Gaming
Fortnite is now hosting free movie nights
You can catch Inception for free this Friday
For some reason, Fortnite is turning into an entertainment hub. The once-unbeatable battle royale game has transitioned into virtual public spaces for live entertainment. Throughout the past year, the game hosted sneak peeks of upcoming blockbusters and even a free Travis Scott concert.
Now, for perhaps the first time ever in a video game, Fortnite is hosting a free movie night. If you’re still an avid player of the battle royale genre, you can drop in on certain times this Friday and Saturday (depending on where you are) to catch a free Christopher Nolan film. If you’re in the Philippines, for example, you can catch a free screening of Inception on Friday, 8 p.m. or on Saturday, 8 a.m. and 11:55 a.m. You can check availability here.
Why him? Next month, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet will premiere (hopefully) in theaters worldwide. The mind-bending thriller is expected to be a treat for both Christopher Nolan fans and people who just want to go watch movies in theaters again. If you’re not familiar with the name, Nolan has helmed incredibly successful blockbusters like the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar. Naturally, with the premiere date looming, you might find yourself weirdly craving his incredible films.
According to Epic Games, getting distribution rights for films is difficult, especially in certain territories. However, Fortnite’s latest “feature” is a strange but welcome transition in the entertainment world. Even if you don’t play Fortnite anymore, you can still pop in occasionally to participate in the free entertainment events.
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Gaming
ASUS brings 2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo, G16, and G14 to the Philippines
New Zephyrus laptops arrive
ASUS Republic of Gamers has announced the Philippine availability and pricing of its 2026 ROG Zephyrus lineup.
Headlining the range is the new ROG Zephyrus Duo, joined by refreshed versions of the Zephyrus G16 and Zephyrus G14. The latest models feature Intel Core Ultra processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs, upgraded cooling systems, and ROG Nebula HDR OLED displays.
The lineup is available through authorized retailers starting June 24, 2026.
ROG Zephyrus Duo introduces dual-screen gaming
The 2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo (GX651AX) is billed as the world’s first 16-inch dual-screen gaming laptop.
It features two 16-inch 16:10 touch displays with 120Hz refresh rates. Together, they provide up to 32 inches of combined screen space for multitasking, content creation, streaming, and gaming.
The primary display is a 3K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with up to 1,100 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision HDR support, and 100 percent DCI-P3 color coverage.
A new 320-degree kickstand hinge enables multiple usage modes, including Laptop Mode, Dual-Screen Mode, Book Mode, Tent Mode, and Sharing Mode. ASUS ScreenXpert software manages display layouts and transitions between modes.
Powering the device are an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X memory, and 2TB SSD storage.
ROG Zephyrus Duo price in the Philippines
ROG Zephyrus Duo GX651AX-SR071WSM (RTX 5090, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — PhP 559,995
The laptop comes bundled with an ASUS Pen 3.0, ROG Universal Backpack, ROG Gladius III Gaming Mouse, and ASUS warranty package.
ROG Zephyrus G16 gets RTX 5090 option
The refreshed ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU606) retains its slim aluminum chassis, measuring 1.49cm thick and weighing 1.85kg.
Configurations include up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with up to 160W TGP. ASUS says the laptop supports NVIDIA DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation technologies.
The 16-inch display uses a 2.5K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, VESA DisplayHDR True Black certification, and NVIDIA G-SYNC support.
Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours of video playback, while ROG Intelligent Cooling combines Tri-Fan Technology, liquid metal, and expanded ventilation for sustained performance.
ROG Zephyrus G16 prices in the Philippines
- ROG Zephyrus G16 GU606AR-TB061WSM (RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 289,995
- ROG Zephyrus G16 GU606AX-TB084WSM (RTX 5090, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — PhP 429,995
Both variants include an ROG Exclusive Sleeve and ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse.
ROG Zephyrus G14 focuses on portability
The ROG Zephyrus G14 (GU405) continues to target gamers who want a more compact machine.
It measures 1.59cm thin and weighs 1.5kg. Despite its size, ASUS equips the laptop with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU with up to 130W TGP.
The device sports a 14-inch 3K ROG Nebula HDR OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, NVIDIA G-SYNC support, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification.
ASUS also redesigned the thermal system with thicker heat pipes, additional copper fins, and improved ventilation to boost cooling performance.
ROG Zephyrus G14 prices in the Philippines
- ROG Zephyrus G14 GU405AP-SY057WSM (RTX 5070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 224,995
- ROG Zephyrus G14 GU405AW-SY069WSM (RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 324,995
Each model ships with an ROG Exclusive Sleeve and ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse.
Warranty and launch promos
All 2026 ROG Zephyrus laptops sold locally come with ASUS’ No. 1 Quality & Service Program. This includes a three-year international and local warranty, one-year accidental damage protection, and Premium Care support.
Buyers also receive a gaming mouse, three months of PC Game Pass, an Office 2024 lifetime license, one year of Microsoft 365 Basic with 100GB cloud storage, and up to 700GB of ASUS Cloud Storage.
Meanwhile, the new ROG Slash Collection 4.0 accessories, including the Slash Backpack 4.0 and Slash Sling Bag 4.0, will arrive in select ROG stores starting July 2026.
The Steam Machine is the most anticipated gaming device this year. Valve’s upcoming machine aims to deliver a PC gaming experience in a convenient package. Today, the price of the Steam Machine was finally unveiled, and it’s a doozy. But did you know that it was supposed to be much, much cheaper?
Now, we already know that the Steam Machine was cheaper before, but we didn’t really know how much cheaper. Speaking to IGN, Valve essentially confirmed the Machine followed the same price hikes as the Steam Deck, which experienced an increase of over US$ 200.
After doing a bit of algebra, it can be assumed that the Steam Machine was supposed to start at around US$ 750. That’s a huge jump, considering that the more expensive variant currently costs almost US$ 1,500, almost double the price of the original.
Unfortunately, that’s just how the industry works these days. Because of the ongoing RAM crisis, several manufacturers have already confirmed price hikes happening throughout the year. Apple, most recently, announced that price increases might come soon because of the untenability of shouldering the costs themselves.
It gets worse for the Machine, though. Despite being expensive, the price tag doesn’t really reflect the specs you’re getting. You can certainly grab a gaming laptop with better specs for around the same (or even a smaller) price tag, especially considering that Valve’s console-but-not-really-a-console doesn’t come with peripherals yet.
Gaming
Epic Games Launcher is getting a huge update to make it faster
The update will also add customizable profiles and user reviews.
Admit it; you probably have a hoard of free games languishing on the Epic Games Store. Though it’s nice that Epic gives away games every week, the overall inconvenience of using the platform sadly outweighs the freebies. Now, the company is finally redesigning the app from the ground up with a distinct focus on making it much faster.
Earlier this year, Epic admitted that “the launcher sucks.” Though the company cited a number of reasons, the number one culprit is certainly speed. Compared to its contemporaries (especially Steam), the Epic Games Launcher leaves much to be desired. The platform just doesn’t let users into their games as quickly as Steam does.
During the recent Unreal Fest, Epic, via @LuKaOnIndeed on X, confirmed that the entire launcher will be rebuilt to be “5x to 6.5x faster.”
The performance improvements will come with other new features including player profiles and user written reviews. Epic’s vision of the future looks completely different from how the launcher is today.
Though the company doesn’t have a definite timeline right now, Epic promises that the updates will come later this summer.
It does remain to be seen whether these updates will change anything about how users perceive the platform. For the longest time, gamers consider Steam as the platform of choice. Some users even repurchase their Epic games (sometimes obtained for free) on Steam just to have it on the platform they prefer.
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