Apple fires Ashley Gjøvik, senior employee who alleged sexism at work

Apple has fired Ashley Gjøvik, a senior engineering program manager who's been outspoken about her experiences working for the tech giant. Gjøvik said she has experienced sexism and a hostile work environment while working for Apple and spent months talking to the company about it. According to tweets from Gizmodo's Dell Cameron, Apple asked Gjøvik for a talk this afternoon. When she asked for the conversation to take place via email so there would be a written record, though, Apple replied that she had "chosen not to participate in the discussion." She was then fired hours later.

Emails shared w/ @Gizmodo show Apple asking to speak w/ Gjøvik this afternoon. Gjøvik agreed but asked the convo take place via email so there'd be a written record. Apple then replied saying Gjøvik had "chosen not to participate in the discussion." Within hours she was fired.

— Dell Cameron (@dellcam) September 10, 2021

In a tweet from early August, Gjøvik said she was put on indefinite paid administrative leave after raising concerns about sexism in the workplace and having an unsafe and hostile work environment. Further, she was discouraged from using the company Slack where she'd been openly criticizing Apple. Her complaints against the tech giant include being asked to make her tone less authoritative during presentations. She was also allegedly told that it was "ok" that she received complaints for her diversity training, including ones finding her "too hard on the white man." The former Apple engineer also said in a tweet that the company told her it was "fine" that a male director colleague asked her out for drinks and talked about cheating on his wife and mistresses entire time.

By the end of August, Gjøvik filed a complaint against Apple with the US National Labor Relations Board, alleging 13 instances of retaliation against her. In her filing, she said she experienced workplace harassment. She also said her supervisory responsibilities were re-assigned to colleagues, while she was given undesirable tasks. 

In a statement she told The Verge, it seems wasn't unprepared to be fired. She said: "When I began raising workplace safety concerns in March, and nearly immediately faced retaliation and intimidation, I started preparing myself for something exactly like this to happen. I’m disappointed that a company I have loved since I was a little girl would treat their employees this way."

When the news about Gjøvik first broke, Apple said in a statement: "We are and have always been deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace. We take all concerns seriously and we thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is raised and, out of respect for the privacy of any individuals involved, we do not discuss specific employee matters."

Facebook is reportedly developing custom server chips

Add Facebook to the list of companies that could be trying to reduce its dependence on Intel and Qualcomm. According to The Information, the social media giant is developing a suite of custom chips for its data centers. One of the processors is reportedly designed to power machine learning tasks, including the algorithm that handles Facebook’s content recommendations, while another would assist in transcoding videos to improve the quality of livestreamed videos.

In addition to helping reduce its dependence on outside chipmakers, the move to custom silicon could help Facebook lower the carbon footprint of its data centers. The new chips would work alongside the third-party processors the company currently uses in its servers, and reportedly aren’t meant to completely replace what it already has.

“Facebook is always exploring ways to drive greater levels of compute performance and power efficiency with our silicon partners and through our own internal efforts,” a spokesperson for the company told Engadget when we reached out to the company about the report. “We have nothing new to share on our future plans at this time."

It wouldn’t be a stretch for Facebook to dip its toes in custom silicon. The company has already dabbled in semi-custom chips. In 2019, for instance, it announced it was working on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for video transcoding and inference work. It also wouldn't be the first company to look at designing its own chips to improve efficiency and save on costs. Google has had its Tensor chips since 2016, and, as of last year, Microsoft was reportedly exploring custom chips for its own servers as well.    

Apple has reportedly appointed wearable chief Kevin Lynch to lead its car division

Apple has reportedly appointed a new executive to lead the development of its secretive self-driving car division. According to Bloomberg, the company has tapped Kevin Lynch to oversee Project Titan following the departure of executive Doug Field, who left the iPhone maker for Ford earlier this week. 

The name may not be familiar, but if you’ve watched any Apple event in recent years, you’ve seen Lynch on stage. After a stint at Adobe, he joined Apple in 2013 to oversee the company’s wearable and health unit and has frequently been the one to present whatever new features Apple is working on for watchOS. 

Bloomberg reports Lynch joined the division earlier in the year but is now overseeing the entire unit. The outlet notes Lynch’s appointment suggests Apple is likely focusing on underlying software that a self-driving car would need to navigate the road, instead of a vehicle that we could see the company release anytime soon.

Radiohead and Epic Games team up for a virtual ‘Kid A Mnesia’ exhibit

Early-aught headliner Radiohead has teamed with Epic Games, makers of Gears of War and Fortnite, to compose "an upside-down digital/analogue universe created from Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood’s original artwork and audio design by Nigel Godrich. It commemorates the coming of age of Radiohead’s records, Kid A and Amnesiac," per an Epic Games rep.

The project, developed by namethemachine and Arbitrarily Good Productions, will be available on multiple platforms including PS5, PC and Mac this November. The news follows earlier reports of upcoming reissues for Kid A and Amnesiac this fall (and as soon as late this month) along with Kid Amnesiae, an LP of b-sides, which you can listen to one of below.

‘Uncharted 4’ and ‘Uncharted Lost Legacy’ are coming to PS5 and PC

The Uncharted collection helped me survive the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and now, in addition to a live action movie expected to arrive in 2022, the two latest iterations of Naughty Dog's popular adventure series are scheduled to arrive on PS5 and PC next year. 

Both Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, the finale of the Nathan Drake saga, and the follow-up DLC The Lost Legacy will be made available next year. The graphics, of course, look gorgeous running on next-gen hardware. However there's no word yet on whether Naughty Dog will insist on additional platform upgrade costs — a la Sony Interactive's short gambit with charging extra to update Zero Dawn Forbidden West from the PS4 to the PS5

The new iterations are slated for release in "early 2022."   

‘Wolverine’ is getting his own PS5 game from Spider-Man studio Insomniac

Insomniac Games is working on Marvel's Wolverine, a standalone game coming exclusively to the PlayStation 5. There's neither a release date nor many details about the project for now, but the studio showed off a teaser during today's PlayStation showcase. Check it out here:

Insomniac is the studio behind Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sunset Overdrive and other iconic franchises. The developer is known for building agile, rapid-paced games with slick movements and gorgeous environments, so we'll see how that translates to Wolverine.

Insomniac's head of franchise strategy Ryan Schneider shared how Wolverine came to be greenlit in a PlayStation Blog post directly following today's showcase. 

"Our goal here is to not only respect the DNA of what makes the character so popular, but also look for opportunities to make it feel fresh and truly reflect the Insomniac spirit," Schneider said. "Even though Marvel’s Wolverine is very early in development, from what I’ve seen of its emotional narrative and cutting-edge gameplay (see what I did there?), the team is already creating something truly special." 

Of course, he would say that.

Insomniac is also developing Marvel's Spider-Man 2, starring Venom.

First look at ‘God of War Ragnarök’ shows a war with Asgard

It's been about a year since Sony first said that God of War Ragnarök was officially on its way, and today we're finally getting our first look at the game. As expected, it look like God of War, with the familiar dual-weapon wielding that Kratos excelled at in the 2018 game. His son, Atreus, looks like he's grown up in the last few years, and he's challenging his dear old dad's decisions as well as proving to be a more capable fighter.

As for the game's story, it looks to be setting up a conflict with the Norse pantheon of gods — just as Kratos destroyed all of the Greek gods in the first trilogy of games, he might be on that path again here. But he's definitely fighting it, while Atreus sounds like the one who is more convinced that full-on war is necessary here. As noted in an extensive blog post about the new game, a lot of the conflict seems to come from Atreus trying to understand what his now-dead mother wanted for him, after it was revealed he was part-giant at the end of the first game.

As for the enemies, Freya, an ally-turned-foe, will be a main antagonist, as will Thor. We only saw brief teases of each character, but both characters have lost family to Kratos and Atreus, and they seem about as thirsty for revenge as Kratos used to be when he was a Greek god. Particularly intriguing is the news that veteran actor Richard Schiff (The West Wing) will play Odin, king of the Norse gods.

Unsurprisingly, the game looks fantastic, with a variety of new environments and enemies as well as more ways to use Kratos' Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos. But the familiar boat returns, as does the disembodied head Mimir, so get ready for more story time and cutting remarks about Kratos' perpetually grumpy mood.

Sony unfortunately didn't have a release date to share; a year ago, the company said God of War Ragnarök would arrive in 2021, but the blog post said "see you next year" at its end.

We did learn in a post-show interview that Eric Williams, a longtime Santa Monica Studio veteran will be directing God of War Ragnarök, rather than Cory Barlog, who helmed the 2018 title. Williams has worked on every God of War title so far, so he seems a logical choice for the job. Williams mentioned that each game has historically had a different director, with Barlog the only one doing two installments. "You're really exhausted at the end of finishing one of these things," Barlog said, "so you've gotta con someone else into doing it, like him." 

‘Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’ brings Venom to PlayStation 5 in 2023

Sony is working on not one but two new Marvel games. During its PlayStation Showcase, the company revealed Insomniac Games is developing a sequel to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man and 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Slated to come out sometime in 2023 exclusively on PS5, Spider-Man 2 will feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, with the two set to face off against Venom.   

Sony didn't share many other details on the project, but based on the trailer it looks Spider-Man 2 may support co-op play. In a post over on the PlayStation blog published following the event, Insomniac's Ryan Schneider said much of the original team that worked on the first game is back for the sequel. He also revealed Tony Todd, best known for his role in the Candyman films, will voice Venom. Both Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter will also reprise their roles as Peter and Miles.    

‘Gran Turismo 7’ comes to PS4 and PS5 on March 4th, 2022

Polyphony Digital has narrowed down the release date for Gran Turismo 7 following its delay in February. The developer now expects its next big racing game to reach PS4 and PS5 on March 4th, 2022. Appropriately, the company has released a gameplay trailer that shows what you can expect from the PS5 version's visuals — this will definitely be a showcase for the console.

While the title still has that almost-too-polished sheen you've seen in many racing games, it's considerably closer to real life than you might expect. That's particularly true in low light and rain, where there's an eerily high level of realism.

Whether or not that translates to gameplay is another story. Polyphony said after the PlayStation Showcase that it was bringing back many familiar modes, and you can expect a range of past GT experiences that include off-roading and rallying. But will the physics, AI and other elements take a step forward? You might not get those answers until much closer to release.

‘Ghostwire: Tokyo’ will land on PS5 next spring

Bethesda has narrowed down the release window for Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo (which, if you remember, is a PlayStation 5 exclusive from a Microsoft-owned publisher). The supernatural action-adventure game will hit PS5 in spring 2022, after it was delayed from sometime later this year

Another pretty terrifying trailer emerged during Sony's PlayStation Showcase too. It shows otherworldly beings possessing people and more of the first-person action you can expect from this paranormal tale. Fun for all the family.

‘GTA V’ heads to PlayStation 5 in March 2022

Nearly a decade after its initial release on the seventh generation of consoles, Grand Theft Auto V will come out on PlayStation 5 in March 2022. Rockstar first announced GTA V was making its way to Sony's latest console at the company's previous PlayStation 5 showcase last summer. The enhanced and expanded port was originally supposed to come out in the second half of 2021. 

The new trailer Rockstar shared during Sony's promised the game will feature improved graphics, gameplay enhancements and seamless character switching between its three protagonists. At launch, it will also come with the game's immensely popular GTA Online multiplayer component included for free.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands brings twisted fantasy to gamers on March 25th, 2022

Gearbox is finally ready to set a firm release date for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands — and offer a peek at gameplay in the process. The studio has revealed that its Borderlands fantasy spin-off will launch on PS5 (and presumably other platforms) on March 25th, 2022. The gameplay appears to have some very familiar elements, although not all of them are from Gearbox's sci-fi shooter.

Yes, to some extent it looks like Borderlands with crossbows — Tiny Tina even throws in guns just because. But there are also some tributes to role-playing game tropes, including silly top-down navigation, parties… and, of course, lots of loot. It looks promising, even if it's not a radical reinvention of the Gearbox formula.

Square Enix’s ‘Forspoken’ will hit PS5 and PC in spring 2022

Sony offered another look at Square Enix's Forspoken during its PlayStation Showcase. The game, which is being developed by Luminous Productions, will hit PC and PlayStation 5 in spring 2022.

A new story-focused trailer shows protagonist Frey Holland (Ella Balinska, 2019's Charlie's Angels) being transported from New York City to the fantasy world of Athia. The clip provides a few more details about the gorgeous-looking game, including the fact that Frey has a talking bracelet wrapped around her arm, as well as more peeks at the combat, traversal and Frey's magical powers. The trailer also shows off some of the enemies she'll battle including, of course, a dragon.

Take a good, long look at Korean action RPG ‘Project Eve’

Project Eve is a futuristic action RPG built for the latest console generation, and today Korean studio Shift Up provided the longest look yet at how it'll play. From today's trailer, it feels like a cyberpunky blend of Nier, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and God of War, with an energetic undercurrent. And bonus, some of the enemies are truly horrifying.

Shift Up showed off the new trailer during today's PlayStation showcase. The studio didn't provide a release date, but the game is certainly looking closer to completion.

The first teaser trailer for Project Eve hit in 2019 and the game has garnered a small yet fervent group of followers, mainly drawn to the impressive-looking graphics. Shift Up published a second trailer in November 2020 and provided the following description: 

"The video depicts 'Eve' and the battle against unknown invaders, NA-tives, to reclaim the lost Earth after its collapse. Intense battle scenes were realized with overwhelming live-action-grade graphics, showing advanced technology of SHIFTUP since the title’s first trailer video. SHIFTUP now operates an independent studio for console games, utilizing technology such as high-density 3D scan system and performance capture system. Development is in progress to show maximum performance on various platforms including consoles."

‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ is getting a PS5 remake

The rumors were true, BioWare's classic Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic is getting a remake. Sony announced the title during its PlayStation showcase, revealing Aspyr, a studio best known for its macOS ports, is working on the project. 

"We’re rebuilding one of the greatest RPGs of all time for a new generation with modern tech, features, visuals and more, while maintaining the integrity of the story and characters that we’ve come to cherish," Ryan Treadwell, lead producer on the project, said. According to Aspyr, the team working on the remake includes "industry veterans," as well as some of the people who worked on the original game almost 20 years ago.  

Following the showcase, Sony confirmed the game is a "console exclusive on PlayStation 5." Knights of the Old Republic was originally released on Xbox and Windows PC in 2003. It was later ported to macOS, iOS and Android by Aspyr. The remake does not currently have a release date.