Press releases from technology organisations can sometimes be really exciting, often very predictable, and occasionally rather sparse. A recent announcement from the PCI-SIG, though, that says new PCI Express internal and external cables will use a CopprLink naming scheme, but nothing else, almost seems not worth announcing at all.

All of the team at PC Gamer get countless press releases in their inboxes, which is great as that makes finding news quite a bit easier. We got one the other day from the PCI-SIG (PCI Special Interest Group) that looked quite interesting to begin with but ultimately left us feeling somewhat exasperated by the absolute dearth of information.

It said, and I quote, “PCI-SIG announced the new naming scheme for PCIe Internal and External Cables will be CopprLink. The PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 6.0 Internal and External Cable Specifications are currently in development and are targeted for release in 2024.”

That was it. Nothing about the cable…

Who says you’ve got to wait for next week’s Amazon Prime Day PC gaming deals to get a good price on gaming peripherals? Walmart is offering the Xbox Wireless Headset for only $50, which is half its usual price and the cheapest we’ve seen it since launch.

I really like the unique design of the Xbox Wireless Headset. It features convenient media controls through rotating earcups on each side, which are flat, allowing you to lay them on their side. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the main reason that two years down the road, I still prefer this headset over more expensive gaming headsets.

The headset performs well out of the box, although if you want to make any adjustments or install firmware updates, you’ll need to use the Xbox Accessories app. Regarding usefulness, I rate the Xbox Accessories app as ‘Not Awful’ compared to other apps that handle PC peripherals like HyperX Ngenuity or Razer Synapse.

Since the launch of the $125 Starfield Xbox Wireless Heads…

Well it’s not every day that a PC Gamer writer stumbles across an indie horror collection themed around an alt-history and deeply cursed version of PC Gamer, but here we are (thanks Dominic Tarason for the spot). PC Cursed is an impressively elaborate and free grab-bag of 22 indie horror games which comes complete with a 60-page version of the imaginary magazine and even printable CD inlays (because the whole schtick is that this is a lost 1998 cover disc).

The collection is the work of Jacob Jazz and ends on one of their own games, and the whole shebang can be had for free here. I started off by playing a game called The Pizza, a lo-fi first-person experience where the setup is you’re someone getting ready for guests and ordering in the pizzas. As soon as my character ordered four pineapple pizzas I knew they were screwed and, sure enough, the game freaked me out before delivering a jump scare that had me quickly moving on with a mix of fear and adrenaline in my…

Update 26/04/23: This piece has been updated to include statements from Microsoft and Activision.

Original story: The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has unexpectedly moved to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard over concerns the merger would “alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market”.

In a statement made today, the CMA said “The final decision to prevent the deal comes after Microsoft’s proposed solution failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector”. Those concerns were raised in the regulator’s findings last February, when the CMA provisionally said it would oppose the deal over its concerns regarding cloud gaming.

So, clearly, everyone saw this coming, right? Not quite. Despite the dour prognosis that February’s provisional findings seemed to serve up, the CMA underwent something of a U-turn last month, announcing that “a significant amo…

XDefiant had previously announced that it will not be using skill-based matchmaking to group players in casual queues, and  is now out to convince players that it won’t allow any pay-to-win features to intrude on the upcoming FPS game. 

XDefiant releases tomorrow, and Ubisoft has a new blog post explaining the decision not to include any pay-to-win routes in the game: “Any gameplay impacting content that is purchasable is also unlockable through challenges to ensure fair play amongst our community.” XDefiant will have its version of battle passes, but clearly, these will be focused on cosmetics. The game offers the usual: character skins, weapon skins, MVP player animations, player cards, and emoji packs.

“Our goal is to provide amazing customization options that reward all of the matches, victories, and even defeats that you put into the game,” Ubisoft says. “As you play that one more match, all of your time and energy will work towards unlocking content eithe…

Sega has announced that it has successfully sued an unnamed person responsible for (the following is machine translated) “excessive slanderous and insulting comments on social media against one of our employees.”

In a Japanese press release shared yesterday the company said that, though it welcomes fans’ “encouragement” and “sometimes even harsh comments about our products and services,” the harassment from the individual in question crossed a line. It had also been sustained for “a long time,” preventing the targeted employee from getting on with their work “with peace of mind.”

“As there has been no improvement,” continued Sega, “we have been forced to take legal action.” The company managed to obtain the harasser’s identity with the consent of the courts and promptly initiated legal proceedings, much to the detriment of the harasser in question.

“We have reached a settlement in which the subject will pay damages to our employee, delete the slanderous and insulti…

Last week, Helldivers 2’s simulated galactic war saw its first narrativized twist when the Automaton menace launched a surprise attack on the Xzar system. The event unlocked new planets and civilian extraction missions which proved so difficult that even experienced players couldn’t complete them. This led many to assume the abnormal difficulty spike was either a bug or an intentional tipping of scales in the robots’ favor by Arrowhead Games to challenge Super Earth’s liberation streak.

Both scenarios are still on the table, but the latest Helldivers 2 patch, version 1.000.10, might bring relief: Arrowhead has “tuned” the difficulty of civilian extraction missions. Version 1.000.10 comes only a few days after the release of 1.000.009, which reduced the difficulty of the “defend event.” I managed to log in long enough to test out the patch and confirm the civilian extraction mission that gave our group trouble just a few days ago is now a cakewalk at lower difficulties.

T…

You can spend a long time trying to nail down the exact parts required for a full custom loop build. In a way, that’s a part of it. You really come to appreciate the PC you’ve built by the end of the process, as it’s one you’ve created from the ground up. 

But if you’re less sentimental, you might just want someone else to put together a parts list for you. EZ PZ. That’s what EK does with its ‘Loop’ builds, and right now everything on its store is 24% off, which makes such a build that little bit more affordable.

Alright, affordable these builds ain’t, but every little helps when investing in something as expensive as a fully liquid-looped build. You’re looking at spending anything from $1,284 for the cheapest all-inclusive kit to around $2,628 for the so-called “Golden Sample”. Nice name, lovely build.

These kits include all the big bits, such as your CPU and GPU blocks, pump, radiators, and distro plate. Though it also includes the more finicky bits that can…