Gaming - Page 99

Borderlands 4 released with shaky performance at best on PC, but now reports indicate that PC isn't the only platform suffering from performance problems; both consoles are as well.

The tech experts over at Digital Foundry discovered that Borderlands 4's performance dwindles over time on all consoles, particularly in the 60FPS performance modes. By comparison, the Quality modes, which restrict the game to 30FPS, hold up better for continuous play, but are still at risk of the performance decline if the game is played for long enough.

What is happening exactly? Digital Foundry found that when in Performance mode, Borderlands 4's performance begins to decline over the course of about one hour, which, when exceeded, will result in the average FPS dropping from the target 60FPS down to the mid-40s. Why does this happen? Currently, there isn't any official explanation as to why performance declines over time, but Digital Foundry's leading theory is that there is some kind of memory leak that becomes more prominent over time.

Don't expect to see Marathon at Sony's new State of Play event tomorrow--sources tell Forbes' Paul Tassi that the game won't show up.

Marathon won't make a surprise appearance during tomorrow's State of Play stream, new reports indicate, and Bungie may not be prepared to show Marathon for at least a few months. Sources tell Forbes' Paul Tassi that Marathon will essentially be out of the limelight until November, if then.

Amid problematic development, a business combination from Sony's $3.7 billion buyout, and continued pressure from executives to deliver revenue targets, Bungie is currently re-tooling Marathon while PlayStation Studios apparently continues absorbing the developer.

Nintendo has removed all previous lower-capacity cartridges for the Switch 2 generation, sources tell Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki.

Game developers releasing their titles onto Switch 2 have fewer options than the previous generation. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Nintendo has discontinued all Game Card sizes other than the higher-cost model for the Switch 2. Conversely, Nintendo had a wide array of Game Card sizes for the original Switch generation: 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB capacities (and not 64GB) were made available to developers.

For the Switch 2, Nintendo only offers two choices for physical game releases: the 64GB capacity Game Card, and the new digital-oriented Game-Key Cards. These selections come with their own unique and immediate trade-offs.

The Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4 has been delayed for an unspecified period of time, Gearbox has announced.

Borderlands 4 was originally supposed to launch on Switch 2 next week, but Gearbox has chosen to push the game back to give developers more time to polish and refine the port. Considering Borderlands 4's erratic performance at launch, and the fact that Borderlands 4 was said to run at 30FPS 'with some dips' on Switch 2, this seems like a good decision.

The studio has cancelled all digital pre-orders on the Nintendo eShop, and plans to launch the Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4 when the cross-save update is ready. No release date or timing was given, however a launch before the holiday season would be beneficial to both Take-Two and Gearbox. The studio has also advised consumers to seek pre-order refunds from retailers.

Hideo Kojima showed off the first-ever gameplay footage for his new Xbox-funded horror game OD, and Microsoft's Phil Spencer offers his perspective on the terrifying project.

10 years ago, Konami conscripted Metal Gear Solid series creator Hideo Kojima to make a Silent Hill game. The result gave us PT, a playable demo that might be the most terrifying game ever made. While Konami may not have believed in Kojima's vision for horror, Xbox certainly did, and now a full decade later, Kojima has debuted gameplay for OD, a kind of spiritual successor to PT that's being funded by Xbox Game Studios.

Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer was in attendance at the studio's Beyond the Strand 10-year anniversary, and he shared some quick details about what we can expect from OD, saying that it will innovate on three major fronts--gameplay, story, and Microsoft's golden egg, engagement. "OD is bold, it's unique, and it's unmistakably from this studio," Spencer said.

US retailer Costco has delisted all Xbox products from its website and has removed Xbox consoles, games, and accessories from store shelves.

Microsoft's gaming presence may be starting to be diminished at US retailers. Costco, the third-largest retail chain in the world, has removed all Xbox products from its website and its physical store locations. Right now, Costco only carries PlayStation and Nintendo products, which traditionally have sold better than Xbox.

While there's no official explanation from Costco, I've reached out to multiple customer service reps to no avail--no one seems to know what is happening. Searching for Xbox products on the Costco website nets zero results, however it's worth mentioning that competing warehouse retailers like BJ's and Sam's Club are both still selling Xbox consoles, games, accessories, and gift cards, albeit a very limited selection (BJ's is selling 17 different Xbox games, whereas Sam's Club is only selling 4).

Hideo Kojima's new project OD could actually turn out to be an innovative horror anthology that combines the worlds of interactive video games and passive movie-watching.

Today, Kojima Productions celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special stage show, revealing the first-ever gameplay for the mysterious new horror game OD. The footage shows a bizarre spiritual successor to the 10-year-old horror classic PT, with Sophia Lillis lighting candles in an enigmatic puzzle that's dripping with cursed cultish vibes. Lillis meets a terrible fate when she comes face-to-face with a terrifying Resident Evil-like entity.

OD is being made in collaboration with horror director Jordan Peele, and Kojima said that Peele will craft his own "fear" for the game. Kojima's fear, for example, is based on loud knocks--that's why the trailer is called Knock. While other directors haven't been confirmed, Kojima did say some very interesting things about OD that makes it seem the project could end up being an anthology where each chapter is different, similar to shows like The Twilight Zone, Tales From the Crypt, and Tales From the Darkside. The idea could be that each horror director chooses their own "fear" and builds a gameplay segment around that, all facilitated by real-time interactivity via Xbox cloud gaming.

Hideo Kojima has released the first teaser images for his new stealth game PHYSINT, but the game is still many years away from release.

Kojima Productions' 10th anniversary Beyond the Strand special has revealed new details about upcoming PlayStation exclusive PHYSINT. The project was announced early last year as an "action espionage game," and sees the Metal Gear Solid creator returning to the genre that he helped establish.

Now Kojima has released the first teaser image for PHYSINT, showing the game's main protagonist wearing a high-tech tactical suit underneath an over cloak. The game has the enigmatic tagline "here comes the feeling," which somehow fits the style. Kojima says that PHYSINT is a "next-stage tactical espionage action game" that will be "using technology even further than OD," also confirming it's about 5-6 years away. That pretty much means PHYSINT will launch on Sony's PlayStation 6, not the current-gen PS5.

The hit title Baldur's Gate 3 from Larian Studios is now natively running on Valve's Steam Deck thanks to a single Larian Studios developer who wasn't happy with the performance on the handheld console.

Baldur's Gate 3, while being playable on the Steam Deck, was taking advantage of the Proton compatibility layer on the console, which, for those who don't know, enables Windows games to work with the Linux-based SteamOS. However, since there is now an additional software layer between the game and the operating system, performance takes a hit as the CPU within the device now needs to run both. To remedy this problem, developers typically design a game to run natively on the intended operating system of the platform, and that is what a single Larian Studios developer initiated.

The native support for Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam Deck arrives in hotfix 34, and will introduce an improved framerate, lower loading times, and smoother gameplay.

Sony has found a way to gamify its merch by locking purchases behind in-game achievements.

Sony today announced its new Franchise Rewards scheme, a new system that allows only the best of the best to buy special game merchandise. The scheme is similar to Bungie Rewards, which also requires players to unlock specific in-game achievements before they can purchase special goods.

Franchise Rewards essentially reserves merchandise like pins and t-shirts for gamers who unlocked specific trophies in a game. The program begins with Ghost of Tsushima, and only users who unlocked the Mono no Aware gold trophy or the Living Legend platinum trophy can buy the new merch. More franchises will be added, complete with individual pages for each of the game series, and Ghost of Yotei is also getting Franchise Rewards later this year.

The US Department of Homeland Security has used the iconic Pokémon theme song in a recent ICE promotion video, which features the caption "Gotta Catch 'Em All".

The ICE promotion video was posted to the official Homeland Security X account on September 23 and features a montage of ICE agents arresting illegal immigrants, spliced with footage of Nintendo's Pokémon anime. The video also features Pokémon cards, but instead of Pokémon characters on the cards, it features captured illegal immigrants.

The cards in the video state the arrested immigrants' crime, a short history about them, their weakness, when they were arrested, and their sentence. Each of the cards states that the immigrants' weakness is ICE.

A cancer patient who was looking for donations to put toward their treatment has lost approximately $32,000 in donations after they downloaded a verified Steam game that was on the platform for almost two months.

According to a report from BleepingComputer, BlockBlasters, a 2D platformer title, was on the Steam platform for nearly two months before it was removed for containing malware, a violation of Steam's terms of service. However, the malware-infected game managed to claim a victim before it was removed, and that victim was streamer Raivo Plavnieks, or @RastalandTV.

Plavnieks was trying to raise funds during a livestream for their cancer treatment when a user joined the livestream and got them to download BlockBlasters, which had several hundred "Very Positive" reviews on the Steam Store listing.

There's a new trailer out for Ananta (previously known as Project Mugen) which sells the game pretty effectively as an interesting take on the open world formula with clear Grand Theft Auto 6 vibes - not to mention other influences.

TechRadar spotted the new YouTube trailer - and it's a lengthy one, check it out above - for the RPG from NetEase which is free-to-play and due to land on PS5 and PC (along with mobile, too, both iOS and Android).

As noted, it's a bit like an Anime take on GTA 6, and you get to blaze around a city in cars, bikes or even helicopters (as well as public transport - buses and subways). There's a whole lot of stuff to do as you step into the shoes of a captain of a special task force, the Anti-Chaos Directorate, with multiple characters to play (and a feisty looking cat too).

It has only been two months since the launch of Mafia: The Old Country, and the actress who played Isabella Torrisi has recently confirmed that a new Mafia game has entered development.

Isabella Torrisi was played by Carina Conti, who recently appeared in a livestream with @Bubbly_Nuggets, where a viewer asked Conti if Hangar 13 or 2K Games, the publisher of the Mafia franchise, was approved for another Mafia game. Conti responded to the question and said, "They were approved for another Mafia game. This is true."

Since this isn't an official confirmation from 2K Games or Hangar 13, we should take this information with a healthy amount of skepticism, but since Conti does play one of the central characters in the latest release in the Mafia franchise she may be privy to some knowledge that isn't public.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is launching in November, and ahead of the release, a prominent Call of Duty leaker has revealed details about the upcoming Zombies game mode.

The leaks come from notable Call of Duty leaker TheGhostOfHope, who recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to unveil that Black Ops 7 Zombies will launch with two modes: Standard and Classic, which is now called "Cursed". The leaker added that the classic mode will have its own separate wall buy, mystery box, and allowed weapon list.

Additionally, Classic Mode won't feature a mini-map, the perk limit will be four, there won't be exfil or armor, and the classic point system is back, along with players being forced to start with a pistol. As for other Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 news, Activision recently released the multiplayer trailer for the upcoming title, and it was met with quite heavy criticism from fans, with the trailer receiving more than 35,000 dislikes versus 25,000 likes.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is scheduled to launch in November, and ahead of the release, the new multiplayer trailer has been hit with thousands of dislikes and many critical comments.

The trailer was released onto the Call of Duty YouTube channel on September 23, and at the time of reporting, it has gained 3.8 million views. Unfortunately, for Activision, it appears there is quite a bit of disdain for the upcoming latest release in the Call of Duty franchise, with 35,000 viewers disliking the multiplayer trailer versus the 25,000 that liked it. This ratio is actually an improvement from the trailer that was released at Gamescom 2025, which gained more than 48 million views and sustained 508,000 dislikes versus just 66,000 likes.

So, what is causing this pushback from the Call of Duty community? There are numerous criticisms from players, such as the inclusion of Gen-Z Fortnite-style skins plaguing what was once a military-style shooter, skill-based matchmaking and competitive balancing, and a general fatigue of Call of Duty feeling the same every year. Those are just some criticisms, with there being many others gamers have voiced following the unveiling of Black Ops 7 at Gamescom 2025.

Esteemed video game director and producer Hideo Kojima has revealed his new game called "OD" in a suspenseful teaser trailer.

The director of the Metal Gear Solid franchise and Death Stranding franchise has published a new trailer on the Kojima Productions YouTube channel, along with other social media channels, showcasing the upcoming title OD: Knock, a game "for all players and screamers". OD starring Sophia Lillis, who gained prominence for her roles as Beverly Marsh in the horror films It and It: Chapter Two.

Additionally, the trailer reveals the involvement of Udo Kier, an 80-year-old German actor with more than 220 films under his belt, and known for his collaboration with Lars von Trier, the director of Nymphomaniac Vol. I/II, and Melancholia. Lastly, Hunter Schafer is also involved in Kojima's project, an American actress known for her role in Euphoria, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and Cuckoo.

Silent Hill f releases in a few days and now we have some performance analysis on the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles, with the standard PS5 rendering the game at between 360p and 720p and then upscaling it to 1800p @ 60FPS... in 2025.

In his latest video, YouTuber "ElAnalistaDeBits" posted some performance runs on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro versions of Silent Hill f, where the base PS5 outputs at 1800p 60FPS but internally renders at between a last-last-gen low 360p up to 720p.

Even the beefier PS5 Pro renders at Silent Hill f at just 720p on its Enhanced Mode, which uses PSSR upscaling, meaning that the base PS5 provides a better experience for the game than the PS5 Pro.

CD Projekt is hiring a lead network engineer for Cyberpunk 2, which indicates the new FPS RPG could have multiplayer of some kind.

Back in 2017, we published a report that said Cyberpunk 2077 should have online elements. These features, which were described as "seamless multiplayer, city creation, and real-time AI and living cities" in a grant issued to CD Projekt by the Polish government, ultimately didn't make it into the final game.

But there's a chance that Cyberpunk 2 could be what CD Projekt envisioned for the first game; a dynamic, connected world full of activity and action, all facilitated via an online infrastructure. The studio's new job listing for a network engineer mentions "designing and implementing network architecture and online systems"for Cyberpunk 2.

The Xbox Ally X isn't out yet, but Microsoft's new handheld-specific Xbox app can actually be loaded up on handheld PCs that run Windows 11 2H2.

Windows isn't fun to use on a small touchscreen, so Microsoft created a version that's tailor-made for handheld gaming PCs. It's called the Xbox Fullscreen Experience, and it's basically a custom version of the Xbox app that can shut off non-gaming Windows functions to free up system resources. It's a lot like modern Xbox consoles--these systems also run Windows, but highly-specialized versions with tons of processes and features stripped away.

The new version of the Xbox app can be accessed right now via the Windows 11 25H2 preview build. The Fullscreen Experience can be enabled via this tutorial, but be forewarned that you'll have to get into registry files.