In 2025, it’s very difficult not to see gambling advertised everywhere. It’s on billboards and sports broadcasts. It’s on podcasts and printed on the turnbuckle of AEW’s pay-per-view shows. And it’s on app stores, where you can find the FanDuel and DraftKings sportsbooks, alongside glitzy digital slot machines. These apps all have the highest age ratings possible on Apple’s App Store and Google Play. But earlier this year, a different kind of app nearly disappeared from the Play Store entirely.Luck Be A Landlord is a roguelite deckbuilder from solo developer Dan DiIorio. DiIorio got word from Google in January 2025 that Luck Be A Landlord was about to be pulled, globally, because DiIorio had not disclosed the game’s “gambling themes” in its rating.In Luck Be a Landlord, the player takes spins on a pixel art slot machine to earn coins to pay their ever-increasing rent — a nightmare gamification of our day-to-day grind to remain housed. On app stores, it’s a one-time purchase of $4.99, and it’s $9.99 on Steam. On the Play Store page, developer Dan DiIorio notes, “This game does not contain any real-world currency gambling or microtransactions.”And it doesn’t. But for Google, that didn’t matter. First, the game was removed from the storefront in a slew of countries that have strict gambling laws. Then, at the beginning of 2025, Google told Dilorio that Luck Be A Landlord would be pulled globally because of its rating discrepancy, as it “does not take into account references to gambling (including real or simulated gambling)”.DiIorio had gone through this song and dance before — previously, when the game was blocked, he would send back a message saying “hey, the game doesn’t have gambling,” and then Google would send back a screenshot of the game and assert that, in fact, it had.DiIorio didn’t agree, but this time they decided that the risk of Landlord getting taken down permanently was too great. They’re a solo developer, and Luck Be a Landlord had just had its highest 30-day revenue since release. So, they filled out the form confirming that Luck Be A Landlord has “gambling themes,” and are currently hoping that this will be the end of it.This is a situation that sucks for an indie dev to be in, and over email DiIorio told Polygon it was “very frustrating.”“I think it can negatively affect indie developers if they fall outside the norm, which indies often do,” they wrote. “It also makes me afraid to explore mechanics like this further. It stifles creativity, and that’s really upsetting.”In late 2024, the hit game Balatro was in a similar position. It had won numerous awards, and made $1,000,000 in its first week on mobile platforms. And then overnight, the PEGI ratings board declared that the game deserved an adult rating.The ESRB had already rated it E10+ in the US, noting it has gambling themes. And the game was already out in Europe, making its overnight ratings change a surprise. Publisher PlayStack said the rating was given because Balatro has “prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling.”Balatro is basically Luck Be A Landlord’s little cousin. Developer LocalThunk was inspired by watching streams of Luck Be A Landlord, and seeing the way DiIorio had implemented deck-building into his slot machine. And like Luck Be A Landlord, Balatro is a one-time purchase, with no microtransactions.But the PEGI board noted that because the game uses poker hands, the skills the player learns in Balatro could translate to real-world poker.In its write-up, GameSpot noted that the same thing happened to a game called Sunshine Shuffle. It was temporarily banned from the Nintendo eShop, and also from the entire country of South Korea. Unlike Balatro, Sunshine Shuffle actually is a poker game, except you’re playing Texas Hold ‘Em — again for no real money — with cute animals (who are bank robbers).It’s common sense that children shouldn’t be able to access apps that allow them to gamble. But none of these games contain actual gambling — or do they?Where do we draw the line? Is it gambling to play any game that is also played in casinos, like poker or blackjack? Is it gambling to play a game that evokes the aesthetics of a casino, like cards, chips, dice, or slot machines? Is it gambling to wager or earn fictional money?Gaming has always been a lightning rod for controversy. Sex, violence, misogyny, addiction — you name it, video games have been accused of perpetrating or encouraging it. But gambling is gaming’s original sin. And it’s the one we still can’t get a grip on.The original link between gambling and gamingGetty ImagesThe association between video games and gambling all goes back to pinball. Back in the ’30s and ’40s, politicians targeted pinball machines for promoting gambling. Early pinball machines were less skill-based (they didn’t have flippers), and some gave cash payouts, so the comparison wasn’t unfair. Famously, mob-hating New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia banned pinball in the city, and appeared in a newsreel dumping pinball and slot machines into the Long Island Sound. Pinball machines spent some time relegated to the back rooms of sex shops and dive bars. But after some lobbying, the laws relaxed.By the 1970s, pinball manufacturers were also making video games, and the machines were side-by-side in arcades. Arcade machines, like pinball, took small coin payments, repeatedly, for short rounds of play. The disreputable funk of pinball basically rubbed off onto video games.Ever since video games rocked onto the scene, concerned and sometimes uneducated parties have been asking if they’re dangerous. And in general, studies have shown that they’re not. The same can’t be said about gambling — the practice of putting real money down to bet on an outcome.It’s a golden age for gambling2025 in the USA is a great time for gambling, which has been really profitable for gambling companies — to the tune of $66.5 billion dollars of revenue in 2023.To put this number in perspective, the American Gaming Association, which is the casino industry’s trade group and has nothing to do with video games, reports that 2022’s gambling revenue was $60.5 billion. It went up $6 billion in a year.And this increase isn’t just because of sportsbooks, although sports betting is a huge part of it. Online casinos and brick-and-mortar casinos are both earning more, and as a lot of people have pointed out, gambling is being normalized to a pretty disturbing degree.Much like with alcohol, for a small percentage of people, gambling can tip from occasional leisure activity into addiction. The people who are most at risk are, by and large, already vulnerable: researchers at the Yale School of Medicine found that 96% of problem gamblers are also wrestling with other disorders, such as “substance use, impulse-control disorders, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders.”Even if you’re not in that group, there are still good reasons to be wary of gambling. People tend to underestimate their own vulnerability to things they know are dangerous for others. Someone else might bet beyond their means. But I would simply know when to stop.Maybe you do! But being blithely confident about it can make it hard to notice if you do develop a problem. Or if you already have one.Addiction changes the way your brain works. When you’re addicted to something, your participation in it becomes compulsive, at the expense of other interests and responsibilities. Someone might turn to their addiction to self-soothe when depressed or anxious. And speaking of those feelings, people who are depressed and anxious are already more vulnerable to addiction. Given the entire state of the world right now, this predisposition shines an ugly light on the numbers touted by the AGA. Is it good that the industry is reporting $6 billion in additional earnings, when the economy feels so frail, when the stock market is ping ponging through highs and lows daily, when daily expenses are rising? It doesn’t feel good. In 2024, the YouTuber Drew Gooden turned his critical eye to online gambling. One of the main points he makes in his excellent video is that gambling is more accessible than ever. It’s on all our phones, and betting companies are using decades of well-honed app design and behavioral studies to manipulate users to spend and spend.Meanwhile, advertising on podcasts, billboards, TV, radio, and websites – it’s literally everywhere — tells you that this is fun, and you don’t even need to know what you’re doing, and you’re probably one bet away from winning back those losses.Where does Luck Be a Landlord come into this?So, are there gambling themes in Luck Be A Landlord? The game’s slot machine is represented in simple pixel art. You pay one coin to use it, and among the more traditional slot machine symbols are silly ones like a snail that only pays out after 4 spins.When I started playing it, my primary emotion wasn’t necessarily elation at winning coins — it was stress and disbelief when, in the third round of the game, the landlord increased my rent by 100%. What the hell.I don’t doubt that getting better at it would produce dopamine thrills akin to gambling — or playing any video game. But it’s supposed to be difficult, because that’s the joke. If you beat the game you unlock more difficulty modes where, as you keep paying rent, your landlord gets furious, and starts throwing made-up rules at you: previously rare symbols will give you less of a payout, and the very mechanics of the slot machine change.It’s a manifestation of the golden rule of casinos, and all of capitalism writ large: the odds are stacked against you. The house always wins. There is luck involved, to be sure, but because Luck Be A Landlord is a deck-builder, knowing the different ways you can design your slot machine to maximize payouts is a skill! You have some influence over it, unlike a real slot machine. The synergies that I’ve seen high-level players create are completely nuts, and obviously based on a deep understanding of the strategies the game allows.IMAGE: TrampolineTales via PolygonBalatro and Luck Be a Landlord both distance themselves from casino gambling again in the way they treat money. In Landlord, the money you earn is gold coins, not any currency we recognize. And the payouts aren’t actually that big. By the end of the core game, the rent money you’re struggling and scraping to earn… is 777 coins. In the post-game endless mode, payouts can get massive. But the thing is, to get this far, you can’t rely on chance. You have to be very good at Luck Be a Landlord.And in Balatro, the numbers that get big are your points. The actual dollar payments in a round of Balatro are small. These aren’t games about earning wads and wads of cash. So, do these count as “gambling themes”?We’ll come back to that question later. First, I want to talk about a closer analog to what we colloquially consider gambling: loot boxes and gacha games.Random rewards: from Overwatch to the rise of gachaRecently, I did something that I haven’t done in a really long time: I thought about Overwatch. I used to play Overwatch with my friends, and I absolutely made a habit of dropping 20 bucks here or there for a bunch of seasonal loot boxes. This was never a problem behavior for me, but in hindsight, it does sting that over a couple of years, I dropped maybe $150 on cosmetics for a game that now I primarily associate with squandered potential.Loot boxes grew out of free-to-play mobile games, where they’re the primary method of monetization. In something like Overwatch, they functioned as a way to earn additional revenue in an ongoing game, once the player had already dropped 40 bucks to buy it.More often than not, loot boxes are a random selection of skins and other cosmetics, but games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 were famously criticized for launching with loot crates that essentially made it pay-to-win – if you bought enough of them and got lucky.It’s not unprecedented to associate loot boxes with gambling. A 2021 study published in Addictive Behaviors showed that players who self-reported as problem gamblers also tended to spend more on loot boxes, and another study done in the UK found a similar correlation with young adults.While Overwatch certainly wasn’t the first game to feature cosmetic loot boxes or microtransactions, it’s a reference point for me, and it also got attention worldwide. In 2018, Overwatch was investigated by the Belgian Gaming Commission, which found it “in violation of gambling legislation” alongside FIFA 18 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Belgium’s response was to ban the sale of loot boxes without a gambling license. Having a paid random rewards mechanic in a game is a criminal offense there. But not really. A 2023 study showed that 82% of iPhone games sold on the App Store in Belgium still use random paid monetization, as do around 80% of games that are rated 12+. The ban wasn’t effectively enforced, if at all, and the study recommends that a blanket ban wouldn’t actually be a practical solution anyway.Overwatch was rated T for Teen by the ESRB, and 12 by PEGI. When it first came out, its loot boxes were divisive. Since the mechanic came from F2P mobile games, which are often seen as predatory, people balked at seeing it in a big action game from a multi-million dollar publisher.At the time, the rebuttal was, “Well, at least it’s just cosmetics.” Nobody needs to buy loot boxes to be good at Overwatch.A lot has changed since 2016. Now we have a deeper understanding of how these mechanics are designed to manipulate players, even if they don’t affect gameplay. But also, they’ve been normalized. While there will always be people expressing disappointment when a AAA game has a paid random loot mechanic, it is no longer shocking.And if anything, these mechanics have only become more prevalent, thanks to the growth of gacha games. Gacha is short for “gachapon,” the Japanese capsule machines where you pay to receive one of a selection of random toys. Getty ImagesIn gacha games, players pay — not necessarily real money, but we’ll get to that — for a chance to get something. Maybe it’s a character, or a special weapon, or some gear — it depends on the game. Whatever it is, within that context, it’s desirable — and unlike the cosmetics of Overwatch, gacha pulls often do impact the gameplay.For example, in Infinity Nikki, you can pull for clothing items in these limited-time events. You have a chance to get pieces of a five-star outfit. But you also might pull one of a set of four-star items, or a permanent three-star piece. Of course, if you want all ten pieces of the five-star outfit, you have to do multiple pulls, each costing a handful of limited resources that you can earn in-game or purchase with money.Gacha was a fixture of mobile gaming for a long time, but in recent years, we’ve seen it go AAA, and global. MiHoYo’s Genshin Impact did a lot of that work when it came out worldwide on consoles and PC alongside its mobile release. Genshin and its successors are massive AAA games of a scale that, for your Nintendos and Ubisofts, would necessitate selling a bajillion copies to be a success. And they’re free.Genshin is an action game, whose playstyle changes depending on what character you’re playing — characters you get from gacha pulls, of course. In Zenless Zone Zero, the characters you can pull have different combo patterns, do different kinds of damage, and just feel different to play. And whereas in an early mobile gacha game like Love Nikki Dress UP! Queen the world was rudimentary, its modern descendant Infinity Nikki is, like Genshin, Breath of the Wild-esque. It is a massive open world, with collectibles and physics puzzles, platforming challenges, and a surprisingly involved storyline. Genshin Impact was the subject of an interesting study where researchers asked young adults in Hong Kong to self-report on their gacha spending habits. They found that, like with gambling, players who are not feeling good tend to spend more. “Young adult gacha gamers experiencing greater stress and anxiety tend to spend more on gacha purchases, have more motives for gacha purchases, and participate in more gambling activities,” they wrote. “This group is at a particularly higher risk of becoming problem gamblers.”One thing that is important to note is that Genshin Impact came out in 2020. The study was self-reported, and it was done during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a time when people were experiencing a lot of stress, and also fewer options to relieve that stress. We were all stuck inside gaming.But the fact that stress can make people more likely to spend money on gacha shows that while the gacha model isn’t necessarily harmful to everyone, it is exploitative to everyone. Since I started writing this story, another self-reported study came out in Japan, where 18.8% of people in their 20s say they’ve spent money on gacha rather than on things like food or rent.Following Genshin Impact’s release, MiHoYo put out Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero. All are shiny, big-budget games that are free to play, but dangle the lure of making just one purchase in front of the player. Maybe you could drop five bucks on a handful of in-game currency to get one more pull. Or maybe just this month you’ll get the second tier of rewards on the game’s equivalent of a Battle Pass. The game is free, after all — but haven’t you enjoyed at least ten dollars’ worth of gameplay? Image: HoyoverseI spent most of my December throwing myself into Infinity Nikki. I had been so stressed, and the game was so soothing. I logged in daily to fulfill my daily wishes and earn my XP, diamonds, Threads of Purity, and bling. I accumulated massive amounts of resources. I haven’t spent money on the game. I’m trying not to, and so far, it’s been pretty easy. I’ve been super happy with how much stuff I can get for free, and how much I can do! I actually feel really good about that — which is what I said to my boyfriend, and he replied, “Yeah, that’s the point. That’s how they get you.”And he’s right. Currently, Infinity Nikki players are embroiled in a war with developer Infold, after Infold introduced yet another currency type with deep ties to Nikki’s gacha system. Every one of these gacha games has its own tangled system of overlapping currencies. Some can only be used on gacha pulls. Some can only be used to upgrade items. Many of them can be purchased with human money.Image: InFold Games/Papergames via PolygonAll of this adds up. According to Sensor Towers’ data, Genshin Impact earned over 36 million dollars on mobile alone in a single month of 2024. I don’t know what Dan DiIorio’s peak monthly revenue for Luck Be A Landlord was, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that.A lot of the spending guardrails we see in games like these are actually the result of regulations in other territories, especially China, where gacha has been a big deal for a lot longer. For example, gacha games have a daily limit on loot boxes, with the number clearly displayed, and a system collectively called “pity,” where getting the banner item is guaranteed after a certain number of pulls. Lastly, developers have to be clear about what the odds are. When I log in to spend the Revelation Crystals I’ve spent weeks hoarding in my F2P Infinity Nikki experience, I know that I have a 1.5% chance of pulling a 5-star piece, and that the odds can go up to 6.06%, and that I am guaranteed to get one within 20 pulls, because of the pity system.So, these odds are awful. But it is not as merciless as sitting down at a Vegas slot machine, an experience best described as “oh… that’s it?”There’s not a huge philosophical difference between buying a pack of loot boxes in Overwatch, a pull in Genshin Impact, or even a booster of Pokémon cards. You put in money, you get back randomized stuff that may or may not be what you want. In the dictionary definition, it’s a gamble. But unlike the slot machine, it’s not like you’re trying to win money by doing it, unless you’re selling those Pokémon cards, which is a topic for another time.But since even a game where you don’t get anything, like Balatro or Luck Be A Landlord, can come under fire for promoting gambling to kids, it would seem appropriate for app stores and ratings boards to take a similarly hardline stance with gacha.Instead, all these games are rated T for Teen by the ESRB, and PEGI 12 in the EU.The ESRB ratings for these games note that they contain in-game purchases, including random items. Honkai: Star Rail’s rating specifically calls out a slot machine mechanic, where players spend tokens to win a prize. But other than calling out Honkai’s slot machine, app stores are not slapping Genshin or Nikki with an 18+ rating. Meanwhile, Balatro had a PEGI rating of 18 until a successful appeal in February 2025, and Luck Be a Landlord is still 17+ on Apple’s App Store.Nobody knows what they’re doingWhen I started researching this piece, I felt very strongly that it was absurd that Luck Be A Landlord and Balatro had age ratings this high.I still believe that the way both devs have been treated by ratings boards is bad. Threatening an indie dev with a significant loss of income by pulling their game is bad, not giving them a way to defend themself or help them understand why it’s happening is even worse. It’s an extension of the general way that too-big-to-fail companies like Google treat all their customers.DiIorio told me that while it felt like a human being had at least looked at Luck Be A Landlord to make the determination that it contained gambling themes, the emails he was getting were automatic, and he doesn’t have a contact at Google to ask why this happened or how he can avoid it in the future — an experience that will be familiar to anyone who has ever needed Google support. But what’s changed for me is that I’m not actually sure anymore that games that don’t have gambling should be completely let off the hook for evoking gambling.Exposing teens to simulated gambling without financial stakes could spark an interest in the real thing later on, according to a study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. It’s the same reason you can’t mosey down to the drug store to buy candy cigarettes. Multiple studies were done that showed kids who ate candy cigarettes were more likely to take up smoking (of course, the candy is still available — just without the “cigarette” branding.)So while I still think rating something like Balatro 18+ is nuts, I also think that describing it appropriately might be reasonable. As a game, it’s completely divorced from literally any kind of play you would find in a casino — but I can see the concern that the thrill of flashy numbers and the shiny cards might encourage young players to try their hand at poker in a real casino, where a real house can take their money.Maybe what’s more important than doling out high age ratings is helping people think about how media can affect us. In the same way that, when I was 12 and obsessed with The Matrix, my parents gently made sure that I knew that none of the violence was real and you can’t actually cartwheel through a hail of bullets in real life. Thanks, mom and dad!But that’s an answer that’s a lot more abstract and difficult to implement than a big red 18+ banner. When it comes to gacha, I think we’re even less equipped to talk about these game mechanics, and I’m certain they’re not being age-rated appropriately. On the one hand, like I said earlier, gacha exploits the player’s desire for stuff that they are heavily manipulated to buy with real money. On the other hand, I think it’s worth acknowledging that there is a difference between gacha and casino gambling.Problem gamblers aren’t satisfied by winning — the thing they’re addicted to is playing, and the risk that comes with it. In gacha games, players do report satisfaction when they achieve the prize they set out to get. And yes, in the game’s next season, the developer will be dangling a shiny new prize in front of them with the goal of starting the cycle over. But I think it’s fair to make the distinction, while still being highly critical of the model.And right now, there is close to no incentive for app stores to crack down on gacha in any way. They get a cut of in-app purchases. Back in 2023, miHoYo tried a couple of times to set up payment systems that circumvented Apple’s 30% cut of in-app spending. Both times, it was thwarted by Apple, whose App Store generated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022.According to Apple itself, 90% of that money did not include any commission to Apple. Fortunately for Apple, ten percent of a trillion dollars is still one hundred billion dollars, which I would also like to have in my bank account. Apple has zero reason to curb spending on games that have been earning millions of dollars every month for years.And despite the popularity of Luck Be A Landlord and Balatro’s massive App Store success, these games will never be as lucrative. They’re one-time purchases, and they don’t have microtransactions. To add insult to injury, like most popular games, Luck Be A Landlord has a lot of clones. And from what I can tell, it doesn’t look like any of them have been made to indicate that their games contain the dreaded “gambling themes” that Google was so worried about in Landlord.In particular, a game called SpinCraft: Roguelike from Sneaky Panda Games raised $6 million in seed funding for “inventing the Luck-Puzzler genre,” which it introduced in 2022, while Luck Be A Landlord went into early access in 2021.It’s free-to-play, has ads and in-app purchases, looks like Fisher Price made a slot machine, and it’s rated E for everyone, with no mention of gambling imagery in its rating. I reached out to the developers to ask if they had also been contacted by the Play Store to disclose that their game has gambling themes, but I haven’t heard back.Borrowing mechanics in games is as old as time, and it’s something I in no way want to imply shouldn’t happen because copyright is the killer of invention — but I think we can all agree that the system is broken.There is no consistency in how games with random chance are treated. We still do not know how to talk about gambling, or gambling themes, and at the end of the day, the results of this are the same: the house always wins.See More:

Many don’t like it, but (almost) everybody agrees it’s the future.“Vibe Coding” is everywhere. Tools and game engines are implementing AI-assisted coding, vibe coding interest skyrocketed on Google search, on social media, everybody claims to build apps and games in minutes, while the comment section gets flooded with angry developers calling out the pile of garbage code that will never be shipped.A screenshot from Andrej Karpathy with the original “definition” of Vibe CodingBUT, how do professionals feel about it?This is what I will cover in this article. We will look at:How people react to the term vibe coding,How their attitude differs based on who they are and their professional experienceThe reason for their stance towards “vibe coding” (with direct quotes)How they feel about the impact “vibe coding” will have in the next 5 yearsIt all started with this survey on LinkedIn. I have always been curious about how technology can support creatives and I believe that the only way to get a deeper understanding is to go beyond buzzwords and ask the hard questions. That’s why for over a year, I’ve been conducting weekly interviews with both the founders developing these tools and the creatives utilising them. If you want to learn their journeys, I’ve gathered their insights and experiences on my blog called XR AI Spotlight.Driven by the same motives and curious about people’s feelings about “vibe coding”, I asked a simple question: How does the term “Vibe Coding” make you feel?Original LinkedIn poll by Gabriele RomagnoliIn just three days, the poll collected 139 votes and it was clear that most responders didn’t have a good “vibe” about it. The remaining half was equally split between excitement and no specific feeling.But who are these people? What is their professional background? Why did they respond the way they did?Curious, I created a more comprehensive survey and sent it to everyone who voted on the LinkedIn poll.The survey had four questions:Select what describes you best: developers, creative, non-creative professionalHow many years of experience do you have? 1–5, 6–10, 11–15 or 16+Explain why the term “vibe coding” makes you feel excited/neutral/dismissive?Do you think “vibe coding” will become more relevant in the next 5 years?: It’s the future, only in niche use cases, unlikely, no idea)In a few days, I collected 62 replies and started digging into the findings, and that’s when I finally started understanding who took part in the initial poll.The audienceWhen characterising the audience, I refrained from adding too many options because I just wanted to understand:If the people responding were the ones making stuffWhat percentage of makers were creatives and what developersI was happy to see that only 8% of respondents were non-creative professionals and the remaining 92% were actual makers who have more “skin in the game“ with almost a 50/50 split between creatives and developers. There was also a good spread in the degree of professional experience of the respondents, but that’s where things started to get surprising.Respondents are mostly “makers” and show a good variety in professional experienceWhen creating 2 groups with people who have more or less than 10 years of experience, it is clear that less experienced professionals skew more towards a neutral or negative stance than the more experienced group.Experienced professionals are more positive and open to vibe codingThis might be because senior professionals see AI as a tool to accelerate their workflows, while more juniors perceive it as a competitor or threat.I then took out the non-professional creatives and looked at the attitude of these 2 groups. Not surprisingly, fewer creatives than developers have a negative attitude towards “vibe coding” (47% for developers Vs 37% for creatives), but the percentage of creatives and developers who have a positive attitude stays almost constant. This means that creatives have a more indecisive or neutral stance than developers.Creatives have a more positive attitude to vibe coding than developersWhat are people saying about “vibe coding”?As part of the survey, everybody had the chance to add a few sentences explaining their stance. This was not a compulsory field, but to my surprise, only 3 of the 62 left it empty (thanks everybody). Before getting into the sentiment analysis, I noticed something quite interesting while filtering the data. People with a negative attitude had much more to say, and their responses were significantly longer than the other group. They wrote an average of 59 words while the others barely 37 and I think is a good indication of the emotional investment of people who want to articulate and explain their point. Let’s now look at what the different groups of people replied.😍 Patterns in Positive Responses to “Vibe Coding”Positive responders often embraced vibe coding as a way to break free from rigid programming structures and instead explore, improvise, and experiment creatively.“It puts no pressure on it being perfect or thorough.”“Pursuing the vibe, trying what works and then adapt.”“Coding can be geeky and laborious… ‘vibing’ is quite nice.”This perspective repositions code not as rigid infrastructure, but something that favors creativity and playfulness over precision.Several answers point to vibe coding as a democratizing force opening up coding to a broader audience, who want to build without going through the traditional gatekeeping of engineering culture.“For every person complaining… there are ten who are dabbling in code and programming, building stuff without permission.”“Bridges creative with technical perfectly, thus creating potential for independence.”This group often used words like “freedom,” “reframing,” and “revolution.”.😑 Patterns in Neutral Responses to “Vibe Coding”As shown in the initial LinkedIn poll, 27% of respondents expressed mixed feelings. When going through their responses, they recognised potential and were open to experimentation but they also had lingering doubts about the name, seriousness, and future usefulness.“It’s still a hype or buzzword.”“I have mixed feelings of fascination and scepticism.”“Unsure about further developments.”They were on the fence and were often enthusiastic about the capability, but wary of the framing.Neutral responders also acknowledged that complex, polished, or production-level work still requires traditional approaches and framed vibe coding as an early-stage assistant, not a full solution.“Nice tool, but not more than autocomplete on steroids.”“Helps get setup quickly… but critical thinking is still a human job.”“Great for prototyping, not enough to finalize product.”Some respondents were indifferent to the term itself, viewing it more as a label or meme than a paradigm shift. For them, it doesn’t change the substance of what’s happening.“At the end of the day they are just words. Are you able to accomplish what’s needed?”“I think it’s been around forever, just now with a new name.”These voices grounded the discussion in the terminology and I think they bring up a very important point that leads to the polarisation of a lot of the conversations around “vibe coding”.🤮 Patterns in Negative Responses to “Vibe Coding”Many respondents expressed concern that vibe coding implies a casual, unstructured approach to coding. This was often linked to fears about poor code quality, bugs, and security issues.“Feels like building a house without knowing how electricity and water systems work.”“Without fundamental knowledge… you quickly lose control over the output.”The term was also seen as dismissive or diminishing the value of skilled developers. It really rubbed people the wrong way, especially those with professional experience.“It downplays the skill and intention behind writing a functional, efficient program.”“Vibe coding implies not understanding what the AI does but still micromanaging it.”Like for “neutral” respondents, there’s a strong mistrust around how the term is used (especially on social media) where it’s seen as fueling unrealistic expectations or being pushed by non-experts.“Used to promote coding without knowledge.”“Just another overhyped term like NFTs or memecoins.”“It feels like a joke that went too far.”Ultimately, I decided to compare attitudes that are excited (positive) and accepting (neutral) of vibe coding vs. those that reject or criticise it. After all, even among people who were neutral, there was a general acceptance that vibe coding has its place. Many saw it as a useful tool for things like prototyping, creative exploration, or simply making it easier to get started. What really stood out, though, was the absence of fear that was very prominent in the “negative” group and saw vibe coding as a threat to software quality or professional identity.People in the neutral and positive groups generally see potential. They view it as useful for prototyping, creative exploration, or making coding more accessible, but they still recognise the need for structure in complex systems. In contrast, the negative group rejects the concept outright, and not just the name, but what it stands for: a more casual, less rigorous approach to coding. Their opinion is often rooted in defending software engineering as a disciplined craft… and probably their job.😍 “As long as you understand the result and the process, AI can write and fix scripts much faster than humans can.”🤮 “It’s a joke. It started as a joke… but to me doesn’t encapsulate actual AI co-engineering.”On the topic of skill and control, the neutral and positive group sees AI as a helpful assistant, assuming that a human is still guiding the process. They mention refining and reviewing as normal parts of the workflow. The negative group sees more danger, fearing that vibe coding gives a false sense of competence. They describe it as producing buggy or shallow results, often in the hands of inexperienced users.😑 “Critical thinking is still a human job… but vibe coding helps with fast results.”🤮“Vibe-Coding takes away the very features of a good developer… logical thinking and orchestration are crucial.”Culturally, the divide is clear. The positive and neutral voices often embrace vibe coding as part of a broader shift, welcoming new types of creators and perspectives. They tend to come from design or interdisciplinary backgrounds and are more comfortable with playful language. On the other hand, the negative group associates the term with hype and cringe, criticising it as disrespectful to those who’ve spent years honing their technical skills.😍“It’s about playful, relaxed creation — for the love of making something.”🤮Creating a lot of unsafe bloatware with no proper planning.”What’s the future of “Vibe Coding”?The responses to the last question were probably the most surprising to me. I was expecting that the big scepticism towards vibe coding would align with the scepticism on its future, but that was not the case. 90% of people still see “vibe coding” becoming more relevant overall or in niche use cases.Vibe coding is here to stayOut of curiosity, I also went back to see if there was any difference based on professional experience, and that’s where we see the more experienced audience being more conservative. Only 30% of more senior Vs 50% of less experienced professionals see vibe coding playing a role in niche use cases and 13 % Vs only 3% of more experienced users don’t see vibe coding becoming more relevant at all.More experienced professionals are less likely to think Vibe Coding is the futureThere are still many open questions. What is “vibe coding” really? For whom is it? What can you do with it?To answer these questions, I decided to start a new survey you can find here. If you would like to further contribute to this research, I encourage you to participate and in case you are interested, I will share the results with you as well.The more I read or learn about this, I feel “Vibe Coding” is like the “Metaverse”:Some people hate it, some people love it.Everybody means something differentIn one form or another, it is here to stay.What professionals really think about “Vibe Coding” was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814k After four years of service, Square Enix and FuturLab have released the last content update for PowerWash Simulator, titled 'The Muckingham Files 6'. Fittingly described as the "final stop" on the PowerWash journey, this free update leaves us with a mucky tube train in need of a scrubbing and the Sculpture Park — a new location where you'll have to blast away the dirt on a few pieces of artwork. Both of these fresh locales hide a handful of Easter eggs for PowerWash Simulator 2 (which still isn't confirmed for Switch 2, but we remain hopeful), so be sure to pay attention to the details. "We hope you enjoy this final PowerWash Simulator update as much as we have enjoyed creating it," a statement from FuturLab reads on the game's Steam page. "The team have poured their hearts and souls into creating a world for you all to escape to and clean, somewhere for you to relax and solo clean, or a place to gather with friends and catch up over a satisfying wash". The content update also ushered in a small patch, which targets a handful of bugs across the base game and DLC packs. You can find the full patch notes below: Improvements made to scenarios where a placeholder string would be present instead of the function key. Fixed a LOD issue in the Kennel in Wallace & Gromit’s House. Fixed a crash involving pushing the football in to the kennel in the Wallace and Gromit’s House job. Fixed the toy train sounds being affected by music settings in the Dining Room & Kitchen job. Fixed a scenario in Wallace & Gromit’s Dining Room & Kitchen where players could get stuck behind a step stool’s default position. Fixed an issue involving save file sizes on PS5. Fixed an issue where the lower part of Wallace & Gromit’s House was invisible when standing in a specific location. Fixed an issue on Switch involving water stream changing colour in Aim Mode in certain circumstances. Fixed an issue in Shrek jobs where surface targeted was not aligned in 3rd person view. Improvements made to players being able to get stuck inside the information board in the Duloc job. Fixed a scenario on Xbox where the title could crash when pressing the Back button during the credits. Fixed an issue involving equipment placement spots being visible during timelapses. Fixed an issue on Sony platforms where certain SFX were still audible after reducing Master Volume to zero. Fixed lighting inconsistencies in the kennel in the Wallace & Gromit DLC. Fixed flicking assets inside the kennel in the Wallace & Gromit DLC. Various other localisation improvements and minor bug fixes. So, there we have it, PowerWash Simulator has scrubbed up for the last time. Onto the sequel, eh? Though FutureLab's denying the rumours Feathers McPhwar What's your top PowerWash Simulator memory? Let us know in the comments. [source store.steampowered.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 1 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Updates Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility List Doom Eternal, NBA 2K25, and more to get an update Nintendo Switch System Update 20.1.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes Stability is back, baby Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 2.0.7 Patch Notes - Switch & Switch 2 Multiplayer Compatibility "Improved" Return to island life next week Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Fantasy Life i Is Proving So Popular That Level-5 Has Already Announced Free DLC "We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone"

Ever since its initial reveal, Marathon As we’ve inched closer and closer to its release date, the general outlook seems to have only gotten more dismal. Yes, there have been some very concerning controversies that shouldn’t be swept under the rug, but Marathon is suffering from a more systemic problem with live service games as a whole that it will need to overcome to succeed. Recommended Videos The trust is broken Live service games are labelled as such because they’re meant to be living, evolving experiences that players can keep coming back to for months and years. MMORPGs were the progenitors of this model, but now we’ve seen it applied to all sorts of genres. Despite its ups and downs, Destiny is still the poster child for what we now call live service games and the model so many have tried to imitate. As with anything successful in the gaming industry, it wasn’t long before every big player wanted a piece of that pie. The allure of a perpetual money-maker was too great to resist, despite the reality being much more complicated. Sony was arguably the one to invest the most heavily in the model, at one point boasting over 12 live service games in the works. Between released and cancelled projects, that number has shrunk to possibly two, those being Marathon and Fairgames. While we can’t discuss the broken trust between gamers and the current and upcoming slate of live service games without mentioning Concord, the root of the problem goes back much further than that. The first game I recall raising major red flags in the gaming sphere was Anthem. Even before all the behind-the-scenes problems in development were brought to light about the game, fans were leery about a studio known for RPGs seemingly trying to hop onto the latest trend. Anthem launched to a less-than-stellar response and quickly went on life support. It failed to satisfy BioWare’s core RPG fans or any potential Destiny converts due to a lack of both a satisfying story or a compelling endgame grind. Before launch, EA shared a roadmap calendar detailing three acts of content, and when nothing beyond Act 1 was released for over a year, BioWare promised a major overhaul of the game, unofficially called Anthem 2.0. All of these plans were cancelled. Firewalk Studios Since then, we’ve seen more major games make bold claims about months and years of future content, only to pull the rug out from players after a middling — or downright abysmal — launch. Examples include Redfall, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and, of course, Concord. That last one is likely the one that broke the camel’s back for most gamers due to how unprecedented it was. This was a PlayStation first-party release with prime showcase placement, an ambitious roadmap of content, an experimental storytelling method, and even a tie-in episode in Secret Level before the game had even come out. That game failing would be bad, but it being scrubbed from existence is catastrophic for gamers’ trust in PlayStation and live service as a whole. Not only do we have to be concerned about a game simply breaking all promises of support, but also the entire experience being ripped from us. While I don’t think the sins of one game should be borne by another, I can’t blame anyone who has adopted a more wait-and-see approach to new live service games. If we can’t count on a name as big as PlayStation to make good on its promises, why should we think differently for any other studio? Trust isn’t given anymore, it needs to be earned. The impressions I have seen from both major pundits and average players in forums for Marathon feel a lot like what the sentiment was for Concord before launch. The general feelings appear to float around a “it’s pretty fun to play, but there’s not enough there right now” type of vibe. Justified or not, that’s a death sentence for a game that relies on a large population of people being willing to support the game at its weakest so that it can even attempt to reach its full potential. Gamers have long memories — at least when it comes to being burned. A roadmap and a “trust us” from the development team just doesn’t cut it anymore. Marathon could very well have the potential to be amazing, but it has to start out great to even have a chance to get there. Not enough people will settle for even good, and with so many people perfectly content sitting on the sidelines to see if it fails before it even gets off the ground, it will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Bungie shouldn’t be let off the hook for blatant plagiarism or the apparent crashing moral at the studio. Rumors swirling about how the unrealistic amount of money it needs to make to be considered a success don’t help either, but Marathon‘s fate wouldn’t look any more certain even if that had never occurred. Until enough live service games earn our trust back, each game is fighting an uphill battle that gets steeper with every failed attempt.

Image: 2KGearbox Software's Randy Pitchford found himself in hot water recently after making a fairly tone deaf comment regarding the potential price of Borderlands 4. In response to concerns that the game may well be priced at $80, Pitchford simply stated that "if you're a real fan, you'll find a way". It's not a totally egregious comment in some respects, but the insinuation that those who perhaps can't afford the game aren't so-called "real fans" definitely rubbed folks the wrong way. Now, as spotted by Eurogamer, Pitchford has attempted to defend and justify his comment with another post on social media; this time consisting of a video in which he answers a question regarding how much Borderlands 4 will ultimately cost. He states that Borderlands 4 has "more than twice" the budget of Borderlands 3, which may well contribute to the final price of the game. Though he says that "as artists, we want everybody to have it", there are factors which have to be considered, including "tariffs for the retail packaging" and more. Pitchford says that pre-orders will be opening "soon", and that the price will be set at that time. He's keen to stress, however, that he doesn't know whether publisher 2K will follow the lead of Nintendo and Microsoft and price it at $80, or whether it will remain on the cheaper side. His comments here seem fair, and it just goes to show how some rogue social media post can have such a detrimental effect on one's reputation. Hopefully he'll think twice next time and perhaps show a bit more tact. "We don't feel like we're fighting the system" Do you think Randy Pitchford has adequately justified his comments here? Let us know. [source x.com, via eurogamer.net] Related Games See Also Share:0 0 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles 27 Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games We're Excited For In 2025 The very best Switch 2 games coming soon The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score? Nintendo Switch 2 Final Tech Specs Have Been Confirmed GameChat has a "significant impact on system resources" Nintendo Apologises For "Error" With Mention Of Switch 2 VRR TV Support "The incorrect information was initially published" 12 Switch Games Are Getting Free Switch 2 Upgrades, Here's What You Can Expect Nintendo's free updates arrive next month

I started writing my own film scripts when I was ten, and I basically wanted to be Indiana Jones. Well, I wanted to be Indy, the director and the guy who did the stunts and the storyboards after seeing Temple of Doom with my dad at the Harrogate Odeon. He'd bought me the Official Souvenir Magazine – I knew it was important – which was full of colourful costume sketches, storyboards detailing some of the action I'd just seen, and glossy pictures of cast and crew in glamorous locations. I think that was the first time I had an inkling of what I wanted to do with my life, but growing up in a small Yorkshire town wasn't exactly conducive to being Indiana Jones: the most useful film locations there were my buddy Richard's back garden and the local woods, but we endeavoured and made a three-minute epic where I, as Indy, swung across imagined alligator-infested swamps and ran through not-so-dense forests pursued by invisible tribesmen. Growing up in the Eighties was a fertile time for the imagination of anyone, particularly anyone who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Lucas and Spielberg. By the time I'd left school prematurely at sixteen and worked as a film assistant (when TV used to be shot on film) before returning to higher education, my friend Derek had already worked on the new Star Wars film, rubbed shoulders with Robert Altman and Tim Burton, and slept on a lot of mates' sofas. That, I thought, was my next goal. Not the sofas part – the working on big movies part. World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo But again, there's this persistent myth that one has to "break into" the film industry, as Spielberg himself did; all one has to do is occupy an empty office at a film studio and pretend one works there until one does. The sad truth is that the film industry doesn't want you. I mean, it might do – but it just doesn't know it yet. Either way, you hear all kinds of motivational and anti-motivational stories in the press: everything from "Just pick up a phone and make a film" to "You can't just pick up a phone and make a film." Or "don't ask permission: be a rebel and just do what you want" but then also "make friends with producers and nurture working relationships" to get your films made. So which is it? I'm here to tell you it's both. I had years of making my own feature films (four to date) where I didn't ask permission to do so, just found private investors and gathered a cast and crew each time, to different levels of ambition and difficulty. There's a Spielberg quote in the Official Souvenir Magazine of Temple of Doom that I always remember, and it's something like: "You look at the script and think, how are we going to do all this? But somehow or other, it gets done." That's been the driving force of every movie I've made to date: we found the money, we gathered the crew, we did everything. Sure, some of them played in cinemas and then didn't do anything else (my first was deemed "too cheap" for a home release), but some won awards, and one even made it to Blu-ray. Score! But then came the pandemic, and I'd be lying if I didn't say it punctured the ambitions of just about everyone. It was not just the personal crises, loss, and fear it faced us with, but also the seemingly insurmountable heights to scale to get films made – which was already a challenge. In 2020, you might have thought things were picking up speed: we released our latest lo-fi feature film – the zombie comedy Zomblogalypse, which ended up on the aforementioned Blu-ray – in cinemas and film festivals, and I met with producers to sign a script deal for my ambitious action-horror. And then came about two years of "the market is dead" and "no one's making anything at the moment" and a hundred times the usual cliched setback talk of "it's not a good time right now…" except it was painfully, abundantly clear that this was in fact true. Zomblogalypse So during this time, all the while trying in earnest to get any movie off the ground (and we're talking baby budgets here), somewhere during the process, I decided to stop thinking of myself as a producer and director and just be a writer for a while. This was partly due to the amount of times I was told in producer meetings – both in TV and film – that they'd find a director for my script. And a co-writer. And a development executive. Now, I knew who all these people were because I'd read my Indiana Jones Official Souvenir Magazine, but the key point was that I needed to stop trying to do everything and focus on the scripts. A director, unless they're Mr Spielberg, can only direct every few years, while a writer can always write on a notepad by the bed, on the Notes app on their phone (which is how I'm writing this), on their laptop with half an hour to spare, and so forth. And yes, you're saying, but what if a writer doesn't have half an hour to spare because of their job or their family? And to that, I say yes, noted, but… you have to write. Find the time. In every minimum wage job I ever had, I wrote scripts. Sorry, former employers: you were all funding my screenwriting habit. I actually left secure and (under)paid employment fifteen years ago this very week and haven't looked back – but that's another story... Steven Spielberg (around 1995) – Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo The point (finally) is that I decided to double down as a writer and pen a movie trilogy. Why, you ask? As if it isn't hard enough getting one screenplay written and submitted to a producer. And it is hard: I submitted my action-horror to my producer five years ago, after five years of scribbling and re-drafting and working with a co-writer and trying to get the damn thing self-financed and finally getting an industry producer to read it… why would I now, while I wait for that one to bear fruit – through strikes and fires and other Hollywood nonsense – go and do something stupid like write a trilogy? It comes down to that rebellious notion of not asking permission. I've got a trilogy in me (after years of working out several individual scripts and realising they're all linked thematically), so why not go for broke and write all three? Advice from my peers so far is a mix of "just write one and sell that first" because that's hard enough, and "f^&k yeah, go for it! No one else is writing a trilogy!" So, having written what has now evidently become the middle chapter, I've set to work on writing the first and drafting out the third. They're a mix of genres, but each one does stand alone, just in case I'm only able to get one into production (they're action thriller, sci-fi romcom, and action horror, in case you wondered). I don't know how wise it's going to prove to write three films at once, but so far, I'm enjoying the challenge. Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo I'm a huge fan of the Back to the Future trilogy (who isn't) and how Bobs Zemeckis and Gale wrote the second and third as back-to-back projects, so I'm inspired by that and other well-made trilogies like Ginger Snaps and the more recent Fear Street. I like the format, and I've never written this way before. But after five years of stalled production and juggling one-off ideas (there are currently about twenty in my In Development folder), I'm doubling down for what, at age fifty, is my most ambitious project to date: writing a trilogy that may never get made, but which I'll do everything to try and get made. I'd rather make up for lost time than not make anything again. And as a writer, it's the ultimate project. Who doesn't love a trilogy? Hopefully, one day, a producer will agree with me that being this insanely ambitious is the way forward. Because I've been hiding in the shadows for too long as a struggling director, it's time to be a writer!

A Washington DC-based think tank claims it has discovered evidence of a covert network of digital front companies operated by the Chinese intelligence services that are targeting laid-off US government employees. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, thousands of people have been let go across the US government – including many in cyber security threat intel and research functions – following audits by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). The mass lay-offs, which the White House says are being done in the name of saving money, have dramatically slowed and even halted many government functions. In some places – such as at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they are being reversed. Now, the Federation for the Defence of Democracies (FDD), a research institute that focuses primarily on America’s national security and foreign policy, says that Beijing is moving to try to exploit the lay-offs for its own intelligence-gathering purposes. FDD senior analyst on emerging threats Max Lesser said these fraudulent organisations were posing as geopolitical risk consultancies and headhunting firms that appeared to be based in Japan, Singapore and the US. “The tactics employed by this network closely resemble previous Chinese intelligence operations targeting US government officials and other high-value targets across the US, Europe and beyond,” said Lesser. “Despite the network’s efforts to create the illusion that several separate firms outside of China are seeking to recruit laid-off federal employees, the network’s technical features point both to its Chinese origins and the role of a single entity in creating all of its components,” he said. Read more about nation state threats UK cyber security chief warns of ‘direct connection’ between Russian cyber attacks and physical threats to the UK. Two spyware variants are being used to target the mobile devices of persons of interest to Chinese intelligence, including individuals in the Taiwanese, Tibetan and Uyghur communities. Advanced persistent threat group UNC3886 deployed custom backdoors on end-of-life Juniper Networks routers, underscoring the need for timely patching and advanced security monitoring. The FDD named the companies as Smiao Intelligence, Dustrategy, RiverMerge Strategies, Tsubasa Insight and Wavemax Innov. Of these, said Lesser, only Smiao Intelligence appears to be a real company. The others are alleged to be little more than digital fronts operating cloned websites, with artificial intelligence (AI)-generated text and clearly fake customer references. Lesser said it was likely that individuals associated with Smiao created the network themselves for intelligence-gathering purposes, because they all rely on the same China-hosted Tencent server to run their websites, and all but one of them are using – or once did – a China-based email service called chengmail. Additionally, he said, four out of five of the sites share the same SSL certificate. The FDD was also able to ascertain Smaio was likely the nexus of the covert operation. It has the oldest domain in the group, dating back eight years, and its homepage directs to an apparent parent company, Beijing Simiao Intelligent Information Technology Co Ltd, which is apparently a trademark application agency, officially recognised by China’s State Intellectual Property Office, and was registered as a company in 2012. Notably, one of the companies, RiverMerge, appeared for a while to have an office in the US – the state of Colorado, to be precise – as well as Singapore, although these references were scrubbed from its website some time before 26 March 2025. US registries do show a company called RiverMerge Strategies LLC, formed in 2024, with a domain registered in Beijing and evidence of a shared phone number with Smiao. The Chinese state has form dating back the best part of a decade when it comes to using recruitment websites to gather intelligence on US targets. Back in 2020, a Singapore national, Jun Wei Yeo, was sentenced to jail after obtaining more than 400 resumes, 90% of them from American military and government officials with some level of security clearance, and passing them to Beijing. Nor have European targets been immune – a German intelligence report from eight years ago revealed how China was able to obtain data on 10,000 German citizens as potential intelligence sources, while in 2019, the French told a similar story. Two years ago, in 2023, British intelligence chief Ken McCallum revealed that 20,000 Britons had been approached in a similar manner. In many cases, this targeting was conducted using legitimate job websites, including social network LinkedIn, which has been described as the “ultimate playground” for intelligence gathering. It is not known if the operation targeting laid-off federal workers was successful, but the effort certainly comes at a dangerous time for the US, and an opportune moment for China as it seeks to exploit Trump’s unique approach to government and policymaking. “This threat is heightened at a time when thousands of former and current federal workers are seeking new employment,” said Lesser. “If the public and private sectors do not act quickly to address these vulnerabilities, China and other adversaries will continue preying on former public servants who may not be aware of the threat and face pressure to find new jobs quickly.” He called on the US government to take more active measures to raise awareness of this gathering cyber threat – such as sending representatives to discuss the issue in the media. It should also proactively work with the likes of LinkedIn and other networking sites to monitor potentially suspicious activity, such as job postings that explicitly seek out ex-government employees. LinkedIn could also implement more stringent Know Your Customer policies for people creating company pages on its site. Lesser also called for Congress to exercise additional oversight through the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Finally, Washington could also turn the situation to its advantage by creating sock puppet accounts to bait Chinese intelligence operatives into coming out of the shadows to make contact.

Published May 18, 2025 6:00am EDT close New space capsule just changed the game for bringing stuff back from orbit A European startup successfully completed the first orbital test flight of its Phoenix 1 re-entry space capsule. While the United States has long been a leader in space exploration and commercial launches, Europe is now making significant strides of its own. Recently, a major milestone was achieved when Atmos Space Cargo, a European startup, successfully completed the first orbital test flight of its Phoenix 1 re-entry space capsule. This mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare, marks a new chapter in global space logistics. By demonstrating that Europe can develop and operate advanced return technology, Atmos is helping to make space more accessible and efficient for researchers, businesses and innovators on both sides of the Atlantic. This achievement signals the arrival of a new player in the space return market and opens the door to greater collaboration and competition in the rapidly growing field of commercial space logistics.JOIN THE FREE CYBERGUY REPORT: GET MY EXPERT TECH TIPS, CRITICAL SECURITY ALERTS AND EXCLUSIVE DEALS — PLUS INSTANT ACCESS TO MY FREE ULTIMATE SCAM SURVIVAL GUIDE WHEN YOU SIGN UP! Phoenix 1   (Atmos Space Cargo)The mission: From launch to splashdownPhoenix 1 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of the Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission. After reaching a 45-degree inclination orbit, the capsule completed one full trip around Earth. A carefully timed de-orbit maneuver then sent Phoenix 1 back toward the planet. During its descent, the capsule deployed an innovative inflatable heat shield, a technology designed by Atmos to protect the capsule during the intense heat and friction of reentry. FIRST PRIVATE SPACEX POLAR MISSION SPLASHES DOWN NEAR CALIFORNIAAs Phoenix 1 reentered Earth's atmosphere, it transmitted critical system and payload data to ground stations in South America. The capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,240 miles off the Brazilian coast. Because of the remote landing location, recovery of the capsule was not planned. However, the mission's main objectives were met, and the data collected is now being analyzed to inform future missions. Phoenix 1  (Atmos Space Cargo)Why Phoenix 1 is a big milestoneThe success of Phoenix 1 establishes Atmos as the fastest-moving private space logistics company in Europe to conduct an orbital return mission. This achievement demonstrates that Europe is on the path to developing independent, sovereign return capabilities. It also shows that private industry can lead the way in building essential space infrastructure. Atmos' rapid prototyping approach allowed the team to develop, qualify and fly Phoenix 1 in less than a year. This speed is almost unheard of in the space industry and highlights the company's commitment to innovation and hands-on problem-solving. The mission also proved that multinational collaboration is possible, as teams from around Europe worked together to achieve a common goal. Phoenix 1   (Atmos Space Cargo)What was learned and testedThe Phoenix 1 mission had several core objectives. The team aimed to collect in-flight data from the capsule and its subsystems while in orbit. The mission also carried scientific and commercial payloads, including technology demonstrators and biological experiments from partners such as Frontier Space, Imperial College London, DLR and IDDK. Another key goal was to deploy and test the inflatable heat shield under real reentry conditions. Although some data from the final stage of descent could not be retrieved due to the splashdown location, the mission still provided valuable insights. The data received from the capsule has already contributed to the development of Phoenix 2, the next-generation capsule planned for launch in 2026.SPACEX LAUNCH SCRUBBED HOURS AFTER HEGSETH SHARES MESSAGE TO RESCUE MISSION CREW: ‘WISH YOU GODSPEED’ Phoenix 1 (Atmos Space Cargo)The technology: Inflatable heat shield and rapid prototypingThe inflatable heat shield is a breakthrough in reentry technology. Traditional capsules rely on heavy, single-use heat shields or parachutes to survive reentry. Atmos' design is lighter, more efficient and potentially reusable, which could dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of returning cargo from space. Atmos' development philosophy is based on rapid prototyping and real-world testing. The team believes in building and testing hardware quickly, learning from each iteration and making improvements based on real data rather than relying solely on simulations. This approach allowed Phoenix 1 to go from concept to space in record time. Phoenix 1   (Atmos Space Cargo)The road aheadAtmos is already working on Phoenix 2, which will include its own propulsion system. This upgrade will allow the capsule to control its reentry trajectory and choose its splashdown zone, making recovery much easier and more practical. The company's vision is to create a flexible, cost-efficient and reliable logistics platform for space, supporting both commercial and institutional missions. With a payload efficiency of 1:2, Phoenix already offers the highest mass efficiency on the market. This opens new opportunities for microgravity research, in-space manufacturing and biotechnology. The technology will also support Europe's defense sector and strengthen the continent's independent space infrastructure. Phoenix 1  (Atmos Space Cargo)What this means for youThe success of Phoenix 1 is not just a technical achievement for engineers and scientists. It has the potential to assist with many aspects of everyday life. Faster and more affordable access to space means that new technologies, medicines and materials can be developed and tested in microgravity and then brought back to Earth for use.Universities, startups and small companies will have more opportunities to conduct experiments in space without the high costs and long wait times that have been barriers in the past. Atmos Space Cargo's growing space capabilities could also lead to new jobs, investment and technological leadership. Phoenix 1   (Atmos Space Cargo)Kurt's key takeawaysPhoenix 1's successful mission is a sign that space is becoming more accessible and that innovation is happening at an unprecedented pace. By proving that rapid development and new ideas can work in the challenging environment of space, Atmos Space Cargo is paving the way for a future where space logistics are as routine as shipping goods across continents. The next generation of breakthroughs in science and technology may very well start their journey with a ride on a capsule like Phoenix.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPDo you think the United States should accelerate its own space return technology to stay ahead, or is international competition good for innovation? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/ContactFor more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/NewsletterAsk Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to coverFollow Kurt on his social channelsAnswers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved.   Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? 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PS5 live service plans in trouble again as Fairgames delay rumoured Adam Starkey Published May 16, 2025 2:12pm Updated May 16, 2025 2:12pm Fairgame$ doesn’t seem to be faring well (Sony Interactive Entertainment) One of PlayStation’s few remaining live service projects looks like it’s in trouble, as the studio’s founder departs amid concerns around its progress. Sony once had plans for 12 live service projects to be released by 2026, but many of them have either been cancelled or, like Concord, scrubbed from existence after a mere two weeks. Despite its failures in the area (the externally developed Helldivers 2 being the only exception), PlayStation still has several live service projects underway, driven by the potential profits from microtransactions which are a crucial part of PlayStation’s overall income. One of these upcoming games is Fairgame$ from developer Haven Studios, which was originally announced back in May 2023. While we’ve heard nothing about the heist shooter since, reports suggest things aren’t going well. The first concerning sign is the departure of Haven studio founder, Jade Raymond, who served as a producer in the early days of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. In light of her exit, Haven Studios will now be led by new co-studio heads Marie-Eve Danis and François Sapinski. ‘Jade Raymond has been an incredible partner and visionary force in founding Haven Studios,’ a PlayStation spokesperson said in a statement. ‘We are deeply grateful for her leadership and contributions, and we wish her all the best in her next chapter.’ As reported by Bloomberg, no reason was given for Raymond’s exit, but this comes several weeks after an ‘external test’ of Fairgame$. Following this test, it’s claimed ‘some developers at Haven were concerned about how the game was received and its progress’. According to the report, Fairgame$ was originally slated to come out in autumn 2025, but it has been delayed to spring next year – potentially in the firing line of GTA 6. However, this hasn’t been officially announced by Sony. While it’s unclear why it would have been potentially delayed, launching Fairgame$ later this year seems like a bizarre move considering Sony’s next live service hopeful, Bungie’s Marathon, is set to drop on September 23, 2025. More Trending Beyond Marathon, Sony’s other remaining live service project is a rumoured Horizon multiplayer spin-off, which is reportedly set to release before 2027. So it’s possible Fairgame$ might be awkwardly wedged between the two – if it isn’t cancelled before then. While Sony has cancelled many live service games over the past few years, including The Last Of Us Online, the company has recently opened several studios clearly designed to chase this model. One of these, Dark Outlaw Games, is led by former Call Of Duty Zombies lead Jason Blundell, while another, named teamLFG, is working on a team-based action game. There’s a chance we could see more from Fairgame$ over the coming weeks, if Sony holds its usual State Of Play presentation in May or June. Assuming it makes it as far as a public release, that is. Sony is yet to announce the rumoured Horizon multiplayer spin-off (Sony Interactive Entertainment) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Scholars for decades believed Harvard's document was a copy written in 1327. Credit: Lorin Granger / Harvard Law School Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In 1946, Harvard Law School purchased an early copy of the Magna Carta for $27.50. Even adjusting to about $451 in today’s valuation, the historic document described as “somewhat rubbed and damp-stained” was a pretty solid deal. Initial estimates dated the artifact to 1327, just 27 years after King Edward I’s initial proclamation.  For decades, Harvard’s rare edition of the seminal governing document offered a potent written symbol of society’s journey towards recognizing inalienable human rights—but a recent reevaluation has shocked historians, as well as the document’s current owners. It turns out the university’s Magna Carta “copy” is actually one of now seven original manuscripts penned in 1300. Researchers reviewed the document using multispectral imaging and UV light scans. Credit: Harvard Law School “This is a fantastic discovery,” David Carpenter, a medieval historian at King’s College London said in the announcement from Harvard Law School. “[It] deserves celebration, not as some mere copy, stained and faded, but as an original of one of the most significant documents in world constitutional history…” Carpenter is a major reason the document received a fresh examination. While recently perusing unofficial Magna Carta copies online, he paused on the law school’s digitized version on its website. Although the archive listed it as a copy, certain aspects stuck out to him. For one, its described dimensions of 489 by 473 millimeters (about 19.25 by 18.6 inches) matched those of the six previously confirmed originals. Then there was the penmanship itself—particularly the large capital “E” on the first word, “Edwardus,” as well as the initial line’s noticeably elongated lettering. Carpenter and colleagues then used UV lights and spectral imaging to compare the Harvard edition with the six originals. Any textual variations between a supposed “copy” and the real documents would prove it to be an unauthorized later edition.  According to Carpenter, Harvard’s Magna Carta passed “with flying colors.”“This uniformity provides new evidence for Magna Carta’s status in the eyes of contemporaries. The text had to be correct,” he said. Harvard’s Magna Carta is now the seventh original known to still exist. Credit: Harvard Law School After reviewing additional historical accounts about the few remaining original documents, Carpenter believes Harvard’s edition to be a long-lost Magna Carta originally presented to a former parliamentary borough in Westmorland, England. That variant eventually was put up for auction in 1945 by Forster “Sammy” Maynard, an air vice-marshal and former World War I flying ace. Maynard previously inherited the document  from the archives of leading 18th century abolitionists, Thomas and John Clarkson. One of the Clarksons likely received the Magna Carta at some point in the early 1800s from William Lowther, the hereditary lord of Appleby manor. “Given where it is, given present problems over liberties, over the sense of constitutional tradition in America, you couldn’t invent a provenance that was more wonderful than this,” said Nicholas Vincent, a collaborator on the reevaluation project and a medieval historian at the University of East Anglia. “The work we do in the law, and pass on to new generations of students, is not simply the consistent application of logical principle,” explained Harvard Law School’s vice dean for Library and Information Services, Jonathan Zittrain. “It’s understanding how rare and precious self-governance across many differences can be, and how important it is to preserve and deliver upon it.”