Latest News - Page 135

NVIDIA has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, which saw the company generate a record $68.1 billion in revenue. This is up 20% from the third quarter and 73% from the same period a year ago, and is driven primarily by NVIDIA's record Data Center segment revenue of $62.3 billion.

This too was up 75% from a year ago, showing that the AI boom and appetite for the company's "accelerated computing and AI" are growing. NVIDIA's Data Center revenue for the full year also increased by 68% to a record $193.7 billion.

"Computing demand is growing exponentially, the agentic AI inflection point has arrived," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Grace Blackwell with NVLink is the king of inference today, delivering an order-of-magnitude lower cost per token, and Vera Rubin will extend that leadership even further."

Sandisk has announced its next-gen lineup of portable SSD and storage solutions for professionals, creatives, and gamers, with the new Sandisk Portable SSD, Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, and Sandisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD. The latter is, of course, the pro-grade model and is designed to deliver the performance and speed required for demanding workloads, such as creatives working with 4K, 8K, and even 12K video, with capacities of up to 8TB.

The Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD is also for creatives, photographers, videographers, and professionals who need a lot of storage capacity. With "nearly twice the speed of its predecessor and enhanced durability," the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD range offers read speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s, which is enough bandwidth to transfer 1,000 high-def photos in under a minute.

Available in three capacities, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB (with a 500GB model coming in the second half of 2026), the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD is available now with pricing for the 1TB model starting at $259.99. The full line-up of Sandisk Portable SSDs and Sandisk Extreme PRO Portable SSDs is set to begin rolling out later in the year.

One of the biggest gaming stories of the year has been the unexpected and seismic shake-up over at Microsoft Gaming and Xbox, with Phil Spencer out as CEO, alongside Xbox President Sarah Bond. Although the announcement and communication were filled with all of the stuff you want to see, from recommitting to Xbox's core fans and confirming that Xbox consoles are still a key pillar of the brand, it hasn't stopped the flood of both negative and cautiously concerned reactions.

One of the most negative arrived from the original Xbox console co-creator Seamus Blackley, who called new CEO Asha Sharma "a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night." Much of the criticism and concern centers on the relatively unknown Asha Sharma, who has an AI background rather than one in the gaming or entertainment industries.

As part of her first communication, she promised that when it comes to AI, Microsoft will not "chase short-term efficiency" or flood the Xbox ecosystem with "soulless AI slop." As part of a new interview with Windows Central, Microsoft Gaming and Xbox's new Chief Content Officer Matt Booty has added more context on how the team views AI and responded to the idea that Microsoft only cares about AI and will push generative AI technology into every corner of the Xbox business.

Microsoft's big executive shake-up may have improved morale behind the scenes as former Xbox president Sarah Bond resigns from the company.

Xbox leadership has been swapped out, with Xbox CEO Phil Spencer retiring after 38 years with Microsoft. Another high-profile departure was that of Xbox president Sarah Bond, who resigned from her position. From the outside, Bond's resignation was a surprise, with many believing she would take over the reins after Phil Spencer retired.

New reports from behind the scenes say that Bond leaving the company has actually reassured Xbox employees. Sources tell The Verge's Tom Warren about the situation that led up to the change in ranks and how it has affected the people at Xbox. It's been revealed that Bond may have been in charge of the rather-disliked This is an Xbox marketing campaign, which led to push-back internally from developers and Xbox employees.

Microsoft Gaming's new CEO will focus on the long-term vision for the Xbox brand, complete with new hardware and continued multi-platform software releases.

Big changes are happening at Microsoft's games division. Phil Spencer has retired as CEO of Xbox, and Sarah Bond has also resigned. Microsoft has brought in Asha Sharma, a previous AI executive, to lead Xbox. Now the new games leader is on a kind of press junket in a bid to foster connection to the fanbase and relay what's next for the brand. As it turns out, Sharma is focused on the long game.

In a recent interview with Windows Central, Sharma mentioned lifetime value, a phrase that isn't often heard from executives unless they're in earnings calls with investors and analysts. Xbox's new CEO plans to focus on the overall long-term lifetime value of the games branch, which seems to indicate Microsoft has no plans to shut down Xbox.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced Overwatch Rush, a new top-down Hero shooter that is "designed specifically for the Overwatch universe."

The new mobile game has received a dedicated team at Blizzard, and all of its members have had experience with mobile games in the past. Additionally, Blizzard writes that this team is separate from Team 4, which remains entirely focused on Overwatch. The press release also states Rush is an entirely new game, and not a port, as it has been specifically built for mobile players.

Embedded in the press release is a 3-minute gameplay video showcasing the 4v4 match. Interestingly, the video is actually unlisted on the Blizzard YouTube channel. The gameplay shows two teams fighting over a point in classic Overwatch fashion. Blizzard writes in the description of the video that this footage is of a "development build" of Overwatch Rush, meaning what we get on release will likely be an improvement of what we see in-game in the footage.

ENDORFY is expanding its PC hardware lineup with its first-ever cases for compact Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX builds. The new Signum M30 ARGB and Signum M30 Air cases have been designed to deliver a compact space-saving solution while still offering extensive configuration options.

Both cases support GPUs up to 345mm and radiators up to 240mm, with up to 7 fans in total. ENDORFY notes that the new cases can support everything from a standard compact office PC to a high-end gaming rig or even a modern AI workstation. With a perforated top panel and a mesh front panel that doubles as a dust filter, the cases have also been designed with airflow and thermal performance in mind.

The key difference between the two variants is that the Signum M30 ARGB ships with three pre-installed Stratus 120 PWM ARGB fans, while the Signum M30 Air ships with three Stratus 120 PWM fans. Built for silent performance, these new fans were created in collaboration with Synergy Cooling and include a pre-installed PWM splitter for easy integration with modern motherboards.

According to a new report over at the Wall Street Journal, Dell and Lenovo are planning to launch new laptops in the first half of 2026 powered by NVIDIA's new Arm-based N1 and N1X chips, which include both CPU and GPU hardware. These new chips, developed in partnership with MediaTek, will enable NVIDIA to offer an all-in-one mobile SoC that could provide an Intel and AMD-like solution for the first time.

These new chips have been rumored for a long time and could get a full reveal next month at the company's annual GTC (GPU Technology Conference) event. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has teased that it will unveil a new chip that will "surprise the world" at GTC, so there's a good chance it could be these new Arm-based N1 and N1X chips, unveiled alongside new laptops from Dell and Lenovo.

Based on that pedigree, it's expected that these will be Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11 on Arm, much like Qualcomm's Snapdragon-powered Windows devices. Naturally, these new NVIDIA chips will be all about delivering power-efficient performance in a thin-and-light package, with GeForce RTX hardware capable of accelerating local AI and even PC gaming.

AMD and Meta have announced a "multi-year, multi-generation partnership" that will see Meta deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD AI hardware, including various Instinct GPUs. This includes AMD's Helios rack-scale architecture optimized for Meta's AI workloads, which it plans to utilize to accelerate the deployment of new cutting-edge AI models. This partnership will also see the two companies align their roadmaps covering "silicon, systems, and software."

With the first gigawatt expected to begin deployment later this year, the deal also includes Meta buying a stake in AMD, which could see it own around 10% of the company. This "performance-based warrant for up to 160 million shares of AMD common stock" has multiple milestones attached, and fully vests when Meta deploys all 6 gigawatts of AMD Instinct GPUs.

"We are proud to expand our strategic partnership with Meta as they push the boundaries of AI at unprecedented scale," said Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO, AMD. "This multi-year, multi-generation collaboration across Instinct GPUs, EPYC CPUs, and rack-scale AI systems aligns our roadmaps to deliver high-performance, energy-efficient infrastructure optimized for Meta's workloads."

Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline installment in the survival horror series, is out this week on February 27 on PC and consoles. For those with GeForce RTX graphics cards, the game is set to be a visually stunning (and terrifying) showcase, featuring a path-tracing mode for realistic lighting, shadows, reflections, and other effects like light that accurately refracts through transparent objects like glass.

As lighting plays a major role in setting the tone and adding immersion to the horror genre, NVIDIA's path-tracing trailer for Resident Evil Requiem gives us a glimpse of how the DLSS 4-accelerated path-tracing gameplay will look. Resident Evil Requiem is also on offer as part of a new GeForce RTX 50 Series Bundle running until March 16, where picking up an eligible GeForce RTX GPU, PC, or gaming laptop gets you a copy of the game.

The game is also set to hit GeForce NOW on day one, giving subscribers the chance to play it with RTX-enhanced visuals in the cloud. If Resident Evil Requiem is the first major AAA game release of the year, then Pearly Abyss' Crimson Desert, which is out March 19, is possibly the second. This highly anticipated open-world game also features impressive visuals with ray tracing support. And on day one, it will also feature DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation support.

Although Linux has been a viable PC gaming platform for several years, with only a small market share compared to Windows, it's often treated as an afterthought. However, with the success of the Steam Deck and Valve's efforts with Proton, which have helped make Linux gaming with a SteamOS-like interface a popular and stable platform, more companies are beginning to take note.

And one of those companies is NVIDIA, which is stepping up its support for Linux as a gaming OS thanks to new 'Senior System Software Engineer' and 'Linux Graphics Senior Software Engineer' job listings. The first job is specifically tied to Vulkan performance, the API used for Linux gaming, with one of the key tasks for the new employee being to diagnose "GPU and CPU performance bottlenecks in Vulkan and Proton titles."

And it isn't merely about improving performance on the GeForce RTX side of the equation, as the role will also engage with third parties, namely the Proton teams, to make changes to the API to further improve performance. And it doesn't stop there, NVIDIA is also looking for an additional engineer to enable "native-speed x86-64 gaming on Linux/ARM64 platforms." What does this all mean? Well, it means NVIDIA's upcoming N1 and N1X chips will also be for PC gaming.

Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma has made a clear commitment to Xbox consoles as the company prepares its next-gen hybrid device.

Microsoft recently shook up its gaming division, with Phil Spencer retiring as CEO, and former Xbox president Sarah Bond resigning. The company has brought in former AI exec Asha Sharma to lead the Xbox games division, and in a formal address to fans, Sharma has made a "renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console."

This development makes sense as Microsoft is currently designing custom silicon for its next-gen games system, which is believed to be an Xbox PC that principally runs Windows 11 with native console game playback and an Xbox-esque user interface. While Microsoft preps its new system, its current Xbox Series console line has produced its lowest-ever holiday revenues throughout 2025, with Xbox hardware revenue dropping to a 12-year holiday low throughout the period.

Former Xbox president Sarah Bond led the team responsible for the badly-received This is an Xbox marketing campaign, sources close to the matter tell The Verge's Tom Warren.

Last year, Microsoft did its best to dissuade consumers from buying Xbox consoles. First, Microsoft raised prices, leading to a modern hardware generation with a $800 console. Then the company rolled out the This is an Xbox advertising campaign that reminded everyone that they don't actually need an Xbox console to play Xbox games. Technically, your phone is an Xbox because it can access console/PC games. By this virtue, your cloud-enabled TV is also an Xbox.

The marketing scheme led to a schism internally at the Xbox, new reports say, bristling employees that had been with the brand for years. The ads technically worked: Xbox hardware revenue indeed declined quarter after quarter, leading to Holiday 2025 having the lowest Christmas-time console sales revenues in the last 12 years.

Sony has released the official PC requirements for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and when the game will become available.

In a new detailed blogpost Sony revealed that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be arriving on PC on March 19, and that players who wish to enjoy the game at a minimum of 60FPS at 1080p will require a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB / AMD Radeon RX 6600. Nixxes and Kojima Productions will be handling the port, and PC players will have a range of graphic presets available to them. Additionally, the presets include a portable preset that is intended for handheld gaming devices.

Furthermore, On the Beach will be launching with a range of upscaling technologies, such as NVIDIA DLSS 4, AMD FSR 4, and Intel XeSS 2. PC gamers will also have access to the option Pico (Progressive Image Compositor) within the upscaling settings, which is the same upscaling technology used by the PS5. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach also comes with ultrawide support, including super ultrawide at a 32:9 aspect ratio.

A developer who purchased an expensive DJI robot vacuum has managed to gain access to thousands of DJI vacuums across 24 countries, with the developer being able to remotely view through their cameras, harvest floor plans, IP addresses, and more.

Sammy Azdoufal, an AI strategist at a property management company, has shown The Verge how they managed to gain access to DJI's network of robot vacuums, and it started with the purchase of his own Romo robot vacuum. Azdoufal wondered if it would be able to control the Romo vacuum with a PS5 controller. Azdoufal noticed the Romo vacuum offered remote control through the smartphone app.

Azdoufal decided to write his own app with Claude Code, and after verifying his own vacuum on the network, he realized he had actually gained access to approximately 6,700 devices across 24 countries. Azdoufal said the background access was severe as he was able to see through the cameras of the devices, steer them, and see sensitive metadata such as serial numbers, IP addresses, and even floor plans the vacuums tracked. Additionally, by entering a 14-digit code, he was even able to bypass any PIN on the devices.

Last week Xbox announced the head of Xbox Phil Spencer was going to be departing from his position as the face of Xbox after spending 25 years with the team. The company also revealed Spencer's replacement, Asha Sharma, the current president of Microsoft CoreAI.

Given Sharma's current position and how the gaming community treats AI as a hot button topic, the announcement sparked quite a lot of attention, with some diving into Sharma's background to see how she would fit the Spencer shaped hole at Xbox, and what the future plans for Xbox as a whole.

However, Sharma has found herself under quite a bit of scrutiny as she revealed her gamertag in a recent X post, which gamers quickly searched through and discovered Sharma's first achievement was awarded to the gamertag on January 15, 2026. The discovery and lack of long-time activity on the account resulted in gamers accusing Sharma of having very little gaming experience, insinuating she may not fit the position as the head of Xbox.

Sony has patented a new technology called "Soft Pause," which dynamically shifts gameplay to a less intense state when the player becomes distracted by a message. The technology is presented as an alternative to fully pausing a game or as a solution for pausing in multiplayer games.

The patent filed by Sony Interactive Entertainment describes the technology as allowing gameplay to continue while the difficulty or intensity for a distracted player is reduced. The difficulty or intensity would be reduced by the technology, which would modify gameplay conditions around the player.

For example, enemies near the player would become less aggressive, or the player may receive directional assistance to move toward safety. Additionally, certain gameplay mechanics may become easier. The patent also describes the system visually, emphasizing the area around the player while deemphasizing the rest of the environment, intended to help the player maintain awareness without requiring full concentration.

Rumors of a new Witcher 3 DLC have been stirring for quite some time, and now more fuel has been thrown on the rumor fire with a known Polish insider giving some hints as to the setting of the purported upcoming content.

The news comes from UV o grach, a former Gry-Online journalist that reportedly has connections within the Polish gaming industry. The insider said on a livestream earlier this month that assets from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt were being reused, and that the goal of the DLC is to fill in the missing spots on the map between The Witcher 4's story and Wild Hunt's.

These comments sparked a flurry of questions within the livestream's chat, and while the insider didn't deny or confirm the Witcher 3's DLC, they did say that fans are looking at the horizon when the answer is right under their nose. Reports indicate this suggests the DLC won't be an entirely new region, such as the previously rumored addition of the Zerrikania region, and that the DLC will be an extension of an already established region within the game.

Gaming industry insiders have been chatting online about the current state of information about Grand Theft Auto 6 development, and some of them have said the developer is currently "locked up like Area 51".

According to insider Reece "KiwiTalkz" Reilly, leaked information about the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 has dried up, with the insider writing in an X post that Rockstar is currently locked up like Area 51, "getting intel is almost impossible for me currently. No one is talking at all about GTA 6 lol."

Additionally, renowned Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope recently responded to an X user asking if they were "going to do Rockstar leaks as well?", The leaker responded, "LOL they lock that shit down never gonna happen and even if I did know stuff I'd keep it to myself probably."

The Call of Duty community was recently stirred when rumors surfaced regarding the development of a standalone Zombies game. Now Call of Duty has responded to those rumors.

The rumors came from renowned Call of Duty leaker and insider @TheGhostofHope, who wrote on X a few days ago that their sources have informed the leaker that the delay on the next Xbox console has impacted Call of Duty's marketing plans, which has resulted in executives discussing the possibility of releasing two Call of Duty games in the same year. Initially, Activision wanted to release Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 to compete with Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI.

However, the delay of the next Xbox has now resulted in the idea being floated of two Call of Duty games releasing in the same year. One being Modern Warfare 4, and the second being a standalone Zombies title that TheGhostofHope writes is "presumably developed by Treyarch". Additionally, the leaker wrote, "Likely similar to that of Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered, where both released together."