Since we always end up talking about console hardware, more so leaks about it, here's a leak for the next Xbox specs.

Be warned! The leak comes from Morre's Law is Dead, so copious amounts of salt are required:

Microsoft has seemingly finalised next-gen Xbox console hardware design by packing in 11 Zen 6 cores and 68 AMD RDNA 5 CUs
https://www.club386.com/microsoft-has-seemingly-finalised-next-gen-xbox-console-hardware-design-by-packing-in-11-zen-6-cores-and-68-amd-rdna-5-cus/
(...)

According to Moore’s Law Is Dead (MLID) on YouTube, a serial leaker, the next-gen Xbox will benefit from several architectural leaps over current Xbox Series machines, which should translate into a massive performance uplift. Specifically, Magnus is rumoured to pack three Zen 6 cores plus eight (dense) Zen 6c cores with 12MB of L2 cache in a hybrid CPU design like the Ryzen Z2 Extreme powering MSI’s Claw A8 handheld, albeit more powerful.

(...)

On the graphics side, MLID’s sources indicate that Microsoft opted for 68 CUs sharing at least 24MB of L2 cache, based on a cut-down 70 CU RDNA 5 chip. This means that Magnus’s GPU is 30% richer than the Xbox Series X. However, despite that, Magnus’s GPU is expected to be 29% smaller than the Series X’s thanks to the use of TSMC’s N3 node. This GPU is believed to have the exact design AMD intends to use for its RX 9070 XT successor. Overall, the chip powering next-gen Xbox is said to measure 408mm², split into 144mm² for the SoC and 264mm² for the GPU.

Memory-wise, Magnus is said to house up to 48GB of GDDR7 memory, linked via a 192-bit bus. This is a hefty amount of memory, which seems unrealistic in current market conditions. Well, unless Microsoft managed to obtain fantastic contract pricing or plans to sell its console for over £1,000.

Lastly, the SoC is expected to feature a built-in NPU (Neural Processing Unit) capable of delivering up to 110 TOPS of AI performance. This NPU is said to offer two operating modes, accessible to developers, allowing them to target 110 TOPS at 6W or 46 TOPS at 1.2W. While it’s unclear what tasks this NPU will be responsible for – if the rumours claiming Windows 11 will power next-gen Xbox are true – the NPU could be used by the Copilot AI.

Take it for what it is, a rumor from a not very reliable leaker.

MILD talks so much crap and deletes the stuff he is wrong about.

That's actually pretty cool (and also pretty boring, I guess, because decompilation is an ancient thing as far as I know). I wonder how it's handling the N64-specific stuff there must be that can't be directly translated to generic C code... Surely the N64 has some of that too.

11 CPU cores and 68CU seem like very odd numbers, even counting for some extra (physically the chip would probably have 12 cores and 72CU or something along those lines). 48GB indeed seems like a lot, but it's not impossible, though it would make for an expensive console even before the explosion of the RAM prices.

Speaking of RAM prices, it looks like they have peaked.

ComputerBase blind test shows DLSS 4.5 preferred over FSR and native in all six games

https://videocardz.com/newz/computerbase-blind-test-shows-dlss-4-5-preferred-over-fsr-and-native-in-all-six-games

One thing people don't realize about "native" is that majority if not all game engines use TAA as their Anti-Aliasing solution which looks like dog shit. So DLSS or DLAA or FSR4/XeSS's AA solution would clear it up significantly even if being rendered as a lower resolution. It's a shame most modern games don't have SMAA as an option.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X price in Japan rises by 21%, Legion Go 2 price climbs in US

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-xbox-ally-x-price-in-japan-rises-by-21-legion-go-2-price-climbs-in-us

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Panther Lake laptops priced for Europe, entry model starts at €1,149 and Book6 Ultra reaches €3,399

https://videocardz.com/newz/samsung-galaxy-book6-panther-lake-laptops-priced-for-europe-entry-model-starts-at-e1149-and-book6-ultra-reaches-e3399

User claims Ryzen 9800X3D died on ASUS X870 board, then it “killed” the replacement 9850X3D too

https://videocardz.com/newz/user-claims-ryzen-9800x3d-died-on-asus-x870-board-then-it-killed-the-replacement-9850x3d-too

AMD calls MI455X delay claims “BS”, says shipments still on track for H2 2026

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-denies-mi455x-delay-claims-says-shipments-remain-set-for-h2-2026

Global GPU prices up 15% since November, RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti lead increases

https://videocardz.com/newz/global-gpu-prices-up-15-since-november-rtx-5090-and-rtx-5070-ti-lead-increases

Micron invests $200 billion to overcome memory chip shortages in the AI ​​era

https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/micron-investe-200-miliardi-di-dollari-per-superare-la-carenza-di-chip-di-memoria-nellera-dellia/

Phison CEO reportedly warns many consumer electronics companies may close by end of 2026

https://videocardz.com/newz/phison-ceo-reportedly-warns-many-consumer-electronics-companies-may-close-by-end-of-2026

The Wednesday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Mewgenics sells 1 million copies in just 1 week, far more than its creators expected: 'We both got a bit blindsided by this'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/mewgenics-sells-1-million-copies-in-just-1-week-far-more-than-its-creators-expected-we-both-got-a-bit-blindsided-by-this/
That sure didn't take long: Just one week after release, the bizarre cat-breeding simulator Mewgenics has surpassed one million copies sold.
Word of the major milestone came from Mewgenics co-creator Tyler Glaiel on X, who posted a simple, to-the-point message that was apparently created by fan artist Whom

Steam has two new deals and two new sales/events:

• Neva will be 50% off until Tuesday, the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2420660/Neva/
• Rival Stars Horse Racing: Desktop Edition also gets a 50% discount, but until the 3rd of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1166860/Rival_Stars_Horse_Racing_Desktop_Edition/
• And these are the two sales/events:
  • The Fate Franchise is on sale with up to 50% discounts until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FateFranchiseSale2026
  • The Global Foodie Faire has upcoming titles, demos and games up to 90% off. The deals will end between tomorrow’s refresh and the 3rd of March: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/28981418/sale/GlobalFoodieFaire2026

Fanatical has a new VIP Mystery Bundle, with three unknown games. It will last an unknown amount of time: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/vip-mystery-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Open-source game engine Godot is drowning in 'AI slop' code contributions: 'I don't know how long we can keep it up'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/open-source-game-engine-godot-is-drowning-in-ai-slop-code-contributions-i-dont-know-how-long-we-can-keep-it-up/
Open-source software development—the open, collaborative contribution of knowledge in the name of problem solving, bug fixing, feature development, and ongoing support—is a borderline utopian idea. But the advent of generative LLMs has forced the maintainers of projects like open-source game engine Godot to face a deluge of AI-generated code from would-be contributors who might not even understand the changes they're submitting.
In a Bluesky thread (via Game Developer), Rémi Verschelde—one of the primary maintainers of the Godot Github repository and co-founder of major Godot backer W4 Games—says the problem of "AI slop" pull requests, or requests to merge code changes with the project, is "becoming increasingly draining and demoralizing for Godot maintainers" as they're now forced to deliberate the trustworthiness and human authorship of an onslaught of LLM-generated contributions.

Unity boss who once called out the 'idiocy' of the metaverse now says his company's new AI tech 'will enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/unity-boss-who-once-called-out-the-idiocy-of-the-metaverse-now-says-his-companys-new-ai-tech-will-enable-developers-to-prompt-full-casual-games-into-existence-with-natural-language-only/
Just a couple weeks after Google seemingly spooked game company investors with its AI-powered "world model" Project Genie, engine maker Unity says it's chasing the same digital dragon, and that "AI-driven authoring" will be one of its major focuses in 2026.
"At the Game Developer Conference in March, we'll be unveiling the beta of the new upgraded Unity AI, which will enable developers to prompt full casual games into existence with natural language only, native to our platform, so it's simple to move from prototype to finished product," Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg said during Unity's Q4 financial results last week (via Game Developer).

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

A modder is restoring all the content that was cut from Resident Evil 3 Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/a-modder-is-restoring-all-the-content-that-was-cut-from-resident-evil-3-remake/
A lot of die-hard fans were kind of upset with the official remake of Resident Evil 3. You see, Capcom has made some changes to it and has cut some content that was present in the original version. For instance, you could not get to the Clocktower in the remake. So, to the surprise of no one, a modder is currently working on restoring what was cut from it.
Titled Resident Evil 3 Last Escape, this mod will restore content that was cut from the remake but was present in the original version of RE3. It will also bring entirely new locations, expand the city, and redesign core gameplay systems.
Going into even more details, the mod will let you explore new city areas, the Clock Tower, the Park, the Disused Plant, the Cemetery, the RPD, and more. It will rework and add new Nemesis encounters and boss fights.
Here is an example. At the start of the game, Capcom added an encounter with Nemesis in the remake that was not present in the original version. The mod restores it by replacing Nemesis with a zombie, just like in the original RE3 game.
Moreover, the mod will rework the crafting system with multiple new gunpowder types. It will also add the Ink Ribbon save system from RE2. Plus, it will add some new puzzles.
All in all, this appears to be the ultimate mod for Resident Evil 3 Remake. Sadly, there is no ETA for when it will come out. Naturally, though, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
>> The article has four videos.

GAMING NEWS

Monster Hunter Wilds Patch V1.041.00.00 Released With Even More CPU/GPU Performance Optimizations
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/monster-hunter-wilds-patch-v1-041-00-00-released-with-even-more-cpu-gpu-performance-optimizations/
Capcom has just released Title Update 1.041.00.00 for Monster Hunter Wilds and shared its full patch notes. Patch 1.041.00.00 comes with even more CPU and GPU performance optimizations. So, let’s take a closer look at it.

Wednesday gaming news, part two:

Duck dupe criminals nabbed: Embark is dishing out warnings and even ban hammers for miscreants abusing recent duplication glitches in Arc Raiders
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/duck-dupe-criminals-nabbed-embark-is-dishing-out-warnings-and-even-ban-hammers-for-miscreants-abusing-recent-duplication-glitches-in-arc-raiders/
It's no secret that Arc Raiders has had a tough run of it lately when it comes to bugs, particularly easily exploitable, game-breaking ones. Just last week there was an item duplication glitch which was (relatively) quickly hotfixed, only to be followed up by a similar exploit that granted free repairs, infinite ammo, and even broke magazine sizes. It was a lot for one week.
Embark promised at the time that there would be consequences, including bans, for those who abused these exploits, and the day of judgment has come.

Easy Anti-Cheat is coming to Rocket League, but Psyonix promises not to get all Fortnite with it and hose your Steam Deck and Linux installs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/easy-anti-cheat-is-coming-to-rocket-league-but-psyonix-promises-not-to-get-all-fortnite-with-it-and-hose-your-steam-deck-and-linux-installs/
It's 11 years old and Rocket League has decided it's had it up to here with cheating. In a post (actually an "article," which I guess the everything app has now) on X, the game's official account announced that, come April, Rocket League will be implementing Easy Anti-Cheat.

'We’re going to make some horrendous mistakes,' Peter Molyneux says about his upcoming swan song Masters of Albion: 'Horrendous, horrendous mistakes'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/were-going-to-make-some-horrendous-mistakes-peter-molyneux-says-about-his-upcoming-swan-song-masters-of-albion-horrendous-horrendous-mistakes/
Masters of Albion is not only Peter Molyneux's final game (so he says, anyway), it's also a sort of getting-the-band-back-together moment with collaborators from the early days at Lionhead. All of which is apparently rather nerve-wracking: In an interview with The Game Business, Molyneux describes the team as "incredibly inexperienced," and warned that there will likely be some big bumps in the road "because we are going into a world we don't fully understand."

The best parts of my favorite World of Warcraft classes are being turned into new heroes for Fellowship's pre-season 2 update this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-best-parts-of-my-favorite-world-of-warcraft-classes-are-being-turned-into-new-heroes-for-fellowships-pre-season-2-update-this-week/
Nobody on the team making Fellowship would deny that World of Warcraft was a massive inspiration for the game—I know, because I've asked them about it. It's not just the art style, but the entire pitch for the game is what would happen if a popular activity in WoW was an entire game.
(...)
Fellowship is nearing the launch of its second season and the release of two new heroes: Xavian and Aeona. But before the full season comes out, it's going to drop them both in a "pre-season" update this week.

Thanks to Diablo 2, Blizzard might've found a way to fix Diablo 4's loot fatigue in its next expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/thanks-to-diablo-2-blizzard-mightve-found-a-way-to-fix-diablo-4s-loot-fatigue-in-its-next-expansion/
Ever since Blizzard started reworking the clunky parts of Diablo 4, one thing has remained constant: Monsters shower you with more loot than you can carry in your inventory.
(...)
The upcoming expansion, Lord of Hatred, is hopefully going to fix that with the help of a crafting system taken straight out of Diablo 2. No longer will you toss less-than-perfect items in the trash; now you can stuff them into the Horadric Cube and gamble for big-ticket upgrades.

Huge new Avowed update adds New Game Plus, playable dwarves and Orlans, and quarterstaffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/huge-new-avowed-update-adds-new-game-plus-playable-dwarves-and-orlans-and-quarterstaffs/
It's been exactly a year since Avowed released, and Obsidian has continued to support it with new classes, new skills, and better optimization. To coincide with the new PS5 edition, Avowed just got its biggest update yet, adding New Game Plus, three new playable races, and a new weapon class.

Valheim's creative director is still 'dedicated on Valheim every day' in addition to his new co-op dungeon crawler: 'We love making games so much that we want to make more games'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/valheims-creative-director-is-still-dedicated-on-valheim-every-day-in-addition-to-his-new-co-op-dungeon-crawler-we-love-making-games-so-much-that-we-want-to-make-more-games/
Developer Iron Gate Studios released Valheim into early access almost exactly five years ago, and the finish line may finally now be in sight: work on the survival game's final biome is underway and the launch on PlayStation and Switch 2 is planned for 2026. While there's been no official word, I wouldn't be surprised if Valheim's long-awaited version 1.0 finally arrived this year.
But a recent announcement from a few of Valheim's developers hasn't sat well with some players. Three members of Iron Gate's Valheim's team, including creative director Robin Eyre, have been working on a different game, co-op dungeon crawler Begraved, "in the evenings and on weekends."

Steam Next Fest hasn't even started, and its first must-play demo is already here
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/steam-next-fest-hasnt-even-started-and-its-first-must-play-demo-is-already-here/
Ten months from now, Titanium Court is going to win some game of the year awards.
I've played it for all of 90 minutes, but that was enough for me to confidently call this shot—Titanium Court has a magnetism to it that pulled me through the "interesting" to "this has the juice" pipeline at a speed I was not prepared for when I launched it on my Steam Deck at 5 pm on Friday.

Minecraft has revealed its final batch of baby mobs ahead of the spring update, and they might be the cutest ones yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/minecraft-has-revealed-its-final-batch-of-baby-mobs-ahead-of-the-spring-update-and-they-might-be-the-cutest-ones-yet/
Minecraft is hopefully gearing up to roll out its first drop of 2026 in the next month or so, and while it currently looks like we've only got a bunch of baby mobs on the way, I'm not complaining. I thought we'd peaked after it was announced that foxes would be getting new baby models, but having seen the latest announcement, it looks like we've got another thing coming.

After a glitch botched Overwatch's first big post-reboot event, it's sending out the rewards—including 14 lootboxes—out to players anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/after-a-glitch-botched-overwatchs-first-big-post-reboot-event-its-sending-out-the-rewards-including-14-lootboxes-out-to-players-anyway/
Overwatch's grand return has, for the most part, been pretty damn good. I mean, it's not like the game ever went away, but it certainly feels like it's having a little resurgence since dropping the '2' in its name, adding five new heroes, and doing a big ol' overhaul of its UI. True 2026 is the new 2016 energy.
One unfortunate little hiccup, though, was a glitch that prevented players from making progress across the battle pass and its time-limited Conquest event. Things were mostly straightened out, but posts began cropping up across social media from people pointing out that the glitch had rendered it almost impossible to snag all of the rewards.
(...)
As Week 2 of the event rolled in, it looked like Blizzard had no intention of rectifying things. Thankfully, that hasn't been the case. "To make up for the inconvenience, we will be granting all eligible players (ie. players who completed at least one event challenge in week 1) all the rewards granted by both faction passes as well as two prestige passes," a post on the Blizzard forums notes.

And the third part:

The White House is a radioactive crater in Fallout 3 because there were no quests there, so why build it? 'It is our version of [Indiana Jones] shooting the guy rather than pulling out his whip and going into a fight'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/the-white-house-is-a-radioactive-crater-in-fallout-3-because-there-were-no-quests-there-so-why-build-it-it-is-our-version-of-indiana-jones-shooting-the-guy-rather-than-pulling-out-his-whip-and-going-into-a-fight/

Original Witcher story lead says the surprise twist at the end 'was a mistake,' because instead of focusing on Geralt the sequel was forced into 'a story about witchers who are killing kings for some reason'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-witcher/original-witcher-story-lead-says-the-surprise-twist-at-the-end-was-a-mistake-because-instead-of-focusing-on-geralt-the-sequel-was-forced-into-a-story-about-witchers-who-are-killing-kings-for-some-reason/

Deadlock's snazziest rich boy, Apollo, gets struck down by a bunch of nerfs after terrorising matches: 'Yoshi took him out back'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/deadlocks-snazziest-rich-boy-apollo-gets-struck-down-by-a-bunch-of-nerfs-after-terrorising-matches-yoshi-took-him-out-back/

DayZ creator calls to 'normalize delaying games,' that consumers can show Xbox and Sony 'that delays are okay' and, oh, 'Personally: don't preorder games, folks. Commercially: please preorder games'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/dayz-creator-calls-to-normalize-delaying-games-that-consumers-can-show-xbox-and-sony-that-delays-are-okay-and-oh-personally-dont-preorder-games-folks-commercially-please-preorder-games/

Valve wins lawsuit against Rothschild and associated entities, with a jury agreeing they violated an anti-patent troll protection act
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/valve-wins-lawsuit-against-rothschild-and-associated-entities-with-a-jury-agreeing-they-violated-an-anti-patent-troll-protection-act/

The 68CU cores for the GPU don't surprise me a lot. They're a few moreT than the ones inside the XsX and even a little bit more than the 9070XT, plus it likely is designed around a 70 or 72 CU part with room for defects.

What surprises me the most is the choice of CPU cores. One would assume that they'd prefer more Zen6 cores to take care of the gaming side of the console given that they achieve higher clocks, while leaving the Zen6c cores for the OS and other tasks, and not the other way around.

But anyway, it's a MLID rumor so who knows how much of it is true. We'll see in due time.

And good news that the RAM situation has stabilized. Now let's hope that it doesn't take much to improve, tho I'll admit that it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Prices are truly coming down a bit right now:

NVIDIA, available GPUs only:

AMD, available GPUs only:

The 5050 and 5070 have gone slightly up, but everything else is down. The 5090 also became available again with several models in stock.

The price drops are mostly felt for the 9070XT on AMD's side and for the 5060Ti 16GB and the 5080 on NVidia's side. The latter's price drop actually gets it so close to the 5070Ti it makes that card almost pointless.