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Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind the recent Tomb Raider games, announced an unspecified number of layoffs today. In a post on LinkedIn, the game developer kept the size of the cuts vague, only stating that “a number of our talented colleagues” would be impacted. In what’s becoming an all-too-familiar refrain, the company cited “evolving business conditions” as the reason for the layoffs.

“This decision was not made lightly,” the post reads. “It was necessary, however, to ensure the long-term health of our studio and core creative priorities in a continually shifting market.”

Crystal Dynamics was acquired by Embracer Group in a 2022 buying spree by the Swedish game company. Embracer still owns the studio, but was forced to do some layoffs of its own in 2023 followed by a restructuring last year. Crystal Dynamics is still working on a new Tomb Raider game, which the company said will not be affected by the layoffs. However, the studio had been tapped to help The Initiative with its Perfect Dark reboot. That project was canceled and The Initiative shut down in a separate wave of massive cuts at Microsoft earlier this year. It’s unclear whether that cancelation was a reason for today’s cuts.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/crystal-dynamics-announces-layoffs-but-says-tomb-raider-will-not-be-impacted-205948298.html?src=rss 

Remember Judas? No, not the biblical figure and not the Lady Gaga bop, this Judas is a project from Ghost Story Games. If you don’t remember, it’s the game that was reportedly in “development hell” before it was even announced. The team, led by BioShock creator Ken Levine, had gone pretty quiet for a few years after releasing the debut trailer, but today teased a look at some key art and mechanics for the game.

The BioShock lineage is clear from the handful of visuals we’ve seen so far, but instead of a linear binary of which NPCs and actions are good versus bad, Judas aims to place the moral compass more firmly in the player’s hands. There are a trio of major characters, dubbed the Big 3 in today’s devlog, who will be drawn to the player based on what you do in-game. If one of the main NPCs gets ignored for too long, they’ll become the game’s villain. This unlocks new sets of powers and abilities for them that could also influence your gameplay options.

For instance, there are Rent-A-Deputy stations where the player can temporarily access a weirdly wiggly ally to help them in fights. However, if you’ve alienated Tom, the old-school sheriff character, Rent-A-Deputies will attack you instead.

The emphasis here seems to be on building relationships with the Big 3, and the gist seems to be that at some point, you’ll have to decide which one will be your real enemy. Unsurprisingly, the team has no release date to share yet. Maybe in another couple of years…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/bioshock-creator-ken-levines-judas-game-still-exists-now-has-key-art-201635885.html?src=rss 

WhatsApp just introduced an AI-powered writing assistant, in case you need help with a text or whatever. The AI provides suggestions in various styles, like professional, funny or supportive. Once generated, the user can continue editing the message if required.

All you have to do is look for the new pencil icon in a 1:1 conversation or a group chat. The AI will handle the rest. It’s rolling out now, but only in English and to users in the US. The company says it hopes “to bring it to other languages and countries later this year.”

The obvious question here is regarding privacy. WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted, but AI queries are typically sent to a cloud data center somewhere. Luckily, the company has built this feature on top of Meta’s pre-existing Private Processing technology.

This allows users to use Meta AI without anyone else ever reading the message or any suggested re-writes. This works similarly to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, which also integrates with AI without sending all data to the cloud. Meta says the tech preserves “WhatsApp’s core privacy promise, ensuring no one except you and the people you’re talking to can access or share your personal messages.”

With the privacy angle out of the way, that leaves the feature itself. Just about every platform out there has some kind of AI writing assistant at this point, so we aren’t sure what makes this one special. Also, is there even a benefit to using this type of thing in the context of a quick back-and-forth text conversation? I see the use for long-form writing projects but not so much here, but maybe that’s just me. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/whatsapp-is-the-latest-to-offer-an-ai-powered-writing-assistant-182116369.html?src=rss 

A new month is almost upon us, which means Sony is about to drop some fresh games that all PlayStation Plus members can keep in their collection as long as they maintain a subscription. There are some real standouts for September, including the iconic Stardew Valley and the long-awaited sequel Psychonauts 2.

Stardew Valley is one of the most beloved farming/life sims of all time. You grow stuff, romance villagers and, of course, battle enemies in an enormous mine. It’s an absolute time sink, but one with so much charm that you likely won’t mind. It even has couch co-op now.

Psychonauts 2 is a sequel that was released a full 16 years after the original. It’s a critically-acclaimed platforming adventure that’s heavy on style. The missions are quirky and the power-ups are super fun. This one is definitely worth your time.

Finally, there’s a gem called Viewfinder. This is an awesome camera-based puzzle game that’s one-part M.C. Escher and one-part Pokémon Snap. The design aesthetic here is utterly charming and the gameplay is both familiar and unique.

All of these titles will be available on September 2. That’s the good news. The bad news? Some games are going away on September 1. Subscribers have until that date to download Lies of P, Day Z and My Hero One’s Justice 2 to their game library.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-ps-plus-monthly-games-for-september-include-psychonauts-2-and-stardew-valley-165730817.html?src=rss