The Xbox gaming handheld is reportedly in the early stages of development at Microsoft, but in the meantime, the PC giant is apparently working on unifying its gaming experience across the various platforms where its games are available. According to a Windows Central report, Microsoft is working on something called Project Rainway, which is "a set of in-game APIs and user interface features," that will take shape as a cross-platform Xbox user interface. This news comes after Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" ad campaign and some pretty notable changes to its Xbox Game Bar to make that more compatible with gaming handhelds. How this new API and UI will take shape is yet to be seen, but it will likely further blur the line between gaming consoles and PCs—something that the Valve Steam Deck has also done in the years since its launch.

This seems to align with Microsoft's current strategy around gaming, which has seen Microsoft Gaming head, Phil Spencer, confirm that the company is both working on its own gaming handheld and that, in the meantime, it is focussed on making the Xbox gaming experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible on current gaming hardware. Xbox is also seemingly moving away from console exclusives as a concept, as we reported earlier this month, and, according to Windows Central's sources at least, this is partly because Microsoft has noticed no measurable impact on Xbox performance as a result of moving Xbox exclusives over to other consoles.

Valve has rolled out a significant system update for Steam Deck, introducing substantial improvements across all models while delivering specialized enhancements for the OLED variant. The v3.6.19 update focuses on system stability, display quality, and overall performance optimization. Steam Deck OLED owners will particularly benefit from this update, which includes several display-specific improvements, including better color balance at low brightness levels and enhanced display uniformity. A previous memory leak issue affecting OLED units during gameplay has also been resolved, ensuring more stable long-term gaming sessions. The update brings the Linux kernel to version 6.5 and updates the graphics driver to Mesa 24.1, improving system performance and hardware compatibility. Users can expect better responsiveness from the Steam UI and enhanced performance during memory-intensive situations.

External display support has seen notable improvements, with fixes for various blank screen issues and better frame pacing with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) displays. Bluetooth connectivity has also been enhanced, with improved pairing for Apple AirPods and support for additional Bluetooth profiles. The Steam Deck Docking Station also receives attention, with new HDMI CEC features allowing for TV remote input, wake-up functionality, and input switching. The dock's firmware has been updated to improve compatibility with high-refresh-rate VRR displays. LCD model owners haven't been forgotten, with the update promising up to 10% better battery life during light usage and the addition of overclocking controls. Security improvements include fixes for Flatpak vulnerabilities and various system-level security enhancements.

Opera, the Norwegian browser company, is releasing Opera One R2, the new major version of its AI-powered browser. Building upon the modular design and integrated AI capabilities of Opera One, which was released in 2023, the new Opera One R2 introduces a host of new features and enhancements, making it the most powerful and best-looking Opera browser to date.

Opera One R2 features Opera's latest AI innovations. It also introduces dynamic themes that allow users to personalize their browsing experience with a static or animated interface, sound effects, and music.

Plasma 6 has come into its own over the last two releases. The wrinkles that always come with a major migration have been ironed out, and it's time to start delivering on the promises of the new Qt 6 and Wayland technology platforms that Plasma is built on top of. One of the outstanding issues has been to make Plasma a more artist-friendly environment by providing full support for the hardware that creative people need to get their work done.

For Digital Artists
Plasma 6.2 includes a smorgasbord of new features for users of drawing tablets. Open System Settings and look for Drawing Tablet to see various tools for configuring drawing tablets.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Epic Games today announced the deployment of Unreal Engine pre-integrated and optimized for the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform, a key platform of Qualcomm Technologies' Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions, to create an out-of-box solution that empowers global automakers to deliver immersive user experiences. With the cohesive human machine interface (HMI) solution, automakers will be equipped to develop high-quality digital cockpit systems that are customizable and scalable across all vehicle types, and tiers.

The collaboration marks the first time Unreal Engine is being directly integrated into Snapdragon automotive platforms. Through the technology collaboration, global automakers who utilize Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions will have exclusive access to Unreal Engine tools with optimized features, providing powerful, never-before-seen, in-cabin visualization capabilities, which includes fully customizable 2D and 3D visuals to set new industry standards for in-cabin environments.

A new patch for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora deployed on March 1, bringing more than 150 fixes and adjustments to the game. Title Update 3 includes technical, UI, balancing, main quest, and side quest improvements, plus additional bug fixes. To provide players with an improved experience, the development team, led by Massive Entertainment, listened to feedback from the community while working on Title Update 3.

An additional patch, Title Update 3.1, was deployed on March 7, adding additional fixes to the game. Check out the full list of improvements included in Title Update 3 & 3.1 here, and read on for the most notable improvements now available in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Update Mar 14th: TPU has received alerts regarding player feedback—Massive Entertainment's "Title Update 3" has reportedly broken their implementation of FSR 3 in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. We will keep an eye on official Ubisoft channels—so far they have not addressed these FSR-related problems.

Starting today, a new Home experience is rolling out to all Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. This update is designed from player feedback and makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games you already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.

We're excited to share more about the journey that led us here, and what you can expect with this new update.

Hello! We're excited to announce that we've just shipped a new version of the Steam Client to everyone. This update includes all the new Steam Desktop features that have been tested and fine-tuned in the beta branch. Before we get into the details, we want to thank our beta testers really quick - we couldn't have shipped without all of your invaluable feedback and bug reports!

New framework, new foundation
The most impactful changes in this update aren't immediately visible; much of the work went into changing how we share code across the Steam Desktop Client, Big Picture mode, and Steam Deck. These changes also means quicker implementation and iteration of new features. For example, many of the features in this update (like Notes in the overlay) are simultaneously shipping on Steam Deck because of the shared codebase.

Earlier this month, we shared that PC Game Pass is now available in 40 new countries, the ability to take the expansive Game Pass library everywhere you go with the Asus ROG Ally, and the new PC Game Pass Friend Referral program where you can invite your friends and play together. You can find Friend Referral invitations on the Game Pass Home screen in the Xbox App on PC, just click the "Give PC Game Pass" button to share with up to 5 friends. Now, we're excited to share the latest Xbox app update to improve your PC gaming experience. Let's explore the new features and improvements.

Improved Discovery with Updated Game Card, Filtering, and New Collections
We've updated game cards throughout the app to give you more information and convenience. Now, you can see the game's title along with contextual metadata like publisher, pricing, HowLongToBeat time, coming to Game Pass date, leaving Game Pass date for those games leaving soon, and more! You will see all this information as you browse through games in the app. We have also made it easier for you to filter and sort game collections and your library with new filter options, including accessibility features and game ratings, as well as introducing HowLongToBeat as a new sorting option. This way, you can easily find the games you love and discover new ones that match your preferences.

NVIDIA and VMware are helping professionals elevate extended reality (XR) by streaming from the cloud with Workspace ONE XR Hub, which includes an integration of NVIDIA CloudXR. Now available, Workspace ONE XR Hub enhances the user experience for VR headsets through advanced authentication and customization options. Combined with the cutting-edge streaming capabilities of CloudXR, Workspace ONE XR Hub enables more professionals, design teams and developers to quickly and securely access complex immersive environments using all-in-one headsets.

Many organizations across industries use XR technologies to boost productivity and enhance creativity. However, teams often come across challenges when it comes to integrating XR into their workflows. That's why NVIDIA and VMware are working together to make it easier for enterprises to adopt augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Whether it's running immersive training sessions or conducting virtual design reviews, professionals can achieve the highest fidelity experience with greater mobility through Workspace ONE XR Hub and CloudXR.

On June 6, a new plane of Hell will open, giving way to endless hours of demon-slaying fun in Diablo IV. The team saw this as an opportunity to improve the accessibility offerings within the game, and they took careful steps to ensure that every new feature added would break down barriers that kept players from playing—a flame that guided them all through development.

OUR GUIDING FLAME
"The only limitation to adventuring in Sanctuary should be interest, not capability," said lead accessibility designer Drew McCrory when the team began ideating on the game's potential accessibility features. Starting with the bedrock laid forth in Diablo II: Resurrected, the team began to construct accessibility features that struck a balance between being useful for players with disabilities while being careful not to mar gameplay for others. From there, the team continued to smooth out the rough edges of the features in their incubation tank until they provided additional usability without altering the core gameplay loop. What they were left with were accessibility options that empower as many players as possible.

Popular gaming hardware content creator, ETA PRIME, yesterday teased that his ASUS ROG Ally preview unit was seemingly running Valve's Steam Deck operating system - the short YouTube video provided a glimpse of basic UI functionality as well as in-game performance (Forza Horizon 5). He promised that a full video was incoming, thus providing a full explanation of his modification process and a more in-depth exploration of more games running on the formerly Windows 11-based example. ETA PRIME has delivered on his earlier pledge - the first look/early impressions video was released only a few hours ago (at the time of writing). He reveals that his test platform ROG Ally is not running on Valve's Steam OS.

He has resorted to installing a gaming-focused Linux distro called Chimera OS - he notes that the similar HoloISO platform was not booting up on his handheld unit. On-board audio is reported to be non-functional - the Ally is connected to an external USB-C hub that outputs sound via the in-built 3.5 mm jack. Wi-Fi performance is reported to be inconsistent, ETA PRIME says that he has to reset the system in order to re-establish online connectivity. He was largely impressed with the Ally's gaming performance in a Linux-based environment, but prefers the Steam Deck's power efficiency. He will look into lowering the Ally's TDP, but there is no sure-fire way of making optimizations within the Chimera OS test build.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day is an exciting moment for Xbox to recognize the importance of accessibility, celebrate the players and developers with disabilities that are part of our vibrant, global gaming community, and highlight recent accessibility work at Xbox. To meet the needs of over 427 million players with disabilities, and create a platform where everyone feels welcome, safe, and represented, we know that accessibility awareness and support is something that has to happen every day and has to be part of the community culture. What this support resembles will vary based on the player, but ultimately, accessibility at Xbox is all about creating gaming experiences that everyone can enjoy.

Gaming is all about the power of connection and play. And it has been incredible these last several months watching the energy our community has put into learning about game accessibility, especially as we continue our own accessibility journey and push for a more inclusive games industry. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023, we're excited to share with you some of the work we've been doing in support of our Gaming & Disability communities, including updated accessibility support pages, new accessibility features on PC, and recognizing the achievements of thousands of Xbox Ambassadors who are showing how easy and fun it can be to learn about game accessibility by completing over one million Accessibility Explorer Path missions!

While accessibility is an important topic year-round, May is always special as we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day and recognize the strides made by the accessibility community and the games industry to make gaming more inclusive. At Sony Interactive Entertainment, we are committed to furthering that mission, so today we're excited to share new details and images of the Access controller for the PS5 console.

New details and product images
First revealed at CES this year as "Project Leonardo," the Access controller for PS5 is an all-new, highly-customizable accessibility controller kit designed to help many players with disabilities play games more easily, more comfortably, and for longer periods. Developed in collaboration with accessibility experts, the Access controller will include a wide array of swappable button and stick caps so players can freely create different layouts that work for their unique strength, range of motion, and physical needs.

Store Quick-Search now includes developer pages and tags, also it will be better at handling of misspelled words. Today, we rolled out an update to the Steam store search to add more ways for players to search. Recently we've noticed more players searching for particular store hubs, tags, or developers so we've updated Steam store search to handle those destinations. For these new results, we'll show a new format with a subtle background generated from images of the most popular games in that result. Let's take a quick look at all the recent search updates...

Search for Developers, Publishers, and Franchises
Additionally, players can now search directly for your developer or publisher if you have set up a homepage. For more about developer and publisher homepages, please see: partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/creator_homepage. Looking for a particular developer or publisher on Steam? Excited about a specific gaming franchise? Now those appear in the quick search results too. Looking for "Bethesda" games? Or perhaps you want to browse all the "Star Wars" or "Final Fantasy" games. Now you can!

Opera is unveiling Opera One today. Opera One is the early access version of a completely redesigned browser that is planned to replace the flagship Opera browser for Windows, MacOS, and Linux later this year. Based on Modular Design, Opera One transforms the way you interact with your browser, delivering a liquid navigation experience which is more intuitive to the user. With today's release, Opera One also becomes the first major Chromium-based browser with a multithreaded compositor that brings the UI to life like never before. Opera One also introduces Tab Islands, a new, more intuitive way of interacting with and managing multiple tabs. This news from the company comes just weeks after announcing its first generative AI features, including AI Prompts, as well as access to ChatGPT and ChatSonic in the sidebar.

Introducing the first implementation of Modular Design
Opera has a history of reinventing itself to address the changing needs of its users as well as the evolving nature of the web. With Opera One, the browser has been redesigned according to Modular Design. The new design philosophy, which is being presented today for the first time, will allow Opera to over time build a more powerful and feature-rich browser that is ready for a generative AI-based future. The Opera browser is thus beginning its metamorphosis into a browser that will dynamically adapt to the user's needs by bringing only the key features to the foreground: the relevant modules within Opera One will adjust automatically based on context, providing the user with a more liquid and effortless browsing experience.

Microsoft has introduced a handy new feature within the Windows 11 File Explorer application - an update was released last week (Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23434), and it adds a Photo Gallery feature layer. It does not look too far removed from the operating system's standard photo/picture viewer, as well as the discontinued (as of 2012) Windows Photo Gallery app - although the latter offered a wide range of image organization, photo editing and photo sharing functionalities.

Microsoft's Amanda Langowski (Head of Insider Program) and Brandon LeBlanc (Senior Program Manager) go into further detail about the latest addition in an official Windows blog: "We are introducing Gallery, a new feature in File Explorer designed to make it easy to access your photo collection. The set of content shown in Gallery is the same as what you'll see in the All Photos view in the Photos app."