The PC memory industry's landscape is shifting as industry titans like Asus, Acer, Dell, and HP explore unconventional supply chains to keep their production lines moving. According to recent reports, these manufacturers are looking toward the Chinese memory maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) as an alternative to the traditional trio of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.

According to Nikkei Asia (via Wccftech), this decision is being taken as a direct result of the ongoing global memory crunch, in which the dominant suppliers are prioritising high-margin High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI infrastructure, leaving the consumer PC market with a significant supply deficit.

Late last year, CXMT demonstrated its advancements by unveiling homegrown DDR5-8000 and LPDDR5X-10667 modules. These modules are said to offer competitive speeds that meet or even exceed official JEDEC specifications, potentially making them a viable drop-in replacement for standard OEM laptops and desktops. CXMT manufactures these chips on a 16 nm node, which is roughly 3 years behind the cutting-edge processes used by the “Big Three”.

Assuming these qualification phases are successful, many PC makers might start integrating CXMT memory into products for non-U.S. markets to avoid rising costs and shipping delays. While some analysts cite potential national security concerns or the possibility of future trade restrictions, for the average consumer, the source of the DRAM in their system is likely less important than whether the machine is actually available and affordable. With CXMT already shipping its 12 Gb and 16 Gb LPDDR5X modules, the company could become a “lifesaver” for the consumer electronics sector, which the AI boom has increasingly marginalised. However, Digitimes report suggests pricing might not be that much lower than what we've seen from the competition.

KitGuru says: It is fascinating to see how the AI gold rush is forcing even the most established Western PC brands to rethink how they operate. If Samsung and Micron continue to divert their wafer output toward HBM and enterprise contracts, we might soon find that Chinese memory becomes the standard for mainstream laptops and gaming rigs alike.

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The PC cooling market is reportedly bracing for a price adjustment. Alphacool and be quiet! have claimed that the rising cost of raw materials has reached a breaking point, with the former confirming that it will implement a 5% to 10% price increase across its product catalogue by the end of February. German manufacturer be quiet! also issued a statement, albeit more positive. Instead of climbing prices right away, it will only do so if the current cost of raw materials remains.

As Der8auer mentioned, the primary culprit behind this shift is the global surge in copper prices, which have reportedly risen from approximately $9,000 per tonne to over $13,000 per tonne over the past twelve months. Besides copper, tin also saw a 60-80% increase, depending on the currency used. On the other hand, aluminium and nickel prices have remained largely unchanged, while steel prices have actually dropped about 7%.

Because copper is the standard for thermal conductivity in premium PC components, forming the baseplates of water blocks and the fins of high-end radiators, cooling manufacturers are uniquely exposed to these market fluctuations. While both companies have supposedly spent months absorbing these extra costs to shield consumers, the sustained high pricing of industrial metals has made current margins unsustainable.

As some might have already concluded, the increase in raw material costs is due to the massive infrastructure required for AI data centres, which reportedly consume up to three times as much copper as traditional facilities for power and specialised cooling. With major copper mines in South America and Indonesia facing operational setbacks, a global deficit is expected to persist throughout 2026. For enthusiasts planning a new custom loop or a high-end air-cooled build, the next few weeks represent a final window before these adjustments hit retail shelves, with high-copper components like full-metal radiators and GPU blocks expected to see the most immediate impact.

KitGuru says: As if the memory shortage alone wasn't enough, the rising price of copper in 2026 is an unfortunate reality for a market already suffering.

The post Copper scarcity now forcing price hikes in the PC cooler market first appeared on KitGuru.

Nvidia might not launch any gaming GPUs in 2026, according to recent reports. Unsurprisingly, due to the ongoing global memory crisis, the company is reportedly reallocating its entire supply of high-performance RAM to its significantly more profitable AI server accelerators. This shift has apparently resulted in the cancellation of the long-rumoured RTX 50-series Super refresh, which were previously expected to debut with substantial VRAM upgrades.

According to The Information (via Tom's Hardware), the delay reportedly extends into the next generation of hardware as well, with the GeForce RTX 60-series supposedly being pushed back. While the Blackwell successor was originally aimed at a mass-production start in late 2027, the current bottlenecks in GDDR7 and HBM supply mean we are unlikely to see a launch until sometime in 2028.

This potential four-year gap between generations would mark the longest drought in modern gaming history, leaving the current RTX 50-series as the primary enthusiast offering for the foreseeable future.

To further complicate matters for PC builders, previous reports also indicated that both AMD and Nvidia are to focus their gaming production on 8GB cards moving forward in an effort to navigate memory shortages. For the RTX 50 series, this would mean less supply for the RTX 5070 Ti and up, but an increased number of RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 graphics cards on shelves.

KitGuru says: The news that Nvidia might skip 2026 entirely is a bitter pill for gamers to swallow, but from a purely financial perspective, it makes sense. When the operating margins for AI chips are considerably higher than for gaming, and every stick of VRAM is precious, it was only a matter of time before the enthusiast market took a back seat. 

The post Nvidia GeForce RTX 60 debut might be delayed first appeared on KitGuru.

Intel is reportedly thinning out its upcoming Arrow Lake-S Refresh (Core Ultra Series 2 Plus) lineup before it even hits the shelves. According to recent reports, the previously rumoured flagship Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has been cancelled. Despite earlier Geekbench leaks suggesting a 10% performance jump over the current 285K, Intel has supposedly decided to scrap the “halo” chip to simplify its product stack and focus on more distinct upgrades within the series.

According to VideoCardz, the primary driver of this cancellation is product overlap. The 290K Plus was expected to feature the same 24-core (8P+16E) configuration as both the existing Core Ultra 9 285K and the supposedly upcoming Core Ultra 7 270K Plus. Differentiating three nearly identical top-end SKUs solely by minor clock-speed bumps would have been complicated, particularly when the performance difference between a 270K Plus and a 290K Plus would likely be minimal for the average consumer.

With this potential flagship chip out of the picture, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus reportedly becomes the new star of the refresh. This chip is expected to be a significant upgrade over the non-refresh 265K by adding four additional efficiency cores to match the 24-core count of the i9 tier. Leaked specifications suggest the 270K Plus will feature a maximum turbo boost of 5.5 GHz, with P-cores reaching 5.4 GHz and E-cores hitting 4.7 GHz. Beyond the core count, the refresh's main selling points appear to be improved platform tuning, including native support for DDR5-7200 memory and advanced “Intel Performance Optimizations” (IPO).

This approach also aligns with Intel's broader 2026 roadmap. With the massive Nova Lake architecture expected for a late 2026 launch on the new LGA-1954 socket, a leaner Arrow Lake Refresh allows Intel to maintain momentum on the current LGA-1851 platform without over-investing in a generation that will only be relevant for a few months.

KitGuru says: Launching a “KS” flagship so close to the end of a socket's lifespan rarely makes sense, especially when the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus already offers the same core density.

The post Intel reportedly axes Core Ultra 290K Plus to avoid overlap first appeared on KitGuru.

Fallout 76 came out just before the entire multiplayer games industry shifted towards multi-platform systems. As a result, Fallout 76 is still behind, with no crossplay features, but Bethesda is finally looking to change that. 

In a recent interview with Polygon, Fallout 76 Creative Director, Jon Rush, said that the team is “looking into” implementing cross-platform multiplayer for Fallout 76. However, it is not an “immediate” plan, as the team still needs to “scope out” how much work implementing it would take.

Bill LaCoste, the production director, added that there are “huge technical hurdles” that would need to be tackled before cross-platform multiplayer could be rolled out to the masses.

Obviously, Fallout 76 in itself was an experiment built on top of Fallout 4, so there are likely a lot of factors to consider in a programming sense. Whether or not cross-play ever happens remains to be seen, but hopefully they can figure it out in order to capitalise on the game's more recent popularity.

KitGuru Says: Fallout 76 is a bit behind other major multiplayer games due to its lack of crossplatform multiplayer. Hopefully they can figure out a way to close the gap. 

The post Bethesda is looking to bring cross-platform multiplayer to Fallout 76 first appeared on KitGuru.

A couple of weeks ago, two rumours surfaced, one indicating that a Nintendo Direct would be happening in early February and another claiming that a PlayStation State of Play would be happening later in the month. The Nintendo Direct rumour proved true last week when Nintendo went live with a slew of new game announcements. Now, Sony has also officially announced its State of Play plans as well. 

Just as rumoured, Sony will be holding its latest State of Play stream this month. The stream will be taking place on Thursday, February 12th. Unfortunately, it will be happening quite late for those of us here in Europe, as the stream will be happening at 10PM GMT / 11PM CEST.

The stream is going to be a big one, with over an hour of game announcements planned. This one isn't ‘partner' focused either, so there is likely to be a mix of both third-party game announcements, along with new first-party games from Sony's studios.

Two titles immediately spring to mind as potential first-party reveals. The first is Bungie's Marathon, which is finally dropping in March after a couple of delays. The other is Saros, the latest game from Housemarque, the studio behind Returnal, which went on to become an early-generation hit on the PS5.

KitGuru Says: What are you hoping to see announced at the State of Play this week? 

The post Sony announces hour-long State of Play for new PS5 games first appeared on KitGuru.

Last week, ASRock issued its first statement following reports that several users suffered no-boot scenarios while using Ryzen 9000 series processors in a number of ASRock motherboards. Today, ASRock is issuing its first beta BIOS update to address the issue.

The new BIOS is now available, labelled as V4.07.AS01, using the latest AGESA 1.3.0.0a version. This bios should improve system stability for AMD systems, as well as optimise memory compatibility and crucially, resolve a boot failure occurring with certain CPUs. That last note should fix the issues users were reporting on Reddit and get their systems back up and running.

“This update is specifically designed to address system no-boot scenarios, including cases where systems may fail to boot after being used for a period of time. Users who encounter such behavior are recommended to update to this BIOS version to help restore normal system boot functionality.”

The new BIOS update can be found HERE. If you need a guide on how to update your BIOS, ASRock has one that can be found HERE.

ASRock says it will continue to monitor the situation and aid users through its technical support team, while working with AMD to ensure product quality and platform stability.

KitGuru Says: If you've had any issues recently with an ASRock motherboard and a current-gen AMD processor, then this BIOS update should help.

The post ASRock issues BIOS update to address boot failure on AMD systems first appeared on KitGuru.

Capcom has officially updated its Platinum Titles list as of February 2026. According to the latest figures, the company has over 100 titles on this list, showcasing an immense catalogue of financial successes that continue to grow.

According to data shared by Capcom (via Gematsu), total software sales for the period reached 34.64 million units, a significant jump from the previous year, with digital downloads accounting for 94% of all copies sold. The Resident Evil series remains the company's crown jewel, with the total franchise lifetime sales now reportedly surpassing 183 million units. The Resident Evil 4 remake led the charge during the quarter, moving another 1.1 million copies to reach a lifetime total of 12.2 million. Not far behind, Resident Evil Village climbed to 13.5 million, while Resident Evil 2 remake (16.8M) and Resident Evil 7 (16.4M) continue to prove the enduring appeal of the horror flagship. This surge could be linked to the anticipation surrounding the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem, scheduled for release on February 27th.

In the fighting game segment, Street Fighter 6 has officially moved past a major historical milestone. With 600,000 units sold in the last quarter, it has reached 6.3 million lifetime copies, effectively overtaking the lifetime sales of the original Street Fighter 2. Meanwhile, the Monster Hunter franchise hit a total of 125 million units, with Monster Hunter Wilds reaching 11 million copies. While Wilds has faced some criticism for performance issues on PC, it remains a pillar of Capcom's 2026 strategy alongside Monster Hunter Rise, which currently sits at 18.2 million units.

The full list includes 125 titles that have sold over 1 million copies. You can find all of these titles below:

• Monster Hunter: World – 22.00 million (Total with Iceborne Master Edition: 29.40M)
• Monster Hunter Rise – 18.20 million
• Resident Evil 2 (2019) – 16.80 million
• Resident Evil 7 biohazard – 16.40 million
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – 15.90 million
• Resident Evil Village – 13.50 million
• Resident Evil 4 (2023) – 12.20 million
• Monster Hunter Wilds – 11.00 million
• Devil May Cry 5 – 11.00 million
• Resident Evil 3 (2020) – 10.90 million
• Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak – 10.90 million
• Resident Evil 6 – 10.10 million
• Resident Evil 5 – 10.00 million
• Street Fighter V – 7.90 million
• Street Fighter 6 – 6.30 million
• Street Fighter II (SNES) – 6.30 million
• Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate – 5.20 million
• Resident Evil (Remaster/HD) – 5.10 million
• Resident Evil 2 (Original) – 4.96 million
• Resident Evil 0: HD Remaster – 4.90 million
• Monster Hunter Freedom 3 – 4.90 million
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy – 4.60 million
• Resident Evil 6 (PS4/XB1) – 4.30 million
• Monster Hunter Generations – 4.30 million
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – 4.20 million
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3/360) – 4.20 million
• Dead Rising 3 – 4.10 million
• Monster Hunter 4 – 4.10 million
• Dragon's Dogma 2 – 4.10 million
• Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES) – 4.10 million
• Resident Evil Revelations 2 – 4.00 million
• Resident Evil 5 (PS4/XB1) – 3.90 million
• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite – 3.80 million
• Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection – 3.80 million
• Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition – 3.70 million
• Street Fighter IV – 3.70 million
• Resident Evil 4 (PS4/XB1) – 3.50 million
• Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (Original) – 3.50 million
• Resident Evil 4: Ultimate HD Edition (PC) – 3.30 million
• DmC Devil May Cry – 3.30 million
• Dead Rising 2 – 3.20 million
• Okami HD – 3.10 million
• Devil May Cry 4 – 3.00 million
• Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS4/XB1) – 3.00 million
• Resident Evil Revelations (Multi) – 2.90 million
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City – 2.80 million
• Resident Evil (Original) – 2.75 million
• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS) – 2.60 million
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS4/XB1) – 2.60 million
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – 2.50 million
• Ultra Street Fighter IV – 2.40 million
• Monster Hunter Freedom 2 – 2.40 million
• Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin – 2.40 million
• Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition – 2.40 million
• Dino Crisis – 2.40 million
• Resident Evil 4 (PS2) – 2.30 million
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (PS4/XB1) – 2.30 million
• Lost Planet 2 – 2.20 million
• Mega Man 11 – 2.20 million
• Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds – 2.20 million
• Devil May Cry – 2.16 million
• Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny – 2.10 million
• Onimusha: Warlords – 2.02 million
• Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition – 2.00 million
• Super Street Fighter II (SNES) – 2.00 million
• Monster Hunter Tri – 1.90 million
• Super Street Fighter IV – 1.90 million
• Street Fighter X Tekken – 1.90 million
• Dead Rising (Original 360) – 1.80 million
• DuckTales: Remastered – 1.80 million
• Mega Man Legacy Collection – 1.80 million
• Lost Planet Extreme Condition – 1.70 million
• Dead Rising 4 – 1.70 million
• Devil May Cry 2 – 1.70 million
• Street Fighter II' Special Champion Edition (MD) – 1.65 million
• Ghosts'n Goblins (NES) – 1.64 million
• Dead Rising (PS4/XB1) – 1.60 million
• Mega Man X Legacy Collection – 1.60 million
• Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition – 1.60 million
• Resident Evil Revelations Collection (Switch) – 1.60 million
• Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition (PC) – 1.60 million
• Resident Evil 4 (GC) – 1.60 million
• Remember Me – 1.60 million
• Onimusha 3: Demon Siege – 1.52 million
• Mega Man 2 (NES) – 1.51 million
• Strider (2014) – 1.50 million
• DmC Devil May Cry Definitive Edition – 1.50 million
• Dead Rising 2 Off The Record – 1.50 million
• Final Fight (SNES) – 1.48 million
• Resident Evil Outbreak – 1.45 million
• Dead Rising 2 Off The Record (PS4/XB1) – 1.40 million
• Resident Evil Code: Veronica X (PS2/DC) – 1.40 million
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Digital PS3/360) – 1.40 million
• Resident Evil Revelations (PS4/XB1) – 1.40 million
• Bionic Commando (2009) – 1.40 million
• Resident Evil (GC Original) – 1.35 million
• Mega Man Battle Network 4 – 1.35 million
• Dragon’s Dogma (Original PS3/360) – 1.30 million
• Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition – 1.30 million
• Monster Hunter Freedom – 1.30 million
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch) – 1.30 million
• Resident Evil 4 (Digital PS3/360) – 1.30 million
• Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles – 1.30 million
• The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles – 1.30 million
• Devil May Cry 3 – 1.30 million
• Resident Evil 0 (GC Original) – 1.25 million
• Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition – 1.20 million
• Dino Crisis 2 – 1.20 million
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (PS3/360) – 1.20 million
• Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS3/360) – 1.20 million
• Resident Evil 6 (Switch) – 1.20 million
• Mega Man X Anniversary Collection 2 – 1.20 million
• Resident Evil Director's Cut Dual Shock – 1.20 million
• Mega Man X (SNES) – 1.16 million
• Resident Evil Code: Veronica (DC) – 1.14 million
• Commando (NES) – 1.14 million
• Resident Evil Director's Cut (Original) – 1.13 million
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics – 1.10 million
• Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 – 1.10 million
• Resident Evil 4 (Switch) – 1.10 million
• Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (SNES) – 1.09 million
• Mega Man 3 (NES) – 1.08 million
• Final Fight 2 (SNES) – 1.03 million
• Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS) – 1.00 million
• Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition (PS2) – 1.00 million

KitGuru says: Capcom's current run is a masterclass in managing a legacy library while launching high-quality modern hits. By leveraging transmedia efforts and an aggressive “Switch 2” porting strategy for titles like Street Fighter 6, Capcom has ensured that its IPs stay relevant and profitable long after their initial launch window. With Resident Evil Requiem just weeks away, the company looks set to end its fiscal year on a high note.

The post Resident Evil franchise tops 183 million sales, SF6 surpasses Street Fighter 2 first appeared on KitGuru.

The normal rule of thumb is, if you want smooth, low latency gaming, you're better off with a wired network. But Intel reckons its Killer NIC technology can deliver the throughput and response for any kind of online entertainment – particularly when combined with WiFi 7. We explored what Intel Killer NIC has to offer, using an MSI laptop equipped with the technology and an ASUS router.

You probably won't be buying Intel Killer NIC WiFi technology on its own. You can purchase M.2 cards to upgrade your laptop, but the more likely approach will be obtaining the capabilities built into hardware from third parties. In our case, we based our review on an MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG laptop, equipped with Intel Killer BE WiFi 7 networking, and an ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 wireless gaming router. The latter has the the ability to prioritise traffic from client systems with the Intel Killer Prioritization Engine, of which more later in this review.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 is an extremely high-end WiFi 7 router. This has a BE25000 rating, implying an aggregate 25,000Mbps bandwidth. This is split between four WiFi radios. The 2.4GHz one delivers up to 1,376Mbps, then there are two 5GHz radios offering 5,764Mbps apiece, and finally a single 6GHz radio providing 11,529Mbps. With the right WiFi 7 client, extremely high bandwidths will be available.

The main benefits of Intel Killer NIC technology come from configurations that optimise for different use cases, particularly gaming. The Intel Killer Prioritization Engine lets you give certain websites and apps precedence. The Intelligence Engine lets you analyse WiFi performance. DoubleShot Pro enables aggregation of wired LAN and WiFi for increased bandwidth. Read on to find out how this all works in practice.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG is available from Scan UK for £2,699.99 inc VAT.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 is available from Scan UK for £599.99 inc VAT.

Specification (ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98):

• Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n/be 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax/be 5GHz and 6GHz
• Performance: BE25000 (11,529 + 5,760 + 5,760 + 1,376 Mbits/sec)
• Antenna Configuration: 8×8 external antennas
• Ports: 1 x 10Gigabit LAN, 3 x 2.5Gigabit LAN, 1 x Gigabit LAN, 1 x 2.5Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN, 1 x 10Gigabit WAN/LAN, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 1 x USB 2.0
• Modem Support: Fibre, VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable

Specification (MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG):

• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 24-core processor
• Memory: 32GB DDR5
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
• Screen: 16in, 2,560 x 1,600
• SSD: 1GB NVMe M.2
• Networking: 2.5Gbit LAN, Intel Killer BE WiFi 7

The post Intel Killer NIC WiFi 7 Notebook Wireless Chipset Review first appeared on KitGuru.

In a historic move for the French video game industry, the Ministry of Culture has officially appointed the development team at Sandfall Interactive as Chevaliers (Knights) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters). The ceremony, held in Paris on February 6th, recognised the studio for its contribution to national culture following the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

This honour is rarely bestowed upon an entire studio, typically reserved for an individual. Some of those include Shigeru Miyamoto and Michel Ancel. Founders Guillaume Broche, Tom Guillermin, and François Meurisse, along with other team members, received the Order's medals. The studio later shared a statement on LinkedIn, noting that they hoped their journey would inspire other creators to take the plunge into ambitious narrative work. Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, who presided over the knighthood ceremony, emphasised that the decoration serves to validate video games as an “essential cultural industry” and a legitimate art form.

Set in a world inspired by the French Belle Époque, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has reportedly sold over 5 million copies since its April 2025 release, praised for its unique blend of traditional turn-based RPG mechanics and reactive, rhythm-based gameplay.

The award comes just months after Sandfall Interactive achieved a record-breaking sweep at The Game Awards 2025, where Expedition 33 took home nine trophies, including the prestigious Game of the Year. It was the first time a French-developed title won the top prize at the ceremony, prompting public congratulations from President Emmanuel Macron, who described the Montpellier-based studio as a “source of great pride”.

KitGuru says: The “knighting” of Sandfall Interactive is more than just a ceremonial pat on the back. While the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres has recognised gaming legends in the past, awarding the title of Chevalier to an entire team is unheard of. It effectively cements Expedition 33 as more than a commercial success but also as a permanent fixture of French cultural heritage.

The post France awards Knight status to Sandfall Interactive team first appeared on KitGuru.

The tale of Overwatch is one that begins with great success and was seemingly ending in relative failure, with the rebranding to Overwatch 2 ultimately doing more harm than good – especially as many of the ‘sequel’s promised features never came to be. Following the surprise announcement that the game is now dropping the 2 (among other welcome changes) Overwatch’s popularity has already seen a resurgence on Steam.

Despite the upcoming Season of Overwatch not yet going live, it appears as though many of the changes announced to be arriving with the relaunch have led to a great deal of excitement.

Though we only have one platform to go off of, in anticipation of the new Season 1, Overwatch has seen a major influx of players, with Steam concurrent numbers putting the title at 69,881 players – the highest figure since the game’s launch all the way back in 2023 (where it achieved a peak CCU of 75K).

Of course, of all platforms, Steam is likely one of the smallest for Overwatch, especially as Blizzard/Activision’s own Battle Net launcher takes priority on PC. That said, we will likely see a similar rise in interest across the board, especially once Season 1 actually launches. In case you missed it, full details on what to expect from this rebrand / overhaul can be found HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the changes coming? Was the removal of the 2 necessary? Will this latest overhaul help them compete with Marvel Rivals? Let us know down below.

The post Overwatch sees massive surge in Steam players ahead of rebrand first appeared on KitGuru.

While many expect the next-generation PlayStation 6 to be somewhat inline with Sony’s current console strategy, Microsoft’s next console is set to take things in quite the different direction. While details surrounding Xbox’s next-gen plans have leaked out in the past, we’ve now gotten newly updated specifics.

As reported by known Xbox insider Jez Corden (via Windows Central), the next-gen Microsoft console will seemingly function somewhat similarly to the ROG Xbox Ally – meaning “the Xbox interface will sit on top of Windows, disabling unnecessary processes to create a gaming-first environment.” As with the Ally, you will also be able to “exit out to full Windows.”

Of course, plans are subject to change, with Corden noting that Microsoft’s work on Windows 11 is still ongoing, writing: “Microsoft hasn't fully internally committed to a hard 2027 launch window for the next-gen Xbox platform, since so much of it hinges on improvements to Windows 11 and other factors. Microsoft's Windows and Xbox teams are collaborating harder than ever to get the OS into shape for a polished, console-like experience on Xbox.”

Beyond the mainline console, Microsoft is reportedly planning to continue their relationship with hardware manufacturers in the development of partnered consoles like the aforementioned ASUS ROG Ally – though they are also apparently still interested in making their own first-party handheld.

Of course, all of this is subject to change, especially as Microsoft has been pretty fickle in recent months/years. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what the console maker’s plans are for Xbox in this post-exclusive era.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Xbox’s leaked plans? Will this strategy succeed? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Insider offers additional details on next-gen Xbox plans first appeared on KitGuru.

Team Ninja’s Nioh series has served as a solid take on FromSoftware’s Souls-like genre, with the first entry in 2017 doing enough to separate itself from other titles – though ultimately was not received as well as FromSoft’s soulsborne entries. While Nioh 2 was also received in a similar manner, it appears as though 3rd time was the charm, with the recently-released Nioh 3 achieving high praise and even higher player numbers.

With a Metacritic score of 86 and an OpenCritic rating of 85, Nioh 3 is right in line with its past two entries critically. However, when it comes to interest surrounding the title, the threequel is reaching new heights, amassing a concurrent player count of over 88k on Steam.

This marks a major record for publisher Koei Tecmo, with Nioh 3 seeing the highest peak CCU of any game on Steam from the publisher (with second place being the Team Ninja-developed Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty).

Nioh 2 meanwhile peaked at a CCU of 41k, with the original Nioh being all the way down at just 10k concurrents. It is worth noting however that Nioh 3 marks the first entry in the series to launch day-and-date on PC alongside PlayStation, and so this likely aided in its overall interest.

Regardless, Nioh 3 seems to be the step up that the series needed in order for it to be placed on almost-equal footing with FromSoftware’s own output. It will be interesting to see where Team Ninja goes from here.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Nioh 3? Is it a step up compared to the previous two entries? Does Team Ninja have the potential to go toe-to-toe with FromSoftware? Let us know down below.

The post Nioh 3 breaks records with highest Steam CCU in publisher history first appeared on KitGuru.

Following leaks and rumours, Guerrilla Games officially announced and unveiled Horizon Hunters Gathering: a co-op focused title in the vein of Monster Hunter. In the wake of its announcement, known insider Jason Schreier confirmed that the project is being developed by the core Horizon team – and so don’t expect a proper Horizon 3 any time soon.

Following the official announcement for Horizon Hunters Gathering, fans of the franchise took to BlueSky to ask known industry insider Jason Schreier as to whether this spin-off is “being made by a separate team from Horizon 3?”

According to Schreier, “most of the studio” is working on Hunters Gathering. When asked for clarification as to whether this means the next mainline entry is a “long time” away from release, Schreier simply responded: “yup.”

Given the fact that Horizon Forbidden West launched back in 2022 (and that games are taking longer and longer to develop) there was little expectation that a 3rd entry was right around the corner.

That said, with a majority of devs working on Hunters Gathering, it appears as though the focus right now is on ensuring the co-op title proves to be a success.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Hunters Gathering? Will it fill your Horizon itch? Are you more interested in it or the NCSOFT-developed Steel Frontiers? Let us know down below.

The post Don’t expect Horizon 3 to be announced any time soon first appeared on KitGuru.

It appears that both Halo and Gears of War could be returning earlier than expected. According to one proven insider, both Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day are targeting a summer 2026 release window. 

Tom Warren of The Verge, a Microsoft reporter with proven sources within the company, Microsoft wants all of its games to release well ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6 in November. As a result, Fable will be targeting a September-October launch, while Halo: Campaign Evolved is targeting an earlier release over the summer. Gears of War E-Day is also expected to launch in this timeframe, assuming it does not get delayed to 2027.

We may also be finally due for a Starfield update soon. While the game's first expansion, Shattered Space, performed disappointingly, Bethesda has supposedly been working on a massive 2.0 update for the game, as well as a second expansion and a PS5 port.

The report also claims that a new version of Fallout 3 is now in development, with the goal of hitting a similar quality bar to last year's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. It is unclear if Fallout 3 Remastered will use similar tech to the Oblivion remaster, which used all the same code from the original game, but used Unreal Engine 5 graphics layered on top, keeping the entire original game and its features in-tact.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If everything here is accurate, then Xbox is going to have a very busy time over the summer and autumn months. If any games need more time, they are more likely to be pushed into 2027, than released around the GTA 6 launch in November. 

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For years, it has been rumoured that a third Wolfenstein game would be coming from Machine Games. Ultimately, those plans were pushed back a bit due to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, as Machine Games confirmed several months ago. Now though, it appears that the studio is ready to start talking about the next Wolfenstein game for real. 

In an interview with GI.biz, Machine Games studio director, Jerk Gustafsson, said: “Our intention has always been to go back to Wolfenstein. We wanted to finish the trilogy. And when we do that, that is something that I don't want to comment on. It can be now, it can be later, but we're not done with it. That's what I can say.”

There is no word on when Wolfenstein 3 will surface but it appears that Machine Games is going to be returning to it soon to wrap up its trilogy. The comments come at an unusual time, as just a few weeks ago, multiple insider sources claimed that Wolfenstein 3 is indeed in development.

Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus were both incredibly well received, but both arrived during the last console generation. So far during the Xbox Series X / PS5 life cycle, Machine Games has only produced Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which was a fantastic game in its own right.

Gustafsson expects Machine Games to release a new game “every four years”. Considering that Indiana Jones arrived in late 2024, that means we may not see Wolfenstein 3 for another couple of years.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Wolfenstein 3 has been rumoured for a long time. While not directly confirmed yet, it does sound like Machine Games is now finally working on it in earnest. 

The post Machine Games director confirms plans to make Wolfenstein 3 first appeared on KitGuru.

Build a Rocket Boy didn't have the best debut when MindsEye launched last year. The game launched to a flurry of negative reviews due to various technical issues. Shortly after the launch, one of the studio's CEOs alleged that the game had been subjected to a smear campaign online. Now, they are claiming to have ‘caught' those who sabotaged the project. 

Insider Gaming managed to get a copy of an internal call at Build a Rocket Boy, in which it is claimed that co-CEO, Mark Gerhard, said that a “very big American company” had spent as much as €1 million to tarnish the game's reputation online. It is also alleged that a UK-based YouTuber & influencer management firm, Ritual Network, and several influencers were also part of the sabotage effort.

In a statement given to Insider Gaming, Ritual Network denied that it had anything to do with the allegations, adding that they are “not aware of any legitimate legal action” at this time.

The report says that those involved are soon to be served with lawsuits and that employees at the studio itself may have also been involved, leading to a rollout of new employee monitoring software across their PCs.

No direct evidence has been provided yet, but should lawsuits go ahead, then eventually some of the evidence will be made public. In the meantime, Build a Rocket Boy may make some of the details public via an upcoming Spy-themed mission within MindsEye.

MindsEye has had a number of updates since its launch to address technical issues with the game and will continue to be updated with new content over 2026. As of right now, the ‘recent reviews' for the game on Steam are positive, although the game's overall user score still sits at mixed.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Did you play MindsEye at all last year? What did you think of the game? 

The post Build a Rocket Boy reportedly filing lawsuits over MindsEye sabotage first appeared on KitGuru.

Nvidia announced at CES that it would upgrade its DLSS Multi Frame Generation with two new modes: 6x and Dynamic. The specific release dates for these modes weren't announced when they were revealed; only a vague “spring 2026” was mentioned. However, a new report points to an April 2026 launch.

According to a report from HardwareLuxx (via VideoCardz), both Dynamic Multi Frame Generation (MFG) and the Multi Frame Generation 6x mode are expected to be released publicly within the next two months. However, soon after the information started to spread, VideoCardz was contacted by Nvidia, which stated that the “spring” release remains. Given that April is part of spring, the release date shared by HardwareLuxx remains a possibility.

The Dynamic MFG system represents a shift in how Nvidia approaches frame pacing and overhead. Rather than applying a fixed multiplier, the technology dynamically scales the number of interpolated frames based on real-time scene complexity and current performance overhead. This means the system can scale down to 2x or 3x during combat scenes to preserve input latency, then ramp up to the full 6x multiplier during slower, more cinematic moments. The primary goal is to provide a more fluid experience on high-refresh-rate displays without forcing the GPU to work at maximum capacity when the scene doesn't demand it.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: There's some potential for increased latency when generating five frames for every one rendered, but the existence of this “Dynamic” mode suggests Nvidia is aware of the trade-offs. If the system can truly scale on the fly to match the “feel” of the gameplay, it could make those 500Hz esports monitors a lot easier to drive.

The post Nvidia DLSS MFG 6x and Dynamic modes reportedly landing in April first appeared on KitGuru.

Fractal Design has unveiled the North Momentum Edition, a mid-cycle refresh of its widely acclaimed chassis. While the original North was praised for its aesthetics, there was room for improvement on the stock fans. The new Momentum Edition aims to address this directly by swapping out the standard Aspect 140 mm fans for the company's new Momentum 12 series.

The new fans are the key upgrade of the new Momentum Edition series. They feature a modernised impeller geometry, LCP blades, and fluid-dynamic bearings, which Fractal claims reduce noise by 4 dBA while lowering average GPU temperatures by roughly 2º Celsius.

Visually, the Momentum Edition cases adopt an all-black aesthetic. While the signature wood slats remain, they have been blackened to blend into the dark alloy chassis. The internal layout for the standard mid-tower remains largely unchanged, but the North Momentum XL has received some tweaks. Unlike the original XL, which comes in standard or RC (rear connector) versions, the Momentum Edition comes in a single version that falls between the two in terms of cable routing clearance, with 37 mm, while retaining the “back-connector” motherboard support from the RC variant.

Despite the internal and thermal upgrades, the front I/O remains the same, offering a single USB-C port alongside two USB-A ports. The standard North Momentum Edition is expected to retail for $179, while the larger XL model is positioned at $209.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: The original North was arguably the most influential case of the last few years. By integrating the new Momentum fans as standard, the Momentum Edition looks like the definitive version of an already iconic chassis.

The post Fractal launches North Momentum Edition with an all-black design first appeared on KitGuru.

Noctua has achieved a major logistical and environmental milestone, announcing that it has now shipped its 500,000th mounting upgrade kit to customers globally.

This long-standing programme, which first launched in 2006 alongside the introduction of AMD's AM2 socket, is claimed to be a cornerstone of the brand's “compatibility-by-design” philosophy. The initiative allows users to continue using their existing heatsinks, such as the NH-D15 or NH-U12P, across multiple generations of Intel and AMD platforms without needing to purchase a new cooling solution.

According to the Austrian cooling specialist, the primary goal of the service is to treat a CPU cooler as a long-term investment rather than a disposable component. This requires a significant engineering commitment to maintain modularity and standardised mechanical parameters, such as mounting hole spacing and Z-heights, across decades of hardware evolution. The current programme reportedly covers a vast range of modern and legacy sockets. This essentially means that a Noctua owner who bought a premium tower 15 or 20 years ago could still find themselves using the same piece of nickel-plated copper on a high-performance 2026 processor.

The upgrade kits are available free of charge on the official Noctua website, and the company even covers shipping costs from its facilities in Austria and Taiwan. Users must provide proof of purchase for both their cooler and their new motherboard or CPU. For those who might have lost their receipts over the last two decades, Noctua accepts a simple photo of the cooler next to a piece of paper with the user's name as valid verification. For those who require a faster turnaround, the kits are also available from retailers.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Noctua's commitment to supporting hardware from 2005 is nothing short of exemplary. Reaching half a million kits shipped is a win for consumers' wallets and sustainability, preventing hundreds of thousands of perfectly functional heatsinks from ending up in landfills. It is a rare example of a company standing behind the “buy it for life” mantra, and it's a major reason the brand remains a fan favourite among enthusiasts.

The post Noctua surpasses 500K upgrade mounting kits shipped first appeared on KitGuru.

This week during a Nintendo Direct stream, Square Enix officially confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be launching on the Switch 2 later this year. As expected, the publisher has also confirmed that the game will be releasing on Xbox too. 

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be coming to Xbox in June this year, so it should be available right alongside the newly announced Switch 2 port. While the Switch 2 version of the game is likely to make some sacrifices in the visual and performance department, the Xbox Series X version of the game should closely match the PS5 version.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the second part in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. While the games initially started out as PlayStation exclusives, Square Enix has been bringing them to more platforms, starting with PC, followed by other consoles a year or so later.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 is currently deep into development and may even be revealed this year, ahead of a 2027 launch. It is expected that the third and final game in the trilogy will be available on multiple platforms from day-one.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do you think the third Final Fantasy 7 Remake game will land on PC and other consoles from day-one, alongside PS5? 

The post Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is heading to Xbox alongside Switch 2 first appeared on KitGuru.

HBO found success with its adaptation of The Last of Us and with the recent news that the show may wrap up with its third season, the network has now found its next big adaptation to focus on – Baldur's Gate. 

There is a Baldur's Gate TV adaptation coming, as reported by Deadline. Apparently, Craig Mazin, one of the co-creators of The Last of Us series, is also heavily involved with the Baldur's Gate series and will take on writing, producing and showrunner duties. Specifically, the show will take inspiration from Larian's Baldur's Gate 3, rather than the much older games in the series.

While there are a number of acclaimed creatives behind the Baldur's Gate show, it appears that the company responsible for the series recent success, Larian Studios, will have no involvement, despite the fact that the show is going to take direct inspiration from Larian's work. Geoff Keighley revealed this in a tweet last night, saying: “Larian, the creators of Baldur’s Gate 3, tell me they have no involvement in the series”.

That may change a little bit though, as Larian CEO, Swen Vincke, has also confirmed on social media today that showrunner Craig Mazin has “reached out for a chat”, so there may be some light consulting going on, even if Larian isn't directly attached.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to the Baldur's Gate adaptation? 

The post A Baldur’s Gate TV series is being made but Larian is not involved first appeared on KitGuru.

Ubisoft has cancelled a number of games in recent weeks, including the long-awaited Prince of Persia remake. Now according to new reports, a multiplayer Assassin's Creed spin-off has also been scrapped.

According to reports from both Origami and Insider Gaming, a new Assassin's Creed multiplayer spin-off, titled Assassin's Creed League, has been cancelled. The game was apparently set to feature up to four assassins playing in co-op, taking on missions across feudal Japan to align with last year's mainline game, Assassin's Creed Shadows.

The game was apparently set to use parts of the game world from Assassin's Creed Shadows, offering a smaller, standalone co-op experience. It isn't entirely clear why the project was scrapped, but there were plans to playtest it later this year, so it may have been somewhat playable already.

While Assassin's Creed League may no longer see the light of day, the work put into the project won't go to waste. Apparently, some of the features will be incorporated into the Anvil engine to aid in the development of future co-op games.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It sounds kind of like the team had planned an Elden Ring Nightreign style spin-off, borrowing assets from Assassin's Creed Shadows to help speed up development and reduce costs. 

The post Ubisoft reportedly cancels Assassin’s Creed co-op spin-off first appeared on KitGuru.

The ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is all about the Over Clocking Formula name and features. This forms a large part of our video as we dig into the function of the mysterious buttons that ASRock has positioned near the two memory slots and the main power connector.

Key features

• 22+2+1 Power Phase, 110A SPS for VCore+SOC Dr.MOS design features the latest SPS (Smart Power Stage) technology. It’s optimised for monitoring current and temperature of each phase, thus delivering smoother and neater power to the CPU with enhanced performance and OC capability.
• Extreme Memory Overclocking. Derived from the “built for stable and reliable” designing concept, ASRock does not compromise any detail. This motherboard is built with high quality materials and more importantly 1 DIMM per channel design, ASRock provides an excellent foundation for enthusiasts to utilised and enjoy the boost of DDR5 memory overclocking performance, satisfying and absolutely no sweat at all.
• Enhanced USB4 Type-C. USB4 technology brings speed and versatility to the most advanced USB Type-C, offering a fast and simple level of connection for work or home. It enables lightning-fast 40Gbps data transfer bitrate.
• Server-Grade Ultra-Low Loss PCB. The server-grade ultra-low loss PCB improves signal integrity and enhances memory overclocking potential, delivering the most extreme memory performance.
• Beyond Deluxe 6 x M.2 Sockets. X870E Taichi OCF equipped with six M.2 slots for SSD and two of which even support PCIe 5.0 x4, delivering high performance and brilliant expandability, a perfect example of a flagship product.

Watch our video on YouTube at 2160p HERE
Time stamps
00:00 Intro
01:19 Taichi vs Taichi OCF
02:48 Why an AM5 OC Board is Weird
03:55 ASRock Reputation and CPU Safety Concerns
04:27 ASRock Claims: Memory, BCLK, Voltage
06:40 BIOS and OC Buttons: What Actually Works
09:46 Full Board Tour and Specs
12:55 Test System Overview
13:21 Results vs Regular Taichi
14:05 Closing Thoughts and Verdict

Specification:
CPU: AMD Socket AM5 support for AMD Ryzen 9000/8000/7000 Series Processors
Chipset: AMD X870E
VRMs:
Renesas RAA 229628 VRM controller
22+2+1 x110A Renesas R2209004 SPS VRMs

Memory: Support for DDR5 10400(O.C), 2x DDR5 DIMM sockets up to 128GB
Dual channel memory architecture, non-ECC Unbuffered DIMMs

Expansion Slots
2x PCIe 5.0 x16 (running at 1 x16 or 2 x8)
1x PCIe 4.0 x14 slot

Storage
1x M.2 PCIe 5.0 x4 from CPU
1x M.2 PCIe 5.0 x4 from CPU (shared with USB4)
2x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 from Chipset
1x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x2 from Chipset
1x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 from Chipset
2x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

USB
2x USB4 40Gbps Type-C ports rear panel
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps (1x 36W, 1x 15W) front panel
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-C port rear panel
7x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A ports rear panel
2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps Type-A ports front panel
8x USB 2.0 Type-A ports (2x rear, 6x front panel

Audio: Realtek ALC4082 Audio Codec
Ethernet: Realtek RTL8126 5Gbit
Wireless: Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4

7x PWM Fan headers
3x ARGB headers and 1x RGB header
BIOS chip 64MB flash
Form Factor: ATX 305mm x 244mm

Performance and Overclocking

Test system
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo DDR5-8000
CPU Cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 360MPH
Graphics card: MSI GeForce 4090 Ventus 3X 24GB
Power supply: Seasonic Focus GX-1000
SSD: 1TB Crucial T700 M.2 NVMe
OS: Windows 11

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

In Geekbench 6 Multi Core we see the blue bar for ASRock Taichi X870E OCF is effectively tied with the green bar for the regular X870E Taichi. In other words performance is perfectly decent and exactly what we expect.

Far Cry 6 at 1080p

Playing Far Cry 6 at 1080p again shows the OCF does a good job but there is no secret sauce delivering extra performance on Auto settings.

Far Cry 6 at 1440p

Finally we have Far Cry 6 at 1440p where we see the closest of ties between the regular X870E Taichi and the Taichi OCF.

Closing Thoughts

Our video about the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is unlike most of our motherboard reviews as the single biggest question revolves around the extras that make this motherboard an Over Clocking Formula. As we demonstrate in some detail, we had a number of issues with the hardware overclocking buttons but the peculiar thing is that we weren't especially annoyed as we don't much like the idea of messing with the base clock speed of a Ryzen 9000 CPU.

Instead we prefer to think of the OCF as a variant of the regular X870E Taichi and in that sense it is perfectly OK. The addition of the overclocking buttons is an irrelevance to us and we are fine with only having two DDR5 memory slots, however we positively welcome the move from E-ATX to ATX. Also, we like the black and yellow styling and consider it a small improvement over the regular X870E Taichi.

MSRP for the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is $500

Pros:

• The hardware seems bullet proof
• Good looks and smart styling
• Excellent set of micro buttons and a debug display
• Manual switch to select BIOS A or B

Cons:

• There are concerns about ASRock motherboards damaging Ryzen CPUs
• The hardware overclocking buttons don’t seem to work!
• We cannot find this motherboard on sale

KitGuru says: The ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is an oddball with a number of points of interest.

The post ASRock X870E Taichi OCF – Formula for Confusion first appeared on KitGuru.