Everyone is looking forward to Grand Theft Auto 6 later this year but for the first time in the franchise's history, the single-player campaign might be the least important part of the release. With GTA 6, we are also expecting a big new version of GTA Online, and it seems Rockstar might be taking tips from major online games like Roblox and Fortnite.
Fortnite and Roblox are both extremely popular for their creator modes, allowing players to create their own games. With the next version of GTA Online, Rockstar is reportedly looking to build a platform for user-generated content. We've already seen some steps towards this with Rockstar's acquisition of the FiveM development team, who were behind the insanely popular FiveM RP mod for GTA Online.
Rockstar isn't stopping there though. According to Digiday, Rockstar has been hiring some of the most popular creators on platforms like Roblox and Fortnite to prepare new modes for the next version of GTA Online.
At this point in time, it is unclear how these creators will be able to monetise their creations in GTA Online. We already know that some streamers are going to try and put together a blockchain, crypto-backed GTA Online RP server when GTA 6 drops, but Rockstar has previously banned attempts to link crypto currencies with GTA Online. Chances are, Rockstar's official implementation won't involve any crypto or web3 shenanigans.
KitGuru Says: What are you hoping to see Rockstar change with the next iteration of GTA Online?
Bethesda quite famously announced The Elder Scrolls 6 back in 2018 but to date, we've heard very little about the game. With Starfield now out of the way, the studio has been fully focused on the next mainline Elder Scrolls game and you can now put yourself in the running to be included as an NPC in the game.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is still several years away but if you'd like to see yourself in the game, Bethesda is offering up a once in a lifetime opportunity. In support of the Make-A-Wish foundation, Bethesda is auctioning off the opportunity to have yourself added to the game as an NPC.
“The Elder Scrolls series, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, is renowned for its vast open worlds, deep lore, and immersive storytelling. With this exclusive experience, you’ll work with the developers to create a custom character that will appear in the game, leaving your mark on the legendary franchise”, the description reads.
Bethesda already has another custom NPC in the works for The Elder Scrolls 6. Shirley Currey, a content creator better known as the ‘Skyrim Grandma', is also being added to the next game in the series as an NPC.
We don't know when The Elder Scrolls 6 is due to release, but the game has been in production for a couple of years now and there is a playable build of the game running inside Bethesda's offices. Considering that AAA games take five years to develop on average, the game likely won't be out until 2027-2028.
KitGuru Says: We're still some ways off from seeing The Elder Scrolls 6 in action but progress is being made. Hopefully we'll start getting more news on the game later in the year.
A recent EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission) filing from Zotac has been spotted, listing an RTX 5050 graphics card among other upcoming models. While EEC filings are notorious for including unreleased or even entirely fictional products, this particular entry has caught our attention due to the lack of prior rumours or evidence suggesting the existence of such a GPU.
The filing itself lists a range of confirmed SKUs, including the RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti, and 5070. We also know that the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti are expected to launch within the next two months. However, the RTX 5050 remains a complete mystery.
This raises the question: could there be some truth to this listing? It's certainly possible. Nvidia is expected to transition its entire production to Blackwell GPUs soon, which could eventually lead to the Ada models disappearing from the market. If that happens, even the RTX 4060 wouldn't fill the entry-level segment in the GeForce lineup. Considering the relatively high pricing of the RTX 50 series so far, it's unlikely the RTX 5060 will hit the £300 price point.
This would leave a gap in Nvidia's portfolio, particularly in the price-sensitive market segment where Intel's Arc Battlemage B580/B570 GPUs are positioned. An RTX 5050, potentially a heavily cut-down variant with 8GB of RAM, could be Nvidia's solution in this segment.
KitGuru says: Do you think Nvidia will manufacture an RTX 5050?
Last week, we heard rumours that Ubisoft was planning a big announcement for the future of Rainbow Six Siege this month. At the time, it was thought that a direct sequel was going to be announced. It turns out that isn't the case, instead, Ubisoft is working on a big update to the game, currently titled ‘Rainbow Six Siege X'.
To mark the 10th anniversary of Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft has announced Siege X, which aims to be “the biggest transformation in the game's history”. The new version of the game will introduce new game modes, “deepened tactical gameplay” and other upgrades.
Unfortunately, the full reveal isn't taking place for another few weeks. At 5PM (UK time) on the 13th of March, Ubisoft will put out the full reveal for the game, which will usher in “a new era” for Rainbow Six Siege.
With all of that in mind, the situation sounds similar to Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Both titles received ‘sequels' in the last couple of years, but in both cases, the sequel was an overhauled version of the game players already owned. The same seems to be playing out for Siege, with a transformative update coming in, rather than a fully separate game.
KitGuru Says: Do you still keep up with Rainbow Six Siege? Are you looking forward to Siege X at all?
All the way back in 2019, around the same time that Microsoft announced its acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment, the Xbox team also announced the next game from Rare Studios – Everwild. Fans have been clamouring for more information on this game ever since, and this week we got an unexpected update.
Some sources have previously claimed that Everwild has been internally rebooted since its reveal in late 2019. It has also been claimed that the project was announced while it was still in pre-production, meaning the development team didn't exactly know what they were doing with the game yet, which is why the initial reveal trailer was so vague on details.
In an interview published this week, Xbox head, Phil Spencer, told XboxEra that he recently visited Rare to see the latest build of the game. According to Spender, Everwild is progressing but from the sounds of it, the game could take some more time in the oven, as Spencer also added that he is pleased to be in a position to give teams like Rare additional time to work on new projects.
Of course, that extra time is afforded to Microsoft by virtue of Game Pass and the many other studios at the company cranking out content for the service. For instance, in the time Rare has been working on Everwild, studios like Obsidian have released several games, padding out the first-party release schedule.
KitGuru Says: Rare has been working on Everwild for a long time but as someone who has been following the development, I still don't feel any closer to knowing what the game is actually all about. Hopefully at some point in the next couple of years, Rare will be ready to break its silence.
Elden Ring Nightreign is coming out in May and despite a rocky start, players are now able to log into the on-going network stress test for an early look at the game. As Nightreign is a multiplayer-focused game, many have wondered what kind of monetisation we can expect to see in the game. Now, it seems that we know that future bosses and characters will be available as DLC packs.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a very different type of game compared to what fans are used to seeing out of FromSoftware. In a recently removed update to the game's Steam Store page, the publisher behind the game revealed that “additional playable characters and bosses” will be available in the game as DLC.
Whether or not these will be free or paid DLCs still remains to be seen. So far, no cosmetic DLCs have been announced for Nightreign, nor is there any sign of a battle pass system, which is typically how a multiplayer game would be monetised in today's market. Selling actual in-game content for a multiplayer game can be a tricky task as it can break up the player base, so it will be interesting to see what the final plan is as we get closer to launch.
Elden Ring Nightreign is due to release for PC, as well as current and last-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles, on the 30th of May.
KitGuru Says: Have you tried out Elden Ring Nightreign during any of this week's beta sessions?
Rumours are circulating about the future of Intel's Arc GPUs, suggesting a potential shift in architecture naming and fabrication. According to a reliable leaker, the next generation of Arc graphics processors might not be called Xe3, as previously assumed, but rather Xe3P.
Raichu's report isn't the first time the Xe3P designation has surfaced. It was previously spotted on the LinkedIn profile of an Intel engineer, who was listed as working on Xe3+, Xe3, and Xe3P. This suggests that these architectures might be in development concurrently rather than being sequential replacements for one another.
It is claimed that Xe3P could be manufactured at Intel's own fabs. This would be a departure from the process used for the previous generations of Arc GPUs, as Arc Alchemist and Arc Battlemage were produced at TSMC. Bringing production in-house could give Intel greater control over the development timeline.
While speculation about Xe3P is exciting, Intel's immediate focus seems to be on its current Arc Battlemage GPUs. The company recently launched Battlemage for desktops, leaving many wondering about the fate of the high-end Battlemage GPU, codenamed BGM-G31. The release of graphics cards based on this die, or lack thereof, remains to be seen.
KitGuru says: If true, this will be a big test for Intel's in-house fabs, an area that the company has been investing billions of dollars into in recent years.
To put it mildly, the launch of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 was less than ideal. Gamers were bombarded with hyperbolic marketing claims, only to be met with underwhelming generational performance gains and abysmal stock levels. Although the performance can't magically improve, stock sure can. According to a reliable source, Nvidia has significantly ramped up production of its GB202 GPU, the heart of the RTX 5090.
MEGAsizeGPU has reported that the RTX 5090 supply will soon be “stupidly high”. The leaker also stated that at least one AIB partner already has “tonnes of cards” in stock, indicating improved availability in the foreseeable future. Based on this, the source anticipates that increased the supply will reach consumers within a month, a reasonable timeframe considering the recent production ramp-up.
Apparently, lower-than-expected demand for the GB200 GPU, used in Nvidia's data center products, has freed up capacity for GeForce GPU production. While gaming GPUs typically have lower profit margins, utilising the available production capacity makes sense to salvage the dies that have already been manufactured.
This news comes right before the launch of the GeForce RTX 5070 series (RTX 5070 Ti on February 20th and RTX 5070 on March 5th), which will hopefully be more widely available than the other RTX 50 series cards.
KitGuru says: Are you still hoping to snatch an RTX 5090 graphics card?
The M580 is FSP’s first entry into the curved glass dual-chamber case market segment. It comes equipped with pre-installed reverse blade fans and features high-spec hardware support including back-connect motherboards, huge graphics cards and plenty of cooling options. The M580 is available in black or white with an MSRP of around $115 USD, but does it represent good value for money? Let’s find out.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:40 Pricing
00:57 Overview
01:27 Single piece glass – It’s a bit tricky
02:29 Right hand side panel
02:59 Front I/O
03:11 The Flex
03:40 Filters, fans and cooling support
05:05 Motherboard support
05:36 GPU and CPU cooler support
05:47 Rear and right side / drive support
06:57 Cable management / more fans
07:32 Floor of the case
08:01 Accessories
08:15 Test system build
09:07 Methodology, Thermals and Noise output
10:29 Closing Thoughts
FSP M580 Features:
The FSP M580 features 270-degree panoramic views of the system via the front and side once-piece curved glass design.
It comes equipped with three side-mounted reverse blade 120mm ARGB fans and a 120mm rear exhaust fan, as well as a front ARGB strip and 8 ports PWM/ARGB hub.
The M580's spacious interior supports back connect motherboards, 445mm graphics cards, up to 360mm radiators and up to ten 120mm fans.
Pre-installed Fans: 120mm reverse PWM ARGB x 3, 120mm PWM ARGB x 1
Fan Support: 3 x 120mm/2 x 140mm (Top) 3 x 120mm/2 x 140mm (Side) 3 x 120mm/2 x 140mm (Bottom) 1 x 120mm (Rear)
Radiator Support: up to 360mm(Top) up to 360mm (Bottom)
Dust Filters: Top, Bottom
Font I/O: 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, 2 x 3.5mm audio jacks, Power, Reset and LED buttons
LCD Screen: N/A
Thermal Performance Testing
To simulate thermal demand we run the Cinebench R23 multi-thread benchmark and 3DMark Speed Way stress test simultaneously in a loop for 30 minutes to load the system fully. This gives the CPU and GPU enough time to reach constant steady-state temperature. With this data, we can compare how the system handles the thermal demand and measure peak noise levels.
Thermal performance is measured with the case in various configurations, such as the default, with the tempered glass left-hand side panel removed and with the front panel removed to see how these configurations affect the CPU and GPU temperature. During testing, only stock case fans are used unless otherwise specified. All water pumps are set to maximum RPM and fans are set to a custom RPM curve by the Motherboard software/BIOS.
All temperature measurements are presented as Deltas – meaning the ambient temperature has been deducted from the CPU temperature giving us a Delta. Data shown in the charts represent the average component temperature over the length of the test as measured by HWiNFO and then the last 15 minutes of the data are calculated to get the average. The ambient temperature during thermal tests is between 19-20⁰C.
Power Supply – FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W 80+ Titanium ATX 3.0/PCIE 5
Case fans – Stock
Chassis – FSP M580 White
Operating System – Windows 11
Thermal Performance Overview
We tested the case thermals with a 360mm AIO CPU cooler installed in the roof and with the case in several different configurations. The default configuration shown in the charts is with a 360mm roof-mounted AIO, the stock case fans installed and all case panels fitted.
Running the case in its default configuration using the three pre-installed side intake fans and rear exhaust will be sufficient for most high-end gaming systems when paired with a 360mm roof-mounted AIO. Under full load, the average CPU temperature is 62°C over ambient and the GPU is very happy at 43°C. However, removing the dust filters drops CPU temperature by 3°C so there is some restriction here.
Removing the glass panel and adding some floor intake fans also drop CPU temperature but the effect isn’t as noticeable as when removing the dust filters, so unless you want the absolute best thermals for your gaming system the default configuration and stock fans are fine.
The stock fans are loud when running at over 1000RPM so they are locked down to a constant speed for thermal testing. With a good quality quiet AIO like the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360, a system built inside the M580 can run quietly even under full load. In the default configuration when the CPU and GPU reach their highest average temperatures, system noise peaks at just 43dBA which is still quiet enough not to be distracting to the user or others sharing the same room.
Closing Thoughts
With its dual chamber design and single-piece curved glass front and side the FSP M580 has the ingredients to be a very popular case, but its inferior build quality in certain areas and poor availability across Europe and the UK means it will lose out to the likes of the Monetch King 95 and other rivals. It’s a shame because the one-piece curved glass looks great, It is arguably better looking than the King 95 because of this seamless side and front panel design, but that alone doesn’t make a great PC case.
The build quality of the chassis frame is lacking, it has a lot of flex when the glass side panel is removed which makes the side panel difficult to align when re-installing and the bottom thumbscrew to hold the glass in place is a bad design, its awkward to loosen the screw while the case is upright on the desk. The lack of other key features such as removable fan/rad brackets is disappointing too as it's things like this that give cases the edge over the competition and make life easier when it comes to system installation.
The space for cable management is OK but there's nothing pre-installed into the case to assist cable management. There are no channels or straps to route or tie cables down with and just three Velcro straps included in the accessories pack aren’t enough to do a good job of cable management, some included zip ties would be nice.
However, the hardware support is good with back connect motherboards, big graphics cards and 360mm radiators all supported, The pre-installed fans and PWM/RGB hub are OK, the RGB effects look good and the fans do a decent job of system cooling even if they are a little loud over 1000RPM and the case is optimised to cool a high-end gaming system. But the main issue with this case is the availability, it's non-existent in the UK, hard to find in Europe and even in the U.S. the availability is sketchy so if you are interested in buying the FSP M580, you might have a hard time finding it.
Pros:
Good out-of-the-box thermal performance.
Available in Black or White.
Curved glass and ARGB effects look good.
Cons:
Very limited availability.
Build quality isn’t the best.
No modular fan brackets.
KitGuru Says: We like the clean look of the M580 with its one-piece curved glass but it's a shame the build quality and missing features let it down as it could have been a great case.
Dynasty Warriors has had its ups and downs over the series’ 25+ year history, with the franchise’s primary point of failure for the longest time being its rapid release cycles leading to undercooked experiences. Fortunately, following a lengthy hiatus, the series returned with the release of Dynasty Warriors: Origins – having now officially sold over 1 million copies in just under a month.
Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, the team at Koei Tecmo revealed that “DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS has achieved sales of over 1 million units worldwide! In addition, the total number of downloads on the demo version has now exceeded 2 million! Thank you for your continued support.”
As mentioned, while the Warriors series has been quite hit-or-miss for the longest time, the extra development given to Origins has resulted in a game which has not only sold well, but is currently the highest rated entry in the Dynasty Warriors series; holding a Metacritic score of 79 and a Steam rating of ‘very positive’.
Hopefully the success of Origins leads Koei Tecmo to further invest time and money into its IPs – as opposed to using its newfound popularity to cash-in on low-budget sequels/spin-offs.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Dynasty Warriors Origins? Is it the best entry in the series? Will Koei Tecmo take the right or wrong lessons from its success? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Back in 2023, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossed over into Call of Duty, with fans being able to purchase a Shredder skin in that year’s Modern Warfare II. Once again, the two properties are teaming up, this time seeing the turtles themselves enter into battle, with Activision teasing what seems to be a substantial crossover between Black Ops 6 and the TMNT.
Sharing a brief teaser trailer, Activision has confirmed that the TMNT are once again crossing over into Call of Duty. While little has been shared in terms of what to expect exactly, prior leaks indicate that this could be a more involved crossover event with data miners finding listings for all 4 of the turtles’ main weapons (Katana, Bo Staff, Nunchucks and Sais).
This, alongside the presence of all 4 turtles in the teaser seems to suggest that this upcoming collab could function more similarly to that of COD’s recent Squid Game crossover – featuring a mix of free-to-earn and paid content.
Based on how Call of Duty has operated in recent years, the melee weapons will most likely be free due to their impact on gameplay, while the skins of the turtles themselves will either be earned through a premium event pass, or simply through what will undoubtedly be a costly bundle.
As stated, little has been officially detailed in terms of what to expect from the crossover – or even when it will go live – but given the fact that Season 2 Reloaded is expected to launch sometime within the next week, we will likely hear much more sooner rather than later. Hopefully this crossover is better received than the aforementioned Squid Game event.
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to the TMNT crossover? Have video game collabs gotten too saturated? Which of the 4 turtles is your favourite? Let us know down below.
Despite the most recent entry failing to meet the expectations of fans in the long-run, Mortal Kombat remains one of the most iconic franchises in gaming. As such, it comes as no surprise that the series is set to make its first appearance in Epic’s ever-expanding live-service shooter Fortnite next Season.
As reported by leaker FNBRintel, the next Season of Fortnite (which is set to go live after the conclusion of Chapter 6 Season 1 on the 21st of February) will feature a crossover with the iconic fighting game franchise Mortal Kombat.
According to FNBRintel, the collab will include two skins alongside two additional mythic alternate outfits for none other than the two faces of the franchise: Scorpion and Sub-Zero.
Beyond this, FNBRintel also confirmed that the mythic skins will include Scorpion’s spear hook and Sub-Zero’s ice gauntlets – with the former including the iconic “get over here” voiceline when hitting a player.
Given just how entrenched the Mortal Kombat series is to the history of video games, it is somewhat surprising to see it having taken this long for such a crossover to take place.
While we may never get an official Street Fighter x Mortal Kombat game, fans of both franchises will soon be able to duke it out in Fortnite at the very least.
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to Chapter 6 Season 2? Are you more of a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat fan? When will we see Tekken x Fortnite happen? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Since their pivot to digital showcases, Sony has created two different and distinct online events – those being their State of Plays and the more substantial PlayStation Showcases. Following the console maker’s recent SoP, Sony is reportedly planning to host a full-on PlayStation Showcase later this Summer.
According to Grubb, “Internally it sounds like they're debating, flapping between, maybe making something this summer a full showcase versus another State of Play. But they are considering a showcase.”
For the uninitiated, State of Plays are typically much smaller in scope when compared to PlayStation Showcases, both in terms of presentation and the types of games present.
While the previous State of Play took place just a few days ago, the last PlayStation Showcase was all the way back in May of 2023 – going on for well over an hour and featuring games including but not limited to Helldivers II; FairGame$; Metal Gear Solid Delta; Dragon’s Dogma 2; Spider-Man 2 and dozens more.
Should Sony choose to go ahead with a full on PlayStation Showcase, then fans of the platform could have a lot to look forward to later this Summer in terms of announcements.
That said, State of Plays are still a fun time, and so regardless of what we get, hopefully Sony has a bunch of fun, unique and new titles to show off in a few months’ time.
KitGuru says: Do you think we’ll get a Showcase or State of Play? Will your expectations be tempered if Sony does ultimately go ahead with a State of Play instead? What one game do you hope to see at the event regardless? Let us know down below.
While slightly later into the 2025 than expected, the Epic Games Store has finally released its 2024 year-in-review – revealing a bunch of interesting stats including monthly active users, the total number of free games claimed and the best-selling titles on the platform.
Taking to their blog, Epic have now released their ‘Epic Games Store 2024 Year in Review’, writing “As with previous years, we've spent time reflecting on the year we've had in 2024 while taking a look ahead at some of the most anticipated store features and releases coming in 2025.”
The full suite of stats and graphs can be found HERE, but some of the most notable milestones/achievements include an updated PC user base of 295 million (a year-on-year increase of 25 million), with the full number of “Epic cross-platform accounts” nearing 900 million (likely due to Fortnite).
In terms of retention, the Epic Games Store saw a slight decline in peak monthly users (from 75m to 74m), but was made up for thanks to its average daily users growing by 6% to 31.5 million alongside average monthly users (also up by 6%).
One of the biggest benefits of the Epic Games Store is its weekly free game giveaways, with 2024 seeing a total of 595 million claims across the 89 titles which were given away – averaging 6.6 million per game.
Finally, while we did not get any concrete figures, Epic did share their list of top-performing games from 2024 (by player spend and engagement) with the top 5 being as follows:
Genshin Impact
Rocket League
Honkai: Star Rail
Grand Theft Auto V
Fortnite
In terms of what to expect for 2025, Epic has promised to continue with its free game program, while also introducing new store features – including but not limited to the addition of non-gaming apps, a new download manager and the ability to gift titles to your friends.
KitGuru says: 6 years later, what’s your opinion on the Epic Games Store? How many ‘free’ games did you claim last year? Will the EGS ever be able to compete directly with Steam? Let us know your thoughts down below.
As part of Sony’s live-service push from a couple years ago, the console maker announced Fairgame$ back in May of 2023: a “fresh, modern take on the heist genre”. While we did not get any concrete release window at the time, one leaker has now claimed that the game has been pushed from its internal release of 2025 to some time next year.
As reported by known industry insider Jeff Grubb via the Game Mess podcast, Haven Studios’ upcoming live-service heist shooter FairGame$ will not make its presence known during the current calendar year, with Grubb claiming “No Fairgame$ this year. Fairgame$, as far as I’m aware, has been pushed to 2026.”
As mentioned, neither Haven Studios nor PlayStation themselves had officially announced a release year for the title, though based on Grubb’s wording, it seems like the team were initially hoping for a 2025 release.
Given the current state of Sony’s live-service projects, it perhaps makes sense that the company would want to give Fairgame$ a fairer shot at success through extra development time – while also staying as far away from last year’s ill-fated live-service hero shooter Concord.
Assuming this winds up being the case, it will be interesting to see what the console maker has planned for their upcoming Summer event (which is rumoured to be a full-on PlayStation Showcase).
KitGuru says: Do you have any faith in Haven? When do you think we’ll hear from the game next? Will Fairgame$ ultimately go down the route of Helldivers II or Concord? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Noctua has announced significant shifts in its 2025 product roadmap, impacting the release schedule of several highly anticipated products. The flagship NH-D15 G2 chromax.black cooler has been pushed back from Q2 to Q3 2025, while Noctua's next-generation 120mm fans have been moved from Q1 to Q2 2025.
Perhaps most surprising is the removal of the next-generation dual-tower CPU cooler from the 2025 schedule. It seems this new cooler is now destined for a 2026 release. Further delays affect specific fan models. The chromax.black version of the NF-A14x25 G2 fan has been shifted from Q1 to Q3, and the chromax.black edition of the next-generation 120mm fan has been pushed back significantly from Q1 to Q4.
While Noctua cites “quality optimisation” as the reason for these changes, the specific underlying causes remain undisclosed. However, there is some good news. The Seasonic Prime TX-1600 Noctua Edition power supply remains on track for its planned Q1 2025 resupply. Initially launched in late 2024, this collaboration has a Titanium efficiency certification and ATX 3.1 compliance, making it a suitable choice for high-performance systems featuring current-generation graphics cards like the RTX 5090 and 4090.
Noctua plans to showcase its upcoming product range at Computex Taipei 2025, where further details about the revised release schedule and potential specifications are expected to be revealed.
KitGuru says: Are you interested in any of Noctua's upcoming products?
The 28th DICE Annual Awards celebrated the best and brightest in the world of video games, recognising excellence across 23 categories. While several titles garnered multiple awards, one game emerged as the clear frontrunner: Astro Bot. This charming platformer swept the competition, taking home the coveted Game of the Year award, along with Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Family Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Game Design.
While Astro Bot dominated the evening, other games also enjoyed multi-award success. Helldivers 2 secured four wins, claiming Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design, Action Game of the Year, and Online Game of the Year. Balatro and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle each walked away with three awards.
Beyond celebrating the standout games of 2024, DICE also honoured two individuals who have made significant contributions to the gaming industry. The former executive vice president of operations at Nintendo of America received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes his contributions to the company and his support for the Starlight Children's Foundation. The Hall of Fame Award was presented to Insomniac Games founder and president, Ted Price, who recently announced his departure from the studio. Price was recognised for his decades of leadership at Insomniac Games and his advocacy for video game creators' First Amendment rights.
Here is the full list of winners of the 28th DICE Annual Awards:
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Astro Bot – Winner
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Neva
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Black Myth: Wukong – Winner
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Lego Horizon Adventures
The Plucky Squire
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Outstanding Achievement in Character
1000xResist – Watcher
Final fantasy VII Rebirth – Yuffie Kisaragi
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones – Winner
Indika – Indika
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II – Senua
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Astro Bot
Helldivers 2 – Winner
Monument Valley 3
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Star Wars Outlaws
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
Frostpunk 2
Helldivers 2 – Winner
Monument Valley 3
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Still Wakes the Deep
Outstanding Achievement in Story
1000xRESIST
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Winner
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Still Wakes the Deep
Thank Goodness You're Here!
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Astro Bot – Winner
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Action Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Black Myth: Wukong
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2 – Winner
Stellar Blade
Adventure Game of the Year
1000xResist
Animal Well
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Winner
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Family Game of the Year
Astro Bot – Winner
Cat Quest III
Little Kitty, Big City
The Plucky Squire
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Fighting Game of the Year
Blazing Strike
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns
Tekken 8 – Winner
Underdogs
Racing Game of the Year
F1® 24 – Winner
MotoGP24
Night-Runners Prologue
Role-Playing Game of the Year
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: ReFantazio – Winner
Sports Game of the Year
EA Sports College Football 25
EA Sports FC 25
MLB The Show 24 – Winner
NBA 2K25
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Balatro – Winner
Caves of Qud
Frostpunk 2
Tactical Breach Wizards
Satisfactory
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Alien: Rogue Incursion
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Skydance's BEHEMOTH
Starship Home – Winner
Underdogs
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Alien: Rogue Incursion
Batman: Arkham Shadow – Winner
Escaping Wonderland
Skydance's Behemoth
Underdogs
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
Animal Well
Balatro – Winner
Grunn
Indika
Mouthwashing
Mobile Game of the Year
Balatro – Winner
Halls of Torment
Monument Valley 3
Paper Trail
Wuthering Waves
Online Game of the Year
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
Helldivers 2 – Winner
Marvel Rivals
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Animal Well
Astro Bot – Winner
Balatro
Helldivers 2
UFO 50
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
1000xResist
Animal Well – Winner
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Riven
Thank Goodness You're Here!
Game of the Year
Astro Bot – Winner
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Helldivers 2
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
KitGuru says: Do you agree with the winners of this year's DICE award ceremony?
Nvidia's announcement of upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series laptops, with pre-orders opening before the end of February, has generated excitement. However, the company remains cautious about specifying exact launch dates, citing the involvement of other key players, such as Intel and AMD, whose CPU availability is equally crucial. Now, rumours suggest that the RTX 50 laptop launch was initially planned for earlier but has encountered some setbacks.
Reports from Digitimes indicate that high-end RTX 50 Laptop GPUs were initially slated for a January release but have been pushed back to March. Similarly, mid-to-low-end models, initially scheduled for March, have been delayed to April. These delays echo the supposed postponements of the RTX 5070 and 5060 desktop series.
The report cites sources close to the supply chain, suggesting that these delays are unusual for Nvidia, and attributes the production shifts to the company's focus on AI server production. Nvidia is reportedly dedicating significant resources to this segment, which is impacting the availability of consumer products. Meanwhile, Intel and AMD have already launched their latest CPU series. Intel's Core Ultra 200 Arrow Lake-H and HX series arrived last month and have already been reviewed (at least the H versions). However, due to the lack of available RTX 50 laptops, initial reviews focused primarily on CPU performance.
Laptop manufacturers are pinning their hopes on RTX 50 notebooks, especially after 2024's focus on AI laptops failed to generate significant sales growth. Many have argued that AI laptops are an unnecessary gimmick with limited utility for average users, especially since increasingly sophisticated AI functions rely on cloud-based services.
KitGuru says: Do you care about the AI capabilities of a system?
Today we take a look at a new flagship power supply from MSI – the MEG Ai1600T. If we can look past the 2025 trend of putting an ‘Ai' moniker in the product name, we have strong hopes that this unit will deliver high quality power in a variety of tasking situations. The Ai1600T is fully modular, and has achieved Titanium approvals from both 80 Plus and Cybenetics certification platforms.
We don't get a lot of MSI power supplies to review so it was with great interest when they sent me a couple of new ones in the last week to look at. I thought I would dive straight into this premium flagship model to get an idea of the direction the company is going in 2025. We will get to the price later, because that certainly deserves some serious discussion, but bear with me for now.
The Ai1600T is based on a semi passive platform and it ships with a reassuring class leading 12 year warranty. It is also capable of a 240% total power excursion. RTX5090? Have no fear – just make sure it is plugged in properly!
MSI MEG Ai1600T Features:
Supports Nvidia® GeForce RTXTM 50 Series graphics cards
Dual-native 12V-2×6 Connectors
Server-grade materials, SiC interleaved PFC MOSFET
Tri-certified Titanium certification (80 PLUS / Cybenetics / PPLP)
A pre-release RTX 5070 Ti has made an unscheduled appearance in the Blender Open Benchmark database, possibly courtesy of a reviewer who perhaps inadvertently left online score submission enabled. Similarly, a Geekbench OpenCL entry was also found online. The entries were spotted soon after being posted online, offering a glimpse of the card's performance before its official launch.
The RTX 5070 Ti achieved a median score of 7,521 in the Blender benchmark (via VideoCardz). This represents a 7.6% improvement over the RTX 4070 Ti Super (median 6,986) and a 20% increase over the RTX 4070 Ti (median 6,186). While the performance gain over the non-Super version is substantial, it's worth noting that typical generational upgrades often deliver closer to a 30% uplift, making this result somewhat less interesting.
The card also appeared in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. In this test, the 5070 Ti scored 248,739 points, roughly on par with the RTX 4080 Super (247,099) and 11% faster than the RTX 4070 Ti Super (222,922).
Nvidia is planning to launch the RTX 5070 Ti on February 20th. The 300W graphics card will be powered by a GB203-300 GPU with 8,960 CUDA cores and a reference boost clock speed of 2.45 GHz. The GPU will be paired with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory clocked at 28 Gbps across a 256-bit memory bus.
KitGuru says: Are these performance figures in line with your expectations for the RTX 5070 Ti?
A leaked GPU-Z screenshot showing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has confirmed many of the rumours regarding its specifications. Moreover, AMD confirmed it would announce the Radeon RX 9070 to the world at an event scheduled for February 28th.
A GPU-Z screenshot (version 2.62) shared by HKEPC reveals the Navi 48 GPU, showing 4,096 cores for the RX 9070 XT. The card is reported to feature 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit memory bus. The listed memory bandwidth suggests 20 Gbps memory, capable of delivering 644.6 GB/s. The screenshot also shows the card running Adrenalin 24.30.01.05 drivers and appears to be overclocked to 3,100 MHz. This is higher than the 2,970 MHz reported for PowerColor's Reaper model (believed to adhere to AMD reference specs) and even surpasses the 3,060 MHz clock speed seen on the Red Devil RX 9070 XT. While the screenshot indicates PCIe 5.0 x16 support, it's unclear whether this version of GPU-Z accurately reflects the card's capabilities at this stage.
HKEPC has also published a gaming benchmark for the RX 9070 XT. The screenshot shared is of the Monster Hunter Wilds benchmark tool in Chinese. It shows the card achieving 36,102 points, averaging 217.71 FPS at 1920×1080 resolution with what seems to be the Ultra settings preset, FSR (presumably Ultra as well), and frame generation enabled. For comparison, that's on par with a Radeon RX 7900 XTX-based system.
As for AMD's announcement, the company has officially announced a showcase event for the RDNA4 series on February 28th. David McAfee, Corporate VP and General Manager of Client Channel Business at AMD, confirmed this on social media, stating the event will be live-streamed on YouTube. While this event will provide full specifications, pricing, and performance details, it's important to remember that this pertains to the announcement of the cards. The actual product launch is likely to be scheduled for early March, as reiterated by AMD. A specific launch date has yet to be revealed, but it should be known at the event.
KitGuru says: Although the gaming benchmark looks promising when compared with AMD current-gen graphics cards, the uncertainty of some aspects (mistranslations) makes it too soon to draw conclusions. Fortunately, that should change in the coming weeks.
The Elden Ring Nightreign network test was due to begin last night but due to unexpected server issues, the beta was inaccessible to players for hours. Now, From Software has apologised for the downtime and is considering extending the testing period for those who missed out yesterday.
In an update shared on the official Elden Ring account this afternoon, From Software said: “We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the game server issues. Work is currently ongoing to improve the stability of the Network Test. An additional Network Test session is being considered.”
There is no word on when this extra day of testing may take place, but over the weekend, players will have the opportunity to participate in a few more three-hour long play sessions for the network test. We should get more news by next week.
In other news, From Software also recently announced the official release date for Elden Ring Nightreign. After the beta testing wraps up, players will get their hands on the game in full on the 30th of May.
Valve has really ramped up the number of Steam sales it holds each year and as a result, the company also often reveals planned sales dates well ahead of time so gamers and game creators can be prepared. The Steam Sale dates for 2025 have already been announced.
Many of these sales are smaller, week-long events focusing on specific genres, like Strategy, Couch Co-op, Simulation games, shooters and others.
Here is every Steam Sale announced for 2025:
Real-Time Strategy Fest: January 20 – 27
Idler Fest: February 3 –10
Couch Co-Op Fest: February 10 –17
Steam Next Fest: February Edition: February 24 – March 3
Visual Novel Fest: March 3 – 10
Steam Spring Sale: March 13 – 20
City Builder & Colony Sim Fest: March 24 – 31
Sokoban Fest: April 21 – 28
Wargames Fest: April 28 – May 5
Creature Collector Fest: May 12 – May 19
Zombies vs. Vampires Fest: May 26 – June 2
Steam Next Fest: June Edition: June 9 – 16
Fishing Fest: June 16 – 23
Steam Summer Sale: June 26 – July 10
Automation Fest: July 14 – July 21
Racing Fest: July 28 – August 4
4X Fest: August 11 – August 18
Third Person Shooter Fest: August 25 – September 1
Political Sim Fest: September 8 – September 15
Steam Autumn Sale: September 29 – October 6
Steam Next Fest – October 2025 Edition: October 13 – October 20
Steam Scream 4: October 27 – November 3
Animal Fest: November 10 – November 17
Sports Fest: December 8 – December 15
Steam Winter Sale: December 18 – January 5
The key thing to note here is that after years, Valve has finally moved the Steam Autumn Sale date. In previous years, the Autumn sale would end just weeks before the start of the Winter sale, making it a rather awkwardly timed event. Starting this year, the Autumn sale on Steam will take place over two months before the Winter sale.
It's official! Nvidia confirmed that the RTX 5070 Ti will be available starting February 20th. Those waiting for the RTX 5070 will have to wait a bit longer, as Nvidia confirmed that the mid-range GPU won't be coming in February. Instead, it's scheduled to launch on March 5th.
This revised launch date could potentially impact AMD's plans for the grand unveiling of the Radeon RX 9070 series, which is rumoured to be happening later this month. However, AMD has yet to officially announce a launch date for its cards, giving them some flexibility.
The RTX 5070 Ti is the latest graphics card based on the GB203 chip, sharing a close lineage with the RTX 5080. Both cards use the same underlying chipset and memory configuration, although the RTX 5080 has slightly faster memory. A key difference lies in the core count: while the RTX 5080 features a fully enabled GPU, the RTX 5070 Ti will have fewer cores (8,960). The RTX 5070 Ti carries a suggested retail price of £729 (you won't likely find many at this price), and it won't be available as a Founders Edition card.
In contrast, the non-Ti RTX 5070 will have an MSRP of £539, and Founders Edition models will be available. This increases the chances of consumers being able to purchase the card at a more reasonable price. Moreover, this card will be based on the GB205, featuring 6,144 CUDA cores and 12 GB of GDDR7 memory.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has had a rather tumultuous development. Initially planned to launch in November of last year, the game was delayed to February of 2025 – only to then get delayed further to the 20th of March. Despite this (among other controversies), Ubisoft has shared that pre-orders for the upcoming game remain “solid.”
As part of the publisher’s latest fiscal earnings call (and reported by Eurogamer), Ubisoft offered an update on the pre-release status of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows, with CEO Yves Guillemot claiming that pre-order numbers have been “solid.”
While we did not get any concrete numbers, the state of preorders for the game is said to be “in line with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry of the franchise.”
Regardless, Ubisoft is betting a lot on the success of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and so this may very well be the last chance that the publisher has to ensure they keep their independence.
KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to Assassin’s Creed Shadows? What do you think of the various controversies surrounding the game? If Shadows fails, is Ubisoft cooked? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Corsair's latest portable SSD is the EX400U, a pocket-sized drive that uses a USB4 interface to deliver up to 4,000MB/s Sequential read performance. Priced at £200 here in the UK, we put this new drive through its paces and find out if it's worth buying.
Corsair's new EX400U is available in three capacities; 1TB, 2TB (the drive we are reviewing) and a flagship 4TB model. All three have the same Sequential read/write official ratings; up to 4,000MB/s and up to 3,600MB/s respectively.
The EX400U uses one of Phison latest PS2251-21 (U21) controllers. The PS2251-21 is the world's first native USB4 controller delivering Sequential read and write speeds of up to 4GB/s. Being native means there is no need for a bridging chip taking up space, resulting in more compact drives. We couldn't find any information about what NAND is being used in the drive.
Corsair back the EX400U series with a three-year warranty.
STALKER 2 released last year, following a highly stressful and troubled development as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin. Despite receiving high praise and selling well, the game did suffer from a plethora of issues. Fortunately, in their continuing efforts to improve the title, GSC Game World have now announced and released patch 1.2 – bringing over 1700 improvements and fixes.
Releasing the patch notes on their site, the team at GSC Game World officially detailed update 1.2, writing “Stalkers! We are ready to present you Patch 1.2 A massive one, with over 1700+ improvements and fixes to all aspects of the game: balance, locations, quests, blockers, crashes, performance, more A-Life 2.0 fixes, you name it.”
With such a large variety of tweaks, fixes and changes, hopefully the team at GSC Game World can now shift their focus to offering new and impactful post-launch content for STALKER 2.
KitGuru says: What did you think of STALKER 2’s launch state? Does this recent patch fix the majority of the game’s issues for you? Let us know down below.
Since its release back in September of last year, Team Asobi have kept Astro Bot fresh with new levels, speed run challenges and more. Following a teaser for new content during a recent PlayStation Tournaments event, Team Asobi have now officially announced and released their first update for Astro Bot in 2025 – bringing 5 new levels; special bots; PS5 Pro support and more.
“To start the year on a good note, we are delighted to announce new Astro Bot content is coming starting today. You might have noticed that a, yet unreleased, level of Astro Bot was featured at the PlayStation XP Tournament Final in London, England on January 18. That very level, along with 4 additional ones will be coming your way inside the brand-new Vicious Void Galaxy, starting today.”
As with prior updates, each new level will be released on a weekly basis, with the first (Tick-Tock Shock) available right now, and each successive level unlocking on the following Thursdays up until the 13th of March.
Unlike the previous update from late last year, this new set of challenges are said to feature “harder levels to test your jumping skills,” which can then be replayed through the Time Attack mode upon completion.
Last but not least, this update brings with it PS5 Pro support. While exact details remain light, the team have promised that “owners of the PS5 Pro will be able to enjoy an improved version of Astro Bot featuring a constant best resolution while still running at 60 frames per second.”
Given the fact that Astro Bot ran at a dynamic 4K on PS5 with the resolution dropping to 1440p when necessary, hopefully this PS5 Pro patch allows for a flawless 4K60fps experience.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest update? Will you check out the new levels each week or wait until they are all released? Would you have liked to see a 120fps mode on PS5 Pro? Let us know down below.
While we’ve seen Sony in recent years pivot their strategy by releasing a bunch of live-service titles – both to great success and monumental failure – the console maker has taken note of the popularity of last year’s Astro Bot. As a result, the company has announced plans to release more family-oriented games…alongside new live-service titles.
As part of the company’s latest fiscal earnings call (and reported on by VGC), Sony’s president Hiroki Totoki shared his thoughts on Team Asobi’s Game of the Year winning 3D mascot platformer ‘Astro Bot’, saying:
“At The Game Awards 2024, our first-party title Astro Bot won four categories, including Game of the Year and Best Family Game – the most of any title.”
Totoki continued, “In addition, the live service game Helldivers 2, which was released in February last year, won Best Ongoing Game and Best Multiplayer Game awards. The fact that titles in genres we are planning to expand in the future, including titles for families and live service games, have received these awards is a major stride towards building a broad title portfolio.”
While Totoki made it clear that Sony will continue to pursue its live-service endeavours, it is encouraging to see that the success of the single-player Astro Bot has resonated with the company. Hopefully the console maker manages to strike the right balance between the two.
In the meantime, Team Asobi have announced their latest update for Astro Bot, introducing 5 new levels, PS5 Pro support and more.
KitGuru says: Was Astro Bot your 2024 GOTY? What do you want to see next in terms of ‘family games’? Is the age of the mascot platformer once again on the horizon? Let us know down below.
Just under one year ago, Sony officially announced that they were working on a film adaptation of the cult hit PS4 horror classic Until Dawn. With the project set to premiere in just a few months, the company has now released a brand new trailer.
Directed by David F. Sandberg (of Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation fame), the Until Dawn film appears to only be loosely taking the game as inspiration, adapting the choice-based narrative of the PS4/5 title and turning it into a Groundhog Day styled horror flick – the premise of which reads as follows:
“One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. Trapped in the valley, they're forced to relive the nightmare again and again – only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realizes they have a limited number of deaths left, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn.”
As mentioned, with Until Dawn being a choice-based game in which any and all characters could die due to players making the wrong decision, it perhaps makes sense to turn this mechanic into somewhat of a gimmick for the film – minus any actual interactivity from the viewing audience.
All that being said, it will be interesting to see how the Until Dawn film is received when it comes to cinemas on the 25th of April; and given the shaky nature of all previously-released horror-based film adaptations it could very well be the best one in the genre. We won’t have to wait long to find out.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the latest trailer? Are you excited for the Until Dawn film? What are your initial thoughts on the alterations made for the adaptation? Let us know down below.
The PlayStation 5 generation has been an interesting one for Sony. Released during the heights of the COVID pandemic, the console maker struggled to meet the strong levels of demand for the PS5 – with the shortage remaining for almost 3 years. That said, since then sales have more than recovered, with the PS5 now officially selling over 75 million units.
Despite the aforementioned years of supply chain issues, sales for Sony’s latest and greatest system have managed to catch up to that of the PS4, falling behind by just 1.7 million units when launch-aligned.
Given the fact that the PS5 has yet to receive a permanent price drop, its continued and increasing sales success is notable.
It will be interesting to see how many units the system will have sold when all is said and done – and whether it will surpass the PS4 to become the 5th best-selling console of all time.
KitGuru says: When did you pick up a PS5? Will the current system outsell the PS4 eventually? What do you think the system’s sales figures will look like by its end-of-life? Let us know down below.
If you've ever wanted to review PC gear, 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 and 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, extremely demanding sector then please send your CV along with any samples of your work to our Deputy Editor in Chief, Dominic Moass – dominic(at)kitguru.net. We would like to see samples of your work, but please note we are looking for applicants who can produce high quality videos and written articles in the in-depth KitGuru style, so your submissions should reflect that.
KitGuru says: We look forward to receiving your application.
When Blizzard made the jump from Overwatch to Overwatch 2, 6v6 gameplay wasn't the only thing it left behind. Overwatch 2 also launched without loot boxes, which were the original game's primary source of revenue. Now two years later, Blizzard is bringing them back.
Blizzard has detailed a number of changes being made to Overwatch 2 ahead of the upcoming Season 15 launch. During this season, loot boxes will return to the game and will be earnable through weekly rewards and events. Moving forward, seasonal battle passes will also include Legendary loot boxes with a 100% guarantee of a legendary-rated skin.
Loot boxes returning isn't the only thing Blizzard is announcing today. The Overwatch team is reviving past ideas and bringing a Hero perk system to the game, allowing players to customise their heroes with bonuses and enable new strategies.
In matches, players will now get to level up their heroes twice, allowing for a minor perk and a major perk to be picked.
This will all be coming in Season 15 but Blizzard has also teased a major update for Season 16. In April, the new Stadium mode will launch. Claimed to be the biggest game mode in Overwatch history, players in the Stadium will battle it out in a best of seven match-up. At the end of each round, players earn Stadium coins to unlock new abilities to use for the rest of the match.
KitGuru Says: What do you think of the incoming changes to Overwatch 2? Will this help Blizzard win some players back from the latest hit, Marvel Rivals?
AMD's Strix Halo iGPU performance sure looks impressive. This high-performance APU, featuring up to 16 Zen 5 cores and 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units, is generating considerable excitement, and for a reason. AMD claims its integrated graphics can rival the performance of some discrete desktop GPUs, and according to the first graphics benchmark we've seen from the AMD Radeon 8060S iGPU, it sure looks like that could be the case.
While official reviews of Strix Halo-powered devices are still under embargo, we've seen glimpses of its potential through previews, which showcased carefully selected gameplay footage and limited performance data. Comprehensive benchmarks, however, have remained under wraps for now. However, that didn't stop leaks.
Over at Tieba Baidu (via HXL), a leaker has revealed the first 3DMark Time Spy score for an engineering sample of Strix Halo, identified as the 100-000001243-50 (Ryzen AI MAX+ PRO 395). Sporting Radeon 8060S integrated graphics with 40 CUs (mistakenly displayed as 8050S in the leaked screenshot), this APU achieved a graphics score of 10,106. This performance places it just behind the RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, which averages 10,425 points in the same benchmark. These early results also suggest that the 40CU RDNA 3.5 graphics in Strix Halo outperforms the Radeon RX 7600M XT (32 CU RDNA3), which scores around 8,742 points, and comes close to the desktop RX 7600, which get close to 11K points.
It's important to note that AMD has previously released its performance projections for the 40CU variant, suggesting it can surpass the RTX 4070 Laptop GPU. However, these comparisons were specifically made against the Max-Q variant of the RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, designed for lower power consumption and, therefore, lower performance. AMD has yet to announce when full reviews will be available or provide a firm launch date for the three planned Halo devices. The official release timeframe remains Q1-Q2 2025.
KitGuru says: Don't expect to see a Ryzen AI Max+ APU on £1000 laptops, at least not for now. However, similar solutions will eventually become more affordable, and by then, entry-level dedicated laptop GPUs will likely be a thing of the past.
Diablo fans had to undergo an 18 month wait between the release of Diablo 4 and its first expansion. Unfortunately, the release cadence isn't going to get any quicker, with the next expansion not planned to release until 2026.
At DICE this week, Blizzard's GM of Diablo, Rod Fergusson, confirmed on stage to attendees that Diablo 4's second expansion is coming in 2026. Unfortunately, a release window beyond that isn't specified but we can make an educated guess.
Diablo IV first launched in June 2023, followed by its first expansion in October 2024. Assuming Blizzard sticks to a similar timetable, then we should be expecting Expansion 2 sometime around Diablo 4's third anniversary.
In the meantime, there will continue to be seasonal updates to DIablo 4 with new features and content to keep players engaged. Unfortunately, there won't be any new explorable map zones until the next expansion.
KitGuru Says: Initially, Diablo 4 was going to have yearly expansions, but somewhere along the way the plan changed. Fortunately, Blizzard hasn't been afraid to include transformative updates to the game in its seasonal updates, so there will still be plenty to look forward to in Diablo 4 even with the extended wait between expansions.
The recent State of Play event showed the Metal Gear Solid Delta trailer, confirming a release date for the highly anticipated remake. However, eagle-eyed viewers noticed something peculiar in the Xbox version of the trailer. Instead of the familiar Ape Escape Pipos, Big Boss appears to be facing off against none other than Bomberman.
Following the State of Play reveal, Konami updated its YouTube trailers, and the Xbox version contained a curious alteration. After the iconic Metal Gear “!” sound effect, a different silhouette emerges — that of Bomberman, seemingly replacing the expected Ape Escape ape.
While Microsoft appears willing to share the spotlight with Sony, the reverse doesn't seem true. Despite holding the Ape Escape IP, Sony seems unwilling to let their mischievous monkeys appear on a competing platform. But this unexpected twist – Snake versus Bomberman – is equally good, if not better. This wouldn't be the first time Snake and Bomberman have crossed paths. In 2018, Super Bomberman R featured multiple Snake characters, a surprise that delighted many fans.
Regardless of the reasoning behind this swap, it's reassuring to know that some form of this crossover content will be available on the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid Delta. There were concerns that Xbox players might miss out entirely, making this unexpected Bomberman cameo a welcome surprise. Whether this is a full-fledged mini-game, a simple Easter egg, or something else remains to be seen, but it's certainly given us something to discuss.
There are several key launches happening this week, many of which are sporting the latest DLSS 4 technology with Multi Frame-Gen. As a result, there is a new Game Ready driver available today with day-one support for Avowed, as well as updates for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The new Game Ready 572.42 driver is now available. This new driver includes day-one optimisations for Avowed, the latest fantasy RPG from Obsidian Entertainment. Those who purchased Avowed Premium Edition gain access to the game starting today, with everyone else getting access next week, on the 18th. Avowed launches with DLSS 3, Nvidia Reflex and Ray Traced graphics, but RTX 50 users can use the driver-level DLSS 4 override to further enhance image quality and enable multi-frame generation.
Another key part of this week's driver update is preparing for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's incoming DLSS 4 update. The game is adding support for DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation with its next patch. Kuro Games' open-world title, Wuthering Waves, is also adding support for DLSS 3, Reflex and RT features with its latest patch.
Those who like to use the one-click optimisation tool within the Nvidia app will also be happy to know that this driver support also brings along new optimal settings for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Avowed, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Civilization 7.
The first AMD Radeon RX 9070 series and Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti listings have been spotted online. Unfortunately, many of them have since been taken down, but some users were fast enough to screenshot them before retailers removed them.
Starting with the RTX 5070 Ti listings, MediaMarkt (via VideoCardz) over in Austria listed an MSI RTX 5070 Ti GAMING TRIO OC PLUS at €1,169, a premium of roughly 30% over the expected European MSRP. Similar pricing has been observed elsewhere, with the same card appearing in France (thanks @GawroskiT) for €1149.90 and various Asus and Gigabyte models listed in Germany (via danilluzin) starting at around that same value. MediaMarkt also shows February 20th as the release date, like MSI France.
Switching the subject to AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series, listings for upcoming PowerColor and XFX cards based on the RDNA4 architecture have briefly appeared on the website of Canadian retailer Canada Computers, as spotted by Tomasz Gawroński. These listings have since been removed.
Still, assuming the pricing in these listings is final, AMD's upcoming cards will be considerably cheaper than the RTX 5070 Ti. The RX 9070 XT is listed at $999 CAD (approximately £560), while the RX 9070 is priced at $839 CAD (around £470). It's important to note that Canada Computers' prices do not include VAT. Therefore, after adding tax, the Radeon RX 9070 XT would likely start around £670, and the Radeon RX 9070 around £560. Recent rumours suggest the Radeon RX 9070 series launch could happen next week, so we should soon be able to confirm the actual pricing of these graphics cards.
The RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 were initially thought to be released simultaneously, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. While the RTX 5070 Ti will most likely be released this month, with February 20th pretty much set in stone, the RTX 5070 seems to have been slightly delayed.
That's according to MEGAsizeGPU, a reliable source with a strong track record. It seems Nvidia might be pushing the 5070 launch back to early March. This would explain the lack of embargo information and retail listings, contrasting with the readily available details about the 5070 Ti.
The immediate question is whether Nvidia is making a strategic move here. AMD recently confirmed that its Radeon RX 9070 series will be available in early March, so Nvidia might be pushing the release of the RTX 5070 to match that of its rivals. Another possibility is an unfortunate supply chain hiccup, and the company is pushing the launch date to prevent another paper launch.
AMD has remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind the delay of its RDNA4 cards from the initial January 23rd target. However, some hints suggest the company is playing a waiting game with Nvidia. AMD even went so far as to revise its entire naming scheme to mirror Nvidia's, and its cards are positioned to compete directly with the 5070 series. This is undoubtedly a crucial launch for AMD, and they're likely watching the market closely.
KitGuru says: Why did Nvidia delay the launch of the RTX 5070?
The next wave of games heading to GeForce Now have been announced. The currently mixed reviewed Civilization 7 is available to play, and for the first time, the complete Batman Arkham Trilogy is available for those who own the game either through Steam or Epic Games.
Sid Meier's Civilization VII, F1 Manager 2024, Legacy: Steel & Sorcery and Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered are this week's new releases with support for streaming through GeForce Now, enabling you to play these games on almost any device with a strong enough internet connection.
Here are the games joining GeForce Now this week:
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII (New release on Steam and Epic Games Store, Feb. 11)
Legacy: Steel & Sorcery (New release on Steam, Feb. 12)
F1 Manager 2024 (New release on Epic Games Store, Free Feb. 13)
Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered (New release on Steam, Feb. 14)
Batman: Arkham Asylum – Game of the YearEdition (Steam and Epic Games Store)
Batman: Arkham City – Game of the Year Edition (Steam and Epic Games Store)
Batman: Arkham Knight (Steam and Epic Games Store)
Connexion
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