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‘Blade Runner 2099’ Gets Official 2026 Window by Prime Video

by admin August 24, 2025

Good news: we now know Blade Runner 2099 still exists, and it’s on track to hit Prime Video sometime in 2026!

The target window was revealed in an internal memo from the streamer’s TV development head Laura Lancaster. Per Deadline, the memo was to announce a pair of company promotions, and in it, Lancaster remarked new co-production head Kara Smith was “pivotal” in several upcoming shows, including 2099 and the upcoming Spider-Man: Noir, which is also due in 2026. 2099 is currently in post-production, and this update comes a few weeks after executive producer David Zucker told ScreenRant he thought the series would arrive “when Amazon wants that show to air.”

Blade Runner 2099 was announced back in 2022, and marks the franchise’s latest foray into television after Adult Swim’s CG anime Black Lotus. The most we know about the show is its cast: Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer are our two leads Olwen and Cora, and they’re further joined by Tom Burke, Dimitri Abold, and Katelyn Rose Downey. This past March, Burke indicated 2099’s aesthetic would lean more toward the 1982 film over 2017’s Blade Runner 2049, while continuing the threads explored in those two films.

Prime Video’s been careful about keeping 2099 close to the chest, in part because the show’s production was delayed in 2023 during the Hollywood strikes. But we’re not that far out from 2026, and depending on when in the year the show is expected to drop, we may finally get a look at Blade Runner 2099 in the near future.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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August 24, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The Trump-Intel Deal Is Official

by admin August 23, 2025

The United States government is making an $8.9 billion investment in Intel, representing a 9.9 percent stake in the company, according to a press release the company published on Friday.

The investment will be funded by $5.7 billion in grants Intel was awarded under the 2022 CHIPS Act and $3.2 billion the company was awarded as part of the Secure Enclave program, the press release says.

The news comes shortly after President Trump touted the deal in a White House press conference with reporters. “I said, ‘I think you should pay us 10 percent of your company.’ And they said yes—that’s about $10 billion,” Trump said. “And I think it’s a great deal for them.”

Trump added that Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, “walked in wanting to keep his job” and “ended up giving us $10 billion for the United States.” He was seemingly referring to a situation earlier this month where he called for Tan’s resignation due to the CEO’s reported financial ties to China. Trump later softened his stance after meeting with Tan in Washington.

Both Trump and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick have said the deal is meant to revitalize the struggling chip giant and bring more chipmaking back to the United States. The move is part of a broader strategy to lessen the country’s reliance on China.

Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, says it’s confounding that the government has negotiated for common stock in Intel, as opposed to preferred stock.

“It strikes me as a colossal waste of time,” he said. “The government said that it wanted to ensure that taxpayers get something back from this, but it’s unclear how this investment will do that. If it was preferred shares, it could have included mandatory dividends and ensured that the government gets paid back.”

While public-sector/private-sector partnerships are not entirely uncommon in the US, legal experts say this type of government intervention is unusual.

“The reason the government injected capital into the auto industry and insurers [post-2008] was to get them through the crisis,” says Timothy Meyer, a professor in international business law at Duke University. “This is not a broader financial crisis situation. This is a company that dramatically needs to boost its market share.”

Meyer added that he’s interested to see “to what extent the US government will use its leverage across the tech industry to shift purchase orders to Intel.”

When asked for comment, the White House referred WIRED to President Trump’s Truth Social account. “The United States paid nothing for these Shares, and the Shares are now valued at approximately $11 Billion Dollars. This is a great Deal for America and, also, a great Deal for INTEL,” Trump posted. “Building leading edge Semiconductors and Chips, which is what INTEL does, is fundamental to the future of our Nation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

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August 23, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

U.S. Justice Department Official Says Writing Code Without Bad Intent ‘Not a Crime’

by admin August 21, 2025

A senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice knew the crypto audience in Wyoming had fresh software developer convictions on its mind when he told them on Thursday that his department doesn’t want to go after digital assets software developers who don’t have money-laundering intentions.

Matthew Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s criminal division, made those assurances at an event hosted by the new crypto group American Innovation Project, drawing vigorous applause.

“The department will not use federal criminal statutes to fashion a new regulatory regime over the digital asset industry,” he said. “The department will not use indictments as a lawmaking tool. The department should not leave innovators guessing as to what could lead to criminal prosecution.”

He added that “merely writing code without ill intent is not a crime.”

Those sentiments arrive against the backdrop of a couple of recent courtroom developments in which U.S. prosecutors won convictions against crypto developers. Most prominently, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was found guilty of running an unlawful money transmitting business.

That followed closely on the heels of a plea agreement involving the developers behind Samourai Wallet pleading guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business — a significantly lesser charge to what they’d originally faced.

Galeotti directly addressed concerns about that specific criminal code they were all convicted under. He said the DOJ wouldn’t use it in crypto cases unless prosecutors have “evidence that a defendant knew of the specific legal requirements and willfully violated it.”

He said new charges won’t be pressed under that code in cases in which “software is truly decentralized and solely automates peer-to-peer transactions, and where a third party does not have custody and control over user assets.”

An April memo issued by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had set out the stance of the department under the leadership appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump. It noted the national cryptocurrency enforcement team had been disbanded and said the DOJ would take a careful approach to crypto cases after the previous administration “created a particularly uncertain regulatory environment around digital assets.” Despite the Blanche memo, the Southern District of New York (SDNY) pressed forward with their cases against Storm and the Samoruai Wallet developers.

“Developers of neutral tools with no criminal intent should not be held responsible for someone else’s misuse of these tools,” Galeotti said at the Thursday event, the first held by the AIP that was launched this week. “If a third party’s misuse violates criminal law, then that third party should be prosecuted, not the well-intentioned developer.”

The protection of crypto software developers has been a central lobbying point for the industry in its negotiations with lawmakers and regulators in Washington. The crypto market structure legislation currently moving through Congress has included protections of such developers, though the final version isn’t yet set in the Senate.

“The fact that the DOJ acknowledged that software developers should not be held responsible for third parties’ misuse of their code affirms what we have been advocating for years,” said Amanda Tuminelli, executive director of the DeFi Education Fund, in a statement after Galeotti’s remarks. “Let’s celebrate this as a moment of progress and remember that there is still more work to be done to change the law permanently.”

Read More: DOJ Axes Crypto Unit as Trump’s Regulatory Pullback Continues

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August 21, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Fed Official Says Staff Should Be Allowed To Hold Crypto

by admin August 20, 2025

The Federal Reserve’s top regulatory official says staff from the US central bank should be allowed to invest a small amount in crypto to help them understand the technology.

Fed vice chair for supervision Michelle Bowman said at a blockchain event in Wyoming on Tuesday that the regulator should consider allowing its staff “to hold de minimus amounts of crypto or other types of digital assets so they can achieve a working understanding of the underlying functionality.”

“We will soon be establishing a framework for supervising issuers of these assets,” she added.

“There’s no replacement for experimenting and understanding how that ownership and transfer process flows.”

Currently, most Fed staffers and their spouses are barred from owning crypto or products that concentrate on crypto, such as exchange-traded funds or shares in crypto companies.

The Fed tightened its rules on all investments in early 2022 after it was revealed that three top officials had unusual trading activity in 2020, as the regulator took action to support the US economy in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allowing crypto could help recruitment, rulemaking

Bowman said the Fed staff investment restrictions “may be a barrier to recruiting and retaining examiners with the necessary expertise,” and easing the rules would help existing staff better understand the technology.

Michelle Bowman giving prepared remarks at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2025 on Tuesday. Source: YouTube“I certainly wouldn’t trust someone to teach me to ski if they’d never put on skis, regardless of how many books and articles they have read, or even wrote, about it.”

Bowman urges Fed not to “stand still”

In her speech, Bowman said bank regulators had an “overly cautious mindset” and urged them to be less skeptical of new financial products and “recognize the utility and necessity of embracing technology in the traditional financial sector.”

She said some bankers are concerned that blockchain technology threatens traditional business models, but that technology could “change the banking system regardless of how banks and regulators choose to respond.”

“We must choose whether to embrace the change and help shape a framework that will be reliable and durable — ensuring safety and soundness and incorporating the benefits of both efficiency and speed — or to stand still and allow new technology to bypass the traditional banking system altogether,” she added.

“From a regulator’s perspective, the choice is clear.”

Related: New crypto advocacy group debuts at Wyoming summit

Bowman said she recognized the risks in adopting new technology, but those could be offset or “at least determined to be manageable when we recognize and consider the potentially extensive benefits of new technology.”

Trump’s crypto-friendly push

Bowman didn’t specify the types of crypto products or what amounts she would suggest the Fed allow, but her comments are the latest crypto-friendly remarks regulators have taken under the Trump administration.

On Friday, the Fed said it would end a supervision program for crypto and blockchain-related activities undertaken by banks, which the Biden administration set up in 2023.

Trump also signed an executive order earlier this month directing banking regulators to investigate claims of debanking made by the crypto sector and conservatives.

Trade Secrets: Ether could ‘rip like 2021’ as SOL traders brace for 10% drop

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August 20, 2025 0 comments

Esports

IGN Entertainment returns as official partner of Gamescom Studio

by admin August 19, 2025

IGN is the official partner for Gamescom Studio for the seventh consecutive year, and this year’s show promises to be even bigger and better.

In addition to Gamescom Studio delivering live programming in English and German from IGN’s production booth in Hall 7, IGN is expanding its local-language offerings for audiences in Japan and China via IGN Japan and IGN China.

English-language programming will stream globally across IGN Entertainment’s portfolio, including IGN, Eurogamer, and Rock Paper Shotgun. GamesIndustry.biz will also be covering the event.

German-language programming will be available via IGN Germany and Eurogamer Germany, while Japanese and Chinese programming will premiere across IGN Japan and IGN China.

This year’s event will include premieres of major titles including Borderlands 4, Infinity Nikki, Stalker, High on Life 2, Marvel’s Deadpool VR, Anno 117: Pax Romana, and Invisible Vs.

The Gamescom Award show will also take place on the Gamescom Studio stage on Friday, August 22, with streaming beginning from 3pm CEST/9am EDT/6am PDT.

“Our collaboration with Gamescom has grown into one of IGN Entertainment’s most cherished annual traditions,” said IGN Entertainment president Yael Prough.

“This year, we’re taking it even further with localised programming in Japan and China, ensuring more gamers than ever can experience the magic of the show in their own language.”

Gamescom director Tim Endres added: “The partnership with IGN now builds on many years and we are once again happy to have the team back in Cologne. The extension by the IGN Japan and IGN China team only underlines the importance of these markets for the event as we see growing interest by Asia companies and audiences.

“As part of Gamescom’s hybrid approach to the event, IGN trustfully helps us to bring the Gamescom Studio and therefore the Gamescom experience to gaming communities around the world.”

The Gamescom Studio livestream begins at 12pm CEST/6am EDT/3am PDT on Wednesday, August 20, and throughout the week until 5pm CEST/11am EDT/8am PDT on Sunday, August 24.

IGN Entertainment is the parent company of GamesIndustry.biz.

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Israeli Cyber Official Arrested During Undercover Internet Crimes Against Children Sting

by admin August 18, 2025

A high-ranking member of Israel’s cybersecurity directorate was recently arrested in Las Vegas as part of an undercover sting operation involving internet crimes against children, according to the State Department.

A joint operation between city police and the FBI that targeted child sex predators resulted in the arrest of Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a man who, according to many news outlets, has been identified as a member of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, which operates out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Mediate previously reported that Alexandrovich’s since-deleted LinkedIn profile had also identified him as an official with the agency. The Jerusalem Post claims that Alexandrovich worked “in a technical role at the Cyber Directorate,” and KLAS-TV, a CBS news affiliate, also claims to have confirmed that an “Israeli government official was one of eight people arrested” during the weekend sting, and that Alexandrovich was in the city for “a cyber event.” Blackhat, the well-known cybersecurity conference, recently took place in Vegas.

Additionally, the U.S. government appears to have confirmed much of this information. The X account for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs posted about the arrest, in an apparent effort to dispel internet rumors that the government had intervened on Alexandrovich’s behalf. “The Department of State is aware that Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Las Vegas and given a court date for charges related to soliciting sex electronically from a minor,” the post states. “He did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date. Any claims that the U.S. government intervened are false.” When reached for comment by Gizmodo, the State Department simply referred us to its tweet.

Alexandrovich faces a charge of luring a child with a computer for sex acts, KLAS writes. He was allowed to leave after having posted a $10,000 bail, the outlet adds, citing court records.

An archived Haaretz report states that a “senior official in Israel’s National Cyber Directorate” had been questioned in Vegas for alleged online solicitation of a minor, but does not identify the official by name. However, the report also includes a statement from Israel’s cyber directorate, which admits that one of its employees was questioned by authorities during a trip to the U.S. The statement reads: “The employee updated the directorate that during his trip to the United States, he was questioned by U.S. authorities on matters unrelated to his work, and he returned to Israel on his scheduled date. The directorate has not yet received additional details through official channels. If and when such details are received, the directorate will act accordingly.”

Gizmodo reached out to the Las Vegas Police Department and the Israeli government for more information.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Ripple v. SEC: Official Shares Crucial Reminder

by admin August 17, 2025

On Friday, the SEC submitted a status report with the Court of Appeals, stating that both parties had filed a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal of the appeals, which remains pending and is awaiting approval by the Court.

It should be recalled that on Aug. 7, the SEC filed a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, entered into with defendants Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, which dismissed the Commission’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal and resolves the Commission’s civil enforcement action against the defendants.

Ripple case over

As reported, XRP enthusiast and legal attorney, Bill Morgan, referred to the recently filed status report as a formality, having no impact on past developments in the Ripple SEC lawsuit.

We Are Getting An Official X-Files Lego Set And It Looks Great

by admin June 25, 2025

The classic ‘90s TV show The X-Files is coming back, but not via another so-so legacy season that everyone forgets about. Instead, the popular paranormal show is returning as an official Lego set, complete with aliens, flashlights, and a UFO.

Disney+ Pulls The Abyss Over Controversial Rat Scene — Again

On June 25, Lego announced the winners of its recent 1990s Throwback Challenge. The toy brick company asked its fans to create big and small sets based on famous characters, movies, and TV shows from the ‘90s. And after a selection process and fan voting, Lego revealed that a large X-Files set was one of the two winners.

The winning X-Files set was designed by WetWired and is aptly named “The Truth Is Out There.” The set will feature a forest scene with an alien and a big UFO and below that, a recreation of Mulder’s iconic office, complete with that famous poster.

Image: Lego / Kotaku

The upcoming X-Files set will be made up of approximately 2,020 pieces and is planned to include minifigures based on Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, Assistant Director Walter Skinner, and Eugene Tooms. There will also be a “Grey” alien fig as well. And for fans of the show, there’ll be plenty of secrets and Easter eggs to spot, including Tooms sneaking around in the vents.

The other winning ‘90s set is a smaller build featuring Lego versions of Wallace and Gromit. As a big fan of the stop-motion stars, I’m also excited by the idea of owning a small Lego statue of the duo that will hopefully fit on my shelf.

So, when will these sets arrive on store shelves? Well, not any time soon. Now, Lego has to work with the fans who created these sets, as well as the license holders, to actually design kits that are stable, profitable, and fun to build. That takes time. Usually about a year or two. We also don’t know the price, but we expect the large X-Files set to not be cheap.

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June 25, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Stalker 2’s latest patch finally fixes A-Life, arrives alongside 700GB of official modding tools

by admin June 25, 2025

It’s taken a while to get it sorted, but developer GSC Game World has finally managed to fix Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s wonky A-Life system as part of the post-apocalyptic shooter’s latest massive update, meaning players can now expect a bit more life to their wasteland adventure as NPCs pursue their own goals and live their lives. Oh, and official modding tools have arrived too, but you might need to delete a game or two to install them.

Starting with A-Life, it’s been the beating heart (or possibly the brain) of the Stalker series since its debut in 2007, creating a more dynamic, and more emergent, post-apocalyptic landscape by simulating NPCs – including stalkers, bandits, and mutants – that would move around the world, hunt, fight, and interact even when offscreen. Stalker 2’s version of A-Life was supposed to take things even further, but like much of the game at launch, was pretty broken.

GSC previously explained much of Stalker 2’s A-Life weirdness was down to optimisation hurdles, with the studio ultimately having to significantly reduce the size of the area around players that A-Life worked in order improve performance. Some initial fixes arrived shortly after release, but it’s only now, some seven months later, the system is finally working as intended.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl — Guns & Looting Showcase.Watch on YouTube

As per the studio’s latest patch notes, today’s huge 1.5 update – AKA the Guns & Looting update – now simulates life for all characters, and not just those in the player’s view. NPCs will “continue to live their lives and pursue their goals in the Zone until they meet their end”, and can be encountered resting or interacting in different locations. Additionally, players can also meet the same stalkers after some time.

There’s a lot more besides A-Life, though; patch 1.5 introduces new features – players can now experience the Water Electric Tornado anomaly out in the Zone, for instance, and acquire the Kora handgun and Three-Line Rifle – as well as AI and combat improvements, balance adjustments and bug fixes, plus various quality of life additions. That’s alongside the release of official modding tools for Stalker 2, which are currently available via the Epic Games Store. Interested parties might want to brace themselves, though; you’ll need somewhere in the region of 700GB free harddrive space to install them.

Eurogamer, if you’re wondering, gave Stalker 2 three stars, calling it a “mess of bugs and jank that nonetheless stays faithful to the open world survival shooter of yesteryear.”

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June 25, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Skyblivion devs used their Bethesda visit to fight the good fight, asking Todd and co to bring back Skyrim-style official modding tutorials

by admin June 21, 2025

While the prospect The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered turning out to be a real thing had folks wondering what that might mean for Oblivion remake mod Skyblivion’s release, Bethesda were quick quell fears of a shutdown.

Both sides have been openly chummy since that point, with the studio behind The Elder Scrolls even having the team of modders pop by for a visit around the time their project was being shouted out on the official channels. We’ve now learned a bit more about how that social call went and what the two sides chatted about.

Speaking to cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer, Skyblivion project lead Kyle ‘Rebelzize’ Rebel revealed that the studio visit came about because he’d been planning a trip to the US around PAX East, and decided that since he was going to be in the area, he’d ring up Bethesda and see if they’d mind Skyblivion folks popping in.

Cue a day at ToddCo HQ that the modder recalled ran from 11AM until 6PM, with Bethesda’s devs and Todd Howard himself chatting to the Skyblivion folks about their work. Naturally, it sounds like the studio’s devs were curious about how the modders have found building their own interpretation of Oblivion using Skyrim’s tools, with Rebel saying that “how we experienced using those tools, what kind of issues we run into, and what we’d like to see in terms of documentation” were all big talking points.

As for the feedback the Skyblivion folks offered, the project lead said he kindly asked Bethesda to consider bringing back the official creation kit tutorial video series it released on YouTube when Skyrim got its tools. If you’ve not watched these vids, they’re basically short how-tos narrated by different Bethesda devs that explain the ins-and-outs of the modding process.

A way to get started with Skyrim modding using the CK by making a basic dungeon, if – as I was when I used these videos for exactly that last year – you don’t know your bum from your elbow when it comes to actually making mods or the navigating the practicalities of game development.

Sure, there are plenty of good tutorials you can find if you’re looking to get into modding more recent Bethesda games like Starfield or Fallout 4, with some even being by high-profile modders, but it’s cool to have the devs who made the thing you’ve been playing talk you through the tools they used to do so. They’re pretty good teachers, and it gives you an extra level of appreciation the next time you delve into one of Skyrim’s dungeons. You’ll know just how much work went to ensuring the enemies don’t all get stuck on the same rock and eliminating void-leaking gaps in the ceiling, and it’ll be good for your soul.

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June 21, 2025 0 comments