Latest News - Page 217

Microsoft has announced a significant price hike for Game Pass, along with an overhaul of the names of each tier, which follows the company's increase in the price of Xbox consoles.

The three tiers are now referred to as Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. As for the price hike, Microsoft has specifically targeted Game Pass Ultimate, which is now $29.99/month, or $360 per year. This price hike is accompanied by a rebranding of the Game Pass tiers, with "Core" now renamed "Essential" and "Standard" renamed "Premium".

Notably, when Game Pass Ultimate first launched in June 2019, it was priced at $14.99, which increased to $16.99 in July 2023, then to $19.99 in July 2024, and is now $29.99 as of October 2025. Ultimate has doubled in price since launch.

When it comes to cloud gaming, which involves streaming games over a network to a wide range of devices, the two names that consistently come up regarding game support, features, and overall quality are NVIDIA's GeForce NOW and Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming. Other services exist, like Amazon Luna (which is available for Prime members), which is relaunching as a cloud gaming platform "for everyone."

This means that, in addition to being able to stream modern titles like EA SPORTS FC 25, Assassin's Creed: Shadows, and Fortnite, Amazon Luna is being "completely redesigned and reimagined" to support a renewed focus on social party games that don't require traditional hardware, such as a controller, to play.

These new cloud-gaming experiences will be located in a new section called GameNight, which will feature a collection of these "social party games" where your smartphone serves as the controller. "All GameNight games are designed to be played together with family and friends for maximum laughter and connection," Amazon writes in the announcement.

The new Logitech MX Master 4is the latest version of the company's long-running series of ergonomic mice designed for professionals and productivity. It's the first mouse in the Logitech MX Master series to introduce haptic feedback, which is customizable, offering vibration-based feedback for tasks such as scrolling, navigation, and selection.

And yes, per the headline, the Logitech MX Master 4 delivers the "fastest and most precise scrolling experience" in its lineup, with the electromagnetic MagSpeed scroll wheel's hyper-fast mode allowing users to scroll through 1,000 lines per second when navigating through documents. An impressive statistic that highlights just how different a scroll wheel on a productivity-first mouse is compared to the tactile step-based approach found on nearly all gaming mice.

Underneath the hood, the Logitech MX Master 4 is powered by an 8,000 DPI optical sensor that is optimized to accurately track on a wide range of surfaces, including glass. There's also a new "high-performance chip and optimised antenna" that Logitech says delivers twice the wireless connectivity strength of previous MX Master models.

Is Windows 7 making a comeback in 2025? Well, it looks to be the case as the latest operating system numbers from StatCounter show that when it comes to the worldwide desktop Windows version market share, Windows 7 is sitting at an impressive (and surprising) 9.6%. And Windows 7 use is surging, with it increasing from around 2% in July to almost 10%.

Windows 7 was first released back in 2009 as the successor to Windows Vista. Unlike Vista, Windows 7 quickly gained popularity among all users, especially gamers and those using their PCs for multimedia purposes. Windows 7 received its last security update in 2023, so it is surprising to see its market share rise in recent months.

According to StatCounter's latest data, although Windows 11 is the most popular version of the operating system, its market share has remained relatively unchanged since June. In fact, even though the market share for Windows 10 has dropped from around 48% to 40%, the chart suggests that Windows 7 has gained those customers.

If you've been a PC gamer for a while and have built a new gaming rig or two in your day, then MSI Afterburner probably needs no introduction. The popular tool for customizing GPU settings, fan curves, and performance monitoring remains the go-to option for many PC gamers in 2025. However, you might be surprised to learn that the tool hasn't received a 'Stable' or non-Beta release for a couple of years. That is, until now.

MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 Stable is the latest version of the tool, available for download and installation now via Guru3D (and coming soon to MSI.com). This new version arrives over two years after the last 'Final' or Stable release, 4.6.5 from 2023, bringing "wide-ranging improvements, expanded hardware support, and security updates."

Under the hood, this new version utilizes the Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 compiler, which means it no longer supports Windows XP. In terms of new stuff, MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 includes full support for NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 Series, including GPUs with four fans, as well as AMD's new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 9000 Series. As MSI no longer sells Radeon GPUs, this support is unofficial.

Ubisoft's new Tencent-backed subsidiary is named Vantage Studios, and it will oversee the company's largest-value assets.

Today, Ubisoft revealed Vantage Studios, the new group that will lead the future development of high-value Ubisoft franchises including Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. The subsidiary was formed as part of a billion-dollar partnership between Ubisoft and Tencent; in exchange for a substantial $1.2 billion investment, Tencent would receive 25% stake in this new subsidiary, whose assets were valued in excess of $4 billion at the time.

"Following the recent announcement of Ubisoft's new subsidiary and its two co-CEOs, the company today announced the launch of Vantage Studios, the newly created "creative house" now responsible for some of Ubisoft's largest franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Led by Charlie Guillemot and Christophe Derennes, Vantage Studios will take on development and expansion of these brands, building on the foundation of Ubisoft's experience and expertise, sharing services and technical resources, all while giving developers more hands-on control over the games they are building."

The Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for September 2025 are in, and in the discrete GPU space, NVIDIA continues to dominate with 74% market share compared to just under 18% for AMD and around 8% for Intel. However, a significant portion of AMD and Intel's market share comes from integrated GPUs, as seen in AMD's latest Ryzen AI and Ryzen Z2 Extreme chips for laptops and gaming handhelds.

Examining the top 25 discrete graphics cards used by PC gamers on Steam reveals that they are all GeForce models, led by mainstream options such as the GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 4060, entry-level models like the GeForce RTX 3050, and mid-range cards like the GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 4070.

With NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 Series launching this year, led by the new flagship GeForce RTX 5090, every model is now listed in the Steam Hardware Survey, apart from the GeForce RTX 5050. Out of the full lineup, far and away the most popular card looks to be the GeForce RTX 5070, which has seen its market share grow to 1.62%.

Microsoft has announced another price hike for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate since launch, and the service is now $30 a month or $360 per year.

Game Pass Ultimate is becoming more expensive, and it's happening right before the release of Black Ops 7. Microsoft today announced a Game Pass rebrand, raising prices of its top-tier Ultimate subscription along the way.

This is the third price increase for Game Pass Ultimate; since it was released in 2019, the cost of a monthly Game Pass Ultimate subscription has increased by 100%, from $14.99 per month in July 2019 to $29.99 per month in October 2025.

Battlefield Studios has just announced that Battlefield 6 Season 1 will kick off on October 28, providing gamers with free new content. Let's dive into it.

Season 1 starts on October 28 with Rogue Ops, which features a new map called Blackwell Fields, a new 4v4 mode called Strikepoint, and some new weapons. The second phase starts on November 18 with California Resistance, featuring a new map called Eastwood that's located in Southern California, as well as a new 8v8 mode called Sabotage. Meanwhile, the final phase of Season 1 is called Winter Offensive and begins on December 9, including a new seasonal map update to Empire State and a themed event.

Blackwell Fields includes support for all combat sizes, land, and air vehicles, with the backstory being that at the end of the single player campaign of Battlefield 6, double agents from antagonist faction Pax Armata launch a bunch of attacks on NATO targets, starting at the recommissioned American air base in the California badlands.

BioWare veteran Mark Darrah, known for being a producer across the Dragon Age games, has posted a new video discussing EA's $55 billion private acquisition, saying BioWare's future is very uncertain as the games the studio makes the new company may not be interested in producing any more.

Darrah explains in the new video seen above that EA is now not incentivized to take risks, and the company's focus could now switch to generating as much revenue as possible, especially considering the $55bn acquisition, $36bn is in equity with the remaining $20bn in JPMorgan debt, which EA is required to cover. With looming debt and new owners, Darrah suggests that EA will probably be very hesitant to greenlight the revival of dormant IPs it has under its belt, and may decide to sell off a bunch of them to shave off debt.

The BioWare veteran also suggested EA could close down some of its existing studios, or even sell them off to other publishers. Darrah even went as far as to say that EA could simply sell off all of EA Entertainment to a buyer with "deep pockets," leaving just EA Sports for the publisher to focus on. Ultimately, Darrah says he doesn't know what EA is going to do exactly, but "It's incredibly unlikely that EA stays exactly as it currently is in a private structure, especially carrying £20bn worth of debt".

If you thought your standard Game Pass subscription would give you access to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 when it releases, that sadly isn't going to be the case, as some fine print indicates Black Ops 7 is locked behind a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, and won't be available on Day One to Essential and Premium subscribers.

This seemingly small but vital piece of information may be something many gamers didn't realize when signing up for Game Pass ahead of the Black Ops 7 release, as it only states in a few places that an Ultimate subscription is required for access to the latest Call of Duty title. One place where it's stated is in a recent X post by the official Xbox Game Pass account, where it reads at the bottom of the image in fine print, "*Excludes Call of Duty titles. **Requires Game Pass Ultimate."

Why this might be confusing for some is that many gamers pick up Game Pass when a new big title releases to be able to play it at launch, as it's much cheaper to buy Game Pass than to purchase the full game. Day One releases are included in both Game Pass tiers, but Call of Duty games are excluded from the lower tiers of Game Pass and are exclusive only to Game Pass Ultimate.

Achievement and trophy hunters will be glad to know the full list of to-dos has been released for Battlefield 6, and there will be 42 boxes to check off.

Battlefield 6 launches on October 10, and while most players will be heading straight to the all-out warfare of multiplayer, some will be working their way through the achievement and trophy list. Luckily, that full list has already been released by Battlefield Studios, which outlines the majority of what players will need to do to earn the achievements and trophies.

Notably, PlayStation 5 players will have a 43rd trophy to unlock, and that is, of course, the famed Platinum Trophy, which is awarded after all other trophies are obtained. Battlefield Studios didn't reveal the description for all of the achievements within its post on the official Battlefield X account, as some are labelled "Classified" and "Top Secret".

TSMC's 2nm (N2) process is shaping up to be one of the most important semiconductor nodes in recent history. Compared to 3nm, demand for 2nm is expected to be significantly higher, as mobile, HPC, and data center customers are knocking at TSMC's door, asking to be added to its customer list.

Notably, N2 will mark a shift in semiconductor technology as it features the Gate-All-Around transistors (GAAFET), which promises big improvements in efficiency and density compared to traditional FinFETs. GAAFET is slated to allow for increased performance at the same power level or lower power at the same performance compared to older technology. GAAFET was expected to enter risk production in late 2024 and mass production in 2025, with a commercial launch for chips set for the first half of 2026.

With the shift to a new technology, TSMC has tech companies flocking to become customers, and one of the first major adopters of the N2 node is AMD, with the company already confirming it will be using the N2 with its next-generation EPYC CPUs codenamed "Venice," which are headed for data centers. TSMC's N2 node is truly the bleeding edge, and AMD's commitment to the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer is to further strengthen its position against Intel, its direct competitor.

Bethesda's Fallout 76 is getting a massive new update and expansion this December with the release of Fallout 76: Burning Springs. Not only is it the most significant update to the game since 2020's well-received Wastelanders overhaul that added NPCs to the game, but it features an impressive tie-in with the popular Amazon Prime Video TV series.

Yes, players will have the opportunity to engage with one of the breakout characters from the show, The Ghoul, voiced by Walton Goggins and featuring his post-apocalyptic likeness. The big selling point for Fallout 76: Burning Springs is that it introduces a brand-new region to explore, post-apocalyptic Ohio.

This "war-torn desert landscape" will see players battle Deathclaws and Raiders, while introducing new factions, quests, and activities, including fishing. As for The Ghoul, he'll engage with players as part of the new Bounty Hunting missions that will send players on bounty hunting missions throughout the Burning Springs for rewards that include the character's iconic gun from the TV show.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is right around the corner, and in this year's upcoming title, players will be able to copy the weapon build directly from the kill cam.

If you have played Call of Duty, you know the feeling of being absolutely gunned down within a matter of seconds by an enemy opponent, and sometimes it happens so quickly or so impressively fast that you are curious what weapon could cause so much damage.

Black Ops 7 will enable players to not only view the weapon the enemy was wielding, but also copy the exact loadout via a shareable weapon build code. Players will be able to import the code from the kill cam and add it to their own loadout, saving time manually going into all of the attachments and making sure all of the same ones are equipped.

With its $599.99 USD price tag, the new Arctis Nova Elite headset from SteelSeries is making the case for being the first true audiophile-grade wireless gaming headset. For those who live in that space, the Arctis Nova Elite's support for 96 kHz 24-bit hi-res audio over a low-latency wireless signal (via the LC3+ Codec) is something to take note of. As is the frequency response, from 10Hz to 40kHz.

Everything about the new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite headset is premium and pro-grade, including the carbon fiber audio drivers that feature a brass ring for enhanced pistonic motion. Now, if you're unaware of what that is, it's the sort of thing you find in some high-quality speaker designs. Basically, the promise here is accurate, detailed, and distortion-free sound that you can fine-tune to create an immersive audio experience.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite headset also includes a GameHub that pairs with multiple devices (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, or mobile) and supports seamless switching. There's even an option to stream from multiple sources at once with "zero audio degradation."

GeForce Game Ready Driver 581.42 - WHQL is here, and it adds day one support for what is arguably one of the biggest PC game launches of the year, Battlefield 6. For GeForce RTX owners planning to pick up the latest installment in the acclaimed multiplayer shooter series, this is a must-install, as the game is set to utilize a wide range of RTX technology support.

Launching on October 10, Battlefield 6 is set to arrive with DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and NVIDIA Reflex support on day one, as well as DLSS Frame Generation, DLSS Super Resolution, and DLAA support. "Using these technologies, all GeForce RTX gamers can accelerate and enhance their experience, making gameplay smoother and more responsive," NVIDIA writes.

In addition to the game's multiplayer modes, which led to the recent Battlefield 6 Open Beta becoming the largest in the franchise's history, the game is also set to include a single-player campaign. In addition to Battlefield 6, the latest GeForce Game Ready Driver also adds support for FBC: Firebreak's major Breakpoint update, fixes a few bugs, and expands Project G-Assist controls for laptops.

After reviewing it earlier this month, where it earned an Editor's Choice award for "offering double the performance of all previous 8TB retail NVMe SSDs," Samsung has launched its new 8TB SSD 9100 PRO - available in two models, one without a heatsink and one with a Heatsink.

Like the previous 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB Samsung SSD 9100 PRO models, the 8TB version is a PCIe Gen5 SSD offering blazingly fast read and write speeds of 14,800 and 13,400 MB/s, respectively. As an SSD for consumers, this new model targets data-intensive workloads, including video editing, AI, and gaming. Samsung notes that the heatsink variant is also optimized for the PlayStation 5; however, there you are limited to slower PCIe Gen4 speeds.

As an 8TB Gen5 option, though, it's an impressive SSD with a Total Bytes Written (TBW) rating of 4,800, alongside random read/write IOPS of 2,200K and 2,600K, respectively. As the largest-capacity SSD in Samsung's lineup, it also features a larger cache with an impressive 8GB of LPDDR4X and comes with a five-year limited warranty.

LG has announced a new world's first for displays, with the UltraFine evo 6K (model 32U990A) being the first monitor with a 6K resolution for professionals and creators. It supports Thunderbolt 5 connectivity and is described as a "premium, ultra-high-resolution monitor" that will ship in late October with a price tag of $1,999.99 USD.

In addition to Thunderbolt 5, the LG UltraFine 32U990A 31.5" 6K HDR Monitor also includes support for HDMI and DisplayPort with a resolution of 6144 x 3456 pixels, a 60 Hz refresh rate, and a 5 ms GtG Response Time. LG notes that this display is designed for professionals in the video editing and graphic design fields, featuring an impressive 224 PPI.

Naturally, as a display for professionals in the video and digital image space, color accuracy is also impressive, covering 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color space and 99.5 percent of Adobe RGB. It's also DisplayHDR 600-certified for those working with video, with LG noting that it offers "consistent brightness" to match the true color output.

Intel is currently hosting its Tech Tour 2025 event, with the media and analysts flying in for the huge Panther Lake CPU reveal, and much more from Team Blue.

Intel is allowing attendees of Tech Tour 2025 to confirm that they're on the ground, but they're under NDA to not post anything about what they see or find out. We know Intel is poised to unveil its next-gen Panther Lake CPUs, which are fabbed in-house on its new Intel 18A process node, with upgraded compute chiplets, and the debut of Xe3 "Celestial" GPU cores.

We've seen some things from the event, with a slide confirming the embargo dates, and that some of the attendees have been touring Intel's Ocotillo semiconductor facility and Fab 52, which is grinding away making chips on the new Intel 18A process node. We should expect to hear all about Intel's new 18A node and the next-gen Panther Lake and Xeon CPUs, on October 9.