10 things to know from Microsoft Ignite 2023: Bing Chat rebrand, custom AI chips, more

The Last of Us Part II is getting remastered for the PS5 with bonus content, and Naughty Dog has now dropped an overview trailer for its biggest addition. ‘No Return' is a roguelite mode that forces players into devastating situations — randomised encounters against swarms of the Infected, Clickers, and more, where each death would take you back to the starting point. There are 12 levels in total, based on memorable locations from the Seattle-set game, all building up to dramatic boss battles. As previously reported, the new version has enhancements for the PS5, including a native 4K output and unlocked framerates for displays with VRR. The Last of Part II Remastered releases January 19.

Microsoft Paint Cocreator, which allows users to create images with the help of generative AI, has finally been made available to the public. It is a Paint Cocreator feature that enables users to create images by giving text prompts to the AI model. The AI image generator feature is accessible to Windows 11 users. Microsoft's AI image generator is powered by OpenAI's DALL-E, enabling users to bring their visions to life with AI-generated images. Microsoft has been utilizing the capabilities of DALL-E for its various other services such as Bing Chatbot, and now, it has been added Microsoft Paint vis Windows 11. It will provide a tremendous boost to users and here know how the generative AI art feature works.

Another of the four playable clans from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been revealed, with Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room showcasing the Banu Haqim.

Xbox Game Pass is adding 12 new titles to its December catalogue, including two day-one releases. The standout here has to be the Remnant franchise — both From the Ashes and its newly launched sequel Remnant II, celebrated for its souls-like shooter experience that pits players against tough-as-nails fantastical monsters, across procedurally-generated levels. Its challenges can also be tackled in co-op, so it's best advised that you check out the sequel because it will have a larger active player base. Another major addition this month is Far Cry 6, setting you against the vibrant tropical island of Yara to topple its ruthless dictator Antón Castillo (Giancarlo Esposito), who is hellbent on using the Viviro, an unstable form of cancer treatment, to restore his land to former glory. It arrives December 14 on Xbox Game Pass.

Another of the four playable clans from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been revealed, with Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room showcasing the Banu Haqim.

Baldur's Gate 3's latest patch is an absolute whopper, coming in at 30GB and including features such as the ability to hide required dice rolls, an alternate Minthara recruitment method, and a whole new epilogue set 6 months after the events of the main campaign. None of that is as important as the discovery we're focusing on here, as someone has discovered that Larian has made legendary community icon Bing Bong canon in Baldur's Gate 3.

IndiGo on Monday said it has started using an AI chatbot that is helping in reducing customer service agents' workload and making booking process more simple with the use of natural language conversations. "The AI bot boasts an impressive 1.7 trillion parameters, allowing it to answer a diverse range of commonly asked questions with ease," the airline said.

Players are still making discoveries in , even though Bethesda’s critically acclaimed RPG is over 12 years old. The action RPG set in the northern region of Tamriel was well-received by critics and players alike due to its immersive storytelling in a huge world filled with secrets in every corner. Although it is outdated regarding technical performance and some mechanics, it is still widely regarded as one of the best games ever made.

The Google antitrust lawsuit, based on filings by Fortnite publisher Epic Games has completed nine days, and in this time we have seen some big revelations being made. Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that the company pays Apple up to 18 billion dollars a year for the default iPhone search position, and Google's partnerships boss Don Harrison said that Spotify pays zero percent when users decide to use Spotify's payment system, and between 6 to 10 percent when it is made through Google's channels. On day nine, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was sworn in for testimony. These were the ten big revelations to come from it.

Pinball M will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on November 30 with The THING Pinball, developer Zen Studios announced.

Doritos have been running gaming promotions for decades now, which has never really made sense to me. Who wants to interrupt a gaming session to cover your fingers in a greasy chilli coating? Why not just take a break and have a meal with cutlery and stuff?

In the last few months, Microsoft has embarked on a mission to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) in its suite of products, ranging from consumer-focused Microsoft Office to Copilot 365 for businesses. At its latest Ignite 2023 conference, the technology giant announced several new AI-based products such as Copilot Studio, and Windows AI Studio, while also renaming Bing Chat to simply Copilot. The company also launched a text-to-speech avatar program called Azure AI Speech which can help create talking avatar videos. It is being rolled out in the public preview. Know all about this new feature.