Tron: Catalyst, the follow-up to Tron: Identity and the next game from Bithell Games, is set to launch on June 17, 2025. The game is technically standalone, but builds on Identity's narrative and tackles the world of Tron from a new isometric perspective.
Paired with the release date, Bithell Games and publisher Big Fan also showed off a new trailer at the ID@Xbox Showcase that offers a glimpse of how combat and narrative work in the game. You play as Exo, a program from the "Arq Grid" with an ability called "The Glitch," that lets you exploit time loops in the game, replaying levels with new knowledge to uncover secret and shortcuts. Exo will of course be challenged by the leaders of the Grid throughout, forcing you to fight through enemies on foot or a Light Cycle. As Engadget learned in an early preview of the game, you'll also be able to upgrade your combat abilities to suit your preferred style of play.
Tron: Identity is a visual novel, so Catalyst represents a bit of a departure in terms of gameplay, but that's one of the things that makes the game intriguing. Some amount of narrative choice is still there based off the trailer, it's just sandwiched between new, exciting, action-adventure bread.
Tron: Catalyst will be available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC on June 17, 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/tron-catalyst-hits-consoles-and-pc-on-june-17-205146866.html?src=rss
Google is planning to end support for SMS-based two-factor authentication in Gmail, Forbes reports. Sending a code to your personal phone via text message has long been an option Google offered to verify your identity, but it has unavoidable security issues the company wants to address.
The goal is to "reduce the impact of rampant, global SMS abuse," Gmail spokesperson Ross Richendrfer tells Forbes, and the solution, at least for now, is QR codes. Instead of entering your number and receiving a text with a code you need to enter, Google will throw up a QR code you need to scan with your phone. The reliance on your smartphone is still present, but now you don't have to rely on the lax security of SMS messages.
Using SMS two-factor authentication is better than nothing, but text messages aren't as secure as other methods. Criminals can intercept your message just by convincing your carrier to port your number to a new phone. By tricking a provider to send multiple SMS messages to a number a criminal operation controls in a process called "traffic pumping," they can even make money on each text, Google says. Considering the volume of SMS messages the company sends to both verify users and make sure people aren't bulk-creating accounts to send spam, it's not hard to see how SMS could be problem.
Ultimately, the goal for Google and other companies like it is to use passkeys and move away from passwords entirely, but adoption is slow, and making the current, much more familiar process secure is still meaningful.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/gmail-will-stop-using-sms-for-two-factor-authentication-185615193.html?src=rss
It's not clear that anyone was asking for a company to build a muscular, sinewy robot or to see a video of it dangling, helpless from a hook, but life is full of surprises and this YouTube video of Clone Robotics' "Protoclone" is here all the same.
The Protoclone appears to be a prototype version of the "Clone" robot the aptly named Clone Robotics is working to build. The video shows the Protoclone flexing its arms and legs, with visible artificial muscle fibers moving underneath its white "skin." Based on Clone Robotic's video description, the impressive part here is that fact that the Protoclone has "over 200 degrees of freedom, over 1,000 Myofibers, and over 200 sensors," and also that the robot is "faceless," for some reason.
The end goal for the startup is to build an android that's anatomically correct, with synthetic nervous, skeletal, muscular and vascular systems powering its movement. The "Myofibers" included in the Protoclone are a custom Clone Robotics creation with "the desirable qualities of mammalian skeletal muscle." For the eventual Clone robot's purposes, those qualities are the ability to "respond in less than 50 ms with a bigger than 30 percent unloaded contraction" and "at least a kilogram of contraction force for a single, three gram muscle fiber," according to Clone Robotics' website.
That the Protoclone is dangling in the video rather than roaming around of its own accord is a reflection of its prototype nature. Robots are often hung or propped up with a support arm until they can support their own body weight, something that can be hard to achieve without all of the right materials.
Clone Robotics is not unique in pursuing a human-like robot that could theoretically replace human workers. Figure is exploring a similar idea, minus the muscles. Tesla started off on the wrong foot with a person in a spandex suit, but it's serious about robots, too. Even the largest of tech companies have turned their attention to robots: Both Meta and Apple are reportedly exploring robotics as a future product category. It's fair to say Clone Robotics is winning when it comes to posting videos of muscular robots, though.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/can-somebody-let-this-robot-down-222011506.html?src=rss
The General Services Administration plans on shutting down federal EV charging infrastructure in the coming weeks and "offloading" EVs purchased by the previous administration, The Verge reports.
Since the GSA oversees government buildings, shutting down chargers will impact personal electric vehicles owned by government employees and government-owned EVs. "As GSA has worked to align with the current administration, we have received direction that all GSA owned charging stations are not mission critical," an email viewed by The Verge reads.
There were a a steadily increasing number of federally-owned EVs after President Biden ordered the government agencies to electrify their fleets in 2021. Part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2024 also included funding to build EV chargers for the growing number of vehicles used by the government.
The shutdown will take place over the coming weeks and will coincide with the removal of GSA EVs purchased by the Biden Administration, either by selling them or placing them in storage, according to the report. Engadget has reached out to the GSA for confirmation of this plan and will update this article if we hear back.
Shutting down federal charging infrastructure fits with both the Trump administration's stance on EVs and the transportation goals of Project 2025, the plan written by The Heritage Foundation that's been guiding recent policy decisions. Since taking office, Trump has reversed Biden's order to electrify government vehicles and cancelled a project to install high-speed EV chargers along highways. It wouldn't be surprising if he signed a bill eliminating the federal EV tax credit entirely, if presented with the chance.
While not a magic bullet for global warming, EV adoption has been pushed because of its potential to reduce carbon emissions. Moving from manufacturing gas vehicles to EVs has not been cheap for car companies, though. Imposing tariffs and removing the incentives to buy EVs is one reason automakers are reportedly trying to lobby the Trump administration to reconsider its current stance.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/federal-government-reportedly-plans-to-shut-down-its-ev-charging-infrastructure-191314767.html?src=rss
ABB Group EV chargers for electric buses are seen at an L.A. City Transportation Department (LADOT) DASH transit bus maintenance facility in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 21, 2021. REUTERS/Bing Guan
"Unfortunately @CommunityNotes is increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media," Musk posted. "Working to fix this..." Based on the rant his tweet descends in to afterwards, his issue appears to be with how X's Community Notes contributors have been treating misinformation about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the war in Ukraine. Musk quotes a post from an X account that claims polls showing Zelenskyy has a 57 percent approval rating in Ukraine are "not credible." Information like that being challenged on X doesn't jive with President Trump's description of Zelenskyy as a "dictator" or Musk's desire to use the platform as an unofficial arm of the current administration.
Unfortunately, @CommunityNotes is increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media.
Working to fix this …
It should be utterly obvious that a Zelensky-controlled poll about his OWN approval is not credible!!
What "fixing" Community Notes will look like remains to be seen, but Musk uncritically quoting a post that cites no sources beyond an image with small text that says "Accuracy Confidence: Normal" is hopefully evidence enough that Community Notes are the bare minimum needed. Ragging on the feature of course fits the larger pattern of Musk's tenure at X, which has been characterized by him manipulating the platform's algorithm and eliminating features that helped determine credibility, like verification. If he thinks you can't even trust crowdsourced fact-checks, there's really no source of truth left on the platform.
The concept of Community Notes is no longer unique to X — Meta recently opened up the waitlist to use the feature on its platforms — but how long Community Notes exists its current form is apparently now an open question.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/elon-musk-wants-to-fix-community-notes-on-x-212310412.html?src=rss
FILE PHOTO: 'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
The Action button is available on nearly every iPhone Apple sells, offering a quick way to access a feature, app or shortcut on your phone, just by pushing a button. It can be a flashlight, activate a smart home routine or let you access any number of custom shortcuts without having to unlock your phone and pick through apps.
Apple added the Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro as a replacement for the iPhone's original Ring / Silent switch, and it was an acknowledgement of sorts that lots of people keep their phones on silent anyway. Having a reassignable button was pitched as a "Pro" feature at the time, but much like the Dynamic Island, it came to all of Apple's other phones in short order, even the entry-level iPhone 16e.
How to use the Action Button
Apple
You can use the Action Button for yourself on an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16e just by pressing or holding down the small button above the volume up and down buttons on the left side of your phone. By default, the Action Button will mute or unmute your text and ringtones. This fills the same role as the old Ring / Silent switch. Heading into the Settings app will let you reassign it to another task and you can silence your phone via the Control Center.
How to reassign the Action Button to Flashlight
Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget
Out of the box, Apple lets you assign the Action button to several different controls: Silent Mode (Ring / Silent), Focus (either a specific Focus or a menu that lets you pick each time), Camera (a specific mode like Photo or Video), Flashlight, Voice Memo, Recognize Music, Translate, Magnifier, Controls (a specific control from Control Center like Airplane Mode), Shortcut, Accessibility (toggling a specific accessibility feature) or do nothing at all.
If you wanted to switch from the default, Silent Mode, to the Flashlight, you need to first unlock your phone. Then:
Open the Settings app.
Tap on "Action Button."
From there, swipe through the different options until you land on Flashlight.
To test that it worked, try pressing on the Action Button.
You can use this same process to reassign the Action Button to any of the built-in actions Apple provides.
How to make the Action Button open an app
Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget
If you'd like to get a little more adventurous, you can also have the Action Button open a specific app on your phone. Let's say, for example, your go-to game on the iPhone is Balatro. You can have the Action Button automatically pull up Balatro whenever you press it.
To set it up, you'll need your iPhone unlocked.
Open the Settings app.
Tap on "Action Button."
Swipe through the options until you reach "Shortcut."
Tap on "Choose a Shortcut..."
Then tap on "Open App..."
Then scroll until you find your chosen app and tap on it.
This process works for any app on your phone, including features of specific apps, like if you wanted to jump directly into ChatGPT's Voice Mode or a new note in the Notes app.
How to make the Action button activate a shortcut
Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget
The Shortcut action works for more complicated Apple Shortcuts, too. Technically, any shortcut designed to be triggered by you choosing to activate it (as opposed to a time or location-based shortcut) works. There's a lot of interesting shortcuts out there, and plenty of custom ones you can make on your own, but to use a simple example, here's how you'd set the Action Button to start a Pomodoro timer.
Open the Settings app.
Tap on "Action Button."
Swipe through the options until you get to "Shortcut."
Tap on "Choose a Shortcut..."
Tap on whatever shortcut you want activate.
Press and hold the Action Button to make sure it works.
In the case of the Pomodoro timer, you'll be prompted to choose how long you want the timer to last, and then you can tap "Done" to start it.
Between lock screen widgets and app shortcuts, home screen widgets, and the Action Button, there's now multiple ways to check information inside of an app, adjust a specific setting or use specific functionality from the apps on your iPhone. It's confusing, but a good rule of thumb is that the Action Button works best for actions that you only need to enable once or binary, on / off features. Plenty of others things work, but at a certain point you'll want to be spending time in an app instead of futzing with the buttons on your phone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-iphones-action-button-193038089.html?src=rss
After announcing its plan to end third-party fact-checking in January 2025, Meta's crowdsourced replacement is finally starting to take shape. You can now join a waitlist to be a Community Notes contributor on Facebook, Instagram and Threads when the feature rolls out in the coming months.
Contributors are expect to provide context via a note when a post on one of Meta's platforms "might be inaccurate or confusing," according to the company's sign-up page. Community Notes will be able to be added to "most public content across Facebook, Instagram and Threads" and must be 500 characters or fewer. Any note is also subject to Meta's Community Standards and the judgment of other contributors. Meta expects contributors to rate notes so that the correct context gets displayed under posts.
To sign-up, you need to be based in the US, be over the age of 18, have a Meta account that's more than six months old and in good standing and have either a verified phone number or two-factor authentication. Meta says contributors will start to be taken off the waitlist once the Community Notes beta launches. The company hasn't given a hard date for the launch, but does mention that Community Notes will be phased in "over the next few months."
Meta started testing Community Notes on Threads a little over a month ago. The feature, in name and basic functionality, is inspired by X's Community Notes, which originally launched in 2022 when the company was still known as Twitter. Community Notes and other crowdsourced pseudo-fact checks have been tested on Google platforms like YouTube and Search as well, and they all have the same general weakness. A crowdsourced answer doesn't come with the same guarantee of accuracy as one provided by someone whose sole job it is to be an impartial fact-checker.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/you-can-now-sign-up-to-be-a-contributor-to-metas-community-notes-feature-190814234.html?src=rss
The iPhone 16e, Apple's replacement for the iPhone SE, has plenty of features that make it a good deal, from its A18 chip to the fact that it actually comes with an OLED screen. But one glaring omission in its spec sheet makes no sense: Why doesn't this $599 phone have MagSafe?
Despite looking a lot like an iPhone 14, and using components that are similar to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e doesn't support MagSafe or fast wireless charging. Apple expects iPhone 16e owners to be happy with the same wireless charging speeds as an iPhone SE released in 2022, and the slight advantage of using a USB-C port rather than a Lighting port.
The iPhone 16e's missing MagSafe feels particularly strange because the feature has been a given for years at this point. Apple introduced MagSafe to its smartphones with the iPhone 12 as a magnetic accessory and charging standard, and has included it in every phone since. MagSafe borrows the name of the magnetic connectors on Apple's laptops, but with some key differences. MagSafe on an iPhone means you have strong built-in magnets that let your phone attaches to cases, mounts, wallets and stands, without any extra fiddly pieces. When you charge over MagSafe, you also get faster charging speeds, bumping things from 7.5W charging to up to 25W charging with the right charging brick.
Chris Velazco for Engadget
More importantly, using magnets to directly guide a charger to charging coils largely eliminates the possibility of a phone being on a charger but not actually getting charged. It's likely one of the main reasons why MagSafe was adopted into the wider Qi2 wireless charging standard — it just makes the whole thing a lot more convenient.
That doesn't really explain why Apple would leave it out of the iPhone 16e, though. The company's definition of what makes a "Pro" feature is always in flux, and it will often will leave features or components out to justify a lower price. But Apple and its partners likely sell a lot of MagSafe accessories, doesn't Apple want to sell those to iPhone 16e owners, too?
The interesting wrinkle in all of this is Qi2, which has been available for phone makers to use since 2023, but hasn't seen widespread adoption outside of Apple's phones. Samsung, a company that should have more than enough money to work Qi2 into its flagships, instead offers a case you can buy if you want to use Qi2 charging on the Galaxy S25. Other Android makers are no better: you won't find Qi2 on the Pixel 9, Motorola Razr+ or Galaxy Z Flip and Fold 6. It's possible Qi2 or MagSafe is more expensive (or difficult) to include than it appears, and Apple has been "generous" all this time. That might make the decision to not support the standard make more sense. But that doesn't change the fact that the iPhone 16e's lack of MagSafe is very annoying.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-iphone-16es-lack-of-magsafe-doesnt-make-sense-202101406.html?src=rss
Newly restored pages on the websites of government agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) now include a disclaimer rejecting "gender ideology," as spotted by 404 Media. The move allows agencies to comply with a recent court order to restore missing webpages, while continuing to push the Trump administration anti-trans executive order that led them to delete those pages in the first place.
You can see the disclaimer — which lifts language directly from President Trump's order — on the FDA's guidance document on the "Study of Sex Differences in the Clinical Evaluation of Medical Products" and a page linking to results from SAHMSA's report on "Behavioral Health of Adolescents across Sexual Identities." Like a lot of the current administration's slapdash attempts to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion, the disclaimer doesn't appear everywhere. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention page on "Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines" doesn't include it, for example.
The contents of the disclaimer are reproduced below:
Per a court order, HHS is required to restore this website as of 11:59 PM on February 11, 2025. Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female. The Trump Administration rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children, by promoting their chemical and surgical mutilation, and to women, by depriving them of their dignity, safety, well-being, and opportunities. This page does not reflect biological reality and therefore the Administration and this Department reject it.
Government agencies were first directed to "end all agency programs that use taxpayer money to promote or reflect gender ideology" by the Office of Personal Management (OPM) in January, which prompted the webpage takedowns, The Washington Post writes. Doctors of America, represented by Public Citizen, sued OPM and other agencies that took down pages over safety concerns, leading to the order to restore the websites to their original form this month.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/trump-administration-adds-note-rejecting-gender-ideology-to-government-websites-220253562.html?src=rss
FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
You could soon pay to access certain subreddits, according to comments shared by Reddit CEO Steve Huffman during a taped video AMA (Ask Me Anything). Huffman has suggested the company might experiment with some kind of Reddit paywall before, and now its apparently happening.
When asked if he could share information about the development of paid subreddits, Huffman said that "It's a work in progress right now, so that one's coming." To a follow up question about new features coming to Reddit in 2025, Huffman said "Paid subreddits? Yes," confirming they're on the list.
Unfortunately there's little detail as to how paid subreddits will actually work when they do launch. It might make sense for only Reddit Premium subscribers to be able to access paid subreddits, for example. As Ars Technica notes, Reddit does offer an exclusive subreddit for subscribers called r/lounge. The company also currently pays some users for posting via the Reddit Contributor Program. The pieces for a paywall are there, but you have to fill in more than a few blanks to get them to fit together.
However they happen, paid subreddits continue Reddit's goal of monetizing as much of its user-generated content as possible after going public in 2024. The company has signed licensing deals with both OpenAI and Google, and is currently pulling on users' posts to answer questions with its Reddit Answers chatbot, all in an attempt to squeeze as much value out of the content it already has. A paywall is maybe a blunter way to make that happen, but it's not surprising.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-ceo-says-paid-subreddits-are-coming-this-year-203823936.html?src=rss
After being rumored to be in the early stages of the project last year, Meta confirmed today that it's building "Project Waterworth," an over 50,000 km subsea cable that will connect five continents. The company has partnered on other cable projects previously, but this would be the first piece of subsea infrastructure it owns outright.
The project touches land in the US, Brazil, India, and South Africa, and is apparently breaking new ground technically, too. Meta claims Waterworth is the longest 24 fiber pair cable project in the world, and the company is using "first-of-its-kind routing" to place the cables as deep as possible, "at depths of up to 7,000 meters." If cables aren't deep enough, undersea hazards, like boats dropping and dragging their anchors, can cause permanent damage, disrupting service.
Meta
Meta's announcement doesn't go into detail about how the cable will be used, beyond noting that subsea cables enable "digital communication, video experiences, online transactions and more," and that high-speed connectivity is a necessity for "AI innovation." On their own, Meta services and platforms are said to account for about 10 percent of global fixed internet usage and 22 percent of mobile traffic, so at the very least the company's existing businesses stand to benefit from a stable connection.
A United States-India joint statement released after Prime Minister Modi visited the US "welcomed" the announcement. It also notes that India itends to help to finance, maintain and repair undersea cables in the Indian Ocean. A Meta spokesperson clarified that India is not involved in the financing of Project Waterworth.
Update, February 14, 5:30PM ET: This article was modified after publish to clarify that India is not involved financially with Project Waterworth. We regret the error.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-confirms-its-building-its-own-subsea-cable-190153227.html?src=rss
Wellbots is offering multiple of iRobot's Roomba Combo vacuum and mop machines for 40 percent off, and in one case, over 50 percent off as an early President's Day sale. You can even get the new Roomba Combo 10 Max and its Autowash Dock, which can empty and cleans your robot, for $789, around $410 off its normal $1,199 price. That's a good bit cheaper than the last time it was on sale.
The Roomba Combo 10 Max + Autowash Dock is a newer addition to iRobot's lineup, and an important one. Besides combining the ability to vacuum and mop your floors, the inclusion of the robot's Autowash Dock means you now have an automated way to clean and sanitize the Combo 10 Max's mop brush. Combine that with its ability to empty itself, and you go a long way to towards doing away with some of the most annoying parts of owning a robot vacuum.
The Autowash Dock can hold 60 days worth of dust and only seven days worth of dirty mop water, so you will need to check on it occasionally, but that might be worth it for this deal. You can get the Roomba Combo 10 Max + Autowash Dock for $789, and save $410 with code ENGAD410.
The Roomba Combo j5 doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Combo 10 Max, but it does start at a much more approachable $449. The robot can both vacuum and mop your floors, and adapt its cleaning patterns based on the layout of your room. It can even identify high traffic areas of your home and give them extra attention so no dirt gets overlooked.
The robot's dock is sold separately, so you won't benefit from its ability to empty itself, but it should be relatively simple to upgrade down the road if you want. The Roomba Combo j5 is available for over 50 percent off, knocking a good $210 off if you use code ENGAD210.
The Roomba Combo i5 is a little bit older than the Combo 10 Max and Combo j5, but it's still a competent helper when you need your floor vacuumed and mopped. Like iRobot's other options, the Combo i5 maps your home to determine the best way to clean it, and can be completely controlled with a companion phone app if you want.
This model is also technically compatible with a self-emptying base, but it doesn't come included, so you'll want to buy it separately if you want to automate your cleaning process even further. You can lower the Roomba Combo i5 from its $349 starting price to $189, a savings of $160, with code ENGAD160.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/irobots-roomba-combo-vacuum-and-mop-machines-are-more-than-50-percent-off-right-now-140049700.html?src=rss
Blue Origin, the SpaceX competitor founded and funded by Jeff Bezos, is cutting 10 percent of its employees or about 1,400 people, according to The Seattle Timesand CNN. Staff were informed of the news by Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, in an email reviewed by Engadget, who claims the layoffs are an attempt to address a lack of focus and an excessive amount of bureaucracy at the company.
The areas of the business primarily impacted by the cuts are program and project management, research and development and engineering. Blue Origin is making these changes as it finalizes its annual operating plan, CNN notes, which is focused on increasing manufacturing and the pace at which the company launches rockets. For example, Blue Origin is one of several space companies with commercial moon missions planned for 2025.
The company has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late. Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn orbital rocket in January, and retrieved the rocket's second stage when it landed back on the launch platform. That's a trick that took SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket a few years to master. In December 2024, Blue Origin also returned to space tourism, launching six paying customers into space.
Despite the progress, the company is still seen as lagging behind SpaceX, at the very least because Elon Musk's space company has spent more time actually launching rockets into space. Reducing staff doesn't change that, but it may save Blue Origin money, something that's been a goal of Bezos' for a while now, according to Ars Technica.
Dave Limp's full email is reproduced below:
Subject: Difficult Org News – Changes To Our Team
Folks,
We just finished this morning’s meeting, during which I gave an update on our organization. As I mentioned, we have made the tough decision to reduce our workforce by about 10%. The impact this has is not lost on any of us—we are saying goodbye to our friends and colleagues who have helped us build Blue into what it is today.
I know this is a lot to absorb, and I would like to explain how we got here. Over the last few months, as a leadership team, we have worked together to define our 2025 Annual Operating Plan and growth strategy. Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers. We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed. It also became clear that the makeup of our organization must change to ensure our roles are best aligned with executing these priorities. Sadly, this resulted in eliminating some positions in engineering, R&D, and program/project management and thinning out our layers of management.
While I acknowledge that these messages are better delivered personally and individually, the reach of these changes across multiple locations and teams makes that difficult. We will notify impacted employees immediately via their work and personal email addresses of their status with Blue. We will also email employees who are not impacted to confirm their employment with Blue. Both emails will arrive by 7:30 AM PT/10:30 AM ET today. While our sites are open, I encourage you to work from home for the rest of the day if your role allows you to do so.
We are doing what we can to support everyone impacted. The email notifications will provide support details, which include severance packages, COBRA coverage, career support services, and access to counseling through our Employee Assistance Program.
Let me add that I am extremely confident in the enormous opportunities in front of us and have never been more optimistic about our mission. We will continue to invest, invent, and hire hundreds of positions in areas that will help us achieve our goals and best serve our customers. We will be a stronger, faster, and more customer-focused company that consistently meets and exceeds our commitments. This year alone, we will land on the Moon, deliver a record number of incredible engines, and fly New Glenn and New Shepard on a regular cadence.
To our colleagues who are impacted today, thank you so much for your hard work and passion for our mission. I hope we all support one another with grace and empathy while upholding our leadership principles during this time.
Dave-
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/blue-origin-is-cutting-10-percent-of-its-workforce-203642991.html?src=rss
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket stands ready for its inaugural launch at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Sony is giving Days Gone the remaster treatment. Nestled in Sony's latest State of Play event, the company announced that Days Gone Remastered is coming to PlayStation 5 and PC on April 25, 2025, with updated graphics and new content in tow.
Days Gone Remastered features "improved graphical fidelity, increased foliage draw distance, improved shadow and lighting quality" and support for the PS5's 3D audio and haptics-stuffed Dualsense controller. You'll be able to play through the zombie survival story of "former outlaw biker" Deacon St. John as it was originally conceived, and also enjoy a new permadeath mode, a "Horde Assault" mode, accessibility features and some point after the launch of the game, a speedrun mode.
Remastering another PlayStation game isn't out of the ordinary. Sony's done it to Horizon Zero Dawn and technically multiple timesto The Last of Us. It's just that of all the PS4 games demanding some graphical spit-and-shine, and more importantly, a revisit from players, Days Gone doesn't rank high. The game was fine, the large zombie hordes were impressive, it's the story that left most reviewers wanting. And increased foliage draw distance doesn't fix that.
The vast majority of people would prefer a Bloodborneremaster, and now nearly 10 years from that game's original release, it doesn't seem like it's going to happen. Sony has been, on the other hand, at least somewhat invested in Days Gone. The game was brought to PC, there's this remaster and the company was reportedly working to adapt the game to film in 2022, the ultimate fate of most of its franchises. Maybe Days Gone Remastered is just the start of a Days Gone renaissance.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sony-is-actually-remastering-days-gone-before-bloodborne-191411680.html?src=rss
Borderlands4 is coming this fall. Developer Gearbox revealed that the latest entry in the Borderlands series is launching on September 23, 2025 at Sony's latest State of Play event, and the game will receive a standalone State of Play this spring where you can get an in-depth look at it in action.
Like past Borderlands games, Borderlands 4 has shooting and looting, though with much looser and faster-paced movement. You'll be able to double jump, dodge and grapple your way through the game, and play as four new vault hunters looking to make their fortune.
Borderlands 4 was originally announced during Gamescom in 2024, and Gearbox showed off a first glimpse of gameplay during the Game Awards. Other than those tweaks to traversal, it looks like more Borderlands. Considering its been about six years since Borderlands 3 was released in 2019, that might not be a bad thing, but hopefully Gearbox still has something up its sleeve to justify another dip into the post-apocalyptic shooter well.
Borderlands 4 is launching on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 23, 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/borderlands-4-is-launching-on-september-23-225358207.html?src=rss
Blizzard is making some major changes to Overwatch 2for its Season 15 update, including adding all new gameplay in the form of a perks system and the return of loot box rewards, on top of the new heroes and skins.
Overwatch 2 has been through several changes since it left early access in 2023, many of which brought the game from the revamped structure that made it a sequel to something that works more like a free-to-play version of the original Overwatch. Perks are legitimately new, though. Now during a match you'll be given two opportunities to pick a perk for your hero. One minor perk after leveling up for the first time, which adds smaller upgrades like a passive ability or a cooldown reduction, and one major perk that can alter the play style of your hero. For example, Torbjorn can pick from turrets that stick to ceilings and walls (a frankly diabolical upgrade) or an even more powerful "Level 3 turret."
Blizzard Entertainment
As a reward for your hard work in-game, Blizzard is also adding to Overwatch 2's battle pass system by reintroducing loot boxes as another way to get cosmetics. You can earn loot boxes by completely weekly and event rewards, and you'll get one Legendary Loot Box for having the Free Battle Pass or two Legendary Loot Boxes for having the Premium Battle Pass, as well. Beyond publishing drop rates for boxes, Blizzard is guaranteeing that "a Rare or better item will drop in every single box, with an Epic item within five consecutive boxes and a Legendary item within twenty consecutive boxes."
Blizzard Entertainment
Coming a bit later in Season 16, Overwatch 2 will get an entirely new "Stadium" game mode that draws clear inspiration from competing shooters Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant. In a Stadium match you'll be placed on a team of five fighting to earn currency across seven possible rounds. In-between rounds you can spend that currency to unlock upgrades and customize your abilities as you play. Stadium will also let you pick between the traditional first-person mode or a new third-person mode, which should make it easier to aim some of the wilder abilities you can unlock during a match.
The cherry on top to all these changes are new quality of life features Blizzard plans to add this year, like the ability to ban specific heroes from a match, and vote on maps you want to play. Of course, there are also two new heroes in the works: Freja, "a former search and rescue operative turned bounty hunter" with an explosive crossbow who will be playable in a free trial weekend during Season 15 before joining the game in Season 16, and a hero currently being called "Aqua" who will land in Season 18 and can control water.
Season 15 launches on February 18, while features like hero bans and map voting are coming later this year, in that order, according to Blizzard.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/overwatch-2s-next-update-overhauls-the-game-with-perks-and-loot-boxes-212409206.html?src=rss
MyFitnessPal, a popular, free food logging app, is getting into AI, specifically letting AI plan your meals for you. Following an acquisition of a startup called Intent, MyFitnessPal is adding an AI-generated meal planning feature for subscribers.
The meal plans the updated MyFitnessPal app will be able to create take into account subscribers' "goals, preferences, dietary habits, and routines," according to MyFitnessPal, via information the app already has on you, and what looks like a survey. The feature will also be part of an end-to-end experience. Any plan the app creates can be automatically translated into a grocery list for the next time you're at the store, or an order to a grocery delivery service if you'd prefer to do as little as possible.
MyFitnessPal
Given the sheer number of recipe and diet videos you can stumble upon across social media, trying to simplify the process of planning what you're going to eat makes sense. Using AI to do it does seem like it could have some unintended consequences, though. Knowing AI's ability to hallucinate, even if MyFitnessPal isn't generating recipes from scratch, it still feels like you could end up with some oddball meal combinations or incorrect grocery lists.
The only way to know for sure is to try the AI meal planner for yourself, and if you're interested, you can already sign-up for a waitlist so you're able to try it out as soon as its available. MyFitnessPal says meal planning will officially launch in the spring in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and require joining a new $99.99 annual subscription tier called "Premium+" to use.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/myfitnesspal-is-going-to-let-ai-play-your-nutrionist-191239496.html?src=rss
Roblox, Discord, OpenAI and Google are launching a nonprofit organization called ROOST, or Robust Open Online Safety Tools, which hopes "to build scalable, interoperable safety infrastructure suited for the AI era."
The organization plans on providing free, open-source safety tools to public and private organizations to use on their own platforms, with a special focus on child safety to start. The press release announcing ROOST specifically calls out plans to offer "tools to detect, review, and report child sexual abuse material (CSAM)." Partner companies are providing funding for these tools, and the technical expertise to build them, too.
The operating theory of ROOST is that access to generative AI is rapidly changing the online landscape, making the need for "reliable and accessible safety infrastructure" all the more urgent. And rather than expect a smaller company or organization to create their own safety tools from scratch, ROOST wants to provide them, free of charge.
Child online safety has been the issue du jour since the Children and Teen's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) started making their way through Congress, even though both failed to pass in the House. At least some of the companies involved in ROOST, specifically Google and OpenAI, have also already pledged to stop AI tools from being used to generate CSAM.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/roblox-discord-openai-and-google-found-new-child-safety-group-194445241.html?src=rss
Members of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are being forced to choose between staying at their jobs or taking a government buyout, NPR reports. The buyout program is one of several methods the current administration is deploying to shrink the federal government under the guidance of the "Department of Governmental Efficiency" (DOGE), an advisory group lead by Elon Musk.
CISA was creating during the first Trump Administration in 2018 to protect key infrastructure from cyber attacks and advise the government and its partners on building more secure infrastructure in the future. The agency played an important role in investigating Salt Typhoon in 2024, the hacking group that breached US telecom companies to get at government officials. Considering cybersecurity is becoming more critical, not less, short-staffing the agency could lead to problems.
The consequences of hollowing out or effectively eliminating key government agencies and departments don't seem to be a concern of DOGE or the Trump Administration, however. Along with CISA, staff at the IRS, CIA and Department of Education have also reportedly received the buyout ultimatum. The offer gives government employees until midnight on February 6 to accept a buyout and receive pay through October, or come back to work in-person, agree to new performance standards and promise to be "reliable, loyal and trustworthy," according to USA Today.
The deal mirrors a similar offer Musk made to Twitter employees after he acquired the social media platform in 2022, even down to language describing it as a "Fork in the Road." A key difference between then and now is budget. The government hasn't set aside money to pay a bunch of employees to do nothing for eight months, and its not clear it plans to, because Congress ultimately controls government spending. Beyond that, a legal fight might make the whole thing moot. A US district judge in Boston has already ruled against the buyout deal, giving government employees until at least Monday to make a decision, Reuters writes, and there's the possibility of another extension still on the table.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/protecting-the-us-from-hackers-apparently-isnt-in-trumps-budget-195915036.html?src=rss
Google is changing its tune around efforts to hire employees from historically underrepresented backgrounds, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
The company reportedly announced that it would "no longer set hiring targets to improve representation in its workforce." The first hint that things might be changing at Google was a tweak to its parent company Alphabet's annual report. A phrase that claimed Alphabet was "committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve" featured in previous years was removed.
When reached for comment, Google provided the following statement:
We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year we’ve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there. We’ve updated our 10-k language to reflect this, and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic.
Even if diverse hiring is no longer a stated goal, Google still plans on supporting resource groups for underrepresented employees and opening offices in cities with diverse workforces, according to the report. It just doesn't plan on having "aspirational goals" moving forward.
Backing off of at least some of its diversity, equity and inclusion goals stands in contrast to the Google of five years ago. In 2020, CEO Sundar Pichai committed to "improve leadership representation of underrepresented groups by 30 percent by 2025," among other changes meant to better racial equity at the company.
Making this kind of change isn't exactly unusual, however. Amazon is winding down some of its DEI programs, according to CNBC and Meta has completely eliminated its diversity hiring goals and the position of chief diversity officer at the company. Based on Google's statement and justifications Meta made previously, US companies are worried about the current Supreme Court and the Trump Administration's opinion of diversity, equity and inclusion. Eliminating programs that might displease them is simpler than inviting what could be a losing legal battle.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-reportedly-changing-course-on-its-diversity-initiatives-too-223644402.html?src=rss
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen outside Google Bay View facilities during the Made by Google event in Mountain View, California, U.S. August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
