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UPDATE 10/9/24: Sony is about to start its PlayStation 5 Pro announcement. Ahem, sorry, its PS5 technical presentation.
You can watch along with us now via the video below:
ORIGINAL 9/9/2024: Sony has announced a PlayStation 5 technical presentation.
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A new film chronicling the rise and fall of Clive Sinclair's "now legendary" ZX Spectrum is set to premiere in London on 3rd October, 2024.
From Gracious Films, GEL, and MusicFilmNetwork, The Rubber Keyed Wonder "charts the development and creation of the ZX Spectrum from concept through to its first release, and the financial and reputational success it brought Clive Sinclair".
It also examines the enduring impact of several Spectrum games, including Jet Set Willy, Knightlore, Chuckie Egg, Ant Attack, and Saboteur.
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PlayStation's 30th anniversary celebrations kicked off last week - and in a somewhat unexpected way. Key art on the PlayStation Blog showed a range of Sony hardware old and new in the background and carefully tucked away was a console we hadn't seen before. Or rather, we had seen it before, but only via a sketch from billbil-kun. This looks to be our first look at PlayStation 5 Pro and now it's been confirmed that PlayStation lead system architect Mark Cerny has a technical presentation to give tomorrow. This should be our first indication of how Sony aims to position PS5 Pro and to justify its existence.
Documentation leaks from Sony's developer portal already tell us what to expect from the hardware. The Zen 2 CPU remains unchanged, but has an optional ten percent clock speed boost. The GPU moves from RDNA 2 architecture to RDNA 3, with the base unit's 36 compute units rising to 60 in the new machine. Without tapping into new features, Sony suggests that PS5 games will run around 45 percent faster on Pro compared to the standard model. However, machine learning silicon rated for 300 TOPs opens the door to PSSR upscaling - which we would hope to match the quality of Intel XeSS and maybe knock on the door of Nvidia DLSS. Ray tracing hardware is also beefed up, while the audio Tempest Engine of the standard PS5 also gains more performance on Pro.
What does this mean for actual games? ML-based upscaling comprehensively bests the software-based solutions on PS5 right now. Games will run at higher resolutions and higher frame-rates, while PSSR improves upscaling quality, giving it a further boost over the existing model. Games with RT effects can run more RT effects while titles without RT features can now run with them. And even if a game has no Pro support at all, an 'ultra boost' mode should see that 45 percent of extra GPU power brought to bear. deliveing higher resolutions in games where that is dynamic, and higher frame-rates too. Where we won't see too much of a difference is in CPU-limited scenarios - of which there are many.
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A month after Bungie acknowledged player "uncertainty surrounding the future of Destiny" following mass layoffs at the studio, the developer has announced "major changes for the future" of its live-service shooter, which will now receive multiple paid expansions a year.


More specifically, Destiny 2's overhauled release model, announced to coincide with the series' tenth anniversary, will see two "medium-sized" paid expansions release annually, alongside four "major" free content updates. All this will form a "new multi-year saga" (the first since Destiny 2's Light and Darkness saga concluded with its The Final Shape expansion earlier this year) promising new characters, factions, twists, and more.


Things kick off next summer with Destiny 2's first new expansion, Codename: Apollo, described as a "non-linear character-driven adventure". Elaborating on Bungie's new "non-linear" direction in a blog post accompanying today's news, game director Tyson Green explained the studio believes Destiny 2 has become "too rigid", and that its annual expansions "have started to feel too formulaic and are over too quickly with little replay value".

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Developer Mojang has unveiled changes to Minecraft's content release schedule that'll see the blockbusting sandbox adventure trade its traditional single summer update for multiple content drops throughout the year. And that's on top of the end for mob votes and more.


In a blog post outlining the future of Minecraft's development, Mojang said its new release model is designed to satisfying players' desires for "new Minecraft content more often", and will see content drops of varying sizes releasing "more frequently" each year. It also revealed it's been trialing the approach for a while, pointing to a December 2023 update that turned pots into functional storage containers and made visual changes to bats, as well as this April's Armored Paws update, which introduced armadillos, wolf variations, and wolf armour.


Alongside more regular content releases for Minecraft, Mojang said it's been focusing on "long-term initiatives to ensure we can continue to evolve [the game] long into the future". The developer also referenced its continuing work on a native PlayStation 5 release (a test build has been available to players since June), but didn't reveal when a full version might finally arrive. It did, though, say it plans to explore ways to improve Minecraft's multiplayer experience over the coming year, making it easier to find and connect with friends.

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Apple has unveiled the iPhone 16, claiming it'll be possible to play AAA games on all devices in the line-up - and not just on the pricier Pro models, as was the case last year.


Apple started bigging up the iPhone's AAA gaming credentials with 2023's iPhone 15 range, announcing the likes of Assassin's Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 4 Remake would all be playable exclusively on the ray tracing enabled iPhone 15 Pro.


12 months on and the iPhone 16 is here, offering what Apple claims to be a 30 percent CPU and 40 percent GPU boost over last year's model, courtesy of the new A18 chipset - designed to handle the company's computationally demanding on-device AI features, due later this year. And that extra oomph (which includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing on the iPhone 16) means AAA is no longer relegated to the iPhone Pro.

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Over 340,000 Team Fortress players have amassed as part of the ongoing #SaveTF2 campaign, lending their signatures to an anti-bot petition that has now been lovingly assembled into a hardback tome and hand-delivered to Valve's offices in Washington.


#SaveTF2 was born in 2022, amid a bot situation so severe, it was threatening to make Valve's classic team-based shooter literally unplayable. The community faced daily battle bots using game-ruining hacks, racist usernames, disruptive noises in voice chat, and worse - and with Valve doing little to help, players even took to fighting bots with bots of their own.


Happily, though, the community's first orchestrated #SaveTF2 campaign was a success, drawing Valve's attention and a pledge it was "working to improve things". That promise culminated in a mass bot ban, but the nuisances eventually returned - leading to a second #SaveTF2 campaign in 2024, this time in the form of a petition calling for the game's "persistent and continuous upkeep" to ensure those naughty bots remain in check.

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Towerborne was first revealed at last summer's Xbox Games Showcase, but little has been shared of the game since so you'd be forgiven for not being up to speed.
However, the game launches in early access on PC today, with a game preview and full release expected on Xbox (and Game Pass) next year. Indeed, early access is a major strategy as part of the game's launch, following in the footsteps of Baldur's Gate 3, Hades, and more. It's Diablo 4, though, that Towerborne is most readily aping.
To take a step back, Towerborne is part ARPG and part beat 'em up from Stoic Studios, the team behind the gritty yet beautifully animated Banner Saga tactics games. It's a change of pace, then, though it's similarly colourful and cartoonish. Away from the poignant storytelling, this is something charming that satisfies on a simpler level.
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Ex-Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Chris Deering does not believe recent layoffs across the games industry have been a result of corporate greed. Instead, workers who have lost their jobs should "drive an Uber" or "go to the beach for a year" until employment settles.
Deering was a guest on games writer Simon Parkin's podcast My Perfect Console, where the pair discussed games industry layoffs.
"I don't think it's fair to say that the resulting layoffs have been greed," said Deering. "I always tried to minimise the speed with which we added staff because I always knew there would be a cycle and I didn't want to end up having the same problems that Sony did in Electronics."
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Activision has confirmed there will be no campaign early access available for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
In recent years, Activision has given those who pre-ordered a Call of Duty game, such as with 2023's Modern Warfare 3, early access to its campaign. However, it is bucking the trend this year.
In a statement shared with Eurogamer, an Activision spokesperson stated the Black Ops 6 team is "fully focused on October 25th", and therefore everything will be released in one go.
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Five years ago, a small team of three people released a really rather special game out into the world, all about anonymously writing and receiving letters, which had also been written by other real people, and offering some words of encouragement to those who need it. This was Kind Words, a fitting name for a game that did so much to lift spirits and create a safe space for anyone going through a hard time.
In the time since Kind Words released five years ago, developer Popcannibal has been working on a sequel. It is called Kind Words 2, and unlike the original game where you were confined to a bedroom, in the sequel, there's a world outside to explore. Those wonderful letters still remain, though.
As for when you can explore that wholesome outside world for yourself? Well, there is not too much longer to wait. Kind Words 2 is coming to Steam next month, on 7th October. You can check out its release date trailer below.
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An Ubisoft investor has written an open letter to the company to express their "deep dissatisfaction" with its performance and strategic direction, urging the board to consider taking the company private.
The letter, from Juraj Krupa of Slovakian hedge fund AJ Investments and Partners, follows a second fall in Ubisoft stock in under two weeks: it dropped by 10 percent two days after the release of Star Wars Outlaws and, this week, has fallen by a further 7.1 percent.
Krupa, a minority stakeholder in the company, provides a detailed valuation of Ubisoft, as well as concerns about its future and a proposal for change (thanks GamesIndustry.biz).
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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is out today, pitting you as a defender of the Imperium against hordes of Tyranids and wiley Chaos Space Marine foes. The game has been well-received by all accounts following its initial preview outing, but it also offers a bit of a curveball when it comes to the usual balance of power between PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. With 30fps and 60fps modes on the table, what's the optimal way to play, how do PS5 and Series X compare to the PC version, and finally how does the Series S version fare?
First things first. On PS5 and Series X, you have a choice of a 30fps quality mode or a 60fps 'speed' mode, while Series S locks you into a 30fps experience at settings largely similar to the speed mode on other platforms - though the settings differences here are incredibly minor, all things considered.
In quality mode on the premium consoles, expect a dynamic internal resolution from 1080p to 1440p, scaled to a 4K display with FSR2. Speed mode has a lower internal resolution in the push to 60fps, ranging from 720p to 1080p, with the same FSR2 upscale to 4K. Series S has the same internal resolution range, 720p to 1080p, but scales to 1440p instead - a common output resolution for the 4TF machine.
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It's fair to say Astro Bot, Sony's latest PS5 exclusive, has captured the imagination of the Eurogamer team. It's a wonderful platformer, full of creativity, fun game design, and plenty of nostalgic cameo bots, described by Christian Donlan as "a wildly generous delight" in our Eurogamer Astro Bot review.
As he put it, "fans of bits and pieces are going to absolutely love Astro Bot" - but which of those bits and pieces are our favourites? It's not very often we feel this unanimously positive about something, so we thought we'd get together to pick out some of our favourite moments of design magic, be it intriguing concepts or specific levels.
Be aware there are a few small spoilers for Astro Bot below - and half the fun is discovering these moments for yourself - so read on once you've finished the adventure and let us know your own favourites in the comments!
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PlayStation is currently riding high following the release of its adorable platformer Astro Bot. Unlike the God of Wars and The Last of Us' of this world, Astro Bot is a family focused title, suitable (and definitely enjoyable) for players young and old.
Reflecting on Astro Bot's recent success, Hermen Hulst - PlayStation's recently appointed joint CEO - has now said the family market is "really important for us to focus on".
Hulst was speaking on the official PlayStation podcast, in a joint interview with Astro Bot's creative director Nicolas 'Nico' Doucet. During the discussion, the show's host asked if PlayStation would now consider putting more of its resources behind these games with a more family friendly feel, noting Lego Horizon is also set to release in just a few short months.
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