Controversial Chinese Game Gets Positive Response on PS5

A controversial Chinese interactive game is finally out on the PS Store, where it has received a positive response from PS5 players. Revenge On Gold Diggers caused widespread controversy in China when it was originally released in 2025, prompting social media backlash and international news coverage.

PS5 interactive game Revenge On Gold Diggers gets PS Store green light despite controversy

Revenge on Gold Diggers is an FMV in which the player, a male who has been hurt by “gold diggers,” seeks revenge against “a ruthless gold digger ring.” The game received backlash on Chinese social media due to perceived sexist content and objectification of women.

Revenge On Gold Diggers attracted the attention of international media, like the BBC, and its developer was reportedly banned from Chinese social media platforms. The title was subsequently changed to “Anti Romance Scam Simulator” in China, but the English version retains the original title and, surprisingly, got the green light from Sony to launch on the PS Store.

Despite all the hoopla, Revenge On Gold Diggers earned a very positive response from players on Steam and became one of the best-selling games in the world. On the PS Store, it boasts a rating of 5/5 stars based on 50 (and counting) verified votes.

Revenge On Gold Diggers costs $14.99 on the PS5 and is available in the PS Plus Premium cloud streaming library.

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Apple's controversial Fitness VP Jay Blahnik is retiring

Jay Blahnik, who served as Apple’s Fitness chief for almost 13 years, has announced that he’s retiring this July. According to The New York Times, Blahnik told employees in an email that he was leaving “to spend time with his family and make an exciting move to New York City.” Blahnik is retiring less than a year after The Times reported on allegations that he was "verbally abusive, manipulative and inappropriate” towards his employees, creating a toxic workplace environment.

Approximately 10 out of the 100 employees under his leadership had reportedly sought extended leaves of absence for mental health concerns since 2022. One employee had sued him and Apple, accusing him of bullying her, and the case will go to trial in 2027. Apple had also allegedly settled a complaint by another employee, accusing him of sexual harassment. The company had conducted an internal investigation after employees reported him, The Times said, and found no evidence of wrongdoing from his side. Employees told the publication that they felt Apple was more concerned with protecting the image of a notable executive than addressing their issues.

Blahnik oversaw the company’s Fitness+ subscription service during his time with the company. Prior to that, he helped create Apple Watch’s fitness features and was also known for creating Apple’s famous activity rings.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/lTIQKh8

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Meta is testing an Instagram Plus subscription service with exclusive features

Meta is testing a new subscription service for Instagram that offers users "exclusive" features like the ability to post Stories for longer than 24 hours. Screenshots promoting "Instagram Plus" have been spotted by users in the Philippines and Mexico in recent days. 

According to screenshots shared by social media consultant Matt Navarra, a subscription to Instagram Plus comes with a number of Story-focused features not otherwise available to Instagram users. This includes the ability to create multiple "audiences" for Stories posts, see info about who has rewatched your Story, search the list of people who have viewed your Story, preview Stories posts, extend Stories longer than 24 hours and create  "spotlight" Stories. It also mentions something called “super hearts” for reacting to Stories.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the test to Engadget, saying that Instagram Plus is currently available in “a few countries,” but didn’t say which. A dedicated help page on Meta's website says that this feature is not available to everyone right now.”  The spokesperson confirmed the feature list shown below, and added that “preview” would allow people to see some of another user’s Story without “showing up as a viewer” and that Stories posts could be extended for an additional 24 hours. “Our hope from these tests is to understand what’s most valuable to people in a premium feature set,” the spokesperson said.

A list of features that come with Instagram Plus subscriptions.

Threads

It seems that early versions of the service are priced fairly cheaply, with the prices in the Philippines landing at 65 PHP (about $1.07 in USD) a month and in Mexico at $39 MXN (about $2.15 in USD) a month. Meta is also offering prospective users a free one-month trial of the service.

The idea seems to be closely modeled after Snapchat+, which also offers bonus features to the app's power users. Launched in 2022, the service has racked up more millions of subscribers and has become a significant driver of non-advertising revenue for the company.

Now, Meta is looking to boost its subscription revenue too. The company said earlier this year it would test new types of subscriptions, including those focused on AI features. Elsewhere, Meta has also been pushing its Meta Verified subscriptions more aggressively. Over the last several weeks, I've repeatedly seen promotions for discounted Meta Verified plans with an initial one-month trial starting at $1 (the cheapest Meta Verified plans typically start at $14.99/month). The company has also recently tested link-sharing features in Instagram captions for subscribers and limits on link-sharing on Facebook for non-subscribers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/tXsmfDJ

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Hit 2024 PS5 Adventure Game 60% Off on PS Store, Lowest Price

A fan-favorite 2024 PS5 adventure game is 60% off on the PS Store in a limited-time deal that ends next week. Polychroma Games’ Until Then is at its lowest price on the platform, where players have awarded it a rating of 4.87/5 stars based on nearly 4,000 verified votes.

Fantastic adventure game Until Then is under $10 in limited-time PS Store deal

PS5 players can grab Until Then for just $7.99 until April 9. After this date, it’ll cost you $19.99.

Until Then doesn’t require PS Plus to play, but Premium members can access a full game trial and cloud stream the title. Progress from the trial (including trophies) carries over to the game.

Until Then is a narrative adventure. Players step into the shoes of high school student Mark Borja, who lives alone in the Philippines while his players work abroad.

“In a world still recovering from catastrophe, Mark Borja and his friends navigate the joys and woes of another year of high school,” an official overview reads. “A fateful meeting sets off a chain reaction, upending Mark’s life. People disappear, and memories prove unreliable. Uncover a hidden truth with Mark and his friends in this narrative adventure and race to unravel the mystery before it’s too late.”

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Popular PS5, PS4 Multiplayer Game Shutting Down After 10 Years

The Library Bar in Rec Room by SolidNicorasu

A popular 2016 multiplayer game is unexpectedly shutting down soon on all platforms, including the PS5 and PS4. Rec Room is a free multiplayer social hub of sorts where players from all over the world build and play games together. The game boasts millions of player-created “rooms,” like “The Library Bar” pictured above by creator SolidNicorasu.

PS5, PS4 game Rec Room shutting down as its dev couldn’t make it profitable

Over the past decade, Rec Room reached over 150 million players worldwide. But despite its popularity, developer Rec Room Inc. was never able to make a profit.

“We never quite figured out how to make Rec Room a sustainably profitable business,” the studio said in a candid post announcing the shutdown. “Our costs always ended up overwhelming the revenue we brought in. We spent a long time trying to find a way to make the numbers work, but with the recent shift in the VR market, along with broader headwinds in gaming, the path to profitability has gotten tough enough that we’ve made the difficult decision to shut things down.”

Rec Room will close its doors on June 1, 2026, at noon PST. The game, which doesn’t have any trophies, will no longer be playable after this date.

As of today, new accounts cannot be created, and existing Rec Room+ memberships will be extended until the aforementioned closure date.

Those who want to preserve their creations and data are advised to read the announcement in full, as it contains an FAQ covering all the questions players may have.

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Disney’s AI Olaf Falls Down Dead In Front Of A Crowd Of Children

It might be the greatest moment ever captured on video

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Sophie Turner Injury Halts Tomb Raider TV Series Production

Filming has stopped from anywhere between two weeks and forever, depending on who you believe

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