Laughing Hyena
  • Home
  • Hyena Games
  • Esports
  • NFT Gaming
  • Crypto Trends
  • Game Reviews
  • Game Updates
  • GameFi Guides
  • Shop
Tag:

Xbox

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Is Getting An Overhaul And A 50 Percent Price Increase
Game Updates

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Is Getting An Overhaul And A 50 Percent Price Increase

by admin October 1, 2025


After a few years in a console’s life cycle, its common to see dips in price for its older games and hardware, but in 2025, the opposite has been true. The latest culprit of the rising cost of gaming is Xbox Game Pass, which we learned today would be getting new features, but a massive increase in monthly fees. Ultimate, the highest tier of the service, will cost 50 percent more, going from $19.99 a month to $29.99 a month. A breakdown of the new tiers is included below.

Click image to enlarge

Game Pass Essential (formerly Core)- $9.99 a month

  • 50+ games now playable on PC, console, and cloud
  • Unlimited Cloud Gaming
  • In-game benefits, including for Riot Games
  • Online console multiplayer
  • Play and earn up to $25 a year in the Store with Rewards

Game Pass Premium (formerly Standard) – $14.99 a month

  • 200+ games now playable on PC, console, and cloud
  • New Xbox-published games within a year of launch
  • Unlimited cloud gaming with shorter wait times
  • In-game benefits, including for Riot Games
  • Online console multiplayer
  • Play and earn up to $50 a year in the Store with Rewards

Game Pass Ultimate – $29.99 a month

  • 400+ games now playable on PC, console, and cloud
  • 75+ day one games a year, including all Xbox-published games day one
  • Ubisoft+ Classics and EA Play included, with Fortnite Crew coming in November
  • Unlimited cloud gaming at our best quality, with the shortest wait times
  • In-game benefits, including for Riot Games
  • Online console multiplayer
  • Play and earn up to $100 a year in the Store with Rewards

Xbox justifies the increase with a new lineup of upgrades. An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription now includes Ubisoft+ Classics (a $7/month fee that includes access to select Ubisoft games) and Fortnite Crew (which offers monthly skins and V-Bucks), along with an upgraded version of Xbox’s cloud gaming service. It also retains its previous benefits, including day 1 releases, a library of 400 games, EA Play, and online gaming.

Lower tiers, however, are relatively unchanged, save for their names: Game Pass Standard is now Game Pass Premium, but remains $14.99 a month, while Game Pass Core, now Game Pass Essential, is still $9.99. New games also come to each service today; you can read that full list here.

Just last year, Game Pass Ultimate increased in price from $16.99 to its current $19.99, and that change was signaled two months in advance – these latest changes go into effect today. This also comes following last week’s news that Xbox’s ROG Ally handhelds will be $599.99 and $999.99, and two weeks after we learned Xbox consoles are getting their second price increase this year.



Source link

October 1, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
The Internet Reacts To The Big Xbox Game Pass Price Hike
Game Updates

The Internet Reacts To The Big Xbox Game Pass Price Hike

by admin October 1, 2025


Because raising prices for its console wasn’t enough, Xbox is also raising the price of its Xbox Game Pass subscription by a whopping 50 percent. The service, which gives people access to a large library of games for a monthly fee, has long been considered one of the best deals in gaming, especially for people who don’t want to buy dozens of games a year. You could theoretically just subscribe to Game Pass and have something new to play every month as games rotate in and out of its catalog. Well, today Microsoft announced it would be raising the price for the Ultimate tier from $20 to $30 a month. 

Along with the hefty price increase, the Ultimate tier is getting a lot of new games and perks, including the Ubisoft+ catalog and a Fortnite crew membership that gives you battle pass access and in-game currency every month. The other tiers are also going up in price, and will now include cloud gaming access and an expanded library. The PC Game Pass package, however, is going up from $12 to $16.50 with no new perks. Xbox frames this as a move toward flexibility and choice, but ultimately, Game Pass’ claim to fame has always been its affordability, and now that its price is going up, the internet has feelings and jokes loaded up.

When I said i wanted the 360 era back, I didn’t mean $360 a year.

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) October 1, 2025

From the people that brought you the $650 five-year-old Xbox Series X and the $1000 handheld gaming PC, comes…

$30 per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate! WHO’S EXCITED??? /s

We went from $17 to $30 in 14 months, LOL.https://t.co/wcud6Grgly

— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) October 1, 2025

 

 

https://t.co/AFYM0WtIlF pic.twitter.com/xtvsIz6BWG

— Puertorock77 (@Puertorock77_) September 30, 2025

there’s still no annual subscription for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. That means it’s $360 a year, which is more than the Xbox Series S ($300) when it first launched 🤯

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 1, 2025

The page to cancel Game Pass subscriptions is broken already, incredible https://t.co/qTWLQRWRBs pic.twitter.com/yZjRCMGosk

— Sam (@_sunday_rain_) October 1, 2025

Xbox Game Pass for 30 bucks? Are they insane? These price hikes on game pass, consoles, and games themselves are just pricing people OUT of gaming. No more “I’ll give it a try” because of these prices. Absolutely wild to see how bad it’s become, and prices will never go down.

— Kala Elizabeth (@kalaelizabeth) October 1, 2025

Xbox gamers realising they might actually have to buy games now pic.twitter.com/LqVlzxPpsa

— Yokio (@ItsNewYokio) October 1, 2025

 

The Xbox brand has gotten a lot more expensive in just the past few weeks, with the company raising the prices of Xbox Series X/S consoles and announcing that the most powerful version of the Rog Ally X handheld will cost a staggering $1000. If that price wasn’t high enough, scalpers are already trying to sell the thing for twice as much, despite the handheld being readily available elsewhere.





Source link

October 1, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Battlefield 6 Pre-Loading On Xbox Is Live Now
Game Updates

Battlefield 6 Pre-Loading On Xbox Is Live Now

by admin October 1, 2025



Battlefield 6 isn’t getting an early-access release, but Xbox players can get a jump ahead by pre-loading the game right now. However, PC and PlayStation 5 owners are going to have to wait a few days longer.

For the base game, MP, and campaign only, the Battlefield 6 file size is under 41GB on Xbox Series X and 39.10 GB on Xbox Series S. However, the game gives players the option as to whether they want to install the HD packs, both of which significantly change the size. The MP HD pack is 25.6GB, while the Multiplayer HD Marker is 23.8GB.

According to the fan-run Battlefield Bulletin account, PlayStation 5 and PC owners will be able to pre-load Battlefield 6 on October 3. The game will launch on all three platforms on October 10, with the global rollout starting at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, which is also 4 PM BST.

Looking ahead, EA and DICE have announced that Battlefield 6 Season 1 will begin on October 28, and unfold over three phases. This will be a free update for all players.

EA recently hyped up Battlefield 6 with a live-action trailer that mocks rival franchise Call of Duty’s celebrity operators. However, industry experts still expect Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to outperform Battlefield 6 in terms of sales. But if you’d like to change that, you could always preorder Battlefield 6 now and pass the word on to your friends.

Battlefield 6 will be the first AAA game released EA since the company announced plans to sell itself to Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Affinity Partners, and private equity company Silver Lake for $55 billion.



Source link

October 1, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios closing UK studio in workforce restructure, following cancellation of Xbox exclusive Contraband
Game Updates

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios closing UK studio in workforce restructure, following cancellation of Xbox exclusive Contraband

by admin September 30, 2025


Avalanche Studios is the latest developer to be impacted by layoffs, as the company’s UK studio is set to be closed as part of a workforce restructure that will impact its Swedish studios too.

The studio is known for the Just Cause series (not to be confused with Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software, owned by Warner Bros.) and was previously working on an Xbox exclusive called Contraband.

However, that project was cancelled by Microsoft back in August, with the studio writing in a statement: “Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project’s future.”

Contraband – Official Reveal Trailer 4K | E3 2021Watch on YouTube

In a statement shared by the company today, the decision to restructure has been made “in light of current challenges to our business and the industry”.

It continued: “This review had led us to the difficult conclusion that we must make changes to our staffing and locations. As a result, we are proposing to close our Liverpool studio, and to initiate a collective consultation process, as required by UK law. This will impact all Avalanchers in Liverpool. The changes will also impact our other studio locations in Malmő and Stockholm, where we will reduce our workforce and restructure the teams to address our games’ needs.”

It concluded: “Despite these changes, we remain deeply committed to providing amazing games to our passionate player communities.” The statement does not mention Contraband and its cancellation specifically.

Contraband, a co-op smuggling game, was revealed in June 2021 at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, but little of the game has been shown since. Its official trailer has been removed from the Avalanche website, though you can see IGN’s video above.

Its cancellation arrived in the wake of layoffs across Microsoft in July, which resulted in the cancellation of multiple projects including The Initiative’s Perfect Dark, Rare’s Everwild, and an unannounced ZeniMax MMO.

Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella later claimed “Microsoft is thriving”, largely due to its investments in AI.

Back in 2024, Avalanche Studios entered a collective bargaining agreement with Swedish unions, which was planned to go into effect by the second quarter of this year.

“Over the past years, we’ve taken significant steps toward making Avalanche one of the best workplaces in the games industry,” Avalanche CEO Stefanía Halldórsdóttir said at the time.



Source link

September 30, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Xbox Ally X’s Are Selling For Stupid Amounts On eBay
Game Updates

Xbox Ally X’s Are Selling For Stupid Amounts On eBay

by admin September 30, 2025


Microsoft and Asus’ collaborative handheld Xbox device is arriving on October 16, 2025, with pre-orders available at various outlets right now. And as things go on the internet, eBay listings promising confirmed pre-orders are now going for two to three times the retail price –which is pretty ridiculous when the top-tier model of this handheld is already a thousand bucks.

Read More: Xbox’s Handheld Finally Has A Price, And It Costs More Than An Xbox

The ROG Xbox Ally X is an Xbox-skinned portable PC much like the Steam Deck or Asus’ own non-Xbox-branded “Ally.” These devices have become quite popular in recent years because, well, they’re usually pretty awesome. With the ability to carry around massive storefronts like Steam on the go, and enough horsepower to run graphical powerhouses like Cyberpunk 2077, it’s no wonder Microsoft wanted to get in on the action with a more Xbox-themed offering. The only problem is that the hardware manufacturer and game publisher is asking folks to spend $600 on the basic model, and a full four-digit $1,000 for the top-tier model featuring a more powerful processor. And yet, some eBayers think folks will spend even more than that even though it hasn’t sold out elsewhere. Wild.

© Screenshot: eBay / Kotaku

Who’s buying this thing anyway?

The ROG Xbox Ally X (which is the more powerful of the two models) is technically more powerful than some of its competitors. It features a new AMD Z2E AI Chip. Is it a generational leap? Certainly not enough to prompt Valve to base a Steam Deck successor on it.

Read More: Microsoft Reveals The First $800 Xbox With Another Round Of Price Hikes

Still, the improved performance of the Z2E is worth noting, with around a 10 to 20-percent performance improvement over TKTK, and sometimes a bit more, under certain circumstances. That improvement, however, comes at a cost, namely about $500 more than what you’d pay for a Steam Deck, and $100 more than Asus’ excellent ROG Ally X, which is not the Xbox-branded one. (No, you’re not dumb, this naming convention is.)

So, that really just leaves the controller-based Xbox user interface, which reduces the overall processing power Windows takes up and is more gamepad-friendly, and the unique controller grips. And even then, folks have found a way to get the new Xbox game launcher working on regular, non-Xbox-branded Ally portable PCs, and, to be honest, while I haven’t held a ROG Xbox Ally, it’s gonna be hard to compete with the Steam Deck’s excellent ergonomics.

Read More: The Biggest Reason To Buy The Xbox Ally Handheld Just Leaked

At $1,000 for the top-tier Xbox handheld, it’s hard to see a compelling reason to upgrade if you already have a Steam Deck, and certainly not if you have a more powerful handheld than that. Who, then, is gonna get suckered into spending twice that for an eBay pre-order? Hopefully not you!



Source link

September 30, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Yakuza Kiwami 1-3 Are Up For Preorder For PS5, Xbox, And Switch 2
Game Updates

Yakuza Kiwami 1-3 Are Up For Preorder For PS5, Xbox, And Switch 2

by admin September 29, 2025



Yakuza and Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has kept the franchise thriving with a constant stream of releases, and this strategy will continue through the holiday season and into 2026. Most notably, the Kiwami remake series is expanding with Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties. The remake of Yakuza 3 comes with a new spin-off game Dark Ties and features a complete overhaul of the gameplay and graphics. Yakuza Kiwami 3 is available to preorder now for $60 on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X and PC ahead of its February 12, 2026 release.

Upcoming Yakuza Game Preorders for Console:

Sega is also bringing Yakuza Kiwami 1 & 2 to PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2 this fall. A Kiwami 1 & 2 bundle for PlayStation and Xbox releases December 8 for $60, while Nintendo Switch 2 players can preorder Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 separately for $35 each. Along with the rereleases of the first two remakes, the Director’s Cut of Yakuza 0 will no longer be exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 starting December 8. Check out all of the upcoming Yakuza physical editions below.

$60 | Releases February 12, 2026

For the preorder bonus, you’ll unlock Ichiban Kasuga from the Like a Dragon games as a member of your motorcycle gang, the Ryukyu Gals. The digital-only Yakuza Kiwami 3: Deluxe Edition throws in several extra pieces of cosmetic DLC as well, like outfits for your gang, a flip-phone customization pack, and more music to listen to in the game.

If you’re planning to play on PC, you can get a pretty good deal right now through Fanatical, as the preorder price for the standard edition is $52.79. If you feel like getting the Digital Deluxe Edition, that has also been discounted and will cost you $66 (was $75).

Preorder for:

A remake of 2009’s Yakuza 3, Yakuza Kiwami 3 is easily the biggest remake yet when compared to previous chapters. Not only does it benefit from an even bigger jump in visual quality, but it also expands on the overall story with new cutscenes, dialogue, and side-stories. Kiryu will also be able to use a new weapon-based combat style based on Okinawan martial arts, and fans can even take part in a life-simulator minigame at his orphanage, Morning Glory, through various outdoor activities.

Other additions include a new team battle mode where Kiryu’s motorcycle gang takes on rival outfits, and most importantly, there’ll be new Karaoke songs to sing along to. But perhaps the biggest draw here is Dark ties, an all-new prequel to Yakuza Kiwami 3 that reveals more details about Yoshitaka Mine, one of Kiryu’s greatest foes and the primary antagonist of this remake. RGG says this is a gritty crime story set in Kamurocho, where Mine rises to power. The prequel also adds a new mission-based mode called Kanda Damage Control and a survival mode set in an underground fight club.

$60 | Releases December 8

If you’re looking to catch up on mainline Yakuza entries, you’re in luck as both Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2 are being bundled together into a single physical edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X for $60. Both games are also being released on Switch 2, but the physical editions for Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 are being sold separately for $35 each.

Yakuza Kiwami is a complete remake from 2016 of the first Yakuza game that was released, retaining its story while polishing up its visuals and gameplay. One of the big changes here was that the combat system was overhauled entirely to be closer to Yakuza 0, giving Kiryu four unique fighting styles to choose from–Brawler, Beast, Rush, and Dragon–during his adventure. While Yakuza 0 featured a powerful antagonist in the form of Mr. Shakedown–an absolute brute who could be randomly encountered in the game world and would rob you blind if he beat you in a fight–Yakuza Kiwami featured the “Majima Everywhere” challenge instead.

This saw Kiryu’s rival, Goro Majima, randomly pop up during gameplay to challenge him to a street fight or minigames like darts and bowling. Defeating him would unlock new abilities in Kiryu’s Dragon style.

On a technical level, the resolution, framerate, textures, and loading times were greatly improved when compared to the original game, more substories were added, and the remake had a Japanese dub that was far superior to the English audio track. Another noteworthy improvement was to the overall story, as additional cutscenes fleshed out Yakuza’s antagonist, Nishiki, went on, providing crucial insight to his betrayal of Kiryu. The cherry on top was an expansion of Heat Actions that Kiryu could perform, giving him even more over-the-top finishers to use during combat.

Released in 2017, Yakuza Kiwami 2 saw ex-Yakuza Kiryu embroiled in a massive gang war in the Japanese underworld, following the assassination of the Tojo clan’s Fifth Chairman, Yukio Terada, by the rival Omi Alliance. At the center of this conflict was Ryuji Goda, the Dragon of Kansai who was hellbent on defeating Kiryu and cementing his legend as the only dragon of the Yakuza. The remake also added a new scenario centered around Goro Majima, revealing just what the loose cannon gangster had been up to since he left the Tojo clan to form his own construction company.

For this sequel, gameplay was also revamped significantly to be more in line with Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, and the visual upgrade also made a big difference to the bone-crunching action.

$35 each | Releases November 13

Yakuza Kiwami 1 & 2 are also coming to Switch 2, but the physical editions for Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 are being sold separately for $35 each. Nintendo Switch 2 players will be able to play their physical editions a bit earlier, though, as each game arrives November 13.

Like Kiwami 3 and Nintendo Switch 2 launch title Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, these are Game-Key Cards that require full downloads from the eShop upon inserting the cards for the first time.

$50 | Releases December 8

Chronologically, Yakuza 0 is the first game in the franchise and it stars both Kiryu Kazuma and Goro Majima. Considered to be the very best game in the entire franchise, Yakuza 0 overhauled the series in 2015 to be leaner, meaner, and even more ambitious with its grand and sweeping narrative set during the late ’80s Japanese financial boom. The PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC versions will be priced at $50, the same MSRP as the Switch 2 edition. That said, the Switch 2 version is on sale for $37 at Amazon.

Th Director’s Cut adds several new scenes, a brand-new English voiceover, and Red Light Raid mode, a series of co-op battles where players unite to make some fast cash with their fists.

While the main campaign is thrilling, the management sim side stories where Majima gets roped into hosting a hostess club and Kiryu joins the dangerous world of real estate are also unmissable in this 3D beat-’em-up masterpiece.

More Yakuza games

Beyond the upcoming preorders, you can dive into several more Yakuza adventures as well. Each game is designed to have an episodic feel to its story, and the series has evolved over the years with new protagonists and spin-offs. In case you already have one of the two current Kiwami games in your collection, you can pick them up individually, and if you feel like taking a step back in time, you can get The Yakuza Remastered Collection. This collects Yakuza 3,4, and 5 in one bundle and it offers substantially improved performance.

Granted, these are the original games given an HD makeover, and the gameplay largely remains the same, which might result in some of these titles feeling dated. What this collection also adds is a completely redone English localization, visual and audio changes to several characters, content that was originally cut from the Western releases have been added back in, and certain problematic content has also been removed.

Yakuza 0

The other big recommendation here is Judgment and its sequel, Lost Judgment. While these games are mechanically similar to the Yakuza titles and also feature an episodic storyline structure, they focus on a new character and add investigative elements to the franchise formula. The Judgment games also deal with heavier subject matter, focusing even more on institutionalized corruption, Japan’s controversial legal system, medical malpractice, murder, and high school suicides, while weaving together a tight narrative.

In the modern era, the Yakuza games have evolved into the Like a Dragon series. These games follow a new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, on his adventures and so far two titles have been released–Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. In the gameplay department, they’re a massive departure from the beat-’em-up games starring Kiryu as they use turn-based RPG elements instead. The first spin-off of this series, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was released earlier this year and it reverts back to the old-school action that veterans are familiar with.

Yakuza 0

Yakuza Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami 2

The Yakuza Remastered Collection

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Like a Dragon: Ishin

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Judgment

Lost Judgment

Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.



Source link

September 29, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
GTA 5's Stars Sell You On ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds
Game Updates

GTA 5’s Stars Sell You On ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds

by admin September 28, 2025



To promote preorders for the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, Asus looked to one of the most popular video games of all time: Grand Theft Auto V. Michael De Santa actor Ned Luke and Franklin Clinton actor Shawn Fonteno appear in a new social media ad talking about the upcoming portable PC devices.

“It’s handheld freedom for everybody,” says Fonteno in the clip posted on X by Asus. “You know you gotta have an ally, and Xbox picked the right Ally,” adds Luke. Microsoft and Asus finally revealed the price points for the two PC portable devices yesterday. The ROG Xbox Ally will cost $600 in the US, while the Xbox Ally X will cost $1,000. Both handhelds will launch October 16.

The base model ROG Xbox Ally has drawn comparisons to the Steam Deck OLED from a specs perspective, featuring an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor (Zen 4), 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Meanwhile, the premium Xbox Ally X has an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor (Zen 5), 24GB DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. In June, GameSpot got hands-on time with the Xbox Ally X.

Asus announced that the GTA V stars would “help get folks aboard the ROG Xbox Ally hype train” last month. Previously, the company has worked with GTA V star Steven Ogg (Trevor Philips), too.

Earlier this month, Microsoft revealed that it was raising Xbox prices once again in the US. Starting October 3, the Xbox Series S will retail for $400 (up from $380), while the Xbox Series X 1TB will cost $650 (up from $600).



Source link

September 28, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
An ROG Xbox Ally X and Ally shown during Microsoft's Xbox stream in June 2025.
Gaming Gear

Scalpers are already selling the promise of an Asus ROG Xbox Ally X for over $2,000 when it’s still available for pre-order at half the price

by admin September 28, 2025



If you have your eye on the upcoming Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handheld gaming PC, be careful where you buy it from. As reported by Tom’s Hardware, scalpers are already trying to rip people off with eBay listings charging over two times MSRP—while the ROG Xbox Ally X is still available for pre-order at its normal price.

Tom’s Hardware spotted numerous eBay listings for the Xbox Ally X priced as high as $2,500. For context, the MSRP is $999 for the Xbox Ally X or $599 for the base Xbox Ally. Both devices are set to launch on October 16.

If you want to snag a Xbox Ally, it’s best to avoid eBay entirely. At the time of writing, pre-orders are still open for the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X at Best Buy, Asus, and Microsoft (if you’re outside the US, you can check the official Xbox pre-order page to find pre-order options in your region). This is a pretty pricey handheld as it is, all things considered, so don’t let a scalper trick you into paying double.


Related articles

If you consider the ROG Xbox Ally X part of the Xbox line-up (which Microsoft seems to), it’s the most expensive Xbox to date. For $1,000, you get an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip, 24GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 7-inch FHD IPS display. Benchmark testing for the Z2 Extreme chip so far shows a decent improvement in performance over the Z1 Extreme in the non-Xbox ROG Ally X released last year, but mainly at lower settings.

If you already have a 2024 ROG Ally X, the upcoming Xbox version might not be enough of an upgrade to justify paying $1,000. It’s a worthier choice if you’re coming from an older or budget handheld, or if you’re picking up your first handheld gaming PC.

However, at this price, the Xbox Ally X is trying to compete with budget gaming laptops, many of which have discrete GPUs that can offer stronger performance. The handheld form factor is an understandable selling point here, but even so, it’s worth considering all of your portable gaming options⁠—like the Steam Deck, whose LCD version is down to $320⁠—before buying.

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.



Source link

September 28, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Sengoku Dynasty Available Now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X
Esports

Sengoku Dynasty Available Now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X

by admin September 28, 2025



Chesterfield, UK –September 26, 2025– International games publisher Funbox Media Ltd has announced that Sengoku Dynasty, the ultimate feudal Japan survival-builder, is now available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.Sengoku Dynasty immerses players in feudal Japan, where you can build villages, shape communities, and rise to power through combat or economic strength. Whether played solo or in co-op with up to four players, the game offers freedom to forge your own path—be it as a ruler, craftsman, warrior, or monk. From hot springs to epic battles, every choice defines your legacy.The game begins with humble survival: gathering resources, crafting, hunting, and constructing the foundations of a village. As your settlement grows, you can automate production, assign jobs to villagers, and expand into thriving communities across the valley. Exploration, rituals, and divine mysteries add depth to the open-world experience.Leadership comes with both opportunities and challenges. Rogue samurai and bandit clans threaten the valley, forcing players to defend their people, liberate territories, and rebuild infrastructure. Combat offers mastery of weapons like spears, katanas, and bows, with a system of combos, blocks, and parries that rewards both skill and persistence.Beyond survival and combat, dynasty management shapes the long-term journey. Players can marry, raise successors, and oversee the prosperity of their lineage. Extensive customization options allow tailoring gameplay to personal preferences, from simplified building to disabling combat entirely. Multiplayer co-op further expands possibilities, enabling friends to share responsibilities and grow together.To enrich the experience, Sengoku Dynasty includes supplemental content: a detailed guide to gameplay mechanics, a Japanese cookbook featuring authentic recipes, and a soundtrack composed by Queen of Noise, blending energetic rhythms with serene melodies. Together, these elements bring to life an expansive vision of medieval Japan where survival, culture, and legacy intertwine.

Features

  • Gather, craft, fight, and build your own thriving settlement
  • Lead your dynasty through dynamic seasons and threats
  • Balance warfare with wisdom, spirituality, and growth
  • Full controller support and performance optimised for console



Source link

September 28, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Xbox Has A Fix For The Most Annoying Thing About PC Gaming
Game Reviews

Xbox Has A Fix For The Most Annoying Thing About PC Gaming

by admin September 27, 2025


PC gaming is wonderful. You can customize games as much as you desire, run them at high framerates, and enjoy all sorts of other useful advantages. But one really annoying part of gaming on a PC in 2025 is dealing with shader compilation. Thankfully, Microsoft is rolling out a solution, but it might take some time before you get to enjoy its benefits.

Over the last few years, game developers have started implementing shader compilation on PC. The idea is for your GPU to compile as many of the shaders that will be used during gameplay as possible ahead of time and limit how much stuttering you feel while playing. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s a pretty good way to improve how well games play on your PC. But the big problem with compiling shaders is that it takes time, and you’re often left looking at a screen for a few minutes or more, depending on your PC and how many shaders the game needs to compile. In theory, you only have to do this once at startup. But in reality, you’ll likely do it a few times, as big updates or changes you make to the game’s settings can force another shader compilation. I have even run into games, like Borderlands 4, that compile shaders mid-game when fast-traveling for the first time. It’s all very annoying, but thankfully, Microsoft has a solution that is now in the wild.

As spotted by PC Gamer, Microsoft’s Agility software development kit, a collection of game development tools for DirectX, has been updated to 1.618 and now supports Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD). This tech, which was announced last month, is Microsoft’s plan to get rid of those annoying shader compiling screens. The basic idea is that instead of your GPU and PC compiling all the shaders at game boot, ADS will contain a large database of pre-compiled shaders for various hardware and API setups. So you download a game and it includes all the shaders you’ll need, already compiled offline and ready to go.

This is essentially how consoles get around having to compile shaders when booting up a game, but it’s much easier over there, as devs only have to manage a few setups. In the world of PC gaming, there are many, many different hardware configurations to deal with, making it trickier to pre-compile everything.  But AMD, Intel, and Nvidia are all working together alongside Microsoft to provide devs and storefronts with everything they’ll need to pre-compile shaders for as many hardware variations as possible, and then offer these to consumers when they buy digital games.

For now, ADS is only available on Microsoft’s Xbox Store app and only when using the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds, which both launch on October 16.  It’ll likely be a few years before ADS is a normal feature included in most big stores and games, but at least there’s hope. One day, not too far in the future, we’ll all be free from having to wait for every big PC game to compile shaders. Doesn’t that sound nice?



Source link

September 27, 2025 0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 10

Categories

  • Crypto Trends (1,098)
  • Esports (800)
  • Game Reviews (772)
  • Game Updates (906)
  • GameFi Guides (1,058)
  • Gaming Gear (960)
  • NFT Gaming (1,079)
  • Product Reviews (960)

Recent Posts

  • This 5-Star Dell Laptop Bundle (64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) Sees 72% Cut, From Above MacBook Pricing to Practically a Steal
  • Blue Protocol: Star Resonance is finally out in the west and off to a strong start on Steam, but was the MMORPG worth the wait?
  • How to Unblock OpenAI’s Sora 2 If You’re Outside the US and Canada
  • Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth finally available as physical double pack on PS5
  • The 10 Most Valuable Cards

Recent Posts

  • This 5-Star Dell Laptop Bundle (64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) Sees 72% Cut, From Above MacBook Pricing to Practically a Steal

    October 10, 2025
  • Blue Protocol: Star Resonance is finally out in the west and off to a strong start on Steam, but was the MMORPG worth the wait?

    October 10, 2025
  • How to Unblock OpenAI’s Sora 2 If You’re Outside the US and Canada

    October 10, 2025
  • Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth finally available as physical double pack on PS5

    October 10, 2025
  • The 10 Most Valuable Cards

    October 10, 2025

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

About me

Welcome to Laughinghyena.io, your ultimate destination for the latest in blockchain gaming and gaming products. We’re passionate about the future of gaming, where decentralized technology empowers players to own, trade, and thrive in virtual worlds.

Recent Posts

  • This 5-Star Dell Laptop Bundle (64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) Sees 72% Cut, From Above MacBook Pricing to Practically a Steal

    October 10, 2025
  • Blue Protocol: Star Resonance is finally out in the west and off to a strong start on Steam, but was the MMORPG worth the wait?

    October 10, 2025

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

@2025 laughinghyena- All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Pro


Back To Top
Laughing Hyena
  • Home
  • Hyena Games
  • Esports
  • NFT Gaming
  • Crypto Trends
  • Game Reviews
  • Game Updates
  • GameFi Guides
  • Shop

Shopping Cart

Close

No products in the cart.

Close