The cutbacks for Highguard and 2XKO call into question whether the F2P can still make hits, while premium games like Arc Raiders thrive

Mark Gurman, reporting for Bloomberg:

After planning to include the new capabilities in iOS 26.4 — an operating system update slated for March — Apple is now working to spread them out over future versions, according to people familiar with the matter. That would mean possibly postponing some features until at least iOS 26.5, due in May, and iOS 27, which comes out in September. [...]

In recent days, Apple instructed engineers to use the upcoming iOS 26.5 in order to test new Siri features, implying that the functionality may have been moved back by at least one release. Internal versions of that update now include a notice describing the addition of some Siri enhancements. One feature is especially likely to slip: the expanded ability for Siri to tap into personal data. That technology would let users ask the assistant to, say, search old text messages to locate a podcast shared by a friend and immediately play it.

Internal iterations of iOS 26.5 also include a settings toggle allowing employees to enable a “preview” of that functionality. That suggests Apple is weighing the idea of warning users that the initial launch is incomplete or may not work reliably — similar to what it does with beta tests of new operating systems.

When Gurman began reporting about personalized Siri delays a year ago, his reporting turned out to be exactly right. If these features are going to drop in iOS 26.4, they should be in pretty good shape right now internally. If they’re in bad shape right now in internal builds, it’s really hard to see how they could drop in iOS 26.4. And once you start talking about iOS 26.5 (let alone 26.6), we’d be getting really close to WWDC, where Apple’s messaging will turn to the version 27 OSes.

Something still seems rotten.

Sony and Sony Santa Monica teased that it is remaking the original God of War trilogy, but it will be a while before we see it, let alone play it. To help with the sting of the wait, today it is releasing God of War Sons of Sparta.

The game is developed by Mega Cat Studios, which in recent history has mostly worked on backyard sports games, in partnership with Santa Monica Studio.

Sons of Sparta is a 2D, pixelated action game that follows a young Kratos and his brother Deimos. The game's description reads, "They must overcome threats that will put all their training to the test while confronting the true meaning of duty and honor."

This is not the first time we have played a God of War prequel, or played a game featuring Kratos' brother, as the PSP game Ghost of Sparta had a story involving him. This also isn't the first time we have played a God of War game with a pixelated Kratos. In 2007, there was a pre-smartphone mobile called God of War: Betrayal. This is, however, the furthest backward in Kratos' timeline we have ever played.

God of War Sons of Sparta is out today on PlayStation 5.

 

Sony and Sony Santa Monica teased that it is remaking the original God of War trilogy, but it will be a while before we see it, let alone play it. To help with the sting of the wait, today it is releasing God of War Sons of Sparta.

The game is developed by Mega Cat Studios, which in recent history has mostly worked on backyard sports games, in partnership with Santa Monica Studio.

Sons of Sparta is a 2D, pixelated action game that follows a young Kratos and his brother Deimos. The game's description reads, "They must overcome threats that will put all their training to the test while confronting the true meaning of duty and honor."

This is not the first time we have played a God of War prequel, or played a game featuring Kratos' brother, as the PSP game Ghost of Sparta had a story involving him. This also isn't the first time we have played a God of War game with a pixelated Kratos. In 2007, there was a pre-smartphone mobile called God of War: Betrayal. This is, however, the furthest backward in Kratos' timeline we have ever played.

God of War Sons of Sparta is out today on PlayStation 5.

 

SAN FRANCISCO—Heralding what it called a “bold new age” in warping the mind of the nation’s elderly leader, OpenAI introduced a new premium video generator Thursday marketed toward White House advisors manipulating President Donald Trump. “Our new Stephen video generator is an easy, user-friendly text-to-video model that can create clips up to two minutes long […]

The post OpenAI Introduces Premium Video Generator For White House Advisors Manipulating Trump appeared first on The Onion.