In a big surprise to no one, graphics card prices went up again in October. TechSpot's latest survey across 10 countries shows GPU prices rising 11% month over month, following a 15% jump in August and 7% in September, or roughly 35% over three months. On average, cards now sell for 44% above MSRP, climbing to 58% in the US and Canada. Keep in mind these numbers track the lowest in-stock price in each region, so most models cost even more. Moreover, there is another GeForce RTX 50-series price hike on the horizon, so these numbers will rise again pretty soon.

The GeForce RTX 5090 is in a league of its own. It got 32% pricier in a month, and its normalized global price of $7,240 sits a staggering 262% above its $1,999 MSRP, almost double the 136% figure from early September. In the US, the cheapest in-stock model now costs $9,400, or 370% over MSRP, and most models now sit above $11,000 comfortably. The RTX 5080 is following a similar path, up 22% in a month to $2,200 in the US, while Newegg had none of its own in stock when the data was collected. TechSpot argues the GDDR7 memory crisis can't explain a jump that big, and some retail sources apparently told them wholesale RTX 5080 costs have gone up recently too.

Scalpers have apparently started listing Steam Frame reservations on eBay within hours of Valve sending its first reservation emails. Per IGN, listings for the 256 GB kit start around $1,700 versus Valve's $1,059, while 1 TB kits are listed at roughly $2,000 versus $1,299. IGN says at least some have already sold, but Mixed points out these are asking prices, and we haven't seen a confirmed sale. Valve's terms seem to work against these listings. The Limited Drop Program terms tie the purchase link to the qualifying Steam account, and they bar transferring the right to buy. No Steam Frame has shipped to a buyer in the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, or Australia, so you would be paying for a place in the queue, not a headset. eBay's policy also requires listings to offer a physical, tangible item.

Perhaps more interestingly, the community is pushing back against these scalpers. Users on r/Steam shared how to report the listings, and one said eBay sent a flood of emails confirming removals. Others found scalpers' Steam usernames in listings and reported them to Valve. We don't know if Valve has acted on any of it, and it also hasn't publicly commented on scalping since the September 14 launch. Valve used the same randomized lottery system for the Steam Machine, which still ended up on eBay regardless. It would be naive to assume that Valve can fully stop this while supply stays tight, but it is nice to see the community mobilize against scalpers.

ASUS today demonstrated its lead in the next-gen networking era with the announcement of the immediate Canadian retail availability of the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 series, which includes the world's only quad-band Wi-Fi 8 router currently available to buy from retail stores. The ROG Rapture GT-BN98 series is scheduled for worldwide release in October, with details for the US launch to follow shortly. Also launching in October is the ASUS ZenWiFi BN12 Wi-Fi 8 router—a first-to-market dedicated Wi-Fi 8 Mesh ecosystem designed for high-capacity homes and connected households.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BN98 series: Introducing the first-to-market Wi-Fi 8 router
Built on the Wi-Fi 8 architectural framework, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 series brings the benefits of next-generation networking to current and future client devices. ROG engineer testing indicates that the router can deliver measurable performance gains when paired with existing Wi-Fi 7 client devices, helping users improve network performance before Wi-Fi 8 devices become widely available.

TechPowerUp partnered with Mad Catz and personal refrigeration experts Koolatron to bring you the 2026 Back2Kool Giveaway, now into its second week. Our readers from the United States and Canada can stock up on some slick new gaming peripherals from Mad Catz, or personal drink fridges from Koolatron. This isn't a contest, but a Giveaway. All you have to do to sign in, is to fill up a short form, and increase your chances of winning by sharing the Giveaway across your socials.

Up for grabs are S.T.R.I.K.E. 6 and S.T.R.I.K.E. 11 keyboards, G.L.I.D.E. Speed (size L) and G.L.I.D.E. Speed (size XL) mousepads, M.2.X. racing wheel, and a C.A.T. 17, from Mad Catz, a leading designer of ergonomic gaming peripherals for professional gamers. But wait, there's more! Two lucky winners get a personal drinks fridge from Koolatron. One of these is a Coca-Cola mini fridge, and the other is a Coca-Cola vending machine, both of which could be great additions to your game streaming set.

For more details, and to participate, visit this page.

When Valve launched the Steam Controller, the new gaming peripheral expectedly sold out within the first day of sales. Valve then promised stock was coming soon, stating that the demand for the controller was unexpected. Now, the gaming giant has confirmed that changes are coming to the Steam Controller ordering process in order to mitigate the high demand and limited supply. Starting on May 8 at 10:00 Pacific time (17:00 UTC), Valve will allow users to place a reservation for the Steam Controller on the usual store page, which will allow prospective buyers to reserve a spot in the queue. When the controller is back in stock, Valve will automatically place orders for reservation holders in the order they placed their reservations, and buyers will have 72 hours from the time they receive that order email to finalize their purchase through Steam.

Notably, Valve is restricting reservations to one controller per account, and those who have already purchased a Steam Controller will not be able to place reservations until further notice. It's also worth pointing out that Valve has added additional account conditions in order to prevent scalping. Steam accounts seeking to place a reservation will need to be in good standing and have made a purchase before April 27, 2026. Valve also confirmed that the US, Canada, the UK, EU, and Australia will be getting Steam Controller restocks next week—meaning May 11.

Canadian online retailers have started putting up early listings of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition desktop processor, which was launched earlier this month, but without a price announcement. The processor will start selling from April 22, 2026. Ahead of this date, Canadian retailers, ShopRBC and PC-Canada, listed the processor. ShopRBC listed it for CAD $1,375, while PC-Canada had it up for CAD $1,374. It so happens that these prices convert to approximately USD $990, confirming the popular theory that AMD could give the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition an MSRP of $999, making it the Ryzen-branded desktop processor with the highest launch price, not counting Threadripper HEDT SKUs.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is designed to be a flagship 16-core/32-thread Socket AM5 desktop part with 3D V-Cache memory on both its 8-core "Zen 5" chiplets, for a combined L3 cache of 192 MB, and total cache of 208 MB. The chip should, in theory, offer better gaming performance than the regular 9950X3D, since game workloads could be executed on either of the two CCDs. Multithreaded productivity workloads that are heavy on streaming data should benefit from the large caches, too. The chip comes with a feisty TDP of 200 W.

ASUS today announced the appointment of Shawn Chang as the General Manager of its North America System Business Group. Chang, a veteran ASUS executive with more than two decades of experience across global markets, will now lead the business development and strategic growth initiatives across the United States and Canada.

Under Chang's leadership, ASUS North America will continue to accelerate its momentum across consumer, gaming, and commercial segments. The company remains committed to delivering the award-winning hardware and innovation that has made it a leader in consumer and gaming electronics and delivering the level of advanced security, durability and processing power needed for its commercial line of electronics.

Sony's upcoming Horizon Hunters Gathering three-player co-op game was revealed earlier this month, but it seems as though Sony is deeper into development than it let on during the announcement, because the gaming giant is apparently already ready for its first Horizon Hunters Gathering closed beta test. Sony announced the beta test via a post on the game's official X account, linking to a website where you can register to try out the game ahead of its official launch. The Horizon Hunters Gathering closed beta will take place from February 27 to March 1 for both PS5 and PC players (via Steam).

The closed beta will be limited to three playable hunts—Axle, Rem, and Sun—two game modes—Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent—and just one environment—Colorado Springs, and only players from the USA, Canada, and much of Europe will be eligible for the closed beta, and the US play test will be limited to 4 PM-7 PM PST, while EU players will be allowed to play at 7 PM-10 PM CET. Players will also be subject to selection by Sony, so applying via the PlayStation Beta Program will not guarantee access to the beta. PlayStation players will be allowed to bring along two friends, for a full party of three, but PC players looking to test the beta with friends will need to apply separately—no free invites for friends on Steam. The play test will also be under strict NDA, which means players will not be able to share any gameplay or opinions outside of Sony's beta tester Discord server, nor will they be allowed to share screenshots or stream gameplay.

Following the recent announcement of a grand restructuring plan, Ubisoft has confirmed that 40 employees have been laid off at its Toronto studio, according to a statement made to MobileSyrup. This most recent round of layoffs is part of the aforementioned restructuring and cost-savings plan that could eventually see up to 18% of Ubisoft's staff laid-off. Prior to the layoffs, Ubisoft Toronto was said to have roughly 500 staff, so the layoffs make up just shy of 10% of the studio.

Despite the recent game cancellations that came as a result of the restructuring—cancellations that included a hotly anticipated Price of Persia remake—Ubisoft Toronto clarified in the statement that the in-progress Splinter Cell remake was still being worked on. This is in addition to the development assistance that Ubisoft Toronto will continue to provide on other projects, like Rainbow Six Siege. Workers' unions across Canada and France have already spoken out about the sweeping changes recently announced by the gaming giant, going so far as to strike for three days in mid-February.

Carbice, a leader in vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes and manufacturing assembly solutions for advanced computing and power systems, today announced a strategic partnership with DarkNX, a global digital infrastructure company building next-generation AI data centers optimized for high-density workloads. Through the partnership, Carbice becomes a system-level solutions expert in data center design, with interface assembly and material expertise, and long-term performance validation to support next-generation AI infrastructure at scale.

Under the partnership, Carbice will support DarkNX and its customers' data center development projects with expertise and data collection through the Carbice Lab, a recognized center of thought leadership in thermal interface reliability. Carbice will work alongside other partners whose technology was selected as a core element of DarkNX's recently announced 300MW data center campus in Ontario, Canada. Together, DarkNX, Carbice, and others will support performance and reliability from chip-level cooling through critical thermal, mechanical, and electrical interfaces that impact long-term uptime and hardware life, and lower the cost to OEMs of building servers.

Hey PC and console players! With Escape from Ever After launching fairly soon, we thought now's the perfect time to dive into what makes this game tick. So, if you've ever wondered what happens when classic storybook heroes get stuck in a soul-crushing office job, you're about to find out. Escape from Ever After is a Paper Mario-inspired RPG that takes the hero's journey and tosses it straight into corporate bureaucracy. It's equal parts adventure game, turn-based combat, and workplace satire—and it's weirder than it sounds.

Meet Flynt Buckler, your typical storybook hero out to settle the score with his nemesis, Tinder the dragon. But when he finally reaches her castle, things get weird. The fire-breathing villain he expected? Nowhere to be found. Instead, her once-majestic fortress has been gutted and rebuilt as a soulless office complex, complete with fluorescent lighting, mandatory coffee breaks, and employees trapped in the worst kind of grind.

DuneCrawl is now out on PC (Steam)! DuneCrawl is an open world action-adventure game, where you take to the sandy seas atop a gigantic crustacean festooned with black powder cannons. Play as a solo Crab Keeper, or with a crew of up to three other friends in local and online coop.

Battle against the jar-headed Vassals, survive hordes of wild bugs, explore oasis islands and delve devious dungeons all to help your fellow Polloi pilgrims win their war against the Ceramicist's invasion! Navigate your Dune Crawler through the desert and visit dozens of islands to complete quests, explore secret dungeons, and collect piles of loot! Gain powerful new player abilities by collecting Masks, Tunics, and Talismans! Unlock weapons like the Buzzooka and Acid Harpoon! Deck out your Dune Crawler with upgrades like Spike Armored legs and Guided Torpedoes (or just give her a new hat and sporty paintjob)!

On behalf of the team at The Coalition and our partner studios Sumo Digital and Disbelief Games, we'd like to say thanks for playing! Whether you've been with us since 2006 or you picked up a Lancer for the first time this year on a new platform, you're a part of the Gears family and we salute you for spending time with us.

What is the studio most looking forward to in 2026?
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Gears of War, and we can't think of a bigger way to celebrate than with the release of Gears of War: E-Day. This is our most ambitious game yet, entirely built from scratch in Unreal Engine 5 to feel like Gears and play like new. This is a return to our roots as Marcus and Dom face the Locust for the first time ever. It's the best place to jump into the Gears universe, and we can't wait to share more next year.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, the server market reached a record $112.4 billion dollars in revenue during the third quarter of the year. This quarter showed another high double digit-growth rate by reaching a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 61% in vendor revenue compared to the same quarter of 2024. Revenue generated from x86 servers increased 32.8% in 2025Q3 to $76.3 billion while Non-x86 servers increased 192.7% YoY to $36.2 billion.

Revenue for servers with an embedded GPU in the third quarter of 2025 grew 49.4% year-over-year representing more than half of the server market revenue. The fast pace at which hyperscalers and cloud service providers have been adopting servers with embedded GPUs has fueled the server market growth which almost doubled in size compared to 2024 with revenue of $314.2 billion dollars for the first three quarters of 2025.

Ubisoft has announced that it has acquired March of Giants, formerly developed by Amazon's Montreal Games studio. The team will join Ubisoft to continue development of the free-to-play title, and is currently working on the next major update. March of Giants puts players in some big shoes, placing them in the role of a giant combatant on a ravaged urban battlefield inspired by the technology of the early 1900s. The 4v4 tactical multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) sees players fighting through lanes, commanding battalions of comparatively pint-sized enemies, and deploying Battleworks—such as trenches, tanks, turrets, and bunkers—to eliminate the enemy team. The gameplay combines elements of real-time strategy and lane-based combat with large-scale coordination and mastery of the giant heroes that make up its roster.

The team behind the game consists of a group of veteran developers, led by two former Ubisoft team members with ties to some of the company's biggest franchises. Alex Parizeau, Senior Production lead, is the former Managing Director of Ubisoft Toronto, having overseen several major AAA productions. Xavier Marquis, Creative Director, was the original Creative Director behind Rainbow Six Siege. Both bring their wealth of experience, passion, and expertise to the development of this new title.

Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic (FotoR) was unveiled at The Game Awards, last week. Prior to introductory events unfolding in Los Angeles, the games industry rumor mill had generated speculation about various "Knights of the Old Republic" (KotoR) remake or reboot projects. Days ago, Lucasfilm and Arcanaut Studios unveiled a spiritual successor—many attendees and stream watchers were surprised by the collaborators' teaser trailer. Long-time franchise fans were happy to see Casey Hudson—a former BioWare veteran—introduce his latest project. SW: Fate of the Old Republic's game director has worked on a number of popular titles, including: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), Jade Empire (2005), the original Mass Effect trilogy (2007 to 2012), and Anthem (2019).

Predictably, well-known figures weighed in with skeptical opinions and predictions. Jason Schreier—of Bloomberg fame—a very recently booted up development cycle: "Lucasfilm says the studio (Arcanaut) was founded this year, which means that 2030 is an 'optimistic' guess. Maybe it'll be a PlayStation 7 game." Schreier's expertise—as a journalist and author—mostly covers the making of modern AAA titles; usually mega expensive and time-consuming affairs. In theory, FotoR's development team "has it easy" due to their game being a "narrative-driven single-player action RPG," rather than a huge open world experience. In a response seemingly directed at outsider estimates, Hudson commented: "don't worry about the 'not till 2030' rumors. Game will be out before then. I'm not getting any younger!"

Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., a leading photonic quantum computing company, has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research ("A*STAR") in Singapore. This agreement builds on Xanadu's existing partnership with (A*STAR IME) and extends to include the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing (A*STAR IHPC) and A*STAR Quantum Innovation Centre. Together, Xanadu and A*STAR intend to advance research and development in quantum technologies, with the goal of establishing long-term research collaborations and exploring the potential of creating joint quantum laboratories and operations in Singapore.

Quantum technology developments are advancing rapidly as governments and industries increase investments to bring practical value to various industries such as AI, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, and more. A*STAR has strong capabilities in photonics heterogenous integration, quantum sensing, quantum software and algorithms, quantum materials and devices, semiconductors, and advanced packaging. Combining Xanadu's deep expertise in photonic quantum computing hardware, software, and algorithms with A*STAR's leading reputation in research and technology translation is expected to strengthen critical research efforts and has the potential to support future quantum technology developments.

A team at Ubisoft's Toronto office have been working on a "from the ground up" remake of the original Splinter Cell game since 2021, (at the time) lead by David Grivel. Very little official information has emerged since then, bar publication of early concept art and details revealed in a short interview—most notably an adoption of the in-house Snowdrop engine. The following year, Grivel left his position as the Remake's director—a worrying portent for the project. Yesterday, video game news outlets picked up on the Far Cry and Assassin's Creed veteran's repeat return to Canada's capital city. A complicated career journey highlights the current landscape of AAA development.

In 2022, a "new adventure" had him join Ridgeline Games, as Battlefield 6's single player campaign's senior design director. Unfortunately, Electronic Arts "wound down Ridgeline as a standalone studio" at the start of 2024. Oddly, Grivel rejoined Ubisoft Toronto last May—allegedly working on a fresh concept, unrelated to the Tom Clancy Splinter Cell IP. This tenure was short-lived, as he moved onto a lead role at Worlds Untold later in the year. Unfortunately, this BioWare alumni-founded outfit faced closure by the end of 2024. Grivel announced his freshest role in a recent LinkedIn post: "I am very, VERY happy to announce that I'm rejoining Ubisoft Toronto as Game Director on the Splinter Cell Remake! A very special team and project to me." Insider Gaming claims that the game—allegedly codenamed "North"—has a tentative 2026 launch window. A "superb cinematic" was sent to the notorious leak outlet earlier this year, supposedly depicting an interaction between Sam Fisher and Irving Lambert. Currently, Ubisoft seems to be in a rocky position—two months ago, a "new" Tencent-backed creative company was unveiled.

Nextria, Canadian innovators in secure AI infrastructure, today unveiled the nation's first tactical AI runtime system purpose-built for Canada's defense operations. Delivering sovereign software inside a powerful supercomputer, CastleGuard AI provides a completely hardened AI system to empower missions anywhere intelligence is critical - onshore, offshore, or completely off-grid.

Sovereign AI Capabilities
CastleGuard AI is optimized for tactical deployment, with high-efficiency model training, prebuilt applications and a scalable mesh architecture that adapts to any infrastructure. The system includes the only French-Canadian language model trained on bilingual Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Government of Canada terminology and acronyms.

Today, AMD announced it is expanding its global collaboration on multiple fronts with Cohere, the leading security-first enterprise AI company. Cohere customers will have access to AMD Instinct GPU-powered infrastructure for Cohere's full suite of AI offerings, including Command A, Command A Vision, Command A Translate and North. This gives enterprise and sovereign AI initiatives in Canada and around the world more choices to meet performance and TCO goals that make their AI plans real.

AMD also announced that it will integrate Cohere's North platform into its internal enterprise AI portfolio, making Cohere's technology an integral part of the AMD internal and engineering AI workloads at AMD.

Mere weeks after Nintendo launched the Switch 2 to international audiences, the Japanese gaming giant has announced that the original Nintendo Switch will be subject to price increases in Canada. In a press release announcing the price increase, Nintendo of Canada confirms that all original Nintendo Switch consoles, including th OLED and Lite models, physical and digital games, and Switch accessories—as well as the Amiibo and Nintendo Switch Online memberships—will be affected by the price change.

In the announcement, Nintendo blames "market conditions" for the price change and specifies that the Nintendo Switch 2 will not be affected by the price change. According to Eurogamer, the price adjustment may be related to the strained international trade relations between Canada and the United States, and the price change comes after Nintendo briefly delayed the Switch 2's launch in both the US and Canada in response to tariffs imposed by the United States. Nintendo has not announced what the price increase will look like, but it has confirmed that the price increases will take effect on August 1, whereupon Nintendo of Canada will announce the new pricing.

Rainbow Six Siege X is launching on June 10, kicking off a new evolution of the tactical first-person shooter with new content and major updates. To help players prepare, we've published details on the Siege X PC & console specs, and in this article, we're diving deep into accessibility. The Siege team has long had accessibility in their sights as a priority, as you'll see in our interview with User Experience Director Sébastien François. He describes the team's embrace of accessibility throughout the years, shares details on how they've been preparing for Siege X, and offers insights into their future. Read on to learn more.

What is the Siege team's goal or guiding philosophy when it comes to accessibility?
Sébastien François: Siege is a tactical competitive shooter with a strong esports scene, which presents its own set of challenges compared to a single-player game, but we do not want to compromise on accessibility. We want as many players as possible to be able to engage with our unique gameplay elements with comfort, so they can enjoy the full extent of what the Siege experience has to offer. This is an integral part of our design process, and an important focus for our ongoing efforts to improve the game season after season.

Hello everyone, the time has come: Throes of the Watchmaker—the free DLC for Sea of Stars—is out now! We have spent nearly two incredible years crafting this free DLC, as a heartfelt thank you to our fans. Your support made it possible, and we hope this bonus final adventure for Sea of Stars will bring you joy. To celebrate the launch, Sea of Stars is currently available at its lowest price since release, with a limited-time discount of 35% off!

Throes of the Watchmaker sends Solstice Warriors Valere and Zale on a side-adventure into the miniature, clockwork world of Horloge, where a cursed carnival threatens its innocent denizens. To survive, they'll need to play by unfamiliar rules and confront not only the mischievous Puppeteer and her minions, but also their own darker traits.

Trust is dangerous. Love is deadly. Today, Nesting Games unveiled the narrative trailer for Directorate Novitiate, an ambitious urban fantasy action RPG set to launch in Early Access this summer. The trailer introduces Kana Luna, known in the shadows as Mercury, a young assassin torn between two worlds: her everyday life and the secret, magical criminal empire of the Directorate. Set against the shadows of 2006 Los Angeles, Mercury faces a spiraling web of lies, betrayal, and supernatural threats.

With quiet intensity and stylized noir visuals, the trailer teases Mercury's double life. By day, she's a daughter and friend; by night, an assassin navigating a secret war between Syndicates. As the mysterious Constellation Killer closes in, Mercury faces impossible choices between loyalty, survival, and her own humanity. It's 2006, Los Angeles: The seedy supernatural underworld is on the verge of war, with Mercury caught in the crosshairs. Face overwhelming magical forces, discover the horrors hiding in plain sight, track a serial killer, and grapple with difficult choices and dangerous secrets.

All Editions. All Platforms. All the Savage Planet goodness is live. It's time for everyone to clock in. Or at least, it would be if you hadn't been made redundant. After 107 years spent in cryosleep and crash-landing on an alien planet in a faraway space system, we're absolutely pumped to announce that REVENGE OF THE SAVAGE PLANET IS LIVE FOR ALL! This isn't a drill. This isn't a teaser. This isn't an elaborate HR onboarding simulation. We actually finished the game.

Well, here we are...After years of coffee-fueled brainstorming, questionable career choices, and at least one incident involving an employee dressed as a Furry in Raccoon Suit (true story), Revenge of the Savage Planet is finally ready for launch. As a small thirty-person team, when we spun up Raccoon Logic, it wasn't to become galaxy-conquering overlords (though we did pitch that at one meeting). It was to tell weird, wonderful, and art imitating life stories. To let players poke aliens with butts for faces, fire off absurd gadgets, and laugh at the strange, beautiful mess of the universe, and maybe even feel something along the way.