Latest News - Page 276

PowerColor is updating its new Radeon AI PRO R9700 32GB graphics card, with a tweaked design, which will be launching later this month. Check it out below:

The folks over at VideoCardz report that their original story had PowerColor launching the new Radeon AI PRO W9700 featuring AMD's in-house reference design, with AMD confirming it wouldn't be launching any reference cooler for the card, and that the card shown in renders was "purely an artistic interpretation".

PowerColor is now no longer showing off its "reference" design, instead showing its own in-house blower-style cooler that has reportedly replaced the older version. The new PowerColor Radeon AI PRO R9700 graphics card has a new custom cooler design, with tweaks made to the PCB, as well as the capacitor layout. The card continues on with the blower-style cooler, but the fan has been tweaked and pushed back slightly, making room for multi-GPU clusters.

Meta is pushing into the AI supercomputer space in a big way, with Mark Zuckerberg saying that the social media giant plans to add over 5GW of AI compute power in the years ahead.

Zuckerberg explained on his Threads post: "For our superintelligence effort, I'm focused on building the most elite and talent-dense team in the industry. We're also going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into compute to build superintelligence. We have the capital from our business to do this".

The Meta CEO continued: "We're actually building several multi-GW clusters. We're calling the first one Prometheus and it's coming online in '26. We're also building Hyperion, which will be able to scale up to 5GW over several years. We're building multiple more titan clusters as well. Just one of these covers a significant part of the footprint of Manhattan. Meta Superintelligence Labs will have industry-leading levels of compute and by far the greatest compute per researcher. I'm looking forward to working with the top researchers to advance the frontier!".

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is in China right now, with news that the company is preparing to launch its new RTX 6000D AI GPU with the card expected to ship 2 million units in 2025.

NVIDIA has confirmed its new RTX 6000D will launch in Q3 2025, manufactured on TSMC's 4nm process node, and a shipment target of around 2 million units before the end of 2025, filling a revenue gap of over $10 billion according to a new report from DigiTimes picked up by insider @Jukanrosleve on X.

The new RTX 6000D and the Blackwell AI GPU series have driven 4nm production capacity at TSMC to "unprecedented levels" which has significantly contributed to its revenue. The US government banned NVIDIA's Hopper H20 AI GPU earlier this year, causing the company to immediately recognize $5.5 billion in losses, but the H20 is now ready to ship to China again, as well as the company preparing the new RTX 6000D card for the country, too.

CD PROJEKT RED will launch Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition onto Apple Silicon this week, where it will run on the first-gen M1 processor inside of Mac systems as long as you've got 16GB of RAM minimum.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will drop onto the Mac App Store, Steam, GOG.com, and the Epic Games Store on July 17 and will pack both the base game and the Phantom Liberty expansion that launched back in 2023. Apple and CD PROJEKT RED have been hard at work on the game, where Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will support older Mac hardware like the M1 processor, but you'll need 16GB of unified RAM minimum.

Mac users with 8GB of RAM are left in the dark, but Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is a VRAM-heavy game, so needing 16GB of unified RAM minimum makes sense. CD PROJEKT RED will include an interesting "for this Mac" preset that optimizes the image quality and performance of the game based on different M-series processors.

Apple's foldable iPhone, which is expected to debut later in 2026, is apparently set to be cheaper than some were predicting, at least according to one report - though there's another nugget from the grapevine that appears to contradict this idea somewhat.

The former suggestion comes from UBS, as highlighted by Fortune (via TechRadar), which concluded that based on a teardown and cost analysis of Samsung's Z Fold SE, the foldable iPhone could come in around 4% cheaper to make.

UBS believes this could mean Apple can price the device at between $1,800 to $2,000 in the US, which is a good deal lower than the rumored (up to) $2,400 price tag which has been floating around previously.

Bethesda began full production of The Elder Scrolls 6 in 2023, and now insiders are claiming they have heard the game is in a "quite playable" state.

The inside information comes from Windows Central reporter Jez Corden who teased on The Xbox Two podcast that he has heard from inside sources The Elder Scrolls 6 development on the core gameplay is essentially finished, despite it beginning full production in 2023. Corden doesn't reveal any more details about Elder Scrolls 6 other than that, and goes on to say that it's quite hard to get inside sources from Bethesda.

However, in the same podcast, the reporter revealed that Fallout 5 has been fully greenlit, and that its greenlight was partly to blame for the MMORPG being worked on by ZeniMax Studios being cancelled by Microsoft. However, those claims were debunked. As for official timelines for Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda's Todd Howard said the game would release anywhere between 15 and 17 years after the release of Skyrim, which would peg the title's earlier release for 2026.

Steam Reviews are renowned as one of the best ways to gauge if a game is worth purchasing or not, without looking at gameplay yourself (which you definitely should if you are on the fence about any game purchase), but what if the aggregate of those Steam Reviews didn't hold as much credibility as you once thought? What if they were slightly manipulated?

Valve has explicit rules within its terms of service for developers uploading games to its platform that are designed to prevent any manipulation of the Review section of the game in order to maintain its credibility. Simply put, if the Review section can be manipulated, it instantly loses all credibility and becomes a new marketing tool for the developer/publisher of the game, not a place for gamers to leave critical feedback for other gamers to make informed purchasing decisions about a product.

Valve states in its rules that developers are unable to attempt to "abuse or artificially manipulate the review system," and "Don't solicit reviews in exchange for any games, DLC, money, or other rewards," and finally, "Don't ask customers to review your product from within your application." Blue Archive, a game that was recently released on Steam earlier this month, has violated these rules by announcing an event scheduled to run between July 4 and July 11, where players would receive in-game content if Blue Archive's Steam reviews reached the developer Nexon's goal of 10,000 in total.

Wondering how the Elder Scrolls VI is coming along? It could be in a largely playable state, finally, or at least that's what the gaming grapevine believes.

In fact, this is from Windows Central's Jez Corden (via Wccftech) who spoke about the sixth outing in the behemoth RPG franchise during a new episode of The Xbox Two podcast (see above).

According to Corden - and take this with some salt, clearly - Elder Scrolls VI is in a "quite playable" state, and he hints that the 'core' of the game might be approaching being done.

ZeniMax Online Studios United has issued a statement regarding the cancellation of its MMORPG that was in development at the studio, saying that Microsoft has stolen a future from not only the developers but also the community that will never experience the "amazing game" the team was working on.

The cancellation of ZeniMax Online Studios' new game was part of Microsoft's latest round of layoffs, where the company let go of as many as 9,000 employees from various companies under its expansive umbrella. The layoffs were announced on July 2 by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who discussed the positive future of Microsoft's gaming division, while simultaneously several titles were cancelled, such as Everwild, the Perfect Dark reboot, and ZeniMax Online Studios' new MMORPG that Spencer really enjoyed.

According to ZeniMax Online Studios United, the cancellation of the title came without warning from Microsoft. In a post to Bluesky, the ZeniMax Online Studios United union, formed in January 2023, and represents Quality Assurance workers at the studio, wrote, "Earlier this month, Microsoft indefinitely shelved an unannounced MMORPG at ZeniMax Online Studios, a shock to the 222 ZOSU-CWA developers working on the project. It has been heartening and validating to see our game mentioned in the press and by players who would have loved to see the results of our work."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been confirmed to receive a worldwide reveal at the upcoming Opening Night at Gamescom 2025.

The confirmation comes from The Game Awards host and founder Geoff Keighley, who announced via his personal X account that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be making an appearance at Gamescom 2025 in a "massive way". Unfortunately, no further details about what will be unveiled at the Opening Night of Gamescom were revealed, but as with most teasers, they are usually followed by some kind of trailer.

Considering the last piece of official Black Ops 7 news we got from Activision arrived in the form of an official teaser trailer that didn't reveal any gameplay, we can assume whatever is planned for the Opening Night of Gamescom will be some sort of gameplay to satisfy fans' speculation about the title.

Nintendo is slated to host another Nintendo Direct presentation shortly after the release of its next big Nintendo Switch 2 game, Donkey Kong Bonanza, according to insider sources.

The news comes from Nate the Hate, a gaming industry insider who says he has been told by sources that Nintendo is planning on hosting a new Direct in July, but not before the release of Donkey Kong Bonanza on July 17.

Previous rumors did suggest that Nintendo was planning on conducting a Direct in July, and this does fall in line with the company's next quarterly financial report, slated to land on August 1. Nate the Hate said he does not have any more information other than a Direct slated for the end of July.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has made it into the hands of millions of gamers, and some of those gamers are trying to enjoy their new console out in the summer heat. But what if you need a fan to keep your face cool while gaming? One Nintendo Switch 2 user has found a neat trick that is honestly quite impressive.

Reddit user Gamingjojo909 took to the /r/NintendoSwitch subreddit to share an image of a recent discovery they made: the Nintendo Switch 2's top USB-C port is able to power a portable fan. Gamingjojo909 wrote, "Just discovered you can plug a fan in the Switch 2's top USB-C port to cool off on a warm summer day."

Not a bad idea at all, especially if you are outside and trying to catch some rays while enjoying your new console. It remains unclear how much faster the Nintendo Switch 2 battery drains with a fan plugged into the top USB-C port, but that problem can be easily solved with a portable power bank or dedicated power. With discoveries such as this, it makes me wonder what other handy devices can be plugged into the top USB-C port on the Nintendo Switch 2 and actually benefit the gaming experience.

NVIDIA has announced that the US government has granted the company approval for selling GPUs to Chinese customers, following the US ban on the sale of high-end GPUs over fears that China would use them to advance military operations and get a leg up in the global AI arms race.

NVIDIA attempted to work around those initial bans set by the US government by introducing new GPUs specifically designed within the parameters set by the US government, which meant these China-destined models had underpowered hardware.

One of those GPUs was the H20, which NVIDIA specifically designed for sales to China and was granted approval by US authorities to begin shipments. However, the US government reversed its decision and blocked the H20 by no longer issuing export permits for it. This decision cost NVIDIA $10 billion in sales.

Fallout 5 has reportedly been greenlit at Microsoft, but another game may have been sacrificed to free up resources for the new Fallout game.

There are rumors that Xbox is working on multiple Fallout projects right now, including a potential Fallout 3 Remake. With 10 years in between mainline games, fans are looking forward to Fallout 5 the most, yet Bethesda's Todd Howard has confirmed that Elder Scrolls 6 has priority.

Now there are new reports that Microsoft may have shelved another ZeniMax/Bethesda project in order to make way for Fallout. Sources tell Windows Central's Jez Corden (via Xbox Two podcast) that Microsoft essentially cancelled ZeniMax's MMORPG project codenamed Blackbird, and moved the resources and investment from Blackbird over to Fallout.

SK hynix started supplying its next-gen HBM4 memory in March 2025, but they are "early" versions of its HBM4, with qualification tests expected to take longer than the same tests for HBM3E.

The reason for HBM4 qualification tests taking longer is due to generational changes from HBM3E, where HBM3E memory samples were sent in a nearly complete state. SK hynix sent over HBM3E samples to its clients in August 2023, with mass production starting in March 2024, just 7 months between sample supply and mass production.

HBM4 in its early state will require modifications, with projections that it could take longer than 7 months, with increased technical difficulty with the generational changes cited as a factor that could extend the qualification testing period. The number of I/O terminals for HBM4 has doubled from HBM3E (2048 for HBM4, 1024 for HBM3E). Additionally, HBM4 -- for the first time in this generation -- has the logic die (base die) produced at a foundry (TSMC).

Samsung only just released its new foldable smartphones with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, but the company is hard at work on its next-gen Galaxy S26 family of smartphones that sees the company dropping the Galaxy S26 Plus from the fray.

In a new report from South Korean outlet TheElec, we're hearing that Samsung's new Galaxy S26 family of handsets will include the standard Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Edge, and flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphones. As for the display sizes, we're to expect 6.27 inches for the standard Galaxy S26, a bigger 6.66-inch display for the S26 Edge, and the flagship S26 Ultra with a 6.89-inch display.

An official from the parts industry told TheElec: "Two domestic companies, Korea Circuit and DAP, are developing more than half of these nine boards as first vendors," adding, "FastPrint is also developing some boards as a first vendor, but the proportion of boards it is developing as a second vendor has increased".

2001's Halo Combat Evolved is reportedly getting a remake, but it may not have any sort of multiplayer mode.

A bit ago, 343 Industries rebranded as Halo Studios, shut down the Slipspace Engine project, and confirmed multiple new Halo games were in development. Then just a few weeks ago, the developers strongly teased that one of these new games would be revealed at this year's Halo World Championships in October.

Rumor has it that one of these games is actually a Halo CE remake. Next year, Xbox turns 25, and Microsoft may be celebrating in a big way with a new game in the classic series. There's just one potential drawback: the Halo CE remake might not have multiplayer.

Lenovo has just unveiled its first-ever ThinkPad laptop in white, with the introduction of its new ThinkPad X9 Aura AI Edition. Check it out:

The new Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura AI Edition is dubbed the "White Moonlight" edition, and it's exclusive to the Chinese market, powered by Intel's new Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake" CPU. The company is offering its new laptop in both Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 9 processors, with up to 32GB of RAM, and integrated Intel Arc Xe2 GPU.

Lenovo has designed its new ThinkPad X9 Aura AI Edition laptop for business users and content creators who want the power ready for AI workloads, with an integrated NPU on the Lunar Lake CPU offering up to 48 TOPS of AI workload performance.

As costs continue to rise, Nintendo announces that it is officially discontinuing its Game Vouchers program in early 2026.

Nintendo is shutting down its Game Vouchers savings program on January 30, 2026, the company has announced. The move comes shortly after Nintendo kicked off a new $80 price point for Switch 2 games, leading the rest of the industry to follow suit and charge $80 for new games.

The reality is that Nintendo loses money on the Game Vouchers program, at least insofar as game sales revenues. Switch Online is required to even buy the Game Vouchers, but users can save around $20, paying a total of $100 for two Switch games rather than $120. Nintendo is already selling the Switch 2 at a lower profit margin than its predecessor, and the company has also said that global tariffs will drop its profits by tens of billions of yen.

Samsung will unleash its new tri-fold smartphone by the end of the year according to the company's acting head of the Device Experience Division.

In a new report from the Korea Times, we're hearing that the tri-fold smartphone from Samsung will be released before the end of 2025, with the company noting it plans to introduce new device form factors in the future that will enhance users' AI experience.

Roh Tae-moon, acting head of Samsung Electronics' Device Experience Division, said: "As we dive deeper into AI, the role of smartphones is becoming more important. Through hardware innovation optimized for AI services, we will fundamentally change the user experience. The smartphone is no longer just a tool. It is becoming an AI partner that sees, understands and responds to what users are seeing in real time. Samsung is working on more innovative form factors to lead the AI era".