News
- The next free update for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will be released on December 5, 2025
- The update adds two highly requested features, Third-Person Mode and New Game Plus
- Massive Entertainment has reworked animations, controls, audio, and camera systems to make Third-Person Mode work seamlessly
Massive Entertainment has announced that a new update for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will arrive later this year and add two new ways to play.
The free patch will be released on December 5, 2025, and introduce two new features that have been highly requested by players: Third-Person Mode and New Game Plus.
With Third-Person Mode, players will be able to play Frontiers of Pandora from a new perspective, which brings "a new sense of scale, freedom, and immersion" at the press of a button.
The studio has reworked animations, controls, audio, and camera systems to make for a seamless transition from the game's original first-person mode.
Meanwhile, New Game Plus will let players replay the game's story while keeping their inventory and skills, face higher-level enemies, and unlock a brand-new skill tree and stronger gear.
"We've always envisioned Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora as a living world that evolves with our players," said Omar Bouali, creative director at Massive Entertainment.
"This update is a celebration of our community's passion and we're thankful to our players for their support. It means the world to our team."
The next update follows two post-launch story packs, The Sky Breaker and Secrets of the Spires. However, Massive Entertainment has confirmed that this content is unavailable in New Game Plus.
- The Lenovo Legion Go 2 has leaked in China with prototype units reportedly available to buy on second-hand platforms
- The prototype seen in a Bilibili video isn't using the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme
- There's still no confirmation on a release date or what the finalized version of the handheld will be
It's been a while since we've had any updates on Lenovo's release plans or schedule for its next handheld gaming PC, since its announcement and brief showcase at CES 2025. Now, there's yet another twist in the tale, but not in the way you might expect.
As reported by VideoCardz, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 prototype has leaked in China, and units are rumored to be available for purchase on a second-hand platform, ahead of its official release. In a Bilibili video, it already has a brief teardown and showcase – and it's worth noting that the units appear to be missing the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor.
Instead, it's reportedly using the Ryzen Z2 processor, or at the very least the widely-used (yet older) Ryzen Z1 Extreme. This isn't surprising, since Lenovo has technically confirmed that there will be other configurations of the Legion Go 2, as it stated that "the prototype features up to the new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor".
However, what is quite odd is the lack of transparency from Lenovo. The Legion Go 2 has been slated for a launch sometime in 2025, and it seems as though that may be around September, based on launch rumors for Mexico, but we've still not seen the device beyond its prototype, despite it apparently launching soon.
There is some very encouraging news, however, as the handheld will use an OLED PureSight touch display, and from what's showcased in the Bilibili video, it's a sight to behold combined with the 8.8-inch display size. While it will likely cost around $1,000, I think the OLED screen may just about justify it, pitting it against competitors like the Steam Deck OLED.
(Image credit: Future)Analysis: I'm still not willing to pay $1,000 for a handheld gaming PC, but a slightly lower price for the Legion Go 2 might be justifiedRegardless of how powerful these devices get as the best handheld gaming PCs on the market, I'll always find it very hard to recommend any one of them that hits the $1,000 mark.
I've had the same thought about the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ and the new MSI Claw A8 – but if any device comes close to potentially justifying it, it's the Lenovo Legion Go 2.
Again, it's still in prototype, so we don't have the full picture of what it will have at launch, hardware and ergonomics-wise. However, I'm willing to bet that the highest configuration will cost $1,000 due to the addition of an OLED screen, combined with the improved performance using the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme.
Now, I'm sure I won't be the first one to mention how unappealing that price point sounds, but it's possibly the only handheld that sounds like it might be worthwhile. I know other handhelds using OLED screens and powerful processors exist, but there's no world where you would ever find me recommending a handheld gaming PC that's over $1,500 (I'm looking at you, OneXPlayer).
If the Lenovo Legion Go 2 ends up being priced at or below the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s $899 / £899 / AU$1,799 price, then it instantly becomes an easier recommendation, especially up against the Steam Deck OLED or Nintendo Switch 2 – but again, it may still struggle to sell with a price that isn't affordable.
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- Project Stargate could be targeting a smaller Ohio data center as its first site
- Oracle CEO Safra Catz says the project is not even formed yet
- OpenAI and SoftBank disagree over some things
OpenAI may have already significantly scaled back its multi-billion dollar Project Stargate initaitive, with no data center deals completed under the project in the six months it has been live.
Announced in January 2025 as a $500 billion effort to "[build] new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States," people familiar with the matter say Project Stargate is now targeting a smaller data center in Ohio by the end of the year, marking a slowdown compared with early plans.
Despite delayed progress, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son have both stated that the partnership remains strong and active.
Project Stargate could be experiencing delaysAccording to new Wall Street Journal reporting though, OpenAI and SoftBank have disagreed over data center locations and the use of SB Energy sites (a SoftBank-backed energy firm). OpenAI has also made its own progress separate from the Project, including striking up a $30 billion deal with Oracle for 4.5 gigawatts of capacity.
In January, OpenAI said: "The buildout is currently underway, starting in Texas, and we are evaluating potential sites across the country for more campuses as we finalize definitive agreements."
Speaking on an investor call last month, Oracle CEO Safra Catz countered Altman's assertion: "Stargate is not formed yet."
Although many of the industry's key players, including Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle and OpenAI, are partnered with the project, Stargate is still presented with challenges including bringing down costs and sourcing land, AI chips and energy.
Dubbed the largest investment of its kind, the $500 billion Stargate Project was followed by further announcements designed to strengthen the US' position as a global leader in tech and AI, including $500 billion from Apple geared towards manufacturing and training, and a further $500 billion from Nvidia to expand US AI infrastructure.
Like Stargate, those are long-term four-year projects, and it's unclear how much progress has been made and whether any regulatory, financial or other struggles lay ahead.
TechRadar Pro has asked OpenAI for more information.
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- Disney is reportedly using generative AI from the same startup as Netflix
- Lionsgate and AMC Networks have also inked deals with Runway AI
- An increasing number of studios are experimenting with the tech
Disney is reportedly the latest Hollywood studio to quietly use the same generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool as Netflix – and it's easy to see why others have been attracted to the controversial tech as they cite time and cost saving benefits on production.
According to Bloomberg, The Walt Disney Company has been testing Runway AI's tools, and has even gone as far as to talk to the startup about possibly using its generative AI tools in movies and TV shows. While a Disney spokesperson has confirmed there are no plans to integrate the software, it's just another sign of how studios are becoming more comfortable with utilizing AI.
It's no secret that Netflix is using AI, for instance. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos openly confessed as much – during the company's earnings call last week – when he revealed AI was used to generate a VFX (visual effects) sequence in an original production for the first time in dystopian drama The Eternaut. At the time, it wasn't disclosed which AI software was used, but a source has reportedly confirmed to Bloomberg that it was indeed Runway AI's tech.
To be clear, The Eternaut was not the first time that Netflix had used AI. It unsuccessfully tried to fix 80s sitcom A Different World with AI upscaling and was caught up the AI Oscars controversy after Emilia Pérez was criticized for using voice enhancement tech. Still, it marks the first time that Netflix has used generative AI in one of its own original projects.
The reason why that's notable is because generative AI has the potential to completely upend the entire industry. There's a reason why the Hollywood actors' and writers' strikes in 2023 were so heavily focused on putting in place safeguards to protect the livelihoods and creative integrity of VFX artists and animators.
It's one thing to mess around with Runway's AI to turn your home videos into Hollywood blockbusters, but for a billion dollar industry to start cutting corners is a slippery slope that many are rightfully concerned about.
Which other Hollywood studios are using Runway AI?It's not just Netflix and Disney that are reportedly working with Runway AI. Two years ago, Variety revealed that VFX artist Evan Halleck used the startup's tools in Everything Everywhere All At Once to remove the background from certain scenes.
The same justifications were used then as they're now, with Halleck claiming that it was cheaper and faster to use AI tools than more time consuming processes like rotoscoping. Sarandos recently echoed these sentiments when he said "that the VFX sequence [in The Eternaut] was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with visual, traditional VFX tools and workflows".
At the time, it was also reported Runway was even working The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "They’re using it almost for on a daily basis to translate hours of work. The team is able to iterate their ideas faster, and it’s helping them augment their creative workflow," Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela told Variety.
In the years since, Hollywood has begun to warm to AI even faster then some may have initially predicted. Indeed, it's been reported that Runway AI inked a deal with Lionsgate in September 2024. Vice chairman of the studio Michael Burns says the tie-up will help it produce "movies and television shows we’d otherwise never make".
Since then, more production companies have jumped on the bandwagon. The creator and co-showrunner of Amazon's House of David , Jon Erwin, revealed to Variety that various AI tools were used to create a scene in the show, including Runway's AI video generator.
Just last month, Runway AI also partnered with AMC Networks to use its tools to help visualize a TV show that hasn't yet been produced as well as to generate marketing images, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) reported. "It’s kind of a natural transition for every entertainment and media company; they need to think through what AI means for them," Valenzuela told THR when asked about the AMC partnership.
It seems inevitable that more studios will continue to work with Runway AI as more become comfortable making it publicly known, and it looks like the startup isn't stopping at Hollywood. A new text-to-video game AI generator is on the way that will no doubt have a huge impact on the gaming industry once it's further developed, according to The Verge. Could we see Runway AI make the same inroads in the gaming industry? I'd look to Hollywood as the blueprint.
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