Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, from Amy Hennig’s studio, arrives in 2025

It's been almost three years since we found out that former Naughty Dog and Visceral Games writer and creative director Amy Hennig was working on a Marvel game with her team at Skydance New Media. During Epic Games' State of Unreal showcase at the Game Developers Conference, a new story trailer shed some more light on the game, which is called Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra.

As the name suggests, it's set during World War II in Occupied Paris. You'll play as four characters in this story-driven action-adventure: a young Steve Rogers (better known as Captain America), T'Challa's grandfather Azzuri (the Black Panther of his era), US soldier and Howling Commandos member Gabriel Jones and Wakandan spy Nanali.

The trailer shows Captain America taking out some foes (presumably Nazis) with his shield as he looks for Black Panther, who we see scampering over rooftops. It ends with the pair clashing on a bridge, but what are the odds that they (along with Gabriel and Nanali) form a shaky alliance to battle a common enemy?

Skydance New Media is using Unreal Engine 5.4 to build the game. The trailer has some striking visual,s including highly detailed facial animations and environments, which are seemingly reflective of what the game actually looks like. "All the sequences you just saw in that trailer are pulled right out of our game, running real-time in Unreal Engine 5," Hennig said. 'No smoke and mirrors." We'll have to wait a little longer — until Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra arrives in 2025 — to see if Hennig's claims stand up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-from-amy-hennigs-studio-arrives-in-2025-173514552.html?src=rss

Getty flags another British royal family photo for being digitally altered

Getty has flagged another photo captured by the Princess of Wales as digitally altered that was released back in 2022, featuring Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. "Getty Images is undertaking a review of handout images and in accordance with its editorial policy is placing an editor's note on images where the source has suggested they could be digitally enhanced," a spokesperson told CNN. This comes on the heels of a recent controversy, where a photo of Kate Middleton was revealed to be doctored.

The publication found 19 alterations in the photo that most people likely wouldn't notice unless they zoom in very closely and examine every pattern. It found a few misalignments in the subjects' clothing, random floating artifacts, cloned hair strands and heads that looked like they were pasted in from another photo due to the difference in lighting. Kate, or whoever edited the picture, might have simply been looking to create the best version of it possible, but agencies like Getty only allow minimal editing for the photos in their library to avoid spreading misinformation. 

The princess' absence from public events since Christmas last year has, as you might have expected, spawned all kinds of conspiracy theories. It even gave rise to a whole Wikipedia article entitled "Where is Kate?" because people around the world are apparently that invested in the British monarchy and can't quite believe that she'd undergone abdominal surgery. 

In the midst of it all, William's and Kate's social media accounts posted the aforementioned doctored photo of the Princess of Wales with her children on Mother's Day in the UK. But when the Associated Press and other news agencies pulled the photo because they found that it had been edited, those conspiracy theories became even more outlandish. The wildest claim we've heard so far is that the video of her out shopping with the Prince of Wales wasn't her at all but a body double. Or a clone, apparently, because that's the way it goes on the internet.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/getty-flags-another-british-royal-family-photo-for-being-digitally-altered-121856385.html?src=rss

Meta is finally rolling out trending topics on Threads

Meta is finally providing a bit of visibility into what kinds of conversations are happening on its Twitter competitor, Threads. The service is rolling out its “trending now” feature to all US users, Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.

The feature, which the company began testing in February, uses AI to surface a handful of topics “based on what people are engaging with right now.” Trends will appear in Threads’ search page and will also appear in between posts in users’ For You feeds.

For now, the feature is still fairly limited. Threads only shows five trending topics at any one time, which is likely an attempt to keep the list relatively curated and avoid some of the issues that have plagued the feature on Twitter and now X. Meta has said it employs human “content specialists” to review topics and ensure that trends comply with the company’s safety rules.

Still, the official arrival of trends brings a much-requested feature to the app. Up until now, users had very few ways to get insight into what others are talking about outside of what they can see in their own feeds. Trends also gives users a way to keep up with some news and current events on the platform, despite Meta’s reluctance to “encourage” news content on Threads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-finally-rolling-out-trending-topics-on-threads-184311138.html?src=rss

Meta is finally rolling out trending topics on Threads

Meta is finally providing a bit of visibility into what kinds of conversations are happening on its Twitter competitor, Threads. The service is rolling out its “trending now” feature to all US users, Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.

The feature, which the company began testing in February, uses AI to surface a handful of topics “based on what people are engaging with right now.” Trends will appear in Threads’ search page and will also appear in between posts in users’ For You feeds.

For now, the feature is still fairly limited. Threads only shows five trending topics at any one time, which is likely an attempt to keep the list relatively curated and avoid some of the issues that have plagued the feature on Twitter and now X. Meta has said it employs human “content specialists” to review topics and ensure that trends comply with the company’s safety rules.

Still, the official arrival of trends brings a much-requested feature to the app. Up until now, users had very few ways to get insight into what others are talking about outside of what they can see in their own feeds. Trends also gives users a way to keep up with some news and current events on the platform, despite Meta’s reluctance to “encourage” news content on Threads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-finally-rolling-out-trending-topics-on-threads-184311138.html?src=rss

Watch Disney’s official trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte

Based on the synopsis for Star Wars: The Acolyte, you can expect more than just the typical action scenes and sci-fi world building from the show. It seems to have a mystery-thriller slant to it that you could find appealing even if you're not a Star Wars fan but love that particular genre — and now Disney+ has released its official trailer to give you an idea of what you can expect. Star Wars: The Acolyte's story is set at the end of the High Republic era, around a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

It revolves around a former padawan played by Amandla Stenberg (Everything, Everything and The Hate U Give) who reunites with her old Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game) to investigate a series of crimes. They, of course, unearth more and more clues as they look into the crime spree, which Disney says will lead them "down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems..." As a big fan of mystery and detective stories, it sounds promising, and I'd love it if Disney can nail the execution to give us a satisfying (and unpredictable) ending, as well. 

Star Wars: The Acolyte will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting on June 4. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-disneys-official-trailer-for-star-wars-the-acolyte-150246523.html?src=rss

Watch Disney’s official trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte

Based on the synopsis for Star Wars: The Acolyte, you can expect more than just the typical action scenes and sci-fi world building from the show. It seems to have a mystery-thriller slant to it that you could find appealing even if you're not a Star Wars fan but love that particular genre — and now Disney+ has released its official trailer to give you an idea of what you can expect. Star Wars: The Acolyte's story is set at the end of the High Republic era, around a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

It revolves around a former padawan played by Amandla Stenberg (Everything, Everything and The Hate U Give) who reunites with her old Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game) to investigate a series of crimes. They, of course, unearth more and more clues as they look into the crime spree, which Disney says will lead them "down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems..." As a big fan of mystery and detective stories, it sounds promising, and I'd love it if Disney can nail the execution to give us a satisfying (and unpredictable) ending, as well. 

Star Wars: The Acolyte will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting on June 4. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-disneys-official-trailer-for-star-wars-the-acolyte-150246523.html?src=rss

Steam Families puts game sharing and parental controls in one place

Steam is introducing a new way for your clan to play games together. The platform has announced Steam Families, a collection of game-sharing (and monitoring) features for parents and children currently available in beta. It takes the place of Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View, rolling in some of their existing features alongside updates. 

Each member of a Steam Family will have a section called "family library" in their games list where they can access shareable games. Ownership remains with the purchaser, but each new title bought will appear in the list. You can play another member's games even when they're online (as long as they're playing another game). Plus, you can save your own progress and achievements. 

You can invite up to five other family members to your Steam Family account, with each member assigned the role of parent or child. Only adults can manage the account or implement parental controls, such as setting playtime limits (and reviewing requests for more), seeing playtime reports and choosing which games a child can play. Plus, they can control access to the Steam Store and chats. 

Steam Families also streamlines the process of children getting parental approval to buy games (thus, ideally for Steam, making them more frequent). Children can now request an adult on the plan to pay for their shopping cart, which a parent can manage via email or phone by pressing approve or decline. 

Steam Family is currently in beta and requires each member to join to participate. You can find the option to join under Interface and then choose Steam Family Beta in the Client Beta Participation dropdown menu. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-families-puts-game-sharing-and-parental-controls-in-one-place-123016424.html?src=rss

Steam Families puts game sharing and parental controls in one place

Steam is introducing a new way for your clan to play games together. The platform has announced Steam Families, a collection of game-sharing (and monitoring) features for parents and children currently available in beta. It takes the place of Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View, rolling in some of their existing features alongside updates. 

Each member of a Steam Family will have a section called "family library" in their games list where they can access shareable games. Ownership remains with the purchaser, but each new title bought will appear in the list. You can play another member's games even when they're online (as long as they're playing another game). Plus, you can save your own progress and achievements. 

You can invite up to five other family members to your Steam Family account, with each member assigned the role of parent or child. Only adults can manage the account or implement parental controls, such as setting playtime limits (and reviewing requests for more), seeing playtime reports and choosing which games a child can play. Plus, they can control access to the Steam Store and chats. 

Steam Families also streamlines the process of children getting parental approval to buy games (thus, ideally for Steam, making them more frequent). Children can now request an adult on the plan to pay for their shopping cart, which a parent can manage via email or phone by pressing approve or decline. 

Steam Family is currently in beta and requires each member to join to participate. You can find the option to join under Interface and then choose Steam Family Beta in the Client Beta Participation dropdown menu. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-families-puts-game-sharing-and-parental-controls-in-one-place-123016424.html?src=rss

YouTuber Dunkey’s publishing company is releasing its first game on May 9

YouTube sensation Dunkey, aka videogamedunkey or Jason Gastrow, has added game publishing to his resume. He started a company called Big Mode last year, which is releasing its first title on May 9. Animal Well is a sidescrolling Metroidvania platformer that will show up on the PS5, the Nintendo Switch and PCs. There’s a trailer that’s absolutely oozing with retro-gaming goodness.

Now, Dunkey didn’t make this game. Big Mode is a publisher and not a developer. A company called Shared Memory is behind Animal Well, which is just a solo dev named Billy Basso. He’s been working on the game for seven years and his hard work shows from the trailer. 

Animal Well looks to lean a bit into psychedelia. There’s a blistering color palette, a synth-heavy soundtrack and, of course, a giant white cat that takes up the whole screen. There also looks to be tough platforming sections and the kinds of power ups that populate the Metroidvania genre. In any event, this looks like yet another delicious appetizer before Hollow Knight: Silksong eventually releases in the year 2087.

While Basso hasn’t released any games on his own yet, the developer did work on Octodad: Deadliest Catch and Bugsnax, among others. As for Dunkey, he’s a YouTuber, but one with pretty good taste. He knows his stuff and loves trashing bad games. If you’ve ever seen a meme taking the piss out of the beleaguered PlayStation mascot Knack, Dunkey probably had something to do with it.

Animal Well is the first game published by Big Mode, but not the last. The company has major plans for the future, including a bullet hell shooter called Star of Providence. Big Mode is also accepting submissions from developers, though not if the game includes “NFTs, crypto or blockchain.” If only Starbucks had such discerning taste.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtuber-dunkeys-publishing-company-is-releasing-its-first-game-on-may-9-152519368.html?src=rss

LinkedIn is developing in-app games to further distract you from your job hunt

LinkedIn, a platform that surely everybody associates with fun, may soon offer puzzle-based games to give its users something to do besides networking. App researcher Nima Owji posted a series of screenshots on X this weekend showing some of the games LinkedIn is working on, and the company has since confirmed the plan to TechCrunch. Employees’ scores will reportedly affect how the companies they work for are ranked in the games.

Per TechCrunch, the titles LinkedIn is working on so far include “Queens,” “Inference” and “Crossclimb.” LinkedIn provided the publication with some newer images of the games, but for everyone just anxiously awaiting their rollout, there’s no timeline yet for when they’ll be released. It’s unclear if games will be available in full to free users or reserved for LinkedIn’s paid subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/linkedin-is-developing-in-app-games-to-further-distract-you-from-your-job-hunt-205953683.html?src=rss