Apple investigates report of an iPhone 6 exploding while in hands of girl, 11
Apple is investigating a reported incident of an iPhone 6 explosion in California, with the device said to have sent out sparks while it was in the hands of an 11-year-old girl. The reason behind the iPhone bursting into flames is still unknown, and Apple has not yet publicly commented on the incident.
NASA thinks 3D-printing spacecraft parts in orbit will help Moon to Mars mission
NASA awarded a $73.7 million contract to Made in Space to demonstrate how a small spacecraft named Archinaut One will manufacture and assemble parts while in low-Earth orbit. NASA believes that the technology will change future space exploration, including its Moon to Mars initiative.
Apex Legends cheaters and spammers will be matched up against each other
Apex Legends cheaters and spammers will be matched up against each other, as part of Respawn Entertainment's continuing fight against cheating. The developer is also working on using machine learning to create models for automatically banning cheaters, as well as enabling two-factor authentication.
Minecraft Earth closed beta launches on iOS first: Here’s how to sign up
The Minecraft Earth closed beta will launch this month for the iOS, with the Android version to follow soon. Players who would like to participate as testers will still be able to sign up, and if chosen, they will be required to play the game at least once every seven days or they will lose their spot.
Blizzard will save players from Overwatch cheaters by shutting down matches
Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan said in the latest developer update that matches in the multiplayer shooter will abruptly end as soon as the game detects a cheater. The feature, to be powered by an improved anti-cheat system, will not result in lost Skill Rating for the honest players in the match.
The Coalition removes smoking in Gears 5, but the guns will stay
The only form of smoking in Gears 5 will be from the barrels of guns, as The Coalition agreed to remove all tobacco references in the latest entry to the Gears of War series. The move was pushed by Truth Initiative, a non-profit, anti-smoking organization that hopes other developers will follow.
Professional poker players no match for A.I. in six-player Texas Hold ’em
Pluribus, an A.I. system created by researchers from Facebook's A.I. lab and Carnegie Mellon University, destroyed professional poker players in Texas Hold 'em. The bot won an average of $5 per hand with winnings of $1,000 per hour, with strategies that were very different from how humans played the game.
TrickBot returns with new attack that compromised 250 million email addresses
TrickBot returns with a new attack that teams up the malware with an email-based infection and distribution module dubbed TrickBooster. An investigation into TrickBooster's servers discovered a database with 250 million compromised email accounts, including from US government departments.
Impossible Foods looks to make another splash with fishless fish
Impossible Foods, the company behind the Impossible Burger, is currently developing fishless fish in response to the growing demand for plant-based food. The product will include heme, a protein from genetically modified yeast that was also used to copy the texture, taste, and aroma of beef.
Ubisoft terminates player-made XP farming quests in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Ubisoft banned experience farming quests made on the Story Creator Mode of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The quests exploit the tool to allow players to gain massive amounts of experience points without doing anything, likely spurred by the intense level grinding required to finish the game's main missions.
U.S. vs. Huawei: As trade war escalates, tech companies sit in the crosshairs
The U.S. Commerce Department has added Huawei to its "Entity List," meaning it cannot trade with the U.S. without permission. Google, Intel, and ARM are all confirmed or rumored to be ceasing business, which may have disastrous long-term effects on Huawei's smartphones. Here's what you need to know.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses will take up more than 200 hours of your life
Fire Emblem: Three Houses will offer more than 200 hours of gameplay, as each house takes about 80 hours to complete, according to director Toshiyuki Kasukihara. Amazingly, the amount of time that players can spend on the game may further increase with the four waves of DLC from its Expansion Pass.
Pokémon GO to add Armored Mewtwo to Raid Battles, teases arrival of Team Rocket
Niantic Labs is ready to unleash Armored Mewtwo in Pokémon GO, with the Psychic-type Pokémon set to appear in five-star Raid battles for a limited time only. Meanwhile, Niantic continues to tease the arrival of Team Rocket, such as with a hot air balloon at the first ever Pokémon GO Fest at Dortmund, Germany.
Microsoft reportedly working on streaming-only Xbox to take advantage of xCloud
Microsoft is only working on one version of its next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Scarlett, but that does not mean that a second console is out of the question. A streaming-only Xbox that will take advantage of the Project xCloud service is said to be in the works, reportedly priced as low as $60.
Capcom card game Teppen features Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, and more
Capcom released digital card game Teppen, which includes characters from Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Darkstalkers, and Resident Evil. The iOS and Android game features real-time action, which can change into a turn-based sequence through the Active Response system.
Fallout 76 Patch 11 will make it easier for new players to survive the Wasteland
Bethesda is planning to make it easier for new Fallout 76 players to survive the Wasteland with the upcoming Patch 11. Some of the changes to help low-level characters include a lower number of caps for fast traveling, a higher resistance to disease, and a lower rate of encountering high-level enemies.
Gears 5 multiplayer test starting soon: Here’s what to expect and how to join
The multiplayer test for Gears 5, which will start on July 19, will offer players access to the Escalation, Arcade, and King of the Hill modes. To be able to join the test, players will need to have purchased Gears 5, either as a physical or digital pre-order, or as part of the Xbox Game Pass membership.
Nintendo believes in cloud gaming, but thinks consoles will stick around
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa believes that cloud gaming, which allows games to be run on powerful remote servers and then streamed to devices, has a place in the future of the industry. However, that does not mean that the technology will replace consoles, according to Nintendo Director Shigeru Miyamoto.
Apex Legends Season 2 launch falls flat, fails to rack up Twitch viewership
Apex Legends Season 2, named Battle Charge, has so far failed to meet expectations as a Fortnite challenger in terms of Twitch viewership, despite a new character and an altered map. The lackluster start has sent Electronic Arts shares crashing, though hope remains for a bigger Season 2 audience.
Studio MDHR delays Cuphead DLC to 2020, in bid to avoid development crunch
Studio MDHR delayed Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course to 2020, as the developer looks to avoid creating a crunch culture among its employees. The DLC, which will be rolled out to the Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch, will add a new island, a new character, and more difficult bosses to beat.
TikTok under investigation again over collection of children’s personal data
TikTok is under investigation in the U.K. for how it collects, handles, and uses the personal information of kids, following a similar action in the U.S. that resulted in a $5.7 million fine. The music video sharing app may be in violation of the European Union's data privacy laws.
343 Industries threatens to ban illegal testers of Halo: Reach beta on PC
The first flight for the beta of Halo: Reach on PC finally launched to a limited number of Halo Insiders. However, some fans are apparently too eager to catch their first glimpse of the game and have resorted to illegal distribution of the test, prompting 343 Industries to threaten the banhammer.
Apple reportedly offers logic board replacements for some 2018 MacBook Air units
Apple has reportedly launched a free logic board replacement program for certain units of the Retina, 13-inch, 2018 MacBook Air. According to documents, affected laptops are suffering a "power" issue from the faulty components, and that Apple will be reaching out to owners of the affected computers.
Rumor: Grand Theft Auto 6 rumored to be heavily inspired by Netflix’s Narcos
A new set of Grand Theft Auto 6 rumors claim that the project is drawing heavy inspiration from Netflix crime drama Narcos. The game will be set in the 1970s and 1980s with one playable male protagonist who will rise up the ranks of the drug trade, according to the information dump on Reddit.
Game Freak will not change plans amid Pokémon Sword and Shield controversy
Pokémon Sword and Shield drew controversy when it was revealed that not all Pokémon from older games may be transferred to the upcoming RPG. Game Freak's Junichi Masuda, the game's producer, responded to the issue, but it appears that the developer will not be changing its plans despite the backlash.
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered originally planned as just a direct port
Square Enix initially planned to re-release Final Fantasy VIII as a direct port to current-generation consoles. Fortunately, the developer felt that the RPG deserved better for its 20th anniversary, resulting in the decision to proceed with character refinements and create Final Fantasy VIII Remastered.
Bumble opens video chat and voice calling to matches, without revealing numbers
Bumble opened video chat and voice calling to its Bumble Date, Bumble BFF, and Bumble Bizz sections, in a bid to promote more confident connections and safer spaces. The features may only be activated between people who match on the app, and do not require them to exchange their phone numbers.
Nintendo Switch Online may soon add retro games from other classic systems
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa revealed that there are plans to expand Nintendo Switch Online, hinting that classic games from more platforms beyond the NES may soon be added to the service. Gamers are hoping for SNES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube titles to be added to the retro collection.
Benchmark leak shows PlayStation 5 is 4 times more powerful than PlayStation 4
A benchmark leak reportedly shows that the PlayStation 5 will be four times more powerful than the PlayStation 4. The next-generation console's score also places its performance within the vicinity of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which means that the PlayStation 5 may be closing the gap with PC gaming.
Tetris Royale brings 100-player battle royale version of classic game to mobile
Tetris Royale, the first game in the partnership between N3TWORK and The Tetris Company, will feature a 100-player battle royale mode. The game will be similar to Tetris 99 for the Nintendo Switch, but it is being developed for iOS and Android, with beta testing to start within the year.
Blizzard suffers another blow with exit of global esports director Kim Phan
Blizzard suffered another blow with the departure of global esports director Kim Phan, who was with the company for 13 years. Her exit follows the move of the Overwatch League's founding commissioner Nate Nanzer last month to Epic Games, highlighting the struggles of the company's esports initiatives.
Microsoft reportedly releasing foldable Surface with 9-inch screens next year
Microsoft is reportedly planning to roll out a foldable Surface as early as the first quarter of 2020. The device, code-named Centaurus, is said to feature two 9-inch screens with a 4:3 aspect ratio, the long-rumored Windows Lite, and compatibility with Android apps, according to IHS Markit.