One of the best Star Wars games ever made is making its way to Switch. Alongside the news that Respawn Entertainment will release Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023, Disney shared yesterday that Aspyr is porting 2004’s Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords to Nintendo’s handheld. What’s more, the studio said it plans to release a “Restored Content” DLC for the game. That’s exciting news for what is often considered one of the franchise’s diamonds in the rough.

Many Star Wars fans love Knights of the Old Republic II for its more complicated portrayal of the conflict between the Jedi and the Sith. Unfortunately, the game shipped in an unfinished state due partly to the fact developer Obsidian Entertainment, best known for its work on Fallout: New Vegas, had 14 to 16 months to complete work on the project.

Obsidian was forced to cut content, including an entire playable planet, to make the deadline set by publisher LucasArts. After the studio moved on to other projects, a group of fans began working on The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod for PC, promising to bring the final version of the game as close to Obsidian’s original vision as possible. And for the most part, they succeeded in that goal, making the PC version of The Sith Lords the definitive way to experience Knights of the Old Republic II.

While we wait for more information on the Restored Content DLC, Aspyr said it would release KotOR II to Switch on June 8th. The studio is also working on a PS5 remake of the original game. 

On Thursday, Valve began rolling out SteamOS 3.2 for Steam Deck, addressing one of the more prominent issues people have had with the handheld since its release. According to the company, the update introduces an “all-new OS-controlled fan curve” Valve claims allows Steam Deck’s internal fan to quickly and smartly respond to heat. In turn, the company says that allows the component to more quietly go about its job, particularly “in low usage situations.”

“This has been tested extensively, and we're continuing to work on improvements – so please let us know what you think,” Valve said. Excessive fan noise is something many reviewers, including Engadget’s Jessica Conditt, mentioned in their Steam Deck reviews. In fact, when iFixit began selling replacement parts for the handheld early last week, it quickly sold out of Huaying fan units. Valve sourced fans for Steam Deck from two companies, with the ones from Huaying producing less noise, according to some owners.

SteamOS 3.2 also introduces an option to adjust the handheld’s display refresh rate while in-game. Valve recommends Steam Deck owners try setting their device to 40Hz for the sweet spot between responsiveness and battery life. It’s now also possible to push the volume of Steam Deck’s speakers even higher and the company has made formatting microSD cards faster. Check out the full changelog for SteamOS 3.2 on Valve’s website.

FromSoftware says it’s one step closer to restoring the PC servers for its Dark Souls games, months after the discovery of a remote code execution exploit forced the studio to take them offline.

"We are currently in the process of restoring the online servers for the Dark Souls series on PC," FromSoftware told PC Gamer. “We plan to restore online service for each game progressively, bringing back servers for Dark Souls 3 once we complete the necessary work to correct the problem."

From did not say precisely when it would start bringing its servers back online but promised to share additional details as soon it settled on a final schedule. In a statement Dark Souls publisher Bandai Namco later shared with The Verge, the company clarified the restoration process would start with Dark Souls 3. “We want to thank all our players for your patience and understanding as we work to fix this issue,” From said.

The statement follows FromSoftware’s February 9th announcement that it had identified the cause of the remote exploit issue. At the time, the studio said the PC servers for Dark Souls would remain offline until after the February 25th release of Elden Ring. From’s latest game has had online issues as well. In March, hackers found an exploit that could force PC players into an endless death loop. Thankfully, From swiftly dealt with the problem that same month.

Cydia’s antitrust case against Apple can move forward, according to Reuters. On Thursday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the same judge that oversaw the case between Apple and Epic Games, ruled Cydia’s creator, Jay “Saurik” Freeman, could present his claim against the company after rejecting a bid by Apple to dismiss the complaint.

Freeman first sued Apple at the end of 2020, alleging the company had an “illegal monopoly over iOS app distribution.” Judge Gonzalez Rogers dismissed Cydia’s initial complaint against Apple, ruling the suit fell outside the statute of limitations. But she also granted Freeman leave to amend his case, which is what he did. In its latest complaint, Cydia argues that iOS updates Apple released between 2018 and 2021 constituted “overt” acts that harmed distributors like itself. That’s a claim Judge Gonzalez Rogers found credible enough to explore.

"To the extent plaintiff's claims rely on Apple's technological updates to exclude Cydia from being able to operate altogether, those claims are timely," the judge said in her ruling.

Cydia is seeking damages from Apple (the company stopped processing purchases in 2018) and hopes to force the tech giant to open iOS to third-party payments and app distributors. Opening the App Store to more competition is something US lawmakers are considering as well, with the Senate Judiciary Committee recently advancing the Open App Markets Act. If enacted, the law would force Apple to allow sideloading on iOS and prevent the company from locking developers into its payments system.

A group of US senators led by Ed Markey of Massachusetts is calling on Apple and Google to implement new app store policies that prohibit developers from collecting data that would threaten women seeking abortions. In separate letters sent to the CEOs of both companies, the group said the two tech giants “must” act to protect individuals exercising their right to choose from groups that would target them for their decision.

“Following the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, we are concerned that anti-abortion prosecutors and other actors will attempt to access and leverage personal information – including data regarding location, online activity, health, and biometrics – in ways that threaten the wellbeing of those exercising their right to choose,” the letter addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai states.

Pointing to the prevalence of online platforms selling user information to data brokers, the group warns that abortion prosecutors and “even vigilantes” could exploit those practices to intimidate women who seek abortions or harass them retroactively.

Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont also signed the letters. The letters follow a separate call from Congressional Democrats that came earlier in the week urging Google to stop collecting location data over many of the same concerns. The idea that various groups, including law enforcement agencies, could weaponize app data isn’t an imagined threat. A recent report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has built up a mass surveillance system that includes information about almost all US residents, and it did so partly by purchasing data from private companies. The senators asked Pichai and Tim Cook to respond to the letters by June 17th. 

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Game Grumps, the studio that gave us Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator in 2017. This week, the team announced its latest project. And it couldn’t be more different from its debut effort.

Game Grumps describes Homebody as a narrative-driven, psychological horror game. In designing the experience, it says it drew inspiration from ‘80s slasher films, though you can also see the influence of both modern and older gaming classics like Silent Hill, Resident Evil and Hideo Kojima’s P.T. Part of what sells the atmosphere of the game is its slightly pixelated art style and effective use of lighting.

In the trailer the studio shared, we’re introduced to Homebody’s protagonist, Emily. You’ll need to help Emily and her friends escape a relentless killer by avoiding the assailant, solving puzzles and making choices. Homebody sees Game Grumps reunite with Rogue Games, the publisher it worked with to make Dream Daddy. The two companies plan to release Homebody later this year on consoles and PC via the Epic Games Store and Steam.

In their rush to employ online learning as a COVID-19 mitigation strategy, governments across the world exposed young people to the threat of their personal data being collected and sold without their consent. In a report published on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch found that many of the apps and services governments either directly procured or recommended for remote learning as recently as 2021 were actively harvesting the data of children or were otherwise engaged in monitoring their activities.

In its study of 49 countries, the nonprofit found that 146 of the 164 “EdTech” products used in those places reviewed employed data practices that either put the rights of young people at risk or actively infringed on them. Those platforms either employed or had the capacity to use tracking technology to monitor their young users secretly and without their consent or that of parents. What’s more, their data was frequently sold to third-party companies.

Human Rights Watch observed 146 of the apps it reviewed directly sending or granting access to the data of their young users to 196 third-party companies, with the vast majority of that information making its way to adtech platforms. Put another way, there were significantly more advertising firms buying the data of children than there were tech companies collecting it.

“In the process of endorsing and ensuring their wide adoption during COVID-19 school closures, governments offloaded the true costs of providing online education onto children, who were unknowingly forced to pay for their learning with their rights to privacy, access to information and potentially freedom of thought,” the report’s authors said.

Human Rights Watch points out that many of the tools governments recommended for online learning, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex, weren’t explicitly designed for use by children. But even those that were, such as ST Math, often employed trackers that sent data to companies like Meta and Google that could then later be used for behavioral advertising.

The report is yet one reminder of just how problematic surveillance capitalism has become in recent years. A similar report published earlier this month found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates as a “domestic surveillance agency,” and that it was able to bypass laws governing its operation by purchasing databases from private companies.

The world’s fifth-largest automaker will reportedly soon plead guilty to end a multi-year investigation into its efforts to conceal the amount of pollution created by its diesel engines. According to Reuters, the US Justice Department and Dodge parent company Stellantis could announce as early as next week that the automaker has agreed to pay $300 million to settle allegations of crminal fraud. Stellantis declined to comment on the report.

The Justice Department began investigating Stellantis around 2019 when the automaker recalled nearly 1 million vehicles in the US and Canada for not meeting federal tailpipe emission standards. As of last year, the agency has announced criminal charges for just three Stellantis employees. The probe involved approximately 100,000 Ram pickup trucks and Jeep SUVs sold in the US.

The deal comes five years after Volkswagen famously pleaded guilty to its own emissions scandal. “Dieselgate” saw the German automaker eventually pay more than $20 billion in fines and legal settlements for installing illegal software designed to cheat government emissions tests. Since then, sales of diesel vehicles have plummeted in Europe and other parts of the world.

Harley-Davidson's Serial 1 brand unveiled its latest ebike model on Tuesday, and it's something of a head-scratcher. The company describes the Bash/Mtn as a mountain bike, but unless you have the technical skills to go under-biking, you probably don’t want to take its newest ebike on anything but the most forgiving single-track.

That’s because the Bash/Mtn features a fully rigid aluminum frame and fork, with no front or rear suspension. It also doesn’t come with a dropper post, and as far as I can tell, there’s no elegant way of adding one on your own. The only shock absorption this bike comes with is its SR Suntour NCX seat post, which offers up to 50mm of travel.

Harley-Davidson claims those missing features are actually the reason to buy the Bash/Mtn. “No fussy suspension to tune, no finicky drivetrain to adjust — just two wheels, one gear, and one purpose, to provide the most direct connection between you and the trail,” the company said.

Once you get past the unorthodox design, the Bash/Mtn looks like a decent e-bike. It features a removable 529Wh battery the company says will provide between 30 and 95 miles of range, depending on the terrain and drive mode you use. It takes just under five hours to charge the battery to full, though you can get it up to 75 percent after about two-and-a-half hours. As a Class 1 e-bike, the Bash/Mtn will stop providing you with assistance once you’ve reached a speed of 20 miles per hour. Completing the package are TRP hydraulic disc brakes and 27.5-inch tubeless-ready tires from Michelin.

At $3,999, the Bash/Mtn is on the more affordable side of what you can expect to pay for an electric mountain bike from companies like Canyon, Giant and Trek, but then those models are entirely different bikes. Harley-Davidson plans to produce only 1,050 units of the Bash/Mtn, with 525 units slated for sale in the US.

With the start of June a week away, Apple has announced two new Pride-themed Watch bands. The first one is a take on the company’s classic sport loop style. The design features a color gradient that incorporates the iconic rainbow colors seen on a variety of Pride flags with the addition of light blue, pink, white, brown and black. The first three colors symbolize transgender and non-binary individuals, with the latter two representing the Black and Latinx communities.

The band also includes a nod to the company’s history. Apple employed a new weaving process to remove some of the band’s woven textile loops. The technique creates a two-tone effect that the company used to include “Pride” on the outward-facing part of the band. The word is written in a cursive style that’s similar to the one the company used for its signature Macintosh “hello” greeting in 1984.

There’s also a new Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop. It features the original rainbow colors in between black stripes. It also comes with a matching Nike Bounce face. Both bands are available to purchase for $49 starting today from Apple’s website, with retail availability to follow on May 26th. Apple has also released a Pride Threads watch face. It’s available on Apple Watch Series 4 models and above with watchOS 8.6 installed. “This new watch face combines colors to represent the strength and mutual support of the LGBTQ+ movement,” according to Apple. The threads of the watch face move as you turn the wearable’s digital crown, tap on the display or raise your wrist to wake the display.