Apple today announced that Tim Cook is officially stepping down as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on September 1, 2026. Cook will transition to the position of executive chairman of the board, and Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, will take over as CEO. The company says the move is part of a long-term succession plan and has been approved unanimously by the board.

Tim Cook will not step down immediately; however, he will continue to collaborate with John Ternus over the summer to ensure a successful transition of Apple to new leadership. Tim Cook has held the CEO position since 2011. Under his leadership, Apple has achieved several monumental milestones, including becoming the world's most valuable company with a valuation of $4 trillion in 2026.

Ternus has also been a key figure in the Apple hierarchy for a long time and has led Apple's hardware engineering department since 2021. He joined Apple in 2001 as part of the design team and then became Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2013. Currently, his team manages hardware products such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and AirPods.

Microsoft is making an effort to turn Xbox's public image around, plotting out a team of marketers and specialists to help build up the gaming brand.

Xbox is under new leadership under CEO Asha Sharma, and Microsoft is currently hiring for an interesting position that's centered around uplifting Xbox's reputation--it's actually right in the job title. The company has put out a job listing for a Senior Manager, Xbox Brand & Reputation that aims to better control the narrative around Xbox.

"Reporting to the Xbox Head of Brand and Platform Communications, you will partner closely with the Xbox comms and marketing teams as well as Xbox Leadership, Social Media, Public Affairs and engineering teams to drive storytelling to protect and elevate the Xbox brand," the post reads.

Ever since Microsoft confirmed that its next-generation Xbox 'Project Helix' console would essentially be a PC hybrid that would feature a dedicated Xbox mode to play for both console and PC gamers, the rumor mill has been going wild. One of which revolves around Microsoft going the ROG Xbox Ally route and partnering with companies like ASUS, MSI, and others to release 'Project Helix' hardware.

This approach was recently reiterated by well-known leaker and insider KeplerL2 over on the NeoGAF forums, where they said that Microsoft wouldn't be selling 'Project Helix' direct to customers, and that for those wanting a next-gen Xbox, they'll have to buy one from ASUS or MSI. "It won't be sold directly to consumers, but you will be able to buy an ASUS/MSI/etc Helix machine," KelperL2 writes.

Now, as far as game consoles go, this would be another unprecedented move on par with 'Project Helix,' transforming Xbox into a PC-console hybrid device. Now, for Xbox fans, this could be a disturbing thought, as no official box would dilute the very Xbox name. The good news is that Jason Ronald, the VP of Xbox Gaming Devices and Next Generation, has chimed in to squash this rumor before it takes hold.

Ubisoft is far from its glory days, and in recent years, the company has faced everything from repeated layoffs and game cancellations to studio closures and even a crumbling share price. Despite that, it continues to stack new titles onto an already crowded pipeline, and that plan seems to have come right back to bite it.

Rumors indicate the Splinter Cell remake and the new Far Cry installment have been hit by serious delays. On the Insider Gaming Podcast, Tom Henderson and Mike Straw stated that the Splinter Cell Remake is now internally targeting a 2027 release window. The project was originally announced in 2021 and was slated for a 2026 launch, but ongoing hurdles have made it difficult for the remake to come to fruition.

Meanwhile, the next mainline entry in the Far Cry series, codenamed Blackbird, reportedly centers on a protagonist whose main objective is to rescue their family members. According to Henderson, the project is "going through hell and back right now." We already know little about Far Cry 7, except that CEO Yves Guillemot said last February that the franchise has "two very promising projects," with the second being Maverick, an extraction-shooter spin-off set in Alaska.

NVIDIA was the first to adopt multi-frame generation with its RTX 50 series GPUs, using AI to generate additional frames between traditionally rendered frames. Users can choose from different frame generation ratios, with modes scaling up to around 4x in DLSS 4 and 6x in DLSS 4.5. NVIDIA later doubled down with dynamic frame generation, which automatically adjusts the MFG mode to match your monitor's refresh rate.

So far, AMD has trailed behind, with FSR 4 offering only basic frame generation modes up to 2x modes. That puts the Red Team not just behind NVIDIA, but also Intel, whose XeSS 3 launched this year with impressive 4x modes across Arc B-Series, Arc A-Series, and even some iGPUs.

But that may be about to change. A fresh discovery in the GPUOpen documentation (via Wccftech) suggests AMD is finally laying the groundwork for its own multi-frame generation solution. The latest ADLX 1.5 materials add a new "FidelityFX Frame Generation Upgrade" interface, allowing users to select a desired frame generation ratio for optimal performance and visual quality.

It's one of the most anticipated game releases of the year, and with Xbox Game Studios' Forza Horizon 6 on track for release in a matter of weeks, May 19, Xbox is celebrating the launch of the open-world racer's journey to Japan with some limited-edition gear. Sporting vibrant, colorful designs adorned with bright blues, pinks, and yellows, the line-up includes a wireless controller, wireless gaming headset, and a new charging dock created in collaboration with 8BitDo.

At this point, the official Xbox controller doesn't really need an introduction, as it's the go-to pad for PC and Xbox gamers alike. The Xbox Wireless Controller - Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition features rubberized grips on the underside for improved, well, grip. Elsewhere, it's the same controller with the official Xbox layout, wireless and Bluetooth functionality, and two AA batteries delivering its power. Priced at $89.99, pre-orders are now open via the official Xbox store.

And with that, what you're getting here for the most part is the funky design that includes a translucent top case, triggers, "bold pink thumbsticks," and the Horizon Festival logo on the back. Likewise, the Xbox Wireless Headset - Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition is Microsoft's official wireless Xbox headset, given a visual makeover with a big "Horizon" graphic stretching across the headband.

As per the headline, SK hynix has announced that it has begun mass production of 192GB SOCAMM2 memory modules, the company's next-gen standard based on the 1cnm process, or sixth-gen 10nm technology. This LPDDR5X low-power DRAM, a technology typically associated with low-power mobile devices, is poised to become a primary memory solution for next-gen AI servers.

The reason for the move to SOCAMM2 modules is clear when you look at the benefits: more than double the bandwidth and a 75% improvement to power efficiency when compared to conventional RDIMM memory modules. SK hynix notes that this delivers an "optimized solution for high-performance AI operations."

And when it comes to cutting-edge AI operations, SK hynix confirms that these 192GB SOCAMM2 memory modules and other SOCAMM2 products are designed for NVIDIA's upcoming Vera Rubin platform, where they will help mitigate memory bottlenecks during training and inference. SK hynix has been closely collaborating with NVIDIA on the development of its next-gen SOCAMM2 memory modules for this very purpose.

UPDATE: Since posting this original story, NZXT has issued a statement, which you can read here. ORIGINAL STORY: Chalk this one up as a nightmare scenario, an AIO cooler leaking fluid onto and damaging a GeForce RTX 5090. To make matters worse, the RTX 5090 in question is ASUS's flagship ROG Astral model, which currently retails for $4,299.99. According to this user's Reddit post, this is exactly what happened to their ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 when their NZXT Kraken AIO leaked, damaging the card.

As bad as that is, that's only the beginning of the story. According to the user, they purchased the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 in 2025, and in August 2025, their NZXT Kraken AIO leaked, damaging the GPU. The owner then contacted NZXT, who allegedly confirmed the fault was due to a manufacturing defect, so they replaced the cooler and said they would address the damage to the graphics card and motherboard.

According to the post, there were a few months of back-and-forth, including a note that cleaning the GPU "fixed" it. Instead of sending it back, they offered to settle the case and reimburse the user $2,855.99. Which, in case you forgot, is a lot lower than the $4,299.99 price tag for the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090.

Full ray tracing or path tracing is still a relatively new frontier in gaming, with the realistic cinematic lighting mode opening the door to a new level of immersion in games like Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Resident Evil Requiem. It's incredibly demanding on hardware, significantly more so than single-use ray-tracing effects like reflections or shadows, and it's widely considered the future of AAA in-game visuals.

One of the most challenging elements of path tracing, as it covers all ray-traced lighting effects, is global illumination, with NVIDIA's latest technology to accelerate and improve fidelity and performance called ReSTIR (Spatiotemporal Importance Resampling PT). Without getting into the technical weeds, NVIDIA's Research team just released a paper on ReSTIR PT Enhanced, which "significantly" improves performance, produces fewer artifacts, and enhances visual fidelity.

Path tracing is so demanding that it requires additional help from DLSS Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction, and Frame Generation to deliver smooth gameplay. Based on this new paper (which you can check out as a PDF here), ReSTIR PT Enhanced improves path-tracing performance by over 2X.

NVIDIA's latest path tracing breakthrough isn't just a performance upgrade; it's the next step in a years-long evolution that could finally make fully ray-traced games practical.

New research from NVIDIA showcases ReSTIR PT Enhanced, an upgraded version of its real-time path tracing technique that builds on earlier work dating back to SIGGRAPH 2022. At the core of this advancement is Generalized Resampled Importance Sampling (GRIS), a theoretical framework that addresses one of ReSTIR's biggest limitations: correctly reusing lighting samples across frames without sacrificing accuracy.

NVIDIA explains in a recent blog post that ReSTIR itself works by reusing lighting data from neighboring pixels and previous frames, dramatically reducing the number of rays that need to be traced. This approach allows complex lighting, such as light bouncing multiple times, reflections, and indirect illumination, to be approximated using just one path per pixel, a massive efficiency gain over traditional path tracing.

Ubisoft has finally pulled the trigger on what is commonly described as one of gaming's worst kept secrets, confirming that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced will be officially showcased this week.

In an official Ubisoft post shared on X, the reveal showcase for the long-rumored remake of Assassin's Creed Black Flag will take place on April 23, 2026, with a global livestream scheduled for 4 PM UTC / 9 AM PDT. The publisher even acknowledged the flood of leaks leading up to the announcement, jokingly referring to the project as "gaming's worst kept secret."

The reveal caps off months of speculation, with leaks ranging from figurines and artbook references to a recently spotted (and quickly removed) Ubisoft launcher listing.

After nearly two decades of mouse-and-keyboard dominance, League of Legends has quietly taken a major step toward controller play, and it seems to be part of Riot Games' push to make the iconic multiplayer online battle arena more accessible to gamers.

As part of Riot's recent WASD movement update, it has announced native controller support for the first time in League of Legends history. The feature wasn't formally announced as a headline addition; it was buried within a broader developer update tied to WASD controls entering Ranked play.

The implementation works by linking controller input directly to the new WASD system. Once enabled, players can use a controller without third-party software, with default mappings assigning abilities like Q, W, E, and R to triggers and bumpers, while movement and cursor control are handled through the joysticks. This marks a significant shift for League of Legends, which has relied on point-and-click controls since its launch in October, 2009.

Ubisoft's long-rumored Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag remake may have just leaked again, and this time, it's a snippet from an upcoming trailer.

A series of screenshots and short video clips circulating on social media appear to show Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced in action, offering the clearest look yet at the project. The footage, shared by an X user, shows protagonist Edward Kenway aboard his ship, with noticeably upgraded visuals, lighting, and character detail, offering a preview of what the anticipated remake is meant to offer fans of the original game.

The clips are believed to be early trailer or showcase material, with one post suggesting a full reveal is imminent. The leaks line up with recent developments surrounding Ubisoft's upcoming release slate. A now-removed listing for Black Flag Resynced briefly appeared on Ubisoft's launcher, complete with promotional art and messaging encouraging players to "(Re)play this classic swashbuckling adventure."

Microsoft's next-gen Xbox is shaping up to be its most radical departure yet from the traditional console design, with new leaks suggesting the company is abandoning custom GPU hardware in favor of a more PC-like approach.

According to claims from known leaker KeplerL2 on NeoGAF, the upcoming Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, will feature zero GPU customization, marking a significant shift from previous Xbox consoles. Why is this a big deal? Traditional console designs relied on bespoke designs to differentiate performance and capabilities. This next-gen device is reportedly leaning on a more standardized RDNA 5-based architecture, closer to what is seen on desktop PCs.

The additional context from the same discussion clarifies that Microsoft isn't abandoning AI acceleration altogether; instead, it's taking a different approach. Rather than integrating custom "neural arrays" directly into the GPU, the system is said to rely on a separate NPU (Neural Processing Unit), typically associated with the CPU, for AI workloads.

It seems Microsoft is hard at work implementing its Windows 11 improvement plan that was announced last month. Recently, they have reduced Copilot integration in certain native apps, such as Notepad, and have even started cleaning up Control Panel settings a bit. They still have a long way to go, but it seems like changes are starting to roll in one after another.

Apparently, Microsoft is now also paying attention to minor system functions. For the latest Insider Preview build of Windows 11, a couple of key changes have been made to storage management features. The most notable change is the removal of the FAT32 volume size limit, which was arbitrarily set to 32GB. With the latest Windows 11 build, the limit for FAT32 volumes has been increased to 2TB.

While FAT32 is no longer part of everyday use for most PC users, it is still the file system used by legacy devices. Increasing the volume limit is a welcome change for users who are still using this format. It should be noted that the increased limit is for the "volume", not the files, which remain at a 4GB size limit.

It's 2026, and vertical videos are everywhere. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram reels, you name it. There is a huge debate over whether short-form vertical videos are replacing long-form videos on platforms like YouTube. Well, adding fuel to the fire, Netflix is now planning to introduce vertical videos to its mobile app.

In Netflix's Q1 2026 shareholders' letter, Netflix announced that it is planning a redesign of its mobile app to add vertical videos, and that the feature will be made available "at the end of the month". The vertical videos will have their own "discovery feed", which we imagine would be a limitless scrolling feed much like we see on TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Netflix is apparently taking this step in response to other streaming services, such as Disney+ and Peacock, as well as to compete with established giants in the space, such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Netflix is aiming to replicate YouTube's success with vertical videos, which are very popular among younger viewers and serve as a funnel to its long-form content.

Starfield's PS5 version has apparently been a big success insofar as gross sales revenue goes, and while Bethesda hasn't revealed specifics, the game was the #1 best-earning title in the US in the week of launch.

Starfield's launch on PlayStation 5 has gone over well in the United States. According to the latest figures from Circana's Mat Piscatella, Starfield was the best-earning game in the week from April 5 - April 11 both digitally and physically in the US:

"Starfield was the best-selling video game of the week in tracked physical & digital US full game dollar sales during the week ending April 11th. It's the first time Starfield has led the weekly US best-selling titles chart since week ending Sept 2, 2023," the Circana director said on BlueSky.

Earlier in April 2026, Valve engineer Natalie Vlock introduced a new VRAM optimization for Linux. Rather than letting lower-priority workloads push game data into slower system memory, the optimization prioritizes the foreground game over background desktop apps when dedicated VRAM is low.

The fix is now undergoing its first round of testing on a 4GB GPU, and the results show notable performance improvements in select titles. After the patch surfaced earlier this month, YouTuber NJ Tech tested it on a Radeon RX 6500 XT running CatchyOS, where the feature can be enabled via the "Install GPU Boosters" option. The test rig paired the GPU with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a Ryzen 5 5600X with a stock cooler.

Getting into the results, Alan Wake II saw the most notable performance boost from the tweak. The game was tested at 1080p on low settings with FSR set to Quality. With the VRAM optimization applied, average frame rates jumped from 14 FPS to 41 FPS, while 1% lows improved from 12 to 28 FPS.

Japanese games company Koei Tecmo has upwardly revised their operating profit targets due to the successful sales of its newest games.

Koei Tecmo is expecting substantial returns from two of its new titles, which have both turned out to be platinum hits. The company issued a press release today with a forecast adjustment that takes into account explosive sales of the new games.

The titles include Pokopia, which Koei Tecmo co-developed alongside Game Freak, achieved 2.2 million sales in 4 days; and NiOh 3, the other hit game, sold 1 million copies in 2 weeks.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick talks about his thoughts and views on AI, saying that the technology can help supercharge the creative potential of artists by reducing mundane work.

AI adoption is on the rise as video game companies seek ways to reduce costs and speed up production schedules. The industry is more competitive than ever, and publishers are keen to chase the latest trends before consumer tastes shift to the next big thing. AI has been a contentious topic because these cost reductions are being used to justify layoffs while AI itself is simultaneously being used for more widespread tasks, potentially reducing the need for so many workers.

Even companies like Take-Two Interactive are utilizing AI in their own way, and despite this usage, company CEO Strauss Zelnick still has the same level-headed take on AI: it won't replace artists or creatives, instead empowering them to do higher-level work. AI can't replace artists because it can't replicate the magic required to make big hits, or the same kind of prowess that Rockstar Games flexes with GTA V and the upcoming GTA 6.