Soccer's Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is seemingly here to stay, at least in some parts of the world. CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) has revealed it will use VAR to help refs in numerous 2022 competitions. You can expect the technology in all remaining CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the men's and women's U20 Championships and the W Championship.

The organization's decision was prompted in part by success with VAR in 2021 competitions like the CONCACAF Champions League, Gold Cup and Nations League Finals. The Confederation said progress on VAR had been "considerably" delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but now has enough VAR-qualified referees and venues to expand the technology's use.

VAR still has its critics despite receiving FIFA's approval for World Cup use in 2018. Enthusiasts are concerned the requests for video reviews can slow down matches, and that the use of centralized review hubs could be used to skew decisions. Soccer already has plenty of drama over tackles and handballs, they argue — VAR just draws out those disputes and takes away from the thrill of the game.

However, the arguments against the system appear to have lost some momentum. VAR helped reverse 17 out of 20 bad calls during the 2018 World Cup, and some backers have contended that video reviews would have overturned other mistakes if they had been used more consistently. Like it or not, tech is more likely to loom in the background of soccer matches than it has before.

Splitgate, the sci-fi portal shooter that transported me back to carefree Quake 3 Arena days, is getting a slew of updates on January 27th with its Beta Season One update. There's a map builder for constructing and sharing stages with friends, a 100 level battle pass, as well as new One Flag CTF and Evolution modes. (The latter gives the losing team of every round increasingly powerful weapons.) Developer 1047 Games also says the Foregone Destruction map is getting a major fidelity bump, which should be a sign of similar upgrades coming to other maps.

“Our custom map creator will continue to evolve alongside the rest of the game,” Ian Proulx, CEO of 1047 Games, said in a statement. “We’re looking at the map creator as an evolutionary tool driven by the community — it’s a robust feature for fans to play with day one of our new season, and we’re really interested in hearing feedback from the community regarding the types of features and tools they want.”

All of this sounds like great news for Splitgate fans—at least, the few who've stuck around. According to SteamDB, the game is currently seeing 1,000 to 2,500 players per day, a far cry from its 67,000 player peak five months ago. I'd wager the launch of Halo Infinite's free multiplayer mode in December didn't help (that's where all my free time has been spent lately), but Splitgate's popularity has also steadily dropped since its open beta last August. 

Sure, it was impressive that Splitgate hit 10 million downloads in under 30 days, but with the plethora of free shooters out there, 1047 Games will need to do more to actually keep people interested for the game's full release. A hardcore fanbase isn't enough.

The latest Awesome Games Done Quick speedrunning marathon is in the books. After another week of players showing off their skills and romping through games as quickly as possible, AGDQ 2022 raised $3,416,729 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. That's a record total for any Games Done Quick event in the organization's 12-year history.

According to GDQ's tracker, the highest donation was $236,656 and the median pledge was $25. AGDQ 2022 speedran to $1 million in donations, hitting that threshold faster than any previous GDQ event.

AGDQ once again took place as an online-only event amid COVID-19 concerns. Even though there wasn't an in-person audience to hype up the players, there were still some remarkable runs. For instance, a runner named Mitchriz used audio cues and a deep knowledge of the notoriously difficult Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to beat the game in two hours while blindfolded.

Runners broke some world records during the event too, including in Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Pumpkin Jack and Webbed. You can catch up on those runs, and everything else from AGDQ, on the Games Done Quick YouTube channel.

GDQ will next host an all-women speedrunning event called Frost Fatales, which takes place between February 27th and March 5th. As usual, you'll be able to watch it live on Twitch. Summer Games Done Quick will return later this year.

Netflix is making a bigger push into sports docuseries following the success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive. We learned this week that a show covering the 2022 PGA Tour and men's major golf championships is on the way, and now the company has announced a similar show covering the world of top-level tennis is in the works.

All three shows are being produced or co-produced by the same company, Box to Box Films. Netflix says the as-yet-untitled tennis series will devote equal time to men and women. The names of the players involved haven't been revealed, according to Bloomberg, but given the high-profile names taking part in Drive to Survive and the golf show, expect the tennis series to feature prominent figures.

Netflix has locked in deals with both tennis governing bodies, the ATP and WTA, as well as the organizers of the four Grand Slam tournaments — the biggest events on the tennis calendar. Given that production has started at the Australian Open, the docuseries could start with some major drama.

On Friday, Australian officials once again revoked the visa of Novak Djokovic, the world's top-ranked men's player, this time "on health and good order grounds." Djokovic, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, said earlier this month that he was granted a medical exemption to travel to Australia and continue his quest for a record 21st men's Grand Slam singles title. However, questions were raised about the validity of his exemption, and he admitted to making an "error of judgment" by attending public events in December while awaiting the awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. He tested positive.

Drive to Survive helped to boost the popularity of Formula 1, especially among US viewers. Tennis execs will surely be hoping for a similar effect from the upcoming docuseries. Last year's US Open drew an average of 796,000 viewers, the second-lowest viewing figures since ESPN secured rights to the tournament in 2015.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has reached a deal to stream 16 NBA teams’ games to fans in local markets. The company, which is aiming to launch a standalone streaming service this year, previously secured local rights for some NHL and MLB teams, but the NBA deal is a major piece of the puzzle.

The agreement covers the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs.

The service, which is expected to debut in the first half of the year, is likely to be fairly pricey at north of $20 per month, according to Sports Business Journal. However, it should give fans a way to see their local teams if games aren't broadcast nationally or they can't watch Sinclair’s Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs). Those networks aren't available on YouTube TV or Hulu, for instance. Local games are typically blacked out in any case, including on NBA League Pass.

Sinclair snapped up a batch of Fox Sports RSNs that Disney had to sell off as part of the Fox acquisition. The RSNs were later rebranded to Bally Sports.

A Netflix docuseries is in the works that will offer viewers a look behind the curtain at the lives of some of the planet's top golfers. The PGA Tour and the governing bodies of the four men's major championships are all onboard for the series, which will cover the 2022 golf season.

Major winners including Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia are all taking part. The current top-ranked men's player, Jon Rahm, isn't participating for the time being, though the planet's leading amateur, Keita Nakajima, is involved as he prepares to play in the majors for the first time.

"We are thrilled to bring golf's leading organizations and players together for this first-of-its-kind partnership and unparalleled window into life on the Tour," said Brandon Riegg, Netflix's vice president of unscripted and documentary series. "Our members will love getting to know the players and personalities as well as the iconic venues along the way. Even the most devoted golf fans have never seen the sport quite like this."

The show will be co-produced by Box To Box Films (which is behind Formula 1: Drive to Survive, another big Netflix sports docuseries) and Vox Media Studios. The PGA Tour and governing bodies for the majors will surely be hoping that the series can do for golf what Formula 1: Drive to Survive has done for the highest level of motorsport.

That show is credited with drawing new audiences to Formula 1 and it greatly boosted the sport's popularity in the US. While golf arguably still has a higher profile in the States, perhaps the docuseries will help it draw in younger viewers too.

The early Pokémon Go frenzy apparently led to poor choices from two police officers. As Axios' Stephen Totilo and BBC News report, the LAPD is now known to have fired officers Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell for ignoring a robbery on April 15th, 2017 to play Niantic's augmented reality blockbuster. Rather than respond to a radio call demanding backup for a theft at Macy's in the Crenshaw Mall, the policemen reportedly spent the next 20 minutes driving around to catch a Snorlax (an uncommon find in the game) and a Togetic.

Lozano and Mitchell denied playing Pokémon Go and insisted they were only "having a conversation" about the game, but the in-car camera revealed they discussed the robbery call and chose to ignore it. Another officer also witnessed the cruiser leave the area after the call. The details came to light when the ex-cops lost an appeal that would have tossed out the damning footage over alleged rights violations.

The incident came months after Niantic started discouraging drivers from playing, and it's safe to say moments like this are less likely when Pokémon Go demand has cooled down. Still, this highlights the dangers of both AR metaverses and addictive gameplay — it can be all too tempting to shirk real-life duties when the virtual world beckons.

Your Instagram profile's grid might soon be more than just a snapshot of your most recent posts. Leaker Alessandro Paluzzi has discovered that Instagram has been developing an "edit grid" feature that would let you reorder the posts in your profile. This could help musicians or stores using multi-post collages to plug their latest work, but it might also be helpful if you want to highlight an important post or prioritize your favorites.

We've asked Instagram for comment. It's not clear if the social network plans to test or widely distribute the feature.

It wouldn't be surprising if the customizable profile grid became a mainstay, though. Instagram has spent more and more of its time courting businesses and shops, and the option to rearrange the grid might attract companies wanting to fine-tune their public image. This might also help if you're an artist or photo enthusiast hoping to showcase your best shots regardless of how old they might be.

Some Italian flair is coming to the Formula E grid. Maserati plans to field a team in the electric motor racing series in 2023, becoming the first brand from the country to do so.

The automaker is returning to single-seater competition for the first time in more than six decades. Maserati ran a successful Formula 1 team in the 1950s and its two-seater MC12 took 14 titles in the FIA GT sports car series between 2004 and 2010.

Maserati plans to take what it learns on Formula E tracks and feed that back into its Folgore EV lineup. “Beyond this piece of history, Maserati Formula E will be our technological laboratory to accelerate the development of high-efficiency electrified powertrains and intelligent software for our road sports cars," Stellantis Motorsport senior VP Jean-Marc Finot said.

The automaker will enter Formula E as the series shifts to the Gen3 car, its lightest and fastest vehicle to date. Formula E and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) said the Gen3 will be the planet's most efficient race car. They claim the EV will produce at least 40 percent of energy used in a race via regenerative braking.

A new playable character with an aggressive mobility-based kit isn’t the only potentially game-changing tweak coming to Valorant with the shooter’s Episode Four update on January 11th. Once the patch is live, new players will need to reach account level 20 before they can queue for competitive games. Previously, you only had to win 10 unranked matches before you could take part in competitive matchmaking.

Many other multiplayer games, including Overwatch and Riot’s own League of Legends, employ similar restrictions. They help ensure new players have had at least some time to learn the game before they jump into a high-pressure match. They also deter a practice known as smurfing. That’s when more experienced players create new accounts to avoid long queues and play against less skilled opponents.

“We believe everyone should take time to learn the ins and outs of core gameplay, and have ample exposure to all the maps and agents Valorant will throw at you before competing in our ranked experience,” Riot said of the change. The tweak will only affect new accounts made from this point forward. So if you recently started playing Valorant and have at least one competitive match on your account, you won’t lose access.