GTA 6 is now the most pre-ordered game ever on both the PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store, according to Sony and Microsoft. Sony announced the record in a PlayStation Blog post that opened PS5 pre-loading nine days before the November 19 launch, pointing to "unprecedented demand" for the early start. Xbox then called it "the most pre-ordered title of all time on the Microsoft Store" while confirming that GTA 6 will stream to Xbox One through Cloud Gaming. Neither company shared actual numbers, however.

Sensor Tower's tracker fills some of that gap. As of November 10, the firm estimates 9.69 million pre-orders worth about $942 million net of returns, up from 7.71 million a week earlier and 6.45 million in late October. PlayStation holds roughly 75% of that with 7.23 million copies and $703 million, while Xbox sits at 2.46 million copies and $239 million. That averages out to around $97 per copy, which fits with most buyers going for the $100 Ultimate Edition. If accurate, GTA 6 has passed the 8 million pre-orders CD Projekt reported for Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020. The comparison isn't quite like-for-like, though, since Cyberpunk also launched on PC and likely counted physical copies, while Sensor Tower seems to track digital console orders only.

8BitDo has officially announced the Ultimate 3C+ Wired controller for Xbox as a $39.99 Xbox controller that incorporates many of the same features as the Ultimate 3C+ Wireless launched in October, but at a much lower price. The 3C+ Wired controller has a traditional Xbox layout on both the face buttons and the offset analog sticks, but it features additional customization options that set it apart from a regular Xbox controller.

The headline features of the Ultimate 3C+ Wired controller include TMR joysticks with adjustable tension, which are supposed to resist joystick drift; remappable fast-trigger L4 and R4 buttons for additional inputs and faster trigger response times; Hall effect triggers with switchable dual-mode functionality; and a 3.5 mm audio jack at the bottom of the controller for more immersive sound. It also has two additional back paddles with an integrated paddle lock to prevent accidental activations.

8BitDo has just officially launched the Arcade Controller Pro as its latest stab at an arcade controller. The Arcade Controller Pro uses a similar layout to the existing Arcade Controller, but it features smaller buttons and tighter button groupings for faster inputs and switching. The Arcade Controller Pro is currently available for pre-order from 8BitDo on Amazon for $119.99, and it is available in white and a bolder black and red color scheme. The official release is slated for November 30, 2026, which is when pre-order shipments will also start.

The tempered glass faceplate on the Arcade Controller Pro houses 17 buttons, aside from the input control toggles and extra shortcut buttons along the top edge. The P1-P5 buttons scattered throughout the Arcade Controller Pro are remappable on-the-fly, thanks to a built-in display running 8BitDo's Ultimate Software right on the controller's MCU. The Arcade Controller Pro also comes with an included magnetic wrist-rest that houses lock caps to cover the P1-P5 buttons to prevent accidental presses, and the quick-release glass faceplate hides a keycap and switch removal tool and three additional switches, in case of emergency.

EA Sports FC 27 carries a PEGI 16 rating in Europe, a big jump for a series that has sat at PEGI 3 for years. The reason behind the change is Ultimate Team. PEGI's breakdown for the game lists its purchase options, including FC Points, a season pass, and player packs, and those packs count as paid random items under PEGI's updated rules. Announced in March and applied to newly submitted games since June, the rules make PEGI 16 the default for any game with loot boxes, with PEGI 18 possible in some cases. Of course, EA has a long history with this topic, having once defended loot boxes as "surprise mechanics".

FC 27 isn't the only game affected, either. PEGI is now rerating existing digital-only games rated 3, 7, or 12 that sell paid random items, with changes rolling out through the rest of October. Pokémon Go, Pokémon TCG Pocket, Mario Kart Tour, and Zenless Zone Zero have reportedly been bumped up already. The new criteria also cover time-limited offers (PEGI 12), daily quests and similar return rewards (PEGI 7), and NFTs or chat that can't be restricted (PEGI 18). PEGI says it followed the lead of Germany's USK, which made similar changes in 2023.

Microsoft has started selling Xbox Cloud Gaming time to people who don't pay for Game Pass. Starting today, Xbox Insiders without an active subscription can buy prepaid playtime and stream games on supported devices, with a broader rollout planned for November. There are three packs at what Microsoft calls introductory launch pricing: 10 hours for $3.99, 25 hours for $7.99, and 50 hours for $11.99. The packs are ad-free and come with shorter wait times, and the purchased hours don't expire until they are used up. Insiders can also keep using the free, ad-supported option Microsoft began testing in July. These pay-as-you-go plans arrive right before the monthly hour limits Microsoft announced in September kick in.

Starting in November, Game Pass Ultimate ($22.99) includes 15 hours of cloud gaming per month, Premium ($14.99) gets 10 hours, and Essential ($9.99) gets just five. Microsoft expects the caps to affect around 4% of subscribers, and said those who run out will be able to buy extra playtime through the Xbox Store. It seems likely these packs will double as top-ups for subscribers, though Microsoft hasn't confirmed that yet. On paper, $11.99 gets you more than three times the streaming hours Ultimate includes each month. Of course, Ultimate also comes with the Game Pass library, while the packs are meant for streaming eligible games you already own. More details on eligible games and market availability should follow in November. Since the current prices are labeled introductory, they could very well change later.

GTA 6 has now racked up an estimated 6.45 million digital pre-orders worldwide, worth roughly $630 million net of returns, according to the latest weekly update from Sensor Tower's sales tracker. PlayStation accounts for 74% of the total, or about 4.80 million copies and $468 million, while Xbox sits at 1.66 million copies and $162 million. The tracker's October 13 figures had GTA 6 at 6.08 million pre-orders and $594 million, so around 370,000 more people locked in their copy in about a week. In the US, Sensor Tower says GTA 6's digital pre-orders are 148% ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) at the same point before launch, the best performer among the big releases it tracked over the past six years.

Of course, these are third-party estimates covering digital copies only, and Take-Two hasn't confirmed any figures. CEO Strauss Zelnick did say in August that pre-orders were skewing toward the $100 Ultimate Edition, and Sensor Tower now says the vast majority of buyers went for that version. PlayStation has led since tracking began in June, and in late August Sensor Tower had it at about 77% of 4.86 million pre-orders. The firm tweaked its estimation model on October 5, however, so those older numbers aren't a perfect like-for-like comparison. Xbox's smaller share probably isn't helped by US Xbox hardware sales sitting at an all-time low this year. GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, so expect these numbers to keep climbing.

Jailbroken PS5 owners can now stream Xbox games on Sony's console. Developer RafaelNGP has released PSBox Cloud Gaming on GitHub, an unofficial Xbox Cloud Gaming client that runs natively on homebrew-enabled PS5s through a loader such as ShadowMountPlus. Sign-in works through a code entered at microsoft.com/link, and a Game Pass Ultimate subscription is still required. The DualSense acts as an Xbox controller, rumble included, and the latest build even adds voice chat through the DualSense mic. Streams run at 1080p60 by default, with 720p for slower connections and an experimental 1440p mode where Microsoft offers it. Interestingly, the app can also use the PS5's GPU to upscale the stream to 4K, with a choice between AMD FSR 1 and the Anime4K upscaler.

The project is moving fast, too. Version 0.5.0, which brought the 4K upscaling, landed on October 8, and version 0.9.5 followed just two days later, picking up Remote Play to your own Xbox along the way. Video is H.264 decoded on the CPU, so there's no HDR for now, and bitrate sits at around 10 to 12 Mbps at 1080p. Some early testers reportedly ran into macroblocking, pink artifacts, and DualSense vibration issues. It's the latest in a busy stretch for PS5 homebrew, following emulators that run Nintendo Switch games, load PS2 discs, and even get Halo 2 running on the console. Of course, Microsoft could change or block the services the client relies on at any time, something the developer notes in the project's own README notes.

Microsoft has confirmed that Battlefield 6 is joining Xbox Game Pass on October 13, the same day EA and Battlefield Studios kick off Season 5. The shooter will be playable on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and cloud for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. The game launched on October 10, 2025, so it took just over a year to get here. Season 5 moves the fight to Las Vegas with three new maps planned, two of which, Vegas Strip and an Area 51 map, are available on day one. EA is also adding six weapons, two vehicles, Platoons, and a Rapid Royale mode for REDSEC, while the long-requested server browser arrives later in the season.

The timing is interesting, to say the least. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, with campaign early access opening on October 16 for digital pre-orders. Contrary to what one might expect from a Microsoft-owned franchise, Modern Warfare 4 will not be on Game Pass at launch. Microsoft dropped day-one Call of Duty access in April, when it cut Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 and PC Game Pass to $13.99 per month, and new entries now arrive about a year after release. That leaves subscribers with EA's year-old shooter at no extra cost on one side and a $69.99 Call of Duty on the other. It's reasonable to expect a bump in Battlefield 6 player numbers, though it's unclear how much of that will last once Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer goes live.

Microsoft has reportedly signed a deal that makes Xbox Cloud Gaming the only cloud service allowed to stream Grand Theft Auto 6 at launch, according to The Verge's Tom Warren, citing sources familiar with Microsoft's plans. The claim follows an internal town hall this week where Xbox CEO Asha Sharma apparently told staff that the company has something planned around GTA 6 that "no other platform holder is doing." Sharma doesn't seem to have described the deal herself, and neither Microsoft nor Rockstar has confirmed it officially yet. It's also unclear how long the exclusivity lasts, or whether streaming will require buying the game.

If it pans out, the deal would matter most to PC players. GTA 6 is set to release on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and Rockstar hasn't announced a PC version. Xbox Cloud Gaming works on PCs, so it could be the only official way to play there at launch without owning a console. Rival services such as NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Sony's PlayStation Plus cloud streaming would presumably have to wait, though the report doesn't name them directly. Meanwhile, Microsoft is introducing monthly caps on cloud play in November, with Game Pass Ultimate limited to 15 hours, Premium to 10, and Essential to just 5. Extra hours can be bought, and a pay-as-you-go option for non-subscribers is expected the same month. Anyone hoping to finish GTA 6 over the cloud would probably burn through those hours fairly quickly.

Following the brand's recent announcement of the Xbox Cozy Collection peripherals, 8BitDo has once again partnered with Xbox on the new Tomb Raider 30th Anniversary collection. The 30th Anniversary Tomb Raider collection consists of special versions of the 8BitDo Ultimate 3 Controller for Xbox and the Pro Bluetooth Gamepad, featuring artwork and tactile touches inspired by the Tomb Raider game series.

Both controllers pay homage to Lara Croft, but the Pro 3 Gamepad is a direct tribute to the original Tomb Raider, and the Lost Valley level specifically, whereas the Ultimate 3 controller features livery celebrating both the old and new interpretations of the character and story. The Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition 8BitDo Pro 3 Bluetooth Gamepad is available for $79.99 on the 8BitDo store and Amazon, while the Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition Ultimate 3 Controller comes in at $119.99 on the 8BitDo store exclusively. Both controllers will start shipping on October 24.

Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto 6: The Album, a 34-track record made in collaboration with Atlantic Records and set to release alongside the game on November 19. Six songs are already streaming on Spotify and Apple Music, including tracks from Travis Scott, Yung Lean, Morgan Wallen, Rauw Alejandro, and Keith Richards, with the rest of the lineup still under wraps. The album will also get a physical release with three tiers. A CD version runs $19.98, a standard vinyl edition with magenta and blue splatter discs costs $49.98, and a limited-edition vinyl with liquid-filled discs tops out at $124.98.

That last option interestingly costs more than the game's own $100 Ultimate Edition, and it comes with exclusive artwork alongside colorway variants sold through retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, Target, and Urban Outfitters. Pre-orders for the album are open now, with physical copies shipping from November 20, a day after GTA 6 itself launches. Rockstar has leaned on music tie-ins before, but a full commercial album alongside a mainline GTA release is new territory. The pricing on the top-tier vinyl certainly suggests Rockstar is treating this as a genuine collector's item rather than just a marketing freebie.

Microsoft has pushed back on a leak claiming Xbox Game Pass is getting a massive overhaul in 2027. The rumor, posted by ResetEra moderator Slayven, described a split into ad-supported ($12.99/month) and ad-free ($19.99/month) tiers, day-one releases disappearing between February and April 2027, and cloud streaming becoming a separate $5.99 add-on for 25 hours. Forbes journalist Paul Tassi took the claims to Xbox directly and got an on-record response. Here's the full statement an Xbox spokesperson gave Tassi:

"We regularly test different Game Pass offerings and look at what works best for players in different markets. We don't have any changes to announce today or plans that have been finalized. There are no changes to previously announced games coming to Game Pass Ultimate on day one."

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is apparently getting a personalized price test, at least for some subscribers. A Reddit post from user synthlov3r on r/XboxGamePass shows an offer of $16.09 per month for Game Pass Ultimate, locked in for 12 months before reverting to the standard $22.99 rate. That works out to $193.08 for the year, roughly $82.80 less than paying the regular monthly price the whole way through. Other users replying to the same thread reported different numbers, with some seeing offers closer to $18 or $20 a month. One commenter mentioned that their secondary account received the discount while their main account didn't, which suggests account-level targeting.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate dropped from $29.99 to $22.99 back in April, after subscriber numbers reportedly took a hit following the earlier price hike. Under CEO Asha Sharma, Xbox has already signaled interest in making Game Pass pricing more flexible, so personalized discounts aimed at lapsed or price-sensitive subscribers would fit that direction. Microsoft hasn't confirmed any of this as an official pricing program yet, so treat these figures as anecdotal for now, even if the pattern checks out across multiple reports.

Microsoft is putting a hard cap on Xbox Cloud Gaming for the first time, ending years of unlimited streaming for Game Pass subscribers. Starting in November, Game Pass Essential will include 5 hours of cloud streaming a month, Premium gets 10 hours, and Ultimate tops out at 15 hours. Once subscribers burn through their allotment, they'll need to pay for extra hours through the Xbox Store to keep going. Xbox says the change should only affect around 4% of subscribers, so casual streamers likely won't notice much. Heavy users are a different story, particularly anyone leaning on cloud streaming as their main way to play.

Xbox hasn't announced pricing for extra hours yet, saying more details will come before the change goes live. The company did admit outright that "the practical result is a higher cost" for some players. Contrary to how generous this might look on paper, Xbox's own ceiling is notably tighter than NVIDIA GeForce Now's 100-hour monthly cap on its top tier. Microsoft points to rising cloud infrastructure costs as the reason, though it's hard not to read this as part of the division's overall push toward profitability after a rough stretch of layoffs.

Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders jumped sharply after Rockstar's extended gameplay look aired on Netflix, according to new estimates from Sensor Tower. The analytics firm says pre-orders rose 436% on August 27, the day of the showcase, compared to the day before. That momentum carried into August 28, pushing the two-day increase to 572% against the prior 30-day average. PlayStation 5 accounted for the bulk of the surge, with PS5 pre-orders up 606% on the 27th alone, while Xbox Series X|S pre-orders rose a comparatively modest 127%. PS5 has led Xbox in GTA 6 pre-orders since Sensor Tower began tracking reservations in June, shortly after Rockstar officially opened pre-orders for the game.

Sensor Tower's cumulative estimate now stands at roughly 4.86 million pre-orders worldwide, worth close to $476 million, with PlayStation buyers accounting for about 77% of that total. Take-Two has not confirmed exact figures, though CEO Strauss Zelnick has previously said demand for the $100 Ultimate Edition has outpaced the standard $80 version. Rockstar has kept a tight grip on gameplay reveals since GTA 6's earlier trailers, so a 26-minute showcase was always going to move the needle. Sensor Tower's own analysts have also suggested the current Ultimate Edition divide is unlikely to hold once mass-market buyers start pre-ordering closer to release, which could shift these percentages again before launch.

Grand Theft Auto VI is leading the charge in the $80 AAA race, which has understandably upset many gamers, but the $100 Ultimate Edition has been another point of contention in online discussions. However, despite the online discussions potentially suggesting otherwise, Take-Two CEO, Strauss Zelnick, recently explained in an interview with CNBC that pre-orders are stronger for the Ultimate Edition than the standard $80 version of the game, although he declined to provide exact pre-order figures, which are estimated to exceed $260 million in revenue already.

When asked about how the Ultimate Edition pricing was affecting pre-orders, Zelnick said that "it's skewing more to the premium edition," and he goes on to explain that "that might be a reflection again of the fact that the most avid consumers are the ones who are pre-ordering." Part of the discourse and criticism around the $100 Ultimate Edition of GTA VI revolve around the fact that many of the additional items in the special edition are cosmetics and customization options, and that GTA VI is a single-player game, where paid DLC is usually more substantial, like additional playable content or other characters.

NVIDIA on Tuesday, formally launched its GeForce NOW cloud-gaming service in India. The service comes with attractive introductory prices specific to the Indian market under an Early Access Pass scheme that's sure to draw attention, particularly in India's tier-2 and tier-3 cities that see rapid advances in availability of high-speed, low-latency, fiber-based Internet services, and 5G. As with all markets, the "Free" tier offers 1-hour gaming sessions, and access to a library of 2,000+ games, with 1080p resolution at up to 60 FPS, and a waiting queue that can take over 2 minutes; and there are ads.

The Performance tier is the most affordable paid tier, priced at Indian Rupees 999 a month. This gives you an ad-free experience, access to a wider library of over 4,500 game titles, the ability to install-to-play, not just ready to play; longer, 6-hour gaming sessions, a higher resolution 1440p @ 60 FPS gaming experience, and priority access in the queue of under 1 minute. Then there's the Ultimate tier, which offers a gaming experience resembling a desktop with a GeForce RTX 5080 GPU. This gives you up to 5K @ 360 FPS resolution or whatever an RTX 5080 is capable of in the real world; longer 8-hour gaming sessions, and the highest priority in the waiting queue, with typically no waiting time. This is priced at Indian Rupees 1,999 a month.

Hot on the heels of the launch of the recent Special Edition Lavender Dusk Ultimate 3 controller, 8BitDo has officially made the highly customizable Ultimate 3E Xbox controller available for pre-order on both Amazon and the brand's eShop for $149.99, and orders are expected to ship on August 31, 2026. As you might expect from a controller that costs that much, the Ultimate 3E controller offers a bunch of bells and whistles that set it apart from the competition. It also comes with a charging dock that houses the 2.4 GHz dongle in a dedicated storage compartment.

The Ultimate 3E controller features a standard Xbox layout with offset TMR thumb sticks, as well as an extra pair of shoulder bumpers and back paddles for extra inputs. It also supports 6-axis motion control for PC gamers, and it has dual-stop Hall-effect triggers. The Ultimate 3E controller comes with both a regular cross d-pad and a circular d-pad—both of which are metal—and swappable thumb stick toppers with three heights available. The faceplate is also removable, allowing users to switch between smoother silicone buttons or clicky micro switches for the ABXY buttons by way of a swappable ABXY module.

It seems as though controller gamers have more and more choices for input devices daily, and 8BitDo is adding to the list with the recent announcement of the Lavender Dusk Ultimate 3 Controller. The Lavender Dusk controller is a special edition controller for PC, Xbox, and mobile devices that features a unique design "shaped by light and dusk." Visuals aside, the Ultimate 3 Lavender Dusk is a feature-rich controller that comes with a matching wireless charging dock, 6-axis gyro control, 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and substantial customization options. It is currently available for pre-order from 8BitDo or Amazon for $99.99, with pre-orders shipping on August 31, 2026.

The Lavender Dusk Ultimate 3 Controller features tension-adjustable TMR joysticks, Hall effect triggers with two trigger stop depths, extra L4 and R4 bumpers in the shoulder button cluster, and customizable back paddles for additional inputs. The face buttons follow the traditional Xbox controller scheme, but the grip has been slightly redesigned for ergonomics, the d-pad has a redesigned disc shape that's meant to make it easier to execute diagonal movements, and there are a few additional buttons on the face. It comes with a built-in 1,000 mAh battery that 8BitDo claims delivers 20 hours of play time off of 4-5 hours of charging. All of the buttons and triggers are reprogrammable in 8BitDo's Software X and Software V2 Mobile, allowing for not just cross-platform support but also a degree of cross-platform customization.

MSI, a global leader in gaming, content creation, and business & productivity laptops, proudly introduced the redesigned Raider and Crosshair gaming laptop series, built for gamers seeking high-performance 16-inch laptops with the latest Intel Core Ultra 200HX Plus processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs. The new lineup delivers up to 300 W combined CPU and GPU power on select Raider models and up to 200 W on select Crosshair models, alongside upgraded cooling, OLED display options, and rear I/O for cleaner cable management. These models set a new benchmark as the most powerful gaming laptops in the industry.

MSI has also upgraded its existing 18-inch gaming lineup, including the Titan 18, Raider 18 Max, and Stealth 18. In addition to featuring the Intel Core Ultra 200HX Plus processors, users can experience ultra-smooth visuals through top-tier specifications such as a 4K 240 Hz Mini LED display.

NVIDIA's latest GeForce NOW update has introduced 90 FPS streaming to various VR headsets, and Apple users are in for a treat. For the Apple Vision Pro headset, GeForce NOW will deliver 90 FPS at 4K resolution, offering a noticeable improvement for anyone using NVIDIA's game streaming service with their Vision Pro headset. The Apple Vision Pro features two displays, one for each eye, capable of running at a resolution of 3,660 × 3,200 and up to 120 Hz. It's great news that NVIDIA has updated its GeForce NOW service to officially support at least 4K resolution, running at 90 FPS. While it's unclear how many gamers use the Apple Vision Pro as their gaming display, the addition of support by NVIDIA suggests a significant number. Available as part of the Ultimate package, members can stream at 90 FPS on other VR headsets as well, but at lower resolutions.

Additionally, everyone can stream at 1080p and 90 FPS, while 1440p is reserved for Pico and Meta Quest. Currently, only the Apple Vision Pro can handle 4K and 90 FPS output from GeForce NOW. Although not many games can run at 4K resolution and 90 FPS on their own, NVIDIA's DLSS technology can boost the frame rate and deliver impressive visuals, ensuring a smooth 4K mode at 90 FPS. Finally, NVIDIA has also scheduled the rollout of H.265 video decoding support for browsers, which will greatly enhance streaming efficiency and visual quality from NVIDIA's virtual gaming server.

GeForce NOW's anniversary celebration reaches a chilling crescendo as Capcom's Resident Evil: Requiem creeps into the cloud - and the horrors look better than ever on a GeForce NOW Ultimate membership. To mark the occasion, a special launch bundle rises from the shadows, pairing the game with a yearlong Ultimate membership for a limited time. It's not a celebration party without treats. GeForce NOW is also offering members a new reward to use in Delta Force. Suit up and grab it alongside 11 new games joining the cloud this week.

The Nightmare Returns in the Cloud
A new era of survival horror dawns with Resident Evil: Requiem, the iconic Capcom series' most immersive entry yet. Follow FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and veteran agent Leon S. Kennedy as their stories and playstyles intertwine in a chilling, emotional fight for survival. Return to Raccoon City, the ruined heart of a 1998 bioweapon disaster now buried in government secrecy. Grace investigates her mother's mysterious death while Leon, hardened by years of battling outbreaks, uncovers a new bioterror threat spreading through the Midwest. Classic Resident Evil survival horror returns with tense combat and clever puzzles - now enhanced with seamless switching between first- and third-person views for a more personal nightmare.

Sign up now, Troopers - the fight for the future of humanity begins with YOU as Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! prepares to deploy on March 16th 2026! The pristine beaches of Zegema Beach are waiting for aspiring Citizens to join the fight. Even now, our Troopers are striving to save this Federation-sculpted paradise from the Arachnid menace with an immersive demo available NOW!

Would you like to know more? For the first time we're bringing you approved footage live from the Battlefield!

DirectX 12 shipped in 2015 with a simple goal: give developers more control so games run faster, look better, and scale across Windows PC and console. Over the last decade, DirectX 12 delivered on that promise. We added features and made it easier for developers to focus on gameplay & graphics by providing more flexibility and achievable performance wins.

We built technologies that dramatically reduce load times and deliver consistently high frames for a polished gaming experience in the most demanding of titles. Our platform's continuous evolution brought advanced visuals previously unimaginable into the mainstream. Today, DirectX 12 sits at the heart of many AAA titles and modern game engines, powering some of the most visually stunning games ever made. Happy 10th birthday DirectX 12, here are some of the biggest milestones that made games better!

8BitDo is no stranger to transparent and translucent tech, often embracing the 90s and early 2000s trend for gaming peripherals like the bright green Xbox Edition Retro Mechanical keyboard, but its latest translucent controller release, the Ultimate 2C Bluetooth—which is designed for the Nintendo Switch console family—features a decidedly more subtle version of the translucent tech trend. The new version of the Ultimate 2C Bluetooth controller has a plain matte black bottom shell and a smoky, translucent top case, which allows you to see into the controller without resulting in a design that's too loud. Unfortunately for non-US gamers, the new Ultimate 2C controller is a Best Buy-exclusive, and there's no word on whether there will be a wider release at a later date.

The Translucent Black Ultimate 2C Bluetooth controller is very similar to the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C Wireless in the same colorway, but the new Switch-specific controller has red rings around the joysticks instead of the green on the previously released version. In terms of internals, the new translucent version of the Ultimate 2C Bluetooth doesn't pack any upgrades over the other versions. It still has the same Hall effect joysticks, 6-axis motion control, optional USB Type-C wired connectivity, and extra R4 and L4 buttons. It is also launching at Best Buy for the same $29.99 as its predecessors.