Ahead of the Switch 2 launch, Nintendo did hold a Nintendo Direct stream to showcase a number of launch-day and launch-period titles for the new console. However, outside of this summer, we know very little about the Switch 2 release schedule for the rest of 2025. That will change tomorrow, when the next Nintendo Direct goes live. 

Nintendo skipped June's Summer Game Fest for new game announcements in favour of saving everything for future Direct streams. Last month, we first heard that a Nintendo Direct was being planned for July and now weeks later, Nintendo has confirmed exactly that. The new Nintendo Direct will go live tomorrow, the 31st of July, featuring a number of Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch 2 titles.

Unfortunately, this is labelled as a ‘partner showcase', so don't expect any major first-party announcements. There will be no new Mario or Zelda here. Instead, we are likely to get confirmation on major third-party games like Assassin's Creed Shadows, Star Wars Outlaws and the upcoming wave of sports games like Madden 26 and NBA 2K26.

The Nintendo Direct will go on for 25 minutes, so it is on the shorter side of these events. However, Gamescom is also just a few weeks away, so Nintendo may have more exciting news from its first-party studios in the very near future.

KitGuru Says: As a multi-platform gamer, a Nintendo ‘partner' direct has little appeal to me, as all the games shown will be better played on my PC or PS5. What I really want is to see more major Switch 1 exclusives upgraded for the Switch 2, as well as new exclusive games to look forward to over the next year. 

The post Nintendo Direct returns tomorrow with new Switch 2 game announcements first appeared on KitGuru.

Fritz! is known throughout Europe for its easy-to-use routers, enabling customers to fully control their network and traffic. Today, Fritz!OS 8.20 is rolling out to all, packing optimised parental controls, a failsafe fallback system to keep your internet connection stable and more. 

AVM, the company behind Fritz!Box routers and the Fritz!OS, is now rolling out its latest software update, including over 40 improvements. The rollout begins today for the Fritz!Box 7590, the flagship WiFi 6 router. The update also makes improvements to Mesh WiFi setups and provides new energy saving options so you can take more direct control over your carbon footprint.

After the update, users can go into the online monitor and show utilisation for the past two weeks, filtering by devices or users eating up the most bandwidth. Using the Energy Efficient Ethernet feature, you can now reduce the energy consumption for your WAN and LAN sockets separately.

On the parental controls side, the Fritz!OS 8.20 update includes a new UI that clearly displays the access profiles and corresponding devices on one page, and tickets for online time are easier to find. The number of ‘online tickets' you can issue has also been increased from 10 to 12.

One of the most interesting features is the Fritz! Failsafe, a new fallback protection to help Fritz!Box users stay online without dropouts. FRITZ! Failsafe does this by using a substitute connection via a fallback device connected upstream from the FRITZ!Box as a reserve via a WAN, LAN or USB socket.

As for Mesh WiFi, setting up a mesh system is now simplified, so you no longer need to re-enter your password for each signal repeater you add to the system, and you can activate several repeaters at once without having to press the connection button on the Fritz!Box.

You can find full guides for setting up your Fritz!Box and managing your network for entertainment, cloud gaming, smart home devices and much more on the Fritz! website.

KitGuru Says: Do any of you use a Fritz!Box at home? How has your experience been? 

The post Fritz!OS 8.20 update enhances Mesh WiFi, parental controls and more first appeared on KitGuru.

New details on AMD's next-generation Ryzen Pro lineup have surfaced thanks to an apparent leak. The specifications for three new AM5-based business CPUs have appeared in an Asus motherboard support list, giving us our first look at the Zen 5 “Granite Ridge” architecture coming to the commercial desktop platform.

The ever-reliable @momomo_us shared a post including the three Ryzen Pro 9000 series SKUs and respective specifications. The new series lineup includes the 12-core Ryzen 9 Pro 9945 (64MB cache), the 8-core Ryzen 7 Pro 9745 (32MB cache), and the 6-core Ryzen 5 Pro 9645 (32MB cache), mirroring the core counts of their Zen 4 predecessors.

The leaked specifications reveal some interesting changes to the base clocks. While the 8-core and 6-core models either maintain or see a slight 100MHz increase in their base frequency, the 12-core Pro 9945 is listed with a 3.4GHz base clock. That puts it 300MHz lower than the previous-gen Ryzen Pro 7945, which could point to a different power or thermal target for the new 12-core business chip.

The appearance of these SKUs on an official motherboard support list lends them significant credibility. Combined with the fact that these product names have been visible on AMD's website for some time, it suggests a launch could be just around the corner, potentially arriving alongside the rumoured Ryzen 7 9700F, which was also mentioned in the leak.

KitGuru says: The AMD Ryzen Pro series is typically for enterprise use, so you're unlikely to find one of these in a gaming PC.

The post Following Threadripper 9000, AMD has new ‘Ryzen Pro’ CPUs on the way first appeared on KitGuru.

Cougar has a new mechanical keyboard hitting the market in Q4 2025, the Ultimus Pro. While the ‘Pro' name might suggest a top-of-the-line flagship, this new board appears to be taking a more practical approach, focusing on delivering a core set of highly sought-after features in a straightforward package.

The Ultimus Pro is built around a compact 98% layout, offering a near-full-size experience with a smaller desk footprint. Available in black and white, it's a wireless board at its heart, featuring triple-mode connectivity that allows it to connect to up to five devices simultaneously via 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, or a wired USB-C connection. Cougar is also claiming a battery life of up to 380 hours, though as is typical, this figure is achieved with the RGB lighting switched off.

For keyboard enthusiasts, the board comes equipped with hot-swappable sockets, allowing you to change out the switches easily. Cougar is shipping it with its pre-lubricated linear switches, though their origin is currently undisclosed. The keycaps are said to be made from durable PBT plastic (doubleshot).

A couple of thoughtful design touches are also included. The keyboard features feet that can be adjusted to three different angles to suit your typing preference, and the detachable USB-C cable can be routed through one of three channels on the back of the board for cleaner cable management. The Cougar UIX software is supported for customising settings.

KitGuru says: Do you like 98% keyboards? Do you see the Ultimus Pro keyboard as a potential buy when it comes out?

The post Cougar Ultimus Pro keyboard packs premium features and a no-nonsense 98% design first appeared on KitGuru.

Following their reveal at CES earlier this year, Cherry Xtrfy has now officially launched its latest batch of premium gaming peripherals. The new lineup is headlined by the MX 8.3 TKL Wireless mechanical keyboard, which is joined by the GP6 and GP7 mousepads.

The MX 8.3 TKL Wireless keyboard is aimed at the high-end enthusiast market. It boasts a solid aluminium case with a gasket-mounted construction and multiple layers of internal padding for a smooth and dampened typing sound. The board offers a 4000Hz polling rate over its 2.4GHz wireless connection and an even faster 8000Hz rate when used via cable. It also provides Bluetooth connectivity for up to three devices, all managed by a media dial and integrated display.

Inside the board are Cherry's new and improved MX2A switches. These are a refinement of the classic MX design, now featuring precisely applied factory lubricant and a new spring design for smoother actuation and improved acoustics right out of the box. The board is also hot-swappable, so you can easily change out the switches to find your perfect feel without any soldering.

To go along with the keyboard, Cherry Xtrfy has launched two new mousepads, the GP6 (black and Hydrus red) and GP7 (black). Both feature a unique cloth surface that provides variable friction, offering high speed for quick flicks with light pressure, but adding resistance for more control during precise micro-movements. The more premium GP7 model infuses the cloth with graphene, which is said to increase its durability.

The Cherry Xtrfy MX 8.3 TKL Wireless carries a suggested retail price of €299. The GP6 and GP7 mousepads are priced at €29 and €39, respectively.

KitGuru says: Would you be willing to spend this much on a gaming keyboard?

The post Cherry’s new Xtrfy MX 8.3 TKL keyboard comes equipped with 8000Hz polling rate first appeared on KitGuru.

Razer has today unveiled the next generation of BlackShark headsets, with the BlackShark V3 Pro at the forefront. Building on a legacy that started back in 2012, the new lineup expands into a complete portfolio with platform-optimised versions for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, all designed with input from top esports professionals.

At the core of the new flagship is Razer's HyperSpeed Gen-2 Wireless technology, which promises a responsive connection with a latency as low as 10 ms. Communication, a critical part of competitive play, is handled by a new detachable 12 mm microphone with a 48 kHz sampling rate for crystal-clear voice chat during gaming.

For the first time in the series, the BlackShark V3 Pro introduces a 4-microphone hybrid ANC system to help players maintain focus in loud environments. The audio is powered by new Gen-2 TriForce 50mm drivers with ultra-thin bio-cellulose diaphragms for clearer sound. For PC gamers, the standout feature is an updated version of THX Spatial Audio, which now supports a 7.1.4 channel configuration, adding four virtual height channels to improve vertical sound cues in supported games.

The headset offers impressive connectivity, with options for 2.4 GHz wireless, Bluetooth, USB-A, and 3.5 mm, including support for simultaneous dual-device connection. In addition to the flagship Pro model, Razer is also launching two other variants. The standard Razer BlackShark V3 offers a core wireless experience with THX Spatial Audio, while the BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed provides a more affordable wireless entry point with standard 7.1 surround sound.

Each model has been specifically tuned to get the most out of its target platform, whether that's the full THX experience on PC or compatibility with Tempest 3D Audio on PlayStation. With input from esports stars like Shotzzy of OpTic and NiKo of Team Razer, and features like onboard EQ profiles tuned for popular FPS games, the new BlackShark V3 lineup has an option for every budget. The “entry-level” BlackShark V3 X starts at £99.99/$99.99/119.99€, while the standard V3 goes for £149.99/$149.99/169.99€. The flagship V3 Pro costs £249.99/$249.99/€269.99.

KitGuru says: Of all three BlackShark V3 models announced, which one seems the most interesting to you?

The post Razer reveals new BlackShark V3 headsets with quad-microphone array first appeared on KitGuru.

KLEVV has updated its SSD line-up this month with new and improved models. Ther CRAS C925G and CRAS C910G NVMe Gen4 M.2 SSDs will be launching this September, alongside the new NEO N410+, a SATA SSD. 

Building on KLEVV’s highly rated CRAS SSD lineup, the updated CRAS C925G and CRAS C910G NVMe Gen4 M.2 SSDs deliver top-end speeds for the PCIe 4.0 segment. The CRAS C925G achieves peak sequential speeds of up to 7,400MB/s read and 6,500MB/s write. Meanwhile, the CRAS C910G delivers sequential read speeds of up to 5,200MB/s and write speeds of up to 4,800MB/s, depending on capacity, perfect for gaming PCs, creative workstations, and laptops.

Both M.2 SSDs come equipped with intelligent SLC caching and Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology, to deliver consistent speeds and durability. These SSDs also support AES 256-bit encryption, LDPC ECC, CRC parity, and SRAM error handling to protect data integrity and come with an ultra-thin graphene-copper heatsink to improve cooling by up to 15%. The heatsink is so slim that it can be used in the PS5's very cramped M.2 expansion slot, making it perfect for PC and console gamers.

If you would prefer a SATA SSD, then the refreshed Neo N410+ is hitting the market with a SATA 6GB/s interface, offering sequential read speeds of up to 540MB/s and write speeds of up to 500MB/s. The SSD is also designed with shock resistance in mind, making it an ideal SSD for laptops, particularly models that still have a HDD inside, as it can easily be swapped out with a SATA SSD instead.

All three of Klevv's new SSDs will be available in September. The CRAS M.2 drives offer up to 4TB capacity, while the Neo N410 SATA SSD tops out at 512GB.

KitGuru Says: Are you in the market for a new SSD? Are you considering going with a KLEVV drive? 

The post KLEVV unveils new CRAS NVMe SSDs and an upgraded SATA SSD first appeared on KitGuru.

Computex 2025 was light on major launches from AMD, Intel and Nvidia so we welcomed news about AMD Threadripper 9000 which uses their latest Zen 5 architecture to deliver heaps of grunt. Today we are reviewing the 32-core Threadripper 9970X and the 64-core Threadripper 9980X so hang on to your power bill, this review is going to get juicy…

Time stamps

00:00 Start
01:07 Threadripper History Lesson
05:14 Threadripper 9000 Platform Details
06:37 Threadripper 9000 High End Desktop
09:00 Gigabyte motherboards & 3D V-Cache info
12:19 A lot of cores in action
16:13 Leo shares some info
19:38 Cinebench R23 Single Core
20:09 Cinebench R23 Multi Core Points Per Watt
21:00 Blender: Classroom Render
22:12 Handbrake Conversion (h264)
22:52 Handbrake Conversion (h265)
23:42 7-Zip Decompressing Benchmark
24:17 7-Zip Compressing Benchmark
24:40 AIDA 64 Memory Bandwidth
25:29 Adobe Premiere Test
26:16 Gaming benchmarks (well we had to)
28:25 What hardware did we use?
29:58 Closing thoughts

In appearance the new Zen 5 Threadrippers look exactly the same as previous models and that is for very good reason as AMD has carried over the CPU socket and cooler mounting points.

When you dig into the specifications you might wonder exactly what has changed from Threadripper 7000 on Zen 4 technology to these Zen 5 Threadripper 9000 parts. The answer on the face of it is ‘not much' apart from support for slightly faster memory and the expectation of improved IPC.

The post AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X and 9970X Review first appeared on KitGuru.

Each month, Sony offers 3 games for ‘free’ to all those with a PlayStation Plus subscription – titles which will remain in your library as long as you are subscribed to the service. For the month of August, Sony is offering the highly-praised souls-like Lies of P – alongside a couple other welcome inclusions.

Taking to the PlayStation Blog to make the announcement, Adam Michel, the director of game services and content at SIE, wrote: “Battle macabre puppets in a twisted soulslike take on well-known children’s tale, use your wits to survive sprawling maps filled with threats and relive an iconic anime first-hand with the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup for August”

Available to add to your library from the 5th of August, next month’s PS Plus titles are as follows:

• Lies of P (PS5 | PS4)
• Day Z (PS4)
• My Hero One’s Justice 2 (PS4)

Of course, the main headliner for August is Lies of P – the FromSoftware-esque souls-like developed by NEOWIZ which released back in 2023 to a ton of praise.

In case you missed it back when it first launched, Lies of P has received plenty of post-launch support; most recently adding new difficulty options for increased accessibility.

In addition, though not available as part of PS Plus, the team released Lies of P: Overture just last month – to equal success.

Alongside the monthly games, Sony also confirmed that a set of new PlayStation avatars will be released as part of PlayStation Plus’ ongoing 15th anniversary celebrations; also available from the 5th of August.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of August’s line-up? Did you check out Lies of P back in 2023? What do you think of PS Plus’ output in 2025 so far? Let us know down below.

The post Lies of P headlines August’s PlayStation Plus Essential line-up first appeared on KitGuru.

Final Fantasy is one of the most iconic franchises in gaming, with its roots stretching all the way back to 1987. More than 35 years later and the series remains one of Square Enix’s biggest. As the franchise nears its 40th anniversary, Square Enix has now revealed that the Final Fantasy series as a whole has surpassed 200 million units sold.

At the tail-end of their latest press release detailing the upcoming updates to its Final Fantasy XIV Online expansion ‘Dawntrail’, Square Enix offered new sales stats for the franchise as a whole, writing:

“The Square Enix group of companies boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 203 million units worldwide.”

For context, we reported back in October of last year that the franchise had hit 195 million copies – which itself represented an increase of 15 million when compared to July 2023.

Given this, it appears as though the Final Fantasy franchise is on track to continue selling an average of roughly 10 million units across its games each year; an impressive achievement given the last mainline entry was FFVII: Rebirth which released back in February of 2024 (though it did come later to Windows).

Regardless, it is always interesting to track the ongoing sales of Final Fantasy, especially as it somehow still falls behind Rockstar’s GTA V – which alone has sold over 215 million copies.

That said, Grand Theft Auto is its own behemoth and so the comparison is clearly far from being apples-to-apples. By this time next year though, the Final Fantasy series may have finally outsold GTA V. We will have to wait and see.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: How many different games in the franchise have you bought over the years? Will it take a further 5 years to reach 250 million? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post The Final Fantasy franchise has officially sold over 200 million units first appeared on KitGuru.

Back in 2023, Activision announced and released its COD HQ app – the one-stop-shop for all things Call of Duty. Unfortunately, this dedicated launcher of sorts brought with it plenty of issues, including multiple app restarts, bloated advertisements and more. In a surprising move, both MWII and MWIII are now finally being decoupled from COD HQ.

Making the surprise announcement on Twitter, the official CODUpdates page confirmed that “On July 29 at 9am PT, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will be moved from the main Call of Duty install and become standalone downloads.”

Explaining how this will impact those who own either title, the publisher continued, “MWII or MWIII owners can access them directly after redownloading each title. Legacy content related to MWII and MWIII modes within the main Call of Duty install will be automatically removed on August 7 to free up storage space.”

While in and of itself a welcome change, what is perhaps the bigger surprise is the fact that those on PlayStation can now obtain Platinum trophies for these titles as they are no longer associated with the base ‘Call of Duty’ application.

Last but not least, it is worth noting that “Call of Duty: Warzone content such as MWII/MWIII operators and weapons will not be impacted by this change” – meaning this should be purely a benefit to players.

Pretty much ever since COD HQ was introduced, the application has been criticised. While the launcher does not seem to be going away (for now), this marks a major positive step in the right direction.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this announcement? Did you think Call of Duty would ever move away from COD HQ? Let us know down below.

The post Older Call of Duty titles are finally being removed from COD HQ first appeared on KitGuru.

Just yesterday, we reported on the lawsuit filed by Sony against Tencent as a result of the announcement of their Horizon: Zero Dawn ‘clone’ Light of Motiram. As part of the filings, the console maker (who typically picks and chooses when to share game sales data) has revealed that PlayStation’s Horizon franchise is nearing 40 million copies sold.

The lawsuit, filed on the 21st of July, consists of nearly 50 pages worth of documentation. That said, in amongst all of the legal jargon, Sony actually offered up-to-date sales figures for the Horizon franchise, writing (as acquired by Deadline):

“The Horizon Franchise is immensely successful and widely distributed. The Horizon Franchise has sold over 38 million copies globally. There would be no question that Tencent had access to the Horizon Franchise when it created Light of Motiram, even had it not expressly approached SIE with a request to license SIE’s intellectual property rights in the franchise.”

That final point is in reference to the fact that Tencent had previously approached Sony to collaborate on a Horizon game – which Sony declined.

All that said, it is interesting to see just how many copies the Horizon franchise has sold, especially as many of the games have been made available across the likes of PlayStation Plus in the years since their launch. It will be curious to see what else is revealed as part of this lawsuit.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the lawsuit in general? Does Sony have a case? Are you surprised by the ongoing success of the Horizon series? Let us know down below.

The post Sony reveals updated Horizon franchise sales in Tencent lawsuit first appeared on KitGuru.

Just as gamers are getting comfortable with the new GeForce RTX 50-series, a new report suggests Nvidia might already be preparing a Super refresh for the holiday season. The rumour points to a pre-Christmas 2025 launch for a trio of Super cards, with the main focus being an increase in memory capacity.

According to Tweaktown, the RTX 50 Super Series is scheduled for a Christmas 2025 or Q4 2025 release. This refresh will include the new 24Gbit (3GB) GDDR7 memory chips, allowing Nvidia to offer much larger frame buffers on existing memory bus widths, such as 24GB of VRAM on a 256-bit bus.

As previously mentioned, the RTX 5070 Super is said to be the only card to get a core count increase, supposedly maxing out the ‘GB205' silicon with 50 SMs for a total of 6,400 CUDA cores. Moreover, memory capacity is expected to increase from 12GB on the RTX 5070 to 18GB on the RTX 5070 Super.

As for the rest of the stack, both the RTX 5070 Ti Super and RTX 5080 Super are rumoured to see their memory capacity jump by 50% to a whopping 24GB. Aside from the memory, the 5070 Ti Super would reportedly see no core count increase over its non-Super counterpart, while the 5080 Super would get a minor memory speed bump to 32Gbps alongside its VRAM boost.

KitGuru says: Will the increase in VRAM capacity change your opinion on the RTX 50 series?

The post Rumour claims Nvidia RTX 50 Super GPUs launching before Christmas first appeared on KitGuru.

After a period of relative quiet, new evidence of Nvidia's high-performance N1X consumer SoC has surfaced. Fresh entries in the Geekbench and Furmark databases have given us our best look yet at the hardware powering this chip, even if the early performance numbers are, as expected, nothing to write home about.

A new Geekbench entry (via VideoCardz) for the N1X has seemingly confirmed some of its core specifications. The listing points to a 20-core CPU configuration, likely arranged in two 10-core clusters. Moreover, it lists a GPU with 48 CUs, which, assuming these are standard Nvidia Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), would put the iGPU with 6,144 CUDA cores, matching the RTX 5070. Such specs suggest the N1X is identical to the GB10 used in Nvidia's AI developer mini-PCs. As for the score, it's about the same as an RTX 3050 laptop GPU, meaning driver development is far from complete.

Corroborating this is a new entry in the Furmark database for a device with the same ‘NVIDIA JMJWOA' codename (also via VideoCardz). This suggests that the N1X is already being tested on Windows and is using a future driver, specifically version 590.22. Considering Nvidia's public drivers are currently in the 577 series, it seems this is a development branch for upcoming hardware.

While the benchmark scores themselves are low, this isn't the key takeaway. The test log shows the GPU's utilisation peaked at just 63% and its temperature remained below 59°C, both signs of an early engineering sample running with power or clock speed restrictions. The purpose of these tests isn't to test performance but to validate the hardware and software stack.

These leaks strongly suggest that Nvidia's OEM partners are now actively testing N1X silicon for upcoming products. While a launch doesn't appear to be imminent, with CES 2026 being the earliest likely venue for a reveal, it's clear that development of Nvidia's high-performance consumer SoC is progressing.

KitGuru says: Do you think Nvidia's N1X SoC can change the landscape of consumer PCs?

The post Benchmark listings reveal 20 CPU cores and 48 SM GPU for Nvidia N1X SoC first appeared on KitGuru.

WiFi 7 is becoming more affordable by the day. This week, Netgear is launching its most affordable Orbi WiFi 7 mesh system yet, hitting the market at just over £200.

Netgear Orbi is typically a very high-end product, but prices have gradually been coming down for all WiFi 7 capable devices over the past couple of years. For instance, the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 delivers WiFi 7 for around £130. The big benefit of going with Orbi is the easy-to-setup mesh WiFi, allowing you to easily fix deadspots by adding on additional ‘satellites' to extend the WiFi signal range.

Here are all the key features for the new Netgear Orbi 370:

• WiFi 7 Technology – Next-gen wireless standard delivers higher speed, lower latency, and backward compatibility with WiFi 4/5/6/6E.
• Multi-link Operation – Combines two WiFi bands at once, for both backhaul (shared 2.4GHz & 5GHz) and fronthaul (2.4GHz & 5GHz) to improve network reliability, reduce latency, and ensure data is delivered at reliable speeds.
• Multi-Gig Speeds with 2.5 Gig Internet Port – Use the 2.5 Gig internet port for multi-gig cable and fibre plans. Compatible with any internet service provider.
• Multi-gig Wired ports on Router and Satellites – Plug in wired devices to improve performance or set up a multi-gig wired connection between the router and satellites via the 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports.
• Orbi App – Easily manage your network from anywhere, including pausing the internet, running internet speed tests, tracking your Internet data usage, setting up separate guest networks, and more.

Like other Netgear routers, the Orbi 370 comes with a 30-day trial for Netgear Armour, a router-level anti-threat system powered by Bitdefender. You can also make use of Netgear Smart Parental Controls to safeguard child access to the internet and monitor usage.

The Netgear The NETGEAR Orbi 370 Series will be available to buy in the UK from September. The Router and 1 satellite bundle will cost £209.99, while the router and 2 satellite bundle will cost £299. Any additional satellites you want to buy will cost £99.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on upgrading to WiFi 7 anytime soon? 

The post Netgear Orbi 370 series brings mesh WiFi 7 to the masses first appeared on KitGuru.

Riot is making a major change to Valorant today. The latest update is now rolling out, transitioning the game from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5, a move that Riot says will lay the groundwork for new experiences in the years ahead.

The update to Unreal Engine 5 won't bring much change to players straight away. The upgrade primarily provides the developers behind the game with new tools to utilise while making future content updates. This may enable new experimental game modes not previously feasible with the older engine.

While the headline feature of this week's Valorant patch is the move to Unreal Engine 5, there are plenty of bug fixes also listed in the patch notes, including:

General

• Fixed a bug where Light and Heavy Armor UI elements were not aligned properly in the HUD.

Agents

• Astra

1. Fixed a bug where the incorrect audio cue would play when getting caught in an allied (or self-casted) Gravity Well.

• Gekko

1. Fixed a bug where other players would hear the incorrect audio cue when a nearby Gekko (allied or enemy) used Dizzy.
2. Fixed a bug that caused Thrash’s hit indicator sound effect to not play for the enemy hit by Thrash.

• Killjoy

1. Fixed an issue where Iso’s Undercut would suppress Killjoy’s Turret and cause it to become inactive if hit directly without hitting Killjoy.

• Yoru

1. Fixed a bug that caused Yoru’s right hand to glow if an enemy Yoru equipped his Gatecrash within a certain range.

• Cypher

1. Fixed an issue that caused Cypher’s Spycam dart to not display the correct VFX when seen in first-person perspective.

• Phoenix

1. Fixed a bug that caused Phoenix’s Blaze minimap indicator to persist on the minimap for a couple seconds after the utility expired.

Maps

• Corrode

1. Fixed an issue where Killjoy’s Alarmbot would not correctly path to enemies after being deployed on the edge of Corrode’s B-Site Tower.
2. Fixed a bug where Raze could super boost to a very high spot in Defender Spawn on Corrode.
3. Fixed bugs where Deadlock could use her ultimate through unintended gaps in map geometry on Corrode.
4. Fixed bugs where Jett could boost to and hover on top of unintended spots on Corrode.
5. Fixed a bug where Sova’s Owl Drone could fly higher than intended on B site on Corrode.
6. Fixed an issue where Killjoy’s Alarmbot would not correctly path to enemies after being deployed on the box in B Main.
7. Fixed a variety of other bugs on Corrode

• Pearl

1. Fixed a bug that prevented Raze’s Showstopper from damaging enemies standing on top of Pearl’s A Link Box when the ult was aimed at the top of the box.

• Split

1. Fixed a bug that allowed Sage’s Barrier Orb wall to be placed floating outwards from Split’s A-Site rafters without any support underneath.

The new Valorant patch is available now. The download size should be larger than your current install of the game, but once the installation has finished, you should find the game taking up 50% less space on your drive. After this update, download sizes for updates will go back to normal.

KitGuru Says: Do many of you still play Valorant? How do you feel about the move to UE5? 

The post Valorant update transitions game to Unreal Engine 5 first appeared on KitGuru.

2024 was a disastrous year for WB Games. All of the money made by Hogwarts Legacy, the top-selling game of 2023, went straight back out the door due to the dire launches of titles like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Multiversus and Harry Potter Quidditch Champions. Has this stopped WB from continuing to push towards live service games? No, of course not. 

A new job listing for WB Games Montreal has revealed that Warner Bros is continuing with another attempt at a live service game. The company posted losses of over $300 million in 2024 after launching and quickly shutting down Suicide Squad, Multiversus and Quidditch Champions. The biggest flop of the three was Suicide Squad, which accounted for more than $200M in losses for WB just a year ago.

The job listing confirms exactly what DC fans don't want to hear. We aren't getting a new single-player game, instead WB Montreal is working on another live service game based on “one of the iconic IPs from the vast Warner Bros. and DC Comics catalogue”. Considering that WB Montreal has typically worked on DC games, it stands to reason that their next project will be the same.

WB Montreal had previously worked on a live-service version of Gotham Knights, before development pivoted. The game ultimately offered a very average gameplay experience, with neither single-player or multiplayer gameplay standing out much.

KitGuru Says: After the shock of Suicide Squad, I feel that most fans just want to go back to the good old days of Batman Arkham. 

The post Despite $200M+ Suicide Squad loss, WB is working on a new DC live service game first appeared on KitGuru.

Today we take a look at a new power supply that ASRock sent us for analysis – the company's latest Steel Legend SL-1200GW. This unit meets the latest ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 specifications, while the 1000 and 1200W models in this range meet 80 Plus Gold and Cybenetics Platinum standards. ASRock ships these fully modular power supplies with a 10 year warranty.

ASRock seems to make these units in white coloured variants which will appeal to those builders creating a themed system. ASRock have partnered up with OEM HEC for the design of this unit, and it is fully modular, incorporates a fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) fan and adopts high grade Japanese capacitors throughout the design.

Specifications:

• 80 PLUS® GOLD Certified
• Cybenetics PLATINUM and LAMBDA A Certified
• ATX3.1 & PCIe5.1 Ready
• Fully Modular Cable Design
• Native 12V-2×6 Connector Dual Color Design
• 100% Highly Reliable Japanese Capacitors
• 135mm Striped Axial FDB Fan
• iCool Intelligent Fan Control Mode
• Built-in 5V BOOST function.

The post ASRock Steel Legend SL-1200GW PSU Review first appeared on KitGuru.

It has been just over a month since the ROG Xbox Ally handheld was announced. The handheld is set to be a centrepiece of the Xbox Gamescom booth in August, and following multiple leaks in recent weeks, we now seem to have confirmation on when the handheld will become available. 

Renowned leaker, bilbill-kun of Dealabs, has published a new report focused on the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. The report confirms earlier leaks that pointed to a €599 starting price, going up to €899 for the top-end model. However, the real interesting part of the report is the claimed launch dates.

It is claimed that the ROG Xbox Ally X and the ROG Xbox Ally will apparently go up for pre-order on August 20th, the same day Gamescom begins. With that in mind, there is likely to be another announcement spot for the system as part of Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live stream. The first units should ship out to customers by October.

There will be two versions of the Xbox Ally system. A base version featuring a Ryzen Z2A APU, and a more powerful version with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme.

The Ryzen Z2A features four Zen 2 CPU cores with eight threads and an 8-CU RDNA 2 iGPU. The Z2 Extreme bumps this up to eight Zen 5 CPU cores and a bigger RDNA 3.5 iGPU, making it ideal for running more graphically intensive titles.

KitGuru Says: The price is very high, but this is also shaping up to be the most interesting PC gaming handheld on the market, in large part due to its exclusive preview of the new ‘gaming UI' for Windows. 

The post ROG Xbox Ally pre-orders to begin at Gamescom first appeared on KitGuru.

The Elgato Facecam 4K is finally launching. Starting today, the new webcam will be available for creators everywhere, coming in at a $100 discount compared to the Elgato Facecam Pro, while offering some very similar features.

The Elgato Facecam 4K will support any 49mm lens filter, so users can customise their look with useful filters that add effects, such as removing the reflections from glasses, or something like diffusion. For times when you don't want a camera pointing at you, there is an included privacy cap.

Elgato’s Facecam 4K uses Sony’s Starvis 2 CMOS sensor and Elgato prime lens. It can record at up to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, making it ideal for gaming streams, while IRL content can be captured in 4K/30FPS with HDR enabled. The Facecam 4K connects over USB-C and has a standard thread for mounts and stands.

Joining the Facecam 4K is the new Camera Hub software, which you can install to manually change ISO, exposure, shutter speed and other video-related settings. All of your settings can be saved to the webcam's built-in memory too, so you won't have to set everything up again when moving between devices.

The Elgato Facecam 4K is available starting this month, priced at £179.99 in the UK, or $199.99 in the US.

KitGuru Says: Are you considering picking up the Elgato 4K Facecam?

The post Elgato’s Facecam 4K brings 4K/60FPS capture for under £180 first appeared on KitGuru.

The race for the fastest gaming monitor continues, and Philips has just raised the bar with the announcement of its new Evnia 24M2N5200X. This new display from the Evnia 5000 series boasts a staggering 610Hz refresh rate, targeting the highest ranks of competitive gaming.

The 24M2N5200X features a 24.1-inch TN panel that is built for speed. The panel runs at a native FHD (1920×1080) resolution and has a 0.3ms GtG response time, which can dip as low as 0.1ms under ideal conditions. To further minimise input lag, Philips has included its “Zero Sense Sync Acceleration” technology, which reportedly uses dual ICs to process signals as quickly as possible.

While TN panels are traditionally known for speed over image quality, Philips is claiming some impressive colour credentials here. The 8-bit panel is marketed as covering 99.8% of the sRGB and 93.6% of the DCI-P3 colour gamuts with a Delta E of less than 2, meaning it should be decently colour-accurate out of the box. With a peak brightness of 500 nits, it has also earned VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification.

Beyond the panel itself, the monitor comes packed with features for serious gamers, including a monitor arm instead of a traditional stand. With it, gamers shouldn't have any issues finding the ideal position. Connectivity is also decent, with two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 port, and a built-in USB hub for peripherals. The Philips Evnia 24M2N5200X initially launched in Asia with a price of ¥5,999 (£624).

KitGuru says: Would you still consider a TN panel for your setup nowadays? If so, would it be one with an extremely high refresh rate like the Evnia 24M2N5200X?

The post Philips Evnia unveils 610Hz gaming monitor aimed at esports first appeared on KitGuru.

Sony has been increasingly entrenching itself in the fighting game community over the past few years, from the acquisition of EVO to the announcement of Marvel Tokon and even their own first-party fight stick. Previously teased as Project Defiant, the console maker has fully detailed what is now known as the FlexStrike Wireless Fight Stick.

Taking to the PlayStation Blog, Edwin Foo, the VP of Product Development at SIE officially unveiled and detailed PlayStation’s FlexStrike Fight Stick – confirming a ton of details alongside when fans can expect to get their hands on this new accessory.

Arriving some time in 2026, the FlexStrike has yet to receive any official pricing. That said, the wireless fight stick will include a ton of welcome features and quality-of-life additions, including:

• Simultaneous PlayStation Link audio
• Dual FlexStrike wireless fight stick connections for local co-op / competitive play
• Seamless switching between the FlexStrike and DualSense controllers
• A “durable and ergonomic design” featuring “comfortably angled surfaces and a non-slip base for a firm foundation” alongside a “high-quality custom-designed digital stick”
• Fully adjustable controls with included touchpad and more
• Built-in lever mode switch
• Dedicated layout lock button

As mentioned, the FlexStrike Fight Stick isn’t set to launch until some time in 2026. That said, those attending EVO next month will be able to view the upcoming accessory – though there won’t be any hands-ons going on.

Regardless, the FlexStrike Wireless Fight Stick is an interesting product which should line up nicely with the rest of the PS5’s accessories. Hopefully the controller won’t be too costly when it launches next year.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to this upcoming accessory? What do you think of its design? How much do you reckon it’ll cost? Let us know down below.

The post PlayStation’s upcoming Fight Stick officially named and detailed first appeared on KitGuru.

Back in November, the industry giant Tencent announced that they were working on a 3rd person open-world title which looked eerily similar to PlayStation’s own Horizon: Zero Dawn / Forbidden West franchise – from the enemy designs to weapons and even the overall aesthetic. It seems Sony has taken note of this, as the console maker is now suing Tencent’s upcoming ‘Light of Motiram‘.

As reported by Reuters, Sony is now suing Tencent “for copyright and trademark infringement in California federal court” claiming that their previously-announced Light of Motiram is a “slavish clone” of Sony’s / Guerrilla Games’ Horizon IP.

Of course, there is no denying that Tencent’s upcoming project does share some highly familiar elements with Horizon – from the characters designs; to the machine-based animal enemies; to the use of a bow and arrow as the protagonist's primary weapon and much more.

That said, what could be the smoking gun in all this is the fact that according to Sony, Tencent approached the company last year for a Horizon collaboration – which they declined.

As with pretty much all legal cases, this could go on for a while, with Sony said to be requesting both monetary compensation as well as “an order blocking Tencent from violating its intellectual property rights.”

Though Light of Motiram could very well end up feeling like its own game separate from the IP which inspired it, there is no denying the similarities between the two. It will be interesting to see how this case proceeds.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Light of Motiram when it was first announced? Are the comparisons to Horizon justified? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Sony sues Tencent for Horizon ‘clone’ Light of Motiram first appeared on KitGuru.

The Assassin’s Creed series is by far one of Ubisoft’s biggest, with the franchise having had over a dozen mainline entries – and a further dozen spin-offs since its first game back in 2007. Despite the most recent AC: Shadows remaining fresh in players’ minds, Ubisoft is seemingly set to make a major AC-related announcement soon.

Taking to Twitter, known data miner ‘PlayStation Game Size’ teased that an impending announcement is incoming pertaining to Assassin’s Creed, simply posting the words “Assassin’s Creed” alongside the ‘eyes emoji’ – indicating that fans should keep an eye out for some news.

Though left extremely vague, the data miner did respond to some fans, confirming that this announcement is not related to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows update, nor is it a surprise 60fps patch for an older entry.

Considering that we know what it WON’T be, this leaves a couple potential possibilities for what it might be. By far the most exciting would be official confirmation of the long-rumoured Black Flag remake (which we first heard about unofficially back in 2023).

That said there are a couple other potential titles it could be, with Ubisoft having previously announced AC Jade – a mobile spin-off which according to insiders should be next in line for release. Alternatively, it could be Project Invictus; the first dedicated multiplayer entry in the franchise.

All that being said, insiders revealed back in May that Ubisoft has a total of 9 different Assassin’s Creed games in the works, and so this upcoming announcement could be related to any one of them. We will have to wait and see.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think PlayStation Game Size is teasing here? What are you hoping it will be? Do you have high hopes for the Black Flag Remake? Let us know down below.

The post Data miner teases upcoming Assassin’s Creed announcement first appeared on KitGuru.