Splash Damage’s Transformers: Reactivate has had quite a journey since its original announcement at The Game Awards 2022. The game was revealed with a cinematic trailer set to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” generating excitement among fans.
It promised a 1-4 player online co-op action game featuring beloved characters like Ironhide, Hot Rod, Starscream, and Soundwave.
However, the development faced numerous challenges over the next two years. Despite initial plans for a closed beta in 2023, updates on the game’s progress were scarce. The studio’s focus shifted to other projects, including an open-world survival game called Project Astrid, developed in collaboration with streamers Shroud and Sacriel.
Today, Splash Damage announced the cancellation of Transformers: Reactivate.
The studio claims that the decision was not easy and unfortunately, will results in layoffs across the studio as some jobs will become redundant after the cancellation of the project.
Yet, The studio expressed gratitude to the team for their dedication and to Hasbro for their support. They also mentioned that they are now focusing on supporting affected employees and refocusing their efforts on other projects.
Here is the original trailer refereed at the beginning of this article:
Xbox has just announced its latest wave of games coming to Game Pass for January 2025, and it’s an exciting mix of new titles and returning favorites. Here’s the full list of what’s coming and going:
New Additions:
Diablo (PC) – January 14
The classic action-RPG that defined the genre returns to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
EA Sports UFC 5 (Cloud and Xbox Series X|S) – January 14
Available through EA Play, this game brings the thrill of mixed martial arts to Game Pass Ultimate.
Road 96 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 7
A beautiful road-trip adventure where your choices shape the story.
Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (Xbox Series X|S) – January 8
Start your interstellar homestead in this peaceful open-world farming adventure.
My Time at Sandrock (Console) – January 8
A wholesome post-apocalyptic world where you gather resources and defend the town.
Robin Hood – Sherwood Builders (Xbox Series X|S) – January 8
Join Robin Hood and his band of outlaws in 12th-century England.
Rolling Hills (Console) – January 8
Serve sushi as a robot chef in this cozy village life sim.
Unfortunately, nothing last forever or at least if we can say a temporary “good-bye” there will be a selection of games that will leave the service while of course, there is hope of them returning later this year or a little more.
Games Leaving:
Common’hood
Escape Academy
Exoprimal
Figment: Journey in the Mind
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Those Who Remain
These changes will take effect on January 15, 2025. If you want to keep playing any of the departing titles, consider purchasing them at a discount while they’re still available on Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate continues to offer an outstanding value proposition with over 100 game titles available for a single subscription. Whether you’re a fan of action-RPGs, fighting games, or life sims, there’s something for everyone in this latest lineup.
Tencent, the Chinese tech and gaming giant, has recently been blacklisted by the United States Department of Defense. The DoD added Tencent to its list of “Chinese Military Companies” due to alleged ties to the Chinese military. This move is part of the broader U.S. government effort to restrict business with companies linked to the Chinese military.
In response, Tencent has stated that its inclusion on the list is a “misunderstanding”. The company emphasized that it is neither a military company nor a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base. Tencent’s spokesperson told The Verge mentioned that the listing has no impact on their business but that they will work with the Department of Defense to address any misunderstandings.
Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business. We will nonetheless work with the Department of Defense to address any misunderstanding.
It’s definitely a significant development, especially considering Tencent’s vast influence in the gaming industry, owning stakes in companies like Riot Games (League of Legends), Epic Games (Fortnite), and many others.
Known to be one of the original gaming peripherals and PC gaming accessories even before PC gaming became a big thing it is today, Razer hasn’t been shy to use events like CES 2025 to not only announced official products and their follow-ups, but also concepts that might or not end being official products and this year wasn’t the exception.
The announcement about an official product is the Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop, which is thinner than ever at just 0.59 inches.
This model features AMD Ryzen AI processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs, along with a 240Hz display and needless to say that the Razer he Blade 16 is designed for gamers who demand high performance in a sleek, portable form factor.
Other announcement for an official product is the new Razer Aether Standing Light Bars feature Chroma RGB lighting and can be used to light up both the player and the surroundings. These lights are smart-home compatible and offer reversible front-and-back dual lighting.
And if you are considering the Aether, I guess it won’t hurt you consider the Razer Monitor Stand Chroma and have Aether to complement it, as it provides additional desk space and includes RGB lighting and multiple USB ports. It is designed to help gamers create a more ergonomic and organized workspace.
Finally, the Handheld Dock Chroma is a “6-in-1” docking station that transforms phones, tablets, or handheld gaming devices “into powerful gaming consoles” with 100W power passthrough support for charging.
The Handheld Dock Chroma uses a USB-C cable to connect supported devices, including Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones with USB-C ports, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and Razer’s own Edge Android gaming handheld.
The 2025 Razer Blade 16 is due out in the first quarter of this year, while the Razer Aether Standing Light Bars is scheduled to be launch on Q1 2025 at a $99 MSRP, the Monitor Stand Chrome will be priced at $199 but no release date was chares and finally, the Handheld Dock Chroma will be the earliest product to be launch with a January 30th release date, targeting the S79.99 price.
And now… the concepts that are labeled as “Projects”
Project Arielle
Razer introduced Project Arielle, the world’s first mesh gaming chair with integrated heating and cooling using bladeless fan technology and Razer used its other chair, the Fujin Pro, as a base for the designing of Arielle.
One of the features of the chair is that it can reduce the perceived temperature by 2°C to 5°C and provide up to 30°C of warm air. This innovative chair aims to enhance comfort for gamers in various climates.
Project Ava
And finally, Razer showcased Project Ava, an AI-powered tech that serves as an esports coach. Ava provides real-time feedback and coaching to help players improve their skills and optimize their gaming setups for better performance.
This AI coach can also ensure that players are always up-to-date with hardware, software, and firmware updates.
While again, conceptual products showcased on CES 2025 by Razer might or not being launched as official products, this wasn’t the exception that Razer didn’t make promises and it is around from Spring to Summer that concepts evolving to future products are announced, so if you are interested, stay tuned!
Sony Pictures has revealed plans to adapt two of its popular video game franchises into feature films: Helldivers 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn. The announcements were made during Sony’s press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 7, 2025, which means that Playstation Productions will stop being AFK.
It was confirmed that works will begin for a Helldivers, Horizon Zero Dawn, both as movies and an anime adaptiation based on Ghost of Tsushima.
The Helldivers 2 movie will be produced by Sony Pictures. The game, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, is a squad-based co-op shooter set in a dystopian sci-fi universe. Players take on the role of elite soldiers known as Helldivers, tasked with liberating planets across the galaxy from extraterrestrial threats.
The movie is expected to capture the game’s fast-paced, action-packed battles and dark humor.
The Horizon Zero Dawn movie will be a collaboration between Columbia Pictures and PlayStation Productions. The game, developed by Guerrilla Games, is an open-world action RPG set in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by robotic creatures. The story follows Aloy, a young hunter seeking to uncover the mysteries of her past and the collapse of an advanced civilization. The film adaptation aims to bring Aloy’s journey and the game’s stunning visuals to the big screen.
While it was already suggeestd a few years ago that Playstation Productions was having Horizon on the pipeline, but it was rumored to be a series to be showcased on Netflix.
In addition to the film adaptations, Sony also announced an anime series based on Ghost of Tsushima. The series will be produced by Crunchyroll and Aniplex and is set to air in 2027. The anime will be inspired by both the game’s campaign and its multiplayer Legends mode, featuring a supernatural storyline.
This appears to be unrelated to the already announced Ghost Of Tsushima movie that has Chad Stahelski (John Wick movie series) as Director.
Other Announcements
Sony also revealed that the second season of The Last of Us TV series will premiere in April 2025 on HBO and Max. Additionally, a film adaptation of Until Dawn is scheduled to be released in theaters the same month and finally, a reminder that the second season of Twisted Metal TV Series is in production and it is expected that the season will introduce Calypso and the proper Twisted Metal event.
The rumors are now over at Nvidia side and we are in the new generation of GeForce RTX with GeForce RTX 50 family and debuting are the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, GeForce RTX 5080, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the GeForce RTX 5070 which were presented at Nvidia’s turn at the main stage of CES 2025.
Lets start with the GeForce RTX 5090 and this of course and for yet another generation without Blackwell architecture being a difference, the flagship.
The GeForce RTX 5090 includes 32GB of GDDR7, a memory bandwidth of 1,792GB/sec, and a massive 21,760 CUDA cores and the bad news is that the GPU card will consume up to 575 watts and Nvidia recommends using PSU with 1000 watts as minimum.
That’s 125 watts more than the RTX 4090, but Nvidia justifies it as precisely, the 5090 doubles its predecessor’s performance.
The GeForce RTX 5090 will have a Founder Edition or the reference that Nvidia sells directly to customer.
Next, the GeForce RTX 5080 which will be aimed directly to consumer 4K gaming resolution, include 16GB of GDDR7 memory, a memory bandwidth of 960GB/sec, and 10,752 CUDA cores. The RTX 5080 will have a total graphics power of 360 watts and Nvidia is recommending a 850-watt power supply.
As the situation for the 5090, Nvidia claims that it doubles the performance of GeForce RTX 4080 of 2022.
In my opinion, the surprise of the keynote was the announcement of both the GeForce RTX 5070 and the RTX 5070 Ti, normally a model serving as a refresher of the base model.
Nevertheless, the RTX 5070 has 12GB of GDDR7, a memory bandwidth of 672 GB/sec, and 6,144 CUDA cores and meanwhile, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti includes 16GB of GDDR7 memory, a memory bandwidth of 896GB/s, and 8,960 CUDA cores.
Being already a repetitive claim, Nvidia says that both RTX 5070 and the Ti will be 2x faster than their respective predecessors and yes, lest talk about power consumption with the RTX 5070 Ti will have a total graphics power of 300 watts and require a 750-watt PSU, while the RTX 5070 has a total graphics power of 250 watts and only needs a 650-watt PSU.
All mentioned GPU cards will have a Founders Edition and expect Nvidia’s partner to have their own designs.
MSRP prices for the Founder editions goes as follow:
RTX GeForce 5090 – $1999
RTX GeForce 5080 – $999
RTX GeForce 5070 Ti – $759
RTX GeForce 5070 – $549
Nvidia confirmed a January 30th release for each individual Founders Edition, meanwhile partner’s variants availability were not immediately shared.
About the novelties of Blackwell architecture
The Blackwell architecture enabled Nvidia to have the hardware foundation for the next generation of it solution for AI based graphical upscaler, the DLSS 4, improving massively on ray tracing processing and Multi Frame Generation, which generates up to three additional frames per traditional frame and can multiply frame rates.
DLSS 4 also includes a real-time application of transformers to improve image quality, reduce ghosting, and add higher detail in motion a big differential with today’s AMD announcement on FSR 4, Nvidia opted to have DLSS 4 available for 2022’s Lovelace architecture.
Also, Nvidia demoed what they call RTX Neural Shaders, RTX Neural Faces, text to animation and starting with the first one, the job of the RTX Neural Shaders is to compress textures in games, while RTX Neural Faces aim to improve face quality using generative AI.
RTX 50 for gaming Laptops
Nvidia also confirmed that the mobile version of the RTX GeForce 50 family are coming this year for gaming laptop and includes the the RTX 5090 laptop GPU debuting with 24GB of GDDR7 memory. The RTX 5080 laptop GPU will ship with 16GB of GDDR7 memory, the RTX 5070 Ti with 12GB of GDDR7 memory, and the RTX 5070 with just 8GB of GDDR7 memory.
We should be hearing announcement soon and releases as early as March 2025.
Dell has announced its new high-end monitor, the Dell Plus 32 4K QD-OLED, marking its first venture into OLED technology outside of gaming. The monitor is designed for consumers and creators, offering a high-end OLED panel at an affordable price of $800.
The Dell Plus 32 features a minimalist design with a new stand and base, and a fabric covering over the bottom bezel and speakers.
This design makes it suitable for home offices and design studios along with a 31.5-inch QD-OLED panel with a 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. This makes it ideal for creative work, providing outstanding clarity, vibrancy, and infinite contrast.
One of the standout features that Dell considers a great deal in terms of feature vs pricing, is the AI-enhanced 3D Spatial Sound, which uses beamforming technology to create virtual surround sound with its built-in 5-watt speakers.
The Dell Plus 32 4K QD-OLED monitor is priced at $800 and will be available starting March 27, 2025, in China, and May 22, 2025, globally.
Dell believes being boring with a rebrand is the way
In more CES 2025 news related to Dell, they raised some eyebrows, including mine, by announcing a rebranding of all their computer collections.
Say goodbye to iconic names like XPS, Latitude, Inspiron, and other well-known Dell brands. Starting this year, Dell will label all its computers with a scheme of “Dell,” “Dell Pro,” and “Dell Pro Max,” depending on the features each new computer brings.
Dell justifies this move as a way to make buying decisions easier for newcomers to the Dell brand. Or in other words, Dell believes that the new generation will be more naïve than average.
Indeed that this year 2025 will be another big year for portable PC Gaming and while some people are expecting big brands to announce the next generation of their respective devices, Acer took the step on adding more alternative with refreshed specifications for all gaming tastes.
Acer announced at CES 2025, the newest member of the now-a-family Nitro Blaze, the Acer Nitro Blaze 8 and 11, slated as two powerhouse handheld gaming PCs that are set to revolutionize your gaming experience.
The Nitro Blaze 8 and 11 are equipped with the cutting-edge AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, delivering up to 39 TOPS of performance. Paired with the AMD Radeon 780M graphics, these devices are built to handle even the most demanding games with ease. With 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD storage, you’ll experience lightning-fast load times and seamless multitasking.
The Nitro Blaze 8 features an 8.8-inch WQXGA IPS touchscreen with a 144Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. The Nitro Blaze 11 takes it up a notch with a 10.95-inch WQXGA IPS touchscreen, offering a 120Hz refresh rate and the same brilliant 500 nits brightness.
Both displays provide stunning visuals and smooth gameplay, making every gaming session a visual treat.
Also, Both models come with an array of ports, including USB4 Type-C, USB 3.2 Type-C, USB 3.2 Type-A, a Micro SD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. With Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, you can enjoy lag-free online gaming and seamless connectivity to peripherals.
The Nitro Blaze 11 features detachable controllers and a built-in kickstand, offering more flexible gaming options. Whether you’re playing on the go or setting up a portable gaming station at home, the Nitro Blaze series adapts to your needs.
Both the Nitro Blaze 8 and 11 run on Windows 11 Home, providing access to a vast library of PC games. With support for Xbox PC Game Pass, you’ll have instant access to a diverse selection of games, from the latest AAA titles to indie gems.
Price and Availability
The Acer Nitro Blaze 8 is priced at $899.99, while the Nitro Blaze 11 comes in at $1,099.99. These handheld gaming PCs are set to hit the market soon, and they’re sure to be a hot commodity among gamers.
One of the main thing that gamers were expecting of the AMD turn at the stage of CES 2025 was the future of Radeon and yes, RDNA 4 is official, yes, there is a new family with two members of Radeon in the name of Radeon 9070, YES FSR 4 also official but….NO…. AMD will hold specs and details.
More precisely, what it is included and the improvements that the RDNA 4 architecture is bringing for both Radeon 9790 and Radeon 9070 XT which probably are targeting 1440P resolution, will not be disclosed at this time, despite the GPUs are slated for a Q1 2025 release.
A reminder: AMD said that it was no longer interested in high-end GPU part of the market which means that proer 4K solutions aren’t on schedule this time.
So consider yourself a honorary gamer if you happens to be at Las Vegas this week, as AMD will have some PC with prototypes.
It was only confirmed that Asus, Acer, Sapphire, XFX, AsRock, Gigabyte, PowerColor and two Asian brands will have their respective GPU on sale soon and pretty much giving the tip that AMD will probably forego a Foundation or Reference GPU for public.
What it was said about RDNA 4 is that improves ray-tracing engine and performance, an upgraded media encoding quality.
Physically, all Radeon 9070/9070 XT GPU cards will be manufactured with 4nm process, which tells you the good balance of processing and energy consumption and the hardware will include its second-generation AI accelerators, third-generation ray-tracing accelerators, and second-generation radiance display engine.
Before you ask, no it is not for “bad luck or anything that you might have heard before, but AMD said that jumping from 7000 straight to 9000 for Radeon series labeling was needed because future mobile Radeon announcements will have the 8000 labelling, including RDNA 3.5.
Here comes a new challenger for AI-based upscaling -FidelityFX Super Resolution 4
AMD confirmed the new geneeration of FidelityFX Super Resolution at its fourth version or simply FSR 4, which a machine learning-powered update to AMD’s upscaling and frame-generation technology that’s been developed specifically for RDNA 4 and its dedicated AI accelerator hardware.
Of course, this could be a proper consideration for new PC builds or if you are in plans of upgrading as FSR 4 will be available only with a Radeon RX 9070 family GPU graphics as most of its functionality, depends on components on the hardware side.
Microsoft confirmed that a future update of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 will have direct support to FSR 4 and also, Matt Booty of Xbox, shared that Microsoft remains committed on being a partner with AMD for their needs for Xbox (I will take it as a hint for the future of Xbox hardware).
Finally, AMD announced improvements to its Adrenalin, the Radeon software administrator and these improvements includes include the ability to generate images with AI models, summarize local documents, and ask an AMD chatbot questions about graphics settings and more.
Despite being initially leaked before their proper CES 2025 keynote, AMD has finally announced the second generation if its processor for portable gaming and computing device, the Ryzen Z2 and as expected, the improvement shall give space for speculation that next-gen portable device are coming this year.
AMD announced three new Ryzen Z2 APUs designed specifically for gaming handhelds and these include the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, Ryzen Z2, and Ryzen Z2 Go.
Each APU targets different power levels and starting with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme features 8 cores (3 Zen 5 + 5 Zen 5c) and 16 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units, meanwhile the Ryzen Z2 has 8 Zen 4 cores and 12 RDNA 3 Compute Units.
Finally, the newest member of the family and debuting the Ryzen Z2 Go is designed for budget-conscious gamers with 4 Zen 3+ cores and 12 RDNA 2 Compute Units.
Needless to say that the Ryzen Z2 Extreme will be the flagship of the Ryzen Z2 family and each individual will power target devices, AMD acknowledged directly that the Ryzen Z2 Go was specifically designed for the Legion Go S, the entry-level variant of the Lenovo Go device.
While there is no official words on device carrying this new CPU family from AMD, it confirmed that the Ryzen Z2 will be used in systems from ASUS, Lenovo, and Valve, which pretty much will have many gamers eyes anticipating if 2025 will mean the year of a proper Steam Deck follow-up.
AMD expect to have the Ryzen Z2 available for PC and electronic manufactures within Q1 2025.
