Image: Valve Valve is banning Counter-Strike 2 players from using keyboard features to automate perfect counter-strafes. Razer was the first keyboard maker to add a Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions (SOCD) feature to its range of Huntsman V3 Pro keyboards last month, followed shortly by Wooting. Using Snap Tap as Razer calls it or Wooting’s Snappy Tappy will now get you kicked from Counter-Strike 2 games.“Recently, some hardware features have blurred the line between manual input and automation, so we’ve decided to draw a clear line on what is or isn’t acceptable in Counter-Strike,” says Valve. “We are no longer going to allow automation (via scripting or hardware) that circumvent these core skills and, moving forward, (and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Disney has now agreed that a wrongful death lawsuit should be decided in court following backlash for initially arguing the case belonged in arbitration because the grieving widower had once signed up for a Disney Plus trial.“With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss,” chairman of Disney experiences Josh D’Amaro said in a statement to The Verge. “As such, we’ve decided to waive our right to arbitration and have the matter proceed in court.”The lawsuit was filed in February by Jeffrey Piccolo, the husband of a 42-year-old woman who died last year due to an allergic reaction that occurred... Continue reading…

Photo by Sascha Thelen/picture alliance via Getty Images Geoff Keighley’s big Opening Night Live (ONL) show for Gamescom is back for another year. and we’re set to see some new looks at many upcoming games and hopefully a few surprises.The X account for The Game Awards — another big showcase hosted by Keighley — has already shared that we can expect to see Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, Marvel Rivals, Dune: Awakening, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Civilization VII. Keighley has used his own X account to tease that games like Squid Game: Unleashed, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, and Little Nightmares III will be at the show. Keighley also shared a mysterious post from Hideo Kojima about Death Stranding 2, so maybe we’ll see that game, too.How and when to watch... Continue reading…

Image: Bethesda Microsoft and Bethesda are officially bringing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5 after it debuts first on Xbox. During Gamescom Opening Night Live, Bethesda confirmed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to Xbox and PC first on December 9th, before launching on PS5 in spring 2025.The confirmation comes months after The Verge exclusively revealed Microsoft was considering launching Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5. I wrote in February that Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game would have a rather short period of exclusivity, with Bethesda considering a PS5 launch months after the December 2024 launch on Xbox and PC.Sources familiar with Bethesda’s plans tell me the company has been targeting an April 2025 release for I... Continue reading…

If you're looking for a versatile tablet on the cheap, then you can't go wrong with Apple's budget iPad. While it used to have a retail price of $349, it can now be had for much less, with a limited-time discount that knocks 40% off, dropping it down to just $199.

In the recent past, Microsoft killed off more than a dozen features on Windows, urging users to switch to alternative solutions. Some go away, and new ones come in, as Microsoft keeps adding new features to Windows 11, with Insiders getting their hands on those changes first. In the latest Windows Insider Dev build 26120.1542, Microsoft has introduced some advanced camera capabilities that will boost your productivity on Windows, but you won't be able to access them merely by installing the Dev Insider build.

With Gamescom now in full swing, companies are queueing up to show off their latest and greatest products to interested gamers. HP spared no expense this year, going all-out with a range of different products to satisfy every niche. The star of the show was the new Omen PC, which HP states is the first one of its kind that you can customize to fit your needs.

If you've been looking for a giant TV for a great price, then look no further than this model by TCL. The TV delivers when it comes to image and audio quality thanks to its QLED panel, and also packs a ton of features like Google TV, built-in Chromecast, and more. Right now, you can score this TV for 44% off from Amazon, dropping it down to its lowest price yet at just $898. So get it while you can because this deal won't last.

After the Steam Deck made a splash in the handheld console market, other companies have tried their hand at making their own Deck-like device. The question is, what operating system would these newly-created devices run? While Valve wasn't against the idea of bringing the Steam Deck's OS, SteamOS, to other devices, it was still a work in progress. As such, companies had to look elsewhere to power their device.

There are a lot of Android phone makers, but two names stand out from among the pack: Google and Samsung. The Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy series have stood for years as the go-to flagships for smartphone users looking for a top-notch Android experience. The Galaxy S24, Samsung's latest base model flagship, hit the market earlier this year, and Google has just thrown back the curtain on its new flagship, the Pixel 9. This means Android fans now have two brand-name base model flagships to choose from, but which is more deserving of your cash? Let's take a look.

Image: Disney Though Disney Plus’ The Acolyte series introduced some very compelling new characters and lore to the Star Wars canon, its story about the dark side of the Force won’t be continuing with a second season.Though its season one finale seemed to be setting up the series for more episodes, Deadline reports that Disney has canceled The Acolyte. Things were rocky from the start for the show as Star Wars fans displeased with its cast and premise took to review-bombing it in droves, but Disney’s cancellation decision was reportedly driven by The Acolyte’s less-than-desirable viewership numbers.The news comes just a little over a year after Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that reigning in spending on big budget Marvel and Star Wars projects could... Continue reading…

Image: Tesla A Tesla Semi truck crashed into trees and caught fire off the side of a highway in California early Monday, causing road closures on I-80 for almost 16 hours. As reported by KCRA 3 News, Cal Fire crews first headed to the crash site near the Nevada border after 3AM local time.As reported previously by Electrek, firefighters doused the Tesla Semi with thousands of gallons of water to cool its lithium-ion EV battery pack down to a manageable target temperature of around 100 degrees Fahrenheit while waiting for its cells to burn out. Around 4PM the crew got the batteries to a safer temperature and began work to move what was left of the Semi to Tesla’s Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. The highway was fully reopened after 7PM.Westbound... Continue reading…