Vampire Survivors comes full-circle with Castlevania DLC expansion

The Verge
Image: Poncle

The world of Dracula and the Belmont family is coming to Vampire Survivors. The newly announced downloadable content for the auto-shooter survival game, Ode to Castlevania, promises a bunch of new stuff: 20 characters, 40 weapons, an extra-large stage, and over 30 music tracks. Developer Poncle said in its announcement post on X that the $3.99 expansion should

I've made a conscious decision not to be a helicopter parent. My oldest child was walking alone to the library by the time he was in 1st grade.

Tech Insider
A teenager walking through an airport terminal with his luggage.
Jen Komaromi's son traveled alone from California to France — and changed plans in Paris — at 15.

Courtesy of Jen Komaromi

  • Jen Komaromi describes her parenting style as "free range" because she allows her kids more freedom.
  • The 51-year-old was happy for her son, then 15, to fly solo to France and change planes in Paris.
  • She said she found helicopter parenting — the opposite method of raising children
Travel

Vampire Survivors is getting a Castlevania expansion, but still no vampires

Engadget

Vampire Survivors is one of the biggest gaming success stories of recent years and developer Poncle hasn’t taken its foot off the gas. It continues to ship updates and expansions, and the latest is a crossover that (almost) makes all the sense in the world.

Poncle has revealed a DLC based on its biggest inspiration, Castlevania. The studio says it’s “an all-out celebration of Konami’s iconic

The US can 'ill afford' another war now its rivals are teaming up so well, US general says

Tech Insider
Taiwan's military fires a gun at targets in the sea
A US-made TOW-2A wire-guided anti-tank missile is launched by Taiwanese soldiers during a live fire exercise in August, 2024

Sam Yeh / AFP

  • The US can "ill afford" another war if conflict breaks out in East Asia, Gen. Charles Flynn warned.
  • From the Middle East to Russia, authoritarian regimes are challenging US power.
  • Some experts believe the US military is overstretched.

The US Army's outgoing top

These tech investors are trawling UC Berkeley to fund the next Perplexity or Databricks

Tech Insider
A man looking relaxed poses for a photo on brick steps.
Zachary Hargreaves has joined The House Fund from Founders Fund.

The House Fund

  • The University of California, Berkeley, is the top producer of alumni starting tech companies.
  • Founded by Jeremy Fiance, The House Fund targets Berkeley-affiliated startups like Databricks.
  • Zachary Hargreaves has joined The House Fund, enhancing its ability to back Berkeley-born startups.

In the last year, tech investors

Elon Musk Is Trying to Be the MrBeast of Politics

Gizmodo


The billionaire is giving away $1 million a day to registered voters. The lottery is the next evolution of politics as entertainment in America.

Jellysmack is laying off staff as it scales back its creator program

Tech Insider
Jellysmack's jellyfish symbol glitching
Jellysmack is laying off staff, Business Insider has learned.

Jellysmack; Alyssa Powell/BI

  • Creator-economy startup Jellysmack is reorganizing and cutting some staff, Business Insider is exclusively reporting.
  • The startup, backed by SoftBank, has faced business challenges after raising significant funding.
  • Earlier this year, Jellysmack insiders said they were uncertain about the startup's path forward

My partner and I moved to a coastal Portuguese town, sight unseen. We finally have the work-life balance we've dreamed of.

Tech Insider
empty cobblestone street in the town of Ericeira, Portugal
My partner and I moved to Ericeira, Portugal.

Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

  • I was raised in NYC, but my French partner and I just moved to a Portuguese town, sight unseen.
  • I'd always considered myself to be a city girl, so the initial change was a shock.
  • After a year, though, I love how balanced my calmer, quieter life is in Portugal.

I was born in Paris and raised in New York, which has made me a

AMD’s highly anticipated 9000-series X3D desktop CPUs arrive on November 7th

The Verge
The new X3D processors
Image: AMD

AMD is officially announcing its first next-generation X3D desktop processors today, based on its latest Zen 5 architecture. I’d love to tell you which Ryzen 9000-series X3D chips are arriving next month, but AMD is strangely only teasing a release date of November 7th and providing no pricing or further details.

AMD has only provided a single slide about this