Sony has announced the games coming to all PlayStation Plus members next Tuesday, and they are lead by a bit of a surprise inclusion.

Xbox recently made a big decision on Call of Duty when it comes to Game Pass Ultimate, but PS5 and even PS4 owners will be getting one of the best entries in the series at no extra cost.

In preparation for this year's Modern Warfare 4, PS Plus subscribers will get the cross-gen bundle of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

Comprising a four to five hour single-player campaign, multiplayer and a Zombies mode, the game sees Captain Price return to track and take on Vladimir Makarov. It's also notable for introducing open world areas to its campaign missions, and giving you more freedom on routes and gameplay styles.

What's interesting is that Xbox – owner of Activision Blizzard – recently announced the decision to stop adding Call of Duty games to its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service, in order to cut the monthly price.

Admittedly, that comes into effect with COD: Modern Warfare 4 and beyond, but it's a strange look putting another big release on the rival PS Plus platform soon after – even if it's already available on Game Pass.

I'm sure PlayStation fans won't care though.

It'll be available for PS4, PS5 and PS5 Pro from Tuesday 7 July, as will For the King II and CrossCode – two additional PS Plus games for the month. All members can redeem them – Essential, Extra and Premium.

They'll be available to grab until Monday 3 August.

PlayStation Plus pricing and membership tiers

There are three tiers of PS Plus membership. You will need to subscribe to one of them if you want to play multiplayer games online. However, each also offers additional benefits.

PS Plus Essential is the cheapest. Priced at £6.99 / €8.99 / $9.99 / AU$11.95 per month it gives you online play, plus three or four free games at the start of each month.

PS Plus Extra sits in the middle. It costs £10.99 / €13.99 / $14.99 / AU$18.95 per month, and adds access to a game catalogue of more than 300 full games to download.

PS Plus Premium is the most expensive tier and has all of the above and more. It is priced at £13.49 / €16.99 / $17.99 per month, and includes game demos, and an additional catalogue of classic games. There's cloud streaming too, for many games. That works across PS5 and the PS Portal handheld.

Note: in some regions – including Australia – PS Plus Premium is replaced with PS Plus Deluxe for AU$21.95 per month. This is the same as Premium, but without the cloud streaming.

I'll be interested to see if the news that Sony won't make disc-based physical releases for its consoles starting in January 2026 makes a proper ripple in the home cinema world, but it really should. The more I've thought about this announcement from PlayStation, the more despair I feel, and I don't think it'll just be games that are affected in the long run.

I've written a lot in the past year about how much I've enjoyed getting into physical media, starting up a modest but decent collection of movies both in standard Blu-ray and 4K formats. While I now use the brilliant Panasonic DP-UB820 and love it, for a long while I relied entirely on my PlayStation 5 to play 4K discs.

To be more precise, I used my PS5 before I upgraded to the PS5 Pro, at which point I had to fork out more money for the optional extra disc drive, since the PS5 Pro is digital-only. That already made it clear that using a disc on a PlayStation wouldn't be accessible forever, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon.

The key point I'm trying to make here is that we know the market for 4K Blu-ray players is really small – it's been that way for years, and the number of brands making players has shrunk over time.

Now, given that we can be extremely confident the PlayStation 6 won't have a disc drive (because why on earth would it?), it's highly likely that the one remaining mainstream way of being able to play 4K discs (the console under your TV) will also disappear.

Someone who didn't necessarily have a big collection of discs, but had some old favourites and could be tempted by a big new release on 4K, will soon quite probably have no hardware to actually watch a disc – unless they keep hold of their PS5 or Xbox Series X.

Given that the PS6 is likely to cost a genuine bomb, though, this might mean missing out on a decent trade-in fee for the older console, a luxury that only some will be able to afford.

It all means that an already niche market for physical cinema and TV releases might well shrink even further, and that's a terrible thing in my eyes. I've had some of the best home viewing experiences of my life in recent months thanks to proper physical releases from outlets like The Criterion Collection, replete with extras and featurettes to enrich a viewing.

In a world with fewer actual disc players, the idea that we'll still see the same number of disc releases feels pretty optimistic to me, and while we've seen revivals for formats like vinyl and cassettes in the music world, there aren't the same green shoots yet in movies.

Only this week, PlayStation users found a huge list of movies being deleted from their libraries after supposedly having been purchased, so it's not like the digital question is only for gamers. So, while it might seem unfair to say that PlayStation isn't just killing physical games with this decision, but also killing physical movies, there's certainly an argument to be made there.

Put it this way – I'd buy a Panasonic player sooner rather than later. They might get discontinued at some point, and then you'll be up the creek with just a PS6 and no disc drive to help.

Well, what a time it is to announce this one. Hot on the heels of news that GTA 6 won't have a disc in its "physical version", we're now learning that all PlayStation consoles will stop getting physical game disc releases from January 2028 onwards.

PlayStation announced the move in a surprisingly short blog post, with little deeper explanation of its thinking beyond touching on market trends (which are hard to ignore). It's blunt: "Physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028".

In its own continuing words, "This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs."

Closing the gap

There's no getting away from the fact that around 85% of games sold right now are digital, with physical media ever-shrinking, but this is still an absolutely enormous step, and one that will have major effects on the whole gaming industry.

After all, you'd put solid money on a PlayStation 6 coming out sometime around 2028 based on the current trajectory, and some observers would say this basically confirms that it will be digital-only. Unlike the PlayStation 5 Pro, it would also seem likely that it won't have an optional disc drive, since that drive would only be for older PS5 games anyway.

This will mean that, unless there are major changes to how purchasing works on PlayStation consoles at some point, the PlayStation Store will be the only way to get games directly on Sony's consoles, with the physical market becoming entirely code-in-a-box, and no likelihood of used games.

Digital ownership

Given that PlayStation is already fighting a multi-billion-pound lawsuit here in the UK around the prices on the PlayStation Store, it's hard to avoid the suspicion that this is a fairly dire change from the point of view of most consumers. After all, even if you rarely bought used discs, you always had the option to, and that option will now disappear.

On top of that, we're not even a week on from Sony catching major flak for deleting purchased movies from people's PlayStation accounts, underlining just how tenuous the concept of "ownership" is when you don't have a disc in hand.

It's also worth remembering that it's harder to actually capture the scale of the used market from retailers like CEX and marketplaces like eBay – again, there are plenty of buyers who will suffer from being restricted to digital purchases only.

Given the discontent generated by the lack of a disc in GTA 6's box, expect a fairly significant wave of backlash to be generated in the coming days. There's almost certainly nothing that anyone can do to change Sony's mind on this, but that won't stop people from making their unhappiness known, and loudly.

Sony has informed many customers that 100s of digital movies they've purchased will soon be deleted from their libraries.

PlayStation owners will lose access to over 500 movies from Studio Canal, after the expiration of content licensing agreements between the studio and Sony. There's a list of all the films that will be removed on the PlayStation website, but it includes the likes of the original Rambo trilogy, the Paddington movies, and The Evil Dead.

The cull list also includes many TV series, such as multiple seasons of Gomorra and The Young Pope.

They will be removed from users' libraries on 1 September 2026 (via VGC), and there doesn't seem to be a backup system or library swap service (to move your purchase rights to another platform).

Time to collect 4K Blu-rays?

Although this is just one storefront and one studio, the example it sets is clear. When you purchase a movie on a streaming platform you more often than not don't own it. You are simply purchasing the right to play it as often as you like, as long as it remains on that service.

But if, as in this case, the rights expire, you are left with nothing.

This is an argument Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray and even DVD collectors have been making for years. While streaming is more convenient, the only way to ensure you own a copy of a movie is to have a physical version (and the player to spin it on).

Picture and sound performance is an obvious benefit, with higher bitrates afforded by 4K Blu-ray discs, but even they pale into insignificance to a movie being deleted from your collection by a third-party.

It's why I retain my physical disc collection personally, even though it takes up a considerable amount of space. At least I can watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 4K whenever I fancy, rather than find it has simply disappeared when I next get the urge.

The biggest game of the century so far is nearly here – GTA 6 is open to pre-order now, ahead of its release on PS5 and Xbox on 19 November. Still, you might have some questions about it, not least because every screenshot and trailer of the game released so far appears to be jaw-droppingly high-fidelity.

If you're a PS5 owner wondering about the game's compatibility, or if you don't currently own a console but plan to buy one to play what is a genuinely titanic gaming release, you're in the right place – here are some key answers about what hardware the game will run on, and how.

Will GTA 6 require a PS5 Pro?

Here's the big headline question – given how good it looks, will you need a PS5 Pro to run GTA 6? No.

Rockstar has long since confirmed that the game will release for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, meaning that it will be available to play on base hardware from the launch of this generation. That means that if you have a PS5 right now, you're absolutely fine to play the game when it launches.

It also means that if you don't have a console, you can choose between a PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S as to where you end up playing it. The game isn't releasing on PC at first, although that will hopefully come later, and it also hasn't been announced for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Will GTA 6 be PS5 Pro enhanced?

This is a more difficult question to answer. According to the PlayStation Store listing for GTA 6, the game will indeed be enhanced for the PS5 Pro. However, Rockstar and PlayStation have said absolutely nothing about what this actually means.

Sometimes game developers tell us before a game releases what the differences will be between playing on PS5 and PS5 Pro, whether it's higher resolutions, framerates or better ray-tracing.

In this case, we don't know anything about what'll improve; that said, we have months to go before it comes out, so there's no reason to believe that we won't get these details eventually.

Frankly, given the extra power offered by the PS5 Pro compared to every other console on the market right now, it's a given that the game will run better, but we'll have to wait for further details to know in what ways.

Will GTA 6 be better on PS5?

Here's another more contentious question. In theory, the versions of GTA 6 coming to PS5 and Xbox should be the same in terms of content, PlayStation and Rockstar have a marketing partnership pushing people towards the PS5.

A recent blog post confirms that there will be various PS5-specific enhancements, too, including using the DualSense's haptic triggers, its built-in speaker, and the console's 3D sound engine for more immersion.

In practice, none of those will be all that game-changing (and I always turn the DualSense's speakers off in-game as I hate how they sound), but these little touches do mean that the game will arguably have slightly more to offer on PS5 compared to Xbox, if you're keeping track of all the minutiae.

Where to pre-order GTA 6 on PS5

If you're a dedicated PlayStation gamer and you want a copy of GTA 6 locked in for launch day, you'll find some links above for pre-orders. It's worth knowing and reiterating that the "physical copies" being sold in stores won't actually have discs, though.

They're going to be download codes in boxes, which is a frankly grim step that nonetheless will mean that Rockstar is completely safe from pre-release leaks. The firm indications are that a disc version will follow eventually, but it's fairly rotten to know that this won't be available at launch.

When you've got a PS5 Pro to call on at any time, but also a Nintendo Switch 2 and a gaming PC that just so happens to have a 5070 Ti inside it, knowing what platform to choose for a game isn't always that straightforward. A lot of the time, I'll base my decision on what hardware I think will be most interesting to evaluate, and in the case of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, I found myself drawn to the PS5 Pro for reasons I can't fully explain.

I've been playing the Lego games since the very earliest incarnations – the mid-2000s were a great time to be a kid with an Xbox 360, and I played some of the Lego Star Wars games to death. I've given them a bit more space recently, being a full-on adult and all, but the buzz around Legacy of the Dark Knight made me think I should check it out.

I wasn't wrong – this screams out that it's a great place to get back into the franchise if you haven't played one in a few years, not least because it's basically a hybrid between a Lego game and a sequel to the superb Arkham series that has been so badly missed in recent years.

I've played half a dozen hours of Legacy of the Dark Knight and enjoyed every minute, crunching through the prequel scenes that establish Bruce Wayne as Batman, and fairly quickly acquiring the core gadgets to make moving around this brick-built version of Gotham City super fun.

What's been most interesting in that time has been how the game approaches the PS5 Pro's beefier hardware. Principally, unless it has something going on behind the scenes, there's actually no Pro setting here in the menus, meaning you get the same choice between "performance" and "fidelity" modes as those on the normal PS5.

The performance mode targets 60fps, while fidelity aims for 30fps, and the visual difference is actually quite obvious. Fidelity is a good chunk sharper, but also has more accurate and vivid reflections and lighting, while the performance setting obviously strips things back a bit.

Normally, I gravitate straight to performance options for smoothness, but I've actually been playing the game on fidelity mode to get the most of it visually, because this is a surprisingly lush-looking game at times. Its nighttime cityscapes can be really pretty, and the detail in its Lego constructions is really fun, especially when they're at a sharper resolution.

That said, there's no getting around the fact that I'm surprised there's no "Pro" mode here, or at least that the in-menu information could be clearer about whether the PS5 Pro has any boosts to offer. The game looks great, but it's still quite surprising to find a Lego game limited to 30fps if you want the best visual performance, especially when you think about the modes on offer in something like Assassin's Creed Shadows, for instance.

I'm hopeful that we'll get a patch down the line to improve things, even if it is just a matter of clearer communication, but I'll still be having fun with Legacy of the Dark Knight regardless. I didn't expect it to pull me away from 007 First Light on my PC, but it's done a good job of offering a low-stakes palate cleanser, and there's a reason it's been met with the reviews and word-of-mouth that it has.

Ever since E3 proved a victim of the pandemic, Summer Game Fest has risen in its place to be the annual celebration of all things gaming each June.

Starting as a small affair, it has become a major event – tying together a number of gaming showcases from different brands and publishers, and hosting a boutique convention, of sorts, where international press can gather to play some of the games coming later in the year and beyond.

Summer Game Fest 2026: what's happened so far?

It kicked off last week – on 1 June – and has so far included several indie games showcases, the biggest PlayStation State of Play of the year, the Xbox Games Showcase, and the live Summer Game Fest show from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

We've had a host of major announcements, including a new God of War, extended gameplay footage of Marvel's Wolverine and Gears of War: E-Day, and even a new Xbox console coming later in 2026.

Here then are our highlights of what's happened so far. We'll also be posting updates along the way in our live timeline below, so come back to find out the biggest news from Summer Game Fest this week.

Oh, and you can watch the Summer Game Fest opening show below, too.

Our favourite Summer Game Fest announcements

• New God of War, Tomb Raider and Wolverine impressed during PlayStation's State of Play, but something else piqued my interest more
• Summer Game Fest continued with the Future Games Show Summer Showcase – watch it here
• Valve just gave everyone the best Steam Machine news – prepare for launch
• New Xbox console announced during the Games Showcase after all

PlayStation sets the stall for Summer Game Fest

One of the first showcase events to tie into Summer Game Fest, the most impressive PlayStation State of Play of the year really set the stall for what was to come.

Trailers and gameplay demos for the new Tomb Raider, God of War, Wolverine, and Until Dawn 2 were particular highlights, but it was Rayman Legends Retold that arguably ticked my boxes more.

Coming on 1 October and available for preorder now, it completely reworks one of the best 2D platformers ever made and even includes a remastered version of Rayman Origins, its immediate predecessor.

Valve quietly reminds everyone it exists

While not part of Summer Game Fest itself, Valve surreptitiously dropped arguably the best gaming news of last week.

Its Steam Machine (and the Steam Frame mixed reality headset) are still on course for summer releases. There were question marks on each, thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, but a post about the Steam Verified program confirmed the release window.

How much and exactly when are still up in the air, but if you've been holding off for a Steam Machine (rather than opting to build your own, as I did), there should be further announcements soon.

A return to exclusives by Xbox

The Xbox Games Showcase was a jam-packed affair, and as expected many of the titles did show the PS5 logo at the end of each trailer. However, it was also clear that the new, refreshed Xbox strategy will see a return to platform exclusives.

Indeed, CEO Asha Sharma appeared in the showcase herself to confirm that Gears of War: E-Day will be an Xbox exclusive for its console release – a swerve from previous plans. You'll still get a Windows version, of course, but the first-party game will not be available on PlayStation. Nor will the interesting looking Clockwork Revolution by another Xbox studio, InXile Entertainment.

The reworking of Halo: Combat Evolved – Campaign Evolved – will be available on PS5 as well, though. Considering it will release on 28 July, it was far too late in the schedule to change intentions.

New Star Wars – oh yes!

It probably went under the radar a bit, in comparison with the bigger game announcements, but Star Wars Zero Company caught my eye.

A single-player turn-based strategy game, Zero Company is set as the Clone Wars are coming to an end and features an original story with a new cast of operatives.

We also see the reveal of a returning character at the end of the trailer, so make sure you check that out.

Xbox goes back to its roots for special edition console

There's a new Xbox Series X model coming later this year that pays homage to the best colourway for the original Xbox.

The Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition will have a translucent green case and will be released as part of the brand's 25th anniversary celebrations. There will be a matching Xbox Wireless Controller too.

It might not have been the Project Helix tease we'd all hoped for during the showcase, but anyone of a certain age will appreciate this design nod.

Future Games Show rolled out the weird and wonderful

The Future Games Show: Summer Showcase from T3's parent company aired on Saturday and was a packed show, running for more than two hours. Hosted by Troy Baker (The Last of Us) and the new Lara Croft, Alix Wilton Regan, it featured a great selection of off-the-beaten track titles.

If you're into your horror games, it's particularly worth checking out the section on Clive Barker's Hellraiser Revival (around 1hr 15mins in). Oh, and check out Alix herself introducing new footage of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis.

How about Nintendo?

Although Nintendo hasn't shown its face during Summer Game Fest yet, it will host its own major summer showcase.

A new Nintendo Direct will be shown online tomorrow, 9 June at 15:00 BST (07:00 PDT). It'll last for around 50 minutes and feature games coming to both the Nintendo Switch 2 and older Switch models later this year.

You can watch it above or on YouTube or via the official Nintendo Direct website.

I've been hugely impressed by the PS5 Pro since the PSSR 2.0 patch arrived in February – not least thanks to its implementation in games like Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Crimson Desert and Pragmata.

These truly feel next-gen with higher frame rates, technologies like ray-tracing, and 4K resolutions all running at the same time. PC gamers will just shrug and say they've had that pleasure for years, but Sony's console is catching up.

The results have been so positive that the imminent need for a PS6 or Xbox Project Helix has been diminished. Even with its price rocketing in recent times, the PS5 Pro is holding the fort admirably.

That's evidenced once more with its handling of Saros, Sony and Housemarque's latest PlayStation exclusive. As a fan of Returnal, I've been looking forward to this latest bullet ballet roguelite for some time, but little did I expect its visuals to be my favourite bit.

Developer Housemarque truly takes the "roguelite" tag to heart – coming back time and again with familiar game concepts, but powered up in some way. And that is the case with Saros.

Built with love

Built using Unreal Engine 5, but with the studio's proprietary particle systems (Graphite VFX) layered on top, the game has a unique look in combat. Like Returnal, enemies bombard you with glowing, neon-like fire patterns, but there's a greater emphasis on voxel explosions and disintegrations, to the extent where the best battles result in spectacular light shows.

The planet on which you find yourself trapped (this time with a few colleagues in tow) – Carcosa – is more muted and devoid of much colour, which makes the bright effects all the more impressive. And sometimes it's easy to just stop and admire the Geiger-esque landscape as it's lit up in multiple hues, just before you get blasted into oblivion again.

Making life easier

Thankfully, Saros is even more forgiving than Returnal in that there is a traditional skill tree and weapon upgrade system – including while on a run. That makes it technically easier to play – although mastering it is another matter.

It is also more interesting in story terms, with the stunning graphics also elevating character models. That includes your lead, Arjun Devraj, who is superbly portrayed by English actor Rahul Kohli (of The Fall of the House of Usher and We Were Liars fame).

The cutscenes provide a welcome respite from the action too, while also helping to unravel the mystery of why the colonists first sent to Carcosa have disappeared. This story feels more involving than we've had from other Housemarque games and it helps drive you on, even when the going is getting much tougher.

Just the one graphics option – but oh, what an option

Surprisingly for a modern game, Saros only comes with one graphics option on PS5 Pro (and PS5). The game plays in 4K using PSSR 2.0 and at an almost consistently locked 60 frames-per-second.

You can't tweak the settings, that's your lot. However, what you get is so good and stable, why would you?

The Pro version is also so much sharper and better defined than on a standard PS5. It is a great advert for upgrading, for sure. And thankfully, as many retailers have opted not to adopt Sony's own hikes, you can still do so at roughly the original launch price – even less in some cases.

It's certainly worth it, with Saros now sitting loud and proud on the rapidly expanding list of enhanced games that take advantage of the latest tech. Long may it continue to grow. At least until PS6 arrives, anyway.

PS Plus members got a big win earlier in May with the addition of EA Sports FC 26 as part of the monthly lineup, but arguably the best is yet to come. One of the best games of all time is returning to the service for Extra and Premium subscribers.

What's more, you'll also be getting the best Star Wars games for PS5 too.

Red Dead Redemption 2 will return to the PS Plus game catalogue on Tuesday 19 May. In my opinion it's the best game ever made, not just one of them, but I appreciate that's subjective.

It's actually been part of the catalogue before, but was removed at the tail end of 2024 – its return is therefore a welcome reward for our patience.

If you've not played it before, it is a prequel to Red Dead Redemption, telling the story of the rise and fall of the Van der Linde gang, mainly through the eyes of main antagonist Arthur Morgan.

It's beautifully scripted, vast in scope and scale, and will undoubtedly take you on an emotional roller coaster.

There have been numerous rumours about a PS5 remaster, but this PS4 version also gets a little glow-up when running on a PS5 Pro. It's still locked to 30fps, but there's more fidelity in the graphics if you switch on "Enhanced Image Quality for PS4 Games" in the consoles' settings.

Also being added to the PS Plus game catalogue next week is Star Wars Outlaws – Ubisoft's open world adventure set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

You play as a young Han Solo-like scoundrel, Kay Vess, who must assemble a team of crack thieves to take on a heist against a criminal organisation. This takes you to different planets and open world landscapes, each of which packed with side missions and interesting characters.

In many ways, Star Wars Outlaws is a sci-fi Assassin's Creed, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Finally, PS Plus Extra and Premium members can also enjoy Bramble: The Mountain King (PS5 / PS4), The Thaumaturge (PS5), Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (PS5), Broken Sword – Shadows of the Templar: Reforged (PS5 / PS4), and Enotria: The Last Song (PS5) from next Tuesday.

Premium subscribers will be getting Time Crisis on PS4 and PS4, too – as part of the classics collection.

PS Plus tiers and pricing details

PlayStation Plus is mandatory if you want to play the vast amount of online games on your console. However, it also provides you with a number of free games each month, depending on your tier.

Here are the options:

• PS Plus Essential is £6.99 / €8.99 / $9.99 / AU$11.95 per month. It includes online play and three or four free games each month (as above).
• PS Plus Extra is £10.99 / €13.99 / $14.99 / AU$18.95 per month. You get the same benefits of the Essential plan, but also access to a game catalogue of more than 300 games to download and play.
• PS Plus Premium is £13.49 / €16.99 / $17.99 per month. You get everything in the Extra and Essential plans, plus game demos, and an additional catalogue of classic games. There's cloud gaming too, on PS5 and PS Portal.
• In some regions, including Australia, PS Plus Premium is replaced with PS Plus Deluxe for AU$21.95 per month. This doesn't include cloud gaming.

It is largely believed that, in the grander console wars, Sony won this generation. The PS5 sold considerably more units than Xbox Series X and Series S combined. And its mid-range refresh – the PS5 Pro – is undoubtedly the most-powerful games console we've had to date.

However, it could also be that Sony has looked longingly at something Xbox has been doing better for a fair while – something that could be important for the future of PlayStation and, in the short term, the PS6.

It is claimed that when a next-generation PlayStation arrives, it will be accompanied by a next-gen cloud gaming service.

While PS Plus Premium members have access to games via Sony's own cloud gaming platform, on both PS5 and the PlayStation Portal, the technology and scope is seen as inferior to Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Sony reportedly has plans to address that.

According to MP1st, upgrades could be coming to make the service more competitive – to improve its infrastructure and, potentially, lower latency. It is claimed that it will enhance the technology at server level, with once change touted being the adoption of PCIe Gen5 NVMe storage that's considerably faster than what's currently employed.

By reducing load and access times, this could have an impact on play for the consumer. At the very least, it should dramatically reduce the queuing time it takes for a game to start up.

PCIe Gen5 NVMe storage almost doubles the speed of access over Gen4. It's also suggested that this will be found in the PS6 console too – with the built-in SSD potentially capable of up to 14,900 MB/s read speeds.

Developers could have a field day with their games if they could live load assets at those speeds.

This is just a rumour for now, of course, but it wouldn't be a far stretch to believe that Sony would want to improve its cloud gaming service. After all, it's become the heart of the PlayStation Portal and with regularly leaked plans to bring a PS6 handheld to market, it could be important to that device too.

There have been plenty of rumours on Sony's return to handheld gaming before, but the latest is of particular interest to those looking for the ultimate retro device. That's because it is tipped to be able to emulate systems even the latest PC handhelds cannot.

As an owner of multiple handhelds, including Android, Linux and the SteamOS-powered Lenovo Legion Go S, I can just about play games from every era of console. However, there are two in particular that remain out of reach. And that's where the PS6 Portable could come in.

According to YouTuber Moore's Law is Dead (via NotebookCheck), the PS6 Portable will be able to play PS5 and PS4 games natively.

There is an emulator for the latter available for PC, Linux and Mac (ShadPS4) but it's very early in development and it'll only run a handful of PlayStation 4 games. And even then with caveats.

A handheld system that will run PS4, PS5 and PS6 games could be the holy grail for retro gamers, therefore, especially with some PS4 titles never getting decent remasters or PC releases.

Add the ability to play older classic PlayStation 1, 2 and 3 games through PS Plus Premium – likely through streaming – and you're onto a winner.

Of course, to be the ultimate retro gaming handheld you'd really need it to also play other classic systems, but I'm a believer in having multiple devices for different use cases. For example, I play 4:3 systems on my Ayaneo Pocket Air Mini, Game Boy and Game Boy Color on my TrimUI Brick Hammer, and 16:9 games on my Legion Go S or Odin 2 Portal.

Adding a PlayStation powerhouse that can play a vast library of otherwise difficult to emulate games seems a shoo-in to me.

There is one thing to note though, according to Moore's Law is Dead – who claims to have gleaned his information from a leaked Sony internal document – you will have to own the digital versions of games you play on the handheld. There is currently no way to assign disc copies to your account.

So all those physical games you've been collecting will be exempt, as things stand.

That said, the main PS6 console could be different – let's just hope it includes a disc drive, unlike the PS5 Pro.

Yes, these are troubling times for gaming, with soaring hardware prices and reported delays for next-generation consoles, but amongst all that, the PS5 Pro is finally coming into its own – especially if you have PS Plus Extra or Premium membership.

That's because, as well as being able to download the newly-upgraded Cyberpunk 2077 at no extra cost, another enhanced game is coming for subscribers. And it too is a sci-fi RPG masterpiece.

Horizon Zero Dawn was already one of the greatest and best-looking games on PlayStation consoles on its original release for PS4, but last year's remastered version took things to a whole new level.

The PS5 Pro version in particular looks absolutely stunning, with the console's newly updated PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) technology giving it a crisp, detailed facelift and buttery smooth 60fps gameplay.

However, as good as Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is, it's actually another game coming to PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers that I recommend the most.

Monster Train is a roguelite deck-builder that I have been addicted to across multiple platforms (no pun intended). It is a must-have indie hit, in my opinion, and a superb addition to the PS Plus game catalogue.

In it, you have control over a band of demons and monsters and must stop Heaven's soldiers from breaching your Hell bound locomotive to destroy its energy source – the pyre.

You play cards and power-ups to defeat each enemy as they progress up four levels of your train, and there are plenty more cards to pick up along the way. It is similar to Slay the Spire in many ways, except on public transport.

Like with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, you can pick Monster Train up at no extra cost from 21 April. It'll be available for PS5 only (Horizon Zero Dawn will also be downloadable on PS4 in its original form).

The other titles coming to the game catalogue for Extra and Premium members this month are: The Crew Motorfest (PS5, PS4), Football Manager 26 Console (PS5), Warriors: Abyss (PS5, PS4), Squirrel with a Gun (PS5), and The Casting of Frank Stone (PS5).

PS Plus Premium subscribers with also get Wild Arms 4 (PS5, PS4) added to the classics library.

It feels like an age has passed since Sony announced that its prices would be rising pretty much globally across pretty much all the main hardware associated with the PlayStation 5, from the PS5 and PS5 Digital to the PS5 Pro and even the PlayStation Portal.

Tech news progresses at such a pace that there have been plenty of stories since then, but few are bigger than the chunk $100 and £90 price hikes Sony's bringing in with slightly less than a week's notice across its whole lineup. I've already written about how this is objectively terrible news for gamers right now, but there's no escaping the fact that it could also make for a pretty terrible situation for the next console generation.

After all, the PS5 is already five years old, and that normally means it would be time to start wondering when the PS6 might be unveiled. The PS4 lasted for seven years before the PS5 hit the market, and if the PS6 followed that same window, then we'd only be around 18 months away from seeing the console unveiled.

Normally, that would be exciting, and there's no doubt that the hype would build on my side if Sony did drop the news that an unveiling was coming, but there'd be one element that would spell real worry – pricing.

After all, we're now in a situation where the PS5 Pro is going to cost a massive £780 or $900, a nearly unthinkable price just a few years ago, and there's basically no argument that the reason for that price is market forces. Sony isn't willing to sell the console at a loss, and components are now so expensive that it's passing the cost on to customers, rightly or wrongly.

The table of price rises that we've used a few times is still useful for underlining just how big the hikes are around the world:

So, that leads us to a game that's always played in the run-up to any big gaming launch – what will it cost? The PS6 is now likely to launch years into a period of rampant pricing inflation in tech, and it's anyone's guess whether the current demand for memory will have faded away and corrected itself or not.

If it did go back to normal, then you'd assume that Sony would be looking to launch for no more than the £500 mark, one that's traditionally been seen as quite a hard barrier in the minds of most consumers. Now that the PS5 will cost £570 for the foreseeable future, though, it might be more like a £600 mark in reality.

So, if £600 is a more reasonable and likely prediction right now, how does that look to most people in the market? The PS5 was already a somewhat tough sell at launch thanks to a lot of re-releases and cross-generation games, and it would seem the PS6 could well be in for a similar fate.

We've all seen the way graphical leaps have plateaued in the last half-decade, so it would be fascinating to see whether people are willing to countenance that sort of price if they've got a PS5, albeit one that has technically appreciated in value (ridiculously).

My role in tech journalism means I'll always be an early adopter when a new PlayStation rolls around, but £600 would be a steep ask for many of my gaming friends, albeit without knowing at this stage how big the leap in power might be.

Until that's clearer, we'll have to brace ourselves for doom-saying rumours for the next, I'd wager. People smell a story, and the chances of the PS6 having a truly off-putting price clearly just went up quite steeply.

I was in a cafe in the centre of London when I saw Sony's blog post about raising the PS5's price across all models last week. Sometimes a day off coincides with some big news, and there's just nothing you can do about it – but that didn't stop me from basically ignoring a conversation for a few minutes to read the whole post.

Sony's explanations do hold water, to a degree; its arguments about the "continued pressures" in the market, particularly in terms of the steeply rising costs of various components, including all types of memory, are fair enough and are being made by plenty of other tech giants, too.

Still, there's no way this can be spun into anything remotely resembling a positive story – it's a disaster for the console generation, and means that the PS5 will be cemented as the console era in which waiting to buy a console when it's cheaper stopped being something you could even do.

The hikes aren't even negligible from a percentage point of view, adding £90 or $100 basically across the board (ignoring the cheaper Portal as its own separate case). That's huge money, and it's striking that these are the sorts of margins that PlayStation consoles' prices used to fall by once they'd been on the market for half a decade.

It seems like those days are gone, or at least don't seem like they're coming back anytime soon, and it's not too hard to work out the broadest reason for all this happening. Whatever moniker you want to give it, from RAMageddon to the RAMpocalypse, the fact is that we're now a long way into the memory price spikes caused by AI companies driving demand for components.

Sony's not the only corporation to have raised prices on its consoles, and it must be remembered that this isn't even the first PS5 price hike it's brought in. We're years into this process, and it doesn't feel good at all.

At a time when gaming studios seem more fragile than ever, and where big games need to sell millions of copies to stand a chance of breaking even, or attract millions of players to last longer than a few weeks before being shuttered, it underlines the fact that the vibes in gaming aren't so great right now.

Some people might try to spin this as not the worst thing in the world for actual gamers, who can skate above the industry turmoil and just play the games that survive, but it all speaks to a really precipitous situation – and "industry crash" is the sort of phrase getting bandied about more and more in development circles.

Sure, titans like GTA 6 will still come and do genuinely incredible numbers every so often, but with the amount of turmoil going around, and now these price hikes, the actual ceiling of players out there feels like it may start to plateau or stagnate.

None of that worry makes it Sony's fault that the PS5's getting hiked – the blame lies more with the AI bubble and the investors pushing it. Still, it makes 2026 feel like a pretty challenging year for gaming and gamers. Needless to say, if you can buy a PS5 of any description before 2 April, I'd do that.

Sony appears to be working on a new PS5 DualSense controller add-on that lets you use your smartphone as the PS5 console itself.

The idea, in patent concept at least, is to clip a phone to a DualSense controller which interacts with the device to play full-on PS5 games.

This would use a good network connection and stream games, while also allowing developers to use all the phone's hardware as part of the game interaction experience.

If you recognise this, that's because Sony already did it. Yup, this little clip to attach a phone to the controller was introduced back in 2014. The problem then was that even on a Wi-Fi network, streaming didn't work so well. As such it was quietly ignored.

Now, with 5G and enhanced WiFi, plus plenty of experience streaming games, the chance for this to work has returned.

The patent filed shows Sony is looking into using a phone to play games but rather than just mirror, to also let developers use all the touchscreen, motion sensor and hardware features of the handset as part of the gameplay.

Sony already offers the PS Portal, an 8-inch 1080p LCD toting handheld to stream PS5 games over WiFi. Imagine that getting upgraded to any internet connection and using your phone, all you'd need is your controller to continue full-on gaming wherever you are.

Sony files a lot of patents, that never amount to much. But this feels different, grounded in a tested reality and really not that far from becoming a real offering soon.

Who remembers the heady days of the PS5's launch? I know I do, since I spent that period of lockdown acting as a sort of fixer for most of my mates, using my slightly more online nature to secure as many pre-orders as I could so that we all got consoles. At the same time, my role in tech journalism meant that I was able to test a bunch of accessories out early doors.

That meant plenty of the best gaming headsets in the early days of the PS5, but also some excellent controllers, and I found my favourite almost instantly. Right after the console came out, Scuf started making adapted DualSense controllers, and I got my hands on a Reflex Pro, a gorgeous bit of gaming hardware.

This was the DualSense Edge, a couple of years before Sony made its own pro controller, and it meant that I've been using back-paddles for around five years, at this point. They're a huge help in online FPS games in particular, I find, helping me to keep my fingers on the aiming stick while I reload or jump.

That's made it feel almost like a minor bereavement that, in the last few weeks, my Reflex Pro has started to feel a bit weird in the hand. Movement in games has felt looser than usual, and I recently upped my deadzone settings in Rocket League to the point where it feels like I'm driving in treacle.

To the surprise of nobody at all, when I swapped back to the near-pristine standard DualSense that came with my PS5 Pro last year, barely used because it's paddle-free, these issues evaporated. There's only one conclusion: stick drift has finally come for my pro controller.

It's a spectre that's loomed over way too many first-party gaming controllers from the last couple of console generations, but I'll be honest – I normally dodge the bullet. I don't know if it's because I'm a light touch on the sticks (ahem), but I've never even had a Joy-Con give out, despite knowing people who seem to go through a controller every six months.

I'm still lucky that I've got a backup standard controller waiting to be used, and I'll be fine with it, but it's already proving an adjustment to play without those all-important paddles, or indeed the extra grip on the back of the controller.

If money were no object, I'd be straight out to get a DualSense Edge, since I've still never managed to get my hands on one and I'm pretty sure it's the best of all worlds in terms of what I want. Sadly, money very much is an immovable object, so for now I'm back to the life of the hoi-polloi, and I'll be in mourning for at least a few weeks.

The PlayStation Portal has come on leaps and bounds since its launch in 2023. No longer just a streaming companion to the PS5 (and PS5 Pro), it can stream games in its own right as long as you are a PS Plus Premium member.

Now a new update has landed and it makes it better still. That stunning display can finally be used at its max, with higher resolution streaming now available.

From today, 18 March, an system software update is rolling out globally that adds a new 1080p High Quality mode for remote play (streaming from your own PS5) and cloud streaming via PS Plus Premium.

This gives you a higher bitrate to make games look better when you have a stronger wireless connection.

The Portal has always been capable of 1080p streaming, but with some picture compromises to keep the performance stable. This new mode improves the video quality at the cost of using more data.

It's available as an option, so should you need to use mobile data or find yourself on shonky hotel Wi-Fi, for example, you can drop the resolution mode. You still get access to 1080p Standard and even 720p to ensure games run smoothly.

However, if you have a half decent connection, the 1080p High Quality mode is there to switch things back up again.

You can find the new setting in Quick Menu > Max Resolution. Just restart your streaming session after swapping the mode and away you go.

Wait, there's more?

In addition to 1080p High Quality, the new PS Portal update adds improved product detail pages to game bundles, better notifications for game invites, enhanced Trophy notifications, and an improved search screen.

It's also easier for new Portal owners to set up their account and device, with a new onboarding system.

The PlayStation Portal has really improved in the last few months and has become an essential accessory for PS5 and PS5 Pro owners. Its streaming is almost latency free, especially when playing on your home Wi-Fi, and the list of games available to stream over the cloud is growing rapidly.

There are now more than 3,000 games available to access via cloud streaming, either from your own digital library or via the PS Plus catalogue.

Sony has never really had ambitions to take on the likes of Xbox Cloud Gaming or Nvidia GeForce Now, but its service for PlayStation Portal owners is at an all time high.

After we were told it was coming a few weeks ago, and after Sony soft-launched it by having it included in Resident Evil: Requiem, a new and upgraded version of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) is now rolling out for all PS5 Pro owners in a software update.

That's big news if you've been hoping for a bit of a visual boost to what your PS5 Pro can manage, and in my case it's a little annoying – I've played more than one of the games getting PSSR 2 in recent months, without the upgrade visual tech.

PlayStation made the announcement in a blog post that you should definitely check out if you're curious, since it includes clips from a bunch of the games that are getting patches to work with PSSR 2 straight away. Some of those games have needed performance fixes for a while, too, so it's an impressive slate.

Top of the list is the superb horror experience of Silent Hill 2, which I played through in February and massively enjoyed. It's beautiful on PS5 Pro, but there are a few locations where the original PSSR struggled to avoid major shimmering (including, awkwardly, the parking lot where the game begins).

This should be massively reduced with PSSR 2, as proved by a clip of Silent Hill f, which had the same problem but seems to resolve far more clearly in the example. This could make for a radically upgraded experience in both games, to the point where I'm a little gutted I played them before it was fixed.

The full list of games included in PlayStation's blog post is as follows:

• Silent Hill 2
• Silent Hill f
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Alan Wake 2
• Control
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Nioh 3
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• Crimson Desert
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows
• Cyberpunk 2077

Most of these should have patches available to download today, although in Crimson Desert's case, it'll come when the game launches on 19 March, and Assassin's Creed Shadows and Cyberpunk 2077 will both get their patches in the next few weeks.

That makes it quite a solid list of visual heavy-hitters that are getting PSSR 2 in the first instance, and you'd imagine that this is just the vanguard. If you want to sell more copies of your game to PS5 Pro owners, after all, embracing PSSR 2 would be a great way to incentivise people to buy.

Intriguingly, though, even if developers don't release patches, you can still see how PSSR 2 improves things. There'll now be a toggle in the Screen and Video settings on the PS5 Pro to use upgraded PSSR in all titles that support the original version.

As PlayStation says, "While results may vary by title, many games may see improvements in clarity and image stability. If it results in any unexpected visual effects, you can turn it off at any time."

That's a super interesting option that I'll be exploring once I get the software update, which will apparently roll out over the next few days – so if you don't see it yet, don't panic!

I've written quite a few pieces in the last six months about how I've been embracing physical media despite being a writer who covers streaming in major detail. That journey reached a really predictable milestone in the last couple of weeks – I finally got a real 4K Blu-ray player.

For the last couple of years, any time I wanted to watch a physical disc, I just used the PS5 I do most of my gaming on. In the last year, that's meant moving my PS5 Pro from my home office into the living room to hook it up and watch something. That's a bit of a pain, but my flat isn't big enough for it to be too annoying a journey.

What's more annoying about using the PS5 or PS5 Pro as a disc player, though, is that neither has a particularly quiet disc drive. Both will add a bit of a whine to your viewing experience, which isn't ideal from a sound perspective. Plus, the PS5 lacks one huge feature – Dolby Vision.

While Atmos is fully supported, Dolby Vision has never been added, meaning that the best discs can't shine to their full HDR potential on a PS5. So, I was extremely eager to try out the Panasonic DP-UB820, which in many people's eyes is basically "the" 4K Blu-ray player.

It's not Panasonic's top model, but at £350 it's by far the best value in the range, since step-down versions don't include Dolby Vision and the top-of-the-line UB9000 costs a massive £999. Still, £350 is the price of a PS5 when you take advantage of sales like Black Friday or Prime Day, so there's no pretending it makes more economic sense than a games console with so many other features.

If you're serious about your viewing experience, though, my initial watches have been pretty stellar, with the two biggest PS5 issues basically banished on the UB820. For one thing, its disc drive is much quieter (although still not entirely silent unless it's in a cabinet).

For another, Dolby Vision is entirely revelatory; I'm always a bit sceptical of codecs making massive differences, but having done some back-and-forth comparisons, this really is some of the best HDR tech you can get, and the fact that it works so easily out of the box is really persuasive.

I just watched the 4K version of Spielberg's War of the Worlds, for instance, and the amount of bright light points in otherwise dark scenes really made the player's contrast levels stand out. Some of the rich colours (like the blood-filled vines that spread around farms and towns) look sumptuous, too.

When I explained to other tech journalists that the PS5 doesn't support Dolby Vision, some of them were incredulous – but it really is absent. The more time passes, the more noticeable that becomes, too, since I'm confident that the PS5 is probably the most common 4K Blu-ray player on the market, technically speaking.

Regardless, now that I no longer have to rely on my PS5 Pro, I'm looking forward to getting as much out of this UB820 as I can over the next few months. From what I've seen so far, it's pretty much the best option for most people looking to get top-quality home cinema presentation.

My next question will be how it fares with standard Blu-rays, since its reputation is stellar on that front, too. If your normal Blu-rays are upscaled fantastically, after all, you might save a bundle by not having to rebuy them in 4K.

There’s nothing I love more than hopping onto the couch and playing a game for hours on the TV, but for a variety of reasons that isn’t always possible. The PlayStation Portal has become a big part of my gaming life therefore, especially since it started allowing you to stream your PS5 games from the cloud, as well as your console.

It’s still not perfect, but it’s a lot more versatile than it was at launch. And with its mighty 8-inch screen and DualSense-like controls, you get to experience the best of PlayStation without needing to turn on the TV at all.

At the end of last year I wrote about three games that really shine on the Portal, and now I want to highlight another trio that really suit the handheld format.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

The sequel to the weirdest game Hideo Kojima’s brilliant brain has ever given us is a stunning PS5 exclusive, and its grandest main story moments are definitely ideally experienced on a PS5 Pro connected to a massive TV.

However, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a game that shines almost as brightly in its side content. Running errands for your growing network of associates and delivering lost cargo you find in the Australian wilderness is a major part of the experience, and this is where the Portal becomes the perfect platform.

When I want to progress the story or am anticipating a flashy set piece, I’ll make sure I’m playing on my PS5 Pro, but if I’m just looking to upgrade some of my equipment by boosting my porter score, or just want to do some aimless wandering while I keep my eye on the football on the TV, I reach for the Portal.

Death Stranding 2’s combat can be pretty reliant on fast inputs, so I tend to avoid those sections when I’m streaming, but for everything else the game works really well on the handheld.

Cairn

T3’s Max Freeman-Mills recently wrote about how this hardcore indie climbing game has been an eye-opening experience on the PS5 Pro, and I’ve put some time into it there too.

But I’ve also found that the methodical, slow-paced nature of the game makes it a great fit for the Portal, and I’ve been making (very slow) progress from the comfort of my bed.

Unlike the many games that feature climbing sections as simple as locating a glowing handhold and pushing the analogue stick towards them, Cairn is an at times mercilessly difficult simulator. You control each of player character Aava’s limbs in sequence, thinking about every move carefully to avoid a painful fall.

Managing Aava’s food intake and chalk supplies is as important as mastering the controls, but I actually find it easier to spot grabbable geometry on the cliff-face when I’m holding a display close up to my face.

As Max noted in his piece, performance isn’t perfect, but I’ve had a pretty solid experience streaming from the cloud so far.

Astro Bot

It might be a few years old now, but Astro Bot remains the standout platformer of the 2020s so far, and will likely remain on the throne until a certain plumber decides to make an appearance on the Switch 2.

Team Asobi’s interactive love letter to both the platforming genre and PlayStation’s history is one of the most joyful gaming experiences I’ve ever had, and thanks to fairly frequent content updates since it launched in 2024, I’ve kept going back for more.

You should definitely enjoy Astro Bot’s pin-sharp virtual playgrounds on a 4K TV if you’re able to, but the Portal is also a great way to play. Because it features all of the DualSense controller’s technology, you still get to appreciate all the clever haptics work and adaptive trigger subtlety, and there’s something a bit special about holding the game’s wildly creative and colourful levels in your hands.

And while it might not be an OLED, this game makes you realise just how nice the Portal’s 8-inch display is.

It's not always the games you expect – when I bought my PS5 Pro (at some expense, despite selling a launch PS5 in the process), I knew that it would come in handy for the biggest releases. Since then, that's been confirmed by a series of massive titles that perform better on the more powerful hardware.

From Kingdom Come: Deliverance II to Ghost of Yotei, there are a heap of massive games out there that have sharper resolutions and smoother frame rates on the PS5 Pro compared to the base console. This week, though, I've been playing a far smaller game that nonetheless seems to be stretching my PS5 Pro to its limit at times.

Cairn is a climbing game, a little like the excellent Jusant from 2023, but with a far more intense focus on the actual mechanics of how you make your way up a cliff-face. In fact, where Jusant was extremely forgiving, Cairn can be brutal at times, tasking you with moving each of climber Aava's limbs one after the other.

You need to pick not just the right broad route up a climb, but also each and every handhold, foothold, clinch and piton point as you go. You might find an easy route, if you're careful and plan well, or end up stranded with no stamina or grip left and no choice but to reset and try a different approach.

That brutality (even on standard difficulty) does mean that Cairn can be frustrating at times – you might have to abandon an hour's progress if you realise that you don't have the pitons to make a final stretch, for instance. Still, it's also pretty clearly telling a story about single-minded determination that makes these setbacks very much an intended part of the experience.

The game's visuals are cel-shaded and, at times, really lovely, although it's not the most high-fidelity of experiences, which makes it a little surprising that it actually occasionally chugs on the PS5 Pro. It's not that easy to isolate these moments, although they often come when moving the camera across more complex scenes.

In fact, the frame rate is simply relatively unstable fairly consistently, which again is really surprising given the visuals at hand. I suspect the physics engine at play is quite complex, to account for some of that, but it all makes me wonder how the game plays on a base PS5. My guess is not brilliant – and that makes the prospect of a port to Nintendo Switch 2 look a little ropey, too.

This makes it quite a fascinating game to experience on this hardware, one that seems to underline the way that the PS5 Pro can be an investment in stable performance even when you don't expect it.

If you want a game that'll test your grit and determination without necessarily requiring split-second reactions and instincts, check out Cairn. It's a pretty unique experience.

It's been a couple of years now since the PlayStation Portal came out, but despite spending a frankly ludicrous amount of time on my PS5 and, more recently, PS5 Pro, I'd never actually gone hands-on with a Portal until very recently.

I'll happily admit that, while I had no issue with the idea of the Portal, it just wasn't something I could see myself needing. I mostly game on a monitor in my home office (a gorgeous 4K Sony Inzone M9 II if you're wondering), rather than on the main TV. That means I don't really need a second-screen device, since I'm not hogging the TV if I play on my PS5 Pro.

This all means that the relatively recent addition of full cloud streaming capabilities to the Portal is something of a game-changer. Whether or not you think the feature should have been there back at launch (and I do), the fact that it's here now makes the Portal suddenly a far more widely-useful device.

For one thing, it means you're no longer limited to Remote Play and the network strength of your home's Wi-Fi – rather, it's just about connection speeds and being able to support cloud streaming in bandwidth terms.

So, with a loan unit from PlayStation in hand, I've been testing out cloud streaming on the Portal for the past couple of weeks, and it's been eye-opening. I first tried this on my PS5 when it was made available, and found it pretty high on latency, the point where I ditched it quickly.

Now, though, I am indeed impressed with what I've been playing. Where games used to feel sluggish to the point where those needing fast reactions felt sub-par, I now would pretty happily play almost anything on the handheld.

The screen, for one thing, has always been impressive (despite not being an OLED), and continues to hold up really well. It's vivid and sharp, just as you'd hope, and colourful titles like Sword of the Sea look terrific.

That said, there are still hangups. I occasionally found that games wouldn't start because the Portal was citing poor connection strength – but checking what my iPhone was pulling at the same time would confirm speeds over 500mb/s, far more than PlayStation's recommended minimum for 1080p (15mp/s).

Similarly, there's no escaping the fact that you do get lag spikes, seemingly without a clear cause every time, and these have a knock-on effect on latency for periods. When it's stable, as it often is for long stretches, these fade into memory.

The real question for me is how this'll hold up when I'm on far weaker connections, like those in hotels or hotspotting from my phone. I aim to keep testing this over the next few months on trips and holidays, to see how it fares.

With PS6 still years away from release (according to industry experts) it seems Sony is still working on several ways to make it different to previous console generations.

There continues to be numerous rumours about a handheld version, which will play the same games but with compromises, and it's likely to more universally capable when it comes to backward compatibility. But the biggest, perhaps craziest upgrades might be found on its controller.

Sony has filed a patent for a new DualSense-like controller that takes a radical step away from what we know and love – it has no physical buttons.

The gamepad instead features two touchscreen zones where you can place your own button and D-pad configurations.

Issued last week, the patent (via VGC) shows a controller shaped like the PS5 DualSense but with no thumbsticks and two touchpanels. These enable users to assign their own customised layout instead.

It could even be changed per game, allowing you to set-up the exact key and pad controls you need for a specific title. This is potentially useful, not just for more complex games, but for accessibility too – for those who find smaller buttons hard to press.

There is a downside though – anyone who's tried to play fast-paced action games on a mobile phone screen will know how easy it is to miss inputs when you can't physically feel them. Haptics might help, and it seems that's part of this idea, but it's not a replacement for an actual D-pad or thumbstick.

That being said, mouse style controls would be better emulated through touchpanels – just look at the controller for Valve's forthcoming new Steam Machine.

Maybe the next DualSense could feature both concepts – physical controls and touchscreens that can be customised. That would offer the best of both worlds.

Or maybe this idea will be ditched when it comes to an actual consumer release. That happens often with patents – many of them never see the light of day.

When the PS5 Pro released just over a year ago, I wrote in my review that it had "more potential than is immediately apparent", but in all honesty, it's not really lived up to its promise – not yet, at least.

There are a few titles that run significantly better on the enhanced hardware, such as Assassin's Creed Shadows and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but there's hardly been the flood we originally hoped for. And too few to justify the extra expense over a standard PS5.

But that could soon all change. We reported last March that an upgrade was coming to PS5 Pro to improve the console further, with Sony having confirmed a continued partnership with AMD.

Lead system architect, Mark Cerny, said at the time that the company's target for 2026 was to "have something very similar to [AMD's] FSR 4's upscaler available on PS5 Pro". That would replace PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), which has proved hit and miss at times.

Now it seems the new upscaling tech is almost ready for public consumption, with a release date of this March being touted.

According to Japanese PlayStation expert @Gust-FAN (via NotebookCheck) PSSR 2.0 is due before the end of March – it could even arrive sooner.

They also say that image quality and performance will be improved by the update, while games "capped at 70-80 fps" will be boosted too.

What is PSSR and what does it do in the PS5 Pro?

PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution is an upscaling technology that enables developers to run games at a higher resolution without impacting frame rates. It can boost graphics running in lower resolutions up to 4K, to make them look much better during play.

However, some games using PSSR have exhibited strange artefacts and shimmering. So while the technology has improved the overall presentation, it as sometimes come at a cost.

AMD's FSR 4 – much like recent versions of Nvidia's DLSS – is a similar tech but more effective. It uses more mature algorithms to perfect the automatic upscaling process, which results in better performance – even when running at super high frame rates, such as 120 fps.

PSSR 2.0 is based on those algorithms, which will hopefully encourage more developers to use it as a graphics option for PS5 Pro versions of their games.

We will hopefully find out more in the coming weeks.

The PlayStation 5 Pro is quite a banger of a console, and certainly the most powerful one on the market right now (far outstripping the nonetheless brilliant Switch 2 in raw power) – but it also has quite a lot of options for you to get to grips with once you set it up.

If you've recently picked up a PS5 Pro, or you've had one since launch day and want to get more from the console, there are plenty of little tweaks you can make, from making sure that your VRR (variable refresh rate) settings are correct to letting it power up backwards-compatible PS4 games.

Still, one thing that I think many people might overlook is the humble welcome hub, a feature that Sony added in a software update a couple of years ago, and which I think can be a really great way to get all the information you need when you turn your console on – if you set it up right.

The welcome hub and how to tune it

When you turn your PS5 Pro on, after the initial setup, you're greeted with what Sony calls the Welcome Hub, which is a card on your list of apps and games that basically lets you see a bunch of widgets at a glance. At first, this will be set up in the default configuration, but I think it's well worth taking some time to tinker with it.

You can do this by using your controller to navigate to the pencil icon at the top right of the section when you're looking at it – this is the Edit button, and lets you change what widgets are there, and add new ones.

As you navigate over the existing widgets, you'll be able to move them around and even use the R1 and L1 buttons to resize them.

By checking out the list of available widgets, you'll get a sense of the options open to you, and it should only take a couple of minutes to build a new version of the hub that surfaces the information you want.

In my case, I'm particularly interested in immediately seeing who from my friends list is online, and whether they're joinable, which I can do easily now, as well as getting a sense of whether my controller is charged thanks to a battery widget.

I also have a small media gallery tile, as I like the way it surfaces screenshots I've taken over the years, a bit like a memory from the Photos app on my iPhone. That helps me recall games I might have forgotten about every so often. There are a host more widgets to choose from, too, of course.

So, get digging into the menu and see what you end up building. It might not change your gaming life, but I can almost guarantee that customising the menu will spark more joy in the long run than just leaving it as the default.

The PlayStation Portal is an amazing piece of kit – especially since Sony pushed its streaming update at the tail end of last year. You no longer have to stream games from your own PS5, with a growing library of top-notch titles available to play via PS Plus.

But there's still one thing it's missing – something that would really put it amongst the best gaming handhelds, for me. And it looks like an upgraded model could be coming with exactly that.

Gaming analyst @Zuby_Tech posted a claim on X that a new version of the PlayStation Portal could be on its way. They also said that it will be upgraded with an OLED display and a 120Hz refresh rate.

They also suggested that it will be called PlayStation Portal Pro.

To be honest, the 8-inch LCD display on the current PS Portal is excellent – capable of bold, saturated colours and with great brightness. But when compared with the OLED panel on my AYN Odin 2 Portal Android gaming handheld, it just doesn't have the same impact.

Deeper, more involving black levels not only give images a more tangible look, they improve colour representation with minimal light bleed around pixels.

The 120Hz refresh rate will also bring it more in line with modern handhelds.

Isn't Sony also planning a PS6 handheld?

This new release won't impact Sony's other handheld plans, it's said. We've heard for a while that the company could release two new consoles in the next couple of years – a dedicated handheld, plus a full-on PlayStation 6.

However, the potential PlayStation Portal Pro could set the stall for the type of tech to expect further down the line. An 8-inch OLED display would certainly be an impressive start.

Of course, there's no confirmation on this rumour for now, let alone a launch date. If true, it'll surely arrive sometime this year – possibly during the build up to the holiday season.

For now, I'll continue to savour some of the best PS5 games on my Portal, and wait with baited breath.

The PS5 Pro is, bar none, the best and most powerful mainstream console available right now – and there's no arguing with that. It far outstrips the power of the base PS5 or the Xbox Series X, and should retain that title for a good few years. If you just added one to your arsenal, you've made a great choice.

As the proud owner of a PS5 Pro, and someone who's played a whole host of games on it since the console launched, I've brought together a list of the games you might want to pair with your powered-up hardware now that we're in early 2026. These are the buzziest titles, with most of them also boasting really obvious enhancements compared to on base PS5.

Arc Raiders

Top of my list right now is the game that's stolen dozens of hours from me in the last month – Arc Raiders, which has been something of a multiplayer insurgent, coming from a smaller studio. It's a stunning example of how to build an extraction shooter that still appeals to casual players, and its mixture of combat against unpredictable robots and even more unpredictable players is total dynamite.

The game is listed as being PS5 Pro Enhanced on the PlayStation, which means you get sharper visuals and some higher-quality lighting and shadows compared to PS5. That might not sound like much, but when you're sneaking around on a night raid and catch the glint of someone's gun barrel in a dark corner, you'll realise just how much extra ambiance and detail it can mean.

Assassin's Creed Shadows

Perhaps the biggest gap between a standard PS5 release and the PS5 Pro version that I've seen in a long while was offered up by Assassin's Creed Shadows, which made a radical improvement by letting you use its new and extremely impressive global lighting without dropping down to 30fps. That means you get super-smooth 60fps gameplay and the best visuals possible.

It helps that its version of feudal Japan is also insanely beautiful and detailed, to the point where I actually think it's a better and more consuming game than Ghost of Yotei (although the latter is also a superb pick for samurai fans). Available now for very decent prices, Shadows is a real technical showcase.

Battlefield 6

If Arc Raiders isn't quite the flavour of multiplayer shooter that you're looking for, there's a very good chance that Battlefield 6 is more up your street. This traditional but hugely satisfying FPS goes big on destruction and atmosphere, with some of the best visuals and sound design I've encountered in ages.

It also looks sharper and cleaner on PS5 Pro thanks to some handy enhancements, even if they're not surfaced in settings that you can actually change. It adds up to a modern and convincing shooter that can be incredibly immersive on PlayStation's most powerful console.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

My favourite RPG of the last few years was also the game that really made me realise I did the right thing by buying a PS5 Pro. What can be a slightly unstable game on the base console is completely rock-solid on the Pro, with better resolution and frame rate consistency making this unbelievably detailed game shine as it should.

It's been expanded with various free mission packs since its launch, making it all the more attractive, but you really have to give Deliverance 2 a few hours of gameplay to let it win you over. Its commitment to immersion makes it brutal in the early hours, but by the time you pilfer or earn a suit of armour you'll probably be unable to tear yourself away.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

A slightly older title that nonetheless benefits from one of the best PS5 Pro patches in the business, Spider-Man 2 is a total joy from start to finish, telling a classic Spider-Man tale and letting you jump between the two suits of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they dice with a whole heap of different baddies and even each other at times.

The game's PS5 Pro patch unlocks a bunch of graphical modes to choose from, with those that take advantage of its power really standing out. They ensure that you can get ray-traced lighting and reflections at frame rates that still feel ultra-smooth (especially on a display with VRR), making this hugely satisfying game even more enjoyable to play or replay.

While it does feel like consoles are more expensive than ever, and gaming is pretty hard to do on a shoestring, it's thankfully still the case that most new consoles still come with an included controller, whether it's the PS5's excellent DualSense pad or the Switch 2's detachable Joy Cons.

Still, plenty of gamers know the sensation of wishing you had an extra couple of buttons, or clickier triggers, or whatever else when you're in the heat of an online match. If someone you know falls in that bucket, then giving them a pro controller for Christmas could make you just about their favourite person ever.

I've tested a whole heap of pro controllers down the years, and use one basically every day – so I've gathered three of the best current options for you to consider, right here.

T3's Top 3

So, which is best?

Well, this is where things get a little tight. After all, I've not picked out any duds for you – any of these three controllers would make a great addition to your gaming setup, and each has its strengths.

That said, I am ultimately happy to rank them, and I think the 8BitDo Pro 3 does come up in a very respectable third place. It's the best value, and there's no real doubting that. However, it's not quite as guaranteed to work with the device you want, since it doesn't have PS5 support, making it more of a Switch 2 accessory.

In second place, regrettably, I'm going to put my daily driver, the Scuf Reflex Pro. I think it can be the best controller on the market, if you tune it exactly as you want, but it lacks some of the flexibility of the DualSense Edge and is more expensive. This is for the true enthusiasts who want a custom controller that's perfect for them.

In the top spot, therefore, I think the DualSense Edge does take it. It's the best value despite a high price tag, has the features you'd want, and integrates phenomenally with a PS5, letting you make profiles on a per-game basis. That said, it isn't quite as stellar for other devices, for obvious reasons.

When Ubisoft first confirmed that it would be bringing Assassin's Creed Shadows to the Nintendo Switch 2, I'll happily admit that I was impressed and surprised. I played the game fairly obsessively earlier this year on my PS5 Pro, and was stunned by how it made the most of the hardware to look genuinely superb.

Nintendo's console is drastically less powerful than Sony's highest-powered device, though, so I assumed that major cutbacks would be needed to make it run. Still, after playing around with the game for the past week, I am indeed fairly impressed with how it's been handled.

The visual scaling back is pretty obvious the moment you boot up the game, and there's no point ignoring it. Shadows runs at 30fps on Switch 2, in both docked and handheld play, and it's clear that the console probably couldn't manage 60fps without looking so muddy as to be pointless.

The resolutions in each case are a massive step down from the PlayStation 5 version, let alone that of the PS5 Pro, and you also clearly miss out on the ray-traced global illumination lighting that made the game so spectacular on PS5 Pro. That said, I fast-travelled around a bunch and saw different weather conditions that made me still feel like the game is a technically impressive effort.

Shadows features a chunky open world, and its gameplay in exploration and combat is entirely 1:1 on Switch 2 compared to consoles – you don't miss out on anything. In fact, logging into my Ubisoft account let me pick up my completed save thanks to cross-progression, which is really handy.

I was thinking I could test the game by playing its Claws of Awaji free expansion, but Ubisoft has confirmed that this will only come to Switch 2 in early 2026 as part of an update, so parity between versions isn't quite there on the content front.

That 30fps change does make the game feel less fluid, of course, but that isn't to say it feels bad to play. It takes some getting used to, but it felt relatively stable in my limited testing. The menus did sometimes feel quite laggy, though, and the same went for fast-travelling.

Also, the upscaling techniques being used are more visible than you might be used to. Pan the camera between the sky and a busy hillside of trees in the distance, for example, and you'll see the software visibly catching up, with some lighting changing in front of your eyes once the vista is in view.

That makes the game notably a little janky at times, and I can't pretend it's the best version of Shadows. Still, plenty of original Switch ports were technically the worst versions of the games in question, but they still found bigger audiences by making it onto the platform at all.

One interesting detail is that, just as it did on the other consoles, the main menu in Shadows features a portal that lists other recent games, including Odyssey and Valhalla. That doesn't necessarily mean those two are going to be ported to Switch 2, but it certainly makes that seem more likely than before.

They run on the same game engine, after all, albeit an older version with fewer visual features, so perhaps they could even perform more smoothly on Switch 2 if Ubisoft does port them. That said, since Shadows clocks in at a chunky 65GB download, having them all on your Switch 2 at once might need a microSD Express card to make things more sensible anyway.

Ultimately, anyone asking which platform to play Shadows on will now get a more complicated response than before. There's no doubt that the 60fps mode with global illumination on PS5 Pro remains the best experience, without any real asterisk, but plenty of people might end up with only the Switch 2 as their option.

In that case, I think it seems like a perfectly fine place to play through what is a really great game. There's no doubt that Shadows will be an interesting early technical statement from the Switch 2, and I look forward to seeing what more intensive assessments of its performance tell us about how the hardware is handling such a big game.

Even though many retailers have already kicked off their Black Friday sales, PlayStation has so far staid its hand. However, we only have a few days to go before its deals become available – and they could very well be worth waiting for.

That's because, from Friday 21 November, PlayStation's offers will go live and will include big discounts on PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles, along with the PS Portal handheld and the DualSense Edge controller.

The deals will be available from the official PlayStation Store online, as well as a whole load of bargains on games available on the consoles themselves. The likes of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, God of War Ragnarök, and Astro Bot will have money off, and you can expect discounts on PlayStation Plus memberships too.

The offers will be available across multiple regions, including the UK, US and Europe. We've also found out the sorts of bargains you can look forward to, including £90 / $100 off the PS5 Pro, and £135 / $100 off a PS5 Digital Edition.

The new PS5 Fortnite Flowering Chaos Bundle will be available for just £389.99 / $449.99, with the Digital Edition version down to £294.99 / $399.99.

Additional details can be found on the official PlayStation Black Friday deals website, and we'll bring you all the best offers right here on T3 as soon as they start.

There will be plenty of deals available through third-party retailers too, including Amazon, so we'll bring you those as well.

Come back and check often. Certainly, if you're in the market for a PS5 or PS5 Pro, or are just looking for a new controller, accessory or PS Plus subscription, these are exciting times.

We might only be five years into the life of the PlayStation 5, but if you’ve been on the internet in the last few months then you’ll know that speculation is already rife about its successor – which, let’s face it, is almost certainly going to be called the PS6.

While I’m more than content with the PS5 Pro that currently sits underneath my telly, I can’t help but dip into the rumours, and there are a number of reasons why I’m already daydreaming about what the PS6 could bring to the table.

Here are three that have caught my eye.

1. It could be a fair bit cheaper than the next Xbox

Consoles are getting more expensive all the time, and with the PS5 Pro coming in at £699 ($699 / €799) you can be pretty confident that the PS6 will be a very costly investment. That’s the bad news. The good news (depending on your platform allegiance) is that it could come in at quite a bit cheaper than the next Xbox.

Xbox president Sarah Bond recently told Mashable that the company’s next-gen console would be a “very premium, high-end curated experience,” or in other words (according to the reliable Windows Central) a Windows-toting PC in Xbox-branded clothing that lets you play games from other launchers and platforms as well as Microsoft’s.

This is likely to be very expensive indeed, and could very well be a different direction to the one Sony will take.

If, as rumoured, Microsoft could be considering a $1,000+ console and PC hybrid, then the more traditional alternative of the PS6 should in theory do less damage to your wallet.

It’s only speculation at this point, so take with a generous spoonful of salt, but a known leaker has estimated the difference could be as dramatic as $600 for the PS6 vs $1,200 for the next Xbox.

This seems very unlikely, but if the final outcome is even close to those figures, it’s easy to imagine the PS6 being the choice for the vast majority of people.

2. It could launch alongside a complementary handheld console

It’s pretty obvious that Sony is interested in getting back into the handheld space. It kind of already is with the much-improved-from-launch PlayStation Portal, and given the success of the Switch 2 and the burgeoning gaming PC handheld scene, it would be crazy for Sony to sit out of the fight in the upcoming generation.

The Portal has been a surprise hit for Sony, despite it not being capable of running any games natively, and as time has passed the remote play accessory has started to look like a rough draft for a more fully-featured handheld.

That’s certainly what the rumour mill has been saying for months, and if you believe the supposed leaks, a new PlayStation handheld could arrive at the same time as the PS6.

It would act as a companion to the main console and could gazump the recently released ROG Xbox Ally and even the Xbox Ally X in the specs department.

Sony recently introduced a new Power Save mode for the PS5 that allows you to play some games with reduced performance in exchange for the console sipping less energy. Many have speculated that this could be the necessary groundwork for a handheld device that is considerably less powerful than the PS6 but still able to run the same games.

Personally, I still want a Vita 2 that is the same size as Sony’s beloved handheld of old and excels at indies and weird games, but I’ll happily take a portable PS6 for my backpack too.

3. PSSR could get even better in the next generation

When properly utilised (and that unfortunately hasn’t always been the case so far), one of the most impressive features of the PS5 Pro is PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).

Sony’s AI-upscaling tech uses machine learning to make a lower resolution base image appear sharper and more detailed on your TV without performance being sacrificed in the process. Essentially, it uses AI to make your games look better.

Sony made a big deal about PSSR when the PS5 Pro launched last year, and it’s likely that the souped-up PS5 is a dummy run for the next version of the tech in the PS6.

Reliable YouTuber leaker Moore’s Law Is Dead has speculated that a planned update to PSSR on the PS5 Pro could offer 4K/120fps performance, as well as 8K at 60fps. I’m personally far less interested in resolution than I am high frame rates, but the thought of being able to play AAA games in their smoothest possible form while still being able to enjoy UHD fidelity does excite me.

Given the issues some developers have had with PSSR so far, it feels like we’re a long way from the tech working as it’s supposed to in every game, but if the PS5 Pro ends up being capable of the kind of numbers quoted above, the PS6 could be seriously enticing for frame rate freaks like me.

I'm a big fan of the PlayStation Portal – Sony's gaming handheld that lets you stream your PS5 games for remote play. But it's always been a bit lacking in features in comparison with other portable devices.

The gaming giant added the ability for PS Plus members to stream games over the cloud as part of a major update last year, but the list of supported titles was limited during the beta phase.

That's all changed now, though. The cloud gaming functionality has now launched fully and adds cloud streaming of games you own, as well as the selection available in the game and classics catalogues.

Sony boasts that thousands of titles are now available to play remotely. If you own any of those supported, you can stream them to your Portal without needing a connection to your PS5 or PS5 Pro.

The list includes the likes of Astro Bot, Borderlands 4, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Ghost of Yōtei, with new releases being added all the time. And, as you don't need to rely on your own home network to stream when out and about, you should get a better experience on your travels.

It makes the PS Portal much more attractive for sure – and is another string in the bow for PS Plus Premium members, as the new feature is exclusive to that tier.

Other new PlayStation Portal features

As well as expanded cloud streaming, the PlayStation Portal has received a refreshed user interface, with three new tabs on the same homescreen.

You can access your Remote Play, Cloud Streaming and Search screens from the one location (rather than having to boot into the option you'd prefer on start-up, as before).

The handheld now supports 3D Audio on select games, when listening through compatible headphones or earbuds. And a new Network Status Screen will give you the heads up on your current connectivity, to ensure you are getting the best experience possible.

Additional extras include a new in-game store to purchase in-game items on the Portal itself, and the ability to send and receive game invitations to and from friends who are also on the Cloud Streaming network.

The PS Portal update is available to all owners now.

It's the question on everyone's lips – when are we next going to get a glimpse of GTA 6? It's been months and months since the last trailer dropped, but there's still a long time to go before the game is ready to actually come out in May 2026, so Rockstar will have to give us more to digest soon, right?

Well, there's really no guarantee there at all, but I've been thinking about the huge upcoming blockbuster in light of what I've played so far this year, and one of the conclusions I'm increasingly drawing is really surprising to me. I've been playing on PC more and more this year, with an RTX 5070 Ti to rely on, and it's made performance more of an interest in new games.

If I scroll through the new games I've played in recent months, one has stood out for its technical optimisation – Battlefield 6, which runs like butter on a wide range of machines, and is particularly handsome on its highest settings. Its team made the impressive decision to ignore ray-traced lighting, sticking with older techniques to leave more headroom for reactivity and destructible environments in its maps, and that approach has paid dividends.

The game looks stunning, and while its PC performance is super impressive, it's on consoles that the benefits shine – especially given GTA 6 won't even hit PC at launch. On consoles, Battlefield 6 is a 60fps title by default, with no mode that drops this down to 30fps, and it also includes an unlocked performance mode that gets you more like 80-90fps even in big multiplayer games.

That means everyone gets smooth 60fps gameplay as the floor of the possibilities, and makes for a current-gen title that really feels superb to play, at the same time as looking and sounding great. From what we've seen of GTA 6, it might be an envelope-pusher in terms of visuals, but if all that comes at the expense of running at 30fps, I worry that it just won't feel that great to play.

Indeed, with its release date now in mid-2026, one could start to suspect that Rockstar's plan involves an inevitable upgraded version of the game on PlayStation 6 and whatever device is next for Xbox, allowing players to enjoy the game more smoothly. This would also be a repeat of how GTA 5 worked, releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 before coming out again in a markedly better state on PS4 and Xbox One consoles.

Remembering the ropiness of those first GTA 5 versions, if GTA 6 releases in 2026 and doesn't have 60fps performance even on PS5 Pro, I'll count myself sorely disappointed.

This console generation has been solid in my opinion, but it's fair to say that it hasn't delivered consistently smooth frame rates without upscaling and other wizardry to make things look like they're rendering in 4K, and the same goes for expensive techniques like ray-traced lighting. Battlefield 6 has demonstrated that players might be more interested in smoothness and playability than the most bleeding-edge technical options, and I'll basically be super interested to see how Rockstar's approach firms up next year.

It's a bit of a mind-melter to consider, but this console generation is already at least halfway done – the PlayStation 5 came out all the way back in 2020, and the PS5 Pro in 2024, meaning we're likely much closer to the PS6 than you might first assume. While rumours abound about what it'll change on the technical side, and how it'll move things forward in terms of fidelity and possible portability, I've been testing a new 8BitDo controller that shines a small light on one important feature.

The 8BitDo Pro 3 is the latest version of 8BitDo's retro-inspired controller lineup, and it's a bit of a barnstormer if you want a Bluetooth controller for your PC or Nintendo Switch (or indeed Switch 2). It has really fun stylings that make it look like exactly what it is – a retro controller with all the modern mod cons that you'd hope for.

That means TMR joysticks (which are way less susceptible to wear and drifting), triggers that you can easily swap between full motion and instant clickiness, and a D-pad that feels genuinely superb when used. However, it's the button layout that has grabbed my attention.

8BitDo has added four extra buttons to the Pro 3. Two are next to the shoulder buttons (R4 and L4), giving you more options up there; another two are on the controller's rear side, where your fingers rest when gripping it (PR and PL). These open up a huge range of possibilities for easier control schemes in games of all types, and are hardly revolutionary, as much as they're very well-implemented.

In fact, Nintendo's own Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller also includes extra buttons on the grips, and you can remap these super easily whenever you like. So, what does this mean for PlayStation? Well, in short, I'm hoping that the next-generation controller we get with the PS6 includes grip buttons as standard.

Sony can't claim to have its head in the sand on this, after all. It released the DualSense Edge years ago, a super premium controller option that included grip buttons – swappable ones, in fact, that could change to a more paddle-like shape if desired. I'm not expecting that level of component, but the inclusion of simpler buttons like those on the 8BitDo Pro 3 seems extremely doable.

I don't want to overstress the point, but I also think that these buttons say more about the state of gaming than you might think. 10 years ago, extra buttons were the preserve of the extreme enthusiasts and competitive gamers (and synonymous with Scuf and other esports brands). Now, though, they're desirable enough to the mainstream that Nintendo's including them on its controllers.

The reality is that the number of people who grew up with controllers in their hands is shooting up all the time, and people are getting better at games all the time. You only have to compare playing a casual game of Call of Duty 10 years ago against the experience today to see how much more competitive the average player has become. So, give them extra control options and they'll love it, in short.

So, 8BitDo has helped me conclude that this is a small but meaningful improvement that I'm hoping we get with the PS6, whenever that console becomes more of a material reality.

I've been waiting a long time for this – since well before its tremendously impressive and successful open beta, Battlefield 6 has been a light at the end of the multiplayer tunnel for me. After a good half-decade of consistent fun, my group of friends and I have grown tired of COD: Warzone, which is in as stale a place as it's ever been, and the great hope that BF6 brought with it is hard to sum up.

Now, though, after months of waiting, it's finally here, and I played a whole heap of the game over the weekend, to see if it could live up to expectations. I'm extremely pleased to report, like many others, that this is one of the best mainstream multiplayer shooters to be released in ages, and that's down in no small part to some fairly stunning visuals and audio.

The core Battlefield experience is back at last. Big and medium-sized maps are full of vehicles and strategic points for each team to contest, with a range of modes offering different experiences. Conquest lets you make your own mind up about how to take over territory, while the likes of Breakthrough or Rush funnel everyone towards objectives for a far more hectic experience.

Along the way, you'll watch as maps go from pristine environments to war-torn and devastated landscapes, full of rubble and half-demolished buildings to be used as cover. The game's destruction system isn't quite as total as the zanier The Finals, but it's on a much grander scale, and still impresses hugely.

I'm going to be testing how Battlefield 6 holds up on my 5070 Ti in the next couple of weeks, too, but since my social group plays entirely on PS5, I've been putting the hours in on my PS5 Pro for now. Thankfully, EA is catering to the pro console properly, with its own performance targets distinct from the base PS5.

In practice, this basically means higher resolutions in both quality and performance modes, with the latter getting you somewhere around 80fps most of the time for a bit of a bump in smoothness – but coming in sharper than it does on the PS5. That's not necessarily the biggest difference ever, but it's a welcome bonus for those of us playing on Sony's most powerful console.

The graphical decisions that Dice and the other Battlefield studios made for BF6 are looking like pretty canny ones, too. One that's drawn some attention is the lack of ray-traced lighting – but the per-map baked-in solutions that have been chosen instead seem to make for a more performance-optimised final game, with plenty of headroom for destruction physics, and there's no doubt it looks tremendous.

The game also sounds unbelievable. I'm playing on the new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, which is as high-end a headset as you'll find, and the destructive explosions and gunfire in Battlefield 6 are as punchy as anything I've experienced in a shooter. The rebooted Modern Warfare in 2019 had some seriously excellent shot sounds, but it's been surpassed here.

In fact, the whole multiplayer experience can be quite neatly summed up by the word "cacophonous". Whether you're pushing an objective with the support of a tank, being strafed by an attack helicopter and its missiles, or hiding in a corner while a building collapses around you, the game's full of moments of extreme noise, in the best possible way.

I know that I'm going to be playing Battlefield 6 for hundreds of hours. The lack of buzz around COD: Black Ops 7 is telling, and the Battle Royale mode that Battlefield has never nailed promises to arrive before the year is out to truly rival Warzone. If it can stick that landing, I might just have my new forever game.

When I loaded up Ghost of Yotei on my PS5 Pro for the first time last week, I pretty much expected to be deeply impressed by its visual presentation, and it's duly obliged. The island of Ezo that Sucker Punch has produced is fairly staggering, full of vistas so perfect that you just know they were hand-crafted with extreme care.

I've also hugely enjoyed the game's cadence so far – a familiar one for anyone who played Ghost of Tsushima, but nonetheless a super satisfying pattern. You explore a series of open areas, each of which houses a big boss somewhere. Playing a few story missions gets you closer to that boss, but there are also a host of side quests and collectables to find as you move around.

Those collectables do a good job of actually impacting your playthrough with buffs and ability points, but they can still start to feel a little repetitive to hunt down. That said, I've noticed that the game has done a much better job of fleshing out its sidequests compared to Tsushima, with more dialogue and story beats that make them feel far more engaging.

That's not what surprised me, though. What has really taken me aback while playing has been the sound design, which is absolutely stellar. I've been playing using the incredibly premium SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, a headset that nearly costs as much as the PS5 Pro on its own, and the quality of Yotei's sound is amazing.

To be clear, the PS5 Pro offers no advantage over the base PS5 in terms of sound quality, so anyone with one of the best gaming headsets should be able to hear what I'm hearing and revel in it. The soundscape summoned up as you move through the open world is expansive and detailed at the same time.

From the wind rustling through grasses or loose leaves, to the clashes of thunder in a huge storm and the splintering of wood as lightning strikes, it all sounds so perfect it's hard to imagine how much work the sound department had to do. This is only added to by excellent voice acting from an engaging cast.

It makes the island of Ezo so much more immersive to be in, and has me looking forward to booting the game up at the end of my workday, which is what you really want from a blockbuster like this. If you want to see and hear what proper sound design can do for a big-budget game like this, you owe it to yourself to check Ghost of Yotei out.

Sony is reportedly planning to release a revised version of its DualSense controller, to go with a tweaked PS5 Pro model.

We often get skinned, special edition DualSense models, with the God of War variant revealed during the latest State of Play, but they are technically the same as the first DualSense that arrived with the PS5 five years ago.

The new version, which is allegedly known internally as DualSense V3, will have a major new feature that all PS5 owners can benefit from.

Polish game site PPE.pl (via VGC) claims that the new model will come with a removable and replaceable battery.

It cites Graczdari as its source, with the leaker having a decent recent track record with PlayStation details. They were first to reveal that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 was coming to PS5, before the official announcement. And they said that there was to be a boxed version of Oblivion Remastered – again before confirmation.

While there are few other details on the new controller, it is thought that rather than make the battery hot swappable, the construction of the DualSense will be such that it is easier to get to the rechargeable battery inside.

This will help the device comply with the EU Battery Regulation that comes into effect in February 2027. All new battery-operated products sold in EU countries from that date must have batteries that can be replaced by the user – not just a repair specialist.

It seems Sony is looking to get ahead of the game, so to speak. It's thought that the new DualSense and PS5 Pro models will be available from November.

As for that PS5 Pro, it'll likely only be tweaked a touch to be less power hungry – another initiative to comply with forthcoming regulations.

SteelSeries played itself into a corner with the release of the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless back in 2022. It created a headset with practically no flaws, one that became my immediate daily favourite and retained that position for years, thanks to super-impressive comfort, a lovely design, and sound quality with ANC that simply did a phenomenal job.

Now, years later, it's trying to one-up itself, but has correctly recognised that the only way to do so is to go even more premium. The Arctis Nova Elite doesn't replace the Nova Pro Wireless, which will continue to be made and sold, rather, it's a new ultra-high-end option for those happy to spend more than the cost of a PlayStation 5 on a headset alone.

I've been using the Arctis Nova Elite for a month for this review, and the case it makes is persuasive, with that price standing as the only obvious and major caveat.

Price & Availability

The Arctis Nova Elite launches today, 30 September 2025, so if you're reading this review, then you should be able to order it now from SteelSeries.

That brings us straight to one of the headset's biggest notes of interest: the price. The Nova Elite comes in at $599.99 in the US, while in the UK it's £599.99, and in the EU it's €649.99. There's no getting around the fact that this represents an absolute wedge of money, and sees SteelSeries push into new territory on pricing in much the same way that Apple did with the AirPods Max.

There are no real rival gaming brands putting out mainstream headsets at this price, frankly, although it'll be very interesting to see if that changes in the coming months, in the same way that it did after the expensive launch of the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.

Features & What's New

So, what has SteelSeries actually managed to change with the Nova Elite to make it worth the uplift in price? Especially when bearing in mind the scale of that uplift, which can't be overestimated; at the time of writing, I can find a Nova Pro Wireless on Amazon for less than half the price of the Elite.

Well, it has some big boasts to account for the price hike. For one, this is the first wireless gaming headset in the world to bring fully accredited Hi-Res sound to the table, a pretty huge marker of quality.

The caveat is that it only applies to PC use, although the constraint there isn't on SteelSeries' side – even the PS5 Pro can't output Hi-Res sound wirelessly, so there's nothing to be done right now.

This means the highest calibre of potential sound representation, though, and should also future-proof the headset for years to come if subsequent console releases do add better sound quality (as I'd hope they would).

The headset also adds a more sophisticated multi-device setup called OmniPlay, which lets you connect multiple sources at once, some wired through the GameHub controller and others over Bluetooth, even allowing you to listen to them simultaneously if desired. For those who mix and match devices and voice services, this could be a huge enabler.

Sound management is also made easier by being able to connect in real-time to a smartphone app for additional control, which makes it much easier to edit your settings without needing to connect to a PC.

The Nova Elite's active noise-cancelling (ANC) is also massively upgraded compared to the Nova Pro Wireless, for more isolation and what SteelSeries seems legally confident in calling "the best in gaming" with regards to tuning out background annoyances.

Finally (although I'll mention more tweaks as I go), each hot-swappable battery can now last for 30 hours on a charge, which is a big upgrade over the Nova Pro Wireless – even though that counts for less given the swappable feature makes it a non-issue.

Design & Comfort

If you place the black version of the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless next to the same version of the Arctis Nova Elite, you'll quickly be able to confirm that the core design of the newer, pricier headset hasn't changed much in terms of silhouette, but there are some differences worth exploring.

Firstly, the headset is now made up of even more premium materials, including more metal parts (principally in the arms of the headband, and the volume dial).

The headband itself is also subtly different and more plush than before, although it keeps SteelSeries' longstanding bungee system to suspend much of the weight off your head.

The earcups, too, feel slightly firmer to the touch, although the age of my Nova Pro Wireless means that's not a 1:1 comparison.

The control station that the headset brings with it is also largely the same visually, and the exact same size as before.

One major change in design terms is the fact that the headset comes in a new colour, a light sage green with gold accents, which many people might feel is a little more aesthetically mature and less gamerish than the black default.

That leaves me to talk about comfort. The good news here is that if you've ever worn an Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, then you're liable to find the Elite very similar. As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing – this is a very comfortable headset.

That said, it's not the lightest I've ever used, as a direct corollary of the premium materials it uses. I haven't found that a major issue, and it's certainly worth it for high-fidelity gaming, but that could be worth noting for some people.

Performance & Sound

So, if you're going to slap a chunkyy price on your headset, the real question is whether the sound quality can merit it. In the case of the Nova Elite, I'm pretty torn on the answer.

Even SteelSeries told me that it doesn't expect people to have a total "eureka" moment if they've been using the Nova Pro Wireless like me – the difference between "high fidelity" wireless sound and "Hi-Res" wireless sound is pretty subtle, albeit telling over time.

True to that expectation, I've found the gap between the two headsets at times a little hard to identify, but the longer I've used the Nova Elite the more superb its sound has been.

For the first two weeks, I used it with my PS5 Pro, since my PC was in storage, meaning the headset wasn't at its full potential – and even then its sound was full and rich without losing any detail.

On PC, though, with Hi-Res capabilities, the sound performance is nothing short of exquisite. I've played through games that rely heavily on their sound design, including recent horror releases Cronos: The New Dawn and Silent Hill f, both of which had echoes and clanks that were extremely directional and precise.

I've also gone to competitive titles like Marvel Rivals and found the headset's reproduction of footsteps and audio cues flawless, ensuring that it helps me stay competitive even with my eyes closed (I wish, but still).

At SteelSeries' HQ in Copenhagen, where I flew to first see the headset, I even listened to some Hi-Res music via Tidal, and found the sound really impressive away from gaming, which is worth knowing about if you want a pair of the best headphones.

The microphone quality is also stellar. SteelSeries uses the same design here to replicate the most well-hidden extendable mic you could ask for, and new noise-cancelling tech makes your voice even more isolated than ever before. I've been genuinely impressed by how well it can tune out background noise like vacuums and washing machines without clipping my voice.

There's also now a built-in mic for when the extendable one is hidden, in case you want to take a voice call or enter a chat without having the obvious mic in front of your mouth (although your voice quality will take a hit).

The GameHub base station remains a terrific asset for adjustments on the fly, and being able to plug three distinct USB sources in at the same time is brilliant, with easy mixing and swapping between them making it totally ideal for desktop situations.

That said, the addition of the Arctis app makes the headset more adjustable than ever when you're on your sofa or elsewhere, and is a great little upgrade. I found connectivity to be rock solid in all my testing, and never had skips or lags of any sort.

Battery life, meanwhile, remains a huge asset for SteelSeries. It's just as easy to swap out your battery when you need to (with the spare charging inside the GameHub at all times), and a 30-hour life for each means you'll need to do so much less often than with the Nova Pro Wireless.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite review: Verdict

I've been torn throughout my testing of the SteelSeries Nova Elite. To be clear, it's probably the best gaming headset I've ever tested. The sound quality is pretty much unrivalled at this point, its design is more mature than ever, and the suite of features that it offers up, from ANC to multi-source audio, can't be overlooked.

However, in a world where you can get an Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for less than half its price, the only people I'd really recommend it to are those for whom price is no object. If you want the very best of the best, as of now, then it's the Nova Elite – but you have to be in a position where a headset this pricey isn't a crazy idea.

If that's you, then prepare your ears, because when gaming on PC you can't really get better wireless audio than this, and even when using a console it still has totally phenomenal sound reproduction.

Also consider

I've only mentioned it about a dozen times in the course of my review, so you should probably be able to work out that the really obvious comparison to the Nova Elite is its older, cheaper version, the Nova Pro Wireless, which itself made waves for a high price at launch. It's still phenomenal, and more than enough for almost everyone.

If you want something with a more unique trick up its sleeve, then perhaps turn to Razer. Its Razer Kraken V4 Pro has haptic feedback right there in its earcups, making it unlike anything else you can try, and its sound quality is also exemplary (albeit not in the same bracket as the Nova Elite).

When Sony announced that it would release a new version of the PS5 Digital Edition, it was met with incredulous gasps and a fair amount of online grumbling – not just because it was due to remain that same price, but that it'd cut the storage, too.

The new Digital Edition ships with just 825GB of internal storage, whereas the original had a 1TB SSD inside. And what's more, Sony even raised the prices of its PS5 consoles over the last few months, so it's even more expensive than the first model released five years ago.

But it now seems that's not the only change. The all-new PS5 Digital Edition (CFI-2100) comes with a matte finish. The first and second generation versions feature glossy plastic on the white outer case and black section in the middle, but this has a non-shiny finish.

To be honest, I don't think it looks too bad – something echoed by YouTuber Austin Evans, who received his all-new PS5 Slim Digital Edition from Germany.

In his video (via VGC), Evans says: "This is definitely different... that's matte all the way around. I actually like that – what the hell did they do to my boy?"

He also finds out some interesting other changes, after opening the console to have a poke around.

For starters, it's lighter – around 120g lighter, in fact. And the heatsink has been reduced in size, with a potentially better design.

This latter alteration can be seen as an enhancement, as I have an original PS5 Digital Edition and it can be prone to radical overheating – especially during the record-breaking summer we've just had in the UK.

But surely that's not enough to justify the elevated price – and is hardly a trade-off for 175GB less storage. Of course, you can invest in one of the best PS5 SSDs out there, and add it as extra capacity, but that just adds even more onto an already pricey purchase.

Thankfully, some UK retailers are selling off older PS5 Digital Edition stock – the slim version, but with the 1TB drive. And you can save yourself up to £100.

So, if you are looking to get a new PS5 Digital Edition and don't mind whether it's glossy or matte, you can actually save yourself a bob or two – and have enough extra storage for a couple of additional games.

PlayStation Plus members get a couple of real treats in October, especially those with Extra and Premium subscriptions.

Two of the best horror games of recent times are coming to PS Plus at no extra cost, with one available to all members as part of next month's monthly free games. The other is actually available to download right now.

Alan Wake 2 will be part of the monthly games drop on 7 October, and is most certainly something to look forward to. It'll be available for PS5 and PS5 Pro (with enhancements) to all Essential, Extra and Premium members.

Both incredible looking and as immersive as they come, the survival horror is rated 89 on Metacritic for a reason. It's truly excellent.

It will be joined by Cocoon and Goat Simulator 3, which were also announced as part of Sony's latest State of Play presentation.

Coming to the PS Plus game catalogue

But you won't even have to wait a week for the other horror title, which also just so happens to be one of the best PlayStation games of all time.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is available to download on PS5 and PS5 Pro right now for free. It's part of the game catalogue accessible to Extra and Premium members.

Refreshed for the current gen consoles, it is undoubtedly the best way to play the Naughty Dog classic, and if you've never played it before, prepare for an emotional rollercoaster of a ride.

PS4 owners don't miss out either – the original The Last of Us Part 2 is available to download for PS Plus members with last gen hardware too.

Also confirmed to be coming to the game catalogue, albeit later in October, are Tekken 3, Soul Calibur 3, and Lara Croft Tomb Raider Anniversary. Some of those games will also be available on PS4, so there's plenty there for everyone.

We'll update you will additional free games as they are announced later in the month.

One of the more surprising reveals during Sony's recent State of Play presentation was new hardware for the PS5. That's not least because it's not limited for use with the console, but can also work with PC, Mac and the PlayStation Portal handheld.

Coming in 2026, Sony's Pulse Elevate wireless speakers are designed to sit on a desktop and provide bigger, bolder sound for your games. They can also be used with music and movies, and come with an innovative system whereby you can change the sound signature based on how you place them.

That's because each Elevate speaker can be set in an upright position or slanted backwards. This allows the audio to mimic height channels, rather than be directed forward.

In addition, the speakers are completely wire-free, sitting on a charging station when in desktop mode, but can be moved around and even taken into other rooms, thanks to their rechargeable batteries.

We'll undoubtedly find out more detailed specifications closer to launch, but Sony has so far revealed that there's a planar magnetic driver in each Pulse Elevate, plus built-in woofers. They support the Tempest 3D Audio technology used by the PS5.

A microphone is also present, so gamers can chat in multiplayer games without needing a separate mic. And it has AI-enhanced noise protection on board for clean communication.

As well as Bluetooth support the Pulse Elevate system connects via PlayStation Link technology, and includes a USB-C dongle that connects to a console, PC or Mac.

Audio will be able to be adjusted on either PS5 or PC, with an EQ and other settings to be available through an app.

There's no word yet on how much the Pulse Elevate wireless speakers will be, or their exact availability. We only know that they'll be available in black or white, at present.

We'll fill you in as soon as we find out additional details.

Justifying the cost of a PS5 Pro has been more difficult than I expected when I reviewed it last year. While many games boast Pro enhancements, there have been few that have really added something special.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is one, which looks mind-bogglingly good on the more capable PlayStation, as does Alan Wake 2 (which will be a free game on PS Plus in October). But on the whole, it's hard to rationalise the extra expense considering the minimal differences between most PS5 games and their enhanced equivalents.

But up steps Ghost of Yōtei – a PlayStation exclusive of such beauty that it seems to be the game the PS5 Pro was made for.

I've sunk around 60 hours into the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima in the last couple of weeks, and while there are some open-world tropes that it can't escape, it is every bit a showcase title.

In all transparency, I've not completely finished the game (although I'm on the last stretch), but I've unlocked every part of the Japanese island Ezo, on which it is set. And I have found every piece of armour and unlocked all skills.

I have also played the game across both PS5 and PS5 Pro, both hooked up to Philips OLED TVs that support up to 120Hz and variable refresh rates (VRR). I've enjoyed every minute.

Ghost of Yōtei – a familiar journey

Those who've played Ghost of Tsushima (especially the Director's Cut) will find Yōtei instantly familiar – in both art style and gameplay. It is as pick up and play as these things can get, although you'll find out that the combat in particular has been enhanced ten-fold.

The sequel is set 300 years after the adventures of Jin Sakai, and so there is a new Onryō in town – a female bounty hunter driven by revenge. You play as Atsu, whose parents were murdered by the Yōtei Six, and must therefore hunt each down to exact your own form of justice.

In many ways, this is a more simple premise in comparison with the first game, sending you to regions of the map inhabited or ruled by each of the antagonists, and tasking you with their downfall. However, there are thousands of other side missions and encounters along the way, which is similar to Tsushima.

Eventually you'll get to take on Lord Saito – the leader who set in motion the actions that lead to your vengeful destiny – but that will be some way off if you want to take in everything the game has to offer.

For example, I've completed every bamboo strike, visited every altar and shrine (essentially to upgrade your skills and add power-ups through charms) and spent way too long gambling coins playing Zeni Hajiki – a Japanese game that plays like a cross between billiards and Subbuteo.

There is plenty more besides, along with an almost endless supply of bounties to kill or capture. And that's to its benefit and, to a far lesser extent, detriment.

If you're the sort of person who gets bored with repetition, look away now. This is an open-world game and as such is steeped in its clichés. There are numerous villages and farms to liberate in mostly similar ways, and many of the side missions involving fighting gangs of enemies who appear from nowhere.

But where Yōtei is on a different level to most genre peers, is that you really don't mind. Combat is so good that taking on ubiquitous waves of bad guys is fun, each and every time.

Choose your weapon

That's in no small part thanks to the enhancements we get this time. While you start with a katana, you will learn to wield a wide selection of other weaponry – including, eventually, guns. And each of those weapons is a better match for a specific enemy – or, at least, the weapon they too use.

It's like rock, paper, scissors. Even though the katana is a great all-round choice against any opponent, you will find a battle easier if you counter their style. For example, double wielding katanas will work better in battle against a foe with a staff or polearm.

And as fights are generally made up of groups of enemies with different weapon types, you'll find yourself hot swapping throughout.

Add to that the superb parry and counter attack system seen in the last game (albeit tweaked), and you have a system that's a pure joy. The progression and power-ups simply add to it too, keeping you on your toes through the entire journey.

There are other gameplay mechanics that have been retained, such as horse riding and climbing rock faces, but it's during swordplay where Ghost of Yōtei shines its best.

Well, that and the overall aesthetic, of course.

Picture perfect

Tsushima made for a glorious setting last time around, but Ezo is even more diverse in its landscape. And while the campaign mostly focuses on specific areas of the map, it feels much larger too.

You get hours of play in the harsh snow-covered region of Teshio Ridge, while the Yōtei Grasslands bask in the shade of the eponymous mountain. Each zone has its own look and Sucker Punch has truly outdone itself with detail.

One of the things I most loved about Ghost of Tsushima was the atmospheric surroundings, with the leaves of cherry blossom trees billowing underfoot as you ran through them. That is amplified here, with environmental effects seemingly interactive everywhere you go.

It's much easier to become immersed in a game that seems to mould itself around you as you play.

And then, of course, it comes to the PS5 Pro version. Standard PS5 models offer three picture options – Quality, Performance, and Ray Tracing.

The Quality mode targets 30 frames per second at a higher resolution, while Performance drops the pixels to run at up to 60fps. Ray Tracing also runs at a lower resolution, but with ray traced lighting effects and at 30fps.

The PS5 Pro has similar options, but includes an additional mode – Ray Tracing Pro.

This uses PSSR upscaling tech to retain a super sharp picture, but with ray traced lighting and at 60fps. Even though cut scenes are only rendered in 30fps, it's stunning and the best way to play the game by far.

Indeed, the combat benefits greatly from the boost in frame rate, while the game world truly pops with the enhanced lighting effects. I've also not noticed many frame drops during play, although I do use a VRR-enabled TV, so not sure I would anyway.

I also recommend playing with HDR switched on, as the contrast depth is tangibly more pronounced. Oh and if you do have an OLED TV, you're really in for a good time.

Ghost of Yotei conclusion

In all honesty, even if you don't have an OLED TV or PS5 Pro yet, Yōtei is a joy to play and look at no matter your setup. You'll probably want to stick to the performance mode on a standard PS5 – to savour smoothness of the combat more – but it's worth switching between the modes to find the best fit.

For PS5 Pro though, there is no reason not to opt for Ray Tracing Pro and sink many, many hours into enjoying game at its best.

And it goes some way at last to justify the mammoth extra cost of the flagship console.

A new State of Play will be streamed today, promising more than 35 minutes of new game trailers and footage.

It has already been confirmed that the PS5 and PS5 Pro showcase will feature Saros – the new game from the studio behind Returnal and Resogun. And considering how close to release Ghost of Yōtei is, it'd be a huge shock not to see a new trailer for that too.

As with most PlayStation streams, it's likely to be mainly game clips, maybe with voice over introductions. You can watch it all happen below.

Here's everything else you need to know about the latest PlayStation State of Play.

When is the next PlayStation State of Play presentation?

The next State of Play livestream will take place today, Wednesday 24 September 2025. It will start at 22:00 BST.

Here are the start times for other regions:

• US West Coast: 14:00 PDT
• US East Coast: 17:00 EDT
• UK: 22:00 BST
• Central Europe: 23:00 CEST
• India (New Delhi): 02:30 IST (25 September)
• China (Beijing): 05:00 CST (25 September)
• Japan (Tokyo): 06:00 JST (25 September)
• South Korea (Seoul): 06:00 KST (25 September)
• Australia (Sydney): 07:00 AEST (25 September)

How to watch the PlayStation State of Play presentation

You can watch the PlayStation State of Play for September 2025 via the video at the top of this page.

Alternatively, you will be able to watch it on PlayStation's own YouTube and Twitch channels.

What to expect

The new State of Play presentation will run for "more than 35 minutes" and will show new titles from third-party publishers, indies and Sony's own PlayStation Studios.

This will include an "extended look" at Housemarque's first game since it was acquired by Sony – Saros.

We've been treated to a cinematic trailer in the past, but not gameplay – so this will be the first time we get to see how the new sci-fi outing shapes up. Certainly, after the superb, award-winning Returnal, there's a plenty of anticipation.

Also, with Ghost of Yōtei due for release next week – on 2 October – there is bound to be a new trailer for the open-world game.

And the Tokyo Game Show starts tomorrow, so what's the betting that we'll get to see some of the games that'll be launched in Japan?

There's only one way to find out for sure, and the video can be viewed at the top of this page.

It was 30 years ago this month that Sony’s PlayStation launched in North America and Europe, instantly changing the video game industry forever. And in the last three decades we’ve spent countless hours playing some of the greatest games of all time on PlayStation consoles.

Given the impact of the PS1, it’s no surprise that some of its most iconic games have been either remastered or remade in various forms, but not all of them have been so lucky.

To mark this landmark occasion, here are three of the best original PlayStation games that deserve another chance.

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

The stealth genre was basically invented in 1998, and while Metal Gear Solid has lasted the longest in the collective memory of PlayStation fans, it’s a game that slightly preceded Kojima’s timeless masterpiece that deserves some modern love.

Every contemporary stealth game owes something to Aquire’s Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, the PS1 ninja game that was way ahead of its time.

Playing as either Rikimaru or Ayame in feudal Japan, you snuck around a selection of sandbox levels, hiding in the shadows and violently taking out patrolling guards using your various ninja tools.

The grappling hook you used to traverse levels and escape confrontation very likely inspired a similar mechanic in 2018’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the beloved FromSoftware game that was originally intended to be a new entry in the Tenchu series.

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is unsurprisingly a bit ropey to both play and look at in 2025, but I’d love to see it make a comeback.

Vagrant Story

The PS1 was not lacking in RPGs, but while Final Fantasy VII is undergoing a full modern revival as we speak, other classics of the era have been somewhat lost to time. And there isn’t a better example than Vagrant Story.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Vagrant Story remains a singular RPG experience, with its hybrid of turn-based and action, stunningly cinematic visuals and deep weapon creation and combat system that let you freeze time and target individual enemy body parts, Fallout-style.

The game is set in the world of Invalice from Final Fantasy Tactics, and focuses on protagonist Ashley Riot’s pursuit of a cult leader. It’s a sophisticated tale with plenty of complex religious and political themes, and there remains nothing else quite like it.

However, for some reason, it’s never been remastered. It’s time that changed.

Dino Crisis

How a franchise called “Dino Crisis” didn’t become a bigger deal than Call of Duty is something I’ll never truly understand, but that is the world we live in.

Essentially Resident Evil with dinosaurs – having been developed by the same team at Capcom – Dino Crisis is a survival horror game in which you’re hunted not by moronic zombies, but much scarier (not to mention faster) prehistoric reptiles.

It swapped the pre-rendered backgrounds of the early Resi games for proper 3D environments, and while it lacked the visual variety of Resident Evil, an abandoned island research facility swarming with dinosaurs is one hell of a setting for a game.

With Capcom seemingly set on remaking every single Resident Evil entry, I’m hoping the original Dino Crisis eventually catches its eye, too.

Sony has pushed new system software to the PS5 and PS5 Pro that adds a couple of new features, including new capabilities for your DualSense and DualSense Edge controllers.

System Software v25.06.12 should be waiting to be installed on your console now – or will install automatically if you have that option turned on. It brings the new Power Saver setting to the PS5, which works with supported games to scale back performance to restrict power consumption while you play.

This is an environmental measure primarily, but can also help reduce energy bills over time, so there's a direct impact for individual users too.

Some games will receive updates to support the new feature, such as Demon's Souls and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, while some others will launch with optional support, like the upcoming Ghost of Yōtei.

After installing the new update, you can switch on Power Saver mode by heading to Settings > System > Power Saving > Power Saver for Games and hitting the slider.

New DualSense and DualSense Edge functionality

Perhaps the more exciting new feature the update adds is the ability for DualSense and DualSense Edge controllers to pair to multiple devices.

You could previously use a DualSense controller with Bluetooth devices, such as a phone or tablet, but would have to unpair it from your PS5 then pair it with the additional hardware. Then, once done, pair it with your PS5 again. That was hardly ideal.

Now you can use it with the likes of a Mac, PC, iPhone or Android device yet simply swap back to PS5 when needed.

You can now assign different devices to different pairing slots, using the PS button and action buttons on the controller.

Just press and hold the PS button then one of the action buttons – triangle, circle, cross or square. Hold both for five seconds to enter pair mode.

Now find the controller in your device's Bluetooth pairing menu and you are good to go. The DualSense will remember that device in one of its four pairing slots, so you can switch back and forth when needed by holding the relevant action button and PS button for three seconds.

Remember, your PS5 will need one of the slots, but up to three other devices can be set too.

How to install the new PS5 System Software

If it hasn't been automatically installed, you should find the new software waiting for you in Downloads/Uploads on your homescreen's icon bar (brought up through the PS button). Alternatively, head to Settings > System > System Software > System Software Update and Settings and click on Update System Software.

This is turning out to be quite the challenging year for gaming – with the inflation that ran rampant through 2024 and 2025 now starting to bite in terms of pricing in many areas. While we haven't seen wholesale price rises from every console maker, there have been no price cuts to speak of, and Sony just underlined how that arithmetic might be working.

After confirming the news a few weeks ago, it has now started to roll out a new version of the slim PlayStation 5, which cuts down its internal storage by a meaningful amount. When the PS5 first launched, it came with an 825GB internal SSD for game storage, but when the slim model arrived, it upped this to 1TB.

That was a welcome change in an era of huge download sizes for games, but it seems like price hikes in components have made Sony reverse course. As of now, all new PS5 Slim models will go back down to 825GB for their internal SSD, although their pricing won't be changed to reflect the change.

For anyone buying a console, therefore, whether they're going for a used model or a new one on the store shelf, there's now an extra bit of research to do. You can quite easily work out whether the console you're buying will have 825GB or 1TB of storage, since the packaging will confirm things either way.

The used market is where this should be particularly impactful, since you'd probably want to pay less for a console that's identical in every way apart from having less storage for your downloaded games.

Needless to say, Sony hasn't been going out of its way to acknowledge this whole situation, or to shine a spotlight on the change for its customers. So, the more you know, the more you can contort things to avoid getting less SSD space for your money if you're about to buy a new console. If you've got a bigger budget, have no fear – the PS5 Pro is unaffected by all of this.

Video games are great obviously, but they can also be a serious time sink – time not everyone has to spare.

Now, I would never dissuade anyone from handing over 100+ of their precious hours to the likes of Elden Ring or The Witcher 3, but sometimes you just want to start and finish something without it demanding too much from you. That’s where these games come in.

Here are three of the best PS5 games you can finish in under four hours.

Time Flies

As one of the most universally despised living creatures, being a fly can’t be much fun. They don’t tend to live very long either, and while that isn’t great news for flies, it turns out that it’s a pretty good basis for a video game.

In Time Flies, the brief lifespan of a housefly (in this case barely longer than a minute) becomes the time in which you have to complete a bucket list of achievements. You buzz hurriedly around a small selection of minimalist, monochromatic 2D levels with goals that are often as vague as “get rich” and “make friends”.

Each one is a miniature puzzle, and working out how to tick off an objective requires plenty of trial and error. When your timer runs out, the fly instantly dies, and another takes its place.

To complete a level, you have to successfully get through your entire bucket list in a single run, and while the game might fill you with existential dread, its smart design and slapstick humour make it worth it.

Sword of the Sea

The best way I can describe Sword of the Sea is as follows: imagine if the indie classic Journey and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater had a baby. This game is what would pop out.

Like in Thatgamecompany’s serene desert adventure, Sword of the Sea has you exploring equally sprawling sandy dunes, to which you return water by traversing the environment on your magical hoversword and collecting seeds. As in Journey, there’s no dialogue to explain where to go next, so you have to pay attention to the guidance of nature.

The skateboarding action is far more stripped back than THPS, but there are tricks to perform, and thanks to the DualSense controller the game feels fantastic in your hands.

Sword of the Sea isn’t particularly challenging, but its sense of momentum and flow, coupled with stunning visuals, make it a pretty special experience.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake

These days, he’s best known for his work on the Game of the Year award-winning It Takes Two and this year’s fantastic Split Fiction, but the first game Josef Fares directed was Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons back in 2013, and it remains a gem.

It’s a third-person adventure game about two young brothers who journey into a fantasy world to seek a cure for their dying father. Fares has always been fascinated with dual-protagonist games, but unlike his studio’s more recent splitscreen multiplayer efforts, Brothers has one player controlling both characters, with a thumbstick assigned to each sibling.

Most of the game’s puzzles involve working out which brother you need to use for a specific task, such as opening a gate or crawling through a gap, and they often need to work as a team to progress.

The original is still well worth tracking down, but this 2024 remake gives the game a handsome graphical overhaul, and if you missed it the first time, it’s never looked or played better.

I don't consider myself a huge horror game guy – but when I actually tally up some of the games I've loved in recent years, I guess that's a bit unfair on myself. From Dead Space to Resident Evil Village, I love a good frightfest, all the more so if it has action blended in to keep things flying along.

So, I might have been doing a disservice to myself by assuming that Cronos: The New Dawn could be an odd fit with my tastes. This is a pure survival horror game from the lineage of some old greats, with limited ammunition, hard-hitting enemies, and a simmering sense of dread as you explore its murky world.

I've been playing it for the last week on my PS5 Pro, and I've honestly become a little hooked in a way that I really didn't expect. The similarities with Dead Space have me remembering how much I adored that remake, and I've been impressed by the visuals of the world Bloober Team has built.

That same publisher-come-developer also recently had success with Silent Hill 2's remake, which I haven't had a chance to play, and it looks like it's developing a tidy reputation after some slightly more middling efforts in years gone by (like The Medium, for instance). While Cronos doesn't break a huge amount of new ground, as far as I've played in half a dozen hours, it's likely to land quite well, in my view.

The opening of the game sees you awaken as The Traveller, a heavy-footed explorer sent to the dismal remains of an eastern European city after a biohazardous extinction event for the locality. You have to piece your way through to a series of quasi-portals that send you hurtling back in time to dig information about the disaster out of those who knew about it at the time.

The story unfolds pretty slowly, and isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it's a decent foil for the traditional yet modernised action that makes up the bulk of the game. Throughout your exploration of both the present-day wasteland and the briefer windows of past times, you'll have to exterminate large numbers of "Orphans". These shambling zombie-like enemies are textbook horror stuff, all grafted limbs and nasty fleshy protuberances.

The key twist is that any time an enemy gets near the dead body of another one, whether it's one you killed or simply one already lying there, it'll try to absorb it. If it succeeds, it'll basically level up into a substantially more powerful foe, which means you have to be on your toes to interrupt the process. You can also stop it by using very limited supplies of flamethrower fuel to burn up bodies around you.

Credit to Bloober – this simple idea makes for a really interesting combat loop, where you're not just thinking about conserving ammo and landing headshots. Rather, you have to play each combat arena carefully, leading enemies away from corpses you can't dispose of, shooting explosive barrels to burn them up when you can, and minimising your enemies' ability to level up.

This is added to by a charged shot mechanic for each weapon, which lets you take slower shots that do significantly more damage without expending additional ammo. It's obvious that all shots should ideally be charged, but grabbing a safe window to do so is sometimes easier said than done. I've only got a handful of weapons to choose from, but they're already fun to swap between, while carefully choosing my upgrades to maximise survivability is also enjoyable.

The game also looks and sounds really impressive, although I'm not exactly certain of the in-depth details of the PS5 Pro upgrade on offer. My expectation is that the bump in this case comes down to resolution and reliability, since the game still has 30fps quality or 60fps performance modes to choose between.

In the performance version, I've found the framerate largely stable and the resolution impressively sharp, although I don't have a base PS5 to compare things to. Doubtless, the team at Digital Foundry will reveal all shortly.

The sound design is also excellent, especially on one of the best gaming headsets around. I can hear enemies crawling towards me around corners, but the game also carefully layers in red herring sounds to keep you on your toes at all times – almost a required tactic for these horror games.

So, if you're a horror fan with a hankering for some more fear, this one could be for you; I've been having a great time with Cronos, and once my upcoming house move is done, I expect to dive back in.

We've been waiting to hear news of a new Bond movie – and new 007 actor – for many months now. After all, Daniel Craig's final outing in No Time to Die was released four years ago.

But while it looks like we'll have to wait a bit longer still, there's one significant online presentation scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday 3 September, that could help sate our appetites for a bit.

Sony is set to host a special State of Play stream that reveals a whole lot more on the new Bond adventure coming in 2026.

It'll entirely focus on 007 First Light – the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2 game from IO Interactive – and we'll get to see a playthrough of the entire first mission in the game.

IOI has a sound history in spy-based action-adventure games, with the Hitman series, so there's a lot of eager anticipation for its take on James Bond. And this 30-minute presentation will show plenty of the new version of 007 the studio has been allowed to create.

Set before Bond received his licence to kill, the story will act as an origin for the brash young agent, and it's the first game in over two decades to feature a new version of the character without a nod to any of the actors who have previously played him.

The stream can be viewed above, or via YouTube or Twitch. It'll start at 19:00 BST tomorrow if you want to watch it "live".

You can also watch the first reveal trailer for 007 First Light below, to give you an idea of what to expect.

Sadly, we still don't know when Amazon / MGM Studios will make an announcement about the next Bond movie. But here's hoping it looks even half as good as IO Interactive's inventive take.

We may be a couple of years away from the next console generation but that hasn't stopped the leaks and rumours about what to expect from the big players.

We recently heard about potential hardware said to be driving the PlayStation 6, and now a renowned industry leaker has spilled the beans on Sony's potential plans for a PS6 handheld.

We've heard about the possible PS Vita follow-up many times in the past, but the same source at the Moore's Law is Dead YouTube channel (via VGC) claims to have found out additional details on the portable device. And one of them will seem familiar to Nintendo Switch fans.

The channel has revealed that the PS6 handheld will come with a docking solution, much like the Switch. It says that it saw numerous references to the device in "multiple documents", allegedly including some leaked from AMD.

Considering AMD is more than likely supplying the graphics hardware for the handheld and more powerful, standalone PS6, this is an important part of the puzzle.

What's even more intriguing is that the channel claims the portable will also act like a Switch 2 when docked – offering considerably more power to enhance games. It's said to be even more powerful than the PS5 in this mode.

It reveals that the handheld will run on an AMD chipset with four Zen 6c Cores, with graphics featuring 16 RDNA 5 CUs clocked at 1.2GHz in handheld mode, 1.65GHz when docked.

When will the PS6 handheld be released?

Unfortunately though, it'll be a while before any of this can be verified. Sony isn't expected to announced a new console – whether handheld or otherwise – until 2027 at the very least. And plans can always change before then.

Certainly though, it makes sense for the company to want to reenter the handheld market, especially with the Xbox Ally X and Ally on the imminent horizon. The PlayStation Portal is an excellent accessory for the PS5, and decent cloud streaming device, but it can't compete with a dedicated portable console.

And with the PS Vita still fondly remembered by anyone who owned one, it's return to the fray will be much welcomed.