Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, has announced the launch of custom timelines, which lets you curate what you see on your feed based on your topics of interest. He called the update “one of the biggest changes to X” and a ”huge undertaking” that took the team “many months” to develop. The feature lets you pin specific topics to your home tab, so you can switch from one to the other to see the latest discussions about your interests and hobbies.
Bier said that X’s custom timelines is “powered by Grok's understanding of every post with the algorithm's personalization.” You have 75 topics to choose from, including food, art, photography, business, finance, movies and TV. As you’d expect, the personalization aspect of the feature works better if it’s a topic you already engage with regularly. X’s new feature is similar to Bluesky’s and Threads’ custom feeds, which also allow you to pin topic-based timelines to the home screens of the apps, and which their users have been enjoying since 2023 and 2024, respectively.
At the moment, X’s custom timelines is still in its early access phase and is only available to Premium subscribers on iOS. It will be rolling out to Premium users on Android “very soon,” as well. Bier has also announced that X has released a tool to snooze topics on the For You tab. With the tool, you’ll be able to hide certain topics, such as politics or sports, for 24 hours from your feed. It’s now available for Premium users on iOS and the web.
Ladies and gentlemen, today we're launching one of our biggest changes to 𝕏
Introducing Custom Timelines
This feature allows you to pin a specific topic to your home tab. With support for over 75 topics, you can dive deep into your favorite niche on X.
The new footage promises plenty of action and franchise fans will note that protagonist Dante now looks extremely similar to his counterpart from the games. This tracks with what series creator Adi Shankar said last year, when he promised that season two would show the character "embrace more of the iconic badassery fans of the game expect."
The show, and the games, follow a half-demon demon hunter as he fights to prevent the gates of Hell from opening. The first season was a gigantic hit for the platform, racking up more than 5 million views in its first four days of release.
Showrunner Shankar was heavily involved with the animated Castlevania adaptation, also for Netflix. Studio Mir is once again handling the animation, which is always great to see. This is the studio behind The Legend of Korra, X-Men '97, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and My Adventures with Superman, among others. The first season of Devil May Cry looked gorgeous, so season two should follow suit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/netflixs-devil-may-cry-animated-adaptation-returns-for-a-second-season-on-may-12-184003226.html?src=rss
The relatively long wait for the third season of Silo is nearly over. Apple TV just announced the dystopian sci-fi hit returns on July 3, with episodes airing each Friday until September 4. We have long championed this show, calling it "another gem" for the platform.
The streamer has dropped a short teaser for the upcoming season and it confirms rumors of an increased focus on the "before times" via a storyline that was introduced in the finale of season two. The trailer depicts scenes from both time periods, as protagonist Juliette, played by Rebecca Ferguson, speaks in voiceover.
"Before we can know why we’re here. Before we can know everything is as it is. Before we know how it all will end, we need to understand how it all began,” she says, alluding to the creation of the various bunkers littered throughout the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
For the uninitiated, Silo is an adaptation of Hugh Howey's Wool series of books. It's primarily set in the titular silo, a society of around 10,000 people living deep underground. The show is sort of like Fallout, but without the radioactive monsters and nihilistic sense of humor.
Silo stars Ferguson, along with Tim Robbins, Common and Steve Zahn. Cast members joining the show for season three include Colin Hanks, Jessica Henwick and Ashley Zukerman. The show has already been renewed for a fourth and final season.
This is a busy summer for sci-fi on Apple TV. The second season of Dark Matter premieres on August 28, which is uncharted territory as the first season was based on a book that doesn't have a sequel. Star City, a spinoff of For All Mankind, premieres on May 29. This is the same day that For All Mankind concludes its fifth and penultimate season.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/silos-season-3-trailer-takes-us-back-to-how-it-all-began-171033410.html?src=rss
Nintendo has padded out the Switch 2 release slate for this summer by revealing that Splatoon Raiders is coming to the console on July 23. This is the first spinoff in the series and while it's a "single-player-focused Splatoon game," there is a multiplayer element. Nintendo announced Splatoon Raiders(the title of which is a soft pun on Tomb Raider) last June.
You play as a mechanic and after customizing your character's appearance, you'll go hunting for treasure across the Spirhalite Islands. You'll be working with Deep Cut — a fictional band that appeared in Splatoon 3 — and upgrading your weapons as you take on enemy sea creatures.
The colorful, inky action and wacky weapons in the latest trailer remind me a bit of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. You can mount Deep Cut member Big Man (a manta ray) as you venture into battle and it seems as though you'll be able to cut through swarms of bad guys by firing a shark at them. Alongside Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo will release an Amiibo pack featuring the three members of Deep Cut.
The company also confirmed there's a multiplayer mode in Splatoon Raiders. You'll be able to team up with as many as three friends locally or online to take on raids together.
Don’t abandon the squad just yet – #SplatoonRaiders also lets you invite up to three friends to join you on raids via local wireless or online multiplayer! pic.twitter.com/lpmGMHtHv0
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/splatoon-raiders-lands-on-nintendo-switch-2-on-july-23-140447901.html?src=rss
You can now use LinkedIn to test out some of the latest AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and other companies without having to worry about token limits or paying for an extra subscription. The professional network is experimenting with a new feature that allows people to test AI platforms' latest offerings within LinkedIn.
It’s called Crosscheck, and it's rolling out now to anyone with a LinkedIn Premium subscription in the United States. The feature is meant to be a kind of "blind taste test" for AI models, according to the company's Chief Product Officer Hari Srinivasan. Users start with a prompt and get two answers, each of which is provided by a different model. It's only after choosing which model you like better that you can see the underlying models behind each.
Srinivasan says that Crosscheck is still an "early product" from LinkedIn Labs and that "there’s work to do to make it faster and add more models and question types." But it already seems to support a fairly wide range of models. In my initial tests of the feature I saw multiple answers generated by Anthropic models, as well as those from Google, MoonshotAI, Mistral and Amazon. Crosscheck will also have its own leaderboard that tracks how people in different industries are rating the various models.
After you choose an answer you like better, LinkedIn will show which model provided each answer.
LinkedIn Screenshot
Crosscheck only supports text-based prompts, so you can't generate images, upload files or use some of the more advanced tools that would be available natively on the AI platforms themselves. But there are no limits on the number of text-based chats you can have, so you don't have to worry about token limits or signing up for a pricey subscription if you find a model that's helpful.
LinkedIn is, however, sharing data back to the respective AI companies who will presumably use information gleaned from LinkedIn usage to improve their products. "Anonymized data is shared with model builders to help them understand how their models are performing amongst different occupations," the company explains. "No personally identifiable information is shared with model builders."
While Crosscheck is initially only available to LinkedIn Premium subscribers in the United States, the company plans to expand the the feature to more countries and free users “soon.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/linkedins-crosscheck-feature-lets-premium-subscribers-test-ai-models-for-free-183949210.html?src=rss
AI-generated music is spreading like wildfire, according to Deezer, who reported receiving nearly 75,000 uploads of AI-made tracks a day on its platform. The alternative music streaming service based in Paris published a report revealing that 44 percent of its daily uploads are AI-generated songs, accumulating to around 2 million flagged songs a month. If that figure doesn't alarm you, Deezer said that more than 13.4 million songs were detected and flagged as AI-generated across 2025.
Those statistics are made possible with Deezer's patent-pending AI music detection tool, which was launched in January 2025. A few months following the release, Deezer announced that it saw around 20,000 AI-generated tracks uploaded a day, which made up roughly 18 percent of its overall uploads. Despite the swell of AI music on its platform, Deezer said that only about 1 to 3 percent of total streams on the platform involve AI-generated music and that a majority of these streams are marked as fraudulent and demonetized.
Deezer said its proprietary tool can detect AI-generated music, particularly from two of the most popular offerings right now: Suno and Udio. Despite these two AI music tools getting hit with lawsuits in their early days, some major record labels have had a change of heart and later struck deals with the startups. On the other hand, other music streaming platforms are employing their own verification tools to fortify the floodgates holding back music made by AI. Similar to Deezer, Coda Music uses "AI Artist" labels and even let users flag suspicious artists.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/deezer-says-ai-made-songs-make-up-44-percent-of-daily-uploads-163642921.html?src=rss
Bandai Namco and A24 have announced that the Elden Ring movie will hit theaters on March 3, 2028. Filming is set to begin in the next several weeks. The movie was first revealed over a year ago, so this is a welcome update.
We also got a full cast announcement, though the companies haven't said who or what everyone is portraying. The cast includes Kit Connor from Heartstopper, Ben Whishaw from the beloved Paddington movies and Cailee Spaeny from Alien: Romulus. Peter Serafinowicz, Jonathan Pryce, Nick Offerman and Sonoya Mizuno will also appear in the film.
Elden Ring will be written and directed by Alex Garland, fresh off the harrowing Civil War. Garland has directed plenty of sci-fi, with credits like Ex Machina, Annihilation and the woefully underrated TV show Devs. He hasn't, however, made any legit fantasy, so we'll have to see how he handles the magic-filled continent known as The Lands Between.
In any event, we have nearly two years before finding out. By that time, theaters will have already experienced two new Avengers and Star Wars films. Elden Ring, the game, is getting some new DLC content this year with armor sets, weapons and skins.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-elden-ring-movie-hits-theaters-on-march-3-2028-154411670.html?src=rss
Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book) hasn't been shy about embracing new technology for filmmaking. While producing The Mandalorian for Disney+, he was one of the first filmmakers to use ILM's massive LED screens, AKA "The Volume," to produce more realistic lighting and backgrounds on studio sets. For the feature film The Mandalorian and Grogu, which hits theaters May 22, Favreau recently revealed that he had Disney build an Apple Vision Pro app to preview its full IMAX scope during filming.
"So I'm making an IMAX movie, and I'm looking at a TV screen, and no matter how big your TV screen is it's not an IMAX screen," Favreau said in a recent episode of The Town podcast. "We built software so that I can pop on my Apple Vision Pro and be sitting in an IMAX movie theater and see the full aspect ratio when we're lining a shot up. And I can watch that take and see what people will see."
Favreau isn't the first director to use the Apple Vision Pro — Wicked filmmaker Jon Chu also used it to handle post-production work — but he's the first to specifically mention using the headset for IMAX production. That's still a relatively limited use case for the Apple Vision Pro, but it's one that could be useful to future filmmakers. With its large field of view and sharp micro-OLED screens, the Apple Vision Pro is one of the only ways to replicate the experience of watching a large IMAX screen at home. (The Meta Quest 3 comes in as a close second.)
In general, Favreau says he's more excited about using existing consumer technology in the filmmaking process than AI. He mentions using the Unreal Engine to previsualize special effects on The Mandalorian and his previous films, and he believes the quality from game engines could be good enough to make it into final productions down the line.
"This is what the animation industry has understood from the beginning," he said. "Get it right before you ever paint a cel."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-mandalorian-and-grogu-director-used-apple-vision-pro-to-preview-the-film-in-imax-140331311.html?src=rss
Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Once again, there are some neat new games for you to check out this weekend. We've got a bunch of updates and announcements for upcoming titles to tell you about too.
There have been a bunch of solid indie showcases lately (and highlights from another one to tell you about below). If you want to learn about a ton of other games ASAP, you might want to set your alarm pretty early on April 25.
Starting at 5AM ET that day, the latest edition of Indie Life Expo takes place on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Bilibili and elsewhere. This one will feature more than 200 games! A rapid-fire Indie Waves segment will power through 160 of them. Organizers received 1,100 submissions for this installment, so hats off to them for featuring a sizable percentage of those.
Before that, you can check out another showcase on April 21. Top Hat Studios Presents: Spring Showcase 2026 will start at noon ET on the publisher's YouTube and Twitch channels.
The stream will feature Motorslice, Well Dweller and survival horror game Becrowned, as well premieres and other Top Hat games. I've been looking forward to Motorslice, which has a May release window. I wager we'll get a precise release date for that during this stream.
Meanwhile, there's an interesting Steam event taking place soon. InterfaceX26 will run from April 27 until May 4. This one is focused on games that deal with made-up operating systems and other custom interfaces. Organizers have brought together more than 150 developers and publishers, who are asking Valve to introduce an official "Fake OS" tag for games on Steam.
Some neat games will be included in a sale and a showcase on May 2, including Blippo+, TR-49 and The Roottrees are Dead. Expect demos and relevant new releases too. Speaking of which...
New releases
We've been waiting a very long time for Replaced. This cyberpunk adventure from Sad Cat Studios and publisher Thunderful finally landed this week on Steam, GOG, Xbox on PC and Xbox Series X/S. It's on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Otherwise, the base game costs $20. A supporter edition that includes the soundtrack is $25. It'll hit the Epic Games Store at a later date.
The game was initially supposed to arrive in 2022. It certainly didn't help that Sad Cat Studios was forced to relocate from Belarus to Cyprus after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the game is finally here and it debuted to generally positive reviews.
Replaced is a 2.5D action platformer set in an alternate version of 1980s America, in which you play as an AI trapped in a human body that may or may not dream of electric sheep. I haven't yet had a chance to properly jump into this gorgeous-looking game, but I'm hoping to do so this weekend.
Speaking of games I've long had on my wishlist, Gecko Gods arrived this week. I think I first clapped eyes on this around 2022. Various trailers charmed me with the idea of a puzzle exploration platformer that casts you in the role of a gecko that's able to run along walls and ceilings.
I've played around 90 minutes of this one so far. I dig the look and the gecko is very cute (being able to customize its appearance is a nice touch). I love that you "collect" different types of bugs by eating them. It's a fairly relaxing game, which is broadly what I need at the minute.
I think there are some issues here, though. I've explored two of the main five islands in the open world and it feels a bit sparse so far. The joy of being able to clamber up and around any object complicates things when it comes to more precise platforming sections. While the sailing sections are pretty, the boat is clunky to control on the choppy water. I ran into some mild technical issues as well on PS5 with occasional framerate dips and objects popping in. Hopefully, that's something the developers at Inresin are able to address.
Gecko Gods — from publishers Super Rare Originals and Gamersky Games — is available now on Steam, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It's normally $20, but there's a 10 percent launch discount until April 30 (on PS5, this only applies to PlayStation Plus members)
Another highly anticipated game landed this week in the form of Mouse: PI for Hire. We've had our eyes on this first-person shooter/detective game with sumptuous rubberhose-style animation for quite some time. Reviews have been generally positive so far, and it seems that there's enough substance here to live up to those stellar visuals.
Thirsty Suitorsdeveloper Outerloop Games and co-publisher Outersloth served up the cooking-themed Dosa Divas this week. It tells the story of two sisters who set out on a journey with their mech to take down a fast food empire and reconnect communities through cooking.
It caught my eye when I saw it during a showcase a while back and it has a great concept, though I don't exactly love turn-based combat. I've read a few lukewarmreviews of the game, and the consensus seems to be that the cooking mechanics and combat perhaps needed some more time to simmer.
If you'd like to try Dosa Divas yourself, you can pick it up on Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It'll usually run you $20, but there's a 10 percent launch discount until April 28.
If you're looking for a puzzle game that can be relaxing or rather dark, depending on your mood, it might be worth checking out A Storied Life: Tabitha. As you pack up the home of a late loved one, you'll need to decide which items to keep in the limited storage space you have and discard the rest. You'll need to wrap fragile items in bubble wrap and vacuum pack soft items to save room in the boxes.
As you save items, you'll unlock words that you can use to fill in the blanks of your loved one's life and tell their story, Mad Libs-style. Given that you'll find items like a blackmail letter and a shirt with lipstick on the collar, it seems like there's a lot of variety to the kinds of stories you can tell.
A Storied Life: Tabitha is available on Steam now. It'll normally run you $15, but you can save 10 percent if you buy it before April 28.
To round out this section, I’ll quickly note that Hades 2 is out now on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for $30, with a 20 percent launch discount. It's on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass too.
I bought Hades 2 when Supergiant Games brought it to Steam early access two years ago, telling myself I'd wait until the full game was out. But I still haven't gotten around to it yet. There are always too many games tugging at my fragile attention span and Hades 2 faded into the background for me. I really ought to play it, I know!
Upcoming
I'm keeping an eye out for Agefield High: Rock the School from Refugium Games. This spiritual successor to Rockstar's Bully is set to arrive this summer on Steam. It emerged this week that it will hit PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later in the year.
It's a coming-of-age adventure in which you play as Sam, a young lad who has moved to a new school in the early 2000s. He wants to make his last few months of high school a time to remember.
There's a branching narrative with multiple endings here — you can opt to go to classes and be a good student, or skip school and cause trouble. As a mostly rule-abiding student way back when, I'd be tempted to go for the latter. This seems like a bit of a life sim with a broad array of activities and ways to get into bother. I’m looking forward to it.
The latest edition of the Galaxies Showcase — yet another indie spotlight event — took place this week and The Backworld caught my attention. This is a Mother-inspired RPG from Numor Games and publisher Top Hat with charming art direction (yes, I did see that one character doing a Naruto run), an intriguing mix of characters and...
Oh no, why did the music stop? Why did it get so dark all of a sudden? What are these horrifying beasts that are chasing my character? Yup, there's a heavy horror element here. Numor took inspiration from The Backrooms as well.
The Backworld will be released later this year. A demo just hit Steam.
A Study in Blue, from Relate Games, was another highlight of the Galaxies Showcase, thanks in large part to that impressive animation. This is a point-and-click adventure in which you play as two characters with complex pasts: private detective Kenneth and runaway Blue.
You'll explore a semi-open world and solve crimes by collecting clues and calling out characters' lies. There are three intertwined story acts and multiple endings. A Steam demo featuring a side quest from the main game that'll take around two hours to complete is available now.
I'm always going to be interested in any game that riffs on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. On the face of this trailer, Elementallis developer AnKae Games seems to borrow quite a bit of the design language and other ideas from the SNES classic. Still, if you're going to crib from anything, it may as well be the best game of all time.
This 2D action RPG, which is also published by Top Hat and has a heavier focus on elemental powers than A Link to the Past, looks very much like my kind of jam. It's coming to Steam, GOG, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One on April 28. Per the eShop listing, it'll cost $18.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/cyberpunk-platformers-gallivanting-geckos-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-110000924.html?src=rss
The James Bond franchise has a long history of getting pop stars to record its theme songs (perhaps most memorably with Live and Let Die), and it looks like that tradition will now extend to video game adaptations about the fictional spy. IO Interactive has announced that Lana Del Rey co-wrote and performed the theme for 007 First Light, the developer's playable James Bond origin story.
"First Light" is written and performed by Lana Del Rey and composer David Arnold, and like the moody and abstract opening credits released alongside the song, could vaguely gesture at the themes of the game. IO Interactive has previously said that its game focuses on a young, inexperienced and more reckless Bond, before he developed his trademark cool. The developer is also integrating the stealth mechanics it perfected in Hitman into the upcoming game.
Del Rey's personal gaming experience may begin and end with her hit "Video Games," which was apparently written about a former boyfriend's love of World of Warcraft, but the artist does know how to write a song with Bond in mind. Lana Del Rey shared in 2024 that her song "24" from the album Honeymoon was originally written for 2017's Spectre, one of several songs that were cast aside in favor of Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall."
007 First Light is coming to Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC on May 27, 2026. A Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game is now coming out this summer.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/15-years-after-video-games-lana-del-rey-has-an-actual-video-game-song-221925735.html?src=rss
Sam Altman's cryptocurrency turned identity verification startup Tools for Humanity is offering a new set of perks to people who scan their eyes at one of the company's orbs. Among them, is a new tool called Concert Kit that could help bands and artists fight back against ticket scalping bots.
The new feature relies on the revamped World ID, the orb-based verification system that scans users eyeballs and faces to create a "proof of human" signature that lives on users' mobile devices. "It's basically like a little human passport for the internet that lets you prove on apps and websites that you are a real and unique human without revealing anything about yourself," Tools for Humanity Chief Product Officer Tiago Sada tells Engadget.
Now, as more apps and services are starting to support World ID, that "human passport" can unlock some new abilities. Coupled with Concert Kit, it allows artists to designate a specific pool of tickets for "verified" humans only. The concept is a bit like how pre-sales currently work, with artists (or their teams) setting aside a specific number of tickets for people who have set up a World ID. Those folks can then use their World ID to get ticket codes for Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, AXS or other major ticketing platforms.
Because World ID is limited to actual, "verified," humans the system won't be susceptible to the same tactics that have enabled bots to ruin the ticket-buying process for so many, Tools for Humanity says. Artists are also in control of what level of verification they want to require from their fans. (The new World ID app will also allow people to set up an account with a selfie check if they don't have ready access to an orb.)
Just how much of a dent Concert Kit will be able to make in the massive scalping bot problem that plagues the concert industry is less clear. So far, Bruno Mars is slated to use the solution on his upcoming world tour — no word on just how many of his tickets will be reserved for World ID-verified humans, though — and Concert Kit is available to other artists starting today.
Concert Kit is one of several new integrations and updates to World ID that Tools for Humanity announced at an event in San Francisco Friday. Tinder, which earlier this year started testing World ID as an age verification solution in Japan, will be rolling out support worldwide. In the US, Tinder's integration won't be for age verification, though. Instead, it will indicate whether there is an actual "verified" human behind a given profile.
Tinder profiles that verify with World ID will get a badge as an extra signal of authenticity.
Tools for Humanity
On the enterprise side, Zoom and DocuSign are also adding support for World ID to help businesses verify that there is an actual person (and not a deepfake or bot) joining their video calls or signing important documents. Tools for Humanity is also introducing a standalone app for World ID that separates its identity verification tools from its existing crypto wallet app.
The updates are Tools for Humanity's latest attempt to make their orb-based verification system, which has been widely mocked, more mainstream and perhaps a little less dystopian. (Elsewhere, orbs have begun appearing in some new places like a San Francisco Gap.)
On their part, Tools for Humanity seems aware that a lot of people aren't ready to scan their faces at a bunch of orbs controlled by Altman just to "prove" they are humans. I asked Sada, Tools for Humanity's Chief Product Officer, what he would say to people who think that the company is solving for the wrong problem: that really it should be up to ticketing platforms and dating apps and other services to strengthen their security and bot-fighting tools, rather than rely on their users to "prove" their humanness.
He said it was a "completely understandable question" and compared it to some people's initial discomfort with things like Apple's TouchID or FaceID. "Not everyone has to do it upfront, and that's important," he said. "It's optional. If you want to have a World ID, you get access to that enhanced experience."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/sam-altmans-human-verification-company-thinks-its-eye-scanning-orbs-could-solve-ticket-scalping-171500555.html?src=rss
The rules of Exit 8, both the cult indie game and the recent film adaptation, are simple: You're stuck in a subway station that loops around endlessly. If you notice any anomalies on your current loop, you turn around. If everything is the same, you keep going forward. Each successful guess takes you to a new entrance where the loop recurs, until you reach the end of the labyrinth, Exit 8 itself.
It's a setup that perfectly suits a first-person video game, where you can fully control where your character looks and moves. And it's also something director Genki Kawamura deftly replicates in the film through long tracking shots and sweeping camera movements. Even without a controller, or a keyboard and mouse, the viewer remains immersed, looking and listening for any minor changes. Within just a few minutes, the film makes it clear it's not just another thoughtless video game adaptation like The Mario Galaxy Movie — it's an attempt to translate the experience of the game to an entirely new medium.
That's a daunting challenge for most artists, but Kawamura is no stranger to jumping between formats. He's known for producing popular anime films from the likes of Makoto Shinkai and Mamoru Hosoda, including Your Name and Belle. He's also made a name for himself as a best-selling author, with books including the novelization of Exit 8.
Kawamura's perspective for the film came from a conversation with Nintendo's legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who had mentioned that the greatest games are both fun for the players and people watching them. "So what I tried to do in the film is to really place the audience in the shoes of the player in certain shots... almost like they were watching a live stream of a video game in other scenes," he said in an interview with Engadget (via a translator). "That's kind of structurally the through-line of the film."
The Exit 8 adaptation balances that sense of immersion with a more traditional narrative structure, something the game lacked entirely. As the film begins, we're introduced to a young man standing in a crowded train. A drunken businessman shouts at a mother to quiet crying baby down. Instead of telling the belligerent salaryman to fuck off, the young man plugs in his earbuds and tries to ignore the situation, just like everyone else. He eventually steps off, while the tearful mother suffers through the verbal assault.
It's a scene that anyone who's lived in a crowded city can relate to — the moments where you know you should try to help a stranger, but fear, cowardice or embarrassment hold you back.
Exit 8
NEON
Shortly after receiving a call from his ex-girlfriend, who reveals that she's pregnant, the young man stumbles into the Exit 8 loop. At first, it's just a normal subway station, with large poster ads, a photo booth and random maintenance doors. But he quickly notices that the room repeats itself. Thanks to a helpful set of instructions on the wall, he learns that his only way out is to start tracking anomalies, like slight changes in text, or the way a robotic businessman walks past him. And yes, things get freaky quickly.
Kawamura points to his experience working in animation as a major influence for Exit 8. In particular, the works of Satoshi Kon and Katsuhiro Otomo influenced how he externalized what characters were thinking and feeling, as well as how he depicted the interaction of dream and real worlds.
" When we were filming, I told my DP [director of photography] that the main character of this film is the corridor," he said. "And all of our human characters, they have no names, so therefore they're NPCs in this corridor, which is the main character. So I wanted the corridor to almost evoke this feeling in the audience that it has a will of its own. And this yellow Exit 8 sign is almost like this divine God-like being."
Kawamura says he personally views it as the corridor challenging humans who have a guilty conscience, but you can easily read in other meanings. More importantly, Exit 8 isn't merely a faithful recreation of the source material — it adds enough to make a case for existing a separate medium, a challenge many video game adaptations fumble.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/exit-8-is-cinema-for-the-livestreaming-era-151112907.html?src=rss
A Call of Duty movie is still happening, but don't hold your breath for it to hit screens any time soon. Today, the popular FPS' social media revealed that the movie's theatrical release date will be June 30, 2028.
A film adaptation of the game franchise was first revealed last year, and shortly after, we learned that Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg would be serving as the producers. The duo, whose past credits include Friday Night Lights and Yellowstone, will also be co-writing the project under Berg's direction. We still haven't heard anything about the cast, or even what era of the long-running series will be depicted, so it seems like a safe bet that there's still a ways to go before this wraps. But CoD is nothing if not a money-maker, so reimagining it as a summer blockbuster seems pretty expected.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/call-of-duty-movie-arrives-on-june-30-2028-200033481.html?src=rss
If the real world isn’t grim enough for you, Ukranian developer 4A Games has your back: Metro 2039 has been announced and is scheduled to arrive this winter. And based on the developer’s first look at the title, Metro 2039 looks to be an even darker affair than previous titles in the series. A tall order, but the real-world turmoil that has enveloped 4A Games since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sounds like it has turned into a painful inspiration for the developer.
The lengthy cinematic reveal, which also contains a brief bit of gameplay at the end, doesn’t give much of the story away. But it does serve to place you right in the ruined, terrifying world of the Metro series. Metro 2039 arrives about 25 years after a nuclear apocalypse wiped out most life on the planet. The series focuses on survivors who live in Moscow’s ruined metro system. 4A says that this time out, the different underground factions have been united by a group known as “the Novoreich,” complete with a new ruler, the Spartan known as Hunter.
Despite Hunter promising “salvation and a new life” for the survivors left on the surface, things aren’t exactly rosy underground. As you might expect, this supposedly “united” society is still a complete disaster, with propaganda, authoritarian rule and violence the hallmark of the regime.
Screenshot from Metro 2039.
4A Games
The Metro series is based on novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky, a Russian author who has been in exile due to his public denouncement of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 4A Studios says that while this new game isn’t based specifically on one of his works, they worked in collaboration with Glukhovsky on the story for Metro 2039 “shaped by shared values of freedom and truth, and informed by the harsh realities of the world today.”
In statements from the studio, 4A directly acknowledges the conditions that Metro 2039 was created under. “Many developers continue to work from multiple locations, facing daily challenges never anticipated,” the studio says. “Through power outages, reliance on generators, and disruptions from missile and drone attacks, development has continued – driven by resilience, shared support, and a commitment to the work.”
It goes on to state that: “The war has directly shaped the development of Metro 2039, with its story focused acutely on choices, actions, consequences, and the cost of securing a future. While told from a distinctly Ukrainian perspective, Metro 2039 remains an authentic Metro story.” While the Metro series has been unfailingly bleak, it’s not hard to imagine how Russia’s invasion could have influenced the storytelling coming out of a Ukranian studio with an exiled Russian being part of the story team. But the limited bit of the game we’ve seen so far doesn’t make anything too explicit.
Screenshot from Metro 2039's reveal trailer.
4A Games
The trailer shows off the new player-character known as The Stranger, the first voiced protagonist in the series (though we don’t hear him do anything but scream in the preview). The Stranger has apparently been surviving in the above-ground wasteland but is forced to return to the metro. The little bit of gameplay we saw was the standard first-person shooter view of The Stranger heading underground to be immediately ambushed by a pretty horrific monster that he barely escapes from — he’s then dragged to “safety” by a group of survivors who just get the doors to their shelter shut before being overrun by a larger horde. Creepy stuff.
The rest of the preview largely feels like a dream (or nightmare) sequence — but while it’s hard to put together what is going on, there’s no doubt that the detail in the environments and characters is top-notch. Given that the last metro game, Metro Exodus, was released way back in 2019, it’s fair to say that we’re getting a more graphically impressive rendering of ruined Moscow and the tunnels beneath it.
There’s no exact release date yet, but 4A Games says Metro 2039 will arrive this winter for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-first-look-at-metro-2039-shows-how-its-ukrainian-developer-turned-the-darkness-up-to-11-171500713.html?src=rss
We finally have a real-deal trailer for the upcoming Street Fighter movie, after a short teaser dropped at The Game Awards last year. This is nearly three minutes of fighting, silly dialogue and, of course, Easter eggs from the games.
To the latter point, there's a scene of Ken beating up a car like in the bonus stages from Street Fighter II and footage of Ryu powering up one of his famous Hadoken fireballs. There's even a cheeky reference to Chun-Li's notoriously-large and powerful thighs. This is all helped along by the fact that the actors all look very silly and mostly accurate to the games.
The plot looks to be fairly standard for this type of adaptation. There's a big, important fighting tournament and Chun-Li is recruiting people from around the globe, acting like the franchise's Nick Fury or something. Ken and Ryu are beefing, M. Bison is involved in a criminal conspiracy (big surprise) and everyone else is punching and/or making snarky asides. It looks campy as hell, which is a good thing.
Street Fighter is directed by Kitao Sakurai, who made the film Bad Trip and was heavily involved with The Eric Andre Show. It hits theaters on October 16.
The cast is actually stacked. Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji lead the film as Ken and Ryu, but Jason Momoa is playing Blanka and Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is portraying Balrog. Other actors involved include David Dastmalchian, Callina Liang, Cody Rhodes and Orville Peck.
This is the third attempt at a live-action Street Fighter adaptation. The 1994 film is famous for Raul Julia's iconic performance as M. Bison and 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is famous for being very bad.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-first-real-trailer-for-the-street-fighter-movie-is-filled-with-crowd-pleasing-moments-153145868.html?src=rss
The open-source library and search engine Anna’s Archive has been ordered to pay Spotify and the three of the world’s largest music labels $322 million in damages after it claimed to have scraped the entirety of the streaming platform’s library of music.
Spotify, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, sued Anna’s Archive in January for a slightly comical $13 trillion. They alleged Anna's Archive had illegally scraped 86 million songs — a significant chunk of all the music on the planet — and intended to make them available for download via BitTorrent. At the time, Spotify called the scraping a "brazen theft of millions of files containing nearly all of the world’s commercial sound recordings."
In a since-deleted blog post, Anna's Archive stated the scraping was an act of preservation. Still, a New York federal judge sided with the plaintiffs after the archive's anonymous operator failed to respond to the lawsuit.
The court order finding Anna's Archive guilty of direct copyright infringement, breach of contract and violation of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) was filed on April 14. A further claim of violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) was dismissed by the judge.
The total breakdown of damages includes $7.5 million to each of Sony and Universal Music and $7.2 million to Warner Music, with the remaining $300 million going to Spotify. The latter figure amounts to $2,500 for each of the 120,000 scraped music files already made available by Anna’s Archive. The remainder of the 86 million files were due to be released to the public at a later date.
The court also ordered Anna’s Archive to "immediately destroy all copies and phonorecords of any work ‘scraped,’ downloaded, copied or otherwise extracted from Spotify," but whether it actually does this, or indeed hands over a penny of the damages, remains to be seen. The bizarre reality of this case is that the person (or people) behind Anna’s Archive remains a mystery.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/annas-archive-told-to-pay-spotify-and-record-labels-322-million-over-unprecedented-music-scraping-151034032.html?src=rss
ANKARA, TURKIYE - OCTOBER 24: In this photo illustration the logo of Spotify is being displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of computer screen displaying the logos of Spotify in Ankara, Turkiye on October 24, 2025. (Photo by Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fresh off the box office success of Project Hail Mary, Amazon MGM Studios has announced its theatrical release lineup for the next year. Most of the titles aren't likely to hit the highs of the Ryan Gosling starrer which has grossed $515 million in theaters. However, there are a number of promising releases like Spaceballs: The New One and Highlander starring Henry Cavill, both sequels to '80s films. Another is The Sheep Detectives with Hugh Jackman, the trailer for which has been a hit on YouTube.
Earlier this year, Amazon MGM promised to release up to 14 films in theaters over the next year and leave them to run for as long as 45 days — a far cry from its previous policy of releasing just a few films for several weeks at most. That strategy is paying off so far. "Four months. Four films. Over $670 million at the box office. And we have nine more on the way,” said Amazon MGM's head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson.
The company said that it's not about volume, but impact. "We are building films that give audiences a reason to leave the house. Films with scale. Ambition," Wilson said. Looking at the slate, though, some of those films are likely to be hits and some not so much.
First up is The Sheep Detectives set to arrive on May 8th. You may scoff at the title, but the trailer has racked up 20 million views and mainly positive comments. It looks like fun, family-friendly fare and stars a popular actor, so one could easily see this being a hit for Amazon MGM.
Masters of the Universe is next up on June 5, 2026. "Director Travis Knight brings the world of Eternia to life on a massive scale with stars Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, and Idris Elba," Amazon explains. The film is based on the Mattel toy franchise and animated series so again, it could be another magnet for kids and their nostalgic parents.
How to Rob a Bank is a heist comedy with a solid cast including Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, and John C. Reilly, set to arrive on September 4. That's followed by Verity (October 2, 2026) based on the Colleen Hoover novel and Peter Farrelly's I Play Rocky Sylvester Stallone biopic about the production of the 1976 film Rocky.
2027 starts with the The Beekeeper 2 (January 15) starting Jason Statham, followed by The Thomas Crown Affair (March 5, 2027) directed by and starring Michael B. Jordan. Spaceballs: The New One, a sequel to the classic Mel Brooks movie arrives on April 23, 2027 with Rick Moranis, Josh Gad, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Bill Pullman, and Mel Brooks.
Other films expected but without release dates yet include The Chosen: Crucifixion, A Colt is My Passport, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother and Highlander starring Henry Cavill based on the 1986 cult classic.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/amazon-mgms-2026-theatrical-slate-includes-highlander-and-spaceballs-the-new-one-094505690.html?src=rss
Google has removed popular psychological horror game Doki Doki Literature Club!from the Play Store. According to Dan Salvato, who led its development team, and publisher Serenity Forge, Google told them the visual novel was removed because it violated its Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes. The game is “widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world,” they said in their announcement. Its free version, which came out first, has been downloaded at least 30 million times, while the paid “Plus” version has had at least one million downloads. The visual novel has repeatedly made Engadget’s lists of favorite games over the years.
Doki Doki Literature Club! has the drawing style and the makings of a typical dating sim, but players find themselves confronted with serious themes, including depression and suicide, soon after starting. Its Play listing was appropriately marked as “Mature 17+,” which means that children won’t be able to download it if their devices have parental controls. In addition, the developers clearly communicate that the game tackles serious issues. "This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed" is the first line of the game. "In-game content warnings for such material can be enabled in the Settings menu at any time,” it also warns players. In settings, there’s link to a page that lists content warnings that apply to the visual novel.
We’ve asked Google for a statement on why the game was removed, and we’ll update this post when we hear back. Salvator and Serenity Forge said they’re doing everything they can to “find a path forward for getting DDLC reinstated on the Google Play Store.” They’re also looking at other methods of distribution for Android devices. At the moment, the game’s Play listing shows that it’s still not available, but it’s still out on Steam, PlayStation, Switch eshop and iOS.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/google-removes-doki-doki-literature-club-from-the-play-store-080615951.html?src=rss
A film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid is in the works again, this time from filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, the directors of Final Destination: Bloodlines, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The duo are reviving the project at Columbia Pictures as part of a new first-look deal with Sony, the latest attempt in what's been multiple decades of work to turn the blockbuster stealth game into a blockbuster film.
"Metal Gear Solid was nothing short of a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece that forever revolutionized video games," Lipovsky and Stein said in a statement. "We are thrilled and honored to bring Hideo Kojima's iconic characters and unforgettable world to life."
Lipovsky and Stein's horror bona fides helped make Bloodlinesa critical and commercial hit when it came out in 2025, and the directors have a variety of other IP-focused genre films in the works, including a sequel to Gremlins for Warner Bros. and an animated Venom movie for Sony. It remains to be seen how exactly the duo will translate Metal Gear Solid's unique quirks to film, though.
Metal Gear Solid is heavily indebted to director Hideo Kojima's own taste in action and spy cinema, while also being in conversation with video games themselves in a way that wouldn't naturally translate to film. And even if you removed those metatextual rough edges, can it really be Metal Gear Solid without Kojima's equal parts charming and awkward writing?
Attempts to create a film version of the game date back to 2006, when Kojima first shared that an adaptation was in the works. Columbia Pictures announced a new version of the film in 2012, with Avi Arad, former head of Marvel Studios, producing. In 2014, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director of Kong: Skull Island, was attached to direct that adaptation. And six years after that, Oscar Isaac was reportedly cast as Solid Snake. Arad and his son Ari Arad are still producing this latest take on the game, but with Lipovsky and Stein in charge, that older version of Metal Gear Solid is likely dead. Still, hope springs eternal that we’ll get to see a man hide in a cardboard box on the big screen someday.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-metal-gear-solid-movie-is-back-on-with-final-destination-bloodlines-directors-in-charge-214914374.html?src=rss
Developer Sunset Visitor just revealed its follow-up to the fantastic 1000xResist. It's called Prove You're Human and looks to wade in similar sci-fi waters as the team's first title.
Just like 10000xResist, the new game is a narrative adventure set in the far future. Prove You're Human tasks players with convincing an AI product that its not alive, but there's a rub. The protagonist is a digital clone of a person, so they aren't human either. This will no-doubt lead to all manner of ethical conundrums.
"An AI dares to dream she is human," a tagline reads. "You've been hired to put her in her place."
The gameplay looks to involve scanning the environment, talking to corporate employees and keeping up with the digital clone's corporeal body. There's also an emphasis on making and solving CAPTCHAs, which makes sense when trying to prove humanity or a lack thereof.
The graphics certainly look unique, as the dev team has weaved real-world footage of Vancouver and the surrounding areas into the virtual landscape. "Vancouver is a well-known film town," Remy Siu, Founder of Sunset Visitor said in a press release. "We’re accessing that infrastructure, along with our long-time collaborators, to bring a sense of tactility to human forms in the game."
We don't know when this is coming out, as the above trailer is just an announcement for the game. However, it's already available to wishlist on Steam.
This is actually a pretty big deal. 1000xResist was a bona-fide sensation and was nominated for a Hugo Award. It also managed to win a Peabody Award, which honors excellence in storytelling.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/1000xresist-devs-reveal-their-wild-looking-second-game-about-convincing-an-ai-its-not-human-170018986.html?src=rss
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