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EA's next Battlefield game is supposedly arriving sometime in spring 2026, but its development is reportedly fraught with issues, leading some of its developers to worry that certain parts of the game won't be well-received. According to a lengthy Ars Technica piece about the game's development troubles and problems facing AAA titles' development as a whole, EA had lofty goals for the next Battlefield (codenamed Glacier) to the point that team members working on the project think they're near unrealistic.

The publisher's executives apparently believed that Glacier could match the popularity of Call of Duty and Fortnite and set a 100 million player target over a certain period of time. An employee told Ars that the franchise has never achieved those numbers before, with Battlefield 2042 getting only up to 22 million players within that same period. The first Battlefield, which was the most successful in the franchise so far, only got to "maybe 30 million plus" within that timeframe.

One of the reasons why Fortnite has over 100 million active users is because it's free-to-play. In CoD's case, well, aside from having free-to-play titles, it's also the biggest gaming franchise and has a lengthy history, so it's no surprise that it already has a solid fanbase who would play its latest releases. Players had to pay for previous Battlefield games up front, but executives thought that if EA made Glacier free-to-play like its competitors, it could achieve the same numbers. And that is why the publisher promised a free-to-play Battle Royale mode with a six-hour single player campaign for the upcoming game.

Ridgeline, the external studio working on the single player mode, however, shuttered in 2024 after working on the project for two years. The studio reportedly found EA's objectives unachievable, since it was expected to reach milestones in the same rate as more established studios when it didn't have the same resources. Now, three other EA studios (Criterion, DICE and Motive) are working on the single-player mode. But since they had to start from scratch, single player is the only Glacier game mode remaining that has yet to reach alpha status.

Due to the wider scope of the next title in the franchise and the issues it has faced, it has become the most expensive Battlefield to date. It had a budget of $400 million back in 2023, but the current projections are now apparently "well north" of that. Whether the next Battlefield launches on time remains to be seen. Ars' sources said that if it does ship as intended, they expect some features and content to be cut from the final product. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/eas-next-battlefield-game-may-be-in-trouble-and-over-budget-130046636.html?src=rss

AMD's RX 9070 XT is now considerably faster than it was at launchIt's 9% quicker, in fact, with the latest graphics driver compared to the initial releaseThat's based on benchmarking across a suite of games conducted by Hardware Unboxed, and those results are broadly reflected elsewhere, tooAMD's RX 9070 XT graphics card is considerably faster than it was when the GPU first launched thanks to improvements in Team Red's drivers, going by some new testing.This comes from Hardware Unboxed on YouTube (as highlighted by VideoCardz), which had seen reports of performance boosts and wanted to verify those claims.And they turned out to be correct, because based on benchmarks conducted across a suite of 16 games (at 1440p resolution) by Hardware Unboxed, the RX 9070 XT was 9% faster than with its launch graphics drivers (from back in March 2025).This game benchmarking used the latest AMD Adrenalin graphics driver (version 25.6.3), but also included Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti not just for perspective, but also to ensure that these gains were achieved due to the drivers.This was to eliminate the possibility that the near-10% boost witnessed by the RX 9070 XT might have been the result of patches applied to the games. So, if the RTX 5070 Ti had shown similar gains, the conclusion would be that this was down to game, not driver, optimizations – but that isn't the case.Granted, with some games, the RTX 5070 Ti witnessed similar frame-rate gains to AMD's graphics card, which could indicate that those improvements were indeed down to an update for the game (or multiple updates over time). Or indeed that Nvidia's drivers have improved, too, by a similar amount, which is of course perfectly possible. There were some victories for the RTX 5070 Ti, as well, though they were more outliers, like a 36% gain in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (which was due to a bug fix).The broad thrust of Hardware Unboxed's findings, though, is that the RX 9070 XT does considerably better, with the mentioned 9% boost (going from 116 frames per second to 126 on average) compared to a gain of 2.5% (119 frames per second to 122) for Nvidia's upper-mid-range GPU. That include a 27% speed gain for the AMD graphics card in Spider-Man Remastered.Analysis: AMD's increasingly tempting value propositionOf course, there are a lot of moving parts here in terms of the games chosen to be tested and graphics settings applied (and the test PC configuration). There wasn't much difference at 4K resolution, it's worth noting, with a 4% gain for the 9070 XT versus 3% for the 5070 Ti.So, this is hardly a definitive result, and we should exercise some caution around it. Still, the difference at 1440p appears to be large enough to warrant some raised eyebrows, and these kinds of gains have been observed elsewhere, too, as noted.It appears, then, that AMD has made considerable progress in honing its Adrenalin graphics drivers – much more so than Nvidia – since the RDNA 4 range of graphics cards was launched. Or, to a certain extent, this could reflect Team Red smoothing out wonkiness with performance at lower resolutions (given that the boost at 4K is much less, and barely any different to what Nvidia has managed with the RTX 5070 Ti).This is great news for those who bought an RX 9070 XT already, of course, and effectively a substantial free speed boost, as it were. It's also evidence of the 'fine wine' effect that's commonly associated with AMD drivers, meaning they age very well as time goes on.What about the situation for those who are looking at buying either an RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT? For starters, they can check out our head-to-head comparison of those GPUs, but performance-wise in this Hardware Unboxed test, there's not much between them.At 1440p – the resolution these graphics cards will mostly be used at – AMD has pulled its socks up a good deal as noted, and the 9070 XT is now the faster board, but only by 3%. There are other arguments in favor of Nvidia, too, around the benefits of DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation, so it's a very close battle here.That means, then, that pricing is absolutely key – and of course regional price tags, too – and this is where AMD scores the win, certainly in the US, UK and Australia. At Newegg US currently, the Nvidia GPU is 20% more expensive (it's normally more, though), and in Australia the gulf is more like 30%. Wherever you live, the story is likely to be very similar, unless you can find a really good outlier of a deal on the RTX 5070 Ti (like this one in the UK currently).And given that, unless you're really hungry for DLSS 4, the RX 9070 XT is now looking very much the stronger of these GPUs in terms of that all-important overall price/performance ratio.You might also like...Where to buy AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070: the best retailers in the US and UK to check for stockAMD warns its RX 9070 GPUs are strictly ‘UEFI-only’ – but don't panic, here's why this probably doesn’t affect youI've reviewed three generations of 3D V-cache processors, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best there is

It's still a couple of days until Prime Day 2025 officially kicks off, but the sales are already here. There's deals on some of our favorite products, like the TP-Link Deco AXE5400 WI-Fi mesh router system and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Now, another Amazon device is on sale: the Echo Spot.

Currently, you can get the Amazon Echo Spot for $45, down from $80. The 44 percent discount brings the smart alarm clock to a new all-time low. The deal is available on each of the color options, Black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue.

Amazon launched the new Echo Spot in 2024, five years after it canned an initial iteration. It's not too different than its predecessor, though its front is split between a screen and a speaker. Amazon also got rid of its camera, which made some people uncomfortable for a bedside table device. Of course, it offers Alexa integration so you can use the voice assistant for everything from getting the time to playing music. That includes controlling smart home devices as well, and you can even pick up the Echo Spot bundled with an Amazon Basics smart light bulb for an extra $5.

Elsewhere in the Amazon devices ecosystem, more smart speakers have received discounts. The Echo Dot is 36 percent off and down to $32, while the Echo Pop is 45 percent off and down to $22 for Prime members only. Neither of those are record-low prices, but they are the best discounts we've seen in 2025 so far.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/pick-up-amazons-echo-spot-while-its-on-sale-for-45-for-prime-day-133212152.html?src=rss

Hackers are actively targeting a messaging app used by federal agenciesThe app was also involved in the Signalgate scandalHackers have already stolen chats and metadata from 60 government officialsThe US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned a popular Signal messaging app clone being used by federal agencies is under attack.The clone, TeleMessage, was found to have some serious issues, including a lack of proper end-to-end encryption.Hackers have been exploiting two flaws, CVE-2025-48927 and CVE-2025-48928, to access federal chat logs and metadata. CISA has given federal agencies until July 22 to apply patches.Federal chat app hackedThe new comes months after then-US national security advisor Mike Waltz accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief at The Atlantic, to a secret Signal chat discussing ongoing US strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Waltz was then removed from his position as a result.Following investigations into the fiasco, it emerged that Waltz and others weren’t using Signal, but a clone of the app called TM SGNL, which was developed by TeleMessage.The app was then subsequently targeted in an attack that saw the chat logs and metadata of around 60 government officials including Secret Service members and a White House official leaked online.The first flaw listed by CISA, CVE-2025-48927, has a CVSS score of 5.3, and allows hackers to extract sensitive data from memory dumps exposed by a Spring Boot Actuator misconfiguration in the TeleMessage app that exposes the /heapdump endpoint.The second flaw, CVE-2025-48928, has a CVSS score of 4.0, and allows an attacker to access exposed passwords sent over HTTP by stealing a memory-dump file through local access to the TeleMessage server.No other details on the flaws have been released by CISA, but the agency has said that federal agencies must patch the app by July 22 or stop using it altogether.Via The RegisterYou might also likeSalt Typhoon: US cybersecurity watchdog urges switch to Signal-like messaging appsTake a look at the best encrypted messaging appsEven Donald Trump can't get a good connection for a work video call

The developer beta for iOS 26 has been out for a few weeks, and as always,tech sleuths are uncovering features and details that weren't explained during WWDC. Among the latest discoveries stirring up conversation online is a safety and privacy feature for FaceTime that blurs your feed when it detects you in a state of undress. Should FaceTime detect nudity, it will display a message reading "Audio and video are paused because you may be showing something sensitive. If you feel uncomfortable, you should end the call."

Originally discovered by X user @iDeviceHelpus, the feature is off by default and can be enabled in FaceTime settings under "Sensitive Content Warning." The feature reads, "Detect nude photos and videos before they are viewed on your device, and receive guidance to help make a safe choice. Apple does not have access to the photos or videos."It seems the feature is intended for child accounts, though it can currently be enabled in the beta for adults as well.

The Apple support page for the company's "Communication Safety" features reads, "Communication Safety uses on-device machine learning to analyze photo and video attachments and determine if a photo or video appears to contain nudity. Because the photos and videos are analyzed on your child's device, Apple doesn't receive an indication that nudity was detected and doesn't get access to the photos or videos as a result."

Features in beta come and go, as testing and feedback are partly the point of the beta system, so this may or may not see broader adoption. The public beta for iOS 26 is slated for July.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/ios-26-can-freeze-your-facetime-video-if-it-detects-nudity-135329941.html?src=rss

Looking for a different day?A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, July 3 (game #1256).Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.Quordle today (game #1257) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). Quordle today (game #1257) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.Quordle today (game #1257) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.Quordle today (game #1257) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:Quordle today (game #1257) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• F• S• G• FRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.Quordle today (game #1257) - the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle, game #1257, are…FAVORSKUNKGAWKYFLUFFToday was a great example of a mistake leading to a tricky answer I might not have solved otherwise. I incorrectly guessed “snuff” instead of SKUNK and the F-F ending opened up FLUFF.Incidentally, fluff is one of a small number of five-letter words with just three unique letters. Only one English five letter word has two unique letters. Don’t know it? Ask your mamma.Sorry for the terrible dad joke.How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.Daily Sequence today (game #1257) - the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1257, are…THEMEMULCHDEUCEOCCURQuordle answers: The past 20Quordle #1256, Thursday, 3 July: DANCE, EYING, GLAZE, EGRETQuordle #1255, Wednesday, 2 July: INANE, SCOUR, ELITE, ULCERQuordle #1254, Tuesday, 1 July: REBAR, YEARN, FORTH, CROWDQuordle #1253, Monday, 30 June: INGOT, INFER, TAPIR, CLUEDQuordle #1252, Sunday, 29 June: MIRTH, APTLY, SCRUB, SMACKQuordle #1251, Saturday, 28 June: AWOKE, SMOKY, DEVIL, SWINGQuordle #1250, Friday, 27 June: SPEAK, EAGLE, AVERT, SUINGQuordle #1249, Thursday, 26 June: SLUMP, REBUS, GUAVA, MONEYQuordle #1248, Wednesday, 25 June: SOGGY, CLASH, MODEM, SQUADQuordle #1247, Tuesday, 24 June: QUALM, SQUIB, AXIAL, FLACKQuordle #1246, Monday, 23 June: PIXEL, FJORD, STEAL, EXISTQuordle #1245, Sunday, 22 June: WREST, CRAZE, PAPAL, SCIONQuordle #1244, Saturday, 21 June: BUDDY, GROUT, BEGIN, MADAMQuordle #1243, Friday, 20 June: BRAID, DULLY, HASTE, LURIDQuordle #1242, Thursday, 19 June: BRUSH, ISLET, FRUIT, PRIVYQuordle #1241, Wednesday, 18 June: MEDIA, SHARK, GUPPY, MOURNQuordle #1240, Tuesday, 17 June: LEAPT, PRISM, ADMIN, WHINEQuordle #1239, Monday, 16 June: RETRY, SCALD, DINGO, FEIGNQuordle #1238, Sunday, 15 June: SHOCK, STEIN, BROIL, COVENQuordle #1237, Saturday, 14 June: STICK, FERRY, THESE, IONIC

Looking for a different day?A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, July 3 (game #753).Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Connections today (game #754) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are…DRABBLOWMISSSPOKETIREDUCTWASTEFATIGUEEXHAUSTRIMKHAKIHOSELOSEPIPEHUBCAMONYT Connections today (game #754) - hint #1 - group hintsWhat are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: Circular car componentGREEN: Army garments BLUE: Let it flowPURPLE: A chance that slipped awayNeed more clues?We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…NYT Connections today (game #754) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: PARTS OF A WHEEL GREEN: MILITARY CLOTHING DESCRIPTORS BLUE: USED IN VENTILATION PURPLE: FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, AS AN OPPORTUNITY Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Connections today (game #754) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #754, are…YELLOW: PARTS OF A WHEEL HUB, RIM, SPOKE, TIREGREEN: MILITARY CLOTHING DESCRIPTORS CAMO, DRAB, FATIGUE, KHAKIBLUE: USED IN VENTILATION DUCT, EXHAUST, HOSE, PIPEPURPLE: FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, AS AN OPPORTUNITY BLOW, LOSE, MISS, WASTEMy rating: EasyMy score: PerfectAfter a terrible streak it felt good to complete a round of Connections without making a mistake. I can only conclude that today’s edition was an unusually easy one; even the purple group would be at yellow-level on some days. My only pause for thought was over MILITARY CLOTHING DESCRIPTORS; CAMO, FATIGUE, and KHAKI all seemed common enough, but DRAB was a guess based on how dull army clothing is.How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, July 3, game #753)YELLOW: CORRESPONDENCE CONTACT, DEALINGS, EXCHANGE, INTERACTIONGREEN: AIRPORT BOARD INFO ARRIVAL, DESTINATION, FLIGHT, GATEBLUE: PRO ATHLETE DATA COLLEGE, NUMBER, POSITION, TEAMPURPLE: FARMERS' THINGS ALMANAC, INSURANCE, MARKET, TANWhat is NYT Connections?NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.