Gaming

Nintendo has officially confirmed it will release a new Switch 2 console with a removable battery for European markets, and this shift could adjust production and manufacturing costs on a long-term basis.

Nintendo plans to launch a new revised Switch 2 with a removable battery that complies with Europe's updated electronic device laws. The company says that these updated consoles will be designated specifically for the region and will have model numbers different than the Switch 2s that are currently sold worldwide.

"The Regulation requires that from February 18th, 2027, batteries integrated into certain appliances and sold in the EU must be easily replaceable by end-users at any time during the lifetime of the product. Nintendo is implementing measures to comply with these requirements by preparing versions of products to meet the Regulation," Nintendo writes in a product sheet update.

Getting level 99 in any skill in RuneScape is an achievement, but if you want to get level 99 for your PC build, there is only one requirement - own the Old School RuneScape PC case located below.

As a long-time RuneScape player, obviously Old School RuneScape and not RuneScape 3, when I saw the Old School RuneScape PC case that is part of Starforge Systems' OSRS-themed PC lineup, I immediately attempted to draw a circle on the Computex 2026 showroom floor to teleport back to my house to purchase it. The Old School RuneScape prebuilt PC from Starforge is fully equipped with an OSRS theme, including iconic weapons, armor, and more.

In collaboration with Starforge Systems, APNX explained the V2-F features: removable glass panels for clear component views, support for BTF motherboards, support for up to 13 fans, vertical/horizontal 360 AIO mounting, a vertical GPU support bracket, and four pre-installed 140mm FP3 fans.

Computex 2026 is almost over, and besides the laundry list of incredible products that were announced at the show, there was one interaction with NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, that went viral, and it had nothing to do with new NVIDIA products.

HKEPC, a Hong Kong-based tech site, shared a video of Huang making his rounds through the Computex 2026 showroom floor, where he was signing and interacting with hundreds of industry attendees, fans, and media. However, questions arose online when Huang was given a wallet from a HKEPC editor to sign, but instead of signing the front or back, Huang opened the wallet to sign NTD (New Taiwanese Dollar) notes the editor had inside. In a series of X posts, the HKEPC editor explained that Huang emptied the wallet to sign NT$1,000 bills to give to showgirls working at the booth.

The editor wrote in a post, "First 2-3 bills? I was holding it together. By the 3rd? Started sweating. Then he dropped all 10 of them. I froze. 'Bro, at least leave me one for the taxi home...' 💀" The editor added that shortly after the wallet was emptied, Huang returned and paid him NTD$1,000 from his own wallet, and also signed a NTD$1,000 note, along with the wallet itself. The editor added that they started with NTD$7,700 in their wallet, and Huang returned NTD$10,000, leaving the editor with a NTD$2,300 profit.

Sony Santa Monica is making a new God of War game, but it doesn't star Kratos; instead, his wife Laufey, and the developers share more details about the game including an esoteric setting for Laufey.

Yesterday, Sony announced God of War Laufey, a direct continuation to the events of God of War 2018. The new God of War game features Kratos' wife Laufey as the main protagonist and is being directed by longtime Sony Santa Monica developer Ariel Lawrence, who shared some insights on the game in a recent interview with studio head Cory Barlog.

The game is set in the colorful and exotic afterlife of the gods, Lawrence confirms, offering the studio tons of unique opportunities for chaotic clashes of heroes, legends, and mythologies interwoven with quirky humor--the game features a talking gelatinous cube with an enchanted sword stuck in it, Excalibur-style. The result is an expression of the franchise that's quite unique.

Remedy Entertainment's new action RPG Control Resonant is coming September 24, 2026 to PS5, and September 26 to Xbox Series X/S, and PC, the studio has announced, with a 2-day early access window being offered exclusively to PlayStation 5 gamers.

Remedy's latest game is due this September, bringing the studio's distinct artistic style to the realm of Devil May Cry-like hack-and-slash combat. Control Resonant is a direct sequel to Remedy's 2019 hit Control, chronicling the adventures of Dylan, the supernaturally-powered brother of Jesse Faden, complete with an action RPG focus that emphasizes combat and open-world exploration.

Control Resonant pre-orders are currently open for all platforms, and the game is priced at $59.99 for the base version and $69.99 for the deluxe edition, which includes in-game extras, a soundtrack, and an artbook. Remedy teamed up with PlayStation to offer 2-day exclusive early access to PS5 users--anyone who buys the PS5 digital deluxe edition will get 48 hours of early playtime with Resonant.

Capcom has set a September launch for its big new Onimusha game, which will help round out a stellar year for the publisher.

Japanese entertainment giant Capcom is on a roll right now. The group continued its profit gains last year, selling a record 59 million games and pushing operating income to consecutive new highs. Capcom is set to achieve similar results this year with the release of multiple high-profile and best-selling games, including Resident Evil 9 (5 million sales in 5 days) and Pragmata (2 million sales in 16 days).

Capcom's next game in its FY26 lineup is a classic series from the publisher's IP treasure trove: Onimusha. The new occultish samurai swordfighter is coming later this year, with Capcom announcing that Onimusha Way of the Sword will launch on September 25, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

NVIDIA announced a plethora of updates at Computex 2026, including some upgrades to the NVIDIA App targeted at gamers, creators, and power users. One of these updates is 240 FPS ShadowPlay support, enabling compatible GeForce GPUs to record gameplay at the aforementioned sky-high frame rate. Currently, the feature is available in the latest beta build of the NVIDIA App, version 11.0.8.244.

The new 240 FPS mode is supported at up to 4K resolution depending on the GPU. RTX 40 and RTX 50 series GPUs sporting two NVENC encoders will be able to support 4K resolution. Less powerful models with a single NVENC encoder only support recording at 240 FPS at 1440p. GPUs with NVENC chips start with the RTX 4070 Ti for the 40-series, and the RTX 5070 Ti desktop card for the 50-series.

For average GeForce gamers, this feature will be largely useless, but recording at 240 FPS is highly beneficial for gamers who watch slow motion replays of their own gameplay. This is a tactic commonly used by esports pros to help them learn from past mistakes they made in previous games. Recording at a higher frame rate improves the slow-mo effect; for instance, running a 240 FPS video 10 times slower than its original speed still yields a playable 24 FPS. The new 240 FPS mode is also beneficial for broadcasters who are commentating on pre-recorded game footage.

Crimson Desert's developer has revealed that it's going to improve the story of the open world action-adventure, and that a DLC is in the works and coming along nicely.

Pearl Abyss wrote a dev update (flagged by Wccftech) in which it shared news of the updates for the game that'll be rolled out from June through September.

The main point of interest is story improvements based on feedback from Crimson Desert players, with the dev noting that it's going to "further strengthen the narrative flow of Kliff's journey and to make it more engaging". This will involve "working to refine and improve the coherence of key scenes" among other measures.

Before we get a sequel to Larian Studios' Game of the Year RPG Baldur's Gate 3, Wizards of the Coast is reportedly heading back to the Sword Coast for a remake of the original games. According to an anonymous source speaking with PC Gamer, 2000's Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn is currently in development. While the report is only confident about the existence of a Baldur's Gate 2 remake, it states that a full rebuild of both titles could be happening.

The source claims development on the Baldur's Gate 2 remake is already underway and that Kevin Martens, co-lead designer on the original game at BioWare, has joined the project. Martens is also known for his work on Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights, and Diablo 3. Gameplay details and a release window are still up in the air, as is the overall scope of the remakes.

The first two Baldur's Gate games, and the expansion Throne of Bhaal, were developed using BioWare's Infinity Engine. They use an isometric perspective with pausable real-time combat built on a modified version of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons ruleset, a system that was phased out of the tabletop game over two decades ago.

CD Projekt Red has been very clear about one thing since announcing The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past: stop calling it a DLC. According to the studio, there is a meaningful difference between the two, and it matters a lot for what players should actually expect from this release. Multiple members of CDPR's team have made it clear that Songs of the Past will be similar in scale to Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty, or The Witcher 3's critically acclaimed Blood and Wine.

CDPR community manager Marcin Łukaszewski clarified the studio's internal definition of DLCs on social media, explaining that at CD Projekt Red, DLCs are small, free pieces of content, such as the bonus cosmetics and outfits previously released for The Witcher 3. Expansions, by contrast, are major paid releases with new story content, characters, and many hours of gameplay. Songs of the Past firmly falls in the latter camp.

That distinction was reinforced by Cyberpunk 2 associate game director Paweł Sasko, who shared a clip of Idris Elba making the same point when Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty launched, noting that CDPR builds big, substantial expansions and gives away anything smaller for free.

In 2026, it seems like not a day goes by without a PC or gaming component seeing a price increase. In that same vein, the Steam Deck OLED is getting more expensive in Asia, and this is not the first time it has happened. KOMODO, the official Valve hardware distributor for the region, announced updated pricing for Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, starting June 1.

The new prices for the 512GB and 1TB models are as follows: JPY 137,980 and JPY 167,980 in Japan; KRW 1,298,000 and KRW 1,578,000 in South Korea; TWD 26,280 and TWD 31,800 in Taiwan; and HKD 6,488 and HKD 7,788 in Hong Kong. Compared with March 2026 pricing, the 512GB model is now 38% more expensive in Japan and Taiwan and 45% more expensive in South Korea.

Perhaps more egregiously, the 1TB model has jumped 46% in Japan, 41% in Taiwan, and a steep 51% in South Korea. Hong Kong, which was exempt from the March adjustment, is now up 41% and 42% for the 512GB and 1TB models, respectively, compared to launch pricing.

Alarm bells are definitely going off at Google HQ today after images of the Google Pixel 5 surfaced online from one of the most unlikely sources, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.

The Gearbox CEO, best known for the popular Borderlands video game franchise, took to his personal X account on June 1 to share two images of an unreleased, and even unannounced Pixel Watch 5.

Pitchford writes that his friend was scuba diving near the island of St. Martin, in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean Sea. The images show "Pixel Watch 5" on the underside of the watch, along with sensors and the crown dial on the outer edge.

Partnering with Microsoft, ASUS released the impressive ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handheld last year, which opened the door to a more intuitive Xbox on Windows gaming powered by AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor with its integrated RDNA 3.5 graphics. One of the criticisms at the time of its release was the decision to opt for a more traditional LED display over OLED. Well, that's now been rectified with the new ROG XBOX Ally X20, created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ASUS' Republic of Gamers brand.

At Computex 2026, ASUS debuted a wide range of 20th-anniversary-edition ROG products sporting a stylish black-and-gold design, and the new ROG XBOX Ally X20 was created specifically for this celebration. And yes, the ROG XBOX Ally X20 comes equipped with an OLED display, and an impressive one at that. First off, it's larger than the original ROG Xbox Ally X display at 7.4 inches and features Nebula HDR technology.

It maintains a fast 120 Hz refresh rate with a 0.2ms response time, and a peak HDR brightness of 1,400 nits, earning it a VESA DisplayHDR 1000 rating. Throw in Dolby Vision and FreeSync Premium Pro support for smooth motion, and you've got one of the most impressive gaming handheld displays that we've, well, seen to date.

NVIDIA and Microsoft are building a secure Windows platform to power on-device AI agents, marking a major shift in how personal computing will evolve in the AI era. NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, described the new platform as the end of 40 years of traditional computing in how users interact with PCs.

At NVIDIA GTC Taipei, Team Green unveiled RTX Spark, a new superchip designed to transform Windows PCs into AI teammates. RTX Spark combines 30 years of NVIDIA innovation with the latest in AI and gaming, offering a new class of PC that can run complex AI agents locally and also jump into the latest AAA games, achieving frame rates that the average gamer would be fairly happy with.

The collaboration between Microsoft and NVIDIA extends beyond hardware. Microsoft and NVIDIA are accelerating the development of agentic AI from the cloud to the PC, and that, at its core, is the intention behind RTX Spark.

Sony's still quite-active PlayStation 4 is losing another one of its most popular free-to-play games by the end of the year, this time with Call of Duty Warzone.

The unusually-long lifecycle of gaming's 8th console generation is finally starting to wind down, losing key software in the process. It's now been revealed that Warzone will go dark on the platforms in 2026; the game will be delisted on June 4, the store will shut down on June 25, and the free-to-play shooter will go offline completely on PS4 and Xbox One when Modern Warfare 4's first season drops later this year.

"Call of Duty: Warzone on PlayStation 4 and XBOX One will no longer be playable starting with Modern Warfare 4 Season 1," Activision confirmed in a recent post.

Halo Reach's legendary space combat mission was directly inspired by a curious Halo 3 beta player who flew a banshee out of one of the maps...and Bungie had originally planned to release two space combat segments in the game.

New details about Halo Reach's development have surfaced thanks to an interesting interview between original Halo Reach's lead mission designer, Niles Sankey, and MintBlitz. The hour-long interview goes over many topics, including the design of Reach's famous Long Night of Solace campaign level where players blast off and take controls of a high-powered UNSC starship.

According to Sankey, the space mission itself was inspired by a Halo 3 beta player who flew a banshee up into orbit. The devs were surprised that this worked so seamlessly and decided to make it a set piece for Reach. Sankey also reveals that Bungie had originally planned to have two space combat sections in Reach's dramatic campaign, but one of them--a part that would have taken place during an explosive final level--was scrapped due to time and budget.

AMD launched FSR 4 alongside its latest RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 9000 Series GPUs last year. It was a major milestone for AMD's upscaling, or Super Resolution, technology, as it shifted to an AI-powered approach that delivered a massive improvement in image quality over FSR 3, especially when gaming at lower-than-4K resolutions. So much so that it finally brought FSR to the level where it could be compared to NVIDIA's DLSS and be seen as a viable alternative.

The only downside was that it was exclusive to AMD's new RDNA 4 generation of desktop graphics cards, led by the flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT, and supported in only 30 games. Like NVIDIA's DLSS 4, FSR 4 was available via a Radeon driver override feature, but because it required one of the most recent versions of FSR 3 to be natively integrated into a game, the impressive FSR 4 needed time to mature and grow.

Fast-forward to Computex 2026, and AMD has confirmed that AMD's FSR 4 and other FSR neural rendering technologies are now available in over 300 games. A massive increase over the 30 titles at launch, with the biggest jump occurring in Q4 of 2026, where the list of compatible games increases from 85 to 200.

After the Steam Controller, Valve's next hardware, the Steam Machine, appears to be nearing launch. Hardware insider Brad Lynch has spotted that Valve quietly added the Steam Machine Welcome Tour to Steam's backend, including setup assets and welcome images that users will likely see when setting up the device for the first time.

For context, the Welcome Tour is the interactive guide that greets users when they boot up a new piece of Valve hardware for the first time, walking them through the basics before they jump in. Seeing these files arrive in the live backend means Valve has moved well past internal testing and is actively preparing the platform for public consumer setups.

Interestingly, this pattern closely matches Valve's timeline with the Steam Controller. Lynch says a similar Welcome Tour surfaced in Steam's backend roughly 25 days before Valve announced pricing and availability, and just over a month before the controller actually launched. If Valve is following a similar playbook this time, a Steam Machine announcement could be only weeks away, potentially setting the stage for an early July release.

CD Projekt Red has revealed that The Witcher 4 currently has 513 developers actively working on it, which is more than double the size of the team that built The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt back in 2015. The figure came out of CDPR's Q1 2026 earnings call, where joint CEO Michał Nowakowski provided an update on the studio's current project allocation.

For reference, The Witcher 3 was built by roughly 240 developers, and the game has now sold over 65 million copies globally, a milestone Nowakowski also highlighted during the call. That kind of legacy sets the bar extremely high for The Witcher 4, and the large developer headcount tells us just how seriously CDPR is taking the project.

It is also worth noting that Cyberpunk 2077's team peaked at a similar number during its development, a production that ended in a notoriously troubled launch. As we have previously covered, CDPR has been vocal about not repeating the same mistakes with its upcoming titles. Cyberpunk 2, which is also currently in development, saw its team grow slightly this past quarter.

The last couple of years have seen the arrival of several PC handhelds, from Linux- and SteamOS-powered models to Windows 11-based devices, all built for portable, on-the-go gaming. With the majority of these devices sporting AMD hardware and delivering similar results, the upcoming launch of Acer's new Predator Atlas 8 is a little different: its flagship model is powered by Intel's brand-new Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor. And it's a game-changer for performance.

At Computex 2026, we spent considerable time benchmarking the Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor with its powerful integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics in Forza Horizon 6 on Acer's new Predator Atlas 8 gaming handheld, which is set to launch in October 2026. Right off the bat, the performance is a game-changer, with the game running smoothly on the handheld's 1920 x 1200 resolution 120 Hz display without any upscaling. And that's with Medium and High graphics settings.

Of course, Forza Horizon 6 is an exceptionally well-optimized PC game, but the performance here paints the picture of the Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor becoming the PC gaming handheld champ when it hits retail shelves. With Medium settings and no ray tracing, we got an average of 56 FPS in the game's internal benchmark mode, which dropped to 48 FPS when the graphics preset was increased to High. Turn on XeSS 3's AI-powered Super Resolution with the Quality preset, and the Medium performance setting increases to a smooth 60 FPS with minimal impact on image quality.