After a successful launch in Asia that left many fans in the West feeling envious, Razer has announced that its fan-favourite Pokémon Collection is making its way to new markets. The collection resulting from the collaboration with The Pokémon Company International is now available in the US, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

The colourful collection is built around four of Razer's popular PC gaming peripherals, each getting a themed makeover featuring Pikachu and the original Kanto starter Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. By combining the timeless appeal of these characters with established gaming hardware, the collection is aimed squarely at fans who want to add a unique and vibrant flair to their setup.

Leading the charge is the Razer|Pokémon BlackWidow V4 X, a mechanical gaming keyboard featuring clicky, tactile switches and a chassis adorned with a pattern of the three Kanto starters. This is joined by the Razer|Pokémon Cobra, a lightweight wired gaming mouse sporting a bold Pikachu design and durable optical switches. To complete the set, the wired Razer|Pokémon Kraken V4 X headset features a Poké Ball motif on the earcups. At the same time, the medium-sized Razer|Pokémon Gigantus V2 mouse mat brings all the characters together in a colourful tableau designed for smooth, sweeping movements.

These peripherals are now available at the Razer webstore. The BlackWidow V4 X themed keyboard is now available for £169.99/$169.99/€189.99, the Razer|Pokémon Cobra for £59.99/$59.99/€69.99, and the Razer|Pokémon Kraken V4 X headset for £99.99/$99.99/€109.99. Pricing and availability of the Razer|Pokémon Gigantus V2 mouse mat are still unknown.

KitGuru says: Are you a fan of Pokémon? Interested in any of the Razer Pokémon-themed peripherals?

Just last week, rumours emerged over Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh, with some suggesting it would bring not only higher clock speeds but also an upgraded NPU to the desktop to improve local AI peformance. However, according to a new report, those plans have been scaled back, with the refresh now looking to be a minor upgrade.

Initially, reports suggested the refresh would see desktop (S-series) and high-end mobile (HX-series) CPUs get a faster NPU, more specifically, the same unit found in the Copilot+ approved Lunar Lake chips. This was seen as a significant upgrade that would bring enhanced AI capabilities to Intel's product stack. Now, well-known leaker Jaykihn, who had previously corroborated the NPU upgrade rumour, has reversed course, stating that the plan has been cancelled.

With the NPU upgrade seemingly off the table, the Arrow Lake Refresh is shaping up to be a simple clock speed bump. This also pours cold water on any earlier, more ambitious speculation about SKUs with increased core counts. The current consensus is that the refresh will be a modest frequency boost targeted exclusively at the unlocked K and KF-series processors at the top of the stack.

This scaled-back approach is also expected to be reflected in the product's branding. Leakers suggest Intel will keep the refreshed chips under the existing ‘Core Ultra 200' series banner, rather than creating a new 300 series. This would avoid making a small, confusing generation gap before the next major architecture arrives.

KitGuru says: The improved NPU made the Arrow Lake refresh a bit more interesting, but now we're unsure if that improved NPU will even make an appearance. If that proves to be the case, it looks like we'll have to wait for Nova Lake for a significant update.

MSI is once again first out of the gate, rolling out a new beta BIOS that features AMD's latest AGESA 1.2.0.3F firmware. While the new update promises the usual stability and compatibility improvements, the changelog contains an interesting bit: support for an unannounced series of Ryzen 9000F processors.

Based on the AGESA 1.2.0.3F changelog shared on MSI forums (via VideoCardz), the key takeaway from this release is the explicit mention of support for the AMD Ryzen 9000F series. AMD has yet to officially announce any F-series variants for its new Zen 5 lineup, so their appearance in an official MSI changelog is the strongest hint yet that they are on the way, and perhaps sooner than we think.

Beyond the new CPU support, AGESA 1.2.0.3F also brings general system stability enhancements. MSI is also touting improved compatibility with the latest high-capacity DDR5 memory, building on its early support for 64GB modules. This allows users with compatible 800-series motherboards to install up to 256GB of system memory.

For now, the new beta BIOS appears to be rolling out first for MSI's B850 motherboards, with other models expected to follow soon. The changelog also mentions “mitigation of security issues”, though AMD has not yet detailed these. As is always the case with beta releases, most users should probably wait for the stable version.

KitGuru says: Does your motherboard already have a new BIOS with the AGESA 1.2.0.3F firmware? Will you update it right away, or will you be waiting for the final release?

AMD has been the undisputed king of the high-end workstation CPU market since it first unleashed Threadripper, and it looks like that reign is set to continue. With the official launch of the new Threadripper Pro 9000WX series just around the corner, the first Cinebench R23 score for the flagship 9995WX has surfaced, and the numbers are immense.

According to a leak from nApoleon (via HXL), the 96-core Zen 5-based Threadripper Pro 9995WX achieves a staggering 173,000 points in the Cinebench R23 multi-core test. To put that into perspective, that's roughly 46% more than its stock predecessor, the 7995WX, which typically lands around the 120K mark in the same test.

Image credit: nApoleon

However, this performance comes at a cost, and that cost is power. The report claims the CPU was pulling 840W from the wall during the test, over twice as much as the chip's official 350W TDP, suggesting that to unleash its full potential, you'll need a capable PSU and a robust cooling solution to keep it from throttling.

Perhaps the most impressive part of this result is how it stacks up against the previous generation's overclocking records. The last gen 7995WX needed extreme cooling solutions like liquid nitrogen to break the 180K score barrier. The fact that the new 9995WX can get close to that figure, presumably on more conventional cooling, speaks volumes about the architectural improvements of Zen 5.

KitGuru says: How high do you think the AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX will score when overclocked using liquid nitrogen?

ASRock's journey into the gaming monitor segment has been very recent. The company introduced its first gaming monitor within the "Phantom Gaming" lineup in 2022, just three years back, and since then, they have been really aggressive in this space, introducing new designs with the latest technologies, and at very competitive price points. Since the first launch, the company has introduced a total of 21 monitors, featuring OLED, IPS, and VA panels. These range from 24.5, 27, 32, 34 inch designs with refresh rates starting at 100Hz, all the way up to 520Hz. ASRock also has four ultra-wide curved monitor, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/asrock-pg27ffx2a-27-fhd-ips-gaming-monitor-fast-520hz-at-300/

As a society, we have technically advanced into the USB 4 era - but that doesn't mean that everyone suddenly owns motherboards or laptops with the latest ports on them. USB 3.2…

The battle in the high-performance APU segment could soon get a new contender, as the latest rumours suggest Intel is preparing a monster SoC to challenge AMD and Apple in the space. According to a new report, a new variant of the next-generation Nova Lake architecture, dubbed “Nova Lake-AX”, is on the table, and its rumoured specifications are nothing short of spectacular.

First mentioned by Jaykhin, and then corroborated and expanded Raichu, this “AX” variant reportedly takes a different approach from the dual-tile design of the upcoming Nova Lake-S desktop chips. To make room for the iGPU, Intel is said to have removed one of the CPU tiles, leaving a single compute tile with eight “Coyote Cove” P-Cores and sixteen “Arctic Wolf” E-Cores. Combined with the four-core low-power island on the SoC, this gives the APU a total of 28 CPU cores.

It is claimed that the iGPU is powered by the upcoming Xe3 “Celestial” architecture and packs 384 EUs. Assuming a similar structure to previous Intel GPUs, this would translate to a whopping 48 Xe-Cores. To put that into perspective, that's more graphics cores than some of Intel's current Arc discrete desktop graphics cards. To feed this iGPU, Intel is reportedly pairing the chip with a wide 256-bit memory bus. As for the memory subsystem, these APUs would support LPDDR5X memory, with potential speeds of up to 10,667MT/s.

Despite these incredible specifications, it is also reported that the future of this project is ‘questionable'. If accurate, then Intel could be evaluating market viability before moving ahead with further development.

KitGuru says: Do you think Intel should advance with the Nova Lake-AX APUs?

LG has officially lifted the lid on its first gaming monitor to feature its next-generation panel technology, the UltraGear OLED 27GX700A. This new display is built around the company’s 4th Gen Primary RGB Tandem OLED screen, a technology that promises to push brightness levels higher than previous generations while also being more power-efficient.

At its heart, the UltraGear OLED 27GX700A (via Guru3D) is a 27-inch display with a 2560×1440 resolution. The headline feature, however, is its staggering peak brightness. LG claims the monitor can reach up to 1,500 nits, a significant 15% improvement over previous high-end gaming monitors. This is achieved while the panel itself runs around 20% more efficiently than older WOLED generations.

Image credit: Guru3D

The monitor also boasts a 280 Hz refresh rate with a 0.03 ms GTG response time, ensuring fluid motion for competitive gaming (VESA ClearMR 13000). It also covers 99.5% of the DCI-P3 colour space, making it a great choice for both gaming and colour-critical work. To back up its HDR credentials, the display is certified for VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500, which guarantees deep blacks and high contrast.

KitGuru says: On the market for an OLED gaming monitor? Are you already eyeing something, or will you wait for this next generation of LG OLED panels?

The organisers of Gamescom are gearing up for what looks to be their biggest event ever, announcing that exhibitor reservations for 2025 are already tracking 11% ahead of last year's record-breaking numbers. The event is set to be the epicentre of the gaming world this August, with a packed show floor and a major world premiere to kick things off.

According to VGC, the main event for many, Opening Night Live, will return on the evening of August 19th, once again co-hosted by the familiar duo of Geoff Keighley and Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere. The first major game to be confirmed for the showcase is none other than the next installment in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 7, ensuring the show will start with a bang.

The show floor itself will be more crowded than ever with both returning giants and new faces. Big names like Xbox, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and CD Projekt Red are all confirmed to attend. They are joined by a growing list of exhibitors, including Sega, Konami, and other entertainment titans like Disney, Netflix, and Paramount.

To accommodate this growth, the Koelnmesse venue is expanding for attendees. The organisers have confirmed that Hall 8 will now be integrated into the main public entertainment area, while the indie area is getting more space with the addition of Hall 10.2. For the first time, Hall 1 will be repurposed as a dedicated special event arena. To help attendees navigate the sprawling layout, a new mobile location finder app is set to launch on August 20th. The event is scheduled to run from August 20th to August 25th in Cologne, Germany.

KitGuru says: Are you hyped for Gamescom 2025? What games are you expecting to be showcased during the opening showcase?

Back in 2021, prior to Microsoft's shift away from exclusive games, Xbox had announced a third-party exclusive game called Contraband, developed by Avalanche Studios. The game quietly missed its 2022 release window and hasn't been seen since. However, new information indicates that the game is still in development and was not scrapped as part of the recent Xbox layoffs and game cancellations. 

Avalanche Studios has begun posting new job listings, looking for developers to work on an upcoming “AAA co-op open world action game”. That description just so happens to perfectly fit Contraband, the only publicly announced game currently in development at Avalanche Studios.

The job listings also indicate that Contraband will feature live-service elements, with multiplayer features planned around ‘player acquisition, engagement and retention', naturally, monetisation also slots in to the ‘live service' package.

Contraband has not been shown since its reveal in 2021. No further details about the game have been shared by Xbox or Avalanche Studios, but considering how long it has been, we would expect the game to re-appear in the next year or two.

KitGuru Says: Contraband could be fun but live service games nowadays face an uphill battle. 

Microsoft ended the Xbox Game Showcase in June with the announcement of this year's Call of Duty game, Black Ops 7. Nothing else has been announced beyond the initial teaser but a new leak has revealed a November release date. 

Well known Call of Duty leaker, GhostofHope, has reported that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will release worldwide on November 14th. That puts the launch slightly later than last year's Black Ops 6, which released in October.

Activision will be making more official announcements over the Summer.  We expect to get another trailer for Black Ops 7 in August, around the same time as Gamescom. Beta testing could also begin as early as September.

KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up this year's Call of Duty, or will you be skipping this year? 

Windows 10 is about to reach end-of-life status and while Microsoft has extended security update support for the OS, there will be no more feature updates. With Microsoft ditching the decade-old OS, game makers are also starting to drop support, with Final Fantasy 14 being one of the first major games to do so. 

End of life and end of support are terms that refer to the end of technical support and security updates for an operating system. Windows 10 is no longer going to receive free software updates and Microsoft will no longer offer technical assistance for the OS. As a result, it is highly recommended that users upgrade to Windows 11.

In an announcement this week, Square Enix confirmed that Final Fantasy 14 will also drop support for Windows 10 in October, the same time Microsoft's support ends. This means that future builds of the game will not be tested on Windows 10, although they may still run.

Final Fantasy 14 first launched back in 2010, when Windows 7 was the dominant operating system. The game has evolved considerably over the years, outlasting Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and now Windows 10.

KitGuru Says: Do you play Final Fantasy 14? Do you still use Windows 10?

Sucker Punch is best known now for Ghost of Tsushima and the upcoming sequel, Ghost of Yotei. However, during the PS3 generation, the studio was loved for its original superhero game, Infamous. The series has been dormant since the first year of the PS4 generation, but the director would like to bring it back. 

Nate Fox, the director behind Infamous 1 & 2, as well as the PS4 launch-year title, Infamous Second Son, recently spoke a bit about his time working on the series. Fox told Game Informer that he would “love to work on more”, or even deliver a re-release of the original trilogy.

Unfortunately, the chances of Infamous returning anytime soon under Sucker Punch seem slim, as Fox also added that the studio is a “one game at a time shop”, so right now, all the focus is on Ghost of Yotei and its post-release support.

Infamous debuted in 2009 and followed protagonist, Cole MacGrath, who gains super powers after being caught in the middle of an explosion. A sequel arrived on PS3 in 2011, and the final game in the series, Infamous: Second Son, released on PS4 in 2014.

KitGuru Says: It would be nice to get a natively playable version of Infamous 1 & 2 for PS5 at the very least. Currently, PS3 titles rely on cloud streaming for backwards compatibility. 

Ever since the release of The Final Shape last year, Destiny 2 has been in a bit of a weird spot. That said, The Edge of Fate was set to be Destiny 2’s big return with their first proper expansion in a year. Unfortunately, it seems fans are beginning to tire of the series, with the launch of The Edge of Fate amassing less than a 3rd of the players compared to The Final Shape.

With a peak concurrent player count of 99,193 players on Steam, Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate appears to have the lowest number of eyes on it since its launch well over half a decade ago.

For context, the previous big expansion to be released – 2024’s The Final Shape – saw a total peak player count of over 300,000 (314,634 to be exact). While it could be argued that this is somewhat of an unfair comparison given that The Final Shape was the conclusion to Destiny 2’s Light and Darkness Saga, the same can’t be said for Lightfall.

Despite rather poor reviews at the time, the expansion which preceded The Final Shape (Lightfall) saw equally high player numbers; amassing a peak count of 316,750 upon its release in 2023.

Whether the expansion will find additional players as we come into the weekend, we will have to wait and see. With early reviews for The Edge of Fate currently sitting at a ‘Mixed’ on Steam however, it wouldn't be surprising to see player counts only drop from this point forth.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Edge of Fate? Is it worth the asking price? Has Destiny 2 lost all of its steam? Let us know down below.

The Mortal Kombat series is no stranger to film releases, seeing two live action adaptations back in the 90s and a reboot in 2021. Despite somewhat of a mixed reception to the most recent release, Warner Bros. appears committed to this potential film franchise – with the first official trailer for Mortal Kombat II having now been released.

Following some teasers earlier this week, WB has now released the first official trailer for Mortal Kombat II. Featuring a heavy focus on the addition of Karl Urban as the iconic Johnny Cage, MKII is said to follow:

“The fan favorite champions – now joined by Johnny Cage himself” as they are “pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.”

As mentioned, 2021’s film received a pretty mixed reception, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 55% while amassing $84 million at the box office off of a $55 million budget.

That said, the film was released simultaneously across both cinemas and WB’s HBO Max streaming service. In that regard Mortal Kombat managed to become HBO Max's most successful film launch up to that point. Additionally fans of the series were much kinder to the adaptation, landing at an RT score of 85%.

Given the current state of the Mortal Kombat franchise on the games front, it will be interesting to see what fans and critics alike think of MKII when it arrives on the 24th of October 2025.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the trailer? Does it look like an improvement over the first film? What are you hoping for / expecting with the sequel? Let us know down below.

Each month, Sony updates its PlayStation Plus Extra / Premium libraries with a number of new and returning titles. Unfortunately, at the same time the company also removes games from the service on a monthly basis. With July’s titles now available to download and play, the console maker has announced a solid dozen games which are set to leave PS Plus Extra / Premium in August.

In going to the Last chance to play section on the PlayStation 5’s PS Plus tab, subscribers can find a list of 12 titles which are set to be removed from the service next month (likely mid-August):

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• The WItcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Wild Hearts
• Ride 5
• Sword Art Online Last Recollection
• Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris
• Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet
• Sword Art Online Hollow Realization
• Sword Art Online Lost Song
• Naruto Boruto: Shinobi Striker
• Vacation Simulator
• Bugsnax

The removal of The Witcher 3 is somewhat disappointing to see – though not surprising given the fact that CDPR’s follow-up game Cyberpunk 2077 was recently added to the service.

Beyond this, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a pretty major title to be removed, as well as Bugsnax – especially as the latter was a day-one addition back around the PS5’s launch.

As mentioned, Sony recently added a bunch of games to PlayStation Plus Extra / Premium, including the aforementioned Cyberpunk 2077 alongside Risk of Rain 2; Abiotic Factor and more. The full list of additions can be found HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of August’s departees? Which titles are most sad to see go? Will you try to finish any of these games before they leave? Let us know down below.

Netflix has been one of the biggest supporters of video game adaptations in all forms, with the streaming giant having produced a suite of films, shows and anime based on various video game IPs. 5 years on from its initial announcement, Netflix has finally confirmed that that they are moving forward with the live-action Assassin’s Creed series.

As reported by Variety, half a decade after the deal was first penned between Netflix and Ubisoft, the live-action Assassin’s Creed adaptation is finally moving forward; after going through “multiple creative teams in that time.”

Now, the project is being headed by Roberto Patino and David Wiener – serving as creators, showrunners, and executive producers. Speaking on this announcement, the duo shared a surprisingly deep message, stating:

“We’ve been fans of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ since its release in 2007. Every day we work on this show, we come away excited and humbled by the possibilities that ‘Assassin’s Creed’ opens to us.”

They continued, “Beneath the scope, the spectacle, the parkour and the thrills is a baseline for the most essential kind of human story — about people searching for purpose, struggling with questions of identity and destiny and faith. It is about power and violence and sex and greed and vengeance.”

The pair concluded by saying: “But more than anything, this is a show about the value of human connection, across cultures, across time. And it’s about what we stand to lose as a species, when those connections break. We’ve got an amazing team behind us with the folks at Ubisoft and our champions at Netflix, and we’re committed to creating something undeniable for fans all over the planet.”

While the series is far from famous for its narrative, the earlier entries in particular did offer greater depth of character and growth – while also asking some interesting questions. Hopefully the Netflix project winds up being better than the ill-fated 2016 film.

KitGuru says: Did you remember that an AC Netflix show was announced? Do you have any hopes for the adaptation? Let us know down below.

When AMD first launched Threadripper, it was a shock to the HEDT market, offering huge core counts at a relatively affordable price. Since then, the focus of this series of processors has shifted almost exclusively to the professional workstation space, and with today's official pricing announcement for the next generation of Threadripper Pro CPUs, that trend continues.

AMD's initial push will be through pre-built systems from major OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo. However, the company has confirmed that the Threadripper PRO 9000WX chips will also be available through retail channels for those with the means and ambition to build their workstations themselves.

With up to 96 “Zen 5” CPU cores, improved AVX-512 support, 8-channel DDR5-6400 memory, and PCIe 5.0 connectivity, this new generation of Threadripper Pro is the fastest workstation processors AMD has on the market right now. As for the pricing, it's as colossal as the core counts. The flagship 96-core, 192-thread Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX will carry an official price tag of $11,699, making it the most expensive Threadripper to date. The rest of the stack scales down from there, with the 64-core 9985WX at $7,999, the 32-core 9975WX at $4,099, the 24-core 9965WX at $2,899, and the 16-core 9955WX at a starting price of $1,649. The table below includes the pricing and specs of each Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9000WX CPU:

Moving on to the performance figures, AMD claims the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX is up to 26% faster than the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX across multiple workloads, including media and entertainment, design and manufacturing, architecture, engineering and construction, and sciences and software.

Unfortunately, AMD's announcement didn't mention the standard 9000X series, the HEDT successors that enthusiasts have been waiting for. Those with deep enough pockets to consider a 9000WX build will be pleased to know that the new CPUs will be compatible with existing WRX90 and TRX50 motherboards via a BIOS update, preserving the current platform.

KitGuru says: Companies in need of the workstations will most likely be well served with the new Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9000WX series. However, enthusiasts interested in building a new workstation might be better off by going for a standard Ryzen 9000 series CPU.

It was back in 2012 when the SATA RunCore SSD amused us and viewers of the PCPer Podcast with their self destructing drive.  It had two buttons, a green one that…

ASRock's journey into the gaming monitor segment has been very recent. The company introduced its first gaming monitor within the "Phantom Gaming" lineup in 2022, just three years back, and since then, they have been really aggressive in this space, introducing new designs with the latest technologies, and at very competitive price points. Since the first launch, the company has introduced a total of 21 monitors, featuring OLED, IPS, and VA panels. These range from 24.5, 27, 32, 34 inch designs with refresh rates starting at 100Hz, all the way up to 520Hz. ASRock also has four ultra-wide curved monitor, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/asrock-pgo32ufs-32-4k-240hz-woled-gaming-monitor-review-sub-1000-us-oled-goodness/

OXS is a relatively new name in the peripherals industry and has a few products that are specially designed for an immersive gaming experience. The company currently deals in audio products and has produced a few headsets and speakers, which aim to offer high audio fidelity. Its latest offering is the Storm A2, which succeeds its most popular headset, called Storm G2, which is a fancy RGB gaming headset for gamers. The Storm A2 appears to be a more serious design, intended for professionals and perhaps audiophiles who seek solid audio delivery and functionality that can be used across multiple […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/oxs-storm-a2-review/

We first learned of the upcoming Souls-like, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, when MSI began offering up free copies of the game with components. Now, just in time for the game's release next week, we have the official PC system requirements for the game. 

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a new game published by 505 Games and developed by Leenzee Games. The game is inspired by Ming Dynasty folklore and ancient Chinese mythology. Players take on the role of Wuchang, a fictional female warrior fighting off supernatural enemies, as well as a horrific feathering disease. The game comes out on the 24th of July.

To run the game on PC, you'll need at least an Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 CPU, paired with 16GB of RAM and a GTX 1060 or RX 580 graphics card. A 64-bit version of Windows 10 or Windows 11 is also required, and an SSD is recommended for the install.

The recommended PC system requirements are a notable step up, calling for an Intel Core i7-9700 / AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor, along with 16GB of RAM and an RTX 2070 or RX 5700 XT graphics card.

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KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up Wuchang: Fallen Feathers when it releases?