The biggest trailers and announcements from the 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase

Xbox revealed a ton of exciting news at the Xbox & Bethesda Game Showcase, ranging from a longer look at Starfield to news about Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV.

For this event, Xbox only focused on games available to play within the next 12 months. So at least you won’t have to wait too long. In case you missed it, here’s a roundup of the biggest announcements and trailers.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is poised to arrive within the year

Hollow Knight: Silk Song, the highly-anticipated sequel to the popular Hollow Knight indie title, is set to launch on day one for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The trailer shows off the platformer’s beautiful artwork and gameplay, but there isn’t an official release date just yet.

Overwatch 2 will be free to play

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Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022: all the news from the event

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

There’s more than just Starfield

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Three Persona titles are coming to Xbox, starting with Persona 5 Royal

Joker and his friends from Persona 5_._ | Image: Sega

Three beloved JRPGs in the Persona franchise — Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 Royal — are coming to Xbox and PC, Microsoft announced at its Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022.

The first will be Persona 5 Royal, which will be available on October 21st. Currently, that game is only available on PlayStation platforms, so the upcoming Xbox and PC release marks a notable expansion for the game. If you haven’t played it before, I cannot recommend the game enough — it absolutely oozes style, and by the end of the game, you’ll really feel like you connect with the many characters you meet.

Person 3 Portable originally appeared on the PSP back in 2006. Persona 4 Golden was a port of Persona 4 that originally appeared on the PS...

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Diablo IV will bring the blood waves in 2023

Image: Activision Blizzard

Diablo IV, the next major release in Activision Blizzard’s popular dungeon-crawling series, will be available in 2023, the company announced Sunday. When it launches, it’ll be available on PC, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4, and the game will have crossplay and cross-progression across all platforms. And as with previous Diablo games there will be blood—a lot of it. Whole actual waves of blood.

In addition to previously announced classes like the sorceress, barbarian, druid, and rogue, Activision Blizzard revealed the fifth playable class: Necromancer. “Fight with aggressive skeleton Warriors, fast-attacking Skirmishers, sword and board Defenders, or scythe-wielding Reapers,” the company said in a press release. “Unleash a...

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Overwatch 2 will be free to play and has an early access release date

Image: Activision Blizzard

Overwatch 2 will be launching “in early access” on October 4th, Activision Blizzard announced Sunday. At least the PVP parts of it will be. And in a major change, it will be free to play — the original Overwatch was a paid title. It will be releasing on PC, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

“We can’t wait to roll out the beginning of the Overwatch 2 experience on October 4 and introduce an exciting new competitive vision, featuring amazing new content and a reimagining of the iconic heroes, maps, and gameplay that made the original game so compelling,” Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard, said in a press release. “This is the beginning of an always-on and always-evolving era for the franchise, and a recommitment...

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Hollow Knight: Silksong is coming to Xbox, and it will be out within the next year

Image: Microsoft

Hollow Knight: Silksong, the sequel to the 2017 indie side-scrolling action platformer Hollow Knight, is coming to Xbox, Microsoft announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase on Sunday. It will be available on Xbox Game Pass the day it’s released. While there’s no official release date, Xbox exec Sarah Bond said during the showcase that all of the games shown during the event will be available in the next 12 months. So we at least have a window of time for when we can expect the game. Microsoft also debuted a new trailer with a bunch of new gameplay footage, which you can see at the top of this post.

In addition to letting you play as an entirely different character, Hornet, Silksong has a new world to explore, new enemies to battle,...

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Squid Game season two is finally, officially announced for Netflix

Image: Netflix

Squid Game is officially coming back to Netflix for season two. According to a message from director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the second season will see the return of Gi-hun and the mysterious Front Man. The note also states “the man in the suit with ddakji might be back,” and that we’ll also get introduced to Cheol-su, Young-hee’s boyfriend.

“It took 12 years to bring the first season of ‘Squid Game’ to life last year. But it took 12 days for ‘Squid Game’ to become the most popular Netflix series ever,” Hwang writes. “As the writer, director, and producer of ‘Squid Game,’ a huge shout out to fans around the world. Thank you for watching and loving our show... Join us once more for a whole new round.”

The renewal occurs despite the shift in...

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How to watch the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase

Image: Microsoft

Team Xbox is holding its Xbox & Bethesda Game Showcase today. The 95-minute event will feature the latest on games from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and other third-party studios. Naturally, it will also include a lineup of games that are coming to Xbox, PC, and Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Microsoft is calling it the “biggest moment of 2022” for Xbox so far, so it’s one worth tuning in to.

Here’s how you can watch it:

WHEN DOES THE XBOX AND BETHESDA GAMES SHOWCASE BEGIN?

It’ll start at 1PM ET / 10AM PT on Sunday, June 12th.

HOW CAN I WATCH THE XBOX EVENT?

You can watch it at Xbox’s Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok pages. It’s also available on Steam, China’s Bilibli, and other media outlets. The show will...

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Google to pay $118 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is set to pay $118 million to settle a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit that includes around 15,500 women (via Bloomberg). As noted in the settlement’s press release, Google is also required to have an independent labor economist evaluate its hiring practices and pay equity studies.

The lawsuit first emerged in 2017 after three women filed a complaint accusing the company of underpaying female workers in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act, citing a wage gap of around $17,000. The complaint also alleges Google locks women into lower career tracks, leading to less pay and lower bonuses when compared to their male counterparts. The plaintiffs won class-action status last year.

Google’s treatment of workers has been the...

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Whistle Health review: for anxious pet parents only

Do I need this data? No, but it’s nice to have

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Spider-Man: No Way Home is returning to theaters with new Spidey scenes

Photo: Columbia Pictures

Spider-Man: No Way Home is making its way back to theaters on September 2nd after it broke box office records and became one of the highest-grossing films. This time around, Marvel is sprinkling in some new and extended scenes to keep things fresh.

Marvel calls the revamped film “The More Fun Stuff Version,” and says it’s releasing it in celebration of Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary in comics. Oh yeah, and it’s the 20th anniversary of Toby Maguire’s debut in the very first Spider-Man movie (feel old yet?).

You wanted more Spidey and you got it! #SpiderManNoWayHome: The More Fun Stuff Version swings into movie theaters in the US and Canada September 2! More countries to be announced soon! @SpiderManMovie pic.twitter.com/4dyhob9Qt2

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Leaked Galaxy Z Flip 4 photos show a potentially less noticeable crease

The Galaxy Z Flip 3. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

We got a look at what the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 could look like in a set of unofficial renders last month, but now we have leaked images of what appears to be the physical device shared by YouTuber TechTalkTV (via 9to5Google). The images match up with the earlier renders and give us a closer look at the device’s display crease, which looks almost nonexistent.

One image shows the device’s display when it’s flipped open, and you can see a slight glare where the crease would typically appear. It looks hardly noticeable, but then again, it is a bit difficult to tell what the crease will look like when viewed from just one angle.

You can pretty clearly see the Galaxy Z Flip 3’s crease when you tilt the phone the right way. As The Verge’s...

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TikTok’s parent company is gearing up to invest a lot of money in VR

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, is getting serious about entering the virtual reality (VR) space, according to a report from Protocol. A source close to the situation told the outlet that the company plans on investing “tons of money” to develop VR-related content.

It looks like a large portion of ByteDance’s investment is going into hiring. As noted by Protocol, over 40 job listings have popped up for Pico, the Chinese VR headset maker ByteDance acquired last year. Most openings are for Pico Studios’ west coast-based branches in California and Washington, ranging from a head of VR game strategy to a game operation manager. Other open positions suggest an increased focus on Pico’s VR hardware, including an optical engineer and a...

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The travel-friendly Sonos Roam is still on sale for a rare $37 off

The Sonos Roam is selling for $143.20 instead of $179.99 for a limited time. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Welcome to the weekend! We’re kicking things off today with a rare deal on the superb Sonos Roam, which remains one of the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve ever tested. Regularly $179.99, you can currently buy it from Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Sonos for just $143.20, the speaker’s best price to date. That’s less than the typical cost of the cheaper Sonos Roam SL, which is essentially the same speaker but without the built-in microphone.

The pint-sized, portable speaker sounds great and comes equipped with a number of useful features, including support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple’s AirPlay 2. The Sonos speaker also integrates with the rest of the company’s ecosystem and comes with an IP67 dust and water resistance rating,...

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Telegram Premium is coming later this month

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Telegram will soon start putting some features behind a paywall (via TechCrunch). In a post on the platform, founder Pavel Durov announced that the messaging service is launching a paid Telegram Premium subscription later this month, giving users “additional features, speed and resources.”

Durov hints at some of the features coming with the subscription, including early access to new features, the ability to upload larger files, and Premium-only stickers and reactions (which were recently previewed in a beta version of the app).

But Durov also makes it clear that Telegram’s existing features will stay free, and that the paid features won’t affect the experience for free users on the app. Non-subscribers will still get to look at the...

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The delight is in the details of Drop’s new DCX keycaps

Drop’s black-on-white DCX keycaps installed on a Filco Majestouch 2.

Earlier this year, keyboard specialist Drop announced its new lineup of DCX keycaps. But rather than focusing on making flashy, colorful designs like most aftermarket keycaps, the first three sets to use the new DCX profile are relatively understated, with simple black-and-white designs or a small selection of primary colors.

That’s because the focus here is on getting the tiniest details right in the hopes that Drop’s sets might be able to compete directly with GMK’s — a German manufacturer commonly seen as the producer of some of the best-quality keycaps around. GMK produces keycaps in the “Cherry” profile (which refers to the overall shape of the keycaps) while “DCX” refers to the profile of Drop’s keycaps. I’ve had the chance to...

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Apple’s giving up ground in its App Store fight with Dutch regulators and Tinder

It’s changed the language users will see when they go to pay. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple announced on Friday that it’s once again updated its rules about how Dutch dating apps can use third-party payment systems, after the company had “productive conversations with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).” The updated rules give developers more flexibility about which payment systems they use, change the language users see when they go to pay, and remove other restrictions that the previous rules put in place.

While the rules aren’t wide-reaching (again, they only apply to Dutch dating apps), they do show what Apple’s willing to do to comply with government regulation — which it could be facing a lot more of as the EU and US gear up to fight tech monopolies, and potentially even force the company to d...

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The best deals on 4K TVs

LG’s fantastic C1 OLED is on sale in the 55-inch configuration for around $1,097, its lowest price to date. | Image: LG

With CES 2022 having wrapped earlier this year, the future looks bright for those who are looking to nab a great TV at a substantial discount. Many manufacturers — including LG and Samsung — announced new versions of some of their most popular models during the event, ranging from The Frame and LG’s new C2 lineup to Sony’s forthcoming QD-OLED models. And now that manufacturers like Samsung and LG have announced official pricing details and are starting to launch their new TVs, we’re noticing prices beginning to fall on the last-gen, 2021 models.

However, if you’re looking to pick up a solid deal before the new models arrive, fret not, as there are already some great discounts available. There are currently a number of discounted 4K TVs...

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Duke Nukem is getting a movie from some guys who could actually pull it off

The one true Duke.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you have no idea who Duke Nukem even is — that’s how hard the classic video game franchise cratered a decade ago. Today, the character is mostly known as a punchline for video game vaporware jokes, about how Duke Nukem Forever spent 14 years in development hell only to become a huge flop.

And yet for years now, Duke’s corporate owners have been whispering that a movie is coming, culminating in The Hollywood Reporter’s story today: Legendary Entertainment has tapped Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossbergto actually produce a feature film.

I don’t quite know how to react! As a gamer who actually quite liked Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem II and Duke Nukem 3D, I absolutely agree that this...

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The best smartphone you can buy for under $500

You can get a great smartphone at this price, whether you want an iPhone, a 90Hz screen, or 5G support

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Stadia just made it a lot easier to play the Resident Evil Village demo

“Instantly” is only a slight exaggeration.

Capcom has launched a demo of Resident Evil Village that’s powered by Google’s Stadia cloud gaming tech, letting people test out the horror game in a browser. In a press release, Google says that the idea is to let people try out the game, no matter what device they own. The game and its demo were already available for Stadia subscribers, but now anyone can try it out for free, provided they have a supported web browser and an internet connection faster than 10 megabits a second. You don’t even need a Google account; you just navigate to the website, enter your birthday (the game’s rated M), and click the play button.

As for how the demo looks... you certainly get what you pay for with the browser version. Here are a few comparison shots...

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New AT&T subscribers will no longer get HBO Max (or any other video service)

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

One perk most wireless carriers offer to pull you to their side is a free streaming video-on-demand subscription, but now AT&T won’t be giving HBO Max to new customers, and hasn’t replaced it with a different service either. The carrier stealthily discontinued its top-tier Unlimited Elite plan for new subscribers this week, and added a new one that doesn’t include HBO Max anymore, as reported by Next TV(via FierceWireless).

The new top plan is called Unlimited Premium, which comes in at the same $85 a month for a single line. Just like with the now-grandfathered Elite plan, Premium subscribers get unlimited talk / text / data, 4K video streaming, and no slowdowns even if they use a lot of data (a promise AT&T introduced for its priciest...

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The best phone to buy right now

William Joel / The Verge

Buying a new phone can be a chore, but we’ve done the work for you

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Tesla files for a three-way stock split to make its shares more affordable

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla is asking its shareholders to approve a three-way stock split to help make the company’s shares cheaper for buyers.

The request is included in a list of provisions Tesla is planning to bring up at its August 4, 2022 shareholder meeting, which it filed Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Tesla is framing it as way to “reset” its stock price, which has gone up dramatically in the past few years — 43.5 percent since the company’s last stock split in August 2020.

“While this value appreciation has led to our employees benefiting enormously through the years, we want to make sure all employees, no matter when they join, have access to the same advantages,” the company states.

Tesla is framing it as way to “reset”...

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The best noise-canceling headphone deals

You can save $100 on the AirPods Max. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

With more people working from home than they used to, owning a good pair of noise-canceling headphones has become more appealing than ever. However, they can be expensive and difficult to shop for due to the range of available models, many of which cater to different lifestyles and priorities. Some are better suited for long-haul flights, for instance, while others are ideal for multitasking and marathon listening sessions.

That’s why we’ve curated this list of the best deals on noise-canceling headphones. Here, you’ll find sales on all kinds of on-ear and over-ear headphones, all of which are designed to eliminate outside noise but come with their own strengths and weaknesses. And if you want to do even more research before making a...

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Google Cloud employee calculates pi to 100 trillion digits

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google Cloud developer advocate Emma Haruka Iwao has beaten her own record from three years ago for the number of digits calculated for pi. In 2019 she was able to calculate pi to its 31.4 trillionth digit, and now, using the same Google Cloud y-cruncher program Iwao was able to find pi to its 100 trillionth digit, which is zero.

After starting the process in October 2021 it took the computers until March 2022 to finish. At 157 days, compared to 121 days spent figuring out a shorter number in 2019, it was going more than twice as fast. According to Iwao, she was using the same tools and techniques, but the enhanced speed is due to how the parts of Google Cloud have improved since then with 100Gbps networking, balanced Persistent Disks,...

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US no longer requires COVID test for travelers flying into the country

Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

The US will reportedly no longer require international air travelers to take a COVID test before traveling to the country. According to Reuters, the change will be effective starting Sunday morning, June 12th, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will reevaluate the decision in three months. That means people flying into the US won’t have to worry about taking a COVID test before take-off, at least until the summer travel season is over.

Before the reported change, vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers had to get a test the day before they entered the US, according to the CDC’s travel requirement page. The only exceptions were children under two years old, who did not have to be tested.

Airlines called on the...

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Netflix shows off Sonic Prime and an impressive lineup of indie games

Image: Netflix

This week, Netflix unleashed a battery of announcements as a part of its Geeked Week. Contained within the flurry of reveals of The Sandman, The Umbrella Academy season3, One Piece, and more was a handful of announcements about the platform’s slowly growing game and game-adjacent offerings.

Netflix showed off a brief teaser for Cuphead season 2 ahead of its August premiere, featuring more of Ms. Chalice (voiced by Grey DeLisle), who made her brief debut at the end of the first season. Also hitting Netflix in August is the third season of DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. Tekken, the fighting game that has a fondness for throwing kids off cliffs, is also getting its own anime, Tekken: Bloodline.

In advance of Sonic Origins later this June and S...

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Tech antitrust is facing its biggest challenge yet in the Senate

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

After six months of slow progress, the Senate is closer than ever to instituting new tech antitrust rules — and the industry is fighting harder than ever to bring it down.

Sponsored by a bipartisan group including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICO) was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January and is poised for a full Senate vote in the coming weeks. But the bill is facing intense pushback from tech industry groups and shaping up as a major test of tech companies’ political muscle in Congress.

In a joint press conference on Wednesday, the bill’s cosponsors emphasized the bill’s bipartisan support among senators. “At its core, this is about lowering...

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Dragon Age gets a new anime on Netflix

Netflix

Dragon Age, the D&D-inspired franchise from BioWare, is getting a brand-new six-episode anime on Netflix. Dragon Age: Absolution is a new show set in the previously unseen Tevinter Imperium.

Not much is known about the show so far. It’s being produced by Red Dog Culture House and the showrunner is Mairghread Scott. She previously worked on a number of Transformers animated shows and the animated Guardians of the Galaxy show. We know it's being made in collaboration with BioWare, which last week announced the title of the next Dragon Age game, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. As with Dreadwolf, the cast, characters, and even the plot of _Absolution_are unknown at this time.

What we do know is it's set in the Tevinter Imperium. Tevinter is an...

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