Here’s how to find reliable information and keep safe during the summer heat and hurricane season following the unprecedented cuts at federal agencies.

06/03 — 2025 by abduzeedo Explore the impactful branding and visual identity for Culture & Community Power Fund by Outside. See how design elevates community action. Hey creatives! Let's dive into some truly inspiring work today. Our friends at Outside, a global design and tech studio based in Kathmandu, recently rolled out a fresh brand and website for the Culture & Community Power Fund (C&CPF). This project isn't just about aesthetics; it's about design with a deeper purpose. Crafting a Visual Voice for Community Power C&CPF champions grassroots organizations. They focus on communities most affected by systemic oppression. Their mission involves direct funding, sharing resources, and building networks. Outside's goal was clear: uplift grantee work, create a wisdom hub, and clarify culture's role in social action . Elizabeth Lepro, Editorial Lead at Outside, shared that the project expanded their understanding of "culture." They aimed to visually inject the celebratory and communal aspects of shared spaces, rituals, stories, and traditions throughout the brand . This passion shines through in the final output. The Ampersand: A Symbol of Collaboration One standout element in C&CPF's new branding and visual identity is the ampersand (&). Outside emphasized this symbol in the logo, a direct nod to C&CPF's collaborative ethos. What's really clever is how they rendered the ampersand in various fonts. Each typeface reflects the diverse visions of C&CPF's partner-grantees. For instance, the rounded Akaya Kanadaka typeface conveys the joyful spirit of culturally infused community power building. Pilowlava, another typeface, speaks to a grantee-partner's work in urban farming and sustainability . It's a subtle yet powerful way to represent unity in diversity. Gritty, Bold, and Inviting Visuals Established in 2022, C&CPF is relatively new. They wanted to avoid looking overly traditional. Outside delivered a gritty, bold aesthetic, drawing inspiration from protest signs and zines. Snappy animations complement this vibe. They even provided image frames to unify varying aesthetics from featured organizations. The chosen color palette is a rich blend of orange, purple, yellow, black, and white. This combination expresses warmth and invitation, perfectly aligning with the Fund's focus on people and communities. The brand incorporates vibrant photography, showcasing scenes like festivals, local games, and urban farms. Bridging the Knowledge Gap Beyond the visual, Outside also provided copywriting and narrative support. They made sure the site explains "community power building" in accessible language. The "What is Community Power Building?" page breaks down basics, relevant vocabulary, and context. It clarifies that culture extends beyond art and music, encompassing traditions, stories, rituals, and shared spaces. A key feature is the "Knowledge Commons," a custom-built resource library. It serves both experienced practitioners and newcomers, fostering shared wisdom. This hub even accepts submissions, allowing C&CPF team members to edit and publish them. This project by Outside is a fantastic example of how thoughtful branding and visual identity can empower a mission. It shows that design isn't just about looking good; it's about building understanding, fostering connection, and driving meaningful change. What aspects of this purposeful design resonate most with you? Explore more of Outside's work and the Culture & Community Power Fund's initiatives to see how design can truly make an impact. Learn more about Outside's work Branding and visual identity artifacts Tags branding

Today, Sony held its latest State of Play and while it didn’t include some of the bigger games that people were likely hoping for, like a new God of War spin-off, it did include some cool surprises, including what might be the best-looking fighting game I’ve seen in years and a remake of a beloved Final Fantasy title. Suggested ReadingTears Of The Kingdom's Newspaper Questline And The State Of Hyrulean Journalism Share SubtitlesOffEnglishview videoSuggested ReadingTears Of The Kingdom's Newspaper Questline And The State Of Hyrulean Journalism Share SubtitlesOffEnglishHere’s the full State of Play if you want to watch it all: State of Play | June 4, 2025 [English]Lumines Arise Lumines Arise - Announce Trailer | PS5 GamesThis fun announcement kicked off the 45-minute show. It’s from the devs behind Tetris Effect, and it looks (and sounds) awesome. This one is coming to PS5 and PSVR2 in Fall 2025.Pragmata delayed againPragmata - First Contact Trailer | PS5 GamesCapcom had a new gameplay trailer for its long-awaited space-adventure-action-horror game featuring a young robot girl and a cool astronaut dude fighting robots. The game was set to come out in 2022, got delayed until 2023, and then got delayed again. Now it’s set to arrive in 2026. Romeo Is a Deadman looks wildRomeo is a Dead Man - Announce Trailer | PS5 GamesZombies attack, nearly killing Romeo, but luckily his grandfather shoves a big sci-fi thing into his head and turns him into a sword-wielding half-dead undead killer. Okay, I’m interested. This one is “maybe” arriving in 2026. No shock that Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture are behind this wild-looking game. Silent Hill F arrives in SeptemberSilent Hill f - Release Date Trailer | PS5 GamesI’m very happy that we’ve entered a new and better era for the Silent Hill franchise after so, so many years of crap and lukewarm slop. This latest entry looks very different than past games, but still seems properly foggy, spooky, and creepy. And that’s all I need in a Silent Hill sequel. Don’t have to wait long for this one as it launches September 25, 2025.Bloodstained: The Scarlett Engagement is revealedBloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement - Announce Trailer | PS5 GamesSurprise! We are getting a new Bloodstained game. What started back in 2015 as a crowdfunded attempt to make a new Castlevania-inspired 2D action game has expanded into a large franchise of its own. And it’s about to get bigger when this new entry arrives sometime in the future on PS5. Digimon Story Time StrangerDigimon Story Time Stranger - Release Date Trailer | PS5 GamesWow, it’s wild how much better Digimon games look than Pokémon games. This latest time-traveling RPG set in the universe features some slick visuals and a lot of people screaming about the digital world. As someone living in 2025, I’m fine with the digital world being burned to the ground. Time Stranger is out October 3, 2025. Final Fantasy Tactics is finally getting a remakeFinal Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles - Announcement Trailer | PS5 GamesYou can read more about this in our story here, but suffice it to say that the legendary tactics RPG is, at long last, getting the remake fans have been clamoring for for ages. Sony devoted a few minutes to sharing trailers and a few bits of info on these four games, one of which is launching on PS4. Wild. Baby Steps - Release Date Announcement | PS5 GamesHirogami - Pre-order Trailer | PS5 GamesCairn - Release Date and Demo | PS5 GamesNinja Gaiden: Ragebound - Release Date Announcement | PS5 & PS4 GamesMortal Kombat Legacy Collection looks amazingMortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection - Announce Trailer | PS5 & PS4 GamesDigital Eclipse, the retro game wizards behind some excellent old-school video game collections, is taking on the Mortal Kombat series in 2025. Legacy Collection will contain a ton of games from the series, including handheld, console, and arcade ports, as well as rollback netcode and documentary content. I’m very excited to see more of this thing.Sony is making a fight stickProject Defiant Wireless Fight Stick - Teaser TrailerNot much info beyond that. Here’s Sony’s official description of the device:Join the fray at home or away with the Project Defiant wireless fight stick*. Take the fight to your opponents with the included sling carry case, and enjoy precise in-game response with ultra-low latency wireless and wired play options, along with a durable, ergonomic design that’s built for battle.New Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater trailerMetal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater - Gameplay Trailer | PS5 GamesThe Ape Escape mode is back and looks bigger than before. But the big news is at the very end, where Konami is teasing what looks like a multiplayer mode. Is Metal Gear Online returning? I hope so. Nioh 3 is coming in 2026, a demo is out nowNioh 3 - Announcement Trailer | PS5 GamesTeam Ninja is back with Nioh 3. The game will let players swap between a samurai and a ninja on the fly during combat, and looks slick as heck. This one drops in 2026, but you can check out a demo for it today on PS5. Thief VR spin-off coming to PSVR2 this yearThief VR: Legacy of Shadow - Reveal Trailer | PS VR2 GamesWhen I saw this trailer, I thought, “Hey, this looks like a new Thief game.” And I was right. Thief VR Legacy of Shadow arrives in 2025 and is being co-developed by Eidos-Montréal and Vertigo Games. Tides of Tomorrow looks like a colorful Waterworld gameTides of Tomorrow - Release Date Trailer | PS5 GamesI love colorful-looking games, so Tides of Tomorrow instantly caught my eye. The mix of online asynchronous gameplay and having to deal with other people’s decisions in a dying and flooded world sounds interesting. Tides of Tomorrow arrives in February 2026.Astro Bot is getting even more levels! Astro Bot - Challenge DLC Trailer | State of Play 2025One of the best PS5 games ever made, Astro Bot, is getting even more free levels later this month. Five new levels will soon be added to Astro Bot. And Sony is bringing back the fan-favorite Astro Bot PS5 controller that sold out instantly last year.Sea of Remnants is another colorful pirate gameSea of Remnants - Announce Trailer | PS5 GamesWait a minute, another colorful and fun-looking ocean-based adventure game? That’s strange. But anyway, this third-person pirate game has a cool style and big bosses to fight. and ship gameplay. And mermaids. It arrives on PS5 in 2026. Sword of the Sea is coming to PS PlusSword of the Sea - Launch Date Announcement | PS5 GamesThe people behind Abzu and Pathless have a new game coming out, and it looks like you’ll be doing a lot of sick sword surfing. This launches on PS Plus on August 19. More games coming to PS Plus Classic CatalogDeus Ex’s PS2 port - Jun 17Twisted Metal 3 and Twisted Metal 4 - July 15Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 - Later this summer007 First Light reveals its new Bond“Bond is a bullet without a target. Let’s give him one.” This new trailer looks exciting as heck, but I’m really bummed by how boring the new Bond himself looks. This is out in 2026. Read more here. Ghost of Yotei will get its own digital eventSony is promising a big gamepaly deep dive for Sucker Punch’s upcoming samurai game. Expect to learn more in July. MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls | Announce TrailerWell, this is a wonderful surprise. Sony, Marvel, and Arc System Works (Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, Dragon Ball FighterZ) are teaming up to make a 2.5D Marvel Comics tag-team fighting game. And it looks sick as hell. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is coming out in 2026 on PS5 and PC. Here’s a separate video Sony posted about how the game came about and the work going into it: MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls | From Japan to the World

In this video you'll learn how to Scatter objects, grass and nature to any object, I'll guide you through the use of geometry nodes. Blender Tutorial. Download nature pack - https://chuckcg.gumroad.com/l/joGTC?layout=profile Download project files - https://www.patreon.com/posts/grassy-meadow-130578339

The transformation of Hangzhou’s old steelworks into a park is a tribute to China’s industrial past in a city of the future The congressional hearing about Chinese AI engine DeepSeek held in the US this April has propelled Hangzhou, the heart of China’s new digital economy, to the headlines. With companies such as DeepSeek, Unitree and Alibaba – whose payment app allowed me to get on the metro without needing to buy a ticket – headquartered in Hangzhou, China’s future in AI, robotics and automation is emanating from this city. Getting off the metro in the suburban area of Gongshu, the sun was shining on an old steelworks, overgrown with vines and flowers now that it is being transformed by Jiakun Architects and TLS Landscape Architecture into the Grand Canal Steelworks Park. The unfolding trade war might help to accelerate China’s journey into an automated future, leaving the world of factories behind, yet this new public space shows an impulse to commemorate the country’s economic history, and the forces that have shaped its contemporary built environment. Starting in Hangzhou and travelling more than 1,700km to Beijing, the Grand Canal is an engineering project built 2,500 years ago to connect the different regions of eastern China. The country’s geography means rivers flow from west to east: from higher elevations, culminating in the Himalayas, to the basin that is the country’s eastern seaboard. Historically, it was difficult to transport goods from mercantile centres in the south, including Hangzhou and Suzhou, to the political centre in Beijing up north. As a civil engineering project, the Grand Canal rivals the Great Wall, but if the Great Wall aims to protect China from the outside, the Grand Canal articulates Chinese commerce from the inside. The historic waterway has been an important conduit of economic and cultural exchange, enabling the movement of people and goods such as grain, silk, wine, salt and gravel across the country. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014. The state‑owned enterprise collective was founded, and the physical facility of Hangzhou steelworks built, in the 1950s during the Great Leap Forward, when China strove for self‑sufficiency, and wended its way through the country’s economic trajectory: first the economic chaos of the 1960s, then the reforms and opening up in the 1980s. Steel remains an important industry today in China, home to more than half of the world’s production, but the listing of the Grand Canal enabled city leaders to move production to a new site and decommission the Hangzhou steelworks. External mandates, including entry into the World Trade Organization, the Beijing Olympics and UNESCO listings, have been instrumentalised in the country to pursue a range of internal interests, particularly economical and real estate ones.  In 2016, the factory was shut down in 150 days, in what the company describes as a ‘heroic’ effort, and the site attracted tourists of industrial ruins. In the competition brief, Hangzhou planners asked for ‘as much of the existing blast furnaces and buildings’ as possible to be preserved. When I arrived in China in 2008, Chinese cities were notorious for heritage demolition, but today urban planners and architects increasingly work to preserve historical buildings. Just like several industrial sites in Beijing and Shanghai have been transformed into major public and cultural spaces in the past decade, in the Yangtze River Delta – of which Hangzhou is a major hub – several industrial sites along the Grand Canal’s course are being given a new lease of life. Today, the three blast furnaces of Hangzhou steelworks remain, with the silhouettes of their smokestacks easily recognisable from a distance. The project preserves as much as possible of the aesthetics of a steel mill with none of the danger or dust, ready to welcome instead new community facilities and cultural programmes in a vast and restored piece of landscape. Situated in a former working‑class district that has been gentrifying and welcoming young families, the new park is becoming a popular venue for music festivals, flower viewing in springtime and year‑round picnics – when I visited, parents were teaching their children to ride a bicycle, and students from Zhejiang University, about a kilometre from the park, were having lunch on the grass. New programmes accommodated in the old coke oven and steel mills will include a series of exhibition halls and spaces welcoming a wide range of cultural and artistic workshops as well as events – the project’s first phase has just completed but tenant organisations have not yet moved in, and works are ongoing to the north of the park. On the day of my visit, a student art exhibition was on display near one of the furnaces, with works made from detritus from the site, including old packing containers. The rehabilitated buildings also provide a range of commercial units, where cafés, restaurants, shops, a bookshop, ice cream shop and a gym have already opened their doors to visitors.  Several structures were deemed structurally unsafe and required demolition, such as the old iron casting building. The architects proposed to partially reconstruct it on its original footprint; the much more open structure, built with reclaimed bricks, now houses a semi‑outdoor garden. Material choices evoke the site’s industrial past: weathered steel, exposed concrete and large expanses of glazing dominate the landscape. The widespread use of red, including in an elevated walkway that traverses the park – at times vaguely reminiscent of a Japanese torii gate in the space below – gives a warm and reassuring earthiness to the otherwise industrial colour palette. Elements selected by the designers underwent sanitisation and detoxification before being reused. The landscaping includes old machinery parts and boulders; recuperated steel panels are for instance inlaid into the paving while pipes for pouring molten steel have been turned into a fountain. The train tracks that once transported material continue to run through the site, providing paths in between the new patches of vegetation, planted with local grasses as well as Japanese maples, camphors and persimmon trees. As Jiawen Chen from TLS describes it, the aesthetic feels ‘wild, but not weedy or abandoned’. The landscape architects’ inspiration came from the site itself after the steelworks’ closure, she explains, once vegetation had begun to reclaim it. Contaminated soil was replaced with clean local soil – at a depth between 0.5 and 1.5 metres, in line with Chinese regulations. The removed soil was sent to specialised facilities for purification, while severely contaminated layers were sealed with concrete. TLS proposed phytoremediation (using plants to detoxify soil) in selected areas of the site ‘as a symbolic and educational gesture’, Chen explains, but ‘the client preferred to be cautious’. From the eastern end of the park, hiking trails lead to the mountain and its Buddhist temples. The old steel mill’s grounds fade seamlessly into the hills. Standing in what it is still a construction site, a sign suggests there will soon be a rowing centre here.  While Jiakun Architects and TLS have prioritised making the site palatable as a public space, the project also brings to life a history that many are likely to have forgotten. Throughout, the park incorporates different elements of China’s economic history, including the life of the Grand Canal and the industrial era. There is, for example, a Maoist steelworker painted on the mural of one of the cafés, as well as historical photographs and drawings of the steelworks peppering the site, framed and hung on the walls. The ambition might be in part to pay homage to steelworkers, but it is hard to imagine them visiting. Gongshu, like the other suburbs of Hangzhou, has seen rapid increases in its property prices.  The steelworks were built during the Maoist era, a time of ‘battling with earth, battling with heaven, battling with humanity’, to borrow Mao’s own words. Ordinary people melted down pots and pans to surpass the UK in steel production, and industry was seen as a sharp break from a traditional Chinese way of life, in which humans aspire to live in harmony with their environment. The priorities of the government today are more conservative, seeking to create a garden city to attract engineers and their families. Hangzhou has long represented the balmy and sophisticated life of China’s south, a land of rice and fish. To the west of the city, not far from the old steelworks, are the ecologically protected Xixi wetlands, and Hangzhou’s urban planning exemplifies the Chinese principle of 天人合一, or nature and humankind as one.  Today, Hangzhou is only 45 minutes from Shanghai by high‑speed train. The two cities feel like extensions of one another, an urban region of 100 million people. The creation of the Grand Canal Steelworks Park reflects the move away from heavy industry that Chinese cities such as Hangzhou are currently making, shifting towards a supposedly cleaner knowledge‑driven economy. Yet the preservation of the steelworks epitomises the sentimental attitude towards the site’s history and acts as a reminder that today’s middle classes are the children of yesterday’s steelworkers, drinking coffee and playing with their own children in grassy lawns next to shuttered blast furnaces.  The park’s second phase is already nearing completion, and the competition for the nearby Grand Canal Museum was won by Herzog & de Meuron in 2020 – the building is under construction, and should open at the end of this year. It is a district rich in history, but the city is resolutely turned towards the future.  2025-06-02 Reuben J Brown Share AR May 2025CircularityBuy Now

Limited-time offer: Get more than 30% off a Vox Membership. Join today to support independent journalism. Federal civil servants are supposed to enjoy robust protections against being fired or demoted for political reasons. But President Donald Trump has effectively stripped them of these protections by neutralizing the federal agencies that implement these safeguards.An agency known as the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) hears civil servants’ claims that a “government employer discriminated against them, retaliated against them for whistleblowing, violated protections for veterans, or otherwise subjected them to an unlawful adverse employment action or prohibited personnel practice,” as a federal appeals court explained in an opinion on Tuesday. But the three-member board currently lacks the quorum it needs to operate because Trump fired two of the members.Trump also fired Hampton Dellinger, who until recently served as the special counsel of the United States, a role that investigates alleged violations of federal civil service protections and brings related cases to the MSPB. Trump recently nominated Paul Ingrassia, a far-right podcaster and recent law school graduate to replace Dellinger.The upshot of these firings is that no one in the government is able to enforce laws and regulations protecting civil servants. As Dellinger noted in an interview, the morning before a federal appeals court determined that Trump could fire him, he’d “been able to get 6,000 newly hired federal employees back on the job,” and was working to get “all probationary employees put back on the job [after] their unlawful firing” by the Department of Government Efficiency and other Trump administration efforts to cull the federal workforce. These and other efforts to reinstate illegally fired federal workers are on hold, and may not resume until Trump leaves office.Which brings us to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision in National Association of Immigration Judges v. Owen, which proposes an innovative solution to this problem.As the Owen opinion notes, the Supreme Court has held that the MSPB process is the only process a federal worker can use if they believe they’ve been fired in violation of federal civil service laws. So if that process is shut down, the worker is out of luck.But the Fourth Circuit’s Owen opinion argues that this “conclusion can only be true…when the statute functions as Congress intended.” That is, if the MSPB and the special counsel are unable to “fulfill their roles prescribed by” federal law, then the courts should pick up the slack and start hearing cases brought by illegally fired civil servants.For procedural reasons, the Fourth Circuit’s decision will not take effect right away — the court sent the case back down to a trial judge to “conduct a factual inquiry” into whether the MSPB continues to function. And, even after that inquiry is complete, the Trump administration is likely to appeal the Fourth Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court if it wants to keep civil service protections on ice.If the justices agree with the circuit court, however, that will close a legal loophole that has left federal civil servants unprotected by laws that are still very much on the books. And it will cure a problem that the Supreme Court bears much of the blame for creating.The “unitary executive,” or why the Supreme Court is to blame for the loss of civil service protectionsFederal law provides that Dellinger could “be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” and members of the MSPB enjoy similar protections against being fired. Trump’s decision to fire these officials was illegal under these laws.But a federal appeals court nonetheless permitted Trump to fire Dellinger, and the Supreme Court recently backed Trump’s decision to fire the MSPB members as well. The reason is a legal theory known as the “unitary executive,” which is popular among Republican legal scholars, and especially among the six Republicans that control the Supreme Court.If you want to know all the details of this theory, I can point you to three different explainers I’ve written on the unitary executive. The short explanation is that the unitary executive theory claims that the president must have the power to fire top political appointees charged with executing federal laws – including officials who execute laws protecting civil servants from illegal firings.But the Supreme Court has never claimed that the unitary executive permits the president to fire any federal worker regardless of whether Congress has protected them or not. In a seminal opinion laying out the unitary executive theory, for example, Justice Antonin Scalia argued that the president must have the power to remove “principal officers” — high-ranking officials like Dellinger who must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Under Scalia’s approach, lower-ranking government workers may still be given some protection.The Fourth Circuit cannot override the Supreme Court’s decision to embrace the unitary executive theory. But the Owen opinion essentially tries to police the line drawn by Scalia. The Supreme Court has given Trump the power to fire some high-ranking officials, but he shouldn’t be able to use that power as a back door to eliminate job protections for all civil servants.The Fourth Circuit suggests that the federal law which simultaneously gave the MSPB exclusive authority over civil service disputes, while also protecting MSPB members from being fired for political reasons, must be read as a package. Congress, this argument goes, would not have agreed to shunt all civil service disputes to the MSPB if it had known that the Supreme Court would strip the MSPB of its independence. And so, if the MSPB loses its independence, it must also lose its exclusive authority over civil service disputes — and federal courts must regain the power to hear those cases.It remains to be seen whether this argument persuades a Republican Supreme Court — all three of the Fourth Circuit judges who decided the Owen case are Democrats, and two are Biden appointees. But the Fourth Circuit’s reasoning closely resembles the kind of inquiry that courts frequently engage in when a federal law is struck down.When a court declares a provision of federal law unconstitutional, it often needs to ask whether other parts of the law should fall along with the unconstitutional provision, an inquiry known as “severability.” Often, this severability analysis asks which hypothetical law Congress would have enacted if it had known that the one provision is invalid.The Fourth Circuit’s decision in Owen is essentially a severability opinion. It takes as a given the Supreme Court’s conclusion that laws protecting Dellinger and the MSPB members from being fired are unconstitutional, then asks which law Congress would have enacted if it had known that it could not protect MSPB members from political reprisal. The Fourth Circuit’s conclusion is that, if Congress had known that MSPB members cannot be politically independent, then it would not have given them exclusive authority over civil service disputes.If the Supreme Court permits Trump to neutralize the MSPB, that would fundamentally change how the government functionsThe idea that civil servants should be hired based on merit and insulated from political pressure is hardly new. The first law protecting civil servants, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which President Chester A. Arthur signed into law in 1883.Laws like the Pendleton Act do more than protect civil servants who, say, resist pressure to deny government services to the president’s enemies. They also make it possible for top government officials to actually do their jobs.Before the Pendleton Act, federal jobs were typically awarded as patronage — so when a Democratic administration took office, the Republicans who occupied most federal jobs would be fired and replaced by Democrats. This was obviously quite disruptive, and it made it difficult for the government to hire highly specialized workers. Why would someone go to the trouble of earning an economics degree and becoming an expert on federal monetary policy, if they knew that their job in the Treasury Department would disappear the minute their party lost an election?Meanwhile, the task of filling all of these patronage jobs overwhelmed new presidents. As Candice Millard wrote in a 2011 biography of President James A. Garfield, the last president elected before the Pendleton Act, when Garfield took office, a line of job seekers began to form outside the White House “before he even sat down to breakfast.” By the time Garfield had eaten, this line “snaked down the front walk, out the gate, and onto Pennsylvania Avenue.” Garfield was assassinated by a disgruntled job seeker, a fact that likely helped build political support for the Pendleton Act.By neutralizing the MSPB, Trump is effectively undoing nearly 150 years worth of civil service reforms, and returning the federal government to a much more primitive state. At the very least, the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Owen is likely to force the Supreme Court to ask if it really wants a century and a half of work to unravel.See More:

If you’re in the homebuying market, you’ve probably come to realize that the grass is always greener in the listing description—both literally and figuratively. Real estate agents sometimes get creative with Photoshop edits on listing photos, often brightening up the grass and editing out unsightly objects, like a neighbor’s clunker car or wires cluttering a bedroom. They also use some descriptive language that can be, well, deceptive. Adjectives like cozy and charming may evoke good feelings in potential buyers, but they’re high on the list of frequently used adjectives that probably don’t mean what you think they do. Photos and descriptions give you a teaser, but nothing beats an in-person tour for catching any potential sneaky details. Still, there are certain phrases to keep an eye out for as you're browsing for your next dream home online. Below, we're rounding up 10 common words or phrases often found in real estate listings should raise red flags, according to real estate pros. Related Stories“Charming”DreamPictures//Getty ImagesOr, similarly, unique. “Often, this means the property has some quirks that might not appeal to everyone,” real estate expert Yawar Charlie, director of the luxury estates division at Aaron Kirman Group, says. “It could be anything from a funky floor plan to unconventional finishes.” Think about resale value and whether any of these quirks might be a dealbreaker for future buyers, should you choose to sell“Cozy”Cozy is most likely a code word for lacking square footage, Charlie says. “When they call it cozy, they’re hinting that it might be a bit cramped,” he says. “Check for square footage and layout specifics.”“Home Being Sold As Is”"As is" is perhaps one of the biggest red flags in real estate. “It often signals that the property may have significant issues the seller is trying to offload,” says Nikki Bernstein, a global real estate advisor with Engel & Völkers Scottsdale.According to Bernstein, an "as is" condition indicates that the seller is likely emotionally detached and unwilling to negotiate on price or concessions. It also suggests they may be withholding information, indicating there could be hidden problems waiting to be uncovered during inspection, she says. “As is might as well be a warning: ‘Buyer beware,’” Bernstein says. “Fixer Upper”Mableen//Getty ImagesIf you’ve got a design-build background or are looking for homes that are worth renovating, a property advertised as a fixer-upper might make for a fun challenge. But this phrase usually means the property has seen better days and needs some TLC, which is not what most buyers are looking for. Charlie's advice? Bring a contractor or a handyman to the home inspection with you. “You’re not just checking for cosmetic issues; you want to get the lowdown on structural problems, electrical updates, and plumbing repairs,” Charlie says. “A fixer-upper can quickly turn into a money pit.”If you choose to pursue a home that needs a fair amount of love, make sure you’ve got the right loan, Virginia Realtor and real estate broker Michelle Brown cautions. For example, a FHA 203K loan lets buyers roll home improvement costs into their mortgage.“Investors’ Dream”This phrase typically signals the property is in poor condition but priced low for potential profit through renovations or redevelopment, Brown says. This is another instance where you’ll want to have a contractor with you to get a full picture of all the repairs that may be needed.“Make This Home Your Own”This phrase signals the home is likely outdated and in need of cosmetic updates at the very least, New Jersey Realtor Larry Devardo says. Listings that advertise “potential” or say “home has endless possibilities” are also indicators that repairs and updates are needed, he says. “Great Bones”DreamPictures//Getty ImagesOn the upside, “great bones” means the home is structurally sound with strong infrastructure, Maryland Realtor Ellie Hitt says. On the downside, it likely needs a lot of cosmetic updates to bring it up to date with modern conveniences and aesthetics.“Needs TLC”Often, when a home requires cosmetic work, “TLC” is noted, indicating the property needs someone who is willing to put in a little bit of elbow grease, agent Karen Kostiw of Coldwell Banker Warburg says. You may be thinking of new carpet, updated cabinets, and a few other touch-ups, but in some cases, TLC could actually mean the property requires a gut renovation.“Motivated Seller”Translation: The seller is eager to sell, possibly due to financial issues, a pending foreclosure, or a property that has been on the market for a while, says Jeffrey Borham, owner of Tampa Bay, Florida Team Borham. “This could be an opportunity for negotiation,” he adds. “However, investigate why the seller is motivated; there could be hidden issues that have deterred other buyers.”Similarly, “priced to sell” could mean a whole host of things, ranging from the property needs some work or the seller wants to start a bidding war, New York City Broker Sean Adu-Gyamfi of Coldwell Banker Warburg says.“Hot Listing”Some agents advertise “hot listings” on the MLS to create urgency, even if there are no other offers, Misty Spittler, a licensed public insurance adjuster and certified roof inspector, says. Don’t feel pressured, though. She recently had a client bid $20,000 over asking on a listing advertised as hot. Spittler’s inspection found $30,000 of necessary repairs, so the client was able to renegotiate.Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.

PlayStation State of Play June 2025: Everything announced Marvel at a night of sick reveals from Sony. Image credit: Eurogamer News by Connor Makar Contributor Published on June 4, 2025 Another PlayStation State of Play took place tonight, giving as a peak at what's to come on the PS5 and PS5 Pro. The event was stacked with new trailers, including some reveals of entirely new games we've not seen before. Sony even remembered the PS VR2 exists! Whether you're here to double check what you've just seen, or want a catch-up on all the reveals you missed, this article will take you through everything shown off at the June State of Play event. Enjoy! Lumines Arise The show kicked off with a reveal trailer for Lumines Arive, a colourful and very musical way to start the event. It comes from the developers behind Tetris Effect, which was a banger. It's coming this Fall, and you can wishlist in now. Watch the new Lumines Arise trailer here!Watch on YouTube Pragmata Next up is Pragmata, the mysterious Capcom game that we've seen precious little of since its first reveal years ago. This time we got gameplay, loads of third person action goodness and a lovely sci-fi setting. Also, Diana is adorable. The game is set to come out at some point in 2026 to the PS5. Watch the Pragmata trailer here!Watch on YouTube Romeo is a Dead Man Next up is a grisly and cartoonish action game called Romeo is a Dead Man. It's coming from illustrious and brilliantly weird developer Grasshopper Manufacture, with both Suda 51 and Ren Yamazaki working on it. It'll be coming out in 2026... Maybe. Watch the Romeo is a Dead Man trailer here!Watch on YouTube Silent Hill f Now for something totally different with Silent Hill f, a third-person horror title that's certainly ramped the creepy factor up quite significantly. In it we see plenty of horrific mannequins with bloody knives in hand. It's set to come out on the 25th September, 2025 on the PS5. Watch the Silent Hill f trailer here!Watch on YouTube Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement We now go to a lush looking 2D side scroller called Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, which has just been revealed. A sequel to a beloved indie and spiritual successor to classic Castlevania games, it'll be coming out in 2026 on the PS5. Check out the Bloodstained trailer here!Watch on YouTube Digimon Story Time Stranger Up next a gameplay trailer for Digimon Story Time Stranger, which looks absolutely killer. In it we see a variety of fan-favourite Digimon and a variety of characters seemingly in the thick of some nefarious medling between the physical and digital worlds. It'll be coming on the 3rd November 2025. Love me some Digimon. Watch the trailer here!Watch on YouTube Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles Now for a blast from the past with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. It'll include two versions of the original game, a classic version which is a faithful recreation, and an enhanced version with improved graphics and more. It'll be coming to the PS5 and PS4 on the 30th September. FF Tactics is back!Watch on YouTube Baby Steps Next up is Baby Steps, which is a fun exploration game where you've gotta control your leg movements as you climb a mountain. Now we finally have a release date! It comes to PS5 on the 8th September. This is a must-watch for those who like a chuckle.Watch on YouTube Hirogami Now for something whimsical. Hirogami allows you to transform into a variety of creatures through the power of folding. It's coming to PS5 on the 3rd September. A neat reveal! Check out the new trailerWatch on YouTube Everybody's Golf Hot Shots To the green we go with Everybody's Golf Hot Shots, with courses in 10 different regions around the world, each with weather effects and night time variants. Those who pre-order get Pacman - rad! It comes to the PS5 on the 5th September. Check out some golf right here!Watch on YouTube Ninja Gaiden Ragebound Here's a retro throwback. Ninja Gaiden Ragebound got a new gameplay trailer, and is coming on the 21st July on PS5 and PS4. A big win for lovers of the classics. Watch the trailer here!Watch on YouTube Cairn The Game Bakers are back at it again with Cairn. A new gameplay trailer just dropped, showing a perilous and scenic climb up a massive mountain. Like all Game Bakers titles, the trailer has a rad music track. It's coming to PS5 on the 5th November 2025, but you can download a demo today! A moving trailer for you to watch right here!Watch on YouTube Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection Get over here! A reveal trailer for the Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection just dropped, and with it a blend of retro titles you'll be able to play with this new collection as well as some lovely retro arcade footage. It contains Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 4, and more. It's coming to the PS5 and PS4 in 2025. Moooooortal Kooooooombat Traaaaaaailer.Watch on YouTube Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater Here's a big one! We got a new gameplay trailer for Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater. Loads of memorable locations, gadgets, and moments on display in the stunning new engine. This isn't a dream - it's Snake Eater!Watch on YouTube Nioh 3 A rad new reveal comes via Nioh 3, which got a fantastic new gameplay trailer at the State of Play. It releases in early 2026 on the PS5. A demo is available right now too, so give it a try! If you love some challenging and bloody action, you should watch this Nioh 3 trailer!Watch on YouTube Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow Finally some PSVR love! A new reveal trailer for Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow was shown off, giving us a glimpse of loads of stealth, robbery, and action. It's coming to VR in 2025. Some VR rep at the State of Play!Watch on YouTube Tides of Tomorrow Another new game got a trailer, this time Tides of Tomorrow. A very bright first-person action game set in a flooded dystopian world. It's coming 24th February, 2026 on the PS5. Loving the look of this trailer, give it a watch!Watch on YouTube Astro Bot new update An update to Astro Bot is up next, containing five new challenge levels, new guest bots, and an announcement that the Astro Bot DualSense controller is coming back this year... With a twist! Here's a look at what's coming to Astro Bot!Watch on YouTube Sea of Remnants Pirate time! A reveal trailer for Sea of Remnants was just shown off, giving us a peak of sailing, navigating various islands, and facing the mythical creatures of the deep. It'll be coming in 2026, you can wishlist it now. Grab your hat annd cutlass sailor.Watch on YouTube Sword of the Sea Here comes something beautiful. Sword of the Sea got a new trailer, with plenty of fantastic locations presented in vibrant tones throughout. It's coming on 19th August to the PS5, available on PlayStation Plus. Now this is my kind of vibe, watch it and find out why!Watch on YouTube FBC Firebreak Love co-op? FBC Firebreak is a spin-off to Remedy's Control series, and offers plenty of PvE action for those with a taste for the paranormal. It's coming to PS5 and the PlayStation Game Catalogue on 17th June, 2025. Here's the portion of the State of Play featuring FBC: Firebreak!Watch on YouTube New PS Plus games coming this summer A bunch of new games are coming to PlayStation Plus this Summer in a variety of forms. This includes: The original Deux Ex coming to PlayStation Plus Classics Catalogue on 17th June, 2025. Twisted Metal 3 & 4 coming to PlayStation Plus Classics Catalogue on 15th July, 2025. Resident Evil 2 & 3 coming to PlayStation Plus Classics Catalogue this Summer. Myst and Riven coming later this month as part of Days of Play First Light 007 A massive reveal for the show! James Bond took the stage with First Light 007, our first look at the game. It kicks off with some introductory cinematics, but there are snippets of gameplay showing loads of spy action. It's coming in 2026 to the PS5. It's Bond, James Bond... TrailerWatch on YouTube Ghost of Yotei A short one here. Ghost of Yotei is getting a gameplay deep dive in July. Stay tuned for more info!Watch on YouTube Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls Trying not to freak out over here. Arc System Works just revealed Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls. A 3v3 fighting game featuring plenty of beloved Marvel characters. It's coming to PS5 and PC in 2026. It's 11PM at night and I'm trying not to scream. Mahvel Baby!Watch on YouTube

Gigantamax Cinderace is making its Gigantamax debut in Pokémon Go, and as usual with these types of Pokémon, it’ll be tough to take down. Cinderace will specifically be around during the weekend portion of the “Instrumental Wonders” event, from June 7 at 6 a.m. until June 8 at 9 p.m. in your local time. Below we list Gigantamax Cinderace’s best counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go, as well as general battle tips for the big bunny. Gigantamax Cinderace weaknesses Cinderace is a pure fire-type, so you can use ground-, rock-, or water-type moves to take it down effectively. That said, it’ll be resistant against bug-, steel-, fire-, grass-, ice-, and fairy-type moves, so don’t use those unless they’re just fast moves to help charge the max meter. Gigantamax Cinderace best counters Try to bring at least one of these attackers: Gigantamax Kingler with Metal Claw (G-Max Foam Burst) Dynamax Inteleon with Water Gun (Max Geyser) Dynamax Excadrill with Mud Shot (Max Quake) Gigantamax/Dynamax Blastoise with Water Gun (G-Max Cannonade/Max Geyser) The only thing really iffy about the above is Inteleon. If you don’t already have a Dynamax Inteleon, do not bother building one now (unless you’re sitting on tons of Sobble Candy), as Gigantamax Inteleon will be showing up literally next. For defenders/tanks, bring one or two of the following: Dynamax Blissey with Pound Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock Dynamax/Gigantamax Blastoise with Water Gun Dynamax/Gigantamax Charizard with Dragon Breath These guys’ job is just to soak up the damage from Cinderace while generating as much energy as possible with their fast attacks. These counters are pretty straightforward, though note that the Zapdos is kind of just there to withstand the damage if the Cinderace you’re going against knows Focus Blast, as that could possibly give your Blissey a tough time. Consider just bringing the strongest Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon you have. If you have a maxed out Gigantamax Gengar and your Dynamax Excadrill isn’t leveled (and you don’t have the means to power it up), just bring your Gengar. General Gigantamax Cinderace tips If you’ve been struggling in Max Battles, here’s some general tips to survive — and make sure you’re an asset to your team. Gigantamax battles involve way more strategy than the usual rampant tapping that you do in raids, so make sure to know what you’re doing before jumping in. Make sure you have enough players. High-efficiency groups with maxed out investments can take down the Cinderace with fewer people, but practically, if you don’t have hundreds of spare candy and even more Stardust laying around, this isn’t going to be an option for you. Make sure you have as many people as possible to ensure that you get your soccer bunny. Don’t sleep on Max Spirit and Max Guard. Teams work best when there’s a variety of moves, not just maxed-out attacks. Each player should bring Pokémon with the defensive and healing moves unlocked as well. Max Guard will focus single-target damage towards you and reduce the damage taken; Max Spirit will heal the whole party. These moves are really important to make sure your damage-dealers can keep dishing. Remember to swap to super effective moves when it’s time to Dynamax. For Dynamax Pokémon, their max moves are determined by whatever type their fast move is. This means if you have a Darmanitan with Fire Fang, it will know Max Flare. A Gengar with Lick will know Max Phantasm. Take advantage of this and make sure to swap to a Pokémon that will deal super effective damage to your target before Dynamaxing, if you can. Focus on your fast moves. You want to spam your fast moves to build up that Dynamax meter and often times, using your charge move is actually a DPS loss when compared to the damage you could be doing with your max move will be. Spam those attacks! Level up a few ‘mons, but you don’t have to go too hard. Depending on your group size, you absolutely do not need to max out all your Dynamax Pokémon to level 40-50. While this will make it easier on the rest of your group, if this isn’t an investment you can make, you don’t have to stress about it. Power things up as high as you can afford to, but don’t fret if you don’t have a maxed out Pokémon. All of that said, make sure to come as prepared as you can be. This is a team effort and there’s a chance that a full group of four can still fail. Do not just bring your unleveled Dynamax Wooloo expecting a free ride to a powerful Pokémon. (After all, if everyone does that, then you certainly won’t clear the battle.) Again, you don’t have to completely max out your Pokémon, but it will be better for everyone involved if you bring something helpful to the table. There’s no shiny Cinderace this time around! Scorbunny’s shiny has not been added to the game yet (and it likely won’t be until it gets its own Community Day), so if you’re looking to shiny hunt Gigantamax Cinderace… you’ll have to wait until next time.

Game reveals, release date confirmations, and new looks at titles coming to PlayStation in the near future: today’s State of Play packed a lot into its runtime. Whether you missed the show, want to rewatch it, or dig down into the individual announcements, this article has you covered.  Firstly, you can rewatch the full show below. Underneath that we highlight each of the games featured in the show with recaps of their announcement as well as their full trailers. We also have further details and insight by the game creators in a selection of dedicated PS Blog articles.  Play Video View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Astro Bot  New levels are coming to Astro Bot this summer! Get ready for the challenge of five new Vicious Void Galaxy levels. They’ll require every bit of skill together to complete! And of course, these new levels will introduce their own Special Bots! And that’s not all: an updated smiley version of the Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense wireless controller is set to launch later this year. Preview both the upcoming DualSense controller and the new PS5 levels in a PS Blog post from Team Asobi Studio Head Nicolas Doucet. Play Video Baby Steps The wonderfully weird walking sim has a release date as Baby Steps toddles onto PS5 September 8. Today’s new gameplay trailer further highlights the game’s unique traversal mechanics, as well as challenges its onesie-wearing protagonist Nate faces as he attempts to answer the call of nature.  Play Video Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement  The 2.5D side-scrolling action RPG returns with a new dark chapter. Explore the massive Ethereal Castle as two new heroes – Leo and Alex – join forces to tackle its fearsome inhabitants. You’ll be able to switch between the duo at the press of a button, leveraging each adventurer’s distinct abilities in order to survive.  505 Games dives further into the sequel’s gameplay mechanics and details what you can expect when you enter the castle’s halls when it launches on PS5 next year in a PS Blog post.  Play Video Cairn Climb like never before in survival-climber Cairn, which ascends onto PS5 November 5. Consider your path and climb anywhere on the mountain, managing your endurance and resources to survive. You’ll be able to hone your skills and test palm strength early, as a demo launches onto PlayStation Store today.  Cairn creator The Game Bakers breaks down its interactive take on alpinism in a tie-in PS Blog post.  Play Video Digimon Story: Time Stranger After being announced in the last State of Play this past February, Digimon Story: Time Stranger returns with a new trailer that digs into its story, reveals more of its vibrant characters and highlights the variety of Digimon growth and customization you can expect when the game launches October 3.  View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots  Teeing off on PS5 this September 5 is the return of the classic golfing series. Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots debuted a new gameplay trailer that revealed a surprise guest star: Pac-Man! The gaming icon will be available as an early unlockable character when you pre-order the game.  Play Video Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles Originally released in 1997 for PlayStation, Final Fantasy Tactics is known for its rich story and deep, strategic gameplay. This September 30 you can enjoy both when the strategy RPG returns on PS5 and PS4 in the form of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles. This enhanced version adds fully voiced dialogue, optimized and updated UI, graphical improvements, and a number of other quality of life features Square Enix details what to expect, including the more accessible “Squire” difficulty setting, in a PS Blog post.  Play Video Ghost of Yōtei Today’s show announced a special State of Play episode dedicated to Ghost of Yōtei, coming your way soon.  Sucker Punch will guide you through an extended look at new and evolved gameplay mechanics, including exploration, combat, and much more. Mark your calendar: the episode airs this July.  Play Video Hirogami Hirogami is an origami-inspired 3D action platformer coming to PS5 on September 3. Explore a beautiful but fragile origami world as Hiro, a master of the art of ‘folding’, and take on animal forms to traverse the landscape, solve puzzles, overcome enemies, and save the realm from a deadly digital threat. Play Video 007 First Light IO Interactive’s third-person action-adventure game 007 First Light third-person action-adventure game unveils a new James Bond origin story. Discover the events that lead a young maverick to become the best MI6 agent and the world’s most iconic spy when the game launches on PS5 next year. IO Interactive shares first details on the game, including its story and Bond’s background in a new PS Blog post.  Play Video Lumines Arise A brand-new, built from the ground up entry into the iconic puzzle series launches later this year on PS5 and features optional PS VR2 compatibility. Lumines Arise includes 30 flow state-inducing stages, including lush jungles, oceans, to more electronic frontiers like the bustling streets of Tokyo and the endless expanse of outer space. A new Burst mechanic amps up the timeless gameplay.  Enhance discusses the debut of its new title, talks Avatars and teases an upcoming demo in a new PS Blog post.  Play Video MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls  PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works (Arc), and Marvel Games have joined forces to realize the latest in tag team fighters, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls! Experience the Marvel Universe like never before with reimagined characters and stages, a heart-pounding soundtrack, intuitive gameplay mechanics, and jaw-dropping visuals that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Whether this is your first fighting game or you are a veteran of the genre, Arc has incorporated gameplay controls and mechanics that are easy to pick up and play, and yet still offer the depth and versatility for high level competition.  Find out more in this PS Blog post.  Play Video Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater  Today’s trailer offered a closer look at how this remake has approached the fearsome adversaries that Naked Snake will face on his mission: The Cobra Unit. The new footage doesn’t just linger on the high stakes action you’ll face during the story campaign though. Konami also shares gameplay of Snake vs Monkey, which is also making its return when the game launches on PS5 this August 28.  Play Video Mortal Kombat Kollection Digital Eclipse partners with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 later this year. With multiple playable games from the early days of this groundbreaking fighting game series as well as interactive documentaries, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection promises to be the most comprehensive, detailed look at the franchise’s history ever assembled. In a supporting PS Blog post, Digital Eclipse outlines the games included in the collection, and shares more information on the documentaries that’ll include Mortal Kombat co-creators Ed Boon and John Tobia, developers, actors and more.  Play Video Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, the new spectacular side-scrolling entry to the acclaimed series, releases on July 31 on PS5 and PS4. Honoring the franchise’s legacy, Ragebound modernises the unforgiving action-platforming formula with the fast-paced and exhilarating action The Game Kitchen (Blasphemous I & II) is known for. Play Video Nioh 3  Koei Tecmo and developer Team Ninja announced Nioh 3 for PS5. In this dark fantasy action RPG, players can fight using two distinct combat styles: Samurai and Ninja. The Samurai style provides a gameplay experience similar to previous Nioh titles, while Ninja style excels in quick movements like dodging and aerial actions. Players will be able to switch between battle styles instantly at any time. Intrigued to know how they’ll work? You can find out today with a limited time demo that’ll be launching on PlayStation Store.  Keoi Tecmo shares more story and gameplay details about the game in an accompanying PS Blog post.  View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image PlayStation Plus  Along with Sword of the Sea coming August 19 as part of the Game Catalog lineup (more on that further down), there were new titles announced coming to PlayStation Plus. The PS2 version of immersive sci-fi sim Deus Ex joins Game Catalog June 17, Twisted Metal 3 and Twisted Metal 4 come to the PlayStation Plus Premium’s Classics range July 15. Later this summer, the original PlayStation versions of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis also come to  PlayStation Plus Premium’s Classics range. Play Video Pragmata Pragmata, Capcom’s new science fiction adventure, received a new gameplay trailer during today’s State of Play. This early peak of the game’s gameplay shows its unique twist of action and strategy, as in Pragmata, players must control its two protagonists, Hugh and Diana, at the same time to overcome the many obstacles you’ll face. Capcom shares more details of its latest IP, out 2026 on PS5, in an accompanying PS Blog post.  Play Video Project Defiant  Today State of Play saw the reveal of the first wireless fight stick custom designed by PlayStation. Codenamed Project Defiant, this new controller allows wireless play through PlayStation Link, or wired connection on PS5 or PC, and is set to launch next year.  Get your first full details on the fight stick in this PS Blog post.  Play Video Romeo is a Dead Man Romeo Stargazer is a man stuck between life and death who chases space-time’s most wanted fugitives as FBI special agent Dead Man. This newly revealed action title, created by Grasshopper Manufacture, launches on PS5 next year, and sees you use guns, swords and even enemies’ own powers against them to battle evil hordes.  How does a time paradox shattering the space-time continuum turn someone into an FBI special agent? Grasshopper Manufacture explains (kinda) in a new PS Blog post.   Play Video Sea of Remnants Meet a world of puppetfolk exploring the open sea and its secrets in oceanic action RPG Sea of Remnants, which sets sail for PS5. Form a specialised crew to answer any challenge that lies beyond the horizon, upgrade your ship to ride out any storm and return home with your spoils to Orbtopia, a pirate city that’ll evolve based on your swashbuckling decisions.   Joker Studio expands on the game’s punk aesthetic art style and delves deeper into its gameplay in an accompanying PS Blog post.  Play Video Silent Hill f Silent Hill f launches September 25 on PS5, and today’s State of Play trailer shows Shimizu Hinako’s perilous journey as the high schooler’s hometown is engulfed in fog, and the dangers within will have her fighting for her life. As a standalone spinoff, the game serves as an excellent introduction to the series.  “Find beauty in terror” – Konami explains the mission statement that shaped the game’s development in this PS Blog post.  Play Video Sword of the Sea Giant Squid is bringing its exhilarating, mythic surfing adventure Sword of the Sea to PS5 on August 19, with the game releasing as part of that month’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup.  In an accompanying PS Blog post, the studio outlines the game’s inspirations and merging those with its signature environmental design and atmospheric narrative style has resulted in a mythic surfing adventure unlike anything else. Play Video Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow  The legendary Thief franchise is reimagined for PlayStation VR2 in Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, launching later this year. Play as Magpie, a cunning thief orphaned by Northcrest’s brutality and shaped by the streets and use PS VR2 mechanics to steal, evade, and outsmart the forces controlling The City. Move between shadows, and extinguish light sources with water arrows, hands or even a well-aimed breath to remain undetected.   Vertigo Games details how the franchise’s mechanics have been adapted to PS VR2 in this PS Blog post.  Play Video Tides of Tomorrow Road 96 creator DigixArt returns with an intriguing asynchronous multiplayer, oceanic adventure, coming to PS5 February 24, 2026. Tides of Tomorrow’s vibrant post-apocalyptic world interweaves your choices and a previous player’s decisions for a truly unique experience. You’ll see echoes of that player’s choices and actions, that will help you avoid traps, solve puzzles, investigate what happened before, or simply adapt based on the other player’s actions. Road 96 creator DigixArt introduces the oceanic nomads the Tidewalkers and breaks down the game’s unique mechanic in a new PS Blog post written by the studio.