Latest News - Page 131

TCL has unveiled the P2A Ultra series, and one model of gaming monitor that stood out among the line-up was the 28P2A Ultra, a new Mini-LED esports monitor.

The 27P2A Ultra is touted as the world's first 1040Hz Mini-LED esports gaming monitor, specifically built around motion clarity and refresh rate. According to TCL, the 27P2A Ultra is also a dual-mode monitor, meaning it can switch between refresh rate and resolution through the On-Screen Display (OSD) options, or a dedicated button on the rear of the display. TCL states in its 27P2A Ultra image that it's capable of switching between 550Hz at 2560 x 1440p and 1040Hz at 720p.

Notably, TCL's claim of a "world's first" with the 27P2A Ultra is specifically about it being a Mini-LED display, as Samsung already snagged first place for a 1040Hz dual-mode gaming monitor with the debut of the Odyssey G6 (G60H), which is an IPS panel. TCL didn't announce the price of this monitor or whether it would reach North America.

NVIDIA has announced a new hotfix for GeForce Display Drivers after it was discovered that its latest 595.71 WHQL Game Ready driver was implementing voltage caps on GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs.

The timeline of events was as follows. On February 26, NVIDIA released the NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 595.59 WHQL driver, which was promptly followed by the 595.71 driver. Following that release, reports began surfacing of some RTX 50-series owners experiencing new voltage ceilings, resulting in reduced overall game performance. On March 4, NVIDIA announced a new hotfix that is currently ready to download.

Additionally, NVIDIA acknowledged the Game Ready driver for Resident Evil: Requiem contained many bugs players would have noticed within the game, such as white glowing lights/dots appearing when Subsurface Scattering is enabled. There were also several instances of crashing with Bethesda's Starfield. Those problems have now been all fixed in NVIDIA's latest GeForce driver update, which is currently available to download.

ASUS ROG, or Republic of Gamers, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, during which the brand has become synonymous with high-end PC gaming and performance hardware. With ROG gaming laptops, displays, graphics cards, motherboards, cases, and even peripherals like keyboards, mice, and headsets, if there's a piece of PC gaming gear, odds are there's an ASUS ROG product right there.

Over the years, we've reviewed a large range of ROG gear, and for me personally, that's included a number of graphics cards and peripherals. And for the most part, it's now gotten to the point where you can expect a certain level of quality when picking up something with the Republic of Gamers name. Whether that's build quality, thermal performance, or delivering a premium keyboard experience unlike any other.

To celebrate the milestone, ASUS is currently running an ROG Mega Fan Contest, asking fans to share their favorite ROG moments by submitting Dare-to-ROG videos and stories. With over $20,000 USD in prizes, the Top 2 Winners will win a "once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Recently, PC World published an article that claimed Microsoft was planning to ship Windows 12 later this year. In addition, the new operating system would make AI a fundamental part of the system, with AI agents and tools taking over tasks such as search, document, and file categorization, and more. And much like with Copilot+ PCs, there would be a hardware requirement: a CPU with a dedicated NPU with at least 40 TOPS of performance.

It's a pretty lengthy report, and one that quickly made waves, as it outlines most of the key features that would make up Windows 12, along with Microsoft's planned release date, which would be around October 2026. However, after some backlash from other media outlets and insiders questioning the article's validity, PC World has issued a statement saying it "should not have been published."

"It does not meet PCWorld's standards and should not have been published," Brad Chacos, PCWorld executive editor, writes. The article is still online for public record. As for Windows 12 potentially coming anytime soon? Well, Windows Central's Zac Bowden says Microsoft's current focus is to fix Windows 11.

Although Windows on Arm has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, thanks to the arrival of new Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm and a real effort by Microsoft to improve compatibility and gaming performance on non-X86 hardware running the operating system, there's still a way to go.

However, with NVIDIA's upcoming Arm-based N1 and N1X chips that combine Arm-based CPU cores with GeForce RTX graphics entering the Windows on Arm space with new gaming laptops later this year, it now looks like game developers and publishers like EA are also stepping in to expand support for Windows on Arm gaming. Although the N1X gaming laptops from the likes of Lenovo and other NVIDIA partners still fall under the 'rumor' banner, a new job posting by EA does make it sound like they're coming sooner rather than later.

According to the listing, EA is looking for a new engineer to join its Security team to help "Develop a native ARM driver for EA Javelin Anticheat," which would see Battlefield 6 become playable on current and future Windows on Arm devices. And as we're talking about a fast-paced shooter, odds are this would be for a more capable gaming laptop with GeForce RTX hardware.

Bandai Namco has taken to its social media channels to tease an upcoming announcement for a new RPG title it will be publishing, and right now everything remains quite a mystery.

The publisher shared a few screenshots and a link to an upcoming premiere where it will be showcasing the title. The YouTube premiere is scheduled to take place on March 5, 2026 at 15:00 PST / 18:00 EST / March 6, 2025 00:00 CET. The YouTube premiere contains a very short teaser that shows a luscious forest landscape that then cuts to an individual walking with a sword and shield. However, we don't see the face of the individual, as the shot is from their back.

There are more clues in the description of social media posts, and the description of the YouTube video. Bandai Namco writes, "A serenity soon to be disturbed." In the X post the publisher writes, "What lies beyond the canyon and hidden within this cave? Only you can find out..."

We got our first look at the ACEMAGIC Retro X5 Mini Gaming PC back at CES earlier this year, with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370-powered device turning more than a few heads thanks to its retro-inspired design. And by that, we mean it looks a lot like the classic 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System console from the 1980s, but with modern hardware, including 32GB of DDR5 5600MHz memory and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

With the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370's integrated RDNA 3.5 Radeon 890M graphics, it's a fairly capable little gaming rig that can play most modern AAA titles at 1080p 60 FPS with optimized settings. And all of that in a tiny 138 x 128 x 45mm footprint. And with WiFi 7, BT 5.4, USB4, USB 3.2, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort support, it's a capable PC that is more than capable of being a daily productivity driver and running local AI models.

Of course, with its retro-gaming design, the ACEMAGIC Retro X5 Mini Gaming PC is being marketed as a Steam Machine-like gaming PC that can sit next to a TV or on a desk. And with that, it's available for purchase on Amazon at a special launch price of $1,049.99.

Third time's the charm? Well, that might be the case for those looking to play Resident Evil Requiem on PC with a modern GeForce RTX graphics card. The good news here is that the latest fix doesn't require users to do anything other than potentially reboot their system for the over-the-air (OTA) fix to be applied. The issue? Some gamers with GeForce RTX cards, mostly from the RTX 40 Series, have reported performance issues in the game after installing the latest GeForce Game Ready Driver.

NVIDIA's GeForce Game Ready Driver 595.71 WHQL, released earlier this week, was intended to deliver day-one-optimized support for Resident Evil Requiem. This driver release, which replaced the original version pulled for causing an unintended bug that could cause a GPU's fans to stop spinning, is the second attempt to deliver a Game Ready Driver for Capcom's latest Resident Evil.

However, since its release, we've seen several reports of slower in-game performance compared to running the game on older GeForce Game Ready Drivers. Earlier today, NVIDIA's Sean Pelletier took to social media to confirm that his team had pushed an 'OTA profile update' for the GeForce Game Ready Driver 595.71, which resolved the issue.

Following the failure of MindsEye, the executives at the studio behind the project began blaming the collapse of the title on corporate sabotage, and now the CEO of the developer has said they have "overwhelming evidence" to prove it.

The developer of MindsEye, Build a Rocket Boy, faced immediate layoffs after the launch of the title was met with heavy criticism from players, who cited numerous gameplay-related bugs, graphical glitches, and a general sense of an unfinished product. Shortly after the launch, Build a Rocket Boy employees took to social media to say they are facing redundancy as the studio is going to be hit with sweeping layoffs.

Amidst the fallout of MindsEye, founder of the studio Leslie Benzies said the title's poor reception was "uncalled for" and alleged that "external and internal forces" influenced the launch. Additionally, Benzies said an investigation would be launched into locating the "saboteurs" within the company, and now according to Build a Rocket Boy CEO Mark Gerhard, that investigation has yielded enough evidence that legal action is being pursued.

With the availability of 3GB GDDR7 chips or modules, the original plan for the GeForce RTX 50 Series was for NVIDIA to use these to provide a 50% increase in VRAM capacity with the arrival of the GeForce RTX 50 SUPER Series.

Of course, with the way things have gone regarding memory, storage, and the AI industry gobbling up all capacity, the SUPER series refresh has been put on indefinite hold. But it does look like NVIDIA will use 3GB GDDR7 memory with the RTX 50 Series, albeit not on models that could benefit from a capacity increase.

According to known insider and leaker MEGAsizeGPU on social media, NVIDIA is apparently prepping to release a GeForce RTX 5050 9GB graphics card that will use the new 3GB memory chips. Compared to the current GeForce RTX 5050 8GB, this new configuration would use a 96-bit memory interface and 28 Gbps memory speed. This would deliver a 12.5% increase in VRAM capacity and a 5% increase in overall bandwidth, to 336 GB/s.

More than half of Capcom's 9-month game sales were made on PC, and the publisher reiterates its annual target of 54 million game sales for the entire fiscal year.

Capcom is one of the most interesting video game companies that has successfully made a digital-first transition. The company now makes 94% of its earnings from digital across PC and console. Digital is a potent gateway because it allows Capcom to make strategic discounts on its back catalog games, with titles dropping below the $20 mark (and sometimes lower). As a result, Capcom has been able to consistently rack up tens of millions of game sales per year.

This trend is continuing into FY25, where Capcom has now made most of its digital game sales on PC. The latest earnings results reveal that over the first 9 months of FY25, PC sales account for 55% of total game purchases throughout the period, and a whopping 58% of digital game sales.

Mobile titan Supercell reveals key details about its agreements with Tencent as the United States probes the Chinese company's dealings in the video game industry.

The US is taking aim at Chinese entertainment giant Tencent, and is seeking specific details on the myriad of minority and majority stakes in the gaming market. The pretext for the scrutiny is national security, as was the case with ByteDance's ownership of TikTok (which has since been spun out as a joint venture).

As we've covered multiple times on TweakTown, Tencent is one of the biggest video game groups in the world, having achieved this feat through a multitude of carefully-curated investments. Tencent has varying stakes and ownerships in some of gaming's largest players, including Epic Games (28%)--whose game is routinely in the top 5 best-earning video games on an annual basis for multiple years running--as well as Clash of Clans creator Supercell (majority ownership), and Riot Games (full ownership).

The Jasion Thunder Pro is a high-powered fat-tire electric bike that is designed for off-road riding, speedy transits, stability, mobility, and comfort.

The Thunder Pro is what is called an "all-weather commuter," meaning it's equipped with the necessary features for riders to take it out into almost any weather condition. The Thunder Pro is capable of traversing terrain such as wet pavement, gravel, dirt, snow, and rocky terrain. Sitting near the top of Jasion's line-up of e-bikes, the Thunder Pro is powered by a removable 52-volt lithium-ion pack that has been integrated into the frame. As for the frame, Jasion has rated the Thunder Pro for a maximum carry weight of 500 lbs, meaning even larger humans can enjoy a smooth, high-powered ride.

Additionally, the Thunder Pro is capable of 2000W peak power, with 115 Nm torque. Jasion states the Thunder Pro has superior battery life, with a maximum range of 90 miles with its 1040WH battery. As for speed, riders will be able to reach a top speed of 35 mph, which can be dramatically reduced quickly with the 2-piston hydraulic disc brakes. The 26 x 4.0-inch all-terrain fat tires have been rated for all-terrain, along with the suspension, which is located in the front and back of the bike.

Ubisoft has a bunch of new Assassin's Creed games in the works, including announced games like Hexe and Invictus, as well as multiple unannounced projects that are deeper in the pipeline.

Now that Ubisoft has restructured its business, the publisher is ready to highlight what's next for its prestige, billion-dollar Assassin's Creed brand. The publisher indicates that 2026 is shaping up to be a strong year for the franchise, with in-development games like the sinister, witch-themed Assassin's Creed Hexe progressing well.

Hexe, which was actually revealed years ago during a big franchise update, will be a "unique, darker, narrative-driven Assassin's Creed experience, set during a pivotal moment in history." It's unclear whether or not this game will launch in 2026, but it's implied that Ubisoft is targeting a release this year for Hexe.

Bungie highlights the post-release seasonal content model for its new extraction shooter Marathon, giving players an idea of what to expect when the game drops tomorrow on March 5.

Marathon will be here soon, and as the first new game since Sony's $3.7 billion acquisition of the developer, the $40 live shooter could be a make-or-break moment for the studio. Gamers are willing to bite, eager for more innovation in the extraction shooter space, and Bungie has outlined some of the ways that Marathon will set itself apart from games like Arc Raiders.

For one, Marathon will have forced seasonal wipes, meaning players can't keep the gear they've unlocked by playing. Paid and earned cosmetics will stay, though, as will player milestones. Contract progression will also remain intact so that gamers won't have to unlock the factions over again with each new season. The seasons in Marathon will be free and will last "about three months," Bungie says, so that's about 4 seasons per year if everything goes according to plan.

The Paramount-Warner Bros merger could interrupt WB Games, leading to project cancellations, studio closures, and other disruptions in the interactive entertainment unit.

Now that Netflix has backed out of the bidding war, Paramount has all but secured its purchase of Warner Bros studios and content business, pending regulatory approval. New reports indicate that Paramount could make substantial multi-billion dollar cuts to Warner Bros in a bid to improve profitability. The cuts could be spread across the entire company, including WB Games, leading to even more layoffs and turbulence for creatives.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos says that Paramount could make up to $16 billion in cuts in order to navigate the high debt incurred from the merger buyout. While speculative, Sarandos' words do ring with some truth, as companies typically make big reorganizational efforts following a merger.

As was widely expected, Apple launched its new budget laptop at today's press event, and it's called the MacBook Neo as a leak suggested yesterday.

It's a 13-inch laptop which does indeed run with an iPhone chip, the A18 Pro (again as rumored), but the key bit here is that - despite my paranoia due to the MacBook Air M5 price bump - it's genuinely affordable. The MacBook Neo starts from $599, in fact ($499 with the education discount).

Okay, so as you might guess, the core spec is modest, with 8GB of system RAM and 256GB of storage for that base price.

Sony will stop releasing its new first-party singleplayer games on PC, sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

With Microsoft's rumored Xbox PC on the horizon, Sony is moving back towards exclusives. New reports indicate that Sony has changed its mind on releasing key first-party singleplayer games on Steam. Some current and all future singleplayer games will remain exclusive to PlayStation, including the already-released Ghost of Yotei and Housemarque's upcoming gaming Saros. Live service games will remain cross-platform.

Interestingly enough, this may not be a permanent shift away from PC. Sources say that Sony's plans are in flux and change often. While Sony has had success selling its games on PC, generating over $2.3 billion in sales from games sold on non-PlayStation platforms (including Xbox) since 2019, but this growth may not be fast or substantial enough to offset the potential impact risks to the PlayStation brand.

A renowned Call of Duty leaker "TheGhostOfHope," who had an extremely solid track record for leaking internal information about upcoming Call of Duty-related changes and additions has been legally silenced by Activision, and they said they will be complying with the demands.

Activision has sent a Cease and Desist letter to TheGhostOfHope and legally demanded they stop leaking and disseminating confidential information about Call of Duty and Activision. TheGhostOfHope revealed the news in a recent X post where he said he will still be sticking around to chat Call of Duty on X, and went on to thank everyone for the support over the past several years.

The official Call of Duty X account replied to comment suggesting that because TheGhostOfHope was sent a Cease and Desist letter does it then imply he was correct about the leaks, the official Call of Duty X account responded, "Nah. Even when leaks are wrong, they still hurt the people building the game and mess with player expectations." For those unaware, TheGhostOfHope's latest leaks were the 2026 Call of Duty game being called "Modern Warfare 4", and the campaign will be heavily set in both North and South Korea.

Current rumors point to Sony internally deciding to roll back the number of PC ports for PlayStation games, and now Mike Ybarra, the former President of Blizzard Entertainment, has shed more light on the rumors and provided a perspective on why Sony would make such a decision, if true.

Ybarra pointed to the Steam Machine as a big reason Sony would pull back on PC releases, and to the recent fiasco at Microsoft as the "last nail in the coffin there". Why would these two factors result in fewer PlayStation PC ports? The Steam Machine will run SteamOS, which means it will have direct access to Steam's extensive library of games. Valve's catalogue of games is a significant threat to both Sony and Xbox, with Ybarra writing that Valve is being viewed as a "major new competitor" in the space.

Additionally, the former Blizzard President said Valve is likely to enter the living room and console markets with a Steam Machine, along with 3rd-party variants and different hardware configurations all running SteamOS. Valve currently has the largest gaming platform, with nearly 150 million monthly users, exceeding both Sony and Xbox, and is now entering the console market with a console likely to arrive in variants ranging from $500 to $5000.