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Home batteries are suddenly cheap and everywhere. Here’s why.
Home battery systems are becoming dramatically cheaper and more widespread in the US as competition intensifies between Tesla and fast-growing rivals such as Base Power, which has raised $2 billion in under a year. Tesla has responded by slashing its Powerwall leasing costs by more than two-thirds, a shift made possible by falling battery prices…
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Political turmoil, Trump’s tariff pause and Wyoming’s Senate race lead
US political developments on 19 August included the aftermath of primary elections in Wyoming, Florida and Alaska, alongside a late intervention in the US-Canada trade dispute. In Wyoming, Republican Representative Harriet Hageman won her party’s nomination for the US Senate seat being vacated by Senator Cynthia Lummis. Her victory positioned her as the strong favourite…
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STALKER 2 gets serious performance and visual upgrades with its 2.0 update, testing confirms, polishing up one of the biggest flawed gems in FPS games
Rock Paper Shotgun reports that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s 2.0 update, launching alongside the Cost of Hope expansion, delivers substantial performance and visual improvements after nearly two years of patches following a troubled launch. The update migrates the game to a newer version of Unreal Engine 5 and overhauls lighting and environmental detail, addressing…
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Dishonored Director Announces New Studio, And Fans Should Be Very Excited
The fate of Arkane Studios is in limbo and the Dishonored franchise may be permanently on ice, but franchise co-creator Harvey Smith isn’t giving up on immersive sims. The veteran game director has founded a new studio focused on games that sound a whole lot like Dishonored. “Today, veteran game developers Harvey Smith and Ben…
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Comcast gives its Wi-Fi motion detector a security makeover
Comcast has rebranded and expanded its Wi-Fi-based intruder detection feature, folding the WiFi Motion tool it launched in 2025 into a new bundle called Xfinity Shield, which also includes cybersecurity protections built into the Xfinity Gateway router. The technology uses radio frequency changes between the Xfinity Gateway and connected devices to detect unexpected movement in…
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Hook, AI-Powered Music Remixing App, Strikes UMG Deal as It Takes Social-Forward Approach to Fan-Created Remixes (EXCLUSIVE)
Hook, an AI-powered music remixing app, has struck a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, giving fans access to catalogues from sublabels including Republic Records, Capitol Records and Virgin Music Group. The agreement marks an escalation of an existing partnership and positions Hook as an artist-friendly alternative to AI music generation platforms such as Suno…
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Lindsay Clancy continues defense after dramatic testimony about ‘male voice’ ordering her to kill her children: Live updates
Lindsay Clancy’s defence team continued presenting its case at her murder trial, following earlier dramatic testimony describing a “male voice” that she said had ordered her to kill her children. Clancy, a former labour and delivery nurse from Massachusetts, stands accused of murdering her three young children, and the case has drawn significant public attention…
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FPS Games Are Finally Getting a Dedicated Showcase
Bulkhead, the studio behind the upcoming Steam Early Access title Wardogs, is launching a new pre-recorded event called the FPS Games Show, dedicated entirely to first-person shooter titles. Set for Thursday 3 September at 2pm EDT and streamed exclusively on Twitch, the showcase aims to fill a gap its creators see in the industry, where…
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“Through the looking glass”: as Arkane fight for their future, Dishonored veteran Harvey Smith reveals new studio dedicated to immersive sims
Former Arkane Austin figures Harvey Smith, Ben Horne and Ricardo Bare have launched a new studio, Black Pony Immersive, dedicated to making “imaginative first-person action RPGs” in the immersive sim tradition that made Dishonored and Prey acclaimed. The announcement comes just days after Deus Ex director Warren Spector said he was leaving the games industry,…
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STALKER 2: Cost of Hope review: An expanded Zone that begs to be explored, even as its faction war fizzles
Rock Paper Shotgun’s review of STALKER 2: Cost of Hope, an expansion launching alongside the game’s 2.0 update, finds it a mostly successful attempt to address omissions from the 2024 base game. The DLC adds long-absent locations such as the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and revives the classic Duty-versus-Freedom faction rivalry, restoring elements series veterans…