Neowin

The UK Competition & Markets Authority's provisional conclusion says Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard "will not result in a substantial lessening of competition" for UK console gaming.

Xbox console games can also play Bassmaster Fishing: 2022 Bassmaster Classic for free this weekend, and get discounts for all three games that are part of Xbox Free Play Days this week.

The latest freebie drop from the Epic Games Store brings a copy of the high-fidelity chess entry Chess Ultra by Ripstone, as well as a handy starter pack for the free-to-play game World of Warships.

The new NVIDIA 531.41 WHQL driver also adds DLSS 2 or 3 support for many other new PC games, and includes support for the preview of Cyberpunk 2077's new Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode.

FromSoftware has finally delivered the ray tracing features it promised for Elden Ring even before the game's launch. The performance intensive feature is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.

Shipments of gaming PCs and gaming monitors could be slow this year according to IDC. It comes following 2022 when shipments of these products contracted for the first time since 2016.

AMD's driver team has delivered the Adrenalin Edition 23.3.2 release with support for the soon-releasing titles Resident Evil 4 remake, The Last of Us Part I, as well as a number of bug fixes.

Samsung is launching the Odyssey Universe map in Fortnite on Thursday. It will give gamers a chance to win one of Samsung's premium Odyssey gaming monitors. There's also a 15% off discount code.

Arkane's Harvey Smith confirmed that Microsoft canceled its plans for a PS5 version of the upcoming vampire-themed shooter Redfall after it acquired the developer's parent company ZeniMax.

Following feedback, Arkane has confirmed that work is underway to remove the always-online requirement from its upcoming cooperative title Redfall, letting solo players jump in without restrictions.

Microsoft has unveiled a new Xbox Sustainability Toolkit—a new set of utilities that allow developers better understand and reduce the carbon footprint while developing games for consoles.

The new version of Valve's hugely popular tactical multiplayer shooter is currently in a limited test for select CS:GO players. It will have a ton of upgrades and new features for gamers.

Nreal will launch the Nebula app for Windows PCs, which will allow the glasses to connect to a PC and let people view games and other content as if they were looking at a huge screen.

Microsoft's indie games program for its Xbox consoles is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023 and the company plans to continue to improve and expand its services in the months ahead.

Jon Spaihts will write the script for the Gears of War movie, adapting Microsoft's Xbox and PC sci-fi third-person shooter franchise as a live-action film for Netflix, with help from The Coalition.

The ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program will assist game creators that have diverse perspectives with information, porting services and even with creating prototypes for their games.

EA is shutting down the servers of four classic DICE games and removing them from sale this year. The titles impacted are Battlefield 1943, Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2, as well as Mirror's Edge.

Microsoft is putting the newest entry of Sony's MLB The Show on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Joining it in this second wave of titles are Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom and Infinite Guitars.

This week, Microsoft and select publishers have discounted a number of titles including 67% off the critically acclaimed DEATHLOOP and up to 85% off titles from Far Cry. Be sure to check them out.

Xbox owners can play a host of demo games as part of the ID@Xbox GDC Online Demo Event. The titles will be playable until March 27 so hurry if you want to join in. Read on for more details.

The game will let players create new humans and also create their homes, towns, and stories, with full mod support thanks to a host of tools. Life by You will launch in Early Access on Sept. 12.

Netflix will continue to expand its mobile game publishing efforts in 2023, including exclusive titles from Ubisoft. Super Evil Megacorp is also working on a Netflix-exclusive game.

Microsoft Xbox head Phil Spencer is talking more about the company's plans to launch a mobile app store for its games when Apple and Google are expected to open up their platforms to more app stores.

After pushing out some "backend server hotfixes" Blizzard says beta testers for Diablo IV should see much shorter waiting times to play the game. The early access open beta ends on Monday

This weekend's PC game deals are packed with the latest specials from the 2023 Steam Spring Sale, but there's also a freebie from Epic, a kart racing bundle, high-profile free events, and more.

The Godot Engine is now available to download through the Epic Games Store. This makes it easier for people to download the game engine and keep it up to date in the future as new versions come out.

The move to delay the decision is likely to give Microsoft more time to offer concessions to the European Commission so it will finally approve the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The start of the Diablo IV early access open beta today has been hit with lots of issues as the game's servers have been slammed with tons of people trying to play the action-RPG sequel.

The R18+ rating for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield means the game cannot legally be sold to minors in Australia and may impact how the game is marketed and advertised in the country.

Three games are a part of Microsoft's Free Play Days promotion this weekend, and it includes the newly released Anno 1800 Console Edition, the skateboarding sim Session, and more to try out.

Valve has reduced the price of its Steam Deck by 10% during its Spring Sale which ends on March 23. The cheapest model can now be had for $359.10. It also created 20 startup movies for you to pick.

The 2023 Steam Spring Sale has officially opened its doors right on schedule, and it brings discounts for hordes of PC games and DLC. The massive store-wide promotion will last for a week.

The Unreal Editor for Fortnite will allow people to create new games and experiences within Epic Games' hit battle royale title leveraging powerful tools used in Epic's Unreal Engine 5.

The Epic Games Store's latest free game offer is a copy of the strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War. This 4X game has no diplomacy, with all efforts going towards war.

For a limited time, anyone purchasing an RTX 40 Series desktop graphics card or a high-end Nvidia-powered laptop will receive the highest tier $100 special edition of Redfall for free.

In addition, the Diablo IV open beta test will support NVIDIA DLSS 2 when it begins on Friday. DLSS 3 is also coming to Forza Horizon 5 on March 28, and more games will add support soon.

Microsoft's March update for the Xbox app on PC is carrying features aimed at improving games discoverability, quick access to titles that users are actively playing, better library filters, and more.

Another Games with Gold wave has dropped right on schedule, and this time it is offering Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S owners the opportunity to claim a copy of survival horror game Lamentum.

The US Federal Trade Commission says Microsoft has only sent it "a smattering" of requested files pertaining to its proposed Activision Blizzard purchase, and has not produced anything for 24 requests

The preload size for the Diablo IV early access open beta will be 40GB in size, but you can choose to include the high-resolution texture pack which will increase the preload size to 80GB.