Latest News - Page 13

Xbox's promise to "bet big" on The Elder Scrolls VI and other core franchises has collided with brutal reality as Bethesda Game Studios and id Software were hit hardest in the latest wave of layoffs.

Reports reveal that studios behind DOOM, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls have been decimated, with some teams nearly halved; id Software, the studio behind the DOOM franchise and its iconic idTech engine, reportedly lost most of its coders.

Bethesda, despite being a darling of Xbox, also saw significant cuts, which has now raised red flags for fans of the long-awaited Elder Scrolls VI. Bethesda Game Studios Union wrote in a post on BlueSky that Bethesda's latest round of layoffs affected several departments, such as programmers, artists, designers, and game testers. Additionally, the union added that many of these former staff members had been at Bethesda Game Studios for "decades".

Valve's Steam Machine has had a rough couple of weeks. It was first criticized for its high price tag and mediocre performance, which even fails to beat a base PS5. Then, scalpers were spotted selling Steam Machine reservations on eBay for more than $3000, calling Valve's queuing system into question. Shortly after the first units were shipped to buyers, reports began to appear about a mysterious "red line" error.

Early buyers started reporting a solid red light across the console's LED strip shortly after setup, sometimes after installing a firmware update, sometimes after just a few minutes of gameplay. Since Valve's own support documentation lists a full red bar as a GPU error, it did not take long for "Red Line of Death" comparisons to the Xbox 360's infamous Red Ring to start doing the rounds.

The scare started with a Reddit post from user me_hill, who said their Steam Machine bricked itself right after installing an available update, following a short session of No Man's Sky. Commenters jumped in with theories, most pointing at a fried GPU, since the console's graphics silicon is soldered directly to the board with no way to swap it out. That is about as bad as it gets for a $1,049 to $1,349 device that had barely made it into customers' hands.

Samsung has officially confirmed that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. The confirmation comes via a Weibo post that teased a "brand-new form factor" for what is expected to be a new trio of foldables.

The Samsung announcement aligns with earlier reports that the new generation of foldables will be adopting Qualcomm's latest chipset. Alongside the Fold 8, Samsung will also unveil the Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 at its Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22 in London. The company has already begun teasing the event across multiple platforms, including Instagram and Weibo, with content that strongly suggests the Fold 8 is getting the top-tier Qualcomm chip.

This move signals a continued seemingly exponential partnership between Samsung and Qualcomm, with the chipset maker now exclusively powering Samsung's mainstream foldables in both the US and Chinese markets. While the Fold 8 Ultra is also expected to use the same processor, the Flip 8 instead reportedly uses Samsung's own Exynos 2600 chipset.

Apple's rumored foldable iPhone is now in full mass production and appears to be on track for a September 2026 launch, according to multiple reports citing sources who spoke with individuals working on the supply chain.

The device, widely referred to as the iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold, has passed key production hurdles and is moving toward large-scale assembly.

Chinese outlet Cailian Press and others confirm that Apple has locked the design and is working with Foxconn to scale up production, including a hiring push to meet demand. Despite earlier reports of hinge and yield issues, sources say these have been largely resolved, with the foldable iPhone expected to debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models later this year.

New research is rewriting the fate of Earth in the sun's final act, which was thought to expand and engulf our planet in approximately 5 billion years.

However, a new study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics suggests our planet may avoid being swallowed by the Sun when it expands into what is known as a red giant. The study challenges previous estimates by using updated models that more accurately reflect the relationship between the Sun's gravitational pull and the mass lost during its final stage.

Lead author Mats Esseldeurs of KU Leuven explains that Earth's survival now depends less on tidal forces, which are the gravitational connection between Earth and the Sun, and more on how much mass the Sun sheds at the end of its life. If the Sun loses enough mass, Earth could drift outward just in time to avoid being engulfed.

Vivo's upcoming X500 Pro smartphones are set to deliver one of the largest batteries seen in a flagship phone, with leaks suggesting a 7,000mAh capacity.

So, while other smartphone companies are focusing on improving camera capabilities, Vivo is investing its time in battery technology. The X500 Pro and Pro Mini are expected to pack a 2nm MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset, offering improved performance and power efficiency. Notably, MediaTek hasn't officially named the new chip, but it's expected to be called the Dimensity 9600 Pro.

The focus on the big battery is going to be challenging, as fitting such a large battery while also housing a 64MP 85mm periscope lens and a 50MP LOFIC main sensor has created internal space constraints, according to the latest leaks.

With Microsoft Flight Simulator alone featuring countless real-world aircraft that you can realistically fly to any location in the world, the idea of a proper flight sim setup for aviation and gaming fans continues to gain traction. MOZA, a brand probably best known for its racing gear (which is its own thing in the simulation space), is expanding its flight simulation lineup with new premium displays, panels, and cockpit controls modeled after those found on Boeing or Airbus aircraft.

The lineup includes several new bits of gear that will excite just about any digital aviator, with the MA3F Electronic Flight Control Modules (EFCM), MA3F Flight Computer Display, MB7F Flight Computer Display, MGX1000 Instrument Panel, and FMP18 Panel Bundle. Best of all, because these new premium products feature displays, MOZA has maintained modularity and ease of installation by using DisplayLink technology over USB.

"We believe cockpit building should be as intuitive as flying," said the MOZA team. "This new generation of displays and panels is designed around simplicity, accessibility, and scalability - delivering streamlined setup, seamless software integration, and an ecosystem that grows alongside every pilot's ambitions, from a single display to a fully integrated flight deck." Let's take a closer look.

A petition calling on Sony to reconsider its decision to end physical disc production of PlayStation games in January 2028 has reached 200,000 signatures, indicating a substantial number of PlayStation gamers urging Sony not to end production of physical PlayStation games.

For those who don't know, Sony announced it would end production of physical PlayStation games in January 2028, and any games released after that time will be sold with a download code rather than a disc. Sony cited digital sales outpacing physical sales of its games as the reason for ending physical media production, but that reasoning isn't sitting well with many gamers, who are rightfully concerned about what an exclusively digital gaming landscape would look like.

Many PlayStation gamers have raised concerns about how an entirely digital gaming landscape takes away ownership from gamers, as at any moment the controlling platform can delist a game and effectively revoke access to the potentially thousands of people who bought it, versus having a physical copy of the game and being able to just put the disc in your console.

Here's a new compact keyboard with a fun yet seemingly impractical design. The KeyBoy Advance from PromoType and Unikey is a relatively tiny 50% form-factor board, designed to resemble Nintendo's classic Game Boy Advance handheld, which debuted in 2001. The Game Boy Advance was the highly anticipated 32-bit follow-up to the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color and went on to sell over 81 million units in its various forms over the years.

Unikey's KeyBoy Advance is based on the original Game Boy Advance landscape shape and is available in a wide range of colors, including 2001-era purple and orange variants. There's also e-coated aluminum and translucent options for those looking to match the specific GBA handheld they had (or wanted) back in the day. The 50% HHKB layout keeps things compact, with the main letters and 10-key number row accounted for.

Starting from $275 USD, the KeyBoy Advance is definitely pricey and something crafted for enthusiasts and collectors. It's also a bare-bones kit, so you'll need to supply keycaps, switches, and things like stabilizers. The good news is that there are options to add a hot-swappable PCB with various plates (ALU, PC, CF, PP). The real start of the show, though, is how it captures all of the little details of Nintendo's classic handheld.

Lexar's lineup of THOR DDR5 memory for desktops, compatible with AMD and Intel systems, is built for high-performance and PC gaming. With vibrant RGB lighting, aluminum heatsinks, and support for Intel XMP and AMD EXPO overclocking, these are the sort of modules and kits that you'd install in a high-end gaming rig.

According to a new report over at IT Home (via TechPowerUp), Lexar's upcoming THOR II DDR memory kits will be built using CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) chips. Now, the use of memory chips from Chinese companies is making its way to global markets, which is not uncommon in 2026 thanks to the current memory crisis, but this move from Lexar is notable because it highlights the progress CXMT has made with its memory.

The report notes that these new Lexar THOR II DDR5 memory kits will arrive in 32GB dual-channel form, with two 16GB modules, supporting speeds up to DDR5-7600 (7,600 MT/s).

GeForce Game Ready Driver 610.74 is now available for GeForce RTX owners, and it's all about two of the biggest PC game releases in July. First up, there's DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations from id Software, a full-game-sized campaign expansion for the base game featuring new environments, demons to slap, and a new Chain Spear weapon that hearkens back to the fast-paced aerial mobility of DOOM: Eternal.

Like the base game, DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations features a full Path Tracing mode and support for DLSS 4.5, including the new Ray Reconstruction for enhanced ray-traced lighting effects, DLSS Multi Frame Generation, and DLSS Dynamic Frame Generation modes to enhance performance and smoothness. With 'Max Settings' and DLSS 4.5, the flagship GeForce RTX 5090 can hit up to 310 FPS in 4K.

Dropping the resolution down to 1440p, the GeForce RTX 5080 hits 280 FPS with Path Tracing, Max Settings, and DLSS.

Following deep personnel cuts, ZeniMax remains committed to The Elder Scrolls Online, yet the devs remaining after the layoffs are worried about the future of the long-running MMO.

Xbox recently announced it will lay off a total of 3,200 people from now until June 2027. Half of that amount, some 1,600 people, are in the process of being let go across all of Xbox's divisions; from sales and marketing to QA and level design, the layoffs affect multiple divisions and studios. Four studio groups will be divested--Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Undead Labs. Arkane Lyon is also in discussions to be separated as well.

ZeniMax is also affected. While exact numbers remain unclear, reports indicate that a substantial portion of ZeniMax Online Studios has been let go. ZOS is responsible for the popular Elder Scrolls Online MMORPG that has accumulated tens of millions of players throughout the years. The cuts were so substantial that anonymous developers remaining at ZOS tell Kotaku that they have worries about the future of the game. As an online-driven MMO, games like ESO have a unique synergistic affinity for subscription services like Xbox Game Pass.

PlayStation's decision to end physical disc production for all new games starting January 2028 has been controversial enough on its own. It has now come to light that the announcement surprised not only players but also publishers, major business partners, and even PlayStation's own regional offices. None of them were apparently given any advance notice before the news went public.

According to sources speaking to High Chaos Run, an executive at a major AAA publisher described the situation bluntly. "Despite our seemingly close working relationship with PlayStation, we weren't informed that this was happening. It's only hitting us now that we may be out of jobs sooner rather than expected." The secrecy reportedly extended throughout PlayStation's own organization, with regional divisions learning about the decision at the same time as the general public.

The PlayStation India situation is perhaps the most striking example. At the time of the announcement, PlayStation's India office was negotiating with local distributors and retailers to set up exclusive PlayStation brick-and-mortar stores, targeting around 100 locations by 2028.

A new report from Bloomberg says that multiple people pushed back against launching new AAA games day-and-date into Xbox Game Pass.

Game Pass was always a controversial topic from the get-go. How could a service that launches games for effectively half of the purchase price actually make money for Xbox? The service introduced a new replacement effect, also called cannibalization, wherein gamers would just buy a month of Game Pass for $25 (then $30, now $20) instead of paying the more expensive $60-$70 purchase price for new games. The idea was to convert Xbox's user base to the higher-margin business model of subscriptions, which are all-digital and delivered in a more controlled way, and then (hopefully) entice subscriber growth through must-have value propositions.

The model wasn't entirely popular behind the scenes, though. Five sources that used to work at Microsoft tell Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio that Game Pass' core day-one value strategy faced criticism and push-back. We've already heard former Bethesda comms VP Pete Hines voice his apprehension of Game Pass, and former Xbox Game Studios VP Shannon Loftis said that the Game Pass model created "weird inner tensions" due to its replacive effect.

The RTX 50 Super series has been in limbo for a while now, with the memory crisis and shifting priorities making a launch look increasingly unlikely. However, a new entry in Seasonic's PSU tool has brought the topic back, with the RTX 5080 Super now appearing alongside the RTX 5070 Super and RTX 5070 Ti Super that were added last September. All three rumoured Super models have now shown up in the tool.

According to the listing, the RTX 5080 Super carries a 415W TDP, which lines up with earlier rumors that placed the card somewhere above 400W. That is a 15% increase over the standard RTX 5080's 360W, and it pushes the recommended PSU from 750W to 800W in a system paired with something like a Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The higher power draw is expected to come from upgraded memory rather than additional CUDA cores, which remain at 10,752, the same count as the non-Super model.

The memory upgrade is the headline change. The RTX 5080 Super is expected to move from 16GB to 24GB of GDDR7, a 50% increase in capacity, using newer 3GB modules instead of the 2GB chips on the current card. Memory speed also gets a bump from 30 Gbps to 32 Gbps, which pushes total bandwidth from 960 GB/s to just over 1 TB/s. The bus width stays at 256-bit.

IO Interactive shares some updates on what's next for the studio, confirming that it has acquired the rights to its latest new game.

007 First Light developer IO Interactive has ambitious ideas for a very different new kind of game. It's called Project Fantasy, and reports indicate that it could have flying dragons set in a world of myth and mystery. Originally, Xbox had been funding the project, but that deal got scrapped after Microsoft set the reset switch on its gaming business. Now IO Interactive has managed to get both the publishing and IP rights to Project Fantasy.

Unfortunately, the studio has also announced layoffs and the closure of its studio in Istanbul, Turkey.

Before headlines turned to the Steam Machine's red line issue and its $1,000-plus price tag, much of the conversation centred on Valve's vision for the hardware. From the start, the company framed it as an open PC rather than a locked-down console. Owners would be free to install any operating system or storefront they wanted, and Valve's latest move reflects that same philosophy.

Valve has published official Windows drivers for the Steam Machine, giving owners the files needed to install Microsoft's operating system on the device. The driver package covers the essentials: graphics, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and SD card reader, enough to get Windows running with full hardware functionality on the cube.

However, it's worth noting that installing Windows currently requires wiping SteamOS entirely. Dual-boot support is not yet available, even though the hardware itself is fully capable of it. Valve says the SteamOS installer's dual-boot wizard is not ready yet and will ship alongside a future SteamOS update. Anyone hoping to switch between SteamOS and Windows on the same machine should wait rather than jump in now.

Legendary Doom developer id Software is facing downsizing as Microsoft makes major restructuring moves.

Xbox has announced more sobering news: The games division will lay off 3,200 workers total in FY27 as part of a major strategy reset. The first round of layoffs is beginning now, and will affect a total of 1,600 people. The layoffs are affecting multiple parts of Xbox, and now there are reports of numbers of people affected from individual studios, including id Software.

Sources tell Game Developer that nearly half of id Software's staff have been let go. That's over 90 people affected, including significant cuts to quality assurance (QA). Id Software isn't being shut down, however, and Bethesda apparently has no plans to shut down any studios as part of the layoffs.

Console represents the large majority of the Xbox business, however, without further context it's hard to extrapolate what exactly this means outside of more obvious metrics like Game Pass subscribers.

Xbox recently announced heavy layoffs as part of a major restructuring plan. Microsoft wants to entertain 1 billion people, but there's just one problem: Right now, console represents 80% of its business. The news was spotted as a data point in a recent Fortune article, and no exact clarification was offered, but we can interpret this based on previous data and info.

We know that Game Pass is heavily weighted to consoles (just not by how much), so it's possible that the 80% statement is more of a generalization for overall revenues. It stands to reason that most people who have an Xbox console may subscribe to Game Pass in some form. This metric also underlines the significant potential for growth on PC, which falls in line with comments from Xbox's previous management about PC being a major growth vector for the business.

Nintendo will stop selling Switch 1 systems in Europe starting mid-February 2027, with new units no longer being sold to retailers after this time.

Nearly 10 years after its original launch, Nintendo is making moves to phase out the original Switch console. The company announced that it will no longer sell new Switch 1 hardware in Europe. The news was delivered on a FAQ section on its support page.

The news comes as Nintendo readies a new array of Switch 2 consoles and accessories for the European market--a potentially expensive revision, especially during the current hardware climate. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are all being squeezed by the chip shortages, forcing them to raise hardware prices so that the books even out against extreme production cost increases. While it's likely that Nintendo always planned to start phasing out the Switch 1 sometime soon, the ongoing chip crisis may have accelerated these plans.