These games have sold a few copiesWith the rise in popularity and prominence of free-to-play games like Fortnite, CS: GO, PUBG, and others, games are reaching astounding player counts and tallying huge amounts of play time. But in terms of sales numbers for paid games, what are the best-selling games of all time? Here in this gallery we are running through the top 10 best-selling games of all time based on the latest publicly available data.This list does not include free-to-play games, which is why you won't see juggernauts like Fortnite, Rocket League, Dota 2, and CS: GO on the list, among others. Those games have no doubt reached many, many more people and are probably best compared against other free-to-play games.The list does, however, include sales of pack-in games for hardware bundlesand that is an important distinction. For example, Wii Sports sold about 83 million copies thanks in part to it being bundled with the Wii. The original Super Mario Bros. was a pack-in game as well for the NES.With these caveats out of the way, let's dive into the Top 10 best-selling games ever. We're betting you can probably guess a few of these! We will continue to update this list over time as GTA 5 inevitably continues to sell more and more copies. 10: Super Mario Bros. -- 50 million (pack-in sales included) The original Super Mario Bros. for NES, released in 1985, is the first game on this list with a reported 50 million copies sold. This was not Mario's first appearance in a video game, but Super Mario Bros. remains beloved and its huge success helped propel the Mario franchise forward. The levels, the music, the enemies--it's all iconic. Numerous Mario games would follow, the latest of which is Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which releases in October 2023 for Nintendo Switch. 9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- 50 millionCD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt grew the franchise to new heights, with the latest release selling 50 million copies across all platforms. Released in 2015, The Witcher 3 was a hit right out of the gate and has continued to grow and grow and grow. The game is regularly discounted to low, low prices, but that doesn't take anything away from the fact it put up gigantic sales figures. Something else that helped Witcher 3 sales was the debut of the Netflix TV series. The entire Witcher series has sold 75 million units, and with Witcher 3 taking up 50 million of those, it's the biggest of the group.After The Witcher on Netflix premiered in 2020, Witcher 3 sales rose by 500%. CD Projekt Red released Cyberpunk 2077 next, and while it got off to a poor start in terms of player reception, things have since turned around and the game is doing great. The Witcher 4 is the next game in the main Witcher series, and it's in development now using Unreal Engine 5. 6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- 60 millionThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released back in 2011. It was a very successful release from Bethesda Game Studios at launch, and it has continued to sell well in the years that followed. In fact, the game's ubiquity has become a meme. It's been ported to pretty much every platform you can think of, and game director Todd Howard has explained why. "If you want us to stop releasing it, stop buying it," Howard joked in 2018. In an interview in 2023, Howard revealed that the game had reached 60 million copies sold, making it one of the top 10 best-selling games ever. Next up for Howard and Bethesda is something new--the RPG Starfield. But after that, Howard and the team will make The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5. 7. Red Dead Redemption II -- 70 millionRockstar has two games inside the list of the top 10 best-selling games of all time, and the first is the 2018 western Red Dead Redemption II, with 70 million copies sold. A prequel to 2010's Red Dead Redemption that fans waited nearly a decade for, Red Dead Redemption II goes back in time and explains some of the events leading up to Red Dead Redemption. The game is set in a sprawling open world in the 1899 American West. The game's online mode, Red Dead Online, didn't take off in the way that GTA Online did, but the game overall still managed to put up big numbers 6. Mario Kart 8 + Deluxe -- 72.73 million (pack-in sales included)The Mario Kart series is one of the biggest and best-known in all of gaming, and Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling of them all. The game originally launched on Wii U, where it sold 8.46 million copies (a substantial number, considering the Wii U itself only sold 13.5 million units). But the game really got a jolt in sales when it came to Switch via Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. On Switch, the game has sold an astounding 64.27 million copies to bring its total to 72.73 million. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is featured in Nintendo's annual Black Friday bundle, so of course its sales figures are boosted by being a pack-in title. Nintendo has expanded upon Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with dozens of DLC tracks that players can buy via the Booster Pass. Unsurprisingly, it's been reported that Mario Kart 9 is now in the works. 5. PUBG -- 75 millionPUBG: Battlegrounds, or PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds as it was originally known, is now a free-to-play game. But before the change in business model, the game tallied an impressive 75 million copies sold across PC and console. The game, which is based on an Arma mod, was released in 2017 and remains one of the leading battle royale games on the market. It's now also available with a dedicated version for mobile devices. At one point, there were plans to create a PUBG connected universe that would expand far and wide into the horror space with the game The Callisto Protocol, but those plans were scaled back. 4. Wii Sports -- 82.9 million The original Wii Sports was a pack-in game for the Nintendo Wii, and as such, it sold a lot of copies. Surely, its pack-in status helped it sell more than it might otherwise have. How many copies did it sell? 82.9 million by Nintendo's latest count. The game was many people's first introduction to the Wii's innovative motion controls. It really did feel incredible to swing the Wii Remote and see that swing translated on screen for a tennis shot or whipping a bowling ball down the alley. A sequel, Wii Sports Resort, was released in 2009 with more games like frisbee and basketball. A successor followed for the Nintendo Switch in the form of the very creatively named Nintendo Switch Sports. 3. GTA 5 -- 210 millionIt was only a matter of time before Grand Theft Auto V showed up on this list. Rockstar's celebrated open-world action game was released all the way back in 2013 but has been selling millions of copies every few months, bringing its total to 210 million+ and counting. The game originally launched on Xbox 360 and PS3 before coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC, and then later with updated graphics and features to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Beyond sales alone, the game brings in money from its uber-popular GTA Online multiplayer mode. And 195 million doesn't even count all the people who might have played GTA 5 when it was available on Xbox Game Pass. In terms of dollars, it is the most successful entertainment product of all time. Unsurprisingly, Rockstar is now developing a new GTA game. GTA 6 is in development and will release in Fall 2025. 2. Minecraft -- 300 millionOf course Minecraft is on this list. It's the No. 2 best-selling game of all time. As of 2023, the game had sold more than 300 million copies, according to franchise owner Microsoft. According to the company, a copy of the game has been sold in just about every country and territory in the world, and that includes Antarctica and Vatican City. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson, who would go on to sell the game and his stake in developer Mojang to Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5 billion. Microsoft has never released a Minecraft 2, but has expanded the series in the form of other games like Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends. A film starring Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Kate McKinnon, and Jennifer Coolidge is now in the works. 1. Tetris -- 520 million (pack-in sales included) According to the official Tetris website, the iconic puzzle game has exceeded 520 million in sales over its lifetime, with "billions" of sessions played online every year. The 520 million surely includes combined sales of the many different versions of the year released over the years.The game is a cultural phenomenon, as pretty much anyone of a certain age would know what you're talking about when you mention Tetris. It's also become common parlance, of sorts, as people might often refer to "playing Tetris" when loading up a car with many items that might seem difficult to fit. The game was created by Alexey Pajitnov, an engineer from Soviet Russia. It wasn't until game designer and entrepreneur Henk Rogers discovered the game at a Las Vegas tradeshow in 1988 that the game really picked up steam, though. Rogers got the rights from Pajitnov and licensed the game to Nintendo, which released the game as a pack-in for the Nintendo Game Boy. This led to 35 million copies being sold for Game Boy alone, and the game has remained popular ever since, having been released on pretty much every platform under the sun. A movie about the origins of Tetris starring Taron Egerton was released in 2023.

With 2026 soon approaching alongside the 25th anniversary of the Halo franchise, the sci-fi video game series is on the precipice of expanding exponentially. Currently, there are rumors of a sequel to Halo Infinite being developed, a ground-up remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, and ports of Halo: The Master Chief Collection to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. While all of these rumored projects are based directly on previous Halo games, Halo Studios has the potential to develop more games based on the franchises expanded media, such as comics, books, and even the Halo Paramount+ show. One possible Halogame in particular, the long-demanded Halo Wars 3, could be based on deep lore from the novel Halo: Divine Wind.

Lydia takes a fall in Skyrim and more funny game fails.

Nowadays, it seems like players don't want to write things down. But I love how La Mulana requires you to write notes down and cross reference various notes in order to solve puzzles, it makes you feel like a real archaeologist! The problem is that many people will play the game with a guide or wiki, instead of using their brains.What is the best way to encourage players to write things down without having them use a guide, or even just pressing Alt-F4? Should I look at the desi

If you try to sign up for Nvidia GeForce Now, the GPU makers game streaming service that lets you stream your PC games on other devices, you currently cant. Every tier of service has a sold out notice above it, with no indication as to when people will be able to sign up again. But dont fret, its coming back soon well, part of it is, anyway.Nvidia spokesperson Stephenie Ngo told Polygon that it expects to be able to welcome new sign-ups in roughly two weeks with Day Passes. So, you still wont be able to sign up for the one-month or six-month plans, but youll at least be able to pay to play games one day at a time. As for why the service currently isnt accepting new members, Ngo told Polygon that Nvidia is currently transitioning to a new payment provider. During that transition, its pausing new sign-ups, Day Passes, and gift card purchases. The company posted on the GeForce Now subreddit in late January, saying the full transition is expected to take a minimum of 5 weeks. Ngo says that current members arent affected by these changes.Unlike Xbox Game Pass, which has a curated catalog of games you stream in full, or download to an Xbox or PC, GeForce Now lets you stream only the games you own on PC platforms, plus some free-to-play games. It can pull in many (but not all) games from Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Xbox game store. And notably, it lets you stream them in high quality through one of its Nvidia RTX-powered virtualized rigs. In my experience, games look better through GeForce Now than Xbox Cloud Gaming, since Nvidias service has a tier that goes up to 4K at 240 frames per second.GeForce Now is available on numerous devices, ranging from handhelds to TVs. Nvidia announced at CES 2025 that a native app will be coming to the Steam Deck sometime in 2025. So, at least its getting the payment provider transition out of the way before that arrives.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released in fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive confirmed during its financial earnings report released Thursday. GTA 6 was previously announced for a fall 2025 release window, so its not necessarily a big surprise, but theres been rampant speculation that it could be delayed.Rockstar Games is well-known to delay its biggest games in the name of polish. Its last major release,Red Dead Redemption 2, was publiclydelayedthree times. And back in 2013,Grand Theft Auto 5saw asignificant delay, slipping from its original spring release date to a September 2013 launch. But as of Thursday, GTA 6 will stay in its current release slot.Rockstar originally announced Grand Theft Auto 6 back in 2022, when the developer confirmed that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway. That announcement was, in part, a response to what Rockstar called the unprecedented longevity of GTA 5, which has remained wildly popular since its release in 2013 largely thanks to continued support for Grand Theft Auto Online.Some GTA fans got their first look at Grand Theft Auto 6 in an unofficial capacity. Rockstar Games was the target of a massive security breach in 2022, leading to the release of leaked footage of GTA 6. The first official look at GTA 6 came the following year, when Rockstar released the first trailer for its upcoming open-world game in December 2023.Since then, Rockstar has been relatively quiet, and hasnt shown any new footage of GTA 6 part of the reason fans were worried about a delay.Grand Theft Auto 6 is the first brand-new GTA game in more than a decade, and expectations for it are high the games predecessor has sold more than 200 million copies since its debut on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. The sixth mainline game in Rockstars 27-year-old franchise takes the series back to Vice City, in the fictional state of Leonida, where dual protagonists Jason and Lucia seek a better life. To do so, players will commit heists, hijackings, and other hijinks in a modern-day context, not the stylized 80s version of Vice City explored in previous Grand Theft Auto games.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.Groceries are damn expensive now, even the basics. Honk if you walked out of the supermarket with one measly bag of food that cost $50. Food shopping is one of those instances where I get mad about it (nothing will stop me from complaining into the void), but in the end, I have to find a way to cook smarter. Here are some of the strategies I use to maximize the money I spend at the grocery store, along with a few of my favorite budget-friendly recipes that are anything but boring.Make proteins work for your budgetThough eating meat will make your grocery bill climb quickly, you dont need to go without. I eat a variety of proteins and I think that's the key to both decreasing my spending and keeping meals interesting. When buying meat, I recommend dividing it into smaller quantities, so you can use one itemsay, a bag of shrimp or a pound of ground turkeyfor three to five different meals. Then use the accompanying ingredients to bulk it up. The following recipes include seafood, meat, and plant-based options. All of the recipes are scaled for two servings, so divide or multiply the measurements as needed.Red lentil slow cooker grazing soup Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann Lentils and chickpeas are the heroes in this comforting and satisfying soup. They're full of fiber which you can thank for that full-belly feeling, but equally as pleasant is their low price tag. A pound of dried lentils will only run you a couple bucks (if that) and you'll have plenty leftover to use in other soups. This slow cooker soup is always welcome in my house because you can leave it to cook and stay warm on the counter, so whenever you walk by, you graze on it a little. Ingredients: onion, minced2 waxy, medium-sized potatoes, cubed cup chopped carrots cup dry red lentils2 cups lacinato kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped4 cups chicken broth teaspoon salt teaspoon MSG teaspoon garlic powder teaspoon cayenne pepper powder2 teaspoons lemon juice1 can organic chickpeas (optional), not drained1. In true lazy slow cooker soup fashion, dump all of the ingredients, except the lemon juice and the can of chickpeas, into the cooker.2. Cook the soup for 2 hours on high heat, stirring occasionally. Click the cooker over to the warm setting for the rest of the day. Just before eating your first bowl, stir in the lemon juice.3. If you notice your soup is running low and you dont want the party to end, stir in the can of chickpeas with its liquid.Air-fried tofu with beet saladAir fried tofu is experiencing major popularity in my household these days. I like to use this recipe for coating firm tofu in nutritional yeast and air frying it until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The beet salad is a simple preparation and always leaves me convinced I should be eating more beets.Ingredients: red onion, thinly sliced3 tablespoons white vinegar1 teaspoon sugar teaspoon salt1 container firm tofu, drainedNeutral oil to coatNutritional yeast to coatSprinkle of salt1-8 ounce pack steamed and peeled beets, quartered3 cups of spring mix (or any salad greens)2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Gefen Ready-to-eat Beets A handy 3-pack of ready-to-eat beets $13.79 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $13.79 at Amazon 1. Add the sliced onion to a deep salad bowl along with the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix it around to coat the onion and let it pickle in the liquid while you prepare the meal.2. Slice the drained tofu into four thick planks. Dab them dry with a paper towel. Spray or drizzle a neutral oil to coat the tofu and sprinkle them with salt. Pour nutritional yeast onto a plate and press the tofu into it until completely coated. Air fry the planks at 400F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy on the outside.3. Add the beets and spring mix to the bowl of onions and toss with the olive oil until coated. Plate the crispy tofu alongside the salad and serve.Khao Tom Goong (Thai shrimp and rice soup)This soup is great for any time of day, so dont hesitate, even if its 8 in the morning. Ill buy a pound of raw, deveined frozen shrimp from Trader Joes for about $12 and use it for several meals, including this one. Its filling, satisfying, and you can use leftover rice to keep the preparation quick.Ingredients:1 teaspoon cooking oil1 clove garlic, chopped8 raw, tail-on deveined shrimp, thawed (if frozen)Pinch saltDash fish sauce1 cup chicken broth (or any broth)1 cup rice, cookedGarnish with chopped cilantro, fried garlic, and sliced ginger1. Heat the oil in a medium pot with the garlic on low heat. Once the garlic starts to gently sizzle, add the shrimp. Sprinkle in the salt as you flip the shrimp. After a minute or so, when the shrimp is halfway cooked, add a dash of fish sauce and the broth.2. Add in the rice and allow the soup to come up to a simmer for two minutes. Serve the soup topped with plenty of fried garlic, cilantro, and ginger.Cold ramen noodle salad Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann This noodle-y salad feels like a fun treat, makes enough for two servings, and will leave you with veggies to spare and use for other meals. The instant noodles are quick to cook and add necessary bulk so you walk away from the table satiated. Thinly sliced veggies bring in the nutrients, while the bright and flavorful dressing brings the whole dish to life. While you'll see asparagus in my recipe, it's more important to use seasonal veggies to keep the cost down. You can always rely on carrots, bell peppers, scallions, or snow peas to be affordable and available year-round. Feel free to swap out the noodles for a couple servings of cooked and drained pasta or a cup of cooked, warm rice. Ingredients:1 pack ramen noodles, boiled and drainedDrizzle of neutral oil for the ramen noodles1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar tablespoon white balsamic vinegar1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil teaspoon salt English cucumber, smashed and cut into 1-inch chunks red bell pepper, sliced2 asparagus spears, sliced (optional)5-10 sugar snap peas, slicedCooked chicken breast slices or a handful of cooked shrimp (optional)1. Toss the drained ramen noodles with a drizzle of oil to keep them from sticking in a clump. Chill the noodles in the fridge.2. In a serving bowl, combine the vinegars, sesame oil, and salt. Add the cucumber, pepper, asparagus, and snap peas. Toss. Add the chilled ramen noodles and toss until thoroughly combined. Serve and top with sliced chicken.Frozen dumplings and broccoliThis recipe is barely a recipe. Besides adding sauce to the broccoli, its pretty much exactly what it sounds like: dumplings and broccoli. Somehow, I find it to be a meal I always look forward to. Its vital that you use frozen dumplings you actually like. Once again, I frequent Trader Joes for the affordable frozen gyoza, but if you can, I recommend stopping by an Asian supermarket for well-priced, delicious dumplings.Ingredients:1-16 ounce bag frozen pork gyoza (substitute any filling)2 cups fresh broccoli florets2 tablespoons Bachans Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce (substitute soy sauce) Bachan's Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce This flavorful condiment delivers tons of umami to any meal. $7.98 at Walmart $8.49 Save $0.51 Shop Now Shop Now $7.98 at Walmart $8.49 Save $0.51 1. Place a steamer basket in a large pot with a half-inch of water in the bottom. Add the frozen dumplings to the steamer and cover the pot with a lid. Steam the dumplings over medium heat for five minutes.2. Open the pot and dump the broccoli florets over the dumplings and replace the lid. Steam the contents for another five minutes. The broccoli should be cooked but slightly crunchy, and the dumplings will be cooked through. Toss the broccoli with the sauce (or leave it on the side for dipping). Plate the dumplings with the broccoli on the side.Pantry pastaWhen youre looking for a recipe that sticks to your ribs without breaking the budget, pasta is a reliable ally. This is a simple recipe where any protein can substitute in, and the sauce is butter. You can use any bean to pair with your pasta, but I use peas here because I always have them in the freezer. If youre looking for a red sauce pasta idea, try my dairy-free vodka sauce recipe.Ingredients:Cooking oil to coat the pot8 ounces ground turkey1 shallot (or quarter-onion), minced2 cloves of garlic, minced teaspoon salt4 mushrooms, chopped cup frozen peas teaspoon garlic powder4 ounces any pasta, boiled (I like rigatoni for this)2 tablespoons salted butter1. Add oil to a medium pot, enough to coat the bottom, and heat it over medium-low. Add the ground turkey and break it apart into small hunks while it cooks. When its halfway cooked through, add the shallot, garlic, salt, and mushrooms.2. Cook the mixture until the shallot has softened and the mushrooms are plump. Add the peas and garlic powder. Stir and allow the peas to heat through. Add the cooked pasta with a spoonful of the pasta water, turn off the heat and add the butter. Toss gently until the butter melts. Serve in bowls.Hot chicken sausage and veggiesAs I mentioned earlier, I find it easier to stretch protein when its presented in smaller bits. Its more of a mind game, and I play it on myself. Serving a three-ounce steak will look meager on the plate, but chop it up and mix it with things and youve got a hearty helping. You can use any sausage you like, but I like chicken sausage for this because it doesnt feel as heavy as pork.Ingredients:Cooking oil to coat the pan2 links of pre-cooked chicken sausage1 medium onion, peeled and sliced1 red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced4 mushrooms teaspoon garlic powder teaspoon salt1 tablespoon hot sauce tablespoon soy sauce1 cup cooked rice Aidells Smoked Chicken Sausage, Garlic & Gruyere Cheese, 4 Ct Fully cooked, hardwood smoked sausages. $4.98 at Walmart $0.00 Save 0.00 Shop Now Shop Now $4.98 at Walmart $0.00 Save 0.00 1. Slice the sausages in half lengthwise. Then cut them across into half-inch wide chunks. Peel and slice the onion into strips. Deseed the pepper and cut it into strips about the same size as the onion. Quarter the mushrooms.2. Coat the bottom of a medium pot with a neutral cooking oil. Heat it over medium-low heat and add the sausage pieces and veggies. Saut everything until the onions begin to sweat and soften. Add the garlic powder and salt, and stir to incorporate. Stir in the hot sauce and soy sauce to coat. Serve the hot chicken and veggies over rice.

One of Apple's best recent features is iPhone mirroring, which lets you control an iPhone from a Mac. Scrcpy is a free application for Linux, Windows, and macOS that does the same thing: It allows you to control your Android phone from a window on your computer.This application takes a bit to set upit launches from the terminal or command prompt, for one thing, and it only works if you enable developer mode on your Android phone. Once you set it up, though, you can control your Android's screen from your computer, or even turn on a virtual screen so you can launch applications while your phone is off.To get started, you will need to install Scrcpy (which is just "screencopy" without the vowels). The simplest way to do this is by using a package manager like Homebrew on the Mac or Scoop for Windows. Linux users can use whatever package manager came with their distribution. Using a package manager is recommended because it will also install all dependencies, which is to say it will install all of the tools and drivers you need to use in order to get the application working. If you don't have a package manager, or just prefer not using one, you can download the latest release and try to run it directly. There are instructions for Linux, macOS, and Windows on the Github page. This is going to be the harder option, though. You will need to ensure all dependencies are installed, so check the documentation for more details. As always, be careful where you download the application. Do not download Scrcpy from a third party websitestick to either a package manager mentioned in the documentation or download it from the official Github page. After installing, you need to enable USB debugging on your phone, which requires enabling developer mode. To start, head to Settings > About phone and tap the Build Number until you see a message that say You are now a developer. This will open a new sub-menu under System called Developer options. Open that and turn on USB Debugging. You should now see a message about the feature when you plug in your phone. Credit: Justin Pot Plug your phone into your computer and you can start controlling your Android. The simplest way to get started it to simply type scrcp in the command prompt or terminalthis will take control of your phone. You can even open the camera app and point it at your screen to create an extremely confusing screenshot, if you want. Apple doesn't let you use the camera while mirroring an iPhone. This app does what Appledon't. Credit: Justin Pot If this doesn't work, there are a number of things you can check. The first is whether you installed all dependencies. The simplest way to solve this is to use a package manager instead of installing directly. On Windows, you might not have the correct drivers installed, or you might not have enabled USB debugging. Check the official FAQ for more details. By default, you get an exact recreation of what's currently on your phone, but it doesn't have to be that way. For example: You can have a virtual display for your phone on your computer, allowing you to run Android apps while your phone's screen is turned off. Just type scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080 and you're off and running. This is great if there are Android games you want to play on your computer. If you just want to use your computer's mouse and keyboard to control your phone, but not see the display on your screen, you can do that with scrcpy --otg and you can do that. There's a lot more you can do, though. I'd highly recommend digging into the documentation to learn about that. I promise it's fun.

Two US Congress members plan to introduce bipartisan legislation to ban Chinas DeepSeek AI chatbot from government devices. The bills announcement came after a security expert said DeepSeek not only poses a threat to US AI stocks; its also a national security risk. The chatbot has recently been the most downloaded app in the US.U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Darin LaHood (R-IL), each partys senior-most member on the House Select Committee on Intelligence, plan to introduce the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act. If all of this sounds familiar, the move echoes Congress blocking of TikTok from government devices in 2022. That was the opening salvo in a saga that culminated in the US-wide ban the app is now staring down.The alarm follows an independent analysis from Feroot Security claiming that DeepSeeks code sends user data directly to the Chinese government-owned China Mobile. We see direct links to servers and companies in China that are under control of the Chinese government, Feroot analyst Ivan Tsarynny said in an interview with ABC News. This is something weve never seen before.Our personal information is being sent to China, there is no denial, and the DeepSeek tool is collecting everything that American users connect to it, Tsarynny told the Wall Street Journal. ABC reported on Wednesday that multiple cybersecurity experts verified Feroots findings.The US Navy and NASA have already banned DeepSeek from their employees devices. Texas is the only state to have blocked the app from government devices. Three other countries have already beat the US to the punch in banning the app: Italy, South Korea and Australia.LaHood warned of the apps dangers. The national security threat that DeepSeek a CCP-affiliated company poses to the United States is alarming, the Representative wrote in a press release. DeepSeeks generative AI program acquires the data of US users and stores the information for unidentified use by the CCP. Under no circumstances can we allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data.We must get to the bottom of DeepSeeks malign activities, Gottheimer wrote. We simply cant risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/us-lawmakers-want-deepseek-banned-from-government-devices-212230100.html?src=rss

The Entertainment Software Association is making a fresh attempt to launch a gaming event. The new project is called iicon, or the "interactive innovation conference." It's not as catchy a name as E3, and sadly for the average gaming fan, it's probably not an event they'll care about as much as E3.On the positive side, most of the big businesses in games that would have hosted sprawling booths at Los Angeles Convention Center back in the day have already signed on to this new endeavor. Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Disney, EA, Epic Games, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Take Two Interactive, Amazon Games and Warner Bros. Games are all named as participants.However, the announcements on social media promote iicon as being for "visionaries," "changemakers" and "innovators," so our best guess is that this event will swing more toward the corporate side of gaming where people might use that language unironically. If that's the case, this won't really be a replacement for the heyday of E3, when studios big and small would showcase their upcoming projects and drop internet-breaking surprises. Instead, the inaugural event in April 2026 sounds like it will focus more on moving the needle, brand alignments and synergy.Since the old ESA event's decline and eventual demise in 2023, the consumer side of gaming is mostly being served by splashy events run by Geoff Keighley: the Summer Game Fest and the Game Awards. Both have already announced their 2025 dates.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-esa-wants-to-replace-e3-with-a-bunch-of-buzzwords-191544789.html?src=rss