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Baldur’s Gate III is arguably the game of the summer, and it isn’t even out on consoles yet. Developer Larian Studios has taken a “it’ll be out when it’s ready” approach to releasing the game on various platforms. After becoming an instant hit on Windows when it came out of early access earlier this month, Baldur’s Gate III will land on PlayStation 5 and macOS on September 6th. The exact Xbox release date is still unclear, but Larian has finally confirmed the massive RPG will come to Microsoft’s consoles later this year.

The main reason that Larian delayed the Xbox release (and thus making Baldur’s Gate III a PlayStation console exclusive for a limited time) was due to Microsoft’s rules about games having feature parity on Series S and Series X. The latter is the more powerful of the two consoles and tends to deliver visuals with higher fidelity and framerates, as well as ray-tracing.

“We have no exclusivity deal that prevents us from launching on Xbox,” Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian Studios, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) last month. “The issue is a technical hurdle. We cannot remove the split-screen feature because we are obliged to launch with feature parity, and so continue to try and make it work.”

Larian CEO and Baldur’s Gate III director Swen Vincke said that after meeting Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer at Gamescom, “we’ve found a solution that allows us to bring Baldur’s Gate 3 to Xbox players this year still, something we’ve been working towards for quite some time.” Vincke implied that Spencer granted Larian an exception to having feature parity between the Series S and Series X. On the less-powerful system, Baldur’s Gate III will not have the split-screen mode, but the Series X will support that feature. Cross-save progression between Steam and the two consoles will be supported too.

Some third-party developers have claimed that the Series S is holding them back when it comes to delivering state-of-the-art gaming experiences. There have been suggestions that studios making multi-platform games have to make tradeoffs when it comes to the Series S, such as not being able to offer 60 frames per second gameplay on the console. Now that Larian has obtained an exception to drop split-screen co-op from Baldur’s Gate III only on the Series S, other studios might press Xbox to let them omit some features on that console too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/baldurs-gate-iii-is-coming-to-xbox-this-year-after-a-series-s-compromise-174258062.html?src=rss 

The long-awaited web version of Threads has finally arrived. After announcing that its Twitter competitor would be accessible from browsers earlier this week, Meta’s rollout is finally underway. Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed Thursday the update is now live for all users.

That means if you’ve been impatiently refreshing threads.net waiting for it to be available, you should check again. Up to now, many Threads users have been frustrated by the lack of a web version. Though it was possible to manually navigate to a specific user’s profile, people have been unable to browse their feeds, post, reply or even log in to their accounts from browsers. 

As the app has seen a significant drop-off in engagement following its initial launch, many have viewed the lack of a web version as a significant barrier to the app. Both Mark Zuckerberg and Mosseri have been promising a web version was high on their agenda for Threads, though Mosseri recently said the team was working out some bugs with the experience. 

Now that the web version is finally live, it will be interesting to see which of the many “missing” features Threads will get next. Users have also complained about the lack of content search — right now people can only search for users, not for specific posts — and hashtags, both of which help people discover new content on Instagram and Twitter.

One feature, however, that seems unlikely is the addition of DMs. Mosseri has said he’s reluctant to add another inbox to user’s lives, though he recently raised the possibility of incorporating Instagram DMs into the Threads experience. But he did confirm that post-editing features are in the works, so at least Threads users won’t have to wait more than a decade for an edit button.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-web-version-of-threads-is-finally-here-174909701.html?src=rss 

Sony Interactive Entertainment (i.e. Sony’s PlayStation division) is looking to make more waves in the audio space. It has struck a deal to buy premium headphone maker Audeze to help it “continue innovating when it comes to the audio experience of PlayStation games.” Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

Audeze will continue to operate independently and develop products for multiple platforms while “benefiting from being a part of the PlayStation ecosystem,” SIE said. “Audeze is a premier brand for headphones, and this acquisition highlights Sony Interactive’s focus on innovation and providing the best audio experience to PlayStation players,” Hideaki Nishino, SIE’s senior vice president of platform experience, said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring Audeze’s expertise into the PlayStation ecosystem, building on the great strides we’ve made with PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech and the Pulse 3D wireless headset.”

Sony notes that Audeze’s headphones use planar magnetic drivers to “deliver an outstanding sound experience” for consumers as well as audio professionals like sound engineers. This week, Sony revealed more details about new earbuds and a headset for the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation Portal handheld. Both the Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite headset have custom planar magnetic drivers.

SIE also said that both upcoming audio devices employ new lossless low-latency tech called PlayStation Link, which is primarily designed for PS5 and PlayStation Portal. The tech will also work on PC and Mac with the use of a USB dongle. The Pulse Explore and Pulse Elite will arrive later this year for $200 and $150, respectively.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/playstation-is-buying-premium-headphone-brand-audeze-170022395.html?src=rss 

Uber has raised its minimum driver age in California to 25, up from 19, as initially reported byThe Associated Press. The company allegedly changed the policy because of climbing commercial auto insurance costs in the state. However, it only affects new signups; drivers already approved before Wednesday will remain eligible.

In a statement to Engadget, Uber chalked the decision up to the state’s insurance rates and litigation environment. “California’s insurance coverage requirements for rideshare are baselessly higher than nearly every other car on the road: up to thirty times that of taxis and thirty times that of personal vehicles,” an Uber spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to Engadget. “As a result of these lopsided requirements, personal injury attorneys have created a cottage industry specializing in suing rideshare platforms like ours, pushing Uber’s California state-mandated commercial insurance costs to rise by more than 65% in just two years. By increasing the age requirement for new drivers to 25, we hope to mitigate the growth of those costs.”

“We hope to work with lawmakers, policy leaders, and industry experts to discuss legislative and regulatory changes that will improve the experience for all California drivers,” the Uber spokesperson wrote.

The new minimum age puts Uber on even ground with Lyft, which already required all US drivers to be 25 or older. The updated rules won’t apply to Uber Eats drivers, who can still deliver orders as young as 19.

Uber’s business has bounced back since declining during the pandemic’s peak. It reported its first quarterly operating profit earlier this month, crediting a 22-percent boost in trips.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-raises-its-minimum-age-for-california-drivers-to-25-171116239.html?src=rss 

The US Department of Justice just sued SpaceX, alleging that the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and asylum seekers. The suit says that these practices occurred between 2018 and 2022 and that SpaceX “wrongly claimed” that export control laws limited it to hiring US citizens and lawful permanent residents.

The DOJ began its investigation in 2020 when the department’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section received complaints of employee discrimination. Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement that the “investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status” going on to say that this amounted to a “ban” regardless of their qualifications. This is a violation of federal law.

The investigation also found that “SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged” these people from seeking employment with the company.

The DOJ lawsuit seeks damages and back pay for “asylees and refugees who were deterred or denied employment at SpaceX.” It also seeks civil penalties and hiring policy changes from the company. The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) even alleges that SpaceX ignored a subpoena related to the suit in 2021, forcing the DOJ to request a judge order the company to comply with document requests.

The IER opened this probe in 2020 after claimant Fabian Hutter alleged discrimination after losing a spot at SpaceX when asked about his citizenship status during a job interview. It’s requesting other alleged victims to come forward and contact the department, particularly if they were discouraged from applying to SpaceX due to citizenship concerns.

Is this the only Elon Musk-led company facing legal troubles regarding hiring practices and employee treatment? Of course not! The self-proclaimed “Technoking of Tesla” faced penalties when a federal court found that Musk made unlawful threats surrounding employee compensation and unions. There’s also a suit making its way through the New York courts that alleges Musk and Tesla fired workers “in retaliation for union activity.” 

Another big suit alleged a racist work environment at Tesla, which was recently settled for just over $3 million. Employees recently sued Twitter/X after Musk-led mass layoffs. The list goes on and on for the man who used to repeatedly state that he simply wants to save the world. Nowadays, he spends most of his time issuing controversial posts on X and being investigated for building literal glass houses using Tesla company funds.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-justice-department-sues-spacex-for-alleged-discriminatory-hiring-practices-172405156.html?src=rss