Technology

Into the Breach, the sci-fi turn-based strategy game from the makers of FTL: Faster Than Light, will be available on iOS and Android as part of a Netflix subscription beginning July 19th, developer Subset Games announced Thursday. Since late last year, Netflix has offered a selection of mobile games that subscribers can play for free. The company has been steadily adding titles in the months since launch, and although much of what’s available is generic-looking casual fare, Netflix seems committed to adding more notable games like Into the Breach. Earlier this month at its Geeked Week event, for example, Netflix revealed that a bunch of indie titles, including Spiritfarer and a new entry in the Reigns series, would be added to its mobile offerings. The iOS and Android version of Into the B...

The thing Naoki Yoshida is most excited about in Final Fantasy XVI is the eikon battles. In speaking to The Verge, Yoshida, the game’s director, talked about how earth-shattering, knock-down, drag-out fights between some of the franchise’s most prominent and popular monsters featured heavily in this latest single-player, non-remake entry in the 35-year-old JRPG series. Summons — aka espers, aka aeons, aka eidolons, aka GF (lol) and now eikons — have been a fixture in the Final Fantasy series, representing a kind of “break glass in case of emergency” option in combat. Over the years, players have had varying levels of control over them with the power to call them forth for a one-time big hit like in Final Fantasy VII and IX, issue commands to them directly like in Final Fantasy X, or to sum...

The White House and 11 governors from East Coast states forged a new partnership on Thursday to build up domestic supply chains for offshore wind farms and related infrastructure. The new Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership includes governors from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. As part of the announcement, the Biden administration committed to the facilitation of “timely and effective permitting and environmental reviews” for offshore wind projects and lease sales. In the past, permitting has been a significant bottleneck for advancing offshore wind projects. Crucially, President Joe Biden also moved to ease another major bottleneck: securing the specialized ships...

TikTok has a new reigning champion. Khaby Lame, a 22-year-old Senegalese-born creator, became the most-followed person on TikTok last night, surpassing American TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, who formerly had the distinction. Lame now has more than 142.7 million followers compared to D’Amelio’s 142.3 million. Lame, who’s based in Italy, initially rose to fame through his use of TikTok’s duet and stitch features, reacting wordlessly to complicated and absurd “life hacks.” He now primarily posts silent comedy skits, racking up millions of views and likes. His following began exploding last year, and in recent weeks, fans have launched efforts to push him to the top. Lame’s ascent and unseating of D’Amelio is significant. D’Amelio and her sister, Dixie, are two of the central figureheads of Tik...

Bungie has sued a Destiny player who allegedly filed dozens of fake copyright strikes in its name. The lawsuit, covered by TheGamePost, says California YouTube creator Nick Minor turned a single Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice into 96 fraudulent claims against other YouTubers. The complaint claims Bungie “brand protection” contractor CSC Global sent Minor a legitimate copyright notice in December 2021, asking him to remove music from the soundtrack of Destiny expansion The Taken King. Minor allegedly responded by creating a Gmail account that mimicked the CSC one and then filing similar requests with a bevy of other YouTube accounts — even hitting an official Bungie account. He identified himself as a CSC representative and demanded the accounts remove videos or fac...

Thanks to the popularity of Stranger Things’ music-heavy fourth season and social media, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” has climbed up to the very top of music charts around the world 37 years after the song initially released. A number of Bush’s longtime (and generally older) fans have felt a type of way about younger people discovering her music for themselves by way of a sci-fi love letter to the ’80s. But Bush — herself a longtime Stranger Things fan — sees the sudden resurgence of interest in “Running Up That Hill” as an exciting and touching testament to the power of art. In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Bush — who generally doesn’t speak to the public — opened up about what it’s been like to watch a new generation turn one of her classics into a present-day...

Twitter has begun testing a new feature called Notes that allows users to publish long-form content. Previously, users on the platform were limited to a 280-character count when drafting tweets. The company announced on Wednesday that it’s currently testing Notes with a small group of writers based in the ​​United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Ghana. Notes will be able to be read both on and off Twitter and in most countries. This means that even those without a Twitter account will be able to access the content. Those among the beta test group will have a “Write” tab where they can draft content and access their Notes. They will also showcase a Notes tab on their profile so that followers can easily locate their long-form content. Twitter shared a thread of some of the Notes that the...

Urban Sky, a Colorado-based company focused on collecting images and data of the Earth using small stratospheric balloons, says it is officially entering commercial operations after three years of operating partly in stealth and raising funding. The company says it is ready to start serving customers with its balloons, which can be deployed from the back of a pickup truck and ascend into the sky in just minutes. Specifically, the company offers what it calls “microballoons,” high-altitude balloons that can float to the stratosphere carrying a small payload and maintain a constant position over an area. About the size of a Volkswagen bus at launch, these balloons ultimately inflate to be the size of a small car garage in the air. That’s much smaller than a typical stratospheric balloon, whi...

Xiaomi has announced the Poco F4 and Poco X4 GT, offering global versions of budget-oriented devices previously released in China. The €399 (about $418) Poco F4 is mostly a rebranding of the Redmi K40S, with a Snapdragon 870 processor, an OLED screen with fast refresh rate, stabilized main camera, and fast wired charging. The performance-focused Poco X4 GT will cost €379 (about $398) includes a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset, 6.6-inch 144Hz LCD, and high-capacity battery, also with fast wired charging. Simply put, they offer specs that put our current crop of midrange phones to shame — if they ever made it to the US. The Poco F4’s 870 processor is carried over from the Poco F3, and it’s a capable flagship-ish chipset with 5G support. The Poco F4’s OLED 6.67-inch screen offers up to 120Hz ...

The huge space exploration game No Man’s Sky will be available on the Nintendo Switch on October 7th, developer Hello Games revealed Thursday. That’s a bit later than the summer timeline announced in February, but it’s good to have a concrete date to look forward to. Physical and digital editions will be released on launch day. In No Man’s Sky, you explore a universe that’s largely procedurally generated, and the game has so far been available on more powerful platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, and PC. We’ll have to wait and see exactly how well the game performs on Nintendo’s comparatively less powerful console, but Hello Games’ years-long commitment to improving the game (one update hit just last month) indicates the studio will work to iron out any potential issues. “No M...