Nioh 3 is about to come out and just like its predecessors, the game will be a PS5 console exclusive. While neither Nioh or Nioh 2 have ever made it over to a non-PlayStation console, that might change with this entry. 

In its latest trailer for the game on the PlayStation YouTube channel, Sony confirms that it has a six-month exclusivity agreement in place for the game. That means that Nioh 3 could potentially appear on other consoles, like the Nintendo Switch 2 or Xbox Series X/S, before the end of the year.

PC players don't have to worry about the console exclusivity agreement at all, as the game will be available on PC from day-one. This is pretty typical for PS5 console exclusives, as Sony has begun allowing more and more games to ship on PC alongside the PS5 launch date. Sony itself has also been ramping up the number of its exclusives that come to PC, with the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, as well as the most recent God of War titles all making their way over to Steam.

Nioh 3 will launch on PC and PS5 on the 6th of February.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up Nioh 3 later this week, or are you going to be waiting for it to land on another console platform? 

The post Nioh 3 will be a PS5 console exclusive for 6 months first appeared on KitGuru.

Last week, Google rolled out an experimental AI program called Project Genie, which could generate new playable game worlds through text prompts. While most of the core gaming crowd wasn't impressed by this, it seems investors were, as many pulled money out of several gaming companies. 

With Project Genie, users can generate new explorable worlds and create a playable character, with options to specify movement properties, or camera placement – such as first-person or third-person. Shortly after the unveiling, VGC notes that a number of game publishers, like Nintendo, CD Projekt, Take-Two and more saw drops in stock value.

The move seems to indicate that a number of investors view Google's new tech as a direct threat to current game publishers. However, Project Genie itself does have a number of limitations. As Unity CEO, Matther Bromberg puts it, the need for prompts currently “limits the level of determinism and precision required for production-grade game mechanics”. Unity itself is currently building its own agentic AI to prepare the engine for future generative tools like Google's Genie.

Most of the companies that saw dips last week have started to rebound on the stock market but none of them have reached their pre-dip levels just yet.

KitGuru Says: Did you see the Project Genie announcement last week? 

The post Video game companies see stocks dip following Google AI reveal first appeared on KitGuru.

Today we’re taking a look at the Fractal Design Pop 2 Air, a mid-tower case focused on airflow and simplicity. It uses a full mesh front and ventilated top panel, comes with three 120mm fans pre-installed, and includes a GPU air guide designed to improve graphics card cooling. Support covers motherboards ranging from ATX down to Mini-ITX, large air coolers, long GPUs, and up to 360mm radiators. In this review, we’ll be checking build quality, layout, and thermal performance to see how it stacks up.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
00:44 Key specs and pricing
02:11 Starting the teardown
03:52 GPU air guide + included fans
05:38 Other features, sizings and compatibility
06:50 Rear of the case / mobo tray
08:01 RGB hub
08:38 Storage support
09:34 Underside
10:09 Included accessories
10:47 Thermal performance + noise
12:04 Performance summary and James’ thoughts
13:34 Closing thoughts

Fractal Pop 2 Air Features:

• Airflow-focused design: Pop 2 Air features a fine cubic-pattern mesh front and a ventilated top panel with three included Aspect 12X RGB fans.
• Component compatibility: It supports graphics cards up to 416 mm long, CPU coolers up to 170 mm tall and top-mounted radiators up to 360 mm.
• Integrated GPU air guide: Pop 2 is equipped with a front air guide to direct airflow specifically toward the graphics card area, to help improve GPU cooling performance.

Specifications:

• Case Type: Mid-Tower
• Dimensions (LxWxH): 481 × 215 × 462 mm
• Materials: Steel, Tempered Glass, Plastic
• Motherboard Support: ATX / Micro-ATX / Mini-ITX
• Back-connect motherboard support: No
• Expansion Slots: 7
• Storage bays: 1 × 3.5″/2.5″ combo mount, 2 × dedicated 2.5″ mounts (3 total)
• Max GPU Length: 416mm
• Max CPU Cooler Height: 170mm
• PSU Type: ATX up to 180mm
• Pre-installed Fans: 3 x 120mm Aspect 12X RGB non-PWM (Front)
• Fan Support: 3 x 120mm (Front), 3 x 120mm (Top), 1 x 120mm (Rear)
• Radiator Support: Up To 360mm (Top)
• Dust Filters: Top (Steel) PSU (Nylon)
• Font I/O: 1 × USB Type-C (5 Gbps), 1 × USB Type-A (5 Gbps), 1 × Audio/Mic combo jack
• LCD Screen: N/A

Thermal Performance Testing

To simulate thermal demand, we run the Cinebench R23 multi-thread benchmark and 3DMark Speed Way stress test simultaneously in a loop for 30 minutes to load the system fully. This gives the CPU and GPU enough time to reach constant steady-state temperature. With this data, we can compare how the system handles the thermal demand and measure peak noise levels.

Thermal performance is measured with the case in various configurations, such as the default, with the tempered glass left-hand side panel removed and with the front panel removed to see how these configurations affect the CPU and GPU temperature. During testing, only stock case fans are used unless otherwise specified. All water pumps are set to maximum RPM and fans are set to a custom RPM curve by the Motherboard software/BIOS.

All temperature measurements are presented as Deltas – meaning the ambient temperature has been deducted from the CPU temperature, giving us a Delta. Data shown in the charts represent the average component temperature over the length of the test as measured by HWiNFO, and then the last 15 minutes of the data are calculated to get the average. The ambient temperature during thermal tests is between 19-20⁰C.

Test System Specification:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Motherboard – MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi
• Graphics Card – ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi
• Memory – 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000
• Storage – 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIE Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD
• CPU Cooler – Montech HyperFlow Digital 360
• Power Supply – Fractal ION 3 Gold 1000W
• Case fans – Stock
• Chassis – Fractal Pop 2 Air
• Operating System – Windows 11 24H2

Thermal Performance Overview

We tested the case thermals with a 360mm AIO as the exhaust at the top and in several different configurations. The default configuration shown in the charts is with the 360mm AIO at the top, 3 x 120mm Front intake fans and with all panels installed.

CPU temperatures are close across all test configurations, ranging from 59°C to 62°C over ambient. Removing the side panel produces the lowest CPU temperature at 59 °C, while the default layout and added rear exhaust both sit 1-3 degrees °C higher, indicating the stock airflow path is already optimised. GPU temperatures show minor variation, with the default configuration achieving the lowest result at 64 °C. Removing the GPU air guide results in the highest GPU temperature at 66 °C, showing its effectiveness in directing airflow toward the graphics card with minimal impact on CPU cooling.

Noise Output

Under load, the Pop 2 Air shows very consistent noise output across configurations, measuring 42 dBA with the side panel removed, in the default layout, and with an added rear exhaust fan. Removing the GPU air guide results in a minor increase to 43 dBA, suggesting it provides a small benefit in controlling airflow under load with slightly lower fan speed. At idle, all configurations sit at 35 dBA, indicating stable fan behaviour and no additional noise coming from airflow changes.

Closing Thoughts

In some key areas, the Fractal Pop 2 Air shows a shift in direction compared to the original Pop series. Some of the more distinct features that made it popular are gone, like the 5.25-inch drive bay and the bold and bright internal colour options that gave the earlier models a bit of personality. In their place, Fractal has moved more towards mainstream airflow-focused design, which will likely appeal to cooling enthusiasts wanting to squeeze all the performance from their hardware, even if it means losing some of that original charm.

On the positive side, the updates applied in the Pop 2 Air make sense for modern high-performance gaming systems. Support for up to a 360mm top-mounted radiator is a welcome addition, and the included GPU air guide proves to be more than a gimmick, offering a small benefit to graphics card temperatures in our testing. Cooling performance overall is solid, and the default fan configuration does a good job, and quietly.

That said, there are some notable omissions at this price point. There are no removable radiator or fan brackets to help with installation, no built-in GPU anti-sag support, and the included fans are non-PWM, which limits fine speed control and adjustment. These aren’t deal-breakers, but they are features that competitors often include at this price range, and their absence will be noticed by more advanced and experienced enthusiast system builders.

Build quality is, for the most part what we’ve come to expect from Fractal Design – generally good, except for the top panel which is quite weak and flexible without any fans or radiator mounted.

Taken as a whole, the Fractal Pop 2 Air is a competent, airflow-focused mid-tower that prioritises cooling and compatibility over the fun and functional extras seen in its predecessor. It’s not the most feature-rich case in its class, but if you value straightforward design and solid thermal performance, it may appeal to you as it is reasonably priced too at under £90 with fans, glass and RGB included.

The Fractal Pop 2 Air is available to purchase now from Scan in either black or white, priced from £79.99 HERE.

Pros: 

• Good thermal performance.
• Improved radiator support over the original Pop.
• Good build quality.

Cons:

• The distinctive Pop colours have gone.
• Lost 5.25-inch drive support.
• No back-connect motherboard support.
• Included fans are not PWM.
• Very basic in some areas, with no fan hub, modular parts or GPU support brackets etc.

KitGuru says: We miss some of the features of the original Pop in this new version, but if your focus is solid cooling and high-end hardware support at a low cost, then the Pop 2 Air might be ideal for you.

The post Fractal Pop 2 Air PC Case Review first appeared on KitGuru.

Back in 2022, it was reported that Sony had entered into talks with Amazon to develop a live-action adaptation of the console maker’s highly-popular God of War franchise. While production was off to a slow start, work on the project appears to be progressing smoothly – with a majority of the cast now being officially announced.

Back in January, Amazon started to promote their upcoming God of War show, confirming early casting details including the role of Kratos (being played by Ryan Hurst). Since then, we’ve gotten additional casting details including some familiar voices reprising their roles.

As reported by Deadline, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (known for Severance and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) is officially set to play the role of Thor in the show. Joining him (as per Variety) are Max Parker as Heimdall; Mandy Patinkin as Odin – and Danny Woodburn / Jeff Gulka playing Brok / Sindri respectively.

Perhaps the most surprising casting choice however is Alastair Duncan as Mimir, who actually played the character in the games (and whose voice would be highly familiar to those who experienced the duology). Serving as one of the primary narrators for 2018’s God of War and Ragnarok, Alastair Duncan reprising his role is a welcome surprise.

While it is still too early to glean much regarding Amazon’s God of War adaptation, the casting choices so far are certainly encouraging.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the casting choices so far? Are you glad to see Alastair Duncan return? Who do you think they’ll get to play Atreus? Let us know down below.

The post Alastair Duncan to reprise his role as Mimir in live-action God of War first appeared on KitGuru.

Apple is taking a partial page from bulk OEM system builders and boutique PC outfits by now offering a similar part-by-part configuration process, rather than the old way of serving up a selection of preconfigured models. The component options haven't changed, but the way you go about piecing together a Mac feels a little more personal and

Shortly following the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, EA / Respawn Entertainment updated their popular Battle Royale ‘Apex Legends’ with a Switch 2 edition – letting Nintendo owners finally compete on a more equal footing at 60fps. As expected however, the OG Switch version of Apex Legends will now soon be discontinued, officially shutting down at the end of Season 29.

Making the announcement via their blog, the team at Respawn Entertainment wrote: “Hey legends, we want to share an important update about Apex Legends on the Nintendo Switch. Season 29 will be the final update for Apex Legends on Nintendo Switch. Future seasons of Apex Legends will continue to be available on Nintendo Switch 2.”

For the uninitiated, Season 29 ends on the 3rd of August, and so there is still plenty of time to play the game between now and then (even if the OG Switch version is arguably the worst). Regardless, as all your progress is tied to your EA account, those who wind up picking Apex back up on Switch 2 will be able to continue right where they left off.

Even back when it released in 2021, the Switch 1 version of Apex Legends was far from the optimal way to experience a competitive multiplayer shooter and so it’s not surprising to see it being discontinued. It will be interesting to see how much longer the last-gen PS4 and Xbox One versions persist for.

KitGuru says: Did you ever try the game on Switch 1? How was it? When do you think the other last-gen versions will be discontinued? Let us know down below.

The post Switch 1 version of Apex Legends to shut down later this year first appeared on KitGuru.

SEGA and RGG Studio have been pretty good with supporting Nintendo platforms in recent years, with the Switch 1 receiving plenty of ports over its lifetime. The Yakuza series in particular has seen strong representation with 0, 1, 2 and (soon) 3 available on the platform. According to the studio, even more entries could be coming “if fans tell us more.”

Releasing a promotional video to YouTube for the upcoming Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Tides, the team at RGG Studio spoke on their support for the Nintendo Switch platform in particular, with Masayoshi Yokoyama stating:

“We've had Yakuza 0, 1, 2 and now 3. So, on Switch 2 with Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, we're releasing everything that we can at the moment. From here on, the number may increase if fans tell us more.”

Yokoyama continued, “I've always thought that being able to play anywhere is really important for Switch 2, and I think it's a great piece of hardware that will make the dreams of people who wanted to play games in the past but were restricted by location to come true. When the Switch 2 came out, the game actually worked because the performance has also improved, so I decided from the beginning that I wanted to port the game (Yakuza Kiwami 3) over no matter what.”

As mentioned, RGG Studio have brought over quite a few Yakuza games to Nintendo at this point, with the original Kiwami reportedly “selling like hotcakes” on the OG Switch. That said, there are still plenty of entries not available on the platform, and so it will be interesting to see if and when the remainder of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series find their way over to the Switch 2.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the earlier Yakuza games? Would you like to see Like a Dragon also come to the platform? Do you prefer the turn-based or real-time entries? Let us know down below.

The post RGG Studio hope to bring even more Yakuza games to Switch 2 first appeared on KitGuru.

HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us helped spearhead the surge in quality adaptations of video game properties, amassing record-breaking views and winning a ton of awards. Like with the games themselves however, Season 2 of the show proved to be somewhat more contentious than the first. While a 3rd Season was greenlit even before the second season came out, it appears as though the next chapter of HBO’s TLOU might be its last.

Though it was never explicitly stated, prior to the launch of series 2 for HBO’s The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin alluded to the fact that there could be up to 4 Seasons required to tell the story of the two games.

Whether these plans were ever more than a vague idea or not, it seems as though HBO’s The Last of Us will most likely conclude with its next Season, with HBO chief Casey Bloys responding to the question of whether S3 will be its last by stating: “It certainly seems that way, but on decisions like that, we will defer to the showrunners. So you can ask them.”

Based on the wording, it appears as though the decision to go with 3 seasons instead of 4 has come from the creative side of the company, and less so the management (especially as Bloys spoke on the matter back in July stating “Craig is still working it out whether it will be two more seasons or one more long season. It hasn't been decided yet, and I'm following Craig's lead on that”).

This should hopefully mean that when it does eventually release, series 3 will encapsulate the remainder of Part II’s story in a satisfactory (and not rushed) manner. We will have to wait and see however.

KitGuru says: What do you think of HBO’s The Last of Us? Was series 2 a disappointment to you? What were your opinions on the games? Let us know down below.

The post HBO’s The Last of Us Season 3 might be its final first appeared on KitGuru.

Although NVIDIA did not unveil a new consumer graphics chip at CES 2026, behind the scenes the company is preparing a strategically far-reaching release for the gaming and PC market. During a visit to Taiwan, CEO Jensen Huang confirmed for the first time publicly that NVIDIA is working with MediaTek on a so-called “AI PC” […]

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Following the well-documented problems surrounding the Ryzen 9800X3D, the next, much broader problem area is now emerging. More and more reports of AMD Ryzen 5 9600X failures on ASRock motherboards are converging into a pattern that can no longer be explained as isolated cases. Within a period of around 30 days, there have been at […]

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Jensen Huang’s statements are remarkable, not because of their tone, but because of their implicit significance. When the CEO of NVIDIA declares that TSMC will have to expand its production capacity by more than 100 percent over the next ten years just to meet the needs of a single customer, this is not just a […]

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Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming an integral part of modern scientific work. A recent report by OpenAI shows that systems such as ChatGPT are increasingly being used not only as a supporting tool, but as an active partner in complex research processes. Their use is increasing significantly, particularly in disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, […]

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After weeks of speculation about Apple’s possible return to Intel as a contract manufacturer for iPhone SoCs, industry insiders are now drawing a surprisingly clear line. The tenor emerging from SemiWiki and analyst circles, among others, is clear: there is virtually no realistic prospect of Intel’s most advanced manufacturing nodes being used for iPhone chips. […]

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In everyday digital life, subscriptions are quickly taken out; often, just a few clicks are enough to activate a service. However, it is often much more complicated to cancel such contracts. Two rulings by German courts have now drawn a clear line on this issue. The Munich I and Karlsruhe Regional Courts have ruled in […]

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I deliberately chose not to structure today’s article as a classic thermal paste test, where you note down a temperature after a few minutes, compare it, and create a supposed ranking. From a physical point of view, this approach falls short and does not do justice to the reality of modern GPUs. What you see […]

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Google DeepMind's Project Genie is a research prototype that allows users to "create, explore, and remix their own interactive worlds" based on text or image prompts. Regardless of what is used to generate the world, controls are limited to WASD, arrow keys, and the space bar, and the output will be capped to 720p resolution and 24 FPS, but

The following quotes reflect the current consensus on the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and are listed individually by source. I have sorted them according to positive, neutral, and negative assessments and listed each source individually, provided that clear conclusions are available. Positive reviews pcgameshardware.de describes the 9850X3D as the fastest desktop CPU in the gaming […]

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Some of you may have already heard of Moltbot or its former name, ClawdBot. However, both names are now a thing of the past, as the project has changed its name again within a short period of time and is now called OpenClaw. These frequent renamings have caused confusion among many users and, at the […]

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At first glance, the idea that computer games will no longer be developed but generated in the future seems like the logical next step in the evolution of AI. After text, images, audio, and video, it now seems to be the turn of interactive entertainment. In fact, there are now systems that generate playable 3D […]

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The Federal Council has approved a new law that will make it much easier to cancel online purchases and digital contracts in the future. Consumers will be able to reverse their decision within the statutory period of 14 days using a clearly visible and easily accessible cancellation button. This will put an end to a […]

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Berlin-based health tech provider Recare is continuing to drive forward the use of artificial intelligence in everyday hospital life and is increasingly positioning itself as a technical infrastructure partner for administrative processes in the healthcare sector. With a new AI agent, the company aims to relieve medical and nursing staff of time-consuming documentation and coordination […]

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The next generation of smartphones could mark a remarkable break with a long-established pattern. Rumor has it that Android flagships featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 will be released in the same month as Apple’s iPhone 18 series. This would eliminate a key advantage that Apple has consistently exploited in […]

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We review the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, alongside DDR4 and storage price analysis and head smacking moments. We also discuss GOG's Linux focus and Intel's latest financial results. Windows 11 woes, BitLocker Keys,…

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When you think NVIDIA, you think "GPUs." It's easy to forget that NVIDIA's been making system-on-a-chip products for nearly 20 years; the first Tegra SoC came out in early 2008. The company's chips haven't really found their way into mainstream laptops, but that's about to change with the release of the N1/N1X processors. Speaking to Taiwanese