Todd and Julie are planned to be pardoned by President Donald Trump. Learn more about their kids, who have been supporting them, here.
Todd and Julie are planned to be pardoned by President Donald Trump. Learn more about their kids, who have been supporting them, here.
Apple‘s Worldwide Developers Conference is from June 9 to 13 this year, and the company has a lot to answer for. Apple Intelligence hasn’t exactly lived up to its original pitch, but Apple will have its WWDC keynote presentation at 1PM ET / 10AM PT on June 9 to make the case for why that might not matter. You can tune in right here once the livestream kicks off to see that and lots of announcements tied to macOS, iOS, iPadOS and all the other platforms the company manages.
One way Apple could reportedly smooth over any ill feelings about AI is by completely redesigning its operating systems to make them more cohesive, easier to use and reminiscent of visionOS. The iPad could also receive some attention, with reports suggesting Apple will introduce yet another approach to multitasking and window management in an effort to make the tablet Mac-like. Add in new battery management feature and a “virtual health coach,” and the company may have a raft of updates not immediately Apple Intelligence-related to get excited about.
To find out what Apple has planned for yourself, you can watch the WWDC 2025 keynote on its website, its YouTube channel and right here once the livestream is up. Apple will also host developer sessions online for more in-depth, technical overviews of the new software features it announces.
And for even deeper analysis of everything that gets announced at WWDC 2025, Engadget will be on-the-ground liveblogging Apple’s keynote and learning more about its operating systems updates before they roll out later this year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/how-to-watch-apples-wwdc-2025-event-184227177.html?src=rss
Google Photos is 10 years old. To honor the anniversary, the company revamped the app’s editor. Naturally, AI plays a leading role.
The redesigned Photos adds AI-powered editors previously exclusive to the Pixel 9’s Magic Editor. That includes Auto Frame, which suggests crops for your pics. If that requires new parts, it will use AI to generate them.
Also moving over from the Pixel is Reimagine. That’s where you can add elements like fall leaves or green grass that weren’t there. It can be equal parts neat and unsettling. We described it as “blurring the line between which of your memories are real and which are not.” The results are convincing enough that Google recently began watermarking them as AI-generated.
The Google Photos update also adds a new AI Enhance feature. As The Verge notes, selecting it produces three edits. (It generates them with existing tweaks like sharpening and object removal.) Then, you pick the result you like best. The new AI Enhance feature sits in the Edit menu, alongside the app’s existing Enhance and Dynamic buttons.
Google also made it easier to share albums. You can now generate a QR code linking to your album. Let a friend scan it directly, or print it out in a group setting.
The redesigned editor arrives on Android devices in June. Google says the iOS version will follow “later this year.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-photos-gets-new-ai-features-for-its-10-year-anniversary-185523431.html?src=rss
Capcom just announced that Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is getting a new mode to coincide with its launch-day release for the Switch 2, which is June 5. It’s called Otherworldly Ventures and introduces some roguelike mechanics to the action/strategy game.
In other words, it’s essentially an endless mode. You start off with limited abilities and choose from various upgrades when defeating waves of enemies. Lots of games do something like this, including titles like Vampire Survivors and Downwell. It will also introduce a scoring element, for those who want to ascend a leaderboard.
To make the roguelike-inspired mechanics work, the developers have simplified other aspects of the gameplay. Protagonist Soh won’t have to rescue villagers and crystals will accumulate more quickly than in the standard game. Also, Yoshiro will make her own way to the gate, instead of having to be guided. The whole thing looks pretty fun.
Despite launching alongside the Switch 2, Otherworldly Ventures will be available for every version of the game on June 5. This includes PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows and Steam. It’s also free, which is always nice.
For the uninitiated, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a fun hybrid of third-person combat and tower-defense. We heaped praise on the game in our official review, calling it “perfectly balanced, lovingly crafted and metal as hell.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess-is-getting-a-new-mode-to-coincide-with-the-switch-2-launch-190406167.html?src=rss
It seems that Apple is giving its operating systems a significant overhaul this year, and not just on the visual and usability fronts. It was expected that the next major versions of iOS and iPadOS would be followed by the number 19, Macs would move onto macOS 15 and so on. That would continue the numbering system Apple has used for many years.
That could be about to change, according to Bloomberg. The next versions of the operating systems may be earmarked by the year, according to the publication’s sources. That means we could soon see the debut of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26.
The numbers would align with the year after each major OS release, since Apple typically rolls out the first public versions of those each fall. So the versions of iOS, iPadOS and so on that arrive this September or October may be named after 2026.
We’ll know for sure whether this shift is happening on June 9, when the keynote of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference takes place. It’s widely expected that Apple will be giving its operating systems a major user interface overhaul to deliver a more unified experience across various devices.
It seems like a wise move to align the branding of all of the various operating systems. The software powering Apple Watch devices is currently up to watchOS 11. Apple Vision Pro is running visionOS 2. It’s a little messy as is. Applying the same numbering to all of the operating systems and aligning it with the release year should make things easier for everyone to keep up with.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-may-switch-its-os-numbering-system-to-match-the-release-year-turning-ios-19-into-ios-26-193424796.html?src=rss
Their creators might be gone, but OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome are finally back on Steam, based on listings spotted by Eurogamer. Both games were delisted from storefronts like Steam and the Xbox Games Store following publisher Take-Two’s decision to shutdown developer Roll7, Intercept Games and publishing label Private Division a little over a year ago.
OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome represent diverging, but equally great examples of what made Roll7 special. They’re thoughtful, visually stylish games about skateboarding and rollerblading that capture the zen-like state you can enter pulling off multiple tricks in a row (plus or minus a mascot costume and a shotgun).
Eurogamer notes that Take-Two always planned to put both games back on sale when it originally delisted them, it just took a lot longer to bring them back than expected. 2K, another Take-Two subsidiary, is now serving as the publisher.
When the company closed Private Division, not every game stayed at Take-Two. The publisher continues to back games like No Rest for the Wicked from the developer of Ori and the Blind Forest, but a collection of other in-development projects were sold to Haveli Investments, Bloomberg reports. The investment firm brought on former Annapurna Interactive staff to manage the slate following the implosion of that indie-focused publisher and developer in September 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/roll7s-olliolli-world-and-rollerdrome-are-back-on-steam-193536731.html?src=rss
Once Cyberpunk 2077 worked out its oh-so-many kinks, it was a damn good game. And more is on the way. CD Projekt Red said on Wednesday that its sequel has moved into pre-production.
It wasn’t a secret that a sequel was in the works. In 2022, CDPR shared a roadmap describing “Project Orion.” It would “further develop the potential embodied by [the Cyberpunk 2077] universe.” That’s as clear as you can get without using the word “sequel.”
Now, CDPR is shedding the codename as development forges ahead. “Several weeks ago, the CD Projekt Red team responsible for the next big game set in the Cyberpunk universe completed the project’s conceptual phase,” the publisher wrote. “As a result, Cyberpunk 2 — previously known under the codename Project Orion — has progressed to pre-production.”
Of course, entering pre-production is still a long way from something you can play. Following the fiasco last time, expect CDPR to play it safe and take more time with the final stages.
On a related note, CDPR said Phantom Liberty has sold 10 million copies. The massive expansion launched on PC and consoles in late 2023. It’s part of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which includes the base game and all the DLC. That version arrived on PC and consoles in 2023. It will be heading to Switch 2 and macOS soon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-cyberpunk-2077-sequel-finally-makes-it-to-preproduction-174141991.html?src=rss
Microsoft will begin testing its Copilot for Gaming app in a beta version that launches on mobile devices today. The intelligent gaming assistant was announced earlier this year and promised to help make players faster and sharpen their skills. The app that was launched today allows players to ask the gaming assistant questions about in-game strategy and controls using voice or text. Users can also ask for game recommendations and specific questions about their Xbox accounts and subscriptions.
AI-assisted gaming has been a hot topic as companies like Microsoft and Razer have entered the space. These tools could replace strategy guides as they help walk you through a particularly tough spot in a campaign or advise you on tactics during a raid in an MMORPG.
The app’s launch on mobile is designed to serve as a second screen while playing your game on Xbox. Taylor O’Malley, principal program manager at Xbox, said, “The companion knows what game you’re playing and understands your Xbox activity, so it can answer any questions about the games you’re interested in, provide links to more information when its response includes web sources or answer questions based on your account, play history and achievements.”
The early preview version of Copilot for Gaming will be initially available through the beta version of the Xbox app in over 50 regions. Android and iOS users who already have Xbox beta downloaded will be able to give feedback on Copilot for Gaming by grading responses and marking incorrect ones.
Android users who don’t already have the Xbox beta app downloaded can do so through the Google Play Store. iOS users can no longer download the Xbox beta app if they don’t already have it. Microsoft says that the Copilot for Gaming beta will also be coming soon to Game Bar on Windows PCs, with wider availability planned for the full Xbox app in the future.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-launches-copilot-for-gaming-in-mobile-beta-183344187.html?src=rss
How much Death Stranding are you willing to fire into your eyes? The game’s sequel arrives in just a few weeks, A Quiet Place: Day One director Michael Sarnoski is leading up a live-action film adaptation, and now Hideo Kojima has confirmed that an anime is in production.
Kojima teased the adaptation while discussing the more concrete live-action project in an interview with Vogue Japan. As picked up by VGC, the Metal Gear creator was talking about his cross-media ambitions for the Death Stranding, and comparing the planned film to other successful video game adaptations from recent years.
“When it comes to adapting games into visual media, there are works like The Last of Us, which stays true to the original storyline, and films like The Super Mario Bros Movie which are more of a service to fans of the game,” Kojima said, according to VGC’s translation.
“While these works have their own merits, as a film enthusiast, I want to pursue the expressive potential of cinema. I aim to create a Death Stranding that can only be realised through film, one that could win awards at festivals like the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival. In fact, we are also currently working on an anime adaptation.”
Kojima didn’t offer any more information, so we don’t know how far along the anime project is, who is making it, when we can actually expect it to come out, or whether it will tie in with the upcoming live-action movie.
In the meantime, Norman Reedus’ Sam Porter Bridges will return in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which is coming to PS5 on June 22. Kojima Productions dropped its second trailer for the game in March, which clocked in at 10 minutes and gave us a closer look at what we’ll be getting up to in the sequel. (Spoiler alert: lots more walking.)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/a-death-stranding-anime-is-in-the-works-165927348.html?src=rss
Elon Musk‘s xAI is paying the messaging platform Telegram a cool $300 million to introduce the chatbot Grok to its users. The terms of the deal are extremely favorable to Telegram, as the $300 million only covers a single year and xAI will evenly split any subscription sales to Grok Premium and Premium+ with the messaging platform. Telegram will be paid in both cash and equity.
Telegram and xAI have agreed to a 1-year partnership to distribute Grok to Telegram’s billion+ users and integrate it into its apps. Telegram will receive $300M in cash and equity from xAI, plus 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram. Together, we win! ❤️📈🏆 pic.twitter.com/JxTNQr4MTy
— Pavel Durov (@durov) May 28, 2025
This will introduce Grok to gobs of new people, as Telegram boasts over one billion monthly users. X, on the other hand, handles half that amount. X leverages public posts from users to train Grok, though not in the EU, and it remains to be seen if the deal includes language to do the same thing with Telegram. The platform includes a feature called Channels that’s sort of like a social media network, which could house data that’s ripe for the picking.
Engadget reached out to Telegram to ask about Grok and training data and will update this post if we hear back. Both companies have remained mum on this question to other publications, like Reuters. It’s worth noting that AI companies are running out of easily accessible data troves.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/elon-musks-xai-is-paying-telegram-300-million-to-adopt-grok-154232007.html?src=rss
