Returnal is an excellent and heart-pumping 3rd-person bullet hell rogue-like from the team at Housemarque. Released back in 2021 shortly following the PS5’s launch, the title saw solid support from the studio. 3 years on from its last major update (and two years since the PC release), Returnal has gotten a small yet welcome patch bringing full PS5 Pro support.

In celebration of the game’s 4th anniversary, Housemarque announced and released a surprise PlayStation 5 Pro patch – said to bring “up to 2.5X the pixels on PS5 Pro for a higher resolution experience of Returnal.”

While certainly a welcome upgrade, what you see is what you get with this Pro patch. As analysed by Digital Foundry, this update solely offers a boost to resolution, bringing it up from a native 1080p (temporally reconstructed to 1440p then upscaled to 4K) to a dynamic 1728-1350p. All in all, a solid enhancement.

Interestingly, Housemarque seemingly decided against PlayStation’s PSSR. Similarly, none of the ray-tracing effects added with the PC port have been brought over.

Still, a 2.5x resolution boost is certainly noticeable, making a fast-paced game like Returnal more easily appreciable – especially with how many particles the game throws at the screen at any given moment.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the Pro patch? Do you notice a difference? Are you underwhelmed by the enhancements? Let us know down below.

For a while now, we’ve known many of Ubisoft’s plans regarding the future of the Assassin’s Creed series, with the publisher themselves announcing a bunch of projects all at the same time. With AC: Shadows finally out and performing well, insiders have now begun to offer more details on the next 9 iterations of AC.

While Ubisoft Quebec is busy with their extensive post-launch support for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, known leakers Insider-Gaming have offered new details on the rest of AC’s line-up of titles.

According to the report, Ubisoft has 9 total Assassin’s Creed games currently in development in one form or another: “2 RPG's, 2 remakes, 2 smaller experiences, 2 multiplayer games, and 1 mobile title.”

As mentioned, we already know what some of these will be, with the mobile title being the Tencent co-developed AC: Jade; one of the multiplayer games being Codename Invictus and at least one of the smaller experiences being codename Hexe.

Beyond this, rumours have persisted for a while now that a remake of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is in the works.

According to Insider-Gaming, the first game of the bunch to come out will be Assassin’s Creed Jade. (set in China). Following this will be the aforementioned Invictus, which will reportedly be a Fall Guys styled game with 5 years of support already planned out.

Then comes Obsidian, the codename for the Black Flag remake, which is planned to release around the same time as Invictus.

Following this will be Hexe. Said to be arriving after Shadows’ two years of support ends, this smaller experience will offer just one year of support.

The final 5 games Ubisoft currently has planned are:

• Scarlet (RPG which will take place across India, the Mediterranean, and the Aztec Empire)
• Stardust (Second remake project)
• Emerald (Second multiplayer project)
• ‘RPG3’
• ‘Remake3’

While some could argue that Ubisoft is planning a bit too far ahead, Assassin’s Creed does represent the publisher’s biggest franchise and so it is somewhat reassuring at least to know that the team has a vision for its future.

KitGuru says: What do you think of all these projects? Which are you most interested in? Are they planning too far ahead? Let us know down below.

One of the most interesting tidbits from the life of the Nintendo 3DS was the fact that it was used as a digital audio tour guide for the iconic French museum The Louvre. That said, with smartphones becoming the standard more than a decade ago now, the museum has decided that it’s finally time to retire the service.

In an update made to the website’s section detailing their audio guide, which allows you to “Explore the palace and collections with the audio guide on the New Nintendo 3DS” The Louvre made note of the service's impending discontinuation, writing:

“The New Nintendo 3DS console audio guides will go out of operation in September 2025, to be replaced by a new system.”

The new system has not been detailed, but as mentioned, with the ubiquity of smartphones nowadays, it will likely be a downloadable phone app of some sorts.

While the use of a 3DS for The Louvre was always a bit of an odd choice, it does feel somewhat like the end of an era for a handheld system which punched far above its own weight.

KitGuru says: Have you toured The Louvre before? Did you utilise their 3DS guides? What do you think they’ll be replaced by? Let us know down below.

Since its shadow-drop two weeks ago, the remaster for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has been performing extremely well – selling over 4 million copies in mere days and achieving the 3rd biggest launch on PS5 this year. As time progresses and more data is gathered, we’re getting a clearer idea of just how well Oblivion performed; with the game currently sitting as the 3rd best-selling game of 2025 in the US.

As reported by industry analyst Mat Piscatella via BlueSky, “After just one week in market (w/e 4.26) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Remastered is already the 3rd best-selling game of 2025 in the US ($ sales) trailing only Monster Hunter: Wilds and Assassin's Creed: Shadows.”

As noted by Piscatella, this only represents the first week of sales, meaning it could have surpassed AC Shadows by now.

Furthermore, Oblivion was a day-one Game Pass PC / Ultimate addition, making the achievement more notable. Of course, Oblivion is a known quantity and so even with a shadow drop, the game was likely to see plenty of interest.

All that said, it will be curious to see how other rumoured Bethesda remasters wind up performing when they are eventually announced and released.

KitGuru says: Have you been enjoying the Oblivion remaster? Are you hyped now for the rumoured Fallout 3 remake? With GTA VI no longer coming out this year, could Oblivion become the best-selling game of 2025? Let us know down below.

There are now a lot of choices when it comes to X870 motherboards, so if you are building a new AMD based system you can pick the model that best meets your…

Skype was the last of the conferencing apps that focused purely on video and text chats, without the addition of dozens of features that are barely related to simply making calls over…

A few weeks ago, a rumour went around claiming that Microsoft was working on a Gears of War Remaster, one that would bring the franchise to PlayStation for the first time. Now, Microsoft has announced Gears of War: Reloaded, and it is coming out later this year. 

Gears of War: Reloaded is a remaster of the original Gears of War. It includes all of the improvements of the Ultimate Edition that Microsoft launched back in 2015 for Xbox One and PC. The key difference this time around is that Microsoft is including 4K and 120FPS modes for console.

While Gears of War: Ultimate Edition did release on PC, it did not come to Steam. Since then, Microsoft has opted to bring many of its first-party games to Steam, often day-and-date with the Windows Store and Xbox versions of a new release. With Gears of War: Reloaded, Microsoft will bring the game to Steam, joining the likes of Gears 4 and Gears 5.

Unfortunately, Gears of War: Reloaded only includes the original game, not the entire Xbox 360-era trilogy. On the bright side, while rumours claimed multiplayer would not be part of this new re-release, Microsoft has confirmed that multiplayer will be present in Gears of War: Reloaded.

The re-release will give new fans a chance to jump in and familiarise themselves with key characters like Marcus Fenix, before the prequel, Gears of War: E-Day, releases in 2026.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I love Gears of War and am happy to see the game finally coming to more platforms. However, I am a little disappointed to learn that this is more of a rebrand for Gears of War Ultimate, and not a new attempt to bring all three games to modern systems. While we've had a ‘modern' version of Gears 1 for 10 years now, we are still stuck with the old Xbox 360 versions of Gears 2 and Gears 3. 

The rumour mill is buzzing again about Valve's long-awaited next entry in the Half-Life series. According to rumours, the game is currently “playable end-to-end”, which would mean that Valve may make a full announcement later this year. 

In a video posted on YouTube, Tyler McVicker, known for reporting on Valve rumors, has stated that Half-Life 3 is entirely playable, and an official reveal might be around the corner. Although a shadowdrop is unlikely for a game like this, there's always a first time for everything. However, the leaker stated that the release date is likely set for later this year. For reference, Half-Life Alyx was first announced in November 2019, before releasing in March 2020.

Beyond McVicker's insights, there have been other clues recently. In March, Valve concept artist Evgeniy Evstratiy reportedly claimed to have been in the room where Valve created Half-Life 3. In the same month, fellow Valve leaker Gabe Follower suggested the game will mark the “end of Gordon's adventure”. Internet rumblings have also uncovered code mentioning “HLX”, widely assumed to be the codename for Half-Life 3, appearing in recent updates to Valve titles like Deadlock and Dota 2.

KitGuru says: Do you believe Valve will reveal Half-Life 3 soon? 

Warhorse Studios' Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is proving to be a major hit, quickly racking up impressive sales figures. The studio has announced that the game has officially sold over three million copies just three months and one day after its release, solidifying its position as one of the most successful games of 2025 so far. In addition, the developer also announced that the first game has sold a total of 10 million copies.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 broke the two million sales mark in February and added another million in just over two months. While the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance has sold over ten million copies to date, reports from March indicated the sequel outsold its predecessor five times over during their respective first months on the market. This strong start suggests that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 might surpass the original's lifetime sales total.

A combination of factors is likely driving these strong sales figures. The game received excellent reviews at launch (90 over at OpenCritic), with critics praising its evolution from the 2018 original. Word-of-mouth from players has also clearly translated into sales. Warhorse Studios' commitment to post-launch support hasn't hurt either, with the studio providing free content updates for the game.

Players can also look forward to plenty more content soon. Warhorse Studios recently unveiled details about the game's first expansion, which is set to be released later this month, in May 2025. It has also been reported that three paid DLCs are planned for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 throughout 2025, so there's still much to come for this medieval RPG.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Have you tried any of the Kingdom Come: Deliverance games? Which one was your favourite?

While Skype was at one point the dominant VOIP software in the market, over the 2010s, Microsoft saw a rapid decline in users thanks to competing technologies and nowadays, services like Discord, Microsoft Teams and Zoom have essentially replaced Skype entirely. Now, Microsoft is shutting Skype down for good. 

Microsoft officially announced plans to shut down Skype earlier this year, citing the emergence of Microsoft Teams as a key reason behind the shutdown. Rather than working on two competing VOIP apps at once, Microsoft is cutting Skype off and focusing all future efforts on Teams.

The shutdown date happens to be today, May 5th. After today, Skype will no longer be functional, and you won't be able to continue making calls, or access Skype's Premium features.

At its peak, Skype attracted over 300 million users, a figure that had dropped to around 36 million in 2023 – a number that I personally find quite hard to believe given how irrelevant Skype has become over the past five years.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: When was the last time you used Skype? Are you sad to see it go, or have you moved over to another platform already?

In an unexpected shift for a studio long synonymous with the genre, Codemasters is officially stepping away from rally racing simulators. While Formula One has become their primary focus under EA, rally sims have been an integral part of Codemasters' identity for decades, from the days of Colin McRae Rally to the Dirt series.

In an official blog post, the studio revealed they are ceasing development support for EA Sports WRC and ending their WRC cooperation after just one game. Not only that, but Codemasters stated they do not intend to create any further rally racing simulations for the time being.

As some may have anticipated following this significant shift, the studio has confirmed that layoffs sadly accompany this transition. Speaking to VGC, Codemasters confirmed they are “eliminating roles” as they complete their rally development pipeline. The exact number of affected positions wasn't specified, though the studio noted that efforts are being made to reassign some employees to other EA Sports projects and teams.

These layoffs at Codemasters are not isolated incidents within EA. They come shortly after EA announced broader job cuts affecting around 300 positions across the company, which reportedly included Respawn Entertainment cutting about 100 staff and cancelling a Titanfall extraction shooter project. Unfortunately, this also marks the second time Codemasters has recently had to reduce its workforce, having also laid off staff in December 2023.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Did you play any of Codemasters' rally games? Which one was your favourite?

If you've been following Raccoon Logic in anticipation of Revenge of the Savage Planet coming out, then you're probably already aware of the journey the studio has been through to get here. Founded in Montreal in 2017 as an independent team under the name Typhoon Studios and acquired two years later by Google, Typhoon would end up being hit by the collateral damage caused by Google not knowing what to do with Stadia. When Stadia was shuttered, Typhoon went with it. And, as we've seen before in video games, it didn't matter that their first game, Journey to the Savage […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/revenge-of-the-savage-planet-review-funny-beautiful-and-tedious/

Last year, a writer sued Bungie, claiming that Destiny 2's Red War campaign copied from his own stories published online. The Red War campaign was the original set of story missions that launched with Destiny 2. This campaign hasn't been available in Destiny 2 for several years at this stage and now, that fact is causing issues for Bungie as it attempts to fight the lawsuit. 

Bungie filed to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming that its Red War campaign is ‘demonstrably' different to this author's writings. However, as the Red War missions now sit locked in the Bungie Content Vault, Bungie cannot actually ‘demonstrate' the differences at all.

As reported by VGC, Bungie tried to explain to the court that this ‘legacy' content can no longer be accessed and as a result, it can't be provided to the court in any “operable or reviewable form”. To work around this, Bungie submitted YouTube videos showcasing Destiny 2's launch campaign, as well as Wiki articles explaining the story events that are no longer present in the live game.

The judge ultimately ruled that third-party retellings of the Destiny 2 campaign can't be considered as evidence as their “authenticity has not been established”.

As a result, the case will move forward, which could lead to Bungie having to waste time and resources going through an expensive trial process.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: My question here is if content can't be brought back out of the ‘Content Vault', then what purpose does it serve? 

Call of Duty 2025 will be announced within the next few months and we're starting to hear more rumblings about the changes this year's game will bring. One of the big changes may be coming to monetisation, as one prominent leaker claims that Activision plans to make limited time modes exclusive to the Battle Pass. 

Currently, Call of Duty has many limited time modes that appear for a few weeks or months at a time, before being retired. These modes, like last year's limited-time Squid Games event, often garner a lot of traction and have become a core part of the annual COD experience.

According to COD leaker, GhostofHope, in COD 2025, limited time modes will no longer be free for all players and will instead be locked behind the Battle Pass.

This is not great news considering that this year will also likely see Call of Duty rising to $80 for the standard edition at launch. Microsoft announced last week that it intends to begin pricing some of its first-party games at $80, with premium editions rising to $100 or more.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: For me, this might be the last straw for COD. I tend to only play the game for a couple of weeks at a time and it is often the limited time mode pushing me to reinstall. If all of that gets locked behind a battle pass, my few weeks a year of playtime is going to turn into zero weeks a year. 

Back at CES, many attendees were shocked to see one company showing off a Nintendo Switch 2 right there on the show floor. The company known as Genki, had boldly brought along a Switch 2 dummy unit to showcase its upcoming accessories for the unannounced console. Now, Nintendo is suing them. 

Nintendo has filed a lawsuit in California, targeting Genki parent company, Human Things. The lawsuit alleges that Genki committed trademark infringement and false advertising when it brought its fake Switch 2 model to CES. Nintendo didn't officially detail the Switch 2 and all of its features until April, four months after CES.

In the lawsuit (via VGC) Nintendo puts together a timeline of events, beginning in December 2024, when Genki tweeted at Gamestop CEO, Ryan Cohen, saying: “Would love to DM you with some of the launch Switch 2 accessories we are working on”. They then took things a step further by bringing those accessories to CES in January 2025, along with 3D-printed mock-ups of the Switch 2 console.

The lawsuit also takes issue with Genki's media interviews, claiming that in these interviews, employees confirmed “specific, highly confidential designs and functionality of the not-yet announced Nintendo Switch 2”.

Nintendo alleges that Genki's actions were an attempt to “confuse the public as to whether Genki had access to a Nintendo Switch 2 and/or an affiliation with Nintendo”.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The lawsuit has just been filed, so Human Things / Genki have not yet responded. They'll have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit with their own filings, so there should be an update soon. 

Tyler Mcvicker became a well-known figure in the Valve fandom during the run-up to Half-Life Alyx, after leaking many accurate details about the game prior to Valve's official announcement. Now with Valve seemingly working on a new Half-Life game, Mcvicker is making news once again with claims that the game could be launching later this year. 

According to his latest video, the new Half-Life game from Valve is not a VR title. The game is said to be undergoing an extensive round of playtesting right now, which opens the door up for a Summer announcement followed by a Q4 release. It is also speculated that the new Half-Life title may open things up for a multiverse, as Portal's Chell may make an appearance.

With Half-Life Alyx, Valve announced the game in November 2019, followed by a release in 2020, so while fans may hope for a traditional Summer announcement – Holiday release timeline, Valve tends to operate on its own timeline and has never really cared for industry norms. When Valve is ready to announce something, it will do so itself, right on Steam, without any real build up.

Everything we know about the next Half-Life game has been revealed by datamined code. This is the same way details about Half-Life Alyx leaked well before the game's announcement.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I'm not sure Valve will use the title Half-Life 3, but at the very least, Valve is working on a new single-player Half-Life game, featuring content and mechanics not seen in any of the previous games. 

Asus has just announced its latest pre-built desktop PC, the TUF Gaming T500. While it looks like an ordinary gaming system from the outside, it happens that this system utilises Intel's 13th Gen mobile CPU, The Core i7-13620H with a desktop RTX 5060 Ti graphics card. 

Measuring 15.55 x 29.64 x 35.68 cm, the T500 can be configured with some potent components for its size. It's available with up to an Intel Core i7-13620H CPU, featuring six P-cores and eight E-cores with a maximum boost clock of 5.0GHz, providing ample processing power. Graphics are handled by up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti GPU, offering strong performance for modern gaming and creative applications with support for the latest features. Memory options go up to a generous 32GB of DDR5 RAM clocked at 5200MHz (support for up to 64GB), while storage can reach up to 2TB via a speedy PCIe 4.0 SSD for fast game load times. All this is powered by an 80+ Platinum PSU with either 330W or 500W of power.

Visually, the TUF Gaming T500 embraces a mecha anime-inspired design aesthetic. Builders have a choice of side panels, with options for a translucent panel to showcase the internal components or a solid metal side panel with an “X” mesh for a more understated look. Subtle lighting on the front of the machine illuminates the front I/O panel.

True to the TUF Gaming brand, the T500 desktop meets MIL-STD durability standards. It has undergone rigorous testing against environmental stresses like drops, temperature extremes, and vibration to ensure reliability.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: This is a very compact system, making it ideal for student living. 

MSI is preparing to launch a new 4K OLED gaming monitor, potentially offering a more streamlined, value-oriented option in their OLED lineup. Named MAG 272UP X24, this 26.5-inch model features a latest-generation QD-OLED panel boasting a 240Hz maximum refresh rate.

As expected from an OLED panel, the MAG 272UP X24 offers a near-instantaneous 0.03ms response time for sharp motion, alongside a 1,500,000:1 contrast ratio. Colour performance is robust with a Delta-E value of less than 2, a 10-bit colour depth and wide colour coverage, hitting 138% sRGB, 99% DCI-P3, 98% Adobe RGB. HDR highlights can reach up to 1,000 cd/m² peak, while SDR luminance is rated at 250 cd/m². Moreover, it carries DisplayHDR True Black 400 and ClearMR 13000 certifications.

For gamers, the monitor supports Adaptive Sync technology to prevent screen tearing, and its HDMI 2.1 inputs mean it can handle 4K at 120 Hz with VRR from modern consoles. On-screen gaming features include an AI-supported black stabiliser and a smart crosshair overlay. There's also a handy feature to convert the display to a 24.5-inch mode for potentially higher frame rates and reduced input latency in fast-paced games.

Port selection includes two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one DisplayPort 1.4a, a headphone output, and a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort (alt. mode and 15 W of PD). It's worth noting that this model does not have a standard USB hub, suggesting a focus on core display functionality. The stand is versatile, offering tilt, swivel, pivot, and 110mm of height adjustment, plus standard 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility. The monitor incorporates MSI's OLED Care 2.0 suite of features to combat OLED burn-in, including a fanless custom heatsink and a three-year warranty.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Although pricing is still unknown for Western regions, this monitor is the cheapest MSI 4K QD-OLED monitor for sale in China. Hopefully, the same will happen on this side of the globe.

Intel has a new hardware game bundle available. Over the next few months, those buying an 14th Gen Intel Core CPU, or an Intel Core Ultra CPU, will be eligible to claim free codes for two games – Dying Light: The Beast and Civilization VII. 

This new bundle includes a selection of games and creative tools. Gamers can get a free key for the upcoming Dying Light: The Beast, which is set to be released sometime in summer 2025. They'll also receive a key for the recently released Sid Meier's Civilization VII. On the software side, the bundle adds valuable creative tools, including Vegas Pro 365, XSplit Premium Suite, and Canvid.

Intel includes a broad range of processors in this promotion, covering recent and current generations. Eligible CPUs include models from the Core Ultra 100, Core Ultra 200 series, and the 14th Generation Core series. This covers many variants, including desktop K and T-series processors and mobile H and HX-series chips, meaning desktop and laptop users can qualify.

Claim your items by August 15th, 2025, and use the provided codes by September 15th, 2025. You can learn more about the bundle on its website.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you planning an upgrade in the near future? 

The latest episode of the podcast features the musings of J. Hellstrom, background art by J. Hellstrom, and several segments written - in large part - by J. Hellstrom.  In a way,…