Almost a decade ago now, Square Enix released NieR: Automata – a beautiful, evocative and highly fun game which introduced millions to the unique and bleak world of NieR. Despite the game’s critical and commercial success, we still have yet to receive a proper follow-up entry. Finally however, alongside the announcement that Automata has sold over 10 million copies, Square Enix confirmed that NieR will ”be continued…”
As part of the game’s 9th anniversary stream, publisher Square Enix officially confirmed that NieR: Automata has sold over 10 million copies – a massive achievement for what was a relatively unknown IP upon its release.
While passing such a milestone is nothing to sniff at, by far the biggest announcement at the event was the subtle confirmation that a new game is in the works, with the celebration video concluding with the words “NieR: Automata to be continued…”
While the wording itself is a little odd, it is in reference to one of the more iconic lines from the game. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that they specifically stated NieR: Automata, suggesting that the next game could be a direct sequel.
For the uninitiated, NieR: Automata is a sequel to 2010’s NieR: Replicant / Gestalt, set thousands of years after the first game. Furthermore, the original NieR was itself a spin-off of sorts to the Drakengard series of games. All this is to say that it appears as though the popularity of Automata and its characters are not going to waste, with a direct sequel likely in the works.
Though it's coming almost a decade later than expected, it is exciting to learn that we might finally get a new NieR game at some point.
KitGuru says: Are you glad to see Square Enix returning to NieR? Would you prefer a direct sequel or more of a NieR: Automata type of scenario? Let us know down below.
Roblox has existed for decades now, and while the online platform has always been popular, it’s seen a notable surge in players over the past couple years – with its total player counts matching that of entire consoles. Now, not only has Roblox surpassed the likes of Steam and PlayStation, but it's beaten out both platforms (and then some) combined.
According to Ball, throughout 2025 Roblox saw an average of 10.25 billion hours spent in-game each month across over 150 million daily active users.
Putting this into context, the amount of monthly time spent in Roblox exceeded that of Steam (roughly 5 billion hours); PlayStation (around 4.3 billion hours) and Fortnite (a little under 1 billion) combined.
It is worth noting that the PlayStation numbers only account for those actually playing games, and does not include the console’s usage with regards to Netflix, YouTube and the like.
While there is no arguing that Roblox has become far more than just a game creation engine, its continued success and ever-increasing growth is still impressive to witness. It will be interesting to see whether Roblox will ever hit its ceiling.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Roblox’s continued rise? Has it reached its peak? Let us know your thoughts down below.
One of Nintendo’s primary strategies with the Switch 2 so far has been to offer upgrades for their last-gen titles – some of which have been free while others cost up to $20 for an upgrade. Sentiment surrounding these Switch 2 editions have been varied, but it appears as though backlash towards their most recent release (Xenoblade Chronicles X) has led Nintendo to begin offering refunds to displeased fans.
Unfortunately, despite the promise that the title would run at up to 4K60fps on Switch 2 when docked and 1080p 60fps in handheld, many users have expressed their disappointment with the upgrade, comparing it unfavourably to visual clarity achieved when playing the game on a Wii U emulator.
Nintendo typically does not offer refunds in this way, and so the fact that users were able to is interesting. Whether the console maker will opt to patch Xenoblade Chronicles X on Switch 2 in the future with additional enhancements however, we will have to wait and see – but don’t expect anything substantial if it does happen.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Nintendo’s Switch 2 Edition upgrades? Which ones have been worth it and which ones feel a bit money-grabby? Let us know your thoughts down below.
“We would have gotten it made a few years back, but then other movies got in the way, with one being The Long Walk and the other being The Hunger Games prequel, which comes out this December. We're just waiting for [director Francis Lawrence] to finish post-production, because he's going to be working on it through at least September, and then jump back into it.”
Lee continued, “I know that Netflix and Take-Two are very anxious to see the movie come out because they want to have the release coincide with some of the potential new incarnations of the game.”
Lee’s last point is of particular note, as just like with the adaptation, 2K’s long-awaited Bioshock 4 game has also run into its own setbacks. Assuming things go to plan however, we could finally be getting both Bioshock 4 and the Netflix film within a similar time period.
That said, information on both projects remains light, and so it may still be a few more years of waiting.
KitGuru says: Are you excited for the Bioshock film? Do you have any hope in the project? What will be released first, the film or Bioshock 4? Let us know your thoughts down below.
If you've ever wanted to review tech, then this is a perfect opportunity as we are now hiring for a new reviewer to join our team! Prior experience is not strictly necessary, but we would like to see some example works from applicants.
We are looking for someone who will be able to produce reviews of a range of tech gear in video format and in the KitGuru style. Any experience in this sector is beneficial; however, we are open to all applicants provided you can give us a sample of your written or video work so we can assess your abilities.
KitGuru is a great company to work with, we are all tech enthusiasts who enjoy gaming, so we all have very similar interests. Behind the scenes it is very close-knit environment and many of our team have been with us for several years.
To be considered for this position you need:
Skillset to present well on camera – and in English.
The ability to meet tight deadlines.
Strong communication skills.
Some knowledge of video editing would be useful, but we have that capability in-house if we find the right candidate.
Strong writing ability.
This is a freelance position.
The successful applicant must be based in the United Kingdom, and we pay very well for this kind of work. If you are interested and feel you can meet the criteria above and want to work in this fast-moving sector then please send your CV along with any samples of your work to our Editor in Chief, Allan Campbell – allan(at)kitguru.net.
KitGuru says: We look forward to receiving your application!
With the NUC Ultra 300 Box series, ASRock Industrial is expanding its portfolio of compact industrial and embedded systems with a new generation of powerful mini PCs based on Intel’s latest Core Ultra 300 platform. The models are the successors to the previous NUC Box 200 series and feature processors from the Panther Lake family, […]
Canadian startup Taalas claims nothing less than to rewrite the economics of AI inference. The HC1 is not just another GPU clone, not a TPU knockoff, not a “me too” accelerator with HBM towers and 700-watt TDP. It is a hardwired model. Specifically: Llama 3.1 8B, physically cast in silicon. 17,000 tokens per second – […]
The European smartphone market ended 2025 with moderate but stable growth. According to current market data, shipments rose by two percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year. This development was driven primarily by strong demand in the premium segment and increasing momentum in parts of Eastern Europe. Apple benefited particularly […]
With the introduction of the Blackwell Ultra generation, NVIDIA is consistently pursuing its goal of optimizing AI infrastructures for particularly demanding inference scenarios. At the heart of this is the GB300 NVL72 rack, which was developed specifically for computationally intensive long-context workloads. Such scenarios occur in particular with modern agent models that have to process […]
Sometimes an in-depth article doesn’t arise from a plan, but from a small impulse from the forum. After a few questions about cooler tests, I found myself realizing that although I can answer many questions from experience, the really clear physical reasoning often gets lost in the overall system of CPU, paste, assembly, and housing. […]
Pirates VR arrived to standalone VR a full year after its original PC VR release. As expected, there have been some graphical compromises to bring the game to Quest, but the overall experience remains intact.
UploadVR originally reviewed Jolly Roger on PC VR in 2025, so if you are curious about the actual game itself, you should read our review. Note, however, that the game has received significant updates since then that address some things pointed out in the review. For this article, I replayed the entire game on PC VR, followed by the Quest port, so I experienced the improvements firsthand.
The sardonic, oftentimes annoying parrot companion's dialogue can be toggled on or off. Frankly, this option alone is worth half a star back on the rating (I'm only half kidding). A new intro and notes scattered throughout the campaign flesh out the story a bit more by filling in the backstory of Davy Jones and a reason why the player character embarks on the quest to begin with. Motion controls have been implemented to the swimming sections, a welcome addition for immersion. Lastly, the enemy AI is stated to be improved.
Equipment Used
My PC uses a Ryzen 5 5600X processor with 64 gigs of DDR4 RAM and an RTX 5070 Ti GPU.
I replayed the PCVR version on Steam using a Quest 3 via Virtual Desktop on the Ultra preset in VD. In game, I left the graphics on the default medium setting. The highest caused some stutters on my PC when I started recording.
For standalone, I played and recorded natively on Quest 3 with a metrics meter running to monitor framerate. This game is NOT available for Quest 2 or Quest Pro, so those were not tested.
You can find the minimum and recommended specs on the Steam page to learn more.
The Quest version uses two common standalone VR optimization methods. The first is Application Spacewarp (ASW), an optimization technique where the game renders at 36 frames per second, then the system synthesizes the missing frames to output 72 frames per second to the display. This is most noticeable in the form of micro stutters when grabbing objects. The second is fixed foveated rendering, where pixels on the periphery of the field of view are rendered at a lower resolution than the center of the view. This is noticeable if you keep your head still and move your eyes in any direction.
The aforementioned new intro is a good place to start when comparing the graphics. This scene has a pirate, the brother of Davy Jones, sending you on a quest to find the infamous pirate and his treasure. On both versions, the lone candle on the table provides some dynamic lighting. Doing something as simple as picking up a wine bottle and watching the light of the candle dance around it would've been unheard of for standalone a few years ago. The lamp you acquire early in the game also behaves the same way. Most of this game takes place in dark caves and dungeons and the lamp lets the developers keep dark corners dark, instead of that sort-of-dark-but-really-just-gray darkness seen in previous standalone efforts. Having said that, there is a significant difference in the lighting. The lamp on PC illuminates and casts shadows against everything while the Quest lamp is more selective.
Pirates VR: Jolly Roger PCVR vs Quest comparison
I expected the draw distance looking out to the ocean to be reduced by a heavy use of fog, but that's not the case. The entire area is intact with a surprising amount of detail preserved. Little things, like the dust particles when grabbing a vine add to the overall experience. However, looking out to the horizon caused a major frame drop I experienced in the game, going from 72 to the low 50s. There is quite a bit of texture pop-in, but that was there with the PC version as well (especially underwater) unless the PC graphics were highest setting and even then, the odd rock or bush would still pop into view as you approached it. The level of detail and texture quality on the environment items (rocks, ground, walls, plants) have clearly been reduced, but not to the point of breaking immersion. The skeletons you spend the entire game fighting are more detailed on PC than Quest, but this didn't really stand out until encountering the enemies wearing clothes later in the game.
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Even the water (mostly) holds up. Water in general is a struggle for standalone headsets and Jolly Roger doesn't buck that trend, but it holds up better than most Quest games. There's an extensive stretch spent underwater about a third of the way through the game and Split Light Studio (in partnership with Incuvo) translate that well to standalone, albeit with an odd blue sheen in the distance I did not notice on PC.
Overall, this is a strong PC to standalone port. It feels more like playing a PC game on the lowest settings with reduced texture quality as opposed to past Quest ports where entire assets, like grass, benches, and trees are removed and draw distance is drastically reduced.
Dell XPS 14 (DA14260) Laptop: Starting At $1349, $2199 As Tested W/ OLED Display Dell’s XPS 14 (DA14260) for 2026 leaps forward with Intel Panther Lake, delivering impressive performance, class-leading efficiency, and a clean, premium design that continues to set the XPS line apart. Gorgeous Tandem OLED Display Exceptional Battery...
According to "two people with direct knowledge of the matter" speaking to The Information, NVIDIA will not be releasing new consumer GeForce GPUs this year. When pressed on the matter, an NVIDIA spokesperson remarked that "Demand for RTX GPUs is strong, and memory supply is constrained", but otherwise did not confirm or deny any delays. Based
The Western Digital G-Drive brand has officially returned as the unified identity for the company's content creator and professional storage portfolio, replacing the SanDisk Professional branding across all current and future models. This strategic consolidation brings desktop drives, portable solutions, and multi-bay RAID systems back under the iconic “G” logo, aiming to simplify the selection process for professional creators who require enterprise-grade reliability for demanding post-production workflows.
The transition follows Western Digital's official separation into a standalone HDD company in late February 2025, allowing the brand to refocus its identity specifically on high-capacity mechanical and RAID storage.
The initial G-Drive lineup features a range of products designed for various stages of the creative lifecycle, starting with the G-Drive ArmorATD, a rugged, portable drive offering up to 6 TB of capacity and IP54 dust- and water-resistant protection for fieldwork. For workstation setups, the standard G-Drive and G-Drive Project desktop solutions now use enterprise-class Ultrastar HDDs with capacities up to 26 TB, with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity for sustained high-speed data transfers during video editing. Professional studios requiring even higher density can look to the G-Drive Project 2, a compact two-bay RAID system supporting up to 52 TB, or the massive G-RAID Shuttle 4 and 8 transportable arrays, which can reach a maximum capacity of 208 TB in a default RAID 5 configuration.
Western Digital has confirmed that existing SanDisk Professional HDD-based products will continue to receive full warranty and technical support during this transition. However, all new shipments will carry the updated G-Drive branding by the end of this month. While G-Drive handles the creative professional segment, Western Digital will maintain its established colour-coded portfolio for other markets, including WD Gold for enterprise, WD Red for NAS, and WD_Black for gaming.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the NieR franchise, NZXT has unveiled a special edition of its H5 Flow mid-tower chassis. Revealed during a livestream honouring the ninth anniversary of NieR: Automata, this enclosure is a dedicated tribute to the series' most iconic characters.
The primary highlight of this case (via Guru3D) is the expansive dual-sided artwork that covers both side panels. One side of the chassis showcases 2B from NieR: Automata, while the opposite panel features Kainé from NieR Replicant. This design choice ensures that the franchise's aesthetic is visible regardless of how the PC is oriented on a desk. Beyond the high-quality character wraps and exclusive anniversary branding, the case retains the sleek, minimalist profile characteristic of the NZXT lineup.
Inside, the chassis is identical to the H5 Flow (2024) refresh. It uses a high-airflow vertical layout with a perforated mesh front panel and a dedicated GPU intake at the bottom. Internal compatibility remains robust, supporting ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards, as well as modern graphics cards up to 410 mm in length. For cooling, builders can install up to a 360 mm radiator in the front and a 240 mm radiator at the top, while maintaining the baseline model's performance standards.
The internal cable management features include the familiar wide channels, hooks, and straps that simplify the building process and manage cables. Because the internal frame and mounting options have not been altered, current H5 Flow accessories and fan configurations will fit this edition without issue. Priced at 31,680 yen (about £150), it seems the anniversary edition will carry a premium over the standard model, reflecting its status as an officially licensed collectible for dedicated fans of the Square Enix property. The case is scheduled to be released on March 2nd.
A major leadership transition is about to happen at Microsoft Gaming, as Phil Spencer officially announced his retirement. Spencer's departure marks the end of an influential era during which he transformed Xbox from a struggling console brand into what it is now. Joining him in departure is Xbox President Sarah Bond, who has resigned from Microsoft entirely to pursue new opportunities, a move that surprised many who viewed her as Spencer's logical successor.
To lead the division into its next chapter, Microsoft has appointed Asha Sharma as the new Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Sharma, with a background in scaling platforms at Meta and Instacart, most recently served as the head of Microsoft's CoreAI product division. In her first message to employees, she emphasised a commitment to “great games” and “the return of Xbox”, while pointing out that the company will not flood its ecosystem with “soulless AI slop”, affirming that games must remain art crafted by humans.
As part of this organisational reset, long-time executive Matt Booty has been elevated to Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting directly to Sharma. Booty's expanded role gives him oversight of nearly 40 internal development teams across the Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King portfolios, putting him in charge of iconic franchises such as Call of Duty, Halo, and The Elder Scrolls.
This shakeup arrives as Xbox celebrates its 25th anniversary and manages a global active user base of over 500 million gamers. While Spencer will remain in an advisory role through the summer of 2026 to ensure a smooth handoff, the new leadership team of Sharma and Booty faces the immediate challenge of navigating slowing hardware sales and the continued integration of the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
KitGuru says: The appointment of a platform-scaling expert like Asha Sharma over a gaming-native veteran like Sarah Bond suggests that Satya Nadella views the future of Xbox as a distribution and services challenge rather than just hardware. While Sharma's “no AI slop” pledge is welcome, the departure of both Spencer and Bond, the primary “human faces” of the brand, will likely leave a void in the community.
AMD's newest mid-range graphics card, the Radeon RX 9060 XT, recently set a global GPU frequency record at AMD's Markham office. In a collaboration between AMD's internal overclocking team and the world-renowned overclocker Allen “Splave” Golibersuch, the card reached a staggering core frequency of 4.769 GHz.
This achievement represents a massive leap over previous world records, including a 4.02 GHz mark on a discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and a 4.25 GHz frequency on the iGPU of an Intel Arrow Lake processor. By pushing the RX 9060 XT to nearly 4.8 GHz, the team has increased the card's factory boost clock from 3.13 GHz by more than 52%, bringing the industry closer than ever to breaking the 5.0 GHz barrier on a GPU.
To facilitate this record-breaking run, the team used liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling to maintain sub-zero temperatures, preventing the silicon from failing under extreme voltages. While the Radeon RX 9060 XT typically runs at 3.3 to 3.5 GHz with standard air or liquid cooling, the move to cryogenic cooling allowed the RDNA 4 architecture to showcase its hidden performance potential. During the attempt, Splave was observed using a custom internal AMD tool to fine-tune the GPU's power delivery and frequency offsets, bypassing the limitations imposed by retail drivers.
Although AMD shared the historic milestone in a brief video on its “AMD Gaming” YouTube channel, the company has remained relatively quiet about the technical breakdown, including the exact voltages and benchmarks used to validate the peak.
Security researchers at Slovakian IT company ESET have identified a new type of Android malware that uses generative artificial intelligence not only as a support tool, but as a central control element. The malware, called PromptSpy, disguises itself as a supposed banking app called MorganArg and pretends to be an official application from JPMorgan Chase. […]
The RAM-apocolypse continues of course, with hints of it hitting general manufacturers, and delay of gaming systems and even spinning harddrives. At least Micron is making some PCIe 6 drives you cannot…
In political debates, switching from a global hyperscaler to European cloud providers often sounds like an obvious decision. In practice, however, such a move proves to be technically and organizationally challenging. A Spanish developer, founder of the auto parts trading platform hank.parts, has taken precisely this path and distributed his infrastructure from Amazon Web Services […]
New reports suggest that AMD may launch its next major desktop CPU generation based on the Zen 6 architecture later than originally expected. Instead of a possible launch in 2026, the Ryzen desktop series, codenamed “Olympic Ridge,” is now expected to be released in 2027. Although AMD has yet to officially confirm this, several leaks […]
I admit, I naively assumed that age verification meant something like a binary flag. Over 18, under 18, done. An additional check mark in the database, perhaps a one-time comparison, minimally invasive, purpose-built. Instead, we now see an infrastructure that is more reminiscent of opening a bank account than accessing a gaming or community server. Discord […]
You already know how it is: you load into a match, your buddy's having an off day, you get annoyed, he feels bad, it sucks for everyone. Why not play some games where you cooperate to destroy computerized bad guys? These still give you a lot of room for skill expression, and in some cases, even personal style expression. Here's our list of
Discord has drawn significant criticism lately, thanks to a major data breach in October and the debut of a new "Teen-By-Default" policy, which will require select users to verify their age by uploading a government issued ID. At the root of the criticism was Discord's involvement with Persona, an "age assurance" firm partially funded by controversial
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