A new messaging bug can glitch up and soft-brick your PS4, forcing a factory reset.

Multiple Reddit posts report a new frustrating PlayStation Network bug that can essentially temporarily break your PS4's firmware. According to the posts, receiving and opening the message is enough to bug out your PS4 console's internal software and cause it to stop functioning. Malicious gamers are sending out the post en masse via group chats, so be sure to set your settings to private as soon as possible.

The offending messages apparently have the word "Juegas" and a strange symbol that can't be recognized by the PS4. Once the message is opened the PS4 crashes and users typically have to start in Safe Mode and rebuild the database. You can circumvent this by checking all messages via PlayStation.com or the PlayStation App, or setting your PSN account privacy to restrict all incoming messages.

Google debuted its new Google Home Hub last week alongside the new Pixel 3 and Pixel XL 3 smartphones, with Google Home Hub coming in at $149... and yet less than a week later Home Depot has it for $99 with free shipping.

The new Google Home Hub is a small smart display with a 7-inch touchscreen panel that is perfect for videos or social media at the kitchen bench, or in bed. It rocks all of the latest Google Home features, with Home View, the new dashboard from Google that lets you control and manage smart devices in your house.

Buy the new Google Home Hub from Home Depot for $99 right here.

I'm sure you've probably been reading the drama from Intel's who-knows-WTF-they're-doing benchmark data that was completed (paid job from Intel) by Principled Technologies.

PT provided benchmarks between Intel's new Core i9-9900K processor and ran them against a few of AMD's best CPUs in the form of Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX, Ryzen Threadripper 2950X and the 8C/16T competing chip against the 9900K in the form of the Ryzen 7 2700X.

But what happened is that PT's data was beyond ridiculous, with the company disabling half of the Ryzen 7 2700X processor cores, destroying the memory controller with a bad RAM configuration (ridiculous timings, which drags performance down on Ryzen) and more. But the data PT provided gave Intel the marketing bragging rights of the Core i9-9900K "being up to 50 percent faster than 2700X at gaming".

Capcom, like any big-name publisher or games developer, has a strong layered business model that includes multiple focuses like new IPs, re-releases and remasters, and new mainline titles.

Capcom is doing quite well for itself and is keen on keeping this lofty position for as long as possible. Monster Hunter: World is a roaring success with over 8.3 million copies sold globally, and helped push Capcom's Q1'18 profits by a mighty 647%. But the company hopes this is just the beginning.

To ensure long-term success Capcom will have a tiered business model. New releases in its strongest franchises like Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter will be the stars of each fiscal year, with catalog sales, re-masters, and re-releases acting as supplementary revenue generators. New DLC such as paid expansions or free updates will help push catalog engagement while Capcom reaches far back into its games vault to throw out remasters and collections on platforms like the Nintendo Switch.

The clock has struck midnight Eastern Time and the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is now live on the PC. If you've been watching launch streams on Twitch and YouTube and have decided to make the plunge, the best legitimate deal online as of writing is at digital retailer Green Man Gaming, where they are offering a limited time release week deal on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for 15% off.

Given GMG is an authorized Activision Blizzard retailer - this is one of the few places online where you can scoop up the Battle.net key at a discount. You'll need to act fast though because as of writing it appears the deal will end later today on release date (GMG is likely changing the discount from 15% to a more modest 7% to 10%, based on past experiences).

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 PC Deal (Battle.net Key)

NVIDIA has released a new set of GeForce drivers that have graphics optimizations for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and other games that are due out for release in the coming weeks.

The new GeForce 416.34 drivers have optimizations for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Soulcaliber VI, and GRIP. Soulcaliber VI is out next week while the release of GRIP is still a few weeks away. There are the usual bug fixes and issues solved, these include: fixes to the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and the random DPC watchdog error with multi-GPU setups on PLX-based motherboards. SLI and HDR in Battlefield 1 is fixed with menu errors when changing from 144Hz to 120Hz.

NVIDIA also took the time to warn of issues using GeForce Experience and the Alt-Z in-game overlay in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, with the company explaining:

Supermicro just launched four Z390 motherboards that are available to purchase as of today, with the fully loaded C9Z390-PGW leading the pack.

The mini-ITX C9Z390-CG-IW, the ATX C9Z390-CG, the loaded ATX C9Z390-CGW, and the fully loaded ATX C9Z390-PGW for those who want the most feature loaded Z390 we have yet to see. The high-end C9Z390-PGW features the iconic PEX8747, which is now sold by Broadcom and can increase PCI-E lane count from the CPU by 100%.

We get a total of 32 PCI-E 3.0 lanes attached to the chip, which is then attached to the CPU, and this will let you run two cards at x16/x16 or all slots at x8/x8/x8/x8 among other configurations. Supermicro has also revamped their UEFI BIOS, and they offer their SuperO Booster application that allows for simple and easy to use Windows based overclocking, fan control, and RGB LED control.

Destiny 2's big new Forsaken expansion-game-update-thing will soon come with all previous expansions for free (the way it should've been in the first place).

One of the most frustrating things about Destiny is the weird decision to gate off content behind expansions. If you don't buy the expansions, you're not just locked out of new content, but sometimes rotating weekly content too. So you're really pushed to buying the DLC. This happened in the original Destiny, and again in Destiny 2. But with Forsaken, Destiny 2 pulled a trick move that didn't give buyers access to the previous expansions for free. Unlike The Taken King, which rebooted Destiny the same way Forsaken did for Destiny 2, you had to pay for everything.

Now after constantly going back and forth between pissing off and delighting its playerbase, Bungie is redeeming itself again. Starting October 16 all Forsaken purchases will come with the Curse of Osiris and Warmind expansions for free, Bungie announced. If you've already purchased Forsaken and the expansions separately, well...you'll get some small tokens of appreciation like a shader, an emblem and emote, and some consumables. Boy am I glad I didn't buy Forsaken at launch. Don't worry, though, Activision has something else for you to buy like the $30 Forsaken season pass (yes, there's a season pass for an expansion).

Blizzard should unveil a bunch of new Diablo announcements at Blizzcon 2018, and there's a slim chance one of them is called Reign of Terror.

New merchandise spotted on the Blizzard Store could hint at a new Diablo game. Two pieces of the merch--a poster and a shirt--are called Diablo: Reign of Terror and show some snazzy new, non-Diablo III artwork of the Lord of Terror. Remember the last game had Diablo join with the Prime and Great Evils to become a monstrous conjoined demon. This art shows him all alone, hinting at new developments.

But at the same time this could simply be generic merch and nothing more. Reign of Terror could just be the general name for the art itself rather than a new game, and honestly I think this is more likely. Blizzard is known for teases--its Twitter advert shows four Diablo shotglasses which hint at Diablo IV--so it could go either way.

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey has lots of new features and tweaks, but one of the most satisfying has you flexing your mighty heroic calves.

I love it when games add over-the-top abilities that are as fun to use the first time as the 500th time. The latest ancient Greek-themed Assassin's Creed achieves this with its Spartan kick, which channels the machismo ridiculousness of the movie 300 and sends enemies into ragdolls while making you feel like a badass every single time you do it. And I mean every single time.

I probably use this ability more than any other (well besides Second Wind for obvious reasons) because it's so fun. It has a hugely practical use too: not only will it interrupt an enemy's power attack, but you can launch a poor hapless soul off the edge of a mountain and watch them fall like Wile E. Coyote. I've done this countless times and it just never ever gets old. Spartan kick is a gift that keeps on giving. It's been a weapon in my arsenal for survival right from the beginning, and has helped me fell foes two or sometimes even three levels higher than me. I've gotten into lots of shenanigans with mercenaries that've been quelled thanks to my proud Spartan legs.