Between crushing layoffs, ballooning budgets, and bland end products, video game makers need to stop chasing AAA glory. Grand Theft Auto finally arrives in November . A staggering 13 years and two console generations after the release of its predecessor, the long-awaited sequel has effectively become one of gaming's holy grails--a title that some thought they'd never actually see, its development cycle so legendarily long that there's a dedicated " we got [x] before " meme. The latest criminal opus lets players control Jason and Lucia, a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, and bears all the hallmarks of Rockstar's incredible attention to detail. Leonida, the open-world setting based on Florida, looks almost impossibly vast yet meticulously detailed, with its own weather systems and hundreds of animal species roaming around.

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. How many jobs is your state losing to AI? CAIS' Wage Loss Dashboard puts AI-related job cuts into dollars and cents. Radhika Rajkumar is a senior editor at ZDNET based in New York City. The CAIS tracker puts these losses in dollars and cents. Understanding how AI will change the economy still involves guesswork.

Sophie Cunningham says what other gaslighting female athletes won't about the naked Sydney Sweeney ad Steve Sarkisian says he should have shown'more patience' after running from Holly Rowe interview Bills cruise past Lions to christen new home behind Josh Allen's five-touchdown performance Patriots' TreVeyon Henderson explains siding with family over DCF in custody dispute involving gender identity Colin Kaepernick accuses NFL of'colluding' against Macklemore amid'Free Palestine' controversy Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger quietly rolls back Youngkin's plans to protect girls' sports Human vs. ChatGPT NFL Week 2 betting picks: AI looks to rebound after disastrous 0-5 debut NBA star Kyrie Irving jumps into NFL drama, offers to pay player's fine for Gaza-themed eye black NFL's highest-paid TE George Kittle reveals favorite purchase: A 50-foot flagpole for a massive American flag Bill Belichick would like you to know that his 25-year-old girlfriend isn't running things at UNC Bijan Robinson believes Texas' comeback over Ohio State can change entire season trajectory Barstool chief Dave Portnoy blasts Macklemore's shady past, strongly supports Patriots owner Robert Kraft Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss comes with betrayal, lawsuits and memories of him trying to burn it all down Paige Spiranac and her'cans' go to bat for Sydney Sweeney, Ole Miss-LSU gets nasty & UF alumni speak out Iran's AI-powered cyber threat sparks alarm over US infrastructure Raman would'catastrophically' push LA over the edge if elected: Former Trump campaign official'Gutfeld!': Tirade at 30K feet left him taped to a seat We have'no idea' about long-term effects of Chinese pesticides at Cali pot grows: Ex-DEA chief OutKick Sports Ryan Clark again accuses ESPN of leaking his firing to OutKick: Here's the real story Dan Dakich reacts to Jemele Hill attempting to rip OutKick following the outlet receiving sourcing during the Ryan Clark layoff. Ryan Clark once again accused ESPN of leaking the news of his firing to OutKick to embarrass him. This time, he said so during an appearance on the influential Black radio show The Breakfast Club. Everybody that got laid off got told on Tuesday.

Following mass layoffs in 2022 and 2023, many tech workers turned against their employers. When liberal politicians also rallied against Silicon Valley, their backers turned to Donald Trump. In the spring of 2020, as a new and highly contagious virus spread throughout the country, the US came to a standstill. The economy shut down, cities emptied, and white-collar workers were sent home en masse. Platforms like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams surged in usage as WFH became ubiquitous. From remote schooling and virtual weddings to app-based grocery delivery and livestreamed concerts, the pandemic accelerated and cemented society's increasing reliance on digital platforms. Already one of the most powerful forces in the American economy, the tech sector suddenly became the infrastructure underpinning every aspect of life.

I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen Three-quarters of organizations have found AI layoffs cost more than they saved, and as many as nine in 10 companies would rethink them given the chance. Some firms cut jobs due to AI and regret their decisions. Smart business leaders focus on value creation instead. They help professionals find new avenues to growth. Defaulting to AI-enabled layoffs is often seen as a shortcut to cost-cutting.

Charges filed with the NLRB accuse Xbox of bad faith bargaining. Following another round of mass layoffs and studio upheavals at Xbox, Communications Workers of America has filed unfair labor practice charges against Microsoft with the National Labor Relations Board. The CWA accuses Microsoft of bad faith bargaining, coercive actions, contract repudiation and failing to provide notice to employees, according to the charge on the NLRB site . The case was filed on July 15 in the United States, and CWA Canada is taking legal action against Microsoft as well, as reported by Game Developer . On July 6, Microsoft announced it would immediately cut 1,600 jobs across its Xbox division, with plans to lose another 1,600 employees over the coming fiscal year.

Twenty-six employees of Meta Platforms have filed a novel lawsuit accusing the tech giant of using AI-powered software that disproportionately targeted people with disabilities or who took medical leave in selecting workers for mass layoffs. The lawsuit, filed in Oakland, California, federal court late Monday, says that the company relied on factors such as productivity and AI token usage when it slashed thousands of jobs earlier this year, disadvantaging people who missed work because of medical conditions or to care for family members. The plaintiffs, who were notified in May that their jobs would be eliminated starting on July 22, are seeking a preliminary ruling from the court blocking Meta from completing the layoffs while they pursue their claims in private arbitration. The workers say Meta's agreements require employees to arbitrate workplace disputes individually, but do not apply to requests for temporary relief. A Meta spokesperson on Tuesday said the claims lack merit. "Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI," the spokesperson said.

The tech giant allegedly targeted workers with disabilities and those who took medical or family leave. The layoffs were part of Meta's plan to cut 10 percent of staff in an effort to prioritize AI initiatives. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. A group of 26 current and former Meta employees filed a lawsuit Monday evening accusing the tech company of using AI software to target employees with disabilities and those who took medical or family leave in its mass layoffs in May. Those layoffs were part of Meta's plans to cut 10 percent of its staff, or roughly 8,000 workers, and close about 6,000 open positions, in an effort to prioritize AI initiatives.

Silicon Valley is making a show of helping prepare the country for AI layoffs. In late March, I started receiving daily texts from the federal government about AI. " AI is changing how we work and live," one message read. "You might feel curious, skeptical, or unsure--that's normal." I had enrolled in an AI-literacy course from the Labor Department created to help workers succeed in the ChatGPT economy. The weeklong program, created in partnership with an AI start-up and delivered by text message, was supposed to equip Americans with "foundational AI skills," according to an agency press release.

The Fallout: New Vegas developer has not escaped Microsoft's Xbox layoffs unscathed. Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behind the Pillars of Eternity series, and, is being reshuffled as part of Xbox's larger reset and mass layoffs across Microsoft's gaming business. Josh Sawyer, the director of and the Medieval adventure game, is reportedly leading development of the new game. Getting a new Fallout game out is particularly relevant given that, a multiplayer survival game from 2018, is technically the most recent release and Fallout has now been adapted into a successful streaming series on Amazon Prime Video. This change in studio direction is also being paired with layoffs.