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Activision revealed cross-gen SKUs of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and confirmed the finalized Xbox Series X game case design. It's kind of confusing, but luckily it doesn't matter if consumers get them mixed up.

The final Xbox Series X game cases are pretty similar to the basic Xbox One cases--so similar that everyday consumers may buy the wrong version. The next-gen case design in question is for the newly-revealed Black Ops Cold War. The next-gen Xbox Series X version comes with the Xbox One version by default so there's no worry of a mix-up.

The cross-gen cases are similar but have some differences. Namely the Xbox Series X label in the upper right, and the next-gen console is listed first on the Xbox Series X version, whereas Xbox One version has the current-gen console first. Now here's what's confusing: Activision says physical disc versions of Cold War on Xbox One won't include a free upgrade on Xbox Series X. That upgrade is exclusive for digital versions of the Xbox One port, and it'll cost you $10 extra to unlock.

Sony has now opened up pre-order registrations for the PS5, but no pricing has been revealed.

Sony is now accepting pre-order registrations on the PlayStation website and you can sign up with your chance to grab a console when they go on sale. All you have to do is enter your PlayStation Network ID and you may receive a notification once pre-orders are live. This is a reservation for a pre-order slot for a console directly from Sony's online storefront, and not an actual pre-order of the console itself.

Not everyone who registers will be selected. Quantities are limited, and you'll only have a certain amount of time to pre-order before your reservation slot expires.

Halo: Infinite now has three third-party developers working on it: Sperasoft, Skybox Labs, and the newly announced Certain Affinity.

Today Certain Affinity announced that it's helping 343i make Halo: Infinite, and is now the third team to assist with the ambitious project. Certain Affinity, whose efforts with Halo stretch all the way back to Halo 2's map packs, has been working on Halo: Infinite since December 2019. The team is presumably working on Infinite's online multiplayer.

"Halo Infinite has huge long-term ambitions, while also giving a respectful nod to the franchise's past. This is an exciting combination. Given our own deep roots and long-time connections to the series, we couldn't be more excited to help 343 realize this vision," said Certain Affinity president Max Hoberman.

As we predicted long ago, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will unify cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-generational play to become the industry's most engaging game.

Black Ops Cold War represents the perfect storm of engagement. Today Activision announced Call of Duty 2020, and it's built around maximum billion-dollar monetization potential: Black Ops Cold War will feature the triumvirate of earnings, complete with cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-gen support.

Read Also: Black Ops Cold War next-gen upgrades cost $10 in new cross-gen plan

Activision isn't offering a free next-gen upgrade path for Black Ops Cold War. Instead, it's selling a cross-gen version for $69.99 that includes a copy of the game across both generations.

Current-gen gamers will have two options in buying the new Call of Duty on next-gen consoles. First there's a $69.99 Cross-Gen bundle on both the PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store, which includes both a PS4 or Xbox One copy of the game and a free PS5 and Xbox Series X version when it launches

Anyone who buys the base PS4 and Xbox One game for $59.99 can also upgrade to the next-gen version for $10. This is the exact same cross-gen upgrade plan Activision had with the Xbox 360/PS3 to Xbox One/PS4 generational shift.

Ultraleap today announced that it partnered with Qualcomm to make hand tracking a staple feature of the Snapdragon XR2 5G Reference design headset. The multi-year deal all but guarantees that future standalone VR and AR headsets will support intuitive hand tracked interactions.

Ultraleap's fifth-generation hand-tracking technology, dubbed Gemini, will come pre-integrated in Qualcomm's XR2 5G reference platform. Qualcomm's reference design is available to hardware manufacturers to help design standalone XR (VR and AR) devices, like Oculus's Quest headset.

"Qualcomm Technologies recognizes the importance of high-precision hand tracking in order to revolutionize interaction in XR. The compatibility of our technology with the Snapdragon XR2 5G Platform will make the process of designing hand tracking within a very wide variety of products as simple as pick and place," said Steve Cliffe, CEO of Ultraleap. "Qualcomm Technologies is in the position to bring transformation to XR by making state-of-the-art technologies - including 5G and spatial computing - available to a broad market. We are proud to be at the forefront of this fast-growing ecosystem alongside them."

A new recap video from Digital Foundry warns gamers not to expect next-gen PS5, Xbox Series X games to load in a blink of an eye at launch.

Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X feature high-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs that can blast data, assets, and content across a high-speed IO pipeline right to system memory. The storage tech is one of the single most exciting innovations that can transform how games are played. But for this to happen, developers must change how their games are made first.

Next-gen games must be built from the ground up to work with this new SSD pipeline, and rest assured that both Sony and Microsoft are indeed doing so. Ratchet and Clank A Rift Apart, for example, destroys loading times on PS5.

NVIDIA has provided more details on its next-gen Ampere GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards with its new "Remarkable Art & Science of Graphics Card Design" video has some of the smartest engineers and designers working at NVIDIA detailing the art and science behind graphics card designs.

They touch on some of what to expect from the future GeForce RTX 30 series card -- specifically, the new 12-pin PCIe power connector. But more importantly, during the video (at the 6:10 mark or so) you can see NVIDIA and the big shift to the new 12-pin PCIe power connector.

Strangely, and yet-unexplained -- it is at a 45-degree angle which is very interesting. Check it out:

NVIDIA is now detailing some of the cooling technology from its previous generation graphics cards, all leading into the September 1 event where we will be introduced to the new Ampere GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards.

The new "Remarkable Art & Science of Graphics Card Design" video has some of the smartest engineers and designers working at NVIDIA detailing the art and science behind graphics card designs. They touch on some of what to expect from the future GeForce RTX 30 series card -- specifically, the new 12-pin PCIe power connector.

NVIDIA explains: "Over the past 20 years, computer graphics have made huge advancements in performance. It takes a combination of expertise in architecture development, thermal, mechanical, electrical, and product design to make it all happen. We offer a first glimpse at some of the strides we have made in designing graphics cards, so that they can reach their maximum potential and remain cool and quiet". They include:

At least... not yet ;)

It's now being confirmed by VideoCardz that NVIDIA will not be launching a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, and instead we'll see the GeForce RTX 3090 and GeForce RTX 3080 unveiled on September 1.

VideoCardz said that the information had been "confirmed through our sources at AIBs" and I can confirm this, in an article I wrote not too long ago I said we would see custom GeForce RTX 30 series cards pretty quickly after launch. This is because I've talked with sources, and these sources only ever referred to the 'RTX 3090 and RTX 3080'.

ASUS revealed the world's first 360Hz gaming monitor earlier this year at CES 2020, but now the monitor is officially on its way and will be available in September.

The ASUS ROG Swift PG259QN features a 24.5-inch Fast IPS panel with liquid crystal elements that "turn on and off up to four times faster than conventional IPS panels" that provides super-smooth gaming with 1ms GTG response time. This on top of the huge 360Hz refresh rate and NVIDIA G-SYNC and you have some serious monitor horsepower.

We have a native 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution, and driving those 360FPS numbers is being looked after by ASUS with the engineering team using a custom heat sink to keep the ROG Swift PG259QN cool.

Google is detailing a number of improvements and new features that will be included in the latest release of its Chrome web browser -- especially for people like me, who have 100+ tabs open at once.

The new improvements are coming thanks to the influx of people working from home over the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing Google to push a little harder in software-enabled productivity.

Alex Ainslie, Chrome's Director of UX explained in a blog post: "These days, people are spending a lot of time in their browsers to get things done, whether for work, school or something else. And while some write out a formal to-do list to keep track of tasks, for others, their to-do list is their tabs in Chrome. However you get things done, we want Chrome to help you be more productive".

NZXT has just surprised with a single step right before Microsoft and Sony release their next-gen Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles -- a new trio of pre-built gaming PCs guaranteeing 60FPS gaming.

The new StarterPC pre-built computers start at $699, with the introductory model packing an Intel Core i3-9100F, 8GB of RAM, MSI GeForce GTX 1650 D6 Ventus XS OC, and 512GB of Intel 660p M.2 SSD storage. The step up from there is $200 more at $899, with a faster Core i5-9400F, 16GB RAM, MSI GTX 1660 SUPER Ventus XS 6G OC and the same SSD.

Up from there is another $100 from the StarterPlus, with the StarterPro priced at $999 -- it rocks the same Core i5-9400F processor, upgraded MSI GTX 1660 Ti Ventus XS 6G OC, and larger 1TB of Intel 665p M.2 SSD.

Caviar makes some of the highest-end luxury custom smartphones in the world, with their new take on Samsung's just-released Galaxy Note 20 Ultra costing up to $6260.

Samsung charges around $1400 for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, so you're paying a $4860 premium for what exactly? Well, Caviar is using some exotic materials including red marble on the back panel, beautiful decorative framework on the back of the phone -- which uses rose gold covering.

The company is only making 396 of these smartphones in total, with 3 different series having 99 each -- starting at $5750 up to $6260. The website is light on details, but I don't think anyone paying $6000+ for a custom $1400 smartphone is going to care.

NVIDIA is preparing for its big next-gen GeForce reveal on September 1 -- more on that here, but now we have a GPU nude to share with you for the Ampere GA102 GPU. Check it out:

The GA102 nude is courtesy of PolyMorph on Chiphell, with a beautiful dieshot of the GA102-300-A1 GPU. This isn't a final GPU that would go into an official GeForce RTX 3090 or GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card -- as they will both be powered by GA102 -- but rather a qualifying state chip for testing.

Here's an easier break down for you:

Today 343 Industries confirms Halo: Infinite won't be delayed to 2022, and is still on track for a 2021 release and won't be next-gen exclusive.

Contrary to recent rumors, Halo: Infinite isn't being delayed to 2022. 343i community manager John Junyszek confirmed the news today in a Tweet:

"We're seeing lots of fake "leaks" out there, so please don't believe everything you read. There are no plans to change our 2021 release or the devices and platforms we'll be supporting. We're building Halo Infinite to be the best it can be on each device/platform."

Oculus VR is now part of the new Facebook Reality Labs division, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced.

Facebook is about to be integrated into all Oculus headsets on a base level, but this new cross-ecosystem focus goes a lot deeper. The entire Oculus business is now part of the new Facebook Reality Labs division, which includes VR products, AR initiatives including hardware and software, and deep research into future technologies like neural interfaces.

"Today we're unifying all our teams working on these areas -- our Oculus products, augmented reality efforts, home devices, and long term research initiatives, including areas like neural interfaces -- into a group called Facebook Reality Labs. This better reflects the full scope of what we're hoping to build: giving people the power to feel connected anytime, anywhere,"Zuckerberg said.

Microsoft's secretive The Initiative team is working alongside Gears developer The Coalition on the world's first AAAA game. This could get really, really messy for Microsoft.

If there's one thing I learned from Jason Schreier's book Blood, Sweat and Pixels it's that making games is a near-impossible feat at the best of times. It doesn't matter how big your budget is, or how big your team is; throwing endless cash and talent at a project doesn't mean anything will happen. Plans of mice and men often go awry, and this is extremely apt for games development, which often leads to cancellations, years' of wasted work, and outright closures of big studios (like Visceral Games, for example).

NOTE: One thing I want to get out of the way right now is that this isn't a jab at Microsoft. If Sony were doing something like this, I'd express similar skepticism. But how Sony and Microsoft handle gaming are very different. Sony is all-in on gaming, and Microsoft sees gaming as a side-business at best.

Activision may follow 2K Games' lead with NBA 2K21's Mamba Edition and sell a cross-gen bundle of Black Ops Cold War instead of free next-gen upgrades.

Activision probably won't have a free next-gen upgrade path for Black Ops Cold War. New leaks confirm a new ultimate edition that includes cross-gen versions, likely for a higher MSRP of at least $80 (or even $99.99). The leaks suggest anyone who buys the PS4 or Xbox One versions of Cold War will have two options to get next-gen versions of the game:

We're not sure if the next-gen PS5, Xbox Series X version of Cold War will be $69.99, but it's likely. If this happens we should see other publishers follow suit. Call of Duty is a trend-setter in the gaming sphere that other publishers imitate.

SEGA expects 2020 will be an 'extremely difficult period' due to coronavirus disruption, and forecasts 2.5 billion yen ($23.2 million) extraordinary losses.

SEGA is in trouble. The company is warning investors that COVID-19 is significantly negatively impacting all areas of its business outside of physical and digital gaming. SEGA arcades and pachinko are a big part of its business--or they were before coronavirus. It also operates resorts, but in 2020, both resorts and arcade segments are expected to incur -6.5 billion yen ($60.4 million) and -9.5 billion yen losses ($88 million), respectively. SEGA has already shut down its well-known Akihabara arcade in Japan.