Super Mario fans, rejoice! It's time to get your Crocs on.

Launching on July 16, 2026 globally, iconic shoe brand Crocs and the beloved Nintendo franchise, Super Mario Bros., are joining forces with the launch of five fun clog styles.

Crocs are synonymous with a few things — namely, moulded clogs and fun collaborations with major brands and franchises, such as Harry Potter, Disney, Coca-Cola and Krispy Kreme — so adding Nintendo's best franchise isn't too much of a stretch.

After the Lego x Crocs launch and the two Super Mario movies, it was only a matter of time for these two worlds to collide — and as Crocs' number one fan, I can honestly say, these designs haven't disappointed me in the slightest.

Paying homage to the main characters of Nintendo's franchise — namely, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Yoshi and Peach — these clogs each depict signature motifs, fun 3D elements, and not-so-subtle design nods.

The hard-to-miss pair being the Mario Classic Clog, complete with the plumber's signature red cap, bold blue colourway, yellow buttons and exclusive Jibbitz, like the infamous Super Mario Star.

If you prefer a more subtle nod to the character and his partner-in-crime, Luigi, you could also consider the Super Mario Clog. Both pairs are priced at AU$114.99, which is pretty standard for a Crocs collab, and given Mario's popularity, I highly doubt these two pairs will stay in stock long.

Not a fan of Mario? Crocs has thought of everything by giving each main character their own pair, and I've popped them down below. IMO, the Princess Peach Classic Platform Clog deserves its own mention, as it perfectly captures the essence of the Mushroom Kingdom's monarch, with glitter detailing, faux jewels and custom charms. (And I wouldn't be surprised if these landed on my doorstep sometime soon. 👀)

That's not all, though — these styles are available in a range of sizes, so you can match with your Mario-loving family, friends or kiddos, no matter the age. Plus, you can even shop Super Mario Jibbitz separately, just in case you want to jazz up a previous pair.

If you're keen on the Super Mario x Crocs collab, I'd act fast — these popular styles are sure to sell out come Thursday, July 16.

I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember but when it came to my home office setup, I just couldn’t imagine using a gaming chair over an office chair.

While gaming chairs typically have racing bucket-style seats with a faux-leather finish, the best office chairs come in a wider variety of designs and styles. From task chairs without headrests to ergonomic ones with dedicated lumbar support and my favorite, full-mesh office chairs with plenty of airflow, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Back when I first set up my home office, I wanted it to look as professional as possible. This meant a clean setup with few distractions. That’s why I opted for one of the best standing desks and a nice ergonomic chair with a mesh backrest to go with it. Over the years, I’ve built countless desk setups while trying out dozens of different desks and chairs.

Still, I had yet to try a ‘true’ gaming chair, even if I did test out a few hybrid ones like the Herman Miller Vantum. That all changed recently when I reviewed the new Razer Iskur V2 NewGen gaming chair. Although I’ve always considered myself an office chair purist, Razer’s latest finally won me over. Well, mostly.

A gaming chair with an ergonomic twist

The Iskur V2 NewGen sits right at the top of Razer’s lineup as its flagship gaming chair, and for good reason. Alongside an upgraded EPU leather finish, this is the company’s most adjustable chair to date — and that’s exactly what drew me to it in the first place.

Compared to office chairs, gaming chairs often get a bad rap when it comes to their adjustability and fit. While many office chairs are engineered to conform to your spine’s natural curve and dynamically move with you as you shift throughout the day, a lot of gaming chairs feel rigid and stiff by comparison.

Although the original Iskur from 2020 suffered from these design flaws, Razer has since taken massive steps to completely overhaul its design and comfort. This started by completely reimagining the backrest and the adaptive lumbar support mechanism housed within it.

Instead of being static, the Iskur V2 NewGen’s lumbar support system now actively swivels and moves with you, while still allowing you to manually tweak it to your liking. A knob on the left side of the chair lets you move the mechanism up and down to align perfectly with the small of your back, while the knob on the right side allows you to control how far it extends out.

Not only is this a first for a gaming chair, it’s a feature you typically only find on premium office chairs — and even then, it’s not one I see all that often. What’s great about this updated system is that you can dial the lumbar support forward to keep your spine supported if you're leaning in close to your desk to focus. Then, when you want to sit back in a more relaxed position, you just turn the knob on the right to retract it so you can sit straight with plenty of lower back support.

Dead simple adjustments (and recline)

One thing I’ve noticed with some of the higher-end office chairs I’ve reviewed is that their manufacturers often make them overly complicated — especially when it comes to their adjustments. The Iskur V2 NewGen, on the other hand, keeps things simple with a hand-brake style lever to adjust the chair’s recline and a series of buttons for its armrests.

These 4D armrests can be moved up/down, forward/backward, closer/further away from you and angled inward or outward. There’s nothing worse than having your chair’s armrests move on their own after you’ve painstakingly adjusted them to your liking, which is why I really like how the buttons on either side keep these ones from moving.

You don’t get a built-in footrest like with the Hinomi X1 or the Hbada X7 I reviewed, nor is there a separate one like on the LiberNovo Omni, but I still really enjoyed leaning back in the Iskur V2 NewGen. With the lever in hand, you just lean back as far as you want and when you let it go, the chair’s backrest stays locked in place. When it’s time to get up, you just grab the lever again and sit up.

With a max recline of 152 degrees, the Iskur V2 NewGen is great for kicking back, but it’s not really the kind of chair you’d want to take a nap in, especially without a built-in footrest.

Super supportive but not quite mesh cool

Now don’t get me wrong, I found the Iskur V2 NewGen’s backrest to be incredibly supportive — which makes sense given it’s a lot thicker than the backrests on the office chairs I routinely test. And while the cooling tech embedded in its EPU leather did help somewhat, it just couldn’t beat the airflow you get with a mesh office chair.

While a mesh backrest may be good enough for some people, I actually prefer an all-mesh chair that has a mesh seat too like the high-back version of the Steelcase Karman pictured above. Since I live in Houston, Texas where it gets both hot and humid, I need as much airflow as possible year-round.

If you still prefer a gaming chair with a racing-style seat, there are things you can do to mitigate the extra heat that comes with a faux-leather finish. For instance, while testing the Iskur V2 NewGen, I had a tower fan pointed at me at all times. However, when I moved it into a smaller room with an overhead fan, that really did the trick.

Now after two months, would I daily drive a gaming chair? I still don’t think I would, given I live in a hotter climate. However, when the sun goes down and it finally gets cooler, kicking back in the Iskur V2 NewGen to play some games has been an absolute delight. It might not be the ideal work-from-home chair — at least for me — but it is an excellent chair to game in.

More from Tom's Guide

• I made one of the best gaming chairs even better by turning it into a recliner — here’s how
• I tested The Folding Gaming Chair and now I may never go back to the couch
• I just sat on my dream gaming chair, and now I’m fighting the urge to take a nap to tell you about the Cougar Arker

Whenever the conversation turns to the (unannounced) PS6, it’s not potential specs or launch games that people seem to want to discuss; it’s the price. The so-called “RAMageddon” has seen the cost of basically all tech items skyrocket, and gaming consoles are very much impacted.

The current-generation PS5 console hasn’t decreased in price over its lifespan, but instead, buying into the PlayStation platform has gotten more expensive. The base PS5 now costs $650 ($499 at launch), while the PS5 Pro is an eye-watering $899 ($699 at launch). This console generation is the first I can recall where launch-day buyers got a better deal than late adopters.

Valve’s Steam Machine finally hit shelves last month, with a $1,049 MSRP for its base model (which doesn’t even include a controller). In response, fears surrounding how much the PS6 will cost when it launches (rumored as early as next year) are only increasing as RAM costs spiral even higher.

But my question is, how much is too much? What is the tipping point for gamers? When does sticker shock go beyond reluctantly forking over your money to just outright refusal to buy into the next generation of gaming? That’s why I decided to ask some of my colleagues how much they would be willing to pay for a hypothetical PS6, and the answers varied a lot.

I also want to hear from you: what’s your PS6 price limit? Vote in our poll down below, and be sure to leave a comment, letting me know how much you’d pay for a new PlayStation console.

The price of the PS6 is only half the battle

Being a gamer isn’t just about the console. It is about the entire ecosystem, from your setup to the actual library of games. That’s why, when the PlayStation 6 eventually drops, $1,000 is my absolute hard line.

If Sony pushes the price tag any higher, it completely breaks my budget for everything else that might make gaming worth it, since there can be other costs to it. As Grand Theft Auto 6 proved, big-name titles are at the $80 mark now. You'll also need extra controllers, a solid headset, and potentially expanded SSD storage.

When you tally up the extras, the console itself is only half of the price. If Sony wants to keep me as a PlayStation fan, they can't price me out! — Arif Bacchus, Lab Tester

I'm not sure if any price would be worth it

The current console generation has been something of a disappointment for me. Supply issues hampered the launch, and PS4 support persisted longer than necessary. It feels like the PS5 never really got going. Furthermore, the current cost of gaming means the console hasn't had much attention from me.

Games are a lot more expensive than they used to be. Paying full price feels like I'm being ripped off, and good game sales are rather hard to come by — especially if you're looking for physical discs. So the prospect of paying several hundred dollars to replace my PS5 is not appealing. If Sony wants my money for the PS6, they're going to have to do a lot of things to grab my attention.

The least of which is offering an affordable console, noticeably cheaper than a competent gaming PC. For me, that means I won't bother to entertain prices above the PS5 Pro's $699 launch price.

The odds of this happening are about as likely as Wales winning the World Cup, so I've made peace with the fact that I will probably never own a PS6. Maybe the PS7 will change my mind when it arrives sometime around 2040. — Tom Pritchard, UK Phones Editor

Shut up and take my money, PlayStation

I’ll be honest: I was on the fence about getting the PS5. I got as much use as I could out of my PS4 before biting the bullet and getting the PS5 Slim… and I really wanted to play Baldur’s Gate 3, which wasn’t on Sony’s fourth-gen console. I suspect it’ll be a similar story by the time the PS6 comes around.

My PS5 right now is my favorite console, and it’s what I’ve sunk thousands of hours into games on. Sony would have to price the PS6 exorbitantly to stop me from buying it. I’d happily spend up to $1,000 on it. I can’t say for certain whether I’d buy it at launch, but it will most certainly happen.

The only thing I can see potentially stopping me from getting the PS6 is the rising cost of games — especially as we won’t be able to buy second-hand discs of the latest titles. But given how happy playing on my PS5 (and PS4 before it) makes me, right now, I can’t see myself not buying the PS6. — Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer

I may have already reached my limit

I don’t consider myself a Sony fanboy, but PlayStation has been my console of choice since the original. Despite recent choices to lean into live service, PlayStation is where the types of games I want to play live.

That said, I choked paying $500 for the Nintendo Switch 2 — hoarded gift cards allayed that frustration some — and haven’t bothered upgrading to the PS5 Pro. Inflation aside, my sweet spot for a gaming console is around $400 to $600. With things steadily getting more expensive, I’ve had a hard time accepting that those prices may no longer be realistic. I had high hopes for the Steam Machine, but its $1,050 price tag put me off, and I’m not excited about whatever the PS6 might bring to the table.

Right now, I don’t know that I’d go more than $700, but I would hate every second of it until I got the console in my house.

PlayStation 6 might be the first generation I actively skip, but who am I kidding? I’ll probably wait until I’ve hoarded enough gift cards again. It won’t be day one, though; I promise you that. — Scott Younker, West Coast Reporter

Sony would have to charge a fortune to stop me buying a PS6

Truthfully, I’m more than prepared to pay a four-digit figure for the PS6. The thought of a $1,000+ PlayStation console certainly isn’t pleasant, but Sony would have to charge well north of $1,250 before I reached my limit and felt forced to stick with my current PS5 Pro for a while longer.

I swear I’m not a corporate bootlicker; it’s a simple matter of determining value per dollar spent. PlayStation has been my primary gaming platform since the PS1, and each year, I get thousands of hours of use from my console. When you break it down into money spent to entertainment hours delivered, each PlayStation machine has been a complete bargain.

For me, it’s not the price that will put me off the PS6, but rather Sony’s decision to axe physical games (I’m mostly digital already, but still want the option of using a disc), and my concerns that it’ll launch with a relatively small hard drive in an effort to reduce costs. — Rory Mellon, Senior Entertainment Editor

More from Tom's Guide

• The best PS5 games in 2026
• PS6 price could be in the same stratosphere as the Steam Machine
• A PlayStation 6 without a disc drive? I’m done with Sony

Normally, I would start an impressions piece with a general overview of what's new in EA Sports College Football 27, and perhaps a cute pun on what junior year means for the revived franchise.

And this year, there are plenty of upgrades to talk about: Dynasty has been nearly rebuilt with a new NIL and Blueprint system that requires some strategic thinking about building your program. Road to Glory added new playable positions that are fun to play and gameplay tweaks that make them more viable one-on-one. And the game day presentation is more immersive with dynamic weather and additional school traditions.

It's all good stuff added to an already solid foundation. However, all the improvements in this annual sports sequel are drowned out by one unsavory decision that means I can't recommend College Football 27.

Hidden nickel and diming

For years, even before EA shut down the original NCAA Football franchise in 2013, microtransactions were limited to the Ultimate Team mode. As in its sibling Madden series, UT lets you pay real money to unlock card packs to improve your team for online play.

On the whole, Ultimate Team is not my preferred way to play, and beyond review purposes, I largely ignore this popular mode. However, EA makes a ton of money from Ultimate Team across Madden, CFB, FC, and NHL series. In 2025, EA reported $4.4 billion in revenue, with nearly half of it coming from Ultimate Team.

Until CFB 27, those microtransactions were relegated solely to Ultimate Team. But now, EA has sneakily added them to both Dynasty and Road to Glory, the two main single-player modes in the game.

I attended several marketing briefings, and this was never mentioned. EA didn't exactly place this unwelcome news front and center in the game's pre-release marketing, which made discovering them a nasty shock.

Pay-to-win single player?

In College Football 27, EA Sports has removed the faster option for Coach XP in dynasty mode and added skill points microtransactions in Road to Glory, a mode that takes three to four seasons to complete per player.

When I first tested out Road to Glory and Dynasty, I didn't immediately notice the pay-to-win options. However, once I tried to upgrade a skill when I didn't have enough points, a screen popped up that would have allowed me to pay real money to upgrade. It's the same for coach levels in Dynasty.

No, you don't have to pay, but you can't naturally upgrade a top-level coach even 20-plus years into a dynasty. And that's before considering that EA dropped the fast and faster XP coach gain sliders. If you played perfectly and won every national championship for 10 in-game seasons, you wouldn't even hit half the level cap.

This means that numerous coach perks and archetypes are essentially locked behind a ponderous grind unless you're willing to open your wallet.

Here's the rub, though: buying the college points to bring your coach to max level would cost you $100 for one dynasty run. If you start a new dynasty and want your coach to hit level 100, you have to pay $100 again. It's the same for Road to Glory, which again, typically only lasts three to four seasons, five at most.

Plus, EA has introduced a new "Rainmaker" archetype to the coaching tree tied entirely to NIL deals that you can only get if you buy the MVP subscription — this gets you Madden 27 as well — which costs $150.

The NBA2K problem

This type of nickel-and-diming is gross and reminds me of NBA2K. Virtual Currency (VC) debuted in NBA 2K13 and was almost immediately problematic. It didn't truly invade the MyPlayer mode until 2016, but it's functionally broken the single-player modes in the only and most popular NBA game.

I haven't played or purchased NBA2K in years solely because of the VC problem. Even back in 2012, 2K players were begging fellow gamers to stop buying virtual currency, and the issue has only gotten worse ever since.

As NBA2K proves, there are too many gamers out there who don't care or have accepted the status quo and will fork over the extra cash to upgrade their players or coaches to the desired star level. Which means this flaw likely won't go away.

Still, with whatever influence I may have, I can't recommend you buy CFB 27. It needs to be stopped now before EA goes even further next year.

Like NBA2K, what sucks is that this decision ruins what should be a football game I'm happy to recommend. The gameplay and framework are there for an excellent sports simulation, but it hides a slimy underbelly.

Should you buy College Football 27?

If it weren't for the sneaky microtransactions, I would recommend checking out College Football 27.

With NIL and Blueprints added to Dynasty, it makes recruiting and building more strategic. You have to think about how you'll allocate resources as you try to rebuild that single-star school into a five-star powerhouse. Road to Glory added the ability to play as a tight end, edge rusher or safety, all of which are surprisingly fun additions.

Plus, the presentation received immersive upgrades with dynamic weather and day-to-night transitions. The crowds seem smarter, actually reacting to poor play and big moments. The pageantry has been updated for some schools, with more songs making sessions feel like a true game day.

Sadly, the extent of the microtransactions is predatory and wasn't disclosed ahead of launch. For that reason, I don't think you should buy CFB 27.

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• I played 4 hours of The Blood of Dawnwalker
• The best gaming consoles in 2026

We're now into July, which means we've done six full months of testing here at Tom's Guide in 2026. From coffee machines, through to vacuums, gaming handhelds, laptops and phones — not only is it our job to put tech through its paces, it's what our journalists, editors and contributors love to do.

I'm Pete, Senior Reviews Editor here at Tom's Guide, and I head up our reviews coverage on site. My team of dedicated reviews writers alone have lab tested and reviewed hundreds of products already this year, with the wider Tom's Guide editorial team having testing dozens more. If you've not had your finger precisely on the pulse of the latest tech this year, well, I don't blame you — it's hard to keep tabs on everything. That's why we exist.

To help, I've gathered the Tom's Guide team's favorite products from 2026 so far. Obviously, I can't fit everything into a single article, so I asked our subject experts across the site to give me their top picks, too. I've also curated the top five highest scorers, which stand above the rest. Every product on here has been tested by us, hands-on, as part of a full, extensive review.

Read on to see the tech Tom's Guide loved in the first half of 2026.

Tom's Guide's Top 5

Every product on this list has scored at least four stars, earning our TG Recommended or Editor's Choice badges. But there are five products on this list that scored our full five stars after testing. These are the best of the best so far this year. To save you some time, here are the links to our reviews.

• DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review ★★★★★
• 007 First Light review ★★★★★
• KitchenAid Artisan Plus review ★★★★★
• Gozney Dome XL Gen 2 review ★★★★★
• Samsung S95H OLED review ★★★★★

Keep reading to see the rest of our top tested picks for 2026.

AI

Rokid Glasses

After 5,000 miles in the Rokids, we were seriously impressed
Score: ★★★★☆

The best smart glasses without a display are cool and all, but their features are usually rather limited to just asking questions about what you see. The Rokid Glasses proved to me that adding a screen turns that superpower into an ambient computing platform — offering features only when you need them and disappearing into the background in some stylish specs.

With that display, you get real-time conversation translation with text subtitles so you’re not having to try to listen to your smart glasses talk over the person in front of you. And the multi-modality unlocked by asking a question and just getting answers you can see makes them much more subtle. Not to say they’re perfect — the camera quality for snapping pictures suffers in low light and some features are very China-specific (like Alipay). But arm these with Google Gemini in setup, and they’re a genuinely helpful companion on your face for a decent price.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Rokid Glasses review

Cameras & drones

GoPro Mission 1 Pro

GoPro's return to form in the action camera game
Score: ★★★★½

After years essentially re-releasing the same Hero cameras with minor tweaks, GoPro has finally pushed itself. The Mission 1 Pro is pricey, but it’s the first GoPro I’ve been excited about in a while. It seriously impressed me with its powerful and versatile video credentials in testing, namely open gate 8K and a wealth of shooting features that make it ideal for its target market: professionals. Thanks to revised processor architecture and a shiny new battery, I managed to extract unparalleled battery life and thermals versus other action cameras in my standardized battery tests. GoPro is back!

Pete Wolinski, Senior Reviews & Cameras Editor
Read Pete’s full GoPro Mission 1 Pro review

DJI Osmo Pocket 4

The best all-around tool for content creation
Score: ★★★★★

I awarded the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 our full five stars in my review, and that’s because I literally couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Aside from the fact that it’s not available in America (yet?) due to tariffs and DJI’s ongoing feud with the U.S. government. The Osmo Pocket 4 improved on its predecessor in every single way that mattered: video, stabilization, storage, thermals, battery life, and more. If you’re after a single tool for professional-looking content creation, I really can’t think of anything better to recommend.

Pete Wolinski, Senior Reviews & Cameras Editor
Read Pete’s full DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review

DJI Avata 360

Although a little late to the 360 party, DJI absolutely smashed it
Score: ★★★★½

The DJI Avata 360 does exactly what you want a drone to do: make flying fun. It stakes its claim as the best 360° drone around (granted, there are only two at the time of writing, but still!) and its twin lenses capture every single angle in 8K at 60fps. 120MP hi-res stills, user-friendly editing software, and exceptional build quality make it the drone to buy today. It also undercuts its main competitor, the Antigravity A1, and with dual ways to fly (FPV and with a standard controller), the Avata 360 is versatile and oh-so-powerful. Every day I still think about it — and as someone who’s tested many, many quadcopters, that’s saying a lot.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full DJI Avata 360 review

Computing & gaming

MacBook Neo

Our favorite budget laptop, literally ever
Score: ★★★★½

Value for money in laptops has become a bit of a running joke this year (thanks, RAMageddon). But of all the companies building notebooks, I didn’t anticipate it would be Apple to deliver the goods and give you an honest-to-god well-priced system. Yes, there’s been a $100 increase recently, but even with that, the premium aluminum build quality, great display, tactile keyboard and zippy performance of that A18 Pro makes for a great system for the day-to-day essentials.

I must admit, to see Apple actually having fun with colors in its MacBooks is a refreshing change from the blacks and silvers of its more expensive lineage. All of this comes together into a laptop that has terrified the budget Windows laptop market, and the best ultra portable we’ve tested this year.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read our full MacBook Neo review

Asus Zenbook Duo (2026)

Dual OLED panels = chef's kiss
Score: ★★★★½

Yes, this is a dual-screen OLED beauty of a premium laptop; Asus has really paid attention to the design and ergonomics of a system like this. But the real superpower is what lies inside that shell. Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (codenamed Panther Lake) has been a truly generational moment for Team Blue in its Windows laptops, and it comes down to huge updates to both the performance and power efficiency.

Those new CPU cores and efficiency architecture they’re built onto gives this a gargantuan battery life that would make a MacBook blush, while the superpowered GPU (alongside XeSS 3) gives this some serious gaming laptop chops too. Usually, you had to be considerate of just what you wanted to do with your Windows laptop and decide on the strengths and compromises around that. With anything that sports an X9 chip like this, though, that’s no longer a compromise you have to make.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Asus Zenbook Duo (2026) review

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

A true next-gen gaming handheld
Score: ★★★★☆

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ delivers the performance jump I’ve been waiting years for. With Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme chip, games are pulling a 20 to 30+ FPS advantage over AMD Z2 Extreme handhelds. Battery life gets a big boost too. I could hit the same performance as the Z2 Extreme at half the power consumption. Combine that with its major redesign bringing more Xbox-like controls, better haptics, and its large 8-inch 16:10 display, and you’re getting, in my opinion, one of the best handheld gaming consoles of 2026.

Paul Antill, Video Producer
Read our full MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review

007 First Light

Forget GoldenEye: this is the best Bond game ever
Score: ★★★★★

Gamers are being treated to a licensed games renaissance right now. The days of cheap cash-ins launched to coincide with a new blockbuster movie are over. But even in this golden era for video games based on popular media franchises, 007 First Light surpasses expectations.

Forget GoldenEye, First Light is the best James Bond game ever. With its ludicrously cinematic gameplay, compelling narrative that focuses on a younger Bond (played by Patrick Gibson), and deep commitment to authenticity, 007 First Light is easily the best thing to come out of this long-running spy series in 20 years, movies included. There’s a reason it was only the second video game I’ve given the full five stars. Whether you’re a longtime Bond fan or a newcomer, 007 First Light is quite simply unmissable.

Rory Mellon, Senior Entertainment Editor
Read Rory's full 007 First Light review

Epomaker Glyph

Nikita's dream keyboard
Score: ★★★★½

I’ve tested close to 100 keyboards in my time as a reviews writer, and it isn’t often that I get to proclaim, “I’ve found my dream keyboard.” Ever since I tested the Epomaker Glyph, it hasn’t left my desk, and it’s my daily driver when I’m at the office. Typewriter-like aesthetics, a return lever that acts as an Enter or Backspace key, beautiful RGB lighting, a creamy sound profile, and a typing experience that’s nothing short of stunning — all of these characteristics come together to deliver what’s probably the best mechanical keyboard I’ve used for typing. I’m a speed demon when I’m bashing out 109 words per minute of this thing.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full Epomaker Glyph review

(A note from Nikita's editor, Pete: "I can confirm, the Glyph genuinely hasn't left her desk!")

MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36

Pro performance for under $1,000
Score: ★★★★½

It’s no secret that MSI knows how to make a great gaming monitor, and its MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 is one of the most beautiful displays I’ve ever tested. Blistering 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time for buttery smooth gameplay? Check. Ridiculously accurate colors and wide color coverage? Yep. AI sleep and wake features that are actually useful and not just a gimmick? Oh yeah. And all of this is packed into a sleek design with plenty of ports. Not much to complain about here, really.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 review

Viture Beast AR glasses

Beast by name, beast by nature
Score: ★★★★½

I’ve traveled the world testing all of this year’s biggest AR glasses releases, and Viture Beast stands head and shoulders above the pack as the best I’ve used this year (so far). There’s three reasons why: picture quality, comfort and features. Viture’s color science and fidelity really shines in those micro-OLED displays with a massive 58-degree field of view. There’s a little edge fringing on the sides, but given the massive vision field, it’s unlikely you’ll notice it. And this is packed into a nice-feeling pair of glasses with a soft-touch coating that sits gently on your ears with optimal weight balance. Cap it all off with plenty of customization built in, plus the SpaceWalker app for multi-monitor home office setups, and the Beast are…well…pretty beastly for work and play.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Viture Beast review

Fitness

Fitbit Air

The best Whoop alternative, and subscription-free
Score: ★★★★☆

The Fitbit Air is my fitness tracker of the year so far. Discreet and distraction-free (no screen), this is a fitness tracker that's easy to use, lightweight, and oh-so-comfortable. Just $99 and subscription-free for core features, it offers a week of battery life and covers all the holistic metrics you'd expect from a modern device, like heart health, sleep quality, daily movement, and workouts. For most people, this is the best screen-free fitness tracker you can buy, and the new Google Health companion app makes viewing all your health data a dream.

Jane McGuire, Managing Editor, Fitness
Read our full Fitbit Air review

Salomon XT-6

Hike, shop or relax in comfort and style
Score: ★★★★½

The Salomon XT-6 shoes have become a staple in my closet. Whether I’m heading to the store or hitting up a challenging trail on the weekend, I know I’ll be supported. I wore these hiking sneakers on a city break, where I clocked over 93,000 steps and didn’t have a single complaint. Not only that, the multidirectional lugs kept me stable on even the trickiest terrain, as I hiked in mud, over rocks, and through water.

On top of their technical ability, the XT-6s are a fashion statement, worn all over New York by fashion-forward celebs; these shoes have earned a coveted spot in my daily rotation — although you’ll find me cleaning the mud off them after each adventure.

Ashley Thieme, Staff Writer
Read Ashley’s full Salomon XT-6 review

Homes

Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless

A powerful cordless Dyson that's perfect for pet owners
Score: ★★★★☆

I’ve tested my fair share of Dyson vacuum cleaners in my time, but I must say that the V16 combines all of my favorite features in one cleaner. First, its upgraded ‘Fluffy Cones’ head is designed to be used on both carpets and hard flooring without the need to swap over attachments. This is a great time-saver, and lets me quickly zip around my home without pausing. Perhaps my favorite feature is the dust-detecting green light which reveals those hidden dustballs lurking underneath furniture and in corners. Plus, it’s lightweight and easy to store, which is why it’s now my go-to for daily maintenance, and why I awarded our Editor’s Choice badge.

Cynthia Lawrence, Homes Editor
Read Cynthia’s full Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless review

KitchenAid Artisan Plus

The latest version of KitchenAid's legendary mixer, and the best one yet
Score: ★★★★★

I got to test KitchenAid’s newest stand mixer, the Artisan Plus, and it’s even better than I imagined. I’d been happily using KitchenAid’s Artisan stand mixer as my go-to appliance for a good few years, and I really didn’t see how it could be improved, but it has. It may only seem like a few tweaks, but they have made a big difference. From the sliding speed control that just glides, to the in-bowl light, which illuminates the mix — and let's not forget the double-edge flex beater that cleans the bowl as it sweeps past— I loved it so much during testing that I gave it a 5-star rating.

Camilla Sharman, Staff Writer
Read Camilla’s full KitchenAid Artisan Plus review

Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2)

The undisputed king of pizza ovens
Score: ★★★★★

If you’re a dedicated — and I mean dedicated — at-home pizza maker, the Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) is the closest you’ll come to actually building a pizza oven from scratch. It can run on either gas, wood, or charcoal, has dual temperature probes, and is big enough to fit a 16-inch pie with room to spare. I loved its easy-to-ready displays, and the design of the oven is just gorgeous, too. Yes, it’s huge and it’s expensive (I’ve made equally good pizzas in much cheaper ovens), but this is the oven that’ll signal you’re the real pizzaiolo in your neighborhood.

Mike Prospero, U.S. Editor-in-chief
Read Mike’s full Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) review

Fellow Espresso Series 1

Beginners or pros, coffee snobs or otherwise — this one is for everyone
Score: ★★★★½

When Fellow designed the Espresso Series 1, it looked at the other espresso machines out there and thought, “I’m going to do something different.” And different the Espresso Series 1 is. When I tested this machine, I loved that it provided coffee-snob-approved features while still being usable for complete beginners. On top of having a litany of customization options on the machine itself, I loved having the app, which walked me through how to make every type of coffee ever invented. You may think this is too ambitious, but for me, the Espresso Series 1 hits all its marks and comes out victorious.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full Fellow Espresso Series 1 review

Phones

Apple iPhone 17

A surprisingly solid update over the previous generation
Score: ★★★★½

Apple launched more new phones than in any previous year, but the iPhone 17 remains my favorite for several reasons. One thing that makes it stand out is that it finally got a long-overdue upgrade to a 120Hz refresh rate, making its screen look even more fluid than before in testing. On top of that, I really love how it didn’t get a price hike and still managed to get double the starting storage.

John Velasco, Senior Phones Editor
Read John's full iPhone 17 review

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The phone that'll get better over time
Score: ★★★★½

When it comes to Android phones, nothing caught my eye more than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung’s flagship received all the iterative updates it deserved, but one particular new feature stood out most: the Privacy Display. It works like magic, making the screen look dark when someone tries to peek at it from the side. You can even customize it to block out specific parts of the display — like when you’re messaging someone. This exclusive feature is what sets it apart from everything else.

John Velasco, Senior Phones Editor
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

Sleep

Saatva Zenhaven Mattress

What you should be sleeping on in 2026
Score: ★★★★½

The Saatva Zenhaven latex mattress blew our socks off during testing, thanks to its naturally cooling and supportive sleep feel for eco-conscious shoppers. Handcrafted in the US from (mostly) organic materials, the Zenhaven boasts a flippable design with a different tension on each side: Luxury Plush and Gentle Firm. We appreciated how one side boasted more cushioning for side sleepers, while the unyielding feel of the firmer side best-suited back and stomach sleepers. At $3,549 at full MSRP it’s a splurge, but cheaper during Saatva mattress sales. However, it’s worth noting that latex mattresses can last up to 20 years, so we think it’s worth the investment.

Nicola Appleton, Sleep Editor
Read our full Saatva Zenhaven Mattress review

Fitnexa SomniPods 3

If you struggle sleeping, these earbuds are for you
Score: ★★★★☆

The Fitnexa SomniPods 3 are compact sleep earbuds that helped me sleep better in even the most disruptive environments (like my neighbor's son playing basketball at unsociable hours). Fitted with built-in white noise, excellent active noise cancelation, plus sleep tracking features, they’re an easy recommendation for any troubled sleepers. But the real stand-out feature for me is the Fitnexa app. Here, your own AI coach waits for you, ready to provide personalized advice based on your sleep tracking data, activity logs and food diaries. The info isn’t quite on par with a qualified sleep professional but thanks to the wealth of data to draw from, it was pretty spot on in testing, helping take the SomniPods from sleep earbud to all-round sleep enhancer.

Ruth Jones, Senior Sleep Writer
Read Ruth's full Fitnexa SomniPods 3 review

Smart home & security

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+

A fantastic way to improve security on a budget
Score: ★★★★☆

Blink has long been one of our favorite budget smart home brands, and its newest battery-powered video doorbell furthers its reputation as a value leader. The Battery Doorbell 2K+ delivered very good 2K video in our testing — not the tops, but for a sub-$100 device it was more than acceptable. And, while it runs on AA batteries, they’ll last up to two years on a charge. You can also use this video doorbell without a subscription (you’ll need to purchase a separate adapter), but Blink’s subscription price is relatively affordable.

Mike Prospero, U.S. Editor-in-chief
Read our full Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review

TV & Audio

Samsung S95H OLED

Supreme picture quality, even in bright rooms
Score: ★★★★★

I’ve tested countless TVs, but the Samsung S95H is the first unit in several years that truly surpassed all my expectations. It completely shatters the familiar rules of OLED, obliterating ambient glare and delivering an unprecedented, jaw-dropping brightness in the self-emissive category. Even the floating metal bezel (a design choice I fully assumed I'd hate) adds a striking, premium presence I grew to love. Between its breathtaking performance and how seamlessly it transitions into a decor piece via Samsung Art Store support, this is a flagship that stands as a definitive standard-bearer.

Kate Kozuch, Managing Editor
Read Kate's full Samsung S95H OLED review

AirPods Max 2

Everything is dialed up to 11
Score: ★★★★½

It’s impossible to be a tech lover and not have strong opinions about Apple’s new AirPods Max 2. Some people love them, some people hate them, but I’m firmly in the first camp. The AirPods Max 2 are headphones that know what they’re about, and they’re not apologizing for it. With gorgeous anodized aluminum ear cups and an all-metal headband, they’re not the lightest cans in the world, but the sound more than makes up for it.

Every detail is clear, mids are melodic and vivacious, and the bass is balanced, rich, and warm. Of course, you’ve also got industry-leading smart tech features like Live Translation and integrated Siri, but Apple users looking for the best headphones need look no further than Apple’s own.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full Apple AirPods Max 2 review

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO

Open earbuds that make no sacrifices
Score: ★★★★½

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO have completely changed the way I think about open-earbuds (and I’ve tested a lot). Up until testing the ZEROs, I’d accepted that if I wanted ambient awareness, comfort and stability while working out, I’d need to sacrifice sound quality — but they prove that’s not the case. They provided me with the detailed listening experience I love from Beyerdynamic’s other headphones, without compromising bass performance, delivering perfectly balanced sound. I wear them when I’m working, running, or hiking in the rain (thanks to IP54 durability). They’re the only open earbuds I’ve tested with no compromises.

Ashley Thieme, Staff Writer
Read Ashley’s full Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review

JBL Xtreme 5

The party speaker for summer 2026
Score: ★★★★½

The JBL Xtreme 5 came, it saw, and it conquered. JBL really understood the assignment with the surprise follow-up to 2024’s Xtreme 4. Everything about the Xtreme 5 oozes confidence: the deft, controlled bass that’ll have your floorboards shaking and your bones quaking; the literally unbeatable IP68 rating that protects it against rain, sand, and drops; the gorpcore, utilitarian design; and of course the rugged 24-hour battery life. This is the party speaker of 2026. I’ve tested hundreds of audio products and Bluetooth speakers, but the Xtreme 5 is a special one.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full JBL Xtreme 5 review

More from Tom's Guide

• See all Tom's Guide Reviews coverage
• Find deals fast with the Tom's Guide Savings Squad
• Check out all of our Best Picks pages

While consoles used to get cheaper a year or two into their life cycle, this generation’s gone the other way. RAM and component shortages have pushed manufacturers to raise prices instead of drop them, which makes any genuine saving on new hardware feel a lot sweeter than it used to.

This Nintendo Switch 2 deal for Prime Day is a good example — the console’s down to AU$624, beating the EOFY price of AU$629 and sitting well below its usual AU$699.95. It’s a modest discount on paper, but the timing matters: Nintendo plans to lift the Switch 2 to AU$769.95 on September 1.

That means grabbing it now saves you AU$145.95 compared to its upcoming price, and right now AU$624 is the lowest Switch 2 price we’ve seen.

Whether another sale pops up before September is anyone’s guess, but this is a straightforward chance to lock in the cheapest price before the hike.

As someone who bought his Switch 2 at launch, I can say that the handheld/console hybrid is really coming into its own now that we're over a year into its life cycle.

Its growing library of games has some genuine first-party bangers in it, like Star Fox, Donkey Kong Bananza and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and we have Splatoon Raiders arriving later this month. Additionally, developers are squeezing some terrific performance out of the Switch 2 on third-party titles like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Pragmata.

Seriously, you don’t want to sit this one out — it’s the best Switch 2 deal we’ve seen so far, and once the price hike lands, waiting will feel like a mistake.

More from Tom's Guide

• Nintendo Switch 2 review — no gimmicks here, just a fantastic hybrid console
• A PlayStation 6 without a disc drive? I’m done with Sony
• Here’s how to secure your copy of Grand Theft Auto VI today

Just when I thought this flagship gaming chair couldn’t get any better, Razer has released its upgraded Iskur V2 NewGen. While the V2 had plenty of improvements, this new model features a comfier yet more supportive dual-density cold-cured foam cushion and upgraded EPU synthetic leather with built-in cooling tech.

I still remember trying out the Iskur V2 during my first trip to CES and walking away very impressed with its upgraded lumbar support system. The Iskur V2 NewGen isn’t a complete redesign as it retains what made that model one of the best gaming chairs. Instead, it’s more of a refinement designed to be more comfortable while feeling significantly more premium.

Although I typically spend my days (and my nights) sitting in one of the best office chairs, the Razer Iskur V2 NewGen has been a nice change of pace. From the instant I sat in it, I really liked its stiffer backrest and wide, comfy seat. Likewise, it was a breeze to put together and locking in the perfect fit comes easily too, thanks to the knobs on either side and the lever to control its recline. Still though, this is a high-end gaming chair with a $649 price tag and unfortunately, there isn’t a fabric option like with most of Razer’s other chairs.

My Razer Iskur V2 NewGen review will help you decide if this is the right gaming chair for you or if you’d be better off going with the cheaper yet less full-featured Iskur V2 X instead.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A premium gaming chair with a strong focus on ergonomics and cooling.
• Who is it for? People who want a very adjustable seat with dedicated lumbar support which they can use for long stretches at a time comfortably that still looks like a gaming chair.
• What does it cost? The Razer Iskur V2 NewGen costs $649 regardless of which colorway you choose.
• What do we like? The adaptive lumbar support system, the wider backrest and seat base, the extra thick foam seat cushion and how easy it is to adjust using the built-in lever and knobs.
• What don’t we like? That the upgraded synthetic leather can still feel hot after extended periods and the higher price compared to other similarly-specced gaming chairs.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen: Specs

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen: The ups

The Razer Iskur V2 NewGen offers exactly what you’d expect from a premium gaming chair in terms of design and comfort. However, it doesn’t skimp on ergonomics either with an adjustable lumbar support system that moves with your back as you shift in your chair while gaming or even working from home.

A color-coded build

The Razer Iskur V2 NewGen arrived in a single large brown box with everything packed neatly inside. While I wish it came as pre-assembled as the more expensive Herman Miller Vantum, it was surprisingly simple to put together.

With everything unpacked, I was left with the Iskur V2 NewGen’s backrest, frame, seat, casters and the rest of the parts needed to assemble it. One thing I really liked is that the armrests did come pre-attached, which is a nice touch given how tedious installing them yourself can be.

While other companies will often have you scan a QR code to view their assembly instructions online, Razer includes a large printout with key steps highlighted in the company’s signature Razer green. Speaking of which, you also get a pair of black gloves with that same accent color in the box so you don’t get any grease on your hands when installing the chair’s lift mechanism.

Building the Iskur V2 NewGen was a straightforward process using the included Allen wrench. I’d say the hardest part was connecting the seat to the backrest but honestly, this was quite easy to do compared to some of the office chairs I’ve built over the years.

With the Iskur V2 NewGen fully assembled, it was time to take it for a spin.

Wider all around

When looking at the Iskur V2 NewGen, it’s hard not to notice its curves. In fact, this gaming chair almost has an hourglass figure since it’s skinniest at the center where the seat meets the backrest and extends out in either direction.

This was intentional on Razer’s part as a big focus of this NewGen refresh is comfort. The chair is just under 16 inches at its skinniest point. However, the seat extends out to 20.9 inches at its edge while the backrest goes even wider at 21.3 inches. The extended seat allows you to sit cross-legged in this gaming chair while the extended backrest provides plenty of room for those with wider shoulders.

As someone on the smaller side at 5’4”, I still found this extra space to be quite nice to have. I had plenty of room as I shifted from side to side in the Iskur V2 NewGen’s seat and the same was true for my shoulders when my back leaned from left to right.

While I would have preferred a magnetic head cushion like on the Secretlab Titan Evo, I did find the included one made from sculpted memory foam to be quite comfortable even for long stretches. However, I did swap it for the Razer Clio when playing PS5 at my desk since I had a pair of Razer Nommo V2 Pro speakers connected to my gaming PC via USB-C and to my Switch 2 over Bluetooth.

Just the pull of a lever

One thing I really prefer with the Iskur V2 NewGen over some of the more over-designed office chairs I regularly test is the simplicity of its adjustments. Fine-tuning this chair for the perfect fit only takes a few minutes and the more complicated adjustments come with illustrations to further simplify the process.

There are adjustment knobs on the left and right side — but more on that later — and a lever that controls the chair’s recline. Everything is right there within reach and I never had to get out of the Iskur V2 NewGen to make adjustments.

The chair also comes with 4D armrests that you can move up or down, forward or backward, closer or farther away from you and angled inward or outward. Unlike some of the 4D or even 6D armrests I’ve tested on office chairs, I really like how the ones on the Iskur V2 NewGen stay firmly in place. One of my biggest gripes with Herman Miller’s Vantum gaming chair is that I’d need to readjust the pads of its armrests almost every time I sat down.

Given that a lot of office chairs require you to unlock a lever and then lean back whenever you want to recline, the larger, handbrake-style lever on the right side of the Iskur V2 NewGen was a welcome change for me. I’d just hold onto the lever and lean back to my preferred recline position with it in my hand.

Although I spent a lot of my time gaming upright while trying out the Iskur V2 NewGen, I did put its recline to the test while using the Razer Kishi Ultra and my Lenovo Legion Tab 3 for some remote gaming.

While an integrated footrest like on the Hbada X7 or even a standalone one like with the LiberNovo Omni would have been nice, it was still quite comfortable playing some PC games using the Steam Link app while laying almost completely flat in the Iskur V2 NewGen.

Lumbar that moves with you

Just like with the Iskur V2, the adaptive lumbar support is one of the standout features of this gaming chair. After using it as my daily driver for the past two months, it’s easy to see why.

Unlike a traditional lumbar support mechanism, this one is able to move with you as you shift from side to side in the Iskur V2 NewGen. For instance, you can feel it move if you look over to either side from your desk. However, I found it to be even more useful in fast-paced games where I tend to move around a bit more than I normally would while working.

While the lumbar support systems in some of the office chairs I reviewed are completely static — meaning they don't pivot or track your spine dynamically as you shift — Razer's system lets you fine-tune its position both vertically and horizontally.

A knob on the left side of the Iskur V2 NewGen allows you to move the lumbar support up and down so it can perfectly align with the small of your back. The knob on the right side is what really impressed me with the original Iskur V2 and this refreshed model.

When you turn this knob, the lumbar support mechanism either extends or retracts. As 1HP’s Dr. Matthew Hwu explained to me a few years ago at Razer’s CES booth, if you tend to lean forward while playing the best PC games at your desk, then you might want to extend the Iskur V2 NewGen’s lumbar support all the way forward. That way, you can sit in your preferred gaming position without hurting your back.

As for me, while I did play some Death Stranding 2 on PC while seated in the Iskur V2 NewGen, I actually spent the majority of my time testing the chair out while playing Star Fox on the Nintendo Switch 2 ahead of my review. During those epic interstellar dog fights with Star Wolf, I put the chair’s adaptive lumbar support to good use as I dodged incoming enemy laser fire.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen: The downs

The Razer Iskur V2 NewGen certainly performs as a gaming chair but it isn’t without its downsides which include its higher price and how the upgraded cooling tech in its EPU leather just can’t match mesh.

Cooler but still not cool enough

Since I live in Houston, Texas, using a mesh office chair like the Steelcase Karman or the more affordable Branch Aire Chair really isn’t an option — it’s a must.

Given we’re at the start of what’s already looking to be a very hot and humid summer, I was initially a bit reluctant about testing the Iskur V2 NewGen. However, since I tried and really liked the standard Iskur V2, I figured I’d see how well this chair’s new cooling tech performed in a less than ideal situation.

To make this refreshed chair cooler, Razer switched to a new version of its EPU synthetic leather which has CoolTouch fibers embedded within it. On paper, this sounds like it should really make a difference but in my testing, even this high-tech new material fell a bit short for me.

When I was using the Iskur V2 NewGen out in my game room with just a tower fan — alongside central air — to keep me cool, I found that I got sweaty faster than I normally would with a mesh office chair. It got so bad that I moved my Govee Smart Tower Fan 2 Max from in front of our couch over to my desk at the back of the room. That made things slightly better.

In my final week or so testing the Iskur V2 NewGen, I brought it into my office which has a large overhead fan. Maybe it’s due to the room being much smaller but this certainly made a difference.

Now, if you’re using the Iskur V2 NewGen in a more temperate climate, I doubt you’ll run into the issues I did with it. However, if you’re in a warmer and muggier location like I am, I’d recommend the Razer Fujin Pro, which is designed more like a mesh office chair than a traditional gaming chair.

Upgrading at a premium

At $649, the Iskur V2 NewGen is certainly an investment. However, if you have a bad back or want a chair with a wider seat and backrest, it could definitely be worth it. While you might look a tad silly in video calls, I found the Iskur V2 NewGen just as comfortable to work in as it was to game in.

If you’re after a premium gaming chair but want to pick one up at a slightly lower price, the Secretlab Titan Evo starts at $549 and unlike the Iskur V2 NewGen, it’s available in both fabric and leather. Then again, if you like the design of this chair and don’t necessarily need adaptive lumbar support or 4D armrests, you could always opt for the less expensive Razer Iskur V2 X NewGen for $349.

While the Iskur V2 NewGen is on the expensive side, it is cheaper than the Herman Miller Vantum which costs nearly $1,000. On the other hand though, the Vantum won’t look out of place in a video call for work as from the front, it looks just like any other mesh office chair.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen: Verdict

The Razer Iskur V2 NewGen is an excellent gaming chair with a one-of-a-kind adaptive lumbar support system that makes a major difference every time you sit in it. While its high-tech EPU synthetic leather left a bit to be desired for me personally, this new material is still a significant upgrade over past versions and under the right conditions, it can keep you cool while gaming for longer. Likewise, the Iskur V2 NewGen is incredibly easy to put together and to fine-tune its adjustments to your liking.

If you’re looking for a traditional, racing-style gaming chair but still want the ergonomic support you get from an office chair, you’d be hard-pressed to find this level of comfort and polish anywhere else. Still, you are paying a bit more for the privilege. However, if you game for long hours daily or plan to have the Iskur V2 NewGen serve double duty as your work-from-home chair, then it could certainly be worth it.

I’ve loved the Nintendo Switch 2 since launch. I said as much in my review last summer, where I labeled it the “hybrid console of my dreams.” 12 months later, and that stance hasn’t changed. However, I’ve had one persistent issue from day one: the relatively paltry internal storage.

The Switch 2 comes packing 256GB of internal storage (of that, only 249GB is usable), and there’s no escaping the fact this isn’t enough in a gaming landscape where blockbuster games boast install sizes best measured in dozens of GBs. Want to install Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition? That’s 60GB gone? Final Fantasy VII Rebirth? You need 90.5GB of space.

Even physical games won’t save you much room, with the emergence of the controversial “Game-Key Cards,” the entire game is installed on your Switch 2, similar to how discs work on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Yes, Switch 2 game files come in all shapes and sizes (The excellent puzzler Blue Prince takes up just 3.8GB), but if you want to play blockbuster games on the go, or have a large library installed at once, prepare for storage headaches.

For me, having a large cross-section of my Nintendo library installed at once is a necessity because I primarily use my Switch 2 for traveling. The last thing I want to do while on the road is be trying to find a Wi-Fi spot strong enough to download a Switch 2 game that’s taken my fancy.

Fortunately, upgrading your storage is a breeze; the process takes 30 seconds. The downside? Compatible microSD Express Cards are pricey.

So much room for more Switch 2 games

I recently got my hands on a 512GB Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card, and it’s been a revelation. The install process is almost laughably simple.

Get your chosen microSD card (remember, it must be an Express model), lift up the Switch 2’s rear kickstand, and insert the card into the console’s SD card slot. Give your Switch 2 a few moments to format, and you’re all done. Nintendo really couldn’t have made the process any smoother.

As is typical with additional storage solutions, you don’t get the full memory listed on the packaging. With the 512GB Lexar Play Pro installed in my Switch 2, I was given an extra 465GB of storage capacity. When factoring in the internal storage (which remains useable), this is a pretty healthy amount of wiggle room, even as Switch 2 game install sizes balloon.

I’ve tested out several of the best Switch 2 games running off the Lexar Play Pro, including Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and recently, the new Switch 2 port of Devil May Cry 5 (it's epic!). I’ve noticed no increase in loading times compared to playing these titles from the Switch 2’s internal storage, and no reduction in performance.

So, all of this is to say, if you also feel your Nintendo Switch 2’s built-in storage just isn’t big enough, then a microSD such as the Lexar Play Pro becomes a practically essential accessory. With the card snugly installed in my console, my only major remaining gripe with the hybrid console is the pretty lackluster battery life. Maybe I need to pick up a battery pack next?

More Switch 2 storage, but at a price

The asterisk on my glowing recommendation of the Lexar Play Pro microSD is the price. As of writing, on Amazon, a 256GB card costs $84 (currently 15% off, was $99); the model I’ve been testing, the 512GB, is priced at $149, and the largest size, a whopping 1TB, is a wallet-stinging $349. These prices aren’t dealbreakers, but they’re not impulse buys.

The big question is which size is suitable for most Switch 2 owners. I actually did buy a 256GB card last summer, but found the increased storage still wasn’t enough to keep pace with my growing Switch 2 library.

Meanwhile, much as I think the 1TB option will futureproof your console for years to come, ensuring an abundance of storage, $349 is an excessive price and likely pushes the card beyond the budget of most Switch 2 owners.

It’s the 512GB Lexar Play Pro microSD Card that finds the healthiest middle ground. You’re more than doubling your Switch 2 storage capacity, and while $149 isn’t cheap, it’s more budget-friendly than the 1TB option. If you’re looking to upgrade your own Switch 2 storage, I would recommend the 512GB card. It offers the best balance of storage and price, at present.

Of course, whether you need extra storage is a matter of personal preference. If you’re happy to be diligent with deleting/redownloading games, or only plan to play a small selection of titles at any one time, then you can absolutely enjoy the console with just the internal storage. While 256GB isn’t exactly roomy, it’s enough to install a handful of bigger titles.

However, if you’ve been a day-one Switch 2 owner since last June, or even if you just recently joined the ownership club (welcome!), and have found your storage space dwindling, then picking up a microSD card is a smart investment and resolves one of the console’s more noticeable flaws.

More from Tom's Guide

• Splatoon Raiders hands-on preview: I'm already hooked
• Best Nintendo Switch 2 games in 2026
• I gave my Switch 2 an upgrade, and saved $55 in the process

The official Grand Theft Auto 6 launch isn't for several months, but pre-orders have been in full swing since the end of June. You may want to be careful if you try to order the game, though.

Security researchers from Kaspersky recently released a warning via email to Tom's Guide that cybercriminals are using the hype around GTA 6 to deploy a "wide range of fraud schemes." The most common scheme appears to be fake pre-order websites or false video tutorials on how to get the game.

"Highly anticipated game releases have long presented significant opportunities for cybercriminals, and we are already detecting related fraudulent activity," Olga Altukhova, a Senior Web Content Analyst at Kaspersky, said in the report. "These schemes are carefully timed to capitalize on heightened consumer excitement: attackers understand that periods of intense anticipation can lower users’ guard and create a false sense of urgency."

The fake sites utilize graphics and copy that mimic Rockstar's branding, including real trailers and promotional artwork. They offer gamers the ability to pre-order the game for the PS5 or Xbox.

Unfortunately, when users enter their personal details and payment information, it sets them up to potentially have their bank accounts drained and sensitive data compromised.

According to Kaspersky, the false pages have been found in multiple languages, which indicates that scammers are targeting unsuspecting people across the globe.

Other frauds to avoid

Fake websites aren't the only scam. At least one website was offering what it claimed to be a beta version of the game as a download framing it as a leak.

The false beta was promoted on social media and streaming platforms where scammers showed gamers how to "safely" download the game. Downloading and opening the file enabled malware to be installed on your system which could lead to compromised data and unauthorized access.

Finally, cryptocurrency owners are also being targeted via suspicious websites promoting tokens using GTA 6 branding.

How to safely pre-order and avoid scammers

As always, when it comes to software, whether games or programs, we always recommend you purchase or download from official sources.

GTA 6 is only launching on PS5 and Xbox Series S and X this November. If you're interested, purchase the game through the storefronts on your console of choice. Or you can go to the official Rockstar GTA 6 site and pre-order there.

Kaspersky recommends using a prepaid card when purchasing games to avoid exposing your credit card or bank account information. It's an extra step but good practice for keeping your financial information safe.

Even beyond of GTA 6, you should always double-check the URL formats of websites you're visiting, especially ones you're not familiar with. Also check the spelling of names and organizations where typos can reveal falsehoods.

Online scams often end up with nasty malware infections, so you want to keep your devices protected as well. Make sure that you're using the best antivirus software on your Windows PC, the best Mac antivirus software on your Apple computer, and one of the best Android antivirus apps on your Android smartphone

For even greater protection and help recovering any funds lost to scams, you may also want to consider signing up for one of the best identity theft protection services.

Finally, consider enabling multi-factor authentication and monitoring accounts regularly, which can help warn you about unauthorized access.

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• 3 cloud gaming services I recommend if gaming platforms are too expensive
• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake done right — and the best pirate game I’ve ever played
• I grinded enough Microsoft reward points to get GTA 6 for free — here's how you can do it too

After 19 years, 14 mainline installments, more than half a dozen spin-offs, and several remasters of varying quality, Ubisoft has finally decided to give an Assassin’s Creed game the full remake treatment, and the French publisher couldn’t have selected an AC game more worthy of a proper current-gen redux than 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Eagle-eyed fans might spot the numeral has been dropped, with this remake known simply as Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, but this is far from the only change. Nearly every aspect of Black Flag has been modernized. The visuals have been overhauled, core systems have been improved, and the modern-day storyline has been mercifully jettisoned.

If the original release was the best AAA pirate game ever made (and in this critic's book, it earned that title), then Resynced only enhances Black Flag’s claim to the crown. This is the definitive way to experience Edward Kenway’s high-sea adventures across the Caribbean.

Some old friction remains, as Resynced also struggles to mesh its pirate sandbox with its place in the convoluted Assassin’s Creed timeline. However, when you’re sailing the vast ocean, looking for ships to raid while your crew sings a variety of sea shanties, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced reminds you why this beloved entry remains a firm fan-favorite.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: The Basics

• What is it? Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a ground-up remake of 2013’s AC IV: Black Flag. You play Edward Kenway, a pirate in the 18th-century Caribbean seeking his fortune and who’s caught up in an historical conflict.
• Who is it for? Longtime Assassin’s Creed fans with a fondness for the original will love Resynced. But anybody who enjoys a third-person action-adventure game set in a sizeable open world will find plenty to treasure here.
• What’s the price? Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced costs $59 at Amazon. There’s also a Deluxe Edition for $69 on digital storefronts, which includes some extra cosmetic booty.
• What other games has the developer made? Black Flag Resynced comes from Ubisoft Singapore. The studio has worked across the AC franchise and was lead developer on 2024’s also-pirate-themed Skull and Bones.
• What games is it similar to? A remake of the 2013 game, Black Flag Resynced has the classic AC DNA before the series transitioned to a full RPG. It’s the reliable AC open-world experience only with more swashbuckling - which is a good thing in my books.

Welcome (back) to the Golden Age of Piracy

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced welcomes players back to the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. You play Edward Kenway, a pirate seeking his fortune during this cut-throat period in history. After a skirmish with a member of the Hidden Ones, Kenway steals his identity and gets caught in the middle of the Assassins vs. Templars conflict.

Compared to many of the franchise’s more noble protagonists, Kenway’s roguish charms and “what’s in it for me” attitude were a breath of fresh air in 2013. That’s still true all these years later. While he’s by no means a sadistic, heartless pirate, his primary motivations for getting his hands dirty are being paid a large sack of gold coins. In Resynced, Kenway is once again voiced by Matt Ryan, who brings the character to life with charming swagger.

His adventures across the sun-soaked ocean see him interact with various real-life historical figures, including Anne Bonny, Benjamin Hornigold and, of course, Edward “Blackbeard” Thatch. The Assassin’s Creed series is known for using real-world history as its playground, and Black Flag does this better than most AC games that came before and the ones after.

It’s a pirate's life for me

Black Flag Resynced is at its best when it’s less of an Assassin’s Creed game, and more of a pirate sandbox. Early in the story, Kenway takes charge of his own brig, christened the Jackdaw, and from here, you’re free to neglect the main story to live life on the high seas.

Naval battles are consistently exciting. Your Jackdaw starts particularly feeble, unable to take on more than rinky-dinky merchant ships. After obtaining a few upgrades with your ill-gotten spoils, you can build a craft capable of blowing your enemies out of the water, literally. Maneuvering your ship through the water is simple: sails can be lowered and raised with a single button, and firing your cannons and mortars is equally straightforward.

I can’t count the number of times I set a waypoint to guide me towards a particular quest, and then ended up taking an unplanned detour to attack a passing British or Spanish naval convoy. Once your Jackdaw is powerful enough to hold its own against the many armored fleets that populate the vast ocean, you’ll find yourself losing hours to the simple joys of being an up-to-no-good pirate. As Kenway, my need for more treasure was insatiable.

Unlike Ubisoft’s ill-fated Skull and Bones (released to muted reviews in 2024), Black Flag doesn’t just take place at sea. It also offers the freedom to take to dry land and engage in all the usual Assassin’s Creed trappings, from scaling large buildings to get a vantage point (which populates your map with markers) to locating locked chests with worthwhile loot.

Resynced developer Ubisoft Singapore has kept the bones of the original Black Flag intact. It’s not gone full-RPG like more recent Assassin’s Creed titles. So, there are no gear levels or suite of mystical powers at your disposal. When you clash steel, it’s a case of swinging your sword and hitting the counter button when your enemy responds. And yes, the game’s notorious gory takedown animations return, and they look even more brutal this time around.

As an Assassin’s Creed game, stealth is also a fundamental pillar of missions, and these sections largely work well. Leaping from a tall tree to stab your hidden blade into an enemy's neck is simple, but always satisfying. Though the enemy A.I. is particularly easy to exploit, with soldiers often failing to spot Kenway skulking through a camp even when in plain view.

Conflicting with the Creed

There’s a curious, and at times especially frustrating, conflict at the heart of Black Flag, and for all its enhancements, this is one area where Resynced isn’t able to improve on the original.

The problem is that being a pirate is just infinitely more enjoyable and rewarding than being an Assassin. I found myself less motivated to progress the game’s reasonably lengthy 25-hour main campaign, because sailing the seas with my crew remains the real appeal.

Whenever I was drawn into a story beat, my mind would wander, wishing I could get back behind the wheel of the Jackdaw hunting for ships to board and strip of their valuables.

It’s not helped that the Assassin’s Creed lore and the ongoing “Templars vs Assassins” thread have always been more convoluted than compelling. At least Resynced strips away the original’s first-person modern-day segments. An omission I think few players will miss.

A modern classic for a new generation

As a remake, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a marvel. It doesn’t just make the game look so much prettier, but also smooths rough edges and adds new content that shines a spotlight on the game at its best. However, I am a little disappointed the original’s Freedom Cry DLC has been axed. Surely, it could have been incorporated into Resynced.

There are more additions and tweaks in Resynced than I could list here, but it feels like every part of the game has been polished. This includes essential additions like a dedicated crouch button (how did the original lack one?) and the game’s infamous tailing objectives being reworked so you no longer automatically fail if spotted. Instead, if your target clocks you, the quest carries on, and you have to pivot your approach to account for your mistake.

New content includes fresh customization options, larger underwater areas to explore, and new collectible sea shanties. The most noteworthy are a set of officer missions that flesh out your on-deck companions. These introduce you to new characters such as shipwright Lucy Baldwin and a former pirate turned priest. They’re an excellent addition, and tell personal stories that I found more interesting than the majority of narrative beats in the main story.

And while, as noted, Resynced does a lot more than just make AC Black Flag look even prettier, the complete visual overhaul shouldn’t be glossed over. Resynced looks like how I remember Black Flag looking, but check a side-by-side comparison, and the difference is night and day. This digital recreation of 18th-century West Indies is downright stunning.

In fact, the game is such a visual treat that the small blemishes stick out a little bit more. Clipping is a persistent issue, with swords and flowing clothing refusing to play nice. I was also disappointed to spend an entire play session hunting down Templar keys to unlock a swanky new outfit, only for its plush raised collar to morph into Kenway’s stubbly chin.

Nevertheless, I can forgive minor technical hiccups when, for the most part, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced delivers an experience that makes the idea of returning to the original deeply unpalatable. And that’s the bar that all remakes should strive to meet.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: Verdict

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced successfully respects the legacy of the original, while bringing a host of additions and upgrades that now feel vital to the overall experience. You can’t really ask for more from a remake; Resynced lives up to the Black Flag name.

But Resynced can’t fix every problem with the original; the conflict between its grand pirate adventure and the need to conform to the Assassin’s Creed template still creates a disconnect. But in a gaming industry curiously lacking in AAA titles that let you live out your pirate fantasies, Black Flag Resynced offers everything a landlubber like me could want.

GTA 6 pre-orders went live last week, and if you haven't secured a copy yet or you'd rather not pay full price for it, Microsoft Rewards could help cover the cost.

I used the program to earn enough points to redeem Microsoft Gift Cards, letting me preorder the game without paying out of pocket. If you start now and stick with it over the next few months, you could do the same and grab the year's biggest game release without spending a dime.

How to set up for success with Microsoft Rewards

It all starts with something you're probably already doing — searching the web.

Instead of using Google on your phone or laptop, you can begin your quest for a free copy of GTA 6 by switching to and using Bing as your default search engine. Be sure to sign in with a Microsoft account and log into Bing with that account each time you search, though!

Once you're signed up, you can add a few daily Microsoft Rewards activities to your routine. They only take a few minutes and can significantly increase your point total over time. Even better, if you’re an Xbox or PC gamer, you can earn even more points simply by playing select games you already own, or by shopping for new games.

The ultimate goal for a free copy of GTA 6 on Xbox is to redeem 85,500 Microsoft Rewards points, while also reaching Level 2 status, which unlocks discounted redemption rates.

Point redemptions, explained

At Level 2 on Microsoft Rewards, you can redeem 10,000 points for a $10 Microsoft Gift Card, 25,000 points for $25, or 50,000 points for $50. Combined, that's enough to cover the standard Xbox version of GTA 6, including sales tax in many states. If you're aiming for the Ultimate Edition, you'll want to save 100,000 points for a $100 gift card, though you'll likely need to cover sales tax with your own cash.

If you're planning to buy GTA 6 on PS5 instead, Amazon gift cards are another option, though they typically require more points and aren't always available on Microsoft Rewards. When they're in stock, you can redeem 10,500 points for $10, 26,250 points for $25, 52,000 points for $50, or 105,000 points for a $100 gift card.

Microsoft Rewards also stocks Best Buy gift cards, should you prefer that retailer. It’s the most expensive gift card available — 14,000 points for a $10 Best Buy card, 35,000 points for $25 or 70,000 points for $50. You can max out at 140,000 points for $100.

Just remember, whichever route you choose, you'll need to keep earning at least 500 points each month to maintain the discounted redemption rate.

Microsoft is also known to frequently change Rewards offers, redemption rates, and available gift cards. The rates are current at the time of writing, so the exact number of points required may vary over time.

Every search counts

I've been using Microsoft Rewards for years, so I already had more than enough points to redeem the game for free. But even if you're just starting, you can still build a healthy balance before GTA 6 launches and, at the very least, take a big chunk off the asking price.

The easiest points earned come from Bing searches. Currently, you can earn up to 250 points per day by completing web searches across both your PC and phone, with each search worth 5 points. 100 total for mobile, and 150 total for PC.

Over a week, that’s 1,750 points, and in a month of 30 days, roughly 7,000 points. If you keep that pace up by the time GTA 6 launches, you'll earn around 42,000 points, which already knocks $40 or half off the price of the game on Xbox.

Downloading the Bing mobile app gives you even more opportunities. You can check in to the app every day for a seven-day streak to earn bonus points, complete Bing's daily news reading tasks for up to 30 points per day, and keep searching on consecutive days to collect puzzle pieces that can unlock a 1,000-point bonus. The app has plenty of offers, so it’s always good to check the Rewards section!

Combined, these activities can add thousands of extra points over several months. Even without playing Xbox or PC games or buying anything from Microsoft, you'll still make meaningful progress toward covering the cost of GTA 6.

Bonus tips for more rewards

If you own an Xbox or regularly play games on PC, the rewards add up even faster. You can always check the Microsoft Rewards dashboard on the web, or the Xbox app for bonus activities, since these are always changing.

During the week I wrote this article, I earned 50 points from search bonuses with the Windows 11 Search Box, around 30 points per day from Microsoft's Daily Set, and 40 points each day for simply playing Forza Horizon 6 for 15 minutes on PC through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Oh, and don’t forget that purchases from the Microsoft Store earn Rewards points too. Every dollar you spend with Microsoft helps build your balance, making future game purchases like GTA 6 even cheaper. Rates are 10:1 for Level 2 members of Microsoft Rewards.

I've accumulated nearly 2.5 million Microsoft Rewards points since joining the program, redeeming them for games, $200 toward a PS5, and another $200 toward a MacBook Pro. It takes consistency rather than luck, but spending just a few minutes each day searching with Bing and completing Microsoft's daily activities can add up to meaningful savings when you really want to buy something nice.

Microsoft Rewards might not replace an actual paycheck, but if you're already using Microsoft's services, the points can add up surprisingly quickly and help offset some of your gaming costs.

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I’m spending my summer trying to figure out which titles from the tidal waves of new games dropping in September/October I’m going to make a priority before GTA 6 arrives. Originally I had The Blood of Dawnwalker, the upcoming fantasy RPG from debut developers Rebel Wolves (which includes several ex-Witcher 3 devs), edging towards the skip column.

I was intrigued by this role-playing game set in 14th-century medieval Europe (but with a fantasy, vampire twist), but wasn’t fully convinced that it needed to be on my must-play list in what’s shaping up to be one of the most overcrowded months for new games I’ve ever seen. And then I got to play four hours of The Blood of Dawnwalker at a recent preview event…

I guess I’m going back to the drawing board pronto to figure out how to fit this RPG into my fall gaming schedule, because having gotten a taste of The Blood of Dawnwalker’s excellent third-person combat, compelling day/night system, and dark fantasy story, I’m very eager to get back to the sprawling and content-rich Kingdom of Vale Sangora as soon as possible.

The RPG apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

As noted, The Blood of Dawnwalker comes from new studio Rebel Wolves, led by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, a former developer at The Witcher-creator CD Projekt Red. It’s fair to say that under Tomaszkiewicz’s direction, Rebel Wolves are sticking with a role-playing formula that works well.

With a dark European fantasy setting, an eerily familiar UI and inventory screen, a musical score that feels ripped straight from The Wild Hunt, and even a protagonist complete with facial scars and flowing locks, The Blood of Dawnwalker takes plenty of obvious cues from The Witcher series.

Taking lessons from one of the best RPGs of all time is certainly no bad thing, and if you spent hundreds of hours adventuring as Geralt of Rivia, I think you’re going to feel right at home in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Within a few moments of picking up the controller, I felt comfort.

You play Coen, a human male, living with his family in a small village under the rule of an ancient vampire, Brencis. After a prologue sequence, Brencis turns Coen into a creature of the night, but rather than going full vampire, he becomes a Dawnwalker, essentially a being with human characteristics in the day and vampire abilities when the sun sets.

It’s a great setup for an RPG, allowing Coen to walk on both sides, somewhere between man and monster. And while my access to main story missions was limited beyond the prologue portion, I got a sense that much of The Blood of Dawnwalker will focus on deciding whether Coen retains his humanity or fully gives in to his new darker impulses.

Clashing steel swords, sharp claws and more

If much of the RPG trappings of The Blood of Dawnwalker crib from The Witcher 3, one area it does strike out on its own is the combat. Yes, it’s a third-person title, where you’ll often clash steel with guards and larger beasts, but the combat is built around a directional system. Think a third-person equivalent of the system in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

When you press the attack button, you also push the right joystick in one of four directions to strike left/right or up/down. The same goes for blocking; you have to block in the direction an enemy swings at you. You can’t just hold the block button and expect to emerge unscathed.

It took me a few encounters to get my bearings, but once I did, combat became rhythm-like. When I got into a flow, the satisfaction was immense.

Even more so when I took on an enemy camp I was clearly underleveled for, and managed to come out victorious (after multiple failed attempts) without taking a single hit. My feeling of victory was short-lived when I proceeded into a dungeon and came face-to-face with a tough miniboss.

Of course, just swinging a sword for dozens of hours could get pretty dull, so combat is spiced up with vampire powers, like being able to chomp on a foe's neck, both dealing damage and healing Ceon in the process.

During the day, when Ceon reverts to human, these powers are locked, but he can use magic to compensate. These all tie into the game’s deep skill trees, which offer your usual standard buffs like increased health or stamina, to more intriguing options that augment your vampire powers.

One slight concern with the combat is the camera, which is prone to erratic movements as it tries to account for enemies attacking you from off-screen while still giving you an indication of which way they’re swinging so you can block. I took several hits (and Ceon can’t take many even on the base difficulty) because the camera had lost its bearings.

Questing all day, and all night

Up to this point, I’ve been holding back what is The Blood of Dawnwalker’s most interesting and refreshing mechanic: Its day/night cycle.

For story reasons, which I won’t spoil, Ceon has exactly 30 days and 30 nights to defeat Brencis and his trio of vampire generals (each controls a different area of the open-world map). While the game doesn’t go full Dead Rising with a constantly ticking clock, your time isn’t infinite.

Progressing certain quests moves time forward. For example, I began a quest to destroy a barrel of blood-sucking leeches, used to nourish Brencis and his loyal allies, during the dead of night. Completing this simple quest cost me several “chunks” of time, pushing me closer to the dawn.

The game always warns you when a quest/activity will move time forward, which creates a great sense of urgency. In other RPGs, it’s easy to neglect the main quest to wander the world and complete all manner of side-quests, and while you are free to do the same in Blood of Dawnwalker, there is an ever-present feeling that you haven't got time to waste.

Moving the clock forward isn’t something to fear — after all, sometimes it’s necessary; certain quests and activities can only be completed as a vampire at night, others are locked until the brightness of daytime as a human — but it did result in me auto-failing a quest at the final hurdle.

I didn’t have the required time allowance left to complete the quest before a mandatory storybeat triggered. I’m curious to see if, in the full game, you can “waste” your time and get essentially locked out of major quests.

My early outlook on The Blood of Dawnwalker

The Blood of Dawnwalker gave me the exact feeling you always want after a hands-on session. I entered curious, but somewhat skeptical, and I left a full convert — and more than a little frustrated that I won’t be able to continue Coen’s adventure until the game’s launch in early September.

Its RPG nuts-and-bolts feel very familiar, but its more precise combat kept encounters engaging, and its day/night system, built around a looming deadline, made deciding what to do next feel surprisingly weighty.

Speaking to some of the team at Rebel Wolves afterward, they stressed that “choices” will play a significant part in The Blood of Dawnwalker, so I’m eager to see what tough calls lie ahead as you progress the main story.

The competition for my fall playtime will be fierce. However, after playing The Blood of Dawnwalker for four hours, I’m chomping at the bit to experience more, and already know I’m going to be carving out several dozen hours to experience everything it has to offer later this year.

The Blood of Dawnwalker launches September 3 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Stay tuned for Tom’s Guide’s full review closer to launch.

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It seems like there’s no going back. I initially thought that Sony’s decision to phase out physical discs for PlayStation 5 had such a long run-in time that there was deliberate wiggle room for a slightly embarrassing U-turn before 2028.

However, The Verge is reporting that Sony’s Thalgau plant is already being repurposed to make optical microlenses instead. In other words, this wasn’t testing the waters with an announcement and checking for feedback — this was fait accompli: a decision already decided upon, with loyal customers the last to know.

No wonder the company’s popular Xbox-baiting game loaning video from the PS4 era is now being thrown back in its corporate face. Despite effectively taking brutal advantage of Microsoft’s anti-consumer error with a viral marketing video, Sony got to a very similar place in the end. It just took them longer.

Assuming there is no room for the expensive U-turn that Microsoft ended up screeching around 13 years ago, then that’s the end of the road for me with PlayStation.

It’s not that I’m averse to digital gaming, I just have very little faith in Sony’s ability to deliver it at a reasonable price.

The worst of both worlds

In theory, I can see the case for a digital-only console. A PS6 without a disc drive should be cheaper to manufacture (though that doesn’t mean cheap, given the soaring price of hardware), and as a PC gamer, I haven’t owned a computer with a disc drive in well over a decade.

But I consciously made the opposite choice when I pre-ordered my day-one PS5: I paid extra for the model with a disc drive, safe in the knowledge that over the long run, the extra cost would be recouped, after borrowing and trading in games had been taken into account.

Which isn’t to say I don’t see the benefit of digital. While nine times out of ten, I would buy the disc version for resale value and the ability to loan my favourite games to friends, I still would buy from the PlayStation store occasionally. After all, you can’t beat the convenience of instantly accessing a game no matter what time of day or night. The PlayStation Store never sleeps.

Indeed, 99% of my PC games come digitally via Steam, and it works brilliantly. But it’s not a like-for-like comparison, because ironically part of what makes Steam such a popular option is its competition. There’s no shortage of places to buy PC games from the Epic Store to GOG, so Steam can’t rest on its laurels: its prices have to stay competitive, especially during the frequent sales.

Sony could replicate this, allowing third-party game stores on PS6, but why would it? If there’s only one place to buy games, Sony can charge a healthy platform fee for every sale, safe in the knowledge that there’s no alternative (Valve gets away with between 20 and 30% depending on sales figures, despite gamers being able to vote with their feet).

There was outrage when it was announced that PS5 games would cost $70, but at least people knew they could recoup some of the costs when finished. With development costs spiralling, it wouldn’t be surprising if PS6 pricing goes even higher — and we’ve already seen some evidence of this price inflation with the MSRP of $80 plus for the digital-first GTA 6.

Without physical game shops to compete with, Sony has far more control over sales too. The company can reduce both frequency and discount percentage, safe in the knowledge that you’ve got no alternative. If you want the game, you’ll have to pay whatever Sony wants or go without.

That’s not even considering the other downsides of digital-only games. What if your account gets hacked and Sony bans you? You’ve lost access to all the games you’d paid for. What if Sony decides to remove a game before you downloaded it? Tough luck, it’s gone forever. That’s why PS4 consoles with the deleted PT demo were listed on Ebay for over $1,000 a decade ago.

Farewell PlayStation

With the expected price of PS6 blowing past even those PT scalping prices, I was already contemplating opting out of a Sony console for the first time since I was at university with my trusty GameCube.

This move seals the deal. I’ll keep playing PS5 games, but once publishers stop making them and I finish my substantial backlog, I’ll turn off a PlayStation console for the last time. If I have to play digital-only, my PC and Steam Deck will get all the love going forward. Thanks anyway, Sony.

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Thanks to RAMageddon driving up the cost of consoles and PC components — not to mention $80 games potentially becoming the standard — gaming is now more expensive than it has been in ages. If you already own a (functional) gaming console or PC, then you’re largely unaffected. But for those looking to get into the hobby or who just want lower-cost options, it’s not as simple as it used to be.

One alternative is cloud gaming. Instead of shelling out for expensive hardware, you can stream games from powerful remote servers loaded with high-end GPUs. So long as you have a stable internet connection (50 Mbps+ and wired, if possible) and the appropriate peripherals (a controller or a mouse and keyboard), you can play games on your laptop, phone, tablet, or smart TV. No giant installs eating your SSD either!

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the first option I would think of either. Like you, I prefer to play games locally on a device. And cloud gaming isn’t perfect, as latency and compression depend on your connection. But playing games online has become more reliable over the years. With a stable internet connection and the wealth of games in digital libraries, it’s not a bad way to play.

If you’re willing to give cloud gaming a shot, there are several services to choose from. To that end, I’ve selected three of the best cloud gaming services for most players. I’ve tested and played on each one, so I can vouch for their strengths and weaknesses. No matter which one you opt for, you won’t go wrong — it just depends on your needs.

Nvidia GeForce Now

Nvidia GeForce Now is the cloud gaming service I recommend to most folks and the one I’ve enjoyed using the most over the years. It allows you to play games that you already own on Steam, Epic, Ubisoft, and other PC accounts, streamed right from Nvidia’s servers. If you already have an extensive library of PC games, GeForce Now is hard to top.

There is a free tier with limitations, plus paid Performance ($10 a month / $100 a year) and Ultimate tiers ($20 a month / $200 a year) that unlock better rigs, priority queuing, higher resolutions/frame rates, and extras like ray tracing and DLSS 4 at the top end. Ultimate taps into RTX 50-series-level performance. On a good connection, you might think that you’re playing a game locally instead of streaming it. If your existing laptop or older desktop struggles with newer, graphically demanding games, GeForce Now lets you play your existing library without dropping a ton of cash on new hardware.

As great as GeForce Now is, it has some notable setbacks beyond the usual issues associated with cloud gaming. You’ll need to own the games (or stick with the supported free-to-play titles), and not every game from your library will be available since publishers have to opt in. If you game regularly, the free tier isn’t ideal as you’ll have to endure queues during peak times and shorter or lower-priority sessions.

Drawbacks aside, Nvidia GeForce Now is an excellent cloud gaming service that has only gotten better over time. For those with sizeable Steam/Epic backlogs who want a way to play their games on whatever device they own, this is the closest thing to a high-end local experience that you can get.

Xbox Cloud Gaming (via Game Pass Ultimate)

The next-best cloud gaming service is Xbox Cloud Gaming. Don’t let its name fool you, as you don’t need to own an Xbox to use it.

This service allows you to stream a huge library of titles (over 500 at the time of writing) directly from Microsoft’s servers as part of Game Pass Ultimate ($23 a month). This includes day-one releases for many big Xbox and Bethesda games, plus EA Play integration. Xbox Cloud Gaming is available on phones, tablets, PCs, browsers, and smart TVs. You don’t need to own any of the rotating list of titles as they’re included while your subscription is active.

That last point is both good and bad, as the library isn’t static. Games regularly rotate in and out, so a game you’ve fallen in love with might disappear next month. Streaming quality is generally solid but can show compression or slightly higher latency than GeForce Now, which I’ve experienced myself. And since you don’t own the games, canceling your subscription means you lose access to everything.

If you’re an Xbox fan or like the games on offer, Xbox Cloud Gaming is an affordable way to access hundreds of games without an Xbox or an expensive PC.

Amazon Luna

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, Amazon Luna is still around! This is easily one of the least talked-about cloud gaming services, but it’s actually a pretty decent service for casual gamers. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you already have Luna Standard… even if you didn’t know it.

A $10 Luna+ subscription gives you access to a curated mix of indies, party games, and older favorites. Luna doesn’t have the deepest AAA catalog, but for an extra cost, you can add channels like Ubisoft+ for higher-end games. Naturally, Luna integrates well with Prime (monthly rotating Prime Gaming titles) and works smoothly on Fire TV devices, with good controller support, including Amazon’s own Luna controller. Yes, that’s still around too!

Where Luna falls short is in its game depth. The core library is much smaller than on Game Pass or what GeForce Now can access through your collection. If you want to play the latest blockbuster titles or want a variety of day-one releases, Luna is decidedly limited. Extras via channels can get expensive if you want a broader range of games. And though the experience is generally solid, it doesn’t quite match the visual fidelity or raw performance of GeForce Now’s Ultimate tier.

Amazon Luna might not razzle-dazzle, but it’s an easy entry point or supplement. If you’re more of a casual gamer who wants an affordable way to mess around with some titles and already have an Amazon Prime subscription, it’s certainly worth a look.

Give cloud gaming a shot

Cloud gaming cannot fully replace a local high-end rig or console if you prioritize zero latency, max settings, offline play, or permanent ownership. But with RAMageddon making upgrades painful, cloud gaming services let you keep playing (or start fresh) without dropping a fortune on components that are only getting more expensive.

The cloud gaming services I’ve listed in this piece should give you a clear picture of which one is best for you. Again, I understand that the idea of cloud gaming might sound alien, but it’s not a bad option for keeping you gaming until you can spring for new hardware. At the very least, you’ll save money now that you can spend later if and when prices settle (or you find a good deal). Your wallet will thank you.

More from Tom's Guide

• Stop Killing Games Founder on PlayStation's decision to kill physical discs
• PlayStation is officially killing physical discs
• PS6 price could be in the same stratosphere as the Steam Machine

This week, PlayStation announced its plans to stop producing physical game discs for titles released on its platform starting in January 2028. The internet's response has been strong and loud. In fact, I don’t think I’ve spoken to a single gamer who is in any way supportive of this decision.

Among the outraged, the main points of contention seem to be how this will affect those who take pride in displaying their vast physical game collection, and what this decision will mean for gaming preservation. There’s also a lot of fear about a theoretical future in which Sony decides to strip users of their digital purchases without warning — a nightmare outcome that I personally believe is not impossible, but highly improbable.

These are all valid points, but my real anger over this ill-judged decision is how it could make gaming deal-hunting a closed shop, robbing consumers of options to save money. I started my time at Tom’s Guide as a deals writer, and I know firsthand how many gamers are savvy shoppers, and how important scoring a big discount is for gamers who can’t afford to drop $70 (or $80 in the case of GTA VI) on a brand new release day one.

Once PlayStation takes physical games away in early 2028, the economics of buying video games will likely completely change for millions of people, and that’s something to be mad about even if you're already all digital.

No more discs could destroy gaming deals

For gamers who largely buy new releases day one, the removal of physical games won’t make all that much of a difference, at least in terms of affordability. Right now, if you want to pre-order an upcoming game — for example, PS5 exclusive Marvel’s Wolverine — it will cost you $69 on Amazon for a disc and also $69 on the digital PlayStation Store.

However, the shockwaves of no more physical games will be felt in the months after launch, and primarily by more patient gamers who don’t feel the need to pre-order to play on day one. Once a game has had its moment in the sun, retailers tend to discount remaining stock, but over on the PlayStation Store, prices can remain locked for months, even years.

In the table below, I’ve compared prices for some of the biggest PS5 exclusives across major retailers and on the PlayStation Store (prices correct as of Friday, July 3). It paints a bleak picture. If Sony’s desired future comes to pass (and there are no signs of a U-turn yet), then gamers looking to pick up older titles could be forced to pay launch day prices.

Digital deals do exist, but choice is non-existent

All of this isn’t to say that deals don’t exist on digital games. I’ve been tracking PlayStation Store deals for years, and can say firsthand that there is pretty much always some form of sale running. Right now, it’s the July Savings sale, offering up to 75% off select PS5 and PS4 titles.

The problem here is that PlayStation gamers will be at the mercy of these limited-time sales. Let's say right now in July 2026, you decide you want to pick up God of War Ragnarök. While it’s been on sale digitally before, it’s not included in the July Savings promotion at present. It costs a full $70. Meanwhile, on Amazon you can grab a physical copy for just $32.

I can imagine a future where circling back to a game you skipped at launch means waiting months, if not longer, until it appears in one of the PlayStation Store’s rotating sales, unless you’re willing to pay the day-one price. In an all-digital future, shopping around for the best deal might be a non-starter; you will have only one storefront to buy PlayStation games on.

This situation could be mitigated by Sony allowing additional storefronts onto its consoles, but I would suggest the odds of this are slim to none. Or perhaps a more likely solution is hinted at in the PlayStation Blog article announcing this unwelcome news, which states “new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.”

Perhaps post-2028, PlayStation will permit the likes of Amazon, Best Buy and Target to sell digital game codes directly (at present, they only sell PlayStation Store credit vouchers). This could lead to more deals and discounts. Amazon could reduce the price of a digital game code in the months/years after launch. But remember, a digital code doesn't take up warehouse space, so retailers will have less incentive to clear out inventory.

However you slice it, any new game releasing on PlayStation platforms post January 2028 will seemingly be at the mercy of Sony’s and/or the publisher’s digital pricing strategy. That could mean that shopping for the best gaming deals whenever suits you becomes a thing of the past.

More from Tom's Guide

• We spoke to Stop Killing Games about PlayStation killing discs
• Steam Machine vs. PS5 Pro — there’s a clear winner
• Splatoon Raiders hands-on preview: I'm already hooked

I’m ashamed at how much my gaming backlog has ballooned in recent memory.

Even after proudly completing 17 games in 2025, I still watched the New Year’s Ball drop while thinking to myself, “I still gotta get back on those four other games I bought this year…” Fast forward to the midpoint of 2026 and I still haven’t paid the proper attention to those aforementioned games that they so rightfully deserve. The feeling of guilt that overwhelms me during my off days is embarrassing—instead of spending a few hours with those unbeaten games, I find myself going back to my “comfort food” games just to get a quick hit of online multiplayer fun (Tekken 8's ranked mode remains one of my gaming addictions).

I want to make sure I enjoy the rest of the summer inside and outside. And I figured the best way to stay busy indoors while my AC keeps me cool and comfortable is by clearing out my gaming backlog. ChatGPT popped into my head when I wanted to find the best way to tackle that task and it worked out much better than expected.

Mapping out a plan of attack for my gaming backlog is going to be a fun summer activity, thanks to the suggestions of my go-to chatbot.

Letting AI prioritize my gaming backlog playthroughs

If you’re wondering what older and newer games have piled up on my backlog, check out the following list:

• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Dying Light: The Beast
• Grandia HD Collection
• 007 First Light
• Saros
• God of War Sons of Sparta
• Mouse: P.I. For Hire
• Absolum
• Luna Abyss

Considering the three RPGs I have in that lineup, I knew I had to find an optimal way to hop back into those games and give them the time & attention they deserve.

With ChatGPT in my corner, I gave it this prompt to rank those 10 games and inform me of which ones take the most priority in terms of finally beating them: “If I could only finish 10 more games over this year, which ones from my backlog would I regret missing the most? Rank them and explain why they're essential experiences.”

Big shocker here, but the chatbot instantly picked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as the main game from my backlog I need to complete before the fall 2026 gaming rush demands my attention. ChatGPT made its reasoning for why it’s the #1 pick and why I’ll regret missing out on it if I don’t finish it:

• Why it's #1: This is the game I'd be least willing to skip. It has already earned a reputation as one of the standout RPGs of the decade thanks to its emotional storytelling, inventive turn-based combat, gorgeous art direction, and unforgettable soundtrack.
• Why you’ll regret missing it: It’s one of those rare RPGs everyone references, it has a story that's best experienced without spoilers and it could easily become a modern classic alongside games like NieR: Automata & Persona 5.

Alongside taking the month of July to beat that acclaimed RPG, ChatGPT also gave me plenty of reasons to dive back into the other top-quality games from my backlog across that month and August.

Those summer playlist games (in order of the importance the chatbot laid out for me) are Metaphor: ReFantazio, Saros, 007 First Light, Dying Light: The Beast, Grandia HD Collection, Absolum, Mouse P.I. For Hire, God of War Sons of Sparta and Luna Abyss. I’m in for the long haul with Metaphor, that’s for sure!

As for the other two prompts, they work just as well in aiding me in chipping away at my backlog and giving me equally helpful suggestions from ChatGPT:

• The "Mood-Based Recommendation" Prompt: Recommend a game from my backlog based on my current mood. I'll describe how I'm feeling, my energy level, how much time I have, and whether I want something relaxing, exciting, emotional, or challenging.
• The "Weekend Planner" Prompt: I have this weekend to play games. Here's my backlog. Create the most satisfying gaming weekend possible by balancing story progression, gameplay variety, and avoiding burnout.

The takeaway

ChatGPT has quickly morphed into one of my most beneficial tools when I’m in need of recommendations and suggestions regarding my favorite hobbies.

Using it to build an ideal route to my mission of completing my gaming backlog for the summer is already setting me up for maximum enjoyment. And with those two other prompts, I also get useful advice for choosing what games to play from that list based on my mood and my weekend free time.

Now I’ll have nothing on my gaming docket once September rolls around (I want to play Marvel’s Wolverine, Control Resonant and Onimusha: Way of the Sword as soon as they drop that month!).

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The Steam Machine promised to bring the PC experience to the living room at an affordable cost. While it has certainly lived up to the former, it has absolutely not lived up to the latter. Sure, it can play the best Steam games, but it’s going to cost you at least $1,049 to buy Valve’s system — or it will cost that much when you’re next up on the waitlist.

In fairness to the Steam Machine, the price of all gaming hardware has increased dramatically thanks to the RAM crisis. Case in point: the PS5 Pro, which was already pricey at its original $699 price, now costs $899! No matter what, gamers are paying a premium. Given that, you want to make the best choice before plunking down your hard-earned cash on your next system.

To that end, I want to compare the Steam Machine to the PS5 Pro. I’ll take a look at what each offers in terms of performance, price, and gaming libraries to see which system is the best one for you. Should you get the Steam Machine or the PS5 Pro? Let’s find out!

Pricing & value

To be clear, the Steam Machine and PS5 Pro are not inexpensive systems. This is especially true because of the dreaded RAMageddon, which is driving up prices for components like RAM and SSDs. With that established, here’s how much you’re paying for each system.

The PS5 Pro now costs $899, up from its original $699 starting price two years ago. It offers strong raw graphics performance and ample storage for the price. You get the system and a single controller in the box.

Then there’s the Steam Machine, which starts at $1,049 for the 512GB model and jumps to $1,349 for the 2TB model. Neither of these comes with a controller, so you’ll have to pay $1,128 and $1,428 (respectively) for models bundled with the Steam Controller.

Again, neither of these systems is cheap, but if you want to make less of a dent on your wallet, then the PS5 Pro is the way to go.

Performance & specs

The PS5 Pro runs on a custom AMD Zen 2 CPU and a powerful custom RDNA GPU capable of 16.7 Teraflops with Sony’s PSSR machine-learning upscaler. The system also has 16GB of unified GDDR6 memory and a 2TB SSD.

Based on raw, unoptimized rendering, the PS5 Pro has power comparable to an AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT or an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. However, when you factor in console-level optimization and PSSR, Sony’s console can deliver performance comparable to an RTX 5060 Ti or an RX 9060 XT.

Select PS5 Pro-enhanced games offer 60 fps at the same resolution as the base PS5’s Fidelity mode (which limits gameplay to 30 fps). For instance, The Last of Us Part II Remastered uses the Pro’s improved processing power to deliver an upscaled 4K image while maintaining a rock-solid frame rate. The PS5 Pro also delivers ray tracing, which adds lifelike reflections to certain games. Ray tracing usually comes at the cost of performance, but it sure makes games look beautiful.

As for the Steam Machine, it’s running on a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 architecture. It comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 8GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM, and a 2TB NVMe SSD.

In terms of power, the Steam Machine’s GPU is roughly equivalent to a desktop AMD Radeon RX 7600 or an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 in raw raster performance. Since it uses a lower-power, mobile-tier chip similar to an RX 7600M, it’s fair to say it sits between an Xbox Series S and a PS5 in overall gaming performance.

To be clear, the Steam Machine is not a 4K gaming machine. It’s basically a 1080p system with some QHD on the side. While it does well with less demanding games, things fall apart the instant you try to play anything AAA. You can make 4K work at FPS, but you’ll lose detail since you’ll have to rely on FSR. Also, forget about ray tracing at 4K, as that is this system’s kryptonite.

With FSR and settings tweaks, you can make 4K work at 60 FPS, but by that point, you lose the detail. Cyberpunk 2077 is the ultimate proof that ray tracing is this machine’s kryptonite, as it simply did not run in 4K.

When it comes to specs and performance, the PS5 Pro easily bests the Steam Machine. So if your primary concern is performance, Sony’s console is the one to get between these two.

Gaming experience

Here is where performance becomes less important. After all, what’s the point of owning a powerful system if it doesn’t have the games and experiences you’re looking for? Yes, both systems can play many of the same titles, but there’s more to it than that.

Naturally, the PS5 Pro has all the latest PlayStation exclusives at launch. Yes, there are many PlayStation games on PC, but they’re mostly older titles. If recent reports are true, Sony plans to stop launching its single-player exclusives on PC. If that pans out, you’ll need a Sony system (either the PS5 Pro or PS5) to play Sony’s games.

Beyond exclusives, the PS5 Pro (and PS5) is a plug-and-play system that doesn’t require tweaking settings, updating drivers, or troubleshooting, unlike the more hands-on PC gaming experience. That’s not to say you’ll always get a smooth experience, as games can crash or updates might cause problems. But for the most part, the PS5 Pro delivers a seamless console experience because, well… it’s a console!

While the Steam Machine ostensibly offers a console-like experience with its intuitive UI, it’s still a PC at its core. For instance, the Linux-based SteamOS lets you boot into desktop mode, connect DisplayPort monitors, and use third-party launchers and emulators. If you wanted to, you could use the Steam Machine as your primary home computer. None of these features are available on the PS5 Pro.

The Steam Machine also lets you play the thousands of games available on Steam. This includes modern AAA blockbusters, indie titles, strategy games, older classics, and early access games that you won’t find on any console. If you’ve accumulated a giant Steam library over the years (I know you have!), the Steam Machine is a convenient way to enjoy it in your living room.

For a no-frills console experience, the PS5 Pro is the winner here. However, if you want an open platform for gaming or other projects, the Steam Machine offers more freedom.

Bottom line

Inflated costs aside, both the PS5 Pro and Steam Machine deliver on their respective promises. The PS5 Pro is a powerful, plug-and-play console, while the Steam Machine gives you the freedom of a PC in your living room.

You can’t go wrong with either system, but for the average gamer who wants a higher-end experience, the PS5 Pro is the better option. For $899, it has a wide selection of first- and third-party games that can run at 4K resolution and up to 120 fps. And since it’s a console first, you don’t have to mess around with settings.

Though the Steam Machine is a wonderful little device, its $1,049 asking price is too high for what is effectively a 1080p machine. Those already heavily invested in Steam will want to pick this up (if they can justify the price), but for everyone else, get a PS5 Pro. Not only is it the better overall option, but you also don’t have to join a waitlist to get one right now.

More from Tom's Guide

• Stop Killing Games Founder on PlayStation's decision to kill physical discs
• PlayStation is officially killing physical discs
• PS6 price could be in the same stratosphere as the Steam Machine

In case you didn’t know, PlayStation is officially killing physical discs. The company says this is a natural step that aligns with how most players buy and play games. Considering how 85% of PlayStation games (via PlayStation's financials) are bought digitally, this move isn’t all that surprising — though that fact doesn’t ease the concern of many who see this as a wrong move.

Tom’s Guide reached out to Ross Scott, Founder of Stop Killing Games — the campaign pushing for legal protections so games don’t disappear once publishers stop supporting them — to get their take on what this announcement means for PlayStation players and gamers as a whole.

The group’s responses were measured on some points but clear on others. While they didn’t outright call Sony’s consumer preference argument false, they argued that the bigger issue isn’t really about discs at all. Here are some highlights from their answers to our questions.

The disc isn't the problem

Ross didn’t argue about whether most people preferred digital to physical. Instead, they challenged the notion that removing physical discs is the next logical step with no downsides. In their estimation, the conversation has become too focused on the format itself rather than on what players lose when that format disappears.

“The lack of the disc is just a symptom and not the core problem in itself,” Scott told us. They see the shift away from physical media as a surface-level change that masks a deeper issue: the gradual erosion of player ownership and long-term access to games.

Having a physical disc gives players something close to real ownership. Even if a publisher decided to shut down servers or stop supporting a game, you still (in most cases) had a working copy. This hasn’t been a thing on PC for a long time, and it appears the same will happen on consoles. Stop Killing Games thinks that’s why Sony’s response is wrong. Players are losing one of the last ways to keep a game they bought.

“What customers need [is] assurances their games won't be taken from them after purchase, which large publishers sometimes have a very poor track record on,” Scott said.

Second-hand sales and publisher incentives

We also asked about the impact on the used-games market and on retail competition. Their answer was more nuanced than you might expect from an anti-DRM campaign.

“I actually am sympathetic to publishers wanting to avoid secondhand sales, as in my opinion, that has led to lower prices overall (think of all the large sale events or digital game giveaways we see nowadays), but that also assumes competition in the market,” Scott added.

They also pointed out that copyrighted works already come with certain legal monopolies, and they’re wary of companies expanding that control through technical means without going through the proper legal process in different countries.

Additionally, they noted that recent examples, such as price increases following major acquisitions, show how quickly consumer-friendly promises can shift once competition decreases.

A warning from the past

The all-digital future that many dreaded is effectively here, but the idea isn’t completely new. To that end, SKG pointed to Microsoft’s original Xbox One reveal as a cautionary example. Even though Microsoft walked back many of the most controversial features after receiving backlash, SKG sees the 2013 presentation as a sign of where parts of the industry still want to go.

“Not to pick on Microsoft in particular, but I felt like the original Xbox One reveal was a sign of where the industry would like to take things,” Scott continued.

Some of Microsoft's original plans included: mandatory daily online checks, or your games would stop working, unclear rules around used games, and no guarantees that your library would survive once support for the console ended. Gamers decried all of these, but we’ve since seen them effectively become standard for all game consoles. Not having physical discs will just make it easier for companies to enact such measures.

Stop Killing Games added that they don’t believe digital games are inherently bad. When handled responsibly, digital-only games have real benefits, such as easier ways to back up purchases by copying games to an external hard drive. The danger lies when publishers treat digital ownership as something temporary or revocable.

When “physical” doesn’t mean physical

One area where Stop Killing Games was more direct was the growing trend of retailers selling “physical editions” that contain nothing but a download code inside a box—such as GTA 6 not launching with a game disc. They described this as misleading to consumers.

“I think this does create a sense of deception among consumers, since regardless of one's opinion on digital v. physical games, the average person expects something marketed as a physical copy of something to be physical.”

This practice also raises questions about what ownership even means. If the only thing inside the box is a code that can be revoked or tied to an account that might one day disappear, then the idea of “owning” a physical copy starts to feel hollow. They see this as part of the same broader pattern where the appearance of ownership is preserved while the reality of it quietly erodes.

To be clear, Sony did not say anything about selling “physical” copies of games in the manner that GTA 6 will, so we can’t say the company will go down that route. Still, it was interesting getting SKG’s take on this, since it’s a related topic.

Outlook

While we likely can’t stop console manufacturers from reversing course, we can at least ask for assurances that our digital purchases actually belong to us. This is why Stop Killing Games’ efforts are so important, especially now.

We’ll see how things play out, but for now, it might be best to brace for what’s to come.

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Not a rumor or speculation. PlayStation is officially ending physical disc production. That news comes directly from Sid Shuman, Senior Director of Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications.

On the PlayStation Blog, Shuman says the company made this decision because customers have continued to shift away from physical discs to digital.

To that end, “physical disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting in January 2028,” says Shuman. After that date, new games will only be available in digital format on the PlayStation Store and at retailers. Games released or due for release on disc before 2028 won’t be affected.

“This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” says Shuman. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”

Today’s announcement might be shocking, but it isn’t all that surprising. In PlayStation’s 2025 Q4 financial report (via Genki on X), the company stated that 85% of games sold on the platform were purchased digitally. This is a trend we’ve seen across all gaming consoles over the past decade, with acceleration during the pandemic.

Given this news, it’s safe to assume that the yet-to-be-announced PS6 won’t have a disc drive. The same might also be true for the upcoming Xbox Project Helix, which is reportedly going to be a midway point between a console and a PC. Speaking of PC, that platform has been all-digital for ages as well, showing that gamers are generally already used to not owning physical copies of their games.

We reached out to Stop Killing Games (a consumer rights group) for comment about this story. They said gamers want assurances that their games won’t be taken from them after purchase, and that decisions like this only serve to erode that trust.

“Digital games in themselves are not a problem and have multiple advantages for both parties when run responsibly, giving customers the freedom to back up their game sometimes in ways better than physical copies,” says Stop Killing Games. “When handled irresponsibly, they're a death sentence for games, which is what has led to the Stop Killing Games movement in the first place.”

Lastly, PlayStation also says it is closing the PS3 and PS Vita digital stores. Closures start this August in select markets and will happen globally by July of 2027. You will still be able to download previously purchased games after the closing dates "for the foreseeable future." If you want to purchase any PS3 or Vita games digitally, do it now before those stores are closed for good.

This is certainly devastating news for fans of physical games. If you fall into that camp, there isn't much you can do when the time comes. However, I expect companies like Limited Run Games to release physical versions of PS5 games even after this policy goes into place, so that is at least one option for select games. But for the PS6, it appears there won't be any choice but to play games digitally.

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Owning a Wii U ended up being the ultimate test of patience. Being forced to wait months for a first-party release that justified me purchasing Nintendo’s tablet/gaming hybrid console proved torturous during much of the system’s lifecycle.

I remember getting the first Splatoon, not out of a pure need for it but because I was so desperate to play anything on my Wii U besides Bayonetta 2. The shock and awe that took over my spirit when I realized just how fun Splatoon’s PvP ink-blasting matches were still stands tall as one of the biggest pleasant surprises I’ve had as a gamer. From that point forward, I sunk embarrassingly long playtimes into the series’ next two mainline entries and accompanying DLC expansions.

Now that I’m on the cusp of finally picking up Switch 2, I’m super excited to put just as much time into Nintendo’s latest offering of ink-splatting. But what makes this new series installment stand out from its predecessors is how it eschews competitive multiplayer in favor of treasure hunting escapades across single–player and four-player co-op expeditions.

And after finally getting some hands-on time with Splatoon Raiders, I can safely say that its fun factor and charm match that of the excellent Splatoon games that came before it.

Customizing loadouts, blasting baddies and raiding treasure

The name of the game here is using your custom character’s mechanical skills to create new tools, improve your gear, customize your loadouts and head out to new destinations across the Spirhalite Islands to find even more goodies for the taking.

Like previous games in the series, Splatoon Raiders gives you a ton of options to tinker to your liking. Creating your own “Inkling” took me longer than expected since I always get a kick out of making them to my exact liking. This game also offers a wide range of other options to tailor, such as your main weapon, two gadgets, Relic Powers, your tank type, Bot Buddy, and clothing style.

Speaking of weapons and gadgets, I got a lot of use out of the “Flamingo Splattershot Jr.”, the “Booyarang” and the “Splatellites.” The mixture of rapid-fire shooting, a weapon that can cut through the opposition in a single circular arc and another one that creates orbiting discs around you that harm incoming foes worked like a charm. When the time arrived for me to eliminate all the “Salmonids” that sought to take me out, my chosen loadout and the assistance of one of the members of the “Deep Cut” trio (whose outfitted in a bot), I was treated to the same entertaining gunplay that made me a fan of Splatoon in the first place.

After seeing the first pieces of footage for Splatoon Raiders, I was a bit worried that the game’s environments would boil down to nothing but sandy beaches and rocky terrain. But those fears have now been assuaged — there’s plenty more biomes to venture to and the color patterns do enough to make them stand apart from each other, thankfully. The Salmonid hordes that try to overpower you are relentless and actually presented a challenge during some missions, especially the timed ones.

Even with the difficulty getting kicked up a notch during my demo, I had the time of my life blasting them out of existence, jumping on top of my big bot assistant to get some extra air time and picking up all the currency and items I need to create more offensive and defensive tools. Trust me when I tell you that you'll need all the help you can get, as this game presents a worthy challenge with its unique boss fights and time trials that throw even more enemy hordes your way.

Co-op raids will keep me occupied for months (or years?) to come

Linking up with three other players to go on some treasure hunts proved to be just as fun (if not MORE fun!) than my solo treks. Seeing my three other Inkling squadmates equip entirely different loadouts resulted in playthroughs where our combined weapons and gadgets cut through our fishy foes with ease. I knew it was time to switch up my loadout when I watched one of my co-op partners slash through an army of swarming Salmonids with their “Splatchet” gadget (it felt so satisfying to do some slashing for myself once I finally used it).

Here’s hoping plenty of substantial endgame content and a nice DLC rollout will accompany Splatoon Raiders to expand its co-op suite.

Bottom line

Call me crazy if you want, but the likes of Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Pokopia weren’t enough to compel me to get Switch 2.

As the odd man out with that opinion, Splatoon Raiders stands out as the killer app that will make me finally pick up a Switch 2. Am I slightly disappointed that the PvP competitive ink-splatting isn’t featured? Yeah. But am I still excited to go treasure hunting with the Deep Cut idols, eliminate Salmonids that dare to approach me, jump into the colorful ink fray with three other Inklings and unlock new pieces of gear?

Absolutely!

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If you hoped the PS6 would cost less than $1,000, I have some potentially bad news for you. According to a new leak, the PS6 currently costs $960 in materials to manufacture. Unless Sony is willing to sell the yet-to-be-announced next-generation consoles, the PS6 could cost about as much as the equally pricey Steam Machine.

The leak in question comes from Kepler_K2 (via Insider Gamer), who has a decent track record of hardware leaks. Kepler claims that the BoM (bill of materials) for the PS6 has jumped up by $200 since March of this year. Where the console cost $760 to manufacture, it will now cost $960. The PS5 Pro saw a similar price hike, rising from $699 to $899 after two price increases.

Unfortunately, the PS6 could cost even more to manufacture. As Wccftech reports, an X user named Jukan posted a report from the banking firm Jefferies that claims to have spoken with a tech analyst about the RAM crisis. The expert predicts that RAM and SSD will see a 40% to 50% hike in Q3 2026 and another 30% to 40% hike in the final quarter of this year. If this happens, then the PS6’s cost will undoubtedly shoot beyond the $1,000 range.

Sony and other console manufacturers have typically sold systems at a loss to recoup their costs through software sales. VGC reports that during a Q&A session with Sony’s Game & Network Services division, one attendee asked if Sony would subsidize the cost of its next-gen hardware. Sony said the company doesn’t plan to sell hardware “at significant losses” but is “monitoring the market.”

Given all of these factors, it’s unrealistic to assume the PS6 will be south of $1,000 if things continue on their current trajectory. Indeed, if prices continue to skyrocket, a $1,000 asking price might be the best-case scenario. If that’s the case, then many folks will be priced out of next-gen consoles.

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• Sony will allegedly launch three PS6 systems

Since Valve opened up reservations for its absurdly priced Steam Machine, it was only a matter of time before the scalpers descended like vultures to get their cut. Just days before the gaming PC officially launches, successful reservation holders have begun listing their spots on eBay for eye-watering prices, like this one for $2,275. For reference, the Steam Machine starts at $1,049, less than half that price.

The damn thing doesn't even hit store shelves until Monday (June 29). Earlier this week, Valve began notifying users when they successfully ended up in the reservation queue to purchase a console before the invitation expired. The listings on third-party platforms aren't for the hardware itself but rather for these reservation slots. I'm seeing Steam Machine listings on eBay from around $1,600 and up to over $2,500, nearly 2-2.5X pricier than their official pricing as per Valve. Some listings are marked as sold, suggesting at least a handful of buyers are willing to pay a hefty premium to skip the wait.

Anticipating unusually high demand, Valve introduced a randomized reservation system instead of traditional first-come, first-served preorders. The company also limited reservations to one per household and required users to have a Steam account in good standing with at least one purchase made before April 27, 2026, to curb bots and large-scale scalping from eating up the limited supply at launch.

Despite those efforts, scalpers have found a workaround by reselling their reservation spots. While the restrictions appear to have made it harder for professional scalpers to hoard inventory, they haven't eliminated inflated resale listings entirely.

If you missed out on a reservation, I'd heavily advise you against paying these ridiculous markups. Aside from the obvious risk of scams when buying reservation transfers through a third-party marketplace like eBay, Valve is expected to continue working through its waitlist as reservation holders cancel or fail to complete their purchases within the allotted 72-hour window. You likely won't have long to wait to get your hands on the Steam Machine. While you wait, check out our Steam Machine review to see if it's even worth its already eye-watering price tag.

More from Tom's Guide

• Valve confirms you can build your own Steam Machine with latest SteamOS update
• I tested the Steam Machine and I really wanted to love it — but I simply can't for $1,049
• The 6 best video games we've played in 2026 (so far) on PS5, Switch 2, PC and Xbox

Whenever I get the chance to test out the best gaming laptops, my first port of call is to actually game as a form of benchmarking. For years, Control has long been one of my go-to titles, but that will quickly change once Control Resonant arrives on PC.

Horrifying, bleak and messy — not exactly "positive" words to use for developer Remedy Entertainment's upcoming action-heavy sequel, but I mean these in the most endearing way possible from what I saw when playing Control Resonant on an RTX 5090 gaming PC during a three-hour hands-on session.

Fighting off hordes of The Hiss (the main threat in the game) is thrillingly horrifying with their grotesquely detailed forms, the bleak atmosphere of a warped Manhattan is enthralling and the mind-bending, twisted environments you get to explore are satisfyingly messy. If you thought The Oldest House in Control was a trip, just wait for what Control Resonant has to offer.

With Nvidia's RTX 50-series GPUs lending their power, though, with DLSS turned on and ray tracing set to high, Remedy's follow-up had me immersed. From the expert use of lighting in a chaotic world to the smooth, fast-paced combat, I already see Control Resonant being an all-new PC gaming benchmark.

You can check our Control Resonant preview for how the game plays and our interview with Remedy Entertainment's Creative Director for more on what is now one of my most highly anticipated games of the year. But for how it handles on PC, let's dive in.

Control Resonant PC requirements

While I played Control Resonant on a monster of a gaming PC (the RTX 5090 says it all), I was assured by the team at Remedy Entertainment that PCs that don't reach those heights, like many of the more affordable best gaming PCs, will be able to play the game without trouble.

Take a look at the system requirements for Control Resonant below, along with the PC specs I played on. Spoiler alert: you will need a lot of storage.

Brimming with power

First, a few preliminary points. As with most previews, this isn't the final version of Control Resonant. Not only is lighting and framerate still being worked on, but also audio mixing, hit impacts and more. This is still very much in beta, but honestly, from the time I had playing through the opening act and a mid-game area called The Sinkhole (it's a masterpiece), it's already looking to be in good shape.

I can imagine a lot of that has to do with the RTX 5090 working behind the scenes. With DLSS upscaling (no frame generation) and DLSS Ray Reconstruction (for sharper reflections and accurate lighting), zipping and levitating through a disfigured Manhattan as the all-powerful Dylan Faden (our up-close-and-personal protagonist) was a treat for the eyes.

And that was with graphics and ray tracing presets set to high, only made better by the 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution I was playing on. From the many twisted forms of The Hiss shown in terrifying detail to the deep contrast of red hues streaking across the screen, along with the subtle yet clear reflections in windows of buildings turned upside down, it's all beautifully crafted — and I often found myself taking it all in.

After leaving The Oldest House after the opening act, I was impressed by the visual distortion effect beaming off cars, with The Hiss floating in midair endlessly in the background. That, along with blaring, dangerous red lighting reflecting off the pavement. For those stationary moments, it all hits right.

In combat, with Remedy changing pace from a third-person shooter to pure melee action, things can get chaotic, but unsurprisingly, this rig could handle it all. As in, the copious amounts of rubble Dylan hurls at enemies while quickly dashing to slash through them using his Aberrant weapon (I chose the sword-like Flurry form as my weapon of choice), while the almost faded rainbow oil mist blasts off foes as he hits them.

It's smooth, clean action, which is what you'd want in a fast-moving action game. It's the little nuances, like the aftereffect of dashing being so crystal clear, like a sleek afterimage of static video, that make it work.

Now, I wasn't able to see frame rates or tinker with different settings, as it appeared the game was locked at a rock-solid 60 frames per second (FPS) for beta purposes. But even with the mass of Hiss shooting red beams from every direction during The Sinkhole section, along with the gravity-bending environment Dylan can shift through, it's clear Control Resonant will be taking full advantage of what Nvidia's GPUs have to offer.

And I'm here for it.

Reaching a new PC benchmark

While Remedy is still polishing off Control Resonant, especially the PC version, we can expect plenty of RTX features to be fully on show (just like path tracing in Resident Evil Requiem). That includes DLSS 4.5 and its dynamic multi-frame gen tech (expect frame rates to hit over 200 FPS), DLSS Super Resolution and path tracing for photorealistic lighting, no less.

That's exciting, considering just how well it already looks, and there's still plenty of time for the team at Remedy to cook. During my session, I had a chat with Lead Gameplay Designer Sergey Mohov, and he explained how there's now more to play around with.

"We weren't limited by hardware in terms of gameplay. It's very helpful that computers and consoles these days can actually run games like this, and we're able to put all of these enemies on screen, all of these effects and make it look nice while feeling very satisfying to kill them all.

"The hardest thing was actually making the world, making it bigger and increasing draw distances. But we've invested in improving our in-house engine (Northlight Engine) to handle these things. But, you know, we've done it."

I believe Mohov is spot on, taking the improvements we saw in Alan Wake 2 and pushing it even further. Of course, just like how Control is now available on iOS, there's the aim for Resonant to be flexible enough to be played on, well, anything that isn't just an RTX 5090 while still delivering great visuals and performance.

"We have a lot of people who are really excited about putting all the latest tech in. Nvidia is helping out, and we'll have all the latest Nvidia stuff in [Control Resonant]. So that's going to be pretty cool. But if somebody can run Control on, like, a potato or a fridge, I'll be pretty happy."

Control Resonant is set to launch on September 24, available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, macOS and cloud streaming via Nvidia GeForce Now. But just from my brief experience, it will be a PC purchase for me.

More from Tom's Guide

• The 6 best video games we've played in 2026 (so far) on PS5, Switch 2, PC and Xbox
• I just finished Star Fox on Switch 2 — and it’s better than the game I imagined I was playing as a kid
• 5 recently announced video games I’m most excited about, including a sequel I’ve been waiting 13 long years for

Despite GTA 6 pre-orders stealing the headlines this week, another game you can play right now actually just hit store shelves. Of course, I’m talking about Nintendo’s Star Fox remake, which I recently gave a glowing review.

I still remember inserting the Rumble Pak into the back of my N64 controller and booting up Star Fox 64 for the first time almost 30 years ago. Now, though, I get to experience one of my favorite childhood games with modern graphics, crisp 4K visuals, and new cutscenes that help fill out the story even further.

Playing Star Fox on the Nintendo Switch 2 has been an absolute blast so far, and I even managed to take the hard path that eluded me as a child. Still, after several playthroughs ahead of my review, I wasn’t done yet.

Besides being able to play with a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, you can also detach your Joy-Cons and play Star Fox in Mouse Mode. I definitely had to take this new, more precise, fully first-person way to take the game out for a spin. However, I also have one of Nintendo’s modern N64 controllers on hand, so I decided to give that a try too out of sheer nostalgia.

Whether you’re playing Star Fox for the first time or revisiting one of your favorite childhood games like I am, both of these control schemes completely change the experience — but one definitely stands above the other.

Precision meets sheer terror

If you haven’t upgraded to a Switch 2 yet, Mouse Mode is one of the new console’s more interesting features. With your Joy-Cons detached, you can use a desk mat — or any surface for that matter — to engage this new mode and control one of your Joy-Cons like a mouse. This gives you a much greater level of precision and is especially useful in first-person shooters.

Speaking of which, the first game I tried Mouse Mode out on was Metroid Prime 4. What I like about that game’s implementation of this new mode is that you can instantly switch back and forth between it and using your Joy-Cons the standard way. Thankfully, Star Fox does the exact same thing.

The second you flip one of your Joy-Cons on its side, Mouse Mode is enabled. However, in Star Fox, this also switches the game from using its normal third-person perspective to a first-person one. It felt like I was Fox McCloud myself, sitting inside my Arwing with all of its various screens and dials visible in the ship’s central console. This adds a new level of immersion you just don’t get in third-person.

I’ll admit, getting the hang of using Mouse Mode in Star Fox did take me a bit. I think that’s because of how high-stakes and fast the game’s flying and shooting feels. After I finished the game’s first level, though, I had the hang of it. Well, for the most part.

With a Joy-Con held normally in my left hand, I was able to control the yawing of my Arwing while most of the work was done with the Joy-Con in my right hand, which handled shooting, boosting, braking, and aiming my laser’s reticle. It definitely takes some getting used to, but there are on-screen prompts to help you with the more difficult controls.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was how different playing the game in first-person would make some of the levels feel. For instance, the asteroid field in Meteo and the enemies that pop out behind them had me on the edge of my seat. While not necessarily scary, when playing in first-person, everything felt a lot more spooky. The same was true on the planet Solar, as it really felt like the waves of lava were coming right at me.

In retrospect, it makes perfect sense, but I was elated when I realized I could play through the Macbeth stage in first-person. Controlling the Landmaster tank has never come naturally to me, and during my first playthroughs, I got stuck on this level longer than I care to admit. In Mouse Mode with a first-person perspective, though, I was able to not only clear it but also shoot down the eight switches to divert the train fairly easily.

I bypassed Aquas completely during my Mouse Mode playthrough, but seeing the ocean and all the various creatures underwater from the cockpit of the Blue Marine has me excited about starting another run already.

Single-stick nostalgia

Given it was my first introduction to using an analog stick instead of a D-pad, I bought one of Nintendo’s modern N64 controllers when they first went on sale. I mainly did so to re-experience playing Super Mario 64 this way, but I also played through a bit of Star Fox 64 too. Controlling my Arwing the old-fashioned way was just as awkward as I remembered it, though.

With Star Fox on the Switch 2, you can use an N64 controller if you want to relive that exact same experience, just with modern visuals. In the game’s on-the-rails levels, I felt like I was right back in 1997, sitting on the floor in front of the TV.

Even the game’s boss fights — like when I took on the Gorgon in Area 6 — felt great and were easy enough to handle. The old control scheme came right back to me, even if I did miss using my Switch 2 Pro Controller’s extra GR button (which I had mapped to A) to shoot. Once I switched to All-Range Mode, however, that’s when things got tricky.

Just like in Star Fox 64, you point the analog stick down and press either the down or left C-button at the same time to do a somersault or U-turn, respectively. During the second fight with Star Wolf and his crew, these old controls made things quite difficult.

If I held down and pressed one of the C-buttons after, nothing happened. Instead, I had to press down on the analog stick while hitting the C-button at the exact same time to pull off the maneuver. With Star Wolf hot on my heels, my Arwing took a lot more damage than it did when using modern controls with my Switch 2 Pro controller.

Even if All-Range Mode was just as difficult as I remember with an N64 controller, it was still a fun experiment testing it out in Star Fox on the Switch 2.

Now it truly feels like summer

If you’re a seasoned player who knows all the hidden paths, you can finish Star Fox in around an hour. With other Nintendo games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom taking 60+ hours to finish, Star Fox’s campaign may feel short, but that’s only at face value. The beauty of Star Fox 64 and this reimagined outing is that you’re supposed to replay it, as that’s the only way to find hidden paths and earn medals.

Star Fox on the Switch 2 is fun enough on its own to warrant multiple playthroughs. However, if you want to mix things up a bit, I highly recommend giving Mouse Mode a try. Even if you don't, you can still experience the entire campaign in first-person mode just by hitting the Minus button on your Joy-Cons or Pro Controller.

Personally, I had a ton of fun during my first-person, Mouse Mode playthrough, and I can’t wait to go back to Corneria for another run. In fact, the timing of this release brings me right back to the summer of 1997, and Nintendo made an excellent choice by releasing Star Fox when it did.

Whether you grew up playing Star Fox on the Nintendo 64 or this is your first time saving the Lylat system from Andross, Star Fox on Switch 2 is this summer’s must-play game — just like it was all those years ago.

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I thought the Steam Machine was going to be that perfect middle ground between console and PC — giving you your entire Steam library and the versatility of Linux alongside that pick-up-and-play goodness of something like a PS5 Pro.

But I’m just going to get straight to the point. With a starting price of $1,049/£879, it feels less like finding the middle ground and more like being lost in no man’s land. I can’t deny it does the thing I wanted it to do, but the smaller bang for a giant buck is a tough pill to swallow.

There is a lot to like here — I love the small 6-inch cube form factor with the swappable face plates (shout-out to the whisper quiet thermal management), Steam OS is a stellar big screen console UI rivaling the simplicity of PlayStation or Xbox, and it nails the console niceties that a PC can’t do without extra fiddling.

I'm talking about things like HDMI CEC to control your TV with your controller, or even turning on your system with the Steam Controller to begin with, or that customizable LED light bar upfront, all while also packing Linux to be a semi-decent mini PC.

However, when you put it in the context of that large RAMageddon-induced price, performance is underwhelming compared to similarly-priced PCs, and you’ll find yourself tinkering with settings a lot to get things just right (unlike a console). With AAA titles over the past couple of years struggling here — especially when you put ray tracing on — it feels like this is underpowered right out of the gate.

Still, I can’t help but admit I’m slightly enamored by the Steam Machine after the hours I’ve sunk into it. Once you put on some older or Indie titles (Steam’s bread and butter), it all starts to click. I particularly enjoyed dipping back into old classics like Portal 2 or getting back into my indie obsessions like Hades II!

Valve is onto something here, and it would’ve been a breakthrough at $6-700. But it’s not, and it becomes hard to recommend to anyone other than “Console PC” aesthetic purists and the die-hard Steam devotees.

Steam Machine: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? This is a console/PC hybrid gaming system.
• Who is it for? This is for those who want that couch console gaming experience without the limitations of a console OS.
• What does it cost? Brace yourself. Starting price is $1049/£879 for the 512GB version, and goes up to $1,349/£1,149 for the 2TB model. These are without a controller, which you’d need to bundle up for an additional $69/£69.
• What do we like? The Steam Machine does exactly what I wanted it to do on paper — it takes something as vast and complicated as PC gaming and stuffs it into a slick console UI, which is housed inside a beautifully monolithic cube that challenges the beefier aesthetics of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
• What don’t we like? At $1,049, this is expensive for what you get. Nice to have the console-esque experience, but underpowered parts mean you’re getting a rather limited gaming experience in any more graphically challenging titles. And don’t even think about running ray traced gameplay on this thing!

Steam Machine: Specs

Steam Machine: The ups

And so, I took it all out of the (fully) recyclable packaging, picked my front plate (love the orange fabric one — reminds me of The Orange Box on my Xbox 360 back in the day), and got into playing on the Steam Machine. FYI, these additional faceplates are part of the 2TB model + controller bundle only.

Small and stylish

I must admit that I felt a little lovestruck when I pulled the GabeCube out for the first time. This almost-6-inch cube is a premium-feeling piece of kit that will proudly take its minimalist pride of place next to any TV or on any desk.

The port array is minimal compared to your average PC, but you’ve got everything you need for peripherals and a wired internet connection too. And compared to the behemoths that are the PS5 and Xbox Series X, it really is no competition in terms of design. This fades into the background rather than making a statement, and I love it for that.

Also, shoutout to the thermal management going on here. Air is pulled in through the front via a gap created behind that faceplate, through a gigantic heatsink (literally about 75% of that internal cube space is heatsink) and out the back via a single giant 120mm fan. The end result is near-silent operation even at high loads. My PS5 could never!

SteamOS delivers the goods

I love it on my Steam Deck, and it ports well to the big screen — Steam OS is a fantastic console gaming UI for getting straight into your titles or discovering more. Pair it with a Steam Controller, and it gets much better too with the touchpads making it zippier to get around a keyboard or work your way around the desktop mode (though that’s a rarity).

That’s not to say it’s all the way there yet. There’s a weird thing with having to set the resolution for each game — if you get a Steam Machine and are confused as to why it’s only showing 1080p, go into game properties and change resolution from the confusingly named “Default” to “4K.”

Valve has confirmed to other reviewers that they’re looking to make this simpler/clearer in a future update.

When it all comes together, it’s a console beater

I know it may sound like I’m digging for any kind of positive with that subheadline, but let me explain. The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts and when it all starts to sing in harmony together, you can make some sweet hypothetical music.

The little touches are what grabbed me at first — HDMI CEC meaning that when I turn on the Steam Machine with my controller, it turns on the TV too. That’s something my PC with the long HDMI cable connected could ever do (without serious dongle help). That LED status bar on the box itself is customizable, and it fills up as you’re downloading a game file.

And then as you enter your gaming flow state with something a little less challenging to the internals like an indie title, older game or emulation (btw, emulation works like a dream on this thing), Steam OS becomes your canvas to jump in and out of your games, and it shows Valve can perfectly capture that couch play experience while giving you openness unlike any of those consoles.

It shows the company’s got the right idea here, and I applaud them for that.

Steam Machine: The downs

One of these downsides has been the talk on social media, so I don’t need to dwell too much on it. But with it, that does expose some other issues in a far more negative light.

Performance can be lacking

Now, I've built a bunch of PCs and tested a bunch of GPUs in my lifetime, so I’ve become accustomed to where systems land on my internal scale relative to the price you pay for it. I get that the Steam Machine is a different kind of beast — half console/half mini gaming PC — but when asking for this kind of money, it has to go on the scale.

And while the Steam Machine does do well in less challenging games, the moment you try to throw something AAA at it, things start to fall apart.

For reference, to my eye, the PS5 Pro runs at a mixture of medium-high settings on Black Myth: Wukong, while upscaling to 4K from a far higher resolution. With FSR and settings tweaks, you can make 4K work at 60 FPS, but by that point you lose the detail.

Cyberpunk 2077 is the ultimate proof that ray tracing is this machine’s kryptonite, as it simply did not run in 4K. That’s a problem given we’re rapidly closing in on the moment where ray tracing becomes a requirement in some games.

Basically, your two problems here are the lower amount of power being pumped through the parts, and 8GB of video memory is simply not enough for the raw rasterized performance. But If you are dipping into AAA games, here are my three common rules:

• This is not a 4K gaming machine, this a 1080p system with some QHD on the side
• Turn settings down to medium if the game’s come out in the last two years
• FSR is an absolute necessity

Then if I want to use this as a Linux mini PC, the OS offers a lot to do, but don’t expect to be doing too much of it, as that laptop-suited chip is a little limited on the performance.

Interpreting these numbers into real-world use means you’re going to be able to attack your casual daily workload, web browsing with a few tabs, and maybe a little bit of photo editing. Anything more intense and you start to feel it chug.

$1,049 is crazy

Like I said, you’ve probably seen the memes and roasts already. You all dunked hard on this in the comments of the unboxing TikTok I did a few days ago, so let’s talk about it!

Just over $1,000 puts it out of reach of competing with consoles and into the budget gaming PC territory, which is a whole different ballgame. I know people have been using PC Part Picker and showing what you can get for the budget, but I want to go down the road of pre-builts too.

Take the Stormcraft Sirius with RTX 5060 for example and a 1TB SSD — currently $899. Granted, this is a sale price and you’re not getting the tiny cube premium build. But the original price is $1,099, which even though its fifty bucks more, gives you more bang for your buck as you see in the numbers above.

Realistically, what you’re getting in the Steam Machine performance and visual-wise (having to use FSR to do some heavy lifting) hangs somewhere between the standard PS5 and PS5 Pro. That would be fine if it was priced more similarly to one, but at over a thousand dollars, it becomes a tough sell.

Steam Machine: Verdict

I really wanted to love the Steam Machine, but it’s complicated. On one hand, it’s that intersection between gaming PC and console that I love with my Steam Deck — taking all of its complexities and simplifying the pick up and play nature of it all.

But on the other hand, it’s $1,049, which exposes the underpowered internals that much more, and makes the ever-rising prices of other consoles feel kind of reasonable in comparison.

Rather than being the middle ground, it’s in no man’s land. If you want console gaming, grab a PS5 Pro. If you want PC gaming, grab a PC. Until this price comes down to something like $700, it’s a “close, but no cigar” situation.

Three days ago in a sprawling interview with Entertainment Weekly, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said, "gaming is unaffordable in many cases." Today, Xbox announced price hikes for its consoles, the third in the last year.

The increases don't go into effect until August, but it does hit 512GB models with a $100 bump, while 1TB consoles are going up $150. Xbox is also discontinuing its 2TB model.

The Xbox announcement takes a contrite tone and even says that the company "hoped another price increase would not be necessary" after last October's hike.

It all comes only a couple of weeks after a missive from Sharma and Xbox Studios head Matt Booty discussing how Xbox needed a reset, which was quickly followed by news of significant layoffs.

It's a worrisome sign that Xbox knows this will be a problem when most of the announcement is loaded with buy now, pay later and other financing options.

As with most price increase; blame AI

Since the end of 2025, the ongoing memory shortage has slowly but steadily affected every tech company in the world, from phones and laptops to gaming.

Apple, one of the last holdouts, also announced broad price increases today for every device the company makes. At the far end, one version of the flailing Vision Pro now costs $3,699. The lowest announced increase was a $70 bump for the Apple TV 4K, an aging device that many expect to be replaced this year.

Last year, it was the roller-coaster tariffs from the Trump administration that were to blame for varying increases. This year, every single price hike has blamed the memory shortage, which us and others have taken to referring to as RAMaggedon.

"Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x, and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027," Xbox's announcement reads. "The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles."

AI greed and the massive AI data center boom have been driving RAM and storage prices through the roof for months.

As an example, the WD Black m.2 SSD, a hard drive we recommend for upgrading your PS5's internal memory cost around $125 last June. It's on sale for Prime Day right now, but current prices have it at $250, a current low after the SSD hit nearly $300 in April.

Microsoft partly to blame

There are other companies to truly hold accountable for the memory crisis. Nvidia, OpenAI, and Google have made massive investments in what they call artificial intelligence.

But we can't absolve Microsoft (or Apple) as both companies, laggards in the headlong race toward AI, have also invested heavily in AI, with varying degrees of success.

Just this month at Microsoft Build 2026, the company spent the majority of the event discussing AI and "agentic" systems. Most of the work is business-focused, but it's clear AI is what has the company's attention right now. This is despite promises to pull back on stuffing Windows 11 with AI earlier in the year.

Gamers don't want it

Gamers on the whole are a capricious bunch, to put things nicely, but as a recent Game Oracle study found, they don't want AI. Titles with the AI-generated assets tag on Steam received 53% fewer ratings, indicating a lack of interest, and were more likely to be negatively reviewed.

Now, it's possible that AI is allowing more lazy developers to push out more slop, a veritable abyss that will seemingly never go away, AI or not.

Still, it speaks to a wider trend of consumers rejecting AI. Marketing Brew reports that 65% of respondents to a study said they never wanted to hear about AI again.

CBS News just reported today that despite humongous investments in AI, companies don't really have customers. That's both consumers and businesses that are discovering that firing workers for "AI solutions" has netted next to zero in returns.

Our friends at Tom's Hardware reported in February that two-thirds of customers reject AI on their devices.

Between increasing prices for the companies themselves and their customers rejecting their AI-focused products, there will be a breaking point. The question is, how close are we to reaching it?

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It’s safe to say that every time official news of GTA 6 hits everyone’s timelines, it ends up being the story of the day.

All Rockstar Games had to do was drop an announcement about when pre-orders were going live, with a seconds-long clip showing off the game’s box art, to send gamers into a frenzy.

And now that those pre-orders have gone live, I’m being treated to my PS5 “Welcome Section” being adorned with promotional material for November 19’s blockbuster gaming release and tweets from friends excitedly explaining how they secured their digital copy.

The hype surrounding the next mainline installment in one of, if not THE, biggest entertainment properties of all time is hard to ignore. But what’s equally difficult to look past is the anger that’s brewing among gamers for two reasons: GTA 6’s physical copies will only come packaged with a digital code for the game, and the Ultimate Edition comes with a host of content that won’t be available to anyone who gets the Standard Edition.

And considering the rumors circulating months before that alluded to GTA 6 launching at a standard price of $100, it turns out that it’s technically true once you realize the Ultimate Edition is truly the full experience fans have been eagerly waiting for.

$100 for the full Vice City experience? Yep, time to pay up

So here’s a full breakdown of what comes with both the Standard and Ultimate Editions of GTA 6:

• GTA 6 Standard Edition ($79.99): One free month of GTA+ and the Vintage Vice City Pack (this comes with this ‘55 Vapid Stanier Sedan, a garage located near Ocean Beach, additional outfits & hairstyles for Jason & Lucia and a special firearm pattern set).
• GTA 6 Ultimate Edition ($99.99): One free month of GTA+, The Vintage Vice City Pack, The ‘95 Grotti Cheetah sports car, the Hawk & Little Morgan Revolver, personalized weapon variants, Vice City Style outfits, hairstyles, tattoos & more, Jason’s Safehouse Vehicles, a Retro Build customization option for Jason’s Vapid Ganado vehicle, the Shitzu Squalo boat, the ‘67 Vapid Dominator Buggy & Garage, the Goodtime Gear capsule collection of additional apparel & accessories, a raid mission that takes players to the PTT Youngin$ Compound, a classic car collection sidequest and special destinations that offer more customization options (Rideout Customs for vehicles, Sara’s Unisex Salon for hair & nails, Stock 305 for streetwear, Electric Fang Tattoo for tattoos and One-Eyed Willie’s for off-road vehicle mods).

Just by looking at everything that comes with the Ultimate Edition, you’d be hard-pressed to think GTA 6’s Standard Edition is actually worth buying.

For a gaming franchise so revered for its vast array of customization and overall player expression, locking a whole gamut of those vehicle and character modification options behind a $100 price tag is egregious. What’s even more upsetting is that two missions are also being held off from the game’s Standard Edition and are only being made playable to those who plop down the high entry fee for the Ultimate Edition.

This isn't the first time Rockstar Games has cut off one of their game's full content slate behind a pricier version, by the way. Red Dead Redemption 2's Ultimate Edition asked gamers to cough up more money to get access to exclusive story content that included a bank robbery mission. So, in other words, we should've seen this GTA 6 Ultimate Edition fiasco coming from a mile away.

As an old head who came up during an age of gaming where Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo cartridges retailed from $50 to $100 (I’ll never forget Phantasy Star IV asking young gamers like me for $99 just to bring it home), I’m sadly become accustomed to paying an arm and a leg for the full experience for my favorite IPs. And as someone who’s addicted to fighting games, I’m used to pouring hundreds of dollars into today’s gamut of fighters as they ask me to pay extra for season passes, costumes, battle passes, in-game currency, etc.

It’s also become too much to stomach how gaming publishers just want to extract as much money from their consumers as possible. Seeing how GTA 6’s Ultimate Edition is truly the de facto full experience that fans may just be forced to buy is, to put it simply, nasty work. I’m just as disappointed in this news as I was when Capcom forced everyone to pay for DLC just to see the true ending of Asura’s Wrath, since the base game ended on a cliffhanger.

Bottom line

I’m confident that GTA 6 will be an amazing game—Rockstar Games' penchant for crafting truly immersive, satisfying open-world experiences, backed by memorable stories and an unforgettable cast of characters, has never wavered.

But the shocking confirmation that the REAL full GTA 6 experience is locked behind a $100 price tag is definitely a tough pill to swallow. I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet on the Ultimate Edition since the prospect of trekking around Leonida to discover vintage cars and participating in an explosive raid is all too enticing for me to pass up. Yes, I’m sadly a part of the problem.

At least the rumor of the disc version of GTA 6 launching in December makes me slightly less upset about this whole deal.

Fingers crossed that Rockstar makes the next iteration of GTA Online a part of the GTA 6 package rather than an entirely separate digital purchase. They wouldn't go that far...would they?

More from Tom’s Guide

• GTA 6 pre-orders live updates: US and UK pre-orders available now! Here’s how to secure your copy of Grand Theft Auto VI today
• These 5 gaming TVs are perfect for GTA 6 — and they're on sale for Prime Day
• I just finished Star Fox on Switch 2 — and it’s better than the game I imagined I was playing as a kid

When GTA 6 finally arrives on November 19 and you've secured your copy, the last thing you want to worry about is your TV not keeping up with the action.

Whether it's because it's lacking VRR, a 120Hz refresh rate or HDMI 2.1 ports, older TVs might not have what it takes to make Vice City look its best.

With Prime Day sales going on right now it's the perfect time to upgrade your big-screen TV. Here are the best Prime Day TV deals for the GTA faithful out there.

The best gaming TVs for GTA 6

What makes these TVs so special?

Importantly, all these TVs support 4K/120Hz gameplay using a combination of native 120Hz panels, VRR and multiple HDMI 2.1 ports.

Beyond that, I chose these models because they're slightly smaller so they can fit in a bedroom or dorm room (the places most likely to have someone gaming for hours on end).

Four of the five models are OLED TVs. That's my preferred panel type for GTA 6. While Mini-LED might be brighter, OLEDs are going to make nighttime in Vice City look incredible. You'll get inky blacks punctuated by neon signs, streetlights and, I'm just going to assume here, plenty of explosions.

You can, of course, go for the lone Mini-LED TV if you want something bigger, but I can't speak highly enough of OLED's incredible capabilities.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've been reviewing TVs for over a decade — these are the 38 Prime Day TV deals worth your time
• I'm tracking all the Nintendo Switch 2 Prime Day deals — and these are the 17 discounts I'd actually get
• Sony’s new Bravia 7 II has a secret weapon that makes it so good

It has been many years, but GTA 6 arrives on November 19, and you can pre-order it right now for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

• GTA 6 (PS5): $79 @ Best Buy
• GTA 6 (Xbox): $79 @ Amazon

There are two editions of GTA 6 to choose from: the Standard Edition ($79 / £69), which gets you the base game, alongside a nifty pre-order bonus, and the more premium Ultimate Edition ($99 / £89), which has the full game alongside a treasure trove of extras, including outfits, vehicles, weapon skins, and exclusive missions.

Since digital copies can't physically sell out, you don't have to worry about stock running out. That said, if you want to explore Vice City on launch day, you'll want to secure a copy and lock in those sweet pre-order bonuses.

We at Tom's Guide are not immune to GTA 6 hype, so we're delivering all the pre-order information to you with live coverage of what will surely be the biggest game of this generation. Here are all the links you need to secure a copy, along with other related tidbits on Rockstar's upcoming blockbuster title.

GTA 6 pre-orders - quick links

• Amazon: pre-orders LIVE
• Target: pre-orders LIVE
• Walmart: pre-orders LIVE
• Best Buy: pre-orders LIVE
• GameStop: pre-orders LIVE
• PlayStation Store: pre-orders LIVE
• Xbox Store: pre-orders LIVE

GTA 6 pre-orders - full retailer listings

Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders are now live in the US as of 12 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 25.

GTA 6 pre-orders UK - quick links

• Amazon (U.K.): pre-orders LIVE
• Very: pre-orders LIVE
• EE: pre-orders LIVE
• Argos: pre-orders LIVE
• ShopTo: pre-orders LIVE
• The Game Collection: pre-orders LIVE
• PlayStation Store: pre-orders LIVE
• Xbox Store: pre-orders LIVE
• Currys: check stock

GTA 6 pre-orders UK - full retailer listings

Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders are now live in the UK as of 12 a.m. BST on Thursday, June 25.

GTA 6 pre-orders AU - quick links

• Amazon: pre-orders LIVE
• JB Hi-Fi: pre-orders LIVE
• The Gamesmen: pre-orders LIVE

Live updates

GTA 6 pre-orders are finally here!

Hello! It's been a long road, but GTA 6 pre-orders have arrived. After a few false dawns in recent months, in the UK and Australia you can pre-order the game now, and the US isn't far behind. Stick with me, and I'll guide you through the full process to help you lock in your copy, with all the retailer links you will need.

UK gamers, you can pre-order GTA 6 right now

If you're in the UK (and still awake in the early hours of the morning), you can secure your GTA 6 pre-order right now. The game is available to pre-order on digital storefronts like PlayStation and Xbox (these are the only places at present to get the Ultimate Edition), or you can get a physical copy at Amazon and more!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): £69 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): £69 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): £89 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): £89 @ Xbox Store

GTA 6 pre-orders in the US are nearly here!

Any US GTA fans feeling a little jealous watching gamers in other regions secure their pre-orders don't need to worry, GTA 6 pre-orders are heading to the US very soon. Per Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders begin at midnight local time, so we're only a few hours away from American gamers getting in on the action!

A note on the 'physical' edition of GTA 6

One piece of news today that hasn't been so welcome is the revelation that the physical edition of GTA 6 isn't quite so...well, physical. In the boxed copy of the game, you won't find a disc, instead you just get a digital download code. It's been speculated that this due to Rockstar wanting to prevent leaks, but it's still pretty disappointing for fans of physical media. It also means that you won't be able to share the game with friends and family, or trade it in after you've completed it.

Here's the deets on the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition

The Grand Theft Auto VI Ultimate Edition is the most premium version of the game, and retails for $99. That's $20 more than the regular edition. Yes, it's a lot for a brand new game, but you are getting quite a lot for your extra money.

Here's the very long list of digital items that are exclusive to the Ultimate Edition:

• 67 Vapid Dominator Buggy and Paradise Garage
• ’95 Grotti Cheetah sports car
• Vehicles and Vapid Ganado Retro Build at Jason’s Safehouse
• Vehicle Mod Shops
• Classic Car Collection missions
• Shitzu Squalo boat
• Hawk & Little Morgan Revolver
• Stock 305 Clothing Store
• Sara’s Unisex Salon
• Personalized Weapon Variants
• PTT Youngin$ Compound and Scores
• Vice City Styles for Jason and Lucia
• Goodtime Gear
• Electric Fang Tattoo

You can see in-game screenshots of each item on the GTA 6 website, but in short, it appears if you want the full GTA 6 experience you'll need to cough up an extra $20 (naturally, some gamers aren't pleased about this). One other thing to note, it appears, there won't be a boxed version of the Ultimate Edition, in neither the UK or AU have we seen the Ultimate Edition outside of digital storefronts.

Is there a GTA 6 Collector's Edition?

Pictured above is the GTA 5 Collector's Edition, which was launched alongside the game back in September 2013, many gamers, myself included, assumed GTA 6 would also get a physical Collector's Edition stuffed with goodies, but sadly, it looks like Rockstar is going for a more streamlined approach with GTA 6.

As of now, only two version have been announced the Standard Edition and the Ultimate Edition, no Collector's Edition has been showcased, or even teased. However, don't give up all hope quite yet. There are theories that GTA 6 could get a proper physical edition next year (with a proper game disc) and perhaps if this prediction proves accurate, Rockstar will bundle it with some extra swag.

Only time will tell, but it seems at least at launch in November, collector's will be left wanting.

Rockstar offers a sweetener for pre-ordering GTA 6

Like most AAA titles, Rockstar is offering gamers who pre-order a free bonus in the form of the Vintage Vice City Pack.

This DLC pack will be given to any player who buys the game before November 20, and offers '80s-themed outfits for both protagonists, Lucia and Jason, as well as an exclusive vehicle, the 1955 Vapid Stanier. Oh, and a Tropical Pattern Weapon Skin that anybody who played the original GTA: Vice City might just recognize.

I reckon most gamers would pre-order GTA 6 even without any form of bonus, but this sweetener is pretty nice, and I know for a fact, I'm going to be rocking those '80s style outfits (pictured above) for at least half of my first playthrough.

GTA fans, tell me which edition you're going to pre-order!

If you're a US gamer patiently waiting for GTA 6 pre-orders to hit the States, let me know which edition has caught your eye most. And any night owls in the UK, feel free to also clue me in which edition you went for. I haven't made my choice yet, but I'm definitely leaning towards the Ultimate Edition, it's just very tempting!

Here's when you can pre-load GTA 6

GTA 6 launches November 19, but here's another date for your diary, November 12. That's the day that GTA 6 pre-loads will begin, letting you download the full game well in advance, so the moment it unlocks a week later, you can start playing immediately. Rather than spending half of launch day watching a download bar.

Pre-loading is increasingly important in a gaming world where major titles often demand more than 100GBs of hard drive space, and with a game the size of GTA 6, I'm confident it's install requirement will be measured in the triple digits.

Those buying a 'physical' edition won't be left out either, because the boxed game is just a download code (rather than a game disc), it's set to ship from retailers to arrive from November 12, and will allow you to pre-load the game. So, whatever edition you pick, you will be able to jump straight into the action on launch day.

Check out GTA 6 pre-orders down in Oz

GTA 6 pre-orders haven't even gone live in the US yet, but over in Australia, the game has been available to pre purchase for more than 12 hours at this point (aren't timezones fun!). If you're an Australian gamer who didn't fancy staying up till midnight, why not go ahead and lock in your GTA 6 pre-order now it's a more reasonable time of the day. Here's all the retailer links you'll need:

• JB Hi-Fi: pre-orders LIVE
• EB Games: pre-orders LIVE
• The Gamesmen: pre-orders LIVE
• Big W: pre-orders LIVE

What's the deal with GTA 6 Online?

Curiously, in all of today's GTA 6 pre-order information, one aspect that hasn't appeared is GTA Online. GTA 5's online component took on a life of its own and became a success story (and cash cow) that eclipsed the single-player campaign.

It was assumed that GTA 6 would go big on its online aspect. Yet so far, Rockstar hasn't commented on how GTA 6 will shape what's next for GTA Online. Of course, it's almost certain that there will be some form of GTA Online integration, but I did think we'd have more information on how the multiplayer would factor in by now.

Perhaps this is a sign that Rockstar plans to separate GTA 6 and whatever is next for GTA Online, launching each as a separate game. Or maybe we'll hear more about GTA 6's impact on GTA Online in the months ahead. Either way, I think it's a little unexpected that the Ultimate Edition doesn't include any GTA Online extras.

Another perk of pre-ordering GTA 6

Alongside the pre-order bonus, if you pre-order GTA 6 on digital storefronts (PlayStation and Xbox Store), you'll get an additional freebie, one month free of GTA+. This service gives you access to some GTA Online perks, and access to a library of classic Rockstar titles, includes several fan-favorite GTA games.

There is one slight catch with this freebie, after your free month of GTA+, your subscription will auto renew at the the standard price of $9 / £6 / AUS$11 per month. So, make sure you cancel after the free period, unless of course you end up enjoying the various GTA+ perks so much you want to keep your subscription.

60 minutes until GTA 6 pre-orders arrive in the US

The clock just struck 11 p.m. ET, which means we're just 60 minutes from GTA 6 pre-orders touching down in the US. Rockstar confirmed pre-orders start at "midnight (local time)," and I'm assuming this will mean the floodgates open when the east coast ticks over into Thursday, June 25. Of course, you don't need to stress, because I'll bring you all the updates and retailer links in this live blog!

Fill the time by (re)watching the GTA 6 trailers

We've still got some time to fill before GTA 6 pre-orders land in the US (but we're getting close now folks, stay with me here!). So, if you need something to get your hype flowing further, why not rewatch the GTA 6 trailers. Personally, I must have replayed Trailer 2 half-a-dozen times today, and it still gets me excited! Though it would be nice if Rockstar would drop the much requested Trailer 3 pretty soon.

Everything you need to know in one video!

You don't just need to read my guide to pre-ordering GTA 6 in this blog, as we've put together a video that covers everything you need to know about locking in your copy. Give it a watch before the pre-order floodgates open in the US!

GTA 6 confirmed price, just in case you hadn't seen it yet!

Earlier today, Rockstar announced that Grand Theft Auto VI will retail for $79 as standard, with the Ultimate Edition costing $99. The base game is a $10 increase compared to most of its contemporaries, but it's not the first game to opt for this higher MSRP. Switch 2's Mario Kart World also launched at $79 last summer.

Sorry, Switch 2 gamers (and PC players)!

If you happen to game exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 or a high-powered gaming PC, the bad news is that you'll have to sit this one out. For now, GTA 6 is only confirmed for PS5 and Xbox Series X. I suspect it will come to PC in 2027 (a Switch 2 port seems less unlikely), but on November 19, the only places you'll be able to travel to Vice City are on either the latest PlayStation or Xbox consoles.

No GTA 6 listing pages have appeared (yet)

With GTA 6 pre-orders on the horizon, I've been doing my latest sweep of all the major US retailers, and can report back there's been no change. There still aren't any listing pages at major US retailers. But this isn't unexpected. It was a similar story in the UK, but when midnight hit, the pages started to appear. I expect to see similar happen in the US at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.

What do you make of GTA 6's cover art?

As you may have seen, last week the official cover art for GTA 6 was showcased. Naturally it follows the series' trademark style, and includes a few teases of the characters and chaos the game will contain. Let me know in the comments what you make of the cover art. For me, it's a step up compared to GTA 5, but doesn't quite unseat my favorite GTA artwork, which belongs to Grand Theft Auto IV.

GTA 6 pre-orders are almost here!

It's nearly midnight ET, which means that GTA 6 pre-orders should be about to begin in the US (at least, on the east coast). You don't need to scramble to find the right retailer link, though. I'm here to guide you through the process and make it a breeze. Let's just hope that each retailer's website can handle the crunch!

It's almost midnight...

It's just a few minutes until midnight on the east coast, I'm expecting GTA 6 pre-orders to begin any moment in the US. I'm standing by ready to bring you all the retailer link as soon as the floodgates open...

GTA 6 pre-orders are LIVE in the US

And here we go! GTA 6 pre-orders have landed in the US with the PlayStation Store the first to press the red button and go live!

• GTA 6 (Standard Edition): $79 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ PlayStation Store

Xbox Store isn't far behind with GTA 6 pre-orders

Clearly, Xbox doesn't want to be outmuscled by PlayStation, GTA 6 pre-orders just dropped on its own digital storefront. You can choose between the Standard Edition or the Ultimate Edition

• GTA 6 (Standard Edition): $79 @ Xbox Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ Xbox Store

No signs of 'physical' copies just yet

With PlayStation and Xbox Store pre-orders live, I'm on the hunt for the "physical" edition of the game (remember, there's no disc, it's a code in the box), so far, I'm not seeing listing pages at any major retailers, but I'm checking furiously, so watch this space, I'll bring you updates the moment something changes...

Here's all the GTA 6 pre-order links we've got so far!

At present, only the PlayStation/Xbox digital storefronts have made GTA 6 available for pre-order, though I imagine that's where many gamers will want to place a pre-order. If you want a boxed copy, stick around. I'm keeping a close eye on all major retailers right now. We saw a similar trend in the UK with digital storefronts updating first, and physical copies filtering through minutes later.

• GTA 6 (Standard Edition): $79 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Standard Edition): $79 @ Xbox Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ Xbox Store

The mysterious case of the missing 'physical' GTA 6 pre-orders!

We're now at 12:40 a.m. ET, and still no signs of boxed copies of GTA 6 at any US retailers. In other regions, such as the UK, we had listings for the "physical" copy by this point. Maybe US retailers are holding back until 12 a.m. PT? Or will they be released at a later date? I'll keep watching for now and update if I spot anything.

Amazon US has GTA 6 pre-orders at last

Whelp, I guess that's mystery solved. Just as I was grumbling about the lack of boxed copies of GTA 6 in the US, Amazon has set it's pre-order listing live, if you've been waiting, go lock in your copy now!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon

Will Amazon's drop be alone for long?

So, now we've got GTA 6 pre-orders at the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store and Amazon, that's a good selection of retailers to pick from, but now my eyes are on the likes of Best Buy, Walmart and Target. Will Amazon going first with the "physical" edition of GTA 6 lead to it's retail rivals dropping their pre-orders soon?

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon

Welcome to the GTA 6 pre-order party, Target!

Amazon isn't alone anymore at the GTA 6 pre-order party, Target has dropped it's listings for GTA 6, you can pre-order the Standard Edition on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S for $79. If you've been waiting for the red retailer, get your copy locked in!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target

Now we're cooking, Walmart pre-orders are LIVE

We had to wait a while for the major retailers to catch up with the digital storefronts, but now they're starting to come thick and fast, just as we got Target's GTA 6 pre-orders, Walmart has joined in on the fun. You can pre-order now!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart

Here's a huge list of GTA 6 pre-order links!

It's been a hectic few minutes with "physical" GTA 6 pre-orders finally going live at multiple retailers, so let's take stock. Here's all the places you can pre-order GTA 6 right now, including the digital-exclusive Grand Theft Auto VI Ultimate Edition.

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart
• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ Xbox Store

Have you pre-ordered GTA 6 yet?

If you've secured your GTA 6 pre-order already, let me know which edition you selected in the poll down below. I still need to secure my own copy, but I'm getting the Ultimate Edition cause all those extras look pretty darn useful.

Go digital if you want the Ultimate Edition

With pre-orders now live in the US, I think we can conclude at this point there won't be a physical edition of the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition at launch (yes, I know all boxed copies of GTA 6 are a download code, so not truly physical, but you know what I mean). If you want the $99 version with a bunch of extra DLC items, you'll need to pre-order GTA 6 at either the PlayStation Store or the Xbox Store.

• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ Xbox Store

Better late than never, Best Buy

Best Buy is now taking GTA 6 pre-orders. The retailer made us wait, but if you'd like to lock in a copy from the electronics specialist, now is your chance. Have at it!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Best Buy
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Best Buy

Amazon has sold out of GTA 6 PS5 pre-orders!

Well, I didn't see this coming. Amazon has (for now, at least) sold out of GTA 6. For all the talk about nobody wanting a "code in box" copy on social media, it appears many people were happy to go without a game disc. Don't worry if you missed out, you can still pre-order a "physical" copy over on Best Buy. But if you do want a version of the game that you can gift or display on your shelf, action quick!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Best Buy
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Best Buy

GameStop is live, and we have a full set!

And there we have it, more than 2 hours after the pre-orders begun, GameStop has set it's GTA 6 listing pages live, and is now taking pre-orders. Remember Amazon has sold out of PS5 boxed copies, so this is a great alternative!

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ GameStop
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ GameStop

Amazon is sold out of PS5 copies, but these retailers aren't (yet)

I'm still a little stunned that Amazon has sold out of PS5 copies of GTA 6, but I'm highly confident there will be several restocks between now and November. However, if you don't want to wait, here are the retailers that still have stock.

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Best Buy
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart
• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target
• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ GameStop

Argos opens pre-orders as the UK wakes up

I guess Argos was waiting till a more sensible hour to start taking GTA 6 pre-orders. After skipping the midnight drop, the retailer is now taking GTA 6 pre-orders. As per the rest, it's got the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X, retailing for £69.

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): £69 @ Argos
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): £69 @ Argos

Meanwhile, Amazon UK stock is holding strong

Sticking with the UK, while Amazon in the US might have run into stock issues, that's not the case on the other side of the pond. On Amazon UK, you can still pre-order GTA 6 on PS5 without issues. Just add to cart and check out as normal.

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): £69 @ Amazon

Still waiting on movement from Currys

Currys is one of the only major UK retailers left that isn't taking GTA 6 pre-orders (assuming it plans to stock the game, of course). I suspect it's taking a similar approach to Argos by skipping the midnight drop and will open the floodgates at some point today during a more reasonable hour. If you're holding out to pre-order GTA 6 specifically at Currys, I've put a stock checking link down below.

• Currys: check stock

Amazon PS5 copies are back!?

An hour ago it seemed like Amazon US had sold out of PS5 copies of GTA 6, but a quick look back at the retailer seems to show pre orders are available again — at least for me. Your mileage may vary but if you're also seeing the GTA 6 pre orders back in stock at Amazon, I'd move fast to secure yours.

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon

Standard Edition vs Ultimate Edition — here's what you get

There are two versions of GTA 6 to choose from: the standard edition and the ultimate edition. The former is $79 while the latter is $99.

Here's what you get if you order the standard edition:

• Digital code for the base game
• A physical box for display
• Vintage Vice City Pack
• The ability to preload from November 12

If you decide to spend a bit extra, here's what you get with the ultimate edition:

• Digital code for the base game
• A physical box for display
• Vintage Vice City Pack
• A collection of digital bonuses that Rockstar describes as "an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story."
• The ability to preload from November 12

Okay, so that last part about "action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia's story" is probably the most important part of that rather vague description. It could mean that there's extra game content to be enjoyed with the ultimate edition that you won't get with the standard.

Either way, which one are you planning to pre-order?

GTA 6 may be the PS5 push Sony is hoping for

Since the stock levels are stable at the moment, let's just take a second to reflect on how monumental GTA 6 is likely to be when the dust settles. Its predecessor is one of the best-selling video games of all time and there's no doubt we'll see seismic sales across all the platforms over the next few months.

Nobody will be hoping for this more than Sony. The Japanese company — like every other electronics manufacturer — has recently put prices up. But once in a while a game like GTA 6 comes along that's a guaranteed system seller. A lot of people who haven't taken the plunge on a PS5 yet may be tempted to upgrade just for this game.

We'll keep an eye out for PS5 deals if you are looking to pick one up before November, but for now, here's how prices have changed:

Some retailers are refusing to stock GTA 6

While you can currently pre-order GTA 6 from a multitude of the biggest retailers in the U.S. and the U.K., not every outlet has decided to stock what's going to be 2026's biggest game.

According to a report on IGN, both Canada's Video Games Plus retailer and an independent retailer known as Loot Box Gaming won't be selling the game because it doesn't come on a physical disc. In the case of Video Game Plus (which has a policy of not selling digital codes), the retailer said it's not a reflection on the game itself but the company's goal is to preserve physical media.

A reminder of where you can pre-order

GTA 6 pre-orders may sell out in various places over the course of the day but for now it looks like all the major retailers still have stock in place. Even if all the "physical" copies are sold out over the course of today and tomorrow, I'm confident there will be plenty of restocks between now and November.

Here's a long list of links where you can pre-order the game right now.

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Amazon
• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Walmart
• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): $79 @ Target
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ PlayStation Store
• GTA 6 (Ultimate Edition): $99 @ Xbox Store

Let's revisit the trailer

If you're anything like me, you've already watched this trailer numerous times over the last year — but here it is again just to get you even more pumped for what's coming in November!

Pre-orders are now live at EE in the UK

Phone retailer EE has joined the party, with its pre-order pages for both the Xbox and PS5 versions of GTA 6 standard edition available now. Here are the links you need:

• GTA 6 (PS5, Standard Edition): £69 @ EE
• GTA 6 (Xbox, Standard Edition): £69 @ EE

GTA 6 console bundles just dropped in the UK

I was wondering whether or not GTA 6 would spur casual gamers who hadn't yet taken the plunge on a PS5 or Xbox Series X to upgrade — and now I've just spotted some bundles that make it tempting.

These are U.K.-based deals at phone network EE, but I would expect U.S. retailers to follow through with their own bundles soon enough.

You can pick up either the PS5 Pro or the PS5 Slim with GTA 6 and save £49 in the process.

The deal is a little worse on the Xbox side, where you can grab the Series X or Series S alongside GTA 6 and save yourself £30.

Here are the links you'll need:

• PS5 Pro + GTA 6: was £858 now £809 @ EE
• PS5 Slim + GTA 6: was £639 now £589 @ EE
• Xbox Series X (1TB) + GTA 6: was £569 now £539 @ EE
• Xbox Series X (1TB) Digital Edition + GTA 6: was £518 now £488 @ EE
• Xbox Series X (1TB) + GTA 6: was £419 now £389 @ EE

A disc version to come later?

It sounds like the code-in-a-box release is just for the first wave of games, as an industry insider is saying that Take Two will drop a disc version of the game in December. The leak comes from the Polish site PPE.pl, which is the same one that first reported that GTA 6 wouldn't come with a disc on day one.

The report says that both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X will get physical copies with a disc sometime in December.

This is being done to prevent pre-release leaks of the game, or at least that's the claim. The cynical part of me wonders if Rockstar and Take Two are looking to sell two copies to their most dedicated fans — one on day one, so they can play right away, and one in December so they can have a copy for their collection.

The hype is still high

Whether the game was $70, $80, or even higher, I think we can all agree we'd be ready to buy it from day one.

After more than a decade between GTA games, how can you not be excited to see what Rockstar can do with the latest technology?

I'm actually quite happy they kept the price down to $80, as I had a bad feeling it would end up selling for more. Would I rather pay less? Of course, but there has to be a certain expectation when you're talking about the biggest game of all time.

Here's my personal pick for best controller to play GTA 6 with

So chances are half the planet has already pre-ordered GTA 6 (there's still stock available on physical copies if you try the links up top), but what about getting ready to play it the right way?

Let's start with the controller. There's a lot to choose from, but my personal favorite (one I've been using the months now) is the Razer Raiju V3 Pro. It's got the far more comfortable form factor than the Dualsense (which I thought was impossible given the PS5 pads are really nice to use), as well as super precise TMR thumbsticks, high customizability and mouse-like clicky face buttons.

This will be a dream to play GTA 6 on, and its 33% off right now!

Razer Raiju V3 Pro: was $219 now $147 @ Amazon

Also worth noting, this price is for the black version. If you get it in white, it's even cheaper!

Razer Raiju V3 Pro (white): was $219 now $136 @ Amazon

Get yourself the best screen to play it on!

We'll talk about TVs to play GTA 6 on in a short while, but for the ultimate gaming setup, I'd always point you towards a monitor. Year-over-year an increasing number of console players have their hardware strapped to a monitor, and I can understand why — better refresh rates and response times, as well as all that same great color reproduction of the big screen.

That being said, you do give up the couch comforts (more on that later). But if you're going the monitor direction, we've got some stellar 4K panels that are so much cheaper this Prime Day! Plus, they're super adaptable to any setup — say plugging a laptop in or a desktop.

I've tested them all and they're great at every respective budget:

• Acer Nitro 27 (27-inch 4K 160Hz): was $349 now $208 @ Amazon
• Asus TUF VG27UQ1A (27-inch 4K 160Hz): was $379 now $255 @ Amazon
• MSI MPG 321URXW (32-inch 4K 240Hz): was $879 now $731 @ Amazon

The real GTA 6 costs $100

For months, we've heard rumors that GTA 6 would cost $100. While the Ultimate Edition certainly costs that much, the base version of the game costs $80. However, given the amount of content missing from the latter, it's safe to say that the real version of GTA 6 is indeed $100.

Here is a breakdown from our article titled, GTA 6's Ultimate Edition is the real full game:

• GTA 6 Standard Edition ($79.99): One free month of GTA+ and the Vintage Vice City Pack (this comes with this ‘55 Vapid Stanier Sedan, a garage located near Ocean Beach, additional outfits & hairstyles for Jason & Lucia and a special firearm pattern set).
• GTA 6 Ultimate Edition ($99.99): One free month of GTA+, The Vintage Vice City Pack, The ‘95 Grotti Cheetah sports car, the Hawk & Little Morgan Revolver, personalized weapon variants, Vice City Style outfits, hairstyles, tattoos & more, Jason’s Safehouse Vehicles, a Retro Build customization option for Jason’s Vapid Ganado vehicle, the Shitzu Squalo boat, the ‘67 Vapid Dominator Buggy & Garage, the Goodtime Gear capsule collection of additional apparel & accessories, a raid mission that takes players to the PTT Youngin$ Compound, a classic car collection sidequest and special destinations that offer more customization options (Rideout Customs for vehicles, Sara’s Unisex Salon for hair & nails, Stock 305 for streetwear, Electric Fang Tattoo for tattoos and One-Eyed Willie’s for off-road vehicle mods).

Just by looking at everything that comes with the Ultimate Edition, you’d be hard-pressed to think GTA 6’s Standard Edition is actually worth buying. So given that, we can say that the rumors were indeed true. GTA 6 costs $100.

Need an Xbox for GTA 6? Here's what's on sale during Prime Day

If you're looking for an Xbox console for playing GTA 6 on, you'll know that sales are few and far between. So I've scoured the internet, and here are a few places you can score an Xbox and save some money:

• Xbox Series S (512GB): was $399 now $349 @ Dell
• Xbox Series S (512GB) [Renewed Premium]: was $399 now $349 @ Amazon
• Xbox Series X (1TB): was $649 now $573 @ Target

Need a PS5 for GTA 6? Here's where you can get it at a discount

If you're looking for a PS5 or PS5 Pro for playing GTA 6, I have good news for you. While it took a bit of deep digging, I've found a few places where you can get a console and save a few dollars:

• PS5 Slim Ghost of Yotei bundle (1TB): now $599 @ GameStop
• PS5 Pro (2TB) [Refurbished]: now $819 @ GameStop (or $779 w/ Pro membership)

Not enough consoles for GTA 6?

According to The Game Business, a major games retailer has warned that there won't be enough Xbox or PlayStation consoles to meet the demand for GTA 6.

“We’ve been informed that because of the ongoing issues around hardware component availability, we won’t be getting the units we want ahead of GTA," said the anonymous retailer. They also added: “Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year-end period.”

Back in May, Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki told investors that “for calendar year 2026, the necessary volume has been secured.” Conversely, Xbox's Matthew Ball told the outlet that there were already supply issues. Perhaps this is why Xbox just announced more price hikes for the Xbox Series X/S.

Will GTA 6 break pre-order records?

While many folks have voiced their displeasure over GTA 6 costing $80 at a minimum, it's likely a safe bet that, despite that, GTA 6 will set pre-order records.

According to VGChartz, GTA V had 7 million combined pre-orders on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 (yes, it has been a long time!). This generated $815 million in worldwide revenue in the first 24 hours, surpassing $1 billion in three days, which set a Guinness World Record at the time.

Given the insane hype for GTA 6 and the game's higher asking price, don't be surprised if it shatters GTA V's impressive pre-order record.

Get the perfect gaming TV for GTA 6!

When GTA 6 finally arrives on November 19 and you've secured your copy, the last thing you want to worry about is your TV not keeping up with the action. Whether it's because it lacks VRR, a 120Hz refresh rate, or HDMI 2.1 ports, older TVs might not have what it takes to make Vice City look its best. With Prime Day sales underway, it's the perfect time to upgrade your big-screen TV.

These 5 gaming TVs are perfect for GTA 6.

• LG 48" B5 4K OLED TV: was $1,299 now $599 at Best Buy
• Samsung 48" S90F 4K OLED TV: was $1,397 now $797 at Amazon
• LG 42" C5 4K OLED TV: was $999 now $899 at Amazon
• Sony 55" XR8B 4K OLED TV: was $1,499 now $998 at Amazon
• Hisense 75" U7SF Mini-LED TV: was $1,999 now $999 at Amazon

Why is GTA 6 digital only?

Rockstar Games has not officially stated why it is only releasing GTA 6 digitally. Because of that, we can only make educated guesses as to why.

One possible reason is to prevent early leaks. This is something we've seen happen all the time i.e. when stores get discs early and sell them to customers (before they're supposed to), which invariably leads to leaks. Having a digital-only game stops that in its tracks. A digital release also prevents reselling, which is something the game industry in general hates but stores like GameStop love.

As we've posted before, it sounds like the code-in-a-box release is just for the first wave of games, as an industry insider is saying that Take Two will drop a disc version of the game in December. The leak comes from the Polish site PPE.pl, which is the same one that first reported that GTA 6 wouldn't come with a disc on day one.

We'll have to see if that claim is accurate. Regardless, if you want to play GTA 6, you can only do so digitally. At least during the initial launch.

Blame GTA 6 for the great September game flood

GTA 6 will be the biggest game launch of the year. Because of that, nearly every game is staying as far away from its November 19 launch as possible. To prove that point, here's just a handful of major games that are releasing in September:

• Blood of the Dawn Walker (Sep 3)
• Marvel's Wolverine (Sep 15)
• Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave (Sep 17)
• Control Resonant (Sep 24)
• Silent Hill: Townfall (Sep 24)
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword (Sep 25)

Again, that's only a selection of games releasing in September, as there are many others. If you're a game publisher releasing a title in September, we wish you good luck! It's going to be very crowded.

Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2 is the rare remake that managed to exceed my expectations while feeling instantly familiar. While the original formula remains intact, Nintendo, alongside developer Velan Studios have modernized every aspect of this classic game from the visuals down to the controls.

Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox crew look better than ever, as do all of the 15 different stages. Of course, due to the game’s branching paths, you will have to complete multiple playthroughs if you want to see them all. You definitely will, though, thanks to the new, more cinematic cutscenes between each stage.

Controlling your Arwing felt great in the original, but on the Switch 2, it’s even more satisfying. The controls are snappy and responsive when playing in handheld mode or with a Switch 2 Pro Controller. However, you can also detach your Joy-Cons to play in Mouse Mode, which shifts your perspective from third to first-person, making gameplay feel even more immersive.

If this is your first time saving the Lylat system, you’re in for a treat. For seasoned Star Fox players, though, the game and its stages play out almost exactly as you remember them, for better or worse. While there is a new multiplayer mode, it doesn’t feel extensive enough to justify picking up this remake for it alone.

Star Fox for the Switch 2 is still the best way to experience this classic starfighter. Read on for my full Star Fox review.

Star Fox: The Basics

• What is it? Star Fox is a sci-fi rail-shooter and space combat game with high-speed aerial dogfights and branching paths where you fight to protect the Lylat system.
• Who is it for? Star Fox fans who want to re-experience Star Fox 64 on the Switch 2’s more powerful hardware with improved controls and visuals.
• What's the price? Star Fox costs $49 if you buy it digitally or $59 if you buy a physical copy.
• What other games has the developer made? Star Fox for the Switch 2 was developed by Velan Studios alongside Nintendo. They previously worked together on the mixed-reality racer Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, but the studio also created the dodgeball brawler Knockout City.
• What games is it similar to? Given it’s a modern remake, Star Fox feels a lot like Star Fox 64 as well as other space combat and flying games such as Star Wars: Squadrons and Ace Combat.

Seeing the Lylat system with new eyes

I still remember popping the rumble pack into the back of my N64 controller and booting up Star Fox 64 for the first time. While the original set the bar quite high, this reimagining of Nintendo’s classic space opera immediately hooked me once I saw how stunning it looked on the Switch 2.

From the menus to the cutscenes to the levels themselves, Star Fox shines in a crisp and buttery smooth 4K resolution at 60fps on Switch 2. Gone are the blocky and low-polygon structures of the original as they’ve been replaced with top-tier graphics you’d expect to see on the PS5 or Xbox Series X.

By upgrading and optimizing its proprietary Viper Engine, Velan Studios has managed to deliver impressive visuals and a locked framerate of 60 fps. The HDR implementation is another big highlight here as laser fire and bombs shot from your Arwing stand out brilliantly against the deep blacks of outer space.

Whether I was flying alongside the water outside Corneria, navigating through space debris in Sector X or submerged in the Blue-Marine in Aquas, all of the various environments in Star Fox had my eyes glued to the screen. In fact, I took different paths throughout several playthroughs just to see them all.

Fantastic Mr. Star Fox

From the opening scene after the updated tutorial, when the crew takes off their VR headsets, it’s clear we’re dealing with a familiar yet entirely different Star Fox. Instead of the dated character models of the original, we’re now met with ones that feel more like the cast of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox film. I like them personally, but they have divided the series’ loyal fanbase somewhat.

You’ll be seeing a lot more of Fox, Slippy, Peppy and Falco, too, as there are now beautifully rendered cinematics in between missions. They help fill out the story and show the inner workings of the Star Fox crew in ways I could only imagine when playing the original.

There are changes during the missions themselves, too, when it comes to the story and especially dialogue. While some fan favorite sayings like “Do a barrel roll” remain, the lines delivered by the crew mid-combat feel more intentional and add an extra layer of depth to the overall story.

For instance, during the first level, you’re tasked with saving Falco as he’s having trouble with his ship’s G-Diffuser. In the original, after you helped him out, that was that. Now, though, in the Switch 2 version of Star Fox, Slippy chimes in saying that’s why you don’t want to rush a systems check.

There are little extra bits of dialogue here and there throughout the story, and alongside the new cinematics, I felt more immersed in the world of Star Fox than ever before.

By air, land and sea

Even though the levels themselves are on-rails, your journey to take on Andross is more flexible thanks to Star Fox’s branching paths. Depending on which teammates you save, how many hits you deal out to enemies and a few other conditions, new paths and different levels become available.

This adds some much-needed variety to the core game while also giving you a reason to replay its campaign. While you pilot Star Fox’s iconic Arwing craft for a majority of the game, it’s not the only vehicle.

For instance, if you take the easy path to Venom, there’s a level where you take command of the Landmaster tank. The tank features the same controls as your Arwing, but since you’re on the ground instead of in the air, it’s a welcome change from flying.

Alternatively, if you take the hard path to Venom, there’s an underwater level where you pilot the Blue-Marine submarine. Built by Slippy from spare parts, the submarine works just like your Arwing, too. Having missed this section as a kid, it was a nice surprise, and the enemies and environment of Aquas were absolutely worth another run of the campaign.

Although Star Fox’s campaign only takes about an hour and a half to finish, revisiting levels to look for secret paths does add a bit more to the game. Still, I wish there were more new levels besides the prologue to really round out this upgraded package.

From tactical to all-range

If you’ve booted up Nintendo Switch Online and tried to play through Star Fox 64 recently, you’re in for a welcome surprise on Switch 2 as Velan Studios has modernized the game’s controls. Instead of using a single analog stick and the C-button, Star Fox now features dual-stick flight.

The left stick handles your Arwing’s positioning while the right stick controls your reticle. This separation gives you far greater precision when aiming your lasers.

Alternatively, you can take things a step further by detaching your Joy-Cons and playing in Mouse Mode. Though I found the first-person perspective does take some getting used to.

In addition to this new control scheme, there’s an overall snapiness when it comes to pressing buttons to boost, brake and deploy bombs, as well as when you’re using the triggers to shoot or the bumpers to barrel roll. Suffice it to say, piloting an Arwing has never felt this good.

Star Fox: Verdict

Star Fox on the Switch 2 marks the triumphant return of Fox McCloud, though it’s also an excellent showcase of what Nintendo’s latest console is capable of. The upgraded graphics and improved visual fidelity make this the best way to experience this classic adventure, while the snappier and more modern controls make piloting your Arwing just as satisfying.

Although I wish we could play the full campaign together with a friend in co-op mode with our own ships, at least Nintendo does give you a way to do so as pilot and gunner. Likewise, there are a lot of great ideas in the new multiplayer modes, but let’s face it, we’re here for the single-player campaign. Whether you’re just saving the Lylat system for the first time or you’re a seasoned mercenary who knows all the hidden paths, this is the best Star Fox has ever looked and played.

Taiwan, Shanghai, Shenzen, Long Beach, London. It’s been a busy three weeks for me, as I traveled around the world in 20 days (suck it, Phileas Fogg). With that comes a lot of long haul air flights, but with the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ in hand, I was never worried about being bored.

As you saw back at Computex, I tested it and saw the first true glimpse of a next generation handheld — thanks to that Intel Arc G3 Extreme superpower. Throw in real attention to the ergonomics; a bright, vibrant display, and a real PS5 Dualsense-esque upgrade to the haptics, and you’ve got a phenomenal handheld.

On the road (and in the air), real-world testing shows just how massive of an uplift this system can provide over any handhelds with AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme packed into it. It’s really comfortable in the hands with tactile buttons and a massive uplift in battery life. Docking it into hotel room TVs was a real showcase of how XeSS 3 can unlock that Nintendo Switch experience of great gaming both on-the-go and at home.

Plus, the CPU side of it is strong enough that I was able to handle my work in China easily with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse attached. Throw in Xbox mode that does a much better job of tying things together into a console UI (not all the way there yet), and this is a dream start.

There’s just one thing, though… $1,799. Yep, you read that right. I was ready for a big price given what MSI told me (they were “targeting $1,500”). But as I told the boys on the 128kb podcast, the word “targeting” doesn’t mean “is,” and was doing a lot of heavy lifting to cover a drastic price increase.

RAMageddon has sent prices spiraling out of control, and it leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth — conflicted that this handheld is so good, but also so expensive. It makes it a tough one to recommend to anyone other than the handheld pros and enthusiasts with deep pockets.

But to those of you who fit these criteria, make no bones about it: you’re getting the best gaming handheld I’ve ever tested.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? This is a PC gaming handheld, and one of the most powerful you can buy right now.
• Who is it for? This is for the gaming enthusiasts who are always on-the-go.
• What does it cost? Brace yourself — it’s $1,799.
• What do we like? Intel Arc G3 Extreme delivers as the most powerful handheld gaming chip, which is packed into a real nice-feeling handheld shell with a great display and impressive button ergonomics.
• What don’t we like? XeSS 3 game support is limited (though the raw horsepower of that GPU can overcome those obstacles), and charging $1,799 for a handheld is crazy.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: Specs

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: The ups

I picked up the Claw 8 EX AI+ from MSI and my first full two days involved flying from Taipei to Shanghai, and then to Shenzen. It’s a hectic schedule, but the Claw kept up with all of it.

The chinniest handheld feels great

Now, I know that chances are the very first thing you noticed is its Crimson Chin-looking aesthetic — that is a big protrusion from the bottom to house that 8-inch display. But as I found out from talking to MSI, that’s by design as a year of iterative design inspired by the ergonomics of the Xbox controller brought them here.

In the real world, those contours fit into my average-sized hands almost perfectly. I can see how small hands may have a struggle with this, but for most of you, those grips feel great with a grooved texture and the buttons are really well-placed.

Not only that, but there's two drastic improvements you won’t be able to see in these photo: the button feel and the haptics. The triggers have a supple smoothness to them in their travel, and the D-pad and face buttons have such a nicer tactility to them thanks to that metal plating beneath them.

As for the vibrations, they always felt a little weak and almost vague in other MSI handhelds. Now with that new haptic motor in here, vibrations are snappy, specific and add a real immersion level to each game you play. It’s a night and day difference.

Also, shoutout to that bright, vibrant IPS panel with variable refresh rate — would’ve loved OLED but this is more than good enough here alongside some crispy, clear speakers that may be tinny but don’t distort at max volume.

Intel’s eating AMD for breakfast

Arc G3 Extreme is quite the mighty chip on paper — taking that 12 Xe3 core GPU I fell in love with on Panther Lake laptops, trimming the CPU fat and shifting the focus to graphics. The end result? A monster of a performant and power efficient chip with some AI tricks in its back pocket to take on AMD’s stranglehold on gaming handhelds.

Team Blue made some mighty claims: 44% higher frame rates than AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme at the same wattage, and the same FPS as the Z2 Extreme when at half the power consumption. Putting it to the test, I’m honestly floored.

Without any of the XeSS 3 features turned on, you can see Intel’s claims backed up (and then some) but then you turn on the resolution scaling and multi-frame generation and you realize this is what PC handheld gaming has been missing.

Making sure you start with a stable base rate (as you should always do with AI tricks like this), the latency is not noticeable when on a controller like this. I saw as much in the games I’ve been playing on my travels, and also at MSI’s HQ when testing this thing.

F1 25 feels buttery smooth when connected to the TV upscaling to 4K, Battlefield 6 doesn’t miss a step, and on a smaller 8-inch display like this, some of that telltale ghosting of frame generation is hard to spot.

And for those moments when you're plugged into the big screen and flipped to desktop mode with a keyboard and mouse, its productivity chops are admirable. With the reduced core count, you’re getting similar speeds to the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, which means you’d be surprised at just how much work you could get done on this thing.

Of course, the 32GB of DDR5 RAM helps with the multitasking chops here for sure (and in this economy, that comes at a steep cost…but more on that later), but being able to use the Claw for both portable play and as a mini PC of sorts for work is a real value unlocker.

Stamina champ

So you’ve seen the goings on when it comes to the raw power efficiency of the Arc G3 Extreme. How does that translate to actual battery life? Well by the rudimentary test we do to compare, it’s head and shoulders above.

But that’s only half the story. Lab results are good and all, but my lived experience gives you much more context. Looking back at the notes I rapidly took on my phone shows that this big number above is just a slither, because that CPU wattage can be taken all the way down to 8 watts.

Doing so while playing Dispatch (given it’s cartoon-animated, you don’t need anything more than that), 1.5 hours of use while travelling to the first hotel in Shanghai took me down to 89%. Then I put it on standby while I went to sleep — usually disastrous for an x86 CPU like Intel’s chip. But the smart hibernation here means I woke up to just a 4% loss in stamina.

Then came my next flight to Shenzen, and I was keen to finish Dispatch (it’s a great game if you’re into Telltale Games-style choose-your-own adventures), and 3 hours on that endurance mode shaved another 29% off. Now we’re down to 56%.

Once I checked into the next hotel, I fired up Forza Horizon 6 and got acquainted with the manual power controls. I turned it down to 720p at low to medium fidelity settings, and the TDP of that chipset was set to 8-15 watts. Framerate-wise, I was getting about 50 FPS without any XeSS on top, and after an hour, the battery went down to 44% before going to sleep.

This kind of longevity is extraordinary while still giving you a strong gameplay experience is extraordinary. You’ll see a lot of people talking about the performance uplift, but the stamina is the real talking point here.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: The downs

As we closed in on the launch (and many fellow nerds on these flights stared at this new hardware with glee in their eyes — sorry for leaking it a little early, MSI!), I’d been hearing rumors about what the final price would be. Once it was revealed, it turned out the rumors were right and my hopes were dashed.

$1,799 is crazy

Let’s talk about it. I remember over a year ago when I said a thousand bucks was pushing it for the ROG Xbox Ally X… Now we’ve fully closed in on 1,800 smackeroonies and that’s a damning statement on the side effects of this AI boom (or bubble if you’re nasty).

I can’t deny that this is the best PC handheld I’ve ever used, and looking at the other Intel Arc G3 Extreme handhelds, this isn’t the worst-priced either. But are those generational improvements over what’s come before worth that drastic uplift in price? It’s touch to say.

If you’re a PC gaming enthusiast and you need an ultraportable to take your library with you at the best fidelity, provided you’ve got the deep pockets for it, this is the one to go for.

If you already have a handheld, hold onto it — wait for that AI bubble to pop to drag down the price of RAM.

For the rest of you, I’d wait for a sale to see how far this price can come down.

XeSS 3 compatibility isn’t all the way there

Now I know this is something that is on the up and up — Intel’s XeSS 3 supported games list is growing gradually. But at around 50 titles, you can’t ignore that the list is pretty small.

Luckily, there’s enough under the hood of that GPU to brute force some smooth frame rates across games, and with AMD’s FSR being technically open source, you could use this with the Arc G3 Extreme on-board to fill in some gaps.

However, I always felt a little sad when I opened a game and there was no XeSS option in sight. Hopefully as this platform alongside Panther Lake in laptops and future chips grow in user base, more developers get on board.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: Verdict

And that’s the story of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ — easily the best PC gaming handheld I’ve ever tested, but I’m conflicted by that price.

It’s a tall order at $1,800, but it’s also the generational leap I was hoping for. So really it’s going to come down to that price. To be honest with you, I’d wait for a sale price on this to make the most of your investment.

Because this is a mighty system as both a beastly gaming handheld and a mini PC to get stuff done on.

When people think about upgrading to a big, immersive display, the latest 5K2K monitors from LG and Samsung are usually the first that come to mind. However, while they’re certainly some of the best monitors you can buy, they come with premium price tags of at least $1,000.

Fortunately, if you want more screen real estate but don’t want to pay as much as you would for a high-end graphics card, there are more affordable alternatives. A few months back, I tried out the 5K2K Innocn 401CU and it certainly fits the bill. While it has a list price of $999, I’ve seen it as low as $600 during major sales events.

After looking through the comments on that story though, I was surprised to see how many Tom’s Guide readers thought even that sale price was too expensive for a monitor, with many suggesting buying a budget 4K TV instead. To see if I could find a gem in the rough, I decided to try out Innocn’s even more affordable sibling: the 401CR ultrawide monitor.

At full price, it’s just under $500, but I’ve seen it go for as low as $350 while on sale. At that price, it’s a steal for a flat, 40-inch ultrawide with single-cable USB-C connectivity. Given Prime Day starts today, I expect it to see a deep discount.

If you need massive screen space for productivity and more immersive gaming, this underdog might just be the perfect upgrade for your desk setup.

Flat, wide and fully-specced

At 37.1 x 16.5 x 2.2 inches, the 40C1R is anything but a small display, and at roughly 20 pounds without the stand, it’s on the heavier side, too. Thankfully, Innocn includes a fairly heavy-duty stand with a thick metal baseplate and a plastic vertical arm that’s reinforced with a sturdy metal core.

Having unboxed my fair share of monitors over the years, I really like how Innocn includes a high-speed USB-C to USB-C video cable and a DisplayPort cable right in the box. You don’t get an HDMI cable though, but you likely have several of those laying around anyway. Likewise, you probably won’t want to use an HDMI connection with this display as your refresh rate will be capped at 100 Hz versus the full 144 Hz you get over DisplayPort.

With the monitor lying face down on my desk, you get a clear look at its overall structural design. Right off the bat, I love how Innocn uses standard, square 100 x 100 VESA mounting holes instead of those silly circular 75 x 75 ones you see on a lot of other gaming monitors. This makes it incredibly easy to swap out the stand for any of the best monitor arms since you won’t need to hunt for a proprietary adapter.

Looking at the back of the panel, the connectivity is split cleanly. The power port sits entirely on its own side, which highlights one of my favorite features: a built-in power supply. Just like the more expensive 40C1U, there is no bulky power brick to hide under your desk — just a single standard power cable. On the opposite side of the rear cutout, you'll find the main selection of ports, while the monitor’s physical OSD navigation buttons line the corresponding outer edge.

As for those ports, you get a great selection of connection options, including dual HDMI 2.0 inputs, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack. While the 40C1R drops the built-in USB-A hub found on the premium 40C1U to save on cost, it oddly beats its more expensive sibling in utility: its USB-C port delivers a massive 90W of power delivery as opposed to just 60W.

After unboxing the 40C1R, I installed the included stand using a single built-in thumb screw. With the monitor securely set up and plugged in, it was finally time to see how it performs.

Laptop power with gaming PC framerates

In order to test the 40C1R and make sure it was working properly, I first hooked it up to a MacBook Pro M5 I borrowed from work for another monitor review. Although 90W of power delivery is a bit less than the 140W provided by Apple's included charger, it is still more than enough juice to keep a 16-inch MacBook fully topped off even during heavy workloads. For the rest of the best laptops, 90W will be plenty to fast charge them while connected to this massive display.

With the MacBook Pro plugged into the 40C1R, the monitor’s IPS panel looked vibrant and crisp, with no dead pixels to speak of. While the 40C1R does come equipped with dual 5W built-in speakers, I ended up switching back to the ones on the MacBook Pro after a bit. Still, they are nice to have in a pinch, and they do sound much less tinny than the bottom-tier 2W speakers you find on a lot of other budget monitors.

Sadly, I no longer own a big, bulky gaming desktop anymore (as I’ve been using one of the best mini PCs for both work and play for the past few years) but fortunately, my favorite pocketable mini PC — the Khadas Mind 2S — can be instantly upgraded with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti desktop GPU just by dropping it onto Khadas’ Mind Graphics 2 dock.

Now, I know what you might be thinking when looking at a compact setup like this: airflow. I too was worried about putting this docked mini PC directly underneath the 40C1R at first. However, after pushing the hardware and running a few demanding games on it, I didn’t run into any thermal throttling or heating issues at all. I chalk this up to Khadas' excellent internal cooling design and the fact that the dock's entire outer shell is machined from aluminum, which acts as a giant heatsink.

With the 40C1R confirmed to be fully operational and paired with a surprisingly powerful eGPU dock, it was time to see how this budget-friendly 40-inch ultrawide handles real-world productivity and immersive gaming.

Big screen on a budget

Back when I tried out Innocn’s more premium 40-inch ultrawide, I did play a few games on it. However, with a massive resolution of 5120 x 2160, the Framework Desktop I was using at the time struggled to push smooth frame rates. With a lower — yet still reasonably high — resolution of 3440 x 1440, I knew that my mini PC with its desktop-grade RTX 5060 Ti would have a much easier time keeping up. Likewise, given this is an outright gaming monitor instead of a productivity-first screen like the 40C1U, it actually features a much higher 144 Hz refresh rate.

For the past few months, I’ve been making my way through Death Stranding 2, and on an ultrawide display like this one with a 21:9 aspect ratio, it’s been an absolute joy to play. Not only was the game’s world wider than it was on my PS5 Pro, but I could crank the framerate past 60 fps all the way up to a buttery-smooth 144 fps. In fact, if you’re coming from a console and are playing on an ultrawide, you might end up double-dipping on a few titles just to experience them at full width without any distracting black bars on the sides.

In addition to Death Stranding 2, I also really enjoyed playing my go-to skateboarding game Session and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on this wider display. It also helps that the monitor comes equipped with AMD’s FreeSync Premium, so you can turn on VRR (variable refresh rate) for a tear-free experience. The 40C1R does have HDR support, but I preferred leaving it off since it's an HDR400 panel that tops out around 400 to 500 nits of brightness. Without local dimming, SDR content actually looks a lot punchier.

With an ultrawide display like the 40C1R, streaming content online can be awesome, too... if you find the right video. While most TV shows are locked to standard 16:9, you can find plenty of movies and even some music videos — like Drake’s "2 Hard 4 The Radio" pictured above — that are natively available with a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio. After upgrading to an ultrawide, I highly recommend going to YouTube, searching for 21:9 trailers, and turning the resolution all the way up. You won’t be disappointed.

Overall, I’m quite impressed with the 40C1R, especially given the fact that it’s a four-year-old monitor design. While you might think you need the latest and greatest OLED display to upgrade your desk setup or battlestation, my experience with this monitor proves you definitely don’t.

One for work, one for play

I’ll admit, I was lucky enough to experience Innocn’s latest and greatest 40-inch ultrawide before tying out this more budget-friendly model. However, after thoroughly testing both of them, they each clearly have their place depending on your use case and how much you’re willing to spend.

With its higher resolution and built-in USB hub, the Innocn 40C1U is a fantastic productivity monitor. You can see substantially more on the screen at the same time, and if you want to switch between two computers — say a Mac and a Windows machine like I’m doing here — you won’t need to buy a separate KVM switch. However, for gaming at that native 5K2K resolution, you’re going to need a really beefy graphics card with frame generation turned on for your favorite titles to truly shine.

Given its higher refresh rate and lower price, the Innocn 40C1R stands out as a fantastic ultrawide monitor for gaming, even if the underlying panel design is several years old now. While it comes equipped with legacy HDMI 2.0 ports instead of newer HDMI 2.1 ones, that won’t be a problem since you’re going to want to use a DisplayPort cable anyway to make full use of its faster 144 Hz refresh rate. Although a built-in USB-A hub would have been nice to see, I’m sure most people would rather have the massive 90W of power delivery over USB-C so they can fast charge a laptop and utilize it to its fullest potential at the same time.

Now, would I recommend either of these monitors for gaming on a console? Absolutely not, since even the more powerful PS5 Pro is still strictly locked to a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. That could very well change down the road with the PS6 and Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix, but for now, if you want to experience a wider, more immersive field of view while gaming, PC is your best and only option.

At the moment, I have the Innocn 40C1U set up as my dedicated work machine powered by the ultra-powerful Geekom A9 Max 2026 Edition, and I’m using the Innocn 40C1R right alongside it for gaming. If I was on a strict budget and had to pick one over the other, the 40C1R would easily be my choice because you’re getting a flat, massive 40-inch ultrawide with a high refresh rate and better power delivery over a single USB-C cable. That’s not to say the 40C1U is a bad monitor by any means, but at 100 Hz with a demanding 5K2K resolution, it’s simply much better suited for spreadsheets and content creation than it is for high-framerate gaming.

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The announcement of the Steam Machine's price arrived with a thud thanks to the over-$1,000 tag and even Valve is disappointed it's living room gaming PC ended up costing so much as a result of RAMaggedon. However, there is some good news, especially for those who don't mind a little building.

In an interview with The Verge, Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais confirmed that you can build your own Steam Machine with SteamOS as the desktop operating system. "Starting with the SteamOS 3.8 release, you can put together your own Steam Machine using whatever PC parts you want.”

Griffais said that Valve is working to improve SteamOS to be more compatible with a variety of desktop hardware, including Nvidia graphics cards eventually. He said that Valve is collaborating closely with Nvidia, though support might not come this year.

Technically, if you run an AMD system, it's been possible to run SteamOS on your own device but it's not straightforward or as easy with other gaming-focused Linux distros like Bazzite.

Some caveats

Griffais wants to change that and said Valve is working to do so. However, he did say that SteamOS currently should offer a "good experience" on console-like PC setups. It implies that your handheld console or even a simple mini PC setup could be a Steam Machine or Steam Deck-dupe.

"If you have something that is similar to the use case of a Steam Machine, where you have a PC that’s gonna be plugged into a TV, and has a single hard drive that you’re not going to try and dual boot […] you can put SteamOS on there," he told The Verge.

There are some drawbacks, non-Steam Machine devices will lack HDMI-CEC support and may not work as well with the new Steam Controller. Additionally, the SteamOS installer apparently is not designed for dual-booting, yet. So you can't cram it onto a Windows machine or different Linux box for now.

Non-Steam options

With the ongoing RAM shortage, building a gaming PC isn't exactly cheap, and it's partly why the Steam Machine is as expensive as it is. The Steam Deck just raised prices by 50% last month, an ominous portent ahead of the Machine release.

In the meantime, there are options like the Minisforum G1 Pro that might actually outperform the Steam Machine and is pretty compact. Or you could buy the pre-built Stormcraft Gaming PC for $150 less.

Of course, there's always a PS5...or Xbox, I guess; even the PS5 Pro, despite price hikes, is still cheaper than the Steam Machine. Yes, you're locked into the Sony ecosystem, but there are some great games on there, and they go on sale all the time.

You don't have to get a Steam Machine; that's all we're saying, mostly to ourselves.

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The first reviews for the highly anticipated Steam Machine have gone live… and the verdict is decidedly mixed.

The SteamOS-powered mini PC is Valve’s latest attempt to deliver a premium, console-like experience for your Steam library. It starts at $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609 for the 512GB model and jumps to $1,428 / £1,208 / AU$2,228 for the 2TB model with a controller. Yes, this is one expensive piece of kit!

We’ll be getting a Steam Machine in soon for review, so for now, let’s take a look at what some prominent tech reviewers have to say about the Steam Machine.

What are reviewers saying about the Steam Machine?

One aspect that’s receiving consistent praise is the Steam Machine’s design. Digital Foundry calls it “beautiful hardware,” and the other outlets agree that the small cube form factor feels premium and fits a living room setup. Valve’s mini PC apparently runs cool and quiet, and the front-facing ports (such as a microSD reader) are well placed for easy access.

“Valve's beautifully tiny console-like PC is finally here," says Digital Foundry. "And from a form factor perspective, it's kind of irresistible. Imagine a taller Nintendo Gamecube, and you have some idea of how tiny this thing is.”

Another thing reviewers like is SteamOS itself, which I’ve praised on the Steam Deck. Digital Foundry says that SteamOS is “fantastic,” and IGN notes that the Steam Machine boots straight into big picture mode while still letting you drop into the Linux desktop mode for other tasks, if needed. Basically, you get the same basic UI experience as on the Steam Deck, which is great.

Things get more complicated when it comes to performance. Linus Tech Tips, in particular, noted some big swings in their benchmarks. For instance, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran above 120 frames per second at 4K resolution, but Cyberpunk 2077, with ray tracing enabled, hobbled along at 15 fps at 1080p. However, without ray tracing and the frame-boosting FSR enabled, IGN got the latter to run at 42 fps.

Richard Leadbetter, Digital Foundry

Linus Sebastian, Linus Tech Tips

IGN

Comparison-wise, Digital Foundry says the Steam Machine performs between an RX 6600 and RX 7600, which are GPUs that can deftly handle 1080p/1440p high settings. However, the Steam Machine's 8GB of VRAM becomes a limitation for gaming at 4K with ray tracing.

"It is easily the best living room PC our reviewer has ever used, despite being a bit weaker than either of the base consoles," says IGN.

Naturally, the thing all reviews keep coming back to is the Steam Machine’s price. IGN says the cost is “a major factor in who to recommend this to,” while Digital Foundry wonders if the hardware justifies the cost, given the performance level.

“It cost more than we hoped, and Valve confirmed they feel the same way,” said Linus Tech Tips, which is likely why their video is titled: "Even Valve is disappointed." Linus also said, “I was really hoping that this was going to bring PC gaming to the mainstream living room... But this is a premium price, even though I wouldn't say it's a premium product," says Linus Tech Tips.

Many of the comments across all three video reviews say they can build a strong PC for a similar price, and that it’s hard to justify Valve’s platform over a PS5 Pro (currently $899) or a proper desktop.

IGN had the most positive take, saying: “We love a lot about it, had some issues with it, but overall came away from our time with it feeling very positive.” The outlet specifically says it’s great if you have a large Steam library and want something that just works in the living room without any tinkering.

Outlook

Overall, early reviews of the Steam Machine agree that it is a well-designed piece of hardware that delivers on the promise of a convenient SteamOS living room box. Of course, the main sticking point is whether the performance and convenience are enough to justify the lofty asking price.

Again, we’ll have a full review of the Steam Machine for you soon, so stay tuned for that and additional coverage on Valve’s latest gaming machine.

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The Steam Machine is ready to preorder right now, and I will be getting one to review soon. But beyond my standard testing, I want to open the floor to any questions from you in a live Q&A.

Before we get to that, though, there are some other key questions we need to get to — namely, when you'll be able to buy one, and how much it will cost.

Spoiler alert on the latter: Steam Machine pricing starts at $1,049 (actually not as bad as I expected). But read on for all the information you need if you're keen to pick one up!

When is the Steam Machine launching?

Right now, you can sign up for the Steam Machine model (or bundle) that you're interested in. You'll be placed into a reservation queue and notified via email when it's your turn to purchase — an action that looks set to stop bots and scalpers snagging them all.

The first batch of these emails will be sent starting Monday, June 29th.

How much will Steam Machine cost?

This has been the big question here, and I've got all the details here. You'll be able to order the Steam Machine either on its own or as part of a bundle with the Steam Controller.

• Steam Machine 512GB: $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609
• Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller: $1,128 / £938 / AU$ 1,728
• Steam Machine 2TB: $1,349 / £1,149 / AU$2,109
• Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: $1,428 / £1,208 / AU$2,228

It's also worth noting that the Steam Machine 2TB + Controller bundle also comes with two additional faceplates: red fabric and solid walnut.

Is this a good price for the Steam Machine?

Honestly, given the RAMageddon fears we've all had, and how the huge Steam Deck price increase terrified all of us, this price could have been a lot worse.

That being said, it's still pricey, and Valve is straight up about how this has "proven to be a weird time to launch hardware."

"We felt like we had a good understanding of how those costs might change over time when we first started sourcing them for Steam Machine back in 2023," Valve wrote in its blog post.

"Over the past year or so, that has changed quickly and significantly, most visibly for RAM and storage components."

Because of these, Valve confirms that the company's original price goal is "no longer viable," and that this total reflects "the price of components as we've secured them over the past 6 months."

That being said, though, they do also say that the availability of these precious components has "impacted the number of units" Valve has been able to produce for launch.

Any further questions?

So chances are, with that price, you've got some questions about whether it's worth it for you. I'm getting one to test (a 2TB model to be specific), and can answer any questions you have about the hardware.

I can run tests beyond any of our standard suite for you, give you general thoughts, or see how far I can push the hardware. Whatever you want me to do, just throw your questions in the Live Q&A box below, and I'll start responding after I've fully reviewed the hardware.

And of course, we want to keep this a friendly community chat with all the consumer advice you'll need. Please treat everyone (including yours truly) with respect and avoid any nasty language.

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We're approaching the halfway point of 2026, and it's already shaping up to be another truly fantastic 12 months for new video games. And we haven't even got to the ludicrously crowded September/October period yet, and the small matter of the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, either.

But before all of the exciting games to come, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the games already released in 2026 that have seriously impressed us. Across all major platforms, there's been plenty of must-play experiences ranging from new installments in beloved franchises to original IPs, and one of the best licensed games ever made!

If you skipped any of these games when they launched, the summer months (which are a little quieter for new releases) are the time to circle back. These are the best video games we've played in 2026 so far.

Resident Evil Requiem

Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

I expected Resident Evil Requiem to be a good time, but what I didn’t expect was for it to be one of my favorite Resident Evil titles of all time. It masterfully blends the gameplay of its two protagonists to offer an experience for fans of both action and horror, and makes both characters interesting to play as (although, admittedly, I always looked forward to Leon).

Being able to catch on to things or open new paths with Leon after progressing through an area with Claire made exploring areas a second time feel interesting instead of cumbersome, and the post-game content made me replay the game not once but twice, and that is saying a lot for someone who has never replayed a game or gone for platinums before.

Whether you’re playing on PS5 Pro or Switch 2, the game runs really well, and Capcom deserves credit for this when some studios (I’m looking at you, Bethesda!) haven’t done the best job at optimizing their games.

Requiem reminded me of what makes Resident Evil one of the best horror franchises ever made, and my personal favorite series in the genre. I am really excited for future RE titles and any DLC Requiem has to offer. Just give me more Leon Kennedy, Capcom. Just give me more Leon Kennedy. — Phil Rodrigues

Read our full Resident Evil Requiem review

Pokémon Pokopia

Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2

As someone who’s never been a fan of Animal Crossing, Pokémon Pokopia was my biggest gaming surprise of 2026 — and it’s a game I can’t get enough of. It’s a cozy yet surprisingly deep life-simulation adventure where I’ve built and rebuilt habitats, restored ecosystems and created thriving communities for my favorite Pocket Monsters.

Playing as a Ditto who can craft and gain abilities to help with terraforming has been extremely fun. Each Pokémon’s personality and funny dialogue have made me fall in love with the franchise all over again. The gameplay loop is addictive, as is the creative freedom you’re given. Pokopia effortlessly blends elements of building sims, sandbox games, and classic Pokémon exploration into a seamless experience.

What perhaps surprised me the most, though, was the strong storytelling and writing revolving around a post-apocalyptic world. It’s surprisingly deep — and I certainly wasn’t expecting the scattered notes you find (or the ending) to hit that hard. Pokopia feels refreshingly new but unmistakably Pokémon at the same time. I can’t wait for the DLC! — Nikita Achanta

Read our full Pokémon Pokopia review

Pragmata

Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

It’s amazing how much a strong demo can do in making someone like me see the vision. Before I took Hugh and Diana into rooms full of rampaging robots, I followed Capcom’s brand-new IP closely. The painfully long wait for a final release date took my hype levels down a peg, but I still maintained a sliver of hope that Pragmata would pull through and deliver a quality experience.

After replaying the demo way more times than I can count, I was fully convinced that Capcom had a new smash hit on their hands. Thankfully, that sentiment of mine stayed true once I reached the end of Hugh and Diana’s emotional journey. The genius way the developers at Capcom mashed up traditional third-person gunplay with a grid-based hacking system that’s controlled by the face buttons roped me in immediately. And I was always excited to see all the new weapons and mods I could tap into to take down waves of disgruntled bots.

I was shocked to see how much post-game content Pragmata had in store for me, which gave me plenty more reasons to bring my best loadouts to ever more challenging combat scenarios. While Pragmata’s story could have been a lot stronger, I still got a ton of enjoyment out of Hugh and Diana’s warm relationship. Here’s hoping we get a sequel that expands on this game’s clever approach to shooting and hacking. — Elton Jones

Read our full Pragmata review

Forza Horizon 6

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S (PS5 TBD)

I mean, this one’s an obvious pick, right? Easily one of the best racing games over the past decade and the greatest in the Horizon series. Forza Horizon 6 puts you in a drop-dead gorgeous recreation of Japan, gives you a ton of incredible cars to drive in, and an almost-infinite wealth of things to do from fun short storylines and stunt events (like racing a Gundam) to full-blown high-octane racing action.

And while I could go into the upgrades here to visual flair, the huge improvement in audio with a banger soundtrack and cars that sound so much more alive, the versatile driving physics giving you either arcade accessibility or sim-level immersion, or the variety of events keeping the game feeling alive for a long time to come.

But the real thing that keeps it head and shoulders above the competition is how it's the first racing title I’ve played to truly capture the essence of car culture. Every single tiny detail comes together to form a love letter to the automobile unlike anything you’ve played before. Just do yourself a favor, buy it now, and thank me later. — Jason England

Read our full Forza Horizon 6 review

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S (Switch 2, September 18)

I’m a Batman fan, and I’m a Lego fan, so I already knew I’d dig Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. However, I didn’t expect it to be such a thoroughly captivating and enjoyable experience. It’s a title I’ll absolutely have in my top 10 games of the year. Yes, it’s that good!

So what’s so special about Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight? Aside from the usual Lego charm, this game is a true love letter to various Batman media— particularly the big Hollywood movies. You play through all of the Caped Crusader’s biggest moments, from falling into a batcave as a child all the way through his rise as Gotham City’s dark avenger. Naturally, the tone is silly, but it retains enough earnestness not to be a complete joke.

Gameplay-wise, it feels like a stripped-down version of the Batman Arkham games, with similar combat and traversal mechanics in a relatively large open world. You even get those games’ versions of puzzles. The Lego parts involving building items and the slew of collectibles, including costumes, vehicles, and more, also make this game highly addictive.

If you’re looking for a game that’s pure fun, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a must-own title. — Tony Polanco

Read our full Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight review

007 First Light

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S (Switch 2 TBD)

007 First Light is the best James Bond video game ever made. That’s really saying something considering the pedigree of N64’s GoldenEye, and my own childhood nostalgia for 007: Nightfire on the PlayStation 2. However, First Light trumps them both by delivering a remarkable, ridiculously cinematic main campaign that had me hooked from start to end.

Rather than cast you as a Bond in his prime, you experience his origin story, playing as a fresh-faced spy (voiced/mod-capped expertly by Patrick Gibson). As any good Bond game should, your 15-hour adventure takes you all over the world, from Malta to Mauritania, and has you unraveling a villainous plot that feels highly relevant for our times.

The authentic presentation is spot on, complete with a fitting Bond tune written/performed by Lana del Rey, but none of this would matter if First Light weren’t also a joy to play. Fortunately, with Hitman developer IO at the wheel, that was never in doubt. The game’s blend of espionage exploration, and thrilling combat encounters (the melee animations are phenomenal); you really do feel like the world’s most suave secret agent.

It also packs set-piece moments that rival the best of Uncharted and the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy. And it culminates in a finale that feels fitting for such an epic Bond tale. The bar for licensed games has been raised in recent years, but 007 First Light sets a new standard. — Rory Mellon

Read our full 007 First Light review

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Control Resonant is one of this year’s major releases and a game I’m personally looking forward to playing when it releases on September 24. As a direct sequel to Control, it builds on the established lore while also featuring new gameplay mechanics and some trippy environments. It’s the kind of mix-up we didn’t know we needed.

I recently sat down with Mikael Kasurinen, Creative Director at Remedy Entertainment, to gain more insight into Control Resonant. What struck me most wasn’t just the wild new direction the game is taking, but how thoughtfully Mikael and the team are flipping the script on everything we loved about the first Control while staying true to its soul.

I was already excited about Control Resonant, but after speaking with Mikael, I’m even more eager to get my hands on this game. We’ll have a hands-on article posted soon, but for now, check out my interview to gain more insight into what will be a uniquely cool game.

Editor's note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

A different perspective

The first game dropped us into the mysterious, ever-shifting Oldest House as Jesse Faden, a newcomer to the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC). We learned the rules of this strange world right alongside her. Control: Resonant is taking the opposite approach.

“These two games have a relationship — like they are two sides of the same coin,” Mikael told me. The first game was about descending into darkness, but this one is about stepping out into the sun, or at least, a version of New York that’s been warped by paranormal forces.

You play as Dylan Faden, Jesse’s brother. At ten years old, he was taken and spent years inside the Oldest House. All the things that felt alien and terrifying to Jesse (and us) are normal to Dylan. Now, in the streets of a warped Manhattan, he’s a fish out of water in our world. We see everything through Dylan’s eyes.

This change in perspective affects the entire story. While Jesse’s journey was one of wonder and discovery, Dylan’s adventure is more complicated, given his extensive experience with the paranormal. What might be normal for us will seem alien to Dylan.

Not the NYC you recognize

Whereas the Old House was confined to one location for the first game, it has now spread out of its confines and affected Manhattan. Though much grander in scale, this world is built on the same philosophy as the Oldest House, just turned inside out.

Instead of sectors with distinct themes, Manhattan is broken into bespoke “bubbles” or zones, each stuck in its own time of day and shaped by different paranormal forces. For instance, one area might be locked in midnight while the next is bathed in golden-hour light. Then there are the forces themselves, such as the twisted world, the strange physics, and the ever-growing threat of Mold.

“Every place is directed, thought through, considered, bespoke,” Mikael said. You won’t find generic open-world filler here. Every zone has its own tone, color, and personality.

Aggressive combat

The biggest change you would have noticed between games is the combat. Where Jesse wielded the ever-changing Service Weapon and leaned into telekinetic Launch powers from cover, Dylan goes in swinging… literally. Instead of being a shooter like before, Control Resonant is a melee-focused game.

Dylan wields the Aberrant, a shape-shifting melee weapon that feels like a natural extension of his identity, the same way the Service Weapon felt like Jesse’s. Since the Aberrant changes shape, it can turn into whatever you need during a given situation. For example, it can become a massive hammer or a deadly blade. Switching forms leaves the husk of a previous form behind, which gives fights a sense of life and improvisation.

“We wanted that aggressive kind of gameplay,” Mikael explained. “Really using all these different tools that you have in your toolbox… When you give [players] a melee weapon, they run in.”

It’s not just about getting up close, though. The systemic combat is designed so that you have nowhere to hide and must stay aggressive and creative. Basically, if you try to stay still, you’re going to meet an untimely end. This is especially true since enemies share Dylan's attributes, including his traversal powers and his ability to create gravitational anomalies.

Forging your own playstyle

Though Control Resonant isn’t an RPG in the traditional sense, its customization options will be just as deep.

As you defeat Resonant Entities (the game’s powerful paranormal beings), you earn families of powers. However, you can only pick one from each. One early choice will give you either a barrage-style rock throw or a spinning 360 shield you can use offensively. There are indirect abilities too, such as floating asteroids that auto-attack, or powers that turn enemies against each other.

Toss in other elements like talents, artifacts, and a more flexible outfit system (head, uniform base, and upper-body pieces you can mix and match), and it sounds like every player’s Dylan could feel different.

The Remedy-verse

One of the more enjoyable aspects of Remedy’s games is how they’re all interconnected. But if you’re just coming into Control Resonant without having played the original (or the Alan Wake titles), you won’t be lost.

Mikael was clear that the Control games need to stand on their own. You shouldn’t need to have played the first one (or Alan Wake 2) to enjoy Resonant. There’s a short “previously on” style video at the start for context, but the story is designed so new players can jump in. If you’re interested in the deeper Remedy-verse connections, then great. However, they’re not required.

“We want every game to stand on [its] own two feet,” said Mikael. “You can jump into any of them.”

Outlook

Control Resonant sounds like it's taking everything that worked about the first game and twisting it into something fresh yet familiar. Based on my conversation with Mikael Kasurinen, it’s clear that Remedy is making its most ambitious game yet.

This should be a genuinely weird and perhaps unsettling experience. And I’m all in for it. Control Resonant launches on September 24 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, macOS, and PC.

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The recent Xbox Games Showcase and Summer Game Fest delivered exactly what I look forward to every year: a packed stretch of reveals, trailers, and fresh gameplay footage that immediately floods my wishlist. This year was no different, with both events spotlighting some of the biggest upcoming releases across Xbox, PS5, and PC, alongside plenty of surprise announcements I didn’t see coming.

As someone who plays primarily on PC, it genuinely feels like there’s never been a better time to be a gamer and keep adding to that ever-growing backlog (future me, don’t look at your bank account).

What stood out most was how much new footage we actually got for already-anticipated titles, giving us a clearer look at what’s ahead, while also introducing new games worth tracking. But for me personally, the biggest moment was finally seeing the confirmation of The Wolf Among Us 2, a game I’ve literally been waiting 13 years for. That alone would’ve been enough, but it’s just one of five standout games I can’t wait to dive into.

Gears of War: E-Day

Few games at the Xbox Showcase made a stronger impression on me than Gears of War: E-Day. The franchise means a lot to me, as the original Gears of War was one of the first games I played growing up and something my dad and I bonded over through countless multiplayer playthroughs. So, you can imagine my excitement when the showcase delivered extended gameplay footage and a dedicated post-show deep dive, giving fans their best look yet at the next chapter in Xbox’s flagship shooter series.

Set 14 years before the original game, E-Day takes players back to the terrifying first day of the Locust invasion, following younger versions of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as humanity faces its greatest catastrophe. The gameplay shown at the showcase leaned heavily into what made the original trilogy so beloved: brutal cover-based combat, intense close-quarters encounters, and a darker tone.

What excites me most is that it feels like a return to the franchise’s roots while still benefiting from modern technology. Built entirely in Unreal Engine 5, the game looks seriously stunning, with detailed environments, improved movement mechanics, and some of the most impressive visuals shown during the showcase.

Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6, 2026, on Xbox Series X|S and PC

Resident Evil: Veronica

It’s a great time to be a Resident Evil fan. Not only are we getting a movie this year, but next year we’re getting another game. At Summer Game Fest 2026, Capcom officially pulled back the curtain on the Resident Evil: Veronica remake. The reveal kicked off the event with a cinematic trailer that immediately confirmed the long-rumored remake was real, giving fans their first proper look at Claire Redfield’s return in a fully reimagined survival horror experience.

Built in Capcom’s modern RE Engine, the game is positioned as a ground-up remake rather than a simple remaster, continuing the studio’s recent run of revamps like Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4. The trailer teases the refreshed take on the story set after the events of Resident Evil 2, with Claire once again at the centre of the nightmare on Rockfort Island.

Resident Evil will always remain one of gaming’s most successful and consistent series because it constantly evolves while staying true to its survival horror roots (something clearly seen with Requiem). Claire is also my favorite character in the franchise, so it’s great to see her back in action again!

Resident Evil: Veronica launches in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC

The Wolf Among Us 2

When I tell you my jaw was on the floor at the announcement (more like confirmation) of The Wolf Among Us 2, I really mean it. I might sound like a broken record at this point, but I have such vivid memories of the first game from when I was younger, especially as someone who was obsessed with all things Telltale (The Walking Dead being a core memory). The Wolf Among Us 2 finally re-emerged after years of silence, and perhaps the biggest takeaway is the simple fact that the project is still very much alive after a famously turbulent development cycle.

The reveal included a fresh trailer that sees Bigby Wolf back on the trail of a dark new mystery involving a string of brutal murders threatening the fragile balance between humans and “Fables.” It’s set six months after the original game, and the footage teased a more cinematic, third-person presentation alongside the series’ trademark choice-driven storytelling.

A 2027 release window was confirmed for this sequel, alongside a remaster of the original game arriving in late 2026, giving newcomers a chance to catch up. For fans who’ve waited since 2013 to dive back into this incredible world, Summer Game Fest felt like the moment the wait finally became real again. But now, it also means the wait is somehow even harder.

The Wolf Among Us 2 launches in 2027 on PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch/2

State of Decay 3

During the Xbox Showcase, State of Decay 3 finally stepped back into the spotlight with a proper gameplay reveal, and it looks like the series is evolving in all the right ways. I’m actually playing State of Decay 2 right now because it’s such an easy, fun game to drop into, making it perfect for the sandbox survival loop where you can just lose hours building up a community and taking on hordes. And that’s before even getting into my obvious love for anything zombies, apocalypse settings, or RPG-style progression systems.

State of Decay 3 is evolving the series into a much bigger, more ambitious survival experience set in a brutal post-apocalyptic world where humanity is long past the initial outbreak. Instead of just surviving the collapse, it’s now about rebuilding communities in a world that has become even more dangerous and unpredictable. The core loop is still familiar (scavenge, survive, build) but everything has been scaled up. You’ll manage settlements, recruit survivors, and expand multiple bases across a much larger open world, reportedly around four times bigger than State of Decay 2.

On top of that, new “Plague Nests” act like evolving infection hubs that spread and respond to your actions, making the world feel more reactive. I’m already excited for what’s next in this franchise, and the idea of things escalating and fighting back in smarter, more unpredictable ways just makes State of Decay 3 feel like a natural next obsession.

State of Decay 3 will launch in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC

Alien: Isolation 2

“Alien” is my favorite movie of all time, so it’s no surprise that I fell in love with Alien: Isolation. Everything about this universe is incredibly cool, from its claustrophobic dread to the biomechanical design of the classic Xenomorph. I could honestly yap about it for hours. That’s why I practically screamed when Creative Assembly finally unveiled our first substantial look at Alien: Isolation 2. The pre-alpha trailer oozed tension and atmosphere, capturing everything that made the original one of the greatest horror games ever made.

While the original trapped players aboard the claustrophobic Sevastopol Station, the sequel appears to expand its scope to a colony world featuring both interior environments and more open outdoor locations, all while a relentless Xenomorph continues to hunt the player. Creative Assembly has also confirmed that authenticity to the original 1979 “Alien” film remains a core pillar of the game's design.

As a huge fan of the first game, this was easily one of the standout moments of Summer Game Fest. The footage looked every bit as terrifying as I hoped, and even without a firm release date, Alien: Isolation 2 has shot straight to the top of my wishlist.

Alien: Isolation 2 will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2

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I came away from my two-hour hands-on with the upcoming Control Resonant frustrated. Not because I wasn’t suitably impressed with what I’d just played, but rather because the already torturous wait until its September 24 release date is now going to feel extra long.

With this sequel to 2019’s Control, Remedy Entertainment has done what all good sequels should and found a balance between the familiar and fresh. The story, tone, and atmosphere are unmistakably Control, but the Finnish developer has taken some big combat swings and also expanded the scope of the universe. And that’s before diving into the new face on the box; this time you’re playing as Dylan Faden, brother of Control’s Jesse.

Even after playing Control Resonant for a couple of hours, much of the game is still shrouded in secrecy (as you would expect), but this preview made me even more confident that in a September of new games that is absurdly crowded, Control Resonant is shaping up to be a title that you won’t want to miss. I’m very confident that Remedy has cooked here.

Resonant is Control, but not as we know it

My hands-on with Control Resonant was split into three sections. I got to play through the entirety of the game’s first act, then a segment in a portion of the game’s new Evacuation Zone, before finally completing a mid-game mission that sees Dylan descend into a mysterious sinkhole.

But to set the stage a little bit before diving into my impressions, if you didn’t know already, in Control Resonant you play Dylan Faden on a mission to help the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) after their headquarters, The Oldest House, is overrun by the game’s signature enemy, the Hiss, and the surrounding area of Manhattan has become a twisted nightmare world.

It’s not just the lead character (though Jesse is still involved) and central location that have changed; Dylan’s approach to dispatching the many Hiss he encounters is a little different from his sibling's. The shape-shifting gun of the first Control is out, and instead, Dylan prefers to get up close and personal to his foes, thanks to an evolving melee weapon.

I can’t say that I felt Control’s combat needed refreshing, but it turns out Remedy knows best, because this switch-up already feels like a masterstroke. To put it simply, I adored Resonant’s combat. It’s fast, fluid and all about playing aggressively. If I can be so bold, I got a Bloodborne vibe thanks to the game’s mechanic of healing by downing enemies who drop health orbs. If you take some hits, you shouldn’t sit back but instead get back into the fray.

Alongside your primary weapon — I chose dual batons so I could quickly slice up enemies before they’d even had the chance to attack me — you also have a more powerful secondary form, which includes an oversized hammer, a pair of even more oversized fists (turning Dylan into the Hulk), and my favorite of them all, a spear with a drill mounted on the end.

Like Jesse before him, Dylan also has access to a bunch of superhuman powers. Like his sister, he can launch himself into the air, floating around to dispatch flying enemies, and he can quick dash to make covering large distances a breeze.

In combat, Dylan’s supernatural abilities manifest as ground-pounds, shockwaves, spiky projectiles and a shield — which, to be honest, in a game where aggression counts, I found to be pretty unnecessary. I quickly switched the shield out for an ability that let me summon a floating rock orb that dished out damage of its own before letting me throw it at an enemy to deal a final burst of pain.

Speaking of swapping out abilities, during the second part of my demo, I got a sense of Resonant’s progression system, and it looks deep. Maybe even a little overwhelming. Not only do you select a loadout of weapons and abilities, but there are sizeable skill trees and accessories that can buff Dylan. It was a lot to get my head around. Hopefully, in the full game, these numerous options are introduced gradually rather than all at once.

As I’ve hopefully made clear, actually playing Control Resonant is a delight. My experience was definitely very easy. I didn’t die once (even to a gigantic boss in the form of a massive stone face that throws yellow taxis), but the Remedy staff on hand noted the difficulty balance wasn’t final, so hopefully the full release offers encounters that test your skills.

My one concern after playing Control Resonant

If there’s one area of Control Resonant that I’m still not fully sold on yet, it’s the story and characters.

I will caveat that the majority of my hands-on was combat-focused, running around an open area stuffed with enemies and completing a mission that saw me descending into a twisted sinkhole crammed with nasties.

As a quick aside, this mission ended in a phenomenal, cinematic sequence that was so good, I’m not sure Remedy should have revealed it ahead of release. I genuinely don’t want to spoil it. It’ll be best enjoyed without prior knowledge.

The first act does hit all the right notes in terms of atmosphere and tone, and the sound design is immaculate, as you’d expect from a Remedy title. But in my play session, I found myself struggling to connect with Dylan himself, who seemed a milquetoast protagonist. This wasn’t helped by curiously flat-line delivery. But there could be a narrative reason that Dylan is treating a New York overrun with wispy monsters as little more than a vague annoyance.

However, there were signs of a more engrossing character to be fully explored in the final game. I noticed that his FBC garb had the initial scribbled out, hinting at plenty of friction between our hero and the mysterious bureau at the core of Control’s universe. So, maybe this is a case of needing to see the full picture before I can judge Dylan as a character, and I naturally can’t give a verdict on Resonant’s narrative until I’ve experienced it to completion.

Nevertheless, after my preview, I did find myself missing Jesse, a character I found more engaging straight from the drop. Hopefully, Dylan’s tale is ultimately as strong in the end.

My final thoughts on Control Resonant (for now)

Based on what I played, Control Resonant takes an approach I tend to favor in a sequel. It doesn’t completely reinvent the wheel — it’s still very much a Control game — but it’s not afraid to mix things up with a fundamentally different combat system and new narrative elements.

On a technical level, I played on a PS5 console, and while I didn’t notice any frame-rate issues, even when the screen flooded with dozens of hiss enemies at once, the resolution wasn’t quite so crisp. Of course, there’s time for Remedy to polish, and when I spoke to Art Director Elmeri Raitanen afterwards, he noted that the build I’d just played was an older one.

Will Control Resonant come together to deliver a follow-up that lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor? I’m extremely optimistic after playing a portion for myself. But we’ll have to wait until September to find out. Look out for our full Control Resonant review around launch.

Control Resonant is set to launch on September 24, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC

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Hackers are once again targeting gamers on Steam, but this time, instead of using malware-filled games to do so, they’ve switched to hiding malicious code in desktop wallpapers.

As reported by BleepingComputer, these infected wallpapers can prove quite dangerous for unsuspecting gamers as they can provide an easy way to install a backdoor on one of the best gaming PCs or even to hijack their Steam accounts.

Any image you download online could contain malware. However, the hackers behind this campaign are leveraging an incredibly popular Steam app to do so instead. With 20 to 50 million installs according to SteamSpy, Wallpaper Engine is one of the most downloaded apps on the platform.

What makes Wallpaper Engine so popular, though, is that users can download hundreds of thousands of desktop wallpapers made by other users through Valve’s community hub, Steam Workshop. By abusing this feature, the hackers are easily able to disseminate their infected wallpapers.

Here’s everything you need to know about the latest malware threat on Steam and how you can keep your account — and your gaming PC — safe from hackers.

Malicious application wallpapers

For those unfamiliar, in addition to static wallpapers, Wallpaper Engine also supports four dynamic wallpaper types that can render videos, interactive scenes, webpages with audio and video, and applications. That last one is incredibly important in this campaign.

Unlike a JPEG or PNG file, Wallpaper Engine’s application wallpapers are full-on Windows executables that run like any other program on your PC. According to researchers at the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, not only do they pose a built-in security risk, but they’re also currently being used by hackers to deliver malware to unsuspecting Steam users.

In a blog post, Kaspersky’s researchers explained how they discovered dozens of malicious application wallpapers on Steam Workshop, many of which had been downloaded thousands or even tens of thousands of times. By analyzing the application wallpapers in question, the researchers found that the malware is either bundled directly into their installation packages or hidden inside password-protected archives that users are then tricked into opening. Unfortunately, the damage is done immediately after one of these compromised wallpapers is installed.

After a user installs one such asset posing as a game called NTRaholic, the wallpaper launches as expected. However, in the process, a backdoor file belonging to the DarkKomet malware is also installed in the background. In order to search for and steal Steam credentials, a custom version of a system library called ‘AggregatorHost.dll’ is installed as well.

In addition to DarkKomet, Kaspersky’s researchers also found other malware families installed in these malicious wallpapers, like the Lumma and Vidar infostealers. They were even used to spread ransomware, too.

How to stay safe from malware

Fortunately, after Kaspersky alerted Valve about this campaign, all of the infected wallpapers in question were removed from the Steam Workshop. Still, this is an excellent reminder to always be careful when downloading files online, even if they come from a trusted platform.

In order to stay safe from any malware contained within desktop wallpapers, game mods, or games themselves, you definitely want to make sure your gaming PC is protected with the best antivirus software. If you want to be extra careful, you might also consider investing in one of the best identity theft protection services. That way, if your credentials are compromised as a result of what you download online, you have a safety net to help monitor your data and recover financial losses from fraud.

When in doubt, stick to trusted creators when downloading new wallpapers and be extra cautious before running any executable on your gaming PC. This likely won’t be the last time hackers target Steam in their attacks, but Valve has an excellent track record of quickly responding to and dealing with malicious activity on its platform.

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If you've been looking for the right moment to buy the Nintendo Switch 2, now's the time to strike — the in-demand handheld/console hybrid is currently discounted by 10% on Amazon, bringing its price down from AU$699.95 to AU$629.

I get it — 10% doesn’t sound like a huge discount, even if it is Amazon's lowest price on the Switch 2 yet. But with Nintendo planning to bump the Switch 2 up to AU$769.95 from September 1, that “small” saving suddenly means you’re paying AU$140.95 less if you buy now. In other words, it’s a pretty great moment to jump in.

While we can't know for sure if the Switch 2 will get an even bigger discount between now and September — maybe during next month’s Prime Day sale — there's no question that this current deal is a great opportunity.

In our Nintendo Switch 2 review, we described the hybrid console as "ultimate version of the Switch concept", noting that it offers "impactful upgrades across the board," such as a larger 7.9-inch 1080p display and redesigned, magnetic Joy-Cons.

Admittedly, battery life could be better, and a more ergonomic design would've made it more comfortable to play during longer gaming sessions. Still, the Switch 2 holds its own against the likes of Valve's Steam Deck, even managing to outperform it in some areas, boasting a higher resolution display and support for DLSS upscaling.

Honestly, you'll be kicking yourself later if you sit on this opportunity — it's the best EOFY Switch 2 deal we've seen to date, and we don't expect it will get any cheaper before the financial year comes to a close.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 is undeniably the gaming juggernaut of the holiday season. The fact that we have so many titles releasing in September proves that no one wants to be near that behemoth’s November 19 launch.

While Rockstar’s upcoming blockbuster will get all the attention, there are still a slew of amazing titles to look forward to, as we now know thanks to all the announcements made before, during, and after Summer Game Fest. If you’re somehow not interested in GTA 6, or just want an alternative to the blockbuster, there’s no shortage of legitimately incredible titles to look forward to.

With full understanding that I won’t have time to play all these games this fall, here are 7 games I’m looking forward to in 2026 that aren’t GTA 6.

Quick links

• Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls: $59 @ Amazon
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection 2: $49 @ Amazon
• Marvel’s Wolverine: $69 @ Amazon
• Control Resonant: $59 @ Amazon
• Gears of War: E-Day: $69 @ Amazon
• Final Fantasy Resonance: $49 @ Amazon
• Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse: $39 @ Amazon

7 games to check out

So there I was — Silverstone. The track that created so many moments for me as a spectator and a sim racer, but now I’m in my single-seater racer and ready to drive my first ever laps in real-life. The drizzle darkening the tarmac with a rather scary-looking slickness, the smell of fuel, and the coarse texture of the steering wheel fabric all fueling the adrenaline.

This is a huge contrast to my six years of confidence driving the best sim racers out there, as I immediately realized that a real formula car does not care about your virtual safety rating. But much like a lot of my friends who make the jump from the virtual to physical world, I went in with the world of confidence.

“If I’ve mastered this in sim, I should be fine here,” I told my Dad. “It’s a realistic simulation after all.” Not true. Not true at all. Don’t get me wrong: there are some lessons you learn in sim racing that you take with you, but taking to the real track is on a different level.

It’s a life-changing experience — a scary one but also some of the most heart-pounding fun I’ve ever had. So to help you make the most of a track day, here are the three harsh reality checks I faced in those 15 pulse-heightening laps, to help you prepare.

Lesson 1: The seat-of-your-pants G-Force

In sim racing, you rely almost entirely on visual cues (like the tilt of the horizon) and force feedback in your hands to figure out the control of your car. How you interpret them and perform at your best differs from person to person. This combination allows you to help identify key details like when your car’s about to oversteer, or make sure you’re applying a nice gradual acceleration out of corners rather than spinning yourself out.

As for a real-world car, good luck doing any of that as the 150-horsepower engine rattles your eyeballs, and the rumble of the engine in this 500-kg car becomes the mother of all distractions.

Instead, it’s a lot more about feel, and you have to trust the seat-of-your-pants sensation … sounds weird, I know. But let me explain. I headed into a chicane I could normally take at 120 MPH, but this time around, I lost the back and took out some cones in the process (and got told off by the pit wall).

That’s when the session leader told me to feel for the back end stepping out in your inner ear and your lower back (the seat of your pants…get it?). Since that lap 5 incident, I was able to accurately predict and catch slides a lot more aggressively — especially on so inconsistent terrain like this.

Oh, and about that — rain effects in sim titles are great and all, but they never account for the inconsistency that may approach tracks. I don’t mean on a track-wide basis (Gran Turismo 7 does good at showing rain clouds pass and affect only certain sections of the track realistically), but I mean on a much more granular level.

Speaking of, though…

Lesson 2: The terror and reality of a damp track

In a sim, “damp” usually just means a track-wide reduction in grip, and you adjust braking markers accordingly — usually pushing that pedal 10% earlier into corners and just looking for the pre-programmed dry line that appears.

Move over to the real-world, I found out the hard way that moist circuits are whole micro-climates. While the chicane had grip, the hairpin felt completely different and sent me spinning. This is where I learned the most important new lesson of racing: finding the line and finding your line.

Most of the time (as more of a hobbyist than a pro), I start with the guideline to help indicate the line through corners, and then turn it off/experiment with later braking points than the game suggests. Now, I’m definitely going to learn to race without this from the word "go," because you realize just how much that takes you out of figuring things out for yourself. So if you are taking to the track IRL at any point, start practicing without the race line overlay.

Lesson 3: Brake pressure, pedal texture and my H-shifter hate

I’ve tested some of the best sim rigs on the planet, including the ridiculously great (and oh-so expensive) Asetek Forte kit. For my daily driver, I live and breathe the Nacon Revosim RS Pure in a cursed layout paired with the shifter and handbrake.

And with these chunky shifters and load-cell pedals, I believed I was getting a realistic experience. To a degree, you are, and your muscle-memory kicks in to remember the pressure. But once you apply that to a real car, you realize just how sterile these actually are.

In the real-world, the line between “slowing down” and “locking up the tires” is so thin and vibrates through your actual bones. Modulating the brakes and discovering the right line when the track conditions were actively changing lap-by-lap.

Then there’s the 4-speed shifter in the car, which…well…I absolutely hated. Turns out sim race clutch control does not prepare you in the slightest for having to tackle the same in a real race car. Throw in your own self-preservation instincts too — meaning that a spin could mean a trip to the medical center rather than just hitting “restart session,” — and it’s something that will raise your heart rate.

For this, there isn’t really any advice I can give to tweak your sim setup to prepare for the real track. Pedals and shifters don’t have the in-car inertia built into them or reactive force feedback, so this will always leave you at a bit of a disadvantage. All I can say is simply take your time at first and lean from the above points — learn the track and feel the sensations of the car to help you dictate your proper braking pressures and shifting moments.

My newfound respect for the machine

Then I got my times, and it’s a “best of the rest” situation in a solid 4th position — beating out P5 by a fraction of the second and surviving the spins. Turns out that while those hours in the likes of Assetto Corsa and iRacing did teach me track layout and the basic physics geometry of driving fast, it can never simulate the psychological weight of self-preservation.

You do learn a lot of car control techniques going from sim to real-life — honestly these incidents could’ve been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the many moments of locking brakes I’d done over my years behind the virtual wheel.

But ultimately, that leap between the bucket seat in my living room and the seat of a real race car is much bigger than I ever anticipated, and it gives me a whole different level of appreciation for the art of racing that I’ll be chasing evermore in the virtual space.

Shout-out to my Dad by the way for completing his laps safely while the rest of us ended up spinning at some points. He may have been the slowest, but this does teach you that sometimes, respect for the track is the biggest victory of all.

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I'm blessed and privileged to have a few loves in my life. There's my partner who I wouldn't change a thing about. My family and family dog who I'm thousands of miles away from and miss every day. And then there's gaming. I've loved gaming for as long as I can remember, and I'm one of the lucky few who get to incorporate their love for something into their job.

As a reviews writer, I test the best gaming headsets, which gives me an excuse to skip social obligations and stay home to play my favorite games. It's for work, am I right? Over the years, I've curated a selection of video games I always play to test gaming cans. New titles get added to that list as and when they come out (if I like them, of course) — but there's one game I never skip, and its sequel is finally dropping in September.

Control Resonant, the sequel to the 2019 supernatural Control, drops on September 24, 2026. I've recently been playing a lot of Control, especially when testing gaming headsets, and it's the best test for bass, treble, directional audio, and spatial audio. It's also a game you shouldn't sleep on, and if you want to experience its stunning soundscapes it in all their glory, you need to grab a competent headset for yourself.

An unsettling, intense, eerie, incredible soundtrack

As someone who has played many, many video games, I believe Control has one of the most underrated soundtracks and background music. The background music isn't loud or bass-heavy; it's more ambient, subtle and otherworldly which makes it unsettling and eerie. Combine that with the supernatural Hiss spawning out of nowhere and you've got a winning (and terrifying) combination.

Speaking of music, if you're familiar with any of Remedy Entertainment's games, you'll know that the developer loves including songs by Old Gods of Asgard, or Poets of the Fall as they're known in real life (one of my favorite bands, by the way), in its games. Control is no exception to that rule, and 'Take Control' is one of the best video game songs I've listened to.

Ashtray Maze, the level the song soundtracks, is in itself one of the best video game missions I've ever played, and one of the reasons is 'Take Control.' That level, complete with the heavy rock/metal track, combat sounds, and the sounds of the warping landscape, make for a great stress test when I'm testing a headset's balance.

Control features excellent combat and battle sounds too, from Jesse Faden's parautilitarian abilities to the Hiss' distorted, high-pitched shrieks.

Jesse's Launch ability makes for a fantastic treble test, as grabbing objects with it makes a shrill suction-like sound that can easily overpower the rest of the soundstage. Throwing (or launching) those objects creates a loud, bass-first sound, and if they land with an oomph akin to a thud, the headset's done its job well.

All of these different elements — the chaotic combat, the otherworldly weapon effects, crumbling environmental sounds when objects are yanked of walls via telekinesis — come together to create a surreal yet highly satisfying soundscape. Because of how busy the soundscape can get, Control is a game I will never skip when testing gaming headsets (and I hope I'll feel the same way about Resonant, too).

The mark of a good set of cans

So, how can Control and its various sounds help me determine whether a gaming headset is worth the money? There are a few things I look out for, depending on the features a set of cans offers. For instance, to test imaging and directionality, I see if I can accurately tell if an enemy is shooting from above, behind or to my left or right.

Can I also hear the Hiss spawning around me, and can I pinpoint the exact direction where they've just spawned? If the answer to those question is yes, then the headset's got fantastic directional audio — like my trusty Razer BlackShark V3 Pro.

Control's superb for testing sound separation too. If a headset is competent, like the Alienware Pro Wireless, I'll be able to hear Jesse's Service Weapon firing and bullets whizzing through the air, even as the music swells and the Hiss bombers fly at me. If it all sounds like a messy wall of noise, then the headset isn't worth it. As I mentioned earlier, the combat helps me determine whether the treble is crisp and vibrant and if the bass is powerful with low-end impact, too.

Then there's dialogue clarity. Although Control isn't a dialogue-heavy game, like Baldur's Gate 3 or Detroit: Become Human, there's still plenty of human and supernatural spoken word to test a headset's mids and vocal clarity. The Hiss often whisper and speak in overlapping, surreal dialogue and a well-tuned headset, like the Asus ROG Pelta, should render the vocal layer crisp and intelligible while retaining its eeriness.

But it's not just the game's loudness that helps me test gaming headsets; it's also the quiet moments when I'm navigating the ever-shifting halls of the Oldest House.

The low droning of the fans in the Maintenance sector, the echoing chimes of nearby Control Points, Polaris' gentle, soothing and guiding hum — all of these add to the game's charm. Any headset worth its salt, like the Sony Inzone H6 Air, will make the game sound extremely immersive, spacious, and airy.

Everything I've mentioned up until now explains why I always play Control to test gaming headsets. Before we dive into my recommendations for the best cans, is there any game you think I should be playing to test gaming headsets? Tell me in the comments below!

The best gaming headsets for Control (and other horror games)

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Gaming headsets have come leaps and bounds in recent years, and today, you don't need to spend more than $100 to get a decent set of cans for awesome immersion. But it isn't surprising that many people are reluctant to buy a cheap headset, because they believe — naturally — that the pricier the cans, the better the sound.

In some cases, that's true, but in many, it isn't. Of course, you shouldn't expect a $69 headset to carry the same features and pack the same tech as a $299 headset — but that doesn't mean the former is all bad and not worth your money. I should give those two headsets names now, to make this article easier to understand, right?

The $69 PowerA LucidSound LS500 replaced my $299 Razer BlackShark V3 Pro for a week to see if the wallet-friendly wonder could take on one of the best gaming headsets I've had the pleasure of testing. I've been pleasantly surprised by the LS500's sound quality and comfort, and I've also been not-so-surprised by some of its shortcomings — obviously, given the price. Allow me to take you through it all.

Comfort and design? 10/10

The PowerA LucidSound LS500 is a mighty comfortable headset — despite feeling too plasticky in places, yes. Weighing just 9.34 ounces and utilizing a lightweight metal in its frame, the LS500 sits comfortable atop your head and its mesh headband helps relieve some pressure you'd otherwise feel. The earcups are spacious and they're made of... moisture-wicking cloth liner.

"What the heck is moisture-wicking cloth liner?" I hear you ask. Fret not, I've done my research. This material pulls sweat and moisture away from your skin and spreads it across the fabric’s outside so that it evaporates quickly. In practice, this means that your ears don't feel irritated or itchy from pooling sweat, so you can wear the LS500 for hours and hours without feeling uncomfortable.

Alongside feeling ridiculously comfortable, the LS500's design hasn't given me much to complain about either — though it isn't officially licensed for PS5, so you don't get the swanky console logo. What I love most about the design is the clever controls. Two wheels located around the "LS" logo on each earcup can be rotated to adjust volume, playback, and other settings.

You're probably wondering why I'm so excited about something that doesn't even sound that enthralling, but it's because most cheap gaming headsets I've tested sport the same old tired control scheme. They don't do anything different, but PowerA has, and that's what has me jumping up and down. It's practical and it's clever — and it makes the headset fun to use and control.

Great sound... for the most part

Now we get to the meat of this article: does the PowerA LucidSound LS500 sound any good? For the most part, yes, and if you're a casual gamer who just wants a comfy headset for FPS or racing titles, you'll be more than happy with it. The LS500's 50mm dynamic drivers cover a frequency response range of 20Hz to 20KHz (the entirety of the human hearing spectrum) so in theory, you should be able to hear soft footsteps as well as loud explosions.

And you can certainly hear one of those. In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I appreciated the neoclassical operatic and heavy rock soundtrack not overpowering the combat sounds and vice versa. I could still hear my sword slashing against enemies, and I clearly understood my party members when they yelled, “Parry it” or “Watch out, Verso.” Balanced soundstage? Check.

In Control, the LS500's directional audio worked excellently as I could pinpoint the exact direction in which the enemies spawned. I loved being able to hear the suction-like sound objects made when I grabbed them with Jesse’s Launch ability, even when surrounded by supernatural entities making weird sounds. Crisp treble? Check.

But powerful bass? Bass that you feel in your soul? That reverberates through your head? Yeah, that's not really there. To be fair, I wasn't expecting the bass to sound room-shaking simply because the LS500 is a budget headset, and it's something my Razer BlackShark V3 Pro delivers — but it's also a lot pricier. Through the LS500, bomb-like attacks in Expedition 33 didn't land with enough oomph and sounded tinny. It was a similar story with throwing objects at enemies in Control, too.

It's great for the price, really

There's no denying it: the PowerA LucidSound LS500 is one of the best cheap gaming headsets you can buy today. It's available for $69 at Amazon U.S., with worldwide availability expected later this year. For just under $70, you're getting a comfortable headset that boasts immersive sound (for the most part), decent mic performance, and a clever control scheme.

While you miss out on the most powerful bass and a companion app, those are trade-offs I'd be willing to make given how cheap the LS500 is. I've tested budget cans from Asus and Turtle Beach, and the LS500 takes the fight to them — and it comes out victorious.

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Playing video games is one of my favorite hobbies, so you can imagine how much joy I get from testing the best gaming headsets. I’ve spent a week testing the budget-friendly PowerA LucidSound LS500 and I’m seriously impressed. Available for just $69, the LS500 boasts great in-game sound quality with directional audio, and the headset is designed to be worn all-day long.

In addition to this, you get decent mic performance as well as a clever and practical control scheme too. But the LS500 isn’t perfect. Its plasticky build and underwhelming bass leave a lot to be desired. There’s no companion app for customization either. But for the sub-$70 price, those are sacrifices you might be okay with.

Should you still get the headset? Read my full PowerA LucidSound LS500 review to find out.

PowerA LucidSound LS500 review: Specs

PowerA LucidSound LS500 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A budget wireless gaming headset for PS5, Xbox and PC
• Who is it for? Casual gamers on a budget
• How much does it cost? The PowerA LucidSound LS500 is available for $69
• What do we like? The all-day comfort, great in-game sound quality, budget-friendly price, and clever controls
• What don’t we like? The underwhelming bass, plasticky build, and lack of a companion app

PowerA LucidSound LS500 review: The ups

The PowerA LucidSound LS500 is a fantastic budget-friendly headset, boasting all-day comfort and (mostly) superb in-game sound quality.

Lightweight and comfortable

Regardless of how much a headset costs, you shouldn’t spend any amount of money on it if it isn’t comfortable. Thankfully, the PowerA LucidSound LS500 definitely is!

The headset is lightweight, weighing just 9.34 ounces. It’s lighter than the Cherry XTRFY H3 ($99, 11.46 ounces) and the Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II ($49, 10.47 ounces). The frame is made of lightweight metal, and the mesh headband sits comfortably on your head and helps relieve some pressure you’d otherwise feel.

The LS500 features spacious earcups made of “moisture-wicking cloth liner.” This material pulls sweat and moisture away from your skin and spreads it across the fabric’s outside so that it evaporates quickly. This essentially means that your ears are protected against skin irritation from pooling sweat, and it results in a more comfortable fit. Marketing speak aside, I can confirm that my ears didn’t feel itchy or too hot, even after wearing the headset for seven straight hours.

Clever, straightforward controls

One of my grievances with the also budget-friendly Turtle Beach Stealth 500 ($79) was that its controls felt too cluttered, pooled together on one earcup. Thankfully, that isn’t the case with the PowerA LucidSound LS500. The headset sports a clever and straightforward control scheme, with physical buttons and dials located on both earcups. The power button is located on the left earcup, and it doubles as the Bluetooth/2.4GHz button when it’s held down for a few seconds.

You’ll find two rotatable wheels on both earcups, located around the LucidSound branding. On the left earcup, rotating the wheel changes the volume while pressing the ‘LS’ button once mutes the audio, twice tells you the battery level, and thrice swaps between three equalizer presets. It’s very easy to switch between bass boost, FPS and signature sound.

The wheel on the right earcup, on the other hand, lets you adjust the mic monitoring level (or sidetone) when the headset is in 2.4GHz mode, or change the track when you’re listening to music over Bluetooth. Pressing the ‘LS’ button on the right earcup plays or pauses playback in Bluetooth mode, too.

I really like the implementation of these rotating wheels. I haven’t seen any other headset do this, so it’s nice to see a brand try something different for a change.

Detailed sound for the price

The PowerA LucidSound LS500 boasts great sound quality, especially for a sub-$100 headset. It’s fitted with 50mm dynamic drivers which cover a frequency response range of 20Hz to 20KHz — so essentially the entirety of the human hearing spectrum. Regardless of the game I played to test the LS500, I felt immersed.

There are two ways to connect the headset to your PS5, Xbox Series X|S or PC: via the 2.4GHz dongle or Bluetooth 5.3. I plugged the USB-C dongle into the front of my PS5 Slim and I was good to go in mere seconds. I kicked things off by playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and I was immediately impressed with the well-balanced sound in battles. The neoclassical operatic and heavy rock soundtrack didn’t overpower the combat sounds and vice versa.

The treble sounded crisp and vibrant without piercing through the rest of the soundstage, so I was able to appreciate the beautiful backing tracks while still hearing my sword slashing against the enemies. I also liked being able to clearly understand my party members when they yelled, “Parry it” or “Watch out, Verso.” Their voices weren’t lost in the busy soundscape.

I then played Control and instantly felt immersed in the horror landscape as I made my way down the halls of the brutalist Oldest House building. I could pinpoint the exact direction in which the enemies spawned, as the LS500’s directional audio works excellently. Even when heavily surrounded by supernatural entities making all kinds of weird sounds, I was still able to hear the suction-like sound objects made when I grabbed them with Jesse’s Launch ability, which added to the immersion.

Alongside RPGs, the LS500 is fit for FPS titles too, or any game where listening for footsteps counts the most. I switched to the FPS EQ for 007 First Light, and this enhanced the sound of footsteps by boosting the mid-range. When I needed to infiltrate a heavily-guarded area stealthily, I could pinpoint the NPCs’ locations while hiding as their footsteps grew louder as they came closer to my hiding spot. This helped me execute timely takedowns without alerting the others.

Decent mic performance

Similar to the Turtle Beach Stealth 500, the PowerA LucidSound LS500 features a flip-to-mute mic. It’s omnidirectional which means it records audio from all directions. While that may sound counterintuitive, the LS500 has built-in noise filtering to reduce background noises — and it works well.

I recorded myself speaking while sitting in our office’s kitchen area, and my colleagues were speaking with one another and transporting guitars between studio spaces. In the clip above, all you can hear is my voice. The LS500 has done a good job of highlighting it, and I sound loud and clear. My words don’t bleed into one another so you can easily understand what I’m saying.

Budget-friendly

For those on a budget, the PowerA LucidSound LS500 offers great value for money as it doesn’t break the bank. It retails for just $69 at Amazon, making it a solid wallet-friendly choice. It’s cheaper than the likes of the Turtle Beach Stealth 500 ($79) and the Cherry XTRFY H3 ($99).

Though it’s a little pricier than the Asus TUF Gaming H1 Gen II ($49), it’s worth spending the extra $20 on the LS500 for wireless connectivity, better controls, and an overall nicer design.

PowerA LucidSound LS500 review: The downs

The PowerA LucidSound LS500 is a capable and competent headset, but the bass is lacking, the build is plasticky, and there’s no companion app.

Bass is a little lacking

While the PowerA LucidSound LS500 generally sounds good, it’s a little disappointing that the bass isn’t all there. This is something I experienced with the Logitech G325 Lightspeed ($79) too. As I mentioned earlier, the LS500 boasts great treble and a refined mid-range, but the lack of any substantial bass was clear.

For instance, in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, bomb-like magic attacks didn’t have much low-end impact to them. Lune’s Elemental Trick skill didn’t sound very powerful. I could hear the sharp crack of lightning and the hissing sizzle of fire, but the deep, resonant thud of earthen rock lacked the oomph. Her Elemental Genesis attack didn’t land with a nuke-like torrential roar either, and sounded tinny.

Similarly, even though I appreciated the suction-like grabbing sound in Control, when the objects were launched, they didn’t land with as much power either, which was a let-down. If you want a full-bodied, bassy sound, I’d recommend spending extra on the Cherry XTRFY H3.

Plasticky build

The PowerA LucidSound LS500 is an extremely comfortable headset, but I wish the build quality was better. It isn’t bad, per se, but you can tell it’s very plasticky. Tapping on the headset’s earcups with a fingernail reveals its weakness as the insides sound hollow. The plastic used doesn’t feel very high-quality either, which makes me question the LS500’s longevity.

For a better-built headset, check out the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3 ($99) or the Cherry XTRFY H3 instead. I’m aware that both headsets cost about $30 more than the LS500, but it’s the price you pay for better quality materials.

No companion app

Similar to the Cherry XTRFY H3 and the Asus TUF Gaming H3 Gen II, the PowerA LucidSound LS500 doesn’t come with a companion app. This means that you can’t customize the equalizer or remap the controls. I wouldn’t say this is a massive dealbreaker, though, as you do get access to three EQ presets via the onboard controls — which you can’t do on either of the aforementioned headsets.

If you do want a headset with a companion app, I’d recommend the Turtle Beach Stealth 500 — but the trade-offs are a cluttered control scheme and earcups that tend to get too hot.

PowerA LucidSound LS500 review: Verdict

You don’t need to spend a fortune to get enjoyable in-game sound, and the PowerA LucidSound LS500 proves that. For under $70, the LS500 delivers an impressive combination of comfort, ease of use via clever controls, and strong audio performance for gamers on a budget. Crisp treble, great directional audio, and balanced mids make the LS500 a compelling wallet-friendly option.

But it isn’t without its compromises. Bass response lacks the depth and impact some players may want, especially in explosive action scenes, and the plasticky build doesn’t do the LS500 any favors. Oh, there’s no companion app for customization either.

Even so, the strengths outweigh the shortcomings, given how cheap the LS500 is. This is an excellent value-focused headset that goes above and beyond with its comfort, practicality, and dependable performance.

During this week's June Nintendo Direct, you may have missed when the company quickly revealed two new Joy-Con 2 colorways: blue and light yellow. The new colors are inspired by Deep Cut from the Splatoon series.

For the unfamiliar, Deep Cut is a band that pops up in Splatoon 3 composed of two octolings and a manta ray. The octolings wear the blue and yellow colors.

Really, it feels to me like it's just one new color since the blue is just a slightly darker shade compared to the light blue that comes bundled with the Switch 2.

It's honestly a reminder to me that Nintendo has dulled the vibrancy of the Switch 2 hardware, especially compared to the original Switch.

Yes, there are light purple and light green variants of the Joy-Con 2 controllers... but the only pop of color is the strip that connects to the Switch display and a single ring under the joysticks. A strip that disappears when you click the controllers into the Switch 2 console. The rest is just plain black.

Conversely, the original Switch featured controllers where the whole body was one color. And the Switch Lite came along in a choice of multiple delightful hues.

Compared to the black box that is the current Xbox (retro special edition aside), and the spaceship that is the PS5, Nintendo has always represented fun and playfulness with its console(s).

The Switch 2 feels like it's slipped into a professional suit and is beckoning you into its office to discuss a spreadsheet. Am I the only one who's a little disappointed by this?

The original Switch could be a loud contrast of colors, depending on how much you want to mix and match your Joy-Con controllers. Some of the best were inspired by Splatoon, itself a splashy series.

Just look at these practically neon controllers below, especially compared to the boring grey handles on the Switch itself:

Nintendo like many companies is facing economic uncertainity between the varying tariffs — which seem to have settled after multiple lawsuits — and the ongoing memory crisis affecting every bit of tech globally.

Nintendo markets itself as the playful system for everyone, which the design of the Switch 2 seems to elide. Here's hoping that the gaming legend finds its way into the future of the Switch 2 with some whimsy in more than just pops of color that hide.

How to get the new colors

If you're interested in picking up a set of the blue and light yellow Joy-Con 2 controllers, you can pre-order them now for $99 from Nintendo.

The Nintendo site and the images shown during the Nintendo Direct list July 23 as the release date.

Meanwhile, if you want more, there are Switch 2 third-party options that actually highlight a rainbow of colorways.

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Nintendo has wrapped up its Nintendo Direct event today (June 9) with 50 minutes of Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games.

The biggest announcement was a full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo Switch 2 as well as new games in the Switch Sports and Kingdom Hearts franchises. There's also some new Joy-Con colors, too.

Following the main Nintendo Direct, a Nintendo Treehouse stream revealed a more in-depth look at some of the upcoming games, such as a Star Fox.

You can look back through our coverage of the event below and make sure you leave us comments at the bottom of this article about what impressed you the most!

Nintendo Direct June 2026 — How to watch

Watching today's Nintendo Direct couldn't be much easier. All you need to do is head over to Nintendo’s YouTube or Twitch channel.

In fact, you don’t even need to go anywhere to watch live, as I’ve embedded the direct feed above.

Today's event is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT / 3 p.m. BST.

Live — Latest updates

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to Tom's Guide's coverage of today's Nintendo Direct. I'm here to cover all the pre-show build up and discuss what we expect (and what we'd like) to see once the event gets underway.

As a reminder, we're expecting Nintendo to kick things off at at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT / 3 p.m. BST.

Got something you're particularly hyped to see land on the Switch 2? Let me know in the comments below.

Another Legend of Zelda remake?

One of the biggest rumors about today's event comes from known leaker Nate the Hate, who claims Nintendo is working on another The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake.

This makes sense given how it’s the franchise’s 40th anniversary this year. Nate was correct about Star Fox remake and generally has a good track record — so this claim could very likely be accurate.

What's on the Switch 2 slate for 2026?

Hopefully today will give us a clearer picture of what's coming to Nintendo Switch 2 over the remainder of the year. Details aren't clear on a lot of things yet, but we know Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Duskbloods are both confirmed for a 2026 release.

Meanwhile, Star Fox is out on June 25, and Splatoon Raiders drops on July 23.

Nintendo has to overcome the sting of the price hike

Nintendo is going to have to regain a little bit of customer support with this Direct after revealing it will be increasing the prices of the Switch 2.

From September 1, you'll be paying $499 for a Switch 2 instead of the original launch price of $449. So if you haven't pulled the trigger on buying Nintendo's latest console, now is the best time to do so.

The games we know about in June

Of course Nintendo hasn’t let anything slip in terms of the specific titles we'll see in today’s Direct, so we’re flying blind until the show gets underway.

I'll get round to some of the titles I'm hoping to see later on today but for now, a look at the official Nintendo UK page (where I'm based) confirms these are the games coming our way in June.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - releasing 6/3/26
eFootball: Kick-Off! - releasing 6/3/26
Unrailed 2: Back on Track - releasing 6/11/26
to a T - releasing 6/11/26
and Roger - releasing 6/17/26
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales - releasing 6/18/26
R-Type Tactics I/II Cosmos - releasing 6/18/26
Star Fox - releasing 6/25/26

Will we get an update on The Duskbloods?

A lot of Nintendo fans will be hoping to see their next look at From Software's upcoming Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods at today's Direct.

We haven't seen anything from this game since the big Switch 2 reveal event last spring, and it was announced with a vague 2026 release window. If it's not slipped into 2027, surely Nintendo needs to give us an update today.

Expedition 33 could be announced for Switch 2 today

We've got a little bit of time before the event gets going, so I think it's time for a prediction. I would be very surprised if today's Direct didn't include the news that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is coming to the Switch 2.

The cinematic RPG was easily one of 2025's defining games, and a Switch 2 version would make all the sense in the world. A lot of people who have already played through the game on another platform may be tempted to double-dip and get it again, so they can experience it all over again on Nintendo's portable console.

More rumored games — including the next 3D Mario

It's been nearly nine years since Super Mario Odyssey gave us the plumber's last fully 3D outing and it's high time for a new game. According to reliable Nintendo leaker Nate the Hate, we may get a first look at one today. Last year's Donkey Kong Bananza set the stage for a first-party Switch 2 3D platformer and I can't wait to see what Mario's next outing looks like.

Other hints from Nate the Hate include potentially a new WarioLand game and a new Switch Sports game.

Don't expect GTA VI

Look, it's not going to happen, ok? While it feels like the entire gaming world is desperate for any scrap of information about Grand Theft Auto VI, it feels like the safest of safe bets to say it's not going to show up in today's Nintendo Direct.

Genshin Impact could *finally* arrive on Switch 2

Genshin Impact was first announced for Nintendo Switch during a 2020 Direct. And six years later, we're still waiting for it to arrive. Well, the wait might be over, according to recent posts on X claiming there's been an update ahead of today's Direct.

In the post, X user genshinmains posted: “Nintendo Switch account login manager has been added to the game. New Nintendo Switch account user, need to bind HoYoverse account. Nintendo Direct live stream in 8 hours.”

Allowing users to log into the massively successful gacha game from a Switch 2 would be a strong indication it may finally be ready for primetime.

A ton of ports are coming

Capcom keeps cooking. Now, it's bringing Devil May Cry 5 to Switch. Pre-orders start later today. Muramasa: The Demon's Blade, and Xenoblade Chronicles games are also coming

Xenoblade Genesis revealed

Xenoblade Genesis revealed. The graphics certainly look incredible, and the performance appears buttery smooth.

Switch Sports Resort announced

We now get a trailer for a Switch 2 sports game. There will be 12 games in total. If you're a fan of Wii Sports, this one will be for you. Naturally, you can use the Joy-Cons in various ways to play the game.

Thumb wrestling demo

We now see how thumb wrestling works in Switch Sports Resort. The in-game actions seem to correspond accurately to your movements. You have to shake the Joy-Con, which isn't exactly accurate but seems fun.

Runescape: Dragonwilds

Fans of survival magic games should be happy that Runescape: Dragonwilds is coming to Switch on September 15. Watch out, Wolverine!

Another look at Star Fox

Star Fox launches on June 25. There will be a demo on the Nintendo eShop later today, so definitely keep an eye out for it.

Final Fantasy Resonance

Final Fantasy Resonance launches on October 22 for Switch 2 and Switch 1. Final Fantasy fans on Switch are certainly getting the royal treatment this year.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World

A new Dragon Quest Monsters game is coming to Switch 2. It has the same art style that the series is known for. You can see the clear influence of Pokémon.

Duskbloods closed network test

The Duskbloods get a new trailer. A closed-network test will take place sometime this summer.

Splatoon Raiders trailer

We get another look at Splatoon Raiders. It has some of the same mechanics as the Splatoon games, but it's an action-adventure game with some exploration. Expect more info during the Splatoon Raiders direct on June 30th.

Metaphor: ReFantazio coming to Switch 2

Metaphor: ReFantazio is coming to Switch 2. This was a surprise hit when it released on other platforms a couple of years ago, and it will likely go over well with Nintendo fans when it releases on October 12.

Sizzle reel time

We now get a sizzle reel of upcoming games, including Warhammer, DayZ, and even Metal Gear Solid Master Collection 2.

Kingdom Hearts collection coming to Switch 2

Kingdom Hearts is coming to Switch 2 with a new collection. Those who own the Switch game can transfer their save data now.

Kingdom Hearts IV announced

Now, this is a surprise! Kingdom Hearts IV was just announced. This will likely be a multi-platform game, but it's awesome to see it here during this Nintendo Direct.

Ocarina of Time remake is official

Looks like the rumors were true, as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is indeed coming to Switch 2. Like the 3DS remake from years ago, this is a complete remake from the ground up. This will be a huge one for the Switch 2. Best of all, it arrives this year.

Nintendo of America head takes the stage

Devon Pritchard takes the (digital) stage to give fans a message. It seems she is prepping folks for the upcoming Nintendo Treehouse.

Nintendo Treehouse starts with a Star Fox gameplay demo

We've moved into the Nintendo Treehouse portion of today's event, and it's kicking off with a full gameplay demo of Star Fox, due to land on Switch 2 on June 25th.

I remember the original Lylat Wars back in the Nintendo 64 era so this is hitting me right in the nostalgia zone.

Star Fox looks pretty slick

If this gameplay walkthrough is getting you interested in trying Star Fox for yourself, then the good news is you can try it for free. Starting today, Switch 2 owners can download the demo that includes the tutorial and a full level from the full game.

The bad news is Star Fox is only available for the Switch 2. So if you're still sitting on an OG Switch you'll need to upgrade to join the crew.

Splatoon Raiders is getting a playthrough now

The team have moved on to Splatoon Raiders, the franchise's first single-player game. We're being shown how to customise characters with different gadgets and battle against Salmonids.

There are a bunch of new gadgets coming in this game that will let players gain bonus powers and attacks. Nintendo wants to get people excited for this title, it's planning to hold a dedicated Splatoon Raiders Direct on June 30.

Wrapping up

Ok, the Treehouse has moved on to a four-player game of Rhythm Heaven Groove and while they do that, let's revisit the biggest announcements from today's Direct:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is getting a full Nintendo Switch 2 remake coming this year.

Switch Sports Resort is the newest successor to Wii Sports and will come with 12 games in total, letting you use the motion-sensitive Joy-Cons to play.

Final Fantasy Resonance will launch on both the Switch 1 and Switch 2 on October 22.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World is a new Dragon Quest Monsters game.

We got a new trailer for The Duskbloods, but no further details.

Xenoblade Genesis was revealed as the next entry in the major franchise that marks "a new beginning" for the series.

Kingdom Hearts is coming to Switch 2 with a new collection. Meanwhile, a brand new game in the franchise — Kingdom Hearts IV — was also announced.

Hot on the heels of Summer Game Fest, Nintendo has announced it will hold a Nintendo Direct tomorrow (June 9) at 10 am ET. A Nintendo Treehouse presentation will follow immediately after.

According to a press email, the Nintendo Direct will run for around 50 minutes and spotlight upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games. The Nintendo Treehouse event will last around 95 minutes and feature gameplay of select games featured in the Nintendo Direct.

This is the first big Nintendo Direct of the year, so it should hopefully shed light on what Nintendo plans to release during the latter half of 2026. I say that because, right now, we don’t have a firm grasp of what’s on the horizon. Some of the confirmed 2026 titles are Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Duskbloods. Star Fox is out on June 25, and Splatoon Raiders drops on July 23.

One of the biggest rumors from known leaker Nate the Hate is that Nintendo is working on another The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake. This makes sense given how it’s the franchise’s 40th anniversary this year. Nate was correct about Star Fox and generally has a good track record, so this rumor is likely accurate.

While the Nintendo Switch 2 has generally been successful, it isn’t anywhere near as popular as its predecessor. However, with enough games to get folks excited for the fall season, perhaps Nintendo can turn things around—even if the Switch 2 is getting a price hike in September.

You can watch the June Nintendo Direct and Nintendo Treehouse showcases on Nintendo Today!, YouTube, and Twitch.

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PlayStation has had its turn, and this weekend was time for Microsoft’s Xbox to take the spotlight. The Xbox Game Showcase 2026 promises the latest looks at upcoming games from Xbox Game Studios, alongside new reveals and trailers from some of the biggest franchises around.

The live-streamed event kicked off Sunday at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST, and if one Xbox gaming showcase wasn’t enough, it was immediately followed by the Gears of War: E-Day Direct, with plenty of new information on the upcoming shooter, which is set to release on October 6. Don’t worry if you couldn't watch; you can check out all the biggest announcements and reveal below.

Alongside Gears, we saw more from the new Fable game, a teaser for Persona 5, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 had a presence in a big way, as well as the Halo 1 remake.

How to watch Xbox Games Showcase 2026

Xbox Games Showcase 2026 + Gears of War: E-Day Direct takes place today (Sunday, June 7) at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST.

You can watch the recording via YouTube or Twitch.

LIVE UPDATES

Welcome!

Good morning! Welcome to Tom's Guide's coverage of the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 + Gears of War: E-Day Direct (that's quite a mouthful). We'll have live updates covering all the new reveals and trailers in this live blog. If you're a passionate Xbox gamer, you won't want to miss this mammoth-sized live showcase.

Halo: Campaign Evolved screenshots leaked

There's been a surprising lack of leaks ahead of today's Xbox Games Showcase, but several screenshots of Halo: Campaign Evolved were captured on Xbox's official store page by some eagle-eyed Redditors before being taken down. The screenshots give us a glimpse at Cortana's redesign, along with battles in space and redesigned brutes with beards.

Persona 6 debut?

Several leakers have suggested we could get a look at Persona 6 today, though with Atlus also expected to reveal a release date for Persona 4 Revival at the Xbox Games Showcase, I'm not too optimistic. Then again, that would be peak Atlus.

Don't expect any next-gen console news

Games will be front and center at today's presentation (it is all called the Xbox Games Showcase, after all). But if you were getting your hopes up about new details on Xbox's next-gen console, codenamed Project Helix, I'm here to dash those.

"The focus here is on the games," Microsoft Studios boss Matt Booty said on the latest Xbox podcast (h/t Gamespot). "There won’t be Helix news. Helix will not be in this showcase. We want to get everything about that right."

A new era for Xbox

The showcase will be the first under new CEO of Microsoft Gaming Asha Sharma, who took over for now-retired Xbox boss Phil Spencer in February. Though I don't have high hopes given the show's focus on games, I'd love to see her outline a clearer picture on Xbox's future.

Phil's vision of Xbox's next-gen console as a powerful PC-like machine for your living room sounds tailored toward a pretty niche audience, but with rising costs of, well, everything these days, more and more gamers are getting priced out. Will Xbox pivot to court a broader crowd or double down on what's rumors suggest could be a pricey next-gen console?

Viva Piñata revival?

It's a long shot, but given the recent success of Pokopia, I'd love to see Xbox revive its Viva Piñata series. We haven't gotten a new game since Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise way back in 2008. Cozy games have only gotten more popular since then, and I say it's time to bring it back with more piñatas, bigger gardens, and modern controls.

Just an hour to go...

The Xbox Games Showcase is almost here! In a little over an hour, the livestreamed event will kick off, giving us our first look at games like State of Decay 3, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and new Fable and Call of Duty games.

The red room of death

Yesterday Xbox CEO Asha Sharma shared a snapshot on X of the in-person venue this year's showcase will take place at. It's giving off big "Twin Peaks" vibes to me.

Here we go!

The Xbox Games Showcase is about to kick off! As a refresher for anyone just joining us, you can watch along via YouTube or Twitch when the event kicks off at the top of the hour. Gears of War: E-day will front and center, with its own Direct immediately following the showcase. Also expect to hear more about RPGs like Fable, Clockwork Revolution, and the Persona series as well as a statement of intent from Xbox's new leadership.

New gameplay trailer for Gears of War: E Day

I'm not surprised to see Xbox kick things off with gameplay footage of today's main event: Gears of War: E-Day. A lengthy shot of gameplay showed off combat as chaos erupts through the street. The carnage is every bit as gritty and bloody as expected of the series, complete with chainsaws galore.

The age of Xbox exclusives continues

The new CEO of Microsoft Gaming Asha Sharma revealed Xbox isn't done with console exclusives quite yet. After showing off some gameplay footage of Gears of War: E-Day, the exec announced it would be an Xbox exclusive when it comes out on October 6, 2026. Considering how many previously exclusive Xbox games have made their way to other consoles, it was unclear whether Xbox would continue making them or instead pivot to hedging its bets with wider releases.

Fable revival looks promising

I love RPGs, but somehow never played the original Fable games so I wasn't too hyped for the series revival. After seeing the trailer, though, I'm excited. The writing made me laugh out loud, landing somewhere between Baldur's Gate 3 and Vox Machina with some well-placed F-bombs that actually landed rather than feeling forced. The combat looks stellar as well, with a weight that reminds me of the newer God of War games. Fable will hit store shelves on February 23, 2027.

Halo gets space battles

Three new missions are coming to Halo Campaign Evolved, the big remake of the first Halo, and Xbox showed off an exciting new addition in today's showcase: space flying missions and combat. The missions seem to be prequels to the original's campaign, with the voiceover promising a story "we haven't heard yet" that takes place "one year before the ring." Halo Campaign Evolved releases July 28, 2026.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy up next

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy shifts the spotlight to Sophia in a prequel adventure. The combat and gameplay seems less horror and more Tomb Raider/Uncharted vibes with some of the ancient temples she's seen running through. It comes out August 27 across multiple platforms.

Persona 4 Revival takes the stage

Take a trip to The Midnight Channel with our first real look at Persona 4 Revival. In the same vein as the Persona 3 Reload remake, the PS2 original looks way more detailed this time around with animated cut scenes, vibrant colors, and more detailed models. Atlus is also bringing over the Baton Pass mechanic from P3R for flashy, Persona 5-esque battles.

It's out Feb 18, 2027!

Build your cult in Join Us

Join Us from Wolf Haus Games has the graphics and multiplayer havoc of GTA 6 with the premise of Cult of the Lamb, and I'm here for it. In either single player and 4-person co-op you build your cult and convert followers to your cause while surviving giant tentacle monsters emerging from the Earth and other apocalyptic scenarios. The voice acting is on point too: "You better evaluate your life choices."

A new Senua game on the horizon

We got a look at some of the combat and gameplay for the third game in the Senua series, simply titled Senua, that's coming out next year. The combat has always been on the floaty side, but her hits landed with a satisfying weight and there seems to be plenty of environmental tools you can use in group fights. The trailer showed her kicking over a burning effigy to scatter her opponents.

Fallout 76 gets some new goodies

Bethesda up now with a Fallout 76 update with a seriously catchy jingle. The new Infestations update, which is available now, adds plenty of new baddies to mow through with your friends. And is that new power armor I see? Nice!

Sega's Crazy Taxi revival looks sick

As soon as I heard that "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" I was sat up. Sega's long in development Crazy Taxi revival finally has a name and a slick new trailer. The gameplay footage showed off even more insane antics as players pick up customers and zip around the city. Crazy Taxi World Tour comes out in 2027 across PS5, Xbox, and PC.

Y'all we are so back

Xbox showed off a new Xbox model for the company's 25th anniversary, with a Y2K style I've been chomping at the bit to come back: Those colored see-through casings that were everywhere in the early aughts. The limited edition Xbox Series X25 comes out in November 2026, and while it's not clear if it'll sport any new specs, they nailed the design.

Minecraft Dungeons II gets a new trailer

Mojang Studios returns with its next Minecraft thing, showing off players fighting through dungeons together in a world of blocky, Minecraft-style visuals. Minecraft Dungeons 2 is coming September 29.

The Thieves Guild is back

Some Elder Scrolls news, though not Elder Scrolls 6. Rather, the series' MMORPG entry, The Elder Scrolls Online, is getting a thieves guild expansion that takes players to the high seas and underwater in a hunt for glorious loot. Also making an appearance was Sheogorath, the Daedric prince of madness, and it sure looks like he got transported to Skyrim. The update is coming out July 8.

Genderbent Castlevania, yes please

To celebrate Castlevania's 40th anniversary, we got a new look at Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, a new 2D entry in the series. It looks to be a substantial entry in the series, complete with a sprawling castle map and powers like gravity-flipping and jumping inside a painting. It's coming out October 15, 2026.

Persona 6 got...something

Persona 6 made an appearance at today's showcase, though hardly a substantial one. Instead of any gameplay or a look at the new cast of characters, we got another green-tinged teaser, this time of a graveyard and a couple of collages of people with cut-up pictures. I'm sure it'll all make more sense once Atlus releases the first batch of trailers, which may not be for a while considering we still don't have a release date.

Spyro, my boy!

Would you look at that, Spyro's getting a revival! I loved the games as a kid, and the trailer showed off the iconic purple dragon and some new flight-based gameplay. Spyro: A Realm Beyond takes flight in spring 2027.

Clockwork Revolution confirmed for 2027

inXile's steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution finally has a release window, and it's 2027. In today's showcase, we got a look at some of the game's core characters and first-person environments. Also: a heist plot! All signs point to it being another Xbox exclusive.

New look at CoD MW4

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4's new DMZ looks tense as hell, and the sound design is entirely too real in replicating bullets whizzing by your head. "Extract or die trying," we're reminded. CoD MW4 is out October 23 with an upcoming playtest set for July.

Onto the Gears of War: E-Day Direct

Studio head Mike Crump welcomes us to the Coalition as the Gears of War presentation kicks off with a bloody countdown. So stay tuned to learn more about the long-awaited prequel.

'The most brutally satisfying Gears yet'

The prequel heads back to Emergence Date, the catastrophic event that forever altered humanity’s fate and set the stage for the war-torn world players first encountered in the original game back in 2006.

Crump promises "the most brutally satisfying Gears yet." With the series leap to Unreal Engine 5, developer The Coalition revisited what made the series resonate in the first place. The team looked back to the iconic "Mad World" trailer for inspiration, seeing in it many of the themes that define the franchise. With the E-Day story, they saw it as the perfect chance to recapture that atmosphere with modern tech that finally allowed them to realize it on the scale they originally envisioned.

Built from the ground up, the game showcases seamless large-scale environments, ray-traced lighting, and real-time destruction for a dramatically reimagined look at the Gears universe while staying true to its roots.

Reimagined combat and movement

The team overhauled the game's movement with smoother transitions, a larger range of cover, and the ability to jump to open up the citywide battleground. You have more choice than ever to tackle each combat puzzle, which can take place across neighborhoods and through multiple floors of buildings. The team built out an extensive tool set for making the world feel lived in too.

E holes are back

The iconic emergence loop for spawning enemies, a core part of the Gears of War combat flow, returns in Gears of War: E-Day. Chippable cover across a range of textures also makes you feel like you're influencing the world. You'll watch "the fall of Kalona" in real time, and The Coalition demonstrated this with before and after shots of the destruction as the Locus overrun the city.

A look at Gears co-op

All four characters are playable, with two-player split-screen available locally. In PvP, maps are designed to feel like classic battles, with the added bonus of new traversal modes to build on the game's revamped movement system. There's also Foreword siege, a 12-player mode that focuses on defending Kalona co-operatively.

That's a wrap!

The Xbox Games Showcase ended with a reel of everything we've seen throughout the show. What was your favorite announcement? Let us know in the comments!