Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It’s been a very busy week of fun game releases (next week will be too!), so let’s get into some of them after a quick reflection on gaming while traveling.
I love my Steam Deck. I really truly do. It’s a fantastic machine. And yet when I brought it with me on a five-week trip over the holidays, I used it for barely an hour the entire time. That doesn’t really justify the space and weight it takes up in my bag. The same holds true for my Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation Portal.
I’ll be leaving them all at home next time. I’ll take a small controller (probably OhSnap's MCON) so I can play the odd game on my laptop or phone. I’ll bring my Playdate as well. I adore that little yellow console, and I haven’t spent nearly enough time using it. I have a lot of neat-looking indie games to catch up on there (Diora looks particularly interesting). I’m more likely to play something on a flight if it’s on a device I can pull out from my pocket. I just wish Panic had put a backlight in the Playdate.
New releases
Massive Monster and publisher Devolver Digital gave Cult of the Lambfans a whole bunch of reasons to jump back into the game this week with the arrival of the Woolhaven expansion. You'll need to get close to the end of the base game (though you don't need to beat the final boss) before you can experience what the DLC has to offer. It includes weather effects, a new mountain area with a pair of fresh dungeons, a ranching system (which allows you to raise animals as pets or for food) and much more.
Folks who dig Cult of the Lamb seem to get really into the game. After a few years of free updates from Massive Monster, Woolhaven is a major expansion that's similar in scope to the base game, so it should keep fans busy for quite a while if they want to try everything. The DLC is out now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. It costs $17 if you already have the base game.
Inkle, the studio behind Overboard! and the wonderful A Highland Song is back with TR-49, a puzzle game with a World War II computer at its core. Over five decades, an array of books, letters and journals were fed into the machine as part of an effort to "crack the code of reality." But now you're tasked with finding and destroying one specific book before a timer runs out.
It all seems rather mysterious. To give you a sense of what's going on here, Inkle says it drew inspiration from narrative deduction games like The Roottrees are Dead, The Return of the Obra Dinn and Her Story, as well as audio dramas. I can't see myself having the time or patience to figure out the enigma of this particular machine (I imagine many players will need a notebook for this one), but I'm intrigued enough to at least watch a Let's Play at some point. You can experience this mystery for yourself on Steam (normally $7, but there's a 10 percent launch discount until January 28).
Another week, another Metroidvania, but MIO: Memories in Orbit has a more striking art style than most. This game from Douze Dixièmes and publisher Focus Entertainment debuted to positive reviews this week. After the AI caretakers on a forgotten spaceship stop working, you'll have to help the robot MIO explore the spacecraft "to revive its lost memories" and save it from doom. Naturally, you'll discover some new abilities along the way, including a grappling hook and air gliding.
MIO: Memories in Orbit is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Steam, the Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store for $20 (with a 10 percent launch discount on some platforms). You can also check it out via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Perfect Tides: Station to Station is a pixel-art point-and-click narrative adventure and a sequel to Three Bees' Perfect Tides. Over the course of an in-game year, you'll help 18-year-old Mara explore the big city and find her place in the world.
The early 2000s vibes of the trailer are immaculate, so I'm going to have to try to play this at some point. Perfect Tides: Station to Station is out now on Steam for PC and Mac for $20.
Cozy cafe sim Tailside debuted in early access on Steam (normally $11, but there's a 10 percent discount until January 28) this week. I'm bummed I haven't had a chance to try this one from Coffee Beans Dev yet, because it looks lovely.
Along with serving snacks and drinks to your furry customers, you can learn more about the visitors to your cafe by reading stories about them in the newspaper (hopefully nice ones!). You can play at your own pace as you draw latte art and decorate your cafe. Eventually, you'll be able to visit other players' cafes and open a flower shop. Like I said, it looks lovely.
Upcoming
BALL x PIT’s first FREE major update, The Regal Update, launches on January 26th on all platforms!
Adding: 🤠2 new characters - The Carouser & The Falconer 🏐8 new balls 🎯New passives ✨Plus a nice surprise you’re going to love! pic.twitter.com/t0tYlwjOXk
One of my favorite games of last year is getting a free update on January 26. Just when I thought I was out of Ball x Pit, Kenny Sun and friends (along with publisher Devolver) are pulling me right back in to check out two new characters, eight fresh balls with their own abilities, more passives and some kind of surprise.
I adore Ball x Pitand this update is going to be a drop everything and play immediately deal for me. The Regal Update will be available on all platforms: Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Ball x Pit costs $15. It's available via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass too.
I'm interested to check out the demo for Vampire Crawlers, a Vampire Survivors spin-off. Poncle will release it on February 23 at Steam Next Fest as well as on Xbox. Your progress will carry over into the full game, which will be on Game Pass on day one.
As a rule, turn-based games aren't really my jam, and nor are roguelike deckbuilders. But I'm a big fan of Vampire Survivors, so I'm definitely willing to give this a shot. It helps that Vampire Crawlers seems to be fast-paced and that it draws from the chaotic visuals of the original game. Vampire Crawlers is coming to Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android later this year.
Speaking of interesting demos, one for Ratcheteer DX is available now on PC ahead of the full game's release on Switch, Steam (PC and Mac) and the Mac App Store on March 5. It'll normally cost $13, but a limited-time discount will reduce the price to $9.75. If the game's name sounds familiar, that's because this is a color version of the Playdate season one title Ratcheteer.
This take on the pixel-art action-adventure has multiple visual filters, a "CD-quality stereo soundtrack" and support for more languages. Playdate creator Panic is publishing Ratcheteer DX, whose developers are Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm and Charlie Davis.
Let's wrap things up for this week with a cinematic trailer and release date for Aethus, a story-driven survival-crafting and base-building game from a solo developer at Pawsmonaut Games. It's coming to Steam on March 6.
Aethus is a game about "carving out a future from the ruins of corporate greed" in a dystopian sci-fi world. As ex-mining engineer Maeve, you start with basic gear and a drone companion by your side. You'll explore what's left of a failed science expedition and abandoned facilities as you try to establish your own mining claim after leaving a company that drains planets of their resources.
Of course, you'll upgrade your gear and build out your base as you progress. You can modify settings like the base's air supply, how quickly your hunger and thirst needs change and how much you can carry to fine tune the experience.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/more-cult-of-the-lamb-a-world-war-ii-computer-mystery-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-120000807.html?src=rss
In Big Tech's never-ending quest to increase AI adoption, Google has unveiled a meme generator. The new Google Photos feature, Me Meme, lets you create personalized memes starring a synthetic version of you.
Google describes Me Meme as "a simple way to explore with your photos and create content that's ready to share with friends and family." You can choose from a variety of templates or "upload your own funny picture" to use in their place.
The feature isn't live for everyone yet, so you may not yet have access to it. (A Google representative toldTechCrunch that the feature will roll out to Android and iOS users over the coming weeks.) But once it arrives, you can use it in the Google Photos app by tapping Create (at the bottom of the screen), then Me Meme. It will then ask you to choose a template and add a reference photo. There’s an option to regenerate it if you don’t like the result.
Google says Me Meme works best with well-lit, focused and front-facing portrait photos. "This feature is still experimental, so generated images may not perfectly match the original photo," the company warns.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-photos-can-now-turn-you-into-a-meme-213930935.html?src=rss
Darth Maul, the beloved, sometimes spider-legged former Sith Lord first introduced in Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace, is officially getting his own animated spin-off on April 6, 2026, based on a new teaser trailer published by Disney. Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord was originally announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2025, and is set after Maul's arc in Star Wars: The Clone Wars but before his appearance in Star Wars: Rebels.
The 10-episode series covers Maul's plot to rebuild his criminal syndicate "on a planet untouched by the Empire," according to Lucasfilm. "There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who may just be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge." Shadow Lord will premiere with two episodes on April 6, and will stream two episodes a week on Disney+ through May 6.
Like most of Disney's popular animated Star Wars shows, Maul — Shadow Lord is created by Dave Filoni, a George Lucas supplicant, co-creator of The Clone Wars and newly minted President and Chief Creative Officer at Luscafilm. Besides picking up the story threads he helped establish in his previous animated work, Maul — Shadow Lord could be representative of the work that will define his tenure: stories that play in the pre-existing Star Wars sandbox.
Since completing their sequel trilogy in 2019 with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney and Lucasfilm have struggled to define what the future of their franchise will actually be. New projects have languished in pre-production, interesting TV shows have gotten cancelled and the only things that seem to come out with any consistency are spin-offs of The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars. Disney and Lucasfilm will release The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22, 2026, the first new Star Wars movie to hit theaters in seven years. The Shawn Levy-directed Star Wars: Starfighter, the first film set chronologically after the events of Rise of Skywalker, is slated to premiere on May 28, 2027.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/darth-mauls-standalone-series-premieres-on-disney-on-april-6-224036720.html?src=rss
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is apparently still hopeful that investors will approve his $108.4 billion hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount Skydance announced Thursday that it's extending its all-cash offer to acquire the storied studio, and giving investors until February 20, 2026 to accept. The company's previous offer expired on January 21, but with a lawsuit in the works and a revised Netflix deal to compete with, Paramount Skydance wants to stay in the conversation.
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery originally announced their $82.7 billion acquisition agreement in December 2025. Netflix's deal is for a significant portion, but notably not all, of Warner Bros. Discovery as it exists today. If approved, the streaming service would acquire Warner Bros. film studios, New Line Cinema, HBO, HBO Max, the company's theme parks, game studios and select linear channels like TNT, but not the collection of reality TV and news programming that Warner Bros. Discovery calls “Global Networks.”
Paramount Skydance made its competing offer of $108.4 billion for all of Warner Bros. Discovery a few days later in December, with the recommendation that shareholders reject the Netflix deal. To add pressure, Paramount Skydance also sued Warner Bros. Discovery in January alleging that the company had not provided adequate information about why it favored Netflix over Paramount. Beyond offering more money, Paramount contends its deal is more likely to be approved by regulators because owning Warner Bros. doesn't "entrench Netflix's market dominance." Warner Bros. Discovery claims that funding for Paramount's deal "remains inadequate" and that the company is uncertain Paramount Skydance will actually be able to complete the deal.
David Ellison was previously able to merge Skydance with Paramount using the financial backing of his billionaire father Larry Ellison, and the Ellison family's friendly relationship with the Trump administration. Promising to make sure that CBS News represents "a diversity of viewpoints” via a newly appointed ombudsman, and that the merged Paramount Skydance won't create any diversity, equity and inclusion programs was enough to get the FCC to approve the merger. Ellison might have thought acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery would be equally easy, but at least so far that hasn't worked out as planned.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/david-ellison-extends-deadline-for-warner-bros-discovery-takeover-offer-204752313.html?src=rss
The nominees for the 2026 Academy Awards were just announced and Ryan Coogler's vampire-adjacent period drama Sinners received a record-breaking 16 nominations. That's the highest number of Oscar nominations for a single film in the history of the awards, followed by Titanic, La La Land and All About Eve with 14 noms each.
Sinners grabbed a nomination in nearly every major category, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. The same goes for the performances, as Michael B. Jordan captured the nomination for Best Actor. Even Delroy Lindo got nominated for Best Supporting Actor, which is his very first Oscar nomination after 50 years in the business.
Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another walked away with 13 nominations and Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia scored four. Apple's F1 actually got nominated for Best Picture, which is unusual for a popcorn-style blockbuster. Netflix scored Best Picture noms for both Frankenstein and Train Dreams.
Netflix also got its flowers for the international animated sensation KPop Demon Hunters. It got nominated for Best Animated Feature and, of course, Best Original Song.
The 98th annual Academy Awards will take place on March 15, with Conan O'Brien returning to host. It'll be broadcast live on ABC. The awards ceremony will be moving to YouTube in 2029.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/netflix-scores-oscar-nominations-for-frankenstein-and-kpop-demon-hunters-163521141.html?src=rss
An Oscar statue is pictured at the red carpet of the 97th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 28, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
After adding Personal Intelligence to Gemini as an opt-in experience, Google has announced that it’s also integrating the feature into AI Mode in Search. What Personal Intelligence does is pull information from your Google apps to tailor its responses based on your history and interests. For Search, in particular, you can allow Personal Intelligence to look for information in your Gmail accounts and Google Photos libraries.
If you use AI Mode to shop for clothes with the new feature enabled, for instance, Google could recommend items or models from a brand you previously purchased from. If it sees plane tickets or other reservations in Gmail, Google could also recommend specific items based on your destination and the season if you’re clothes shopping for that trip.
Personal Intelligence is powered by Google’s Gemini 3 AI model. The company says it doesn’t train its models using information from your Gmail inbox or Google Photos library, but it does use your prompts and AI Mode’s responses. Google also warned that sometimes, the feature’s recommendations could feel inaccurate because it could not fully comprehend the context or could make incorrect connections between separate topics.
At the moment, Personal Intelligence is an experimental feature that’s rolling out in Labs starting today. Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US, who use the service in English, will automatically have access to it and be able to connect AI Mode to Gmail and Google Photos. It will only be available to personal Google accounts, however, and not for Workspace accounts just yet.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/ai-mode-in-google-search-can-now-pull-context-from-your-other-apps-160000103.html?src=rss
Scarlett Johannsson, R.E.M., Vince Gilligan and over 700 other artists are demanding that tech companies stop “stealing” their work in order to train AI models. A new campaign called “Stealing isn’t Innovation” demands that AI companies take “the responsible, ethical route” through licensing and partnerships, according to the website.
“America’s creative community is the envy of the world and creates jobs, economic growth and exports,” a statement on the website reads. “But rather than respect and protect this valuable asset, some of the biggest tech companies, many backed by private equity and other funders, are using American creators’ work to build AI platforms without authorization for copyright law.”
The group adds that the “illegal intellectual property grab” has resulted in an information ecosystem dominated by “misinformation, deepfakes and a vapid artificial avalanche of low-quality materials [‘AI slop’]… threatening America’s AI superiority and international competitiveness.”
OpenAI once argued that it’s “impossible” to train AI without copyrighted materials, since “copyright today covers virtually every sort of human expression.” However, actors, musicians and authors take issue with that idea, particularly when they see their likenesses or work repurposed as slop or worse by large language models (LLMs).
Johansson, for one, previously threatened OpenAI with legal action in 2024 over a ChatGPT voice assistant that effectively cloned her voice. More recently, Elon Musk’s Grok has been accused of creating millions of sexualized images of real people in just days, according to a report today from The New York Times.
“Big Tech is trying to change the law so they can keep stealing American artistry to build their AI businesses — without authorization and without paying the people who did the work. That is wrong; it’s un-American, and it’s theft on a grand scale,” the group proclaimed.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/a-list-creatives-sign-up-to-fight-ai-say-it-enables-theft-at-a-grand-scale-140000475.html?src=rss
Ahead of its upcoming price hike, Spotify is rolling out a more advanced AI playlist feature in the US and Canada. Prompted Playlist, which the company trialed in New Zealand late last year, lets subscribers "control the Spotify algorithm," as the company describes it. "You're not just asking for music, you're shaping how Spotify goes about discovering it for you."
For example, you can guide it to make a playlist of songs you've saved to your Library but haven't listened to yet. (It can tap into your entire Spotify history.) Or, you can tell it to round up songs from a specific television show or movie. (It uses real-time information about pop culture, charts, and history.)
The feature includes options to refresh the playlist over time (daily or weekly). You can edit each playlist's prompt at any time. Each track will include a short note to explain why it was chosen.
The standard AI Playlist creator will remain alongside the new Prompted Playlist.
Spotify
Spotify says beta testers have used Prompted Playlist to revisit songs tied to specific moments and filter out tracks they've overplayed lately. "Others are asking for long, lyric-free electronic playlists to power through a workday, or mixing in artists connected to current pop culture moments and viral trends," the company wrote.
There's room for some confusion here because Spotify already has an "AI Playlist" feature. That simpler type will stick around alongside the new "Prompted" variety, which allows for finer tuning and can sift through more data.
Prompted Playlist will be available to Spotify Premium subscribers in the US and Canada "by the end of the month." Once you have access, you can try it by tapping Create, then selecting Prompted Playlist.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/spotifys-prompted-playlist-lets-you-describe-exactly-what-you-want-to-hear-140000153.html?src=rss
Sports fans who want to catch every last game and news junkies who want to watch network news as it unfolds have two main options: cable or a live TV streaming service. Cable or satellite service often requires extra equipment and convoluted contracts. Live TV streaming services only require an internet connection and a smart TV. These plans used to be cheaper and more user-friendly, too, but price hikes, media consolidation and contract disputes are starting to change the value a bit. We tested out all the major players to compare what you get and help you make sense of the options out there. Here are the best live TV streaming services, according to our testing.
Editor’s note: YouTube TV announced in December it will start offering genre-specific plans in early 2026. We still don’t have word on the pricing or specifics, but will update this guide when we do. The blackout of NBC channels on Fubo’s service continues as negotiations drag on. That means fans hoping to catch the Super Bowl on Fubo will need to look elsewhere.
Best live TV streaming services for 2026
How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl with a streaming service
This year, the Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. NBC has the rights to air the broadcast, which means you can watch it with a live TV streaming subscription to YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV or DirecTV. Sling Blue plans include NBC in certain markets only. NBC channels are dark on Fubo as the company and NBC are still in negotiations. The traditional streaming service Peacock, which is owned by NBC, will also air the game. Those plans start at just $8 per month, which is nearly the cheapest way to watch. However, if you have a digital antenna, you can pick up the game’s broadcast signal from your local NBC affiliate for free.
How can I stream NFL games for free?
If you have a digital antenna hooked up to your TV, you can grab games that are broadcast over the airways for your region by tuning into your local CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC stations. You can buy a digital antenna for between $20 and $60.
Alternatively, you can check out your local sports bar and watch the game for the price of a soda and maybe some nachos. As it turns out, bars and restaurants that provide those games to customers have to pay a ton of cash to do so, so you may as well take advantage of the opportunity.
Will Peacock stream the Super Bowl?
Yes. Peacock is owned by NBC Universal, which holds the rights to stream the big game this year. The Super Bowl will stream on both Peacock (all tiers) and local NBC stations (Premium Plus tier). The cheapest tier of Peacock's service starts at $8 per month.
Can you stream live football on YouTube?
September 5, 2025 marked the first time YouTube was an official live NFL broadcaster when it aired the Friday night, week-one game of the 2025 NFL season from São Paulo, Brazil. It pit the Los Angeles Chargers against the Kansas City Chiefs (LA won 21-27) and aired worldwide on YouTube for free as well as for subscribers to YouTube TV.
There are no other plans for YouTube to air live NFL games for the 2025-6 season for free.
Best free live TV streaming services for 2026
There are loads of ways to get free TV these days. To start, many standard streaming apps have added live components to their lineups — even Netflix. Peacock Premium Plus subscriptions include regional NBC stations. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can watch on-air CBS programming. The new Fox One service includes multiple live Fox stations. True, if you’re already paying for a service it’s not technically “free” but at least the live content isn’t extra.
The smart TV operating system (OS) you use likely provides free live content too: Amazon’s Fire TV, Google/Android TV, Roku’s built-in Roku Channel and Samsung’s TV Plus all have hundreds of live channels and original programming. Some of the paid services we recommend above have a free version — namely Sling Freestream, Fubo Free (available after you cancel) and DirecTV’s MyFree. But if you’re looking for more, here are the best free ad-supported TV (FAST) apps with live TV that we tried:
What to look for in a live TV streaming service
How to stream live TV
Streaming live TV is a lot like using Netflix. You get access through apps on your phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device and the signal arrives over the internet. A faster and more stable connection tends to give you a better experience. Most live TV apps require you to sign up and pay via a web browser. After that, you can activate the app on all of your devices.
Monthly Price
When I started testing these cord-cutting alternatives, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard video streaming app. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, most live TV services hit the $80 mark and can go higher than $200 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras. The higher starting price is mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks — particularly sports and local stations. And, in the past year or so, every service has raised base plan prices.
Local channels
Only two of the services I tried don’t include full local channel coverage for subscribers and one of those makes no effort to carry sports at all. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it’s the cheapest. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations — and only in larger markets — but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels.
When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you’ll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area’s broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you’ll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC. And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era.
But local channel access is another area where traditional streaming services, like Netflix, are bleeding into broadcast territory. For example, you can watch your local NBC station with a Peacock subscription and you can tune into your area’s CBS station through your Paramount+ subscription. Netflix is even getting into the mix with a recently announced deal with one of France’s broadcast companies, TF1. The streaming service will now air TF1's live TV channels and on-demand content inside the Netflix app. No word if the concept will expand to other regions, but it’s an interesting move to anyone interested in the future of streaming.
Live sports coverage
One reality that spun my head was the sheer number and iterations of sports networks in existence. Trying to figure out which network will carry the match-up you want to see can be tricky. I found that Google makes it a little easier for sports fans by listing out upcoming games (just swap in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and so on in the search bar). When you click an event, the “TV & streaming” button will tell you which network is covering it.
That just leaves figuring out if your chosen service carries the RSNs (regional sports networks) you want. Unfortunately, even with add-ons and extra packages, some providers simply don’t have certain channels in their lineups. It would take a lawyer to understand the ins and outs of streaming rights negotiations, and networks leave and return to live TV carriers all the time. That said, most major sporting events in the US are covered by ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT, USA and local affiliates.
You can watch MLS games with an add-on through the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ (now just called Apple TV) includes some MLB games. Roku users can watch the just-added free sports channel and those who subscribe to Paramount Plus can see many of the matches aired on CBS Sports, including live NFL games. In 2025, January's Super Bowl was live-streamed for free on Tubi. While all of these alternatives may not cover as much ground as live TV streamers, they could end up being cheaper avenues to the sports you want.
And if sports is all you’re after, there are sports-only plans that are a touch cheaper, too. The promised sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. called Venu was cancelled early this year. But on August 21, ESPN launched its own streaming service that includes all ESPN channels and costs $30 per month. Fubo Sports is $56 monthly and includes local broadcast stations from ABC, CBS and FOX plus a slew of sports networks (CBS Sport and FS1 among them) as well as all networks included with ESPN Unlimited.
Fox launched its own standalone service in August as well and it includes Fox Sports and all other Fox properties (News, Business, Weather) for $20 monthly. DirecTV also has a $70-per-month, sports-only streaming package called MySports and Comcast has a sports and news bundle for that same price (as long as you're an Xfinity customer with auto-pay, otherwise it's more expensive).
Traditional cable networks
Dozens of linear programming networks were once only available with cable TV, like Bravo, BET, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Lifetime, SYFY and MTV. If you only subscribe to, say, Netflix or Apple TV+, you won’t have access to those. But as with sports, standard streamers are starting to incorporate this content into their offerings. After the Warner Bros. merger, Max incorporated some content from HGTV, Discovery and TLC. Peacock has Bravo and Hallmark shows, and Paramount+ has material from Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.
Other entertainment channels like AMC+ have stand-alone apps. The Discovery+ app gives you 15 channels ad-free for $10 per month (or with ads for $6 monthly). And a service called Frndly TV starts at a mere $7 per month and streams A&E, Lifetime, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel and about 35 others. Of course, most live TV streaming options will deliver more sizable lists of cable networks, but just note that you may already be paying for some of them — and if all you need is a certain channel, you could get it cheaper by subscribing directly.
On-demand streaming
Most live TV subscriptions include access to a selection of video-on-demand (VOD) content, like you would get with a traditional streaming service. Much of this content is made up of the movies and TV series that have recently aired on your subscribed networks. This typically doesn’t cover live events and news programming, but I was able to watch specific episodes of ongoing shows like Top Chef or BET’s Diarra from Detroit. Just search the on-demand library for the program, pick an episode and hit play.
Partnerships, like Hulu’s relationship with Disney, and add-ons, such as bundling Max with your YouTube TV subscription or Starz with your Sling plan, will let you watch even larger libraries of on-demand content. But again, if VOD is all you’re after, paying for those networks directly instead of through a live TV plan will be far cheaper.
Digital video recordings (DVR) limits
Every option I tried offers some cloud DVR storage without needing a separate physical device. You’ll either get unlimited storage for recordings that expires after nine months or a year, or you’ll get a set number of hours (between 50 and 1,000) that you can keep indefinitely. Typically, all you need to do is designate what ongoing TV series you want to record and the DVR component will do all the hard work of saving subsequent episodes for you to watch later. You can do the same thing with sports events.
Aside from being able to watch whenever it’s most convenient, you can also fast-forward through commercials in recorded content. In contrast, you can’t skip them on live TV or VOD.
Simultaneous streams and profiles per account
Each plan gives you a certain number of simultaneous streams, aka how many screens can play content at the same time. And while most providers will let you travel with your subscription, there are usually location restrictions that require you to sign in from your home IP address periodically. Stream allowances range from one at a time to unlimited screens (or as many as your ISP’s bandwidth can handle). Some plans require add-ons to get more screens.
Most services also let you set up a few profiles so I was able to give different people in my family the ability to build their own watch histories and libraries, set their favorite channels and get individual recommendations.
Picture-in-picture mode and multiview
Picture-in-picture (PiP) usually refers to shrinking a video window on a mobile device or computer browser so you can watch it while using other apps. Sling, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all have PiP modes on computers and mobile devices.
Another feature, multiview, lets you view multiple (usually four) sports matches or other live content at once on your TV screen. YouTube TV, FuboTV and now DirecTV all let you do this. With YouTube TV, you can select up to four views from a few preset selection of streams. FuboTV offers the same feature, but only if you're using an Apple TV or Roku streaming device. DirecTV lets you do so through “mixes” which include sports, news, business and kids variants with a set four channels in each mix.
4K live streams
Right now, just FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream offer 4K live streams — but with caveats. YouTube TV requires a $20-per-month add-on, after which you’ll only be able to watch certain live content in 4K. DirecTV Stream has three channels that show live 4K content — one with shows and original series, and two with occasional sporting events. You don’t have to pay extra for these but you do need to have either DirecTV’s Gemini receiver, or a device from Fire TV, Apple TV or Roku. You’ll need those same streaming devices to watch the select 4K programming on Sling as well. FuboTV shows certain live events in 4K but access is limited to the Elite and Premier packages, not the base-level Pro plan.
Of course, watching any 4K content also requires equipment that can handle it: a 4K smart TV or 4K streaming device paired with a cord and screen that can handle 4K resolution.
Tiers, packages and add-ons
Comparing price-to-offering ratios is a task for a spreadsheet. I… made three. The base plans range from $28 to $85 per month. From there, you can add packages, which are usually groups of live TV channels bundled by themes like news, sports, entertainment or international content. Premium VOD extras like Max, AMC+ and Starz are also available. Add-ons cost an extra $5 to $20 each per month and simply show up in the guide where you find the rest of your live TV. This is where streaming can quickly get expensive, pushing an $80 subscription to $200 monthly, depending on what you choose.
How to stream live TV for free
I also downloaded and tried out a few apps that offer free ad-supported TV (FAST) including Freevee, Tubi, PlutoTV and Sling Freestream. These let you drop in and watch a more limited selection of live networks at zero cost. Most don’t even require an email address, let alone a credit card. And if you have a Roku device, an Amazon Fire TV or Stick, a Samsung TV, a Chromecast device or a Google TV, you already have access to hundreds of live channels via the Roku Channel, the live tab in Fire TV, through the Samsung TV Plus app or through Google TV.
How we tested live TV streaming services
When I begin testing for a guide, I research the most popular and well-reviewed players in the category and narrow down which are worth trying. For the paid plans, just six services dominate so I tried them all. There are considerably more free live TV contenders so I tested the four most popular. After getting accounts set up using my laptop, I downloaded the apps on a Samsung smart TV running the latest version of Tizen OS. I counted the local stations and regional sports coverage, and noted how many of the top cable networks were available. I then weighed the prices, base packages and available add-ons.
I then looked at how the programming was organized in each app’s UI and judged how easy everything was to navigate, from the top navigation to the settings. To test the search function, I searched for the same few TV shows on BET, Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central, since all six providers carry those channels. I noted how helpful the searches were and how quickly they got me to season 6, episode 13 of Home Town.
I used DVR to record entire series and single movies and watched VOD shows, making sure to test the pause and scan functions. On each service with sports, I searched for the same four upcoming NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA basketball matches and used the record option to save the games and play them back a day or two later. Finally, I noted any extra perks or irritating quirks.
Streaming simply refers to video content that is delivered to your screen over the internet. Live streaming can be split into two categories: linear programming and simultaneous transmission. That first one is similar to what you get with cable or broadcast TV, with channels that play a constant flow of movies and shows (sort of what TV looked like before Netflix). Simultaneous streaming lets you watch live events (like a basketball game) or a program (like the evening news) as they happen.
What is the difference between streaming and live streaming?
Standard streaming, the most popular example being Netflix, lets you pick what you want to watch from a menu of choices. It’s also referred to as “video on demand.” Live streaming refers to sports and news events that you can stream as they happen in real time. It also refers to channels that show a continuous, linear flow of programming.
What streaming service is best for live TV?
FuboTV does the best job of letting you organize live channels to help you find just what you want to watch. The interface is uncluttered and when you search for something, the UI clearly tells you whether something is live now or on-demand. YouTube TV also does a good job making that info clear. Both have just over 100 live channels on offer.
What is the most cost effective TV streaming service?
Free TV streaming services like PlutoTV, Plex, Tubi and FreeVee show plenty of ad-supported TV shows and movies without charging you anything. Of course, they won’t have the same channels or content that more premium subscriptions have. Ultimately it depends on what you want to watch and finding the service that can supply that to you in the most streamlined form so you’re not paying for stuff you don’t need.
Is it cheaper to have cable or streaming?
A basic cable package used to be more expensive than the base-level live TV streaming service. But now that nearly all major providers have raised their prices to over $75 per month, that’s no longer the case. And with add-ons and other premiums, you can easily pay over $200 a month for either cable or a live TV streaming service. But those who want to cut the cord will appreciate that streaming services don't have contracts.
What streaming service has all the TV channels?
No service that we tested had every available channel. Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream carry the the highest number of the top rated channels, according to Neilsen. Hulu’s service also gets you Disney+ fare, which you can’t get elsewhere. FuboTV has the most sports channels and YouTube TV gives you the widest selection of add-ons.
What is the most popular live TV streaming platform?
YouTube TV has the most paying customers. According to 2024's letter from the CEO, the service has over eight million subscribers. Disney’s 2024 third quarter earnings put the Hulu + Live TV viewer count at 4.6 million. Sling’s customer count dipped from two million to about 1.9 million in 2024 and FuboTV grew its subscriber list to 1.6 million.
How safe are free streaming services and websites?
You may have heard certain sites that provide free content can be dangerous, leading to stolen info and/or exposing you to malware. That’s likely in reference to certain peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and file-sharing sites that let people download free movies and series — which can come bundled with malicious code.
But if you’re talking about the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services listed here, from providers like PlutoTV, Tubi and Plex, they are just as safe as any other streaming service. Since you sometimes don’t even have to provide your email address or credit card info, they can even be more anonymous for cord cutters than apps that require login credentials.
Recent updates
December 2025: Included Fubo's channel and price adjustments. Confirmed pricing for all services
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming-service-133000410.html?src=rss
Threads has grown enough for Meta to fully integrate it into its advertising machine. On Wednesday, the company said that, with the platform now hosting 400 million monthly active users, ads are expanding globally to all users. The inevitable move follows a test in 30 countries early last year.
Ads on Threads are powered by Meta's AI-powered advertising system. They'll use the "same level of personalization" (i.e., tracking and profiling) as Facebook and Instagram. Image, video and carousel ad formats will all appear natively in Threads feeds.
Meta said the ad expansion will begin next week, but the full rollout will take months. "Ads on Threads expansion to all users will be gradual, with ad delivery initially remaining low as we reach global user availability in the coming months," the company wrote in a blog post.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-expanding-threads-ads-to-all-users-globally-183900226.html?src=rss
Apple TV+ has become one of the best streaming services for sci-fi, with hits like Pluribus, Severance, Foundation and many more. There are so many shows that it's easy to forget the one that started it all. For All Mankind was the platform's very first attempt at sci-fi and it's finally coming back after two years for season five on March 27.
The next season will run for ten episodes on a weekly basis. It concludes on May 29, with new installments dropping each Friday.
What follows are some slight spoilers for the show, so read with caution. The streamer dropped a short teaser to announce the release date and it shows Alex Baldwin, grandson of the show's original star, careening around Mars on some sort of motorcycle.
For All Mankind started as an alt-history show that explored what would happen if Russia beat the USA to the moon in the 1960s. However, it has since become famous for time jumps. The next installment takes place in an alternate version of the 2010s and continues the story of competing space agencies after turning Mars into a viable colony.
Apple
Many of the original stars are still kicking around, but the characters are extremely old at this point. Check out this image of an aged Ed Baldwin, still played by Joel Kinnaman. Other returning cast members include Edi Gathegi, Coral Peña and Wrenn Schmidt. New cast members include Sean Kaufman, Mireille Enos, Costa Ronin, Ruby Cruz and Ines Asserson.
The show doesn't get a lot of buzz when compared to some of Apple TV's newer sci-fi properties, but it must still get eyeballs. The platform recently announced a spinoff that will be set in the Soviet Union. It's called Star City but we don't have much information beyond that.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/for-all-mankind-returns-on-march-27-for-a-fifth-season-183212860.html?src=rss
Two high-profile upcoming Ubisoft games have been starting to look more and more like vaporware with each passing year. One of them is Beyond Good & Evil 2, which we were assured is still in development last year. The other is the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, which is now officially canceled, along with five other games on Ubisoft’s release slate.
The news came in a media briefing attended virtually by VGC, in which the French company also announced delays to seven other games as part of a major restructuring. As reported by VGC, the only canceled game currently named by Ubisoft is the remake of its 2003 classic, which was first announced in 2020 and has by all accounts been in various stages of development hell ever since. Three of the others were original new IPs and one was a mobile game.
Ubisoft isn’t putting names to the more than half dozen delayed games either, but VGC’s report says one was supposed to come out in the first quarter of this year, and will now release before April 2027. While it’s yet to be officially announced, a remake of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag has been heavily rumored for several months and is likely one of the games that has slipped.
Ubisoft also outlined its new organizational model, which will see the company split into five "creative houses" that function as independent business units. One of these is the previously announced, Tencent-backed Vantage Studios, which will oversee a number of the company’s flagship franchises, including Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
In its Wednesday briefing, Ubisoft also confirmed recent reports that it’s closing its Stockholm and (recently unionized) Halifax studios, with others, including Star Wars Outlawsdeveloper Massive Entertainment due to be restructured as a result of the new model. Ubisoft declined to tell VGC exactly how many layoffs could occur in the wake of the large-scale reorganization of the company.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-remake-among-six-games-canceled-by-ubisoft-175801132.html?src=rss
After testing the feature for the last six months or so, Netflix said it will bring vertical videos to its mobile app sometime later in 2026, TechCrunch reported. So far, the feature has been used to show clips promoting Netflix films and TV shows, letting you swipe to move to the next one à la TikTok or YouTube Shorts.
Going forward, though, it could also serve as a promotion tool for new types of programs. “You can imagine us bringing more clips based on new content types, like video podcasts,” co-CEO Greg Peters said in an earnings call.
That was another subject of discussion, as Netflix is taking on YouTube with new video podcasts. The company debuted the first of those originals last week, including shows from sports commentator Michael Irvin and comedian Peter Davidson. It’s also offering hosting content like the Bill Simmons Podcast and other shows from The Ringer.
Despite increasing competition from YouTube and other social media networks, Netflix is doing all right. In 2025, the company saw $45.2 billion revenue including $1.5 billion in ad dollars from its lower tier subscriptions. The streamer counted 325 million paid subscribers around the world at the end of last year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-mobile-app-redesign-will-offer-deeper-integration-of-vertical-video-120000820.html?src=rss
The UK government has announced a consultation, asking people for their feedback on whether to introduce a social media ban for children under 16 years old. It would also explore how to enforce that limit, how to limit tech companies from being able to access children’s data and how to limit “infinite scrolling,” as well as access to addictive online tools. In addition to seeking feedback from parents and young people themselves, the country’s ministers are going to visit Australia to see the effects of the country’s social media ban for kids, according to Financial Times.
Australia's minimum age social media ban went into effect on December 10. It’s the first of its kind and covers several social media platforms, including Facebook, X, TikTok, Twitch, Snapchat, YouTube and Reddit. Just recently, Meta shut down nearly 550,00 accounts, most of which were on Instagram, to comply with the new law.
The UK passed the Online Safety Act in 2023 and has been enforcing its rules since. Last year, for instance, it started requiring websites that publish pornography to conduct age checks for users. But British politician Liz Kendall said parents still have serious concerns about the content their children can consume online. As The Guardian notes, the announcement for a consultation comes just before the House of Lords votes on an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The amendment is seeking a social media ban on children under 16, which will be enacted within a year if and when the bill passes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/the-uk-is-mulling-an-australia-like-social-media-ban-for-users-under-16-130000446.html?src=rss
In another attempt to reduce our attention spans to mush, TikTok has released the PineDrama app, which offers serialized drama series that are roughly a minute per episode. As first spotted by Business Insider, the app is designed exactly like TikTok, but instead of trendy dance videos, you can scroll through and watch "micro dramas."
For those new to the category, micro dramas are bite-sized TV shows shot in vertical video and available in minute-long episodes. Don't expect any nominations for Best Original Screenplay with series like The Officer Fell For Me or Married to my past life's nemesis, since they typically offer soap opera vibes with cliffhangers that keep users scrolling to the next episode. The app is designed to keep people on it with a Discover tab, a place to save favorites and the ability to react in real time alongside other viewers.
Right now, the micro dramas on PineDrama are all free to watch and don't have any ads. It's unclear if TikTok will introduce any costs or ads to the app, since other micro drama options like DramaBox or ReelShort have a paid structure. Late last year, TikTok also introduced a way to watch micro dramas within its own app, with a section called Minis. It's not the first time we're seeing shorter TV show formats, since Quibi made waves with a format of episodes that were less than 10 minutes long. However, maybe even 10 minutes was too long since the startup eventually called it quits after eight months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/tiktoks-latest-spinoff-app-feels-a-lot-like-quibi-but-with-shorter-and-cornier-content-185702010.html?src=rss
Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Several neat-looking games arrived this week, we got release dates for several others that I'm really looking forward to and a brand-new Steam festival was announced.
The Love, Romance, and Heartbreak Debutante Ball is said to be the first Valentine's Day-themed Steam festival. It'll run from February 13 to 20 and feature more than 100 games, including discounts and demos. A showcase will take place on February 13 at 1PM ET on the Sunny Demeanor Games YouTube channel too.
Organizers say the festival includes a wide variety of games about love, including RPGs, puzzle games and (naturally) visual novels. You might play as a cat or someone trying to fish an engagement ring out of a claw machine, as a secret agent or a couple that's run off to another planet. I'm intrigued! There will be some NSFW games involved, for what it's worth.
New releases
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check seems like a 3D version of Papers Please but with zombies. At a checkpoint amid a zombie outbreak, your mission is to screen survivors for signs of infection. If you're unsure of their status, you can send an individual to quarantine for further observation or a lab for additional screening. Otherwise, you can let them in or send them to "liquidation." Get things wrong and it could spell disaster, but at least you have a sidearm (and a weaponized drone) to help you deal with sticky situations.
It looks like there's a lot going on in Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, which is from Brigada Games and publisher Devolver Digital. There are base and resource management aspects as well. It's out now on Steam (usually $20, but there's a 10 percent discount until January 26) and PC Game Pass.
Air Hares seems to draw inspiration from classic top-down shoot-'em-ups. But instead of simply blowing up countless ships, your mission is to restore farmland. You'll fire seeds and water to turn barren land into fertile carrot fields. There are still enemies to contend with — you (and perhaps a co-op partner) can dodge and ram them as you try to protect the land. Expect boss battles, too.
I really like the aesthetic here. It has a '90s-style cartoon look (I suddenly really want a modern Bucky O'Hare game). Also, the song from the trailer is going to live in my head for weeks.
Husband-and-wife team Tim and Megan Bungeroth created Air Hares over six years with the help of several contributors. According to a press release, the game is "inspired by the creators’ personal journey with infertility and the idea of creating life rather than destroying it."
Air Hares is out now on Steam. It typically costs $9, but there's a 20 percent discount until January 28.
Luckshot Games' Big Hops looks like my kind of 3D platformer: joyous and playful. As a young frog who has been kidnapped, you'll try to find airship parts for a raccoon who has promised to help get you home.
There are tons of movement mechanics here, and Hop's tongue plays a major role in those. You can use it to swing across gaps, hookshot your way to higher platforms and solve puzzles.
Big Hops is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PS5 for $20. The Switch and Steam versions have a 10 percent launch discount until January 19.
Cassette Boy is a pixel-art game that might appear to be a 2D exploration puzzler, but there's more going on here. You can rotate the world to discover new secrets and hide enemies and hazards from view so you can move past them. If you can't see something on your screen, it doesn't exist. There's a bit of a Fez influence here, it would appear.
Wonderland Kazakiri and publisher Pocketpair are behind this one, which I'm looking forward to checking out when I have a chance. Cassette Boy is available on Steam, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $13.
Upcoming
I really enjoyed the demo for Aerial_Knight’s DropShot (as well as Aerial_Knight’s previous games). I'm for sure going to be playing the full game when it hits PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Epic Games Store on February 17.
This is a single-player first-person shooter in which you're skydiving with finger guns. You compete with four enemies to grab the only available parachute as you're falling through the air. Rounds are fast-paced too, generally lasting under a minute.
Point-and-click adventure Earth Must Die has been on my radar for a while and we'll all get a chance to try it soon. It's designed to be a playable cartoon (with a runtime of about eight hours) and it has an art style to match.
The cast is pretty stellar, with Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II), Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death) and a whole load of British comedy figures on board. There's a demo available on Steam now and the full game — from Size Five Games and publisher No More Robots — will land on January 27.
Let's wrap things up for this week something very silly-looking from Monster Shop Games. Pie in the Sky is a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater-inspired action arcade game in which you play as a magpie that terrorizes bystanders. You can knock people off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ram kids off of scooters, actually go skateboarding and, uh, cause havoc from above. In classic THPS-style, there are hidden areas too.
This looks like a fun distraction from [gestures at everything]. Pie is the Sky will swoop onto Steam on February 2.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/papers-please-but-with-zombies-a-farming-based-shoot-em-up-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-123000437.html?src=rss
X seems to be working again after struggling with an outage that took the service offline and made it slow to load for much of the morning. According to X’s developer platform page, there is an ongoing incident related to streaming endpoints that’s caused increased errors. The incident started at 7:39AM PT, according to the page.
That roughly coincides with a spike in reports at Down Detector. The issues seemed to be somewhat intermittent. At some points, X’s website loaded partially and only showed older posts. At other times, the app and website failed to load at all.
As of 9:30AM PT, X’s Explore and trending pages were loading, but the “following” tab wasn’t showing posts and instead suggested users “find some people and topic to follow” (as shown in the screenshot below).
Posts aren't loading.
X
As of 11:15AM PT, X’s developer site was still indicating ongoing issues, so there may still be some lingering problems even though the website seems to be functioning normally again. Reports on Down Detector have also dropped off considerably.
X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the outage. As TechCrunch notes, this is the second time this week that X has experienced significant issues. The service also went down for many users around the world on Tuesday.
Bluesky changed its profile photo earlier in the week.
X
But while the latest issues were widespread, some posts are were still managing to go through. Rival Bluesky, which earlier in the week changed its profile picture on X to its butterfly logo in a bikini, took the opportunity to throw some shade.
At 1PM PT, X updated its status page to indicate the issue had been resolved after nearly six hours. It didn’t elaborate on the underlying cause.
Update, January 16, 2026, 2:09PM PT: Updated with the latest information from X’s status page.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-fully-online-after-going-down-for-most-of-the-morning-171843711.html?src=rss
The fate of Warner Bros. Discovery remains the biggest story in Hollywood, with Paramount Skydance refusing to back down from its rival bid to the proposed Netflix acquisition of the company. If the Netflix deal does go through, the company’s co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos, has attempted to ease concerns around what that could mean for theaters.
In an interview with The New York Times, Sarandos responded to a question about his company’s commitment to the theatrical business by insisting that he has no interest in bringing a swift end to it. "We will run that business largely like it is today, with 45-day windows," he said. "I’m giving you a hard number. If we’re going to be in the theatrical business, and we are, we’re competitive people — we want to win. I want to win opening weekend. I want to win box office."
Prior to this new NYT interview’s publication, Deadline reported that it had been told by sources that Netflix was supportive of a 17-day window, which would obviously be far more damaging to theaters. This came after the Stranger Things finale reportedly banked north of $25m during its brief theatrical run over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Sarandos was also asked if he regretted saying the theatrical business as we know it today is an "outmoded" idea. He told the NYT: "You have to listen to that quote again. I said 'outmoded for some.' I mean, like the town that 'Sinners' is supposed to be set in does not have a movie theater there. For those folks, it’s certainly outmoded. You’re not going to get in the car and go to the next town to go see a movie." (Movies are actually nascent technology in Sinners, which is set in the 1930s. Bad example, Ted!) He went on to explain that for someone like his daughter, who lives in Manhattan and has a number of theaters within walking distance of her home, the term does not apply in the same way.
The Netflix co-chief exec’s latest comments seem to be designed to appease theater owners as much as the movie-going public, after a number of chains opposed the proposed WBD sale. "Such an acquisition will further consolidate control over production and distribution of motion pictures in the hands of a single, dominant, global streaming platform in a market that is already highly concentrated," said trade organization Cinema United in a statement to Congress.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/netflix-will-give-wbd-movies-45-day-theater-exclusivity-if-deal-goes-through-141223786.html?src=rss
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Netflix logo on one of their buildings in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo
If you thought we were exaggerating, the hunger for memory and GPUs is making many companies reassess their priorities. YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed discovered ASUS has stopped producing the RTX 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB due to the ongoing memory crunch. Both GPUs are 16GB models, making them more expensive to manufacture in the current climate.
“Demand for GeForce RTX GPUs is strong, and memory supply is constrained. We continue to ship all GeForce SKUs and are working closely with our suppliers to maximize memory availability,” an NVIDIA spokesperson told Engadget.
At CES 2026, we saw PCs and computing in the next 12 months will have higher prices and more limited availability for consumers. At the end of 2025, RAM prices skyrocketed, driven by demand from AI data centers. That’s not stopping anytime soon.
Matthew McConaughey filed trademark applications to prevent AI companies from using his likeness without permission, and the US Patent and Trademark Office has approved eight so far.
Trademarks were for video and audio clips featuring the actor staring, smiling and talking. One was for an audio recording of him saying “alright, alright, alright,” his catchphrase from the movie Dazed and Confused. Under the law, it’s already prohibited for companies to steal someone’s likeness to sell products. However, given the vague rules governing the use of someone’s likeness, McConaughey is taking a proactive approach. McConaughey himself is an investor in ElevenLabs and has partnered with the AI startup to create a Spanish version of his newsletter. Está bien, está bien, está bien.
The second season of Amazon’s excellent Fallout show is currently streaming, but the company is already looking to generate more revenue from its license to the well-regarded game series. Prime Video has greenlit an unscripted reality show titled Fallout Shelter. It will be a 10-episode run with Studio Lambert, the team behind reality projects including Squid Game: The Challenge and The Traitors.
Following numerous complaints and several state and national investigations, X is revising its policies on Grok’s image-editing capabilities. New safeguards will place Grok’s image-generating features behind X’s subscription offering, and it will geoblock all users’ ability to generate images of real people in… well, less clothing, in regions where it’s illegal.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta cited one analysis that found “more than half of the 20,000 images generated by xAI between Christmas and New Year depicted people in minimal clothing.” That’s been the primary use?
Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as president of Lucasfilm. Although she will continue as a producer for several Star Wars projects, including upcoming movie The Mandalorian and Grogu, the company will now be helmed by a duo in Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. It's a big changing of the guard for Star Wars fans, and marks the start of a fresh chapter for the sci-fi universe.
Before taking over at Lucasfilm, Kennedy had seen great success as a producer with a couple little films you may have heard of: E.T. and Jurassic Park. She became Lucasfilm's president in 2012 when the company was acquired by Disney. At that point, it had been several years since the last Star Wars movie; Revenge of the Sith closed out the generally panned prequel trilogy in 2005. Fans' best option for Star Wars content was The Clone Wars, a standalone film and animated series which were well-regarded but primarily popular among the hardcore devotees rather than reaching the widespread cultural relevance of the prior feature films.
During Kennedy's tenure, Star Wars returned to the big screen with The Force Awakens in 2015. Although that J.J. Abrams-led trilogy was also a roller coaster for many fans, it marked a renaissance for the franchise. Lucasfilm embarked on two standalone movies in Rogue One and Solo, which generated yet more buzz and more money for the company. Star Wars got the full cinematic universe treatment, with critically acclaimed live-action television projects and several new video games. The world fell in love with Baby Yoda. Ewan McGregor finally got to don his Obi-Wan Kenobi robe in a better vehicle. The franchise was back in the mainstream, with the budgets and expectations of media behemoth Disney at its back. No matter your feelings on the current state of Star Wars, it's an impressive accomplishment by Kennedy and a big legacy that she leaves behind at Lucasfilm.
So now that Lucasfilm has arguably ended this phase on a high note, what's next? Dave Filoni moving into the top spot isn't much of a surprise. He's long been seen by fans and seemingly by the company as George Lucas' spiritual successor. Filoni was also the showrunner on The Clone Wars back in the day and has been involved in some capacity with many of the recent TV series, most notably The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. All that history means his new role of President and Chief Creative Officer is pretty expected, and the Star Wars faithful likely feel that they are in good hands.
As the title implies, Filoni will be responsible for the artistic side of the operation, while as Co-President, Lynwen Brennan will be in charge of the business side. Brennan may be a less familiar name, but her tenure with Lucas' businesses dates back to 1999 when she joined the legendary effects studio Industrial Light & Magic. Dividing the art and the commerce can yield good results if the two are able to find a good synergy. Star Wars has proven that it's a moneymaker even when the films and series aren't particularly well-received, but here's hoping that Filoni and Brennan will each be able to maintain high standards for Lucasfilm and the Star Wars fandom.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/kathleen-kennedy-steps-down-as-lucasfilm-president-marking-a-new-era-for-the-star-wars-franchise-003407687.html?src=rss
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