A bunch of great tech deals are popping up ahead of next week's Prime Day sales event at Amazon, including a massive price cut on the Samsung 990 Evo Plus 4TB SSD. With this high-capacity NVMe SSD now up for grabs for its lowest price ever of $235 (was $328), this is a great opportunity to upgrade your storage on PC or PlayStation 5.While the Samsung 990 Evo Plus 4TB SSD is one of the best early Prime Day storage deals, it’s not the only SSD seeing a discount. For example, the Crucial P310 1TB is just $60 (was $74.80), and it’s fully compatible with PS5 (though it too needs a separate heatsink). But with speeds up to 7,100 MB/s, it’ll get you solid performance and save you a few bucks compared to the 1TB 990 Evo Plus.We’ve pulled together a few of our favorite PS5 SSD deals below, so be sure to give them a look before making a purchase. All of these exceed PlayStation's minimum requirements and also work on PC.Prime Day 2025: NVMe SSD Deals at AmazonCrucial P310 1TB SSD (7,100 MB/s) -- $60 ($74.80)Samsung 990 Evo Plus 4TB SSD (7,250MB/s) -- $235 ($328)Samsung 990 Evo Plus 2TB SSD (7,250MB/s) -- $140 ($177)Samsung 990 Evo Plus 1TB SSD (7,250MB/s) -- $80 ($110)Crucial P310 1TB SSD (7,100 MB/s) -- $60 ($74.80)WD Black SN7100 500GB SSD (6,800 MB/s) -- $60 ($77)WD Black SN7100 2TB SSD (7,250 MB/s) -- $140 ($160)WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD (7,300 MB/s) -- $163.60 ($190)WD Black SN850X 1TB SSD (7,300 MB/s) -- $110 ($130)...
In 2020, Ubisoft chief creative officer Serge Hascoët and vice president of editorial and creative services Tommy François stepped down from the company following abuse allegations. Francois and Hascoet were arrested three years later following an investigation by French authorities. Now, the trial is over and Francois and Hascoet have both been convicted alongside another former Ubisoft executive, former games director Guillaume Patrux.All three men were sentenced to suspended prison terms for their roles in "enabling a culture of sexual and psychological harassment," as reported by Courthouse News Service. Francois was also convicted of attempted sexual assault and given a three-year suspended sentence. During the trial, it was reported that Francois sexually harassed female and male employees, including attempts to grope their genitals.Hascoet was handed a shorter suspended sentence of 18-months, while Patrux was given a 12-month suspended sentence for personally bullying members of his team. All three men were also ordered to pay fines, including a 45,000 euro fee for Hascoet, 30,000 euros for Francois, and 10,000 euros for Patrux.Although the trio are no longer Ubisoft employees, the company has struggled in the last few years. The company's French workers rebelled over a return-to-office order, and allegations of abuse emerged at one of Ubisoft's support studios. Earlier this year, Ubisoft formed a partnership with Tencent to guide three of the company's top franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Ubisoft also recently delayed multiple games and will not host Ubisoft Forward this summer...
PC and PS5 gamers can get the best noise-canceling gaming earbuds for a terrific price thanks to Amazon's early Prime Day 2025 deals on Sony Inzone gear. The Sony Inzone Buds are up for grabs for $158 (was $200). You can choose between a white/black model that matches the PS5 console color scheme or an all-black edition similar to PlayStation's Midnight Black collection. Amazon is also offering a $100 discount on the Sony Inzone H9, a premium over-ear wireless headset with ANC, and a nearly $400 discount on Sony's M10S 27" OLED Gaming Monitor.See all Sony Inzone Deals at Amazon Sony Inzone Gaming Earbuds & Headsets Deals for Prime DayMade by Sony, not PlayStation, the Inzone lineup is geared toward PC gamers, but the headsets and earbuds take full advantage of the PS5's audio features. Here's a quick rundown of all of the Inzone audio products receiving discounts at Amazon.Sony Inzone Buds - Noise-Canceling Wireless Gaming Earbuds (White) -- $158 ($200)Sony Inzone Buds - Noise-Canceling Wireless Gaming Earbuds (Black) -- $158 ($200)Sony Inzone H9 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headset (Black) -- $198 ($300)Sony Inzone H9 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headset (White) -- $198 ($300)Sony Inzone H5 Wireless Headset (White) -- $128 ($150)Sony Inzone H5 Wireless Headset (Black) -- $128 ($150)Sony Inzone H3 Wired Headset (White) -- $58 ($100)Sony's Inzone lineup includes gaming headsets and monitors for PC and PS5 users.Prime Day Deals: Sony Inzone Gaming MonitorsYou can also get the newest additions to Sony's gaming monitor lineup for nice discounts. Sony's 27-inch OLED Gaming Monitor is nearly $400 off. This deal is so good that it's actually cheaper than the 27-inch 4K Inzone Monitor, which normally costs $300 less than the OLED.Sony Inzone M10S 27-Inch OLED 1440p Gaming Monitor -- $714 ($1,100)Sony Inzone M9 II 27-Inch 4K Gaming Monitor -- $760 ($800)You can read more about Sony's Inzone Buds and H9 Wireless Gaming Headset below. And if you want gaming earbuds that are also compatible with Xbox, check out the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, which have received rare discounts ahead of Prime Day 2025...
Mecha Break is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter that offers a ton of content and customization for the various mechs you can unlock. Of course, some of that content is locked behind an in-game paywall, as is standard with the free-to-play model of video games. However, Mecha Break takes things a step further than a single universal currency, as there are three different currencies you can earn during your time as a mech pilot.Below, you can see what the three currencies are, how to earn each one, and what you can spend your currency on in Mecha Break. If you're just hopping into Mecha Break, make sure to also check out our full Striker tier list so you know which mechs are best to unlock first.How to get more Corite in Mecha BreakThe first currency we'll talk about is Corite, which is the premier currency that you'll always be chasing in Mecha Break. Corite is used for a majority of the microtransactions in the game, and, as you might expect, can be purchased using real-life money through the in-game store.Corite can be purchased in the following amounts:100 Corite - $0.99515 Corite - $4.991,060 Corite - $9.992,180 Corite - $19.993,360 Corite - $29.995,405 Corite - $46.99The Corite purchasing menu in Mecha BreakAside from purchasing Corite with cold, hard cash, you can also earn some by joining the official Mecha Break Discord server. If you join and link your account in-game, which can be done right as you load into the main menu by selecting the "Link Discord" option in the pop-up window, you'll be eligible to earn Corite through daily drops.In the Discord server, navigate to the "giveaways" text channel and click on the "Daily Check In" box at the top of the channel. This rewards you with random loot that is transferred to your linked Mecha Break account. While Corite isn't always a reward from the daily drops, it's a possibility.The daily drops yield a much higher success rate of earning Corite than selling items on the Matrix Marketplace. This is in the in-game marketplace for Mecha Break, allowing players to buy and sell items they've earned. If you have a desirable item but want Corite for it instead, you can place the item on the Matrix Marketplace for a certain amount of Corite. Then, another player can buy the item with Corite of their own, essentially transferring their Corite to your inventory.This system heavily relies on players obtaining desirable loot and other players dishing out Corite for the item. You can sell any item you receive in Mecha Break, and each one has a minimum listing price of 180 Corite.How to get more Matrix Credits in Mecha BreakYou can spend Matrix Credits on a variety of itemsSpeaking of the Matrix Marketplace, it's called that for a reason, and that reason is that you can earn a steady amount of Matrix Credits there. Matrix Credits is the most common currency you'll see in Mecha Break, and it's used for a variety of different things. Namely, you can purchase new mechs and other customization options with Matrix Credits.On the Matrix Marketplace, you can immediately cash in an item you put up for sale for 900 Matrix Credits rather than waiting for another player to spend Corite on it. You can also exchange Corite for Matrix Credits if you want to go that route, but that's going to be a foolish decision most of the time, given how rare Corite is.The Matrix Marketplace in Mecha BreakIn addition to the marketplace, Matrix Credits can be earned by doing just about any content in Mecha Break. Completing operations, events, and missions all reward you with Matrix Credits. You can also farm more Matrix Credits by purchasing the Matrix Contract Battle Pass, which offers a slew of the currency via Supply Crates. This costs $13, though.How to get more Mission Tokens in Mecha BreakFinally, we arrive at Mission Tokens, which is the currency you'll use the least in Mecha Break. However, that doesn't mean you don't want to have Mission Tokens, as they're used to unlock some specific content.Inferno costs 15,000 Mission Tokens to unlockRight off the bat in Mecha Break, you'll have access to 500 Mission Tokens (through a sign-in bonus). This isn't nearly enough to purchase everything behind the currency, though. Mission Tokens can be interacted with in the top-right of the main menu, and once you view its menu, you'll see everything you can unlock with the tokens. This includes a few of the Strikers in Mecha Break, such as Inferno and Serenith, and each one costs 15,000 tokens. Along with them, other beacons and access cards require Mission Tokens as well.You can earn Mission Tokens through playing all three game modes in Mecha Break, completing missions in each game mode, and by claiming daily sign-in bonuses. Also, purchasing the Matrix Contract Battle Pass offers Mission Tokens as well, but as we said before, it costs $13.Mission Tokens are considered the grindiest of all the currencies in Mecha Break, and you need a ton of them if you want to unlock every Striker and item in the game...
It's starting to feel a little bit like Fortnite is overrun with different battle royale modes. We already had the standard BR that everyone knows, along with OG and Reload, each with no-build variants. Then, just a few weeks ago, Epic tossed in the new mobile-oriented Blitz Royale, a mini battle royale with 32 players, for good measure. Can all these different modes continue to live alongside each other?I think they can, so long as they each have a niche they can carve out among the greater Fortnite audience. Regular Battle Royale is the catch-all for general audiences, OG is for the folks who prefer a stable experience that rarely changes in major ways--or just those who have nostalgia for the Fortnite of yesteryear--Reload is for the sweats, and Blitz Royale, though it might seem extremely swift and sweaty at first glance, is actually the more casual alternative to all of those existing modes.If you only played Blitz Royale right when it launched, you may not see it. When the mode initially dropped, it was pretty intense and full of sweaty folks, which was to be expected for an entirely new mode that everybody was trying out for the first time. But it didn't take long for things to mellow out as the player count normalized.Since Blitz Royale was created to capitalize on Fortnite's return to iPhones in the US, the matches are very short, taking five minutes or less for the winning player or team, and matchmaking has to happen quickly. And with Fortnite, quick matchmaking usually means more bots in place of human players. It's certainly proven to be true with Blitz, which has typically populated my games with what seems to be eight human players alongside a pile of bot players--and that ratio tends to hold up whether I play solo, duos, or four-player squads. I've even had a bunch of squad rounds in which my team never seemed to encounter any human players at all--this has happened about every four or five rounds of Blitz Royale squads that I've played.I'm not trying to drag the mode over this, though. Most casual players don't care if they're fighting bots or human players, and they definitely aren't playing Fortnite to test their gaming skills against the best opponents available. For most players, the game's mix of skill-based matchmaking and a generous population of bots is the formula for a fun, casual game that's more about TikTok dances than cranking 90s. Likewise, somebody playing Blitz Royale on their phone while they ride the bus to work is probably just looking for a way to pass the time. For these folks, the inclusion of a bunch of bots is not a drawback at all.Realistically, too, everything about Blitz Royale that makes it palatable for mobile play--the short matches, the lack of builds, the gimmicky stuff like weekly themed loot pools and medallions--also make it more fun for a casual audience that just wants to pop online and shoot something. You barely have to even do any looting, since Blitz starts you at half shields and will just give you an exotic or mythic weapon a minute or two into the round. With its fast-encroaching storm, small map, and bevy of overpowered weapons that simply appear in your inventory, Blitz Royale is really just Fortnite at its least complicated.The Blitz Knight outfit can be earned in Blitz Royale.And having Blitz as essentially the casual mode makes it easier for the other battle royale modes to cater to a different audience, since they wouldn't need to be as accommodating to every type of player. Reload, in which players will automatically respawn as long as at least one member of their team remains alive, has been a great example of counterprogramming since it launched its new Squid Game-themed map last week. While I've had pretty long matchmaking times for Zero Build Reload matches, often taking more than two minutes to get me a round, the games themselves have been amazing. Just about every round of Reload I've played recently has been a barn burner.The thing is, for a game of Fortnite's scale, matchmaking speed is everything. The longer it takes to get a match, says the conventional wisdom, the more likely that a player trained on modern trends of instant gratification will change their mind and not play at all. But with Fortnite now being more of a platform than an individual game, they can mix it up by providing their own alternatives. Don't wanna wait two minutes for a Reload match? Then play Blitz Royale or regular Battle Royale instead. Since Reload's matchmaking times are longer, it's not impossible to imagine that you could pull a win in Blitz Royale before you'd have landed from the bus in Reload.With each of these battle royale modes attracting folks from across a spectrum of niches, they can target specific audiences more effectively. If most of the folks who care about matchmaking speed are playing Blitz, for example, then there won't be much need to speed up Reload's matchmaking by adding more bots. It's not splitting the audience so much as it is catering more specifically to the sort of experiences each player is looking for.As it stands right now, Blitz Royale is slated to only stick around until mid-August. Presuming the player count stays healthy, though, it'll likely return sooner than later, giving more casual players a deceptively laidback mode built for them first and foremost...
EA has announced that Anthem servers will be sunset on January 12, 2026, effectively making the game unplayable."Anthem was designed to be an online-only title so once the servers go offline, the game will no longer be playable," EA said in an update. "If you previously purchased Anthem, the game can still be downloaded from a digital library and played until January 12, 2026."Anthem will also be removed from the EA Play playlist on August 15, 2025, and EA says that the sunsetting of the game has not led to any layoffs at developer BioWare. Anthem joins a growing number of live-service games that have had the plug pulled on them. Other high-profile games that faced a short shelf-life included Marvel's Avengers, Battleborn, and Super Bomberman R, and in an extreme example, Sony's Concord, which was pulled after a disastrous two weeks.Anthem struggled at launch back in 2019, and according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, it was because the game attempted to appeal to two different audiences. Despite its middling reception and dwindling player numbers, developer BioWare has kept busy since interest on Anthem died out.Times are tough for the revered studio as its last game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, failed to meet EA's expectations and it's estimated that fewer than 100 staff members are left, down from its peak of over 400 employees. The studio's next game is a new entry in the Mass Effect series, which is being developed by a "core" team...
Veteran actor Michael Madsen, who played Toni Cipriani in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III and was known for his work in numerous Quentin Tarantino films, has passed away. He died today, July, 3, and was 67.Madsen was found unresponsive at his Malibu home and was pronounced dead at 8:25 AM PT, a spokesperson for the LA County Sheriff's Department told The Hollywood Reporter. His rep Liz Rodriguez told the site, "We understand Michael had a cardiac arrest."In the world of video games, Madsen is known for playing the mobster Cipriani in GTA III. Danny Mastrogiorgio portrayed him in GTA Liberty City Stories. He also had roles in True Crime: Streets of LA, Driver 3, Dishonored, Dishonored 2, and most recently Crime Boss: Rockay City in 2023.Madsen began acting in the '80s and has nearly 350 acting credits on his IMDB page. He appeared in The Natural, Thelma & Louise, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and the James Bond movie Die Another Day. He's also known for his starring role in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and his appearances in numerous other films from the movie director, including The Hateful Eight and the Kill Bill series."In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life," managers Susan Ferris and Ron Smith, and publicist Liz Rodriguez, said in a statement to NBC LA. "Michael was also preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems, currently being edited."Madsen was born in Chicago and joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. One of his first prominent movie roles was in 1983's sci-fi film WarGames."Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many," his representatives said.Image credit: Getty Images/Phillip Massey...
Former Sony Online Entertainment chief John Smedley and his new team at Distinct Possibility Studio have unveiled their first game, Reaper Actual. And while some aspects of this first-person shooter may seem very familiar to CoD fans, it's set in a very large-scale persistent online open-world with a map that's bigger than anything in Call of Duty Warfare. Up to 200 players can join a single server in some of the epic battles teased in the announcement video below.At least for now, Reaper Actual is strictly for PC, and it's essentially the fusion of an MMO and a FPS. The game is set on an island called Marova, which is overrun by rival factions vying for control. As a Reaper, players can sell their services to the various factions on the island, and use all manner of vehicles and weapons to achieve their goals.Because the factions are already at odds with each other, the enemy AI characters will wage war with or without players' involvement. Players can choose to take sides or take advantage of the chaos for their own purposes. Players can also create their own bases to defend, and raid the bases that belong to other players or AI. In turn, AI characters and rival players can invade your base as well.Control of the island will fluctuate depending upon which factions claim victory in battle. Players can choose to engage each other in PvP fights or to team up and take sides. The game will also feature a crafting system and a player-driven economy for the gear and items that they create.Reaper Actual doesn't currently have a release date, but players can sign up for testing at the game's official site...