Latest News - Page 49

The Intel Core 300 "Wildcat Lake" family has been showing up on PassMark fairly regularly over the past few weeks, and now we have a new addition to the list. We have already covered PassMark entries for the Core 5 320 and Core 5 330, and now we're moving up the stack. The Intel Core 7 350, which is the second-fastest SKU in the Wildcat Lake lineup, has just appeared on the benchmarking platform for the first time.

As a quick refresher, Wildcat Lake is Intel's new lineup of affordable, low-power chips designed for entry-level and mid-range notebooks. The Core 7 350 is a 6-core, 6-thread CPU with 2 "Cougar Cove" P-cores and 4 "Darkmont" LPE cores, with P-cores boosting up to 4.8 GHz. It sits just below the Core 7 360 in the hierarchy, sharing identical specifications aside from not supporting Intel's SIPP enterprise validation program.

On PassMark, the Core 7 350 scored 4,228 points in single-threaded performance and 16,237 points in multi-threaded. Those are the best numbers any Wildcat Lake chip has posted on the platform to date. To put that into context, the Apple A19 Pro scores around 5,172 in single-threaded and 14,836 in multi-threaded. That means the Core 7 350 trails the A19 Pro by around 18% in single-core performance, but leads it by approximately 9% in multi-core performance.

A new open-source project is giving Linux users a chance to experience low-input-latency gaming, finally closing a gap that Windows has long held over Linux. Called "low_latency_layer", it adds support for NVIDIA Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag 2 to AMD and Intel GPUs on Linux.

The project (available on GitHub) essentially adds a Vulkan layer that implements VK_NV_low_latency2 and VK_AMD_anti_lag device extensions, bypassing official driver-level support from AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA to expose latency-reduction technologies directly to games.

Low-latency methods keep the CPU from falling too far behind the GPU. When frames linger in the pipeline, input appears older by the time it shows on screen, which is crucial in competitive shooters. NVIDIA Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag 2 address this by improving the synchronization between the game engine, CPU, and GPU.

Lords of the Fallen 2 is no longer locked to the Epic Games Store, and is now free to launch on any PC storefront, including Steam.

New filings from CI Games spotted by Polish publication Bankier show that the company has now freed its latest game from an exclusivity deal with Epic Games. It's been revealed that Epic and CI Games have terminated their multi-year rights deal that originally made Lords of the Fallen 2 exclusive to the Epic Games Store.

In the filing, the Polish game developer notes that it has been "released from its obligations under the binding agreement," and that the termination was "conditional in nature."

Following an underwhelming launch, Bungie is now prioritizing content that adds more game types to Marathon, including some mysterious PVE modes.

Bungie has announced it's currently experimenting with two new PVE-oriented modes, and both will be available when season 2 drops on June 2. The exact features of these Nightfall modes haven't been revealed so far, but Bungie says one of the modes will have a "light touch" of PVP. The developer wants to create mood-based playlists and something like a PVE mode could help take the edge off of competitive play, not unlike strikes versus the crucible in Destiny.

"In Season 2, we will be experimenting with two modes, one at the beginning of the season and one towards the middle/latter half of the season. The experimental mode at the beginning of the season will focus more on PVE, but with a light touch of PVP. The second experimental mode will be a PVE-only mode that's focused on crews being tasked with completing objectives together and making some progress across matches," Bungie wrote in a major Marathon season 2 update post.

Many years ago, Gearbox did the unthinkable: At the eleventh hour of the game's release, they decided to completely remake the game in a new art style. Now it's been revealed how much this cost Take-Two, especially at a time when the group didn't have that much capital to spend.

Old-school gamers may remember Borderlands 1's original art style--a more realistic, gritty visual representation that felt more in line with the popular shooters of the era, but one that lacks the timeless look and feel of cel-shaded graphics. In the end, Gearbox bravely made the decision to scrap this original style and go with the comically iconic visuals the series is known for, but it wouldn't have happened without the approval of Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick.

In a recent interview with David Senra, games mogul Strauss Zelnick briefly discussed an interesting piece of yesteryear gaming lore regarding the Borderlands art swap. According to Zelnick, the overhaul ended up costing $50 million in developer costs and tacked on a full year of development for the game. It was ultimately the right move--the Borderlands series has now sold-in more than 100 million units, and that may not have happened if the game didn't have its bombastic style.

Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma wants to know what changes should be made, and now gamers have a more direct line to share their input with the company.

Microsoft seeks to transform the Xbox brand in a new kind of modern revitalization of gaming. The company has made big moves like pulling Call of Duty from Game Pass subscriptions, as well as small moves like changing the name to a retro all-caps moniker. It wants to keep morphing and molding around what gamers actually want, and that's the main motivation behind the new Xbox Player Voice program.

The feedback program is basically a stylized forum where gamers can sign up, make posts, and share feedback. Other users can also upvote specific topics to increase visibility, not unlike Reddit. The top requests are making more exclusive Xbox games, making online multiplayer free on Xbox, to allow disc-based games on Project Helix, and to ensure more games come to the backwards compatibility program.

Sony will no longer release its singleplayer first-party games on PC as the group revalues its portfolio.

According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Sony's PlayStation games division held a meeting today that discussed first-party games on PC. At the town hall, PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst reportedly said that all narrative-driven singleplayer games from first-party studios will be exclusive to PlayStation consoles and will no longer come to PC.

This implies that Sony has attached new value to its first-party games as the portfolio relates to its PlayStation ecosystem, which is an important consideration as the company gears up for its next-gen PS6 console. The move also comes at a time when Sony's PS5 shipments reach an all-time generational low. Both the PS5 and PS6 generations will undoubtedly be bridged with backwards compatibility, and locking software to the platform adds more value while bringing back a more fierce platform rivalry in the process.

Sony is increasing the price of its baseline PS Plus subscription by $1 as the company aims for more digital profits.

The games industry is being squeezed right now on the supply and creation side, with SG&A increasing alongside tough-to-procure video games components. While most companies have already trimmed as much fat as comfortably possible, they're still being pressured to deliver continued profits. Companies like Sony have navigated global volatility with record gaming profits, and now PlayStation's digital frontier is being monetized even further.

Starting May 20, Sony is increasing the price of its PS Plus Essential subscription from $9.99 to $10.99, and its 3-month Essential tier is also increasing by $3, from $24.99 to $27.99. The move has been quite unpopular as PS Plus is required for basic features like online play and cloud game save backups, and fans aren't happy about the announcement following the recent PlayStation 5 console price hike.

We all love a good GIF, but one person has taken their love for GIFs to the extreme by building a gaming PC with nothing but GIFs displayed all over the PC's side panel. Several-Bar-6512 on the PCMR subreddit, posted a video of their creation displaying dozens of GIFs inside of an O11 Dynamic Evo XL across nine screens facing the chassis' tempered glass panels.

The system is quite literally a work of art and chaos at the same time. The hardware displaying the GIFs consists of nine separate displays featuring various sizes and resolutions, powered by three Raspberry Pis. The inclusion of the Raspberry Pis keeps all of the GIF rendering separate from the main machine. 3D printed mounts are responsible for holding all of the monitors in place inside the PC. The PC itself is equipped with top-of-the-line components featuring a Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU, MSI X870E Carbon WiFi motherboard, MSI Ventus 3X RTX 5090 OC Edition graphics card, 96GB of DDR5 RAM, a 9100 Pro 4TB NVMe SSD, and the aforementioned O11 Dynamic Evo XL case paired with a mixture of 15 Noctua 120mm/140mm fans.

The Redditor revealed they worked "over many weekends and evenings" getting the "GIF PC" created and spent an exorbitant amount of time finding and downloading all the GIFs necessary for the project. The total amount of GIFs displayed on the system amounts to over a whopping 15,000 after filtering through over 17,000 GIFs online. It was not just a matter of getting the right GIFs downloaded; the Redditor wanted every single tile to have a purpose, so they also spent "roughly 200 hours" categorizing, trimming, looping, adjusting the aspect ratio, and setting the right animation speed for each GIF.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has called Grand Theft Auto 5 the most valuable entertainment IP ever created, crediting its success to the frequent updates and social nature of GTA Online.

Speaking with podcaster David Senra, Zelnick revealed the title has generated "a lot" in revenue, with over 225 million copies sold since 2013. Zelnick emphasized that the game's longevity is due to its evolving multiplayer mode, which keeps players connected and engaged. "You can actually talk and connect and play together," he said, highlighting how online games are inherently social experiences.

He even used his mother's online bridge game as a relatable example of how digital spaces can foster real-world connections. The comments come ahead of GTA 6's November 2026 release, which is already generating sky-high expectations. While Zelnick and Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser have both praised the franchise's "freedom" and genre-blending, the CEO's focus on social engagement adds a new layer to the conversation about what makes GTA stick with players for years.

Apple's foldable iPhone, likely called the "iPhone Ultra," has hit a major roadblock with its hinge design, stalling trial production as the company struggles to meet its own quality control standards.

The issue centers on the hinge's durability under high-frequency use, a critical flaw that could delay the device's launch. Leaker "Instant Digital" revealed that the hinge is failing to maintain structural integrity over time, leading to mechanical wear that Apple deems unacceptable.

The company is reportedly using Liquid Metal (also known as metallic glass) in the hinge for the first time in a major component, a material known for its resistance to deformation and improved durability. Despite this, the hinge remains the primary bottleneck in the foldable's development.

Microsoft is pulling the plug on a controversial security flaw in Edge after a researcher exposed how it was storing user passwords in plaintext in RAM, raising security concerns and subsequent backlash that followed after the discovery.

Starting with version 148 of the browser, Edge will no longer load saved passwords into memory in cleartext at startup, effectively removing the risk of malware or malicious insiders siphoning credentials with minimal effort. The issue came to light when Norwegian security researcher Tom Jøran Sønstebyseter Rønning demonstrated that all stored Edge passwords were decrypted and loaded into memory as soon as the browser launched, even if they weren't actively being used.

Other Chromium-based browsers don't behave this way, and Rønning found Edge to be the only browser among those he tested that kept all passwords in plaintext at once. Microsoft initially defended the behavior, calling it a deliberate design choice. But with the public outcry and the potential for real-world exploitation, the company has seemingly reversed its course.

For small businesses, designers, and creators, creating and maintaining a professional brand identity can be difficult, costly, and time-consuming. But it doesn't have to be. Whether you're running a local coffee shop or bakery, a restaurant, a fashion label, a bar, or creating and selling handmade goods, Zawa AI is a free, powerful, and professional Creative AI Agent built for all things branding.

From logo design to generating marketing materials, everything is simple, intuitive, and in-depth. Built specifically for small businesses, Zawa AI leverages the latest, powerful AI models to create a fully formed AI agent that can act as your business's very own graphic design, public relations, and marketing department.

And this is evident in Zawa's AI Logo Generator, which does much more than help you create a brand logo and visual identity through a simple process that takes your business name, industry, and style preferences into account. With a deep well of modern design trends, colors, layouts, and expertise, Zawa's AI Logo Generator delivers multiple professional options in minutes.

Microsoft has finally admitted that faulty drivers have been silently draining Windows 11 battery life and hurting performance for years, and now the company is taking the steps to fix the problem.

At WinHEC 2026, Microsoft announced a complete overhaul of its driver evaluation process, shifting from a crash-only focus to one that also penalizes poor performance, power consumption, and heat generation. This change addresses a long-standing blind spot in Windows, where drivers could be labelled "stable" even if they caused battery drain or system lag without outright crashing.

Essentially, Microsoft has admitted that faulty third-party drivers have been slowly killing Windows 11 battery life for years, and the company is now implementing a more rigorous evaluation process that will focus on the aforementioned areas in order to reduce brain drainage.

Sony's recent annual earnings report shows that physical media is still going strong at PlayStation, although the numbers are indeed decreasing year over year.

Sony's FY25 results highlight the games industry's long-running trend of digital-first earnings. Sony's games division earns most of its money from digital thanks to the potent combination of microtransactions and full game sales. Despite digital's dominance, the group is still shipping tens of millions of game discs every year.

Last year, Sony recorded that there were 69.9 million PlayStation game discs shipped throughout FY25. That's a reduction of 2.9 million from FY24 (down nearly -4%), but still representative of strong demand for physical media.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has once again confirmed the release date for Grand Theft Auto 6, amid ongoing concerns about the game's development timeline and if fans will have to endure yet another delay announcement from Rockstar Games.

In a recent interview, Zelnick explained that GTA 6 is approximately 18 months behind its original internal target, but still on schedule for a late 2026 release. This reaffirms the company's continued confidence in the launch window, even as rumors of delays, speculative pre-order dates, and intense price estimations bubble online.

The confirmation comes as Take-Two continues to manage expectations around Rockstar's flagship title. Zelnick's remarks align with previous statements that the company is prioritizing quality over speed, ensuring that the game meets the high standards Rockstar has set for its open-world experiences.

GTA 6 pre-orders are live in Italy, but the timing and availability have raised many questions as to whether it's a genuine early leak, or simply an opportunistic retailer looking to take advantage of hype surrounding the latest GTA rumor.

Recently, rumors began flying that Rockstar was preparing to open pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6, and since the developer and the publisher, Take-Two Interactive have not dismissed the rumors, hype began to build. Now, Italian retailer ShowGame is listing GTA 6 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at €69.99, the same price as what would be considered a typical AAA game. However, the ShowGame listing states GTA 6 pre-orders are currently sold out.

The listing, first spotted by a Reddit user, shows the game as available for pre-order, with shipping options limited to Italy, another red flag in my book. The price aligns with early rumors and speculation, but the sudden appearance of a pre-order page amid some of the hottest pre-orders rumors for GTA 6, and that pre-order page only being locked to Italy, causes intense speculation.

Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-order speculation has exploded again, with a newly spotted Walmart backend edit recently adding more fuel to the theory that Rockstar is preparing to open the floodgates to pre-orders quite soon.

The latest rumor comes from users on Reddit and GTAForums, who claim Walmart now has a backend listing tied to Grand Theft Auto 6. The key detail is a product ID that reportedly continues to surface as GTA 6 even when the visible URL text is changed, suggesting it may be attached to an actual Walmart database entry rather than a simple search result.

This comes only days after a separate Best Buy affiliate email suggested GTA 6 pre-orders could begin on May 18, with PC Gamer noting that multiple creators claimed to have received the same message. However, there are conflicting reports.

AOC's U27V6RL/WW is a 27-inch dual-mode monitor that delivers 4K resolution at up to 80 Hz for productivity and Full HD at 310 Hz for competitive gaming.

The display leverages BOE Circular Polarization technology to reduce glare and eye strain, a feature typically found in high-end professional screens. The monitor is built around a dual-mode concept, allowing users to toggle between resolutions and refresh rates depending on their workload.

This flexibility positions the U27V6RL/WW as a hybrid solution for users who need both high-resolution detail and fast response times in one device. The BOE tech is said to mimic natural light to improve visual comfort over long sessions, and this isn't the first time AOC has implemented the technology into a display, as we saw it with the Q27G4SL/WS, a 27-inch 1440p Fast IPS gaming monitor with a 320Hz refresh rate.

In a cheekily titled new YouTube video, 'Year of the Linux Desktop,' which refers to the longstanding meme that everyone will ditch Windows for Linux, Discord announced a comprehensive, massive update to the popular social platform for PC gamers. As the name suggests, it's all about improving Discord on Linux with official support by adding much-needed overhauls and upgrades.

As part of the update, targeting Debian, Fedora, and Arch distributions, dedicated hardware video encoding is now supported on AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA graphics cards. In addition, there's Gamescope Vulkan support, developed by Valve and popularized on the Steam Deck, for screenshot and gameplay capture, which significantly reduces hardware costs. Best of all, the app now feels native on Linux with automatic updates.

In the video, Discord makes special mention of the Steam Deck, citing the new update as improving handheld performance and battery life, and reducing overhead when using Discord's various chat, video, and capture features. The Steam Deck, which runs a custom Arch Linux SteamOS build, is widely viewed as the gold standard for PC gaming on Linux, thanks to its robust console-like interface and ability to run full-featured apps in desktop mode.