Category: Technology

Epic has filed a “second motion to enforce injunction,” asking the US District Court for the Northern District of California to force Apple to do a timely review of its Fortnite app and to approve its submission if it’s compliant. The company recently accused Apple of blocking Fortnite’s return to the App Store in both the US and the EU. Epic submitted the app for approval after winning its case against the iPhone-maker. Specifically, after the court ordered Apple to stop collecting commissions on purchases that weren’t paid through the App Store and to allow external payment links in-app. 

After Epic said that Apple was blocking Fortnite’s return to the App Store, the tech giant wrote a letter addressed to the video game developer. In it, Apple said it will not take action on Epic’s submission “until after the Ninth Circuit rules on [its] pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction.” It told Epic to resubmit the app to the EU storefront separately from its US submission. Apple, of course, filed an appeal against the court’s order to stop charging commissions for payments made outside the App Store. It also filed an emergency motion to put a pause on the order prohibiting it from charging commissions, telling the court that it will cost the company “substantial sums annually.”

In a post on X, Epic said that Apple’s suggestion to submit two different versions of Fortnite for review is in violation of its own guideline that prohibits developers from submitting multiple versions of the same app. “That’s not the standard Apple holds other developers to and it’s blocking us from releasing our update in the EU and US,” it wrote. Epic also asserted that its submission didn’t break any rules this time. Apple’s denial, the video game developer claimed in its filing, is a “blatant retaliation against Epic for challenging Apple’s anticompetitive behavior and exposing its lies to the Court, culminating in the Injunction and the Contempt Order.” 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/epic-wants-the-court-to-compel-apple-to-approve-fortnites-return-to-the-us-app-store-123054703.html?src=rss 

Indie games! They’re rad, aren’t they? We’re keeping closer tabs on what’s going on in that scene with our new weekly roundup. We’ve got a jam-packed edition for you this time with a little something for everyone, from lo-fi horror and Eldritch terror to cosy train dioramas and a vaporwave driving game. 

Before we get started, a quick word on a recent game I enjoyed. Idle games aren’t usually my kind of thing — I’d rather be actively doing things — but one I spotted on Itch.io offered some temporary respite from a virus I was dealing with. The DvD idle game from Cybo3D is all about watching a version of the classic DVD logo bouncing around your screen, buying upgrades and seeing numbers go up. Pleasantly relaxing stuff. I swear I even saw the logo go exactly into the corner a few times.

New releases

The Sinking City has a history that’s even odder than some of the Eldritch horrors that lie within. Now, developer Frogwares has remastered its self-published detective thriller in Unreal Engine 5 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Existing owners get a free upgrade to The Sinking City Remastered, which Frogwares shadow dropped this week. Along with 4K textures, lighting upgrades and support for upscaling tech, there are quality-of-life enhancements, accessibility improvements and a photo mode.

Free-to-play fantasy adventure life sim Palia (which is what you might get if you smushed together Animal Crossing and World of Warcraft) landed on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S this week. It’s been out on PC and Switch since 2023. There’s a new free expansion for all platforms too.

If you’ve ever looked at a Grand Theft Auto game and been mildly interested before deciding a life of virtual crime is not for you, then The Precinct might be up your alley. In this action sandbox title from developer Fallen Tree Games and publisher Kwalee, you’ll play as a rookie officer who tries to restore order in his city while trying to solve his father’s murder. How very ’80s!

Reviews have been mixed, but the art style is compelling and the isometric perspective with twin-stick controls make for an intriguing wrinkle. The Precinct is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Upcoming

Copycat, the debut game from the small team at Spoonful of Wonder, is another strong entry in the cat game canon. You play as a kitty who an elderly lady adopts from a shelter. Needless to say, things don’t entirely go smoothly. 

I enjoyed Copycat — which debuted on PC last year — and its short but affecting story. The game has already sold over 50,000 copies and it’s now set to find a new audience. Copycat is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 29 for $15.

Folks who like last year’s very good and creepy walking sim Pools but yearn for more intensity from their liminal space horror might be interested in Backrooms Level X. This one is a mazy first-person survival game that has puzzles, “oppressive soundscapes” and things watching from the shadows. Backrooms Level X, from publisher Firenut Games and solo developer José Manuel Conesa Hernández, will hit Steam on May 29 and consoles at a later date.

Okay, maybe horror’s not your thing. Totally understandable. Perhaps what you’d rather do is chill out and build little railway dioramas without being beholden to timers or rules. 

You can do just that in Islands & Trains, from developers Akos Makovics and Fabi Smith and publisher Future Friends Games. It’s rolling onto Steam on May 29.

It’s probably a little (okay, a lot) because of the laidback synthwave tune that soundtracks the trailer, but I’m into the whole aesthetic of Adrift. This is a “chill, offroad driving game” and it’s the first title from both car mechanic turned game developer Stefan Kwak and co-publisher Secret Sauce. 

Your goal is to transport a fragile energy core across an ’80s-inspired, vaporwave landscape. Adrift is coming to Steam later this year and you can check out a demo now.

How about another Steam demo? One just dropped for Flick Shot Rogues from three-person studio Butter by the Fish and publisher Noodlecake. Turn-based tactics games usually aren’t my cup of tea, but the gameplay here reminds me a bit of Subpar Pool, a game I love very much. 

In this roguelike, you flick your character across the screen to damage opponents (or evade their attacks) and try to pull off combo moves. Getting the angles just right is as important as piecing together effective builds.

I fired up the demo and suddenly 50 minutes had vanished as my first run ended. Yep, I’m liking what Flick Shot Rogues is putting down. I can see myself sinking dozens of hours into this one after it lands on Steam later this year.

An open beta for Splitgate 2, the followup to the Portal-with-guns multiplayer arena shooter, starts on May 22. You’ll be able to hop in on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. 

A new trailer shows off the map creator tool, The Lab. You can build maps with up to 15 of your friends in real-time collaboration.

I’m sure plenty of folks who are into miniature wargaming and other types of tabletop games have wondered what it might be like to run their own store that sells such wares. And hey, guess what? You’ll be able to get a taste of that in Tabletop Game Shop Sim from Knight Fever Games. 

You’ll do everything from deciding on the layout and managing finances to hosting game nights and playing with customers. This one’s coming to Steam in 2025.

Let’s close things out on another cozy note. We love a chill puzzle game around here and Umami might just fit the bill. The idea here is to fit wooden blocks together to create dioramas of food towers. This 3D puzzler from Mimmox will hit Steam later this year. A demo will be available during the Steam Next Fest in mid-June.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/remastered-eldritch-terror-a-fantasy-life-sim-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-110015794.html?src=rss 

It’s still May, which means it’s still Google time. After showing off Android’s new look at The Android Show, the company still has its developer conference to check off the list. Google I/O 2025 is scheduled to start on May 20 at 1PM ET / 10AM PT, and Engadget will be covering it live, via a liveblog and on-the-ground reporting from our very own Karissa Bell.

Google included some Gemini news in The Android Show — the AI is coming to Wear OS, Android Auto and Google TV — but artificial intelligence should still be the focus of the company’s upcoming keynote. too. Expect news about how Google is using AI in search to be featured prominently, along with some other surprises, like the possible debut of an AI-powered Pinterest alternative.

The company made it clear during its Android showcase that Android XR, its mixed reality platform, will also be featured during I/O. That could include the mixed reality headset Google and Samsung are collaborating on, or, as teased at the end of The Android Show, smart glasses with Google’s Project Astra built-in.

To find out for yourself, you can watch Google’s keynote in the embedded livestream above or on the company’s YouTube channel. The event starts at 1PM ET on May 20 and the company plans to hold breakout sessions through May 21 on a variety of different topics relevant to developers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/how-to-watch-google-io-2025-214622457.html?src=rss 

The FTC just rested its case following weeks of testimony in a landmark antitrust case against Meta. But before Meta can begin its defense, the company’s lawyers have opted for another move: asking the judge to throw out the case entirely.

The company filed a motion on Thursday asking US District judge James Boasberg to toss out the FTC’s case, arguing that the regulator has not proved that Meta acted anticompetitively. “Meta has made two promising mobile apps with uncertain prospect: two of the most successful apps in the world, enjoyed by approximately half of the planet’s population (including hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers) on demand, in unlimited quantities, all for free,” the filing says, “The FTC has not carried its burden to prove that Meta ‘is currently violating the antitrust laws.'”

The company’s reasoning is similar to past arguments it’s made about the FTC’s case. Meta has said that Instagram and WhatsApp were able to grow to one-billion-user services because of the company’s investments. The company also takes issue with the FTC’s claim that there is a lack of competition for “personal social networking services.” (The FTC has argued that Meta’s only competitors for social networking are Snapchat and MeWe, a small privacy-focused social app that runs on decentralized protocols.)

So far, the month-long trial has seen a number of prominent current and former Meta executives take the stand, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg and Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom. Their testimony has revealed new details about the inner workings of the social media company and its tactics to stay ahead of potential competitors.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-is-trying-to-get-its-antitrust-case-thrown-out-in-the-middle-of-the-trial-204656979.html?src=rss 

The bright, glitched-out, typography-forward look of Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon is one of its defining features. As it turns out, it’s also partially plagiarized, according to posts shared on the official Marathon X account. The announcement comes after artist Fern Hook, who goes by @4nt1r34l on X, initially accused Bungie of using in-game textures that looked similar to her original artwork on May 15.

“Bungie is of course not obligated to hire me when making a game that draws overwhelmingly from the same design language I have refined for the last decade,” Hook wrote on X, “but clearly my work was good enough to pillage for ideas and plaster all over their game without pay or attribution.” 

Hook’s posts are fairly damning, identifying obvious areas in Marathon‘s alpha map that feature only lightly altered versions of her original work. She became aware of the issue when the alpha originally launched in April 2025, according to The Washington Post, but kept quiet until now because she was advised to seek legal action. Hook ultimately decided to post about the issue because she doesn’t “have enough time or money to fly out to the US to pursue an unwinnable court case against Sony.”

Bungie’s statement claims that “a former Bungie artist” included Hook’s art in a texture sheet without the rest of the art team’s knowledge. The company is “conducting a thorough review of [its] in-game assets” and has also reached out to Hook to “discuss the issue” further.

As Eurogamer notes, this isn’t the first time Bungie has been accused of lifting the work of other artists. The developer was accused of doing the same thing multiple times during the development of Destiny 2 and its various expansions.

Since the game is still in development, it’s not clear how or if Bungie will change Marathon to address Hook’s complaint, but the developer has until September 23 to do it. That’s when Marathon is supposed to launch on PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/bungie-admits-its-marathon-alpha-included-stolen-artwork-210006323.html?src=rss 

There’s a new way to screen for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the first blood test for the disorder. Fujirebio Diagnostics’ Lumipulse measures the ratio of two proteins that correlate with the presence or absence of Alzheimer’s. Previously, patients being screened for Alzheimer’s were limited to more invasive options: a PET Scan or spinal tap.

Lumipulse is intended for use in clinical settings with patients exhibiting signs of cognitive decline. At least in its current form, it isn’t something the general population can ask for as a standard screening.

The test works by measuring two proteins: pTau217 and β-amyloid 1-42. The blood test calculates their ratio, which correlates with the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain. People with Alzheimer’s have elevated pTau217 and lower β-amyloid 1-42.

In a clinical study, the test performed better with negative results than positive ones. As such, Reuters reports that the test will likely be used initially to rule out Alzheimer’s. Over 97 percent of negative results corresponded with a negative PET scan or CSF test result. Results for positives were a bit lower: a 91.7 percent correlation. So, positive results will need to be confirmed with more advanced diagnostic tests.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/the-fda-clears-the-first-blood-test-for-diagnosing-alzheimers-disease-201209676.html?src=rss 

Iconic video game maker Hideo Kojima has left behind a USB stick filled with game ideas in the case of his death, as indicated in an interview with Edge Magazine that VGC reported on. Kojima says it’s “kind of like a will” and that he hopes that his staff will continue to make games after he passes.

Don’t worry. He isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. This was spurred on by the pandemic. “Until then, I didn’t think I was old, you know? I just didn’t feel my age, and I assumed I would be able to create for as long as I live,” he told the magazine. Kojima is 61 years old, which is a spring chicken when compared to luminaries like Shigeru Miyamoto (72) and Sid Meier (71.)

While Kojima isn’t planning on leaving this mortal coil in the near future, he does say that he only has so much time left for active game development. He gives himself around ten years before he reaches an age in which his creative energy could be depleted.

So, the idea of a USB stick was born. He hopes it will allow Kojima Productions to carry on as an entity after he passes or retires. “This is a fear for me: what happens to Kojima Productions after I’m gone? I don’t want them to just manage our existing IP.”

While we don’t know what type of ideas are on the USB stick, Kojima did recently introduce a few off-the-wall game concepts regarding the passage of time. He discussed a concept involving memory, in which the main character gradually forgets important information and abilities if someone takes too long of a break from playing. Kojima also discussed a game that encompassed an entire life and another one that would involve the real-time creation of wine or cheese.

The designer also planned on a mechanic that made Sam’s beard grow over time in the forthcoming Death Stranding 2. However, he scrapped it because “Norman Reedus is a big star” and he didn’t “want to make him look uncool.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/kojima-is-leaving-behind-a-usb-stick-with-game-ideas-for-after-he-dies-184029255.html?src=rss 

Last August, my best friend asked me how she could help her neighbor set her iPhone so she could answer it without picking it up. The neighbor had Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and had lost dexterity in both hands over time. Some Google searches revealed I was far from alone in my confusion. So I asked Apple for some advice. Here’s what I said:

Q: “My friend has advanced MS and has some (very little) control of one of her hands. She can’t really swipe a screen or tap buttons. She wants it so that when she receives a call, she can just ask Siri or tell her iPhone to answer or reject it. But based on my research, the only way that’s possible is if a user has AirPods or Apple Watch connected, so Siri can announce incoming calls and listen for commands like “Answer” or “Dismiss.”

I also looked in the accessibility settings for Voice Control and there’s a way to answer all incoming calls after a set amount of time. But due to privacy concerns and spam calls, that’s not an ideal solution.

I was wondering if you knew any way for incoming calls to be answered with a voice command?”

A: Apple did respond, but unfortunately the solution is… complicated. I’ll lay out the steps on how to use your iPhone with Voice Control first, since that does provide a somewhat effective workaround. But you should read past the steps for some of the caveats.

How to use Voice Control on iPhone to answer calls

Before we get started, make sure your phone is running iOS 13 or later. You can also use Voice Control on iPads or iPod Touch (if you still have one). When setting up Voice Control, make sure you’re connected to the internet to download the necessary files, and Apple recommends you connect to Wi-Fi before you turn on Voice Control to use it for the first time. When all that is done, proceed with the following steps.

Open the Settings app and find the Accessibility settings. This is in the second group of options just below “General.” You can also just search for “Accessibility.”

Select “Voice Control,” which is listed in the “Physical and motion” section.

Turn on Voice Control by tapping or sliding the toggle next to it, and, in some cases, wait for the download to finish. If you’ve enabled Voice Control before, you can also just ask Siri to “Turn on voice control.”

Once the feature is on, you’ll see little numbers floating around your screen, next to key elements. Your microphone is now on and your iPhone is listening for your commands.

Read out the number next to what you want to trigger. If you’ve been following this guide, you can say “one” to go back to the Accessibility settings menu.

Say “Show me what to say” for a detailed list of things you can do. You can use commands like “Swipe down” or “Move down” to scroll through pages. Just remember that “Swipe up” will scroll down and “Swipe down” will scroll up. The system will continue to recognize your touch inputs, too.

When a call comes in, read out the number next to the answer option. From the lock screen, that was the number “five” in my experience. When my phone was unlocked, the number to accept the call was “six,” while “five” would decline it.

Voice Control isn’t perfect

As you can see from that seventh step, Voice Control is complicated. You’ll need to be within view of your screen to see the labels, and saying the wrong number can cause you to hang up a call by accident. You can say “Show Names” to display words instead of numbers in the labels, but know that in this case you’ll need to add “Tap” before each label to press it. That means when a call comes in, you can say “Tap Answer” or the label corresponding to the action you want. 

I want to point out that the numerical labels don’t consistently appear in all apps (the search bar at the top of chats in WhatsApp, for example, doesn’t have a number attached to it in my experience). Occasionally, the names in the labels are also oddly chosen, like how the word attached to my widget for my self-care app was just “Image.” It also takes time to build familiarity with Voice Control and learn all the available actions. 

I also found the system to be sluggish, and it sometimes took a noticeable delay before a command like “Swipe left” was registered and carried out. On my first few attempts, I thought my iPhone didn’t hear me and repeated the instruction, only for it to swipe through two pages instead. I’m using an iPhone 16 Pro, which is Apple’s latest flagship, so it’s not like I’m on an older, slower device, either.

While we were able to achieve a semi-effective approach with the Voice Control workaround, it didn’t really solve my friend’s neighbor’s problem.

How to answer or decline calls with Siri

In researching this guide, I’ve found that either there is now a way to answer calls with Siri or there was always one that I had missed in August of 2024. Regardless, I was able to test it today in a few different scenarios and while it’s certainly more convenient, it’s not without its limitations. 

Go to Siri Settings in your phone. You can find this by searching for “Siri” in your Settings app or just scrolling till you see “Siri” or “Apple Intelligence & Siri.”

Make sure the setting to allow your iPhone to listen for “Siri” or “Hey Siri” is on. If you’re running the latest version of iOS on an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, this would be Talk & Type to Siri > “Hey Siri” or “Siri” or “Hey Siri” (whichever you prefer, as long as it’s not “Off”). On older iPhones or versions of iOS, it would be Talk to Siri > “Hey Siri” or “Siri” or “Hey Siri”

Turn on “Call Hang Up” if you want to be able to end a call with a voice command during the conversation. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for the other party to hang up. Note: Call hang up only works on phone and FaceTime calls, not on those via third-party apps like WhatsApp or Telegram.

When a call comes in, say “Siri, answer” or “Hey Siri, answer” to accept. Say “Siri, decline the call” to reject it. In my testing, “Siri, decline” did not work, but “Siri, decline the call” did. 

I was able to use this method to answer calls not only through phone or FaceTime, but via third-party apps too. I enabled “Announce calls,” setting it to do so “Always” rather than only when headphones or CarPlay were connected. But I never saw or heard alerts when a call came, besides the actual ringing. When I asked my friend about using this method with their neighbor, they mentioned that her speech was so affected at that point that Siri wouldn’t always recognize what she was saying.

Accessibility in tech has improved, but needs to get even better

Sadly, that neighbor had passed away before we were able to resolve the issue. Though I wasn’t able to solve her problem, I’m putting the limited guidance I’ve been able to compile here in the hope that it might be useful to someone in a substantially similar situation. 

I have yet to properly test the offerings on Android, but on that platform there are settings for Voice Access to be enabled for incoming calls and to remain active during calls, indicating there are options to use voice commands there.

My friend’s neighbor’s challenges are shared by countless people who are still struggling with consumer technology tools that rarely meet their full needs — whether they’re temporary limitations from injuries or longterm issues resulting from disability or age. Voice-based interactions that are meant to help those with physical disabilities need to better recognize speech impediments at a wider level, and both Google and Apple, along with other major tech companies, have taken steps toward building better models in those respects. 

The memory of our frustration with voice control felt all the more timely this week, which marked the 14th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (the third Thursday of each May). We saw Apple and Google announce new accessibility features, while companies like Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft reminded us of the assistive tools they recently released. 

It’s heartening to see increased development in inclusively designed tech, but it’s also worth considering how complete and useful some of these “solutions” are. Many of us will either need some form of assistive technology at some point in our lives or know someone who does and would. In spite of the continued improvements, there’s still plenty to do to ensure tech is accessible to all.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/ask-engadget-how-do-i-answer-calls-on-my-iphone-with-only-my-voice-193707009.html?src=rss 

After claiming that Apple was blocking Epic from offering Fortnite in both the US App Store and the Epic Games Store in the European Union, Apple now says it wasn’t, according to a report from Bloomberg.

A spokesperson told Bloomberg that Apple “did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces,” and that the company wants Epic’s European branch to resubmit the latest game update for publishing, “without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.”

While that sounds like a denial of wrongdoing, it does imply Apple specifically doesn’t want Epic to relaunch Fortnite on the US App Store. The company submitted Fortnite for publishing on May 9 following a victory in court that forced Apple to allow developers to support alternative payment methods for apps on the web. At the time, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was hoping to use the change as justification to bring Fortnite back entirely, after only offering the game through streaming platforms on mobile.

Fortnite was originally removed from the App Store because Epic started directing players to circumvent Apple’s in-app payment system to buy in-game currency. The move was part of a larger plan from Epic to push back on Apple and Google’s tight control over their respective platforms and storefronts. That plan has partially worked. Thanks to Epic’s court win, multiple app developers are now offering alternative payment methods in their apps, but it obviously hasn’t changed how Apple feels about the game developer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-claims-its-not-blocking-epic-from-offering-fortnite-in-the-eu-175423021.html?src=rss