TechPowerUP NEWS

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Capcom Co., Ltd. today announced that sci-fi action-adventure game PRAGMATA, a completely new IP, is scheduled for release on April 24, 2026. PRAGMATA is a new type of sci-fi action-adventure game mixing puzzle and action elements. In the game, which takes place on the moon in a near-future world, the spacesuit-clad Hugh and android girl Diana cooperate while fighting their way back to Earth. By bringing the title to Nintendo Switch 2 in addition to PlayStation 5 system, Xbox Series X|S and PC, Capcom looks to further advance its multi-platform strategy and expand its user base. Moreover, a playable demo of the game will be released first on PC starting today, December 12, to further convey the appeal of the title. The company hopes that players look forward to PRAGMATA, which has already garnered acclaim for its playable demos at global events, including Tokyo Game Show 2025, one of the largest game shows.

Capcom remains firmly committed to satisfying the expectations of all users by leveraging its industry leading game development capabilities in order to create highly entertaining gameplay experiences.
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Hi everyone—Thomas from Frictional Games here. We're so excited to finally talk about our next game: Ontos, a sci-fi mystery thriller coming in 2026. Since the release of Soma, ten years ago, we've been hard at work trying to take that experience and bring it to the next level. Something that pushes our gameplay, design scope, and philosophical themes further than we've ever gone before, and we're finally able to show a little more for you today.

In Ontos you'll play as Aditi, who has received a message from her estranged father promising to reveal the mysteries of their shared past, including the truth about an inexplicable miracle from her childhood. Aditi's quest for answers will lead her to the repurposed moon hotel Samsara, a shadow of its former glory. Aditi knows the journey ahead will be difficult, but she's driven to get to the bottom of the impossible enigmas that have played on her mind, haunted her even, since she was a kid.
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Apple launched its A19 Pro and A19 mobile processors about three months ago. The 3 nm 64-bit Arm-based SoCs drive a new wave of iPhone 17 series smartphones, as well as the ultraslim + lightweight iPhone Air. It took a while for close-up die shots to emerge from independent groups. Eventually, close-ups of the A19 Pro's layout turned up online, mid-way through November. Investigations have focused on Apple's selection of TSMC's cutting-edge N3P node process; granting a noticeable reduction in die areas, when compared to previous-gen equivalents. 2024's A18 Pro and A18 designs are 3 nm chips, but manufactured via N3E (FinFET)—an older/less advanced node. The leading foundry's N3P product is referred to as a "high-performance variant."

When comparing the current flagship chipset (A19 Pro) to its predecessor (A18 Pro), keen observers noted a 10% reduction in footprint—going from 105 mm² down to 98.6 mm². Additionally, SemiAnalysis reckons that the A19 is 9% smaller than its forebear (A18). According to their calculations, the upgrade to N3P would only grant about a 4% difference in area. Logically, Apple's engineering team must have played around with other aspects in order to reach nine to ten percent shrinkage. SemiAnalysis outlined important improvements across the latest chip designs: "looking at core areas, The P-Core shrank by 4%, while the E-Core and GPU are 10% larger, reflecting the increased transistor budget for the large efficiency gains seen in benchmarks...The cache macro doubled in size to 32 KB for a 10% higher density cache: A18 4 MB of SLC: 1.08 mm², and A19 4 MB of SLC: 0.98 mm². There's also a more area efficient layout of all the minor 'uncore' SOC area (e.g. display/media engine, ISP, security etc)." In conclusion, they propose that several smart design innovations have lead to "an area reduction comparable to a major node shrink," overall a big achievement, albeit in a smaller package.

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Scythe Japan has launched the Kotetsu Mark 4 (model SCKTT-4000), its latest budget air cooler designed as a follow-up to the popular Kotetsu Mark 3. The new model keeps the familiar single-tower layout with four 6 mm nickel-plated heatpipes, now paired with the Wonder Tornado 120 mm PWM fan, a change from the KAZE FLEX II 120 PWM from Mark 3. The cooler measures 134 × 155 × 80 mm (vs 138 x 154 x 80 mm in Mark 3) with the fan attached and weighs 771 g. The 120 mm fan operates from 350 ±200 RPM up to 2000 RPM, pushing up to 60.29 CFM with noise levels rated between 3.0 and 28.88 dBA. Static pressure is listed at 0.05-2.45 mmH₂O, which should be enough for mainstream CPUs in compact or mid-tower builds. Another change is the restyled top cover adding a bit of attention to details.

Kotetsu Mark 4 is compatible with Intel LGA 1851, 1700, 1200, and 115X and AMD AM4 / AM5 platforms. Scythe includes a single year of warranty. In Japan, the cooler is priced at ¥3,480, roughly $22, an entry-level product for users looking for a quiet, no-fuss CPU air cooler. It's worth noting that Scythe unfortunately shut down its European branch this April, meaning customers in the region now have to rely on European distributors and online retailers. Before the Kotetsu Mark 4, Scythe also introduced the Mugen 6 Dual Fan White Edition in September, a premium variant of the Mugen 6 series that originally debuted earlier this February.

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TechPowerUp partners with Chieftec to bring our readers from the European Union a chance to grab as many as six pieces of Chieftec gaming PC hardware, but you'd better hurry, entries close soon! Up for grabs are a Chieftec The Cube cube-shaped microATX case; a spacious Chieftec Hunter 3 EATX tower case; a Chieftec Apex Lumo ATX mid-tower case, a Chieftec Stealth 1000 W ATX 3.1 modular power supply; a Chieftec Iceberg 360 RGB AIO CLC, and a Chieftec Iceberg White 360 AIO CLC. Entries have been open over the past week, but close on December 19. It's really easy to join in, just fill up a little form to help us get back to you if you've won!

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

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[NextPowerUP]

GIGABYTE, the world's leading computer brand, announces that the AORUS PRIME 5 is now officially available. This high-performance desktop system is built on a new architecture with flagship-grade hardware, paired with GIGABYTE's signature cooling innovations and advanced fan technology. Designed to deliver exceptional speed and long-term reliability for gaming and multitasking, the AORUS PRIME 5 combines power, precision, and design with true plug-and-play simplicity.

The AORUS PRIME 5 not only features up to an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 graphics cards for multicore and next-generation AI performance, but is also built entirely with GIGABYTE products, including a 2 TB SSD and 32 GB of high-speed RGB memory for lightning-fast responsiveness and seamless multitasking. This configuration embodies GIGABYTE's DNA of proven stability, even extending that excellence into a fully integrated cooling solution.
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If you love documentaries, then you already know what a bad selection streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have, but there's good news. Curiosity Stream is a streaming platform dedicated entirely to documentaries and educational content, and they just dropped a lifetime subscription on sale for $149.99 (reg. $399.99). The Curiosity Stream catalog covers science, history, nature, space, and technology, and it actually grows every week instead of shrinking behind licensing changes. You can watch deep dives on engineering and archaeology, follow wildlife photographers around the world, or settle in with space-focused series that feel genuinely cinematic.

Since the platform was founded by the creator of Discovery Communications, it leans heavily into educational programming that's still fun to watch. The interface is clean, it works on pretty much any device, and offline viewing makes long trips far less boring. With a lifetime plan, you skip the yearly renewal headache and just keep the entire library forever.

For a very limited time, you can get a Curiosity Stream Standard Lifetime Subscription on sale for $150.

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[NextPowerUP]

The gaming hardware industry has been in a bit of a state of late as a result of increased demand for DRAM causing a supply shortage and massive price hikes. As a result of the aforementioned issues, Samsung has been rumored to be converting some of its HBM3E and NAND production capacity to DRAM in order to meet demand. The ensuing rumors claimed that Samsung was planning an exit from the NAND, and thus SATA SSD market, as a result of the shift in focus. Micron's recent exit from the consumer space, and the closure of its Crucial memory and SSD brand, lent credence to these rumors, however, these rumors have recently been addressed by a Samsung spokesperson directly in a response to Wccftech. The spokesperson simply said "The rumor regarding the phasing out of Samsung SATA or other SSDs is false," apparently declining to expand any further. However, this is just one indication that the DRAM crisis may not be as long-lived as some have claimed.

Around the same time, in an interview with Hardware Unboxed, Edward Crisler, the PR manager for Sapphire, cautioned PC gamers and potential buyers against panic buying, saying that, "the good news is, I don't think the real pain, that we're suffering now and for the next six months or so, is going to last much longer than that," although he goes on to say that the actual issue at hand is uncertainty of the situation. The implication is that the market will eventually begin to stabilize within the next six to eight months. The implication isn't necessarily that DRAM prices will return to normal, but rather that DRAM supply will eventually catch up to supply. It could also be the case that the massive AI and datacenter boom currently causing the shortages will slow in the coming months, which would also help to stabilize things somewhat. Crisler is careful to note that DRAM prices may still remain somewhat elevated after the market stabilizes, but he seems to be convinced that the sky-high prices we're seeing for consumer memory will fall to some degree and that the gaming industry will adapt to whatever the end result is of the market shake-up.

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

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

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NVIDIA today announced it has acquired SchedMD - the leading developer of Slurm, an open-source workload management system for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI - to help strengthen the open-source software ecosystem and drive AI innovation for researchers, developers and enterprises. NVIDIA will continue to develop and distribute Slurm as open-source, vendor-neutral software, making it widely available to and supported by the broader HPC and AI community across diverse hardware and software environments.

HPC and AI workloads involve complex computations running parallel tasks on clusters that require queuing, scheduling and allocating computational resources. As HPC and AI clusters get larger and more powerful, efficient resource utilization is critical. As the leading workload manager and job scheduler in scalability, throughput and complex policy management, Slurm is used in more than half of the top 10 and top 100 systems in the TOP500 list of supercomputers. Slurm, which is supported on the latest NVIDIA hardware, is also part of the critical infrastructure needed for generative AI, used by foundation model developers and AI builders to manage model training and inference needs.
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Behind the scenes the team here at Bungie has been incredibly hard at work on Marathon, our brand-new PvPvE extraction shooter—where the dark sci-fi world of Tau Ceti collides with tense survival FPS gameplay. In Marathon, players scavenge the lost colony of Tau Ceti IV as a bio-cybernetic Runner while surviving against hostile UESC security forces, rival Runners, and unpredictable environments to seek their fortune. Today's ViDoc shares a new look at Marathon's gameplay and immersive sci-fi setting. The team also explores updates since Alpha, like improved visual fidelity, proximity chat, solo play, and a new Runner shell: Rook.

On Tau Ceti, death is the first step
Your journey begins in the proving grounds of Perimeter, where you'll get your cybernetic legs under you and learn the basics of how to extract alive. Then, the anomaly-scarred Dire Marsh ups the ante and takes you to the remains of the human colony that's filled with more danger and bigger rewards. As you grow your vault and survival skills, you'll make your way to Outpost, the UESC's forward base of operations with patrols, locked rooms, and loot that will have you tempting fate at each turn.
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ASUS has expanded its DUAL graphics card family with a smattering of lower-end models—based on NVIDIA's GB206 "Blackwell" GPU—that offer a slimmer profile. Brand-new listings, added in a low-key manner—are tagged with "EVO" designations. As highlighted by Vortez, the DUAL EVO design comes in at "2.1-slot" thickness (42 mm). This slight shrinkage—mostly in one dimension: width—distinguishes new entries from standard DUAL options. The latter examples exist as 2.5-slot thick (50 mm) offerings. There are negligible differences—between twin axial tech-fan cooled EVO and non-EVO SKUs—in terms of card length and height.

At a glance, ASUS has only introduced this slimmer shroud design across overclocked (OC) edition and non-overclocked GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB and RTX 5060 8 GB models. Confusingly, this generation's EVO aesthetic actually debuted mid-way through 2025, under the guise of vanilla DUAL GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card options—all truly 2.0-slot (40 mm) thick. This brand-new wave of cards has lead to an adjusted placement of single 8-pin power connectors—DUAL GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 EVO designs have this aspect positioned closer to their I/O brackets. The TechPowerUp readership can familiarize itself with a myriad of DUAL EVO and DUAL options present within the site's well-maintained GPU database. Fresh entries popped up before the publication of this news piece.

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From the creators of Apex Legends and Titanfall, comes Highguard: a PvP raid shooter where players will ride, fight, and raid as Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythical continent. There they'll clash against rival Warden crews for possession of the Shieldbreaker, then break into and destroy the enemy base to secure territory in this all-new breed of shooter. Play FREE when Highguard launches on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on January 26, 2026

An all-new PvP raid shooter from Wildlight Entertainment. Ride, fight, and raid in the battle for control of a mythical continent. Launching for free early next year. Wishlist now on Steam, Xbox X|S, and PlayStation 5. Learn more about Highguard at www.playhighguard.com, and stay up to date on the latest game news.
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Thunderobot (partnered with Machenike) is set to introduce the ZERO Air gaming laptop at next month's CES trade show. A teaser video was made available last Friday (December 12), but an earlier press release was largely ignored by PC hardware press outlets. The Chinese manufacturer's 2026 "AI gaming" product lineup will make use of "Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors," including the brand-new 16-inch ZERO Air design. Thunderobot's latest trailer hints at the ZERO Air being one of the first portable devices to feature Intel Core Ultra "Panther Lake" processors combined with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5000-series Laptop graphics cards. A multitude of Intel partners are expected to showcase Core Ultra 300 series-based laptops and notebooks at CES 2026.

For example, MSI has already revealed its next-gen Prestige lineup, with a view to fully introduce the professional 2026 series in the new year. Members of the press and influencers have already handled early samples, as of late November. Thunderobot's forthcoming lightweight (1.6 kg) gaming laptop is said to offer "dual full-power performance." Pre-launch press material seems to be vague about the meaning of this "dual" system. Last week we heard about ASUS readying an extremely lightweight Zenbook DUO design; this next-gen ultra-slimline notebook was marketed as featuring a dual-battery configuration.
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India has achieved a significant milestone in its semiconductor journey with the launch of DHRUV64. It is a fully indigenous microprocessor developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the Microprocessor Development Program (MDP). DHRUV64 provides the nation a reliable, homegrown processor technology. It is capable of supporting strategic and commercial applications. It marks a major advancement in India's pursuit of self-reliance in advanced chip design.

DHRUV64 is built with modern architectural features. It delivers higher efficiency, enhanced multitasking capability and improved reliability. Its advanced design enables seamless integration with a wide range of external hardware systems. The processor's modern fabrication leverages technologies used for high-performance chips. This makes DHRUV64 suitable for sectors such as 5G infrastructure, automotive systems, consumer electronics, industrial automation and the Internet of Things (IoT).
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