Tag Archives: author_name|Kris Holt

Death Stranding is coming to select Apple devices on January 30

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After a relatively short delay, you'll soon be able to enter the uniquely strange world of Death Stranding on Apple devices. Hideo Kojima's walking simulator will be available on iPhone 15 Pro models and iPads and Macs with M-series chips on January 30. This version of the gloomy open-world adventure will run you $40. However, if you pre-order, you'll save up to 50 percent.

Since this is the director's cut of Death Stranding, it includes extras not available in the base game. Those include additional locations such as an underground factory, expanded story missions and more ways to help Sam Porter Bridge deliver packages, like a cargo launcher and a stabilizer to prevent the hero of the piece from falling over and losing some gear.

Kojima is far from done with this universe. A sequel is in the works, with rumors suggesting that more details are coming in the next couple of weeks. Kojima Productions has also teamed up with indie film powerhouse A24 to make a Death Stranding movie.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/death-stranding-is-coming-to-select-apple-devices-on-january-30-173544260.html?src=rss

Blizzard partners with ESL for an open Overwatch 2 esports circuit

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Blizzard has revealed the next evolution of top-level Overwatch 2 esports after the demise of the Overwatch League. The publisher has teamed up with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) to run the new Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) under an exclusive multi-year agreement. 

OWCS is an open-format circuit in which teams from North America; Europe, Middle East, North Africa (EMEA); and Asia can compete without having to pay multi-million-dollar franchise fees. EFG will operate the Overwatch Champions Series in North America and EMEA, while Korean esports tournament organizer WDG will oversee the Asia circuit.

There will be regional qualifiers and tournaments held in the lead up to two in-person events later this year at DreamHack Dallas (May 31-June 2) and DreamHack Stockholm (November 22-24). Eight teams will compete at each event, with those qualifying for DreamHack Stockholm duking it out to become the first OWCS champions. That tournament will also mark the first top-level Overwatch competition in Europe in over five years. 

Qualifiers will start in Feburary. Additional details about the tournaments, including formats, ticket sales and prize pools, will be announced later.

“A thriving esports scene is important to a game as competitive as Overwatch 2, and we’re very excited to be entering this next era for the franchise with EFG,” the game's executive producer Jared Neuss said in a statement.

Blizzard notes that any player who is interested in getting involved can use FACEIT's community tools to find teammates and events to compete in, while an ongoing schedule of events "creates a clear path to pro play for aspiring OWCS stars." In addition, Blizzard says that by making the most of EFG's tools and capabilities, it will be able to create an open, inclusive and sustainable competitive scene. FACEIT will also support those looking to run third-party tournaments and community experiences.

The Overwatch League, Blizzard's ambitious pro circuit, came to an end in 2023 after six seasons. The day after the 2023 Grand Finals in October, Blizzard said it was "focusing on building our vision of a revitalized esports program." Weeks later, a majority of teams voted to end their participation in the league, triggering a $6 million payment to each from Activision Blizzard, and hammering the final nail into OWL's coffin.

Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick's grand vision for a franchised, city-based Overwatch esports league never quite worked out. Factors such as COVID-19, viewership struggles, Blizzard games shutting down in China, the sexual harassment and discrimination scandal at the publisher and the fact many of the teams were running at a loss all contributed to OWL's demise.

Alongside the reveal of the OWCS, Blizzard has announced the end of its Overwatch Contenders and Open Division initiatives, which effectively added as feeder systems for OWL. "The Path to Pro system has been an initiative that has welcomed so many of our players and fans into Overwatch Esports and developed so much of the talent that made the Overwatch League," Overwatch Esports head Sean Miller wrote in a blog post. "With OWCS, we now have a more open ecosystem where any player can fight their way to OWCS Champion." 

For the time being, Blizzard doesn't have any updates to announce regarding the Overwatch Collegiate system. Thankfully, the excellent Calling All Heroes program (which is designed to uplift members of marginalized gender identities across the Overwatch ecosystem) isn't going anywhere.

EFG, whose parent is the Saudi Arabia government-funded Savvy Games Group, is arguably well-placed to run Overwatch esports as a more sustainable endeavor. The company operates pro circuits for many other games, including other Blizzard titles such as StarCraft II. 

Hosting several esports events at large-scale festivals like DreamHack (which has held Overwatch tournaments in the past) helps to minimize costs. The OWCS may not end up selling out arenas by itself as the Overwatch League used to, but it at least seems like a viable, open future for Overwatch 2 esports.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-partners-with-esl-for-an-open-overwatch-2-esports-circuit-170033793.html?src=rss

Netflix will be the new home of WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw, in 2025

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It's a mighty fine time to be a pro wrestling fan. The industry is going through a bit of a boom period, with multiple companies churning out quality content on the regular. Barely a week goes by without fans enjoying at least two or three excellent displays of scripted athleticism and jacked human beings slapping each other in the chest really, really hard.

It's an even better time to be a pro wrestling fan if you have a Netflix subscription, since the streaming service will soon be the new home of WWE's flagship show in the US and pretty much all of its programming in other territories. Starting in January 2025, Netflix will livestream Monday Night Raw every week in the US, Canada, UK, Latin America and some other countries, with more to follow.

The deal is even sweeter for those outside of the US, as Netflix will stream WWE's other two main weekly shows — NXT and SmackDown — along with its major events like the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. WWE documentaries, other original series and future projects will hit Netflix internationally starting next year.

It seems that Peacock will remain the home of WWE's library and major live events in the US for the foreseeable future. Peacock's parent NBCUniversal also owns Raw's current broadcaster, USA Network (it's unclear where the show will air between the expiry of those broadcasting rights in the fall and the Netflix partnership starting in January). USA Network will be the home of SmackDown starting this fall when the show moves over from Fox. NXT, which also currently airs on USA, is moving to The CW.

NBCUniversal and USA Network are said to be paying $1.4 billion for SmackDown rights over five years, while The CW will reportedly pay between $100 million and $125 million for NXT over the same timespan.

It seems the Netflix deal far outstrips those, however. According to multiple reports, the company is paying WWE north of $5 billion over 10 years. That's said to be around double what NBCUniversal currently pays WWE for Raw rights. Amazon was also said to be in talks to become Raw's new home.

This marks a mammoth change for both WWE and Netflix. It will be the first time in the 31-year history of Raw that the show doesn't air on a linear TV network. But, just as the wrestling company took a big risk with shifting from a pay-per-view model to its own streaming service a decade ago, this could very well pay off for WWE at it seeks to grow its already-large fanbase.

“This deal is transformative,” Mark Shapiro, president and COO of WWE parent company TKO said in a statement. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”

Meanwhile, it's a major first for Netflix. The company only started dabbling in live content last March with a Chris Rock stand-up show. Since then, it has aired live award shows and a few one-off sports events, though it was forced to cancel its second attempt at a livestream due to technical issues. Raw marks Netflix's first major push into live sports (or sports entertainment if you want to get sniffy about it) and it's set to become the company's first live weekly streaming show.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-will-be-the-new-home-of-wwes-flagship-show-monday-night-raw-in-2025-165434172.html?src=rss

Samsung says its new 990 Evo SSD delivers improved performance and efficiency

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It's been a while since Samsung last upgraded its high-end internal SSDs, and those looking for more performance and power efficiency from their system storage may be interested in the new model. The 990 Evo looks to be a true successor to the Samsung 970 Evo Plus, which is our top recommendation for a Gen3 NVMe SSD.

Samsung says that the 990 Evo is compatible with PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 4.0 interfaces to make sure it works in a wide array of systems. It's said to deliver performance improvements of up to 43 percent over the 970 Evo plus with read speeds of up to 5,000MB/s and write speeds up to 4,200 MB/s.

It's worth noting that the read speeds still fall somewhat short of Sony's recommendation of 5,500MB/s for any SSD used to expand a PlayStation 5's storage. That said, I use a 980 series SSD (with a maximum read speed of 3,500MB/s) in my PS5 and haven't encountered any lag while running games from it.

The 990 Evo is said to offer power efficiency improvements of up to 70 percent over the 970 Evo Plus. That could help extend the battery life of laptops that use the SSD. Additionally, Samsung says the drive has a heat spreader label, which is said to effectively regulate its thermal condition and allow it to run at consistently high performance without risking the SSD's integrity.

There's one other useful feature that comes in the form of support for Microsoft Modern Standby. This allows for "instant on/off function with uninterrupted internet connectivity and seamless notification reception, even in low-power states," according to Samsung.

The 990 Evo starts at $125 for 1TB of storage. For a version with double the capacity, that will run you $210. The SSD comes with a five-year limited warranty.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-says-its-new-990-evo-ssd-delivers-improved-performance-and-efficiency-160032381.html?src=rss

Meta’s Oversight Board raises concerns over automated moderation of hate speech

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Meta's Oversight Board has raised concerns over automated moderation while overturning a decision by the company to leave a Holocaust denial post on Instagram. Holocaust denial is deemed hate speech under Meta's policies. The post in question depicted Squidward from SpongeBob Squarepants and purported to include true facts about the Holocaust. However, the claims "were either blatantly untrue or misrepresented historical facts," the Oversight Board said.

Users reported the post six times after it first appeared in September 2020, but in four instances Meta's systems either determined that the content didn't violate the rules or they automatically closed the case. In early 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Meta started automatically closing content reviews to lessen the workload for human reviewers and free up bandwidth for manual review of high-risk reports. All the same, two of the Squidward post reports were also deemed non-violating by human reviewers.

Last May, one user lodged an appeal against Meta's decision to leave the offending content on Instagram. But this appeal was again closed automatically by Meta due to its COVID-19 automation policies, according to the Oversight Board. The user then appealed to the board, which took up the case.

The board conducted an assessment of Holocaust denial content across Meta's platforms and it found that the Squidward meme was used to spread various types of antisemitic narratives. It notes that some users attempt to evade detection and continue to spread Holocaust denial content by using alternate spellings of words (such as replacing letters with symbols) and using cartoons and memes.

The Oversight Board said it's concerned that Meta continued to employ its COVID-19 automation policies as of last May, "long after circumstances reasonably justified them." It also cited unease over "the effectiveness and accuracy of Meta’s moderation systems in removing Holocaust denial content from its platforms." It notes that human reviewers can't granularly label offending content as "Holocaust denial" (such posts are filtered into a "hate speech" bucket). The board also wants to know more about the company's ability to "prioritize accurate enforcement of hate speech at a granular policy level" as it leans more heavily on AI for content moderation.

The board recommended that Meta "take technical steps" to make sure it systematically and sufficiently measures how accurate it is in enforcing Holocaust denial content. That includes gathering more granular information. The board also asked Meta to confirm publicly whether it has ceased all COVID-19 automation policies it established during the onset of the pandemic.

When asked for comment, Meta directed Engadget to its formal response to the board's decision on its transparency site. The company agrees that it left the offending post on Instagram in error and, at the time the board took up the case, Meta said it had removed the content. Following the board's case decision, Meta says it will "initiate a review of identical content with parallel context. If we determine that we have the technical and operational capacity to take action on that content as well, we will do so promptly." It plans to review the board's other recommendations and issue an update later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-oversight-board-raises-concerns-over-automated-moderation-of-hate-speech-154359848.html?src=rss

Alphabet is cutting dozens of jobs at its X moonshot lab

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Just days after Alphabet and Google CEO Sudar Pichai warned workers of more downsizing this year, the former is laying off dozens of employees, mainly support staff, at its moonshot lab. Alphabet is also restructuring X (not to be confused with the platform formerly known as Twitter) to make it easier to spin out projects as independent startups with backing from outside investors. Alphabet confirmed these changes, which were first reported by Bloomberg, to Engadget.

"As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company's biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead," a Google spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. "To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities. Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally. We’re continuing to support any impacted employees as they look for new roles here at Google and beyond."

“We’re expanding our approach to focus on spinning out more projects as independent companies funded through market-based capital,” X division head Astro Teller told staff in a memo. “We’ll do this by opening our scope to collaborate with a broader base of industry and financial partners, and by continuing to emphasize lean teams and capital efficiency.”

“This approach will give us more opportunity to focus on what Xers do best: inventing breakthrough technologies to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” Teller added. “Because the world needs moonshots more now than ever.”

X is all about attempting to tackle major problems such as food waste, climate change and connectivity through innovation, but it hasn't found a ton of success through its spinoff businesses as yet. Last year, former Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat became the company's president and chief investment officer and now oversees X.

As Bloomberg notes, there has been a greater onus on X to turn its ambitious ideas into profitable businesses over the last few years, while Alphabet is cutting costs across the board. Earlier this month, Google laid off hundreds of workers from various divisions, including the hardware, engineering and ad sales teams, as it places more emphasis on artificial intelligence. A year ago, Google let go most workers from its Area 120 startup incubator.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alphabet-is-cutting-dozens-of-jobs-at-its-x-moonshot-lab-203505073.html?src=rss

Ford is cutting F-150 Lightning production due to waning demand

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Ford says it's cutting production of the F-150 Lightning due to lower than expected demand. As of April 1, the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (the Michigan plant where the electric pickup is built) will transition from two production shifts to one. That will have an impact on roughly 1,400 workers.

The automaker says it will transfer around half of those to its Michigan Assembly Plant, where it's putting together a third crew to build more of the Bronco and Bronco Raptor, as well as the new Ranger and Ranger Raptor to meet demand. The company is hiring another 900 workers to fill that shift.

The rest of the affected F-150 Lightning workers will be reassigned to different roles at the Rouge plant or Ford's other facilities in the region. That is, unless they take up a retirement incentive offer.

Ford didn't say by how much it's reducing production of the F-150 Lightning. However, by moving from two shifts to one, that indicates output will drop roughly by half, which aligns with recent reports. According to CNBC, Ford planned to cut production from around 3,200 units per week to 1,600.

The automaker retooled the Rouge facility in 2023 so that it would have an annual F-150 Lightning capacity of up to 150,000. However, demand hasn't kept up. While sales of the EV were up by 55 percent last year, it hasn't been selling as quickly as it did previously.

The company says that it expects EV sales to continue to grow globally this year, but at a lower rate than previously anticipated. With that in mind, as well as the fact Ford is readying next-gen EVs, the company has decided to pull back on F-150 Lightning production for the foreseeable future. 

That isn't the only EV Ford has scaled back on either. In November, it slashed production of the Mustang Mach-E.

“We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling EV pickup,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said. “We see a bright future for electric vehicles for specific consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced EVs and access to Tesla's charging network beginning this quarter."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ford-is-cutting-f-150-lightning-production-due-to-waning-demand-173838340.html?src=rss

Ford is cutting F-150 Lightning production due to waning demand

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Ford says it's cutting production of the F-150 Lightning due to lower than expected demand. As of April 1, the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (the Michigan plant where the electric pickup is built) will transition from two production shifts to one. That will have an impact on roughly 1,400 workers.

The automaker says it will transfer around half of those to its Michigan Assembly Plant, where it's putting together a third crew to build more of the Bronco and Bronco Raptor, as well as the new Ranger and Ranger Raptor to meet demand. The company is hiring another 900 workers to fill that shift.

The rest of the affected F-150 Lightning workers will be reassigned to different roles at the Rouge plant or Ford's other facilities in the region. That is, unless they take up a retirement incentive offer.

Ford didn't say by how much it's reducing production of the F-150 Lightning. However, by moving from two shifts to one, that indicates output will drop roughly by half, which aligns with recent reports. According to CNBC, Ford planned to cut production from around 3,200 units per week to 1,600.

The automaker retooled the Rouge facility in 2023 so that it would have an annual F-150 Lightning capacity of up to 150,000. However, demand hasn't kept up. While sales of the EV were up by 55 percent last year, it hasn't been selling as quickly as it did previously.

The company says that it expects EV sales to continue to grow globally this year, but at a lower rate than previously anticipated. With that in mind, as well as the fact Ford is readying next-gen EVs, the company has decided to pull back on F-150 Lightning production for the foreseeable future. 

That isn't the only EV Ford has scaled back on either. In November, it slashed production of the Mustang Mach-E.

“We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling EV pickup,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said. “We see a bright future for electric vehicles for specific consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced EVs and access to Tesla's charging network beginning this quarter."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ford-is-cutting-f-150-lightning-production-due-to-waning-demand-173838340.html?src=rss

The 27-inch Samsung Smart Monitor M8 is cheaper than ever right now

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Many PC owners wonder when it might be the best time to upgrade parts of their setup that are perhaps getting a little long in the tooth. The answer to that is relatively simple: whenever there’s a good sale. A bunch of Samsung monitors are currently up to 33 percent off over at Amazon. Among them is the 27-inch Samsung Smart Monitor M8, which has dropped to a record low of $480. That’s 26 percent off the regular price.

The M8 can double as a 4K streaming TV, since it has native support for apps including Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. Through Samsung TV Plus, you can access a selection of free live and on-demand programming. In addition, you'll be able to stream games from the likes of Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now. They should run fairly smoothly too, thanks to the 60Hz refresh rate.

Of course, you can use the Smart Monitor M8 for productivity too. For tasks such as web browsing and document editing, you won't even need to hook up a PC. The M8 offers options to connect to another PC remotely, access the Microsoft Office 365 suite and even use the desktop mode of Samsung mobile devices thanks to the DeX feature. There's a built-in camera for video calls too. Moreover, you can use the M8 to control various smart home devices.

In case you don't need all those bells and whistles and you're just looking for a solid monitor that can get the job done on a tighter budget, a 22-inch 1080p model may do the trick. A T350 Series monitor has dropped by a third to $100, which is almost a record low for that model.

It has a decent 75Hz refresh rate and an IPS panel that Samsung claims will support a wide variety of viewing angles. FreeSync will help reduce screen tearing if you have a compatible AMD CPU, while the response time of 5ms isn't too bad for gaming.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-27-inch-samsung-smart-monitor-m8-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-153331058.html?src=rss

The 27-inch Samsung Smart Monitor M8 is cheaper than ever right now

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Many PC owners wonder when it might be the best time to upgrade parts of their setup that are perhaps getting a little long in the tooth. The answer to that is relatively simple: whenever there’s a good sale. A bunch of Samsung monitors are currently up to 33 percent off over at Amazon. Among them is the 27-inch Samsung Smart Monitor M8, which has dropped to a record low of $480. That’s 26 percent off the regular price.

The M8 can double as a 4K streaming TV, since it has native support for apps including Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. Through Samsung TV Plus, you can access a selection of free live and on-demand programming. In addition, you'll be able to stream games from the likes of Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now. They should run fairly smoothly too, thanks to the 60Hz refresh rate.

Of course, you can use the Smart Monitor M8 for productivity too. For tasks such as web browsing and document editing, you won't even need to hook up a PC. The M8 offers options to connect to another PC remotely, access the Microsoft Office 365 suite and even use the desktop mode of Samsung mobile devices thanks to the DeX feature. There's a built-in camera for video calls too. Moreover, you can use the M8 to control various smart home devices.

In case you don't need all those bells and whistles and you're just looking for a solid monitor that can get the job done on a tighter budget, a 22-inch 1080p model may do the trick. A T350 Series monitor has dropped by a third to $100, which is almost a record low for that model.

It has a decent 75Hz refresh rate and an IPS panel that Samsung claims will support a wide variety of viewing angles. FreeSync will help reduce screen tearing if you have a compatible AMD CPU, while the response time of 5ms isn't too bad for gaming.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-27-inch-samsung-smart-monitor-m8-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-153331058.html?src=rss