Gaming

(Update: Officially confirmed, third title unveiled) Sony has apparently put together another attractive gaming package for PS Plus Essentials subscribers in October 2023, who will be able to download and play the popular Farming Simulator 2022 and The Callisto Protocol for free starting next week.

Although it only has a refresh rate of 75 Hz and 1,920 X 1,080 pixels, the Acer Nitro XZ320QR bih is a popular curved gaming monitor in the budget market. With a list price of US$229.99, this 31.5-inch monitor with AMD FreeSync support is now down to US$169.99, thanks to a 26% discount.

Recent Nintendo Switch 2 leaks have led to much speculation about specifications. The apparent suggestion is that Nintendo's next-generation hybrid handheld console would match the PS4 in performance, but lofty performance doesn't quite align with Nintendo's typical strategy, especially given the trade-offs in the name of performance.

AYANEO has now provided more information about the SLIDE, its first gaming handheld with a built-in keyboard. Based around an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U APU, the AYANEO SLIDE has a 6-inch IPS display and hall triggers, among other gaming-related hardware.

FTC's investigation on the Activision / Blizzard acquisition reveals that the Xbox business is not looking too good. CEO of MS Gamin Phil Spencer believes the business model needs to change in order to survive this decade, and one way to do this could come through more acquisitions. Leaked emails from 2020 show Spencer is eying Nintendo and Valve, possibly even Warner Brothers.

Limited to only 150 systems, this Razer Blade 16 variant combines top-tier specs like the RTX 4090 and a dual-resolution mini-LED 16-inch screen with Lamborghini's design elements borrowed from the new Revuelto supercar.

The HP Victus 15 is enjoying a whopping 33.33% discount at Best Buy. The laptop features a 15-inch 144 Hz FHD display, an RTX 3050 6 GB GPU, and a Core i5-13420H. Additionally, there is 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage both of which can be expanded thanks to a single M.2 and two SO-DIMM slots.

The Xiaomi Curved Gaming Monitor 30" is now on sale in the UK and Spain, with discounts for early customers. The device has a 21:9 aspect ratio, 200 Hz refresh rate and WFHD resolution. The curved screen has gaming features like support for AMD FreeSync Premium and a Low Blue Light mode.

Launched the same day as Cyberpunk 2077 2.0, the Nvidia GeForce Game Ready Driver 537.42 carries multiple highlights, but the essential one is DLSS 3.5. The new software package for GeForce GPUs also comes with DLSS and Nvidia Reflex support for Party Animals, Warhaven, and Witchfire.

Leaked documents submitted by Microsoft to the FTC throw light on the company's plans for the next generation Xbox slated for a 2028 release. Microsoft is exploring both ARM and Zen 6 x64 options with a Navi 5 GPU and an NPU as part of its hybrid compute plans together with next gen DirectX ray tracing. In the run up to this, Microsoft may also introduce a handheld Xbox and a cloud-only gaming device.

With the latest round of price slashes for the AMD's X3D processors, the Ryzen 7800X3D gaming king can now be purchased for only US$389 at B&H or Amazon, and those lucky enough to live near a Microcenter store can even find this model at US$379.99.

The Core series gets a new 16-inch model powered by AMD's Ryzen 7 7840HS and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 or 4060, This model combines mid-range features as well as premium ones like Cherry MX switches, a 99 Wh battery, liquid metal thermal compound for the processor and the dGPU, plus up to 96 GB DDR5 RAM.

The GIGABYTE AORUS 15 is an affordable mid-range gaming machine with decent internals, a high-refresh-rate display, and long battery life. The laptop is currently on sale at Best Buy for a decent US$150 discount. The newly reduced rate makes the already good notebook even better.

Black Shark - which started out as Xiaomi's gaming smartphone division - has heralded its "new gaming era" with the Green Ghost controller. It boasts ALPS joysticks for enhanced "durability" and "2,000-level accuracy". It has been joined by a new smartwatch, open-ear earbuds and a new MagCooler 3 Pro in the brand's updated web-store.

While the Hungarian ground vehicles and helicopters join the Italian tech trees, bluewater naval battles get rank VI ships, War Thunder's "Sons of Attila" update also comes with new military hardware for most nations in the game. The game receives multiple visual improvements, a new map, and more.

The long wait has come to an end, since at Gamescom, AMD has finally introduced the midrange graphics cards based on the RDNA 3 architecture that were still missing, thus completing their lineup. We took a closer look at the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and compared the performance in numerous games.

CheckMag We have chosen a selection of 3 gaming laptops from our detailed Notebookcheck reviews: The ROG Strix Scar 17 G733PY, the Legion Pro 7 16 and the Erazer Beast X40 all sport 175 W RTX 4090 graphics and spacious, color-accurate, flicker-free displays for content creation and unrestrained gaming.

This TKL version of the G915 Lightspeed is equipped with tactile switches and fully customizable RGB lighting, and thanks to a coupon code on Amazon, the wireless gaming keyboard from Logitech is now available for almost half of its official list price.

Valve has released Steam Deck OS 3.5 to its Preview software channel. While its version number suggests that it is a minor release, Valve has added numerous features, including APU undervolting, HDR support and VRR integration for external displays.

The NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs are the company’s next-generation products coming to both HPC and gaming segments of the market. According to the previous leaks, the data center Blackwell GPUs could feature an MCM design. Kopite7kimi has seemingly confirmed the past reports by claiming that GB100 HPC chip is indeed based on multiple chiplets.

Leaked slides from Microsoft's FTC submissions posted on Resetera forums reveal the company's plans for Xbox Series X "Brooklin" and Series S "Ellewood" mid-range refreshes coming in late 2024. Brooklin will offer Wi-Fi 6E and USB-C connectivity together with storage up to 2 TB. Microsoft will also be launching a new Xbox Universal Controller "Sebile" later this year with improved buttons, connectivity, and immersive haptics.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console may have actually been teased in some screenshots taken from the upcoming Switch remake of Another Code: Two Memories, which will be released as part of Another Code: Recollection in January 2024. The game’s protagonist has use of a mysterious device during the game that suspiciously fits a few rumors about the Switch 2.

The wired gaming mouse from Logitech sports an optical sensor with up to 25,600 DPI, eleven programmable buttons as well as adjustable weights, which turn the G502 Hero into a decent choice in the affordable price segment of roughly US$30.

Optoma asserts that its latest 4K projector offers just about all the advantages of its predecessor in a package reduced in size by 34%. These potential benefits include a 240Hz/1080p "ultra-low" latency Gaming Mode, "flexible" short-throw technology and HDMI 2.0. The UHZ35ST also boasts eco-friendly features such as the potential for energy-efficient use and a 50% post-consumer recyclable plastic chassis.

Court documents released from the FTC's case against Microsoft reveal that The Elder Scrolls 6, the hotly anticipated game in Bethesda's popular fantasy franchise, won't release until 2026 at the earliest. Additionally, the game won't be coming to the PlayStation 5 (at least, not at first).

AYANEO is on the verge of launching the SLIDE, its GPD Win 4 alternative. Not only does the AYANEO SLIDE have a 6-inch and 1080p display, but it also houses an RGB backlit keyboard, full gamepad buttons and AMD Ryzen 7040U APUs up to the Ryzen 7 7840U.

ASUS has finally started selling the ROG Ally with an AMD Ryzen Z1 APU, months after it started shipping Ryzen Z1 Extreme units. The new version is cheaper than the existing Ryzen Z1 Extreme model but retains a 120 Hz display, 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD and a 40 Wh battery. The cheaper ASUS ROG Ally makes sacrifices in other areas, though.

A group called Pitstoptech has revealed a working prototype of a gaming handheld derived from a Framework Mainboard. Purportedly, Pitstoptech hopes to eventually sell DIY kits allowing people to build their own device that has a comparatively large battery, a 7-inch display and detachable controllers.

ASUS has unleashed the TUF Gaming VG249QL3A, a 23.8-inch gaming monitor that relies on a Fast IPS panel. According to ASUS, the TUF Gaming VG249QL3A delivers a 180 Hz refresh rate with 1 ms response times, as well as a 1080p resolution and 350 nits peak brightness.

Acer has launched the Nitro XV282K V3, a new mid-sized gaming monitor with a 4K resolution and 150 Hz refresh rate. Available now in the US, the gaming monitor also has modern I/O and retails for less than US$450.

CheckMag Image upscaling techniques in games have been a huge step forward, enhancing graphics quality while optimising performance. While the promise of better-than-native-resolution image quality is only a reality in a few select cases - usually because of poor temporal antialiasing (TAA) in the base game - the ability to turn lower resolutions into higher ones with minimal loss of visual fidelity is to be lauded, whether it be Nvidia's DLSS, Intel's XeSS, or AMD's FSR 2.

A YouTuber believes he may have spotted the potentially first Nintendo Switch 2 physical detail. It seems there could have been clues left in the recent Nintendo Direct broadcast that allude to differences between a Switch successor and the current Switch. In fact, the video host even brands the Switch 2 as a Super Switch because of the perceived hints.

Introduced in June 2022, the 32-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 curved gaming monitor is often available on Amazon for the full list price of US$1,499.99. Thankfully, the ongoing 33% discount takes it down to US$999.99, not far from the all-time low US$979.99, reached at the end of last year.

Acer has released the Nitro XZ320QK P3, a US$499.99 gaming monitor with a 4K resolution and a 165 Hz refresh rate. The Nitro XZ320QK P3 also has a 1500R curvature, modern I/O and good colour accuracy, among other features.

Ready for use on PlayStation 5 consoles, the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD can hit sequential read/write speeds of 7,500/6,500 MB/s. Available earlier this year for US$279.99, the 2 TB variant of this high-end SSD is now down by 51% on Amazon, so it currently goes for US$122.99.

A more restrained set of alleged Nintendo Switch 2 specs have been posted just in time to counter a rather outlandish claim recently made elsewhere on social media. While the latter involves T254 speculation that was likely inspired by perceived disappointment in the Switch 2 likely coming with the T239 chip, the former specs have been called the “most accurate” by the poster.

Unity has found itself on the receiving end of a mountain of criticism after the company announced plans to charge a Unity Runtime Fee for every new game install for eligible titles. According to the company, the fee which is planned to come into effect on January 1, 2024, won’t effect more than 90% of the customers. However, this hasn’t stopped the company from getting blasted by developers and gamers alike.

AOC has unveiled the GAMING 16G3, a 15.6-inch portable monitor with a 1080p resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. Available later this month for £249.99, the AOC GAMING 16G3 also has micro HDMI and USB Type-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode) inputs, among other features.

Compatible with PCs, Macs, as well as PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox consoles, the Lexar SL660 Blaze portable SSD targets gamers with RGB LED lighting and sequential read/write speeds up to 2,000/1,900 MB/s. Now 31% down from its list price of US$129.99, the 1 TB SL660 Blaze can be acquired for US$89.99.