SPY News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Cyberpunk 2077 fans are waiting on the big expansion release. With the original game launch failing to hit the strides that CD Projekt Red hoped for, the development team didn’t get the ability to spend efforts supporting the game with post-launch content. Instead, a significant focus was put into updates to ensure the game reached the standards expected by the development team and players. Fortunately, the game managed to turn itself around, and now players are getting ready for the one expansion the development team was able to deliver Phantom Liberty.

It’s been nearly three years since CD Projekt Red first launched Cyberpunk 2077 into the world. And amid all the issues and updates, the question has constantly been whether Cyberpunk is back; whether it can right the course of its failed launch and regain ground in the eyes of those who were fervently anticipating it. 

Remember how many dildos were originally in Cyberpunk 2077? You couldn’t loot a corner in Night City without picking one up, to the point where CD Projekt Red actually had to patch a number of them out. Lootable dildos weren’t necessarily a problem on their own, but their abundance was a good example of how Cyberpunk’s grand story could occasionally clash with the cheap shock humor found around it. Phantom Liberty aims to right that dildo misalignment, and after some soul-searching, has seemingly found what kind of Cyberpunk story it wants to tell, and nails it. Balancing the punk-rock verve of Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG with an exquisitely crafted spy story and best-in-class visuals, Phantom Liberty is Cyberpunk 2077 at its best.

Slow Horses rides again. The first look at the third season of the spy thriller is here, courtesy of Apple – and we’ve even got a return date for those eager for a return to Slough House.

It's hardly surprising that after several years fronting the MCU, Chris Evans is enough of a superstar that he can pick and choose the movies he gets involved in. But one of the reasons he turns down certain roles is rather... unusual. 

Chris Evans has no plans to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe anytime soon, but he's definitely not against it.

Nobody likes the idea of being spied on, but the minute you connect to the internet you can kiss your privacy goodbye. It’s not a conspiracy theory: your ISP is watching you. If you want to safeguard yourself from prying eyes eager to sell your data, you need a VPN (Virtual Private Network). It's one of the easiest and most effective ways to browse the internet anonymously.

The superb manga and anime series Spy x Family, which sees undercover agent Loid Forger tasked with forming a faux family for his most difficult peace-keeping mission yet, is finally getting its first PS5 and PS4 game – and despite Bandai Namco being the publisher, it’s not an arena brawler. Developed by Groove Box Japan, Spy x Anya: Operation Memories will instead put you in control of Anya Forger, as you set out to create a photo diary with your new parents.

UP PM Rishi Sunak weighs limiting Chinese officials' participation in AI summit over spying concerns; Gen X and millennials are eager to embrace AI in the workplace; AI-powered fleet management takes aim at greenhouse gas emissions; AI-designed infiniCity reveals challenges in creating virtual urban landscapes- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

As is tradition at this point, if there’s a hit anime out in the world, then someone will decide to make a video game adaptation of it. In this case, the hit series SpyXFamily is getting a video game via SpyxAnya: Operation Memories. Right off the bat, it’s clear this title isn’t so much about the overall series as it is about playing as a specific psychic character. That’s good! As it means it won’t try and shove the plot of the main series down players’ throats but instead give them a more meaningful experience as they play as Anya.

Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Separate Ways DLC - following the adventures of Ada Wong while Leon Kennedy is busy fighting giant fish monsters and escorting presidents' daughters - has been fully revealed, and it’s out soon. Next week, in fact.

Insomniac Games has shared an interesting little tidbit about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2‘s Digital Deluxe Edition exclusive extra suits.

When I think about what's cool in the Dune universe – what really sets it apart from other epic sci-fi – I think of a lot of the same things Shiro Games has chosen to focus on in Dune: Spice Wars. There's the complex galactic politics, the smooth blend of the futuristic and the ancient, and the deadly, sweeping splendor of Arrakis. When I first reviewed it in Early Access, Spice Wars already felt like a reasonably complete RTS. And after a year and a half of additions and refinements, it gleams even brighter.

Resident Evil 4's Separate Ways campaign and Mercenaries mode update are coming to this year's acclaimed Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC remake on 21st September — and the main game's long-awaited VR mode will hit PSVR2 this «winter».

Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 remake will expand next week(?!) with a new add-on, Separate Ways, the publisher confirmed at Sony’s State of Play livestream on Thursday. The expansion — arriving on Sept. 21 — will give players control of the enigmatic spy and secret agent Ada Wong, on a mission that runs parallel with Leon S. Kennedy’s adventure in Resident Evil 4.

New Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty character and story details have been revealed.

Today, CD Projekt Red announced during a special Night City Wire that Cyberpunk 2077's Update 2.0 will go live on September 21, for free, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It also revealed new cinematics, gameplay and music details, and more about Cyberpunk 2077's upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty, which is out September 26. The entire Night City Wire ran for about 40 minutes but fortunately for you, we have everything you need to know about it summarized below. 

Anya Forger, the beloved star of the popular anime Spy x Family, is starring in a new video game, and she’s never looked cuter. Spy x Anya: Operation Memories is a new game from Bandai Namco Entertainment where we get to play as the young telepath. It is scheduled to be released in 2024 and will be coming to Nintendo Switch.

Spy x Family is getting its own video game adaptation, and it looks like a cracking riff on the Persona games.

Phantom Liberty, the first and only major expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, is nearly here. The highly anticipated DLC, which adds new quests, stories, locations, characters, and abilities, will be accompanied by a major update to the base game that adds all-new, highly requested gameplay systems.

Is the Russian government using spyware from Israel’s NSO Group? According to researchers, spyware from the notorious Israeli company has been found on an iPhone belonging to an exiled Russian journalist.

China’s Foreign Ministry is dismissing media reports that say the country has banned iPhone use among its government agencies. 

With the first Patch 10.2 Guardians of the Dream PTR build, the 10.2 campaign is now available for testing. We played through the campaign to bring all the details. This post focuses on Chapter 4 of the campaign, Ice and Fire.

North Korean hackers targeted Russian diplomats and successfully breached a Russian aerospace research institute earlier this year, Microsoft Corp said in a blog post published Thursday.

A Japanese man has been sentenced to two years in prison and fined ¥1 million (around $6,785) after monetising gameplay videos on YouTube.

It's been announced that a YouTuber called Shinobu Yoshida was found guilty of copyright infringement by Sendai District Court earlier this week, with a Stein's Gate: My Darling's Embrace Let's Play series mentioned as one of the main causes.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

Google says state-sponsored North Korean hackers are once again trying to target security researchers, this time with a new zero-day exploit that can spy on a victim’s computer. 

Keeping in touch with the youth today means plugging in with technology. So, it makes sense that the new generation of Spy Kids accidentally unleash a supervillain by playing a video game.

In May this year we reported on the case of 52-year-old Shinobu Yoshida, from Nagoya, Japan, who in what may be a world first was arrested and charged for violating copyright laws, after uploading gameplay clips and other content. The prosecution was led by the Content Overseas Distribution Agency (CODA), which focuses on copyright protection, and Yoshida has now been found guilty.

An incredibly rare 1998 Pikachu Silver Trophy card has just sold for $444,000 in the TCG's second-highest sale of all time. This card was originally the second-place prize in a 1997-'98 Lizardon Mega Battle tournament event. The only card to sell for higher than this is the Pikachu Illustrator which Logan Paul bought for $5.275 million.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here. At the event, we will also announce 25 top game startups as the 2024 Game Changers. Apply or nominate today!

The US Department of Defense plans to deploy thousands of autonomous drones across the globe via land, sea, and air.

In the Pokemon Presents that premiered August 8, the Pokemon Company announced a new animated miniseries set in Paldea entitled Pokemon: Paldean Winds . And now, the first episode of Paldean Winds has been released for free via the official Pokemon channel on YouTube .

Some days that final pair of Connections just can't seem to untangle themselves—not before you've run out of attempts, anyway. Save your game, your nerves, and your stats in an instant with a little look at every single answer for the Wednesday September 6 (87) puzzle, or just give yourself a nudge in the right direction with today's hints if you'd prefer.

With Patch 10.1.7, the Undead Heritage Armor questline is now available to play for Undead players. We played through the questline and bring all the details you might have missed on your playthrough! To start this questline, you must have a lv50 Undead character who is Exalted with Undercity.

Apple Arcade is adding four new games this month including a James Bond title called Cypher 007.

Cypher 007 is a top-down James Bond game coming to Apple Arcade on September 29, publisher Tilting Point has announced.

Based on the alleged 3DMark Time Spy performance, the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT might end up being as fast as the Radeon RX 6800 XT GPU.

A new Mario adventure is on the way, and a special console is arriving just a few weeks prior. A Mario Red Edition of the Nintendo Switch OLED is set to debut on October 6, 2023.

AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 7700 XT GPU is reportedly going to be almost as fast as the Radeon RX 6800 XT in 3DMark Time Spy.

Suspected Chinese hackers targeted Android users by uploading a malicious version of the Signal app to the Google Play Store, according to ESET.

It’s a big week, folks! There’s new fantasy TV on Prime Video, new animated fantasy on Netflix, new wacky animated fantasy on Max, and new ballet school fantasy on Hulu — OK, you get the picture. There’s a lot of fantasy coming this week! Even more if you count One Piece on Netflix (which I only sort of do, but not really).

Fortnite still manages to spice things up even after years of dominating the Battle Royale space, and Chapter 4 Season 4's Last Resort looks to be no different. The vampire Kado Thorne has made the Island his home, and players will need to pilfer back all his ill-gotten gains through heists and other chaotic endeavours. Even better, you can start right now.

Streaming services have everything these days. They don’t really — in fact, the average streaming library is substantially smaller than you think it is — but it can certainly feel like it when you’re wading through lists of shows. These are not decisions to take lightly; committing to a show is inviting it into your home, heart, and head for several hours at least.

Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, is no more. At least, in the eyes of the world at large. But true legends never die… they just get a massive image change, a new career, and a new name. Enter the new dragon: Joryu, a secret agent with a fighting prowess that betrays years of experience on the meanest of streets, packing an extra rocket-powered punch with a bevy of new hi-tech gadgetry in tow.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty has received a new trailer as part of the Gamescom opening ceremonies showing off new elements of CD Projekt RED's dystopian future. 

US officials are warning American space companies of a potential threat from Chinese and Russian intelligence.

U.S. counterintelligence agencies on Friday warned the American space industry to guard against efforts by foreign intelligence entities to steal research and trade secrets as they try to boost their own countries' space programs.

I love the Sith and the Jedi—space magic and laser swords have always been a winning combo. But I've also always wanted a more ground-level look at the Star Wars universe, especially in gaming. For example, the Imperial Agent storyline from BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic works so well precisely because it's more concerned with intergalactic politics and spy thriller nonsense over mystical force mumbo-jumbo.

New York City has banned the TikTok app and no official will be allowed to use it. All the government agencies' personnel will have to remove it within a period of 30 days. TikTok has been facing numerous bans over the past few years due to security reasons and one of the countries that it is banned in is India too. TikTok app has been dubbed a security threat and that has led to a ban being imposed on its use.

What's a government space agency like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration supposed to do if private companies like SpaceX get all the spacefaring glory? One option is to double down on investments in leading-edge advancements that may not pay off for years. Super-fast and maneuverable nuclear-powered rocket engines are one such technology. Last month, NASA, partnering with the Department of Defense, gave Lockheed Martin Corp. nearly $500 million to build and test one by 2027.

If you're anything like me, you've spent approximately 52,000 hours staring at the world map of Skyrim, gaily fast travelling between cities and landmarks. Well guess what? Now you can stare at it for another reason-defying amount of time, but on your actual, physical tabletop, because PC Gamer is teaming up with Modiphius to give away a Skyrim: The Adventure Game set, the board game version of the game you can play on your PC, your console, and your voice assistant.

Bitcoin developer Blockstream Corp. is betting that the world's most valuable cryptocurrency is poised for a massive rebound, and is buying up Bitcoin mining rigs so that it can sell them for a profit later should the prediction hold.

A new release date update has been revealed by writers Phil Lord & Christopher Miller.

Mays has just tricked a large language model. It took some coaxing, but she managed to convince an algorithm to say 9 10 = 21.

Happy August, Polygon readers.

Happy Friday, Polygon readers. This week is an exciting one in new movies to watch at home: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the thrilling sequel to 2018 Oscar-winning smash hit Into the Spider-Verse and one of the best movies of 2023, finally drops digitally and is available to purchase online.

The world of John Wick is returning this fall with The Continental, a prequel TV show that will focus on a young Winston. The future New York hotel manager is played by Ian McShane in the movies, but in the series, Colin Woodell steps in to portray the character. 

About 40 minutes into Netflix’s new spy thriller Heart of Stone, protagonist Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) and her team are attacked in a safe house in Portugal. After a thrilling fight filled with impressive stunt falls and breaking glass, Stone drives an unwieldy van through the narrow cobbled streets of Lisbon, chased by vehicles filled with baddies firing guns at her and her team.

Movie-watchers have taken to Reddit to discuss the most hard-hitting movie lines of all time – and we've narrowed them down to just ten.

With this week's Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7 update, we're getting a little more information on the as of yet untested Night Elf and Forsaken Heritage armor questlines! While the storyline details are still hidden, these new quest step names give us a few hints of what they might entail. These names have all been found listed as achievement criteria, though keep in mind that they are not necessarily comprehensive and everything is subject to change!

Intel's top Alchemist GPU, the Arc A770, has been overclocked to a record-breaking 3.5 GHz clock frequency, making it the fastest on the planet.

Don’t be paralysed by choice this August on Netflix. There may be dozens of new shows and movies coming to the streamer this month, but we’re here to help you zero in on what’s actually worth watching.

Good news, anime fans. You can now watch some of Crunchyroll’s biggest and best shows – free of charge. The anime streaming service has announced that its free ad-supported tier now includes Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Vinland Saga, and more. 

We review Resist!, a solo board game published by 25 Century Games. In Resist!, one player is trying to form a resistance to overthrow the tyrannical government.

If you were in the market for a new Spy Kids movie, you're in luck. Robert Rodriguez is back in the director's chair for Spy Kids: Armageddon, a reboot of his original franchise starring Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Connor Esterson, and Everly Carganilla.

A new generation of Spy Kids is ready to save the world in the first trailer for the new movie, Spy Kids: Armageddon.

New images from the set of Amazon‘s upcoming Fallout TV show have shown off what appears to be the outside of a Vault Tech office.

These days when you hear about a spy film in India, the first thought goes to the Spy Universe that is being created by Yash Raj Films with its series of action films that feature various fictional RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agents taking on dangerous cases. But if you want to see a fresh take on the genre and enjoy some regional content alongside, then you should try out the Telugu-language film Spy, with Nikhil Siddhartha and Iswarya Menon in leading roles. The film is already out on streaming platforms, and if you want to make your Saturday more fun, then you need to know where to watch the Spy OTT release.

The Secret Invasion finale has been and gone. If you thought it didn’t have an impact on the wider Marvel story, however, you’re very much mistaken. The sixth and final episode of the spy thriller has cemented a new hero as one of the most hilariously overpowered forces in the MCU.

The founder of one of Russia's most prominent cybersecurity companies has been convicted of treason by a Russian court and will spend the next 14 years in jail.

If you own an AMD chip built with the Zen 2 architecture, be on the lookout for an important patch in the coming months. A security researcher discovered a flaw in AMD’s CPUs that can be exploited to steal passwords and encryption keys from a PC. 

AMD Zen 2 platform has reportedly been vulnerable to a new "Zenbleed" bug, contributing to large-scale data theft and several potential attacks.

Taylor Sheridan’s TV empire conjures up the image of a man on the vast plains of the West, knocking back a (domestic) beer and grunting ’murica with a mixture of admiration and sadness, before turning his eyes back to a weathered copy of one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s celebrated novels. Taylor Sheridan knows America better than you do: its might and its majesty, its joy and sorrow, who it celebrates, and most importantly, who it does not.

With another weekend comes another batch of new streaming recommendations to see you through from Friday movie night to a lazy Sunday afternoon on the sofa. If a Barbenheimer double bill isn't on the cards for you and you'd prefer to grab some popcorn at home, you can choose between new sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone, starring John Boyega, or deep sea diving documentary The Deepest Breath, both on Netflix. Meanwhile, Babylon, starring Margot Robbie, is now on Sky Cinema in the UK. 

AMD might be bringing out the big guns for this GPU generation’s battle with Nvidia. Benchmark and pricing leaks have arrived for AMD‘s upcoming Navi 32 graphics cards, the Radeon RX 7700 and RX 7800, and the details gleaned about the former are especially exciting.

Today was another eventful day in the artificial intelligence space as thousands of authors have written an open letter requesting tech companies working with AI to pay them for their copyrighted material that is allegedly being used to train AI models. In other news, British spies are reportedly using AI to disrupt the weapons supply to Russia, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. And for those interested in country music, the long-dead iconic American singer-songwriter, Johnny Cash was just brought to life by AI. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.