Microsoft says it has developed a new generative AI model that can produce "complex gameplay sequences."The Xbox maker's Research Game Intelligence team debuted the World and Human Action Model (WHAM), which it has nicknamed Muse, earlier today and described it as a "generative AI model of a video game that can generate game visuals, controller actions, or both."Okay. At this stage, we need to tap the 'generative AI isn't actually building video games' sign.Microsoft stated that Muse, which was trained on data provided by Hellblade developer Ninja Theory, is currently capable of generating visuals at a resolution of 300 x 180 pixels. It also required 1 million training updates before producing a stable output featuring correct model behavior and mechanics.Microsoft explained current instances of Muse have been trained on more than 1 billion images and controller actions, corresponding to over seven years of continuous human gameplay. It said that data was "ethically" sourced from Bleeding Edge, the four-versus-four multiplayer title developed by Ninja Theory.The company had previously used player data from the title to drive human-like navigation experiments, but in 2022 apparently started wondering what might happen if that information was funneled into a machine learning model foie gras style. Thus, Muse was born."As the team got to work, some of the key challenges included scaling up the model training. We initially used a V100 cluster, where we were able to prove out how to scale up to training on up to 100 GPUs; that eventually paved the way to training at scale on H100s," said Microsoft, explaining how it birthed the technology."Key design decisions we made early focused on how to best leverage insights from the large language model (LLM) community and included choices such as how to effectively represent controller actions and especially images."Microsoft heralds generative AI 'milestone' but Xbox studio head claims tech won't be used for content creationMicrosoft described the development and unveiling of Muse as a "milestone" that perhaps demonstrates how generative AI models can "effectively support human creatives."For instance, in one demo Muse was prompted with a modified visual featuring a completely new character. It then generated a gameplay sequence that showed how that character might be "adapted" into the experience.Discussing the advent of Muse in a video blog, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said developing the model was about leveraging "the intersection of art of science" to enable creators to "do things they've never done before." It remains to be seen what those nebulous "things" might be.Spencer also pondered how AI models could be used to bolster game preservation by imagining a scenario that would arguably concern some preservationists."You can imagine a world where, from gameplay data and video, a model could learn old games and really make them portable to any platform where these models can run," he said. "These models and their ability to learn how a game playswithout the necessity of the original engine running on the original hardwareI think opens up a ton of opportunity."Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews explained he specifically wants to learn how AI can help teams "push their creative ambitions.""Technology like this for me, and for our studio here at Ninja Theory, is not about using AI to generate content, but is actually about creating workflows and approaches that allow our team of 100 creative experts to do more, to go further, to iterate quicker, to ideate quicker, to bring the ideas in their head to life in a tangible form," he added."Although this is technology we haven't used in the creation of our gamesand we don't intend to use this technology for the creation of contentI think the interesting aspect for us is how can we use technology like this to make the process of making games quicker and easier for our talented team so they can focus on the thing that is really special about games, which is that human creativity."Of course, there is substantially less human creativity on display at Microsoft these days after the studio laid off around 2,550 game developers in 2024.Those interested can learn more about Muse (and view example outputs) on the Microsoft Research website.

The iPhone 14 was Apples last new phone with a Lightning port.Apple has stopped selling new iPhones with Lightning ports with the launch of the iPhone 16E and the removal of the iPhone 14 and the third-generation iPhone SE from its website. All new iPhones have a USB-C port. Finally.This change isnt a surprise. Apple has slowly migrated its products to USB-C from Lightning, which it introduced more than a decade ago with the iPhone 5, with updated iPads and newer accessories like the Magic Mouse and keyboard. Even the Siri Remote for Apple TV is available with a USB-C port.Apple still sells some accessories that rely on Lightning, including the first-generation Apple Pencil and a handful of adapters. While I have written about why I like Lightning Im still holding onto my iPhone 12 Mini, after all its really coming time for me to jump up to a USB-C iPhone. And now I have lots of different options to pick from.

With artificial intelligence being so prevalent across, well, just about everything these days, its no small feat for AI developers to make their products stand out among the deluge. Very few have managed to capture as much attention as Rabbit, the AI startup thats managed to sell 40,000 units of its standalone $199 R1 gadget within eight days of launching the device at CES in January this year.The AI-powered Rabbit OS behind the Rabbit R1 is essentially a dedicated virtual assistant thats designed to interact with your favorite apps like a kind of universal controller. The OS is built upon a Large Action Model trained to interact with common apps like Spotify and Uber to get things done; from sending messages, controlling music, making online purchases, and more.At around half the size of an iPhone, the orange Rabbit R1 gadget was designed in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, and features a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a scrolling navigation wheel, and a rotating camera. Its a little reminiscent of the Playdate handheld game console.Were keeping track of all the latest updates surrounding the Rabbit R1 so that nothing gets buried in the hype providing the device lives up to its sizable expectations.HighlightsNov 21, 2024Emma RothRabbit now lets you teach the R1 to perform tasks for youPhoto: David Pierce / The VergeRabbit is rolling out teach mode to its R1 devices, allowing you to create an AI agent that can perform tasks for you. The feature works by learning a task you demonstrate, such as retrieving updates from a content creator you follow, or helping you draft a post on social media.You can access the feature by logging into the Rabbithole, the web interface for managing an R1 device. From there, youll create a lesson by describing a task and then recording yourself performing it. Once you show the AI agent what you want it to do, you can then ask it to recall what its learned and have it complete the task. It seems straightforward, but Rabbit acknowledges that teach mode is experimental and results may not always be what you expect.Read Article >Nov 15, 2024Emma RothThe Rabbit R1 now lets you remake its whole interfacePhoto: David Pierce / The VergeThe Rabbit R1 can now use AI to redesign the devices entire interface based on a prompt. Some examples shared by Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu show a Legend of Zelda-inspired interface, another made in the style of Windows XP, and one using a dark green scanline background.Though this seems like a fun way to customize the R1, Rabbit says responses on the AI-generated interfaces are slower than the default UI on R1 and can take over 30 seconds to appear. It suggests disabling this feature if you want the fastest responses possible.Read Article >Oct 7, 2024Nilay PatelCorrection: Only 5,000 people are using the Rabbit R1 at any given time, not in a day.Thats straight from Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu, who took great exception to our story from September 25th, which was sourced to a Fast Company article about his comments at one of their events. Jesse told me the actual daily user number was around 20,000, spiking up to 34,000 the day the companys new LAM Playgrounds were launched, and that his actual comment was that 5,000 of those people were using the Rabbit at any given time. For context, Jesse also told me Rabbit has sold 100,000 R1s so far.Fast Company has corrected its story, and weve updated our story as well. You can hear the whole conversation on Decoder.Oct 7, 2024Nilay PatelRabbit CEO Jesse Lyu isnt thinking too far aheadPhoto illustration by The Verge / Photo: RabbitToday, Im talking with Jesse Lyu, the founder and CEO of Rabbit. The startup company makes the adorable r1 AI gadget a little handheld designed by superstar design firm Teenage Engineering. Its meant to be how you talk to an AI agent, which then goes off onto the internet and does things for you, from playing music on Spotify and ordering an Uber to even buying things on Amazon.Rabbit launched with a lot of hype at CES and a big party in New York, but early reviews of the device were universally bad. Our own David Pierce gave it a 3 out of 10 in May, saying that most of the features dont work or dont even exist. And the core feature that didnt seem to exist was the most important of all: Rabbits large action model, or LAM, which is meant to allow the system to open a web browser in the cloud and browse for you. The LAM is supposed to intelligently understand what its looking at on a website and literally click around to accomplish tasks on your behalf.Read Article >Sep 25, 2024Wes DavisOnly 5,000 people are using the Rabbit R1 at any given timePhoto: David Pierce / The VergeAround 5,000 people of the 100,000 who bought the Rabbit R1 are using the device at any given moment, five months after the device launched. Thats straight from the mouth of Rabbit founder Jesse Lyu, who gave the number to Fast Company while explaining that the device had to launch before it was ready in order to beat big tech companies to the punch.Thats a big fall from the moment AI gadgets were having earlier this year. There was tremendous hype around the R1 after its CES debut, and an air of mystery surrounded Humanes AI Pin before its reveal. Both shipped without any of the futuristic grandeur that was promised. As The Verges David Pierce wrote in his review of the R1, the whole thing just feels broken. Maybe thats why almost nobody is using the R1 or why, last month, Humane was taking back more AI Pins than it was selling.Read Article >May 4, 2024Wes DavisThe object you are holding appears to be a tomato, not something intended for consumption.You know, I think Im coming around on the Rabbit R1.May 4, 2024Wes DavisYoure holding a taco!If youve already read our review of the Rabbit R1 but havent gotten around to watching the video version of it, what better time than now?May 3, 2024Emma RothBattle of the AI gadgets.The WSJs Joanna Stern put the Rabbit R1, Humane AI Pin, and the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to the test. Can you guess which one came out on top?May 3, 2024Richard LawlerAn OpenAI outage briefly broke push-to-talk requests on all Rabbit R1 devices.As pointed out on Threads by @zebulon.vance, it looks like the problem was an OpenAI outage Thursday evening that was addressed about 45 minutes later.The only remaining issue is that even after paying $200, your ability to even try to get responses from your Rabbit R1 AI hardware depends on other AI companies keeping things running 24/7.Screenshot: Discord (rabbit)May 2, 2024David PierceTake a look inside the Rabbit R1 and the Humane AI Pin.I love a good iFixit teardown, and this one is super instructive. You can really see how much more polished and complex the AI Pin is, but both have a lot of tech and design even inside their cases. And if youre thinking, gosh, theres a lot of phone-like stuff in here... youre getting it.May 2, 2024David PierceRabbit R1 review: nothing to see hereYoure holding a taco.My Rabbit R1 told me that the other day. I was sitting at a table at a cafe on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and I had just picked up this $199 orange rectangle of a gadget and pointed it at the food in my hand. With unwavering, absolute confidence, the R1 told me it was a taco. Read Article >May 1, 2024Allison JohnsonTurns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all alongI mean, at least its just $200? Image: David Pierce / The VergeSince it launched last week, Rabbits R1 AI gadget has inspired a lot of questions, starting with Why isnt this just an app? Well, friends, thats because it is just an app.Over at Android Authority, Mishaal Rahman managed to download Rabbits launcher APK on a Google Pixel 6A. With a little tweaking, he was able to run the app as if it were on Rabbits own device. Using the volume-up key in place of the R1s single hardware button, he was able to set up an account and start asking it questions, just as if he was using the $199 R1.Read Article >Apr 30, 2024Allison JohnsonThe Rabbit R1s first software update addresses its dismal battery lifeWith a dead battery, this is just a nice-looking paperweight. Image: David Pierce / The VergeJust a week after its initial launch, the Rabbit R1s first software update is here and not a moment too soon. Right on top of the list of improvements in the OTA update is up to 5x improved idle battery performance, addressing a major pain point for early R1 adopters. Its also great news for me, specifically, because my R1 is constantly out of power.Todays update consists of two parts: an OTA update pushed directly to R1 devices and a cloud update to Rabbit OS. Battery life is far from the only issue addressed other highlights include an improved music playback UI, improved Bluetooth reliability, and a fix for a compatibility issue when the device is plugged into a car that seems to have bricked at least one R1.Read Article >Apr 30, 2024Wes DavisWhat are we doing here?Marques Brownlee asks, incredulously, about 14 minutes into his brutal review of the Rabbit R1, after going over the devices features (or lack thereof).The question segues into a rant about the miserable trend of new hardware, games, cars, and now borderline non-functional AI gadgets that release half-broken, with promises of something better down the line.Apr 29, 2024Allison JohnsonCan Rabbits R1 outsmart the smartphone assistants? Lets find out!Are any of them smarter than just googling the answer? Photo: Allison Johnson / The VergeWelcome to another episode of the fantastic new game show where we quiz virtual assistants! Say it with me, folks: Are you smarter than just googling it? Lets welcome our contestants.You probably know our first two contestants from such hits as Set a timer for me and How much time is left on my timer?: Siri and Google Assistant! Big round of applause for these hard-working smartphone assistants. Next up is a newcomer its sleek, its orange, its the Rabbit R1!Read Article >Apr 29, 2024Wes DavisThis should be an app.Dave2D aims directly at the heart of the existential problem of AI gadgets with his casual redesign of the Rabbit R1. That is, anything meaningful they do can be boiled down to an app on the smartphone thats already in your pocket.Apr 26, 2024Alex CranzThe Rabbit R1 was faster than expected at one thing.One owner apparently plugged his into his car after recieving it at the swanky NYC event a few days back and it promptly bricked itself.They said that Rabbit was quick to replace it, but not before they snapped a pic of what looks like an Android debugging UI.Apr 24, 2024David PierceA morning with the Rabbit R1: a fun, funky, unfinished AI gadgetThere were times I wasnt sure the Rabbit R1 was even a real thing. The AI-powered, Teenage Engineering-designed device came out of nowhere to become one of the biggest stories at CES, promising a level of fun and whimsy that felt much better than some of the more self-serious AI companies out there. CEO Jesse Lyu practically promised the world in this $199 device.Well, say this for Rabbit: its real. Last night, I went to the swanky TWA Hotel in New York City, along with a few hundred reporters, creators, and particularly enthusiastic R1 buyers. After a couple of hours of photo booths, specialty cocktails, and a rousing keynote and demo from Lyu in which he made near-constant reference to and fun of the Humane AI Pin we all got our R1s to take home. Ive been using mine ever since, and I have some thoughts. And some questions.Read Article >Apr 24, 2024David PierceI got my Rabbit R1.And I have so many questions (SO many questions) and so much setup and testing to do. Ill write some initial thoughts tomorrow, but Im definitely enjoying the way this thing feels. More a Fun Toy than a Smartphone Killer, you know?Let me know if theres anything you want to know about the Rabbit R1 or have ideas for tests I should do! More soon.Apr 23, 2024David PierceHello from the Rabbit R1 launch party!I havent been to a gadget launch like this in a long time. Were at the swanky TWA Hotel in NYC, where a bunch of early Rabbit adopters will get their AI gadgets. Theres a 360 Photo Booth! And a speakeasy! And a whole installation of scroll wheels! AI!Apr 7, 2024Wes DavisThe Rabbit R1 comes with a vintage cassette style travel case.The case will double as a kickstand, according to CEO Jesse Lyu. The first batch of Rabbits fast-selling AI gadget is supposed to reach customers around April 24th, Rabbit announced previously.In the meantime, heres what owners can expect to see when opening their Rabbit shipment.Apr 3, 2024David PierceWelcome to the AI gadget eraImage: Cath Virginia / The VergeIm just going to call it: well look back on April 2024 as the beginning of a new technological era. That sounds grandiose, I know, but in the next few weeks, a whole new generation of gadgets is poised to hit the market. Humane will launch its voice-controlled AI Pin. Rabbits AI-powered R1 will start to ship. Brilliant Labs AI-enabled smart glasses are coming out. And Meta is rolling out a new feature to its smart glasses that allow Metas AI to see and help you navigate the real world.There are many more AI gadgets to come, but the AI hardware revolution is officially beginning. What all these gadgets have in common is that they put artificial intelligence at the front of the experience. When you tap your AI Pin to ask a question, play music, or take a photo, Humane runs your query through a series of language models to figure out what youre asking for and how best to accomplish it. When you ask your Rabbit R1 or your Meta smart glasses who makes that cool mug youre looking at, it pings through a series of image recognition and data processing models in order to tell you thats a Yeti Rambler. AI is not an app or a feature; its the whole thing.Read Article >Mar 23, 2024Wes DavisThe Rabbit R1 will start shipping on Easter Sunday (March 31st).Get it? Rabbit? Easter? Customers will get it beginning April 24th, or a day earlier at Rabbits NYC pickup party. The company posted the update last night after announcing it had sold 100,000 units.Rabbit had previously said its little Teenage Engineering-designed AI doohickey would start shipping in March, and so it will! It just... needs to go through some things on its way to owners. Like customs.Mar 11, 2024Wes DavisChecking in on the Rabbit R1s note-taking prowess.This quick demo from Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu certainly helps make the case for the Rabbit R1 as a little AI helper gadget as it records audio and transcribes and summarizes it for you.Yes, there are already smartphones with on-device AI capabilities like this. But look at the little reel-to-reel animation! So charming!Jan 21, 2024Wes DavisThe Rabbit R1s built-in audio is the worst way to listen to The Gorillaz.Rabbits founder, Jesse Lyu, showed off the buzzy AI gadgets vision capability in a video that kicks off with it playing Feel Good Inc by The Gorillaz.Pointing your R1 at your computer isnt a particularly great way to keep up with your friends on Discord, but the video is clearly just meant to demo its real-time interpretation of what it sees, which Lyu said in the post will get faster.More Stories

Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have gained significant attention for their ability to handle complex tasks involving vision, language, and audio integration. However, they lack the comprehensive alignment beyond basic Supervised Fine-tuning (SFT). Current state-of-the-art models often bypass rigorous alignment stages, leaving crucial aspects like truthfulness, safety, and human preference alignment inadequately addressed. Existing approaches target only specific domains such as hallucination reduction or conversational improvements, falling short of enhancing the models overall performance and reliability. This narrow focus raises questions about whether human preference alignment can improve MLLMs across a broader spectrum of tasks.Recent years have witnessed substantial progress in MLLMs, built upon advanced LLM architectures like GPTs, LLaMA, Alpaca, Vicuna, and Mistral. These models have evolved through end-to-end training approaches, tackling complex multimodal tasks involving image-text alignment, reasoning, and instruction following. Several open-source MLLMs, including Otter, mPLUG-Owl, LLaVA, Qwen-VL, and VITA, have emerged to address fundamental multimodal challenges. However, alignment efforts have remained limited. While algorithms like Fact-RLHF and LLAVACRITIC have shown promise in reducing hallucinations and improving conversational abilities, they havent enhanced general capabilities. Evaluation frameworks such as MME, MMBench, and Seed-Bench have been developed to assess these models.Researchers from KuaiShou, CASIA, NJU, USTC, PKU, Alibaba, and Meta AI have proposed MM-RLHF, an innovative approach featuring a comprehensive dataset of 120k fine-grained, human-annotated preference comparison pairs. This dataset represents a significant advancement in terms of size, diversity, and annotation quality compared to existing resources. The method introduces two key innovations: a Critique-Based Reward Model that generates detailed critiques before scoring outputs, and Dynamic Reward Scaling that optimizes sample weights based on reward signals. It enhances both the interpretability of model decisions and the efficiency of the alignment process, addressing the limitations of traditional scalar reward mechanisms in multimodal contexts.The MM-RLHF implementation involves a complex data preparation and filtering process across three main domains: image understanding, video understanding, and multimodal safety. The image understanding component integrates data from multiple sources including LLaVA-OV, VLfeedback, and LLaVA-RLHF, with multi-turn dialogues converted to single-turn format. This compilation results in over 10 million dialogue samples covering diverse tasks from basic conversation to complex reasoning. The data filtering process uses predefined sampling weights categorized into three types: multiple-choice questions for testing reasoning and perception, long-text questions for evaluating conversational abilities, and short-text questions for basic image analysis.The evaluation of MM-RLHF and MM-DPO shows significant improvements across multiple dimensions when applied to models like LLaVA-OV-7B, LLaVA-OV-0.5B, and InternVL-1B. Conversational abilities improved by over 10%, while unsafe behaviors decreased by at least 50%. The aligned models show better results in hallucination reduction, mathematical reasoning, and multi-image understanding, even without specific training data for some tasks. However, model-specific variations are observed, with different models requiring distinct hyperparameter settings for optimal performance. Also, high-resolution tasks show limited gains due to dataset constraints and filtering strategies that dont target resolution optimization.In this paper, researchers introduced MM-RLHF, a dataset and alignment approach that shows significant advancement in MLLM development. Unlike previous task-specific approaches, this method takes a holistic approach to improve model performance across multiple dimensions. The datasets rich annotation granularity, including per-dimension scores and ranking rationales, offers untapped potential for future development. Future research directions will focus on utilizing this granularity through advanced optimization techniques, addressing high-resolution data limitations, and expanding the dataset through semi-automated methods, potentially establishing a foundation for more robust multimodal learning frameworks.Check outthePaper and Project Page.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our75k+ ML SubReddit. Sajjad AnsariSajjad Ansari is a final year undergraduate from IIT Kharagpur. As a Tech enthusiast, he delves into the practical applications of AI with a focus on understanding the impact of AI technologies and their real-world implications. He aims to articulate complex AI concepts in a clear and accessible manner.Sajjad Ansarihttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sajjadansari/Enhancing Reasoning Capabilities in Low-Resource Language Models through Efficient Model MergingSajjad Ansarihttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sajjadansari/TransMLA: Transforming GQA-based Models Into MLA-based ModelsSajjad Ansarihttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sajjadansari/Microsoft Research Introduces Data Formulator: An AI Application that Leverages LLMs to Transform Data and Create Rich VisualizationsSajjad Ansarihttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sajjadansari/ByteDance Introduces UltraMem: A Novel AI Architecture for High-Performance, Resource-Efficient Language Models

Why you should try RAG before Finetuning a LLM? 0 like February 19, 2025Share this postLast Updated on February 19, 2025 by Editorial TeamAuthor(s): Stefan Silver Originally published on Towards AI. This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.Image 1: RAG or Finetuning?While many use cases that can be solved using LLMs like ChatGPT dont need any extra information to be added, some require additional knowledge that the LLM has never seen before. In those cases you have to make a choice do you use Finetuning to add that knowledge, or do you try using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)?In this article, I will make the case for why you should always try RAG before you try to embark on the Finetuning process.Retrieval Augmented Generation or RAG for short is just a way for an LLM to extract pieces of information (called chunks, which can have various sizes) that are relevant to the prompt you wrote, out of a database or a link you give it access to. You can refer to the image below to see the exact process in which this happens.Image 1: Retrieval Augmented Generation Flow.Only pieces of information that are relevant to the question (prompt) you asked the LLM will be extracted. Anything else will be ignored.This happens by using various algorithm that looks for semantic similarity between the words you wrote in Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

The Nintendo Switch is going out in a blaze of glory, with some exciting games launching to make way for the console's successor: the now officially announced Switch 2. Whether theyre exclusively developed for the Switch or ported over from other platforms, these upcoming Switch games will wrap up the Switch's final year while also being compatible with the Switch 2 upon release. In 2025, we'll get our hands on the last few games that were announced during last year's Nintendo Directs as well as The Game Awards 2024. Whether you own the original Switch or are looking ahead to what will release on the Switch 2, here are all the new Switch games we can look forward to in 2025 and beyond.Take a look at our guide to all upcoming video games for release dates on every platform.PlayAll Upcoming Switch Games With Release DatesYu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection (February 27, 2025)PlayDuelists, rejoice. This collection comes jack-packed with some of the earliest games in the Yu-Gi-Oh! series: 16 of them, to be precise. Most of the Konami-developed titles originally released in the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance generations, with highlights including 2001's The Eternal Duelist Soul and 2002's The Sacred Cards.Out February 27Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days CollectionSee it at AmazonSuikoden I&II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars (March 6, 2025)PlayNot the first, and probably not the last, remastered compilation of Konami's first two Suikoden games. Suikoden I & II were first released on the original PlayStation back in the late 90's and were previously remastered for the PlayStation Portable in the 2000's. In early 2025, new HD remasters of the classic RPGs are arriving on the Nintendo Switch. Out March 6Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification WarsSee it at AmazonMLB The Show 25 (March 15, 2025)PlayPaul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, and Gunnar Henderson are all featured on the cover of this year's MLB The Show, which will celebrate the series' 20th anniversary. The baseball sim has advertised more enhancements to baseball mechanics, including an all-new Ambush Hitting difficulty, as well as more personalization in its "Road to the Show" gameplay mode. Out March 15MLB The Show 25See it at Best BuyXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (March 20, 2025) PlayXenoblade Chronicles X was originally released on the Wii U back in 2015, and a "visually enhanced" Definitive Edition of the action RPG is coming to Switch in 2025. This release follows a Definitive Edition of the original Xenoblade Chronicles that was released for Switch back in 2020, while Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 were released straight onto the handheld console in 2017 and 2022, respectively. Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land (March 21, 2025)PlayThe newest addition to Koei Tecmo's Atelier series introduces a new alchemist, Yumia Liessfeldt, and a host of new companions. Try to uncover the mysteries of an empire's fall while learning synthesis skills to defeat enemies in real-time combat. Out March 21Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned LandSee it at AmazonTales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game (March 25, 2025)PlayA cozy farming game set in The Shire is pretty much a match made in heaven. Tales of the Shire lets you create your own hobbit during a time of peace in Middle-earth. Starting in March 2025, you'll be able to indulge in the ultimate fantasy by spending your days cooking and eating delicious meals with your friends. Care Bears: Unlock the Magic (March 27, 2025) PlayRemember the Care Bears? Apparently the show got rebooted in 2019 as "Care Bears: Unlock the Magic," and now the family-friendly franchise is getting a Switch game tie-in. The arcade-style collection features staple characters from the cartoon, including Cheer Bear, Grumpy Bear, and Funshine Bear. Out March 27Care Bears: Unlock the MagicSee it at AmazonStar Overdrive (April 10, 2025)PlayStar Overdrive is an upcoming indie adventure game set on a distant alien planet. Fly around on your hoverboard while conquering enemies and solving puzzles to try and reunite with your lost love. Rusty Rabbit (April 17, 2025) PlaySeveral years after Nitroplus revealed Rusty Rabbit in a concept trailer, the side-scrolling action platformer is finally coming to Switch. Play as the middle-aged rabbit, Stamp, who has built his own mech to traverse a post-apocalyptic frozen wasteland.LUNAR Remastered Collection (April 18, 2025) PlayThis remastered collection brings the two original Lunar JRPGs, LUNAR Silver Star Story and LUNAR 2 Eternal Blue, to modern consoles. The remasters come with several quality-of-life improvements, including enhanced graphics and both English and Japanese voice-acting. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (May 16, 2025)PlayThat's right, it's another fighting game collection. This time, Capcom is compiling games released between 1998 and 2004, which is what some would call a peak era for arcade fighting. This second fighting collection includes both the English and Japanese versions of six games total, including Capcom vs. SnK and the Power Stone beat-em-up series. Out May 16Capcom Fighting Collection 2See it at AmazonFantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (May 21, 2025)PlayThe highly-anticipated sequel to 2014's Fantasy Life finally has a release date. This "slow-life" RPG combines adventure storylines with life-sim mechanics, allowing players to build a life (and a city) on a deserted island while facing mysteries of the past. Explore randomized dungeons, switch between 14 different "Jobs," and meet friends to help you in your journey.Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (May 30, 2025)PlayThe iconic RPG social sim is back. As a powerful Earth Dancer, you must travel across the eastern nation of Azuma to battle monsters and restore villages. The new Rune Factory game looks like it places a stronger emphasis on action and anime-style character designs, though improved Switch performance with an all-new storyline will hopefully mark an improvement over Rune Factory 5. This is Rune Factory, so there will be plenty of romance, now with fully voiced "scenarios" and even the ability to romance the unselected MC.Out May 30Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - Earth Dancer EditionSee it at AmazonUpcoming Switch Games With Unknown Release DatesThere are plenty more Nintendo Switch games in development that dont have a solid release date yet. Here are some more Switch games we know are on the way:When Is the Nintendo Switch 2 Coming Out? PlayOver the last year, weve been hearing rumors about the Nintendo Switch successor regarding its appearance, release date, and name. On January 16, Nintendo finally confirmed a decent chunk of these rumors with the official announcement of the Switch 2. While the announcement trailer shows off some new features (including what looks like the potential to use the Joy-Con as a mouse), it doesn't provide any insight into specs or game launches. More official info, including pricing and a release date, will arrive via a Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 2. What Games Will Launch on the Switch 2? One thing the trailer confirms is that the Switch 2 will be, for the most part, backward compatible, supporting both physical and digital games from the original Switch. Otherwise, it definitely looks like the trailer features a new Mario Kart game, and plenty of leaks have suggested third-party games like Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be ported onto the console. For more info, you can check out our list of games reportedly set to release on the Switch 2. Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.

It has been nearly a decade since Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens debuted in theaters. The film was a once-in-a-generation event, as the final domestic box office gross is still the highest in cinematic history (unadjusted for inflation). Suffice it to say, the flick was an honest-to-goodness pop culture phenomenon, and with it, came all of the collectible merch. In fact, fans got their hands on The Force Awakens merchandise a few months ahead of schedule, with their release commemorated by Disneys first Force Friday in early September 2015.While every subsequent Disney Star Wars theatrical effort had a similar event, nothing quite compared to the first. Aficionados of all things the galaxy far, far away lined up outside stores, waiting to get their paws on the latest Star Wars merch. LEGO was at the forefront of this campaign, of course, dropping an initial wave of seven brand-new sets.The Danish toymaker continued to produce The Force Awakens and other Star Wars Sequel Trilogy sets for the next few years, but the flame dwindled following the release of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. In the years since, very little attention has been paid to this era by LEGO, with efforts instead put towards creating sets for the Disney+ shows and Prequels. However, the 10th anniversary of The Force Awakens may be about to change that.According to new leaks and rumors about the toymakers 2025 plans, LEGO is reportedly producing a couple of exciting new sets based on the film. Den of Geek has compiled a list from reputable LEGO leakers on Instagram and YouTube, and while the wave is only two sets strong, its certainly a better number than the complete lack of Sequel sets featured thus far in the 2020s.75406: Kylo Rens ShuttleEstimated release date: May 1, 2025Estimated price: $69.99This aint LEGOs first rodeo with Kylo Rens shuttle. Two separate versions were released in 2015 and 2019, respectively. The original, 75104, which coincided with the first Force Friday, is an infamous set in the LEGO Star Wars community. This is due in large part to the builds extreme inaccuracies. The wings are unable to fold like the in-universe vehicle, and the entire design is the wrong color. This was likely because of concept art LEGO received while designing the set, and Lucasfilm later changed the appearance before The Force Awakens was released.The second rendition of the set, 75256: Kylo Rens Shuttle, fixed these issues, now sporting a universe-accurate black and red color scheme. The latest version should follow suit of the 2019 model but on a smaller scale. Set 75406: Kylo Rens Shuttle is reportedly a midi-scale ship and will be part of the Starship Collection, a line of large vehicles from the Star Wars canon recreated in a smaller (and more affordable) scale. Unfortunately for fans of minifigures, nothing of that sort will be included, but the build will likely be a nice size thatll snugly fit into any shelf display.75415: Kylo Rens HelmetEstimated release date: May 1, 2025Estimated price: $69.99LEGO introduced its Helmet Collection in 2020 and has produced at least two Star Wars helmet sets yearly (besides a weird blip in 2024). While the AT-AT Driver helmet has already been revealed for a March release date and Jango Fetts helmet is also rumored to be coming in May, LEGO is reportedly dipping their toes into the Sequel Trilogy for the first time as part of this subtheme. Kylo Rens iconic helmet is the perfect choice for this, as even the most prominent critics of the heavily maligned trilogy can agree this helmet is undeniably cool. The LEGO Star Wars designers do not have an envious task ahead of them because the unique shaping of Kylo Rens helmet is a very un-LEGO-like sculpt, but if they are able to knock it out of the park, this could become one of LEGOs best helmet sets to date.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

The cover to Ultimate Wolverine #2 recalls one of the most famous comic book covers of all time. Incredible Hulk #340, drawn by Todd McFarlane, features Wolverine with his claws popped, the image of a rampaging Hulk in the reflection. Alessandro Cappuccios cover to Ultimate Wolverine #2 zooms into the face of Colossus, with Wolverine charging at him in the reflection.On first glance, the cover seems like a classic Ultimate Marvel inversion. Wolverine and Colossus are pals, right? Well, in this universe, theyre going to be enemies, kind of like the mainline Wolverine and Hulk.Credit: Marvel ComicsHowever, a closer inspection of X-Men comics over the year shows that the massive Russian mutant has always had a rocky relationship with his short Canadian counterpart, one that makes the Ultimate showdown a lot more reasonable.Deadly GenesisAlthough he had popped up in a couple issues of Incredible Hulk, Wolverine really started coming into his own with 1975s Giant-Size X-Men #1, the same issue that introduced Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird, and, of course, Colossus.The two couldnt be more different in their first interaction. As expected, Wolverine is all bad attitude, grouching at Professor X as Xavier tries to convince him to leave Canadas Department H and join a new generation of X-Men. Colossus finds Xaviers offer flattering, and only pauses to discuss the possibility of leaving Russia with his parents.Those differences set the stage for the clash of personalities in early X-Men comics. After Sunfire returns to his native Japan and Thunderbird dies in an explosion, Wolverine becomes the sole hothead in the X-Men, occasionally irritating others when he gets into a berserker rage. And yet, more often than not, the kind-hearted Colossus rolls with Wolverines outbursts. In fact, the two team-up to create one of the most iconic attacks in comic book history, with Colossus hurling Wolverine at enemies in whats called the Fastball Special.Yet, Marvel Comics being Marvel Comics, writers still found ways to pit the two against one another.Fighting and FastballsThe first notable dust-up between the two occurred in 1984s Uncanny X-Men #183, written by Chris Claremont and penciled by John Romita Jr. Set after the events of the original Secret Wars, in which Colossus falls for an alien woman and dumps his steady girlfriend Kitty Pryde, the issue finds Wolverine and Nightcrawler taking their Russian buddy out for a drink to give him a talking to.Colossus and Wolverine dont come to blows in that issue. But Colossus does get heated, so much so that he wont listen to Wolverines warning that they should leave the pub. When Colossus shoves Wolverine and spills his beer on another patron, Wolverine drops it and lets the Russian deal with the problem he tried to avoid, the arrival of the unstoppable Juggernaut. While Nightcrawler wants to help out, Wolverine insists they stand aside and let Colossus slug it out with Juggernaut.Originally, Claremont wanted Colossus and Wolverine to actually fight in that issue, but readers would have to wait for a while to see that. When Colossus left the X-Men to care for Magneto and join the villainous Acolytes, he attempted to be a conscience for the team, and thus never crossed paths with Wolverine. Still, when Colossus returned to the X-Men, Wolverine was slow to forgive his old pal (even if he takes the first possible chance to pull off another fastball special). For his part, when Wolverine turned to the dark side, becoming the horseman Death under the control of Apocalypse, he battles most of the X-Men, but Colossus is absent from the team and misses the chance to fight.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!However, fans got to finally see the two fight it out in alternate realities. Wolverine and Colossus had a very different bond in the original Ultimate Universe, but even they couldnt resist fighting. In 2008s Ultimate X-Men #94, written by Aron Coleite and Mark Brooks, a rampaging Colossus even tears off Wolverines adamantium leg.More recently, Wolverine: Revenge by Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo went all the way. In this alternate reality tale, Colossus sides with Omega Red, Deadpool, and Sabertooth after a massive EKG throws the worlds balance of power out of whack. The quartet capture Wolverine, Captain America, and the Winter Soldier, leaving them for dead. Of course, Wolverine survives and makes his way toward bloody revenge, as promised by the series title.The clash is titanic as expected, finally paying off the years of tension between the two X-Men. In the end, Wolvie gets his arm ripped out, but still manages to pop his claws in Colossuss head, leaving his old friend for dead.Ultimate Grudge MatchGiven Hickmans treatment of Colossus and Wolverine in Wolverine: Revenge, its no surprise that he would play with the duos dynamic in the new Ultimate Universe. In this rebooted world, Colossus rules over the Eurasian Republic alongside his sister Magik and Omega Red. Dubbed the Winter Soldier in this story, Wolverine is still closer to his Weapon X form, a masked super soldier who doesnt seem to recall his memories as Logan and willingly slaughters old friends like Nightcrawler.Written by Christopher Condon and penciled by Alessandro Cappuccio, Ultimate Wolverine pits the old frenemies against one another on unequal ground. Dr. Alonya Prostovich, the scientist in charge of the Winter Soldier program, delivers a report to her higher ups when Magik transports them, along with Colossus and Omega Red, to the laboratory that contains Wolverine. Colossus dismisses Prostovichs jargon with a more direct approach.I know how to handle creatures like this. It is not with verbal commands, he declares. He grabs Wolverine by the throat and lifts the Canadian into the air. It is with violence. The violence that follows is completely one-sided, with Colossus squeezing and shaking Wolverine around, underscoring the fact that he sees the Winter Soldier as nothing more than a tool to be deployed as he wishes.The truly shocking part comes when Colossus tosses Wolverine away. Its not the speed or brutality with which he throws Wolverine thats shocking. Its the pose Cappuccio gives Colossus, a leg in the air and an arm thrusted down, with Wolverines body hurling toward the reader. Readers recognize exactly what Colossus is doing, hes throwing Wolverine in a Fastball Special.Were only two issues into the series, so its too early to expect a full knock-down, drag-out fight now. But Ultimate Wolverine #2s twist on the Fastball Special reminds us that these two mutants are together inseparable, as friends, as enemies, or as something in-between.Ultimate Wolverine #2 is available on Feb. 19.

Are you ready to rev it up and unleash your fury? SNKs Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the legendary 90s fighter reborn, launches on April 24, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S. Eager to sink your teeth in early? The Open Beta kicks off tomorrow, running from February 2024, giving you an early shot at the fight. Prepare to feast on next-gen brawlingpowered by revolutionary game mechanics, a stunning comic-inspired art style, and flexible control options tailored for both newcomers and seasoned veterans. Wolves, start sharpening your claws and get ready to take on South Towns greatest and latest!The Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Open Beta invites the hungry pack to step into the ring and test out the integrated rollback netcode and cross-network play functionality with eight of the games characters to choose from. Players can battle it out with friends across three online modes in cross-network play: Ranked Match, Casual Match, and Room Match. Those who are new to Fatal Fury can learn the ropes in the offline Tutorial mode, which offers the perfect training ground.Debuting in City of the Wolves is the Rev System, a customizable toolset designed to supercharge offensive strategy from the very first clash. Only the strongest wolves can master (and balance) every Rev technique to reign as champion of South Town. Hit the books and study the Rev systems via our official Fighting Guide to learn more.On the topic of South Town, the Open Beta will give players access to some of the tropical citys legends, including the Legendary Wolf himself, Terry Bogard, and the fan-favorite fiery ninja, Mai Shiranui.Terry is a jack-of-all-trades, equipped with a projectile, anti-air attacks, and rushdown moves to fight any opponent, near or far. His accessible arsenal of attacks makes him the perfect character to pick up for anyone new to the series, or fighting games in general. Hes not the poster boy of the series for nothing! Use your Power Charge and Crack Shoot to pressure the enemy while they are blocking and force them to overheat.Mai is also a well-rounded character with a variety of special moves. Her Sayo Chidori can put the opponent under pressure continuously, even when they are blocking. Shes also a great pick for players looking for more movement options, as mastering her Musasabi no Mai allows you to move around the stage with ease.Joining the roster are new challengers: Preecha, a diligent Muay Thai dynamo with calculated strikes, and the enigmatic Vox Reaper, whose demonic presence and deadly karate bring a fresh yet familiar intensity to the fight.Preechas playstyle focuses on relentless multi-hit attacks. She can try to go for cross-ups with her Hyperbolic Kick or open up her opponent with a Rev Preechas Combination followed by a Circular Step.Vox has long-range normals to check his opponents, including a standing heavy punch that can be followed up with his Kokuen Ryuu shockwave (and other moves) to deal seriously big damage. He even has a command grab to keep his opponent guessing at midrange.Rounding out the Open Beta roster are a mix of returning legends and fresh faces ready to join the fray:Rock Howard, Terry Bogards protg and son of South Towns infamous Geese Howard, carries a complex legacy. Rock has a well-balanced lineup of special moves, including projectiles that travel along the ground, anti-airs, and attacks with forward momentum. His Shippuu Ken works well against grounded opponents to keep them at bay, while the mighty command grab Shinkuu Nage can be used with Rev Accel as a strong combo starter.Hotaru Futaba, easygoing but powerful, brings grace and discipline to the fight. Shes a speedy character who uses a variety of attacks to mess with her opponent and keep them at her mercy. Her forward step is a full-fledged run, allowing her to use her projectiles as a shield and close in on her opponent simultaneously. She also has a midair stomp (Koushuu Da) and a quick command grab (Shajou Tai) to help break through the opponents defenses even more.B. Jenet, daring leader of the Lilien Knights, commands attention with her fearlessness. Shes a technical character whose spiraling Afterburner attack descends from the air and leads well into combos on hit. Gulf Tomahawk is another useful move that can be stopped midway through via the Braking mechanic, allowing her to follow up with a jump attack or her Harrier Bee. She has a number of ways to approach her opponent, making her a dynamic character on the ground or in the air.Lastly, the highly ambitious Kain R. Heinlein, who aims to seize control of South Townnot for power or wealth, but his own ideals of true freedom. Kain is a methodical character who fights at mid-to-long range using his powerful projectiles and setups. His formidable Schwarze Lanze allows him to find gaps in hard-hitting enemy offense; it requires a charge motion, though, making him a more difficult fighter to master (albeit a highly defensive one adept at keeping himself out of harms way). Make the most of these and other moves in Kains toolkit to control the pace of every fight!A diverse pack of wolveswith more to come in the full gameare raring for battle. The streets of South Town are a hotbed of action, wild dreams, and even wilder ambition. Here, at long last, a new legend is about to unfoldFatal Fury: City of the Wolves is perfect for both new and experienced players, providing two control schemes tailored to all levels of experience: Arcade Style and Smart Style. Arcade Style offers traditional fighting game controls, while Smart Style streamlines gameplay, allowing flashy special moves and combos with simple directional inputs and single-button presses. Making its triumphant return after 26 years, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves aims to wow old and new fans with its dynamic art style, a mix of new and familiar fighters, and modernized battle systems. Read more on how to play on our official website.Pre-orders for the Special Edition of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves are now live for $59.99 USD / 59.99 EUR, featuring the Base Game and Season Pass 1. Players who pre-order will unlock a classic Terry Bogard costume inspired by his original Fatal Fury appearance, along with three days of early access to the full game, starting April 21, 2025.Get ready for the Open Beta and gear up for the full launch on April 24, 2025, on Xbox Series X|S. In the meantime, check out Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and the KOF Studio on X, Instagram, and the official Discord.FATAL FURY: City of the WolvesSNK CORPORATIONGet it nowAfter 26 years, FATAL FURY is back!SNKs beloved Fatal Fury series first hit the market in 1991, spearheading the fighting game boom of the 1990s that swept the industry thereafter. GAROU: MARK OF THE WOLVES (released in 1999) has, for some time, served as the franchises most recent installment. But that is all about to change: 26 years on, a brand-new entryFATAL FURY: City of the Wolvesis set to arrive on the scene!FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves features a unique art style that stimulates the senses, an innovative REV system that supercharges the excitement, plus a host of other battle systems even more robust than before. The game also breathes new life into the series by introducing two distinct control schemes (ensuring fun and excitement for newcomers and veterans alike) as well as other fresh features and elements.The streets of South Town are a hotbed of action, wild dreams, and even wilder ambition. Here, at long last, a new legend is about to unfold

Trust us, the investment will be worth it.