Bloodborne, a game famous for being notoriously difficult to beat, was released in 2015 for the PS4 with modern graphics and visuals. Over the past 13 months, though, game programmer Lilith Walther created a version of the title that makes it look like it was released way back in the 90's for the first PlayStation. Bloodborne PSX reimagines the Victorian city of Yharnam in the art style commonly seen in games from that console era. The blocky and pixelated graphics with the colored health bars would sure look very familiar to a generation of gamers who used to play on the PS1. 

The demake only covers some parts of the whole game, but it does give players access to 10 hunter weapons they can use to slay enemies — some even slow down the game's frame rate as one would expect to happen on a real PS1 title. As Polygon notes, Walther posted updates about the undertaking on Twitter for over 13 months, including one wherein she revealed that the music creator for the project remade the Cleric Beast boss music using a real Roland SC-88 Pro for authenticity. 

Bloodborne PSX is now available as a free download for Windows PC. Players can use a keyboard and a mouse for controls, but they can also dust off their old PS1 controllers and use that instead. Those interested can get a glimpse of the demake below.

Microsoft was most likely ready for rigorous anti-trust scrutiny around the world when it decided to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The deal is the tech giant's biggest yet, and it's also set to become the largest all-cash acquisition ever. In the US, the proposed acquisition will be reviewed the Federal Trade Commission instead of the Justice Department, according to Bloomberg. The two agencies are in charge of investigating mergers in the country and typically decide between themselves which one will take charge of a case. 

FTC's investigation will reportedly take a close look at how Microsoft's ownership of Activision could harm rivals by limiting access to the developer's biggest games. Activision owns hugely popular IPs, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. It's unclear if Microsoft has plans to release titles exclusive to Xbox and Window PCs in the future, but it's worth noting Sony is still ahead of Microsoft in terms of gaming hardware sales and that a large chunk of Activision's revenue comes from PlayStation gamers.

Microsoft expects to close the acquisition by June 2023, and it's probably not going to be easy for the company. As Bloomberg notes, the FTC vowed to adopt a more aggressive approach towards investigating mergers and acquisitions last year under new chairperson Lina Khan. In December, the FTC sued to block NVIDIA's $40 billion purchase of ARM over concerns that the deal would stifle competition for various technologies, such as those for data centers and car computers. 

A more recent Bloomberg report said NVIDIA is making preparations to walk away from the deal and that current ARM-owner SoftBank is looking to take the company public if the acquisition falls through. Still, the Microsoft seems to be confident that the acquisition will take place — Reuters says the tech giant committed to paying a $3 billion break fee if the deal fails to go through. 

When Spotify started removing Neil Young's playlist from its service, it defended its practices against misinformation and said that it had already pulled over 20,000 COVID-related podcast episodes. Young threatened to remove his catalog from the service over allegations that Joe Rogan is spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation through his podcast. Despite what Spotify said, The Joe Rogan Experience is still available on the platform, and Spotify's COVID content policy (as seen by The Verge) might be able to explain why that's the case. 

Apparently, even Spotify's employees are upset with the company's partnership with Rogan due to his views on COVID-19. Company head of global communications Dustee Jenkins reportedly addressed those concerns on Spotify's Slack and told employees that a team had already reviewed multiple controversial Joe Rogan Experience episodes and found that they "didn't meet the threshold for removal." She called members of the team who did the internal review "some of the best experts in the space" and also said that Spotify is working with third parties to help it evolve its policies. "What Spotify hasn't done is move fast enough to share these policies externally, and are working to address that as soon as possible," she added. 

While Spotify has yet to share those policies, The Verge posted a copy of the healthcare guidelines section, which prohibits:

"Content that promotes dangerous false or deceptive content about healthcare that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health such as:

Denying the existence of AIDS or COVID-19

Encouraging the deliberate contracting of a serious or life threatening disease or illness

Suggesting that consuming bleach can cure various illnesses and diseases

Suggesting that wearing a mask will cause the wearer imminent, life-threatening physical harm

Promoting or suggesting that the vaccines are designed to cause death"

There's a lot podcasters can get away with with such a narrow and limited set of rules. In comparison, YouTube makes it clear that any content with claims that contradict local health authorities or WHO is prohibited on its website. It's not just suggestions that wearing a mask will cause harm that's prohibited on the Google-owned service, but also claims that masking does not help prevent the contraction or transmission of COVID-19. A podcast host on Spotify can say the latter without repercussions. Spotify also doesn't have a rule prohibiting claims that ivermectin is a safe and effective treatment for the virus. 

Back in December, a group of scientists and doctors sent an open letter to Spotify, asking it to implement a misinformation policy after Rogan guested Dr. Robert Malone on his show. In the controversial episode, Malone claimed people only believe that COVID-19 vaccines are effective due to "mass formation psychosis." The group also listed several "misleading and false claims" Rogan made on his podcast throughout the pandemic, including the time he said mRNA vaccines are "gene therapy" and another when he promoted the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

Peloton owes at least five of its workers money for unpaid labor, according to a BuzzFeed News report. The publication says that in recent months, a Minnesota delivery worker and a Los Angeles salesperson for the company filed lawsuits seeking class action status against it over unpaid overtime. Aside from unpaid labor, the LA salesperson, which worked at Peloton for over five years, also said he wasn't reimbursed for work expenses and wasn't paid the full wages required upon termination of employment. 

BuzzFeed also talked to three more workers who raised various kinds of pay issues. They complained about having to go back to work after clocking out and not being paid for it, having to work through breaks and not getting expense reimbursements. One worker said there were multiple instances wherein he showed up to work, and there was nothing to do. While Peloton told BuzzFeed that it pays workers for "a minimum of four hours" of work, the person the publication interviewed said he was sent home without pay. 

Peloton exploded in popularity at the beginning of the pandemic when gyms were closed and people wanted an exercise machine in their homes. As BuzzFeed News notes, employees at its New York City HQ thought it was the best place to work, but it was the company's sales/video production staff, assembly workers and delivery drivers that raised concerns about missing pay. 

A Peloton spokesperson, however, told BuzzFeed that it provides paid break time, as per labor laws. The spokesperson also said: "We are committed to creating an inclusive, kind, and productive culture where all team members are treated respectfully and have the tools to succeed. Peloton employees are fairly paid, and we are committed to adhering to all legal requirements in every state in which we operate."

According to a CNBC report earlier this month, Peloton is experiencing a significant drop in demand due to several factors, such as increased competition from rivals. The report claimed that the company is pausing Bike and Tread production as a result, but Peloton CEO John Foley denied that in a letter to employees. He said that rumors the company is halting the production of its exercise machines are false, but he did say that Peloton is "resetting [its] production levels for sustainable growth." He also said that while layoffs are the last resort as a solution to its its problems, Peloton now needs to "evaluate [its] organization structure and size of [its] team."

Twitter is no longer taking action on tweets spreading misinformation about the 2020 US elections, the website has revealed to CNN. Elizabeth Busby, the company's spokesperson, told the news organization that the social network hasn't been enforcing its "civic integrity policy" when it comes to content about the Presidential elections for almost a year now — since March 2021. Busby said that's because the policy was meant to be used within the duration of an event and that President Biden has already been in office for more than a year.

The website amended its civic integrity policy before the Presidential elections to add labels to tweets with "false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election or other civic process." In some cases, Twitter could remove tweets under the policy. The rules cover tweets "inciting unlawful conduct to prevent a peaceful transfer of power or orderly succession." If you'll recall, former President Trump was banned on the social network following the 2021 Capitol attack after deciding that his tweets can be used to incite violence. The rules also cover unverified information "election rigging," which the administration's opponents are echoing until this day. In fact, YouTube has just removed a copy of a TV ad by Missouri Rep. Billy Long that claims "the Democrats rigged the election" in 2020.

YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi explained the Google-owned website made it clear that "false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election" are prohibited on the platform. Long said YouTube's action was "un-American and straight from the communist playbook," though, and that it just proves "Big Tech certainly has and will continue to influence elections."

Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has announced that she's removing all her music from Spotify. On her website, she published a short statement saying "irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives." She added that she stands with "Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue." While Mitchell didn't mention COVID-19 or Joe Rogan in particular, she linked to an open letter to Spotify from a group of scientists and doctors criticizing the host for "repeatedly spread[ing] misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine" throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A few days ago, Young threatened to exit the platform and told his team that it was because "Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines." He also said that Spotify can have "[Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both." Mitchell and Young are friends and have both contracted polio as kids before the vaccine became available. Unsurprisingly, Spotify started deleting Young's catalog from the platform shortly after news about his stance came out, while also claiming that it's taking steps to remove disinformation from its service. 

The company said it pulled over 20,000 COVID-related podcast episodes since the beginning of the pandemic. Rogan's show, however, is still very much available. And that includes the controversial episode with Dr. Robert Malone, who claimed that "mass formation psychosis" led people to believe vaccines were effective in fighting COVID-19. Spotify inked an exclusive deal to host the The Joe Rogan Experience in 2020 and is believed to have paid over $100 million for it. The show is a key element in Spotify's quest to continue dominating the podcast space, so it really doesn't come as a surprise that it was Young's music that had to find a new home. 

A standard 2021 Porsche Taycan has broken the Guinness World Record for the shortest charging time to cross the United States in an electric vehicle. It only needed a cumulative charge time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 48 seconds to cover a 2,834.5-mile drive from Los Angeles to New York. While the record it broke is highly specific, there was a previous holder: A Kia EV6, which had to be charged for 7 hours, 10 minutes and 1 second to make a similar, but just slightly longer, trip from New York to LA. 

Wayne Gerdes, known for his efficiency driving and for coining the term "hypermiling," was behind the wheel for the record-breaking journey. Hypermiling, as you may know, involves the use of adjustments and driving techniques to maximize the vehicle's fuel use. Porsche told Engadget that Gerdes drove normal speeds and sometimes even went faster, depending on the charge level, for the duration of the trip. 

As for the vehicle itself, it was equipped with the company's Performance Battery Plus, which has a higher gross capacity than the base battery option, and Adaptive Cruise Control. For the attempt to be recognized by the Guinness World Records, every mile of the journey had to be filmed and the vehicle's GPS had to be tracked.

Gerdes said that the first time he charged a Taycan on a 350KW charger, its battery levels went from 6 to 82 percent in just 22 minutes. He relied on Electrify America's CCS DC fast charging network for the trip, since the company is a partner for this attempt. Porsche first revealed the Taycan electric sedan in 2019 and started making deliveries in 2020. The automaker has released several variants since then, including the category-blurring Cross Turismo EV.

Guerilla Games has shared some short video clips of Horizon Forbidden West gameplay captured on a PS4 Pro. Unfortunately, the developer didn't include lengthy trailers or teaser videos — and gameplay footage captured on a standard PS4 — with its post on the PlayStation blog. But this is at least some form of assurance from Guerilla that the game works on a previous-gen console a couple of weeks before it's released.

Some gamers may have become wary of titles made for the PS5 and released for older consoles after what happened to Cyberpunk 2077. The CD Projekt Red game was plagued with glitches and graphical issues, among other problems, when played on a PS4. Things had gotten so bad, Sony had to pull the PS4 version from its digital store and offer refunds for those who'd purchased it.  

The GIFs Guerilla shared show Aloy in different situations, such as walking across a village and quickly running around while shooting arrows at her enemies. In the latter, the animation looked smooth despite the explosions and the character's quick movements — hopefully, that's true for the entire game when played on a previous-gen console. Sony reportedly had to cut its production forecast for the PS5, after all, and it's still not easy finding one for purchase. Horizon Forbidden West will be available for the PS5 and the PS4 starting on February 18th.

The National Labor Relations Board has accused Amazon of threatening, surveilling and interrogating workers at its JFK8 warehouse in New York to discourage them from unionizing. According to the board's complaint as seen by Motherboard, Amazon brought a union avoidance consultant to the facility and told employees that it "would be futile for them to select the Union as their bargaining representative." The consultant reportedly said that union organizing at the warehouse would fail anyway, because the organizers were "thugs."

NLRB's complaint also said that Amazon representatives interrogated workers about union activities and promised to fix their issues if they didn't support the union and didn't distribute union literature. Further, the labor board alleges that security guards confiscated union literature from workers and told them they couldn't distribute the materials without permission. If you'll recall, Amazon's warehouse workers in New York filed a petition to unionize with the board last year, but they had to withdraw it after failing to gather enough signatures to be approved. The JFK8 workers re-filed their application in December and recently reached union vote threshold.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel denied the allegations to Motherboard, telling the publication: "These allegations are false and we look forward to showing that through this process."

These allegations come from a series of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers in May and June last year. The board investigated the incidents and found merit that they occurred. It has given Amazon February 10th to respond to the complaint and has set a hearing for it on April 5th. In addition to detailing workers' allegations in its complaint, the NLRB has also outlined a series of remedies it wants the company to follow. In particular, it wants Amazon to train its managers, supervisors, security guards and union avoidance consultants on workers' rights to organize and form unions. 

Back in 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that will ban the sales of new gasoline and diesel vehicles in the state by 2035. While California already represents half the EV market in the US, the state's officials know that they have to offer help and incentives to accelerate EV adoption and reach an all-electric future. They need to take steps so that removing gas vehicles from the market wouldn't hurt consumers. California committed $3.9 billion for its EV-related initiatives last year, and Newsom recently proposed the addition of $6.1 billion to the state's zero-emission vehicle package to bring the total to $10 billion. Now, the governor has detailed what he plans to do with the money.

First off, Newsom is hoping to make EVs more accessible by putting aside $256 million for low-income consumer EV purchases and spending $900 million on deploying affordable charging options to low-income neighborhoods. Another $935 million will also be spent to add 1,000 zero-emission short-haul trucks and 1,700 electric buses to the state's fleet. $1.5 billion will be used to electrify school buses, while $1.1 billion will be used to buy trucks, buses, off-road equipment and fueling infrastructure. California will spend $400 million on the electrification of ports and $419 million to support projects that increase access to zero-emission transportation in low-income communities, as well.

Alvaro Sanchez, Vice President of Policy at The Greenlining Institute non-profit org, said in a statement:

"To achieve California's climate goals we must focus on the needs of the most polluted and underserved neighborhoods. Governor Newsom’s ZEV investment proposal recognizes this reality. We're excited to work with the Governor and the Legislature to prove to the rest of the country that we can not only advance our climate agenda but also advance equity."

You can read more information about the proposal on the governor's website.