Tag Archives: author_name|Mariella Moon

A total League of Legends revamp is coming in 2027

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Riot Games has confirmed that it’s working on a massive update for League of Legends after Bloomberg published a report saying that the company has plans to remake the game. Back in November, a Chinese esports insider also reported that a League of Legends 2 is in development and is coming as early as the second half of 2026. In a video announcement discussing Riot’s plans for League after 2026, executive producer Paul Belleza denied that the developer is working on League 2 like rumors have been suggesting, but he admitted that it is working on a big update that will arrive in 2027.

Andrei van Roon, Head of League Studio, then enumerated some of the things his team is already working on, including a brand new around-game client that’s fully integrated with the in-game experience, a full visual overhaul of the Summoner’s Rift, changes to Runes and an overall improvement to the player experience. The update is looking to be as big as the one from back in the mid-2010s when Riot reworked League’s graphics and is meant to bring in new players.

Belleza and van Roon said they’ll share more details between MSI in the summer and Worlds in the fall of 2026. While the timeline is pretty vaugue, the window of release for a major update like this is most likely the end of November until early January when competitive league is on break.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-total-league-of-legends-revamp-is-coming-in-2027-130000644.html?src=rss

Sony is buying Peanuts

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Sony is paying approximately $460 milliion to purchase Peanuts [PDF] and its characters, including Snoopy and Charlie Brown, created by Charles M. Schulz. That’s a 41 percent stake Sony is buying from Canadian firm WildBrain. Since Sony bought 39 percent of the franchise back in 2018, this will give the company an 80 percent stake. The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals, but Peanuts will become Sony’s consolidated subsidiary once it’s closed. Schulz’s family still owns the remaining 20 percent stake in the franchise.

Schulz launched the Peanuts universe in comic strips 75 years ago, back in 1950. The franchise has grown massively since then, spawning animated series, cartoon musicals and movies that made Snoopy a household name. The company said that it has focused on expanding the Peanuts IP since it bought 39 percent of the brand years ago. “With this additional ownership stake, we are thrilled to be able to further elevate the value of the ʻPEANUTSʼ brand by drawing on the Sony Groupʼs extensive global network and collective expertise,” Sony Music Entertainment Japan CEO Shunsuke Muramatsu added.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/sony-is-buying-peanuts-022341467.html?src=rss

The FTC is reportedly investigating Instacart over its AI pricing tool

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The Federal Trade Commission has sent Instacart a civil investigative demand, seeking information about its AI-powered pricing tool, according to Reuters. This comes after a recently published pricing experiment study showed that the online grocery delivery app gave different users different prices for the same items from the same store location at the exact same time. Some of the testers saw prices up to 23 percent higher than what the other testers saw, though the average difference for the same list of items was around 7 percent. Those higher prices could cost customers over $1,000 more in expenses for the year.

“The Federal Trade Commission has a longstanding policy of not commenting on any potential or ongoing investigations,” the FTC told Reuters in a statement. “But, like so many Americans, we are disturbed by what we have read in the press about Instacart’s alleged pricing practices.”

When the study came out, Instacart told Engadget that the pricing variances were caused by some of its retail partners doing “limited, short-term and randomized tests” to better understand consumers. Those randomized pricing tests were enabled by Instacart’s AI pricing tool called Eversight developed by a company it purchased in 2022. Instacart told CNBC that “much of what’s been reported has mischaracterized how pricing works” on its platform. The spokesperson repeated that retailers conduct pricing tests on its app and said that “prices on Instacart do not change in real time,” aren’t based on supply or demand and that it never uses “personal, demographic, or user-level behavioral data to set item prices.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-ftc-is-reportedly-investigating-instacart-over-its-ai-pricing-tool-130000472.html?src=rss

Tesla used deceptive language to market Autopilot, California judge rules

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Tesla’s sales in California should be suspended for 30 days because its marketing around Autopilot and Full Self-Driving misled consumers, a California administrative law judge has ruled. Back in 2022, the California DMV accused the automaker of using deceptive language to advertise those products and making it seem like its vehicles are capable of level 5 autonomous driving. Tesla has since added the word “Supervised” to the name of its Full Self-Driving assistance technology.

As Bloomberg notes, the DMV asked the administrative law judge if a suspension is warranted based on the evidence it presented. Even though the judge has agreed that it is, the agency will give Tesla 90 days to explain its side and remove any untrue or misleading language in the marketing materials for the products. Tesla’s sales and manufacturing in California will only be suspended if it doesn’t comply within that timeframe.

“We’re really asking Tesla to do their job, as they’ve done in other markets, to properly brand these vehicles,” said California DMV director, Steve Gordon, in a statement.

A suspension in California could be devastating for the automaker. While new Tesla registrations in the state plummeted earlier this year, Reuters says California accounts for nearly a third of the company’s sales in the country. In addition, Tesla only manufactures its Model S and X vehicles in its Fremont plant, where it also produces Model 3 and Model Y units.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-used-deceptive-language-to-market-autopilot-california-judge-rules-035826786.html?src=rss

Divinity: Original Sin 2 for modern consoles is free for old fans

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The definitive version of Divinity: Original Sin 2, the sequel to Original Sin first released back in 2017, is now available for the PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox X|S. The role-playing game was developed by Larian Studios, the same company that developed Baldur’s Gate 3. To be clear, the game’s new release isn’t a remake or even a remaster — it’s just a port for new consoles so that old and new fans alike can enjoy the game without having to bust out their previous-gen devices. Fans who already own a copy of the game can even get it for free.

Original Sin 2 is the fifth main entry in the Divinity game series. In it, gamers play a sorcerer who can wield forbidden magic and who gets captured by the Magisters of the Divine Order so they can be “cured” of their powers. Players can make their character from scratch, creating their own class and giving their character the abilities, skills and stats they want. But they can also use any of the pre-set characters the game provides.

Players who already have the 2017 version installed will get a free upgrade applicable to their console. If they don’t have it installed anymore, they can go to game’s store page on their new device and download the upgrade for free — aside from fans in Japan who’ll have to pay ¥100 for the Switch 2 and PS4 upgrade. Larian is also working on the latest entry to the franchise, simply called Divinity, which is its biggest and most abitious game to date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/divinity-original-sin-2-for-modern-consoles-is-free-for-old-fans-130000192.html?src=rss

Google is retiring its free dark web monitoring tool next year

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Google will stop sending out dark web reports starting early next year, as it shuts down the free tool that can tell you if your personal information has appeared on the seedy underbelly of the internet. The tool used to be exclusively available to Google One subscribers until the company opened it up to everyone in mid-2024. If you switch it on, you’ll receive a notification whenever your name, email address and phone number leak on the internet, typically due to data breaches.

In Google’s email announcement, however, it said it was discontinuing dark web reports because “feedback showed that it did not provide helpful next steps.” A report just lets you know that your information has appeared on the dark web. You can also see a list of all the hits you get on your Google account, along with what data breach leaked that particular detail. However, it doesn’t give you guidance on what to do afterwards.

The company explained that it will focus on tools that can give you clear, actionable step to take instead. Google will stop monitoring for new dark web results on January 15, 2026 and will remove access to the report from your account on February 16. You can also remove your monitoring profile right now by going to the “results with your info” section on the tool’s official page.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/google-is-retiring-its-free-dark-web-monitoring-tool-next-year-023103252.html?src=rss

Passengers face disruption as Airbus updates thousands of planes

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An Airbus directive that ordered the immediate software update for 6,000 A320 planes has lead to flight disruptions around the world. As Reuters notes, that’s more than half of the 11,300 A320 jets in operation. The narrow-body A320 is widely used globally, but its largest operator is American Airlines, which has 480 of the model in its fleet.

American Airlines said 340 planes out of the 480 it has need to be updated, with each plane taking two hours, during one of the busiest weekends for travel in the US. It told CNBC that it expects the “overwhelming majority” of those planes to be completed through the night, with only a handful remaining on November 29. The recall also heavily affects Asian carriers that rely on A320s for short-haul flights. Japan’s ANA had to cancel 95 domestic flights for Saturday, affecting over 13,000 passengers.

In its announcement, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive after a problem manifested on a JetBlue flight back on October 30. Airbus said that an analysis of the event revealed “that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.” Solar flares, or bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the sun, are known to cause radio blackouts and the disruption of satellite and GPS signals,. To prevent future issues, the affected planes would have to revert to an earlier version of their software.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/passengers-face-disruption-as-airbus-updates-thousands-of-planes-065955605.html?src=rss

ModRetro launches its take on the Nintendo 64

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ModRetro, the gaming company that makes modern versions of retro consoles, has unveiled its take on the Nintendo 64. It’s called the M64, and it has launched alongside ModRetro’s spin on the classic console’s trident or three-pronged controller. The M64 is a direct competitor to the Analogue 3D, which is also an ode to the N64 and can play its games. Analogue’s version is already out for sale, though it’s currently out of stock. ModRetro didn’t say when you’ll be able to purchase the M64 and how much it will cost, but you can sign up for the waitlist and get priority when it goes on sale. The consoles will come with translucent casing in three colors when it debuts: purple, green and white.

ModRetro soft launched its first console, the Chromatic, in 2024. As you can probably guess, the Chromatic can play Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles, as well as proprietary cartridges. It came out months after its soft launch and will set you back at least $200. If you’re not familiar with ModRetro before this, it was founded by Palmer Luckey who also founded Oculus and designed the Rift headset. In 2017, he co-founded Anduril Industries, a military tech company that builds drones, sensors and other technologies with billions in government contracts.

ModRetro M64 controller
ModRetro M64 controller
ModRetro

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/modretro-launches-its-take-on-the-nintendo-64-170000967.html?src=rss

The EU says Apple Maps may be big enough to be considered a DMA gatekeeper

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Two more Apple products, specifically Maps and Ads, could be big enough to be designated as gatekeepers under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The EU has announced that it has received notifications from the company that those services meet DMA thresholds. It will now have 45 days to decide whether to designate Apple as a gatekeeper for either of them.

Under DMA rules, services that have 45 million monthly active end users and 10,000 yearly business users in the past three financial years can earn the “gatekeeper” designation. That means to say, they’re considered to have a significant impact on their markets. Apple already has several products with the designation, namely the Safari web browser, the iOS and iPadOS, as well as the App Store. As such, it has to adhere to a strict set of rules for those services and is prohibited from favoring its own products over rivals and from locking users into its ecosystem.

Apple has submitted an official rebuttal and will discuss with the EU why Maps and Ads shouldn’t be designated, according to Reuters. The company said Maps sees very limited usage in the EU compared to its competitors, such as Google Maps. It also denied the Apple Ads is a major player in the bloc’s online advertising industry and said that it has minimal share compared to ad services by Google, Meta, TikTok and even X. “We look forward to further explaining to the European Commission why Apple Maps and Apple Ads should not be designated," Apple said in a statement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-eu-says-apple-maps-may-be-big-enough-to-be-considered-a-dma-gatekeeper-130000965.html?src=rss

Alibaba launches its own AI glasses

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Alibaba’s Quark AI glasses are now available for purchase in China. The company has released three variants of the flagship S1 model and three of the more affordable G1 model. They both connect to Alibaba’s newly launched Qwen App, powered by the company’s own AI tech, for AI assistance through voice commands and touch controls. Their features include on-the-go translation and AI-generated meeting notes. As you’d expect, they’re deeply integrated with Alibaba’s ecosystem and come equipped with apps that include Alipay and Taobao, an online shopping platform owned by the company. They have popular Chinese music streaming services, like QQ Music, as well.

Similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban Display, the glasses’ lenses serve as screens, though the S1 is equipped with more expensive micro-OLED technology. It also has more powerful dual chips. In addition, the S1 can produce better images (up to 3K in quality) and videos (AI-enhanced 4K), and it was designed to perform better in low-lighting conditions. Meanwhile, the G1 is lighter and was built for everyday wear.

It’s not quite clear if Alibaba plans to release the glasses outside China, but both models are now up for sale on Chinese e-commerce platforms. The S1’s prices start at ¥3,799 ($537), whereas the G1 will cost buyers at least ¥1,899 ($268).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/alibaba-launches-its-own-ai-glasses-150000678.html?src=rss