Gaming
Genshin Impact 4.4 update: New characters, lots of festival rewards
Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze
Genshin Impact version 4.4 (“Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze”) will arrive on January 31.
The latest update introduces a new region in Liyue called Chenyu Vale. There will also be a free Liyue four-star character and a new outfit for Xingqiu.
Lantern Festival
As the real world just welcomed the new year earlier this month, Teyvat gets a celebration of its own. This year’s Lantern Festival features events, mini-games, and lots of redeemable items.
Up to 10 Intertwined Fates can be claimed via a limited-time daily login event. Additional three Intertwined Fates and two Fragile Resin will also be delivered to players.
New characters
Xianyun, whom players might have encountered in previous storylines, joins the game as a playable five-star character.
An Anemo catalyst wielder, Xianyun is also known as the Cloud Retainer. He can leap and dash forward twice in mid-air. He can also help nearby teammates by boosting their jumps and Plunging Attacks or provide healing.
Gaming, a four-star Pyro character, may also be played. He is a claymore user who incorporates Wushou arts into his combat style.
Liyue expands with Chenyu Vale
The latest version also sees the expansion of Liyue with a new area called Chenyu Vale. It is a beautiful area that features majestic hills and waterfalls, as well as flourishing villages.
One of them, Qiaoying Village, is famous for its tea cultivation methods. In the west is Yilong Wharf, which connects Fontaine and Liyue as a trading center.
With the blessing of the adepti, players can transform into a special carp to fly and reach previously inaccessible areas.
Here, they will encounter legendary beasts that roam the valley, with the “Solitary Suamni” as the boss enemy.
Chenyu Vale sees two visual improvements for a touch of shan shui style. Mist and clouds can change density and direction with Global Far Fog (GFF). Gradient Tint Rock, meanwhile, colors mountains cyan, green, or tan depending on the height, distance, and structure.
Watch the Genshin Impact version 4.4 trailer
Gaming
PlayStation might soon let you buy PC games
Cross-Buy might bundle your PS5 games with a PC version.
Maintaining a gaming library between different platforms is a chore, especially for multiplayer games. It’s way too common to buy a new game on one platform, only to find out that your friends bought it on another. This could lead to double buying or forever missing out on playing with friends. Now, PlayStation, if a new leak is to be believed, will finally help cure the curse of platform mismatches.
Last week, @yAmethxst, an X user, posted leaked screenshots of new icons coming to PlayStation. The leak was also confirmed legit by Dealabs. Though some are less interesting (like a touchpad button), a couple of the new icons are hinting at a Cross-Buy function coming to the platform.
New Symbols will be added soon (website & tool), but here some nice new features from PlayStation (yes, some are old, other are unseen):
– A kind of "echo mode"
– PS5/PC games
– "Cross-Buy" pic.twitter.com/YxIAXp750g— Amethyst (@yAmethxst) November 4, 2025
Based solely on the name, Cross-Buy doesn’t offer much. However, a complementary icon, which shows the PS5 logo and a PC logo side by side, confirms how Sony wants this to work. Cross-Buy will likely allow players to purchase two copies of the same game: one for the PlayStation and another for their PC.
There are a few gaps and questions to be answered, though. For one, which games are compatible with this feature? Is it exclusive to PlayStation’s first-party games, or are third-party games included?
Secondly, which platform on PC will the feature support? The likeliest suspect is Steam, but how about users who prefer the Epic Games Store or GOG?
There are so many mysteries about this feature. Heck, we don’t even know if this will actually work as we described. If anything, this is a welcome feature in the world of cross-platform gaming.
SEE ALSO: PlayStation announces a new duotone DualSense color
Gaming
Grand Theft Auto VI delayed to November 2026
Back in September, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally launched, ending an almost seven-year wait. Now, the next holy grail of gaming that’s set to launch is Grand Theft Auto VI. However, the wait is now a tiny bit longer. Rockstar Games has delayed the launch of its upcoming game to November 2026.
It’s been over 12 years since the launch of Grand Theft Auto V. In that time, the title has gone through three generations of the Xbox and the PlayStation. It even has an enhanced edition already. That said, the highly anticipated sixth outing is a long time coming.
In the tail end of 2023, Rockstar Games released the first trailer for the anticipated sequel, teasing a launch in 2025. Further reports pinpointed a fall 2025 window. Since then, the studio delayed the game to May 2026 for extra polishing.
Today, Rockstar Games has announced another delay. This time, Grand Theft Auto VI will launch on November 19, 2026. The studio is once again citing the need to polish the final product a bit more.
Hi everyone,
Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026.
We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and… pic.twitter.com/yLX9KIiDzX
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) November 6, 2025
Besides the game itself, there is a lot riding on its launch. For one, other game developers are notorious for patterning their games’ release windows away from Grand Theft Auto VI (or other major games). They naturally don’t want their games to be the one known for being overshadowed by Rockstar’s surefire hit.
Secondly, publishers are patiently waiting for how much the game will go for. There’s speculation that the title might push the boundaries of videogame pricing. If the game is a hit while going for 90 to 100 bucks, then other publishers might follow suit.
Gaming
The Nintendo Switch is nearing the end of its lifecycle
Nintendo will focus more on the Switch 2 going forward.
It’s the beginning of the end for the Nintendo Switch. After almost nine years of the original console, Nintendo is just about ready to move on to the next generation.
According to a recent earnings report, Nintendo has announced that the company will start focusing on the Switch 2. “Going forward, we will shift our primary development focus to Nintendo Switch 2 and expand our business around this new platform,” the report said.
Since it was launched earlier this year, the Switch 2 exceeded the company’s expectations. The new console has already surpassed 10 million units sold worldwide, making it Nintendo’s fastest-selling console so far. In fact, the company is already worried about shortages in some parts of the world.
As pointed out by the report, 84 percent of current Switch 2 users transitioned from the original console generation. Owners of the first console are transitioning at a uniform rate.
Currently, there is no explicit plan to fully move away from the first generation yet. The issued statement, however, heralds the end. This will likely start off on a subtler note: fewer games coming out and fewer consoles available in the market.
So, there is no pressing need to switch over to the newer console immediately. However, this should be a warning for users that the end is nearing.
For what it’s worth, the Switch 2 offers backwards compatibility. If you have a shapely catalog of games from the first generation, you can still use them on the newer one. Also, there is a growing number of exclusive games that make use of the more powerful hardware, so it’s a worthy upgrade.
SEE ALSO: Assassin’s Creed Shadows is coming to the Switch 2
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