STALKER 2 gets serious performance and visual upgrades with its 2.0 update, testing confirms, polishing up one of the biggest flawed gems in FPS games

New Zone, who dis

I don’t begrudge anyone who’s waited to try STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl until it got its technical defects fixed. They’re still wrong, obviously - an absorbing and eerily atmospheric survival FPS is still an absorbing and eerily atmospheric survival FPS when it has the structural integrity of baked beans. But it was spectacularly broken at launch, and although nearly two years of patches have swatted countless bugs and beefed up the series’ signature A-Life NPC simulation, it’s remained a heavyweight GPU-puncher on general performance.

AngryMiao AM Infinity.97 mouse review

Early Verdict

A flagship-grade wireless rodent with blistering speed, innovative swappable batteries and surprising comfort. It just lacks polished software and carries a price tag that outpaces its rivals.

For

• Comfortable shape
• Powerful with high DPI and polling rate
• Solid battery life

Against

• Software lacks some refinement
• I'd have liked a dedicated DPI button
• Harsh battery drop-off with 8000Hz enabled

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32 Years Later, The Single Best 'X-Files' Quote Of All Time Still Haunts Me

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Published Aug 18, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT

And it's not one from Mulder or Scully

Image: 20th Century Fox

The X-Files became a landmark show in the 1990s for a lot of reasons. First of all, the concept was incredibly intriguing and original. The idea of FBI agents investigating things like aliens and urban legends was unlike anything that came before it and allowed for wildly different kinds of episodes every week, from sci-fi to horror to even the occasional comedy.

GTA 6 footage once again appears to leak online, this time because of a group that wants games like The Crew to have offline modes and the end of digital preorders

Their priorities are straight at least

Yeah, it's happened again: some GTA 6 bits appear to have leaked. I'm not going to link to any of them for I hope obvious reasons, as well as the fact I don't want John Rockstar to send me an email wagging their virtual finger at me. But, having seen them, they do seem to be legit, consisting of a couple of clips and a handful of screenshots showing the in-game map.

Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida told Clair Obscur devs to not call it a 'turn-based RPG' so people wouldn't 'overlook' it

According to former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, turn-based RPGs, particularly JRPGs, were so unpopular several years ago that he would tell indie developers to avoid using the term altogether in their marketing—even for a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

New Star Wars Series Officially Exposes a Dark Secret Behind the Sequel Trilogy

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Published Aug 18, 2026, 2:56 PM EDT

Let's talk about Thrawn and the New Republic...

Did Ahsoka season 2 just break Star Wars sequel canon?

Image: Lucasfilm

The annual D23 fan event in Anaheim, California, is over, but not before it delivered several exciting new Star Wars announcements, including an update on Star Wars: Starfighter. However, arguably the most exciting announcement was the reveal of the trailer and release date for Ahsoka season 2. It’s been three years since we last saw Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and her Mandalorian apprentice Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) travel to the planet Peridea in search of Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) and the Empire’s most cunning officer, Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). While both Ezra and Thrawn ended up escaping back to the galaxy we all know and love, Ahsoka and Sabine ended up stranded.

HBO’s Sci-Fi Detective Series With a Near-Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Officially #1 on Streaming

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Published Aug 18, 2026, 2:40 PM EDT

Like True Detective and Mare of Easttown, HBO's latest small-town mystery is captivating viewers

Image: HBO

HBO has a little something for everyone. From grounded dramas like The White Lotus to comedies like The Chair Company, the network has a varied library of shows worth a binge. In 2026, HBO's lineup has been dominated by genre hits, specifically science-fiction and fantasy. Game of Thrones fans were treated to two series this year, the debut of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in January and the return of House of the Dragon this summer. Both of them were hits with critics and audiences alike, and more of each is coming. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is slated to premiere next year, while House of the Dragon's fourth and final season is likely two years away, in keeping with the show's release cadence so far. But, still on the way in 2026 are the second season of Dune: Prophecy and the premiere of HBO's Harry Potter series, which debuts on Christmas, so viewers will have no shortage of new TV to watch.

Star Wars Is Officially Bringing Back a Fan-favorite Clone Wars Character

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Published Aug 17, 2026, 2:27 PM EDT

Hello there

A Clone Wars fan favorite makes blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in new Star Wars game trailer

Image: Bit Reactor/Electronic Arts

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Witcher 3 cut quest restoration mod The WAR Project is finding a new voice for its fresh Vernon Roche lines, following alleged "severe incident of gross misconduct"

The mod's questline features new voice acting for various base game characters, not provided by the original cast

The creators of massive in-development The Witcher 3 mod The WAR Project are recasting their version of Temerian commander Vernon Roche, citing "a severe incident of gross misconduct" allegedly committed by the person they'd initially given the role. Said person is no longer involved with the mod and those working on it say they don't think this incident "will impact [their] current schedule significantly".