CD Projekt Red, the studio behind wildly popular The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 game franchises, is once again entering the mobile gaming scene, this time in partnership with Scopely, the massive publisher that recently made news for buying Niantic, developer behind Pokémon Go. CD Projekt Red announced the partnership in its 2024 financial earnings report, although the announcement is rather vague.

According to the earnings report, CDPR and Scopely will develop "a game set within one of CD PROJEKT's IPs," and nothing more than that. Currently, a Witcher or Cyberpunk spin-off seem equally likely, although with The Witcher 4 expected to launch within the next few years, CDPR may be looking to build up hype around the Witcher universe leading up to that launch. That said, there is also reportedly a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel in the works as well, so a Cyberpunk spin-off is also a possibility. CDPR has already released a number of iOS and Android games set in The Witcher IP, including Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, Gwent: Rogue Mage, The Witcher, Monster Slayer, The Witcher Battle Arena, The Witcher Adventure Game, and Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. Meanwhile, there has been but one mobile game based on the Cyberpunk universe—Roach Race—so it would not be surprising to see a Cyberpunk 2077 spin-off come out of the partnership.

More than 700 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. This week, you can check out 6 new DLSS-enhanced games including Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, The First Berserker: Khazan, NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black, Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator, FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, and Level Zero: Extraction.

And DLSS 4 is now available, a major upgrade to our much-loved suite of technologies. DLSS Multi Frame Generation is introduced, multiplying performance on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. DLSS Frame Generation's new AI model is faster and uses less VRAM. DLSS Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, and DLAA are upgraded to new, incredible transformer AI models that dramatically enhance image quality. And via the aforementioned NVIDIA app overrides, you can apply these enhancements to many of your games and apps. The complete suite of DLSS 4 upgrades, including DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, are now available in Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Hogwarts Legacy, and Star Wars Outlaws adds support soon.

CD Projekt RED has released the latest Patch 2.21 for Cyberpunk 2077, which is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The new patch brings various fixes on all platforms, but also adds support for DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards.

According to details provided in the release notes, the feature "boosts FPS by using AI to generate up to three times per traditionally rendered frame." It also introduces faster single Frame Generation which should bring reduced memory usage on RTX 50 and RTX 40 Series graphics cards. The patch also adds an option to choose between the CNN model or the new Transformer model for DLSS Ray Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution, and DLAA on all NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards. According to CD Projekt RED, the new Transformer model should enhance stability, lighting, and detail in motion.

Norwegian browser company Opera [NASDAQ: OPRA] is unveiling the Opera GX hub, a new feature designed to blend the universes of its users' favorite games directly into the browser. Starting with the Cyberpunk 2077 hub, this new addition to Opera GX brings players closer to their favorite titles than ever before, making it possible for them to use the web while never leaving Night City. They can now browse with the full Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack playing in the background, have webpages displayed in the dystopian Cyberpunk 2077 style, and get direct access to streams, modding guides, news from the game and much more - all within the browser.

The Cyberpunk 2077 hub in Opera GX is the first of its kind. It's a new integrated feature that connects the universe of a game with the user's browsing experience. It also gives fans access to essential game-related content and tools, making it easier for them to stay up-to-date with the game while browsing the web within a single space. This collaboration with CD PROJEKT RED is just the beginning: Opera GX will be working on more immersive game integrations in the future.

It is no secret that NVIDIA's RTX 50-series launch was welcomed with a mixed reception. On one hand, DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation has allowed for obscene jumps in performance, much to the dismay of purists who would rather do away with AI-powered wizardry. A recent YouTube video has detailed what the RTX 5090 is capable of in Cyberpunk 2077 with Path Tracing at 4K, both with and without the controversial AI features. With DLSS set to performance mode and 4x frame generation (three generated frames), the RTX 5090 managed around 280 FPS. Pretty good, especially when considering the perfectly acceptable latency of around 52 ms, albeit with occasional spikes.

Turning DLSS to quality, the frame rate drops to around 230 FPS, with latency continuing to hover around 50 ms. Interestingly, with frame generation set to 3x or even 2x, the difference in latency was borderline negligible between the two, right around 44 ms or so. However, the FPS takes a massive nosedive when frame generation is turned off entirely. With DLSS set to quality mode and FG turned off, the RTX 5090 barely managed around 70 FPS in the game. Taking things a step further, the presenter turned off DLSS as well, resulting in the RTX 5090 struggling to hit 30 FPS in the game, with latency spiking to 70 ms. Clearly, DLSS 4 and MFG allows for an incredible uplift in performance with minimal artefacting, at least in Cyberpunk 2077 unless one really looks for it.

The recently unveiled AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has been the epicenter of a plethora of leaks in the past few weeks. We now have not only a rough idea of what kind of synthetic performance the highest-end RDNA 4 GPU is about to bring to the table, but also how much the card is expected to cost. Now, yet another leak seemingly sheds light on perhaps the most crucial aspect of any gaming GPU - it's in the name, gaming.

Hilariously enough, this leak, once again, has been sourced from a now-nerfed forum post on Chiphell. This time around, site admin nApoleon was able to run a few games on the brand-new RDNA 4 card, including Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077. The results have been added as screenshots below, but here is a summary - the RX 9070 XT performs decently well, trading blows with the RTX 4070 Ti Super. In NVIDIA's favorite Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K with ray tracing, the RX 9070 XT managed 26 FPS, neck and neck with the RTX 4070 Ti, whereas the RTX 4080 Super was well ahead with 32 FPS.

More than 600 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. This week, jump back into Night City for Cyberpunk 2077's latest Update 2.2, featuring Full Ray Tracing and NVIDIA DLSS 3.5. Additionally, EVE Frontier and PANICORE are available now with DLSS 3, and Hitman World of Assassination and Ready or Not drop new DLCs.

Cyberpunk 2077, Featuring DLSS 3.5 & Full Ray Tracing, Launches Update 2.2
There's always something new to discover in Night City, and developer CD PROJEKT RED, has even more goodies in store for Cyberpunk 2077. Available now in Update 2.2, game owners have a bunch of new content to enjoy, including new open world missions and customization options. Cyberpunk 2077 features DLSS 3.5 with Ray Reconstruction, Frame Generation, and Super Resolution, and includes Full Ray Tracing via the Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode, enabling GeForce RTX 40 Series gamers to crank up their settings for incredible performance and image quality.

Update 2.2 is the fruit of a close collaboration between CD PROJEKT RED and Virtuos, a studio known for its work on many well-known AAA games for consoles and PC. It is available to all owners of Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

As part of Update 2.2, players will access new character customization options - including new variants of cosmetic cyberware, tattoos, makeup options, and more. That's not the only thing players can now modify - all luxury or sports cars that have partnered with Rayfield now have access to exclusive CrystalCoat technology, meaning players can swap out the colors of select rides. Changes have also been made to Photo Mode, which now boasts additional features - including improved camera modes, the ability to spawn up to three additional characters in the scene, increased camera range, and new lighting options. Players will also be able to enjoy the presence of Johnny Silverhand in the passenger seat as they drive through the city of dreams. On top of it all, Update 2.2 also brings a number of technical improvements and more secrets to Night City.

CD PROJEKT RED today announced Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will be arriving natively on Macs with Apple silicon, including the new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro, powered by the M4 family of chips. The game is optimized to take full advantage of Apple silicon and Metal to bring the immersive world of Night City - and the deadly district of Dogtown - to Mac gamers for the very first time.

The game will include advanced features like path tracing, frame generation, and built-in Spatial Audio for even more immersive gameplay and stunning visuals. Coming to Mac early next year, it will be available to purchase via both the Mac App Store and Steam, and existing Steam PC purchases will carry over to the Mac. More details and a release date for early next year will be announced at a later time.

While Apple laptops have never really been the first stop for PC gaming, Linux is slowly shaping up to be an excellent gaming platform, largely thanks to open-source development efforts as well as work from the likes of AMD and NVIDIA, who have both put significant work into their respective Linux drivers in recent years. This makes efforts like the Asahi Linux Project all the more intriguing. Asahi Linux is a project that aims to bring Linux to Apple Silicon Macs—a task that has proven rather difficult, thanks to the intricacies of developing a bespoke GPU driver for Apple's custom ARM GPUs. In a recent blog post, the graphics developer behind the Asahi Linux Project showed off a number of AAA games, albeit older titles, running on an Apple M1 processor on the latest Asahi Linux build.

To run the games on Apple Silicon, Asahi Linux uses a "game playing toolkit," which relies on a number of custom graphics drivers and emulators, including tools from Valve's Proton translation layer, which ironically was also the foundation for Apple's Game Porting Toolkit. Asahi uses FEX to emulate x86 on ARM, Wine as a translation layer for Windows apps, and DXVK and vkd3d-proton for DirectX-Vulkan translation. In the blog post, the Asahi developer claims that the alpha is capable of running games like Control, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077 at playable frame rates. Unfortunately, 60 FPS is not yet attainable in the majority of new high-fidelity games, there are a number of indie titles that run quite well on Asahi Linux, including Hollow Knight, Ghostrunner, and Portal 2.

The Chinese tech press is abuzz with slides allegedly from Intel's pre-launch press-deck for the Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S." The most sensational of these are Intel's first-party performance claims for the top Core Ultra 9 285K model. There's good news and bad news. Good news first—Intel claims to have made a big leap in energy efficiency with "Arrow Lake," and the 285K should offer gaming performance comparable to the current Core i9-14900K at around 80 W lower power draw for the processor. But then there in lies the bad news—despite claimed IPC gains for the "Lion Cove" P-core, and rumored clock speeds being on par with the "Raptor Cove" P-cores on the i9-14900K, the 285K is barely any faster than its predecessor in absolute terms.

In its first party testing, when averaged across 12 game tests, which we used Google optical translation to make out the titles of, Intel used performance numbers of the i9-14900K as the mean. The 285K beats the i9-14900K in only four games—Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, Age of Mythology Retold, Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, and F1 23. It's on-par with the i9-14900K in Red Dead Redemption 2, Total War: Pharaoh, Metro Exodus, Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth: Wukong, Rainbow Six Siege. It's slower than the i9-14900K in Far Cry 6, FF XIV, F1 24, Red Dead Redemption 2. Averaged across this bench, the Core Ultra 9 285K ends up roughly on par with the Core i9-14900K in gaming. Intel also compared the 285K to AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X, and interestingly, even the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Cyberpunk 2077 has historically been a challenging game to run, although a number of optimizations and updates throughout the game's life cycle have improved quality of life and visuals greatly. The latest Cyberpunk PC patch 2.13, released on September 12, aims to improve both the base game and the Phantom Liberty expansion with the introduction of AMD's Fidelity FX Super Resolution with Frame Generation.

The addition of FSR 3 comes almost a year after the game gained support for NVIDIA's competing DLSS 3.5 and AMD claims that Frame Generation and FSR 3 can boost frame rates by upwards of 300% at higher resolutions with less of a quality penalty than previous versions. Cyberpunk's performance gains are likely less drastic, though, since even AMD says its Fluid Motion Frames 2 only achieves a 78% performance boost. Performance claims aside, FSR 3 and frame generation should make playing Cyberpunk 2077 on devices like the Steam Deck more viable, since the Steam Deck doesn't have the benefit of AMD Fluid Motion Frames built into the AMD drivers like Windows devices do.

During a recent earnings call, Co-CEO of CD Projekt Red (CDPR) Michal Nowakowski confirmed that thanks to the success of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the development team will be looking at further animation projects.
"[The developer is] definitely planning to do more in terms of animation," says Nowakowski (on Gizmodo). "Expect to see more for sure, but that's as far as I can go right now."

Considering the fact that upcoming projects, The Witcher 4 (given the codename "Polaris") and Cyberpunk 2 (given the codename "Orion") are massive projects which would definitely take a lot of resources and focus, it will probably take a while to finish the animated series. But then again, considering the fact that CDPR will likely play a supervisory role for any project undertaken, a new animated series might not take a huge amount of time.

Intel has officially started shipping the "0x129" microcode update for its 13th and 14th generation "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors. This critical update is currently being pushed to all OEM/ODM partners to address the stability issues that Intel's processors have been facing. According to Intel, this microcode update fixes "incorrect voltage requests to the processor that are causing elevated operating voltage." Intel's analysis shows that the root cause of stability problems is caused by too high voltage during operation of the processor. These increases to voltage cause degradation that increases the minimum voltage required for stable operation. Intel calls this "Vmin"—it's a theoretical construct, not an actual voltage, think "speed for an airplane required to fly". The latest 0x129 microcode patch will limit the processor's voltage to no higher than 1.55 V, which should avoid further degradation. Overclocking is still supported, enthusiasts will have to disable the eTVB setting in their BIOS to push the processor beyond the 1.55 V threshold. The company's internal testing shows that the new default settings with limited voltages with standard run-to-run variations show minimal performance impact, with only a single game (Hitman 3: Dartmoor) showing degradation. For a full statement from Intel, see the quote below.

Lossless Scaling, an all-in-one paid gaming utility for scaling and frame generation, is set to introduce an outstanding 4x FPS mode to its Lossless Scaling Frame Generation (LSFG) technology. Officially announced in the Lossless Scaling Discord and showcased by the YouTube user Vyathaen, the upcoming 4x FPS mode is expected to arrive in the upscaler's frame generation option within this week. While YouTube videos may not fully capture the experience and benefit of this improvement, beta testers have reported that the latency remains consistent with the current 2x FPS option, ensuring that most games will remain perfectly playable given a sufficiently high base framerate. For those seeking a more comprehensive demonstration, the Lossless Scaling official Discord server features a Cyberpunk 2077 video that better illustrates the capabilities of the 4x FPS mode.

The journey of Lossless Scaling has been marked by continuous innovation since its initial release. Version 2.1, launched in June, introduced a 3x FPS mode, effectively tripling framerates. Additionally, it brought performance optimizations that enhanced the speed of the 2x FPS mode compared to previous iterations. The update also included refinements for scenarios where the final frame rate surpasses the monitor's refresh rate. The software is universally compatible with all GPUs and PC games, including emulated titles, requiring only windowed mode and Windows 10 1903 or newer. While the LSFG frame generation technology and LS1 upscaler are proprietary, for upscaling, users can choose one of the many underlying options depending on their GPU like AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, NVIDIA Image Scaling, Integer Scaling, Nearest Neighbor, xBR, Anime4K, Sharp Bilinear, Bicubic CAS. Below, you can check out the YouTube video with 4x frame generation example.

Steam has officially launched its Summer Sale, and there are plenty of good game titles to be found across all genres. In addition, Steam is also doing a neat promotion on Steam Deck LCD models.

We had a quick look through the list and picked out a few that have caught our eye, but there are a lot of titles so we might have missed a few. As said, Steam is also running a promotion for its Steam Deck LCD models, the 64 GB and 512 GB one, which are 15 percent off during Steam Summer Sale. This year, Steam also launched a list of "extra-deep discounts", which is a selection of games that you just might not want to miss.

Yesterday, NVIDIA released the latest version of its Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) 3.7.0. The newest version promises to improve image quality. Among the most notable additions is the now default "E" quality preset. This builds upon the previous DLSS versions but introduces noticeably sharper images, generally improved fine detail stability, reduced ghosting, and better temporal stability in general compared to DLSS 3.5. It has been tested with Cyberpunk 2077 in the YouTube video with the comparison between DLSS 3.5.10, DLSS 3.6.0, and the newest DLSS 3.7.0. Additionally, some Reddit users reported seeing a noticeable difference on Horizon Forbidden West at 1440p.

Generally, the DLSS 3.7.0 version can be a drop-in replacement to the older DLSS versions. Using DLSS Tweaks, or even manually, users can patch in the latest DLSS 3.7.0 DLL and force games that weren't shipped initially or updated to support the latest DLSS 3.7.0 DLL file. We have the latest DLL download up on our Downloads section on TechPowerUp, so users can install DLSSTweaks and grab the desired file version on our website.

Grab the latest DLSS 3.7.0 DLL file here.

Intel on Wednesday released the XeSS 1.3 performance enhancement, which works with Intel Arc "Alchemist" discrete GPUs, and Intel Arc iGPUs powering the Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" processors. The new super sampling technology brings several under-the-hood improvements to the upscaler, which improves image quality at a given resolution. Intel leveraged this improved upscaler to rework the resolution-scale of each performance preset, thereby improving performance per preset; while also introducing new presets at both ends of the resolution scale. The company released the XeSS 1.3 SDK on GitHub, so developers can begin exploring the tech and implementing it on their games.

The XeSS 1.3 update is predicated on an improved upscaler. Intel says that it has updated the AI models with new optimizations, and additional pre-training, particularly with difficult to upscale elements (such as meshes, as in textures with a lot of alpha pixels). The updated upscaler offers better reconstruction of detail, better AA, less ghosting, and improved temporal stability. Intel then used this up change the resolution scale across all its presets as detailed in the table below. It introduced the new Ultra Performance preset that does a 3.0x resolution scale, something that didn't exist in the previous versions of XeSS. On the other end of the spectrum is Native AA, a mode that has zero upscaling, but just the full application of the upscaler as a varnish—this is essentially Intel's take on DLAA.

CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk development team expected to conclude work on 2077 around autumn of last year—following the release of their v2.0 Content Update, and Phantom Liberty DLC campaign expansion. Game director, Gabe Amatangelo, declared in a September 2023 interview with PC Gamer, that his team was ready to move onto the development of a sequel, but some members continued to deliver updates. December's upgrade to v2.1 added a functional metro transport system, while January's Patch 2.11 expanded vehicle customization options. Game File's Stephen Totilo interviewed Amatangelo during last month's DICE Summit—his recently published article included a discussion regarding CD Projekt RED's surprising extended support schedule for Cyberpunk 2077.

Amatangelo okayed the addition of a Night City Area Rapid Transit (NCART) system, after absorbing news coverage and fan feedback: "my team had a plan on how to accomplish it in a reasonable way, sort of in a timely way." Cyberpunk 2077's game director confirmed that work has finally concluded on his team's open world magnum opus: "Yes. We're done." The temptation does remain to tinker with the current game: "It's possible that there are some other little things that comes in here or there, just because, as you're kind of messing around with stuff, sometimes you discover something that is not a high risk. Or it's easy to integrate. Or, you know, some developers have some bandwidth...Then they bring it to me." Amatangelo indicates that he could approve further updates, but "Cyberpunk Part Deux" takes priority: "Well, I trust you that it isn't going to mess with your other work…So let's give it a go."

Top-tier games from publishing partners Bandai Namco Entertainment and Inflexion Games are joining GeForce NOW this week as the cloud streaming service's fourth-anniversary celebrations continue. Eleven new titles join the over 1,800 supported games in the GeForce NOW library, including Nightingale from Inflexion Games and Bandai Namco Entertainment's Tales of Arise, Katamari Damacy REROLL and Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series.

"Happy fourth anniversary, GeForce NOW!" cheered Jarrett Lee, head of publishing at Inflexion Games. "The platform's ease of access and seamless performance comprise a winning combination, and we're excited to see how cloud gaming evolves."

NVIDIA's latest RTX 40 series graphics cards feature impressive new technologies like DLSS 3 that can significantly enhance performance and image quality in games. However, owners of older 20 and 30 series NVIDIA GeForce RTX cards cannot officially benefit from these cutting-edge advances. DLSS 3's Frame Generation feature, in particular, requires dedicated hardware only found in NVIDIA's brand new Ada Lovelace architecture. But the ingenious modding community has stepped in with a creative workaround solution where NVIDIA has refused to enable frame generation functionality on older generation hardware. A new third-party modification can unofficially activate both upscaling (FSR, DLAA, DLSS or XeSS) and AMD Fluid Motion Frames on older NVIDIA cards equipped with Tensor Cores. Replacing two key DLL files and a small edit to the Windows registry enables the "DLSS 3" option to be activated in games running on older hardware.

In testing conducted by Digital Foundry, this modification delivered up to a 75% FPS boost - on par with the performance uplift official DLSS 3 provides on RTX 40 series cards. Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and A Plague Tale: Requiem were used to benchmark performance. However, there can be minor visual flaws, including incorrect UI interpolation or random frame time fluctuations. Ironically, while the FSR 3 tech itself originates from AMD, the mod currently only works on NVIDIA cards. So, while not officially supported, the resourcefulness of the modding community has remarkably managed to bring cutting-edge frame generation to more NVIDIA owners - until AMD RDNA 3 cards can utilize it as well. This shows the incredible potential of community-driven software modification and innovation.

Tianbo has prepared a very an intriguing Cyberpunk 2077-themed Mini PC for the Chinese gaming hardware market—the JD.com listing (as reported by VideoCardz) showcases black and white enclosures with a sci-fi aesthetic and plenty of RGB lighting courtesy of the slimline internal cooling solution's illuminated 9 cm fan. It is not immediately clear whether CD Projekt and R. Talsorian Games have jointly approved the GOD88 Mini PC's prominent usage of their Cyberpunk title/logo/font. The specification sheet and accompanying imagery place emphasis on the Cyber GOD88's APU of choice: an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS mobile processor—this sits at second place within Team Red's recently launched 8040 "Hawk Point" series, their Ryzen 9 8945HS chip takes principal position here.

The GOD88's Ryzen 7 8845HS APU is no slouch when compared to the Ryzen 9 sibling—it runs the same 8-core/16-thread configuration, with a 5.1 GHz max boost (only trailing behind by 100 MHz). The spec sheet mentions a configurable TDP of 35 - 54 W. Tianbo's Mini PC is sold as a barebones system, according to the JD.com product page—customers are expected to plug in their own choice of RAM and storage. Dual-channel DDR5-5600 memory is supported, while the cramped interior can accommodate a single full-sized M.2 2280 PCIe 4×4 SSD. The Tianbo GOD88 "High Performance" Cyberpunk Mini PC will be open to pre-orders (via JD.com) on February 5—barebones pricing is set at 2688 RMB (~$378.50).

Patch 2.11 for Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty is being rolled out on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. In this update we focused on fixing the most common issues encountered by players, including Finisher animations, and added a little something for Rayfield enthusiasts! PC-specific changes include the addition of a Hybrid CPU Utilization setting, which can be found under Gameplay → Performance. It can be set either to "Auto" (lets the operating system automatically decide how to distribute threads among the cores) or "Prioritize P-Cores" (prioritizes performance cores). It is set to "Auto" by default. We have also implemented a fix that improves graphics performance, especially on AMD Radeon RX Vega GPUs.

Visual Changes
Patch 2.11 adds Neon-lit rims for the Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X—these parts will now light up properly. We also fixed shadows appearing on V's torso when wearing tank tops, as well as dark shadows appearing on V's hands when holding some weapons with Ray Tracing enabled. The Devil and Judgment tarot cards will now be properly displayed on the end-game reward screen. For complete patch details, check out the full list of changes below.

ASUS China has distributed Tianxuan 5 Pro laptop review samples to media outlets in the region—a video evaluation was uploaded to Bilibili yesterday, as discovered and shared by 9550pro. The reviewer, "Wheat Milk Mitsu," put his sampled laptop's AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX processor through the proverbial wringer—with benchmarking exercises conducted in Cinebench R23, PCMark 10, Counter Strike 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Metro Exodus and more. The Ryzen 9 7940HX "Dragon Range" APU was last spotted in the specification sheets for ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024) laptop models—the mobile processor is essentially an underclocked offshoot of Team Red's Ryzen 9 7945HX. AMD's Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" series has received most of the attention in Western markets—we only see occasional coverage of older Zen 4 "Dragon Range" parts.

AMD's slightly weaker Ryzen 9 7940HX processor is no slouch when compared to its higher clock sibling, despite a lower base clock (2.4 GHz) and Turbo (5.2 GHz)—the Tianxuan (China's equivalent to TUF Gaming) branded laptop was outfitted with a GeForce RTX 4070 mobile GPU and 16 GB of DDR5 5600 RAM. Synthetic benchmark results in Cinebench R23 indicate a marginal 3.7% difference, and multi-core figures show an even smaller difference; 1%. The two Dragon Range APUs exhibited largely the same performance in gaming scenarios, although the 7945HX pulls ahead in Counter-Strike 2 frame rate stakes—328 vs. 265 at 1440p, and 378 vs. 308 at 1080p. AMD's convoluted naming schemes make it difficult to keep track of its many mobile offerings—a 7840HX SKU could join the Dragon Range family in Q1 2024. A few Western media outlets believe that a smattering of these parts are destined for global markets, but Team Red's Marketing HQ has not bothered to announce them in any official capacity. Strange times.

Reuters has conducted an interview with Adam Badowski and Michał Nowakowski—Joint Chief Executive Officers at CD Projekt. The news agency wanted to find out more about the current roster of projects in development across the Polish gaming group's globally-scattered studios. The Boston branch of CD Projekt Red has started work on a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel—codenamed "Orion"—as revealed by Igor Sarzyńsk (Narrative Director) earlier this month. The sequel's scope could grow beyond a single-player campaign—Nowakowski mentioned in the Reuters interview that multiplayer elements are under consideration by "Orion's" design team, but he declined to elaborate any further. CD Projekt Red downed tools on Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer aspect around launch time (December 2020), and instead focused on improving the game's core functionality. A "triple-A" multiplayer spin-off was teased a few years ago, but abandoned at some point in favor of a new "more systematic, agile approach."

Badowski stated that "Orion" is still in a conceptual phase of development, and its team is expected to grow over the course of 2024—he anticipates around eighty members of staff by the end of the year. The North American team appears to be on a recruitment drive, while the European "Orion" gang is not expected to expand as quickly. The priority for CD Projekt's Warsaw studio is "Polaris" AKA the next mainline Witcher title—Badowski elaborated on their hiring goals in Poland: "we'd like to have around 400 people working on the project by the middle of the year." The joint-CEOs want "Polaris" entering into a full production stage in 2024—industry analysts predict a 2026 or 2027 launch window. Reuters brought up the obligatory question about artificial intelligence's place in CDPR operations—Nowakowski responded with: "We think that AI is something that can help improve certain processes in game production, but not replace people." When grilled about lessons learned from launch day disasters, Badowski stated that his company's production pipelines have undergone a positive overhaul: "We believe that in the future we'll avoid a premiere like the one we faced with Cyberpunk 2077"