Balatro is getting its first big, free gameplay update in 2025

Engadget

Balatro, the terrific card game that pushes you to break most of the rules of poker to achieve ever-higher scores, is in line for its first major gameplay update. You'll have to wait until next year for that, but developer LocalThunk promises it will bring "new ideas and strategies to the game." What's more, it will be a free update "as a token of huge appreciation to the game’s brilliant and

Airline says it's testing a booking tool that lets women select seats away from men

Tech Insider
Passengers debarking an IndiGo airplane, walking down a blue staircase onto the runway.
On the seat-selection page, pink seats denote they've been booked by female travelers.

NurPhoto/Getty Images

  • The Indian budget airline IndiGo says it's letting some female travelers avoid sitting next to men.
  • An online tool color-codes some of the seats, the airline's CEO, Pieter Elbers, said.
  • Elbers added that the booking test had "resounded very, very well."

The CEO of the Indian budget airline

Disney's full crackdown on password sharing is coming

Tech Insider
Disney+
Disney+

SOPA Images/Getty Images

  • The Walt Disney Company hosted an earnings call on Wednesday.
  • Executives said the company would crack down on password sharing in September.
  • Disney also reported that its streaming business was profitable for the first time.

Disney said on Wednesday that it would crack down on password sharing next month.

Disney executives discussed its streaming operations during its

The best gaming deals of the week: Save on 'Baldur's Gate 3,' Xbox Game Pass, and a Switch Lite bundle

Mashable
a screenshot from
The best gaming deals of the week at a glance:
Best PlayStation deal
'Baldur's Gate 3'
$55.99 at the PlayStation Store (save $14)
digital cover art for baldur's gate 3
Best Xbox deal
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3 months)
$33.49 at Woot! with code VIDEOGAMES (save $11.50)
the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate logo
Best Nintendo Switch deal
Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Bundle
$159 at Walmart (save $40.99)
the Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Bundle

Go ahead and park yourself in front of that air conditioner: The dog days of summer have ushered in a slew of discounts on popular video games and systems. The PlayStation Store's huge Summer Sale is live until Aug. 14, Xbox is discounting game upgrades and Ubisoft titles until next week, and the My Nintendo Store is offering steep markdowns on multiplayer games through Aug. 11. Meanwhile, retailers like Walmart and Target are giving last-gen gamers the chance to save on select consoles ahead of the upcoming holiday shopping season.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo's Play Together sale is slashing up to 84% off popular multiplayer Switch games

Don't worry about combing through every single offer yourself. Below, we've rounded up the absolute best gaming deals from across the web for the week of August 7.

Best PlayStation deal

digital cover art for baldur's gate 3
Credit: Larian Studios
Our pick: 'Baldur's Gate 3'
$55.99 at PlayStation Store
$69.99 Save $14.00

Why we like it

This is the biggest discount we've ever seen on the standard edition of BG3 — it rarely goes on sale. But truth be told, we think it's worth it even at full price: Larian Studios' fabulously written RPG was Mashable's second-favorite game of 2023. "No two playthroughs will ever be the same, with the game itself capturing a zeitgeist of experienced, casual, and non-gamers alike that no other game on this list can do," wrote assistant editor Chance Townsend. Note that the digital deluxe edition that tacks on extras like a Divinity Bard Song Pack, an exclusive dice theme, an Adventurer's Pouch, and other bonus content is also marked down in the PlayStation Store.

More PlayStation deals

Games

Consoles and accessories

Best Xbox deal

the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate logo
Credit: Xbox
Our pick: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3 months)
$33.49 at Woot! with code VIDEOGAMES
$59.97 Save $26.48

Why we like it

Ignore the original list price on this Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offer from Woot!, an Amazon-owned deals site: Microsoft recently upped the price of its subscription service to $19.99 per month, so this quarterly plan is actually worth close to $60. You'll save a total of 44% if you enter the promo code VIDEOGAMES at checkout. (That takes an extra $3 off the advertised sale price.) If you want to lock in those savings for the long run, keep in mind that you can stack a prepaid Game Pass Ultimate subscription for up to 36 months.

More Xbox deals

Games

Consoles and accessories

Best Nintendo Switch deal

the Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Bundle
Credit: Nintendo
Our pick: Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Bundle
$159.00 at Walmart
$199.99 Save $40.99

Why we like it

This Walmart-exclusive bundle includes a turquoise, leaf-patterned Nintendo Switch Lite and a digital copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It's a great deal at its usual sticker price of $199.99; the Switch Lite itself is worth that exact amount on its own. But in a lingering deal from Walmart's anti-Prime Day sale in early July, it's now on sale for just $159 (or 20% off). For those who somehow don't own a Switch console yet in the Year of Our Lord 2024, this is a fantastic starter pack.

More Nintendo Switch deals

Games

Accessories

Rising household debt and shrinking incomes are setting the stage for a recession, top economist says

Tech Insider
Recession outlook, going out of business, economy
Indebted households and shrinking personal incomes are two imbalances that risk tipping the economy into a downturn, according to David Rosenberg.

Robert Alexander / Getty

  • The US looks poised to enter a recession, thanks to troubling trends in household finances.
  • Economist David Rosenberg pointed to rising debt levels and shrinking incomes among American households.
  • Those are financial imbalances that
Economy

Balatro is getting a free ‘major gameplay update’ in 2025

The Verge
Image: LocalThunk

Balatro, the delightful poker roguelike that’s one of my favorite video games of this year, will be getting a free “major gameplay update” in 2025, according to developer LocalThunk. The update will “bring new ideas and strategies to the game” and will be released for all platforms (it’s available on Steam, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox)

I visited Abercrombie & Fitch for the first time in years. It's come a long way, but I'm not completely sold.

Tech Insider
Gianluca Russo

Gianluca Russo; Rebecca Zisser/BI

  • I visited Abercrombie & Fitch to see if the brand is living up to its recent hype.
  • The brand has been revived, in part, by millennial nostalgia, but I don't feel a connection to it.
  • The store had solid basics, but most of the menswear options felt like a boring sea of neutrals.

As the retail scene and style industry as a whole navigates the age of changing TikTok