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Microsoft is bring yet another of its formerly exclusive games to PlayStation. During Sony’s latest State of Play, the company announced that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to PS5 on December 8, 2025. Based on the trailer showed during Sony’s event, the PS5 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, will carry over the same graphical detail and giant commercial aircraft of the original, along with support for the PS VR 2 headset for even more immersive cockpit gameplay. Along with accurately simulating real-life airplanes, Flight Simulator also uses real geographical and weather data for its maps, making flight as peaceful or difficult as they would be in real life. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 joins a growing collection of former Xbox and PC exclusives that Microsoft has brought to Sony’s console. The company started with games like Sea of Thieves and Pentiment, but now even bigger titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle come to PS5 eventually.  It’s all part of Microsoft ongoing Game Pass and game streaming strategy, but it’s also working for Sony, too. Helldivers 2 was originally a PS5-exclusive, but when it came to Xbox it almost immediately became one of the best-selling games on the platform. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/microsoft-flight-simulator-2024-is-coming-to-ps5-on-december-8-213203456.html?src=rss

Just in time for all your Halloween gaming projects, Alan Wake 2 will be the free to play for members of the PS Plus program in October. The news was announced during Sony’s State of Play presentation.  The recent remake of the game showcases Remedy Entertainment’s skill with tell eerie, surreal interactive stories. And the fans have responded; it’s Remedy’s fastest-selling game to date. If you’re one of those people who hasn’t already bought a copy, now might be the time to join Alan and Saga in solving their supernatural murder mystery. The new batch of PS Plus games, which also includes the compelling puzzle game Cocoon and Goat Simulator 3, will be available starting October 7. And in case you haven’t gotten enough of Joel, Ellie and the gang, Sony is also adding The Last of Us Part II to the PS Plus game catalog.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/alan-wake-2-will-be-free-on-ps-plus-in-october-213539815.html?src=rss

Sony’s lineup of gaming-focused audio devices is growing with the addition of the PlayStation Pulse Elevate wireless speakers. They work with PC, Mac, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation Portal, and they support Bluetooth and Sony’s proprietary PlayStation Link Wireless connection scheme. The Pulse Elevate speakers come in white or black, and they’re due to hit the market in 2026. There’s no word on price just yet. The Pulse Elevate speakers can be set on charging stands when playing at your desk, or they can be disconnected and used in portable mode. When not docked, they have (an unspecified number of) “hours of battery life,” according to Sony’s hype trailer. The speakers support 3D audio, they can be tilted back, and they have planar magnetic drivers, built-in woofers and an integrated mic with noise reduction. The PlayStation Pulse Elevate speakers join Sony’s Pulse Elite gaming headset and Pulse Explore earbuds. The earbuds retail for $200 and the headset goes for $150, so feel free to use these price points as the foundation of indiscriminate speculation about how much the Elevate speakers will cost when they land next year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/playstation-pulse-elevate-portable-speakers-are-coming-for-your-desktop-in-2026-215320963.html?src=rss

The rumors of Marvel’s Wolverine showing up during Sony’s September State of Play turned out to be true after all. The trailer was our first decent look (well, first official one, anyway) at the game since it was announced back in 2021. Sony and Insomniac Games revealed a release window too: Marvel’s Wolverine is coming to PS5 in fall 2026. A gruff-sounding Liam McIntyre (Spartacus: Vengeance, JD Fenix in Gears of War 4 and Gears 5) is taking on the mantle of Logan here. As creative director Marcus Smith reminded us, Logan is an unreliable narrator with a patchy memory, which should make for an interesting wrinkle as the story plays out. Unlike in Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, bad guys aren’t going to be magically webbed to the side of a tall building after you kick them off the roof. Oh, no no. Wolverine rips an enemy apart in fury with his adamantium claws within the first 30 seconds of this trailer. Not long after, he thrusts them upwards through a goon’s skull. We see him slicing off limbs too. Yeah, this isn’t going to be a game for younger kids.  Wolverine will encounter some familiar faces on his travels, including Mystique and Omega Red. And that’s not to mention a certain giant robot that shows up at the end of the trailer.  “We aim to deliver the ultimate Wolverine fantasy built on Insomniac staples like fast, fluid, and ferocious combat; exhilarating, action-packed set pieces; robust accessibility features; and a gripping story that taps into the core tenets of one of the most compelling comic book characters of all time,” Insomniac senior community manager Aaron Jason Espinoza wrote on the PlayStation Blog. “We’re breaking new ground with Wolverine, yes, but our penchant for telling stories about heroes overcoming colossal odds is as strong as ever. We’re eager to explore Logan’s story with you and tap into his signature spin on heroism, which is much darker and more brutal than you might expect from Insomniac.” Although we’re a year or so away from Marvel’s Wolverine coming to PS5 and PS5 Pro, we won’t have to wait quite that long for more details. Insomniac promises to reveal additional info in spring 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/marvels-wolverine-slices-his-way-onto-ps5-in-fall-2026-220250305.html?src=rss

One of the surprise announcements during Sony’s State of Play presentation today was the debut of a literary-themed game titled Chronoscript: The Endless End. It’s an action-adventure game with a very cool hand-drawn art aesthetic. Players will navigate the 3-dimensional world of a mysterious manor as well as the 2-dimensional world of illustrated manuscript pages. The trailer mostly focused on those 2D sections, showing combat and platforming and seriously did I mention the very cool hand-drawn art? I would have been interested in this for the visuals alone, but throw in a story about writers and editors and I’m hooked. Perhaps fittingly for this writerly endeavor, the game’s publisher is Shueisha, which is a heavyweight in publishing manga, including the popular Shonen Jump. The developer is DeskWorks, and the studio’s last project also boasted a lovely, illustrative style. We’ll have a little longer to wait before we can dive into the inky world of Chronoscript, however, because this game isn’t expected to arrive on the PlayStation 5 until some time in 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/check-out-the-intricate-inky-world-of-ps5-game-chronoscript-the-endless-end-221820822.html?src=rss

Qualcomm has launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which the company claims is the “world’s faster mobile system-on-a-chip.” It was designed for flagship devices for manufacturers and smartphone brands that don’t make their own mobile platforms, with the first devices equipped with the SoC launching in the coming days. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is powered by the company’s third-generation Oryon CPU, which Qualcomm says “improves performance by 20 percent and CPU power efficiency by 35 percent.” Overall, the company is claiming that the platform has a 16 percent lower power draw, making it more efficient and enabling longer “sustained performance.” Qualcomm The new platform promises “lightning-fast” app launches and app switching for better multitasking. Qualcomm’s AI Engine allows on-device AI processing, as well, made possible by the company’s upgraded Hexagon NPU that’s apparently 37 percent than its predecessor. “With Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, you are at the center of your mobile experience,” said Chris Patrick, the SVP and generation manager for mobile at Qualcomm. “It enables personalized AI agents to see what you see, hear what you hear and think with you in real time.” In addition, Qualcomm says the new SoC is the first mobile platform to enable recording in Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec, giving creators the ability to film on their phones for professional-level productions. Several smartphone brands have already committed to using the new platform for their flagship devices, including Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, Honor, iQOO, Nubia, POCO, realme, REDMI, RedMagic, ROG, Sony, vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/qualcomms-new-flagship-mobile-platform-is-the-snapdragon-8-elite-gen-5-060427445.html?src=rss

Nearly 15 years in, Instagram has passed a new milestone: the app now reaches 3 billion monthly users, Mark Zuckerberg shared in a post on Threads. That’s up from 2 billion monthly users in 2022. Meta doesn’t regularly share monthly or daily user numbers for its “family” of apps, but Facebook reached 2 billion daily users in 2023; WhatsApp passed 2 billion monthly users in 2020. The company reported 3.48 billion “daily active people” across facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger last quarter. Meta shared the latest metric as it reportedly plans some significant changes to Instagram. According to Bloomberg, Meta will soon make Reels an even more prominent part of the app. Instagram exec Adam Mosseri told the publication that users will see a redesigned navigation bar that will “highlight private messaging and Reels.” The company will also run a test in South Korea and India that will allow users to set Reels as the default feed for the app. (Instagram’s newly-announced iPad app already makes Reels the default feed in order “to reflect how people use bigger screens today,” the company has said.) It’s probably no coincidence that these changes come as the United States government edges closer toward an agreement that will put the US version of TikTok largely in the hands of US-based investors. Despite more than a year of uncertainty surrounding the app’s future in the United States, TikTok is still a formidable competitor to Meta more broadly and Instagram specifically. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-reaches-3-billion-monthly-users-160554420.html?src=rss

Search Live is now available for Google app users in the US, offering real-time, multimodal search, powered by AI. This feature will enable users to have real-time conversations with Google Search in AI Mode while sharing their phone’s camera feed with the app. Search will be able to see and interpret what the user’s camera is focused on and offer relevant links for deeper context, as well as live guidance. The new feature can be accessed from a new “Live” icon beneath the search bar in the Google app. It can also be used from Google Lens by selecting the Live option at the bottom of the screen. Camera sharing will be enabled by default here to allow for an instant back-and-forth conversation about whatever is in front of you. Search Live is available through the Google app on iOS and Android now. This wider rollout only supports English for now. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-ai-search-live-is-now-available-to-all-us-app-users-151849371.html?src=rss

When it comes to cooking meat, finding that all-important sweet spot between under- and over-cooked can be tricky to get right every single time. That is, unless you’re using one of the ThermoWorks instant-read thermometers that we’ve been big proponents of for a long time. And right now our favorite one is down to a record low of $76 in select colors, as part of the brand’s fall warehouse sale. Usually priced at $109, you’re saving $33 if you pick one up now. The Thermapen One records accurate temperatures in an instant (specifically one second or less), which can be the difference between a perfectly medium-rare steak and one that requires a bit too much chewing. This model also has a handy auto-rotating backlit display that allows you to easily see the reading regardless of how you’re holding it. It also has useful auto-wake and sleep features, which again, are useful when doneness deals in seconds. An IP67 waterproofing rating means you don’t have to worry about it getting splashed. That said, the thermometer isn’t suitable for dishwashers, so keep that in mind. The Thermapen One took home our best thermometer award, so this is definitely a deal we’d confidently recommend taking advantage of, but it isn’t the only one available right now. ThermoWorks’ sale also includes offers on its various BBQ alarm thermometers, battery banks, kitchen utensils and more. You can shop all the deals here. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-thermoworks-thermapen-one-is-30-percent-off-right-now-163043164.html?src=rss

Bowers & Wilkins just released the Px8 S2 wireless headphones, a follow-up to the well-reviewed original Px8 cans. This new entry brings a bevy of updated features, many of which were pulled from the recently-released Px7 S3 headphones. They feature new audio drivers, a built-in digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and an improved digital signal processor (DSP.) This allows for a 24-bit/96 kHz high-resolution audio signal. The headphones can handle high-res audio from streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz, thanks to Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless audio codec. The sound is aided by a five-band customizable EQ, which is accessible via a proprietary app. This app also lets users set other parameters and play audio directly from streaming platforms. The Px8 S2 headphones also include more microphones for ANC, which should allow for better noise cancellation and a more nuanced transparency mode. The battery lasts for 30 hours, which is in line with all of the other Bowers & Wilkins models. Bowers & Wilkins The overall design has been refreshed, with a slimmer form factor. The company says it’s the “most considered and comfortable over-ear headphone design we’ve ever made.” The exterior has been crafted with Nappa leather and die-cast aluminum. There are two colorways to choose from and both are extremely easy on the eyes. These headphones are also slightly lighter than the original Px8 cans. Each unit ships with a new carry case that’s been designed to fit in most bags. The Px8 S2 headphones cost $800, which is $100 more than the original Px8 cost when they were released in 2023. Bowers & Wilkins does promise future software updates, including one that brings spatial audio. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/bowers–wilkins-px8-s2-headphones-have-updated-drivers-improved-anc-and-a-new-look-181913079.html?src=rss