At the start of the month, Facebook's parent company Meta announced via blog post its intent to remove availability of its news service from FB and Instagram users in Canada should the Canadian government pass the Online News Act. That bill passed on Thursday and, within hours, Meta responded by making good on its threat.

"Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect," the company posted. "We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada"

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Twitch just announced a chat-pinning feature similar to those found on YouTube and other platforms. Hype Chat, beyond sounding like something from 2006, offers a new revenue stream for both streamers and the platform itself. Here’s how it works. You pay $1 to $500 and compose a message that rests atop the chat until someone with deeper pockets comes along and knocks you from the spotlight.

The more you pay, the longer the message stays up top and the more characters you can use to compose the missive. Big spenders also get access to various design options to help that “notice me senpai” message garner the attention of your favorite streamer.

Streamers set the price here and Twitch takes 30 percent of the cut, leaving the remaining 70 percent for the creator. At launch, only high-profile streamers, aka Partners, will have access to the feature. Twitch says this is because pinned chats are meant to allow messages to stand out during fast-moving conversations with plenty of participants. Oddly, these Twitch partners are unable to opt out of the service, according to The Verge.

Of course, whenever you mention pinned messages you must contend with the reality of hateful and discriminatory language. This is the Internet, after all. To that end, Twitch is beefing this feature up with safety tools. Just like regular Twitch chat, there’s a host of banned words and phrases at the sitewide level and set by individual creators. Also, if you say something nasty and get banned from a chat, your pinned message flies away with you. All messages sent via this feature are screened by the company’s AutoMod system and human moderators can delete messages whenever they want.

The feature is rolling out right now, but only for approved partners and only on the web app. It’ll launch for smartphone and tablet apps in the near future.

The following article contains spoilers for “Ad Astra per Aspera.”

Prequels, especially for well-known properties, are straightjackets which limit their own storytelling possibilities. Dramatic license is hampered by the fact the audience often knows where these characters (and storylines) end up. And any violence to the extant narrative can jar viewers who likely know what’s going on now contradicts what they’ve already seen. Until now, Strange New Worlds has navigated this issue well, making a virtue of its well-known conclusion.

“A Quality of Mercy” deftly played with the fact Pike will eventually get his near-fatal dose of radiation. The episode served to make the tragic nature of his character both a benefit and a burden, making it compelling in the process. In comparison, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” serves as an indictment of prequels, exposing the limits of what it can say, and do. Much as it presents a world that’s hopeful of change, long-term viewers know that optimism is misplaced.

That’s not to say the episode is bad, because it’s another confidently told, if lightweight, tale in a series that knows it works in that register. It helps that Star Trek wears the tropes of courtroom drama so well, since they’re both prone to a melodramatic exploration of The Big Issues(™). The subtext here is sufficiently broad that there’s a multitude of readings it’ll accept without too much stretching. And there’s at least one actually funny comedy moment where we, once again, see how much more fun Spock is when he’s played as a goofball.

Michael Gibson/Paramount+

Number One is preparing to stand trial for fraudulently entering Starfleet despite its ban on genetic modification. She’s thinking about her childhood, where her parents worry about taking her to a doctor and therefore exposing her status. Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) – who for some reason is now a member of Starfleet’s legal corps – offers a plea bargain with a dishonorable discharge, something Number One recoils at.

Pike, refusing to passively accept his friend’s fate, jets off to meet Neera (Yetide Badaki), an Illyrian lawyer and former friend of Number One, who has until now refused their pleas for help. His refusal to take no for an answer, and the lure of a high-profile case with which to stick it to the Federation, is enough to convince her to sign up. What follows is the usual courtroom drama, focusing on what prompted Number One to sign up to an organization that hates her.

We learn Number One was inspired to sign up to Starfleet because of the visible diversity of its crews. But that isn’t enough to win until Neera finds the contradiction between the Federation’s fine words, its goals, and its laws. It’s a subtle, pointed, critique of what Darren Franich dubbed the “California liberal paradox” in his essay on Star Trek: Insurrection. (And Star Trek is nothing if not a creature of Californian values.) He says that those people may wish “everyone to live comfortably, but would secretly prefer that most people live comfortably someplace else.”

But the court finds Number One not guilty, and she’s allowed to return to active duty on the Enterprise. At the happy ever after reunion in the transporter room, Neera says that while the case affected just one person, it’s a “start.” She adds that Number One’s visibility as an Illyrian (second) in command of a starship will help turn people’s hearts and minds toward her cause. It’s a hopeful ending, and one that suggests Number One’s story will kickstart a process of change and growth that will eventually see these prejudices and legal blocks go away.

Michael Gibson/Paramount+

The issue with that ending, and how hopefully it’s portrayed, is that long-time Star Trek viewers know it doesn’t happen. Any hearts and minds that would be changed in this process would be a minority given that – from this point in Trek history – things won’t change. Chronologically, we have “Space Seed,” The Wrath of Khan, “Dr. Bashir, I Presume” and “Statistical Probabilities” as affirmations of the status quo. At least a century later, people with genetic modifications remain – in Trek’s narrative – unable to serve in its premier military, scientific and exploratory branch.

It lends the episode a tragic quality that isn’t reflected in its presentation, but one that adds a layer of depth for dedicated viewers. Perhaps what I’m describing as a limit of its storytelling is really a smart commentary on how hard it is to bend the arc of history toward justice. In fact, I think I’ve just talked myself around, this is a wonderfully pointed exploration of this stuff, bravo Dana Horgan and Valerie Weiss.

You'll soon have a way to revisit Rocksteady's best-known games on a Nintendo handheld. Warner Bros. Games has revealed that Batman: Arkham Trilogy will release on the Switch sometime this fall. The bundle will include Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight as well as all the previously-released DLC for the trio. There's no mention of Switch-specific features, but Turn Me Up Games (involved in Switch ports for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 and It Takes Two) is responsible for the adaptation.

Arkham Asylum revolves around Batman's fight against The Joker and allies as they take over the game's namesake asylum. Arkham City expands the battle to Gotham and includes more classic villains, such as Mr. Freeze and The Penguin. Arkham Knight adds its titular supervillain and introduces more open-world gameplay that includes a drivable Batmobile.

For the most part, all three games earned a reputation for an engaging story and varied gameplay that included combat, stealth and puzzle solving. The brawls were a particular highlight — you were rewarded for performing seamless combos while dodging opponents that can come from multiple directions at once. The series arguably popularized a fight formula that has surfaced in games ranging from Spider-Man to Shadow of Mordor. Throw in the animated Batman' series voice cast (such as Mark Hamill and the late Kevin Conroy) and it's easy to see the appeal for fans of the caped hero.

This won't thrill Switch fans who were hoping for a version of Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad game. This is more a bid to reach an untapped audience than to set the stage for the studio's first new game in nearly eight years. Still, you might not mind if you're either new to the franchise or want to revisit the series. If nothing else, it may serve as a palate cleanser for those who thought Gotham Knights missed the mark.

Detective Pikachu Returns is due to hit Nintendo Switch on October 6th, 2023, and it's available to wishlist today. Nintendo announced a new entry in the franchise back in 2019, hot on the heels of the Detective Pikachu movie, which was an overall, adorable success.

Detective Pikachu, the original game, came out worldwide in 2018. It gave Pikachu a new friend and a voice, transforming him into a gruff private investigator and infusing the game with Ace Attorney vibes. It's more of a narrative adventure than traditional Pokemon games — which makes sense, considering the film that followed.

The new installment reunites Pikachu with his pal Tim Goodman, and as the debut trailer shows, hijinks ensure. Regardless of the game's plot, it's always a treat to see Pikachu in a little hat, holding a cup of coffee and contemplating life's mysteries.

It’s back again. This time, it’s real-time. With Final Fantasy XVI, the series’ creators have decided that the future of the franchise is action-centric and storyline driven. And it’s been inspired by epic fantasy series from television. Until now, the Final Fantasy games have never quite had their angry, moody dark moment. With nuanced, occasionally horny characters and often a lot of violence, is this the series’ moody teenager era?

FFXVI is the first game in the series made for the PS5, expanding the detail of both character models and environments. While the significant characters move and emote realistically, Square Enix has kept an artistic touch to character design. The most impressive parts are the environments, with gorgeous forests, medieval fortresses and major landmarks towering over the usual fields and cliffs you’ll be exploring and fighting at. The quality isn't consistent enough in an era of games like Horizon: Forbidden West, Dead Space and Elden Ring, though. I noticed when character models and environments weren’t given the same attention as key scenes and chapters.

Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, while there’s still an ensemble cast, you’ll only ever control the protagonist Clive — yes, an interesting choice in hero name, one that even some in-game characters are... surprised by. You’ll eventually be able to offer simple commands to your faithful wolf, Torgal, and you’ll be joined by other companions that will fight entirely independently of you. These include your childhood friend Jill, the mysterious daddy of thunder, Cid, and several more spoiler(ish) additions.

Fortunately, and unlike an awful lot of non-playable battle allies in RPGs, they can usually attract the attention of a monster or two and even finish off enemies by themselves. Still, there’s no escaping the fact that it’s an even looser party battle dynamic than its predecessor Final Fantasy XV, let alone older titles.

The tale of FFXVI is achingly Game Of Thrones-y. It starts out as a battle of warring states, of religion versus monarchy, wars for the sake of controlling resources — or escaping inhospitable land. Sometimes the inspiration is a little on the nose: Dad dies early on? Check. Mysterious wolves? Check. Creepy mother-son relations? Check. However, the series has always drawn on pop-culture inspiration over the years: Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings have all been tugged at for monster names, storylines and more.

Within the opening hours, we meet Clive, his sickly (but ‘chosen’) younger brother Joshua and their childhood friend, Jill. Clive and Joshua’s mother, the Cersei-styled Anabella Rosfield, swiftly betrays her family and the entire nation. The leader, her husband, is slaughtered in front of Joshua, whose latent powers as a dominant fully awakened due to this trauma. Arguably even more harrowing, a chocobo (the game series’ giant bird mounts) gets bricked in the head and someone kills an owl. This all happens in the span of a couple of minutes.

In the form of the giant fire Eikon (elemental deity), Phoenix, Joshua burns enemies and allies alike to ash, and as Clive watches, horrified, he somehow unleashes a new, never-before-seen Eikon of his own, Ifrit, who has a surprisingly grisly encounter with Phoenix. Clive wakes up with no memory of this, however, while a foreboding figure in a hood watches all of this unfold, So yeah, the perfect pilot episode of a fantasy series on HBO. The superb voice acting and writing really helps sell the melodrama and seriousness of the story. For a series often criticized for cliche or awkward translations, this is all so much better. The voice actor for Cid is Ralph Ineson – who was even in GoT. Get ready for lots of Yorkshire accents: It’s time for all to learn what “ta-ra” means. Square Enix notes that, even if you pick the Japanese language setting, the game’s lip sync is set to the English version.

Square Enix

If you haven’t played a Final Fantasy title before — and Square Enix is positioning this as an action game for that kind of player — Ifrit is usually a run-of-the-mill summonable demon. He’s rarely a crucial plot pivot, so it’s cool to see the series subvert expectations and pay tribute to the games of the past. There are lots of Easter eggs like this, both subtle and obvious.

The crystal theme, originally penned for the first Final Fantasy game on the Nintendo Entertainment System, is remixed and dropped in during multiple points of the game, while Cid (a character found in every FF game, either as a non-playable character or party member) has a daughter called Mid — a reference to the grandson of Final Fantasy V's version of Cid.

While other games, including spin-offs and Final Fantasy XV, have touched on real-time combat, Final Fantasy XVI goes all in. It’s dangerous new territory for a series with some die-hard fans, but possibly a necessary move to attract a new audience.

But it’s not Devil May Fantasy. It doesn’t appear to be a particularly deep system on either the default or story-centric difficulties. I found myself leaning on abilities I knew could do sustained damage, doing well-timed dodges and countering.

There are layers to battles – but they’re easy to ignore. Mid-game skills like the ability to jump and then kick-off an enemy, or launch yourself into the air with a pull attack normally used to sling smaller enemies toward you, offer some more vertical approaches to combat. However, I rarely needed to figure this out during battles, and it was more about relentlessly attacking and paying attention to incoming attacks that enemies usually signposted. Clive will bolster his initial fire attacks, courtesy of Phoenix, with skills from other Eikons, adding new forms of attack or counters. If there’s some kind of elemental scissors-paper-rock dynamic, I didn’t notice it, or missed an explanation.

The major difference between action- and story-focus modes is the inclusion of several accessories that make FFXVI one of the most accessible (and forgiving) action RPGs I’ve ever played. You’ll start the game with a handful of accessories like the Ring of Timely Focus which slows down when an evadable attack approaches, giving you ample time to dodge. The Ring of Timely Strikes will unleash a barrage of complex attacks just by spamming the square button. I played with the Ring of Timely Focus occasionally equipped, helping me to hold my own in more difficult scenes filled with enemies, but tried to fight the bigger enemies (and bosses) with only my own skills. There is a new game plus mode that offers hardier enemies and challenges, but I haven’t had time to play it yet.

The bosses, while spectacular, have a tendency towards being damage sponges – especially the Eikon-on-Eikon fights that typically include three or more transitions in a single battle. Once you’ve figured out the timing of dodges to attacks, it’s often repeated to boredom. But hey, they always look cool. Some of these boss fights are.. incredibly epic – and I mean Bayonetta-level of ridiculous. There aren’t many boss battles in video games that reach the level of Clive’s duel against Bahamut…

Final Fantasy XVI also has a wonderful hidden weapon: Its own built-in wiki. Active Time Lore, a play on active time battles from the series’ arguable heyday of the late-’90s, not only fills in the narrative gaps plaguing FF but plenty of other politically tilted RPGs.

Both FFXII and FFXIII suffered from lots of fictional terminology and complicated back-story. With the latter, developers relegated anything close to a glossary to menus that were difficult to navigate and consequently rarely investigated.

Square Enix

Active Time Lore, which can be summoned from the touchpad during almost any scene or area, brings a convenient shortcut to that tip-of-the-tongue, which-warring-state-is-he-from-again quandary. It’s an elegant solution, inspired by Amazon Prime Video’s X-Ray feature. It also ensures gamers don’t come undone when there are so many political maneuverings, time skips, false deaths and hooded strangers.

All of this is augmented by Vivian, a character whose sole purpose appears to be educating Clive about the wider political implications of his fight to dismantle the political structure around huge magical crystals (by destroying them), dominants (by besting them, usually) and freeing indentured magic-wielding slaves. All while seeking vengeance for his brother.

Talking with her at your base of operations will open a handy personnel chart of all the main characters, their associates, and the rest. It also comes with a chronological slider, so you can guess who’ll betray who next. If you came undone during a season of Game of Thrones, you might understand why this could be needed.

Square Enix

Final Fantasy XVI is different – perhaps due to the producer, Naoki Yoshida, who worked on the online MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV as both producer and director. But with Final Fantasy VII Remake (including the next chapter) offering the party battles I want, I don’t see a problem in Square Enix taking the series in this direction. I miss the party battle dynamics, but I didn’t feel hamstrung by my own mediocre action game reflexes or skills. If you are looking for challenging battles, the game comes with post-game content aimed at completionists and the muscular of thumb. But for those looking for a fantasy adventure with a plot that’s kept me hooked – so far – the sixteenth Final Fantasy delivers.

Apple has updated its Podcasts app on iOS, iPadOS and macOS with features that make it easier to find content in your favorite genres. It now includes nine new subcategories: Mental Health, Relationships, Self-Improvement, Personal Journals, Entrepreneurship, Documentary, Parenting, Books and Language learning. Those come on top of existing subcategories like True Crime, Sports and others. 

Apple has been focused on mental health over the past few years, and recently introduced the Journal app that lets you document how you're feeling. In addition, the company recently introduced a mood tracking feature as part of Health in iOS 17. The addition of the Mental Health subcategory in Podcasts, along with others like Relationships, Self-Improvement and Personal Journals, appears to be part of that. 

Apple

Each subcategory has its own charts showing top shows and episodes in your particular market. "For example, a listener in the U.S. can browse the charts for Mental Health, which display the top 200 shows and top 200 episodes available in the U.S. based on a mix of listening, follows, and completion rate," Apple wrote in its Podcasts for Creators blog. 

As a point of comparison, Spotify has eight main podcast categories and no less than 54 subcategories. YouTube offers 14 main podcast categories and PocketCast 19, but neither offer subcategories. With the new additions, Apple appears to offer a good selection without overwhelming users.

The nine new subcategories, along with the 19 primary categories, have been updated with new artwork and recommendations as well. The latter includes New & Noteworthy shows, Shows of the Month, Feature Channels and Creators and global Highlights. 

With the upcoming release of iOS 17, Apple is adding some new Podcasts features like a refreshed Now Play experience and Queue, episode art, search filters and more. Podcasts updates have been relatively sparse, though, with the last major one coming a year ago with new Podcasts Charts. Apple's major rival Spotify, which spent big on podcasts back in 2019, recently laid off 200 employees from that division. 

TikTok has enjoyed a significant advantage over Instagram Reels in that anyone can download a TikTok video and post it to another social media network — something that helps draw new users to the platform. Now, Instagram has finally gained that ability, according to a post by CEO Adam Mosseri (using the new broadcast channels feature) spotted by TechCrunch. 

The feature is only available to US users on mobile for now, and only for public and not private accounts. At the same time, users with public accounts can choose a setting that blocks users from downloading their Reels. To use the feature, you tap on the "Share" icon for a given Reel and select "Download."

Engadget

An image posted by Mosseri (top) appears to show that downloaded Reels will be watermarked with the Instagram logo and name of the account, much as TikTok does. YouTube also started adding watermarks to Shorts videos created on desktop, likely also as a way to bring attention to its short video feature. 

Instagram now appears to be taking the same tack, likely also seeing it as a way to ensure people see Reels on other social media networks. It's not going out of its way to accommodate videos from rival platforms, though. The Meta-owned company allows TikTok and other videos to be uploaded, but its algorithms stopped promoting any watermarked videos from rivals back in 2021. 

It looks like Fake Drake won’t be taking home a Grammy. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said this week that although the organization will consider music with limited AI-generated voices or instrumentation for award recognition, it will only honor songs written and performed “mostly by a human.”

“At this point, we are going to allow AI music and content to be submitted, but the Grammys will only be allowed to go to human creators who have contributed creatively in the appropriate categories,” Mason said in an interview with Grammy.com. “If there’s an AI voice singing the song or AI instrumentation, we’ll consider it. But in a songwriting-based category, it has to have been written mostly by a human. Same goes for performance categories – only a human performer can be considered for a Grammy. If AI did the songwriting or created the music, that’s a different consideration. But the Grammy will go to human creators at this point.”

The CEO’s comments mean the fake Drake / The Weeknd song “Heart on My Sleeve,” which went viral earlier this year before getting wiped from streaming platforms over copyright takedowns, wouldn’t be eligible. Another AI-generated scammer sold fake Frank Ocean tracks in April for a reported CAD 13,000 ($9,722 in US dollars), while Spotify has been busy purging tens of thousands of AI-made songs from its library.

On the other hand, it raises questions about artists like Holly Herndon, who used an AI version of her voice for a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” (The AI-generated performance would suggest not, but would the fact that it’s her own voice make a difference?) Or, for that matter, there’s the upcoming “final” Beatles track that Paul McCartney says will use AI to isolate a garbled recording of John Lennon’s voice. And would Taryn Southern, who (also transparently) used AI to co-produce her 2018 debut album, be eligible? We reached out to the Recording Academy for clarification about these examples and will update this article if they respond.

Awards or not, Mason acknowledged that AI would upend the music industry. “AI is going to absolutely, unequivocally have a hand in shaping the future of our industry,” Mason said. “So, we have to start planning around that and thinking about what that means for us. How can we adapt to accommodate? How can we set guardrails and standards? There are a lot of things that need to be addressed around AI as it relates to our industry.” The CEO added that the Recording Academy recently held a summit “with industry leaders, tech entrepreneurs, streaming platforms, and people from the artist community” to discuss AI’s future. “We talked about the subject and discussed how the Recording Academy can be helpful: how we can play a role and the future of AI in music.”

Roblox has traditionally been most popular among kids and pre-teens, despite it claiming to be a “platform for all ages.” Now, in a departure from its family-friendly reputation, the company says it will allow creators to make content specifically for users 17 and older. This isn’t an insignificant portion of Roblox’s user base either – the platform said in its press release Tuesday that in 2022, 38 percent of its daily active users were over 17.

In particular, Roblox says that creators will be able to “feature more mature themes and storylines in TV shows and stand-up comedy.” According to the company, this may include violence, blood, crude humor, romantic themes and alcohol. Players may see “unplayable” gambling content as well, though it is not immediately clear what that would entail. We have asked Robox to clarify.

To access this content you’ll need to verify your age by uploading a photo of your driver’s license or ID along with a selfie to verify that you are who you say you are. Roblox says that this system will provide “greater confidence in people’s age and identity,” and that more age verification methods may be added in the future.

Eligible creators can start making these experiences starting today. These experiences will start rolling out to “eligible” users in the coming weeks. Roblox says that its goal is to provide a safe and engaging experience for people ages 17 or older. The company isn’t being specific on what qualifies as an “eligible” creator or user. We’ve reached out to Roblox for comment and will update this story if we’ve heard back.

Roblox has traditionally marketed itself to younger audiences. For example, earlier this year, the company partnered with Razer to release kid-specific Roblox Edition gaming gear. But with a little over a third of that user base being over the age of 17, it makes sense that the company wants to provide more content geared toward adults.