Culture

Curse of Strahd designer says Strahd is an irredeemable monster

For the 10th anniversary of Curse of Strahd, principal designer Chris Perkins insists Strahd von Zarovich should remain an irredeemable villain. Perkins notes Strahd murdered his brother and his wife out of jealousy, turned a literal angel into Doctor Moreau, and exterminated his own worshipers out of boredom, and said,

Tech

Gaming mouse doubles as a Stream Deck with 'ultimate programmability'

12 side buttons might seem like overkill, and for some it is. Where keybindings are concerned, though, overkill is exactly what I'm going for. The Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless SE was intimidating when I first got it out the box last summer, but after getting to know each

Tech

Industry Pushes Back Against Valve’s Steam Profit Claims

At GDC this year Valve presented a bar chart suggesting more games are earning over $100,000 on Steam, rising from about 3,000 in 2020 to 5,863 in 2025. Many in the games industry found the presentation misleading and irritating, arguing it creates the impression that the platform

Culture

Liam Neeson's Retribution Now Streaming Free on Tubi

As of Mar. 15, 2026, Retribution is available to stream for free on Tubi. Liam Neeson stars as a man trapped in a moving car after a mysterious caller reveals a bomb has been placed under his seat; the device will detonate if he or his children leave the vehicle,

Culture

Which Sci‑Fi World Would You Survive?

A ten-question Sci‑Fi Survival Quiz matches your instincts and choices to one of five fictional universes: The Matrix, Mad Max, Blade Runner, Dune, or Star Wars. Questions cover how you respond to threat, which resources you guard, the skills you rely on, and what would make survival worth it.

Culture

How 'alpine divorce' leaves women stranded on hiking dates

MJ calls what happened to her in Zion national park a "small 'T' trauma." Five years ago she and a new partner travelled from Los Angeles to Utah for an adventure; on the morning of their hike she felt "off" and later learned he

Sports

USMNT World Cup 2026 kits: inside the design process

The USMNT reflected a wide variety of personalities and tastes during the kit process. Some players dove into the design work, others were content to wait for the finished product, but everyone was consulted in waves. There were three major moments in the process, with a fourth coming this fall

Politics

Five airports with highest TSA callout rates during shutdown

A partial government shutdown has led to long lines at airports as large numbers of TSA agents call out and 366 have left their jobs. Staff have been working without pay since February 14. The Department of Homeland Security said the nationwide callout rate climbed from under 2% before the

Culture

Sekiro: No Defeat anime will be 'under the microscope' from passionate fans

The Sekiro: No Defeat anime has stirred new interest following a second trailer that leans into a strong visual identity—scratchy, loose linework, kinetic action and painterly backgrounds that suggest a kind of "controlled messiness." The series had earlier faced a brief hubbub over possible AI use, a

Tech

Apple AirPods Max 2: five hidden features you may have missed

Apple waited six years to update the AirPods Max, and at a glance the new model looks familiar: same design, same case and the same five colors. The headline improvements center on Apple’s H2 chip and stronger active noise cancellation, but Apple's tech specs reveal several subtler

Tech

PlayStation Portal update adds 1080p High Quality mode and faster setup

Sony is rolling out a software update for the PlayStation Portal that adds a 1080p High Quality Mode, improves cloud streaming and simplifies first-time setup. The update will roll out globally to all Portal users on March 18. High Quality Mode uses more data to deliver smoother performance and improved

Tech

Howard: Bethesda handled the Creation Engine better for The Elder Scrolls 6

Bethesda Game Studios says it has learned a lot from Starfield and is applying those lessons to The Elder Scrolls 6, especially around the Creation Engine. Todd Howard summed up the change in approach plainly: "I will say the way we approached the engine work – we've done

Crypto

Phantom wins CFTC no-action relief for wallet access to derivatives

Phantom, a developer of self-custodial crypto wallets popular in the Solana ecosystem, secured a no-action letter from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that allows it to offer users access to certain regulated derivatives markets without registering as a broker. The CFTC’s Market Participants Division said it would

Culture

Geoff Keighley Says Oscars CEO Blocked Him After In Memoriam Omission

At the 98th Academy Awards, the broadcast’s In Memoriam segment did not include David Keighley, who died in September 2025. His son, Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley, posted that he was "so incredibly disappointed and heartbroken" by the omission and added, "I will never forget."

Tech

2027 Kia Telluride: upmarket looks, mass-market price

The three-row 2027 Kia Telluride pairs upscale styling with an accessible starting price of $39,190 (plus a $1,545 destination fee) and now offers a hybrid that returns a claimed 35 mpg combined. The new model follows the same formula that made the first-generation Telluride a hit in 2019,

Culture

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Teasers Show MCU Hero in Action

New bits of footage of Spider-Man: Brand New Day have surfaced online ahead of the trailer's debut tomorrow. Sony Pictures earlier released a brief tease inspired by one of the most iconic comic book covers, and more clips have rolled out gradually. In an unconventional release strategy, Sony

Culture

Power Ballad review: Rudd and Jonas clash in John Carney’s music comedy

John Carney returns to his familiar territory of music and small, human stories with Power Ballad, a music comedy that leans more into laughs than some of his earlier films while retaining the warmth and optimism that define his work. The film follows Rick, played by Paul Rudd, a former

Tech

Galaxy Buds 4 Pro review: refined design and improved sound

After a week of use the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro emerge as Samsung's best earbuds so far. They may feel a bit "boring," but that restraint comes with practical upgrades: a refined design, new head gestures and the return of features such as 360 audio, live

Sports

Barcelona target Alessandro Bastoni as Inter set fee above €50m

Barcelona have identified Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni as a primary defensive target for the summer window. Sporting director Deco prioritised signing a top-tier, left-sided centre-back after failing to adequately replace Inigo Martinez last year, but the club's ongoing financial constraints could complicate any move. ESPN says Barcelona

Tech

Microsoft unifies Copilot teams and moves Suleyman to superintelligence

Microsoft is combining its commercial and consumer Copilot teams into a single organization. Jacob Andreou, whose previous title was Microsoft AI corporate vice president of product and growth, will become executive vice president of Copilot and lead the combined teams. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft AI CEO, will shift to a superintelligence

Culture

Pragmata brings giant robot kaiju boss battles to Japanese sci-fi action

Pragmata, delayed four years, arrives next month. A hands-on demo at Capcom's San Francisco office suggested earlier footage had been holding back much of the game's action. The demo put building-sized robot kaiju at the centre of combat. One had a weird, alien hammerhead and a

Culture

Stop paying comedians to go on holiday

A TV commissioner once pitched a simple idea: film a comedian travelling somewhere, and send them along with their mum. That concept, light on premise but heavy on personality, has come to define a strikingly crowded corner of broadcast schedules. Recent examples range from Alexander Armstrong in India to Lucy

AI

New Nvidia DLSS Tech Gives Characters AI Slop Faces

Nvidia unveiled DLSS 5, a new version of its upscaling technology. Early images shared by the company show the system applying AI-driven alterations to in-game faces, and reactions to those examples have been mixed. The company called DLSS 5 its “most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of

Culture

Invincible Season 4 Releases on Prime Video — Full Schedule

Invincible season 4 premieres on Prime Video on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The first three episodes drop that day, and the remaining five episodes will be released weekly. Episode 1: March 18; Episode 2: March 18; Episode 3: March 18; Episode 4: March 25; Episode 5: April 1; Episode 6:

Culture

First Trailer for R-Rated Jack Ryan Movie Starring John Krasinski

After four seasons of conspiracies, rogue states, political chaos, and Jack Ryan repeatedly getting dragged way beyond his analyst job description, Prime Video is moving the character from series to movie. The first trailer for Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War has arrived, offering the first extended look