When Battlefield 2024 comes out in about a week on November 19th, it won’t ship with built-in voice chat. Series developer DICE told Polygon the feature won’t be available until sometime after launch. The studio didn’t provide a reason for the decision. Whatever the case, the absence of voice chat will likely be keenly felt by Battlefield fans, especially on PC, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5 where matches will include as many as 128 players.

For what it’s worth, you can still use Discord or the party chat feature on your console to communicate with friends, but that won’t help you when you’re trying to play with strangers. In those instances, you’ll need to rely on the ping system, which is apparently on the cumbersome side. According to Polygon, you have to navigate through multiple menus before you can get to the right ping. All told, it sounds like Battlefield’s already chaotic matches will be a tad more unpredictable in the first few weeks that 2042 is available.

Disney held its first-ever Disney+ Day on Friday, and wouldn’t you know it, new content from Marvel Studios dominated the slate, with the company announcing or providing updates on 12 different live-action and animated shows. You can see an early look at footage from some of the upcoming shows on the Disney+ website.   

X-Men`97

Let’s start with the news nearly everyone is excited about. Disney is bringing back X-Men: The Animated Series as part of a new project called X-Men ‘97. It will pick up where the original series ended following its five-year run between 1992 and 1997. X-Men ‘97 will debut in 2023.

Moon Knight

Disney

Following his excellent performance in Dune as Duke Leto Atreides, Oscar Issac will star as Marc Spector in Moon Knight. Much like in the comics, Spector has a dissociative identity disorder that sees believing that he’s the human incarnation of the Egyptian Khonshu. Moon Knight will also star Ethan Hawke. Moon Knight will debut next year, according to Disney.

She-Hulk

Disney

In She-Hulk, Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, The Other Half) plays Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who inherits Hulk-like powers. If you love Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, worry not. Disney has already confirmed he’ll reprise his role. She-Hulk will hit Disney+ sometime in 2022.

Ms. Marvel

Disney

Since her solo debut in 2016, Kamala Khan has had an amazing run as Ms. Marvel. Not only have her comics been some of the best from Marvel in recent years, but she was one of the few highlights in the otherwise dismal Marvel’s Avengers video game from Square Enix. Now she’s about to get her own live-action series that will debut in the summer of 2022.

Echo

Disney

Hawkeye won’t debut until later this month, but Disney already has plans for a live-action spinoff starring Alaqua Cox’s character Maya Lopez. We’ll learn more about Lopez when Hawkeye starts streaming on November 24th.

Ironheart

Disney

Dominique Thorne will star in this live-action series that sees Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, create the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.

Agatha: House of Darkness

Disney

As expected, Kathryn Hahn’s WandaVision character Agatha Harkness will star in her own live-action spin-off series. Jac Schaefer will produce and write the series.

Secret Invasion

Disney

After guest appearances in nearly every Marvel film, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury finally gets his own time in the spotlight courtesy of Secret Invasion. Ben Mendelsohn will star opposite Jackson as Skrull Talos in the live-action series.

What If…?

Disney

Whether you liked the first season of What If…? or felt, like we did, that it didn’t live up to its potential, Disney is moving forward with a second season. The Watcher will return to meet new heroes and explore more of the MCU multiverse, with AC Bradley set to return as head writer.

Spider-Man: Freshman Year

Disney

In another animated series, Marvel plans to tell the story of Peter Parker before he became the Spider-Man of the MCU. The studio says this one will celebrate the character’s early comic book roots.

I Am Groot

Disney

It’s time for Groot to shine. Everyone’s favorite Guardians of the Galaxy characters will star in his own animated series titled I Am Groot. Again, no release date on this one, but Kirsten Lepore — best known for short films like Sweet Dreams and Bottle — will direct the project.

Marvel Zombies

Disney

“You know what the MCU is missing? Zombies,” said no one ever, but that didn’t stop Disney from greenlighting an animated series that will pit some of your favorite heroes against an endless undead tide.

Since 2019, Twitch has offered Sub Tokens as a way for iOS users to support their favorite streamers. They offer the same benefits of subscribing on desktop, including access to ad-free viewing and sub-only chat, but they’re a one-time purchase you can redeem when you want. However, Twitch is now doing away with that mechanism in favor of a more straightforward approach.

Once you update to the latest version of the Twitch iOS app, you’ll find the option to purchase recurring subscriptions. It’s a change the company says it’s making based on user feedback. “We learned from the community that non-renewing Sub Tokens on iOS can prevent them from consistently enjoying subscriber benefits and supporting their favorite creators,” the company said in a blog post. With the tweak, you don’t have to worry about losing access to your subscriber benefits or missing a sub streak.

Sub Tokens aren’t disappearing, at least not immediately. Twitch will continue to sell them until December 1st. At that point, you can continue to redeem until January 10th, 2022. After that date, any remaining Sub Tokens you have left on your account will be refunded by Apple. All told, it’s a chance that should make it easier for Twitch users to support their favorite streamers, particularly if they primarily use an iOS device to watch them.

Since the start of the pandemic, DoorDash has expanded its delivery portfolio to include everyday essential items from convenience stores, as well as CVS and Walgreens locations nationwide. On Thursday, the company announced that it’s adding on-demand deliveries from Dollar General. Starting today, you can order household items, including snacks and cleaning supplies, from more than 9,000 Dollar General locations across the US. DoorDash claims it will deliver most orders in under an hour. Additionally, it won’t employ time slots and there’s no minimum you need to spend to get something delivered to you.

Compared to a CVS or Walgreens, Dollar General is more of an unusual partner for DoorDash. The chain has built its reputation on affordable prices. Adding a delivery fee to a purchase from one of its stores feels counterintuitive. It has also built stores in places that don’t have nearby access to supermarkets and Walmarts. In that way, it’s hard to see the delivery option appealing to either frequent Dollar General or DoorDash customers, but at least it’s an option for those who want it.

VOIR, the latest Netflix series from Zodiac and Fight Club director David Fincher, will debut on December 6th. Described as a collection of visual essays celebrating cinema, the documentary series will see the likes of Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos, best known for their work on Every Frame a Painting, tell personal stories about some of the most influential films in history.

Even with Netflix sharing a trailer, it’s hard to say what exact movies will get the spotlight. At one point, nearly every famous film from the past seven decades makes an appearance in the clip, including more modern classics like The Matrix and Mad Max: Fury Road.

While some fans had hoped Fincher was working on a third season of Mindhunter, they’ll have to settle for VOIR instead. That’s not to say the auteur won’t return to the popular series. Last year, he extended his exclusive contract with Netflix by four years.

Valve’s Steam Deck isn’t the only handheld that won’t ship in 2021. Panic has pushed back the launch of its Playdate portable to 2022. The company announced the delay Thursday, attributing it to a “critical” battery issue it discovered late in the process of manufacturing the first 20,000 production units of the console. “We made the difficult, expensive call to replace all of our existing batteries with new ones from a totally different battery supplier,” said Panic’s Cabel Sasser.

Panic estimates those units will now begin making their way to customers sometime in early 2022. If you reserved a Playdate prior to today’s announcement, your spot in the pre-order line won’t change as long as your order remains active.

If there’s a silver lining to the news, it’s that Panic claims the new power cell features “much better” battery life from what the previous one offered. Moving forward, future units will ship with a new CPU and redesigned motherboard. That won’t change how the final product performs, but it’s something Panic says it was forced to do due to the ongoing chip shortages that are affecting everything from GPU prices to car production.

Discord doesn’t have impending plans to add NFT integrations, according to CEO Jason Citron. The clarification came on Wednesday following days of unrest stemming from a tweet Citron shared on November 8th. Replying to a message from investor Packy McCormick, the executive posted a screenshot of an unreleased Discord build with integrations to MetaMask and WalletConnect, two cryptocurrency wallet apps. “Probably nothing,” he said at the time. As TechCrunch points out, that’s shorthand in the NFT community for something that’s about to be a big deal. And it was, but almost certainly not in the way Citron had imagined it would be.

His tweet quickly became a magnet for upset Discord users who told Citron they would cancel their Nitro subscriptions if the company added crypto integrations. “Man, can’t wait to tell my friends that Discord is encouraging pyramid schemes at the grand cost of the environment, and persuading them to cancel their Nitro subscriptions and use competing platforms,” said one Twitter user, concisely summarizing the feelings of many the other people in Citron’s mentions. “Thanks for the heads up!”

According to gaming news curator Ryan Brown, Citron’s tweet caused internal dissent among Discord staff and led some studios to threaten to take their communities elsewhere. The backlash was such that by Wednesday Citron and Discord were forced to issue a response. “Thanks for all the perspectives everyone,” he said on Twitter. “We have no current plans to ship this internal concept.”

In a statement to Engadget, Discord shared an additional clarification:

“We appreciate all the perspectives we’ve been hearing in response to the internal concept you may have seen in a tweet earlier this week and want to clarify we have no plans to ship it at this time. We’re excited about the potential for web3 technology and the positive ways these communities are coming together on Discord, especially those organized around environmentally friendly, creator-focused projects. However, we also recognize there are some problems we need to work through. For now we're focused on protecting users from spams, scams and fraud.”

Uproar over a potential change is nothing new to the app space, but how loudly Discord users protested the company’s plans to integrate cryptocurrency wallets speaks to just how much those individuals love the platform. Discord grew by leaps and bounds during the pandemic in part because it offered a safe space for people to stay in touch with their friends while the world shut down. Many of those people don’t want to see that space change.

The US Department of Justice has sued Uber for allegedly discriminating against passengers with disabilities. In a complaint filed with the US District Court for Northern California, the agency claims Uber violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by implementing a policy that has seen the company charge “wait time” fees to passengers who, as a result of their disabilities, need more time to enter a car. The law prohibits discrimination of individuals with disabilities by private companies.

According to the Justice Department, the policy has been in place since 2016 when Uber implemented it in a number of US cities before eventually expanding its use nationwide. Anytime a passenger needs more than two minutes to enter an UberX car or more than five minutes in the case of an Uber Black or SUV vehicle, the company charges that individual a wait time fee. Uber contends most users pay, on average, less than $0.60 when that’s the case. However, passengers with disabilities, including those with wheelchairs and walkers, often need more time to enter a vehicle than those without.

“People with disabilities deserve equal access to all areas of community life, including the private transportation services provided by companies like Uber,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

A spokesperson for Uber called the lawsuit “surprising” and “disappointing.” The full statement reads:

Wait time fees are charged to all riders to compensate drivers after two minutes of waiting, but were never intended for riders who are ready at their designated pickup location but need more time to get into the car. We recognize that many riders with disabilities depend on Uber for their transportation needs, which is why we had been in active discussions with the DOJ about how to address any concerns or confusion before this surprising and disappointing lawsuit.

It has been our policy to refund wait time fees for disabled riders whenever they alerted us that they were charged. After a recent change last week, now any rider who certifies they are disabled will have fees automatically waived. We fundamentally disagree that our policies violate the ADA and will keep improving our products to support everyone’s ability to easily move around their communities.

The company also pointed to the fact it does not, by default, charge a wait time fee when someone requests a wheelchair accessible or Uber Assist ride. This isn’t the first time Uber has been sued for allegedly violating Title III of the ADA. In 2017, disability advocates in New York City filed a class action complaint against the company. At the time, the group said Uber was inaccessible to 99.9 percent of people with mobility disabilities.

Valve has delayed the launch of Steam Deck by two months. The handheld PC will now start shipping sometime in February 2022 — instead of December of this year, as previously announced. The company blamed the delay on the ongoing global semiconductor crunch that has affected everything from GPU prices to car production. 

"We’re sorry about this — we did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates," Valve said.

If you pre-ordered a Steam Deck before today, you will keep your current place in the reservation line, but the date when your Steam Deck will ship is moving back. Valve said it would update shipping estimates shortly after today's announcement. While any delay stings, the timing of this one at least aligns with the release of major games like Elden Ring and Dying Light 2.

Twitter has established a dedicated crypto team. Dubbed Twitter Crypto, the company describes the division as “a center of excellence for all things blockchain.” It will set the “strategy for the future of crypto at (and on) Twitter,” the company said in a press release it shared with Engadget.

It has also hired Tess Rinearson to lead the effort. Rinearson joins Twitter having led engineering teams at cryptocurrency startups like Interchain, Tendermint and Chain. She’ll report to Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal, who will help set the direction of the team.

As a first step, Twitter sees Rinearson’s team exploring three primary areas of interest. First, it will look at how the company can continue to support cryptocurrencies as a way for creators to be paid. Related to that, it will explore how blockchain technologies can create an additional way for creators to earn a living. Lastly, with help from Bluesky, it will lead the company’s efforts to decentralize social media.

“There’s massive and growing interest among creators to use decentralized apps to manage virtual goods and currencies – Tess will focus here, with a long term goal of exploring how ideas from crypto can help us push the boundaries of what’s possible with identity, community and more,” Twitter said.

It’s not a surprise to see Twitter get more serious about crypto. It recently started allowing users to send and receive Bitcoin tips. It’s no secret where the interest comes from either. CEO Jack Dorsey has long been a vocal proponent of the technology, particularly over at Square. The other company where Dorsey is CEO recently announced it would build a Bitcoin hardware wallet. It’s also “considering” building a Bitcoin mining system.