NEW YORK — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling.
State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 illegally charge users for the chance to win rare items held in the virtual containers.
In Counter-Strike, the process even resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item, James’ office said.
“Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes,” James said in a statement. “These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal.”
Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for the Bellevue, Washington-based company.
“Loot box” items are generally cosmetic, such as a hat for a player’s character or an artistic skin for weapons. They usually don’t serve any vital function in the games, but James’ office said the items can still be sold online for significant sums.
Some of the rarest items can go for thousands of dollars online, according to James’ office. One item, an AK-47 Counter-Strike skin, recently sold for more than $1 million.
James’ suit says Valve is violating New York’s constitution by promoting gambling in its games. It wants the company to stop the practice and pay restitution and damages to users, as well as a fine worth three times the amount of its profits from the features.
The attorney general argues that research has found children introduced to gambling are four times more likely to develop a gambling problem later in life than those who are not.
“Loot boxes, like other forms of gambling, can lead to addiction and result in real harm,” the suit reads. “But Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents, who are lured into opening loot boxes by the prospect of winning expensive virtual items that convey status in the gaming world.”
James’ office said demand for “loot box” prizes has drawn interest not just from online speculators and investors that have helped values soar, but also thieves targeting third-party, online marketplaces where the virtual items can be sold for cash.
Valve facilitates those third-party marketplaces, as well as operating its own, the Steam Community Market, where players can sell their items and use the proceeds to buy other video games, gaming hardware or other virtual items.
GameZone continues to establish itself as a premier digital platform for players who enjoy table games with both traditional and modern influences. Bringing together popular Filipino card games and globally renowned casino games, GameZone offers a seamless blend of heritage and innovation. Understanding the rules, formats, and strategies for these table games provides a substantial advantage to those seeking to enhance their online casino experience.
The Appeal of GameZone Table Games
GameZone table games encompass card-based and casino-style activities played within virtual environments accessible via the platform’s web and mobile interfaces. The portfolio includes both well-loved Pinoy card games and international classics such as baccarat and blackjack. Each game operates on structured rules and decision-making methods, combining chance and strategy to deliver an engaging experience. Players encounter fast-paced rounds, strategic opportunities, and an adaptable interface.
GameZone transforms classic Pinoy games by introducing automated processes and digital functionality. This modern adaptation streamlines gameplay while remaining accessible on any device, creating an enjoyable and secure platform for all users.
Tongits: Competitive Pinoy Card Game with Tactical Depth
Gameplay Overview: Tongits features three players who aim to form sets and runs by arranging cards from a standard 52-card deck. By reducing deadwood or unmatched cards at the end of the round, players position themselves for potential wins. The turn-based draw and discard system brings calculated strategy into every move.
Formats:
Three-player tables
Standard card deck
Turn-based progression
Tips for Tongits: Observing discarded cards helps in tracking opponents’ strategies and predicting their potential sets or runs. Discarding high-value cards as rounds approach their conclusion mitigates losses. The strategic use of “Draw” benefits players who suspect their deadwood count is lower than their competitors.
Pusoy: A Strategic Pinoy Card Game Based on Hand Arrangement
Gameplay Overview: In Pusoy, participants receive 13 cards and must arrange them into three hands: front (strongest three cards), middle (medium strength five cards), and back (weakest five cards). Arrievements depend on hand rankings placed in descending order of strength.
Formats:
2-4-player competitions
Simultaneous hand organization
Automated ranking systems
Tips for Pusoy: Balancing card strength across all hands prevents major losses when arrangements are revealed. Overloading one hand at the expense of others creates vulnerabilities during rounds. Familiarity with hand combinations and rankings prior to gameplay elevates decision-making effectiveness.
Pusoy Dos: Fast-Paced Gameplay with High Awareness
Gameplay Overview: Pusoy Dos revolves around shedding cards strategically to be the first player with no cards left. The player holding the lowest-ranked card triggers the first move, leading sequential rounds of combinations like pairs, straights, and flushes.
Formats:
2-4 players per session
Combination-focused play mechanics
Sequential round structure
Tips for Pusoy Dos: Maintaining early tempo through strong combinations asserts control over game pacing. High-value cards should be reserved for endgame moments to secure a strategic advantage. Observing cards played throughout ensures informed final moves.
Lucky 9: Simplicity and Quick Rounds
Gameplay Overview: Lucky 9 operates similarly to baccarat with the goal of achieving a hand value closest to nine. The player-versus-banker system keeps rounds fast and efficient, while card values follow straightforward scoring principles.
Formats:
Player vs Banker structure
Automated correctness of card values
Brief round durations
Tips for Lucky 9: Learning card value calculations establishes a foundation for placing accurate wager. Consistent bankroll strategies prevent impulsive wagers rooted in emotional reactions. Lucky 9’s straightforward gameplay appeals to players preferring simpler table game formats.
Baccarat: The International Industry Standard
Gameplay Overview: Baccarat allows players to wager on three options: player, banker, or tie, with wins dependent on reaching hand values closest to nine. Fast rounds powered by automated dealing mechanisms keep match progression consistent while a digital scoreboard tracks results.
Formats:
Straightforward wagerting: player vs banker vs tie
Rapid gameplay progression
Digital tracking and scoring
Tips for Baccarat: Sticking to pre-planned wagerting strategies avoids unnecessary attempts at chasing gambling patterns. Familiarity with house-edge variations wagerween wagerting options enables smarter wager placements. Baccarat’s global reputation elevates player expectations, reinforced by the digital convenience of GameZone versions.
Blackjack: Structured Gameplay With Skill-Based Strategy
Gameplay Overview: Blackjack tasks players with building the strongest hand totaling up to 21 without exceeding that number. Participants compete directly against the dealer, utilizing options such as Hit, Stand, or Double during their turns.
Formats:
Player vs Dealer engagements
Flexible actions for strategic card management
Non-applicable card counting due to automation
Tips for Blackjack: Basic blackjack strategy charts should guide gameplay decisions, helping players avoid excessive actions on strong hands. Uncertainty calls for conservative gameplay rather than overly risky choices. Among table games, blackjack remains one of the few where skill significantly influences outcomes.
GameZone Table Game Structure and Formats
GameZone organizes table games online into different formats to cater to various player levels and preferences:
Standard Tables: Casual gameplay without pressure.
Challenge Tables: Competitive environments for serious players.
Beginner Rooms: Lower stakes for learning opportunities.
Advanced Rooms: Higher stakes for seasoned participants.
Game-specific details such as participant totals, pacing, entry requirements, and prize distributions influence strategic approaches. Selecting the ideal format optimizes engagement levels and aligns goals with current player expertise.
Universal Tips for Enhanced Table Game Participation
Studying table game mechanics and practicing strategies consistently improves gameplay performance. Starting with familiar games ensures steady progress before transitioning to complex ones. Low-stakes rooms facilitate practice sessions without financial strain. Setting a budget guarantees responsible play across sessions. Staying focused reduces distractions, especially in strategy-heavy games like Pusoy and blackjack. Built-in tools for responsible practice on GameZone provide additional support.
GameZone’s Distinctive Edge in Online Table Games
GameZone Table game bridges traditional Pinoy games and modern digital platforms to deliver structured multiplayer session. Automated evaluation systems ensure unbiased outcomes, while mobile accessibility extends the playing experience to users on the go. Security measures protect matches, allowing participants to focus solely on competition. From Tongits to blackjack, GameZone accommodates beginners and experts alike through refined digital formats.
The Smart Approach to Mastering GameZone Table Games
Progress in GameZone table games starts with understanding rules, recognizing unique formats, and applying actionable strategies consistently. Traditional Pinoy games demand blended skills of strategy and luck, while international classics like baccarat emphasize calculated risk. Preparation and focus enhance the overall experience.
GameZone online merges heritage and modernity, creating table game solutions tailored for competitive entertainment. With diverse options available, players benefit from learning structures, starting with manageable formats, and committing to disciplined sessions. Exploring these opportunities positions participants for enjoyable and skillful gameplay in the dynamic world of GameZone casino.
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Nintendo’s Switch 2 Pro controller committed the one cardinal sin no gamepad should ever perpetrate: it made me lose.
Nintendo’s $90 first-party controller exclusive to the Switch 2 has large, snappy sticks—too snappy, in fact. Flicking the joystick from one side and releasing it will cause it to flick back so fast that the gamepad will register an input in the opposite direction. While playing the first Hollow Knight on Switch 2, difficult bosses like Nightmare King Grimm became nearly impossible when having one pixel out of place could be the difference between saving my skin or a trip back to the bench.
Such failures of hardware design can be rage-inducing, but I kept returning to the Switch 2 Pro controller for one reason: convenience. Ignoring the default Joy-Cons, Nintendo’s first-party controller used to be the only one that could wake the handheld console from sleep. That’s no longer the case. Gulikit’s TT Pro and TT Max controllers are both capable of keeping your butt glued to the couch when you need to game. I’ve used half a dozen controllers for Switch 2 from the likes of Snakebyte, Hori, 8BitDo, and Gulikit themselves. The TT Pro and TT Max are perfect for me. That doesn’t mean it will be your perfect gamepad. Controllers are so ubiquitous; you’ll need to decide what is worth sacrificing for your preferred gaming experience.
Gulikit TT Pro / TT Max
Some people won’t like the stick layout or lack of HD rumble, but Gulkit’s controllers will be enough for many Switch 2 gamers.
Switch 2 wake function
Drift-resistant sticks
Solid feel
Customizable joysticks and D-pad
Form-fitted case
No headphone jack
Back buttons don’t fit in case
Rumble isn’t as nuanced as Switch 2 Pro
These controllers start at $70 for the TT Pro and $80 for the TT Max. That’s more expensive than Gulikit’s former offerings and potentially costlier than past favorites like the 8BitDo Pro 3. Gulikit’s design is compatible with PC, Android, iOS, and Switch. It will work fine as your mainstay controller thanks to the included 2.4GHz dongle, but don’t expect something truly incredible or original other than on the Switch 2. Maybe we’ll see more controllers find ways to wake Nintendo’s latest system. Even if they do, I don’t imagine I’ll need another Switch 2 controller anytime soon.
Why do first-party peripherals lack these features?
The China-based company Gulikit got its start by selling Hall effect joystick replacements for the original Switch. The first-gen Joy-Con controllers had notorious stick drift problems, where the physical potentiometer sticks would degrade over time and create unintended inputs. Hall effect, which uses magnetic fields rather than physical connections, is far more durable. No console maker has yet to create a first-party peripheral with Hall effect. What makes that fact maddening is how companies like Sony and Nintendo will limit third-party capabilities on these consoles. For example, a PS5 DualSense is the only peripheral with access to the force-feedback Adaptive Triggers.
In a similar fashion, Nintendo limited wake capabilities to its own controllers. Not even licensed controllers from companies like Hori could wake the system from sleep. To be clear, this is a privileged position to take. There’s nothing stopping me from getting off my ass to wake the Switch 2 in its dock. But if I have the option, you’re damn right I’m not leaving behind the comfort of my butt-shaped hole in my cushions.
Pairing the controller with the Switch 2 is a little more involved than with a Pro controller. You need to set the TT Pro or TT Max into pairing mode, then go into the Controllers and Change Grip/Order menu to then have the device pair. From then on, the controller will be able to wake the console. I’ve found that waking the Switch 2 isn’t as immediate as it is with a Pro controller or Joy-Con 2. It normally takes half a second longer.
The system still requires me to press both triggers to select my controller before getting into a game. I can’t confirm by myself, but my suspicion is Gulikit is working around the proprietary controller protocol to enable wakeup without fully connecting the controller. This one extra step is so minimal, it’s hardly any sacrifice for the sake of convenience.
This capability is a singular and—admittedly—petty reason that the Gulikit TT Pro takes the top spot. Or maybe it would be, if the controller itself didn’t feel so good as it does.
I’ve used many of Gulikit’s controllers since then, such as its older KK3 Pro gamepad and its Genesis-like Elves 2 Pro controllers. The company’s first controller with the ability to wake the console, the ES Pro, sported an Xbox layout with the “A” button on the bottom rather than on the right. While Gulikit’s other controllers all support the Switch 2 (after you install several firmware updates to make them work), this is one of its best. Instead of Hall effect, the TT Pro and TT Max controllers use TMR joysticks. That stands for tunneling magnetoresistance, which is another magnetic-based sensing technology that should be even more resistant to stick drift.
So it has everything you need, right? Not quite. The controller lacks the “C” button for accessing the Switch 2 GameChat function. If that doesn’t matter to you, then shrug it off. There’s also no headphone jack. They’re both small features, but they will inevitably matter to some players.
The TT Pro and Max sport the PlayStation stick layout, where both are on the same level. I know that some players cannot stand this. I, on the other hand, prefer this layout (strange to say since I grew up an Xbox diehard). It’s all about preference, and unfortunately, this is what you’re stuck with, for now. Both controllers come with a plastic case containing a special set of A,B,X,Y keys if you wish to replace the buttons with an Xbox layout.
These controllers aren’t exactly budget options. For the $70 or $80 you spend, you’ll at least gain extra customizability and a form-fitted controller case. The case is where you’ll also find the optional metallic back paddles, four in all. These slot into the controller with a little bit of force. I rarely, if ever, use back paddle buttons, so I appreciate having the choice of whether to keep them or not. If you use the back paddles, the controller won’t actually fit inside the case, which means removing them if you want your gamepad to stay safe when travelling.
There’s also an optional D-pad with a traditional cardinal direction thumbpad hidden inside the carrying case. You may look at the flat panel D-pad and squirm, but in practice, it feels superb. I didn’t have a problem feeling out my directions when playing side-scrollers or in a fighting game, like Soul Calibur II in the GameCube classics collection.
I normally prefer stiffer joysticks than most players. The default Gulikit TT Max’s 720-degree sticks felt just on the edge of right for how I play. What’s better is that it comes with two alternative sticks if you prefer a different height. The pack includes an extra screwdriver to adjust the tension of the joysticks as well. Plus, the Hall effect triggers have a nice depth and springiness to them. There are two switches on the back of the controller to change to instant triggers if you want the same feel as the Joy-Con or Switch 2 Pro controller.
And there’s solid gyro and rumble packed in as well. The Switch 2 Pro controller can feel a little muted in the rumble department, though that HD rumble feature is far more nuanced than what I felt on the TT Max. I would trade off the slightly worse rumble for the sake of sticks without snapback or stick drift potential.
These controllers aren’t built for tournament players by default. The best you can get is a 1,000Hz polling rate when using them wired. Polling rate is how often the gamepad sends information to the console, so a higher number is preferable. It also sports a 730Hz polling rate over Bluetooth, which isn’t too shabby. Gamepads like Razer’s Wolverine V3 Pro feature an 8,000Hz polling rate, but only the wannabe pro gamers will ever notice a difference.
These controllers are also middle of the road when it comes to battery life. Gulikit promises you can get a full 26 hours with these controllers’ 950mAh battery running without any lights or Turbo on. With the lights, the actual battery life will be closer to 14 hours, and less if you’re playing a game that enjoys rumble (practically all first-party Nintendo games do). The Switch 2 Pro controller, which lacks any lighting whatsoever, gets far better battery life, equivalent to close to 40 hours. In real life scenarios, that means charging the controller once every few weeks rather than a few days with Gulikit’s design.
And here’s what you need to know: most people will be perfectly happy with the TT Pro rather than the TT Max. The only difference is that the TT Max allows for 10 minutes of macro recordings compared to 10 seconds on the TT Pro. These macro recordings will help you recreate specific inputs, which may be helpful for fighting games. The extra recording time is equivalent to the older, slightly cheaper KK3 Max. Most players won’t ever use that feature.
And $70 for this controller is more tempting than $80, which is approaching Switch 2 Pro controller pricing. This is meant to be my go-to Switch 2 controller, even replacing my previous favorite, the 8BitDo Pro 3. That controller will remain with my PC, but the Gulikit TT Pro is going to sit on my couch, ready for me when I get home after a long day of work, when I can’t even be bothered to stand up to turn on my console.
Xbox is in freefall, but Microsoft’s gaming platform could redeem itself as soon as next year. During AMD’s Q4 2025 earnings call on Tuesday, the chipmaker’s CEO, Lisa Su, said that “development of Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027.”
Up until now, Xbox President Sarah Bond had only been ready to tell us the next Xbox console was indeed in development and would deliver a “premium experience.” The console likely won’t conform to any one game launcher. Instead, it could allow players to access platforms like Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG as well as Xbox. Essentially, it will be a PC with a less-upgradable “semi-custom” AMD SoC (system on a chip).
Why is AMD talking about this console even before Xbox can start its next-gen media blitz? Likely because gaming hardware will be in the doldrums all throughout 2026. Su said the company expects a “decline by a significant double-digit percentage as we enter the seventh year of what has been a very strong console cycle.”
The year will start off with the launch of Valve’s long-awaited Steam Machine. Su said the device will arrive early this year, confirming what Valve had already indicated to Gizmodo and others about release timing.
Valve’s PC/console hybrid will sport another “semi-custom” AMD chip, though in this case it will be based on older GPU microarchitecture, namely RDNA 3.5. Valve has claimed it will be powerful enough for 4K gaming with the help of upscaling, though judging purely by specs, it may not be as powerful as graphics-obsessed gamers may demand. Later this year, we may see new handheld gaming PCs sporting an Intel Panther Lake chip, but that may be it for new gaming hardware.
The difficulty will be getting gamers excited for new gaming hardware, especially if it costs anything more than the current generation of consoles. More than five years after launch, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series Xcost more, not less, due to last year’s tariffs. A gaming-ready PC is now enormously expensive due to the ongoing memory shortage. We still don’t know the price of the Steam Machine, but based on Valve’s statements to this point, it likely won’t be cheap.
The next-gen Xbox may be even costlier. Numerous leaks from reliable sources like Moore’s Law is Dead on YouTube suggest that Microsoft’s PC-like console will use AMD’s newfangled RDNA 5 microarchitecture. The specs we’ve seen from leaks—including GPU core counts—support that this could indeed be a powerful machine for playing games at 4K with ray tracing enabled.
Specs are one thing, but next-gen hardware success will depend on whether Microsoft can give gamers a real reason to care. If consoles become a “premium” device built only for the most-dedicated gamers with deep pockets, it will price out many more potential players. Judging by Xbox’s reported slowdown in hardware and services revenue, just because they can’t afford a new console doesn’t mean players will run out to buy an increasingly expensive Game Pass subscription. Xbox needs to offer gamers a whole new way to play, something that re-energizes Xbox as a lifestyle brand, rather than just another manufacturer of gaming hardware.
The gaming industry needs a win. A total of 33% of U.S.-based game developers who responded to the annual State of the Games Industry Reportsaid they were laid off in the last two years. Many of those were due to Microsoft’s own cuts. Among its many in-house and partnered studios, Microsoft is responsible for major developers from Blizzard to Bethesda down to former indie darlings like Double Fine and Obsidian. Xbox’s slow demise will make a bad time for the gaming industry worse.
If you’re like many readers of the Gloucester Daily Times you love the games that appear in each day’s edition. Starting Monday, you can play one that promises prizes to five lucky winners.
Find your GDT Insider Bingo cards inside Friday’s edition of the Gloucester Daily Times. Then, look for bingo numbers in each print edition of the newspaper beginning Monday, Jan. 26. Bonus numbers will appear in the newspaper on Mondays and Fridays.
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The ad-based gaming blitz has only just begun. Xbox is reportedly starting to test an ad-based subscription tier that could offer an hour of gameplay at a time. It may prove to be a good deal, so long as you don’t mind getting blasted with a few minutes of Mountain Dew G-Fuel advertising for the sake of cloud-based gaming. The real question is how long it will be before Xbox Game Pass gets ads as well.
Over the weekend, The Verge’s Tom Warren first spotted a teaser for a supposed ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming option in Xbox Game Pass. The screenshot shows the typical rocket ship you see at the launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming, though with the notice at the bottom, “1 hour of ad-supported playtime per session.” That hints users could potentially play a select few games for an hour before receiving an advertising blitz.
Warren has previously claimed, based on anonymous sources, that sessions could be limited to a mere hour of game time, supported by two full minutes of pre-roll ads. Users would be limited to five hours of session time per month. You won’t need a Game Pass subscription to access a few of these select free-streaming titles, though you’ll still need a Microsoft account.
Netflix already proved people will pay for ads
These early tests of Microsoft’s first ad-based gaming venture seem more like an advertisement for Xbox Cloud Gaming and Game Pass rather than its own specialty service. Last year, Microsoft hiked the cost of its Ultimate subscription tier to $30 a month, a 50% increase. At the same time, it took Xbox Cloud Gaming out of beta and let players on cheaper Basic or Premium subscriptions access a few games on the cloud. There are a few older titles worth playing on the lower-end subscriptions, but you still want Ultimate if you want access to any day-one games or the latest releases available for download or cloud gaming.
Microsoft is now opening the first crack in its subscription model wide enough for ads to peek through. If it proves lucrative enough, Microsoft may make further adjustments to its subscription model with even more ads for lower-tier subscriptions.
Ads are the future of subscription services. The writing was on the wall close to four years ago when Netflix started cracking down on password sharing and promising to introduce ads to a platform that had long ago promised to remain ad-free. Now, Netflix’s cheapest ad-based tier is easily its most popular subscription. This month, Deadline reported Netflix’s ad-supported tier subscribers have grown by 14% year over year. Approximately 40% of Netflix accounts are on ad-based tiers as of the end of the third quarter in 2025. That number of ad-based subscribers was only 26% in the same quarter in 2024.
Microsoft is starting small by keeping a Game Pass subscription and its ad-based Xbox Cloud Gaming tests separate. Whether it will keep them exclusive is a question best left for the crystal ball.
Nvidia’s latest version of its Deep Learning Super Sampling technology, aka DLSS, hit the scene early Wednesday. With the latest update in tow comes a slightly redesigned upscaler that is now better than ever, at least for most games. If you were hoping that you would be able to push your frame rates to ludicrous levels, you’ll need to wait.
DLSS 4.5, which Nvidia announced back during CES 2026 last week, incorporates a new version of the existing transformer model upscaler. The original transformer model was a major part of the DLSS 4 update from 2025, which took an AI model trained on gameplay to generate the look you should see at higher resolution. Upscalers like DLSS take a frame at a lower resolution and massage it so it appears at a higher resolution, which enhances the visual resolution to the size your display supports while improving performance. With AMD and Intel nipping at its heels, Nvidia felt it needed to show up with even more frame generation software for 2026. Instead, the latest update proves that small enhancements make a bigger difference than the oft-touted “fake frames.”
The big update for DLSS 4.5 is only perceivable when glancing at small environmental details. Previous versions of DLSS had a hard time picking up on minute environmental effects, like sparks from a fire. DLSS 4.5 is supposed to bring those details back. Plus, 4.5 should help sharpen textures and eliminate ghosting around some environmental details, where an image would appear to bleed from frame to frame.
Small improvements make a big difference
I tested DLSS 4.5 on a Framework Laptop 16 packed with a GeForce RTX 5070 laptop GPU. This is one of Nvidia’s lower-end graphics cards with only 8GB of VRAM. DLSS makes more of a difference for players running cheaper gaming rigs than for platforms with higher-end specs. I used a 1440p monitor for my testing, as the RTX 5070, especially the laptop version, isn’t going to enable a quality experience at 4K resolution.
I compared DLSS 4 and DLSS 4.5 in games like Marvel’s Spider-Man II, Black Myth: Wukong, and The Outer Worlds II. The updated Nvidia app now allows players to override the DLSS model for supported games. The preset “L” and “M” models are both based on DLSS 4.5. “L” is for ultra-performance mode built for trying to hit 4K resolution, though “M” should fit more players’ needs who just want better performance in games at below 4K.
DLSS 4.5 is a big step up. In Black Myth: Wukong, I saw a bump up to around 50 fps and even 60 fps in some scenes with the same graphics settings using the model M preset compared to DLSS 4, which hovered between 45 and 48 with very high graphics settings and ray tracing set to medium. Those promised graphical effects, like sparks coming off of fires, are indeed real. Latency with frame generation is marginally better with the update as well. In Spider-Man 2, running at medium settings with ray tracing set to high, I saw few performance improvements, though foliage appeared slightly sharper running DLSS 4.5.
The one place I saw a drop in performance was in Outer Worlds II, which took a small hit looking at the same scene. However, I noticed that ground foliage and distant plants appeared sharper, even while using the same graphics settings. The small performance drop would necessitate some fine-tuning with DLSS settings to reach a higher standard frame rates, but I would take higher fidelity any day of the week.
Dynamic frame gen won’t be here until later
Small graphical enhancements are one thing, but Nvidia’s promising to maximize your monitor’s refresh rate with its new 6x frame gen capabilities. That will also spark a new “dynamic” frame gen mode, which will modify the frame gen between 4x and 6x to try and maximize your display’s refresh rate. Currently, you won’t find an override for 6x frame generation in the Nvidia app. In a message sent to Gizmodo, Nvidia said the dynamic frame gen plugin will be available to developers through the DLSS Multi Frame Generation Streamline Plugin this spring. For now, we’re stuck with the current 4x model.
Dynamic mode makes sense. It pushes the frame rate to what your monitor is technically capable of. The one thing that Nvidia constantly fails to mention is that players actually need playable frame rates before they enable frame gen. You can get by with around 50 fps, but for fewer visual hiccups, you want at or close to 60 fps. There’s a certain point where frame gen is a tradeoff between performance and latency.
Depending on how “hardcore” you want to be, an entire apparatus for a full-fledged gaming racing wheel and pedals is a must for any racing aficionado. Nothing will come close to a simulationist setup, but GameSir may have the answer to make racing with a controller feel far more tactile and, dare I say it, more enjoyable.
The GameSir Swift Drive, announced during CES 2026, is a surprisingly complete controller by itself. You’ve likely already noticed the giant steering wheel stuck into the center of the controller. When I first wrapped my hands around it, I expected to thumb a loose-feeling circle laid awkwardly in the middle of the device. In reality, the wheel hums with force feedback you usually get with high-end racing wheels. When a car rolls over gravel or rocky terrain, you’ll feel the push and pull of the wheel under your thumbs. That’s due to the miniaturized drive motor and an additional three haptic motors to offer a visceral feel. No, you won’t be tricked into imagining you’re driving a real Ferrari at 200 mph. It’s simply a more enjoyable way to take your digital car out for a drive.
I spoke with GameSir’s CEO and the controller’s lead designer, Betta Core. He told me his initial concept for the device came from his youth as a racing game player. He said he wished he could have a full-feedback racing device without the massive haul of simulationist controls you need to get there.
For the sake of that feel, the controller has to make a few sacrifices. Chief amongst those is the right thumbstick. Instead of the usual flat lily pad for your thumb, there’s a right nub you’ll use for checking your six o’clock when in a car’s cockpit. The stick and nub are both Hall effect to reduce the chance of stick drift, but you won’t use this controller for anything but racing.
The controller won’t be available until the second half of this year. The initial iteration of the design still needs a few tweaks and finishing touches. Core told me he and his team had only finished the prototype shortly before coming to CES. As for price, the designer told me GameSir was targeting a price of somewhere north of $200.
Even if you’re not a racing fan, I can imagine this controller would make dodging cops in Grand Theft Auto VIfeel extra visceral. We’ll know how well both the controller and game perform when they (hopefully) launch later this year.
Gizmodo is on the ground in Las Vegas all week bringing you everything you need to know about the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here and find all our coverage here.
Players on social media report being flooded with notifications saying things like, “We wanted to let you know that 67676767 of your reports led to sanctions,” or that they were suspended for “67 days due to Harassment.” In other cases, users were posting notifications about simply being booted from the game with no mention of the numbers 6 or 7 (except the “Six” in Rainbow Six).
So while there’s currently no certainty about the nature of this attack—if it is an attack—or the identity of these apparent perpetrators, it’s probably safe to say that someone with brainrot is messing around inside the guts of the game.
As of this writing, the situation was not quite as bad as it was about a week ago on December 27 and 28, when Ubisoft completely pulled the plug on the game after attackers took over and raised hell. Still, a second round of outages coming only a week after the first is far from optimal.
Around the time the game was brought back online on December 28, after resolving the previous problem, Ubisoft’s statement on X said “Investigations and corrections will continue over the next two weeks.” Apparently their investigation didn’t uncover every possible vulnerability, because here they are again.
Rainbow Six seems to primarily post PR updates on X, and as of this writing, no statement about these issues had been posted by the accounts for Rainbow Six or Ubisoft. Gizmodo reached out to the company to receive information about the nature of these issues and whether the game is in fact undergoing another attack, and to find out what actions the company may be taking to remedy the situation. We will update if we hear back.
The time for gift-giving is over. Now, all that’s left is the few days until New Year’s revelries and the resulting hangover. So while we’ve all been spending time with friends and family, the folks on Gizmodo’s consumer tech desk have also had the chance to reminisce on the year’s best, wackiest, wildest, and worst tech products. Thankfully, there were a few standout products that have kept things interesting even as we slide into the new year.
Long-promised gadgets, including pop-out mobile controllers and 360-camera drones, finally saw the light of day in December. In the same month, we went hands-on with some great, affordable earbuds and even an at-home facial device. December’s gadgets also proved that you can’t trust everything companies tell you, especially regarding newfangled AI devices. Senior consumer tech reporter James Pero tested out a purported “AI translator” that proved so bogus, the company that made the device asked us not to review it.
Next year will be a standout for gadgets. Come January, CES 2026 will unleash a deluge of tech products on our heads. Companies like LG, Samsung, and more are already promising all-new TVs and monitors to showcase your shows, artwork, and even the occasional bit of odd 3D gaming content. We expect to see more laptops, speakers, AR glasses, bird feeders, and far too many gadgets promising AI will change everything. At the same time, the ongoing RAM shortage caused by the proliferation of AI data centers will inevitably spike prices for all computing products, from desktops to laptops to game consoles. We can already tell that 2026 will—somehow—be even more chaotic than 2025.
Shark’s facial device is built to keep you from spending extra money at the salon for something you can do just as easily at home. The device includes several attachments that will help exfoliate your skin, tighten pores, and boost circulation. There are a few too many moving parts to get it working, but actually using the device is relatively easy and fun.
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ prove you don’t have to spend well over $200 to get excellent portable audio. The $130 earbuds have a comfortable fit and an incredibly clear, even sound considering the price. The ANC on the earbuds was also surprisingly robust, partially aided by the tight, comfortable fit.
There is no drone like the Antigravity A1. It’s weird, occasionally perfunctory, and easily the most innovative drone to arrive in years. Instead of a single gimbal-mounted lens, the drone uses a 360 camera. Combined with the AR headset, this lets you experience the skies like the good witch Glinda from The Wizard of Oz, floating in a giant bubble in the sky. The drone also uses a unique aim-and-fly controller that is easier to comprehend for any drone novices.
Mobile controllers are better when they are—well—mobile. MCON takes that idea and runs with it thanks to its MagSafe disc that connects to your phone. A single button press pops open to reveal a full suite of game controls, TMR joysticks and analog triggers included. Sure, it won’t feel as ergonomic as a regular controller or other Backbone-like mobile controllers, but it’s certainly the most portable of the bunch.
There are a few big reasons you don’t want the Boox Note Air 5C e-notetaker. Its color E Ink display won’t look as sharp as a regular iPad screen with its limitation of only 4,096 colors. It’s not as fast as other, non-E Ink devices, either. But for reading and taking notes with a wider color spectrum available, you won’t find many more devices for cheaper, at least not one with E Ink. It helps that the Boox Note Air 5C feels nice in hand and comes with a fantastic stylus.
The same company that brought us the excellent GB Operator now has a new way to let you play physical Super Nintendo or Super Famicom cartridges on your PC, Mac, or Steam Deck. Like the similar $50 device built for Game Boy games, the $60 SN Operator hooks up to your PC and then uses software emulation to let you play your retro titles. The device will let you rip your game files to the PC, and it will support your saves on console or PC. In addition, the SN Operator has extra benefits, like checking for the authenticity of your cart. The connected app also supports RetroAchievements.
MP3 players will have their day in the sun once more, judging by how big audio nostalgia has become as of late. The Snowsky Disc is an MP3 player with a few modern amenities, including a circular touchscreen for controls. Otherwise, the digital audio player has ports for a 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone jack alongside USB-C. It supports up to a 2TB microSD card, so there’s no shortage of songs you can potentially pack into this pint-sized audio device. The MP3 player may eventually come to the U.S., and we’re hoping it does soon so we can finally escape the hell that is Spotify.
There’s one big reason to pay attention to JLab’s latest ANC earbuds: battery life. The Epic Pods cost $100 and promise around 13 hours of battery life when outside the case. When charging regularly with the case, JLab promises that you can get a total of 50 hours of run time without having to plug the pod in. The sound may not be the peak of quality, and there are plenty of solid earbuds that come in at cheaper prices. Still, for longevity, the Epic Pods have many beat for that price.
Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky’s first non-watch product for his revived brand was bound to be controversial. The Index 01 is a very simple product with a simple premise. It is a stainless steel ring built for offering users a chance to record thoughts when on the go. The small button activates the microphone, and thankfully there’s no internet connection or subscription needed. There’s also no sign of unnecessary AI integration like on so many other smart wearables. The catch is that the device does not have any rechargeable battery. When you’re done, Pebble expects users to send it back to the company to be recycled.
Ever since Robosen debuted its first Transformers self-transforming kit with its Optimus Prime figure, we’ve wondered how long it would be before we could get the fan-favorite communications lieutenant for the dastardly Decepticons. Robosen finally showed off its Soundwave figure that will automatically collapse into a tape deck. Here’s the important part: it won’t play your old cassettes, but it will act as a Bluetooth speaker. The figure will cost an astronomical $1,400, so just know there are far cheaper speaker options available elsewhere that—unfortunately—don’t transform into a cool robot.
You know CES is right around the corner when tech companies announce a whole bunch of new TVs and monitors. Ahead of CES 2026, Samsung has dropped details on five new Odyssey gaming monitors, each worth considering if you’re looking for certain features to up your immersion level.
Chief among the family of new monitors is the new G90XH 32-inch Odyssey 3D. This is a much larger and higher-resolution version of the G90XF 27-inch glasses-free 3D gaming monitor that Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr reviewed back in May. This new model has a higher 6K resolution (6,144 x 3,456), compared to the previous 4K. For stereoscopic 3D gaming, more pixels means increased sharpness since the resolution is essentially halved in order to produce the pop-out effect. This 6K glasses-free gaming monitor is a world’s first, according to Samsung.
Other notable specs on the new Odyssey 3D monitor include a 165Hz refresh rate that can be “boosted to 330Hz through Dual Mode” and a 1ms Gray-to-Gray (GtG) response time. Of course, our big concern is game support. Only 14 games could be played with glasses-free 3D on the 27-incher, and it couldn’t play 3D movies. It’s unlikely the library of supported games has expanded significantly in seven months.
Then, there’s the new Odyssey G6 (G60H). Samsung is also touting another world’s first record: a 1,040Hz refresh rate… with “Dual Mode. That’s more than double the 500Hz refresh rate on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G660SF, which was also announced in May. Natively, the new Odyssey G6 tops out at a 600Hz refresh rate at QHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440).
Finally, there are three versions of the new Odyssey G8 gaming monitors. There’s the G80HS, which is a 32-inch display with 6K resolution (6,144 x 3,456). It’s got the same specs as the 6K Odyssey 3D sans the glasses-free 3D aspect. The G80HF is a 27-inch version with higher refresh rates: 180Hz native and 360Hz in Dual Mode. The G80SH is the Odyssey OLED G8, which is a 32-inch monitor with 4K resolution (3,240 x 2,160) and uses QD-OLED for inkier black. It’s also capable of reaching a 240Hz refresh rate.
No pricing info yet
Unsurprisingly, Samsung hasn’t shared any pricing or release information on any of its new Odyssey gaming monitors. Hopefully, we find out more at CES 2026 when we can actually lay our eyeballs on the screens.
Vincent Zampella, one of the creators behind such best-selling video games as “Call of Duty,” has died at 55
Vince Zampella, one of the creators behind such best-selling video games as “Call of Duty,” has died. He was 55.
Video game company Electronic Arts said Zampella died Sunday. The company did not disclose a cause of death.
In 2010, Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA, and he also was the former chief executive of video game developer Infinity Ward, the studio behind the successful “Call of Duty” franchise.
A spokesperson for Electronic Arts said in a statement on Monday that Zampella’s influence on the video game industry was “profound and far-reaching.”
“A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world. His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come,” a company spokesperson wrote.
One of Zampella’s crowning achievements was the creation of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide,
The first person shooter game debuted in 2003 as a World War II simulation and has sold over 500 million copies globally. Subsequent versions have delved into modern warfare and there is a live-action movie based on the game in production with Paramount Pictures.
In recent years, Zampella has been at the helm of the creation of the action adventure video games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Marlon Wayans starring in the Jordan Peele-produced football thriller “Him” and the iHeartRadio Z100’s Jingle Ball 2025 featuring Conan Gray, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll and Olivia Dean are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: A second season of “Fallout” arrives on Prime Video, Season 5 of “Emily in Paris” drops on Netflix and Peter Criss — Kiss’ original drummer — will release a brand new, self-titled album.
— The Jordan Peele-produced “Him” (Dec. 19 on Peacock) takes the hard knocks of the gridiron to bloody extremes. It stars Tyriq Withers as an up-and-coming quarterback whose mentorship with the veteran champ (Marlon Wayans) grows increasingly dark and surreal. In my review, I wrote that “Him” has a decent point to make about QB hero worship, “the problem is that has exactly one thing to say, which it does again and again.”
— In David Mackenzie’s “Relay,” Riz Ahmed plays a fixer who runs a covert service that brokers deals between corrupt companies and potential threats. To preserve anonymity, he uses a “relay” telephone service, usually for deaf or speech-impaired people, to disguise identities. This nifty thriller streams Friday, Dec. 12 on Netflix after a late-summer theatrical release. Co-starring Lily James and Sam Worthington.
— For a particularly seductive December, you can spend your holidays with Wong Kar-wai. The Criterion Channel is hosting many of the Hong Kong filmmaker’s finest films, including “Chungking Express,” “Fallen Angels” and “In the Mood for Love,” as well as his first TV series, “Blossoms Shanghai.” A hit in China, the 30-part series is set amid the 1990s opening of the Chinese economy and the relaunch of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. New episodes debut every Monday.
— Alex Warren. BigXthaPlug. Conan Gray.Ed Sheeran.Jelly Roll. Jessie Murph. The Kid LAROI. Laufey. Mgk. Monsta X. Myles Smith. Nelly. Olivia Dean. Ravyn Lenae. Reneé Rapp. Shinedown. Zara Larsson. What do all these popular artists have in common? They’re performing at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour! On Wednesday, ABC will air the iHeartRadio Z100’s Jingle Ball 2025 holiday special — made up of a few tour stops — to become available to stream on Hulu the next day. It’s all the fun of a star-studded pop concert from the comfort of your couch.
— In 2023, glam rockers Kiss said its goodbyes for one final performance at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. But that doesn’t mean their musical story ended there. On Friday, Peter Criss — Kiss’ original drummer and founding member who left and rejoined the group on a number of occasions — will release a brand new, self-titled album.
— A second season of “Fallout” arrives on Prime Video Wednesday. Based on a hugely popular video game, it’s a postapocalyptic series set two centuries after a nuclear war destroyed modern civilization. In Season 2, Justin Theroux, Macaulay Culkin, and Kumail Nanjiani join the cast which includes Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins.
— Emily, of “Emily in Paris,” is still living la dolce vita in Rome when Season 5 drops Thursday. The Darren Starr-created show follows the adventures of an American expat played by Lily Collins.
— A new documentary series called “Born to be Wild” follows six endangered baby animals that were orphaned or born as part of conservation programs. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville, it streams on Apple TV beginning Friday, Dec. 19.
— The video game business has wrapped up its big-release schedule for the holidays, so now is a good time to catch up on titles you may have missed — or started and didn’t have time to finish. It has been a solid year for role-playing games, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Outer Worlds 2 leading The Associated Press’ top 10 list. If you’re in the mood for a trip to Japan, Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Yōtei both offer sprawling open-world journeys with RPG elements. Check out the rest of our top 10 for more ways to keep your game device of choice humming past New Year’s Day.
It’s been six months since the Nintendo Switch 2 finally stepped out into the light of day. The inevitable tragedy of any new product is that the novelty quickly dissipates. Despite having it in hand for half a year, fans, detractors, and even Nintendo itself seem to be underestimating just how this iterative handheld/console hybrid device may hold the secret to even better handhelds of tomorrow.
Nintendo would rather you focus on its first-party games. At the same time, the PC crowd is still too obsessed with getting their hands on the latest and greatest chips to recognize the benefit of handheld-specific game optimization. The result is only ever a small bump in frame rate that won’t truly impact the overall quality of titles. Even when the Switch 2’s on-paper specs don’t seem to hit the mark as handhelds that cost $200, $550, or $900 more, its console-based hardware has managed to keep pace in 2025. Time will tell whether it will stay that way into 2026 and beyond.
The Switch 2 is a model for how the old ways of making consoles may still win in the long run. The 5-year-old Xbox Series S and Series X, as well as the PlayStation 5, are PCs in everything but name. They’re both working on AMD APUs, or accelerated processing units, that make porting games between consoles and PCs relatively easy. The Switch 2 is the outlier. It’s using an Nvidia-made chip that is based on an entirely distinct ARM-based microarchitecture. Public statements from numerous developers show porting games to Switch 2 isn’t straightforward. Still, because of Nvidia’s hardware-specific DLSS (deep learning super sampling) upscaling, games on Nintendo’s handheld are just as playable.
The Switch 2 isn’t a replacement for a PC. It’s a device that also hides its share of hidden costs. I had to buy an extra 256GB microSD Express card for the sake of downloading all these games I’ve played throughout the year. And to that end, Nintendo seems to be emphasizing digital media with the proliferation of game key cards—rather than the collectible physical media you can actually claim to own. Nintendo also brought us the first $80 game, and it’s still trying to force consumers to accept a new pricing standard for a hobby that’s getting ever more expensive.
The original Switch was a secondary console for many players; only there to play Nintendo’s first-party titles not available elsewhere. The Switch 2 has the potential to be a primary device, especially for those who live a mobile gaming lifestyle. With its lower power draw, limited memory, slim design, and minimal battery, it can’t offer the same fidelity as more expensive machines. The thing is, you need to compare it to other available handhelds. In that regard, the Switch 2 makes games look just as good for a fraction of the cost.
With all the 2025 handhelds at hand, I made an effort to compare performance between all available systems, in official and non-official configurations. This year, I tested the $650 Legion Go S with SteamOS, the $1,350 Legion Go 2, and—finally—the $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. These are all handheld PCs. They are all running various operating systems, though they’re all powered by AMD chips built for this form factor. Some sport better screens, like the Legion Go 2’s beautiful OLED display, and they feature more console-like controls than the Switch 2. I tested each handheld at its maximum resolution, but PC gamers have the choice to reduce graphical quality for the sake of performance; the Switch has far fewer options.
I dual-booted the Legion Go 2 with Bazzite as well as Windows 11. Bazzite is a Linux-based operating system similar to SteamOS. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is running Windows, but with the full screen experience, a version of the OS that lets you navigate to your games with a controller. The new UI is still buggy. However, Microsoft has made strides with preset game profiles so that you don’t have to finagle graphics or mess with TDP (thermal design power). Both Linux-based handhelds offer better performance on the same specs compared to Windows 11, even to this day.
Compared to those handheld PCs, the Switch 2 runs on much more limited hardware. It uses an Nvidia Tegra T239, which is an octa-core ARM-based CPU alongside an Ampere GPU. Ampere microarchitecture goes back all the way to 2020. All these other handhelds are running on AMD’s more recent RDNA 3.5 microarchitecture. They all feature more RAM (the Switch 2 has 12GB, but only 9GB is used for games) and higher TDP (the Switch 2 is limited to 13W compared to 30W, 35W, or even 40W on these other systems).
Despite all that, the situation with games is a whole different story. I tested three titles that have come to Switch 2 since launch: Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. Nintendo worked with the developers of all three games to make their titles work well on Switch 2, and it shows when you actually play each title.
In Cyberpunk 2077, a Legion Go S with SteamOS (which notably offers better performance than the version with Windows 11) clocks in at about 35 to 40 fps in regular gameplay running at the max 33W TDP. An Asus ROG Xbox Ally X manages between 39 and 45 fps, with frame rates only dipping to around 37 fps. That’s all with Steam Deck settings at each handheld’s max wattage and not plugged in. The handheld PCs all had AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution for upscaling, enhancing performance at the cost of some instances of visual fidelity.
A Switch 2, at less than half the total TDP of a Legion Go S, runs at just below 30 fps in the “Quality” graphics mode. In “performance” settings, Cyberpunk 2077 targets 40 fps. Comparing the Switch 2 in handheld mode to the other devices, Nintendo’s device is able to hold its own. Geometry remains detailed, though it comes at the cost of density with NPCs or street traffic. I did an entire playthrough on Nintendo’s system, and the only time I found there to be consistent frame rate problems or any bugs was during sections found in the Phantom Liberty DLC.
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red removed minor or insignificant environmental details to improve overall performance. Nintendo’s handheld relies on Nvidia’s DLSS. That means, in both handheld and docked modes, the Switch 2 is hitting 1080p from an original much lower resolution. Performance mode targets 720p in handheld mode, and even that is upscaled. The only time in my tests where I found a true difference in performance was with a Legion Go 2. With that handheld (32GB of RAM and Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip version) running at 33W TDP, it could equal 50 fps at Steam Deck settings at 1200p. That creates a much smoother experience than these other handhelds could hope to achieve. Yes, 40 versus 30 fps is a better experience, but when you consider the amount of money you need to spend to hit those extra frame rates, the Xbox Ally X’s performance seems paltry. The only other handheld that can almost match the Switch 2’s price, the Steam Deck (non-OLED), can maintain 30 fps relatively consistently.
Ubisoft’s games were rebuilt with Switch 2 in mind
The performance situation gets more interesting with two Ubisoft titles. The publisher tapped its developers and even brought on extra help—specifically Ubisoft Red Lynx on Star Wars Outlaws—to design Switch 2-specific ports for each game. Outlaws, which makes use of the Snowdrop engine, is an especially great port on Switch 2. It runs at a tight clip the entire way through and still supports great environmental lighting effects.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, the more recent title, runs on the Anvil engine. On higher-end PCs, it will feature some epic environmental quirks and ray-traced lighting that won’t be present on any handheld you choose. Not if you want playable framerates. On the Xbox Ally at 1080p resolution, it will squeak a frame rate above 30 fps on low settings and sometimes dip below that. On the Bazzite-installed Legion Go 2, you won’t see much difference at 1200p. On a Switch 2, you’ll normally experience frame rates at or just below 30 fps, sometimes dipping lower.
Ubisoft’s developers wrote that bringing Shadows to Switch 2 was an “ambitious technical undertaking”—and it shows. The game lacks certain environmental effects, like splashes when running through water. The Switch 2 version still uses the same cloud and cloth physics as it does when on more powerful systems, but they’re scaled back. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows features Steam Deck-specific settings for handhelds. This comes up even when running Bazzite, and it offers a stable 30 fps, though it also limits your ability to change graphics settings unless you change the game’s .ini file. Overall, you can get a slightly better experience on the more expensive handhelds, but it’s not so different that I’d argue it’s worth spending $200 or more to get the PC version.
Developers don’t have a choice. Games need to be fine-tuned for the Switch 2. Back in September, Gearbox delayed Borderlands 4 for Switch 2 for “additional development and polish.” FromSoftware similarly pushed back its port of Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo’s system after numerous hands-on reports cited performance issues.
Games without proper optimization won’t work well on any handheld, period. The next task is then to incentivize developers to make their games for this form factor. This is where Nintendo needed its first-party games to showcase the best of what the Switch 2 has to offer. The company mostly succeeded in 2025, but it still needs to take things further.
Nintendo has to ensure its first-party titles show developers and gamers alike what the handheld is capable of. Mario Kart Worldmay be a great party game to pack in with the Switch 2, but it’s not the kind of game to emphasize what makes the system unique. The following months post-launch have been a mixed bag of meh, solid, good, and absolutely fantastic titles. Donkey Kong Bananza is like a Christmas tree, festooned with breakable joy. Bananza looks fantastic and plays well, save for occasional slowdowns when there’s too much destruction on-screen.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A tried to completely reinvent the franchise’s formula with real-time battles. At the same time, the game’s flat environments and streets devoid of any sense of activity, from humans and pocket monsters alike, make it feel like it was built for an older device. On the flip side, Kirby Air Riders is a manic blast of energy that has the capability to exhaust or enthrall a player, depending on their temperament.
Nintendo spent much of 2025 trying to emphasize Switch 2 upgrades for original Switch titles like Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. While these games may have emphasized the Switch 2’s performance over the original Switch, we had to wait for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond to display what’s truly unique about Switch 2.
The game is far from perfect. It’s brought down by NPCs who are too keen to chirp in and ruin exploration and immersion. It’s not the best flavor of Metroid Prime on offer (that designation still belongs to Metroid Prime: Remastered). However, it’s the only game in the 2025 lineup that makes use of the Joy-Con 2 and the comforts of both gyro and mouse controls rolled into one. Metroid Prime 4 lets you seamlessly go from stick-based aiming to precise mouse aiming just by putting the controller on your lap or couch.
Of all the games I tested this year, only Metroid Prime 4 can claim to have made use of the Switch 2’s best features. It can hit a true 4K resolution and run at 60 fps when docked and connected to a TV. Its performance mode outputs at 1080p and can hit the fabled 120 fps.
More than eight years after Nintendo first launched the original Switch, nobody has copied its design. No other company has a handheld as easily dockable, easily sharable, and easy to plug in and play as the Switch 2. That ease has its hefty drawbacks. There’s every reason to want a handheld PC simply for the customizability of using SteamOS or Windows 11. Plus, these handhelds have access to a wider variety of games thanks to their large PC libraries.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 proves how good handhelds could be if they had the proper support of both the maker and third-party developers. It’s also a showcase of how hardware-specific upscaling can make a massive difference in how well games perform. There are multiple leaks to suggest Sony is working on a PlayStation 6. This console could make use of Sony’s own upscaling tech as well as a version of AMD’s “Redstone” upscaler. Until some other company comes along with the kind of hardware and software support, the Switch 2 is this year’s most impressive handheld, hands down.
There comes a point in every consumer tech writer’s career where they have to lie down on the railroad tracks and take the heat for a tech category nobody else believes in. For me, it’s stereoscopic, glasses-less 3D screens. So when I agreed to test the Abxylute 3D One, a tablet-sized handheld PC, it only made my lust for stereoscopic screens grow ever more heated.
The 3D One is a kitchen sink handheld that throws so much stuff at the wall that something is bound to stick. Sure, it’s big and heavy—especially at 2.45 pounds with the controllers attached—but it also houses a huge screen, removable gamepads akin to the Switch 2, a keyboard that attaches to the bottom like a Microsoft Surface Pro 12, and the horsepower of an Intel mobile chip used in the solid MSI Claw 8 handheld. It misses out on anything resembling good battery life for its size, despite its good performance. Beyond all else, the 3D One fails to deliver on its main promise. Based on my tests with a pre-production unit Abxylute sent me for review, you can get a 3D effect in all your games, but they weren’t playable by any stretch of the imagination.
Abxylute 3D One
The Abxylute a handheld built for people with big hands who want the largest screen possible. At the same time, the promised 3D effect can’t live up to the hype.
Comfortable feel despite size
Nice 11-inch display even without 3D
Detachable keyboard and controllers
Shaq finally has his perfect handheld
3D effect tanks performance
Extremely poor battery life
Limited menu options
One of the least portable handhelds around
Could the 3D One ever be my one handheld I take everywhere? Of course not. Look at the size of that thing. In its plus-sized case, it would take up most of the room in my backpack, whereas a laptop and a controller would eat half that space. The “handheld” is up on Kickstarter now for an early-bird price of $1,500, but it will sell for more later. This is very cool tech, even if it’s expensive. For mostly selfish reasons, I’m hoping some updates will see the 3D One pick up steam. I don’t want the dream of 3D screens to die.
Handheld PCs keep getting bigger, not necessarily better
I first spied the 3D One at CES 2025 on a forlorn shelf within Intel’s demo room. Back then, Intel only described it as an effort with Chinese games publisher Tencent on a 3D handheld. The 3D One sports an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V “Lunar Lake” CPU, which has proved a strong contender even with the most recent AMD handheld APUs (accelerated processing units). The Lunar Lake chip inside the 3D One offers just enough juice to game at the device’s max resolution in some titles.
I’m not a huge person. I rarely hold tech that makes me feel small. While other people think near-9-inch gaming handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go 2 are too mammoth for their miniature digits, you don’t know what a big handheld feels like until you get to grips with the Abxylute 3D One. It includes an 11-inch IPS LCD display that runs at 2,560 x 1,600 resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is equivalent to many 14- or even 16-inch laptop screens. For comparison, the Legion Go 2 can go to 1200p, while most 7-inch devices like the $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X max out at 1080p and 120Hz refresh rate.
The display is decent for a handheld of this size, though it may not be as bright as other LCD screens at its peak of 480 nits. The display is also a little too reflective for playing underneath any bright lights, but games end up seeming extra beautiful when pushed to the system’s max resolution, even ignoring the 3D effect. Audio-wise, there’s not much here to set it apart from any other handheld, big or small. Even when pushing the volume to its limit, it won’t fill a room with sound.
The case also comes with a controller attachment point for the two Legion Go-like removable controllers. I could play from a comfortable sitting position even when I didn’t want to prop the device up with my arms on my lap. You just have to hunker close to the 3D One to use it, or else hook it up to a monitor. Despite the size of the two removable controllers, I found the face buttons to be clicky and responsive. I didn’t have to reposition my hand that much to inch a finger around for the bumpers and triggers. The back ridges aren’t ergonomic enough to feel form-fitted for my hand. Otherwise, I could still use them as separate controllers or alongside the screen. There are also two touchpads, one on each controller, though only the right one seems to offer any mouse controls.
The keyboard does a lot of the heavy lifting to make Windows 11 usable on a device that would normally have to rely on the touchscreen or trackpads to get anything done. The keys on the device feel particularly nice and hit with a small though satisfying clacking sound. The keyboard’s touchpad is not my cup of tea and feels too rough and sticky despite its minuscule size. Hell, you could treat this as an overlarge, somewhat janky laptop. I did get some work done on the 3D One while on vacation. Was it worth the hassle of dragging it around? Probably not.
While I could feel safe in my efforts to use the 3D One like any other gaming handheld—albeit one that adds more muscle on my shoulders holding it aloft—my desperate attempts to turn it into a modern Nintendo 3DS went awry.
Abxylute told me it went with such a large display because, in their tests, this is the screen size needed to show off the 3D effect properly. The 3D One isn’t offering customers what many think of when they hear the word “3D screen.” You won’t see images pop out at you like an annoying jack-in-the-box at a horror-themed carnival. Instead, the screens are essentially showing an offset image to your left and right eyes individually. Your brain combines them into a singular image with the effect that makes some elements on the screen pop. Cool, right? Well, it gets even more interesting. The 3D One uses the built-in front-facing camera to track your eyes. Even if you’re off-center, you should still be able to see the 3D image. It’s the same type of technology employed by the Samsung Odyssey 3D I tested earlier this year. That display was capable of 4K resolution with 165Hz, though it required a beefy computer to run games with the 3D effect.
This screen works for the most part, but if you swim too fast in and out of view, the handheld’s eye tracking will struggle to keep up. You need to maintain position when playing with the 3D effect, though you’re punished less for shifting around. A single switch near the top of the device (you can also enable it through the system’s quick menu) lets you swap between 2D and 3D modes. There are certain games that Abxylute says support the stereoscopic screen natively. Otherwise, the handheld will employ an “AI 3D Mode” that takes an image in 2D and transforms it into 3D. The company said it hopes to eventually support more than 50 games with native 3D rendering through Steam.
In my tests, the 3D effect immediately made games run sluggishly, to the point they were practically unplayable. After days of going back and forth with Abxylute, the company told me I need to play games at specific settings, without V-Sync and AMD’s FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) upscaling, and at the max resolution to get the full 3D effect. These restrictions already hamper performance, but the 3D effect doesn’t seem to be impacting frame rates specifically. In supported games like Baldur’s Gate III, the frame rate would remain above 30 despite it feeling like it was running at 15. This could be due to latency or some other factor from the system essentially duplicating the screen for the sake of your eyeballs.
Performance was a consistent issue when trying it out with games like Hogwarts Legacy with native 3D support. Abxylute suggested I try a much less intensive game, Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy. That game runs much better on a handheld, and yet I experienced similar lag issues that forced me to turn off the 3D every time. Even when I dropped the graphics settings as low as they would go, lighter games struggled to perform. I also tried numerous games supported with a special 2D to 3D mod. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Injustice 2 both became completely unplayable with the 2D to 3D effect.
If I wasn’t just interested in playing modern titles with 3D effects, what else is there? I put on Netflix to watch a few shows with the 3D effect on, and through streaming, I found there was very little lag. Animated shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender may add a small, though noticeable, effect to pop out images in the foreground, though it can make other shots look more blurry than they should be. You won’t get much of an effect in other media, however.
There are a few other 3D systems out there not made by Abxylute. Unfortunately, Samsung’s Reality Hub software created for the Odyssey 3D monitor isn’t compatible with anything but a Samsung device. Russ Crandall from the Retro Game Corps YouTube channel described using the ReShade plugin to enable a native stereoscopic effect in unsupported games. You need to force it to install on specific games and adjust other game settings to create the double image needed for the 3D effect. I tried forcing this on games like Metaphor: Refantazio and Hades II. Unfortunately, the result still generated too much input lag to be playable.
Emulators for the Nintendo 3DS, like Azahar, also support a 3D effect for use in games. Crandall reported in his video that 3DS emulation is especially good on the 3D One, so score one point for Abxylute. Although, spending upwards of $1,500 on a handheld seems extreme when you can simply buy an old 3DS and original game cards for much less.
Like the MSI Claw 8, the Intel chip housed inside can match up to and even beat the latest AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip found in handhelds like the Xbox Ally X—at least in some 3DMark benchmarks. That, combined with the extra-large screen buoyed with bountiful resolution options, means you can get a surprising number of recent titles to run well.
The Intel chip makes use of the company’s Arc 140V GPU, which is a strong contender more than a year after the chip was first announced. When testing the 3D One at its highest 30W TDP, or thermal design power, the handheld beat the Xbox Ally X in 3D Mark’s Steel Nomad test by around 100 points and in the Time Spy test by 200 points. The 3D One performed slightly under par in the Steel Nomad Light tests. In Cyberpunk 2077, it would hit around 45 fps with Steam Deck graphics settings at 1080p, whereas the Xbox Ally X could do 52 fps at 35W TDP. That’s not a big gulf considering AMD’s latest handheld chips squeaked into position at the tail end of this year.
When testing out our usual stack of benchmarking games, I found I could achieve playable frame rates at the max 2,560 x 1,600 without much fuss, so long as I limited graphics settings and relied on AMD’s FSR upscaling to push the needle a few more points in the right direction. That was the case with Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam Deck settings and Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Medium.
In the careful balancing act between resolution and performance, you may eventually need to adjust down. For example, if I wanted to get a playable frame rate in Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered at Very High settings, I needed to drop the resolution down to 1080p.
The tradeoff with any larger screen is that you will notice when the graphics don’t look quite as good as soon as you drop your graphics settings. A smaller display does a lot to reduce any obvious graphical blemishes or muddy textures. That’s why Abxylute’s mandate for max resolution for native 3D games hurts all the more. You want those beautiful foreground colors to pop, and while the screen is good enough for it, the chip may not have enough power to showcase the best textures in Trine 5, even when they’re leaping off the screen.
The other issue is battery life. This 3D One has a measly 50Wh battery, which is far less than the Xbox Ally X’s 80Wh. In most AAA games set at max resolution, I could barely squeak out more than an hour of game time. Less demanding titles would do a little better, closer to two hours.
The 3D One is usable, so long as you transform your gamer lifestyle to fit Abxylute’s design. If you had the heart for it, you could turn this into a laptop, though with a terrible trackpad and a battery life that won’t meet your expectations. The concept behind this device is brilliant. Based on my tests, it just doesn’t have the power necessary to meet those expectations.
Is it worth $1,500 at minimum? Well, it’s a Kickstarter, so that opening price won’t stick around for long. Gaming handhelds are already way too expensive, but there may be somebody out there who imagines they need something this large in their life, and that they want a screen that is similarly larger than life.
At least, we finally found the perfect handheld for people with Shaq-sized hands.
It’s been a difficult year for the people who create video games, with layoffs persisting while the tech industry tries to force us to use artificial intelligence for everything. But great games emerged nonetheless — and I can’t imagine AI ever being able to deliver the kind of thrilling, rewarding adventures we’ve seen in 2025.
The biggest story this year was the release of Nintendo’s new console, the Switch 2. It’s a terrific piece of hardware, but it doesn’t yet have the killer app that makes it essential.
The second biggest story was the arrival, seemingly out of nowhere, of one marvelous game that left many of us slack-jawed with wonder. It’s as profound an example of interactive storytelling as I’ve ever seen, and an easy choice for game of the year.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The debut release from French studio Sandfall Interactive pays tribute to classic turn-based role-playing adventures like 1990s Final Fantasy, with a crew of intrepid fighters on a mission to confront a potentially world-destroying entity. But, man, does it take some surprising twists — I can’t remember a game had me gasping so often, either in horror or delight. The graphics and music are stunning throughout, and it’s all anchored by impeccable voice acting that made me care deeply about every single character. Altogether, a landmark achievement.
2. The Outer Worlds 2
Scenes from “The Outer Worlds 2.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
Scenes from “The Outer Worlds 2.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
This image released by Xbox Game Studios shows a scene from the video game “The Outer Worlds 2.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
This image released by Xbox Game Studios shows a scene from the video game “The Outer Worlds 2.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
California’s Obsidian Entertainment has become one of the premier studios in the U.S., and this spacefaring romp is its best game yet. It drops you into a galactic feud among three political philosophies: totalitarianism, hypercapitalism and a math-based religion (think of the most annoying techbro you know). There’s plenty of satisfying combat against radioactive mutants and renegade robots, but even the grimmest situations are juiced with healthy doses of satire as you try to navigate the demands of all three would-be overlords.
3. Silent Hill f
This image released by Konami Digital Entertainment shows a scene from “Silent Hill f.” (Konami Digital Entertainment via AP)
This image released by Konami Digital Entertainment shows a scene from “Silent Hill f.” (Konami Digital Entertainment via AP)
The latest chapter of Konami’s long-running franchise digs into its J-horror roots, moving the action from America to Japan in the 1960s. Hinako Shimizu, the teenage protagonist, not only has to confront the trauma of high school — she has to fight off the grotesque monsters that have invaded her small town. What makes Silent Hill f fascinating is the way the two nightmares seem to be related. It’s the scariest horror game in years.
4. Assassin’s Creed Shadows
“Assassin’s Creed Shadows” video game. (Ubisoft via AP)
“Assassin’s Creed Shadows” video game. (Ubisoft via AP)
Another young Japanese woman takes center stage in this sprawling adventure from Ubisoft. Naoe is a crafty ninja in feudal Japan who’s out to avenge her father’s murder. She’s soon joined by Yasuke, a powerful samurai. The mission variety here is impressive, letting you switch on the fly between Naoe’s stealthy attacks and Yasuke’s brute force. It’s a shining example of Ubisoft’s do-it-your-way approach to the open-world format.
5. Donkey Kong Bananza
The best new game on Nintendo’s Switch 2 is ideal for those times when all you want to do is punch something. The big ape’s bananas have been stolen and he has to dive into a vast underworld to retrieve them. Almost all of the environments are destructible, but when you get tired of pounding there are plenty of clever puzzles and minigames that often hark back to DK’s swinging jungle adventures.
6. The Séance of Blake Manor
This image released by Raw Fury shows a scene from “The Séance of Blake Manor.” (Raw Fury via AP)
This image released by Raw Fury shows a scene from “The Séance of Blake Manor.” (Raw Fury via AP)
In this haunting mystery from Ireland’s Spooky Doorway, a group of mystics have gathered around Halloween 1897 to commune with the dead. You’re called in to investigate when one of the living humans vanishes. It’s a classic point-and-click puzzle game in which everyone has something to hide. It also digs deep into Irish folklore and history, adding an urgent element of class struggle to a very effective ghost story.
7. Avowed
Scenes from the video game “Avowed.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
Scenes from the video game “Avowed.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
This image released by Xbox Game Studios shows a scene from the video game “Avowed.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
This image released by Xbox Game Studios shows a scene from the video game “Avowed.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)
Speaking of class struggle, Obsidian Entertainment’s other big role-playing game of 2025 doesn’t shy away from politics either. You are an emissary sent to investigate a deadly plague in the quasi-medieval Living Lands. Problem is, few of the locals are happy to see you, and they’re too busy fighting each other to help much. Again, Obsidian’s mastery of role-playing action is on full display, this time with swords and spells rather than lasers.
8. Ghost of Yōtei
Scenes from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei.” (Sony Interactive Entertainment via AP)
Scenes from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei.” (Sony Interactive Entertainment via AP)
This image released by Sony shows a scene from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei.” (Sony via AP)
This image released by Sony shows a scene from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei.” (Sony via AP)
Yet another Japanese woman takes the lead in this revenge drama from Sony’s Sucker Punch Productions. Atsu is a mercenary who returns to rural Japan in the 1600s to hunt down her family’s killers, stirring rumors that an “onryō” — a vengeful ghost — is on the loose. The narrative is tighter than that in AC Shadows, but this is a real treat for fans of classic samurai movies — especially if you play in black-and-white “Kurosawa mode.”
9. South of Midnight
This fantasy from Canada’s Compulsion Games is a hypnotic evocation of the mythology of the U.S. Deep South. After a hurricane rips through her neighborhood, a woman named Hazel ventures into the bayou. The creatures she meets — a talking catfish, a massive gator, a blues-playing ghoul — are gorgeously rendered in stop-motion-inspired animation. The gameplay is fairly simple, but the art and music make for a memorable journey.
10. The Alters
In this survival adventure from Poland’s 11 Bit Studios, you are a humble engineer left on a hostile planet. Fortunately there’s a movable base nearby — but you can’t run it alone, so you’re going to have to clone yourself. Each clone has different personality tics, and the result is a fascinating metaphysical brainteaser that will have you wondering how long you’d be able to put up with half a dozen versions of you.
It also came with two sticks of Kingston Fury 16-GB RAM and a Wi-Fi 7 card. All that for $1,550 is a really solid deal. There are cheaper ways to get RTX 5070-level performance, such as this iBuyPower system, but the Alienware Aurora is also far from the most expensive either. The Asus ROG G700, for example, is hundreds of dollars more, even when similarly configured. I haven’t tested these yet myself, so I don’t know how equivalent the performance or fan noise is. But the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop is a great deal, especially if you catch it on sale.
The Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop performs fine enough. It’s about 5 percent behind the typical RTX 5070 scores in 3DMark Steel Nomad, a standard benchmark for measuring gaming PCs. The RTX 5070 is considered primarily a 1080p video card that can occasionally jump up to 1440p, depending on the game. You can see the frame rates in the chart below, all of which were tested at max settings without ray tracing, frame generation, or upscaling. Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong are both more GPU-intensive, while Marvel Rivals and Monster Hunter Wilds are more bottlenecked by the CPU.
The performance in Cyberpunk 2077, in particular, felt impressive. I was even able to average 71 fps (frames per second) in the Ray Tracing Ultra preset in 1080p without relying on DLSS. It’s really too bad that it couldn’t get Black Myth: Wukong over 60 fps at 1080p, though. It’s a heavy game, but when you spend over $1,500, you hope that you can play modern games at 1080p at smooth frame rates. You can always drop the graphics preset in the game settings or sprinkle in some light DLSS upscaling for better performance. It was also around 5 percent behind our testing of the RTX 5070 Founders Edition on our test bench.
While performance didn’t blow me away, I was overall impressed by what’s on offer with the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop. This isn’t the PC to buy if you want ultimate control over upgrades in the future or even the most powerful gaming desktop. But if you want a pretty computer that you can upgrade the graphics for in the future, it does the job—just make sure to get it with the 1,000-watt power supply.
Game-mode: enabled. Xbox and Crocs have teamed up to release an exclusive collection.
Ready up with this controller-meets-clog design that reimagines the iconic Xbox controller with fixed buttons and joysticks into the perfect shoe for couch co-op and kicking back – complete with cushioned footbeds adorned with Player Left and Player Right, which give expert-level comfort to support your next session.
Just when we thought we were settled into the new normal of tariff-borne PC and gaming console price hikes, next year’s devices are set to be even more expensive. You can blame the current favorite buzzword—AI—for the increasing cost of RAM and flash storage. All computers depend on memory to some extent, but those who want the biggest, best PCs or gaming devices will feel the sticker shock worst of all.
We’ve been reporting about the spiking cost of RAM prices since October. Essentially, AI data centers have such a demand for memory that the prices of SSDs (solid state drives), DRAM (dynamic random access memory), and HDDs (hard disk drives) are all ballooning in price. This is most keenly felt in the discrete PC RAM market. Corsair, one of the most popular brands for fast, gaming-ready RAM sticks, told Gizmodo over email, “Our DRAM prices have increased in response to the severe supply shortage we are seeing across the industry.”
And it just keeps getting worse. A pack of 64GB DDR5 RAM from memory brand Crucial spiked from $150 to more than $400 in just two months, as evidenced by the Amazon price tracking site camelcamelcamel. Other, lower-end RAM sticks may see less of a bump, but users will inevitably find the more RAM they want, the more it will cost. Four sticks of 16GB DDR5 RAM from Corsair now sell for an astronomical $688. The same sticks in white demand $948. And they’re not even the priciest RAM available.
Memory prices will inevitably impact the laptop industry as well.
PCs are getting hit the hardest, especially if you had hopes of finally upgrading your desktop tower with new components. After months of scarcity, the price of GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD has normalized closer to the original suggested retail price. A Radeon RX 9070 XT remains a hot commodity and is still going for more than $600 MSRP at most retailers. However, numerous leakers have proposed that GPUs could see price hikes due to the ballooning cost of VRAM.
PowerColor, one of AMD’s board partners who makes discrete GPUs, took to Reddit last week (via VideoCardz) to tell users to “buy before the last week of the year before prices kick up.” The PR rep in this case was referring to possible deals happening before Black Friday but added in an update that this was in response to consumers “asking for advice on if they should ‘buy now’ because of market conditions.”
Taiwanese media outlet UDN further claimed, based on anonymous sources, that AMD GPU prices could go up from several major board partners, including Gigabyte and Asus, as well as PowerColor.
Consoles won’t be spared of potential price hikes, either. Microsoft’s Xbox brand pushed the cost of tariffs onto consumers twice in 2025 with its Xbox Series X and Series S. Now, the high-end console with a disc drive costs $650, $150 more than it did at launch five years ago. YouTuber “Moore’s Law Is Dead,” who has consistently leaked information on unreleased AMD hardware, claimed in a recent video that Microsoft is telling partners that it may need to jack up prices for Xbox consoles once more, or else stock could significantly diminish “sooner rather than later.”
The YouTuber further claimed that Sony “planned ahead, bought up gobs of RAM near the bottom of the pricing, and thus they should be fine for months.” That’s small comfort, however, for those who still plan to buy a Nintendo Switch 2. The system comes with 256GB of internal storage, and you need Express-level microSD cards to expand that limited storage capacity. Technohouse Toei, a Japan-centric computer store, told the Japanese outlet IT Media (read by machine translation) that it’s getting more difficult to acquire large-capacity microSD cards.
Analysts anticipate that flash storage prices will climb through the roof in early 2026. Citing reports from the Commercial Times and Reuters, analyst firm TrendForce reported late last week that the makers of NAND storage are “taking turns raising prices.” And this situation may not get any better over the following months. Sure, TrendForce said the memory sector is going to grow as fast as the tale of Jack’s beanstalk, but that won’t necessarily fix demand. Earlier this month, Korean-centric newspaper Chosun Biz reported that major flash storage manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix actually cut supply in the second half of 2025. Samsung is “internally reviewing” price hikes of 20% to 30%, according to Chosun.
Either memory production has to increase to meet demand, or else the AI data centers have to stop sucking down the world’s supply of SSDs and HDDs. The sooner the AI bubble bursts, the better it will be for PC prices.
May it be the early morning coffee with a view or some fog rolling in. May it be a nice stretch with the sun shining on your face. May it be a great facecrack marketplace purchase that reminds you how exciting life can be. May it be all these things (especially in this gallery) and more.
These are some rare feelings summed up. Those moments you anticipate or wait for, big or small. Those moments that may only ever come once every couple hours, months or years. Those close moments. Those far moments. Those moments in between.
I think we can all collectively agree that feeling something, is better than feeling nothing. And these – boy, these are special feelings.
