In early September, the launch of Silksong revealed significant issues with the Chinese translation, which failed to capture the unique tone of the Hollow Knight universe. This led to a temporary dip in Silksong's Steam rating to "mostly negative." A fan group, Team Cart Fix, improved the translation, and their work was officially integrated into the game with the release of Silksong's new Patch 4. The patch notes included updates to the Simplified Chinese translation, improved controller support, various localization fixes, and numerous gameplay adjustments.
Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, expressed skepticism about artificial intelligence's ability to replicate the creative essence of Rockstar Games in game development, particularly regarding Grand Theft Auto 6. He emphasized that human creativity is irreplaceable and that generative AI, while efficient, cannot produce an equivalent to the Grand Theft Auto marketing plan. Zelnick highlighted challenges posed by copyright laws concerning AI-generated content, stating that such creations are not protectable. He believes reliance on AI could lead to derivative outcomes rather than innovation. While acknowledging AI's predictive modeling capabilities, he cautioned against its use in creative fields, asserting that it would be ineffective in those areas. The release date for GTA 6 is uncertain, but more information about the game is expected soon.
Security researchers have identified a 12-year-old data-stealing attack known as Pixnapping, which targets web browsers to extract sensitive information from Android devices. This attack allows a rogue Android application to access and leak information from various apps, including Google Maps, Signal, and Venmo, as well as websites like Gmail, and can capture two-factor authentication codes from Google Authenticator.
The attack utilizes a hardware side channel to access screen display pixels, employing techniques inspired by earlier research on timing attacks. A collaborative team from institutions like UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University developed the modern iteration of Pixnapping, which will be presented at the 32nd ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security.
The Pixnapping framework enables a malicious app to push pixels into the rendering pipeline and read them by overlaying semi-transparent Android Activities. The attack systematically measures rendering times to infer pixel colors, allowing for the recovery of data through optical character recognition.
Researchers successfully demonstrated Pixnapping on Android versions 13 to 16 across devices like the Google Pixel series and Samsung Galaxy S25. The attack does not require special permissions and exploits how the Mali GPU implements data compression, resulting in data-dependent rendering times. Pixnapping leaks only 0.6 to 2.1 pixels per second, which is still sufficient to recover Google Authenticator codes.
Google has issued a patch for the underlying vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-48561, with another patch planned for December, although there has been no evidence of exploitation in the wild. Despite attempts to mitigate Pixnapping, researchers have identified a workaround and suggest limiting an attacker's ability to compute on victim pixels as an effective strategy. They also discovered methods for attackers to identify all installed apps on a device, a capability restricted since Android 11 for privacy reasons, with Google indicating that fixing this issue may not be feasible.
Randall Zaioczkowski, known as 'Dead Baron,' is a dedicated mod creator and player of Total War: Warhammer 3, with over 3,800 hours invested in the game. He expressed his frustrations through a negative review due to a persistent campaign AI recruitment bug affecting gameplay. Despite his admiration for the Total War franchise, he noted that there have been numerous issues he could no longer ignore. Randall has contributed to the modding community by enhancing textures and fixing visual errors, and he co-founded the Skeleton Crew Modding team. He has also updated models and textures for the game, including reviving a unique wyvern design from the first Total War: Warhammer. Randall criticized the balance between new DLC content and core fixes, expressing concern that the developers prioritize engine issues over visual quality. He advises new players to wait until the AI issues are resolved before playing. Despite his criticisms, he remains passionate about the series and continues to advocate for improvements.
Android users have numerous options for streaming films and TV shows. A VPN can enhance the streaming experience by providing access to more content while ensuring privacy. Netflix offers a vast library of films and series, including games, with an entry-level plan starting at .99 and a premium tier for Ultra HD at .99. Disney Plus features exclusive Marvel content and family-friendly classics, with an ad-supported tier at .99 and a premium plan at .99. BBC iPlayer is a free service supported by a license fee, offering classic shows and live TV, including major sporting events. Mubi curates cult films and provides a unique viewing experience, along with Mubi Go, which includes weekly cinema tickets. Crunchyroll is the leading platform for anime, offering new episodes on the same day they air in Japan, with a premium tier priced at .99 per month. Apple TV+ focuses on original content with high production values, priced at .99 per month.
Files are collections of data stored in a single container, often identified by their extensions. In Minecraft, data can be represented using wool blocks, where each block corresponds to a specific hex digit, allowing for the storage of bytes. A mapping was created to associate hex digits with wool colors, enabling data encoding and decoding within the game. An encoder script generates an "mcfunction" file for efficient block placement, while a decoder reads the wool matrix from the game world using the Amulet library. The process involves defining coordinates and dimensions for the wool matrix, and successful decoding reveals the original encoded message. This project demonstrates the versatility of data representation, though it is not intended for practical use.
Stellar Blade launched on PC two days ago, leading to a surge in adult-themed modifications from the modding community. The top ten mods for the game are primarily aimed at adult audiences, accumulating around 250,000 downloads.
A pirated version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been released online, featuring the complete licensed Steam version with unaltered content and preserved Russian localization. The game follows Task Force 141, led by Captain Price and Lieutenant Sims, as they pursue an international terrorist who has obtained American missiles, with missions set in various global locations, including Mexico and the Russian border. The full Russian localization includes the user interface and professional voice acting, making it appealing to Russian-speaking gamers.
Ryan Coogler's film, Sinners, has surpassed the 0 million threshold at the domestic box office, with a cumulative total of 9.8 million. The film features Michael B. Jordan in a dual role and is set in the Jim Crow South of the early 1930s. Warner Bros. celebrates a double victory as A Minecraft Movie crosses the 0 million mark globally, making it the second-highest grossing video game adaptation of all time, unadjusted for inflation. Minecraft and Sinners are the top two grossing films of the year domestically. Minecraft is the leading Hollywood film of 2025 at the worldwide box office, followed by Captain America: Brave New World with 6 million and Sinners at 9.8 million. Thunderbolts is projected to earn million or more in its second weekend, surpassing the 0 million mark globally. Sinners has resonated well with Black audiences and has also appealed to white and Latino viewers.
