In June’s Xbox showcase, Riot Games teased that the company’s biggest titles were heading to Xbox Game Pass — and now we know when. Ahead of tonight’s Game Awards, Riot has announced that League of Legends, Valorant, Legends of Runeterra and other titles (with bonuses) will arrive on Monday, December 12th.

Starting then, Game Pass subscribers can play League of Legends on PC with all 162 champions unlocked (and first-day access to future champions) and a 20 percent XP boost. Meanwhile, Valorant brings all 18 agents (with first-day access to future agents) and a 20 percent XP boost for Battle Pass, Event Pass and active Agent Contract progress. In addition, the strategy card game Legends of Runeterra will include the Foundations Set (the game’s first cards) with your subscription. Finally, Teamfight Tactics unlocks a rotation of Tier One Little Legend avatars on PC and mobile, along with four Arena Skins available until April.

Riot Games

In January, Game Pass subscribers can play League of Legends: Wild Rift on mobile with all 80 champions. Like LoL and Valorant, it also includes day-one access for future champions and a 20 percent XP boost.

Starting on Monday, the Xbox App on PC will offer instructions to link your Riot Account and Xbox Game Pass accounts (or create a Riot account if you don’t yet have one). Additionally, the developer has some perks if you link your accounts before January 1st. These include a Pocket Sage Buddy in Valorant, a Masterwork Chest and Key in League of Legends, a Little Legend Rare Egg in Teamfight Tactics, Random Emote Chest in Wild Rift and Prismatic Chest in Legends of Runeterra.

The Federal Trade Commission has filed an antitrust lawsuit in a bid to block Microsoft's planned $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard. The FTC started looking into the deal and its potential impact on the video game market soon after it was announced in January. Evidently, the agency was concerned enough to pump the brakes on the buyout.

The FTC's commissioners voted in favor of the lawsuit along party lines. The commission's three Democratic approved it and the Republican Commissioner Christine S. Wilson voted against it.

While the lawsuit doesn't necessarily kill the deal, it's unlikely to be resolved by July, as Politico, which had reported that an FTC bid to block the merger was likely, recently noted. That was the deadline Microsoft and Activision set for closing the deal. If the acquisition hasn't closed by then, the companies will have to renegotiate the agreement or even walk away from the merger. Regulators in other jurisdictions have been taking a close look at the deal, including in the UK and the European Union (which should complete its investigation by late March). 

Sony is the merger's most prominent opponent. It has expressed concern that Microsoft would make games such as Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox platforms (which could cost Sony hundreds of millions of dollars a year). However, Microsoft has said it wants to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation and it claims to have offered Sony a 10-year agreement to that effect.

Just ahead of the FTC's anticipated vote, Microsoft said it struck a deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to the company's systems if the merger closes. Call of Duty will also remain on Steam as part of a separate pact with Valve.

Microsoft and Activision have been downplaying the significance of the deal in an attempt to appease regulators and push it through. For one thing, Microsoft has claimed that Sony has more exclusive games, "many of which are better quality," in a filing with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It also said Activision Blizzard doesn't have any "must-have" games, despite having some of the most popular titles in the world (including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Overwatch 2 and World of Warcraft) under its umbrella.

That said, Microsoft has suggested that the acquisition the deal is more about gaining a foothold in the mobile gaming market, where Activision's King division is a major player. For instance, Candy Crush Saga has had more than 3 billion downloads.

Developing...

Audeze has revealed its latest wireless gaming headset. The company claims that Maxwell has a battery life of over 80 hours. When you eventually do need to recharge it, Audeze says you can fully top up the completely depleted battery in 2.5 hours via USB-C or by up to 25 percent of the capacity (which should be enough for a day of usage) in 20 minutes. The headset is said to offer improved low-latency wireless range and stability performance over Audeze's Penrose model.

Maxwell, which has 90mm planar magnetic drivers, can deliver high-resolution audio at up to 24-bit 96kHz when you use the included USB dongle or a wired USB connection, Audeze says. There's a 3.5mm jack too.

The headset has a hardware-based AI system that can automatically filter out background noise at the touch of a button when you're speaking. Maxwell has five built-in microphones as well as a Shure-designed detachable boom mic. There are built-in volume controls for the headphones and mic as well.

Along with audio quality, comfort was a key consideration for Audeze. The 490-gram Maxwell has a spring-steel headband with an adjustable suspension strap. Moreover, the earcups feature a dual-chamber design that offer passive noise isolation.

There are two versions of Maxwell, one designed for PlayStation and the other for Xbox. Both work with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch. The PlayStation model costs $299 and supports Tempest 3D Audio on PS5 and PC. The Xbox version (which is licensed by Microsoft) costs $329. It comes with a Dolby Atmos license that will activate automatically for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Pre-orders are open and Audeze expects to start shipping Maxwell in January.

There’s a concern that electrifying supercars will kill their spirit. A breed of vehicle known for massive roars, outrageous designs, and cornering that smooshes your internal organs from side to side while the vehicle sticks to the road.

But electrification is coming and how that’s handled can mean the difference between a vehicle that wins over naysayers or one that fails and gives the gas-or-nothing crowd one more piece of evidence that everything is ruined when a battery is added. McLaren’s Artura is not only an engineering marvel built upon a brand-new architecture; it’s also sure to get everyone on board with the idea of cramming an electric motor into a supercar.

The Artura can do zero to 60 in three seconds. That’s EV fast, and it’s thanks to the supercar’s plug-in hybrid setup. Wedged between a twin-turbo V6 and the 8-speed transmission sits a tiny electric motor that’s powered by a 7.5kWh battery pack. It adds low-end torque at launch and while exiting corners while the gas engine catches up.

On the more environmental side, according to the EPA the Artura can travel 11 miles while in EV-only mode. McLaren noted that it could get up to 15 with more surface street driving. It’s not in the league of the other PHEVs on the market, which offer ranges above 30 miles per charge. Remember though, it’s a supercar with all the joy and excitement that comes with that package.

We got a chance to try it out on the roads around Las Vegas, Nevada, and ended the day with 14 laps around a track. In both situations, it impressed. Watch the video below for the full story.

Jeep's first foray into electrified vehicles hasn't gone quite as smoothly as planned. The brand has recalled 62,909 Wrangler 4xe off-roaders over a fault that leads to unexpected shutdowns of the 2.0L plug-in hybrid engine. The powerplant may switch off when the diagnostic system reacts to a loss of communication, possibly leading to a crash if the failure occurs mid-drive.

The flaw affects Wrangler 4xe variants from the 2021 through to 2023 model year vehicles produced before August 17th, 2022, when Jeep started shipping units with updated control software. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) says there have been two crashes and one injury potentially linked to the problem, as well as customer assistance instances, warranty claims and field reports.

Jeep will fix the affected Wranglers by updating calibration software for their hybrid control and transmission processors. It expects to formally notify owners starting January 12th. The NHTSA started investigating reports as early as September 2021, but it wasn't until November this year that the investigation wrapped and Jeep's parent Stellantis decided to launch a voluntary recall.

The glitch is unlikely to represent a major setback to Jeep's electric vehicle push. However, the timing is less than ideal. It comes just a few months after Jeep unveiled Grand Cherokee and Wrangler Willy PHEV models, and previewed its all-electric Avenger SUV. The Stellantis-owned badge is just now trying to establish its EV reputation, and a recall won't help matters.

Your "right to be forgotten" (or rather, right to erasure) in the European Union now extends to bogus claims about you. The EU's Court of Justice has ruled that Google and similar providers must remove search results on request when they're "manifestly inaccurate." People making the demands will have to prove that there are significant falsehoods, but they'll only have to provide evidence that can be "reasonably" required. They won't have to obtain a judicial ruling, in other words. The search engine creator can't be forced to actively participate in the investigation.

The judgment is a response to a case where two investment managers asked Google to delist search results for their names that linked to articles criticizing their business model. The managers argued the claims were false, and also objected to thumbnail images that were allegedly taken out of context. Google declined to honor the request, contending that it didn't know if the information was accurate.

In a statement to Politico, Google said it "welcome[d]" the ruling and would review the Court of Justice's decision. It stressed that the affected search results and thumbnails haven't been available for a long while.

The determination could help shape interpretations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You'll not only have the right to remove search data on privacy grounds (such as reports of an old conviction), but to pull content that's demonstrably false. This could theoretically help European residents reduce access to misinformation and slander, even if they're uninterested in filing lawsuits.

There are questions that remain. Notably, the court decision doesn't directly address parody. It's not clear if someone could ask Google and other search engines to delete content that's fake, but intended as a joke. It's also unknown if this could be used to hide content that's largely accurate, but includes a glaring error. A complainant could theoretically use this to minimize criticism by targeting less-than-perfect stories. However, the ruling at least lays a groundwork that could be used for future disputes.

Google is rolling out two new modes for Chrome that are designed to make the browser less of a drain on your system's battery and memory. It says that, with the Memory Saver mode, Chrome will reduce its memory usage by up to 30 percent on desktop. The mode frees up memory from open tabs that you aren't using. Google says this will help to give you a smoother experience on active tabs. Chrome will reload inactive tabs when you switch back to them.

As for Battery Saver mode, Google says that can kick in when you're using the browser and your device's battery level drops to 20 percent. Chrome will then limit background activity and visual effects on tabs with videos and animations to help keep your device up and running for longer.

These features will be available as part of the m108 Chrome for desktop build. Google says all users will have access to them in the coming weeks and that it's starting to roll out the build today. You'll be able to turn off these modes in the settings and make certain sites exempt from Memory Saver.

The next game from Scavengers Studio is something completely different. Scavengers is the Montreal-based indie team behind Darwin Project, the online survival game that was a low-key and short-lived cult hit in 2020. Darwin Project offered a twist on battle royale gameplay, dropping a small group of players onto a shrinking map, and arming them each with just an axe and a bow. It was all about crafting, looting and surviving the elements, while also hunting the other players and watching your own back. Darwin Project went live as a free early access game in 2018, it launched in January 2020, and it was essentially shut down by November that year.

Scavengers' follow-up to Darwin Project is Season: A letter to the future, a single-player bicycle-riding adventure game about exploration and preservation at the end of the world. In Season, a young woman leaves her secluded village for the first time, just as a cataclysmic event is set to destroy everything around her. 

She rides her bike across gorgeous landscapes, meeting new people, observing their rituals and documenting her journey. Players collect sound samples, take photographs and transcribe the habits of the wider world, collecting everything in one place before it all disappears.

Season looks like a slowly unraveling mystery set in a beautiful environment and built for just one player at a time. It's the opposite of Darwin Project, and for that reason it feels like a delicious surprise from a studio that's still hungry to prove itself. 

Season: A letter to the future is coming to PlayStation 4, PS5, the Epic Games Store and Steam on January 31st, 2023. It'll cost $25 on PC and $30 on PlayStation platforms. On PS5, players will use the DualSense's adaptive triggers to pedal their bicycle, with varying resistances as the roads rise and fall, and the controller's haptic feedback will mirror the texture of the path forward.

The new mesh router from Google, Nest WiFi Pro, launched back in October and is just now seeing its first discount. If you've been thinking about stepping up to the newly opened 6GHz WiFi band or are curious to see how Google's new smart home industry standard, Matter, will operate once it launches, this might be the time to add the routers to your cart. 

You'll get the best deal with the two-pack, which is 17 percent off, making it $250 for the set. The three-pack and the single unit are both 15 percent off, bringing them down to $340 and $170, respectively. We're seeing discounts for all three packs at Amazon, but you can also head over to Wellbots and snag the three-pack for the same $340.  

Google currently makes three different routers, Google WiFi, Nest WiFi and the new Nest WiFi Pro, which has a shiny new design and is the only one running WiFi 6E. If you're curious what that means, in a nutshell, in 2020 the FCC opened up more airwaves in the 6Ghz band for WiFi to run on, which allows your home WiFi to get better wireless connections with less congestion. 

Google states that WiFi 6E will be up to twice as fast as the previous WiFi 6 standard. Of course, only devices that are WiFi 6E compatible will be able to access the new airwaves. But since these routers are tri-band, they also provide access to the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz frequency bands, meaning any device that currently runs on your WiFi will also run on these routers. Also keep in mind that these don't replace your modem, one router plugs into your ISP's modem or gateway (a combined modem router).   

A single Nest WiFi Pro unit will extend coverage to a home up to 2,200 square feet. With three routers, you'll get up to 6,600 square feet of coverage. The routers are also ready to act as a hub that will work with Matter, Google's forthcoming smart home industry standard that's intended to bring more universal connectivity (as in, working with Apple, Samsung and Amazon devices) to the smart home landscape. It'll also make new smart home devices easier to set up and use. Matter is scheduled for this Fall and these Nest WiFi Pro routers will be ready when the service launches. 

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If you want to keep using Disney+ at the same price you've been paying each month since March last year, you'll need to put up with some ads starting today. The Disney+ Basic plan is now live and it costs $8 per month. To keep using the streaming service without ads, you'll need to pay $11 per month, which marks an increase of $3. That's now called the Premium plan and an annual membership costs $110.

Unlike Netflix's ad-supported plan, Disney+ Basic offers access to the platform's full library as well as high-quality streaming in 4K, Dolby Vision and the IMAX Enhanced format. The Netflix's Basic with Ads plan, which went live last month, costs $7. It limits streams to a resolution of 720p and some titles aren't available. However, neither company's ad-supported plan includes offline viewing. Disney+ Basic currently lacks other features that are available to Premium subscribers, including GroupWatch, SharePlay and Dolby Atmos.

Disney does offer some streaming bundles. For $10 per month, you'll get access to Disney+ Basic and Hulu with Ads. You'll pay $6 less per month than you would by subscribing to them individually. If you want to include ESPN+ in your bundle, there are three options. If you don't mind dealing with ads on all three services, you can subscribe to them for $13 per month. For an extra $2 per month, Disney+ will ditch the ads. For access to ad-free versions of all three streaming services, you'll pay $20 per month.

Disney announced the price changes before it canned former CEO Bob Chapek and brought back Bob Iger, who oversaw the Disney+ launch as well as the takeovers of Fox studios and cable channels, Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm. Although the total number of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ subscriber numbers rose to 235 million under Chapek's watch, the company has dealing with some business difficulties.

Disney lost $1.5 billion on the streaming side of the business last quarter, more than doubling the operating loss of $630 million from the same quarter in 2021. It attributed the steeper loss to higher production and technology costs, as well as greater marketing expenses. The introduction of the ad-supported plan and Premium price hike could help to make the streaming business profitable, though consumers may have to give the company more of their money or time to do so.