One of Half-Life’s most famous scientists isn’t based on Einstein after all

Remember that rumour Intel was scaling back on its plans for its next-gen Battlemage graphics architecture we reported last month? At the time we said something about it didn't square up. But now there's new, arguably more substantial, information that implies Intel hasn't reduced its ambitions for Battlemage at all. Intel's next Arc GPU could still be targeting performance up to Nvidia RTX 4080 levels.

Listen up, theater kids: Stephen Sondheim has one last posthumous wish to grant. Prior to his death in 2021, the famous musical theater composer was collaborating and advising on spatial audio remasters of some of his most famous works: Company, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods. He also consulted on plans for an audio reissue of Assassins. Co-produced by Didier C. Deutsch and Peter E. Jones, the remasters of those four famous Sondheim musicals are now available for your listening pleasure.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is easily one of the best Steam Deck games you can play today, but it’s unfortunately lacking the split screen feature available on desktop PCs. However, try as Larian might to keep this feature off the Steam Deck, this hasn’t stopped Baldur’s Gate 3 fans from finding a way to restore this functionality on the handheld.

Half-Life will never die. Yes, Half-Life 3 has been in the mist for 16 years now. But the FPS game series that brought us Gordon Freeman, Black Mesa, Alyx Vance, and more will never be forgotten – and now there’s cast-iron proof. As part of a huge community event, Half-Life Opposing Force has a dramatic new record for concurrent players on Steam, demonstrating that – in the 19 years since Half-Life 2, and with the wonderful addition of Half-Life Alyx – the fandom remains as strong as ever. I hope Valve is still working on a new Half-Life. The anticipation and love for the series continues to burn bright.

The Downfall vulnerability was recently reported to have compromised several Intel CPUs leading to serious security backdoor implications and the mitigations were expected to have performance impacts. Phoronix has now published benchmarks of the vulnerability's mitigation, demonstrating the effects of "Downfall."

Half-Life is famous for a lot of things. From the classic Black Mesa labs to the sinister G-Man and always hilarious scientist NPCs, the Valve FPS game remains a staple of the genre, even some 25 years later. But above all, Half-Life is perhaps known for Gordon Freeman, and his principle, mute protagonist gimmick. Since he doesn’t talk, it allows the player to put themselves fully into his HEV-suited shoes, and imagine themselves inside the Half-Life world. But if you discover a spooky little secret in Half-Life, it turns out that Gordon Freeman does, in a way, kind of actually speak. Perhaps this is the big character reveal we’ve all been waiting for ahead of Half-Life 3.

It’s not often you get a game like Ruiner. Its influences are clear, with heavy dashes of Cyberpunk 2077, Hotline Miami, Deus Ex, and beloved anime movie Akira. But Ruiner is more than the sum of its parts. One of the best indie games of all time, it blends a neon-soaked, dystopian world, brutal twin-stick combat, and a blasting soundtrack to become something entirely unique and wonderful. And now, if you’ve never tried Ruiner before, you can get it for no more than the cost of lunch.

Retro beat 'em up Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of Dragons will soon be getting an online co-op mode, its developer just wants to perfect single-player first.

Diablo 4's developers are "looking into" respawn locations in certain dungeons.

Earlier this year, EA said that Star Wars: Jedi Survivor would only come out on the latest PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles in order to take advantage of the latest tech on those consoles. The developer has now changed its tune, however, announcing in an earnings call that the title will come to PS4 and Xbox One consoles after all, The Verge has reported.

The arms race to beat Elden Ring using the most mystifying input method possible continues. A dance pad? Passé. A guitar? Easy mode. Your actual, literal brain? Well we all beat Elden Ring with our brains, didn't we? Most of us just had a gamepad or keyboard as an intermediary.

Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are set to make waves with significant upgrades in the coming months. In compliance with the European Union's new regulations, Apple will be replacing its proprietary Lightning port with a universal Type-C port for charging in the iPhone 15 series across all markets, including India. Moreover, the iPhone 15 will reportedly sport a fresh design, abandoning the traditional notch for the fancy Dynamic Island.