Gaming

CheckMag Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto franchise is undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of modern gaming, both from a technical as well as a cultural point of view. Starting from 1997, Rockstar has produced some of the finest open-world titles in the history of computer gaming as part of this franchise. With GTA VI arriving in 2025, it's worth looking back in to the past and glossing over the most iconic entrants to the acclaimed franchise.

Fans can expect many playable games, news on various games and other highlights at the Xbox stand at the upcoming Gamescom. According to the company, it will be the largest stand that Xbox Game Studios has ever had at the games fair.

Sony PlayStation VR 2 should be available for the PC from August. However, according to anonymous sources, Sony no longer seems to have high hopes for the VR headset.

Legendary GPU overclocker, Vince Lucido (aka Kingpin), talking about his future plans in a recent interview, dropped a hint that there may be a future for his custom-designed, overclocking specific GPU series. The overclocker was previously left without a GPU partner when EVGA exited the computer hardware business in late 2022.

A franchise promotion for the popular fantasy RPG Dragon Age is currently running on Steam. All three games are individually reduced by 90 percent each and are therefore available for 3 to 4 US dollars.

The AGON GAMING C27G2Z3/BK is AOC's latest entry-level gaming monitor. Despite retailing for under £200 in the UK and €250 in the EU, the AGON GAMING C27G2Z3/BK offers VRR support, a 280 Hz refresh rate and 0.5 ms response times.

The Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed is a new gaming mouse targeting ambitious PC gamers. The model can be used both wired and without a cable connection

Last year’s Dell G15 5530 gaming laptop with a Core i7-13650HX CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage is currently on sale at Dell’s online store for less than $1,000. Packing an RTX 4060 laptop GPU alongside a 360 Hz 15.6-inch display, the laptop should provide an excellent mid-range gaming experience irrespective of the games played.

CheckMag Microsoft, please let someone else make a portable Xbox! Fans have been clamoring for a handheld for years now, and there is a likelihood one is in the pipeline. However, Microsoft is a better software company than a hardware one, so best just leave it to the pros.

The new Copilot Plus PCs are here, and the laptops running the Snapdragon X series processors are among the first. While these new systems are great news for Windows on ARM, Microsoft says to expect its new Surface models to excel in productivity, not in gaming.

RedMagic, a subsidiary of Nubia, has announced new details about its debut gaming laptop. Not only has the company shared a full release date, but it has also shared early specifications like a Core i9 processor and a modern NVIDIA GeForce GPU.

Microsoft is removing six games from the Game Pass until the beginning of July. If you want to continue playing one of them, you can still take advantage of the member discount and buy the game for less.

Epic Games is preparing to refresh its weekly game giveaway. Contrary to previous expectations, the storefront has decided to reduce a completely different game to $0.00, which it has complemented with a new round of free in-game items for another title.

The new 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 features a gorgeous OLED panel with 240Hz and Nvidia G-Sync, which pairs well with the RTX 4070 and the powerful Core Ultra 9 185H from Intel's latest Meteor Lake family of mobile CPUs.

The Lenovo Legion Go has dropped to $579.98 on Amazon. This is an all-time low price for the gaming handheld, and it translates to a generous $120.01 discount from the regular $699.99 tag.

Unleashed earlier today, War Thunder 2.37 "Seek & Destroy" brings new airplanes, ships, and ground vehicles into the game, as usual. Helicopters get reworked cockpits, the old maps get a few retouches, not to mention the introduction of additional modules for ground vehicles, and much more.

According to a recent report, MSI has decided on launch pricing for the MEG 321URX, a Gen 3 QD-OLED monitor that it insists is the world's first AI gaming monitor. Seemingly, the MSI MEG 321URX QD-OLED could retail for up to 80% more than equivalents like the MPG 321URX, despite containing the same 4K and 240 Hz Gen 3 QD-OLED panel.

Sony has now started distributing a feature-packed update for the PlayStation Portal. Rolling out globally, the update introduces various changes to the PS5 accessory, including the option of connecting to public Wi-Fi networks for the first time.

Although there was no new information about the supposed Switch 2 in yesterday's Nintendo Direct, the gaming giant did present over 30 games that will be released in 2024 and 2025 - including some games that fans have been waiting for a long time.

Six new games will be added to Microsoft's gaming subscription by the end of the month - including a highlight for sports fans.

Nintendo may not be ready to announce a Switch 2 yet. Nonetheless, the company has decided to refresh the Switch Lite, which will be available later this year in a new special edition variant aimed at commemorating the release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Supposed to be the debut title for Paradox Tectonic, a studio founded in early 2019, Life by You was teased in March 2023. Sadly, its early access went through three delays and never made it online because the game was canceled on June 17, ending Paradox Interactive's attempt at an alternative to The Sims.

The first Snapdragon X series laptop reviews are out, and with that, we got a closer look at the performance of Qualcomm's new ARM chipsets. As we noted in our review of the Asus Vivobook S 15 OLED with Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100, the gaming performance is the biggest weak point at the moment. The other reviewers shared the same story.

CheckMag The Warframe Jade Shadows update has officially launched for Windows, Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, and iOS. Update 36 introduces a number of exciting new additions to the MMO looter shooter, including a new warframe, an exciting new quest offering insights into a long-time foe, and a whole new game mode to get stuck into as well as some valuable quality of life fixes.

MAINGEAR has introduced the ML-16 as the brand's first Intel Core Ultra 7 155H-powered laptop. It is touted to deliver peak portability in gaming, yet packs an 80 watt-hour (Wh) battery, a full keyboard and an aluminum-panelled build. It starts at under $2,000 with DDR5 RAM and NVMe Gen4 SSD storage.

It appears that Powkiddy is preparing to release a successor of sorts to last year's X55 gaming handheld. While the company has not officially commented on the device yet, render images and a few specifications have leaked online. Updated: Powkiddy comments on rumours.

For as low as $509, the NUC X15 gaming laptop offers a mid-range CPU that is mostly on par with the current Core Ultra 7 155H and the equivalent of an RTX 3050 on the dGPU side. It also features 16 GB DDR5-4800 RAM, 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage and even a Thunderbolt 4 port.

The latest version of RPCS3, a PS3 emulator for PC, improves performance on low-end CPUs. The developers showed this version, v0.0.32-16614, with two games. One of them is Demon's Soul, which jumped from around 40 FPS to about 80 FPS on a machine with a 4-core and 4-thread CPU.

In an interview, Bethesda's Todd Howard confirmed Starfield will get more DLC after Shattered Space drops later this year. Unlike the base game, Shattered Space will take place in one city, similar to Fallout 4's Far Harbor DLC.

LG has unleashed the latest iteration of the relatively affordable B4 class of 4K OLED TVs. It comes in a choice of 3 screen sizes, each of which are rated for 120Hz variable refresh rate (VRR) technology, Wi-Fi 6E and NVIDIA G-SYNC. They also run the latest version of LG's software for TVs with over 300 free channels' worth of channels.

ETA Prime has shown off the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra running a couple of PC games, which includes Fallout 4. The YouTuber used a modified version of an emulator called Winlator and hooked the phone to a monitor using DeX to get a PC-like gaming experience. It appears that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is very capable of running the titles with more than playable frame rates, even reaching 60 FPS in some instances at low settings.

While the development team is focusing on The War Within expansion, which is set to arrive in August, a so-called "story mode" is also being planned. This single-player mode will open up legacy raids that many current players missed back in the day. However, there is no release date for this mode yet.

Meteorish has now released the TJD T80, only its second gaming handheld released to date. Announced last year, the device comes in two variants globally with a $199 starting price.

Powkiddy is preparing to release another new compact gaming handheld. This time, the company will complement a Rockchip RK3226 chipset and 1 GB of RAM with a 3.95-inch display.

Details about a cancelled Cyberpunk 2077 expansion have emerged online. It was set to happen on the moon and would involve a new war between the game's major corporations.

Released yesterday, the latest graphics driver for Intel Arc and Iris Xe comes with day-zero visual enhancements and performance optimizations for Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Older titles such as Chivalry 2, Crysis, and Crysis 2 receive performance improvements of up to 16%.

First announced as a product exclusive to the Chinese market, the XFX Phoenix Nirvana video card is now headed for the global market. The swappable fan design might be used in video cards from different lineups, but all will be inspired by the Phoenix Nirvana. However, this is not a solution for low-end products.

The Legion Pro 5 is further equipped with a 240Hz QHD screen in addition to the well-known AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX and RTX 4070 GPU. Also, Lenovo's 16-inch gaming laptop is now considerably discounted thanks to two stackable coupon codes.

CheckMag Between staunch discounts, plentiful competition, and the recent release of the Steam Deck OLED, there has never been a better time to buy a gaming handheld. However, imminent new releases for the Asus ROG Ally, Nintendo Switch, and new CPU offerings from AMD and Intel mean that waiting just a little longer may be a better option for those looking for maximum performance.

AYANEO continues to refresh its gaming handhelds at a breakneck pace. Less than a month has passed since it introduced new versions of three models, including the Steam Deck-sized AYANEO KUN. Nonetheless, it has now sought to update another model, this time with a special edition livery.

Humble Bundle has introduced a new games bundle, which contains seven playable Steam Deck games that are worth nearly $200. The bundle, however, can be yours for a minimum payment of $25, and the good part is that you will also be getting a 25% discount on a DLC for one of the titles included in the pack.

Apple has formally introduced iOS 18 for multiple iPhone models. Among all the new features is something called Game Mode. As the name suggests, it aims to increase the system performance while gaming. It minimizes the background activity and allocates more resources to the running game. The mode also improves the responsiveness of connected devices such as AirPods and game controllers.

The GameMT E6 Plus is a new retro gaming handheld based around a 5-inch and 720p touchscreen display. While the GameMT E6 Plus looks like a Steam Deck or an ASUS ROG Ally, it is more of a target for cheaper gaming handhelds thanks to the presence of a Rockchip RK3566 chipset and 2 GB of RAM.

Epic Games has only just refreshed its free game of the week offering. Nonetheless, details about the next game in line for the same treatment have already been published online.

Sony has made it a lot easier for PlayStation 5 owners to access Discord audio calls on their consoles. Now, a dedicated Discord tab in the Game Base gives you direct access to your contacts and servers.