Here's what's been hot on the AI scene over the past 12 months, how it's changing the face of warfare, and how you can fight AI-powered scams

Gamescom 2025 is wrapping up this weekend, but the winners of the annual Gamescom Awards have already been named. This year's biggest winner was Resident Evil Requiem, which took home four awards, including Best Sony PlayStation Game.There were some surprises along the way--including the winner of the inaugural Best Nintendo Switch 2 Game--and there were surprise winners among the indie titles like Windup's Hela, which won two awards against stiff competition from more established games like Donkey Kong Bananza.To be considered for Gamescom Awards, publishers pay to nominate their games in one or more categories. However, the actual awards are chosen by a jury that evaluates each title across multiple criteria, including graphics, gameplay, and innovation.This year's Gamescom opening night had a number of new announcements and trailers, and there may be more to come in the show's remaining two days.For now, we've put together a complete list of the 2025 Gamescom Awards with all categories and nominees. The winners are listed in bold. Best VisualsBorderlands 4 - Gearbox Software / 2KBye Sweet Carole – Little SewingMachine / Maximum EntertainmentCrimson Desert – Pearl AbyssMIO: Memories In Orbit – Douze Dixièmes / Focus EntertainmentWINNER: Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment Best AudioCairn – The Game BakersLittle Nightmares 3 – Supermassive Games / Bandai Namco EntertainmentPhantom Blade Zero – S-GameWINNER: Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom EntertainmentRockbeasts – Lichthund / Team17 Best GameplayWINNER: Donkey Kong Bananza – NintendoHela – Windup / Knights PeakMario Kart World – NintendoPVKK – Bippinbits / Kepler InteractiveResident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment Most EntertainingDispatch – AdHoc StudioDonkey Kong Bananza – NintendoGrounded 2 – Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game StudiosWINNER: Hela – Windup / Knights PeakMario Kart World – Nintendo Most EpicCrimson Desert – Pearl AbyssDune: Awakening – FuncomWINNER: Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom EntertainmentSuper Meat Boy 3D – Sluggerfly, Team Meat / HeadupWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment Most WholesomeWINNER: Hela – Windup / Knights PeakIs This Seat Taken? – Poti Poti Studio / Wholesome Games PresentsStar Birds – Toukana InteractiveTiny Bookshop – neoludic games / Skystone Games, 2P GamesWinter Burrow – Pine Creek Games / Noodlecake Games for ImpactCairn – The Game BakersForever Skies – Far From HomeHollow Home – Twigames / GalaktusMonowave – Studio BBBWINNER: Tiny Bookshop – neoludic games / Skystone Games, 2P Games Best Microsoft Xbox GameBorderlands 4 – Gearbox Software / 2KCrimson Desert – Pearl AbyssWINNER: Grounded 2 – Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game StudiosLittle Nightmares 3 – Supermassive Games / Bandai Namco EntertainmentNinja Gaiden 4 – PlatinumGames, Team Ninja / Xbox Game Studios Best PC GameWINNER: Anno 117: Pax Romana – Ubisoft Mainz / UbisoftBorderlands 4 – Gearbox Software / 2KPVKK – Bippinbits / Kepler InteractiveTowa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree – Brownies inc. / Bandai Namco EntertainmentWorld of Warcraft – Blizzard Entertainment / Activision Blizzard Best Sony PlayStation GameBorderlands 4 – Gearbox Software / 2KCrimson Desert – Pearl AbyssCronos: The New Dawn – Bloober TeamPragmata – Capcom EntertainmentWINNER: Resident Evil Requiem – Capcom Entertainment Best Nintendo Switch 2 GameDonkey Kong Bananza – NintendoWINNER: Mario Kart World – NintendoMetroid Prime 4: Beyond – NintendoTowa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree – Brownies Inc. / Bandai Namco EntertainmentWinter Burrow – Pine Creek Games / Noodlecake Best Mobile GameArknights: Endfield – Hypergryph / GryphlineDungeon Clawler – Stray Fawn / Stray Fawn Publishing, PlayworksGenshin Impact – HoYoverseWINNER: Love and Deepspace – Papergames / Infold GamesServant of the Lake – Rusty Lake

Hobbyist training AI on Victorian texts gets an unexpected history lesson from his own creation.

Rev your engines, racers, there’s new Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds news that just dropped at Gamescom. Over the past few days, Sonic has dominated the newsfeeds with not one, but two trailer drops, featuring huge reveals.  Play Video The first was a crossover no one saw coming – two iconic retro gaming heroes coming together in a universe-shattering collaboration: Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man playable in each other’s upcoming games. Sonic joins Pac-Man in Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac for an explosive birthday celebration, featuring Sonic-inspired levels, costumes, and more.  Then, Pac-Man and Team Ghost put their racing skills to the test in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as part of the growing roster of guest characters included in the Season Pass.  Players can venture through Pac-Village, eat up Pac-Dots, & escape the iconic Maze in the Pac-Man Mobile. Play Video The all-new Competition Trailer showcased even more Sonic Racing action and detailed the various game modes players can look forward to experiencing once the game is released. In Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, there are tons of ways to compete: Grand Prix – Compete solo or with friends in local splitscreen co-op for first place in one of 7 cups (comprised of 4 races each). Racers are awarded points based on their placements at the end of races, and the racer with the most points at the end wins. World Match – Test your skills and compete online against 11 other players. Earn Rank Points, increase your World Rank, and aim for the top. Friend Match – Play with up to 11 other players online in custom lobbies where you can control all aspects of a race such as Speed, Team Size, Course/CrossWorlds, AI Difficulty, Frenzy Gates, Items, and Rule Sets. Race Park – Change up the rules and teams online and offline in this party mode that features six unique race formats. Time Trial – Compete for the best time on individual courses and aim for the top of the Leaderboard Rankings. Custom Match – Play with up to 4 players offline split-screen where you can control all aspects of a race such as Speed, Team Size, Courses/CrossWorlds, AI Difficulty, Frenzy Gates, Items, and Rule Sets. Eagle-eyed fans will also notice that the trailer revealed a few new tracks based on Sonic’s most recent adventures. Kronos Island from Sonic Frontiers makes its debut, featuring iconic ancient architecture strewn across the open fields. Northstar Island from Sonic Superstars arrives colorfully on the scene, with many nods to stage obstacles, local fauna, and even a… giant mechanical dinosaur whale? And Shadow fans, rejoice. The White Space from Shadow Generations has been recreated in glorious detail, down to the Doom’s Eye looming menacingly overhead.  On the racetrack, there’s no shortage of competitive trash talk. Just as Sonic, Shadow, Espio and Jet are shown jockeying for first place and taking their rivalries to the next level, players can look forward to over a thousand voice lines and interactions between their favorite Sonic characters. Ever wonder what a race between Amy and Big the Cat would sound like? You may find out.  On top of all that, it was announced that fans can get their hands on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds a little sooner than expected during the Open Network Test. This free, limited-time event will take place from August 29 to September 1. Players on PS5 will be able to race online with 12 iconic Sonic characters, compete on 16 courses (9 main courses & 7 CrossWorlds), and mix and match 42 gadgets to create the ultimate racing machine. Put your driving skills to the test against players worldwide. There might even be a couple of surprises in store…  Come Race on our level when Sonic Racing CrossWorlds zooms onto PS5 and PS4 on September 25!

Software - It’s not what you think it is - Part 1 The current AI hype is accompanied with a lot of predictions that software development will be taken over by AI solutions soon and most software developers will lose their jobs together with mos

The long and winding road towards resilience - Part 6 In the previous post, we discussed the plateau of robustness, the second interim stop on the journey towards resilience, what it is good for, what its limitations are and what it means to get ther

The ongoing Pokémon World Championships features a brilliant homage to the pair of games that started the franchise, sharing a stunning display of an iconic scene. The annual tournament typically serves both as the highest level of tournament for the different branches of the Pokemon franchise and a celebration of the series' rich history. The 2025 World Championships tournament looks to be no different, with the ongoing tournament featuring lots of surprises between the video games and the Pokemon Trading Card Game. However, the event is offering plenty more for fans beyond its tournaments.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition is marching onto GeForce NOW, expanding the cloud gaming platform’s library to over 2,300 supported titles. Battle is just a click away, as the iconic real-time strategy game joins seven new releases this week. Commanders can prepare their squads and steel their nerves on any device — including laptops, Macs, Steam Decks and NVIDIA SHIELD TVs. Microsoft’s surprise announcement at Quakecon is now available in the cloud: legendary fantasy shooters Heretic + Hexen have been conjured out of the shadows and are streaming on GeForce NOW. And don’t miss out on in-game rewards for the popular, free-to-play, massively multiplayer online game World of Tanks as publisher Wargaming celebrates the title’s 15-year anniversary. GeForce NOW will be at Gamescom 2025 — the world’s largest gaming tradeshow — starting Wednesday, Aug. 20. Stay tuned to GFN Thursday for all the latest updates. The Emperor’s Call  Make your victories shine from the cloud. The grimdark future calls. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition storms onto the battlefield with ferocious, squad-based real-time strategy. Command the Space Marines, Orks, Chaos, Eldar and more across four legendary campaigns and nine playable armies. From bolter roars to Waaagh! cries, battles erupt with uncompromising brutality, tactical depth and a healthy dose of swagger. Fully remastered with enhanced 4K visuals, a refined camera, an improved user interface and more, Dawn of War: Definitive Edition preserves the iconic chaos of the original game while throwing open the gates for creative mayhem. Every charge, psychic blast and last-stand is rendered sharper than ever as cunning, courage and unrelenting war decide the fate of worlds. GeForce NOW delivers the firepower needed to join the frontlines without having to wait for downloads or lengthy installs. Gamers can leap straight into battle, resume campaigns and join multiplayer chaos with just a few clicks. No frames lost to underpowered hardware — every skirmish, every decisive strike is rendered in full glory in the cloud. Time to Celebrate Make your victories shine from the cloud. Roll out the tanks for World of Tanks’s 15th-anniversary celebration. Join the party by logging into the game every day through Sunday, Aug. 31 for exclusive commemorative rewards. Here’s what’s on deck: daily in-game giveaways, deep discounts, a pulse-pounding limited-time game mode and a special Battle Pass chapter packed with surprises. Watch for Twitch drops, enjoy increased credit earnings when playing with veteran tankers and dive into a unique photo-album event where each day reveals a new chapter in the evolution of maps, vehicles and epic memories. Enjoy smooth, lightning-fast gameplay on GeForce NOW — even on modest hardware — and share every explosive moment with friends, fans and fellow commanders. No download hassles, just pure, seamless action. Get Hexed Suit up, pick a class and let chaos reign. Step into the shadowy worlds that shaped fantasy shooters — fully restored by Nightdive Studios. Heretic + Hexen, the cult classics forged by Raven Software, are back with a vengeance, bringing their spell-slinging attitude and dark magic to a whole new generation. This definitive collection brings together Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, Hexen: Beyond Heretic and Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel — plus two brand-new episodes, Heretic: Faith Renewed and Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur, crafted with id Software and Nightdive Studios. Dive into over 110 campaign maps, 120 deathmatch arenas, online and split-screen multiplayer modes, 4K 120 frames-per-second (fps) visuals, modern controls and more spell-slinging action than ever. Experience the arcane might of Heretic + Hexen with GeForce NOW, which offers instant gameplay on nearly any device, with cloud-powered graphics, ultrasmooth performance and zero downloads. Ultimate members can crank up the magic and stream at up to 4K 120 fps — even without the latest hardware, so every exploding tome and fireball looks spellbindingly sharp. All Aboard for New Games Outwit the future. All aboard, Trailblazers. Honkai Star Rail’s new Version 3.5 “Before Their Deaths” is available to stream on GeForce NOW — no need to wait for patches or updates to downloads. The latest version brings two new playable characters, Hysilens and Imperator Cerydra, who bring fresh abilities and strategies to the game. Journey back a thousand years to ancient Okhema, face the ever-shifting menace Lygus and explore the dazzling streets of Styxia, the City of Infinite Revelry. Between epic battles, serve fairy patrons in the Chrysos Maze Grand Restaurant, mix drinks with old friends and uncover secrets that could change everything. Get ready — the next stop on the Astral Express is about to be unforgettable. In addition, members can look for the following: Echoes of the End (New release on Steam, Aug. 12) 9 Kings (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, Aug. 14) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition (New release on Steam, Aug. 14) Supraworld (New release on Steam, Aug. 15) Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (New release on Steam and Battle.net) Guntouchables (Steam) Heretic + Hexen (Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass) What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below. What's a classic game that you still love to play? — NVIDIA GeForce NOW (@NVIDIAGFN) August 13, 2025

On August 14, bring your questions about OpenAI's latest model, GPT-5, and what it means for the future of chatbots.

A decades-old interview with The Pokémon Company’s CEO has put a fan dispute to rest The post Nintendo Of America Once Suggested Pokémon Company Should Give Pikachu Big Naturals, It’s Claimed appeared first on Kotaku.