FPS news, framed by what matters
Daily coverage of game patches, driver releases, GPU launches, and esports rule changes — every story framed through one consistent lens: how it affects your framerate.
Alienware RTX 5090 prebuilt drops to $4,780 — cheaper than buying the GPU alone
Prebuilt actually cheaper than DIY for once, thanks to scalped GPU prices
Dell's Aurora R16 with an RTX 5090 is now $4,780, undercutting scalped GPU prices by $200-700. A rare case where the prebuilt beats DIY on price.
RTX 50-series prices jump 30% in South Korea as GDDR7 costs bite
GDDR7 shortages push RTX 50-series well past MSRP in South Korea
NVIDIA's RTX 5090 now costs over $5,000 in South Korea. GDDR7 memory shortages are driving the entire Blackwell lineup higher.
RTX 5070 hits third place on Steam's GPU chart in two months
Mid-range Blackwell adoption is outpacing Ada Lovelace's launch curve
NVIDIA's mid-range Blackwell card is climbing fast on Steam's hardware survey, outpacing the RTX 4070 and RTX 3060 Ti adoption curves.
16GB VRAM GPUs now outnumber 8GB cards on Steam for the first time
The midrange GPU install base just crossed a VRAM threshold that changes buying advice
Steam's July 2026 survey shows 16GB VRAM cards have overtaken 8GB models in the install base — a shift driven by midrange RTX 50-series and RX 9000 adoption.
GPU prices keep climbing through 2026 as VRAM costs and weak competition bite
VRAM fab costs and weak competition keep current-gen cards expensive through 2026
Current-gen GPU prices stay high with minimal discounts. Rising VRAM costs and lack of competition keep both NVIDIA and AMD cards expensive.
16GB GPUs and 8-core CPUs now most common on Steam
The Steam majority has moved to 16GB VRAM and 8-core CPUs — budget builds need to catch up
Steam's latest hardware survey shows 16GB VRAM and 8-core CPUs have overtaken older configs as the most popular among PC gamers.
AMD Zen 6 CPUs targeting 1% lows and stutter reduction
AMD's next architecture targets the frame drops that aggregate CPU usage percentages miss
AMD's next-gen Zen 6 architecture will focus on software-level improvements to minimize frame drops and stuttering in games, according to HYDRA OC creator 1usmus.
RTX 5080 prices blow past 5090 MSRP at major retailers
Partner 5080 models now cost more than the 5090's original MSRP
Best Buy and Amazon have hiked RTX 5080 and 5090 prices well above launch MSRP, with some 5080 models now costing more than the 5090's original $1,999 sticker.
AMD reportedly pushing 10% GPU price hike to August
GDDR6 shortages push AMD's price floor up in August — bad news for budget 1440p builds
AMD's planned price increase on graphics cards is now set for August instead of July, according to Board Channels sources. The hike stems from ongoing GDDR6 memory shortages.
Linux kernel patches claim 31% boost to 1% lows on AMD CPUs
AMD P-State driver tweaks could smooth out frame times on Linux handhelds
New AMD P-State driver patches targeting the Linux kernel could cut stuttering on Steam Deck and other AMD handhelds by up to 31%, per developer David Vernet.
Valve funds Windows port of AMD's open-source RADV Vulkan driver
Valve-backed open-source Vulkan driver gives AMD Windows users an alternative to Adrenalin
Collabora is porting Mesa's RADV driver to Windows with Valve backing. The move brings AMD's high-performance open-source Vulkan stack to Windows for the first time.
MSI and Colorful hike RTX 50-series prices up to 59% in China
Distributor price hikes in China suggest RTX 50-series retail increases are coming globally
Two major board partners quietly raised RTX 50-series prices in China by double digits, signaling broader price hikes may be coming to the US and Europe.
Modern Warfare 4 beta gets low-SBMM playlists
Activision tests lower skill-based matchmaking in MW4 beta after years of player complaints
Activision is adding lower skill-based matchmaking playlists to the Modern Warfare 4 beta, continuing its experiments with player-requested changes to CoD's multiplayer.
Black Ops 6 adds classic matchmaking mode in Season 5
Connection-first matchmaking returns, no skill brackets
Activision's new matchmaking mode drops skill-based pairing for connection-first lobbies, bringing back the random stomp-or-be-stomped chaos of older COD titles.
Halo: Campaign Evolved hits 'mixed' on Steam after server login blocks single-player
Always-online authentication blocks a $70 single-player campaign on day one
343's new Halo can't let you play offline despite being primarily single-player. Early access buyers are locked out by authentication failures.
NVIDIA raises GPU kit prices again, hitting both GDDR6 and GDDR7 cards
Memory cost hikes could push both new and older RTX cards up in price
NVIDIA told board partners about another memory price hike covering GDDR7 and GDDR6 kits, which means both current RTX 50-series and older RTX 40/30-series cards could see retail price bumps.
CachyOS Proton fork adds NVIDIA Reflex support for Linux gaming
First Proton fork to support NVIDIA Reflex — sub-30ms input lag now works on Linux
A custom Proton build from the CachyOS team now supports NVIDIA Reflex on Linux via a low-latency DX12-to-Vulkan layer, bringing sub-30ms input lag tech to Steam Deck and desktop Linux rigs.
Black Ops 6 expands Ricochet anti-cheat to Ranked after 263,000 bans this year
Ricochet anti-cheat now covers BO6 Ranked after 263k+ bans this year
Activision rolled out Ricochet anti-cheat to Black Ops 6 Ranked playlists after banning over 263,000 cheaters in 2026, targeting exploit abuse in competitive modes.
Black Ops 6 ditches skill-based matchmaking for connection-first lobbies
Activision scraps SBMM in casual modes, admits old matchmaking was better
Activision rolled back SBMM in Black Ops 6's casual playlists, prioritizing ping over hidden skill ratings. The change mirrors Black Ops 1 and 2's connection-first lobbies.
Modern Warfare 4 beta dates confirmed, Switch 2 included
First CoD beta for Switch 2, dates set but not revealed
Activision announced open and closed beta windows for Modern Warfare 4, including first-time Switch 2 support, alongside the return of Call of Duty: Next for multiplayer reveals.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X3D drops to $279 days after launch
The cheapest X3D chip ever — and a no-brainer for AM5 gamers on a budget
AMD's newest X3D chip is already $60 off — making it the cheapest 3D V-Cache option for gamers who want high frames without spending $450.
RTX 50 SUPER cards are sitting in warehouses because GDDR7 costs too much
SUPER silicon shipped but GDDR7 supply keeps the launch on ice
NVIDIA shipped RTX 50 SUPER silicon to board partners but won't let them launch. GDDR7 memory supply is the bottleneck.
NVIDIA RTX 50 Super launch stalled as 3GB GDDR7 modules cost 3x standard chips
3GB GDDR7 costs stall Super launch — VRAM upgrade stuck in price limbo
Board partners have Super cards in hand, but NVIDIA's holding the launch because the 3GB GDDR7 chips needed for higher capacities cost three times more than standard modules.
Valve's Steam Machine stuck at $1,000+ as memory shortage worsens
Memory shortage keeps Valve's modular PC-console north of $1,000
Valve says RAM and VRAM supply constraints are getting worse, not better — keeping the Steam Machine's price north of a grand for the foreseeable future.
Battlefield 6 brings back Conquest Air for a Top Gun crossover
Dogfight-only mode returns after two decades, backed by a Top Gun crossover
EA's resurrecting Conquest Air — a dogfight-focused mode last seen in Battlefield 2 — for a Top Gun: Maverick collaboration in Battlefield 6.
ASUS ROG Swift PG27UCWM and PG32UCWM now available with Tandem RGB OLED
Tandem OLED promises brighter HDR and longer life; dual-mode refresh lets you pick fidelity or speed per game
ASUS ships two ROG Swift OLED monitors with 4K Tandem RGB panels, dual-mode 240Hz/480Hz switching, and Dolby Vision. Both models promise better brightness and longevity than prior OLEDs.
ZeniMax Online Studios hit with 200+ layoffs, Elder Scrolls Online leadership axed
200+ cut from ESO studio, senior leadership gone — MMO's future uncertain
Microsoft's latest round of cuts gutted ZeniMax Online Studios, makers of The Elder Scrolls Online, removing senior leadership and raising questions about the MMO's future.
Battlefield 6 Season 4 brings back carrier landings and teases Top Gun collab
First carrier ops since 2005 and a Maverick crossover tease
Season 4 launches July 21 with aircraft carrier mechanics unseen since BF2, plus jets and a likely Top Gun crossover.
ZOTAC RTX 5090 reportedly caught fire five minutes into Black Flag Resynced
ZOTAC's flagship card reportedly died mid-game, connector intact
A ZOTAC RTX 5090 owner reported crackling, smoke, and a blown card minutes into Black Flag Resynced. The 12VHPWR connector wasn't the culprit this time.
Gears of War: E-Day launches with DLSS 4.5 and Unreal Engine 5.8
The Coalition bakes in DLSS 4.5 and UE5.8's full suite — MegaLights, Lumen, Nanite — for E-Day's PC version.
The Coalition confirms E-Day will ship with full DLSS 4.5 support, ray-tracing via Lumen, and UE5.8's MegaLights on PC.
AMD's RDNA 4 GPUs may get multi-frame generation up to 8x
AMD's pushing frame generation higher than NVIDIA — but can RDNA 4 handle it without turning into a latency nightmare?
New driver code hints AMD is prepping multi-frame generation for the RX 9000 series, potentially generating up to 8 frames per rendered frame.
Lawmakers push back on PlayStation's disc-free consoles as digital-only risks mount
Europe's consumer groups say all-digital consoles would kill game ownership
Consumer rights groups and European lawmakers are challenging Sony's shift to all-digital PlayStation hardware, warning it could eliminate true game ownership.
Counter-Strike 2 bomb now explodes from the center, changes C4 meta
New explosion physics shift post-plant meta and lethality zones
Valve changed how the C4 detonates in CS2 — explosion originates from the bomb's center instead of player positions, shifting hold angles and lethality zones.
Palworld hits 855,000 concurrent Steam players at 1.0 launch
855K concurrent at launch — one of 2026's biggest survival releases so far
Palworld's full 1.0 release pushed concurrent Steam players past 855,000, exceeding dev expectations and marking one of the biggest survival game launches this year.
AMD RX 9070 GRE drops to $499, undercutting Nvidia's 1440p lineup
AMD's $50 price cut puts 12GB VRAM at $499, directly challenging Nvidia's 8GB RTX 5060 Ti
AMD's RX 9070 GRE just got a 9% price cut to $499, positioning it as a direct challenge to Nvidia's mid-range 1440p cards.
RTX 5070 Ti caught throttling at 107°C — Nvidia hid the hotspot temp sensor
Nvidia removed a key thermal diagnostic from RTX 50-series cards
Nvidia removed public access to GPU hotspot temps on RTX 50-series cards. Internal testing tools show why: a 5070 Ti hit 107°C and throttled due to poor thermal paste application.
id Software cut to half its size in Xbox layoffs, studio says it's back to Doom 2016 headcount
id Software cut to Doom 2016 team size after Xbox layoffs hit roughly half the studio
Roughly half of id Software's staff lost their jobs in the latest Xbox layoff wave. The studio says it's now the same size it was when it shipped Doom 2016.
NVIDIA RTX 5090 SE reportedly in the works with 384-bit bus, 32GB VRAM
384-bit bus, 32GB VRAM, slots between 5080 and flagship 5090
A new RTX 5090 SE could slot between the 5080 and flagship 5090, using cut-down GB202 silicon with a narrower memory bus but keeping 32GB of VRAM.
DLSS Swapper creator warns users about malware-infected DLL files
Popular DLSS modding tool is safe — user-submitted files from forums are not
The developer behind popular DLSS modding tool DLSS Swapper is warning users to avoid downloading user-submitted DLL files that could contain malware.
Xbox cuts 3,200 jobs, sells off five studios
3,200 jobs cut, five studios sold — no studio names yet, Game Pass roadmap at risk
Microsoft's Xbox division is laying off 3,200 employees and divesting five studios in a fiscal-year restructuring. No word yet on which teams are affected.