A new UK lab, Nerve Lab, is using AI and brain imaging to study how children consume media, aiming to develop tools for better content classification and personalized learning. Researchers are analyzing animated shows for features like pacing and color, and using fNIRS to understand children's math comprehension difficulties.
Summer Game Fest 2026 showcased over a week of new game reveals, release dates, and developer spotlights. Multiple showcases highlighted diverse indie titles, including horror, life sims, and RPGs, with specific events focusing on Black, Latin American, women-led, Southeast Asian, and Australian/New Zealand creators.
A compilation of upcoming video games across various platforms including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo. Titles range from horror and action to RPGs and simulators, featuring sequels, remakes, and new IPs.
The California State Assembly has passed the Protect Our Games Act (AB 1921), requiring publishers to give two months' notice before delisting games, offer refunds, and ensure continued access for players. The bill, which excludes free or subscription-based games, now moves to the State Senate.
The Nex Playground, a new motion-controlled console, launches in the UK, offering camera-tracked minigames for family entertainment. Despite a high subscription cost, it has seen success in the US, outselling Xbox during Black Friday, and aims to promote active play and family connection.
Zeppelin Witheridge, 18, faces charges after a 'Scientology speedrun' social media challenge in Brisbane went awry, involving using a police car as a BMX ramp.
UK adults spend ~7.5 hours daily on screens. Experts argue screen time isn't inherently bad, but how it's used. Active engagement like learning, gaming, creating, or connecting offers benefits, unlike passive scrolling.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis spoke about the "singularity" and the tangible arrival of agentic AI systems at Google I/O 2026. He believes AGI has a 50% chance by 2030 and will be more impactful than the Industrial Revolution.
Origin Lab secures $8M in seed funding to create a marketplace linking video game digital assets with AI labs needing world model training data, addressing a key bottleneck in AI development.
The ‘meme stock’ company is remembered for Reddit traders sending its share price into orbit but its move on the auction site looks less likely to take off“Neither credible nor attractive.” No, not a line from a junior minister’s resignation letter on Tuesday. It was eBay’s succinct appraisal of the bizarre $55.5bn (£41bn) takeover offer from video games retailer GameStop, an affair that offers light distraction from the sight of UK 10-year gilt yields at 5%-plus.To recap: GameStop is the “meme stock” company that became famous a few years ago when amateur traders on a Reddit forum piled in furiously in an attempt to burn the short-sellers who were betting on the struggling retailer’s demise. Surprisingly, the Redditers succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The squeeze drove up GameStop’s share price hundredfold, inflicting hell on serious hedge funds and making the company’s chief executive, Ryan Cohen, an anti-establishment hero. Continue reading...
GameStop's $55.5bn takeover bid for eBay has been rejected as 'neither credible nor attractive' due to concerns over funding and strategy
eBay has formally rejected an unsolicited $55.5bn takeover bid from GameStop, citing concerns over financing and operational risks. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has faced scrutiny over the feasibility of the deal, which remains significantly underfunded.
For anyone needing a break from binging The Pitt, you can always put in your own shifts as a hospital manager, surgeon, paramedic and of course as a demonic morgue assistantLike the rest of the western world, our household is currently binging medical drama The Pitt, revelling in its visceral depiction of life in a modern emergency department. So far the series has yet to inspire a video game tie-in (though there has been an amusing parody), but fans wishing to try their hand at tense medical (mal)practice, should not despair. Here are eight of the best hospital games spanning more than 40 years of gruesome interactive surgery. Squirt some hand sanitiser and come this way. Continue reading...
Ryan Cohen selling tube socks and baseball cards after offering $55.5bn, although source of funds remains unclearThe CEO of GameStop, Ryan Cohen, said he was selling vintage video games, baseball cards, GameStop merchandise and a $14,000 pair of tube socks to help fund the company’s proposed $55.5bn acquisition of eBay.His platform of choice? eBay, of course. Continue reading...
Enchanting and a little eerie, Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is the second great game in as many years based on the classic children’s booksSleepy, happy-sad, and imbued with the mildest peril, Tove Jansson’s Moomin stories may seem an unlikely fit for the action-heavy medium of video games. Rather than embark on swashbuckling adventures, these milk-white, hippo-esque creatures prefer to potter about Moominvalley, only venturing further if the weather conditions are just right.Yet a small Norwegian video game studio, Hyper Games, is now on its second exquisitely charming Jansson adaptation. The first, 2024’s Snufkin: Melody of Moomin Valley, put players in control of the wily free spirit, Snufkin, as he dismantled overly ordered nature parks (and evaded authority-loving wardens). The latest, Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth, sees young Moomintroll wake up at night in the dead of winter. With his parents still hibernating, the creature is all alone, thrust into a cold and unfamiliar world. Continue reading...
Fifa, Pro Evolution Soccer and Football Manager have been among the most popular football video games - but who are the most iconic players from them?
Ryan Cohen said he didn’t understand questions about how the video games retailer could afford its $55.5bn bidSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailGameStop’s shares fell more than 10% on Monday as questions emerged about how the company would finance its surprise $55.5bn bid for eBay.In an interview with CNBC, Ryan Cohen, GameStop’s CEO, skirted repeated inquiries about how the video games retailer could afford the deal, saying he didn’t understand the questions. Continue reading...
Video game retailer’s CEO warns that unsolicited bid could turn hostile if it is rebuffed by resale site’s board US video games retailer GameStop has offered to buy eBay for $55.5bn (£41bn) in an unsolicited bid that its boss warned could turn hostile if the proposal is rebuffed by eBay’s board.GameStop, which has quietly accumulated a 5% stake in eBay, said it was willing to pay $125 a share, split 50-50 between cash and stock. Continue reading...
Amazon's annual Gaming Week sale runs through May 4th, offering discounts on video games, consoles, controllers, and PC components. Notable deals include Elden Ring Nightreign Deluxe Edition at $27 (51% off), the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor at $324.99, the EasySMX S10 Switch 2 controller at $42, and various gaming laptops from Asus, MSI, and Acer with significant markdowns.
The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is a great gadget to buy if you want to put your Hue lights to good use while watching a movie or playing video games. It syncs your lights to shine in colors displaying on your TV, and it’s steeply discounted right now to a slightly more […]
A Hong Kong YMCA survey suggests families who play video games together report 20% stronger relationships. The organization urges parents to participate in gaming with their children instead of just supervising.
The axolotl's appearance in Minecraft and Roblox has driven a surge in UK pet ownership of the critically endangered amphibian, with experts warning the animals require complex care for up to 20 years. Owners and rescue centres report many are given up after owners underestimate the commitment needed, including specific water conditions and a 'fishless cycle' tank setup taking up to 12 weeks.
Two landmark court cases have found Meta and Google liable for harming children through their addictive social media platforms. Researchers have identified four design features—solitude, bottomlessness, speed, and teasing—that originated in video slot machines and now keep children glued to apps, creating what experts call a 'cruel setup' for vulnerable young users.
While blockbuster Mario titles dominate the box office and charts, several unique entries in the franchise have been unfairly overlooked. We highlight seven lesser-known Mario games, ranging from early arcade puzzles to innovative handheld adventures.
