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Gaming

Razer’s HD haptic gaming cushion allows you to experience every in-game explosion for $299

by admin June 7, 2025

Razer just launched its Sensa HD Haptics gear, with the immersive gear starting to go on sale on June 10. At the moment, only two items have this feature — the Razer Freyja haptic gaming cushion and the Razer Kraken V4 Pro gaming headset. You put the former on your gaming chair, giving you an almost whole-body tactile sensation with everything that happens in-game, while the latter converts your game’s sound and audio and turns it into something you can feel in your head.

You need to install the Razer Synapse 4 control software to enjoy these haptic features, and your game title must also support it. Thankfully, 15 titles have native support for the feature, including Hogwarts Legacy, Sniper Elite: Resistance, Frostpunk 2, and SnowRunner. A further 92 games are compatible with it via SimHub, including favorites like American Truck Simulator, Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator 24, and Project Cars 3. We expect more titles to be compatible with this system, including the aforementioned Dune: Awakening title bundled with the Razer gear.

Razer Freyja | Razer Sensa HD Haptics – YouTube

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The company first showed off its haptic gear as Project Esther at CES 2024, where we got to try it. Some people might write off Sensa HD Haptics as just another gimmick meant to separate gamers from their hard-earned money, but our experience says otherwise. “In a demo where I was piloting a battle mech on rails, being shot at by various enemies, the haptics in the chair mat and the headset cascaded around my legs, back, and head,” said Tom’s Hardware Managing Editor Matt Safford. “Feeling an impact move up and around me was a new and truly unique experience.”

Steam Deck nested inside an Apple Magic Keyboard transforms into a portable gaming PC

by admin June 7, 2025

Since the console’s release, we have seen some spectacular Steam Deck mods, including the “Steam Brick” and the Steam Deck 32GB RAM mod. Michaelthatsit on Reddit has created another wild mod for the Deck by using the console’s internals to create a makeshift “all-in-one” Steam Deck keyboard called the Bento.

Michael’s Bento mod turns the Steam Deck into a highly mobile SteamOS desktop system with an integrated keyboard. In images on Reddit, Michael demonstrated one way of using the keyboard computer: connecting the Bento to Type-C-powered display glasses (rather than a conventional display).

To make it all work, the modder removed the Deck’s internal motherboard and other necessary components from the console’s original clamshell and placed them in a custom-made 3D-printed chassis to fit underneath an Apple 10-keyless Magic keyboard.

A new report indicates Intel’s latest Battlemage GPUs are a total failure and AMD’s gaming graphics market share fell to just 8% but overall graphics cards sales are up

by admin June 6, 2025

AMD’s share of the add-in graphics card market fell to a fairly pitiful 8% in the first quarter of 2025 according to Jon Peddie Research (JPR), a specialist in tracking PC hardware sales. Meanwhile, JPR puts Intel’s graphics market share at essentially zero, with Nvidia hoovering up the remaining 92%. Ouch.

Before we all escalate the threat level to PC gaming to DEFCON 1 and panic, it should be noted that JPR’s figures cover the period up to the end of March. AMD’s new Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT were only released on March 6. So, that’s only three and a bit weeks of RDNA 4 sales in the figures.

In other words, we’ll have to wait for the Q2 numbers to get a full picture of how much impact AMD’s new GPUs have had. Indeed, we’ll arguably have to wait even longer than that, since it’s the RX 9060 XT, which only went on sale yesterday, that’s meant to be the real volume play for AMD and that won’t have a substantial impact on market share figures until the Q3 data is out.

Overall, GPU sales were up 8.5% in Q1 2025 compared to Q4 2024. JPR says that Q1 is usually flat or down compared to the previous quarter, but that, “In Q1’25, AMD and Nvidia introduced new AIBs, which stimulated the market.”

If we’ll have to wait a little longer to see how the RX 9070 and 9060 GPUs fare for AMD, the verdict on Intel’s Arc B570 and B580 GPUs is surely in and it not good news, not good news at all.

The blip that was 1% Intel market share has vanished from the latest GPU sales figures. (Image credit: JPR)

JPR reckons Intel’s market share fell by 1.2% in the latest quarter, essentially putting it on 0% and not appearing in the data for Q1 2025. If there was already doubt over Intel’s commitment to the add-in graphics card market, this apparent total failure of Intel’s second-gen Battlemage generation of GPUs is extremely troubling.

Battlemage GPUs went on sale at the end of 2024. So, in theory Q1 2025 was a full quarter for sales of Intel’s latest graphics hardware. Obviously sales of the B570 and B580 haven’t actually been zero. But if JPR is to be believed, the volumes are so small as to effectively push Intel out of its data.

If even half a percent of sales were going to Intel, JPR would no doubt have included that in its data. So, we’re talking less than one in 200 GPUs sales being Intel cards, and quite possibly an order of magnitude or more worse than that.

It really is a grim outlook for Intel graphics and puts rumours of more powerful Battlemage GPUs into context. With sales this low, is it remotely realistic to expect Intel to wheel out that purported Nvidia RTX 4070 / 5070 killer? It doesn’t seem terribly plausible in the light of this latest data.

Still, the numbers we’re really looking forward to will be Q3 2025, when both of AMD’s new RDNA 4 GPUs will have had at least a full quarter on sale. That data probably won’t be out until the end of the year. So, check back in December and cross all your fingers and toes until then.

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June 6, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Here are the games Prime Gaming members can claim in June

by admin June 5, 2025

June is here, which means Amazon has refreshed its Prime Gaming offerings for another month, and – following a bumper-packed May – it’s a comparatively quiet one this time around. In total, June brings nine new games for subscribers to download, including Thief: Deadly Shadows.

As usual, Prime Gaming’s June additions arrive across four scheduled content drops, and the first of these is available to claim right now. Point yourself in the direction of Amazon’s website and you’re able to grab tactical turn-based Games Workshop adaptation Mordheim: City of the Damned, as well as retro-inspired point-and-click sci-fi adventure The Abandoned Planet.

Then, as June trundles onwards and summer vaguely threatens to emerge, members can look forward to the likes of Thief: Deadly Shadows, the third game in the classic stealth series, and minimalist railway puzzler Station to Station. That’s alongside the acclaimed Jupiter Hell, a grimy top-down turn-based sci-fi shooter, plus guns-and-sorcery cRPG Dark Envoy.

You’ll find the full list of Junes’s titles (plus the digital stores they can be grabbed from) below.

Available now:

Mordheim: City of the Damned [GOG]
The Abandoned Planet [Amazon Games App]

12th June

Station to Station [Amazon Games App]
Death Squared [GOG]

19th June

Dark Envoy [GOG]
FATE: Undiscovered Realms [GOG]

26th June

Thief: Deadly Shadows [GOG]
Jupiter Hell [GOG]
Gallery of Things: Reveries [Legacy Games Code]

In addition to the above, Prime Gaming subscribers in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, and Poland get the usual access to a rotating selection of titles via Amazon’s cloud gaming service, Luna. In June, these include Batman: Arkham Knight, Lego DC Super-Villains, House of Golf 2, RiMS Racing, Mail Mole, Garfield Kart – Furious Racing, The Jackbox Survey Scramble, Ultrakill, Spells & Secrets, and Qube 10th Anniversary.

Those are available alongside Luna regulars Fallout New Vegas: Ultimate Edition, Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, Fortnite, and Trackmania.

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June 5, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Forget about Switch 2, this PlayStation 5 Pro deal is the best gaming choice

by admin June 5, 2025

Today marks the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, but if Nintendo consoles and games aren’t to your tastes, how about getting your hands on the current most powerful games console on the market? Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro is the current console king with its mid-life refresh. Everything has been upgraded, from the graphical power to the base amount of available storage. Unfortunately, the price was also upgraded, so it’s nice to see a discount on Sony’s latest console.

Available at Amazon, you can pick up the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro for just £636. This is a tasty discount from the £699 list price and almost matches the all-time lowest price seen for the PlayStation 5 Pro of £635. This offer is for the console and a single DualSense controller. The console is a “digital-only” version, but you can upgrade with a separate disk-drive addon like in this bundle deal from John Lewis, where the PlayStation 5 Pro, DualSense controller, and Digital disk drive are on offer for £709.

The PlayStation 5 Pro is the refreshed version of the PS5, sporting more storage (2TB) as standard, and using new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution or PSSR tech to upgrade and enhance image quality and framerates of PlayStation games from the PS5 and PS4 era. The PS5 Pro even has upgraded tech for ray tracing capabilities, for more immersive lighting effects in your games.

As I briefly touched upon, this deal only includes the console tower and a controller. If you want to upgrade the PlayStation 5 Pro tower to include a disk drive, you need to purchase a separate Sony PlayStation 5 Disk Drive like this one from Very for £69, reduced from £100. This will allow you to play PlayStation 5 games from physical disk media, where you might be able to pick up games cheaper second-hand, or use collectors’ edition disks.

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June 5, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The ultimate 5.1 surround sound SteelSeries Arena 9 gaming speaker system gets a big $130 discount

by admin June 5, 2025

Gaming and media are all about immersion; the more you feel a part of it, the more engrossed you get, and the enjoyment level skyrockets. Having great visuals from a good monitor is certainly important, but in my opinion, the sound should be a bigger consideration. Sound effects from the environment, directional sound profiles, and musical game scores can transport you to other worlds and really capture the imagination.

Headsets are very good at isolating you and providing a superb experience with faux surround sound, but if you want the absolute best-in-class experience, true surround sound is the pinnacle to reach. Enter the SteelSeries Arena 9 5.1 surround sound speaker system at $549. Available at Amazon, the 6-speaker setup is reduced by $130 from the $679 list price. It’s worth keeping your eye on the upcoming sales too, as the Arena 9 has been on sale for lower prices during key events.

The Arena 9 gets our recommendation for the best 5.1 speaker system for a PC, thanks to its excellent sound quality and immersive surround sound experience. The Arena 9 comes with five satellite speakers, a center channel speaker that sits under your monitor, two left and right front channels, and two left and right wireless rear channel speakers, as well as a 6.5-inch down-firing subwoofer.

The rear satellite speakers are wireless, making for an easier setup experience than trying to run speaker cables under carpeting and flooring. The rear speakers connect to each other and are powered separately, but connect to the system wirelessly. There’s also a handy control pod, which features an informative OLED display and touch-sensitive buttons for controlling all aspects of the speakers.

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June 5, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Torchlight 3 studio Echtra Games, acquired by Zynga in 2021 to help it move into PC and console gaming, is being closed without doing that

by admin June 3, 2025

Four years after acquiring the studio, Zynga has confirmed with IGN that Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games is being closed.

“Zynga has made the difficult decision to cease operations at its Echtra studio, ending development on future titles and reducing roles,” the company told the site. “This decision is part of a strategic realignment of the company’s resources and priorities. We will work closely with impacted employees so they are treated with the utmost respect and consideration as we navigate this difficult process.”

Echtra was founded in 2016 by Max Schaefer, one of the co-founders of original Torchlight developer Runic Games and also a co-founder of Diablo studio Blizzard North. The studio’s initial focus was on Torchlight Frontiers, envisioned as an MMO, but in 2020, after “feedback [from testers], discussing with our internal teams, and receiving guidance from our publisher,” Echtra announced a shift to a more conventional standalone game design, and a new title, Torchlight 3.

Get 42% off Samsung’s 4K Smart Monitor M8 for streaming, productivity, and gaming

by admin June 2, 2025

Since Memorial Day, we’ve entered full on into the start of the year’s sales events. Although sometimes it feels like the “sales” are going on every day, there are distinct periods where products are genuinely discounted for an event. When searching and checking for deals, I like to use price checking tools. I track and compare retailers to find the best deals, highlighting them for Tom’s Hardware readers. Today we have a monitor that’s on sale in Samsung’s Summer Sale, which runs from today (June 2, 2025) till June 8, 2025.

If you head over to the Samsung website via one of our handy links, you can find a superb deal on Samsung’s 32-inch M8 Smart Monitor (4K) for just $399. This deal saves you $300, a 42% markdown on the original $699 price tag outside of the sale.

Samsung’s Smart Monitor M8 (model: M80D) is an all-in-one streaming TV and desktop monitor featuring advanced AI upscaling technology. The 32-inch monitor features a sharp UHD resolution with HDR10+ support, built-in speakers, and a camera. The M8 uses the NQM AI processor for turning your original lower resolution content up to almost 4K. This AI upscaling tech helps to make the most of your content enjoyable at higher resolutions for greater fidelity.

You can use the Samsung M8 smart monitor to play games or watch TV. Use Samsung’s gaming hub or one of the many apps to stream content. The monitor uses a sleek design with a functional monitor stand and connectivity options. Ports include HDMI, USB-C, and USB-A.

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June 2, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

SharpLink Gaming Stock Falls Back to Earth Following Ethereum Treasury Pivot

by admin June 2, 2025

In brief

Shares in new Ethereum treasury company SharpLink Gaming are down more than 38% on the day.
The company said Monday that it has finalized its financing to acquire up to $425 million to fuel ETH purchases.
With its ETH acquisition, SharpLink says it will become the largest publicly traded holder of Ethereum.

Shares in SharpLink Gaming, a gambling marketing firm and affiliate network operator, are down more than 38% since the market opened, despite the company finalizing an investment round to help it acquire up to $425 million in Ethereum.

The company, which last week announced plans to create an Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury, saw its shares surge as high as $124, after trading at $6 as recently as May 23.

After closing at $76.70 on Friday, SharpLink shares—which trade with ticker SBET on the Nasdaq Exchange—are trading at $47.16, down more than 38% since open and a whopping 62% down from last week’s peak.

On the other hand, the stock price is still up 1,162% over the past month.

With the conclusion of its $425 million round, Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin became chairman of SharpLink’s board of directors. Consensys led the private placement round, funded in both fiat currency and ETH, which also included participation from prominent crypto investors like Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, Arrington Capital, GSR, and ParaFi Capital.

(Disclosure: Consensys is one of 22 investors in an editorially independent Decrypt.)

The company’s newly established treasury pivot makes it the latest in a series of publicly traded companies adopting digital asset treasuries, a move popularized by the Bitcoin-stacking Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and outspoken co-founder Michael Saylor.

Those companies range from DeFI Development Corporation (formerly Janover), an AI-powered real estate platform that has built nearly a $100 million Solana treasury, to President Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group, which recently raised $2.4 billion to buy Bitcoin.

SharpLink, though, is the most notable company to focus on acquiring Ethereum, crypto’s second largest asset by market capitalization. The firm’s Monday press release announcing the finalization of the funding says it will become the largest publicly traded holder of ETH.

ETH has been the butt of many jokes over the last year, especially as it has underperformed competing layer-1 blockchains like Bitcoin and Solana—but some optimism is growing for the asset following a price surge in May following the Pectra network upgrade.

Last week, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes told Decrypt that he believes ETH could touch $4,000-$5,000 in 2025, potentially making a new all-time high in the process as the “most hated layer-1.” Plus, analysts from Bernstein have indicated a growing interest in underlying networks where stablecoins have a major presence, a metric ETH dominates with more than 51% of stablecoin market share, per the firm’s investment note.

ETH is up 0.9% in the last 24 hours and is the best-performing coin in the top 10 by market cap over the last week, according to CoinGecko, dropping just 0.7% in that time to $2,532.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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June 2, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

MSI Titan 18 HX AI Review: The Ultimate Gaming Laptop

by admin June 2, 2025

The MSI Titan is not for the faint of heart—it never has been. It’s an 18-inch behemoth, fitting into that “desktop replacement” class of gaming laptop. This one in particular is meant for PC gamers who don’t just want top performance, but also some bling.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a gaming laptop with this many high-end features. With a Mini-LED display, a mechanical keyboard, and an invisible haptic touchpad, there’s no other 18-inch gaming laptop like it, and that means a flashy price, too.

Big and Beautiful

The MSI Titan is massive. It’s 1.26 inches thick at its largest point and weighs nearly eight pounds. You read that right. Eight whole pounds. Gaming laptops aren’t known for being particularly portable, especially ones with 18-inch screens, but the MSI Titan HX is almost a full pound heavier than the Razer Blade 18.

It’s hefty and well-crafted, though, as you’d hope for in a laptop north of $5,000. It’s not a single piece of machined aluminum like the Razer Blade 18, but the magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis feels sturdy. The MSI Titan HX uses a thermal shelf on the back, making the laptop larger, but providing a protrusion for extra ventilation and ports. MSI keeps it fairly minimalist with the all-black interior and silver trim, especially compared to older versions of this laptop. The invisible touchpad makes this feel even more modern. And yet, both the Razer Blade 18 and Alienware 18 Area-51 are more savvy designs in my book.

Photograph: Luke Larsen

In the rear, you’ll find the power jack, the HDMI 2.1 port, and the Ethernet. Next to some massive vents, you’ll find three USB-A 3.2. Gen2 ports on the side, along with the two Thunderbolt 5 ports, the SD card slot, and a headphone jack. That’s just about every port you can imagine, but the Thunderbolt 5 ports are the interesting part.

Intel sent me several Thunderbolt 5 accessories to demonstrate just how much bandwidth the new spec provides. I set up two 32-inch 4K 240-Hz OLED gaming monitors, all powered through a single USB-C cable. It’s magical seeing those two high-refresh-rate monitors being daisy-chained together, despite their 240-Hz refresh rates. In the past, Thunderbolt 4 ports were limited to two 4K monitors at 60 Hz.

Even if you don’t have two expensive gaming monitors to connect to, the MSI Titan 18 HX has a really solid Mini-LED display onboard. It can hit 414 nits of brightness in SDR and around double that in HDR. That’s not quite as good as the OLED gaming monitors out there, but it’s certainly bright enough to notice the difference in HDR. The color saturation is great too.

You want that 4K resolution when it’s spread across 18 inches of screen, even if you may not always want to play games at that native resolution. It’s incredibly sharp. This really is the best screen you can get on an 18-inch laptop right now, as OLED isn’t common in this larger screen size yet. MSI also offers an IPS version of this panel, as well as a lower-resolution 2560 x 1600 240-Hz IPS option.

Unfortunately, the speakers and webcam aren’t as premium. The 1080p camera is noisy, and the six-speaker audio system is mediocre. The speakers are almost irrelevant given how loud the fan noise is, at least when it comes to gaming.

Tricks Up Its Sleeve

Photograph: Luke Larsen

The keyboard is unique and an absolute joy to type and game on. It’s a Cherry MX low-profile mechanical keyboard that feels chunky and tactile. It’s unlike any laptop I’ve ever typed on in that sense, capturing the feel of a mechanical keyboard right on your laptop. My only complaint is that the many keys are not mechanical, such as the arrow keys, the number pad, and the function row. Once you notice, it’s a little jarring.

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June 2, 2025 0 comments