Silent Hill fans, hold onto your butts. Konami today dropped a ton of news about the future of its iconic horror franchise, and aside from confirming a long-rumored remake of Silent Hill 2, the studio revealed three new games in the same universe: Silent Hill Townfall, Ascension and f. They all sound like incredibly different experiences.

Townfall comes from Annapurna Interactive and No Code, a Glasgow studio known for strong narrative skills and horror world-building in titles like Observation and Stories Untold. The short teaser for Townfall features an old-school pocket television clipping through tense conversations and disturbing scenes, and it looks to be the most traditional Silent Hill game of the trio.

Ascension is the least game-like installment here, but it comes with a big name attached: JJ Abrams. It's an interactive streaming series where "the entire community shapes the canon of Silent Hill," and its tagline is "Face Your Trauma Together." Ascension comes from Abrams' studio, Bad Robot, and Genvid, a company that produces interactive live shows. It's described as "a new form of entertainment that blends community, live storytelling and interactivity." Ascension is due out in 2023.

And then there's Silent Hill f, a game that sounds like an exciting departure for the series. It's coming from Ryūkishi07, a creator known for crafting acclaimed visual novels with psychological horror and supernatural mysteries at their core. The teaser for f is gorgeous and gruesome, featuring a young woman as she's consumed from the inside-out by the tentacles of a flesh-eating plant. A YouTube description for the teaser says the game is "set in 1960s Japan featuring a beautiful, yet horrifying world." The video only gets bloodier as it goes, so dip out early if it's making you squirm — or lean in and get a good look, you lovely freak. There's no word yet on a release date or platforms for f.

And that isn't where Konami's renewed interest in Silent Hill ends — alongside Bloober Team's remake of Silent Hill 2, a new movie called Return to Silent Hill is in the works from Christophe Gans, the director of the 2006 film adaptation.

As the rumors suggested, a remake of Silent Hill 2 is in the works from Bloober Team. Bloober is the studio behind Layers of Fear and The Medium, and it's a complete remake, not a remaster of Konami's 2001 horror game. You'll remember it as the one that introduced Pyramid Head.

The surprise for this one comes in the platforms — the remake will be exclusive to PS5 and PC, and the PlayStation Store page for the game is live now. There's no word on a release date so far.

Konami

It's been 10 years since Konami released the last installments in the Silent Hill series, Downpour and Book of Memories (RIP the Vita). PT, a teaser for a Silent Hills game that never materialized, came out in 2014 and was an instant cult hit, reigniting interest in Konami's horror universe. Rumors have been flying about the series this year, including hopes for a PT-style game and the Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Team.

Konami revealed the Silent Hill 2 remake during a live stream today.

Those who were worried that YouTube would completely limit access to 4K content to Premium subscribers can breath easily. For now. YouTube has revealed on Twitter that it has "fully turned off" the experiment that requires Premium subscription to be able to play videos in 4K resolution. Earlier this month, users started reporting on social networks like Reddit and Twitter that when they accessed the drop-down menu for resolution options, the word "Premium" was right next to 4K/2160p. Not everyone was required to have a Premium subscription to play 4K videos, though, indicating that it was an experimental feature rolled out to a limited number of users.

It's unclear why YouTube has decided to cancel the experiment, but as 9to5Google notes, it was met with a significant amount of negative feedback. Users were understandably far from happy being asked to pay $12 a month or $120 a year to be able to play videos in the highest resolution available on the website. And those who weren't part of the experiment were concerned that it would make its way to wide release and be a permanent "perk" for Premium subscribers.

YouTube didn't say whether it's permanently shelving the idea of locking 4K videos behind a Premium subscription. In a tweet written in Japanese, YouTube invited users to leave a feedback about the experiment, which could help it ultimately decide how to move forward.

TikTok is once again updating its livestreaming features, and this time the biggest improvements affect the people who can't watch. For starters, the upgrade now lets TikTok Live users host adult-only broadcasts. If a stream is likely to include lots of colorful language or tackle traumatic subjects, you can make sure the audience is mature enough to handle it. The option will be available in the "coming weeks." And no, it's not an officially sanctioned alternative to OnlyFans — TikTok's policies still forbid sexually explicit content.

The social video service is also raising the minimum age for hosts from 16 to 18 starting November 23rd. TikTok pitches this as a logical extension of its restrictions on teen content, but it also comes after incidents of abuse. Older viewers have sexually exploited teen hosts, for example, while teens have made threats against schools. In theory, the higher minimum age will reduce the number of school-age kids using Live to get into the kinds of trouble that wouldn't be possible using pre-recorded clips. Accordingly, a feature arriving in the weeks ahead will remind creators to block keywords they've filtered out in the past.

There is one upgrade that brings more people into the fold. A recently expanded Multi-Guest feature now lets a host invite up to five other participants using either a grid or panel layout. This can be helpful for pro creators who want to air full-fledged shows, of course, but it could also be helpful for any streamer who wants to bring more friends into a conversation.

TikTok is facing government pressure to implement audience controls like this. American and British officials are worried the social network might harm children, whether through promoting unhealthy behavior or jeopardizing privacy. Age restrictions won't necessarily prevent abuses of live broadcasts, but they could indicate that TikTok is addressing key concerns.

Almost a decade to the day since it released the last Silent Hill game (as long as you don't include P.T.), Konami is finally ready to reveal what's next for the franchise. The company will divulge the "latest updates" for the series during a stream that starts at 5PM ET on October 19th.

The publisher announced the showcase in a tweet that includes a link to a placeholder Silent Hill website. Presumably, you'll be able to watch the stream there.

It seems there's at least one new game in the pipeline. Composer Akira Yamaoka and Masahiro Ito, the art director on the first three games, shared news of the upcoming stream, as Video Game Chronicle notes. Both have previously hinted that they're working on a new Silent Hill title. Yamaoka also handled the score for Bloober Team's The Medium — according to reports, that studio is working on a remake of Silent Hill 2 after teaming up with Konami last year. 

Other Silent Hill projects said to be in the works include an episodic, narrative-driven series and a playable teaser in the vein of P.T. for a new mainline game. P.T. was an interactive teaser for Silent Hills, a planned full game from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. However, Konami canceled Silent Hills in 2015 and Kojima left the publisher in contentious fashion. The Silent Hill series has been dormant ever since, other than crossovers such as Pyramid Head showing up in Dead by Daylight.

Meanwhile, a third Silent Hill movie may be on the horizon. Christophe Gans, who directed and co-wrote the first film in 2006, said this year that he'd completed a script for another movie. Gans also hinted this month that Konami was working on several Silent Hill games. It seems likely that we'll find out more about those very soon. Here's hoping Konami brings back P.T. as well.

One of the great things about Twitter is that you can reach out to any public user with a quick @ mention to their username. One of the worst things about Twitter is that it's all too easy to abuse that feature. But it turns out, the bird network may be working on a way to control those mentions. According to privacy researcher and engineer Jane Manchun Wong, the company is testing out the ability to block @ mentions entirely, or limit them to people who already follow you. (Literally, don't @ me, bro.)

Twitter privacy designer Dominic Camozzi initially confirmed the feature was in the works, but as The Verge reports, he later deleted that confirmation. Giving users more granular control of @ mentions falls right in line with Twitter's other recent privacy features, like limiting replies, and being able to unmention yourself from threads. While it might make Twitter seem less open, but mention controls will ultimately make the service a better experience for users who inevitably find themselves targeted by trolls.

TikTok may soon offer an easy way for you to buy a movie ticket after you see a trailer that catches your attention. It's offering select movie studios access to a tool called Showtimes on TikTok. The studios will be able to show a full trailer, then display details on showtimes and nearby theaters. They'll also be able to add a link to a partner site where you can buy tickets.

TikTok says 52 percent of users learn about a new show, movie or actor on the app, and a quarter of people who see an entertainment ad or trailer buy a ticket. This tool may streamline things and (from the studios' perspective) help consumers follow through on their intent to buy a ticket.

The platform announced Showtimes on TikTok as part of a summit focused on brands and advertising. Another notable update is the fact that creators who are collaborating with mobile gaming companies will be able to include relevant iOS and Android app store links to help folks download the game they're promoting. Creators will also be able to pin a comment with a link to more details about the service or product they showcase in a video.

There will be updates to the TikTok Creator Marketplace, where brands can find influencers to partner with. TikTok says it will improve search, help brands and agencies to quickly find creators who match a brief and allow them to invite any user (including those who aren't on the 800,000-strong TikTok Creator Marketplace) to take part in a campaign.

Meanwhile, TikTok has announced a feature called Profile Kit. This will allow users to link their accounts to some third-party apps and display some of their videos there. TikTok's first partner for this initiative is Linktree. You'll be able to display some of your TikToks on your Linktree "link in bio" page alongside links to your other social media profiles.

After a bit of a wait, Among Us VR is nearly ready. Innersloth, Schell Games and Robot Teddy have confirmed the virtual reality betrayal game will be available November 10th on Meta Quest 2 and Steam. There's no mention of a PlayStation VR version in the announcement (we've asked Innersloth for comment), but this is still a big deal if you're hoping for a fresh take on the game's core concept.

As in the 2D version, Among Us VR asks crewmates to identify impostors before they kill the entire crew. However, the move to a first-person perspective shakes up gameplay. Impostors will now have an easier time sneaking around, and you can now use hand expressions when you accuse others or protest your innocence. If you've grown tired of plain Among Us, this might give you a reason to come back.

That "if" is important, of course. Among Usthrived in the early days of the pandemic, when it was one of the more entertaining ways to play and connect with your isolated friends. While it still has its audience, it's not the cult phenomenon it was in 2020. With that said, this may be a good example of what VR gaming can do — you can socialize with your buddies while running for your virtual life.

After announcing it at I/O 2019, teasing it in 2020 and finally launching it officially last year, Google is shutting down the Assistant Driving Mode dashboard, 9to5Google reported. The feature gives users an Android Auto-lite experience on their smartphone while driving, and was effectively a replacement for the Android Auto smartphone app, which itself was killed last year.

Assistant Driving Mode shows a home screen-style page with Google Assistant up top, a music player and volume controls below that, and buttons to make a call or send a message. It can be accessed from the Assistant by saying "Hey Google, launch Driving Mode," or pinned to your home screen.

Steve Dent/Engadget

If you're confusing the Assistant Driving Mode with the Google Maps feature also called Driving Mode (above), that's understandable. Rather than launching from Assistant or the home screen, though, the Google Maps version launches from a four-dot menu at bottom right when you start navigation. Once open, it shows a row of large icons for calls, messages, and media apps that are easy to see and access while driving. Weirdly, when you first launch that mode within Maps, it offers to pin the other Driving Mode to your home screen.

Google is shutting down Assistant Driving Mode because it noticed that most people were just using the Maps version, it told 9to5Google. However, folks may not have even known the Assistant version existed because of the naming confusion and similarity between the apps. Google should maybe clarify the situation around navigation and entertainment for folks who don't have Android Auto built into their vehicles, because it's pretty darn confusing. 

Kanye West’s return to Twitter has been short-lived. Less than a day after Elon Musk welcomed him back to the platform, the rapper saw his account suspended for posting an antisemitic message. On late Saturday night, West, who goes by Ye now, said he would go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” In the same message, West defended himself, suggesting he wasn’t antisemitic because “black people are actually Jew.”

According to BuzzFeed News, it took some time before Twitter removed the hateful tweet. However, as of Sunday, it’s no longer possible to see the message on West’s timeline. “The account in question has been locked due to a violation of Twitter’s policies,” a company spokesperson told Engadget.

The suspension comes after West’s Instagram account was similarly restricted by Meta. In a post that has since been deleted, West shared a screenshot of a message he sent to Sean “Diddy” Combs where he implied the rapper was being controlled by a group of powerful Jewish people, reports NBC News. 

The American Jewish Committee condemned the post and comments West made during an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier in the week. "The behavior exhibited this week by Kanye West is deeply troubling, dangerous, and antisemitic, period,” the organization said on Twitter. “There is no excuse for his propagating of white supremacist slogans and classic antisemitism about Jewish power, especially with the platform he has.”

After his Instagram suspension, West took to Twitter to lash out at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. That post is still on the platform.