South of Midnight is available now globally on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox App for Windows PC, Steam, Cloud, & Game Pass! As Hazel, you will explore the mythos and encounter creatures of Southern folklore in a macabre and fantastical world. When disaster strikes her hometown, Hazel is called to become a Weaver: a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits. Imbued with these new abilities, Hazel will confront and subdue dangerous creatures, untangle the webs of her own family's shared past and—if she's lucky—find her way to a place that feels like home. From the entire Compulsion Games Team: Thank you for your support, and happy playing!

Deep in the heart of the bayou, something stirs. Bigger than any gator you've ever seen, Two-Toed Tom is a legend of scales, survival, and insatiable hunger. More than double the size of the world's biggest recorded alligator, Tom is an unstoppable force of nature. To celebrate the launch of South of Midnight, in which Tom makes a very big appearance, Xbox has brought this monstrous gator to life in the gator-infested waters of Marrero, Louisiana, a location chosen for its haunting resemblance to the game's Southern-inspired setting. Murky swamps, ancient cypress trees, and the distant splash of unseen creatures make it the perfect place to step into Hazel's world and experience the bayou's dark magic first-hand.

The time has come—we're getting ready to share the first look at Marathon in this week's Gameplay Reveal Showcase! Join us on Saturday, April 12 @ 10AM PT from Bungie HQ, where we'll be revealing gameplay for the first time along with a few other surprises. Game director Joe Ziegler, franchise art director Joseph Cross, senior design lead Lars Bakken, gameplay director Andrew Witts, and senior social media manager Andy Salisbury will be sitting down to chat about everything we're sharing, and we'll be doing live Q+A from Twitch chat throughout the show.

Puzzles, decryption, and hacks
Over the last few days, the community has been sluething their way through encrypted puzzles and messages intercepted by the resistance group, MIDA. We'd like to recognize the collaborative hacking efforts of you all here today. Curious what's been happening behind closed signals? Here's the quick recap of what transpired across multiple days, social platforms, and websites.

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."

Last week, ZOTAC's Chinese branch fully unveiled their GeForce RTX 5080 Apocalypse OC graphics card via a special regional giveaway. The brand's Weibo account detailed a JX Online 3-themed competition, with the brand-new "elegant + powerful" card advertised as featuring: "a very beautiful mecha appearance, luxurious materials, and excellent performance." The Hong Kong-based manufacturer started to tease its new-gen Apocalypse model back in January, alongside familiar SOLID and AMP Extreme INFINITY offerings. Lucky winners will be getting their hands on one of ZOTAC's most extravagant shroud designs.

The latest iteration seems to sport a slightly evolved take on a previous-gen offering: ZOTAC's RTX 4080 Apocalypse OC SKU (see last photo below). We are likely looking at another quad-slot behemoth, with a sizeable ARGB ring surrounding the card's central cooling fan. The brand's design team has decided to go with a white backplate (instead of black), decorated with angular "mecha" graphics, while the shroud sports a few gold sections. Curiously, the latest setup seems to lack rear-mounting points for two extra mini-ARGB cooling fans placed over backplate cutouts—as seen on Ada Lovelace-era options. ZOTAC's January teaser hinted about Apocalypse SKUs emerging across their GeForce RTX 50-series stack (5090 down to 5070)—VideoCardz has heard murmurs about a possible RTX 5070 Ti variant being released in the near future. At the time of writing, ZOTAC China's website does not feature a dedicated GeForce RTX 5080 Apocalypse OC product page.

Taiwan's Original Price House and MSI are running a compelling promotion; involving the trade in of the manufacturer's signature "Lucky Dragon" figurines for a GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC graphics card. As reported by HKEPC Hardware, five lucky participants have managed to exchange completed sets—of nine individual toys—for GB203 GPU-based flagships. According to MSI's "Blind Box Of Lucky" landing page, ten exclusive designs—including a rare Maoi secret edition—were produced and then (randomly) bundled into VANGUARD Launch Edition packages. HKEPC outlined conditions: "applicable models include GeForce RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 and RTX 5090. It is limited to only 1,000 pieces worldwide." VideoCardz reckons that majority of Lucky Dragon VANGUARD boxes were sent to reviewers and influencers, so it could be challenging for mere mortals to accumulate a qualifying tally of cute plastic mascots.

As disclosed by HKEPC (a Hong Kong-based organization), one individual has gone to great lengths to complete the set: "a Taiwanese netizen posted in the HKEPC DIY group, hoping to purchase the 'Lucky Dragon' at a high price of NT$4,000 ($121 USD). After inquiry, it was learned that this is related to an event currently being held in Taiwan. As long as you collect 9 different Lucky Around the World Dragons before May 31, 2025 and keep the outer box, Taiwan Original Price House will exchange them for an MSI RTX 5080 VANGUARD graphics card worth NT$43,990 ($1332 USD), and there is no limit to the number of cards you can exchange." As of late January, the editor of Cool PC—a Taiwanese media outlet—was seeking to complete their set of MSI "Lucky Around The World" dragon collectibles. They used their news section to send out a personal request to readers: "when he has collected 9 of them, he can exchange them for a GeForce RTX 5080 at Original Price House!..The editor likes it very much, and is willing to exchange it with the lucky person who has collected a set of 9 different Lucky Around the World Dragons."

In the upcoming alchemy JRPG "Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land" available March 21st, a collaboration with "Tales of Graces f Remastered", an RPG from Bandai Namco Entertainment, has been confirmed. A collaboration costume from "Tales of Graces f Remastered" will be available as a free DLC in "Atelier Yumia." Please look forward to further information on the timing of its release.

Also, to commemorate this collaboration, a special illustration by the illustrator Benitama was released today. The illustration features "Yumia," the protagonist of "Atelier Yumia" and "Asbel," the protagonist of "Tales of Graces f Remastered," standing side-by-side wearing the collaboration costume. Walk the forbidden path, no matter where it leads. "Atelier Yumia" is a story about Yumia and her companions confronting memories and, despite their uncertainties, forging ahead on the path they believe in.

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.

Sapphire is readying multiple Radeon RX 9070 custom designs for next month's launch; official announcements and leaks have revealed upcoming PURE, PULSE and NITRO+ cards. The latter was identified in AMD's CES 2025 press material, but no demonstration sample turned up at last month's Las Vegas AIB roundup. A lone fuzzy low-resolution screengrab showcased the premium Radeon RX 9070 series card's hefty and blocky triple-slot profile. An hour or two ago, Everest (aka Olrak29) uploaded two alleged promotional images to social media. Thankfully, the leaked shots have arrived with decent pixel definition. Sapphire has initiated staggered marketing campaigns for its lower-end and mid-range RDNA 4 cards, so the latest leak has most likely preempted an upcoming official reveal of (possible) NITRO+ Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 cards.

Sapphire reserves the crème de la crème of feature sets for its premium-tier NITRO+ designs. Previous-gen examples were substantial prospects, and the incoming design is touted to continue that dimensional legacy. Well-heeled Team Red enthusiasts will welcome an updated triple-fan configuration and somewhat subtle internal ARGB lighting zones. The leaked card sports a luxurious "champagne gold" tinted shroud and backplate, with an optional detachable panel. The vented side plates sport a lighter-hue, but the elaborate triangular cut-out aesthetic could be off-putting to certain connoisseurs. Press outlets have honed in on the new NITRO+ model's hidden power connector design, potentially leading to a single input—utilizing a 12 or 16-pin interface.

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

The holiday season is here! MSI's Ultra Connect to New ERA Steam Code Promotion is your gateway to free Steam codes with our latest, most powerful products. Don't miss out - join now and gear up for an unforgettable gaming holiday!

About EZ-DIY Features - Motherboard, Liquid Cooling, PC Case
MSI has unveiled a new lineup of DIY-friendly products designed to simplify PC building for everyone, from beginners to experienced enthusiasts. The X870 (E) & Z890 motherboards come equipped with the EZ M.2 CLIP II, which enables quick, tool-free M.2 SSD installation, along with the EZ PCIe Release for easy and secure graphics card removal at the push of a button. The MAG CORELIQUID I series liquid cooling system features a universal UNI Bracket compatible with both Intel and AMD sockets. Its pre-installed fans simplify cable management to just one cable, while optional cable covers provide a clean and personalized look. Additionally, MSI's MAG PANO series PC cases offer tool-free panels on the front, side, and top, ensuring unrestricted access for adding side fans or radiators. MSI's user-friendly lineup aims to make PC building smoother, faster, and more enjoyable for everyone.

Ken Mendoza, Promotion Producer at Capcom, said: "Hi PlayStation Blog readers! We are very excited to share the newest trailer for Dragon's Dogma 2 revealed today during State of Play. In this article we will be diving deeper into some of the information revealed in it: the brand new Warfarer vocation, the vocation maisters, and the mysterious dragonsplague."

Introducing the Warfarer vocation
Wield a greatsword, chant high-level magick, and deceive enemies with illusions. The Warfarer is a vocation that allows you to engage in combat while switching between the weapons of other vocations. The Warfarer is a vocation exclusive to the main character, the Arisen. Warfarers can use all weapon types and learn the core skills of all vocations. It is the "ultimate vocation," so to speak. Some vocations excel at close combat, or are skilled at support, and the Warfarer can utilize the strengths of each vocation as the situation demands. The Warfarer has the potential to release powerful combos, such as using Trickster skills to deceive enemies and open opportunities to chant powerful attack magick. However, the Warfarer is not an all-mighty vocation. Their basic stats are not high, and they must carry many weapons in order to use their various skills. They will require the player's skill to exploit strengths in different situations, or else the vocation will remain a lesser version of each of the respective vocations. Only those who have honed their skills and adaptability will be able to bring out the full potential of this vocation.

MSI, the world's leading PC gaming hardware brand, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with CAPCOM to introduce an exciting game bundle promotion of their highly anticipated sci-fi game - Exoprimal. Now with the purchase of MSI select gaming monitors, users will have the opportunity to redeem an Exoprimal PC game code on MSI's official website and get a special MSI x Exoprimal Decal to enjoy the futuristic adventure in this epic game.

Suit up, adapt, and survive in intense battles against deadly hordes of dinosaurs!
Exoprimal is a team-based action game that pits "humanity's cutting-edge exosuit technology against history's most ferocious beasts". The game is set in the year 2040, offering a visually stunning futuristic world teeming with awe-inspiring landscapes and jaw-dropping dinosaur encounters. With its meticulously crafted environments and seamless gameplay mechanics, EXOPRIMAL immerses players in a high-stakes battle against waves of dinosaurs.

Microsoft last week quietly reintroduced its $1 first month promotion for new subscribers on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. This offer was retired back in March of this year, with the company announcing that it would be "evaluating different marketing promotions for new members in the future." Their research has clearly brought them back to square one—it is possible that the Xbox Games division is already reacting to negative feedback following an announcement regarding ongoing subscription and hardware price increases, as well as a decline in new player sign-ups since Spring time.

It should be noted that the console-only Game Pass tier ($11 per month) is not available as part of this 30-day starter promotion. The more expensive Game Pass Ultimate ($17 per month) is the only entry point on Xbox systems—customers are paying for a service that encompasses both console and PC platforms. PC Game Pass defaults to $10 a month, post the $1 introductory period. Microsoft has revised the conversion ratios for upgrades of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions to Game Pass Ultimate—from (the more favorable) 1:1 to 3:2. As an example—according to the new terms—90 remaining days of Xbox Live Gold/PC Game Pass converts to 60 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

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.

The Intel NUC12 Enthusiast Serpent Canyon is one of the best mini PCs people can find on the market right now. The 2.5L computer is only 1/10th the size of an average desktop PC, but packs a heavier punch than most PCs out there. The mini PC is powered by a beefy Intel Core i7-12700H processor, which employs 14 CPU cores (including 6 performance cores and 8 efficient cores), 20 threads, 24 MB Intel Smart Cache, and a max turbo frequency of 4.7 GHz.

There is also an Intel Arc A770M discrete graphics card, which has whooping 16 GB GDDR6 VRAM, and supports all mainstream media formats. The GPU is augmented by AI and accelerated by Intel Deep Link technology, making it a perfect choice for gamers and video content creators. The mini PC is also superb in terms of connectivity, boasting two Thunderbolt 4, six USB3.2 Type-A, two DisplayPort 2.0, an HDMI 2.1, two SO-DIMM DDR4-3200 MHz RAM slots and 3 interfaces for internal drives, etc.

AMD has refreshed its "Game On" promotion with Resident Evil 4 Remake - buyers are encouraged to consider Team Red's Radeon RX 7000 and 6000 series graphics cards. A free copy of this year's remaster of Capcom's original 2004 gory survival horror experience is bundled with the purchase of a qualifying product, before a July 1 deadline. AMD has also extended its existing bundle of Star Wars Jedi Survivor and AMD Ryzen 7000-series CPUs until June 30. Campaign material has also appeared (see below) boasting that Resident Evil 4 is best experienced on Radeon RX hardware.

Team Red has, thankfully, not limited their Resident Evil 4 + Radeon RX promo to its latest 7000-series/RDNA 3 graphics card models (not a lot of choice there!) - the full list also includes previous generation 6000-series/RDNA 2 offerings. AMD's website mentions the following valid products: RX 6600S, RX 6650 XT, RX 6700M, RX 6700, RX 6700 XT, RX 6750 XT, RX 6800, RX 6800S, RX 6850M XT, RX 6800 XT, RX 6900 XT, RX 6950 XT, RX 7600, RX 7600M XT, RX 7600S, RX 7700S, RX 7900 XT, and RX 7900 XTX. Certain laptops equipped RX 6000 or RX 7000 GPUs also qualify for this new promotion.

NTT-X, a retailer in Japan is advertising a strange promotion to its moneyed customers - a free Intel Arc A750 Limited Edition GPU with every purchase of an ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB OC Edition graphics card. You would normally expect a couple of extra digital download codes for video games as some sort of bonus incentive, but NTT-X has chosen a non-traditional approach to getting fancy silicon into clients' hands. The shop is selling the high-end ASUS card for just over $2300 (converted from the value in Japanese Yen), and mid-range Intel board will set you back roughly $350 (when sold separately). It seems that PC hardware prices in Japan tend to be higher when compared to USA market trends.

It is not really clear if this particular hardware outlet is experiencing slow sales for top-end RTX GeForce 40 series cards simply because of high asking prices, or it is having difficulty in shifting the Alchemist card due to wavering hardware buyer perception. Super enthusiasts with plenty of cash to spare on cutting edge tech will tend to purchase the best stuff available - perhaps NTT-X are offering their target audience a chance to construct a secondary or tertiary computer. These additional PCs could host the promotional Intel Arc A750 graphics card, with the retailer gaining further sales via customers buying more components for another build, be it for a compact computer or home theater/media center PC.

NVIDIA looks to be bundling Redfall with its RTX 40-series GPUs in the near future. It seems that UK hardware retailer Punch Technology was premature with its uploading of promotional material regarding the upcoming offer, and VideoCardz was quick to report on this leak. An exact start date for the promotion was not revealed, but the qualifying graphic card model products include desktop versions of RTX 4090, 4080 and 4070 Ti. Laptops equipped with mobile RTX 4090 or RTX 4080 GPUs will also qualify for the Redfall promotion.

The limited time promotion will offer up a bundled copy of the Arkane Austin-developed Redfall Bite Back Edition, which represents the most expensive ($99.99 or £83.99) and content complete launch version of the Bethesda-published title. Redfall is due to be released on May 2 of this year, for PC and Xbox Series S|X with online cross-play enabled between platforms

MSI, a leading manufacturer of PC hardware, announces the "Make Your Play" promotion, starting from March 3rd, 2023 (00:01 local time) to April 30th, 2023 (23:59 local time). In the end of 2022, MSI hit a new flagship model in the market - MEG Trident X2 13th desktop which leads the gaming desktop to the next level. In order to honor our customers who purchased MEG Trident X2 13th, MSI provides 30 pcs special gifts as a customized side panel for free!

The MEG Trident X2 13th was born for enthusiastic gamers who are looking for a powerful and well-designed system. With a view to serve our top customers, MSI wants to provide a premium service that gamers can not only personalize the shortcuts on their personal HMI 2.0, but also get a unique customized side panel in the world to enjoy the gameplay.

A new rumor suggests that Square Enix is preparing to release a Tomb Raider game bundle, the supposed leak claims that the bundle won't just include the modern games but also classics from the 90s. The package is supposedly set for release on Steam, Stadia, Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch, the promotional image also carries an August 27th release date so if these rumors are true an announcement from Square Enix can be expected in the coming weeks. The rumor is backed up by a recent extension to the "T.R.U.E. TOMB RAIDER ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE" trademark filed by Square Enix in 2018.

If true this bundle could contain over 15 Tomb Raider games released during the last 24 years from various consoles. What do you think of the leak and trademark extension, a sign of imminent release, or just hopeful thinking and some Photoshop skills?

MSI announced Steam Wallet credit offers for bundles of its AMD B550 chipset motherboards when bought with select 3rd generation Ryzen desktop processors. Get anywhere between USD $50 - $60 credited to your Steam Wallet when you pair an MSI B550 motherboard with a 3rd gen Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 processor, $40-$50 when bundled with a Ryzen 5 3600X or 3600, and $30-40 when paired with a Ryzen 3 3300X or 3100. The offer is open for sales of motherboards made between June 16 and August 31, 2020, from select retailers, in select regions. Find details of the offer here.

LIANLI Industrial Co. Ltd., world's leading manufacturer of aluminum chassis for enthusiasts, custom OEM/ODM case solutions and case accessories is proud to celebrate a successful year with all its fans across the globe. To celebrate, LIANLI is giving back to the global community with another giveaway to commemorate its 2018 product lines and welcome another year of innovation. LIANLI is inviting fans to choose their favorite 2018 LIANLI products and get the chance to win those items!