Gaming

Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) has announced the US retail availability of the Raikiri II Xbox Wireless controller, the company’s first Xbox certified wireless gamepad. On sale through Best Buy, it supports Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Windows PCs, and several of Asus' handheld systems including the ROG Ally and Ally X.

The controller uses tunneling magnetoresistance joysticks rather than traditional mechanical designs in order to reduce drift and improve motion accuracy and energy efficiency. It promises a 1000Hz polling rate in both wired and 2.4GHz wireless modes on PC, supported by ROG's SpeedNova wireless technology, which reduces input latency.

It is far from uncommon for Microsoft to release an update for Windows that causes problems with the operating system itself. It is also not unknown for Windows updates to cause issues in other software – and this is what some gamers have experienced.

In releasing a new GeForce Hotfix Display Driver, NVIDIA has pointed the finger of blame at a recent update for Windows 11 for slowing down the performance of some titles. Despite NVIDIA’s claims, Microsoft is yet to say anything about the issue.

Microsoft continues to release the same preview builds of Windows 11 to Insider on the Beta and Dev channels, and has just pushed out Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271. While the company focuses on the introduction of the Xbox full screen experience for PC – and this is certainly a big addition – it may not be the highlight for most people.

Certainly more useful is the arrival of the recently announced Point-in-time restore for Windows, and the expansion of the resume across devices feature. Also of note is a significant redesign of the context menu for improved efficiency.

TP-Link has announced a new entry-level Wi-Fi 7 gaming router aimed at players who want faster wireless performance without paying a premium. The Archer GE400 rounds out TP-Link’s Wi-Fi 7 gaming range, joining the GE800 and GE650 and priced at a more affordable $219.99.

Wi-Fi 7 builds on the Wi-Fi 6E standard and improves wireless stability and responsiveness by combining higher modulation rates and multi-band communication.

Headwolf has announced the Titan 1, a gaming-focused tablet made to combine high performance with portable design.

The Titan 1 is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8300 chipset, built on a 4nm process, with an eight-core CPU and six-core GPU. Headwolf claims the chip can handle demanding mobile titles such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile at high settings without frame drops.

Both Microsoft and Valve have issued warnings about flaws in the Unity engine that could expose gamers to attack. A new version of Steam has been released to plug the security hole as well.

Tracked as CVE-2025-59489, the Unity Gaming Engine Editor vulnerability has a severity rating of 8.4. The nature of Unity is such that the flaw affects multiple platforms – Windows, Linux, macOS and Android. There is good news for some, however; Xbox consoles, Xbox Cloud Gaming, iOS and HoloLens all remain unaffected.

Microsoft has announced that the price of Xbox Series S and Series X consoles is due to increase next month. This is the second time this year that the company has raised prices and the jump from the initial launch prices are quite extreme.

A 512GB Xbox Series S console is now a massive 25 percent more expensive than when it first went on sale – up from $300 in 2020, through $380 earlier this year, up to $400. For now, the price changes on impact the US.

It seems that nothing is immune to being injected with AI – certainly not if Microsoft is involved. Now the company is bringing Gaming Copilot to the Game Bar.

Currently in beta testing, Gaming Copilot is now available in Game Bar for Windows PC for Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview. The arrival of Copilot in another Microsoft tool is far from being surprising, but just what does this mean for gamers?

NVIDIA has answered a question that many people have been mulling over. It is now very well known that Windows 10 reaches the end of its life in October this year – although there is the option of extending support for up to year. But what of the software that runs on Windows 10?

Some companies – including Microsoft – have indicated when some of their software will no longer be supported on Windows 10, and now NVIDIA has shared some important information. The company has revealed to gamers how it intends to handle support for Windows 10 Game Ready drivers.

Microsoft has new options for gamers signed up to the Xbox Insider program looking for more from their gaming libraries. In addition to a cross-device play history that can be accessed from Windows and Xbox, there is also a significant update to the Xbox PC app.

Following an earlier library update, Microsoft says that it remains committed to making it “the go-to destination for your games” by adding cloud-playable console titles to the Xbox PC app.

Gaming has never been isolated from the prevailing technology. Whether it was the 8-bit consoles of the 1980s or the open, immersive worlds of today, every generation of gamers has experienced a change in the way games are played, viewed and experienced.

In 2025, another frontier is being opened up-one that may change not only the way we play, but where and with whom. Mixed Reality (MR) is quickly proving itself to be more than a fad, but rather the next significant step in gaming.

Microsoft plans to further reduce its global workforce, having already trimmed back on employee numbers several times this year.

The company is yet to provide exact details of the number of people affected by the latest round of layoffs, and it has also not revealed which divisions are to be hit. Microsoft has confirmed, however, that the cutbacks represent less than 4 percent of its workforce, leading to estimates of around 9,000 layoffs.

When it comes to capturing high-res video or running games on portable devices, storage performance can often be the deciding factor between smooth success and frustrating failure. Silicon Power is looking to give creators and gamers a reliable solution with the launch of its all-new Inspire microSDXC card.

The Inspire card is available in four capacities -- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The company says this card can hit maximum read speeds of up to 170MB/s. Write speeds will vary by model, with the 1TB version reaching up to 160MB/s and the 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities topping out at 150MB/s.

Despite the popularity of WhatsApp and other messaging apps, Meta’s Messenger (or Facebook Messenger) maintains an incredibly healthy userbase. Millions of people continue to use this stalwart of social messaging even though it has various limitations when compared to its rivals.

But Meta has just addressed an issue that has irked users for a long time: the size of file attachments. For far too long, a file size limit of 10MB has been in place -- a limit that is way out of line with modern file sizes (although it was higher for some users). Now it has been increased.

Continually seeking new ways to make Copilot seem appealing, Microsoft has turned to retro gaming as a lure. The company has released a browser-based version of Quake II to serve as a Copilot Gaming Experiences demonstration of AI capabilities.

Microsoft has married its own Research lab’s MuseWorld and Human Action Model (WHAM) to show some of the different powers of generative AI. The company says that “by generating gameplay in real time, the underlying Muse shows how classic games like Quake II can be reimagined through modern AI techniques”. But what will matter to most people is that it is available to try out now, for free.