Take High on Life, Forza Horizon 5, and More on the Go with Xbox Cloud Gaming for the New Razer Edge 

Razer’s new handheld console will let you play Xbox Game Pass Ultimate games on the go, and you can pre-order today.

Launching on January 26, you’ll be able to play Forza Horizon 5, Vampire Survivors, and hundreds of other games on the go with Xbox Cloud Gaming on the all-new Razer Edge 5G Handheld Gaming Device, available for pre-order today. 

Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate puts your games right on the devices most convenient to you. We’ve heard fantastic stories from the gaming community about playing Microsoft Flight Simulator directly through your Smart TV if you didn’t have a console, or joining your friends in Elder Scrolls Online on a tablet. As we look ahead to making more games available on even more devices, we’re excited to partner with Razer to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to its newest handheld console.  

As the first dedicated 5G handheld console, the Razer Edge lets you access Xbox on the go more seamlessly than ever.

As the first dedicated 5G handheld console, the Razer Edge lets you access Xbox on the go more seamlessly than ever. Whether you’re away from your console and want to keep your Grounded campaign going, or are diving into High on Life for the first time while at a coffee shop, the Razer Edge makes it possible to play what you want, when you want.  

With an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, you can play hundreds of games on a range of devices through Xbox Cloud Gaming, including titles from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda the day they launch, as well as big hits and indie favorites from our partners. With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can also play Fortnite via the cloud for free, no Xbox Game Pass membership required.  

For those at CES, you can get hands-on time with the Razer Edge at the Razer booth or Microsoft experience center. And those interested in purchasing a Razer Edge, you can do so here.  

To learn more about Xbox Cloud Gaming, please visit xbox.com/cloudgaming.  

Related:
CES 2023: The New Windows PC Gaming Devices Coming from Our Top Partners 
Free Play Days – Cricket 22, For the King, and Saints Row
New Games with Gold for January 2023

Asus ROG Raikiri Pro Is a New Xbox Controller With a Built-in OLED Screen

At CES 2023, Asus has announced a new game controller compatible with Xbox Series X/S and PC that features a tiny, built-in OLED display.

The Asus ROG Raikiri Pro features a 1.3-inch OLED display just above the Xbox button, which can display things such as a custom image (or animation) and battery life. The controller features two buttons between a USB-C port, which are used to swap between your controller profiles.

Additionally, the Raikiri Pro includes four programmable back buttons, trigger locks, and a circular D-Pad. In addition to a dedicated mute button and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Asus Armoury Crate PC app will be used to remap buttons, adjust joystick sensitivity, and enable trigger modes and dead zones on the controller.

More interestingly, the ROG Raikiri Pro offers tri-mode connectivity, allowing you to connect the controller via Bluetooth, 2.4GHz RF mode, or a wired connection using a USB-C cable. Asus’ product listing for the page totes how this is a “pro” controller for those with PC as their platform of choice, while the compatibility on Xbox is through a wired USB-C connection.

The controller’s display reminds me of similar controllers and concepts. Such as the Datel Xbox 360 Turbo Fire wireless controller. Or a Sega Dreamcast controller with a visual memory unit (VMU) attached. With the option of running custom imagery or animations, it will be interesting to see

Asus has yet to share a release date or price for the controller.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Feature: Our Gaming Predictions For 2023

Look into the crystal ball…

After the bonkers bonanza of Game of the Year and holidays and wrapping up everything in a neat little bow that happens at the end of every year, the slate is finally wiped clean for 2023. This is, arguably, one of the most exciting times in gaming — when the year is fresh and unblemished like newly-fallen snow, and we can dream of what might happen next.

Here at Nintendo Life, we don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have many years of experience, and that’s better than nothing when it comes to predicting what’s next for Nintendo, indies, and the dear ol’ Switch. And fear not, we (mostly) won’t be mentioning the existence or non-existence of the Sw*tch P*o in here — no hardware, only software!

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

CES 2023: The New Windows PC Gaming Devices Coming from Our Top Partners 

CES always brings exciting new developments in hardware, and never more so when it comes to gaming devices. CES 2023 is no exception, bringing us early looks at portable-but-powerful laptops, beefy home rigs, future-proofed AI chips, and more. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up a sampling of the new Windows 11 PCs announced at CES 2023 from several of our top partners. 

Each one is designed to run the newest, most demanding games, not least from PC Game Pass. Even better, every single computer listed below comes with at least one free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included*, helping you jump straight into a game the moment you get your hands on your new device. 

CyberPower 

CES 2023 Product Shot

CyberPower’s new Prism 360V features a wide-open front and side glass panel so you can see all your components. The company also introduced the 7th generation of its Tracer Edge Laptop Series with optional Liquid Cooling add-on unit. It comes with a 17-inch 240Hz 100% SRGB IPS display, 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX Processor, up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Graphics and a full mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches. 

MSI 

CES 2023 Product Shot

MSI announced a new laptop and desktop product lineup at CES 2023, including its gaming flagship Raider GE78 built for enthusiasts, pushing the peak of performance and innovation with the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs and up to 13th Gen Intel Core HX series processors. The Raider GE78 also comes with up to i9 HX and RTX 4090 with maximized CPU-GPU combined power and MUX Design, as well as a 16- or 17-inch 16:10 QHD+ 240Hz 100%DCI-P3 display, with a new matrix bright bar and per-key RGB gaming keyboard. MSI also announced new Content Creation series laptops. 

Razer  

CES 2023 Product Shot

Power meets precision and portability with the new Razer Blade 16. Engineered to push performance to new places, it comes equipped with the innovative dual mode 4K mini-LED display or blazing fast QHD+ 240Hz option.  

iBUYPOWER 

CES 2023 Product Shot

To kick off 2023, iBUYPOWER will introduce its new line of custom gaming and content creation PCs to the market. With the launch of the new HYTE Y40 case, iBUYPOWER will introduce both custom configured and RDY systems for customers looking for out-of-the-box PC solutions featuring the Y40. The Creator RDY Y40BG201 will feature the new mid-tower case from iBUYPOWER’s sister brand, HYTE, an Intel Core i9 13900KF, RTX 4090, Z790 motherboard, 2TB M.2 SSD and Windows 11 pre-installed for easy setup.  

Acer 

CES 2023 Product Shot

The Predator Helios 16 and Predator Helios 18 are two new Windows 11 gaming laptops revealed at CES 2023, with new designs and upgraded thermals. They come with the latest 13th Gen Intel Core mobile processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs, making them Acer’s most powerful gaming laptops to date. 

ROG 

CES 2023 Product Shot

ROG has redesigned the ultra-sleek 2023 Zephyrus M16 from the ground up, retaining a thin-and-light design but now including an improved cooling system featuring Tri-Fan Technology, which routes air from three fans through precisely calculated cutouts toward the heatsink for more efficient cooling. This allows the device to run 25 watts higher compared to last year’s model — providing even more power to the Intel Core i9 13900H CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus in this flagship gaming machine. 

Alienware 

CES 2023 Product Shot

Alienware’s most powerful laptop, the m18, has 13th Gen Intel Core HX processors that harness up to 65W (compared to previous-gen 45W), the full stack of NVIDIA GeForce Next-Gen Laptop GPUs and dual user-replaceable DDR5 SO-DIMM slots. Additionally, AMD Advantage models will be powered by next-gen AMD Ryzen Processors and Radeon Graphics for mobile.  

HP 

CES 2023 Product Shot

The OMEN 17 Laptop, HP’s most powerful gaming laptop, has up to 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX and latest NVIDIA GeForce graphics, which utilizes OMEN Tempest Cooling Technology for desktop-caliber gaming. This PC is HP’s first to feature optical mechanical keys, which are 25 times faster than traditional keys. 

Lenovo 

CES 2023 Product Shot

To give gamers an advantage, Lenovo has developed an AI chip for gaming laptops, including for its Lenovo Legion Pro 7i. The chip uses software machine learning, deployed through Lenovo Vantage, to help monitor in-game FPS and dynamically adjust for the highest performance output. 

Find out more about these and other new gaming PCs from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo that were highlighted this week on the Microsoft CES microsite.  

*Xbox Game Pass Ultimate not available in all regions. Learn more about supported regions at https://www.xbox.com/regions.  

Related:
Free Play Days – Cricket 22, For the King, and Saints Row
New Games with Gold for January 2023
Xbox Podcast: Justin Roiland on Why High on Life Came to Game Pass (and How That Will Help Make Future Games)

Silent Hill 2 Remake Is ‘Faithfully’ Sticking to Original Story While Updating Gameplay

The developer behind Konami’s Silent Hill 2 Remake is “faithfully” sticking to the original game’s story but updating outdated gameplay mechanics.

Speaking to Dread XP (and spotted by Siliconera), Bloober Team’s chief marketing officer Anna Jasińska promised the development team isn’t “missing the point” on the remake.

“We are focusing on bringing the distinct, visceral atmosphere back in the modernized Silent Hill 2,” said Jasińska. “Longtime fans shouldn’t worry about us missing the point while we’re livening up the title.

“We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up. These are the reasons why Konami entrusted us with the remake in the first place.”

Exactly what would change in the remake was a little unclear when Konami first announced it, with director Mateusz Lenart only saying that Bloober Team would “make everything that made the game a timeless classic”.

Jasińska reiterated just how committed the team is, adding that they “take a very safe approach to any changes. We remain faithful to the original title. Nonetheless, we are applying adjustments to certain areas where things need modernizing due to the passage of time.”

One thing changing is the addition of the over-the-shoulder camera, but other enhancements including new challenges and updated sound design are also coming in the Silent Hill 2 Remake. Fans will have to be patient in finding out what else will change, however, as the game currently has no release date.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Suzerain devs announce a follow-up narrative RPG

Suzerain have announced their follow-up, a narrative RPG called The Conformist. It’s set in the same universe and fictional country as Suzerain, although it takes place before the events of that game. Instead of leading the country of Sordland, this time players will guide the government propagandist Orwin through the city of Holsord, as you make tough decisions, befriend NPCs, and keep your family safe.

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Why battle royales aren’t ever my games of the year

Apex Legends with some pals, but otherwise, all I did was watch an eclectic mix of anime and TV: Mob Psycho 100, Better Call Saul, and Somebody Feed Phil. Granted, my gaming tastes wax and wane over a year, with lengthy JRPG stints rolling inevitably into junk food like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. No matter what, my one constant is an FPS or ‘competitive’ game, I suppose. Games like Apex, or Warzone, or even Fortnite.

And yet, for whatever reason, I don’t consider them as candidates for the Bestest Best games of any year. I might pour hundreds, possibly thousands of hours into them and they won’t even make it into my personal list of absolute faves. That’s reserved for games, not games.

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