Before there was Fortnite Battle Royale, there was Fortnite Save the World – a tower defence styled co-op experience in which you must build and protect your base from waves of zombies. With the explosive popularity of the then-side mode ‘Fortnite BR’, support for Save the World was stripped back. Almost a decade on from its original paid release, Fortnite Save the World is now officially going free-to-play.

Making the surprise announcement on their blog, the team at Epic Games revealed that “Save the World is going free-to-play on April 16, welcoming even more players to join the fight on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Cloud, and Nintendo Switch 2.”

Seeing as how it was initially released as a paid product, current owners of the game will continue to receive their founder's benefits, including the all-important V-Bucks. Additionally, players are set to receive Superchargers, Vouchers, and Gold on April 16 “as a thank you for the last nine years of world saving.”

As part of the announcement, Epic also unveiled a community goal in anticipation of the upcoming release, with pre-registration milestones being tied in-game rewards.

Full details on this free-to-play shift (including a full FAQ) can be found HERE, but one final interesting part of the announcement was confirmation that Save the World isn’t coming to smartphones nor the Nintendo Switch 1.

Following the rise in popularity of their free-to-play BR mode, it was expected that Save the World would eventually be folded into the wider experience. Though almost a decade later than expected, Epic Games is finally once again paying attention to Save the World. It will be interesting to see how much support the mode will receive moving forward.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the announcement? Is it 9 years too late? Did you buy the founder’s pack back in the day? Let us know down below.

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Microsoft made a big slash last generation with the announcement and rollout of their backwards compatibility program, bringing older Xbox 360 and OG Xbox titles forward (many with improvements). Though the program has been relatively quiet in recent years, Microsoft have now teased that they “will release some iconic games from the past” later this year.

As part of the company’s GDC announcements, Microsoft spoke on Project Helix and Xbox as a whole, with Jason Ronald (the vice president of the Next Generation of Xbox) claiming that they will be reviving their game preservation program in some form, stating:

“We’re committed to keeping games from four generations of Xbox playable for years to come. As part of our 25th anniversary later this year, we’ll be rolling out new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past.”

No further details were offered, and so fans are left to speculate somewhat, especially with this next-gen Xbox said to be pretty much a Windows PC. Hopefully this “new way to play” doesn’t wind up being cloud streaming. We will have to wait and see.

The full summary of Xbox’s developer Summit Keynote can be found HERE, including a release window for their upcoming Xbox Mode.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Microsoft’s Xbox backwards compatibility program? Are you glad to see it being revived? What do you think they mean by “new ways to play”? Let us know down below.

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With Microsoft’s next Xbox said to be pretty much a PC in most aspects, the company has been working on its ‘Xbox Mode’ front-end to make for a more user-friendly and seamless experience. Already available in an early form via the ROG Xbox Ally, Microsoft have now revealed that their new Xbox mode will start rolling out to PCs beginning next month.

As part of the company’s GDC developer Summit, Jason Ronald – the Vice President of Next Generation Xbox – revealed that their in-development ‘Xbox Mode’ is expanding from next month, writing:

“After debuting an early version with the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, today I’m excited to share that we are bringing the same innovation to Windows 11 with Xbox mode that begins rolling out in April, starting with select markets.”

Ronald continued, “Xbox mode lets players seamlessly switch between productivity and play, with a familiar full screen and controller optimized Xbox experience while embracing the openness of Windows.”

As mentioned, we saw this launch first on the ROG Xbox Ally…to somewhat mixed results.

That said, in Microsoft’s own words, it represented “an early version” and so it will be interesting to see what the finalised form of the mode looks like. We won’t have to wait long to find out.

In other GDC news, Ronald also spoke on the return of their games preservation program – the details of which can be found HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Microsoft’s GDC announcements? Has Xbox Mode on the ROG Ally been good enough? Will the experience be as seamless as Microsoft claims? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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One feature introduced with the Steam Deck was the notion of games being Steam Deck verified – giving users an easy indicator as to which titles should and should not run on the gaming handheld. With the upcoming Steam Machine, it appears Valve is taking a similar approach; this time offering more concrete compatibility requirements.

As part of the company’s GDC talk, Valve spoke on their upcoming hardware releases including the much-anticipated Steam Machine. According to Valve (as collated by PCGamer), the upcoming box will require a similar level of testing to that of the Steam Deck, meaning if it is Steam Deck verified then the game should also be Steam Machine verified.

That said, for all of its good, Steam Deck verification varies widely from title to title, with some offering bespoke graphics modes for the platform whereas others can run like a potato while still receiving the green checkmark.

For the Steam Machine, it seems requirements are slightly more stringent, with Valve revealing that there’s a performance target requirement of 1080p and 30fps. Given that this device is designed for TV play, here’s to hoping that most titles are able to run at perceptively higher resolutions and with increased framerates than than above however.

Regardless, it appears to be a step up compared to Steam Deck Verification. Of course, we will have to wait and see how strict Valve will be in this regard.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the Steam Deck verification system? Is it too lenient? Would you accept modern games running at 1080p 30fps? Let us know down below.

The post Valve reveals Steam Machine verification requirements first appeared on KitGuru.

During an internal Q&A session with the Xbox organization, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the historic role of the gaming industry in modern GPU development. He even joked to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang that today’s AI chip giant might not even exist without gaming. The statement was made in the context of a discussion about […]

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Swedish financial investor EQT is apparently reviewing strategic options for open source software provider SUSE. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, the investor is considering a possible sale of the company. An investment bank has already been commissioned to approach potential buyers from the private equity investor community. However, no concrete negotiations […]

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Some of you may remember the article about Taiwanese company MSI announcing a collaboration with the franchise “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.” Further details have since been revealed, as additional products have been unveiled alongside a new graphics card. These include a keyboard, a mouse, and a matching mouse pad. The focus is on the GeForce […]

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ASUS has rolled out new beta BIOS versions for numerous X870 and X870E motherboards, and at first glance, this seems like the usual background noise of an ongoing platform cycle. A new build, a fresh AGESA package, a few lines of changelog, done. But it’s precisely these inconspicuous BIOS updates that are often the first […]

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With DLSS 4.5, Nvidia is finally adding the features that have been left open since the announcement. These are Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and the new 6× mode, which takes the previous principle of AI frame interpolation to a significantly more aggressive level. The launch is now scheduled for March 31, but initially it will […]

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Microsoft released the next cumulative security updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 on Patch Day in March. At first glance, this sounds like routine business, and that’s exactly how the company markets it every month. Fix a few security vulnerabilities, make a few quality improvements, increment a few build numbers, and you’re done. But […]

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Despite numerous modern communication platforms, emails remain one of the most important digital communication tools. At the same time, many users find their inboxes increasingly cluttered. Spam, automated notifications, and newsletters mean that important messages often get lost in a flood of emails. This makes it increasingly important to manage your inbox in a structured […]

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Introduction With the Max G1 1200, APNX is entering a market segment in which new brands very quickly have to prove themselves against strict technical criteria. Especially above 1000 watts, it is not enough to offer a modern datasheet and current connector standards. In this power class, high sustained loads, very short power spikes from […]

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Meta is upgrading the frame timing algorithm of Horizon OS with an overhaul called FrameSync, and it should result in more consistently visually smooth VR with noticeably fewer hitches.

What Is FrameSync?

FrameSync is replacing Phase Sync, the current frame timing algorithm of Quest headsets.

Phase Sync was introduced shortly after the launch of Quest 2 as an optional feature developers could enable in their apps, and in the years since has become an always-on feature. Its fundamental purpose is to minimize motion-to-photon latency.

Facebook ‘Phase Sync’ Tech Can Dramatically Reduce Quest App Latency

A new Oculus For Developers blog post details the addition of Phase Sync, a frame-timing management technology, to the Oculus Mobile SDK. Implementation can result in dramatic latency reduction for some Quest 2 apps. The Phase Sync technology was originally introduced for the Oculus PC SDK, but is now available

UploadVRHarry Baker

Without either Phase Sync or FrameSync, VR apps rendered with fixed latency. Rendering began as early as possible, which maximized the chance of the frame being ready for each display refresh, but meant the tracking data used for the frame was more outdated than it needed to be.

With Phase Sync or the new FrameSync, the operating system predicts how long the frame should take to render and intentionally delays the start time to ensure the sampled tracking data is as fresh as possible. What makes the two technologies different is how exactly they perform that prediction.

Phase Sync looked at the past few frames, making a crude assumption that the next frame will follow. But if the rendering load changed, such as turning your head from an empty area of the scene to a dense one, this could lead to a dropped frame. And if this repeatedly happened, the system would fall back to fixed latency.

The new FrameSync instead uses a "robust statistical system" that takes into account more than just the past few frames, which Meta says results in a far more accurate prediction – so much so that it doesn't need to fall back to a fixed latency mode:

1) More consistent smoothness (and often higher FPS)

FrameSync helps stabilize frame pacing, which typically shows up as less judder and fewer visible hitches during motion.

2) Fewer stale frames, especially long streaks

Consecutive stale frames can be especially noticeable (and uncomfortable). FrameSync reduces both the frequency of stale frames and the longer runs that can disrupt an experience.

3) Lower motion-to-photon latency

Better prediction can reduce the delay between a person’s movement and the corresponding visual update to help interactions feel even more immediate and responsive.

According to Meta, FrameSync's more accurate prediction should deliver more stable frame pacing, fewer stale frames, and lower motion-to-photon latency. In simpler terms, that means visually smoother VR on Quest.

When & How Is FrameSync Arriving?

In Horizon OS v201, the current stable version of the operating system, FrameSync is available for developers to enable in their apps, through adding the com.oculus.enable_frame_sync metadata to their AndroidManifest.xml:

<meta-data android:name="com.oculus.enable_frame_sync" android:value="true" />

From Horizon OS v203, Meta says the feature will become the default for all Horizon Store apps, with an opt-out available for apps that need to.

The reason an app might want to opt out, and the reason Meta wants developers to test the feature ASAP, is that the throughput improvement FrameSync delivers compared to Phase Sync might increase CPU and GPU usage. This, in turn, could in some circumstances increase thermals to the point of thermal throttling, leading to a net reduction in performance. This however should be rare, Meta suggests, with the majority of apps seeing a net improvement.

It's been a wild, news-packed week so far, with lots of announcements coming out of the 2026 Game Developers Conference (GDC). Besides NVIDIA's news yesterday and Intel's new CPUs today, Microsoft's new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, officially laid out the roadmap for the future, and that future is codenamed "Project Helix." At the same time, we

The Creative Assembly is only slowly releasing details about the upcoming Medieval 3 but we picked up two new details.  The first is to ensure that if your King's offspring isn't up…

Final Fury's Sands of Ouroboros update adds a tactical zoner to the gesture-based VR fighting game alongside a new mechanic for downed fighters to defend themselves.

Final Fury previously added uppercuts, dive kicks, and jumps in its Tides of Vygor update for more dynamic combat. Ouroboros brings a 'wake up' system for players who have been knocked down by an attack. The game already momentarily pulls away to a third person view for grapples, throws, and cinematic finishers, presumably to avoid motion sickness. Now a new 'knockdown window' begins where downed fighters can choose to stay down or execute a move to get up faster, deterring aggressive opponents from pressing their advantage.

Final Fury Hands-On: Solid Starting Fundamentals For A VR Arcade Fighting Game

Final Fury sets up a strong foundation that’s newcomer-friendly while appealing to traditional fighting game players, and it’s out today in early access on Quest and Steam.

UploadVRAlan Wen

Final Fury's latest fighter is Lida, described as "a tactical zoner who controls the battlefield with calculated pressure and perfectly timed strikes." Each fighter in Final Fury has two primary special maneuvers in addition to universal combos and throwing attacks. Lida can send a wave of mechanical scarabs towards her enemy, forcing them to either dodge left or right or jump (potentially into another attack). Her second ability, the Scorpion Sting, drives her stinger tipped ponytail into the ground to stab opponents from underground at distance.

The update also adds a guided first-time fighter tutorial for new players and a new hand calibration system that automatically aligns controller position at the start of the game for better gesture recognition.

Final Fury is out now in Early Access on Steam and Quest.

Comet 3I/ATLAS has once again found its way into headlines as astronomers are astounded to learn the famous space rock is emitting large amounts of organic methanol in its coma. The group of astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, also known as ALMA, to make the discovery. Late last year astronomers and other scientists debated

Roblox isn't just a game, it's a game development platform in every sense of the term. A recent Bloomberg story helped expose just how profitable that platform can be for its contributors, with developers like Nate Colley, developer of the popular game Fisch, able to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a month by selling microtransactions

The number of people using a VR headset on Steam ostensibly significantly decreased in February, according to Valve's data, but the figure isn't what it seems.

As listed in Valve's Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for February, just 1.05% of Steam users used a VR headset, an almost halving compared to January. So did PC VR just suddenly become significantly less popular, or is there another reason?

That reason, as another figure in the survey reveals, is Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year is a national holiday that lasts nine days, this year running from Feb 15 to Feb 23, with celebrations lasting upwards of fifteen days. That is a sizable chunk of time for the world's second largest population to be off work.

Every February, Steam sees a massive spike in Chinese users that returns to normal in March. In February 2026, the predominant language of Steam users was Simplified Chinese, jumping a whopping 30.74% points up to 54.60% of overall Steam users. English, comparatively, dropped 14.74% to second place at 22.27% of users overall. This is a yearly anomaly, not a trend.

China has a massive gaming market, estimated at half a billion players. However, it has a far lower rate of PC VR usage, and gaming internet cafes (without the option for VR) remain very popular in the country. Put the two together and the drop in percentage of SteamVR users makes sense.

Expect this statistic to return to normal in March and April's surveys - as it does every year. And adjusting for Chinese users, as seen in the graph above, the drop disappears even in February.

Valve To “Revisit” Steam Frame Shipping Schedule & Pricing

Valve says it needs to “revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing” for Steam Frame and Steam Machine amid the global memory shortage.

UploadVRDavid Heaney

The real SteamVR usage trend we'll be tracking this year is the impact of Valve's Steam Frame. For a long time now, the top 4 VR headsets used on Steam – Quest 3, Quest 2, Quest 3S, and Valve Index – haven't changed, and combined they account for around 80% of PC VR's users. Will Steam Frame finally change the mix, and if so how long will it take?

We suspect much of that will depend on its price.

Patch Tuesday has come and gone once more and this time it contained a doozy of a patch, not that it was communicated willingly to customers.  This has become standard practice at…

Microsoft’s Xbox gaming division has been in a bit of freefall as of late, with its longtime CEO Phil Spencer departing the company alongside heir apparent Sarah Bond. New CEO Asha Sharma is quickly trying to steady the ship, having unveiled the gaming brand's upcoming console last week, dubbed Project Helix. Now, Xbox is giving gamers a sneak

Following on from leaks last night, Sony has announced the next wave of games for the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium catalogues. A number of big games will be added to the PlayStation Plus Extra library this week, including Persona 5 Royal and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

Persona 5 Royal is a standout game on the list. It is the highest-selling Persona game to date and really put the series on the map for a whole new audience. In the Royal edition, you get some extra content over the base edition of the game, including a new character to learn all about. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is also a big hit for March, providing hours of action up against vicious Tyranid swarms.

Here is the full list of titles joining PlayStation Plus Extra on March 17th:

• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | PS5
• EA Sports Madden NFL 26 | PS5
• Persona 5 Royal | PS5, PS4
• Persona 5 Royal – Ultimate Edition | PS4
• Blasphemous 2 | PS5, PS4
• Metal Eden | PS5
• Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria | PS5
• Astroneer | PS5, PS4

PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers will get one extra game this month – Tekken Dark Resurrection. It will be made available at the same time as the new PlayStation Plus Extra titles.

KitGuru Says: Will you be installing any of this month's new games?

The post Persona 5 Royal Ultimate Edition, Madden NFL 26 and more confirmed for PlayStation Plus first appeared on KitGuru.

Arctic has expanded its operations beyond the consumer market with the announcement of the Liquid Freezer WS360, a specialised AIO liquid cooler built for high-end workstation processors.

Designed to tame the thermal output of AMD Epyc, Ryzen Threadripper Pro, and Intel Xeon chips, the WS360 moves away from the multi-compatible mounting brackets of the consumer series in favour of an enlarged copper cold plate that ensures full coverage of the giant integrated heat spreaders found on server-grade silicon. This focus on maximising contact area is critical for workstation workloads, which can see CPUs draw several hundred watts under sustained load.

For specs, the WS360 shares Arctic's Liquid Freezer III DNA but optimises it for professional reliability. It features a similar high-density 38 mm thick radiator, which provides more thermal mass and liquid volume than the 27 mm radiators typically found in consumer AIOs. To move air through this fin stack, Arctic has equipped the unit with pre-mounted P12 Pro PST CO fans, where the “CO” stands for Continuous Operation. As such, these fans use dual ball bearings rated for long-term, high-intensity use in workstation environments. The cooler comes with 2 grams of Arctic's new MX-7 thermal paste, ensuring an efficient interface between the die and the cold plate right out of the box.

Arctic is launching the WS360 in three versions, each optimised for its respective socket. The WS360-4710 is tailored for Intel's LGA4710 and LGA4677 sockets and is currently priced at $114.99/€131.24 (originally MSRP $174.99/€174.99). For AMD systems, the WS360-SP5, as the name implies, targets the SP5 platform at $119.99/€134.99 (vs. $179.99/€179.99), while the WS360-SP6 covers a range of AMD workstation sockets, including SP6, SP3, sTR5, sWRX8, and sTRX4, priced at $109.99/€127.49 (vs. $169.99/€169.99).

KitGuru says: Arctic might be able to disrupt the workstation cooling market by bringing its “performance-per-dollar” philosophy to a segment often dominated by overpriced industrial solutions. Do you think Arctic can make a similar stand in the server and workstation market as it did for mainstream consumers?

The post Arctic expands workstation-focused lineup with Liquid Freezer WS360 AIO cooler first appeared on KitGuru.

Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has surpassed 2 million copies sold worldwide. The remake, which launched on August 28th, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, sold one million units in its debut week. Over the following six months, the title maintained steady momentum to double that figure, proving that the appetite for Big Boss's origin story remains incredibly high two decades after its original debut.

Developed by Konami and Virtuos Studios using Unreal Engine 5, the remake strikes a balance between modernisation and historical preservation. While the environments and character models have been completely rebuilt to 2026 standards, the developers opted to keep the original's area-based structure and loading sections to maintain the pacing of the 2004 classic. The game also retains the original voice acting, ensuring that David Hayter's and the late Lori Alan's performances remain faithful to the original.

Despite this approach, Virtuos introduced several QoL improvements that change the gameplay. For example, players can now crouch-walk and crawl on their backs. The Close Quarters Combat (CQC) system has also been expanded, offering more tactical options in both stealth and open combat. Given the sales numbers, these additions have clearly resonated with both series veterans and newcomers.

This sales success is a win for Konami's broader strategy to revive its older IPs. With Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 scheduled for release on August 27th, the franchise is firmly back in the spotlight. The upcoming collection is particularly anticipated as it will finally bring Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to more platforms, alongside a remastered version of the fan-favourite Peace Walker.

KitGuru says: Two million copies in six months is a respectable showing for a remake that stayed so close to its roots. While some critics initially questioned the decision to keep the “room-based” level design, the sales figures suggest that at least some fans value the 1:1 recreation over a complete reimagining.

The post Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater reaches 2 million sales first appeared on KitGuru.