Xbox is giving away a pair of Star Wars: The Mandalorian-themed Xbox controllers at the end of the year. There's no way to buy these, but someone's going to win them.

Xbox has a pair of one-off controllers that feature custom artwork inspired by Disney's Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and it's going to give them both away to one lucky winner.

These amazing controllers come as a set, which Xbox is calling The Mandolorian Xbox Controller Collection. One of the controllers features a bright orange finish with an illustration of baby Yoda on the face. The other controller includes an illustration of The Mandalorian himself.

The end of the Oculus Go era has officially commenced. Hilariously, one of the last apps to make the cut is a bathroom companion experience called Poo With a View. A 360-degree content viewer that gives you something more interesting than a bathroom stall door to look at when you're taking care of business.

The first-ever Oculus standalone VR headset has officially reached its sunset days. Facebook discontinued production and sales of the headset in June of this year, followed by an announcement that submissions to the Go app store would end in December.

The last day for developers to submit their Oculus Go apps for publishing consideration rolled past us on December 4. Today was the final day that Oculus will publish new apps to the store, and there were surprisingly few titles that launched this week.

Major retailers are responding to the Cyberpunk 2077 console controversy with mass refunds--even brick and mortar stores like Best Buy.

The Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco is so significant that it's causing retailers to temporarily change refund policies. We've seen Sony de-list Cyberpunk 2077 off the PlayStation Store and offer full refunds to all digital buyers, no questions asked (extremely rare, Sony almost never does this). Microsoft is doing the same thing, and all Xbox One digital buyers can get full refunds.

Now Best Buy is doing something extraordinary: Best Buy will offer full refunds for open copies of Cyberpunk 2077 until December 21. The refund includes the base PS4 and Xbox One versions along with the collector's editions, and the Xbox One digital versions bought at Best Buy.

Viper Gaming by Patriot released a new series of Viper Steel memory, which now features RGB illumination. The new memory modules are optimized for the latest Intel and AMD platforms. They're also compatible with all major motherboard RBG solutions.

Viper Gaming's new Viper Steel RGB memory modules come in two speeds and a variety of capacities. Patriot's new memory modules are available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities, and the company offers the modules individually or in dual channel kits with two sticks. Each retail configuration is available in 3200MHz or 3600MHz variants.

Patriot said the new Viper Steel RGB memory modules feature aluminum heat spreaders with black pearlescent paint and scratch-proof finish. The heat shield includes an embedded diffused lightbar, which illuminates with five individually addressable lighting zones.

Among Us is enjoying astronomical numbers, managing to rake in 500 million monthly active users in November 2020.

Among Us has gone from an unknown indie to the heights of gaming superstardom. Soon the game will be everywhere: mobile phones, PC, Nintendo Switch, and even Xbox consoles. Even in November, where it was only available on PC and mobile, 500 million gamers played Among Us throughout the month.

New figures from SuperData estimate Innersloth's indie sensation has blown past the competition with 500m MAUs, beating out billion-dollar gaming titans like Honor of Kings, Roblox, and even League of Legends. SuperData even notes the game is "by far the most popular game ever in terms of monthly players". Sadly the game's under-monetization means it earns a lot less revenue than its competitors despite the $5 price tag (it's free on mobile with mTX and in-game adds).

The digital games market generated an incredible $11.5 billion in November 2020 in combined microtransactions and full game purchases, analyst firm SuperData reports.

Today Nielsen's SuperData just released a report for November 2020, and the results are pretty surprising. Total earnings sit at $11.5 billion, the highest point of 2020 so far and breaking August's record-setting $10.8 billion. World of Warcraft Shadowlands helped PC gaming earnings spike by 22% to hit an all-time revenue record for the platform. Console gaming grew by 24%, but was hindered by lack of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S supply.

Black Ops Cold War led console sales and moved 5.7 million units digitally on all platforms, breaking Black Ops 4's sales milestone. GTA V is still in the top 10 best-earning console games, which is surprising given the game's age.

Control Ultimate Edition will have two modes on next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, including a 30FPS mode with ray tracing on.

Control looks absolutely incredible with ray-tracing on NVIDIA's RTX video cards, but consoles will soon jump into the mix. Today Remedy teased Control's next-gen ray-tracing tech on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and the results are pretty good. Miles Morales definitely has the best ray-tracing we've seen so far but Remedy is doing a great job with console RT too.

Cyber Dream, the developer behind VR battle royale game Virtual Battlegrounds, has just released season 2, which includes new weapons and a larger map, and introduces a dynamic weather system.

Virtual Battlegrounds Season 2 is a significant overhaul to the entire game. Cyber Dream revamped the visuals with improved vegetation and higher-quality 3D assets. The developer also incorporated a new dynamic weather system, which randomizes the weather conditions for each match. The possible weather conditions include overcast, sunset, full moon, thunderstorm, and sunny day.

Season 2 also introduces a new area to the Virtual Battlegrounds map. The newly added warehouse district gives players a space that requires new tactical strategies to survive. The new pump-action shotgun should help with the tight quarters inside the warehouses.

Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't look terrible on consoles, but it shines brightest on PC. Even still, we wanted to see if there are any noticable differences between the PS4 Pro and PS5 versions of the game.

We've been playing Cyberpunk 2077 mostly on the PlayStation 5 and taking advantage of the unlocked GPU/CPU performance profiles made possible on the newer SoC chip. Cyberpunk 2077 runs better on PS5, hitting 60FPS at native 1188p resolution compared to the 30FPS performance on the PS4 Pro.

Cyberpunk 2077 has three different perf targets across the three different PlayStation consoles: PS4 hits 30FPS with lower-res textures and lots of compromises (drops as low as 15FPS). The PS4 Pro can hit 30FPS, and PS5 can hit 60FPS. But the PS5 plays the PS4 version, and doesn't have it's own next-gen optimizations.

Crytek is pushing out a new update for Crysis Remastered, providing new content, performance improvements, bug fixes, and more to the game on all platforms.

Crysis Remastered's new v2.0 update includes a new 'Ascension' level, aim assist for controllers, improvements to both ray tracing and CPU optimizations. Bug fixes ahoy here as well, with Crysis Remastered in what should be a much better state.

General

It looks like the future of space communications could be quantum computing-based for SpaceX, with investment bank Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jones teasing a potential future of quantum-based space comms.

The fresh perspective from Jones comes right on the heels of NASA researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) successfully teleported quantum information over 27 miles (44km). The test was important, as researchers successfully demonstrated that quantum technology worked with existing telecommunications systems.

Jones said: "From a SpaceX perspective, the commercial potential of quantum communications networks and its potential advantages of its rapidly deploying in-space comms architecture may provide significant optionality to the story and its valuation".

Riot Games is ending its rather turbulent 2020 by gifting its full-time staff with a free next-gen console where staffers can can choose from the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X -- and even the Nintendo Switch.

Full-time staff at Riot Games can choose between the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or Nintendo Switch -- as well as a one-time 10% bonus. Not just that, but they'll get an additional 2.5% for every year of service at Riot Games since 2017 -- extended to all full-time staff in 2021 on top of their annual bonuses.

A new work schedule is also being deployed among the mayhem of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will ease out staffers' weeks with added breaks through 2021. Riot wants to side-step the insane crunches in the industry, and burnout of its staff -- which is where the new consoles come into play.

A naughty Space Force airman has been reprimanded and demoted because he was 30 minutes late to physical training, because he was out buying a new PlayStation 5 console.

A letter was posted to the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook Page, where the Space Force airman reportedly texted his superior officer saying he would be 30 minutes late. The reason? He was driving around to different Target stores to find himself a new PS5 console.

In the texts, the Space Force airman reportedly said "Yolo, PS5 > letters of discipline".

It seems foreign hackers have gained access to the networks of both the US Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration.

There are new reports from both Bloomberg and Politico that say federal investigators say was part of a "Russian cyber attack that struck a number of federal government agencies. Microsoft Corp. was also breached, and its products were used to further attacks on others".

Shaylyn Hynes, a Department of Energy spokeswoman, said in a statement: "At this point, the investigation has found that the malware has been isolated to business networks only".

COLORFUL has announced its new flagship iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Neptune OC graphics card, which is one of the most expensive cards in this new generation of cards with the price tipping over $2000.

The new COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Neptune OC is a slimmer dual-slot design, with an AIO cooling solution and powerful 26-phase power design. We should expect this card to be one of the best overclockers, and best performers -- right up there with the high-end ASUS, EVGA, and MSI graphics cards.

COLORFUL's use of a powerful 26-phase power delivery system is used as a 14+8+4, meanwhile the out-of-the-box GPU clocks are at 1395/1755MHz for base and boost, respectively. COLORFUL provides you with that awesome Turbo Button on the back of the graphics card.

Sony has removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store as a countermeasure against massive controversy.

Due to massive controversy and terrible in-game performance, Sony has now officially taken Cyberpunk 2077 off the PS Store. Gamers can no longer buy Cyberpunk 2077--the listing is blank--and Sony is pushing back hard against CD Projekt RED's assertions that Sony and Microsoft let the games pass certification with the belief CDPR could fix them later.

Sony will also be offering full refunds for Cyberpunk 2077, regardless of playtime. Contact PlayStation Support to begin the process.

As the price of Bitcoin (BTC) hits a new all-time high, the prices of bitcoin mining machines are also going up -- around 35% since the beginning of November.

Bitmain and Microbt are reportedly totally out of bitcoin mining rigs until at least May 2021, which is 6 months away. This means that knowing there's no new mining machines arriving for 6 months, demand for machines is as solid as it can be -- and now miners are looking at second hand market to pick up hardware.

John Lee Quigley on Hashr8 explained that "everybody is bullish on bitcoin and the rise in the price of mining machines is certainly reflecting that". He adds that Marathon Patent Group got its hands-on a "purchase agreement for latest-generation" mining rigs that include 6000 x Antminer S-19J Pro mining rigs that will arrive in August 2021, and 4000 in September 2021.

Cyberpunk 2077 has many gamers complaining about issues with the game, with developer CD PROJEKT RED looking to push out a "major fix" on December 21.

This new major update will fix a bunch of the issues with the console versions of the game, with CD PROJEKT RED explaining: "First of all, we would like to start by apologizing to you for not showing Cyberpunk 2077 on base last-gen consoles before it premiered and, in consequence, not allowing you to make a more informed decision about your purchase".

The developer continues: "We should have paid more attention to making it play better on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Second, we will fix bugs and crashes, and improve the overall experience. The first round of updates has just been released and the next one is coming within the next 7 days".

The new Death Stranding update adds in a bunch of Cyberpunk 2077 content that actually adds a new layer to stealth play.

Today Kojima Productions surprise dropped a new free Cyberpunk 2077 DLC pack for Death Stranding on PC. The update includes cosmetics like Johnny Silverhand's iconic robotic arm and shades, along with a Kusanagi CT-3X motorcycle skin. There's also some augmentations like eye cybernetics to give Sam a futuristic look.

The best part of the free DLC isn't how Sam looks--it's the new stealth mechanics that make Death Stranding more like Hideo Kojima's previous espionage-driven franchise. The DLC adds a new hacking feature that lets players infiltrate, hack, and sabotage enemy tech, just like in Cyberpunk 2077. It adds a new dimension to sneaking in the game; you can disable sensor poles, sabotage enemy odradecks, short-circuit and disable trucks, and even punch the living hell out of enemies with Johnny's robot arm.

Henry Cavill is no stranger to PC gaming, with the Man of Steel and Witcher actor an avid PC gamer and was even in a World of Warcraft raid when his agent called to tell him he secured the role of Superman in Man of Steel.

Earlier this year in July 2020, Cavill was upgrading his personal gaming PC. But now Cavill is upgrading his PC with NVIDIA's new flagship GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card, with a post on his personal Instagram.