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Image: Bethesda Softworks

Earlier in the summer, Bethesda officially unveiled Shattered Space, the first major expansion for its sci-fi roleplaying game Starfield. Now, we finally have a date: the update will be launching on September 30th. It’s coming to both Xbox and PC.
Along with the date, the studio also revealed a (brief) trailer for the expansion, which shows off some more of its darker tone (at least compared to most of the base game). The story is centered on the mysterious faction known as “House Va’Ruun” and its homeworld, where players will encounter a “frightening new cosmic threat and uncover the secrets behind the galaxy’s most enigmatic faction.”
Really, though, the trailer is focused primarily on a specific, much-requested feature: a land vehicle called the REV-8. It’s available as part of a free update launching later today, and should make exploring planets a lot less tedious.
First released in 2023, Starfield is Bethesda’s first new franchise in quite some time. But the developer’s other major properties are still alive: Fallout has an enduring online game and hit TV show, while the next Elder Scrolls has been in development for several years.

Image: Bethesda Softworks

Earlier in the summer, Bethesda officially unveiled Shattered Space, the first major expansion for its sci-fi roleplaying game Starfield. Now, we finally have a date: the update will be launching on September 30th. It’s coming to both Xbox and PC.

Along with the date, the studio also revealed a (brief) trailer for the expansion, which shows off some more of its darker tone (at least compared to most of the base game). The story is centered on the mysterious faction known as “House Va’Ruun” and its homeworld, where players will encounter a “frightening new cosmic threat and uncover the secrets behind the galaxy’s most enigmatic faction.”

Really, though, the trailer is focused primarily on a specific, much-requested feature: a land vehicle called the REV-8. It’s available as part of a free update launching later today, and should make exploring planets a lot less tedious.

First released in 2023, Starfield is Bethesda’s first new franchise in quite some time. But the developer’s other major properties are still alive: Fallout has an enduring online game and hit TV show, while the next Elder Scrolls has been in development for several years.

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Image: Firaxis Games

You’ll be able to rewrite the course of history in Civilization 7 next year. Firaxis Games showed up during Opening Night Live 2024 with a new trailer and some news — Civilization 7 will launch on just about everything you can play a video game on February 11th, 2025.
Civilization 6 released eight years ago but has received a steady flow of updates and DLC in the intervening years. Firaxis Games announced it was working on a new Civilization game in February of last year. Since then, the studio has been slowly rolling out the details, debuting a teaser trailer during this year’s Summer Game Fest and now a new release date trailer for Gamescom 2024. If this trailer isn’t enough for all the 4X fanatics in the house, Firaxis has even more to share, hosting a 20-minute gameplay deep dive on Twitch at 4:30PM ET later today.
Civilization 7 launches February 11th on PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

Image: Firaxis Games

You’ll be able to rewrite the course of history in Civilization 7 next year. Firaxis Games showed up during Opening Night Live 2024 with a new trailer and some news — Civilization 7 will launch on just about everything you can play a video game on February 11th, 2025.

Civilization 6 released eight years ago but has received a steady flow of updates and DLC in the intervening years. Firaxis Games announced it was working on a new Civilization game in February of last year. Since then, the studio has been slowly rolling out the details, debuting a teaser trailer during this year’s Summer Game Fest and now a new release date trailer for Gamescom 2024. If this trailer isn’t enough for all the 4X fanatics in the house, Firaxis has even more to share, hosting a 20-minute gameplay deep dive on Twitch at 4:30PM ET later today.

Civilization 7 launches February 11th on PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

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Image: Gearbox Software

Gearbox is planning to launch Borderlands 4 sometime in 2025, the company announced at the Gamescom Opening Night Live show on Tuesday. The game is set to launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S.
The reveal trailer was pretty mysterious, and the trailer’s description on YouTube doesn’t offer much in the way of specifics, either. “In this next installment of the definitive looter shooter, players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet,” according to the description. At the very least, this new game seems like it will continue the legacy from other titles in the series.
The announcement follows the Borderlands movie’s generally poor reception and bad box office sales. Borderlands 3, the last mainline game in the franchise, launched in September 2019.

Image: Gearbox Software

Gearbox is planning to launch Borderlands 4 sometime in 2025, the company announced at the Gamescom Opening Night Live show on Tuesday. The game is set to launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S.

The reveal trailer was pretty mysterious, and the trailer’s description on YouTube doesn’t offer much in the way of specifics, either. “In this next installment of the definitive looter shooter, players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet,” according to the description. At the very least, this new game seems like it will continue the legacy from other titles in the series.

The announcement follows the Borderlands movie’s generally poor reception and bad box office sales. Borderlands 3, the last mainline game in the franchise, launched in September 2019.

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Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

If you happen to crack the screen on your brand-new Pixel Watch 3, Google won’t repair it; the new smartwatch is “replacement only,” a Google representative told Android Authority. That means this is the third smartwatch in a row where Google won’t offer repairs.
That’s a shame, especially when you consider how Pixel Watch screens have held up in our reviews of the last two. Replacements are $49 if you happen to have bought Preferred Care, Google’s device insurance program — but that program costs $89 for two years of coverage (or $4 per month for 60 months).

Google representative Erin Cizek confirmed to The Verge via email that those with damaged Pixel Watch 3s can “contact the Google Pixel Watch Customer Support Team to check your replacement options.”
If you didn’t buy the Preferred Care plan — which you have to do when you buy the Pixel Watch 3 or within 30 days of your purchase — then your options are sparse. Google offers a potential discounted mail-in replacement, or you can try your luck at repairing it.

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

If you happen to crack the screen on your brand-new Pixel Watch 3, Google won’t repair it; the new smartwatch is “replacement only,” a Google representative told Android Authority. That means this is the third smartwatch in a row where Google won’t offer repairs.

That’s a shame, especially when you consider how Pixel Watch screens have held up in our reviews of the last two. Replacements are $49 if you happen to have bought Preferred Care, Google’s device insurance program — but that program costs $89 for two years of coverage (or $4 per month for 60 months).

Google representative Erin Cizek confirmed to The Verge via email that those with damaged Pixel Watch 3s can “contact the Google Pixel Watch Customer Support Team to check your replacement options.”

If you didn’t buy the Preferred Care plan — which you have to do when you buy the Pixel Watch 3 or within 30 days of your purchase — then your options are sparse. Google offers a potential discounted mail-in replacement, or you can try your luck at repairing it.

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Who among you is going to run and actually read at the same time? Please, tell me who you are. | Image: Amazon

If you’ve ever thought, “Man, I wish I could read while sweating on the Peloton,” then good news. You can now access your Kindle library straight from the Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, Tread, or Tread Plus.
“No more awkwardly holding a book or Kindle ereader while trying to maintain proper form,” reads Amazon’s press release, which notes you can read anything from thrillers to nonfiction to cookbooks. The feature will be available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Austria, and Germany.
To access your ebooks, all you have to do is go to the Entertainment tab. The Kindle app on the Peloton also allows for features like font size adjustment, bookmarks, and jumping between chapters.
Granted, most people who read while working out tend to go for audiobooks — for obvious reasons. But the bigger takeaway is this trend toward freedom to use Peloton machines as you please. Plenty of Peloton fans love the classes, but that’s not always true for everyone in their household. Previously, Peloton tablets were limited to Peloton content, which limited their appeal to non-fans — unless you were brave enough to void the warranty and jailbreak your smart bike. Back in November, Peloton introduced the Entertainment tab, allowing people to stream TV shows, movies, and sports using beta versions of Netflix, YouTube TV, Disney Plus, and Max. Adding Kindle compatibility is just another extension of this trend.

Who among you is going to run and actually read at the same time? Please, tell me who you are. | Image: Amazon

If you’ve ever thought, “Man, I wish I could read while sweating on the Peloton,” then good news. You can now access your Kindle library straight from the Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, Tread, or Tread Plus.

“No more awkwardly holding a book or Kindle ereader while trying to maintain proper form,” reads Amazon’s press release, which notes you can read anything from thrillers to nonfiction to cookbooks. The feature will be available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Austria, and Germany.

To access your ebooks, all you have to do is go to the Entertainment tab. The Kindle app on the Peloton also allows for features like font size adjustment, bookmarks, and jumping between chapters.

Granted, most people who read while working out tend to go for audiobooks — for obvious reasons. But the bigger takeaway is this trend toward freedom to use Peloton machines as you please. Plenty of Peloton fans love the classes, but that’s not always true for everyone in their household. Previously, Peloton tablets were limited to Peloton content, which limited their appeal to non-fans — unless you were brave enough to void the warranty and jailbreak your smart bike. Back in November, Peloton introduced the Entertainment tab, allowing people to stream TV shows, movies, and sports using beta versions of Netflix, YouTube TV, Disney Plus, and Max. Adding Kindle compatibility is just another extension of this trend.

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Photo by Sascha Thelen / picture alliance via Getty Images

Geoff Keighley ends the summer of video game events with ONL live from Gamescom. Much like backpacks and lunchboxes showing up in the seasonal aisle of your local Target, nothing heralds the end of summer like Opening Night Live. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, ONL is a video game showcase much like Summer Game Fest. It’s the event that kicks off Gamescom 2024 — a video game expo held primarily in Germany — and is traditionally the final video game event of the summer. This year, Xbox will show up in a big way with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
We’ll also see new info on the next entry in Sid Meier’s Civilization series and Marvel Rivals, while BioWare will continue to show off Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Here are all the trailers, news, and info coming out of Opening Night Live 2024.

Photo by Sascha Thelen / picture alliance via Getty Images

Geoff Keighley ends the summer of video game events with ONL live from Gamescom.

Much like backpacks and lunchboxes showing up in the seasonal aisle of your local Target, nothing heralds the end of summer like Opening Night Live. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, ONL is a video game showcase much like Summer Game Fest. It’s the event that kicks off Gamescom 2024 — a video game expo held primarily in Germany — and is traditionally the final video game event of the summer. This year, Xbox will show up in a big way with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

We’ll also see new info on the next entry in Sid Meier’s Civilization series and Marvel Rivals, while BioWare will continue to show off Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Here are all the trailers, news, and info coming out of Opening Night Live 2024.

Read More 

Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft is finally launching a single unified Microsoft Teams app that will allow you to switch between personal and work accounts. The new app has been in testing for most of the year, and Microsoft is now rolling it out for Windows and Mac users today.
This app update not only supports work, personal, and education accounts in a single Teams app, but it also improves the experience of switching between different Teams tenants. “You can also join as a guest without signing in,” explains Amit Fulay, vice president of product at Microsoft. “Whether you’re joining a call to connect with a customer or discuss your school’s fall fundraiser, simply select your preferred account the moment you join the meeting.”

Image: Microsoft
Personal and work accounts can now be open side by side in a single Teams app.

Microsoft has had a long and messy history supporting work and personal accounts with Teams. Windows 11 first integrated Teams into the taskbar, but the app only worked with personal accounts. Microsoft then removed this integration from Windows 11 last year, leaving users to have to install two separate Teams apps to access personal or work meetings. It was rather confusing to have Microsoft Teams (free) and Microsoft Teams (work or school) installed and have to make sure you launched the correct version.
Thankfully, the confusing double app situation all goes away with today’s update, so you can simply see personal and work accounts side by side. Notifications are also being improved with this updated app so that you can easily tell which team a notification has come from.
If you already use Microsoft Teams on Windows or Mac, then it will be automatically updated; otherwise, you can download the new app over at Microsoft’s site.

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Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft is finally launching a single unified Microsoft Teams app that will allow you to switch between personal and work accounts. The new app has been in testing for most of the year, and Microsoft is now rolling it out for Windows and Mac users today.

This app update not only supports work, personal, and education accounts in a single Teams app, but it also improves the experience of switching between different Teams tenants. “You can also join as a guest without signing in,” explains Amit Fulay, vice president of product at Microsoft. “Whether you’re joining a call to connect with a customer or discuss your school’s fall fundraiser, simply select your preferred account the moment you join the meeting.”

Image: Microsoft
Personal and work accounts can now be open side by side in a single Teams app.

Microsoft has had a long and messy history supporting work and personal accounts with Teams. Windows 11 first integrated Teams into the taskbar, but the app only worked with personal accounts. Microsoft then removed this integration from Windows 11 last year, leaving users to have to install two separate Teams apps to access personal or work meetings. It was rather confusing to have Microsoft Teams (free) and Microsoft Teams (work or school) installed and have to make sure you launched the correct version.

Thankfully, the confusing double app situation all goes away with today’s update, so you can simply see personal and work accounts side by side. Notifications are also being improved with this updated app so that you can easily tell which team a notification has come from.

If you already use Microsoft Teams on Windows or Mac, then it will be automatically updated; otherwise, you can download the new app over at Microsoft’s site.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

A group of authors has sued Anthropic, accusing it of training its models on pirated books, as reported by Reuters. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in a California court on Monday and alleges Anthropic “built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books.”
In the lawsuit, the authors say that Anthropic used a sprawling, open-source dataset known as “The Pile” to train its family of Claude AI chatbots. Within this dataset is something called Books3, a massive library of pirated ebooks that includes works from Stephen King, Michael Pollan, and thousands of other authors. Earlier this month, Anthropic confirmed to Vox that it used The Pile to train Claude.
“It is apparent that Anthropic downloaded and reproduced copies of The Pile and Books3, knowing that these datasets were comprised of a trove of copyrighted content sourced from pirate websites like Bibiliotik,” the lawsuit reads. The authors want the court to certify their class action lawsuit as well as require Anthropic to pay proposed damages and prevent the company from using copyrighted material in the future. Anthropic didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
The writers suing Anthropic include Andrea Bartz, the author of We Were Never Here; Charles Graeber, who wrote The Good Nurse; and Kirk Wallace Johnson, the author of The Feather Thief. While the lawsuit acknowledges that Books3 has been removed from the “most official” version of The Pile, the original version is still allegedly available elsewhere online. A recent investigation also found that companies like Anthropic and Apple trained their AI models on thousands of scraped YouTube video subtitles available within The Pile.
Last year, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and other authors filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, Microsoft, and EleutherAI — the nonprofit behind The Pile — over allegations their work was pirated and used to train AI models. George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult, Michael Chabon, and several other authors have also sued OpenAI for its alleged use of their copyrighted content.

Image: The Verge

A group of authors has sued Anthropic, accusing it of training its models on pirated books, as reported by Reuters. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in a California court on Monday and alleges Anthropic “built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books.”

In the lawsuit, the authors say that Anthropic used a sprawling, open-source dataset known as “The Pile” to train its family of Claude AI chatbots. Within this dataset is something called Books3, a massive library of pirated ebooks that includes works from Stephen King, Michael Pollan, and thousands of other authors. Earlier this month, Anthropic confirmed to Vox that it used The Pile to train Claude.

“It is apparent that Anthropic downloaded and reproduced copies of The Pile and Books3, knowing that these datasets were comprised of a trove of copyrighted content sourced from pirate websites like Bibiliotik,” the lawsuit reads. The authors want the court to certify their class action lawsuit as well as require Anthropic to pay proposed damages and prevent the company from using copyrighted material in the future. Anthropic didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

The writers suing Anthropic include Andrea Bartz, the author of We Were Never Here; Charles Graeber, who wrote The Good Nurse; and Kirk Wallace Johnson, the author of The Feather Thief. While the lawsuit acknowledges that Books3 has been removed from the “most official” version of The Pile, the original version is still allegedly available elsewhere online. A recent investigation also found that companies like Anthropic and Apple trained their AI models on thousands of scraped YouTube video subtitles available within The Pile.

Last year, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and other authors filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, Microsoft, and EleutherAI — the nonprofit behind The Pile — over allegations their work was pirated and used to train AI models. George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult, Michael Chabon, and several other authors have also sued OpenAI for its alleged use of their copyrighted content.

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Image: The Unwell Network

Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper has signed a multi-year advertising and distribution deal with SiriusXM. The press release doesn’t spell out the specific terms of the deal, but Variety reports that it’s worth as much as $125 million and will be in place for a bit more than three years.

Call Her Daddy used to be exclusive to Spotify, and it remains one of the most popular podcasts on the platform, but Spotify let the show get wide distribution earlier this year as part of a broader shift to in its podcast strategy. With this SiriusXM deal, Call Her Daddy will still be available on other podcast platforms. SiriusXM also gets advertising and distribution rights for the shows on Cooper’s Unwell Network.
SiriusXM’s move follows its $100 million deal in January for SmartLess, which used to be signed with Amazon. SiriusXM is also home to other big podcasts like Pod Save America (which signed a big deal with the company in 2022) and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

Image: The Unwell Network

Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper has signed a multi-year advertising and distribution deal with SiriusXM. The press release doesn’t spell out the specific terms of the deal, but Variety reports that it’s worth as much as $125 million and will be in place for a bit more than three years.

Call Her Daddy used to be exclusive to Spotify, and it remains one of the most popular podcasts on the platform, but Spotify let the show get wide distribution earlier this year as part of a broader shift to in its podcast strategy. With this SiriusXM deal, Call Her Daddy will still be available on other podcast platforms. SiriusXM also gets advertising and distribution rights for the shows on Cooper’s Unwell Network.

SiriusXM’s move follows its $100 million deal in January for SmartLess, which used to be signed with Amazon. SiriusXM is also home to other big podcasts like Pod Save America (which signed a big deal with the company in 2022) and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

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Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is starting to test its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier with Xbox Insiders today. The new Game Pass Standard subscription includes the usual Game Pass library for Xbox but with online console multiplayer, too. Crucially, it doesn’t include immediate access to day-one game releases, though.
During the test period, Xbox Insiders will be able to access Xbox Game Pass Standard for just $1. “Any renewals during the preview period will also be $1 per month,” says Megan Spurr, senior community lead for Xbox Game Pass. Once this Standard tier launches fully, it will be priced at $14.99 per month.

Image: Microsoft
The new Game Pass lineup.

Microsoft is also providing some clarity on when day-one games and other titles will be available in the Standard tier. “Some games coming to Game Pass Ultimate (day one games or other game entries) will not be immediately available with Game Pass Standard and may be added to the library at a future date (can be up to 12 months or more and will vary by title),” says Spurr.
Microsoft first revealed its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier in July, alongside price increases for Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. Microsoft has promised to launch Xbox Game Pass Standard in the “coming months.” The existing Xbox Game Pass for Console subscription will continue for current subscribers, but new Game Pass subscribers are no longer able to select the console option until the new Game Pass Standard subscription is available more broadly.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is starting to test its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier with Xbox Insiders today. The new Game Pass Standard subscription includes the usual Game Pass library for Xbox but with online console multiplayer, too. Crucially, it doesn’t include immediate access to day-one game releases, though.

During the test period, Xbox Insiders will be able to access Xbox Game Pass Standard for just $1. “Any renewals during the preview period will also be $1 per month,” says Megan Spurr, senior community lead for Xbox Game Pass. Once this Standard tier launches fully, it will be priced at $14.99 per month.

Image: Microsoft
The new Game Pass lineup.

Microsoft is also providing some clarity on when day-one games and other titles will be available in the Standard tier. “Some games coming to Game Pass Ultimate (day one games or other game entries) will not be immediately available with Game Pass Standard and may be added to the library at a future date (can be up to 12 months or more and will vary by title),” says Spurr.

Microsoft first revealed its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier in July, alongside price increases for Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. Microsoft has promised to launch Xbox Game Pass Standard in the “coming months.” The existing Xbox Game Pass for Console subscription will continue for current subscribers, but new Game Pass subscribers are no longer able to select the console option until the new Game Pass Standard subscription is available more broadly.

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