Gaming

John Cena is WWE 2K23 cover: Price, editions, what’s new

The champ is here!

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WWE 2K23

WWE 2K23 has finally been announced for a March release, and no less than 16-time World Champion John Cena will grace the cover of all three editions of the video game.

Coming soon for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Steam, the WWE 2K23 Deluxe and Icon Editions will arrive on March 14 via Early Access, while the Standard Edition and Cross-Gen will be available on March 17.

Bad Bunny, one of last year’s most streamed artists globally, will also be making his WWE 2K debut with a Bad Bunny Bonus Pack.

This year’s installment of the flagship WWE video game franchise will feature several advancements, including a new take on the 2K Showcase, the introduction of WarGames, and expansions to several game modes.

The deep roster of WWE superstars and legends is headlined by the likes of Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and more.

While waiting for its release, let’s dissect what’s new from WWE 2K23 one by one.

2K Showcase starring John Cena

In a brand-new twist on 2K Showcase, players will have the chance to step into the boots of several of Cena’s toughest competitors throughout his 20-year career – and try to beat Cena himself.

This interactive documentary within the title uses 2K’s unique slingshot tech for a seamless transition from gameplay to live-action footage, narrated by Cena himself.

WarGames makes debut

A fan-favorite, the chaotic and action-packed WarGames will make its debut on WWE 2K23.

This will offer heart-pounding 3-versus-3 and 4-versus-4 single or multiplayer mayhem inside two side-by-side rings surrounded by a double-steel cage

MyGM: Be the boss

For this year, MyGM is going to feature more GMs to choose from. Players may also create their custom GM.

There will also be additional show options, multiple seasons, expanded match cards, and more match types for up to four players.

It will all up to players to draft rosters, manage budgets, sign free agents, choose various match types, arena locations, and more, managing everything while trying to beat rival GMs in weekly battles.

MyFACTION: Online multiplayer action

This online multiplayer team-building mode will let players collect, manage, and upgrade an array of WWE superstars and legends to create their ultimate four-person factions.

Players can now take their faction online and compete for global dominance, or compete in Weekly Towers and Faction Wars.

Themed card packs and goals roll out regularly throughout the year, too.

MyRISE: Immortalize your name

In this game mode, aspiring WWE superstars shape their career as they vie for their WWE debut.

Featuring distinct men’s and women’s division storylines and the ability to import custom created superstars, players journey from Rookie all the way to WWE Legend.

Creation Suite

A signature feature of the franchise, the creation suite returns with cross-platform community creations, including the ability to design custom superstars, GMs, arenas, entrances, move sets, championships and more.

Custom arenas are now playable online, and advanced customization has been added to created entrances.

Pricing, editions, pre-order bonuses

WWE 2K23

Standard Edition (physical, digital)

  • US$ 59.99 for previous-gen consoles and PC
  • US$ 69.99 for current gen consoles

Cross-Gen Edition (digital)

  • US$ 69.99 for PlayStation, Xbox consoles
  • Includes Standard Edition across previous and current-gen platforms within same console family and same account

WWE 2K23 features four editions of the game: Standard Edition, Cross-Gen, Deluxe Edition, and Icon Edition:

Deluxe Edition (physical, digital)

  • US$ 99.99 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One (physical and digital), PC (digital)
  • Includes Standard Edition, Bad Bunny Bonus Pack, Season Pass to all 5 post-launch DLC content packs
  • MyRISE Mega-Boost and SuperCharger
  • Ruby John Cena MyFACTION Evo Card
  • Gold Edge MyFACTION Card
  • Emerald Bianca Belair MyFACTION Card
  • Gold Asuka MyFACTION Card
  • 3 Basic Premium Launch MyFACTION Card packs

Icon Edition

  • US$ 119.99 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC
  • Features original cover art by Rob Schamberger
  • Includes Standard Edition and all bonus content in Deluxe Edition
  • Ruthless Aggression Pack – John Cena’s early “Prototype” character, “Leviathan” Batista, rookie versions of Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, John Cena Legacy Championship, and WrestleMania 22 Arena
  • Additional bonus content: Emerald Paul heyman MyFACTION Manager Card and 3 Deluxe Premium Launch MyFACTION Card packs

Bad Bunny Bonus Pack pre-order offer

Players who pre-ordered the Standard Edition and Cross-Gen Digital bundles will receive the Bad Bunny Bonus Pack. It includes Bad Bunny as a playable character, as well as a Ruby tier Bad Bunny MyFACTION card.

The Bad Bunny Bonus Pack is included in the Deluxe and Icon editions at launch.

Gaming

Life is Strange: Reunion now available on consoles and PC

Max and Chloe return for an emotional finale

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Life is Strange: Reunion

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia and Square Enix have officially launched Life is Strange: Reunion, the latest entry in the narrative adventure series. Developed by Deck Nine Games, the title is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. A physical PlayStation 5 edition is also available across Southeast Asia.

The launch comes with an official trailer, marking the return of one of the franchise’s most beloved storylines.

A long-awaited reunion

Set 11 years after the original events, Life is Strange: Reunion brings back Max Caulfield and Chloe Price as they reunite to solve a new timeline-spanning mystery. This time, the stakes center on a devastating inferno threatening Caledon University–Max’s workplace as a photography teacher.

Returning from a trip, Max discovers the campus engulfed in flames, with lives lost across the university. She survives only by using her Rewind ability, a power that allows her to reverse time.

The situation takes an unexpected turn with Chloe’s sudden arrival–an outcome tied to the timeline-merging events of Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Now dealing with fractured memories and an unstable sense of reality, Chloe once again finds herself relying on Max.

Dual perspectives, new gameplay dynamics

For the first time in the series, players can take control of both Max and Chloe, switching perspectives as the story unfolds.

Max’s Rewind power lets players revisit decisions, reshape conversations, and manipulate environments to solve complex, time-based puzzles. Meanwhile, Chloe brings her signature Backtalk ability, allowing her to push conversations in her favor and access situations Max cannot.

This dual-character approach expands both narrative depth and gameplay variety, offering different ways to uncover clues and influence outcomes.

A character-driven finale

Life is Strange: Reunion continues the series’ focus on grounded, emotional storytelling, with choices that carry meaningful consequences. The game builds toward a dramatic climax that aims to close out Max and Chloe’s journey.

As the final chapter in their story, Reunion positions itself as both a continuation and a conclusion–tying together years of narrative threads while delivering a new mystery shaped by time, loss, and choice.

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Gaming

Nintendo will make it cheaper to buy digital games than physical

Physical releases will have the same price.

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The days of lining up for a newly released game are well and truly over. Though some games still experience shortages in brick-and-mortar stores, such as the widely successful Pokémon Pokopia, gamers can get their titles digitally. Now, Nintendo is making digital releases more enticing by offering a tempting discount on the eShop.

Starting in May, Nintendo will start charging different prices for the physical and digital releases of first-party games. While physical releases will still have the same prices going forward, digital releases via the eShop will enjoy a discount.

The discount, of course, will likely depend on the title itself. Nintendo has already given the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book as the first example. The new platformer will cost US$ 70 from retailers. However, it will cost only US$ 60 on the digital eShop.

The company says that the new pricing scheme “simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format.” With the prices of chips skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that the physical release is more expensive than the digital one.

To be more technical about it, Nintendo has started skipping a physical game card for a while now. The physical release of Pokémon Pokopia, for example, has only a game-key card or a code to download the game. In this format, physical releases are just pretty cases you can display on your shelf.

Also, digital releases do carry the added risk of getting delisted on the whims of the developers, the publishers, or Nintendo itself. It is, however, still a cheaper option, especially in a world where getting any discount is a welcome thought.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo sues the United States

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Gaming

Razer Blade 16 (2026) packs more cores, faster memory

Razer’s thinnest gaming laptop yet

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Razer Blade 16

Razer has officially unveiled the 2026 version of its Blade 16, doubling down on what it does best: squeezing high-end performance into an ultra-slim chassis.

This year’s refresh focuses on meaningful internal upgrades. That includes a new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, faster LPDDR5X memory, and NVIDIA’s latest RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs — all while keeping the Blade 16 as the thinnest gaming laptop in Razer’s lineup.

Performance gets a serious bump

At the core of the new Blade 16 is the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H, featuring 16 cores and up to 4.9GHz boost clock. Razer claims a 33% increase in core count versus the previous generation, translating to stronger performance across gaming, content creation, and AI workloads.

There’s also an integrated NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, enabling faster on-device AI tasks like image generation and live translation.

Memory gets a notable upgrade too. The Blade 16 now supports up to 64GB of LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM, which Razer positions as the fastest available in a laptop today. The result: quicker responsiveness for heavy multitasking, creative apps, and AI-assisted workflows.

On the graphics side, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series (Blackwell architecture) brings DLSS 4 and enhanced AI capabilities for both gaming and creator use cases.

Display and design stay premium

Razer isn’t fixing what isn’t broken. The Blade 16 retains its signature CNC-milled aluminum chassis, measuring just 14.9mm thick and weighing around 2.14kg.

The display remains a highlight. You get a 16-inch QHD+ OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, now brighter and certified for VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 1000. It supports full DCI-P3 coverage, Calman calibration, and NVIDIA G-SYNC, making it just as suited for creators as it is for competitive gaming.

Battery life and efficiency improve

Despite the performance gains, Razer is also pushing efficiency. Thanks to Intel’s newer architecture and system-level optimizations, the Blade 16 can hit up to 13 hours of productivity use and up to 15 hours of video playback under ideal conditions.

That’s a notable improvement for a machine in this class, especially given its slim form factor.

Connectivity and audio step up

The 2026 Blade 16 gets a future-ready connectivity suite, including Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0. There’s also a full set of ports, from USB-A to HDMI 2.1 and an SD card reader.

Audio gets an upgrade too. The six-speaker system now supports THX Spatial Audio+ with virtual 7.1.4 surround, aiming to deliver more immersive sound both on speakers and headphones.

Price and availability

The Razer Blade 16 configured with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB VRAM) and 32GB LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM is priced at US$3,499.99 / €3,599.99 MSRP.

It is available now, exclusively via Razer.com and select RazerStores worldwide.

Still the Blade, just sharper

At a glance, the 2026 Blade 16 doesn’t reinvent the formula. But under the hood, it pushes performance, memory speed, and efficiency forward in ways that matter.

It’s still the same idea: a no-compromise gaming laptop that looks like it belongs in a minimalist workspace — just faster, smarter, and a bit more future-proof this time around.

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