Gran Turismo 7 will release in March 2022

Sony

_Gran Turismo 7_resurfaced during Sony’s PlayStation Showcase 2021 with a new trailer. Sony’s head of PS Studios Hermen Hulst shared that it’s coming March 4th, 2022, and the trailer shows off more cars that you’ll likely never be able to afford — and lots of them. Inside of the cars, outside of them, and the gorgeous, presumably ray-traced vistas that you’ll be zipping around in.

The first trailer that debuted in June 2020 showed us as much, but this new one shows, well, even more of that, plus a more in-depth glimpse of the deep customization that Gran Turismo sims are known to offer. It also shows off some online gameplay as well as a look at the game’s deep photo mode. Hulst shared in a post-event chat that the game will take...

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The next Halo Infinite multiplayer preview will be available to everyone on September 24th

343 Industries is holding another Halo Infinite multiplayer preview later this month, and this time, it will be open to everyone. The next Halo Infinite multiplayer preview will kick off on Friday, September 24th, and all you need to do is sign up to be a Halo Insider before September 14th to get access.

This test will include access to the 4v4 multiplayer and Big Team Battle modes, alongside the regular Bot Arena and Academy Weapon Drills bot modes that were playable in the previous test.

The next #HaloInfinite multiplayer preview is targeted to arrive on Sept. 24! All fully registered Halo Insider profiles as of Sept. 13 are eligible to participate.

Don’t miss out! Head to https://t.co/3a5Xr1hUIc, get your profile fully filled out,...

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Venom is coming in Spider-Man 2 for the PS5 in 2023

Spider-Man 2 is officially coming to the PlayStation 5 in 2023, bringing back both Peter Parker and Miles Morales from Insomniac Games’ previous PlayStation Spider-Man titles to face off against a new foe: Venom.

Unlike last year’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which was a cross-generational release on both PS4 and PS5, Spider-Man 2 will be exclusive to the PS5.

There was no gameplay shown off in the brief teaser trailer, which showcased both Spider-Men teaming up together to take on a variety of goons while a mysterious man voices his desire for a true challenge, a gauntlet that gets taken up by iconic Spider-Man villain Venom.

It’s not clear whether Venom will be joining Peter and Miles as a playable hero in Spider-Man 2...

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Insomniac is making a Wolverine game for PS5

Insomniac had a huge hit on its hands when it ventured into the realm of superheroes with Spider-Man. Now, the studio is jumping into another Marvel universe with a game simply titled Wolverine. We don’t know much about it, other than Logan has very hairy knuckles and looks as angry as usual. But given the studio’s track record, you can likely expect some really solid action mixed with an MCU-style narrative.

Here’s what Insomniac has to say about it:

Marvel’s Wolverine is a standalone game being directed by Brian Horton (creative director) and Cameron Christian (game director), who recently led the creative efforts on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a game we’re extremely proud of at Insomniac.

In the vein of our Spider-Man games,...

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Watch the first trailer for the Alan Wake remaster

Image: Remedy Entertainment

Sony debuted the first trailer for _Alan Wake Remastered_at its PlayStation Showcase on Thursday. I’ve never played any of the games in the Alan Wake series, but I was intrigued by the mysterious and spooky trailer shown during the event.

If you’re not familiar with the plot of Alan Wake, here’s the YouTube description for Thursday’s trailer:

Play as troubled author Alan Wake, who goes on a desparate search for his missing photographer wife, Alice. The sleepy Pacific Northwestern town of Bright Falls isn’t what it seems. A malevolent presence lurks in the dark, and a horror story Alan doesn’t remember writing is coming true.

Fortunately, you won’t have long to wait until you can play the game for yourself — Alan Wake Remastered is coming...

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is getting a remake for the PS5

The legendary Star Wars roleplaying game Knights of the Old Republicis getting a PS5 remake, Sony announced today at its 2021 fall showcase.

The remake is being developed by Aspyr, which had previously worked on the Mac, Android, and iOS ports of both the original Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Sony Interactive Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games will also be working on the remake.

Missing from the announcement is BioWare — which originally developed Knights of the Old Republic in 2003 — but doesn’t seem to be involved in the new version, although Sony’s announcement post does note that Aspyr has recruited some of the original development team to work on the remake.

...

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Apple Watch exec takes over secretive car project

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Just two days after Ford hired away Doug Field, the head of Apple’s secretive car project, the tech giant has tapped Apple Watch exec and former Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch to take his place, according to Bloomberg.

It’s the latest changing of the guard for the project, known as Project Titan, which has rotated leaders about as much as it has reportedly shifted focus. To wit, Korea’s Maeil Economic Dailyreported earlier Thursday that Apple may no longer be trying to work with other automakers to bring its autonomous electric car to life. Rather, the report states, Apple now plans to go it alone.

Lynch started working on the project in July, when he was brought on to help develop the vehicle’s software. He joined Apple in 2013 from Adobe,...

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This NVMe SD card is literally too hot to handle

Image: AnandTech

When we say a gadget has “blazing-fast speeds,” we don’t mean it literally. But when AnandTech benched one of the first NVMe-based SD card reference designs, it found the tiny plastic-covered rectangle hitting skin-searing temperatures of 96 degrees Celsius (roughly 205 degrees F).

Last year, we wrote how this next wave of SD cards — SD Express — might quadruple their theoretical speed to nearly four gigabytes per second, by using the PCI-Express and NVMe interfaces more commonly found in the SSD in your computer or next-gen game console.

Theoretical speeds are theoretical, but this is still fast

We haven’t quite hit those speeds yet, anyhow: the specific card _AnandTech_tested topped out at around 900MB/s writes and 400MB/s reads in...

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Porsche’s new Mission R electric concept racecar is built to stream

Image: Porsche AG

Porsche is taking inspiration from the world of esports and livestreaming for its next racecar concept. The all-electric Porsche Mission R, first introduced at this weeks’ 2021 IAA Mobility conference in Munich, is what Porsche believes is “the future of customer motorsport.”

According to Porsche, the Mission R is designed to create “new ways for fans and driver to interact.” The car features a mostly glass roof — reminiscent of consumer EVs like the Tesla Model 3 or Porsche’s own Taycan — so the driver can be viewed from above during the entirety of race. Inside there are mounted cameras for the driver’s helmet, a movable camera on the car’s A-pillar, and a backward-facing dashboard cam so fans can get up close and personal. Porsche...

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Mercedes-Benz’s Maybach EV concept helps the rich feel even better about themselves

Image: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz has shown off the electric Maybach EQS, an opulent concept car that the company says is a preview of what the future of high-end electric cars may look like. The company revealed the EV SUV at the IAA Mobility show, where it also announced a G-Class SUV concept, and a more attainable electric sedan.

When compared to the existing Maybach GLS, the EQS concept doesn’t look particularly outlandish. Mercedes says that the one-off vehicle is based on its modular electric architecture — the same that powers its upcoming EQS sedan. The company says that the concept is meant to show off its vision for “a locally emission-free future,” without giving up the exclusivity and luxury that the Maybach name implies — Mercedes says the...

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Epic is shutting down Houseparty

Houseparty’s_Fortnite_mode. | Image: Epic Games

Epic Games is going to shut down group video chat app Houseparty, the company announced Thursday. The Houseparty app will be removed from app stores “immediately,” according to Epic, though people who already have the app will be able to use it until the service is fully shut down in October. Houseparty’s integration with Fortnite will also continue to work until Houseparty is shut down in October.

Houseparty, which was released by the creators of the popular Meerkat livestreaming app in 2016, was purchased by Epic in 2019, and Epic says that “tens of millions of people” have used the app. Going forward, however, “the team behind Houseparty is working on creating new ways to have meaningful and authentic social interactions at metaverse...

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Mad Max: Fury Road’s iconic fleet of post-apocalyptic War Rigs are up for auction

Over a dozen vehicles from the 2015 cult classic _Mad Max: Fury Road_are being put up for a virtual auction. The vehicles will be available for bidding in a series of auctions held by Lloyds on September 25th-26th.

Reading through the descriptions of each vehicle — and hats off to the auctioneers, they really did a commendable job describing each lot — really made me want to fire up George Miller’s blood-and-sand-drenched movie for another watch. WITNESS ME!

Blown, super-turbo charged and armed to the teeth with weaponry and War Boys, the machines that outran the end of civilisation have been unearthed in the greatest barn-find ever recorded.

Nitrous, noxious, and no-nonsense harbingers of hell, marking man’s uncanny ability to wring...

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Amazon, fighting SpaceX’s Starlink plans, says Elon Musk’s companies don’t care about rules

Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Amazon slammed Elon Musk’s SpaceX as a serial rule-breaker on Wednesday amid an enduring fight over the two companies’ plans to build rivaling satellite networks. The conflict, waged within lengthy filings to the Federal Communications Commission, is nothing new. But this time, Amazon sent FCC officials a laundry list of Musk’s past troubles with other regulators, mounting its most aggressive attempt yet to push back on SpaceX’s speedy timeline for deploying its broadband satellites.

“Try to hold a Musk-led company to flight rules? You’re ‘fundamentally broken,’” Amazon wrote in its filing, referring to the time Musk complained that the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory structure slowed down SpaceX’s operations. “Try to hold a...

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How the largest direct air capture plant will suck C02 out of the atmosphere

The ‘Orca’ direct air capture and storage facility, operated by Climeworks AG, in Hellisheidi, Iceland, on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021.  | Arnaldur Halldorsson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The biggest industrial plant yet to suck tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide out of the air came online yesterday in southwest Iceland. Direct air capture plants like this one have been hyped up lately by world leaders and giant corporations — notably Microsoft — that are looking to erase their legacy of greenhouse gas pollution.

This particular operation is ideally located to test theemerging technology. The new plant, built by Swiss company Climeworks, is powered by renewable energy from a geothermal power plant nearby. Climeworks also plans to lock the captured CO2 away in basalt rock formations just three kilometers from the geothermal plant. It’s a storage plan that likely bypasses the need for controversial new carbon dioxide...

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YouTube halves the number of subscribers you need to unlock Community posting

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube is cutting the number of subscribers you need to be able to make Community posts in half, the company announced Thursday. Starting October 12th, instead of requiring 1,000 subscribers, you’ll need more than 500 subscribers. In a tweet, YouTube said that will open up the feature to “millions” more channels.

Community posts are coming to millions more channels!!

Starting October 12, 2021, we’re lowering the eligibility threshold for Community posts to channels with 500+ subscribers: https://t.co/66SEhZ33ML

Tips for getting started on the Community tab →https://t.co/O3KnHNvk1tpic.twitter.com/SB1pyfbgUz

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) September 9, 2021

Community posts are Facebook-like news or status updates from creators that can...

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Spotify’s new ‘Enhance’ feature will spruce up your playlists with recommended songs

Spotify is rolling out a new feature called “Enhance,” which will automatically spiff up your playlists with recommended songs that (theoretically) fit in with your music’s existing style and theme.

The feature works through a new Enhance button that now appears at the top of playlists. Tap it to toggle it on, which causes Spotify’s algorithm to automatically add recommended songs that it thinks will fit into your playlist. Enhance-recommended songs will be marked with a bright green sparkles icon to indicate that they weren’t part of your original list and can be added permanently by tapping the plus button that appears next to the song.

Spotify’s algorithm is here to spice up your playlists with new songs

Songs added through Enhance...

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California advances bill targeting Amazon labor algorithms

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

California is close to enacting a first-of-its-kind law that would block Amazon and other companies from punishing warehouse workers who fail to meet certain performance metrics for taking rest or meal breaks.

If enacted, the bill, AB 701, would allow warehouse workers to challenge performance goals that many say discourage them from taking bathroom breaks or other rest breaks throughout the work day. The bill was written in response to high rates of reported injuries at Amazon warehouses where performance quotas are algorithmically enforced.

The California Senate approved the measure on Wednesday, sending it back to the Assembly where minor changes can be made before it finally lands on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Newsom has not signaled...

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Facebook debuts Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses that record video

Hands-on with Facebook and Ray-Ban’s first pair of smart glasses

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Lego’s latest Mario collaboration is a big question mark block

Image: Lego

Lego’s latest Mario-themed set is a giant homage to Super Mario 64, a giant question mark block that unfolds to reveal four levels from the Nintendo 64 game: Peach’s Castle, Bob-omb Battlefield, Cool Cool Mountain, and Lethal Lava Trouble. The “Lego Super Mario 64 ? Block set,” to use its official title, is made up of over two thousand pieces and will cost $169.99 when it goes on sale in Lego’s stores on October 1st.

From the trailer released today, the set looks great: four blocky dioramas of a game that itself looks pretty blocky by modern standards. But I have to split hairs and point out that, as far as I’m aware, the question mark block never actually appears in Super Mario 64. Seriously, go back and look at screenshots if you don’t...

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Microsoft’s first Windows 11 commercial features Master Chief blowing stuff up

Microsoft is debuting its first ad campaign for Windows 11 today. The 60-second TV commercial is set to “All Starts Now” by Odessa and features the new Microsoft Store, Master Chief from the world of Halo, Microsoft Teams, and more.

Explaining what a new version of Windows will bring to consumers is never easy, and Microsoft has opted for a similar approach to its first Xbox Series X commercial. An actress walks through walls of apps and selects Xbox Game Pass, which triggers Master Chief to appear and blast a _Halo_banshee out of the sky.

Image: Microsoft

Master Chief appears and blows up a Halo banshee.

The new bloom default wallpaper in Windows 11 also appears, alongside the built-in Microsoft Teams...

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Sega’s cashing in on old consoles by adding them to Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania

Roll through mazes as an inanimate Sega console because why not? | Sega

September 9th marks the anniversary of the US launch of Sega’s Dreamcast, its final console before the company pivoted completely to game development and publishing in the early aughts. Sega is honoring the Dreamcast, along with the Game Gear and Saturn, in the most illogical, but hilarious way by adding them as playable characters in the upcoming Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.

"It's thinking..."

The Dreamcast launched in the US on 9.9.99! Now, 22 years later, the Dreamcast, Saturn, and Game Gear are rolling into the world of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania! ️#SuperMonkeyBall#BananaMania#Dreamcast#SEGASaturn#GameGearpic.twitter.com/1CKNUHPdjk

— Super Monkey Ball (@SuperMonkeyBall) September 9, 2021

Sega has already announced...

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Microsoft Teams is getting more hybrid work improvements and Apple CarPlay support

Microsoft Teams with Apple CarPlay support. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is continuing to improve the remote meeting experience in Microsoft Teams with better camera support and other improvements that will let you stay in meetings 24/7, if you choose.

After rolling out Together Mode last year, and a vision for the future of meetings earlier this year, Microsoft Teams will soon be updated to support intelligent cameras. These cameras will be supplied by partners like Jabra, Neat, Poly, and Yealink and will enable AI-powered active speaker tracking, multiple video streams, and people recognition.

They’re the type of cameras that can actually deliver on some of Microsoft’s promises for the future of meetings, enabling cameras in meeting rooms to use audio, facial movements, and gestures to detect...

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Microsoft gives up predicting when its US offices will fully reopen

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Microsoft is shelving its plans to fully reopen its US offices next month. The software giant had planned to reopen its headquarters on October 4th, but the ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19 and the spike in cases has forced the company to delay its back to the office push. Microsoft isn’t providing a new date to employees, though.

“Given the uncertainty of COVID-19, we’ve decided against attempting to forecast a new date for a full reopening of our US work sites in favor of opening US work sites as soon as we’re able to do so safely based on public health guidance,” explains Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of modern work.

This latest delay follows a number of postponements this year to fully reopen Microsoft’s offices....

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Y: The Last Man’s showrunner on adapting the comic: ‘It’s not a blueprint for television’

Photo by Rafy Winterfeld / FX Networks

A decade ago, when Eliza Clark read Y: The Last Man for the first time, she kept thinking about how she would adapt it for television. “It combined so many things that I loved,” she tells The Verge. The story takes place after a mysterious event that kills off everyone with a Y chromosome, with the exception of a man named Yorrick (and his monkey). She describes it as “such an interesting look at identity.” At the time, she was working as a writer’s assistant, so it was mostly a dream. But 10 years later — after a few stops working on shows like The Killing and Rubicon — Clark got the chance to lead FX’s live-action version of Y: The Last Man. It was an opportunity not only to adapt a series she loved, but to update it for modern...

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How to watch the PlayStation Showcase 2021

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

While Microsoft has hosted plenty game showcases in 2021, Sony has been comparatively quiet about what’s coming to the PS5 in 2022. Well, Sony is going to break its relative silence with a 40-minute event that will offer “a look into the future of PS5.” The PlayStation Blog says to expect updates from its various PlayStation Studios (the number of which seem to grow every month) on games launching this holiday and others that will release in 2022.

Horizon: Forbidden West may get some air time, since it’s a PlayStation-exclusive title that’ll be launching in the next handful of months. Of course, there’s more excitement about games we know less about. We’ve yet to see a trailer for the next God of War title, so perhaps it’ll make its...

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A bunch of ape NFTs just sold for $24.4 million

Six of the 101 apes sold at auction. | Image: Bored Ape Yacht Club / Sotheby’s

If you thought NFT mania was about to die off, think again: a bundle of 101 NFTs from Bored Ape Yacht Club just sold at Sotheby’s for $24.4 million. A second bundle of 101 Bored Ape Kennel Club NFTs sold for $1.8 million.

That puts the ape sale among the biggest in the NFT space. A bundle of nine CryptoPunks — one of the earliest NFT projects — sold for $16.9 million in May. And Beeple sold a collage of his works as an NFT for $69 million in March. While it’s hard to directly compare all of these sales (there are 101 items in today’s auctions versus one in Beeple’s), the purchases show that the appetite for NFT art isn’t dying down, and they suggest that buyers think there’ll be high resale value as the market continues to grow.

The two...

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Sony’s latest Dolby Atmos soundbar has a much more sensible price

Image: Sony

I recently reviewed Sony’s flagship 2021 Dolby Atmos soundbar, the HT-A7000, and found it to be a fantastic performer made even better by two passthrough inputs that offer support for HDMI 2.1 features like 4K gaming at 120Hz. But with a price of $1,300 (and that’s before adding rear surrounds and a sub), Sony’s latest and greatest isn’t going to be practical for everyone. So with that in mind, the company is today announcing a cheaper, smaller model called the HT-A5000 that costs $899.99.

That price puts it somewhat closer in line with something like the Sonos Arc, but Sony’s new soundbar could win people over for its added functionality and future-proofing. The HT-A5000 retains much of what’s good about the higher-end model: it’s...

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Twitter is testing emoji reactions for tweets

Image: Twitter

Twitter is testing emoji reactions for tweets that go beyond a simple “Like,” the company announced today. So, over the coming days, users in Turkey will be able to respond to tweets with the “Face with tears of joy” emoji, “Thinking face,” “Clapping hands,” “Crying face,” or a simple “Heart.” The test is only scheduled to run for a limited time, but Twitter says it might expand it to users in more countries depending on the response.

The idea behind the feature is to give people more ways to quickly show how they feel about a tweet, Twitter says, while providing authors better feedback about how their tweet has been received. The emoji are accessible via a long-press of the Like button, while a short tap will send a regular Like....

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The Keychron Q1 is an enthusiast-quality keyboard right out of the box

A solid build and easy customization make the Q1 easy to recommend

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League of Legends’ world championships will take place in Iceland

Photo by David Lee/Riot Games/Riot Games Inc. via Getty Images

The League of Legends World Championship, the concluding tournament that brings together the best teams from across the world, will take place in Reykjavík, Iceland at the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena. Riot Games revealed the news today, following the August announcement that the event would be moved from China to Europe. The event kicks off on October 5th and will conclude on November 6th. No fans will be in attendance.

Reykjavík was also this year’s location for League’s other big international tournament, the Mid-Season Invitational, which took place in May. “Riot successfully hosted the Mid-Season Invitational this past May in Hall B at the Laugardalshöll without a live audience, which resulted in zero COVID-19 cases among...

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