Tag Archives: Media

Valve’s next game appears to be Deadlock, a MOBA hero shooter

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According to a pair of content creators, the wait for a new Valve game is almost over: A third-person hero shooter called Deadlock is in closed alpha and an announcement seems imminent.

The game has apparently been in the works since 2018, with IceFrog, a developer synonymous with the original DotA mod, in charge. It’s reportedly what became of the Neon Prime project that has been rumored for a couple of years. Tyler McVicker, a veteran Valve reporter, and the content creator Gabe Follower, have this week both independently confirmed the game is in an advanced state of development.

“In terms of scope,” McVicker says, “this is meant to be Valve's next major competitive game. The next Counter-Strike. The next Dota.” He describes it as Valve’s attempt to bring the company’s various game communities together, with precise gunplay and the laning objectives of a MOBA. McVicker describes it as looking “like Valorant, Overwatch, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 had a baby.”

The new title is apparently based in a “fantasy setting mixed with steampunk,” a marked shift from prior reports on the project that described Neon Prime as sci-fi inspired. Gabe Follower posted four screenshots on X which show something a little more subdued than the Overwatch and Valorant comparisons might imply.

The images show six vs. six gameplay across four lanes — suggesting a mix of solo lanes and two vs. two action across the map. It also shows ‘transit lines’ that can get players back to lane faster, like League of Legends’ hex gates. McVicker says these transit lines are inspired by BioShock: Infinite’s Sky-Hook system.

Outside of Counter-Strike 2 and Half-Life: Alyx, it’s been a hell of a long time since Valve released an all-new, big-scope title, and it’s been even longer since the company launched an all-new IP. McVicker says Deadlock is currently in a closed alpha, with “hundreds” of people playing. Of course, this is Valve, so it’s never too late for the project to be killed. But with June traditionally being a big month for video game news, it's not impossible we'll hear something official soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valves-next-game-appears-to-be-deadlock-a-moba-hero-shooter-185418880.html?src=rss

Valve’s next game appears to be Deadlock, a MOBA hero shooter

Posted on by

According to a pair of content creators, the wait for a new Valve game is almost over: A third-person hero shooter called Deadlock is in closed alpha and an announcement seems imminent.

The game has apparently been in the works since 2018, with IceFrog, a developer synonymous with the original DotA mod, in charge. It’s reportedly what became of the Neon Prime project that has been rumored for a couple of years. Tyler McVicker, a veteran Valve reporter, and the content creator Gabe Follower, have this week both independently confirmed the game is in an advanced state of development.

“In terms of scope,” McVicker says, “this is meant to be Valve's next major competitive game. The next Counter-Strike. The next Dota.” He describes it as Valve’s attempt to bring the company’s various game communities together, with precise gunplay and the laning objectives of a MOBA. McVicker describes it as looking “like Valorant, Overwatch, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 had a baby.”

The new title is apparently based in a “fantasy setting mixed with steampunk,” a marked shift from prior reports on the project that described Neon Prime as sci-fi inspired. Gabe Follower posted four screenshots on X which show something a little more subdued than the Overwatch and Valorant comparisons might imply.

The images show six vs. six gameplay across four lanes — suggesting a mix of solo lanes and two vs. two action across the map. It also shows ‘transit lines’ that can get players back to lane faster, like League of Legends’ hex gates. McVicker says these transit lines are inspired by BioShock: Infinite’s Sky-Hook system.

Outside of Counter-Strike 2 and Half-Life: Alyx, it’s been a hell of a long time since Valve released an all-new, big-scope title, and it’s been even longer since the company launched an all-new IP. McVicker says Deadlock is currently in a closed alpha, with “hundreds” of people playing. Of course, this is Valve, so it’s never too late for the project to be killed. But with June traditionally being a big month for video game news, it's not impossible we'll hear something official soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valves-next-game-appears-to-be-deadlock-a-moba-hero-shooter-185418880.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming fall 2025

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One of the biggest, most iconic gaming series is almost back. Grand Theft Auto 6 is apparently on track for a fall launch next year — a little more specific than the previous release window of “2025.”

There’s no new trailer, and GTA publisher, Take-Two, is not quite ready to offer a specific release date. CEO Strauss Zelnick told Variety: “I think we’re going to leave it there for now.”

The sixth mainline installment will be set in Leonida (Rockstar’s Florida equivalent) and focused mostly on Vice City (Miami). Compared to GTA Vice City, however, it’ll be contemporary. So, I’m banking on OnlyFans pastiches, vapes, self-driving cars and everything else 2020s. Plus explosions and crime.

— Mat Smith

Uber will soon let you reserve a shuttle to get home from a big concert or ballgame

Samsung’s Music Frame gets its first discount on Amazon

The best PC games out there (but we need to add Balatro)

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

AST and AT&T
AT&T

AT&T subscribers will soon have cell service even in typical dead zones, like deep inside national parks or far-flung rural locations. The mobile carrier has been working with AST SpaceMobile since 2018, testing two-way audio calls, texts and video calls via satellites in space using ordinary smartphones. Now, the companies have entered a commercial agreement, just in time for a rocket launch of five commercial AST satellites this summer. Those satellites will enable AT&T to roll out its service, but there’s no start date, yet.

Continue reading.

OpenAI and Reddit announced, on Thursday, a partnership for OpenAI to surface Reddit discussions in ChatGPT, and for Reddit to bring AI-powered features to its users. The partnership will “enable OpenAI’s tools to better understand and showcase Reddit content, especially on recent topics,” the companies said in a joint statement. As part of the agreement, OpenAI will also become an advertising partner on Reddit. Ugh.

I’ve resurrected my Reddit habit due to an incredible/accursed game called Balatro. So hopefully, soon, I can just ask ChatGPT what certain cards and terms mean.

Continue reading.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could provide at least some accountability for Ticketmaster and other live-event vendors. NBC News reports the TICKET Act (not to be confused with the Senate’s separate bill with the same try-hard acronym) would mandate that ticket sellers list upfront the total cost of admission — including all fees — to buyers.

Reforming the ticketing industry became a political point-scoring item in late 2022 after Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift fiasco. The Live Nation-owned service, which has a stronghold on the industry, melted down as millions of fans battled “a staggering number” of bots. Ticketmaster said presale codes reached 1.5 million fans, but 14 million (including those pesky bots) tried to buy tickets.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-grand-theft-auto-6-is-coming-fall-2025-111507383.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming fall 2025

Posted on by

One of the biggest, most iconic gaming series is almost back. Grand Theft Auto 6 is apparently on track for a fall launch next year — a little more specific than the previous release window of “2025.”

There’s no new trailer, and GTA publisher, Take-Two, is not quite ready to offer a specific release date. CEO Strauss Zelnick told Variety: “I think we’re going to leave it there for now.”

The sixth mainline installment will be set in Leonida (Rockstar’s Florida equivalent) and focused mostly on Vice City (Miami). Compared to GTA Vice City, however, it’ll be contemporary. So, I’m banking on OnlyFans pastiches, vapes, self-driving cars and everything else 2020s. Plus explosions and crime.

— Mat Smith

Uber will soon let you reserve a shuttle to get home from a big concert or ballgame

Samsung’s Music Frame gets its first discount on Amazon

The best PC games out there (but we need to add Balatro)

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

AST and AT&T
AT&T

AT&T subscribers will soon have cell service even in typical dead zones, like deep inside national parks or far-flung rural locations. The mobile carrier has been working with AST SpaceMobile since 2018, testing two-way audio calls, texts and video calls via satellites in space using ordinary smartphones. Now, the companies have entered a commercial agreement, just in time for a rocket launch of five commercial AST satellites this summer. Those satellites will enable AT&T to roll out its service, but there’s no start date, yet.

Continue reading.

OpenAI and Reddit announced, on Thursday, a partnership for OpenAI to surface Reddit discussions in ChatGPT, and for Reddit to bring AI-powered features to its users. The partnership will “enable OpenAI’s tools to better understand and showcase Reddit content, especially on recent topics,” the companies said in a joint statement. As part of the agreement, OpenAI will also become an advertising partner on Reddit. Ugh.

I’ve resurrected my Reddit habit due to an incredible/accursed game called Balatro. So hopefully, soon, I can just ask ChatGPT what certain cards and terms mean.

Continue reading.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could provide at least some accountability for Ticketmaster and other live-event vendors. NBC News reports the TICKET Act (not to be confused with the Senate’s separate bill with the same try-hard acronym) would mandate that ticket sellers list upfront the total cost of admission — including all fees — to buyers.

Reforming the ticketing industry became a political point-scoring item in late 2022 after Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift fiasco. The Live Nation-owned service, which has a stronghold on the industry, melted down as millions of fans battled “a staggering number” of bots. Ticketmaster said presale codes reached 1.5 million fans, but 14 million (including those pesky bots) tried to buy tickets.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-grand-theft-auto-6-is-coming-fall-2025-111507383.html?src=rss

HBO’s upcoming MoviePass documentary is a must-watch for fans of tech trainwrecks

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The rise and fall of MoviePass is one of those stories just begging for the documentary treatment and, well, HBO has got you covered. The platform just set a premiere date of May 29 for MoviePass, MovieCrash, a documentary helmed by filmmaker Muta’Ali and produced by none other than Mark Wahlberg.

The film chronicles the “meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion” of the movie ticket subscription platform, which originally set the world on fire when it first launched back in 2011. However, it wasn’t long before the company realized that the “all you can eat” approach that works so well with gyms and other membership clubs is a weird fit for movie theaters, particularly at the service’s low price point. In just eight years, the company went from the fastest growing subscription service since Spotify to total bankruptcy.

As the trailer shows, the documentary will feature interviews with many of the major players involved in the various stages of MoviePass. This includes original co-founder Stacy Spikes and former CEO Mitch Lowe. There will also be plenty of interviews with journalists who covered the service, FTC personnel and former subscribers. Incidentally, the trailer promises an anecdote in which a customer sent a box of feces to the MoviePass offices, and we don’t want to miss that.

Though premiering on HBO at 9PM ET on May 29, the documentary will also be available on-demand via Max. Director Muta’Ali has made a few good documentaries, including Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn and Cassius X: Becoming Ali.

As for MoviePass, well, it’s a long and complicated story. The app captured the hearts of theater-goers in 2011 by promising unlimited trips to the cinema for a single monthly subscription fee. The love affair didn’t last. The company ceased operations in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Between those dates, there have been reports of wire fraud, securities fraud and significant data breaches, among other outlandish scenarios. In short, it’s perfect fodder for a documentary.

MoviePass is actually still around. Co-founder Spikes recently bought the company’s assets, brought on new investors and re-launched the service. However, the updated pricing model is on the confusing side, with credits and tiers, and seems to have not captured lightning in a bottle for the second time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hbos-upcoming-moviepass-documentary-is-a-must-watch-for-fans-of-tech-trainwrecks-184923511.html?src=rss

HBO’s upcoming MoviePass documentary is a must-watch for fans of tech trainwrecks

Posted on by

The rise and fall of MoviePass is one of those stories just begging for the documentary treatment and, well, HBO has got you covered. The platform just set a premiere date of May 29 for MoviePass, MovieCrash, a documentary helmed by filmmaker Muta’Ali and produced by none other than Mark Wahlberg.

The film chronicles the “meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion” of the movie ticket subscription platform, which originally set the world on fire when it first launched back in 2011. However, it wasn’t long before the company realized that the “all you can eat” approach that works so well with gyms and other membership clubs is a weird fit for movie theaters, particularly at the service’s low price point. In just eight years, the company went from the fastest growing subscription service since Spotify to total bankruptcy.

As the trailer shows, the documentary will feature interviews with many of the major players involved in the various stages of MoviePass. This includes original co-founder Stacy Spikes and former CEO Mitch Lowe. There will also be plenty of interviews with journalists who covered the service, FTC personnel and former subscribers. Incidentally, the trailer promises an anecdote in which a customer sent a box of feces to the MoviePass offices, and we don’t want to miss that.

Though premiering on HBO at 9PM ET on May 29, the documentary will also be available on-demand via Max. Director Muta’Ali has made a few good documentaries, including Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn and Cassius X: Becoming Ali.

As for MoviePass, well, it’s a long and complicated story. The app captured the hearts of theater-goers in 2011 by promising unlimited trips to the cinema for a single monthly subscription fee. The love affair didn’t last. The company ceased operations in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Between those dates, there have been reports of wire fraud, securities fraud and significant data breaches, among other outlandish scenarios. In short, it’s perfect fodder for a documentary.

MoviePass is actually still around. Co-founder Spikes recently bought the company’s assets, brought on new investors and re-launched the service. However, the updated pricing model is on the confusing side, with credits and tiers, and seems to have not captured lightning in a bottle for the second time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hbos-upcoming-moviepass-documentary-is-a-must-watch-for-fans-of-tech-trainwrecks-184923511.html?src=rss

Activision forms a studio to develop a brand-spanking new IP

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Activision just announced that it's working on a brand-new IP, with a mission “to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.” To help steward this mysterious franchise into the world, the company has opened up a new internal studio called Elsewhere Entertainment.

The team is headquartered in Warsaw, which is where CD Projekt Red cooks up The Witcher and Cyberpunk games, with assistance from a smaller US-based group. The company hasn’t given one ounce of detail regarding the IP itself, just saying that Elsewhere is “dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas” and that it has “full access to Activision’s resources and tools.”

The developer has suggested the final release will be a “next-gen” experience, but didn’t say whether that meant today’s next-gen or whatever consoles are coming down the pike in the next few years. This will likely be a story-driven game, as Activision has hired up folks who worked on The Last of Us, the Uncharted franchise, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. If you have a decent resume and a hankering to work on a new IP, here’s a likely-related job posting.

A new studio means new hires, which is great news for an industry plagued by layoffs. As a matter of fact, the formation of Elsewhere comes just over one week after Activision’s parent company Microsoft closed three Bethesda studios. This is also happening a couple of months after Toys for Bob, another Activision studio, spun off into an indie. In any event, we’ll let you know when the company drops some concrete information about the franchise itself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/activision-forms-a-studio-to-develop-a-brand-spanking-new-ip-164001419.html?src=rss

Activision forms a studio to develop a brand-spanking new IP

Posted on by

Activision just announced that it's working on a brand-new IP, with a mission “to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.” To help steward this mysterious franchise into the world, the company has opened up a new internal studio called Elsewhere Entertainment.

The team is headquartered in Warsaw, which is where CD Projekt Red cooks up The Witcher and Cyberpunk games, with assistance from a smaller US-based group. The company hasn’t given one ounce of detail regarding the IP itself, just saying that Elsewhere is “dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas” and that it has “full access to Activision’s resources and tools.”

The developer has suggested the final release will be a “next-gen” experience, but didn’t say whether that meant today’s next-gen or whatever consoles are coming down the pike in the next few years. This will likely be a story-driven game, as Activision has hired up folks who worked on The Last of Us, the Uncharted franchise, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. If you have a decent resume and a hankering to work on a new IP, here’s a likely-related job posting.

A new studio means new hires, which is great news for an industry plagued by layoffs. As a matter of fact, the formation of Elsewhere comes just over one week after Activision’s parent company Microsoft closed three Bethesda studios. This is also happening a couple of months after Toys for Bob, another Activision studio, spun off into an indie. In any event, we’ll let you know when the company drops some concrete information about the franchise itself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/activision-forms-a-studio-to-develop-a-brand-spanking-new-ip-164001419.html?src=rss

Xbox Cloud Gaming finally supports keyboard and mouse inputs on web browsers

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Microsoft just released a new update for Xbox Cloud Gaming that finally brings mouse and keyboard support, after teasing the feature for years. The tool is currently in beta release and works with both the Edge and Chrome web browsers. It looks pretty simple to use. Just select a game that supports a mouse and keyboard and have at it.

You can also instantly switch between a mouse/keyboard combination to a standard controller by pressing the Xbox button on the controller or pressing a key on the keyboard. The company says it’ll be rolling out badges later in the month to alert users which games support mouse and keyboard inputs.

For now, there’s support for 26 games. These include blockbusters like ARK Survival Evolved, Halo Infinite and, of course, Fortnite. Smaller games like High on Life and Pentiment can also be controlled via mouse and keyboard. Check the above link for the full list.

Microsoft hasn’t said what took it so long to get this going. The feature was originally presumed to launch back in June of 2022, but we didn’t get a progress update until two months ago. No matter the reason, KBM setups are practically a requirement for first-person shooters and, well, better late than never.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-cloud-gaming-finally-supports-keyboard-and-mouse-inputs-on-web-browsers-165215925.html?src=rss

Xbox Cloud Gaming finally supports keyboard and mouse inputs on web browsers

Posted on by

Microsoft just released a new update for Xbox Cloud Gaming that finally brings mouse and keyboard support, after teasing the feature for years. The tool is currently in beta release and works with both the Edge and Chrome web browsers. It looks pretty simple to use. Just select a game that supports a mouse and keyboard and have at it.

You can also instantly switch between a mouse/keyboard combination to a standard controller by pressing the Xbox button on the controller or pressing a key on the keyboard. The company says it’ll be rolling out badges later in the month to alert users which games support mouse and keyboard inputs.

For now, there’s support for 26 games. These include blockbusters like ARK Survival Evolved, Halo Infinite and, of course, Fortnite. Smaller games like High on Life and Pentiment can also be controlled via mouse and keyboard. Check the above link for the full list.

Microsoft hasn’t said what took it so long to get this going. The feature was originally presumed to launch back in June of 2022, but we didn’t get a progress update until two months ago. No matter the reason, KBM setups are practically a requirement for first-person shooters and, well, better late than never.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-cloud-gaming-finally-supports-keyboard-and-mouse-inputs-on-web-browsers-165215925.html?src=rss