The Federal Trade Commission has dismissed its case against the Microsoft-Activision merger.

The largest video games acquisition in history is now left unchallenged. The FTC has dropped its administrative case and will no longer be tackling Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King in its administrative court.

The federal agency released a filing that confirmed the adjudicative lawsuit that directly challenged the antitrust implications of the merger has been dismissed.

The resurgence of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 in 2025 is fully underway, with the near-decade-old title setting a new record for concurrent players on Steam yesterday.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 has been trending since May the 4th, with players flocking back to the 2017 title to revisit large-scale warfare in the Star Wars universe. Nothing quite captures the film-like experience offered by the Battlefront series, and that magic still shows up in 2025, setting a new all-time record for peak players on Steam as of May 24.

The previous all-time peak for the game was 10,489 in 2021, shortly after it was made available on Steam. As an Origin exclusive until June 2020, there are no figures to highlight the number of players on PC post-launch. However, as many would remember, the game had a rollercoaster first couple of years.

We are hoping, wishing, and praying that Valve releases Half-Life 3 this year... but new rumors on Reddit from leakers suggest that "people might not like the story" and that the story hook for codename HLX (Half-Life) could have gamers divided.

During a recent livestream from Valve insider Tyler McVicker, GameFollower said that people might not like the story of Half-Life 3, but McVicker has a strong policy of not posting any spoilers about the storyline of Half-Life 3, but it seems that gamers might not be happy with the story Valve has prepared for HL3.

But, knowing Valve... Half-Life 3 would've been playtested for an insane amount of time, and the developer has even gone as far as hiring an in-house experimental psychologist specifically tasked to playtesting. This is how thorough and meticulous the developer is about making their games near-perfect.

Sony is reportedly working on a PlayStation 6 handheld, with previous reports that the new SoC would be fabbed by TSMC, but now we're hearing new rumors that it could be fabbed on Samsung Foundry's new SF2P process node.

In a new post on X by insider @Jukanlosreve he has heard that Sony is "currently evaluating a new low-power gaming SoC project -- internally referred to as "Jupiter". The insider adds that "the chips is expected to be developed by AMD and fabricated using Samsung Foundry's SF2P node, with mass production targeted for post-2028. The deal hasn't been finalized yet. It's still under review between Sony, Samsung, and AMD".

In the most recent rumors of the PlayStation 6 handheld, it should be more powerful than an Xbox Series S console, but less powerful than a regular PlayStation 5 console, which is due to the lower memory bandwidth inside of the PS6 handheld.

MSI showed off a range of new components at Computex 2025, including new motherboards and an interesting product that caught our eye, the MAG Lite Vision 12 auxiliary case display.

When it comes to motherboards, there was a definitely lean towards AMD products at this year's show, and MSI took the opportunity to show off a few new models. Two in particular stood out, those being the MEG X870E ACE and the feature-packed X870I EDGE TI WIFI.

The MEG X870E ACE is a new offering from MSI, and it stands out as one of the most feature-rich X870E boards money can buy. It's pretty much got the lot, with 10G LAN, five M.2 slots, a mega VRM for overclockers, USB4 and a lovely black and gold aesthetic. It's the kind of board that should serve users for years to come given AM5's expected longevity.

As AI increasingly gets everywhere, you can bet it's going to be more of an influence in the gaming world, and hold that thought, because Intel has freshly revealed its plans for an AI coach.

Over at Computex 2025, Team Blue showed off its own take on an AI assistant (hat tip to VideoCardz for picking this up), but it's quite a scaled-back effort compared to NVIDIA's G-Assist, at least in this initial form.

Intel's AI Gaming Coach will only work with supported games, meaning that the developer will need to incorporate the tech into any given title. So, that'll certainly limit how much we'll see of the coach, depending on how hard Intel pushes devs to use the tech.

In the video game world, the wait for a good Game of Thrones adaption continues - or does it? Well, maybe, or maybe not, because the new Kingsroad game has just emerged on PC and mobile, and it appears to be divisive to say the least.

Game of Thrones: Kingsroad arrived a couple of days ago on Steam and the Epic Games Store for PC gamers, and Android plus iOS too, with the game being free to play. However, despite the lack of any entrance fee, the opinions of the game in its full launch state remain seriously polarized (as were the critiques of Kingsroad while it was still in early access on Steam).

The pitch is an action-adventure RPG with a proper Game of Thrones story (set between seasons four and five of the TV series) the brings "Westeros to life with remarkable detail and never-before seen scale" and Unreal Engine 5 graphics. However, the reception is more mixed than a compilation of 80s hits on a C90 cassette. Steam denizens either like it, or really, really hate it.

Computex 2025 has spawned many new and interesting PC cases, but one design that wasn't replicated by any other company I came across was the Blade Concept by GAMEMAX.

GAMEMAX gave me a tour of its suite at Computex 2025, where it showcased many new PC cases and power supplies. However, the Blade Concept definitely stood out the most, as its design includes five "blades" running parallel to each other, and in between each of these blades was a seatbelt. I immediately asked about the inclusion of the seatbelt, and GAMEMAX informed me that they are included strictly for aesthetic purposes; they don't have any practical application.

As for the general design of the Blade Concept, GAMEMAX informed me that the design is inspired by lion claws, which is an extension of the company's lion head logo. Each of the blades has embedded RGB strips, and according to the company, the case is extremely heavy due to the material it has used to construct it. Another notable product at the GAMEMAX suite was the flagship PSU, the Lion Core Platinum series, which will be available in 1200W and 1000W variants.

Montech has blasted through Computex 2025 with some of the best cases we saw at this years trade show, with revisions to its highest-end model, King 95, making its way to its King 45 and King 15 models.

I met with Montech at their booth, where they informed me they have combined some of the best features of the HS01 with their King cases, meaning each of the King models offers even more value for consumers. Montech's King line-up includes a Pro version and a non-Pro version, with the non-Pro version not coming with any fans, and the Pro version being shipped with four fans. However, that isn't the highlight, as Montech has changed the angle of the bottom case to allow for better air intake to help cooling components such as a GPU.

Despite that cool addition to the King line-up, that wasn't the feature that stood out to me the most, as Montech showed me that users can mount the PSU to the front of the case within a shroud, enabling the power cable to be routed through the top of the case. Why is this great? It makes cable organization much easier, completely hides the PSU from view, and enables the case to keep its narrow width while also having triple fans on the bottom of the case for that increased airflow. Very smart.

The follow-up to the iconic Wooting 60HE gaming keyboard has arrived, and we saw it at Computex 2025. For those who need a refresher, the Wooting 60HE introduced adjustable actuation and 'Rapid Trigger' to gaming keyboards, changing the trajectory for keyboards designed for competitive gamers.

The Wooting team has been working on the Wooting 60HE V2 for a few years now, and the results are impressive. The most immediate difference is how great and responsive the new Lekker Tikken Switches feel, and more importantly (to some), sound. The reason for this is simple, with Wooting explaining that it's the first closed-bottom Hall-effect or adjustable magnetic switch with the full 4mm range for travel.

Throw in a PET layer of film underneath the switch to further enhance the "marbly" sound, and the difference between the Wooting 60HE and Wooting 60HE V2 is night and day. And we say that because Wooting placed both keyboards next to each other to let us feel the difference first-hand.

Acer had something quite interesting in the halls of Nangang this year at Computex 2025, something I initially walked past... but then walked back to and had to scope it out. A dual-panel, portable monitor that is the ideal purchase for the crazy multi-tasker (like myself) in your life. Check it out:

Welcome to the Acer PD243Y E, featuring dual 23.5-inch panels with native 1080p displays stacked on top of one another, with the upper panel held in place with four high-quality hinges. I did flex this bad boy as much as I could back and forth to see just how good those hinges are, and with my quick play at Computex it held up beautifully.

Acer says you'll be able to tilt the dual-panel portable display from 0-310 degrees, and they were right, this thing is a flexing beast. I initially though that they were 27-inch panels, but after double checking with an Acer rep on the ground at Nangang, these are 23.5-inch panels (looks can be deceiving, just like Agent Smith says in The Matrix).

Last year, we got our first look at Thermal Grizzly's WireView Pro tool for GPUs using the 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6 power connectors. A device for high-end GeForce RTX graphics cards, this tool offers valuable data by measuring and monitoring temperature and power directly at the connection point.

Fast-forward to Computex 2025, and we've seen more cases of melting cables for the 575W GeForce RTX 5090 emerge. Investigations, like this one from De8auer, have discovered a potential imbalance in the GPU's power getting evenly spread across all of the individual cables found on the newer 12V-2x6 power connector.

With that, Thermal Grizzly was back at Computex with a prototype of the new WireView Pro II, which has been designed to monitor and detect issues related to the new power connector. And yes, this includes the ability to measure per-pin current to detect imbalance loading and warn users in advance of any potential failure due to power issues.

XPG is no stranger to PC cases, cooling, and power supplies and at Computex 2025 the company had on showcase a selection of new products worth adding to your shortlist of potential PC upgrades.

ADATA's gaming arm, "XPG," had on display a selection of new cases at Computex 2025, and one that caught my eye was Valor Mesh Nano, a spin-off of its previous Valor Mesh and Valor Air models. What is interesting about these cases is the reduction in size, but their ability to still house larger GPUs such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. Moreover, the compact design supports a 360mm radiator and up to 6x 120mm fans, including 1x pre-installed ARGB 120mm fan.

To go along with XPG's compact cases, the company has designed the PYMCORE SFX series of PSUs, which are SFF-certified power supplies designed to fit into these small cases. The XPG PYMCORE Gold, photographed below, is available in 850W and 750W variants, with Gold certification by 80 PLUS. Moreover, these small PSUs are compatible with NVIDIA SFF-Ready enthusiast GeForce Cards, making them perfect for a gamer looking to build an extremely small system with a beefy graphics card. Notably, all of these models are configured with 100% Japanese capacitors.

ASUS had an awesome booth at Computex 2025 this year, with one of (the many) new product unveilings being the new ROG XG Station 3, a new Thunderbolt 5-powered external GPU solution.

The new ASUS ROG XG Station 3 (with Thunderbolt 5) is an external graphics dock that boosts gaming and performance on your laptop, and it's not just for gamers: content creators, and higher-end AI workloads require much faster GPUs than you can get in a laptop... as long as you've got Thunderbolt 5, you can enjoy up to 80Gbps of bandwidth.

The external GPU solution is compatible with NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" GPUs as well as AMD's new fleet of Radeon RX 9000 series "RDNA 4" graphics cards.

Corsair had so many cool things to check out at Computex 2025 this year, and one of those was its Multi Frame Pegboard PC: where everything is attached to the Pegboard at the back, including your monitor, gaming PC, spare screens, Elgato streaming hardware, cabling, and more. Check it out:

As you can see in the images above (and below) the Corsair Multi Frame Pegboard has your entire setup on the desk, and behind the monitor. This includes your gaming PC, the monitor, tons of fans (AIOs, etc), spare screens, and more.

Better yet, you can 3D print parts and accessories for the Pegboard including an ATX tray, ATX tray split, ITX tray, ITX dual-slot GPU I/O bracket, vertical mount bracket, a vertical mount bracket extender, dual-slot GPU I/O bracket, triple-slot GPU I/O bracket, GPU support bracket, 120mm/240mm/360mm mounts, a cable holder, as well as ITX and ATX PSU mounts! All the stuffs!

At Computex 2025, Synology debuted its new flagship product for businesses - the PAS7700 storage solution. With what the company is calling "active-active" NVMe all-flash storage, it's designed for high-performance and "mission-critical" workloads. And when it comes to capacity and speed, it's something of a beast.

The Synology PAS7700 features 48 NVMe SSD bays in a relatively compact form factor (a 4U chassis) and can scale to 1.65 PB of capacity. 1.65 PB or Petabytes translates to an impressive 1650 TB or Terabytes, but that's just part of the story. The PAS7700 also features an AMD EPYC processor, redundant memory (up to 2TB), and support for 100GbE networking.

Optimized for the most demanding environments and workloads, the PAS7700 leverages flash's enhanced speed for ultra-low latency, up to 2 million 4K random read IOPS, and 30GB/s 64K sequential throughput.

Mention night vision and this will likely conjure up images of big, clunky goggles of some kind, but scientists have just developed a far more elegant solution in the form of contact lenses that allow people to see in the dark using infrared light.

This is a creation of the University of Science and Technology of China, where experiments with nanoparticles led to the development of the technology.

The contact lenses in question are made with nanoparticles which absorb infrared light, and as Phys.org, which spotted this invention, points out, specifically this is near-infrared light (NIR), only just beyond the spectrum of what people can already see.

Bandai Namco and A24 have announced a new collaboration to make a live-action film adaptation of FromSoftware's world-renowned video game, Elden Ring. The Lands Between are coming to the silver screen.

For those who don't know, Elden Ring was created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, who based the game on a mythological story written by George R.R Martin, the author of the legendary fantasy series Game of Thrones. Bandai Namco wrote in its press release that the project is going to be helmed by filmmaker Alex Garland, known for his work on Ex Machina, Civil War, and the recently released Warfare. Garland will be writing and directing the film, with Peter Rice, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, and George R.R Martin being on board as producers.

At the moment, there isn't any mention of when the live-action Elden Ring movie will be released or who will be cast as the characters. There isn't even a mention of what story is going to be told. All we know is that it has been confirmed to be in the works and that Alex Garland is writing and directing it. Notably, Elden Ring was released in 2022 and went on to ship more than 30 million units worldwide, going on to become one of the most successful games of its generation and forming what is now referred to as Souls-like games.

MSI had a truck load of gaming laptops on display at Computex 2025, but the one that caught my eye was the new Raider A18 HX with AMD's new Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor and NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU. Check it out:

The flagship MSI Raider A18 HX gaming laptop features the new AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor (16 cores, 32 threads, and up to 144MB of cache with 2nd Gen 3D Cache technology)), up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with 24GB of GDDR7, powered by the Blackwell GPU architecture, supports DLSS 4, and Max-Q technologies.

We have a huge 18-inch 4K 120Hz Mini-LED panel, with VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, MSI OverBoost Ultra technology that pumps 260W into the MSI Raider A18 HX between its CPU and GPU. In order to keep these new high-end chips cool, MSI is using its Cooler Boost 5 cooling with dedicated 2 fans, 7 heatpipes, and a new SSD cooling design. There's even an additional heatpipe dedicated ready for an ultra-fast Gen5 SSD.

Modern keyboards are moving toward minimal TKL designs with a compact 60% or 75% form factor - a direction born from on-the-go gamers, the rise of competitive gaming, and more and more people firing up the latest titles on their laptops. Naturally, there's still a market for full-sized gaming keyboards with a numpad and additional functionality like dedicated media controls, customizable buttons and keys, and context-sensitive dials.

At Computex 2025, we got to go hands-on with be quiet!'s first premium gaming keyboard, the Dark Mount. Yes, it's a full-sized non-TKL board with a NumPad, but there's a lot more going on than that. The NumPad is detachable and can be locked into place on the left or right side of the keyboard (via a sturdy and impressive mechanism) or even be used as a standalone NumPad.

When it is connected to the Dark Mount, you also have access to customizable Display Keys (or buttons) that can be used to quickly fire up apps or other functions. The Media Dock on the top of the keyboard can also be placed on either side, offering tactile media controls and an impressive customizable LCD screen.