After a couple of slow week's we have a packed week of new releases for you this week, kicking off with some nuclear stalking action in this week's AAA title. This is followed by a tactical turn-based strategy game set in WW2, a fantasy open world survival crafter, a game for wanna be pilots, a MOBA battle royal hero shooter mixup, a murder on a train with a comedy twist and finally a tactical shooter set in an anime universe. Star Wars Outlaws is also out on Steam this week among many other new releases.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl / This week's AAA release / Wednesday 20 November
Discover the vast Chornobyl Exclusion Zone full of dangerous enemies, deadly anomalies and powerful artifacts. Unveil your own epic story as you make your way to the Heart of Chornobyl. Make your choices wisely, as they will determine your fate in the end. Take over a role of the lone stalker and explore photorealistic seamless open world in a 64-km² radioactive zone with a variety of environments that reveal post-apocalyptic atmosphere from different angles. Steam link

Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), together with its subsidiaries ('the Group'), today announced Q2 results for fiscal year 2024/25, reporting significant increases and growth in net income, year-on-year revenue growth for the 4th consecutive quarter, and strong double-digit year-on-year revenue increases from all its business groups. Group revenue increased 24% year-on-year to US$17.9 billion. Net income was up 48% year-on-year to US$404 million on a non-Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (non-HKFRS)[1] basis, and non-PC revenue mix was up five points year-to-year to 46%. The Group's results reflect its clear strategy, operational excellence, investment in R&D, innovations in hybrid AI, and global footprint.

The Group's hybrid AI strategy and years of continuous investment in R&D and innovations are paying off, with its first phase of AI PCs, launched in China in May 2024, already reaching double digit share of its total notebook shipments in the China market. Recent launches of AI PCs for the global market with Lenovo AI Now have also been received positively. For enterprise AI, the Group is leveraging its full-stack hybrid infrastructure as well as Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage to capture growth opportunities. This relentless focus on AI innovation as well as investment in R&D (up 10% year-on-year to US$548 million) is firmly establishing the Group's market differentiation and industry leadership.

Even with billions of US dollars being invested overseas, TSMC cannot legally manufacture its most advanced nodes outside of Taiwan. According to Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo, "Since Taiwan has regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently." He added, "Although TSMC plans to make 2-nanometer chips [abroad] in the future, its core technology will stay in Taiwan." This provides crucial insight into TSMC's strategic positioning, both in its US expansion plans and in navigating global geopolitical waters, especially with Taiwan being the major hub of silicon innovation. Taiwan's semiconductor industry follows strict regulations regarding overseas production capabilities, requiring companies to maintain their most advanced manufacturing processes within Taiwan.

The company's international expansion strategy includes significant developments in the United States. TSMC's Arizona facilities are central to these plans, with multiple fabs in different stages of development. The initial Arizona facility will begin producing 4 nm chips imminently, while a second facility, scheduled to open in 2028, will manufacture then mature 3 nm and 2 nm chips. A third planned facility aims to produce 2 nm or more sophisticated chips. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based facilities will produce more advanced chips at the same time, with volume production of A-16 chips planned for late 2026, following the rollout of 2 nm chip production in 2025. Furthermore, Taiwan-US semiconductor cooperation will continue regardless of political changes. Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) Chairman and TSMC Senior Vice President Cliff Hou noted that historical evidence suggests US electoral outcomes have not significantly impacted this technological partnership, though some adjustments may occur.

The indie developer My Little Studio has announced that the platformer Beyond The Darkness, featuring horror elements, will launch on Steam on November 14. On this day, players will enter an eerie world of memories, accompanying a young girl named Millie on her search for her parents and brother.

Beyond The Darkness is a game filled with mystery, danger, and the supernatural, where a once-cozy home has turned into a terrifying lair of monsters. The goal is to help Millie escape this nightmare world, find her parents, and flee from the lurking creatures—all with only an old lamp to keep her safe. Players will have to keep the light alive, solve puzzles, and master new mechanics. Do you have what it takes to survive in a world swallowed by darkness, fear, and monsters?

It looks like the single-platform exclusive era that has plagued the gaming industry since the 2010s is coming to an end. The writing has been on the wall for a while, with Square Enix already previously confirming that its games would be launching earlier on both PC and Xbox, but now, the game studio has confirmed that more of its titles will be launching to more platforms simultaneously. This comes after Ubisoft made a similar announcement regarding the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows after a delay and a bit of controversy.

The news from Square Enix broke in an interview with Japanese outlet 4gamer.net, with Square Enix's Naoki Yoshida confirming that the strategy has proven beneficial in terms of attracting more players to the company's games, further explaining that PC is the largest audience for gaming. The game Yoshida was specifically addressing in the interview was the upcoming Fantasian Neo Dimension—an upcoming CRPG developed by Mistwalker Corporation and published by Square Enix, with a planned multi-platform launch on December 5, 2024—but Yoshida seems to imply that this new policy will apply to more games going forward. It appears that both the announcement by Square Enix and Ubisoft are driven by commercial motivations.

Welcome to the first full week of the month of November, which means colder and darker weather for the northern hemisphere, also known as a perfect time to play some games. This week things are a tad slower and this week's major release is a VR version of a famous franchise that takes place inside a metro system. This is followed by some touch typing, slugs made out of metal, roller coasters, loads of ants and finally some post-apocalyptic strategy. As always, this is just a small selection of what launches this coming week.

Metro Awakening / This week's major release / VR game / Thursday 7 November
Metro Awakening is a story-driven first person adventure built for VR that blends atmospheric exploration, stealth and combat in the most immersive Metro experience yet. Don your gas mask, brave the crippling radiation and venture into the depths of the Metro where threats haunt your every step. Steam link

According to a recent Reuters report, OpenAI is continuing with its moves in the custom silicon space, expanding beyond its reported talks with Broadcom to include a broader strategy involving multiple industry leaders. Broadcom is a fabless chip designer known for a wide range of silicon solutions spanning from networking, PCIe, SSD controllers, and PHYs all the way up to custom ASICs. The company behind ChatGPT is actively working with both Broadcom and TSMC to develop its first proprietary AI chip, specifically focused on inference operations. Getting a custom chip to do training runs is a bit more complex task, and OpenAI leaves that to its current partners until the company figures out all details. Even with an inference chip, the scale at which OpenAI works and serves its models makes financial sense for the company to develop custom solutions tailored to its infrastructure needs.

This time, the initiative represents a more concrete and nuanced approach than previously understood. Rather than just exploratory discussions, OpenAI has assembled a dedicated chip team of approximately 20 people, led by former Google TPU engineers Thomas Norrie and Richard Ho. The company has secured manufacturing capacity with TSMC, targeting a 2026 timeline for its first custom-designed chip. While Broadcom's involvement leverages its expertise in helping companies optimize chip designs for manufacturing and manage data movement between chips—crucial for AI systems running thousands of processors in parallel—OpenAI is simultaneously diversifying its compute strategy. This includes adding AMD's Instinct MI300X chips to its infrastructure alongside its existing NVIDIA deployments. Similarly, Meta has the same approach, where it now trains its models on NVIDIA GPUs and serves them to the public (inferencing) using AMD Instinct MI300X.

Welcome to the last full week of October and boy is it going to be a busy week of new game releases. This week's AAA release is said to force you to go rogue on your tour of duty. Next you'll be starting your own tentacle cult, which if followed by being kicked out of hell for the second time, an inaccurate history lesson, being blown away by the wind and finally being turned into a blue hedgehog.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 / This week's AAA title / Friday 25 October
Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops. The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity. Steam link

Welcome to the middle of October and a slight shift in pace, as this coming week has multiple big releases, albeit no AAA launches. Our top pick for this week involves strapping yourself into a massive, walking machine of destruction in a franchise that kicked off all the way back in 1989. This is followed by some galaxy conquering, a friendly wolf and its human friend, you starting up human civilization on a new planet, a Roman style city builder, silence please and something unknown that's waking up.

MechWarrior 5: Clans / This week's major release / Thursday 17 October
In MechWarrior 5: Clans, players take on the role of a newly graduated pilot from the Smoke Jaguar cadet program, thrust into the heart of the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere during Operation Revival. This pivotal moment in the MechWarrior universe sees players leading a five-mech "Star" squad across numerous planets with diverse biomes, engaging in an expansive campaign filled with immersive gameplay and intricate combat encounters. Armed with customizable BattleMechs featuring cutting-edge technologies, players explore a wealth of tactical options and strategic possibilities. Steam link

MiTAC Computing Technology Corporation, a subsidiary of MiTAC Holdings Corporation (hereinafter referred to as MiTAC; stock symbol: 3706), has announced that the server brand TYAN will be integrated with the MiTAC brand. Starting from October 1, 2024, all products will be branded under MiTAC, with the release of a new logo and updated official website. MiTAC Computing Technology Corporation website: http://www.mitaccomputing.com/

MiTAC entered the server ODM industry in 1999 as one of Taiwan's pioneers in the server market. In 2007, it expanded its presence by acquiring Tyan Computer, building a reputation for designing high-performance motherboards and barebone systems targeting the high-end server market. Following the spinoff of MiTAC's cloud computing business in 2014, MiTAC Computing Technology was established as a subsidiary of Mitac Holdings under the MiTAC-Synnex Group.

As we enter the last full week of September, we have another packed week of new game releases to look forward to, although we're not likely to beat last week's lineup of games. This week's major release is a grand strategy game that might just rival the classic Civilization games. This is followed by a chill sandbox construction game set in an era of castles and cottage, a dystopian sci-fi horror looter shooter with a local co-op mode, a sequel to 2019 RPG title, a crafting survival game, but you're a duck, a sci-fi space game combined with a deck builder and finally, some football, of the global kind.

Ara: History Untold / This week's major release / Tuesday 24 September
Ara: History Untold is an evolution in historical grand strategy, featuring beloved classic PC strategy mechanics alongside innovative gameplay like a national crafting economy, true simultaneous turn resolution, a non-linear technology tree, and cloud-backed synchronous/asynchronous multiplayer - all with an expansive and vibrant presentation where you can zoom out from surveying the very edges of your empire all the way down to your citizens living their daily lives. In Ara, there are no pre-set paths to victory, leading to endless possibilities. Your choices will define the world you create, your experience, and your legacy. Steam link

Lenovo Group Limited, together with its subsidiaries, today announced Q1 results for fiscal year 2024/25, reporting profitability improvements across all areas of the business and making significant progress in capturing hybrid AI opportunities. Group revenue increased 20% year-on-year to US$15.4 billion, net income was up 65% year-on-year to US$315 million on a non-Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (non-HKFRS) basis, and non-PC revenue mix was up five points year-to-year reaching a historic high of 47%. The Group's results reflect its clear strategy and strong execution, persistent focus on innovation and operational excellence, as well as the advantages it reaps from being a globalized business.

The Group is both uniquely positioned and well-prepared to lead in an era of hybrid AI with its full-stack portfolio featuring AI devices like AI PCs, AI servers that support all major architectures, as well as rich AI native and AI embedded solutions and services. User feedback from Lenovo's AI PCs, defined by five key characteristics, have been encouraging, with the first AI PCs having launched in May and many more to come during IFA and Tech World later this year. The Group is confident that it will lead the industry in market share for next-generation AI PCs, which overall are expected to be more than 50% of the PC landscape by 2027, as well as lead in seizing the enormous growth opportunities across the IT market. The Group continued its commitment to innovation, with R&D spending up 6% year-to-year to US$476 million.

As July comes to an end and we enter the month of August, we have a week of mixed releases where the major release appears to be a StarCraft clone of sorts, built by ex Blizzard developers. This is followed by a Diablo-ish game, a No Man's Sky clone of sorts, a game about a data ghost, a Star Wars remake, a very British game and finally a very gooey sequel. August should finally start bringing some bigger releases yet again, after a pretty slow summer of new game releases.

Stormgate / This week's major release / Tuesday 30 July / Early Access
Human defenders and their faithful robot allies stand defiant against two warring alien factions: a race of warlike demonic invaders and their technologically advanced angelic rivals. Together, these three are locked in a relentless struggle for dominance. Crafted by developers renowned for their work on StarCraft II and Warcraft III, Stormgate puts you in command of epic real-time strategy battles. Steam Link

After one year of Early Access, the full version of TerraScape is now available on Steam and GOG. Developer Bitfall Studios has teamed up with Stray Fawn Publishing and INSTINCT3 to get more players excited.

In TerraScape, the mission is simple: transform a small settlement into a flourishing empire. Unlike classic city-building games, TerraScape involves strategically placing game cards onto a procedurally generated world map to earn points. Each building is represented by a card, which is part of a themed deck. The placement and order of building cards significantly impact the amount of points earned. Accumulated points can be used to acquire new decks, helping players advance their settlement's development. Players can combine their cards to create impressive structures that influence their surroundings and instantly change the game's dynamics.

And just like that, we're in the second half of 2024. The first week of July brings with it a major release, at least if you're into futuristic online RPGs. Unfortunately, the rest of this week's new releases are mediocre at best and this seems to be a theme for the summer of 2024, unless you like pointless clicking games that is. At least the week starts with a new strategy game that involves knights, but from there it fizzles out in a DLC, a computer version of a classic family game, a retro version of an Xbox franchise and a creepy game in a pool. Oh and happy 4th of July to our US readers.

The First Descendant / This week's major release / Tuesday 2 July
The First Descendant is a free third-person cooperative action RPG shooter featuring high-quality graphics. Experience the fun of strategic boss fights through 4-player co-op and various unique characters, exciting gunplay, and looting. A variety of equipment is necessary for growth, and you can obtain them through clearing scenario missions within the game or in the World Missions where cooperation is crucial and battles with huge bosses. Steam link

As we enter the last week of June and head towards darkness again in the Northern Hemisphere (remember, it's only six months until Christmas), we can look forward to another slow week of new releases. This week's major release is a remake of a puzzle adventure game from 1997. There's also a strategy game DLC, a shootout, a time travel adventure, some racing and some chasing to look forward to, if that's your kind of thing.

Riven / This week's major release and remake / Tuesday 25 June
Riven takes you on a journey through dense jungles, awe-inspiring caverns, and monolithic structures. Explore a world bent to the whims of a man who sees himself as a god and where every corner will immerse you in an otherworldly adventure. Uncover a story of intrigue, betrayal, and a civilization teetering on the brink of collapse as you solve intricate puzzles to unlock the secrets of Riven. Built from the ground-up and expanded from the award-winning original game released in 1997. Steam Link

Today marks a significant milestone for one of the most iconic and influential first-person shooter franchises of all time—Counter-Strike is celebrating its 25th anniversary. What began as a humble Half-Life mod in 1999 has evolved into a global phenomenon, captivating millions with its intense, team-based tactical gameplay. The original Counter-Strike was instantly hit upon its public beta release on June 19, 1999, quickly building a fervent cult following among PC gamers. Valve soon recognized its potential, acquiring the rights and releasing an official standalone version in November 2000. This launched Counter-Strike into the mainstream, kicking off over two decades of continuous development, innovation, and fierce competitive play. Over the years, the series has seen multiple major releases like Condition Zero, Source, and the juggernaut Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2012. Each introduced new maps, weapons, graphics enhancements, and gameplay twists like CS: GO's Danger Zone battle royale mode.

But the core hook remained—tightly coordinated attack/defense scenarios demanding skill, strategy, and pinpoint shooting accuracy. Many of us grew up playing Counter Strike. The latest evolution arrived last September with Counter-Strike 2, ushering in a new engine, revamped graphics, and additional gameplay refinements. While initially met with some skepticism from hardcore fans, CS2 has been widely embraced, smashing records with over 1.5 million peak concurrent players. The key to Counter-Strike's enduring success has been its best-in-class core gameplay loop combined with Valve's commitment to evolve with the times. But just as crucial is the passionate global community that has embraced the series' high-skill cap and opportunities for creative strategies. Many have remained devoted for decades, fueling a robust professional esports scene. As it enters its 26th year, Counter-Strike's tactical multiplayer mayhem shows no signs of slowing down. Its unique blend of shooting fundamentals and cerebral team play has firmly cemented its place as one of the most influential games ever made.

After a couple of slow weeks of new game releases, we're finally back on track with a wealth of new game releases this week. We even have a AAA title, although some of you might disagree with it being such, mainly due to the blue aliens and there being four different editions of the game. When it comes to the rest of this week's releases, we have a city builder with sacrifices, a medieval inspired MMO, a very sandy game that has nothing to do with giant worms, a Viking inspired online co-op game, a DLC for a very popular RPG game and a dystopian city builder.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora coming to Steam / This week's AAA release / Monday 17 June
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person, action-adventure game set in the Western Frontier. Abducted by the RDA, you, a Na'vi, were molded to serve their purpose. Fifteen years later, you are free, but find yourself a stranger in your birthplace. Reconnect with your lost heritage and discover what it truly means to be Na'vi as you join other clans to protect Pandora. Steam link

Welcome to the first week of summer, at least in the northern hemisphere. There are no AAA releases this week, which gives you all plenty of time to focus on our Computex content instead of playing a new blockbuster game. This week's major release involves aliens, but not as you know them and they're out to kill. The rest of this week's new releases involves a DLC for a major MMORPG, a politics, religion and war game, some really old stuff, a nuclear plant meltdown cleanup and a dead dragon.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game / This week's major release / Tuesday 4 June
Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror based on the iconic '80s film. In the battle between Killer Klowns and citizens of Crescent Cove, team up and use your wits to harvest humans or save them from the alien invasion! Crescent Cove is a sprawling arena for unique 3v7 fights between Klowns and humans—boasting various locations and a multitude of tactical opportunities for both teams. Steam link

Lenovo Group today announced Q4 and full-year results for fiscal year 2023/24. After resuming growth in Q3, the Group reported year-on-year revenue growth across all business groups in Q4, with Group revenue increasing nearly 10% year-on-year to US$13.8 billion, net income doubling year-on-year to US$248 million, and non-PC revenue mix reaching a historic high of 45%. The Group's Q4 and overall 2nd half performance demonstrates how Lenovo has navigated the past year's industry downturn, captured the tremendous growth opportunities presented by AI, and accelerated momentum across the business. Revenue for the full fiscal year was US$56.9 billion, and net income was US$1 billion. From the second half of the fiscal year, Lenovo achieved year-on-year revenue growth of 6% and net margin recovered from a first half year-on-year decline to flat in the second half.

The Group is leading in an era of unprecedented AI opportunities with its pocket-to-cloud portfolio, strong ecosystem and partnerships, and full-stack AI capabilities. Since announcing its AI strategy in October 2023 at its annual Tech World event, Lenovo has launched its first wave of AI PCs as well as AI capabilities covering other smart devices, smart infrastructure, and smart solutions and services. The Group expects the AI PC - which is defined as equipped with a personal AI agent based on natural interactions, heterogeneous computing, personal knowledge base, connected to an open AI application ecosystem, and with privacy and security protection - to grow from its current premium position to mainstream over the next three years, driving a new refresh cycle for the industry. Hybrid AI is also driving greater demand for AI infrastructure and customers are increasingly asking for customized AI solutions and services, particularly consulting, design, deployment and maintenance of AI.

Overseer Games are excited to announce that Kaiserpunk will participate in Steam Next Fest, which will run from June 10th - 17th. Experience the innovative blend of city-building and grand strategy firsthand with the first-ever Kaiserpunk demo, launching before Next Fest on June 3rd. Download the demo ahead of Next Fest and wishlist it on Steam.

In Kaiserpunk, you'll be thrust into an alternate history forged by the fires of the WWI and WWII era. As a returning soldier from the frontlines, you find your city-state in ruins. The mantle of leadership falls upon you. Now, it's your responsibility to rebuild, manage resources, forge alliances, and make strategic decisions that will shape your nation's destiny. Are you ready to reshape history?

The battle for galactic supremacy continues as Stardock and Ironclad Games will bring Sins of a Solar Empire II to Steam this Summer. Sins of a Solar Empire II seamlessly combines real-time strategy and 4X depth, delivering sprawling empires, huge tactical fleet battles, and unforgettable gameplay moments that can only be found in Sins II. Interested players can add the game to their wishlists now.

In Sins of a Solar Empire II, players must guide their faction against the threat of extinction with three distinct races: the Trader Emergency Coalition, the Vasari Empire, or the Advent Unity. Each race has been updated with their own asymmetric playstyle including unique starting conditions, units, abilities, and game-changing Empire Systems.

Hooded Horse and Slavic Magic are delighted to announce that historical city-building and strategy game Manor Lords is available in early access via digital platforms across the world!

With over 3 million wishlists on Steam alone, this highly anticipated game presents players with a vibrant and detailed world inspired by 14th-century medieval life. Featuring a high degree of historical authenticity and a rags-to-riches setting, players will be tasked with growing a humble village into a powerful feudal city. Manor Lords mixes organic city-building systems with intricate production chains that feed into a real-time tactical combat layer where the workers are also the warriors.

The US government is investigating the potential national security risks associated with China's involvement in the development of open-source RISC-V chip technology. According to a letter obtained by Reuters, the Department of Commerce has informed US lawmakers that it is actively reviewing the implications of China's work in this area. RISC-V, an open instruction set architecture (ISA) created in 2014 at the University of California, Berkeley, offers an alternative to proprietary and licensed ISAs like those developed by Arm. This open-source ISA can be utilized in a wide range of applications, from AI chips and general-purpose CPUs to high-performance computing applications. Major Chinese tech giants, including Alibaba and Huawei, have already embraced RISC-V, positioning it as a new battleground in the ongoing technological rivalry between the United States and China over cutting-edge semiconductor capabilities.

In November, a group of 18 US lawmakers from both chambers of Congress urged the Biden administration to outline its strategy for preventing China from gaining a dominant position in RISC-V technology, expressing concerns about the potential impact on US national and economic security. While acknowledging the need to address potential risks, the Commerce Department noted in its letter that it must proceed cautiously to avoid unintentionally harming American companies actively participating in international RISC-V development groups. Previous attempts to restrict the transfer of 5G technology to China have created obstacles for US firms involved in global standards bodies where China is also a participant, potentially jeopardizing American leadership in the field. As the review process continues, the Commerce Department faces the delicate task of balancing national security interests with the need to maintain the competitiveness of US companies in the rapidly evolving landscape of open-source chip technologies.

The month of April continues with more low-key releases and this week's major release is a somewhat new take on the MMO genre which focuses on players being nice to each other. As for the rest of this week we have a VR Western, a gigantic game, some roads in need of repair, a zone free of infection and turn-based tactics game involving mutant animals.

Sky: Children of the Light / This week's major release / Wednesday 10 April
Sky: Children of the Light is a peaceful, award-winning MMO from the creators of Journey. Explore a beautifully-animated kingdom across seven realms and create enriching memories with other players in this delightful puzzle-adventure game. Steam Link