Marvel and Electronic Arts have revealed the second game they're making together as part of a deal between the two sides. A new Seattle-based Electronic Arts studio called Cliffhanger Games is developing a single-player Black Panther title.

It will be an action-adventure game with a third-person perspective, suggesting it’ll share some similarities with the likes of Insomniac's Spider-Man titles. According to Marvel, Cliffhanger aims to “build an expansive and reactive world that empowers players to experience what it is like to take on the mantle of Wakanda’s protector, the Black Panther.”

Cliffhanger says it and Marvel Games will collaborate "to ensure that we craft every aspect of Wakanda, its technology, its heroes and our own original story with the attention to detail and authenticity that the world of Black Panther deserves." However, Marvel and EA are staying tight-lipped on further details for now.

Kevin Stephens, who previously held a similar role at Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor developer Monolith Productions, is heading up Cliffhanger. The team includes former Halo Infinite, God of War and Call of Duty developers.

“We’re dedicated to delivering fans a definitive and authentic Black Panther experience, giving them more agency and control over their narrative than they have ever experienced in a story-driven video game,” Stephens said. “Wakanda is a rich superhero sandbox, and our mission is to develop an epic world for players who love Black Panther and want to explore the world of Wakanda as much as we do.”

It has been rumored for some time that EA had a Black Panther game in the pipeline. Last September, it emerged that EA Motive (the studio behind the recent Dead Space remake) is developing an Iron Man game. That too will be a single-player, third-person, action-adventure title, but we haven’t learned more details since. There’s no confirmed release window for either project.

When you think of true surround sound stereo systems, you imagine cumbersome multi-speaker affairs that take all day to set up. Sony may have just upended that notion with its HT-AX7 portable theater system, complete with 360 spatial sound mapping. The hook here is that the speakers are detachable and the whole system can easily be moved from room to room without a trip to the chiropractor.

The system uses the company’s proprietary spatial sound mapping technology to create phantom speakers at the front, rear and overhead. These audio sources integrate with three detachable and fully portable speakers, enveloping listeners in a “bubble-like sphere” of spatial sound. The system is designed so anyone can set it up, so there’s no need for a special installation of any kind.

Beyond the portable form factor, the HT-AX7 system uses a real-time algorithm to upscale stereo sound into 3D surround sound. You can also disengage this feature for garden variety “room-filling sound.” All of the associated speakers are wireless and automatically pair with one another, further easing the installation process. This is a stereo system released in the year 2023, so there’s also an app for making adjustments to the sound and to the spatial field.

As for other bells and whistles, the wireless speakers get 30 hours of use per charge and boast quick-charging capabilities. These are Bluetooth-enabled speakers, so you aren’t tied to the TV, which is traditional with home theater setups.

Sony’s HT-AX7 home theater system costs $500 and is available for preorder right now. The units begin shipping on July 18. That price is fairly decent if you’re looking to build a budget-friendly home theater system.

Generally, the game-creation process begins with a mechanic. There tends to be an input method that developers want to explore, or maybe even a storyline that they think will be particularly powerful in an interactive setting. There’s usually a central theme grounded in a genre like “first-person shooter” or “isometric roguelike,” and the game comes together within this framework, its details and proper nouns crystalizing along the way.

In the case of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Simogo started with the name.

“There wasn't a single a-ha moment,” Simogo co-founder Simon Flesser told Engadget. “We had the title which we really liked, and from there we have been trying to figure out what laser eyes are.”

Simogo

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is the ninth major game from Simogo, the acclaimed Swedish studio that’s responsible for Device 6, Year Walk and Sayonara Wild Hearts. Simogo revealed Lorelei in June 2022 with a noir-inspired trailer promising a murder mystery, a maze of deceptions and a palace of memories. A smartly dressed woman moves languidly behind the trailer’s text, eyes glowing red as she navigates the monochromatic grounds of a large estate.

Simogo didn’t divulge a ton of detail about Lorelei at its debut, and it hasn’t provided much clarity in the year since. The game’s latest trailer includes the years 1847, 1963 and 2014, and it hints at international espionage with a paranormal twist, emphasizing the player’s ability to recognize patterns and solve puzzles. “Do you remember the maze?” the trailer asks, over and over again.

So, here are some basic details about Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, directly from Flesser:

• It’s a third-person puzzle adventure.

• It’s non-linear.

• There are nearly 150 puzzles to solve.

• It’s coming to PC and Switch.

• It’s set in the “surreal memory of a house.”

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes plays with cameras in a 3D space, drawing from the best ideas in Sayonara Wild Hearts with shifting mechanics and perspectives. It feels mysterious because, well, that’s what it is.

“The project has been transformative to make, which reflects in its themes,” Flesser said. “It's not a singular concept, it's rather more of a collection of ideas over a long time. Thematically, there are a lot of ideas about stories within stories, stories reflecting each other, memories, dreams and parallel events and worlds.”

Simogo

Players will interact with objects including cameras, computers and locks; they’ll read passages from books and magazines; they’ll play games within games, according to Flesser.

“We're trying to instill a feeling of things not being what they seem,” he said. “Not dread, but a constant feeling of ambivalence, a story in which there is no good or evil. And a sense of absurdity — finding yourself in a strange situation in which you will eventually start questioning what is happening and what is not.”

Simogo wants to mess with your mind, basically. This is kind of the studio’s jam — its previous games like Year Walk, The Sailor’s Dream and Device 6 successfully toyed with surrealism and paranormal events.

“I think there is something interesting that happens when you start blending realities,” Flesser said. “When [a piece of] media starts talking about our reality as if it is a story within its reality, it ends up becoming more real somehow. It creeps into your head in a very specific way. You become the story.”

There’s no release date for Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, but it’s being published by Annapurna Interactive and it's due out in 2024 on PC and Switch. The game’s second trailer landed last week: At the end, a series of maze blocks flash across the screen, positioned as if they’re words in a sentence. It feels like a challenge, or maybe an invitation, to solve one of Lorelei’s puzzles. It feels like the game has already begun.

At least one person on Steam claims they’ve translated the maze blocks into a complete thought, and their result seems to fit appropriately (linked here, for those curious). I asked Flesser for a correct translation of the mystery blocks and he didn’t provide one. Instead, he said simply, “Everything is a puzzle.”

We knew it was coming but Samsung has confirmed the date of its latest Unpacked. The event will take place on July 26th at 7AM ET, the company announced today. The early start time is due to the fact Samsung plans to host the showcase from its home base of Seoul, South Korea. When Samsung first began teasing Unpacked last month, it promised the event would feature its latest generation of foldable devices. In other words, expect new iterations of the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip. Thanks to pre-release leaks, we have a pretty good idea of what Samsung has planned for those devices. In the case of the former, all signs point to a refined hinge mechanism that allows the Z Fold 5 to close flat, while the most significant change with the Z Flip 5 looks to be a larger front-facing cover display.

Ahead of the 26th, Samsung is offering a $50 reservation credit for those who decide they want to pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or Galaxy Z Flip 5 sight unseen. If you want to take advantage of the promotion, all you need to do is visit the company’s website and provide your name and email. If you later change your mind, thankfully it’s a no-commitment offer.

You'll have some good choices for summer gaming if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Microsoft has revealed that Capcom's dinosaur shooter Exoprimal will be available to Game Pass members on Xbox, PC and the cloud when the title launches July 14th. If you were hesitant to buy the hybrid PvE/PvP game sight unseen (or weren't sure about the beta), you won't necessarily have to.

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V is also making its third appearance on Game Pass, albeit only for Xbox and streaming — sorry, no PC downloads this time. There's not much more to add about the decade-old classic at this point, but it's likely worth checking out if you somehow haven't played GTA V before or simply miss the escapades of Michael, Franklin and Trevor.

Other additions include adventure game pioneer Ron Gilbert's The Cave (July 18th for cloud and Xbox), Insurgency: Sandstorm (July 11th for PC), McPixel 3 (July 6th for all platforms), Common'hood (July 11th for all platforms) and the preview for Techtonica (July 18th, all platforms). You may want to play Spelunky 2 soon, though, as the side-scrolling cave explorer is leaving Game Pass on July 15th.

These arrivals aren't necessarily as sweet as Sony's free PlayStation Plus games for July, which include Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Alan Wake Remastered. That's not true every month, though, and it's clear there are different objectives this time around. Microsoft is hoping to reel in people who look for launch day games and long-time favorites. Sony, meanwhile, is choosing well-known games that shine a spotlight on Microsoft's attempt to buy Activision Blizzard.

While the absolute best true wireless earbuds tend to cost between $150 and $300, the market has matured to the point where it’s possible to get something good enough without spending triple digits. Yes, you’ll still find lots of junk in the bargain bin, but with each passing year, we’re seeing more earbuds that offer pleasing sound, solid battery life and extensive feature sets without putting a heavy burden on your wallet. To help those on a budget, we researched and tested a range of true wireless earbuds that cost less than $100. These are the ones we found to offer the best value.

Best for most: Anker Soundcore Space A40

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 are often available for $80 but offer the kind of performance and features you’d see from earphones that cost twice as much. Their little round earpieces are light and evenly balanced, so they shouldn’t be a pain for most to wear for hours at a time. The default sound profile is good enough: It’s warm, with a bump in the upper-bass and a dip in the treble that can dull some finer details but sounds pleasant on the whole. Unlike many cheaper headphones, it doesn’t completely blow out the low-end. As with many modern pairs, you can tweak the sound with custom EQ tools in the Soundcore app. Using these won’t make the Space A40 sound as nice as the best premium pairs, but it can give them a touch more deep bass or high-frequency emphasis. The app in general is easy to use, and it saves any changes you make directly to the earphones.

The Space A40's best feature is their active noise cancellation (ANC), which is outstanding for the money. It won’t totally block out higher-pitched sounds, but it’s plenty effective at muting the rumbles of a train or jet engine. By default, Anker uses an adaptive ANC system that automatically tweaks the intensity based on your surroundings, though you can manually set it to strong, moderate or weak levels, too. That’s great for those with sensitive ears. There’s also a transparency mode, which isn’t nearly as good as what you’d find on a high-end pair like the AirPods Pro but works in a pinch.

Most of the little touches you’d want from a modern set of headphones are here as well. The Space A40 can connect to two devices simultaneously, and you can use one earbud on its own. Battery life is solid at eight-ish hours per charge, while the included case can supply another 40 or so hours and supports wireless charging. The IPX4 water resistance rating isn’t anything special but still means the earphones can survive light rain and everyday sweat. The touch control scheme can feel somewhat busy, as it lets you assign up to six different shortcuts to different taps and long presses and effectively forces you to omit a function or two, but it works reliably. We’ve had no real connection issues, either.

The only major shortcomings are the mic quality and the lack of auto-pausing when you remove an earbud. The former doesn’t handle sibilant sounds very well and can lose your voice in particularly noisy areas, so this isn’t the best option for phone calls, but it’s usable.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: Yes
Transparency mode: Yes
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: Yes
Water resistance: IPX4
Multipoint connectivity: Yes (2 devices)
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (rated): 10 hrs, 50 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 4 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC
Warranty: 18 months

Runner up: EarFun Air Pro 3

The $80 EarFun Air Pro 3 are a commendable alternative to the Space A40 if you see them on sale or if you prefer an AirPods-style “stem” design. Like the Space A40, they come with ANC, a transparency mode, a relatively stable fit, a pocketable case that supports Qi wireless charging and the ability to connect to two devices at once. Battery life is slightly worse, closer to six or seven hours than eight, but it’s not bad. Their IPX5 water resistance rating is a touch better, as is their built-in mic.

The Air Pro 3 sounds decent, too. By default, they have an excited, V-shaped EQ curve, with intense bass and a noticeable spike in the treble. Some might enjoy this, as it gives EDM and pop a good sense of thump, but others might find it fatiguing, and it can make higher frequencies sound a hair too sharp. The Space A40’s sound isn’t exactly balanced, but it should be a little more agreeable for most. You can still rein in and personalize the sound with a (less flexible) custom EQ tool in the EarFun app, though.

Likewise, the Air Pro 3’s active noise cancellation is serviceable in most cases, but it’s a half-step behind the Space A40 and isn't customizable. Plus, while the design is generally comfortable for extended listening, it’s bulkier than our top pick. On the plus side, the touch controls are slightly more extensive, as you can triple-tap each earbud to access additional shortcuts.

Bluetooth: v5.3
Active noise cancellation: Yes
Transparency mode: Yes
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: Yes
Water resistance: IPX5
Multipoint connectivity: Yes (2 devices)
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (rated): 9 hrs w/ ANC on, 7 hrs w/ ANC off, 45 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 2 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, LC3, aptX adaptive
Warranty: 18 months

Best under $50: EarFun Free 2S

If you don’t want to spend more than $50 on a set of true wireless earbuds, consider the Earfun Free 2S. Like the Air Pro 3, it has a big bass response and a smaller bump in the treble. It misses details in the mids and can get fatiguing over extended periods, but it’s a richer example of this kind of “fun” sound signature than most pairs in this price range. You can adjust the sound through EarFun’s app as well, though there’s still fewer EQ presets to choose from than with the Soundcore Space A40.

The earpieces themselves are well-shaped and not oversized; combined with their soft silicone ear tips, they should be comfortable for most to wear over long periods of time. An IPX7 rating means they’re fully waterproof, too. There’s a suite of reliable touch controls and battery life sits at around seven hours. The included case adds another 30 or so hours and supports wireless charging, too. It’s not the smallest case we’ve used, but it’s not so large that it can’t fit in a pocket, either.

That said, you start to run into more “you get what you pay for” situations once you drop into this price range. In addition to not sounding quite as sharp as our pricier picks, the Free 2S lack active noise cancellation, multi-device connectivity, auto-pausing and a transparency mode. And though their mic quality is decent in most cases, it’s pretty susceptible to wind noise.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: No
Transparency mode: No
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: Yes
Water resistance: IPX7
Multipoint connectivity: No
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (rated): 7 hrs, 30 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 2 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX
Warranty: 18 months

Best for workouts: Jabra Elite 3

The Jabra Elite 3 are a couple of years old, but since they’re frequently on sale in the $60 to $70 range, they’re still worth a look. They’re particularly useful for workouts, as their compact design should be snug yet comfortable for most. What’s more, they don’t require any bulky wing stabilizers or over-ear hooks. They also have an IP55 water resistance rating, which should be enough to withstand most gym sessions. (As with most earbuds, you should give them a light cleaning between workouts.) Plus, they use physical buttons instead of touch controls. When you’re on the move, having that immediate, tactile feedback is more reliable for quickly changing tracks or adjusting volume.

The Elite 3 still sound better than most pairs in this price range, too. As noted in our review the Elite 3’s signature is balanced enough for most music, with a slight but not overbearing bass boost that gives tracks a nice sense of body. By default, it sounds a bit better than both the Space A40 and the Air Pro: The treble is more present than the former, and the bass is less boomy than the latter. It’s more measured than the Free 2S as well, so if you see the Elite 3 on sale for around $50, it’s the pair to get. Similar to our other top picks, you can also customize the Elite 3’s EQ through the Jabra Sound+ app.

Where the Elite 3 falls short is in all the other stuff. There’s no active noise cancellation, no wireless charging, no multipoint connectivity and no auto-pausing. And while there is a transparency mode, the effect is so meager that you’re better off just removing the earpieces entirely. The seven-ish hours of battery life is solid, however, and you can use a single earbud at a time if needed. Call quality is acceptable as well, though not a standout feature.

You could also consider the Elite 4, which launched in March and feature both ANC and multipoint connectivity. At $100, though, most budget-conscious buyers are better off with the Space A40.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: No
Transparency mode: Yes
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: No
Water resistance: IP55
Multipoint connectivity: No
Auto-pause: No
Battery life (tested): 7 hrs, 28 hrs w/ case
Fast charging (rated): 10 mins = 1 hr
Codecs: SBC, aptX
Warranty: 2 years (w/ Sound+ app registration)

Best for an open design: Amazon Echo Buds (2023)

All of our picks so far are technically earphones, meaning they extend into your ear canal. For many people, that is inherently uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the market for decent yet affordable “earbuds,” which rest on the concha instead of going all the way in your ear, is spotty. If you can’t bring yourself to pay for a pair of AirPods, though, the Amazon Echo Buds are a worthy compromise at $50.

The plastic earpieces here aren’t exactly premium, but they rest lightly in the ear and feel sturdily put together. They let in and leak noise more easily than in-ear headphones, but if you prefer open earbuds, that’s a feature rather than a bug. If the fit doesn’t feel right, you can shed a little bulk by removing the pre-installed silicone covers. (Like most open earbuds, though, comfort here is dependent on your ear shape.) Mic quality is more than adequate, and the circular touch panels give ample room for using the controls, which are customizable and consistently responsive. Battery life sits around five hours, which is middling but not out of character for budget earbuds. The pocket-friendly case adds about three full charges, but it’s worth noting that Amazon doesn’t include a USB-C charging cable. A poor IPX2 water resistance rating means you should avoid the gym, too.

While the Echo Buds sound fine out of the box, I'd use the EQ sliders in the Alexa app to bring down the treble a click or two. By default, the highs are a bit too edgy. That said, this emphasis lends a nice crispness to things like vocals, cymbals and strings, and there’s enough separation to keep complex tracks from sounding totally muddled. The profile here isn’t as full-bodied as the latest AirPods, and no open earbuds deliver true sub-bass, but there’s at least some rumble for hip-hop and EDM.

Unlike many cheap earbuds, the Echo Buds support auto-pausing and multipoint. I often had to manually pause playback on one device before I could switch to the other, but having the feature at all at this price is great. Unsurprisingly, they also come with Alexa baked in, which you can access hands-free. You manage the Echo Buds through the Alexa app, which is much more cluttered than a dedicated audio app but includes extras like a lost device tracker and sidetone control for phone calls. And if you want nothing to do with Alexa, it also lets you turn off the mics and wake-word support.

Bluetooth: v5.2
Active noise cancellation: No
Transparency mode: No
Custom EQ: Yes
Charging port: USB-C
Wireless charging: No
Water resistance: IPX2
Multipoint connectivity: Yes (2 devices)
Auto-pause: Yes
Battery life (rated): 5 hrs, 6 hrs w/ wake word off, 20 hrs w/ case
Fast charging: 15 mins = 2 hrs
Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX
Warranty: 1 year

Honorable mentions

JLab Go Air Pop

If you just want a competent pair of wireless earbuds for as little money as possible, take a look at the JLab Go Air Pop. For $25, they have a light design with decent isolation, plus eight to nine hours of battery life, IPX4 water resistance and a full set of touch controls that actually work. JLab even lets you swap between three EQ presets from the buds themselves. It’s still worth upgrading to the EarFun Free 2S if you can afford it, as the Go Air Pop sounds boomier by comparison and isn’t as clear in the treble and upper-mids. There’s no app support, either. But for $25, expect trade offs like this.

QCY T20 AilyPods

If you want the cheapest acceptable pair of open earbuds, meanwhile, get the QCY T20 AilyPods. They are an unabashed rip-off of the third-gen AirPods from a relatively obscure Chinese brand, but they cost $33 and their pleasingly smooth sound is arguably better than the Echo Buds out of the box. They have a higher IPX4 water resistance rating, too. There’s no auto-pausing or multipoint, however, and their touch controls border on unusable. The Echo Buds’ sound is also easier to tidy up, as the handful of EQ presets in the QCY app actually make things worse.

Nothing Ear Stick

The Nothing Ear Stick have a fashionable transparent design and a case that looks like a big, clear tube of lipstick. To access the earbuds, you just twist the case, which is always fun. The earpieces feel sturdy and polished, with responsive controls built around AirPods-style stem squeezes. Audio quality isn’t bad, either, though the treble is a little shouty by default. The main problem is that these are unsealed earbuds that cost $99. That’s still under our “budget” threshold, but it’s a little too close to AirPods territory for a pair with far fewer software tricks to make up for the sound sacrifices inherent to this design. If you’re particular about aesthetics and must have open earbuds, then the Ear Stick are a good take on the idea. Most others are better off with the Space A40.

Here's your chance to get a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 for a price lower than anything we've seen it go for on Amazon. You can get the Galaxy Watch 5 for as low as $199, or 29 percent less than its retail price. The price applies to the 40mm Bluetooth smartwatches in gray and pink gold, though the silver and navy/mustard color options are only just a dollar more expensive at $200. Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 models are most likely on sale, because the company could launch its next-gen wearables at its Unpacked event scheduled for late July. But this model is still a solid option if you're looking for a smartwatch with health tracking capabilities. 

We gave the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 a score of 85 in our review and praised it for having a clean design and a durable build. We also praised the smartwatch for having comprehensive health and activity tracking features. The device has an advanced sleep tracker that can detect and and analyze sleep stages. It can monitor your activity, remind you to get up and suggest simple exercises, as well as track activities like running, rowing and swimming. The watch can also analyze your body composition — we found its results to be pretty spot on — and has a more accurate heart rate sensor than its predecessor. 

If you want one of the larger watches, some of the 44mm Galaxy Watch 5 models are also on sale. The Bluetooth versions are currently list for $229, while the LTE models will set you back at least $279.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple is working on new health features for its line of audio products. The first of those would allow your AirPods to conduct a hearing test. As The Verge notes, AirPods already support audiogram profiles, which iOS can use to tune the output of the earbuds to adjust for hearing loss. Right now, you can generate those profiles through third-party apps like Mimi, so if Apple were to move forward with its own test, it would be another instance of the company “Sherlocking” a feature from a third-party developer.

Separately, Gurman writes Apple is exploring how to position and market the AirPods Pro as a hearing aid after the FDA made it easier for Americans to buy over-the-counter options last year. He reports the company recently hired engineers with experience working on traditional hearing aids as part of that initiative.

The other new AirPods feature Apple is working on is a way for the earbuds to measure your body temperature. A built-in temperature sensor was one of the features the company introduced with the Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra. As for why Apple would replicate a feature already found on one of its existing products, a sensor can get a more accurate temperature reading from the ear canal than the wrist. 

Gurman warns both features are “several months or even years away.” In the more immediate future, he reports Apple plans to refresh the AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case, adding that all of the company’s audio products will eventually move away from Lighting as well. All of that is part of a move Apple must make to comply with the EU’s new common charging standard. “Despite the USB-C shift, I wouldn’t anticipate the imminent launch of all-new AirPods Pro hardware,” Gurman notes, pointing to the fact Apple only just refreshed the earbuds last year.

Before then, AirPods users can at least look forward to the new software features Apple said it would introduce alongside iOS 17. Those include a new button press to mute yourself on calls and improvements to device switching. Gurman speculates Apple could also permanently lower the price of its second-generation AirPods to $99, down from $129, to make them more competitive against low-cost options from Samsung, Sony and Amazon.

Sony blocked Roblox from PlayStation consoles because it was worried about inappropriate content reaching children. The revelation comes from a 2022 document, first reported byAxios, uncovered in the FTC’s Microsoft trial. However, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan said at the time that the company’s stance was softening, leaving the door open to an eventual PlayStation port for the viral user-generated platform.

Ryan explained the decision to withhold Roblox to investors early last year. “Historically, because of the large number of children that play on the PlayStation, we have been very careful with regards to opening them up to anything that could potentially exploit them,” he said at the time. But he struck an optimistic tone for investors eager to see Roblox on Sony consoles. “Over the last couple of years, however, we have reviewed those policies and relaxed a little on this. We have been conservative for too long, and now we are currently engaging with people at Roblox. We hope that the situation will change.”

Despite making the comments over a year ago, Roblox still isn’t on PlayStation consoles. The beloved title, which lets users create, share and play user-created content, is available for Xbox, iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. Nintendo hasn’t commented on Roblox’s lack of availability for Switch, but the console maker has also historically erred on the side of caution in keeping inappropriate content away from kids.

Roblox introduced a content rating system in 2021 to help parents better control the user-created games their children play. More than half of the platform’s daily users are under 13. Although it forbids content displaying sexual activity, illegal substances and swearing, occasional rule-breaking content can slip past moderation in user-created titles. In addition, Roblox is working to hang onto its users as they grow, now allowing content for players 17 and older. It says the 17 to 24 age range is its fastest-growing segment.

Annapurna Interactive’s Thirsty Suitors trailer wraps with the tagline: “Battle Your Exes. Disappoint Your Parents. Find Yourself.” (If that doesn’t proclaim that the upcoming title is venturing off the beaten path, I’m unsure what would.) Annapurna and developer Outerloop Games announced today that the cross-platform RPG about returning home and trying to resolve the disarray of the past arrives on November 2nd.

Initially revealed in 2021, Thirsty Suitors places you in the world of Jala, who heads back to the small town of Timber Hills after a “brutal breakup.” There, she “has to face everything she left behind,” as narrative lead Meghna Jayanth explains. This includes “her immigrant parents’ tattered expectations, claustrophobic small-town gossip and a string of messily broken hearts she left in her wake.” The action unfolds through cooking with her parents, skating at the local park (but watch out for the no-good punk kids) and stylistically over-the-top turn-based battles against her “thirsty ex-suitors.”

The game’s creators say the ex showdowns force Jala to confront each forlorn lover’s perspective: You’re drawn into a world entirely of their subjective creation. For example, when fighting Sergio, her “overconfident, insecure, macho, needy and far far far too thirsty” childhood boyfriend, she sees her immediate environment from his vantage point: “a psychic landscape where he’s the man he imagines himself to be in reality.” In this projection of Sergio’s self-aggrandizement, he appears invincible — that is, until you summon his mother (a giant, foreboding appearance in his immature mind) to cut him down to size with a well-timed slipper smash.

Annapurna Interactive / Outerloop Games

If successful, battles end not with the bloody vanquishing of your opponent but with reconciliation: gaining a better understanding of each other’s perspective. Although the action appears rather busy in the game’s trailers, you can’t deny the apparent creativity and freshness of the development team’s approach to narrative, gameplay and art style.

Thirsty Suitors launches on November 2nd. It will be available on Steam, Switch, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Game Pass.