News
- Stalker 2 on PS5 will offer new audio and trigger features on the DualSense controller
- The DualSense's triggers have been used to mimic the game's weapon triggers
- The controller's speaker function will also playback in-game audio, like the radio, for better immersion
GSC Game World has revealed new details about Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's PS5 version, including the all-new features that the Xbox and PC versions don't offer.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom 2025, technical producer Evgeniy Kulik discussed what makes the PS5 port different ahead of its launch and touched on the many new enhancements the studio has implemented for an "immersive" experience.
"We actually had a lot of fun while we were doing the version of our game for PlayStation, because it's a completely new platform for us and it provides us with a lot of new features," Kulik said. "For example, like the DualSense controller features. So, of course, we utilize that because we can immerse our players in the game more and more using those features."
Some of those include the touch pad and light bar, the controller's adaptive triggers, which have been used to mimic weapon triggers, as well as the controller's speaker function, which Kulik said is his favorite feature of the DualSense.
"I personally like our integration of speaker, because our our game is first person shooter, so [the] speaker provides us with the maximum power of immersion, because basically, like an example, some system notification, some radio chatter, and the radio is basically on your left or right shoulder," the developer said, "and with the radio chatter coming from the DualSense speaker, you immerse more and more in the game, and if you're talking about adaptive triggers, we made each gun feel unique, so the tension and the recoil from the adaptive trigger feels very differently on each of our weapons."
Kulik explained that there are weapon enthusiasts at GSC, and the team recorded real gunfire for Stalker 2, so in-game sounds play back more authentically.
"We are basically acquainted with each gun that is presented to the game, okay, maybe not each, but the Gauss Rifle... we tried to get that realistic trigger experience and provide it within the game," he said. "So we're all about digitalization and some really immersive features that you may actually feel with your fingertips."
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl was released in November 2024 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC. The game will finally arrive on PS5 and PS5 Pro on November 20, 2025.
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The Black Ops 7 beta dates have now been fully revealed. We know that players will get the chance to play this year's Call of Duty early in October, with early access available for those who pre-order.
From what we've seen so far, Black Ops 7 is going all in on futuristic warfare, with plenty of returning characters leading the campaign. Interestingly, the campaign can be played co-op with up to four players, and Zombies is making a return as well. It remains to be seen how Black Ops 7 will land, especially given it's only been a year since Black Ops 6. If these new tweaks to the co-op modes work, however, then we could be seeing Black Ops 7 ranking highly in our best FPS games list by the end of the year.
Here's everything you need to know about the Black Ops 7 beta dates. This includes start dates, end dates, and how to get early access. As we move closer to launch, it's likely we'll hear more from developer Treyarch. Once we do, this page will be updated.
Black Ops 7 beta dates - cut to the chase- Early Access: October 2 - October 5
- Open Beta: October 5 - October 8
- Platforms: PS5, PS4, XSX|S, XBO, PC (Steam, Battle.net, Xbox PC)
The Black Ops 7 Early Access beta starts at the following times in your timezone:
- East Coast (US): October 2 at 1PM ET - October 5 at 1PM ET
- West Coast (US): October 2 at 10AM PT - October 5 at 10AM PT
- United Kingdom: October 2 at 6PM BST - October 5 at 6PM BST
- Australia (Sydney): October 3 at 3AM AEST - October 6 at 3AM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): October 3 at 2AM JST - October 6 at 2AM JST
The Black Ops 7 open beta will begin at the following time depending on your timezone:
- East Coast (US): October 5 at 1PM ET - October 8 at 1PM ET
- West Coast (US): October 5 at 10AM PT - October 8 at 10AM PT
- United Kingdom: October 5 at 6PM BST - October 8 at 6PM BST
- Australia (Sydney): October 6 at 3AM AEST - October 9 at 3AM AEST
- Japan (Tokyo): October 6 at 2AM JST - October 9 at 2AM JST
To get into the Early Access Black Ops 7 beta, you'll need to pre-order the game on your platform of choice. You can also subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC, or Game Pass Console.
CAN YOU PRELOAD THE BLACK OPS 7 BETA?(Image credit: Activision)Activision has not yet provided any information on when the Black Ops 7 beta will be available. Over on the official FAQ, it's stated that: "More information about pre-loading will be available soon." We'll have to wait and see what the developer reveals, but it's worth noting that preload is usually offered for Call of Duty betas a day or two before they go live.
You Might Also Like- Researchers have identified a drop in entry level jobs, mainly due to AI
- The drop affects manic basic roles such as admin and accountancy
- Some firms are regretting their choice to replace workers with chatbots
Stanford researchers have released a new study which validates many warnings about generative AI’s effects on the workplace, claiming the technology is having a ‘real and measurable’ impact on entry-level workers - and not in a good way.
The market has experienced a 13% drop in available jobs for young people in AI impacted fields since late 2022, making this the ‘fastest, broadest change’ seen in recent years, comparable only to the shift towards remote work during the pandemic.
The report note in positions where AI is poised to have the highest impact like software development and customer service, younger workers are increasingly unable to climb the career ladder, which risks a scenario in 10-20 years where senior leaders retire, but have an increasingly small pool of younger leaders to promote and hand their businesses over to.
Concentrated lossesWhilst the wider job market doesn’t seem to be experiencing the same level of turbulence, those which would traditionally be listed as ‘mundane’ or are easily automated are at serious risk - such as secretaries, administrative assistants, and auditors.
Whilst we are still in the relative infancy of Gen AI in the workplace, there are bound to be teething problems whilst businesses and workers get to grips with how the technology can be deployed - but research shows that in the UK many have jumped the gun - as over half of businesses that replaced workers with AI now regret their decision.
There have been high-profile walk-backs too, with an Australian bank recently forced to issue a public apology and rehire human workers after their AI replacement failed to perform.
In spite of this, OpenAI’s Sam Altman has warned GenAI could wipe out some job industries altogether, but even he argues there are still some jobs he wouldn’t trust entirely with a chatbot, noting “ChatGPT today, by the way, most of the time, can give you better – it’s like, a better diagnostician than most doctors in the world."
“Yet people still go to doctors, and I am not, like, maybe I’m a dinosaur here, but I really do not want to, like, entrust my medical fate to ChatGPT with no human doctor in the loop.”
Via Axios
You might also like- Gamescom 2025 was the largest it's ever been
- Over 350,000 visitors came to the event from 128 countries
- For gamers, Gamescom is fast becoming the go-to event for news, trailers, previews and more
The numbers are in for Gamescom 2025, and it's becoming increasingly clear that it's the most important event on the annual gaming calendar.
Gamescom organizers have put out a press release containing this year's stats, including a total attendance of 357,000 visitors from 128 countries. Additionally, the show hosted 1,568 exhibitors (that's companies showing off their upcoming games and hardware) hailing from 72 different countries.
The Opening Night Live showcase also attracted a total of 72 million views internationally, which Gamescom states is an 80% increase over the previous year.
We can likely chalk this up to the anticipation of games like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Ghost of Yotei, and Resident Evil Requiem, all of which made appearances in some form or another during the show. But regardless, it shows that there is significant interest in the annual gaming showcase.
That's all well and good, then, but I hear you; what does a bunch of stats mean for the average gamer? Well, put simply, Gamescom is an event that's becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Even if you're just taking it all in through new trailers, interviews and previews.
No matter whether you're attending or just keeping up with the latest news online, Gamescom is a giant red circle marked on the calendar of many of your favorite game developers and publishers.
That includes the likes of Capcom, Bandai Namco, Nintendo, Sega, Square Enix, Epic Games, Xbox Game Studios, and more. If a hotly anticipated game is launching within the next six or so months, there's a high chance of it being in attendance at Gamescom, accompanied by new trailers and/or previews.
Much like Summer Game Fest and similarly large events of years' past, Gamescom has continued to expand year on year, and it's now comfortably the largest European gaming expo. This also means that the event is generally easier to access for developers and publishers based in Europe and the UK. That being said, Gamescom has also confirmed that trade visitors hailing from the US, Canada, China, and Japan have increased, making it a solidly global operation.
We'll be bringing you our previews and thoughts on the various games we got to check out at Gamescom 2025, so be sure to keep checking back throughout this week and the next.
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- Dying Light: The Beast director says the game's delay allowed more time to polish the game
- Major features and main content have been improved, including animation, UI, and locations
- Nathan Lemaire said the delay was a "conscious decision"
Techland has commented on Dying Light: The Beast's delay, calling it a "conscious decision" that has allowed the development team to polish the game in almost every aspect.
In case you missed it, the next entry in the Dying Light series was delayed by four weeks from its original August 22 release date and will now arrive September 19.
When asked in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom 2025 what the studio has been able to achieve in the weeks since its delay, game director Nathan Lemaire said it's mainly focused on fixing bugs and polishing major features and main content.
"One big thing that we are pushing is everything regarding, you know, pitch reaction, physicality, and gore," Lemaire said. "So really like the idea that the reaction of the hits are connected well and output [has] satisfying results and realistic results... We also improved the amount of gore and we have in our body damage system. So we improved the quality and the number of the assets that are triggered by body damage. So this is what [we] did, a lot of improvement on UI animations as well."
He continued, saying, the delay also allowed the team to polish extra locations that it wouldn't have been able to do otherwise because they weren't a high priority.
"But we have a time to do it," the director said. "So we will do it because we want to polish everything in terms of, you know, when we play it's balancing polishing, getting this system to have gameplay [that is] even more balanced.
"There is always something to be done, because nothing is really ever perfect, right? There is always something we can do. So, anything, but like, the mentality is like this: pushing as far as possible to make it the best possible."
When Dying Light: The Beast launches next month, you'll be able to play it on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.
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A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, August 26 (game #807).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #808) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are…
- TAP
- ODD
- FALSE
- RED
- CHECKING
- SPARKLING
- EVEN
- DEPOSIT
- YES
- STILL
- TRUE
- BLACK
- BOTTLED
- SAVINGS
- NO
- WITHDRAWAL
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Options for this beverage
- GREEN: Cashpoint decisions
- BLUE: Minimal ways to respond
- PURPLE: Spin the wheel
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #808) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: RESTAURANT WATER OPTIONS
- GREEN: ATM OPTIONS
- BLUE: BINARY QUESTION OPTIONS
- PURPLE: ROULETTE OPTIONS
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #808) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #808, are…
- YELLOW: RESTAURANT WATER OPTIONS BOTTLED, SPARKLING, STILL, TAP
- GREEN: ATM OPTIONS CHECKING, DEPOSIT, SAVINGS, WITHDRAWAL
- BLUE: BINARY QUESTION OPTIONS FALSE, NO, TRUE, YES
- PURPLE: ROULETTE OPTIONS BLACK, EVEN, ODD, RED
- My rating: Easy
- My score: 1 mistake
I was on the right track today, but my mistake came in adding ODD and EVEN to YES and NO instead of TRUE and FALSE. After getting nowhere I changed lanes and completed the quiz.
It feels a while since we’ve had such a straightforward Connections game, so I’m annoyed with my silly mistake. I’m surprised that BINARY QUESTION OPTIONS wasn’t classified as the hardest group, as ROULETTE OPTIONS was much easier.
I have a 100% record with the roulette, having played just once at a casino in the UK and won once.
It was only a small amount of money but I’ve seen enough films and TV shows featuring roulette wheels to know that the numbers were stacked against repeating my luck and I would descend into a spiral of crime, divorce and chronic ill health if I'd have played on. Cashing in those chips was possibly the most sensible thing I’ve ever done.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, August 26, game #807)- YELLOW: DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS MOLE, PIERCING, SCAR, TATTOO
- GREEN: A REAL JERK CREEP, HEEL, RAT, SKUNK
- BLUE: PESTER BADGER, BUG, HARRY, RIDE
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "STOOL" BAR, FOOT, STEP, TOAD
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
- A third-party vendor notified Farmers of a breach on May 30
- An investigation determined that a million people are affected
- The attackers stole names, driver's license numbers, and SSNs
American insurer group Farmers Insurance has confirmed it recently fell victim to a third-party cyberattack which saw it lose sensitive data on more than a million people.
A data breach notification letter sent out to affected individuals states the company was alerted to the attack on May 30, 2025, when one of its third-party vendors spotted unauthorized access to one of its databases.
Subsequent investigation, which concluded almost two months later, determined that the unnamed threat actors stole names, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers (SSN), for exactly 1,071,172 people.
Not all systems are affected in the same wayServicing mostly individuals and small businesses, Farmers Insurance is part of the Zurich Insurance Group, and last year reported $2.2 billion in profits.
It also owns and operates multiple insurance companies, each focused on different markets, including 21st Century Insurance, Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, Farmers Financial Solutions, Foremost Insurance, and Bristol West Insurance.
The latter two were also hit, with others also possibly affected, as the letter reads, “Some of the brands include Foremost and Bristol West."
Foremost Insurance specializes in specialty lines, including mobile homes, manufactured homes, motorcycles, boats, RVs, off-road vehicles, and even things like landlord/rental property insurance.
Bristol West, on the other hand, covers auto insurance, particularly for people who might not qualify for standard policies due to driving record, credit, or other risk factors.
At press time, no threat actors have yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and Farmers did not see the data being abused anywhere in the wild.
However, it does urge its customers to remain vigilant and be extra careful with incoming emails and other communication claiming to come from the company. Furthermore, it is offering the victims two years of identity theft protection services, free of charge.
Via The Record
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The reformed Oasis band are currently touring, and singing to Sally about how it's unwise to put your heart in the hands of a rock'n'roll band. Maybe they should write a sequel to warn her of something equally heartbreaking: getting too involved with season one of any streaming show. That's right: yet another promising streaming series has bitten the dust after just one season.
This week's casualty is The Waterfront on Netflix, which was getting decent viewing numbers (it was the most-watched show on Netflix for a week in April, outpacing the number of views that Ransom Canyon saw during its first week) but left many critics cold – although not at The Guardian, who described it as "Dawson's Creek for grown-ups" and "perfect summer nonsense". We thought it had the potential to be a new Virgin River, but just two months after it debuted on Netflix the show has been canned.
Why The Waterfront is getting washed awayAs Variety reports, initial numbers were impressive: "The series spent over a week atop the streamer’s Top 10 before being overtaken after the premiere by the juggernaut Squid Game, which debuted its third season less than two weeks after."
Unfortunately Variety's prediction that the show had "set itself up to be yet another one of [Scream creator Kevin Williamson’s] long-running fan-favorite shows” and Williamson's own plans for a second season proved optimistic.
There's no official explanation for the cancellation but it's going to be the usual culprit: numbers. Not just the number of people streaming the show, but how much they streamed and how quickly they streamed it. It looks like from Netflix's perspective at least, The Waterfront simply didn't deliver.
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It feels like the Splinter Cell remake has been on its way for a while now, which isn't helped by the fact it's been over three years since we heard anything official about the game. From what we've seen so far, the team behind the remake appears to be aiming to rebuild the stealth game for an all-new audience without straying too far from the source material. But, as we've said, it's been a while since we've had an update on its progress, so we're hoping 2025 is the year.
Despite this lack of updates, it's still easy to see why the Splinter Cell remake is one of the most anticipated upcoming games on the horizon, given just how groundbreaking the original game was when it was released in 2002. Undoubtably, it paved the way for the third-person stealth games that followed, and we expect the remake to offer up this classic experience but retooled for a more modern experience.
Here's everything we know about the Splinter Cell remake so far, including a look at the initial announcement and any news that has come out since. As more is revealed in the future, this page will be updated.
Splinter Cell remake: cut to the chase- What is it? A remake of 2002's Splinter Cell
- When does it come out? TBC
- What can I play it on? TBC
- Who makes it? Ubisoft
Ubisoft released a video announcing the Splinter Cell remake in December 2021. In addition to the announcement, the video also delves into the history of the Splinter Cell series and how it changed the identity of Ubisoft, taking the Toronto-based studio from working on Rayman, a bright and colorful platformer, and thrusting it into the AAA lifestyle.
Ubisoft hasn't released any more Splinter Cell remake trailers as of yet, but you can find more deep dives into the classic stealth series on Ubisoft's official YouTube channel.
Splinter Cell remake story and setting - will it follow the original?(Image credit: Ubisoft)We know that the Splinter Cell remake will revisit the world and story from the first game released in 2002.
The original plot starts with two undercover US operatives that go missing in Georgia, leading to black ops agent Sam Fisher being sent in to investigate. As Sam searches for the missing agents, he uncovers a larger plot surrounding a corrupt government and nuclear missiles.
It's unclear how much of this plot will remain in the Splinter Cell remake, however, as Ubisoft confirmed in a (now deleted) job listing from September 2022 (via Tech4Gamers) that it is "rewriting and updating the story for a modern-day audience".
"We want to keep the spirit and themes of the original game while exploring our characters and the world to make them more authentic and believable," the listing stated. So, while producer Matt West has previously established Ubisoft wants to ensure the "spirit of the early games remains intact," expect a few updates.
Splinter Cell remake gameplay - here's what's been said so far(Image credit: Ubisoft)In the announcement blog post, producer Matt West revealed that the Splinter Cell remake is being built from the ground up, so players can expect visual and design updates. West also confirmed, contrary to rumor, the remake will be linear and not feature an open world. At present, further details haven't been shared on Splinter Cell remake's gameplay.
However, as this is a remake of the original title, we can expect that the hallmarks that made Splinter Cell so iconic will be present here. Stealth was always the operative goal in this series; using the environment around you, the lighting, and flexible movement was preferable rather than brute forcing your way through obstacles. The first game is very linear, with Chaos Theory being the first to switch things up with a more open structure. It primarily involved tight corridors, extremely dark environments, as well as a finale set in a Presidential Palace.
Splinter Cell remake news(Image credit: Ubisoft)A new Splinter Cell animated series releases in October
Announced at Gamescom 2025, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is a new animated series starring Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher. It arrives October 14, 2025. Watch the trailer here (YouTube).
The Splinter Cell remake is being built on Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine
Ubisoft has confirmed the Splinter Cell remake is being developed on its Snowdrop engine, which was used for Star Wars Outlaws game and for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Ubisoft Toronto is the main studio working on the Splinter Cell Remake. It previously worked on Watch Dogs Legion, Far Cry 6, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Looks like the project is in safe hands, especially one as focused on stealth as this one.
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- AMD's Ryzen CPU burnouts have been an issue for some time
- Team Red has now clarified that this is a problem because some motherboards don't run with AMD's recommended values
- Instead they push too hard with power and voltage – and burnouts are still reported on a daily basis
AMD has officially commented on the chip-destroying burnouts that have affected a small number of its Ryzen processors, and has effectively laid the blame at the feet of motherboard makers – to a point, anyway.
Tom's Hardware noticed an interview with AMD execs David McAfee and Travis Kirsch conducted by Quasarzone (a South Korean tech site) in which Team Red was questioned about the burnout issue pertaining to Ryzen chips (3D V-Cache or X3D models, including the Ryzen 9800X3D), and mainly (but not exclusively) affecting ASRock motherboards.
Bearing in mind this is a translated article – so we need to be careful around the interpretation – Quasarzone noted that CPUs in AM5 motherboards have been "experiencing socket burnouts" and that "some users are still reporting these symptoms". The tech site then asked what AMD's position and response was regarding the issue.
AMD replied to say (again, remember this is a translation): "This issue arises because some ODM BIOSes do not adhere to AMD's recommended values."
The term ODM refers to the motherboard maker (original design manufacturer), and what this is essentially saying is that those manufacturers aren't sticking to AMD's stock values (around power, voltage, and more) with their boards. In other words, these companies are pushing harder than they should, which could cause a problem.
It's not a definitive conclusion here, mind, because the execs go on to say: "AMD … offers a wide range of combinations, and also supports PBO [AMD's automated performance boosting feature] and overclocking. This means there are a vast number of possible scenarios. While this is a complex issue, we are working closely with our partners to resolve issues and further evolve the platform."
So, it's a complex problem to unpick, and AMD underlines that it's working with motherboard makers to resolve any problems.
The execs also mention that it's very much recommended that any AM5 motherboard owner updates to the very latest BIOS version, which is sound advice for any motherboard in fairness. (The latest finished release of the BIOS, I should clarify – do not attempt to use new versions that are still in beta testing).
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Analysis: guessing gameSo, this isn't a crystal-clear statement from AMD by any means – and translation complications must be taken into account (yes, I'm banging on about that a bit, because it's an important nuance) – but there is a clear enough pointing of the finger in the direction of motherboard makers pushing too far with their settings.
As mentioned, ASRock motherboards have been particularly in the firing line as the most commonly reported hardware maker to be affected (by a long way) – but other vendors have been hit by incidents of CPU failures too.
While ASRock initially blamed a "memory compatibility issue present in earlier BIOS versions" and pushed out a BIOS update to fix that, this didn't do the trick in curing burnouts. As Tom's Hardware points out, a later BIOS update that arrived in May 2025 tweaked various PBO settings and this (finally) smoothed over most of the issues – if not quite all of them.
Sadly, there are still reports of Ryzen X3D CPU burnouts trickling in via Reddit on a daily basis, so this is a thorny one. Has ASRock still got work to do in terms of honing its BIOS to prevent these incidents? Or might this be a case of chips that have already been pushed too hard, for too long, suffering from the damage caused under the hood and finally giving up the ghost (with the latest BIOS update not being able to save them, as they were too far gone)?
There's still too much of a guessing game going on, frankly, and it's an unfortunate situation for both AMD and especially ASRock. Although it's not like Intel hasn't had worse problems – by which I mean the instability fracas with Team Blue's 13th and 14th-gen processors (that's been quite a saga).
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