You can feel the excitement in the air. Grand Theft Auto 6 will be available to play in less than two weeks, officially launching on November 19. We're fortunate here in Australia, as we'll be able to play the much-anticipated game before the rest of the world — our Kiwi cousins get it slightly earlier, but what's a few hours when we've had to wait 13 years.
That's only possible if you download the game ahead of time. And with preloading officially kicking off today, November 10, you'll want to make sure your NBN plan is ready to download the enormous 212GB file. If it isn't, there's still time to switch to one of the fastest NBN plans before launch day, so you can begin preloading and doing your bit to help avoid breaking the Australian internet.
And now is a great time to switch regardless, as several early Black Friday NBN deals have gone live, including an offer from Telstra that's almost too good to be true.
The telco is currently offering 50% off plan fees for four months across all of its plans, making it one of the cheapest providers for introductory pricing across several speed tiers. Yes, it happened — we got cheap Telstra NBN plans before GTA 6.
With the fastest NBN plans capable of downloading GTA 6 in as little as 14 minutes, compared with 56 minutes on slower connections, switching could make all the difference.
NBN plan | Download speed | Time to download |
NBN 500 | 500Mbps | 56m 32s |
NBN 750 | 750Mbps | 37m 41s |
NBN 1000 | 1,000Mbps | 28m 16s |
NBN 2000 | 2,000 Mbps | 14m 8s |
I’ve selected my top choice for each of the four speed tiers, with prices starting at AU$69 a month for Spintel’s NBN 750 plan.
Exetel One | 500Mbps | AU$80/m
I’ve selected Exetel’s NBN 500 plan as the top choice for this tier, as it’s not only affordable, with fuss-free billing, but it’s possible to boost your speed to NBN 1000 for 24 hours for just AU$1, perfect for downloading GTA 6 faster. Plus, the telco recorded the quickest ping speeds in the most recent ACCC broadband performance data report of 6.9ms, which could be ideal if you intend to game online.
• AU$80 minimum cost
• AU$960 yearly cost
Spintel Home Turbo Fast | 750Mbps | AU$69/m (first 6 months, then AU$94.95/m)
The most affordable NBN 750 plan that promises maximum plan speeds is this one from Spintel. The telco receives generally favourable reviews from customers, and even the ongoing cost is low for the tier, with the AU$94.95 monthly fee coming in well under the current AU$107 average.
• AU$69 total minimum cost
• AU$983.70 first year cost
• AU$1,139.40 ongoing yearly cost
Superloop | 860Mbps | AU$89/m (first 6 months, then AU$114/m)
It’s definitely possible to spend less on an NBN 1000 plan (and if you do, make sure to check out my other recommendations), but this plan from Superloop is well-optimised for online gameplay and has been proven to overdeliver on its typical evening speed claims. Throw in near-universal acclaim, and you have yourself a fine choice for a gigabit internet plan.
• AU$89 minimum cost
• AU$1,218 first year cost
• AU$1,368 ongoing yearly cost
Superloop Hyperspeed plan | 1,700Mbps | AU$148/m (first 6 months, then AU$168/m)
If you want an NBN 2000 plan, then you’ll likely first need to have dedicated equipment installed at your premises, which could affect the time it takes to download GTA 6. Still, if it’s the plan for you, this option from Superloop gets my seal of approval. Only a handful of providers currently offer an NBN 2000 plan, and given Superloop’s track record and positive reviews, and below-average pricing, it’s an easy recommendation.
• AU$148 minimum cost
• AU$1,896 first year cost
• AU$2,016 ongoing yearly cost
A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, November 9 (game #1750).
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:
• S
• D
• F
• R
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1751, are…
I had not heard of FICUS before trial and error got me there and subsequently now know that it is a plant genus that includes fig trees.
I learnt something disgusting about figs recently that put me off eating them for life.
If you would like to be similarly disgusted, Google “fig wasps”. But I’d recommend you don’t.
The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1751, are…
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, November 9 (game #1247).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Today's NYT Connections words are…
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Connections, game #1248, are…
My one-word-review of today’s game is “frustrating”.
From the start I found the tiles very discombobulating in their wordiness, but that wasn’t what led to my frustration. Instead, it was crossovers. For HUBBUB I understood that I was looking for tiles about making an unnecessary fuss, but included HYPERBOLE instead of FOOFARAW.
Then, it took me three guesses to get OLD-TIMEY OCCUPATIONS, as I’d included BEEKEEPER because I thought APOTHECARY was a place, rather than an occupation. D'oh! And then I dropped SCRIVENER before finally getting the correct foursome.
Ah well, at least I got the groups in difficulty order.
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, November 9 (game #981).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Influentially online
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• Spangram has 14 letters
• First side: left, 4th row
• Last side: left, 5th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Strands, game #982, are…
I managed to get my 114th Spangram First today — although it did come after finding one of the two places on the board that spelled out “creator”.
Incredibly, around 116 million people in the US consider themselves to be a CONTENTCREATOR, an incredible figure that equates to around 30% of the population — although when you think about it, even if you post a couple of photos a year on Instagram you are technically a content creator.
What sets the everyday creators apart from the influencer is that the latter produce the material in our search — REVIEWs, TUTORIALs, REACTIONs and so on.
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
The PlayStation Store is now joining in on the Black Friday fun with discounts of up to 75% on thousands of PS5 and PS4 games. I've searched through the sale to pick out a small selection of my favorites, including record-low prices on new releases, Game of the Year contenders, and highly-rated hits for super-cheap that I'd strongly recommend if you haven't tried them yet.
• View the full PlayStation Store Black Friday sale
For starters, there's IO Interactive's fantastic spy thriller 007 First Light, which does an incredible job of combining the linear action of the Uncharted series with the reactive and expansive sandboxes of the Hitman games.
I also have to mention Control Resonant, which has blown me away with its world design and creativity. The action is a little rough around the edges, but I can look past that when every other moment I'm wowed by some mind-bending new environment or ingenious set piece that establishes it as one of the most unique games this year.
Other games I've played recently that are on sale for surprisingly low prices are the harrowing Silent Hill 2 remake, gruelling yet absorbing climber Cairn, and the excellent action-RPG Remnant 2. All of these and more of my top picks from the PlayStation Black Friday sale are below.
Sony's latest DualSense and console cover limited-edition design is here, and it's a bit of a throwback. Channeling some early 2000s aesthetics, the Prism Collection sports three colorways and translucent designs — and pre-orders open tomorrow.
1. Prism DualSense pre-order quick links
2. Prism console cover pre-order quick links
3. Live updates
Three colorways or designs make for six different products across DualSense controllers and PS5 Slim console covers. Those colorways are Flare Orange, Emerald Green, and Graphite Gray. All three offer a distinct look and will surely be of interest to older PlayStation fans in particular, who fondly remember the translucent designs on earlier PlayStation console controllers. I know I do, and I'm already eyeing these up!
Pre-orders for the Prism Collection go live at 10am ET in the US, and 10am local time everywhere else, and we're getting ahead of the madness and putting our flag in the ground early, gathering up all the best info and best retailer links to bookmark now ahead of stock dropping.
I expect demand to be high on these items, but the controllers should at least be available at multiple retailers — the console exclusives will be PlayStation Direct or PlayStation storefront exclusives.
Check stock at:
Check stock at:
Even though stock levels of recent limited-edition DualSense controllers have held steady, and the last collection — the Hyperpop products — are still available, I'd still recommend aiming for a pre-order on the Prims collection if you're willing and able.
That is because it's always safer to do so if you can, as I often say, but there's wider appeal with the Prism collection given the products' nod back to earlier PlayStation hardware designs and thus a powerful nostalgia sense may increase demand somewhat.
With the console covers being exclusive to PlayStation's own storefronts, too, I think they might sell like hotcakes. The controllers being more widely available at different retailers should give everyone more options, however.
As a result, if you're interested in placing a pre-order, definitely do so if you can.
Greetings and welcome to our live coverage of the upcoming PS5 Prism Collection pre-orders!
We're getting our flag in the sand early to help you find your next bit of PS5 hardware easily, and will be covering all the action as it kicks off tomorrow.
These new aestehtics and limited edition releases seem to be coming thick and fast from Sony. This one comes hot on the heels of the Gran Turismo DualSense controller, but this time is a big ol' collection that totals six whole products!
With three pretty cool colorways up for grabs tomorrow, which one is your fave?
Out of the three — Flare Orange, Emerald Green, and Graphite Gray — I think I'm leaning most toward the Gray, and then the Green in a close second.
What about you? Let me know in the poll below!
right, enough fawning over the aesthetics for a moment ( more of that soon), it's time for some key information.
The first part being the when and where. Pre-order for the PS5 Prism Collection open at 10am local time and 10am EDT in the US tomorrow, November 10.
The DualSense controllers will be available at PlayStation storefronts like PS Direct and PlayStation.com and other retailers which is superb news, while the console covers, as usual;, will be exclusive to PlayStation's own storefronts.
The next bit of key info is the how much.
But it's business as usual, really: the DualSense controllers will cost you $84.99 / £74.99, while the PS5 Slim console covers will set you back $74.99/£64.99.
Simple!
OK, I'm putting this live coverage down for a while now and I'll be here bright and early in the UK morning time to help you get prepped in time for the first wave of pre-orders kicking off.
In the meantime, all the links on this page are still the best ones to prep with and bookmark!
It's an early start here in the UK but we're now only less than four hours until PS5 Prism pre-orders begin!
You'll see the below poll a few times today if you stick around here as I'm always keen to gauge your opinion on which variant is most popular.
Let me know in the poll which one of the new translucent colorways you like the look of most!
Alright only three hours to go until UK pre-orders open!
For any UK early birds looking to start listing and banking the best links to bookmark, this is a live blog post for you!
Below are all the best links to start your search and bookmarking process at both PlayStation and other reliable retailers!
UK PS5 Prism collection DualSense pre-orders - Check stock at:
UK PS5 Prism collection console cover pre-orders - Check stock at:
Folks on social media in the UK area also reporting that EE saw a flash of a restock yesterday evening so that retailer is worth a check and a bit of a F5-refresh burst and camp if you're able.
Anywhere and anything's worth a go at this point, right?
Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto 6: The Festival, a special live concert scheduled for after GTA 6's launch and featuring music from the game.
The Festival is set for November 21 at Mana Wynwood in Miami and will feature a star-studded lineup of artists from the game and the official soundtrack across two stages.
Those performances include: Cactus Jack presents Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Kodak Black, and Sofaygo; Cardi B; Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso; Justice (DJ set); Metro Boomin; Nick León B2B DJ Python; Prospa B2B Skream; Rauw & Friends; Suero; Tainy; The Dare B2B Fcukers (DJ set).
Rockstar has confirmed that a pre-sale lottery will be available for a chance to purchase tickets, beginning on Wednesday, November 11.
Tickets are limited to two per pre-sale lottery code, and the lottery closes at 4PM ET / 9PM GMT on Tuesday, November 10.
Fans can sign up for the GTA 6: The Festival lottery here, with entries limited to a maximum of one entry per person. Entries must also be from people aged 17+.
"Winners will be drawn at random from eligible entries and contacted by SMS with a code on Tuesday, November 10 by 7 P.M. ET," Rockstar said. "Odds of being selected will depend on the number of eligible entries received."
GTA 6 finally launches in just 10 days on November 19. Digital pre-loading will begin on November 10.
Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall has reacted to EA shutting down BioWare and hopes the legendary studio can be saved one day.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming following the devastating news and cancelation of the next Mass Effect game, Mass Effect Universe, Wall said, "Frankly, it’s sort of bananas to think of BioWare as just…gone."
Wall worked on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and agreed that the series is important enough to warrant saving, saying, "Mass Effect is such a wonderfully original universe. It feels like it should live on not only in games but TV and Film as well. The stories are so compelling."
The composer added, "Not sure where the Prime TV series sits at this time, but it would be really cool to see a show of this universe."
Following its closure, the studio released a statement saying that the "generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember." The shutdown came as part of EA's first major restructuring plan that led to 400 layoffs across the publisher's studios, including around 50 for the people remaining at BioWare.
Many creatives across the industry are urging someone, like another publisher, to save the developer before it's too late. Fans have also created a petition called "#SaveMassEffect" and wish to see BioWare's vision for the Mass Effect series continue.
Wall shared a similar sentiment about the studio, saying, "In short, I’m sad to see BioWare go. I hope that someone else can come in and take it from here."
King Art Games has explained why Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 will revisit Kronus and how the return of Crusade Mode played a part in the decision.
"It's basically the idea that coming back or going back to a place that you visited before is fun," creative director Jan Theysen shared with TechRadar Gaming when asked what the team's driving force was for Dawn of War 4 to revisit the planet.
"We also knew that we wanted to reintroduce the Crusade Mode, or the crusade-like planetary conquer-the-planet type of mode," he added.
Crusade Mode is a fan-favorite mode that had its origins in the first game's Dark Crusade expansion nearly 20 years ago, and King Art Games describes it as Dawn of War 4's "endless mode."
Players can replay the mode's extended campaigns over and over, featuring numerous territories spread across Kronus, and they’ll always play out differently each time, while also introducing extra gameplay variety to the base game.
"Somebody said, well, if we bring back the mode, wouldn't it be fun that it's on the same planet, right?" Theysen continued. "And you can revisit the territories and the stuff you remember from the first game, and we said, okay, why not? Great idea; it's on the right side of The Great Rift."
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 launches on PC on December 3, and Theysen has also suggested that the game could eventually come to console.
The creative director also told TechRadar Gaming how it ended up with four separate faction campaigns and that it considered adding other playable factions before deciding on Adeptus Mechanicus.
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, November 8 (game #1246).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Today's NYT Connections words are…
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Connections, game #1247, are…
It was hard not to begin with GRAPEFRUIT SPOON, as it seemed such an utterly random tile, and after I’d added MINT LEAF to the more obvious THINGS WITH SERRATED EDGES I was convinced that I’d landed a Purple First.
Alas, this foursome was only classed as a blue — although I’d argue that it was a more difficult spot than ENDING IN SEA CREATURES; congratulations if you chose to start here.
My failure to get the yellow came down to not realizing what SHELL GAME is — although after Googling it afterwards I remembered that as a gullible tourist I had fallen for it once in New Orleans and lost $20 guessing the location of a small ball. Fortunately, it’s the kind of trick you only fall for once, but there’s always a new fool, as it’s been around since Ancient Greece.
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, November 8 (game #1749).
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:
• U
• S
• N
• V
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1750, are…
I wasn't certain that UNMET was a word when I entered it, but immediately wondered why I’d had my doubts.
I’d suffered no such hesitation earlier in the game, when some interesting letter positions gave me knotty words to untie in SINEW, NADIR and VOGUE.
The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1750, are…
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, November 8 (game #980).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Idle chatter
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• Spangram has 14 letters
• First side: left, 3rd row
• Last side: top, 5th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Strands, game #981, are…
Failing to spot the words connected to the two letter Zs today set me back and I lost confidence as I searched the board, finding nothing but non-game words.
Fortunately there were quite a few of those and a hint gave me BANTER, which set me on my way.
Back in the day I used to be a GOSSIP editor on a music magazine, but I was so bad at it that I had to invent stories — something that, rather oddly, the people involved didn’t seem very worried about after I realized that if I merely had to keep the stories silly and obviously fake (each week, Madonna would be spotted in a supermarket in a British town she had never visited or likely heard of, for instance).
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 creative director Jan Theysen has explained how King Art Games balanced the four playable factions in the real-time strategy (RTS) game without compromising their fundamental traits and abilities.
Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Theysen said it's a "super challenging" process balancing Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and Adeptus Mechanicus, because it's "10s of 1000s of permutations of different units who can fight each other" with different equipment and abilities, and so the studio first focused on trying to identify the "feeling" of each faction.
"What we do is we try first to get the feeling for each of the factions; how is this faction supposed to feel? And then we try to do it in a way where players who do not know the faction still intuitively play them the right way," Theysen explained.
"For example, if you have Space Marine units and the Space Marine units are super, super expensive, and you can upgrade them with a lot of different stuff, you feel different about them than, let's say, Ork units that are dirt cheap, and you have a lot of them from the get go. But they also die pretty quickly, right?"
The creative director continued, saying "naturally and organically" players who play Orks, for example, will care a little less about individual units and will use them against bigger mobs, while Space Marine players will "organically" care more about individual units and try to keep them alive longer.
After this first phase is achieved, Theysen said anyone who plays the campaign will understand what's going on lore-wise, and then King Art needs to figure out the fundamental ideas of early-, mid-, and late-game units. Then comes the long testing phase.
"We need units that can do certain things, and all of that stuff is baked in," he said. "But as soon as we have that, then we start to let them play against each other, fight each other. We do this ourselves, of course, but we also have just [have] in-game AI play each other and give us statistics: who wins which combination on which map and so on.
"And then we start adjusting the dials a little bit and say, okay, the overall win rate for Necrons is too strong. Can we make them weaker, for example, without losing this core identity or this core feeling that we have?"
Theysen explained that "this is also an ongoing process, to be honest" because "you can do this as much as you want" but "as soon as real players get this into their hands, they come up with stuff you never thought about."
"If [players] do it like this, then actually there is an unfair advantage," he said. "So we have to somehow fix that."
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 launches on PC on December 3, and Theysen has also suggested that the game could eventually come to console while discussing which hero mechanics and UI features it borrowed from Dawn of War 2 and 3.
Corsair enters the microphones for streaming and wider mic market with this RGB-laden Voxara condenser model, a well-judged combination of specs and features for the price. If you’re looking specifically for a gaming or streaming mic and willing to pay a premium for audio quality and looks, the Voxara ticks the most important boxes. But it also makes some lofty marketing claims that aren’t relevant or helpful if you’re just trying to figure out if it’s worth the cash.
For example, the 25mm capsule this mic’s built around can capture enough nuance from your voice to record and broadcast rich, well-rounded audio, while hardware and software team up to suppress esses and plosives. However, the maximum 192KHz sample rate simply isn’t relevant to most users, and it definitely doesn’t make this USB-C model a studio-grade piece of audio equipment.
It’s worth knowing that to get the best sound, you’ll need to download Elgato’s Wave Link software. It’s a powerful app with a nice, clean UI, and the AI-driven Voice Focus feature is very effective at noise cancellation. Not everyone wants to have to install additional software, though, so if you want plug-and-play performance, this is a big caveat.
The mic housing’s built to a high standard and the circuitry seems to be top-notch too: there’s almost no unwanted noise when you use the tap-to-mute function at the head of the housing, and the 3.5mm monitoring input runs at a sensible output range with no crackle or distortion. So you’re getting strong vocal recording, easy controls, and a pretty intuitive digital display on the mic’s front, too. These are the big selling points here, along with the visual design. But if you want a subtler look that takes its design cues from pro audio, or a mic that really can claim to offer studio-grade functionality at a similar price, you need to look further afield at options like the Shure M7+ and Rode PodMic USB.
It might not be specced to topple all rivals, but this debut model from Corsair nonetheless offers solid value for money for the build quality, Elgato software features, and crisp sound it delivers. Available now for PC, Mac, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, it’s got a broad enough compatibility list to be your battlestation mic – just as long as that battlestation doesn’t feature an Xbox.
It’s priced in a similar range to one of our favourite mics, the SteelSeries Alias, and well under Razer’s Seiren V3 Pro, which at $249.99/£249.99 represents the upper end of the gaming mic market. However, what’s hurting the overall value proposition is that lone USB-C connectivity. With Rode’s PodMic USB offering XLR and USB connections and now available for around the same price, you’d need to really like that RGB display on the Voxara.
Corsair Voxara USB | |
Polar pattern | Cardioid |
Sample rate | 32-bit/192KHz |
Connection type | Wired USB-C |
Software | Elgato Wave Link |
Compatibility | PC/Mac/Switch/PS5 |
Is the Voxara well-designed? For gamers who want no-fuss, clear comms and an object on their desk that looks part of a traditional gaming setup, the answer is yes. It’s a familiar condenser design with a single cardioid polar pattern, a tap-to-mute button on top, and a scroll wheel on the bottom third, which can be used to adjust the mic, monitoring, and audio mix levels by clicking the wheel to toggle between those parameters. Finally, there’s an RGB mode cycle knob at the rear, which does what you’d expect.
To help you keep track of what you’re adjusting and make a note of your settings, there’s a digital display just below the RGB capsule shield. Bonus points go to Corsair for making this display automatically flip depending on whether the mic’s pointed up or down (if you’re using the supplied desk stand or a boom arm, for example). That’s a bit of forethought that keeps things simple to dial in, whatever your current setup.
Personally, I’d rather the RGB lighting wasn’t there at all, but I have to concede that it comes down to personal taste. I will say this much: given the peripheral market’s move away from copious RGB zones on mice, keyboards, and headsets lately, I wonder how quickly this model will look dated.
I digress. There are three lighting modes available: a solid colour mode, a multicolor effects mode, and a level meter that responds to the audio source. While they’re fun to play around with and customise when you first get the mic, when it comes to using the Voxara in real-world situations, I found two of these three modes distracting and fell back on solid colour mode.
When you’re concentrating on what’s happening onscreen, you really don’t want something so close to your face to be constantly changing the lighting conditions. And if you’re recording a podcast with a video element, the level meter in particular is an unwelcome distraction that pulls your attention away from what the hosts are saying.
One area I do find the lighting useful is when muting or unmuting the mic. There’s a ring running around the tap-to-mute surface that changes colour when you tap it, and it’s very handy to know at a glance if the mic’s hot or not. Particularly if you’ve been muted for a while and lost track.
All of the cosmetic-focused lighting is optional and customisable, so I’m not considering my negative experience with it a dealbreaker. But keep in mind that you’re paying a premium for that RGB. You need to be really sure that you’ll use and enjoy that functionality before shelling out; otherwise, there are non-RGB mics with great sound and better connectivity available.
As you’d expect from Corsair, the finish quality of the mic housing, shock mount, and stand is all immaculate and conveys the premium price positioning. The stand holds your mic precisely where you position it, and cable management is fairly easy with a hollowed-out vertical stand that the USB-C cable can thread through.
However, the stand doesn’t perform well against accidental desk knocks, so if you’re recording or streaming yourself, you’d better factor in the cost of a boom arm as well. If your broadcasting ambitions begin and end with clear callouts in Counter-Strike or Valorant, though, this shouldn’t become a problem.
I’m very impressed by how polished and usable this mic sounds without any tweaking. There’s no need for an additional pop shield on the Voxara, since it’s tuned to suppress esses and P sounds for a consistent and broadcast-ready sound.
And that, of course, is the most important thing about any mic, whether it’s marketed to gamers or anyone else. But as someone who’s worked with plenty of studio mics, I’m always very aware there’s a significant distinction between ‘good gaming mic’ and ‘good studio mic’.
Let’s start with the 25mm capsule. As with headphone drivers, bigger doesn’t always mean better in this category by default, but a large capsule of sufficient build quality is capable of capturing a wider range of frequencies and subharmonics in lots of detail. Right out of the box, if you record yourself speaking into the Voxara and listen back to the audio at any bitrate, you can hear that detail. For podcasting and Twitch streaming, it lends clarity and polish to your content. For in-game playcalling, it’s downright overkill.
So big points to Corsair for getting that right. But I have to take the marketing literature to task for selling this mic as ‘studio-grade’. It’s written in huge lettering on the product page, mentioned in the reviewer’s guide, and it’s simply not accurate.
The fact that this mic doesn’t have an analog input option makes it a non-starter as a studio kit. True broadcast quality requires that you keep full control of latency, preamp settings, gain amplification, and analog-to-digital signal conversion to retain as much fidelity and flexibility as possible. A USB mic builds all those elements into its internal circuitry, which makes it much simpler to use.
And that’s the compromise. You don’t need a separate preamp and mixer to get a usable signal from a USB mic, and most gamers don’t have that studio equipment lying around, so gaming mics usually feature USB inputs. But there’s an implicit tradeoff to that convenience in fidelity. It isn’t night and day, but it’s there. So the fact that this mic can technically record at 192Hz doesn’t mean it can go toe-to-toe with a Neumann U87 Ai.
XLR also makes simultaneous audio source recording far easier. You can run as many mics into a mixing desk as your desk inputs and DAW allow, but capturing multiple USB sources in real-time is a massive headache by comparison. Therefore, if you’re browsing the USB gaming mic market and see any product page copy talking about ‘studio quality’, go ahead and translate it to what the manufacturer really means, which is ‘sounds pretty good’.
With that point addressed, the Voxara’s sound quality is more than pretty good. And you can make it even more polished with Elgato’s excellent Wave Link software. This is a double-edged sword – it’s a well-designed and user-friendly app that packs tons of functionality into a clean shell, and it can also function as a gateway into professional DAWs. There are those – myself included – who prefer not to have to download software to use their peripherals, though, so I’m in a quandary about this one.
One feature in particular that’s got me conflicted is Voice Focus, an AI-powered noise suppressor that works very well indeed. On the one hand, I love that I have access to it, and on the other, I resent that it isn’t being handled automatically by the mic’s DSP.
I find it easy to forgive minor grievances like that when I hear how smooth and listenable the vocal recordings are, though. It’s not easy to bring a new mic to market, and Corsair has made a lot of shrewd judgments in order to make this such a compelling option. It’s spent big on construction materials and finish quality, as it always does across any product category, teamed up with Elgato to pool some vital knowledge, and used a 25mm capsule that distinguishes itself as soon as you plug it in. That’s an impressive debut. I’m not moved to disconnect my preferred mics just yet, but I can easily envision that Corsair’s future models will give them stiff competition.
You like to tweak while you play
The combination of on-mic controls and Elgato Wave Link options makes this mic easy to dial in a usable setting and to adjust on the fly.
You’re shopping for a battlestation mic
Xbox is the only major platform the Voxara doesn’t support, making it a great option for hot-swapping between devices in your battlestation.
Your setup is lit
…In both the literal and cringey millennial slang senses of the word, but mainly the former. This is designed to blend into a setup rich with RGB-infused peripherals.
You want a mic that can handle studio tasks
Without an XLR input, this mic’s usage is limited to in-game comms and streaming, making that max 192Hz sample rate all but irrelevant in most usage cases.
You’re going to turn the RGB off as soon as you unbox it
Gamer-focused features like the customisable RGB zone are big contributors to this model’s overall premium pricing, so don’t spend for it if you don’t intend to make full use of it.
You also don’t have the budget for a good boom arm
Sadly, the attractive-looking stand is susceptible to picking up desk knocks, so if you’re recording podcasts or the like, you’ll really need a good boom arm to cut that noise out.
Is Corsair’s Voxara not calling out to you? Try these alternatives.
Corsair Voxara | Steelseries Alias | Razer Seiren V3 Pro | |
Polar pattern | Cardioid | Cardioid | Cardioid |
Sample rate | 32-bit/192KHz | 24-bit/48KHz | 32-bit/96KHz |
Connection type | USB-C | USB C | USB-C/XLR |
Software | Elgato Wave Link | Sonar | Synapse |
Compatibility | PC/Mac/Switch/PS5 | PC/Mac/PS5 | PC |
SteelSeries Alias
We’re big fans of how this mic looks and performs, and it’s particularly easy to get great sound right out of the box, although SteelSeries’ Sonar software does offer further tweaking.
For more information, check out our full SteelSeries Alias review
Razer Seiren V3 Pro
If you want to take the idea of speccing a microphone to a gamer’s specific needs to the extreme, and you want an XLR input thrown in too, Razer’s pricey but impressive flagship mic has you covered.
For more information, check out our full Razer Seiren V3 Pro review
The first and most informal test for any gaming mic is the ‘How’s that sound?’ when you enter the Discord voice channel. Getting your friends’ feedback is an important piece of the puzzle, since they’re used to hearing your regular equipment and environment. If you sound clearer or richer with the new mic plugged in, they’ll hear it before you do.
That’s part of my standardised testing for any mic, including this Voxara. But I also run the mic directly into a DAW — Ableton Live in my case — and record a dry signal featuring a few minutes of speech. That lets me compare how the mic sounds with other models I’ve tested and identify the differences.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 was released during the period I tested this mic, and its DMZ mode gave me a great environment for in-game comms. Most of the time those comms amounted to confused chatter about how to do the objective, but valuable testing time nonetheless. Promise.
First reviewed October-November 2026
Several industry analysts have suggested console manufacturers will need to temper their ambitions for next-generation hardware to avoid breaching the $1000 console launch mark.
Unlike last-generation, current-gen console prices only seem to be getting more expensive years after launch. Whether it's the ongoing DRAM crisis or the AI boom that's made components even more costly, the games industry is at a point where the future of affordable hardware is looking pretty grim.
There have been conversations over the past few years about what this could mean for next-gen consoles — namely the PS6 and Xbox's Project Helix — and whether manufacturers could ever reach a point where their hardware could breach $1000.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming about rising costs, Piers Harding-Rolls at Ampere Analysis suggested Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo may have to scale back their ambitions for realistic graphics and higher performance if they ever want to avoid that huge price point.
"The relentless push for higher-end performance will need to be moderated," Harding-Rolls said.
Omdia's James McWhirter also suggested hardware stratification across tiers may be in the cards, including a cheaper Nintendo Switch 2 with more bundles that offer more value, and manufacturers may delay new hardware launches for the foreseeable future in a bid to wait out the rising cost of components.
However, this could also mean longer console generations. Rhys Elliott at Alinea Analytics anticipates the PS5 will stick around well after the PS6 launches, and cross-generation games may allow players the opportunity to delay their hardware upgrades.
"The next generation won’t replace this one so much as sit on top of it," Elliott claimed.
A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, November 7 (game #1748).
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:
• G
• S
• S
• O
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1749, are…
I got the most difficult word, OPIUM, first and the easiest last — but GREED still took me an age to get.
The issue was the number of possible positions of the three letters in wrong positions and even at the end it could have been “freed”.
The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1749, are…
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, November 7 (game #1245).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Today's NYT Connections words are…
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Connections, game #1246, are…
After experiencing a rare moment of CLARITY as I put together the four tiles of THINGS THAT HELP MAKE SENSE OF A SITUATION I crumbled.
My two mistakes came with HAIR SALON SERVICES, where I was on the right track with COLOR and EXTENSIONS but couldn’t decide between CUT, TRIM and BLOWOUT. I got there eventually.
For the final eight I couldn’t see beyond KORN the band and kept thinking I was missing some obvious music-based connection but went for the gym body Green set instead.
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, November 7 (game #979).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Disciplined combat
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• Spangram has 11 letters
• First side: left, 5th row
• Last side: right, 8th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Strands, game #980, are…
The only thing that threw me in this game was that the game words didn’t include Jujitsu.
Because I was expecting this, I threaded together NINJUTSU without ever knowing if it was one of the MARTIALARTS we were searching for — I now know that it describes the techniques employed by ninjas.
The closest I’ve ever gotten to partaking in one of these combat sports is imitating the opening titles of Hong Kong Phooey when I was a toddler. Then , as now, I can guarantee that I am not “quicker than the human eye”. However, I have worked as a janitor.
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
IO Interactive has revealed that it hand-crafts all of its Hitman World of Assassination Elusive Targets rather than relying on traditional scanning.
With the release of World of Assassination's new Elusive Target mission, The Host, starring YouTuber JackSepticEye, TechRadar Gaming chatted with IOI about the ins and outs of designing these special updates, including how it constructs the most creative eliminations.
When asked how the studio achieves the likeness of celebrities and public figures, senior level designer Marin Ansdal said every character is created from scratch, and no motion-capture or scanning is involved in the process.
"Like many things in Hitman, it’s down to bespoke craftsmanship – we do not rely on scans at all," Ansdal said. "Instead, the character receives a hand-drawn concept and is modelled and textured by a character artist."
He added, "Oftentimes a great likeness is knowing when to supplement realism with caricature. This is a balance a real character artist can strike in a way that a scan just can’t."
Junior concept and character artist Lovisa Österman also explained how she begins the design process, revealing that it takes "hours" simply looking at references to ensure accuracy before the stages of creating the Elusive Target models.
"I spend hours pouring over videos and photos of the talent to really understand what their face looks like from every angle. And a heavy lifter is getting the textures right," Österman said.
"You can have the 3d mesh completely right and still not feel like it looks like the person. Because you really need the textures, the person's freckles and spots and flaws to really recognize them."
The studio also offered insight into its process for selecting the game's targets, confirming that the level designer and writer take over once a celebrity or public figure is on board.
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