Schools in several major cities in Canada have initiated legal actions against social media corporations, including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook, alleging that these platforms hurt children’s mental health and educational progress.

On Wednesday, school districts from Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel Region launched individual lawsuits, collectively seeking damages amounting to approximately $4.5 billion.

The legal actions against Meta, TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. allege that these firms intentionally target children with products designed to be addictive. This, in turn, leads to disturbances in classroom settings and increases the susceptibility of children to sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Toronto District School Board said in a complaint filed in Ontario’s Superior Court: “Endemic social media use is causing an unprecedented youth mental health crisis within the Plaintiff’s schools and amongst its student population.

“Students’ social media use is causing significantly increased rates of anxiety, depression, social media addiction, body dysmorphia, anorexia, low self-esteem, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, pervasive loneliness, self-harm, and suicide,” it continued.

It claimed that the companies “capitalized on their knowledge that the developing child brain is particularly vulnerable and prone to manipulation” by these social media products.

Only this week (March 26), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law to effectively ban young children from social media. Under the new legislation to be introduced on 1 January 2025, Florida will prohibit children aged 13 and under from having access to social media, whilst 14 and 15-year-olds will require parental consent to be online.

The ongoing issue with social media

In January, social media executives testified at a US Senate hearing aimed at addressing online child exploitation. The CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X, formerly known as Twitter, shared their stance amid growing concerns and questions about how platforms are considering their impact on children.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg surprisingly turned to parents of victims on the Senate floor and apologized. “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” Zuckerberg said while parents displayed photographs of their children, who died after suffering from sexual exploitation or harassment through social media platforms.

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc., expressed similar sentiments to parents whose children obtained illegal drugs via Snapchat. In late 2023, parents of over 60 teenagers sued Snap, accusing it of enabling their children to purchase drugs that led to overdoses.

In October 2023, a massive lawsuit filed by 33 states accused Meta of knowingly designing its platforms to be addictive and harmful to children’s mental health. The claims originate from internal research leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen in 2021, revealing that 13.5% of teenage girls reported Instagram worsens suicidal thoughts, and 17% stated it aggravates eating disorders.

Featured image: Canva

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Helldiver’s 2 players will be able to access new weapons in the battle against the Terminid and Automaton hordes in the acclaimed game.

Those loyal to the fight for Super Earth will get not one, but two new heavy weapons to add to their arsenal.

Helldivers adds new content

The co-op game from Arrowhead Studios has added another supply drop in the form of the LAS-99 and the MG-101 joining the armory. The official X account posted:

Helldivers, support has arrived! The LAS-99 Quasar Cannon and the MG-101 Heavy Machine Gun are available now for use against the Automaton horde. pic.twitter.com/EZSzXJWSPn

— HELLDIVERS 2 (@helldivers2) March 28, 2024

The two new weapons mark a busy week for the studio as Arrowhead published an article looking at the previous patch for the game. Patrik Lasota said “I’m responsible for how Arrowhead listens to feedback and balances its games. I’d like to talk about the changes we made in this patch and why.”

Latosa is the Head of Product Testing (HPT) at Arrowhead and was also a designer on the original Helldivers game.

He broke down the weapons, nerfs, and fantasy and a few of the key supporting pieces that help Helldivers on their missions.

”All too often in the games industry the core fantasy, and what makes a weapon feel good and fun, is ignored for the sake of Balance,” Latosa said of finding harmony in the game.

Feedback is incredibly important to the method Arrowhead adopts and can be seen in the HPT’s views on game design. “It is extra important to us to tread carefully so that we don’t ruin fantasy and fun when we do nerfs. We hope you, our players, will tell us when we cross that line inadvertently.”

Arrowhead dropped game content earlier this month in the form of the Warbond upgrades. “Helldivers… we need your help. The brainiacs in Super Earth Research & Development have some cool experimental armor ready to be field-tested. This is where you come in, you’re just the right people for the job,” said the Sony blog post.

The content drop was well received off the back of a massive update patch that brought fire tornadoes and meteors to the co-op shooter, as well as stabilization and balancing fixes.

Arrowhead continues to impress with its player and content-focused updates to the game. We await what is next for the saviors of Super Earth, but knowing the tongue-in-cheek studio they will probably drop a few hints.

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Update: SBF has now been jailed for 25 years – read more here.

Sam Bankman-Fried, owner of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, will receive sentencing in New York today (March 28) after his convictions for fraud and conspiracy last year. District Judge Lewis Kaplan could level a sentence of up to 110 years of jail time.

Prosecutors are pushing for 40-50 years, whereas the defense is seeking leniency due to Bankman-Fried being a non-violent first-time offender. They are lobbying the judge for a sentence closer to six and a half years.

Victims of the collapse of FTX have been writing to the judge to provide their thoughts on the issue and to attempt to convey the impact fraud of this scale has had on them.

Sunil Kavuri, a British investor, said to the BBC “He has shown no remorse so why would any judge show any mercy?” At the time of FTX’s collapse, Kavuri had over $2 million worth of holdings on the exchange site.

Arush Sehgal, an entrepreneur from Barcelona, and his wife had around $4 million in dollars and Bitcoin in FTX – their life savings. He described it as them having “lost everything.”

Canadian Angela Chang had about a quarter of a million dollars in FTX, and its fall has led to her taking out credit card debt and ultimately selling a portion of a claim to an investor. She believes that victims of the crimes committed by Bankman-Fried are being minimized due to being in the crypto industry. “People think that crypto is criminal and so they have sympathy for this guy… But I’m not a criminal,” she said to the BBC.

How will Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentence be determined?

Making a sentencing decision such as this is a complex matter. The scale of the crime and its effects are contested at a huge scale, according to Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman. “Any judge or lawyer will tell you that one of the best things the defendant can do before being sentenced is really, really show he’s on the right path, show some remorse, and show some degree of self-knowledge as to his offense,” said professor Richman, continuing, “Here you not only have a defendant who went to trial but you have one who really, at least the judge believed, was obstructive prior to trial.” Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked last year after rumors of witness tampering and intimidation reached Judge Kaplan.

Part of the case for leniency stems from the fact that through the bankruptcy filings, most people who had holdings in FTX stand to regain their money. However, this does not account for losses sustained due to being unable to participate in the market as Bitcoin hit its record high before beginning to fall again.

There are also those reaching out to beg for leniency in sentencing, including Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara Fried. She is a former law professor and describes the US justice system as “punitive”. “I have no illusions about the redemptive power of prisons,” she wrote in a letter to Judge Kaplan. “Being consigned to prison for decades will destroy Sam as surely as would hanging him.”

Despite the pleas from family and friends and the fact that Bankman-Fried is a non-violent first-time offender, Professor Richman believes it would be “really surprising” for the Judge to come anywhere close to the defense’s request of 6.5 years.

Featured image: Generated by Ideogram

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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has decided not to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into the advertising of the iconic show Doctor Who.

We reported earlier this month that David Housden, a senior executive with the BBC had initially said that there is “a rich variety of content in the Whoniverse collection on iPlayer to test and learn with, and Doctor Who thematically lends itself to AI, which is a bonus.”

Now the fans have spoken and the broadcaster has had to file an official statement saying “We have no plans to do this again to promote Doctor Who.”

BBC backpedals on AI incorporation

The Doctor Who Companion site was “disgusted” at the attempt to incorporate the generative AI into any aspect of the show.

The site would post that “shortly after the news was published, outrage from fans resulted in the (AI announcement) article being deleted — replaced by a webpage which states “Sorry, we couldn’t find that page.”

Housden had stated “We’re going to take it one step at a time, starting simple and learning as we go. We have chosen to start with Doctor Who, as it is a joint content priority for both BBC Public Service UK and BBC Studios marketing teams.”

This was a marquee moment for both the established pop culture character, who has fought storied battles against AI and robots in comics, television, and radio dramas, and the BBC.

The cherished Tardis-traveling Doctor and their fanbase won in the end. In response to the complaints levied at the BBC, the broadcaster released a statement acknowledging the backlash, writing:

“We received complaints about reports that the BBC is exploring generative AI in Doctor Who promotion.”

“As part of a small trial, marketing teams used generative AI technology to help draft some text for two promotional emails and mobile notifications to highlight Doctor Who programming available on the BBC.

We followed all BBC editorial compliance processes and the final text was verified and signed off by a member of the marketing team before it was sent.”

Doctor Who returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer in May 2024 for the UK and Disney+ for the rest of the world.

As we reported earlier this year, Doctor Who will also be making a debut in the world of Fortnite to possibly coincide with this new series of science fiction adventures, according to well-established gaming leakers.

Image: BBC.

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This morning we reported that disgraced crypto magnate Sam Bankman-Fried was due to be sentenced in New York this morning, with the Prosecution looking for between a 40-50 year term and SBF’s defense team arguing a five-year term would be more acceptable.

The judge meanwhile had the ability to lock up Bankman-Fried and effectively throw away the key with a 110-year sentence but has just issued a 25-year sentence for his part in the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Bankman-Fried was found guilty by the jury after just over five hours of deliberation last November.

Bankman-Frieds’ FTX had a $10 billion black hole in its accounts after money belonging to customers was used to make risky bets on crypto. A scheme that was to go horribly wrong.

FTX was valued at $32bn before it went bankrupt with Sam Bankman-Fried crafting an image that drew in celebrities, politicians, and business titans, according to the BBC.

Bankman-Fried’s victims remain out of pocket and while they may get some losses back, it is unlikely everybody will come out of the scandal unscathed.

Prosecutors described Bankman-Fried’s crimes as one of the biggest financial frauds in the history of the United States.

Handing down the sense Judge Lewis Kaplan said that despite “protestations of sorrow” about customer losses there was “never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes”.

The judge refused to accept Bankman-Fried’s claim that his victims would be paid back in full as “misleading and logically flawed”.

“A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole.”

Earlier today Bankman-Friend took the stand and, while stopping short of a full apology said he had made a series of bad decisions that haunt him every day.

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Amazon is reportedly gearing up to invest nearly $150 billion over the next 15 years in data centers. This substantial financial commitment will equip the cloud-computing giant with the necessary resources to manage a projected rise in demand for AI applications and various digital services.

Bloomberg reports that this investment is a strategic display of dominance, to preserve Amazon’s leading position in the cloud services sector. Amazon currently holds about twice the market share of its closest competitor, Microsoft Corp.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to ReadWrite that the figures were based on its recent infrastructure announcements found on its website.

However, Amazon Web Services experienced its slowest sales growth on record last year, as corporate clients reduced expenses and postponed upgrades. Now, as spending begins to rebound, Amazon is eagerly securing land and energy for its energy-intensive operations.

In the last two years, Bloomberg said its calculations indicate that Amazon has pledged $148 billion towards the building and operation of data centers globally. The company aims to expand its server farm locations in northern Virginia and Oregon, and venture into new areas such as Mississippi, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.

Despite the expansion, AWS saw a 2% decrease in its data center investments in 2023, marking its first reduction, even as Microsoft ramped up its expenditures by over 50%, as reported by Dell’Oro Group. However, Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer announced last month that there would be an uptick in capital investments this year to fuel AWS’s expansion, encompassing projects related to artificial intelligence.

“As we look forward to 2024, we anticipate capex to increase year over year, primarily driven by increased infrastructure capex to support growth of our AWS business, including additional investments in generative AI and large language models,” said CFO Brian Olsavsky.

Amazon’s plans for AI expansion

While Amazon’s expansion of its data centers aims to cater to the growing need for corporate services, its focus on sophisticated, high-cost chips will provide the substantial computing power needed for the predicted increase in generative AI.

Reports suggest that Amazon is developing proprietary tools to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and has developed partnerships with various companies to enhance its AI services using its servers. As a result, Amazon expects to generate AI-related revenue amounting to tens of billions of dollars.

Featured image: Canva / Web Summit Rio

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The cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) hits the one million validator milestone with 32 million Ether currently staked. This 32 million is valued at around $114 billion according to current market prices.

According to one report on Cointelegraph “the network achieved a validator count of one million, with the 32 million ETH staked accounting for 26% of the total supply.”

The CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, caused a surge in the price of Ethereum this week after his comments on a recent interview panel. Fink said that designating ETH as a security won’t be “deleterious.”

After Fink’s comments, the value of Ether would rise to $3,658. We covered BlackRock’s application for an ETH exchange-traded fund last year.

Ethereum reaches landmark

The staking platform Lido saw 30% of the total ETH in play and allows investors in the cryptocurrency to stake in smaller amounts as part of a collective.

This collective then takes part in the staking process (which has a maximum effective staking 32ETH limit) and their presence helps to approve transactions. For playing their part these validators get a small reward in the shape of ETH.

Not all onlookers are happy to see the number of validators increase as they believe it could bring issues with transactions. Investors such as Evan Van Ness took to X to share his concerns on the increase in the number of validators:

Definitely not, arguably already too much staked

— Evan Van Ness (@evan_van_ness) March 27, 2024

Gabriel Weide, who runs a staking pool, responded to Van Ness’ post saying that too many validators can lead to “failed transactions.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has tabled several legal challenges against cryptocurrency operators for their practices. Ethereum isn’t escaping this scrutiny as we reported earlier this month.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been vocal about his and the regulator’s stance on cryptocurrency operators, speaking recently at Columbia Law School saying “There are participants in crypto securities markets that seek to avoid these (SEC) registration requirements. No registration means no mandatory disclosure. Many would agree that the crypto markets could use a little disinfectant.”

The SEC is currently locked in legal battles with Coinbase, which is set to move to a trial date. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla wrote that “the Court finds the SEC has sufficiently pleaded that Coinbase operates as an exchange, as a broker, and as a clearing agency under the federal securities laws, and, through its Staking Program, engages in the unregistered offer and sale of securities.”

As we reported last week, the government regulator is also seeking $2bn penalties from Ripple Labs.

Image: Ethereum.

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In an effort to cut costs, Sega announced that they will be laying off 240 staff across three subsidiary companies as well as selling Relic Entertainment to an external private investor.

The job losses will be spread across three of Sega’s subsidiaries: Sega HARDLight (responsible for multiple Sonic The Hedgehog franchise games), Sega Europe, and Creative Assembly (developers of the popular Total War series).

Relic Games stated in a post on X that they plan to continue to support Company of Heroes 3 and that they view the transition from Sega subsidiary to an independent development studio as a positive one.

Important Update from Relic Entertainment pic.twitter.com/nCcF8olDaC

— Relic Entertainment (@relicgames) March 28, 2024

Why is Sega conducting layoffs and selling subsidiary companies?

According to the press release from Sega, it has been forced to perform layoffs due to the “rapidly changing” business environment, citing a “reactionary decline from the stay-at-home demand in COVID-19 and the economic downturn due to inflation,” meaning that “profitability has been lowered.”

Eurogamer was able to see an internal email from Jurgen Post, European managing director at Sega, which confirmed that some laid-off staff members found out about the layoffs from social media before they were informed personally.

“Due to the nature of this announcement and our legal obligations in Japan, we were unable to share any detail with you until now,” Post wrote. “That is far from ideal and means some of you may have read about this in the media or via social networks before seeing this email. If that is the case, I’m sorry.

“I want to sincerely apologize for the worry and understandable distress this news will cause, particularly for those directly affected,” Post continued. “These decisions have been incredibly tough to make, and they follow meticulous consideration and deliberation with leadership teams across the business.

“Change is necessary to secure the future of our games business, and to ensure that we are well-placed to deliver the best possible experiences to our players going forward.”

It has been a tumultuous day for the games industry. As well as Sega selling Relic, it was also announced that Embracer Group plans to sell Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive. It’s a period of flux for the industry as a whole.

Featured image credit: Relic Entertainment

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3D-printing has never been so close to the mainstream with printers from Bambu Lab and Uniformation being as close to plug-and-play as any newcomer can get. What has been missing from the hobby so far however is a user-friendly method of being able to scan your own objects and turn them into 3D models to print out yourself. 3D scanners have existed for a while, but like the printers themselves, the technology is now speeding up and the price coming down.

Enter the Moose, from 3DMakerpro which has just kicked off its pre-sale today, and from the press release it sounds like it could be just what we are looking for: “(The Moose scanner are) beginner-friendly 3D scanners with AI visual tracking technology. The Moose series is 3DMakerpro’s latest consumer-grade 3D scanner line-up offering, designed to handle real-world medium-sized objects into 3D models with remarkable efficiency and precision.

“Powered by a set of AI features and in collaboration with Oqton, the developer of Geomagic Wrap, 3DMakerpro aspires to make 3D scanning easier and more accessible to beginners and advanced users in the creative field.”

“The Moose series brings consumer 3D scanning to new heights of accuracy and allows more users to benefit from the convenience of 3D scanning,” said Tianshi Yuwen, Global Marketing Director of 3DMakerpro. “Our dedication to innovation empowers us to democratize high-precision 3D scanning and push beyond the boundaries of making all creative visions a reality.”

The Moose comes in two different variants, the Moose and the Moose Lite with the latter costing $249 at pre-sale ($399 after) and the main Moose costing $454 ($699 after). The Lite’s scans are not as detailed and operate with a Mono texture mapping method, while the main Moose has full 24-color mapping.

Hopefully, we will get to see within the next couple of weeks whether 3DMakerpro has pulled this off, but initial signs look great, and those pre-order prices are tasty.

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Embracer Group has announced plans to divest Gearbox Studios in a sale to Take-Two Interactive valued at $460 million to be made up entirely of newly issued Take-Two shares. Take-Two has confirmed that Gearbox is working on a new Borderlands game.

According to a press release from the video game holding company, it is divesting Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, Gearbox Studio Quebec, and the franchises Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem.

The divested properties will join Take-Two’s 2K division, which has long been a publishing partner of Gearbox. They have published the successful Borderlands games franchise since the first one in 2009. Gearbox will continue to be led by its founder and CEO Randy Pitchford.

The sale does not include studios that were purchased by Embracer through Gearbox, including Cryptic Studios, Lost Boys Interactive, and Captured Dimensions. It also does not include Gearbox Publishing in San Francisco, publishers of Remnant 2, and owners of the publishing rights of several upcoming titles, including Hyper Light Breaker.

The end of Embracer’s restructuring?

This divestment marks the apparent end of a planned restructuring which resulted in over 1300 layoffs at Embracer-owned companies.

“Today’s announcement marks the result of the final structured divestment process and is an important step in transforming Embracer into the future with notably lower net debt and improved free cash flow. Through the transaction, we lower business risk and improve profitability as we transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company,” says Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer.

Randy Pitchford said that despite being a long-term shareholder in Embracer Group, he believed that this was the most positive outcome for Embracer, Take-Two, and Gearbox. “My primary interest is always Gearbox, especially our talent and our customers. I want to personally assure fans of our games that this arrangement will ensure that the experiences we have in development at Gearbox will be the best they can possibly be,” he said.

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Global gambling group 888 Holdings parts ways with several business-to-customer (B2C) assets after a strategic business review.

Hard Rock Digital benefits from 888’s move that the company is calling a “controlled exit of its remaining US B2C operations”.

Hard Rock Digital is one of the United States’ leading sportsbook and online gaming operators. The company has been quick to pounce on the 888 assets after the company conducted its review.

888 sells B2C assets

The operator’s review earmarked the sale of their American-based assets after a rocky 2022 and 2023. The company reported a £115.7 million ($141m) loss in 2022 and £121.3 million ($151m) pretax loss in 2023 respectively.

Per Widerström, CEO of 888 said that “in the US, the intensity of competition and requirement for scale means huge investment is required to reach profitability.”

The leading man at the gambling operator said that despite some U.S. gambling markets doing well, “we (888) have concluded that achieving sufficient scale in the US market to generate positive returns within an accelerated timeframe is unlikely.”

888 concluded that as a “result of the review the Group has agreed the sale of selected assets to Hard Rock Digital (“HRD”), completion of which is conditional upon, amongst other items, relevant regulatory approvals. It is expected that the disposal will be completed in a number of phases, with final completion expected in Q4 2024.”

The dynamic of the U.S. gambling and online gaming market is only continuing to become more complex as 2024 unfolds.

Other than existing businesses giving up their territory in the U.S. market there are limited opportunities for gambling operators to expand their existing markets. This is unless a state allows for more gambling options to be present.

The biggest operators in the U.S. are ready to capitalize in states that have no form of gambling legislation.

An example is the state of Missouri. The home of the current Superbowl-winning champions the Kansas City Chiefs. The football team and other sports teams in the state are lobbying for an ease of the current restrictions on gambling. These established brands are looking to benefit from lucrative sports betting partnerships with brands such as Hard Rock Digital.

Image: Ideogram.

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Credible leaks from the Honkai: Star Rail 2.2 version beta are coming thick and fast now. One of the latest is that players will receive a free Light Cone, an ATK, DEF, and HP boosting weapon when the patch drops.

The free Light Cone will be called For Tomorrow’s Journey and is a 4-star weapon. It’s a Harmony Path weapon so only Harmony characters will receive the passive bonus granted by the item.

2.2 Free 4 star Harmony LC
byu/ukrisreng inHonkaiStarRail_leaks

What are the stats on the free Light Cone in Honkai: Star Rail 2.2?

For Tomorrow’s Journey is the name of the free weapon and its detailed stats are:

• Path: Harmony
• Rarity: 4-stars
• HP: 952
• ATK: 476
• DEF: 330
• Bonds (Harmony Path users only): Increase the wearer’s ATK by 16%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, increase their DMG dealt by 18% for one turn.

There is a lot of speculation online about what this Light Cone is designed for. Being an offensive Harmony path Light Cone suggests that it could be designed for Robin, an upcoming 5-star Harmony character who uses physical damage. It is rumoured that Robin will release in 2.2, alongside this Light Cone.

What are Light Cones in Honkai: Star Rail?

In Honkai: Star Rail, Light Cones are a kind of weapon, ranging between 3- and 5-star rarity, which characters can equip. They all provide a variable boost to HP, ATK, and DEF, and have a passive ability that will activate if the Cone is equipped by someone of the same path.

Light Cones can be leveled up and enhanced by consuming other Light Cones or Light Cone EXP Materials. The six Ascension phases mean they can be leveled to 80.

Light Cones can also be Superimposed, which increases its passive ability’s level. Superimposing is done by consuming an identical Light Cone. The rank of the Cone and the one being consumed by the Superimposition are added together during the process and this can be done to a maximum of level five.

Honkai Star Rail version 2.1, Into the Yawning Chasm, is now available across all regions, and 2.2 is expected sometime in May. Find out more about what’s in Honkai: Star Rail version 2.1 here.

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No Man’s Sky, alongside Cyberpunk 2077 is a gaming rarity in that it launched to a sea of derision, but is now so highly thought of in gaming spheres that it is up there with the best games of the last decade.

Unthinkable as that was back in 2016 when it launched, the team at Hello Games stuck to the task and tirelessly crafted and molded it into the game that was promised.

Now we are getting another of the frequent massive updates taking the game to v4.6. This one is called No Man’s Sky Orbital and sees a huge revamp of space stations in the game, along with a host of new starship customizations.

There is a ton of other stuff in the patch but below is the juice we are really interested in.

As with all NMS updates, we don’t need to wait, they launch as they are announced so you can jump in and get going on this one immediately. We are off to load it up right now.

What’s new in 4.6 No Man’s Sky Orbital

Space Stations

• Space stations have been completely overhauled and refreshed.
• Station exteriors now come in a huge array of procedurally generated shapes and colors, as well as at an increased scale.
• Space station interiors are now procedurally generated.
• Space station interiors now have a huge amount of lighting and visual variation.
• Station interior designs now reflect the race of the local system authorities.
• The various key space station merchants and interactions have all been visually refreshed.
• Players can now use the Quick Menu to switch their docked ship while aboard the space station, provided the ship in question has functioning launch thrusters.

Starship Customization

• A new interaction, the Starship Fabricator, has been added to the space station.
• The fabricator allows you to build your own custom fighter, hauler, or explorer starship.
• When salvaging a ship, the process can now be targeted at specific visuals, e.g. reclaiming the wings or thruster array specifically. These harvested components can then be combined to create a brand-new ship.
• Purchase starship reactors from space station technology merchants to determine the stats and class of your new starship.
• The fabricator also allows you to choose unique colors and paint styles for your new ship.
• Starships salvaged from the wild or purchased from another pilot benefit from universal authentication, granting them a bonus to future trade-in values.

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The multi-award-winning rhythm shooter, Metal: Hellsinger is being rebuilt for VR and will arrive this year for Quest 2, Quest 3, PCVR, PSVR2, and Quest Pro.

The original version which had you “slaying to the beat” of the pounding metal music, timing your demon-killing gunshots to the rhythm of the drum garnered over three million players as it smashed its way to 96% positive rating on Steam when it was released.

A VR incarnation has been highly requested by the community and the VR version includes the game’s legendary original score, with artists like Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Matt Heafy (Trivium), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Randy Blythe (Lamb of God), and more.

“Metal: Hellsinger in VR is a match made in heaven, or should I say hell,” said Funcom’s Chief Marketing Officer, Erling Ellingsen. “Even when we were working on the original, we fantasized about how thrilling it would be to play in VR and many fans have been saying the same. Now that fantasy is coming true and there is no doubt: slaying demons to the rhythm of epic metal tracks, all in full-motion immersive VR, is just as incredible as we imagined it.”

VR and Metal: Hellsinger could be a match made in heaven, especially with the Quest 3 performing so well – yeah the music will certainly not be to anyone’s taste, but if the idea of a sort of rhythmic Doom aesthetic appeals then this will definitely be worth keeping an eye out for. The VR version is being handled by Lab42 who have previously worked on Crusader Kings III (hey, it’s all games right?) and Forza Motorsport.

Metal: Hellsinger VR comes to Meta Quest 2 & 3, Meta Quest Pro, PS VR 2, and Steam in 2024 – nothing more specific than that, and can be wishlisted now.

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One of the world’s best-known streamers and Fortnite legend Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja has posted on his account on X that he is being treated for a type of skin cancer that has been found on his foot.

Posting the following message, Ninja urged his followers to get any skin spots they were unsure about checked out by a doctor:

“Alright, I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went into a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for me. There was a mole on the bottom of my foot that they wanted to remove just to be careful.

“It came back as melanoma, but they are optimistic that we caught it in the early stages. I had another dark spot appear near it, so today they biopsied that and removed a larger area around the melanoma with the hopes that under the microscope they will see clear non-melanoma edges and we will know we got it. I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups.”

The 32-year-old streaming sensation from Detroit has almost 20 million followers on his Twitch channel so his message to get checked out will go far and wide.

Alright I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for me. There was a mole on the bottom of my foot that they wanted to remove just to be careful. It…

— Ninja (@Ninja) March 26, 2024

Ninja was one of the first streamers to pick up on Fortnite Battle Royale when it was first released and has gone on to cement his spot as one of the most famous internet personalities of our time.

He has previously raided money for children’s hospitals, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, using the reach of his platform for good causes.

It is hoped the illness has been caught early enough and highlights the need to be self-aware if you see new blemishes on your skin.

Featured Image: via Ninja on YouTube

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F-Zero remains the Nintendo franchise that so many people want to see rebooted properly and yet, nothing. Still, at least we have F-Zero 99 we can play on the Nintendo Switch for those times we don’t want to play its other famous racer Mario Kart.

F-Zero back in the day on the Super Nintendo was a phenomenon and is still much loved to this day. There were a few newer versions along the way and now we have F-Zero 99 paying homage to the old school but every addition to the racer’s back catalog is welcome.

This week Switch Online will get F-Zero: Maximum Velocity which made its first back on the Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo announced the arrival on it’s official X account:

“Calling all speed demons!

The Game Boy Advance classic F-Zero: Maximum Velocity races onto #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack this Friday, 29/03!”

The arrival of F-Zero advance means we now have three of the four mainstream games on Switch online, the original, F-Zero X from the N64, and now this. So at some point, we will probably get the missing Gamecube game, F-Zero-X to complete our collection (which we don’t own because they are part of a subscription service, but hey-ho).

Meanwhile, F-Zero 99 also gets a new mode and some updates, Steer Assist will arrive as a feature for players who struggle with some of the cornering, as the game will get a new Practice mode as well, so that you can hone your skills without taking on the risk of losing real races on tracks you are unfamiliar with, In terms of new content the Knight League is getting a new Mirror Mode Grand Prix. This mode will be coming to the King and Queen Leagues at some point in the future.

All in all if you are F-Zero fan, get ready for Friday.

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Phil Spencer, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft Gaming believes that the habits of Gen Z individuals have led to the recent business decisions by the company.

Speaking in an interview with Polygon, Spencer would explain the moves by the gaming arm of Microsoft and give perspective to the ‘pivot’ that the company has made in making as many games as possible multiplatform and cross-device compatible.

Xbox Chief explains business pivot

Spencer has had a busy 2024 so far and at the first-ever Xbox partner preview, he laid out some of the cross-platform decisions by Microsoft such as HiFi Rush, Starfield, and a host of other titles leaping to rival PlayStation.

“I will say, every decision we make today and tomorrow is for the better of Xbox,” Spencer would candidly approach the moves made by the gaming company. “I know sometimes things get weaponized, that there’s some evil in the background that’s making us do things — ‘Phil hates exclusives and that’s why we’re like PlayStation and Switch now.’ Every decision we make is to make Xbox stronger in the long run. It doesn’t mean everyone’s going to agree with every decision we make. But it is fundamental for how we make decisions.”

These decisions have led to gamers seeing Xbox exclusives like Sea of Thieves sail over to the Sony console and Spencer is content with the new approach to how Xbox is viewed.

The CEO said “This notion that Xbox can only be this one device that plugs into a television isn’t something we see in the Gen Z research. Because nothing else is like that for them.”

The Gen Z market enjoys cross-console and mobile gaming as a whole, Spencer made light of this by saying “Some of them (Gen Z players) will have an iPhone, some will have an Android, but all the games and everything is the same. I can still get to TikTok on both of them, at least for now.”

Phil Spencer and Xbox’s decisions to release on rival consoles could be seen as an attempt to wring out the value of existing titles that have an untapped audience.

It can “cost $300 million to build a video game these days,” said Spencer, and “(continuing Xbox console and Game Pass) exclusivity gets pressured as the cost of the game goes up,” he would say of ring-fencing games to a particular console audience.

PlayStation console owners now have exclusive titles such as Spider-Man 2 and God of War, but now can anticipate the Microsoft studio slowly releasing exclusive games at a later date.

This seems like the best of both worlds for those who thought games like Bethesda’s upcoming titles would mean having to invest in a new console.

Phil Spencer’s ‘money-for-old-rope’ approach to the existing catalog of Microsoft games will be a smart move for the company, but those loyal to the brand will possibly rethink their device choices shortly as ‘exclusivity’ isn’t in the business plan for Microsoft moving forward.

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The wait is almost over for Honkai Star Rail 2.1 “Into the Yawning Chasm”, and with it comes new characters and evolution of the story. Players will be able to take on new missions and embrace new adventures with the arrival of Acheron and Gallagher in the latest edition of the role-playing gacha title.

Image credit: HSR/X

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Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption arc is only rivaled by that of No Man’s Sky. A rare, near-perfect example of a game that over-promised big time, came out big-ridden, and was roundly panned by, well everybody, has bounced back over the last couple of years to make it a virtually unmissable piece of gaming.

Now considerably past its v2.0 and with a great DLC to boot, the game that was once removed from the PlayStation Store because it was such a mess is now in a position where, if you haven’t played it yet, you now have the chance to give it a try without it costing you a bean.

This Easter weekend, PlayStation and Xbox users can spend five hours, totally free in Night City as unveiled in a post on X from the official Cyberpunk 2077 account. While five hours might not seem an overly long time, it is more than enough to get you acquainted with the darker side of the neon city and try out the game for yourself, and the best bit is that you don’t need to have a subscription to either console’s services either, you can just download the trial from the respective stores and get cracking, the only caveat being it is within the dates of the trial. You do not have to use all five hours in one go either, you can come and go as you please.

When is the Cyberpunk 2077 trial available?

The Cyberpunk 2077 trial will run between 28th March and April 1st and you can see the times on the image.

The trial only applies to the base game and includes no Phantom Liberty content, but it is not like you would get that far into it anyway and there is still more than enough to do during your time in the game.

It’s quite possible you tried Cyberpunk 2077 during its diabolical launch and have never looked at it since, well this is the opportunity to put that right.

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A new set of skins, seemingly from Fortnite has been leaked on X and appears to show characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, including a chunky version of Groot.

The post, from Fortnite leaker XTigerHyperX is completely devoid of any context and simply contains an image of what has been extracted from the game.

The images you see here are part of a much larger range of posts showing a lot of new Fortnite skins, emotes, and characters that have been extracted from the recent patch. Guardians of the Galaxy however is a set of characters that are bound to do well when they arrive in the Item Shop, and with the range of bling, emotes, and Lego versions of the characters, suggests we may even get an event based on the sci-fi franchise.

As mentioned, Lego iterations of the skins are present and correct as well meaning it looks like, when it eventually does arrive they will definitely be playable in Lego Fortnite too.

Lego Fortnite patch 29.10

Meanwhile, a new patch is due to land today, version 29.10 will bring official vehicle building into Lego Fortnite which follows on from the news about Lego Fortnite players being able to build new islands recently. The patch, dubbed “mechanical Mayhem” will “bring new ways to travel your world so you can embark on your biggest adventures yet!”

Three new vehicles, the Speeder, Offroader, and Hauler will be buildable once you have unlocked the recipes in the game.

Major improvements, adjustments, and bug fixes

Gameplay

• New smart transfer feature: transfer all similar items to and from storage.
• It’s easier to visually tell when your constructs take damage.
• With the new vehicle building features, we had to adjust some durability values. We recommend using higher-rarity resources to strengthen your constructs if any part breaks.
• Items can be dropped one at a time when a stack is picked up.
• Pools of fish can be found near new (but somehow already run-down) docks that are alongside lakes and rivers.
• Made improvements to constructs so they remain stable when entering and exiting caves.
• Made stabilization fixes for constructs traveling large distances across the world.

Other

• The Stormy Emote will be updated to its full, intended animation in LEGO Fortnite.

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