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Kaiserpunk Now Available - Build, Industrialize, and Conquer in the Grand City Builder

Kaiserpunk, the highly-anticipated grand city-builder, from Overseer Games and co-published by Elda Entertainment, is now available on Steam for $29.99. Kaiserpunk challenges players to build thriving cities, maximize industrial power, and lead military campaigns across an alternate-history Interbellum Era (1918-1945). Combining large scale city-building, deep production chains, and global conquest, Kaiserpunk offers a unique blend of creativity and strategy. Players can shape their empire through military might or diplomacy—creating a city-state that will rise from the ashes of war and leave its mark on history.

"Kaiserpunk has been a journey of ambition and passion," said Danijel Mihokovic, game director on Kaiserpunk and co-founder of Overseer Games. "We set out to create a city-builder that not only lets you construct a metropolis but also challenges you to shape its destiny on a global scale. We're beyond excited to see players dive into the world and make history their own."

Respawn Entertainment & Bit Reactor to Showcase "Star Wars Turn-based Tactics Game" on April 19

Back in January 2022, Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games announced a new "Star Wars strategy game." Press material revealed a production collaboration between Respawn Entertainment and Bit Reactor. The latter party was described as a: "newly formed studio, helmed by games industry veteran Greg Foerstch (ex-Firaxis Games). Respawn will produce the new Star Wars strategy game while Bit Reactor leads on the development of the title." EA's PR piece did not go into major detail, given the very early nature of the generically monikered strategy project. In the interim, Bit Reactor has spent just over three years of production time on their mystery title. Last Friday, the official Star Wars website published a schedule for next month's Celebration LIVE! Japan event.

Eagle-eyed journos and fans soon noticed an intriguing entry, titled: "Bit Reactor Developer Panel featuring Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games." The April 19 early Saturday evening slot—4:30PM to 5:30PM, Live on the Galaxy Stage—will be dedicated to a "first look at a new Star Wars turn-based tactics game." According to reports from last summer, Greg Foerstch and fourteen other former Firaxis team members are involved in the making of the EA/Lucasfilm's unnamed Star Wars turn-based IP. Interestingly, a Bit Reactor 2024 blog post goes to great lengths in explaining that there is more to their internal makeup than being mere "XCOM" veterans. The scope of Respawn Entertainment's involvement is not clear, but Vince Zampella's studio is primarily working on an untitled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sequel. Earlier on in March, an ex-employee leak indicated the unfortunate cancelation of an unannounced first-person shooter game. Industry watchdogs believe that the now dissolved Respawn "new game incubation team" was tasked with the creation of a Titanfall multiplayer prototype.

Apple "A20" SoC Linked to TSMC "N3P" Process, AI Aspect Reportedly Improved with Advanced Packaging Tech

Over a year ago, industry watchdogs posited that Apple was patiently waiting in line at the front of TSMC's 2 Nanometer GAA "VVIP queue." The securing of cutting-edge manufacturing processes seems to be a consistent priority for the Cupertino, California-headquartered fabless chip designer. Current generation Apple chipsets—at best—utilize TSMC 3 nm (N3E) wafers. Up until very recently, many insiders believed that the projected late 2026 launch of A20 SoC-powered iPhone 18 smartphones would signal a transition to the Taiwanese foundry's advanced 2 nm (N2) node process. Officially, TSMC has roadmapped the start of 2 nm mass production around the second half of 2025.

According to Jeff Pu—a Hong Kong-based analyst at GF Securities—the speculated A20 (2026) chipset could stick with N3P. Leaks suggest that aspects of Apple's next in line "A19" and "A19 Pro" mobile SoCs could be produced via a 3 nm TSMC process. MacRumors has picked up on additional inside track whispers; about Apple M5 processors (for next-gen iPad Pro models) being based on N3P—"likely due to increased wafer costs." Pu reckons that Apple's engineering team has provisioned a major generational improvement with A20's AI capabilities, courtesy of TSMC's Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology. This significant upgrade is touted to tighten integration between the chip's processor, unified memory, and Neural Engine segments. Revised insider forecasts have positioned A21 chip designs as natural candidates for a shift into 2 nm GAA territories.

Samsung Reportedly Partnered Up with Palantir to Improve Chip Production Yields

According to The Korea Economic Daily, an unlikely alliance—involving Samsung Electronics and Palantir Technologies—was formed at the end of last year. Late last week, insiders posited that the South Korean megacorporation's Foundry business was going through troubled times. It is not clear whether the assistance provided by Palantir's AI-infused suite has produced pleasing results chez Samsung's flagship production hubs, but insiders reckon that utilization of the software started just before Christmas. Local media outlets view this unusual pairing as a "gamble"—reportedly, the new-ish initiative has targeted an improved "semiconductor yield (ratio of good products in total production), quality, and productivity."

The Samsung Foundry appears to be going "all-in" with its 2 nm GAA node process; industry moles picked up on signals transmitted by an alleged special "task force (TF)." This elite team is reportedly entrusted with a challenging two-pronged goal; get 2 nm GAA over the finish line by late 2025, alongside the (connected) finalization of a much-rumored "Exynos 2600" mobile chipset. The Korea Economic Daily news article mentions the expansion of a "Samsung DS Division AI Center" back in December (2025), but falls short of labelling this department as the aforementioned "special task force." Despite a previous reluctance to share sensitive data with external companies, the latest report suggests a significant change in strategy. Further details were disclosed: "(Samsung's) collaboration with Palantir is handled by the DS Division AI Center...The AI Center is an organization that merged the DS Division Innovation Center and SAIT (formerly Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology) AI Center, and is developing DS Division-specific technologies using AI, advancing development software, building AI platforms, and controlling and advancing facilities and infrastructure." Around late February, industry inside trackers predicted continued "smooth" progress with the 2 nm GAA node. Samsung Foundry's fully upgraded "S2" mass production line is expected to come online by Q4 2025.

People Can Fly Stepping Away from VR Development & Publishing

With reference to the current report No. 54/2023 dated 12 November 2023 regarding the conclusion of the agreement for the production of project Bison, the Management Board of PCF Group S.A. with its registered office in Warsaw (the "Company" or the "Issuer") informs that on 6 March 2025 it agreed with Incuvo S.A. with its registered office Katowice ("Incuvo"), a subsidiary of the Issuer, on the terms of the final stages of work on project Bison, which cover the period until the game's release, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. As part of these arrangements, there were minor changes to the scope of the project and the previous terms of mutual settlements between the parties. According to the changed plan for project Bison, Incuvo will participate in covering a small part of the costs related to the further production of project Bison in exchange for a share of a certain portion of future revenues received by the Company in connection with the publishing and distribution of the game, but only up to the amount that Incuvo allocates to increase the budget for the final stage of production of project Bison.

At the same time, the Management Board of the Company conducted an analysis of the current activities of the Company's capital group (the "Group") in the segment of games designed for virtual reality (VR) platforms, the prospects for further development within this segment, taking into account the current situation of the Group and the change in the market situation consisting in a significant reduction in investments in the production of new VR games by VR hardware platforms holders, which negatively affects the assessment of the future commercial potential of this segment, based on which on 6 March 2025 it decided to phase out the Company's VR game publishing activities.

US Self-Sufficiency of Semiconductors Unlikely According to Japanese Expert

According to Akira Amari, a Japanese politician and semiconductor industry expert, it's unlikely that the US will ever reach self-sufficiency when it comes to semiconductor production. This has nothing to do with foundries, as the US might manage to be self-sufficient in terms or raw chip production needs, but the country is said to be unlikely to be able to reach a complete supply chain of everything else needed to produce the chips. Countries like Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea and more are heavily invested in supplying not only components needed to produce semiconductors, but also machinery and chemicals.

Amari is suggesting that these countries should form a co-operative alliance to help strengthen their supply chains at home, rather than putting all eggs in one basket to try and appease the US. This statement comes after TSMC promised to invest an additional US$100 billion over an unspecified time frame in the US. Time will tell if he's right or not, but it's unlikely that any country will ever be self-sufficient when it comes to making semiconductors, regardless of how big they are or what natural resources they have access to locally.

Samsung Reportedly Planning Mass Production of "Exynos 2600" Prototypes in May

Late last month, industry insiders posited that pleasing progress was being made with Samsung's cutting-edge 2 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) node process. The rumored abandonment of an older 3 nm GAA-based project—in late 2024—has likely sent the South Korean foundry team into overdrive. A speculated Exynos 2500 flagship mobile processor was previously linked to said 3 nm node, but industry watchdogs believe that company engineers are experimenting with a 2 nm GAA manufacturing process. According to the latest insider report—from FN News SK—Samsung Foundry (SF) has assembled a special "task force (TF)." Allegedly, this elite team will be dedicated to getting a newer "Exynos 2600 chip" over the finish line—suggesting an abandonment of the older "2500" design, or a simple renaming.

Samsung's recent launch of Galaxy S25 series smartphones was reportedly viewed as a disappointing compromise—with all models being powered by Qualcomm's "first-of-its-kind customized Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform," instead of in-house devised chipsets. According to industry moles, one of the SF task force's main goals is a boosting of 2 nm GAA production yields up to "economically viable" levels (roughly 60-70%)—apparently last month's best result was ~30%. Mass production of prototype chipsets is tipped to start by May. Samsung's reported target of "stabilizing their Exynos 2600" SoC design will ensure that "Galaxy S26 series" devices will not become reliant on Qualcomm internals. Additionally, FN News proposes a bigger picture scenario: "the stabilization of 2 nm (SF2/GAA) products, is expected to speed up the acquisition of customers for Samsung Electronics' foundry division, which is thirsty for leading-edge process customers." A forthcoming rival next-gen mobile chip—Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2—is supposedly in the pipeline. The smartphone industry inside track reckons that Qualcomm has signed up with TSMC; with a 2 nm manufacturing process in mind.

ASUS Could Increase Product Prices Amid Production Shift from China

ASUS executives have warned investors that consumers may face higher prices later this year as the company accelerates its manufacturing exodus from China in response to anticipated US tariff policies. Despite efforts to absorb costs internally, ASUS acknowledged during its recent earnings call that production relocation expenses could eventually impact retail pricing. This comes as the PC industry braces for trade policy changes under the new US administration. While competitors like Dell and HP have already established diversified supply chains outside China over several years, ASUS faces the financial pressures of rapidly developing alternative production capacity. Such transitions induce significant costs beyond facility construction, including workforce training, supply chain reconfiguration, and temporary production inefficiencies.

"We will try to limit these costs to within a reasonable level. However, as we make further adjustments to production lines, it may become possible that we need to offset some of these costs to our clients," stated an ASUS co-CEO during the call. The executive noted that several competing manufacturers have already implemented price adjustments to compensate for similar expenses. ASUS wants to maintain competitive pricing despite these pressures, indicating a willingness to accept margin compression in the short term. Component-level products may experience more immediate pricing pressure than fully assembled systems, where manufacturers can partially offset tariff impacts through internal efficiencies. ASUS's cautious messaging suggests the company is attempting to balance shareholder concerns about profitability with consumer sensitivity to price increases in the competitive PC market.

Altera Begins Shipping Agilex 3 AI FPGAs

Today at Embedded World, Altera Corporation, a leader in FPGA innovations, unveiled its latest programmable solutions tailored for embedded developers who are pushing the boundaries of innovation at the intelligent edge. Altera's latest Agilex FPGAs, Quartus Prime Pro software, and FPGA AI Suite enable the rapid development of highly customized embedded systems deployed across a broad range of edge applications, including robotics, factory automation systems, and medical equipment.

Altera's programmable solutions meet the stringent power, performance and size requirements of embedded and intelligent edge applications. These hardware solutions, along with Altera's FPGA AI Suite, enable machine learning engineers, software developers, and FPGA designers to create custom FPGA AI platforms using industry-standard frameworks such as TensorFlow and PyTorch, and development tools such as OpenVINO and Quartus Prime software.

China Develops Domestic EUV Tool, ASML Monopoly in Trouble

China's domestic extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography development is far from a distant dream. The newest system, now undergoing testing at Huawei's Dongguan facility, leverages laser-induced discharge plasma (LDP) technology, representing a potentially disruptive approach to EUV light generation. The system is scheduled for trial production in Q3 2025, with mass manufacturing targeted for 2026, potentially positioning China to break ASML's technical monopoly in advanced lithography. The LDP approach employed in the Chinese system generates 13.5 nm EUV radiation by vaporizing tin between electrodes and converting it to plasma via high-voltage discharge, where electron-ion collisions produce the required wavelength. This methodology offers several technical advantages over ASML's laser-produced plasma (LPP) technique, including simplified architecture, reduced footprint, improved energy efficiency, and potentially lower production costs.

The LPP method relies on high-energy lasers and complex FPGA-based real-time control electronics to achieve the same result. While ASML has refined its LPP-based systems over decades, the inherent efficiency advantages of the LDP approach could accelerate China's catch-up timeline in this critical semiconductor manufacturing technology. When the US imposed sanctions on EUV shipments to Chinese companies, the Chinese semiconductor development was basically limited as standard deep ultraviolet (DUV) wave lithography systems utilize 248 nm (KrF) and 193 nm (ArF) wavelengths for semiconductor patterning, with 193 nm immersion technology representing the most advanced pre-EUV production technique. These longer wavelengths contrast with EUV's 13.5 nm radiation, requiring multiple patterning techniques to achieve advanced nodes.

Supermicro Expands US Manufacturing Capacity with Third Campus in Silicon Valley

Supermicro, Inc., a Total IT Solution Provider for AI, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is pushing forward with a major expansion, announcing plans for a third campus in Silicon Valley. The first building will be over 300,000 square feet, yet the third campus is expected to be nearly 3 million square feet when completed. With the mayor's support, this expansion strengthens Supermicro's position as an industry leader, accelerating liquid-cooled and Data Center Building Block Solutions for data centers and customers while creating new jobs and opportunities for local talent. Supermicro is the leading IT manufacturer headquartered in the USA.

"We are thrilled to grow our footprint in Silicon Valley," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "As AI factories become more prevalent, liquid-cooled data centers are critical to meet these increasing customer demands. We anticipate that up to 30% of new data centers will adopt liquid cooling solutions. Today, Supermicro can deliver 5,000 air-cooled or 2,000 liquid-cooled racks per month to support substantial orders. This expansion is a major step forward in our vision for innovation, investment in workforce, quality, Time-to-Deployment (TTD), Time-to-Online (TTO) service, and technological advancement."

Samsung Reportedly Progressing Well with 2 nm GAA Yields, Late 2025 Mass Production Phase Looms

Samsung's foundry operation has experienced many setbacks over the past six months, according to a steady feed of insider reports. Last November, industry moles leaked details of an apparent abandonment of the company's 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. Significant yield problems prompted an alleged shift into 2 nm territories, with a next-gen flagship Exynos mobile processor linked to this cutting-edge node. According to a mid-week Chosun Daily article, Samsung and its main rival—TSMC—are in a race to establish decent yields of 2 nm wafers, ahead of predicted "late 2025" mass production kick-offs. The publication's inside track points to the Taiwanese foundry making the most progress (with an estimated 60%), but watchdogs warn that it is too early to bet against the South Korean competitor.

Despite murmurs of current 20 - 30% yields, the Samsung's Hwaseong facility is touted to make "smooth" progress over the coming months. Chosun's sources believe that Samsung engineers struggled to get 3 nm GAA "up to snuff," spending around three years on development endeavors (in vain). In comparison, the making of 2 nm GAA is reported to be less bumpy. A fully upgraded "S3" foundry line is expected to come online by the fourth quarter of this year. An unnamed insider commented on rumors of better than anticipated forward motion chez Samsung Electronics: "there are positive aspects to this as it has shown technological improvements, such as the recent increase in the yield of its 4 nm process by up to 80%." Recent-ish reports suggest that foundry teams have dealt with budget cuts, as well as mounting pressure from company leadership to hit deadlines.

Intel Announces Ohio One Construction Timeline Update

On Feb. 28, 2025, Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president, chief global operations officer and general manager of Intel Foundry Manufacturing, sent a message to Intel employees in Ohio updating them on the latest planned construction completion dates for Ohio One Mod 1 and Mod 2 that are under construction in New Albany, Licking County, Ohio. I continue to be impressed by the progress you are driving on our Ohio One campus. We have come a long way since construction began, and I am grateful for all that you've accomplished to lay the groundwork for our future as we make Ohio one of the world's leading hubs of advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Last quarter, we achieved our "go vertical" milestone when the "basement" level of the fab was completed - and work on the above-ground structure is now underway. The campus has been transformed in ways that bring Ohio's natural beauty to the site. You are also doing so much beyond our campus to support Ohioans in our neighborhood and across the state by creating education and workforce development initiatives, building local business partnerships, and volunteering and investing in the community. I am proud of the impact you are making.

SK hynix Reportedly Developing "LPDDR5M" Memory, More Power Efficient than LPDDR5X Standard

According to South Korea's Money Today, SK hynix is currently engaged in the development of yet another variation of LPDDR5. The mega supplier of DRAM and flash memory chips has publicly disclosed its LPDDR5 Turbo (T) design—going back to late 2023; this iteration was advertised as the "world's fastest mobile memory standard." The first public demonstration of LPDDR5T (10533) was performed at last February's IEEE Solid State Circuit Conference. Currently, the familiar LPDDR5X standard is prevalent throughout commercial channels. Insiders believe that a proposed new "LPDDR5M" design will be released as a lower power alternative to LPDDR5X.

Insiders reckon that the unannounced LPDDR5M standard operates at lower voltages (reportedly 0.98 V), when compared to current offerings (X: 1.05 V). Given the nature of its acronym—Low Power Double Data Rate—this memory type was first devised with efficient operations in mind; ideal for mobile applications. An industry mole proposes that internal company discussions have highlighted a key percentage difference: "at maximum speed, LPDDR5M is ~8% more power efficient than LPDDR5X." The recent Money Today SK news article mentions that older LPDDR4 standards are classed as "legacy products" by company leadership. In contrast, LPDDR5 variants are (allegedly) categorized as "high value-added products." The rumored addition of LPDDR5M is viewed—by regional memory industry watchdogs—as a fortification (and diversification) of SK hynix's strategy; that already encompasses LPDDR5X and LPDDR5T. Tipsters posit that LPDDR5M memory is destined to feature inside next-gen smartphone devices with on-board AI capabilities.

Server DRAM and HBM Continue to Drive Growth, 4Q24 DRAM Industry Revenue Increases by 9.9% QoQ

TrendForce's latest research reveals that global DRAM industry revenue surpassed US$28 billion in 4Q24, marking a 9.9% QoQ increase. This growth was primarily driven by rising contract prices for server DDR5 and concentrated shipments of HBM, leading to continued revenue expansion for the top three DRAM suppliers.

Most contract prices across applications were seen to have reversed downward. However, increased procurement of high-capacity server DDR5 by major American CSPs helped sustain price momentum for server DRAM.

TSMC 2 nm Wafer Output Projected to Reach 80,000 Units Per Month, by End of 2025

Earlier in the year, we heard about TSMC being ahead of the game with its speculated trial production run of cutting-edge 2 nm (N2) silicon. Taiwan's premier foundry company is reportedly prepping its Baoshan and Kaohsiung plants for full-on manufacturing of next-gen chips. The latest insider whispers propose that TSMC is making "rapid" progress on the 2 nm (N2) front, as company engineers have moved onto an "intensive" trial production phase. Taiwan's Economic Daily News has picked up on compelling projections from industry moles; the Hsinchu Baoshan facility's current monthly production capacity is (allegedly) around 5000 to 10,000 2 nm wafers. The other 2 nm-specialist site—Kaohsiung—has reportedly moved into a small-scale appraisal phase.

TSMC declined to comment on recently leaked data points, but they released a general statement (to UDN), emphasizing that: "(our) 2 nm process technology is progressing well and will go into mass production as scheduled in the second half of this year." The Baoshan plant could ramp up to 25,000 2 nm wafers per month, once it moves into a mass production phase. Combined with the same estimated output from its sister site (Kaohsiung), insiders reckon that the combined total could reach 50,000 units per month. Following a predicted successful "second phase" transition, TSMC's most advanced facilities have a "chance" to pump out 80,000 2 nm parts (combined total). The latest murmurs suggest that this milestone could be achieved by the end of 2025. Industry watchdogs believe that Apple will have first access dibs on TSMC's upcoming cutting-edge offerings.

TSMC Reserves 70% of 2025 CoWoS-L Capacity for NVIDIA

Rumors previously suggested that NVIDIA might scale back its CoWoS orders from TSMC. However, according to a report from Economic Daily News, orders for TSMC's advanced packaging have instead seen a surge. NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture GPUs are in strong demand, leading the company to secure over 70% of TSMC's CoWoS-L advanced packaging capacity for 2025. Shipment volumes are projected to rise by more than 20% each quarter, with total annual shipments expected to surpass 2 million units.

Meanwhile, following the U.S. announcement of the Stargate project—which is anticipated to drive new AI server demand—NVIDIA is reportedly considering placing additional orders with TSMC. During TSMC's earnings call in January, Chairman C.C. Wei stated that the company is continuously expanding its advanced packaging capacity to keep pace with customer demand. According to reports, advanced packaging revenue accounted for roughly 8% in 2024 and is projected to exceed 10% in 2025.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 Reportedly Faced Production Issues

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 Ti today goes on sale, and we have reviewed a few of them. However, the RTX 5070 non-Ti variant has reportedly faced some production issues. According to CTEE reports, volume production was pushed back by one month, with manufacturing expected to reach full capacity by mid-March. Given that RTX 5070 is officially coming on March 5, we are left to wonder if enough capacity will be available for the launch day or if it will follow the same footsteps of scarcity that current RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 have experienced.

The unannounced RTX 5060's mass production has been pushed to mid-April, with both models requiring additional debugging due to unexpected issues. NVIDIA's engineers are ironing out all bugs to ensure stable GPU and drivers arrive on time. With the RTX 5070 using the GB206 GPU, the RTX 5060 is expected to implement a GB206 variant, with the in-development RTX 5060 Ti featuring a slightly larger GB205 GPU. For memory, RTX 5070 is expected to utilize 12 GB of GDDR7, and RTX 5060 should come with an 8 GB GDDR7 configuration.

Infineon Secures €920M EU Chips Act Funding for Dresden Fab

The European Commission today approved funding under the European Chips Act for the Infineon Technologies AG Smart Power Fab in Dresden. The official funding approval from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), which is responsible for the disbursement of EU Chips Act funding, is still pending and is expected within the next few months. Additionally, the Smart Power Fab is already receiving support under the European Commission's IPCEI ME/CT ("Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies") innovation program. The total funding for the Dresden site amounts to around one billion euros. Construction began in March 2023 and is progressing successfully. The Fab opening is planned for 2026.

"This government-supported investment by Infineon strengthens the position of Dresden, Germany and Europe as a semiconductor hub and promotes a state-of-the-art innovation and production ecosystem for microelectronics," says Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon. "We are increasing semiconductor capacity in Europe and thus helping secure stable supply chains in automotive, security and industrial fields."

Acer to Hike Prices in the US by Around 10 Percent Due to Tariffs, According to CEO

In an interview with The Telegraph, Acer CEO and chairman Jason Chen said that its products made in the PRC will see a price increase of 10 percent as direct results of the new tariffs that the US will levy on electronics. However, Mr Chen is quoted as saying "We think 10 percent probably will be the default price increase because of the import tax." which doesn't mean it will be exactly 10 percent, as it might vary a bit between product segments. That said, what's clear is that Acer and most likely every other company that manufactures hardware in the PRC aren't going to eat any of the tariffs, as the companies appear to be shifting the burden of the new tariffs straight over to the end consumers. Mr Chen also suggested that some companies might be increasing their pricing by more than 10 percent.

The price increase will happen over time, as the new tariffs won't affect products that have left the PRC before the end of February. Alongside Acer, which is the fifth-biggest computer brand in the US market, it's likely that Dell, HP and Lenovo, as well as Apple, are going to hike their prices by the same 10 percent or more. Acer moved the assembly of its desktop computers out of the PRC during Trump's previous term, when a 25 percent tariff was imposed. Now Acer is looking at moving at least some additional parts of its productions out of the PRC and the US is on the table for some of its products. Considering that some 80 percent of all laptops imported to the US are made in the PRC, the Consumer Trade Association is expecting the new tariffs to cost US consumers some US$143 billion, which it assumes will lead to a slump in sales of consumer electronics.

Supplier Production Cuts and AI Demand Expected to Drive NAND Flash Price Recovery in 2H25

TrendForce's latest findings reveal that the NAND Flash market continues to be plagued by oversupply in the first quarter of 2025, leading to sustained price declines and financial strain for suppliers. However, TrendForce anticipates a significant improvement in the market's supply-demand balance in the second half of the year.

Key factors contributing to this shift include proactive production cuts by manufacturers, inventory reductions in the smartphone sector, and growing demand driven by AI and DeepSeek applications. These elements are expected to alleviate oversupply and support a price rebound for NAND Flash.

Finally, Some Good News: GeForce RTX 5090 Supply to Increase in Coming Months

It would be safe to state that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 launch was anything but ideal. Gamers had to deal with whacky NVIDIA marketing material with absurd performance claims, followed by disappointing generational improvement for the RTX 5080, only to be left dealing with abysmal supply leading to obscene shortages and scalper-induced price inflation. However, it does seem like things are about to take a positive turn - NVIDIA is rumored to have ramped up production for its GB202 GPU, which the RTX 5090 is based on, according to a reliable source.

Spotted by VideoCardz, MEGAsizeGPU has claimed that the supply for the GeForce RTX 5090 GPU will soon be "stupidly high", which is absolute music to our ears. In a reply thread, the source further claimed that at least one AIB partner already has "tons of cards", which sure does paint a promising picture for the future. As such, the source expects that the supply will reach customers in about a month, which is to be expected since production has been cranked only recently. Apparently, demand for the GB200 GPU has been lower than usual, forcing NVIDIA to switch to producing GeForce GPUs instead. Of course, the margins for the gaming GPUs are lower, but the production capacity has to go somewhere.

"The Executive - Movie Industry Tycoon" Out Now on Steam & GOG

Aaaaaand… action! Time to become a Hollywood mogul! The Executive is now officially released with a 10% launch discount! Produce your dream movies. Tackle production challenges. Build your empire…And much more! We're thrilled to finally let you get your hands on it! We're incredibly proud of this project, and after your feedback on the demo, we can't wait to hear your thoughts on the full game!

Shape the history of the Hollywood movie industry in this sandbox business simulation game. Create the movies you've always wanted to see, hire the best team, research cutting-edge technologies, and dominate the Box Office. Can you rise from a small studio to a Hollywood giant? The Executive is a sandbox business simulation game that lets you rewrite the history of Hollywood from the 1970s to today. As the founder of a scrappy production company, you'll produce the movies you've always dreamed of, manage ambitious franchises, and build a studio that rivals the industry's greatest. Navigate the challenges of the movie business, outmaneuver your competition, and decide whether to chase critical acclaim or box office domination.

TSMC Approves $17 Billion Investment to Expand Capacity, No Update on U.S. Strategy

TSMC has unveiled today its board meeting decisions, the chip giant has greenlit a massive US$17 billion investment to boost production capacity. According to TSMC, to meet long-term capacity plans based on market demand forecasts and TSMC's technology development roadmap, the board approved capital appropriations of approximately US$17.14 billion for installation and upgrade of advanced technology capacity, installation and upgrade of advanced packaging, mature and/or specialty technology capacity, fab construction, and installation of fab facility systems.

Previous reports by MoneyDJ suggested that TSMC might unveil plans for a third Arizona fab, a potential fourth fab, or its first advanced packaging plant after the board meeting. However, no updates have been confirmed yet. Industry sources suggested that TSMC's second Arizona fab, featuring 3 nm, will likely go ahead of schedule, providing a temporary response to U.S. pressures. According to the same report, TSMC's second Arizona fab is expected to begin equipment installation in mid-2026, with mass production expected by 2027. Notably, this progress would exceed TSMC's projections which expected the second plant to start 3 nm and 2 nm production in 2028, with a third plant potentially for the 2 nm process by the late 2030s. The MoneyDJ report further notes that initially, TSMC's second Arizona plant will offer 25K-30K 3 nm wafers per month. TSMC's first Arizona plant, initially slated for 2025, started 4 nm production ahead of schedule in Q4 2024.

Relic Entertainment CEO Outlines Development Strategies, Discusses Indie Life Post-Sega

Last March, Relic Entertainment announced its independence; an "external investor" helped officiate the Vancouver, Canada-based studio's separation from Sega. Via a press release, Relic thanked its former owner for the: "support over the years and guidance during this transition have been instrumental to our success. We may be out of the SEGA business, but we remain friends and colleagues. We are excited about this next chapter." The newly-independent development house proceeded to cut staff headcounts—according to the 2024 news cycle—and seemingly kept a low profile for the rest of the year. In early 2025, Relic has revealed its refreshed strategies and goals; VentureBeat and Game Developer both sat down and conducted interviews with Justin Dowdeswell (CEO). The relatively new Relic boss outlined his company's focus on three key areas of development. Relic remains committed to existing titles (e.g. Company of Heroes 3), but it will also pursue the production and publishing of "smaller-scope" games, as well re-imaginations of classics from its past portfolio.

Dowdeswell believes that company leadership will put "Relic back on the map" following its well-documented split from Sega. The future looks bright, due to the real-time strategy specialist's now unconstrained operating model—the CEO believes that his studio: "has innovated for its whole existence. The ability to tap into that is best served with Relic as an independent studio." Dowdeswell and his colleagues have long worked within the constraints of a relatively niche market segment; Relic's chief envisions something with a wider/more mainstream appeal: "the opportunity we have here is to crack the case of where RTS needs to go next...We've definitely seen really highly engaged multiplayer audiences. But it is limited when we talk about Company of Heroes, for example. This is a game set in World War II, which limits the audience to some degree. It's an RTS which further limits the audience. And when we internally talk about what the barriers are for us, broadening that audience is big. How do we bring new players in? How do we reach players?...We definitely strongly believe there is a market and there are players out there. It's our job to give them the next great RTS."
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