It's really important to keep things in context when you're looking at hardware benchmarks. Desktop CPUs often operate with essentially unlimited power and thermal budgets, so it's simply not fair to compare them against laptop chips that must constantly keep power draw in check to deal with thermal constraints and to avoid draining batteries
Those of you using WinRAR, Windows 10, or both should be on high alert. Two new vulnerabilities have been documented in the wild and are being actively exploited. As of this week, The National Coordinator for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISA) has documented CVE-2025-6218 and CVE-2025-6222, two currently-active attack vectors.
The holidays may be upon us, but that isn’t slowing down threat actors. Zimperium’s zlabs research team has discovered a new piece of malware targeting Android users, dubbed DroidLock, that aims to completely hijack a device and enable the theft of login credentials or destruction of a victim’s data.
As seen with other recent malware itFree-to-play multiplayer racer Boom Karts VR is out now on Quest, supporting crossplay with the mobile edition.
Originally launched on iOS and Android, free-to-play racing game Boom Karts has now received a VR edition from Finnish developer Zaibatsu Interactive. This arcade racer sees you try to secure the race wins using power-ups while avoiding obstacles and traps, racing friends and sabotaging rivals along the way. Now, it's come to Quest 2, Pro, 3, and 3S.
Featuring ranked leagues and ranked matches, Boom Karts VR also comes with an adventure mode and quests. Cars and characters can be customized alike through both cosmetic items and unlocking additional upgrades. Compared to the mobile edition, the VR edition of Boom Karts contains various new features like playing in a theater mode.
Game-specific friend lists are also available, as is a 'Teams' option that sees your group unlocking rewards, upgrades, and new items to upgrade your kart. One and two-handed control schemes are supported for the Meta Quest's Touch controllers, as are USB controllers.
Boom Karts is out now on Quest, Android, and iOS.
Transmission: Shortwave, a casual VR delivery driving sim set in a retro-futuristic Great Britain, is now available on Quest.
Marking the debut VR game from British indie studio Cardboard Sword, you may recall Transmission: Shortwave recently appeared in the UploadVR Winter Showcase. Taking place in an alternative 1990s Great Britain, you're tasked with delivering parcels across these UK-inspired landscapes at your own pace as a member of ParcelPal.
Detailing this further, Cardboard Sword calls Transmission: Shortwave a reflection of the team's “tongue-in-cheek humour and nostalgia.” Leaning into the retro aesthetic, Transmission: Shortwave comes with an original soundtrack that's inspired by early electronic dance music.
The developer states you can simulate driving “as much or as little” as you'd like, letting you use optional shifters, handbrakes, and turn signals. As you progress across the game, you can customize your courier by gradually unlocking different car models and colors.
Transmission: Shortwave is out now as a Meta Quest exclusive for $4.99.
Pocket Lands, a mixed reality sandbox game where you can create miniature worlds, is out now in early access on Quest.
Originally announced at last month's VR Games Showcase, Pocket Lands is a tabletop voxel sandbox game from Thomas van den Berge (Vermillion) through Mountainborn Studios. You can create diorama-like worlds across different biomes in mixed reality with support for both Touch controllers and hand tracking, then explore them in first person with fully immersive VR.
In its current early access release, Pocket Lands features various biomes and the ability to create worlds of different sizes. The game also supports a day and night cycle, empty dioramas for building without distractions, quick construction tools, and a virtual camera to record and share your different builds.
For the full release, Thomas van den Berge previously advised Pocket Lands will launch in “the second half of 2026”. The store page's “coming soon” section lists planned features such as multiplayer, cave systems, underground biomes, new surface biomes, creatures that roam these lands, and more. However, it's unclear if each feature will arrive at full release or across incremental updates.
Pocket Lands is out now in early access on the Meta Quest platform.
Dimensional Double Shift is out now on Samsung Galaxy XR, coinciding with the game's “largest update ever.”
Previously released on Quest in early access, Dimensional Double Shift is a hand tracking party game where you serve food orders and fix motor vehicles for the locals of each dimension you visit. Following October's New Joysey DLC, it's now available on Samsung Galaxy XR headsets and offers cross-platform multiplayer support with Meta Quest headsets.
Today's Samsung Galaxy XR launch is also joined by Dimensional Double Shift's free Winter Update. Developer Owlchemy Labs confirmed that this includes Solo Practice Experiment, its first single-player mode for the former co-op only experience, which teaches you the game's core systems.
Other new features include rotating weekend Boosters, starting with a limited-time 'Midas Touch' modifier where everything you touch turns to gold. Other Boosters include turning your mouth into a flamethrower, stretching your arms further, and more. Finally, the game's celebrating 'Snow-vertime Fest' from December 18 until January 5, adding a festive hub alongside winter-themed avatar cosmetics and new interactions.
Dimensional Double Shift is out now in early access on the Meta Quest platform and Samsung Galaxy XR.
The ongoing memory shortage and resulting price hikes continue to impact various markets, and according to TrendForce, smartphone, notebook, and console manufacturers, are about to react. The impact won't simply trigger price increases in existing products, either—rather, new devices are expected to compromise on other specifications as well
We're old enough to remember when big screen TVs came with big time prices. They were also a lot more bulky than they are now. Fortunately, this is one area in tech where pricing now favors the consumer (unlike DRAM, don't even get us started), and if you're not ultra-picky, you can score a 65-inch model for less than $300, or even less than
HP Threat Research just issued a new security report detailing a growing trend by attackers towards hijacking session cookies as an alternative means to tried-and-true credential theft. The reason hackers are finding a bigger appetite for sessions cookies is because today's hybrid work environment has led to changes that make stealing cookiesArctic has officially launched the 140 mm variants of its P Pro Reverse fan series. Previously seen in the Xtender case, these fans are now available as standalone products, specifically engineered for builders who require “pull” airflow configurations without sacrificing aesthetics.
The P14 Pro Reverse series is designed to intake air while displaying the unobstructed “front” face of the fan, making them ideal for bottom- or side-mounted intake positions on a chassis. The design features a flow-optimised structure with a funnel-shaped inlet and teardrop-shaped struts to reduce turbulence and noise. Mechanically, the fans use a fluid-dynamic bearing (FDB) with an extended shaft and automatic balancing to ensure low vibration and longevity.
For lighting enthusiasts, the A-RGB variants feature 12 digitally controllable LEDs, enabling seamless system integration and customisable effects. These fans are now available as a single unit or 3-pack. To celebrate their launch, Arctic is currently running a payback campaign on their website, heavily discounting them (applied on the shopping cart):
P14 Pro Reverse:
Single unit: €9.49/$10.49 (Standard Price: €16.49/$18.99)
3-Pack: €22.49/$21.99 (Standard Price: €46.99/$54.49)
P14 Pro Reverse A-RGB (Black):
Single unit: €13.49/$14.99 (Standard Price: €21.49/$24.99)
3-Pack: €32.99/$33.99 (Standard Price: €48.49/$55.99)
P14 Pro Reverse A-RGB (White):
Single unit: €14.49/$15.49 (Standard Price: €26.49/$30.49)
3-Pack: €34.49/$34.99 (Standard Price: €51.49/$59.99)
KitGuru says: Planning on changing your fans soon? If you plan to, and reverse fans are what you're looking for, the 3-packs in the P Pro Reverse series appears to offer good bang for buck.
The post Arctic expands P Pro Reverse series with new 140mm fans first appeared on KitGuru.Microsoft has revealed its strategic vision for Windows 11 in 2026, positioning the coming year as a period of intense optimisation rather than just feature expansion. In a recent blog post, the company emphasised a commitment to refining the core system behaviours that impact gaming, specifically targeting background workload management, power scheduling, and the graphics stack.
A central pillar of this initiative is enhanced background workload management, designed to reduce system overhead drastically. Microsoft (via Tom's Hardware) highlighted recent data on the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE), showing that minimising background processes can reduce RAM utilisation and boost frame rates. By applying similar efficiency principles across the operating system, Microsoft aims to render the OS overhead virtually insignificant during gameplay.
The roadmap also prioritises expanding key technologies such as Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD). This feature, which preloads game shaders during the download phase to prevent stuttering and improve launch times, is being integrated into more hardware ecosystems and digital storefronts, with specific ongoing support for the ROG Xbox Ally family.
Lastly, Microsoft confirmed that its Auto Super Resolution technology will become accessible to all users. This built-in AI upscaling engine enhances DirectX games by rendering them at lower resolutions while maintaining visual sharpness without requiring developer input. Previously exclusive to Snapdragon hardware, a public preview optimising this feature for the AMD Ryzen AI NPU is scheduled for early 2026. Expect to learn more details about these optimisations at the upcoming Game Developers Conference scheduled for March 2026.
KitGuru says: It seems the pressure of SteamOS is already making waves on Windows. When there's competition between providers, the consumer always wins.
The post Microsoft outlines 2026 Windows 11 roadmap focused on gaming performance first appeared on KitGuru.Razer has officially unveiled the Boomslang 20th Anniversary Edition, a modern reimagining of the world's first gaming mouse. This limited-run peripheral pays tribute to the device that launched the gaming mouse industry in 1999, updating its classic “snake-head” silhouette with state-of-the-art technology. The release is strictly for collectors, with production limited to just 1,337 units worldwide, a nod to the “leet” (elite) speak prevalent in early gaming culture.
While the new edition retains the Boomslang's signature ambidextrous shape and translucent aesthetic, the internals have been completely overhauled for modern competitive standards. Under the hood, the mouse is equipped with the Razer Focus Pro Gen-2 45K Optical Sensor, offering up to 45,000 DPI with 99.8% resolution accuracy, a massive leap from the original's 2,000 DPI ball-tracking. Performance is further improved by Razer Wireless HyperPolling Technology, which delivers an 8,000 Hz polling rate for near-instant responsiveness. Moreover, the 100-million-click-durable Gen-4 optical switches replace the mechanical switches of the past. Additionally, the bundle includes the Mouse Dock Pro for translucent magnetic wireless charging, preserving the mouse's look.
Razer has also enhanced the exterior with PU leather-wrapped primary buttons, designed to improve grip and add a premium tactile feel. The lighting system has evolved significantly, replacing the simple glow of the original with a 9-zone Razer Chroma RGB system that features customisable underglow compatible with over 300 integrated games. Users can further personalise their experience via Razer Synapse, which also offers macro support and profile management.
To celebrate the launch, Razer is inviting fans to share their memories of the original Boomslang at upcoming community events. Participants will have a chance to win exclusive items, including the unit #1337, which Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan has signed. Availability and pricing for the 1,337 units will be detailed soon.
KitGuru says: Did you own the original Boomslang? How was your experience with it? Would you get the updated model if you had the chance?
The post Razer revives the iconic Boomslang mouse for 20th Anniversary first appeared on KitGuru.While the organisers behind The Game Awards keep most of the behind-the-scenes details confidential, as the show has grown and more developers have had the opportunity to take part in the event, new details have begun to come to light. In a recent report, it is claimed that showing a 3-minute trailer at The Game Awards this year would cost a studio or publisher as much as $1 million.
Kotaku reports that two sources familiar with the plans for this year's show confirmed that a short 60-second trailer slot now costs up to $450,000, and a full length 3-minute trailer would set studios back by as much as $1 million. You would think that with this kind of fundraising behind the event that more developers would get the opportunity to attend, but that is apparently not the case.
The report further notes that nominated studios have in the past received just two free tickets. Studios that wanted to let more of their team join in on the festivities had to then buy the regular public access tickets at face value, plus arrange travel and accommodation, making it a very expensive endeavour for some game studios.
One specific example given in the article is Sandfall Interactive, the studio behind Expedition 33, which is nominated for a record-breaking number of awards at this year's show. Apparently, they had to buy a ton of extra tickets at $300 each in order to allow more of the team behind the game to attend. For some developers, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, as just a small selection of games released each year actually earn nominations at The Game Awards. The number of nominees and categories has grown over the years, but the show still focuses on a pretty exclusive set of games compared to the number of titles released each year.
The Game Awards returns later this evening, with Geoff Keighley hosting as usual. The event promises a bunch of surprise game reveals, live music performances and of course, the actual awards ceremony, which has brought about some iconic moments in the past. We all remember Christopher Judge's speech when God of War won GOTY, we all remember Josef Farez flipping off The Oscars, so who knows what this year will have in store.
KitGuru Says: Will you be watching The Game Awards later tonight?
The post Report claims it costs up to $450K to show a 1-minute trailer at The Game Awards 2025 first appeared on KitGuru.Corsair has been wrapping up the year with a slew of collaboration announcements. In the last couple of months we've seen a new set of Witcher-themed peripherals, a new set of Cyberpunk 2077-themed peripherals and now, Corsair is adding Fallout to that growing list.
In its latest special edition gaming peripheral collection, Corsair endows various products with Nuka Cola branding, complete with the red and white theme. At the center of the lineup is the CORSAIR HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset: Nuka Cola Edition, featuring 3D spatial audio and a bold design with Nuka Girl on the earcups, Cappy and Bottle on the headband, and branding throughout.
Corsair subsidiaries, Drop and Elgato also have Nuka Cola themed products on the way. Drop’s Nuka Cola Collection includes the CSTM80 Mechanical Keyboard, a tenkeyless, hot‑swappable board with themed details and multiple layers of sound dampening. Fans can also deck out their setups with the Drop + Nuka Cola Desk Mat, collectible keycap set, and four artisan keycaps inspired by Power Armor, the Thirst Zapper, a vending machine, and a crate of bottles.
For creators, Elgato’s Nuka Cola Collection brings the Fallout aesthetic to its Stream Deck, Wave:3 microphone, and Wave Mic Arm LP. Together they deliver customisable controls, professional‑grade audio, and seamless mic positioning, all wrapped in a limited‑edition design perfect for vault dwellers upgrading their gear.
KitGuru Says: What do you think of Corsair's recent rollout of special edition peripherals? Are there any you are interested in getting for your desk?
The post Corsair shows off new Fallout Nuka Cola themed gaming peripherals first appeared on KitGuru.The next round of games for GeForce Now has been announced. There are seven new titles joining the cloud gaming library this week, including new releases like Dome Keeper.
One of the headliners this week is Monster Hunter Stories and its sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2. These games are JRPG-inspired spin-offs of the mainline Monster Hunter games where players take on the role of ‘Riders', people who befriend monsters and battle alongside them, rather than hunting them down. Another major difference in the Monster Hunter Stories games is a switch to turn-based combat and roster management, rather than the action-focus of the mainline games.
Here is the full list of new games joining GeForce Now today:
On top of this, Nvidia has also migrated three more titles over to the GeForce Now Ultimate RTX 5080-powered servers, including Age of Wonders 4, as well as Cities: Skylines 1 & 2.
KitGuru Says: Will you be playing any of this week's new GeForce Now titles?
The post Nvidia brings seven more titles to GeForce Now this week first appeared on KitGuru.With the 2025 Game Awards less than 24 hours away, Geoff Keighley and co. have increasingly teased its line-up of game announcements planned for the upcoming show. Alongside the likes of Saros, the new Tomb Raider and more, The Game Awards is set to give us our first look at the next project from ex-Naughty Dog director Bruce Straley.
Taking to Twitter to tease the project, Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley confirmed that the upcoming show will feature “the announcement of the first game from Wildflower Interactive.”
While we’ve yet to get a name for the project, the brief video released alongside the announcement shows off what appears to be a rather stylised game – quite different to anything we’ve seen from Naughty Dog.
For the uninitiated, Bruce Straley started working at Naughty Dog all the way back during the Crash Bandicoot era, slowly rising the ranks and eventually going on to co-direct Uncharted 2, The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 – before ultimately leaving the studio in 2017.
Since then, we’ve heard very little from Straley, with Wildflower Interactive remaining relatively under the radar since its founding in 2021. That said, this unnamed project was previously confirmed to be “small-ish, creatively-charged [and] uniquely-stylized” in nature.
Whatever it winds up being, we won’t have to wait long to find out, with The Game Awards officially going live later tonight at a little bit past midnight in the UK.
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to The Game Awards? Will you watch the show live? Which of the announced games/projects are you most excited to see? Let us know down below.
The post Uncharted 4 and TLOU Director to announce new project at The Game Awards first appeared on KitGuru.For the past generation or so, Nintendo has been slowly but surely filling out its Nintendo Switch Online libraries with titles from across the company’s many classic consoles. Alongside first-party titles, NSO also includes select 3rd-party classics. Joining the service as part of the latter camp is Ubisoft’s Rayman, with ‘The Great Escape’ and sister series ‘Tonic Trouble’ set to arrive next week.
Making the announcement via a brief ‘Game Update’ video, Nintendo confirmed that the N64 classics Rayman 2: The Great Escape alongside Tonic Trouble are both heading to its NSO service next week on the 17th of December.
Rayman 2: The Great Escape is of course the second mainline entry in the Rayman series. Unlike the first game’s sidescrolling aesthetic, Rayman 2 took the series into 3D, with the 1999 title seeing strong reviews upon its initial release.
Tonic Trouble meanwhile is a sister-series of sorts to Rayman, with the Ubisoft-developed title serving as an engine tech project created in anticipation of their work on Rayman 2.
Both Tonic Trouble and Rayman The Great Escape are set to join Nintendo Switch Online this time next week on the 17th of December for all those subscribed to NSO’s Expansion Pack tier.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Nintendo Switch Online? How does it compare to their previous Virtual Console program? Let us know down below.
The post Rayman 2: The Great Escape is coming to Nintendo Switch Online first appeared on KitGuru.Among Giants is an open world VR adventure from a solo developer that's heading to Quest 3 and 3S next year.
Created by K Monkey Games, Among Giants takes direct inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Playing as Erya across a world filled with ancient giants, you're tasked with exploring the remnants of this lost civilization as you decode its mysterious alien language. Hunting down these giants lets you extract their final memories, as you discover what happened to humanity.
Featuring a 25 km² environment, you're accompanied on this journey by a tiny robot companion called R-011, and a rideable horse you can summon from anywhere using a horn. Over 10 types of enemies are promised, ranging from droids to the “colossal death worm.” Erya comes armed with a bow and arrow, and other non-reloadable weapons can also be found.
Other forms of traversal include gliding through the air, using grappling hooks to navigate cliffs, and swimming underwater. Among Giants also features a dynamic weather system alongside a day and night cycle, where you'll need to carefully navigate heavy rain, blizzards, and scorching deserts alike across this journey.
K Monkey Games informed UploadVR that Among Giants targets a Q1 2026 launch on Quest 3 and 3S. Other platforms are currently unconfirmed, though the Meta Horizon Store presently lists Quest Pro support too.
In an emergency, Android users can now share real-time visual details with 911 dispatchers, bridging a critical information gap that can hinder quick, effective emergency responses. Today Google rolls out Emergency Live Video across Android devices in three countries (running Android 8+), turning a smartphone on-site into a crucial pair of
ASUS is rolling out a new gaming monitor that will make your buddy's 4K panel feel like old tech, especially if theirs is not a dual-mode display. The monitor in question is the ROG Strix 5K XG27JCG, and as the model designation implies, it sports a native 5K resolution (5120x2880). At that tier, even the fastest GPUs like the GeForce RTX
Fortnite is easily the single game with the greatest number of franchise crossovers, with the free-to-play live-service juggernaut having collabed with countless IPs across all forms of media. Following the likes of Dragon Ball, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen and more, Fortnite’s next anime-themed crossover is reportedly with one of the ‘Big 3’ – Bleach.
As discovered by SamLeakss and corroborated by known Fortnite leaker HYPEX, a crossover between Fortnite and Bleach is set to take place in Early 2026, likely as part of the ongoing Chapter 7 Season 1.
Alongside One Piece and Naruto, Bleach was typically seen as being one of the ‘Big 3’ shonen anime from its era. Though the series fell off partway through its airing (leading to a premature cancellation), the franchise came back bigger and better than ever with the ongoing release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Previous anime crossovers have taken quite varying forms. While the likes of the Dragon Ball collab saw parts of the map altered and new mechanics added to fit in with the crossover, Naruto’s primarily added purchasable skins (as well as a community-made Hidden Leaf Village map).
What form this Bleach crossover will take is currently unknown. That said, hopefully at the very least we will get to wield the show’s iconic ‘Zanpakutō’ Soul Cutters.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Fortnite’s anime collabs? Which has been your favourite? Have you been watching Thousand-Year Blood War? Let us know down below.
The post Fortnite reportedly set to crossover with popular manga/anime series Bleach first appeared on KitGuru.
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