Hello Razer Community, we've come a long way together and 2023 is no exception. Over the last year, we've unveiled four top-tier Razer mice - Viper V2 Pro, DeathAdder V3 Pro, Basilisk V3 Pro, and Naga V2 Pro. Each of these stellar mice were meticulously crafted to cater to unique preferences and gaming styles, such as our MMO-tailored Naga V2 Pro renowned for its multi-button swappable side plate design.

Last week marked another exciting milestone in our ongoing journey - the completion of our full mouse lineup with the launch of the Razer Cobra line. These innovative additions have already sparked a wave of discussion and received multiple accolades including the Editors Choice award from CGMag, and awarded "The Best" from WindowsCentral.

Chinese tech tipster Enthusiast Citizen (ECSM) has once again posted about upcoming Intel CPU product launches—according to an inside info post (published via Bilibili), Team Blue has possibly scheduled their Raptor Lake Refresh/14th Gen Core K-series for a release window around the 42nd week of 2023 (October 17 - 23). ECSM posits that non-K models will arrive during the first week of 2024, coinciding with January's CES trade event. The Core i7-14700K model is said to feature a new configuration of 8 Performance and 12 Efficiency cores, and current LGA1700 motherboards will most likely require a firmware upgrade to run this specific SKU.

ECSM also seems to have insider information regarding motherboard chipsets for desktop Arrow Lake/15th Gen Core, although they cannot determine an accurate time frame for the (fully new) product launch. Intel Z890, B860 and H810 chipsets are named as possible upcoming candidates for proper next generation CPUs, with H870 allegedly dropped from development. ECSM claims that a competing AMD Zen 5 lineup is not arriving this year—prior insider information was perhaps fabricated. They believe that Storm Peak (Zen 4 Threadripper) is scheduled for Q4 2023, with two unnamed chipsets lined up to accompany this next-gen HEDT platform.

Hello and welcome back to the world of marbles - it's been a while! Straight to the news of the day—Marble It Up! Ultra releases on August 17th! It will be available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam (including Steam Deck) and the Epic Store. We'll be rolling out more info over the coming weeks in anticipation of the launch!

Be sure to check out our updated FAQ and drop by the Discord Community. A very special thank you to our community. Whether you've been here from the start or are about to roll with us for the first time - this game couldn't exist without the attention and dedication of those who play it.

What do heists, dinosaurs falling out of the skies, and puzzles all have in common? If it is anything other than "games coming to Xbox Game Pass", I would very much like to know! We have games coming soon that we announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase (looking at you, Exoprimal), and we even have a surprise return today with Grand Theft Auto V. Let's get to the games!

Available Today: Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud and Console)
When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber, and a terrifying psychopath find themselves entangled with some of the most frightening and deranged elements of the criminal underworld, the U.S. government, and the entertainment industry, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a ruthless city in which they can trust nobody—least of all each other. Includes both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S versions of Grand Theft Auto V.

In July 2022, Intel announced that the company was winding down its Optane division, effectively discontinuing the development of 3D XPoint memory that it has been marketing for a long time. Once viewed as a competitive advantage, the support for Optane has been removed from future platforms. However, Intel has announced plans to extend Optane shipments by another quarter amidst additional stock or significant demand from customers buying Optane DIMMs for their enterprises. Initially set to ship the final Optane Persistent Memory 100-series DIMMs on September 30, Intel extends this date by three months to December 29, 2023.

Intel states, "Customers are recommended to secure additional Optane units at the specified 0.44% annualized failure rate (AFR) for safety stock. Intel will make commercially reasonable efforts to support last time order quantities for Intel Optane Persistent Memory 100 Series."

HYTE, the PC components, peripherals, and lifestyle brand of iBUYPOWER, today, unveiled the new limited-edition Mori Calliope Y40 case and accessory bundle, in collaboration with hololive English, represented by the VTuber agency COVER Corporation.

HYTE's third case collaboration with hololive English and illustrator Rosuuri, depicts the famous VTuber, Mori Calliope, along with her mascot Death Sensei and scythe, Ricky, on the front and side panels of its Black Y40 PC case. Mori Calliope appears on the main side panel floating above a large skull hand, holding Ricky, surrounded by thorns, roses, and souls of the underworld reaching for her. On the front tempered glass, Mori Calliope appears in a closeup holding Death Sensei with her name in Japanese script descending the panel.

Kontron, a global leader in IoT/Embedded Computing Technology (ECT), presents the K3831-H Thin Mini-ITX, a newly developed motherboard - Made in Germany. The K3831-H offers the highest performance and functionality on a small as well as ultra-slim form factor and supports the Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 processors of the 12th and 13th generation. Despite the limited space and height, the K3831-H Thin Mini-ITX motherboard offers extensive connectivity options, including HDMI V2.0b, DisplayPort V1.4a, Dual Channel LVDS, Dual GbE LAN and 9x USB (2.0, 3.2 Gen 1 and 3.2 Gen 2). It is ideally suited for flat system solutions in the application areas of All-in-One and Tiny Box PCs, KIOSK systems and digital signage, among others.

The Thin Mini-ITX motherboard uses the latest DDR5 memory technology (max. 64 GB) for maximum system performance. The Intel UHD Graphics 7xx with Xe architecture support DPP, HDMI and LVDS and enable impressive visual presentation. The K3831-H offers an extended lifecycle of up to 5 years for long-term support and availability.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has announced the new Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, which has been creatively engineered to make incredible mobile experiences accessible to more consumers globally. Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 provides effortless, all-day use with fast CPU speeds, sharp photography and videography, plus speedy 5G and Wi-Fi for reliable connections.

"Snapdragon - at its core - is driving innovation while meeting the demands of OEMs and the broader industry," said Matthew Lopatka, director of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "With this generational advancement in the Snapdragon 4-series, consumers will have greater access to the most popular and relevant mobile features and capabilities. We optimized every aspect of the platform in order to maximize the experiences for users."

Google's Android logo has been reworked in recent times—their classic green robot design was debuted in a new 3D form earlier this year at CES 2023. 9to5Google reckons that the redesign will be rolled out soon, along with a new typeface. These are allegedly set to replace the flat aesthetic from the company's 2019 branding refresh. The specialist news outlets points to Google first teasing the 3D "bugdroid" head in early January via its Keyword blog, and further examples have popped up at trade events and conferences since then.

According to 9to5Google the reworked brand identity is official, but Google was acting coy about an official launch window—details will be revealed at a later date. Industry insiders posit that Google's new design language will debut with the release of Android 14 (codenamed "Upside Down Cake"). The next-gen mobile OS is currently in Beta (version 3) and has reached platform stability.

This Barbie is a gamer! Together with Warner Bros. Pictures and Mattel, Xbox is excited to invite fans on a fun, fashionable, and inspirational ride this summer to celebrate the much-anticipated release of the new movie "Barbie," premiering in theaters on July 21. Bringing Barbie's signature flair to our gaming platform, we're honoring all that there is to love about this iconic role model: her persevering optimism, wide-ranging career journey and never-ending capacity for self-discovery. Audiences of "Barbie" will follow the heroine to the furthest reaches of Barbie Land and beyond, and now fans can follow in her high-heeled footsteps with exclusive Forza Horizon 5 in-game content, an inspiring video about careers in gaming with a Barbie touch, the first ever Xbox Barbie dolls, and our most stylish custom Xbox hardware yet.

The highly anticipated film of the summer, BARBIE, comes to the big screen taking audiences to the vibrant world of Barbie Land - where every day is the best day ever! Now, the Horizon Festival will celebrate by giving Forza Horizon 5 players the keys to two stunning cars featured in this bold movie adaptation. Starting June 26, all players will receive the Barbie iconic 1956 Chevrolet Corvette EV and the Ken 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup in their Forza Horizon 5 Message Center. We're also hosting an in-game UGC contest themed around the joy, wonder and adventures of Barbie. Be it a photo, EventLab, or another type of UGC, share your BARBIE content on Twitter or Instagram before July 14, 2023, and include the hashtag #FH5BarbieMovie to be entered for a chance to win an unmissable BARBIE prize pack.

The Division Heartland will run a Closed Beta starting on June 27, giving players a chance to play a work-in-progress version of the game, explore the mysteries of Silver Creek, battle against NPC enemies and other players, and get a taste of what's in store for them when the free-to-play game launches. Visit the Heartland Closed Beta registration site to sign up for a chance to get in; note that this test is only available on PC to players in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.

Players who get into the beta will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and refrain from sharing their thoughts or gameplay publicly, but they will be encouraged to share any and all feedback with the Heartland development team. The goal of the test is to get input from the community; if you want in, register on the official Heartland site and keep an eye on your inbox as invitations will go out progressively over the coming weeks.

Jump into the managerial hotseat this weekend with Football Manager 2023 now available to play for free. PC and Mac users will be able to try out FM23 on Steam completely free until 13:00 EST / 18:00pm BST on Monday, June 26th. Xbox Live Gold subscribers can access FM23 Console at no cost before 9:00am BST on June 26th. To continue your journey to footballing glory after the free play period, take advantage of both titles being available at 50% off until mid-July.

Football Manager 2023 provides you with the closest thing to being a real manager, delivering unmatched levels of detail and drama as you write your own headlines and dominate the competition. If you already have a Steam account, getting access to FM23 is straightforward. On Steam, head to the Football Manager 2023 page. Instead of there being a button labelled "Add to Cart," the game will be marked as "Free to Play" and the button will read 'Play Game'. Clicking "Play Game" will add FM23 to your library and it will remain playable until the free access period ends.

Everyone at Insomniac Games is thrilled to announce that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will launch on Friday, October 20th, 2023, only on PlayStation 5. After the amazing fan reception for Marvel's Spider-Man in 2018 and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales in 2020, the team has worked tirelessly over the past few years to make this third installment in the franchise the sequel you have been waiting for. Built from the ground up for PlayStation 5 console, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will unlock the power of the console with better visuals, faster web swinging (and web wings!), 3D Audio, and near-instant character switching. We speak for all our collaborators and friends at PlayStation and Marvel Games, when we say that we cannot wait for you to get your hands on this incredible single-player open-world experience.

In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, players will get to experience Marvel's New York as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. As you saw in the PlayStation Showcase last month - the main storyline of the game will have you take control of both Spider-Men at different points of the campaign. In the open world, you will be able to switch nearly instantly between them as you explore Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Both Spider-Men have stories and missions in the world exclusive to each of them.

Chinese tech tipster Enthusiast Citizen (ECSM) has posted on Bilibili about future Intel product refreshes with a rough timeline spanning from late to 2023 to early 2024. We have been hearing a lot lately about Team Blue's Raptor Lake Refresh, with reports from this week suggesting that this lineup will be the last to sport Team Blue's traditional naming scheme—as 14th Gen Core. ECSM claims that Raptor Lake Refresh-K SKUs are due for launch this October, and non-K units will follow them a month or two later. Team Blue will likely be happy to keep LGA 1700 and 1800 sockets alive for another generation.

ECSM also brings up seemingly new information with an alleged Sapphire Rapids Refresh lined up for early 2024—suggesting that updated HEDT Xeon W2500 and W3500 series processors are incoming. The Intel W790 chipset should be able to run this rumored replacement lineup. ECSM's proposed product roadmap also presents wholly new product ranges including Meteor Lake offerings, albeit with desktop MTL-S SKUs cancelled—mobile-oriented Meteor Lake-H seems to be alive and well with an alleged Q4 2023 launch window. Finally Arrow Lake-S is predicted to launch in the final quarter of 2024 or early 2025—so we will likely have to wait another year and a half for upgraded Intel mainstream desktop SKUs.

Apple has struggled in the area of offering comprehensive gaming ecosystems - in the personal computer space - over the past few decades with only a handful of studios bothering to port their games over to macOS, but material presented at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) indicates that the technology giant is getting serious about its silicon becoming a legitimate platform for video games. A lot of the company's presentation focused on the controversial Vision Pro Headset, but some press outlets took notice of a quieter announcement during proceedings. Hideo Kojima (of Metal Gear Solid fame) made an appearance and announced: "I have been a die-hard Apple fan since I bought my first Mac back in 1994—and it has been a dream of mine to see my team's best work come to life on the Mac. Death Stranding Director's Cut on the Mac takes advantage of the latest Apple technologies to provide the best experience to our fans." Several other development outfits have also declared that their games are set for arrival on Mac systems this year. Apple was enthused about this new strategy and let everyone know that: "tens of millions of Macs can run demanding games with outstanding performance, exceptional battery life, and breathtaking visuals."

Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations stated: "A new era for gaming on Mac is here...Developers around the world can harness our powerful tools in Metal 3 to deliver incredibly responsive gameplay with high frame rates to more players than ever before." Their software engineering team has been working on a system that simplifies and accelerates the process of creating Windows-to-Mac game ports. A Proton-esque environment - comparable to Valve's software layer efforts with Steam Deck - is capable of translating and running the latest DirectX 12 Windows titles on macOS. Codeweavers revealed in a blog post that Apple has chosen to base the Game Porting Toolkit on their CrossOver source code.

Razer looks to be preparing a pair of Viper Mini gaming mouse successors according to information shared on Reddit recently—but the peripheral specialist has decided to relabel these upcoming offerings under a new product family, albeit still sticking with a serpent naming scheme. Photos of boxed examples appeared online a few weeks ago, and this weekend two listings have turned up (before any official announcement) on Amazon.ca for a higher-end $179.99 "Cobra Pro Wireless" and a more budget friendly $54.99 "Cobra Wired" sibling. Pre-order information indicates that these units will be out on June 29, although Amazon Canada has quickly removed the product pages from their site. Gaming mouse purists have immediately jumped on this leak with criticism leveled at Razer for bumping up the number of Chroma RGB zones on these new models (when compared to predecessors), but the company is likely targeting a more mainstream crowd this time round.

The Razer Cobra Pro Wireless looks to be a slightly cheaper alternative to the extremely expensive Viper Mini Signature Edition (VMSE), thanks to sharing similar core specifications including the company's flagship Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensor and 90 million click-rated Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3. The Cobra Pro makes do with a plastic shell (no weight specified), which likely saves on material costs when contrasted with the magnesium alloy body featured on the 49 gram limited edition Viper Mini SE. Compatibility with Razer's 8000 Hz HyperPolling Wireless dongle was not outlined in the now removed listing. Razer's 58 gram Cobra Wired seems to be a true follow-up to the original (2020) Viper Mini—with Amazon's leaked spec sheet pointing to a fitting of the same previous generation 8500 DPI optical sensor, although the new entry level model has been updated with Razer's third-gen optical switches.

The price of GDDR6 memory has continued to fall sharply - over recent financial quarters - due to an apparent decrease in demand for graphics cards. Supply shortages are also a thing of the past—industry experts think that manufacturers have been having an easier time acquiring components since late 2021, but that also means that the likes of NVIDIA and AMD have been paying less for VRAM packages. Graphics card enthusiasts will be questioning why these savings have not been passed on swiftly to the customer, as technology news outlets (this week) have been picking up on interesting data—it demonstrates that spot prices of GDDR6 have decreased to less than a quarter of their value from a year and a half ago. 3DCenter.org has presented a case example of 8 GB GDDR6 now costing $27 via the spot market (through DRAMeXchange's tracking system), although manufacturers will be paying less than that due to direct contract agreements with their favored memory chip maker/supplier.

A 3DCenter.org staffer had difficulty sourcing the price of 16 Gb GDDR6 VRAM ICs on the spot market, so it is tricky to paint a comparative picture of how much more expensive it is to equip a "budget friendly" graphics card with a larger allocation of video memory, when the bill-of-materials (BoM) and limits presented by narrow bus widths are taken into account. NVIDIA is releasing a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB variant in July, but the latest batch of low to mid-range models (GeForce RTX 4060-series and Radeon RX 7600) are still 8 GB affairs. Tom's Hardware points to GPU makers sticking with traditional specification hierarchy for the most part going forward: "(models) with double the VRAM (two 16 Gb chips per channel on both sides of the PCB) are usually reserved for the more lucrative professional GPU market."

Today, Focus and DON'T NOD shared a captivating Gameplay Reveal Trailer for Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, the poignant action-RPG where you hunt and battle supernatural horrors to alter a tragic fate. Coming end of this year to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, get ready for the game's thrilling action-RPG experience with new screenshots and the trailer which premiered during the Summer Game Fest.

Battle hand in hand, combining both lovers' skills
Play as Antea Duarte and Red mac Raith, lovers and Banishers—ghost-hunters who vowed to protect the living from the threat of lingering ghosts and specters. After Antea has tragically become one of the spirits she loathes, take on a desperate search for a way to liberate her from her new plight. In the haunted wilds of North America, enter the lives of New Eden's communities to unburden a world plagued with supernatural creatures and ancient secrets. Use your wits or combine Antea's spiritual powers and Red's powerful arsenal to defeat and banish the souls that torment the living.

According to the report from Reuters, Acer has apparently continued shipment of computer hardware to Russia, despite the firm supposedly suspending its operations in the country. With the war in Ukraine, on April 8 of, 2022, Acer published a statement: "Due to recent developments, Acer has decided to suspend its business in Russia." However, today Reuters reports that it has gained access to documents/data of customs that confirm that Acer has shipped computer hardware worth at least 70.4 million US Dollars between the period of April 8, 2022, and March 31, 2023.

Interestingly, Acer is a firm headquartered in Taiwan. However, Switzerland-based Acer Sales International SA entity shipped these units to Russia, thus not violating any Taiwanese sanctions to Russia that are in place. When asked about these shipments, Acer in Taiwan responded: "We strictly adhere to applicable international regulations and trade laws regarding exports to Russia." Additionally, the company stated that the Swiss subsidiary "had not shipped any laptops or desktops to Russia since April 8 last year." Still, instead, it had supplied a "limited number of displays and accessories to the Russian market for civilian daily use while ensuring compliance with international sanctions."

Seagate has recently published a preview of its next generation product hard drive lineup that utilize heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology. A company roadmap indicates that the first commercial release of 32 TB capacity HAMR Mach 2 drives is penciled in for a Q3 2023 window, with a short hop to increased storage (40 TB) models predicted for launch in 2024. Seagate is also expected to release 24 TB and 28 TB capacity HDDs - based on the older perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology - at some point in the near future. Technology news outlets anticipate that these two product ranges will co-exist for a while, until Seagate decides to favor its more advanced thermal magnetic storage solution. A lucky data center client has been getting hands-on time with evaluation HAMR hardware, as reported in late April. Seagate has since supplied other enterprise customers with unspecified HAMR HDD models.

Executives at Seagate have been openly discussing their HAMR products - destined to sit in new Corvault server equipment. Gianluca Romano, the company's chief financial officer, mentioned several models during a presentation at the Bank of America 2023 Global Technology conference: "When you go to HAMR, our 32-terabyte (model) is based on 10 disks and 20 heads. So same number of disks and head of the current 20-terabyte PMR...So all the increase is coming through areal density. The following one, 40-terabyte, still (has) the same 10 disks and 20 heads. And also the 50 (TB model), we said at our earnings release, in our lab, we are already running individual disk at 5 terabytes."

CAPS—& CATS—FOR CAUSES - Having raised tens of thousands of dollars in our previous Treecaps, Streamcaps, and Ukrainecaps runs, we're excited to launch the fourth installment in Caps for Causes: MT3 NoveltyCats. This time, we want to honor June's "Adopt a Shelter Cat Month" with a donation to the ASPCA on behalf of our Mech Keys community.

For these feline-focused novelties, we used the original MT3 Susuwatari First-Edition Cat Keycap mold to craft some absolutely adorable caps in Black-on-White, Dasher, Fairlane, and Dusk colorways. (If you're a Studio Ghibli fan, you may recognize the talkative inspiration for this particular cinematic cat.) With just 550 packs made—in brand-new colorways, no less—we're not expecting the NoveltyCats to last long. Get yours now, before the cat's out of the bag for good.

See the features bringing F1 23 to life on PC - ray tracing, custom graphics, control support, exclusive VR, and more bring the sport to life on PC. Be the last to brake in EA SPORTS F1 23, the official videogame of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship and discover the features bringing the pinnacle of motorsport to life on PC.

RAY TRACING
Ray tracing accurately simulates the behavior of light to closely resemble real-world physics, creating lifelike reflections, refractions, and shadows in real time. In F1 2023, further advancements have been made where certain scenes now include more complex ray tracing in the form of Dynamic Diffuse Global Illumination, which simulates the way light bounces off objects in the environment, creating more complex indirect lighting effects in real time.

LASER IN ON THESE NOVELTIES - With an entrancing aesthetic that blends elements of vaporwave, cyberpunk, and outrun, GMK Laser is one our bestselling keycap sets of all time. It's easy to see why—and it's hard to get enough. Whether you have the set or not, you may find yourself wanting a little more Laser for your setup. Enter the Drop + MiTo GMK Laser Novelty Keycap Set.

Originally an available add-on kit for its namesake set, this Laser-focused collection of keycaps is now debuting in a standalone run to satisfy Laser fans new and old. Quickly scan the legends, and you'll find no shortage of thematic novelties, such as the iconic outrun sun, a sports car, a bowl of ramen, several different hazard signs, and much more. You'll also see arrow keys and a WASD cluster, both in alternate colorways from the GMK Laser's original Base Kit. If you're in search of the complete Laser look, this is the set to set your sights on.

be quiet!, a German company focusing on creating PC components and accessories, had a strong presence at Computex 2023. Showing off its cases and power supplies, the company introduced a few additions to its portfolio of offerings. For starters, be quiet! has introduced a new case series called Shadow Base. The new Shadow Base lineup is focused on maximum airflow and maximum performance, where the company has made a new open mesh design that allows for "exceptionally high airflow." Inaugurating model of the series is the Shadow Base 800, which comes in three flavors: standard, DX, and FX. The standard edition is just a regular case without flashy RGB; the DX model has an RGB strip, while the FX model is tailored for maximum RGB illumination across the case. With up to E-ATX motherboard support, the case supports three or four 140 mm fans, depending on the variant. You can see the specification sheet below.

CD Projekt has responded to this weekend's rumors of a possible takeover bid by Sony's gaming division (Interactive Entertainment) - a leaker well known within the Destiny 2 community suggested that the (publicly traded) Polish games publishing and development group was on the cusp of signing up as first party entity. CD Projekt president and CEO Adam Kiciński addressed this matter in a company earnings meeting, he affirmed that no change in operations was incoming: "Nothing has changed in our end...So, I can repeat what we have been saying throughout the years - CD Projekt is not for sale. We want to remain independent. We have, I believe an excellent strategy. Not easy to execute, for sure, but it's very exciting to follow our own path. So it's a pure rumor." One of the company's PR representatives, Ola Sondej, also denied (on Twitter) that acquisition negotiations were in-progress: "Yah, we're not in such talks with Sony."

The earnings call also resulted in an announcement of The Witcher 3 selling more than 50 million copies - pointing to it being the ninth highest-selling game of all time. The Witcher franchise (consisting of three main line titles) has achieved lifetime sales of more than 75 million units. Despite this good news, CD Projekt has experienced a decline of 20% in net sales (for Q1 2023) - it seems that a reliance on continued revenue from older games can only go so far. Half of the main development team is committed to supporting Cyberpunk 2077, and finalizing a DLC campaign - Phantom Liberty, although CD Projekt has not yet set a firm release date for this extra content. Preview code is destined to make an appearance at this year's Summer Game Fest (June 9 to 10). Multiple Witcher games are in the pipeline, as well as a Cyberpunk sequel.