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I've been hoping for a long while that bad performing PC ports would become a thing of the past, but over the last few years, that hasn't panned out. The biggest examples of recent games are Rise of the Ronin (which I've covered previously), Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Monster Hunter Wilds, which all suffer from constant stuttering and rely on upscaling methods like DLSS for performance stability.It's not just performance either; the lack of ultrawide compatibility in some games today is alarming, as there's no secret that ultrawide displays have become more mainstream than ever before.Fortunately, Shift Up's Stellar Blade is one of the recent outliers, with fantastic performance and optimization, including ultrawide compatibility up to a 32:9 aspect ratio.This also applies to cutscenes, as some titles that do have ultrawide introduce black bars during cutscenes – and yes, I know this is to prevent some strange glitches from happening where you're not supposed to see them. However, I want more titles to include the option to disable black bars (as some games do).There are numerous popular games I've mentioned before that don't have ultrawide support whatsoever; I won't go into a full deep dive again, but Stellar Blade is another game coming from Sony's PlayStation 5 console that both runs well and adheres to multiple user configurations well – so this is another plea for other game developers to do better.Stellar Blade is a dream for most desktop and handheld gaming PCs(Image credit: Sony / Shift Up)To give you an idea of how good performance is in Stellar Blade, I've been able to achieve over 60fps at 1080p on medium graphics settings on my Asus ROG Ally, sometimes even reaching low 80fps. Switching on AMD Frame Generation sees the frame rate shoot up to 112fps – and notably, it doesn't feel choppy or laggy, since frame generation tech works best when the base frame rate is up to a good standard (and 60fps is perfect for that).With the Steam Deck, 60fps on lower settings is easily achieved, too, and this is perhaps one of the very few games that is Deck Verified, and lives up to it. It only gets better if you're using a device like the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which boasts more horsepower than its competitors.On the side of desktop PCs, Stellar Blade easily runs at over 100fps consistently without the use of Nvidia's Frame Generation, on the highest graphics settings. It's possible thanks to an RTX 4080 Super and an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D, and it's a huge indication of just how powerful PC hardware can be when games are made to run optimally.Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there aren't other games that don't impress with good optimization, but rather, there are too many bad apples among triple-A titles. Those bad PC ports leave a sour taste behind for those who spend on high-end hardware, because as good as those systems may be, there's only so much they can do to brute force things.It's also worth noting that handheld gaming PCs are becoming mainstream (or arguably already have), and while a portion of them utilize very powerful hardware, it's not the case with others like the Steam Deck. So, ports like Stellar Blade on PC are great for fans to see, and I'm hoping game developers and publishers can look at this as a template going forward.You might also likeGamers, I told you voting with your wallet matters – and Borderlands 4's price tag is a prime exampleForget the Switch 2 – this dual-screen handheld gaming PC brings back the glory days of the Nintendo DS, but with all your Steam gamesI'm almost certain that Capcom is holding a major character surprise for Resident Evil Requiem – and if it's who I think it is, I'll be stoked for launch

NetEase, the Chinese video game company that published Marvel Rivals and Bungie's Destiny: Rising, has announced its first single-player AAA game. It's a story-driven third-person action-adventure game called Blood Message, and as Polygon notes, it's in the vein of Uncharted and Assassin's Creed. The story is set in the final years of the Tang Dynasty, which ruled imperial China from 618 to 907. In Blood Message, players take control of a nameless messenger and his son "to deliver a message that holds the fate of their war-torn homeland."

Players will have to journey through desolate deserts and the vast wilderness of East and Central Asia. The trailer shows the messenger and his son fighting enemies in the desert, surviving avalanches, working with mysterious characters and discovering ancient artifacts. It also shows the game's cinematic cutscenes, stealth and survival mechanics, as well as the landscapes players can expect to see.

"We are ushering players into a new generation of high adventure with Blood Message," said Zhipeng Hu, the Lead Producer and NetEase Executive Vice President. "As our first completely single-player focused experience from NetEase Games, after two decades of deep dedication to the gaming industry, we are prepared to deliver a truly epic and cinematic experience for players around the world."

NetEase has yet to announce a release date, but Blood Message will be available for consoles and the PC. The game's announcement shows that Chinese developers are increasingly making more inroads into the AAA space. Black Myth: Wukong, which is widely considered as the first AAA game from China, was originally released last year and will be available on the Xbox in August.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/chinese-company-netease-is-making-an-aaa-action-adventure-game-called-blood-message-170052713.html?src=rss

Venice CPU doubles bandwidth with up to 256 Zen 6 cores2027 AI rack expected to deliver 144 GPUs with Verano chips AMD plans Verano and MI500 rollout with 36-rack infrastructureAt its recent Advancing AI event, AMD revealed some of the first technical details about its next-generation Zen 6-based processor, code-named "Venice.”Built on a 2nm process and packing up to 256 Zen 6 cores - a 33% increase from the current generation EPYC 'Turin' processor - AMD is seeking to raise the bar for AI-optimized compute power.It is expected to more than double memory bandwidth compared to current EPYC CPUs, hitting 1.6TB/s per socket. Venice also supports PCIe Gen6, offering faster communication between CPUs and GPUs.Pushing the envelope"Venice extends our leadership across every dimension that matters in the data center," said Lisa Su, AMD CEO. "More performance, better efficiency, and outstanding total cost of ownership.""It delivers 70% more compute performance than our current generation leadership Turin CPUs," she added. "And to really keep feeding MI400 with data at full speed, at even at rack scale, we have doubled both the GPU and the memory bandwidth and optimized Venice to run at higher speeds. Now we just got Venice back in the labs and it is looking fantastic.”While Venice headlines AMD's 2026 platform, Su also gave us a glimpse at what the chip giant is working on for 2027."We are already deep in the development of our 2027 rack that will push the envelope even further on performance, efficiency and scalability with our next generation Verano CPUs and Instinct MI500-series GPUs, so lots and lots of stuff to come from AMD," she revealed.This new system builds on the "Helios" rack shown for 2026, which houses 72 MI400 GPUs across 18 racks. For 2027, AMD is planning an even more expansive setup with 36 racks.Assuming a similar configuration, the next-gen AI rack could contain 144 GPUs. The Verano platform is expected to maintain the high bandwidth and performance efficiency established by Venice, likely with more memory and compute per rack.AMD has not officially named its 2027 rack, but we hear it’s being informally referred to in industry circles as a larger-scale continuation of Helios.Via Tom's HardwareYou may also likeAMD kills quad core server CPU from its server line-upAMD launches puzzling new graphics card that will not appeal to gamersAMD set to launch new Radeon Pro W9000 workstation GPU

Xbox has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a chunky console. It's recently taken on the form of an Asus gaming handheld, and it might even be packaged as a VR headset soon. According to an image leaked on X and Game Sandwich, Xbox is reportedly teaming up with Meta to release an Xbox-branded Quest 3S headset in the coming days. The rumored specs show a very similar build to the base model Quest 3S with 128GB of storage, but will reportedly be bundled with an Xbox wireless controller, a Meta Quest Elite strap and three months of Xbox Game Pass.

There's been no official announcement from Xbox or Meta yet, but a blog post from 2024 noted that the two companies were working together to "create a limited-edition Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox." While it's important to take this rumor with a grain of salt, Xbox seems interested in opening up its hardware for collaboration with other companies, as indicated by the recent release of the ROG Xbox Ally.

As for the rumored Xbox version of the Meta Quest 3S, those who already own the base model headset might not be the target demographic since you can already run Xbox Game Pass on it. Instead, this VR headset could be marketed as a convincing entry point for anyone looking to get into VR and is already familiar with the Xbox ecosystem. According to Game Sandwich's sources, this Xbox-branded VR headset will cost $399 and is set to drop on June 24.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xboxs-vr-headset-with-meta-could-release-sooner-than-we-thought-180512994.html?src=rss

Cybercriminals are recycling expired Discord links to launch silent, devastating multi-stage malware attacksA fake Discord bot tricks users into running PowerShell commands disguised as CAPTCHA fixesOld community invite links now lead to malware servers stealing your data and digital assetsCybercriminals are increasingly exploiting a lesser-known flaw in Discord’s invitation system to target unsuspecting users, particularly gamers, new research has claimed.A report from researchers from Check Point found attackers manage to register previously valid invite links with custom vanity URLs.The tactic involves hijacking once legitimate and trusted expired or deleted Discord invite links and redirecting them to malicious servers hosting multi-stage malware campaigns.From trusted links to dangerous redirectsThese hijacked links, often embedded in old forum posts, community pages, or social media, are being used to silently funnel users to Discord servers operated by threat actors.Once on these fake servers, users are greeted with what appears to be a standard verification process.A bot named “Safeguard” prompts visitors to click a “Verify” button, which initiates an OAuth2 process and redirects them to a phishing site.The site employs a social engineering method called “ClickFix,” where users are tricked into copying and running a PowerShell command under the guise of fixing a broken CAPTCHA.This action silently launches the malware installation chain, with the attackers using cloud services such as Pastebin, GitHub, and Bitbucket to deliver the payloads in multiple stages, allowing them to blend into normal network traffic.Initial scripts download executables that retrieve further encrypted payloads, which include AsyncRAT, a tool that gives attackers remote control over infected systems, and a tailored variant of the Skuld Stealer designed to extract credentials and cryptocurrency wallet data.Gamers have become a prime target, with campaigns even disguising malware as tools like The Sims 4 DLC unlockers - one archive named Sims4-Unlocker.zip was downloaded over 350 times, highlighting the campaign's reach.Through clever evasion techniques such as delayed execution and command-line argument checks, the malware often bypasses detection from even the best antivirus software.The threats extend beyond typical malware infections. The Skuld Stealer used in these attacks can extract crypto wallet seed phrases and passwords, effectively granting full control over victims’ digital assets.Considering the focus on cryptocurrency theft and credential harvesting, individuals should reinforce their defenses with robust identity theft protection services.These tools can monitor for unauthorized use of personal information, alert users to breaches, and assist in recovering compromised digital identities.While some might assume that endpoint protection tools would shield them from these tactics, the multi-layered, modular structure of the attack often flies under the radar.To stay safe, users must be wary of Discord invite links, especially those embedded in old content. Also, avoid running unexpected scripts or following suspicious verification steps.You might also likeThese are the best internet security suites availableTake a look at our pick of the best best VPNs with antivirus you can use right nowWorld's largest AI chip maker hit by crypto scam - Cerebras says token isn't real, so don't fall for it