Department News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

The Discount Dealer is one of RoboCop: Rogue City’s early side quests, and as with most of RoboCop’s adventures, you can unlock a much different ending by finding the clues in Maurice’s apartment.

Apple’s latest 3nm family of Mac chipsets include the M3, M3 Pro, and the M3 Max, and based on various performance tests and leaks, two of them are considered iterative updates over their direct predecessors, while one of them is viewed as a worthy upgrade. In a new report, the base SoC and the M3 Pro are largely criticized as they do not bring anything noteworthy.

Redmi is gearing up to introduce its latest smartphone, the Redmi 13C, to global markets. With an initial leak surfacing via a hands-on video, the brand has now officially unveiled the device online, hinting at an imminent launch. Xiaomi recently shared a teaser on X, proclaiming, "The Redmi 13C is coming, and it's bringing more colours, a fresh style, enhanced performance, a larger and smoother screen, along with cameras that promise greater precision and clarity!" In addition to this revelation, images of the Redmi 13C's front and back panels were revealed, Gizmochina reported.

BlizzCon has brought big news for World of Warcraft fans as the MMO prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year; Blizzard's announced not only its next expansion, The War Within, but the two coming after that, all forming chapters in the newly revealed Worldsoul Saga.

One of the most amusing subcultures to spring up around Baldur’s Gate 3just got some bad news. I’m talking about the “sex%” speedrunning community, which has been competing to see who can get laid fastest in Larian’s thirsty role-playing epic.

In the wake of a messy launch for Cities: Skylines 2, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen has published a new blog post addressing the game's issues and detailing some of the fixes that are now in the works.

Sony has officially revealed the lineup of PlayStation Plus games for November 2023, showing subscribers just what they'll be able to access in the coming weeks. Each month adds three games available across all tiers of the service, although this always means the prior rotation will no longer be downloadable once the window switches over. The October 2023 games were and, all of which need to be added to a user's library by November 6 in order to keep them accessible in the future.

It almost feels like it came out of nowhere, but the best entry in the RoboCop franchise since the original film is here.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday called for urgent action to protect the public and democracy from the dangers posed by artificial intelligence, announcing a series of initiatives to address safety concerns about the technology.

Bungie CEO Pete Parsons reportedly told employees at the studio that recent job cuts were the result of waning interest in Destiny 2.

Intel is cutting it fine with Meteor Lake. But it looks like it will just—just—make its self-imposed schedule for pushing its new 4nm CPU out the door before the end of the year. The new Core Ultra, the CPU formerly known as Meteor Lake, will be launched on December 14th during an event Intel is calling «AI Everywhere» and that will also big up Intel's AI prowess «across the data center, the cloud and the edge». Huzzah!

If you like to make or download mods for games like Resident Evil or Monster Hunter, it seems that Capcom doesn’t share your enthusiasm. In fact, when it comes to anti-cheat and anti-piracy measures, Capcom seems to believe mods should be “defined as cheats.”

Varun Thvar wants to educate people about how they can get treatment for insomnia. That isn’t news, but Thvar is a 16-year-old student who has a unique approach to the problem: video games.

In a year with a massive roster of truly epic games to play, I still haven’t forgotten one of my favorites, Remnant 2 – a soulslike looter shooter with procedurally generated levels that I’ve easily put more than 100 hours into at this point. And as luck would have it, there’s more of that sweet multiversal goodness on the way with The Awakened King, a DLC that will add a sizable chunk of fresh content and plenty of reasons to grab some friends and jump back into the fray. In a hands-off demo of the expansion, I saw some tasty items, weapons, enemies, and, of course, bosses, and I already can’t wait to revisit one of my most beloved games of 2023.

Microsoft’s plans for Xbox Game Pass in November are full of treats, but there’s always a bit of a nasty trick, as games leave the subscription service’s library. On 15th November, there’s a batch of games that will be departing, so what are they?

Vice President Kamala Harris, in a speech in London, will lay out the burgeoning risks related to artificial intelligence, calling for international cooperation and stricter standards to protect consumers from the technology.

Google executives downplayed the company's artificial intelligence position during testimony at a landmark federal antitrust trial, saying the Alphabet Inc. company has tried to be slow and cautious because of the dangerous power of the technology.

In an internal town hall meeting addressing a Monday round of layoffs that impacted multiple departments, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons allegedly told remaining employees that the company had kept “the right people” to continue work on Destiny 2.

Microsoft’s plans for Xbox Game Pass in November are full of treats, but there’s always a bit of a nasty trick, as games leave the subscription service’s library. On 15th November, there’s a batch of games that will be departing, so what are they?

Hey, gamers! Wanna feel old? What if I told you that the classic LucasArts title Grim Fandango just turned 25? Time is indeed marching on unabated. However, to offer some small comfort, you can now get the game’s soundtrack on LP.

Bungie has reportedly cut ties with Michael Salvatori, the veteran composer who has worked with the studio for over 25 years, amid a round of layoffs at the studio.

Alphabet Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai sought to portray Google's position as the dominant internet search engine as constantly challenged by the whims of rivals such as Apple Inc., as he took the witness stand Monday to defend his company against the US government's antitrust charges. 

A Russian-speaking hacking group obtained access to the email addresses of about 632,000 US federal employees at the departments of Defense and Justice as part of the sprawling MOVEit hack last summer, according to a report on the wide-ranging attack obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Researchers at the University of Maryland say they've found a way for EVs to store more energy, therefore increasing their range, without a corresponding increase in fire risk.

Let’s be honest, Kingdom Hearts 4 isn’t coming anytime soon. So fans of the series may want to look elsewhere to get their fix of the Disney-verse. Luckily, with closed beta recruiting beginning today, Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link may not be all that far away.

With a new executive order, the Biden administration plans to reach deep into the non-legislative compartments of its policy toolbox to manage the risks of increasingly powerful AI systems while also promoting their development.

The Finals is the hottest new FPS in town, but cheaters are overshadowing its big moment.

A recruiting drive at FromSoftware suggests a major expansion of the Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne developer is underway.

FromSoftware is reportedly gearing up for a large recruitment spree in anticipation of several upcoming projects.

Some people sing the praises of "visceral" games. Others extol the virtues of "immersive" games. Me, I'm increasingly drawn to "perverse" games. No, not like that. Well, not entirely like that. I mean "perverse" more straightforwardly as in deliberately awkward and unreceptive in their core design, almost self-defeating in a way that has you saying "WTF?" and hankering to know more.

Google executive Prabhakar Raghavan on Thursday detailed challenges the search and advertising giant faces from smaller rivals, describing efforts to avoid becoming "the next road kill."

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has a lot of movie suits, lifting them from Spider-Verse, Sam Raimi's trilogy, the Amazing duo, and the MCU, but for whatever reason, they don't have colour palettes like all the others. However, one fan has come up with a neat suggestion for how that could be remedied.

President Joe Biden will sign a wide-ranging, comprehensive executive order that governs federal agencies' use of artificial intelligence, according to a draft copy obtained by Bloomberg Government, marking his most significant step to date to address the emerging technology's risks.

China has stepped up spending to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives as Washington tightens curbs on high-tech exports to its rival, according to government tenders, research documents and four people familiar with the matter.

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Monday requiring AI tools complete security testing before federal agencies use them, according to a draft copy of the order obtained by Bloomberg Government, his most significant step to date to rein in the emerging technology.

Stanford University said on Friday that it is investigating a cybersecurity incident that struck its Department of Public Safety.

It's common knowledge that Google pays Apple to be the default search engine on Apple devices, but the exact amount has been the subject of much debate. Typical guesses are north of $10 billion, but two sources tell The New York Times that the bill was "around $18 billion" in 2021.

Occult NPCs have always been around in The Sims, with new packs introducing more to the game. While some of those NPCs have limited interactions, surprisingly, many can be romanced in The Sims 4.

LG C3 OLED | 65-inch | 4K | Smart TV | 120Hz | $2496.99 $1596.99 at B&H (save $873)

GM-owned Cruise is halting all self-driving car operations after California’s DMV suspended the company’s state permit to operate the vehicles, citing them as a risk to public safety. 

Xbox has changed its leadership structure, announcing the promotion of four executives and one departure.

PlayStation's head of internal game production Connie Booth has departed Sony after more than three decades, the company has now confirmed.

Microsoft has announced they are doing a major shakeup to management in their gaming divisions.

AMD RDNA 3 APUs will be getting "Cycles Renderer" support in the upcoming version of Blender, bringing more creation power to notebook owners.

Microsoft has announced a reorganisation of its Xbox leadership team, bringing closer integration with Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax.

In 2021, Quentin Tarantino defended his intention to make “just” 10 movies and retire, saying, “I know film history, and from here on in, directors do not get better.” That view of both artistry and film is squarely at odds with Martin Scorsese’s historic body of work. Scorsese had already made his 10th feature-length narrative film by 1986. He is now 80 years old, and his 27th, Killers of the Flower Moon, is a strong argument that directors are still capable of groundbreaking greatness late in life — and in Scorsese’s case, continued exhilarating experimentation and discovery.

Nvidia Corp. and a Google venture fund have joined a seed round of funding for a startup that helps developers squeeze more computing power out of specialized processors used to train AI, potentially alleviating a major logjam for the burgeoning field.

Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth won’t start players back at level 1. Still, they won’t have all of their powers & gear from FF7 Remake either.

Media Molecule, the PlayStation Studios developer best known for its work on LittleBigPlanet and the PS4 game creation title, Dreams, has confirmed that the roles of staff within “certain departments of the studio” have been put at risk. It stated that starting this process was a “difficult decision”. 

Xbox management paid a visit to Blizzard’s offices in Irvine California this week.

The Biden-Harris administration announced the first series of tech hubs that are getting funded as part of the CHIPS and Science Act signed into law last summer.

California’s DMV is suspending Cruise’s permit to test self-driving cars in the state over concerns the vehicles pose a risk to public safety. 

Media Molecule, the developer behind Sackboy, is apparently planning to lay off dozens of staff members and reduce its headcount by around 15 to 20%. As reported by GLHF, Media Molecule will be laying off roughly 20 employees to make its headcount from 135 to 115 which has already been discussed internally through meetings.

Earlier today, rumors of layoffs at Media Molecule for 15-20% of the staff were first reported on Sports Illustrated. This afternoon, the Guildford-based studio owned by Sony admitted that the layoffs are real in a message shared on Twitter (X).

Japan's anti-trust watchdog said Monday it is investigating whether Google violated rules by asking smartphone manufacturers for preferential treatment.

Connie Booth, current SVP of PlayStation's internal production team, is reportedly no longer working at Sony Interactive Entertainment. News of her departure was revealed by God of War designer David Jaffe, who claimed Booth's 27-year tenure at the developer was over. 

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will feature what is likely the most well-known event of the original, and of JRPGs in general, and it sounds like it will be surprising even for those who played the original.

ScaleAI aims to be America's AI arms dealer in race against China; AI to personalise sports betting by bringing Netflix-like experience to wagers; Wikipedia's citation woes may be solved by AI, study suggests; Insurers turn to AI to assess cognitive decline in aging drivers- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

In a recent case of online fraud, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken action against a man from Ahmedabad who swindled a US citizen by pretending to be a senior executive from a big company's fraud department. It is alleged that Ramavat Shaishav used fake identities to deceive the victim to part with their cryptocurrency.

He may have departed from Square Enix a time ago, but that hasn't stopped Hironobu Sakaguchi from actively participating in the series that he created and continues to flourish in his absence. The father of Final Fantasy hasbeen playing its 14th instalment for almost two whole years, and he isn't afraid to admit the absolute death grip the critically-acclaimed MMO has on him.

In the wake of Chandrayaan-3's resounding success, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is poised for a monumental leap toward launching a crewed spacecraft in the highly anticipated Gaganyaan mission. Tomorrow, at 8 AM IST, the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission 1 (TV-D1) will embark on its journey from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, marking a pivotal milestone in India's space exploration endeavors.But what is it all about? what is Gaganyaan Mission purpose?

Adrian Hon announced he'll be leaving mobile developer Six to Start in early 2024. 

Update: Six to Start founder Adrian Hon confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that the departures are the consequences of a wave of redundancies and "contract terminations/non-renewal."

Google pays as much as $10 billion per year to ensure that users access the internet through its search engine — payments that have blocked startups and fellow tech giants Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. from competing, according to the US Justice Department.

Since its debut, Game Pass has been seen by some as a double edged sword for developers, since they can easily offer their new title to a larger audience of players that may not have checked it out otherwise, but those players may not go on to purchase the full product even after the game departs from the subscription service’s library, leading to less overall game sales.

Ubisoft has reorganized its North American studios around a single core location: Montreal, Canada. 

The Sims 4 is a cozy game with light supernatural elements, meaning we’re not in the game for the scares. Even so, there’s something to be said for ghosts in the previous installments of the games, who acted like… well, ghosts. In The Sims 4, however, ghosts feel a bit more like irritating, slightly transparent neighbors than they do departed spirits.

Poncle has unveiled the latest update for the seminal auto-aggro game Vampire Survivors for the holiday season. It’s the Whiteout update, also known as update 1.7.0, a festive little addition that will get you into the holiday spirit if you haven’t accepted it into your heart already.

Is your freelance IT worker actually a North Korean operative? 

This article contains mild spoilers for Loki season 2, episode 2. If you've yet to tune in, and don't want to know anything that happens, turn back now!

Ubisoft has revealed multiple job openings for their Toronto studio, including some specifically for Splinter Cell Remake.

The US has blocked Nvidia from selling the GeForce RTX 4090 PC graphics card to China as part of an export ban intended to thwart the country from securing cutting-edge AI chips. 

Slay the Spire developer Mega Crit has released Dancing Duelists, a free new deck builder created during a three-week game jam as it explored the Godot engine after the recent Unity controversy.

The CEO and co-founder of Roblox Corporation, David Baszucki, has announced to employees that many remote staff members will soon be required to work in the company’s office three days a week, and they’ll be paid severance if they can’t relocate.

The US Department of Commerce has announced new export restrictions on a range of Nvidia GPUs, with the focus primarily on preventing shipments to China. Predictably, the list of chips acquiring export-contraband status include Nvidia AI-optimized hardware. But a gaming GPU has made the list for the first time, too. Yup, no more GeForce RTX 4090 cards for China.

Roblox is set to move back to working in-office, according to an update shared with employees.

Here is the datamined class and tier tuning for Patch 10.2 PTR Build 51790.

A subset of taxpayers will be able to kick Intuit and its ilk to the curb and instead file their 2023 federal taxes online at no charge via a new Direct File option the Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday.