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France’s 10 Best Video Games and the Studios Behind Them
From narrative-driven indies to globally influential AAA releases, French developers have quietly shaped some of the most distinctive video games of the past two decades. That influence was impossible to miss at the most recent Game Awards, where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home nine awards and did so while wearing its cultural identity openly. The development team leaned fully into the moment, appearing on stage in red berets, striped shirts, and other unmistakably French visual cues, a playful but deliberate reminder of where the game’s voice, tone, and aesthetic came from. It was a rare instance of national identity being celebrated rather than smoothed out for global appeal, and it resonated precisely because the game itself is steeped in French artistic references, from its Belle Époque-inspired visuals to its theatrical approach to storytelling.
That moment captured something larger about France’s role in game development. French studios have long excelled at combining strong art direction with mechanical experimentation, often prioritizing mood, narrative, and visual cohesion over formulaic design. Backed by a mature creative ecosystem and a willingness to take risks, developers in France have produced genre-defining franchises, critically acclaimed narrative games, and indie successes that punch well above their weight. This article looks at the best video games made by French developers and the studios behind them, and explains why France continues to be one of the most influential forces in modern game development.
Why France is a major force in game development
France’s influence on the video game industry did not emerge overnight. It is the result of decades of institutional support, early commercial success, and a creative culture that treats games as a legitimate artistic medium rather than a purely commercial product. As early as the 1990s, French studios were already building an international presence, most notably through Ubisoft, which helped establish France as a serious development hub long before many other European countries followed suit.
That early momentum was reinforced by structural advantages. France offers strong public funding mechanisms for creative industries, robust game development education pipelines, and government recognition of video games as cultural works. This has allowed studios to take creative risks that might be harder to justify in markets driven purely by short-term commercial returns. The result is an ecosystem where experimentation is not just tolerated, but expected.
Equally important is the diversity of studio sizes and specialties. Large, internationally focused teams such as Arkane Studios coexist alongside mid-sized narrative-focused developers like Dontnod Entertainment, as well as technically driven studios such as Asobo Studio. This balance has helped France avoid overreliance on a single genre or business model, enabling everything from immersive sims and story-heavy adventures to experimental indie projects.
Taken together, these factors explain why French developers consistently produce games that feel distinct in tone and ambition. Rather than chasing trends, many French studios focus on authorship, atmosphere, and long-term creative identity, qualities that have become defining traits of France’s most successful video games.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Developed by Sandfall Interactive
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a rare example of a modern RPG that feels culturally specific without being exclusionary. Developed by the Montpellier-based studio Sandfall Interactive, the game blends turn-based combat with real-time mechanics, wrapped in a striking visual style inspired by French art, theater, and Belle Époque aesthetics. Its world is surreal, painterly, and deliberately melancholic, standing apart from the high-fantasy and sci-fi settings that dominate the genre.
The game gained global attention after winning nine awards at The Game Awards (including 2025’s Game of the Year), but its success was not built on spectacle alone. What resonated most was its confidence in tone and authorship. The narrative leans heavily into fatalism, memory, and performance, themes more commonly associated with European cinema than mainstream RPGs. Even its presentation choices, from character design to staging and music, reflect a distinctly French creative sensibility.
More than just a breakout hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 represents a broader shift in how French studios are perceived internationally. It proves that a mid-sized French team can deliver a mechanically ambitious, artistically coherent RPG that competes directly with much larger productions, without diluting its identity to do so.
2. Life is Strange
Developed by Dontnod Entertainment
Life is Strange marked a turning point for narrative-driven games developed outside the traditional Anglo-American studio system. Created by Paris-based Dontnod Entertainment, the game centers on quiet moments, emotional consequence, and player choice rather than spectacle or mechanical complexity. Its episodic structure, small-town setting, and emphasis on relationships stood in sharp contrast to the action-heavy releases that dominated the mid-2010s.
The game’s impact was recognized quickly. At The Game Awards 2015, Life is Strange won Games for Change, an award given to titles that address social themes in a meaningful way. It also received multiple industry honors for narrative design and new intellectual property, and Ashly Burch’s performance as Chloe Price earned Performance of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. These accolades reinforced the idea that emotional storytelling and character-driven writing could stand alongside more traditional measures of technical achievement.
At its core, the game explores time, memory, and regret, themes more commonly associated with European film and literature than mainstream video games. The time-rewind mechanic is not treated as a power fantasy, but as a narrative device that exposes the limits of control and the permanence of certain choices. In doing so, Life is Strange helped legitimize slower, more introspective games at a global level and firmly established Dontnod as one of France’s most influential narrative studios.
3. Dishonored
Developed by Arkane Studios
Dishonored is one of the clearest examples of French design philosophy succeeding at the highest AAA level. Developed primarily by Arkane Studios in Lyon, the game blends stealth, first-person action, and systemic level design into what is now considered a modern immersive sim classic. Set in the plague-ridden city of Dunwall, its world draws heavily from 19th-century European industrial cities, filtered through a grim, painterly aesthetic that feels closer to graphic novels than conventional realism.
Critically, Dishonored was widely recognized for its design ambition. It won Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards 2012 and received multiple BAFTA nominations, alongside year-end awards from major outlets for level design and player choice. Much of the praise centered on how the game respected player agency, allowing problems to be solved creatively rather than funneling players toward a single “correct” solution.
What set Dishonored apart was its refusal to separate narrative from mechanics. Chaos systems, moral consequences, and environmental storytelling are tightly interwoven, ensuring that how players act meaningfully shapes the world around them. This approach, deeply associated with Arkane’s design DNA, helped cement the studio’s reputation as one of the most respected developers in the genre and demonstrated that a French-led team could define the direction of high-budget Western game design.
4. A Plague Tale: Innocence
Developed by Asobo Studio
A Plague Tale: Innocence established Asobo Studio as far more than a technical support developer and signaled the arrival of a confident, narrative-led French studio on the global stage. Set in a fictionalized, plague-ravaged medieval France, the game follows siblings Amicia and Hugo as they navigate war, superstition, and overwhelming loss. Its historical grounding and restrained storytelling give it a tone closer to historical drama than traditional action games.
The game received strong critical recognition upon release. It won Best Narrative at The Game Awards 2019 and earned multiple BAFTA nominations, with particular praise directed at its atmosphere, score, and character writing. Critics highlighted how the game used vulnerability and limitation, rather than power, as the foundation of its gameplay, a design choice that reinforced its themes rather than undermining them.
What makes A Plague Tale: Innocence distinctly French is its commitment to mood and restraint. Combat is sparse, environments are oppressive, and spectacle is used sparingly. Instead, the game relies on pacing, visual symbolism, and sound design to communicate dread and emotional weight. In doing so, Asobo demonstrated that large-scale narrative games do not need constant escalation to remain compelling, a philosophy that has since become a defining trait of some of France’s most respected modern releases.
5. Dead Cells
Developed by Motion Twin
Dead Cells is one of the most successful modern examples of French indie design scaling to a global audience without losing its identity. Developed by Bordeaux-based Motion Twin, the game blends roguelike structure with tight, responsive action-platforming, emphasizing speed, precision, and player mastery. Its pixel art presentation is clean and expressive, prioritizing readability and motion over nostalgia for its own sake.
The game was both a critical and commercial success. Dead Cells won Best Action Game at The Game Awards 2018 and received multiple awards and nominations across industry shows for gameplay design and ongoing support. Its post-launch development model, which delivered substantial free updates over several years, was frequently praised as a consumer-friendly alternative to traditional live-service approaches.
What sets Dead Cells apart is its mechanical confidence. Systems are layered but intuitive, difficulty is demanding without being punitive, and experimentation is actively encouraged through randomized builds and branching paths. Rather than focusing on narrative exposition, the game tells its story environmentally and indirectly, trusting players to piece together meaning through repetition and discovery. This design philosophy reflects a broader French indie sensibility: mechanically rigorous, visually distinctive, and unapologetically focused on craft.
6. Detroit: Become Human
Developed by Quantic Dream
Detroit: Become Human represents the most ambitious expression of France’s narrative-first approach to game design at a AAA scale. Developed by Paris-based Quantic Dream, the game is an interactive drama built almost entirely around player choice, branching storylines, and performance-driven storytelling. Set in a near-future Detroit where androids struggle for autonomy and rights, the game explores themes of identity, oppression, and moral responsibility.
The title received substantial industry recognition. It won Best Narrative at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards and earned multiple BAFTA nominations, particularly for performance and technical achievement. Critics and players alike highlighted the sheer scope of its branching structure, with dozens of meaningful endings and visible consequence tracking that encouraged replay rather than optimization.
What distinguishes Detroit: Become Human within the French development canon is its theatrical sensibility. Camera work, pacing, and performance capture are treated with the same importance as gameplay systems, reflecting Quantic Dream’s background in interactive cinema. While its themes sparked debate, the game’s willingness to engage directly with complex social questions, and to let players sit with the discomfort of their choices, reinforced France’s reputation for games that prioritize authorship and emotional impact over mechanical density.
7. Rayman Legends
Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier
Rayman Legends is often cited as one of the finest 2D platformers ever made, and it stands as a showcase for French creativity at a large studio scale. Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the game builds on the foundation of Rayman Origins while dramatically expanding its scope, variety, and polish. Its hand-drawn art style is vibrant and expressive, leaning into exaggerated animation and visual humor rather than realism.
The game received widespread critical acclaim and industry recognition. It won Best Platformer at multiple award shows and earned a BAFTA for Artistic Achievement, with particular praise directed at its animation quality and inventive level design. The musical stages, where player inputs sync directly to rhythm and soundtrack, were frequently highlighted as some of the most creative platforming sequences of the decade.
What makes Rayman Legends distinctly French is its emphasis on playfulness and craft. Levels are dense with ideas, mechanics evolve constantly, and the game rarely repeats itself for long. Rather than relying on nostalgia or franchise fatigue, Ubisoft Montpellier treated platforming as a living design space, demonstrating that even within a major publisher, French studios could prioritize creativity, precision, and joy over formula.
8. Jusant
Developed by Dontnod Entertainment
Jusant is a quiet, deliberately paced game that reflects a more restrained side of French game design. Developed by Dontnod Entertainment, the studio best known for Life Is Strange, the game strips away dialogue-heavy storytelling in favor of environmental narrative and physical interaction. Centered entirely around climbing a vast, desolate tower, Jusant asks players to engage with movement, balance, and rhythm rather than combat or explicit objectives.
The game was praised by critics for its originality and focus, receiving nominations and awards for art direction and audio design across several industry showcases. Much of that praise focused on how Jusant communicates story through space, weather, and texture, trusting players to interpret meaning without exposition or cutscenes.
What distinguishes Jusant is its confidence in silence. Mechanics are tactile and intentional, forcing players to think about stamina, hand placement, and momentum, while the world gradually reveals fragments of its past through environmental clues. In a medium often dominated by noise and urgency, Jusant demonstrates a distinctly French willingness to slow down and let atmosphere carry emotional weight.
9. Chants of Sennaar
Developed by Rundisc
Chants of Sennaar is a puzzle-adventure built almost entirely around language, interpretation, and cultural misunderstanding. Developed by the French indie studio Rundisc, the game draws inspiration from the myth of the Tower of Babel, tasking players with deciphering fictional languages to bridge divisions between isolated groups. There is no combat and little traditional progression; advancement comes from understanding symbols, grammar, and context.
The game earned strong critical recognition for its originality, winning and being nominated for multiple awards tied to innovation, game design, and art direction across European and independent showcases. Reviewers consistently praised how the game turns translation itself into a mechanic, making comprehension feel earned rather than granted.
What makes Chants of Sennaar particularly emblematic of French design is its intellectual confidence. It assumes patience, curiosity, and a willingness to fail, asking players to think like linguists rather than heroes. By centering play around interpretation and empathy, the game reinforces a broader pattern seen in French development: a preference for ideas-driven design that challenges players cognitively as much as mechanically.
10. Furi
Developed by The Game Bakers
Furi is a tightly focused action game built entirely around boss encounters, reflexes, and mastery. Developed by the Montpellier-based studio The Game Bakers, the game combines twin-stick shooting and close-range sword combat into fast, demanding duels that leave little room for error. Its cel-shaded visual style and electronic soundtrack give it a sharp, contemporary aesthetic that immediately sets it apart.
The game was widely praised for its combat design and artistic cohesion, earning nominations and awards for action gameplay, music, and visual style at several industry events. Much of the acclaim centered on how Furi balances challenge with clarity, ensuring that even its most punishing encounters remain readable and fair.
What makes Furi stand out within the French development landscape is its discipline. There is no filler content, no side activities, and no mechanical padding. Every system exists to support the core experience of learning, failing, and improving. That commitment to focus and execution reflects a broader strength of French indie studios: a willingness to commit fully to a singular vision and trust players to meet the game on its own terms.
Conclusion
Taken together, these ten games illustrate why France continues to occupy a distinctive position in the global video game industry. French developers consistently prioritize authorship, atmosphere, and thematic intent, whether they are working within AAA frameworks or small independent teams. Rather than chasing trends, many studios focus on building games with a strong creative identity, resulting in experiences that feel deliberate, cohesive, and confident in their design choices. From narrative experimentation to mechanical precision, the French approach to game development values craft as much as scale.
For players who want to experience these games at their best, having reliable hardware matters. Many of the titles discussed here benefit from stable frame rates, fast storage, and accurate color reproduction, particularly visually driven games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, A Plague Tale: Innocence, and Detroit: Become Human. Acer’s gaming lineup, including its Predator and Nitro series, is designed to handle both demanding AAA releases and finely tuned indie games without compromise, making them a practical choice for students and enthusiasts alike.
Students can also take advantage of Acer’s 15 percent student discount, which lowers the barrier to entry for capable gaming laptops and desktops without forcing trade-offs in performance. For anyone looking to explore some of the most creative and influential games made by French developers, the right hardware ensures those artistic and technical details are experienced as intended.
FAQ
What are the best video games made by French developers?
Some of the most highly regarded games made by French developers include Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Life Is Strange, Dishonored, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Dead Cells, Detroit: Become Human, and Rayman Legends. These titles span RPGs, narrative adventures, immersive sims, and platformers, highlighting the range of French studios.
Why are French video games often known for strong storytelling and art direction?
French developers tend to place a strong emphasis on authorship, visual identity, and thematic coherence. Many studios draw inspiration from European cinema, literature, and fine art, which results in games that prioritize mood, narrative intent, and distinctive aesthetics over purely formula-driven design.
Is Ubisoft a French company?
Yes. Ubisoft was founded in France and remains one of the country’s most influential game publishers and developers. Several of its studios, including Ubisoft Montpellier, have produced critically acclaimed titles such as Rayman Legends and contributed to major global franchises.
Are French studios more focused on indie games than AAA games?
France has a balanced ecosystem. It is home to large AAA studios like Arkane and Ubisoft, mid-sized narrative studios such as Dontnod and Asobo, and highly successful indie teams like Motion Twin and The Game Bakers. This diversity allows French developers to experiment across different scales and genres.
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4 Acer Nitro Gaming Laptops to Buy for 2026
In this week’s article, we’re taking a look at our pick of the top 4 Acer Nitro gaming laptops to buy for 2026. The Nitro brand is Acer’s range of gaming laptops and desktop computers, delivering fast refresh rates, bold graphics, and incredible performance right out of the box, so you can focus on bringing your A-game. From slimline and portable laptops, to AI-powered speed, lifelike graphics, and various display sizes, Acer Nitro devices are some of the best budget gaming laptops on the market. Let’s take a look at our recommended laptops for 2026.
1. Acer Nitro 14 Gaming Laptop - AN14-41-R74Z
Discover the future of gaming with the Acer Nitro 14 Gaming Laptop. With an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and AI-powered graphics, this Acer gaming laptop offers reliable performance and an outstanding gaming experience that is tailored to the mobile gamer’s lifestyle. Moreover, its long battery life and cutting-edge built-in AI technology offer a unique blend of practicality and technology, letting you bring new depths of the virtual world to life. Get yours today from the Acer store for US $1149.99, or US $877.49 with your 15% Acer student discount.
* Operating System: Windows 11 Home
* Processor Type: AMD Ryzen™ 7
* Processor Speed: 3.80 GHz
* Processor Core: Octa-core (8 Core™)
* Standard Memory: 16 GB
* SSD Capacity: 512 GB
* Display Screen Technology: LCD
* Screen mode: WUXGA
* Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1200
* Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4060
* Speakers: 2
* Bluetooth: Yes
* Ports: HDMI, USB x 4, Audio line in / out
* Height: 0.8 inches (2.03 cm)
* Width: 12.76 inches (32.41 cm)
* Depth: 10.07 inches (25.57 cm)
* Weight: 4.45 lb (2.01 kg)
2. Acer Nitro V 15 Gaming Laptop - ANV15-52-778V
If you’re looking for power and speed on a budget, you’re in luck. The Acer Nitro V 15 laptop is packed with game-changing AI capabilities, and the NVIDIA DLSS 4 generates images at unprecedented speeds. In addition, the DDR4 is lightning-fast with a high bandwidth that supports gaming, video editing, and content creation. This impressive laptop is available for USD $1049.99 on the Acer store website, or just USD $892.49 with a 15% student discount.
* Operating System: Windows 11 Home
* Processor Type: Intel® Core™ i7
* Processor Speed: 2.40 GHz
* Processor Core: Deca-core (10 Core™)
* Standard Memory: 16 GB
* SSD Capacity: 512 GB
* Display Screen Technology: Active Matrix TFT LCD
* Screen mode: Full HD
* Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
* Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5050
* Speakers: 2
* Bluetooth: 5.1 or above
* Ports: HDMI, USB x 4, Audio line in / out
* Height: 0.93 inches (2.36 cm)
* Width: 14.3 inches (36.32 cm)
* Depth: 9.4 inches (23.87 cm)
* Weight: 4.66 lb (2.11 kg)
3. Acer Nitro V 16 Gaming Laptop - ANV16-72-73C7
With an Intel® Core™ 7 processor with 10 cores and 16 threads, the Acer Nitro V 16 gaming laptop offers a next-level experience for gamers and creatives. It offers a dual-fan cooling system for intense gaming sessions and has a 300 nit brightness to bring a touch of reality to the virtual world. This excellent machine is available for USD $1199.99 on the Acer store website, or USD $1019.99 with a 15% student discount.
* Operating System: Windows 11 Home
* Processor Type: Intel® Core™ i7
* Processor Speed: 2.50 GHz
* Processor Core: Deca-core (10 Core™)
* Standard Memory: 32 GB
* SSD Capacity: 512 GB
* Display Screen Technology: Active Matrix TFT LCD
* Screen mode: WUXGA
* Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1200
* Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5060
* Speakers: 2
* Bluetooth: 5.2 or above
* Ports: HDMI, USB x 4, Audio line in / out
* Height: 0.96 inches (2.43 cm)
* Width: 14.2 inches (36.06 cm)
* Depth: 10.8 inches (27.43 cm)
* Weight: 5.29 lb (2.39 kg)
4. Acer Nitro V 16 AI Gaming Laptop - ANV16-61-R9MV
The Acer Nitro V 16 AI gaming laptop provides high core counts and clock speeds for exhilarating frame rates, large on-chip memory for impressively low latency, and next-level power efficiency and AI processing for enhanced gaming features. It also offers a 180Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB accuracy for color-rich visuals that give games a lifelike boost. The Acer Nitro V 16 AI is available on the Acer store website for USD $1199.99 or USD $1019.99 with a 15% student discount.
* Operating System: Windows 11 Home
* Processor Type: AMD Ryzen™ 7
* Processor Speed: 2 GHz
* Processor Core: Octa-core (8 Core™)
* Standard Memory: 16 GB
* SSD Capacity: 1 TB
* Display Screen Technology: Active Matrix TFT LCD
* Screen mode: WUXGA
* Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1200
* Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5060
* Speakers: 2
* Bluetooth: 5.3 or above
* Ports: HDMI, USB x 4, Audio line in / out
* Height: 0.96 inches (2.43 cm)
* Width: 14.2 inches (36.06 cm)
* Depth: 10.9 inches (27.68 cm)
* Weight: 5.36 lb (2.43 kg)
New year, new laptop
We’ve rounded up our top 4 Acer Nitro gaming laptops if you’re thinking about replacing your gaming laptop this new year. These budget-friendly laptops help bring the virtual world to life, keep cool in the heat of the moment, and have enough processing power to handle intense gaming sessions. Head to the Acer store website and start the new year with a gaming laptop that packs a punch, and get an additional 15% student discount if eligible.
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Why Clair Obscur Lost Its Indie Game Award and Did They Deserve It?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just became the latest flashpoint in the games industry’s messy debate over generative AI. After winning Game of the Year and Best Debut Game at the Indie Game Awards, the honors were rescinded when the awards body said the game had included AI-generated background assets at launch, even though those assets were later removed in a patch. The issue is not whether studios should be transparent about their tools. They should. The question is whether it is fair, or even useful, to erase a game’s recognition after the fact when the reported AI use was limited, quickly corrected, and not representative of the final work that players and judges actually praised.
What happened: a short timeline
At the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launch, players and dataminers noticed a small number of background textures that appeared to be AI-generated. These assets were not central character art, environments, or story content, but minor background elements such as posters and set dressing. Within days of release, Sandfall Interactive patched the game to replace those assets with custom, human-made artwork.
Despite the quick fix, the issue resurfaced months later after Expedition 33 won Game of the Year and Best Debut Game at the Indie Game Awards. The awards body pointed to its eligibility rules and the studio’s submission disclosures, stating that any use of generative AI during production disqualified the game from consideration, even if the assets were removed before most players encountered them.
As a result, both awards were retroactively rescinded and reassigned to the next highest-ranked nominees. The decision reignited scrutiny of earlier comments from Sandfall Interactive acknowledging limited AI use during development, and it quickly became a lightning rod in a broader industry argument about where, how, and whether AI tools should be permitted in game creation at all.
What the Indie Game Awards policy is trying to do
The Indie Game Awards position on generative AI is rooted in a set of concerns that many developers and artists broadly share. At its core, the policy is meant to protect creative labor, discourage the use of tools trained on unlicensed material, and ensure that awards for art, narrative, and direction reflect human authorship rather than automated generation. In principle, those goals are reasonable, especially in an indie space where budgets are smaller and individual creative contributions are more visible.
A strict rule also offers clarity. By drawing a hard line against generative AI use, the awards body avoids subjective debates about how much AI is “too much” and eliminates the need to audit pipelines or evaluate intent. From an administrative standpoint, a zero-tolerance policy is easier to enforce than a nuanced one, and it signals alignment with creators who fear being displaced or devalued by automation.
Where this approach begins to strain, however, is in how broadly the rule is framed. Treating all generative AI use as equivalent, regardless of purpose, scope, or whether the output ships in the final product, collapses very different practices into a single disqualifying category. Placeholder assets, internal prototyping, and final, player-facing content are all swept together, even though they carry very different creative and ethical implications. This tension between ethical intent and practical application sits at the heart of the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 controversy and sets the stage for why many view the outcome as fundamentally unfair.
Why stripping the awards is not fair in this case
The problem with the Indie Game Awards’ decision is not the existence of a rule against generative AI, but how that rule was applied. In the case of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the penalty was total and retroactive, despite the reported AI use being limited in scope, removed shortly after launch, and unrelated to the elements for which the game was actually celebrated. Awards for narrative, direction, performance, and overall excellence were effectively nullified because of background assets that did not define the finished experience.
Fair enforcement requires proportionality. A distinction matters between AI used to generate core creative content and AI used as a temporary development aid. Placeholder textures and background references, later replaced with original artwork, are not equivalent to outsourcing a game’s art direction, writing, or music to a model. Collapsing those practices into the same category assumes that all AI involvement contributes equally to a game’s creative outcome, which is simply not how development works in practice.
There is also a timing issue that the ruling fails to meaningfully address. The version of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that won awards, and the version most players experienced, did not contain the AI-generated assets in question. Judging the final product based on a briefly shipped, already-corrected element shifts the awards away from evaluating the work as presented and toward policing the entire production process after the fact. That approach may satisfy a rigid policy, but it undermines the stated purpose of awards, which is to recognize the quality and impact of completed games.
Finally, the outcome risks setting an unworkable precedent. If any use of AI at any point in development is grounds for disqualification, regardless of intent, scale, or final inclusion, then a growing share of modern games will become ineligible by default. The result is not cleaner standards, but a chilling effect that discourages transparency, incentivizes silence, and replaces nuanced judgment with blanket exclusion. In that context, stripping Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of its awards looks less like an ethical stand and more like an overcorrection that punishes a strong final work for a narrow and already-remedied decision made earlier in development.
The transparency question, and why it still does not justify the outcome
Supporters of the Indie Game Awards’ decision often point to one specific issue: disclosure. The awards body has stated that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was submitted under the understanding that no generative AI was used in development, and that later confirmation of limited AI use invalidated that submission. On a procedural level, that argument carries weight. Awards programs are entitled to set eligibility criteria, and accurate disclosure is a reasonable expectation.
However, even if one accepts that a disclosure failure occurred, the punishment still does not fit the offense. Transparency violations and creative merit are not the same thing. Treating them as interchangeable allows a compliance issue to retroactively erase recognition for narrative quality, direction, performances, and overall execution, areas that were not meaningfully affected by the disputed assets. In most competitive or professional contexts, a disclosure error leads to corrective measures, clarifications, or penalties proportionate to the impact, not a wholesale invalidation of outcomes unrelated to the infraction.
There is also an important practical consideration. The current framing leaves no room for good-faith nuance. A studio can be transparent, patch out questionable content quickly, and still be punished more severely than one that never discloses anything at all. That creates a perverse incentive structure where silence becomes safer than honesty. If awards bodies want disclosure, they must pair it with policies that differentiate between minor, corrected issues and substantive violations that materially shape a finished product.
More broadly, this approach risks collapsing a complex discussion about AI into a binary moral test. Development tools, prototyping methods, and final shipped assets are all treated as morally equivalent, even though they clearly are not. The result is not clearer standards, but a rule so narrow and absolute that it becomes detached from how games are actually made. In that light, the stripping of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s awards reads less like principled enforcement and more like a rigid response to a topic the industry is still struggling to define.
What a better AI policy would look like
If awards bodies want to take a firm ethical stance on generative AI, the solution is not blanket disqualification, but clearer definitions and proportionate enforcement. The current controversy exists largely because “AI use” is treated as a single, undifferentiated act, when in reality it spans everything from internal prototyping to fully generated, player-facing content. A workable policy has to acknowledge those differences.
A more credible framework would start with mandatory disclosure, paired with precise language. Studios should be required to state whether generative AI was used, where it was used, and whether any AI-generated material appears in the final, shipped product. That information alone would allow juries and audiences to make informed judgments without collapsing every case into the same outcome.
From there, eligibility should be tiered rather than absolute. For example, games that use AI only for internal references or placeholder assets that are fully removed before judging should not be treated the same as games that ship with AI-generated art, writing, or audio. Likewise, limited use in non-creative areas should not automatically disqualify a title from awards that recognize narrative, performance, or direction. Ethics policies should target material impact, not simply the presence of a tool somewhere in the pipeline.
Finally, enforcement should follow a graduated response. Minor or corrected issues could require public clarification or amended disclosures. More serious or deceptive cases could result in category-specific disqualification. Full rescission should be reserved for situations where AI use clearly undermines the creative achievements being recognized or where there is evidence of deliberate misrepresentation. This approach preserves ethical standards while avoiding outcomes that feel arbitrary or punitive.
Handled this way, awards would still send a message about responsible development practices without discouraging transparency or punishing teams for limited, non-material decisions made during production. More importantly, they would keep the focus where it belongs: on evaluating the quality and impact of the finished work, rather than reducing complex creative processes to a single, inflexible rule.
Conclusion: standards matter, but so does fairness
The backlash surrounding Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not really about whether generative AI should have limits in game development. That debate is necessary, and it is not going away. What this case exposes is how easily well-intentioned rules can drift into overreach when they are applied without proportionality or context. Stripping a game of its awards after the fact, based on limited and already-corrected use of AI that did not define the final experience, does little to advance ethical clarity.
Awards exist to recognize finished work. In this case, the finished version of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was widely praised for its narrative, direction, performances, and artistic cohesion, achievements that were not meaningfully tied to the disputed assets. Conflating a narrow compliance issue with creative merit undermines the credibility of the recognition process and shifts the focus away from what players and judges are actually meant to be evaluating.
If the industry wants transparency, it must also create policies that reward good-faith disclosure rather than punish it. Zero-tolerance rules that treat every use of AI as equally disqualifying will not stop unethical practices; they will simply encourage silence and selective enforcement. Clear definitions, tiered eligibility, and proportionate remedies offer a path forward that protects creative labor without turning awards into blunt instruments.
Ultimately, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 should not be remembered as a cautionary tale about AI, but as a warning about how easily standards lose legitimacy when fairness is sacrificed for rigidity. The conversation around AI in games deserves nuance. Without it, even the strongest ethical positions risk collapsing under their own weight.
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Acer x Intel SFI Starter Packs Are Now Available on Google Classroom
Intel Skills for Innovation (Intel SFI) Starter Packs are now accessible directly through Google Classroom, giving teachers an easier way to deliver hands-on, technology-enabled learning. Educators can create and distribute assignments, organize class materials, and monitor student progress and submissions - all within the familiar Google Classroom ecosystem.
Developed through the Acer x Intel SFI partnership, these Starter Packs are free, ready-to-use teaching modules designed to support practical, skills-based learning. The three currently available Acer x Intel SFI Starter Packs (which you can read more about here) include Screen Sense, which focuses on digital wellbeing and responsible technology use; Optimize, Design, & Minimize, a mathematics-based module that introduces optimization and data-driven thinking; and Durability by Design, an engineering-focused lesson that explores product design, testing, and real-world problem solving.
By making these modules accessible through Google Classroom, teachers can integrate these free-to-use learning tools more seamlessly into their lesson plans - without adding any more complexity to classroom management.
What is Google Classroom?
For those unaware, Google Classroom itself is an online learning platform that helps teachers and students manage classes, assignments, and learning materials in one central location. Designed for in-person, remote, and hybrid classrooms, it simplifies how lessons are shared and completed.
Teachers can create assignments, distribute resources, collect student work, and provide feedback digitally, while students can easily access materials, track deadlines, and submit their work in a familiar, structured environment. Through integration with Google Workspace, files such as Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drive resources can be attached and managed seamlessly within each class.
Getting Started with Intel SFI Starter Packs on Google Classroom
With Intel SFI Starter Packs now available directly in Google Classroom, hands-on learning can now be introduced the same as any classroom resource - all without changing how teachers already manage lessons, assignments, or materials. The Starter Packs sit alongside existing coursework, making them easy to assign, review, and track within a platform educators and students use every day.
For educators, this means guided, curriculum-ready activities can be integrated without additional software or complex preparation. For students, the Starter Packs are easier to access and complete within their regular class environment, supporting engagement while reducing technical friction.
To see how this works in practice, the step-by-step video below walks through how to access and use Acer x Intel SFI Starter Packs in Google Classroom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmtiZEonJf8
Beyond ease of access, the Intel SFI Starter Packs are designed to spark hands-on, project-based learning across subjects. Teachers could use Screen Sense to have students analyze their own screen time data and develop strategies for healthier technology habits, apply Optimize, Design, & Minimize to a project where students design more efficient packaging using math and sustainability concepts, or introduce Durability by Design by challenging students to prototype and test a classroom object for strength and usability. And because these starter packs are now available on Google Classroom, they can be assigned like any other assignment - making it easy to experiment, adapt, and build interactive lessons within an existing syllabus.
To explore the Starter Packs in more detail and see how they can fit into your own lesson plans, visit the Acer x Intel SFI landing page and try out a module today.
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Why the RX 9070 XT is the Best Value GPU for 2025 and 2026
In 2025/2026, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT stands out as the best value graphics card by delivering architectural balance, ample VRAM, and sustained real-world performance rather than chasing peak benchmark numbers. Modern PC games are increasingly shader-heavy, memory-intensive, and designed around long play sessions instead of short performance bursts. Built on AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture and manufactured on an advanced 4 nm process, the RX 9070 XT combines a large, efficient compute layout with 16 GB of VRAM, high memory bandwidth, and modern graphics features at a launch price of US$599. On specifications alone, it aligns closely with how games are actually developed and played in 2025, which is why it emerges as the strongest value-focused GPU of the year before performance results are even considered.
Technical specifications breakdown
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is based on AMD’s Navi 48 XTX graphics processor, part of the RDNA 4 (Navi IV) generation. The GPU is manufactured by TSMC using the 4 nm N4P FinFET process, resulting in a 357 mm² monolithic die containing approximately 53.9 billion transistors, with a transistor density of roughly 151 million transistors per square millimeter. This scale places Navi 48 among the most complex consumer GPU dies currently in production, while remaining compact enough to control manufacturing cost and yields.
From a compute standpoint, the RX 9070 XT features 64 compute units (CUs), exposing a total of 4,096 stream processors (shading units). These are complemented by 256 texture mapping units (TMUs) for texture filtering and sampling, and 128 render output units (ROPs) responsible for final pixel output, blending, and framebuffer operations. This relatively strong ROP configuration is especially important for high-resolution rendering, as it reduces pixel throughput bottlenecks at 1440p and 4K. The GPU also integrates 64 third-generation ray tracing acceleration cores and 128 third-generation matrix (AI) cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and machine-learning-assisted workloads such as upscaling.
Clock behavior is designed around sustained performance rather than brief boost spikes. The RX 9070 XT operates at a 1,660 MHz base clock, with a typical game clock of 2,400 MHz, and boost frequencies reaching up to 2,970 MHz under favorable thermal and power conditions. At these frequencies, the GPU delivers a theoretical compute throughput of approximately 48.66 TFLOPs of FP32 performance, 97.32 TFLOPs of FP16 performance, and 1.52 TFLOPs of FP64 performance, reflecting its focus on gaming and real-time graphics workloads rather than heavy double-precision compute.
The memory subsystem is a core part of the RX 9070 XT’s value proposition. The card is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, operating at 20.1 Gbps effective data rate and connected via a 256-bit memory interface, resulting in a total memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This is supplemented by AMD’s third-generation Infinity Cache, consisting of 64 MB of L3 cache, alongside 8 MB of L2 cache and 32 KB of L0 cache per workgroup processor. This cache hierarchy reduces reliance on external memory accesses, improves effective bandwidth, and helps stabilize performance in memory-intensive scenarios such as large open-world games and ray-traced workloads.
From an I/O and platform perspective, the RX 9070 XT uses a PCI Express 5.0 x16 interface, ensuring ample bandwidth for current and future platforms. Display output support includes one HDMI 2.1b port and three DisplayPort 2.1a ports, allowing for high-refresh-rate 4K and emerging high-resolution display configurations. Power delivery is handled through two standard 8-pin PCIe power connectors, with a total board power (TDP) of 304 W and a recommended system power supply of 700 W, keeping the card compatible with a wide range of existing enthusiast-grade systems.
Taken together, these specifications illustrate why the RX 9070 XT is architected around real-world gaming demands in 2025: high shader throughput, strong pixel output capability, ample VRAM, and a memory system designed to cope with increasingly complex game assets. This balanced approach at the silicon and platform level underpins the card’s reputation as a value-focused GPU before benchmark results or pricing dynamics are even considered.
Why these Specs translate well for 1440p and 4K Gaming
The specification balance of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT aligns closely with the technical realities of modern 1440p and 4K gaming, where performance constraints are increasingly driven by memory throughput, shader load, and pixel output rather than raw clock speed alone. At higher resolutions, the GPU must process significantly more pixels per frame while simultaneously handling larger textures, more complex lighting passes, and heavier post-processing effects. The RX 9070 XT’s combination of 4,096 shaders, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs ensures that neither shading nor pixel fill becomes a limiting factor as resolution increases. In particular, the strong ROP configuration plays a critical role at 4K, where pixel output and blending workloads scale linearly with resolution and can bottleneck GPUs that are otherwise compute-capable.
Memory capacity and bandwidth are equally decisive at these resolutions. With 16 GB of GDDR6 and 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, the RX 9070 XT avoids the memory pressure issues that increasingly affect GPUs with narrower buses or lower VRAM allocations. Modern games frequently exceed 10–12 GB of VRAM usage at 1440p and 4K when high-resolution textures, ray-traced effects, and large open-world assets are enabled. Having 16 GB available reduces asset streaming stalls, minimizes texture pop-in, and allows the GPU to maintain consistent frame pacing during traversal-heavy gameplay. This is further reinforced by the 64 MB third-generation Infinity Cache, which reduces external memory traffic and improves effective bandwidth in scenarios where data reuse is high, such as repeated shader passes and deferred rendering pipelines.
Sustained clock behavior also matters more at higher resolutions than peak boost figures. The RX 9070 XT’s 2.4 GHz game clock is designed to be maintainable under long gaming sessions, ensuring stable performance during extended 1440p and 4K workloads rather than brief benchmark runs. Combined with a 304 W power envelope, this allows the GPU to deliver consistent frame rates without aggressive thermal throttling, which is especially important in graphically demanding titles that maintain high GPU utilization for extended periods.
Taken together, these factors explain why the RX 9070 XT performs so comfortably at 1440p and scales effectively into 4K. Its compute density, pixel throughput, and memory subsystem are not overbuilt in any single area, but instead tuned to the specific bottlenecks that emerge as resolution and asset complexity increase. This balance is precisely what allows the card to deliver smooth, high-quality gaming at these resolutions without relying excessively on aggressive upscaling or reduced visual settings, reinforcing its position as a value-oriented GPU that performs where it matters most in 2025.
Gaming-focused software developments and the RDNA 4 software stack
Beyond raw hardware specifications, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT benefits from a series of recent software developments that are explicitly designed around modern game engines and rendering techniques. AMD’s current software strategy focuses on reducing the computational cost of advanced visuals while preserving image quality, rather than relying solely on brute-force performance increases. This approach aligns closely with the RX 9070 XT’s hardware configuration and helps extend its usefulness as games continue to push higher visual complexity in 2025 and beyond.
A major pillar of this strategy is FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), AMD’s latest generation upscaling technology. FSR 4 shifts emphasis away from purely spatial reconstruction toward machine learning assisted temporal upscaling, improving edge stability, texture clarity, and motion handling compared to earlier versions. While support is still expanding, FSR 4 is designed to scale performance efficiently at 1440p and 4K, which pairs well with the RX 9070 XT’s 16 GB of VRAM and high memory bandwidth. Importantly, FSR 4 is integrated at the driver and engine level, allowing performance gains without requiring major changes to game logic or asset pipelines.
One of the most technically significant additions to AMD’s gaming software roadmap is FSR Radiance Caching, a new approach to reducing the cost of ray traced and path traced lighting. Radiance Caching targets one of the most expensive aspects of modern rendering, which is calculating indirect lighting and global illumination through multiple ray bounces. Instead of tracing every ray to completion, the system uses a continuously trained neural model to approximate radiance once rays have reached a point where fine detail is less critical.
Radiance Caching is implemented as a fully online machine learning system that trains at runtime. There is no offline training, no precomputed data shipped with the game, and no one-time learning phase at first launch. The neural model starts from default parameters and is updated every frame using data generated directly by the game’s path tracer. Training samples are collected from camera rays as they intersect geometry, capturing surface position, normal, view direction, material properties, and an estimate of outgoing radiance. These samples are used to update the model while, in parallel, the same model is queried to predict lighting for other rays.
In practice, rays are allowed to bounce naturally until they reach a point where additional precision yields diminishing visual returns. At that stage, the renderer queries the radiance cache for a lighting estimate and terminates the ray early. This final-gather style approach preserves critical details such as small geometry features, self-shadowing, reflections, and mirror-like surfaces, which continue to be traced more fully. The cache’s output is not used in isolation, but is weighted and blended back into the path tracer’s accumulated result, maintaining mathematical consistency with traditional ray tracing.
Because the system trains in real time using noisy ray tracing data, Radiance Caching is not without trade-offs. Instability and flickering can occur in difficult lighting scenarios if the learning rate or smoothing parameters are poorly tuned. To address this, developers are given control over how quickly the model adapts and how predictions are temporally filtered. AMD also recommends pairing Radiance Caching with improved sampling techniques such as better light importance sampling or path guiding to reduce noise at the source.
Radiance Caching is categorized as a runtime lighting algorithm rather than a precomputed lighting technique. The cache itself is not a table of stored probes or samples, but the learned weights of a neural network that approximates the lighting behavior of the current scene. This design choice explains why the feature is limited to newer RDNA architectures. Continuous training every frame requires efficient matrix math, sufficient memory bandwidth, and modern machine learning acceleration, all of which are integral to the RX 9070 XT’s design. The feature is currently available to developers as a technical preview, with early game implementations expected to begin appearing in 2026.
Together, these software developments illustrate how AMD’s GPU roadmap is increasingly aligned with the realities of modern game rendering. Rather than treating ray tracing and advanced lighting as all-or-nothing features, the RX 9070 XT’s software stack focuses on selectively reducing cost where it matters most, allowing visually complex scenes to run at playable frame rates without overwhelming hardware requirements. This software-first efficiency is a key reason the RX 9070 XT’s value extends beyond raw specifications and into long-term gaming relevance.
Why the RX 9070 XT is positioned well for gaming in 2025 and 2026
Taken together, the hardware specifications and software roadmap of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT explain why it is unusually well positioned not just for 2025, but for the next hardware cycle beyond it. Modern games are no longer limited by a single factor such as raw shader count or peak clock speed. Instead, performance is shaped by a combination of sustained compute throughput, memory capacity, bandwidth efficiency, and the ability to reduce the cost of advanced lighting and rendering techniques in software. The RX 9070 XT aligns with all of these trends in a way that few GPUs at its price point do.
From a hardware perspective, the card’s balance is its defining strength. The 64-compute-unit RDNA 4 layout provides ample shader throughput for increasingly complex materials, effects, and simulation-heavy scenes. The strong ROP configuration and high sustained clocks support stable high-resolution output, while the 16 GB GDDR6 memory pool and 256-bit bus address one of the most common causes of performance degradation in newer titles: memory pressure. As games continue to scale texture resolution, world size, and streaming complexity into 2026, VRAM capacity is becoming a baseline requirement rather than a luxury, and the RX 9070 XT clears that bar comfortably.
Equally important is how AMD’s software stack complements this hardware. Features like FSR 4 and FSR Radiance Caching are designed to reduce the most expensive parts of modern rendering pipelines, particularly at 1440p and 4K. Upscaling and frame generation extend performance headroom without demanding disproportionate increases in raw compute, while Radiance Caching targets the growing cost of indirect lighting and global illumination. By replacing the deepest and most expensive ray tracing bounces with learned approximations at runtime, AMD is addressing the exact area where future games are expected to grow more demanding. This is not a short-term optimization, but a forward-looking response to how engines are evolving.
Crucially, these software features are not static. Radiance Caching is expected to enter early game implementations in 2026, and FSR 4 support is expanding over time. That means the RX 9070 XT is likely to gain practical benefits from software updates after purchase, rather than peaking on day one. This matters in an era where GPU upgrade cycles are lengthening and buyers expect hardware to remain relevant for four to five years.
When viewed as a whole, the RX 9070 XT succeeds because its design choices are aligned with the direction of game development rather than the benchmarks of a single launch window. Its compute layout, memory configuration, and bandwidth support today’s games comfortably, while its software ecosystem is built to reduce the cost of tomorrow’s rendering techniques. That combination is what elevates it from a strong product in 2025 to one of the most sensible and durable GPU choices heading into 2026.
Is the 9070xt worth it?
Determining whether the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is worth its launch price requires looking beyond headline performance and focusing on what buyers actually receive for their money. In 2025, value is defined less by absolute frame rates and more by performance per dollar, memory headroom, and how well a GPU is positioned to handle future software demands. At a launch MSRP of US$599, the RX 9070 XT enters a segment where expectations are high, but it largely meets them through a combination of balanced hardware and forward-looking software support.
From a performance standpoint, the RX 9070 XT delivers what most buyers at this price level are looking for. Its compute throughput, sustained clock behavior, and strong rasterization performance make it well suited for 1440p gaming, while also offering credible 4K performance with adjusted settings. More importantly, the card avoids common bottlenecks that reduce long-term value. The inclusion of 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 256-bit memory interface ensures that it can handle modern game assets without running into VRAM limitations, which are becoming increasingly common in newer titles. This directly improves longevity and reduces the likelihood that the card will feel constrained within a few years.
The value proposition is further strengthened by AMD’s software ecosystem. Features such as FSR 4 provide optional performance headroom through upscaling and frame generation, allowing users to extend the usable life of the hardware as games become more demanding. The introduction of FSR Radiance Caching, even in its early technical preview state, signals that additional performance gains in ray traced and path traced lighting workloads are expected over time. Because these improvements are delivered through drivers and developer tools rather than requiring new hardware, the RX 9070 XT is positioned to age more gracefully than GPUs that rely solely on raw compute power.
Total cost of ownership is another factor that supports the RX 9070 XT’s pricing. With a 304 W board power rating, the card fits comfortably into existing high-performance systems without requiring specialized power supplies or cooling solutions. The use of standard dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors and broad platform compatibility reduces upgrade friction and avoids additional hidden costs that can undermine perceived value.
When viewed as a complete package, the RX 9070 XT offers a level of performance, memory capacity, and software support that is difficult to dismiss at its price point. For gamers targeting high-quality 1440p experiences with room to move into 4K, and for those who expect their hardware to remain relevant through 2026, the RX 9070 XT justifies its cost not through excess, but through balance and long-term practicality.
Conclusion and Acer 9070 XT models recommendation
After reviewing the specifications, software developments, and price-for-performance position of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT throughout this article, it is clear that the GPU delivers an unusually balanced combination of raw capability, future-oriented features, and real-world usability for 2025 and into 2026. Its sustained compute performance, generous 16 GB memory configuration, modern memory bandwidth, and expanding software ecosystem make it a strong investment for high-quality gaming at resolutions up to 4K. When evaluated in this broader context, the RX 9070 XT is not just technically impressive, but also worth considering at its launch price given the trends in game complexity and rendering expectations.
For readers who are ready to pair this GPU with a complete system solution, Acer offers two compelling RX 9070 XT–equipped models that harness the card’s potential within well-engineered hardware platforms:
* The Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 9070 XT OC 16GB is a factory-overclocked version featuring advanced cooling, robust build quality, and support for high-resolution gaming up to 8K. It integrates the RDNA 4 architecture with Acer’s Predator-series design and utility support for optimized performance configurations.
* The Acer Nitro Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB and its OC variant combine the RX 9070 XT with Acer’s Nitro-series thermal solutions and durable design aimed at both performance gaming and creative workflows. This model benefits from triple-fan cooling and a strong feature set while delivering the same core 16 GB GDDR6 specification and RDNA 4 capabilities.
Both options are designed to maximize the RX 9070 XT’s strengths: sustained performance for demanding titles, support for modern API features, and headroom for future software advancements. Selecting a prebuilt system with one of these graphics cards can simplify the build process while ensuring a coherent platform tuned for high-quality gaming through 2025 and beyond.
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Acer Gaming Laptops That'll Carry You Through 2026
With 2026 on the horizon and GPU and RAM prices threatening to go through the roof, now’s the time to start sizing up new gaming laptops. Ah yes, there’s no time like the present, and thankfully we’ve taken most of the hard work out of finding a gaming laptop that will help you sail through 2026 and beyond. We’ve got five of the best gaming laptop deals for you, so read on, and hopefully you can find a device to take your gaming to new heights. First though, what’s the forecast for computer prices in 2026?
GPU and RAM inflation?
GPUs, or graphics processing units are the parts in a computer responsible for rendering visuals in games and accelerating demanding tasks such as video editing and AI workloads. GPUs do the heavy lifting in games, and right now they are in great demand for gaming and content creation, as well as ever-evolving AI workloads.
RAM, or memory pricing is cyclical, and there’s currently an upswing, reflecting tighter supply and stronger demand. High demand for memory in AI development and data centers, is also causing a scarcity of RAM worldwide.
Put simply, both GPUs and RAM are in great demand, while manufacturers (obviously) prioritize higher margin (AI) products, meaning higher prices all round. This in turn has reduced the supply of regular consumer components. On top of all that, global currencies, supply chains, and of course logistics are increasingly unstable, all leading to higher prices. Still curious? Here’s an in-depth article covering the GPU price inflation forecast in 2026.
Computers: forecast to get a lot more expensive in 2026
Before we hook you up with the best gaming laptop for next year and beyond, let’s decipher the true cause of these soon to soar prices. New generations of CPUs and GPUs will arrive in 2026 at higher starting price points, particularly at the performance end of the market. At the same time, AI-focused features are pushing baseline specifications upward, meaning today’s mid-range hardware increasingly becomes tomorrow’s entry level.
Rising manufacturing, energy, and compliance costs are also feeding into higher retail prices, while vendors continue to focus on higher-margin configurations. So while laptops have never been cheaper than in recent years, in 2026, there will be fewer genuinely affordable systems, coupled with a steady upward drift in what consumers can expect to pay for a decent gaming laptop.
Five of the best gaming laptops from Acer
1. Predator Triton 14 AI - PT14-52T-972D
First up, here’s a Triton for gamers seeking premium power in a carry-on friendly size. A Copilot+ PC, the Predator Triton 14 AI - PT14-52T-972D is available now for $2,499.99. This is a device built for gamers and creators who demand serious performance in a compact, premium design, with OLED clarity. Hardware wise, the Triton 14 features an Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor and an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070 GPU. The Triton 14 AI delivers stellar gaming performance while remaining perfectly portable. The 14.5-inch WQXGA+ OLED touchscreen offers a sharp 16:10 aspect ratio, smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, and beyond vibrant visuals for gaming and creative work. 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 1 TB SSD, is basically equivalent to gold dust in 2026.
2. Nitro V 16S - ANV16S-71-72KE
Slimline and looking fine, the Acer Nitro V 16S ANV16S-71-72KE is a 16-inch gaming fortress ready to conquer and create. Recently reduced from $1,469.99 to the festive price of $1,399.99, you’d better get the Nitro V 16S while you can. Powered by an Intel® Core™ 7 240H processor with a deca-core design and a base frequency of 2.50 GHz, the CPU is paired with an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070 GPU for modern gaming performance. 16 GB of DDR5 SDRAM and a 1 TB SSD, deliver a solid combo of memory and fast storage. All of this on a 16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 ComfyView (Matte) IPS display with a smooth 180 Hz refresh rate for sharp, responsive visuals, what’s not to like?
3. Predator Helios Neo 18 AI - PHN18-72-902R
Jumping up a bracket to the Predator family, let’s see what the Neo 18 can throw into the mix. The Predator Helios Neo 18 AI Gaming Laptop - PHN18-72-902R is an 18-inch gaming galleon ready to sail the seas of gaming, currently priced at $2,849.99. Designed for gamers who demand maximum performance and screen real estate without stepping into full desktop mode, this laptop is powered by an Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 275HX processor and an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070 Ti GPU. There’ll be no messing about with the Helios Neo 18 AI. This laptop is ready to handle demanding AAA titles and intensive workloads by the bucketload. The gargantuan 18-inch WQXGA display pairs a 16:10 aspect ratio with a lightning fast 250 Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth, insanely immersive gameplay. Stacked with 64 GB of DDR5 memory and a 2 TB SSD, the Helios Neo 18 AI delivers desktop level gaming in laptop form.
4. Predator Helios Neo 16 AI Gaming Laptop - PHN16-73-979X
Staying strictly in the Predator family, our next super-powered gaming laptop is none but the Predator Helios Neo 16 AI Gaming Laptop - PHN16-73-979X. This laptop has recently undergone a hefty reduction from $2,649.99 to a mere $2,299.99. Under the hood, you’ll find an Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 275HX processor with a 24 core design and a base frequency of 2.70 GHz, paired with an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070Ti GPU with 12 GB of dedicated memory. Fear not the spike in RAM prices, for this system is configured with a hefty 64 GB of DDR5 SDRAM and 2 TB SSD, providing ample memory and storage for all workloads. Let’s not omit the display! The Helios Neo 16 has a 16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 CineCrystal (Glare) display running at a respectable 240 Hz refresh rate. For speed, power and portability, you simply can’t go wrong with the Helios Neo 16.
5. Predator Helios 18 AI Gaming Laptop - PH18-73-99A8
Last, and certainly not least in our odyssey of Acer gaming laptops that’ll carry you through 2026, meet the Predator Helios 18 AI Gaming Laptop - PH18-73-99A8. This is Acer’s second most powerful laptop, reserved for the elite forces of the gaming world. First, the price: $6,999.99. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s take a closer look. As you’d expect, this laptop has some serious specs for the pinnacle of gaming on-the-go. Powered by an Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 275HX processor and an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5090 GPU with 24 GB of dedicated memory, it’s designed to crush all games and tasks in its path. The expansive 18-inch WQUXGA display delivers sharp visuals with a 16:10 aspect ratio, while Windows 11 Pro adds productivity-grade features as expected. Stacked with 192 GB of DDR5 memory and 6 TB SSD, buy the Helios 18 AI you’ll be able to rent space out to your friends and neighbors.
Future-proof in 2026 and beyond
We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s article, and now have a clearer picture of the best gaming laptops to carry you through 2026. With GPU and RAM prices climbing and 2026 forecast to be a more expensive year for PC hardware, locking in a capable gaming laptop now is the best choice. From slim, portable machines built for gaming and creative tasks to desktop-class powerhouses, Acer’s laptop lineup covers every rung of the performance ladder. If you plan to play seriously in 2026 and beyond, acting sooner rather than later could save you money and hassle down the line. Head to the Acer store to discover the freshest deals as we head into 2026, and don’t forget that students get a 15% discount.
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