Latest news with #Overwatch
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Elon Musk adds anime girl companion to Grok AI in latest SuperGrok update on X
On July 14, Elon Musk unveiled a new feature for SuperGrok, the premium version of his Grok AI, introducing an anime girl companion named Ani. Photo: X The update, announced on X, adds a visual avatar designed to resemble Misa Amane from Death Note, though described as an 'un copyrighted' version. The new release is part of Grok 4, Musk's most advanced AI model to date, which he claims is 'better than PhD level in every subject, no exceptions.' Alongside Ani, users can now interact with a panda avatar called Rudy and a profane variant dubbed Bad Rudy. A male anime-style character named Chad is also listed as 'coming soon.' To access Ani, SuperGrok subscribers must toggle the 'companion' option by selecting the top-left menu and the settings gear at the bottom-right. Musk shared these steps directly with users on X. The update quickly gained attention among anime fans and Musk followers, many noting the character's resemblance to Misa. The connection was reinforced by the X account AutismCapital, which claimed Ani was deliberately designed to avoid copyright issues while paying visual homage to the popular anime figure. Musk's interest in anime has been public for years. In 2023, he posted photos of Amber Heard dressed as Mercy from Overwatch—a cosplay he had personally requested.
Express Tribune
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Overwatch 2 director says Blizzard is interested in a TV series
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller has stated that Blizzard is interested in producing a TV series for the game and bringing back animated shorts. Keller shared these comments while speaking with Twitch streamer Jay3, where he discussed the future of Overwatch 2's story following the cancellation of its PvE content. Keller said the team would 'love to do that' when asked about a potential TV series for Overwatch 2. He also noted, 'Even more than just a TV series, one of the things we see or hear our players talk about is Overwatch has dropped the ball when it comes to story and lore.' Blizzard previously released animated shorts to introduce heroes and expand the game's universe before the launch of the first Overwatch. While Overwatch 2 has had some shorts, they have been less frequent, and Keller expressed a desire to increase their presence. 'For me, personally, for us to say that Overwatch 2 is firing on all cylinders, we need to have some of those [shorts] come back,' Keller said during the discussion. Reports cited by journalist Jason Schreier have indicated that an Overwatch TV series was previously in development along with series for Warcraft and Diablo, but plans were cancelled following legal disputes between Blizzard and Netflix.
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Overwatch 2 Stadium patch notes: New update buffs DVa and Junkrat, nerfs Kiriko
Game developer Blizzard just released a fresh Stadium patch for Overwatch 2 on July 9, 2025. This update focuses on balancing several heroes in the fast-paced Stadium mode. While some got stronger, others were toned down to improve overall gameplay. From DVa's stronger slam to Kiriko's reduced clone power, here's everything that changed. DVa and Junkrat among the biggest winners DVa got a buff to her Tokki Slam, which now deals more damage. This should make her a stronger pick during close fights. Junkrat received multiple improvements. His cash income from damage and healing went up by over 11 percent. His Hop Boom now deals more damage, and Rainin' Lead fires more frequently. Items like Lithium Alloy and Fawkes' Funny Fuel also got a power boost, improving his overall damage and healing abilities. Nerfs for Kiriko, Juno and Ana Kiriko took a clear hit. Her Clone Conjuration now heals and damages much less than before, although its duration has been increased. Juno's Hyper Healer got weaker as the Overhealth dropped from 100 to 75. Ana also saw changes. Her 'Our Turn' power now reduces cooldown for less time, while 'My Turn' and' Your Full Potentia'l give stronger buffs. Her Venomous damage was raised too. NEW STADIUM PATCH NOTES! 🚨🦊 Kiriko - Clones will have reduced damage and increased duration 🐀 Junkrat - will cause more mayhem and earn more cash👩🚀 Juno - Hyper Healer has decreased overhealth✨ And so much more!📝 Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 8, 2025 NEW STADIUM PATCH NOTES! 🚨🦊 Kiriko - Clones will have reduced damage and increased duration 🐀 Junkrat - will cause more mayhem and earn more cash👩🚀 Juno - Hyper Healer has decreased overhealth✨ And so much more!📝 Zenyatta gets tweaks, Mei and others see changes Zenyatta's Dual Harmony healing reduction was slightly lowered, and his orb effects now last longer. His ultimate meter cap also got a boost. Mei's Twice As Nice now resets her snowball cooldown, letting her launch attacks more often. This patch is aimed at making Stadium mode more balanced and fun. With stronger builds for Junkrat and DVa, and fairer tweaks to support heroes like Kiriko and Zenyatta, the July 9 patch brings a more competitive edge to the mode. Keep testing different heroes and see how the changes affect your playstyle.
Geek Dad
08-07-2025
- Geek Dad
Gaming With the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited Xbox Controller
If you're an Xbox gamer looking for a new controller, now's a great time to shop as your choices are plentiful. Back when I first started playing Overwatch, I realized that I needed a controller that offered more features than what you can find in the still-excellent standard Xbox controller. So I graduated to the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, with its back paddles and customizable joysticks. And while I loved that controller, I'd find I'd burn through ones in about a year. And so the search for something similar, yet better, began. Back in April, Nacon released the Revolution X Unlimited controller, a pro wireless controller designed specifically for Xbox and PC. They recently sent me a unit to test drive. What Is the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited? The Revolution X Unlimited is an officially licensed, wireless controller for use with Xbox and PC. It comes with the following features: Instant Triggers: adjustable instant triggers with micro-switch components. adjustable instant triggers with micro-switch components. Mechanical Precision: micro-switch components for ultra-responsive gameplay. 6 additional shortcut buttons that can be configured with keyboard keys pc mode only. micro-switch components for ultra-responsive gameplay. buttons that can be configured with keyboard keys pc mode only. Customization via LCD Screen: easy and intuitive customization, mapping programming, and audio source mixing. easy and intuitive customization, mapping programming, and audio source mixing. Hall Effect Magnetic Technology: joysticks and triggers benefit from greatly enhanced precision and durability through magnetic effect, preventing 'joystick drift'. joysticks and triggers benefit from greatly enhanced precision and durability through magnetic effect, preventing 'joystick drift'. Wireless Connectivity: 2.4GHz USB radio frequency, Bluetooth compatible with Android devices. 2.4GHz USB radio frequency, Bluetooth compatible with Android devices. Total Customization: 3 sets of weights, 6 joystick heads, 2 D-pads, storage case, 4 joystick rings (two medium and two large), and more than 60 customization options. 3 sets of weights, 6 joystick heads, 2 D-pads, storage case, 4 joystick rings (two medium and two large), and more than 60 customization options. Application: possibility to import up to 4 custom profiles per platform and program the 6 shortcut keys via a customization application available on PC and Xbox. Specific programming of shortcut keys to assign them to keyboard keys (in PC mode). Joystick range adjustment, audio mixers and pre-recorded profiles available. possibility to import up to 4 custom profiles per platform and program the 6 shortcut keys via a customization application available on PC and Xbox. Specific programming of shortcut keys to assign them to keyboard keys (in PC mode). Joystick range adjustment, audio mixers and pre-recorded profiles available. Vibration: four vibration motors (two in the handles and two in the triggers). four vibration motors (two in the handles and two in the triggers). High-Performance PC Mode: latency reduced to 1ms with wired connection and 2ms with wireless connection, Gyroscope function to simulate a joystick or the D-pad. Mapping of PC keyboard keys to controller buttons. latency reduced to 1ms with wired connection and 2ms with wireless connection, Gyroscope function to simulate a joystick or the D-pad. Mapping of PC keyboard keys to controller buttons. Long Battery Life: +10 hours battery life for extended gameplay without needing to recharge the controller. +10 hours battery life for extended gameplay without needing to recharge the controller. Charging dock : store and charge your controller easily in six hours with the included charging station The Revolution X Unlimited controller retails for $199.90, and is available on Amazon or directly from Nacon. Opening up the clamshell case. Image by Paul Benson. Unboxing the Revolution X Unlimited When you open the Revolution X Unlimited box, you're greeted by a Nacon-branded clamshell storage case. Opening it up, you'll find a number of goodies inside: Revolution X Unlimited controller Charging Station 3m USB-C cable USB dongle Accessory storage box 2 D-pads 6 Weights 6 Joystick heads (2 concave, 4 convex) Metal joystick rings Everything out of the case. Image by Paul Benson. Already placed inside the accessory storage box are the majority of the accessories: Weights, D-pad, Joystick heads, joystick rings. Image by Paul Benson. It's very handy that everything fits inside, but that does make for a larger case than you'll find with most controllers. Here are a few different views of the Revolution X Unlimited. As you can see, there are a lot of buttons and switches: This slideshow requires JavaScript. I won't bore you as to what each and every button and switch does on the controller- if you're interested, you can download the user manual to read at your leisure. Setting Up the Revolution X Unlimited Controller To start with, I charged up the controller. You can either use the charging station, or connect the USB cable for fast charging. As I was setting the controller up for use with my Xbox, I plugged the charging station into one of the USB ports on my Series X and placed the controller on the cradle. To fully charge the controller takes about 7 hours. The red ring indicates the controller is charging. Image by Paul Benson. Once the controller was charged, I then went to adjust profiles using the Revolution X Unlimited application. This app is available on both Windows and Xbox, and I downloaded it for both. As noted in the instructions, you must manually set the controller to wired and advanced modes in order to make changes via the app. Having already connected the charging station to the Xbox, this was a bit of an inconvenience as I had to now disconnect the station and plug the cable into the controller to make adjustments. An interesting sidenote: to play wirelessly, you can either plug the USB dongle into a USB port, or slot it into the charging station itself, so that you don't have to take up more than one USB port to operate both the charger and the wireless dongle. There are a total of 20 profiles that you can store on your controller, spread across Xbox, PC, and Bluetooth. These profiles are customizable in the app, and you have a pretty good amount of granularity when it comes to adjusting the controls and appearance of the Revolution X. Here's what you can adjust via the app: • Create, optimize, download and share controller settings profiles with other expert players. • Easy update of your controller • Shooter pro mode : Joystick digital deadzone deactivation, increased joystick sensitivity option • Full mapping of all buttons and the 6 shortcut buttons • Presets and manual configuration of stick and trigger sensitivity • Inversion of left/right sticks • 4 or 8-way directional pad • Customizable right stick lighting • Audio menu to access equalizer settings based on game type • LCD Screen brightness, battery ECO Mode • Vibration motors ON/OFF
Engadget
02-07-2025
- Engadget
How to buy a GPU in 2025
One of the trickiest parts of any new computer build or upgrade is finding the right video card. In a gaming PC, the GPU is easily the most important component, and you can hamstring your experience by buying the wrong model. The buying process can be frustrating, with many manufacturers selling their models above their suggested retail price. In this guide, we'll help you navigate the market and find the right GPU for your needs. The first question to ask yourself is what kind of games do you want to play. Competitive shooters like Valorant , Overwatch and Marvel Rivals were designed to run on older hardware. As such, even entry-level GPUs like the GeForce RTX 5060 can push those games at 120 frames per second and above at 1080p (more on why that's important in a moment). By contrast, if you want to play modern, single-player games with ray tracing and other graphical extras, you'll need a more powerful GPU. Just how much more powerful will depend on the resolution of your monitor. A 1440p monitor has 78 percent more pixels than a 1080p screen, and a 4K display has more than twice as many pixels as a QHD panel. In short, running a game at 4K, especially at anything above 60 frames per second, is demanding, and most GPUs will need to use upscaling techniques like NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) to push new games at high refresh rates. While we're on the subject of resolution, it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on a 4K monitor only to pair it with an inexpensive GPU. That's a recipe for a bad experience. As you're shopping for a new video card, you should think about the resolution and frame rate you want to play your games. If you're in the market for both a GPU and display, be sure to check out our guide to the best gaming monitors. If your budget allows, a good bet is to buy a midrange card that can comfortably render all but the most demanding games at 1440p and at least 144 frames per second. Put another way, you want a GPU that can saturate a monitor at its native resolution and refresh rate in as many games as possible. That will give you the smoothest possible experience in terms of motion clarity, and allow you to dabble in both competitive shooters and the latest single-player games as the mood strikes you. Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget One of the confusing aspects of the GPU industry are all the players involved. What you need to know is that there are three main players: AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. They design the cards you can buy, but delegate the manufacturing of them to so-called add-in board (AIB) partners like ASUS, XFX, Gigabyte and others. As you can probably imagine, this creates some headaches. The most annoying of which is that AMD, Intel and NVIDIA will often set recommended prices for their graphic cards, only for their partners to sell their versions of those GPUs above the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). For example, NVIDIA's website lists the RTX 5070 with a starting price of $549. On Newegg, there are no 5070s listed at that price. The only models anywhere close to $549 are open box specials. If you want one that comes sealed, that will cost you at least $600. As for what company you should buy your new GPU from, before 2025, NVIDIA was the undisputed king of the market. Specific GeForce cards may have not offered the best rasterization performance in their price range, but between their performance in games with ray tracing and the fact NVIDIA was ahead on features like DLSS, an RTX GPU was a safe bet. However, with this year's RTX 50 series release, other than models like the RTX 5080 and 5090 where there's no competition, it's safe to say NVIDIA missed the mark this generation. If you're in the market for an entry- or mid-level GPU, AMD and Intel offer better value, with cards that come with enough VRAM for now and into the future. That said, there are still a few reasons you might consider an NVIDIA GPU, starting with ray tracing. For decades, developers have used rasterization techniques to approximate how light behaves in the real world, and the results have been commendable. But if you know what to look for, it's easy to see where the illusion falls apart. For that reason, real-time ray tracing has been a goal of industry for years, and in 2018 it became a reality with NVIDIA's first RTX cards. In some games, effects like ray-traced reflections and global illumination are transformational. Unfortunately, those features are expensive to run, often coming at a significant frame-rate drop without upscaling. Since ray tracing was optional in many games before 2025, you could save money by buying an AMD GPU. For example, even if the RX 7800 XT was worse at ray tracing than the RTX 4070, the former was often cheaper to buy, had more onboard VRAM and was as good or better rasterization performance in many games. However, you can't ignore ray tracing performance anymore. We're starting to see releases like Doom: The Dark Ages where the tech is an integral part of a game's rendering pipeline, and more are likely to follow in the future. Thankfully, AMD's newest cards are much better in that regard, though you'll still get an edge running an NVIDIA model. For that reason, if ray tracing is important to you, NVIDIA cards are still the way to go. If you're new to the world of PC gaming, it can be tricky to wrap your head around refresh rates. In short, the higher the refresh rate of a monitor, the more times it can update the image it displays on screen every second, thereby producing a smoother moving picture. For example, moving elements on a monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate will look better than on one with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, that's all contingent on your GPU being able to consistently render a game at the appropriate frame rates. In the case of a 120Hz monitor, you want a GPU with enough headroom to drive most games at 120 fps. Realistically, most video cards won't be able to achieve that in every game, but it's a good baseline to aim for when shopping for a new GPU. I've mentioned DLSS a few times already. Alongside FSR and Intel XeSS, DLSS is an example of what's known as an image reconstruction technology. More and more, native rendering is going out of fashion in game design. With ray tracing and other modern effects enabled, even the most powerful GPUs can struggle to render a game at 1440p or 4K and a playable framerate. That's why many developers will turn to DLSS, FSR or XeSS to eke out additional performance by upscaling a lower resolution image to QHD or UHD. Upscaling in games is nothing new. For example, the PS4 Pro used a checkerboard technique to output games in 4K. What is different now is how modern GPUs go about it. With DLSS, NVIDIA pioneered an approach that uses machine learning to recreate an image at a higher resolution, and in the process, addressed some of the pitfalls of past upscaling methods. If you're sensitive to these sorts of things, there's still blur and shimmer with DLSS, FSR and XeSS, but it's much less pronounced and can lead to significant performance gains. To DLSS, NVIDIA later added single and multi-frame generation. DLSS is only available on NVIDIA cards, and following the recent release of DLSS 4, widely considered to offer the best image quality. That's another reason why you might choose an NVIDIA card over one of its competitors. However, if you decide to go with an AMD GPU, don't feel like you're missing out. The company recently released FSR 4. While it's not quite on par with DLSS 4 in terms of support and image quality, it's a major leap over FSR 3 and FSR 2. While on the subject of DLSS, I'll also mention NVIDIA Reflex. It's a latency-reducing technology NVIDIA introduced in 2020. AMD has its own version called Radeon Anti-Lag, but here again Team Green has a slight edge thanks to the recent release of Reflex 2. If you're serious about competitive games, Reflex 2 can significantly reduce input lag, which will make it easier to nail your shots in Counter-Strike 2 , Valorant and other shooters. Previously, one of the reasons to pick an NVIDIA GPU over the competition was the company's solid track record of driver support. With one of the company's video cards, you were less likely to run into stability issues and games failing to launch. In 2025, NVIDIA's drivers have been abysmal, with people reporting frequent issues and bugs. So if you care about stability, AMD has a slight edge right now. As you're comparing different GPUs, especially those in the same tier, pay close attention to the amount of VRAM they offer. Modern games will eat up as much VRAM as a GPU can offer, and if your card has a low amount, such as 8GB, you're likely to run into a performance bottleneck. If your budget allows for it, always go for the model with more VRAM. Consider, for instance, the difference between the $299 RTX 5060 and $429 RTX 5060 Ti. I know spending an extra $130 — close to 50 percent more — on the 5060 Ti is going to be a lot for some people, but it's the difference between a card that is barely adequate for any recent release and one that will last you for a few years, and it all comes down to the amount of VRAM offered in each. Simply put, more is better. A slight caveat to this is when comparing models that have different memory bandwidths. A GPU that can access more of its memory faster can outperform one with more memory, even if it has less of it outright. Here, you'll want to read reviews of the models you're comparing to see how they perform in different games. Modern GPUs are big. Most new cards will take up at least two PCI slots on the back of your motherboard. They can also vary dramatically in length, depending on the number of fans the AIB has added to cool the PCB. To be safe, be sure to check the length of the card you want to buy against the maximum clearance listed by your case manufacturer. If you have a radiator at the front of your case, you will also need to factor the size of that in your measurements. The last thing you want is to buy a card that doesn't fit in your case. Lastly, be sure to check the recommended power supply for the card you want. As a rule of thumb, unless you know what you're doing, it's best to just stick with the manufacturer's recommendation. For instance, NVIDIA suggests pairing the RTX 5070 with a 750 watt PSU. So if you're currently running a 650 watt unit, you'll need to factor in the price of a PSU upgrade with your new GPU. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget It depends. If you can find a deal on an old RTX 40 series GPU, then yes. NVIDIA's RTX 50 series don't offer greatly improved performance over their predecessors, and with most models selling for more than their suggested retail price, it's not a great time to buy a new NVIDIA card. That said, I suspect finding a good deal on a used GPU will be difficult. Most people will know the value of what they have, and considering the current market, will probably try to get as much as they can for their old card. You may find better deals on older AMD and Intel GPUs, but I think you're better off spending more now on a new model from one of those companies since the generational gains offered by their latest cards are much more impressive. Simply put, the 9070 XT and B580 are two of the best cards you can buy right now. Anything older than a card from NVIDIA's 40 series or AMD's RX 6000 family is not worth considering. Unless your budget is extremely tight or you mostly play older games, you're much better off spending more to buy a new card that will last you longer. If you've read up to this point, you're probably wondering if it's even worth buying a GPU right now. The answer is (unsurprisingly) complicated. There are a handful of great cards like the Intel B580 and Radeon 9070 XT that are absolutely worth buying. The problem is finding any GPU at prices approaching those set by AMD, Intel or NVIDIA is really tough. To make things worse, uncertainty around President Trump's tariff policies is likely to push prices even higher. If you own a relatively recent GPU, you're probably best off trying to hold onto your current card until things settle down. However, if your GPU isn't cutting it anymore, you face a difficult decision: overpay now, or wait and potentially pay even more later. As much as I'm reluctant to recommend a prebuilt PC, if you're already planning to build a new computer, it's worth exploring your options there since you might end up saving money on a video card when it's bundled together with all the other components you need. Entry-level (1080p) GPUs As we mentioned above, if you're only aiming to play basic competitive shooters like Valorant and Overwatch 2 in 1080p, an entry-level GPU may be all you need. While 1080p isn't an ideal resolution when it comes to sharpness, many gamers prefer it since it's easier to reach higher framerates. And it also helps that 1080p gaming monitors, like the AOC 24G15N 24-inch we recommend, tend to offer speedy refresh rates for between $100 and $200. When you're zipping through matches, you likely won't have time to take a breath and appreciate the detail from higher resolutions. Here are our recommendations for entry-level video cards. Surprisingly enough, you can actually find this modern NVIDIA GPU for $300. While you'll have to live with 8GB of RAM, that's more than enough for 1080p gaming, and it also has the benefit of DLSS 4 upscaling. $300 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $300 at Best Buy With a $250 list price and 12GB of RAM, it's hard to go wrong with the B580 on paper. Unfortunately, its price has shot up significantly, and it's often hard to find it in stock. Still, it delivers excellent 1080p performance, and it can also play some games in 1440p well. (Check out our Intel Arc B580 review.) $348 at Amazon While it's a last-gen card, the RX 7600 is still powerful enough to handle basic shooters. $280 at Newegg While entry-level cards can dabble with 1440p gaming, it's worth stepping up to something a bit more powerful if you actually want to achieve higher refresh rates. For most gamers, 1440p is the best balance between sharpness and high framerates. It looks noticeably better than 1080p, and doesn't require the horsepower overhead of 4K. (And there's a good chance you won't really see a visual difference with the jump to 4K.) Here are our recommendations for midrange GPUs. AMD surprised us all with the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, two midrange cards that offered similar power to and more VRAM than NVIDIA's more expensive cards. While you won't see the RX 9070 for its $550 launch price today, you can still snag one for a slight premium. (Check out our AMD Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT review.) $700 at Newegg If you want the most of what modern PC games have to offer, including 4K and all of the benefits of ray tracing, then be ready to spend big bucks on a high-end GPU. If you're going this route, though, be sure you're also gaming on a high-end monitor that befits these powerful GPUs. Here are our recommendations for premium GPUs. The RTX 5070 Ti surprised me with excellent 4K gaming performance for a launch price that was well below the RTX 5080. While its price has jumped significantly since then, it's still the best overall NVIDIA card if you want to play in 4K at 120Hz or beyond. (Check out our NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti review.) $1,030 at Amazon If the RTX 5070 Ti isn't enough for you, the RTX 5080's additional power and 24GB of VRAM should suit your fancy. Just be prepared to pay around $1,500 for it, a 50 percent jump from its $999 launch price. $1,495 at Amazon Listen, there's only one choice here and it's NVIDIA's enormously powerful and fantastically expensive RTX 5090. It's an absolute beast, with 32GB of VRAM and the most hardware NVIDIA has ever stuffed into a consumer GeForce GPU. The RTX 5090 doesn't make sense for 99 percent of gamers — especially since it's now going for $3,000, up from its $2,000 launch price — but if you have the cash to spare, it'll certainly earn you bragging rights. (Check out our NVIDIA RTX 5090 review.)
