all of them were released in May 2026. Most of them don’t have good player ratings as well, but the ones that do look pretty interesting.

A new Game Maker’s Toolkit video examines how Rockstar made Grand Theft Auto III’s Liberty City work within the PlayStation 2’s 32MB memory limit by using a dynamic asset-streaming system. Through source-code analysis and a modded executable, Mark Brown shows how the game continuously loaded nearby city sectors while unloading areas behind the player, creating the illusion of a seamless open world.

A solo modder has built a portable PlayStation 2 handheld inspired by the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, using a custom reverse-engineered motherboard rather than repurposed Sony hardware. The project is technically impressive, with open-source files, FPGA-based video processing, USB-C charging, and 4.5-hour battery life, but its demanding soldering and troubleshooting requirements make it unsuitable for most builders.

Valve is offering affected Steam Controller buyers a free standard-edition Steam game after a GLS shipping error reportedly sent some European orders to the UK instead of their intended destinations. Many customers are opting for Forza Horizon 6 as their title of choice.

Retailers are already preparing to sell the Halo: Campaign Evolved PS5 port. Even so, some gamers regret Microsoft bringing its longtime shooter franchise to PlayStation. After comments from CEO Asha Sharma, one insider predicts upcoming Halo games will again ship as Xbox exclusives.

Nintendo has added more games to the Virtual Boy library which is available to subscribers to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. The five games include popular titles such as Space Invaders and V-Tetris.

Anno 2205 is a city builder in which you must save humanity. To do so, you’ll need to build prosperous cities with various structures, meet the needs of your citizens, and travel to the Moon to collect valuable resources.

A patch to Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL), a universal library for input devices, now allows Steam Controller mappings to be recognized on Windows and Linux without Steam Client being active.

Despite a Best Buy email leak revealing GTA 6 pre-order details, several insiders aren’t convinced. Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming has not heard rumblings of significant Rockstar Games news for May 18th. The studio may wait until July or later to begin marketing or release the third trailer.

The performance dip is certainly a bummer, but the significantly quieter fan noise when gaming on Balanced mode could potentially justify the GPU deficit.

The hints for the second batch of May 2026 mystery free games on Epic Games Store are out, and just like last time, they are not easy to decrypt. Predictions are pointing in different directions, and it's unclear how good the upcoming giveaway will be.

A leaked Best Buy affiliate email suggesting GTA VI physical pre-orders could open on May 18 reportedly fueled a sharp rally in Take-Two Interactive shares, adding about $2 billion to the publisher’s market value overnight. While Rockstar and Take-Two have not confirmed the pre-order date, the leak has intensified expectations ahead of the company’s May 21 earnings call and the game’s planned November 2026 launch.

AMD will extend FSR 4.1 support beyond RDNA 4, bringing the INT8 upscaling model to RX 7000 GPUs in July 2026 and RX 6000 GPUs in early 2027 after backlash over its initial exclusivity. The move addresses criticism sparked by a leak tying PS5 Pro’s PSSR 2.0 to FSR 4.1 and offers older Radeon users an official alternative to unreliable community workarounds.

Valve’s backend appears ready to list the Steam Machine for a lofty price. UI code would enable the company to charge more than $1,000 for the console alternative on its launch date. That said, the leak may apply to a bundle with a Steam Controller or the Frame VR headset.

The ROG Xreal R1 glasses will soon be available to purchase, following its announcement at CES 2026. The glasses, which are the first in the world with a 240Hz refresh rate, will be compatible with handhelds, consoles, and PCs.