The RAM Crisis continues to worsen, driving the prices of our beloved PC gaming upgrades we took for granted to unaffordable levels for the common man.

Fortunately, Newegg's latest offering from its ongoing Black November Doorstopper campaign has unlocked a massive sales bundle for a plethora of highly sought-after PC gaming components, including a CPU with 8 cores and 4.2 GHz clock speeds, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD, to name a few.

One of our favorite deals from this package is the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D that's now 33% off for $299.00 at Newegg (was $449.00). This powerhouse of a CPU, coupled with a capable GPU like the GIGABYTE Gaming Radeon RX 9070 GRE (now available for $499.00 at Newegg), will ensure your rig has the power to run demanding PC games like Cyberpunk 2077 at high settings while keeping your computer from overheating using efficient power management.

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After decades, Dell still offers a massive catalog of consumer laptops, but some models with modern components can quickly become expensive, given the industry's ongoing memory (RAM) shortages.

Thankfully, Best Buy's early Black Friday sale cuts hundreds of dollars off two of Dell's more compact and portable options.

You can grab the 14-inch Dell 14S for $999.99 at Best Buy (was $1,449.99), saving $450 on a productivity-focused laptop, or pick up the more affordable Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 for $799.99 (was $1,299.99) as a flexible convertible 14-inch option for note-taking, sketching, and regular everyday use, with a $500 saving.

Which Dell deal should you buy?

While both laptops offer durable designs, portable 14-inch displays, and dedicated NPUs for local AI features, they're aimed at different users depending on your wants and needs. Before you spend during Black Friday season, it's worth looking into the specs a little deeper.

If you're after a productivity laptop, the Dell 14S (31% off) is better. It comes equipped with a long-lasting battery, an OLED 2K touchscreen with deep contrast, and a modern AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 processor paired with 16GB of RAM to boost multitasking with multiple web browser tabs, creating documents or spreadsheets, video calling, and plenty more.

Otherwise, if you're shopping on a tighter budget or want a Windows laptop that's equally useful for school and everyday use, the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (38% off) is a good fit. It still offers good productivity performance with substantial standby power efficiency thanks to its Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) 256V CPU coupled with 16GB of RAM, a 120Hz 2K touchscreen that makes scrolling and digital sketching with compatible (but sold separately) pens feel seamless, and a solid design so it can pull multiple duties as a notepad, movie viewer, or regular laptop with ease.

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The Swift 16 AI is one of the latest Windows laptops featuring Intel's "Panther Lake" processors (Core Ultra Series 3) that balance productivity, power, and efficiency for all-day battery life, plus Acer's stunning OLED touchscreen.

It's already on sale for just $999.99 at Best Buy long before Black Friday, with a hefty $550 discount that knocks 35% off its listing price. With 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, it's a great option for anyone looking to upgrade their everyday laptop without spending the usual ~$1,200+ costs.

Why should you buy this laptop?

Powered by Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" X7 358H processor and integrated Arc B390 graphics, the Swift 16 AI delivers plenty of performance for everyday productivity workloads, including multitasking across dozens of browser tabs, content creation, and even some gaming. That integrated B390 graphics chip is far more powerful than its lower-end variants; in fact, you'll find the same one in high-end gaming handhelds.

Beyond that, Acer boasts a full day of usable battery life in a laptop with a thin chassis and a sharp 3K (2880x1800) OLED touchscreen. That means vibrant colors, strong contrast, and even a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate as a bump over the usual 60Hz standard you'd find in many others.

You'll get dual USB-C ports alongside two more traditional USB-A ports, HDMI-out for external monitors, and a 3.5mm audio jack for wired headphones, reducing the need for too many dongles when you're traveling. Plenty of peripherals are wireless these days, but it's always nice to have the option for wired alternatives.

Acer's bigger trackpad might not suit everyone, and the speakers were never made for movie-watching, but neither detracts from what is otherwise a well-rounded productivity laptop. Alternatively, an AMD-based Swift 16 AI with a WUXGA (1920x1200) touchscreen is also on sale for $799.99 at Walmart. However, it is sold by a reseller, not Walmart itself, so there's a chance it will disappear much faster.

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In the lead-up to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's release, the developers made the controversial announcement that the console versions would require VRR monitors in order to run at 120Hz in Performance mode.

Players who didn't have or couldn't afford VRR monitors were mad at this last-minute decision, and the developers took notice because, as of today, they have reversed it as part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's Season 1 update.

According to the Season 1 patch notes, the developers stated, "We have opened up 'Performance Mode (120Hz)' for all PlayStation 5 & XBOX Series X|S players with 120hz displays, regardless of VRR support. For the best experience, VRR is recommended."

So while VRR monitors are still needed to achieve the best frame rate performance possible, at least those who don't have VRR monitors won't be forced to buy one just so they can have smooth, optimal gameplay.

But will this and the rest of Season 1's content be enough to attract more players to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and help offset its worrying 32% sales drop? Only time will tell.

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On October 23, 2026, AMD began rolling out FSR 4.1 for Xbox, starting with beta drivers for Xbox Ally handhelds. Now, AMD has announced that FSR 4.1 is available for Xbox developers working on Series X|S games.

FSR 4.1 is the latest version of AMD's AI-powered upscaling technology, rendering games at lower internal resolutions before reconstructing them to a higher output resolution while preserving detail and improving performance.

It's also part of Microsoft's wider push toward a more unified Xbox ecosystem across consoles, handhelds, and desktop gaming PCs. While the tech has mostly been showcased on Xbox Ally X hardware so far, early beta driver results showed meaningful improvements to image quality and frame rates, at least in supported games.

In our own testing, demanding games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Control Resonance, and Gears of War: E-Day showed more consistent frame rates on the Xbox Ally X with FSR 4.1 enabled, while titles like The Witcher 3 Remaster ran closer to 60 FPS with even more image clarity improvements.

Certain games that previously appeared noticeably soft or blurry in their Quality modes on Xbox Ally X also showed substantial image-quality improvements while maintaining strong performance, even in games that show dozens of enemies on screen at once, like Warhammer 40,000: Darktide.

How much of a difference FSR 4.1 makes on Xbox Series X|S will depend on per-developer implementation, and we already know that certain games that rely on ray-traced lighting, like Silent Hill 2, need more work. Still, those early Xbox Ally X results suggest FSR 4.1 could act as a software-driven mid-generation upgrade of sorts, helping developers squeeze more performance out of existing hardware. Good news.

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After months of anticipation, World of Warcraft: Forever, the reimagined take on the World of Warcraft's "classic" era, has finally gone live on PC via the Battle.net store.

Normally, whenever a new MMORPG or expansion for one comes out, its launch is usually riddled with server stability problems or log-in queues so long that it will take players hours to log in (like FFXIV: Endwalker's infamous launch, for example).

However, World of Warcraft: Forever's launch appears to have gone more smoothly than expected, thanks to its "Megaserver" architecture, which handles more players at once than individual "realm" servers in regular World of Warcraft.

Our own Jez Corden tested World of Warcraft: Forever and described it as a "very stable launch", which suffered no lag while spawning dozens of players and monsters at once.

Blizzard's vice president, Holly Longdale, has also made a post on X saying World of Warcraft: Forever's launch is "so far so goodish which is crazy by itself". Judging by the huge wave of replies to that comment, players seem to agree.

People are calling it the best launch World of Warcraft has ever had, with minimal queue times when logging in that last only a couple of minutes, minimal server lag, and no constant disconnects.

Windows Central's take

I myself have briefly logged into World of Warcraft: Forever to mess around with it before heading to work and was surprised by how fast I was able to log in (only a few minutes tops) and how smoothly it ran at max settings.

Granted, I haven't visited one of the major player settlements yet, so that will be when I can truly stress test this game's stability. But right now, I'm looking forward to playing this game when I get off work tonight and see if it can make up for the many gameplay, storytelling, and microtransactional shortcomings World of Warcraft: Midnight has put players through.

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GOG is one of the world's most popular digital storefronts for PC games. It's beloved by players for releasing PC games without DRM restrictions and releasing long-awaited ports of classic games like Breath of Fire 4 and Dino Crisis, fully updated to run on modern PCs.

GOG has reached its 18th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it will be hosting its first-ever gaming showcase event called the "GOG Showcase" on November 5, 2026, to reveal new games, new features, and more surprises as it enters a new chapter.

The GOG Showcase will be broadcast on GOG's YouTube channel at 7:00 PM CET / 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT / 6:00 PM GMT.

Windows Central's take

GOG has gained a surge in popularity this year as it's become a champion for preserving not only classic games but also consumers' rights and true digital ownership of games (which is becoming rarer in the wake of PlayStation killing physical discs or Microsoft blocking players' entire Xbox game libraries).

Granted, it isn't entirely perfect, as over a thousand games on GOG are missing DLC, updates, and other features compared to their Steam or Epic Games Store counterparts.

However, when it comes to providing games players can keep forever with their own dedicated launchers and with no DRM to hinder their performance (with a 30-day return as a bonus), GOG has its competition beat in that regard.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what retro games from the past GOG plans to bring back next on PC when the GOG Showcase begins tomorrow (fingers crossed they bring back the PS1 JRPG classic, Legend of Dragoon).

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Microsoft has announced (via Xbox Wire) one of the strangest promotions it's done in years. It's hosting a free giveaway on social media for the Xbox Series X–Bite, a custom-made Xbox Series X trapped in a fake alligator.

This is not a gimmick display piece; there is an actual, fully functional Xbox Series X inside this fabricated beast, complete with a built-in resting place for an Xbox Series X controller rest in the alligator's jaw.

Do note that only one Xbox Series X-Bite exists and that Microsoft will only give it away to one winner. If you're interested in this monstrosity.

Here are the rules for entering this giveaway promotion:

• Step 1 - Make an X, Instagram, or TikTok account.
• Step 2 - Follow @XBOX on your platform of choice.
• Step 3- Repost the designated XBOX sweepstakes post.
• Step 4 - Manually add #XbiteSweepstakes to your repost.
• Step 5 - Make sure to set your account's privacy settings to public so Microsoft can see your post.

The Xbox Series X-Bite sweepstakes giveaway will run from 9:00 a.m. PT on November 3, 2026, to 11:59 p.m. PT on November 10, 2026.

Keep an eye out for notifications from Microsoft after you enter. If you've won, you will need to claim your prize within 48 hours of Microsoft's notification; otherwise, you'll miss your chance.

Windows Central's take

Now I've seen my fair share of bizarre gaming promotions as a gaming journalist over the years, but this one takes the cake for how random it is. I mean, how do you even put any discs in this gator (and will Xbox controllers' wireless connections be able to get through its stomach)?

I can't help but wonder if this was originally meant to be a Grand Theft Auto 6-themed Xbox Series X giveaway (considering the game takes place in a satirical version of Florida called "Leonida"), but something happened to cause Microsoft to veer away from any mention of it.

Either way, with Xbox consoles struggling for stock, I'm sure there will be plenty of people crazy enough to enter this contest to win the Xbox Series X-Bite and display it as a treasured heirloom for future generations to guard with their lives...or take the console out of the gator's stomach and toss out the reptile if it's too big to fit in their rooms.

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Microsoft's tiny XBOX Nano controller is now available from Microsoft and third-party retailers like Antonline for $49.99. Just last month, Microsoft officially announced its new pocket-sized Nano, and it's on track for its targeted release, with a launch today, November 4, 2026.

It's a slim alternative, measuring slightly over 5 inches and weighing only 3.5 oz (~99 g), which makes its Cloud Gaming appeal to smartphone gamers pretty obvious, but it works on Microsoft's consoles as expected. Our own Jez Corden went hands-on with the XBOX Nano, and his initial impressions are positive, with a full review to follow.

What makes the XBOX Nano so special?

What makes the XBOX Nano Controller unique is that, despite its small stature, it's billed as having the same high-level quality as regular-sized XBOX controllers (though there's no rumble feature). Still, Microsoft made sure to have the Nano stand out with some unique features:

• It fits easily in your coat or bag pocket, even when traveling.
• An ergonomic design makes it more comfortable for gamers with small hands.
• A rechargeable battery.
• An 'Action Button' that can take screenshots, record gameplay, or perform other in-game shortcuts.
• XBOX Wireless or Bluetooth support.
• Compatibility with XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, Windows PCs, Android, iOS, smart TVs, and XBOX Cloud Gaming.

So, if you like the idea of a compact XBOX controller you can take with you without bulky carry cases, the XBOX Nano Controller might interest you. For some of us, the $49.99 retail price might feel steep for a controller without Hall Effect or TMR thumbsticks, but it certainly has its appeal elsewhere.

We'll see if the Nano can prove us wrong about cost when we review it, but judging by Jez's early impressions, it's looking solid so far.

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Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, one of my favorite RPGs in years, is releasing its final DLC expansion, "Processional of the Damned", on December 8, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store.

It will feature a brand new storyline, a new party member, a new "Zealot" archetype, new enemies to battle, new gameplay features, new gear, and much more.

Here's what you need to know about the "Processional of the Damned" DLC.

The expansion will have players meet a recruitable companion named Stella, a miraculist raised by the Order of Saint Cognatius.

She leads you on a trip across the galaxy to explore a giant voidship graveyard infamously known as the "Processional of the Damned" due to a mysterious force calling her there.

Things get dicey quickly as you and your crew get trapped within the voidship graveyard. Now must work with the survivors of a lost missionary expedition to uncover the Processional of the Damned's mysteries, learn what drew Stella to this accursed place, and find a way to escape before the Forces of Chaos or worse things slaughter you.

As this is Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader's last DLC expansion, it's going all out with tons of new gameplay features, including:

• Stella, a new Miraculist companion who can set enemies on fire with psychic Pyromancy and change their abilities mid-fight depending on Veil Degradation or how many Psykers there are currently in your party.
• A playable "Zealot" archetype that's all about smashing enemies to death with hammers and other bludgeoning melee weapons.
• New enemies to fight, including Chaos Space Marines from the Black Legion and Aeldari from the Iyanden Craftworld.
• A new "Insanity" gameplay mechanic that will inflict horrifying effects on all of your companions, especially Stella.
• New weapons (including a Grenade Launcher), a new romance option, new companion events, new items, new space exploration options, and other hidden surprises.

I'm going to miss this wonderfully dark and amazing RPG take on WH40K

Out of all the RPGs I've played these past few years, I've never been so enthralled by one as much as Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Not only was it the best introduction to Warhammer 40,000's vast, complex universe lore for newcomers, but it's also a brilliant game in its own right.

Its characters had rich personalities with intriguing arcs; its turn-based tactical combat was brutal and satisfying; its storylines had me hooked from beginning to end, and its vast array of dialogue choices had meaningful consequences while vastly improving replay value.

On top of that, every expansion released for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was jam-packed with amazing content that aimed to make the whole game better, rather than just a few extra bits here and there.

So I can't wait to see what insane final adventures Owlcat Games has in store for us when Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader's Processional of the Damned DLC expansion launches on December 8, 2026.

Whatever it is, it will be a great way to kill time while waiting for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader's successor, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, to come out next year.

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If you're looking for a laptop that's easy to carry without settling for weaker specs, LG's 'gram' range is still one of the strongest options around. To some, it's surprising to see LG in the category, but in the industry, they're still known for lightweight designs, built for traveling workers.

With multiple models at Best Buy currently available across different price points before Black Friday, we've picked some standout LG Gram laptops that offer a balance of value, features, and performance.

• Shop lightweight LG Gram laptops

For example, the travel-friendly LG gram Max 17-inch touchscreen with an Intel Core Ultra 7 355 (Panther Lake) CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD is currently discounted from $1,749.99 to $1,199.99 at Best Buy.

It features exceptional processing power for tackling heavy workloads, a 2.5K display that renders images with sharp details and vibrant colors, a large battery life of over 26 hours, and a thin 0.6-inch profile with a durable magnesium alloy chassis.

Alternative lightweight picks

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Microsoft has announced the next wave of Xbox Game Pass titles coming and going during the first half of November 2026 (via Xbox Wire).

13 Xbox games are expected to join the vaunted subscription service. They include the likes of Football Manager 27 (the latest entry in SEGA's long-running series of football manager simulators) and two spin-offs of the popular indie game, Vampire Survivors.

These spin-offs are the turn-based dungeon crawler, Vampire Crawlers, and Warhammer Survivors, which is basically Vampire Survivors but with characters and enemies from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar franchises.

Here is the full 1st batch list of Xbox Game Pass titles for November 2026.

New games coming to Xbox Game Pass Essential (November 15)

• Banjo Kazooie (Cloud and Console)
• Banjo Tooie (Cloud and Console)
• Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Cloud and Console)
• Gears of War: Judgement (Cloud and Console)
• Halo: Spartan Assault (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Perfect Dark (Cloud and Console)
• Viva Piñata (Cloud and Console)
• Viva Piñata: TIP (Cloud and Console)

Games leaving Xbox Game Pass (November 15)

• 1000xResist (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Barbie Horse Trails (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Firefighting Simulator – The Squad (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• GoldenEye 007 (Cloud and Console)
• Great God Grove (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Moonlighter (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Pigeon Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Relic Hunters Legend (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Total Chaos (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Winter Burrow (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Wreckfest (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Windows Central's take

Out of all the games announced, the one I'm most looking forward to playing is Warhammer Survivors. It features the same addictive roguelike, "Bullet-Heaven" gameplay as Vampire Survivors but with the grim-dark aesthetics and over-the-top violence of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

It will feature over 40 playable characters, over 75 weapons that you can combine into new ones, mountains of funny fan-service Easter eggs, and tons of enemies and challenging bosses to fight across multiple stages.

I had a blast playing the demo on Steam, so I can't wait to try the whole thing when Warhammer Survivors drops onto Xbox and Xbox Game Pass on November 10, 2026.

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October 2026 was an extremely stacked month for Xbox games, with titles like Gears of War: E-Day, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Final Fantasy Resonance, and many vying for attention and our wallets.

How many games, you ask? Well, via analysis from @KoreaXBOXnews on X, 210 Xbox games launched in October 2026, 95 of which supported Xbox Play Anywhere.

That huge statistic highlights the general market challenge so far, as users debate market saturation. Gears of War: E-Day and its virtue as an "exclusive" game on Xbox has been under a microscope, with claims that the game hasn't delivered for Microsoft. Even if that was true, it was among many big high-quality releases actively competing with hundreds of other Xbox games at once for attention, and that's without mentioning the 187 Xbox games released in September 2026.

On the plus side, @KoreaXBOXnews's analysis shows that Xbox Play Anywhere is gaining more momentum, consistently hovering around 50% share since June 2026 (or 70% if you count "triple-stack" achievement games, otherwise known as shovelware titles. Microsoft is cracking down on this exploitative practice, where developers ship multiple versions of the same game to bait achievement hunters.)

This means Microsoft is focusing on encouraging more games adopt Xbox Play Anywhere going forward, as more people are liking the idea of buying an Xbox game once and then being able to play it on console, handheld, and Windows PC within the Xbox ecosystem.

Can't say I blame them because being able to buy and play a game on an Xbox Series X|S, and then being able to play on an Xbox Ally X while carrying over data with no extra charge is a pretty good deal.

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Original article:

Over the weekend, YouTuber "P1REMAKE" uploaded a new video that has every Persona fan up in arms with excitement and speculation — a supposed gameplay trailer for a Persona 1 Remake that's coming to Xbox.

The video contains a gameplay montage of characters exploring a school filled with monsters, a visual-novel-style cutscene, and turn-based combat similar to that of modern Persona games like Persona 3: Reload, Persona 4: Revival, and Persona 5: Royal.

The video also shows that it's coming to Xbox (and/or PC) because the UI display during combat shows Xbox controller face buttons (Y, X, B, A) and an RB shoulder button.

Now it's very likely that this video could be a fake trailer made by fans, especially since Atlus hasn't been motivated to take this video offline yet.

Then again, this video, despite its low resolution, looks too well put together to be fake or AI-generated. Plus, Atlus did express a desire to remake Persona 1 and 2 last summer. So, there is a chance this trailer could, in fact, be real or, at the very least, a fan-made or leaked proof of concept of what a Persona 1 remake could look like.

Either way, it'd be cool to see remakes of Persona 1 and 2 finally happen, as they are vastly different and darker in terms of tone, story, and gameplay style compared to their more popular successors.

We'll have to wait and see if Atlus indeed plans to remake the games that kick-started its flagship franchise at either the upcoming Game Awards or at a future Xbox Games Showcase, since that's where they tend to reveal Persona games these days.

In the meantime, we'll have Persona 4: Revival (releasing on February 18, 2027, for consoles and PC) and Persona 6 to look forward to.

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November is finally here, which means it's time for an onslaught of early Black Friday discounts to give your favorite or most desirable laptops a much-needed price cut from all the rising costs caused by AI lately.

One of these lucky devices is the Microsoft Surface Laptop 8, which is currently on sale for $1,249.99 at Amazon (was $1,699.99).

This beauty is Microsoft's latest flagship laptop, equipped with a state-of-the-art Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU for improved performance, all-day battery life, and an exclusive new advanced haptics feature to give you improved feedback, just to name a few features.

Why buy this laptop?

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 8 is a highly dependable, fast, and durable laptop for IT users and students. This is because it comes equipped with a Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU paired with a turbocharged NPU with 80 TOPS, boosting the laptop's performance significantly when tackling mountains of productivity workloads while multitasking.

It also comes with a 13.8-inch LCD touchscreen display with 600 nits of brightness to fend off annoying daylight glare, Wi-Fi 7 compatibility for strong and stable wireless internet connections, and a massive battery life of 20 hours on a single charge.

On top of that, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 8 features an advanced haptic feedback system, which sends subtle vibrations when using its keyboard, stylus pen, or mouse when performing specific tasks like dragging files in File Explorer or rearranging app windows.

It's a small but enjoyable addition that makes this laptop more polished and responsive to use. Even our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino praised this feature during his Surface Laptop 8 (Business Model) review when he said, "The new advanced haptic touchpad is a joy to use. It provides subtle tactile cues that confirm your actions."

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We're just days away from World of Warcraft: Forever's launch on November 4, 2026, but it looks like Microsoft may have spoiled a major surprise: WoW may be coming to Xbox after all.

The rumor recently exploded on Reddit via u/hazedesunna, who spotted that Xbox UK's X account posted, "Don't forget to leave some space for these games coming to Xbox this November ⚔️" with images of Shrek 2: Remastered and World of Warcraft: Forever.

However, Xbox UK quickly took the post down and responded, "Hi there, this post was deleted as World of Warcraft: Forever will be available on PC and Mac via Battle.Net, and is not available on XBOX. This was our mistake so we needed to remove it and repost. We apologies[sic] for the confusion this may have caused."

Was this really a mistake or an accidental spoiler?

At face value, this was a genuine mistake on Xbox UK's part for placing the wrong game on a social post. But to entertain speculation for a moment, what if this post wasn't a mistake and Microsoft was hastily trying to cover it up to save face?

After all, we've been getting a fair amount of rumors about Blizzard's iconic MMORPG coming to Xbox for a while now, from Brazilian classifications to Blizzard wanting World of Warcraft playable 'on whatever you want' while name-dropping Project Helix.

Plus, with World of Warcraft: Forever having Xbox controller support, it's only a matter of time before it gets ported onto consoles.

As World of Warcraft: Forever launches, Retail continues to fall

Whatever the future holds for World of Warcraft: Forever, it's certainly looking better than the Retail version right now, which continues to degrade in quality.

On top of rushed content, poor writing, and controversial housing pricing, World of Warcraft can't even do monthly Trading Post content properly now, as its most recent batch of items is totally broken.

I really hope World of Warcraft: Forever can make up for World of Warcraft: Retail's current shoddy state because at this rate, I may just go back to playing Final Fantasy XIV when its latest expansion launches next year in February.

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Over a week has passed since EA shut down BioWare and subsequently canceled the Mass Effect game, Mass Effect Universe.

This left many people grieving the loss of this legendary studio or motivated to start campaigns to save its iconic Mass Effect franchise through petitions, Fundraisers, and even raising a billboard in Times Square, New York.

People are debating furiously as to why EA decided to close BioWare's doors, whether it's due to EA going private after being bought by Saudi Arabia for $55 billion, or the declining quality of BioWare's games over the past decade.

Jason Schreier, a reporter from Bloomberg, offers his own take on why EA ended BioWare and canceled Mass Effect Universe — Star Wars. According to Jason Schreier's report, his sources claim one of the biggest reasons was that EA was presented with a deal by Walt Disney Cop's Lucasfilm to make a third Star Wars Battlefront game.

At the same time the deal was proposed, EA was facing financial pressure from the aforementioned Saudi Arabia buyout, which saddled the publisher with a $18 billion debt.

In this situation, EA decided to cancel development on the next Mass Effect so it could invest its money in Star Wars: Battlefront 3. Even though Star Wars: Battlefront 3 wasn't even in development when this deal was made, EA decided it would be a safer, more predictable bet than taking a risk with another Mass Effect, especially since EA always preferred shooters like Battlefield over RPGs.

Jason Schreier also mentioned in his report that other contributing factors in EA shutting down BioWare included:

• The poor reception of 2017's Mass Effect: Andromeda and 2019's Anthem.
• 2024's Dragon Age: The Veilguard missed sales expectations by 50%, which led to EA gutting and relocating BioWare's staff elsewhere within the company. By the time BioWare was shut down, only 50 employees were left.
• Possible corporate politics when EA shuffled its executive ranks over the summer. During this time, EA promoted EA Sports veterans David Tinson and Cam Weber, while sidelining Laura Miele, who ran EA’s studios and advocated for BioWare and Mass Effect.

The Bloomberg report claimed that an EA spokesperson, when asked about EA's decision to axe BioWare, said the company “collectively reached this decision following months of planning, review, and analysis, including careful consideration of evolving business conditions, industry dynamics, and our long-term priorities”

While the spokesperson didn't offer more specifics on that statement, they did say, “While this is never easy, we ultimately have to make tough decisions to focus our teams on the biggest opportunities for our future, including investing in new projects across our portfolio.”

How cruelly ironic that the studio who made one of Star Wars' best games, was ultimate ended because of Star Wars

Jason Schreier concluded his report stating that the deciding factor in BioWare's shutdown is the same factor that's causing big game companies to cull their staff by the thousands over the past three years.

"Game budgets have grown exponentially while sales have not, driving game companies to shift development outside of North America and focus only on their biggest franchises moving forward." Jason then added, "And Star Wars is bigger than most."

It's quite a sad, cruel irony that BioWare, the studio responsible for one of Star Wars' best games, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG, was eventually forsaken by EA for the movie franchise it helped support.

Personally, all we can hope for now is a miracle that somebody buys BioWare's original IPs like Mass Effect and Dragon Age to give them the love they deserve, or, failing that, we turn to new developers who aim to carry on BioWare's spirit with their titles, like Owlcat Games' The Expanse: Osiris Reborn.

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Square Enix has concluded its Final Fantasy XIV FanFest Japan event with another Keynote preview of Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold, the latest expansion for Final Fantasy's most popular MMORPG.

During it, it showed new gameplay info, trailers, and a new release date for the expansion. Instead of releasing in January 2027, Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold will now release on February 23, 2027, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Pre-orders for the expansion will go live on November 4, 2026, and anyone who pre-orders it will get early access to Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold on February 19, 2027.

Another major highlight from the Final Fantasy XIV FanFest Japan event is the reveal of a new player Job called Zephyr. This is a Ranged-DPS Class that peppers enemies from afar with a crossbow while calling forth a falcon companion to aid it in battle.

Other announcements include:

• A new teaser trailer for its upcoming 24-man Alliance Raid crossover with the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime franchise.
• A new difficulty tier for 8-Man Raids called "Fierce", which is designed to be the middle ground between "Normal" and "Savage" difficulties.
• New battle content called "Gauntlet of Power", which is a 4-player boss-rush dungeon.
• A closer look at Final Fantasy XIV's cast of characters, new areas, and dungeons.
• A preview of its branching narrative, which lets players tackle the Main Scenario Quests in different orders beyond a certain point in the story, with auto-scaling dungeons to accommodate it.
• NA/EU tests for Same-Region Player Matching will begin on November 10, 2026, and China's tests will begin on December 1, 2026.
• A preview of its Seasonal Gear/Raiding gear system, quality-of-life, and other miscellaneous features.
• A Collector’s Bundle Edition containing an art box, a Reaper Figure, an Ethos metel keychain, Köttr mini plush, a tapestry of the Fourth, an in-game Valhallar Odin Mount, an in-game Entreat Crystal Emote, and an in-game Bastion Weapon: the Crystal Skyltborg.

All this sounds cool, but where's the "Evolved" combat mode?

Final Fantasy XIV got me quite interested in the game again with its awesome-looking Bastion Tank Job. However, Square Enix still hasn't shown us Evercold's new "Evolved" Mode, which is being hyped to breathe new life into the MMORPG's combat system by changing the abilities and rotations of all Player Jobs.

In my opinion, this will be the ultimate deciding factor if I decide to play Final Fantasy XIV, because after playing World of Warcraft's much faster and more chaotic combat system, Final Fantasy XIV's combat feels slow and sluggish by comparison.

Here's hoping we get an actual deep dive of Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold's "Evolved" Mode soon before it launches next February; otherwise, I'm afraid I'll be skipping this expansion because I'm going to get burned as I did with Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail.

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One of the lesser-appreciated aspects of Xbox Game Pass is Xbox Free Play Days, a feature that allows players to enjoy a select number of games for a brief period of time.

The selection of Free Play Days' games changes frequently, and this week's Xbox titles mostly fall in line with the spooky season of Halloween — WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, Dead by Daylight, Darkwood, Spirttea, and Everspace 2 (the latter two of which are playable on console and PC).

WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, Dead by Daylight, Darkwood, and Everspace 2 will be free to play for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential members between October 29, 2026 to November 1, 2026.

Dead by Daylight will be free to play for all Xbox players (no Xbox Game Pass plan required) between October 28, 2026, and November 2, 2026.

A fallen Soulslike and an unkillable multiplayer horror game are on the menu for this year's Halloween

Among the biggest titles of this line-up are WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers and Dead by Daylight.

WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers is an action-RPG Soulslike where you play as the titular pirate warrior, traveling the monster-infested lands of Shu to cure a horrific disease that's slowly turning you into an abomination.

My colleague, Jez Corden, gave WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers a highly positive review for its brutal yet satisfying combat, superb level design, and beautiful visuals. However, its difficulty and story were tarnished by harsh censorship, which can only be bypassed by fan-made mods on PC.

Dead by Daylight is a popular asymmetrical multiplayer horror game where four players must survive the night before a player-controlled slasher villain murders them all in brutal, horror-movie fashion.

The game was released in 2016, and it is still active to this day, with tens of thousands of people playing it and constantly adding new playable Survivors and Killers. Dead by Daylight has even added playable characters from other franchises like Diablo, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Stranger Things, Friday the 13th, Alien, Alan Wake, Nightmare on Elm Street, and many more.

To round up the horror titles is Darkwood, a top-down indie horror game where you must explore the titular forest to uncover its secrets whilst making gut-wrenching choices that may condemn human lives.

Of course, if you don't fancy being terrified this Halloween, you can always chill out with the cozy bathhouse simulator Spirittea or explore the universe while gunning down space pirates in the single-player space shooter, Everspace 2.

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Microsoft has announced (via Xbox Wire) that Metro Redux has received a next-gen update on Xbox consoles along with Xbox Play Anywhere support.

This means that Metro Redux will be able to take full advantage of the Xbox Series X's hardware to run at 4K resolution at 60 FPS with improved graphics or at standard resolution at 120 FPS for smoother gameplay responsiveness.

Additionally, this Next-Gen update has TSR Upscaling and Anti-Aliasing to make each game's visual fidelity much sharper and more detailed.

With Xbox Play Anywhere, you will be able to own Metro Redux on a Windows PC by buying the Xbox version, and vice versa.

Plus, you will be able to play this game on handhelds like the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, and continue your progress on any other compatible platform within the Xbox ecosystem.

For those unaware, Metro is a series of first-person shooters set in a post-apocalyptic future where you are struggling to survive in the Moscow underground filled with raiders, mutants, and other horrifying threats to the last scraps of humanity.

I never played this series myself, but my colleague, Jez Corden, is a huge fan of the series. Jez gave Metro Exodus a high 4.5 review score for its intriguing storyline and character writing, satisfying open-world survival gameplay, and excellent level design.

With Metro Redux's Next-Gen update, this will provide newcomers like me and long-time fans like Jez the perfect excuse to revisit the beginnings of this critically acclaimed series before its next entry, Metro 2039, drops on February 4, 2027, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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