The Verge·Tuesday, December 16, 2025

The Verge - Tuesday, December 16, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Larian’s CEO says the studio isn’t ‘trimming down teams to replace them with AI’

A screenshot from Divinity’s reveal trailer. The CEO of Baldur's Gate 3 studio Larian has inadvertently stirred up some controversy over the use of AI in the developer's next game. Based on an interview with Larian CEO Swen Vincke, Bloomberg reported that the studio uses AI tools for things like developing concept art and writing placeholder text. But following some initial backlash, Vincke later clarified to IGN that the studio is "neither releasing a game with any AI components, nor are we l

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You can pair a tiny wireless mic to this 4K webcam

Hollyland, a company best known for affordable wireless microphones that are popular with creators, has announced its first webcam, the small 4K Lyra. While it lacks advanced features like the Insta360 Link's tracking gimbal, it's one of the first webcams we've seen that's designed to improve how you sound by connecting directly to one of Hollyland's wireless lav mics. The Lyra features a built-in receiver for Hollyland's Lark A1 wireless microphone that includes AI-powered noise reduction. It's

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Amazon’s Kindle is a great gift, and most models are on sale right now

If you’re shopping for a book lover, it’s hard to beat a Kindle, especially if your giftee already owns a library of Kindle books. Amazon’s latest sale makes them even easier to recommend: the last-gen Kindle Scribe with 32GB of storage and ads is matching its best price to date starting at $279.99 ($140 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Meanwhile, the ad-supported versions of the Kindle (Amazon, Best Buy, and Target), Kindle Paperwhite (Amazon, Best Buy, Target), and Kindle Colorsoft (Amazon, Best B

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Larry Ellison’s big dumb gift to his large adult son

Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle Corp., during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. Media is a business about dreams, and Larry Ellison's son is dreaming big. This might explain why the case for Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery is so incoherent. In October, Warner Bros. put itself up for sale, leading to a number of bids. The two we are concerned with are a bid from Ne

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The best deals on 4K TVs

Hisense’s U65QF is currently on sale for around $575 ($302 off), which is just $27 shy of its lowest price to date. Things are looking bright for those who want to nab a great TV in 2025 at a substantial discount. There’s usually a great deal happening on a mid- or high-end TV from LG, Sony, Hisense, or Samsung — even if the biggest discounts remain reserved for Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day, and the lead-up to the Super Bowl. Right now, there are a number of discounted 4K TVs to choose from,

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OpenAI’s new flagship image generator AI is here

OpenAI is overhauling its image generator with a new model and redesigned interface. On Tuesday, the company announced its "new flagship image generation model," GPT Image 1.5, which it said has a better ability to follow instructions, edit photos in specific ways, and generate results up to four times more quickly. It's available today to all users. The new model will be able to better "match your intent," the company wrote in a blog post, particularly when modifying an existing photo. The chan

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Google wants its AI assistant CC to replace your morning scroll

Google wants you to start your day with AI. Google's AI, to be specific, which is why the company is launching an experimental agent to comb through your emails, calendar, and documents to deliver a briefing to your inbox every morning. The new feature, called CC, delivers a daily "Your Day Ahead" briefing to your inbox each morning. The personalized briefing - which Google describes as "one clear summary" - outlines your schedule for the day ahead, along with any key tasks or updates you should

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What 1,000 pages of documents tell us about DOGE

Months after staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency were found in the Federal Communications Commission directory, the FCC is being accused of slow-walking demands for information about what they did there. On February 24th, advocacy group Frequency Forward and journalist Nina Burleigh filed a public records request to the FCC, seeking details about DOGE's activities and whether they created conflicts of interest with DOGE creator Elon Musk. But the FCC has so far produced largely

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Ghost of Yōtei studio Sucker Punch is getting new leadership

Sucker Punch Productions, the PlayStation studio behind games like Ghost of Yōtei and the Infamous and Sly Cooper series, will be headed up by Jason Connell and Adrian Bentley starting January 1st, Sony announced on Tuesday. Studio co-founder Brian Fleming is stepping down and will be "passing Sucker Punch studio leadership on to a new generation." Connell recently served as co-creative director on the Ghost franchise - I spoke to him earlier this year about Ghost of Yōtei's cinematic modes. Ben

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Sony’s XM5 over-ear headphones are cheaper than ever — and they come with free wireless earbuds

The XM5 headphones come with a free pair of Sony WF-C700N earbuds, which you can gift to someone for the holidays. | Image: The Verge If you’re looking for a solid pair of noise-canceling headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are a great option. While they’re not the latest version in Sony’s lineup — that’s the WH-1000XM6 — they still offer excellent active noise cancellation, detail-rich sound, and enhanced voice call quality thanks to the inclusion of eight microphones. And right now, they’re down

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