John Shirley

Payment Processors and Censorship in Gaming: Who’s Really to Blame? Welcome to another edition of Video Games Weekly. This week, we’re diving into the ongoing censorship wave sweeping through platforms like Steam and Itch.io—and why the blame may be misplaced. The recent removal of adult and NSFW games from Steam and Itch.io has sparked outrage, […]

Steam-Banned Horror Game VILE Exhumed Returns as Free Shareware After Steam unexpectedly banned VILE Exhumed from its platform without offering an appeal process, solo developer Cara Cadaver has decided to release the game as free shareware under a Creative Commons license. While players can download the horror title at no cost, they also have the

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed lawsuits against multiple adult content platforms for allegedly violating the state’s age verification laws. The legal action targets popular pornography sites such as XVideos, XNXX, BangBros, and Girls Gone Wild, as well as the adult advertising network Traffic Factory. The lawsuits stem from Florida’s HB 3, a law

Illinois Bans AI Therapy, Becoming First State to Regulate Mental Health AI Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a new law prohibiting the use of AI for therapy in the state. The legislation, known as HB 1806 or the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, marks the first time a U.S. state has regulated

Google DeepMind Advances AI Training with Genie 3, a More Dynamic World Model Google DeepMind has unveiled Genie 3, the latest iteration of its world model AI system designed to generate interactive 3D environments for training AI agents. While the leap from Genie 2 to Genie 3 may seem incremental, the improvements enhance the model’s

Spotify Expands Audiobook Offerings with New Premium Add-On Spotify has officially rolled out its Audiobooks+ service in the US, Europe, Australia, and several other regions after initially testing the feature in Ireland and Canada last month. The add-on is available to Spotify Premium subscribers, including those on Family and Duo plans, and provides an additional

Apple Music 5.0 Beta Arrives for Android Without Liquid Glass Redesign Apple has rolled out the beta version of Apple Music 5.0 for Android, but unlike its iOS counterpart, it does not include the Liquid Glass visual overhaul. Liquid Glass is Apple’s new design language, and its absence on Android raises questions about whether the

PlayStation 6 Leaks Hint at Triple the Performance for Same $499 Price Five years after the PlayStation 5 launch, rumors about the next-gen console are heating up. A recent leak from Moore’s Law is Dead suggests the PlayStation 6 could deliver triple the rasterization performance of the base PS5 and double that of the PS5

The Best USB-C Hubs for 2025 Tablets and ultraportable laptops are powerful, but they often lack enough ports for full functionality. A USB-C hub solves this problem by expanding your connectivity options with extra USB ports, HDMI slots, SD card readers, and Ethernet jacks. Many hubs also support pass-through charging, allowing you to keep your

Elon Musk Announces Return of Vine Archives, Teases AI Integration Elon Musk has revealed plans to bring back the Vine video archives after hinting at the platform’s revival over the past week. The X owner shared that the company recently rediscovered the entire archive of the once-popular short-form video app, which Twitter acquired in 2012.