It’s time to jump back into the pit. Ball x Pit is one of the very best games of 2025 and there’s now even more to play around with in the brick-busting roguelite. The first major free update for the game (one of three that’s on the cards this year) just arrived on all platforms. It added a bunch more stuff to the mix, including two new characters, eight extra special balls with powerful abilities and an endless mode.
Developer Kenny Sun wrote on the PlayStation Blog that because fans demanded it so much, endless mode jumped right to the top of the to-do list. After you beat a level’s boss, you can keep going as long as you can stay alive and really put your builds to the test.
The Regal Update brought two more playable hunters to the mix as well. Opt to use The Falconer, and you’ll fire balls from two birds, one at each side of the screen. When balls return to The Carouser, they orbit around him to deal extra damage. Sun added that this character “twists ball trajectories with a personal gravity field that pulls shots off their usual paths.”
Then there are the new balls. The Stone Ball is powerful, but disintegrates as it bounces. Two of the latest balls deal spins on fire damage and the Fireworks Ball seems like it’ll add even more chaotic visual flair. The update added a trio of passives too. I enjoy creating builds around baby balls (a secondary type of ball that doesn’t have a special ability), so I’m eager to try out Iron Onesie. This passive scales up the damage of special balls depending on how many baby balls are in play.
Finally, the update introduced support for more languages. You can play Ball x Pit in Spanish (Latin America), Polish, Italian, Thai, Turkish and Ukrainian.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ball-x-pits-first-update-brings-an-endless-mode-and-much-more-to-the-chaos-174306548.html?src=rss
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are coming up. (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)
Mattia Ozbot via Getty Images
The 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place in Italy this year, with all the action taking place in Milan and the Alpine city of Cortina. This year marks the fourth time Italy has hosted the Winter Games; most recently, Turin hosted in 2006. Of the 16 sports that will be featured at the Winter Olympics, there will be 15 returning favorites, including figure skating, Alpine skiing, curling, ice hockey, speedskating, snowboarding, freestyle skiing and ski jumping, and one entirely new sport, snow mountaineering. (Will it be as big a hit as the 2024 Summer Games' new addition, breaking? It remains to be seen.)
Live coverage of every event at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be available to stream on Peacock — though thanks to the time difference between Italy and the U.S., to watch many of the events live, you'll have to wake up (or stay up) until 2AM or 3AM ET. Primetime replays and select live coverage will air on NBC. The games officially kick off with the opening ceremony on Feb. 6, 2026.
Here's what else you need to know about watching the 2026 Winter Olympics.
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics
Dates: Feb. 6 - Feb. 22
TV channel: NBC
Streaming: Peacock
When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?
The Winter Olympics officially begin with the opening ceremony on Feb. 6, although some events will start as early as Feb. 4). The Milano Cortina 2026 games will run through Feb. 22. The closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in the Arena di Verona on Feb. 22.
Where are the Winter Olympics this year?
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Northern Italy, primarily in Milan and also the Alpine mountain resort town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, where events like bobsled, skeleton, alpine skiing, curling, para snowboard, and more will take place.
What channel are the Olympics on?
The 2026 Winter Olympics will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock.
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics without cable
When is the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
The Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony will be held on Feb. 6, 2026. Due to the time difference, the ceremony will kick off around 2PM ET/11AM PT.
Winter Olympics time difference
This year's Olympic Games are in Italy, which is 6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. Meaning that some events will start bright and early for U.S. viewers, and live coverage will likely wrap up around 4PM ET each day. NBC will have primetime replays of the biggest moments each night.
Hockey (bronze medal games) – 1PM (Peacock – Live)
Friday, Feb. 20
Biathlon mass start – 6AM (Peacock – Live)
Speedskating final medals – 8AM (Peacock – Live)
Figure skating gala – 1PM (Peacock – Live)
Saturday, Feb. 21
Men’s hockey gold medal game – 12PM (Peacock – Live)
Women’s hockey gold medal game – 3PM (Peacock – Live)
Men’s hockey gold medal game – 8PM (NBC – Primetime)
Sunday, Feb. 22 – closing ceremony
Cross-country skiing final event – 6AM (Peacock – Live)
closing ceremony – 2PM (Peacock – Live)
closing ceremony – 8PM (NBC – Primetime)
More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC
While Peacock is the best way to watch the Winter Olympics, there are other options if you restrict yourself to the NBC broadcasts. As our guide to the best live TV streaming services to cut cable notes, both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are excellent options, but you'll want to skip Fubo until and unless the service resolves its contract dispute with Comcast, as NBC channels remain unavailable for now.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/olympics-2026-how-to-watch-schedule-of-events-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-about-the-winter-games-172409755.html?src=rss
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