Infinity Nikki is my favorite new release of 2024. It's a cotton candy confection of an open-world game that offers a lot more depth and variety than I expected to find. I enjoy the fabulous wardrobe, the low-key puzzles and the charming side quests. But the most surprising thing about Infinity Nikki was something that I've been ignoring in games for years: the photo mode.

I didn't expect this to become a highlight of the Infinity Nikki experience. In fact, when it came up in the long sequence of tutorials during my first session, my initial reaction was, "Oh good, something I can forget about."

Anna Washenko / Infold Games

Photo mode has become a standard feature in single-player AAA games over the past decade. For those unfamiliar, this feature pauses the gameplay to let you pose your protagonist like an action figure, making them mug with a silly expression or hold up a peace sign. You can slap on a filter or make minute adjustments to the focus, aperture and other details to capture a striking image.

Over the years, I've seen people capture Nathan Drake, Ellie and Joel, Aloy and many others striking heroic or hilarious poses. I appreciate those images when they cross my social feeds. And as game graphics become ever more photo-realistic, it makes sense that studios want to give players tools to capture beautiful moments when they happen. But every time I've played a game with a photo mode, I've found that after I take the one picture required by the tutorial, I never open the camera again.

Anna Washenko / Infold Games

My issue isn't that these games aren't gorgeous enough to warrant documenting. It's that when I'm in the middle of playing something like The Last of Us, it doesn't occur to me to stop for a snap because I'm so focused on the other gameplay mechanics and goals. Sure, there might be some calmer moments to breathe, but running for your life in a post-apocalyptic wasteland just isn't a time for casually browsing filters. And in other games, taking pics simply doesn't feel like an activity the character would do. Come on, there's no way Kratos would ever take a selfie.

Like all its predecessors, Infinity Nikki is a beautiful game. Miraland comprises picturesque towns and charming landscapes, equally lovely in their sweeping vistas and hidden nooks. Everywhere you look are tons of carefully constructed little interactions that serve no purpose other than encouraging you to stage a cute image. You press a button to take a hot air balloon ride or to blow bubbles at a cafe table. It's a step up from most implementations, where the most you might be able to do is sit on a chair or bench.

Anna Washenko / Infold Games

What fully hooked me on becoming a shutterbug, though, is a system where players are prompted to take pictures of notable locations around Miraland. The first time I found one, it was a lush green grotto where I directed Nikki to sit on a log by an underground lake. It was a pretty spot, sure, but what most delighted me was that my outfit matched the setting perfectly. So I didn't just grab a photo and move on to a more important task. Taking the time to look great is the most important task.

There's no single style point of view in Infinity Nikki. A few special ensembles offer contextual in-game abilities, but most pieces are there just so you can look exactly how you want. Nikki can be an absurd anime character from fantasy land in tulle and sparkles. Or she can look exactly like someone you might see streaming the game on Twitch or TikTok in an oversized hoodie. Or she can pair a top hat with jean shorts and thigh-high knit boots if you want. (And yes, I did want.)

Anna Washenko / Infold Games

This game knows you're there at least partly to play dress-up. It also knows that the obvious thing to do when you play dress-up is to immortalize your best fits with a photo shoot. That's why Infinity Nikki's photo mode feels not just enjoyable, but essential. It's a core part of the game loop. When I assemble a new outfit, I want to find a good setting to snap a pic. When I stumble on a striking location, I think about which poses will best showcase it.

Most of the time, cameras and photo modes do little to enhance my love of a game. They're the metaphorical cherry on top of the sundae. With Infinity Nikki, though, the photo mode is the ice cream. And it is delicious.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/in-infinity-nikki-photo-mode-achieves-its-ultimate-form-133033817.html?src=rss

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© Anna Washenko / Infold Games

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reached a settlement with Amazon about alleged hazardous workplace conditions at ten of the tech giant's facilities. Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon will pay a penalty of $145,000 and must implement "corporate-wide ergonomic measures" to reduce the risk of worker injuries. OSHA will also continue inspecting the facilities for the next two years. On the government side of the agreement, OSHA is withdrawing nine of its ten ergonomic citations against the company.

Ergonomic injuries are also known as musculoskeletal disorders. These can include sprains and strains experienced on the job.

A rep from the Department of Labor told ABC News that this settlement is the "largest of its kind" and "will resolve all outstanding ergonomic litigation" against Amazon. However, it will not impact a separate investigation into Amazon allegedly concealing workplace injuries that is currently underway at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Amazon has denied those charges.

Amazon's workforce also made news this week as strikes began at multiple facilities in California, Georgia, Illinois and New York. Members of the Teamsters union organized the effort, with several union chapters voting yesterday to take action against the company. The Teamsters had called on Amazon to negotiate around working conditions, wages and benefits, asking the company to agree to bargaining dates for a contract by December 15. Local journalists from Hell Gate captured footage of the first day of strikes in Queens, NY, showing a peaceful picket line being broken by local police, who reportedly erected barricades to allow contractors to enter and leave the Amazon distribution center.

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed," Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement from the organization. "We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-to-pay-osha-145000-in-workplace-safety-settlement-230933629.html?src=rss

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© REUTERS / Reuters

It's here! The Steam Winter Sale is underway now and runs through January 2. That leaves you plenty of time to internally debate whether you really need to buy yet more games and ultimately convince yourself that yes, in fact, you do.

Several notable titles from the Summer Sale are once again seeing similar discounts this season. Baldur's Gate 3 is 20 percent off and you can buy it for $48. At $27, Cyberpunk 2077 is half off and Elden Ring is $36, which is 40 percent off.

If you've already had your fill of Elden Ring, you can save 40 percent on a different Souls-like. Lies of P takes the familiar gameplay in a dark retelling of the Pinocchio fairy tale and you can grab it for $36. There's also a 60 percent discount on No Man's Sky, which is still getting regular content patches; soar into infinite space for $24. Another great deal is for the original Cities: Skylines, which is a calmer and more stable experience than the game's troubled sequel has been. The simulator is 70 percent off, costing just $9.

Steam sales are always a great time to fill up on indie hits. We here at Engadget are bonkers for Balatro, which you can save a dollar on at only ten percent off, but there are many steeper sales to explore. Feline-focused Stray is $18, or you can play a more sinister critter in Cult of the Lamb for under $13. For $14, you can fish and roll sushi to your heart's content in the quirky Dave the Diver. Slay the Spire is just over $6 and the perennial favorite Stardew Valley is down to $8.

A bunch of classic titles are up to 90 percent off. Stellar first-person shooter Titanfall 2 is a mere $3. Go nuclear in Fallout 4 for $8. The trio of games in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition can all be yours for $5. Divinity Original Sin, the sprawling RPG that helped prove Larian Studios was the right team to make Baldur's Gate 3, is $4.

That's just scratching the surface of what's included in this season's Steam sale. Take a look over your wishlist and see what else you might want to buy. Happy holidays!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/tis-the-season-for-the-steam-winter-sale-to-take-all-your-money-202852825.html?src=rss

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© Steam

Paramount Pictures is hoping to spin-dash to success for a fourth time. The studio has confirmed that it is working on Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and is targeting a theatrical release of spring 2027 for the movie. No details have leaked about the plot, but it's likely that the project will see actors Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey reprising their roles as Sonic and Dr. Robotnik.

The recent film adaptations of Sega's famous game franchise have become a consistent hit for Paramount. The first film secured the biggest opening weekend in history for a video game movie, only to be dethroned in 2022 by its own sequel. Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which adds Keanu Reeves to the already star-studded cast of the series, releases tomorrow. Variety is currently projecting the third entry to fall short of the financial bar set by Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but anything could happen. The movies have also received a television spin-off on Paramount+ due to air next spring. The show will delve into the backstory of Sonic's echidna ally Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-movie-confirmed-by-paramount-190234137.html?src=rss

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© Paramount Pictures

Rivian vehicles now offer more entertainment options with the adoption of Google Cast in the company's cars. When the cars are parked, passengers can use Google Cast to stream from thousands of apps to the dashboard screen. The cars are also getting native apps for YouTube and SiriusXM for playing media directly from the vehicle's larger screen. Rivian is offering all its customers a temporary free trial of SiriusXM; after the trial ends, users will need to subscribe to keep using the satellite radio.

Google announced in the spring that it would be updating Android for Cars with a casting feature. Rivian seems to be the first manufacturer to take advantage of the tech. The Google updates are just the latest collaboration for the company. Earlier this month, Rivian also opened up its charging stations to use by other brands of electric vehicles.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/rivian-car-dashboard-screens-now-support-youtube-and-google-cast-222004612.html?src=rss

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© Rivian

Wizards of the Coast is shutting down the online servers for Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance early next year. According to the updated store listings, the game will no longer be available for purchase and its servers will go down for good on February 24, 2025. "The base game and all DLC are still available to play in offline single player by anyone who currently owns it," the notice from the company adds.

Dark Alliance launched in 2021 with a single-player mode and an option for up to four-player co-op. It marked the first time WotC had published a video game from the hugely popular D&D universe. The project was meant to follow in the lineage of the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games that were released in the 2000s, but the title made by Tuque Games didn't receive the same high praise as those predecessors. For some context, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has an 87 score on Metacritic and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 has a 78. Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance sits down at a decidedly middling 53.

At least Larian Studios' excellent Baldur's Gate 3 is still thriving and getting new patches for your D&D-inspired video game needs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/dungeons--dragons-dark-alliance-servers-will-shut-down-in-february-233454799.html?src=rss

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© Tuque Games/Wizards of the Coast

Not content with meddling in politics, Elon Musk's next venture is an attempt to reimagine the United States' education system. The South African billionaire is now funding a Texas preschool called Ad Astra, which recently received a state permit to educate up to 21 students. The Montessori private school's website states that it is open to students aged three to nine, however an in-depth report from Bloomberg said that there are no signs of children or teachers yet at the facility.

The school is located outside of Bastrop, Texas, which is becoming a hub for Musk-owned businesses. The Boring Co. tunneling business is based close by, as is a production site for SpaceX Starlink satellites. Construction is also happening in the area for a building owned by X, formerly Twitter. 

Bloomberg noted that Musk has frequently had educational offerings, sometimes with the same Ad Astra name, attached to his businesses, so this new preschool could be meant for the children of his employees. A job posting for an instructor at Ad Astra reads: "While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide." 

Musk was a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, and both have made comments disparaging recent diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in education.

He's hardly the first tech figurehead to apply his opinions on education onto US schools. Mark Zuckerberg tried to personalize the experience with Summit Learning. Jeff Bezos put his name and resources into a series of preschools. And Bill Gates has a long history of proposing ideas for public education that yielded dubious improvements for students, such as charter schools and the Common Core State Standards.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/elon-musk-is-opening-a-preschool-near-his-texas-business-operations-211430042.html?src=rss

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© The Washington Post via Getty Images

Nima Momeni has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of notable fintech figure Bob Lee. Momeni, an IT consultant and entrepreneur, faces 16 years to life in prison. Best known as the creator and founder of Cash App, Lee was fatally stabbed in April 2023 in San Francisco. Momeni was arrested as a suspect nine days later. 

The autopsy report revealed that Lee was under the influence of cocaine, alcohol and ketamine at the time of his death. He had been in the company of Momeni and his sister, Khazar Momeni, that night. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Momeni attacked Lee on the street after discovering that an associate of Lee's had drugged and assaulted Ms. Momeni. Momeni's legal team said he acted in self-defense and was unaware that Lee was injured in their altercation.

Most recently, Lee had been the chief product officer for cryptocurrency operation MobileCoin. He had previously held an executive position at Square and played a role in developing the Android mobile operating system at Google.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/consultant-found-guilty-in-murder-of-cash-app-founder-bob-lee-192430902.html?src=rss

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© MobileCoin

Threads is rolling out its take on the Starter Packs concept from Bluesky. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri's post about the update explains that collections of recommended profiles will be suggested when users start following topics and as part of the For You feed.

Interestingly, Threads doesn't seem to have a name for this feature. But it's not the first time that Threads has adopted an idea that originated at rival platform Bluesky. Custom feeds were the last concept that made its way from Bluesky to a brief testing phase to an official release on the Meta-owned social network.

Bluesky is aware of how many of its features have started popping up on Threads. Last month, when Meta's platform first announced that it would have its own take on Starter Packs, the company posted a dig at its competitor on its own Threads account. The pair of platforms have been vying to draw in disaffected former users of X (once known as Twitter). Bluesky reached 20 million users in November, while Threads reported 35 million signups just in that month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/threads-take-on-bluesky-starter-packs-is-live-193106158.html?src=rss

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© Meta

United Airlines announced that it is integrating the Share Item Location feature from Apple into its mobile app. This development could make it easier to track down baggage equipped with AirTags or a Find My network accessory when it somehow winds up in Paris rather than arriving with you in Perth.

The United integration will allow passengers to send information about their bag's location directly to the company's support staff in the mobile app. If a traveler isn't using the United app and their bag takes a detour, they will receive a text notification from the airline prompting them to submit a Share Item Location report.

Share Item Location is part of Apple's iOS 18.2, which just began rolling out this week. When the resource was initially introduced in the public beta, air transport tech company SITA said that it would use the feature in its WorldTracer system for tracking airline baggage, so this isn't the first time travel brands are realizing the potential of Share Item Location. However, it will only be available to customers who are using an iPhone running at least iOS 18.2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/united-airlines-will-integrate-apples-share-item-location-feature-into-its-mobile-app-130049823.html?src=rss

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© United Airlines

Microsoft has started a beta test that will finally bring cloud streaming to Xbox consoles. Participants in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha tiers of the Xbox Insiders program can start using this feature now on their Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. 

This news is an extension of the "stream your own game" feature that Microsoft announced in November. That initial launch allowed Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream select games they've digitally purchased to their televisions, Meta Quest VR headsets and to some supported browser setups. The company said at the time that it planned to also bring streaming to Xbox consoles and to the Windows Xbox app in 2025.

While this update is a welcome addition to the "stream your own game" hardware, there are still some caveats on the feature. First, it's limited to Game Pass Ultimate members. Second, the game needs to support cloud streaming. There's a short list of titles included in the program for now, but several of them are excellent ones that are well worth a look: Baldur's Gate 3, Balatro, Cyberpunk 2077, Animal Well, Stray and the first six Final Fantasy games, to name a few highlights. Once this goes live to the whole Xbox audience, it should be a useful way to streamline game downloads and to access your whole library without needing to shell out for external storage.

In related Microsoft news, the Windows Xbox app is getting a couple updates. The new Home screen for the app will highlight curated game collections and suggested titles, as well as recent game news, releases and sales.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-previews-cloud-streaming-of-games-you-own-on-consoles-211008822.html?src=rss

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The much-anticipated follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter has a new early access date. At Day of the Devs, Heart Machine announced that Hyper Light Breaker will enter Steam early access on January 14.

The project is a co-op action game where you can play alone or with up to two allies to face down enemies and bosses in the colorful biomes of the Overgrowth. In classic roguelike fashion, players can try different builds, weapons and abilities on each run, and it should be interesting to see how those skills combine when multiple people are in battle. There is also, and this is very important, a hoverboard.

Hyper Light Breaker was first announced back in 2022 as a spiritual successor to the team's original indie hit. Since then, there have been a couple of delays slowing the game's arrival in early access, but today's announcement seems like the real deal. The studio hasn't shared any additional details yet about a full release date or additional platform support, but we're excited to see this latest installment of the neon universe Heart Machine has created.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/hyper-light-breaker-will-begin-steam-early-access-on-january-14-180858877.html?src=rss

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© Heart Machine

GM is giving up on its Cruise robotaxi subsidiary. The company announced today that it will fold Cruise into its own in-house technical team. Under the new strategy, this single unit will focus for now on developing advanced driver assistance programs, and in the future on fully autonomous personal vehicles.

GM acquired Cruise in 2016. However, the robotaxi brand faced intense scrutiny last year after a pedestrian in San Francisco was struck and dragged by one of its driverless cars. The ensuing investigations saw Cruise stop all operations for driverless vehicles and for its manned robotaxi service, and several of the company's leaders resigned or were let go in the aftermath. In recent months, Cruise had resumed some limited activity, but the hit to public trust and safety after the pedestrian incident seem to have created an insurmountable hurdle for GM.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/gm-ends-support-for-cruise-robotaxis-222300134.html?src=rss

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© ASSOCIATED PRESS

Monument Valley 3 is out today. As teased in the fall, the latest installment in the spatial puzzle series is available on Android and iOS today exclusively as part of Netflix Games, meaning you can play it for free with no advertisements or microtransactions as long as you have a subscription to the streaming service.

As with the previous two games, Monument Valley 3 is a lush, meditative experience about perspective. The levels have always taken their cues from mind-bending artists like M.C. Escher, where pathways don't follow the laws of physics. There is a new layer with the addition of a sailboat for freely moving between the sections, but the puzzles are still the core of the game. So are the vibes. It's got great ambient music and the art is as gorgeous as ever.

Monument Valley 3 will also be getting new content updates every season. In an interview, Ustwo Games lead designer Emily Brown called them "Monument Valley snacks," bite-sized additions to the standalone game. It's a very light nod toward being a live service game, although in practice this doesn't seem too different from the studio's past approach of releasing DLC for the Monument Valley titles.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/monument-valley-3-is-out-today-for-your-puzzling-pleasure-210407166.html?src=rss

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California is introducing new requirements aimed at protecting young passengers traveling alone in taxis and rideshares. The California Public Utilities Commission is requiring drivers to pass a fingerprint background check in order to provide a ride to an unaccompanied minor. According to TechCrunch, transit companies will also be responsible for the cost of these background checks. Companies will have 30 days to comply with this policy.

This ruling will mostly impact Uber, which began rolling out teen accounts last year and added further safety features to the accounts this year. Uber for Teens, which allows minors between the ages of 13 and 17 to hail a ride without their parent or guardian present, although an adult has to provide consent for the teen to use the app.

Uber has historically pushed back against fingerprinting drivers, arguing that the additional burden would discourage participation in the rideshare service and that its own safety guards are sufficient. In fact, this isn't the first time Uber and California have clashed over fingerprinting. In this case, Uber is also objecting that shouldering the cost of fingerprinting background checks will lead to higher fares for unaccompanied minors using the rideshare service.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/california-will-require-fingerprint-screening-for-uber-drivers-to-provide-rideshares-to-minors-234031152.html?src=rss

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© NurPhoto via Getty Images

NASA announced a new schedule for its upcoming Artemis missions to send astronauts to the moon. This is the second delay to these crewed missions after NASA's postponed the timeline in January of this year. The agency said it now aims to launch the Artemis 2 mission in April 2026, as well as pushing back the Artemis 3 mission to mid-2027.

The delay was partly caused by issues with the Orion spacecraft's heat shield during the uncrewed Artemis 1 test flight. During that mission, charred material on the heat shield wore away in an unexpected manner. Data from inside the capsule showed that if crew had been present during that flight, the temperatures would still have been safe even though the heat shield performed differently to expectations. But that's the sort of thing you don't want to take chances with once astronauts are aboard.

“Victor, Christina, Jeremy and I have been following every aspect of this decision and we are thankful for the openness of NASA to weigh all options and make decisions in the best interest of human spaceflight," said Reid Wiseman, the NASA astronaut who will head the Artemis II mission. "We are excited to fly Artemis 2 and continue paving the way for sustained human exploration of the Moon and Mars." The other three Artemis 2 crew members are Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

The Artemis 2 is slated to be a ten-day mission around the moon and back to Earth. Although the team won't land on our most familiar satellite, the test flight is intended to collect more data about the Orion space capsule ahead of the Artemis 3 mission, where a team will touch down on the moon's south pole.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-delays-artemis-ii-moon-mission-to-april-2026-224108612.html?src=rss

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© James Blair - NASA - JSC

A new season starts for Overwatch 2 next week, but one of the special modes we'll be getting in the near future is a throwback to the past. For a limited time during season 14, there will be a 6v6 role queue mode, bringing back the original game's composition of two tanks, two damage and two support. This mode will be available from December 17 through January 6.

The switch to five players on a team when Overwatch 2 launched was one of the more controversial choices at the time, we heard rumblings recently that Blizzard might walk back the decision. The current season included a full-on nostalgia trip mode where you could play 6v6 with only the original heroes as they were designed at launch. Yes, back in the days of self-healing Bastion mowing down everybody and Mercy undoing it all with full-team rez. The season 14 approach to 6v6 will be for the heroes as they exist now, with the current balance design in full effect. Blizzard said in October that they would explore how the community felt about the increased team size and consider if six-player teams should have more of a presence in the live game based on the player reactions.

It's the right time to experiment with different tank playstyles, because that's the role for the newest hero joining the game in season 14. Hazard is a spiky punk who deals a lot of damage at close range and can crowd control opponents by summoning a thorny wall. Think of him as a cross between Doomfist and Mei, with a Scottish accent.

The Overwatch X account also teased that the coming season will have another anime crossover. After collaborations with Cowboy Bebop and My Hero Academia, the next season will be channeling the elements with skins themed on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Omnic monk Zenyatta is clearly going to be reimagined as Aang, but the full lineup of cosmetics will also be unveiled on December 17.

And in a final piece of good Overwatch news, Blizzard shared that sales of the Pink Mercy charity skins earlier this year raised $12.3 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Well played, people.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/overwatch-2-will-test-6v6-role-queue-matches-starting-december-17-194524335.html?src=rss

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© Blizzard

We've got a little bit longer to wait until Secret Level, the gaming-inspired animated anthology series from the Love, Death and Robots team, debuts on Prime Video. But Amazon is ramping up to the launch by offering some solid freebies for Prime members on many of the games that inspired episodes in Secret Level. Roguelike masterpiece Spelunky and story-laden space adventure The Outer Worlds are must-haves if they aren't already in your library. Here's the full list of free titles:

• Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (GOG code)

• Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (GOG code)

• Necromunda: Hired Gun (Epic Games Store)

• Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition (GOG code)

• The Outer Worlds (GOG code)

• Space Hulk: Deathwing - Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games App)

• Spelunky (GOG code)

• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Amazon Games App)

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (Amazon Games App)

And if that wasn't enough free stuff, a code for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II in the Amazon Games App will also drop on December 12. Those Prime Gaming members using the Amazon Luna streaming service will also see the addition of Mega Man 11. 

The final facet of this announcement is some steep discounts on retail purchases of games through Amazon's platform. Most notably in this batch is up to 65 percent off God of War: Ragnarok for the PlayStation 5 and up to 80 percent off the PC version of Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut. These titles are all in addition to the previously announced free games lineup Prime Gaming members can add to their collections this month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazon-is-giving-away-games-to-promote-its-secret-level-anthology-series-150033246.html?src=rss

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© Amazon

With the end date for Windows 10 less than a year away, people still using that operating system will need to start preparing to enter the Windows 11 era. And Microsoft is placing a hardware requirement on the current OS that could pose a problem for those of us using older machines.

Windows 11 will require computers to have TPM 2.0. Also known as a Trusted Platform Module, this is a dedicated chip or firmware used for device security, and the 2.0 version offers several useful features for improved cryptography and encryption. A blog post from Microsoft outlines all of the benefits and why it's being made a core part of Windows 11 installations. Notably, the latest TPM can help future-proof the three-year-old operating system "by helping to protect sensitive information as more AI capabilities come to physical, cloud, and server architecture."

That's all well and good, but many older machines don't have TPM 2.0. That version became the hardware standard for Windows computers in 2016. Savvy users may have been able to use Windows 11 on incompatible computers with workarounds, but Microsoft's language that "TPM 2.0 is not just a recommendation—it’s a necessity" indicates that the company will likely be getting more stringent about preventing those bypasses. You can check the TPM status of your computer with Microsoft's PC Health Check app ahead of the October 14, 2025 end of support date for Windows 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsoft-confirms-the-windows-11-tpm-security-requirement-isnt-going-anywhere-211002424.html?src=rss

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© Microsoft

Former cryptocurrency leader Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges. The founder and CEO of Celsius Network was indicted on seven criminal counts in 2023, including charges of fraud, conspiracy and market manipulation. He entered a not guilty plea at the time, but in a hearing today, Mashinsky pled guilty to two of those original counts. The first is commodities fraud and the second is a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of his company's in-house crypto token CEL. Reuters reported that as part of a plea deal, Mashinsky has agreed not to appeal any sentence of 30 years or less.

Mashinsky's case is one of several fraud cases being pursued against leaders of cryptocurrency operations. The most well-publicized charges are those brought against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty on seven counts of fraud in 2023.

National agencies began a push into fraud charges for cryptocurrency schemes in 2022, when several notable companies filed for bankruptcy as token prices plummeted in response to rising interest rates and high inflation. That year, the Federal Trade Commission said that victims of crypto schemes had lost more than $1 billion since 2021.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/former-celsius-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-two-fraud-charges-224046043.html?src=rss

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© REUTERS / Reuters