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In terms of quality, 2026 has been a bleak year for big-budget video game adaptations. Yes, yes, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie made over a billion dollars, and Mortal Kombat II turned a lean profit. But they were also two of the very worst movies I've seen all year. The former made me all too aware of what a short span of time we have in this life, and how much of it I was obliged to sacrifice for a relentless Nintendo ad. The latter urged me to ask, "The bar is in hell for video game movies, huh?"

SEE ALSO: 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' review: Death is coming for us all

So, my expectations were admittedly very low for Street Fighter, the latest movie adaptation of the Capcom video game series known for badass characters and eye-popping special moves. I'm more surprised than anyone to confess that I had an absolute blast at this movie.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighter leans hard into a '90s aesthetic of glorious neon lighting, hard-hitting pop music, unhinged action, and a general lustiness that's been bled out of mainstream American cinema. Plus, Sakurai and co-writer T.J. Fixman understand that the best way to have fun in this franchise is not to take it too seriously.

Street Fighter (2026) has a lot of spinning plates in terms of plot.

One might well argue too many! First off, you've got egomaniacal tyrant M. Bison (a sneering David Dastmalchian) hosting the World Warrior Tournament II to set a trap for the first tournament's winner, Ryu (Andrew Koji). See, Bison is so power-hungry that he wants to milk all the "psycho power" from Ryu's body to fuel his own. There's just one problem: Ryu has gone missing after the death of his sensei, Gouken, and the subsequent estrangement from his best friend, Ken Masters (Noah Centineo).

Meanwhile, Ken emerges from Ryu's shadow to become a stunt fighter who battles panda bears and parked cars to line his own pockets and those of his manager, Dan (Andrew Schulz). Tasked with finding the best street fighters in the world, Bison's emissary Chun-Li (Callina Liang) invites Ken not because of his bad reputation, but to lure in his estranged brother-in-arms. Determined to prove himself, Ken enters the tournament, ready to face off against fighters like Guile (Cody Rhodes), Dhalsim (Vidyut Jammwal), Balrog (Curtis "50 Sent" Jackson), Zangief (Olivier Richters), E. Honda (Hirooki Goto), and Vega (Orville Peck, who is, of course, masked).

Meanwhile, Chun-Li has her own secret mission, with a tragic backstory fleshed out in gorgeous anime flashbacks. And on top of all that, Ryu's secret struggle is to resist the darkness within him that surfaces in battle. Should he give in to it, he could become evil, like his master's fiercest foe, Akuma (Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i).

Simply put, it's a lot for one movie. Maybe too much? For better or worse, Sakurai's approach to Street Fighter is more is more.

Street Fighter is too much, but I'm not mad about it.

This movie begins with a flashback to the first World Warrior Tournament in 1986, and, like the Chun-Li flashbacks, it's presented in an anime style. This presumably allows Sakurai to save some money on effects, allude to Street Fighter's various incarnations, including animation, and bring nostalgia out of the gate for longtime fans of the franchise.

As the movie leaps ahead to 1993, it will not address the mixed-media use of live action and animation. And that same unapologetic attitude is applied to the film's design. The cinematography of Ken Seng leans into neon lighting that swaths these iconic characters in brazen purples, pinks, reds, and blues to a thrilling effect.

The score by composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson leans on electric guitar and synth keyboards that throw back to '90s action-movie sensibilities. And the soundtrack boasts bangers like 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?," White Zombie's "More Human Than Human," Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," and Montell Jordan's "This is How We Do It." (Yes, several of these songs are anachronisms, as they came out after 1993. But this is a movie where people can levitate, stretch like rubber, and shoot electricity from their bodies. Let's not get hung up on petty things like historical accuracy!)

This '90s aesthetic is echoed in slyly leering shots that revel in a bit of flesh, an exposed six-pack here, a flash of sideboob there, and a bit of bum. This kind of PG-13 horniness made me unexpectedly nostalgic for an age where Hollywood movies casually recognized that humans are sexual beings.

Fans of the franchise will be glad to know the costumes by Kym Barrett draw heavily from the games, while allowing a sense of self-aware winks. This is reflected in a screenplay that not only loops in tons of catchphrases from the game but also a cheeky sensibility that brings some irreverent humor and some wonderfully dumb jokes into the mix.

Noah Centineo is the MVP of Street Fighter.

To the credit of the ensemble as a whole, they're all game.

Koji is compelling as the tortured warrior Ryu. Liang brings a terrific ferocity to Chun-Li, whether delivering exposition or performing the Hundred Lightning Kicks. Mel Jarnson is surly fun as Cammy, while Peck revels in the fluid fighting style of Vega. Richters, Jammwal, 50 Cent, and Goto all step into their roles well, brandishing confidence, power, and attitude swiftly.

Dastmalchian has arguably the toughest role here, as Raul Julia created a truly iconic movie villain with M. Bison in 1994's live-action Street Fighter. Even people who barely remember that movie remember Julia's impeccably scathing delivery of "It was a Tuesday." Wisely, Dastmalchian takes a different angle to Bison, making him less suave and more of a power-hungry, sadistic weirdo. He sneers out commands to his Dolls, ruthlessly throttles those who fail him, and sniffs things — like the feet of a wounded Ryu or the burning flesh of Chun-Li. He's making weird choices, but they are entertaining.

Bringing laughs to Street Fighter is Schulz as Dan Hibiki, an unpopular character from the games who's a mouthy sidekick here. Schulz gives spirited silliness in the role, especially when he faces off against Rhodes, who, as Guile, seems to be channeling the homoerotic masculinity that Val Kilmer brought to Top Gun. Rhodes, best known as a pro wrestler, has sharp comedic timing and a fearlessness in playing the fool that's well utilized here.

Jason Momoa, who also produces, brings some signature spunk to Blanka. He's wild and playful in the part, but his performance is marred by some deeply clunky CG that turns the big green brute into an eyesore. Comedian Eric André also appears in this movie as garish ring announcer Don Sauvage. And, well, he's certainly in this movie a lot, while being loud.

The funniest and most entertaining fighter is Noah Centineo. In montage scenes of Ken's downward spiral into D-list celebrity, Centineo playfully parodies tabloid clichés, such as public meltdowns, embarrassing TV commercials, and publicity stunts gone wrong. But it's when he unexpectedly reunites with Ryu that Centineo's Ken really comes alive. Look, later, in the arena, Ken will show what he's truly capable of. But in this first fight, where Ken is hurt, and Ryu is trying to give space for his big feels without physically injuring him, Centineo masters a style I'll call clown-fu.

The stakes aren't life or death, but they are big, affecting the future of this fractured brotherhood. Slipping in gym socks, misfiring high kicks, all while mugging comically and slinging insults, Centineo is a force of action and comedy. Throughout the film, he's hitting punchlines with the force of hadoken.

While the ensemble as a whole brings a lot of attitude and flavors to Street Fighter, Centineo becomes its heart. Where Ryu hides his feelings under a facade of stoicism, and Chun-Li channels hers into action, Centineo's Ken is practically bursting at the seams with emotion. While the movie leaps from one location and battle to another, sometimes to a dizzying effect, it's Centineo's earnest, stupid, handsome tough guy that pulls it all together.

Still...

The fighting and the funny in Street Fighter could be stronger.

To the credit of its writers, this movie takes the battles to the streets and unexpected locations more than you might expect. Sure, there's a tournament. But Sakurai offers visual diversity by skipping a lot of the bracket battles in favor of off-site brawls at a posh hotel, a cool nightclub, a festering prison, M. Bison's lair, and, of course, some actual streets.

The cast and their stunt doubles throw themselves into the physical demands of the movie, and the fight choreography is carefully woven with familiar special moves that are pretty thrillingly recreated from the games. However, Seng often favors medium or close-ups, and editor Luke Lynch leans on quick cuts. While this makes for kinetic action, it also means the choreography that could wow us in a wide is rarely present. So, while Street Fighter is a blast, its actual fight scenes don't hit as hard as one might hope.

My other beef with this adaptation is that Sakurai doesn't know when to cut a joke. At 120 minutes, Street Fighter begins to drag, in part because of comedy bits that go nowhere. André, who previously worked with Sakurai on The Eric Andre Show and Bad Trip, is the biggest offender here. Dressed in tacky gold lame suits, Don Sauvage's dialogue occasionally drops helpful exposition. But mostly, André delivers lazy jokes or agog reactions that are blandly one-note.

Elsewhere, Saturday Night Live alum Kyle Mooney pops up as an unappealing Interpol employee, who exists solely to moon over Chun-Li. It's easy to imagine Sakurai and Fixman felt this might be a way to spoof fanboys' lusty love of the female fighter. But it's thin, unfunny, and takes up way too much screen time.

As the fighting could use more technical panache and the comedy comes with a few bits too many, Street Fighter may infuriate fans who feel Sakurai isn't taking the franchise seriously enough. However, I had a lot of fun in this goofy-ass video game movie.

It's chaotic. The plot is all over the place, so the themes about honor, power, loyalty, jealousy, and revenge are barely probed. But I won't deny that it gave me the feeling of being a kid again, sitting in the theater, giddy to be surprised by something familiar yet weird.

I suspect the people behind Street Fighter won't appreciate this comparison. But I mean it as a compliment. In a world of video game movies, Street Fighter is way less Super Mario Galaxy The Movie and way more the live-action Super Mario Bros. Movie. Which, yes, was a box office bomb that critics reviled. But where it succeeded was in being a wild watch that had me laughing, cheering, and giddy — even when I was utterly bewildered. Street Fighter is that kind of fun. It scratched the bit of my brain that loved button-mashing these games, and it tickled me to see a video game movie be proudly bonkers.

Street Fighter is now in theaters.

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At a glance

• A new form of computing. Zero-knowledge proofs let you run a workload and receive, alongside the result, a short proof that the program ran correctly. Anyone can check the proof in milliseconds, without rerunning the program, without trusting whoever ran it, and without needing data on which the program was run.
• Three grand challenges have stood in the way of broad adoption: making proofs fast enough to produce, making them available to normal programs without cryptographic expertise, and resting them on cryptography that will still be trusted many decades from now.
• Magnetar makes major progress on all three challenges. It proves programs written in Rust, Go, or C, runs 10 to 39 times faster on average than the prior fastest comparable systems, and rests its security only on standard hash functions. It is the latest result of more than a decade of research at Microsoft Research on making zero-knowledge proofs practical.

A new form of computing

Every result a computer produces comes with an implicit question: did the program run as claimed and produce correct outputs? Today, answering that question often requires a degree of trust alongside verification. We trust the operator, the vendor, the counterparty, or the agent, and we rely on contracts, audits, and logs to establish that trust. 

Zero-knowledge proofs offer a fundamentally different approach to establishing trust. A program runs, and along with its output it produces a short proof, a cryptographic certificate that this program, on these inputs, produced this output. The proof is small and fast to check. Whoever receives it can confirm the result in milliseconds without rerunning the program, and can pass the proof on to anyone else who needs the same assurance. With the zero-knowledge property, the proof also reveals nothing about inputs that should stay private.

This changes what correctness means in the real world. A result no longer has to be trusted because of who produced it. It can be checked because of what accompanies it. An AI agent acting on someone’s behalf could attach a proof that each action complied with the policy it was given. Regulated financial institutions could prove that transactions were processed correctly without making their transactions public. These become possible once producing a proof is as routine as running the program.

Three grand challenges

Zero-knowledge proofs were invented in the 1980s, and the ideas behind proving program execution have been around nearly as long. What has kept them from becoming a general tool is three challenges that have resisted being solved at the same time.

Efficiency. Producing a proof has historically taken millions of times more computation than running the program itself. Years of research have brought that overhead down, but the fastest systems have achieved their speed by making compromises elsewhere.

Generality and usability. Many proof systems require developers to manually rewrite their program as a cryptographic circuit, which is a fixed arithmetic description of that exact computation. This takes months. Every change to the application means a new circuit, and the translation is itself a frequent source of security bugs. A general-purpose alternative is to prove the execution of an ordinary processor, so that any compiled program can be proven as written. Until recently, that generality came at a steep cost in speed or security. 

Security. A proof is only as strong as the cryptography beneath it. Many proof systems rest on elliptic curves, which can be broken by a sufficiently powerful quantum computer. Microsoft is addressing this problem with its Quantum Safe Program, which will move its products and services to post-quantum cryptography, a goal it recently accelerated to 2029. Post-quantum proof systems already exist, but some rest on lattice assumptions, and most rest on new cryptographic functions invented to reduce the cost of proving. These new cryptographic functions have not faced the decades of scrutiny given to the cryptography protecting today’s internet, and some rest on mathematical conjectures about error-correcting codes that have not been proven. They have bought their speed with strong assumptions. 

ACADEMIC CONFERENCE

Microsoft at SOSP 2026

Academic and industrial participants present research and experience papers that cover the full range of theory and practice of computer systems software.

Learn more Opens in a new tab More than a decade of work

For more than a decade, Microsoft Research has worked on making zero-knowledge proofs and verifiable computing practical. Early research followed two approaches, both practical only for small programs. The first (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)lets a verifier check a long computation through a short conversation with the prover using a technique called the sum-check protocol (opens in new tab), but this applied only to computations with a particular layered structure. The second (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)used elliptic-curve cryptography to create very small proofs for almost any computation. But this requires a one-time trusted setup involving secret information which, if leaked, could allow anyone to forge proofs. This approach is also vulnerable to quantum computers.

In 2019, a new zero-knowledge proof system called Spartan returned to the sum-check approach and made it work for general-purpose programs without a trusted setup. Spartan can also be instantiated with different cryptographic building blocks. That flexibility is what later allowed the proof system to be built on hash functions alone. A sequence of results then filled in the remaining pieces: 

• Phalanx (opens in new tab), in 2021, showed how to exploit repetition, such as a processor running the same instruction cycle on every step, to prove computations an order of magnitude faster than Spartan. Magnetar’s processor description is built on this idea.  
• Nova (opens in new tab), HyperNova (opens in new tab), NeutronNova (opens in new tab), Neo and SuperNeo (opens in new tab) showed that stopping Spartan’s proving early, and folding the partial results together, makes it practical to prove computations of any size at far lower cost.
• Brakedown (opens in new tab), in 2021, introduced a fast hash-based commitment scheme and combined it with Spartan, giving the first Spartan variant whose security rests on standard hash functions. 
• Spice (opens in new tab), Lasso (opens in new tab), Nebula (opens in new tab), and then Twist and Shout (opens in new tab) made the memory operations at the heart of a general-purpose processor inexpensive to prove, and Jolt (opens in new tab) showed that combining them with Spartan can efficiently prove the execution of a complete processor.
• Earlier this year, Vega (opens in new tab) applied this line of work to digital identity, proving facts from a government credential in under a tenth of a second.
• More recently, BinarySpartan (opens in new tab) brought Spartan to binary fields, where a processor’s logic and standard hash functions can be efficiently expressed. BinarySpartan also relies on Ligerito (opens in new tab), a Brakedown-style commitment scheme with much shorter proofs, and on ring switching (opens in new tab), which makes it efficient to commit to vectors of bits. 

Each of these solved a piece of the problem. Magnetar is where the pieces come together.

Magnetar

Magnetar is a zero-knowledge virtual machine, or zkVM, and it makes major progress on all three challenges at once.

Figure 1. Magnetar proves a program’s execution and returns a small proof that anyone can check, with security resting only on standard hash functions.

It is general-purpose. Magnetar proves the execution of RISC-V, an open processor architecture with mature compilers for every mainstream language. A developer writes a program in Rust, Go, or C, compiles it as usual, and Magnetar proves it as written. Consider what this means in practice. A business policy, a data pipeline, or an interpreter for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is just a program, and the engineers who already maintain it can prove their executions exactly as written. As a result, proving stops being a specialist activity. 

It is faster than prior systems in the same class. Magnetar proves 7.2 to 8.7 million processor instructions per second on a laptop. Across 15 benchmark programs, from cryptographic hashing to token transfers inside a small EVM interpreter, it is 10 to 39 times faster on average than the fastest existing zkVMs on the same machine, and more than 300 times faster than two others on a token-transfer benchmark. An optimized Magnetar proves 9.5–12.8 million cycles per second, which increases each speedup reported here by about 1.3×. Its proofs verify in about 12 milliseconds. 

Its security rests on standard cryptography. Magnetar depends on a standard hash function such as SHA-256 or SHA-3, the same primitives that already protect every organization’s systems. It requires no elliptic curves, no lattices, no special-purpose hash functions, no trusted setup, and no unproven conjecture about error-correcting codes. Hash functions are the most thoroughly studied primitives in the cryptographic toolkit, and they are the basis of the stateless hash-based signatures that NIST standardized as its own conservative post-quantum option. For a system that must still be trustworthy in many decades to come, relying only on standard hash functions removes a cryptographic migration from the roadmap. 

The same design decision pays a second dividend. Checking a Magnetar proof consists mostly of evaluating standard hash functions and binary-field arithmetic, which are exactly the operations Magnetar proves efficiently. Verifying a proof is therefore an ordinary workload for it. This is what allows Magnetar to prove computations of any size, by proving them in pieces and then combining the pieces. This also allows Magnetar to prove a long-running system such as a ledger or a blockchain.

The technical paper gives the full design, security analysis, and measurements.

Looking ahead

Magnetar advances zero-knowledge proofs and verifiable computing to a stage where they can be built on the cryptography that organizations already trust, at speeds that make it usable, by engineers who write normal code. Magnetar enables a future where cryptographic proofs are a routine output of computation. We expect that technology leaders will stop asking whether proofs of execution are practical and focus instead on which results would they prefer to verify rather than taking on trust.

If you’re interested in exploring how zero-knowledge proofs can support your use case, we’d love to hear from you (opens in new tab).

Opens in a new tab

The post Proof-based general-purpose computing with Magnetar appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Grand Theft Auto VI is co close that we can almost taste it. Let's celebrate by watching some trailers.

As we wait the next few weeks for the game's Nov. 19 launch, it's worth taking a few minutes to reminisce about its marketing. There hasn't been all that much of it because, well, it's GTA 6 and Rockstar knows that people want to play it regardless.

Still, there are a few trailers (and one very big extended look) to check out prior to release. Here they are.

SEE ALSO: 'GTA 6' preorders are live: Where to buy for PS5 and Xbox GTA 6 trailer 1 GTA 6 Trailer 2 GTA 6 Extended Look GTA 6 Launch Trailer

Remember when everyone tried to tell you that gold-plated HDMI cables were the (forgive me) gold standard of home theater? Or gold-plated audio cables, that was also a thing. Well, I think that home networking has finally found its equivalent, and it comes in the form of Cat 8 Ethernet cables.

Microsoft is delivering on its promise to fix more of Windows 11's longstanding problems. The company is starting a large-scale rollout for a series of updates that both improve performance and rework key apps, including a new Photos app.

Rockstar Games' games tend to be full of little details that players might barely notice (if at all), and it sounds like Grand Theft Auto VI is no different.

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier published a deep dive into the development history of GTA 6 this week, complete with an accompanying YouTube video that explores key aspects of the story that didn't make it into print. One such aspect is a realistic sweat system that Rockstar apparently developed for the game. According to Schreier, protagonists Jason and Lucia will develop believable amounts of sweat depending on the physical activity they're doing.

SEE ALSO: 'GTA 6' launch trailer features lots of action, vibes, and romance

Examples include working out in gyms or dancing in nightclubs. If you perform actions like that, Jason and Lucia will get a little moist, as you'd expect in the real world. Details like the sweat mechanic help explain why GTA 6 took nearly a decade to finish. It's also perfectly in character for Rockstar, as the company also previously developed a realistic horse testicle shrinkage system for cold weather in Red Dead Redemption II.

Yes, you read that right. And, no, I will not elaborate further. As a reminder, GTA 6 launches on Nov. 19, and you can preorder the game now for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.

Scrolling through Netflix might take a long time when searching for a movie for the weekend. Seeing what everyone else has been watching can be a good place to start. And I love the underrated gems, but some of the platform’s most-watched movies this year are actually worth the hype.

The most important part of your computer, if you had to choose just one, would be the central processing unit (CPU). It's the primary hub (or "brain"), and it processes the instructions that come from programs, the operating system, or other components in your PC.

Automatically updating your Docker containers might sound like the peace of mind you've been wanting—it's anything but that. I tried auto-updating Docker containers in my homelab, and it ended in disaster one too many times. Here's what happened and how I run Docker in my homelab now.

TL;DR: Through Oct. 28, several Prime Video streaming subscription add-ons are on sale for just $1.99 per month for two months, including Apple TV, Starz, MGM+, Crunchyroll, and AMC+. That's up to $13 per month in savings.

Prime Video add-on streaming deals: Best Apple TV deal Apple TV (Prime Video add-on) $1.99/month for 2 months (save $26) Get Deal Best MGM+ deal MGM+ (Prime Video add-on) $1.99/month for 2 months (save $12) Get Deal Best Starz deal Starz (Prime Video add-on) $1.99/month for 2 months (save $20) Get Deal Best AMC+ deal AMC+ (Prime Video add-on) $1.99/month for 2 months (save $18) Get Deal Best Crunchyroll deal Crunchyroll (Prime Video add-on) $1.99/month for 2 months (save $24) Get Deal

Fall is the perfect opportunity to diversify your streaming lineup. Not only is it prime time for spooky streaming sessions and the precursor to holiday movie marathons, but it's also a great time to lock in a deal, thanks to Prime Video.

Through Oct. 28, several of Prime Video's streaming subscription add-ons are on sale for just $1.99 per month for two months. These include the heavy hitter Apple TV, as well as more under-the-radar picks like AMC+, Starz, Crunchyroll, and MGM+. The most expensive of the bunch, Apple TV, usually costs $14.99 per month, so you'll save $26 with this two-month discount. Other streamers on the list range from $7.99 to $13.99 per month, saving you as much as $24.

The only stipulation is that you'll need to be an active Prime Video subscriber to be eligible for each add-on. If you're not already a Prime member or Prime Video subscriber, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial to secure these deals (if you act fast).

You'll be charged for add-ons in the same monthly streaming bill as your Prime Video or Amazon Prime membership. Plus, the content library for each service will appear in your Prime Video account without you needing to download or open a separate app. It's basically like expanding your existing streaming library.

Since streaming deals are pretty hard to come by outside of Black Friday, the ability to lock in two months of streaming for less than $4 is pretty epic. The Apple TV deal is particularly good, considering its most recent price hike in late August bumped it up to a painful $14.99 per month.

YouTube might be coming for your next audiobook listen.

The Google-owned video platform is reportedly looking to expand into audiobooks, potentially putting it in direct competition with Spotify and Amazon Audible. According to the Wall Street Journal, YouTube has been in talks with book publishers in recent months about developing an audiobook feature that could launch as early as 2027.

The company has also reportedly considered bundling audiobooks with YouTube Premium, its ad-free subscription service that currently costs $15.99 per month. However, it's unclear whether subscribers would get unlimited listening, a monthly allotment of hours (like Spotify offers its Premium subscribers), or the option to purchase individual titles. YouTube has not officially announced the feature.

Of course, audiobooks aren't exactly new to YouTube. The platform already hosts countless audiobook recordings, including public-domain classics and uploads from authors and publishers. But it also has a piracy problem. Unauthorized recordings, including AI-narrated versions of copyrighted books, have become increasingly common on the platform. An official audiobook offering could give publishers another way to monetize their titles while potentially addressing some of those concerns.

SEE ALSO: Spotify moves beyond audiobooks to offer physical books

YouTube would also be entering an increasingly competitive market. Spotify, which expanded into audiobooks in 2023, currently offers eligible Premium subscribers 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, with additional listening time available for purchase.

Spotify currently offers eligible Premium subscribers 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, with the option to purchase additional listening time. Its U.S. catalog includes more than 700,000 titles. Just last week, Spotify announced plans to expand its audiobook offerings from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026. According to the company, monthly audiobook listeners have grown nearly 40 percent over the past year. And earlier this year, Spotify took its ambitions in the book market a step further, announcing its plans to sell physical books through its app.

Amazon's Audible, meanwhile, offers subscription plans that give listeners access to audiobooks through monthly selections, credits, and an included catalog. The service also works with Amazon's Kindle e-readers.

There's plenty of money at stake, too. According to the Audio Publishers Association, U.S. audiobook sales reached $2.43 billion in 2025, a nine percent increase from the previous year. And YouTube is already part of that listening ecosystem. In a 2026 survey, 45 percent of audiobook listeners who had listened in the past year reported listening to a free audiobook on YouTube during that period, raising concerns about piracy on the platform.

SEE ALSO: BookTok creators share the reading essentials they actually use

For YouTube, the appeal is fairly obvious. The platform has already become a destination for music, podcasts, and long-form video. Adding audiobooks would give users another reason to spend time on the platform, and potentially make a YouTube Premium subscription more appealing.

Whether YouTube can compete with established audiobook services will ultimately depend on its catalog, pricing, and listening experience. But its biggest advantage might be the millions of people who already use YouTube to listen to just about everything else.

There are lots of ways to get a 3D model to print on your 3D printer. You can model it yourself, or use a 3D scanner to turn real-world objects into data that can be converted into a printable format. Most people, however, will likely download a model someone else has created from 3D printing websites.

Did you put your PTO requests in for the middle of November? Because Grand Theft Auto VI is right around the corner, as evidenced by Rockstar publishing a launch trailer for the game on Thursday morning.

Amid yet more GTA 6 leaks, we have our first official glimpse of the game since the Netflix extended look premiered.

This latest look at the game is brief, but it's GTA to the core, with lots of open-world vibe shots, a good deal of action, and in a new twist for the series (at least for a recent entry), lots of romance between protagonists Jason and Lucia. As a reminder, the game is out on Nov. 19, so this may be the last bit of marketing Rockstar does before GTA 6 is in our hands. Savor it, folks.

Taylor Sheridan is in the empire business. Over the last eight years, Sheridan has built a roster of television shows that few creators can match. From building the Yellowstone universe to establishing a signature aesthetic, Sheridan's shows are uniquely his. When fans see Sheridan's name attached to a project, they know what they're going to get.

Are you looking for an alternative to Docker that’s fully open source and doesn’t have any vendor-lock in? Well, there are four tools that you can use which are completely free of Docker’s influence.

The Elf on the Shelf x Disney collection: Disney's Mickey Mouse-Inspired Ready to Roll Travel Set $14.95 at Elf on the Shelf Shop Now Disney's Mickey & Friends Oh Deer Tee Set $14.95 at Elf on the Shelf Shop Now Disney Frozen Olaf Hoodie Set $16.95 at Elf on the Shelf Shop Now Disney Princess Pretty in Pink Party Dress $16.95 at Elf on the Shelf Shop Now Disney Princess Royal Slumber Party Set $29.95 at Elf on the Shelf Shop Now

If you find yourself running out of creative ideas for your Scout Elf every December, this year’s setup is going to be a whole lot easier. The Lumistella Company has officially teamed up with Disney, bringing characters like Mickey Mouse, the Disney Princesses, and Olaf straight into the North Pole universe.

Instead of trying to pull off crazy setups with flour and pipe cleaners late at night, you can just pop a cute Disney outfit on your elf and call it a day. It takes about two seconds, and kids love it.

Mickey and friends travel gear and tees

If you want something quick and easy, the Disney Mickey & Friends Oh Deer tee set is a super simple pick. It comes with a graphic T-shirt and a tiny Mickey ears headband that slips right onto your elf.

If you want to build a little scene around them, the Disney's Mickey Mouse-Inspired Ready to Roll travel set gives your elf a full vacation look. It comes with a functional mini rolling suitcase that opens, a neck pillow, a belt bag, a tiny passport, and Mickey ears. It’s especially cute if you’re traveling over the holidays and want your elf to pack their bags, too.

Royal dresses and slumber party sets

If your kids are big into Disney Princesses, there are a couple of really cute ways to style your elf. The Disney Princess Pretty in Pink party dress gives them a full royal look, complete with a tulle skirt, snowflake details, and a tiny matching tiara.

You can also grab the Disney Princess Royal Slumber Party set, which gives you an entire cozy setup ready to go right out of the box. It comes with two sets of princess-inspired pajamas, a tiara-shaped pillow, a mini sleeping mask, a cuddle buddy, and a sleeping bag.

Frozen hoodies and other fan favorites

For fans of Arendelle, the Disney Frozen Olaf hoodie is an easy favorite. It features a cheerful Olaf print on a soft hoodie and includes a double-sided movie-scene standee you can set up right behind your elf for extra atmosphere.

The fun doesn't stop with Disney, either. The new lineup also dips into a few other iconic worlds, including Harry Potter Hogwarts house robes and Gryffindor pajamas — perfect for celebrating years of Hogwarts magic — as well as Spider-Man hoodies for Marvel lovers. There are even standing pants and ski sets if your elf is more into winter sports, giving you plenty of ways to keep the morning surprises fresh all December long.

Bring the magic home and shop the full Disney x The Elf on the Shelf collection today.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is available for $159.99 at Amazon. Due to high demand, shoppers need to request an invite to buy.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box $159.99 at Amazon
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There was a time when Amazon listed preorders for the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box at $89.99. We made some noise about this deal, but we truly didn't know how good we had it. We wish we had stocked up, because prices have climbed post launch and stayed there.

The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is currently listed at $159.99 on Amazon, with shipping and sales handled directly by Amazon rather than a third party. Demand for the product remains high, so Amazon is routing orders through its "request invite" system.

We do have eyes on how many of these boxes are selling. We won't get into the details, but it's a lot. Requesting an invite to buy is a hassle, but the system is clearly working for a lot of shoppers.

At $159.99, Amazon’s price isn't a million miles away from TCGplayer’s market price. It's also cheaper than a lot of the actual listings on TCGplayer. It might not look like a great deal, but Amazon's price is something for collectors to seriously consider.

The 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is packed with nine 30th Celebration booster packs, an exclusive full-art foil Nidorina promo card, 16 foil Basic Energy cards, 65 custom card sleeves, damage-counter dice, a condition marker, card dividers, a collector’s player guide, and a code card for Pokémon TCG Live.

Shop the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration ETB for $159.99 at Amazon.

I've used a plethora of gaming handhelds over the years, but my go-to for portable gaming has been the ASUS ROG Ally X for over two years now. Even when ASUS and Xbox announced a partnership and the Xbox Ally family was unveiled, I wasn't tempted to upgrade—why should I, when the Xbox Ally X features the same display, just marginally improved performance and endurance, and only a handful of improvements? Even the headlining full-screen Xbox experience swiftly came to other handhelds, including my trustworthy ROG Ally X.

I regularly try out new launchers to replace my Android home screen, and most are variations of how my phone already works — but I’ve recently stumbled across one that does things so differently, it’s had a noticeable impact on how I live my life.

SAVE OVER $50: As of Oct. 15, the DJI Power 1000 V2 portable power station is on sale for $399.98 at Amazon. That's $50.01 off its full price of $449.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Power 1000 V2 Portable Power Station $399.98 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $50.01   Get Deal at Amazon

The DJI Power 1000 V2 is a "near-perfect portable power station for content creators," according to our review by Lauren Allain. Of course, you don't need to create content to get a lot from this machine — it's a solid portable power station for just about anyone. If it's caught your attention, Amazon currently has it on sale, but only through the rest of today.

As of Oct. 15, shoppers can snag the DJI Power 1000 V2 for $399.98, down from its full price of $449.99. Ultimately, that saves you $50.01. It's worth noting that this model is sold by a third party, but they have an 88% positive rating over the last 12 months.

SEE ALSO: The EcoFlow Titan 5000 home backup system just launched and preorders get a discount

With a 1,024Wh capacity and 2,600W output, the DJI Power 1000 V2 boasts plenty of power to boost your devices. Allain's review highlights that it's "an upgrade from the original, offering two extra AC ports, a higher max power output, and quicker recharging." And as for why we think it's a great pick for content creators, it's also "super quiet and has dedicated SDC ports to quick-charge DJI drones."

Alongside the SDC ports (including a 1440W Max SDC port and a 400W Max SDC Lite Port), this power station also comes with a 1440W Max AC input, two 140W Max USB-C ports, two 24W Max USB-A ports, and four 2600W AC outputs. Its battery even has a 10-year lifespan, making it a very solid investment.

Time is running out to save on the DJI Power 1000 V2 at Amazon. Don't miss out on this great deal while it's still live.