F1 25 marks the return of the narrative-driven, Braking Point, an epic Formula 1 blockbuster mode set to excite players new and old when the game releases on May 30 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The fictional tale puts you right into the action, as the fate and destiny of the characters you control rests in your racing-gloved hands. So, with this being the latest instalment in the Braking Point story, how did we get here?

The Story So Far
While having roots back to F1 2019, Braking Point's debut in F1 2021 offered players the opportunity to adopt the role of Aiden Jackson, an F1 rookie looking to make a name for himself in the sport. He was met with many challenges along the way, including a ruthless rival, Devon Butler, a driver who would stop at nothing to succeed. In F1 23's instalment, which focused on the 2022 and 2023 seasons and the introduction of fictional team Konnersport, familiar faces returned alongside new protagonist Callie Mayer, the first woman to win the F2 Championship. The once infamous Devon Butler has his perspective of the sport turned upside down, opening up a spot for Callie's break into F1.

Coinciding with the launch of GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 "Blackwell" graphics cards earlier in the year, Original Price House and MSI initiated a compelling promotional competition for Taiwanese PC hardware enthusiasts. As covered on TechPowerUp at the end of last week, eager collectors of signature "Lucky Dragon" figurines were seeking the completion of whole "Blind Box Of Lucky" sets. A qualifying quantity—of nine individual/unique designs—would grant access to a "free" MSI GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC graphics card; supplied by Original Price House (a regional shop). The promo's original terms proudly proclaimed that "there is no limit to the exchange for a complete set." In a follow-up report, HKEPC Hardware put a spotlight on the campaign's apparent premature end.

The Hong Kong-based news PC news outlet provided evidence of the event organizers "modification of the rules"—advancing claim/collection deadlines from the (original) May 31, 2025 end date to March 31, 2025. Extra international attention has reportedly "ruined" MSI and Original Price House's local campaign. HKEPC commented on the circumstances: "it is understood that (the shop) originally estimated that the number of Lucky Dragon dolls that can be found in Taiwan is/was limited, but it obviously underestimated the power of the community. Many people bought dolls from all over the world at high prices to participate in the event, resulting in the store being 'overwhelmed with sales'." Last week's report suggested that five completed sets of Lucky Dragon figurines had happily been exchanged for premium-tier MSI GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC models. Within the last couple of days, another six "winners" have turned up with qualifying collections of cute toys. According to HKEPC's latest coverage: "this number (of claimants) is already double the original expectation. Therefore, according to the instructions of the manufacturer (MSI), Original Price House has decided to advance the exchange deadline to March 31."

A farcical "GIGABYTE RTX 5090 Super Bundle" was highlighted by PC hardware media outlets last week—the steep demand for flagship and high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" graphics cards has prompted the creation of many "innovative" anti-scalper selling strategies. Another ludicrous example has emerged courtesy of fresh news coverage focusing on an "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign." This competition is open to residents of India—EliteHubs advertises itself as a popular regional "computer accessories store and Esports tournament organizer." Unfortunately, current global market conditions have inflated prices of recently launched new generation graphics card models—the "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign" apparently rallies against such practices, albeit in an extremely limited fashion. The competition's author delivered crucial details: "we're thrilled to announce an exclusive opportunity where three lucky winners will each receive a brand-new COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra White OC graphics card—one unit per person! This powerhouse graphics card is available at the official NVIDIA MSRP of Rs. 1,10,000 (~$1265 USD)."

According to TechSpot, a quick investigation revealed that the advertised cost of ownership was accurate—they noted: "checking other online stores in India shows all the COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra W OC models are priced above that MSRP. This is a higher-end third-party card, admittedly, so it appears participants are getting the chance to buy it at a slightly cheaper price than usual. Still, most people expect competitions to have actual prizes, and the fact there will be only three winners is a bit comical." Prior to official launch—in late January—a Vietnamese customer managed to bag themselves the same model for a princely sum of $1400. VideoCardz did not receive a response from COLORFUL, prior to the publication of their news coverage. The Chinese AIB did not provide comment when asked about said promotional campaign.

Set in an eerie, Lovecraftian reimagining of 1920s America, The Sinking City 2 is a narrative-driven, third-person survival horror game coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2025. Harnessing the full power of Unreal Engine 5, we're crafting an immersive horror experience that will plunge players into a world of mystery, madness, and cosmic terror. But to take our vision even further, we need your help!

What Awaits You in Arkham?
After the devastating flood, Arkham is a shadow of its former self. A city partially submerged, abandoned by most, and left to rot. The remaining survivors have their own reasons for staying, but their presence offers no reassurance. Everyone has an agenda, and no one can be trusted. With a semi-open world design, Arkham is denser and more detailed than ever, packed with quests, secrets, and environmental storytelling. There's no hand-holding—you'll need to explore, observe, and piece things together yourself. Navigate its ruins on foot or by boat, uncover hidden paths, and discover areas that may have been better left undisturbed.

Martians have been visiting Earth for decades, abducting animals and humans and harvesting their atomic essence to create bizarre Martian-creature hybrids. This time they're here to claim our planet. In this turn-based strategy game, an unlikely group of commanders will lead Earth's military as they face an overwhelming Martian invasion. Fight high-tech saucers, grav-tanks and elite alien warriors in a battle for the planet's survival. Your secret weapon is the "Splice-O-Tron." With it, you can combine human "volunteers" with animals to create powerful hybrid super soldiers to fight alongside Earth's regular military.

Rain acid from the skies with the fast-moving cheetah-fly. Charge through enemy lines with devastating human-rhino hybrids. Or strike from the forests with your deadly squirrel-cow infantry. As the campaign progresses, you'll unlock new types of creatures, powerful unit upgrades and game-changing commander abilities. But as your army evolves, so will your enemy's, and you'll face everything from the sentient organic weapon known only as "The Creep" to the Martian's own mutant creations.

Zotac has come up with a new way to fight graphics card scalping by starting a "Priority Access Campaign" on their Discord server, with a Zotac employee named Bryant making the announcement. The plan is simple and has only one main goal: to help regular buyers get a real chance of buying NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5080 and 5090 models at the right price. These cards have been almost impossible to get because they sell out fast and end up on resale sites at high prices. Zotac says it wants to use its online community to help real gamers, not scalpers.

The process is pretty straightforward, with users being selected based on engagement in discussions and various challenges. Then, using a random number generator, eligible buyers will be selected. The campaign is already active (is limited to users in the U.S.) with special Discord channels to give out RTX 5080 models (currently Zotac has only ten RTX 5080 cards) while the RTX 5090 isn't yet available. The company has insisted on warning scalpers; each card sold via this method will have its serial number recorded, and any user caught trying to resell it at a higher price will be permanently banned from any future Zotac direct sales events or raffles. Zotac isn't the first to try this approach, in the past, companies like Newegg and NVIDIA have used lottery systems or sold directly to customers to avoid scalpers. While there is no guarantee of completely avoiding scalpers, the action is commendable and it is possible that we will see similar actions from other brands or retailers in the future.

UK-based games publisher Kwalee and independent developer Galaxy Grove are thrilled to announce their new game, Town to City. The game is releasing on PC via Steam in 2025. Town to City is a charming city-building game where players can build an idyllic 19th century Mediterranean town and help it flourish into a prosperous society. They can freely place and customise each element to create the perfect home for their growing population in this cosy city builder from the creators of Station to Station. Kwalee and Galaxy Grove are excited to unveil an announcement trailer giving players a glimpse of what to expect from the game.

"We're thrilled to partner with Kwalee as our publisher! From the very beginning, they shared our passion for reimagining the city-builder genre with a fresh twist. Their belief in our vision and their unparalleled in-house publishing expertise have been instrumental in bringing this project to life. Today, we're excited to share our announcement trailer and can't wait to continue this journey together as we bring our game to completion!", said Joost van Dongen, Founder of Galaxy Grove

Intel and 2K Games are teaming up to launch the Intel Builder Bundle, featuring the highly anticipated Sid Meier's Civilization VII. Starting today, gamers who purchase qualifying Intel Core Ultra processors (series 2) or Intel Core desktop processors (14th Gen) from participating sellers will be eligible to receive a digital copy of Civilization VII to play when the game launches on February 11, 2025.

"It's hard to come up with franchises in the PC gaming industry more iconic than Sid Meier's Civilization, and Intel is thrilled to continue its years-long partnership with 2K Games and Firaxis on the series' latest installment. Whether it's a marathon session with friends or just 'one more turn' before logging off, gamers around the world can depend on Intel Core and Core Ultra processors to deliver the best Civilization experience on a PC."

• Roger Chandler, VP and GM, Enthusiast and Workstation PC, Intel

Protectors of the Light, it is time! Age of Darkness: Final Stand has officially launched, marking the end of over three years in Early Access and the introduction of one of your most requested features: Co-operative Multiplayer. We cannot wait for you to jump in and try it out. Importantly, we are celebrating the full release of Age of Darkness: Final Stand with our biggest discount yet—available now at 65% off for a limited time only! There really is no better time for you or your friends to jump into the game (and you have our permission to bug them until they do).

If you are new to the AOD community—welcome! In addition to the new Multiplayer Mode, you also have Survival Mode and the gripping Campaign to experience, and they are a great place to start when learning the ropes. Take advantage of the game's range of difficulty settings if need be - there is no shame in playing on Easy! But if you are a Veteran RTS player and want to grab a friend to defend humanity against the forces of the Veil, do not be afraid to jump into Multiplayer and challenge yourselves with its increased intensity and faster pacing. The game truly has something for everybody!

Before Call of Duty, before Battlefield, before even Medal of Honor, there was Delta Force. Released in October 1998, NovaLogic's FPS was one of the original tactical shooters. Arriving just two months after Red Storm Entertainment's Rainbow Six, Delta Force put players in the role of a Tier 1 Operative, challenging them to complete 40 missions in various modern military settings. Though it shared some similarities with Rainbow Six, Delta Force was defined by its radical Voxel Space technology, enabling it to simulate warfare on battlefields far larger than any FPS that came before.

Delta Force was sufficiently successful to spawn a sequel, and ultimately became a series—including its most famous entry, the 2003 game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. Yet as Call of Duty and Battlefield took the popularity of real-world shooters to stratospheric heights, Delta Force struggled to keep up. The final game in the series, Delta Force: Xtreme 2, reviewed poorly, and as the world went wild for Modern Warfare, NovaLogic quietly exfiltrated the modern military shooter scene. Now Delta Force is back, though. Developed by Chinese studio Team Jade, the reboot is bigger, broader, and more comprehensive than any prior entry in the series. Featuring classic team-based multiplayer battles, a more modern extraction mode where players compete to scavenge loot in open-ended combat zones, and a co-op/single player campaign inspired by the series' legacy, Delta Force has its sights set squarely on the two FPS franchises that have dominated multiplayer shooters for over a decade.

Folks who admire their MacBook Pros can be divided into two broad categories that cannot see eye to eye - those who hate the touch bar, and those who think it did no harm. Either way, Apple felt it was best to send it the way of 3D Touch, after facing constant criticism over its lack of reliability.

To be fair, the touch bar was never a bad idea. It was entirely Apple's implementation and lack of usability updates that made it a chore to use. However, there remain people who miss its presence, as it was somewhat useful when scrubbing through videos or throwing in emojis every now and then. For such people, ENIAC technology has started a kickstarter campaign that promises to bring back the utility - and woes - of the infamous touch bar.

Grab your gear and your controller, soldiers. It's time to return to the battlefront. During yesterday's Nintendo Direct, Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games revealed Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection, which will see the beloved Star Wars Battlefront (2004) and Star Wars Battlefront II (2005) introduced to a new generation. Coming March 14 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam for $35.01.

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection features restored online play for up to 64 players, expansions to Hero Assault mode, and all previously released bonus content for both titles. Steam users will also enjoy Steam Deck support. Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection includes a galaxy of content inspired by the original and prequel trilogies, from famous battles across Episodes I-VI, to playable heroes and villains like Asajj Ventress, Darth Vader, and more, to unique modes and challenges.

You can now play the demo for 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far in the Steam Next Fest. Start your first strategic steps into 9-Bit Armies with the Overlords campaign. Play the first three missions, each with unique objectives and unlocks to try. Can you get a perfect result against our new AI challengers? After you have established control of your new forces commander try our new challenge mode, each one comes with a unique set of goals and twists to the game. Come back for a new challenge as we update them over Next Fest and see if you can reach the top spot on the leaderboard. Be sure to wishlist us and prepare for the full release that will include the co-op campaign, skirmish and multiplayer modes, and new modding support going far beyond what the previous game could do. Now go blow something up commanders!

Retro Real-Time Strategy Cranked Up To 9!
From Real-Time Strategy veterans Petroglyph comes 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far the sequel to their triumphant 8-Bit series of games. In 9-Bit Armies rally your military forces across a variety of battlefields and act out your strategy over land, sea and air. Deploy your airborne soldiers, destroy bridges, and aim your superweapons in a new kind of pixelated pyromania. Whether you are brand new to real-time strategy wargames or an experienced commander - 9-Bit Armies provides an extra bit of fun.

Steam Next Fest is here and we're thrilled to have you join us to play the first-ever public demo of Stormgate! The Steam Next Fest demo includes full access to the current closed beta phase, codenamed "Elephant." (Each Stormgate playtest build is named after a classic RTS unit, in alphabetical order.) Here are some key insights into the current game state and what you can look forward to during the playtest.

How to Play With Friends
While our party system is still under construction, you can easily play with friends by creating custom games, either public or private, and sharing the Lobby ID. Crush that smack-talkin' Major Galt together in our 3P co-op map, WRECK HAVOC!

Ancient forces threaten Sanctuary. Aided by your Seneschal Companion, hazard the many traps and devastating Constructs beneath the deserts of Kehjistan. Deep beneath the swirling sands, elemental forces are amassing for malicious whims of the demon Malphas. Only by descending far below the surface will you be able to cull this cursed threat from its root. Season of the Construct begins on January 23 at 10 a.m. PST. Prepare to uncover the powerful secrets of Zoltun Kulle's Loom with a new Dungeon type called Vaults, a seasonal robotic Seneschal Companion, and Weekly Leaderboards in The Gauntlet. Several key quality-of-life features—including almost constant Helltide events—arrive to help aid your conquests while fighting in the Vaults.

UNEARTH ZOLTUN KULLE'S LEGACY IN A NEW QUESTLINE
A new threat lurks deep beneath the sands of Kehjistan, where the Loom, an ancient technology—designed by Zoltun Kulle and Ayuzhan of Caldeum—has been usurped by the forces of evil. The Demon Malphas is responsible for twisting the Loom for his cruel whims. Zoltun's former companion Ayuzhan leads you through the treacherous Vaults, desperate to stop the formidable Malphas and his deadly constructs from overtaking Sanctuary. Travel to the Gatehall, a town center underneath Kehjistan that serves as your base of operations in the fight against the Constructs. The Gatehall is your conduit to access the deadly Vaults—riddled with elemental Hazards and Constructs, these Vaults are the key to harnessing the true potential of the Loom. Travel to the Loom to stop the threat at its source and defeat Malphas in a new Boss fight. To play the Season of the Construct Seasonal Questline, you must create a new character on the Seasonal Realm and have completed the Main Campaign. Take advantage of the Skip Main Campaign feature once you've completed the prologue if you want to jump right in!

Last week Bethesda announced AMD as its exclusive partner for Starfield on the PC platform, although the short video presentation did not tease upcoming hardware/software bundles. Details of a Ryzen 7000-series CPUs promotional campaign emerged seven days later thanks to a mini-store page appearing on Newegg's retail site. The Starfield promo was not active at the time, but AMD Taiwan has made it official that the event will be going live on July 11 (at least in that territory).

According to the freshly published event site their offer will be running until September 30, and product serial numbers will not be redeemable after October 28. Eligible hardware includes the aforementioned Ryzen 7000 processor family, as well as Radeon GPUs. Thankfully Team Red has made sure to make a significant number of RDNA 2 models eligible for the Starfield incentive, with the entry point being RX 6600. All discrete RDNA 3 cards qualify—starting with RX 7600 and jumping up to the expensive RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX GPUs. AMD Taiwan's info graphics show a two tier system—Standard Edition (NT$1990) applies to buyers of Ryzen 5/7 7000 series CPUs or Radeon 6600 through 7600 cards. Premium Edition (NT$2890) will grant a 5-day early access period—exclusive to buyers of Ryzen 9 7000 CPUs or Radeon cards starting at RX 6700.

You've been asking for it, and today is the day. With two upcoming downloadable content releases and additional, exciting cosmetic updates, players can look forward to a new level of adventure in Dead Island 2. Let's dive into what awaits:

First expansion: How does a billionaire prepare for the zompocalypse? A techno-death cult with a healthy splash of debauchery and gore! The first story expansion, Haus, will release in Q4, 2023.

Second expansion: Welcome to the SOLA festival, where LA's party people can greenwash their way to ecstasy and save the planet, one rave at a time. So L.A! SOLA Festival, will launch in Q2, 2024.

A huge thank you to all of our Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition players for your record-setting support and to everyone who has played Return of Rome so far! This is the biggest DLC launch in Age of Empires II history! We've been listening to your feedback and would like to share our plan to address the concerns regarding your in-game experience and your desire to see Age of Empires campaigns in Return of Rome.

We are actively monitoring the issues you're reporting and will address them as soon as possible. This includes disruptions to your hotkey settings, issues preventing UI mods from loading in correctly, and games failing to load. The hotkey disruption was a one-time adjustment. You can visit our support page if you need help getting them reconfigured. Our teams are paying close attention to the reports you make and are thankful for your continued trust.

Over the last few months, we have communicated details about customization, Endgame offerings, moment-to-moment gameplay, and given players a first-hand taste of Sanctuary through Act I during our Early Access and Open Beta Weekends. But what about the post-launch experience, and how do we plan to increase the heat? We'll answer this question by explaining our approach to Seasons, Season Journeys, Battle Pass, and the Shop, and how they work in unison to enhance and diversify the robust campaign and Endgame offerings available to players at launch. There was also a Diablo IV Developer Update Livestream today (see below) that further expands on the aforementioned areas—give it a watch after reading this blog.

Stoking the Flames of Hell: Seasons
Seasons are quarterly releases that will add additional gameplay features, questlines (with new and old faces alike), Battle Passes, Legendary Items, class balance changes, quality-of-life improvements, and much more. Seasons will introduce fresh concepts and ideas into the world of Sanctuary, for all wanderers to enjoy while simultaneously iterating upon your baseline experience. Above all, we want Seasons to be celebratory moments; something to look forward to and enjoy with your friends and other members of the Diablo community. Season 1 will begin in mid to late July, and to embark on this next chapter, you must first complete the Campaign. Because of this, we recommend you begin your pursuit of Lilith in advance so you can jump into the first Season as soon as it becomes available.

Deep Silver's intended hype train, has been derailed slightly today, for its forthcoming zombie splattering blockbuster ARPG shooter Dead Island 2. A launch trailer was uploaded to the game's official YouTube channel this afternoon, in hope of generating more pre-release internet interest. The uptick in marketing efforts has gained some gaming community attention, but leaked gameplay footage was uploaded to YouTube only hours before the debuting of the official launch video. A streamer identifying as Lucas Cosmico is reported to have played a pre-release version of Dead Island 2 last night, and proceeded to stream the opening moments of the single player campaign - 30 minutes of gameplay footage is still accessible on their YouTube channel at the time of writing, but potential legal action is likely to result in a takedown order.

The Dead Island 2 development cycle has not been a pleasant experience for those involved, according to multiple news pieces reported across the project's lifespan of more than a decade. Several studios have worked on the game, but publisher Deep Silver sought to remove the involvement of Yager and Sumo Digital at different stages of development. Dambuster Studios was declared, by THQ Nordic back in 2019, as the final resting place for Dead Island 2's production push. The Nottingham, UK-based studio happens to be a subsidiary of Deep Silver - the studio was offloaded to D.S. by Crytek in 2014, following substantial financial difficulties.

The Return of Rome campaign is set for a May 16 2023 release date according to a tweet posted by the official Age of Empires account. The latest campaign expansion for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition follows several (almost) yearly DLC drops since the re-mastered strategy game's debut in late 2019 - Lords of the West (January 2021), Dawn of the Dukes (August 2021) and Dynasties of India (April 2022). Last year's India campaign added a significant amount of content, in the form of three new civilizations: the Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras. Three new campaigns were added to the base game and introduced a trio of new empires: Babur, Rajendra, and Devapala. The entire Indian civilization within the game was renamed to the Hindustanis.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome was first announced, albeit briefly, during a livestream on 25 October 2022, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the real time strategy game series. Details are scarce about the actual content on offer, but the upcoming campaign is expected to feature all 16 of the original civilizations from the first entry in the franchise (AoE) according to an internal Xbox Games Studios memo.

Relic Entertainment, Inc and SEGA Europe Limited are excited to announce that Company of Heroes 3, the next instalment in the beloved RTS franchise, releases on PC via Steam on November 17th, 2022. Company of Heroes 3 will bring fans and newcomers to the series with the biggest and deepest single player experience in the franchise's history. CoH3 will offer four playable factions at launch and two unique single-player experiences, with the Italian Dynamic Campaign and the North African Operation.

Those eager to get their hands on Company of Heroes 3 won't have to wait until November to play it. Head over to CompanyOfHeroes.com now and sign up for Relic's community feedback program, COH-Development, to gain access to one mission from the newly revealed North African Operation. Players can try out the Mission Alpha and take command of the infamous Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) as they attempt to repel the British from their entrenched positions. The Mission Alpha is free to play on Steam for one week from Tuesday July 12 to July 19.

Activision today announced the reincarnation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, called Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered. "Originally developed by Infinity Ward, and now remastered by Beenox, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered delivers the full story experience with stunning high-definition visuals and the latest audio advancements. Whether you lived it back in 2009 or have yet to play this iconic blockbuster campaign, this is an experience hailed by critics as one of the most memorable and incredible single-player story campaigns ever." - said Activision in their announcement blog post.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is now available on the PlayStation 4, while support for the rest of the platforms will come on April 30th. Below you can check out the game trailer.

Born to fulfill gamers' satisfaction, MSI and Intel team up to offer gamer a game software pack bundle which includes up to eight games available such as Warhammer: Vermintide II and X-Morph you must not be missing. By purchasing a selected Intel 300-series motherboards and desktops from MSI, we grant you a free $180 plus software pack. The bundle starts from May 1st to June 30th.

News reported by Polygon paint the next installment in the metronome-like cadence of annual Call of Duty game releases as a much less interesting package than gamers are used to. Citing industry sources, Polygon is reporting that Call of Duty Black Ops 4 is going to shed its single player campaign entirely, citing a lack of development time to deliver it on launch. This is strange for a number of reasons. First, Treyarch, who's helming the games' development this time around, enjoyed a three-years development period to make the game happen; second, there's no need to do anything else than some incremental changes to the game's engine, as has been the case for COD games for years, so that couldn't have taken up much development time; third, using development resources to "just about" finish the games' campaign and then ultimately deciding to scrape it altogether just seems like a very bad business move.