Gaming - Page 47

NVIDIA's GeForce Now update, version 2.0.83, is here, and the two changes that stand out most in this release are for Apple Vision Pro users. First, ultimate members can now stream games at up to 4K and 90 FPS, delivering crisper visuals and smoother motion. This makes Vision Pro outperform Pico and Meta Quest devices, which currently max out at 1440p and 90 FPS.

The other addition is the rollout of H.265 video decoding to browser clients on select platforms. On most platforms, GeForce Now runs through NVIDIA's dedicated app, but on Apple's mobile platforms and the Vision Pro, everything is handled through Safari instead. It functions like streaming through a browser on a desktop, just with a headset strapped to your face.

H.265 support is especially important for Vision Pro users, since it still relies on GeForce Now in the browser instead of a native app, where image quality can be more limited. The H.265 codec improves on that with better image quality and a smoother experience. NVIDIA says the update will roll out in the coming weeks on supported systems.

In late 2025, Insider Gaming published a report claiming that a new Lord of the Rings game was in development for a $100 million budget. Now it seems that the studio behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Warhorse Studios, will be the one leading the charge.

The latest stokes the fires of rumor from late 2025, with hiberner toujours writing on ResetEra that Ryszard Chojnowski, a 27-year industry veteran who's been a project lead for The Witcher, said on the Tolkien Polska podcast that he has heard from credible sources that Warhorse Studios is the development team working on the new Lord of the Rings game. Notably, Embracer Group studios hold the rights to the Lord of the Rings games, and Warhorse Studios is owned by the Embracer Group.

As for funding, the $100 million will be provided by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. So, what can fans expect? The new Lord of the Rings game is akin to Hogwarts Legacy in design, as it's a third-person action game. Given the success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and the experience Warhorse Studios has in crafting immersive RPG experiences in open worlds, the new Lord of the Rings game seems to be in very good hands.

It has become somewhat of a challenge to run DOOM on the most obnoxious piece of hardware imaginable. We have seen the first-person shooter run on an Elgato Stream Deck+ XL, a pair of earbuds, and scientists have even taught 200,000 human neurons to play it. At this point, the original DOOM has become the face of "can this thing do something it was never designed to do?"

And these remarkable feats continue. This time, by cramming the game's code inside DNS text records. Meet DOOM Over DNS, a recently released port of Doom by Adam Rice that encodes the entire shareware version into 1,964 DNS text records. It can be stored within a single Cloudflare zone and then reassembled by a PowerShell script that boots the game.

To understand what's actually happening here, let's start with the Domain Name System, DNS. It is one of the oldest protocols on the internet, and it's a system that translates domain names into IP addresses. You type Facebook.com, and DNS tells your browser where to go. Simple enough.

It's not unusual for a social media platform to offer a paid subscription tier that provides additional features. Snapchat does this with Snapchat Plus, and Meta does it with Meta Verified. There is also X Premium. But what about Instagram?

It appears Meta is testing a new paid subscription tier for Instagram called "Instagram Plus," with social media consultant Matt Navarra showing off the subscription's offerings in a screenshot posted on Threads. The screenshot revealed that Instagram Plus will enable a buyer to create unlimited audience lists for Stories, beyond Close Friends, provide data showing how many people have rewatched your Story, a once-a-week spotlight story, animated Superlike on Stories, additional 24 hours on Stories, search within Story viewer list, and the ability to preview a story without it showing up as a view.

The new premium version of Instagram is currently being tested in select global markets, including the Philippines and Mexico. Judging from the screenshot, many of the premium features are aimed at creators, specifically the ability to keep Stories active for more than 24 hours. Depending on the price Meta lands on for Instagram Plus, I can see many creators and businesses opting in just for this feature, as it will mean more of their followers will be exposed to their content, leading to conversions, purchases, increased viewership, etc.

In a follow-up to our report from yesterday, where known insider and hardware leaker KeplerL2 took to the NeoGAF forums to confirm that the BOM (Bill of Materials) for the upcoming PlayStation 6 will cost Sony around $760 USD per console, we've got a few more notable PS6 details to share. This arrives via a few follow-up posts from KeplerL2, which claim that the $760 figure is based on the PS6 launching with 1TB of internal storage and no disc drive.

Per previous leaks, it was expected that Sony would upgrade the storage on the PlayStation 6 console to PCIe Gen5 SSD technology, with each console shipping with 2TB of internal storage. With current plans for the PS6 pointing to 1TB of internal storage, this represents an obvious cost-cutting measure alongside removing the disc drive as standard and releasing it as an optional add-on.

However, according to KeplerL2, Sony is reducing storage capacity from 2TB to 1TB because the PS6 will natively support neural texture compression, which should result in significantly smaller game sizes (in GBs) compared to the current PS5. According to early tests on PCs using similar technology, neural texture compression can also significantly reduce VRAM requirements, freeing up space for features like ray tracing and path tracing.

In a recent episode of The Town with Matt Belloni podcast, reporter Alex Heath from the Sources newsletter and access podcast discussed Disney's deal with OpenAI, and how Disney is looking to gain a foothold in the gaming space.

Disney is reportedly looking at Epic Games as its source for a substantial foothold in the gaming sector, with Heath explaining during the interview that he knows "for a fact" that some senior executives at Disney want to buy Epic Games, and how they are just waiting for the "moment". But, there is also "others who think it's a bad idea". Furthermore, Heath goes on to say that Epic Games and Disney would actually be a great fit for each other, and that if Epic Games ever sold that "Disney would be the most natural home for it."

"For a lot of reasons. For the park integration. Could you imagine a Fortnite park?," said Heath. The report goes on to say that Disney would integrate its IP into Epic Games' open-world games. Heath goes on to say that securing Epic Games would mean unfettered access to the Unreal Engine, which Disney could then use to further bolster its extensive media library. Furthermore, acquiring Epic Games is part of Disney's wider plan to turn Disney+ into a portal for consumers to access all Disney content, including games, films, TV shows, etc.

In a recent interview, former Rockstar Audio Designer Rob Carr revealed two main ingredients that enable Rockstar to create such immersive worlds, including Red Dead Redemption 2 and the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.

Rockstar is known for creating vast open worlds that have an impressive level of attention to detail, and during the interview, Carr explained that Rockstar has an "unlimited budget", enabling developers to essentially have no "creative restraints". Carr goes on to say that Rockstar will provide the developers, who in his case are audio, with technical constraints, but when it comes to creativity, the studio says, "There isn't any. Go nuts".

Carr goes on to give more specifics on how Rockstar approaches different parts of game development, with the former Rockstar Audio Designer saying that if you wanted to make 10,000 unique sounds for just footsteps, you would be able to, but that might not make it into the final cut of the game, as it will go through a fat trimming process. "Do we need 10,000? Probably not. Well, let's just limit it to about 100 then."

Deus Ex and Tomb Raider developer Eidos-Montreal today announced that it would be reducing its workforce by over 100 people in yet another round of layoffs.

Eidos-Montreal is conducting another round of layoffs that will affect 124 people across various roles, the studio revealed on LinkedIn.

Longtime developer-turned-studio-head David Anfossi is also leaving the company, which is a significant part of today's announcement--Anfossi had been with the group for 19 years, and led the studio since 2013, seeing multiple high-profile games shipped during his time at Eidos-Montreal.

While scouting the PlayStation Store's top pre-order charts on the web, I noticed something interesting: Microsoft has a huge presence on the platform, which isn't surprising, but what is most noteworthy is how different editions of the same game have populated Sony's most pre-ordered games.

At the time of writing, Xbox is once again taking over the PlayStation Store's pre-order charts in the United States (this also happened a year ago prior in March 2025). Given Microsoft's size--it owns Activision, Xbox Game Studios, and Bethesda--this is somewhat predictable. What's most interesting isn't just the placement of the games but the number of SKU variations that are on the list.

According to the PlayStation Store's current pre-order standings, which were screen-grabbed via the PS Store web version, Starfield's more-expensive $70 premium edition is the top #1 pre-ordered game in the United States. That makes sense, as Starfield is the next big Bethesda game and it was exclusive to Xbox for multiple years.

Crimson Desert is one of the biggest games out right now, closing in on 5 million sales in under two weeks. It has consistently sat at the top of Steam charts and, after starting with mixed reviews, has climbed to a Very Positive rating. At its core, the game has been a genuine success for Pearl Abyss, with the studio actively working to improve the experience as much as possible based on player feedback.

Where the game stumbles, though, is its story. CEO Heo Jin Young even acknowledged that the studio's focus leaned more toward gameplay, admitting they could have done a better job with the narrative. As it turns out, the confusion players feel about the game's undercooked story isn't limited to those playing it. Even Kliff himself felt the same way.

Alec Newman, the voice behind stoic protagonist Kliff in Crimson Desert, sat down with the Friends Per Second podcast to talk about the creative process behind the character and the journey of bringing him to life. From Alec's words, it is safe to say that it took the game a long time to find its footing.

Starfield will reportedly be a huge game on PlayStation 5, taking up over 120GB of storage space on the system's SSD.

New findings from a reliable data-collector indicate that Starfield could clock in at 123.347 GB on the PlayStation 5, not including Shattered Space (another 12.5GB) and the new Terran Armada story DLC (another 4GB). All-told, that means Starfield could require up to 140GB of free storage space on an internal SSD.

That's about on par for a modern game of this size, especially with enhanced textures, and matches up with the current install sizes on Steam (125GB), but the Xbox version is bigger at 150GB. Of course, the PlayStation Store's listing is no longer of help because Sony removed install sizes from games sold on that platform.

A reliable YouTuber with inside knowledge says that Bethesda is having a tough time getting Starfield running on the Switch 2, and it's possible the game could get scrapped as a result of ongoing difficulties.

Bethesda plans to support the Switch 2 in a big way, but it still hasn't announced Starfield for the platform. Reports say that the studio is indeed trying to develop the space epic on Switch 2 in a bid to better capitalize on the system's growing 17 million+ installed base.

Some of these games may not actually release, though, especially if they take too long or are too expensive to produce. Sources tell well-known video games leaker and insider NateTheHate that Bethesda is running into issues with Starfield's development on the handheld-console hybrid.

Pearl Abyss is making good on its promise to release more fixes for Crimson Desert, including one fan-requested feature: summonable mounts. Shortly after the update, the game hit a new milestone on Steam.

Instead of adding new DLC, expansions, or even mod support to Crimson Desert, developer Pearl Abyss has opted to tweak what's already in the game. The group says that it will continue refining Crimson Desert with new updates, changing the huge open-world fantasy sandbox-based into something that fans want to play.

One of the biggest complaints around Crimson Desert was the controls, which have been tweaked in the recent update. Gamers also wanted changes with the in-game summonable mounts and that's been done too. Pearl Abyss seems quite serious about appeasing fans--they even turned an aerial traversal trick that players were doing into an actual game mechanic. Gamers have responded very well to the update so far.

Bungie released Marathon on March 30, and since then, the title has attracted quite a bit of attention, with the extraction shooter peaking out at 88,000 concurrent users on Steam.

These numbers have led some to believe that Marathon isn't performing as well as Bungie expected, and that the game's lifespan will be cut short. These concerns were further ignited after Allinea Analytics estimated that 1.2 million copies of Marathon had been sold in the first two weeks of its launch. These figures were also corroborated by Paul Tassi of Forbes, who reported that the majority of game sales were on PC, with PS5 sales far behind.

Marathon developers recently wrote under the "Future Improvement" section that Marathon is the first DirectX title that Bungie has shipped, and that many players have noticed how much the title has changed visually over the last year. Much of that change has been based on player feedback, and the same approach will be taken with performance. Bungie goes on to write that it has already identified CPU performance improvements that will arrive "soon," along with some "long-term changes" planned for CPU performance.

It's not every day that a studio acknowledges its mistakes and acts on them quickly, but Pearl Abyss has built something of a reputation for doing exactly that with Crimson Desert. Whether it was the awkward controls, the criticized storyline, or the lack of Intel Arc GPU support, the team has consistently faced its shortcomings head-on rather than going quiet.

One controversy that arose around the game was the discovery of AI-generated artwork tucked inside it. Given how strongly players feel about AI slop creeping into their games, the backlash was swift. However, once again, Pearl Abyss was quick to apologize and acknowledge a lack of transparency. Now it's here to make up for its mistake.

Spotted by @SynthPotato on X, Pearl Abyss has removed all AI-generated artwork from Crimson Desert in Patch 1.01, replacing each piece with hand-drawn paintings made by human artists. The user's post shows a side-by-side comparison of the same art piece before and after the patch, and the difference is noticeable.

Elon Musk is looking to bring high-tech underground transportation to at least three states, with the company announcing that an underground loop connecting a University and a recreational area is currently being discussed.

The project aims to reduce congestion by creating a direct, high-speed underground route between two high-traffic locations, allowing passengers to travel in Tesla vehicles through a dedicated tunnel, bypassing surface roads entirely. The Loop would be similar to the system already in place in Las Vegas, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, which transports thousands of passengers daily between convention centers, reducing a 25-minute walk to just a few minutes.

The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop can transport 4,000 passengers per hour, while the greater Vegas Loop can support 90,000 passengers. The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk in 2016, is looking to link the University of North Texas in Dallas and a recreational space in University Hills, which would significantly reduce travel time between the two locations, while simultaneously reducing roadway traffic.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launched on PC on March 19, 2026, and according to new statistics provided by Alinea Analytics, the sequel has now passed a new sales milestone.

The new stats claim that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has now sold 2 million units, generating an estimated $110 million on PS5 and $32.6 million on PC. The release on PC boosted Death Stranding 2 sales by approximately 20%, and what is interesting is that it also caused a spike in PS5 sales, which analysts are describing as an "effective re-marketing tool for PS5, too."

Not only was Death Stranding 2 re-marketed to consumers through user-generated content such as gameplay videos and commentary, but it also received a sizable price cut to assist in sales conversion. Furthermore, PC players aren't just buying the game and not playing; the analytics firm reports that PC players have an average playtime of 18 hours in Death Stranding 2, with over a third of the player base having already played 20 hours or more. These sales figures come after the title leaked in full two days before the launch.

A renowned hardware leaker in the PC tech space, known for leaking GPU architecture details and being quite spot-on about them, has revealed the cost of materials for Sony's upcoming PlayStation 6.

KeplerL2 took to the NeoGAF forums to share their estimate of the BOM, or Bill of Materials, for the PlayStation 6, and according to the leaker, that figure is currently $760. While the estimated cost of each PS6 is $760, Kepler writes that it is "still possible" for Sony to sell the console at $699. Those figures may be confusing to some, but they do make sense. The last console Sony released that made a profit on each unit was the PS4, with the PS3 famously launching at a loss, and the PS5's price was lower than manufacturing costs.

Sony makes up for this loss with other revenue streams generated by the platform, such as PS Store cuts, subscriptions, and game sales. Microsoft isn't any different either: the Xbox 360 initially sold at a loss, the Xbox One was near break-even or even slightly loss-making, and the Xbox Series X didn't make a profit on a per-console basis. Nintendo takes a very different approach; the Nintendo Switch made a profit per unit at launch in 2017, along with the Wii and DS.

The two biggest questions with Grand Theft Auto 6 are the price and whether Rockstar is going to delay the release again for further polishing, and the price aspect was recently discussed in an interview with TheGameBusiness, as Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick answered a question from Christopher Dring that suggests GTA 6 won't be slapped with the dreaded $100 price tag.

The Take-Two Interactive CEO was asked about his thoughts on in-game advertising in PC and console releases, as fans have suspected that Rockstar may take this route with Grand Theft Auto 6 to earn more money from the title. Zelnick responded by saying that he believes it's unfair for a gamer who spends "$70 or $80 bucks" on a game to have "interstitial advertising," which, in this case, would be ads appearing on assets within the GTA 6 world.

Taking a step back to look at the number of games Take-Two has published and the prices attached to them, then zooming out further to examine the general pricing of games, while sprinkling in Zelnick's comments, a pretty healthy picture can be painted for the future of GTA 6 pricing. For example, Borderlands 4, NBA 2K26, and WWE 2K26 all launched at the standard $69.99 price point.

A man in the United Kingdom purchased an old Xbox 360 for £5 ($6.64) from a car boot sale in Edinburgh, and within it was a Rockstar North development kit for Grand Theft Auto 4.

The development kit had a stunningly big prototype of the classic Grand Theft Auto 4, which debuted on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 29, 2008. The buyer took to the GTAForums to share a link to the extracted development kit, which revealed a ton of previously unseen assets, character models, missions, and other aspects of the game.

For those wondering what a development kit for GTA 4 actually is, it's essentially a pre-release version of the game that includes extra tools that give developers deeper access to the system.