Stardew Valley is now the latest addition to the Tesla Arcade

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 21, 2019 12:33 AM CST

This isn't the first time that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has decided to bring a fun game over to his line of Tesla vehicles. Cuphead is already playable, and after a new update, so will Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley is now the latest addition to the Tesla Arcade

According to Musk's official Twitter account, the Tesla holiday software update is currently being prepared, and to give Tesla owners a sneak preview of what it contains, and he's listed out some new features that will be added. Musk says that Stardew Valley, Lost Backgammon, and a few other things are on the list for the update.

Stardew Valley will join Cuphead in the Tesla Arcade, but what will come next? Stardew Valley and Cuphead are very suitable titles for being playable in a Tesla, but what title will be added next? I'd personally like to see Super Meat Boy, as I think it would be amusing to see Tesla owners sitting in their cars raging at their car's screen. Stardew Valley is also available on the Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

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Facebook working on OS from scratch, wants to break up with Android

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Dec 20, 2019 10:39 PM CST

Facebook is reportedly working on its own operating system, in the hopes that sometime in the future it can pull back its reliance on Android. A new report from The Information says that the co-author of Windows NT, Mark Lucovsky, is leading the project.

Facebook working on OS from scratch, wants to break up with Android

We don't know how Facebook's own OS would work exactly, but we do know that Facvebook currently uses a modified version of Android to run its Oculus and Portal devices. Facebook's head of hardware, Andrew Bosworth, explains: "We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us. We don't think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to ensure that's the case. And so we're gonna do it ourselves".

Ficus Kirkpatrick, one of the bosses of Facebook's internal AR and VR departments, says that "it's possible" that future Facebook hardware won't rely on Android. Right now, Google has a nice stranglehold over Facebook's hardware, and Facebook sees that as a big issue, that it is now trying to resolve.

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Apple to launch satellites in 5 years, can we call them iSatellites?

Apple is reportedly looking into launching its own satellites in an effort that would totally bypass wireless carriers here on Earth, according to the latest rumors.

Apple to launch satellites in 5 years, can we call them iSatellites?

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has its own "secret team working on satellites and related wireless technology, striving to find new ways to beam data such as internet connectivity directly to its devices". This team has just over 10 people working on it so far, with Apple wanting to see their results "within five years".

Apple's satellite plans might fall out of the sky before they're even launched, with Bloomberg adding that Apple CEO Tim Cook is interested in the satellite project... but it could be scrapped as "a clear direction and use for satellites hasn't been finalized". I can see Apple blasting next-gen 5G and other data directly to its devices, bypassing wireless carriers -- but it's a lot easier saying that, than actually doing it -- and doing it to Apple's very high standards.

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The Last of Us Part II: no loading screens at ALL on PlayStation 5

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 8:34 PM CST

We know that both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles will have super-fast PCIe 4.0-based SSDs that will make loading screens a thing of the past... but now we have The Last of Us Part II's co-game director chiming in with another tease:

The Last of Us Part II: no loading screens at ALL on PlayStation 5

As you can see in the tweet above, Kurt Margenau was asked about loading screens to which he simply replied "what's a loading screen". This has to be a reference to the ridiculously fast next-gen consoles, with The Last of Us Part II being a PlayStation exclusive, the PlayStation 5 version of the game might not have loading screens... at all.

We know that a prototype PlayStation 5 console was referenced by Sony to launch Insomniac's Spider-Man in just 0.8 seconds, versus the suped-up PlayStation 4 Pro and its 8.1 seconds. I also wrote barely 24 hours ago that Jason Ronald -- the Xbox Partner Director of Program Management, said that the next-gen Xbox Series X will enable developers to "virtually eliminate" loading screens.

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TSMC will handle most of NVIDIA's next-gen 7nm Ampere GPUs

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Dec 20, 2019 7:23 PM CST

NVIDIA's next-generation Ampere GPU will be unveiled in 2020, powering a slew of new graphics cards that will span from the GeForce GTX/RTX series through to HPC/datacenter parts. We know Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung are involved, but now we know to what capacity.

TSMC will handle most of NVIDIA's next-gen 7nm Ampere GPUs

During GTC 2019 in China, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang addressed questions from the tech press over who will be building out most ogf the new 7nm GPUs in 2020 and beyond. Huang said that most of the 7nm GPU production will be done by TSMC while Samsung will only handling a small portion of 7nm GPU production for NVIDIA.

Huang also said that without TSMC and their advanced process technologies, NVIDIA would not have been so effective with power efficiency and performance of its 12nm-based GeForce RTX and Quadro RTX graphics cards, especially when put up against the latest 7nm node that AMD is using for its Navi GPU architecture and Radeon RX 5500 and RX 5700 series graphics cards.

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Ubisoft cancels new Destiny-like IP from Watch Dogs 2 developer

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 5:26 PM CST

Ubisoft just cancelled what could've been a major Destiny competitor from its Montreal studio.

Ubisoft cancels new Destiny-like IP from Watch Dogs 2 developer

A new unannounced project from Watch Dogs 2 developer Ubisoft Montreal was just cancelled, studio programmer Louis de Carufel confirmed today. The game, which had been in development for the last three years, was set in a brand new IP and could've been a Destiny-like shooter with live shared-world social multiplayer.

It may also have been one of the 9 AAA titles Ubisoft plans to ship by March 2022.

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Halo 1 on PC is in pre-alpha phases, beta tests coming January 2020

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 3:15 PM CST

343 Industries is making steady progress on Halo: Combat Evolved's incoming Steam version.

Halo 1 on PC is in pre-alpha phases, beta tests coming January 2020

Now that Halo: Reach has been unleashed on PC, next in line is Halo: CE, and work is well underway on the project. Today 343i dropped a new MCC PC dev update, outlining new features and tweaks coming to Reach while also teasing future games.

Right now Halo: CE is in a pre-alpha state across multiplayer and campaign. In its current iteration the game mirrors a lot of the performance targets of Reach, including 4K 60FPS with variable refresh rates as well as a unique progression system.

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CD Projekt RED signs new deal with Witcher author, new games likely

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 1:04 PM CST

CD Projekt RED and Witcher series author Andrzej Sapkowski today signed a new agreement that satisfies both parties.

CD Projekt RED signs new deal with Witcher author, new games likely

Back in 2018, Adrzej Sapkowski, the famed Polish author behind the Witcher books, demanded $16 million from CD Projekt RED in recompense for past Witcher game sales. Back in the early days of the Witcher games, Sapkowski originally sold the rights to his book series to CDPR for a pittance, a costly mistake for a franchise that's now sold over 40 million copies worldwide. So Sapkowski demanded more money.

Now CD Projekt RED and Sapkowski have reached an agreement. We don't know how much CDPR promised Sapkowski or what the exact terms are, but CD Projekt RED gets to keep the Witcher rights for new games and merchandise. A new Witcher has likely been in development for some time now, too.

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CD Projekt RED has no reason to sell to Microsoft

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 10:39 AM CST

There's a rumor floating around that Microsoft wants to buy CD Projekt RED. That's not going to happen for one simple reason: CDPR literally has no reason to sell.

CD Projekt RED has no reason to sell to Microsoft

Microsoft is buying up studios left and right to fill out its internal first-party brand. By picking up studios like inExile, Obsidian, and Ninja Theory, it's sent a clear message that it wants to prep its game-making foundries for its next-gen Xbox Series X console, and rightly so, because games sell consoles. In particular Microsoft wants to build up its RPG focus, and there's a rumor going around that it could buy some of the best RPG-makers on the planet at CD Projekt RED.

This isn't going to happen, and I'll break down some of the main reasons why. But the short gist is that CD Projekt RED is doing well and it has absolutely no reason to sell to Microsoft.

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Destiny 3 and Bungie's new IP are a long ways away

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 20, 2019 9:41 AM CST

Bungie is still working on Destiny 3, and its brand new IP, but don't expect either of these projects any time soon.

Destiny 3 and Bungie's new IP are a long ways away

Bungie isn't ready to move on to Destiny 3 just yet. Right now Bungie has one singular goal: To create a self-sustaining game with an over-arching storyline. It's a lot harder than you'd think but Shadowkeep and the subsequent free-to-play model has revitalized Destiny 2. Bungie is currently laser-focused on Destiny 2's new seasonal structure that'll lays the foundation for future games. In many ways, Destiny 2 is a practice run for the next game, a doorway to the IP's future.

In a recent interview with PCGamesN, Bungie's DeeJ says new projects are still a ways away.

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