During his recent radio show, Hideo Kojima has said that, once development on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is complete, Kojima Productions as a studio will enter a phase. Translated by X user Genki_JPN, Kojima said that, once full development on OD and Physint have been started, Kojima Productions will enter “phase 2”. While what Kojima means when he refers to entering “phase 2” isn’t yet clear, he also said that he is unsure about his own future after work on Physint has been completed. According to Genki_JPN, Kojima said that he might make another game, or even get into making movies. Kojima also apparently intends to create anime during the studio’s “phase 2”. Further describing what “phase 1” of Kojima Productions was, Kojima clarified that it was a period for the studio to create new IP which could then get expanded on, and ultimately get a multiplatform release. Kojima also said that, since Kojima Productions is still an independent studio, he will have to make contacts to figure out what the studio’s next project will be. Physint was announced all the way back in February 2024. The title is slated to be a new stealth game helmed by Hideo Kojima and developed by Kojima Productions. Kojima has described the title as a “next-generation action espionage game.” He also revealed that full development on the game will start only after the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. “Preparations are underway, but production will begin in earnest at Kojima Productions after Death Stranding 2,” Kojima said back in February. “We have extensive experience with Sony, having grown the espionage genre together for almost 30 years. Also, Sony not only does games, but also music and movies. It will definitely be a strong collaboration.” “Two years from now, I will celebrate the 40th anniversary of my game production career. I am confident that this title will be the culmination of my work.” While working with Sony on Physint, Kojima is also working with Microsoft on a horror title dubbed OD. Announced back in December 2023, OD will be exclusive to Xbox, and was announced with a trailer during The Game Awards 2023. While not too many details have been revealed so far, we do know that OD is being developed using Unreal Engine 5, and that it will make use of Microsoft’s cloud technology. In true Kojima fashion, OD will also feature real-world actors taking on the roles of in-game cahracters, including Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier. While development on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has been progressing, back in January, Kojima also mentioned the hiccups facing the development of OD and Physint owing to the SAG-AFTRA strike at the time. He expressed hopes to resume development on both titles this year, however. In the meantime, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be coming to will be coming to PS5 on June 26. Check out details that Kojima has revealed about the Japanese bokka couriers that inspired the gameplay of Death Stranding making an appearance in the sequel. Hideo Kojima says after DS2 and OD, he will enter "phase 2" of Kojima Productions with PHYSINT!He says after PHYSINT he doesn’t know whether the next project he does will be a movie or a game. via @koji10_tbs pic.twitter.com/M56zKfCaTF— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 11, 2025 Kojima says part of phase 1 was creating new IP, expanding that IP and then making it multiplatform. He says Koji Pro is an indie studio and don’t have much money so have to make contracts for their next project while they are working on their current projects.— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 12, 2025

Watch These Elephants Form an ‘Alert Circle’ as an Earthquake Shakes San Diego, Protecting Their Young at the Center Footage from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park shows the large mammals huddling together around the herd’s calves Elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park huddled together, facing outward, in a behavior called an "alert circle" after an earthquake hit. Screenshot via San Diego Zoo Safari Park When a 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook their enclosure on Monday, a group of African elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park instinctively sprang into action to protect each other. The moment was caught on the camera as the quake rocked Southern California, offering a rare glimpse at how elephants react to danger. In the footage, the large mammals run around initially, then older elephants Ndlula, Umngani and Khosi move to form a ring around calves Zuli and Mkhaya, in what experts call an “alert circle.” Zuli tries to stay on the outside with the adults, in an apparent attempt to act courageously. His mother and another elephant who helped raise him pat him with their trunks, as if to say: “Things are OK,” and “stay back in the circle,” as Mindy Albright, a curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, tells Julie Watson at the Associated Press. Elephants are highly social animals, says Joshua Plotnik, an animal behavior researcher at Hunter College, to NPR’s Rebecca Rosman. Their instinct to band together is clear in the formation of the circle. “They bunch together, the adults on the outside facing out, and then they’ll push the younger individuals into the middle,” he says.Such a behavior is “a natural response to perceived threats that helps protect younger elephants and the herd as a whole,” writes the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on social media. “It’s so great to see them doing the thing we all should be doing—that any parent does, which is protect their children,” adds Albright to the AP. Research indicates African elephants can sense vibrations through their ears and feet. The massive animals create low-frequency seismic vibrations in the ground as they walk and vocalize. Other elephants may pick up on these signals, offering a long-distance form of communication. This ability likely helped them react to the quake. “For them to just be so in tune with their environment and paying attention to the environmental cues, it’s really something that you want to see them still hone in on,” Albright says to Kasha Patel at the Washington Post. “It’s a measure of their health to see them respond like this.” The footage is also a reminder of how much we still have to learn about the animals, adds Plotnik to NPR—and the importance of protecting them. African elephant populations have seen a drastic decline over the last 50 years. Asian elephant numbers, meanwhile, have dropped by half in three generations. “The Asian and African elephants are in imminent danger of going extinct, and it’s crucially important that we continue to learn more about their behavior and cognition if we’re going to come up with ways to protect them and conserve them in the wild,” Plotnik says to NPR. The behavior recently caught on video can offer scientists insight into elephants’ social responses to threats. An aftershock hit San Diego about an hour after the video was taken, and the animals repeated the behavior, according to the AP. But they went back to their daily lives once everything seemed safe. After the quake, the zoo writes, it was “business as usual” for the elephants again. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Presented by NVIDIA The AI revolution is accelerating driven by billion-parameter reasoning models needed to develop agentic and physical AI. As NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang shared in his GTC keynote, the move from training to full-production inference is causing AI compute demand to skyrocket as data centers worldwide transform into AI factories designed to churn out millions of user queries efficiently and effectively. To meet this $1 trillion opportunity, NVIDIA at GTC unveiled major advancements – from the Blackwell Ultra AI platform and an operating system for AI factories to advancements in networking, robotics and accelerated computing. Blackwell is already in full production — delivering an astonishing 40x performance boost over Hopper. This architecture is redefining AI model training and inference, making AI applications more efficient and more scalable. And coming second-half 2025 is the next evolution of the Blackwell AI factory platform: Blackwell Ultra — a powerhouse GPU with expanded memory to support the next generation of AI models. NVIDIA continues to move fast, committed to an annual AI architecture refresh. NVIDIA Vera Rubin is designed to supercharge AI data center performance and efficiency. Beyond GPUs, AI infrastructure is undergoing a seismic shift with innovations in photonics, AI-optimized storage and advanced networking. These breakthroughs will dramatically enhance scalability, efficiency and energy consumption across massive AI data centers. Meanwhile, physical AI for robotics and industry is a colossal $50 trillion opportunity, according to Huang. From manufacturing and logistics to healthcare and beyond, AI-powered automation is poised to reshape entire industries. NVIDIA Isaac and Cosmos platforms are at the forefront, driving the next era of AI-driven robotics. Some of the NVIDIA announcements at GTC NVIDIA Roadmap: The NVIDIA roadmap includes Vera Rubin, tobe released in the second half of 2026, followed by the launch of Vera Rubin Ultra in 2027. The Rubin chips and servers boast improved speeds, especially in data transfers between chips, which is a critical feature for large AI systems with many chips. And scheduled for 2028 is Feynman, the next architecture to be released, making use of next-gen HBM memory. DGX Personal AI computers: Powered by the NVIDIA Grace Blackwell platform, DGX Spark and DGX Station are designed to develop, fine-tune and inference large models on desktops. They’ll be manufactured by a number of companies, including ASUS, Dell and HP. Spectrum-X AND Quantum-Xnetworking platforms: These silicon photonics networking switches help AI factories connect millions of GPUs across sites, and reduce energy consumption dramatically. The Quantum-X Photonics InfiniBand switches will be available later this year, and Spectrum-X Photonics Ethernet switches will arrive in 2026. Dynamo Software: Released for free, open-source Dynamo software helps speed the process of multi-step reasoning, improving efficiency and reducing time to innovation in AI factories. NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center: A Boston-based research center will provide cutting-edge technologies to advance quantum computing in collaboration with leading hardware and software makers. NVIDIA ISAAC GR00T N1: A foundational model for humanoid robots, GR00T N1 is the world’s first open, fully customizable foundation model for generalized humanoid reasoning and skills. It has a dual system similar to reasoning models, for both fast and slow thinking.   Newton Physics Engine: NVIDIA also announced a collaboration with Google DeepMind and Disney Research to develop Newton, an open-source physics engine that lets robots learn how to handle complex tasks with greater precision. These are just the highlights —don’t miss the full GTC recap, live on NVIDIA’s blog. Sponsored articles are content produced by a company that is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com.

Cire Games has broken cover after receiving financing through the Oculus Publishing Ignition fund.

On the outside, Framework’s new Laptop 13 looks about the same as it has for the past four years. But the modular, upgradable, easily-repairable laptop has changed plenty where it counts: on the inside. It’s getting a chip bump for 2025, which would normally be pretty boring for any other laptop. But for the Framework, an improvement for new users is also an upgrade for anyone who’s bought one since 2021. That’s the beauty of a Framework: A new model means a whole new processor and main board you can drop into the computer you already own.Now equipped with AMD Ryzen AI 300-series chips, the Laptop 13 continues to deliver on a longshot promise Framework made years ago, offering a laptop that allows you to pick your ports and replace nearly every component — from RAM and the SSD to a different keyboard, small cosmetic touches, and even a new screen. Its design may be nearly unchanged, but where other laptops make us feel lucky to get a user-accessible M.2 SSD slot, the Framework 13 allows you to build to your own spec.9Verge Score$899The GoodStill the repairability champ with excellent, modular port selectionFaster CPU performance over both Intel and previous AMD modelsHigh-res 3:2 aspect ratio screen is great for productivityThin, light, and an overall great packageThe BadRadeon 860M iGPU performance is a little lackingTrackpad still feels a little cheapScreen is a little lacking in contrast and color qualityLess repairable laptops offer more for similar prices or less$899 at FrameworkHow we rate and review productsComponent report card:Screen: CWebcam: BMic: CKeyboard: BTouchpad: CPort selection: ASpeakers: CNumber of ugly stickers to remove: 0The biggest change for the 2025 Framework Laptop 13 is its AMD chip offerings, which now start prebuilt with the Ryzen AI 5 340 for $1,099, the Ryzen AI 7 350 starting at $1,529, and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 from $2,099. The mainboards are also available separately, for people who already have a Framework 13; at $449 for the Ryzen 340, $699 for the 350, and $999 for the HX 370.Our review unit is a DIY Edition with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 chip, 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, an optional 120Hz 2880 x 1920 matte display, and a couple translucent bezels (I opted to install the green one for a touch of Halo vibes). The Laptop 13 has four expansion card slots, and my review unit came with five swappable cards: two USB-C, one USB-A, DisplayPort, and an ethernet jack that juts out from the thin chassis.Aside from some new color options for the bezel and the expansion cards, the laptop looks identical to previous generations. It has some tiny updates: Wi-Fi 7, a new thermal cooling system with a larger heatpipe, and a tiny refinement to the keyboard preventing longer keys from buzzing when blasting the speakers. The Framework’s speakers are mid at best, but somebody must be jamming out enough to get the friggin’ keys rattling. My review unit also includes updates Framework introduced with its Intel Core Ultra model last year, like the 120Hz screen and an improved webcam, both available as upgrades for existing laptops.The new AMD Framework 13 atop the last-gen AMD and Intel models. If not for the orange USB-C port even I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.Like the last-gen AMD model, the new Framework 13’s four USB-C-based expansion slots aren’t all the same speed. The rear two slots support USB4 while the front two are USB 3.2. All four support DisplayPort, though the left front one is DP 1.4 while the rest are 2.0. So, yes, you can potentially push video out to four displays. The Intel model doesn’t have these limitations; all four of its expansion slots support USB4.I recommend the DIY Edition, even if you’re not the tinkering type. It’s less expensive and gives you more configuration options. It’s also the cheapest way to get the 120Hz screen — the prebuilts only come with the 60Hz display. Setting up our DIY review unit was simple and fun. It took me around 30 minutes to open it up, clip in the RAM, screw in the M.2 SSD, and attach the keyboard deck and magnetic bezel. Even if you’re completely new to this, Framework’s step-by-step guides, with clear pictures and video clips, make it a breeze. It took longer to set up Windows 11 the way I like it.On the right: whichever ports you want.On the left: whichever ports you want.The new Framework remains a handsome little laptop. Its 3:2 screen aspect ratio is great for productivity, giving you more vertical space than the more common 16:9 and 16:10 screens, and its battery lasts through a full eight-hour work day. It feels just as snappy as the last-gen Intel and AMD models, with a touch of added smoothness at 120Hz when plugged in (by default, Windows bumps you down to 60Hz on battery, though you can override this). Its trackpad remains squarely in the passable-to-fine range, but it still feels ripped from a cheaper laptop. I never had any issues with rattling keys on the previous-gen models (I guess I was never cool enough to pump the speakers loud enough), but I continue to enjoy the Framework’s keyboard. It has 1.5mm of key travel that feels good overall, though a touch spongier than I’d prefer.I rarely hear the fan using Slack and Google Docs with dozens of Chrome tabs open, and it just gets a little warm to the touch on its underside. (The fan also doesn’t seem to spin up randomly as often as the Intel model does.) The eight-core AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 chip is up to 22 percent faster than the last Framework models in multicore CPU performance, though it falls a little short for graphics work due to its less powerful integrated GPU. The 350 chip’s Geekbench 6.4 GPU score is 34 percent lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H model, and 23 percent lower than the last-gen AMD model with Ryzen 7 7840U. But the Framework 13 is also available with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 for $430 more; that’s the same Strix Point chip we’ve seen in the Asus Zenbook S 16, among others, with a much more powerful integrated GPU than either of the old Frameworks.SystemFramework Laptop 13 (2025) / Ryzen AI 7 350 / 32GB / 1TBFramework Laptop 13 (2023) / Ryzen 7 7840U / 16GB / 512GBFramework Laptop 13 (2024) / Core Ultra 7 155H / 16GB / 512GBAsus Zenbook S 16 (2024) / Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 / 32GB / 1TBMacBook Air 13-inch M4 (2025) / 10C / 8C / 16GB / 256GBGeekbench 6 CPU Single28992563242228283775Geekbench 6 CPU Multi1356811199118601356514899Geekbench 6 GPU (OpenCL)2498132589376413599130701Cinebench 2024 Single116101101113171Cinebench 2024 Multi832786683998736PugetBench for Premiere Pro30582744264834044612PugetBench for Photoshop880566496012734810163Sustained SSD reads (MB/s)5279.215088.615041.015060.842910.04Sustained SSD writes (MB/s)4967.274004.763769.643665.422115.57Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p Highest)262925not tested30Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Native Highest)122119not testednot testedThe Ryzen AI 350 is powerful enough for light-duty Photoshop and Lightroom Classic work, but the Framework 13’s screen — while passable — is just a little too washed out for color-dependent tasks. I love that this 2880 x 1920 matte panel is 120Hz, but the color and contrast are lackluster, like Framework’s original 60Hz, 2256 x 1504 display that’s still the only option for prebuilts. The 2880 x 1920 panel gets pretty bright at 500 nits, but color quality is squarely in the mediocre range.Framework’s configurator prices our review unit at $ 1,781 (not counting a Windows 11 license). That’s well into entry-level M4 MacBook Pro territory and about the same as a bigger Asus Zenbook S 16 with the HX 370 CPU; Framework charges $2,099 for a prebuilt with that chip. The $999 M4 MacBook Air blows the Framework 13’s chips out of the water in single-core performance, has a nicer screen, and lasts much longer on battery. But there’s no upgrading anything in a MacBook after you order it — ever.1/12The DIY Edition comes mostly assembled. You just clip in RAM, plug in / screw down the SSD, insert the keyboard deck, screw in the bottom plate, and drop in a magnetic bezel. It’s even easier than all of this sounds.If you value repairability and upgradability in a laptop, there’s no competition for the Framework 13. I’m a big fan of what this company stands for, and with the Framework 13, it continues to deliver on its promise of a modular, repairable, upgradeable laptop.Sure, some of the components in the Framework 13 are middling for the money. But no other laptop maker launches new models alongside standalone parts that existing owners can buy to upgrade their laptops. Imagine if Apple let M1 MacBook Air owners buy just the M4 mainboard when it launched, instead of a whole new laptop? What began as an unproven startup in 2021 has matured into an intriguing and viable alternative to the big laptop brands and a standard-bearer for the right to repair. The Framework Marketplace was once a ghost town, but now it’s brimming with replacement parts and at-the-ready upgrades. The Framework Laptop 13 is a proven platform now. The fates of the company’s upcoming Desktop and budget 12-inch laptop are less clear. Will they be enduring hits like the Laptop 13 despite ongoing tariff chaos? Or will they be ongoing, unproven experiments, like the Laptop 16? I can’t say yet, but the more modular, the merrier.2025 Framework Laptop 13 specs (as reviewed)Display: 13.5-inch (2880 x 1920) 120Hz IPSCPU: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350GPU: integrated RadeonRAM: 32GB LPDDR5XStorage: 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMeWebcam: 1080p with privacy shutterConnectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2Ports: 4x modular ports for Framework Expansion Cards, tested with 2x USB4, USB-A 3.2, DisplayPort, RJ45 ethernetBiometrics: fingerprint sensorWeight: 2.87 poundsDimensions: 11.68 x 9.01 x 0.62 inchesBattery: 61WhPrice: $1,781Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The VergeSee More:

Rebel Fork Game Engine / News, Reviews / April 17, 2025 / C++, Engine The Rebel Fork, or rbfx Game Engine, is an open source C++ based game engine forked from the Urho3D game engine. Urho3D ran into a community schism back in 2023 that effectively ended the development on that game engine. Part of the community behind Urho3D created the Rebel Fork, also known as rbfx engine. Features of rbfx include: Free and Open Source Software, and it will stay this way; Suitable for 3D games and applications; Moderately lightweight and modular; Supported for Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, iOS, Web and XBox (via UWP); Just a C++ library with a couple of tools; There are optional experimental C# bindings. Key Links Rebel Fork GitHub Repository Rebel Fork Homepage C++ Template C# Template Discord Server You can learn more about the Rebel Fork or rbfx game engine in the video below. You can learn about the most popular C++ game engines for game development in 2025 in this guide.

Nintendo just wrapped up its April 2025 Mario Kart World Direct, revealing details about new items, modes, and more about those strange snacks players can chomp into when the Nintendo Switch 2 launches this June.Nintendo’s latest entry into its long-running kart racing spinoff series looks like the next big step for Mario and co. That’s thanks in part to a smorgasbord of both new and returning items, while other familiar features have either been given small tweaks or total facelifts. Mario Kart World dived into a solid slice of everything players can expect in its 15-minute presentation, so we made sure to gather the highlights.Mario Kart World ScreenshotsItemsThe biggest question block hanging over everyone’s heads has had players questioning which wacky items they’ll be able to toss at their friends come June. Nintendo’s got a fittingly wacky answer that includes spins on items and abilities that may be able to be paired with some of Mario Kart World’s new features.Items like the Bullet Bill and Lightning appear to function just as you remember. The former sends players flying forward at breakneck speeds, while the latter stops and shrinks opponents, though now it also causes it to start raining in the game now that Mario Kart has introduced weather effects. Meanwhile, classic items like the Feather also remain largely unchanged, but now, players can use them to not only hop over some of the many new track hazards but also reach new areas, high-up rails, and even shortcuts.New items have plenty to bring to the table, too. The Coin Shell is a golden shell variant that leaves a trail of coins for you – and your enemies – as it moves forward through the track ahead of its thrower. Kamek is an especially wild addition, as the Koopa wizard can be spawned to transform each of your opponents into something completely new. Other highlights include Hammers that now stick in the ground for a short time and a slightly tweaked Ice Flower that can seen multiple opponents spinning at a time.One of Mario Kart World’s more mysterious items are those new food-related abilities. These are called Dash Foods and come in the form of tasty burgers, plates of sushi, kebabs, and more. These are collectibles that can be acquired around Mario Kart World’s giant map and, once gobbled up, unlock new outfits to use elsewhere. In case you were wondering, yes, the Moo Moo Meadows Cow can, in fact, eat burgers.New TricksTricks have been an important part of Mario Kart since 2008’s Mario Kart Wii, and in Mario Kart World, they’ve been given added importance. You can charge jump straight from the track this time around, allowing you to not only short hop over items but fully clear hazards like other vehicles, too. It should help reach those out-of-reach rails to grind on as well, with additional tricks in the air giving players the ability to gain a bit of extra air.Tricks will also help players leap toward and latch onto walls, which can be hopped between to find new portions of a track and even some hidden item blocks. Chaining tricks together can be tricky, so if you find yourself missing a particular jump to a high-up ledge, a new Rewind feature will help you turn back the clock for a few moments to hone your skills.PlayModesWhile modes like Grand Prix and Time Trials are back, Mario Kart World comes with loads of new modes, too. Knockout Tour is one of the more substantial additions, as it allows players to compete to stay ahead of the pack across extended races. Those who fall behind are in danger of being, well, knocked out.Time Trials are one returning mode that have been beefed up to accommodate Mario Kart World’s improved multiplayer functionality. When hopping online, players will have the option to download data from other racers from around the world. Longtime Mario Kart fans will also be happy to know that fan-favorite modes like VS Race, Balloon Battle, and Coin Runners are back and feature some of those new tracks to fight off friends with. There’s also a full-on photo mode, which can be used to capture iconic moments when cruising around the world.Of course, Mario Kart World’s biggest new mode is its open-world-inspired free roam feature, which allows players to explore its vast map and all of the tracks it houses. We explained everything you need to know about this major addition to the Mario Kart universe and how you can play it with your friends here.PlayMario Kart World launches alongside the Switch 2 June 5. We’re still waiting for Nintendo to set a new date for pre-order options in the US and Canada following their delay earlier this month. Meanwhile, the topic of the console’s price remains one detail that continues to take over Nintendo comment sections. Today’s Mario Kart World Direct was no exception, as players made sure its chat sections were filled with comments like “drop the price.”For more on Mario Kart World, you can read up on all of the new characters and tracks arriving this June. You can also see how players have been reacting to the title’s controversial $80 price tag and how Nintendo attempted to address it. Finally, for everything else announced during today’s Direct, you can click here.Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

He is coming. Synopses and first looks had long hinted that The Fantastic Four: First Steps would introduce an incredibly powerful character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, someone whose mere existence would have reverberations across realities. The latest trailer for First Steps doesn’t completely reveal this character, but we do see a harbinger announce his arrival and its effects on team leader Reed Richards a.k.a Mister Fantastic. What? No, the name isn’t Galan, better known as Galactus. Yes, the world-devourer does appear in the form of a shadow and a foot (not a cloud!), but the most powerful character teased in the trailer is Franklin, the oldest son of Reed and Sue Richards, a boy who can change reality with his imagination. The Arrival of Franklin Right from their first appearance in 1961, the Fantastic Four were a family first, scientists and superheroes second. So it was just a matter of time before creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had central couple Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married and welcome their first child Franklin Benjamin Richards, born in 1968’s Fantastic Four Annual #6. A mind-bending, psychedelic journey into the Negative Zone, Fantastic Four Annual #6 follows Reed and teammates Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they seek the one thing that can save Sue, whose delivery is threatened by her exposure to cosmic rays. Lee and Kirby’s larger-than-life approach to family details mark Franklin’s odd life, as seen by Reed and Sue’s decision to hire the witch Agatha Harkness (originally a sage elderly woman in the comics, not snarky Kathryn Hahn) as a nanny. But Franklin’s life gets even weirder when he begins manifesting powers, even as a toddler. Initially, it seemed as if Franklin had psychic abilities that allowed him to disrupt the minds of others or even see the future, which led to him taking the name “Tattletale” and joining a team of kid superheroes called the Power Pack. However, upon closer inspection, Reed discovered that Franklin wasn’t seeing the future — he was creating it. Franklin had the ability to make and remake reality, powers so great that the occurred on a subconscious level. Moreover, Reed and Sue learned that Franklin’s powers came from what is known in the Marvel Universe as the X-Gene, making him officially a mutant in the manner of the X-Men. And so, Franklin Richards quickly changed from the baby child of two superheroes to someone with connections to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and who could remake the world according to his desires. This, obviously, let to some outrageous stories. Fantastic Franklin Late in the 2012 story “Forever,” the Fantastic Four stand at the edge of oblivion. Despite their remarkable powers, neither the Four nor their super-powered friends in the Avengers or the X-Men could stand up to the Mad Celestials, literal gods who have lost their minds and plan to undo reality. Amidst the chaos, Reed and Sue hear a familiar, if changed, voice shout, “Rise!” The voice belongs to the adult Franklin, who has come from the future to help his family face the Mad Celestials. “Rise! Rise!” Franklin repeats, until a gigantic figure arrives in the skyline, ready to face the Celestials. Upon seeing him, Franklin commands, “To me, my Galactus!” This scene from Fantastic Four #604, written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Steve Epting, stands as perhaps the best moment involving Franklin showing off his powers, but it is far from the only instance. Franklin regularly recreates reality, sometimes in small ways, by helping his godfather the Thing win a match against Yancey Street rivals, and sometimes on a galactic scale. Adult Franklin often shows up in time travel stories, including the beloved X-Men two-parter Days of Future Past (and more so in the less-effective sequel Days of Future Present) or as a new Galactus in the Earth X series by Alex Ross. Writers have also used Franklin as a tool to reboot continuity, most famously in the Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return debacle that followed Marvel’s company-wide Onslaught story. After the Fantastic Four and Avengers were killed by a new villain called Onslaught, Franklin remakes them in a new reality, one that just so happened to be written and drawn by flashy ’90s artists like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld (yes, that’s where this image of Captain America comes from). When fans rejected the edgy reboots, Marvel published a story where Franklin reintegrates the FF and the Avengers into mainline reality and promptly lost his powers. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Of course, Franklin got his powers back again only to lose them later, something that would be annoying if the stories weren’t so good. Case in point, 2024’s Fantastic Four #14, written by Ryan North and penciled by Carlos Gómez, in which a formerly depowered Franklin wakes up with his abilities intact and explains that he’s stripped them away himself. His powers return once a year, in which he explores realities to end threats that his family and other Marvel heroes cannot stop, and then goes back to being a normal human kid. Just a Boy The decision to return himself to being a normal kid is central to Franklin’s appeal, and that of the entire Fantastic Four. No matter how amazing the adventures, the Fantastic Four must be a family first, regular people who love one another. Given the alternate 1960s where First Steps takes place, it’s hard not to believe that Franklin’s reality-warping powers might have something to do with integrating the team into the MCU’s Earth-616 — after all, the aforementioned Fantastic Four #604 comes in the lead-up to Secret Wars, the story that will become 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. However, the trailer’s focus on Johnny and Ben celebrating their uncle status and Reed and Sue fretting about being parents shows that First Steps is putting the family first, the most important part of any Franklin Richards story. The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 24, 2025.

The Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs have ruffled feathers across the world — and reignited Europe’s push for digital sovereignty.  One of the key focus points has been Europe’s cloud infrastructure, which is currently dominated by US tech giants: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Together, the “big three” account for more than 50% of the continent’s cloud market. “Europe has been heavily reliant on US tech and cloud for decades,” said Mark Boost, CEO of UK-based web hosting company Civo. “But there are alternatives, where France, Germany, and the UK have full control of their data and cloud landscape.” Trump’s tariffs, Boost added, had “cemented the idea that Europe can no longer afford to rely on the US for its digital infrastructure.” Thankfully, Europe has loads of homegrown cloud providers. The largest is France’s OVHcloud, which runs the world’s largest data centre by surface area. Others include Finland’s UpCloud, Switzerland’s Exoscale, Germany’s IONOS, and France’s Scaleway (the cloud provider of choice for French AI unicorn Mistral). View the full agenda These alternative cloud providers may not match the scale and breadth of services offered by the US hyperscalers. They do, however, offer something very attractive in these uncertain geopolitical times: data sovereignty and privacy.    As Alexander Samsig, senior consultant and partner at Norwegian tech consultancy Funktive, put it in a recent blog post: “In 2025, the choice of a cloud provider isn’t just about technology or price.” Boost echoes that sentiment. “A sovereign European cloud could foster an ecosystem defined by fairness and transparency, in which domestic providers can compete, and customers have maximum freedom to choose the service that’s right for them,” he said.   It’s not a pipedream, either — Europe has cut its dependence on powerful American tech before and can do it again.  Europeans once relied entirely on the US for GPS access, but today, smartphone users on the continent can access navigation through the EU’s Galileo satellite system. Launched in 2016, Galileo is one of the world’s best satellite networks, and unlike others, it’s a civilian system designed with secure service provision at its core. It cost around €10bn to build and deploy. If Europe is truly committed to building sovereign cloud infrastructure, it will need to back up its ambitions with significant investment. “Allocating funding for domestic sovereign clouds would also go a long way to supporting domestic industries, and would send a clear signal that Europe can chart an independent path from the US and China,” said Boost.  Political momentum on this front looks to be building. In a speech yesterday, France’s AI minister, Clara Chappaz, called on the continent to “work as a pack” to take on US “predator” tech firms, particularly in the cloud services sector.  To shield Europe from US tech dominance, Chappaz urged the bloc to enforce its digital rulebook, stand up to Trump’s “idiotic” trade war, and hit back with digital taxes on Big Tech — if required. She also slammed “sovereignty washing” — when US cloud giants partner with EU firms to appear sovereign — and backed strict standards like France’s SecNumCloud certification, which disqualifies foreign-owned providers based on shareholding caps. Chappaz said Europe is finally “waking up” to the need for true cloud independence. The minister also claimed that both OVHcloud and Scaleway saw record client growth since Trump took office.  Europe’s digital sovereignty will be a hot topic at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam. Tickets for the event are now on sale. Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the check-out to get 30% off the price tag. Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week. Also tagged with

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