Gaming

Valve's Steam Deck is widely considered one of the best handheld gaming PCs on the market, with the SteamOS interface and rock-solid user experience that make it feel more like a console than a desktop PC. With the Steam Deck currently sold via the Steam platform in countries like the US and Australia and through partners like Komodo in Asia, late last week, gamers began to notice an 'Out of stock' message in several regions where the handheld is sold.

The 'Out of stock' can be seen on the Steam Deck's official store page in the U.S., covering all three available models: the Steam Deck 256GB LCD, the Steam Deck 512GB OLED, and the Steam Deck 1TB OLED. With all three models unavailable for purchase, the only option for prospective buyers is to add the handheld to their wishlist.

However, since Valve no longer produces the 256GB LCD model of the Steam Deck, only the two OLED models are expected to be sold once stock becomes available. And on that note, there's no indication of when this might be, which is causing many to wonder if the Steam Deck is the latest bit of PC gaming hardware to be affected by the memory crisis brought on by the AI boom.

If you are anywhere near Norway and planning on having a baby in the next 9 months or so, then Norwegian retailer Komplett will give you a FREE copy of Grand Theft Auto 6 if your baby is born on launch day: November 19, 2026.

In a new promotional run on Instagram and in-store ads, Komplett said (translated) that: "Life hack: Lie together today, get GTA 6 free from us in 9 months", adding "this is actually not [a joke], GTA 6 is released in 9 months, and if you have a baby on the launch date, we'll give you the game for free". The retailer honoring this promotion would have to accept a birth certificate (we guess) in order to validate a customer's claim that their baby was born on GTA 6 launch day.

I can't imagine a couple talking to each other and discussing this deal, thinking that they would have a child (right now) and hopefully time it perfectly to have a baby on November 19... just to get a free copy of Grand Theft Auto 6. Stranger things have happened, but imagine being that child and going to school in the future "yeah I was born because my parents wanted a free copy of GTA 6".

Diablo 2's new Warlock class has been broken to deliver one of the most ridiculously overpowered builds ever made.

Diablo 2 recently got its first new playable class in 25 years as part of the new Reign of the Warlock expansion. The new class, the titular Warlock, can convert demons to his side and has some nifty eldritch attacks that copy his equipped weapon. And yes, the Warlock has already been broken to an absurd degree.

YouTube and Diablo 2 expert Coooley has broken the Warlock class, leading to a build that can dish out 79K damage while fully equipped, slaughtering even the hardest enemies in D2R's Terror Zones. It gets crazier, though: The build still works even if you don't have any gear equipped other than a main-hand weapon.

Xbox is paring down features that players don't use as Microsoft continues iterating on its conjunctive next-gen Xbox-Windows hybrid.

Microsoft has announced that Social Clubs on the Xbox platform will be removed in April 2026. The feature was originally introduced all the way back in 2016 as Clubs on Xbox LIVE, and transformed into Social Clubs, which are basically user-created and user-moderated mini-forums where people can gather together.

It turns out not enough people used the feature, so Microsoft is nixing it. "This update is part of ongoing platform updates to focus on the social experiences players use most today," an Xbox support post explains. The Official Clubs for individual games will remain intact.

Savvy Games Group, the interactive entertainment division owned by Saudi Arabia, is ready to make another billion-dollar gaming acquisition.

Sources tell Reuters that ByteDance is ready to sell its Moonton Technology division, and that a deal with Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group is in advanced discussions. Both companies are said to have agreed to preliminary deal proposals.

Moonton has a multi-billion dollar valuation thanks to the success of its top mobile hit, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The acquisition is said to be worth between $5 - 7 billion. With over 1.5 billion downloads and 110 million active players logging on every month, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is among the leading smartphone games on the market today.

Xbox fans, rejoice: Metal Gear Solid 4 will finally break its decades-long exclusivity to the PlayStation 3 and release on an Xbox platform.

Konami has officially announced Metal Gear Solid Master Collection vol. 2, and predictably, the new bundle comes with Metal Gear Solid 4, the next mainline game in the series. This is noteworthy news because from 2008 until 2026, MGS4 Guns of the Patriots was exclusive to the PlayStation 3. Now it'll be available to other PlayStation consoles, and to Xbox for the first time.

The second volume will cost $50 and comes with three games: MGS4 Guns of the Patriots released on the PS3 in 2008, MGS Peace Walker which was originally launched on the PSP in 2010, and Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, an old title that Konami released on the Game Boy back in 2000.

In an announcement coming out of nowhere during the February 2026 State of Play event, Saber Interactive revealed a new AAA John Wick game, starring titular hero Keanu Reeves, and made in collaboration with Chad Stahelski, who was the director and visionary behind the four John Wick movies. Check out the teaser trailer:

We knew that Lionsgate was working on a new AAA tier John Wick game, and now it is a reality... Lionsgate has Saber Interactive working on the new John Wick game, and having both Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski is a huge, huge deal.

John Wick game director Jesus Iglesias said on a PlayStation Blog post: "We are working closely with Chad Stahelski (John Wick director and franchise visionary), Keanu Reeves, and Lionsgate to produce a highly anticipated, adrenaline-fueled experience that fits into the world of John Wick. This game takes place during a specific period within the John Wick timeline and contributes to the expansive and rich lore of the franchise".

Announced and shadow-dropped during Sony's recent State of Play broadcast, God of War: Sons of Sparta from Mega Cat Studios and Santa Monica Studio is a new 2D action platformer that serves as an origin story for series protagonist Kratos. Set during his youth, the story will present a tale of "duty, honor, and brotherhood," narrated by original voice actor TC Carson, as Kratos finds his place among the Spartans.

With an old-school, pixelated art style, detailed environments, and impressive animation, the game also features Kratos' brother, Deimos. As this is a 2D side-scroller set in the God of War universe, the game will be as much about combat as it will be exploration and platforming. Kratos wields a spear and shield in the game and can also wield the Gifts of Olympus while encountering enemies, mythical creatures, and bosses.

A 2D God of War spin-off has been rumored for a while, with Sony choosing to go the surprise shadow-drop route for its release, making it available now on PS5 for $29.99 USD. Unfortunately, there's no PC version. Sony didn't stop there as it had another major God of War-related announcement to make during its recent State of Play broadcast.

Konami has announced a new official 2D Castlevania game that continues decades after the events of Castlevania III Dracula's Curse.

Dead Cells developer Motion Twin is helming the development of a new Castlevania sidescroller. It's called Belmont's Curse, and it takes place 20+ years after Dracula's Curse, the old-school NES classic.

"Set 23 years after Castlevania Dracula's Curse - follow a young Belmont's journey in an all new 2D Action-Exploration title from KONAMI, Evil Empire and Motion Twin, will be released in 2026!"

Bungie has announced an open stress test for Marathon that begins later this month, allowing the devs to gauge critical data and feedback before official release.

Marathon is launching on March 5, and to prep for the big day, Bungie is holding open server tests for the game across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The test will be open to everyone, however you'll still need to have an active online subscription in order to play--multiplayer access isn't free for all platforms.

"Marathon's Server Slam, our open preview weekend*, runs from February 26 at 10 AM PT to March 2 at 10 AM PT," Bungie said in the announcement.

The next Dead or Alive game is now in the works at Koei Tecmo as more games companies look to revivify classic franchises.

Koei Tecmo delivered a big surprise during today's State of Play live stream: Dead or Alive 7 is officially in development.

"The dawn of a new chapter awaits," the publisher said in the stream, showcasing next-gen renditions of Dead or Alive's Hayabusa and Kasumi battling it out. "The development of a new Dead or Alive game has started. We'll have more exciting content soon so please hang tight for further updates," Dead or Alive series producer Yosuke Hayashi said in the broadcast.

As per tradition, Death Stranding 2 is the latest PlayStation 5 game coming to PC.

Death Stranding 2 is officially coming to Steam on March 19, 2026, Kojima Productions today announced in Sony's new State of Play event. The Steam page is now live with pre-orders currently available.

The DS2 PC port was developed by Nixxes, in conjunction with Kojima Productions, and leverages the power of the PC platform to deliver higher-end performance like uncapped frame rates and frame generation improvements.

Assassin's Creed is doing some heavy lifting at Ubisoft, contributing greatly to the company's Holiday 2025 results.

Ubisoft's latest earnings results are in, and the news is good: The publisher raked in roughly $1.3 billion in net bookings (+18%) throughout its Q3 Holiday 2025 period, beating its own estimates.

The growth during the period was attributed in strong part to the Assassin's Creed franchise, which Ubisoft says has overperformed for the second quarter in a row--the first being the prior Q2 period.

Helldivers, a game that was directly inspired by satirical 90s film Starship Troopers, is getting its own film adaptation--and Jason Momoa is set to star.

In an interesting turn of events, Sony is making a new film based on its mega-popular Helldivers franchise. Deadline reports that Jason Momoa will star in the new Helldivers movie, and that the picture will debut on November 10, 2027.

"Jason Momoa will star in PlayStation Productions' and Sony Pictures' film adaptation of the global hit gaming franchise HELLDIVERS, with Justin Lin directing. Coming exclusively to theatres in 2027," Sony Pictures officially confirmed on Twitter.

Gamers with an Amazon Fire TV stick can now use GeForce Now, with NVIDIA having launched an app for the platform.

As VideoCardz reports, though, there's a catch in terms of the support for Fire TV sticks, and you'll need a 4K Max 1st-gen stick, or a 4K Max or Plus 2nd-gen device. More models will be covered down the line, though.

A notable limitation also lies in the maximum quality available on the Fire TV, which tops out at 1080p resolution (60 frames per second). There's no HDR support here, either, so those with 4K HDR TVs - a whole lot of people now - aren't going to be getting nearly the best image quality (with the top tier).

Blizzard just released the first new major Diablo 2 expansion in 25 years, and more content could be on the way...but it really depends on whether or not Reign of the Warlock is purchased and played by a portion of D2 fans.

Yesterday, Blizzard surprised everyone by releasing a new Diablo 2 expansion that adds a brand new character--the Warlock. The new expansion is called Reign of the Warlock, sells for $25, and makes some major quality-of-life improvements to the game--these changes are so dramatic that the new expansion is essentially a kind of "director's cut" of D2R, mimicking the format seen in games like Death Stranding.

While Reign of the Warlock is still brand new, Blizzard hints that it could make even more Diablo 2 expansions...but it's up to gamers whether or not that happens. This is ultimately true for all products in the interactive space--if something sells really well, companies usually want more of it.

HP has just stepped into a new adventure with its new OMEN gaming laptop subscription, a new laptop rental program that offers gaming laptops for as low as $50 per month.

In a recent video from LinusTechTips, HP has launched its new "OMEN Gaming Subscription" business: a new monthly plan that lets you scoop up a gaming laptop (and any required accessories like a mouse, keyboard, headset, display, and more) for a monthly cost. It starts off at $50 per month for an HP Victus 15 gaming laptop that's powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD.

HP will auto-renew the subscription each month unless the user cancels it, with the company stating that you can cancel your subscription within the first 30 days and get a full refund if you return the products within 10 days of receiving the prepaid return label.

The industry believes that Microsoft could launch its new next-gen Xbox PC sometime next year, but new reports say that nothing has been locked into place just yet.

AMD CEO Lisa Su recently confirmed the new SoC design for the next-gen Xbox PC is "progressing well," and based on the current pace of development, the new Xbox chip could be readily available in time for mass production to allow for a console release in 2027. This led to speculation that the new system, which is expected to be a Windows 11 PC that masquerades as a console, could indeed launch next year.

Nothing has been confirmed or announced by Microsoft, and while Microsoft has been co-engineering the new AI-enabled Xbox chip closely with AMD with advanced new features (technical details here), info about launches are handled by marketing and not another company's CEO. In any case, new reports from Windows Central suggest that Microsoft isn't yet ready to lock in a 2027 launch for the new Xbox PC.

Diablo 2 fans, rejoice! Blizzard hasn't forgotten about the game--they were just waiting for the big 30-year franchise anniversary to give players what they want.

Diablo 2 is a game about managing restrictions, and some of these will test the patience of newer gamers. When Diablo 2 Resurrected released in 2021, fans started asking for very specific quality-of-life improvements: Stash tabs so users could store up more items, loot filters to break up the monotony of finding useless gear, and even the ability to stack materials.

Blizzard is now introducing these major changes in a new paid update for Diablo 2 Resurrected. Announced in the big 30th anniversary Diablo stream, the new D2 expansion is called Reign of the Warlock, and for $25 it brings a new playable class and some of the most beneficial, player-positive changes to the game--things that Diablo 2 players have been wanting for decades.

Diablo 2 now has a new class for the first time in 25 years: The Warlock.

The Warlock class is coming to Diablo 2 Resurrected as part of the new Reign of the Warlock update, a major content drop that will expand the game with new skills and abilities. The expansion is out now, and it costs $25.

"Diablo 2 has an incredible legacy, and with Reign of the Warlock, Resurrected is stepping into its next era," said game director Brent Gibson.