#gaming

Can't afford a Steam Machine? Just build your own, says Valve

Valve cho phép người dùng tự lắp ráp "Steam Machine" DIY từ bất kỳ linh kiện PC nào kể từ …

Valve Explains Why the Steam Machine is So Expensive

Valve cho biết giá khởi điểm 1.049 USD của Steam Machine là do chi phí linh kiện RAM và ổ cứng tăng cao, khiến mục tiêu định giá ban đầu không khả thi. Họ cũng thừa nhận tình trạng khan hiếm nguồn cung hạn chế số lượng sản phẩm ra mắt. Valve khẳng định không bán lỗ để bù đắp qua phần mềm hay hệ sinh thái khép kín, nhằm duy trì tính mở của PC gaming.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách Valve cân bằng giữa kinh tế và mô hình kinh doanh mở trong ngành công nghiệp game, giúp họ tìm hiểu cách xây dựng sản phẩm có giá trị lâu dài mà không phụ thuộc vào hệ sinh thái đóng.

Someone built their own Steam Machine at Valve's original price point, and it's a solid contender

Một người dùng đã chế tạo thành công "Terk Box" – một chiếc Steam Machine DIY bằng linh kiện thương mại và vỏ case Mini ITX in 3D, đạt ngang ngửa thông số của Valve nhưng chỉ tốn khoảng 700 USD, rẻ hơn 300 USD so với mức giá gốc 1.049 USD của Steam Machine chính thức. Valve cũng xác nhận sẽ cập nhật SteamOS để hỗ trợ các bản build DIY tương tự.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để khám phá cách tối ưu hóa hệ thống game trên PC bằng cách tự thiết kế và lắp ráp một máy SteamOS hiệu quả với chi phí thấp hơn, giúp tiết kiệm ngân sách và học cách tối ưu hóa cấu hình phần cứng cho ứng dụng game chuyên nghiệp.

I just don't care what the Steam Machine costs anymore

Bài viết lập luận rằng dù Steam Machine dự kiến có giá khoảng 1.000 USD, trải nghiệm …

"You just look at the number and go, 'What happened?'" – The developers of RV There Yet? on their surprise, multi-million selling success

Hai nhà sáng lập Tim Badylak và Kristoffer Andersson của Nuggets Entertainment tiết lộ cách game hợp tác RV RV There Yet? bất ngờ bán được 2 triệu bản trong 8 ngày sau khi phát triển chỉ trong 9 tuần, nhờ viral trên TikTok và sự quan tâm từ Valve. Họ nhấn mạnh quyết định nhanh, tinh thần gắn kết lâu năm và việc phát hành đúng thời điểm, đồng thời chia sẻ về burnout trong phát triển game dài hạn và xu hướng game ngắn hạn thay vì live-service.

Những kinh nghiệm từ thành công bất ngờ của RV There Yet? sẽ giúp bạn hiểu cách xây dựng một dự án game nhanh chóng, sáng tạo và hiệu quả mà không phụ thuộc vào quy trình truyền thống, từ đó tối ưu hóa thời gian phát triển và tăng khả năng thành công.

I thought my old Android phone was useless, but this app turned it into a great gaming handheld

Beacon Game Launcher is an Android app that unifies multiple emulators and Android games into a single console-like interface. Rather than emulating anything itself, it acts as a front-end that scans local game folders, scrapes artwork and metadata, and presents everything in a gamepad-first UI with multiple view options (gallery, grid, list, PS Vita-style bubbles). The author argues that the biggest gap in Android retro gaming has always been the fragmented front-end experience, and Beacon solves that — making an old Android phone paired with a gamepad a viable budget gaming handheld.

Microsoft significantly increases Xbox prices worldwide and withdraws 2TB model citing "components crisis"

Microsoft is raising Xbox console prices worldwide effective August 2, citing a components crisis driving up storage and memory costs by more than 2.5x. The Xbox Series S 512GB jumps from $399.99 to $499.99, the Series S 1TB from $449.99 to $599.99, the Series X Digital from $599.99 to $749.99, and the Series X from $649.99 to $799.99. The 2TB model is being discontinued. Microsoft notes consoles are sold below cost and points to buy-now-pay-later options and refurbished console programs to help with affordability. The announcement follows Valve's Steam Machine also launching at higher-than-expected prices due to similar hardware supply issues.

Nvidia accidentally made the RTX 50 series feel like a beta test for the RTX 60 series

The RTX 50 series launched with headline features like Multi Frame Generation, Ray Reconstruction, and Neural Texture Compression that were either unfinished or lacked broad software adoption. Months after launch, major fixes and updates are still arriving, and the most compelling exclusive features primarily benefit 4K gaming — a niche most PC gamers don't occupy. RTX 40-series owners already receive the biggest DLSS 4.5 image quality improvements, leaving the 50 series in an awkward middle ground. The author argues the generation feels like a transitional stepping stone, with the upcoming RTX 60 series (Rubin) positioned to be the hardware that fully realizes Nvidia's long-term rendering ambitions.

Microsoft raises price of Xbox consoles sunsets 2TB Xbox Series X

Microsoft is raising Xbox Series X|S prices starting August 1, 2026, with the 512GB Xbox Series S increasing by $100 to $499.99 and 1TB models rising $150, bringing the Xbox Series X to $749.99. The 2TB Xbox Series X will be discontinued. Microsoft directly attributes the hikes to a global memory hardware shortage caused by generative AI companies securing exclusive deals with DRAM manufacturers, driving component costs up more than 2.5x with further doubling expected by fall 2027. Valve's upcoming Steam Machine faces similar pricing pressure. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has warned investors the shortage may force a rethink of the next-gen Project Helix console, alongside a broader business reset that includes reported layoffs. The article notes the irony that Microsoft itself is a major driver of generative AI adoption.

That old HDMI cable in your drawer is silently killing your TV's best features

Cáp HDMI cũ có thể vô tình chặn các tính năng cao cấp như 4K/120Hz, VRR và ALLM trên TV hay console hiện đại, ngay cả khi vẫn truyền được hình ảnh. Cáp HDMI được phân loại theo băng thông (High Speed, Premium High Speed, Ultra High Speed) chứ không phải phiên bản, trong đó console như PS5 hay Xbox Series X cần cáp Ultra High Speed để khai thác hết tính năng.

Lập trình viên nên đọc để hiểu cách các tiêu chuẩn kỹ thuật như HDMI 2.2 ảnh hưởng đến tương thích thiết bị cao cấp, giúp họ áp dụng kiến thức về truyền dữ liệu cao tốc trong thiết kế hệ thống phần mềm tương tương tác với các thiết bị công nghệ mới.

VC fund VGames launches new $10m Indie Fund

VGames, a VC firm founded in 2020, is launching a $10 million Indie Fund targeting premium PC and console game studios. Unlike traditional equity deals, the fund offers project financing in exchange for revenue share, preserving studio independence and IP rights. VGames plans to back 10–20 studios with investments of $500K–$1M each, focusing on commercially ambitious titles that avoid free-to-play monetisation. The shift in strategy reflects a more challenging exit environment for PC/console compared to mobile.

The Ultimate Summer Sale Pairing: Steam Sale Meets GeForce NOW Discounts

NVIDIA's GeForce NOW is running summer membership discounts alongside the Steam Summer Sale, offering $70 off a 12-month Ultimate membership and $35 off a Performance membership. The Ultimate tier delivers RTX 4080/5080-class cloud performance at up to 4K/120fps with DLSS and ray tracing. Six new games join the GeForce NOW library this week, headlined by Devolver Digital's Dark Scrolls and Square Enix's The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales.

The Top 10 Most-Played Steam Next Fest Demos Display a Ton of Variety

Steam Next Fest has concluded and Steam revealed the top 10 most-played demos ranked by unique players during the week-long event. The list includes a diverse range of games: BOMBANANA! (co-op bomb defusal with monkeys), IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator (dieselpunk military sim), Echoes of Aincrad (anime action RPG by Bandai Namco), Mistfall Hunter, over the hill (scenic nature exploration), EMPULSE (6v6 movement shooter), Dust Front RTS, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu (4-player co-op), XenoFeels (space customs simulator), and Embers of the Uncrowned (dark fantasy MMORPG by NEXON).

Jagex confirms "landmark publishing partnerships" to bring RuneScape to Japan, South Korea, and South East Asia

Jagex has confirmed two publishing partnerships to bring RuneScape: Dragonwilds to Japan, South Korea, and South East Asia. Japanese publisher Graph (a branch of Active Gaming Media) and South Korean/SEA publisher H2 Interactive will handle regional distribution. This marks the first time in Jagex's 25-year history that a Jagex-developed game will be published via a third-party publisher. The expansion includes localization in Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is part of Jagex's broader RS25 anniversary strategy for global growth.

The Steam Deck does something no retro console can — it plays everything from your childhood (and more)

Steam Deck có thể chơi mọi game retro từ thời thơ ấu nhờ EmuDeck, công cụ tự động cài đặt emulator, cấu hình điều khiển và tích hợp game vào thư viện Steam. Màn hình 800p phù hợp với game cổ điển 4:3, còn SimpleDeckyTDP giúp tối ưu hiệu năng và tuổi thọ pin. Tác giả giờ dùng Steam Deck chuyên cho retro gaming thay vì handheld mới cho game hiện đại.

Là người yêu thích game cổ điển hoặc muốn tìm cách tối ưu hóa thiết bị hiện đại cho những trải nghiệm retro, bạn nên đọc bài này để khám phá cách Steam Deck không chỉ là máy chơi game hiện đại mà còn trở thành một công cụ mạnh mẽ để tái sinh những kỷ niệm gaming cổ điển một cách đơn giản và hiệu quả.

Why new investment house Denmu has $50m to give to "auteur" developers

Denmu is a new investment firm founded in 2025 by Ryan You and Michael Fan with $50 million to invest in 'auteur' game developers. The firm positions itself as an alternative to traditional publisher advances and equity funding, focusing on creative-driven projects with average investments of $1–5 million. Denmu differentiates itself through an East-West bridge strategy, leveraging the founders' backgrounds in China, France, and the US to connect developers with both Asian and Western markets. The firm has already backed projects including The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy and Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, and has seen limited partners double down on their commitments. Long-term, Denmu aims to become a one-stop capital shop for game developers at any stage.

GTA 6: Will $80 be the new standard, and will more publishers start to skip physical releases?

Industry analysts weigh in on GTA 6's $79.99 standard / $99.99 ultimate pricing and its digital-only physical release strategy. Most analysts agree $80 is unlikely to become the new AAA standard, as few games have GTA's pricing power. The digital-only physical release (box with download code) is seen as an extension of an existing trend rather than a new one, driven by Take-Two's 97% digital revenue mix, leak prevention, and elimination of the second-hand market. Analysts also discuss GTA 6's potential to re-energize console hardware sales and its broader impact on the industry, including competitive pressure on titles like Fortnite and struggling publishers like Ubisoft.

GTA 6 sales predictions: how many copies will Rockstar sell at $80?

Industry analysts share their GTA 6 first-year sales predictions following the confirmed $79.99 price point. Estimates range from 30–35 million units (Ampere Analysis) to a potential blowout of 50–60 million (Enders Analysis), with Alinea Analytics suggesting 30 million in the first week alone. The game will be download-only, with physical boxes containing only a download code. Sony is the platform partner of choice, though no hardware bundle has been announced, raising questions about console supply constraints and potential PS5 price increases ahead of the November 19 launch.

New publisher Trailmark Games promises approach to licensed games

Former GameMill Entertainment executives have launched Trailmark Games, a new IP-driven video game publisher focused on licensed titles. The company has four games in development, including The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wrath of the Mutants, Cruis'n Blast, and Big Buck Hunter: Ultimate Trophy. Trailmark aims to bring greater creativity and ambition to licensed game development.

Grand Theft Auto 6's $80 price settles the $100 question

Rockstar Games has confirmed Grand Theft Auto 6 will be priced at $79.99 for the standard edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition, releasing November 19. This puts to rest speculation that the base game could hit $100, a price point that many feared could set a new industry standard. Physical copies will not include a disc, only download codes. Pre-loading begins November 12. GTA 6 is expected to be a massive seller given GTA 5's 230 million copies sold and the franchise's 470 million total units. Notably, Rockstar has not confirmed a new GTA Online alongside the release, marketing it as a single-player experience.

GTA 6 will launch at $79.99 and will be download only

Rockstar has confirmed GTA 6 will launch at $79.99 on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with no physical disc — the boxed version will contain only a download code. Preorders open June 25, with a week-early preload starting November 12. An Ultimate Edition at $99.99 includes exclusive in-game content. Early preorders receive the Vintage Vice City Pack and a free month of GTA+. The $80 price point reflects broader industry pressure from rising AAA development costs, with analysts having long anticipated GTA 6 would push past the $70 standard.

Valve Confirms You Can Build Your Own Steam Machine

Valve has confirmed that users can build their own Steam Machine by installing SteamOS 3.8 on custom PC hardware. The announcement came from Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais, who told The Verge that SteamOS 3.8 enables any PC to run the same OS as the official Steam Machine. Currently only AMD GPUs are supported, but Valve is actively working on NVIDIA driver support. SteamOS works best in console-like setups paired to a TV on a single-boot drive. Building a custom PC right now may cost similarly to buying a Steam Machine due to ongoing RAM shortages.

Valve admits Steam Machine is "more expensive" than it hoped

Valve thừa nhận Steam Machine có giá cao hơn dự kiến, với phiên bản cơ bản lên tới 1.049 USD. Giá thành tăng do chi phí linh kiện đắt đỏ và khan hiếm, khiến sản phẩm có nguy cơ trở thành sản phẩm ngách.

Là người phát triển game hoặc người hâm mộ công nghệ, bạn nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách Valve điều chỉnh chiến lược sản phẩm khi thị trường và chi phí thay đổi đột ngột, giúp bạn dự đoán được những thách thức trong việc phát triển và thương mại hóa sản phẩm tương lai.

This is why the Steam Machine costs $1,049 instead of $750: Valve had zero leverage with RAM makers

Valve buộc phải định giá Steam Machine ở mức 1.049 USD thay vì mục tiêu 750 USD do tình trạng biến động của thị trường RAM. Theo lời Pierre-Loup Griffais, các nhà cung cấp RAM đưa ra mức giá cố định hằng tháng theo kiểu "nhận hay không", khiến Valve không thể thương lượng, buộc phải chấp nhận chi phí cao hơn hoặc đối mặt với nguy cơ thiếu hụt nguồn cung RAM cho Steam Machine và Steam Deck trong tương lai.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách các nhà sản xuất thiết bị vật lý (như Valve) phải đối mặt với những rủi ro kinh tế từ chuỗi cung ứng phần cứng, đặc biệt là khi phụ thuộc vào các nhà cung cấp RAM có quyền lực thị trường cao, ảnh hưởng đến quyết định chi phí và chiến lược sản xuất.

Buying an AMD GPU instead of Nvidia? — You're sacrificing more than just ray tracing performance

AMD's GPU market share has collapsed from 36% in 2018 to just 5% by end of 2025. Beyond ray tracing, AMD users face real compromises: Nvidia's DLSS suite (including Multi Frame Generation, Ray Reconstruction, and Dynamic Frame Generation) still leads FSR in image quality, game support (97% vs 72%), and backward compatibility. For AI workloads, CUDA remains the dominant platform with better day-one library support over AMD's ROCm. Creative professionals using Adobe Premiere, After Effects, or Blender also benefit from Nvidia's CUDA acceleration and NVENC encoder quality. AMD has closed gaps significantly, especially with RDNA 4 and FSR 4.1, but Nvidia retains a genuine lead across gaming, AI, and creative software ecosystems.

Prime Day finally makes the $1,000 gaming PC dream real with these component discounts

Prime Day 2026 discounts have made it possible to build a capable DDR5 gaming PC for around $1,027. The proposed build centers on an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti, delivering solid 1080p and 1440p performance with DLSS 4.5 and Multi-Frame Generation support. Supporting components include a Thermalright air cooler, Gigabyte A620M motherboard, 16GB DDR5-6000 RAM, 500GB Kingston NVMe SSD, an 850W Thermaltake modular PSU, and a budget Gamdias case with ARGB fans. Compromises were made on RAM capacity and storage size, but the AM5 platform provides a clear upgrade path for future improvements.

"This is going to be a niche device" – Analysts react to the $1,000+ Steam Machine price reveal

Industry analysts react to Valve's Steam Machine launch pricing, which starts at $1,049 and goes up to $1,428 — far above the originally targeted $700–$800 range. Analysts attribute the price jump to AI-driven demand for DRAM and NAND components, which has squeezed supply for consumer hardware. Most analysts expect the Steam Machine to sell out quickly but in very limited quantities, positioning it as a niche enthusiast product rather than a mainstream console. The pricing raises broader questions about whether next-gen consoles from Sony (PS6) and Microsoft (Project Helix) will also breach the $1,000 mark. Analysts are divided: some believe Sony and Microsoft's scale and subsidy capacity can keep base models under $999, while others see $1,000+ as inevitable. The broader takeaway is that specialist gaming hardware faces mounting commercial pressure, cloud gaming and subscription models may gain appeal, and rising hardware costs are pushing younger players toward mobile and low-barrier platforms.