Spotify has quietly debuted a new website where fans can purchase tickets to their favorite artists' concerts directly from the streaming platform. There's no fanfare surrounding Spotify Tickets' launch, because it's strictly a test product at the moment, and it's only selling pre-sale tickets to a limited number of artists' upcoming events. The portal's debut artists include Limbeck, Annie DiRusso, Dirty Honey, Crows, TOKiMONSTA, Four Year Strong and Osees. According to MusicAlly, the tickets Spotify will start selling today will come from the artists' pre-sale allocations for upcoming concerts.

The music streaming service already has an in-app Live Events Feed where it links to ticketing partners, including Ticketmaster, AXS, DICE, Eventbrite and See Tickets. As TechCrunch notes, the events listed on the new website aren't available on the Live Events Feed yet, though that could change in the future. Spotify Tickets' official support page says that the company sells tickets on behalf of event partners, such as venues, event promoters, fan clubs and artists themselves. That means those partners set the tickets' prices, but Spotify will charge a booking fee that it promises to make clear to buyers before they hit the purchase button.

The service could become an important revenue stream from artists who'd rather sell their own tickets. It could also help ensure that tickets are purchased by real fans and not by scalpers. The service's support page says buyers may not "resell, assign or transfer" tickets except in select states. And since buyers will need to present a government-issued ID to enter an event, they'll have to transfer ownership of a ticket if they do decide to sell it. The process is quite involved and requires sellers to contact Spotify to change the name associated with a ticket.

Spotify told us it doesn't have much to share at the moment, since the service is just a test. There's no official launch date — or even assurances that it will make its way out of the testing phase — for the product right now. The spokesperson said: "At Spotify, we routinely test new products and ideas to improve our user experience. Some of those end up paving the path for our broader user experience and others serve only as important learnings. Tickets.spotify.com is our latest test. We have no further news to share on future plans at this time."

Spotify's Soundtrap is now more useful for artists who want to make music with distant friends. The online digital audio workstation (DAW) now has an opt-in beta for a live collaboration feature that lets multiple people make and see changes to a tune in real time. If you want to add a sick beat, you don't have to tap a sync button to ensure everyone hears it.

Another opt-in beta adds an (arguably overdue) auto-save feature to preserve your work. If you'd rather not participate in any tests, you can now leave Google Docs-style comments on tracks to guide your fellow composers.

Soundtrap starts at $10 per month, or $8 per month if you pay yearly. That's not as affordable as a collab-friendly alternative like Soundation ($5 per month when paid yearly), but it could make the DAW more compelling if you crave unlimited projects (Soundation's entry paid tier is limited to 10) or simply want Spotify's resources at your disposal.

The first two Sonic movies were solid hits for Paramount. So much so, the studio has confidence the previously announced third movie can be successful even during the competitive holiday season. As such, it gave Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a release date of December 20th, 2024.

Few details have been revealed about the third entry in the series as yet. It's unclear whether Jim Carrey will return as Dr. Robotnik after the actor said he was considering retiring from acting. Meanwhile, a spin-off series focused on Knuckles (Idris Elba) is coming to Paramount+ next year.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2 were released in February 2020 and April 2022, respectively, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing video-game film in the US. It's also the ninth highest-grossing movie of the year so far after raking in just over $400 million worldwide. Sonic 3 will be competing against the likes of Avatar 3 and a movie version of the Broadway show Wicked.

Elsewhere, a Sonic-themed Fall Guys event starts on Thursday and runs until Monday. In the new Bean Hill Zone level, you'll be tasked with collecting rings to earn rewards such as Sonic sneakers. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Super Sonic and Dr. Robotnik outfits will be available in the store during the event, as will a Sonic foot tap emote. A Sonic skin was previously available in the game soon after it launched in August 2020. A Knuckles outfit appeared in the store last year too.

Netflix’s entry into the gaming market has been quiet. According to analysis by Apptopia, Netflix games have been downloaded 23.3 million times and have an average 1.7 million daily users. Framed against the 221 million customers paying for the streaming service, it’s not a great number — just one percent of them. The company indicated it didn’t expect its gaming division to be profitable immediately. “We’re going to be experimental and try a bunch of things,” Netflix COO Greg Peters told investors during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings calls last year.

But given that Netflix is not afraid to cut well-regarded shows after a few seasons, how long will it be willing to run a gaming arm before it’s successful? And what does success look like for Netflix? Earlier this year, the company paid $72 million to acquire Next Games, the studio behind Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales. More recently, it secured exclusive mobile rights to beloved indie titles like Spiritfarer and Into The Breach.

For what it’s worth, Poinpy is a pretty wonderful game worthy of your smartphone gaming time.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• SNK is making its first new Fatal Fury game in 23 years

• Anker charging gadgets are up to 40 percent off for Prime members

• 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II' multiplayer reveal set for September 15th

• Arrival pauses work on its electric bus and car projects

• What we bought: This LED desk lamp gave me the best lighting for video calls

• MG's new all-electric hatchback will cost just $31,400 when it arrives in the UK

US imposes sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer that may have laundered over $7 billion

Tornado Cash helped North Korea, according to the Treasury.

The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, a mixer that allegedly helped launder more than $7 billion in stolen crypto funds since its inception in 2019. Like a previous sanctions target, Blender, Tornado Cash is accused of "indiscriminately" helping thieves by hiding transaction details while failing to institute meaningful anti-laundering safeguards. Tornado Cash runs on the Ethereum blockchain. North Korea's state-sponsored Lazarus Group hackers are believed to have funneled $455 million through the mixer so far.

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Lucid Air will soon have a Stealth Look trim option

The $6,000 theme gives the EV a 'darker and overtly sporting personality.'

Lucid

Lucid is adding a new trim option to its Air electric vehicle. The idea behind Stealth Look is to give the car a "darker and overtly sporting personality," according to the automaker. Lucid is swapping out 35 exterior components that have a platinum finish for versions with a darker appearance, with black gloss and satin graphite accents. Lucid plans to introduce the $6,000 option early next year, though whether you'll actually be able to get your hands on an Air at all anytime soon is another matter. Earlier this month, Lucid once again revised its production target for 2022, this time from 20,000 to between 6,000 and 7,000 units.

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A live-action Pac-Man movie is the video-game adaptation no-one asked for

No Adam Sandler though.

Bandai Namco is developing a live-action Pac-Man film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Japanese gaming giant has reportedly tapped Wayfarer Studios, best known for its work on 2019’s Five Feet Apart, to produce the project. The film was reportedly pitched by Sonic the Hedgehog producer Chuck Williams. In 2020, Sonic the Hedgehogbroke the record for a US video game movie debut. So it’s all Sonic’s fault.

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HBO Max finishes rolling out its much-needed app redesign

Just in time for Discovery to make it obsolete.

HBO

Warner Bros. Discovery has finished rolling out its redesigned app on desktop, Android and iOS, delivering a more intuitive interface, a performance boost and some overdue features. You'll also find a dedicated video download page, split-screen support and SharePlay — at least for Apple devices in the US. The timing isn’t great. Warner Bros. recently confirmed it's merging HBO Max and Discovery+ into one service next summer. The app you see today won't last long.

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Nintendo will dedicate a 30-minute Direct stream to 'Splatoon 3'

The event happens on August 10 at 9 AM ET.

Splatoon 3 will arrive on September 9th, and Nintendo is setting the table with a dedicated Direct showcase. The stream will get underway at 9 AM ET on August 10th and have around 30 minutes of updates. Expect a deep dive into one of Nintendo's tentpole Switch releases of the year, encompassing multiplayer changes and in-game mechanics.

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WhatsApp just introduced several important privacy features including the online status blocking option it recently showed in beta, TechCrunch has reported. The aim is to eventually make WhatsApp "as private and secure as face-to-face conversations," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. 

The new "online presence control" feature allows you to send messages while appearing to be offline. That offers another level of privacy over the ability to hide your "last seen" status from specific contacts, a feature introduced earlier this year. 

You can control the feature in a granular way, deciding which contacts can view your online status and which can't. There are no limits, and you can swap people in and out at any time. The feature will roll out to all users across desktop and mobile, later this month. 

WhatsApp is also testing screenshot blocking for view once messages that disappear after a single view. When those messages were introduced last year, Meta said that you should still take caution as you wouldn't know if someone screenshotted them. A new feature that lets you block such screenshots is now in testing, but the company hopes to get it to all users "soon." 

With the final change, you can leave leave groups privately without sending out a mass notification to everyone else that you're gone — though group admins will still be notified. That should save some awkwardness when it rolls out to the desktop and mobile apps, also later this month. 

Bandai Namco is developing a live-action Pac-Man film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Japanese publisher has reportedly tapped Wayfarer Studios, best known for its work on 2019’s Five Feet Apart, to produce the project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was pitched by Sonic the Hedgehog producer Chuck Williams.

The movie does not have a release date yet and Bandai Namco could decide not to move forward with the project. That said, the involvement of Williams says a lot about the company’s aspirations. In 2020, Sonic the Hedgehogbroke the record for a US video game movie debut after earning $57 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend. Despite the pandemic, the film went on to earn $319 million. Two years later, Sonic 2 beat the previous high watermark set by its predecessor with a $71 million US debut. Clearly, Bandai Namco wants a similar outcome. Here’s hoping Pac-Man doesn’t have to go through an ugly CGI phase to get there.

Many classic fighting game series have a reasonably consistent stream of sequels, but not Fatal Fury — the last title (Garou: Mark of the Wolves) made its appearance on the Neo Geo in 1999. SNK is ready to make amends after 23 years, however. The developer has confirmed work on a new Fatal Fury game. The teaser trailer below reveals nothing about the gameplay, plot, platform support or release date, but the company claimed the sequel would represent a "new turning point" in fighters — don't expect much humility, then. 

The franchise played an important role in SNK's history, and by extension fighting games as a whole. The first game, 1991's Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, made a splash at a time when Street Fighter II dominated the genre. It was designed by the original Street Fighter's Takashi Nishiyama, and focused more on story and special moves than SF2's combos. It showed that there was room for multiple games in the upper pantheon of fighting games, and ultimately spawned the still-active King of Fighters series.

The challenge, of course, is persuading gamers to revisit Fatal Fury. The fighting game world has evolved considerably in the past two decades, ranging from 3D series like Tekken through to many-character extravaganzas like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It's a crowded arena, and there's no certainty that nostalgia will give SNK an edge.

Netflix will have to shell out a hefty sum in a fight over screenwriter pay. As Deadlinereports, the Writers Guild of America has won an arbitration ruling that will have Netflix pay 216 theatrical movie writers an extra $42 million in unpaid residuals. The WGA is also seeking another $13.5 million in interest for late payment.

The WGA accused Netflix of "self-dealing" that helped it skimp on writer pay. Residuals for theatrical releases are supposed to be paid on revenues earned in a given market, according to the guild, and licenses like Netflix's (where it's both the producer and distributor) demand fees based on more conventional relationships — a Sony movie licensed to Netflix, for example. Netflix, however, reportedly negotiated deals with the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) that let it pay residuals on its own movies for "significantly less" than the cost of the film.

The win was helped by an earlier victory over the Sandra Bullock movie Bird Box, the WGA claimed. An arbitrator found that Netflix significantly underpaid a screenwriter using a formula like that from the most recent dispute. The officiator told Netflix to pay the writer $1.2 million in residuals and interest.

We've asked Netflix for comment. The WGA wasn't shy about its criticism, however. It characterized Netflix as one of the "worst violators" of the guild's basic agreements for residuals, and saw the arbitration as a pushback against media companies trying to "depress" pay through streaming services. Don't be surprised if there are more battles like this across the industry.

There's a mod in the works for Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye 007 that turns another James Bond film into a full game. Fans are building a playable version of The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore's third, and some would argue best, Bond movie.

As spotted by EuroGamer, YouTuber Graslu00 posted a playthrough video showing 11 levels of The Spy Who Loved Me 64. The mod depicts the key events and locations of the film, taking Bond from the Alps to the pyramids of Egypt and a supertanker in the Atlantic Ocean. It includes Moore's likeness, as well as characters such as Anya Amasova (aka Agent XXX) and villain Karl Stromberg. It's possible to run the mod on an emulator in 4K at 60 frames per second, though you can also play it on an N64 console.

It's a work in progress, as Graslu00 notes. The build of The Spy Who Loved Me 64 that's available on N64 Vault is a demo of the first three levels with a peek at a planned four-player multiplayer mode. It looks like there's quite a way for the fans working on the game to go, though. The stage select screen shows 20 levels including, curiously, Bond's childhood home of Skyfall — that seems to be one of the multiplayer maps.

Meanwhile, there's an official James Bond title in the works. It emerged in late 2020 that Hitman studio IO Interactive is developing a game that delves into the superspy's origins. It's expected to be the first official Bond game since 2012's 007 Legends.

This week on the show, Cherlynn is joined by guest co-host Sam Rutherford to talk about the newly launched OnePlus 10T. Why did the company choose to sacrifice an alert slider, wireless charging and some other features in exchange for extreme speed? How does the OnePlus 10T stack up against other midrange phones like the Pixel 6a? Then, our hosts discuss the cloud-gaming handheld that Logitech and Tencent are working on, as well as the curiousheadlines that permeated the consumer tech news cycle this week. 

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• Our OnePlus 10T review – 1:37

• Logitech and Tencent are working on a handheld cloud gaming console – 24:15

• It’s not just you: Uber receipts are actually crashing Outlook – 30:34

• Spotify finally adds a play button that doesn’t shuffle, but only for premium users – 32:22

• PlayStation Accolades feature is being discontinued because online gamers aren't nice – 36:09

• Microsoft negs Activision Blizzard’s game library amid acquisition process – 37:33

• No, Google Stadia isn’t shutting down – 39:28

• Discovery+ merger leaves HBO Max’s future in doubt, and Batgirl cancellation – 43:04

• Working on – 51:58

• Picks – 53:12

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Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Sam Rutherford
Producer: Ben Ellman
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos, Luke Brooks
Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Brian Oh
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien