Apple Announces 2023 App Store Award Finalists, Featuring Duolingo, Honkai: Star Rail and More

Ubisoft has announced that The Crew Motorfest is partnering with motorsports brand Hoonigan for Season Two.

The patch notes for Cyberpunk 2077’s massive Update 2.1 are now available before it goes live tomorrow, detailing other changes coming to Night City alongside the new metro system, motorcycles, Radioport and more. Check out the trailer below for a quick overview of the major new features.

The end of the year is looming, but TV isn’t slowing down a bit. This week we have all sorts of offerings to pad out the doldrums of this long dark we’re in (curse you, daylight savings time). If you’re looking for something more exciting, there’s Culprits, a heist murder mystery, or Blood Coast, a new crime thriller from Netflix. Or maybe you prefer the cozier comforts of Mr. Monk’s Last Case — the TV movie that, if the title is to be believed, will be the final farewell for the beloved Tony Shalhoub character.

Video game cookbooks have emerged as something of a minor phenomeon in recent years, and the mix of gaming with everyday cooking recipes has become more common than one might expect. From consuming a 'Nuka Burger' in the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Fallout to the flavors of intergalactic travel in Destiny -- there's a cookbook for that.

Cyberpunk 2077’s 2.0 update was supposed to be the last major addition to the game. But now CD Projekt Red is adding Update 2.1 to Cyberpunk, with some features that fans have been asking for since the game was first released. 

Turns out CD Projekt has even more plans for Cyberpunk beyond its 2.0 update and Phantom Liberty earlier this year. During a stream detailing the update with developers Paweł Sasko and Monika Janowska, the team at CD Projekt revealed Cyberpunk will be getting a 2.1 update soon that will add a fully functional metro, radioport, replayable car races, boss fight improvements, accessibility features, and more. The updated will be available December 5 (the same day Rockstar is launching the trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto), which will also mark the release of Cyberpunk 2077's Ultimate Edition.

Apple has announced the winners of the 2023 App Store Awards, listing the 14 best apps and games across different categories. Fitness-focussed hiking and biking app AllTrails has emerged as the best app on iPhone this year, while miHoYo's latest RPG gacha title Honkai: Star Rail has been named as the iPhone Game of the Year. Other winners include machine learning-powered editing app Photomator, souls-like action RPG Lies of P, and curated film streaming platform Mubi. Last month, Apple had announced a list of 40 finalists, based on their technical and creative achievements, for its annual App Store Awards.

I would say Lies of P is one of the games that came out this year that surprised a lot of people. A Soulsborne game inspired by Carlo Collodi's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, it managed to surprise a lot of people with its great setting, surprisingly fun combat, and challenge, which is something that we have come to expect from the genre it is based on. The game received generally positive reviews across the board, and now, Apple has awarded it with the Mac Game of the Year award during its 2023 App Store Awards.

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The world has been given a tiny glimpse into the uber-secretive world of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North thanks to a fascinating new blog from former technical director Obbe Vermeij, who, in just a few short weeks, has shed light on the studio's cancelled spy game Agent, discussed a zombie game abandoned by the company after it was deemed to be too «depressing», and more.

New World has expanded the PTR test for the upcoming Season 3 update, Eternal Frost. The test now includes additional narrative content, events, and some fixes.

A new Lords of the Fallen update is now live on PC and consoles, introducing multiple tweaks, Naninte, and performance improvements.