Kalakshar US

Just over three years ago, Ubisoft announced The Division Heartland, a free-to-play entry in its survival-action shooter series. At the time, it suggested that Heartland would arrive later in 2021 or in 2022, but that never happened. In fact, Heartland isn’t coming out at all.

In its quarterly earnings report, Ubisoft said it ended development of the game, which Red Storm Entertainment, a studio that author Tom Clancy co-founded, was working on. Ubisoft is shifting resources to what it calls “bigger opportunities,” including other aspects of the Clancyverse in XDefiant and the Rainbow Six series.

Ubisoft canceled a number of games over the last couple of years to try and streamline its pipeline and reduce costs. It noted that it had reduced its headcount by more than 1,700 workers over 18 months to have 19,011 employees at the end of March.

The company also provided an update on its overarching strategy. It plans to focus on two core pillars: open=world titles (like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Star Wars Outlaws) and ongoing live-service games (XDefiant and Rainbow Six Siege). That’s where Ubisoft sees room for growth, so expect more Far Cry and Ghost Recon titles in the coming years.

As for the more immediate future, we’ll find out the latest about the likes of AC Shadows, Star Wars Outlaws, Rainbow Six Mobile (which should finally arrive in September), The Division Resurgence and XDefiant at Ubisoft Forward on June 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ubisofts-planned-free-to-play-division-game-is-dead-200334383.html?src=rss 

Threads is inching closer to becoming an actually useful source for real-time news and updates. The app is finally rolling out the ability to search posts in order of recency, after testing the feature last month.

“In an effort to make it easier to find timely, relevant content on Threads, we’re introducing a Recent tab for your searches,” Instagram’s Adam Mosseri wrote in an update. “Search results here are still evaluated for quality, but you can now see them in chronological order.”

The change has been a long requested one from users hoping Meta’s app will one day be a source of breaking news and real-time information the way that Twitter historically functioned. Being able to search for topics and keywords and find the most recent results is key to finding up-to-date details and commentary about breaking news, sports and anything else happening in real time.

On the other hand, Meta has also made it clear that it would prefer “news” to not be what Threads is known for. Mosseri has said he doesn’t want to “encourage” hard news on Threads and the company actively discourages political content. Threads’ default “for you” algorithm is also known for surfacing days-old posts, random personal stories and other content that’s not exactly timely.

It’s also worth pointing out that Threads’ new recency filter in search is not the same as the “latest” search filter on X. As Mosseri noted in his post, Meta still hides an unknown number of posts in search results that have been “evaluated for quality,” so Threads search will never surface all of the posts containing your search terms. But being able to at least find posts that aren’t a few days old should make looking for timely information a lot less frustrating.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-search-will-finally-be-usable-with-recent-tab-rollout-202054011.html?src=rss 

The Shark AI robot vacuum and mop combo unit has dropped to a record low of $230 at Amazon. This is a massive discount of 52 percent, which knocks nearly $250 off the price. It does look to be one of those deals that ends when the stock runs out, so you might want to act quickly instead of popping it on your wishlist.

This is a version of our very favorite robot vacuum. The only difference between this robovac and the one that took the top spot is that this edition doesn’t come with a self-emptying base. That model, however, is also currently on sale for $370.

If you can get over the absence of the base, the Shark AI vacuum is a fantastic cleaning partner. It ticks all of the boxes. The suction power is fantastic, the obstacle avoidance is on point and it works with voice assistants like Alexa. It’s also a great mop, cleaning hard surfaces with 100 scrubs per minute.

We also enjoyed using the mobile app, which easily creates accurate maps of your space. The app can also be used to operate the vacuum when not at home, so you can return from work to find a freshly-cleaned living area. You can even set “no-go” zones for the robot to avoid, so it won’t mop carpet. The best robot vacuums are the ones that do their job without requiring constant surveillance, and this lil robovac consistently manages to get itself out of tight spots to continue cleaning. The AI in the name refers to obstacle avoidance. 

There’s only one major downside, besides the lack of a base. This robovac/mop hybrid can get pretty loud when vacuuming, so you may want to schedule the book club meeting for somewhere else. Other than that, this is pretty much the perfect mid-range robot vacuum. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-shark-ai-robot-vacuum-and-mop-drops-to-a-record-low-of-230-at-amazon-184259470.html?src=rss 

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be available globally on November 15. The latest iteration of the historical murder sim will be playable on a bunch of devices, including PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store. It’ll also be available for Apple silicon Mac computers right at launch, which is something of a rarity, and on cloud gaming platforms like Amazon Luna and Ubisoft+.

If the name sounds unfamiliar, the game used to be called Assassin’s Creed Codename Red and it’s been in development since at least 2022. It’s set in feudal Japan and the developer promises “a very different type of Assassin’s Creed game.” Ubisoft Quebec is leading work on the project, suggesting it could resemble something like the expansive Assassin’s Creed Odyssey more than the streamlined Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

It’s hard to make out any major gameplay changes from the trailer, as it’s primarily cinematics. The vibes seem pretty cool though. Also, 16th-century Japan is one heck of a great setting. Here’s hoping Ubisoft nails it. The game features two playable characters, a samurai and a shinobi assassin. Each has unique playstyles, with the assassin Naoe favoring stealth and the samurai Yasuke preferring brute force.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will also be playable a bit early for Ubisoft+ subscribers, on November 12. It’ll be available in the usual array of editions. The standard version costs $70, which has somehow become the new normal price for AAA games. The Gold Edition costs $110 and nets players a season pass for DLC, a bonus quest and early access to the game on November 12, just like Ubisoft+ subscribers.

The Ultimate Edition costs $130 and includes everything just mentioned, plus a red and black photo filter and some character skins. Finally, the Collector’s Edition comes in at a jaw-dropping $280 and adds some nifty physical trinkets, including a SteelBook case, a paper world map, figurines of the main characters, a large art book, two lithographs and more. Ubisoft promises another trailer in June that will focus on gameplay.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/assassins-creed-shadows-brings-stealthy-mayhem-to-feudal-japan-on-november-15-180139119.html?src=rss 

Xbox is expanding its accessibility footprint with the Proteus Controller, a modular gamepad created by nascent peripheral company Byowave as part of the Designed for Xbox program. The Proteus Controller is a group of palm-sized cubes that can be connected to each other in a wide variety of configurations, with interchangeable faceplates that include standard controller buttons, analog sticks and a directional pad. This means players can set up the Proteus Controller to be used in individualized ways: in one hand, flat on a desktop, as part of a traditional gamepad with palm grips, connected to a joystick, and other setups.

The Proteus Controller is available for pre-order now at a discounted price of $255. It’s expected to ship in the fall. The full kit includes two power cubes, two analogue cubes (with Hall effect sensors), one half cube and two spacers, plus the swappable peripherals. There’s a D-pad, left trigger, right trigger, two single-button options, an XYAB diamond, a mini analog stick and the Xbox home grouping. It also comes with left and right handles to create a traditional gamepad, and socket and plug covers featuring Byowave’s cute blue beastie. A USB-C charging cable and Bluetooth dongle are included in the package.

Byowave is selling the Proteus Controller in tiers, and it has just 150 available at the $255 VIP Price. After that, it’ll have 500 kits available at $268 (Early Bird), and then 1,000 kits available at $284 (Pre-Order). The standard price of the Proteus Controller will be $300.

As evidenced by the built-in Xbox home button, the Proteus Controller was backed by Microsoft and at launch it’ll work only with Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 and 11. It will not work with PlayStation 5 or Switch — at least not at first.

“It is very important to us to be officially licensed with console companies to ensure a seamless user experience and so that we can ensure the longevity of the controller,” the Proteus FAQ reads. “We would love to partner with these platforms in the future! 🤞”

The Byowave team says it can’t verify that the Proteus Controller will work with Steam Deck, but they’re hopeful that it will. They encourage interested players to reach out directly for more information about Steam Deck integration.

The Proteus Controller is part of the Designed by Xbox program, which means it was developed alongside Microsoft’s gaming teams and should work seamlessly with the company’s hardware. Companies like Razer, Turtle Beach, PowerA and Logitech also sell gadgets with the Designed by Xbox logo, but the Byowave partnership marks a new emphasis on accessibility products in this space. Microsoft today said it’s accelerating and streamlining the Designed by Xbox onboarding process for hardware manufacturers focused on serving the disability community.

The announcement of the Proteus Controller is part of Xbox’s recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Xbox has been a leader in accessible gaming hardware since it launched the Adaptive Controller in late 2018. The Adaptive Controller is a reimagined, deeply customizable gamepad designed in partnership with AbleGamers, Warfighter Engaged, SpecialEffect, Craig Hospital and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and it was the first piece of hardware from a major manufacturer to focus on players with disabilities. It costs just $100 and allows users to plug in their own third-party peripherals to create their ideal gaming setup.

The Adaptive Controller is also getting some love for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, as laid out on Xbox Wire: “Based on community feedback from an update impacting unauthorized accessories on our platform, we are updating the Xbox Adaptive Controller to expand support for more accessories connected via USB port. This update will better support full functionality of some accessibility peripherals.”

Each port on the Adaptive Controller will now support up to 12 buttons, a second stick and a hat switch. The update will hit Xbox Insiders first over the next few weeks and it’ll go public through a controller update prompt in the coming months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proteus-xbox-controller-is-an-accessible-gamepad-made-of-modular-cubes-180242918.html?src=rss 

Google is opening up its Home platform to third-party developers through new APIs. As such, any app will eventually be able to tap into the more than 600 million devices that are connected to Home, even if they’re not necessarily smart home-oriented apps. Google suggests, for instance, that a food delivery app might be able to switch on the outdoor lights before the courier shows up with dinner.

The APIs build on the foundation of Matter and Google says it created them with privacy and security at the forefront. For one thing, developers who tap into the APIs will need to pass certification before rolling out their app. In addition, apps won’t be able to access someone’s smart home devices without a user’s explicit consent.

Developers are already starting to integrate the APIs, which include one focused on automation. Eve, for instance, will let you set up your smart blinds to lower automatically when the temperature dips at night. A workout app might switch on a fan for you before you start working up a sweat.

Google is taking things a little slow with the APIs, as there’s a waitlist and it’s working with select partners. It plans to open up access to the APIs on a rolling basis, and the first apps using them will hit the Play Store and App Store this fall.

Meanwhile, Google is turning TVs into smart home hubs. Starting later this year, you’ll be able to control smart home devices via Chromecast with Google TV and certain models with Google TV running Android 14 or higher, as well as some LG TVs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-lets-third-party-developers-into-home-through-new-apis-180420068.html?src=rss