“Ivan the Space Biker” and “Proto-Barney,” who Valve says were used in the alpha builds of Half-Life. You can now play as them in multiplayer. | Image: Valve. Valve just released a 25th anniversary update for Half-Life that adds a whole bunch of new content, some welcome quality-of-life upgrades, and even Steam Deck support, according to an announcement on the Half-Life website. Also, you can download the game for free for a limited time.Let’s start with the added content. The game now includes Half-Life Uplink, a “mini-campaign” that was originally available only on CDs from magazines and hardware manufacturers, the company says. There are four new multiplayer maps that Valve says “push the limits of what’s possible in the Half-Life engine.” Valve also added maps and multiplayer character models from a CD called Half-Life: Further Data.Valve added some new settings, too, including the... Continue reading…

The Last of Us Part II Remastered | Image: Naughty Dog Naughty Dog officially announced The Last of Us Part II Remastered for PS5 on Friday evening following a bunch of leaks about the game earlier in the day. The game will be released on January 19th, 2024 — just like the leaks said.The biggest new addition seems to be a “roguelike survival mode” called No Return that’s “designed to let players prove their mettle in randomized encounters and experience The Last of Us Part II’s combat in a fresh experience,” Naughty Dog’s Jonathon Dornbush said in the announcement blog post. You’ll be able to play as some new characters and work through “various stealth and combat encounters that will pit you against a range of enemies, with unique twists that can add new, unexpected factors to any given... Continue reading…

After months of leaks, Google has finally put all the wild rumors to rest with the unveiling of its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones. And we’re happy to report that Google delivered what the buyers wanted — the Pixel 8 Pro is pretty popular, plus it made our best smartphones list. This phone is the first to include the new Tensor G3 chipset, as well as an upgraded rear camera system featuring a 50MP primary snapper, a 48MP telephoto lens that hits 5x zoom, plus you get a 48MP ultrawide camera.

Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI, was fired from his position as CEO of the nonprofit by its board of directors Friday. The stunning move comes after OpenAI's board lost confidence in Altman's ability to lead the company. In the interm, Mira Murati will serve as CEO of OpenAI while the board searches for a permanent replacement. Murati was previously the chief technology officer at OpenAI, and was part of the nonprofit for five years before her ascension to the interim CEO position.

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Discord is shutting down Clyde, its experimental AI chatbot. In a support note, Discord says the chatbot will be “deactivated” at the end of the month, and that by December 1st “users will no longer be able to invoke Clyde in DMs, Group DMs or server chats.”Discord first started testing Clyde’s AI features earlier this year, using OpenAI’s models to let the chatbot answer questions and have conversations with Discord users. It has been in limited testing ever since, and the company had planned to make it a fundamental part of its chat and communities app. Image: Discord The Clyde AI chatbot. It’s not clear why Clyde is suddenly shutting down. It’s possible the chatbot may return as a paid Nitro-only feature... Continue reading…

If you're a techie like me with a lot of great laptops, or just someone who is tired of juggling around charging cables for a Mac or an Android phone, a charging dock is always a good solution. You can find many of these that come in different sizes and with a lot of port selections, but a lot of devices these days are now using USB-C. This is where a product like the Satechi 200W USB-C 6-Port GaN Charger proves to be useful.

Sam Altman. | OpenAI Sam Altman has been fired as CEO of OpenAI, the company announced on Friday. “Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” the company said in its blog post. “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”Chief technology officer Mira Murati will be the interim CEO, effective immediately. The company will be conducting a search for a permanent CEO successor. When contacted by The Verge, OpenAI’s communications department declined to comment beyond the blog post. Employees at OpenAI found out about the news when it was announced... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Sam Altman isn’t the only major OpenAI executive leaving the company on Friday. Hours after Altman was fired, with the board saying it “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” co-founder and former board chair Greg Brockman revealed on X that he is also quitting.When OpenAI announced the “leadership transition” and that CTO Mira Murati would take over as interim CEO, it said that Brockman would step down as chairman but remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO. Just a few hours later, that’s no longer true.In the post on X (formerly Twitter), Brockman said he sent the following message to OpenAI staffers:hi everyone,i'm super proud of what we’ve all built together since starting in my... Continue reading…

The holiday season is right around the corner, and now's the time to start buying your loved ones some gifts. Apple products happen to be a prevalent option among many, due to their premium status, popularity, and high resale value. Whether you're seeking one of the latest iPhones, a versatile iPad, a capable Mac, or something else, we've got you covered. We will be highlighting below some of the best Apple product deals that act as solid holiday season gifts.

Black Friday is officially underway, with massive sales taking place at Best Buy and Amazon. With that said, gaming mice can be expensive, with some of the best models costing over $100. Of course, if you're someone that takes their gaming seriously, having this kind of tools is a must. If you're someone just starting out, having this tool can also be a game changer.

Illustration: The Verge Apple has reportedly followed IBM by pulling advertising from X, formerly Twitter, as the platform’s owner Elon Musk made posts agreeing with antisemitic conspiracy theories, supporting white pride, and continued a fight with the Anti-Defamation League. Axios cites unnamed sources in a report that Apple is pausing advertising on X, and the list is growing — later on Friday, the New York Times reported Disney would pause advertising on X, while CNBC noted the same for Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount and Comcast / NBCUniversal have paused their ads as well, Axios says in a separate report.The nonprofit Media Matters highlighted his statements yesterday, as well as advertisements from corporations that X placed next to pro-Nazi and... Continue reading…

The MacBook M3 is Apple’s latest addition to its long line of great laptops. Available in M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max configurations, this cutting-edge machine is going to be one of the fastest and best-looking computers in town, and keeping it charged up is key.