This Luxury GT Concept Speaks Every Electric Luxury Design Language at Once

Modern luxury automotive design has developed a visual shorthand. Horizontal LED treatments. Fastback silhouettes. Minimalist interiors dominated by screens and ambient lighting. The AC Luxury GT by Alex Casabo takes this established vocabulary and speaks it fluently, proving that working within constraints doesn’t mean sacrificing identity.

The car presents a masterclass in thematic consistency. Those layered horizontal light bars don’t just appear on the front fascia and disappear. They inform the wheel design, echo in the rear lighting, and establish a rhythmic visual language that unifies the entire form. It’s the kind of disciplined approach that separates thoughtful design from hasty pastiche. Rendered in both sterile studio environments and glamorous European backdrops, the AC Luxury GT maintains its composure. Some concepts need drama to convince you. This one relies on refinement.

Designer: Alex Casabo

The front end borrows heavily from Lincoln’s recent concept work, particularly that Star concept’s grille treatment where horizontal lines create sculptural depth. But where Lincoln went full theatrical with their execution, Casabo dials it back just enough to feel plausible for 2027 production. The striated LED treatment works because it’s geometric without being fussy, creating genuine visual interest through light and shadow play rather than relying on complex surface modeling. Stand this next to a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and you’ll spot the parametric pixel influence immediately, but the AC Luxury GT translates that Korean confidence into something that reads distinctly more Western luxury.

The wheels, however, are pure concept car audacity. Illuminated elements integrated into the spokes, geometric cutouts that would make any aerodynamicist nervous, and proportions that suggest this thing rolls on 22s minimum. They’re completely impractical for production and utterly perfect for their intended purpose. The “AC” logo on the steering wheel appears on the wheel centers too, maintaining brand consistency in a way that feels intentional rather than slapped on. You can almost hear the tire noise those open spoke designs would generate at highway speeds, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.

The fastback roofline creates a silhouette that splits the difference between grand tourer and luxury sedan. There’s cab-forward proportions here that suggest electric skateboard platform packaging, which makes sense given the visual language Casabo is working within. The rear haunches have just enough muscle to suggest performance credentials without veering into Dodge Challenger testosterone territory. Surface transitions are smooth, almost organic, letting the form speak through curvature rather than aggressive character lines. It’s a very 2020s approach to surfacing, this idea that restraint signals confidence.

That rear lighting treatment deserves its own discussion. Full-width taillight bars have become the luxury car equivalent of a required signature, but the horizontal striations here give it actual depth and texture. The way light filters through those layers creates genuine visual complexity, transforming what could have been a generic LED strip into something with presence. Below it, that carbon fiber diffuser and quad exhaust setup (probably fake on an EV, but we’ll suspend disbelief) provides the performance visual cues that the rest of the design deliberately avoids. It’s the mullet principle applied to automotive design: serene luxury up top, track-ready aggression below.

The interior (or whatever we can see of it) follows the playbook established by Lucid and Mercedes with their EQ lineup. Horizontal dashboard architecture, integrated screen real estate that flows into the IP rather than bolting on as an afterthought, light materials that suggest Scandinavian serenity over German precision. The steering wheel is refreshingly simple, avoiding the temptation to festoon it with capacitive buttons and haptic zones. Sometimes a wheel should just be a wheel. What’s interesting is how the exterior’s horizontal theme continues inside through that dashboard treatment, maintaining design language consistency in a way that many concepts forget about entirely.

Casabo created this as an exploration of AI tools in the design workflow, using Midjourney, Vizcom, and Photoshop to iterate rapidly on forms and contexts. It shows. The quality of these renders, the variety of lighting conditions and environments, the speed at which a designer can now visualize ideas across multiple scenarios, that’s the real story here. The AC Luxury GT works as a design exercise precisely because the tools allowed for the kind of rapid refinement that traditionally required weeks of studio time.

The post This Luxury GT Concept Speaks Every Electric Luxury Design Language at Once first appeared on Yanko Design.

Bipartisan SCAM Act would require online platforms to crack down on fraudulent ads

Without meaningful deterrents, Big Tech companies will do what's profitable, regardless of the cost to consumers. But a new bipartisan bill could add a check that would make them think twice, at least in one area. On Wednesday, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced legislation that would require social platforms to crack down on scam ads.

The Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct (SCAM) Act would require platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent fraudulent or deceptive ads that they profit from. If they don't, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general could take civil legal action against them.

L: Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, R: Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno
The bill's sponsors, Ruben Gallego (L) and Bernie Moreno
Ruben Gallego / Bluesky / Bernie Moreno

The backdrop to the SCAM Act is a Reuters report from last November. Meta reportedly estimated that up to 10 percent of its 2024 revenue came from scam ads. The company is said to have calculated that as much as $16 billion of its revenue that year was from scams, including "fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos and the sale of banned medical products."

Making matters worse, Meta reportedly refused to block small fraudsters until their ads were flagged at least eight times. Meanwhile, bigger spenders were said to have accrued at least 500 strikes without being removed. Executives reportedly wrestled with how to get the problem under control — but only without affecting the company’s bottom line. At one point, managers were told not to take any action that could cost Meta more than 0.15 percent of its total revenue. (See what I mean about needing meaningful deterrents?)

According to the FTC and noted in the text of the bill, Americans’ estimated total loss from fraud in 2024 (adjusted for underreporting) was nearly $196 billion. An estimated $81.5 billion of that came from seniors.

"If a company is making money from running ads on their site, it has a responsibility to make sure those ads aren't fraudulent," Sen. Gallego said in a statement. "This bipartisan bill will hold social media companies accountable and protect consumers' money online."

"It is critical that we protect American consumers from deceptive ads and shameless fraudsters who make millions taking advantage of legal loopholes," Moreno added. "We can't sit by while social media companies have business models that knowingly enable scams that target the American people."

Correction, February 5, 2026, 8:18AM ET: This story originally stated that Americans’ estimated loss from fraud in 2024 was $19 billion. It was nearly $196 billion. We apologize for the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/bipartisan-scam-act-would-require-online-platforms-to-crack-down-on-fraudulent-ads-210316594.html?src=rss

Chopard and Zagato collaborate for the breathtaking Lab One Concept watch, limited to just 19 examples

Cars and watches share a lot in common; the biggest intersection point is, of course, design. Inspired by the automotive brilliance of Zagato, the Chopard Lab One concept watch is a fine example of what I mean. This collaborative watch from Chopard and Zagato is a manifestation of automotive thinking realized in a wrist-sized form factor, highlighting structure, lightness, and engineering – the three main stakes of the Italian coachbuilding brand, founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919.

Of course, when something so impressive and open-worked shows up on the horology map, you begin to wonder how the manufacturer has pulled it off. Before I could sit down and ponder, I realized that is not the first time the two stalwarts from their respective niches have come together. If you remember, the two brands previously collaborated in 2020 on the Mille Miglia Lab One, which was also inspired by high-performance race cars.

Designer: Chopard x Zagato

Arguably, haute horlogerie collides at the peak of innovation with the Zagato Lab One Concept, which is not really a conventional production model but a technical study of the application of motorsport engineering principles in watchmaking. The racing car image instantly comes to mind at the first glimpse at this 42mm case watch, which is made from ceramicised titanium and exudes tubular architecture characteristic of the car chassis.

The Chopard x Zagato Lab One Concept watch – owing to its construction – is exceptionally robust and scratch-resistant. The watch weighs only 43.2 grams (including the strap) and features a box-shaped sapphire, giving you a completely unobstructed view of the chrome-toned skeletal dial integrated right into the movement. It is also machined from ceramicised titanium also, and has a raised interpretation of Zagato’s stylised “Z” motif, which is finished with rhodium-plated bevels.

The watch ditches traditional lugs and replaces them with pivoting tubular loops that can rotate up to 45 degrees. This design allows the case to sit flush with the wrist, delivering exceptional wearing comfort. On the dial, the open-worked hour and minute hands and the gauge-style power reserve at 12 o’clock are reminiscent of the motorsport theme. This mechanical marvel is powered by a hand-wound L.U.C 04.04-L calibre movement offering COSC-certified chronometer-level accuracy, operating at 28,800 vph, and has a 60-hour power reserve. The bridges and mainplate are also made from ceramicised titanium.

The Zagato Lab One Concept watch has a 60-second tourbillon positioned at 6 o’clock and protects the movement against shock via silent-block elastomer dampers and four lever arms. Water resistant up to 50 meters, the watch comes with two strap options: a fabric strap with hook-and-loop fastening, and the other is a calfskin leather strap. According to press information, only 19 examples of the watch are available, and each is priced at CHF 130,000 (approximately $170,000).

 

The post Chopard and Zagato collaborate for the breathtaking Lab One Concept watch, limited to just 19 examples first appeared on Yanko Design.

Games Done Quick’s Back to Black 2026 event kicks off tomorrow

Hot on the heels of AGDQ in January, Games Done Quick is hosting its second speedrunning event of the year, Back to Black 2026, starting tomorrow, February 5. The four-day event is organized by Black in a Flash and is raising money for Race Forward, a nonprofit that works across communities to address systemic racism.

Back to Black is timed to the start of Black History Month and highlights the deep bench of talent in the Black speedrunning community. A few runs, like ones for Hades II, Donkey Kong Country and Silent Hill 4, were teased when Back to Black 2026 was announced last year. The full schedule has plenty of other runs worth checking out, though, like a co-op run through Plants vs Zombies: Replanted on February 5 or an Any% run of The Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery on February 6.  

Back to Black 2026 will be live on Games Done Quick's Twitch and YouTube channels from Thursday, February 5 through Sunday February 8.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/games-done-quicks-back-to-black-2026-event-kicks-off-tomorrow-194147068.html?src=rss

Games Done Quick’s Back to Black 2026 event kicks off tomorrow

Hot on the heels of AGDQ in January, Games Done Quick is hosting its second speedrunning event of the year, Back to Black 2026, starting tomorrow, February 5. The four-day event is organized by Black in a Flash and is raising money for Race Forward, a nonprofit that works across communities to address systemic racism.

Back to Black is timed to the start of Black History Month and highlights the deep bench of talent in the Black speedrunning community. A few runs, like ones for Hades II, Donkey Kong Country and Silent Hill 4, were teased when Back to Black 2026 was announced last year. The full schedule has plenty of other runs worth checking out, though, like a co-op run through Plants vs Zombies: Replanted on February 5 or an Any% run of The Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery on February 6.  

Back to Black 2026 will be live on Games Done Quick's Twitch and YouTube channels from Thursday, February 5 through Sunday February 8.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/games-done-quicks-back-to-black-2026-event-kicks-off-tomorrow-194147068.html?src=rss

Roblox’s ‘4D’ creation toolset is now available in open beta

Roblox launched an open-source AI model that generates 3D objects on the fly early last year and now that toolset is getting a massive boost. The platform has introduced a model that whips up "4D" objects. I put 4D in quotes because it doesn't actually allow access to the fourth dimension, but rather lets users make interactive 3D objects via prompts.

As suggested, these aren't static 3D models. They are fully functional and interactive objects that move and react to players. The beta toolset can't be used to make anything, as it's rather limited for now. There are just two templates for users to choose from. Folks can make cars and solid 3D objects, like a box or a sculpture.

A car.
Roblox

The cars are fully driveable, however, and are made from five separate parts. The parts work independently of one another, allowing for spinning wheels and opening doors. The company says the physics should be accurate, so prepare for a whole lot of user-generated racing games.

There's already a game on the platform that uses the 4D tools called Wish Master. It lets players generate cars, planes and all kinds of other stuff.

A giant horse.
Roblox

As for those limited templates, Roblox says it plans to eventually let creators make their own but didn't release a timetable for this. It also says it is developing technology that will generate 3D models based on a reference image.

Today's open beta comes after Roblox found itself at the center of lawsuits and investigations related to child safety. This led the company to implement mandatory facial verification to access chat, which has reportedly not been going very well. Some countries have actually banned the platform in an effort to protect children.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/robloxs-4d-creation-toolset-is-now-available-in-open-beta-191510664.html?src=rss

Roblox’s ‘4D’ creation toolset is now available in open beta

Roblox launched an open-source AI model that generates 3D objects on the fly early last year and now that toolset is getting a massive boost. The platform has introduced a model that whips up "4D" objects. I put 4D in quotes because it doesn't actually allow access to the fourth dimension, but rather lets users make interactive 3D objects via prompts.

As suggested, these aren't static 3D models. They are fully functional and interactive objects that move and react to players. The beta toolset can't be used to make anything, as it's rather limited for now. There are just two templates for users to choose from. Folks can make cars and solid 3D objects, like a box or a sculpture.

A car.
Roblox

The cars are fully driveable, however, and are made from five separate parts. The parts work independently of one another, allowing for spinning wheels and opening doors. The company says the physics should be accurate, so prepare for a whole lot of user-generated racing games.

There's already a game on the platform that uses the 4D tools called Wish Master. It lets players generate cars, planes and all kinds of other stuff.

A giant horse.
Roblox

As for those limited templates, Roblox says it plans to eventually let creators make their own but didn't release a timetable for this. It also says it is developing technology that will generate 3D models based on a reference image.

Today's open beta comes after Roblox found itself at the center of lawsuits and investigations related to child safety. This led the company to implement mandatory facial verification to access chat, which has reportedly not been going very well. Some countries have actually banned the platform in an effort to protect children.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/robloxs-4d-creation-toolset-is-now-available-in-open-beta-191510664.html?src=rss

Overwatch will drop the ‘2’ as Jetpack Cat and four other heroes arrive on February 10

Blizzard is running a series of showcases for several of its major franchises and on Wednesday, it was time for Overwatch to step up to the plate. That’s Overwatch, by the way, and not Overwatch 2. The studio is formally nixing the number from the game's name. 

"Overwatch is more than just a digit: it's a living universe that keeps growing, keeps surprising, and keeps bringing players together from around the world," the Overwatch team said in a statement. "This year marks a huge turning point in how the development team envisions the future of Overwatch, so we are officially dropping the '2' and moving forward as Overwatch."

Blizzard made a big hullabaloo about Overwatch 2 being a sequel to the original game when it went live in October 2022 as part of a shift to a free-to-play model. There were a ton of major changes, not least a format switch from 6v6 to 5v5, with one tank being dropped from each team — a contentious decision that has been walked back with the return of 6v6 modes

The grand vision Blizzard originally had for Overwatch 2 never quite came together. The studio canceled its planned hero missions, which were going to have RPG-like talent trees and long-term progression, but it carried some of that DNA over to the Stadium mode.

We only got one round of co-op story missions as well. That paid expansion reportedly sold poorly, leading Blizzard to scrap work on the player vs. environment elements of Overwatch to focus on the competitive player vs. player modes.

Over the last couple of years, though, Blizzard really seems to have steadied the ship. Overwatch is arguably in the best shape it's been in for a long time. 

This is shaping up to be a big year for Overwatch. May will mark its 10th anniversary (I have to imagine the team has something significant planned for that). Blizzard laid out much of the roadmap for 2026 during the Overwatch Spotlight showcase. We won’t have to wait long at all to see significant changes to the game. 

When the next season goes live on February 10, it will be the biggest update to Overwatch at least since the Stadium mode and perks system went live last year, and arguably since the dawn of the Overwatch 2 era. That’s partly because Blizzard is adding five new heroes to the mix all at once next week.

One of those is a character that the studio said in 2017 it had experimented with but ultimately, um, scratched. Jetpack Cat is alive after all, and is coming to Overwatch in a matter of days.

This is a support hero with a permanent flight ability who can "tow" an ally, carrying them through the air while healing them. Jetpack Cat's ultimate ability sees the kitty diving into the ground to knock down enemies and tether the closest one to them, she can drag them toward a pit for an environmental kill, for instance. The ultimate is called Catnapper, which is delightful. Also, Jetpack Cat’s primary weapon is called Biotic Pawjectiles.

I adore her already. It’s fun to see weird Wrecking Ball-type characters coming to Overwatch again. 

Overwatch hero Anran, with a fan that's on fire.
Blizzard Entertainment

The other new heroes joining the fray next week are Domina (a zone-control tank with "long-range precision"), damage dealer Emre (a "fast‑paced, mobile soldier archetype with conflicting identity due to cybernetic modification"), Mizuki (a support who can throw a hat to heal allies) and Anran (a high-mobility hero who deals fire damage and can self-resurrect with their ultimate).

As with Jetpack Cat, the latter of those is aligned with the Overwatch faction. You can try Anran out starting February 5 as part of a hero trial. The other three have ties to the villainous Talon organization. Expect another hero to join the fray every couple of months this year as each new season gets under way. That means more heroes will be added to Overwatch in 2026 than in any year since the game’s debut.

A "story-driven era"

Vendetta in Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment

The next season spells the beginning of what Blizzard is calling a "new story-driven era" for Overwatch, starting with a year-long narrative arc called The Reign of Talon. All of the lore, heroes, events and so on that emerge over the next 12 months will be tied to the rise of Talon.

The studio says this is the "the first fully connected annual storyline in Overwatch history." A new arc will begin next year with Season 1 of 2027 (Blizzard is resetting the season counter when The Reign of Talon begins).

Elsewhere, each role will be split into sub-roles, and the heroes in each will share a passive ability. For instance, "initiator" tanks heal more while they're in the air, several damage heroes can detect enemies that are below half health through walls after damaging them and some supports have excess ultimate charge that carries over after you use their most powerful ability.

Also on the way soon is a "meta event" called Conquest. This is billed as a faction war between Overwatch and Talon that will run for five weeks, with dozens of loot boxes and other rewards (such as some legendary Echo skins) up for grabs.

Overwatch's home screen with a redesigned user interface
Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard has overhauled the Overwatch interface too, with updated menus, a new hero lobby, a notification hub and the promise of faster navigation. Stadium will have some updates, such as refreshed ability icons and recommended builds based on global data that will be updated between rounds. Vendetta is joining that mode's roster as well.

Along with all the new heroes and other updates, a Hello Kitty collaboration will run for two weeks starting on February 10 with themed cosmetics for several heroes. Lots of other cosmetics are in the pipeline, including Crimson Wolf weapon skins you can unlock using competitive points, and rainy day and Valentine's items. Shop items from the last six seasons are going into loot boxes, while mythic cosmetics for Mercy, Juno and Mei will be available in Season 1.

Hello Kitty cosmetics in Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment

Looking further ahead, a Nintendo Switch 2 version of Overwatch will arrive alongside Season 2, which will start in April. Some heroes will be getting their second mythic skins, including Ana and Genji. Genji, Hanzo and Sojourn will have mythic weapon skins in the coming months. Two new maps, including a Japan Night one, for the main modes are coming, along with the return of post-match accolades.

There’s so much on the way for my go-to game. I don't know how I'm going to be able to take a long-enough break from Overwatch to play cool indies ever again.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/overwatch-will-drop-the-2-as-jetpack-cat-and-four-other-heroes-arrive-on-february-10-184500327.html?src=rss

Overwatch will drop the ‘2’ as Jetpack Cat and four other heroes arrive on February 10

Blizzard is running a series of showcases for several of its major franchises and on Wednesday, it was time for Overwatch to step up to the plate. That’s Overwatch, by the way, and not Overwatch 2. The studio is formally nixing the number from the game's name. 

"Overwatch is more than just a digit: it's a living universe that keeps growing, keeps surprising, and keeps bringing players together from around the world," the Overwatch team said in a statement. "This year marks a huge turning point in how the development team envisions the future of Overwatch, so we are officially dropping the '2' and moving forward as Overwatch."

Blizzard made a big hullabaloo about Overwatch 2 being a sequel to the original game when it went live in October 2022 as part of a shift to a free-to-play model. There were a ton of major changes, not least a format switch from 6v6 to 5v5, with one tank being dropped from each team — a contentious decision that has been walked back with the return of 6v6 modes

The grand vision Blizzard originally had for Overwatch 2 never quite came together. The studio canceled its planned hero missions, which were going to have RPG-like talent trees and long-term progression, but it carried some of that DNA over to the Stadium mode.

We only got one round of co-op story missions as well. That paid expansion reportedly sold poorly, leading Blizzard to scrap work on the player vs. environment elements of Overwatch to focus on the competitive player vs. player modes.

Over the last couple of years, though, Blizzard really seems to have steadied the ship. Overwatch is arguably in the best shape it's been in for a long time. 

This is shaping up to be a big year for Overwatch. May will mark its 10th anniversary (I have to imagine the team has something significant planned for that). Blizzard laid out much of the roadmap for 2026 during the Overwatch Spotlight showcase. We won’t have to wait long at all to see significant changes to the game. 

When the next season goes live on February 10, it will be the biggest update to Overwatch at least since the Stadium mode and perks system went live last year, and arguably since the dawn of the Overwatch 2 era. That’s partly because Blizzard is adding five new heroes to the mix all at once next week.

One of those is a character that the studio said in 2017 it had experimented with but ultimately, um, scratched. Jetpack Cat is alive after all, and is coming to Overwatch in a matter of days.

This is a support hero with a permanent flight ability who can "tow" an ally, carrying them through the air while healing them. Jetpack Cat's ultimate ability sees the kitty diving into the ground to knock down enemies and tether the closest one to them, she can drag them toward a pit for an environmental kill, for instance. The ultimate is called Catnapper, which is delightful. Also, Jetpack Cat’s primary weapon is called Biotic Pawjectiles.

I adore her already. It’s fun to see weird Wrecking Ball-type characters coming to Overwatch again. 

Overwatch hero Anran, with a fan that's on fire.
Blizzard Entertainment

The other new heroes joining the fray next week are Domina (a zone-control tank with "long-range precision"), damage dealer Emre (a "fast‑paced, mobile soldier archetype with conflicting identity due to cybernetic modification"), Mizuki (a support who can throw a hat to heal allies) and Anran (a high-mobility hero who deals fire damage and can self-resurrect with their ultimate).

As with Jetpack Cat, the latter of those is aligned with the Overwatch faction. You can try Anran out starting February 5 as part of a hero trial. The other three have ties to the villainous Talon organization. Expect another hero to join the fray every couple of months this year as each new season gets under way. That means more heroes will be added to Overwatch in 2026 than in any year since the game’s debut.

A "story-driven era"

Vendetta in Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment

The next season spells the beginning of what Blizzard is calling a "new story-driven era" for Overwatch, starting with a year-long narrative arc called The Reign of Talon. All of the lore, heroes, events and so on that emerge over the next 12 months will be tied to the rise of Talon.

The studio says this is the "the first fully connected annual storyline in Overwatch history." A new arc will begin next year with Season 1 of 2027 (Blizzard is resetting the season counter when The Reign of Talon begins).

Elsewhere, each role will be split into sub-roles, and the heroes in each will share a passive ability. For instance, "initiator" tanks heal more while they're in the air, several damage heroes can detect enemies that are below half health through walls after damaging them and some supports have excess ultimate charge that carries over after you use their most powerful ability.

Also on the way soon is a "meta event" called Conquest. This is billed as a faction war between Overwatch and Talon that will run for five weeks, with dozens of loot boxes and other rewards (such as some legendary Echo skins) up for grabs.

Overwatch's home screen with a redesigned user interface
Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard has overhauled the Overwatch interface too, with updated menus, a new hero lobby, a notification hub and the promise of faster navigation. Stadium will have some updates, such as refreshed ability icons and recommended builds based on global data that will be updated between rounds. Vendetta is joining that mode's roster as well.

Along with all the new heroes and other updates, a Hello Kitty collaboration will run for two weeks starting on February 10 with themed cosmetics for several heroes. Lots of other cosmetics are in the pipeline, including Crimson Wolf weapon skins you can unlock using competitive points, and rainy day and Valentine's items. Shop items from the last six seasons are going into loot boxes, while mythic cosmetics for Mercy, Juno and Mei will be available in Season 1.

Hello Kitty cosmetics in Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment

Looking further ahead, a Nintendo Switch 2 version of Overwatch will arrive alongside Season 2, which will start in April. Some heroes will be getting their second mythic skins, including Ana and Genji. Genji, Hanzo and Sojourn will have mythic weapon skins in the coming months. Two new maps, including a Japan Night one, for the main modes are coming, along with the return of post-match accolades.

There’s so much on the way for my go-to game. I don't know how I'm going to be able to take a long-enough break from Overwatch to play cool indies ever again.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/overwatch-will-drop-the-2-as-jetpack-cat-and-four-other-heroes-arrive-on-february-10-184500327.html?src=rss

PERLA Freezes a Breaking Wave into a Sculpted Hillside Home

White villas step down the hills above Marbella, all glass balustrades and flat roofs, watching the Mediterranean below. The view is usually the star while the houses blur together, polite boxes that stay out of the way. PERLA flips that script slightly, treating the house itself as a single breaking wave pulled out of the water and pinned to the slope, a sculptural gesture that refuses to stay neutral or disappear into the hillside.

The client bought an existing project already under submission, which meant STIPFOLD could not redraw the whole building from scratch. Instead, the transformation became conceptual rather than structural, which the studio calls “an act of sculpting energy into stillness.” PERLA reinterprets the existing volumes as a frozen moment of a breaking wave, using a new fiber concrete shell and natural stone base to recast the house without rebuilding it.

Designer: STIPFOLD

Arriving from below, you see the upper floor curl forward like surf over rock, creating a deep overhang that shades the terrace and glass façade. The white fiber concrete shell reads as a suspended ripple, while the natural stone plinth grounds it in the hillside. The house feels less like a box placed on a plot and more like a fragment of the sea that decided to stop moving halfway through a crash.

Inside, beige fiber concrete walls pick up the wave metaphor in a quieter way. Flowing parametric lines ripple across surfaces, echoing the exterior geometry without shouting about it. A restrained palette of white, sand, and pale wood keeps visual noise low, letting natural light slide along the curves. Rooms feel connected by a continuous rhythm, more like a tide moving through space than a series of separate boxes.

Custom elements, from the sculpted kitchen island to soft, rounded seating and a large ovoid ceiling recess, all follow the same language. Walking from the living area to the dining space, you feel the ceiling dip and rise, the walls tighten and relax, as if the house is breathing slowly. Function stays straightforward, but the form insists on being felt with every step you take through the 400 m² interior.

STIPFOLD describes PERLA as a reflection of its identity “beyond borders,” introducing its sculptural minimalism to the Mediterranean. This is not a neutral white box trying to disappear. It is architecture that “resists neutrality” and aims to evoke emotion through precision. The studio says it is not designed to please everyone, but to make everyone feel something, even if that something is not always comfortable or easy to pin down.

Living inside a frozen wave means the main structural moves were inherited, but the surfaces and spaces have been tuned to a single metaphor. PERLA suggests that even within tight planning constraints, you can still carve out a strong narrative and tactile experience. Perched on a hillside full of polite villas watching the sea, a house that feels like the sea watching back probably stands out more than the architects originally intended.

The post PERLA Freezes a Breaking Wave into a Sculpted Hillside Home first appeared on Yanko Design.