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Virgin Orbit is going public to fund its space satellite program
An SPAC merger is expected to generate $483 million in cash.
'Bayonetta' developer is the latest to throw itself at Tencent's feet
Chinese gaming giant Tencent has its fingers in the pie of yet another well-known developer. PlatinumGames chief Kenichi Sato has confirmed that his company took a "capital investment" from Tencent as part of a "basis for partnership." Sato didn't say how large the investment was, but he promised that this would have "no effect" on Platinum's independence or structure.
The next wave of electric vehicles will appear in 2020
Electric vehicles have been helping Americans get around for more than a hundred years. At the start of the 20th century, a third of the vehicles on the road were battery powered. Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the sports car company that still bears his name, was among the first to develop an electric vehicle, debuting the P1 in 1898. Even Henry Ford dabbled with the technology in the early 1900s. Then again, it was also his mass-produced Model T that decimated demand for EVs in the first place.
Pokémon games are available to play on Facebook
You don't have to fire up a Nintendo console or launch a phone app to play Pokémon video games from now on. The Pokémon Company has released its first two Facebook Gaming titles, Pokémon Medallion Battle and Pokémon Tower Battle, through both the Gaming tab on the social network as well as is in-beta Facebook Gaming app. Tower Battle (shown at right) is available worldwide and has you fighting other players in real time by creating the tallest Pokémon towers -- it's not Jenga with Jigglypuffs, but it's getting there. Medallion Battle, meanwhile, is a more traditional card battler for the Asia-Pacific region that has you tracking down new creatures (new ones are available each month) to build your dream deck.
Our favorite games of 2019
The end of 2019 is nigh, which means it's time for us to take stock of this year's crop of games. And it's been quite a year -- not quite the heights of 2017, to be sure, but still more than we here at Engadget can reasonably play between all the gadgets we review and events we attend. So rather than declare a list of winners, we'll tell you about the titles that captured our hearts and minds this year, the games of 2019 that made our days just a little better and will stick in our memories as we round the corner into the next decade and beyond.
Welcome to Engadget's 2019 year in review
With 2020 fast approaching, it's time for our editors to look back on the year in tech. The first three articles of our year in review went live this morning, covering Spotify's big podcast push, the best games of the year and our favorite gadgets. Over the coming days we've got a lot more for you to read.
'State of Decay 2' brings zombie slaying to Steam in early 2020
You don't have to be fully committed to Microsoft's vision of gaming to play State of Decay 2. The zombie-filled survival game is now slated to come to Steam in early 2020. You won't have to be worried about finding friends to play, either. The title will support four-person Xbox Live cross-play, so friends who bought the game through the Microsoft Store or on Xbox One can join you in fending off the undead.
The Morning After: Valve's new 'Half-Life' VR game
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. This morning we're ready to talk about Half-Life: Alyx as well as the reality of Google Stadia and cloud gaming. Samsung's Kylo Ren-themed Galaxy Note 10+ is stylish but expensive, and you can save some cash on Google gear next week. We'll explain.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate adds Discord, Spotify and EA Access freebies
This holiday season, Microsoft really wants you to sign up for its monthly Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service. To start, for a limited time you can once again get the first three months of the service, which bundles together the company's Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass subscriptions together, for just $1. Additionally, the company is throwing in one free month of EA Access, three free months of Discord Nitro and six free months of Spotify Premium.
'Grounded' is an ant-sized survival game set in a suburban backyard
If The Outer Worlds has got you excited to play whatever Obsidian Entertainment's cooking up next, you won't have to wait too much longer. Its first-person survival title, Grounded, will arrive on Xbox Game Preview next spring.
'Fortnite' star Ewok is the latest Twitch streamer to switch to Mixer
Yet another prominent streamer is leaving Twitch for Microsoft's Mixer. Soleil "Faze Ewok" Wheeler announced on Thursday that she will stream her upcoming Fortnite play sessions exclusively on the platform starting "soon."
'Moshi Monsters' is shutting down because it runs on Flash
Moshi Monsters, a once massively popular web game that let you raise colorful creatures and complete mini-games around Monstro City, is shutting down. As Ryan Brown spotted on Twitter, the Moshi Monsters site now has an "important notice" that states it will close at midday GMT (7am ET/4am PT) on December 13th. "Thank you for joining us on the first part of our monsterific journey and helping us make Moshi Monsters such a splat-tastic online experience," the announcement reads in classic Moshi-lingo fashion.
Twitch makes it easier for first-time streamers to get started
Twitch wants to make streamer easier for newbies. Launching today, the Twitch Studio is a new streaming app designed to help gamers go live for the first time with minimal fuss or to up their game if they're still new to the scene. Features include a guided setup, where mics, webcams, monitor resolution and bitrates are detected automatically for the best sound and display, and customizable templates, where streamers can choose from loads of starter layouts and pre-built overlays.
'Death Stranding' is a great movie
Hideo Kojima builds cinematic games. His projects are visually ambitious, narratively complex and cutscene-heavy, dripping with references to the vaults of Alfred Hitchcock, George Romero and Orson Welles. Kojima is transparent about his obsession with film and how it influences his creative process. "Just like the human body is 70 percent water, I'm 70 percent film." Kojima has repeated this idea in interviews and essays throughout his 33-year career as a video game designer. It rang true when he made Snatcher in 1988, Policenauts in 1994 and Metal Gear Solid in 1998. It rings true today, with the imminent release of Death Stranding, Kojima's first project as an independent developer.
'Apex Legends' adds two-player teams on November 5th
Apex Legends players won't have to choose between full three-player squads or (when it's an option) going solo, at least for a while. Respawn is adding a "limited time" duos mode to the battle royale game starting on November 5th. Other details aren't forthcoming, but the appeal is fairly self-evident. You can get backup from your go-to gaming buddy without having to recruit someone or (gasp) count on a stranger.
BMW hints at the future of electric motorcycles with the Vision DC Roadster
BMW Motorrad has an electric scooter. The capable and fun C Evolution. An outstanding vehicle I had the pleasure of riding around on in LA. But as far as full-sized bikes go, Zero Motorcycles still rules that market while we wait for Harley-Davidson to start selling its own EV. But the German motorcycle maker has been taking its time going full size. Hopefully, the Vision DC Roadster concept is a sign of things to come.
BMW Vision M Next: An autonomous car for people who love driving
There's a fear from some that when cars drive themselves, that'll be the end of the joy of driving. Why even get behind the wheel if your vehicle can get you to your destination while you sit back and relax? BMW -- which boasts the tag line "the ultimate driving machine" -- has a concept that'll appease the future-looking owner that doesn't want to deal with the horrors of gridlock but needs to feel like they're in control while carving up mountain passes.
Netflix's 'Next Gen' trailer features John Krasinski as your robot buddy
Netflix's movies and shows couldn't compete at Cannes this year, but the streaming titan did come home with more content -- including worldwide distribution rights (except in China) for the animated film Next Gen. The company released the first trailer for the film, which is arriving on September 7th.
New FAA system can track twice as many flights at once
Whoever said "it's the journey, not the destination" obviously lived in a time before air travel. But maybe, just maybe, the Department of Transportation's implementation of the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), the "backbone" of the NextGen air-traffic system, could change how we feel about getting on a flight. There are a few things making up ERAM: performance based navigation, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) and data comm.
Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg on how Destiny was 'born modern' and why social connectivity will define the next-gen
Successive generations of console gaming have been, historically, defined by improvements in graphics. But Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg envisions a different future for the coming next-gen of gaming and it's all about connectivity. As he told our own Ben Gilbert at Gamescom 2013 this week, "The same way that Xbox Live and PlayStation Network led to the big trend in this generation being multiplayer games, I think that some sort of connectivity and social amplification of games is probably something you'll see a lot of creative activity around [in the next-gen]." Hirshberg offered up Destiny, Bungie's upcoming hybrid FPS / persistent world game as a prime example of this trend, and referred to the title as being "born modern" -- a video game and social network rolled into one. Hirshberg's aware that not all gamers are ready to jump ship from the current console generation. Which is why his company decided to invest in a new engine for Call of Duty: Ghosts to maximize the beauty of its visuals and audio, but still make it a multiplatform, cross-generational title. Activision's even partnering up with retailers to offer gamers incentives (in the form of a minimal upgrade fee) to make the next-gen leap should they initially purchase the PS3 or Xbox 360 version. As for where forward-facing virtual reality hardware like the Oculus Rift fits in, Hirshberg wasn't as optimistic. He's used the VR headset before, but primarily views it as a non-additive layer for gaming that's better enjoyed in "small doses" due to its intensity. For our full interview with Hirshberg and all his thoughts on the next-gen of gaming, click on past the break.
