At GDC 2026, Microsoft revealed plans to eliminate two persistent PC gaming problems: shader compilation stuttering and slow asset streaming. Here's what actually changes for players.
Tom Whitfield 
My.Games has announced Hawked will shut down in June for PC and September for console, joining a growing list of failed live-service shooters competing in an increasingly hostile market.
Tom Whitfield 
Microsoft is rolling out Gaming Copilot to Xbox Series X and S consoles later this year, an AI assistant that helps players beat bosses and find games. The feature raises thorny questions about fair payment for the creators whose work trains it.
Tom Whitfield 
When Blizzard axed Project Titan after seven years of development, the remaining team had weeks to conceive, pitch and greenlight a new game. What emerged was Overwatch, one of the most successful new IPs of the decade.
Tom Whitfield 
Microsoft has officially confirmed its next-generation Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix, promising leading performance and the ability to play both Xbox and PC games. But the timeline and price remain a concern for fans.
Tom Whitfield 
Nearly a week before Crimson Desert arrives, technical reviewers finally got hands-on with the game running on a PlayStation 5 Pro, offering reassurance after months of PC-only footage.
Tom Whitfield 
Elden Ring showed significant performance improvements at GDC 2026, running at a stable 30-40 fps after months of optimisation work. The game, delayed from 2025, now appears ready for release.
Tom Whitfield 
Sunday Robotics has raised $165 million at a $1.15 billion valuation to mass-produce Memo, a wheeled home robot trained on real household routines rather than simulation data.
Tom Whitfield 
Lisuan's new 7G106 gaming GPU represents a real engineering achievement for China, but early benchmarks reveal a more complex picture than headlines suggest.
Tom Whitfield 
Pearl Abyss's highly anticipated RPG gets a clean bill of health on PS5 Pro but draws fire over last-minute DRM reveal on Steam, raising familiar concerns about transparency and performance.
Tom Whitfield 
Crimson Desert will launch with Denuvo DRM on Steam, announced just seven days before release. The timing has angered pre-order customers and reignited debate over anti-piracy software's cost to legitimately paying players.
Tom Whitfield 
Hasbro's CEO has promised that generative AI will stay out of Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and its video game projects, marking a significant shift from his earlier claims that AI integration was inevitable.
Tom Whitfield 
Union organisers are demanding baseline protections for game developers, from limits on crunch hours to AI safeguards, at the Game Developers Conference.
Tom Whitfield 
Sony faces a £2 billion UK lawsuit alleging its PlayStation Store exploits market dominance to overcharge millions of gamers for digital games and add-ons.
Tom Whitfield 
Google has rolled out its biggest Maps update in over a decade, bringing 3D navigation powered by Gemini AI alongside a new conversational feature for trip planning.
Tom Whitfield 
JBL has launched over-ear and on-ear wireless headphones boasting 80 hours of battery life with ANC off, 50 hours with it on. The question is whether such extremes serve users or merely distract from broader audio and design compromises.
Tom Whitfield 
Pokémon Pokopia sold 2.2 million copies globally in its first four days, with 1 million in Japan alone, becoming a major driver of Nintendo Switch 2 momentum despite widespread supply constraints.
Tom Whitfield 
Meta unveiled four custom AI chips built with Broadcom while facing damning oversight board findings on deepfake detection. The contrasts raise questions about where the company's priorities lie.
Tom Whitfield 
Google is expanding Play Games for Windows with premium indie titles, free trials, and cross-platform purchasing options. It's a deliberate shift from free-to-play dominance toward legitimacy in desktop gaming.
Tom Whitfield 
Fi Money is shutting down banking services to 3.5 million customers, marking a turning point for India's neobank sector. The startup's exit highlights why app-based banks without their own licences struggle to survive.
Tom Whitfield