Kioxia Corporation today announced KIOXIA EG7 Series solid state drives (SSDs), the first client solution to adopt Kioxia's BiCS FLASH generation 8 4-bit-per-cell, quadruple-level cell (QLC) technology. The QLC-based KIOXIA EG7 Series delivers equivalent performance as TLC-based solutions, enabling better total cost of ownership (TCO) for value-oriented slim laptops, as well as commercial and consumer notebooks and desktops.

KIOXIA EG7 Series SSDs bring the performance and power efficiency advantages of KIOXIA BiCS FLASH generation 8 QLC 3D flash memory to common computing workloads for PC OEMs. The new drives deliver random read and write performance of up to 1,000 KIOPS, sequential read speed of up to 7,000 MB/s, and sequential write speed of up to 6,200 MB/s.

ASUS today announced ProArt PA40SU, a premium external SSD enclosure designed for creators who require fast, stable storage in a refined, portable form factor. USB4 technology enables transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps for efficient handling of large media files and backups.

The enclosure features a four-level smart cooling fan that keeps temperatures in check for sustained performance during extended workloads, and its Stealth Black chassis has an ultraslim profile that measures a mere 13.5 mm—ideal for in-studio or on-location use. In addition, the PA40SU includes the exclusive ProArt SSD Dashboard for real-time monitoring.

Valve has quietly uploaded a Steam Controller unboxing video to the Steam platform. However, the video is currently unavailable for viewing, as attempting to play it results in a "This video has not been processed for streaming" message. This occurred late last night when one of the Valve watchers noticed, via a SteamDB entry, that Valve had uploaded a video titled "steam_controller_unboxing_2026" on April 20. It makes it seem as one of the clearest indications that the launch of this new hardware from Steam is imminent, possibly just days away.

This follows another confirmation from the same industry insider, @SadlyItsBradley on X, who noted recent shipping documents indicating that Valve has received its first large volume imports of a new wireless controller. The company may be stocking up warehouses in preparation for the Steam Controller's launch. Since this happened early last week, Valve's stockpiling of the new Steam Controller may be complete, and the first unboxing materials are about to be released for streaming. Additionally, this might coincide with the launch and pricing update, as we currently have no information about the Steam Controller's price. For now, all we know is that the launch is imminent, and we expect to hear the news any day now.

It seems as though 2026 will be the year of age verification for online communication platforms. Following the prior news about Discord starting to require age verification for all accounts—a move that the company later walked back after backlash—it has now been revealed that Sony will soon start to mandate age verification for PSN online communication features. This is according to a report by Push Square, which shared a screenshot of an age verification prompt from the PlayStation Store.

The screenshot shows a QR code that redirects users to start an age verification process on their smartphones, which would prompt users to provide a copy of their ID, perform a facial scan, or receive a text message on their mobile phone that uses information stored by the mobile network provider to ascertain their age. Sony has more details about the age verification options on a FAQ page. At the time of writing, age verification seems to be limited to the UK and Ireland, but this seems to be a move to comply with recent age verification requirements, and there are currently age verification laws being implemented or talked about everywhere from the US to the EU, and Australia, and all of those laws restrict teens and children from accessing similarly risky or potentially harmful content online, meaning similar processes may be implemented across the board.

Natalie Vock, a well-known Valve contractor and Linux graphics driver developer, recently debuted a new patch that enabled better VRAM management on Linux for GPUs with low VRAM. When we originally covered the set of kernel patches, we noted that it could cut VRAM usage in half in some applications, potentially making certain aging graphics hardware viable for gaming where it may not have been before the patches. Aside from some early tests by Vock herself, not much other data was available at the time to draw any conclusions about the potential performance improvements. Now, thanks to NJ Tech on YouTube, we have some idea of how the patch could improve performance on a GPU like the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, which has a mere 4 GB of VRAM. The YouTuber tested the GPU across nine games, including some heavy hitters, like Crimson Desert, Hogwarts Legacy, and Cyberpunk 2077 in CachyOS, which was the first Linux distribution to package and release Vock's kernel patches in what it calls GPU Booster. In the current GPU market, it would be nice to have a silver bullet to make low VRAM GPUs viable, but the results are far more varied than that, with some games seeing no improvement and others seeing up to 100% increases in FPS.

In Alan Wake II, VRAM use is actually increased, but there's a more than 2× increase in FPS, going from 14 FPS to a very playable 42 FPS average. In Resident Evil: Requiem, VRAM use is identical, but there's a 16% FPS increase, and in Silent Hill f, the story is similar, with identical VRAM utilization but marginal performance increases. Crimson Desert saw a decrease in VRAM usage, but there was no measurable performance increase as a result, as was the case with Hogwarts Legacy and Cyberpunk 2077, both of which saw reduced VRAM usage but an increase of 1 FPS average in the former and identical performance in the latter. The Last of Us Part 2 actually saw a 1 FPS drop in both average and 1% low FPS, but it seems as though there was just too much graphics memory pressure for Vock's VRAM patches to mitigate the issue. Death Stranding 2 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 also saw little to no improvement despite reduced VRAM utilization in the former. The full video by NJ Tech follows.

When Microsoft announced the next-gen Xbox Project Helix, it confirmed what had been long rumored—that Helix would be a console-PC hybrid, just like Valve's upcoming Steam Machine, able to play both PC and Xbox games. Although it has not yet been confirmed what shape this hybrid experience will take, a recent leak from insider KeplerL2 on the NeoGAF forums has potentially revealed some information about what to expect from Project Helix. While it was previously rumored that the upcoming Xbox hardware would be more powerful than the Canis and Orion APUs Sony is working on for the PS6 series, it now seems as Xbox's Project Helix console APU will feature no customization at all, making it basically a bog-standard PC, albeit a decently powerful one, at that.

This would effectively end the era of console performance back-and-forth that Sony and Xbox have been engaged in since what feels like the dawn of time. It also has a few implications for upcoming scaling methods. For starters, and this is more or less confirmed by KeplerL2, it means that tech like the upcoming FSR Diamond upscaling tech will be cross-platform, perhaps with small tweaks or different presets on a per-platform basis. It also means that the recent rumor that Microsoft was looking to return to platform-exclusive games would culminate in PC and Xbox exclusives, rather than simply Xbox exclusives, if that rumor turns out to be true. It seems as though Helix will still feature RDNA 5 graphics and Zen 6/6c CPU cores, but it will likely be similar to the situation we've seen with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme and Ryzen Z2 used by most Windows gaming handhelds in 2026.

Apple today announced that, effective immediately, Apple executive Johny Srouji will become chief hardware officer. Srouji, who most recently served as senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, will assume an expanded role leading Hardware Engineering, which John Ternus most recently oversaw, as well as the hardware technologies organization.

"Johny is one of the most talented people I have ever had the privilege to work with," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "He has played a singular role in driving Apple's silicon strategy, and his influence has been felt deeply not just inside the company, but across the industry. He has always led his organization with remarkable deftness and judgment, and time and again, his team has delivered breakthrough innovations that have transformed our products. We are incredibly fortunate to have him as Apple's chief hardware officer."

Lenovo's Legion Go 2 recently received a stark price increase, bumping up the already expensive Windows gaming handheld from $1,349.99 to $1,999.99. Now, it seems as though the RAMpocalypse-era price increases have come for the Legion Go S, Lenovo's ostensibly budget-oriented gaming handheld models that launched at $899.99 for the Z1 Extreme version with 32 GB of RAM and $649.99 for the Z2 Go model with 16 GB of RAM. Following the price increases, the Lenovo Legion Go S, powered by AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, 32 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD, now comes in at a whopping $1,579.99 with SteamOS and $1,679.99 with Windows—although the Windows version is "discounted" to $1,049.99 currently.

Meanwhile, the Legion Go S with the Ryzen Z2 Go, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD is priced at $989.99. Those are the current Best Buy prices. On the Lenovo US online store, the Legion Go S with SteamOS and AMD's Z2 Go APU is listed at $1,049.99. The Legion Go S with the Z2 Go was already a tough sell, especially compared to the original Legion Go, which feature a more powerful CPU and iGPU and cost about the same used and only a little more new, at least if you could find it new. With the price increases, devices like the ASUS ROG Ally X at $899.99 are looking all the more enticing.

Apple has officially announced that long-time hardware chief John Ternus will become the company's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), taking over from the current CEO, Tim Cook. We have reported that Apple's succession planning is underway as the company considers who will lead one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. As we reported late last year, John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, has been selected as the prime candidate for the new role. He has been with Apple since 2001 and has led the hardware division since 2013. Under his leadership, the hardware engineering efforts behind the iPhone, iPad, the entire Mac lineup, AirPods, Vision Pro, and countless prototypes have been developed. One of his most impressive feats is leading the transition of Apple MacBooks from Intel-based designs to custom, in-house developed Apple Silicon SoCs.

Interestingly, John Ternus will officially become CEO on September 1, 2026, when Tim Cook steps down to become Apple's executive chairman. Ternus and Cook will collaborate on the transition over the summer months to ensure that Apple's long-term goals remain a priority. "It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world," said Tim Cook.

As Capcom's first original IP to launch in over a decade, Pragmata has had a rather successful launch, garnering very respectable sales and user reviews. Now, Capcom has announced in a press release that the new sci-fi adventure has surpassed 1 million copies sold in as little as two days. While it remains to be seen whether Pragmata manages to match the meteoric success of Resident Evil Requiem, which sold 5 million units in six days, Pragmata has thus far seemingly been a successful endeavor—something increasingly rare in the modern age of successive remakes and sequels.

The TechPowerUp Pragmata in-depth performance review is live, with performance benchmarks for over 30 GPUs, as is the handheld performance review.

Despite the impressive sales, Pragmata's Steam peak concurrent player count still sits at 68,687, which is only marginally higher than it was on launch day. Pragmata also has yet to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2 in Japan and certain parts of Asia, so it would not be surprising to see those sales figures get a small bump around that launch date, too. It should also be noted that player counts are hardly as accurate an indicator of commercial success for a single-player game as they are for live-service games.

Windrose, the viral co-op, PvE, survival pirate game, launched on April 14 to a rather positive reception, garnering an 89% positive review rating on Steam and peaking at just under 70,000 concurrent Steam players on launch day. The rest of the launch week, however, seems to have been a smashing success, even by comparison to the launch day. At the time of writing, Windrose has managed to attract a peak concurrent player count of 222,134, according to SteamDB, thanks to a surge in players on the weekend following the game's launch.

Further, according to a recent announcement by the developer on the game's official Discord server and Steam, Windrose has surpassed 1 million sales. The developer also notes that the team is currently working on updates and fixes for the game, and is taking community feedback seriously during the Early Access period. It has already confirmed that the game will be receiving new biomes in an upcoming updater, as well as new plot points. Although a full update roadmap has not yet been released, the developer plans to showcase upcoming content in an upcoming update.

Ubisoft just confirmed a recent rumor that it would host a reveal event for Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced before the end of April in a tongue-in-cheek post on X. The post, which contains a video with the opening quote "Gaming's worst-kept secret," confirms that the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake will be officially revealed on April 23 during a worldwide reveal showcase on the Ubisoft YouTube channel. The event will start at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 9:00 PDT).

This is around the time that previous leaks predicted the game would be announced, lending credence to the predicted early July release date. It was previously rumored that Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced would be revealed as early as April 16, but that launch date was seemingly pushed back, as were many things during the recent Ubisoft reshuffle.

Intel Foundry seems to be on a roll, as the company has reportedly increased its semiconductor tool orders by 50% compared to last year. This is a significant expansion, especially considering that Intel currently has no official new clients for its Foundry business. It's an exciting development, suggesting that Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, wouldn't invest in significantly expanding its foundry capacity without concrete deals in sight. Last week, UBS Group noted that new foundry commitments are expected this fall, and we can see the supply chain starting to ramp up to accommodate new customers. According to Anue media, many firms in semiconductor manufacturing are expected to be part of this ramp-up. The most well-known is ASML, but there are countless suppliers involved in both front-end and back-end foundry work. This includes companies like KINK Company, which provides inspection, laser processing, and other tools, as well as firms like E&R Engineering, which supplies diamond disks to flatten wafer surfaces.

In reality, semiconductor plants are much more complex than just acquiring EUV machines. Intel is already a major ASML customer for High-NA EUV scanners, which are boosting Intel's expansion for the 14A node. However, many additional tools for chemical treatment, inspection, metrology, and other processes are also needed for Intel to manufacture its 18A, 18A-P, and 18A-PT nodes, while also ramping up the 14A node.

Microsoft has just announced a new ID@Xbox showcase for April 23, 2026, where it will show off a number of new indie games coming to Xbox in the near future. The event starts on April 23 at 5 PM GMT (10 AM PT, 1 PM ET), and it will be presented live on the IGN YouTube channel, as well on Twitch, X, and on IGN's various sister sites. The announcement was confirmed by IGN, who is again partnering with Xbox for the event.

The confirmed ID@Xbox Showcase line-up includes Aphelion, Mistfall Hunter, Solo Leveling Arise Overdrive, and There Are No Ghosts at the Grand, among others. Previous years' ID@Xbox events saw showcases from some of the more interesting indie games from recent years, including Mouse: P.I. For Hire, Invincible VS, Hollow Knight Silksong. This year may also feature release date announcements for games that were previously shown off at other ID@Xbox events, like Awaysis, Darkwood 2, Don't Fret, and Ungodly.

Step into a dreamscape of play with the GameSir T7 Pro Wireless "Sugar Whirl" - a part of Pastel Collection. Inspired by the delicate swirl of cotton candy and morning skies, its translucent blending shell blends soft pinks, blues, and lavenders into a controller that's as stunning as it is precise. Designed for effortless style and graceful control. Crafted for players who cherish beauty in every detail.

Officially licensed by Xbox, this controller brings wireless freedom directly to your console. No messy cables. Experience seamless, native-level connectivity with ultra-low latency.

With the launch of Forza Horizon 6 around the corner, it's about time that Xbox Games announce the official Xbox accessories to go along with the latest installment in the racing sim franchise. The official Forza Horizon 6 accessory bundle consists of a limited edition wireless Xbox controller and a limited edition wireless headset. From a hardware perspective, both seem identical to their non-limited edition versions, but the Forza Horizon 6 versions have some unique aesthetic touches.

Both the Forza Horizon 6 controller and the headset feature striking neon blue, pink, and yellow accents. Where the controller has metallic silver accents and opaque plastic components, the controller brings back the transparent tech look and features a printed racetrack design across the front of the controller's face. Like other Xbox Wireless Controllers and headsets, the limited edition Forza Horizon 6 versions are compatible with Android, iOS, Windows PCs, and Xbox Series and Xbox One consoles. The limited edition Forza Horizon 6 Xbox controller is available for $89.99 from the Microsoft Store, while the wireless headset is $134.99 on the Microsoft Store.

With the DL40N, Shuttle introduces the fanless successor to the tried-and-tested DL30N. Equipped with the efficient 'Twin Lake-N' platform, DDR5 support and dual 2.5 Gbit LAN, the 1.35-liter system sets new standards for modern network infrastructures and reliable 24/7 continuous operation.

In the world of compact business PCs, Shuttle's DL series has been a mainstay for years. With the new Shuttle XPC Barebone DL40N, we are opening the next chapter for small form factor solutions. As a direct evolution of our best-selling DL30N, the system delivers precisely the upgrades demanded by modern IT projects in industry, retail and the office sector today: greater bandwidth, modern memory standards and absolute reliability.

Studio Far Far Games and publisher Digital Vortex Entertainment are thrilled to announce that Bylina, their isometric action-adventure rooted in Slavic folklore, is now available on Steam. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions will launch later in 2026.

In Bylina, take on the role of Kestrel, a young bogatyr, a Slavic knight of legend, born without hero's powers in a world where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side. Unmarked by destiny, unblessed by the gods, and underestimated by everyone, Kestrel's just a stubborn kid whose dreams outweigh his abilities

Sandisk introduced new Extreme PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B memory cards, expanding its high-end storage lineup with capacities ranging from 128 GB up to 4 TB. The new cards target professional video workflows, including high-resolution formats up to 12K. Using a PCIe Gen 4 interface the cards can deliver sequential read speeds of up to 3,700 MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,500 MB/s across the lineup. Sustained write performance varies by capacity, with the 2 TB and 4 TB models rated at up to 3,100 MB/s, the 1 TB model at 1,950 MB/s, and lower-capacity variants (128 GB to 400 GB) at up to 900 MB/s. Higher-capacity models (1 TB to 4 TB) support VPG1600 certification, while lower capacities are rated for VPG800 or VPG400, depending on the SKU.

Sandisk also added its SmartIdle feature to reduce thermal load during idle periods by lowering power consumption. The cards are built for field use, with resistance to drops of up to 5 meters and bend forces up to 70 N. As expected for this class of storage, they are aimed at sustained high-bitrate recording scenarios, including 4K, 6K, 8K, and higher. Pricing starts at $249.99 for the 128 GB model and goes up to $1,799.99 for the 4 TB variant. All models are backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

NVIDIA has developed a new algorithm for path tracing that will make it 2-3 times faster, deliver better visual quality, and improve the robustness of real-time path tracing. Scheduled for a technology demo at the ACM conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in May, NVIDIA has found a way to make real-time path tracing a fully realistic rendering process, moving beyond the usual emulation, software denoising, upscaling, and other techniques we use today. Since real-time path tracing is extremely compute-intensive, modern GPUs are still not powerful enough to execute the full path tracing technology in all its potential. Instead, we currently rely on emulations in modern games, implemented across many titles to address this computational demand. Below is the abstract described on NVIDIA's paper page, though the paper itself is not yet available as its publication is scheduled for May. However, note that the technology is still in development, and we have to wait more for it to hit commercial games.

NVIDAAlgorithms leveraging ReSTIR-style spatiotemporal reuse have recently proliferated, hugely increasing effective sample count for light transport in real-time ray and path tracers. Many papers have explored novel theoretical improvements, but algorithmic improvements and engineering insights toward optimal implementation have largely been neglected. We demonstrate enhancements to ReSTIR PT that make it 2-3x faster, decrease both visual and numerical error, and improve its robustness, making it closer to production-ready. We halve the spatial reuse cost by reciprocal neighbor selection, robustify shift mappings with new footprint-based reconnection criteria, and reduce spatiotemporal correlation with duplication maps. We further improve both performance and quality by extensive optimization, unifying direct and global illumination into the same reservoirs, and utilizing existing techniques for color noise and disocclusion noise reduction.

AMD is planning a significant return to establishing new manufacturing ties with its former silicon manufacturing venture, which it sold back in 2008. According to recent reports, AMD intends to collaborate with GlobalFoundries for new Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) for the next-generation Instinct MI500 series of AI accelerators. CPO technology will help AMD remain competitive in the AI data center space, where signal transfer is limited by traditional copper-based wiring. By harnessing the power and speed of light, CPO technology will enable data transfer between multiple nodes, and even multiple facilities, without the speed loss and increased latency associated with copper-based connections. Consequently, AMD is investing considerable effort to secure Photonics Integrated Circuit (PIC) manufacturing with its former partner, GlobalFoundries, which will handle PIC manufacturing, while the actual packaging will be managed by ASE to finalize the CPO design. This approach allows AMD to leverage the strengths of both companies, likely resulting in the best solution for its systems next year.

The Instinct MI500 series of AI accelerators is scheduled for release in 2027, as this year's lineup focuses on the Instinct MI400 series, which includes multiple SKUs for AI and HPC workloads. While these designs are already among the industry's leading AI accelerators, AMD aims to enhance performance further with the 2027 release using CPO technology. This will significantly contribute to delivering a solution that uses less power and offers much higher overall bandwidth compared to traditional copper data transfers. However, AMD is not alone in this CPO push. NVIDIA is also collaborating with semiconductor makers to develop a CPO system for "Vera Rubin," particularly the "Rubin Ultra" variant.

SK hynix Inc. (or "the company", www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has begun mass production of the 192 GB SOCAMM2, a next-generation memory module standard based on the 1cnm process (sixth-generation of the 10-nanometer technology) LPDDR5X low-power DRAM.

SOCAMM2 is a module that adapts low-power memory - which was previously used mainly in mobile products like smartphones - for server environments. It is designed to be a primary memory solution for next-generation AI servers.

Other World Computing (OWC), a trusted leader in high-performance storage, memory, connectivity, software, and accessories that empower creative and business professionals to maximize performance, enhance reliability, and streamline workflows, today announced from NAB 2026, OWC Booth #N2373, the launch of the OWC Express 4M2 Ultra, the first certified Thunderbolt 5 four-slot NVMe M.2 SSD enclosure.

Built for professionals seeking the fastest DIY RAID performance in a compact design, the OWC Express 4M2 Ultra enables customers to install their choice of NVMe M.2 drives and configure in RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, or 10, as well as JBOD, for speeds of up to 6622 MB/s. A solid aircraft-grade aluminium body and smart adaptive fan provide effective and quiet thermal management. A second Thunderbolt 5 port enables daisy chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt devices, including additional Express 4M2 Ultra enclosures that can be combined into a single massive capacity volume. OWC Express 4M2 Ultra is compatible with Thunderbolt 5, 4, 3 (Mac only), and USB4 systems.

Lexar, a global leader in memory and storage solutions, today announces the expansion of its popular Lexar Professional SILVER PLUS range as it adds the 2 TB microSDXC UHS‑I Card version, bringing a new class‑leading, high‑capacity option for SILVER PLUS users. The Lexar Professional SILVER PLUS microSDXC UHS-I Card is available in 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, 521 GB, 1 TB and the new 2 TB version from €20.23 from Amazon.

Building on the range's success as DJI's recommended microSD cards, the new 2 TB card offers creators greater flexibility with a broader range of capacities to suit different shooting needs, from casual capture to professional workflows. Providing both speed and reliability, the new 2 TB model delivers the fastest read speeds in its class, offering up to 245% faster performance than standard UHS‑I microSD cards.

The new 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED gaming monitors are officially available. Both MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 and MAG 321UP QD-OLED X24 feature the 4th-gen QD-OLED panel powered by QD-OLED Penta Tandem technology, increasing light efficiency by 30%. The displays are equipped with DarkArmor Film to deliver 40% deeper blacks and 2.5x better scratch resistance. Additionally, Uniform Luminance supports HDR curve customization, ensuring accurate and consistent visuals across all gaming environments.

MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24
Built for enthusiast setups, the MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 introduces the AI Care Sensor, utilizing precise human detection for real-time OLED protection while ensuring complete user privacy. Connectivity options include full bandwidth DisplayPort 2.1a (UHBR20) and a USB Type-C port with 98 W Power Delivery to streamline desktop cable management. Gamers can also use the exclusive Gaming Intelligence app to easily customize their display profile and settings.

It has been a while since one of Microsoft's Windows 11 updates wreaked havoc among PC enthusiasts, and the April update seems to be another in line for IT administrators. In an updated support document on the Windows 11 KB5083769 cumulative update, Microsoft officially confirms that some users are encountering an unexpected BitLocker recovery prompt after applying the update. However, the good news is that this issue requires a specific BitLocker Group Policy configuration that Microsoft refers to as "unrecommended," which is less likely to be found outside of managed IT departments. This includes systems managed through group policy settings, making it less likely to affect PC enthusiasts' builds. For the issue to occur, a few conditions must be met. First, BitLocker must be enabled on the PC. Second, the BitLocker Group Policy setting "Configure TPM platform validation profile for native UEFI firmware configurations" must be configured with PCR7 (a TPM 2.0 module register) included in the validation profile.

Once these conditions are met, running system information, or msinfo32.exe, shows that the Secure Boot State PC47 Binding is "Not Possible." Additionally, the Windows UEFI CA 2023 certificate must be present in the device's Secure Boot Signature Database (DB), making the device eligible for the Windows Boot Manager signed in 2023 to become the default. Finally, the device must not be running this 2023-signed Windows Boot Manager that it supports. Only by fulfilling this unusual set of conditions does the BitLocker Recovery environment trigger, leading to a password prompt. After this, subsequent startups will not trigger it again.

Welcome to another week of April and this week's major release is from an industry legend that has both major hits and major flops behind him, with his latest game taking place in the world of Fable. As for the rest of this week's release, we kick off on the same theme as last week, but with some farming action instead of cat knights. This is followed by cards and vampires, a flooded world that isn't Waterworld, a reimagined cold-war that went hot and finally we end the week with some Sci-Fi action on Venus. We've also included a few more games that didn't quite make this week's list.

Masters of Albion / Early access / This week's major release / Wednesday 22 April
A bold reimagining of the God Game genre from the creator who defined it. Shape a living world as a god - or step into it and experience it through your people. Build, guide and defend your town by day, then survive the night when everything is under threat. There is no single solution. Only yours. Steam link

On April 17, Iron Galaxy Studios published a LinkedIn post announcing its second round of layoffs in as many years. The number of workers being laid off was not specified, but the studio explains that the layoffs are necessary in order to adapt to the ongoing market conditions in the video game industry. The announcement also notes that, since 2020, the industry has changed—the way people play games and what publishers look for in games to fund—and instead of waiting for things to go back to normal, the studio has had to adjust its expectations and accept the current market as the new normal going forward.

In the post, the studio notes that "as Iron Galaxy adapts, we must make painful decisions about what we can be as a company. It's impossible for us to sustain the team size that we've carried this past year." This lack of sustainability is in spite of a round of layoffs in 2025 that saw 66 workers lose their jobs. Iron Galaxy isn't the biggest game studio in the world, but it has some heavyweight credits under its belt, including working on the Windows port for Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Knight, before Rocksteady took over development of the latter due to a buggy launch. The studio also worked on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, which launched in July 2025. The studio also worked on a number of Nintendo Switch ports, including Overwatch, Dauntless, Apex Legends, and Metroid Prime Remastered.The full announcement reads:

We recently reported on Microsoft renaming the Xbox Full-Screen Experience to Xbox mode and subsequently updating the gaming UI with new display options for gaming handhelds. Most recently, though, Microsoft has announced that it will be bringing that console-like UI to more devices. Many of these devices mentioned by Microsoft in the most recent update notes are powered by the same APUs and iGPUs as most gaming handhelds, where Xbox mode has been most prevalent until now, so it makes sense to keep it rolling on similarly capable devices, too.

According to a new Windows Insider update in the Canary channel (build 29570.1000), Windows Xbox mode is now available "on Windows 11 PCs, including laptops, desktops, and tablets." Gamers looking to take advantage of Xbox mode on their Windows 11 systems can access it via the Xbox app, Game Bar settings, or by pressing Win + F11. This isn't the first time we're seeing Microsoft doing something like this. Before it started testing Xbox mode on gaming handhelds, it had rolled out the Full-Screen Experience to other form factors as early as November 2025. It's unclear when this feature will reach the mainline Windows version, but it will likely not take too long, given Microsoft is feeling the pressure from the Linux-based SteamOS and the many similar desktop environments that have spun up in its wake.

In March, it was rumored that Microsoft was testing a new Game Pass subscription tier that featured exclusively first-party Xbox Game Studios games for a lower price than the currently available tiers. Triton, which is the codename for the Xbox Game Studios-only tier, which is expected to arrive as Duet, a Netflix bundle deal, will apparently also have monthly playtime limitations.

According to a screenshot of code shared by @redphx on X, Microsoft will seemingly implement monthly time limits on game streaming and free gameplay in the Triton tier. It seems as though there may be different time limits for different games, and there may be a way to pay to extend play time. The code snippet makes mention of streaming time, game trial time, and duet time, suggesting there will also be a time limit on Netflix streaming time. At the time of writing, it seems as though the rest of the Game Pass tiers will not be limited in terms of play time, but Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, recently commented that Xbox Game Pass has become too expensive, so it's possible that there may be other pricing adjustments or value adds coming to standard Game Pass as well.

Pragmata has officially launched on Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series consoles after garnering a lot of hype leading up to its launch. The highly anticipated launch aside, though, it seems as though Pragmata's actual reception is a bit of a mixed bag. While the game has topped the Steam sales charts, blasting past both Windrose and Counter-Strike 2 for revenue generated, and the game has had an immensely positive impact amongst the gamers who have played it, concurrent player counts have so far peaked at just over 55,000 on launch day. It should be noted that, since this is a single-player game, it does not live and die by player counts like a multiplayer game, but high sales, positive reviews, and low player counts indicate interesting player behaviors.

The TechPowerUp Pragmata in-depth performance review is live, with performance benchmarks for over 30 GPUs, as is the handheld performance review.

On Steam, Pragmata has so far earned itself an "Overwhelmingly Positive" review rating, with 97% positive reviews. On Metacritic, Pragmata has had a rather positive reception, as well, with a Metascore of 86, putting it at 11th place on Metacritic's 2026 release ratings chart. It remains to be seen how Pragmata performs over the launch weekend, when player counts generally increase, but recent big-name launches, like Marathon, have had significantly better day-one player count figures than Pragmata has exhibited so far. Most of the reviews for Pragmata praise it for its performance, even on Linux and weaker systems, as well as the way it balances its shooter and hacking mechanics. It is also reportedly a surprisingly bug-free experience, seemingly thanks to the custom RE Engine.

Playmaji, the company responsible for the Polymega retro game console has shared a significant update on the Polymega front, covering both a hardware revision to the Base Unit and the imminent launch of the new Polymega Remix peripheral. The Base Unit has been almost completely redesigned internally after a rough year of production challenges. The revised hardware brings more CPU cores, higher clock speeds, double the RAM, more internal storage, and quieter operation compared to the original PM01. Exact specs haven't been shared yet, but Playmaji says the new system is several times more powerful than what it's replacing. The most immediate benefit is improved N64 emulation performance. Anyone with an existing pre-order gets automatically upgraded to the new hardware at no extra cost. New pre-orders for the revised Base Unit are expected to open in early summer.

The bigger news is the Polymega Remix, which has completed mass production and is already on its way from the factory. Remix is a USB peripheral aimed at retro collectors who want the Polymega disc and cartridge digitization capabilities without buying the full console. You connect it to a Windows 11 PC, laptop, or PC gaming handheld, launch the free Polymega App, and use it to rip your physical games, CDs, and cartridges directly via Element Modules sold separately. Once digitized, the games are playable through the app at home or on the go. Intel Macs are also supported at launch, with iOS, Android, and Apple Silicon planned down the line. Remix pre-orders opened April 16 at $199, with shipping expected in May.

You know we've hit rock-bottom with memory affordability when ASRock innovates a new memory standard to lower prices. The new "HUDIMM," or half unbuffered DIMM, is an ASRock-innovated standard. It calls for UDIMMs with half a rank of memory, populating just one of the two 40-bit sub-channels. Such a DIMM would only offer half its bandwidth even at its rated memory clock, and of course half the density. The HUDIMM standard is targeted at entry-level builds and business desktops that just want a modern platform for everyday tasks, and something to tide over the DDR5 memory crunch. ASRock partnered with Team Group to manufacture the first HUDIMM memory modules, which it tested to work on its Intel 600-series, 700-series, and 800-series chipset motherboards. HUDIMM support probably requires some UEFI firmware-level awareness of the standard, and ASRock is expected to release firmware updates for the same.

Here's the fun part—ASRock made it possible for end-users to pair HUDIMMs with regular UDIMMs that have two 40-bit sub-channels; for example, pairing an 8 GB HUDIMM with a 16 GB UDIMM, to achieve asymmetric capacities such as 24 GB, and the bandwidth of at least 3 DDR5 sub-channels. ASRock also developed HSODIMM, which—you guessed it—is a DDR5 SO-DIMM with just one sub-channel. Team Group will manufacture these HSODIMMs, and ASRock's Deskmini series mini-PCs that are based on MoD (mobile on desktop) platforms, will implement support for them. ASRock is perfectly faced to address the client computing market during the DDR5 famine; besides the HUDIMM/HSODIMM innovation, the company is developing a new crop of Socket LGA1700 motherboards with both DDR4 and DDR5 memory slots.

XPPen today introduced the Artist 16 3rd, a New Dial Shortcut Portable Drawing Display for entry-level creators. Featuring a 15.4-inch screen with dual X-Dial and shortcut keys, a new-gen X4 Smart Chip Stylus, and 16K pressure levels, the device delivers a spacious yet travel-friendly workspace - bringing professional efficiency and an immersive creative experience to those just starting their journey.

"The Artist 16 3rd strikes the perfect balance between portability and creative space, allowing creators to capture and bring their ideas to life whenever inspiration strikes," said Brian Huang, Brand Director at XPPen. "With innovative industrial design language X-Dial shortcut and the brand-new X4 Smart Chip Stylus with 16K pressure levels, every creative session becomes intuitive and enjoyable, empowering users to unleash their creativity anytime, anywhere."

The Blood of Dawnwalker, the new dark fantasy ARPG developed by Rebel Wolves and published under Bandai Namco, is expected to launch in 2026 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series consoles, and according to a new Game Business interview with Rebel Wolves CEO, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the development process for the game is going surprisingly smoothly, with the game already being playable to completion on the PS5. Currently, The Blood of Dawnwalker is nearing the certification phase of the development and production process, suggesting that the launch may be around Q3 or the beginning of Q4, although no official launch date has been confirmed yet.

During the interview, Tomaszkiewicz touched on the use of AI, stating that the dev team has used generative AI in the development process for early placeholder assets, which will eventually be removed before the game releases. This is a strategy that is becoming more and more popular in the modern gaming landscape, with studios like Sandfall Interactive and Pearl Abyss using AI-generated assets for placeholders and iteration early in the development process of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Crimson Desert. It was also recently revealed by a game industry survey that many gaming professionals feel that AI is hurting creativity in gaming, echoing the sentiments of many smaller and indie game studios on the use of generative AI.

Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, launches the Retro Series lineup, a design-driven collection that reinterprets classic PC aesthetics for today's builders. Featuring the Retro 260 TG Micro Tower Chassis and Retro 360 TG Mid-Tower Chassis, the series combines nostalgic beige tones, retro style front panels, and tempered glass side views with the performance, cooling, and flexibility expected from modern systems.

Inspired by the simplicity and character of early home computers, the Retro Series brings a softer, more expressive visual identity into the PC space. Subtle vintage details and warm color tones are paired with clean structural design, creating systems that feel both familiar and refreshingly different from typical gaming-focused aesthetics.

Here's the first picture of the retail package of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D AM4 10th Anniversary Edition desktop processor. This is essentially a fresh production run of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D that was originally launched in 2022 in response to Intel's 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" series launch, and discontinued in 2023 once the company had completed launch of its Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" processors. AMD is commemorating 10 years of the Socket AM4 platform with the fastest processor for gaming on this socket. Existence of this processor was leaked earlier this week. We'd known that it's the same exact chip as the one from 2022, with the same OPN, but in a retail box with special box-art. Turns out that it's the regular Ryzen 5000 series box, but with the insert showing "3D V-Cache technology," and a special badge marking "AMD AM4 10th Anniversary Edition." There's still no word on the exact launch date or price.

Crimson Desert has evidently had a strong launch, despite initial launch impressions being somewhat less than stellar. Even a month after launch, weekly peak concurrent player counts still top 200,000 players on Steam alone. According to a post by the official Crimson Desert account on X, the game has already sold more than 5 million copies in its first month since launch. While these sales figures are nothing to scoff at, as we recently covered, Resident Evil Requiem managed to top 5 million sales in the first week after launch, reaching 6 million a few days after that, making it the fastest-selling Resident Evil game to date.

Still, it is impressive that an entirely new IP that had a somewhat storied history—Crimson Desert was initially planned as an MMORPG, but the studio pivoted to a single-player RPG mid-development—has drawn such a large audience. Even more impressively, unlike Resident Evil Requiem, initial impressions of Crimson Desert weren't all that positive, with the Metacritic score even now sitting at 77. The user score, and the game's Steam review rating, however, are significantly more positive, with the former at 8.8 and the latter at 86% Positive.

Today Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, is proud to announce the long-awaited PRAGMATA is out now across the globe. After years of anticipation, the highly acclaimed sci-fi action-adventure game is now available across PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam.

Developed by the studio behind the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry series, PRAGMATA transports players to the moon. The story unfolds aboard a futuristic lunar station that has mysteriously lost contact with the Earth. Sent in to investigate, spacefarer Hugh Williams quickly runs into trouble before a curious android with the appearance of a young girl comes to his rescue. Given the name Diana, she joins Hugh in exploring the lunar station in search of a way back to Earth.

Zhitai, the consumer-facing brand of YMTC, has launched the TiPlus 9100, its first PCIe 5.0 entry in the TiPlus lineup. The drive is built on YMTC Xtacking 4.0 NAND technology and targets gaming laptops, thin portables, and desktop builds. Currently, Zhitai is offering the TiPlus 9100 NVMe M.2 SSDs with capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB. This isn't YMTC's first PCIe 5.0 client SSD, back in March the company launched the PC550, a four-channel Gen 5 drive built on the same Xtacking 4.0 NAND and rated at up to 10,500 MB/s sequential read. The TiPlus 9100 steps that up considerably with a faster controller, pushing 12,000 MB/s and targeting the higher end of the Gen 5 performance. Despite running without a dedicated DRAM cache, the TiPlus 9100 can reach speeds of up to 12,000 MB/s for sequential reads and 10,700 MB/s for sequential writes, with random performance reaching 1,850K IOPS. The single-sided PCB keeps it compatible with slim systems, and firmware tuning helps manage power draw and thermals under load. Zhitai bundles its own software for health monitoring, performance testing, migration, temperature tracking, and lifespan estimation.

YMTC is in the middle of a significant capacity expansion. Earlier this week we reported that the company plans to add two more fabs on top of one already nearing completion in Wuhan, which would take total monthly wafer output from 200,000 to around 400,000 when all three are fully running. More capacity means more NAND supply, which should support the Zhitai ability to push products like the TiPlus 9100 more aggressively into the market. According to IT Files, pricing for TiPlus 9100 in mainland China is set at 1 TB for 1,459 yuan (around $200), 2 TB for 2,559 yuan, and 4 TB for 4,999 yuan (approximately $690).

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB "Ampere" GPU, which is two generations old, is expected to make a comeback in June this year. Meanwhile, the rumored RTX 5050 9 GB edition is reportedly on hold. According to well-known hardware leaker MEGAsizeGPU on X, NVIDIA is pausing the transition from its 8 GB RTX 5050 "Blackwell" version to a 9 GB model due to the reintroduction of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB "Ampere" GPU. Since both of these GPUs compete in the budget segment, the company will reportedly only release the older GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB SKU with a 192-bit wide memory bus. For this, NVIDIA will once again use Samsung's 8 nm DUV node, as it has in the past. The entire NVIDIA "Ampere" architecture lineup was produced on the 8 nm DUV node, and its return after several years was unexpected. However, since NVIDIA has transitioned to TSMC for manufacturing its "Ada Lovelace" and latest "Blackwell" GPUs, becoming TSMC's largest customer using the 5 nm node, this move is intriguing.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 features 3,584 CUDA cores and 12 GB of GDDR6 memory. In contrast, the GeForce RTX 5050 has newer CUDA cores on a smaller node with 2,560 cores on the GB207 die, but it has less memory, with only 9 GB of the rumored GDDR7. Since the resurrected GeForce RTX 3060 will use the older GDDR6 memory, sourcing GDDR6 may have been easier for NVIDIA, leaving the more expensive GDDR7 for its other GPUs.

ASRock the global leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, mini PCs, gaming monitors, power supply units, and AIOs, announces the new PRO Series Full Modular PSUs. Driven by the slogan "LIKE A PRO," this series is crafted for users prioritizing reliability and performance. It offers an intuitive power solution that empowers your system while maintaining smart, practical value.

Reliability and Simplicity: Setting a New Standard for PC Building
The PRO Series centers on delivering clean and stable output. Available in 1000 W, 850 W, and 750 W, it caters to various system requirements. These PSUs focus on core needs, providing high-quality hardware support at a competitive price. For budget-conscious users, the PRO Series ensures no compromise between quality and expenditure, delivering a professional stable experience with ease.

One of the senior executives from Samsung Foundry, Shawn Han, has officially joined Intel Foundry to help secure new customer deals. With over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, Shawn Han has worked through many node designs, transitions to new technologies, and has observed shifts in customer behaviors and trends. He joined Samsung in 1996 as a senior engineer in the Technology Development team, working on multiple nodes, and holds a PhD in Material Science and Engineering from Iowa State University. Over the years, he rose to the position of Executive Vice President at Samsung, where he was responsible for Samsung's U.S. Foundry business, focusing on attracting new customers and securing deals. Now, Intel Foundry will benefit from a significant new team member with decades of experience, deep expertise, and strategic relationships to help secure new customers. Shawn Han will report directly to Naga Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Intel Foundry, and will contribute to elevating Intel Foundry to new levels.

Intel today released its latest Arc GPU graphics drivers with the version 101.8724 WHQL bringing support for new hardware and new games. Yesterday, the company launched its Core Series 3 "Wildcat Lake" processors with up to six CPU cores and two Xe3 GPU cores. Expected to land in over 70 different laptop designs, Intel today enabled full gaming support with the Arc GPU driver update. In addition to new hardware, the new driver release adds game-ready support for Pragmata and fixes a lot of the old issues that persisted with the previous releases. These include fixes for flickering in Crimson Desert running DirectX 12, No Man's Sky experiencing corruptions on certain terrains, and importantly issues with Adobe Premier Pro crashing when exporting media based on HEVC codec has been fixed. For a complete picture of fixes and remaining issues, we have posted the changelog below.DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc Graphics Driver 101.8724 WHQL

We've covered the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake a number of times, and the last time rumors made their rounds, it seemed as though the game and its launch date would be revealed on April 16—a date that has obviously come and gone without any such announcement. Now, however, according to Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, who cited a presentation shown to media and content creators, Black Flag Resynced will officially be revealed "next week," suggesting a launch event sometime between April 20 and April 26.

Additionally, the game will allegedly officially launch on July 9, although given the numerous internal delays the game has suffered so far, it seems unwise to place too much credence on a launch date at this point in time. It should be noted that, despite previous reports that the game would be adding new characters and storylines, the game will still follow the original game's format, and it will not be an RPG, like many of the modern Assassin's Creed games.

The Skillsearch 2026 Games & Immersive Salary Report has been published, with the results of the survey revealing findings relating to AI, hiring, and game industry trends. While the data is impressively cohesive, there are a few main takeaways from the report that highlight both a pessimistic outlook on AI and the overall gaming industry. Despite many of the gaming industry's biggest game studios going all-in on AI, only 29% of respondents surveyed worked for companies that had policies or guidelines for ethical AI use. Of the game workers themselves, who consisted of a mix of everything from management, HR, and operations to art, programming, design, and writing, as many as 64% believe AI has a negative impact on creativity in the gaming industry, while 52% stated that they or their company have started using AI tools in their workflows.

When asked about the game industry job market, responses varied greatly, likely in part because the survey targeted many different countries. When it came to finding a job, 56% of graduates who did not have a gaming-related degree took longer than a year to find a job in the industry, and even 25% of the respondents who had a degree in gaming said it took over a year. Meanwhile, 27% of graduates with a degree in gaming managed to land a job in the industry before even graduating. Meanwhile, 65% of respondents reported that they have been directly affected by layoffs or layoffs happened at the studio where they work, with 22% of workers saying they were made redundant within the last 12 months. Of those who were made redundant, 52% were "unsatisfied with their redundancy package." Only 45% of those made redundant have since gone on to find new jobs, and only 27% of those workers feel secure in their new positions. As many as 37% of those who were laid off have been unemployed for longer than seven months.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, will be at NAB, showcasing its lineup of video and creator storage solutions, including the new 8 TB Lexar ARMOR 700 Portable SSD and the 2 TB SILVER PLUS microSDXC card. Both solutions deliver massive capacities, allowing consumers to store more content.

The ARMOR 700 Portable SSD combines speed, durability, and up to a massive 8 TB capacity perfect for professional videographers, photographers, and content creators in the field and on the go. The drive delivers speeds of 2000 MB/s max read/write and its precision thermal design also keeps temperatures low even at top speeds, so performance is never sacrificed. It also features a dust- and water-defying IP66 rating and a rugged construction that withstands drops up to 3 meters.
The ARMOR 700 Portable SSD is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone 15/16/17 series, gaming consoles, and more. The new 8 TB capacity is available at Amazon for an MSRP of $999.99.

It seems as though Valve's Proton 11 is rolling out in a new Beta update, and along with it, all of the improvements that come from the recent updates introduced in Wine 11, as pointed out by Brad Lynch on X. The changelog for Proton shows the inclusion of Proton 11 Beta, which would be based on Wine 11. Wine 11 made waves in mid-March when it launched, specifically because it added NTSync kernel driver support to the translation layer, introducing theoretical massive performance improvements to Linux games.

NTSync theoretically reduces the overhead when running Windows games via Proton by moving Windows NT library emulation into a kernel driver. While it isn't going to improve frame rates across the board, it has been reported to improve compatibility where esync and fsync were lacking, and it may reduce CPU overhead. This has the end result of making some games feel smoother, thanks to improving frame rate consistency and increasing 1% and 0.1% low frame rates.

PRAGMATA, Capcom's long-awaited sci-fi action adventure, touches down on GeForce NOW the same day it launches worldwide. The futuristic journey through a cold lunar station in the near future can be streamed instantly from the cloud to almost any device, no console or heavy hardware needed. That's only the beginning. Five new titles join the cloud this week, expanding April's gaming galaxy with fresh adventures and endless possibilities. Plus, the GeForce NOW Ultimate membership comes to gamers in India for the first time, with the service now available in beta and operated by NVIDIA. Time to see what's landing on GeForce NOW.

A Mission Gone Wrong
PRAGMATA is Capcom's newest sci-fi action adventure that blends heart, high-tech and a hauntingly quiet world set in the near future. Step into the boots of Hugh Williams, an investigator navigating a lunar research station gone silent and Diana, a young android. Armed with an arsenal of weapons and the ability to hack, every corridor and console becomes part of a cinematic experience filled with tense exploration and fast-paced action. The story unfolds amid the cold vacuum of the moon after a massive quake hits the station researching Lunafilament - a material said to be able to create anything given enough data. Awake, injured and disoriented, Hugh crosses paths with Diana, the mysterious android girl known as a Pragmata. Now, they must work together as they face the rogue station on their way back to Earth.

In light of the news that the Epic Games Store's free game giveaways have more or less failed to bring gamers onto the platform, comments from Alex Nichiporchik, the CEO of indie publisher tinyBuild, regarding the success of free game giveaways on Steam are all the more interesting. According to the publisher, a four-day free game giveaway of Graveyard Keeper on Steam has resulted in a substantial $250,000 in revenue and a massive spike in player counts.

Nichiporchik explained in a recent post on X that much of this revenue can be attributed to a rush of new fans of the game buying into the game's DLC library after getting their free copy of the resource management game. Since Graveyard Keeper was given away on April 9, the game has seen an expected increase in player counts, from around 1,000 peak concurrent daily players to over 46,000 at its peak. In addition to adding to the success of Graveyard Keeper, the giveaway also dramatically increased interest in the upcoming sequel, Graveyard Keeper 2, which Nichiporchik claims has now been added to over 450,000 wishlists on Steam. While Steam does not publish wishlist figures, the Steam Hub followers numbers tell a similar story, with the follower count of Graveyard Keeper 2 increasing from 9,817 on April 5 to 21,035 on April 16.

TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today announced consolidated revenue of NT$1,134.10 billion, net income of NT$572.48 billion, and diluted earnings per share of NT$22.08 (US$3.49 per ADR unit) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

Year-over-year, first quarter revenue increased 35.1%, while net income and diluted EPS both increased 58.3%. Compared to fourth quarter 2025, first quarter results represented an 8.4% increase in revenue and a 13.2% increase in net income. All figures were prepared in accordance with TIFRS on a consolidated basis.

4A Games and Deep Silver just announced Metro 2039, the next installment in the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter, calling the game "the darkest Metro chapter yet." Metro 2039 follows Metro Exodus and returns to the tunnels of Moscow, where survivors of nuclear war eke out a living in the Metro tunnels. The narrative-driven single-player game will put players in the shoes of The Stranger, a new voiced protagonist, as he contends with life under the new totalitarian leader of Metro and all the risks that stem from that.

Metro 2039 promises a return to the claustrophobic atmosphere and the psychological horror that earned it its fan base. 4A has built Metro 2039 on its custom game engine, which the studio says is "purpose-built for the games we want to make." Although no release date has yet been attached to the game, Metro 2039 is slated to launch in winter 2026, suggesting a launch towards the end of the year. There is a Steam page for Metro 2039, where players can go to wishlist the game for more information closer to launch, but pricing, again, has not yet been revealed. It will launch for PC on Epic Games and Steam and on the Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 consoles. The Metro 2039 gameplay reveal trailer follows.

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard Game from Vampire Survivors, the first-person, "turbo-turn" deck-builder game with roguelite elements from the developer of Vampire Survivors, has just received an official launch date, pricing, and an outrageous new trailer, to boot. According to the release date announcement on Steam, Vampire Crawlers will launch on April 21 at $9.99 (£9.99, €9.99, and ¥1200) on Nintendo Switch, Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles.

Vampire Crawlers combines traditional deck-builder and card-battler mechanics with the fast-paced feel, somewhat akin to a boomer shooter. It is based on the same IP as Vampire Survivors and features much of the same visual style, just with a different POV and the obvious changes to the gameplay style. The spin-off features an incredibly low barrier to entry in terms of hardware, meaning it will be a good time-killer for Steam Deck players, and there are apparently mobile ports coming later in 2026. At launch, there will be no cross-platform save support, but the developer is planning to add the feature when the aforementioned mobile ports are ready. The release date trailer for Vampire Crawlers follows.

Sihoo, a global leader in ergonomic furniture dedicated to using advanced technology to provide high-quality seating solutions, is set to launch the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 in April, a major evolution of its ergonomic chair series designed for modern professionals, gamers, and home office users. Positioned as "The First Full-Body Dynamic Ergonomic Chair," the Doro C300 Pro V2 delivers real-time, full-body dynamic support rather than static, one-position ergonomics.

Traditional ergonomic chairs are built around fixed support points that work only when the user remains still. The Doro C300 Pro V2 instead uses a DynaCore System for full-body dynamic support and a SyncroFlex System for personalized fit and dynamic tracking, so the chair responds the moment the body moves. As the official brief describes it, the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 "tracks your body's movements in real time, evolving support from fixed points to full-body coordination," redefining ergonomics from "chairs adapting to a standard body" to "chairs actively conforming to you."

PLAION REPLAI, a leading global publisher and developer of retro video games and consoles announced today the return of a legend, with the NEOGEO AES+ (Advanced Entertainment System) returning to homes ready for Holiday 2026. With pre-orders opening today, and the launch date set as 12th November 2026, the NEOGEO AES+ has been produced in collaboration with SNK, the producers of the original hardware.

Celebrating 35 years of arcade perfection, the iconic NEOGEO AES stood as a beacon of excellence, with the 24-bit luxury super console a world apart from rival 16-bit systems, designed for gaming connoisseurs who refused to accept compromised homeports of arcade classics. With each title representing a 1:1 direct replica of the original arcade board used on SNK's MVS (Multi-Video System), NEOGEO cartridges would differ significantly from traditional console games typically shipped on a 4 Mb or 8 Mb cartridge, with the largest NEOGEO game weighing in at an incredible 708 Mb, and games which exceeded 100 Mb in size giving birth to the infamous '100Mega Shock' moniker.

PROMISE Technology, a global leader in high-performance storage for media and entertainment, will showcase next-generation Thunderbolt 5 solutions and AI-optimized platforms at NAB Show 2026.

"The Pegasus line has evolved with each generation of Thunderbolt to become a flagship storage system for PROMISE and a well-established brand within the creator community." said Alice Chang, Chief Marketing Officer for PROMISE. "As M&E production technology evolves, we continue to keep pace, not only with Thunderbolt but also with the leaps in performance required for AI optimized storage systems."

Intel has officially unveiled its "Wildcat Lake" Core 300 series of processors for the entry-level PC segment. These CPUs are designed for value-oriented buyers looking for good CPU performance and basic GPU output in small form-factor commercial and edge AI PCs. Officially rated at 40 TOPS, these processors are capable of Copilot+ AI PC certification, meaning Intel has managed to provide basic local AI processing functionality to entry-level buyers. As part of the Core 300 series non-Ultra family, Intel's main selling point is all-day battery life in laptops with local AI processing. There are three segments, each featuring a hybrid core configuration, pairing two "Cougar Cove" P-cores with four LPE "Darkmont" cores.

The actual SoC package integrates two dies. The first and most important one, built on the 18A internal Intel node, features a 6-core CPU configuration, NPU 5 with 40 TOPS of INT8 data, Xe display and media engine, and a GPU that includes up to two Xe3 cores. This die also contains the memory controller and cache pool, supporting LPDDR5X memory running at 7,467 MT/s or up to 6,400 MT/s for DDR5. The memory-side cache includes 4 MB to help tasks "buffer" into this cache before and after accessing memory. Intel dedicates the second die to I/O handling, as the platform supports 6 PCIe Gen 4 lanes, two Thunderbolt 4 connections, two USB 3.2 connectors, and up to eight USB 2.0 connectors. For Wi-Fi, there is the Wi-Fi 7 standard, and Intel also includes Bluetooth 6.0.

The EXLink MB409A5 adapter card is designed to bridge PCIe Gen 5 x8 slots that support lane bifurcation with next-generation MCIO 8i (SFF-TA-1016) connectivity, delivering up to 256 Gbps of total bandwidth for high-speed NVMe signal transmission in advanced storage applications. By integrating a PCIe redriver and optimized signal conditioning, the MB409A5 allows system designers and integrators to deploy MCIO-based NVMe solutions with greater flexibility, even in platforms requiring longer trace lengths or cable connections.

Designed for Flexible PCIe Gen 5 Architecture
With a PCIe 5.0 x8 interface, the MB409A5 is designed to work with motherboards that support lane bifurcation (x4 / x4). When enabled, this allows the PCIe x8 interface to be split into two independent x4 NVMe links through MCIO connectivity, supporting up to two NVMe SSDs via compatible cabling.

Hot on the heels of the freshly announced G3 wireless gaming mouse, Keychron has announced two more symmetrical gaming mouse designs in the G4 and G5, both featuring identical performance characteristics with slightly different shell designs and aesthetics. While both mice are symmetrical shapes with mid-hump designs, the G4 has an ABS shell with a retro off-white and reddish-brown color scheme, accentuated by the cute pixelated hardware buttons and toggles on the bottom of the mouse, and the G5 has a carbon fiber shell with a more traditional gamer aesthetic. The G5 is also a fair bit lighter, coming in at 43 g compared to the G4's 55 g, even though the G4 is smaller than the G5. The Keychron G4 is available on the Keychron online store for $79.99, while the G5 costs $109.99.

The G4 and G5 feature identical internals, with the PixArt PAW 3950 sensor running the show and providing 8 kHz polling over 2.4 GHz and wired connections, alongside Bluetooth 5.3 for less intensive use. Both have a 500 mAh battery, although Keychron claims up to 130 hours on a charge for the G4 and 162 hours for the G5 in Bluetooth mode. With a more reasonable 4 kHz polling mode over 2.4 GHz, the G4 is said to last up to 36 hours, while the G5 should deliver 38 hours. At 1 kHz polling, which is the bare minimum for most gaming needs, that increases to 130 hours for the G4 and 153 hours for the G5. Both mice also use the same Huano Transparent Yellow Shell White Dot switches as the G3 that launched just a day prior, delivering MTBF lifespans of 120 million clicks.

NVIDIA has released the GeForce 596.21 WHQL Game Ready driver for PRAGMATA, which launches on April 17 with path tracing, DLSS Multi-Frame Generation, and DLSS Ray Reconstruction. The release also adds Game Ready support for Windrose, bringing DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution, Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, and NVIDIA Reflex. Also, a new NTE (Neverness to Everness) update adding DLSS Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction, Multi Frame Generation, and path-traced effects. NVIDIA Project G-Assist gets enhanced recommendations and controls.

On the bug fix side, the Arknights: Endfield stutter issue is now resolved. One known issue remains as certain textures in God of War: Ragnarok may intermittently flash white during gameplay.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA PRAGMATA GeForce 596.21 WHQL

Intel is preparing to launch a new line of Socket LGA1700 processors based on the "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon, the same exact chip powering the 14th Gen Core desktop processor series. The move is seen as Intel capitalizing on DDR5 memory shortage, by releasing processors that support both DDR5 and older DDR4 memory standards, and getting motherboard vendors to launch a new crop of LGA1700 motherboards with both DDR4 and DDR5 memory slots, giving gamers better choice of memory upgrades.

Nomenclature is a big area of speculation. One theory holds Intel could use Core Series 2 processor model numbering, but without the "Ultra" brand extension due to the lack of an integrated NPU. Further, the company might limit itself to the "5" and "7" extensions, skipping "9." The top Core 7 2xx SKU could max out the "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon, with an 8P+16E core configuration, that's eight "Raptor Cove" P-cores, each with 2 MB of L2 cache, and four "Gracemont" E-core clusters, each with 4 MB of L2 cache; all sharing 36 MB of L3 cache. The chip has a DDR4 and DDR5 memory interface, and puts out 20 PCIe lanes, 16 of which are Gen 5, and four of which Gen 4. Having received praise from the media for the aggressive pricing of its Core Ultra 7 270K Plus processor, Intel might attempt to repeat this feat with a similar, aggressively-priced product based on "Raptor Lake Refresh," maxing out all its on-die hardware, but at an attractive price-point, with DDR4 support to boot.

NACON and the studio Big Bad Wolf are pleased to announce the release of their new narrative investigation and psychological horror game, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss. Players take on the role of Noah, an occult investigator, tasked with unraveling the mystery of the disappearance of miners in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. An investigation that will lead him to the gates of the sunken city of R'lyeh, depicted for the first time in a video game.

With Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, the studio delivers its most ambitious project to date, now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Leading gaming accessories maker Turtle Beach Corporation, today revealed the all-new Stealth Pro II wireless multiplatform gaming headset which distinctly sits at the audio summit as the complete gaming peripheral. The Stealth Pro II is the successor to the highly lauded Stealth Pro and represents both Turtle Beach's legacy of gaming sound and the future of premium audio versatility. As the latest and ultimate gaming headset, the Stealth Pro II Wireless Gaming Headset is for anyone who demands flagship-level audio and microphone performance, seamless device switching and stunning design.

The Stealth Pro II lets you hear what you've never been able to hear before—but could it stand up to the master of stealth himself? To find out, Turtle Beach tracked down the world's last surviving ninja, Jinichi Kawakami, and flew him from Japan for the ultimate IRL showdown. One gamer. One ninja. One headset. With the advanced audio of the Stealth Pro II, the gamer was able to capture every sound the ninja made. It was the ultimate stealth showdown highlighting Turtle Beach's legacy of gaming sound and stunning audio performance. If the Stealth Pro II can hear a ninja, it can hear anything. Visit the Turtle Beach website to put your Ninja hearing to the test.

ASUS today announced the availability of two new all-in-one desktop PCs at Best Buy: the ASUS V400 AiO and the ASUS V600 AiO. Designed for families, students, and anyone who wants a large, clutter-free screen without the complexity of a traditional PC setup, both models are now available at Best Buy.

Both feature on-device AI capabilities, vibrant FHD touchscreens with 100% sRGB color accuracy, and a keyboard and mouse included in the box. The V400 is a milestone: the first all-in-one computer powered by the Snapdragon X platform, delivering a 24" display in an ultra-slim, whisper-quiet design. The V600 goes bigger with a 27" screen, a 93% screen-to-body ratio, and a profile that's 25% thinner than its predecessor. With more households sharing devices across remote work, school, and entertainment, an all-in-one offers the screen size and comfort of a desktop with none of the setup complexity.

Panasonic Connect North America, Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, today launched the TOUGHBOOK 56, a powerful, modular rugged laptop purposefully built to empower mobile workers in sectors including public safety, utilities, enterprise and federal. TOUGHBOOK 56 delivers high performance computing, expanded connectivity speeds options, enhanced thermal management, and advanced security. Backed by new warranty options, it provides customers with greater flexibility and long-term peace of mind.

Frontline and field professionals must work with increased efficiency to deliver fast, high-quality service, while navigating unpredictability and resource constraints that make getting the job done infinitely challenging. TOUGHBOOK 56 is engineered with these professionals in mind, bringing advanced performance, security, innovation, and design to the edge, in a rugged, reliable, and dependable package. For IT teams, TOUGHBOOK 56's modular architecture, updated admin management software and expanded support simplify upgrades and extends device lifecycles as operational needs evolve.

Gigabyte Technology a leader in innovative cooling solutions, officially announced the launch of the all-new GAMING Series power supply units (PSUs) today. Positioning these units as the ultimate "Hardware Guardian" for high-performance systems, Gigabyte leads the industry by introducing the exclusive "T-Guard" active thermal monitoring technology to address the safety requirements of next-generation 12V-2x6 connectors. The series has earned the prestigious Cybenetics ETA Platinum and LAMBDA A+ certifications, providing gamers and creators with a power solution that balances safety, high efficiency, and ultimate silence.

Exclusive T-Guard Technology: A Triple Line of Defense
As graphics card performance and power consumption continue to rise, the stability of power connectors is critical to system safety. The T-Guard technology in the GAMING series utilizes precision thermistors within the 12V-2x6 connector to evolve from passive protection to active monitoring:

• Detect (Real-time Sensing): Built-in sensors monitor connector temperatures in real-time, triggering immediate alerts if signs of overheating from loose cables or abnormal loads are detected.
• Protect (Isolation Protection): Upon detecting dangerous temperatures, T-Guard intelligently reduces power specifically to the GPU to prevent connector burnout. Meanwhile, other system components remain operational, preventing sudden power loss that could damage hard drives.
• Reconnect (Data Recovery): Users can utilize the processor's integrated graphics (if available) to view the display and save their work before shutting down for inspection.

AMD is planning to re-introduce the Ryzen 7 5800X3D desktop processor with 3D V-Cache memory as the new Ryzen 7 5800X3D AM4 10th Anniversary Edition. The processor will have the same OPN as the original 5800X3D, but the retail PIB package will have some special artwork commemorating 10 years of AMD Ryzen and the Socket AM4 platform. AMD will have supported the platform with 10 years of new processor launches and continued availability of compatible processors.

The 8-core/16-thread processor is based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, and features stacked 3D V-Cache memory. Each of the 8 cores has 512 KB of L2 cache, and the eight share 96 MB of L3 cache. The processor comes with a base frequency of 3.40 GHz, with a 4.50 GHz maximum boost frequency, with its TDP rated at 105 W. As a Socket AM4 processor, the 5800X3D features a dual-channel DDR4 memory interface, and comes with 20 usable PCI-Express 4.0 lanes, which AMD B550 and X570 chipset motherboards wire out as PCI-Express 4.0 x16, and a CPU-attached M.2 NVMe Gen 4 slot.

Intel's upcoming "Crescent Island" series of GPUs, based on the newly developed Xe3P graphics IP, will be hitting the market this year. However, it seems this IP won't be featured in the desktop Arc gaming series of discrete GPUs. According to a reliable leaker, Jaykihn, Intel will not release this GPU generation as dedicated Arc gaming graphics cards. Instead, Xe3P-based GPUs will power "Crescent Island" data center and workstation GPUs, similar to the current Arc Pro series for professional users. This leaves Arc gamers without a clear indication of when, or even if, they will receive a new gaming Arc GPU based on the Xe3 or Xe4 IP in the coming months.

Intel recently announced the Arc Pro B70 and Arc Pro B65 graphics cards, which maximize the BMG-G31 "Battlemage" Xe2 silicon but are intended for professional users only. A recent driver update added the ability to play games on these cards, but they are still primarily designed for AI workloads and professional visualization. Gamers are still seeking clarity about future updates, and the lack of recent rumors regarding an additional Arc gaming discrete GPU is concerning. Even the higher-end Arc B770, which has been rumored for some time, seems to be on hold. Upcoming events like Computex might offer Intel a chance to at least provide a teaser of what the desktop Arc GPU family will look like or if there will be any updates soon.

Intel Foundry has been attracting significant attention from the industry lately, with some of the world's largest companies expected to announce new foundry commitments this fall, according to UBS Group. The investment bank has reported that Intel Foundry is on the brink of securing many new contracts scheduled for this fall, citing the release of version 1.0 of the 14A node process design kit (PDK) as a key catalyst. There have been numerous rumors that Apple, AMD, NVIDIA, Google, and Broadcom are considering utilizing Intel's silicon manufacturing, including the 18A, 18A-P, and 18A-PT nodes, as well as the upcoming 14A node. Apple is rumored to manufacture some of its M-Series "Apple Silicon" laptop processors in 2027 using the 18A-P node, while Google might leverage Intel's EMIB and Foveros 3D advanced packaging technology for some of its TPU designs.

Companies regularly evaluate leading industry nodes but often choose TSMC's manufacturing due to its reliability, high volume capacity, and advanced packaging, which has produced numerous high-performance and low-power designs at scale. However, Intel Foundry has been investing significant resources and logistics into attracting external clients, leading UBS to anticipate multiple foundry commitments being announced this fall. Late last year, we learned that Apple was waiting for Intel to release the 18A-P PDK version 1.0 or 1.1, scheduled for Q1 and Q2 of 2026, respectively. As we are now in Q2, we are awaiting further confirmation to see if Apple proceeded with the deal, but UBS expects it did.

KDE has long served as a powerful, customizable Linux desktop environment for those who want more flexibility and faster feature support than the likes of Gnome. Contrary to that notion, though, KDE has just merged a feature request that has been hanging around for over two decades—per-monitor virtual desktop support. Currently, and in every previous release of the KDE desktop, switching to another virtual desktop on one monitor meant switching virtual desktops on all monitors. After the new Kwin feature merge, though, users will have the option to switch between different virtual desktops on a per-monitor basis.

This would make KDE the only one of the big two—KDE and Gnome—to support per-monitor workstations, although it still has some limitations, the least of which is that it will not work in X11 sessions, although it should work with XWayland apps, since those are usually handled like Wayland apps by the compositor. The new feature is expected to arrive in KDE Plasma 6.7, which is slated for a June 2026 launch, with public beta testing slated to go live on May 14. The developer's full explanation for the new functionality follows.

By now, it's no secret that Rockstar Games has suffered a data breach by way of malicious hacking group ShinyHunters, which threatened to release the data gathered during the breach if Rockstar did not meet its demands. Now, as Kotaku reports, ShinyHunters has followed through with its threat and published some of the information it managed to gobble up during the breach. One figure in particular that stands out among the leaked data is the GTA Online earnings, which have apparently amounted to around $1.3 million per day between September 2025 and April 2026. The actual amount cited is $9,592,109 per week, with some weeks spiking to as high as $27,889,791.

These revenue totals, which were reported by Lexiture on the GTA Forums, are thanks to a total of 9,937,747 weekly active users and an average of 393,402 weekly paying users. These numbers painted such a positive picture of Rockstar and the promise of GTA VI's commercial performance that Take-Two Interactive's share prices increased by nearly 5%, adding an alleged $1 billion to the publishing company's market cap in a single day.

Starfield has already been out for PC and Xbox for almost three years, recently making an appearance on Sony's PlayStation 5 as well. Now, according to a recent report by Universo Nintendo, it seems as though the game will also get a Nintendo Switch 2 launch in the near future. The report cites a listing from the Taiwan Entertainment Software Rating Information database, revealing that Starfield has been rated for the Nintendo Switch 2 in Taiwan. Bethesda has not yet announced a Switch 2 launch for Starfield, but regulatory leaks, like this Taiwanese rating, are common precursors to game launches.

That said, there's also no indication of a launch date for the Switch 2 version of Starfield, nor do we know what sort of graphical compromises will need to be made to run Bethesda's space adventure, which requires a minimum of an Intel Core i7-6800K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 to run on PC. Reports from users on ProtonDB, however, have not had an altogether positive experience, with most reporting getting under 30 FPS, despite running it at the lowest quality settings with FSR 3 enabled and at 50% resolution scale.

Alienware has launched the AW2726DM, a 27-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor priced at $350. This makes it one of the most affordable entries into QD-OLED displays to date, with Alienware saying it is targeting users looking to move beyond traditional LCD panels. The monitor features a 2560 x 1440 Fast QD-OLED panel with a 240 Hz refresh rate and a 0.03 ms GtG response time. It covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color space and supports HDR10, alongside AdaptiveSync and AMD FreeSync Premium. Connectivity includes DisplayPort 1.4 for full 240 Hz operation, as well as two HDMI ports limited to 1440p at 120 Hz. The AW2726DM includes a fully adjustable stand with height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments, as well as an anti-reflective screen coating and wide 178° viewing angles. A built-in microphone is also integrated.

There are a couple of things worth mentioning. SDR brightness is rated at just 200 cd/m², which is on the low end for a QD-OLED panel as most competing 27-inch models do better here. That figure will also affect peak HDR brightness despite the monitor supporting HDR10. The other notable omission is G-Sync compatibility, which is absent here. AMD FreeSync Premium and VESA AdaptiveSync are supported as mentioned above, but there is no NVIDIA certification. The AW2726DM positions itself as a lower-cost entry into QD-OLED, though it does so with a more restrained feature set compared to the usual Alienware premium offerings. The monitor was quietly announced in a blog post that was mostly focused on the Alienware Collegiate Clash 2026 university esports event.

A leak from early 2026 claimed that NVIDIA would be pausing production of the GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti for as long as six months starting in the beginning of 2026, with the leaker predicting that supply would start to worsen in the beginning of 2026 and relief only coming in Q4. While it seems as though this may not have come to pass as predicted, a new rumor claims that supply for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB may be halted for two weeks at the end of April 2026. As Gazlog reports, the alleged production halt is as a result of oversupply of the entry-level GPUs.

This production and supply pause means that third-party GPU vendors will not receive 5060 Ti GPUs during this pause, although production is slated to resume in May. The running theory is that the oversupply is causing prices of the 5060 to decline, and the production pause would create artificial scarcity and return the prices to previous levels. Curiously, this news comes hot on the heels of news that NVIDIA may be launching a new 9 GB variant of the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti near Computex around May or June. It should be pointed out that this is merely a rumor and may not come to pass at all, although leaks that come out of Board Channels generally do carry a decent amount of weight.

Alienware, in collaboration with Team Liquid, has introduced its first custom keycap and mousepad collection, themed around the Star Wars universe. The set is designed primarily for the Alienware Pro Series keyboards, but remains compatible with most modern layouts. The keycap set uses Cherry-profile, MX-compatible PBT caps with dye-sublimated legends, and includes a 143-key base kit (141 for the space graphic set). Coverage extends to standard ANSI layouts and basic UK ISO support, including common 6.25u bottom rows. While built with the Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard in mind, a 75% board using pre-lubricated linear switches with a 40 g actuation force, the set should work with a wide range of mechanical keyboards.

Alongside the keycaps, Alienware and Team Liquid are offering four matching mousepads themed around locations from the Star Wars universe, including Endor, Dagobah, Kamino, and a generic Galactic Conflict scene. The artwork draws inspiration from concepts by Ralph McQuarrie, whose illustrations played a key role in the visual identity of the original Star Wars trilogy. The mousepads measure 88.9 x 40.64 x 0.3 cm, feature a cloth surface with stitched edges and an anti-slip rubber base. The keycap set is priced at $75, the mousepads at $40 and both are available on the Team Liquid US official website.

Since Bungie launched Marathon, there have been two main camps in the online discussions about the new extraction shooter—those praising the game's PvP focus and those begging for more PvE action. With Marathon's latest update, however, Bungie has introduced a new mechanic to appease those in the latter camp. The C.A.R.R.I. Protocol is a new mechanic that encourages co-operative play, rewarding solo players and cooperative crews for completing objectives and extracting together. The system will reward cooperative players with CyberAcme Commendations, which is a new currency for players to spend in the C.A.R.R.I. Armory, and the rewards will focus on making the game less punishing for new and intermediate players.

CyberAcme Commendations are earned when players complete contract objectives in a crew or when solo players complete contract objectives or extract solo, and bonus Commendations will be rewarded for extracting with other players. The C.A.R.R.I. Armory contains a rotation of weapons, Salvage Crates with Salvage or Reputation, and other upgrades, and there will be daily deals in the armory. The C.A.R.R.I. Protocol will be active starting with Patch 1.0.6 and run until the end of Season 1. In addition to the new rewards, Marathon players will now also have access to Mercy Kit, which is a med kit designed specifically to healed down players not in your squad. The idea is that, if players decide to form an allegiance with another player they've already downed, they can revive the player and turn them into an ally. This depends on proximity chat, which is now easier to use with a new "toggle to open" function that also launches in the same update.

NVIDIA today announced the world's first family of open source quantum AI models, NVIDIA Ising, designed to help researchers and enterprises build quantum processors capable of running useful applications. To achieve useful quantum applications at scale, significant breakthroughs are needed in quantum processor calibration and quantum error correction. AI is key for turning today's quantum processors into large-scale, reliable computers. Open models empower developers to build high-performance AI while maintaining total control over their data and infrastructure.

Named after a landmark mathematical model that dramatically simplified the understanding of complex physical systems, the NVIDIA Ising family provides high-performance, scalable AI tools for quantum error correction and calibration — two of the most critical challenges in building hybrid-quantum classical systems. Ising models run the world's best quantum processor calibration and enable researchers to tackle much larger, more complex problems with quantum computers by delivering up to 2.5x faster performance and 3x higher accuracy for the decoding process needed for quantum error correction.

Sony recently announced sweeping price increases for the PlayStation 5, which meant that, as of April 2, the PS5 base would cost $649.99, while the Digital Edition would cost $599.99, and the PS5 Pro rose to a whopping $899.99. According to industry analyst, Mat Piscatella of Circana Reseach, the announcement of a price increase resulted in a buying rush for the PlayStation 5 towards the end of March and during the first week of April.

As a result of this buying rush, PlayStation 5 sales reached an annual high for 2026 during the first week of April. The increase in sales amounted to a nearly 100% increase in year-over-year console hardware sales when compared to the same week in 2025. Part of this increase in sales can almost certainly be explained by the threat of further price increases down the line, which are expected to result in launch pricing of the PS6 sitting at around $800. With no end to the current DRAM supply issues in sight, it makes sense that some prospective PS5 buyers would want to get hold of the hardware before they are priced out, although it remains to be seen how Sony plays the launch of the PS6.

Book of Travels is a highly stylized "serene" MMO that launched to Steam Early Access in October 2021. Despite an interesting concept, standout art style, and the developer's best efforts, Book of Travels has mostly failed to meet the lofty expectations the studio set for the game, with the studio, Might and Delight, having laid off more than half its staff shortly after a challenging launch. Since then, player counts have dwindled, ultimately resulting in an announcement on 15 April that the servers for Book of Travels will be shut down on July 31, 2026.

Book of Travels will not be shutting down, however. Instead, Might and Delight has issued an update to implement an offline mode and make the game more friendly to single-player gameplay. The studio has also opened the game up to the modding community and added a modding channel to the official Discord in order to work with the modding community on mod support. Book of Travels will also transition from being an Early Access title to being a complete game, and Might and Delight has reduced the price from $29.99 to $4.99. The studio notes that "We are truly sad that this project didn't become all that we wanted it to be. We hope that with this last push, the game can be as good as it possibly could be given the circumstances, and that it can continue to be played for a long time."

GMKtec showcased its latest AI-focused mini PC workstations based on Intel and AMD platforms at an AliExpress event in Shenzhen. The current lineup builds on the EVO-T2 series introduced in mid-March during Intel's Core Ultra (Panther Lake) launch event in Shanghai. The EVO-T2S is based on the Core Ultra X7 358H, featuring a 16-core design and up to 180 TOPS of AI compute. The system pairs LPDDR5X-8533 memory with Phison aiDAPTIV+ PCIe 5.0 SSDs and uses a vapor-chamber cooling solution for up to 60 W. It is positioned for local AI inference workloads, including large language models, alongside general high-end desktop use. The AMD-based EVO-X2 series is pretty well known as it was launched a year ago using the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor with 16 cores, 32 threads, and an XDNA 2 NPU rated at up to 126 TOPS. It supports up to 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory, includes 10 GbE networking, and is designed to handle both AI workloads and GPU-accelerated applications, with multi-display support for up to four 4K outputs.

What's more interesting is how pricing has changed for those Mini PCs since the initial announcements. The EVO-X2 originally launched last year with the top-end 128 GB model starting at $1,999, is now listing the 64 GB + 1 TB configuration at $1,999, while the 128 GB + 2 TB variant now reaches $3,299. On the Intel side, the EVO-T2S with Core Ultra X7 358H, 64 GB RAM, and 1 TB storage is currently listed at $1,899, discounted from an earlier $2,399 price point. Worth mentioning that GMKtec isn't yet listing other memory options, other than the 64 GB for its EVO-T2S, neither availability nor pricing for the Core Ultra X9 388H model.

At Slimbook, we continue working to take our systems to the next level. That's why we are pleased to announce a new partnership agreement with PNY Technologies, one of the most internationally recognized manufacturers of memory, storage solutions, and graphics cards. Since 2015, Slimbook has established itself as a leading Spanish brand in the design and development of optimized computers, especially valued for their compatibility with Linux distributions and their focus on performance and reliability.

Thanks to this new collaboration, PNY becomes a technology partner and key component supplier for Slimbook systems, including:

• High-performance NVMe SSDs
• DRAM memory modules
• NVIDIA GeForce and NVIDIA RTX graphics cards

CTL, an EdTech lifecycle products and services provider, announced today the launch of its new CTL Chromebook PX112C Series with integrated 5G, 4G LTE, and CBRS connectivity. By supporting both cellular and private wireless networks, this new Chromebook brings instant-on connection to students for learning anywhere—eliminating the logistical burden of external hotspots.

The new CTL Chromebook PX112C Series is one of the first of its kind to feature next-generation, power-efficient 5G technology designed specifically to maximize battery life and performance for students. There are a myriad of use cases for student learning via a connectivity-enabled Chromebook, including:

OXS today announced the official launch of the Thunder Duo X and Thunder Duo, a groundbreaking 5.1.2-channel, studio-grade gaming speaker that brings true Dolby Atmos immersion to desktop setups for the first time. Fresh off a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and high-profile showcases at IFA and Gamescom 2025, the Thunder Duo arrives as the new flagship of OXS's rapidly expanding gaming and home-audio portfolio. Designed to deliver cinematic sound without the complexity of ceiling speakers or virtual surround workarounds, Thunder Duo creates a genuine 360-degree audio environment through its upward-firing sky channels, coaxial front drivers, and the proprietary Xspace spatial audio engine.

The Thunder Duo range is available in two distinct configurations. The Thunder Duo serves as the 3.1.2 channel foundation, delivering 110 W RMS (220 W peak) of room-filling sound across spaces up to 220 square feet. Engineered for both gamers and creators, the Thunder Duo lineup achieves studio-grade accuracy with alloy magnet drivers, dual DSP processing, and fluid-dynamics bass ports. Distortion stays under 0.5%, achieving the standard of studio speakers. Every element-from gunfire and footsteps to cinematic scores and subtle audio cues-emerges with audiophile clarity. For those looking for an even more immersive experience, the Thunder Duo X expands immersion to a full 5.1.2 system with a wireless headrest satellite neck speaker, offering authentic rear-channel surround that moves seamlessly with the listener.

The Schenker CONNECT 15 stands out in the office laptop segment thanks to its advanced network connectivity and a variety of external ports. Notable features include an integrated Smart Card reader, an easily swappable battery and an optional LTE module that enables mobile network access via a nano SIM card. The 15.6-inch laptop is powered by the energy-efficient Intel Core 5 120U processor, supports up to 64 GB of socketed DDR5 RAM, and includes advanced security features for use in corporate and public sector environments.

Schenker CONNECT 15 with Intel Core 5 120U and up to 64 GB RAM
Compared to the established WORK and WORK Base series, the 15.6-inch Schenker CONNECT 15 (E26) offers a range of additional functional features. Its plastic chassis measures 361 x 239 x 21 mm and weighs 1.75 kg.

With the DeltaMate GPU Block Astral - ROG 5080, Thermal Grizzly introduces a GPU water block with a viewing window made of Schott BOROFLOAT glass. Borosilicate glass refracts the light of the integrated RGB lighting differently than acrylic glass, making the new GPU block a visual highlight. In addition, the glass is less susceptible to alcohol-based cleaners.

The design of the DeltaMate GPU Block Astral - ROG 5080 water block is otherwise identical to other water blocks in the DeltaMate series and therefore shares their features:

• Ultra-High-Performance microfins with 0.2 mm structure width
• Full-metal construction with RGB-illuminated viewing window
• Targeted cooling of all VRAM and VRM components
• Configurable with Through Terminal (4-port) or Direct Terminal (2-port) made of brass
• Thermal paste, thermal pads, and putty included in the scope of delivery

Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, continues to advance immersive sim racing experiences with the launch of the XRW-G1 GT Steering Wheel and XRP-L1 Loadcell Pedal Set. Designed for competitive sim racers who demand uncompromising precision, realism, and customization, these two new products further expand the Thermaltake Sim Racing System and deliver professional grade control engineered for podium level performance.

XRW-G1 GT Steering Wheel - Ultimate Control
The XRW-G1 GT Steering Wheel is designed for sim racers who demand precision, comfort, and deep immersion. Featuring a 300 mm GT-style layout, the wheel blends CNC-machined aluminium, carbon fiber, and reinforced polymer to achieve a rigid yet lightweight construction that ensures consistent control during endurance races and high intensity sprint sessions.

MSI, a global leader in gaming, content creation, and business & productivity laptops, proudly introduced the redesigned Raider and Crosshair gaming laptop series, built for gamers seeking high-performance 16-inch laptops with the latest Intel Core Ultra 200HX Plus processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs. The new lineup delivers up to 300 W combined CPU and GPU power on select Raider models and up to 200 W on select Crosshair models, alongside upgraded cooling, OLED display options, and rear I/O for cleaner cable management. These models set a new benchmark as the most powerful gaming laptops in the industry.

MSI has also upgraded its existing 18-inch gaming lineup, including the Titan 18, Raider 18 Max, and Stealth 18. In addition to featuring the Intel Core Ultra 200HX Plus processors, users can experience ultra-smooth visuals through top-tier specifications such as a 4K 240 Hz Mini LED display.

MSI has announced the launch of the Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG, a powerful and ultra-compact 0.51-liter Copilot+ PC designed to deliver advanced AI capabilities and enterprise-ready connectivity for modern business environments. This device is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, providing efficient on-device AI performance while maintaining exceptional power efficiency within a remarkably small footprint.

To enhance multitasking workflows, the Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG is equipped with dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, supporting up to four simultaneous displays to boost productivity and deliver an immersive visual experience. Additionally, it features dual 2.5G Ethernet ports, ensuring secure, high-speed networking for enterprise deployments, digital signage, and edge computing applications.

Valve is implementing a number of new changes to its Steam platform, all aimed at enhancing the quality of the user experience for gamers. One of the latest updates involves adding a 30-day price history to all listed games. This feature will allow buyers to see if a game's price has changed recently, promoting greater transparency. Previously, gamers had to rely on third-party tools like SteamDB to track price fluctuations over time. Now, the Steam platform itself is set to include price tracking, integrating this functionality directly. This update will also highlight when a game is on discount, the percentage drop compared to its launch price, and how it compares to its price over the last 30 days. Gamers will be able to use these metrics to decide whether to wait for a Steam Sale or purchase the game immediately if it's a good deal.

Additionally, Valve is reportedly developing the SteamGPT AI system to assist with customer support queries, covering issues such as refunds, platform problems, and payment processing, among others. There is also talk of a new "Frame Estimator" tool that can predict your PC's performance before you buy a game. While Valve hasn't confirmed these features or provided a timeline for their release, these developments suggest preparations for future updates, which could be unveiled soon. Below is a sample price tracker from SteamDB for NBA 2K26 game, as we could see something similar on the main Steam platform soon.

Elon Musk announced today on X that Tesla has completed the design of a new generation of its AI chips for Full Self-Driving (FSD). The CEO also mentioned earlier that the AI5 chip will offer performance comparable to NVIDIA's "Hopper" architecture, with two AI5 units matching the power of a single "Blackwell" processor. In late 2025, reports indicated that Samsung had achieved a significant win for its previously struggling foundry business, as Tesla decided to split the manufacturing of its new AI5 accelerator between Samsung and TSMC. The chips will be produced at Samsung's plant in Taylor, Texas, and TSMC's facility in Arizona. This decision is part of a strategy to keep the supply chain diversified and maintain chip supply under control for any demand scenario.

Samsung and TSMC are not the only partners in this project. Tesla is also sourcing DRAM chips from SK hynix, which appear to be LPDDR5X memory integrated into the package. On both the left and right sides, there are two rows of SK hynix LPDDR5X memory modules, each with three modules. This totals 12 LPDDR5X memory modules per AI5 chip. With 16 GB per module, this results in 192 GB of LPDDR5X memory per single AI5 SoC.

In the latest Q1 2026 quarterly figures, ASML announced plans to ship over 60 EUV units this year, including both High-NA and Low-NA EUV lithography scanners. This is a significant increase from the 48 units shipped in 2025, but it doesn't break any records compared to the company's expectations for 2027. ASML predicts shipping about 80 EUV systems in 2027, driven by massive demand from memory makers. As memory has become the most sought-after commodity in AI data centers, there is simply not enough supply to meet demand. In Q1 2026, ASML reported that nearly half—45% to be precise—of its revenue came from South Korea.

While ASML hasn't provided specific data per manufacturer, we know that South Korean semiconductor makers primarily focus on memory, storage, and to a lesser extent, logic production. More than half of the quarterly shipments, at 51%, are dedicated to memory production. Companies like SK hynix and Samsung are purchasing many EUV systems to support their growing memory and storage businesses, which include the latest technologies like GDDR6, HBM3, HBM4, and DDR4/DDR5, all consumed by AI data centers worldwide. SK hynix plans to install 20 Low-NA EUV units in the next two years, all designed for HBM memory and advanced storage solutions, making SK hynix one of ASML's largest customers.

AMD's China store on JD has just started accepting pre-orders for the upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition desktop processor. Priced at an MSRP of $899, this model is $200 more expensive than the launch MSRP of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. In China, AMD's store requires pre-orders with a deposit of 100 RMB, which counts as 300 RMB towards the final payment due to the "early bird" pre-order benefit. The final payment will be made on April 22, the planned retail launch date. Additionally, at launch, the processor will be available both as retail PIB (processor in box) packages and as part of pre-built gaming desktops by popular OEMs and system integrators. Currently, no Western stores offer pre-orders for this CPU, either in the United States or Europe. Most likely, these stores will start accepting orders on April 22. Some, like B&H, have a placeholder to notify customers when it becomes available.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is a 16-core, 32-thread processor built on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture and features 3D V-Cache technology, with stacked 3D V-Cache on both of its 8-core chiplets. This configuration results in an on-package L3 cache of 192 MB and a total cache (L2+L3) of 208 MB. In comparison, the 9950X3D has 3D V-Cache on only one of its two CCDs and relies on software-based OS scheduler guidance to ensure gaming workloads are directed to the CCD with 3D V-Cache. As a result, this new processor is more suited for productivity and workstation tasks, while the 9950X3D remains focused on gaming. Aside from the cache differences, the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is mostly similar to the 9950X3D, except its maximum boost frequency is 5.60 GHz, which is 100 MHz lower than the 9950X3D, and it has a higher TDP of 200 W compared to the 170 W of the 9950X3D. While technically compatible with any Socket AM5 motherboard, support requires UEFI firmware updates from motherboard vendors.

During a media tour at Lexar HQ in China, Digital Foundry spoke with Lexar's Europe General Manager, Grace Su, who explained what gamers are buying and where they are willing to compromise. Interestingly, Lexar found that, despite the pricing of DRAM and NAND Flash, users could purchase lower-capacity RAM kits without issues, while SSDs with capacities lower than 512 GB weren't selling well. Although this is not a direct comparison, when building a new PC system, you need both a RAM kit and an SSD. Based on their budget, enthusiasts often have to decide between a larger SSD or a bigger RAM kit. However, Lexar reports that users are so committed to having larger SSD space that they are even willing to revert to HDDs rather than buy an SSD smaller than 512 GB. This is understandable, considering that modern games can take up hundreds of gigabytes of space.

Currently, high RAM prices are driving PC gamers to invest considerably more in their gaming rigs to play smoothly. As 16 GB is somewhat considered the minimum for a Windows 11 system, some games and tasks are so demanding that PC DIY enthusiasts need to invest in 32 GB kits at prices that were unimaginable just a year ago. For example, we reported on the DDR4 spot market pricing, which saw the cost of a single 16 Gb module increase by about 2,200% over the past year, with only a minor 5% correction in March. We can only hope for more corrections soon so that PC gamers can finally see signs of relief, but with AI demand projected to continue rising, that seems far from reality.

By now, the legal debacle between the founders of Subnautica developer, Unknown Worlds, and Krafton, the studio's parent company and the game's now-former publisher, is public knowledge, with the situation ultimately culminating in the ousted founder and CEO of Unknown Worlds being reinstated by a judge in a recent legal decision. Following that legal drama and a Subnautica 2 release date leak, which was heavily criticized by the returning founder Ted Gill, it appears as though Unknown Worlds has broken with Krafton as the publisher for Subnautica 2.

A quick look at the survival game's Steam Store page reveals that Unknown Worlds Entertainment is now listed as both the developer and the publisher of Subnautica 2. The same is true for the game's Epic Games Store page, where the publisher now also reads Unknown Worlds Entertainment. It's a rather curious turn of events, given the nature of the relationship between Krafton and Unknown Worlds—Krafton being Unknown Worlds's parent company—and it brings up questions about the destiny of the game developer. At this point, it's unclear who cut who loose, but it remains to be seen how Unknown Worlds will handle the launch now that there is no dedicated publisher. It probably helps that Unknown Worlds is very deep into the development process for Subnautica 2, with the studio previously commenting that the game was ready for launch in 2025 already. In March 2025, however, the studio commented that the Early Access version of the game would not be a complete experience.

It was recently revealed that NVIDIA plans to launch a version of the RTX 5050 GPU with 9 GB of VRAM—three 3 GB modules of GDDR7 over a 96-bit bus and 336 GB/s total memory bandwidth. Now, according to a new leak by Hakuitado on the Board Channels forum (via Gazlog), NVIDIA is planning to make the same move with the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti in order to cater to budget consumers while avoiding high DRAM and BOM costs.

DRAM quantity aside, the move would also see NVIDIA decrease the bus width of the respective cards, going from 128-bit to 96-bit by using new 24 Gbit memory chips, resulting in an overall decrease in bandwidth and reduced memory performance. According to @harakuze5719 on X, the new 9 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti GPUs are slated to launch sometime between May and June, with a Computex launch seemingly likely.

It seems as though God of War studio, Santa Monica Studio, is slated for a busy time in the coming months and years, with recent rumors suggesting that there is another God of War game on the horizon, some even claiming that it may be announced as soon as April 2026. Not all that much is known about the new God of War game, but according to reporting by MP1st and Tom Henderson on the Insider Gaming podcast, it will not follow Kratos. Instead, the new spin-off, which does not yet have a name, will feature Týr and Faye, the erstwhile Norse god of war and Kratos's deceased wife. This suggests that the spin-off will be a prequel to the recent God of War 2018 and Ragnarök.

The reports make mention of a talking sword, which will apparently be Merlin from English legend, as well as elements from Japanese, Chinese, and possibly other East-Asian mythologies. According to Henderson, the next "mainline" God of War game was meant to be announced at an April Sony State of Play, and it is assumed that the spin-off with Faye will be the next mainline installment in the franchise. This news comes not too long after Santa Monica Studio and Sony announced that a remake of the original God of War trilogy was in the works at Santa Monica.

Keychron may be known for its mechanical and HE keyboards, but it has also recently made a name for itself in the mouse space with wireless mice like the M6 8K and M7 8K. Now, Keychron has launched two new gaming mice under the Keychron G3 name. The G3 is an ultra-light gaming mouse with a right-handed symmetrical design and two material options for the shell—a carbon fiber top and an ABS base or a translucent polycarbonate top and an ABS bottom. Both the carbon fiber and the translucent PC version of the Keychron G3 have the same shape, weight, and internals, so potential buyers have two aesthetic choices without giving up any performance or battery life. The Keychron G3 is available on the Keychron web store at $84.99 for the translucent PC version and $109.99 for the carbon fiber version.

The Keychron G3 uses a PixArt 3950 sensor, replete with 8 kHz polling, tri-mode wireless connectivity (2.4 GHz, Bluetooth 5.3, and USB-C), and a 500 mAh battery, which Keychron says offers up to 160 hours of use on a single charge. Keychron has not specified the test configuration, but it can usually be assumed that manufacturers test battery life over Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz at something like 1,000 Hz polling rate. Unlike many modern gaming mouse, but much like Keychron's other gaming mice, the G3 uses mechanical Huano Transparent Shell White Dot micro switches for the main clicks, meaning they have a 120 million-click rated MTBF, which is a step up from the Huano Transparent Blue Shell Pink Dot switches used in other Keychron mice, which were only rated to 80 million clicks.

YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp) is planning to significantly expand its manufacturing capacity, with Reuters reporting the Chinese NAND flash maker intends to build two additional factories on top of one already nearing completion. When all three are running at full capacity, YMTC's total output would more than double from its current 200,000 wafers per month to 400,000 wafers per month (each new plant is designed for 100,000 wafers monthly). The third fab, located in Wuhan alongside the existing two plants, has already been built and is currently being equipped. The fab is expected to start operations later this year and reach 50,000 wafers per month by 2027. Notably, over half of the equipment has been sourced domestically, including tooling for vertical layer stacking, a sign of how much YMTC has leaned into local suppliers since the US added it to the Entity List in December 2022. However, recently, the U.S. Government's Bureau of Industry and Security reportedly removed YMTC from the list of restricted Chinese companies.

The two planned factories don't yet have confirmed locations or target dates, but all three new plants will reportedly allocate some capacity to DRAM production alongside NAND. YMTC has already sent LPDDR samples to clients and expects feedback by year-end, which will shape how aggressively it pursues DRAM going forward. On the NAND side, YMTC already holds 11.8% of the global market, on par with Sandisk and not far behind SK Hynix (16%), Kioxia (15.9%), and Micron (13.3%), while Samsung leads at 30.4%. UBS expects the YMTC shares to pass 14% by early 2027. The company is pushing its Xtacking 4.0 architecture, which is considered competitive with what the industry leaders are shipping.

It's no secret that since the RTX 40-series GPUs launched, pushing the new 12VHPWR connectors to new heights, and again increasing power draw with the RTX 50-series, that premature failures have been high. However, Warranty Week has quantified NVIDIA's warranty expenses and total warranty claims, finding that the GPU maker saw a 1000% year-over-year increase in warranty expenditure in 2025. According to the analysis, NVIDIA paid out a whopping $894 million in warranty claims in 2025, compared to just $81 million in 2024. Part of the driving force behind the increased warranty payments is the recent spike in hardware prices, but much of it also has to do with increased warranty rates.

The analytics firm reports that NVIDIA's warranty claim rate rose to as much as 0.9% by Q4 2025, compared to just 0.17% in Q1. Although not quite as drastic, AMD, for its part, also saw an increased warranty rate, with rates climbing from 0.43% in 2024 to 0.68% in 2025. AMD's 2025 warranty claims totaled to $238 million, compared to $110 million in 2024, amounting to an increase of just over 100%. By the end of 2025, NVIDIA had increased its warranty reserves from $416 million to $2.59 billion, whereas AMD increased its warranty reserve balance from $310 million to $597 million.

After the success of the Forta Gaming Headset, GXTrust announces the launch of the highly anticipated Forta Wireless - an Official Licensed Product for PlayStation 5 consoles. With all of the premium features that gamers have come to expect from the Forta - immersive sound, seamless connection with their consoles, and ultra-comfortable design - this new edition gives players yet another ultimate feature: complete wireless freedom.

Designed specifically for PlayStation fans, the officially licensed Forta Wireless offers ultra-low latency lossless wireless connection via a 2.4G USB receiver, giving players the freedom to move, cheer, and enjoy with no cables getting in the way. What's more, with no lag, the Forta Wireless ensures precise actions and reactions, keeping gamers fully connected to every crucial moment.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Sony would be largely stepping away from porting its first-party games to PC, returning to console exclusives for its single-player games and only releasing multiplayer games across different platforms. Now, it seems as though Microsoft may be plotting or is at least considering a similar maneuver for its first-party Xbox Game Studios games. This is according to industry insider, Jez Cordon, on the Xbox Two Podcast. According to Corden, "there are very very very big discussions happening about the exclusivity stuff" internally at Microsoft. Corden goes on to explain that, despite Microsoft's recent moves away from platform exclusives, it recognizes the value in exclusive games—that is to say the value in keeping users largely locked into your gaming platform as opposed to being mostly a publishing and game development company.

Corden continues with a prediction that Microsoft will continue its shift away from Xbox gaming hardware—especially if it decides to move away from the platform approach and lean further into its game publishing business. Currently, the Xbox Helix is on the horizon, which is a hybrid game console that will run both PC and Xbox games, but that doesn't necessarily preclude Microsoft from launching exclusives; it just means that the exclusives would be PC and Xbox exclusives. This convergence of PC and Xbox has been echoed by other rumors that Microsoft may be combining Xbox and PC Game Pass subscriptions into one unified subscription service.

Shortly after announcing the OneXPlayer ONEXStation, powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, OneXPlayer is apparently planning to launch the OneXPlayer X2 Mini, a new gaming handheld powered by the same powerful AMD Strix Halo APU with its Radeon 8060S iGPU. The OneXPlayer X2 Mini features many of the same features and design cues as the X1 Pro that released in 2025, but in a more compact form factor, much like the OneXPlayer Apex that we saw at CES 2026. The new X2 Mini, however, also has a few upgrades over the Apex, including a slightly larger display, an optional exclusively air-cooled version, and a modular design. Pricing has not yet been revealed, although the X2 Mini is slated to launch on May 10.

According to a video posted by Nitrix on YouTube, the X2 Mini will have an 8.8-inch, 144 Hz, OLED display with VRR and HDR. It will feature an 85 Wh battery that is user-swappable, allowing users to keep an extra battery on-hand to swap in when the battery dies. The rest of the console is modular, as well. The detachable controllers will feature user-replaceable buttons, casings, joysticks, and vibration motors, and the display will also be user-serviceable. The Joy Con-like controllers will also have a frame to join the two halves into a single mini controller, and the X2 Mini will include two d-pad configurations—the standard cross and an octagonal pad, similar to Microsoft's Xbox Series Elite controller. One point of contention that has been mentioned on Reddit is that the X2 Mini will feature micro switches for the face buttons—although notably not the d-pad—which means the buttons will have lower travel and be slightly louder than a normal membrane switch. There will also be a magnetic connection with pogo pins to attach a keyboard accessory to the bottom of the gaming handheld. The full video showing off the device follows below.

Fedora 44 was meant to be launched today, April 14, 2026, but a gander at the Fedora developer mailing list reveals that the workstation Linux distribution will be delayed to April 21 at the earliest. Adam Williamson, the Fedora QA developer who made the announcement clarified in the email that the reason for the delay is a long list of outstanding blockers—bugs or broken features that are big enough to break the experience or prevent the launch of the OS—that nobody is willing to waive. These bugs include issues with KDE's plasma-setup network setup, the NVIDIA Mesa driver setup, KDE keyboard layout selection, the systemd-oomd.service, and Grub breaking booting to Windows systems with BitLocker enabled.

On the one hand, this means that gamers and workstation users on Fedora, and all of its various iterations, like Bazzite, Nobara, and Rocky Linux, will have to wait a longer for the new version, along with all of its bug fixes, the new kernel version 6.19, and promised new features. On the other hand, the delay will give the project's developers extra time to iron out those experience-breaking bugs and deliver a working operating system. Some of the highlights of Fedora 44 are a move to Gnome 50 and KDE Plasma 6.6, a streamlined install process, finalizing the move to Plasma Login Manager on KDE spins, and adding support for Budgie 10.10.

Each week, new games and apps integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. This week, PRAGMATA launches with path-traced effects, DLSS Multi Frame Generation and DLSS Ray Reconstruction, giving GeForce RTX gamers the definitive experience. Additionally, DLSS comes to Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, MONGIL: STAR DIVE, and Windrose this week. And INDUSTRIA 2 launches with DLSS 4.5 this month. And a new sci-fi first-person shooter called Fragmentary Order has been announced, which will launch with DLSS 4.5.

PRAGMATA GeForce RTX 50 Series Bundle Available Now, Ahead Of April 17th Launch, Featuring Path Tracing & DLSS
Set in the near future, CAPCOM's PRAGMATA transports players to a lunar research station. In the years since the discovery of Lunam Ore, humanity has developed Lunafilament, a material capable of replicating almost anything. One day without warning, Earth lost contact with the station dedicated to this Lunafilament, as all signals went dark.

Sony Electronics Inc. expands its INZONE gaming gear lineup with two new models: the INZONE H6 Wired Air open-back headset and the INZONE M10S II 27" QHD 540 Hz OLED gaming monitor, designed for players who prioritize precision and speed. The INZONE H6 Air introduces an open-back acoustic structure that delivers a more natural and expansive sound field. Paired with custom drivers and integrated back ducts, the headset produces controlled low frequencies and detailed spatial audio that helps players better track in-game environments.

Engineered in collaboration with Fnatic, the leading esports team, the INZONE M10S II combines a next-generation tandem-structured OLED display with Dual Mode (QHD 540 Hz or HD 720 Hz), an ultra-fast 0.02 ms response time, advanced Motion Blur Reduction (MBR) and a Super Anti-glare Film—all designed to ensure peak esports performance.

STORMCRAFT PC, the Southern California gaming PC brand founded by gamers and engineers, today announced the launch and retail availability of its new Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus gaming desktop lineup. Designed for gaming, streaming, content creation, and PC upgrades, the new prebuilt gaming PC family combines the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus processor with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5070, and RTX 5060 Ti graphics across four STORMCRAFT series: WIZARD WHITE, PHANTOM, SKYHAWK, and FALCON. With up to 24 cores, up to 5.5 GHz max turbo frequency, Intel AI Boost, DDR5 memory, Gen 4 SSD storage, and premium cooling, the lineup is built to give gamers, creators, enthusiasts, and hardcore players a stronger path to next-generation desktop performance.

"With this Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus launch, we wanted to bring customers a meaningful upgrade for better gaming and multitasking experiences," said Frank Lee, Founder of STORMCRAFT PC. "This new lineup combines the latest Intel platform with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics, giving gamers and creators more performance, faster responsiveness, and a wider range of system options across different price points. From our flagship WIZARD WHITE build to more accessible upgrade-ready desktops, every STORMCRAFT PC is built in Southern California and backed by lifetime tech support from our team."

Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH (Toshiba) has unveiled a metallic blue casing for its Canvio Flex 2.5-inch portable hard disk drive (HDD). The new color adds a fresh look to the range, alongside the original warm silver option. The new metallic blue model will be available exclusively across EMEA.

Available in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacities, the Canvio Flex is designed for easy storage across multiple devices. Pre-formatted with exFAT, it works seamlessly with Windows PCs and Macs, as well as with compatible Android and iOS tablets and smartphones, without requiring reformatting.

NVIDIA today announced that it is bundling "Pragmata," the new Sci-Fi action adventure game, with new purchases of GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" graphics cards from its various add-in card partners, new notebooks with RTX 50-series gaming GPUs, and pre-built desktops with RTX 50-series graphics cards. From a technical standpoint, "Pragmata" is a pioneering game as it is the first to implement path-tracing with Neural Rendering for more visual realism. It also implements DLSS 4 upscaling, and multi-frame generation. The giveaway is available to select markets, select brands, and through participating retailers.

The offer is limited to one Steam code per customer (buying multiple graphics cards don't get you multiple keys). Eligible products include GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 on the desktop platform; and RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU, and RTX 5070 Laptop GPU, for gaming notebooks with discrete GPUs. Certain pre-built desktops with eligible graphics cards may also be part of the offer.

Kensington, a worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business, and home office professionals, today announced the expansion of its VeriMark security portfolio with the launch of two new NFC+ hardware security keys: VeriMark NFC+ USB-C Security Key (K64739WW) and VeriMark NFC+ USB-A Security Key (K64738WW).

Both models are FIDO2 Level 2 certified and support the latest FIDO CTAP 2.1 protocol, delivering enterprise-grade, phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA) and passwordless login protection across modern cloud and web-based services.

Endorfy expands its lineup with the brand's first-ever showcase-style cases, featuring tempered glass panels (a flat side panel and a curved front). Inspired by 1960s design, the Aquarius 8000 series combines a distinctive look with extensive configuration options, from gaming setups to modern workstations. The lineup includes the Aquarius 8000 Corona and Aquarius 8000 Flex. Both stand out with a slim profile and broad compatibility, supporting graphics cards up to 450 mm, radiators up to 420 mm, and up to ten fans. This level of flexibility allows you to build advanced cooling systems tailored to different use cases. The Aquarius 8000 Corona variant comes equipped with four of the latest Endorfy Corona 120 ARGB fans: three Reverse and one standard which launch alongside the cases and are also available separately. The designs support motherboards in SSI-CEB (E-ATX up to 280 mm), ATX, microATX, and Mini-ITX formats.

The Aquarius 8000 series sets a new standard for showcase PC case design, combining its signature form with the ease of installation known from classic layouts with a bottom-mounted PSU. The design is built around a balance of form and function: large, perforated surfaces and fans work together to deliver both efficient airflow and a striking visual effect. Additional space in the lower section is dedicated to a tool-free drive mounting system with vibration damping; ideal for users who value refined acoustics and thoughtful design.

Blackmagic Design today announced DaVinci Resolve 21, a significant update introducing the new Photo page, which enables colorists and photographers to use Hollywood's most advanced color tools for still photos. Other updates include new AI tools such as IntelliSearch for fast content searching, CineFocus for focal point adjustment, tools for facial refinement, and more. The Krokodove toolset adds over 70 new graphics to Fusion, Fairlight folders simplify audio track management, plus there are improvements to keyframing, MultiMaster trim passes, layer list node graphs and more. DaVinci Resolve 21 public beta is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design web site.

DaVinci Resolve's powerful post-production workflow now fully integrates photo image editing. The new Photo page lets customers import and manage photographs, integrating with the color page for node based grading. Now colorists and photographers can use Hollywood color grading tools on still images. Use primary color correction, curves, qualifiers, power windows and node editor to adjust color in artistic ways across an entire project. Plus, customers can use a DaVinci color panel to adjust multiple parameters at once.

A new Full HD gaming monitor joins the Philips Evnia 5000 series with a focus on high refresh performance, motion clarity, and an immersive lighting experience.

Philips Evnia adds the 27M2N5201P to its line-up, targeting competitive gamers who want high frame rates without moving beyond Full HD. The monitor features a 27-inch Fast IPS panel with a refresh rate of up to 260 Hz. With up to 1 ms GtG response time and 0.3 ms Smart MBR, it ensures maximum visibility during high-speed action. The feature set is completed by HDR10 support, AdaptiveSync, Low Input Lag, and the Philips Evnia Precision Center software.

The industrial world is transforming fast. As AI moves from the cloud to the edge, demand is rising for high-performance, low-latency computing that can operate reliably in real environments—powering everything from real-time defect detection in smart factories to advanced patient monitoring in healthcare. Edge AI needs hardware that's both intelligent and resilient. To meet this shift, GIGAIPC introduces a versatile lineup of motherboards based on Intel Core Ultra desktop processors (Series 2), enabling flexible system designs across diverse industrial scenarios and helping businesses deploy AI-ready solutions at scale.

Accelerating Industrial AI with Intel Core Ultra Series
Built around the Intel Core Ultra desktop processor (Series 2), this platform brings higher efficiency, stronger performance, and expanded connectivity to industrial and edge applications. This new architecture reduces package power by up to 58% in typical workloads, enabling IPC and embedded system developers to build more energy-efficient, thermally optimized, and reliable products for space-constrained and demanding environments. At the same time, performance improves over the previous generation, with up to 6% faster single-thread and up to 14% faster multi-thread performance to support real-time control, edge analytics, and multitasking workloads. Furthermore, the Intel 800 Series chipset extends platform compatibility with up to 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes, 8 SATA 3.0 ports, and 10 USB 3.2 ports, empowering industrial systems with superior scalability for I/O expansion, storage, and diverse connectivity.

ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., a leading global provider of memory and storage solutions, today announced the launch of the URBAN TAPSAFE External SSD, marking the debut of its new URBAN series. Inspired by the rhythm of modern urban life, the URBAN series is designed to deliver flexible, efficient storage tailored to today's mobile users. The URBAN TAPSAFE combines high-speed performance with an intuitive NFC tap unlock mechanism, integrating powerful data protection into a compact and lightweight design. It enables users to securely access and manage important data with ease across a wide range of on-the-go scenarios.

Intuitive and Secure Sharing: NFC Tap Unlock and Multi-User Management
As mobile work and real-time content creation continue to grow, the need for both data security and seamless access has become increasingly critical. The URBAN TAPSAFE uses a dedicated companion app to transform your smartphone into a personalized security key. Users can unlock the drive with a simple tap, eliminating the hassle of passwords and streamlining workflows. It also supports multi-user management for up to nine people, with customizable 'Read-Only' or 'Read/Write' permissions. Whether for personal use or team collaboration, it ensures both convenience and data protection. For added security, the device automatically locks when disconnected from the smartphone, effectively preventing unauthorized access.

Yesterday, SemiAccurate posted a rumor that NVIDIA was planning to acquire a large PC maker, which would have reshaped its position within the PC space. However, it turns out the rumor is not true. NVIDIA issued a statement to CNBC saying, "The media report is false; NVIDIA is not engaged in discussions to acquire any PC maker." This brief statement effectively shuts down the rumors, suggesting that NVIDIA does not plan to go through with such an acquisition, even if it might have been considered in the past. Large corporations, especially with NVIDIA's $4.6 trillion market capitalization, are always looking to expand their business in areas where they are dominant and enter new markets where they could capture a significant share. NVIDIA holds a strong position in the dedicated GPU market, with about 94% market share among AIB GPU shipments.

The company is also looking to enter the laptop space with the upcoming N1/N1X SoCs, which would allow NVIDIA to tap into a completely new segment among PC users. In this context, acquiring a PC company would be a logical move, but it would present significant regulatory hurdles, as the company might not get approval from market regulators in the United States, European Union, and other regions. Now that we know the rumor is not true, we are waiting to see if any more rumors emerge about which company might have been the potential target. For now, we are refraining from making definitive claims or pointing fingers at any specific company.

Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 400 Series "Nova Lake-S" desktop processors are set to launch in the second half of this year, marking what seems to be the company's most ambitious lineup yet. Recently, new rumors have emerged suggesting that Intel is also working on a "Nova Lake-S" desktop APU featuring 12 Xe3P graphics cores. This configuration is expected to deliver graphics performance similar to the Arc B390 integrated GPU found in "Panther Lake," albeit with a slight twist in the overall GPU core design. We've already covered a recent leak detailing the entire Core Ultra 400 Series "Nova Lake-S" desktop lineup, but it seems Intel is developing and testing more in its labs than initially anticipated. Readers may recall brief rumors about a variant called "Nova Lake-AX," which was rumored to feature a single compute tile with eight "Coyote Cove" P-cores and 16 "Arctic Wolf" E-cores, along with a four-core LPE island, totaling 28 cores. The iGPU configuration for this variant was said to include 48 Xe3 cores, potentially making it one of the most powerful APUs ever.

However, since the "Nova Lake-AX" appears to be on hold, Intel is preparing other solutions with less powerful GPU configurations. According to a post by Jaykihn on X, the new desktop APU would feature four "Coyote Cove" P-cores, eight "Arctic Wolf" E-cores, and four LPE-cores. This 4+8+4 configuration would be paired with 12 Xe3P cores, which are slightly different from the regular Xe3 cores used in the standard "Nova Lake-S" desktop processors. Intel's lineup is becoming somewhat confusing, but it seems the main lineup will consist of standard desktop series split into several SKUs with high core counts and bLLC, or the newly rumored SKU with more Xe3P cores and fewer CPU cores, similar to AMD's Ryzen G-Series of desktop APUs. Do note that the image below is just an illustration, and not the actual render.

We've already seen large swathes of the PC hardware market get drastically affected by the ongoing DRAM and general hardware crisis, from Valve's upcoming Steam Machine to pre-built desktop PCs. Now, it seems as though it's Microsoft's turn with its Surface device line-up, which has seen a price increase of anywhere between $200 and $500, depending on the exact model. The price increases mean that the 13-inch Surface Pro with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X SoC, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage increases by $300 to $1,499; while the 12-inch Surface Pro with the Snapdragon X, 16 GB RAM, and 256 GB of storage increases from $799 to $1,049; the 13-inch Surface Laptop with the Snapdragon X Plus, 16 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD increases from $899 to $1,199; the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop with the same SoC and RAM but 512 GB of storage increases from $1,199 to $1,499; and the Surface Laptop 15-inch with the Snapdragon X Elite SoC, 16 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of SSD storage sees a price hike from $1,499 to $1,599.

Microsoft confirmed in a statement to Windows Central that the price increases were a direct result of the current hardware constraints, with a Microsoft representative stating "Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current‑generation hardware portfolio. We remain committed to delivering value to customers and partners while upholding our standards for quality and innovation." This news comes just after we reported that DDR4 spot prices have seen a marginal decrease. Microsoft's Surface line-up has never been the best value when it comes to Windows laptops, and they'll likely be an even tougher sell after the price hikes, especially with Apple's recent introduction of the hyper-popular $600 MacBook Neo and with the somewhat limited app and feature support that comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon SoCs and Windows on Arm.

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