Summer Game Fest Doesn’t Just Try Its Best, It Tries Too Hard

Half a decade into its life, Summer Game Fest still just can't get out of its own way.
"I want to make a big announcement," said Faryar Shirzad, the chief policy officer of Coinbase, to a nearly empty room. His words echoed across the massive hall at the Bitcoin Conference, deep in the caverns of The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, and it wasn't apparent how many people were watching on the livestream. Then again, somebody out there may have been interested in the panelists he was interviewing, one of whom was unusual by Bitcoin Conference standards: Chris LaCivita, the political consultant who'd co-chaired Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
"I am super proud to say it on this stage," Shirzad continued, addressing the dozens of people scattered across 5,000 chairs. "We have just become a major sponsor of the America250 effort."
My jaw dropped. Coinbase, the world's largest crypto exchange, the owner of 12 percent of the world's Bitcoin supply, and listed on the S&P 500, was paying for Trump to hold a military parade.
No wonder they made the announcement in an empty room. Today was "Code and Country": an entire day of MAGA-themed panels on the Nakamoto Main Stage, full of Republican legislators, White House officials, and political operatives, all of whom pr …
The Wholesome Direct is always full of cute and charming games to keep an eye on for the future. But it's also a great place to find things to play now - and that's especially true this year. The 2025 edition of the livestream showcase included a number of games that released during the show itself.
So if you like what you see, there's no wait at all.
Finally, a game that combines designing your own house with going on a road trip. Camper Van: Make it Home is exactly what it sounds like. On the design side, you're able to customize a tiny home camper and make it appropriately cozy, but the developers say it will also take you on "a journey of self-discovery."
This game seems designed entirely around comfort. You play as a cute little animal and spend your time curled up around a fire, chatting with friends, and guiding the conversation as you get pulled into a bigger story.
Puzzle game meets scrapbooking. Here the goal is to organize a huge cache of family photos, and as you do, discover their history and story. "Inspired by the way elders pass down family history using pictures to support their storytelling," the develope …
When fans nervously tuned in to watch HBO's adaptation of one of their favorite video games, there was one familiar presence that immediately calmed their nerves: the mournful guitar of Gustavo Santaolalla. As certain story beats changed and beloved polygonal faces were replaced with new actors, the beating heart of The Last of Us - its mesmerizing, tension-ridden score - survived the transition to TV intact.
"[Series creator] Neil Druckmann has said that my music is part of the DNA of The Last of Us," Santaolalla says. "I think the fact that we kept the sonic fabric - that we didn't do an orchestral score for the series - has been instrumental in keeping those fans of the games fans of the series, too."
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Santaolalla first started releasing music when he was 17. Loving both English rock bands and the traditional Argentine folk music that he was raised on, Santaolalla melded both into his own unique sound, part of a genre called rock nacional. Before he could fully make his mark, Santaolalla's family fled the Argentine junta dictatorship in 1978, moving to Los Angeles, where his unique sound soon caught the attention of filmmakers. Snapped up to sc …
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GenAI is not coming to the enterprise security space. It is already here and being used to run faster phishing, smarter malware, and more convincing spoofing campaigns from hackers. A recent survey from The Register showed that 65% of organizations are now using GenAI to automate routine security tasks like telemetry log monitoring and alerting to try to combat the rise in GenAI security attacks.
more…Last week, we got reports that macOS 26 will drop support for a couple of the last generation Intel Macs, though not all of them. However, a reliable source is now reporting that one additional Intel Mac will no longer support macOS 26 – which is now rumored to be named after California’s Lake Tahoe.
more…If you had asked anyone six months ago what Apple’s biggest 2025 play would be, the obvious answer would’ve been “AI.” Maybe “home.” But gaming? You’d have been hard pressed to find anyone willing to bet on that. And yet, that’s exactly what it’s starting to look like.
more…Yesterday, Jamf announced a series of new product updates focused on GenAI, identity, compliance, and Apple-first device management. These features, showcased during the U.S. leg of Jamf’s event series, Jamf Nation Live, are designed to help IT teams manage and secure Apple devices at scale across education, enterprise, and healthcare environments
more…Summer is in full swing, and with that comes summer travel. Whether for vacation, baseball tournament, work conference, or all of the above, HomeKit can help you keep tabs on your home. When traveling, there are a few key aspects of my HomeKit setup I fully rely on. One thing to keep in mind is that you’ll need a HomeKit hub to access your devices remotely.
more…WWDC kicks off Monday with Apple’s big keynote event, where major software updates like iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and more will debut. But what about new hardware releases at WWDC? Here’s what the rumors say.
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