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Image: Bungie The first saga in Destiny's universe is coming to an end with an epic battle between light and darkness. Destiny's light and darkness saga has always been about The Traveler, a mysterious entity in the universe of Destiny that hangs motionless in the sky as a source of light for Destiny players. Now, The Traveler is asking Destiny 2 players for help, and it's time to answer that call on February 27th.A mysterious enemy, The Witness, has already entered The Traveler, and now, Destiny 2: The Final Shape players will have to venture inside to help defeat The Witness. What awaits inside is the Pale Heart, a first linear destination that's unlike anything we've seen in Destiny during its nearly 10-year history. Image:... Continue reading...

Photo by JC Olivera / Getty Images Opening Night Live 2023 will have over two hours of trailers and announcements. Just don't expect too many world premieres. Continue reading...

Image: Suzanne Tenner / Lucasfilm Ltd. At this point, live-action Star Wars shows are no longer novel. In fact, it's getting pretty crowded out there, with everything from the ongoing adventures of The Mandalorian to series like Andor, Obi-Wan, and The Book of Boba Fett. So, a new story like Ahsoka needs to do something a little different to stand out from the ever-growing pack. And in its first two episodes, the series manages to do just that by focusing on a very specific and important part of the Star Wars mythos: mystery.The show starts out like classic Star Wars, complete with a title crawl (this time in red text) followed by a massive spaceship slowly making its way through the inky expanse of space. The story - which takes place roughly during the same period as The... Continue reading...

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix won't charge DVD.com customers for any discs they still have after September 29th, the company announced from its DVD.com account on X on Monday. That generous offer, combined with Netflix's recent announcement that it may send customers as many as 10 extra discs from their queues, means that some people might end up with a bunch of disc copies of movies, courtesy of Netflix.DVD.com customers will need to visit a special link on DVD.com by August 29th to apply for the promotional offer. Netflix will then send up to 10 random discs based on the movies in the subscriber's queue.

The Atari 2600 Plus. | Image: Atari Atari has announced it's relaunching its most well-known console as the Atari 2600 Plus on November 17th for $129.99, with preorders open now. It's a fully functioning, 80 percent scale, HDMI-outputting version of the console that comes with a 10-in-1 game cartridge. Atari says it even supports both 2600 and later 7800 game cartridges and will work with the original joystick and paddle controllers.Aside from being a little smaller and gaining HDMI and USB-C ports, the 2600 Plus is mostly unchanged. The front bears a strip of wood paneling with a light-up Atari logo, while four toggle switches flank its cartridge slot. Atari says the cartridge socket is a little bigger to help with sticking cartridges. On the back by the HDMI and USB-C... Continue reading...

Image: Xbox Microsoft has shared the minimum PC specs you'll need to play Forza Motorsport when it's released on October 10th. While it looks like it'll be playable across a range of PCs (in addition to Xbox Series X / S consoles), you'll still need some high-end specs if you want to play the game on ultra settings.Forza Motorsport can run at native resolutions up to 4K and beyond," as it also supports ultrawide resolutions. The game lets you leverage Nvidia's DLSS 2 and AMD's FSR 2.2 upscaling technologies. But if you're looking for DLSS 3 support (or DLSS 3.5, now), a blog post says, We will continue to optimize and improve Forza Motorsport on PC after launch."Additionally, it offers shader pre-compilation and pre-caching that should mitigate... Continue reading...

We'll likely get a proper look at the cameras soon if Philips officially unveils them at IFA. | Image: Philips / FCC The first images of what are believed to be Philips Hue's new home security cameras have emerged online, just a few weeks after rumors first emerged that the company was entering the smart home security market. First spotted by the German-language tech site Hueblog, at least two of the four speculated camera models have now been granted regulatory approval by the FCC.The registration documents contain some technical details alongside a breakdown of the cylindrical camera unit. The images show the black variant (though a white model will also supposedly be available) both with and without a battery unit. The battery adds some considerable length to the camera if you're not looking to buy the wired version.According to a warning... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft announced a restructuring of its proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition earlier today that involves transferring cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. It's a big change in Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal that's designed to appease UK regulators that blocked the acquisition earlier this year, but it might also trigger a refresh review from the EU.The Commission is carefully assessing whether the developments in the UK require another notification to the Commission," says European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta in a statement to The Verge.Another notification to the EU could signal a further review of a deal that regulators at the European Commission cleared earlier this year.... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Meta is finally launching a much more capable web app for Threads, the company announced on Tuesday. You'll be able to post, interact with other posts, and look at your feed, spokesperson Christine Pai tells The Verge. It's set to roll out over the next few days, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says.So far, Threads on the web has essentially been a glorified way to look at somebody's profile - you couldn't even like or reshare a post even though the web app included the buttons to do so. (If you clicked them, Threads would show you a QR code to download the mobile app.) The new desktop web interface looks a lot like the one in the mobile app, though with some small differences; the navigation icons are on the top of the page, and to switch... Continue reading...

Razer's new razor has no RGB, but it'll shave ya. | GilletteLabs After all this time, Razer made a razor. Well. Technically, Gillette made a razor and put Razer's branding on it. Finally, a razor for gamers!Don't confuse this with the Razer Razer, this year's April Fool's Day joke. That was an RGB gaming mouse with an electric shaver built into it. As fun as it would be to have a quick way to get a bunch of beard hair into your keyboard, the reality here is both smarter and more disappointing.To be more specific: they took the five-blade GilletteLabs with Exfoliating Bar and slapped Razer's acid-green-and-black color scheme and snake logo on it. No RGB, which feels like a missed opportunity to tie into Razer's vast Chroma ecosystem and sync your razor to your laptop, headset, keyboard, mouse, mousep... Continue reading...

Image: Ozlo The first two pairs of Sleepbuds found a passionate customer base, but it wasn't large enough for Bose to keep them around. Now, a startup is bringing them back with added health tracking - and they play music, too. Continue reading...

Image: Nvidia Nvidia is introducing DLSS 3.5 this fall with a new AI-powered Ray Reconstruction technique that's designed to improve the quality of ray tracing. Unlike DLSS 3's Frame Generation, which was limited to just RTX 40-series GPUs, DLSS 3.5 will boost ray tracing across all RTX-series GPUs going back to the RTX 20 series.Nvidia is primarily targeting DLSS 3.5 at games that offer path tracing, often known as full ray tracing, as opposed to titles that use ray tracing just for select elements like shadows or reflections. Cyberpunk 2077 will get support for DLSS 3.5 with its Phantom Liberty DLC releasing on September 26th, which also adds the path tracing previewed earlier this year. Alan Wake 2 will also launch on October 27th with DLSS 3.5... Continue reading...

That precious suit has never looked better. | Image: Nvidia A community of modders is developing a ray-traced Half-Life 2 remake using Nvidia's early access RTX Remix platform, and Nvidia is debuting its first trailer for Gamescom. Half-Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project will not win any awards for good naming, but the beautified update to the PC's iconic first-person shooter from 2004 may easily win the hearts of those of us with a soft spot for a little nostalgia and high-res headcrabs.The project is the combined efforts of four Half-Life 2 mod teams, now formed as Orbifold Studios, using RTX Remix to rebuild the game using PBR (physically based rendering - not the cheap beer) properties and adding new geometric details. The remake uses RTX IO for fast and smooth asset loading, seen recently in P... Continue reading...

Image: Nvidia Nvidia is starting to roll out access to PC Game Pass and Microsoft Store titles on its GeForce Now streaming service this week. PC Game Pass subscribers will be able to start streaming titles through GeForce Now on August 24th, including first-party Microsoft games like Deathloop and Grounded as well as third-party titles like No Man's Sky and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.While PC Game Pass and Microsoft Store games will be available on GeForce Now, not all of them will be available to stream immediately on Nvidia's service. Nvidia has done the work to integrate the Microsoft Store into GeForce Now, but it still needs to onboard all the games that are available on a PC Game Pass subscription.That means PC Game Pass subscribers and... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram and Facebook users in Europe are getting more options to opt out of Meta's recommendation algorithms, the company has explained in a blog post today. According to Meta's president of global affairs Nick Clegg, European users will be able to access features like Reels, Stories, and Search on Facebook and Instagram without seeing content that's been ranked by Meta's recommendation algorithms.For example, on Facebook and Instagram, users will have the option to view Stories and Reels only from people they follow, ranked in chronological order, newest to oldest," Clegg writes. They will also be able to view Search results based only on the words they enter, rather than personalized specifically to them based on their previous... Continue reading...

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Microsoft is restructuring its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The transfer of rights is designed to appease regulators in the UK that are concerned about the impact Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion deal will have on cloud gaming competition. The restructured deal has triggered a new regulatory investigation in the UK that could last until October 18th.To address the concerns about the impact of the proposed acquisition on cloud game streaming raised by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, we are restructuring the transaction to acquire a narrower set of rights," says Microsoft president Brad Smith. This includes executing an... Continue reading...

The Verge X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, is testing stripping headlines from articles shared on the site. The move was initially reported by Fortune, before X owner Elon Musk confirmed it directly. Posts would only include the lead image and the URL, unless the person or publisher posting the link adds their own text, per materials the outlet viewed.The image would still serve as a link to the article, but there's no word on a timetable to roll it out or confirmation that it will ship at all. It's something Elon wants," a source is quoted as saying, They were running it by advertisers, who didn't like it, but it's happening."

Photo by Sean O'Kane / The Verge The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening a query on Ford's response to a recall last year that affected almost 49,000 Mustang Mach-E vehicles, as reported by Automotive News. The June 2022 recall was issued due to a malfunction involving overheating of the electric SUV's high-voltage contactors, which, at worst, can make the EV suddenly lose power on the road, increasing the risk of a crash.Occurances would often follow high-speed battery charging or repeated fast acceleration sessions.Ford issued an over-the-air (OTA) software update to respond to the recall, which was designed to reduce power if the contactors got too hot - in hopes of preventing sudden power loss and possible damage to the contacts.... Continue reading...

Eve's promised products, circa 2020. | Image: Eve Every time I write about Dough - the PC gaming monitor company formerly known as Eve - some people tell me to stop! They say Dough scammed them out of money or shipped their monitors too late to matter or ghosted their attempts to get customer support.Today, I'm here to tell you about an opportunity and a promise.The opportunity: Dough now wants to fix its bad reputation. The company now claims that if you fill out this Customer Issue Resolution Form, you can get your refund or other kinds of help fast. Dough tells The Verge it's already issued 25,000 refunds without the form, with only 2 percent outstanding, and that it's now taking care of customers as quickly as a few hours after they ask.The promise: If you contact Dough and do... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Over the weekend, word spread about a problem affecting old tweets, and eventually, we narrowed it down to anything posted before December 2014, either with an image or a link that had been shortened by Twitter. A post by Tom Coates alerted many people to the problem and he noted that a 2014 Ellen DeGeneres selfie from the Oscars that took the crown as most retweeted ever" was even missing its image.Now the @Support account at X, the company formerly known as Twitter until Elon Musk rebranded it, says, Over the weekend we had a bug that prevented us from displaying images from before 2014. No images or data were lost. We fixed the bug, and the issue will be fully resolved in the coming days."There are no details mentioned in the... Continue reading...

Try Galaxy lets you see what OneUI looks like on two iPhones. | Image: Samsung Hey, wait a minute, that Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is actually just two iPhones in a trench coat!That's the idea behind the latest update to the Try Galaxy web app, which, when running on two iPhones, offers a Samsung One UI demonstration spread across both screens. Samsung says it lets iOS users try out the foldable's benefits, like watching content on an immersive" screen, or sample productivity features like dragging and dropping across both screens thanks to its multitasking abilities - something Samsung does well and that even the iPad could use work on.To make it happen, you just have to visit the website or scan a QR code on two iPhones, add the web app to your homescreen, and then tape them together (the tape is my own... Continue reading...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is discontinuing the Kinect - again. The company officially stopped manufacturing the depth camera and microphone in 2017 and brought it back in a new form in 2019 as the Azure Kinect Developer Kit. Now, Microsoft is ending production of that, too, but it has partnered with some outside companies to provide options available for people who need similar types of devices.If you want to get one of the remaining Azure Kinect Developer Kits, they'll be available to buy through the end of October or until supplies last," Microsoft's Swati Mehta said in a post on the company's website. If you already have one, Mehta promises that you can keep using it without disruption."As the needs of our customers and partners evolve, we... Continue reading...

Palms are hit by strong wind and rain from Tropical Storm Hilary in the deserts of Southern California on August 20th, 2023, in Palm Desert, California. | Photo by David McNew / Getty Images California is notoriously dry this time of year. Yet, over the course of a single day this weekend, some desert areas were hit with more than a year's worth of rainfall.Hurricane Hilary threw California into a state of emergency after more than 80 years without a tropical storm making landfall there. This kind of storm is unusual for California, and it will probably remain a rare occurrence. Even so, strange and extreme weather is a hallmark of climate change. And experts say it could have more curveballs in store that the state should be preparing for.There probably will not be a whole lot more [hurricanes that move into the southwestern US] in the future. But when they do happen, they'll be much more like Hilary," says David... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla has determined that two of its former workers are responsible for a massive data leak that includes personally identifiable information on over 75,000 employees, TechCrunch reports. According to a filing with the state of Maine's attorney general office, Tesla's data privacy officer, Steven Elentukh, reported the breach as insider wrongdoing," leaking employee information including social security numbers.The Maine filing includes a template letter by Elentukh written to send to affected employees in the state. It confirms that Handelsblatt, the German media outlet recipient of 100GB of Tesla's data, had notified Tesla on May 10th that it had received confidential information.The investigation revealed that two former Tesla... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile announced it's offering a yearly phone upgrade plan called Go5G Next for $100 per month for a single line. It's a pricier companion to the $90-per-month Go5G Plus plan with bi-annual upgrades the carrier debuted earlier this year.The prices from T-Mobile's announcement assume you're using automatic payments, which come with a $5 discount per line that's separate from the company's $5 fee for in-store payments.Every other aspect of the plan looks to be the same as that lower-tier Plus" plan: it offers unlimited calls and texts, Netflix Basic (or Standard if you're on a family plan), Apple TV Plus, unlimited mobile data, and 50GB of broadband-quality data.There's a caveat, though. T-Mobile won't deem you upgrade-ready"... Continue reading...

The new Xbox Series X console wraps. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has created a series of Xbox Series X console wraps that are designed to be a more affordable option instead of purchasing a separate limited edition console. One of the first Xbox console wraps will be one for Starfield, which will launch on October 18th, priced at $49.99.The console wraps aren't stickers like you'd find from Dbrand; instead, they fasten to an Xbox Series X thanks to a velcro hook and loop enclosure. The plastic Starfield wrap includes panels that look similar to the limited edition Starfield-branded Xbox controller. Key internal console components are highlighted through outlined access panel and game-inspired graphics," explains Monique Chatterjee, senior design director at Xbox. Image:... Continue reading...

The LG C3 is the jack-of-all-trades OLED TV for most people who enjoy both watching TV and playing games. | Image: LG The 65-inch LG C3 OLED TV is on sale for $1,896.99 ($702 off) at Amazon. The 4K TV is an exceptional jack-of-all-trades set with four HDMI 2.1 ports capable of up to 120Hz refresh with VRR, making it ideal for gaming. It's also got those signature deep black levels for seeing detail even in dark cinematic movies and TV shows.The LG C3 is the follow-up to one of our go-to TVs, last year's C2. The new TV shares many similar specs with the C2, but it's brighter, faster (thanks to a new processor), and has some user interface refinements in its webOS-based operating system - like a handy Personalized Picture Wizard that guides you through a step-by-step process to help set up the C3's picture mode without as much fuss.Between the NFL... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Creators on Apple Podcasts will now be able to find out a lot more about who their most devoted listeners are and where they're coming from. The company today is launching subscription analytics tools that will show podcasters how many listeners started a free trial, the percentage of those who converted to a paid subscription, what type of plan they're subscribed to, and geographic breakdowns. While Apple has made analytics on regular listeners available since 2017, this new set of analytics will give podcasters more intel on the subscription side of their business.Creators can also see the breakdown between annual and monthly subscriptions. At a virtual briefing attended by The Verge, Apple's global head of podcasts, Ben Cave, said... Continue reading...

Image: Disney Disney is releasing physical copies of The Mandalorian, Loki, and WandaVision. All three Disney Plus shows will become available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray later this year, marking the first time that Disney has brought its streaming-only series to home video.While the physical edition of WandaVision will include the complete series, the release of Loki on Blu-ray will only include the first season. Additionally, The Mandalorian's first and second seasons will be split into two separate discs. Image: Disney You can preorder the physical copies starting on August 28th, with the release date for each one as follows:

YouTube is partnering with record labels to establish rules for how AI-generated music is treated on its platform, including monetization opportunities for both companies and creators.The platform said in a blog post it would invest in building its rights management system Content ID, update its policies on uploading manipulated content, and deploy generative AI tools to help detect videos that violate its rules.Generative AI systems may amplify current challenges like trademark and copyright abuse, misinformation, spam, and more," YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said. But AI can also be used to identify this sort of content, and we'll continue to invest in the AI-powered technology that helps us protect our community of viewers, creators,... Continue reading...

Image: Apple Invasion was a curious addition to the sci-fi TV landscape when it debuted in 2021. For much of its runtime, it barely felt like science fiction at all. We all knew something alien was happening - it's right there in the show's title, after all - but the story was much more focused on the human-level drama going down as the world steadily succumbed to the invading forces. The result was a show that started very slowly, though things did eventually pick up mid-season. Ultimately, season 1 felt like a prologue to a much bigger story.With all of that setup out of the way, the second season starts out much more exciting - and it doesn't let up for the first few episodes.Note: this write-up is based on the first five (of 10) episodes of... Continue reading...

Image: Amazon Amazon is updating its recently launched Fire TV Channels app. The free, ad-supported streaming platform has a new sidebar that lets you navigate through different categories of content along with a new slate of shows.Fire TV Channels first launched in May with a lineup of free shows, live news, music videos, and sports from over 400 different providers, such as ABC News, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, America's Test Kitchen, Martha Stewart, and others. But now, Amazon says the app will also include content from Variety, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, TV Line, Funny or Die, GameSpot, Honest Trailer, and more.Meanwhile, the new app's sidebar lets you sift through all the different types of content available on the platform,... Continue reading...

Martinet at the launch of Super Mario Galaxy. | Photo by Stephen Kelly - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario for over 25 years, will no longer be voicing the iconic character, according to a tweet from Nintendo. Martinet has voiced the character since the '90s, appearing in mainline Mario titles like Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario Galaxy as well as countless spinoffs.Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this new transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games," Nintendo's statement reads. It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him."The news that Martinet will no longer be voicing Mario arrives after speculation about why Mario's... Continue reading...

Leviton's new Decora Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug-in Switch is the first to work with Matter. | Image: Leviton Smart lighting manufacturer Leviton has a new outdoor smart plug that's the first to work with Matter. The Decora Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug-in Switch costs $54.99 and is available now at Amazon and The Home Depot. Part of Leviton's Decora Smart Wi-Fi lighting and load control line, it's the company's fifth product to support Matter, following adding Matter support to two of its in-wall switches and smart plugs last month.The outdoor smart plug works over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, has on / off functionality (there's no dimming), and a built-in light sensor for automating any lights you plug into it to turn on at night and off during the day. This is a neat feature you won't find on a lot of smart plugs and means you don't need to use any app or... Continue reading...

Image: Samsung Almost two years after its initial announcement in October 2021, Samsung says the first game to support the HDR10 Plus Gaming standard is nearing release. That game is The First Descendant, a free-to-play third-person shooter from Nexon which is running an open beta starting September 19th.Samsung's announcement doesn't specify which platforms the game will support HDR10 Plus Gaming on, but we're assuming it's PC rather than consoles given neither Sony nor Microsoft have announced support for this latest HDR format on their platforms. On PC, Nvidia announced it was adding support for HDR10 Plus Gaming to its RTX and 16-series graphics cards in November 2022.HDR calibration without the slidersThe big advantage being advertised for... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US Department of Agriculture announced nearly $700 million in funding Monday to expand high-speed broadband access in rural communities across the country.The USDA's ReConnect Program is providing $667 million in grants and loans for broadband projects in 22 states and the Marshall Islands in areas that lack access to speeds of at least 100Mbps down and 20Mbps up. Recipients of this funding will be required to build out infrastructure capable of providing upload and download speeds of 100Mbps, surpassing the Federal Communications Commission's current speed minimums of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up.The reality is, we have faced some challenging times in rural places"The reality is, we have faced some challenging times in rural... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Meta will launch the web version of Threads, its competitor to X (formerly known as Twitter) early this week, reports The Wall Street Journal. A web version has been frustratingly missing since the short-form posting service began.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is working on adding the feature along with better search (well, search at all, really - right now, you can only search for usernames on the platform) earlier this month, and that it would be ready in the next few weeks."However, WSJ writes, its sources say the feature's launch plans aren't final and could change." Mosseri posted on Threads last week that Meta had been testing an early version internally for a week or two," but that it needs some work" before... Continue reading...

Luna-25 launching from Russia earlier this month. | Photo by Xinhua via Getty Images Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft failed to land on the Moon, Roscosmos, Russia's state-run space corporation, announced today. In a statement, the organization reported that the lander ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon." It would've been the country's first Moon landing since 1976.Luna-25 entered orbit around the Moon last week, and was meant to orbit for just five days before landing on Monday, August 21st, but over the weekend, Roscosmos said it was analyzing a technical glitch" that occurred as it was preparing the craft to move to a pre-landing orbit. Now the organization says Luna-25 has been lost.Russia was pushing to beat India's Chandrayaan-3 mission to land on the Moon. That spacecraft also... Continue reading...

Dr. John Warnock in 2009. | Photo by Patrick Tehan/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images Adobe co-founder Dr. John Warnock passed away on Saturday at the age of 82, Adobe announces today. A cause of death has not been released; he is survived by his wife, graphic designer Marva Warnock, and his three children.Warnock founded the revolutionary software company Adobe with his partner, the now-late Dr. Charles Geschke, in 1982. Marva Warnock designed the company's original logo, and Adobe released its first program, the desktop publishing software Adobe PostScript, two years later. Warnock served mostly as the company's CEO until 2000 and was co-chairman of the board along with Geschke until 2017. Warnock remained on the company board of directors afterward.Warnock was one of the greatest inventors in our generation with... Continue reading...