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Dec 16, 2025
Amazon is set to fire 370 people at its European headquarters in Luxembourg in the coming weeks, as Bloomberg reports. That accounts for about 8.5 percent of the workforce. Amazon initially planned to reduce its headcount there by 470, but under European Union law, companies have to negotiate layoffs with employee reps and, in some cases, governments.
Amazon reportedly told employees at the European HQ in a memo the layoffs are "adjustments that reflect business needs and local strategies." The company claims to be going "well beyond industry benchmarks" in Luxembourg with regards to the severance packages it's offering.
An Amazon employee said it would be difficult for hundreds of people who are all going into the job market at the same time to find employment elsewhere in the country. Affected employees who moved from other countries to work for Amazon will have to leave if they don't land another job in Luxembourg within three months. After the layoffs, Amazon is still expected to be the fifth-largest employer in Luxembourg, which has a population of 680,000.
One employee told Bloomberg that the cuts would primarily affect software developers amid a push in the tech industry for AI to take on more coding tasks. Amazon said in October it would cut 14,000 jobs from its global workforce amid its deepening embrace of AI. It was reported that same month that the company's plans to ramp up its robotics o
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Dec 16, 2025
If you're still debating what gifts to get the important people in your life, sales can be a good starting point. Take Apple's 2024 Mac mini M4, which is down to $479, from $599. The 20 percent discount brings the device back down to its all-time low price seen over Black Friday.
Apple released the Mac mini M4 in late 2024 and we were impressed with how something so small could be so powerful. We gave it a 90 in our review, thanks to features like its speed and standard 16GB of RAM. The — currently — $479 base model also comes with 256GB of SSD. We were also happy to see it had front-facing USB-C and headphone ports.
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Dec 16, 2025
Subscription boxes are the rare gift that keeps its charm long after the wrapping paper is gone. You make the choice once, but the surprises keep landing on their doorstep for months after that. For anyone who loves the buzz of a delivery, these are gifts that extend the season well past December. Each box on this list combines a bit of discovery with something tangible, such as gadgets, books, collectibles, snacks or clever projects. Some appeal to hardcore hobbyists, others to the curious or the comfort seekers, but all offer that same spark of delight that comes from unboxing something unexpected. These are the subscription boxes that make the best gifts to last all year.
Best subscription box gifts
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Dec 16, 2025
PayPal is the latest company looking to become a bank in the US. On Monday, the company announced it had submitted applications for PayPal Bank to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions (UDFI). PayPal is already a bank in Europe, based in Luxembourg.
According to PayPal, it has provided "over $30 billion in loans and working capital" for more than 420,000 business accounts globally. PayPal puts its focus on small businesses in pitching the need for a US bank. "Securing capital remains a significant hurdle for small businesses striving to grow and scale," Alex Chriss, president and CEO of PayPal, said in a release. "Establishing PayPal Bank will strengthen our business and improve our efficiency, enabling us to better support small business growth and economic opportunities across the US."
PayPal also plans to provide "interest-bearing saving accounts" as a bank. If approved, it would be chartered in Utah.
Applications to become a bank have popped up left and right this year, with approval odds increasing under the Trump administration. On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that five cryptocurrency companies, including BitGo, Circle and Ripple, received conditional approval to become federally charted trust banks.
"New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy," the OCC's comptroller Jonathan
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Dec 16, 2025
This one's been a long time coming. Mercedes-Benz has been researching, refining and even reshaping the car that would ultimately be the CLA for years now, teasing us with technical briefings and even showing off a sultry crimson concept car a full two years ago.
That was the Concept CLA, and while the production CLA you see here doesn't look quite that good, it is a fine-looking little electric sedan. More importantly, it goes as far as you'd think its slippery, 0.21-coefficient-of-drag body would carry it: up to 374 miles on a charge.
With a $47,250 starting price, is this electric CLA the complete package? After spending a day behind the wheel of one, I think it might just be.
Higher density2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 EQTim Stevens for EngadgetThe CLA has long been Mercedes-Benz's most attainable sedan, a machine for those wanting something fun and stylish that offers a taste of the M-B lifestyle without breaking the bank.Attainability is still a big focus of this newly rebooted CLA, which serves as the debut venue for the company's latest generation of electrification. While most luxury auto makers would have you swing for their top-tier models to get the newest tech, Mercedes is actually bringing it to the lower end first.
The new CLA is built around a new battery pack that offers 2
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Dec 16, 2025
No matter what you think of James Cameron's Avatar movies, their technical ambitions are undeniable. Cameron developed his own camera system to shoot the first Avatar in 3D, but since most of the actors were digitally captured, he also had the freedom to construct scenes with a virtual camera after they were physically shot. For Avatar: The Way of Water, which arrived a whopping 13 years after the first film, Cameron also leaned into high frame rate footage and new ways of modeling natural fluid dynamics.
Even though the third entry, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is coming just a few years after the last sequel, I still expected Cameron to deliver some sort of new feat to wow audiences. He could have found a smoother way to employ high frame rate footage, so the film wasn't jarringly shifting between traditional 24 fps scenes and smoother 48 fps action shots. Maybe we'd see more natural interactions between live actors and virtual characters and environments (it sure is hard to beat Edie Falco suited up in a wicked exoskeleton in the last film, though).
Instead, Avatar: Fire and Ash is just another Avatar film — it doesn't push any boundaries, narratively or technically. And without any technical achievements to lean on, the narrative issues inherent with Avatar become all the more glaring.
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Dec 16, 2025
The follow-up to a successful debut is often harder to make than the first, and that goes double when the inspiration for a show comes from the most beloved installment of the underlying franchise. That's precisely the challenge Fallout season 2 is facing as the TV series shifts its stage to the irradiated lights of New Vegas when the series returns on December 16 at 9PM ET/6PM PT on Prime Video. However, while other video game adaptations like The Last of Us suffered from a bit of a
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Dec 16, 2025
China has taken another step forward in the self-driving car market. The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has made its first approval for cars with level-3 autonomous driving capabilities. The two electric sedans come from state-owned automakers Changan Auto and BAIC Motor.
The US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines level-3 driving as "the system handles all aspects of the driving task while you, as the driver, are available to take over driving if requested. If the system can no longer operate and prompts the driver, the driver must be available to resume all aspects of the driving task."
According to a translation of MIIT's announcement, the Changan vehicle can drive autonomously in single lanes of both highways and urban expressways in traffic congestion. It is allowed solely in certain areas of Chongqing at a maximum speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The BAIC electric sedan can also function autonomously on the same roads, but only in areas of Beijing at a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph).
"The team strictly followed the standards and procedures to conduct preliminary review, selection, testing, and safety assessments," MIIT stated. "Both automotive companies have completed and passed the product testing and safety assessments as required." They didn't present a timeline for when the models would become available.
The US approved its first certified level-3 car in January 2023, a Mercedes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transpor
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Dec 16, 2025
If you haven't yet upgraded to Apple's AirPods Pro 3, you can pick up the company's latest model at a discount through a deal on Amazon right now. The AirPods Pro 3, which came out in September, are currently down to $210. That's $40 off and only $10 more than the record-low price we saw last week. The Pro 3s have been fluctuating in price since Black Friday, with the lowest they've been being $199 for a brief period. With the new AirPods Pro, Apple made some big improvements, including better battery life and sound quality, and introduced useful new features, such as Live Translation.
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Dec 16, 2025
The definitive version of Divinity: Original Sin 2, the sequel to Original Sin first released back in 2017, is now available for the PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox X|S. The role-playing game was developed by Larian Studios, the same company that developed Baldur's Gate 3. To be clear, the game's new release isn't a remake or even a remaster — it's just a port for new consoles so that old and new fans alike can enjoy the game without having to bust out their previous-gen devices. Fans who already own a copy of the game can even get it for free.
Original Sin 2 is the fifth main entry in the Divinity game series. In it, gamers play a sorcerer who can wield forbidden magic and who gets captured by the Magisters of the Divine Order so they can be "cured" of their powers. Players can make their character from scratch, creating their own class and giving their character the abilities, skills and stats they want. But they can also use any of the pre-set characters the game provides.
Players who already have the 2017 version installed will get a free upgrade applicable to their console. If they don't have it installed anymore, they can go to game's store page on their new device and download the upgrade for free — aside from fans in Japan who'll have to pay ¥100 for the Switch 2 and PS4 upgrade. Larian is also working on the latest entry to the franchise, simply called
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Dec 16, 2025
One of 2025's splashiest games, Hollow Knight: Silksong, is getting its first major DLC expansion, developer Team Cherry announced in a blog post. The nautically-themed Sea of Sorrow update will come to the moody Metroidvania some time in 2026, and better still, it will be free for all players.
The DLC will include "new areas, bosses, tools and more," the developer wrote. There aren't a lot of clues to the gameplay in the short trailer below, but the four shots definitely relay the vibe. The first shows what looks like fishing tackle, then we see something (or someone) on a tomb-like wooden platform tied under a canvas sheet. Next an orb-like structure crackling with electricity looms and finally the game's protagonist, Hornet, appears.
In related news, Team Cherry gave updates on its Nintendo Switch 2 version of the original Hollow Knight that will bring it up to visual parity with the the Hollow Knight: Silksong Switch 2 edition. As part of that, the studio also released a beta update to the Steam and GOG PC versions of the original Hollow Knight.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/hollow-knight-silksongs-upcoming-dlc-pack-wil
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Dec 16, 2025
For the longest time, I refused to upgrade my work-issued MacBook. I was leery of the hassle, and would much rather hang on to an aging Intel-powered laptop than have to transfer files, set up apps and sign in to accounts all over again. What did it matter if my notebook barely lasted long enough to cover an iPhone launch? My petty brain blamed it all on external factors (like being forced to use a MacBook instead of a PC), and left me dripping in stress as I watched the power levels dip down to zero at many of the live events I attend every year. So when I saw the Anker Laptop Power Bank was one of the items in our Labor Day deals roundup this year, I decided to get one to alleviate my battery anxiety (instead of, you know, doing the sane thing and agreeing to a new laptop).
When I unboxed my new
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Dec 16, 2025
iRobot, the company that brought robotic vacuum cleaners to homes and popular culture, has filed for bankruptcy. It plans to sell all assets to its primary supplier, the Chinese company Picea Robotics. Investors "will experience a total loss and not receive recovery on their investment" if the deal is approved, iRobot said. The company didn't discuss how the move might affect its employees in the US or elsewhere.
Amazon dropped its $1.7 billion acquisition of the company last year after a veto threat from European regulators, leaving the Roomba maker with no other option. Political scrutiny came on two fronts: The company was also reportedly hit hard by Trump's tariffs in Vietnam, where it manufactures products for the US market.
iRobot launched its first Roomba in 2002, arguably inventing the world of robot vacuums — and the first robots to enter many of our homes. Competition from rivals has chipped away at its dominance, with other companies coming in at both lower and higher prices, like Roborock, Dyson and Anker's Eufy.
— Mat Smith
The other big stories this morning
In 2025, tech giants decided smart glasses are the next big thing
Grok is spreading inaccurate info again, this time about the Bondi Beach shooting
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Dec 16, 2025
There's nothing more frustrating than shooting the perfect reel only to realize that the audio sounds like garbage. For budding creators, it's a frustration; for those looking to make more professional content, it's a dealbreaker. Fortunately, the world of mobile-specific (or phone-friendly) microphones has exploded with great options in the last few years. Whether you've been tasked with recording candid moments at a relative's wedding, shooting a friend's dance moves or are a journalist out in the field traveling light — there's an option out there that will be perfect for you.
We've tested a wide range of popular microphones with a mobile focus so that you don't have to. Below is our hand-picked list of the very best options for a variety of use cases. Some microphones — the wireless lavalier kind, for example — will be more versatile and convenient, useful for a number of different applications. Others, such as our musician or field-recording picks, are where we explore more exotic form factors such as shotgun mics and mobile-friendly desktop options. As always, above everything else is sound quality and general performance. The good news for you is that we've done all the hard work for you. Happy recording!
Best phone mics for 2026: Best wireless mics for creators
"Creator" is a broad term, but for the purposes of this guide, it's anyone that wants to make videos or recordings to share on the internet. This is possibly the most exciting category right now with excellent options from brands such as Rode and DJI, but also some compelling budget options too. Once the domain of TV and pro productions, wireless lavalier mics are now the go-to choice for anyone creating in front of (or even behind) the camera. They usually sound great, offer hands-free flexibility and premium models come with extra features that will streamline your creative process.
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Dec 15, 2025
Google will stop sending out dark web reports starting early next year, as it shuts down the free tool that can tell you if your personal information has appeared on the seedy underbelly of the internet. The tool used to be exclusively available to Google One subscribers until the company opened it up to everyone in mid-2024. If you switch it on, you'll receive a notification whenever your name, email address and phone number leak on the internet, typically due to data breaches.
In Google's email announcement, however, it said it was discontinuing dark web reports because "feedback showed that it did not provide helpful next steps." A report just lets you know that your information has appeared on the dark web. You can also see a list of all the hits you get on your Google account, along with what data breach leaked that particular detail. However, it doesn't give you guidance on what to do afterwards.
The company explained that it will focus on tools that can give you clear, actionable step to take instead. Google will stop monitoring for new dark web results on January 15, 2026 and will remove access to the report from your account on February 16. You can also remove your monitoring profile right now by going to the "results with your info" section on the tool's official page.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/google-is-retiring-its-free-dark-web-monitoring-tool-next-year-023103252.html?src=rss
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Dec 15, 2025
LG is getting in on one of the newest trends for televisions with the introduction of Micro RGB. The company will unveil the LG Micro RGB evo at CES 2026, but it shared some preliminary information about the screen today.
Micro RGB is a newer screen technology where rather than white lights, the backlight can be any hue thanks to individually controlled red, green and blue Micro LEDs, offering a wider color array. This approach is a mid-way point between the precision of OLED with its individual pixel lighting, but it offers an upgrade over screens only using mini LEDs.
The television is also equipped with an upgraded engine for AI upscaling. According to the company's press release, the LG Micro RGB evo is certified by Intertek for 100 percent color gamut coverage in BT.2020, DCI-P3, and Adobe RGB. The TV has more than a thousand dimming zones for brightness control.
The few other brands currently using micro RGB are charging a pretty penny for it; the one announced by Samsung earlier this year costs $29,999. At 115 inches, the Samsung version is also much larger than LG's offerings, which include options at 100 inches, 86 inches and 75 inches. Although the size is reduced, expect the eventual prices for the LG Micro RGB evo to also be very expensive.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/lg-will-debut-its-first-micro-rgb-television-at-ces-010037923.html?src=rss
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Dec 15, 2025
A Louisiana law that would have required social media platforms to verify the ages of their users has been blocked by a judge. The law, known as the Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation, was passed in 2023 and required Meta, Reddit, Snap, YouTube Discord and others to implement age verification and parental control features.
The ruling came just days before the law, which technically took effect over the summer, would have started to be enforced. In his ruling, Judge John W. deGravelles wrote that the law's "age-verification and parental-consent requirements are both over- and under-inclusive," and that its definition of "social media platform" was "nebulous."
The ruling was a victory for NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents the tech industry and has challenged the growing number of age verification laws around the world. The group had argued that the law was unconstitutional and posed a safety and security risk.
In a statement following the ruling, the group pointed to the "massive privacy risk" posed by the Louisiana law and others like it. "Louisiana's law would have done more than chill speech," Paul Taske, the co-director of NetChoice's Litigation Center said. "It would have created a massive privacy risk for Louisianans like those playing out in real time in countries without a First Amendment, like the UK."
The Louisiana Attorney General's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thi
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Dec 15, 2025
Microsoft made a big punt this year with Copilot. The company put its AI chatbot into a special line of laptops and has also tried to integrate it into other tech products. The latest place you may find Copilot is on your LG smart television, whether you want it or not.
Several LG smart TV owners have taken to Reddit over the past few days to complain that they suddenly have a Copilot app on the device and cannot uninstall it. Two Engadget staffers discovered the app on a 2022 LG OLED and a 2023 UA8000. They confirmed that the app can't be removed, although they were able to hide it from the home screen. One other person from our team also has a 2022 LG OLED but isn't seeing Copilot, so your mileage may vary based on what permissions and privacy settings you already have set up with LG.
Karissa Bell for Engadget
LG
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Dec 15, 2025
Just last month, Ford seemed to be on the brink of sunsetting the F-150 Lightning. Today, the vehicle manufacturer announced plans to reboot the truck as a hybrid. This next generation of the F-150 Lightning will contain Extended Range Electric Vehicle. An EREV is similar in concept to a plug-in hybrid but with a larger battery that's topped up by a gas generator — the powertrain itself is all electric. This next generation of the F-150 Lightning will offer an estimated range of more than 700 miles. Production will end this year on the current F-150 Lightning models.
This revamp of the F-150 Lightning is part of Ford's latest approach to electric vehicles. The company projected that by 2030, half of its global volume will be comprised of hybrids, extended-range EVs and electric vehicles, compared with 17 percent today. "As part of these actions, Ford no longer plans to produce select larger electric vehicles where the business case has eroded due to lower-than-expected demand, high costs and regulatory changes," the company's press release states. Ford will also swap its planned electric commercial van for North America with a new, affordable commercial van that has both gas and hybrid options. The company anticipates seeing a $19.5 billion negative impact for this pivot away from EVs.
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Dec 15, 2025
The holidays are nearly here and if you're a bit behind on your gift shopping, you're not alone. The holidays can truly sneak up on you, and this year that's been more true than ever. Between wrapping things up at work before some well-deserved time off and making sure you have everything you need to host family and friends, it can be hard to find the time to go to a store to pick out presents. And when you do finally get there, you may be met with half-empty shelves. But this is where the internet comes in handy: you still have time to buy holiday gifts online.
USPS, UPS and FedEx have laid out their holiday shipping deadlines for 2025. At this point, we recommend picking up small, affordable gifts that will ship quickly from retailers like
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Dec 15, 2025
This time of year has a lot of merry and bright things to be excited about, but it can be stressful if you're stumped on what to get your mom, dad, best friend, coworker or kids' teacher as a holiday gift. Whether you enjoy or dread buying gifts for people, it's safe to say we all want to give our loved ones things they will enjoy and appreciate. But there's a lot of noise, junk and bad deals disguised as good deals to sift through as we get closer and closer to the holidays.
Allow us at Engadget to help you through it. Here, you'll find all of our holiday gift guides collected in one place, so you can more easily find the best Christmas gifts you need this year. Are you looking for white elephant gift ideas? Are you struggling to come up with a good gift for the father figure in your life? Are you just looking for a good board game to pick up for your own family? We've got you covered with gift ideas for all of those scenarios and more.
Best white elephant gift ideas
According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin. This story is almost certainly untrue, but it has led to a modern holiday staple: the white elephant gift exchange. These gift ideas will not only get you a few chuckles, but will also make your recipient feel (slightly) burdened.
Read more:
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Dec 15, 2025
Apple TV is adding Google Cast support to its native Android app. This update allows subscribers to stream Apple TV shows from their smartphones to their televisions. Apple's streaming service only just released the dedicated app for the Android operating system in February 2025. Adding in Google Cast support helps fully integrate the app into the experience for people whose gear is part of the Android ecosystem.
The addition should make it easier for viewers to shift between screens, even mid-episode. It's a very different approach than Netflix, which recently ended Google Cast support for its streaming platform in most use cases.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apple-tv-app-for-android-now-supports-google-cast-205642324.html?src=rss
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Dec 15, 2025
In an era where we often have to twiddle our thumbs for three years before a new season of a TV show we enjoy returns to our screens, the second season of Fallout has had a relatively short turnaround. It's set to hit Prime Video 20 months after the first batch of episodes. As it turns out, the season two premiere is going to arrive a little earlier than you may have anticipated as well.
The first episode will now hit Prime Video at 9PM ET on December 16. That's six hours earlier than expected. So if you've been looking forward to catching back up with Lucy, Maximus and The Ghoul, you won't have to stay up as late on Tuesday night to catch the premiere as soon as it's available.
— FALLOUT?? (@falloutonprime) December 15, 2025
However, you won't be able to binge the entire season this week. While Amazon dropped all of Fallout season one at once in April 2024, this time around it will release episodes on a weekly cadence through February 4.
Fallout was also in the news late last week when Prime Video offered up an error-ridden, AI-generated recap of season one. Amazon responded to the backlash (
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Dec 15, 2025
Bungie's Marathon has a new release window. The survival extraction shooter was originally set to hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in September, but by June, Sony had delayed it indefinitely. Now, with a plagiarism issue largely in the rearview mirror, Bungie has confirmed that Marathon will arrive in March and and plans to sell it for $40.
Alongside the release date and price announcement, Bungie released a 23-minute video that takes a deep dive into the game and shows off the current state of Marathon. New features include proximity chat and a solo mode, while Bungie says it has upgraded the environmental storytelling and visual fidelity. Gritty environments provide a nice contrast to the glossy sci-fi sheen that defined Marathon's visual language in our earliest looks at the game.
There's a lot more on deck for Marathon's first year including new maps and events. Bungie also plans to release more shells, which are akin to character classes that can be customized by changing your loadout. The Rook shell, for instance, is a new one that the studio has added since the alpha playtests. Thi
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Dec 15, 2025
Meta revealed that Disney was coming to its Quest headsets earlier this year during its Connect event. Now, the streaming app and its vast catalog are finally available to Meta's VR users in the United States.
Meta recently overhauled the Quest's entertainment experience with a new Horizon TV hub that brings its streaming features into one place. Horizon TV also added support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound, both of which Disney subscribers can now take advantage of. According to Meta, there are a"select" number of titles available to stream in Dolby Vision 4K HDR, and Disney Premium subscribers can stream with Dolby Atmos Sound. The company also says there are more than 100 titles in Disney's catalog that support 4K UHD and HDR and some Marvel and Pixar titles that support IMAX's expanded aspect ratio.
The app is
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Dec 15, 2025
Ubisoft is moving deeper into MOBAs after buying March of Giants from Amazon and acquiring the team that made the game. As part of the agreement, Amazon will help promote March of Giants on Twitch. The deal is expected to close on December 16
There's no release date as yet for March of Giants. Amazon announced the free-to-play game back in August and there was a closed alpha playtest the following month. The next playtest will take place in 2026. The next major update for March of Giants will include "new giants, expa
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Dec 15, 2025
Merriam-Webster has selected "slop" for the dictionary company's 2025 word of the year. The leading lexicographers define slop as "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence." We've seen an absolute deluge of AI slop this year, from fake movie trailers on YouTube to AI-generated bands on Spotify. Not even food delivery like Uber Eats could escape the onslaught of AI-generated garbage that no one asked for.
It's gotten to the point that half the videos my well-meaning parents send me on social media are AI-generated videos of dogs. This isn't all that surprising given how very intentionally the social media giants have added slop to all our feeds.
Merriam-Webster rightly points out the somewhat mocking nature of calling it "slop." "Like slime, sludge and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don't want to touch. Slop oozes into everything. The original sense of the word, in the 1700s, was 'soft mud.' In the 1800s it came to mean 'food waste' (as in 'pig slop'), and then more generally, 'rubbish' or 'a product of little or no value,'" the dictionary distributors wrote.
As the proliferation of AI slop expanded,
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Dec 15, 2025
If you have a white elephant gift exchange at work this year or with friends and family, there's a good chance you're scrambling right now to find a good gift — or decipher what even makes a good white elephant gift. The possible origins of the term "white elephant" provide one way of looking at it: According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. It was a far more devious punishment than simply having them executed. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin.
Whether or not that story is true, it gives us one way of looking at a white elephant gift: something just useful or amusing enough that it won't immediately get tossed into the trash, but is also somewhat of a burden. However, there are plenty of other ways of interpreting this strange yet delightful tradition. Some compete to get a gift that others will surely want to steal, while others scavenge for the most niche and targeted gag gifts. Almost all of them, though, typically have a price limit that keeps the burden of gift giving to a minimum — usually $50 or less. So with all of that in mind, here are some white elephant gift ideas that will get you a few chuckles without requiring you to spend too much (or think too hard about it).
Best white elephant gift ideas
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Dec 15, 2025
There's a growing sentiment that gadgets have gotten boring. And while I don't fully agree, I understand why people might feel that way. Just think about some of the novel device types that companies have tried to push since the original iPhone came out.
3D TVs were a massive flop and tablets still feel like extra-large smartphones despite Apple's efforts to prop them up as laptop replacements. Meanwhile, even with huge technological advancements over the last decade, VR headsets remain relatively niche due to factors like high prices and a lack of compelling content. And although big names like Google, Microsoft, Meta and others continue to dump billions into AI development, the first wave of dedicated AI devices was an abject failure.
When you think about it, the only new(ish) class of gadget that has made major inroads to the mainstream market is smartwatches. That said, because they've evolved into wearable health and fitness sensors instead of the
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Dec 15, 2025
So you want to give someone a gift but you don't have a ton of cash to spare. Don't fret because first, you're not alone, and second, there are tons of options to choose from. Especially if you're looking in the tech space, it can feel especially daunting to find a gadget that's affordable but also worth gifting — in other words, not a piece of junk that will eventually take up residence at the bottom of a drawer. But you don't have to drain your wallet to get someone a cool gadget that will both be useful and make their lives easier. We've collected our favorite pieces of tech under $25 that make great gifts and help you to stick to a budget.
Best gifts under $25
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Dec 15, 2025
Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Between The Game Awards and showcases like Day of the Devs, Wholesome Snack, Latin American Games and Women-Led Games, there's been a ton of video game news over the last week (I need Control Resonant ASAP, please and thank you, Remedy). And hey, guess what? I've got even more for you to dig into, including info on some new releases that you can play right now.
One of those is a game I'd been looking forward to since about 2022, and it's always nice when something you've remained patient for turns out to be worth the wait. In Sam Eng's Skate Story, you play as a demon who accepts a deal offered by the Devil. If the demon can ride a skateboard to the Moon and swallow it after being transformed into a creature made of "glass and pain," the Devil will grant them their freedom.
It's just as strange as that setup sounds. While you'll need to execute combos to defea
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Dec 15, 2025
My boyfriend texted me those dreaded four words: "Is your Spotify down?" Sure enough his, mine and thousands of other users' Spotify accounts appear to be down and out at the moment, with Downdetector recording over 10,000 reports from users.
Spotify is apparently working on the problem. The account, Spotify Status, shared an update on X at 9:45 AM on Monday, "We're aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!" About an hour later, the company shared an update saying that the outage was resolved as of 10:34 AM ET.
— Spotify Status (@SpotifyStatus) December 15, 2025Update, December 15, 2025, 10:48AM ET: This story and its headline were updated to indicate that Spotify's outage has been resolved.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-was-down-this-morning-for-thousands-of-users-updates-on-the-widespread-outages-150453379.html?src=rss
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Dec 15, 2025
Warning: the following contains spoilers for part one of Stranger Things season five
With just over a week to go until Netflix releases the next batch of Stranger Things episodes, the company has dropped a trailer for the second part of season five. The clip begins in the aftermath of the action-packed ending to the first bunch of episodes, with bodies and blazes surrounding Will as he says in a voiceover, "We failed. We never stood a chance." However, his mother Joyce tells him that, "This is not over. Not by a long shot."
We learn in this trailer that some of the gang who were still in the Upside Down at the end of part one make it back to their own reality. However, it appears that we're about to learn a whole bunch of new information about the deadly alternate dimension. Dustin says, "This whole time, everything we have ever assumed about the Upside Down has been dead wrong."
In addition, the clip shows some of the heroes going on the offensive against a militarized area; Max and Holly making their way through the "mental prison" they're trapped in; Demodogs attacking the Hawkins hospital; and Eleven asking Eight to help her find and kill Vecna. There's also a death pact between Dustin and Steve, a look at an ominous new pulsating mass from the Upside Down and Vecna stating, "It is time for a new world."
There's a lot going on in this trailer and we won't have to wait too much longer for the next three episodes. They will hit Netflix at
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Dec 15, 2025
If you have a resolution in the new year to get more acquainted with your finances, a good budgeting app can help with that. One of our favorites is a bit cheaper to sign up for right now: Monarch Money is offering 50 percent off annual subscriptions for new users. Use the code MONARCHVIP at checkout to get half off, so you'll pay just $50 for one year of access.
Monarch Money was the runner-up in our guide to the best budgeting apps in 2025, and it was definitely a grower. Initially we found the experience of using the app to be needlessly complicated compared to some of its rivals, but get over that hurdle and it's impressively fully-featured. There are plenty of customization options, a helpful "goals" feature and a thorough month-in-review recap that beats out similar features from some of its competitors. We also like how you can grant account access to others.
Besides the steep learning curve, we also noted that the mobile app is less intuitive to use than the web version, which migh
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Dec 15, 2025
The Meta Quest 3S is back on sale at its all-time low price of $250. That's $50 off, or a discount of 17 percent, and matches a deal we saw on Cyber Monday.
The 3S is the more affordable model in the company's current VR headset lineup. It features the same Snapdragon XR2 processor as the more expensive Meta Quest 3, but with lower resolution per eye and a slightly narrower field of view.
In our hands-on review, we gave the Meta Quest 3S a score of 90, noting how impressive the tech was compared to its pr
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Dec 15, 2025
It was a big day in gaming history when Nintendo finally released its Switch sequel. But the Nintendo Switch 2 lacked many options for microSD Express cards. Samsung helped change that this fall, with the release of its P9 Express series of microSD Express cards, and now one of them is on sale.
Currently, you can pick up the 256GB Samsung P9 Express microSD Express Card for $33, down from $55. The 40 percent discount brings the microSD down to a new all-time low price. That means your new Nintendo Switch 2 gets a lot more memory with transfer speeds reaching 800MB/s. The specs are on par with some of our other favorite microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch 2.
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Dec 15, 2025
If learning a new skill is one of your New Year's resolutions, then you might want to know that MasterClass subscriptions are currently 40 percent off. This brings the top-tier subscription with offline mode and use on up to six devices down from $240 annually to $144. The entry-level plan, which supports just one device and doesn't offer offline viewing, is marked down to $72 from $120.
Over the past few years, MasterClass has grown to over 200 classes, sessions and original series. You can learn about entrepreneurship from Richard Branson, screenwriting from Aaron Sorkin, cooking from Gordon Ramsay and heaps more. Each of these offers classes in a one-on-one format with slick instructional videos and often workbooks to accompany them.
MasterClass also appears on our list of the best subscrip
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Dec 15, 2025
The holiday season is very much upon us and, whether you're traveling or need a last-minute present, noise-canceling headphones are a great purchase for this time of year. This is made all the more true when they're on sale. Take the Bose QuietComfort Headphones, which are down to $170 from $359. The 53 percent discount brings these headphones to a new record-low price — even better than their Black Friday deal.
Bose released its new QuietComfort Headphones in October and they're an incredible option, especially for the sale price. It offers ANC with two modes: Quiet and Aware. It also has up to 24 hours of battery life and should give you two and a half hours of juice after just 15 minutes of charging.
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Dec 15, 2025
End-of-year wrap-ups were popularized by Spotify, and these days you can look back on the last 12 months of listening with most of the music streaming apps, as well as your gaming and YouTube viewing habits. The next logical step? A full recap of all of the Uber trips and takeaways you've guiltily ordered this year, of course!
Uber is calling its new wrap-up feature, which launches today, "YOUBER", and it takes into consideration both your Uber and Uber Eats usage. You can see where you went, how often you demanded Uber Comfort, and how frequently you returned to the same pizza place on Uber Eats. If you rank in the top one percent of a specific restaurant's customers, YOUBER is going to tell you all about it, whether the realization fills you with shame or not.
There are also 14 "Uber Personality Profiles" that you could be assigned, such as "Do-Gooder" for the Uber Electric loyalists, "Rise & Shiner" for the early morning riders, and "Delivery Darling" for those who "live for deliveries of all kinds." Uber lets you share your results straight from YOUBER using the "Shar
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Dec 15, 2025
Engadget has been reviewing the latest devices for over two decades, adding well over 100 in-depth product tests to our tally every year. For 2025, we have compiled a list of the best gear we reviewed this year based on the highest review scores in each category. From Pixel to iPad, and Switch 2 to Sony WH-1000XM6, our reviews team has spent thousands of hours testing new products this year to discover the best of the best. Now it's your turn to rediscover the best gadgets of 2025, including explanations from our editors as to why these products were rated so highly.
Best overall phone: Google Pixel 10 Pro
Best iPhone: iPhone 17 Pro
Best foldable: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Best laptop: MacBook Air M4
Best Windows laptop: Dell 14 Premium
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Dec 15, 2025
Secret Santa gift exchanges can be chaotic in the best way. One minute you're drawing a name from a hat, the next you're scrambling to figure out what they'd actually like. The trick is finding something that's thoughtful, gets a laugh or feels useful without going over budget. Luckily there are plenty of gifts that do exactly that, whether you're shopping for the office exchange, a family swap or a friend group tradition. From clever gadgets to playful desk toys and little luxuries, these ideas prove you can spend less than $50 and still land the perfect Secret Santa present.
Best Secret Santa gift ideas
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Dec 15, 2025
iRobot, which brought robotic vacuum cleaners to the masses with its iconic Roomba models, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Massachusetts-based company plans to sell all assets to its primary supplier, a Chinese company known as Picea Robotics. If approved by a bankruptcy court, the move would allow iRobot to "continue operating in the ordinary course, pursue its product development roadmap, and maintain its global footprint," iRobot wrote in a press release.
The company expects the deal to close in February 2026, but says it will continue to operate "with no anticipated disruption to its app functionality, customer programs, global partners, supply chain relationships or ongoing product support." That means your Roomba should continue to clean normally and you'll be able to get consumables and replacement parts.
However, investors of common stock "will experience a total loss and not receive recovery on their investment" if the deal is approved, iRobot stated. The company didn't discuss how the move might affect its employees in the US or elsewhere.
Bankruptcy seemed a likely outcome for iRobot after Amazon dropped its $1.7 billion acquisition of the company last year following a veto threat by European regulators. The company's fortunes continued to decline and it issued a statement to investors in March 2025 that it had "su
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Dec 14, 2025
Google seems to be cracking down on the use of Disney characters in AI-generated videos on YouTube after it was hit with a cease and desist letter. According to reports by Variety and Deadline, the company removed dozens of videos featuring Deadpool, Moana, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars characters and other Disney IP as of Friday, just days after Disney accused it of "infringing Disney's copyrights on a massive scale." The letter, seen by both publications earlier this week, called out Google not just for hosting these videos on YouTube, but also for using copyrighted works to train models including Veo and Nano Banana.
Prior to this, Disney has come after Character.AI as well as
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Dec 14, 2025
In the same month that Grok opted for a second Holocaust over vaporizing Elon Musk's brain, the AI chatbot is on the fritz again. Following the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia during a festival to mark the start of Hanukkah, Grok is responding to user requests with inaccurate or completely unrelated info, as first spotted by Gizmodo.
Grok's confusion seems to be most apparent with a viral video that shows a 43-year-old bystander, identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, wrestling a gun away from an attacker during the incident, which has left at least 16 dead, according to the latest news reports. Grok's responses show it repeatedly misidentifying the individual who stopped one of the gunmen. In other cases,
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Dec 14, 2025
If you're several chapters into a novel and forgot who a character was, Amazon is hoping its new Kindle feature will jog your memory without ever having to put the e-reader down. This feature, called Ask this Book, was announced during Amazon's hardware event in September, but is finally available for US users on the Kindle iOS app.
According to Amazon, the feature can currently be found on thousands of English best-selling Kindle titles and "only reveals information up to your current reading position" for spoiler-free responses. To use it, you can highlight a passage in any book you've bought or borrowed and ask it questions about plot, characters or other crucial details, and the AI assistant will offer "immediate, contextual, spoiler-free information." You'll even be able to ask follow-up questions for more detail.
Amazon
While Ask this Book may be helpful to some Kindle readers, the feature touches on a major point of contention with authors and publishers. In response to
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Dec 14, 2025
Close enough, welcome back Xperia Play. After releasing a teaser video in early November, Ayaneo fully revealed its first smartphone called the Pocket Play. As suspected, the Ayaneo Pocket Play features a sliding mechanism that transforms it from a chunky smartphone into a gaming handheld.
In its gaming configuration, the Pocket Play features a controller setup with a D-pad, ABXY buttons and four shoulder buttons. However, Ayaneo has modernized the Xperia Play design by incorporating two touchpads, which will also be seen in the handheld maker's next flagship device called the Next II. According to Ayaneo, you can map these touchpads as virtual joysticks or customizable inputs. Ayaneo hasn't revealed the specs of the Pocket Play yet, but the device appears to have slots that could hint at expandable storage options.
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Dec 13, 2025
If Alien: Romulus reawakened your appetite for the iconic sci-fi franchise, the good news is that a promising video game could be on the way. According to an Insider Gaming report, a new game for the Alien franchise is back in development. The report's sources mentioned that the single-player game will be set in a "decaying space station" as an arcade survival horror that can be compared to "Shadow of [the] Tomb Raider with Xenomorphs."
It's not the first time we heard about this Alien game, which was first reported on in 2022 under the codename "Marathon." According to Insider Gaming, the game has cycled through several developers, but more recently landed with Eidos Montreal, which developed Shadow of the Tomb Raider and is currently working on the upcoming Fable reboot. The report added that the game's development budget was increased to less than $75 million, up from the initial $30 million budget from a few years ago.
Insider Gaming's report noted that the
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Dec 13, 2025
Half-Life fans are nothing if not patient. For the diehard fans out there, the latest test of patience comes from Insider Gaming Weekly's podcast, which claimed that the third installment in the Half-Life franchise is set to release with the launch of the Steam Machine sometime in spring 2026.
"The window I was specifically told was spring 2026 for the Steam Machine, for the Frame, for the Controller, for Half-Life 3," Mike Straw, one of the hosts of the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast and senior editor at Insider Gaming, said. "At the end of the day, the game is real."
Straw added that all the previous dates for an announcement of the next Half-Life game have passed, but that his sources "are still adamant this is a game that will be a launch title with the Steam Machine." However, being tied to Valve's latest hardware release could be an issue since Straw noted that the explosive jump in RAM pricing is causing considerable concern for the Steam Machine's pricing announcement.
"There is a concern, however, they haven't made a decision on price, which is kind of holding back the announcement of a
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Dec 13, 2025
Apple has released iOS 26.2, bringing a number of new convenience features and security updates. The update includes auto-generated chapters for episodes in the Podcasts app, the option to make AirDrop more secure using verification codes, alarms for Reminders and more. It also introduces new controls for how Liquid Glass appears on the Lock Screen, adding a slider to adjust the transparency level. The drop also includes updates for iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS and tvOS.
What's new in iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2
It's not exactly a major update feature-wise, but iOS and iPadOS 26.2 bring a bunch of quality of life improvements to apps including Apple Music, Podcasts and Games. In Apple Music, you'll now see your Favorite Songs playlist in the Top Picks section, and lyrics will be available offline for songs you've downloaded. In addition to automatically generated chapters, Podcasts will display links to any other podcasts mentioned in the episode you're listening to. And, Games is getting in-game score banners, along with filters for the library to make it easie
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Dec 13, 2025
Even though Nintendo made some serious upgrades with the Joy-Con 2, you still might end up ditching them for CRKD's Nitro Deck 2. After winning over Nintendo Switch owners with its first Nitro Deck, CRKD followed it up with an improved design that works for both the original Switch and the Switch 2.
To refine the original design, CRKD added several upgrades to the Nitro Deck 2 based on community feedback. The new-and-improved accessory features the company's CaptiStick Technology, which prevents stick drift and isn't affected by magnetic interference like other Hall effect joysticks. CRKD also offset the right thumbstick and contoured the outer shell for a more ergonomic feel. The Nitro Deck 2 is keeping the swappable stick top feature, but CRKD added the ability to swap out the D-Pad for even more customizability. At the back of the Nitro Deck 2, CRKD managed to squeeze in extra L2 and R2 shoulder buttons alongside the programmable back buttons, which were first seen with the predecessor.
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Dec 12, 2025
John Cena began his WWE retirement tour back in January, and it's coming to an end this weekend when the wrestling legend headlines WWE Saturday Night's Main Event. For the last fight of his career, Cena has been matched up with "The Ring General" Gunther on the night's fight card, which also features matches between Cody Rhodes and Oba Femi, a tag team match featuring AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je'Von Evans & Leon Slater, and a women's matchup between Bayley and Sol Ruca. This show starts at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday and will stream with a subscription to Peacock, or grab a 7-day trial of Peacock through Prime Video and tune in for free.
Here's a look at how to watch John Cena's final fight at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event this weekend, including how to stream the entire thing for free.
How to watch WWE Saturday Night's Main Event:
Date: Dec. 13, 2025
Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Streaming:
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Dec 12, 2025
Amazon has responded to viewers catching errors in its AI-generated season recaps by apparently pulling them from Prime Video. The company announced its new Video Recaps feature in November as a way to make it easier to jump into a new season of a show, but the feature had issues: A recap created for Fallout included factual errors about the plot and the setting of the show.
On Prime Video, recaps can be played in the "Extras" section if you're watching on the web, or via a dedicated "recap button" on the show's page, according to Amazon's original Video Recaps announcement. If you head to the Fallout season two page now, the erroneous recap has been removed. In fact, at least on the web, there are currently no video recaps available on the show's Amazon was testing the feature on, which includes Fallout, Bosch, Upload, The Rig and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan.
Engadget has contacted Amazon for more information on why the recaps were removed. We'll update this article if we hear back.
Video Recaps are just one of the ways Amazon is trying to integrate AI into its different products and services. The company offered AI-generated English dubs for select anime shows on Prime Video, before it pulled the dubs after users co
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Dec 12, 2025
IKEA's revamp of its smart home products doesn't end with Matter support. The furniture and home goods company also has a line of new Qi wireless chargers, the best of which, the VÄSTMÄRKE wireless charger, combines the functionality of a PopSockets-style phone grip with cable storage.
The $10 VÄSTMÄRKE wireless charger is reminiscent of a bagel or donut, if you could take the top half of those ring-shaped foods and turn them inside out to create a cozy grip for your fingers. That same red silicone design also makes for a perfect place to store the charger's built-in USB-C cable, according to IKEA's product page, and otherwise acts as a playful replacement for what can be a pretty boring smartphone accessory.
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Dec 12, 2025
Sandfall Interactive, the developer of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, knows how to ride the wave. Right after the visually stunning RPG finished dominating The Game Awards, the team dropped a free "Thank You" content update for fans.
This is no minor patch. It adds a playable environment and new boss battles for late-game players. The "Thank You" update also adds new music tracks, a Photo Mode and new text and UI localizations. On top of that, you'll find quality-of-life tweaks, including improved performance on handheld PCs.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won a record-breaking nine categories at The Game Awards 2025. That includes — deep breath — Game of the Year, Best RPG, Best Art Direction, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Performance (Jennifer English), Best Score and Music, Best Debut Game and Best Indie Game. The previous record was The Last of Us Part 2, which took home seven awards in 2020.
The game's free "Thank You" update is rolling out now. You can catch a glimpse of it in the trailer below.
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Dec 12, 2025
While it's probably tempting to go all-out and give a loved one their most desired gadget this year, doing so could put a big dent in your budget. And it would be wrong to assume that you have to spend hundreds to get a good tech gift that anyone will appreciate. There are plenty of gadgets and accessories out there that don't cost an arm and a leg and that will also make good additions to their kits. Here are some of our favorite tech gift ideas that come in at $50 or less.
Best stocking stuffers for $50 or less
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Dec 12, 2025
Google is rolling out new Gemini-assisted functionality to Search and its Translate app. It says its AI can now provide more natural and accurate text translations for phrases that have more "nuanced meanings." Translate will now take slang terms and colloquial expressions into consideration rather than provide sometimes unhelpful direct translations.
The latest update to its text translation feature is rolling out first in the US and India, translating between English and just under 20 other languages, including German, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. It works in the Translate app for iOS and Android and on the web.
Gemini's speech-to-speech translation feature has also been updated, so you can now hear real-time translations in your headphones, like with Apple's AirPods Pro 3. Google says the new functionality, which is now in beta in the Translate app for Android (iOS is coming next year) in the US, tries to "preserve the tone, emphasis and cadence of each speaker" so you better understand the direction of the conversation and who said what. It works with any headphones and supports more than 70 languages.
Finally, Google is adding more tools to its potentially Duolingo-rivaling AI-powered language learning tools, which it introduced to the Translate app in August. Like Duolingo, Translate can now track how many days in a row you've been attempting to learn a new language, so you can check your progress over time. Whether it will nag you as persistently as the Duolingo ow
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Dec 12, 2025
Id Software, the company behind Doom, has voted in favor of forming a "wall-to-wall" union. The term "wall-to-wall" refers to a union that includes every employee, regardless of duties. The vote wasn't unanimous, though a majority did vote in favor of the union.
The union will work in conjunction with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which is the same organization involved with parent company ZeniMax's recent unionization efforts. Microsoft, who owns ZeniMax, has already recognized this new effort, according to a statement by the CWA. It agreed to a labor neutrality agreement with the CWA and ZeniMax workers last year, paving the way for this sort of thing.
"The wall-to-wall organizing effort at id Software was much needed; it's incredibly important that developers across the industry unite to push back on all the unilateral workplace changes that are being handed down from industry executives," id Software producer and CWA committee member Andrew Willis wrote in a statement to Engadget.
From the onset, this union will look to protect remote work for id Software employees. "Remote work isn't a perk. It's a necessity for our health, our families, and our access needs. RTO policies should not be handed down from executives with no consideration for accessibility or our well-being," said id Software Lead Services Programmer Chris Hays. He also said he looks forward to getting worker protections regarding the "responsible use of AI."
Workers at id began organizing arou
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Dec 12, 2025
We generally consider Apple's iPads to be the best tablets for most people, but they usually don't come cheap. To help those looking to grab one get the most value possible, we're keeping an eye on sale prices and rounding up the best iPad deals we can find each week.
This week's highlights include both versions of the latest iPad Air for $150 off at Amazon, matching the all-time lows we last saw around Black Friday. The
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Dec 12, 2025
Engadget staffers spend the entire year poking, prodding and otherwise testing the latest tech gadgets. So we've got a pretty good handle on what's unique and interesting right now. We put together this list for anyone looking for a good gift for that tech-obsessed person on their gift list. Some of these are devices we've tested for our reviews and guides, others are items we bought for ourselves (or wish someone would buy for us). We've got more than 35 picks here, from nearly every member of the Engadget team. Chances are, you'll find a good gift or two for every tech nerd you know. Here are our favorite tech gifts and gadgets for 2025.
Best tech gifts and gadgets
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Dec 12, 2025
Reddit has filed a lawsuit in Australia's High Court aiming to overturn the country's under-16 social media ban, Reuters reported. The forum platform called the law contrary to Australia's constitution as it intrudes on free political discourse. It also argued that Reddit shouldn't have been included in the ban since it isn't a social media site, based on the law's definition. The action is likely to set in motion a protracted legal battle, given Reddit's resources and its popularity in Australia
Australia's minimum age social media ban, the first of its kind in the world, went into effect on December 10. The ten platforms affected, including Reddit, must bar underage users or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million). Platforms are using a variety of means to determine age, including age inference based on activity and selfies.
However Reddit argued that the law comes with some "serious privacy and political expression issues" for users. "Australian citizens under the age of 16 will, within years if not months, become electors. The choices to be made by those citizens will be informed by political communication in which they engage prior to the age of 18," it wrote in the filing.
The government disagreed, noting that Reddit filed the lawsuit to protect is profits, not children's right to free expression. "It is action we saw time and time again by Big Tobacco against tobacco control and we are seeing it now by some social media or big
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Dec 12, 2025
If you're still on the hunt for gifts, or simply good holiday deals for yourself, you can find them on the internet. Just because Black Friday and Cyber Monday have ended doesn't mean the deals have dried up. One of the best deals available that we're tracking is on the latest Apple Watch Series 11, which you can get for a record low of $299.
We gave the Apple Watch Series 11 a score of 90 when it came out in September. That's thanks, in part, to an upgraded 24 hours of battery life — which lasted closer to a day and a half — compared to the 18 hours promised by the Series 10. It also features a thin, light design and a wrist flick gesture for eve
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Dec 12, 2025
F1: The Movie, the cinematic love letter to Formula One and — quite possibly even more so — consumer products made by Apple, is finally available to stream on Apple TV if you're a subscriber. It follows the sports thriller's long theatrical run, during which it raked in more than $630 million globally, comfortably making it Apple's most successful original film.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, Tron: Legacy), F1: The Movie follows the washed-up former F1 prodigy Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), who is convinced by an old friend (Javier Bardem) to get back in the driver's seat and help rescue his failing team. Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton served as a producer on the film to ensure it represented the sport as authentically as possible.
Engadget's Devindra Hardawar reviewed F1: The Movie when it arrived in theatres in the summer, calling i
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Dec 12, 2025
You may be surprised to learn electricity only accounts for 21 percent of the world's energy consumption. Fossil fuels and the rest all play their part to make the world go around, but their role is likely to diminish no matter what happens. The International Energy Agency believes electricity's share of global energy consumption is going to double in the next decade alone. You all know the causes: Electrification, EVs, data centers and AI mean the planet needs to dramatically increase its power generation, transmission and storage capacity. It's a shame, then, that the world is nowhere near ready to satisfy such an outrageous surge in demand.
Re-learning to love the atomThe US has certainly spent the year opening doors to dramatically increase domestic energy production. Part of that has to give the signal that the US will embrace nuclear power in ways it hasn't for generations. This January, an executive order titled Unleashing American Energy included an instruction for the government to eliminate rules and regulations related to power generation. Its primary focus was to destroy environmental regulations limiting the extraction of oil, natural gas and coal, but also to remove roadblocks to the construction of new nuclear plants. Then, in M
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Dec 12, 2025
Last week, Netflix surprised us all when it announced plans for an $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., a move that would fundamentally reshape the world of streaming video and Hollywood. But Paramount isn't giving up on WB — this week it launched a $108 billion hostile takeover effort. In this episode, we discuss why everyone is fighting for WB, and why Netflix may be the best worst option for the storied movie studio.
Subscribe!iTunes
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Dec 12, 2025
If you want to learn a new skill in the new year or brush up on some skills you already have, MasterClass could be a good option for you. It's even more accessible now that the company is running a holiday promotion that knocks 40 percent off subscriptions. For the top-tier Premium plan, which includes offline mode and use on up to six devices, you'll pay $144 for the year instead of the usual $240. The entry-level plan, which supports just one device and doesn't offer offline viewing, is marked down to $72 from $120.
Over the past few years, MasterClass has grown to over 200 classes, sessions and original series. You can learn about entrepreneurship from Richard Branson, screenwriting from Aaron Sorkin, cooking from Gordon Ramsay and heaps more. Each of these offers classes in a one-on-one format with slick instructional videos and often workbooks to accompany them.
MasterClass also appears on our list of the
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Dec 12, 2025
Honestly, compiling the biggest losers for Engadget is more fun than talking up the winners. While we reviewed nothing as atrocious as those ill-fated AI assistant gadgets from 2024, AI companies and services straddled both the winner and loser podiums.
The losers might be you, the American consumer. (Sorry.) In the US, anyone wanting a drone will have to find something that isn't made by DJI. The company has been targeted by regulators since 2017 over concerns its products could spy on sensitive US infrastructure on behalf of China.
Engadget
The problem is DJI has such a high market share (over 75 percent) that its absence will effectively upend the industry. Oh, and its drones are consistently the best too. The US government hasn't yet attempted to work with DJI to assess whether its products pose a risk. DJI recently made a final plea for a security review, sending letters to five US agencies that could assess its products. If that fails, US drone options will shrink massively.
In the same 12 months, EV sales across the globe are up around 25 percent this year. Germany set a record in the first half of 2025, with electric cars accounting for nearly one in five new registrations. In China, EV sales are growing so fast (over 50 percent market share) that the country is flooding the global market with gas-powered cars it can't sell at home. However — remember this is about losers —
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Dec 12, 2025
E Ink tablets have always been intriguing to me because I'm a longtime lover of pen and paper. I've had probably hundreds of notebooks over the years, serving as repositories for my story ideas, to-do lists, meeting notes and everything in between. However, I turned away from physical notebooks at a certain point because it was just easier to store everything digitally so I always had my most important information at my fingertips.
E Ink tablets seem to provide the best of both worlds: the tactile satisfaction of regular notebooks with many of the conveniences found in digital tools, plus easy-on-the-eyes E Ink screens. These devices have come a long way in the past few years, and we're just starting to see more color E Ink tablets become more widely available. I tested out a number of different E Ink tablets to see how well they work, how convenient they really are and which are the best tablets using E Ink screens available today.
Table of contents
Best E Ink tablets for 2025
Are E Ink tablets worth it?
What to look for in an E Ink tablet
Other E Ink tablets we've tested
Best E Ink tablets for 2025
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Dec 11, 2025
This year at The Game Awards, if your game wasn't melodramatic, mechanically innovative, beautifully presented and aggressively French, it didn't stand a chance. The Game Awards 2025 wrapped up on the evening of Thursday, December 11 with a record-breaking showing by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Sandfall Interactive. The game received the most nominations and wins in the show's 12-year history.
But, we know that's not really why you're here. Between the award presentations and musical numbers, there were heaps of new game trailers, announcements and updates, and we've collected them all for you right here. The award winners are also there.
NewsCapcom's Pragmata is coming your way on April 24
Bradley the Badger looks like Wreck-It Ralph as a real video game
Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is a new action RPG from the director of Mass Effect and KOTOR
Larian Studios is returning to the Divinity series with... Divinity
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Dec 11, 2025
PlayStation had said on X that it would have news about Saros at The Game Awards, and unfortunately, fans excited for the new Housemarque project will need to wait a little longer to get their hands on it. The game has been delayed from its planned March release. But there's only a short time until the new date of April 30, and pre-orders are open now. Star Rahul Kohli appeared at The Game Awards to introduce the newest trailer for the game.
I'm glad we won't be waiting too much longer, because Saros looks very cool. Housemarque made its name on titles like Resogun and Returnal, and Saros seems like a great addition to their library. The latest trailer shows off all the golden and solar vibes in Carcosa. It also has more glimpses of the characters and story as well as the dangerous and deadly beings that will be trying very hard to kill you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/housemarques-saros-is-delayed-to-april-30-041813989.html?src=rss
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Dec 11, 2025
The next game from Left 4 Dead designer Mike Booth is putting a sci-fi spin on his last game's co-op action, based on a trailer Booth and producer JJ Abrams shared at The Game Awards 2025. The new game is called 4:LOOP, and it's the first project entirely developed by Bad Robot Games, film production company Bad Robot's game studio.
4:LOOP combines the four-player co-op action of Left 4 Dead, with roguelike elements enabled by what seems like a time loop mechanic. Based on the trailer, players fight a mixture of aliens and robots in each mission, all in the hopes of eventually drawing the attention of an alien mothership and destroying it.
"Each time the four-player team succeeds in a mission, they make choices to improve their equipment, building out a unique kit to survive the epic boss battle at the end of the Act," Booth said in an interview with PlayStation Blog. "If the team completes all three Acts, they defeat the Mothership and save the world. All of this is, of course, easier said than done."
Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Dec 11, 2025
Why have one Star Wars game announcement at an edition of The Game Awards when you can have two? Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a podracing (and speeder racing) game from Fuse Games, a studio established in 2023 by former Burnout and Need for Speed developers. It's scheduled to hit PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2026.
The action here is set after the fall of the Empire. With the galaxy in rebuild mode after dealing with that whole mess, an unsanctioned, underground racing circuit called the Galactic League comes into being in the Outer Rim. Here, according to the game's Steam page, "syndicates bankroll chaos and champions are forged."
Star Wars: Galactic Racer is run-based, so if your podracer blows up, it might be game over. The action takes place across well-known Star Wars planets in addition to some new ones. The races have branching routes and you'll unlock new abilities on each run.
There's a story-driven, single-player campaign, as well as PvP modes. The vehicles are customizable too. Dig it. Where do I sign up, Watto?
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/star-wars-galactic-racer
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Dec 11, 2025
So there's good news and bad news about the highly anticipated Exodus coming out of The Game Awards this year. The good news is that there's a fresh trailer showcasing more of the game. The bad news is that the game won't be out until early 2027. The game was originally announced two years ago (also at The Game Awards) and had been pegged for release in 2026.
We may be waiting longer to get our hands on Exodus, but the substantial new trailer shows more of what the final product will entail, offering some backstory on main character Jun Aslan. He's the only human who can use the technology developed by Celestials, which are humans that have evolved 40,000 years into the future. The trailer also showcases the character C.C. Orlev, voiced by Matthew McConaughey. (Insert obligatory "alright alright alright" here.) Developer Archetype Entertainment includes some notable names from BioWare, 343 Industries and Naughty Dog, and the BioWare lineage seems particularly strong with this character- and choice-driven science fiction story.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/exodus-is-delayed-to-early-2027-032610665.html?src=rss
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Dec 11, 2025
The last mainline Tomb Raider game was 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and after spending a few years in video game purgatory, Lara Croft is coming back in two new games. At The Game Awards 2025, Amazon Game Studios announced that Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will reimagine of one of the hero's early adventures in 2026, and Tomb Raider: Catalyst will continue the series in 2027.
Catalyst is developed by Crystal Dynamics and follows Lara through Northern India "in the wake of a mythical cataclysm," as she comes into competition with other treasure hunters. Legacy of Atlantis, developed by Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog, reimagines the very first Tomb Raider game in Unreal Engine 5. And yes, it seems like dinosaurs will be in the mix.
A new Tomb Raider game has been in the works officially since at least 2022, when Amazon announced that it would be publishing the next game in the series. Amazon shared that Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be developing
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Dec 11, 2025
It didn't take too long for a game that a whole bunch of people are excited about to swoop into Grand Theft Auto VI's old release week. Or maybe Rockstar had an idea of was what was coming and delayed its blockbuster by six months to get out of the way of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.
Either way, TT Games and Warner Bros. Games brought a new trailer to The Game Awards and revealed that the Caped Crusader's next adventure will hit PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 29. The base game will cost $70 and pre-orders are open as of 11PM ET on December 11.
Lego games often have a massive cast of characters and, as the trailer revealed, this one will be no different. It will feature the likes of Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and Catwoman, as well as a murderer's row of super-villains, such as The Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin and Bane.
Warner Bros. Games is announcing the release date at a bit of an awkward time. Netflix recently had an $82.7 billion bid accepted for a chunk of Warner Bros. Discovery that includes the gaming division. However, Netflix co-CEO Grego
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Dec 11, 2025
South of Midnight is heading to PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 in Spring 2026, developer Compulsion Games announced on X. The third-person action-adventure game launched as an Xbox and PC exclusive, but like plenty of Microsoft's other first-party games, it's heading to competitors' consoles.
Mixing platforming with magic-infused combat in a unique setting inspired by the folklore of the South, Compulsion Games' South of Midnight was generally well-received when it was released in April 2025. The game likely reached sizable audience by launching on Game Pass and PC, but coming to PlayStation and Switch will open it up to an even bigger audience.
As Microsoft reworks its Xbox brand to focus more on software than hardware, releasing its exclusives on other platforms has become a key part of its ongoing strategy. It tested the water with games like Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves
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Dec 11, 2025
On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a single, nationwide regulatory framework governing artificial intelligence at the expense of the ability of different states to regulate the nascent technology. "To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation," the order states. "But excessive State regulation thwarts this imperative."
As was expected after a draft of the order leaked earlier this week, the centerpiece of the document is an "AI Litigation Task Force whose sole responsibility shall be to challenge state AI laws inconsistent" with the president's policy vision. US Attorney General Pam Bondi has 30 days to create the task force, which shall meet regularly with the White House's AI and crypto czar, David Sacks.
As laid out in the president's AI Action Plan from July, the administration will also limit states with "onerous" AI laws from accessing federal funding. Specifically, the secretary of commerce will target funding available under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a $42.5 billion effort to expand high-speed internet access in rural communities.
Advocacy groups were quick to criticize the president's order. "This executive order is designed to chill state-level action to provide oversight and accountability for the developers and deployers of AI systems, while doing nothing to address th
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Dec 11, 2025
Frictional Games is back with a new game that looks primed to carry on the studio's tradition of excellence in horror. It's called Ontos, and it's slated to launch on PC, PlayStation and Xbox next year. The trailer debuted during The Game Awards 2025.
The company's past projects include Amnesia: The Dark Descent and SOMA, and this new title is also looking pretty dang creepy. It looks like things will take a philosophical turn, with a story of trying to piece together your father's past that leads you to questioning the meaning of life and reality. The team is going big with the casting, with Stellan Skarsgård playing one of the main roles in the trailer. This is one that any horror fans will want to keep on their radar.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-devs-of-soma-are-back-with-a-spiritual-successor-called-ontos-021535060.html?src=rss
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Dec 11, 2025
Remedy Entertainment's Control is a bizarre yet totally captivating action game that feels like Die Hard by way of David Lynch. InControl: Resonant, players step into the role of the original game's most enigmatic and unsettling characters for their own jaunt through a 'new-weird' world outside The Oldest House.
Just ahead of the reveal at The Game Awards, we got an early look at Control: Resonant, the next game in the Remedy Connected Universe. Along with learning why the developers wanted a new protagonist, they also explain why this Neon Genesis Evangelion-inspired sequel is the most expansive game they have made to date.
Seven years after the events of Control, the hostile supernatural force that plagued The Oldest House has invaded Manhattan. As the massive urban landscape morphs into an otherworldly nightmare and the Federal Bureau of Control director, Jesse Faden, goes missing, the remaining FBC sends her brother, the notorious supernatural entity Dylan Faden, into the city to stop the invasion. To find his sister and stop the devastation from spreading beyond New York City, Dylan will have to embrace his powers, and some occasional guidance from The Board, to take on the malevolent forces looking to reshape the world.
In the years since Control's release, developer Remedy has expanded the story into a larger, connected universe spanning multiple games, including the Alan Wake series and the co-op spin-off FBC: Firebreak. Control: Resonant picks up on many threads left by recent games including Alan Wake 2, which saw the FBC investigate the supernatural events fo
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Dec 11, 2025
Larian Studios didn't rest on its laurels for long. Two years after taking home the Game of the Year prize for Baldur's Gate III at The Game Awards, the developer popped up again at the 2025 edition of the ceremony to announce its upcoming project, which is the next entry in the Divinity series. Simply called Divinity, this will be the studio's biggest game to date with "more breadth and depth than ever before," according to TGA host Geoff Keighley.
After 2017's Divinity: Original Sin II, Larian took a break from the series with which it established itself to make BG3. The rumor mill had been churning about a new Divinity game after Keighley shared a photo of a statue that was erected in the Mojave Desert. The shape of the statue matched a Divinity logo that was trademarked recently.
Before the reveal trailer was shown at The Game Awards, a short (and rather neat) live performance took place in which some actors were hoisted into the air. The trailer itself is pretty gruesome. It references The Wicker Man, as large wooden effigies with people chained inside are set ablaze. I won't spoil what else happens other than to sa
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Dec 11, 2025
Many of the big announcements at The Game Awards are for completely new projects, some of which are total surprises (if you had an Okami sequel on your bingo card last year, you're either in the know or probably used up all your luck for the next few years). We'll often get updates on games that were previously announced too. The trailer for Order of the Sinking Star is something a little different, as it's a game that Braid designer Jonathan Blow has been working on fairly openly since releasing The Witness in 2016.
The trailer revealed some new details, including confirmation of the expected title and a release window (2026 on Steam, with more platforms to be announced). Ahead of The Game Awards, Blow gave Engadget a preview of the game and explained some of its many complexities.
Fundamentally, Order of the Sinking Star is a grid-based puzzle game in which you'll move blocks around to complete an objective. You might know of this as a Sokoban game, named after the series Hiroyuki Imabayashi created about pushing boxes around a warehouse.
But this is a Jonathan Blow game, so nothing stays too simple for very long. Blow and his team took
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Dec 11, 2025
Coven of the Chicken Foot has a lot of things going for it already, in my book. It stars a hero rarely seen in video games, an elderly woman, and it has gorgeous storybook-style art in a lush fantasy setting. It's a single-player puzzle platformer, it relies on wordless storytelling and the woman, a witch named Gertie, travels with a creepy-cute companion. Plus, Gertie has chicken feet. I love her little chicken feet.
Coven of the Chicken Foot is the first game from Wildflower Interactive, the independent studio founded by Naughty Dog veteran Bruce Straley. The game is coming to Steam and it's available to wishlist now, though there's no firm release date. The first trailer for Coven of the Chicken Foot premiered at The Game Awards 2025, showing Gertie and her friend traveling together through caves, forests and temples.
Gertie is on a quest to prove herself to the local coven by standing up to the self-appointed, prideful heroes of the land. She doesn't have a sword or a dodgeroll, and instead has to figure out how to work with her strange friend to survive. Her companion develops unique behaviors based on individual play styles, shaping how Gertie gets around.
Straley left Naughty Dog in 2017 after almost 20 years with the studio, where he directed The Last of Us and Uncharted 4. He announced Wildflower Interactive in July 2022 with a brief YouTube message, saying, "In 2017 I left the industry not sure if I wanted to make games anymore. But the longer I was away, I kept thinking about this medium, and everything yet to be
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Dec 11, 2025
The Game Awards kicked off with a bang, showing the world premiere of Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. It's a brand new action role-playing game that will be directed by Casey Hudson, who previously headed up several notable BioWare games you probably know like Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic.
There's not much to go on in the trailer, but the game simply existing is a pretty great surprise and this cinematic trailer sure looks shiny. Hudson is working with Arcanaut Studios on this project, which is described as "an epic interactive adventure across a galaxy on the brink of rebirth where every decision shapes your path towards light or darkness." Which kind of sounds like Star Wars crossed with Mass Effect, and I am personally very excited for that combo.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-is-a-new-action-rpg-from-the-director-of-mass-effect-and-kotor-012913046.html?src=rss
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Dec 11, 2025
Capcom's long, long-delayed sci-fi shooter Pragmata finally has a release date. It's headed your way on April 24, 2026 on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and — as Capcom confirmed in a trailer at The Game Awards — Nintendo Switch 2. You don't have to wait another four months to try it out, though. A gameplay demo is out now on Steam. It will be available for consoles at a later date.
Pragmata first emerged all the way back in 2020 and Capcom initially planned to release it in 2022. After multiple delays, the game will arrive four years later than the company anticipated.
This is the first entry in a new franchise from Capcom, so taking extra time to get things right is not exactly a bad idea. Pragmata, which is set in a dystopian near-future, features the dual protagonists of Hugh Williams (a heavily armored fella) and Diana (an android with special powers). The two have to work together if they want to escape from a lunar research station that's filled with malevolent robots. To defeat these clankers, Diana has to hack them to disable their defense systems and make a
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Dec 11, 2025
A lot of trailers drop during The Game Awards, but the comedy of Bradley the Badger stood out from the pack. The conceit is similar to Wreck-It Ralph. Bradley, the protagonist of a fictional platforming series, is suddenly transported into the worlds of other unfinished video games; the trailer shows a badger-ified Bloodborne, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us. He also has access to a kit of dev tools that let him modify these incomplete projects, getting a taste of making a game. As the trailer ends, Bradley briefly crosses into the real world and comes face to face with an actual game developer. This looks like it will be a funny and very meta game. Astro Bot made that combo work brilliantly, so here's hoping Bradley the Badger does too.
"Bradley is part love letter to videogames and part satire of them," said Christian Cantamessa, co-founder of Day 4 Night Studios. "Games are an art form and this is a story inspired by our adventures making them." Cantamessa and fellow co-founder Davide Soliani have some big credits on their resumes, including Red Dead Redemption, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle. The titular badger is voiced by Evan Peters, who has been in the recent X-Men movies as well as Tron: Ares.
The team is planning to release the game on Steam, with consoles possibly to follow, but no timeline has been given yet.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/bradley-the-badger-looks-like-wreck-it-ralph-as-a-real-video-game-005634520.html?src=rss
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Dec 11, 2025
Apple has clawed back a bit of ground in its legal fight with Epic Games that could have wide-reaching consequences for all app developers. Today, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals mostly upheld a previous contempt ruling regarding fees Apple levied on third-party payment systems. However, the judges did decide to reverse the order that Apple cannot charge any commissions on those external payments, which was one of the company's main arguments in this ongoing debate.
To catch you up, US Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers initially ruled in 2021 that Apple must allow third-party payment systems, although her decision fell shy of calling the tech company's control over the App Store a monopoly. In May 2025, she ruled that Apple's 27 percent commission on those outside payments violated her previous order. Apple responded with an emergency motion to appeal that finding.
Epic Games had taken its smash hit Fortnite off both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store while it was in court arguing these cases. Fortnite returned to iOS in the spring and just arrived back
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Dec 11, 2025
Amazon's plan to offer AI-generated recaps of Prime Video shows isn't off to a great start. The company's recap of the first season of Fallout features multiple errors, GamesRadar writes, including basic facts about the plot of the show.
You can watch the recap yourself in the "Extras" section of Amazon's Fallout season two listing in Prime Vid
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Dec 11, 2025
This morning Disney and OpenAI announced a three-year licensing agreement: Starting in 2026, ChatGPT and Sora can generate images and videos incorporating Disney IP, including more than 200 characters from the company's stable of Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel brands. To say these companies make for strange bedfellows is an understatement.
The agreement brings together two parties with very different public stances on copyright. Before OpenAI released Sora, the company reportedly notified studios and talent agencies they would need to opt out of having their work appear in the new app. The company later
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Dec 11, 2025
A director who was charged with defrauding Netflix out of millions of dollars has been found guilty, Business Insider reports. Carl Rinsch, director of the 2013 Keanu Reeves movie 47 Ronin, now faces up to 90 years in prison.
Rinsch began filming the project, White Horse (later renamed Conquest), around 2017. (Its premise: A scientist creates an organic humanoid species that turns on its creators.) The director completed six short-form episodes with his own money and investor funds. He then used those episodes to pitch studios for the money to complete the first season. Netflix ended up buying the rights for over $61 million.
In 2020, after spending $44 million of Netflix's money on the series, Rinsch petitioned for another $11 million to complete the season. The company agreed.
Then things got weird. Instead of using Netflix's investment to finish the series, Rinsch transferred the funds to personal accounts. Within two months, he lost over half of it on seven-figure stock trades. He spent the rest on cryptocurrency.
Then, lo and behold, Rinsch got a second chance: The crypto trades turned a profit. Did the director seize the opportunity to right his ship and finish the series? No, he didn't. Instead, he
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Dec 11, 2025
New York is taking steps to regulate the use of AI in the state's entertainment industry. NY State Governor Kathy Hochul passed two pieces of legislation on Thursday that forces certain productions to disclose the use of AI-generated performers, and defines rules around how someone's likeness can be used after their death.
Assembly Bill A8887B, now known as S.8420-A, specifically covers the use of AI performers in advertisements. Per Hochul's announcement, the law "requires persons who produce or create an advertisement to identify if it includes AI generated synthetic performers." S.8391, meanwhile, "requires consent from heirs or executors if a person wishes to use the name, image, or likeness of an individual for commercial purposes after their death."
"By signing these bills today, we are enacting common sense laws that will ensure we are fully transparent when using images generated by artificial intelligence and also prevent the unauthorized commercial use of a deceased individual's name or likeness," Governor Hochul said in the announcement. "In New York State, we are setting a clear standard that keeps pace with technology, while protecting artists and consumers long after the credits roll."
The use of AI performers and deepfakes made using the likenesses of actors were major focuses of the contract SAG-AFTRA won during its strike in 2023. The union ultimately agreed to allow for the use of things like digital replicas and AI-generated performers, with
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Dec 11, 2025
Epic Games has spent a lot of time in court over the past several years, but it seems the company's litigious era may be winding down. The company announced today that its game Fortnite is back on the Google Play mobile store in the US. Fortnite's return to Android devices means Epic's popular hit is now available on just about every gaming platform following five years of arguing antitrust lawsuits.
Epic took both Google and Apple to court over their policies for mobile payment systems back in 2020. The gaming company has been successful on the whole in its challenges, most recently reaching a settlement with Google in November. The companies agreed to a modified version of the order US District Judge James Donato originally placed on Google regarding fees charged to developers and handling of in-app payments and third-party billing systems.
The same saga unfolded earlier this year with Apple. US Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers also sided with Epic Games in May, ordering Apple to stop collecting commissions on purchases made outside its own App Store. After a bit of back and forth, Fortnite finally
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Dec 11, 2025
OpenAI's "code red" response to Google's Gemini 3 Pro has arrived. On the same day the company announced a Sora licensing pact with Disney, it took the wraps off GPT-5.2. OpenAI is touting the new model as its best yet for real-world, professional use. "It's better at creating spreadsheets, building presentations, writing code, perceiving images, understanding long contexts, using tools, and handling complex, multi-step projects," said OpenAI.
In a series of 10 benchmarks highlighted by OpenAI, GPT-5.2 Thinking, the most advanced version of the model, outperformed its GPT-5.1 counterpart, sometimes by a significant margin. For example, in AIME 2025, a test that involves 30 challenging mathematics problems, the model earned a perfect 100 percent score, beating out GPT-5.1's already state-of-the-art score of 94 perfect. It also achieved that feat without turning to tools like web search. Meanwhile, in ARC-AGI-1, a benchmark that tests an AI system's ability to reason abstractly like a human being would, the new system beat GPT-5.1's score by more than 10 percentage points.
OpenAI says GPT-5.2 Thinking is better at answering questions factually, with the company finding it produces errors 30 percent less frequently. "For professionals,
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Dec 11, 2025
OpenAI has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit after a man killed his mother and took his own life back in August, according to a report by The Verge. The suit names CEO Sam Altman and accuses ChatGPT of putting a "target" on the back of victim Suzanne Adams, an 83-year-old woman who was killed in her home.
The victim's estate claims the killer, 56-year-old Stein-Erik Soelberg, engaged in delusion-soaked conversations with ChatGPT in which the bot "validated and magnified" certain "paranoid beliefs." The suit goes on to suggest that the chatbot "eagerly accepted" delusional thoughts lea
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Dec 11, 2025
The latest experiment emerging out of Google Labs is Disco, which is the company's AI-driven approach to web browsing. The first feature for Disco is called GenTabs, built on Google's Gemini 3 model.
GenTabs are interactive widgets created from a mix of user prompts, open tabs and chat history. The preview examples demonstrate how GenTabs can create a model to demonstrate entropy as a study aid, or collect trip ideas into one screen for building an itinerary. The GenTab can be further refined with natural language requests, and it will also offer contextual suggestions for additions that may be helpful. Google's blog post announcing this concept notes that information given in a GenTab will include links to its sources.
Google has a waitlist for people who want to try out Disco and GenTabs, although for now it's only on macOS. Google Labs projects don't always go the distance to an official public release, and the company even acknowledged that GenTabs will likely have some wonkiness at this experimental stage. But it's been clear for months that big tech companies are gunning for the best and fastest ways to put their AI tools into browsers, so it seems likely that there will be more features in this vein coming up soon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-disco-is-an-experimental-web-browser-that-builds-ai-widgets-based-on-your-tabs
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Dec 11, 2025
EV automaker Rivian just held its inaugural Autonomy and AI day which, unsurprisingly, focused extensively on hands-free driving. An upcoming software update promises the introduction of "universal hands-free" driving. The company says its vehicles will be able to autonomously navigate more than 3.5 million miles of roads in North America, "covering the vast majority of marked roads in the US."
This is coming to the R2 line of EVs, but also Gen 2 R1 vehicles like the recently-released Rivian R1S. The service will be locked behind a subscription for something called Autonomy that includes self-driving, but also offers access to forthcoming and unannounced autonomous features. Rivian customers can pay $2,500 for lifetime access to the platform or $50 per month.
The R2 is getting LiDAR sensors, which will presumably help enable some of those upcoming autonomous features, in addition to a new chip called the Rivian Autonomy Processor. The processor has been designed for multimodal applications and runs the company's proprietary neural net engine. Both of these features are expected "to ship on R2 models starting at the end of 2026."
Today's event wasn't just about hands-fr
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Dec 11, 2025
Disney has accused Google of copyright infringement on a "massive scale," alleging that the tech giant is training its AI tools on protected materials as well as allowing those tools to generate infringing images and videos. Variety reports that Disney attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google on Wednesday.
"Google is infringing Disney's copyrights on a massive scale, by copying a large corpus of Disney's copyrighted works without authorization to train and develop generative artificial intelligence (‘AI') models and services, and by using AI models and services to commercially exploit and distribute copies of its protected works to consumers in violation of Disney's copyrights," reads the letter, which Variety reviewed.
The letter includes examples of images from several Disney properties including Deadpool, Moana, Star Wars and others, reproduced by Google's AI tools. Disney is demanding that Google implement guardrails within all its AI products to prevent further infringement. The media giant sent a similar letter to Character.AI in September, and is currently suing Hailuo and Midjourney over alleged copyright infringement.
Copyright enforcement has become more challenging in the face of AI-created ima
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Dec 11, 2025
CES doesn't start until January, but whispers of the products and announcements that could be in store for tech's biggest annual conference have already started to take shape. The CES 2026 show floor is officially open from January 6 through 9, although the show kicks off with events on Sunday January 4 and a host of press conferences on Monday. As always, product demos, announcements and networking will be happening at the Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding hotels all over the city. As usual, Engadget will be covering the event in-person and remotely, bringing you news and hands-ons straight from the show floor.
More specific details and pre-announcements should trickle out as CES approaches, but in the meantime, we do know what companies will be hosting press conferences and what tech trends could rear their heads at the show.
What we already know aboutPress conferences and show floor booths are the bread and butter of CES. The Consumer Technology Association has already published a searchable directory of who will have a presence at the show, along with a schedule of every official panel and presentation.
On Sunday, January 4, Samsung will kick-off CES with "The First Look," a presentation hosted by TM Roh, the CEO of Samsung's DX Division, on the company's "vision for the DX (Device eXperience) Division in 2026, along with new AI-driven customer experiences."
That'll be followed by multiple press conferences throughout Monday, January 5. LG is hosting its
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Dec 11, 2025
Finding the right gifts for everyone on your list this time of year can be a major source of stress. It can be even more daunting if you're trying to stick to a budget all while getting the folks you love things that they will really appreciate. But there's also a good chance you're getting fed bad gift ideas (and just as bad deals) if you're browsing the web frantically searching as we get closer and closer to the holidays.
Allow us at Engadget to help you through it. Here, you'll find all of our holiday gift guides collected in one place, so you can more easily find the best Christmas gifts you need this year. Are you looking for white elephant gift ideas? Are you struggling to come up with a good gift for the father figure in your life? Are you just looking for a good board game to pick up for your own family? We've got you covered with gift ideas for all of those scenarios and more.
Best white elephant gift ideas
According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin. This story is almost certainly untrue, but it has led to a modern holiday staple: the white elephant gift exchange. These gift ideas will not only get you a few chuckles, but will also make your recipient feel (slightly) burdened.
Read more: The best white elephant gift ideas
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Dec 11, 2025
With a new year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to take stock of your finances. A budgeting app can help with that, and right now you can get 50 percent off your first year of a Monarch Money plan. All you need to do is enter the code MONARCHVIP at checkout and you'll pay $50 for the initial 12 months instead of the regular price of $100. Note that the offer only applies to new users.
Monarch Money was the runner-up in our guide to the best budgeting apps in 2025, and it was definitely a grower. Initially we found the experience of using the app to be needlessly complicated compared to some of its rivals, but get over that hurdle and it's impressively fully-featured. There are plenty of customization options, a helpful "goals" feature and a thorough month-in-review recap that beats out similar features from some of its competitors. We also like how you can grant account access to others.
Besides the steep learning curve, we also noted that the mobile app is less intuitive to use
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Dec 11, 2025
No need to fret if you missed out on some of the best Black Friday deals this year — some of them have returned already. Case in point: Apple's AirPods Pro 3, which came out in September this year, are on sale for a new record low of $199. That's 20 percent off and better than the discount we saw during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With the new AirPods Pro, Apple made some big improvements, including better battery life and sound quality, and introduced useful new features, such as Live Translation.
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Dec 11, 2025
It looks like Disney wasted no time delivering on CEO Bob Iger's promise to bring AI-generated content to Disney . On Thursday, the company announced the start of a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI to bring more than 200 of its beloved characters, including those from Star Wars and Pixar, to the Sora app and ChatGPT. With the deal in place, OpenAI users will be able to prompt ChatGPT to generate images that tap into Disney's intellectual property, with costumes, props, vehicles and environments covered.
The agreement does not include voices or "talent likenesses," meaning Sora users won't be able prompt the app to make a video with Black Widow and get something with Scarlett Johansson in it. Instead, both Sora and ChatGPT will only have access to animated and illustrated versions of Marvel and Star Wars characters like Black Panther, Captain America, Han Solo, Darth Vader and others. Disney will stream "curated selections" of Sora-generated fan videos on Disney . Sora and ChatGPT users will be able to start generating images and videos with Disney characters starting in early 2026.
"Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we're excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content," said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. "This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and he
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