Amazon is running a sale on several Intel-powered gaming laptops, including some of our top picks across a variety of categories. Take, for instance, the Acer Nitro 5, which is one of the best budget gaming laptops you can get your hands on, even at its regular price of $800. During the sale, though, it's even more enticing. The price has dropped by 20 percent to $640, which is a record low.

It's good value, since you'll receive a laptop that should be able to run most games, but don't expect to play the most demanding titles smoothly at maximum settings. This Acer Nitro 5 configuration has an Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card and 8GB of DDR4 RAM. It features a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate, WiFi 6 and 512GB of SSD storage. It's not bad at all if you're looking to dip your toes into PC gaming, or want to play some games (and maybe get a little work done) while you're traveling.

Those with a bigger budget to spend on a gaming laptop might be interested in the MSI Stealth 17 Studio. We included the 14-inch model in our best Windows laptops guide, but you'll of course get more screen real estate with this 17-inch version. This model has dropped by 14 percent from $2,800 to $2,400 — another record low.

For your money, you'll get a semi-portable (it weighs over 11 pounds) powerhouse that should be able to handle just about any current game at high settings. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio has a 13th-gen Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a GeForce RTX 4080 GPU. It comes with 1TB of SSD storage and the 240Hz QHD display has an anti-glare coating.

Meanwhile, the Razer Blade 15 is one of the best gaming laptops you can buy, period. While the models included in this sale don't quite have the most up-to-date components, one is a whopping 40 percent off at $1,800.

One major factor that's worth considering here is that the Razer Blade 15 weighs just 4.4 pounds. So while it has a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU rather than a 13th-gen CPU or a 40-series RTX graphics card, that portability is definitely a key selling point.

The Full HD 360Hz display is worth paying attention to as well. This Razer Blade 15 also includes 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. If you prefer a larger screen, you can pick up a 17-inch model with a QHD 240Hz display and otherwise similar specs for $2,000 (38 percent off). However, at ‎10.35 pounds, it weighs substantially more.

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Dropbox is killing off unlimited storage in its business-focused Advanced plan following a surge in shady activity. It wrote in a blog post that as other services made similar changes to limit storage capacity, it has seen an increase in people using Advanced plans "not to run a business or organization, but instead for purposes like crypto and Chia mining, unrelated individuals pooling storage for personal use cases or even instances of reselling storage."

While there will of course be legitimate outliers when it comes to unlimited storage plans, Dropbox says bad actors "frequently consume thousands of times more storage than our genuine business customers, which risks creating an unreliable experience for all of our customers.” It already has policies that prohibit abusive behavior, but the company says that creating a set of acceptable-use restrictions is unworkable. To that end, Dropbox is moving to a metered model.

The company will gradually move current users over to the modified Advanced plan starting on November 1st. Customers will get at least a 30-day heads up before Dropbox migrates them to the new policy.

Over 99 percent of customers on the Advanced plan each use less than 35TB of storage per license. Dropbox says those teams can continue to use however much storage they're taking up at the time they get migration notification, plus an extra 5TB of pooled storage for five years with no price increase to their current plans.

The minority of users taking up over 35TB of storage per license will receive a similar offer but for one year. Dropbox will work with them in the aim of finding a plan that works for everyone involved in the long run. All versions of the Advanced plan will max out at 1,000TB of storage.

From today onward those who buy an Advanced plan with three licenses will get a total of 15TB of pooled storage. Every additional license will add 5TB of storage. Beyond that, starting on September 18th for newcomers (November 1st for current users), Dropbox will start offering storage add-ons. These cost $10 per month for 1TB on a month-to-month payment plan, and $8 per month if purchased annually.

If that all seems necessarily complicated compared with the previous version of the Advanced plan, there's only one thing for it: blame crypto bros.

Baldur's Gate III is arguably the game of the summer, and it isn't even out on consoles yet. Developer Larian Studios has taken a "it'll be out when it's ready" approach to releasing the game on various platforms. After becoming an instant hit on Windows when it came out of early access earlier this month, Baldur's Gate III will land on PlayStation 5 and macOS on September 6th. The exact Xbox release date is still unclear, but Larian has finally confirmed the massive RPG will come to Microsoft's consoles later this year.

The main reason that Larian delayed the Xbox release (and thus making Baldur's Gate III a PlayStation console exclusive for a limited time) was due to Microsoft's rules about games having feature parity on Series S and Series X. The latter is the more powerful of the two consoles and tends to deliver visuals with higher fidelity and framerates, as well as ray-tracing.

“We have no exclusivity deal that prevents us from launching on Xbox,” Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian Studios, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) last month. “The issue is a technical hurdle. We cannot remove the split-screen feature because we are obliged to launch with feature parity, and so continue to try and make it work.”

Larian CEO and Baldur's Gate III director Swen Vincke said that after meeting Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer at Gamescom, "we've found a solution that allows us to bring Baldur’s Gate 3 to Xbox players this year still, something we’ve been working towards for quite some time." Vincke implied that Spencer granted Larian an exception to having feature parity between the Series S and Series X. On the less-powerful system, Baldur's Gate III will not have the split-screen mode, but the Series X will support that feature. Cross-save progression between Steam and the two consoles will be supported too.

Some third-party developers have claimed that the Series S is holding them back when it comes to delivering state-of-the-art gaming experiences. There have been suggestions that studios making multi-platform games have to make tradeoffs when it comes to the Series S, such as not being able to offer 60 frames per second gameplay on the console. Now that Larian has obtained an exception to drop split-screen co-op from Baldur's Gate III only on the Series S, other studios might press Xbox to let them omit some features on that console too.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (i.e. Sony's PlayStation division) is looking to make more waves in the audio space. It has struck a deal to buy premium headphone maker Audeze to help it "continue innovating when it comes to the audio experience of PlayStation games." Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed.

Audeze will continue to operate independently and develop products for multiple platforms while "benefiting from being a part of the PlayStation ecosystem," SIE said. “Audeze is a premier brand for headphones, and this acquisition highlights Sony Interactive’s focus on innovation and providing the best audio experience to PlayStation players,” Hideaki Nishino, SIE's senior vice president of platform experience, said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring Audeze’s expertise into the PlayStation ecosystem, building on the great strides we’ve made with PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech and the Pulse 3D wireless headset.”

Sony notes that Audeze's headphones use planar magnetic drivers to "deliver an outstanding sound experience" for consumers as well as audio professionals like sound engineers. This week, Sony revealed more details about new earbuds and a headset for the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation Portal handheld. Both the Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite headset have custom planar magnetic drivers.

SIE also said that both upcoming audio devices employ new lossless low-latency tech called PlayStation Link, which is primarily designed for PS5 and PlayStation Portal. The tech will also work on PC and Mac with the use of a USB dongle. The Pulse Explore and Pulse Elite will arrive later this year for $200 and $150, respectively.

CNN+ lasted barely over a month before Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug last year amid reports of abysmally lower viewer numbers. But the company still thinks there’s room for live news from CNN on a streaming service.

It’s bringing CNN Max to all Max tiers in the US at no extra cost on September 27th. The new round-the-clock service will “be part of an open beta for news that will enable experimentation with product features, content offerings and original storytelling, all with the input and feedback from the Max community," WBD said in a press release.

CNN Max will feature original programming, as well as live programs from CNN US and CNN International. New shows include CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield and CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto. The streaming channel will feature several CNN tentpoles as well, like Amanpour, Anderson Cooper 360, The Lead with Jake Tapper and The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.

Meanwhile, WBD will rename Max’s CNN Originals hub to CNN Max. Non-news CNN programming like Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy will be available through this hub, along with the new 24/7 channel and more than 900 episodes of new and classic programming.

CNN Max is perhaps a less-risky bet for WBD than CNN+. CNN sank hundreds of millions of dollars into that endeavor. CNN+ was more personality-centric, while it seems CNN Max will be aligned with CNN proper’s approach to news. Having a blend of CNN and original programming should help keep costs down too.

Back at CES in January, Alienware unveiled its first 500Hz Fast IPS monitor, which it designed for high-performance gaming. The Dell brand is set to release a new version of the display geared toward folks who have AMD graphics cards.

Alienware notes that the monitor's AMD FreeSync Premium and VESA AdaptiveSync certification can enable tear- and stutter-free gaming. The AW2524HF has a low latency response time of 0.5ms which, according to Alienware, eliminates motion blur and ghosting effects.

The monitor is HDR10-compatible and it has 99 percent sRGB color coverage. The Fast IPS panel is said to enable consistent visuals from any viewing angle. Alienware also claims the TUV-certified ComfortView Plus hardware feature reduces harmful low blue light while still ensuring the display delivers true-to-life colors.

The monitor has a built-in retractable hanger for your headset and a height-adjustable hexagonal base that's designed to take up less space on your desk. As for connectivity, there are two DisplayPort 1.4 slots, one HDMI 2.1 port and five spaces for USB 3.2 cables.

You can snap up the AW2524HF from Dell's website starting on September 12th. The monitor costs $650. Alienware will reveal UK pricing and availability later.

Mass Effect and Dragon Age studio BioWare is eliminating approximately 50 positions as parent Electronic Arts attempts to turn it into a "more agile and focused studio." The reorganization was “unavoidable,” according to BioWare general manager Gary McKay, as it was necessary in order to meet the studio's evolving needs.

"After much consideration and careful planning, we have built a long-term vision that will preserve the health of the studio and better enable us to do what we do best: create exceptional story-driven single-player experiences filled with vast worlds and rich characters," McKay wrote in the announcement. "This vision balances the current needs of the studio — namely, ensuring Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is an outstanding game — with its future, including the success of the next Mass Effect."

McKay noted that BioWare is "committed to supporting" affected staff, adding that "we’ve chosen to act now in part to provide our impacted colleagues with as many internal opportunities as possible." The affected roles align with similar positions at other EA studios, and workers will be provided with professional assistance if they apply for any. While they will still be credited for their work on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, McKay wrote that it's "unlikely" that everyone affected will be able to find a new position at EA.

The next Mass Effect game, which was announced in 2020, is still in pre-production with a team led by Mass Effect: Andromeda producer Mike Gamble. McKay wrote that the studio's dedication to Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (which will be the first game in the series since 2014) "has never wavered" and that BioWare is "confident" of having enough time to make sure the next entry "reaches its full potential."

The cuts are related to an announcement that EA CEO Andrew Wilson made in March. Wilson said the company would lay off around 6 percent of its workforce of its nearly 13,000 employees and reduce its office space footprint. BioWare is said to have around 250 workers.

Along with news of the job cuts, it emerged that EA is severing ties with game services company Keywords, which was working with BioWare on Dreadwolf. EA was unable to reach a new agreement with Keywords, an spokesperson told GamesBeat, and the existing contract comes to an end on September 27th.

Among other things, Keywords provides playtesting services. A group of quality assurance contractors in that part of the company voted to form the first video game labor union in Canada last year. EA has reportedly renewed contracts with Keywords since the June 2022 union vote, but it was unable to agree terms this time around amid the BioWare changes.

Epic Games is trying to secure more exclusive titles for its PC storefront with its latest proposals to third-party developers. The company is offering the makers of eligible games and apps 100 percent of net revenue for six months. After the exclusivity window ends, developers and publishers will still take away 88 percent of their projects' revenue, with Epic receiving a cut of 12 percent.

The company, which says its launcher and store has 68 million monthly active users, will also give participants of the Epic First Run program extra exposure to get their wares in front of more eyes. The games and apps will receive "exclusive" badging and spots on the homepage. Epic will include them in various collections and promotions too.

The program will be open to developers and publishers who are releasing eligible products on or after October 16th. A product will be eligible if it hasn't appeared on another third-party PC store or subscription services on said storefronts. Games and apps that already have exclusivity deals with Epic aren't eligible.

Developers and publishers will still be able to sell games and apps that are included in the program directly to users via their own launchers and websites. They can also list their products on stores such as Green Man Gaming and Humble Store via the Epic Games Store’s keyless redemption program.

Epic already offered developers and publishers a more generous split of game and app sales than the likes of Valve, which takes a 30 percent cut of Steam sales. The promise of vacuuming up all net revenue for six months and getting extra promotion on the Epic Games Store might be compelling enough for more developers and publishers to take the exclusivity plunge there.

Former OpenSea employee Nathanial Chastain has been sentenced to three months in prison over an NFT (non-fungible token) insider trading scheme. Chastain, who was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering, used "confidential information about which NFTs were going to be featured on OpenSea’s homepage for his personal financial gain," according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Back in 2021, an X (then known as Twitter) user claimed that Chastain was buying NFT drops before the public could get their hands on the digital items. Chastain, who selected which NFTs would appear on OpenSea's homepage, was accused of selling the tokens he bought in advance for a profit after they became broadly available and interest in them soared. OpenSea admitted that Chastain had carried out such a scheme and said it would ban employees from using confidential information to trade NFTs.

The incident caught the attention of federal prosecutors, who treated the case in a similar fashion to regular insider trading. The US Attorney's Office noted that Chastain sold the NFTs for between two and five times the original purchase price.

Along with his prison sentence, Chastain must serve three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. He also needs to pay a $50,000 fine and forfeit the Ethereum he obtained from his illicit NFT trading.

"Nathanial Chastain faced justice today for violating the trust that his employer placed in him by using OpenSea’s confidential information for his own profit," US attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to other corporate insiders that insider trading — in any marketplace — will not be tolerated.”

Several months back, Sony teased a dedicated remote play device for the PlayStation 5 as well as new gaming earbuds. Now, the company has revealed more details about the device. It's called the PlayStation Portal remote player.

The handheld looks a bit like a tablet wedged between two halves of a DualSense controller. It can stream games from your PS5 console, so when someone else is using the TV or you're in another room, you can still play remotely via WiFi without having to use your phone, tablet or computer. Sony says the snappily named PlayStation Portal remote player has an eight-inch LCD screen that delivers 1080p visuals at 60 frames per second. The device also benefits from DualSense features such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. 

There is a 3.5mm headphone jack too. That should come in handy as, according to IGN, there's no Bluetooth function. You'll either need to use one of Sony's own sets of earbuds or headphones, or plug in a wired headset.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's no support for PS VR2 games — you'll still need to hook your headset up to your PS5 directly to play VR games. Unfortunately, Sony says cloud game streaming through PlayStation Plus Premium isn't supported either. You'll have to install a game on a PS5 to play it remotely on the PlayStation Portal. That's disappointing, especially considering that the company is testing the ability to stream PS5 games to the console. 

The PlayStation Portal remote player will arrive later this year. It will cost $200 in the US, £200 in the UK, €220 in the rest of Europe and 29,980 Yen in Japan.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

On top of that, Sony has revealed more about its first wireless earbuds for PS5 and the PlayStation Portal remote player, as well as new headphones it designed for both systems. It says the Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite headset both support low latency lossless audio from PS5 and the handheld thanks to its new PlayStation Link tech.

A USB adapter is needed to connect the earbuds and headphones to PS5 via PlayStation Link. The tech will also be supported on PC and Mac. The Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite include multipoint connectivity as well. You can connect them to both your PS5 and a Bluetooth device (such as your phone) simultaneously, so you can easily answer a call while playing a game.

The earbuds and headset also each have custom-designed planar magnetic drivers (the first PlayStation audio devices to include them). Sony claims that it's one of the first companies to offer consumer earbuds with this tech, which it says delivers "an audiophile-level listening experience normally found in premium headphones for professional sound engineers."

Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Pulse Explore earbuds have dual mics and "AI-enhanced noise rejection" to filter out background noise. Naturally, they come with a charging case. The Pulse Elite has similar tech for handling background audio, along with a retractable boom mic. Sony is bundling in a charging hangar for the headphones too.

The company hasn't announced a release date for either device, other than to say it will announce those details soon. Be warned, though: the Pulse Explore earbuds are fairly pricey. They cost the same as the PlayStation Portal remote player in the US, UK, Europe and Japan. The Pulse Elite, meanwhile, will set you back $150 in the US, £130 in the UK, €150 in the rest of Europe and 18,980 Yen in Japan.