I made the switch to a full-time OLED monitor a few months ago, and it's been a welcome upgrade on my desk for gaming and for work.

Apparently, I'm far from the only one who decided to make this upgrade.

The latest market research from TrendForce shows that the OLED monitor market picked up momentum as it moved through the second quarter of 2026.

In fact, TrendForce saw global OLED monitor shipments rise by a healthy 26.1% in Q2 2026 compared to Q2 2025. Year over year, shipments are up a whopping 98%. No, I don't think the OLED display market is in any jeopardy.

TrendForce posits that the OLED market's growth in Q2 2026 was largely driven by the launch of new models, especially those that measure 27 inches (the industry's most popular size).

This market segment includes the awesome Alienware AW2726DM I reviewed in May, which delivers some high-end features and a beautiful picture at a very affordable price.

Another market growth factor TrendForce includes is China's 618 shopping day. It's akin to the Black Friday/Cyber Monday events on this side of the Pacific, when countless people make tech upgrades.

ASUS remains at the top of the OLED industry with a healthy 23.1% market share. It notably launched the 34-inch ultrawide ROG Strix XG34WCDMS recently, which is currently being tested here in my office.

Samsung remains in second place with 13.1% market share, with MSI and AOC coming in at number three and four with 12.8% and 8.6% market share, respectively.

LG remains in last place out of the big brands with 8.4% market share, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that number drop next quarter as the company deals with fallout from its monitors installing unwanted adware on Windows 11 PCs.

The hidden driver behind the rise in OLED monitor sales

The TrendForce report suggests that improved OLED panel supply chains have helped smaller brands compete with the big names I mentioned above, but I suspect there's another reason driving monitor sales that TrendForce doesn't mention.

The ongoing RAM and storage crisis doesn't seem to have any end in sight. The rosiest of estimates puts a market correction towards the end of 2027, but more realistic estimates are pushing into the 2030s, barring some sort of AI bubble collapse.

The shortage of DRAM and NAND chips is affecting other hardware prices as well, including GPUs. When your next PC upgrade is looking, at best, like a motherboard and CPU swap, many enthusiasts are looking elsewhere for a meaningful (and not overpriced) upgrade path.

That's where OLED monitors come into play in a big way. The difference between OLED and more traditional panels like IPS or VA is incredible. Dark colors are actually dark, with no grey, washed-out haze. Colors seem real, displayed as they should be.

The recent drop in OLED prices, highlighted by the $350 Alienware AW2726DM monitor I reviewed, is making it a perfect time to swap monitors. And when other PC upgrades are off the table, OLED really starts to make sense.

Do you agree that sky-high PC component prices are forcing people to look at other upgrade avenues? Do you think OLED sales will level out in the next quarter as the market becomes more saturated? Let me know in the comments section below!

(via PCGamer)

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If you're a Warhammer 40,000 fan like me who's been looking forward to playing Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV after seeing its exciting gameplay deep dive and Necron showcase trailer, you'll have to wait a little longer.

On August 12, 2026, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV's game director, Jan Theysen, announced that the game's original release date of September 16, 2026, has been delayed to December 3, 2026.

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The reason the developers at KING Art did this is so they'll have more time to polish the game ready for launch, make changes based on player feedback, and squash as many bugs as possible so they don't ruin your experience playing it.

In the meantime, the developers will be sharing more gameplay trailers and deep dives into the game's mechanics and playable factions.

Windows Central's take

I'm personally okay with the developers delaying the game so they can polish it in time for release.

We've seen way too many high-profile games released in horribly unoptimized and buggy states at launch that we had to wait months (or in some extreme cases, years) for their developers to finally fix.

I'd hate to see Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV get review-bombed as Monster Hunter Wilds did at launch for having a bad launch state, especially when fans have been waiting for a new entry in the Dawn of War series for nearly a decade.

Hopefully, extra development time will help the developers give Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV the best possible launch state so players will stick around to enjoy it and play its Year-1 post-launch content, which includes new game modes, extra campaign expansions and maps, and a new playable faction.

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Mourning the concept of affordability in the custom PC-building scene isn't a new trend; on the contrary, the eulogy for "Moore's law" was read years ago, around when hardware like NVIDIA's high-end GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards came with astronomical prices, and possibly even earlier than that.

If you've never heard of the term — named after Intel co-founder Gary Moore — it's a prediction (not really a law) of how computing power increases every few years by doubling transistor counts without a severe cost impact. Anyone who follows graphics card, RAM, or storage prices knows that dream is over.

On a more widely known subject, the demands of generative AI quickly became obvious as more models were widely adopted, and building them on local hardware is how that all gets started. Since then, our sister site, Tom's Hardware, has watched GeForce RTX 50-series GPU prices spike by up to 39%. Sure, MSRP always felt like a suggestion rather than a rule with GPUs, but it's getting worse.

Today's GPU for the price of yesterday's PC

As it stands, encouraging novices to build their first custom Windows rig is particularly difficult because it usually means settling for the absolute bare-bones, entry-level GPU to stand a chance of keeping your build under $1,500. No matter how many advancements NVIDIA puts into DLSS — which I maintain is still the best graphics upscaler on the scene — it can't solve everything.

Plus, all these GPU headaches come before you start the painful process of finding a storage drive and suitable RAM modules to pair with it. Once you start approaching $2,000, I generally nudge people toward high-end gaming handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ for something more entertaining. Then again, nothing beats the satisfaction of building your own rig from scratch.

Of course, the reality is that Moore's Law has its scientific limits. We can only go so far into microscopic process nodes before manufacturing hits the borders of what's currently possible. That doesn't excuse inflated prices, and a commercial obsession with artificial intelligence still pulls the brunt of that blame, but why isn't there any AI-free hardware for the rest of us?

Would any brand go against the grain?

Realistically, practically any functional computer can run a local AI model on its CPU, GPU, NPU, or a combination of the three on a single SoC processor. Much like the crypto-mining fad that saw graphics cards scalped for their usefulness in Bitcoin earnings, modern components are at the mercy of AI, and it's a bubble that shows no signs of bursting (whether I like it or not).

Since the advent of Intel's Arc graphics hardware, particularly the first-generation "Alchemist" A750, which powered my wife's gaming PC for years with gradually improving performance, I've become an advocate for what the brand is trying to do. It's a similar story on AMD's Radeon graphics side, as both have an opportunity to steal the entry-level market away from NVIDIA.

After all, if NVIDIA isn't under enough threat from its competition, why would there be any incentive to lower prices? Intel has made impressive advancements in its own XeSS upscaling tech, which is part of what makes Intel Arc G3-powered handhelds so appealing. If it could commit to more affordable discrete GPUs with its long-awaited "Celestial" range, it could shake up the game.

Then again, Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, seems more interested in a return to the memory business (via Tom's Hardware), which would push Intel's desktop graphics even further down the list of priorities. It's much the same story as NVIDIA's minuscule — if utterly dominant — consumer GPU business compared to its monstrous data center and artificial intelligence side.

Could gigantic desktop graphics cards even seem ridiculous a decade from now, when NVIDIA's RTX Spark chips become its main priority? Doubtful, but who knows? Either way, Moore's Law is seemingly dead, and regular consumers are eating the costs passed on from major manufacturers as the march towards AI psychosis continues. I'll keep my eyes peeled for any signs of that changing.

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GOG (formerly known as Good Old Games) is one of the most popular spots to buy, download, and curate PC game collections. It competes directly against the behemoth Steam, the oft-maligned Epic Games, and plenty of other PC game storefronts, and over the years it has garnered quite a positive reputation among gamers.

Why? It's all about GOG's focus on consumer rights and actual game ownership, which in 2026 is becoming increasingly rare.

GOG's games don't come with DRM. Older titles are often fixed, patched, and updated to run on new hardware. There's a rather generous 30-day return policy, and there are frequent sales with massive discounts.

Yeah, it all looks great, and I'm a huge fan of GOG.

So where is this going? I recently came across a user-maintained catalog of "Games that treat GOG customers as 2nd Class." It was just updated on August 11, 2026, and I'm shocked at how many titles are listed as having some sort of disparity compared to other digital storefronts.

GOG's game version disparity is a lot worse than I ever expected

I was aware that some GOG games weren't the same as the versions found in other stores, but I never knew the problem was this widespread.

This effort to track issues with GOG versions of games actually got started in 2018 in a GOG forum thread that's still alive today, now reaching 400+ pages with thousands of replies.

The spreadsheet catalog contains a list of 1,140 games with at least one issue. There are 1,531 issues in total. Those numbers are not typos. Sure, some of the issues are less severe than others, but that doesn't mean GOG customers should receive an inferior product.

The catalog tracks the following issues:

• Missing updates (308 total issues)
• Missing languages (100 total issues)
• Missing free DLC (51 total issues)
• Missing paid DLC (200 total issues)
• Missing features (111 total issues)
• Missing soundtrack (439 total issues)
• Missing builds (278 total issues)
• Region locking (12 total issues)

Sources are provided for many of the games listed as having issues, and others are sourced directly from first-hand experiences.

Out of all the 1,140 games on the list, there are 17 special mentions. The game The Messenger from Devolver Digital, one of my favorite publishers, is flagged as special. Why? The GOG version is missing a Unity security update, and the soundtrack files are of a "lower quality than on Steam."

Another special mention is given to the game Nuclear Throne for its five issues, including a missing 10-year anniversary update, missing languages, missing challenges, missing soundtrack, and missing Linux version.

I could go on with plenty more examples, but I'm sure you get the idea. Missing soundtracks seem to be the most frequent offender with 439 total issues, while missing updates place second with 308 total issues.

Why do some developers seem to give GOG less attention?

GOG's disparity with other storefronts isn't really GOG's fault. It's ultimately up to the developers and publishers what to include in their games when they're sent to GOG, and what to update thereafter.

Devolver Digital and THQ Nordic GmbH are both at the top of the list with 29 issues each in total across their published games.

Correct me in the comments section below if I'm wrong, but Steam's far larger user base and its savvy workshop integration make it the go-to spot for most game companies. Much more attention is paid to Steam, and GOG seems often to be treated as "we'll get to it when we can."

And because GOG requires games to be DRM-free, there's definitely extra work to be done in many scenarios. For older games that may or may not have a dedicated development team, this is especially painful.

GOG is a great place to shop if you care about game preservation and proper functioning of classic titles, but you're still paying for the games. There's a certain irony here in buying a game to preserve it properly, only to find out that it's missing one or several features that you could have received if you'd purchased it, say, on Steam.

My advice for the next time you're buying a game on GOG

Like I said, I support GOG and its mission to deliver DRM-free games. However, I was not aware of how many titles have issues.

From now on, I'll be checking the spreadsheet carefully any time I head over to GOG and pick up a new game. I suggest you do the same, lest you end up with a DRM-free version that's missing the content you bought it for in the first place.

Were you aware of how many games on GOG have missing content and issues compared to other storefronts? Has it tainted your opinion of GOG? Is there any hope to solve the major issues that some of these games have? Let me know in the comments section below!

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ASUS Armoury Crate is but one piece of specialized management software that many of us have installed on our PC, perhaps without even knowing it. It comes preinstalled on ASUS gaming handhelds, including the Xbox Ally X, as well as ASUS gaming laptops.

If that sounds like hardware you use, it's time to check up on Armoury Crate. According to an August 10 update on the official ASUS advisory board, "a component used by Armoury Crate" is vulnerable and could be leaving you open to attacks.

Alongside that unmentioned component of Armoury Crate, ASUS has also released security updates for its GPU Tweak III, GPU Tweak II, and AI Suite 3 software.

This vulnerability, listed as CVE-2026-8917, comes with an 8.4 rating. That's out of a maximum of 10, meaning this isn't an issue you should ignore for long.

What does this ASUS vulnerability entail?

According to the CVE record, an "IOCTL vulnerability allows a local attacker to write a specific value to an arbitrary memory address, potentially leading to privilege escalation."

Although the CVE record doesn't mention Armoury Crate by name, it's clear that ASUS is concerned with that "certain component" alongside its other standalone software.

How do I update the vulnerable ASUS software?

Updated versions of GPU Tweak III, GPU Tweak II, and AI Suite 3 software can be directly downloaded from the ASUS support website.

You want to be sure that you're grabbing the most recent version. For GPU Tweak III, I'm seeing version 2.1.7.2. This appears to be a newer version than what's listed as affected on the CVE website.

For GPU Tweak II, I'm seeing version 2.4.0.0 on the ASUS support page; unfortunately, this version is listed on the CVE page as vulnerable, so I can only guess that ASUS hasn't yet made the necessary updates to its download packages.

It's unclear why ASUS hasn't yet made the secure version of GPU Tweak II available for download. If you're concerned, my best advice is to simply remove the software entirely until it's updated.

For AI Suite 3, I'm seeing version 3.01.10, which is thankfully newer than the affected version 2.1.2.0 listed on the CVE page.

And for the actual Armoury Crate software, you can choose to update from within the app itself.

Is there any alternative to ASUS Armoury Crate?

I often use Armoury Crate on my desktop gaming PC to control certain ROG and TUF components, but most of the time it sits idly in the background. It's not the best software, vulnerabilities aside, but it seems to get the job done.

I've read tales of some specific ASUS desktop hardware absolutely requiring Armoury Crate to function properly, but for other ASUS gaming devices, it can be replaced entirely.

Let me introduce you to G-Helper. It's designed to work with ASUS laptops and gaming handhelds, doing what Armoury Crate does in a streamlined, unbloated app that only eats up about 5MB of space.

You can download G-Helper for free from its official website.

— via PC Gamer

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Razer, one of my favorite manufacturers that has produced some of the best PC gaming accessories I've ever used, has released a new mouse built to conquer any game you throw at it — the Razer Naga V3 Pro.

This gadget is the long-awaited evolution of the Razer Naga V2 Pro, which takes everything we loved about its predecessor (which we gave a near-perfect review score) and refines it to create the ultimate PC gamer mouse.

Here's what you need to know about the Razer Naga V3 Pro and where you can buy it.

The Razer Naga V3 Pro mouse is equipped with cutting-edge tech to improve input detection speeds and swappable button plate configurations so that it can handle a wide variety of game genres.

Its biggest selling points include:

• 23 programmable buttons and three interchangeable side button plates (a 12-button MMORPG plate, a 6-button MOBA plate, and a 2-button FPS plate).
• A Razer HyperScroll Tilt Wheel Gen-2 with new dual tactile, free-spin, and smart-reel modes to adjust its scrolling speeds to a user's preference.
• A Razer Optical Mouse Switches Gen-4 to give its buttons an upgraded lifecycle up to 100-million clicks, cleaner and faster input detection, tactile feedback, and a zero-bounce optical design to prevent accidental misclicks.
• A Razr Focus Pro 50K Optical Sensor Gen-3 with precise mouse-movement detection and adjustable sensitivity that can go as high as 50,000 DPI.
• Polling rates from 1000Hz to 8000Hz to help improve the mouse's input accuracy and detection speed.
• A lightweight build of 117g (with the 12-button MMORPG plate attached) so it's not so heavy to move for the wrist while allowing it to be moved more quickly when making sharp turns in first-person action games.
• A battery life of 155 hours on HyperSpeed connectivity (2.4GHz).

This mouse is Razer's next amazing premium outing for MMORPGs, MOBAs, FPS titles, and more

Our resident PC gaming accessory expert, Jez Corden, reviewed the Razer Naga V3 Pro and found it to be one of the best PC mice he's used so far this year. Jez praised it for possessing dozens of programmable buttons, the best-in-class software solution, and a premium feel that emphasizes tactility.

So, if you generally play input-heavy PC games and you want to get your hands on the Razer Naga V3 Pro, it will cost $179.99/£179.99/€199.99 at select digital retailers including Best Buy, directly from Razer.com, and at physical RazerStores.

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If you ordered any of Valve's products within Europe, such as its Steam Machine gaming PC or the modern Steam Controller, there's a chance your private information may have been compromised. This morning, an email detailed "a note about a security incident at our shipping partner in Europe" involving a cyberattack on Valve's EU shipping partner, CEVA Logistics, on August 7.

I bought the Steam Controller in May, though I skipped the Steam Machine pre-order queue, and still received the notice as a customer in the United Kingdom. Crucially, Valve clarifies that this attack on CEVA and its subsequent data breach does not affect "your payment information, passwords, Steam Guard codes or other information."

Your Steam account should remain safe, and right now, there's no reason to change your password or change any account settings. However, Valve warns that customers could "expect fake messages" from bad actors asking for money or other information. Personal details that "may have been compromised" include:

• Your name
• Your street address, postal code and city
• Your country
• Your phone number
• Your email address — the same one your Steam account uses
• The type and price of the ordered product

How did the CEVA Logistics breach happen?

Valve says that it is "pressing CEVA for the full scope of what was taken and how, and we are in the process of notifying the data protection authorities in the countries affected", and clarifies that the affected system has been taken offline and isolated from further leaks, but there is currently no confirmation on which customers have been affected or exactly how this happened.

For now, Valve invites anyone with concerns or questions to reach out to its support team at help.steampowered.com or to write to its contact point at Artana Digital GmbH, Alstertwiete 3, 20099 Hamburg, Germany.

Fake messages from convincing impersonators are unfortunately common, and bad actors will go through extreme lengths to make their text messages, emails, and phone calls appear genuine. If you're new to Steam, remain vigilant but remember that Valve only handles account issues via its dedicated support site, and "never by email, Steam Chat, or Discord — Anyone who contacts you elsewhere claiming to be Steam Support is not."

I'd also caution anyone who might be at risk that, while Valve implies that your credit card information is safe, bad actors can use other personal information to attempt various identity fraud and access accounts elsewhere. It's important to stay vigilant as data breaches like this happen, and scrutinize every message you receive from delivery companies asking for money: "Treat all of them as fake", Valve says.

Customers based in the United States and, in turn, anywhere outside CEVA Logistics' operating area in Europe shouldn't be affected by this breach. Nevertheless, it should come as an important lesson in customer privacy and data security. Keep using strong passwords that are unique to each platform, and protect yourself as much as possible.

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Desktop gaming PCs have a reputation for being huge, and, to be honest, a lot of them are. However, if you're confident enough to dive into the twisted world of cable management, then a compact build could be a fantastic challenge that pays off as a space-saving monster rig. When the Cooler Master Qube 340 case appeared at Computex earlier this year, I was immediately intrigued, even if I can't afford the full gamut of parts to build inside of it just yet.

Cooler Master provided a sample but did not see the contents of my article before publishing. I'm also refraining from assigning a traditional review score to this case until I can complete a build with a full set of components.

How much does the Qube 340 cost?

For now, the best place to buy the Cooler Master Qube 340 is Newegg at $54.99. It's currently listed by Newegg itself, rather than any third-party sellers, and is in stock at the time of writing. A listing for the Qube 340 in black on Amazon US lists "Newegg Business" as a reseller at $59.49, which isn't worth the extra money. At the time of writing, the white variant of this case is "currently unavailable" on Amazon and is outright missing from Newegg.

What I like about the Qube 340

Ever since the RAM crisis ruined any prospect of affording Valve's Steam Machine gaming PC, I've thought about how I could repurpose some of the spare components I have in storage — and even then, it isn't a huge pile. Still, I knew I'd never manage anything quite as purposefully tiny, but I could come close with a mini ITX build, and the Qube 340 looked perfect on paper.

It came in a huge box, but it feels as compact in person as I'd hoped. The removable handles are also ideal for what I've planned: A desktop that I can set up and take away at a moment's notice, rather than leaving something permanently underneath our TV. Sure, I'll need to buy some more niche parts, like a compatible motherboard, but Cooler Master impressed me out of the box.

My most important consideration was whether the ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card I have would fit, depending on my front-fan decisions. I could also use an AIO radiator, but the cheesegrater-esque design of the Qube 340 feels better suited to a traditional air cooler — even if only in aesthetics — plus there's a 140mm 'DF1402512RFLN' fan pre-installed at the rear.

At a glance, there's nothing to worry about, as the 290mm GPU fits with around 78mm to spare. My immediate idea is to have a single 140mm intake fan mounted at the top, pulling cool air into the case and pushing it through a CPU air cooler before exhausting it out the back. Still, I have options, including adding an even longer card, as long as everything is measured correctly.

Next up are cable management and routing options. Like most hobbyists, I prefer to take my time with my own builds and get everything as clean as possible, which is more of a mandatory requirement in a compact case than a preference. While there aren't any dedicated trunking channels, there are a few mounting points for zip ties, so I just need to plan everything carefully.

The front-mounted I/O plate is also removable, so I can move it to the top of the case for easier access and re-route the attached cables from the start. It all depends on my motherboard of choice and how it determines the shortest route for each component, but it's fantastic to have the option. I'll always prefer my power button and front ports to be at the top of the case.

What I don't like about the Qube 340

The build quality is generally great on the outside, with those sturdy carry handles and rubberized feet keeping it steady in a vertical position and similarly when laid flat for construction and upgrades. However, the metal on the inside — particularly around the motherboard tray — is quite thin with some flex, but I doubt I'd ever accidentally bend it in any permanent way.

I found the removable 2.5/3.5-inch drive tray similarly skinny and flexible, but it hardly has to do anything beyond holding my storage in place, and it at least removes with a single thumbscrew. It would likely take a heavy dent from an accidental drop to twist this case out of shape, and though it's well padded in its box, it's still worth checking everything over as soon as you buy one.

Concerns about missing rubber grommets are tempered by the fact that this is a $55 PC case. Not to excuse any internal mishaps that might happen, but again, it feels unlikely given how solid the outer shell is overall. Otherwise, being mostly toolless also raises some concern about the glass side panel, which holds well but is secured only by a single protruding tab.

Should you buy the Qube 340?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want to build a portable mini ITX gaming PC

✅ You're prioritizing airflow with dust protection

You should not buy this if ...

❌ This is your first-ever rig; compact builds are tricky

You can go smaller, but for my first planned adventure into a mini-ITX build, the Qube 340 is exactly what I wanted it to be. If, like me, you're toying with the idea of a compact gaming PC that's easier to move around than a full-sized desktop, I think you'll be quite happy with this incredibly affordable case. Some of my opinions might change once I have enough parts to build inside it, but that won't affect the overall praise I have for Cooler Master on this occasion.

The ROG Strix OLED XG32UQWMS gaming monitor is planned for release in September 2026. ASUS provided a sample, but the company had no input on the article nor saw its contents before publishing.

OLED gaming monitors have been around for a while, but concerns about text clarity and burn-in left me less excited to buy something like the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG32UQWMS. Given the chance to test an upcoming model from its range shown at Computex earlier this year, I couldn't resist, and my review could be the moment that helps me overcome my apprehension. Here's what I learned.

How much does the 32-inch Strix OLED cost?

The ROG Strix XG32UQWMS is targeting a September launch for $899, with specific US retailers to be confirmed. In the United Kingdom, that converts to £819, with planned third-party resellers including Amazon UK, Currys, and Very. In the meantime, you can sign up for availability notifications on the monitor's official ASUS listing for your region.

Is the 32-inch Strix OLED easy to set up?

I'm a big fan of toolless setups wherever they appear, and ASUS ROG wins points for delivering a straightforward process here. Everything hinged on a push-button release mechanism that either gripped the stand or the VESA mount; I used the former and attached the footplate with a simple thumbscrew.

The display alone weighs 9.92 lbs (4.5 kg), and adding the VESA mount brings the total to 10.64 lbs (4.83 kg) in a mounted setup. Otherwise, the foot plate and strut together weigh 4.54 lbs (2.06 kg), controlling height with a sturdy but not overly stiff response. On my desk, the monitor is 14.46 lbs (6.56 kg) overall.

Attaching the stand gave me a clear view of the ports and navigation via the multi-function button (MFB) located behind the bottom-mounted ASUS ROG logo and its accompanying "Neo" proximity sensor. It's a pretty standard affair that matches rival brands, and its controls should feel familiar to most people.

While there are two HDMI 2.1 ports, a pair of USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 with a hub port, and a headphone jack, there's only a single DisplayPort cable in the box for its matching DP 1.4 port, along with the AC cord. Bundling a free USB-B cable shouldn't be too expensive, and I'm disappointed to see it missing here.

Does the 32-inch Strix OLED look good?

Moving from a 27-inch IPS Alienware monitor to an OLED panel made its benefits immediately obvious, with an experience similar to the one I get from my LG C2 TV in the living room. High contrast, deep blacks, and crisp visuals come with its 4K resolution and that smooth 240Hz refresh rate. Windows 11 adjusted my settings accordingly, and the monitor looks great out of the box.

In motion, the UHD @ 240Hz mode looks fantastic, and I'm left wondering who would ever want to switch to 1080p for the sake of 480Hz on a 32-inch display. I know it has its place in ultra-competitive shooters like Counter-Strike 2 and its many rivals, but 240Hz still feels like plenty to me. If you're the target audience, I think you'll be happy, because FHD gameplay still looks quite good.

Up close, the clarity of on-screen text looks fine; nothing particularly groundbreaking, but nothing looks noticeably fringed when I sit at a comfortable distance in UHD mode. Adjusting ClearType in Windows 11 might give results that better suit you, but I didn't feel like anything looked out of place during my usual daily work and gaming.

The OSD is at least easy to navigate, and I could install the DisplayWidget Center if I really wanted to use a mouse to tweak several settings at once. Otherwise, the "TrueBlack Glossy" panel looks significantly darker at a glance than the other screens in my office, which certainly helps with the deep blacks OLED is famous for, and I found the visible room reflections were tolerable.

Testing the display

Out of the box, the XG32UQWMS defaults to "Racing mode", hitting 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut as advertised, and sRGB accuracy earns a perfect score, while Adobe RGB maxes out at 93%. Without changing settings, a 100% brightness level reached around 306 to 311 nits, so getting it to 330 nits will require a bit of tweaking. On the whole, I'm satisfied with its stock settings.

Should you buy the 32-inch Strix OLED?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want an OLED monitor built for preventing burn-in

✅ You're a competitive gamer who thrives on high refresh rates

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You want an out-of-the-box USB hub monitor

A built-in presence sensor probably sets off alarm bells for some gamers, but the proximity detection is literally there to help protect this OLED panel by switching off when you walk away. That, along with adjustments to uniform brightness and pixel-cleaning settings, helps prevent burn-in, which was my biggest concern with monitors like these. ASUS definitely could have thrown in a free upstream USB cable for its hub, but the display itself is solid, so it still wins praise.

As price rises hit everything thanks to the RAMpocalypse, with SSDs, memory, graphics cards, PCs, handhelds, consoles, and literally everything getting more expensive, let's celebrate when someone beats the system.

Sure, it's only one person, but at this point, I'm so utterly depressed with the state of things that I'm ready to buy this person a beer and shake their hand.

You see the doom and gloom everywhere, so when I was browsing Reddit this morning and came across a post where someone had secured an NVIDIA RTX 3050 graphics card for just FIVE DOLLARS, I have to shout it out.

Is it the greatest deal of all time? Honestly, even before the price rises, I'd have grabbed this, thrown down a $5 bill, and run out of the store before anyone realized what they'd done putting that price tag on it.

Is the RTX 3050 a particularly good graphics card? I mean, it depends what you want to do with it. It'd be pretty good as a budget video encoding card for streaming; it'll play games at 1080p fairly well, too. Hell, I'd have absolutely put it into a machine and given it to my son.

For five bucks I would have found something to use it for. Maybe slap it inside the home server I've been wanting to build again for years to handle video transcoding. I don't care; I'd have found something to do with it.

That's assuming it works properly, of course. The post does show a Windows boot screen, so it would appear it at least gives video output, so that's a start. With a used, mystery GPU like this, you'd have to test it properly, and most definitely you'd want to strip it down, clean it up, and give it some new thermal paste.

But for $5, who cares? Worth a go, right? It's just nice to see someone have a win right now. If you were to buy a brand new RTX 3050 right now, you're looking at paying at least $250 if you went to somewhere like Best Buy. Nobody should pay $250 for a two-generation-old budget graphics card.

It also gets me thinking: What's the absolute craziest deal you've ever found on a piece of hardware? I think I've only ever been so lucky once, managing to get a Surface Go 2 LTE with a price mistake once and securing it for essentially free with an inexpensive data SIM contract.

It should have been a couple of hundred British pounds, and I got it for £8. And even though it was a mistake, it was still honored, and I got my Surface Go 2.

So jump into the comments below and let me know your personal craziest deal. Meanwhile, I'm definitely raising a glass to this person. Hopefully it all works well, and if so, you've definitely beaten the system right now.

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Lenovo Legion Go gaming handhelds are reportedly being bricked by a BIOS update. According to reports, installing the N3CN42WW update results in a black screen and systems not booting correctly.

It's not clear how widespread this issue is, but I suggest holding off on installing a BIOS update on your Legion Go until Lenovo has clarified the situation.

The problem affects the original Legion Go (often called the Legion Go 1 by fans), including both the Z1 and Z1 Extreme models.

In some cases, the Legion Go failed to boot immediately after the BIOS update was installed. In other cases, the failure occurred later.

Some users have said the performance of their Legion Go has gotten worse over time, such as the controllers not working.

Several Legion Go owners have reported issues on Reddit. The mods at the LegionGo subreddit shared the following:

"It has come to our attention that some of the Z1E and Z1 versions are being bricked when updating to the latest BIOS that was released on June 17th, 2026.

Please do not update your devices unless you are willing to assume all risks. We the mod team are trying our best to understand and get help on this."

They also asked people to share if they've run into the same issue.

Reddit user mherold11 said they reached out to Lenovo support to have their Legion Go repaired. They were told that fixing the gaming handheld would be a chargeable repair since the device was out of warranty. The quote for repair was €237.16 (roughly $273.81).

Other people in that same Reddit thread said their Legion Go gaming handhelds were repaired at no cost when still in warranty.

One Reddit user had luck performing their own repair, but that fix was complicated and is not recommended for general users.

This is a developing story and we do not know the extent of the issue. If you have a Legion Go and have been affected by the issue (or have upgraded and not run into the problem), please share with us through the comments below and reach out to Lenovo and the mods of the LegionGo subreddit.

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Mark Russinovich is the CTO of Microsoft Azure, and as it seems, a big fan of id Software's classic 1993 FPS, DOOM. I've seen the game running on practically every imaginable piece of hardware with a screen and any semblance of buttons, but I hadn't expected it to be playable inside Paint — until I installed it on my own PC earlier this morning.

"Playable" is being generous, because as Russinovich explains in his documentation for DoomPaint on GitHub: "Every frame is placed on the Windows clipboard and pasted into Paint's canvas as a genuine document edit", so Microsoft Paint is acting like more of a monitor than anything else, but it's still a sight to behold.

Performance ranges from quite smooth to snail's pace, but "the spreadsheet-tier framerate is part of the charm", and this is hardly the kind of medium I'd expect anyone to beat the entire game in. Nevertheless, it's real, and stands as the latest example of DOOM running in weird places. You'll need to install Python to run it, but that's all — alternatively, you could just watch my video.

It's a particularly bizarre crossover featuring two of my special interests, retro boomer shooters and classic Windows apps, with the icing on the cake being its creator. Sure, looking at the contributors section of DoomPaint shows generous commits from Anthropic's Claude and Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, so we're definitely dealing with a vibe-coded project here, but this is still a fascinating look into the downtime of a Microsoft executive.

Plus, there's working sound and music in this oddity, which is a step beyond what I expected from using Paint as a DOOM renderer. Again, though, this is more of a visual trick than an engine conversion, as Russinovich reiterates, "Paint renders the game but does not compute it. Paint computes nothing. Paint has never computed anything. That's the joke."

I've spent plenty of hours replaying the classics with source ports like UZDoom, and pulling a legitimate copy of its internal ".WAD" file will make variants like this playable with the complete selection of levels and weapons. If, somehow, you still haven't played DOOM in 2026, this could be one of the strangest ways to get started — but it's probably better to appreciate it from a distance.

— via Tom's Hardware

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Something I said on our Xbox Two Podcast this weekend was taken a little bit out of context by some news aggregates, and it led to rumors that Microsoft was exploring quitting Steam. They are absolutely not exploring that (right now), but there is good reason to think Microsoft is evaluating how it engages with Windows gaming all up.

Someone superchatted in during the live show and asked if there was a scenario where Xbox would ever quit Steam. Microsoft has been re-engaging with exclusive content as of late, with Gears of War: E-Day being the tip of that spear. It'll be exclusively on Xbox Series X|S on console, removing PlayStation from the equation. It is, however, still launching on Steam on PC, in addition to Xbox PC.

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PC gaming seems to be core to Xbox's future. Xbox Helix is going to be a gaming PC in essence, and component prices are making the Xbox Series X|S a non-starter for many. At least for the duration of the memory crisis, Microsoft likely isn't expecting to sell a ton of its own hardware. So, targeting users where they already are, without completely exiting the hardware landscape, is likely the play for now.

So, given that Microsoft literally owns Windows, how are they hoping to corner a bigger piece of the lucrative PC gaming market, even if it doesn't mean undermining Steam directly?

Xbox will continue to support Steam, but it's planning to expand its PC business too

Xbox Game Pass remains core to how Microsoft plans to show up on PC. Game Pass is designed to capture a separate audience from Steam, targeting users who are perhaps more inclined to otherwise stick to free-to-play titles or seek savings in as many ways as possible.

Xbox is still investing a ton in improving the Xbox PC app, which now sports Xbox Mode on Xbox handhelds and Windows 11 PCs, turning your desktop environment into a more optimized, controller-focused interface. The Windows 11 team wrote just last week about how it intends to further boost the OS for gaming and optimization in general. We live in a world where Linux and SteamOS seem to offer significant gaming performance gains by simple virtue of not being Windows — Microsoft absolutely wants to solve that gap.

But furthermore, I've received information from multiple trusted sources that Microsoft and Blizzard have been planning to open Battle.net up to third-party developers. It's unclear if that's still the plan under new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, but so far, I'm not yet seeing evidence that the plans here were canceled.

Battle.net boasts enormous monthly active users in its own right, and technically has its own "exclusives" in the form of World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, and some other Blizzard classics.

Microsoft already tested launching some Xbox games through Battle.net, including Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, and DOOM: The Dark Ages. It seems Battle.net is being redesigned to offer more third-party content beyond the Microsoft ecosystem in the future, while still acting as the primary delivery platform for Blizzard games like Diablo IV and Overwatch.

Battle.net and the Xbox PC app already form a "bridge" of sorts via Xbox PC's plugins section. Microsoft is also working with publishers like Ubisoft and EA to integrate their own PC stores to give publishers the opportunity to deliver their content directly while integrating Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, and Xbox PC ecosystems and features. Ubisoft announced last week that owners of some Xbox Series X|S console games will receive their Xbox PC versions for free, for example, and it's likely the program there will expand over time.

There's a lot of unknowns here, of course. There are some gaps and pitfalls when it comes to third-party titles on the Xbox PC store. Diablo IV, for example, doesn't support Xbox Play Anywhere, meaning users have to buy DLC multiple times for multiple platforms. Ubisoft games on PC don't support Xbox achievements either, even though you can sync your progress on some games to Xbox Series X|S devices.

Just how seamless the synchronicity between platforms will be remains to be seen, but the core of it is pretty simple: it's about giving developers more options for selling games, and putting more games in front of users where they already are on PC. The PC market is pretty fragmented given its open nature, with different launchers, stores, and platforms competing for attention. Xbox is trying to make it more seamless for PC players who want the integrations using its plug-in systems, while also leveraging the platforms it already has to create more opportunities for developers in general.

Blizzard games are generally seasonal in delivery, so it's a potential win for Xbox if, during typical patch cycles, Blizzard gamers pick up another game inside the ecosystem rather than leave for something external on the Riot Client, Epic Games Store, HoYoverse launcher, or wherever else.

Positron and Xbox emulation on PC

Microsoft is also known to be creating a bridge between console and PC with its Positron platform.

Xbox "Positron" is a system designed to help gamers convert disc-based games into digital licenses. If those games support Xbox Play Anywhere (and up to 50% of new releases currently do these days), then you will also get the PC version of any Xbox Series X|S disc-based game you connect to your Microsoft Account.

Sources suggest to me that Positron is expected to be revealed some time in August as Microsoft works out some of the finer details. It won't support every single game on Xbox 360, Series X|S, and Xbox One, but it will support a significant amount of titles pending licensing hurdles and agreements with publishers.

Another tool Microsoft is using to grow its presence on PC is the unassuming backwards compatibility emulator we saw ship a few weeks ago.

Xbox has arguably been a leader in the digital preservation space, ensuring games from decades ago still function on modern systems. In some cases, the only way to play certain old school games has been on Xbox consoles via backward compatibility. But Microsoft is planning to expand that even further to include PC gamers in the mix as well.

For now, the Xbox backward compatibility emulator on PC includes four OG Xbox games, including Conker, Blinx, and Crimson Skies. Future plans also include Xbox 360 games, which could light up some major classics that have, in some cases, up to now, been completely locked to consoles.

It would help Microsoft close some big gaps in its PC ecosystem, which came in pretty late and is sadly still missing out on mountains of classic games. It would also help Xbox gain access to a wealth of new content that would potentially perform better on lower-end handheld devices, such as the Xbox Ally S, in a universe where hardware prices have become truly insane.

Lots of potential, but polish is paramount

Xbox's history with PC gaming has been checkered, to say the least. PC gamers of a certain age still call back to the dark days of Games for Windows Live. Even those who might've dabbled more recently lament Xbox PC's feature and app gaps when compared to Steam.

On lower-end devices especially, the Xbox PC store is still not as performant as it probably should be, especially on that initial load. The Xbox PC store search functionality isn't particularly great either, and curation is a mixed bag. It's hard to find new games at times, and many games to this day still skip the platform, even though Xbox PC offers a far more generous cut than Steam does.

The Xbox PC store has improved by a huge amount, and now probably represents roughly 50% of my play time. I'm currently bouncing between Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Ally X while playing Hell is Us, for example, and many upcoming major AAA titles like Blood of the Dawnwalker and Onimusha from Capcom do support Xbox Play Anywhere.

Indie developers still aren't huge fans of the Xbox PC platform either, sadly, with long certification times and difficult policies making shipping on Xbox PC needlessly complex. Without some form of Game Pass deal, it seems many indie developers simply don't think it's worth the effort.

It'll be interesting to see what Xbox does to continue improving adoption on their end, and particularly how Battle.net handles some of this stuff in the future (if plans don't change under new CEO Asha Sharma). None of it means Xbox will walk away from Steam; there's simply too much money to be left on the table. PC has long been a place of platform plurality, and Xbox is seemingly embracing that aspect of Windows gaming in a big way.

RELATED: Xbox Helix and Steam — does it still make sense?

If it works, could Microsoft look to a future where it focuses on its own platforms rather than Steam or Epic Games? It's perhaps a window at best, but not likely in the medium or even long term. But given how Microsoft is pressuring Xbox to deliver bigger margins at all costs, I suspect today's incarnation of Xbox would be less philosophically inclined towards supporting Steam if it felt it didn't have to. But that's just my (potentially cynical) opinion.

As far as I know, Xbox has no plans whatsoever to quit Steam, even as it doubles up on Xbox PC and potentially Battle.net as store destinations for its developer ecosystem.

All of this is before we learn more about Xbox Helix, and how Microsoft plans to bridge the console and PC ecosystems with its own hardware ... More competition should be good for consumers, at least in theory. Ideally, whether you're on Steam or not, Microsoft's boosted attention towards Windows should improve PC gaming in general.

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HP announced its new Omen Max 45L desktop gaming PC in 2025, and it arrived with several upgrades over previous models.

I'm talking about an upgraded cooling system built on the back of HP's unique "Cryo Chamber." About a new modular power supply with an auto-cleaning fan. About new in-depth overclocking abilities.

The Omen Max 45L recently landed in my office, and I've been using it for a couple of weeks to see what it's all about. Does it make a strong case for itself compared to a DIY build? Does it have enough premium features to warrant a premium price? Here's what you need to know.

HP sent Windows Central a review unit on loan for testing. It had no input, nor saw the contents of this review, prior to publication.

How much does the HP Omen Max 45L cost?

HP's Omen Max 45L does not come cheap as a direct result of inflated component costs and the general high-end nature of the system.

Looking at HP.com at the time of writing, prices start at $3,489.99 for a model with an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5070 GPU, 32GB of Kingston Fury DDR5-6000 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

Prices climb all the way to $6,499.99 for a model with an AMD Ryzen 9 990X3D CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, 4TB of storage, and 64GB of DDR5 RAM.

The specific unit I'm reviewing costs closer to $5,959.99 before any discounts. At the time of writing, it's $800 off the regular price, bringing it down to $5,159.99. Here's a closer look at the specs that make up the PC I'm testing.

I put together a mock build on PCPartPicker to compare pricing. With the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, PSU, X870 motherboard, Windows 11, and Lian Li O11 case, you're looking at roughly $4,616. Add some extra ARGB case fans in there, and you might hit $4,800 to $5,000.

Without a discount, HP is charging a lot more for the Omen Max 45L compared to building your own. If you are interested in this PC, I definitely recommend waiting for a deep discount.

Is the HP Omen Max 45L assembled properly with good cable management?

I've been on a run of good luck lately regarding pre-built PCs I tested and reviewed, and I had high hopes for the Omen Max 45L's build quality and cable management.

In the former case, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The PC has a sturdy separate top compartment that can be used to lug around the 50-pound system, quick-release side and front panels, and a pull-off top panel hiding the AiO radiator.

It's easy to get inside the PC without any tools, and I appreciate that there's a removable dust screen for the three front intake fans. I live with two cats and ... you get the idea. I've been using the PC for a couple of weeks, and there was minimal dust to blow out when it came time for photos.

The massive RTX 5080 GPU is held in place with an additional bracket — also removing the need for any bothersome foam packing en route — and I had to make no adjustments out of the box. The PC turned on and booted up as soon as I hit the power button.

There are a couple of areas where the build quality could be better. I noticed immediately that the CPU pump header isn't mounted squarely on the chip. The front panel of the case seems to stick on one side. And the rear side panel doesn't quite match up flush with the rest of the tower unless I really take my time lining it up.

Cable management leaves a lot to be desired

Cable management in the HP Omen Max 45L isn't great. It feels like it was a rushed job, leaving stray cables and extra length on the visible side. Not only does this make for a messy appearance, but it can also interfere with internal air cooling.

Around the back, behind the all-metal panel, things aren't much better. Compared to, say, Maingear's MG-1 MK.II or Acer's Nitro 65, the Omen Max 45L's (normally) hidden cabling is spaghetti.

There's a snarl of cables pinched between the panel and motherboard backing, and another snarl sitting in front of the modular PSU. One thing I can appreciate is that the correct SATA cables are sitting idle in front of the dual (empty) HDD bay for easier connectivity.

How is port selection on the HP Omen Max 45L?

The front of the case hosts four ports and an LED power button. There are two USB-A at 5Gbps each, one USB-C at 10Gbps, and one 3.5mm audio combo jack. Not too bad in terms of convenience for ports often used.

Around back, on the custom HP micro-ATX motherboard, you'll find four USB-A 2.0 ports (with speeds measured in Mbps) as well as two more USB-A at 5Gbps. Two additional USB-C at 10Gbps round out USB connectivity.

HP has a 2.5Gb Ethernet port for wired connectivity, as well as dedicated jacks for line in, line out, and microphone. This is a fairly austere port setup, leaving a lot of space on the board's I/O blank. At least there's an easy CMOS reset button available.

As for the GPU, ports depend on the card you get. The RTX 5080 here has one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b.

How does the HP Omen Max 45L's cooling set itself apart from other PCs?

The Omen Max 45L's most prominent feature is its dedicated Cryo Chamber that hosts the AiO CPU cooler's radiator separately from the rest of the PC. The air-gapped setup means that only ambient air is cooling the fins, and the hot air forced out the other side by the fans doesn't enter back into the PC.

It's an admittedly ingenious setup that makes a difference, especially when you're working with flagship GPUs that produce quite a bit of heat that's spilled directly into the main portion of the case. It does, however, add quite a bit of bulk to the case. If you're short on space already, this probably isn't the PC for you.

The Omen Max 45L uses mostly standard parts

A big issue a lot of people have with big-brand pre-built PCs is their insistence on using proprietary hardware inside. I'm talking about parts that can't be easily replaced because they're some weird size or shape.

That's not the case here. Well, not exactly. The motherboard is a custom micro-ATX HP 8E55 using AMD's X870 chipset. It's a standard size that makes for easy replacement, and the case also fits up to a full-size ATX board.

I'm not sure why HP didn't just go for the full-size board in the first place. The massive GPU blocks off a lot of the board, and you'll absolutely be pulling the card out of the case if you have to do anything that involves the secondary SSD or the M.2 Wi-Fi card.

The RTX 5080 is also a custom HP job with a snazzy Omen-styled casing. It performs just as well as any other 5080 out there made by a known brand.

I tested it using 3DMark's Speed Way and Steel Nomad tests and came back with these scores of 8,996 and 8,628, respectively.

There were no surprises from the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, either; it performed as expected in baseline benchmark tests. If you're buying this PC strictly for gaming, I'd recommend sticking with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It costs $330 less and will deliver incredible gaming performance.

The Samsung SSD isn't the fastest we've tested, but it gets the job done with 6,626 MB/s read and 4,993 MB/s write speeds. Check out these graphs for a comparison to other hardware we've recently tested.

The PSU is actually one of the PC's strong points, which goes against a lot of other pre-built systems. It's a 1200W Platinum-grade option with a Cybenetics Platinum rating. It's fully modular for easy tweaking, it's quiet, and it has a custom reverse fan cleaning tool to spin the dust out of the hardware.

Even the separated AiO cooler can be replaced should the stock HP option that ships with the PC not be up to snuff for your needs.

Does the HP Omen Max 45L have good airflow?

To check airflow and temperatures, I ran a lengthy 3DMark Speed Way stress test. With all panels in place, including the front glass panel, the CPU hit 46 degrees Celsius, and the GPU hit 75 degrees.

With the front glass panel removed, GPU temperatures fell to about 74 degrees Celsius. The CPU, with separated cooling, saw no change. That's a minor difference, and you should have no problems keeping the PC cool as intended.

It's worth noting that the PC runs very quietly. The most noise I could get out of it was during the stress tests, and it peaked at just 47 decibels. That's quieter than most other pre-built PCs I've tested, and you'll hardly notice it's running even under load.

Does the Omen Max 45L come with useful custom software?

The main software to control this PC is HP's Omen Gaming Hub. It serves ads while open (annoying), but it does a decent job of controlling the PC.

The ARGB in the PC seems to have some issues, and I suspect it has to do with HP's firmware. It'll turn off randomly and not turn back on until the PC restarts, or it will reset on its own while using the PC.

HP includes a lot of software I deem unnecessary, including McAfee antivirus, Adobe offers, and Booking.com. It's classic bloatware. That's without mentioning the seven different HP apps that come preinstalled.

It can all be removed, but it's still an annoyance on a PC this expensive, especially when competitors are shipping clean installs of Windows 11.

Should you buy the HP Omen Max 45L?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want a unique and powerful desktop PC for gaming or creative work.

✅ You'd rather not save some money with a DIY build.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You're looking for the best value possible in a pre-built gaming PC.

❌ You want the absolute best cable management and build quality.

There's no question that the HP Omen Max 45L delivers on top-tier performance and cooling. Unfortunately, its assembly and cable management don't feel like they match the high price.

Worse, the PC comes with quite a bit of bloatware, and there are what I suspect are firmware issues that plague the built-in RGB lighting.

The pre-built gaming PC market has come a long way in recent years, and the Omen Max 45L ultimately feels like it's stuck in the past. It won't disappoint those who need a ton of power, but there are plenty of alternatives out there that will deliver a superior product at a similar price.

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Earlier this week, my colleague, Alex Cope, wrote a piece detailing how a surprise game had turned around his growing ill feelings towards gaming. It resonated with me because it mirrors a lot of the same feelings I've been having myself.

There's a huge selection of great games out there, don't get me wrong, but the whole state of the industry weighs heavy. Not to mention I'm really burned out on live service gaming and the constant grift.

Thanks to another of my colleagues, Ben Wilson, I finally opened up a couple of games I've had sitting in my Steam backlog for actual years: American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2.

I. Am. Hooked.

I've always known how popular these games are, but I finally get it. You're given an enormous sandbox to play in, and you can make of it what you wish. Play the game, make your own game, change it with add-ons, or play with others on community servers.

These are old games but still get new content regularly and, at some point, will finally arrive on console, too. If you look at them and think it might be a tedious gameplay loop, you couldn't be more wrong.

For me, it's all about the drive

You can pretty much make of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator what you want. There's no campaign to speak of, and from the off you're able to drive anywhere on any of the maps you own.

For me, it's the driving that's completely sucked me in. I could easily be making money faster, buying more trucks, hiring more drivers, and building my own virtual empire, but I'm not really driven that way.

It's all about the road trips. Leveling up to open up bigger, more valuable cargo earns more monetary reward, but it also opens up longer drives. It's one of the most relaxing video games I've ever played.

Sure, AI traffic at times acts dumb and produces a bit of the old virtual road rage, but mostly it's me, my trailer, and the open road. Stick on some music from the selection of in-game but still real-world radio stations, settle in, and admire the surroundings.

It can be challenging, too. Navigating tight roads gets the brain matter working, and I'm still not very good at reversing a trailer, but it also never feels frustrating. There's a real sense of satisfaction when you do it right and don't crash into everything around you.

Hours just fly past. Thinking, "Oh, I'll just jump on and do a few short deliveries," suddenly becomes driving across the entire map. I don't even have all the DLCs for either of the games, but without consciously thinking about it, I'm accepting a 1,000-mile+ drive from New Mexico up to Oregon.

I've spent more time in American Truck Simulator than I have in Euro Truck Simulator 2 purely because I think the drives are better. I've seen plenty of real-life Europe in my years on the planet, and it's nice, but it's not quite the same as some of the spectacular scenery in the U.S.

It feels more like a real road adventure to me.

Both games have limitless potential for customization

Besides the quantity of official DLCs, both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 have quite ridiculous mod support. Both from the Steam Workshop and external sources.

I've barely scratched the surface of this yet, but it's mindboggling how far you can go. You can add real-life companies to replace the standard, fake ones. You can download new vehicles, including those not officially in the game. There are graphics mods, physics mods, weather mods, mods to customize your trucks, and mods to change the traffic.

If you can think of it, there's probably already a mod for it.

There are also ways to play with others. Inside the game, there are convoys that you can join in with, but there are also external options, with the most well-known being TruckersMP.

This is a mod that allows you to drive on dedicated servers alongside other real people rather than AI traffic, and there's a whole community built around it. I haven't yet dipped a toe in the multiplayer waters, so I can't speak with any authority, but the option is there.

Ultimately, you can make the experience your own. If you want to go down the hyper-realism route, you can. If you're happy just trucking by yourself using the official content, you can do that too. Or any step in between.

Both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator play great on handhelds

Most of my time trucking so far has actually been spent on my Steam Deck, feet up on the sofa. One day I'm going to get more serious with a wheel and probably a button box, but it's perfectly enjoyable with a controller and a handheld.

Both games actually have a native Linux version you can enjoy on the Steam Deck, and both are still being kept up to date with the Windows equivalent. I've been playing it through Proton instead, and I do think it's a little better overall. But you don't have to. They're as pick-up-and-play as it can be on SteamOS.

There are limitations, and frame rate will drop in some of the newer DLCs and the bigger cities, but overall, it's superb. I'm not even playing on the lowest settings, either. Some are set to low, but most are on medium, and it's working just fine. It looks good enough to still feel impressive on those long drives through the countryside.

Both are perfect games to play on a handheld, and for me at least, I get added relaxation from moving away from my gaming PC. The one I spend all day in front of while I'm working. These two truck sims plus the Steam Deck are a perfect antidote.

Mostly, I'm wondering why I waited so long. I said the same about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, too.

I've always loved games where you can explore, and what's better than a huge open map to drive across as you please?

If you've ever been even curious, I definitely recommend checking out at least one of them. The base games are cheap, and while there's a lot of DLC map add-ons, there's enough road in each of the base maps to help you get a feel for it.

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In recent years, due to climate change, gaming has become increasingly difficult to enjoy during the summer because of rising heat waves. Why, according to the BBC, June 2026 has seen a record-breaking heat dome across the United Kingdom and Europe, with temperatures reaching between 36°C and 41°C (95°F to 105.8°F).

And that goes without mentioning that most homes in the UK and Europe were built to retain heat in winter, making them even more unbearable to sit through in summer (most of them aren't built with air conditioning).

I know this because I live in a brick-built house in the UK, which gets so hot during summer heat waves that it feels like my bedroom turns into an oven, especially when I have to turn on my PC for work.

My colleagues and I, living across the world, turn to playing games on handhelds like the Xbox Ally or anything that supports Xbox Cloud Gaming during heat waves to play without making the temperature in our homes even worse via the combined excess heat from our consoles or PCs.

However, Reddit user "scvready0808" got sick and tired of these heat waves turning his office into a sauna whenever he wanted to play PC games, so he decided to craft a homemade "PC chimney".

Using a combination of Etsy-sourced duct adapters, insulated flexible piping, connector kits, and a window fan, they're venting excess heat from their PC and making the room's temperature more tolerable for gaming.

It's a primitive-looking but effective method that worked in scvready0808's favor, and it's one I'd love to try myself, since my room is incompatible with traditional air conditioners — though I'd need to learn how to craft the thing without breaking my windows in the process.

Either way, I hate summer, and I can't wait for winter to come again so I can game in peace without worrying about overheating my precious RTX GPU or my ever-expensive Xbox Series X.

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In just a month from now, Gamescom 2026 will commence, offering the public early hands-on previews of highly anticipated Xbox games, along with reveals of brand-new gameplay footage or even entirely new games.

This year's Gamescom is already stacked with some heavy hitters, with the likes of Gears of War: E-Day's first playable demo and the premiere of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's 'Songs of the Past' DLC expansion already confirmed to show up.

I've already curated my own list of upcoming Xbox games that I'm most looking forward to seeing at Gamescom, along with other Xbox games that haven't been confirmed for Gamescom — but I still hope they'll show up with surprise trailers.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance

Capcom has confirmed it will be at Gamescom this year (via its European X account), bringing playable demos for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, Mega Man: Dual Override, and Street Fighter 6.

While we won't be getting a playable showroom demo this year, I'm still hoping for more gameplay trailers or info on Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance.

This DLC expansion to the latest mainline entry in the Monster Hunter series, just from its initial reveal trailer, has me stoked with its new beautiful floating island locale, new and classic monsters, and new Boost Bracer mechanic that aims to add completely new moves and ways to play every weapon type in the game.

I'm hoping for at least a new gameplay trailer and, at most, a gameplay deep dive describing not only its new content but how it will change or improve the base game content of Monster Hunter Wilds.

Granted, the base game is in a much better state than it was at launch, but I feel there's still plenty that could be done to fix the fundamental gameplay issues I have with it, which I hope the DLC expansion will address.

Gears of War: E-Day

One game that shot up my wishlist recently was Gears of War: E-Day, which is confirmed to have a playable demo at Gamescom, so we'll definitely be getting more info on it for sure.

Seeing the initial reveal trailer and its E-Day Direct filled me with waves of nostalgia for the original Gears of War trilogy with Marcus and Dom, not to mention how hyped it made me for the new modernized mechanics that make its classic cover-based gunplay more fast-paced than ever.

So I can't wait to see more footage of its gameplay (hopefully co-op) in action at Gamescom. Though thankfully we have its multiplayer gameplay showcase to look forward to first to whet our appetites.

Gears of War: E-Day is set to launch on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC via Windows and Steam on October 6, 2026.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Songs of the Past DLC

In what is possibly one of the biggest pleasant surprises of 2026, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is getting another DLC expansion over a decade later after the release of its Blood & Wine expansion.

Little is known about this 'Songs of the Past' expansion other than CD Projekt Red confirming its content will be on the same level of scale as the Blood & Wine expansion, which was so gigantic and well-done that it won the award for "Best RPG" at the 2016 Game Awards, so I can't imagine how 'Songs of the Past' plans to top it or how it lead into Witcher 4.

Many years ago, I went through a marathon of The Witcher series, and I concur with Jez Corden's review that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was the best of the bunch. Just the base game alone was packed to the brim with dozens of hours of epic branching stories, engrossing character writing, varied character builds, and enticing combat.

So I can't wait to see what CD Projekt Red's swansong to this legendary game will look like when it debuts at Gamescom 2026.

Spyro: A Realm Beyond

My inner child leaped with joy upon seeing that Spyro the Dragon will be coming back with a new game called Spyro: A Realm Beyond, made in the same gameplay style as the original PlayStation 1 trilogy.

Not to mention that it will be made by Toys for Bob, which has proven it can make solid platformers with its fantastic Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and Crash Bandicoot 4.

We've only gotten a brief look at its gameplay within its reveal trailer, and it's already got me intrigued with the addition of being able to fly whenever we want now, because in previous Spyro games, flight was only limited to certain boss fights and the Speedway levels.

So I'm hoping that Spyro: A Realm Beyond shows up at Gamescom 2026 so we can see more of this free-flight mechanic, other gameplay elements, and its mysterious new bad guy for Spyro to torch.

Spyro: A Realm Beyond is set to launch on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass with Xbox Play Anywhere support, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam sometime in the future.

Persona 6

After over a decade of Persona 5 content, we're finally getting a new mainline entry in the Persona series with Persona 6, and it's already having me intrigued with the dark, gothic vibes it's giving off compared to previous games, at least from its teaser trailer.

While Atlus is focusing all its attention on Persona 4: Revival, which looks amazing in its own right, I'm more interested in seeing what Persona 6 is going to look like as it's new, and I already played the original Persona 4 back on the PlayStation 2.

Now, chances of a new trailer showing up for Persona 6 are very unlikely since we're so early in development. But it would be nice to at least have an interview with Atlus on Persona 6 (as they're confirmed to be at Gamescom via X) on how it will evolve the series' trademark gameplay loop of living a double life as a high school student and an otherworld dungeon crawler fighting Shadows in turn-based battles.

Persona 6 is launching on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass with Xbox Play Anywhere support, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam sometime in the future.

Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember

One game I was not expecting to exist but glad it is is Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember, a sequel to the underrated soulslike action-RPG, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. I played the original Wo Long years ago to help my colleague Brendan Lowry with guide coverage (particularly with killing Lu Bu), and I loved every minute of it.

I loved its dark, deranged take on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms setting, its endless array of weapons and spells to create insane character builds with, and its fast-paced and brutal combat system comparable to that of Team Ninja's Nioh series.

So I'm hoping to see more of Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember at Gamescom 2026 and how it plans on topping its predecessor because, judging from its Xbox Showcase reveal trailer, it's looking nuts with the addition of aerial combat mechanics.

Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember is launching sometime in 2027 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Xbox Game Pass with Xbox Play Anywhere support. It's also releasing on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam.

Final Fantasy Resonance

One of the biggest surprises this year that I did not see coming was Final Fantasy Resonance, the first game in the Final Fantasy series to adopt Octopath Traveler's HD-2D graphical art aesthetic and the first game in decades to have turn-based combat.

As a fan of the turn-based era of Final Fantasy games (Final Fantasy 1-10), Final Fantasy Resonance has been impressing me every time I see it. Its blending of 2D pixel art sprites with HD backgrounds looks gorgeous, and its insane, fast-paced turn-based combat system looks like a glorious return to form for the franchise that I hope the mainline follows suit someday.

While plenty of information and gameplay for Final Fantasy Resonance has been shown off already, I'm still hungry for more because I haven't been this excited for a Final Fantasy game in decades, and I hope we'll get it at Gamescom 2026.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy

Last month, I played the beta of Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, an upcoming sequel to one of the best Warhammer 40,000 games and best CRPGs I've ever played, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.

In the short time I played the beta, I was taken in by its dark storyline, in-depth investigation system where you can sentence important NPCs for crimes they committed or frame them, streamlined character progression system, and its engrossing turn-based combat system where you will need to plan things out carefully; otherwise, you'll get stomped, even on lower difficulty levels.

I'm hoping to see more of Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy if it shows up at Gamescom, so we can see more of its potential companions and enemies, and find out when its release date is, as it's currently unknown.

Honorable mentions

To close out, there's a small list of honorable mentions of Xbox games that aren't too high on my wishlist priority, but I would be happy to see more gameplay of at Gamescom 2026:

• Castlevania: Belmont's Curse
• Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Deathwatch
• Total War: Warhammer 40,000
• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2
• Minecraft Dungeons II
• Persona 4: Revival
• Fable
• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster

And there you have it: my top Xbox games that I'm hoping to see more gameplay of at Gamescom 2026. Do you have any games you're looking forward to seeing, or are you hoping to find something completely new?

If you have any thoughts, please let me know through the poll, the comments section, or our Reddit page.

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For many years, "pre-built PC" almost felt like a slur in some gaming circles, and I'll admit that I used to consider myself above the pre-built market.

Who would buy a system built by someone else? That might not have proper airflow? That might have a ton of bloatware installed out of the box? That might use proprietary parts you can't upgrade yourself? That charges a premium price compared to building your own? To put it bluntly, pre-built gaming PCs had a poor reputation.

These things used to cross my mind before I regularly started testing pre-built PCs here at Windows Central, before I had a ton of experience with the pre-built market, and before the PC market's recent changes.

I won't pretend that I don't still prefer building my own gaming PC. Watching it power on and run my favorite games is a small joy that I love to repeat. But the time when building your own PC was cheaper and better than picking up a pre-built is coming to an end.

I've spent the past several months testing a wave of new pre-built gaming PCs here at Windows Central, and I can no longer pretend that they're inferior. Some of these machines are genuinely good. Not just "good for a prebuilt" — genuinely good and bordering on better than I could do myself.

The proof is in the pre-built PC

It was Acer's Nitro 65 pre-built gaming PC that finally spurred me to write this article. It's the most recent pre-built I reviewed — I'm also testing the HP Omen 45L right now — and I went in expecting the usual compromises often found in big-brand pre-built systems.

It turns out that, aside from a non-modular PSU tucked away out of sight, the PC is something I'd easily recommend to anyone looking for an upgrade.

I saw a similar story play out on the boutique end. I tested Maingear's MG-1 MK.II earlier this year, handing it five stars and a Windows Central Editor's Choice award.

It's an expensive PC to be sure, but not much more than putting your own system together with everything considered. These PCs are assembled by hand by people who clearly have a passion for this type of thing, and I don't think I've ever paid as much attention to cable management and RGB lighting as what's found in Maingear's flagship.

The iBuyPower Slate 8 Mesh that I reviewed last year is another relatively affordable gaming PC that balances power and price quite well, and it regularly costs less than $1,500.

This leads me to the Steam Machine's launch, when I went looking for prebuilts that could best it on price and performance. This was during Amazon's Prime Day event, but it quickly became clear that the five PCs I chose could outperform Valve's box while also costing less.

This is really where I imagine PC purists are having a hard time: pre-builts are increasingly upping build quality, maintaining convenience, and winning on value.

Not every pre-built gaming PC is a winner

As I said, I'd still recommend anyone with the time and inspiration to put together their own system. If hardware prices weren't being completely skewed by the ongoing RAM and storage crisis, I might not be writing this piece.

And although I've had some positive experiences of late, I don't want to oversell pre-built PCs. There are certainly still a lot of oddities to be found in the market.

Take the ASUS TUF Gaming T500 that I reviewed as an example. It's built around a laptop-class mobile CPU stuffed into a desktop chassis, and, in my opinion, the mash-up didn't work.

It took the worst pre-built habits, including poor upgradeability, and added new problems on top. It's ultimately proof that pre-builts still aren't guaranteed to be winners, and that the ceiling has risen without the floor following.

That's the distinction that matters. Just a few years ago, the odds of landing a quality pre-built PC that was upgradeable and assembled properly weren't great. Enough so that using a blanket "just build your own PC" response was reasonable.

Those odds have shifted. More and more companies are shipping systems that hold up against self-assembled PCs in terms of price, component quality, and thermals.

My advice to gamers shopping for a new pre-built PC

Those shopping for a pre-built gaming PC shouldn't trust the entire category. Instead, trust specific reviews. Check what PSU is inside and whether an upgrade is necessary. Check what parts the case can fit inside. Check how much bloatware you're dealing with on day one.

Just a few years ago, I would have told a friend building their first gaming PC to skip pre-builts entirely. Now, I'd tell them to read a few reviews first, because there's a real chance the better deal is already sitting on a store shelf.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

I'm going to be real honest here: I've been feeling somewhat down lately.

Even though there are so many games on the horizon, it's hard to feel excited when there's been so much negativity surrounding the industry recently, what with Sony discontinuing physical media, Xbox blocking people from their Xbox accounts through no fault of their own, and rapidly rising Xbox and PC tech prices thanks to AI.

I was stuck in a rut, which my colleague, Jez Corden, noticed and decided to fix by gifting me a game I had never heard of but knew would capture my attention: Tears of Metal.

This game is a roguelike hack-and-slash heavily inspired by Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors franchise, where you play as legendary Scottish warriors looking to take back their homeland from demonic invaders created by the mysterious Dragon Meteor.

As someone who grew up playing Dynasty Warriors games like Samurai Warriors 2, Warriors Orochi, and, my personal favorite, Hyrule Warriors, Jez thought this game would be up my alley and get me out of my funk.

Although, I didn't think I'd like it because of my depressing state and because I hadn't played a Dynasty Warriors game in decades after growing bored of how repetitive they are (and before you ask, I didn't play Dynasty Warriors Origins when it first came out because, despite the good things I heard about it, the idea of playing only ONE character in a Dynasty Warriors game sounded like heresy to me).

But I decided to give it a chance, and oh my gods, was I wrong to be pessimistic. This chaotic game was just the catharsis my brain needed, and I'm about to tell you why this game should be on any hack-and-slash lover's wishlist.

The gameplay structure has you embark on campaigns with procedurally generated maps filled with levels where you must defeat hordes of baddies to reach the final boss, each level more challenging than the last thanks to rising threat levels if you spend too much time on a map.

To survive, you will need to master your character's wide range of special attacks, command units in your army to attack priority targets, and gather items that grant powerful passive traits like firing explosions every time you dodge or cursing groups of enemies so they all share the same amount of damage they take even if you hit one of them.

However, it's unlikely you beat it on your first go because enemies in this game get tougher the further you progress, eventually to the point where you'll start doing less damage to them and kill you in one or two shots.

Thankfully, death is not the end. After each campaign concludes, whether you win, lose, or quit, you will gain permanent resources that can be used to upgrade your characters by unlocking new moves, unlocking discounts on item shops, promoting your army so that they'll get stronger while providing you with passive benefits so long as you keep them alive during a campaign, and much more.

These roguelite elements, combined with a fast-paced combat system and fun characters to play as (my favourite being Brienne Ironleg, as she's an extremely fast brawler), make this game so exciting to play through, even when I was dying a lot, as I knew I was still making progress unlocking new gear and moves after each run.

But don't take this to mean Tears of Metal's enemies are pushovers once you've found enough upgrades, because they can and will wreck you if you don't take time to analyse their attack patterns and learn when it's safe to dodge or attack.

Dying to these bosses can be pretty demoralizing, especially when you've progressed so far into a run. But coming back with new gear, moves, and knowledge to get revenge on them after they humiliated you was very satisfying and worth the backtracking.

Plus, when you feel like the game's starting to get too easy, you can always add difficulty modifiers unlocked after each successful campaign for greater challenges and rewards.

Overall, I had a blast playing Tears of Metal, and it was just what I needed after a stressful couple of weeks reporting on this dark state of gaming we currently live in.

The art style is cartoonishly grim, the available playable characters were fun to mess around with (there are only 3 in early access with more coming in the future), the music was gloriously metal, there's a healthy variety of enemies to fight, and the roguelike elements kept things from getting repetitive, unlike its main inspiration.

And the kicker was that I was having a good time solo, so I can't imagine how fun it will be when I drag my friends into playing this game's 4-player co-op mode with me.

I can't wait to see this game fully evolve as time passes with more updates and hopefully get my friends to play it when the full game releases on PC and Xbox sometime in the future.

In the meantime, I think I'll fire up Dynasty Warriors: Origins to give that game a chance now that Tears of Metal has put me in a hack-and-slash mood, as well as check out the hit 2D hack-and-slash, Absolum, now that it's on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass.

This early-access game is currently available on Xbox on PC, (via Xbox Game Preview), PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Steam, but is planned to launch on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud Gaming at a later date.

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Recently, I decided to catch up on Final Fantasy XIV's 2026 FanFest in Berlin out of morbid curiosity about what one of the new Jobs will look like for the Evercold expansion, even though I haven't actively played the game in years due to being disappointed by the Dawntrail expansion.

What I saw made my jaw hit the floor because Final Fantasy XIV's new job, the 'Bastion', looks so unbashingly cool. It's essentially a brawler that fights using two greatshields to block enemy attacks, slash at them with claws attached to said shields, and then transforms the shields into arm cannons that blow enemies away with laser blasts.

Now while this isn't enough for me to get into Final Fantasy XIV (I'll have to see more of its Evercold's Evolved Mode combat system in action, the second new Job, and Evercold's story to decide), this is enough to make me jealous as a World of Warcraft player (who's currently on break after having enough of WoW: Midnight's buggy patch cycle).

Now, I've never played as a Tank Class In World of Warcraft. Not because I'm afraid of the taunting responsibility of drawing the enemy's attention and protecting the entire party during raids, but because, well, none of them ever appealed to me.

All their abilities, playstyles, class fantasies, and aesthetics look too unremarkable and too generic high fantasy.

I mean, slapping enemies as a Bear-form Druid, or parrying attacks with a shield as an Arms Warrior, never seemed as cool or unique compared to Final Fantasy XIV's slick Gunbreaker Job, which slashed and blew enemies up with a gunblade before shooting magic shields at allies, or the new, brutal Bastion Job for the reasons mentioned earlier.

Also, Blizzard seems to keep nerfing Tank classes into the ground, making them less appealing and more stressful to play in Mythic+ dungeons or Raids at high difficulty levels.

So aside from giving all the Tank Classes in World of Warcraft major buffs to their toolkits, I think Blizzard needs to start adding new Tank Classes, starting with ripping off Final Fantasy XIV's new Bastion Job.

Final Fantasy XIV's new Bastion Job can easily be replicated or even approved easily in World of Warcraft by adding the long-requested Tinkerer Class (which I mentioned was one of the things I wanted out of Blizzard at the beginning of the year).

This hypothetical Class's Tank Spec could summon a giant mech robot or suit and use it to blow up enemies with missiles, rocket punches, lasers, and whatever insane weapon of mass destruction the Horde's Goblin race or Alliance's Gnome race can come up with.

If adding a new Tank Class is too much hassle to balance considering the game's stacked roster of classes, maybe Blizzard can focus on adding new Tank specializations (Specs for short) to existing classes at least.

Maybe we can have a Shaman Tank Spec conjure a suit of armor made of molten rock to withstand damage, uses wind magic to pull enemy groups, and then finishes them with explosive rocky fists.

Heck, maybe we can have an Evoker tank spec that specializes in using the Bronze Dragonflight's chronomancy powers more heavily than the Augmentation Spec?

They can use time magic to slow down an enemy's attacks to mitigate damage, augment their attacks with superspeed to maintain aggro on enemies, and reverse time on their own body to heal wounds for survivability or even revive a fallen teammate.

I know I would love a Tank Class in World of Warcraft that allowed me to use the iconic Goblin Shredder mount as a weapon to use in Dungeons and Raids all the time, customize with unique gear pieces, and shred bosses to pieces with its buzz saws.

Who knows? Maybe Blizzard is already working on a new Tank class or spec as we speak as a surprise reveal for Blizzcon 2026? At least I hope so anyway.

Either way, if we had more unique Tank jobs that took advantage of the more unique and wacky aspects of World of Warcraft's lore, I would definitely work up the courage to take up the role of a Tank class and defend my guild from the worst bosses World of Warcraft has to offer.

🗨️Over to you

But what do you think? Do you think it's about time World of Warcraft added more Tank Classes? Is Final Fantasy XIV's new Bastion Job enough to hook you into its upcoming Evercold expansion?

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll above, the comments section, or our Reddit page.

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I thought I was locked into ultrawide monitors for good. It had been 10 years of an expanded 21:9 aspect ratio and 3440x1440 resolution on my desk, after all.

But that all changed a couple of months ago when I got my hands on a "regular" widescreen 16:9 gaming monitor from Alienware.

The screen in question, the AW2726DM, came my way temporarily as a review unit, and it reintroduced me to several display perks I'd forgotten I was missing.

I saw an improvement to my first-person shooter skills with a 16:9 monitor

OK, yeah, I totally forgot that playing first-person shooter (FPS) games on a 16:9 monitor is way different than playing on an ultrawide. I've always said there's a reason that pros don't go for extra pixels on the sides, but I guess I forgot why I was saying it.

Switching back to a regular monitor while playing games like Battlefield 6, Escape From Tarkov, Hell Let Loose, and a few others made a noticeable difference to my scoreboard.

With fewer pixels to watch, especially outside of my main area of focus, I found that I was able to do a lot more shooting and a lot less dying. It largely has to do with a tighter HUD and a smaller window of focus — in any case, when I'm on a first-person shooter jag where I care at all about my performance, I'll be using a 16:9 display.

Indie games and singleplayer gems usually fit better on a 16:9 monitor

When I'm not enjoying first-person shooters, I spend a lot of time with indie and single-player games, many from decades ago before ultrawide screens were even an option.

While some of them offer ultrawide support, there are plenty that fill the space with black bars instead. It's not the worst look, but it's certainly not as clean as gaming on a 16:9 monitor where the graphics fill the screen from bezel to bezel. Worse, some games struggle with a 21:9 aspect ratio in terms of UI functionality.

Even some high-profile games lack native ultrawide support. Elden Ring is a good (bad?) example, requiring me to download a mod or a third-party tool to get rid of black bars on an ultrawide monitor.

My PC doesn't work as hard ... and that's especially important in the summer

PC gaming in the summer usually finds me with a Steam Deck in hand near the air conditioning. But, as we all know, a gaming handheld just isn't the way to play a lot of demanding titles.

It's a coincidence, but my switch to a 16:9 monitor lines up nicely with hot summer weather. Because my GPU isn't having to produce extra pixels for a 3440x1440 ultrawide monitor (compared to 2560x1440), it's not running as hot, and I'm seeing similar (or better) frame rates.

Forgetting ambient temperatures for a moment, giving my RTX 5070 Ti some extra headroom for advanced stuff like ray tracing is always nice. A 16:9 monitor doesn't have to be any less crisp than an ultrawide, and it doesn't take long to stop noticing the lack of extra space on either side of the picture.

My desk isn't being dominated by one screen anymore

I have a dual-monitor mounting arm attached to my desk, and I found that with an ultrawide connected to one fork, there was always one screen taking over my setup.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. My secondary monitor is an old 16:9 screen I use for running Discord and other secondary apps while I game, so it can easily be pushed to the side to make space for the ultrawide.

With two 16:9 monitors back in play, the setup feels a lot more balanced. There's just more space to work with, and I don't feel like I'm turning my head nearly as much when I'm looking at the secondary screen.

I want to be honest about the 16:9 monitor trade-offs

I truly thought I was an ultrawide lover for life, and I spent a considerable amount of time trying to nail down the best high-performance QD-OLED option for gaming.

But my time with a 16:9 monitor has convinced me that a regular aspect ratio is more than enough for my needs. That should also help soften the blow to my wallet when I finally upgrade once and for all.

Regardless, there are a few things I know that I'll miss without a 21:9 screen. The biggest impact is felt when I'm working. Sure, it's easy to drop a couple of windows side-by-side on a 16:9 display, but on an ultrawide, I had a lot more room to play with. Enough that I could fit three windows if I really needed to.

RPGs and racing games don't feel the same

I'm certainly not a gamer who only plays first-person shooters. I enjoy plenty of roleplaying games (RPGs) and racing titles, too, and I won't pretend that they don't look better on an ultrawide display. The extra pixels add a lot of immersion.

In an ideal world, I'd have an ultrawide to swap to when enjoying these genres. Alas, that's a lot of dough to drop on screens, and I'm convinced I'd be better off with 16:9.

The switch back to a 16:9 display went way different than I expected

If you've been mulling over your next gaming monitor's aspect ratio, I'm here to tell you, as a long-term 21:9 enjoyer, that the ultrawide prophets might not always be right.

My experiment with a regular 16:9 gaming monitor certainly didn't feel like a downgrade (especially thanks to a QD-OLED panel and a high refresh rate), and I'm extra happy that I won't have to spend as much on new hardware.

Are you gaming on an ultrawide monitor, or are you sticking with 16:9? Any plans to make a change in the near future? Do you agree with my opinions? Let me know in the comments section below!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Capcom's Dragon's Dogma series has always fascinated me as a fan of fantasy RPGs, but for some reason or another, I could never get fully into it. On the one hand, the games feature gigantic, sprawling immersive worlds that don't hold the player's hand while encouraging and rewarding them for uncovering their secrets.

Not to mention, the Dragon's Dogma games feature fun, exciting, advanced combat systems akin to Capcom's other action games like Monster Hunter and Devil May Cry, where you and your AI-driven companions (Pawns) work together to bring down giant bosses.

On the other hand, the Dragon's Dogma games have had exceedingly annoying drawbacks that have kept me from fully enjoying them.

These problems ranged from making essential quality-of-life features for open-world games like fast-travel a pain to find to absurd balancing and performance issues at launch that we'd have to wait for their Dark Arisen expansions to fix.

But my biggest pet peeve of all with the Dragon's Dogma series is one simple question: "Why don't these games have co-op?"

Think about it: a core aspect of Dragon's Dogma is working together in a party to fight monsters, yet we're always saddled with AI party members whose intelligence in combat ranges from adequate to downright incompetent.

Imagine the idea of playing Dragon's Dogma with a group of real people that you can coordinate online with so you can pull off the game's unique team attacks more consistently, and laugh as you all hang on for dear life while grappling a flying griffin or dragon?

It is such a huge missed opportunity on Capcom's part that it didn't capitalize on this, as I feel Dragon's Dogma was made for online co-op, and it would've made the series more popular with fans.

But then again, considering Capcom has a history of making multiplayer games feature needlessly convoluted matchmaking systems like Monster Hunter Wilds or having an identity crisis between sticking with PvE or PvP content like Exoprimal, Capcom probably would've messed up the potential co-op mode for Dragon's Dogma too.

Now it seems that YouTuber 'ButFrog' agrees with me that Dragon's Dogma lacking co-op is such a huge missed opportunity, so they've decided to take matters into their own hands and create an awesome-looking mod for the PC version of Dragon's Dogma 2, suitably named "DD2gether - Dragon's Dogma 2 Coop Mod".

This work-in-progress mod is designed to allow players to connect to a host player's world (up to 4-player parties) as either their player-created Arisen or primary Pawn (complete with their gear) by using Steam lobbies for peer-to-peer connections online in a similar vein to Elden Ring's popular Seamless Co-op mod.

The mod is currently in its pre-alpha stage, and ButFrog is working to ensure it works with Dragon's Dogma 2's base game and its upcoming Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen DLC expansion.

So far, this mod is looking promising even in its pre-alpha stages. It's so cool seeing actual real players fight together, and hilarious seeing them get knocked back miles at the same time by a minotaur's axe or a lich's ice spell.

Not to mention, this will allow players to synergize the abilities of Dragon's Dogma 2's many Vocation classes more easily than hoping and waiting for Pawns deciding to use them when you could've used their healing talents five minutes ago before being eaten by a drake (I'm still bitter).

Still, there's plenty of work to be done like making sure online connections are more stable, enabling quest progression for all players (as currently quests can only be completed independently per player), and allowing all treasure chest items to be obtainable for the whole party (as currently only a few certain treasure chest items can be obtained by the host player, but the rest of the game's gathering node items can accessed by the whole party just fine).

Plus, the Trickster Vocation class is currently unusable while this mod is active, as the Trickster's main gimmick of supporting Pawns and distracting enemies for Pawns to beat up doesn't work while there are no Pawns on the field (though this could change in the future).

There's currently no release date planned for this mod, so it's likely we'll see it months or over a year after the DLC expansion launches on October 9, 2026.

However, that doesn't mean I won't be playing Dragon's Dogma 2 before the mod comes out, because it's been looking more enticing to play in the coming months.

In addition to the DLC expansion, which will add a new zone, monsters, loot, and endgame content, Dragon's Dogma 2 is removing its egregious microtransactions while adding long-overdue performance patches and balance adjustments in the coming months.

If it all comes together, I have a feeling Capcom will have another hit on its hands and that Dragon's Dogma will finally get the worldwide recognition it craves, made even better by the DD2gether mod if the finished product ends up working as promised (it's a shame that the Xbox version won't get access to this mod like PC users will).

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, the large-scale DLC expansion for Dragon's Dogma 2, is set to release on October 9, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Steam.

If you want to follow DD2Gether's development or even gain early access to the mod, check ButFrog's Reddit or Discord channels.

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A year ago, I spent $30 on the XBOX Adaptive Joystick for my fiancée (who has since become my wife) to help her enjoy PC exclusives that are otherwise too uncomfortable with a traditional keyboard or lacking precision with only a controller. A connective tissue disorder causes hypermobility and pain in her joints, which means 'WASD' controls quickly feel awkward and difficult.

It started with a desire to join her friends in Blizzard's gigantic World of Warcraft MMORPG, and led to frustration with the limitations of its native controller support. Yes, with a standard XBOX controller (or any equivalent), you can run around the digital world of Azeroth and interact with the majority of its functions, but you'll eventually discover its limits.

The primary downside of joypads relates to losing precision mouse aiming, which is hard to replicate with any gamepad. Even PC-centric options with built-in trackpads, like Valve's modern Steam Controller, can't perfectly replicate the ease of rapid targeting with a mouse. So, it was the somewhat unrecognized efforts of XBOX's accessible hardware that felt like the best fit — but will it last?

It's difficult to discuss XBOX and broader gaming efforts without addressing the elephant in the room: Microsoft's "significant restructure" cuts. Thousands of roles were removed across the business, drastically affecting software teams and internal game development studios, while it seemed like the hardware side of XBOX would be "safe" from the sweeping layoffs.

Among those affected came a sad confirmation on LinkedIn from Kaitlyn Jones, who had served as Microsoft's Gaming Accessibility Lead and oversaw programs that included the XBOX Adaptive Joystick itself. Elsewhere, Aftermath's Grant Stoner reported that the layoffs had apparently gutted Microsoft's Gaming Accessibility Testing Services (MGATS), "and eliminated accessibility testers for games and compliance experts for Xbox sites".

Right now, I don't know exactly how (if at all) this affects Microsoft's plans for more accessible gaming hardware in the future, and those who rely on it are essentially in a "wait and see" period. As it stands, the XBOX Accessible Joystick is still listed for sale for $29.99 in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom. Whether that changes is a mystery, and a nervous one at that, as The Verge previously reported how the range came close to cancellation in the past.

Either way, it's a disappointing development to see cuts applied to accessible gaming, as it's an often-forgotten aspect of the hobby in general. Many are lucky enough never to need adapted hardware, but for those of us who do, I'd normally recommend XBOX's generously priced efforts in a heartbeat. They're easy to use, widely compatible, and frankly, unappreciated — even if there are a few parts that I'd change.

The XBOX Adaptive Joystick isn't wireless, so it depends on its included USB cable — though, to its credit, that cable is 9 feet long and braided in a heavy-duty casing. So, yes, it could be wireless to fit alongside the official joypads, but it's a downside that I'll happily accept if it means keeping the price below $30. Its trigger isn't pressure-sensitive either, so there aren't any options for analog inputs outside of the stick.

Then again, a digital-only trigger isn't generally an issue outside of racing games, and some clever bindings in the XBOX Accessories App (or Steam Input) have repurposed the stick in games where we could assign steering inputs elsewhere. With some patience and experimentation, it works in practically anything. Sure enough, the "Adaptive" part of its name is legitimately authentic, and this unassuming little controller has become quite important in our home.

For now, it feels important to highlight the hardware that's making gaming easier for people who need it. Whether it's connected to our XBOX Series X or my wife's desktop PC, the Adaptive Joystick deserves praise for its low price and fantastic versatility. These controllers don't need to be expensive or complicated, but they do need employees who are willing to fight for them, and I hope those voices are still heard at Microsoft.

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I'm starting to wonder if the developers at SCS Software — makers of the incredibly popular duo of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator — ever sleep.

Beyond a raft of upcoming DLC projects that have been confirmed to be in the pipeline, we're also now starting to see some base map reworks being teased. For American Truck Simulator, a reworked Nevada is on deck, while for Euro Truck Simulator 2 the UK is well in-progress.

Both of these games are pretty old at this point, at least so far as the base content goes. Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been with us since 2012, 14 whole years, while American Truck Simulator celebrates 10 years in 2026.

The newer content being released, be that Illinois on the American side or Nordic Horizons in Europe, are generally of better overall quality than the earliest maps. But these rework projects are designed to bring Nevada and the UK "up to the quality standards" of the newest map DLCs.

There's another reason this is great news, too. While PC players have been trucking for potentially a decade or more at this point, both games are confirmed for a console release. We don't actually know when that's supposed to be, but it would make an abundance of sense to show some love to the base game content before they drop, right?

Neither rework project is simply a lick of paint. New content is being added to the maps in the process. Here's what we know about each of them so far.

American Truck Simulator Nevada rework

Nevada's rework will see SCS return to one of the original locations in American Truck Simulator and rebuild many of its locations from the ground up.

Existing locations will be refreshed, but SCS is also going to be adding new ones and expanding the current road network. Nevada is a vast state, but it can also feel a little empty at times.

One new location confirmed is Fallon, to the east of Carson City. Its inclusion will also bring missing sections of US-95 that run through the city, where currently this area of the map is inaccessible.

Nevada's rework will also introduce a number of new depots to increase the opportunities for different delivery routes across the state. Previously, the iconic Route 66 had been reworked.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 UK rework

Similarly to Nevada, the UK's rework won't just be a splash of fresh paint. It was revealed earlier this month that with the rework, Inverness will be added as the latest new location in the very north of the map.

The UK rework was revealed in late 2025, so there has been significant effort already put into it. Other locations highlighted so far include Stonehenge, and Leeds will also be added to the map as a new city location, and the EuroTunnel will be getting a revamp, too.

SCS also says consideration will be made with regards to the planned Coaches DLC. The UK is a pretty significant part of the Euro Truck Simulator 2 map, and as a Brit myself, I hope they take as much time as they need. It's probably because I'm a Brit that I look at the current incarnation and feel it's lacking, but everything teased so far is looking really promising.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator on console... eventually

The long-awaited arrival of both of SCS Software's truck simulators to both Xbox and PlayStation was revealed at last year's Gamescom during the Future Games Show. There's still no word on when that's expected to happen, but the most recent dev talk on the topic can be seen above.

However, there's no denying that reworking large chunks of the base game content is a great thing to see with the console releases still to come. After all, these will be the first impressions new players get.

Gamescom is almost around again for 2026, and SCS has already confirmed its presence with its biggest booth yet, an exclusive partnership on something with both Thrustmaster and Volvo, and the chance for attendees to check out some upcoming content.

The console version has not been discussed yet, but if there was a place to offer an update, there would be worse places to do it.

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Halo: Campaign Evolved has launched in early access, which has been met with glowing praise from critics and scorn from Xbox players who are having trouble accessing the early access period due to technical difficulties.

However, if you're planning on playing this game on PC or Steam or Xbox on PC, but are stuck with old hardware thanks to rising prices on newer PC components caused by the ongoing RAM Crisis, we have good news.

Our friends at PC Gamer have discovered through rigorous testing that Halo: Campaign Evolved can be played at low settings and still look almost as good as it does on Ultra settings on PC.

For further context, PC Gamer tested Halo: Campaign on several PCs running NVIDIA RTX 3070, NVIDIA RTX 4070, NVIDIA RTX 5080, and AMD RX 9070 GPUs, and noticed there were very few differences between Low and Ultra settings when it comes to the graphics.

The biggest differences were blood textures and weapon lighting being slightly more detailed on Ultra, whereas foliage details, lighting softness, and shadow textures were only barely more detailed.

As for the game's framerate performance, PC Gamer noted that differences are much more prominent in this regard. Running Halo: Campaign Evolved on Ultra settings cuts the performance down by at least 20% across multiple rigs, particularly if the DLSS upscaling setting is set to Ultra.

Meanwhile, keeping the game at low graphical presets keeps the game's framerates somewhat high without a dip in their consistency, without the need for DLSS upscaling.

For example, running the game on Ultra graphical presets at 1440p with Ultra DLSS settings saw Halo Campaign Evolved achieve 60fps (RTX 3070), 84fps (RTX 4070 Super) , and 127fps (RTX 5080).

Whereas running the low graphical presets at 1440p with low DSLL settings saw Halo Campaign Evolved achieve 82fps (RTX 3070), 148fps (RTX 4070 Super), and 172fps (RTX 5080), giving much higher framerates with minimal changes in graphical fidelity.

PC Gamer even tested Halo: Campaign Evolved out on the Xbox ROG Ally X and discovered that running the game on Ultra or Native upscaling tanks its performance hard. PC Gamer recommends running the game using the Xbox Rog Ally X's Very Low preset option to get the performance out of it.

PC Gamer concluded that unless you have a monster PC rig that can push hundreds of frames per second or if you don't mind playing the game at around 30fps, they recommend playing the game on Low settings for the best balance of performance and appearance.

Though they also recommend turning off the motion blur, as it makes the game look pretty terrible.

Now, while I plan on playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on Xbox Series X after hearing how awesome it is from my colleague Brendan Lowry, who gave it 4/5 stars, I'm glad PC players won't be forced to upgrade their rigs to play it at acceptable levels.

We are living in a dire age of tech where it's getting harder for PC gamers to play the latest games without scouring the internet for increasingly scarce and pricey components needed to run them, so any AAA game that's optimized enough to be played on older hardware without losing too much graphical fidelity is a blessing we'll gladly take.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is available in early access and will be released to the general public on July 28, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam.

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Recently, I've found myself a bit irritated by my dbrand Xbox Ally Killswitch case. It's not bad, but its bulk and sandpaper-feeling finish made me wonder if there are viable alternatives out there. I found myself hitting up an old friend, JSAUX, who steered me right during my Steam Deck and ROG Ally days, to see what they had on offer.

I purchased the latest JSAUX ModCase from the company's website last week, and it arrived promptly a few days later. My dbrand case set me back $75 when I picked it up; this JSAUX option cost $38 on Amazon by comparison. Despite how much I'd paid for the dbrand case, it adheres so tightly to the chassis that removing it felt virtually impossible without scissors ... so I thought I'd go all in and risk it on JSAUX's option. Turns out that I have no regrets whatsoever.

The JSAUX ModCase for Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X is by a country mile far better value, with superior features and a far better feel in the hand than dbrand's apparently more "premium" offering. I would argue that this is, without a doubt, the best Xbox Ally accessory probably every owner should buy.

Better feel, features, and value

The JSAUX ModCase continues the firm's long-standing tradition of supporting handheld gaming PCs, with accessories for everything from the Steam Deck to the Nintendo Switch. At the time I'd purchased the dbrand option, JSAUX wasn't offering an Xbox Ally case, but since they've finally jumped on board, I thought I'd give it a try.

Immediately you'll notice the better feel here. The ModCase has smoother, less abrasive texturing on the grips. For some reason, dbrand insists on using a sandpaper-style finish on its grips, which feels very unpleasant. The JSAUX ModCase is also noticeably lighter, although that'll likely be because it uses more rubber over hard plastics. The dbrand Killswitch would probably win in a ballistics test, given that it has hard plastics at more pressure points within the shell, but I think the JSAUX option is more ergonomic.

The JSAUX option is by no means a slouch in the hardiness department, though. The back panel is hard plastic, rather than rubber, and the corners and grips adhere closely to the Xbox Ally's most vulnerable corners. It also comes with a detachable front cover shell to protect the screen in travel.

If you have an Xbox Ally or Ally X, this is the case you should pick

The Xbox Ally's weird shape likely makes it odd to develop products for; it's definitely designed with ergonomics in mind above all, and that's ideally what a PC gaming handheld should do. However, it does have some somewhat irritating design flaws. The soft plastics creak and groan under strain, and although I've been using it for a year, I'm not exactly confident to take it on the go without some form of protection.

Given how expensive these devices can be, you absolutely should consider putting a case on it if you are a frequent user and heavy traveler/commuter. The JSAUX option is something I will personally guarantee to not disappoint. It simply has a better feel than alternative options; its modular nature makes for a lot of additional functionality for enthusiasts, and it's just simply better value. I'm not sure I could ever recommend alternatives that cost over 33% more for little to no discernible gain.

JSAUX has a banger here, and every Xbox Ally / Xbox Ally X owner should take note.

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As part of Microsoft's Age of Empires revival, the third installment received a Definitive Edition treatment in 2020. Although not nearly as popular as Age of Empires 2 (which also received a glorious remake), Age of Empires 3 has a loyal following amongst real-time strategy (RTS) fans.

I have good news for those PC gamers. Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition is currently testing a new "The Baltic Powers" expansion in open beta. The test runs from July 23 until August 6, after which the expansion will officially launch on September 10, 2026.

This is the first expansion of Age 3 since 2022's Knights of the Mediterranean, which added Italian and Maltese civilizations, as well as plenty of new maps, new minor civs, new game modes, and new achievements.

The Baltic Powers was actually a previously planned DLC that got canceled. It's not clear exactly why it was canceled, but I guess the game has proved resilient enough in terms of player count to warrant new content. For reference, SteamDB lists the game as having a 24-hour player peak of 5,470. Not bad at all.

Here's what you can expect from the latest Age of Empires 3 expansion content.

Age of Empires 3: DE's new DLC adds two new civilizations

The biggest addition to the game is undoubtedly the two new civilizations: Poles and Danes.

In the former case, you'll take control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with a focus on economic perks and cavalry armies.

For the latter, you're looking at taking control of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway to foist naval control and strong defenses on your enemies.

The DLC comes with new challenge scenarios as set pieces to test your skills, as well as Regicide and Independence game modes. Regicide, as most Age veterans know, is a race to kill the enemy's king. Independence is a new one for me, and it involves a lack of Home City support.

And finally, if you're feeling burned out on the current map selection, The Baltic Powers is adding 20 new maps to the pool.

Can I still join the open beta test on Steam?

The open beta testing period for the new Age 3 expansion runs until August 6. To get in on the advance fun, just make sure you have the game downloaded on Steam.

Right-click Age of Empires 3: DE in your Steam library, click Properties, click the Game Versions & Betas tab, then click open_beta. An update with the open beta files should begin automatically.

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"To get straight to the point: The game itself is 100% SAFE and virus-free. This incident was strictly limited to a single admin account's Discord being compromised.

What Happened: While investigating and patching a malicious MOD map issue, a system engineer's PC was infected with malware. The hacker bypassed the engineer's Discord 2-Factor Authentication (2FA), took over server permissions, and banned all official staff members from the server.

Game File Security: The infected PC was a spare testing machine, and it is physically impossible to access or edit game source files from it (which we have re-confirmed via logs). The affected PC has already been completely wiped and reformatted.

A Warning to Players: The perpetrator who took over the Discord server will likely continue to release fake statements and announcements. Please do NOT click any links, join fake servers, or follow any instructions posted on that Discord."

The original article continues below:

It seems like everyone these days is playing the insanely popular indie game Meccha Chameleon on PC, my friends included. If you've also played, you're going to want to double-check what custom, user-created maps you've downloaded from the Steam Workshop.

Worse, if you've already downloaded some custom maps for the game, I strongly suggest you A) finish reading about the issue, and B) check your Steam library.

A security researcher who goes by Feint on Medium.com recently posted a lengthy analysis breaking down their findings. They posit that some workshop maps associated with Meccha Chameleon are quietly being rigged to drop malicious scripts (aka malware) onto players' PCs.

Feint began the investigation after friends noticed a command prompt window flashing briefly as Steam downloaded a custom workshop map for the game. These downloads are handled automatically as you load into certain game lobbies.

On the surface, the custom map's files looked totally normal, with standard Unreal Engine 5 asset containers and a lack of evident executables or scripts.

Digging deeper, however, Feint discovered the real problem: a Blueprint actor with a naming mismatch buried inside the map's metadata. It was built to look like an ambient controller, but an outdated internal name tipped off the researcher.

According to Feint, the Blueprint is built to run automatically the moment the map loads. When it does, it injects a batch file into the gamer's Documents folder on their Windows PC. Not good.

Once triggered, the batch file sneakily launches a hidden PowerShell process with bypassed execution policy before calling out to an outside server to download a second script.

Feint's testing resulted in that download failing, so it remains unclear what exactly was intended to be sent to infected PCs.

No name for the malware, but a map shouldn't act like this

Although the final goal of the odd script is debatable, a game's map should never involve writing and executing scripts outside of the game's folder. This is a clear sign of malware.

Feint also notes that there are some red flags surrounding the account that uploaded the map to Steam Workshop. The Steam account is only about a week old and has comments/ratings disabled on the listing, making it much harder for savvy victims to share their woes.

The malware-infused map has been reported to Steam, though it's unclear whether any actions have been taken yet.

What you should do if you've downloaded Meccha Chameleon Workshop maps

Until Valve confirms that the map is malicious and pulls it from the Workshop library, your best bet is to avoid any new Meccha Chameleon maps, especially if they lack reviews and/or have comments disabled.

If you've downloaded custom maps recently, it's probably worth running a PC scan with your favorite antivirus. You can also check your Documents folder for any strange .bat files hanging around.

To be clear, this isn't the fault of the developers. Rather, this is another bit of potential malware that slipped past Steam's Workshop screening process.

Just last month, Steam's most popular PC background app, Wallpaper Engine, was discovered to be infecting users with malware. Valve, owner of Steam, took the necessary steps to remove the infected files, but added that this sort of thing could inadvertently happen again.

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When Diablo 2 launched in 2000, it essentially took over my gaming life. Never before had I played something so addictive. It was (and still is, to a certain degree) impossible to put down. Little did I know that I'd still be playing it 26 years later.

My love for action RPGs with isometric graphics and oodles of loot was indeed borne from my love of Diablo 2, and trust me when I say that I've tried almost every other game similar to the best there is.

Grim Dawn. Titan Quest. Nox. Torchlight. Last Epoch. Path of Exile. I could go on and on.

The thing is, none of these Diablo 2 competitors ever gripped me in the same way as Blizzard's opus. Hell, even Diablo 3 and Diablo 4 failed to get me to keep coming back in the same way that Diablo 2 continues to do today.

I've thought a lot about exactly what Diablo 2 does differently than its competition to make it so compelling, and I've never really been able to pin it down.

This mental block was recently lifted. In a video on his personal YouTube channel, Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson dropped some serious ARPG knowledge that made Diablo 2's appeal finally click.

Diablo 2's eternal appeal is all about ... breakpoints?

Chris Wilson helped create what is arguably the best non-Diablo ARPG around with the Path of Exile series. To say he knows a lot about the genre is an understatement, and the wisdom he shares in the video is proof.

Wilson argues that it's Diablo 2's breakpoints that make it particularly compelling.

In Diablo 2, rather than each piece of superior gear making a tiny change to your character's power level (as we see in most modern ARPGs), the effects are only felt once the numbers reach a certain threshold, aka a breakpoint.

Block rates, cast rates, attack rates, and hit recovery rates all depend on breakpoints. Diablo 2 was designed to run at an internal 25 frames per second no matter how many frames your PC is outputting, and each of the actions I just mentioned has to fit into that metric.

Wilson uses the Amazon's base faster cast rate number as an example. It takes 19 frames to complete, which eats up a big chunk of those 25 frames, and it only goes up by equipping new gear.

Here's the catch. The Amazon, in this case, only starts casting faster spells once those frames drop to a certain breakpoint. You need a total of 152% faster cast rate from gear in order to hit the lowest 11 frames per second casting speed, with several stops along the way.

If you aren't hitting those breakpoints, there's no actual difference in speed.

Wilson explains that modern ARPG systems "preserve a fractional time and carry it into the next action." This results in your toon acting at an average speed.

Diablo 2 does the opposite. It rounds "up to a whole number of frames and just discards that fractional time. " The result of this system is a series of meaningful power spikes that actually make your character feel so much more powerful.

Any Diablo 2 player who has slotted in a piece of Hammerdin gear that helps finally hit the final casting breakpoint knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Wilson explains the drawback to how modern ARPGs operate.

The modern approach to ARPG power is indeed smoother and requires far fewer spreadsheets with listed breakpoints, but it's also far less rewarding.

Speaking from personal experience I have with Diablo 4, this seems to be the game's biggest problem. Everything feels the same all the time, and character progression is not even slightly engaging. Oh, look, a new piece of gear that's marginally better. Guess I'd better equip it.

Diablo 2's addictive qualities were not an accident

Wilson wraps up his video by stating that David Brevik, one of the original Diablo 2 creators, confirmed that breakpoints were an intended mechanic.

Wilson adds that he doesn't think players "love inaccurate timing," but he does agree that "many players love systems where reaching a target requires planning and produces a noticeable payoff."

I've pored over breakpoint spreadsheets for so many hours it's probably better to measure in days, but for whatever reason, this mechanic never crossed my mind as what makes Diablo 2 so exciting.

For my other Diablo 2 diehards out there, do you agree with Wilson's analysis? What else do you think contributes to the game's lasting appeal? What are modern ARPGs lacking that would make them as compelling as Diablo 2? Let me know in the comments section below!

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Valve has recently announced a major improvement for the Steam digital storefront.

As of now, Steam has new and improved features to help PC gamers send digital gift cards and games to their friends and family with greater ease, and we've got the patch notes on how they will work.

Guest checkout

First off, the patch notes on Steam describe changes to the guest checkout system. Before, it allowed family members or friends to make gifts without needing a Steam account, but it was limited to digital gift cards and hardware.

Now, it's been updated so people can buy and gift any game on Steam. You just send a wishlist share to a friend or family member, and they buy gifts directly from the wishlist without needing to make a Steam account on their end.

If a guest user wants to send a surprise gift, they can send it to any email address instead.

Gift to email

Next up, we have the new gifting via email feature, which allows players to send digital gift cards and games directly to a recipient's email account in case they don't know their Steam account.

Additionally, if the recipient's email address is linked to their Steam account, the email they'll receive will include a link to sign into their account and accept a player's gift.

However, any gift email not accepted within 30 days of being sent will automatically be refunded, so it can't be scheduled for future delivery, plus the recipient of the gift must live in the same country as the gift purchaser.

Cross-region gifting

Next we have improvements for cross-region gifting. Previously you couldn't buy Steam games for friends and family overseas on Steam, and you had to send digital gift cards to get around that, while also doing research on how much games cost in different regions due to currency conversion.

However, this update will now allow you to gift games directly to people so long as they're on your Steam friends list, while Steam automatically calculates how much a game you're sending to a person in a different region will cost during checkout.

Direct from wishlist

Finally, Steam has implemented improvements for its wishlist share link feature.

With this, you can send digital gift cards or gift games directly from a person's wishlist without needing to be friends with them on Steam. You can also create a shared wishlist that's been filtered to specific games.

Additionally, when a friend or family member clicks on your shared wishlist link, if they decide to buy you a game, the gift recipient in the cart during checkout will be automatically filled with your information.

As a reminder, friends and family members can checkout as guest users without needing a Steam.

Windows Central's take

These new changes sound really cool, but the change I'm liking most is being able to directly buy games for my friends overseas without needing to guess how much it will cost due to regional currency conversions.

This is more than I can say for Xbox, because, as of right now, you can only gift games on the Xbox ecosystem to people who live in the same region as you. Which is really inconvenient for me as I have family overseas who I would love to send Xbox games to but can't.

So I hope that Microsoft takes notes from Steam and copies this update so I can more easily buy Xbox games for my family overseas for Christmas and birthdays without having to use circumventing tactics like sending gift cards.

What do you think? Do these improvements to sending gifts on Steam sound cool? Would you like to see Xbox copy this update?

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know in the comments, on Reddit, or in the poll.

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A full 25 years after the launch of Microsoft's first-ever Xbox console, it's arguably quite fitting that one of the firm's largest new game releases in 2026 is Halo: Campaign Evolved — a remake of the original Halo title that launched with that system, helped propel it into the video game zeitgeist, and kicked off what would grow to become one of the most recognizable science fiction franchises in all of entertainment.

Despite being a colossal Halo fan, I couldn't help but have a bit of a tepid response to Campaign Evolved when Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) announced it last year, largely because I'm more interested in Halo Infinite getting a proper follow up and also because Halo: Combat Evolved already got a remaster in 2011.

Still, I resolved to give the new remake a fair shake, as Combat Evolved Anniversary radically and controversially changed the first game's atmosphere in ways I disliked, and Campaign Evolved is notable for being the first Halo project built on Unreal Engine 5. Plus, it also features a three brand new prequel missions in which the Master Chief and the fan-favorite Sergeant Johnson go on a covert operation, introducing a new self-contained story.

Thus, I went into an opportunity to review it with an open mind, hoping for a more faithful modernization of the original experience, a successful adaptation of the series' unique gameplay feel to a new engine, and fun and fresh content to dive into. And now that I've played through the game extensively, I'm happy to report that the remake offers all of this — though I'd be lying if I said it hasn't left me wanting in some ways.

This review was conducted with the Windows PC version of Halo: Campaign Evolved, and made possible thanks to an Xbox PC review code provided by Microsoft and Xbox. The company did not see the contents of this review before publication.

Halo: Campaign Evolved review — Story

The Master Chief's adventure across Alpha Halo in which the crew of the downed UNSC Pillar of Autumn fight for humanity's survival against both the alien Covenant empire and the grotesque parasitic Flood threat remains largely unchanged in Campaign Evolved.

There are a few minor tweaks to the narrative and there's a bit of new dialogue here and there — along with rerecorded voice lines from Steve Downes (Master Chief), Jen Taylor (Cortana), and others — but overall, this story is identical to the one first told 25 years ago, with no radical changes to speak of.

What has changed, though, is how much of it is presented, as the remake features bespoke pre-rendered cinematics instead of the original game's in-engine cutscenes. I feel that all but one of these were done fairly well, though some of the transitions between them and gameplay can be rather abrupt and shots occasionally linger longer than you'd expect them to. Regardless, they generally look great, though I do ultimately prefer the original scenes.

As for Operation: METEORITE — the story that unfolds over the course of the three new prequel missions in which Chief and Sergeant Johnson infiltrate a Covenant ship to learn where the heart of the alien dominion lies — its narrative is solid, though some of its dialogue was dramatically campy to the point where I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Even so, its characters and plot are perfectly serviceable, and I'm curious to see if a loose thread it ends with will be woven into another tale in the future.

Halo: Campaign Evolved review — Gameplay

Gameplay changes are one of the key things that distinguish remakes from remasters like Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary that strictly update visuals and audio, and Campaign Evolved makes several that elevate the original experience.

For starters, many mechanics, enemy behaviors, and types introduced in Halo's sequels have been implemented in Campaign Evolved, including sprinting, vehicle hijacking and seat-swapping, overcharged Plasma Pistol shots temporarily disabling vehicles, suicide Grunts, Jackal snipers, and Flood tank forms. Also, you can hold onto powerups like the Overshield or Active Camo and use them when desired, rather than when picking them up.

Together with weapons like the Energy Sword, Fuel Rod Gun, SMG, Beam Rifle, Needle Rifle, and Sentinel Beam that weren't available in the classic title, these additions deepen the sandbox and spice up Combat Evolved's encounters without making them feel wildly different. Crucially, their inclusion is carefully balanced and remarkably thoughtful, and made for a truly great playthrough (I recommend Heroic difficulty for the best balance of challenge and satisfying gameplay flow).

Campaign Evolved also makes a variety of changes to level design, with those made in the latter half of the game — including the infamous The Library mission — far more significant compared to others. One of the biggest issues with the original Halo is that its later levels are woefully repetitive and excessively reuse locations from past missions, and that's been addressed wonderfully with a variety of creative new spaces here. I'm a fan of every single rework in the remake, and I expect many others will feel similarly.

I also very much enjoyed playing through the three new prequel missions, which have the iconic Battle Rifle and notably throw the Covenant's Brutes — ape-like berserker shock troops — into the mix. Similar to their past iterations, Brutes have their own set of weapons (Spiker, Brute Plasma Rifle) and fill a tanky melee brawler role. This time around, though, they also have a frenzy mechanic you can engage with (for spoiler reasons, I won't go into detail about how to do so).

Causing a Brute to frenzy will fully heal it and drive it into an enraged state, during which it throws its weapon away and starts sprinting after you to pummel you with lethal melee attacks. However, it will also target other Covenant units while frenzied, which can make it easier to contend with large groups of foes. Figuring out when to frenzy Brutes and avoid doing so added an engaging layer of strategy to Operation: METEORITE that I loved.

By default, Brutes are exclusively found in the new missions, though you can find a Skull — one of 42 in the remake — that makes them spawn in the main campaign as well. These Skulls allow you to shake up gameplay with a huge variety of interesting and wacky modifiers, and are at the heart of the Campaign Remix feature that lets you randomize enemy and weapon placements while also roll for which Skulls you have on or choose them manually.

All in all, I'm extremely pleased with how Campaign Evolved plays, and how replayable it is, too. What frustrates me, however, is that it's a strictly campaign-only experience, without multiplayer of any kind outside of campaign co-op (which does support four players online, up from two in the past). I can understand not having PvP multiplayer given the campaign focus, but for $50, Halo's beloved wave-based PvE mode Firefight should absolutely be here.

The remake's customization system for Master Chief and weapon skins also feels very lazy and tacked on, with no cosmetics available to unlock through actual gameplay. The only way to get them is by preordering or purchasing the $70 Premium Edition ($67.09 at Loaded); not having things players can earn through gameplay achievement is a massive missed opportunity.

Halo: Campaign Evolved review — Presentation and performance

Halo Studios announced back in 2024 that all future Halo projects would be developed with Unreal Engine 5, and Halo: Campaign Evolved is the first game to use it instead of something proprietary like Halo Infinite's Slipspace Engine. Next to developer familiarity with such a widely used tool, increased visual fidelity has long been thought of as one of the largest upsides of that decision, and it's been proven so by this remake.

Campaign Evolved modernizes the classic Xbox flagship in breathtaking detail, with some of the sharpest and most visually striking textures and lighting effects I've ever seen put to screen. Everything from the weapons in Master Chief's hands to the legions of diverse aliens he's tasked with battling through are the best they've ever looked, as are the sights of Alpha Halo's vibrant skyboxes and its dreary Flood-infested depths.

It's truly shocking how much detail the remake manages to cram into each and every level, and the best part is that nearly all of it feels authentic to the original game's visual style. I have my nitpicks — Covenant vehicles are too vibrantly purple and some reload animations lack the style of classic versions, for example — but overall, the game looks phenomenal.

Campaign Evolved's remastered soundtrack is also a treat and is similarly faithful, and notably, versions of tracks from several different Halo games feature in the trio of bonus missions. The sound design is also mostly top notch; melee strikes lack oomph and I don't love the sound of the Magnum and Sniper Rifle, but every other weapon, vehicle, and grenade sounds fantastic, and the way audio reverberates around every hallway, cavern, and battlefield is ear candy.

But while Unreal Engine 5 is at the heart of Halo: Campaign Evolved's terrific presentation, it's a tool that's notorious for its performance issues — and sadly, the remake has some of its own to speak of.

I've been playing the game on my PC that's equipped with an i5-12600K CPU, an RTX 4070 Ti SUPER GPU, and 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and have been running it with Ultra settings with DLSS Super Resolution on an ultrawide 3440x1440 monitor. Generally, I get about 60-80 FPS, which seems about where my rig should be based on the official recommended specs.

However, it's not uncommon that my framerate drops down to the 50s and even into the 40s in larger spaces and engagements, and that can be rather jarring. Turning the settings down some and using Frame Generation can help with this, but even so: expect some FPS dips.

A few of my colleagues here at Windows Central have reported running into performance problems on Xbox as well, with shadows and reflections sometimes looking fuzzy and pixelated on Performance Mode being a particularly noteworthy issue. Hopefully the day one patch for the remake irons wrinkles like these out.

Halo: Campaign Evolved review — Conclusion

I went into Halo: Campaign Evolved with one big question: was it worth making?

In the end, I feel that it was, both to give Combat Evolved a high-quality remake it deserves and to prove Halo on Unreal Engine is a viable path forward for the series (it's also a great introduction to the franchise for PlayStation players, though I doubt we'll ever see Halo on Sony's consoles again).

Halo Studios has accomplished both of those objectives in my view, even though the remake's performance issues do show it has room for improvement when it comes to optimizing the series on Unreal Engine. The absence of additional content like Firefight is also majorly disappointing, as is the underbaked player customization system.

With all that said, Campaign Evolved ultimately delivers an incredible reimagining of the original Halo, enhancing it with jaw-dropping audiovisual presentation, carefully considered gameplay and level additions, an enjoyable new three-mission story, and a suite of over three dozen collectible Skulls for tons of replay value. For $50, I wanted more ... but I've had a ton of fun with what we got.

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Halo: Campaign Evolved finally launches today, in early access at least, and if you're playing on PC and have an NVIDIA graphics card, then you might need this hotfix first.

Specifically, a stability issue has been highlighted for the RTX 50 series using the recent 610.xx version drivers, and since it launches today, a hotfix has been deployed rather than a whole new driver.

As it's a hotfix, you won't be able to just update it through the NVIDIA app on your PC; you'll need to go to the dedicated support page to grab it and install it manually.

The hotfix is also worth grabbing for Path of Exile 2 players, as it addresses a frustrating issue players have been seeing in the game when running under DX12.

"[Path of Exile 2] Fixed intermittent long pauses that could occur after extended gameplay sessions in DX12 mode"

No other games are affected by this hotfix, so if you're not planning to play either of them in the next week or two, you can hold off. NVIDIA will roll these fixes into its next regular driver release so you'll get them fairly soon.

It's also worth making sure you do a clean installation, which honestly, I'd recommend any time you install an updated driver. During the NVIDIA installation process there is a box you can check to do this, or you can use a tool like Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to remove the old ones first. I've seen some issues first-hand over time that were rectified from doing a proper clean installation, and it's no extra work really to do.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is, of course, another remake of the first game in the legendary series. Beyond looking better, it's actually coming with some fresh content, expanding the classic game, and for the first time folks on PlayStation will be able to see what all the fuss is about.

Early access begins today, July 23, with general access on all platforms and Xbox Game Pass beginning on July 28.

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If you'd asked me a couple of days ago, before Xbox's latest news, what games had me excited about PC gaming, there's no way I'd have named BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, or Fuzion Frenzy.

Alas, here we are. These four classic Xbox games are spearheading the new Xbox backwards compatibility program on Windows PC, with more titles expected to arrive in the future.

Sure, this initiative might seem small today. These are four first-party games without many legal complications. A toe dipped in the water, if you will.

But new information about how Xbox is handling backwards compatibility has emerged since the news first broke, and it has me rethinking the entire situation.

The back-compat OG Xbox games just released on PC are already Xbox 360 games

In a lengthy thread on X, user @XCTdotLIVE explains how the back-compat program currently works.

As it turns out, the store packages are actually labeled as "Xbox360BackwardCompatibil.*," giving us our first clue at what's happening.

XCT.LIVE goes on to explain that, yes, these games are in fact already Xbox 360 games that are running on the Xbox 360 Xenon Fusion (XeFu) emulator.

As they put it, "your 2001 game runs inside the 360's OG-Xbox emulator, inside a 360 running on Windows. Two nested generations of Xbox emulation."

As X user @TheLunarixus notes, this is confirmed by "XEX2/STFS magic and strings in the kernel such as "XENON KERNEL EXITING."

The rabbit hole goes deeper. This is the same sort of wizardry that allows original Xbox games to run on the Xbox One's x86 architecture via layers of Xbox 360 architecture. It's a convoluted way to reach an end goal, but hey, if it works, it works.

This information is really what got my attention. If the foundation is already a working Xbox 360 emulator, 360 games being backwards compatible on PC is more than plausible. In fact, it's probably already almost ready for primetime.

The likelihood of Xbox 360 games on PC just got a lot better

The core statement that "Microsoft made four old Xbox games run on PC" gets a lot more exciting now that I know how everything works. The four OG Xbox games look a lot more like the tip of a much larger technical foundation that's already capable of running 360-era games.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the hardest part about console emulation is the base architecture rather than the games that run on it. So if the base is already capable of handling Xbox 360 games, the path from four OG Xbox titles to a plethora of 360-era games is a lot shorter than it seemed just a few days ago.

The Xbox 360's library is what really gets me excited. I wasn't much of an OG Xbox gamer (I was too busy with PCs), but I had a lot more experience with the 360. It's the generation that landed right when I was graduating high school, and I know I'm far from the only one who considers its library of games to be peak.

If Xbox 360 emulation is indeed on the table, Microsoft's back-compat news stops being a nostalgia play and instead becomes one of the most significant moves Microsoft could make, not just for Game Pass (on which these games are launching), but for game preservation in general.

I don't know how this all relates to Xbox's "Positron" disc-to-digital program, but I can't imagine the two initiatives won't collide at some point.

Microsoft hasn't yet made anything official, but I'm feeling hopeful

Let me be honest here. Microsoft has been pretty quiet about what's going on behind the back-compat scenes. There's no roadmap, no announced Xbox 360 support, and no timeline for any of it.

The information I received could be wrong (not likely), or Microsoft could have reasons involving licensing, resources, or other priorities that keep it from acting on the Xbox 360 capabilities, even if they do exist.

It's worth pointing out that my colleague, Jez Corden, has teased that "their plans for this longer term are pretty epic" regarding the back-compat program. He knows a lot more about Xbox than I do and generally has plenty of inside information he keeps close to his chest.

In any case, Xbox seems to be making all the right moves at a time when game preservation is a hot topic. Microsoft might have just flipped the switch on one of the biggest customer service endeavors in video game history, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

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NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang seems to be everywhere these days, and there's often an interesting tidbit of history that gets revealed during his appearances.

The latest comes from last week's GiGO Akihabara arcade gaming event, where Huang made an appearance to help celebrate the institution's historic relationship with Sega.

At the event, which was also attended by Sega's current CEO, COO, and former president, Huang expressed his gratitude toward Sega (via Automaton Media) for helping make NVIDIA the tech giant that it is today.

I certainly never knew this, but Huang pins NVIDIA's success today largely on an early investment from the Japanese gaming giant.

One of NVIDIA's earliest mistakes nearly killed the company

NVIDIA began its run in 1993 with Huang at the helm, with a focus on creating GPUs to power 3D games. Unfortunately, at the time, the only 3D games to be found were in arcades.

Daytona USA, one of Sega's smash hits, arrived in North American arcades in 1994, and Huang explains that the NVIDIA team was addicted to the "beautiful 3D graphics and incredible sound."

With a clear goal in mind, Huang's NVIDIA received a stroke of good luck when it was asked by then Sega President Shoichiro Irimajiri to help create the Dreamcast console's GPU.

This isn't what saved NVIDIA. If anything, it nearly killed the company. After about nine months of collaboration, both sides of the partnership realized NVIDIA's tech wasn't going to be a good match for the Dreamcast.

As Huang explains, NVIDIA had been working on "forward texture mapping and curved surfaces," but the Dreamcast needed "inverse texture mapping and polygons.

Huang says he explained the predicament to Irimajiri plainly, and the two companies agreed to part ways. At least on the Dreamcast project.

Here's where history could have gone two ways. Realizing his company was in dire need of funding, Huang asked Irimajiri and Sega for an investment package. It was approved, and Huang says without it, "the company likely wouldn't exist today."

Where would video games be without NVIDIA ... and Sega?

Following Huang's history lesson, he revealed the real reason for his visit to Japan. It appears that the Japanese government and NVIDIA are prepping an announcement for a major partnership involving AI and robotics.

Go figure. NVIDIA is currently the world's most valuable company, and that value is built largely on the back of GPUs designed specifically for AI workloads.

As NVIDIA continues to print money with its AI sector, its gaming division has come under fire recently for its AI-soaked DLSS 5 upscaling technique.

I've been saying for years that AI in games isn't going anywhere, but that doesn't really make it a pill that's any easier to swallow. No matter what you think about NVIDIA, the video game landscape probably wouldn't look anything like it does today without the company that created CUDA and drove the ray tracing revolution with its RTX hardware.

And for that, we can thank an investment from Sega more than 30 years ago.

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I was away from my desk dealing with disastrous flooding for the past two weeks, and during that time, a lot happened in the world of AMD processors.

The Ryzen 7 7700X3D desktop gaming CPU that the company announced at Computex 2026 finally went live on July 16 with an introductory $329 price. Just a couple of days later, the price dropped to $279.99 with a promo code at exclusive retailer Newegg.

Reviews for the Ryzen 7 7700X3D are positive enough that it makes the new chip a reasonable alternative to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which I'm seeing for as low as $361.99 at Newegg.

That's essentially $100 less for a clocked-down 7800X3D with the same 96MB of 3D V-Cache, the same eight Zen 4 cores, and the same 120W TDP. Not bad at all if you're only looking at the CPU.

Unfortunately, the numbers that matter most aren't on the CPU's page, and it goes to show that no matter how good a deal a new CPU is, memory prices continue to crush PC builds.

What did DDR5 RAM prices look like when the 7800X3D launched?

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D launched in April 2023 with an MSRP of $449. As a gaming CPU, it was best paired with at least 16GB of RAM, better yet if you could get hold of 32GB or 64GB.

In 2023, DDR5 RAM was experiencing a supply glut, forcing prices down as manufacturers attempted to offload stock. Believe it or not, you could find DDR5-6000 kits with two 16GB sticks for anywhere between $80 and $130. I know; it's hard to believe, and it feels like the ongoing RAM crisis has been underway for a lot longer than that.

Using the top $130 end of that memory range and adding $200 for a motherboard, the cost just a couple years ago for the trio came out to about $780.

Take the $279.99 Ryzen 7 7700X3D CPU, add a conservative $400 for 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM, and toss in a $200 motherboard, and you're looking at about $900. With memory prices so volatile these days, that number could easily climb to $1,000 or more, especially once Newegg's promotion expires.

What everyone is getting wrong about the Ryzen 7 7700X3D

The Ryzen 7 7700X3D, as a drop-in upgrade to an existing AM5 system with something like a Ryzen 5 7600, remains a great deal. That's assuming you already have a compatible motherboard with compatible DDR5 RAM.

But the part I think a lot of people are missing is that the Ryzen 7 7700X3D as the foundation of an entirely new build is still a terrible value. The number that should influence your next build has to do with memory, no matter what sort of discount is being offered on a CPU.

I appreciate AMD's expanding X3D selection considering they're the chips that almost every PC gamer wants in their build, but AMD could launch five other alternatives and still arrive at the same result: a situation where CPU sales suffer because supporting components are way too expensive.

This is simply a reminder that there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than just sticker prices, no matter how attractive they appear. You might be swayed to grab the newest CPU because it's admittedly a great price, but don't forget to pay attention to the variables that really matter when building PCs in 2026.

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It’s hard to really put into words how I feel about Bungie right now. As a lifelong Halo fan, the studio will always have a special place in my heart, but the way it has operated since leaving Xbox has been less than ideal and, honestly, devastating to watch as a fan.

For those out of the loop, Bungie recently shifted its focus away from Destiny in favor of Marathon. Unfortunately, that decision doesn’t appear to be paying off. Marathon recently peaked at around 6,000 concurrent players on Steam, while Destiny 2 reached almost 60,000 during the same period, around 10 times more than Marathon.

It's also worth mentioning that Marathon isn't even within the top 100 most played games on Xbox, behind titles like Gears of War 2 and Fable 3, both of which are Xbox 360 games.

Don’t worry, though, Destiny fans; Bungie has a solution. It’s adding a limited-time PvE mode to Marathon for just two weeks. I’m sure that’ll go over well. In all seriousness, though, I don’t want to make fun of Bungie too much. What’s happened to the studio, especially after the recent layoffs, which are genuinely sad to see.

I really do hope Bungie lands on its feet, whatever that future looks like. Still, the studio’s direction feels increasingly uncertain, and it’s hard not to wonder what happens next for one of gaming’s most iconic developers. It’s not difficult to imagine a future where Bungie ends up as more of a support studio, especially as its valuation continues to decline from the $3.6 billion Sony paid to acquire it.

For context, Sony not too long ago recorded an impairment loss of roughly $766 million against Bungie. In simple terms, that’s an acknowledgment that the studio is now considered less valuable than when Sony acquired it for $3.6 billion. Whether that figure grows in future earnings remains to be seen, but given Bungie’s recent struggles, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

Mind you, this is all without mentioning that Marathon's game director, Joseph Ziegler, has just left Bungie. Although the torch has been passed on, his departure is yet another worrying sign for Marathon's future.

Let me know how you feel about Bungie, the current state of Marathon, and where you think the studio goes from here in the comments below. Also, be sure to take part in our poll!

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These past couple of weeks have been beyond depressing for gamers.

From Sony killing off physical game discs and delisting 500 movies from people with no refunds, to Microsoft culling 3,200 Xbox game devs and repeatedly suspending gamers' accounts for no fault of their own, it's hard to feel optimistic when it feels like the biggest game companies are constantly stabbing their fans in the back while seemingly not giving a single care about preserving digital media.

However, not all hope is lost for legal digital preservation, thanks to GOG.com.

GOG is an unsung hero among digital storefronts, as it sells digital games without Digital Rights Management (DRM). By buying games from GOG.com, you will be able to download a standalone, offline installer for each title, granting you permanent ownership of them.

With this, you can play games offline, back up files, and install them on your hard drive without needing to log in to a store's launcher. Not to mention, you won't have to worry about a game becoming unplayable due to its publisher's dedicated launcher not working (e.g., Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced) or being permanently blocked if it's tied to a compromised Microsoft account.

Not to mention that, in some cases, having DRM restrictions lifted from a game will actually increase its performance so it can achieve higher frame rates for smoother gameplay.

On top of that, GOG states that you can even save the games you buy on their storefront to discs and trade them with your friends, should you wish.

You can download a game's offline installer from a GOG account, create a disc image, and then burn it onto a blank CD-R, DVD-R, or BD-R disc.

Windows Central's take

I was already a fan of GOG as it helped preserve some of my favorite childhood games on PC like Breath of Fire 4 and Dino Crisis 2, but it's now becoming my main go-to storefront for digital PC games in light of recent events.

I'm concerned that the thousands of pounds' worth of games could be taken by corporations who don't care for preserving games or respecting people's digital property. So being able to buy and back them up permanently on my computer or discs via GOG is beyond reassuring and gives me hope that we can still own the games we worked so hard to earn.

So, GOG, you've got yourself a new superfan in me, and I will happily support your "Preservation Program" so we can keep more classic and modern games free of DRM forever because I, for one, do NOT want a gaming future where we own nothing.

What do you think of GOG.com as a digital storefront? Do you think you will be using it more often from now on to permanently preserve your digital game collection, or do you still use other digital storefronts like the Xbox Store?

If you have any thoughts, please let us know through the poll, the comments section, or our Reddit page.

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One week after Microsoft and Xbox began a large series of "reset" 3,200 layoffs across the gaming brand that saw 1,600 devs let go immediately and four studios split from the company, Compulsion Games — one of the teams divested — has now signaled how it intends to move forward.

In a new post on LinkedIn, the studio behind the action-adventure games We Happy Few and 2025's award-winning Xbox title South of Midnight reaffirmed that it will continue on as an independent developer, while also announcing that it's "expanding opportunities to collaborate with studios across the games and entertainment industry."

"With Compulsion Games returning to its roots as an independent developer, we are expanding opportunities to collaborate with studios across the games and entertainment industry," reads Compulsion's statement.

"We invite partners to leverage the talent and creativity of the award-winning team behind South of Midnight, a game that was honored with a BAFTA Award, a Peabody Award, seven Canadian Game Awards, and recognized on multiple ‘Best Games of 2025’ lists," it continued.

Though it wasn't a massive success for Microsoft and Xbox commercially, South of Midnight reviewed quite well with critics and players, and took home several major awards as Compulsion highlights here. We gave it a 4/5 score in our own review, stating that it "delivers a story filled with trauma and beauty, with a gorgeous world that doesn't overstay its welcome."

Notably, in the past, Compulsion contributed to the development of games like Darksiders and Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale in the leadup to its debut puzzle-platform title Contrast. Now, the developer hopes to work with other studios once again.

"With deep experience in creating acclaimed original IP, we bring our artistry, technical expertise and collaborative approach to every project," the announcement adds. "We are excited to support the development of memorable experiences that engage and entertain players around the world."

The layoffs and divestment of Compulsion Games from Xbox came as part of a wider effort from Microsoft to reorganize its gaming business after it "overextended," with Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma pushing for the brand to "move faster" with and focus on its largest properties such as Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Halo.

Games like South of Midnight that have less selling power than huge established franchises aren't going to mesh well with that strategy, which is ultimately why Microsoft and Xbox cut Compulsion loose. That departure is frustrating to see for many — myself included — as we know it came with layoffs...but, at the very least, I'm glad that the studio will live on.

As for what its developers will end up working on, either on their own or with other teams across the industry? Only time will tell. Whatever's next for Compulsion Games, though, I hope that it will be a project its workers are passionate about, and that it will succeed well enough to give the studio stability in what's become an extremely volatile time for game development.

What kind of game would you like to see Compulsion Games make next? What studio(s) should is partner and collaborate with? Let me know what you think in the comments.

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One of the biggest and most upsetting recent developments in the gaming industry was the sudden and shocking end of Destiny 2, with developer Bungie announcing its conclusion in May before delivering one last content update, Monument of Triumph, in early June. Despite players pushing to keep the series alive, publisher Sony ultimately ended support for Destiny 2 (though it remains playable) and laid off "most of the Destiny team" soon after.

The downfall of a franchise as massive and prominent as Destiny — reportedly caused by poor leadership and financial troubles — was a bombshell to many, including Rebecca Ford, the creative director of Warframe. Digital Extremes' 2013 live-service sci-fi action RPG, one of Destiny 2's biggest rivals, has now outlasted it...but Ford isn't celebrating.

On the contrary, she views the end of Destiny 2, and the way it ended, to be deeply concerning: "It's horrible news, because it shows that even if you care so much, the business side of this industry always gets the last remark," she told GamesRadar+ during an interview at TennoCon 2026.

"Those are the types of stories and experiences that, when you're in a position where you have your own game, your own IP, and you work as hard as you do on it...that's not the first time it's happened, and it'll happen again, where the business aspect of the video game economy makes the decision for you, and it is existentially threatening at every level, because the idea that we aren't in charge of our own goodbye is something I wake up thinking about every single day," she continued.

While this isn't something that private, independent studios have to worry about, these kinds of shutdowns, layoffs, and closures are undoubtedly things that developers operating under a publisher's wing have come to fear more and more in recent years.

One only has to look at last week's events at Xbox for a glaring example of why; Microsoft's gaming brand began a series of 3,200 ongoing layoffs, with 1,600 workers immediately let go and another 1,600 set to be cut over the course of 12 months. Four studios are being divested from Xbox Game Studios as well, and that number could rise to five depending on how negotiations about Arkane Lyon with the French government shake out.

As a result of what Xbox calls a "reset" for an operation that's "not healthy," over half of DOOM dev id Software and over 200 devs at The Elder Scrolls Online maker ZeniMax Online Studios have been discharged, with numerous other teams across Xbox also affected. Bethesda workers fear The Elder Scrolls 6 will be delayed and that Fallout 76 support may not continue, while its union fights back with a Save Our Devs protest this week.

The cuts at Xbox and Bungie are merely the latest in a devastating series of industry layoffs that have continued to pile up since 2022, initiated by overinvestment into gaming during the pandemic and worsened by the impact of tariffs, the hardware crisis, and other socioeconomic factors.

In an era where publishers dismissing thousands of devs and canceling or shutting down projects has become disturbingly routine, Ford is right to see what's happened with Destiny and Bungie as a grim reminder of the current state of the industry. We can only hope that a light at the end of the tunnel isn't too far away.

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The idea of not owning our games and media to do as we wish with has flared up again in recent weeks, thanks to Sony announcing the death of discs for PlayStation. Now it's Ubisoft's turn to remind us that we are but a slave to the system.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced launched just last week, and by all accounts, it was a success. It's reviewed pretty well across the board, with a high rating on Metacritic for both press and users, and Ubisoft reported 2 million sales on launch day.

But then over the weekend Ubisoft left players with a stark reminder of the perils of an all-digital future, especially where DRM is concerned, when the game's offline mode flat out stopped working on PC (via Eurogamer).

The issue stemmed from a Ubisoft Connect outage. No matter where you're buying from, Ubisoft requires Connect in order to function. Console games aren't quite so beholden to it, but on PC, Ubisoft Connect acts as a DRM tool.

Resynced is supposed to require a solitary online connection to validate, and then you'd expect to be able to use the offline mode, right?

Wrong.

The Ubisoft Connect outage didn't last long, but the duration isn't the issue. The fact that this outage took down the offline mode is. For players who have already validated their copy of the game, a Ubisoft Connect server problem should still allow folks to play offline.

Players quickly voiced their frustrations on Reddit and Steam's forums and with good reason. A game with an offline mode should not be taken down like this. Ubisoft promised to make an offline mode for The Crew 2 after the outrage when it shut down the original game in the series, but is this what we're going to expect to deal with?

Offline mode needs to be exactly that. Fully disconnected, no issues playing without a connection, and definitely not affected by DRM or proprietary clients going down. A one-time activation should do what it says. Ironically, there are comments that suggest pirated versions of the game weren't affected by the outage.

It's becoming increasingly attractive to skip these types of games entirely and spend time and money on titles that are DRM-free from somewhere like GOG. Software licensing has always been a thing, but there are other ways.

I recently bought a copy of Project Motor Racing that gave me the entire game's installation files directly from GIANTS Software to install offline, no questions asked.

This Ubisoft Connect debacle just leaves everyone with a bad taste in their mouth.

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Of all the layoffs that came down on Xbox Game Studios developers this week as part of Microsoft and Xbox's 3,200 "reset" cuts and four studio divestments, the ones that hit the DOOM developer id Software were the most shocking to many given the popularity and success of its modern trilogy of games.

It's been reported that well over half of id was axed from Xbox, with 136 developers — 96 at its Texas headquarters and an additional 40 remote workers — let go from the studio. The cuts impacted nearly every department within the developer, including the teams building, maintaining, and improving its id Tech game engine used for a variety of ZeniMax projects.

Individual DOOM devs have shared reactions to the layoffs, though id Software itself hadn't yet shared a response until today. Now it has, with the studio posting a statement to the community on social media to assuage fears about its future under Microsoft and Xbox.

"Thank you for all the support this week. While our studio was impacted, those changes were spread across teams. We still have the crew we need to build the games and tech we're known for," reads id's letter. "The team today is about the same size we were when making DOOM (2016). We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker, and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward."

"We are focused on supporting each other and team members impacted. We're going to keep building the great games and tech that have defined us for the past 35 years, and we're looking forward to seeing you at QuakeCon this August," it added.

Notably, this statement confirms our recent, earlier report that in the wake of the layoffs, id Software is now about the size that it was when it released the 2016 DOOM reboot ten years ago, and that the studio isn't in danger of being closed or split away from Microsoft and Xbox.

It also confirms that the developer will still move forward with new games, though it seems unlikely it will have a chance to explore some of its experimental ideas. Still, I expect that we'll see additional DOOM titles from the team, and that it will continue to iterate upon id Tech for the benefit of Wolfenstein dev MachineGames and other studios.

Ultimately, this news is quite relieving to hear from id Software — though to be clear, I'm not downplaying the severity of the cuts in saying that. On the contrary, I'm glad that the developer still has a future under Xbox's wing despite how significantly it was affected by the dismissals.

The layoffs at id represent a large portion of about 440 total cuts across all of ZeniMax and Bethesda, with other teams hit including Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Starfield) and ZeniMax Online Studios (The Elder Scrolls Online).

Bethesda devs fear that The Elder Scrolls 6 will suffer crunch and delays because of the layoffs, and the reduction in force at ZeniMax Online Studios has led to "shifting" roadmaps for The Elder Scrolls Online. Bethesda's official union, OneBGS, plans to protest against the cuts next week with a "Save Our Devs" march.

What are your thoughts on the layoffs at id Software? Do you feel Microsoft and Xbox went too far with them based on everything we know? Share your take in the comments, and vote in the above poll.

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In response to this week's wave of mass Xbox layoffs from Microsoft that have cut 3,200 roles and four studios from the company, union workers at Bethesda Game Studios — the developer behind Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield, among other titles — are organizing a protest to fight back.

Several public listings for the rally — titled "Save Our Devs" — have been spotted for Bethesda's various different locations, including its Rockville headquarters and offices in Austin, Dallas, and Montreal. These calls to action confirm that unionized OneBGS staffers are coordinating to march on July 15 next week.

"Microsoft and ZeniMax leadership have made the devastating decision to slash over 440 positions across BGS, ZOS, id, ZWU (QA) and ZeniMax corporate (including CTO and CSUR)," wrote the union. "Because we organized and certified our Unions, we have hard-won legal rights and protections that non-unionized studios simply do not have."

"The company wants us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear. We won't let that happen. Our next steps are to mobilize," it continued. "We need every single member visible and unified. To that end, we are announcing our Save Our Devs March across all studios on Wednesday July 15th."

In an email sent to union workers seen by Game Developer, OneBGS has reportedly stated that 35 Bethesda Game Studios devs have been let go in the US, with 12 also laid off in Montreal. This roughly lines up with a previous report that about 50 employees have been laid off from the studio.

Reportedly, "this has had a crushing effect on morale" at Bethesda, with devs fearing that The Elder Scrolls 6 will suffer delays and crunch as a result of the redundancies. There are also concerns that support for Fallout 76 may end.

Elsewhere under the ZeniMax and Bethesda banner, the cuts go even deeper. Over 200 developers were laid off from The Elder Scrolls Online studio ZeniMax Online Studios, and well over half of DOOM maker id Software has been axed as well — though it's been reported that the situation there isn't as dire as some say. A small comfort.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma stated the layoffs are part of a "reset" for the Xbox business after it "overextended" with its ambitions; OneBGS claims that Microsoft referred to them as an "entrepreneurial change in the scope of business," which is a notion it's fighting against as it negotiates to have affected developers brought into open roles across Xbox Game Studios.

"While we push that legal fight forward, Microsoft is still legally required right now to sit down with us for 'Effects Bargaining.' This means we have the right to negotiate exactly how these layoffs impact our people, and we are heading to the table to fight for every single affected worker," it explained.

"We are going to be demanding preferential transfers to force Microsoft to place affected BGS workers into open roles across Xbox and Microsoft first, stronger severance and extended healthcare to ensure no one is financially abandoned, as well as recall rights to ensure our laid-off members are the first ones hired back when BGS expands."

"Stay strong, look out for one another, and we look forward to seeing us all marching together on the 15th," concluded the union. Whether next week's protest has a meaningful impact or not remains to be seen, but ultimately, I hope it helps laid off ZeniMax and Bethesda devs find new opportunities and get the best severance and healthcare packages possible.

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Though it launched to scathing criticism and widespread controversy in late 2018 due to lackluster content offerings and severe technical issues, Fallout 76 — Bethesda Game Studios' multiplayer-focused MMO-lite take on the post-apocalyptic RPG series — grew to become fairly popular over time, with the title still enjoying regular content updates and a healthy community eight years later.

In the wake of this week's massive wave of 3,200 Xbox layoffs and four studio divestments, however, there are fears that support for the long-running Appalachian adventure may soon come to an end. Teams under the ZeniMax and Bethesda umbrella have been affected "significantly," including the game's steward, Bethesda Game Studios.

It's been reported that over 50 staffers have been cut from Bethesda across its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland and its office in Dallas, Texas — a reduction in force that has The Elder Scrolls 6 devs fearing crunch on and delays of the long-awaited RPG moving forward. Some also worry that a significant amount of time will have to be spent training contractors to use Bethesda's proprietary tools like the Creation Engine.

Notably, though, one Bethesda developer commented to IGN that they "have no idea how they'll continue updating Fallout 76 without hiring an external studio," which suggests development of the experimental Fallout title could end at some point in the near future.

Another possibility is that Fallout 76 support will ultimately continue, but with its updates and patches being reduced in size and cadence. This appears to be what's happening with The Elder Scrolls Online and ZeniMax Online Studios; content roadmaps for that game are "shifting" after its developer suffered over 200 cuts this week.

We may also see external support for Fallout 76 come, as in a letter sent to staff, Bethesda president Jill Braff emphasized the need for the studio to better support its "strongest franchises" — echoing recent sentiment from Xbox's CEO Asha Sharma that it needs to "move faster" with core IPs like Fallout.

Ending support for the most recent game in the series would arguably go against that goal — especially while the extremely popular Fallout TV show is bringing countless new eyes to the property. With that said, Fallout 76 is now eight years old and isn't massively popular, and with Obsidian now making a new Fallout game, Microsoft may not see much value in continuing to invest resources in the title.

In the end, it's impossible to say what will happen with Fallout 76 moving forward until we hear something official from Microsoft, Xbox, or Bethesda. Based on the aforementioned comment from a developer, though, I do think it's likely that the game's live-service development will change in some way.

Whether it ends up stopping completely or just slowing down remains to be seen, but I can't imagine that this week's cuts won't be reflected in Fallout 76's update cadence somehow.

In the wake of Microsoft's Xbox layoffs, should support for Fallout 76 continue? Or do you think Bethesda should move on from the game? Let me know in the comments, and in the above poll.

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While many different development teams were affected by this week's massive wave of 3,200 Xbox layoffs from Microsoft, studios under the Zenimax and Bethesda banner have reportedly faced some of the most brutal cuts of all. They're going through "a significant overhaul" in their wake, with well over half of DOOM dev id Software axed and over 200 roles removed at The Elder Scrolls Online maker ZeniMax Online Studios.

Bethesda Game Studios — the team behind Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starfield, and the upcoming The Elder Scrolls 6, among other titles — has also been hit, with reports of over 50 of its developers being let go. And according to a new report from IGN, that loss of talent will have a "substantial and cascading effect" on development of the next The Elder Scrolls RPG.

"Their loss will have a substantial and cascading effect on the game and morale of this studio," lamented one Bethesda staffer. "It's been a mix of every discipline: programmers, artists, and designers. One person who's been at the company since Morrowind [the third The Elder Scrolls game released in 2002] was cut," added another.

Those impacted by the layoffs include "key, high-performing people in the trenches" — and those who remain at Bethesda fear that their dismissal will lead to significant complications for The Elder Scrolls 6, including an extensive amount of time spent training contractors, unhealthy amounts of crunch and overtime, and delays for a title that's already reportedly two years away as it is.

"There is a fear that we are going to be replaced by cheaper, contracted labor, or we will hire folks to replace them that will need to be onboarded [due to proprietary tools] resulting in more delays, and we'll need to crunch to make up the time," one Bethesda employee told IGN. Another noted they've heard colleagues have been asked to train new contractors already.

"We've all been very excited and hyped for TES 6 and this has had a crushing effect on morale," said another worker. "We were already running a tight ship and are worried about this delaying the game."

Reportedly, the team working on the RPG will receive support from ZeniMax Online Studios, though it's unclear how extensive of a role the The Elder Scrolls Online studio will play. I can't help but think it will be minor, given the fact that that team just suffered over 200 cuts.

Developers still at Bethesda have been assured they're safe from the 1,600 layoffs of the 3,200 that are coming throughout the next 12 months, though team members worry they'll eventually be let go as well. It's a rational fear, given Microsoft and Xbox's layoff history.

"The 'survivors' were told they're safe from those next 1,600 but it's not entirely reassuring," one asserted. "Even if that's true, who's to say there's not another 1,600 next year after that? It's had the chilling effect of realizing you don't get to retire off your work at Xbox. Your time ends when you quit or are laid off, that's it."

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Alienware makes gaming laptops and desktops, sure, but the line I enjoy looking at most is its QD-OLED gaming monitors. They're immensely popular after being the first to market in 2022; they're generally well-rated, and they're usually competitively priced.

One of the most popular Alienware gaming monitors is the AW3425DW, and it has now received a significant update for 2026. Dell let me get my hands on the new AW3426DW ultrawide monitor early so I could get a true feel of what it's like, and I'm here to share my thoughts on whether or not it's worth a buy.

Dell had no input, nor saw the contents of this review, prior to publication.

How much does the Alienware AW3426DW cost?

The AW3426DW launched at $799.99 — which is the same price at which the last-gen AW3425DW made its debut — and it's also launching at £709 in the United Kingdom.

It's worth noting that the older model is currently sitting at $649.99 after a $150 discount, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that price drop stick around now that the new model is here.

Here's a closer look at the specs that make up the Alienware AW3426DW.

A generational upgrade for Alienware's iconic ultrawide

Compared to the older AW3425DW model we reviewed favorably last year, there are several standout improvements in the new AW3426DW.

The main change arrives for the Quantum Dot-Organic Light Emitting Diode (QD-OLED) panel. It's using Samsung's new fifth-gen Penta Tandem tech that was revealed earlier this year, which the company says has twice as long a lifespan as well as 1.3 times better brightness. Text should be easier to read, and there are improvements to dark colors in bright ambient light. More on that below.

Alongside the higher brightness, the monitor now has an anti-reflective coating to better combat glare. And, finally, the refresh rate has been raised from 240Hz to 280Hz.

What I like about the Alienware AW3426DW

From a purely design standpoint, the Alienware AW3426DW hasn't changed much compared to the AW3425DW. Its case has a pleasant Interstellar Indigo color scheme, with minimal interruptions on the back panel.

An Alienware head logo is off to the left of the stand, and there's the secondary AI logo on the other side. These logos are surrounded by venting, altogether offering a clean look.

For a bit of extra jazz, the Alienware head has customizable lighting. The same applies to the monitor's power button on the bottom edge of the casing.

The front of the monitor features Alienware branding, and that's basically it. Bezels are nice and slim, and the rounded stand seems like a perfect pairing.

On that note, the stand is plenty sturdy. It doesn't offer much rotation (this is an ultrawide, after all), but there's enough tilt and swivel to keep me happy. If I were keeping the screen, it'd go onto my MSI dual-arm VESA mount thanks to 100x100mm compatibility.

All OSD settings are controlled with a single joystick. There are a ton of menu options to play around with should you want to tweak the picture, and the monitor includes quite a few presets for different tasks and gaming styles. You can also change shortcuts for easier control.

Smart HDR, Dolby Vision, refresh rates, and much more are all customizable. You can choose how the monitor handles multiple inputs. And, for those who game and work on the same screen, I'm happy to report that the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and Picture-by-Picture (PbP) features work flawlessly.

The older AW3425DW's OSD menu, or "Command Center," had issues with freezing and closing randomly, but I've not seen those issues in the newer AW3426DW model.

How is the Alienware AW3426DW's color and brightness?

Thanks to the new fifth-gen QD-OLED panel, Alienware's flagship line of ultrawide gaming monitors has never looked better.

One of the biggest complaints about the older model was that black colors often appeared purple when in a bright room. That's been significantly improved here, and it seems that no matter how much light is falling on the screen, dark colors remain dark.

This latest model includes a new anti-reflective finish that Dell says reduces glare by up to 30%. I can't test for that precisely, but I can say that the only time I had issues with glare was in a sun-drenched room with direct light hitting the screen. If you're in an office or a gaming room, you should have no issues.

It also helps that brightness has gone up from a 250-nit cap to 300 nits. Whereas the AW3425DW tested for roughly 252 nits of brightness, I saw the AW3426DW hit 330 nits in SDR, and it goes up to about 1,300 nits with HDR enabled. This additional brightness pushes its HDR certification up to VESA DisplayHDR 500.

You can see for yourself the brightness, color, contrast, and white point ratings in the above chart that I pulled from my SpyderX Pro colorimeter.

Color reproduction has actually improved slightly compared to the previous generation. Whereas we previously tested for 97% P3 and 94% AdobeRGB coverage, the new model hits 99% and 95%, respectively. It otherwise remains at 100% sRGB.

Is Alienware's AW3426DW good for gaming?

Thanks to a curved panel, an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio, a 3440x1440 resolution, a 280Hz refresh rate, and a 0.02ms response time, the Alienware AW3426DW is an outstanding gaming monitor.

The resolution hits the sweet spot for most gamers, and once you go ultrawide, you'll find it's very hard to go back to a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 280Hz refresh rate has plenty of ceiling for high-end performance hardware, and it's fast enough that you shouldn't mind using it for competitive titles.

Because it's an ultrawide with room for (at least) three separate windows, it's also great for productivity. Text is easier to read with this generation of QD-OLED panel, and you might be surprised at how crisp everything looks if you're coming from an older model.

What I dislike about the Alienware AW3426DW

There's not much to dislike about this monitor from a display quality standpoint. But there are some drawbacks you should know about before buying.

The port selection is notably a bit lacking. There's no 3.5mm audio jack (and no built-in speakers), and for data, there's just USB-C (15W) and USB-A, feeding off an upstream USB-B port.

Video inputs include dual HDMI 2.1 with Fixed Rate Link (FRL) for uncompressed 4K@120Hz gaming, but the single DisplayPort is 1.4 standard with Display Stream Compression (DSC). Some newer monitors are shipping with DP 2.1 with less compression, and I'd say it only really matters for enthusiasts.

Should you buy the Alienware AW3426DW?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You're looking for a competitively priced ultrawide gaming monitor featuring fifth-gen QD-OLED tech.

✅ You have a gaming PC that can handle a 3440x1440 resolution and that can make use of a 280Hz refresh rate.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You're a competitive gamer who mostly plays at a 16:9 aspect ratio.

❌ You just want a QD-OLED ultrawide and don't care about the generation (go with the AW3425DW from last year that's now usually cheaper).

I loved my time with the Alienware AW3426DW, and it's something I'll recommend to anyone who's searching out a new QD-OLED ultrawide for gaming.

The 280Hz refresh rate is perfect for most people, the fifth-gen panel is better than ever, and the overall design is sleek and balanced.

Although some might complain that the port selection isn't generous enough or that the RGB lighting is lacking, others might not mind those drawbacks nearly as much.

And considering how many perks the monitor has, it's easy to see why this line of monitors from Alienware is so popular. I have to return the review sample, but the AW3426DW is at the top of my list for when it comes time to upgrade.

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While the ZeniMax and Bethesda studio id Software is best known for its DOOM games — including both the classic titles as well as the modern installments DOOM 2016, DOOM Eternal, and DOOM: The Dark Ages — it's explored other properties and ideas in the past, and has reportedly been "toying around" with doing so again.

...That is, until the developer was slammed by layoffs this week that came as part of a larger "reset" for Xbox and its first-party teams that's seen 3,200 roles cut and four studios divested from Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios portfolio.

Early reports suggested that half of id Software was discharged from Microsoft and Xbox, with some follow-up digging indicating that the situation is even worse, as 40 remote employees have reportedly been let go as well.

Described as a "bloodbath" by one former dev, the cuts have seemingly made it extremely unlikely that id's ideas for non-DOOM projects will ever be developed (especially with Xbox directing ZeniMax/Bethesda to focus on core IPs). A new report from GamesBeat, though, gives some insight into what those concepts were.

Aside from a multiplayer-focused DOOM game with co-op, the studio was also considering a game heavily inspired by the John Wick films called Fury, a new entry in the Perfect Dark series, and a survival-focused Western game with robots called Ironwood.

Fury was a new original property pitched by id Software's studio co-director and game director Hugo Martin, with "elements of sci-fi, noir, and Louisiana and Chicago gangsters" and "a modern, cyberpunk-like feel." Notably, it had a "Gun Fu" gameplay style that blended gunplay with martial arts melee combat, and was intended to feel like a playable John Wick movie. It was never greenlit.

Allegedly, id was also exploring the possibility of making a Perfect Dark game. The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot was canceled last year when Microsoft and Xbox shuttered the studio; with nobody else working on a new installment in the 2000s stealth-action shooter series, id considered doing so and reportedly even had concept art drafted.

Finally, there's Ironwood. Very little is known about it other than that it would be set in a Western environment with robots and survival gameplay, though it's been said it would be very similar to the popular HBO TV show Westworld.

Apparently, there were, and are, no plans for a new Quake — another iconic shooter series id created in the '90s.

Personally, I think the concept for Fury sounds incredibly cool, and I'd love to have seen the full id Software team make a Perfect Dark game. With over half the studio now gone, however, the chances of anything other than a DOOM title being made seem extremely slim.

Perhaps one day, several years into the future, id will be able to explore some of these concepts further. With Xbox CEO Asha Sharma aiming to "move faster" with its biggest franchises, though, I doubt that would happen anytime soon.

How are you feeling about Microsoft's mass Xbox layoffs, and the major impact they've had on id Software? I'm curious, so let me know in the comments below as well as in our poll.

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Earlier this week, Microsoft initiated a large wave of 4,800 layoffs that hit the firm's Xbox and gaming divisions particularly hard, with four studio divestitures and 3,200 cuts — 1,600 immediate, and 1,600 more coming in the next 12 months — striking in what's been called a "reset" for the Xbox business.

Though the redundancies have affected teams across all of Xbox, they've impacted certain game studios such as ZeniMax and Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment quite disproportionately. Another developer that's experienced a severe reduction in force is id Software, the team that creates and oversees the modern DOOM games.

Initially, it was reported that half of the entire studio was laid off as part of Microsoft and Xbox's restructuring — a major and devastating loss of talent that shocked the community and upset developers at id, given the popularity of its games and the potential of the always-evolving id Tech game engine.

According to a new report, however, the total number of layoffs at the Texas-based developer is even larger. At first, it was believed that 96 roles were removed at id. Now, though, Game Developer writes that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) notice — obtained by the outlet from the Texas Workforce Commission upon request — has revealed that 40 remote workers at the studio have been let go as well.

That brings the total number of id Software cuts up to 136, meaning that the studio's workforce has been hit significantly harder than early reports indicated. Notably, the WARN document also confirmed that 22 staffers have been affected at Bethesda Game Studios' office in Austin, Texas, with 158 Texas employees laid off across both teams.

146 of these workers are reportedly represented by the Communication Workers of America labor union; Bethesda Game Studios has its own union, too, and it's been very vocal about its frustration with this week's redundancies.

With how concerning the news of the loss of half of id was, hearing that an additional 40 workers were laid off on top of that is extremely worrying. I can't help but be fearful about the studio's future, and that it no longer has a headcount sufficient for the efficient development of new DOOM games and other projects moving forward.

The painful irony of the situation is that these cuts have come at the same time id released its new Revelations DLC for its latest game, 2025's DOOM: The Dark Ages. So far, the new expansion has garnered strong reviews, and I'm glad to see it...but it's also heartbreaking to see that many of the creative minds responsible for it, The Dark Ages, and other modern DOOM titles are now gone.

Do you believe that Microsoft and Xbox went too far with the cuts made to id Software? Voice your feelings on the matter in the comments, and vote in our poll as well.

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Shortly after it was reported that Xbox's RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment lost 25% of its workforce to Microsoft's mass Xbox layoffs earlier this week, it's come to light that the developer has moved on from other projects to work on a new Fallout game.

That news comes from a new Bloomberg report that Windows Central can corroborate with our own sources. According to those familiar with the situation at the storied Irvine-based studio, multiple planned projects — including a sequel to 2025's Pillars of Eternity action RPG Avowed — have been canceled to prioritize the Fallout title.

Notably, the team working on the new Fallout game will be led by Josh Sawyer, the game director of Obsidian's legendary 2010 title Fallout: New Vegas that was developed in partnership with Bethesda to fill the gap between 2008's Fallout 3 and 2011's The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. New Vegas is widely considered by many fans to be the series' best RPG, lauded for its writing quality, reactivity to player actions, and deep, systems-driven gameplay design.

Bloomberg reports that previously, Sawyer was working on an RPG that was "similar structurally and thematically to Fallout," but wasn't actually part of the iconic franchise.

It's also been said that Bethesda Game Studios — the steward of the Fallout IP, and the developer behind the creation of Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and the Fallout Shelter spinoff — will work with Obsidian on the new game. At the moment, it's unclear if this means the two studios will directly co-develop it together, or if Bethesda will merely provide support.

Demand for a new mainline Fallout entry is very strong right now, what with Amazon's extremely popular Fallout TV show, now filming its third season, driving significant excitement for and interest in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi property.

With Bethesda largely focused on The Elder Scrolls 6 after Starfield and Fallout 5 a long way off, I'm not surprised to see Microsoft and Xbox direct Obsidian to pivot over to the series. After all, given its experience working on it with New Vegas, you could argue there's not a team better suited for the task...though, Obsidian losing a quarter of its staffers — many of whom are reported to have been senior devs — makes me wonder how many of New Vegas' creators are actually still there.

As for the canceled Avowed sequel? Development on it was reportedly progressing smoothly and Obsidian was planning to announce it in 2027, but in the end, it didn't fit in with Xbox's new "reset" and plans to double down on its largest franchises. Its CEO Asha Sharma recently stated she wants the brand to "move faster" with core IPs like Fallout.

It's been said that some Obsidian devs will continue to work on the sequel with hopes that it will one day be fully greenlit again. Additionally, the studio will continue to develop planned DLC expansions for 2025's The Outer Worlds 2 RPG, as well as content for the Early Access survival game Grounded 2.

Are you excited for Obsidian to make a new Fallout, or would you have preferred it to finish its Avowed sequel? Let me know in our poll above, and in the comments below.

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Original article: This week's huge wave of 4,800 layoffs across Microsoft have brought the largest ever series of cuts to Xbox in the brand's history, with 3,200 roles axed and four studios split away from the company (and with Microsoft also reportedly in talks with the French government to try and find a path forward for Marvel's Blade dev Arkane Lyon as well).

Workers have been affected throughout Xbox teams and its first-party game development studios, with some affected more severely than others. Since news of the cuts came on Monday morning, it's become clear that staffers under the ZeniMax and Bethesda umbrella and at DOOM dev id Software have been hit particularly hard, with the latter losing half of its entire workforce.

Reportedly, another studio that's been battered by Xbox's efforts to "reset" is Obsidian Entertainment, the RPG developer best known for creating the beloved Fallout: New Vegas as well as the Grounded series, Pentiment, Avowed, and The Outer Worlds 2 for Xbox after it was acquired by Microsoft in late 2018. Though it's not shutting down as rumors suggested, it hasn't come through the mass layoffs unscathed.

According to sources in contact with Kotaku, roughly 60-70 employees were laid off from Obsidian — a number that constitutes 25% of the developer's headcount. Affected roles are stated to include "producers, artists, designers, programmers, QA testers, writers, and others," including many senior staff members and the only recruiter at the studio.

It's been said that most of these discharges were a part of the 1,600 immediate cuts that Microsoft made on Monday, with "a few" coming later this year as the firm lays an additional 1,600 Xbox workers off in the next 12 months.

One source told Kotaku that those who remain at Obsidian have concerns about how the studio will be able to proceed with further development on its "huge list of projects" after how steep these cuts have been. There's apparently been no guidance from Microsoft on the matter yet.

Reportedly, the developer plans to continue working on the Early Access survival game Grounded 2 and its two announced DLC story expansions for the open-world sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds 2. Beyond that, though, it's unclear what Obsidian will do moving forward.

Notably, with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently commenting that she wants the brand to "move faster" with its core IPs and directly mentioning Fallout by name alongside The Elder Scrolls and Halo, I can't help but wonder if we'll see Microsoft bring Obsidian back to the post-apocalyptic RPG series. I would be quite excited for that...but a major portion of the studio's senior devs that helped create New Vegas were just let go.

I'll also highlight that these layoffs have come months after Obsidian confirmed it was going through some internal reorganization after recent games like Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 failed to meet performance expectations. At the time, I hoped those changes would help the studio develop new games more efficiently. We can only hope that they will ultimately do so, and mitigate the impact of these redundancies.

How do you feel about Microsoft and Xbox reportedly laying off 25% of Obsidian's workforce? Did the firm go too far? Make your voice heard in the poll below, and drop me a comment with your thoughts, too.

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This week saw Microsoft and Xbox initiate the single biggest layoff wave in the gaming brand's history, with 3,200 Xbox and game development roles cut — 1,600 immediately, and another 1,600 throughout the next 12 months — as well as four studios divested from the Xbox Game Studios publishing division.

Alongside those teams and developers at ZeniMax and Bethesda, one studio that's been hit especially hard by the layoffs is id Software, the steward of the iconic and legendary shooter franchise DOOM. It's come to light that roughly half of the entire studio has been discharged, including both game devs and staffers working on its id Tech game engines.

Given the strong success of the DOOM 2016 reboot, DOOM Eternal, and last year's DOOM: The Dark Ages — which has a new Revelations DLC coming out today, one day after the cuts — the fact that id Software has been affected so significantly by the Xbox layoffs has come as a shock to many. Cuts to the id Tech team are surprising as well, as the studio's engine has historically run well and has been used for non-DOOM projects like the Wolfenstein games and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

That shock extends to id's developers themselves, many of whom have taken to social media platforms to express their astonishment and frustrations with the layoffs. One such employee, gameplay animator Skai Chow, has reacted to them with a scathing message for both Microsoft as well as for those "celebrating and worshipping" the cuts as a "move in the right direction."

"For my friends and followers who don't work in game development celebrating and worshipping that the layoffs yesterday were 'necessary for change and a move in the right direction'...I sure hope the sixth round of layoffs is worth our pain and your pleasure," wrote Chow. "After all, things are gonna be different this time around. Right?"

Chow's post features an image that highlights five previous rounds of Microsoft and Xbox layoffs that have come down since early 2023, including 10,000 cuts in January of that year, 1,900 discharges at the start of 2024, the closure of several ZeniMax and Bethesda studios in May that year, and The Initiative and several projects being shuttered in 2025. "We hope our pain was worth it," it's captioned.

The new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma contends that these latest cuts were a difficult but necessary move as part of a "reset" for the brand after it "overextended" with lots of expansion and "overly complex" internal systems.

Regardless of how true that ultimately is or isn't, I can't blame Chow or any other developer for feeling angry and bitter. Throughout the last four years, several thousand layoffs have wracked both Xbox and the wider gaming industry at large following overinvestment in gaming during the pandemic, resulting in extreme volatility and repeated devastating losses of talent.

I don't know what the right path forward is, especially with tariffs and the RAM crisis further complicating matters, but it's clear that the business as it is now isn't sustainable — and Chow is correct to highlight that layoffs haven't yet solved the problem. We can only hope for brighter times as Xbox and the industry reorganize.

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