Technology

Meet Anamanaguchi, the band behind the last Scott Pilgrim video game’s soundtrack – and the next one

Chiptune alt-rock band Anamanaguchi are having a bumper year, culminating in an opportunity to create the soundtrack they’ve always wanted to make – for a new Scott Pilgrim gameScott Pilgrim, the s...

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The non-profit helping people from all over the world to become successful game developers

The IGDA Foundation broadened its reach by attending the world’s biggest video games event this summer – but faces challenges funding its work helping underrepresented developersGamescom, the annua...

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Governments are spending billions on their own ‘sovereign’ AI technologies – is it a big waste of money?

Many US-built AI systems fall short but competing against tech giants neither easy nor cheapIn Singapore, a government-funded artificial intelligence model can converse in 11 languages, from Bahasa...

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What the Xbox Game Pass price hike says about the rising cost of playing games

In this week’s newsletter: The almost 50% increase in the cost of Microsoft’s game-streaming service is step closer to the model of TV, music and filmIn the music, TV and film industries, streaming...

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Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – a...

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How to live a good life in difficult times: Yuval Noah Harari, Rory Stewart and Maria Ressa in conversation

From superintelligent AI to the climate and democracy, three leading thinkers discuss how to navigate the futureWhat happens when an internationally bestselling historian, a Nobel peace prize-winni...

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Ghost of Yōtei review – a brutal and stunningly beautiful samurai revenge quest

PlayStation 5; Sucker Punch/SonyThe follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima leans into its young protagonist’s thirst for bloody vengeanceMy horse in Ghost of Yōtei is called Mochizuki, which means “full mo...

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A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0

If the first term of Donald Trump provoked anxiety over the fate of objective knowledge, the second has led to claims we live in a world-historical age of stupid, accelerated by big tech. But might...

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Why the enormous Saudi-led deal to acquire EA matters, whether you play games or not

In this week’s newsletter: The private equity effort to acquire the makers of Fifa and more is the biggest deal in gaming history – financially and morallyWhen Microsoft announced its intention to ...

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Welcome to the Filter US, the Guardian’s home for product reviews and recommendations

We’re here to help you with rigorous product reviews, advice on taking care of what you already own – and we’ll even tell you what not to buy. Here’s our guide to Filter USBased in the UK? Read our...

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Extremely offline: what happened when a Pacific island was cut off from the internet | Samanth Subramanian

A colossal volcanic eruption in January 2022 ripped apart the underwater cables that connect Tonga to the world – and exposed the fragility of 21st-century lifeFor a while, Sam Vea had been smellin...

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‘Laughing at a libertarian crypto dragon? That rules’: Brennan Lee Mulligan on how Dungeons & Dragons took over the world

The games master has accrued millions of fans and sold out Madison Square Garden with his shows where he plays D&D live with guests. He’s still ‘bewildered’ by the success“If anyone were to tel...

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‘To them, ageing is a technical problem that can, and will, be fixed’: how the rich and powerful plan to live for ever

When Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were caught on mic talking about living for ever, it seemed straight out of a sci-fi fantasy. But for some death is no longer considered an inevitability …Imagine...

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‘I’ve never driven a car. I can’t cook. I’m a lost cause’: meet Australia’s top quizzers

They study for hours a day. The competitions have zero prize money. So what keeps quiz champions going for glory – and how do they win?Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIssa Schultz has a ...

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If you’re not using an eSIM when you travel, you’re getting ripped off

Say goodbye to extortionate roaming fees – new companies like Airalo, Holafly and Saily offer cheap, easy coverage for your next international tripOn a week-long trip to Paris last year, I racked u...

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Instagram still poses risk to children despite new safety tools, says Meta whistleblower

Meta rejects review findings, which claim two-thirds of new features designed to protect young people are ‘woefully ineffective’Children and teenagers are still at risk from online harm on Instagra...

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Garden Reflexxx: the 10 funniest things we have ever seen (on the internet)

The film-making duo share their list of online essentials. It’s mostly women on the verge of a nervous breakdownGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAs hosts of FBi Radio’s Movies Movies Movi...

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‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers under threat from AI

Artificial intelligence is making steady advances into subtitling but, say its practitioners, it’s a vital service that needs a human to make it workIs artificial intelligence going to destroy the ...

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From phone chargers to podcasts, the best road trip accessories make the miles fly by

Take it from a former van-lifer: the next time you travel on the road, this is the gear you will be glad you packedSign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better th...

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Hades II review - underworld sequel is an improvement in every witch way

PC, Nintendo Switch/Switch 2; Supergiant GamesSupergiant’s successor is exemplary sequel-craft – more doesn’t always mean better, but here variety is the spice of afterlifeFive years ago, when we w...

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Even a rebrand may not be able to save America’s most storied gaming event

In this week’s newsletter: since 1988 the Game Developers Conference has been a core part of the gaming calendar – but exorbitant costs and Trumpism put that at riskEvery year for as long as I have...

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