Blizzard shows off Overwatch 2 Transformers skins in animated trailer

Blizzard and Hasbro have revealed the Transformers skins for Overwatch 2’s upcoming collaboration with the popular mecha toy franchise. The two companies released an animated trailer on the Overwatch YouTube channel today, showing off the skins based on three Autobots and a Decepticon.

The trailer shows that the Transformers skins are assigned to Reinhardt, Bastion, Illari and Ramratta — four characters that were already robots or humans wearing armor to begin with. Reinhardt will be cosplaying Optimus Prime, the fearless leader of the Autobots; Bastion will be Bumblebee; Illari will be pretty in pink as Arcee; and Ramratta will be the fearsome Decepticon leader, Megatron. Many Overwatch 2 players are anticipating how well the Transformers skins will fit with the game’s aim-and-click, collection, and respawn mechanics in actual gameplay.

The Transformers crossover comes on the heels of the game’s collaboration with Porsche back in May, which transformed (pun entirely intended) the newest models of the German company’s cars into souped-up skin for D.Va and Pharah. Earlier this year, players got to dress up Cassidy as Spike Siegel and Ashe as Faye Valentine during the Cowboy Bebop collaboration, among other characters from the classic anime. Last year, fans put Doomfist in a skin based on Saitama from another hit anime, One-Punch Man.

The Overwatch 2 x Transformers collaboration begins tomorrow. Blizzard didn’t put a price tag on the Transformers skins nor mention whether they’ll be obtained as free rewards via gameplay. For reference, the Cowboy Bebop and Porsche skins cost a pretty penny, so you may be expected to spend big on the Transformers skin you like the best. Regardless, this crossover may appeal to players who played with Transformers action figures and watched the animated series when they were kids.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/overwatch-2-shows-off-transformers-skins-in-animated-trailer-222358657.html?src=rss 

Hackers reverse-engineer Ticketmaster’s barcode system to unlock resales on other platforms

Scalpers have used a security researcher’s findings to reverse-engineer “nontransferable” digital tickets from Ticketmaster and AXS, allowing transfers outside their apps. The workaround was revealed in a lawsuit AXS filed in May against third-party brokers adopting the practice, according to 404 Media, which first reported the news.

The saga began in February when an anonymous security researcher, going by the pseudonym Conduition, published technical details about how Ticketmaster generates its electronic tickets. If you aren’t already familiar with how modern e-ticketing systems work, Ticketmaster and AXS lock ticket resales inside their platforms, preventing transfers on third-party services like SeatGeek and StubHub. (For higher-priority events, they often take it a step further by prohibiting transfers to other accounts on the same platform.)

Although the companies claim the practice is strictly a security measure, it also conveniently allows them to control how and when their tickets are resold. (Yay, capitalism?)

Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster and AXS create their “nontransferable” tickets using rotating barcodes that change every few seconds, preventing working screenshots or printouts. On the back end, it uses similar underlying tech similar to two-factor authentication apps. In addition, the codes are only generated shortly before an event starts, limiting the window for sharing them outside the apps. Without interference from outside parties, the platforms get to lock ticket buyers into their own resale services, giving them vertical control of the entire ecosystem.

That’s where the hackers come in. Using Conduition’s published findings, they extracted the platforms’ secret tokens that generate new tickets, using an Android phone with its Chrome browser connected to Chrome DevTools on a desktop PC. Using the tokens, they create a parallel ticketing infrastructure that regenerates genuine barcodes on other platforms, allowing them to sell working tickets on platforms Ticketmaster and AXS don’t allow. Online reports claim the parallel tickets often work at the gates.

According to 404 Media, AXS’ lawsuit accuses the defendants of selling “counterfeit” tickets (even though they usually work) to “unsuspecting customers.” The court documents allegedly describe the parallel tickets as “created, in whole or in part by one or more of the Defendants illicitly accessing and then mimicking, emulating, or copying tickets from the AXS Platform.”

AXS’ lawsuit claims the company doesn’t know how the hackers are doing it. The promise of essentially jailbreaking Ticketmaster is so lucrative that several brokers have reportedly tried hiring Conduition to help them build their own parallel ticket-generating platforms. Services already operating on the researcher’s findings go by names like Secure.Tickets, Amosa App, Virtual Barcode Distribution and Verified-Ticket.com.

404 Media’s entire story is worth reading. More technically minded folks may take an interest in Conduition’s earlier findings, which illustrate what the ticketing behemoths are doing on their back ends to keep the entire ecosystems in their clutches.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hackers-reverse-engineer-ticketmasters-barcode-system-to-unlock-resales-on-other-platforms-194826061.html?src=rss 

Agatha All Along finally comes to Disney+ on September 18

Let’s start this news off with a catchy song: Who just got a release date for Disney+? It’s Agatha All Along! The WandaVision spinoff series starring the titular witch who pulled every evil string in the original show starts streaming on September 18.

Disney and Marvel announced the release date for Agatha All Along today and gave us a teaser trailer to go with it. 

The trailer shows Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) working as a detective when she finds the body of a Jane Doe by the river in Westview. She’s shocked to discover that the Jane Doe is none other than Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch, who went into hiding after casting a containment spell on Agatha, stripping her of her powers in the process at the end of WandaVision. Rio (Aubrey Plaza), the warrior witch of Agatha’s coven, convinces her to break the spell. Soon enough, she embarks on a quest to regain her bewitching powers — but not without help from some new members of her coven, should they choose to join.

Agatha All Along was first announced in November 2021 under the working title Agatha: House of Harkness. The show’s title underwent a few hilarious revisions, including Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Agatha: The Lying Witch and Her Great Wardrobe, before Marvel decided to cease the jokes and title it after the song “Agatha All Along.” Just like WandaVision, the show will run for nine episodes, with the first two episodes airing on Disney+ on release day.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/agatha-all-along-finally-comes-to-disney-on-september-18-184250997.html?src=rss 

Xbox cloud gaming is now available on some Amazon Fire TV sticks

Xbox cloud gaming has officially arrived for Amazon Fire TV sticks, making for an extremely budget-friendly way to play some of the latest and greatest releases. Users can play games directly from the Xbox app, though there are some caveats.

First of all, this service is only available for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, which is the most expensive tier at around $17 per month. Also, it only works with the Fire TV Stick 4K and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. These are both recent releases, though the Xbox press release suggests that more devices will receive the functionality at a later date. We already thought the Fire TV Stick 4K Max was a perfect fit for retro gaming, but now that also goes for AAA gaming.

Finally, you need a compatible Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller, but there’s no shortage of those around. You do want to make sure you pick one with the familiar Xbox button layout, so we recommend something like the SteelSeries Nimbus+ and Stratus+ controllers. However, anything with the right buttons and Bluetooth should work. This includes actual Xbox gamepads.

So what can you play if you meet the above criteria? Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is likely the best game streaming platform on the planet, allowing access to a massive library of titles. This includes recent AAA releases like Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 and renowned indies like Sea of Stars and Death’s Door. Just like any streaming platform, titles come and go at will.

A Game Pass Ultimate subscription also gives you access to online multiplayer, day-one releases (like that upcoming Indiana Jones game) and various discounts. Subscribers even get a bonus EA Play membership.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-cloud-gaming-is-now-available-on-some-amazon-fire-tv-sticks-181530197.html?src=rss 

Early Prime Day deal discounts the Apple Watch Series 9 to $300

An early Prime Day deal has the Apple Watch Series 9 for $100 off. Several color options are available for Apple’s latest model, Engadget’s pick for the best overall smartwatch. The sale brings the Apple Watch down to a record low of $300.

The Apple Watch Series 9 adds Double Tap, a gesture for hands-free controls. With the feature activated, tapping your index finger and thumb together twice can unleash shortcuts for scrolling through widgets, controlling music tracks and more. Great for when you’re holding something like a dog leash or bag of groceries, Double Tap will get more valuable in watchOS 11, as Apple is giving third-party developers an API to customize what the gesture does in individual apps.

Not much has changed on the watch’s outside from its predecessor, but there are other improvements on the inside. That starts with a new S9 SiP that enables Double Tap, on-device Siri processing (great for privacy and when you’re offline) and zippier navigation of watchOS. It also speeds up Siri’s Raise to Speak feature by capturing a rolling two-second audio buffer to understand your requests faster.

The chip also includes a new second-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) chip, also found in the iPhone 15 series. It unlocks a new precision interface for pinging your paired phone if you aren’t sure where it is: The watch will show how many feet away it is as it guides you to the buried (in a couch cushion) treasure.

The Apple Watch Series 9 has a broader range of brightness, reaching a maximum of 2,000 nits (double its predecessor) and a minimum of 1 nit. This can help the watch emit just the right amount for a wider variety of lighting conditions.

The $300 price for Amazon Prime Day is for the 41mm case, the smaller of the two. But the 45mm model is only $330 (usually $429). Not every color is on sale, and some require you to click a “clip coupon” box, so look closely at prices on the product page before checking out.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/early-prime-day-deal-discounts-the-apple-watch-series-9-to-300-164458596.html?src=rss 

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