Gaming

PS5 now supports storage expansion in first major update

Also comes with new social features

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PlayStation 5

It’s the update PlayStation 5 (PS5) users have all been waiting for. Coming in the first major update for the PS5 which will rollout April 14, 2021 is storage expansion and management along with new social features.

Storage expansion

Players can now store PS5 games on compatible USB drives. This lets you transfer installed games from your PS5 to an external storage device. Do note that you can’t boot the game up from the external drive as PS5 games are designed to take advantage of the speed and features of the Internal SSD.

The main advantage is that it’s easier and faster to re-install games to your PS5 from an external drive versus having to redownload these games. You can check PS5 storage device requirements and tips here.

Disappointed? PlayStation is still working on storage expansion via M.2 drives and this will come in a future update.

New social features

If you’re the type who likes playing with friends online, you can now play with friends even if they have yet to secure a PS5 for themselves thanks to the new update. These are:

Cross-Gen Share Play

Cross-generation Share Play gives PS5 users the option to let their friends on PS4 consoles view their screen or try out the PS5 game through Share Play. The feature works both ways.

Options include the ability to share your screen with a friend, pass your controller virtually to a friend, or pass a second controller virtually to play co-op games together.

Request to join game session

A selection of your friends’ joinable game sessions will now appear on both PS5 and PS4 consoles for more gameplay opportunities together.

The “Request to Join” option also serves as a shortcut to sending a game invite, reducing the time it takes for you to get into games with friends. Through the Privacy Settings menu, you can modify who can interact with you through parties, games and messages.

Better Personalization controls

Improved Game Base

The Game Base menu now has quicker access to important content and features. You can now easily switch between Parties and Friends to start chatting with your existing parties or see what each of your online friends is up to. You can also turn notifications on or off for each of the parties you’re in.

Disable game chat or adjust players’ volume

Is someone being unnecessarily annoying? You can now quickly disable in-game chat, which turns off your mic audio and the voice audio of other players. You can also easily adjust the individual voice chat volume of other players in the same chat so you don’t have to ask your friends to lower or increase their mic volume each time.

Game update pre-download

Once it’s enabled by developers, title updates for games will pre-download to your console if the “automatic updates” setting is enabled and your console is on or in rest mode.

Customize game library

It’s now easier to find content and personalize your view of your game library with the new search and hide functions.

Screen Zoom

Players can now adjust the magnification of the screen to suit their preference.

New Trophy settings and stats screen.

The level of trophies that results in automatic capture of a screenshot or video clip can now be customized. Players can now choose to only capture and save images/videos of moments when they earn higher-grade trophies, like Gold or Platinum. There’s also a new player Trophy Stats screen where players can check out the summary of their trophy level and status at a glance.

PlayStation App updates

Coming to the PlayStation app in the next few weeks are the following:

    • Ability to join a multiplayer session on PS5 from the app
    • Manage PS5 console storage
    • Compare trophy collections with friends
    • Sort and filter products shown in the PlayStation Store

Watch our PlayStation 5 Review

Computex 2026

ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X20 debuts at COMPUTEX 2026

Powerful gaming handheld

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Xbox ROG Ally X20

ASUS has announced the ROG XBOX Ally X20 bundle at COMPUTEX 2026, just in time to celebrate the gaming brand’s 20th anniversary.

Featuring a translucent black chassis with vibrant gold internal structure, the machine is both a throwback to gaming two decades ago and a vision of the future.

The translucence offers a peek under the hood to the high-performance cooling system and handheld silicon from AMD.

Premium hardware

The ROG XBOX Ally X20 brings a new Nebula HDR Display to the handheld for the first time, with a 7.4-inch OLED panel and Corning DXC glass and anti-reflective coating.

This slightly larger panel increases immersion and visibility. It has up to 120Hz refresh rate, FreeSync Premium of support, and 1,400 nits of peak brightness.

Furthermore, it has a VESA DisplayHDR 1000 rating, Dolby Vision, and 0.2ms response time.

Powering the portable device is the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor with ample gaming horsepower and the latest tools like Auto SR upscaling, as well as XBOX for seamless navigation and gaming.

It supports 24GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of PCIe 4.0 storage to accommodate a large library of titles.

Better ergonomics, controls

Inspired by iconic XBOX controller designs, the ROG XBOX Ally X20 has a transforming D-Pad. It’s designed with the standard four-way movement, but can easily be converted to eight-way control for fighting games.

The improved face buttons have also been adjusted, now sitting flush against the chassis to enable smooth and uninterrupted thumb sliding. On the rear of the handgrips is a rubberized coating.

Speaking of controls, the next-gen handheld levels up with a new TMR joystick technology, delivering pinpoint precision, smoother tracking, and longer-lasting performance.

Bundled with ROG XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses

The bundle also features the ROG XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses, making the set an absolute collector’s must-have.

The AR glasses feature a 171-inch virtual screen at four meters, 240Hz display that covers 95% of the field of view, and a 0.01ms response time, thanks to micro-OLED. These glasses plug directly into the Ally via USB-C.

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Gaming

Latest BeastLink Open Beta offers optimizations, improvements

Grove Street Games’ monster-sized Kaiju mayhem

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Grove Street Games has kicked off another round of beta playtesting for the large-scale multiplayer destruction sandbox game BeastLink.

The latest round of open beta testing opened at 4:00 P.M. ET on May 29 and will end at June 1 at 10:00 A.M. ET.

This Open Beta weekend offers a fresh look at the massive optimization sand improvements from the past month of closed playtesting.

Players can join through the BeastLink Steam page here.

The latest Open Beta features the Horned Lizard, Mandrill, and Bull Shark as playable beasts.

The Kaiju battles come with more freedom of movement and improved fighting. All beasts have seen extensive updates and balance improvements for a more refined monster vs. monster combat.

Moreover, there is a new map available: Wharf, which urges players to utilize ziplines and cranes. New effects like dust, fog, and rubble also make the showdown feel more chaotic.

Meanwhile, selecting Battle Arena from the Deployment Menu lets players battle against friends, the CPU, or by themselves for fun. That’s on top of other modes like Tutorial, Hazard Pay, Beast Brawl, and Colony Purge.

BeastLink is built on Unreal Engine 5, and uses Grove Street Games’ proprietary SuperDestruction system to push environmental wreckage to a new level.

The system lets players reshape the map both as human or Kaiu, with over 250,000 destructible objects and millions of individual pieces.

An announcement trailer has likewise been unveiled.

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Gaming

Acer unveils Predator Atlas 8 handheld with Intel Arc G-Series power

PC gaming on the go

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Predator Atlas 8

Acer has unveiled the Predator Atlas 8, a new Windows 11 gaming handheld powered by Intel’s latest Arc G-Series platform. The device expands Acer’s growing handheld portfolio and targets gamers who want PC gaming performance in a portable form factor.

The Predator Atlas 8 pairs Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme processor with up to Intel Arc B390 graphics. It supports ray tracing and Intel XeSS 3 AI-powered upscaling to boost performance while maintaining image quality. Acer says the platform balances gaming performance and battery efficiency for gaming on the go.

Predator cooling comes to a handheld

Acer equips the Atlas 8 with a dual-fan cooling system inspired by its Predator gaming laptops. The setup includes what Acer describes as the first metal fan used in a gaming handheld. The company says the ultra-thin AeroBlade fan increases airflow by up to 10 percent. It works alongside a second fan and Acer’s Vortex Flow design to move heat out of the chassis more efficiently.

The handheld features an 8-inch WUXGA touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate and Variable Refresh Rate support. The panel reaches up to 500 nits of brightness and uses a 16:10 aspect ratio. Acer also protects the display with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and a DXC coating that helps reduce glare.

Acer complements the display with dual 2W speakers that support DTS:X Ultra audio. Dual microphones with PurifiedVoice AI noise reduction help improve voice clarity during multiplayer sessions and online chats.

Built around the Windows gaming ecosystem

The Predator Atlas 8 runs Windows 11 and supports Xbox Mode for quicker access to games and system functions. Acer also includes an Xbox Game Pass subscription, giving users access to hundreds of games from day one.

For connectivity, the handheld offers dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, Intel Killer Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and UHS-II microSD expansion. The control layout includes full-size analog sticks and dual-mode triggers. Players can switch between instant-click microswitch controls for shooters and Hall-effect analog controls for racing and simulation titles.

A dedicated PredatorSense button provides quick access to performance settings, RGB lighting controls, and system monitoring tools. Acer has not yet announced pricing or local availability. The company says details will vary by market.

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