Sam Bankman-Fried agrees to testify before House Committee on FTX collapse next week

Illustration: The Verge

FTX founder and former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried said Friday that he will testify before the House Financial Services Committee next week.

“I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like,” Bankman-Fried said in a tweet Friday. “But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.”

The decision follows a week of negotiating between Bankman-Fried and House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) by quote-tweeting each other on Twitter. Last week, Waters urged Bankman-Fried to testify before her committee at a December 13th hearing focused on his cryptocurrency...

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The pint-sized DJI Mini 3 comes with a suitably mini price

The DJI Mini 3 weighs just 249 grams, which means it falls under certain regulations that permit sub-250 gram drones to fly without registration. | Image: DJI

After weeks of leaks, DJI has officially announced the DJI Mini 3, a more affordable version of the original DJI Mini 3 Pro drone that targets amateurs and first-time flyers.

The DJI Mini 3 is available for purchase today and costs $499 when paired with a DJI RC-N1 controller, or $634 with the DJI RC controller. The DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo is also available for $658, which includes the Mini 3 drone, a DJI RC-N1 Remote Controller, a Shoulder Bag, a Two-Way Charging Hub, and two extra Intelligent Flight Batteries.

The DJI Mini 3 will also be available for $409 as a drone-only unit (not including a controller or charger) sometime in early January 2023. By comparison, prices for the Mini 3 Pro start at $759 when paired with a DJI RC-N1...

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Look inside Nothing’s first physical store before it opens on Saturday

Nothing’s first permanent store location will be opened on December 10th, stocking the tech brands Nothing’s Phone 1 and Ear Stick products. | Image: Nothing

Nothing will open its first brick-and-mortar store in London’s Soho district later this week, offering products like Nothing’s Phone 1 and Ear Stick alongside a range of Nothing merchandise. Audio products from Teenage Engineering and “curated collections from fashion and design brands” will also be available to purchase.

The Nothing Store is located at 4 Peter Street (next to Gosh! Comics and the Supreme fashion outlet) and will officially open at 11:30AM on Saturday, December 10th, following through on the London-based company’s promise to open before Christmas. Nothing has previously opened pop-up stores to sell its products, but this is the tech company’s first permanent shop.

Image: Nothing

A transparent,...

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A guy playing an alto flute in The Game Awards orchestra won the night

Image: The Game Awards

Tonight’s Game Awards was probably one of the more entertaining showcases in the event’s 10-year history and it has nothing to do with any of the games that swept the awards and everything to do with a guy and his flute.

Al Pacino started the show, not with a bang but with a poorly legible whimper as the celebrated actor struggled to read the no-doubt tiny words of the teleprompter. Then Christopher Judge, in accepting the award for Best Performance for his incredible, soulful, and heartening performance as Kratos, rambled for a good handful of minutes longer than he should have. Though his speech was a bit awkward and long-winded, I firmly believe Mr. Keighley let Judge go on for as long as he did in order to keep the rest of the show...

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The biggest announcements and trailers from the Game Awards 2022

Death Stranding 2. | Image: Kojima Productions

Star Wars, Death Stranding, Street Fighter, Super Mario, and much more.

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FromSoftware’s next game is Armored Core VI

Image: FromSoftware

FromSoftware only just released Elden Ring in February of this year, in a trailer at The Game Awards, the famed developer’s revealed that its next big project is Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. It’s set to be released in 2023.

It’s difficult to know exactly what to expect based on the Armored Core VI’s esoteric trailer, which featured a lot of lingering shots of giant mechs. But the trailer definitely creates an awesome mood that I hope captures what it’s like to play the game itself. Armored Core VI will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam when it’s released next year.

We are pleased to announce that "ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON", the latest entry in the Armored Core series, is coming in...

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Naoki Yoshida presents a new Final Fantasy XVI trailer at The Game Awards

Image: Square Enix

To cap-off the barrage of announcements and trailers unleashed during The Game Awards was a new trailer and release date for the latest single-player installment of the Final Fantasy series. Game director Naoki Yoshida made his first ever appearance at The Game Awards to present Final Fantasy XVI’s newest trailer and shared the game’s release date — June 22nd.

The Revenge trailer was very short but very bloody, revisiting one of the first moments of Final Fantasy XVI fans got to see. Because of all the blood, the trailer’s been slapped with a content warning meaning you’ll have to go to YouTube to watch.

Because of the covid-19 pandemic, updates on the game have been sparse since its first announcement in 2020. But it seems like the...

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Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will feature Idris Elba as part of the game’s cast

Elba plays a new character named Solomon Reed. | Image: CD Projekt Red

Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a major expansion next year, and it will include a major addition to the cast: Idris Elba. His appearance was confirmed as part of a new Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty trailer released during The Game Awards 2022 on Thursday.

Elba will play a character named Solomon Reed, as noted in a tweet from developer CD Projekt Red (CDPR). That tweet also included a few details about the new content in Phantom Liberty: it will take place in an “all new district” of the game’s Night City setting, and it will be a “spy-thriller expansion.” And don’t worry, the new trailer also featured the voice of Keanu Reeves, who will be back to play Johnny Silverhand.

Introducing Idris Elba as Solomon Reed, an FIA Agent for the NUSA....

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In the new Super Mario Bros. Movie clip Toad is a fun guy

Image: Nintendo

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was once a mystery, with no more information except the handful of Hollywood hottest stars — and Chris Pratt — who landed a role. But after a new trailer reveal just last week, we’re getting yet another extended look at the movie, this time courtesy of The Game Awards. Keegan-Michael Key came out to introduce the brief clip with an extended bit about Toad’s white and red cap. It was a bit awkward, underscored by the sudden cut to Game Awards audience members who looked bewildered and confused. Funny, but for what feels like the wrong reasons.

Mushroom Kingdom’s top tour guide gives Mario an exclusive look at the big city. #SuperMarioMovie pic.twitter.com/JsQgZ3aWSW

— The Super Mario Bros. Movie...

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Amazon’s next game is an anime MMO called Blue Protocol

Blue Protocol. | Image: Amazon

The next major release from Amazon Games is an anime-style online title called Blue Protocol. Developed by Bandai Namco, the game is slated to launch on the PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC in the second half of 2023 — and you can check out the debut trailer above, which debuted at The Game Awards.

The game is described as a multiplayer action RPG, where players can take on various roles and play either with others or experience the story as a single-player-style campaign. Here’s the basic premise, according to Amazon:

Blue Protocol... takes players on a heroic journey through Regnas, a world teetering on the brink of destruction after millennia of conflict and technology overuse. Players must unite and harness the mysterious light called...

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Horizon Forbidden West is getting an expansion, Burning Shores

It looks like you’ll be facing some rough terrain in Burning Shores_._ | Image: Sony

Horizon Forbidden West, one of PlayStation’s biggest games of the year, is getting its first major expansion, Burning Shores, as revealed The Game Awards 2022 on Thursday. The expansion hits on April 19th, 2023. The CGI trailer showed off some new landscapes — including the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles — and some areas will be filled with flowing lava.

The release of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores comes more than a year after the game’s original February launch. In her review, my colleague Ash Parrish found it easy to get lost in the game’s incredible world. I agree with that, but personally thought there were way too many small chores and crafting items shoved in my face. Hopefully this new expansion is a tighter experience.

T...

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Diablo IV finally gets a release date and performance by Halsey

Image: Blizzard

Days after the first impressions of Diablo IV hit the internet, Activision Blizzard has announced the game will release on June 6th. The game also got a brand new trailer premiering during tonight’s Game Awards broadcast featuring a brief performance by Halsey. Unfortunately, because of all the blood and demons, you’re only going to be able to watch the trailer directly on YouTube.

The June 6th date was leaked prior to tonight’s announcement in a report by The Washington Post that also covered Blizzard employees’ concerns that they would have to crunch in order to meet that deadline. Diablo IV, along with Overwatch 2, was one of the most anticipated games in Blizzard’s pipeline. And like Overwatch 2, its release was delayed in part by...

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Kevin Conroy will be Batman one last time in upcoming Suicide Squad game

Among the many surprises of the early minutes of The Game Awards, was a new trailer for the delayed Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. The short trailer featured Captain Boomerang yelling at the propped up body of a dead Flash while Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and King Shark look on the shadows in horror as Batman kills a hapless police officer. The screen then cuts to black as the late Kevin Conroy shouts his most famous line as Batman, “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman.”

The trailer ends on a touching tribute thanking Conroy for his iconic performance of the caped crusader. Conroy, who passed away earlier this month, will voice Batman one final time in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League which finally has a release date...

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Hideo Kojima’s next game is Death Stranding 2

Norman Reedus in Death Stranding 2. | Image: Kojima Productions

Death Stranding is back. Hideo Kojima revealed his next game at the Game Awards this evening — and yes, it still has creepy babies. Death Stranding 2 will once again star Norman Reedus and Lea Seydoux and it looks just as strange as its predecessor, at least based on the debut trailer. It also appears that DS2 is a working title right now. The game doesn’t have a release date but it’s coming to the PS5.

The enigmatic director had been teasing the reveal in the lead up to this evening’s event, going so far as to reveal key cast members like Elle Fanning and Shioli Kutsuna. This will be Kojima Productions’ second major release, following the original Death Stranding, which debuted on the PS4 before expanding to other platforms. The sequel...

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The developers of Celeste debut the first trailer for their next game, Earthblade

A screenshot from Earthblade_._ | Image: Extremely OK Games

Extremely OK Games, the makers of the beloved indie platformer Celeste, shared a first trailer for the studio’s next game, Earthblade, at The Game Awards 2022 on Thursday.

In Earthblade, you play as a character named Nevoa as you explore a “free-roaming, dynamically-loading map,” according to an email sent shortly after the trailer debuted. The game has 2D pixel graphics to Celeste, but Earthblade looks to take place in a more fantasy-inspired world.

Image: Extremely OK Games

The main character from Earthblade approaches a mysterious mirror.

The trailer doesn’t reveal too much about the game itself, but the email has a few details about what you can expect. “We think that this ‘seamlessness’ will likely be E...

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The Game Awards 2022: all the announcements and trailers

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Keigh-3 but make it winter

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gets a March release date and a new trailer

Cal Kestis and BD-1. | Image: Respawn Entertainment

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order, will be released on March 17th, 2023, as revealed at The Game Awards on Thursday. The next game starring Cal Kestis and the adorable droid BD-1 got its first trailer in May, and on Thursday, we got our first look at what it will be like to actually play the game thanks to a new trailer at Geoff Keighley’s big awards show.

This new game takes place five years after the events of Jedi: Fallen Order. It looks to be a continuation of everything that made the first game better than expected, and that’s a good thing, in my mind. Jedi: Survivor is once again being developed by Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment. The studio is working on some other Star Wars titles,...

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Street Fighter 6 debuts a release date and new characters

Capcom

Nestled in the pre-show, ahead of the Game Awards’ regular broadcast, Capcom announced the release date for Street Fighter 6 — coming June 2nd. While the date was formally announced during Geoff Keighley’s Winter E3 extravaganza, the date for SF6 leaked early, appearing on Amazon for pre-order with the official date.

In addition to sharing when players can expect to get their hands on what is possibly the most colorful entry in the seminal fighting game series, Capcom also debuted new characters. In addition to the old boxer Dee Jay, Street Fighter 6 will welcome the tres chic Manon, the stately looking JP, and the fierce muscle woman Marisa.

Described as a fighting game “everyone can play” by game director Takayuki Nakayama, The Verge...

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Ken Levine’s new game is a single-player shooter called Judas

The first title from Ghost Story Games, a new studio led by BioShock creative lead Ken Levine, has finally been revealed. It’s called Judas, and based on the first trailer, it looks an awful lot like, well, BioShock. There’s no release date yet, but Judas is listed as coming to the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and is described as a “single player, narrative first person shooter.”

Here’s the basic story description:

A disintegrating starship. A desperate escape plan. You are the mysterious and troubled Judas. Your only hope for survival is to make or break alliances with your worst enemies. Will you work together to fix what you broke — or will you leave it to burn?

Ghost Story was first announced in 2017, a studio that formed in the...

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Hades is getting a sequel

A screenshot from the first trailer for Hades II_._ | Image: Supergiant Games

Supergiant Games, the makers of Hades and Bastion, revealed their next game at The Game Awards 2022: a direct sequel to Hades called Hades II. This one seems to focus around witches and magic, and the game’s Steam page mentions that it’s “rooted in the Underworld of Greek myth.” You play as a character named Melinoë, the Underworld Princess, which is pretty metal. (She is the sister of Zagreus, the protagonist of the first game, according to Supergiant’s website.)

But a lot of what you might know from Hades looks to be back: the same perspective, similar action-focused gameplay, voiced conversations with a lot of different characters, and Darren Korb’s excellent music were all featured in the trailer.

Image: Supergiant...

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Fortnite VR isn’t happening, says Epic CEO Tim Sweeney

Not pictured: someone playing Fortnite. | Owen Grove / The Verge

If you’re waiting for Fortnite in VR, don’t hold your breath: Epic Games “has no plans” to build it, CEO Tim Sweeney tells The Verge in our new interview. The reason? Sweeney just doesn’t think it’d work well. “The thing that we do in Fortnite every day as gamers is run through an environment rapidly, and it’s the kind of experience that involves intense motion and doesn’t work as well in VR,” he says.

Sweeney also says Epic would be happy to collaborate with a company like Meta on other metaverse projects, though it seems likely that Mark Zuckerberg would disagree about a Fortnite-like game not being suitable for virtual reality. Last year, Meta acquired the developers of Population: One, a game for Oculus that involves a lot of running,...

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Among Us’s hide ‘n seek mode will be out on December 9th

Image: The Game Awards

Among Us’ Hide ‘n Seek mode finally has a release date, and it’s coming really soon. You’ll be able to play the new mode beginning December 9th, developer Innersloth announced at The Game Awards 2022. Innersloth first announced the mode in 2021, and it seems like a delightful new reason to jump back into Among Us if you haven’t played in awhile.

The new update won’t just have Hide ‘n Seek; Innersloth also says it will add new “surprises to survive from,” new cosmetics, the ability to pet your pets, and... screaming? The new additions mean I’ll probably be jumping back in with my friends and family over the holidays.

️ EMERGENCY MEETING ️

our official Hide n Seek mode is coming out extremely soon on all platforms Dec 9 2022

new...

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Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Daniel Kwan has the perfect response to toxic fandom

Acknowledge, empathize, redirect. | Image via Daniel Kwan (Twitter)

Famous people will often stand by — or worse, dogwhistle — as armies of fans wage war on their behalf. Whether you’re a pop star or a tech bro, it’s part of the playbook. But when Everything Everywhere All At Once co-director Daniel Kwan got wind his fans were raging against critics who snubbed the film in Best Movie lists, he decided he wasn’t going to stand for that.

His response is practically pitch-perfect:

The algorithm pushed this onto my timeline, and as one of the people who made the film, this aggression will not stand, man. pic.twitter.com/VQBsZG2Kjr

— Daniel Kwan (@dunkwun) December 8, 2022

Hi, I'm Dan Kwan, one of the directors of EEAAO. I appreciate your love of the film, but maybe next time you can try to cool...

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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney thinks ‘every politician should fear’ Apple’s power

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. | Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Sweeney says he’s willing to go to the Supreme Court to fight Apple’s control of the App Store. But first, he’s hoping Congress will act before it’s too late.

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Windows 11 is finally getting a built-in screen recording tool

The Snipping Tool will get a screen recording feature soon. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is finally bringing a built-in screen recorder to Windows. The Snipping Tool in Windows 11 will soon be updated to include screen recording, meaning Windows users won’t have to rely on the Xbox Game Bar or third-party tools just to record their screens.

Windows 11 testers will start getting access to the updated Snipping Tool today, and the new record option will allow you to record an entire screen or even a section that gets cropped. The update comes more than four years after Microsoft first introduced a new screenshot experience for Windows.

“We know that Snipping Tool is a favorite among the Insider community, so we are very excited to introduce a built-in screen recorder with this update!” explains Dave Grochocki,...

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Xbox Game Pass subscribers will get access to every League of Legends and Valorant character

You’ll be able to play as Sage and every other Valorant agent if you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. | Image: Riot Games

Xbox Game Pass subscribers will soon be able to use every current and future playable character in Riot Games’ League of Legends, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Valorant, Microsoft and Riot announced on Thursday. The perks will be available in League of Legends and Valorant beginning December 12th, and they’re coming to Wild Rift, the mobile version of League, sometime in January.

The two gaming giants originally announced their partnership and the generous unlocks in June. For fans of League, Wild Rift, and Valorant, the perks could be extremely useful; they let you play as every character in the games’ vast rosters (League of Legends offers more than 140 champions!) without spending any additional time or money. And Game Pass...

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Google’s giving Pixel 7 Pro owners more control over macro mode

Getting close and personal is getting easier. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Google’s updating its camera app to give Pixel 7 Pro users more control over its macro mode by adding a toggle that lets them manually turn it off or on instead of having to rely on the auto mode that my colleague Allison Johnson described as “kinda unpredictable.” While the phone can still try to detect if you’re close enough to a subject like it has since launch, it’s nice for there to be an actual menu for those who want finer-grain control.

According to Allison’s testing, the new options live in the settings cog accessible in the top-left corner of the camera’s viewfinder. Google’s added a “macro focus” option that lets you choose between off, auto mode, and on. According to 9to5Google, you were previously only able to temporarily...

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The best Sonos speaker and soundbar deals

The Sonos One SL is on sale in refurbished condition. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Most would agree that Sonos offers some of the best speakers and soundbars currently available. That’s because Sonos makes speakers that — more often than not — boast great sound quality, support for all the major streaming platforms, and simple multi-room functionality. Unfortunately, however, those perks often come at a high price. Sonos products aren’t cheap, and, outside of the occasional rogue discount, they rarely go on sale. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t ways to save at least a few dollars on Sonos gear.

You can often, for example, score discounts on even more Sonos devices if you’re comfortable buying refurbished ones. We also occasionally see sales on Sonos’ collaborative series with Ikea and discounted...

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The latest Motorola Moto G Play is a 4G-only phone for $170

Motorola skipped a 2022 edition of the G Play and is pole-vaulting straight into 2023.

It’s an easy bet that most new phones announced in 2023 will come with 5G, but there’s going to be at least one LTE-only device on shelves next year: the $169 Motorola Moto G Play (2023). It’s the latest edition of Motorola’s budget-tier phone since the 2021 G Play, and it comes with an updated screen and camera array — but nary a 5G band on its spec sheet.

The 2023 Moto G Play sticks with a 6.5-inch LCD screen but increases the refresh rate to 90Hz. It’s still a low-res 720p panel, which is likely to have more of an impact on viewing experience than a slight boost in refresh rate. The main camera gets a meaningful boost to 16 megapixels (up from 13 megapixels) with a brighter f/1.22 lens (compared to f/2.0).

It comes with a MediaTek...

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Microsoft and Activision Blizzard: the latest news on the acquisition

A screenshot from Call of Duty: Warzone, Activision Blizzard’s free-to-play FPS game. | Image: Activision

Everything you need to know about gaming’s biggest acquisition yet

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