AI brings back the voice of a deceased Cyberpunk 2077 actor for Phantom Liberty Image: CD Projekt RedCyberpunk 2077’s recently released DLC Phantom Liberty uses an AI-edited voice to emulate the performance of a deceased actor, the studio has confirmed. The actor in question is Miłogost “Miłek” Reczek, who provided the Polish-language voice of doctor Viktor Vektor in a localized version of the original game. He passed away …

How the next generation of semiconductor factories kicked up a fight over environmental review US President Joe Biden arrives for a ceremony at the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility near New Albany, Ohio, on Friday, September 9th, 2022.  | Image: Gaelen Morse / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesLawmakers’ push to revive US chip manufacturing has triggered new concerns about pollution regulation, inadvertently su…

Biden administration doles out $7 billion for hydrogen hubs Joe Biden visits the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota, on Monday, April 3rd, 2023. Last year, Cummins announced Fridley would be the site of its first electrolyzer manufacturing facility in the US. | Photo by Elizabeth Flores / Star Tribune via Getty ImagesThe Biden administration will funnel $7 billion into seven differen…

Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox Illustration by William Joel / The VergeMicrosoft has finalized its $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo. The Verge exclusively reported last week that Microsoft was planning to close today, and now it’s official. The acquisition required 20 months of battles with regulat…

Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 review: a simple, smart purchase Google’s midrange ‘Chromebook Plus’ cohort is off to an excellent start. Continue reading…

The Google-Fitbit integration needs work The Pixel Watch 2 made better use of Fitbit’s expertise this year, but it’s not great that the app had yet another major outage the day the devices shipped. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeChange is hard to do well — a lesson Google’s been learning all too well when it comes to wearables. The transition from Wear OS 2 to 3 has been …

Google tests adding a Discover Feed to its valuable desktop homepage Illustration: The VergeGoogle is experimenting with the inclusion of a Discover Feed on its desktop homepage that shows recommended content alongside the company’s traditional search box. A screenshot from MSPowerUser, which spotted the change, shows a feed that includes news headlines, a weather forecast, sports scores, and stock information fo…

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal approved by UK regulators Illustration by William Joel / The VergeMicrosoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been approved by UK regulators. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that the deal can proceed after Microsoft recently restructured the deal to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard g…

How is it still getting worse for Sam Bankman-Fried? Caroline Ellison didn’t crack under pressure. Granted, she wasn’t under that much pressure. | Photo Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Bloomberg, Agustina Torres, Getty ImagesThe defense botched the cross examination of Caroline Ellison. Continue reading…

The Rick and Morty season 7 premiere gets right to moving on to bigger, better things Morty and Rick on a mission. | Image: Adult SwimThe Rick and Morty season 7 premiere makes quick work of dealing with the elephant in the room and getting back to business. Continue reading…

EU is formally investigating X over content about the Israel-Hamas war Illustration by Laura Normand / The VergeThe European Union (EU) has formally opened an investigation into X, the platform previously known as Twitter, to ensure it’s complying with the Digital Services Act (DSA) following Hamas’ attack on Israel in early October and subsequent Israeli air assault on Gaza. According to the request, this comes af…

PC streaming service Shadow discloses security breach Shadow, which offers services that let you stream a Windows PC, has disclosed a security breach that led an attacker taking some private customer data. The company is sending emails to customers notifying them that a bad actor was able to extract their first and last name, email address, date of birth, billing address, and credit card expiration…

Netflix is planning to launch retail destinations in 2025 Squid Game. | Image: NetflixJust as Netflix is getting out of one business with the closure of its DVD rentals, it looks like it’s getting into the physical realm in a different way. Bloomberg reports that the streamer is planning to launch new retail destinations — dubbed Netflix House — that will offer not only things to buy but also food and …

Microsoft actually won’t roll out an unpopular OneDrive change to photo storage Illustration: The VergeAfter receiving backlash from customers, Microsoft announced it has canceled plans to impose storage limits for photos in a user’s OneDrive account starting on October 16th, Gizmodo reports. Starting in October, under the now-rescinded policy, photos in a user’s saved photo albums and OneDrive Gallery would count against i…

No Fakes Act wants to protect actors and singers from unauthorized AI replicas Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeA bipartisan bill seeks to create a federal law to protect actors, musicians, and other performers from unauthorized digital replicas of their faces or voices. The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2023 — or the No Fakes Act — standardizes rules around using a person’s faces…

Akira Toriyama’s coming back for a new Dragon Ball series Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama has shifted to providing general narrative guidance and character designs for many of the franchise’s projects in recent years. But for Dragon Ball Daima — a new animated series from Toei — the legendary mangaka will be hands-on in a big way. Today at this year’s New York Comic Con, Toei Animation announced tha…

Google promises to take the legal heat in users’ AI copyright lawsuits Illustration by Cath Virginia / The VergeGoogle will protect customers who use some of its generative AI products if they get sued for copyright infringement, the company says. In a blog post, Google said customers using products that are now embedded with generative AI features will be protected, attempting to assuage growing fears that generat…

Popular porn sites now display unproven health warnings thanks to Texas law Image: James Bareham / The VergePopular online adult film sites in Texas have published “Texas Health and Human Services” disclaimers warning visitors about the unproven health risks of watching porn, reports 404 Media. The move comes after a US appeals court temporarily overturned an order blocking a Texas law that required porn sites to verify…

Why were these weird accounts following a bunch of people on Spotify? Illustration by Nick Barclay / The VergeSomebody sent a strange tip about Spotify to The Verge on Wednesday. The email, with the subject line “Spotify Hackers,” claimed that “Every English account in America has two new followers, ! lucasrpx and ! vitornovaes.” The tipster followed up two minutes later to share a screenshot showing the profile p…

All the news on Google’s Pixel 8 lineup Photo by Allison Johnson / The VergeGoogle’s Tensor 3 and AI-touting new Pixel 8 phones are now available. Continue reading…