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The Game Awards for 2024 is right around the corner and this year it will be different as DLCs, expansion packs, new game seasons, remakes, and remasters will be officially recognized across all categories, meaning a DLC could win Game of the Year.

The Game Awards will be holding its 2024 live event on December 12 and the nominees are only four hours away from being announced, with voting for each of the games in their respective categories expected to be available shortly after the nominees have been unveiled. The nominees, which will be spread across 29 categories, will also include DLCs such as the incredibly popular, and highly rated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for FromSoftware GOTY 2022 GOTY winner Elden Ring.

It's likely The Game Awards have decided to open up the rules in 2024 because of the three big publishes, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, have had a reasonably light release schedule throughout the year. Additionally, the sheer popularity of Shadow of the Erdtree is hard not to recognize, with it being slated to be nominated across multiple categories.

A contractor of the Department of Defence has showcased the impressive defensive capabilities of a new machine gun that's designed to combat the rise of drones throughout warfare.

The new machine gun was developed by Allen Control System (ACS) and is officially called the "Bullfrog." The new weapon was tested out at the Technology Readiness Experimentation event earlier this year, which is an event that enables contractors to display their technology to the Pentagon for potential acquisition. The new machine gun uses an AI-powered system to target small drones in the air and shoot them down, with the entire system being designed to combat the meteoric rise in uncrewed aircraft throughout warfare.

ACS cofounder Steve Simoni spoke to Wired and said the Russian and Ukraine war demonstrated the increase in the use of drones, and after seeing the footage of the war and Ukrainians firing AK-47s at drones, they decided to investigate a potential robotics program capable of automatically targeting drones. ACS claims its Bullfrog is cheaper to use compared to other drone-centered solutions such as microwave or laser weapons systems.

A mystery surrounds NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft that entered Mars' orbit in 1975, eventually landing on the surface of the Red Planet and becoming the first American spacecraft to touch down on Mars.

One of Viking 1's goals was to test if life resided on the surface of Earth's neighbor, and at the time, much of the testing methodology mimicked processes used on Earth to test samples for the presence of microbes. These processes involve the use of water, one of life's main ingredients, but according to one scientist, the involvement of water could have been what killed any Martian life within the soil samples, resulting in the testing results being negative.

Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at the Technische Universität Berlin in Germany recognizes the possibility that life may have been discovered by Viking, but the water-based testing process of its experiments could have unintentionally killed it.

Phone scammers are only becoming more frequent and sophisticated, especially with the rise of AI-powered tools that can manipulate a scammer's voice into sounding like a loved one. However, AI can also be used to thwart scammers, and the easiest way to get back at scammers is to keep them on the phone, as that costs them money.

UK telecommunications company Virgin Media O2 knows the next best thing besides shutting down scammers completely is keeping them on the phone, as it means that the scammer isn't on the phone with a potential victim who could lose their life savings. In what seems like a stroke of genius, Virgin Media has unveiled a new AI entity designed to take on the persona of a confused grandmother.

The AI sounds like a grandmother, responds like a grandmother, and is simply designed to waste as much of the scammer's time as possible with constant ramblings about topics that have nothing to do with what the scammer is trying to do.

As technology has become more adopted into our everyday lives, concerns about privacy and how invasive technology can be have grown, and for good reasons, as there have been numerous cases of companies behind popular pieces of technology abusing and violating consumer trust.

Given the heightened state of concentration on privacy in today's current climate, users are quick to make their concerns public, whether they are valid or not. The latest in these concerns comes from reports citing a few Reddit users querying the public about whether or not they have heard voices coming from their iPhones at random times.

The users both reported having heard unfamiliar voices coming from their smartphones, and when they checked if the voice could have come from a background application, such as a YouTube video, app, or web browser, they couldn't find any normal source for the audio.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, desktop computer cases were all beige and sat flat on a table with a chunky CRT monitor on top. If you grew up during that time and remember inserting a floppy disk or CD into a PC, then the SilverStone FLP01 will look like a fantastic piece of retro hardware from yesteryear. Except that it's not, it's a brand-new PC case set to debut in Q1 2025.

SilverStone previously showcased this case as part of a prebuild April Fools' joke that garnered some attention, one of those jokes that many had hoped was true. Well, the SilverStone FLP01 recently turned up at the company's recent Japan Expo, with media in the region confirming that the beige chassis is set to launch in the area for 19,800 Yen or roughly $130 USD.

This particular beige design, which includes fake 3.5-inch floppy disk cutouts, is based on a popular NEC PC. The SilverStone FLP01's two floppy disk slots cover the optical disc drive and the front I/O array.

According to the statistics, Intel still has the majority of the market share regarding desktop CPUs of the x86 variety. However, AMD is catching up to Intel - and fast. According to the company's reporting, its share of the desktop CPU market has increased by a whopping 9.6% in the last year - led by its Ryzen processors.

Take a look at Amazon's Top 10 Best Sellers in Computer CPU Processors list. The entire list consists of AMD Ryzen CPUs, with the first Intel CPU appearing at number 13 with the mainstream Intel Core i5-13600KF. What makes this even more impressive is that the brand-new AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is in the number one spot, followed by its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

This makes Intel's comments yesterday about not needing to release a desktop CPU with PC gaming-friendly 3D V-Cache all the more confusing. A company spokesperson sat down with popular YouTube creators and stated that the gaming CPU market is small, so there's no need for Intel to release a 9800X3D equivalent.

The team at iFixit has given Sony's new PlayStation 5 Pro console their usual detailed teardown, surprised at the "easily replaceable" CMOS battery, noting that's "the only change from the other PS5 models worth writing home about". Check out iFixit's teardown on the PS5 Pro in the video below:

The biggest repairability news from the PS5 Pro teardown is that you can now change your CMOS battery by removing a single screw, versus previous PlayStation consoles that iFixit noted "changing the battery was a pain". The team noted that just like with the original PS5, Sony introduced an "awesome tool-free panel removal design" that allowed users to remove, and dust out the fan all without a screwdriver.

Sony's new PS5 Pro has the same easily removable panels, while removing four screws and a JST-style connector, the entire fan can be removed out of the console if you wanted to go in for a deep clean.

Hyundai has a "secret weapon" that it will be unleashing onto the Chinese EV market next year, where in collaboration with Chinese partner Haomo, Hyundai will release its first Chinese-market-dedicated electric vehicle (EV) that will feature generative AI technology built-in.

In a new report from the Korea Herald who spoke with a Hyundai Motor official who said: "We are working to load the software of Haomo, a local autonomous driving software firm, onto the EV, which will be released in the Chinese market next year. The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5".

The scale of autonomous driving ranges between 0-5, with Level 2 referring to partial driving automation as the vehicle is capable of controlling both the steering, accelerating and decelerating. Tesla's in-house Autopilot falls under the Level 2 autonomous driving, with Level 3 self-driving cars required to detect circumstances and make AI-powered informed decisions for themselves, including accelerating past a slow-moving vehicle, and more. Level 2 and Level 3 both require human override functionality.

A garbage truck driver found a discarded PC in the trash, and after drying it for a couple of days discovered that he had a working AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB graphics card.

Redditor "Seizo" said in a now-deleted post on Reddit: "So I found PC at work and it has RTX 2080 Ti 11GB, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X!!! And DDR4 32GB. AND IT WORKS! I just dried it (for a) couple of days. Only thing that doesn't work is CPU cooler display, but fans work. I just need to buy (a) new PSU because I don't trust what I found because it got wet".

From the pictures, we can see that there's also an ASUS PRIME TRX40-PRO motherboard as well, and a 360mm AIO liquid cooler (but the display doesn't work). The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor is still a decent chip, as too is the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card that will still play most of the games out today with respectable performance.

Tesla has just announced its new V4 Cabinet, an even faster version of its Supercharger, capable of d elivering up to 500kW for cars, and up to 1.2MW for the Tesla Semi truck.

In a new article posted by X, the Elon Musk electric vehicle leader announced its new V4 Cabinet, with faster charging through support for 400V-1000V vehicle architectures, with 30% faster charging for the Cybertruck. S3XY vehicles will enjoy 250kW charge rates that they already experienced on the V3 Cabinet, charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.

Tesla explains that there will be faster deployments, with the V4 Cabinet powering 8 posts, 2x the stalls per cabinet. There's a lower footprint and less complexity, which means more Supercharger sites will come online faster. Inside, the new V4 Cabinet features next-generation hardware with cutting-edge power electronics that Tesla has designed to be the "most reliable on the planet" with 3x power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.

GameMax is an emerging PC hardware brand looking to establish itself, and its latest chassis is undoubtedly a looker. The GameMax Infinity Pro, available in black or white, sports a dual-chamber design for improved airflow and thermal performance, which means the PSU has a separate compartment. Here, it sits behind the motherboard.

Three tempered glass panels on the GameMax Infinity Pro showcase your PC's various components, lighting, and overall cleanliness. It also comes equipped with five 120mm PWM ARGB fans and an ARGB controller hub that has its own built-in effects and can sync with motherboard RGB lighting.

PC cases with a full panoramic view are becoming increasingly popular; however, the more you see, the less room there is for a sloppy build or poor cable management. The GameMax Infinity Pro offers concealed tubing for 360mm radiators and is forward-thinking with support for ASUS BTF, GIGABYTE STEALTH, and MSI PROJECT ZERO motherboards.

Recently, we reported on a case where a brand-new AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and AM5 motherboard burned out and got damaged after the new processor was installed. With a recent string of voltage and connection issues surrounding CPUs and GPUs, many took note in case this was another potential hardware fault that could affect several users.

The AM5 board was the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk, a popular choice with PC gamers. After the situation was brought to the attention of Redditors, the question then became: What caused the CPU and the motherboard's socket to burn out? Was it a fault in the CPU design, AMD's first Zen 5 X3D chip to hit the market? Was it an issue with MSI's motherboard, the BIOS, or voltage settings?

Many experts who investigated the issue agreed that it was a case of 'user error,' with the CPU not being appropriately seated or correctly secured during the initial installation.

Many PC gamers buy desktop CPUs precisely to run the latest (or their favorite) games, so gaming performance is an important metric when deciding which make and model to choose. With AMD's latest generation of desktop CPUs with 3D V-Cache, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, it's clear that it has once again delivered a PC gaming powerhouse.

3D V-Cache is all about stacking extra cache, increasing the available L3 Cache on a CPU - which boosts game performance. It's not something you'd notice in every game or every possible combination of resolution and in-game settings. However, gaming workloads tend to benefit the most from more cache - which has led to many people wondering if Intel might look to implement its version of AMD's 3D V-Cache for its desktop CPU line-up.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is AMD's third-generation X3D CPU, so the timing feels right. However, in a new interview with German creators Der8auer and Ben's Hardware, Intel communication manager Florian Maislinger says its "cache tile" technology won't be coming to desktops.

Valve is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2, one of the most beloved single-player first-person shooters ever made. As part of the celebration, which includes a massive update to the base game that fixes some long-standing bugs and visual upgrades, the company has also released a two-hour documentary chronicling the game's development and the franchise's legacy.

In addition to core developers, writers, and designers who worked on the iconic Half-Life 2 and its Episodic expansions, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell opens up about the canceled Half-Life 2: Episode 3 while hinting at what that means for the franchise's future and the possibility of Valve releasing Half-Life 3 at some point in the future.

With Half-Life 2: Episode 3 set to conclude the game's story and resolve the cliffhanger of Episode 2 (or push it forward), it was ultimately canceled because - as Gabe Newell puts it - it failed to push the genre forward or evolve the gameplay laid out by Half-Life 2 and its first two Episodes.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is one of those videogame what-ifs, the unreleased and unfinished closing chapter for one of the greatest single-player first-person shooters ever made. One of the reasons why many gamers continue to hold out hope for Valve to develop and release Half-Life 3 is that Half-Life 2: Episode 2 ended on a cliffhanger.

With Valve celebrating Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary - the game just got a massive update with visual improvements - the company has released a full-length documentary offering insight into the game's development and legacy.

Valve opens up about Half-Life 2: Episode 3, showcasing never-before-seen gameplay from the unreleased game. The gameplay features an arctic setting and introduces a brand-new Ice Gun.

Half-Life 2 is officially 20 years old, and developer Valve is using the milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the millions of players in the HL2 community who have been playing it (or discovering it, or even re-discovering Half-Life 2) since its launch on November 16, 2004.

Valve has gone as far as creating a website detailing all of the improvements the update to Half-Life 2 brings, with both Episode One and Episode Two included, an awesome developers commentary with some of the original Half-Life 2 developers coming back for a huge 3.5-hour new behind-the-scenes commentary on Half-Life 2.

Oh, and did we mention that Half-Life 2 is FREE until November 18 at 1PM ET, after which it will cost $9.99. Here's the rundown of what to expect from the Half-Life 2 update, while Valve's dedicated website goes into a huge (and fantastic) deep dive (of one of my favorite games of all time).

Another hint has been dropped that NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce graphics cards could be serious power hogs.

The latest on the incoming RTX 5000 series GPUs, which suggests that they could up the wattage requirements from the already power-hungry levels of RTX 4000 boards, comes from Corsair in a rather unexpected manner.

As part of a press release (noticed by VideoCardz) about next-gen desktop graphics cards expected to launch in 2025 - there are three new generations, in fact, from AMD, Intel and NVIDIA - underlines that Corsair's power supplies will fully support these new GPUs.

A legally mandated report from the Department of Defense's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (ARRO), a Pentagon office responsible for UFO reports, has issued a recent report revealing how many cases it has solved over the past year and how many remain a mystery.

The new report was released just a day after the House subcommittee conducted a hearing about UFO, or as recently re-branded to UAP, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. During the hearing, witnesses testified to programs being in place to gather wreckage of UFOs, potential alien visitations, and more. However, the Pentagon's report from 2023-2024 states,"to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology."

The latest report from ARRO says that none of the reports from US personnel of UAP sightings over the reporting period indicated observers didn't suffer from any adverse health effects. The report states 118 cases have been resolved, with 70% of the closed cases of suspected UFOs being attributed to weather balloons. 8% of closed cases were attributed to birds, and 4% attributed to satellites. ARRO says there are 444 remaining cases, but it doesn't have enough evidence to determine the source of the sighting. In total, the office has 1,5652 UAP reports.

The CEO of Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of some of the biggest gaming franchises on the market, such as Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands, has given his two cents on how AI will be implemented across the company's developers.

According to a recent interview with CNBC, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed that he isn't too convinced about how revolutionary AI is for the gaming industry. Zelnick says that he doesn't believe artificial intelligence will suddenly make development cheaper, quicker, better, or even improve the chances of hit games being released. Zelnick told the publication that Take-Two will remain realistic about how it will implement AI into its development pipeline.

Despite the sobering stance of believing AI is a tool and not the thing that is going to suddenly replace all developers, Zelnick does recognize its potential in freeing up a developer's time as the AI will be able to perform mundane tasks the developer otherwise would have had to do. Zelnick says AI will enable Take-Two's creative people to have less mundane tasks on their plate, allowing them more time to do what they do best - be creative.