It's been a while since we've seen anything interesting from Opera. The much-overlooked browser is about to become relevant again though, at least in certain quarters. 

The company is set to support PC gamers with a brand new "gaming browser" designed to meet their needs.  

Opera GX is a customisable browser that's built for gamers with special features, shortcuts and optimisations settings to help gamers get the most out of their browser without impacting performance. 

While Google Chrome might be the most popular browser on the market, it's renowned for being a memory hog. So much so that there are endless memes about it. This forces many gamers to have to shut Chrome down while gaming - a pain when trying to keep an eye on Twitch or other streaming feeds. 

Opera GX should dispell such problems as it allows you to define how much of your machine's CPU or RAM power the browser can use. Thus reducing the impact it can have on your gaming performance. 

Opera is releasing a web browser built just for gamers image 1
Opera

"Running a game might require a lot of effort from your machine. Even more so if you are streaming while you play. Before Opera GX, gamers often shut down their browsers in order to not slow down their gaming experience. We came up with the GX Control feature to make people’s games run more smoothly without requiring them to compromise on what they do on the Web," said Maciej Kocemba, product director of Opera GX.

The new browser offers much more than that too. A "gaming-inspired design" is another highlight, alongside built-in Twitch, Telegram and WhatsApp integration (that opens via an easy-access sidebar), shortcuts for Discord, YouTube and Reddit, an exclusive set of wallpapers designed to match the themes and even Razer Chroma integration. 

The browser is in early access at the moment but will continue to improve as the year progresses. Give it a try by downloading Opera GX here.