Twitter has lost another head of trust and safety after Elon Musk purchased the company last year. According to Reuters, Ella Irwin, the website's top executive for content moderation has resigned. Fortune has also reported earlier that her company Slack account has already been deactivated. While Irwin has confirmed her resignation to both organizations, she didn't elaborate on the reason for her departure. The executive took over the role as head of trust and safety after Yoel Roth left the same position in November 2022, publicly walking back on his previous statement that Twitter would be safer under Musk. 

Like Roth, Irwin seemed to be supportive of the Twitter owner — who sees himself as a "free speech absolutist" — and defended him from critics of his approach to content moderation. She said in the past that Musk gave her team the go-ahead to prioritize safety and not to worry about affecting user numbers. The Center for Countering Digital Hate recently reported that Twitter has been failing to properly and quickly address 99 percent of hate speech, including neo-Nazi, racist, homophobic and transphobic content, posted on the website by Twitter Blue users. 

Although Irwin hasn't revealed why she left the company, her departure seemed to have taken place right after conservative publication The Daily Wire said Twitter canceled their deal to premiere its What is a Woman? film on the website. The outlet's co-founder said Twitter offered it the opportunity to "buy a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page and to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours." However, the website reportedly withdrew its offer after reviewing a screener and told the outlet that it could no longer purchase the package. Twitter also apparently told the outlet that it will limit the reach of the film, as well as label it with "hateful conduct" due to "misgendering."

To note, Twitter's hateful conduct policy states that it considers "hateful imagery to be logos, symbols, or images whose purpose is to promote hostility and malice against others based on their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or ethnicity/national origin." Anything "depicting hateful imagery is not permitted within live video, account bio, profile or header images."

As a response to The Daily Wire co-founder's post, Musk tweeted that the decision was a "mistake by many people at Twitter" and that the film was "definitely allowed." He added that not using someone's pronouns is "at most rude and certainly breaks no laws" and that he objects "to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used."

In follow-up tweets, Musk said Twitter is updating its system so that The Daily Wire's followers will see the film in their feed. However, it will not be recommended or advertised to non-followers.

Feline-focused cyberpunk adventure Stray is officially coming to Mac. The critically-acclaimed title will be available for all Apple silicon models, from the most powerful Mac Studio desktops to standard Macbook Air laptops. This is only for silicon models, however, so older Intel-based Macs need not apply. There’s no release date yet but developer BlueTwelve Studio and publisher Annapurna Interactive urge fans to keep an eye on its Twitter accounts for up-to-date information.

Stray originally launched last year for PS4, PS5 and PC via Steam. The game has gone on to rack up glowing reviews and several industry awards, nabbing Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie Game at The Game Awards. As the marketing suggests, you play as a cat navigating a cyberpunk world, solving puzzles and fooling around with a robot drone companion.

This is yet another feather in Apple’s gaming cap. For years (decades really) the platform struggled to lure top-tier developers and high-quality titles. This has been changing thanks to the power of Apple’s silicon chipsets and upscaling tools like MetalFX. Hit space sim No Man’s Skyjust launched on Mac computers and the platform currently hosts titles like Resident Evil: Village, Hades, Disco Elysium and more.

Meta announced a slate of upcoming games today for its standalone VR headsets (including the upcoming Meta Quest 3). Apple is expected to enter the virtual headset space next week, so Meta is hoping to make a lasting impression with its lineup of upcoming VR titles from beloved franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Stranger Things, Ghostbusters and Attack on Titan — along with some VR remakes of old-school classics.

In addition to Asgard's Wrath 2, the most enticing game may be the one we know the least about. Although it was little more than a tease, Meta confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Nexus VRisn’t vaporware after all: The next VR installment in the long-running series will launch in the Meta Quest Store later this year. Unfortunately, further details must wait for its official reveal at Ubisoft Forward on June 12th.

We first learned about an upcoming Stranger Things VR game late last year, and today we got a closer look. The title lets you play as season four villain Vecna as you “invade the dreams and memories of fan-favorite characters and harness telekinetic powers to possess minds and battle creatures.” Gameplay includes grabbing, crushing and throwing opponents using telekinesis and opening and closing portals “at your peril.” Meanwhile, the story will allow you to tap into Vecna’s more human past to “relive memories from [Henry Creel’s] time at Hawkins Lab with Dr. Brenner as you explore an otherworldly, interconnected hive mind.” Stranger Things VR is developed by Tender Claws and will launch this fall on “major VR platforms,” including Meta Quest Pro / 3 / 2.

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is another previously announced VR game in the pipeline from an iconic IP. The trailer focuses on the backstory of Gustav Hookfaber, a disgruntled and morally confused scientist who has transformed into the villainous Ghost Lord to wreak havoc on San Francisco. You’ll wield proton packs and other classic equipment for solo or co-op ghost-busting. “Continue the Ghostbusters’ legacy, protect the city from fiendish ghosts, and experience all the humor and frights from the beloved franchise,” the game’s description reads. Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord will launch on Meta headsets this fall.

Although it may not be as familiar to younger audiences, The 7th Guest was one of the coolest spectacles to fire up on your cutting-edge CD-ROM in the mid-90s. About three decades later, you’ll be able to play an updated version of the atmospheric adventure / puzzle game in virtual reality. “[Developer Vertigo Games] is using volumetric video capture to recreate the FMV (full-motion video) storytelling of the original game, bringing the classic adventure to life like never before,” the description reads. “And for the first time ever, the iconic mansion is being recreated in full 3D — though don’t be surprised if it starts shifting around you. After all, it’s haunted.” The 7th Guest arrives later this year for Quest.

Another remake, the ultraviolent 2011 first-person shooterBulletstorm is also getting a VR makeover. And the game’s creatively gruesome “Skillshots” are in tow. “Kick an enemy into a cactus?” the game’s teaser asks rhetorically. “Skillshot. Crush one under a hot dog cart? Skillshot. Grab one with your Energy Leash and fling ‘em into a burner? Definitely a skill shot.” Developer Incuvo and publisher People Can Fly (the original game’s developer) created the VR refresh, which appears to stay true to the title’s over-the-top indulgence. Bulletstorm launches later this year on Quest Pro / 3 / 2.

Manga and anime fans may want to heed the upcoming Quest title Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable. The game places you in the Scout Regiment for solo and co-op play. “[Players] will need to combine entirely free three-dimensional movement through use of their Omni-directional Mobility (ODM Gear with cross-range combat in order to defend themselves against killer titans,” the game’s blurb reads. “As players progress, the battle difficulty will increase, so only those with determination and skills critical to making it through to the final battle will survive.” Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable arrives “this winter” for Quest.

In a slightly less epic and mythological (but perhaps just as fun) gaming world, PowerWash Simulator is getting a VR variant. “With 1:1 accuracy and control of the Quest Touch controllers, blasting away every speck of dirt and grime is a breeze,” the description says. “Reach up, get down and lean-in to tackle those pesky hard-to-reach spots or sit back and wash your worries away.” In addition, the cleaning sim supports solo play and online multiplayer as you “Absorb the relaxing atmosphere and stress-free pace as you take the pressure off and strip dirt from patios, pavements, vehicles, and public parks.” PowerWash Simulator VR launches later this year on Quest headsets.

Owners of Meta headsets may already be familiar with Schell Games' I Expect You to Die. Dating back to the Oculus Rift launch lineup in 2016, Schell Games’ series combines seated gameplay with clever puzzles in a James Bond-like atmosphere laced with wit and satire. The third installment, I Expect You to Die 3: Cog in the Machine, has you again taking on the evil Dr. Zor. It promises an “expanded narrative” with new levels and “more hours of gameplay” compared to the series’ first two installments. The third game in the series launches this summer for Quest, and the developer says pre-orders will get 10 percent off the game’s full price.

In addition to these familiar franchises, Meta announced several other upcoming games and updates for existing titles. For example, tactical FPS Onward is getting a big 1.11 update that adds new player animations, a redesigned lobby, shooting-range revisions and more. Other new or upcoming Quest titles include the roguelike Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game, mech-fighter Underdogs, jumpscare horror game Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire and a remake of the arcade / Dreamcast rhythm game Samba de Amigo. You can read more about all of the big Quest VR announcements in Meta’s recap.

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed the Meta Quest 3, the company's long-rumored, next-gen virtual reality headset. The Meta CEO showed off the device for the first time a few hours before the latest Meta Quest Games Showcase and just ahead of Apple's WWDC.

As with the Quest Pro, the Quest 3 supports mixed reality and offers full-color passthrough. This enables users to see a color version of the physical space around them via the external cameras. The headset will be able to blend augmented reality elements into the outside world. 

It's hardly a surprise that Meta has a Quest 3 on the way. Earlier this week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said he'd had hands-on time with a Quest 3 prototype. Gurman wrote that the headset “feels far lighter and thinner” than the previous model and that it had a sturdier head strap. Unlike the Quest Pro, though, the Quest 3 may not have face or eye-tracking features.

Even if it weren't for all the reports that an updated headset would arrive this year, Meta is continuing to invest in VR games and experiences — it has sunk tens of billions of dollars into building its vision of the metaverse over the last couple of years. It's hard to imagine the company doing that without having a successor to the three-year-old Quest 2 in the works.

In another year, Zuckerberg might have waited until Meta Connect, which typically happens in October, to reveal the Quest 3. However, Meta may be trying to steal some of Apple's thunder. The latter is widely expected to reveal a premium mixed-reality headset at WWDC next week. As such, Meta may soon have a major competitor in the mixed reality space.

This story is developing, please refresh for additional updates.

BeReal was Apple's iPhone app of the year for 2022, but buzz around the social media app (that forces you to post daily selfies) has died down of late. Now, the French company has introduced "RealChat" private messaging, allowing it to boast a feature found on most major social media apps, TechCrunch has reported. 

The function is one of the most requested, the company said. You can only message another user if you're friends with them on the platform. For a message to be deleted, both parties have to do so — deleting your own message won't delete it from a friend's app. The chat system will reportedly feature blocking and reporting features. 

BeReal has an interesting and somewhat messy approach to social media. It sends notifications at a different time each day, prompting you to quickly share photos taken with your phone's front and rear cameras simultaneously. You have a two-minute window to do so, forcing you to share spontaneous moments without spending extra time to make sure the photos are perfect. Friends are notified when you're late or revise a post.

Earlier this year, BeReal refuted an analytics report that engagement on the app had fallen significantly, saying it still had 20 million daily active users. The company admitted that while it's been busy behind the scenes, it hasn't released many new features of late, so "people have been guessing what we've been up to and how things are going, and not always accurately. 

Over the past couple of months, though it has launched an integration with Spotify showing what you're listening to when you post, along with the Bonus BeReal feature that lets you post more than one BeReal if you post on time. As with other social media apps, the RealChat feature looks like a way to boost time spent on the app and allow friends to comment privately on posts.

Streaming services often upload a pilot on YouTube to lure in new subscribers, but never an entire season. Paramount+ did just that, however, throwing up the entire first season of the critically-acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on YouTube for all to see. That’s ten hours of free Star Trek goodness, for those keeping score.

It’s no coincidence that this move comes hot on the heels of season two of the sci-fi property, which premieres June 15th and promises more space-based tomfoolery and an anticipated crossover event with sibling show Star Trek: Lower Decks. The upcoming season also promises more Kirk and more Klingons, if classic franchise iconography is your bag.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a prequel to the original series that follows the adventures of Enterprise captain Christopher Pike, his science officer Spock, a fresh-faced comms officer named Nyota Uhura and the rest of the crew. The show’s been praised for its “back to basics” formula, eschewing extensive serialization in favor of standalone episodes.

This promotion isn’t just for Trek fans, as Paramount+ also dropped full seasons of iCarly, Joe Pickett and Queen of the Universe. It goes without saying that this is a limited time promo offer, so open up those YouTube links and get binging.

The four-year wait is almost over. Netflix has set a June 15th premiere date for the sixth season of sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. This latest season has been in the works for at least a year and creator Charlie Brooker has stated the new episodes would “keep things fresh” by tackling sci-fi tropes the series had previously avoided, calling it the “most unpredictable season” he’s been involved with.

The cast list is strong with this one. The upcoming sixth season stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven), Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Kate Mara (House of Cards), Rory Culkin (Columbus), Salma Hayek Pinault (Frida) and so many more. As always, this is an anthology series so each actor will likely just appear in one episode, but you never know.

To celebrate the premiere, Netflix has also dropped a brand-new trailer filled with intriguing shots. Brooker has said in the past that the newest season would be more cinematic in scope and this trailer certainly abides by that statement.

Black Mirror’s early seasons were a terrifying look at near-future possibilities, but now that we’re actually living in one, the show has lost a bit of its satirical edge. Let’s hope season six cranks it up a notch. All five episodes drop on June 15th.

As AI-generated images and video become more prominent on Twitter, the company is testing out a new feature that could make it easier for people to identify potentially “misleading media.” The company is experimenting with Community Notes for media, which will apply the site’s crowd-sourced fact checks to specific photos and video clips.

The feature allows for Community Notes contributors who have high enough ratings to apply notes to images shared within tweets. Like notes on tweets, the labels could add additional "context" to images, like indicating if a photo was created using generative AI or is otherwise manipulated.

The feature could also address the viral spread of such photos. According to Twitter, the goal is for notes to automatically appear on “recent and future” copies of the same image even if they are shared by separate users in new tweets. However, Twitter notes that it will take some time to perfect its image matching. “It’s currently intended to err on the side of precision when matching images, which means it likely won’t match every image that looks like a match to you,” the company shared. “We will work to tune this to expand coverage while avoiding erroneous matches.”

It’s also worth pointing out that Community Notes’ track record is far from perfect. While the feature can sometimes result in nuanced fact checks or debunks of false claims, Community Note contributors themselves have pointed out that the feature “is not impervious to errors or perpetuating common misconceptions.”

For now, Twitter is testing out notes for media for tweets with a single image only, but the company says it plans to expand the feature to tweets with multiple images and videos in the future. Twitter isn’t the only platform grappling with how the rise of generative and AI and the spread of misinformation. Google also recently introduced features that will help users track an image’s history in search, which could help searchers intuit whether or not a photo was faked.

In an interview with The Guardian more than a decade ago, Warren Spector, the director and producer of Deus Ex, said his dream game would take place in one city block. “There are people who are trying to simulate massive worlds at a level of an inch per mile,” Spector told journalist Keith Stuart. “I don’t get it. I really want deep worlds that you can interact with.”

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about those comments while playing Diablo IV. Blizzard’s latest is easily one of the best games the studio has released in about a decade, but I can’t help imagining what Diablo IV could have been if it were a smaller, more focused experience.

The story of Diablo IV opens decades after the end of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, with the world of Sanctuary still reeling from the events of that game. Structurally, the narrative that unfolds is similar to Diablo II. Following a visit to a remote village, your character sets off after the demon Lilith – who is the daughter of Mephisto, one of the Prime Evils you defeated in Diablo II. More often than not, your character finds they’re one step behind Lilith, leading to predictably dire results.

I won’t say much more about Diablo IV’s story other than to note Blizzard smartly grounded it in the tragedy of its human characters. When the narrative calls on elements from past games, it does so in ways that feel natural and earned. Lilith is also a great antagonist. Every time she appeared on-screen, I felt a sense of unease waiting to see what kind of calculated cruelty she’d inflict on those unlucky enough to cross her path. If you only end up playing Diablo IV for its story, I think you will enjoy the experience, but if you decide to veer off its critical path, be prepared to play through a lot of uninspired content.

If you tried Diablo IV during one of the open betas Blizzard held in recent months, you’ve seen most of what the game’s open world has to offer as you’re leveling your character. Did you encounter a world event in the Fractured Peaks that tasked you with protecting a group of villagers hiding under their carts? Guess what – you’ll find another group just like that one again in Scosglen, the game’s second zone, and in other areas, too. I bet you played through a few optional dungeons. Well, there are more than 100 in the full game, and most feature a limited combination of layouts and objectives. World bosses and camps are more fun to complete, but there are far fewer of them than all the other content present in the game. The post-campaign adds more things to do like helltides and nightmare dungeons, but those increase the difficulty of the content, rather than introducing something substantially new.

Sometimes you’ll discover some interesting lore, a nifty bit of environmental storytelling or a named enemy that will drop an item with unique flavor text, but those moments are few and far between. I kept waiting for Diablo IV’s world to surprise me, to do something unexpected. The closest the game came to scratching that itch was when it sent the Butcher, a boss that shows up in nearly every Diablo game, to murder my character in an optional dungeon I was exploring. Even though my barbarian didn’t survive the encounter, I wanted more moments like that. Instead, the game seemed dead set on offering me an endless checklist of samey content if I ever decided to strike off on my own.

Blizzard Entertainment

That frustration is palpable while playing Diablo IV because so much of the game is immediately compelling. Nearly every inch of its open world is striking, with some of the most detailed and creative assets Blizzard has ever produced. Add to that a soundtrack that is haunting and evocative, and you have an experience that’s begging for players to inhabit it.

Maybe it’s my fault for expecting a live service game to offer something more substantive, but everywhere in Diablo IV, you see evidence that the people who spent years of their lives working on this project wanted the same thing. Just look at character creation. Clearly, the intention here was to allow players to make their druid, barbarian, sorcerer, rogue or necromancer look exactly like they’ve always appeared in their imaginations. Diablo IV offers a dizzying amount of visual customization for each class. In addition to all of the items, you can give your character different hairstyles and tattoos, and modify their skin tone, eye color and other attributes. Add in the transmog system, which allows you to transform the appearance of items to make them look like ones you’ve found in the past, and I can guarantee no two characters will look alike.

Blizzard obviously also put a lot of thought into player agency, allowing each class to be played in a variety of ways. The Aspects system is one of Diablo IV’s most compelling features: By completing dungeons and finding legendary items, you will collect item affixes that modify how skills work, and they’re transferable among your inventory. Some of these can completely change how your build functions. After some initial frustration, I found a build that allowed my barbarian to make short work of both hordes of monsters and Diablo IV’s spongy bosses, and I had a lot of fun with the game. I just wish there was more to do in Diablo IV’s world other than kill countless monster hordes. After all, role-playing has always been part of the ARPG genre.

Blizzard Entertainment

One last thing I want to note is that I played a version of Diablo IV that did not include any of the microtransactions the final build will feature. If you haven’t followed that aspect of the game’s development, I wrote about Blizzard’s monetization plans for Diablo IV last year. In short, Diablo IV is a full-priced game that also happens to feature an in-game shop and seasonal passes. Blizzard has promised that none of the cosmetic items you can buy in the shop or earn by completing the paid track of a season pass will grant “direct or indirect” gameplay advantages. The studio was also quick to note the shop and season pass will offer “more diversity of choices, not systematically better choices” for customizing your character. After Diablo Immortal, I’m fine with this setup, but I know some people will be put off by the presence of a season pass.

I don’t want to give you the wrong impression of my time with Diablo IV; I enjoyed nearly every moment of it. In a lot of ways, it’s the Diablo game I’ve been dreaming of ever since I first set foot in the world of Sanctuary back in 1997. But it is also a reminder of all the ways Blizzard has changed since I first encountered its games. There’s no way the company that released Diablo II in 2000 and even Diablo III in 2012 could have created a game of Diablo IV’s scale, but sheer size is not what makes Diablo IV enjoyable. So often, that scale works against the game, resulting in a world that is, as Warren Spector might say, simulated at a level of an inch per mile.

Diablo IV will be available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox on June 6th.

NVIDIA has unveiled technology called Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) that would allow gamers to speak naturally to non-playable characters (NPCs) and receive appropriate responses. The company revealed the tech during its generative AI keynote at Computex 2023, showing a demo called Kairos with a playable character speaking to an NPC named Jin in a dystopic-looking Ramen shop. 

The demo (below in 32:9, the widest widescreen I've ever seen) shows the player carrying on a conversation with Jin. "Hey Jin, how are you," the person asks. "Unfortunately, not so good," replies Jin. "How come?" " I am worried about the crime around here. It's gotten bad lately. My ramen shop got caught in the crossfire." 

Yes, the dialogue is a tad wooden; it seems like ChatGPT might have done a better job. Still, the idea is to show that you could just speak into your headset and an NPC will answer in the proper context, making for a more natural interaction than you'd usually get in such a situation. 

NVIDIA made the demo in partnership with Convai to promote ACE, which can run both in the cloud and locally (on NVIDIA hardware, natch). It uses NVIDIA NeMo for building, customizing and deploying large language models that can be customized with lore and character backstories, while using guardrails to protect against inappropriate conversations. It also deploys a speech recognition and speech-to-text tool called Riva, along with NVIDIA's Omniverse Audio2Face "for instantly creating expressive facial animation of a game character to match any speech track."

The demo was built in Unreal Engine 5 to show off NVIDIA's ray-tracing and other GPU features. The visuals are actually more compelling than the AI dialogue, though it's easy to see how the latter could be improved enormously. NVIDIA didn't announce any games that will use the tech, but Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl and Fort Solis will employ Omniverse Audio2Face.