Microsoft’s 343 Industries has provided an update on the delayed Halo Infinite, describing it as a “spiritual reboot” of the popular video game series. More important, it has shared some new screenshots and artwork from the in-development game, and they’re a marked improvement over the last, disappointing public preview.
“We have focused on two key themes, ‘Legacy’ and ‘Simplicity,’ when it comes to the visual experience we are building,” Halo Infinite campaign art lead Justin Dinges says. “We really want players to feel like they are experiencing a game that they remember fondly (Halo: Combat Evolved), but with modernized graphics of course. [And] we wanted to ensure that we steer away from overly noisy designs and details which is a key takeaway for the team coming off Halo 5. With Halo Infinite, we wanted to take this new adventure back to its roots and create a visually pleasing experience that doesn’t overwhelm with unnecessary complexity where readability and clear artistic composition prevail.”
That sounds wonderful, of course, but the handful of new screenshots that Microsoft provided really drives home what 343 is trying to evoke with this new game.
As for the “spiritual reboot” bit, 343 says that the new game will feature “iconic Halo imagery” and will trigger the same awe and wonder that the original title did 20 years ago.
“We have specifically chosen to begin Chief’s journey in Halo Infinite within the Pacific Northwest forest biome on a new Halo ring, a deliberate ode to the past,” Dinges says. “We have [also] taken the visual design of the Jackals and Grunts back closer to their appearance in Halo 3 and previous titles. We want players to feel a nostalgic familiarity with these designs, like meeting up with an old friend, as they experience all that Halo Infinite has to offer.”
343 is also adding new elements to the game as well, of course. The new Grappleshot is a good example, and while it is unique to Halo Infinite, it will feel familiar to long-time Halo fans and will work as expected. And a new time-of-day dynamic lighting feature can really change the look and feel of environments based on when you’re visiting.
Finally, Halo Infinite will offer what 343 says is “some of the most open-ended play experiences in the history of Halo.” It’s still a sandbox title with clear objectives, but the ways in which you achieve those things is up to the player (or, in co-op mode, players). “There is no right way to use a particular item or feature,” Halo Infinite gameplay director Troy Mashburn says. “I can’t wait to see co-op players doing crazy stuff and combos we didn’t even think of.”
Halo Infinite is still on track for a fall 2021 release after being delayed well past its original November 2020 launch schedule, Microsoft says.
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When it comes to the great iOS vs. Android debate, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates knows which side he's on.
According to 9to5Google, Gates shared his preferences in a recently audio-only interview via the Clubhouse app. It may not come as a surprise that he's firmly team Android.
Gates told journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin and Clubhouse co-founder Paul Davidson that, after proclaiming he preferred Android in the past, nothing has changed. While he keeps an iPhone on hand in the event he wants to use it for any reason (like using the iPhone-only Clubhouse), he has a day-to-day Android device.
Clubhouse is an app that lets you drop in on audio-only conversations. The social network resembles something of a massive series of podcast-like conversations. Right now, it's currently invite-only and only iPhone users can participate.
Gates prefers the more open nature of the Android ecosystem, as it's more "flexible" about how software interfaces with the OS.
"I actually use an Android phone," Gates told Sorkin. "Because I want to keep track of everything, I’ll often play around with iPhones, but the one I carry around happens to be Android. Some of the Android manufacturers pre-install Microsoft software in a way that makes it easy for me. They’re more flexible about how the software connects up with the operating system. So that’s what I ended up getting used to. You know, a lot of my friends have iPhone, so there’s no purity."
In 2019, Gates admitted the way he handled Microsoft's own mobile phone division was his "greatest mistake." Microsoft ended up letting Google transform Android into the only true rival for iPhone. Microsoft missed out on a $400 billion market at the time, something Gates deeply regrets. In 2017, however, he went ahead and adopted an Android phone.
During the interview, Davidson indicated that an Android version of Clubhouse could be on its way. He called it a "top feature," which could mean the iPhone Clubhouse could soon dissipate.
The 12.9-inch 2020 iPad Pro with the Smart Keyboard and Magic Trackpad peripherals.
Samuel Axon
The camera and sensor array on the 2020 iPad Pro includes two lenses and a lidar sensor.
It's still as thin as before, but that camera bump is a change.
The design hasn't changed at all beyond that camera bump.
Here's the back.
Rumor has it a new iPad Pro is around the corner, which means Apple is about to make another big pitch for the iPad as a productivity and content-creation device.
But while we've found in our iPadOS reviews that Apple has done a marvelous job with the big-picture changes to the OS aimed at making it real-work friendly, there are still a bunch of minor annoyances or "nope, you can't do that" limitations that sabotage Apple's intentions.
For that reason, it makes sense to preempt that upcoming marketing push with a few key caveats—especially since Apple likely won't announce a major iPadOS software update alongside new hardware in March. Significant new OS changes probably won't be discussed until the company's developer conference in June, and those updates probably won't reach the public until September or October.
Most of these are tiny problems, but they add up. iPads won't be a real laptop replacement for everyone until most of these issues are addressed.
Webcams and multitasking
It won't take you long in current computing use cases to notice this one: the front-facing camera on the iPad shuts off when you swipe away from whatever app is using it, Zoom included. Reviewers have brought this up again and again when reviewing recent iPads—us included. But 12 iPadOS updates later, it's still an issue.
Granted, some applications will show your camera view in a small, picture-in-picture window over other apps when you switch spaces. But you don't always want to see that—screen real estate is at a serious premium on iPads—and not every app does it.
Where third-party apps don't support the picture-in-picture view, Apple needs to find a way to incentivize them to do so. But better yet: allow users to enable background video capture on a per-app basis in Settings.
A lot of people are spending a great deal of time on video calls these days, for obvious reasons. It'd be great if Apple's flagship, mainstream, dedicated computing product actually did that well.
Audio-source management
Obviously, the iPad does support background audio. Apps like Apple Music or Spotify can play in the background, as can some (but not all) video apps. The problem is that it's all too easy for the currently active app to silence the one in the background, because two audio sources usually cannot play at the same time.
Apps like Twitch will keep playing video when you swipe over to another app, and they'll keep playing the audio, too.
Samuel Axon
You can minimize them to the side to get a better view while still listening to the audio, too.
Samuel Axon
So, for example, if you are watching a Twitch stream in the background but an autoplaying video with audio comes up on a webpage, your Twitch stream will stop. You'll have to stop the video on the Web, then go back to the Twitch app to start it up again. And sometimes, websites or apps take over your audio even if they aren't apparently making any sound at present.
At a minimum, the iPad should either not stop the first audio source when this happens or at least resume playing whatever was playing in the background once the new audio source starts. But the ideal situation would be a panel for managing multiple audio sources at once by app, including their levels.
External monitors
When Apple first announced that the iPad Pro would be able to work with external monitors via USB-C as part of an overall pitch of the Pro as a heavy-duty productivity and content-creation device, many users expected something very different from what they got.
Yes, you can hook your iPad Pro up to an external USB-C monitor. But typically, all it does is mirror the iPad's display. It doesn't give you more spaces for apps, and it doesn't even adopt the aspect ratio of the screen you're sending the image to.
There is a very small number of iPad apps, like iMovie, that let you use the external monitor a little differently. But the vast majority don't, making external monitor support essentially useless on Apple's tablet.
The limitations of the USB-C port
The move to USB-C from Lightning in recent iPads is a welcome one, even if it means some people had to buy some new cables. The ecosystem of USB-C accessories—like external storage devices, monitors, music production tools, and so on—is quite robust compared to what we get on Lightning.
Enlarge/ The iPad Pro has USB-C instead of Lightning as its one port.
So we're not knocking USB-C here. We're knocking how many USB-C ports there are. The iPad Pro only has one, and all too often, it doesn't play nicely with external USB-C hubs that you might normally use with a Mac. Users complain of constant disconnects and inconsistent behavior. Some hubs just don't work at all.
If Apple can't rely on other companies like CalDigit to do this well, and if it really must insist on not adding at least one more port, then it needs to release its own USB-C dock that is guaranteed to work smoothly with the iPad.
It certainly didn't help that Apple removed the headphone jack from recent iPads. Some of the advertising around the iPad Pro centered on music production, but good luck producing music when you can't easily connect both an instrument and headphones at the same time.
You'll need a dongle, which is expensive and a hassle, and a whole lot of them don't work well.
Pro app support
A computer is only as good as the apps it can run, of course. And while the iPad has many excellent apps for content consumption, productivity, and creativity, users of apps popular in certain professional contexts face a significant gap between iPadOS and either macOS or Windows.
And it's not just from third parties. Apple's own Final Cut, Logic, and Xcode are not available on the iPad. There aren't a ton of great options from other companies, either. Yes, Adobe has been working on fairly robust versions of both Photoshop and Illustrator for the iPad, but we haven't heard a word about Premiere, for example.
And numerous widely used pro apps from other companies also aren't available. There's no Maya, no Blender, no Unity, no Visual Studio. There is an AutoCAD app, but it's minimally functional compared to the desktop version.
If Apple is going to keep calling the iPad a device for professional content creators, it needs to convince these third parties to release more functional iPad apps. And at least as importantly, it needs to adapt its own software for the device.
How likely are we to see these changes?
For years, Apple has moved further away from the idea of more ports, large feature sets, and so on—particularly on mobile devices like the iPad. So in the past, we wouldn't have expected most of these things to actually happen.
However, the world of Apple devices looks noticeably different in the wake of reliable reports that new MacBook Pro laptops later this year will include SD cards or HDMI ports. Apple seems to be changing course to better court high-end and certain pro use-case customers. Well, at least as far as the Mac is concerned.
The company has also moved aggressively in other ways on the iPad front, at least in terms of software—just maybe not as fast as everyone would like. It seems plausible to us that multitasking issues (like those with webcams and audio sources) may be fixed in the future. And at this point, never say never to iPad versions of Logic or Final Cut.
We're less bullish on the idea of a multiport iPad Pro, though, and there's only so much Apple can do to attract third parties to make more robust apps for the platform.
Apple is expected to announce a new iPad Pro before the end of March, so we'll have a hint at what's to come soon enough.
Despite its relentless promotion of 5G phones and the fact that it spent more than $45 billion bidding on a new faster spectrum, Verizon support now is advising people on Twitter to turn off their phones’ 5G access to preserve battery life.
In a Sunday morning tweet, Verizon support helpfully suggested that “one way to help conserve battery life is to turn on LTE” if users found their batteries were “draining faster than normal.” That step would, of course, turn off 5G in a phone that has it available. It’s also worth pointing out that you don’t actually “turn on LTE” when doing this step — LTE is always enabled as a fallback for the 5G network. But Verizon is obviously being cautious so as not to actually tell its customers to “turn off 5G”.
Twitter users naturally pointed out that switching to LTE-only would mean turning off 5G (which is available in some newer phones), but the helpful support person said it was important to troubleshoot “steps to find the root cause of any issues with speed,” adding that Verizon is “quickly launching more 5G areas, and making updates constantly to improve speeds.” Verizon’s nationwide 5G network uses a technology called DSS, which in many instances is actually slower than the LTE network it’s trying to replace.
Verizon announced its big 5G plans for 2021 last month, after formally launching its next-gen network in October 2020. One of its top priorities is expanding coverage of its ultra-fast mmWave coverage, which is currently restricted to parts of some cities in the US. It’s also heavily dependent on how close you are to a Verizon 5G site.
Both Verizon and AT&T spent big bucks in the FCC’s Auction 107, bidding on the C-band spectrum. Verizon spent $45.4 billion— twice as much as AT&T’s $23.4 billion. AT&T’s current nationwide 5G network also relies on DSS with speeds close to or lower than 4G LTE.
The new frequencies won’t become available until the end of the 2021 at the earliest, and will be available in limited locations first.
Crypto prices appear to have an unstoppable upward trajectory. With Bitcoin and Ethereum hitting all-time highs again this month, more people are investing their money in digital currencies. And they have a wealth of options to keep their investments safe.
Cryptocurrencies are stored in what's called a wallet, which has a private key associated with it, similar to a password. The easiest way to get your coins in a wallet is on the cryptocurrency exchange you used to buy your currency (think Coinbase or Gemini). But more mainstream companies, like PayPal and Robinhood, have also added options to buy, sell and store crypto.
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Crypto owners who want complete control over their investments can also rely on digital wallets managed by software locally on a user's own device. For an extra layer of security, you may consider using what's known as a cold wallet, which is essentially a local device like a hard drive that's not connected to the internet.
Companies like Trezor and Ledger make special drives specifically for cryptocurrency wallets. The companies say sensitive information isn't exposed even when the devices are plugged into your computer (just don't lose the device, or the key needed to access the data on it). Check out the video above for an in-depth look at how all these options work.
Samsung’s latest Chrome OS laptop, the Galaxy Chromebook 2, is now available for purchase at Best Buy. The Chromebook 2 was first announced at CES in January and features a new QLED display, 360-degree hinge, and a striking red paint job. It starts at $549.99 for a Celeron model and goes up to $699.99 for a Core i3 version, putting it at the higher end of Chromebooks.
That price is the most significant thing about the Chromebook 2 because it’s considerably less than the Galaxy Chromebook that debuted a year ago. The older Chromebook had an 4K OLED screen and came with a stylus — neither of which you’ll fine with the new model — but it also cost just under $1,000 when it came out. In our review, we found despite the gorgeous screen and striking paint job, the original Galaxy Chromebook didn’t justify its cost, particularly thanks to abysmal battery life.
We’ve yet to put the new Chromebook 2 through its paces, but we did get to see the machine in person back in January and it certainly seems like it will be competent. The QLED screen isn’t quite up to the marks of the OLED panel, but you’d be hard-pressed to notice without putting them side-by-side, and the rest of the Chromebook 2’s fit and finish are appropriate for the price Samsung is asking. Importantly, it still comes in that amazing red color, as well. You might notice the extra weight — the Chromebook 2 is about half a pound heavier — but it still falls under three pounds total and should be easily portable.
We will have a full review of the Chromebook 2 in the near future, but if you don’t want to wait and grab one yourself, you might be able to find one in stock at your local Best Buy right now. Let’s just hope Samsung improved the battery life over last time.
Let's face it, mobile phones, even the best ones, just aren't that exciting anymore. They're all way more powerful than we really need, they all have nifty multi-lens cameras and they all look essentially the same. I really hoped that folding phones would give a much needed shot of adrenaline to the industry, but well over a year on from their arrival, they've fizzled out like a damp firework and left me feeling disappointed.
I've worked for CNET for a decade and most of that time I've specifically covered mobile phones. I've seen a lot come and go. I've seen the rise and fall of BlackBerry, I've seen weird phone ideas like the Russian Yotaphone with its e-ink second screen and I saw the brief trend of curved phones like the LG G4 and Samsung's Galaxy Round. But in recent years it's seemed that genuine innovation has been put aside, with every company clamoring to make what could easily be revisions of the same product.
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Think about these phrases: "A big, vibrant screen," "A great multi-rear camera setup," "An attractive metal and glass design." Can you think of many phones that those sentiments couldn't be applied to? The result is that all the phones are pretty good, but it means that they're also equally boring. Each year's refresh adds a few megapixels onto the camera, or an extra bit of screen size. Or a slight tweak to a design that, fundamentally, remains just a rectangular slab.
The LG G5 came apart. And then so did LG's mobile business.
James Martin/CNET
I get it. Innovation is expensive and spending millions of dollars researching a new idea means you need a guarantee that it's going to sell well. LG found this out to its cost with phones like the weird, modular G5, which didn't sell well and now the company is reportedly looking to sell off its phone business.
So when folding phones came along my spirits lifted. Here was innovation. Here was this new technology which genuinely took me back when I saw it in person for the first time and left me excited again for the possibilities of what phones could become. I know I'm not the only one who loved that idea of the phone that you wear on your wrist like a watch and unfold it when you need the bigger screen. But where is that?
The foldables we do have are... fine. The Galaxy Z Flip and Moto Razr's clamshell design is neat in that it makes a big-screen phone more pocketable by folding in half, while the Galaxy Fold 2 and Huawei Mate X are essentially tablets that fold in half to become phones, which is fine, too.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X are both essentially tablets that fold into phones.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
But beyond the bending screen, they haven't really pushed any boundaries. They haven't changed the way we use our phones or brought any revolution that's so groundbreaking that it alters the face of mobile altogether. They use the same version of Android, with only a few small tweaks to some apps to give a bit of additional functionality, but little beyond that. Really, they're the same phone as before, but you can fold them in half. I find it very telling that I have the Galaxy Fold and Z Flip in my house, but they're in a drawer among other past phones and I don't have any great desire to get them out again.
And you pay handsomely for that one fold feature as all folding phones cost significantly more than their respective manufacturers regular flagships. This, in turn, means that adoption is low, which gives those companies -- or third-party developers -- little incentive to think of new and creative ways to use this technology. In time, folding phones may well be cast into the pile of other gimmicks, alongside banana phones, Samsung's camera/phone hybrid and 3D phone displays.
But I hope not. I hope that it sticks around and evolves into something useful and exciting. Frankly I hope that Apple takes up the cause as it does have a tendency of only adopting new technology when they can put it to a genuinely useful use, although perhaps not always (I'm looking at you, 3D Touch).
The original Galaxy Fold was interesting, but it had its problems.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
But most of all I hope that any mobile company isn't afraid to try and innovate and do something a bit different. Phones used to be fun, and phone launch events were genuinely exciting to see what awesome new tech would be unveiled this time.
That excitement isn't where it used to be. It's an ember flickering at the bottom of the fireplace now, with each generic phone launch threatening to be the bucket of sand that could put it out completely. There is a chance that folding phones could yet be the kindling that turns that ember back into a roaring inferno, but I'm not crossing my fingers.
As 343 Industries and Microsoft continue to develop Halo Infinite, teasers of their progress surfaced, offering a glimpse of the kind of visuals fans can expect.
The two companies shared a handful of screenshots that show the progress of the game’s development, and the graphics are looking quite detailed. Fans don’t get to see much of any character, but the screenshots do show a much more realistic world — Zeta Halo — that should be expected in a next-gen title. Halo Infinite is being described as a “spiritual reboot” with the aim of bringing back a similar gaming experience as early Halo titles. To achieve this, much of the visuals will reflect earlier designs, while, of course, pushing forward improved, more refined graphics.
There isn’t a clear release date for Halo Infinite, but sources are suggesting it will land sometime in the fall.
Halo Infinite was due to launch alongside the Xbox Series X back in November 2020, but was delayed after fan backlash.
Since then, 343 Industries has been working hard on making the game that they feel fans deserve.
Here is the latest information about the game, it looks like it will have Halo CE vibes.
A Spiritual Reboot
In the past, 343 Industries has described Halo Infinite as a "spiritual reboot" of the series, saying during a recent Inside Infinite blog post that,
"'Spiritual Reboot' is a term we use to describe our approach to introducing new ideas while staying true to what it felt like to play the classic games.
'Feeling' is the key word here because we want to evolve, by creating new experiences and new opportunities, but still maintain the original essence.
The Grappleshot is a great example of adding something new that also super-charges things you are already familiar with like clamber or melee.
You are familiar with clambering up a double stack of crates but the obstacles in Infinite are larger and more organic.
The Grappleshot gives you the same fluid motion as clamber with a much greater range to get to more locations quickly."
THROWBACK: Fans of the original game should be happy with the visuals
Campaign art lead Justin Dinges also discussed the artistic style of the game,
"As a prime example, we have specifically chosen to begin Chief’s journey in Halo Infinite within the Pacific Northwest forest biome on a new Halo ring, a deliberate ode to the past.
Another good example is how we have taken the visual design of the Jackals and Grunts back closer to their appearance in Halo 3 and previous titles.
We want players to feel a nostalgic familiarity with these designs, like meeting up with an old friend, as they experience all that Halo Infinite has to offer."
With Halo Infinite, we wanted to take this new adventure back to its roots and create a visually pleasing experience that doesn’t overwhelm with unnecessary complexity where readability and clear artistic composition prevail.
This is our artistic interpretation of a beautiful world to exist within—rather than something that is purely grounded in photo realism."
NEXT-GEN: Halo Infinite will be the first Halo game on the next-gen console.
From the images seen in the blog post, Halo Infinite looks like a throwback to the original Halo: Combat Evolved, with a beautiful landscape full of rocky mountains and terrain.
Fans of the original game should feel right at home with this latest entry.
You should switch to Google Messages if you don't already use it.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Have you ever forgotten to send a happy birthday text message to a friend? Or had an idea in the middle of the night that you desperately wanted to share with a coworker but didn't want to wake them? The next time that happens, use Google Messages' new scheduling tool to pick the exact time and date you want to send a message.
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Before you can schedule a message, you'll need to have the latest version of Google Messages installed on your phone. Note that this feature will not work with your phone's default text message app, only Google Messages. If you don't know how to change your default messaging app, don't worry -- the first time you open Google Messages you'll be asked if you want to make the switch. The easiest way make sure you've got the latest version of Messages is to open the Play Store app go to My Apps and check for updates. (I have the new feature with Messages version 7.4.050.)
Below I'll show you how to schedule a text message, including picking a custom send time and how to edit the message if you want to change anything.
Scheduling a message is easy peasy.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
How to schedule a text with the Google Messages app
The first time you launch the Google Messages app and open a conversation after updating to the latest version, you'll see a small pop-up window appear over the Send button letting you know you can schedule messages. This is similar to what you see with scheduling an email in Gmail.
To schedule a text, start typing your message then long-press the Send button. I recommend picking the scheduled time before you fully compose your message, so you don't write out the message and accidentally send it.
After you long-press on Send, you'll see a pop-up with preselected dates and times. You can go with one of those suggestions, or tap Pick date and time. That will open Android's date and time picker that lets you customize when the message will be sent, to the minute. (Handy if you want to wish someone happy birthday at the exact minute they were born.)
Once you're done setting the time, tap Save.
You can then finish writing out your message. You're not limited to scheduling only text messages, but you can also add pictures and videos. When you're done, tap the Send button, which should now have a small clock icon on top of the paper airplane.
You can always edit a message.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
How to view, edit or delete a scheduled text message
A scheduled message will appear in your conversation thread, however, it will have a clock next to it and a note that says Scheduled message underneath it. You can hide the message with a tap on Scheduled message if you prefer.
To edit the message or the scheduled delivery time, tap the clock icon. A menu with three options will show up. Those options are update message, send now or delete message.
Update message will let you edit the text or pick a different time. Send now will immediately send the message. Delete message will discard the text.
Being able to schedule a message is a feature that's sure to be useful, especially if you often remember to send a message at an inconvenient time and then end up forgetting.
An outage of Sony’s PlayStation Network that began Friday afternoon appeared to be persisting on Saturday morning. According to an update on the status page timestamped 6:33PM (not clear what time zone that is) on February 26th, the affected platforms are PS Vita, PS3, PS4, and PS5.
“You might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience,” the update reads.
Engadget reported that the outage may be affecting some games but not others; Fortnite appeared to be accessible but Minecraft and Call of Duty: Warzone were not.
We’ve reached out to Sony for details about what’s causing the outage, how widespread it is, and when it may be resolved, and will update when we learn more.
Just a day after a massive Xbox Live outage, Sony's PlayStation Network has been experiencing issues for several hours. The problem on this end is a bit different, and based on reports may only affect certain games. Sony's PSN Status page reports that "You might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features" on platforms including the PS Vita, PS3, PS4 and PS5.
Some people have had problems trying to go online to play Call of Duty: Warzone or Minecraft, while other games like Fortnite seem to be accessible. When I tried to access a few games on my PS5, Fall Guys worked, but Call of Duty and Destruction AllStars couldn't connect to matchmaking. The service status page says this issue started around 6:33 PM ET, but gamers online noted problems several hours before and a look at DownDetector shows reports of issues spiking as early as 1 PM ET. At least in this case, it seems like most people won't have to go offline to try to play their games, and may just have to switch titles until it's resolved.
Earlier this month, following a very public spat with Google, Terraria studio Re-Logic announced it was ceasing development of the game's Stadia version. However, it's now decided to reverse that decision and development will proceed.
Events came to a head at the start of February, when Re-Logic founder Andrew Spinks railed against Google on Twitter after his account had been disabled for three weeks with no explanation - preventing access to his Google Play app library, Google Drive data, and YouTube channel. "The worst of all," he wrote, "is losing access to my Gmail address of over 15 years."
"I absolutely have not done anything to violate your terms of service, so I can take this no other way than you deciding to burn this bridge," he added. "Consider it burned. Terraria for Google Stadia is cancelled. My company will no longer support any of your platforms moving forward."
Terraria: Journey's End trailer.
In a new update posted to the Terraria forum, however, Re-Logic has announced the Stadia version will go ahead after all. "As you may have noticed, we had a ton of issues to kick off the year stemming from the locking-down of Redigit's entire Google account in early January," the company wrote. "After a month of pushing (and with the immense support of our fans), Google finally reached out and was able to provide a lot of transparency around the situation and to restore access to all of our accounts."
"Due to the hard work the Stadia team has put in - as well as our partners at 505 Games - we have decided that we will allow the upcoming launch [of] Terraria on Google Stadia to proceed," the statement continued. "The Terraria Stadia build is based on the DR Studios 1.4.0.5 (latest) build, and is currently at Google for certification review."
There's no word on when Terraria for Stadia might launch, but it's encouraging to see the issue resolved with relative speed. Stadia, of course, recently ceased all internal game development, meaning it's now absolutely critical for it to shore up relationships with external studios.
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343 Industries has shown off a handful of brand new screenshots and concept artwork for Halo Infinite, and it shows a lot of promise in the graphics department following earlier fan disappointment and backlash. The highly-anticipated game was originally meant to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X/S but was delayed from November 2020 to Fall 2021 after its reveal trailer garnered a high amount of negative feedback. Microsoft holds that the game was delayed to allow the developer time to get the game up to scratch and ensure it met high quality standards.
In order to help ensure that Halo Infinite releases on time and lives up to its predecessors this year, 343 Industries has allegedly gotten a helping hand from one of Microsoft's other first-party studios. According to one insider, The Coalition has assisted theHalodeveloper, with several employees at the Gears of War studio listing work that they completed on both Gears 5 and Halo: Infinite. However, it is unclear exactly what assistance The Coalition provided or what impacts these developers have made on the eventual finished product.
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In a new Halo Waypoint post, 343 Industries has provided an update on the state of Halo Infinite and shown off some new in-engine screenshots. The images themselves come from an in-progress build of the game for PC, but they look very impressive. In fact, these news screenshots look almost like a new game compared to what fans got to see last year during the official unveiling. Most of the images included in the post, some of which have been embedded below, give an idea of how more of Halo Infinite's Zeta Halo setting looks and feels, as it will feature a "time-of-day" lighting system that will give different areas vastly different moods according to when players visit each location. The campaign gameplay screenshot showing off the game's iteration of the iconic sniper rifle, meanwhile, speaks for itself.
In other recent Halo Infinite news, 343 Industries seemingly teased some story elements from the upcoming game. Fans noticed an audio file that teased the fact that Cortana will be the main villain in the sequel. This would suggest that the game is a direct follow-up to the events of Halo 5: Guardians, rather than a full reboot as some have indicated in the past.
Seeing the latest Halo Infinite screenshots is certainly reassuring for fans who have been concerned since they last saw the title last year during its ill-fated reveal. The quality of these images seems to be much higher than earlier footage, demonstrating that 343 Industries has been hard at work on improving the visuals of the game.
Nathan is a freelance writer with a passion for video games. He has contributed to a variety of outlets over the last five years and has written everything from breaking news stories to reviews of AAA games.
During a recent interview on the invite-only audio conversation app Clubhouse, Bill Gates revealed why he still prefers to use an Android phone over the iPhone. What it boils down to, Gates explained, is that Android manufacturers are “more flexible” with software integration.
As our colleagues over at 9to5Google reported, Gates joined Andrew Ross Sorkin for an interview in the Clubhouse app this week. Clubhouse, which is gaining quickly in popularity, is currently an iPhone-only app, but an Android version is on the way.
Gates has talked about his use of Android in the past, so Sorkin was curious if his preference might have changed, given that he was speaking through a service that’s only available on iOS.
In response, the Microsoft founder explained that he still prefers an Android, but that he keeps an iPhone around to try out — and apparently for joining Clubhouse rooms. Gates’ reasoning for using Android is because manufacturers often pre-install Microsoft software:
I actually use an Android phone. Because I want to keep track of everything, I’ll often play around with iPhones, but the one I carry around happens to be Android. Some of the Android manufacturers pre-install Microsoft software in a way that makes it easy for me. They’re more flexible about how the software connects up with the operating system. So that’s what I ended up getting used to. You know, a lot of my friends have iPhone, so there’s no purity.
The reasoning here is a bit odd because you can download Microsoft apps from the App Store on iPhone, and even now adjust your default browser and email apps with iOS 14, so it’s not clear what Gates is referring to.
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