It sounds like Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch will be a flagship set to compete with Samsung’s latest Galaxy Watches and the Apple Watch, according to new specs leaked by 9to5Google. According to 9to5’s report, you’ll be able to get a cellular version of the wearable, and it will have a 300 milliamp-hour (mAh) battery.
It wasn’t necessarily a given that there would be a cellular option for the Pixel Watch. Some lower-end smartwatches, and even some high-end fitness-focused models, are reliant on your phone for connectivity. If the rumor is accurate and there is a cellular Pixel Watch model, it reinforces the idea that Google’s probably not trying to make its watch a smaller or cheaper alternative — it wants that mass-market appeal.
As for the battery, its physical capacity seems about right for how big the watch is. However, it’s almost impossible to tell what that milliamp-hour rating means for how long it’ll last between charges.
When The Verge’s reviews editor Dan Seifert compared the Apple Watch Series 7 41mm and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42mm, he found that they had dramatically different levels of endurance. One day, the Galaxy Watch was out of juice while the Apple Watch was at 52 percent (though the next day he was able to get a couple of hours more out of the Galaxy after some tweaks). And yet the Apple Watch’s battery isn’t that much bigger; it has a 284mAh capacity, while the Galaxy’s battery is rated for 247mAh.
What really matters when it comes to a wearable’s battery life are its features and processor. Both are unknown at this point for the Pixel Watch, though features-wise it obviously won’t have the e-paper display that let the Pebble Time get well over a week of use out of its 250mAh battery.
Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long to find out the answer — the rumors say that Google could announce the Pixel Watch at its I/O conference, which starts just a few weeks from now on May 11th. If you want to get a look at its hardware before then, though, you’re in luck — someone posted a plethora of pictures of it on and off a wrist, claiming that a friend found the device laying around in a bar, iPhone 4-style. Maybe Sundar Pichai will make the same joke as Steve Jobs when he announces the Pixel Watch, saying “stop me if you’ve already seen this.”
We've heard all sorts of rumours about the iPhone 14, covering everything from the camera (apparently it's getting better) to the battery life (apparently it's getting better). But perhaps the most persistent rumour has involved the notch – or lack thereof.
The iPhone 14 Pro is said to be nixing the notch in favour of a 'pill + hole' design containing the front camera and FaceID tech. But if new leaked display panels are the real deal, the effect on screen real estate might not be as dramatic as we'd hoped. (Don't fancy waiting? Check out the best iPhone 13 Pro deals available now.)
The new camera cutout doesn't look much smaller than the notch (Image credit: @SaranByte on Twitter)
Alleged front glass panels for the entire iPhone 14 line up have emerged on Chinese social media website Weibo, as spotted by MacRumors. While the standard 14 looks very similar to the 13 (except, of course, for the fact that it looks like there's no mini this time around), the 14 Pro looks quite different. But not as different as I'd hoped.
Earlier renders imagined a smaller – and higher – cutout (Image credit: Angelo Libero)
The notch has long been considered a blight on the supposedly all-screen display of the iPhone since it appeared on the iPhone X in 2017. But while many were hoping the new pill design would free up plenty of precious pixels, it looks much larger than we expected here. Indeed, it's pretty much the same width as the notch on the iPhone 13. And it sits even lower on the display, arguably eating into more viewing area.
Still, while it might not be the revolutionary design change we were hoping for, there's still plenty to look forward to with the iPhone 14. Rumour has it we're in for a massively enhanced camera zoom, as well as the highest storage ever included in an iPhone. For every leak in one place, check out our roundup of iPhone 14 rumours. And if you want the best iPhone experience available right now, take a look at today's best iPhone 13 deals below.
Microsoft has now announced May's Games with Gold lineup. Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to download Yoku's Island Express, The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and Viva Piñata: Party Animals next month.
Much like with previous months, you'll have two Xbox One games and two Xbox 360 games to claim and download.
May 2022 Games with Gold
If you haven't spotted it already, there is a quick and easy completion on offer with May's Games with Gold. The Inner World – The Last Monk only takes about four hours to complete, according to estimates. However, its list is filled with missable achievements, so we recommend checking out our The Inner World – The Last Monk walkthrough (written by Killersquirelz) for more on those. Also up for grabs is the excellent pinball-platforming adventure Yoku's Island Express, which will have you trying to wake an ancient island deity that's trapped in an eternal slumber. Yoku's Island Express was, once upon a time, an Xbox Game Pass title, so if you didn't get it finished before it left the service, now you can go back and pop any achievements you might need. For those starting fresh, you'll need to set aside 15 hours of your time. On the 360 front, there is the racer Hydro Thunder Hurricane, which has a 30-hour completion estimate for 250 Gamerscore, and Viva Piñata: Party Animals, a party game that will take between 12 and 15 hours to complete, though you may need a few extra controllers to make things easier on yourself.
You still have time to grab a couple of April's Games with Gold, so make sure you claim them while you can!
What do you think of May's Games with Gold lineup? Let us know down in the comments!
Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get four games from Games with Gold in May: the pinball-inspired action-platformer Yoku’s Island Express and 2D-animated puzzle adventure The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk for Xbox One; and arcade-style boat racer Hydro Thunder Hurricane and Viva Piñata spinoff Viva Piñata Party Animals for Xbox 360.
Both Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X through backward compatibility.
Here are the games and their availability windows.
Overall, that’s a solid, colorful, and pretty diverse lineup for Xbox Games with Gold in May.
Along with the new games, Gold and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can still get two of April’s offerings — Another Sight and MX vs. ATV Alive — until Saturday, April 30, and they may pick up Hue until May 15.
UPDATE 4pm UK: Ubisoft has acknowledged today leak of Skull and Bones test footage, and told fans to keep an eye on the horizon for official news.
A short clip of footage from the game was posted by Ubisoft to Twitter this afternoon, hours after the leaked footage begain circulating. More on all that below.
ORIGINAL STORY 2.30pm UK:
Footage of Ubisoft's unreleased pirate game Skull & Bones has leaked.
Taken from the alpha test, a four-minute tutorial video has been uploaded to reddit showing a detailed look at gameplay.
The game has long been in development and suffered high-profile delays, so this leaked footage offers a new chance to see what all the fuss is about after its last showing at E3 2018.
"You'll start your journey as an underdog whose goal is to become the most infamous pirate to sail these waters," explains the video.
That means raising your infamy - essentially experience - by completing contracts, exploring, plundering, and completing treasure hunts. The higher your infamy, the more opportunities available to you.
Before embarking, you'll need to stock up your ship on rations and cargo at nearby ports, as well as customise your character. As your infamy rises, you'll be able to craft bigger and stronger ships with a unique playstyle.
Ship battles appear to be a core part of the game, with the ability to board enemy ships offering greater rewards. Crew morale depletes over time though, especially through defeat, and they will mutiny if morale isn't restored (through food and drink, naturally).
There's a Souls-esque element too with its persistent online multiplayer, player pirates who can turn on you, and the ability to collect lost cargo at the point of defeat (unless other players steal it).
There's also crafting, which is very Far Cry as you skin animals and harvest raw materials.
There's still no release date for Skull & Bones and it's not clear exactly why the game has been so heavily delayed.
UPDATE 29/4/22: More games which look likely to join the upcoming PlayStation Plus Premium service have been found on Sony's servers, in addition to the three originally found below.
Data for the all-time PS1 classic Worms Armageddon, as well as its follow-up Worms World Party, have also now both been spotted (thanks, Gematsu).
As a reminder, PlayStation is yet to officially confirm the games which will join its Premium service when it launches on 22nd June in Europe
ORIGINAL STORY 28/4/22:
Sony's revamped PlayStation Plus isn't too far away now, with the company currently targeting a 22nd June launch in Europe, but questions around the service still remain, particularly concerning the library of games that'll be made to available to higher-tier subscribers. But while Sony's lips remain officially sealed, it appears the first batch of retro games coming to the top-end Premium tier have begun leaking onto PSN.
PlayStation Plus' new Premium tier gives subscribers access to around 340 additional games beyond the library of 400 PS4 and PS5 titles included in the mid-range Extra tier, focusing on retro games from PlayStation 1, PS2, PS3, and PSP. Sony is yet to offer specifics on either library, but users on Reddit have spotted that new listings for classic titles, complete with new thumbnail art, are starting to appear in the PSN backend, pointing to the beginnings of a roll-out for PlayStation Plus' retro games.
Granted, there are only three such titles to be found at present, all from publisher Bandai Namco - Tekken 2 and Mr. Driller for PlayStation 1, and Ridge Racer for PSP - but it does suggests the floodgates are slowly starting to open as publishers move to get their classic titles in order ready for the new PlayStation Plus launch.
Eurogamer Newscast: Is PlayStation Plus Premium a Game Pass killer?
Of course, with 340 classic games set to be made available as part PlayStation Plus Premium on 22nd June, there's still some considerable way to go until we have a full list (you'll hopefully forgive me if I don't write a new article for each tiny batch that's spotted on PSN from now on - unless Gregory Horror Show is in there, obviously), and we've still no idea what'll be included in those 400 PS4 and PS5 games beyond the confirmed Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal.
It would be fair to say Sony's approach to answering frequently asked questions around its new PlayStation Plus service has been languid at best so far - it only just got around to telling PlayStation Now customers what would happen to their existing subscriptions yesterday - but hopefully, with a June launch approaching, it'll pick up the pace soon.
Update: We've now got a more accurate translation of Yuji Naka's tweets, courtesy of Twitter user Cheesemeister.
The tone of the message is very much the same as the machine-translated one, but it's much clearer here that Yuji Naka thinks the poor reception to Balan Wonderworld was a result of the behind-the-scenes goings-on.
We've embedded the beggining of the translated thread, and also included the full translation of Naka's tweets underneath.
I was removed as the director of Balan Wonderworld about half a year before release, so I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix. Now that the proceedings are over and I’m no longer bound by company rules, I’d like to speak out.
I think it's wrong of Square Enix not to value games and game fans. According to court documents, I was removed as the director of Balan Wonderworld for 2 reasons. It was done by the producer, head of marketing, head of sound, managing director, and HR.
First, when a YouTuber's arranged piano performance of the game music was released in a promotion instead of the original game track, turning the composer into a ghostwriter, I insisted that the original track be released and this caused trouble.
Second, according to court documents, [Naoto] Ohshima told producer [Noriyoshi] Fujimoto that the relationship with Arzest was ruined due to comments I made wanting to improve the game in the face of Arzest submitting the game without fixing bugs.
Also, in an e-mail from Ohshima to Fujimoto, he wrote: 'I just told the staff about the demo delay. When I told them, 'This was prod. Fujimoto's decision. Let's do our best for him,' the staff applauded and cheered. This was unexpected, and I was moved...
The staff's been down lately, but their spirits have been revived. Thank you very much. All of us on the staff will work hard.' So the schedule wasn't up to me, but the producer, yet the schedule being tight was the producer's doing. Something was off.
We were releasing an original game, but only putting out an arranged track was definitely wrong. I believe that the game music that everyone can hum out are the original tracks.
I believe that every effort must be put in to make games the best they can be until the very end so that game fans will enjoy what they buy. It wasn't right to, without discussion, remove and completely disassociate from the project a director saying so.
Retweeting, liking, etc. on SNS and such was banned, so I don't think Square Enix values game fans. There were many comments and wonderful illustrations about Balan Wonderworld, and I'm really sorry that I couldn't react to them.
Myself, I'm truly sorry to the customers who bought Balan Wonderworld in an unfinished state. From this point onward, I will be able to react to posts tagging me or directed only toward me on SNS and such.
I believe that when making games, asking for fixes in order to make something good should be a given, and if that's not possible, it should be talked over, but it looks like they can't. I don't think they value games.
For Sonic the Hedgehog, 2 weeks before finalizing, the spec was changed so that if you have even 1 ring, you won't die. This now well-known rule was the result of improving the game until the very end, and people world-over have enjoyed it as a result.
Improving a game until the very end is what being a game creator is all about, and if that's not possible, something's wrong. I asked my lawyer to negotiate my just being able to comment until the end of production, but their refusal led me to file suit.
I think that the resulting Balan Wonderworld and the critical reception it received have a lot to do with what happened. I'm really disappointed that a product I worked on from the start turned out this way.
Thank you Cheesemeister for this translation.
Yuji Naka makes comparisons to his dismissal to the time he worked on Sonic the Hedgehog, where he worked right to the last minute to implement a now-essential mechanic for the series. It seems he believes that had he been allowed to stay on board, he could've put that same care and attention to Balan Wonderworld.
Original article:Balan Wonderworld was a pretty big disappointment to many. Fans of Yuji Naka (the director of the platforming flop) and his work on various Sonic titles, Nights into Dreams, and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg took one look at the Square Enix-published platformer on its announcement and were charmed with the music and visuals. It was evocative of a Dreamcast-era platformer, and we craved it.
Sadly, things didn't go to plan, and Balan Wonderworld was dubbed the worst Switch game of 2021, but it sounds like a lot more was going on behind the scenes. Today, on Twitter, Yuji Naka revealed that he was in fact removed as the game's director six months prior to its launch. Many still credited a lot of Balan Wonderworld to Naka, so this is pretty shocking, but the original Sonic the Hedgehog programmer didn't just leave it at that.
Naka filed a lawsuit against Square Enix, which is now over, but in a Twitter thread, he covers how unhappy he was with many of the decisions both Square Enix and co-developer Arzest made. Naka knew that the game was unfinished and needed more work, and he wanted to help with that, but Square Enix's removal of him meant he couldn't.
Right now, we only have a machine translation via Nibel and DeepL on what Yuji Naka has to say, but even so, it's clear that his thoughts are scathing on the matter:
Naka is deeply apologetic to fans who picked up the game throughout his thread while being particularly pointed towards Square Enix:
I think Square Enix is not taking good care of their game fans as retweeting, liking, etc. was also banned on social networking sites. There were many comments and very nice illustrations of Balan Wonderworld, and I am very sorry that I could not do anything about it.
It sounds like Yuji Naka was looking to give the fans what they wanted, and because he was removed as director, he couldn't do anything about that. His closing statement summarises this sentiment perfectly:
For me, it is a real shame that you have released your unfinished work "Balan Wonderworld" to the world. I wanted to release it to the world as an action game in a proper form considering various things. I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that do not care about games and game fans.
Square Enix or Arzest have not responded to these claims at the time of writing this, but given Balan Wonderworld's poor reception — including our own 3 out of 10 review — it's easy to understand Naka's frustration. It sounds like now might be a good time to reread our own retrospective defence given this context:
If we find out anything more about the situation, we'll let you know.
The announcement is scant on details, though we know it will include upcoming releases for Xbox Game Pass and the wider Xbox ecosystem (read, non-exclusives).
Still, it's nice to have some speculation on what's going to be shown.
We're overdue some gameplay footage of Starfield, which is due to be released on 11th November this year. Yesterday, Bethesda released a video showcasing the game's music and sound design, which you can read about here.
We may also see more than a logo from Bethesda for the next Elder Scrolls game, then again, we still don't have Skyrim on the Playdate so there's still yet more water to be squeezed from the stone.
We may also see more gameplay or a development update from Ninja Theory's Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, which doesn't yet have a firm release date.
Bethesda studio MachineGames may also be ready to tease more of its new Indiana Jones game, which was announced back in January 2021.
Other potential showcases include Avowed, Everwild, Fable and Perfect Dark, although the latter three are in very early development so it's less likely.
The Google Pixel Watch has made headlines as someone got their hands on a unit that went missing at a Chicago bar earlier this month (not an original scenario in the tech world). We got to see some live images of the unreleased smartwatch prototype with its round display with rounded edges.
A Google Pixel Watch was forgotten at a restaurant (photos by u/tagtech414)
Three new models GWT9R, GBZ4S, and GQF4C have been certified for Google LLC by the Bluetooth SIG labeled as a “BT Wearable Design-Controller Subsystem”. It is believed that this certification is for the three variants of the upcoming Google Pixel Watch.
Source: Bluetooth SIG
While it is possible that these models represent different variants of the same device, it isn’t not clear whether the differences pertain to size, regional availability, or connectivity features like support for cellular data.
It’s anticipated that the FCC certification should be imminent, and that one may offer new information about the Pixel Watch. Google I/O will begin in a couple of weeks where we may hear something about Google’s new smartwatch, even if it is a teaser signaling a launch later in the year.
Google has warned billions of Chrome users that the browser has been successfully targeted by hackers, revealing 30 new security flaws, including seven that pose a 'high' threat to users.
The tech company is now releasing an update within the next few days to fix the bugs, which affects Windows, macOS, and Linus, according to the company's statement.
It is unclear who hacked the firm, and whether any users' security was put at risk.
Further hack details are currently being restricted by the company 'until a majority of users are updated with a fix.'
'We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed,' the company also said.
Users can manually update their browsers through the settings features, but Chrome will automatically update within a few days.
Google recently announced the increase in hacks to Chrome and other browsers and several other tech companies have reported hacking vulnerabilities. Tech companies are joining together to combat threats, alongside the help of diligent users, to prevent future vulnerabilities.
Coca-Cola was also recently hacked by a Russian group, which is now selling its data.
Stormous said it stole 161 gigabytes of financial data, passwords and accounts before putting the information on the market for $640,000 or 16million Bitcoin.
The team revealed on Monday it had infiltrated the drinks company and got out 'without their knowledge.' Coca-Cola said it has launched an urgent investigation and already contacted the police.
'You will win and we will win,' read an apparent message from the group, which was later posted on Twitter.
It said the group downloaded 161 gigabytes from the company, which it would sell for more than $640,000 or more than 16 million in Bitcoin.
Among the stolen files, according to CISO Advisor, are financial data, passwords and commercial accounts.
New research has also shown internet users' passwords aren't as safe as once thought.
The research said anything with six characters, regardless of whether numbers and symbols are included, can be cracked instantly.
The same goes for anything that is seven or eight characters but made up of just numbers or lower case letters.
But the news doesn't get much better for any eight-character combination.
In fact, they can all be guessed in about 39 minutes according to US cybersecurity company Hive Systems, which is based in Richmond, Virginia.
On the flip side the way to guarantee that your password won't be cracked for some 438 trillion years is to use 18 characters made up of numbers, upper and lower case letters and symbols.
The PlayStation Plus games for May 2022 have been officially announced, and, you won't believe it, but the leak was right. Who saw that one coming?!
As per usual, subscribers are getting three games across PS5 and PS4. The selection is as follows...
Now, at first glance, this is looking like a pretty good month — but then most of us here at Push Square are big football fans. Indeed, the inclusion of a sports title — as the headline act, no less — is bound to rub some people the wrong way.
But hey, at least Tribes of Midgard and Curse of the Dead Gods are quite highly rated. The former is an addictive, co-op enabled action RPG with some survival elements thrown in. Sony even promoted Tribes quite heavily before it released. The latter, meanwhile, is very comparable to something like Hades — a stylised action title that hinges on dungeon crawling mechanics.
All three games will be available to download from next Tuesday, the 3rd May.
What are your first impressions of next month's PS Plus games? Give us an honest reaction in the comments section below.
Now she's back to her usual (still tricky) self, along with a couple of other fixes.
Firstly, the Elden Beast boss has been fixed after a bug that prevented it from "working properly under certain circumstances".
Secondly, the effect duration of the Cerulean Hidden Tear has been fixed after it was accidentally revised downward in a previous update. There are also some text changes.
Google's Nest Hub is a great smart home command center, but it's also a product that's sorely in need of a little fresh blood. The original feels a bit laggy when navigating around its menus, and while we did get some updated hardware a little over a year ago, the addition of Sleep Sensing didn't really feel like a must-have feature worth upgrading for. Recent rumors have suggested that Google could be planning a bold new direction for the Hub, transforming it into a dockable tablet. With today's release of Android 13 Beta 1, we get a couple bits of new evidence that add support for the theory that new Nest Hub's hardware's on the way.
Rumors of this detachable Nest Hub first landed about a month ago, and initially just offered a high-level description of the hardware. But it wasn't long at all before plenty of changes in Android 13 were identified that, taken as a whole, could be seen as development in support of just such a product — beginning to integrate a number of smart display features into Android itself, as if this tablet would run full-blown Android 13.
In addition to those strings supporting this dockable idea, we've also spotted some Android 13 documentation for its rich media controls (showing off that fun new suiggly playback bar) that also could be seen as evidence in favor of this product's path towards existence. While Google generically describes the hardware pictured up at the top of this post as “a phone and tablet device,” that tablet sure has a pretty prominent dock, and this seems a lot like what we might expect from the more robust UI on a future Nest Hub. New changes in Beta 1 like an increased focus on large-screen interfaces could also be part of the prep work for an Android-running Nest Hub.
We'll be continuing to look for signs in support of a nest-gen dockable Nest Hub tablet, as well as pour through all the changes Android 13 has waiting for us.
The first public beta of Android 13 is now available for anyone with a compatible Pixel device to download and try out, the search giant announced today. Its release comes ahead of Google’s annual developer conference next month when the company is expected to fully detail its plans for the update — due for release later this year.
For end users, the most interesting features are those that have already appeared in Android 13’s initial two developer previews. There’s support for Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio, a new photo picker that lets you restrict which of your photos an app is able to access, new app icon theming options, and a new permission that could cut down on notification spam.
In contrast, the new features for this public beta are much more developer-focused, like changes to the app permission for accessing shared media files in local storage. In a blog post, Google VP of engineering Dave Burke says the permission will now be specific to the type of media an app needs to access — images, video, or audio — rather than simply asking for permission to access all files.
Keystore and KeyMint, the parts of Android that can handle cryptographic keys, have been updated to provide more informative error codes. There are also new APIs for audio playback.
For more information on how to sign up for and download the beta, check out Google’s Android 13 developer site. Anyone already running the developer preview should automatically receive the new beta.
The pricier new PlayStation Plus Premium subscription will include time-limited game trials - and now Sony has reportedly informed some developers it will need to ensure it provides them.
According to a GameDeveloper report, PlayStation has updated its developer guidelines to state that a game demo lasting at least two hours will now be required for any title which costs $34 or higher (around £27).
This rule is not retroactive, so will only apply to games currently in development and not yet released. Additionally, developers will have a three-month grace period after a game launches before this trial must be made available.
There's nothing in the report on what would happen if a developer fails to provide such a trial.
Sony has reportedly told developers these trials should be available to Plus Premium subscribers for at least 12 months. An alternative custom demo can also be provided - not needing to be two hours long - but this will only be approved on a case-by-case basis.
This afternoon, Sony emailed PlayStation Plus subscribers with a breakdown of what to expect in each PlayStation Plus tier, and to remind you that your existing membership will migrate.
PlayStation Plus Essential (£6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly) is the new name for what is essentially the current Plus offering: monthly downloadable games, discounts, cloud storage and online multiplayer.
PlayStation Plus Extra (£10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly) adds "400 of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games" including some Sony first-party titles which are more than one year old, such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Returnal.
PlayStation Plus Premium (£13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly) adds a further 340 games from PS3, PS2, PS1 and PSP to stream and/or download depending on platform, as well as those time-limited demos.
"Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy," the email reads, as seen by Eurogamer.
A new PS5 update is rolling out this week that will bring variable refresh rate (VRR, for short) to Sony's console – a feature that will improve the performance of various PS5 games.
The news comes as a surprise as Sony previously stated that VRR support would arrive in the "months ahead". However, it appears that the company has managed to expedite the process, revealing on the PlayStation Blog that VRR support is coming to every PS5 this week.
VRR is a long-awaited feature that's topped the wish lists of PS5 owners who have compatible displays, especially as both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have long embraced the display technology.
As outlined by Sony, VRR requires a compatible TV and PC monitor with HDMI 2.1. VRR is a common feature on the best TVs and it primarily helps eliminate screen tearing, which occurs when your TV's image refresh rate isn't in sync with whatever game you're playing. With the PS5 VRR update, your TV's display will get synced to the console output to stop any screen tearing without impacting a game's performance.
(Image credit: Sony)
This isn't all VRR can do, though: it also helps combat other common display problems, especially in games with stuttering or frame rate drops. It can also help lower input latency, making games feel more responsive.
Some PS5 games will receive specific optimization patches for VRR. Thankfully, Sony has already announced a pretty sizable selection:
According to Insomniac, those who use VRR on a 120Hz display will get a variable, uncapped frame rate that can exceed your chosen graphic mode's 30 or 60fps target by 50% or more (depending on gameplay).
Arkane Studio, developers of Deathloop, has also announced that VRR support is coming to the time-looping shooter, which should provide smoother performance and tackle any screen tearing.
We’re excited to announce that DEATHLOOP supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) on PS5!When VRR arrives on your PS5 console, check out this support page for all the details on how to activate this new feature. 🔗https://t.co/JV04KgJ7fA https://t.co/It4FH7q8ieApril 25, 2022
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Of course, not every game will receive a VRR-specific patch, but that doesn't mean they can't take advantage of the technology. Users will be able to apply VRR to "unsupported games" at a system level, which should – in theory – benefit every title. However, if unexpected visual effects occur, you can always switch this off.
It's worth noting that games that have a frame rate below 40fps tend not to benefit from VRR. 30fps titles, for example, will fall below the usual VRR window, where the technology kicks in to help smooth out gameplay. That means a game like Bloodborne, which has a notoriously stuttery 30fps frame rate, won't benefit.
However, something like Ghostwire Tokyo, which has multiple high frame rate modes, the majority of which are either unstable or exhibit screen tearing, will benefit immensely from VRR.
A fantastic feature, but one more remains
We're delighted that PS5 is finally getting VRR support, particularly as we thought we'd have to wait a good few months before it arrived. However, there's still one big feature missing from the PS5, and that's 1440p support.
When connected to a 1440p display, the PS5 will only output at 1080p, albeit with downscaling. While this helps provide a crisp 1080p image, users who own a 1440p display and have a PS5 hooked up are missing out on 78% of the pixels by being locked to 1080p.
This is a huge oversight, then, particularly as many PS5 owners might use a 1440p monitor. Hopefully, this issue is addressed sooner or later, as it's a feature that's been available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S for a number of years.
If you want to know more about variable refresh rate, check out our ‘What is VRR?’ guide, which breaks down all the things you need to know about the display technology.
As you’d expect from the sleepless studio, there are no cut corners here: “Because our titles are already built to have very stable framerates, the main effect of the VRR system setting will be to slightly increase dynamic image resolution targets,” the studio explained. In other words, when VRR is active, the studio’s titles will push higher dynamic resolutions across all graphics settings, because any minor framerate issues incurred will be cleaned up by the new technology.
There’s more, though: “If your TV also supports 120Hz high framerate input and the 120Hz Display Mode option is active along with VRR, you will get a variable, uncapped framerate that can exceed your chosen Graphics Mode’s 30fps or 60fps target by 50 per cent or more (depending on gameplay).” So, effectively, you’re getting faster, uncapped framerates with the same image quality of the standard graphics settings – again, cleaned up by VRR.
As mentioned previously, you will need a compatible television and an HDMI 2.1 cable (included with your PS5 console) in order to take advantage of all these fancy new features. Hopefully this helps to explain why some titles are optimised for VRR, though. With unsupported games, you’ll simply see minor framerate issues cleaned up with no changes to the core experience – but here, Insomniac Games has put some extra wizardry to work.
Last year, Ubisoft launched its own NFT platform to a pretty negative response, but the studio dipping its toes in may well have attracted this potential investor interest. And although their upcoming Project Q won't feature them, their experimentation with NFTs is still of note.
Kotaku reports that Ubisoft has been using consultancy firms to audit and "tidy up its books" for a potential sale. And while multiple publications have reached out to the studio, Ubisoft has not confirmed whether this is the case. The rumours have done wonders for the company's stock over the weekend, however, which jumped 11% on Friday as whispers got louder.
Ubisoft has also been subject to allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment, with Ubisoft admitting last year that it had severely mishandled the process. And with a number of high-profile departures and game delays, the Assassin's Creed publisher has been in a precarious position for some time.
Even though this is a rumour at the moment, the broader consolidation of the video game industry looks like it's going to continue for the foreseeable future. We'll keep you updated if anything gets confirmed.
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