Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the existential-crisis department: Microsoft is positioning Windows as the primary gaming platform for Xbox, according to Xbox president Sarah Bond. "We're working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming," Bond said in a video announcing a partnership with AMD for next-generation Xbox hardware spanning consoles and handhelds.
The statement, PCWorld points out, aligns with Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" marketing campaign, which promotes phones, PCs, televisions, and traditional consoles as Xbox devices. The company's newly announced Xbox Ally X handheld runs Windows beneath its Xbox interface, allowing access to multiple game stores unlike Valve's Steam Deck.
Microsoft has shifted strategy following weak Xbox console sales compared to PlayStation, spending billions to acquire publishers including Bethesda and Activision Blizzard while expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming services across multiple device types.
Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh Developer Interviews
Some outlets had the opportunity to ask the developers some additional questions. We've recapped some of the highlights below.
ScreenRant
Screenrant interviewed Assistant Lead Quest Designer, Stephanie Yoon, the Associate Art Director, Tina Wang, and two Lead Encounter Designers for Ghosts of K'aresh, Taylor Sanders and Andrew De Sousa.
Players are able to gather a lot of hints and clues about where we're headed to next in Midnight with the story in this patch
Tazavesh was a really cool space that was built out as a dungeon, so the team did some revamping to make it work for flying, opened up some doors, and now more players will be able to see it.
Using a Reshii Wrap, players can take waygates and move as energy through conduits and even dodge through boss mechanics
The Dimensius fight will involve players diving through space, dodging lasers and even planets being thrown.
WellPlayed
WellPlayed talked to Tina Wang, Associate Art Director and Stephanie Yoon, Assistant Lead Quest Designer.
Ve’nari has a list of animals ready for you, so you won't be heading off to just any zone to collect animals for your eco-dome.
Players will be able to fly right away in of K'aresh, as there are shattered land masses that are separated by the twisting void that are unreachable without flying.
Capstone World Quest are only while in phase diving.
< This article continues on their website >
Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh
Today's WoWCast introduces us to Patch 11.2, Ghosts of K'aresh! It features a new Artifact Cloak, Dungeon, Raid, Delves, Outdoor World updates, and more!
Ghosts of K'aresh
The Ethereals in Burning Crusade told us about K'aresh, a beautiful arid homeworld that was ruined by Dimensius the All-Devouring consuming their world-soul
We helped the Ethereals get revenge and thought the matter was finished
We’ll be setting foot on the shattered void-touched land because we have heard that evil forces are trying to resurrect Dimensius the All-Devouring. If he’s allowed to return, it would be the end of the Ethereals and then the end of Azeroth.
Alleria will be here front and center with her old mentor Locuswalker, as he bring us to his old home planet
Lorewalking gave hints to the coming content for players that completed it in Legacy of Arathor.
Tazavesh, the Veiled Market will be a home base in K’aresh
New Raid - Manaforge Omega
Giant facility that was built on the planet to harvest cosmic energy
We’ll be facing down a spider like creature that they are harvesting silk from
We’ll also face a mysterious council of Demon Hunters that made their way to K’aresh
The final boss is Dimensius, the largest raid boss the team has ever created. It is the size of Stormwind!
Players will enter the raid through the mana intake pipe by turning themselves into energy with their Artifact Cloak.
The first boss encounter is against a Warden that oversees the pipes, so players will need to go in and out of energy form to survive
Artifact Cloak - Reshii Wraps
The team wanted to give players an upgradable artifact with visible components that doesn’t interfere with any tier sets
The cloak helps turn players’ bodies into energy form
A very powerful person in the campaign helps players gather Ethereal artifacts and coalesces them into a Reshii Wrap
< This article continues on their website >
Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the internet-of-snitches department: The UK Information Commissioner's Office has issued its first guidance demanding manufacturers of air fryers, smart speakers, fertility trackers, and smart TVs respect users' privacy rights after reports of excessive data collection in homes.
The regulator requires companies to ensure data security, provide transparency to consumers, and regularly delete collected information. Stephen Almond, the ICO's executive director for regulatory risk, said smart products know who users live with, their music preferences, and medication details. The guidance addresses "internet of things" devices, including fertility trackers that record menstrual dates and body temperature before sending data to manufacturer servers.
Additionally, smart speakers that monitor family members and visitors must allow users to configure settings that minimize personal information collection. The ICO warned manufacturers it stands ready to take enforcement action in the event of noncompliance.
Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: DC Studios co-head James Gunn argues that the movie industry is "dying" primarily because productions begin before screenplays are complete, while also delivering a sharp critique of his former employer Marvel Studios, which he claims Disney has "killed" through output mandates.
Gunn dismissed common explanations for Hollywood's struggles like declining theater attendance or improved home viewing experiences, telling Rolling Stone that "the number one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay." The filmmaker has implemented a strict rule at DC Studios requiring finished scripts before production starts, recently scrapping a project because its screenplay wasn't ready.
The director, who previously helmed three "Guardians of the Galaxy" films for Marvel, said Disney's corporate directive to increase output destroyed the studio's creative process. "They were under a corporate mandate, yeah. That wasn't fair. It wasn't right. And it killed them," Gunn said, referring to Marvel's mandated production quotas for movies and television shows. By contrast, Gunn said DC Studios operates without numerical mandates. "We don't have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year. So we're going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality," he explained.
Posted by from MMO Champion
Dastardly Duos Week 3: Spicy Mean-Ball Pet & Cosmetic Shoulders Rewards
Week 3 of the Dastardly Duos event is here! In this post, we quickly go over how to unlock this week's rewards:
Winner's Podium toy upgrade, the
Spicy Mean-Ball pet, and two cosmetic shoulders.
Take the quest Week 3: Spread the Word from Vinnie Sweets.
Defeat 6 dastardly bosses during the match to complete the week 3 achievement
Defeat the Dastardlies.
Win the Dastardly Duos match to complete the weekly quest and turn it in to gain the
Highest Score measure for your
Winner's Podium.
Speak with Wodim the Troll-Servant to purchase the newly unlocked rewards:
New Pet:
Mean-Ball Ball Bag - Teaches
Spicy Mean-Ball
New Cosmetic Shoulders:
Blue Dastardly Epaulet &
Black Dastardly Epaulet
Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Field Notes, the analog notebook company that began as designer Aaron Draplin's side project 20 years ago, has sold over 10 million notebooks and operates in 2,000 stores worldwide, co-founder Jim Coudal told Fast Company. The Chicago-based company, which Coudal says just completed its best year for sales and revenue with 2025 tracking to exceed those numbers, has grown from selling 13 notebooks on its launch day to producing quarterly edition runs of 30,000 to 60,000 packs. The brand's subscription model, launched in 2009 with 1,500-pack print runs, now encompasses 67 limited editions and provides both predictable cash flow and regular customer engagement opportunities for the company.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the drastic-times-call-for-drastic-measures department: In response to escalating tensions with Israel, Iran has begun throttling internet access, with plans to disconnect from the global internet entirely to prevent Israeli cyberattacks. The Iranian government also urges citizens to delete WhatsApp -- one of the country's most popular messaging platforms -- claiming without evidence that the Meta-owned app has been weaponed by Israel to spy on its users. (WhatsApp vehemently denied those claims in a statement to the Associated Press.) Telegram is also said to be blocked as well. The Verge reports: The announcements come amidst the escalating war between Iran and Israel, which broke out after Israel attacked the country on June 12th, and a rise in reported internet outages. Civilians have claimed that they've been unable to access basic but critical telecommunications services, such as messaging apps, maps, and sometimes the internet itself. Cloudflare reported that two major Iranian cellular carriers effectively went offline on Tuesday, and The New York Times reports that even VPNs, which Iranians frequently use to access banned sites like Facebook and Instagram, have become increasingly harder to access. [...]
Israel's role in the cyber outages has not been officially confirmed, but independent analysts at NetBlocks noticed a significant reduction of internet traffic originating from Iran on Tuesday, starting at 5:30 PM local time. According to Tasnim, a news network affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Iranians will still have access to the country's state-operated national internet service, though two Iranian officials told the Times that the internal bandwidth could be reduced by up to 80 percent.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the big-wins department: The U.S. Senate has approved the GENIUS Act with a 68-30 final vote that "saw a huge surge of Democrats joining their Republican counterparts," reports CoinDesk. What the bill sets out to do is create the first federal regulatory framework for U.S. stablecoins, requiring issuers to maintain full 1:1 reserves in cash or Treasuries, adhere to regular audits and anti-money laundering rules, and gain regulatory approval -- all while allowing foreign stablecoin access under strict oversight rules. From the report: As written, the bill would set up guardrails around the approval and supervision of U.S. issuers of stablecoins, the dollar-based tokens such as the ones backed by Circle, Ripple and Tether. Firms making these digital assets available to U.S. users would have to meet stringent reserve demands, transparency requirements, money-laundering compliance and regulatory supervision that's also likely to include new capital rules. "This is a win for the U.S., a win for innovation and a monumental step towards appropriate regulation for digital assets in the United States," said Amanda Tuminelli, executive director and chief legal officer of the DeFi Education Fund, in a similar statement. [...]
< This article continues on their website >
