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Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It's been a very busy week of fun game releases (next week will be too!), so let's get into some of them after a quick reflection on gaming while traveling.
I love my Steam Deck. I really truly do. It's a fantastic machine. And yet when I brought it with me on a five-week trip over the holidays, I used it for barely an hour the entire time. That doesn't really justify the space and weight it takes up in my bag. The same holds true for my Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation Portal.
I'll be leaving them all at home next time. I'll take a small controller (probably OhSnap's MCON) so I can play the odd game on my laptop or phone. I'll bring my Playdate as well. I adore that little yellow console, and I haven't spent nearly enough time using it. I have a lot of neat-looking indie games to catch up on there (Diora looks particularly interesting). I'm more likely to play something on a flight if it's on a device I can pull out from my pocket. I just wish Panic had put a backlight in the Playdate.
New releases
Massive Monster and publisher Devolver Digital gave
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 This week saw a wide range of Apple-related deals, including some of the lowest prices we've seen in months on the Apple Studio Display, plus solid discounts on the M4 Mac mini, Mac-compatible monitors from Samsung, popular desktop accessories from Satechi, and even more.
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Our four-legged friends could be at risk when temperatures suddenly drop and snow falls. Here's how to protect them properly.
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AirPods Pro 3 have returned to an all-time-low price. You can pick them up for $200 right now, which is $50 off and the best discount we've seen since the earbuds came out at the end of last year.
We gave these AirPods a score of 90 out of 100 in our review and we consider them the best wireless earbuds for iPhone users. The third generation model is a substantial update to an already impressive product, bringing new features like live translation to the table.
The AirPods Pro 3 also offer heart-rate tracking, allowing them to stream live data to Apple Fitness and other third-party workout apps. This lets you track your fitness and close activity rings similarly to when using an Apple Watch.
Apple also improved the sound quality of this generation thanks in large part to a redesigned acoustic architecture that improves how air is delivered into the ear canal. Additionally, the company changed the angle of the drivers to help more sound get where it needs to go instead of bouncing off the sides of your ear. We felt the jump in audio quality from the last generation to this one was substantial.
The ANC on the AirPods Pro 3 has also been improved. Apple claims this model filters out twice as much noise as the AirPods Pro 2 and four times as much as the original AirPods Pro. We found the noise cancellation to be top-notch.
Live Translation is as neat as it sounds, leveraging the AirPods' noise cancell
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Elon Musk just took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and announced that Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot will be sold to the public by the end of next year. Musk is the master of unrealistic timetables, but this may be the nuttiest one yet. These are humanoid robots that are supposed to be able to do just about any task a human can do.
Musk, as usual, gave himself an out if the robots don't start rolling off the assembly line in 2027, saying that they'll only be released when Tesla is "confident that it's very high reliability, very high safety and the range of functionality is also very high."
He stated that the robots have already begun doing simple tasks in the Tesla factory, but there's no proof of this other than his word. In the real world, Optimus robots have continuously failed to live up to the marketing hype.
Absolutely hilarious though. pic.twitter.com/4gYVohjY00
— CIX ?? (@cixliv) December 8, 2025
There have been plenty of reports suggesting that previous demos of the robots in action were actually smoke and mirrors, as they were bei
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Sports fans who want to catch every last game and news junkies who want to watch network news as it unfolds have two main options: cable or a live TV streaming service. Cable or satellite service often requires extra equipment and convoluted contracts. Live TV streaming services only require an internet connection and a smart TV. These plans used to be cheaper and more user-friendly, too, but price hikes, media consolidation and contract disputes are starting to change the value a bit. We tested out all the major players to compare what you get and help you make sense of the options out there. Here are the best live TV streaming services, according to our testing.
Editor's note: YouTube TV announced in December it will start offering genre-specific plans in early 2026. We still don't have word on the pricing or specifics, but will update this guide when we do. The
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 Apple's AirTag 4-Pack has dropped to $64.98 this week on Amazon, down from the original price of $99.00. Free shipping options have a delivery estimate around January 20, while Prime members should be able to get it delivered a few days sooner.
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So, is this just the price of using online services, or should you be worried about how this information could affect your life?
How does your personal data become available?
One of the main currencies of the internet is information. This means that when you join a new site or service, there's a good chance that elements of the data you provide could be sold to data brokers. These companies can then put together the information they glean from various sources to build a profile on you, which is then either made available on people search sites or sold to a range of interested customers.
What harm comes with having personal data online?
Not only does this have potential risks to your privacy and safety, as anyone could get access to things like your phone number, businesses you own, or other contact details. But it could also work against you in a number of ways.
Data brokers can sell your data to financial bodies such as banks and insurance companies, who might decide that you're too much of a risk for loans, credit cards or mortgages.
Recruitment consultants can go to brokers for background checks on potential employees, all without your consent.
Healthcare providers can also approach brokers as part
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