A 20th-anniversary edition of the cult classic Beyond Good & Evil is coming in early 2024. Details about the previously unannounced remaster popped up on the Xbox Store, and an incomplete version of the game was briefly available on Ubisoft Plus. Ubisoft used the opportunity to formally acknowledge the game’s existence, promising official details later. The since-deleted synopsis promised “up to 4K, 60 fps with improved graphics, controls, and audio, along with brand-new autosave and cross-save features.”

“An early development version of Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition was recently released to some Ubisoft+ subscribers by mistake,” Ubisoft posted on X. “We apologize for any confusion and want to assure our community that this version is not indicative of the final game.”

Ubisoft said the version of the game posted to Ubisoft Plus wasn’t the final one. IGN reports the deleted Xbox Store blurb promised a speed run mode, updated achievements and an anniversary gallery with behind-the-scenes glimpses into the cult classic’s development. The synopsis said it supported Smart Delivery, ensuring you get the best version of the game for your Xbox hardware.

Beyond Good & Evil was a critically acclaimed commercial dud when it arrived in November 2003. The game tackled subjects like moral ambiguity, government conspiracies, identity and rebellion — not exactly a recipe for financial success in a United States still in shock from 9/11 and reactively fist-pumping the US invasion of Iraq. Although its gameplay wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking in any single area, it successfully blended action-adventure, puzzles, stealth, platform and racing elements with a polish and alluring atmosphere rarely seen in that era outside of Zelda games.

As psyched as some fans will likely be about the anniversary edition, it isn’t likely the franchise news they hoped for. Beyond Good & Evil 2, initially teased in 2008 and officially announced in 2017, still hasn’t materialized. Although it’s easy to dismiss the comically long-anticipated sequel as the quintessential example of vaporware, Ubisoft insists it isn’t. Despite intermittent reassurances that it’s progressing, Bloomberg reported in 2022 that Beyond Good & Evil 2 was still in pre-production.

After the Pokémon anime universe said goodbye to its long-time protagonist Ash Ketchum, stateside fans have been anticipating the arrival of the new faces to helm the series. Now, the wait is almost over. Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the latest installment in the franchise, is set to make its English debut on Netflix in 2024.

Pokémon Horizons has been available in Japan since April of this year, but it was previously unclear when the show's English dub would debut. According to a new tweet from the official Pokémon account, Pokémon Horizons will be available for streaming on February 23 in the US. This comes a just few days before the annual Pokémon Day celebration on February 27.

Viewers in the UK won't have to wait until February to catch the Pokémon Horizons fever. The English dub is set to premiere in early December and will be available for streaming on BBC iPlayer. Meanwhile, Canadian viewers will have to wait until March 2 to catch the series on either Cartoon Network or Télétoon.

The dubbed version of Pokémon Horizons will introduce English-speaking audiences to a fresh cast of characters, including Liko (Alejandra Reynoso), Sprigatito (Kira Buckland), Roy (Anjali Kunapaneni) and Fuecoco (Zeno Robinson). Together, they'll embark on an adventure spanning multiple regions within the expansive Pokémon world.

Additionally, Pokémon fans can also look forward to an adorable stop-motion series, Pokémon Concierge, on Netflix this December.

It seems Google won't block news links in Canada in response to new legislation after all. The company pledged earlier this year to pull links to Canadian news stories from Search, News and Discover when the country's Online News Act (Bill C-18) takes effect in December. However, according to the CBC, Google has reached a deal with the country's government that will see it continuing to serve users there with Canadian news.

Google is said to have agreed to pay news publishers in Canada around $100 million CAD per year. That's significantly less than the government's previous estimate that Google's annual payments should be around $172 million. The $100 million figure is in line with Google's own estimates of how much it should pay. 

The company will still need to sign an agreement with the media after negotiations. Google had demurred over a mandatory negotiation model that would have seen it hold talks with media organizations. Instead, the CBC reports that Google will only need to negotiate with a representative group, which is said to limit the company's risk of arbitration.

Google's arrangement with the government will be factored into the Bill C-18 legislative framework, which must be finalized by the middle of December. Engadget has asked Google for comment.

Although Google said in June that it would remove links to Canadian news stories from several of its key services, it hadn't followed through on that threat as yet. Meta, on the other hand, has blocked Canadian news links on Facebook and Instagram since June. According to the CBC, Meta has not returned to the negotiating table with the government. Google and Meta are the only companies that meet Bill C-18's legislative criteria.

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus monthly games lineup for December, and it’s a doozy. There’s no clear headliner here, but a trio of interesting games are about to drop, including the gorgeous open-world exploration game Sable and the cleaning-based tour de force Powerwash Simulator.

First up, there’s Sable, a game that was on everyone’s radar for years before an official release, thanks to the eye-catching graphical style. The "coming-of-age adventure and exploration game” casts you as the titular hero Sable as you ride a hoverbike through vast deserts and mysterious landscapes, encountering the remains of spaceships and other ancient artifacts. The art style is incredible and the soundtrack is by Japanese Breakfast, if that’s your bag (and it should be.) The game’s only available for PS5.

Powerwash Simulator, as the name suggests, is a cleaning sim that has you clearing grime from just about anything you can think of, from Back to the Future’s Delorean to Final Fantasy VII’s Midgar. Most of the game, however, takes place in the town of Muckingham and boasts plenty of upgrade options for your power washer and the ability to play with friends via online co-op. The gameplay is relaxing, though more complex than it lets on at first. It’s available for both PS4 and PS5.

Finally, there’s Lego 2K Drive. This is an open-world driving game comprised entirely of Lego vehicles. There are races just about everywhere you look and, of course, the ability to make your own vehicles by connecting virtual blocks. There’s local couch co-op and online play, with the latter allowing access to the entire game map. Both PS4 and PS5 players can access this game.

It’s also worth noting that some games are about to leave the service, so get those downloads ready. PlayStation Plus members have until December 4 to snag Mafia II: Definitive Edition, Dragon Ball: The Breakers and Aliens Fireteam Elite.

GM is massively slashing spending on its self-driving vehicle subsidiary Cruise after a string of debilitating setbacks, according to a conference call by company executives transcribed by TechCrunch. GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said that operations would resume in some capacity, but that any plans for Cruise moving forward would be more “deliberate.”

To that end, the cuts will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in the next year. This is expected to result in widespread layoffs at the San Francisco-based company that currently employees nearly 4,000 people. Earlier this month, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt told staffers at an all-hands meeting that he’d have information regarding layoffs in the coming weeks, but he resigned shortly thereafter along with co-founder Dan Kan.

It looks like the entire company may get an overhaul, with CFO Paul Jacobson saying in today’s conference call that there would be specific restructuring information in the coming weeks after two independent safety and incident review boards finish their work. These boards were instituted after a collision between a Cruise robotaxi and a pedestrian. It was also found that the company’s driverless algorithm had trouble recognizing children, which is never good.

GM has invested billions of dollars in Cruise since acquiring the company in 2016. This spending has increased in recent years as the company had planned an aggressive launch in more than a dozen cities throughout the US before everything fell apart. To that end, GM’s latest earnings report indicates that Cruise spent $732 million in the first three quarters of 2023.

The point of today’s call wasn’t just to offer ill tidings for Cruise. Barra and Jacobson also noted that the recently-penned labor deal with United Autoworkers would cost GM $9.3 billion in the long-term, but the company remains optimistic about future growth, noting an adjusted earnings of $12.7 billion in 2023 and an accelerated $10 billion share buyback program.

GM has also named new executives to run Cruise. Mo Elshenawy was promoted from VP of engineering to co-president, with GM’s previous EVP of legal and policy taking up the other co-president role. GM’s CEO said that the company has “a lot of confidence with what the two co-presidents will do,” but notes that “GM will be leaning in to make sure that it meets our strict requirements from a safety perspective.”

Over a year after Capcom first confirmed a sequel was coming for Dragon's Dogma, there's finally a release date. Capcom has announced Dragon's Dogma 2 will arrive on March 22, 2024, on the Xbox Series X and Series S, the PlayStation 5 and PC. There's also a new trailer to give you a better look at what to expect from the sequel.

Dragon's Dogma 2 comes 12 years after the original game came into the world. While there were issues like a mediocre interface, the game provided a detailed, customizable story that found a devoted fan base. 

The sequel takes place in a parallel world to the original, following Arisen who had his heart stolen by the Dragon. As Capcom explains, "Queen Regent Disa has installed a false Arisen to maintain control of the kingdom of Vermund for her son. Meanwhile, the beastren nation of Battahl considers the otherworldly Pawns to be a source of misfortune and have turned to worship of the Lambent Flame and their empress Nadinia to ward off calamity." You can play as Arisen or as Main Pawn — whose personality is customizable. Dragon's Dogma 2 also introduces new monsters, such as the towering Golem named Talos. 

While there are still a few months until gameplay can commence, you can officially pre-order Dragon's Dogma 2 now. The standard version retails for $70 and includes a bonus weapon for each starting vocation in pre-order. The Deluxe Edition is available for $80 and has a "New Journey Pack" with items like a custom camping kit and Rift Crystals — plus the Ring of Assurance for pre-orders.

As December nears every year, Spotify reveals all of the artists, genres, songs and podcasts you listened to most in the last 12 months. The 2023 installment of the streaming service's Wrapped year-in-review debuts today on the Spotify app with an all-new design alongside the familiar story-style format. For the first time in a while, you can also view your streaming stats on desktop via the web. As always, the company gives you a look at what you listened to most during the year with a few new additions to freshen up the annual tradition. 

Spotify has been giving you a list of your top artists, genres, songs and podcasts for a while now, but this year the company will assign one of 12 "listening characters" that best fits your streaming habit. The feature is called Me in 2023 and those "characters" range from the Shapeshifter, someone who moves from one artists to another quickly, to the Alchemist, someone who's more prone to create their own playlists. Another new tool called Sound Town matches you to a city based on your listening and top artists. For example, if you stream a lot of Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma, the app will pair you up with Mexico City. 

Spotify

In terms of the usual lists, Spotify has given them a refresh to make things a bit more interesting. Your top five artists will now also show you when your listening peaked for each one and next week Spotify's AI DJ will to give you commentary about those top artists, genres and songs on your lists. Spotify has also integrated its Blend tool with Wrapped so you can easily see how you match up with friends with a mix all of the music you listened to most. Artist Messages also return, with over 40,000 of them giving users shout-outs if they're one of your top listens. 

Of course, Spotify is also using Wrapped to reveal the platform's most-streamed artists, songs, albums and podcasts — both globally and in the US. 2023 was truly the Taylor Swift era as she took the stop spot on both the global and US artist charts. "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus was the most popular song globally while Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" was tops in the States. Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny was the most-streamed album around the world, but Wallen's One Thing At A Time was the biggest in the US. And in the least surprising development ever, Joe Rogan's podcast was once again the most popular on both the global and United States charts. It's the fourth year in a row The Joe Rogan Experience has been the top show of the year on the global chart. That's a stat the polarizing host is sure to mention as his current contract with the service is almost up. 

Spotify Wrapped is now available inside the company's iOS and Android apps as well as the desktop and mobile web. As is typically the case, a lot of the content is shareable, so get ready for your social channels to be flooded with Wrapped lists and graphics for the rest of the week. If you're an Apple Music listener, that service's Rewind tool is already available reliving 2023 on that platform. 

Unity Software is eliminating 3.8 percent of its global workforce and terminating an agreement with VFX company Weta as part of a "reset," Reuters has reported. The news follows some severe turbulence in the company, after it imposed and then partially walked back a controversial runtime fee for its game engine. Last month, John Riccitiello stepped down as president and CEO of the company after nine years in leadership. 

Some 265 employees will be laid off, all related to Unity's professional services agreement struck as part of its purchase of Weta Digital's technology and engineering division back in 2021. Employees will have only a week to wrap up before their positions are fully terminated, according to FX Guide — a tough blow just before Christmas. In a statement, Weta FX said it will extend offers to as many affected employees as possible.

Unity will close offices in up to 14 locations including Berlin and Singapore, pending consultation with employees in some locations, while reducing its office footprint in San Francisco and Belleview, Washington. The company will no longer require that employees work from offices three days a week and will reduce "full in-office services" to three days a week.

After Unity's acquisition, Weta FX (the film industry VFX division) split off into a new and separate company. Unity, meanwhile, acquired Weta engineers along with tools for pipelines and FX, Weta's data platform, a library of assets and more. "Unity will retain ownership of the technology it acquired from Wētā in December 2021 and will be evaluating the best way to enhance its offerings with it over time. The technology will also remain fully available to Weta FX," Weta said in a statement. 

Just a month ago, Unity rolled out some significant concessions to its developer pricing model after widespread backlash over its plan to charge developers for game installations. The move will directly impact developers, publishers and distributors. The upheaval of Unity’s business model came at the same time as a series of massive layoffs. In 2023, the company reduced its headcount three times in an attempt to cut costs. CEO John Riccitiello, who took much of the brunt of the criticism, stepped down last month and was replaced by former IBM president James Whitehurst, who is serving as an interim CEO. 

Eduards Sizovs is the founder of DevTernity, a software development conference that had to cancel its most recent event. Mostly because the lineup included female speakers who, under closer inspection, turned out to be fictional. But this may not be the first time Sizovs has invented a woman, and he might also be behind a massively popular coding influencer.

Coding_Unicorn has over 115,000 Instagram followers and purports to be run by Julia Kirsina, who shares tips on software development below her selfies. 404 Media has posted evidence connecting her to Sizovs, suggesting the account is a sock puppet. Evidence includes images from a YouTube video showing Sizovs logged in to her email account, and that a lot of her posts mirror ones posted by Sizovs.

— Dan Cooper

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Google's first geothermal energy project is up and running

It produces 3.5 megawatts of electricity.

Google / Fervo Energy

Google is showing off a first-of-its-kind enhanced geothermal energy plant in Nevada, which is now operational. The search giant, in partnership with clean power startup Fervo Energy, dug a pair of narrow wells in the desert, 8,000 feet deep. When filled with cold water, the resulting steam is powerful enough to run a turbine generating 3.5 megawatts around the clock.

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Ayaneo's Macintosh-inspired mini PC starts at $149 with internals to match

It makes no sense, but that doesn’t stop me wanting one.

Ayaneo

Ayaneo’s next project is the AM01, a small form factor PC with a case that sorta looks like an original Apple Mac. The handheld gaming pioneer isn’t going to blow too many socks off with the specs, with the $149 base model packing a Ryzen 3 3200U, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. But, and I cannot stress this enough, it does look cute.

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IKEA's new smart home sensors focus on safety and avoiding water damage

Yes, even IKEA makes a water leak sensor now.

IKEA

IKEA may not be the first name you think of in the smart home space, but it has quietly built up an impressive suite of tools. The latest additions to its range include window and door sensors as well as a water leak detector, all of which are compatible with its most recent hub. And while the US pricing hasn’t been announced, all the units are so cheap in Europe they’re a no-brainer.

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Meta pauses Quest 3 Elite Battery Strap sales, reportedly due to a charging flaw

It also had issues with the Quest 2 Elite strap.

Meta

Meta has paused sales of its Elite Strap with Battery for the Quest 3, citing a firmware-related charging defect. It says, when fixed, it’ll replace already-sold units, as and when buyers contact the company. The strap is meant to boost battery life by two hours on the standalone VR headset, but users have found it stops charging earlier than expected.

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There's a lot of bad stuff on the internet, but memes tend to be a bright, silly light in digital interactions. Now, they might be even easier to access and create thanks to Google Registry launching a new top-level domain type: .meme. That's right, forget .com or .org, you can lean right into the jokes and get a meme-centric domain. According to Google, ".meme domains are meant to spread humor, ideas, style, and culture. Use it to show your audience that you're in the present." The whole idea feels reminiscent of the early days of Tumblr. 

Google has teamed up with six companies and individuals to showcase options for using .meme. These include Know Your Meme (which highlights trending memes and history) and Tenor (for searching and creating new memes). Plus, there are another four sites devoted entirely to cat memes, including dedicated domains for both Nyan Cat and Grumpy Cat. Basically, if you want to create a lighthearted, meme-filled website, this is your chance. 

The Early Access Period (EAP) for registering a .meme domain has begun, but it includes an extra one-time fee. That additional cost will be reduced every day until December 5 at 11AM ET when .meme domains become available for a base annual price. If you're interested in buying a domain, search the name's availability at get.meme. If it's available, Google will show you a range of partners that you can purchase the domain from, such as GoDaddy.