Craig Duncan to succeed Alan Hartman as Xbox Game Studios head

The head of Xbox Game Studios Alan Hartman is set to retire at the end of November, marking an end to 30 years working at Microsoft. Appointed to succeed him is Craig Duncan, the studio head of Rare, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2002. To fill in for Duncan’s eventual departure from the studio,… Continue reading Craig Duncan to succeed Alan Hartman as Xbox Game Studios head

Adobe starts rolling out generative AI video tools in beta

Adobe is joining several other players in the generative AI (GAI) space by rolling out its own model. The Firefly Video Model is powering a number of features across the company’s wide array of apps. At Adobe MAX, the company announced that some of those are available in beta today. Generative Extend is a Premiere… Continue reading Adobe starts rolling out generative AI video tools in beta

An arcade-style Terrifier beat ’em up game is coming next year

The Terrifier franchise, with its distinctively horrifying antagonist Art the Clown, is having a bit of a moment right now. Coinciding with Terrifier 3’s wildly successful opening weekend — the indie horror movie reportedly pulled in over $18 million — game publisher Selecta Play has announced that a Terrifier video game is in the works… Continue reading An arcade-style Terrifier beat ’em up game is coming next year

Massive Pokémon leak exposes beta designs, source codes and plans for upcoming titles

Pokémon developer Game Freak has confirmed it suffered a breach as troves of internal materials pertaining to the franchise — from source codes to early and, in some cases, scrapped character designs — hit social media this weekend. In a statement published on Thursday (translated from Japanese), the company said it discovered its servers were… Continue reading Massive Pokémon leak exposes beta designs, source codes and plans for upcoming titles

Xbox Cloud Gaming may finally let you stream your non-Game Pass purchases soon

Microsoft is expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming’s streaming capabilities to support titles that aren’t on Xbox Game Pass, The Verge reports. The company has stated its plans to let users stream games from their own libraries numerous times over the last few years, going back to the announcement of Project xCloud, but the feature hasn’t yet… Continue reading Xbox Cloud Gaming may finally let you stream your non-Game Pass purchases soon

The fluffiest robot of CES 2021 is back thanks to Casio

If you watched that Star Trek episode about the tribbles and thought, I need one of those in my life (minus the rapid reproduction problem), Casio’s got just the thing for you. The company is now taking pre-orders in Japan for Moflin, the adorable robotic plushie with AI “emotional capabilities” that debuted during CES 2021.… Continue reading The fluffiest robot of CES 2021 is back thanks to Casio

TikTok is reportedly aware of its bad effects on teen users

TikTok’s executives and employees were well aware that its features foster compulsive use of the app, as well as of its corresponding negative mental health effects, according to NPR. The broadcasting organization reviewed the unredacted documents from the lawsuit filed by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office as published by the Kentucky Public Radio. More than… Continue reading TikTok is reportedly aware of its bad effects on teen users

Boeing to lay off 17,000 employees to ‘stay competitive’

In a message to employees, Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg has announced that the company is reducing the size of its total workforce by 10 percent. That means Boeing is cutting roughly 17,000 jobs, including executives and managers, over the coming months. Ortberg, who only took the helm back in August, explained that the… Continue reading Boeing to lay off 17,000 employees to ‘stay competitive’

NLRB accuses Apple of illegally restricting employee Slack and social media use

The National Labor Relations Board has accused Apple of infringing on its employees’ rights to advocate for better working conditions. In a complaint spotted by Reuters, the agency alleges Apple illegally fired an employee who had used Slack to advocate for workplace changes at the company. Separately, the NLRB accuses Apple of forcing another worker… Continue reading NLRB accuses Apple of illegally restricting employee Slack and social media use

Ghost in the Shell’s rad PS1 soundtrack is finally coming to the West

The soundtrack to the spider-bot-crawling 1997 Ghost in the Shell game adaptation is coming to the West for the first time. Titled Ghost in the Shell: Megatech Body (as an ode to the Fuchikoma mech you pilot in the game), the soundtrack was produced by Takkyu Ishino. It’s available to pre-order on iam8bit ahead of… Continue reading Ghost in the Shell’s rad PS1 soundtrack is finally coming to the West