Nvidia has seen its fortunes soar in recent years as its AI-accelerating GPUs have become worth their weight in gold. Most people use their Nvidia GPUs for games, but why not both? Nvidia has a new AI you can run at the same time, having just released its experimental G-Assist AI. It runs locally on your GPU to help you optimize your PC and get the most out of your games. It can do some neat things, but Nvidia isn’t kidding when it says this tool is experimental.
G-Assist is available in the Nvidia desktop app, and it consists of a floating overlay window. After invoking the overlay, you can either type or speak to G-Assist to check system stats or make tweaks to your settings. You can ask basic questions like, “How does DLSS Frame Generation work?” but it also has control over some system-level settings.
By calling up G-Assist, you can get a rundown of how your system is running, including custom data charts created on the fly by G-Assist. You can also ask the AI to tweak your machine, for example, optimizing the settings for a particular game or toggling on or off a setting. G-Assist can even overclock your GPU if you so choose, complete with a graph of expected performance gains.
Infinite Reality, a media, ecommerce, and marketing company focused on 3D and AI-powered experiences, has entered an agreement to acquired Napster. That means that the brand originally launched in 1999 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) music file-sharing service is set to be reborn again. This time, new owners are reshaping the brand into one focused on marketing musicians in the metaverse.
Infinite announced today a definitive agreement to buy Napster for $207 million. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company plans to turn Napster into a “social music platform that prioritizes active fan engagement over passive listening, allowing artists to connect with, own, and monetize the relationship with their fans.” Jon Vlassopulos, who became Napster CEO in 2022, will continue with his role at the brand.
Since 2016, Napster has been operating as a (legal) streaming service. It claims to have over 110 million high-fidelity tracks, with some supporting lossless audio. Napster subscribers can also listen offline and watch music videos. The service currently starts at $11 per month.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again. Publisher Paradox Interactive announced today that it is now targeting release in October 2025 instead of the first half of this year. “Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room are committed to delivering this game, and we believe that ensuring great technical quality is more important than sticking to a specific date,” the company said.
Creating the sequel has been a trial of endurance that would test even an immortal undead’s patience. Paradox parted ways with the game’s original developer, Hardsuit Labs, in 2021. The Chinese Room, which made notable indie games Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, joined the project as developer in 2023. Today’s update from offered some encouragement that the project is now in “a late development stage,” however it has decided to discontinue dev diaries that offered behind-the-scenes peeks at progress.
The original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines game came out in 2004 after its own challenging development. Made by the now-shuttered Troika Studios, it was an story-driven game inspired by a tabletop RPG about several vampire clans in a modern-day Los Angeles. It was a commercial flop, but acquired a loyal audience over the years and even cultivated a community for mods and fan games.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/vampire-the-masquerade—bloodlines-2-is-now-slated-to-launch-in-october-2025-194649207.html?src=rss
Meta-owned Downpour Interactive describes the update as “the biggest update we have ever done since the game’s release in 2016”. According to Downpour, every single weapon and piece of equipment has been graphically upgraded, new weapons have been introduced, a new game mode has been added, you can now choose and customize your character model, a classic map has been remastered, and a new map has been introduced.
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Weapons and equipment have taken a “huge visual leap” with the models, textures, and sounds replaced, Downpour says. This includes everything from guns to drones and even smoke grenades.
13 new weapons have also been added, including a pump-action shotgun and revolver with unique hand interactions:
MARSOC
M870 (Specialist)
Vector (Specialist)
HK416 (Rifleman)
HK45T (All Classes)
M45A1 (All Classes)
M27 (Marksman, Support)
MR73 Revolver (Rifleman, Marksman)
Volk
AK103 (Rifleman)
Saiga 12 (Specialist)
APC9 (Specialist)
MP443 Grach (All Classes)
Stechkin APS (Specialist, Support)
RPK-74 (Support with drum magazine, Rifleman with molot magazine)
Two weapons have also been removed from the game, the G3A3 and M1911. Downpour says this is because the G3A3 is no longer used by modern armies, and sees the newly added RPK-74 as its replacement. Similarly, the M1911 is rarely used in reality anymore has been replaced by the M45A1, which is a modernized successor.
Overhauled weapons and equipment.
And whereas previously every player on each team looked the same, Onward Update 2.0 adds 10 “operators” per faction, for a total of 20, to customize their appearance.
MARSOC OperatorsVolk Operators
The update also adds a new map, called Overgrowth, and a remastered version of the fan-favorite Downfall. Both are available in day or night mode. As well as being “more graphically advanced” than current Onward maps, these two new options add climbable ladders, which have also been added to Shooting Range, FOB, and Bazaar.
Further, the map Tanker is now available in day mode, not just night.
Downfall Remastered.
Overgrowth
Tanker (Day)
Onward Update 2.0 also brings a new co-op game mode, called Retrieval, as well as the option for additional AI enemies to spawn after 32 in the Hunt game mode.
Finally, the update brings dozens of quality-of-life and realism improvements, including more realistic bullet drop, scope zeroing, and new scope technology.
Onward is available on the Meta Horizon Store for Quest headsets, Meta PC Store for Link & Rift, and Steam for any VR headset supported by SteamVR.
Full Onward Update 2.0 Changelog
Headline Features
Replaced all existing weapon models, textures and everything else related to their visuals and sounds.
Added new types of weapons: pump action shotguns, and a revolver.
Replaced all weapon attachments and added many new ones
Added new types of weapon attachments: grippods, alternate iron sights, hybrid scopes, combo laser sights, and more
Replaced all MARSOC and Volk characters
Added 20 selectable operators with customization options in arm band colors and lens colors if applicable
Added two new maps: Downfall Remastered (replacing Downfall), and Overgrowth
Added new music throughout the game
Added new visual effects for bullets hitting objects, and for when the player is hit
Added the option to filter servers by platform.
Added interactable ladders to several maps.
Weapons
Overhauled ballistic trajectories, they now are not affected by framerate and properly convey bullet mass, shape, and drop over time.
Added alternate support grip hand poses to assist with overlap on several guns when they are using alternative magazines, such as an RPK drum magazine in an AK style weapon.
Added “trigger discipline” animations to the index finger on all guns, when the user is not touching their controller trigger they will rest their finger on the trigger housing.
All guns now support trigger animations when pulling the trigger, including the taser and the M203 attachments.
When using tracer rounds in the Shooting Range they now affect every shot instead of every third shot.
Volk now has their own stun gun.
Stun guns used to require players to be downed but not dead to hack tablets. This is still the case unless that player was stunned with the stun gun itself. Then they can be hacked even if dead.
Bipods on some LMGs are now grippable.
Added shell carriers for shotguns.
Maps
Added new daytime map variant for Tanker.
The Shooting Range now contains a basketball goal, and several hidden easter eggs.
Ladders have been added to Bazaar to reach the rooftops on a few key buildings.
Towers in Shooting Range and FOB now have functioning ladders.
Improved lighting bakes and textures on various maps most notably on Bazaar and Quarantine amongst others
Improvements to propping and texturing were made to the following maps: Shooting Range, Quarantine, Tanker, Suburbia, Bazaar.
Improvements were made to several Skyboxes
Subway now supports Assault mode
Added a chance of lightning to night maps, as well as a chance of a jet or helicopter flyover on any map, and a chance of a boat driveby on maps with water like Tanker and Abandoned
Game Modes
New game mode: Retrieval. This is similar to the hard drive recovery mission from Mercenary Mode.
Gun Game now uses random factions on faction specific equipment like grenades.
Added a “pump action shotgun” mode to One in the Chamber.
Male and Female VIP added for Escort mode, the gender chosen will match your Marsoc character.
In FFA modes we use your character selections but we do use a random faction, for variety.
Added “Safe Spawn” functionality that allows players to respawn at random positions in Free Roam if their body is being camped.
Added visible ‘walls’ to indicate the playable area in Subway for Assault
Allow for up to 512 bots to spawn in co-op modes – they will respawn when over 32 bots are selected, and ammo boxes will appear.
Bots / AI
Improved AI responsiveness during travel states, so they react more realistically when taking fire.
AI no longer speaks Russian but English with a thick accent, allowing the player to hear what they are doing.
AI now has several new voice events for throwing flashbangs, throwing smokes, and taking fire.
AI now has both male and female voices.
Miscellaneous
Added visible Quest 3 controller for Quest 3 users in the tutorial.
Updated all menu tiles
Player vocalizations now have male and female variants.
Added a new drawing board pen that deterministically randomizes its colors every round.
Fixed the competitive warning when joining via playlist.
Bug Fixes
Removed some obsolete Quest 1 optimizations to characters that could make them look worse.
Grabbing an LMG lid from the wrong side will now flip your hand correctly.
Fix the game potentially getting stuck if the player leaves a game during a map transition.
Fix the game getting brighter if the player leaves a game during a flare.
Fix various locations the player could get stuck in Abandoned, FOB and Bazaar.
Fix minor collision issues in Suburbia, Turbine, and Abandoned.
Fix not having to type the full Uplink code if it ends in zeroes.
Fix not being able to extract in Fire Fight if the host disconnects.
Fix custom content map authors being unable to test AI modes on local exports.
Fix a potential way to get two corpsmen on one fire team.
Fix being unable to interact with a scroll bar when creating a server.
Fire Fight hard drive no longer falls through the helicopter and gets stuck underneath it.
Casters in Mercenary Mode can no longer participate in map or reward votes.
Fix holo sights not appearing white when using night vision sometimes.
Fix an edge case that allowed instantaneous Uplink sends in Assault and Mercenary Transmit rounds.
Molotov flames now affect players of all heights.
Fix server ID text overlapping other UI in the server browser.
Fix sabotage matches ending shortly after the round starts prematurely.
Fix a few placeholder messages in Mercenary mode objective text, for example in Extract mode.
Fix a Fire Fight helicopter you could not board in Turbine.
Fix Evac rounds not ever ending if a player gives up before the AI spawn in.
Fix player count on the watch in One in the Chamber being incorrect.
Fix a small seam in the ballistic shield between the window and shield that could be shot through.
Fix AI being weird if you broke line of sight near doors.
Fix the VIP having green trim around their night vision even if you hadn’t selected it in your options, also fixed VIP ignoring the player’s default phosphor setting.
After users successfully finish a mission involving a helicopter, fix the helicopter’s sound playing forever.
Fix a few spots in Cargo Night that night vision did not illuminate.
Fix getting stuck without a team if you try and click on one team while putting on the helmet of another team.
Fix not making footstep sounds if you are rubbing against a wall.
Fix some occlusion culling issues on Tanker, Quarantine, & FOB.
Fix the drawing board being corrupted when joining a match in progress.
Replaced the check of your internet connection from being ping based to a general web request, which may help certain players.
Fixed bots throwing flashbangs when the player(s) had long since moved
Fixed syringes not syncing their state to other players
Players can no longer hack allied tablets
Fixed flares illuminating subterranean areas of levels
Fixed an issue that could progress a player to the next gun in Gun Game, if another player gave up
Fixed both medics spawning in the same fire group on Firefight
Fixed an issue where players would sometimes die while extracting in the helicopter on Quarantine
Fixed some instances where head tracking wasn’t working correctly, namely in elevators, the killhouse, and while extracting in a helicopter
Fix AI getting stuck when entering certain cover states (such as when taking cover from a grenade).
Fixed users become stuck without a Team after physically equipping a helmet while using the laser-pointer to select the other within Tent Lobbies throughout the title
Fixed the C4 having a collider that would block bullets
Fixed Round abruptly ending when a user dies after having previously entered a ‘disable uplink’ code during the latest round-end phase of ‘Assault’
Fixed Game ending in a VOLK victory when MARSOC slays VIP during Round Reset timer after Jail timer throughout Escort
Fixed matches failing to end immediately after pressing the ‘Give Up’ button in Evac
Fixed air drones being able to leave the spawn jail
Fixed an issue where if two players timed their uplinks just right, two would be sent and MARSOC would be awarded 4 points in Uplink
Fixed Mercenary Mode not being available in the server filter as an option
Fixed the option to allow changing game modes to appear when creating a Firefight server, when this game mode does not support changing modes.
Fixed an issue whereby players could trigger a victory condition in Mercenary Mode – Extract without having the hard drive
Google DeepMind has launched Gemini 2.5, a new family of AI models designed to “think” before responding to queries. The initial release, Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, tops the LMArena leaderboard by what Google claims is a “significant margin” and demonstrates enhanced reasoning capabilities across technical tasks. The model achieved 18.8% on Humanity’s Last Exam without tools, outperforming most competing flagship models. In mathematics, it scored 86.7% on AIME 2025 and 92.0% on AIME 2024 in single attempts, while reaching 84.0% on GPQA’s diamond benchmark for scientific reasoning.
For developers, Gemini 2.5 Pro demonstrates improved coding abilities with 63.8% on SWE-Bench Verified using a custom agent setup, though this falls short of Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet score of 70.3%. On Aider Polyglot for code editing, it scores 68.6%, which Google claims surpasses competing models. The reasoning approach builds on Google’s previous experiments with reinforcement learning and chain-of-thought prompting. These techniques allow the model to analyze information, incorporate context, and draw conclusions before delivering responses. Gemini 2.5 Pro ships with a 1 million token context window (approximately 750,000 words). The model is available immediately in Google AI Studio and for Gemini Advanced subscribers, with Vertex AI integration planned in the coming weeks.
The first thing I thought after watching the Wildgate trailer was that we already have Concord at home (or at least we used to). The second was that the sci-fi extraction shooter from ex-Blizzard developers might be able to succeed where Sony’s hero shooter did not thanks to a gameplay loop that looks way more like Sea…
So it looks like it’s actually underway already, with the implicit blessing of the originator of the DFSG and the Open Source Definition (he co-founded the OSI and no longer trusts the OSI).
Professional skater and Jackass star Bam Margera will be included in the next major Tony Hawk skateboarding game after Hawk himself reportedly stepped in and forced Activison to add Margera to the game’s roster.
In this second of our two part interview, Kooyman talks about moves the foundation has made to remain resilient and relevant in an ever changing world where nothing is certain.
A software engineer discovered that his newly purchased Bosch 500 series dishwasher locks basic functionality behind cloud connectivity, reigniting concerns about internet-dependent home appliances. Jeff Geerling found that features like rinse cycle, delayed start and eco mode on his $1,000 dishwasher require connecting to WiFi and creating an account with “Home Connect,” Bosch’s cloud service.
Geerling criticized the approach as potentially part of planned obsolescence, noting that without a current subscription fee, the company will likely either shutter the service or introduce payments for previously standard features.
A fresh leak from familiar self-described “PC Tech Fan” 포시포시 (better known as @harukaze5719 on Xwitter) has revealed details about AMD’s upcoming Gorgon Point mobile APUs. The information comes from a Naver.com article covering an LG Gram × Ryzen launch event, where slides detailing AMD’s roadmap were apparently shown. We say “apparently”
If you live in a rural area of the UK, you may soon be able to use your phone for satellite calls, messages and other standard data use. On Tuesday, the nation’s telecom regulator, Ofcom, proposed using direct-to-device satellite tech to connect people in the UK’s “most rural and hard-to-reach places,” like mountains and remote villages.
Ofcom sees the tech complementing traditional networks, aiming to provide 100 percent mobile coverage in the UK. The regulator said the tech could also provide backup coverage during outages, offer service to ships and passengers in coastal waters without a connection and provide emergency 999 services (the UK’s version of 911) in remote areas.
Regarding the regulatory details, Ofcom suggests amending existing mobile spectrum licenses for frequencies already used by cellular providers (below 3 GHz). However, the regulator also offered alternative approaches, including introducing a new license for satellite services or allowing license-exempt use if certain conditions are met. Regardless of its specific policy approach, Ofcom said strict conditions would be attached to avoid interference with existing spectrum users in the UK and overseas.
Ofcom is opening a consultation period with stakeholders from now to May 20. Depending on the feedback it receives, it could begin authorizing direct-to-device calls later this year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-uk-could-greenlight-direct-to-phone-satellite-services-this-year-183504094.html?src=rss
XZ 5.8 is out today as the first notable feature release since last year’s malicious backdoor in XZ 5.6 inserted by a then-co-maintainer of the project. XZ 5.6.2 was out last May while XZ 5.8.0 is now stable today for bringing new features to this lossless data compressor project…
Sunderfolk, a game that borrows elements from tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and couch party games like Jackbox, has a launch date. The fantasy RPG from Dreamhaven (the stomping ground of Blizzard co-founder and former CEO Mike Morhaime) arrives on April 23. You can play a demo today through April 7.
While virtual tabletops like Wizards of the Coast’s Sigil act as video game-like extensions of a traditional tabletop experience, Sunderfolk‘s premise is in using modern technology to simulate something like D&D — but with more accessibility to casual players. Here, your phone becomes the deck of cards (and controller), while your TV or monitor is the game board. Although it supports remote play, this one sounds tailor-made for couch co-op.
The game’s story retreads familiar fantasy tropes, like a town of peaceful inhabitants invaded by dark and creepy monsters. Here, the heroes are a clan of anthropomorphic animals who each fit a familiar class like arcanist, bard, berserker, pyromancer, ranger or rogue. You can customize each with weapons, armor, items and skills as they level up. (When in doubt, play the classics!)
Dreamhaven
“We were, with Sunderfolk, really trying to create something that would inspire people to get together in person,” Game Director Erin Marek said in a preview trailer. “We wanted it to feel similar to a game night, getting together to play a board game or getting together to play D&D with a group of friends or family or loved ones that you really care about. And to share that experience together side-by-side.”
You can gather your cohorts to try the game for free on GeForce Now from now to April 7. The preview gives you access to all playable characters and an early part of the game. Fortunately, you don’t need a paid GeForce membership; a free account will do.
Sunderfolk will cost $50 and be playable Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X and Switch. But only the party member running the big-screen device needs to own the game; the phone app (iOS and Android) for your pals will be a free download when the game launches on April 23.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/dreamhavens-tabletop-rpg-party-game-sunderfolk-arrives-on-april-23-183006473.html?src=rss
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As an Airbnb host, a good smart lock is an extremely important purchase. I’ve gone through my fair share of smart locks, but none have been more reliable, affordable, and easy to install than the SwitchBot WiFi Smart Lock Pro, which I raved about in a recent review. Right now, you can get the bundle that has everything you need (it comes with the smart lock, keypad, and hub to control it remotely) for just $84 (originally $199.99) during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale—that’s the cheapest it has ever been, according to price tracking tools.
The main reason I love this smart lock is its reliability. A smart lock’s most important job is to open and close reliably, whether that’s physically with a key, with your finger, code, or remotely through the app. That seems like a pretty basic requirement, but you’d be surprised how few smart locks nail it—the SwitchBot has been the only smart lock to not fail me in the year I’ve been using it so far.
The installation was also the easiest of any smart lock I’ve installed. You only need to remove the lock faceplate from inside and use an L-shaped hex wrench that comes in the box to mount the smart lock. It took me seven minutes to finish. There’s also an option to glue the hardware for a complete tool-free option.
The smart lock also retrofits most locks, and since the installation is so easy, that makes it perfect for renters, too. Some nice features are the auto-lock (I love not having to close the door behind me), a status detector that notifies or alerts you of activity, and being able to send permanent or temporary codes to family or guests. It also works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. The battery lasts up to nine months, according to SwitchBot, but it’ll depend on use (it was accurate for mine).
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With only a week to go until the Switch 2’s big Nintendo Direct showcase, there’s new reporting about when the console will launch and some of what players can expect from the hardware’s first six months.
Google has the pedal to the metal on its AI development. Just a few months after the debut of Gemini 2.0, the tech giant has unveiled another upgrade in Gemini 2.5. As with any new AI launch, Google is touting a strong performance on LMArena for Gemini 2.5, particularly its capabilities in coding, mathematics and science.
The first model in this series is Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental. Google said this is a thinking model that’s intended to provide responses grounded in more reasoning, analysis and context than the answers offered by classification- and prediction-driven models. It’s a different approach than Google took with the Gemini 2.0 series, which started off with the more efficient and less expensive Flash version.
“With Gemini 2.5, we’ve achieved a new level of performance by combining a significantly enhanced base model with improved post-training,” the company said in a blog post attributed to Koray Kavukcuoglu, CTO of Google DeepMind. “Going forward, we’re building these thinking capabilities directly into all of our models, so they can handle more complex problems and support even more capable, context-aware agents.”
Google had only just started rolling out Gemini 2.0 to its services, using it to power the newly added AI Mode in search and Deep Research for handling more complex queries. With today’s launch, expect to hear more updates from the company about getting this latest version. Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental is available now in Google AI Studio, and Gemini Advanced members can use it directly in the Gemini app.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-releases-gemini-25-ai-model-for-complex-thinking-182352224.html?src=rss
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle launched late last year, giving Microsoft a great title to cap off a strong year. However, with all the hoopla of awards season, the game got overlooked as the gaming community discourse focused on the game of the year discussion. Now, the game is getting a second chance to get the limelight it deserves,
Boeing is seeking to withdraw an earlier agreement to plead guilty in a long-running criminal case that blamed the company for deceiving regulators before two deadly crashes of 737 MAX jets, WSJ is reporting, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: The aerospace giant is seeking more lenient treatment from the Justice Department, which under the Trump administration is reviewing numerous pending criminal cases that haven’t yet gone to trial or been approved by courts. Boeing nearly sealed its fate last year, agreeing in July to plead guilty to defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration. But a federal judge in Texas rejected the proposed deal in December, pushing the resolution beyond the Biden administration.
Now Boeing stands to benefit from fresh eyes at Trump’s Justice Department, which is inclined to at least modify parts of the agreement, some of the people said. Allowing Boeing to rescind its plea agreement, or lightening the company’s punishment, would mark one of the most prominent examples of the Trump administration’s lighter-touch approach to some white-collar enforcement. There were 346 people killed in the two 737 MAX crashes, in 2018 and 2019. The two sides are still negotiating how to propose changes to the deal, expected by April 11, to U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who oversees the case. One possible change under discussion: whether Boeing can forgo hiring an outside monitor to ensure its compliance with the law, the people said.
Napster, a once-popular website people used in the late ‘90s to illegally share music online that went bankrupt in 2001, has been sold for $207 million to a 3D technology company with plans to bring the brand into the metaverse.
