Gaming in China. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

A newly announced Stardew Valley mod seeks to introduce a variety of Baldur's Gate 3-inspired content to the game. The ambitious project could hence add to the ever-growing list of community-created Stardew Valley add-ons, assuming it manages to realize its avid aspirations.

TikTok creators can’t seem to escape a maelstrom of policy and security concerns lately. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion national security package into law. Nestled inside it was the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gives TikTok parent company ByteDance 270 days to sell the platform or cease operations in the United States. Policymakers maintain that the bill is not a “ban,” but a way to get the China-based ByteDance to divest from TikTok. The battle over TikTok could play out in the courts for far longer than the roughly nine-month window before the deadline, but the uncertain future of the app has kicked up a fervor among its many creators, who depend on it for community, connection, and their livelihoods.

Even more potential details surrounding the yet-to-be-announced Nintendo Switch 2 console have leaked online. Nintendo itself has not formally revealed the Switch 2, but persistent rumors and leaks have suggested that the console is coming sooner rather than later. Some reports have even suggested that the Switch 2 release date will be late 2024, as opposed to 2025, which has been previously rumored.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be a conservative hardware evolution over the original model, according to a recent report from a Chinese peripheral manufacturer.

The long-awaited Lost Soul Aside out of Sony's own China Hero Project could be nearing the development finish line as the PS5, PS4 title has been handed a Chinese age rating, clearing it for release in the country. Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners, adds this likely means news surrounding the game's final release will likely be shared soon, potentially within the next three months.

A World of Warcraft fan recently noticed that Earthen characters leave behind piles of rocks when they die, rather than a skeleton. This charming detail is not only unique to the Earthen but is also a direct nod to the lore of the new World of Warcraft race.

Developer ConcernedApe has rolled out Stardew Valley update 1.6.6, containing a plethora of balance adjustments, translation improvements, bug fixes, and more. This update also introduces specific fixes and changes for Stardew Valley modded players and mod authors.

MSI seems to be focusing more on NVIDIA's RTX GPUs than AMD's Radeon GPUs as the company focuses on products with higher user interest.

The version 2.2 update for Honkai: Star Rail, dubbed “Then Wake to Weep,” will launch on May 8, developer miHoYo announced.

Roguelite deduction adventure game The Detective Reaper Invites will launch for PC via Steam on May 25 for $9.99, publisher PLAYISM and developer Shizu Kano Umi announced. It will support English, Japanese, Traditional and Simplified Chinese language options.

Shadow of the Ninja Reborn will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam on August 29, publisher Natsume Atari and developer Tengo Project announced. It will support English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese language options.

The US government this week said it will ban TikTok if the platform isn't sold in the next nine months.

We’ve been hearing about Lost Soul Aside for years at this point, and though the Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy-inspired action RPG has continued to look impressive with each of its new showings, details on when the game will actually launch have remained frustratingly elusive. That, however, might change soon.

After withdrawing its Find X series of camera-focussed premium phones from India in 2020 (after the launch of its Find X2), Oppo seems to have suddenly become interested in the ultra-premium segment once again. As brands like OnePlus and Oppo (and soon Vivo) collectively attempt to dethrone Samsung in India in the foldables segment, Xiaomi and Oppo now seem interested (or confident) in taking things up a notch and competing with Samsung's premium Galaxy S Ultra series as well, which for years remained untouched.

Lost Soul Aside, the upcoming action RPG hack-n-slash from Chinese developer Ultizero Games, has been rated in China.

Samsung is confronting a shortage of its S24 smartphones in Pakistan, attributed to an unexpectedly high demand for the flagship phone. Assembled locally in the country, the Galaxy S24 series has witnessed remarkable popularity since its launch earlier this year, particularly among affluent Pakistani consumers.

Microsoft has reported their results for Q3 2024 (which ran from the beginning of January to the end of March of this year) and it throws into very stark relief two narratives unfolding for Team Green. On the one hand, Microsoft Gaming revenue is up significantly overall following the purchase of Activision Blizzard, but the rest of the Xbox business has continued to suffer with console sales down badly year-on-year.

Publisher PROTOYPE and developer Key have announced planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet & Snow Globe for Switch. It will launch on June 27 with English, Japanese, French, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese language support.

The gaming tech universe is incredibly competitive these days, but there’s always room for new and innovative entries from creators around the world. Hong Kong-based PB Tails are entering the controller arena with the Crush, a Bluetooth 5.0 enabled pad compatible with PC, Switch, iOS and Android. Fully customisable, it boasts Hall Effect sticks and triggers which will last you well into the next generation.

The Snapdragon X Elite performance numbers that nearly everyone has seen would likely present an impression that Qualcomm has finally developed a capable ARM-based SoC that delivers some much-needed competition to Apple Silicon. Unfortunately, that would have been the case if the San Diego chip giant had not allegedly manipulated benchmarks. One report says that the benchmark claims are impossible to recreate for Qualcomm’s partners that will eventually use the Snapdragon X Elite in various notebook models.

Sixteen months after first being revealed to the world, the new Fallout 4 next-gen update has arrived on console.

AI roundup, April 25: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the expansion in AI investment to stay ahead of competitors such as Google, Microsoft, and other tech giants. The company also assured investors of monetisation opportunities. In other news, Duolingo highlighted that one of the reasons for their layoffs was AI adoption. Know more about what happened in the world of AI.

A in the is now a major possibility following both the House and the Senate voting in favor of a that would force its parent company, ByteDance, to divest or endure a partial ban.

There’s no shame in admitting that you enjoy the company of a teddy bear in Fallout 76 over the ghouls and mutants. In fact, we would probably prefer spending time finding these cuddly bears than playing with the other players, but these stuffed animals are a rare commodity in the wasteland. Technically, these are classified as a junk item that you can break down for materials, but who would do something like that? These are great display items to make your camp feel more like home, or just another annoying daily task you need to complete. Whatever your motivations are, here is where you can find each of the different teddy bear variations in Fallout 76.

President Joe Biden today signed into law a package of national security measures, including legislation that will force China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok or see the app banned in the US.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed an extensive, $95 billion national security package that sends financial aid to Taiwan, Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza. Tucked inside that bill is a piece of legislation the government’s been trying to pass for a while — a purported “TikTok ban.” Called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controller Applications Act, the bill won’t exactly ban TikTok; instead, the goal is to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the popular app. The legislation signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday will give ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok. (Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days, too.)

The Chinese domestic x86 chip, Zhaoxin KX-7000 CPU, has been benchmarked in a wide range of tests at stock & overclocked settings, showcasing a huge performance increase versus the previous generation while also offering the domestic marketplace a new option for their PC needs.

No Rest for the Wicked's director has cited Baldur's Gate 3 and Hades 2 as examples of how early access launches can be fantastic, and said releasing in early access is "one of the best decisions we could've made."

League of Legends pro player Lu ‘Leyan’ Jue has been suspended for two matches and fined $6000 for his on-stream behavior.

Some cool skins in Arknights are heading your way. After the Chinese servers, the ‘City Rider’ skin collection will soon drop for the global server. Yep, these outfits first popped up between November 11th and 19th in 2019 exclusively in China. Keep reading to know more about the Arknights City Rider series outfits.

Apple is expected to rely on China for a reliable supply chain for the foreseeable future, and though the company has successfully established manufacturing plants outside of the country, it will take years before the technology giant can claim complete independence from the region. Now, according to its 2023 supplier list, Apple has added eight new supply chain members from China while removing four of them due to undisclosed reasons.

Gigabyte has unveiled new «Metal Gear Plus ITX» mini PCs, which feature AMD's «Hawk Point» processors. The new mini PCs from Gigabyte will be available in three different configurations, and seasoned PC builders will be able to customize their chosen variant.

Wired Productions will publish Chinese developer Pollard Studio‘s psychological horror game KARMA: The Dark World for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG), the company announced. A release date was not announced.

Amazon is offering the Jackery Explorer 100 31,000mAh Power Bank for $99.99 after you clip the $30 off coupon on the product page. This is the largest capacity power bank we've seen that's TSA carry-on eligible. It also uses superior LiFePO4 battery cells, can charge up to 3 devices simultaneously, and boasts up to 100W charging output via USB Type-C.

An Apex Legends player has found yet another Easter Egg featuring everyone’s favorite adorable plushie, Nessie. The mysterious monster could hint at new content coming in Season 21 of Apex Legends.

A thrilling JRPG called Bloodline: The Last Royal Vampire just came out for Android devices in Southeast Asia (SEA) and India! The game is based on a famous Chinese graphic novel. It’s about Lilo, the last royal vampire, and her friend Ren, who are trying to keep their loved ones safe from the Holy Land, a mysterious force.

’s box office numbers continue to stay strong past its fourth weekend, allowing it to become the third biggest MonsterVerse movie to date.

Oppo A3 Pro, the latest addition to the Oppo smartphone lineup, debuted in China on April 12, 2024. This new release follows the A2 Pro, which debuted in the country back in 2023. Packed with a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset and boasting up to 12GB of RAM, the Oppo A3 Pro promises a smooth user experience. It's built to withstand falls with a 360-degree anti-fall body and carries an IP69 rating for durability.

Oppo launched a new camera-centric smartphone the Find X7 Ultra in China as part of their flagship offering. While the designs and looks of the smartphone steal the show, the main attraction of the device is the world-first quad main camera with HyperTone Image Engine. The smartphone not only shines with camera specs but it also houses the latest hardware for powerful performance.

TCL China has decided to go one step ahead with its Mini-LED TV series, unveiling its flagship Q10K lineup, designed for the high-end segment.

NVIDIA's monopoly over the AI markets is now being questioned by several analysts, who claim that increasing GPU power consumption won't be sustainable in the future.

A few hours have passed since Huawei officially announced the Pura 70 series of flagships, which boast the upgraded Kirin 9010 chipset, along with improvements in various areas. As you would expect, in the blink of an eye, the premium Pura 70 Pro and the Pura 70 Ultra sold out in just one minute when sales went live on the Chinese phone maker’s online store. This might showcase evidence that the latest models will ship in droves and that Huawei’s competition has much to worry about.

The Fallout show answers the longest-running question in the series: who dropped the bombs first in the Great War? Or at least, it certainly seems to, but one fan thinks that this "reveal" is purposely misdirecting the audience.

Apple's Vision Pro headset took the AR market by storm with its stunning looks and advanced technology underneath. While the headset had a solid start, the traction has reduced over time, potentially due to its hefty price tag and minimal real-world use cases. Prominent industry analyst claims that the demand for Vision Pro demos has greatly reduced, highlighting poor demand for the headset after initial hype.

Rumours about Apple developing a HomePod with a touchscreen LCD display have gained traction with a recent leak from Apple product collector Kosutami. The leaked image showcases a screen component of an unreleased HomePod featuring a large curved glass covering the entire top surface of the speaker. This leak further confirms earlier speculations about Apple's exploration into integrating a display into its HomePod lineup.

Single-player life simulation game Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game will launch digitally for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC via Steam this fall, publisher Private Division and developer Weta Workshop announced. It will support English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Turkish, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese language options.

A few of Qualcomm’s phone partners always make an appearance at the company’s annual Snapdragon Summit to reveal which of their devices will be powered by the next flagship chipset. Historically, Xiaomi has always been the first to announce its premium offering for next year, and according to a tipster, the Chinese manufacturer will retain those exclusive rights when it unveils its first Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 smartphone. However, showcasing a launch is one thing, and making it officially available to purchase is another.

, also known by her Chinese name Zheng Naixin, is a popular Thai singer best known for participating in the survival show Produce Camp 2020. Being among the winners of the reality show, she debuted as part of the girl group BonBon Girls 303. Aside from her singing career, the 26-year-old has also showcased her acting skills and appeared on several projects. Nene most recently joined the star-studded cast of Chuang Asia Thailand as one of the mentors.

Since our last content update, players unshackled themselves in the Iron Gambit Battle Pass, slew through Survivor’s Bane, and showered themselves in rewards from the new Event Center cycle. This content update introduces the Legions of Horror limited-time event, new Five-Star Legendary Gem, a new Familiar, New Legendary Affixes, and more.

Warning: spoilers for the Fallout TV show follow.

Sapphire has introduced its first AM5 socket motherboard, the Nitro+ B650I WIFI Ultra Platinum which features a Mini-ITX design.

In a recent revelation at the Black Hat Asia conference, security researchers unveiled a cunning cybercrime scheme exploiting Apple Store Online's 'Someone else will pick it up' feature. This exploit has reportedly netted criminals over $400,000 in just two years.

Consider completing your collection of Teddy Bears in if you are looking for more ways to play this long-standing game. These children's toys, much like real life ones, come in many shapes and sizes. There are thirteen variations of them in total, so be sure to collect one of each at least. Make sure to display them on your base to show off this unique accomplishment.

Gigabyte has unveiled new Mini PC solutions in China as a part of its ITX & DIY PC range which feature AMD's Ryzen 8000G APUs.

Uncapped Games, a new studio comprising developers who have worked on iconic real-time strategy series such as StarCraft, has announced it is working on a new game set to shake up the real-time strategy genre. Led by StarCraft 2’s former lead multiplayer designer, the Tencent studio has shed light on the unnamed project in a new half-hour documentary.

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We’re coming to the end of the “get up obscenely early to watch Formula 1” season for UK fans, but that hasn’t been helped by F1’s decision to make the Chinese GP a sprint race, with a 4AM start time for the mini-race this morning. Having dutifully set my watch alarm to tap my wrist a few minutes before, I managed to sleep through it… but was then woken by a repeat alarm an hour later, and struggled to get back to sleep. All of the pain, none of the gain.

This year's iPhone 16 lineup will get some notable improvements in design and how users use the device, as the company aims to integrate generative AI technology with the release of iOS 18 later this year. Apple is keen to increase the screen size of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max this year, while the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will house the same display as the current models. A prominent analyst is now claiming that the iPhone 17 Plus will come with a smaller display size that will sit between the screen size of the 'Pro' models.

Free-to-play RPG Torchlight: Infinite has recently seen a major spike in its player count, thanks to the release of its newest season and anniversary rewards. The long-running Torchlight franchise has seen multiple entries from several different developers, taking a similar top-down action RPG approach to games like Diablo 4 and Last Epoch. The launch of Torchlight: Infinite would even see the franchise shift into a fully free-to-play model to entice more players. Now, the most recent Torchlight is seeing a major jump in its player count.

The video game industry is changing. As financial growth stagnates, companies like PlayStation have experimented with ways to adapt as markets and trends change. Where it was once able to rely on its first-party blockbusters to build and maintain an audience, it is looking more likely that it will need to invest in new strategies to prepare for the ways the industry is shifting. We see this with a bigger push into live-service and mobile games, but there’s another initiative that isn’t going to pay dividends in the near future but could set the groundwork for future success: the Hero Project.

 The buzz surrounding the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max is already reaching fever pitch in anticipation of their 2024 debut, despite the recent release of the iPhone 15 line just months ago. While the official unveiling is still some time away, speculation about the iPhone 16 series is rife, offering glimpses into what Apple may have in store for its next-generation smartphones.

A newly confirmed day one Xbox Game Pass game for June 4, Rolling Hills, may appeal to fans of life sim games like Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley led the charge when it came to the life sim/cozy game renaissance, inspiring all kinds of similar games that offer their own unique twists on the concept. There are multiple Stardew Valley-style games readily available on Xbox Game Pass, including Stardew Valley itself.

Dragon Age: Pals Adventure is opening up for pre-registration today on mobile. This card-hunting title is hitting Android devices in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Developed and published by Pixel Spirits, it currently supports English, Simplified Chinese and Thai languages.

Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update led to new peak concurrent records on Steam, with a whopping 236,614 players jumping in last month, per SteamDB. Developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has since released update 1.6.4, which contains bug fixes and improvements but also packs 40 new mine layouts.

In a recent move, Apple has taken down two popular Meta-owned apps, WhatsApp and Threads, from its App Store in China. This decision comes in response to a request from the Chinese government, making these apps inaccessible for new downloads within the country. Here's why.

Publisher dramatic create and developer MAGES. will release otome visual novel Meiji Tokyo Renka: Full Moon for Switch and PC via Steam in 2024 worldwide with Japanese audio and English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles, the companies announced.

Chinese developer Parcae’s Fate Studio has released a seven-minute gameplay trailer for open-world action game Unending Dawn, as well as announced it will launch for PlayStation 5 in addition to iOS and Android.

Japanese studios ALTERCIWS and Lobstudio have announced mystery adventure game Zombie Police: Christmas Dancing with Police Zombies for PC (Steam). It will launch this summer with English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese language support.

Since the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, Japanese developers have struggled to keep up with their Western colleagues, as, according to the NieR series creator, they are not good at adapting technology from overseas for multiple reasons.

The second wave of closed beta testing for large-scale multiplayer mech action game Mecha BREAK for PC will run from April 26 at 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET to April 28 at 10:00 p.m. PT / 1:00 a.m. ET, Seasun Games announced. Users can register here.

Following up on the overwhelmingly positive response to Stardew Valley Update 1.6, developer Eric «ConcernedApe» Barone has revealed Patch 1.6.4, which adds even more content and fixes a number of bugs. Stardew Valley Update 1.6 has been released for PC and will be coming to console and mobile platforms soon. In the meantime, ConcernedApe has released a number of key patches, including the latest 1.6.4 update.

By now, you’ve probably heard that the Amazon Fallout show is accurate to the video games, down to the last detail. In fact, Fallout: New Vegas happened in this universe, and they’re all part of one big Fallout continuity.

Nier Automata's director believes Japanese game developers have had difficulty implementing "Western systems" because it was hard for them to move away from Japanese-made game engines.

The second wave of closed beta testing for large-scale multiplayer mech action game Mecha BREAK for PC will run from April 26 at 3:00 a.m. PT / 6:00 a.m. ET to April 28 at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET, Seasun Games announced. Users can register here.

Huawei did not reveal much about the Kirin 9010, but the company could do little when it comes to controlling information after it officially announced the Pura 70 series. Compared to the Kirin 9000S that debuted in the Mate 60 family last year, the Kirin 9010 is a noteworthy upgrade, offering a 12-core configuration, along with other changes, as you will soon find out.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is set to visit India as his businesses seek new markets in the world's most populous nation, with electric carmaker Tesla -- suffering a sales downturn in the United States -- reportedly scouting factory locations.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe has said he’s “proud” to see other studios making games inspired by Palworld.