Paul's Hardware (1.55m subscribers)

May 24, 2026

Video length: 9m 17s

0:00 Welcome to Paul’s Tech News - May 24, 2026

1:53 Computex Expectations, the state of PC Gaming, and Reason for Hope

4:11 NVIDIA removes Gaming as a segment from financial report

5:23 Close Call - Samsung Strike on Hold

TECH BRIEFS

6:27 Google Search as you know it is over

7:16 Corsair Vengeance DDR5 module spotted with Chinese CXMT memory

7:58 Asus and HP unveil Intel Wildcat Lake laptops starting at $449, challenge MacBook Neo

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 24 May 2026 at 5:30 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft fixing the Copilot key on your laptop's keyboard, releasing new Windows 11 preview builds with new accessibility features, removing ports from Xbox controllers, adding new games to Game Pass, and more.

Quick links:

1. Windows 10 and 11
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions.

This week, Microsoft acknowledged a new bug in the latest Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11. The company confirmed that some users cannot download and install important updates, with Windows Update throwing the 0x80010002 error code. Fortunately, the bug does not affect all Windows 11 users. What does affect Windows 11 users is a new exploit for a long-standing Windows LPE vulnerability.

On the bright side, Microsoft made it easier to install mandatory Windows 11 updates with centralized Secure Boot deployment scripts.

Microsoft is also fixing the universally hated Copilot hardware key. The company admitted it was a bad idea, and it promised to let users remap it to the Right Control key. However, you do not have to wait for that update, as there is a small app that already lets you remap the Copilot key. Speaking of Copilot, Microsoft is also changing the recently added Copilot button in Office apps following the initial user backlash.

Another change in Windows 11 that Microsoft implemented following years of consumer feedback is the updated taskbar. Now, you can finally change its position and switch to a compact mode. We published a closer look at this feature, so check it out here. If you want to try it out, download and install the latest build from the Experimental (formerly Dev) Channel.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:

In addition to releasing new builds for testing, Microsoft pushed new ISO files, allowing users to get to the recent preview builds faster by clean-installing them or performing an in-place upgrade.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

The Surface lineup received a big update this week. Microsoft announced three new computers powered by Intel's Core Ultra 300 processors. The new lineup is aimed at business customers, and it features interesting capabilities like a built-in privacy screen similar to the one in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. However, the problem with the new Surface devices is their astronomical price.

Microsoft is improving accessibility in Word. The company announced a faster, more efficient Editor experience with Narrator that streamlines how errors, context, and suggestions are presented to users.

Mozilla had a bunch of updates this week. For one, the company announced a major redesign for Firefox, which you can already enable and try. The new "Nova" UI is available on desktop, while on Android, users finally received the "Shake to Summarize" AI feature, which was initially launched on iOS in September 2025. Finally, Mozilla had to step in to clarify things about browser crashes on certain Intel-based systems in the latest release.

A big redesign is also available for Vivaldi, a popular feature-packed Chromium browser. Version 8.0 arrived with "the most significant design overhaul in the browser history," offering users a more seamless UI, richer customization, and overall a more modern look.

Finally, more leadership changes at Microsoft happened this week. The XBOX division is hiring a new Chief Strategy Officer and a new Chief Technology Officer, while Yusuf Mehdi, a Microsoft veteran who manages Copilot, AI, Windows, Surface, and Microsoft 365, is leaving the company after 35 years.

Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:

• Stardock releases DeskScapes 2026, adding live wallpaper support in Windows 11.

• Microsoft blames macOS for the annoying Teams bug.

• LibreOffice bashes Microsoft for "absurd" OOXML format and Excel's handling of dates.

• Microsoft just removed major "friction" from VS Code in its latest weekly update.

• Microsoft admits one of the most basic, useful Outlook features is broken.

   

Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:

• AMD Chipset Drivers 8.05.04.516 with new drivers and support for the recently announced Ryzen AI 400 processors.
• AMD Radeon Software 26.5.2 for Polaris and Vega graphics cards. It fixes intermittent crashes in Apex Legends on Radeon RX 400 / 500 Series.

Reviews are in

Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week

This week, we reviewed the BOOX Go 10.3 Gen 2, an insanely thin Android tablet with an E-Ink Carta 1200 display, stylus support, dual speakers, and rich software with great note-taking capabilities. It aims at users who want a more versatile device than a simple reader, and it does its job well, as long as you are willing to spend some time climbing the learning curve.

Also, Steven Parker reviewed the HONOR 600, a mid-range Android phone with "flagship-class" cameras, good performance, and an iPhone-inspired design.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more.

Sony has decided to change its mind about console exclusives once again. The company is shutting down PC ports and returning to console-only first-party games. However, certain multiplayer games are still coming to PC. Other bad news from Sony this week is about the cost of the PlayStation Plus membership. Sony said that "ongoning market conditions" forced its hand to increase the price by $1-3, depending on the subscription length. Obviously, players are not happy, and they are calling out Sony for forcing gamers to pay the "Concord Tax."

Valve announced improvements to Steam tags. The updated system is removing 28 tags and adding 17 new ones to help you find the games you want and better understand what a specific game is about. New tags include stuff like Bullet Heaven, Cleaning, Falling Blocks, Zoo, Wolves, Cult, Poker, Language Learning, and more.

Microsoft also has some updates for its gaming audience. This week, the company announced a brand-new feedback hub for XBOX, giving gamers a new way to share their opinions on gaming and console-related feedback. Users can upvote other people's suggestions, and Microsoft can reply to address criticism, clarify things, or elaborate on specific topics.

New games are heading to Game Pass. This week, Microsoft announced the latest additions, such as Forza Horizon 6, Dead Static Drive, Remnant II, Winter Burrow, Luna Abyss, Escape Simulator, Kabuto Park, Jurassic World Evolution 3, and more. Check out the full list here, including titles that are leaving the subscription by the end of this month. As usual, new games are available for GeForce NOW as well, and if you sign up for the Ultimate membership, you can get a free copy of the upcoming 007 First Light.

This week, the new Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller hit store shelves, and users noticed that the gamepad lacks one of the previously available ports. It appears that Microsoft is removing the Expansion Slot, taking away the ability to attach the Chat Pad and other compatible accessories. Speaking of Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games published a new blog post detailing upcoming improvements and fixes for atrocious Drivatar behavior, stutters on PCs with AMD graphics cards, and more. The studio also confirmed that the game is coming to PlayStation 5 later this year.

Finally, here is this week's Weekend PC Game Deals with plenty of discounts on popular franchises, plus a new giveaway from the Epic Games Store that should make the fans of Tomb Raider games happy.

Other gaming news includes the following:

• Helldivers 2 is getting new upscaling tech on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation next week.

• Bungie is pulling the plug on Destiny 2, final update lands next month.

• Ubisoft delivers a Rainbow Six Vegas-inspired map to Siege alongside a major ranked rework.

• Fallout 4 console mods get a huge storage boost, up to 100GB on Xbox Series X|S.

   

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 24 May 2026 at 7:42 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Google’s first Chromecast was a hit. With 10 million units sold in 2014, it excelled as an easy solution for streaming TV and movies from the Internet to a TV. Released at a time when dumb TVs were more common, the first-generation Chromecast has a simplicity you don’t find in streaming devices these days. Press “Cast” in an app, select a TV with a Chromecast, and start watching. Foregoing extras like a UI or ads, the device remains active in some homes today, despite Google ending support for the $35 device in 2023.

However, this week it seemed like those days were over. Numerous people reported that their original Chromecast had suddenly stopped casting from popular apps, including Chrome, YouTube, and Paramount+. This brought concern that the original Chromecast was really dead now. A Reddit thread started by someone who claimed to have two first-gen Chromecasts suddenly stop working at the same time includes various responses from people who suspected that Google bricked the devices in order to force upgrades.

But Sahana Mysore, senior product manager for Google Home, told Ars Technica today that Google didn’t kill the devices, saying:

Earlier this week, a technical issue temporarily disrupted casting for some Gen 1 Google Chromecast users. Our team quickly identified the root cause and resolved the issue.

All of the devices should be working now, per Mysore. As of last night, some people online have reported that their Chromecasts are working again.

Ars asked what exactly the technical issue was and will update this article if we learn more.

Another point of stress for owners of older Chromecasts this week is a report today that Google has ended support for every Chromecast except for the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) from 2022. However, as of this writing, the support page still lists all Chromecasts except the first-gen Chromecast as “currently receiving critical security updates.”

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 23 May 2026 at 12:24 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

In my Forza Horizon 6 review, I noticed that despite plenty of meaningful improvements and a stunning map, the game still has some issues in its core mechanic: racing. AI drivatars exhibit unfair, often openly moronic behavior, ruining the fun for gamers. Some also complain that higher difficulty levels become simply impossible to race. In a newly published blog post on the official website, Playground Games revealed that improvements for drivatars and other parts of the game are on their way.

In addition to refining drivatar balance, Playground Games is working on addressing framerate issues on PCs with AMD GPUs, so look out for new updates that bring optimizations and better performance. Audio crackling is another thing that needs fixing on PC, in addition to crashes and various loading errors.

Until developers release new bug-fixing updates, players can improve their Forza Horizon 6 experience by installing one of the minimum supported drivers from AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel. However, developers also clarified that Forza Horizon 6 will not work on PCs with certain GPUs. While the game can run on Pascal-based NVIDIA graphics cards (GTX 10 Series), a smooth experience is not guaranteed, as the game targets Turing (RTX 20 and GTX 16 Series) and newer generations. Things are worse for those with AMD's Polaris or Vega GPUs: Forza Horizon 6 does not support these graphics cards and won't work with them, as they are "below the minimum supported specification."

You can check out Forza Horizon 6's hardware requirements here.

Besides fixes and optimizations, Playground Games is busy preparing new content. The Italian Passion Car Pack will be available for Premium players, plus new seasonal playlists will bring new cars and other content for free. Finally, Playground Games said that PlayStation 5 owners who want to play the game can expect Forza Horizon 6 to land on the Japanese console later this year.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 23 May 2026 at 8:13 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Since the launch of Destiny 2 in 2017, developer Bungie has been delivering content updates to the shooter through two console generations. Almost nine years of updates later, the Sony-owned studio today announced that Destiny 2 updates are coming to a close.

The studio announced today that on June 9, 2026, it will deliver the final live-service content update to Destiny 2. This is slated to be a "collection of love letters" to fans of the series, bringing a plethora of player-requested additions and story changes to tie up any loose ends.

"For almost twelve years, we have had the joy and honor to explore the Destiny universe with you all. Through all the ups and downs, surprises and triumphs, building Destiny alongside our players has been a monumental privilege," explained the studio. "While our love for Destiny 2 has not changed, it has become clear that after The Final Shape, we have reached the time for our shared worlds, and Destiny, to live beyond Destiny 2."

Prior to Destiny, Bungie was the developer behind the Halo franchise for Microsoft. Following its split with Microsoft, and then Activision, Bungie was acquired by Sony in 2022 for a cool $3.6 billion, slated to lead the company's PlayStation live service ventures. However, things haven't gone too well for the studio since then, with it going through multiple layoff waves and even a CEO change.

Sony has also admitted that the purchase hasn't been a successful one for the company. Recently, the PlayStation maker recorded a $765 million impairment charge against Bungie due to the underperformance of Destiny 2 and the underwhelming launch of Marathon, its latest take on the extraction shooter genre.

"Destiny 2 has been our home for many, many years. The unknown can sometimes feel wild, even a bit scary at times, but these opportunities to explore the future are invigorating. As we look ahead, our commitment remains the same: to make games we, and you, are excited to play," said Bungie in its blog post today. "From all of us here at Bungie, we cannot thank you enough for joining us on this journey throughout the Sol system. You'll still find us starside for years to come."

Looking towards the future, Bungie said that both Destiny and Destiny 2 will remain playable going forward. However, the development team will now be trying to find out what its next project will be.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 6:15 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Microsoft and Xbox's new open-world arcade racer from Playground Games, Forza Horizon 6, was widely expected to be one of 2026's biggest and most successful games in the leadup to its May 19 launch — and since then, it's more than lived up to those expectations.

Indeed, Forza is putting pedal to the metal right now, with the game enjoying a huge Early Access launch last week that led into an even larger full release that saw over 270,000 players hit the road on Steam alone. To say that its performance thus far is impressive would be an understatement — and as it turns out, it's not slowing down, either.

If anything, Forza Horizon 6 has shifted into a new gear, with the game achieving a new peak concurrent player count of 284,139 on Steam on Thursday morning (as SteamDB data shows). Given that it's putting up those numbers on a weekday morning, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it accelerates up to and past 300,000 this weekend.

At the same time, Playground Games also announced on social media that Forza Horizon 6 has hit over 6 million players in just one week after its May 15 Early Access release, and a mere two days after its full launch. That number encompasses players on all platforms and services, including Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Game Pass, and Steam.

"Forza Horizon 6? More like Forza Horizon 6-Million!" wrote the developers in a celebratory post. "Thank you all for joining us at Horizon Japan."

Paul's Hardware (1.55m subscribers)

Video length: 16m 09s

My New Linux PC in the Fractal Pop 2 Vision Case

0:00 Welcome to Paul’s Hardware: The Linux Build

0:52 Parts for the Build - CPU, GPU, Memory, SSDs, Motherboard, PSU

4:21 Fractal Pop 2 Vision Case Overview

7:23 Building the PC (and asking Wendell Linux Questions)

13:27 Build Complete! Final Thoughts, Nobara Installed

PARTS

Fractal Design Pop 2 Vision Case (white)

Fractal Design Ion 3 Gold 1000W PSU

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12-core CPU

ASUS ROG Strix X870-A Gaming Wifi Motherboard

PowerColor Red Devil Spectral White RX 9070 XT 16GB GPU

G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000 CL28 RAM

Lexar NM790 4TB PCIE Gen4 M.2 NVME SSD

Crucial P3 Plus 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD 

Elgato 4K Pro Internal Capture Card 

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 12:32 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Arrowhead Game Studios has been delivering content updates to its live-service cooperative game Helldivers 2 since its launch in 2024. In recent times, it has also been focused on improving the technical side of the game. Today, it announced a new update that will focus on "stability, latency reduction, and advanced upscaling technologies" across all platforms, something widely requested by the community.

Up first are the upscaling solutions that are hitting PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms. Replacing the aging option currently offered on the PC version, Arrowhead will be implementing AMD FSR 4.0.3, FSR 3.1.5, Nvidia DLSS 4.5, and Intel XeSS 3.0 support for supported GPUs with this update.

Over on consoles, the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 are receiving FSR 3.1 support, while those playing on the PlayStation 5 Pro will see Sony's own PSSR 1 tech being used instead.

At the same time, the studio is aiming to reduce latency of the third-person shooter with the implementation of Nvidia Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag 2 technologies for supported graphics cards on PCs.

Apart from that, it is also bringing in technologies like Variable Rate Shading and Dynamic Resolution Scaling to smooth out the hectic gameplay further:

• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR): Now supported for PS5 and PS5 Pro to reduce any potential stuttering from V-Sync without screen tearing on supported displays.
• Variable Rate Shading (VRS): This technology intelligently reduces shading rates in certain areas of the image, decreasing GPU load while maintaining visual quality where it matters.
• Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS): Integrated for both PS5, Xbox Series X and PC to maintain stable frame rates during more graphically demanding scenarios.
  • Increased resolution to 1440p in the “Performance” preset on PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as the “Quality” preset on PS5 Power Saving Mode.

These changes come as part of a partnership between Arrowhead and Sony's PC porting specialist studio Nixxes. Arrowhead plans to release this update to Helldivers 2 on May 27, 2026, across PC and consoles. The studio added that it has more improvements planned for further performance fixes, with a "dedicated tech-focused update" incoming later.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 12:25 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Google’s I/O 2026 keynote today was once again full of AI-related announcements including a new family of Gemini 3.5 AI models, new features for Search and Gmail, and updates about its Project Aura smart glasses.

If you weren’t able to tune into the event’s livestream today or follow along with our live blog, you can catch up on everything you missed in our roundup below.

Google launched updated AI models at I/O, starting with Gemini 3.5 Flash, with Gemini 3.5 Pro following next month. Starting today, Gemini 3.5 Flash will be the default model for the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search. Google says the new model is significantly faster, better at handling agentic tasks, offers improved agentic coding capabilities, and generates “richer, more interactive web UIs and graphics.” It also has improved guardrails that, according to Google, will make Gemini 3.5 Flash less likely to generate harmful content and less likely to accidentally flag safe queries as unsafe.

Screenshots of Google’s Gemini app with the Neural Expressive design language.

Image: Google

Along with Gemini 3.5 Flash, Google is also launching a redesign for the Gemini app. The new look, which Google calls “neural expressive,” features new animations, pops of color, a new font, and haptic feedback. It’s rolling out starting May 19th on the web and in the Gemini app on Android and iOS.

Along with Gemini 3.5, Google is launching an entirely new family of AI models it calls Gemini Omni. The first, Omni Flash, is rolling out starting today in the Gemini app, Google Flow, and YouTube Shorts. At launch, Omni Flash will be able to generate video clips from prompts that include a variety of inputs including text, photos, video, and audio (unlike Google’s Veo model, which is only text to video). Down the line, Google says Omni will be able to “create anything from any input.”

The new always-on AI agent that can write emails, create study guides, and keep an eye out for hidden credit card fees for you is Google’s “we have OpenClaw at home.” Powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini Spark runs in the background using virtual machines on Google Cloud 24/7 and can connect to Google Workspace apps including Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and Slides, as well as third-party apps like Canva and Instacart. Google also plans to expand Spark’s capabilities with access to local files through the Gemini app on macOS.

Google will let users vibe-code entire native Android apps now, which they can eventually even publish to the Play Store straight from AI Studio. The feature includes an embedded Android emulator for viewing and editing app previews. Users can also plug in their phone to install their app directly from AI Studio for testing. Apps can be exported to Android Studio or GitHub, or saved as a ZIP file.

Google says it will also “soon” allow users to publish vibe-coded apps exclusively for friends and family, rather than publicly. Support for Firebase integrations is also coming later.

Google showed off an updated version of its Project Aura smart glasses, which it’s collaborating on with Xreal. The glasses were originally unveiled last year, but The Verge’s Victoria Song got a look at an updated version at I/O. The external compute puck for the glasses has been redesigned, and a fingerprint sensor has been added to it (along with a lanyard so you can wear the puck and the glasses). We also got to try out some new features in Google’s XR platform, including widgets for display glasses, Gemini integrations with Google Calendar and Google Keep, and improved Gemini performance.

Image: Google, Samsung

Along with Project Aura, two new pairs of Android XR smart glasses are launching this fall, one from Warby Parker and one from Gentle Monster. Google announced partnerships with both brands at last year’s I/O, and now we finally know what those glasses will look like. Similar to the base Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, these will be audio-only (no display). They’ll support features like live translation, navigation assistance with Gemini, and notification summaries.

Image: Google

Google is launching a “Universal Cart” that users can add products to from YouTube, Search, Gemini, and Gmail. Google says this “intelligent shopping cart” works across different merchants and services, like Nike, Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Wayfair, and Shopify. So, you could add products from Nike and Target to your Universal Cart and check out from both at the same time.

According to Google, Universal Cart can spot potential issues with products in your cart, as well, like flagging incompatible parts for a gaming PC. It can also interpret perks and loyalty info from Google Wallet payment methods to help users find savings or earn points. Universal Cart is launching in Search and Gemini this summer, with YouTube and Gmail coming later.

Google is expanding Gmail’s already robust search tools with a version of the Gemini Live experience for your inbox. Clicking an icon in the search bar lets you ask questions by talking, and instead of having to wade through a list of relevant email chains, the Gmail Live interface will extract and deliver pertinent information based on your prompt. It could be a faster way to pull up a specific confirmation code for a hotel reservation, for example. Similar voice-driven AI features will also be coming to Google Docs and Keep and be able to pull in data from Google Drive and Gmail.

Google Workspace is getting a new app called Pics designed to make it easier to apply iterative AI-generated updates to images. Pics is powered by Nano Banana 2 and Gemini and allows users to make changes by clicking on a specific part of an image and leaving a comment describing the edits, instead of having to write an entire prompt that includes the required updates. Eventually, Google plans to incorporate Pics’ capabilities into other Workspace apps to further streamline image editing.

Google is changing up the search box. Now it will expand to give users more space for longer queries and include AI-generated suggestions, similar to autocomplete. Users aren’t limited to searching with text, either — Google will now let you use text, images, files, videos, and even Chrome tabs as search input.

Search is also getting “information agents,” which can give you summarized updates on specific topics or questions, pulling from blogs, news, social media posts, and more. These agents will be launching this summer, starting with AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Google’s new “generative UI” feature can generate visuals in Search, like simulations or interactive tables and graphs. Search will also soon be able to generate “mini apps” for tasks or topics users search for multiple times, like a custom dashboard for planning an event.

When it was introduced last year at I/O 2025, Google’s premium AI Ultra subscription cost $249.99 per month for access to its most advanced AI models, higher usage limits, and early access to new tools. Google is now introducing two new pricing tiers for AI Ultra to match OpenAI. It now starts at $100 per month, while a $200 per month option includes access to Google’s Project Genie.

In an attempt to make it easier for people to identify and confirm when images have been generated or altered by AI, Google is expanding its AI detection tools to Chrome and Search. Starting today, uploading or selecting online images with Search (including tools like Google Lens and Circle to Search) can reveal more details about how or where the image was created using Google’s SynthID watermarking technology and C2PA Content Credentials. Additional functionality through Chrome that lets you circle questionable images on websites to see their provenance is coming later.

Image: Matt Piniol / The Verge

After renaming Project Starline to Google Beam last year, Google is now experimenting with lifelike AI agents that can do more than just talk to you during a call. The Verge’s Sean Hollister got to try an early demo of Sophie, a Beam video agent designed to make interactions with AI feel more personable. Although Sophie didn’t appear in 3D like when you’re talking to another person using the $25,000 HP Dimension system, the agent can respond to questions, read documents held up to the camera, and look up things like restaurant recommendations. During our demo, Google also demonstrated group calls using Beam — a feature that’s been in development for a few years and will work with tools like Google Meet and Zoom.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 7:02 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Microsoft is expanding its Surface device portfolio with three new devices. Today, the company announced new Intel-powered Surface for Business computers—the Surface Pro for Business 13-inch, the Surface Laptop for Business 13.8/15-inch, and the Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch. All these devices are powered by Intel's latest Core Ultra 300 Series processors.

The new computers retain the now-classic Surface design, and Microsoft is not making any major leaps with exterior changes, focusing on internal upgrades. The biggest upgrade is the Intel Core Ultra 300 processors, which offer better performance, improved NPUs, and more powerful graphics, with the Surface Laptop optionally equipped with the Core Ultra X7 processors and Intel Arc B390 graphics.

Microsoft says that the new Surface Laptop is 90% faster than the Surface Laptop 5, while the new Surface Pro doubles the speed of the Surface Pro 9. The company also claims that these computers, particularly the Surface Laptop with the Intel Core Ultra X7, is 35% faster in graphical performance than the M5-based MacBook Air.

In addition to improved performance, the new Surface computers feature better battery life. The Surface Pro is quoted for up to 17 hours, the Surface Laptop 13.8/15-inches up to 23 hours, and the Surface Laptop 13-inch up to 22 hours.

Microsoft also improved trackpads in the new Surface Laptops. Haptic trackpads now feature physical feedback when you perform certain actions across the operating system, such as hovering the cursor over the window close button, snapping apps, interacting with sliders, and more. Third-party app developers can also integrate this feature into their apps.

Given that Microsoft aims these computers at business customers, some specs have business-focused features, such as an optional privacy screen with an anti-glare coating for privacy-sensitive environments. This feature is available in the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop, allowing users to limit the display viewing angle with a single button press, while keeping it readable and bright enough for the person in front of it. When adjusting readability, the algorithm uses additional data like ambient light level, brightness target, and display contrast, while also supporting features like HDR.

The new Surface Laptop 13.8/15-inch and Surface Pro for Business can be configured with up to 64GB of memory and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD (user-removable). The Surface Pro 13-inch is available in only one CPU configuration, while memory options include 16GB or 24GB RAM and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD. Also, the new Surface Pro can be configured with 5G connectivity.

The Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch starts at $1,299, while the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop 13.8/15-inch start at $1,949. Microsoft does not plan to sell these to regular consumers, but the company confirmed that it would release new Surface devices with Snapdragon X2 processors later this year.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 7:01 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Microsoft's gaming segment has been going through some rapid changes since the appointment of its new CEO, Asha Sharma. Following a Game Pass price drop, an updated name, and more leadership changes, now the Xbox team is looking to get more feedback from its community with a new feedback-collecting system.

The new hub aimed at doing this is named "XBOX Player Voice." While sounding like a singing competition at first, this is described as a new place for Xbox players to share feedback and track the process as it goes through the Xbox development teams' eyes.

"When you submit feedback, teams review and organize it so it can be understood and considered alongside other work. In some cases, ideas will move forward," says the company, explaining the new process. "In others, they may take longer to implement or may not be something we can act on. When there are meaningful updates, we’ll share them."

As expected, not every piece of feedback will get responses or a feature update from Microsoft.

The Xbox Player Voice system is replacing the Xbox Cloud Gaming feedback portal. Microsoft says this is meant to complement other offerings like the Insider Hub that's focused on testing and bugs, the official support forums for help and troubleshooting, and the company's collection of social channels.

"We’re starting small and will learn as we go," adds the company. "That means the experience will evolve over time as we see what’s useful and where we can do better. This is a step toward making that process more open and easier to follow."

The new Player Voice hub is already filling up with feedback from the Xbox community. Some of the most upvoted suggestions include the return of exclusives to the platform, restarting the Backward Compatibility program, and making online multiplayer a free affair. As the program has just launched, Microsoft representatives haven't gotten around to replying to any of the suggestions just yet.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Tuesday 19 May 2026 at 3:24 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

7 Days is a weekly roundup of picks of what's been happening in the world of technology - written with a dash of humor, a hint of exasperation, and an endless supply of (black) coffee.

This week was filled with several new Google announcements, the leak of Forza Horizon 6, continuous BSOD reboots on Dell systems, Donald Trump's smartphone, and other drama from the tech world. Let's get started.

You can check out the recent issues of the 7 Days weekly roundup here.

This isn't Windows XP

Windows XP is gone, but its spirit keeps coming back in some form or another. A clever web project turns Wikipedia into a Windows XP-style desktop interface, which you can browse and customize. You'll find desktop icons such as Wikipedia, Media, Geofile Explorer, and Readme.txt., and browse Wikipedia like a filesystem.

Google paying back $135 million

Google finally agreed to pay $135 million to about 100 million Android users in the US as part of a lawsuit (Taylor v. Google LLC) alleging it collected user information without their consent over cellular data. You can claim your share if you're among the eligible users. Android users in the US who have had a cellular data plan since 2017 may be eligible to get a payout.

Workcation in China

The US President visited China and reportedly cleared the way for 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, to buy NVIDIA H200 AI chips, allowing a few other companies to act as distributors for these chips within the country.

Surprisingly, it was reported that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang wasn't invited to join the delegation alongside Tim Cook and Elon Musk, but got a seat on Air Force One later. The Chinese government, on the other hand, hasn't granted approval for local firms to purchase these chips yet.

While Trump and the delegation received several gifts, identification badges, and pins from China, they had to discard all of them, along with burner phones, before boarding Air Force One on the way home. These items were thrown in the bin next to the plane's stairs.

Surface Duo 3

No, it's not coming soon. Surface Duo 3 got canceled back in 2023, but a recently spotted patent filing suggests what it could have been. It describes a "spring-loaded" hinge mechanism supporting a button that would have made it easier to open the two displays with one hand, addressing a common complaint for devices of such form factor, because you need both hands.

BSOD reboot

A recent software update caused several Dell PCs to reboot repeatedly after a BSOD. Repeating history from 2024, Dell's SupportAssist software was identified as a culprit, and a quick solution could be to uninstall it from the device until the company releases a fix.

Smartphones

In smartphone news,

• The stylus is coming: Samsung is about to address one of the Galaxy Z Trifold's biggest drawbacks: the lack of an S Pen stylus despite a 10-inch screen. The second-generation Trifold is expected to feature an S Pen slot within the hinges to store and charge the stylus.
• Targeting premium: The new HONOR 600 Pro is trying to compete in the premium segment with an 8000 nits display, 200 MP night camera, and 7000mAh battery life.

Microsoft fires top exec over surveillance

It was reported that Microsoft kicked out its Israel head, Alon Haimovich, after an internal review over the misuse of its Azure infrastructure in the Israel-Palestine war. Previous reports alleged that cloud services hosted through Microsoft infrastructure were used to process large amounts of intercepted communications from Gaza.

In more security news:

• Wii U CEMU emulator compromised: Its development team revealed that CEMU's GitHub page offered compromised Linux downloads for almost a week. An advisory details who might be affected and how to ensure users are safe.
• New vulnerability on the market: GitHub user Nightmare-Eclipse has published two new vulnerabilities (YellowKey and GreenPlasma) targeting Windows 11 systems. The exploits were released the same day Microsoft released its latest Patch Tuesday.
• Turso ends bug bounty: The popular in-process SQL database ended its $1,000 bug bounty program due to a surge of AI slop submissions, which became a bigger burden than actual bugs.

The 'kick' of a black hole

Scientists figured out exactly how fast and in what direction a black hole gets a "kick" or recoil after crashing into another one. A huge step in mapping the universe: they used a detailed computer model and historical gravitational-wave data to clock the recoil at 50 km/s.

In more science news:

• CERN breakthrough: Scientists at CERN created the first antimatter quantum bit, successfully controlling a single antiproton for nearly a minute. This breakthrough will help researchers understand why the universe contains far more matter.
• Physical rules tested: Scientists found that light particles can scatter and interact in unexpected ways. This could help them test the established rules of modern physics.

Meta slammed for ending E2EE

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called out Meta for ending Instagram's optional end-to-end encryption feature for direct messaging. While Meta is blaming the lack of enough users, the feature on Instagram requires several steps to turn on. EFF argued that it's wrong to blame users and that such features should be enabled by default.

Why so dominating?

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is after the Redmond giant this time over its dominance in the software market. It wants to figure out how Microsoft's market dominance affects business owners and whether it offers seamless integration with other platforms.

Meanwhile, the UK regulator Ofcom said two porn websites are being investigated for failing to comply with age check rules. It also fined an online suicide forum £950,000 for still being available to UK users without a VPN.

GitHub repos on your phone

Mobile devices are replacing traditional computers, and GitHub's latest move is a new example of this. Its latest update lets you initiate new projects directly from your Android and iOS devices. You'll get options for templates, visibility controls, and README setup directly from the app.

Spotify x Apple Podcasts

While you might see them as rival platforms, things are going to change soon. Spotify is baking a new integration in collaboration with Apple to bring video content to Apple Podcasts. With support for Apple's HLS video technology, creators will be able to upload video podcasts on Spotify and distribute the same content on Apple's platform.

This week in Google News

Catch up on some of the latest Google news updates that arrived throughout the week:

• Android Show I/O Edition: Google hosted a small livestream ahead of the I/O conference to unveil Gemini Intelligence for Android, the new Googlebook powered by a unified operating system, next-gen Android Auto upgrades, new features in Chrome, Noto 3D set of emojis, and a feature to stop doomscrolling.
• Free storage comes at a cost: Some users are only getting 5GB storage with a new Google account, and they'll have to supply their phone number to get the extra 10GB. While Google didn't confirm the change, it said that "testing a new storage policy for new accounts created in select regions."
• Creator features on Android 17: The operating system will get several creator-focused features, including Screen Reactions, a better Instagram experience, exclusive features in the Edits app, Advanced Professional Video format, and support for Adobe Premiere Pro.
• Oh! Snap: Google Search encountered issues this week, which prevented it from completing user requests. While its status page reported "no incidents," the Search page suggested it was an internal server error.
• Google Finance: The search giant's AI-powered Finance platform expanded across Europe alongside full local language support. Google is introducing upgraded visualization tools to help investors better interpret market activity.

This week in Apple News

Catch up on some of the latest Apple news updates that arrived throughout the week:

• Upgraded RCS: Apple finally announced that it's rolling out cross-platform end-to-end encrypted RCS messages for iPhone users running iOS 26.5 beta. It will work with supported carriers and Android users on the latest version of Google Messages.
• No Touch ID: If you're among the people waiting for a Touch ID on Apple Watch, it might not happen soon. A leaker claimed that Apple is prioritizing larger batteries and more advanced health sensors over biometric authentication.
• Legal Battle: OpenAI is reportedly considering legal action against Apple after its partnership to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone fell short and failed to meet expectations. The AI firm reportedly claims that Apple's implementation of ChatGPT confused users and made features harder to use.
• Bluey crossover: Apple Arcade is getting a massive, limited Bluey crossover across five games, including Crossy Road Castle, stitch., puffies., Suika Game+, and Disney Coloring World+.

This week in AI news

Catch up on the latest artificial intelligence news updates that arrived throughout the week:

• AI is the new normal: Linus Torvalds declared that AI-fueled code surges on Linux are the new normal as he released Linux 7.1-rc3 with a heavy 33% focus on networking, and other features.
• Learn to code: On the other hand, RPCS3 banned autonomous AI agents from the project to combat low-quality submissions. The emulator's updated rules say that contributors should fully own and understand any code they submit.
• OpenAI creates new company: The ChatGPT-maker announced a standalone initiative (OpenAI Deployment Company) to boost enterprise AI adoption, with initial funding of $4 billion. It also introduced the Daybreak cybersecurity initiative to integrate AI-assisted defense directly into software development. Moreover, its Codex AI agent is now integrated directly into the ChatGPT mobile app for Android and iOS.
• Alexa for Shopping: If you're looking for an AI chatbot to help with shopping, Amazon combined the likes of Rufus and Alexa+ to create a new assistant called Alexa for Shopping, which is currently available in the US.
• MDASH: It's a new multi-model agentic security system from Microsoft to rival OpenAI's Daybreak and Anthropic's Mythos. It helped researchers find 16 new vulnerabilities across Windows networking and authentication components.

What happened at Microsoft this week

For those wondering what happened under the Redmond giant's roof this week: After much backlash, Microsoft Edge is fixing the way it handles your passwords; it's laying off 5% of LinkedIn employees, but it has nothing to do with AI adoption.

If you're having second thoughts about Microsoft Teams, Usama penned down a piece about the five things that are wrong with Microsoft Teams. You can check out Taras's freshly baked Microsoft Weekly roundup to catch up on all the interesting stories this week.

Forza Horizon 6

Forza Horizon's biggest open-world driving adventure yet is coming on May 19 (for standard buyers), featuring landscapes of Japan and over 550 real-world cars. Playground Games said you can preload the racing game on supported platforms, including Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. However, Forza Horizon 6 saw an unfortunate leak ahead of the launch, allowing pirates to crack the game. The long-anticipated game Subnautica 2 saw a similar fate.

Forza Horizon 6 is supported on the latest drivers, including Intel's 32.0.101.8801 non-WHQL and NVIDIA driver 596.49. It's also available in early access since May 15, and you can check out our Forza Horizon 6 review to know what you should expect after years of waiting.

Leaked Xbox controller

A fresh leak sheds light on an unreleased wireless controller for Xbox that appears to be built for cloud gaming and portability. It looks as if someone used a hydraulic press on the standard Xbox controller to make it slimmer and compact. It was reported that the cloud-based controller will connect directly to Microsoft's gaming servers to reduce latency, and it still includes almost all the buttons and sticks we are used to seeing.

Speaking of Xbox, Discord Nitro is getting an official Xbox Game Pass integration for free through a new partnership between the two companies.

New way to make money

World-building has been an overlooked domain when it comes to AI model training; there is a lack of high-quality, reliable training data. Origin Lab wants to be the middleman between video game companies and labs building world models. It wants to sell digital game assets to labs by converting them into a format for training AI models. For example, it could be multiple hours of walkthrough footage or a render that can be understood and fed as input to an AI model.

What else in gaming?

The latest issue of Pulasthi's Weekend PC Game Deals curates several exciting games on sale this week. Epic Games Store mystery giveaway returned with a double freebie: Telltale Batman Shadows Edition and Sunderfolk. Xbox Free Play Days kicked off again with a chance to dive into Battlefield 6, Bassmaster Fishing, and JDM: Japanese Drift Master.

That said, here are some more stories from the gaming world:

• Valve shows off Steam Community Market overhaul, wants your feedback
• Minecraft Java Edition is getting peer-to-peer multiplayer support from Mojang
• Xbox Insiders can now try the new startup sequence, tiered Gamerscore badges, and more
• Say goodbye to monthly Arc Raiders updates, studio moves to a bi-annual schedule
• Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders begin next week according to Best Buy leak
• Star Citizen Alpha 4.8 lands showing off a large-scale, multi-phase rescue mission

From the review corner

In one of our hottest reviews of the week, Steven got his hands on the refreshed GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition AI mini PC, featuring an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 processor, AMD Radeon 890M GPU, a combined 86 TOPS NPU, 32GB DDR5 SODIMM, Bluetooth 5.4, HDMI 2.1, USB 4.0, and other features.

The $1799 mini PC features a premium all-metal build, excellent AI performance, and runs cool. On the other hand, it doesn't have a Type-C port on the front, internal SSD and memory are not easy to access, and its single DDR5 module hampers the performance.

Cuktech 30 Ultra charger

If you're looking for a desktop charging station that can deliver up to 300W of output, check out Taras' review of the Cuktech 30 Ultra, priced at $159.99. It comes with a Type-A port and three Type-C ports, 300W DC out, a big stats display, and nine adapters for different laptops. However, its display could have been better; there are too many Cuktech logos, and no 240W USB output.

Luna Ring Gen 2

Smart rings are the new fashion, and we got to review the Luna Ring Gen 2. It's a beautiful titanium ring in premium packaging, with rich health data tracking and a good-looking charging case, and it doesn't use a subscription model. The $329 price tag is on the expensive side, it's easy to scratch, and the sticking-out sensors could be irritating.

Serafim S3 controller

For those looking for a gaming controller for their smartphone, Serafim S3 is a compact option with Hall Effect sticks and triggers. It features great tactile buttons, MFi-certified, a 3.5mm audio jack, and supports pass-through charging. However, there are no rear buttons, button mapping, and carrying case. The cherry on top of all the problems is an optional companion app that requires a $35/year subscription to offer almost nothing you can't get for free.

Apart from these, you can also check out our review of the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ headphones, which come with 45mm drivers and ultra-low latency. Another upcoming title in the gaming world is Far Far West, currently available in early access.

Have a great weekend!

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Monday 18 May 2026 at 7:43 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Paul's Hardware (1.55m subscribers)

May 17, 2026

Video length: 12m 35s

0:00 Welcome to Paul’s Tech News - May 17, 2026

2:26 Samsung Worker Strike Looms - chip production already winding down

4:40 AMD FSR 4.1 coming to Radeon RX 7000 GPUs in July, RX 6000 in 2027

6:26 Computex Launches Begin, like ASUS’ retro ROG Crosshair 2006 X870E mobo

TECH BRIEFS

8:44 Bambu Snafu - 3D Printer Maker Angers Just About Everyone

10:17 Nvidia prepares RTX 5090 Price Hike

11:11 GTA 6 Pre Orders May 18, new trailer coming too

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 17 May 2026 at 5:19 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

It is time to catch up with this week's Microsoft stories. The last seven days were busy with Microsoft releasing Forza Horizon 6, new Windows 11 taskbar features (long-requested, mind you), plenty of preview builds, driver improvements for Windows 11, Patch Tuesday updates, bugs (of course), and more.

Quick links:

1. Windows 10 and 11
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions.

This week, Microsoft released the May 2026 Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 10 and 11. Those who left Windows 10 behind and switched to Windows 11 should download KB5089549. This update introduces Xbox Mode, File Explorer improvements, haptic feedback for supported trackpads and mice, reliability improvements, and other changes. Windows 10 users can download KB5087544 (if they are enrolled in the Extended Security Updates program.

Shortly after the release of this month's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft confirmed new bugs and released a new version of the Media Creation Tool with the latest builds.

Over the last couple of years, Microsoft has implemented plenty of new software features to help users recover their PCs from outages, buggy software updates, and more. The latest effort was announced this week, the so-called Cloud-Initiated Driver Recovery, or CIDR. This feature is designed to resolve faulty drivers by removing them remotely. Microsoft plans to launch CIDR later this year. Microsoft also wants to make sure you do not need CIDR, as it works hard at fixing driver quality in its operating system and improving GPU drivers.

Besides reliability improvements, Microsoft is busy enhancing Windows 11 performance with the new Low Latency mode and a fully native user interface based on WinUI 3.

To finish this week's Windows 11 section, here is an interesting article about a Windows 95 UI relic that still somehow exists in the latest Windows version despite zero use.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:

The latest Windows 11 build from the Experimental (Dev) channel finally adds the change where the taskbar appears. This feature is rolling out gradually, but you can force-enable it in the Flags section or the ViVeTool app. In addition, Microsoft confirmed that more taskbar and Start menu improvements and features are on the way.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

Microsoft announced a few Edge-related updates this week. The company is killing Copilot Mode in favor of native AI features on desktop and mobile devices. Also, Microsoft acknowledged the problem with passwords stored in memory as plain text and promised to fix it with an emergency patch. That patch arrived a couple of days later. However, Microsoft has yet to address customer feedback about the two features it is removing from the Edge browser.

If you use Copilot in Office apps, you will be glad to know that Microsoft is making it easier to access AI-powered capabilities in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Now, the assistant is accessible via a floating button in the bottom-right corner of the screen or when the user interacts with context (for example, highlights text). For those who do not like this idea, Microsoft also added the option to turn off the floating Copilot button. Naturally, this change sparked massive outrage among users.

Also, check out Usama's rumblings about Microsoft Teams and five things that he absolutely hates about this messenger.

Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:

• Third-party file manager Files has been updated to version 4.1 with new features.

• Microsoft unveils MDASH, a multi-model agentic AI system that beats Anthropic's Mythos.

• Microsoft deepens SK hynix partnership as it seeks to reduce reliance on NVIDIA.

• VMware Fusion Pro 26H1 released with support for more guest OSes.

• Exchange Server has a "critical" security bug, but Microsoft does not have a proper fix yet.

• Microsoft patent reveals interesting details about canceled Surface Duo 3.

   

Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:

• NVIDIA 596.49 WHQL with DLSS 4.5 support for Forza Horizon 6, Directive 8020, and Subnautica 2. The driver also fixes enhanced smoothness when DLSS Frame Generation is used with V-SYNC and display flickering in Foundry Mari 7.0v2.
• Intel 32.0.101.8801 non-WHQL with Forza Horizon 6 support and more.
• AMD 26.5.2 with Forza Horizon 6 support and 007 First Light.

Reviews are in

Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week

Steven Parker reviewed another mini PC this week. The GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition visited Neowin's testing lab, offering a small yet powerful Copilot+ PC with an 86 TOPS NPU, a premium build, dual USB 4 and 2.5 GbE ports, and low temperatures. This computer is not cheap, and the lack of front-facing USB Type-C ports is disappointing, but overall, it is a very solid device for those who need a small, yet powerful computer without relying on discrete graphics cards.

We also review the Luna Ring Gen 2, a titanium smart ring that stands out among the competition with a no-subscription app, accurate health tracking, and beautiful design. Like other smart rings, it is not cheap, but it makes up for that with quite a lot of wellbeing-related stuff.

Another review is about the Serafim S3, a lightweight mobile controller. It has great tactile buttons, comfortable grips, but also some weird stuff, including a questionable app that asks you to buy a subscription.

There is also a review of the Cuktech 30 Ultra, a powerful desktop charging station with five ports, 300W DC output, and a useful display to track various charging stats. It is a pretty cool charging accessory with only a couple of minor flaws.

We also had two game reviews. One is about Forza Horizon 6, Microsoft's long-anticipated racing game set in Japan. The game has a massive, beautiful map, meaningful gameplay improvements, better progression, and more. The second is a review of Far Far West early access, a game where cowboys and magic combine for an awesome co-op adventure.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more.

Xbox's new CEO, Asha Sharma, recently asked the community whether the company should rebrand Xbox to XBOX. While not a ground-breaking change, it does appear that the company is making its console all-caps, as the official account changed its name to XBOX, including the @XBOX handle.

Also, news emerged about Microsoft working on a special controller for cloud gaming. Leaked images revealed a rather odd-looking Xbox Wireless Controller, looking like something straight from the NES generation decades ago.

Speaking of cloud gaming, NVIDIA announced new games for GeForce NOW, which include Subnautica 2, Forza Horizon 6, Directive 8020, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes, and more.

Some unfortunate things happened this week to two major games. Forza Horizon 6, which was launched in early access on Friday, was leaked. Files were quickly cracked, giving pirates even earlier "early access" to the game. A couple of days later, the same thing happened to Subnautica 2.

Valve is reworking yet another part of Steam. This time, an overhaul is on track for the Steam Community Market. Valve wants to make it a nicer place to trade by updating pages, listings, search, filtering, and other parts of the user interface. The new experience is now available in beta, and the company wants to hear what you think.

Finally, here is this week's Weekend PC Game Deals issue, where you can grab two freebies from the Epic Game Store, purchase some Humble bundles, and get plenty of other games at big discounts.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 17 May 2026 at 12:40 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Gamers Nexus (2.61m subscribers)

May 16, 2026

Video length: 42m 10s

In the news this week, we talk Bambu Lab and its legal threat sent to a third-party developer of open source software, plus GN's plans to deep-dive into Bambu Lab's shady behaviors. We also go over the plunge in consumer hardware and computer hardware sales (with a trailer for our upcoming special report), AMD's negative projects for the gaming industry as it gets into bed with data centers, Switch 2 price hikes, and residents paying billions for data center power buildouts. Additionally, the FCC router ban has some changes to the firmware update schedule, but none to the core ban itself.

00:00 - Recap for the Week

01:26 - Special Investigation

02:51 - TRAILER for DOWNFALL INVESTIGATION

08:32 - AMD Gaming Sales Crash, Motherboards Follow

16:31 - Bambu Lab Slicer

27:14 - Chrome Installs 4GB AI Model

30:08 - Valve Steam Machine Prep and Controller Queue

30:58 - Residents Pay 2 Billion for Data Center Power Buildout

36:08 - Nintendo Switch 2 Price Hikes

37:56 - FCC Doesn't Know WTF It's Doing

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 16 May 2026 at 7:47 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

It has been a while since the last Forza Horizon installment. Playground Games spent three years preparing Horizon 5, while Horizon 6 took significantly longer. This time, we are leaving North America and flying across the ocean to Japan, a long-anticipated location in the Horizon series. Forza Horizon 6 is finally here, and I spent the last two weeks playing the game; here is my review.

Disclaimer: Microsoft provided the review copy without any editorial input or approval.

Quick links:

1. Test Rig
2. A new, but familiar game
3. Big, beautiful map
4. Building your cars, garages, and estate
5. Story?
6. Neat small changes
7. Criticism?
8. Conclusion

Test Rig

I played the game on a PC. My computer is not the newest nor the most powerful, but it still has plenty of oomph to handle modern games:

• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
• AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
• 32 GB DDR4 3600 MT/s
• 1TB WD SN850X PCIe Gen 4 SSD

These specs are enough for comfortable gaming at 1440p. At a mix of high and ultra settings, the game runs at a solid 100-120 FPS, which is more than comfortable. The Forza Horizon games have always been well-optimized, and so far, Horizon 6 does not disappoint.

For the first time in the series, Forza Horizon utilizes plenty of ray-tracing technologies (the previous game had them only in vehicle viewing mode). Cranking them up definitely kneecaps performance, but you get a better image in return. Once I set it to Extreme, my FPS dipped far below 60 and settled at 30-40 FPS. Yeah, I overestimated my GPU's capabilities a bit. However, it supports frame-generation tech, and with AMD's FSR 3.1 (FSR 4 is supported on the RX 9000 Series), I managed to up FPS to a more comfortable 60 FPS, with everything cranked to maximum. If you have a modern NVIDIA card, you can also use multi-frame generation.

Note that as of writing this review, Forza Horizon 6 only supports TAA anti-aliasing (or image-sharpening tech from Intel, and or NVIDIA). FXAA and MSAA are not present.

I should mention, though, that I had no optimized drivers (these should arrive on launch day), so I expect performance to be better once AMD has a dedicated driver. Also, the game will get plenty of updates in the coming months to improve performance, fix bugs, and more. If you want to get the best experience, your PC should have one of these drivers:

• NVIDIA: 596.49 or newer
• AMD: 26.5.2 or newer
• Intel: 32.0.101.8801 or newer

Storage is another factor to consider. These days, a 160 GB game is no joke, and if you don't have a spacious SSD, allocating space for Forza Horizon 6 could become a problem.

Here are the official hardware requirements for Forza Horizon 6:

I do not have an Xbox, so I cannot say much about performance on the consoles. However, you can choose between performance and quality mode, with Xbox Series X targeting 4K 30 FPS and Xbox Series S targeting 1440p 30 FPS:

New, but familiar

What I like about Forza Horizon games is that they don’t force you to take a specific route. Yes, you have to move in a general direction to unlock content, but the game is very flexible in how you do it. Almost the entire map is open right away, so do what you like. You can cruise around and discover locations, race, tune cars, do PR stunts, do mini stories, and more. The game does not limit your activities or try to force you into specific directions or events.

That said, one of the changes that Forza Horizon 6 brings is a wristband system. As you progress and increase your level, you get new wristbands that unlock higher-spec events. PR stunts and races become harder as you need faster, higher-class cars. Once you get to the final wristband, the game unlocks a special island for elite players.

You arrive in Japan as a tourist and start your progress as a nobody. I like this change, as the previous entry treated you like a superstar right away, crippling motivation and making the overall narrative a bit cringe (please, amigo, stop calling me a superstar). In Japan, though, you meet two friends who will help you get around the area, learn about events, landmarks, and more. And no, these two do not insert random Japanese words into dialog to sound more "authentic," thanks for that. Random Spanish words in dialogs in Forza Horizon 5 were, honestly, unbearable.

While there is plenty to do and discover in Horizon 6, the game's overall concept is similar to its predecessor. It has the same main event types: road racing, cross-country racing, street racing, PR stunts, and showcase events. The latter appear on the map when you get enough Horizon points to get to the next “progress chapter”. As usual, showcase events are special, spectacular races with unique mechanics that you cannot find anywhere else in the game. In Forza Horizon 4, you were racing a massive bomber and a train; in Forza Horizon 5, you were behind the wheel of a monster truck, and here, you race a massive mecha robot that crushes surroundings, flies around, and stops everything on its way.

Showcase events are fun; they feel like something straight from Fast and Furious. However, they are heavily scripted and mostly serve to entertain and not challenge you (basically, you cannot lose in such events). This is not bad by any means. In fact, these events feel like fun rewards for achieving a new wristband. Forza Horizon 6 has dedicated showcase events for each “wristband,” but I am not going to spoil them all for you. Go discover.

In addition to existing modes, Forza Horizon 6 introduces new racing events:

• Touge: Touge Battles are 1v1 racing events on famous Japanese mountain roads. The objective is simple: drive fast and finish first on Hakone, Mount Haruna, Bandai Azuma, the Norikura Skyline, and Arahiyama Takao Parkway. If you are a fan of Initial D, you know what to do.
• Time Attack: These events blend seamlessly into the map. Just get to the dedicated area and start driving to set the best time possible. As you drive, you will see in-game billboards showing your friends' best times.
• Horizon Rush: These are similar to Showcase events, but not scripted. You get behind the wheel of a preselected car and then show your skills to get three stars.
• Drag Meets: Show up to a drag meet in your purpose-built car (this requires some tuning, and most stock cars will be beaten hard by some riced-out Japanese RWD rust buckets with massive turbos sticking out of their hoods) and get to the finish line first. Pretty simple, just make sure you have the right car.
• Jobs: Pick up food, deliver to customers. RakuRaku Express needs a food delivery driver for their Kei truck.
• Car Meets: Stop at a specific spot and meet other drivers. Check out their cars, liveries, and tunes for inspiration. You can purchase stock cars on the spot and import tunes/liveries from other people at the meet.

Like before, you can play with drivatars, other players in your session, or in a convoy with your friends. Besides, the already existing modes like The Eliminator, Hide and Seek, Playground Games, Rivals, and others are still here, so you have plenty of modes to choose from. I could not try the multiplayer capabilities, as too few people were playing the review build ahead of the release.

Physics-wise, Forza Horizon 6 is similar to its predecessor. This is no racing sim, so do not expect much realism here (a giant flying mecha robot is hardly what I would call "realism"), and cars still tend to slide and oversteer. Still, you can tweak the game's difficulty to make it more challenging. In addition to drivatar difficulty, you can adjust steering difficulty, racing lane, ABS, ESC/TCS, shifting mode, clutch, damage, rewinds, and tyre wear. All these affect the amount of CR rewards you get at the end of each event. The higher the difficulty, the bigger the payout. Additionally, these settings allow you to adjust the game so that everyone can have fun.

If you played Forza Horizon 5 or 4, you will find drivatar behavior very familiar. And yes, these can still exhibit questionable behavior from time to time and make you feel like you are only racing the grid leader and everyone else is just trying to mess with you. On higher levels, though, bots can give you a seriously hard time and push your skill to the limit, requiring precise driving and good tunes.

Big beautiful map

Horizon 6's map is absolutely massive. Set in Japan, it has over 70 areas to discover and hundreds of roads to drive. It does not try to recreate a specific part of Japan and its capital. Instead, developers aimed to recreate the country's overall aesthetics and atmosphere, and they did a great job without making the map too stereotypical. You can find absolutely stunning, picturesque locations and quite gray, unamusing industrial areas.

Like previously, a lot of stuff on the map is destructible. Barriers, trees, fences, small objects, and more. Unlike Forza Horizon 6, it is hard to encounter a non-destructible tree. As long as you have plenty of speed, you can deforest acres of trees without issues. I know this is an odd nitpick, but I am still not sure what I think about the lack of non-destructible trees (I found the latter, but they are very scarce). On one hand, it helps you win in modes like The Eliminator or Hide and Seek, but it could also help your opponents beat you. In Horizon 5, I used non-destructible trees a lot. Driving strategically through the forest allowed me to get away from seekers or score a last-minute overtake in The Eliminator. However, now, you can plow through the forest even in a low-tier car, as long as your speed remains relatively high.

One thing I absolutely love about the map is its diversity. From densely populated Tokyo City and small villages on its outskirts to snowy resorts in the mountains, lakes, and forests, you can find a lot of diverse nature in this game. This reminds me of Forza Horizon 4 with its rich biomes and seasons, which help make the game feel fresh every week. Forza Horizon 5 was a bit disappointing in this regard, as each season was either dry or wet. Horizon 6's map is a massive breath of fresh air, and I often find myself just cruising around and enjoying the view.

Unfortunately, during the preview period, I could only try Spring and Summer (Winter and Autumn will be available once the game launches). However, as I said, the map has plenty of diverse weather, and if you want to touch some ice, you can always go to the mountain resorts up North and break some trees covered in a thick layer of snow. Sadly, Mount Fuji is just a background prop – you cannot drive there. However, you can totally drive over (or through) Japan's iconic snow walls (Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route).

Speaking of cruising around, Forza Horizon 6 introduces a new mechanic called Auto Drive. You set a destination, launch Anna (the virtual assistant), and select Auto Drive. As the name suggests, the car drives itself to the destination while you enjoy the scenery. I do not use this feature often, but I can understand why it is here. The map is massive, and you can easily drive nearly 30 in-game kilometers to your destination. That takes some serious time, especially if you cannot fast-travel to the destination.

The fast travel system is different from previous games. There are no more fast-travel boards to make fast-traveling cheaper. Also, you do not need to buy an estate to unlock fast travel. Teleportation is available right away, with one condition: the area should be discovered. You cannot fast-travel to places you have not been to yet. This encourages you to cruise around, familiarize yourself with the map, and unlock roads.

As you do, you will find plenty of interesting stuff across the map. From the now-traditional XP boards (smash them to increase your XP) to region-specific props (mascots) scattered around the map. Each smashed mascot or board adds to your XP, and you get rewards for hitting them all. Mascots are cute and usually placed in easily accessible spots, while some XP boards will be quite hard to achieve, especially those 5,000 XP ones. I am a completionist, so I won't rest until I have smashed all collectibles and unlocked all roads. While you can ignore boards and mascots, smashing them requires to get 100% progression.

Gas stations are finally here as well. Even though refuelling mechanics are not present, gas stations and shops with parked cars further add to realism and immersion. It's a great addition, especially for those who like to take pictures in the game, and Forza Horizon 6 has pretty powerful photo-taking tools that give plenty of room for creativity.

Also, there are unique aftermarket cars parked in different spots. Pull over to one, and you will be offered to buy a car with upgraded specs at a lower price. This allows you to find interesting builds, unique tunes, and more. Aftermarket cars spawn dynamically, depending on your progression levels, and they also include unique Forza Edition cars. Considering that the game is still very generous with rewards, I do not consider this feature particularly money-saving. To me, it is more about car discovery, as it encourages you to check out various vehicles I would otherwise skip at the Autoshow or Auction House.

There are the so-called Treasure Cars. These vehicles (nine of them) are scattered around the map, and you have to solve a riddle to find their locations. If you played Horizon 4 and 5, you will be familiar with the concept of treasure hunting: get a clue and a picture, drive to the spot, and secure the spoils.

Barn Finds are here as well, 14 cars in total. These are unique or rare, abandoned vehicles that you find by roaming the map (their locations appear as you progress). Just find a bar, watch a cutscene with some interesting info about the car, and wait for Forza Horizon mechanics to restore them for you. If you are impatient, you can speed things up by paying with credits. However, the rarer the car, the longer it takes to restore and the more you need to pay to restore it instantly.

In addition to cars, you can find some fauna roaming around. Birds, cows, and even fish in ponds fill the map, contributing to its overall liveliness. And yes, you can hit cows, but when you do, nothing happens, and the car pushes the creature aside.

Forza Horizon 6's map has very diverse elevation. Mountains, valleys, tall bridges, touges, wide highways, or tiny and narrow back roads between buildings in Tokyo City. Different heights and sizes make the map much more interesting to drive and quite challenging to race in specific conditions. As for the city itself, it is five times larger than Forza Horizon 5's Guanajuato. There is a lot of stuff to do. You can race, do jobs, discover landmarks, or enjoy the ride on narrow or massively wide highways. This neon-filled city is beautiful, and it has plenty of pedestrians in closed-off areas.

There is some criticism about the road width in Forza Horizon games, and I have to say, not without reason. Sometimes, roads indeed feel like you can park three cars across. However, there are plenty of narrower streets and roads, and some get so tight that you can only drive with a small car.

People also sometimes complain that the lack of traffic makes Forza Horizon feel like it is 2020 all over again. In Forza Horizon 6, traffic is much denser. You can always see NPCs driving around, and they sometimes even form small traffic jams or congestions, or jump on you at an intersection. Traffic is also more diverse, with plenty of Japanese cars, Kei trucks, and more.

It is still far from what we get in real life, but keep in mind that it is a racing game where you are supposed to drive at 200 MPH, not sit stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I am glad that Playground Games fixed traffic (you could literally drive for minutes in Forza Horizon 5 without encountering a single NPC on a highway), which made the game feel more alive. At the same time, I feel like increasing the traffic density further would simply become annoying.

Building your cars and garages

A big new feature in Forza Horizon 6 is the ability to customize your garage. When you purchase your first estate, you can pimp it to your heart's content. Place some cool cars to showcase to your friends (you can invite people to see your crib) and litter it with all sorts of props, such as tire stacks, arcade machines, traffic signs, furniture and gadgets, car lifts and tool racks, some vegetation, or even massive dinosaurs.

Garage customization surprised me a lot, as I did not expect to see such a massive list of props and items. Props are not free, but they are not outrageously expensive. And yes, everything you buy in-game (minus Car Pass, car packs, DLCs, and the Treasure Map) does not require any in-app purchases. All items could only be purchased with in-game credits. Placing stuff in your garage reminds me of world-building mechanics in Fallout 4, but less annoying and easier to figure out.

Unfortunately, I did not have too much time to mess around with garage customization, since I had to play the game to write this review. Still, I can definitely see myself spending dozens of hours customizing. Making the game more personal goes beyond just interior design. The map has a dedicated plot of land for you to build your estate and invite friends. This is a fantastic feature to make the game more personal, replayable, and socially engaging. Just like your garages, you can customize your plot of land and build all sorts of stuff on it. A high-story building? Why not? A racing track? Sure. A pack of dinos roaming around and munching on some trees? Of course.

The land for building is very big, and I can already see creative people doing wild stuff in there. You can also share your creations and import other people's stuff if you feel like your creative juices are not flowing. My only nitpick so far is that the estate is not a seamless mode. It has a cutscene when you enter or leave it so that the game can load everything.

Character customization is also present in a mostly unchanged form. You can select overall appearance (I have to say, these faces look quite silly), hairstyle, hair color, clothing, prosthetics, pronouns, and your name/nickname. Taras is still missing in the list (come on, guys!), so I picked "Your Majesty." Now, every time I launch the game, I hear, "Welcome back, Your Majesty."

The game offers about 550 cars from the get-go. Most of them are available for in-game credits in the shop. You are free to purchase them whenever you want, as long as you have the right amount of credits. However, some cars are locked behind progression (complete certain events or tasks in the Collection Journal) or paid DLC/Car Pass. Since the game is focused on Japan and its rich car culture, there are quite a few JDM cars to purchase at the Autoshow. In the first car pack DLC, you can get your hands on some seriously unhinged builds of iconic Japanese cars with crazy body kits and liveries.

Car body customization has never been rich in Forza Horizon. While you still cannot rice out your car like in the days of Need for Speed Carbon, Horizon 6 has many more visual parts for you to try. There are more bumpers, side skirts, spoilers, and hoods to install (licensed from real manufacturers), plus certain cars support third-party bodykits. These are no longer limited to just one generic spoiler or bumper. It is also worth mentioning that you can now buy separate rims for front and rear wheels.

Visual customization is similar to previous Forza Horizon games, with one massive exception: window stickers. You can finally put stickers on windows. And since the in-game vinyl editor allows incredibly detailed and complex creations, you will see a lot of insane art submitted for each car. Personally, I am not a big fan of super-customized cars (I prefer them in their stock form), but I like that the game has something for everyone, whether you are a fan of the original Fast and Furious style or like them stock and unmodified. I usually play Forza with three friends in convoy, and one of them enjoys creating custom liveries. I am sure he will have a blast playing with the updated livery editor and the ability to plaster stickers all over each window.

Story?

There is basically none. Horizon 6's progression is a Collection Journal split by two main sections: Horizon Festival and Discover Japan. The first one tracks your progress in various activities. Road racing, cross-country, The Eliminator, Rivals, and more. Completing each task (these were previously called accolades) earns you something: a little bit of CRs, a new horn for your car, a quick chat phrase, or a new car. There is a lot to do, but you have to entertain yourself and pick what you want to do next. Speaking of picking what to do next, Anna, the game's built-in assistant, can help you with that by suggesting the next event every time you complete one. I prefer doing things on my own, so I disabled this feature (thank you for making it optional, PG). By the way, Anna is no longer a mapping requirement, and you can bind its default controller button to something else.

As for Discover Japan, this is your travel diary where you can see all the locations you have visited, all the landmarks, all the photos, and more. Discover Japan encourages, well, discovering Japan (hard-hitting, I know), and it is a nice thing to do when you want to have some rest from racing. Discover Japan also has all sorts of tasks, including taking photos of iconic landmarks, and completing them will earn you credits and other rewards. This part of the "story" has its own separate progress bar, and you are free to choose your progression path, be it racing or discovering. Forza Horizon 6 does not force you into specific tasks. However, some content, such as barn finds, unlocks only as you progress through. Finally, there are mini-stories across the map, each containing several chapters with specific goals and rewards.

Seasonal playlists are not going anywhere. You still get a list of limited-time events for each season with exclusive rewards. As such, you have two "stories" to play: the main Collection Journal and weekly playlists with various activities and exclusive rewards. Speaking of exclusive rewards, you should finally be able to claim previously missed cars from the playlist. This has been a long-standing community, and Playground Games is finally delivering it.

Neat small details, music, and more

Besides the new setting, Forza Horizon 6 packs plenty of minor, delightful improvements. Some of them do nothing but improve realism and make you think, "huh, that's cute." For example, when you drive to colder regions of the map, say high in the mountains, you can see exhaust vapor coming out of the car's pipes. When brakes are cold, you hear them squeaking (modern car quality, amirite?). EVs now have regen physics, and the driver performs a hand-over-hand gesture when turning the wheel. Before each race starts, race officials examine each participant's car, and you can also see a broadcaster talking into a camera, and pretty large crowds watching you drive.

You do not pay much attention to these details, but when you do, you realize that developers put more effort into making the game more detailed and realistic, which is always nice.

Other neat changes that I noticed include notably faster loading times (this depends on hardware, I have to say, and I strongly do not recommend installing the game on a hard drive). Also, Playground Games has finally removed the nonsensical car delivery confirmation prompt when you change cars and fixed annoying texture popping from Forza Horizon 5 with distracting level-of-detail snapping very close to the camera. There are also new accessibility features, such as High Contrast Mode, the previously mentioned Auto Drive, Proximity Radar, and sign language support (ASL and BSL). As for Settings, most graphical settings no longer require restarting the game.

Music has always been a big part of Forza Horizon games, and Horizon 6 does not disappoint here. There are nine radio stations with the highest number of songs from different artists and genres. Yes, there is plenty of J-pop, but no Eurobeat, which I think is straight-up criminal. You can find the complete soundtrack list here. By the way, there are Japanese radio hosts with subtitles, which only adds to the immersion even more.

Some criticism?

Overall, Forza Horizon 6 feels like a solid improvement over the previous entries. However, it is not 100% perfect. Sound design was never the strongest suit of modern Horizon games, and the sixth installment is not that different. Given the car-centric nature, I expected developers to put more effort into car sounds. I long for a Horizon game with audio quality akin to Need for Speed Most Wanted from 2012, with its visceral car sounds. In Horizon 6, cars still sound a little muted, and crash sounds feel like you're punching a tree, not wrecking a two-ton metal vehicle.

I am also not a fan of the game showering you with cars and credits. Just a couple of hours into the game, and you are already a multi-millionaire. And while car prices are now more realistic and reasonable (from rust buckets that cost 10K CR to vintage racers that cost 60M CR), earning them does not take that much effort. I want the game to challenge me to get exciting, expensive cars, and to make achieving them feel special. One way to do the latter is, for example, to place a real-time odometer in the HUD (or in the cockpit) so that I can see how much mileage my car has. You can already do that, but it requires digging into a bunch of menus.

Finally, Forza Horizon 6 still has cars with quite outdated models, which contrast with newer, much higher-fidelity vehicles.

I would say none of that is deal-breaking stuff that makes Forza Horizon 6 hard to recommend. You can clearly see developers spending more time and effort on making the game more realistic (exhaust fumes are probably my favorite bit), so I wish there were more prominent features that make you appreciate your car even more and make getting that car a bit more exciting. And yes, I strongly believe Playground Games should get rid of wheelspins. These simply ruin progression and devalue cars and the process of getting them.

Conclusion

Overall, Forza Horizon 6 turned out great. While the game still follows the "donb't fix what is not broken rule," there are plenty of user-requested changes, improvements, and gameplay mechanic updates. The new map is absolutely stunning, massive, and has tons of things to discover. Playground Games preserved what people love about Forza Horizon and made it better, bigger, and more fun. Yes, you can still find some imperfections and things to nitpick, but at the end of the day, Forza Horizon 6 is a fantastic game, and if you like racing games, you will have plenty of fun. I sunk thousands of hours into previous Forza Horizon games, and Horizon 6 will get the same treatment.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 19, 2026. Buyers of the Premium Edition can start playing four days earlier, on May 15. The game is also coming to PlayStation 5, albeit at a later, still unknown date. You can purchase Forza Horizon 6 in the Microsoft Store and Steam, plus it is available as a day-one Game Pass release.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 15 May 2026 at 7:19 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games has pushed out another alpha update to its in-development sci-fi experience. Instead of major features, the Star Citizen Alpha 4.8 update is largely focused on its brand-new rescue mission, which will require a large squadron of ships and ground forces to coordinate to pull off.

The mission to rescue a People's Alliance pilot will get players involved with a large-scale opposing force from the Vanduul alien faction. This means entire squadrons of fighters, bombers, dropships, and more will need to come together to accomplish this multi-phase mission. Here are the steps that players will need to go through to get out safely with the prisoner:

Approach and Defend Tranquility

• Rally the strike force and escort the People's Alliance Idris Tranquility into position. The Idris will serve as your mobile rearm, repair, and refuel platform throughout the engagement. Establish perimeter defense before pushing on the station.

   

Destroy the Power Relays

• Target the station's external Power Relays with ballistic weapons — energy weapons are ineffective against hardened station targets. Destroying all relays opens access to the superstructure trench runs.

   

Destroy Cooling Units

• Cooling Units are vulnerable to energy weapons. Smaller ships must navigate the internal superstructure trenches to reach them, accumulating Distortion Damage the longer they remain inside.

   

Destroy the Core and Defend Tranquility

• Breach the core chamber once the shutters open. Distortion and radiation intensity increases dramatically inside. Simultaneously, hostile forces will escalate attacks on Tranquility so exterior ships must maintain its defense.

   

Infiltrate and Override

• With the core destroyed the station's interior FPS section becomes accessible. A ground team boards and fights through the station to reach the override terminal.

   

Escort Gabe to Safety

• Extract hostage pilot Gabe Windell from Shattered Blade custody and get him safely off the station to complete the contract.

   

Other than the new rescue mission, Cloud Imperium has also brought in refueling missions that have players servicing NPC and player ships in the universe that require support. This involves docking with another craft via the fuel nozzle, then letting the transfer happen according to whatever payment both parties have agreed to.

The developer rolled out a new ship to Star Citizen with this update too, with the Drake Ironclad and the Assault variant now available for purchase. These are described as platform ships that cannot be piloted on their own and need the Drake Command Module to be docked to take over flight controls.

More changes of this update include dynamic G-Force tolerance calculations depending on what players are wearing, new on-foot weapons, hairstyles, VR improvements, and more. Find the complete changelog here.

The Star Citizen Alpha 4.7: Welcome to the Rock update is now available for all backers in the Live channel. The project's crowdfunding tracker is inching closer and closer to the one billion dollars raised mark as well, with less than $30 million to go at the time of writing this.

Star Citizen will also have a free-to-play promotion starting tomorrow, May 15. Dubbed DefenseCon, this event is slated to run until May 27, offering everyone access to over 100 ships and the full multiplayer side of the game.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 15 May 2026 at 7:17 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

In January of last year, AMD unveiled its latest generation of upscaling tech, bumping up FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) to the fourth generation. However, that release was exclusive to the RX 9000 series RDNA 4 graphics cards that it produces. Since then, the company has rolled out upgrades like ray regeneration and better motion clarity to the tech, improving it to version FSR 4.1. However, previous-generation AMD graphics card owners have still been stuck on FSR 3. That's about to change soon.

Jack Huynh, AMD's SVP and GM of Computing and Graphics, today announced that the company has been working on bringing FSR 4 to more generations of its Radeon graphics cards, and that includes RDNA 3 and even older RDNA 2 generations.

"As a lifelong gamer, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to push gaming experiences forward across CPUs, GPUs, software, and games," said Huynh today on a social media post. "My team and I have been working hard to evolve @AMD FSR 4 and bring it to more cards. We power over 1 billion gaming devices worldwide. It’s a responsibility we care deeply about."

The rollout will begin with the RDNA 3 generation, with AMD bringing FSR 4.1 to Radeon RX 7000 graphics cards. This will begin rolling out in July with support for over 300 games.

Next, AMD is targeting the RDNA 2 generation. RX 6000-series cards are slated to receive FSR 4.1 sometime in early 2027, "bringing sharper visuals and smoother gameplay to even more gamers."

Compared to earlier versions, FSR 4 utilizes machine learning for its upscaling tech, much like Nvidia's DLSS implementation. This means it will bring major image quality enhancements for these RDNA 3 and 2 cards when using this newer version. We will have to wait and see if all of the tech's feature set will land on these cards or if it will be limited due to the older hardware present on them.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 15 May 2026 at 7:16 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

When AMD announced version 4 of its FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) graphics upscaling technology early last year, it came with strings attached: The improved hardware-backed image quality would be available only on Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs based on the RDNA4 architecture, not on any older Radeon GPUs.

To date, AMD has released only a handful of 90-series graphics cards, including the RX 9070 XT, the RX 9070, the 8GB and 16GB versions of the RX 9060 XT, and an RX 9060 that’s only available to PC companies rather than end users. That list notably doesn’t include any integrated GPUs, such as those found in AMD-powered thin-and-light laptops or gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck and its imitators.

Over a year later, AMD Computing and Graphics SVP Jack Huynh has announced that a version of FSR 4 is finally coming to older GPUs. The rollout will begin in July with RDNA3- and 3.5-based GPUs, which include the Radeon RX 7000 series, as well as integrated GPUs like the Radeon 890M and Radeon 8060S.

In “early 2027,” support will also be extended to the RDNA2 architecture, which includes the Radeon RX 6000 series, integrated GPUs like the Radeon 680M, and the Steam Deck’s GPU. This would also open the door to supporting FSR 4 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, all of which also use RDNA2-based GPUs.

Performance may take a hit

Getting hardware-backed FSR running on older Radeon GPUs meant making it work with the INT8 hardware

in those chips, rather than the FP8 data format that RDNA4 supports.

Credit: AMD

Huynh’s short video presentation didn’t get into performance comparisons, but did mention that AMD had to work to get FSR 4’s superior hardware-backed upscaling working on its older graphics architectures. RDNA4 includes AI accelerators that support the FP8 data format in the hardware, and porting FSR 4 to older GPUs meant getting it running on the integer-based INT8 hardware in the RDNA3 and RDNA2-based GPUs.

This may mean that FSR 4.1 running on an RDNA3 or RDNA2-based GPU may come with a larger performance hit relative to RDNA4 cards, or that image quality may differ slightly. Modders have already worked to get FSR4 working on INT8-supporting GPUs, and the older GPUs reportedly see a 10 to 20 percent performance hit relative to FSR 3.1 running on the same hardware. AMD’s official implementation may or may not improve on these numbers.

Regardless, it’s nice to see AMD doing work to support owners of older GPUs, especially since it continues to sell many products that use the older RDNA3 and RDNA2 architectures. Some of the company’s recent driver releases have implied that the company was doing less work to support older graphics architectures; the FSR 4.1 announcement should put some of those fears to rest, even though it’s coming later than some owners of those older GPUs might have preferred.

Any games that support FSR 4 should be able to support FSR 4.1 running on Radeon 7000-series cards; users will presumably be able to install a driver update in July that enables the new feature. Games that support the older FSR 3.1 can also be forced to use FSR 4 in the Radeon graphics driver.

AMD’s FSR competes primarily with Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) upscaling technology, which tends to be more widely supported in games and deliver better results (partly because it has always been hardware-accelerated, something FSR only started doing in version 4). Part of the appeal of previous FSR versions is that they worked on pretty much any reasonably modern GPU hardware, including Intel’s integrated graphics and old GeForce GPUs that didn’t support DLSS. FSR 4.1 still won’t be as widely compatible as older versions were, even with the expanded hardware support.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 15 May 2026 at 7:15 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

The AI race among Big Tech companies is no longer limited to introducing more advanced AI models and smarter chatbots. These companies are now competing to acquire smaller AI startups to leverage their technology and talent to strengthen their own AI efforts. Microsoft, an early investor in OpenAI, is now looking to add more AI startups to its portfolio.

According to a Reuters report citing five people familiar with the matter, Microsoft has begun searching for AI startups that may be open to acquisition by the software giant. The company’s goal is to bring in AI talent from these startups while also using their technology to develop in-house cutting-edge AI models.

One of the AI startups in Microsoft’s sights is Inception, a 2024-founded company led by a group of Stanford University graduates focused on developing large language models. In late 2025, Microsoft invested in Inception through its venture fund M12. Inception's founders are reportedly looking for a price of over $1 billion. However, discussions are still ongoing, and no deal has been finalized yet.

Microsoft was an early investor in OpenAI in 2019, and since then, the software giant has invested roughly $100 billion in the ChatGPT creator. Meanwhile, OpenAI has recently begun loosening its ties with Microsoft and has signed new cloud and investment agreements with other tech giants, including Amazon.

At the same time, Microsoft has intensified efforts to reduce its reliance on OpenAI’s models by developing more in-house large language models (LLMs). Acquiring AI startups and their talent will also help the Redmond-based firm to diversify its partnerships beyond OpenAI.

Last month, SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, announced a partnership with the AI coding startup Cursor, along with an option to acquire the company for roughly $60 billion. However, reports later revealed that Microsoft had previously explored acquiring Cursor before SpaceX, but ultimately decided not to proceed with a bid due to concerns about regulatory scrutiny.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 15 May 2026 at 7:14 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Following a quarter in which his company delivered record revenue, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins announced that the company’s latest round of layoffs begins today.

In a blog post yesterday, Robbins was quick to boast that Cisco’s fiscal Q3 2026 earnings saw revenue increase 12 percent year-over-year to $15.8 billion. He told employees that he and the rest of Cisco’s executive leadership team “could not be prouder of the growth you have all delivered for Cisco.”

But that pride could apparently not save the company’s successful employees from unemployment.

“We are making changes today that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce in Q4 by fewer than 4,000 jobs, representing less than 5 percent of our total employee base,” he wrote. “Most notifications will begin on May 14 and continue globally in alignment with applicable local laws and regulations.”

As with many layoffs at tech companies recently, Cisco’s job losses are attributed to the growth of AI. Robbins’ blog noted that companies that “will win in the AI era” need to demonstrate the “focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest.”

“This means making hard decisions—about where we invest, how we’re organized, and how our cost structure reflects the opportunity in front of us,” Cisco’s chief said.

Cisco plans to turn the layoffs into investments in “silicon, optics, security, and in our employees’ use of AI across the company,” according to Robbins.

In its earnings report released on Wednesday, Cisco said it sold $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure from hyperscalers so far this fiscal year. It is now expecting orders for the fiscal year to reach $9 billion, up from $5 billion, and revenue to reach $4 billion instead of $3 billion.

During a call with investors on Wednesday night, Cisco executives discussed the layoffs further, with CFO Mark Patterson saying, “This was really not a savings-driven restructure,” according to a transcript of the call.

“Things are moving incredibly fast right now,” he said. “And this is more realigning from an already strong base, as you’re seeing in our financials, but really realigning resources around silicon, optics, security, and AI. And so being able to move fast, we don’t always have the exact resources that we need going forward in the right places. And so that’s really what this is about versus savings.”

Due to the layoffs, Cisco expects to “recognize up to $1 billion of pre-tax charges with $450 million to be recognized in the Q4 FY ’26 and the remainder during FY ’27,” Patterson added.

“These [layoffs] are building from a position of strength and focusing on the technologies that will accelerate our growth, deliver unmatched innovation to customers and partners, and define our future,” Robbins said on the call.

Bonuses and training for laid-off workers

Robbins’ blog post said that affected workers will receive “pro-rated payment” of fiscal 2026 bonuses. The company also says it will offer services to help laid-off employees find new jobs.

“We will provide support in finding new opportunities, whether internal or external, through Cisco’s placement services—a program that has seen 75 percent of participants discover their next role,” Robbins said. “We are also committed to continued personalized learning and will provide one year of access to all Cisco U courses and certifications, covering AI, security, networking, and more.”

This round of layoffs follows the dismissal of 4,245 employees, or 5 percent of the workforce at the time, in February 2024, and about 6,000 people, or about 7 percent of the workforce, in August 2024. Cisco also attributed the latter layoffs to the need to restructure around AI and security, The Register reported at the time.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 15 May 2026 at 7:14 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

FromSoftware's action RPGs have never been known for pushing the envelope in terms of raw graphical quality, but in most cases, their fidelity is good enough that their phenomenal art direction carries them the rest of the way, and makes them look very impressive. One title in which this wasn't the case, though, is 2014's Dark Souls 2.

Dark Souls 2 has an attractive if not inconsistent art style, though it's let down quite a bit by the game's infamously flat and washed out lighting, along with many repeated textures throughout its levels. As a result, I've always felt it to be the ugliest of the Dark Souls games by far, and find the original as well as the third entry to be far easier on the eyes.

Thanks to the public release of a new mod that's been in a work-in-progress and in private testing for several months, however, it's now possible to transform Dark Souls 2 into the best-looking game in the trilogy on PC, which is something I never thought I'd say.

The mod in question is DS2LightingEngine, which is now available to download on Nexus Mods here. Developed by Ganaboy, it's a massive overhaul to Dark Souls 2's lighting and its visual effects that adds advanced path tracing (ray tracing), dynamic shadows that can be properly cast by light sources, upgrades its shaders, introduces volumetric fog, and more.

Notably, it is still in a beta state, so I wouldn't go in expecting a flawless experience without any bugs or glitches. Still as evidenced by the mod's preview images alone, it clearly makes a massive difference, and even makes Dark Souls 2 look like a modern release in some places. Check out the images below:

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

(Image credit: Ganaboy on Nexus Mods)

 

One thing to keep in mind if you decide to try the mod out is that it's going to make the game considerably harder in several places, as some areas will now be pitch black but still have enemies that detect you perfectly. You'll need to keep a torch or some other sources of illumination handy, which is something I actually think is pretty cool.

 

Another consideration: the DS2LightingEngine only works with the Scholar of the First Sin edition of Dark Souls 2 that came out in 2015, which is thankfully only $14.99 at Loaded right now (it's $39.99 normally). Also, you'll need a ray tracing-capable GPU to use the full path tracing version of the mod. If you don't have one, you'll be limited to the less advanced rasterization one.

 

Make sure to read the mod's full description on its page, as it explains how to install everything properly. Note that while it states the mod is safe to use while playing online, I did see one post from a player saying they were banned from Dark Souls 2's servers several hours after playing with it.

 

Another mod they were using may have caused this, but regardless: be aware of the risk if you decide to go online with DS2LightingEngine. Thankfully, once modder Yui finishes their Dark Souls 2 Seamless Co-op project, this won't be a concern anymore since it will use separate peer-to-peer connections.

 

Are you planning to try out the DS2LightingEngine mod yourself? What are your overall thoughts on Dark Souls 2? Let me know in the comments.

 

Source

---

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 14 May 2026 at 11:52 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

In 2024, a report claimed that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still intimately involved in the company's affairs despite stepping down from the board to focus on philanthropy. It further revealed that the executive's word is treated as the gospel and that he played a crucial role in fostering Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership.

Interestingly, a separate report revealed that Bill Gates was initially skeptical about Microsoft investing $1 billion in OpenAI, primarily because of its non-profit structure. "You're going to burn this billion dollars," warned Gates.

But as it now seems, Gates was wrong. A new report by The Information revealed that Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI has generated approximately $30 billion in revenue for the former between 2023 and 2025 based on the tech giant's corporate documents and internal material, which is more than twice its investment ($13 billion) in the firm.

For context, most of this revenue comes from OpenAI's infrastructure needs, with reports suggesting that the ChatGPT maker spent up to $23 billion between 2023 and 2025 to rent out Microsoft’s Azure servers. The rest of the revenue comes from AI-powered products and services, such as Office 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot.

That said, the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership has evolved significantly over the past year, first signing a new definitive agreement in October 2025 that will allow OpenAI to sever its ties with Microsoft only after an independent body verifies that the AI firm has indeed achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI).

As OpenAI evolved into a for-profit entity to secure more funding from investors, Microsoft now holds a 27% stake, translating to approximately $135 billion.

The partnership also recently turned non-exclusive. This means Microsoft will no longer need to pay OpenAI a revenue share. The new deal capped OpenAI's revenue-sharing payments at $38 billion through 2030, saving it approximately $97 billion when compared to the terms in the original agreement.

It's worth noting that tech giant remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner and its products will ship on Azure first. However, the ChatGPT maker can still provide all its products to customers across any cloud provider if it fails or chooses not to support the necessary capabilities.

Microsoft's partnership seems fractured