• Halo Campaign Evolved will feature original content and new features, too
• Creative director Max Szlagor says the remake was a process of "crafting it piece by piece"
• The game will be "more accessible" than the original

Halo Campaign Evolved isn't just a simple remake of Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign, according to Halo Studios, but a blend of original content and new features designed for a modern shooter.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where we went hands-on with the upcoming game, executive producer Damon Conn and creative director Max Szlagor explained how the team recaptured the feel of the original game and the challenges of making it a fresh experience.

"It's a combination [..] of this Halo simulation, which we've built up over 25 years, foundationally from [Halo] Reach, but pulling in additional pieces and pairing that with this beautiful Unreal [Engine] renderer," Szlagor said. "As far as challenges, it's really just looking at it piece by piece as we build the levels, the encounters with enemies, vehicles, weapons.

"It's just a lot of stuff that we've put together. We've got all the original content plus these nine new weapons, ones you couldn't use in the original game, so making sure those fit in nicely with the Energy Sword, the Fuel Rod cannon, driving the Wraith, [and] vehicle hijacking. Just crafting it piece by piece."

Conn explained that the "key" is "to bring it into more of a modern shooter," which means "make it more accessible" by revamping old features so that they're more approachable.

"You can find your way through levels a little bit easier now," the developer added, "whereas back in the early 2000s, you had to find your way, and it was really trial and error. Now we have much more poignant waypointing to help you along."

There will also be quality-of-life features built using Unreal Engine 5, including a sprint button, but players can also play the game "the original way" by disabling the option.

"I like to sprint around and use it as a traversal function," Conn said. "It doesn't really change the way I'm going to play the game, but it definitely lets me move through the environment in a way that I'm more used to."

Halo Campaign Evolved launches on July 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

Not only do I review gaming gear for a living, I game every day, which is how I know how important a truly reliable gamepad can be. Fortunately, while we're on the final day of Prime Day, I'm still seeing loads of offers out there on some of my favorite Xbox controllers. That's why I've brought you together the best I've found.

• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale

For a long time, when gaming on my PC and Xbox Series X, I just stuck with the Robot White Xbox Wireless Controller that came with my console. And who could blame me? It's a seriously well-designed controller, from its multi-platform connectivity to its Impulse Triggers. But there's a whole rainbow of different colorways out there: given they're so cheap, why not opt for the badass bubblegum vibes of Deep Pink or the exhilarating Electric Volt?

And although it may have taken me a while, I have since upgraded to a pro-grade pad: the fantastic Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless, one of the many premium controllers you can get an enormous discount on this Prime Day. Can't quite stretch to a high-end controller? Fortunately, plenty of cheaper options like the PowerA Wired Controller are still going for a song, so there's never been a better time to get your hands on a new one.

If you're keen to browse the deals where you are, feel free to skip straight to the US links or UK links. And if you're also on the hunt for other bargains, don't forget to follow our Amazon Prime Day US live blog or our Amazon Prime Day UK live blog.

Xbox controller sale — top picks

• Xbox Wireless Controller — Robot White: now $49.99 at Amazon (was $64.99)
• Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless: now $149.99 at Best Buy (was $189.99)
• GameSir Kaleid: now $32.51 at Amazon (was $40.40)

Xbox controllers — US deals

Xbox controllers — UK deals

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
• Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Fans: from £20
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

• Physical Editions of Grand Theft Auto 6 won't come with a disc
• Many fans are disappointed, and it's stirred conversation about the value of physical and digital games
• Fans in 2013 had similar conversations with the launch of GTA 5

Now that Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders are live, it feels like the countdown to the game's launch later this year can truly begin in earnest. And yet, despite the hype around the most anticipated game of all time, some fans are disappointed by the announcement that physical editions won't come with a disc, but rather a digital download code in the box.

It has stirred up conversation around whether physically owning the game even matters in the grand scheme of things; dedicated fans who have waited a long time for GTA 6 will buy the game either way, right?

"Obviously I’m going to get this game but 13 years of waiting & this is all physical editions are getting? A f****** code in a box? For the biggest game to ever launch & that’s all the effort you’re putting in for physical? So damn disappointed man," one said.

But it seems that even during the launch period of GTA 5 all the way in 2013, fans were debating the value of physical and digital games, though it seems that many leaned on the side of being able to physically own their copy.

"I have been playing the game since launch, because my brother bought it and never played it. He recently moved and took the game with him, so I need to buy it myself. I have an external hard drive which I can store the game on so I don't have to worry if the Xbox breaks. Now what would you recommend?" asked a fan on a 12-year-old Reddit post.

One fan jumped to say that "Physical is seemingly better in every way aside from you have to remove the disk [from the console]."

Others agreed, with one saying, "Plus, if you ever want to get rid of it, you can always trade it in for another game or sell it."

However, it's a different conversation today as GTA 6 physical editions will have a download code instead, unlike GTA 5 over a decade ago, meaning players won't be able to resell their copy later on.

One fan disagreed, saying, "Wow. Really everyone is still on physical what is this the 20th century?" But another argued that physical is better because they could display their collection proudly.

"Physical, as the price is usually the same as digital," a user replied, but nowadays, that's not typically the case, while another said "Physical, cause you get the map. Not cause its useful just cause its cool!"

Sadly, unlike GTA 5 and even Red Dead Redemption 2, neither the Standard nor the Ultimate Edition of GTA 6 will include a map.

Before GTA 5 was released, hours of gameplay footage leaked online after early copies were illegally uploaded to torrent sites. One explanation for GTA 6 physical editions not including a disc could be that Rockstar is trying to minimize the potential for leaks this time around.

Some fans also considering skipping the day one purchase in hopes of a disc being produced later down the line. However, for now, it looks like all players will own a digital license for the game instead.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 and will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95 / £69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 / AU$159.95 / £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Pre-loads begin on November 12.

• Halo Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn says encounters and levels have reduced their "repetition"
• Conn explains that the original code is still in the game under the new build
• He adds that there are "different elements going on while retaining that story, that original intent"

Halo Studios has confirmed that Halo Campaign Evolved still has Halo: Combat Evolved's original code buried underneath the new Unreal Engine 5 build.

That's according to executive producer Damon Conn and creative director Max Szlagor in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where they discussed how the team recaptured the feel of the original game while creating a modern shooter.

Conn explained that it also addressed some of the encounters and made sure to "reduce" their "repetition."

"Not to mess with the overall story or the way that the game even plays out," he clarified, "but just make that more of a better feel. Some of the levels are a little bit repetitive, and we tried to clean that up as well. While retaining that original feel."

The executive producer continued, confirming that the "original code" of Halo: Combat Evolved "is in this game, underneath the new Unreal Engine 5.

"It's under a layer of Unreal, so you are playing the DNA of the original game," Conn said.

Touching on The Library in particular, the maze-like levels in Halo: Combat Evolved that feature waves of The Flood, Conn said each space and encounter is now "visually distinct."

"Each level, you can see that progressing over time," he explained. "You can see the types of Flood you encounter on each floor changing. We've also leaned into some other facets of what it means to be in The Library. There's some new gameplay layered into those spaces as well. You'll see a new Flood form in there. Again, the new weapons are layered in here.

"There's really just a lot of different elements going on while retaining that story, that original intent. The lighting [for example] is really leading into the vibes of what The Library is too. It should feel like a very fresh experience going through that level."

Halo Campaign Evolved launches on July 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

With Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders live right now, many are wondering when the next big trailer will be. We've only had two released so far, and while they're both great showcases of the game's visuals, neither has really shown us any proper gameplay or explained any potential new mechanics.

This would normally be pretty unusual—when was the last time you can remember being offered the chance to pre-order a game before you'd even seen any gameplay footage?—but not a big surprise coming from developer Rockstar Games.

In fact, the GTA 6 marketing so far has played out in a very similar fashion to that of the studio's last release, Red Dead Redemption 2, and I think that looking back at the past gives us a pretty good idea of what to expect this year.

GTA 6 trailer 3 could arrive very soon

After a few cryptic teasers, the first Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer dropped on October 20, 2016. It didn't tell us that much beyond introducing the setting and giving us our first look at the open world.

It also ended with a release window, Fall 2017, which Rockstar failed to hit with the game actually finally releasing in 2018.

The GTA 6 similarities should be obvious already. GTA 6 Trailer 1 was released in December 2023 and mainly focused on the upcoming game's Vice City setting and, just like Red Dead Redemption 2, gave us a 2025 release window that eventually turned out to be a year out thanks to delays.

It took practically a whole year for the next Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer to appear, a big gap that we saw replicated when the second GTA 6 trailer took 518 days to arrive.

There was then a much smaller seven-month wait between Red Dead Redemption 2 trailers 2 and 3, and I suspect we'll see a similar pattern this time. It's been over 400 days since GTA 6 trailer 2, so a third gameplay trailer coming in the next few weeks would still represent a smaller gap than that initial 518 days.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rockstar Games has one in the bank for when GTA 6 pre-order hype starts to wane as a way to give sales a boost.

Before we dive in, here's how to get your hands on a GTA 6 pre-order if you haven't placed one yet.

What about gameplay?

Red Dead Redemption 2 received two meaty gameplay trailers: one 85 days before its release and another 25 days before.

It seems Rockstar likes to wait as long as possible before actually showing gameplay and, if GTA 6 follows the same pattern, we're likely seeing our first glimpse of gameplay about three months before launch.

That means the first gameplay trailer is likely to drop sometime in early August. The second could then follow in late October, or even right at the start of November, when the November 19, 2026, release date is right around the corner.

Expect GTA 6 Online after launch

GTA Online launched on October 1, 2013 — just a few weeks after GTA 5 hit shelves.

Red Dead Online followed a similar trajectory. It rolled out to players in a beta state on November 30, 2018 (or a few days earlier for Ultimate Edition owners).

Both modes received standalone releases a few years down the line.

The PlayStation Store listing for GTA 6 states that the game is strictly a "single-player experience," which rules out availability at launch. I predict that it will arrive in some form in December, even if that's just as an early access beta.

If the previous games are anything to go by, this would be followed by a full release in 2027 and a standalone version a few years later.

And finally a PC port after a year

Red Dead Redemption 2's PC port took roughly a year to arrive, dropping in November 2019. As the most recent Rockstar Games release, I think it could give us an idea of when a GTA 6 PC version is likely to arrive.

I predict that it will come out in December 2027 if it follows the same pattern. This might even coincide with the full release of GTA 6 Online in order to really drum up the excitement.

Of course, all of this is speculation based on past events, and the release timeline could play out in any number of ways. We'll just have to wait and see whether Rockstar has any curveballs in store.

• GTA 6 demand could cause a surge in interest for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles
• A major retailer has told The Game Business that a shortage is expected due to ongoing hardware component availability
• It's said that “Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year-end period"

Retailers could run out of stock for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S consoles during the holiday season due to the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6.

That's according to The Game Business, which reports that a major games retailer has warned that a surge in interest for the consoles is expected later this year due to GTA 6. However, there will be a shortage due to ongoing issues surrounding hardware component availability.

"I spoke to a major retailer this week who informed me that they've been told there will be console stock shortages at the end of the year around the launch of GTA 6," said Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, Christopher Dring.

A senior games buyer, speaking without the permission of his employer, told The Game Business, "that because of the on-going issues around hardware component availability, we won’t be getting the units we want ahead of GTA." The source added: “Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year-end period."

Dring pointed out that Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki told investors in May that "the necessary volume" of PS5 stock "has been secured” for 2026; however, Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball told The Game Business earlier in the month that there are already Xbox supply issues.

"I can tell you definitively demand for our console exceeds the supply," Ball told The Game Business. "We are putting them in as many stores as possible. We are producing them as quickly as possible. There is a severe limitation to how quickly we can do that, but it’s not a question of appetite.

"We need to do more, but there are constraints here. And so there are, unfortunately, a number of different markets in which we do not have supply. There are other markets in which we have inadequate supply. That is a privilege as a company it is a challenge for us to figure out."

When we asked about the potential impact GTA 6 will have among consumers, he said, "It’s going to invigorate a lot of players. It’s going to move some additional devices."

Microsoft just announced that the price of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will increase by $150 "effective August 1, 2026," so now would certainly be the best time to secure one before the price hike and before there is a shortage.

GTA 6 officially launches on November 19 and will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95 / £69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 / AU$159.95 / £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Pre-loads begin on November 12.

• New Grand Theft Auto 6 details might have emerged from an Amazon Brazil listing
• The game apparently features NPCs with their own routines and "random events"
• Players may be able to switch between Jason and Lucia during missions

Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders have officially begun, and thanks to Amazon Brazil's listing, new details about the game's open world may have emerged.

Alongside a larger Vice City map, which Rockstar has previously said will allow players to explore several regions of Leonida, the product listing description also states that players will be able to switch between co-protagonists Jason and Lucia during the story and "participate in missions as a duo."

This sounds similar to GTA 5, so we could expect certain missions to be playable by either character, but it could also mean players can choose who to complete a mission with, regardless.

It also looks like GTA 6's world will be highly detailed with a "greater sense of immersion", as non-player characters (NPCs) will have their own "routines", which could mean daily and nightly activities, "random events" that players can encounter, and "interactive establishments."

The latter could be a reference to shops, tattoo parlours, and salons, but could also describe places like strip clubs, bars, and gun stores, which haven't been revealed yet but can also be found in GTA 5.

The mention of "random events" sounds like a feature drawn from Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing players to come across them while roaming the map, including things like isolated interactions and unmarked encounters.

GTA 6 will also reportedly feature "integrated social networks" that mimic real life, and players can "watch viral videos, follow influencers, and discover world events through your in-game mobile phone."

The game is built for current-gen, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S, and the description confirms that it will offer "next-generation graphics" that include "advanced lighting, dynamic weather, more natural animations, and a high level of detail in environments."

At the moment it's unclear whether these details have come from Rockstar themselves, or have been added by a third-party but they certainly sound very plausible.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 and will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95 / £69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 / AU$159.95 / £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Pre-loads begin on November 12.

However, physical copies won't have a disc and only include a digital download code in the box.

• Halo Campaign Evolved's executive producer, Damon Conn, says the team wanted to explore the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief for the three new missions
• The new missions were also inspired by Troy Denning's Halo novels
• Halo Studios suggests players play them after the original story

Halo Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn and creative director Max Szlagor have confirmed that the remake's three new missions were created with the help of Halo book author Troy Denning.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where we went hands-on with the upcoming game, the developers explained that the Halo universe has a lot to explore, but they wanted to explore the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief in the missions of Operation: METEORITE.

"If you think about it, in the original game, you see Sergeant Johnson as such an important character in these original games, but you don't really get to know Sergeant Johnson that well, or his relationship with Chief," Conn said. "That really set the stage for us creatively to think about, 'Hey, let's talk about a mission that they went on a year before the events of The Ring,' and then really to go into their relationship and how they fight alongside each other.

"Even beyond that, there's all this other universe. You've got Spartans and ODSTs. You've got the Brutes. You've got the Prophets. It's really just us leaning into these other elements of the story that we can tell more deeply, that then let you go back and appreciate more of the campaign and what's there."

Szlagor added that Troy Denning, one of the authors who writes some of the Halo novels, like Halo: Last Light, Halo: Retribution, and Halo: Silent Storm - A Master Chief Story, also "helped with the story" of the three missions.

"It's a lore-authentic story," he said, explaining that series veterans who have been fans for 25 years and played on Xbox or PC are going to get new bits of information that they've been wanting, allowing them to "piece more of the puzzle together," such as the Covenant War.

"It's really going to be fun for them," Szlagor added. "But then also, if you're brand new to the experience, maybe you're a PlayStation player, you've never played before, and this is going to be something that would be really good to play after you play the main ring storyline."

However, the creative director suggests that players play the new missions "after they've played and experienced the original."

"It is meant to be played that way, because we've made it more of an intermediate difficulty experience, it's a little bit progressed further along. You start off, and it's a little bit more challenging than the first mission of Halo," he said.

"But again, you can play it in any order you would like. We're not going to make you choose or anything like that, but we just suggest that you play it that way."

Halo Campaign Evolved arrives on July 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently available to pre-order
• The standard edition version of the game costs $79.99 / £69.99
• The majority of those we polled said its price was too high

With Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders live right now, there's been plenty of discussion about the game's price.

Two versions of the game are available: a standard edition that costs $79.99 / £69.99 / AU$129.95 and an upgraded Ultimate Edition that throws in some bonus digital content for $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$159.95.

In my eyes, it's a pretty reasonable price point. The game has taken over a decade to develop and is estimated to have a massive budget, which has led some analysts to suggest that prices could start at as much as $100 / £100 / AU$200 before they were made official.

In the US, it's $10 more expensive than most major games, which generally go for $69.99. In the UK, it's actually the same price as most other releases with the likes of Ghost of Yotei or Stellar Blade also costing £69.99.

Still, according to a poll we ran with TechRadar readers, some fans are disappointed, particularly given the fact that physical versions of GTA 6 won't actually contain a proper disc but rather a printed download code.

Most think GTA 6 costs too much

We took to our almost 400,000 member strong WhatsApp channel to find out what our readers think and, after 459 responses, the results are pretty interesting.

Overall, the majority (59%) of responses said that GTA 6 is priced too high. Of that group, 68% stated that they would not by the game — vowing that "Rockstar just lost a sale" — while 32% admitted they would buy the game anyway, even if they thought it was too much.

Meanwhile, 41% were keen to get a pre-order locked in, selecting the option that said they will definitely "be there day one". This means that on the whole 59% said they were going to buy the game, even if they expressed concern with the price.

This leaves a sizeable minority that have seemingly been completely turned off. We'll have to wait and see whether this reservation is reflected in the official sales figures when they eventually release.

The finishing touch I needed to complete my budget gaming PC was a new monitor. I wanted it at least 27 inches, curved, with 1440p support, a high refresh rate, and low response time. I wanted all that for around £100. A tough ask, I thought, until I saw the MSI MAG 275CQF for £119. It's now even cheaper for Prime Day, and I can't recommend it enough if you want a quality budget gaming monitor.

• View all of today's Prime Day deals

Some of you may scoff at this pick, that perhaps I should have gone for a 4K display instead, or picked something larger if it's my main monitor. Truth is, for the relatively little PC gaming I still do these days, it suits me just fine. And it's an ideal size for work, too, giving me that extra bit of screen real estate I need for multiple windows and tabs.

The MSI MAG 275CQF pretty much hits everything I was after. It's a 27-inch curved display that offers 1440p resolution support, a refresh rate of up to 180Hz, a 0.5ms response time, HDR, and both display port or HDMI connectivity options. And best of all, it now only costs £101 in this week's Amazon sale.

So, if you're bemoaning ridiculous prices for RAM, storage and graphics cards, and you're looking for a way to upgrade or get the most out of your current rig, then this cheap monitor could be a nice little boost to your gaming experience.

Buy the MSI MAG 275CQF at Amazon

I've found the MSI MAG 275CQF is the perfect pairing to my rig, as my spec is built around running most games in 1440p at 60fps or higher. With a Ryzen 5 9600X and a 16GB RX 9060XT, I can make use of the monitor's full resolution and the higher refresh rate in many less demanding titles. And that's mostly what I'm playing on it, with my PS5 Pro used for any cutting-edge games I want the big screen experience on.

Considering I work on the PC, too, I really like the extra screen size, responsiveness, and the sleek curved design for writing and all my other work needs. I've currently got the MSI MAG 275CQF paired with a basic 1080p monitor in a dual-screen setup, but I'm sorely tempted just to add another now that it's on sale again to get one huge curved display setup.

• Sony is going all out for GTA 6 marketing
• The PS5 homepage, PS Store, and PS App have been updated with a GTA 6 theme
• Pre-orders have officially begun

Sony has gone full Grand Theft Auto 6 marketing mode as pre-orders for the most anticipated game of all time officially begin.

The wait is finally over, GTA 6 pre-orders are now live, and in anticipation of the game's release later this year, Sony is showing that it definitely has a favorite by updating the PlayStation 5 homepage, PS Store, and PS App with a new GTA 6 theme.

Now, when players boot up their PS5, they're greeted by a full-screen animation of the game's logo, before it fades into an ad for the game on the console's welcome hub.

When navigating to the PS Store, the background now features co-protagonists Jason and Lucia, and the "Must See" UI has been updated with purple boxes that provide details on the Ultimate Edition, trailers, the Vintage Vice City and GTA+ pre-order bonuses, and a way to pre-order.

As spotted by Shinobi602, Sony has also updated the PS App logo with GTA 6 branding. Instead of the blue icon, it's been replaced by the game's sunset theme and palm trees.

It's clear that Sony is going all out to maximize the GTA 6 marketing, and it's not even a first-party exclusive.

It also shared in a post yesterday that "thanks to a close partnership" with the studio, "GTA 6 will play best on PS5" and take advantage of PS5’s features "to deliver a deeply engaging single-player experience."

GTA 6 officially launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S, and will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95 / £69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 / AU$159.95 / £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Pre-loads begin on November 12.

It's also confirmed that physical copies won't have a disc and only include a digital download code in the box.

• GTA 6 physical editions won't have a disc and only come with a digital code
• Fans are disappointed with the announcement after some bought PS5 Pro disc drives solely for GTA 6
• Some retailers have dropped the game from sale due to their policies of only selling physical products

Physical copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 won't have a disc, and now multiple retailers have announced they won't be selling pre-orders as a result.

After Rockstar Games finally announced the price of the game yesterday and revealed GTA 6's Standard and Ultimate Editions, it was confirmed that physical copies will only include a digital download code in the box and no disc.

One explanation could be that Rockstar is trying to minimize the risk of leaks, but many fans hoping to secure a physical copy are disappointed.

"First look at GTA 6 physical edition," reads one Reddit post with a picture of an empty game box. Another replied, "Don’t forget the slip [of] paper with the code. Physical media is doomed."

One fan said, "I got a disc drive for my PS5 Pro just for this. **Sigh**"

"Got brand new PS5 Slim digital from outlet cause it was much cheaper [a] couple days before they announced price increase," another fan wrote. "Was planning to buy disk drive so I can later sell console and the game (mainly play on pc). But I won't be able to sell the game unless I sell my account as well lol."

The lack of a physical disc has also led certain retailers to stop selling pre-orders altogether as a policy, including Canadian retailer VGP, which is known for regular restocks of rare physical games (via GamesRadar).

"For nearly 40 years, VGP has been committed to supporting physical media and preserving the value of physical game ownership," the retailer said on Bluesky. "As part of that commitment, our company policy is that we do not carry physical products for video game consoles that contain only a digital download code."

The company added, "We want to be clear that this decision is not a reflection of the game itself. We have tremendous respect for Rockstar Games and the incredible achievement that Grand Theft Auto VI represents.

"Should Rockstar one day release a physical edition containing a disc in the box, we would be pleased to carry and support that version for our customers."

US-based Loot Box Gaming is also taking the same position, announcing on X/Twitter that it "will not be supporting the release of GTA 6."

"When we started LBG, it was out of a love for our favorite form of media, gaming, as-well as the preservation of said media," the post reads. "If a product can’t honor the people who pay their hard earned money to purchase it, then we have no business trying to sell it to our customers whom we value above anything else."

GTA 6 pre-orders are now live and will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95 / £69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 / AU$159.95 / £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition.

GTA 6 officially launches on November 19, but pre-loads begin on November 12.

The day we've been waiting years for has finally arrived. Rockstar Games has finally given word on GTA 6 pre-orders (spoiler: they're happening now), as well as pricing information and a torrent of new screenshots, but fans have highlighted a notable omission.

We were asked in a comment on our TikTok announcing the news whether or not we knew of a collector's edition in the works — and we don't, with Rockstar staying quiet on the matter — but there's at least some reason to believe that we won't see one that includes a physical copy.

That reason is an entirely different game; Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2), the last game developed by Rockstar. Instead of a collector's edition including a physical copy, fans received a collector's box priced at $99.99 / £89.99 with "outlaw essentials" inspired by the Van der Linde gang.

These included various themed items like a metal tithing box, a bandana, pins, and more, all neat, but notably, there was no digital content included. Bundles were available that included a hard copy, but officially speaking, these were distinct and separate products. It was met with mixed feelings; some fans liked the focus on real-world collectibles rather than in-game content, but others at least wanted a unique game box to

So, will we see a collector's box for GTA 6?

Well, reader, I've got no clue. It's been a long eight years since RDR2, an even longer 12 years since GTA 5, and it's a whole different ball/car theft game in 2025. In our pre-order live blog, our Managing Editor, Gaming and Streaming, speculates:

"Could it be that Rockstar only wants to launch digitally initially in order to avoid any risks about leaks or something, but then come again later with a special edition or collector's edition that's 'properly' physical — I could see that happening. People would buy it twice, too.

I think we're about to witness a game pre-order situation that is like no other, ever; it'll transcend any other game pre-order logic, pattern, or situation, so the idea of Rockstar coming later with a collector's edition or physical copy to coincide with a later beat, such as GTA 6 Online, or a PC release, is very much something I can see."

Indeed, GTA 6 already stands to shape the market. Its pricing alone has been a huge point of interest, with analysts putting early predictions at over $100; it's safe to say that would have been the real kicker here, even if a collector's edition would be appreciated by many fans.

Who knows, perhaps Rockstar is going all-in on the digital future and scrapping all physical media, including merchandise. I mean, I'd be surprised, but it's not beyond the realms of imagination that we'd see fewer publishers making their own merch and offloading the effort onto third-party providers.

Still, I sincerely hope that's not the case; whether it's a collector's edition with a physical disc, a game code, or just a box filled with junk I can shove on a shelf to proudly show in the background of my Zoom calls, there's plenty of demand for collector's items.

Developer Rockstar Games has unveiled a deluge of new promotional screenshots, alongside the confirmation of the game's price and GTA 6 pre-order information.

In an email sent to outlets including TechRadar Gaming, the publisher shared 63 new images, which can also be found on the game's official site.

They mainly focus on the content included with the Ultimate Edition, or the Vintage Vice City Pack pre-order bonus DLC, but still reveal some interesting titbits about the game and point to some potential key mechanics.

Expect plenty of flashy cars, and vehicle customization

Loads of the new screenshots focus on cars and car customization, with the press release accompanying the images confirming that Ultimate Edition owners will be able to visit two exclusive vehicle mod shops.

We know that interiors will be customizable, alongside rims, paint jobs, and more.

Clothing stores and hairdressers are returning too

As in past games, it's clear that players will be able to visit clothing stores to customize how their characters look as the Ultimate Edition comes bundled with access to the exclusive Stock 305 Clothing Store.

There will also be hairdressers if you need a trim, including Sara's Unisex Salon if you buy the Ultimate Edition version.

The game will also feature tattoo parlors, again just like previous games.

You can get your own boats

One of the biggest benefits of the Ultimate Edition seems to be access to the Shitzu Squalo, a flashy boat that you can use to explore the sea and access a weapons crate. Like Grand Theft Auto 5, it seems players will be able to own and presumably customize their own ships.

You'll have somewhere to stay on land as well

When you're on land, you will be able to access safehouses, with one included in the Ultimate Edition. It will allow you to store vehicles and, I assume, access other features.

Weapon customization is back with a bang

Loads of the screenshots show flashy weapons (or characters holding them). The fact that you will be able to customize weapons has been confirmed, which should mean access to skins and attachments. like scopes or suppressors.

Pre-order buyers get a dose of nostalgia

While the screenshots so far have focused on the Ultimate Edition, 12 of the 63 sent out today are all about the Vintage Vice City Pack.

This is one of the bonuses that will be given to fans who pre-order, and includes some outfits, hairstyles, and weapons that you can see above.

They're clearly inspired by the world of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and so should offer a big dose of nostalgia to returning fans.

• A digital Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-order comes with a free month of GTA+
• The subscription service offers access to GTA Online benefits and the ability to play older GTA games
• Here's everything you need to know about the service

If you place a GTA 6 pre-order on a digital storefront for PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X and Series S, you immediately get access to a free month of GTA+.

But what exactly is it, and how should you use it? Here's what you need to know.

What actually is GTA+?

GTA+ is Rockstar's subscription service, primarily intended for the most devoted GTA Online players.

It gives you access to a load of benefits in the multiplayer game, including a monthly $500,000 in-game cash injection, a 15% bonus when you buy Shark Cards (the game's currency gift cards), and reward multipliers in certain missions.

You also get access to The Vinewood Car Club, where you can claim a free vehicle or modify your existing collection in its exclusive workshop. The Car Club also boasts a 100-car garage for you to use.

This is on top of monthly drops that include exclusive liveries, special paint jobs, and unique clothing. Other smaller benefits include free taxi rides in-game, access to a discounted gun store, the ability to bribe the police to reduce your wanted level, and some other additional features.

These are some fantastic benefits if you're a big GTA Online player, but GTA+ does also have something to offer with its game library...

Which games does GTA+ include?

Alongside its GTA Online benefits, GTA+ includes access to a range of Rockstar Games title. The selection changes on a regular basis, but right now the following GTA games can be played:

• Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS5, Series X / S, PC)
• Grand Theft Auto Online (PS5, Series X / S)
• Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (PS5/PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - The Definitive Edition (Android, iOS)
  • Grand Theft Auto 3 - The Definitive Edition (Android, iOS)
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Android, iOS)
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Android, iOS)

That's not everything, though, as there are some titles from other series included too:

• Bully (PS5/PS4, Xbox, PC, Android, iOS)
• Red Dead Redemption (PS5/PS4, Xbox, PC)
• L.A. Noire (PS5/PS4, Xbox, PC)

As you can see, the games are available on a wide range of platforms, with some even available for mobile devices.

Out of all the games here, I would recommend checking out Vice City the most ahead of GTA 6, either as part of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition or its standalone The Definitive Edition version.

With GTA 6 set to take place in the same fictional city, it's likely going to offer important context and should get you up to speed ahead of the new game.

How much does GTA+ usually cost?

One month of GTA+ usually costs $9.99 / £6.99 / A$11.95.

If you do make use of the free month, remember to cancel the auto-renewal unless you wish to continue your subscription at those rates.

• Grand Theft Auto 6 will have a Standard and Ultimate Edition
• The Ultimate Edition is the premium version that comes with a host of exclusive features
• Pre-ordering any edition will grant the Vintage Vice City Pack

Rockstar Games has officially revealed that Grand Theft Auto 6 will only have two versions at launch: Standard and Ultimate Edition.

It's not what many expected, but there are some major differences between the two.

If you're on the fence about what form your GTA 6 pre-order will take when it comes to the edition, here's everything you need to know about both.

Price

The Standard Edition will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95, which isn't too expensive for the most highly anticipated game of all time, while the Ultimate Edition is priced at $99.99 / AU$159.95.

No disc in physical editions

Rockstar has confirmed that those who pre-order digital versions of GTA 6 can begin pre-loading on November 12, seven days in advance of the game's launch on November 19.

However, no matter what version of the game you purchase, be it Standard or Ultimate, the physical edition won't come with a disc, but a download code in the box instead.

It's unfortunate, but the physical version will be available starting November 12 to support pre-loading.

What's included in the Standard Edition?

As is typical with most games, the GTA 6 Standard Edition will only come with the base game and no additional add-ons, unlike its more premium counterpart.

What's included in the Ultimate Edition?

Being the more costly edition of the game, the Ultimate Edition will come with an exclusive collection of "premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action around every corner."

"Ultimate Edition bonuses are threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story, with new items uncovered behind each chapter," Rockstar teased.

The Ultimate Edition exclusive features include:

• The '95 Gotti Cheetah vehicle
• Hawk & Little Morgan Revolvers - His and hers versions of this powerful revolver with classic Vice City stylings sourced from the Vercetti Estate, including palm-tree-etched grips, engraved detailing, and high-performance scope
• Personalized variant weapons - Personalized sidearms with detailed engravings for Jason's Girardi ES9 pistol and Lucia's Klose K17 pistol.
• Exclusive Vice City Style outfits, tattoos, and more for Lucia and Jason
• Jason's safehouse vehicles - including an Army fatigue-tinged Dinka Enduro motorcycle or Crest Kayak
• Jason's Vapid Ganado low-riding pickup with exclusive mods
• Rideout Customs - a mod-shop to customize vanilla vehicles
• Sara's unisex hair salon - facial hair and hairstyles for both Lucia and Jason, and makeup and nails for Lucia
• Shitzu Squalo boat with an explosives-laden weapons crate
• Stock 305 clothing store - featuring various unique and exclusive looks for Jason and Lucia at Stockyard’s premier destination for elevated streetwear
• '67 VAPID Dominator Buggy - can be stored at the Paradise Garage in Watson Bay, which features a weapon locker plus a secure place to deposit stolen goods to be fenced
• Electric Fang Tattoo Shop - featuring over 50 tattoos for Lucia and Jason
• One-eyed Willie's mod shop in Lake Leonida
• Goodtime Gear - a capsule collection of apparel and accessories inspired by the Goodtime State’s hit TV show character, Macca the Gator
• PTT Younging$ Illegal Goods Store - a gang compound in Southside Vice City to score some special items and distinct contraband
• Classic Car Collection - Track down a variety of abandoned classic and work-in-progress project cars and revitalize them to their former glory in this special commission from eccentric collector and local fixer, Wyman

Vintage Vice City Pack pre-order goodies

Players who pre-order or purchase any edition of the game before November 20 will receive a code for the Vintage Vice City Pack, "a collection of items that flash back to when the neon burned brightest."

The Vintage City Pack includes:

• ’55 Vapid Stanier vehicle - can be stored in the Shore Court personal garage by Ocean Beach
• Outfits and hairstyles - a linen, vintage pastel suit for Jason and a red sequin mini dress and curls for Lucia
• Weapon pattern - inspired by Tommy Vercetti's iconic palm tree button-up

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S.

If you're interested in placing a physical pre-order as quickly as possible, you can check and save the search links below.

US GTA 6 pre-order retailer search links: Amazon | Walmart | Best Buy | Target | GameStop

UK GTA 6 pre-order retailer search links: Amazon | Currys | Argos | Very | EE | ShopTo | The Game Collection | John Lewis

AU GTA 6 pre-order retailer search links: EB Games | JB Hi-Fi

• Crime Boss: Rockay City is still receiving massive free updates
• The latest added a new story mode and two new heists
• The developers are already teasing more

Remember Crime Boss: Rockay City? The co-op heist shooter that launched back in March 2023 and didn't get the best review scores. It's not a perfect game, but I've always defended it.

The shooting feels great for a mid-price title; the 1980s Miami setting is pretty cool, and, importantly, I think it's a lot more fun than its biggest competitor: Payday 3.

I like to boot it up every few months as it's always receiving new content drops, and it sounds like developer Ingame Studios has no plans to slow down three years on.

The game just received its 21st major update, bringing it into what the studio dubs "Version 2.0". It's billed as the biggest set of additions yet, and includes a whole new story campaign.

Originally, the game followed an almost roguelike format, with randomized campaigns and deaths that would reset your progress. Now, it has a more traditional, linear story experience with a selection of new cutscenes added to bridge it all together.

This mode also incorporates all of the narrative content from the Gold Cup and Cagnali's Order expansions, creating one unified Crime Boss experience.

If that massive change wasn't enough, the game also just received two new missions as part of the update. This includes the 'Hell's Kitchen' heist, which looks like a take on the iconic 'Cook Off' mission from the Payday franchise that has players trying to cook up piles of drugs while fending off waves of law enforcement.

The devs are even teasing more, urging players to "stay tuned" because the "story isn’t over yet" in a press release.

I'm excited to dive in, and I won't even need to part with any extra cash to do so, as the update is free on every platform where Crime Boss: Rockay City is available — PC, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PlayStation 5.

• The Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition comes with a ton of exclusive content
• Some fans are understandably disappointed
• However, it looks like an Ultimate Edition upgrade will be available

Some Grand Theft Auto 6 fans are frustrated by the amount of exclusive content locked behind the game's Ultimate Edition, but it looks like a separate upgrade will be available at some point.

Rockstar Games has officially announced the price for GTA 6, when pre-orders go live, and what editions will be available: a $79.99 Standard Edition and a $99.99 Ultimate Edition.

Unlike the Standard Edition, which only comes with the base game, the more expensive Ultimate Edition features a ton of extra goodies, including premium and exclusive content such as missions, Vice City shops, locations, and outfits.

While the announcement has many fans excited, some are disappointed that much of GTA 6 will be locked behind a higher cost version of the game.

"Locking this much s*** behind the Ultimate Edition is scummy," one fan said. Another wrote, "Having stores locked behind the Ultimate Edition in a single player game is definitely a choice."

A user on Reddit shared similar frustrations, saying, "Rockstar I love you and all but locking content behind editions of the game like this is pretty egregious. This shouldn't be things you hide behind an ultimate edition of the game for players who just want to buy the basic game."

However, taking a look at the PS Store now that pre-orders have gone live in New Zealand, it seems that an Ultimate Edition Upgrade will be available.

There's no price right now, but if we had to guess, it could cost about the difference between the Standard and Ultimate Edition, so roughly $20.

A release date for the add-on hasn't been confirmed, but it will likely be available at launch, giving players who purchase the Standard Edition the option to upgrade and unlock all Ultimate Edition content.

Elsewhere, Sony has teamed up with Rockstar and announced that players who pre-order any edition on PlayStation Store will also instantly receive a redeemable free month of GTA+, a premium subscription for Grand Theft Auto Online.

Unfortunately, physical copies of GTA 6 won't include a disc. Instead, they'll come with a download code, and some fans aren't pleased with the new.

• Star Wars: Galactic Racer has a synergy system that impacts the players' vehicles
• Fuse Games says planets will have status effects, like driving in lava or burning in Jakku's sun
• Players can also counteract these effects, like driving through water, if their vehicles overheat

Fuse Games has revealed that Star Wars: Galactic Racer features a synergy system with status effects that impact the players' vehicles.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where studio co-founder and CEO Matt Webster and Creative Director Kieran Crimmins discussed the game's "runs-based" campaign structure and "consequential decision-making," the pair also detailed the game's reactive gameplay system.

In the game, players will visit a range of planets to take part in races, each with their own environmental differences. There are the hot, dry sand planets like Tatooine and Jakku, the lush jungle planet Lantaana, the snow planet, Ando Prime, and more.

This means players will need to adapt to the occasion, swapping out vehicle parts for ones better suited for the specific track. There's also an upgrade tree, which Crimmins said will let players improve their cornering, speed, or resilience, and upgrading vehicles over time will be "a very satisfying experience."

However, the game's synergy system will offer a bigger challenge. Planets will also have status effects, meaning hot lava will overheat your vehicle, but it can also be counteracted by physically driving through water.

"We wanted synergies, so that is status effects that each planet has a different status effect that can be inflicted on you," Crimmins said. "For instance, Ando Prime, you can get frozen, Lantaana, you can overheat in the lava, but you can also get cooled in the water. And then on different versions of Jakku, you can get burnt as well by the sun."

The developers said they couldn't speak on Crait just yet, which is a planet covered in a layer of white salt over a red crystalline mineral, suggesting that, just like in the movie The Last Jedi, speeders and other vehicles will impact the ground players navigate.

Crimmins continued, explaining how negative status effects can be subverted, for instance, to increase the speed of the new system called a Ramjet, which offers a massive boost in speed.

Webster added that using the Ramjet can "come at a real cost and heats up," but if players drive over the rivers of water in Lantaana, it heats up more slowly.

"You end up thinking of your build in a much more tactical way, where you're like, how can this thing prop this thing and create this thing to make an entirely new race," Crimmins said.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer arrives on October 6 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• Sony says Grand Theft Auto 6 "plays best on PS5"
• The company is giving away a free month of GTA+ if fans pre-order the game on PS5
• It says GTA 6 takes full advantage of the PS5’s immersive features "to deliver a deeply engaging single-player experience"

Rockstar Games has teamed up with Sony to offer Grand Theft Auto 6 fans a free month of GTA+ if they pre-order the game on PS5.

In a new PlayStation Blog post, Sony claimed that "thanks to a close partnership" with the studio, GTA 6 "will play best on PS5 by taking advantage of PS5’s immersive features to deliver a deeply engaging single-player experience," following the game's price and pre-order time announcement.

"Since Grand Theft Auto first arrived on the original PlayStation in 1997, the series has defined generations of play," the company said. "We know players are excited for Grand Theft Auto 6, which heads to the state of Leonida — home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond, in the biggest, most expansive evolution of the series yet."

It's confirmed that the game will feature DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, an integrated speaker, and sound effects to enhance the experience, as well as Tempest 3D AudioTech to "surround yourself in the distinct soundscapes of Leonida."

GTA 6 will also leverage the PS5’s ultra-high-speed SSD, which Sony said will enable "near-instant load times."

Pre-orders will begin on June 25 at midnight local time for the Standard and Ultimate Editions, which cost $79.99 and $99.99, respectively.

GTA 6 pre-orders are currently live in New Zealand, and according to the PS Store, an Ultimate Edition Upgrade will be available at some point, likely at launch.

Players who pre-order the Standard or Ultimate Edition before November 20 will also receive the Vintage Vice City Pack and can begin pre-loading the game on November 12, seven days before the game's launch on November 19.

What's more, Sony announced that players who pre-order any edition on PlayStation Store will also instantly receive a redeemable free month of GTA+, a premium subscription for Grand Theft Auto Online.

"Grand Theft Auto 6 marks an exciting new chapter for one of gaming’s most iconic series, and we’re proud to help bring the best experience to players on PS5," Sony said.

"We can’t wait until the game arrives on November 19 and we look forward to celebrating its launch with Rockstar Games and our PlayStation community around the world."

• Grand Theft Auto 6 physical copies come with a digital download code instead of a disc
• Fans hoping to secure a physical copy are disappointed
• One said it's "Such a bummer as a physical collector"

Physical copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 won't include a disc. Instead, they'll come with a download code, and some fans aren't pleased.

Rockstar has finally announced the price of the game and some more details on the ins and outs of GTA 6 pre-orders, as well as unveiled the two editions players can choose from: Standard and Ultimate.

Both versions are available physically and digitally; however, the studio has said that the physical editions won't feature a disc as expected, but rather a digital download code in the box.

One explanation for this could be is that Rockstar is trying to minimize the potential for leaks as much as possible, even if that means physical copies won't come with a disc.

Some fans who were eager to get their hands on a physical edition of the most anticipated game of all time are upset, to say the least.

"Obviously I’m going to get this game but 13 years of waiting & this is all physical editions are getting? A f****** code in a box? For the biggest game to ever launch & that’s all the effort you’re putting in for physical? So damn disappointed man," one said.

A user on Reddit wrote, "Such a bummer as a physical collector. Hopefully they start printing disks after release but that’s probably copium on my part".

"This is beyond ridiculous. So everybody has to pay the insane digital price without any discounts whatsoever. Such a lame and greedy move," another added.

There are some who are also considering skipping the day one purchase in hopes of a disc being produced later down the line, but again, there's still the risk of spoilers. For now, it looks like all players will own a digital license for the game instead.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S at $79.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition.

Pre-loads will begin seven days in advance, on November 12.

• GTA 6 pre-orders will officially begin at midnight local time
• The Standard Edition will cost $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition will cost $99.99
• Pre-loads will begin seven days ahead of launch, on November 12

Rockstar Games has unveiled the editions for Grand Theft Auto 6 and confirmed when fans can secure their pre-orders.

GTA 6 pre-orders are scheduled to begin on June 25 at midnight local time for the Standard and Ultimate Editions. The Standard Edition will cost $79.99, and the Ultimate Edition will cost $99.99.

As Rockstar details on its website, the Ultimate Editions "amplifies this experience with an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story."

Players who pre-order the Standard or Ultimate Edition before November 20 will also receive the Vintage Vice City Pack, which comes with a collection of items that "flash back to when the neon burned brightest."

Those who pre-order digital versions of GTA 6 can begin pre-loading on November 12, seven days in advance of the game's launch on November 19.

The physical version of GTA 6, which contains a download code inside the box, will be available starting November 12 to support pre-loading.

I've spent most of my life drifting from one fleeting entanglement to another, never really taking the risk to actually invest in something significant. But then, four months ago, I finally made a real commitment: my life changed for the better and I haven't looked back since. That's right, I finally bought myself a premium gaming controller. And, this Prime Day, I think should take the leap too.

But there are lots of great PC and Xbox controllers out there, so how do you know when you've found the one? Trust me: when you know, you know. And for me, that controller is the Asus ROG Raikiri II.

If you want a super low-latency, wireless controller for PC or Xbox, the Asus ROG Raikiri II is an excellent choice, thanks to its great feature-set and impressive build. And while it usually has a unflinchingly high price tag, you're currently in luck, as right now you can pick up the ROG Raikiri II at Amazon for $189.99 (was $143.99). In my book, that turns it from a strong candidate to an absolute must-have.

I've not exactly tried to hide my love for this controller, as you can see from my Asus ROG Raikiri II review. I gave it a glowing 4.5 stars, thanks to its compelling features.

Those dual-mode triggers mean you can easily set it to a shallow tap for clicking heads in shooters or set them to their full range for granular control over your accelerator for driving games.

The thumbsticks also feel wonderfully precise, making it easy to sneak past fascists on Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. Also, its 2.4GHz wireless connectivity offers super low-latency of just 2.3ms, making it always feel really responsive.

And when it comes to design, it's no less impressive. It feels solidly built in your hand and comes with its own charging dock and replacement thumbsticks. Meanwhile, its customizable RGB lightning adds just enough flair without it feel overdone or garish. Finally, ROG's Gear Link software allows to set response curves for its sticks and triggers and changes its lighting patterns. Not bad for less that $150 / £200.

Want to peruse some other controllers before making your decision? Then check out our guide to the best PC controllers. Alternatively, keep an eye on our Amazon Prime Day live blog for all the latest deals as we unearth them.

• Star Wars: Galactic Racer will feature a combination of vehicle parts "in the trillions"
• Creative Director Kieran Crimmins says the game has "unbelievable depth"
• He adds, "There may not be an arcade racer with that much depth in it ever made"

Fuse Games has revealed that Star Wars: Galactic Racer has a combination of moving parts that is "in the trillions."

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest (SGF), Fuse Games co-founder and CEO Matt Webster and Creative Director Kieran Crimmins shared how the studio designed a Star Wars racing game with a narrative that balanced what fans are already familiar with while also adding to the universe in a meaningful way.

Webster touched on the accessible planets where the races will take place, such as iconic planets like Tatooine, and others like Lantaana and Jakku, as well as the game's "runs-based" campaign structure and vehicle customization with over 300 parts.

That's a lot of options which will certainly offer a lot of player freedom, but according to Crimmins, the game at large goes beyond that. The creative director said that he spoke to one of the game's designers at SGF and asked how many combinations of moving parts there are in the game, and he was told, "It's in the trillions."

"I can't really calculate it at that point, because the amount of mechanical depth we've got in both the parts, the racer styles, the abilities, the upgrades, and then the different environmental effects that are on the planets, is an unbelievable depth."

"We've never had that much depth in a game we've made," he added. "I would argue there may not be an arcade racer with that much depth in it ever made. This might not be the biggest one possible, and that's something we really wanted to give back to the genre."

Coming back to how the team balanced the new and old of Star Wars, Crimmins explained that it wants people who are familiar with the franchise to have those "touch points," but it also looked at it from "more of a fantasy fulfillment point of view."

"It's like when we watch the movies, we watch the TV shows, or we play the games," he said. "What are the vehicle fantasies that are represented in this universe, which there are a lot of, and then, how do we get the right word, the right worlds, the right parts, the right vehicles? So that we can give as many of those different fantasies as possible."

One of those new vehicles is the skim speeder, which offers fast mobility and is something the Fuse Games knew needed to do a "knife-edge" turn in races.

"We made a vehicle that was able to do that and give, what I feel is a very authentic Star Wars experience, but it is a completely new vehicle, so something new to the Star Wars canon."

Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches on October 6 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• Fuse Games CEO Matt Webster confirms Star Wars: Galactic Racer has a runs-based structure in the campaign
• Webster says "consequential decision-making" is built within the campaign
• Creative Director Kieran Crimmins says that when the team prototyped the system, "it felt right" for Galactic Racer

Star Wars: Galactic Racer will feature a runs-based structure within the campaign, which Fuse Games has said will involve "consequential decision-making."

That's according to Fuse Games co-founder and CEO Matt Webster, who told TechRadar Gaming during an interview at Summer Game Fest 2026 (SGF) that while he and the team love arcade racing games, "you can't make one really in the same way as you did all those years ago," because game genres have adapted and evolved.

Webster said the team wanted to bring something fresh to Galactic Racer, and the runs-based structures, which "are built for replayability and racing thrives on replayability," and in other games, the "meta" is car collection. So instead, the team shook things up by bringing back "consequential decision making and consequence back into the experience."

Creative Director Kieran Crimmins added that "consequence" was the "key" for Galactic Racer, saying, "We want every decision to matter, every upgrade to matter, every vehicle to matter, every race to matter, and like the runs-based structure allows us to do that, like we've never done in an arcade racing before."

"Not only have you got to keep on top of the curve with your build and your skill and your track knowledge, but also you get to reset every time," Crimmins continued.

In other arcade racers, the developer explained, cars can be upgraded to max level, but then players will realize they haven't experienced 99% of the other systems. And while they can always be revisited, the runs-based structure "allows you to do that with consequence."

"It gives you a reason to try all those different builds, a reason to experiment, and also a reward if you get your synergies right, you get your build right, and you get your knowledge right," Crimmins said.

"Then that's what actually wins the game, so it was incredibly compelling to us to have a structure that not only changed the way that you play, but changed the way that you play that was advantageous for the feelings that you get in a racing game, and like anything, the way we made it is we prototyped it and it felt right.

"This is an innovation we think we can bring to the genre."

During the interview, Crimmins also revealed that the game will feature a combination of moving parts that are "in the trillions," across racer styles, the abilities, the upgrades, and then the different environmental effects that are on the planets.

"It's an unbelievable depth," the creative director said.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer arrives on October 6 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• Valve has said it's "rolling out improvements to [SteamOS] so it's more compatible with desktop hardware"
• The company also made it clear that it's collaborating closely with Nvidia for better GPU compatibility
• The aim is to make SteamOS more widely deployed on DIY PCs away from the Steam Machine, and this is tempting some gamers to ditch Windows 11

Valve has underlined how it's improving SteamOS to allow gamers to make their own version of the Steam Machine should they wish, which is already prompting some excited chatter on Reddit about abandoning Windows 11.

The Verge reports that Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais (an engineer who often gives interviews) made it clear that the company is busy "rolling out improvements to [SteamOS] so it's more compatible with desktop hardware" and also "collaborating with Nvidia very closely" on ensuring better compatibility with Team Green's GPUs.

Before you get too excited, though, the caveat that Griffais attached is that Nvidia support isn't coming anytime soon – meaning not this year – but that it's "certainly something that we're working on in the background".

Valve just released SteamOS 3.8 which prepared the ground for the new Steam Machine, arriving with some key changes to ensure a better experience with Intel CPUs, as well as Nvidia GPUs (or indeed all discrete graphics cards, which will benefit from "greatly improved video memory management").

The introduction of KDE Plasma version 6.4.3 with Wayland support is important, too, very much upping the desktop game and bringing in better support for external displays and VRR in SteamOS, among other boons.

In short, with SteamOS 3.8, Griffais notes that "you can put together your own Steam Machine using whatever PC parts you want."

All of which is paving the way for more PC gamers who are fed up with Windows 11 and Microsoft to make the switch over to SteamOS as an alternative operating system (especially those who aren't running an AMD-powered system).

Despite it being still relatively early days in this effort (as noted regarding the work with Nvidia GPUs), some gamers are already happily declaring that they're ready to ditch Microsoft's platform for SteamOS.

One Redditor tells us: "Decided to go all in and wipe my main 2TB drive and install this [SteamOS]. Just got it installed and tried a couple games, working very well so far. Going to make myself stick with it instead of slithering back to Windows."

Here's another gamer who says: "The minute SteamOS gets Nvidia support, there is going to be a large mass exodus of users in the gaming space off of Windows."

In a similar vein, a further Reddit thread informs us: "I found that some of my Steam games which played fine on Windows 10, actually played far worse on Windows 11. I decided to switch back to Linux Mint and give Steam another go on that after having tried it a few years ago, and to my surprise, those games all worked great now. So I've stuck with Mint and every game I have in my Steam library runs well without issue. Value has really been doing a great job of bringing gaming to Linux."

And in that same thread, a Redditor observes: " The instant this [SteamOS] becomes stable with driver[s], I'm jumping out [of] Windows." (Not literally).

Analysis: Steamy Windows

It appears this is prompting more than a few gamers to reconsider their position with Windows 11, but we clearly shouldn't get carried away yet. SteamOS has a long road ahead of it as a rival to Windows 11, as it remains very much a niche proposition, but clearly Valve is pushing hard to make it a much more compelling alternative.

The good thing is that even if you don't intend to go near the Steam Machine – and you believe it's well overpriced, as many do (thanks to the memory crisis) – the launch of the device could still benefit you, as SteamOS continues to take strides forward. As Valve observes, you can just build your own Steam Machine-style PC, or to avoid the RAM crisis price hikes, simply repurpose an existing rig you have (perhaps with a choice upgrade or two grabbed in a sale).

With notable strides being taken here – and some progress being made in terms of getting anti-cheat games to run, too, in certain cases, although there's still plenty of work to be done here – we can be hopeful that SteamOS adoption could be accelerated considerably.

However, Windows 11 remains dominant by a long, long way in the PC gaming world, although SteamOS gaining traction could worry Microsoft for the longer-term, and prompt further efforts to make Windows 11 better for gamers – which again would be a win, albeit an indirect one.

Valve's announcement of the Steam Machine price has unsurprisingly spoiled the excitement of the console-like PC competing in the market.

Starting at $1,049 for the 512GB model that comes without the controller is simply unappealing to both PC enthusiasts and newcomers, making PS5 and Xbox consoles look far more valuable, despite their recent price increases.

Ultimately, the blame isn't completely on Valve. Just like MSI's new Claw 8 AI+ EX handheld with an MSRP of $1,799 (which is far more outrageous), Valve has had its hand forced by the impact of the RAM crisis, making the Steam Machine an overpriced mini PC.

Fortunately, though, there are far better pre-built gaming PC options available on the market. No, they're not on Amazon as Prime Day deals, but yes, they're much cheaper than the Steam Machine and more powerful.

One in particular is the Acer Nitro 60 available on Walmart for $898 (was £1,449.99), saving customers an incredible $551.99. With this specific build featuring an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8GB GPU, this is a gaming PC that will provide solid performance at 1080p and even 1440p when using Nvidia's DLSS 4.5.

It's also worth noting that it's using 16GB of DDR5 RAM, in a market where memory prices are completely out of whack due to the ongoing crisis, and a 1TB SSD that's just about enough for most setups.

The Steam Machine's base model is not only currently more expensive than this Acer Nitro 60 PC build, but it's limited to 512GB of storage space, and will be outperformed by the Nitro 60's RTX 5060 GPU.

AMD's FSR 4 has only just been made available for RDNA 3 architecture, which includes the Steam Machine's custom AMD GPU, but this reportedly won't be at launch, and doesn't stack up to Nvidia's DLSS 4.5 in terms of performance and image quality.

The only major advantage the Steam Machine holds over the Nitro 60 gaming PC in terms of game performance is its AMD hardware, which will run better on SteamOS, as Nvidia hardware isn't suited for the operating system just yet — but this is likely going to change in the future.

With the unpredictable climate of the PC hardware market, a move for the Acer Nitro 60 is a no-brainer, especially at such an affordable price.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

I test a whole heap of gaming headsets, and have done so for nearly a decade now. I've also worked with a whole load of excellent freelancers who offer brilliantly clear, thoughtful, analytical, and fair takes on the products we test as a collective.

And I've agreed with every single review we've published in my time here at TechRadar Gaming — up until now. While very accurate and full of great advice, especially when the headset launched, I think my writer Phil's (who is one of the best in the business) review of the Audeze Maxwell 2 scored the gaming headset too low with a four-star rating.

I think it's a five-star headset.

Simply put, it is the best-sounding gaming headset I have ever used. After using it for a few months as a daily driver, nothing has come close before or since — even some of my absolute favorites can't hold a candle to it on sheer audio quality, detail, richness, and balance.

As a result, I have been recommending the headset at every opportunity possible. For anyone looking to upgrade their audio and take a step up, no matter your platform, this is absolutely worth the price tag — even at full price.

The whole audio spectrum is served so well by the Maxwell 2's 95mm planar magnetic drivers and design that I have been immersed further into my games, picked up details I didn't realise were there, and been blasted by a full-bodied richness that's just so dang enjoyable.

Further backing this up was my recent visit to Audeze in California, where I got to see the magic, science, and philosophy up close and personal. Hearing the approach that Audeze takes to audio, as well as learning about the planar magnetic tech under the hood, including the patented SLAM technology too, only cemented my newfound opinion on this quality set.

No headset is perfect, of course, and folks will point out that its mic is just OK, or that it's weightier than other headsets — though I think we all have a tendency to be too afraid of heavier headsets, or think that heavy = bad — but the default audio quality, out of the box, is so good that it definitely, absolutely, categorically outweighs all of the potential negatives.

At launch, Phil pointed out the fact that the original Maxwell was still available and this posed a bit of a problem for the Maxwell 2, as it offered also-excellent audio but was much cheaper. However, there are genuine improvements over the Maxwell 1 that the 2 offers (like SLAM), and now, a few months after release, the OG model is harder to find, making the case for going to the Maxwell 2 even stronger.

If you want premium gaming audio, then there is none better on the market right now.

• New Grand Theft Auto 6 details have been spotted
• Fans have seemingly discovered an easter egg referencing Vice City's Tommy Vercetti
• A Marvel's Wolverine actor has also reportedly been cast in the game

Ahead of the game's pre-order availability this week, new Grand Theft Auto 6 details have been discovered, including a new cast member and a strange easter egg that could have a connection to another GTA game.

First, let's talk about the easter egg, which was spotted in the game's second trailer by TheGameVerse (via IGN) following some deep analysis of every single frame.

While the trailer was posted over a year ago, the split-second nod was easily missed. But if you pause at the 33-second mark, you can spot it.

As protagonist Jason Duvall backhands a store clerk, just behind his head, you can see a lizard wall ornament that appears to be wearing a blue floral shirt. Upon closer inspection, it's believed to be the same shirt worn by fan-favoriteVice City character Tommy Vercetti.

Not a huge easter egg if it was Rockstar's intention, but the game is sure to feature many more nods to the wider GTA franchise.

The second detail comes courtesy of IGN and seems to confirm that actor Brett Gipson, who plays Sabretooth in Marvel's Wolverine, has joined the cast of GTA 6.

The actor recently updated his resume, stating that he will play a character named Ellis, but there's no information on his role in the game.

The cast of GTA 6 has been kept pretty under wraps since its announcement, and we still don't know who will be playing co-protagonists, Jason and Lucia.

Rockstar has now officially confirmed that GTA 6 pre-orders will begin on June 25 ahead of the game's launch on November 19, while also revealing the game's official cover art.

No price has been set just yet, but if you're looking to pre-order a copy, here are some PS5 and Xbox gaming accessory upgrades that we'd recommend before you play.

I love my Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, especially when using it with some smart glasses like my RayNeo Air 4 Pros. However, I know that the setup I have could be better.

So this Amazon Prime Day, I’m looking to enhance my PC handheld gaming experience with a bunch of accessories, including a dock, a super-fast portable charger, and a case to keep it safe. These are the pieces I’m looking to buy, and I can’t wait to see how they upgrade my ROG Xbox Ally X's gaming experience.

• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Prime Day sale – quick links

• Shop Amazon's Xbox Prime Day deals
• Check out Amazon's Asus tech deals for Prime Day

The ultimate Asus ROG Xbox Ally setup

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
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• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

I couldn't properly use an Xbox console until one particular controller came out this generation, and ever since I've held a special place for it in my gaming heart.

Even as a gaming hardware reviewer for years, prior to the Thrustmaster eSwap X Pro controller that released a little after the Series X and S launched, I really struggled with any Xbox controller due to having slightly different hands. A controller that could be turned into the layout I need, symmetrical, was a revolution. You can't get that original one anymore, but the eSwap X2 and eSwap X2 H.E. variants are excellent new iterations.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Since then, I've had hands-on with a whole load of other controllers that are absolutely brilliant for a multitude of reasons.

From ol' reliables like the standard DualSense, to another modular belter in the Victrix Pro BFG range, and from premium first-party pads like the excellent DualSense Edge, to Pro-focused controllers like the SCUF Omega there's more choice than ever — and I've rounded up some of my absolute favorites below for your perusal ahead of the Amazon Prime Day deals this week.

Some of my favorite controllers for PS5, Xbox, and PC available right now

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

• Sonic the Hedgehog is officially 35 years old this year
• Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka thinks he might not make it to the franchise's 70th anniversary, but will "definitely be wanting to play" future games if possible
• Iizuka also says he is "really proud" of the series

Sonic the Hedgehog is officially 35 years old, with anniversary celebrations kicking off in January of this year, and to mark the occasion I sat down with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka to discuss all things blue and spiky in a new interview at Summer Game Fest 2026.

The veteran developer explained that he "of course" considers it almost like his own child and revealed that he has "been with Sonic longer than I've been with my own children" in real life. "I'm really proud," he said.

Right now the franchise is undeniably in a strong position, with fans impressed by the recent Sonic x Shadow Generations remake and the support for the ongoing racing title Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, so I was interested to find out where he thinks it will be in another 35 years.

The Japanese-speaking staff sat in the interview room immediately began to chuckle as he replied, the translator barely containing his laughter as he revealed that "Iizuka-san does not think he's going to be alive" to see it.

My suggestion that his spirit "will continue to live on in Sonic" did not help get proceedings back on track.

"The Sonic Team in Japan is a great group of people," Iizuka added after a few more titters.

"It's really because of all of the great people who are making content for Sonic that we get things like Sonic X Shadow Generations, we get things like Frontiers, we get all these great, new experiences," he continued.

"They're constantly challenging themselves, they're constantly trying to make new fun game experiences, and so 35 years from now, even if I do not believe I'm still going to be working at Sega making games, as a gamer, I'll definitely be wanting to play their experiences."

Upgrading any area of one's gaming setup is something I can always get behind, and regardless of budget, need, desire, or platform, I'm often able to find recommendations across all kinds of gear.

Shop more early Prime Day deals at Amazon US

However, audiophile or high-end gaming headsets is one of my favourite areas in which to delve and recommend. We've seen a surge of new products in recent years either targeting the audiophile market directly or at least the audiophile-adjacent, premium and high-end part of the spectrum. As such, there's now a good few products to choose from nowadays.

But there's only a few I recommend over the others. Each offers something slightly different, but all are excellent and are my personal picks for the best audiophile gaming headsets going right now. They're so good, they justify their price tag even when at full price, I believe, too. So if you're looking to enhance your gaming audio ahead of GTA 6 pre-orders starting this Thursday, then check out my recommendations below.

Planar-magnetic drivers FTW

For me, the Audeze Maxwell 2 is the greatest-sounding gaming headset money can buy right now. It is now my default go-to set of cups for all gaming, no matter the genre or type of game I'm playing, and I absolutely love it.

At the core of the headset are its 90mm planar magnetic drivers, which are frankly absurd. I am a big fan of a lot of brands' default audio quality, but I have never had better audio out of the box than the Maxwell 2's. It's the best going right now, and literally can't speak highly enough about it.

The science and philosophy of Audeze really make it exquisite for those looking to get better audio for single-player games, stemming from the company's history in making premium headphones for music and media. The reality is that it is still brilliant for multiplayer games, and you also get some flexibility via the Audeze app for tweaking your own EQ settings if you need to.

There are very few chinks in the armor, but some things to be aware of might be its good but unspectacular mic, and its overall bulkiness — though I think we are all a bit too scared of headsets that are big and that weigh more than others; it's genuinely OK if a headset weighs a few more ounces or grams, don't worry! I really like the chunky feel and slightly heavier feel of the set myself, and find the set incredibly comfortable.

Otherwise, I simply cannot reiterate this again: if you really want to get the best gaming audio, and something that'll make GTA 6 sing beautifully no matter the scenario, then this is the audiophile gaming headset to buy right now.

An Elite experience

While the Maxwell 2 rules on the driver and audio quality front, if you're looking for an audiophile-level, premium headset that offers a complete solution and all the bells and whistles — along with some excellent audio, of course — that you need from a headset on any platform, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is worth considering.

It's pricey, I know, but as I said in my review, it really is the best gaming headset I've ever tested. It simply offers it all in one truly excellent package, from audio quality and versatility — you can use it across every platform, simultaneously — to feature set, build quality, comfort, and microphone performance — literally everything.

If you really want one high-grade headset to rule them all while offering audiophile-level gaming audio, then this is the upgrade to make this year, ahead of GTA 6.

It's an old one, but a great one

The PC38X is a wonderful wired audiophile-level headset which I have loved using on both PC and PS5. It sounds fantastic, and is a pretty no-nonsense gaming headset with genuine pedigree behind it.

You might see it styled as Drop + Epos PC38X or just a Drop PC38X, but whichever title you see it under, I really recommend this as a wired set for anyone who wants to keep things simple and get a brilliant-sounding open-backed set of audio givers.

It is a bit old now, but you know what they say: class and quality endures (or something like that. Now, there is one caveat with this headset, and one that is directly related to it being a slightly older model: its availability is a bit spotty. Our automatic price-finding tool below should surface the headset, however, and I have seen it with my own eyes at Amazon US and Amazon UK this week.

However, if you are looking for some wired audiophile gaming headset alternatives to the PC38X if it's not available in your region, then I have some picks for you too.

The Audeze LCD-GX is an open-back premium set of headphones that have been built for gaming. Channeling all that planar magnetic goodness that the brand is known for, these are a seriously high-end set of cups. The massive 106mm drivers pack an almighty punch and offer immense detail, while it comes with a mic, so it's a genuine wired headset option.

The Sennheiser HD 550s are one of my favorite sets of headphones from recent years, and while they may appear as another headphone offering from Sennheiser, these are definitely targeted at gamers who want higher quality audio. You'll need to buy a mic attachment separately to elevate it to a full gaming headset offering.

The Asus ROG Kithara is another option, and is a recent release into the audiophile market. Developed with HiFiMan, this headset has huge 100mm planar-magnetic drivers (not too dissimilar to the Maxwell 2), an open-backed design, and sounds wonderful.

And while not an audiophile gaming headset in the truest sense, per se, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro wired gaming headset is an excellent option for those looking for a complete wired gaming headset experience, with brilliant audio and all the features to boot.

Horipad for Steam: One-minute review

The Horipad for Steam is a dedicated PC controller built with Steam integration in mind. This means that Valve's monolithic game launcher recognizes the controller immediately, granting quick access to Big Picture Mode and various settings like deadzone and gyro calibration.

I went into my time with the Horipad for Steam thinking it could be a worthwhile cheap Valve Steam Controller (2026) alternative with that in mind. But after nearly two weeks of testing, I'm thinking I'd recommend almost any other PC-compatible controller over this one.

The Horipad for Steam is awful; an alarming step-back for a brand that typically delivers solid (if rarely spectacular) budget-friendly controllers and accessories. From its flimsy build quality to the bizarre lack of even Hall effect stick tech, this is a shoddy controller that isn't built to last in the same way many of its competitors are.

Before I get too negative, there are things to like here. For one, it's ergonomically sound and sits in the hands rather comfortably. I also really enjoy the pressure-sensitive triggers, which worked surprisingly well in supported games like Forza Horizon 6. A trigger lock option for digital presses is welcome, too.

That's about where the praise ends, though, because the Horipad for Steam ultimately provides a poor-feeling play experience. The face buttons, d-pad, and bumpers all somehow feel both stiff and mushy simultaneously. The included Bluetooth adapter also isn't fit for purpose - sometimes taking forever to pair and prone to disconnections.

Yet most baffling of all are what Hori calls the 'touch capacitive' thumbsticks. You can assign an input to these in your Steam launcher's controller settings, and they literally activate on touch. By which I mean, the simple act of placing your thumb on the stick will activate your chosen input. At best, this is completely useless, and at worst, it renders your games unplayable as your assigned input will go off if you so much as brush your thumb against the stick. I have no idea why Hori thought this was a worthwhile feature, especially as the controller already has four dedicated buttons for secondary input assignment!

There is practically no scenario where I can confidently recommend the Horipad for Steam. It's not cheap enough to be a legitimate budget choice, especially when rivals like the tremendous 8BitDo Pro 3 are offering a much better experience for even less. I would also strongly consider buying the Valve Steam Controller (2026) instead if you're able to do so. As far as the best PC controllers are concerned, there's no shortage of excellent options.

Horipad for Steam: Price and availability

• Costs $59.99 / £54.99 (around AU$85)
• Available to buy now at Hori's store page
• More desirable options match or beat this controller on price

You can get the Horipad for Steam now from the brand's website, where it's available for $59.99 / £54.99 (around AU$85). This puts it roughly in the same ballpark as other excellent PC controllers like the 8BitDo Pro 3 and the Xbox Wireless Controller.

And 'excellent' sort of is the keyword here, but not for the Horipad for Steam. The fact is that this controller's price is something of a sweet spot, at least in the PC space. You'll be able to find similarly-priced controllers from brands like 8BitDo, GameSir, Victrix, and more, all outperforming the Horipad for Steam by basically every metric.

Horipad for Steam: Specs

Horipad for Steam: Design and features

• Integrated Steam functionality
• Extremely lightweight
• Hollow, plasticky build

I've tested countless controllers in my time at TechRadar, and I would recommend almost all of them over the Horipad for Steam. But to give the brand a bit of credit, this controller does set itself apart from the crowd with its official Steam integration.

The PC gaming launcher recognizes the controller instantly, and the bulk of its customization options (more so than the official Hori Device Manager software) can be tweaked within Steam. That includes stick deadzones, trigger and gyro sensitivity, and ancillary features like those capacitive touch thumbsticks.

The central Steam button grants immediate access to Big Picture mode, and a dedicated Quick Access button to its right opens a handy sidebar where you can check out your notifications, friends list, and quick settings like game recording. It's all pretty nice and convenient.

I don't hate the Horipad for Steam's overall design, either. It's incredibly lightweight and sits very comfortably in the hands. Referencing the Hori Fighting Stick Alpha and Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe (yes, it really is called that), the brand has always been good at delivering solid look and feel on tighter budgets.

I also quite like the LED display on the Horipad for Steam, wrapping around the d-pad and right thumbstick, and showing things like battery life and Steam connectivity. There are some neat ideas here.

The issue is everything else. That overly lightweight build isn't down to some ingenious engineering. The Horipad for Steam is made from cheap parts, and feels cheap as a result. That extends to the bumpers, face buttons, and d-pad especially, which all feel simultaneously stiff and listless; a feat I didn't know was possible until now.

8BitDo Pro 3: Performance

• Lovely, customizable triggers
• Thumbsticks feel nice, though the lack of drift resistance is concerning
• Inclusions like touch capacitive thumbsticks are baffling at best

It's a similar story on the performance front; the Horipad for Steam has some nice ideas, but is ultimately ruined by the execution. Firstly, I will say that Hori has done a fantastic job with the triggers here. You can swap between a true digital press or pressure-sensitivity via a switch on the rear of the pad. The latter feels surprisingly solid for racing games, especially when applying more force depending on how firmly you hold the triggers down. It's a genuinely cool solution that you just don't see in the modern controller market anymore. So props for that.

It's a shame that everything else feels so shoddy. I mentioned the buttons in the previous section, but I truly hate the Horipad for Steam's d-pad. Somehow feeling both stiff and mushy at the same time, it's among the worst I've ever used. And as mentioned, that feeling extends to the face buttons and bumpers, which offer annoyingly clunky presses during play.

Your wireless connectivity options are also alarmingly limited here. A Bluetooth receiver is included in the box, and it's a tiny thing that I can see being easily lost. Bluetooth connectivity is spotty at best, too, as I experienced bouts of input lag and the odd reconnection while playing games on Steam. Bizarrely, gyro functionality can't be used during wireless play, so you'll need to hook up via USB-C if you want to use that. And I'm sure you can imagine how awful that feels with a cable weighing the pad down slightly.

Battery life is another swing-and-miss. You're getting around 12 hours here, which isn't horrendous. But on average, contemporary PC controllers are putting up 15-20 hours, sometimes more.

Yet by far the worst thing about the Horipad for Steam is its 'touch capacitive' thumbsticks. You can activate these in the controller's Steam settings, and essentially activate an input of your choosing via a quick tap of the thumbstick's top.

The problem here is the input activates no matter what, whether you quickly tap the stick or hold your thumb down. This essentially means that your chosen input is going to go off every single time your thumb meets the top of the stick. In my testing, this renders the controller unusable for normal play, and I couldn't find a single use-case where such a feature would be worthwhile. It's annoying at best, game-breaking at worst.

Should I buy the Horipad for Steam?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider...

You don't have to settle for the Horipad for Steam controller if you're looking for a dedicated PC pad. Consider the following alternatives.

How I tested the Horipad for Steam

• Tested for two weeks
• Primarily tested on PC with a variety of games via Big Picture Mode
• Used features like capacitive touch thumbsticks and gyro aiming

For this review, I tested the Horipad for Steam for around two weeks, utilizing a mixture of wired (USB-C) and wireless (Bluetooth) connectivity. I played a wide variety of games with the controller, including Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy 14 Online, Dark Souls Remastered, and Forza Horizon 6. I also made sure to test features like those capacitive thumbsticks, trying and failing to find a decent use-case for them with a variety of inputs.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2026

After just a few minutes, Alien: Isolation 2 had me feeling that very particular sense of tension and stress that only the first game could create — and I’m, perhaps strangely, incredibly excited for more.

Horror games aren’t usually my bag, but my love for franchises and series like Alien or Dead Space will always trump my fear of scares and fuel my interest in soaking up everything that games have to offer in such universes.

And that’s the case with Alien: Isolation 2. It’s shaping up to be an absolutely belting sequel, channeling all that Creative Assembly executed supremely well with the first game, as well as offering evolutions sure to enhance the experience. But there is still one thing that I really wish I’d seen in my preview that will transform this game in comparison to the last.

Familiar foe, familiar feeling

Taking place right at the beginning of the game, my preview saw me take control of a new protagonist, Blake, travelling in a rover on a dark and dingy planet right on the cusp of a storm.

The weather does indeed turn, and we step out of our buggy to investigate a crashed ship that fans of the first game will instantly recognise. Ignoring the advice of our pals, our character climbs aboard the small ship and proceeds to investigate and enter.

From here, we’ve all seen this movie before. Power needs to be booted back on, but, of course, it allows something to escape containment. Soon after, we get a familiar, but fantastic and hold-your-breath moment as the Xenomorph is introduced. I’m immediately transported back into the shoes of Ripley from the first game, and return to form, looking for maintenance hatches, crawling between desks, and trying to pick up anything of use, while my heart rate climbs, thundering on my chest, and I put all the effort I can into my peripheral vision.

It's here that the very particular, almost unique mix of tension, stress, and fear that the first Alien: Isolation game oozes becomes tangible to me. It’s one of the most interesting and impactful feelings a game has ever had on me, and it’s back by the bucketload as I try and consider all the routes open to me to slowly and stealthily make my way back to the exit hatch while avoiding the perfect predator. Spoilers: my go-to approach of relying on maintenance tunnels, vents, and desks did not work.

While working my way through the demo, the retro-futuristic aesthetic is once again right at the forefront of the game, and there’s been a colossal leap forward in terms of fidelity and detail and execution. Combine this with some excellent atmospheric and environmental design in the exterior environment, as we say in the Summer Game Fest 2026 trailer, and this is going to be a visual treat.

However, as exceptional as all this is — and it really is — it’s still somewhat familiar territory to the first game, and has me almost wishing to see something brand new.

Inside out

It turns out that brand new element is the great outdoors. Alien: Isolation 2 is promising outdoor environments for the Xenomorph to now hunt players down in. It’s new territory for the franchise, as far as I can remember, and as such, is an extremely exciting (and terrifying) prospect.

How will the Xeno traverse the landscape? You have to assume that climbing and shooting through tunnels or caves isn’t going to be a problem, but how will it also decide where to go? How will it learn and develop from our actions in the open environment? Can the Xeno do it on a rainy Tuesday night in the dark in an unfamiliar place? (To somewhat use a UK football phrase.)

There’s just so much unknown here for Alien: Isolation 2, and with it being such a key evolution of the formula, I’m almost annoyed at Creative Assembly for not letting me get a look at it…

Equally, I’m dead keen to know how we might turn the open areas to our advantage. Are we going to be able to turn the tide at all given the scale of space the Xeno has to cover, or are we going to be in just as much trouble?

I can’t imagine there being a load of resources available in the landscape, and a human obviously has no chance in a foot race across a field or through a forest. My gut instinct is that it will feel relentlessly one-sided again — and I can’t wait to dive back in.

Alien: Isolation 2 doesn't yet have a release date but will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and Series, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 game director Chris Cross says the game will have "massive amounts of customization"
• The new Specialist class can be customized to become almost like a multiclass
• Cross says players can build a team that is just four medics

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will feature "massive amounts of customization" across all available classes, including the brand-new endgame Specialist class.

That's according to game director Chris Cross, who told TechRadar Gaming in an interview at Summer Game Fest 2026 that besides the new addition of four-player co-op, "there are so many different ways to put together" the highly customizable Specialist class, which also has its own progression system.

"Basically, you can end up with like really awesome multiclass," he said, adding as an example, "It's like a Marauder and a Gunslinger."

The game will also introduce four new elemental damage types, fire, cyro, electric, and piercing, as well as interchangeable weapon attachments, which can be used to combat the three "expanded" enemy factions, Xenomorphs, Pathogen horrors, and Security Synths, which will all have their own "weaknesses and strengths versus the different damage types."

Players can also build their fireteam however they like, with Cross confirming that squads can "take four medics in and they're not going to be the same."

"There's enough customization that you can take four medics in, and they'll all be different," he said, "It's mostly weapon synergy, damage synergy, ability synergy. It's funny, you would think that four medics are not as offensively capable, but actually, you can take a poison medic and drop off a med station that puts poison out; it's almost a cheat code, because almost everybody's running at overclocked help. It's totally awesome."

Cross added, "Basically, there's almost an infinite amount of ways to coordinate with your buds, on how you want to kit up as a group...You could customize to your heart's content."

Managing your loadout will also become more important as players reach greater difficulties because friendly fire will be turned on, which in turn makes coordination with their squad vital.

For this reason, Cross explained that the crouch ability "becomes very important in the higher difficulties."

"Crouch seems so trivial, but it's actually one of the more important things," he said. The director also hinted at Horde mode, which has been "revamped" since the first game, but is keeping some additional features secret for the time being.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 director Chris Cross confirms that the sequel won't be a continuation of the first game
• He says the sequel is a "self-contained" story
• Cross reveals that Cold Iron worked closely with 20th Century Studios to ensure it matched the Alien lore

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 creators Cold Iron Studios worked closely with 20th Century Studios to ensure the game respected the Alien franchise lore.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where we went hands-on with the upcoming co-operative shooter, game director Chris Cross discussed the game's story and confirmed that it won't be a continuation of its predecessor.

"It's its own story. It's self-contained," he said, but revealed that it "does feature return characters."

Cross went on to say that Cold Iron actually worked closely with 20th Century Studios to make sure that Fireteam Elite 2's story followed the Alien lore correctly.

"There's a linear mystery that you're uncovering as you're going here," he said, "and I will say that it is all like we worked very close[ly] with 20th Century to make sure that we were hitting the lore correctly and doing things in our story that are exciting for Alien fanatics."

The director also hinted at what players can expect, including a prologue mission that will introduce new and returning fans to the game, then four locations that the studio is calling "biomes" with different environmental features, such as a planet-side surface colony and a ship.

The game will also feature an underground area beneath the colony, where players will encounter something Cross wanted to simply describe as "Alien-esque"... which sounds creepy.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. It will also feature four-player co-op, which Cross explained was added because it was "highly-requested" and it "works better in a PVE game."

• Pico Park president Shintarou Shimazu says there were "pressures" making Sonic Pico Park
• He says Sega probably felt "risky" working with an indie company
• Shimazu adds that he thinks "it even took some guts"

Pico Park president Shintarou Shimazu has discussed the pressure of taking on Sega's beloved Sonic franchise to create its crossover indie game, Sonic Pico Park.

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026 following the game's official announcement, Shimazu explained that it seemed "risky" for the small indie company to take on such a huge IP, and even for Sega to agree.

Shimazu went on to say, "It would be a lie to say there's no pressure taking on this great IP from this massive corporation," but working with game director Shunsuke Miyake made the process easier because he and Miyake are both close in age and played very similar games to Sonic as children and grew up with the IP.

"It's a risk for a huge company like Sega to work with a small indie developer like us," Shimazu said. "I'm sure it even took some guts on the Sega side to say 'We're going to give you our character, and we expect you to do a great job.'

"But it was really being able to work with IIzuka-san [Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka] and say, 'You're not making [a] Sonic the Hedgehog game, you're making a Pico Park game, and we need to have Sonic inside of there to be like Sonic, but also be a Pico Park experience, so go out there and make a really great fun character, make a fun game, and use Sonic to have that great experience.'"

Sonic Pico Park is slated to release this year. In the same interview, Shimazu confirmed that players "don't need to be super hardcore to be at this one."

• Gears of War: E-Day creative director Matt Searcy says the game "makes a lot of sense" as an Xbox exclusive
• He confirms that The Coalition "never talked about this coming to PS5"
• Meanwhile, two developers for Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable are "excited" about branching out to multiple platforms

Xbox games coming to other platforms has been an intriguing concept and process to witness from the outside. There have been ebbs and flows, reports of this and that, and recently an interesting move back to console exclusivity for two titles, as per that recent Xbox Games Showcase earlier in June.

We had the chance to speak to multiple Xbox Game Studios teams at an event adjacent to this year's Summer Game Fest 2026 after the showcase had streamed and found that there was a stark difference of opinion between some of the developers on being an Xbox exclusive or embracing being on multiple rival platforms.

For example, the Coalition creative director Matt Searcy believes making Gears of War: E-Day an Xbox exclusive was the best decision — something not all Xbox Game Studios teams are aligned on.

According to Searcy, it feels right in the case of Gears of War, and the studio never talked about it going to other platforms. "Well, we never talked about it going to PS5; it was announced as an [Xbox] exclusive," Searcy said. "I would say that Gears as an exclusive makes a ton of sense to me, thinking about how tightly [...] Gears has been tied to the Xbox brand [for] its entire life."

He went on to say that, "It's kind of an honor, and I think excitement to be like one of the best Xbox flagship titles. As a developer, of course, it's awesome to have people play our games, but we're Xbox fans."

When asked about missing out on a potential player base and the effect it might have had on hypothetical multiplayer numbers, he went on to say that "we're not too concerned about the size of the audience."

While it's admirable, in a way, that such confidence and sense of ease was exuded by the devs in the face of a smaller player base than some of their contemporary Xbox studios are hoping to get, it does seem a bit of a shame when those other studios will get the games in front of millions more players.

This was clear when we spoke to two other Xbox Game Studio developers in Halo: Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn, and Ralph Fulton, founder and GM of Fable studio, Playground Games. Unlike Searcy, both developers are eager to branch to multiple platforms and are truly excited by it, because it will allow them to reach a wider audience.

"We're excited to put the game [out] and to play it with as many different people as we can," Conn said. "With Halo Campaign Evolved, we have it coming out on more platforms than ever before, and we're going to meet the player where they are."

The executive producer is also looking forward to players trying out cross-play, which he calls "a win for us, just sharing the experience with as many people as possible."

"Halo has always been about coming together and shared experiences and socialising, and this is something that we're really excited about," Conn added.

Meanwhile, Fulton confirmed that he and the team at Playground Games are still committed to bringing Fable to PlayStation 5, alongside Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC, like Halo, and are incredibly excited at the prospect of reaching a larger number of people.

"For us, we look at this as an opportunity to get this game - [in a series] that has been out of circulation for some 15 years - in front of as many fans who want to play it as possible," Fulton said. "We're really excited with the number of people we can bring this game to."

Each game can of course be treated in isolation to some extent, but it is intriguing to see such a contrast and witness such opposing views within the Xbox Game Studios group itself.

Fable has been in development for a very long time, but will officially launch on February 23, 2027, while Halo: Campaign Evolved releases globally on July 28. Gears of War: E-Day arrives on October 6.

• Brand new GTA 6 footage has been released
• The footage shows Vice City at sunset, and fans think it looks "glorious"
• One fan says it "almost looks like real footage"

Rockstar Games has released a brand new look at Vice City in Grand Theft Auto 6.

In case you weren't around when the internet exploded yesterday, the studio finally announced that GTA 6 pre-orders will officially begin on June 25, although we still don't have a price.

The news arrived alongside the official cover art reveal trailer and an updated website featuring new artwork of GTA 6 protagonists Lucia and Jason, as well as a dynamic image on the landing page showcasing Vice City at sunset.

It looks pretty impressive, and the sprawling city looks highly detailed, with helicopters flying overhead and boats sailing across the waterfront.

While the footage is quite literally seconds long, it offers a sneak peek at what players will be able to freely explore when the game arrives later this year, and fans are eating up every single crumb.

"IT LOOKS GLORIOUS!!" said one fan on Reddit. "This is the most realistic and beautiful night shot of VC we have gotten so far. I swear it didn't look this good in previous media."

"Holy s***, this almost looks like real footage," another said.

The new video on the website from r/GTA6

Meanwhile, some fans are suggesting that the footage doesn't look "polished", with one user pointing out the missing ferris wheel reflection in the background.

"Damnit OP JUST DELAYED THE GAME," one fan joked in response, while another said, "Yep game is unplayable."

"It just shows the limitations still with this generation," a fan suggested, "maybe the next gen version will be able to have the reflections in the distance as well."

Others are concerned about how the game will perform on current-gen consoles, considering the graphical fidelity.

"Looks like the raytraced water cuts off at a distance. The pop will be disgusting," one user said.

Following the pre-order and cover reveal announcements, Rockstar also updated its icon and banner on social media to match the game's theme. Now it's pink and purple, instead of the classic yellow fans are familiar with.

GTA 6 will officially launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S. A PC release has not yet been announced.

• Upcoming crossover puzzle game Sonic Pico Park is intended to bring Sonic to a wider audience
• It's intended to be "very easy to pick up and play"
• "A lot of people are aware of Sonic the Hedgehog, and it's interesting because not a lot of those people are actually gamers," the head of Sonic Team explained

Announced at Summer Game Fest 2026, Sonic Pico Park is an upcoming crossover game that combines the casual puzzling of Pico Park with the platforming chaos of Sonic the Hedgehog.

A few days after the reveal, I chatted to Pico Park president Shintarou Shimazu and Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka about the unlikely pairing, which the developers hope will help bring the character to a wider audience.

"We said, 'Hey, we're really popular in China, but a lot of people in the West don't really know Pico Park. How can we make a game format that's going to really reach out to a broader audience of people?'" Shimazu reveals.

He explains that the original designer of Pico Park, Shunsuke Miyake, used to work at Sega. "Let's see if we can collaborate with Sonic, who's really strong in the West, and put them together and make something that everyone around the world is going to be really interested in playing," he said.

Iizuka went on to say that, in addition to appealing to complete Sonic newcomers, he hopes that Sonic Pico Park will resonate with fans of the character that might not enjoy the traditional platformer games.

"We have Sonic in movies, we have Sonic in Netflix animated shows, we have games coming out. There's lots of different ways that people can experience and enjoy Sonic," he explains.

"A lot of people are aware of Sonic the Hedgehog, and it's interesting because not a lot of those people are actually gamers, but they're experiencing Sonic. Sonic Pico Park is one of these games that we think is perfect for those non-gamers.

"It's going to be very easy to pick up and play, and have a lot of fun with, and it's good to get them to experience Sonic if they just watched the movies, but haven't played the games."

"You don't need to be super hardcore to be good at this one," Shimazu says. "A lot of people can play and enjoy the experience. They designed the game for even up to eight people to be playing all at the same time, whether you have eight people in the room, or you're going online."

Sonic Pico Park is expected to release later this year.

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 game director Chris Cross says the sequel will have four-player co-op because it was "highly requested" and it "just feels better"
• Cross says four players also comes with "challenges"
• Balancing the "attention economy" is "basically a constant challenge for us"

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 game director Chris Cross has explained why Cold Iron Studios decided to make the sequel four-player co-op, but acknowledged that it came with some obstacles during development.

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, Cross said one of the "challenges" of making the jump to four-player was balancing the "attention economy" and the multitude of assets and effects on screen at the same time.

"There's four times the amount of things that you need to put on screen," he said, "like more enemies and such, because if everybody focuses fires on something, it'll melt, [so] managing enough targets and distractions for the team is basically a constant challenge for us."

Fireteam Elite was two-player, but when asked why the team decided on making the successor four-player instead of three-player, as you would typically find in other online co-op shooters, Cross revealed that it was for two reasons. One, it was "highly requested" by fans, and two, "four works better in a PVE game because you can do two and two."

"You can have even more combinatory-like abilities, mixing and matching, but also it kind of harkens back to like four-player split screen, right? Like it feels good to have co-op before."

Cross continued, saying, "The thing for us, though, is if you go three and one person splits off, they would end up being a liability. Whereas, [with four players] you can do two and two now. But another thing, though, is the three-person sort of convention I kind of felt like came from battle royale games, like trios [in] Apex Legends, Fortnite, etc.

"It feels like a good, a good mix for a solitary unit, but I just like four, [it] just feels better... A four-person rifle team feels good having four slots with five classes and a possible six. The opportunities that mix and match are so much greater than just three."

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but it will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• 007 First Light game director Hakan Abrak says the game was always planned as an origin story
• He says the team pitched to MGM and had ideas for a young Bond story that was a "non-negotiable"
• He adds that there were weekly feedback meetings, but IO was always in charge of the story

IO Interactive has confirmed that 007 First Light was always intended to be a young James Bond story, and it collaborated frequently with the franchise owner, Amazon MGM Studios.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at an event adjacent to Summer Game Fest 2026, game director Hakan Abrak discussed the conceptual phase of the game and confirmed that First Light was "always supposed to be a young Bond story," and the pitching process to MGM and Bond IP co-owners Barbara Broccolo and Michael G. Wilson was "massively intimidating."

Abrak recalled the pitching process being in a room decked in old books from James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, a grand piano, and "the atmosphere of history was so thick you could just cut through it."

When he and other IO team members went in to pitch, he remembered the MGM heads came into the room and were "completely silent" before telling the developers to go ahead and pitch.

"We pitch the story, we pitch our approach, and why this would be different from other Bond games," Abrak said. "[They were] very silent, and then Barbara just says, after a while, stonefaced just says, 'I quite like it,' and then the room just erupted right after; [they said] 'These guys are so cool, like they didn't really get it, I was like keeping my cool and whatnot, but deep inside I was like 'phew' that was something."

The game director did note that he thought IO's initial pitch was "a bit ballsy" and the team had lots of ideas of introducing aspects from Ian Fleming novels, like James Bond's scar, and create a young coming-of-age story "where it's not like he has figured everything out."

Abrak said the team didn't want to recreate a "perfect digital version of Daniel Craig, I love Daniel Craig, but it just wanted to make something that feels original."

"More importantly, what we also told them was that we want to go for the gamers, we want to create a Bond for the gamers," he said, explaining that some young gamers might not have a familiar attachment to Bond like the older generation.

"We [wanted] to take that risk and introduce a fresh Bond for the gamers," he said, "We want to make a Bond for the gamers, not the gamification of a movie. It's difficult [to go there] with non-negotiables, but this was a non-negotiable for us. If we did this, we needed to get this freedom for this approach. So, this was very, very clear from the get-go."

While IO had creative control over the story, Abrak said there was input from MGM, as well as several sessions of casting before Patrick Gibson was cast as Bond. The team also had weekly meetings with Eon Productions, the British film production company that primarily produced the Bond film series.

"Although the story was written by IO and delivered by us, we got a lot of feedback," he said. "I think we had some affinity, and we had something to start with, like with the Danish dark humor, dry humor, but getting the British humor right, there [was] still some way to go.

"It's been massively helpful, and we're really into it, and I think for the younger generation of Eon creators that we had meetings with, and the artwork from the movies, which [was] attached to it as well, it was very, very exciting for them to get to do, because they were actually making a new one [Bond] from the ground up.

"It was a collaboration; they were very much involved, but it was always IO, doing the story, doing the characters and things, and then getting feedback and working closely."

007 First Light is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is slated to launch sometime this year.

• Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka says that working on the franchise is "a lot of pressure"
• He thinks he is "going to continue to enjoy making Sonic games" for the foreseeable future
• The comments come as the franchise celebrates its 35th anniversary

At Summer Game Fest 2026, I had the chance to chat with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka in a wide-ranging interview that touches on everything from the newly revealed Sonic Pico Park to his thoughts on the current position of the franchise as a whole.

Right now the blue blur is celebrating its 35th anniversary, which kicked off in January this year, and the series is in a very good spot. The most recent games, racing spinoff Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and the Sonic X Shadow Generations remake, were very well received, and Iizuka seems driven to keep the quality up for the sake of the series' most devoted fans.

"When I started making Sonic games over 30-plus years ago, I didn't really think about [the community]. We were just making games, but the longer I was working on Sonic, and the more games we made, the more we heard from fans who really appreciated the content, who really wanted to know what's coming next," he said.

"We had games like Sonic Generations, which was a game that parents and children could play together, because we had that early group of Sonic fans who were now grown up, and they had children of their own," he added.

"Even now we have a wide range of not only adults playing Sonic games, but we also have children playing Sonic games. We have a huge audience of people who are enjoying the content, which I really appreciate, but it's also a lot of pressure because I don't want to betray them. I don't want to make something that people are not going to feel is true to Sonic."

A big milestone

Iizuka has been working on Sonic games for decades, so I ask how spending such a long time with one series has shaped him and whether he sees himself moving on to anything else.

"It's strange when you say things like that, because when you think about it, I've been making Sonic games and been with Sonic longer than I've been with my own children," he replies.

"I really enjoy getting to be creative for such a great character, and bringing this content to so many great people. And moving forward, I'm going to continue to enjoy making Sonic games."

He added that he 'of course' sees Sonic almost like his own child as well. "Please imagine your child on the screen," he jokes. "I'm really proud."

For the latest on the 35th anniversary celebrations, you can tune in to a special birthday livestream on June 23, 2026 at 9:30 AM PT via the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel.

• Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders will begin later this month
• Rockstar Games shared the game's cover art and confirmed that preorders begin on June 25
• There are still no price details yet

Rockstar Games has officially confirmed that preorders for Grand Theft Auto 6 will begin later this month.

The long-awaited announcement comes from the official cover art reveal trailer, in which the studio said that GTA 6 preorders will begin on June 25 on digital storefronts and at other select retailers.

"Add Grand Theft Auto 6 to your wishlist today on the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store to get alerted when pre-orders are live," Rockstar said in a blog post.

This also means Rockstar has confirmed that the game won't be coming to PC at launch, and will only be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.

While we finally know when fans can secure their copies ahead of the game's November 19 launch, there's still no word on how much GTA 6 will cost.

Prices are sure to be revealed within the next seven days. Many believe the game could cost as much as $100, but analysts have suggested that a $70 price would generate more money for Rockstar.

Following a six-month delay, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick suggested that GTA 6 is more than a year behind schedule.

He was also recently asked why the game has taken so long to come out, he explained: "The team at Rockstar really does seek to do something that’s never been done before. That’s really hard, and it takes a long time."

• IO Interactive says 007 First Light's upcoming story expansion is "awesome"
• The principal level designer Mattias Engström says fans are "starting to expect" post-launch content from IO Interactive games
• Lead environment artist Hilde Sunde says the positive reception has "been amazing"

IO Interactive has teased 007 First Light's upcoming post-launch content following the game's "unreal" reception.

Speaking with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026 following the announcement of a brand-new story expansion, principal level designer Mattias Engström and lead environment artist Hilde Sunde discussed working on IO games long after their release, such as Hitman 3 and, in this case, First Light.

According to Engström, getting to create new content for players is "very cool because it's very rewarding for our players," and is something IO is now well known for, unlike other studios that ship their game with no further content updates.

"It doesn't just stop," he said, "it's not the one and done, right? So, adding more content for our fans is very cool. I think it's also something you're starting to expect from IOI, right?"

"It's kind of in our DNA to do that type of stuff and also keeping the players happy," Sunde added. "In Bond, we also have a lot of replayability. So, if you play through it one time, you could do it very differently the next time and try different ways and play it again."

"Also, IO is a pretty big company," continued Engström. "We can have people moving around and going to other projects, and some people who may not have worked on Bond before can get going and bring in fresh new ideas and whatnot."

Engström went on to tease the post-launch content, saying it will be "awesome" and "we want the players to come back, and we want to create more content."

007 First Light was a success with critics and players alike, selling 1.5 million within its first 24 hours before hitting 2.7 million copies worldwide in its first week across all platforms.

Sunde recalled the emotional response she and the team had when the reviews came in, touching on what it was like to hear the reception after working on First Light for six years out of the game's seven-year development cycle.

"A lot of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this," the developer said. "We really wanted to nail the Bond fantasy and get everything right, and right up until release, when you have worked on a game for that long ride, and you're gonna ship something that is very dear to I think [Bond] fans, you really want to get it right.

"And then when we got the reviews in, there people were crying, we were hugging each other, we were like it was unreal. I was in shock. I'm still in shock. I mean, I knew the game was good, but you're not prepared for it. It just feels so good for everybody who has worked so hard on this at IOI and all the other people we have collaborated with on this.

"It's just been amazing. I still don't believe it. I'm pitching my arm."

007 First Light is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is slated to launch sometime this year.

• Actor Alastair Mackenzie says the scene in which his character, Q, teaches Bond to tie a bow tie was a "key moment"
• He says it was a "very little special relationship moment"
• Mackenzie adds that the stories like that of 007 First Light are all about "humanity"

The actors behind 007 First Light's supporting cast have revealed the most memorable moments between their characters and James Bond.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at an event adjacent to Summer Game Fest 2026, the cast of IO Interactive's Bond game, including Alastair Mackenzie, Priyanga Burford, Lennie James, and Noémie Nakai, sat down to discuss the filming process and how they brought their characters to life.

First Light is a cinematic action-adventure game and a prequel origin story for Bond, so there are plenty of moments where he interacts and grows his relationships with the cast.

Mackenzie, who plays Q, recalls the scene in Vietnam where Bond is struggling to tie his own bow tie before heading off on his mission, and Q helps him in an almost paternal way. It's a lovely moment, and one the actor himself found the most memorable.

"I had to teach him how to tie a bow tie, which I mean, I don't know if you ever tried, but it's impossible," Mackenzie said. "It's a really nice moment between Bond and Q, where he presents him with his tie, and he doesn't know what the f*** to do, so he teaches him how to tie [it]. So that was a little key for me; that's very, very little special relationship moment."

Burford, who plays M, also touched on a "beautiful" moment with reluctant allies Bond and John Greenway early on in the story that demonstrated Bond's character development.

"For me, there was one [scene] where Bond is really angry with Greenway, and he wants to kick the whole thing down and finish it," she said. "And there's a beautiful bit where it's sort of teaching someone how to handle their emotions and how to regulate and step out of an emotional state as a young person might do; someone impulsive who gives in to their anger and looks at the situation from a bit of a wider perspective.

"Instead of getting angry, what can this guy teach you? What do you want them to pick and try and think about it that way. And that, for me, was a good clue about what this dynamic was, and [what] M's approach was."

Mackenzie added that these stories are all about "humanity" and something he believes isn't shown very often in gaming.

"These are all human interactions that make this game," he said. "There's a sort of visceral nature to it, where you're connecting on a human level, which I think doesn't happen in every game, does it? I mean, it's not something that is normal in gaming stories."

007 First Light is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is expected to launch later this year.

• The 007 First Light cast have shared their Bond movie recommendations
• Lennie James picked On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and thinks George Lazenby "nailed Bond"
• Priyanga Burford thinks players should watch Skyfall after finishing the game because "You get the beginning and the beginning of the end"

The cast of 007 First Light has shared their personal picks for which Bond movies players should watch as a companion to the game.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at an event adjacent to Summer Game Fest 2026, where actors Alastair Mackenzie, Priyanga Burford, Lennie James, and Noémie Nakai, along with game director Martin Emborg, discussed IO Interactive's newest release, they were asked to recommend what Bond movies they'd recommend to players to watch before, after, or alongside First Light.

"That's kind of like saying, what's your favorite Bond movie, isn't it?" joked Q actor Mackenzie, before James, who plays John Greenway, decided on the 1969 flick starring George Lazenby, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

"It's old school, but weirdly, even though he only did it once, I think Lazenby nailed Bond in that, until Daniel [Craig], actually, it was a unique telling of a Bond adventure."

Burford, the actress behind M, went with Skyfall, one of the most popular films in Craig's 007 series.

"I'm going to go really obvious and say play the game, and then watch Skyfall. You get the beginning and the beginning of the end," she said.

Emborg agreed with Burford's recommendation, but said, "There's something really interesting in watching No Time to Die, and then playing this game."

"I really like the contrast of [what] he says in Skyfall: 'Well, everyone needs a hobby. Well, what's yours? Resurrection.' And so there's something meeting Bond at the very end, and then seeing him step out of the ocean, a young man. I think there's something quite moving."

Mackenzie added that he "loved every Bond movie" growing up, "even the ones that we look back on now, say they aren't great." However, he loves The Man with the Golden Gun for its locations.

"All of that kind of affected my entire life, really," he said. "I'm thinking, I sort of identify that as being paradise."

Emborg continued, saying it's a difficult question because there are 25 movies and compared it to deciding one's favorite type of music or deciding how you feel depending on the occasion.

"It is really like, what do you feel like today? It's like, what's your favorite type of music? It's like that depends. Did I just break up with someone? That's going to change it."

007 First Light is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version will launch later this year.

This article contains descriptions of sexual themes and graphic violence. Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival received ESRB Mature and PEGI 18 ratings, and is intended for adult audiences.

I spent roughly twenty minutes with upcoming survival horror game Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival and in that brief time managed to witness a graphic sex scene (that the demo cold-opens on, no less), the protagonist piercing some nipples, and the deaths of legions of leather-clad enemies that seemed to enjoy being fatally bludgeoned a little too much.

In other words, it’s an unapologetically freaky game that relishes in extreme violence, something you’ll already know if you’ve glimpsed the brutal new release date trailer.

Set 20 years after the start of the equally bloody cult classic Hellraiser horror film series, Revival is an all-new story that was written in collaboration with original franchise creator Clive Barker that seems to capture its essence perfectly.

Welcome to the club

It follows protagonist Aiden Lynch, a gang member who stumbles upon the Genesis Configuration. This is a mysterious puzzle box that’s, unbeknownst to him, somehow connected to the sinister dimension of the Cenobites — towering demonic creatures that relish inflicting otherworldly pain (or pleasure) on unsuspecting humans.

Naturally, his girlfriend Sunny’s first instinct seems to have been to take it to the bedroom, where she accidentally summons the Cenobites into the real world while the pair were getting down and dirty. Following a cutscene that lays out some of the premise, my preview begins with Aiden carefully exploring the interior of a labyrinthine BDSM club, its winding corridors filled with red velvet curtains and sofas that you simply couldn’t pay me to touch.

It’s not long before I start running into traditional genre staples: elaborate doors that require specific keys to unlock, safes that have me scouring for codes hidden nearby, and puzzles that have me fishing around my backpack to pick out the right objects in order to progress.

Although my time at the club was brief, there was a surprising amount of combat in what I played — at least more than I initially expected from a survival horror game. I took on rooms full of rabid cultists all decked out in spiky fetish wear, predominantly switching between a pistol and blunt melee weapons.

The gunplay is decent, as you would expect from a seasoned shooter developer like Saber Interactive, and every swing of my bat had a good feeling of weight to it, something that’s rather uncomfortably emphasized by the moans that occasionally escape from foes’ lips just as a dull thud connects.

The Genesis Configuration also has some powerful tricks up its sleeve, including letting you grab flames from open torches so you can toss them for a lethal scorching blast. I soon find a shotgun and submachine gun as well, and realise that Aiden can pull off an impressively nimble slide with a tap of the crouch button that helps you dart around incoming gunfire.

Just as I was really starting to rack up the kills, I was thrust into a brisk walk through a nightmarish vision of Aiden’s home, interspersed with cutscenes showing him doing the deed with Sunny and dosing up on drugs before everything hit the fan.

After a few laps, I’m walking in on what looks like the girlfriend’s twisted corpse, gagged and impaled on spikes as blood runs from her closed eyes like tears and her organs spill onto the floor. Delightful.

Throw in my brief diversion to a more puzzle-focused section set in the Cenobyte’s twisted world, which had me further manipulating the magic cube in one hand in order to rotate rooms full of platforms, and I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of how the whole game will unfold.

It all feels very Hellraiser, and this little taste of depravity certainly left me eager to see just how far Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival will go when it comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC on October 8, 2026.

Handheld gaming PCs have come a long way since Valve's Steam Deck launched in 2022, back when the handheld market was still very much in a niche form.

The Steam Deck appealed to so many gamers simply because of its affordability and performance, running both indie and triple-A games with little difficulty (with reasonable graphics settings). The device provided gamers with an easy way to tackle their game libraries when away from their desks.

Unfortunately, the ongoing RAM crisis, combined with other difficult market conditions in 2026, has not only forced Valve to delay the launch of new hardware, but also drastically increased the price of the Steam Deck OLED. That handheld is now $789 / £649 / AU$1,199 and $949 / £779 / AU$1,429 for the 512GB and 1TB models respectively.

We're not focusing on the Steam Deck today, though. Instead, our attention has been grabbed by the new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, coming straight out of Computex 2026 and delivering exceptional performance across several games we tested. And frankly, it may turn out to be the best handheld of 2026 in terms of raw power and performance, but there's one massive problem – the same one Valve faced with its Steam Deck OLED.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ price is a joke

While I can happily admit that the Steam Deck OLED isn't worth its new price by a long shot, the cost of that device doesn't even come close to the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ in terms of absurdity.

The Claw 8 EX AI+ will be available at retailers and from the MSI Store priced at $1,799 (around £1,340 / AU$2,540). Yes, you read that right. MSI's new handheld is almost the same price as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (going by the GPU's MSRP, that is), or to look at it another way, the Claw is the same price as an full desktop gaming PC.

There's no denying how great MSI's new handheld is, especially considering the claims of its Intel G3 Extreme processor being 44% faster at 1080p than the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s Intel Core Ultra 258V. On paper, the only benefit it seems to be missing compared to other upcoming handhelds like the OneXPlayer 3 is an OLED screen.

However, I suppose it's a good thing there's still no OLED panel with this new Claw handheld, as I can only imagine how much more expensive the device would be if that was included. And frankly, the $1,799 price still wouldn't be justified if an OLED panel was part of the picture.

Simply put, it's pretty difficult to imagine anyone who will be willing to spend so much for a device like this when, as noted, you can get a full-blown gaming rig for this money. Okay, it's a handheld packing a lot of power and top quality performance, so it's definitely going to cost more, sure — but pushing close to $2,000? Absolutely not.

It's fair to point out that the RAM crisis has definitely had a part to play in the obscene pricing here, as shortages have put the entire PC market in disarray. Regardless, even with the memory shortage and other problems with PC components, I don't think the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ has any business being as costly as it is — and I believe MSI will find that out sooner rather than later.

I also fear that this won't be the only seriously overpriced gaming portable to be winging our way in the future.