Forza Horizon 5‘s PS Store page has gone live following yesterday’s announcement of the game’s PS5 port. However, the page doesn’t yet confirm if the racer will come with PS5 Pro enhancements or not. That said, players can wish list Forza Horizon 5, which will launch on the PS5 in Spring 2025.
Forza Horizon 5 PS5 announcement took some by surprise despite being rumored
“Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits!” reads Forza Horizon 5’s PS Store page, which still feels a bit surreal. “Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars.”
Forza Horizon 5’s PS5 launch has been rumored for months, but many still saw it as a tentpole Xbox franchise that’s unlikely to make the jump to a rival platform. That all changed yesterday when Playground Games announced the upcoming port on the franchise’s website.
Over on the Xbox subreddit, the news hasn’t gone down well with some. “What’s the point of a next generation if all Xbox games are now going to other platforms?” quizzed one user. “Xbox is giving up just when they got good cards,” another opined.
It’s early 2025, the weather’s still cold, so it must be time for Samsung to kick off the year’s flagship smartphone race with its latest barrage of devices. This time, we’ve got three S25 phones, ranging from the $800 S25 through to the $1,300 S25 Ultra.
Let’s start with the flagship, the S25 Ultra. This year, Samsung has honed the design of the slate to closer match the rest of its family, while adding a substantially upgraded ultrawide camera sensor. There’s also a powerful 3nm Snapdragon Elite for Galaxy added, a collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm that augments its computational photography skills and more. (Not to mention incredible battery life.)
And you know what? It’s another great phone, capable of going toe-to-toe with the iPhones and Pixels of this world. However, it also looks very similar to last year’s model, which makes the S25 Ultra a less impressive update, given its price.
Then there’s the Galaxy S25 — priced the same as the last few S-series base models. I spent over a week with it, and much of its hardware remains the same, with incremental improvements to the camera, courtesy of behind-the-scenes processing, and that incredible battery life. And it’s Samsung, so it was always going to be a solid premium phone with a gorgeous screen. But if you were thinking of upgrading from an S24 (or S23, even S22), it’s a hard pitch.
Even if it didn’t name the Chinese startup explicitly.
The big story this week is around DeepSeek AI: the open-source chatbot that reportedly requires far less computing power than competitors and was developed on a (relative) shoestring budget.
It subsequently put stocks related to AI, like NVIDIA, into a tailspin, although they have somewhat recovered. DeepSeek’s had brief success, even stimulating a response from President Trump.
Now, ChatGPT maker OpenAI says Chinese startups are cribbing the models of US AI companies. It claims rivals are persistently trying to copy the technology of existing AI companies, adding that OpenAI and its partner Microsoft have been banning accounts suspected of “distilling” its models.
The company didn’t explicitly mention DeepSeek in its statement, but… yeah. Also, let’s not forget: OpenAI admitted last year that getting its AI models up to speed was impossible without dipping its toes into copyrighted materials.
How does it feel, having your hard work repurposed and regurgitated? I couldn’t possibly relate.
Offering the biggest reason yet to install a retail store’s app, CVS says it will let select users, without needing staff, to shop for items typically locked away in its stores. If you haven’t been to a CVS, many items are locked up to prevent theft (and antagonize everyone). The feature is only available to loyalty program members and in a handful of unnamed stores. It was being trialed in just three stores but will be expanded to 10 to 15 stores. (There are over 9,000 CVS locations in the US.)
By the headline alone, this sounds terrible, but you should read Devindra’s takedown in full. So many questions: Why the name? Why even make Incention? Who wants this? Does it smell like a blockchain-scented Quibi? Yes, yes it does.
What is the best Galaxy phone under $500? Are refurb iPads worth it? My Roomba stole my girlfriend, please advise. We’re bringing back Ask Engadget, with an entirely new email address: askmat@engadget.com. Aside from spamming free trials of apps and streaming services, let’s put it to use.
Ask me something!
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A much-welcome God of War Ragnarok update will go live today, January 30, as the game joins PS Plus and sheds mandatory PSN sign-in on PC. Starting today, the Transmog feature — which allows players to edit appearance — will be available from the beginning of the game. Previously, players were required to upgrade gear to level 9 to unlock Transmog.
God of War Ragnarok January 30, 2025 update patch notes
In addition to making Transmog accessible to all players from the start, Santa Monica Studio is changing the way players can access Armor of the Black Bear set. Previously, the items required a New Game+ run.
Once the God of War Ragnarok update is live, PS4 and PS5 players can access Armor of the Black Bear set via the first available Lost Items chest regardless of their Save data status and progress. The reward includes:
Cloak of the Black Bear (Chest)
Wraps of the Black Bear (Wrist)
Belt of the Black Bear (Waist)
PC players can also snag the set, but it’s a bonus for signing into a PSN account. Those who don’t want to sign in will need a New Game+ save to access the items like they currently do.
As an incentive to get players to use PSN on PC, Santa Monica Studio is offering an additional reward in form of a resource bundle that includes 500 Hacksilver and 250 XP. This reward is only for PC players who use PSN.
Sony has rolled out PS4 system software update 12.02, the patch notes for which are brief but pretty telling. The update seems to be patching exploits that allow users to jailbreak or mod the console. The PS4 has already been jailbroken, but the exploit only works on older console firmware.
PS4 system software update 12.02 patch notes (January 30, 2025)
“We’ve made some security fixes to the system software,” the official changelog reads. This is the same wording Sony has previously used when plugging vulnerabilities. The last time we checked, current PS4 jailbreak only works up until firmware version 11.00.
Although Sony is starting to wind down support for PS4, don’t expect the company to give up on the security patches. Up until a year ago, we were still getting security patches for the PS3, which Sony has otherwise abandoned. Considering that the PS4 still has a pretty massive community and equally massive library of games, it’s unlikely that Sony will give up battling hackers.
At the time of this writing, players haven’t noticed any other discreet changes brought by PS4 update 12.02. However, we’ll keep an eye on the community and if any discoveries are made, we’ll share them with our readers.
The latest update Apple rolled out for the iPhone allows T-Mobile customers — a select few, for now — to be able to send text messages even in locations where they have no coverage. iOS 18.3 adds support for SpaceX and T-Mobile's direct-to-cell satellite service, which is currently being trialed after the companies opened signups for beta testing in December. As Bloomberg notes, the service used to be only compatible with certain Android phones, including Samsung models like the Z Fold and S24 along with select devices running Android 15. Meanwhile, Apple already has a partnership with Globalstar that provides users with texting capabilities when they're out of coverage.
Users who've signed up to participate in the fledgling service's beta trials have reportedly started receiving texts. "You can now stay connected with texting via satellite from virtually anywhere," the message reads, according to Bloomberg. And for iPhone users, it asks them to "update to iOS 18.3" to "start experiencing coverage beyond." Once they do download the update, they'll see a toggle in their cellular data settings to activate the capability.
At the moment, the direct-to-cell service only offers text messaging. If a beta tester finds themselves in rural areas and other locations that typically don't have coverage, they'll be able to use Starlink's satellite network to send a text. In the future, the plan is to add voice and data connectivity to give people more options in far-flung locations.
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Lucid's newly launched Gravity SUV will be able to access Tesla's Supercharger network across the US and Canada starting on January 31. And since the electric vehicle comes with a built-in port that supports the North American Charging Standard (NACS), it doesn't need an adapter to be able to plug into Tesla's Superchargers. The automaker says Gravity became the first non-Tesla model to be sold with a NACS charging port when its first production models were delivered to an initial batch of customers in December 2024. At the moment, only the more expensive $94,900 Grand Touring model is available for purchase, but the company plans to release the $79,900 Touring model sometime in late 2025.
Emad Dlala, VP of Powertrain at Lucid, said the automaker developed a "new, unique technology" to ensure the Gravity's full compatibility with chargers rated at 500V and 1,000V. To be exact, the Lucid Gravity has a 926V charging architecture, so charging times will differ based on the charging station it's plugged into. Dlala said that the technology the company developed allows the Gravity to "charge seamlessly at up to 400 kW on 1000V charging equipment and at sustained speeds of up to 225 kW on 500V architecture fast chargers, including Tesla V3 Superchargers."
Lucid pledged to support the North American Charging Standard back in 2023 and vowed to give its customers access to an adapter for its vehicles. The company said that the Lucid Air, its electric sedan that doesn't currently come with built-in NACS ports, will also gain access to Tesla's Supercharger network sometime this second quarter.
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Obsessed with throwing money and resources at AI in any way they can, the likes of OpenAI, NVIDIA, Google and Amazon all just got a surprise.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek is suddenly the top-rated free app on Apple’s App Store in the US and elsewhere, beating more familiar names, like ChatGPT. The open-source DeepSeek V3 model reportedly requires far less computing power than its competitors and, depending on who you believe, was developed for under $6 million. Shocks all around — especially for OpenAI and all the billions it has floating around.
Focusing on coding and research, DeepSeek’s models are similar to other AI assistants you’ve heard of. Its first DeepSeek-R1 release is available under an MIT license, so it can be used commercially without restrictions.
How does it compare with the far pricier US rivals now China is unable to import the most powerful AI chips? Well, to start with, DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng reportedly stockpiled NVIDIA A100 chips before the US export ban and is pairing those with less powerful chips from China. An MIT Review report also suggests the side effect of the US sanctions are innovations that focus on efficiency and collaboration.
All the attention and a small financial market wobble has put DeepSeek in the crosshairs for “large-scale malicious attacks.” Those cyberattacks mean new user registration may be slow, so if you’re intrigued, you’ll have to wait to check it out.
Device leaker Majin Bu shared on X what they claim is the new iPhone SE 4. As proof, they posted a video of the device from all angles and four photos of both a black and a white model from the back. With a single camera (gasp!) and a smaller-seeming body to current iPhones, the big twist is the return to a notch. At this point, all iPhones available from Apple’s store (aside from the iPhone 14) have a Dynamic Island cutout instead of the notch.
Traditionally, the SE series has a throwback hardware design, so this would make sense. And hey, the Pixel 8a needs some competition. While the dummy phones leaked look convincing, Majin Bu has missed with some of their predictions and leaks in the past. So pinch of salt, and all that.
As X continued to walk the plank, Bluesky experienced explosive growth last year. That meant a big ramp up in its moderation efforts. Bluesky said user numbers jumped from 2.9 million users to nearly 26 million. Its moderators received 17 times the number of user reports in 2023 — 6.48 million in 2024 compared to 358,000 the previous year. The bulk of these reports were regarding “harassment, trolling or intolerance,” spam and misleading content (including impersonation and misinformation). Moderators took down 66,308 accounts in 2024, while its automated systems took down 35,842 spam and bot profiles.
Independent book stores can now get a cut of the ebook market. Today, Bookshop.org announced the addition of ebooks to its website. As it does with physical books, the online retailer prompts shoppers to designate a local book store at checkout, then sends part of the purchase price to that store. Since it started selling physical volumes in 2020, Bookshop.org has funneled more than $35 million to indie booksellers.
During a recent chat, CEO Andy Hunter told me hundreds of stores have credited Bookshop.org with their ability to stay in business through the shutdowns caused by the pandemic. Now through the added ebook sales, those stores will have one more revenue stream — and shoppers will have another way to support neighborhood stores. "It's not a good business strategy to say, 'Come to us for your books, but when you need an ebook, go to Amazon'" he said.
The site will offer more than three million ebooks from every major publisher and the entire profit from the sale will go to the customer's chosen store. If a user doesn't designate a store, profits will partly channel into a pool for all participating bookstores and the rest will return to Bookshop.org. The company will also make money from publisher ads on its website. Because ebook prices are set by the publisher, titles will cost the same as they do from Amazon, Kobo, Google Books or elsewhere.
In addition to the new category, Bookshop.org is also introducing a new reader app for iOS and Android devices today. Through the app, readers can explore curated lists of books, search the ebook catalog, read previews and add books to their wishlist. You'll still need to head to Bookshop.org on a browser to make purchases — just as you do with other ebook sellers so they can avoid Apple and Google's steep in-app billing commissions. (Though, on tangental note, Bookshop.org's website now accepts Google and Apple Pay.)
Reading books on the app should feel familiar to anyone who's used a tablet or smartphone ereader app, offering highlights, annotations, type and font adjustments and text searches. In addition to swipeable pages, you can also set the text to a vertical endless scroll mode, an option I haven't seen in other ereader apps.
Bookshop.org
Probably the most intriguing feature is Quote Sharing. As I was talking with Hunter, he pointed out that when people share quotes from books on social media, it's often via a typed-out quote alongside a picture snapped of the physical page or the cover of the book. If you want to read that book, you're going to have to put in a little work to find it and buy it.
With Quote Sharing in the Bookshop.org app or browser reader, up to 300 characters of text can be highlighted and shared on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky or anywhere else you can share regular weblinks. The generated link creates a formatted post with the quote, along with the book cover image. Anyone who clicks the link will be taken to a webpage with the quote in context, above a button to buy the book. Hunter says the goal is to "make conversations around books feel like a native part of the social web."
As someone who is invested in ereaders, I asked whether Bookshop.org ebooks would be readable on Kindles or Kobos. Hunter told me his company is already working on compatibility with Kobo devices and has also been in talks with Amazon to potentially allow Kindles to display titles purchased from Bookshop.org. Integration with Kobo could come as early as this year; Amazon cooperation will likely take longer.
Another forthcoming feature allows indie booksellers to sell ebooks directly from the bookstore's own website using Bookshop.org's tech. That partnership won't be available at launch but should go live in spring of 2025.
Hunter told me a story from the initial investor phase from the print-only iteration of Bookshop.org. When potential investors learned he couldn't beat Amazon on price or speed, he was laughed out of the room. They assumed no one would be willing to pay more or wait longer for a book, no matter how worthy they thought independent bookstores might be.
Five-plus years later, not only were those investors proven wrong — the company's continued existence suggests at least some people can spare a few extra bucks and some patience to support bookstores — now with ebooks, Bookshop.org can indeed match Amazon on both price and speed, since even the largest e-retailer can't discount ebooks and delivery is instantaneous no matter where you buy from.
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A number of EA games including the Battlefield and FIFA/EA Sports FC franchises have gone offline due to servers crashing. Reports of players not being able to connect to EA Online started trickling in several hours ago on Sunday morning, with most of the complaints coming from Battlefield players.
EA Online servers down: Which games are affected?
I first noticed the issue when I tried logging into Battlefield V (great game, by the way, and super cheap in the latest PS Store sale). I was met with a message telling me that I “failed to connect to EA Online.” Having searched the web, it appears that all Battlefield games including Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 2042 are being hit with the same message at the time of this writing.
According to some reports, FIFA/EA Sports FC games are also experiencing issues with online connectivity. I haven’t spotted any reports of connectivity issues with Apex Legends or EA’s other sports franchises yet. However, if you’re unable to connect to EA’s servers all of a sudden, rest assured it’s not your internet connection that’s the problem.
It’s unfortunate that servers went down on a Sunday morning. EA has yet to acknowledge the issue, and there’s no ETA for a fix. We’ll update this article when EA Online is actually online again.
Following a report by NPR that said the Trump administration is working on a deal with Oracle and other investors to take over TikTok in the US, Trump has denied any talks with Oracle but says he has “spoken to many people about TikTok” and may make a decision in the next month, according to Reuters. Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office on Monday that delays the enforcement of the TikTok ban by 75 days, giving the app’s parent company ByteDance more time to figure out a deal that would allow it to continue US operations.
NPR, citing sources “with direct knowledge of the talks,” originally reported that Oracle met with White House officials on Friday to discuss a deal in which Oracle and other American investors would end up with a majority stake in TikTok and oversee things like data collection. Microsoft has also been involved with the talks, according to NPR. “The goal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok,” an unnamed source told NPR. “ByteDance wouldn't completely go away, but it would minimize Chinese ownership.”
When asked about a potential deal with Oracle by reporters during an Air Force One flight Saturday night, though, Trump said, per Reuters, “No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days.”
Prior to the ban going into effect on January 19, ByteDance pushed back against the idea of selling TikTok to appease US lawmakers. But it changed its tune on Sunday after Trump stepped in to temporarily bring the app back online, issuing a statement on TikTok’s X account saying that the company “will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
It came a few hours after Trump wrote in a Truth Social post during the short-lived TikTok blackout that he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.” Still, his exact plan remains unclear. According to one of the sources that spoke with NPR, “Nobody seems to know what he means with the 50 percent equity comments.”
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There was no shortage of things for us to have opinions on this week. First, we shared our picks for the games we most want to see make their way to the Nintendo Switch 2. We also shared our impressions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows after some recent hands-on time with the game, and look ahead to what seems to be a…
A new Resident Evil reboot from Barbarian writer and director Zach Cregger is in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The publication reports that Cregger is on board to write and direct the movie, which will be produced by Constantin Film and PlayStation Productions, with Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4 ) as co-writer. I’m probably not the only one questioning whether we really need another Resident Evil movie after half a dozen titles in the Milla Jovovich-led series and 2021’s Welcome to Raccoon City, but as someone who loved Barbarian, I can’t say I’m not intrigued.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, “Cregger’s take is described by sources as a revamp that will take the title to its horror roots and be more faithful to the initial games.” There aren’t any details about the upcoming movie beyond that, but Warner Bros., Netflix and two other studios are reportedly in a bidding war for it.
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This week’s hodgepodge of gaming tips, helpful info, and other stuff kicks off with a look at the best deals in Steam’s first big sale of the year. We also have a look at Xbox Game Pass’s strong assortment of new additions to close out the month, a recommendation for the best way to learn Disney Lorcana, and some…
Marvel Snap was one of the unexpected casualties of the TikTok shutdown that briefly went into effect last weekend, and as a way of making things right with users, its developers at Second Dinner are now offering huge rewards packages to everyone directly and indirectly affected. As detailed in an article on X, US users will get the most substantial compensation, but even players outside the country will get a “Global Gratitude Package” for dealing with the disruptions. Second Dinner was able to bring Marvel Snap back online earlier this week, and it expects the app to be restored in the Google Play Store and App Store in the coming days.
In addition to the bonuses, Second Dinner said it’s “working to bring more services in-house and partner with a new publisher” to prevent this type of scenario from arising again. Marvel Snap’s current publisher, Nuverse, has ties to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is what got it swept up in the ban. “This is the beginning of a new era in MARVEL SNAP,” Second Dinner said in the post. The bonus packages will be issued to users “sometime next week.”
The “US Downtime Package” for users who have reached Collection Level 500 or over includes 2 Spotlight Keys; 5000 Season Pass XP; 4150 Credits; 6200 Collector’s Tokens; 1000 Gold; 5 Gold Conquest Ticket; 3 Infinite Conquest Ticket; 4000 Conquest Medals; 1 Mystery Variant; 6 Premium Mystery Variants; 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare); 3 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); and 155 x5 Random Boosters. For those under Collection Level 500, it’ll be 6 Mystery Series 3 Cards; 5000 Season Pass XP; 7150 Credits; 1000 Gold; 1 Mystery Variant; 6 Premium Mystery Variant; 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare); 3 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); and 155 x5 Random Boosters
Users outside of the US and over Collection Level 500 will get 2 Spotlight Keys; 3000 Collector’s Tokens; 1500 Credits; 1 Mystery Variant; 1 Premium Mystery Variant; 1 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare); and 155 x3 Random Boosters. Those under Collection Level 500 will get 6 Mystery Series 3 Cards; 3000 Credits; 1 Mystery Variant; 1 Premium Mystery Variant; 1 Cosmic Gold Border (Super Rare); 1 Cosmic Red Border (Super Rare) and 155 x3 Random Boosters.
Importantly, Second Dinner also notes, “A players’ usage of a VPN will not affect their eligibility. This includes players from outside the US VPN-ing into the US to try and receive the ‘US Downtime Package.’”
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This week, Microsoft held its Xbox Developer Direct which showcased four pretty promising-looking games coming out throughout the year ahead. Also, after a period of controversy surrounding his seeming lack of knowledge and skill at Path of Exile 2 in a livestream, Elon Musk admitted that he hadn’t actually leveled up…
Half of the fun of watching Severance is figuring out Severance. What exactly is Lumon making on the Severed Floor? Where do Innies go when they die? Why the fuck are there goats? But the latest episode, ominously entitled “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” reveals that one of the characters we’ve been following has a secret…
It feels like CES again with a slew of tech news this week! In this episode, Devindra dives into his final thoughts on NVIDIA's $2,000 GeForce RTX 5090, a super-powered video card with a healthy dose of AI. Senior Reporter Sam Rutherford also joins to explain everything Samsung launched at its Galaxy S25 Unpacked event. And of course, we'll chat about some of the technology industry and policy changes from the new Trump administration. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for our chat with YouTube GM Jack Greenberg about some new features headed to YouTube Premium.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
Players would be forgiven for overlooking the PS Store Demos section, which is sadly flooded with shovelware — something we’ve shouted into the void about before. But every now and then, those not on the PS Plus Premium tier have the opportunity to try some gems out, and while we can’t replicate that feeling of popping a demo disc into the PS2, here are a few demos that caught our attention.
PS Store Demos: What’s in store in January 2025
Do note that the demos below are just our picks. If you’re willing to wade through the shovelware, there are a lot more in there, like Slitterhead and AI Limit. Without further ado, we encourage our readers to check these demos out:
The Thaumaturge: This is an intriguing RPG set in early 20th-century, featuring some historical figures like Rasputin. Players step into the role of one Wiktor Szulski, who has the ability to read people’s hearts and minds. However, this power comes with consequences.
Evotinction: If you’ve been following PlayStation’s China Hero Project, you might remember Evotinction — a sci-fi stealth game funded by Sony back in 2019. If pure stealth is your thing, this game is worth checking out to see what Thomas Liu, an AI development lead, can do to stop a virus from spreading.
Empire of the Ants: Real-time strategy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s not every day that players get to be an ant leading the development of its colony and conquering enemy nests. What’s more is that Empire of the Ants is PS5 Pro enhanced, so give it a shot. It’s free!
Do our readers have any demo recommendations for us? Share them below.
Sony has added another game to the growing list of third-party PS Plus Premium classics with trophies. The latest addition is LucasArts’ 2009 PS2 game, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, which comes with a trophy set each for PS5 and PS4.
Many publishers on board with trophies for PS Plus classics, but some disappoint
When Sony said that it was leaving trophy support up to publishers for third-party games, we weren’t expecting surprise retroactive patches to add the feature later on. The last retroactive trophy update rolled out in September 2024 for the TimeSplitter series.
Fans have welcomed trophy support for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, but the inclusion of the game itself in this month’s Premium lineup hasn’t exactly been well-received. Staff of Kings earned average reviews when it first released, and has several versions. Fans are puzzled by Sony’s choice here.
“You can tell it was basically Wii Shovelware converted into a PS2 game,” wrote one user on PSNProfiles. “Think yourself lucky it wasn’t the Wii version because that one is borderline unplayable,” a player responded. “I’m just grateful that we’re getting older games with trophy support,” wrote another.
We’ve got to agree that it’s nice to receive trophy support at least. Now if only we could get Bandai Namco Entertainment and Capcom on board…
The Switch 2 might not be a radical reinvention of what came before, but Nintendo’s new hardware does sport some unique quirks, distinguishing it from the original handheld hybrid that arrived back in 2017. One of these features is the bigger Joy-Con controllers which now connect to the screen via magnetic…
Ahead of the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in March, the organization behind the event released its latest annual survey of creators on the state of the industry. The feedback showed that gaming has been rocked by layoffs over the last 12 months, but also pointed to some silver linings for its growth and future…
PS Plus Premium / Deluxe classic Resident Evil Director’s Cut has received a stealth update to add a better version of the game. As reported by players in regions that were stuck with the inferior PAL version, the classic now has an option to switch regions, which allows us to play the NTSC version available in the Americas.
Sony continues to add region switching option to PS Plus classic games
As we explained when the issue first cropped up in 2022, PAL versions of classic games run slower and at lower frame rates than their NTSC counterparts, leading to players in certain regions having a poor experience. Sony pledged to roll out NTSC options where possible, and did make good on its promise.
Resident Evil Director’s Cut is the latest to receive a patch, as pointed out by Reddit user the_andshrew.
Those who are not PS Plus Premium members and were waiting for the NTSC update to drop can go ahead and make a standalone purchase from the PS Store. As a reminder, if you previously bought the game on classic consoles including PS3, PSP, or Vita, you’re entitled to a free upgrade where available. Make sure to check the game’s PS Store page while logged in, and you’ll automatically be notified if the game is available to download free of cost or not.
January 2025’s PS Plus Extra and Premium games lineup has gone live, and one of its best new entries has free DLC that players need to claim separately from the PS Store. New players would be forgiven for not realizing it, but God of War Ragnarok‘s Valhalla add-on is a separate download, access to which requires the base game.
How to claim God of War Ragnarok’s free Valhalla DLC via PS Plus
Valhalla is available for both the PS4 and PS5 versions of God of War Ragnarok. Simply head over to the PS Store and add your choice of version to your library once you claim the base game from PS Plus Extra.
Players are advised to beat God of War Ragnarok before accessing the DLC because it may spoil the game for you. However, Valhalla — which serves as an epilogue — can be accessed at any point during the campaign.
“Kratos enters Valhalla, a new location to the God of War Norse saga,” reads an official description. “Faced with echoes of his past, he fights to overcome the trials within himself and walk the path laid out before him.”
19 years ago, High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel. The film became a global phenomenon, and is the shining artifact of the Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOM) golden age.
A new report claims that another major PlayStation live service game in development at an external studio has been canceled. The game is none other than the Horizon MMO that was reportedly in development at Korean studio NCsoft. It was one of two Horizon-based live service games greenlit by Sony.
PlayStation’s Horizon MMO might be dead, but another live service game survives
Internet sleuths on ResetEra discovered a Korean news report which claims that a number of NCSoft games, including one “Project H” was canceled towards the end of 2024. Project H has long been rumored to be code named the ‘Skyline Project’ that previous job listings and employee resumes all but confirmed was the Horizon MMO.
NCSoft is reeling from multiple cancellations, with co-chairman Kim Taek-jin quoted as saying, “Let’s create a 2025 where we work to the bone with the idea that if we don’t turn around in 2025, there will be no future for NC again,” according to Korean website mk.co.kr.
There’s one other Horizon multiplayer game in development at PlayStation Studios, which is seemingly safe for now. But one can’t help but wonder what possessed Sony to greenlight not one, but two Horizon live service projects. Absolute overkill.
We’ll update our readers when we have more information.
For decades, politically minded action movies often involve the President of the United States (fictional ones, usually). While most POTUSes need to be rescued from evil terrorists or rivals, there are times when the Big Cheese takes matters into their own hands. You don’t get to win the Electoral College without…
Following last week’s developments, fans have been compiling a list of recent PlayStation acquisitions and canceled games, which paints a pretty grim picture of Sony’s internal studios and lineup. Much has been said about Microsoft’s acquisiton of Zenimax/Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, but it’s clear that PlayStation Studios division needs to get its house in order as well… and fast.
What recent PlayStation acquisitions and canceled games tell us
Let’s talk about the canceled games first. It has been confirmed that Sony tasked several first-party teams with over a dozen live service games, out of which we’ve only seen one major hit (not counting the popular MLB: The Show games): Helldivers 2. Others have either been canceled or are in progress.
Canceled games include God of War live service title, Twisted Metal live service game, a Bend Studio multiplayer game that leaks indicated was sci-fi, The Last of Us multiplayer, Spider-Man multiplayer, a live service game from Deviation that was allegedly canned before Deviation was unceremoniously shut down, Bungie’s canceled game code named Payback, a fantasy live service game from London Studios, and last but not least, Concord.
We have yet to see project Gummy Bears (formerly a Bungie game) and Horizon multiplayer. Meanwhile, Fairgame$ and Marathon have been announced and are still in development.
Going through this list (thanks to Redditor amans9191), it feels like PlayStation’s suffering an identity crisis of some sort. It’s clear that the company is trying to leverage popular IP, but it seemingly has no clue how to go about it, or where to stop.
Of the above, the established franchises gained popularity as single-player games, and Sony seems to think that brand recognition alone will be enough to sell bits and pieces of them as games-as-a-service.
But that’s not all. Over the weekend, a ResetEra user compiled a list of recent PlayStation acquisitions, out of which only two seem to have bore fruit: Housemarque and Nixxes Software. Bluepoint Games’ future is uncertain after its God of War live service game was canceled, Firesprite has yet to make its mark, and Haven is working on Fairgame$ which, frankly, we’re all worried about at this point.
Meanwhile, Firewalk had to be shuttered after the Concord disaster, Bungie’s left a huge financial dent in PlayStation with nothing to show thus far, mobile studio Neon Koi was shut down without releasing a single game for Sony, and Valkyrie Entertainment is just another support studio like Nixxes.
Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki was right. PlayStation does have a spending problem, and its profitability remains a concern. While the PS5 generation has received blockbusters like God of War Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2, it has arguably seen Sony’s most lackluster first-party output.
Like I said, PlayStation needs to get its house in order, preferably before the PS6.
Two reliable leakers have provided PS6 development updates, one of which is that its system on a chip (SoC) is design complete. According to known AMD leaker Kepler_L2, the design is already in testing phase, with the first complete, functional chip ready to be fabricated and tested later this year.
Sony confirmed PS6 partnership with AMD in rare update
Kepler_L2 further claimed (thanks, Reddit) that PS6’s GPU is a fork of AMD gfx13, now known as UDNA (formerly RDNA 5). They also suggested that PS6 might be targeting a late 2027 release, considering that the usual time between A0 tapeout (which is the functional chip testing reportedly set for late 2025) and console release is about two years.
Elsewhere, a reliable Chinese leaker (via VideoCardz, Reddit) — who goes as Zhang — claimed that the aforementioned UDNA’s architecture will utilize TSMC’s (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited) N3E process technology. AMD will reportedly use high-end flagship graphics chips for next-gen UDNA.
Sony hasn’t officially begun talking about the PS6 yet, but has confirmed its partnership with AMD. In a recent technical presentation, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny revealed that the company is working with AMD on tech improvements as part of a project code named Amethyst.
“AMD has been a fantastic partner for SIE for many years now, and I’m honored to announce that we have begun a deeper collaboration with a focus on Machine Learning-based technology for graphics and gameplay,” Cerny said back in December.
This week, we share some of our own thoughts on the reveal of the Switch 2, as well as look at reactions from across the internet. We also talk about a serious problem impacting the Pokémon TCG, consider the suggestion that GTA 6 should cost $80+, and go hands-on with the upcoming Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in…
“Amistad.” “Blood Diamond.” “In America.” All major blockbuster films starring Djimon Hounsou that earned him widespread awards recognition and critical acclaim. Yet, in a recent interview, the actor revealed he still has difficulty making ends meet as a working artist.
The week’s top story is easily the fact that our long wait for a first look at the Switch 2 is finally over. Nintendo finally showed off the device (and what seems to be a new Mario Kart) in a sleek new trailer, and though we’ll seemingly have to wait until early April to get much in the way of concrete details,…
Sony Interactive Entertainment has apparently canceled at least eight (that we’ve heard of) PlayStation Studios games in recent years, which has left a big question mark over its first-party output. These games — all of which were live service titles — were meant to aid PlayStation’s single-player output, but it’s increasingly looking like Sony’s tentpole slate won’t take shape until the PS6 generation.
What’s going on with PlayStation Studios single-player games?
When Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier reported Bend Studio and Bluepoint project cancellations last night, a fellow journalist asked if PlayStation’s tentpole lineup for the next few years was as bad as it seems right now. Schreier didn’t deny the suggestion, and instead lent credence to it by saying that the company’s attempt at making 12 (yes, 12) live service games hurt its overall output.
Is PlayStation’s tentpole slate for the next several years as dire as it appears right now?
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that Sony doesn’t have first-party blockbusters lined up. At least one of them — Ghost of Yotei — is scheduled for this year. We also expect Insomniac’s Wolverine within the next two years even though a release date has not been announced.
But two games aren’t enough, and we’re fast approaching the PS6. We don’t know when Santa Monica Studio’s next project will be revealed let alone released, there’s no release window for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and Sony has confirmed that it still hasn’t determined what’s next for Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, so we can rule out seeing anything from them in this generation.
We do expect smaller PS5 exclusives here and there, but following recent developments, things just aren’t looking good for PlayStation Studios.
After a more than two-year investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Elon Musk over his delayed disclosure of the Twitter stock he amassed before announcing his intention to acquire the company in 2022.
In a court filing, the SEC says that Musk filed paperwork with the SEC disclosing his purchase of Twitter shares 11 days after an SEC-mandated deadline to do so. (Federal law, as the SEC notes in its statement, requires investors to publicly report when they have acquired a more than 5 percent stake in a company.) This delay, according to the regulator, allowed Musk to buy up even more Twitter stock at a time when other investors were unaware of his involvement with the company.
During the period that Musk was required to publicly disclose his beneficial ownership but had failed to do so, he spent more than $500 million purchasing additional shares of Twitter common stock. Because Musk failed to timely disclose his beneficial ownership, he was able to make these purchases from the unsuspecting public at artificially low prices, which did not yet reflect the undisclosed material information of Musk’s beneficial ownership of more than five percent of Twitter common stock and investment purpose. In total, Musk underpaid Twitter investors by more than $150 million for his purchases of Twitter common stock during this period. Investors who sold Twitter common stock during this period did so at artificially low prices and thus suffered substantial economic harm.
The regulator has been investigating Musk for years, and has long been at odds with the owner of X. At one point, the SEC accused Musk of attempting to stall and use “gamesmanship” to delay its investigation into his investment in Twitter. Last month, Musk shared a copy of a letter addressed to SEC Chair Gary Gensler in which Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, accused the regulator of “six years of harassment” targeting Musk. The letter indicated that Musk refused a settlement offer from the SEC related to its Twitter investigation.
Musk also faced a class action lawsuit from other Twitter investors and an FTC probe related to the delayed disclosure. However, as The New York Timesnotes, it’s unclear if the SEC’s latest action will amount to much, as Gensler is expected to step down following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to The Times, Spiro called the SEC’s action a “a single-count ticky-tack complaint," calling it “an admission by the S.E.C. that they cannot bring an actual case."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/0aToc2q
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A crafty high-schooler was able to do something I didn’t think was possible: They got Doom running inside a PDF file. Seriously. And weirdly, it works better than you might expect!
A Sony-funded upcoming game, which the company will also be publishing, has apparently dropped PSN account requirement on PC. The game is none other than Final Fantasy inspired PlayStation China Hero project by Ultizero Games, Lost Soul Aside, which is set to release on the PS5 and PC simultaneously.
Sony possibly making exceptions when it comes to PSN requirement on PC
As spotted by TwistedVoxel, the SteamDB entry for Lost Soul Aside shows that Sony “removed 3rd-Party Account – PlayStation Network” requirement back in December. PlayStation LifeStyle can confirm that at the time of this writing, the change appears in Lost Soul Aside’s changelog.
To be clear, Sony doesn’t classify games like Lost Soul Aside and Helldivers 2 as third-party titles since they’re fully funded and published by PlayStation. Sony picked up Ultizero’s game as part of PlayStation China Hero program nearly a decade ago, and it’s a PS5 console exclusive.
With the above in mind, there are two things to note here: 1. This change signals that Sony is prepared to make exceptions in some cases. 2. Seeing Black Myth: Wukong‘s unprecedented success in its homeland China and beyond, which also helped push up PS5 hardware and software sales, Sony possibly doesn’t want to limit Lost Soul Aside’s reach.
Games that require PSN aren’t available for purchase in countries where the network isn’t officially supported. Dropping PSN requirement ensures that Lost Soul Aside is available worldwide.
