A demo of the immersive XR game will be playable this year at special public events.
Pixelity Inc., developers of Evangelion: Δ Cross Reflections, announced that a demo of the game will be playable throughout the year at live events all around the world.
The game has thus far only been playable to an extremely small segment of the public. In December, it was playable at a limited event spanning three days in Tokyo, then at a one-day event in California. In order to try the game, applicants needed to apply through Evangelion: Δ Cross Reflections' X account and be selected to participate. More recently, the demo was playable for lucky lottery winners who attended the Evangelion 30th Anniversary Event, which just wrapped up.
Supporting both VR and mixed reality gameplay, Evangelion: Δ Cross Reflections is the first installment in a planned trilogy that aims to cover all 26 episodes of the TV series. The game will tell a new story from the perspective of an original protagonist who dreams of becoming a pilot, making connections between the anime's “key episodes” and the game's new characters.
“Players will enjoy the story set in the locations from the anime from their own perspective. Battles between Evangelions and Angels, various interactive elements, and engaging captivating storylines with original characters are also planned,” Pixelity noted in a press release.
Originally created by the filmmaker Hideaki Anno, and first airing in 1995, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a critically-acclaimed post-apocalyptic anime mech series focusing on the fight between NERV, a paramilitary group, and the Angels, otherworldly antagonists seemingly bent on humanity's destruction.
The anime series has been massively influential within and outside of its native Japan, expanding to manga, merchandise, anime retellings, video games and more. While the franchise has dabbled in VR before with Bandai Namco's 2017 release, Evangelion VR: The Throne of Souls, that arcade VR experience was only playable on-site at VR Zone locations in Japan. Evangelion: Δ Cross Reflections is the first Evangelion VR/XR game designed for home use via consumer headsets.
News broke this week that a new Evangelion animated series is in production. The new series is being written by Yoko Taro, the unconventional video game creator most-known for Nier and Nier: Automata, in collaboration with Hideaki Anno's Studio Khara.
An Evangelion: Δ Cross Reflections public demo is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026. Specific platforms and release dates remain unconfirmed, and while no dates or details have yet been revealed regarding the aforementioned live events, Pixelity encourages anyone interested in trying the game to watch their official X account for announcements.
The first of Steam's triannual showcases of upcoming games is now live and features dozens of PC VR demos.
This is the first chance for many players to try popular upcoming titles for the first time like Beyond Frames' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City.
Some of the participating games released demos prior to the start of Next Fest, like Echoes of Mora, Alliance Tales: Battle For The Frontier, Birdseed VR, and How To God.
Please note that this list was provided two weeks ago by Valve and is subject to change. Developers can (and previously have) drop out of Next Fest if their demo is not ready or release a demo on short notice.
For now, here are the games we're aware of:
• Alliance Tales: Battle For The Frontier
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City
• Project Louisiana - The BOUNDS VR Demo
• Combat Pilot: Carrier Qualification
• Annulus
• Get Out
• Gun X
• Enigmo
Steam Next Fest runs until 10am Pacific Standard Time on March 2nd.
This year's CES was pretty lean on exciting announcements, at least for enthusiats. Intel's Core Ultra 300 series, the chips codenamed Panther Lake, are pretty cool, but that was really about it. Next year is looking to be a lot more exciting, though. According to the latest rumors, Intel and AMD may be having a metaphorical knife fight atIn response to fan feedback, the new 'Survival Mode' allows players to play the game without the restrictions of the main campaign.
Neolithic Dawn, a survival game set in the neolithic era, started out in Early Access on Quest in June 2025 followed by PC VR in September. Both versions went to full release in December 2025.
The latest update from developer Neolithic LLC adds a fan-requested quick play 'Survival Mode' option. This new mode has every map unlocked and is free of any objectives and story-based missions to complete, designed for players looking for a more open, sandbox survival experience.
The update also expands the Saugeen Bluffs area, adds support for bHaptics vests, and improves the main menu interface and inventory system.
We went hands-on during the Early Access period and had a mostly positive experience despite the bugs and jank to be expected in Early Access titles. In our hands-on piece, we said "Exploring the world is wonderful. Environments are vast and varied. There are moments of pure wonder and true terror."
UploadVRJames TocchioNeolithic Dawn is available now on Steam and Meta Quest for $19.99.
Wispr Flow, the popular dictation app that leverages AI, launched last year across Windows, Mac and iOS, and is finally coming to Android. The developers claim that it this isn’t just a straight port of what’s found on other platforms and that the team has gone to great lengths to create an experience that's “optimized for Android’s system-level
iOS users may already be aware of the commercial spyware dubbed Predator, but may not know exactly what it's capable. Fortunately, malware researchers Nir Avraham and Hu Ke have published a detailed write-up on how the Predator spyware works, including how "a single hook defeats both camera and microphone indicators simultaneously." The PredatorIron Guard: Salvation, a VR sci-fi tower defense game, is launching on PlayStation VR2 in March.
Iron Guard: Salvation is a tower defense strategy game in which players must build and upgrade bases and weapons while managing resources and fending off waves of enemies in VR. A story-driven campaign mode offers a cinematic experience across 30 hand-crafted missions.
Iron Guard: Salvation is a direct sequel to Xlab Digital's Iron Guard, which first debuted in 2021 and was ported to PS VR2 last year.
We previously reviewed Iron Guard: Salvation when it released on Quest, where our reviewer found it to be a strong tower defense game that might have benefitted from heavier implementation of RTS mechanics and inclusion of a multiplayer mode.
Iron Guard: Salvation launches March 5th on PlayStation VR2. It's out now on Quest and PC VR.
Enthusiast and frequent leak-spotter Gray (@Olrak29_ on Xwitter) spied a fresh job posting from Intel that's got the tight-knit community of hardware nerds buzzing with speculation on Chipzilla's plans. Intel's on the lookout for a Senior CPU Verification Engineer to join the team in Austin, Texas. Base pay kicks off at around $142K (the national
In case you have not heard, Netflix is planning to the pull the plug on streaming support for PlayStation 3 consoles. Same goes for legions of legacy TVs and older set-top boxes. Now, we're not here to drag Netflix over the coals for abandoning a 20-year-old console and other aging hardware, but with Sony estimated to have sold nearly 90 million
Apple confirmed its first big product event of this year as the company sent invites to press for a “special Apple Experience” taking place in New York, London, and Shanghai. However, this slate of product launches will be different from past ones, according to Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman, who’s expecting a slew of new additions
Oh boy, here we go again. A supposed early retail listing for Grand Theft Auto VI, arguably (and not all that arguable, really) the most anticipated video game of all time, is causing a ruckus with a listed price of $124.19. It comes on the heels of speculation that GTA VI could break hit and surpass the $100 barrier, though before anyoneIntel has reportedly finalised the specifications for its long-rumoured “Bartlett Lake-S” Core 200E family of processors, a platform that's expected to use only P-cores for the ageing LGA-1700 socket.
Despite the gaming community calling for a P-core-only desktop chip, Intel might be skipping this market with Bartlett Lake-S.
The technical specifications leaked by Jaykhin (via VideoCardz) showcase a 12-core, 24-thread flagship dubbed the Core 9 273 PQE. This high-performance SKU features a base frequency of 3.4GHz and can reach a single-core boost of 5.9GHz, with an all-core boost of 5.3GHz. The processor is equipped with 36MB of L3 cache and a 32-EU integrated Xe-LP graphics engine, all while operating within a 125W TDP. The lineup is segmented into three distinct power tiers: the higher-end PQE (125W), the balanced PE (65W), and the efficiency-focused PTE (45W).
Across the stack, Intel reportedly offers configurations with 8, 10, and 12 P-cores, all of which feature Hyper-Threading. All high-power PQE models support Intel vPro and ECC memory, though these features are selectively omitted from certain lower-power PE and PTE variants to better align with specific price points. The detailed table shared by Jaykhin can be found below:
| BTL-S P | Base Power (W) | Core Count | ST Boost (GHz) | MT Boost (GHz) | Base Clock (GHz) | EU Count | L3 Cache (MB) | vPro | ECC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 273PQE | 125 | 12 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 32 | 36 | Yes | Yes |
| 253PQE | 125 | 10 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 32 | 33 | Yes | Yes |
| 223PQE | 125 | 8 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 32 | 24 | Yes | Yes |
| 273PE | 65 | 12 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 2.3 | 32 | 36 | Yes | Yes |
| 253PE | 65 | 10 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 32 | 33 | Yes | Yes |
| 223PE | 65 | 8 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 2.9 | 32 | 24 | Yes | Yes |
| 213PE | 65 | 8 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 24 | 24 | No | Yes |
| 273PTE | 45 | 12 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 32 | 36 | Yes | Yes |
| 253PTE | 45 | 10 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 32 | 33 | Yes | Yes |
| 223PTE | 45 | 8 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 32 | 24 | Yes | Yes |
| 213PTE | 45 | 8 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 24 | 24 | No | Yes |
KitGuru says: Gamers have asked for a modern Intel CPU without E-cores, and the Bartlett Lake-S series offers just that. Unfortunately, we do not know if Intel will be serving the gaming market with this release.
The post Intel “Bartlett Lake-S” lineup reportedly leaks first appeared on KitGuru.MSI has started teasing a limited-edition graphics card collaboration with the popular fantasy anime Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, signalling another high-profile crossover.
The announcement first appeared on MSI's official Chinese Bilibili accounts (via Ruby_Rapids), featuring imagery that confirms a partnership with the series' copyright holders. While the specific product has not been officially confirmed, MSI's history suggests the collaboration will likely centre on a graphics card.
If it's indeed a graphics card, it will likely be based on one of MSI's existing high-end cooling platforms, such as the Gaming series, though customised with unique artwork.
This follows a growing trend of anime-inspired hardware, such as the Asus x Hatsune Miku series, or before that, the Evangelion collaboration. US custom PC company, Starforge Systems, also built a Frieren-themed PC. While this specific MSI teaser was primarily aimed at the Chinese market, there is a chance that we'll see it in the West as well.
KitGuru says: If this collaboration does exist it will also be interesting to see if it ends up being region specific.
The post MSI is teasing a collaboration with anime Frieren first appeared on KitGuru.During a Dragon Ball anniversary event last night, a new, untitled game was teased. Now just weeks later, it appears a YouTube playlist update has revealed this game to be Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3.
The Dragon Ball ‘Age 1000' game announcement teaser was accidentally put into a public playlist on YouTube by the Bandai Namco YouTube channel. The playlist revealed the teaser as an initial announcement for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3. Considering the game's codename and the Xenoverse' series' reliance on time travel, more than a few fans likely anticipated this anyway.
The Dragon Ball Xenoverse games have largely taken the spotlight on from previous 3D fighting games like the Budokai Tenkaichi series. In the Dragon Ball Xenoverse games, fans get to relive a mix of classic story fights, brand-new content and what-if scenarios. It has a massive character roster that has only grown through years of DLC support. However, with Xenoverse 2 having been around for almost 10 years now, this year would be a good time for a fresh new game in the series.
We will no doubt be getting more news on Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 in the coming months considering Bandai Namco is already preparing its back end for new trailers.
KitGuru Says: Did you play much of Xenoverse 2 since its launch? What would you like to see in a third game?
The post Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is officially on the way first appeared on KitGuru.For around a year now, there have been rumours of a major Starfield 2.0 update, one that would fix much of the criticism levied at the game at launch, while also bringing the game over to PS5 consoles. Unfortunately, one of those rumours has been shut down over the past week.
While it still seems likely that Starfield will make its way over to PS5, Todd Howard did want to address one of the recent rumours surrounding the game. In a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games, the long-time Bethesda game director said that ‘Starfield 2.0' is not a thing, although there are some big updates coming to the game this year.
“It is not Starfield 2.0 – I’ve seen some of that, and for expectation setting, I think it’s the kind've thing where if you like Starfield, we think you’re going to love this”, Howard added that the team is focused on “using outer space in ways that we haven't”. That last part is interesting, as one of the biggest fan requests for this game has been open travel between planets and space.
While not announced yet, it is also expected that Starfield will be getting a second story expansion at some point.
KitGuru Says: I really enjoyed my time with Starfield but I have yet to go back and play the DLC, in part because rumours of ‘major updates' have been floating around for so long.
The post Todd Howard pours cold water on ‘Starfield 2.0’ rumours first appeared on KitGuru.Our review of this HP Zbook Ultra G1a features the AMD Strix Halo APU which was announced at CES 2025. Despite its age this is the most powerful APU that money can buy, and both the CPU and graphics are truly impressive. To make things interesting we put the HP laptop head-to-head with Intel’s brand new Panther Lake Core Ultra X9 388H so we could see the best integrated graphics in action.
Timestamps
00:00 Start
00:52 AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Series
03:36 Intel Core Ultra Series 3 thoughts
04:19 A quick test or 2
06:32 Physical Size / Battery
07:37 Connectors / Keyboard / Looks
08:33 Hardware
09:17 Comparisons and Performance Hardware
11:13 GeekBench 6 Multi Core
13:20 Geekbench 6 Single Core
13:53 Cinebench 2026 Multi Core / Points Per watt
14:44 Cinebench 2026 Single Core
15:24 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
15:54 Cinebench 2024 Single Core
16:15 Cinebench R23 Multi Core
16:34 Cinebench R23 Single Core
16:44 7-Zip V25 Benchmark
16:56 Aida64 Memory Bandwidth
17:09 3DMark Fire Strike
17:52 Assassins Creed Mirage
19:57 FarCry 6
21:48 Cyberpunk 2077
24:21 PCMark 10 Battery Test
25:05 Closing Thoughts
Main Features
Specification
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
In Geekbench 6 Multi Core we see the HP Zbook in an effective tie with the Asus Zenbook Duo and Intel Panther Lake. This indicates that Core Ultra X9 388H has something extra that makes up for the lack of pure CPU grunt.
Cinebench 2026 Multi Core
This is the result we expected in Cinebench 2026 Multi Core with the AMD Strix Halo powering the HP Zbook to a clear victory by a massive margin.
AIDA64 Memory Bandwidth
The HP Zbook is loaded with a massive 128GB of LPDDR5x-8533 and the Strix Halo has a quad channnel memory controller which combine in AIDA64 Memory Bandwidth to deliver a decisive victory.
Far Cry 6 at 1,280×800 on Ultra Preset
We show a number of gaming tests in our video. This particular test shows a low resolution with the clever image enhancements disabled, and the result is the HP Zbook runs at over 100fps on average which is impressive.
Cyberpunk 2077 at 2,880×1,800 with Frame Generation Enabled
Cyberpunk 2077 is a stiff test for any laptop and 2,880×1,800 is a huge resolution so it comes as quite a surprise to see the HP Zbook using Frame Generation to play at nearly 100fps.
Battery Life
The HP Zbook does well in our battery test and shows that you can work all day on a single battery charge. Having said that, you will want to take the charger with you to guarantee you get maximum performance.
If KitGuru were to invent an award for Most Stealthy and Under Stated Product Ever, the HP Zbook Ultra G1a would make the list and would likely win the award. It looks like a dull, grey 14-inch laptop that is thin and light yet it packs the most amazing punch and delivers epic performance from the AMD Strix Halo APU without any need for add-in graphics.
You may have noticed in our video that we barely discuss operating temperatures and don't mention noise levels at all, and that is for good reason. The innards typically run at 60 degrees C on battery and 70 degrees C on charger, and the cooling system wasn't the least bit intrusive. It is a remarkable laptop that is mainly back by its hefty £3k+ price tag and slightly affected by the annoyingn amount of HP software.
You can buy the HP Zbook Ultra G1a for £3,204 HERE.
Pros:
Cons:
KitGuru says: The HP Zbook Ultra G1a is deeply impressive and shows we can live without Nvidia graphics.
Connexion