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The next Assassin’s Creed title was shrouded in mystery for some time. Despite the teaser suggesting that it would be set in Japan and leaks alluding to a female protagonist, there hasn’t been much official information out in the wild. Now, however, Ubisoft has released the first trailer for the game, confirming various fan theories and more.
The first fully-fledged Assassin’s Creed Shadows trailer debuted on May 15, showcasing a rather pretty CG look at what you can expect from the highly anticipated stealth game.
It focuses on the two main characters – Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful African samurai of historical legend. Both of these need to work in tandem to push back against the greedy, power hungry Emperors and bring peace back to Japan.

While it’s not made exactly clear how the dual protagonist system works, the description of the trailer states that there will be “intertwined stories”, potentially alluding to character switching at certain moments rather than one mission here, one mission there for each.
Prior Assassin’s Creed titles have been known to have two protagonists but with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2018) for example, you chose the male or female version at the start and had to play as this throughout the whole game. Shadows definitely won’t be this but again, it is unclear how it will work as of right now.
Since this was the first real trailer there wasn’t really an expectation of gameplay but what we do know is that the experience is almost ready to play thanks to its release date of November 15, 2024. What’s more, pre-orders are available right now if you want to secure your copy and nab some extra bonuses at the same time.
These extra bonuses might be needed too since the most recent leak is that the game will have a form of paid battle pass system that almost all battle royale games have these days. Considering Shadows is a single-player experience, this has been met with significant push back, so if it does come to fruition, you may have to drop the big bucks for fancy in-game cosmetics.
The post Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ first trailer confirms dual protagonists appeared first on ReadWrite.

The executive producer of Riot Games’ Valorant has posted about harassment in the game via social media. Anna Donlon took to social platform X to address the concerns that have been raised in the community after a prominent streamer received a threat of physical violence in a Valorant gaming session.
Valorant exec speaks out
In the post, Donlon said, “I’m sorry for not posting sooner, but please know I haven’t missed a word. This has been the top thing on my mind (a lot of our minds) since yesterday.”
Valorant News responded to the post, saying, “Just know that a lot of people truly enjoy, and love the game you and your team have created. Some just wanna feel safe, and respected while doing so.”
The streamer in question was Taylor Morgan. She posted on her X page the abusive language and the threats amid a desperate plea for support from Riot:

I have never made a more desperate plea that what I am about to say right now. @riotgames @RiotSupport I need you guys to fucking do something. I am an incredibly strong person and I have been streaming for a very, very long time. But absolutely nothing prepares you for someone… pic.twitter.com/Gr77uBsBrT
— TaylorMorgan (@TaylorMorganS_) May 13, 2024

Donlon committed to acknowledging the severity of online harassment and abuse but asked for time to gather her thoughts before taking necessary action.
She said “It’s important to me that we lead with action first, so until we’d actually pressed the right buttons and made some necessary internal changes, I didn’t want to tweet out empty condolences when it’s on us to do the hard work here. I want to share some of my thoughts on the topic of player behavior in gaming at some point, but want to pull those thoughts together first.”
Online harassment in gaming
Harassment and abuse in games has been something gaming developers have sought to rule out using multiple approaches. Temporary bans and the shut down of accounts can be applied, but it is increasingly difficult to capture audio harassment and identify it to a particular account.
We reported that Activision used artificial intelligence (AI) to root out over 2 million toxic voice chats in Call of Duty. Activision said of the landmark figure: “More than 2 million accounts have seen in-game enforcement for disruptive voice chat, based on the Call of Duty Code of Conduct.”
It remains to be seen if Valorant will enforce a similar way of detecting and responding to threatening or abusive behavior, but we await Donlon and Riots’ further action on the topic that they have publicly stated they are serious about.
Image: Riot Games.
The post Valorant executive producer responds to streamer’s harassment allegations appeared first on ReadWrite.

According to a report by the country’s “Bitcoin Office,” a government entity overseeing all Bitcoin-related projects, El Salvador could hold up to 5,750 BTC.
Since 2021, the nation has mined nearly 474 BTC by harnessing the geothermal power generated from the Tecapa volcano. Official data shared with Reuters by the power plant reveals that the government’s Bitcoin holdings accounted for over $354 million, but recent appreciation increased that sum to $373 million.
President Nayib Bukele has expressed his unwavering commitment to the cryptocurrency, stating that he has no intentions of selling the country’s vast Bitcoin holdings. The Bukele administration has reportedly installed 300 processors to mine Bitcoins using the volcano’s geothermal energy. He wrote:
When #Bitcoin’s market price was low, they wrote literally thousands of articles about our supposed losses. Now that #Bitcoin’s market price is way up, if we were to sell, we would make a profit of over 40%. […]
We won’t sell, or course; at the end 1 BTC = 1 BTC (this was true when the market price was low and it’s true now); but it’s very telling that the authors of those hit pieces, the “analysts”, the “experts”, the “journalists”, are totally silent now.
As ReadWrite reported in mid-March, at the time El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings sat high on an unrealized profit of $84 million, with the treasury’s value increasing by 69% to over $206 million due to Bitcoin’s 250% appreciation over the past year. The country has also been working on its “Volcano Bonds” backed by Bitcoin which have cleared a major regulatory hurdle at the end of 2023.
A lot of power
The state-owned geothermal power plant dedicates 1.5 megawatts (MW) of its 102 MW output to cryptocurrency mining. Daniel Álvarez, president of the Rio Lempa Hydroelectric Executive Commission, which oversees the plant, emphasized the sustainability of their mining operations back in 2021:
We don’t spend resources that contaminate the environment, we don’t depend on oil, we don’t depend on natural gas, on any resource that isn’t renewable.
While El Salvador enjoys supportive government policies under President Bukele, the country still imports about one-fifth to one-quarter of its electricity. The remaining electricity production is divided among hydroelectric, geothermal, and fossil fuel-fired plants. Notably, geothermal energy accounts for about a quarter of the country’s energy, thanks to its 20 active volcanoes.
In an industry heavily reliant on polluting coal-fired power plants, the Salvadoran government is promoting the use of clean, renewable energy for local Bitcoin mining. With 300 computers powered by geothermal turbines, El Salvador is setting an example for sustainable cryptocurrency mining practices.
The post El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings reach $373M appeared first on ReadWrite.

Robinhood Crypto, the cryptocurrency arm of the popular trading app Robinhood, has announced the launch of a new Solana (SOL) staking product in Europe. This move comes alongside an attractive bonus program designed to incentivize new customers to join the platform.
European Robinhood Crypto users can now directly stake their Solana holdings through the app, allowing them to earn rewards while maintaining the flexibility to unstake their assets at any time. This feature provides an opportunity for users to generate passive income from their cryptocurrency holdings.
To further entice new users, Robinhood is offering a 10% bonus on net buys made by new customers during their first 30 days on the platform. The bonuses will be paid out in USDC stablecoins, providing users with a reliable and stable form of reward.
Customer demand-driven decision
Johann Kerbrat, VP of Robinhood Crypto, stated that the company’s decision to introduce these features was driven by customer demand
Since launching at the end of last year, our customers in Europe have told us loud and clear that they want an app that provides local language support and products that help them earn additional passive income.
The announcement follows reports that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could sue Robinhood Markets over crypto-related security law violations. In late March, the SEC also approached a judge in New York, seeking to impose a penalty close to $2 billion on Ripple Labs for its XRP offering.
The post Robinhood introduces Solana staking and rewards in Europe appeared first on ReadWrite.

Fall Guys, the multiplayer team battle royale title, has a vibrant community, and they aren’t pleased about the features of a recent update.
The backlash comes in response to the Fall Forever update on May 7th that introduced unlimited creator-made content.
The British developers Mediatonic said at the time of the game’s launch “Fall Forever brings a significant amount of changes to Fall Guys that we hope you enjoy.”
Fall Guys community hits out
Fall Guys has a large Reddit and Discord community dedicated to the game. When the initial update hit, some players urged the game’s developer to think again about the sweeping changes that came to physics and much-loved levels.
“The opinion of experienced players matters. There are a lot of us. Hear my voice. Hear our voice,” said Fall Guys community moderator and long-time contributor Anna The Angel.
Epic Games bought Mediatonic in 2021 and has long viewed the party game as a money-making part of its empire. It does, however, play a smaller role than the bigger brands, such as Fortnite and Epic’s suite of established IPs, but it does have a hardcore fanbase.
Mediatonic took to X to post their response to a vocal community and addressed their concerns:

Hey Beans, we’ve been listening to a lot of your feedback and understand the recent ‘Fall Forever’ Update needs some changes to be a great experience.As such, we will be rolling out some changes this week which will address the following:
— Fall Guys (@FallGuysGame) May 13, 2024

According to the developer, knockout rounds will increase from three to four. “We’re looking to increase the length of the show to four rounds to reduce the elimination rate for each round. We’ve also made some tweaks to allow for more level variety with each game (the roundpool will be the same),” said the chain of social posts.
The developer has also committed to changing Squads and Duos “that are not working as intended.” Mediatonic will also be bringing back medal rewards for “fame, addressing the issue with survival levels ending early in squads and duos, and various other small quality-of-life fixes.”
Mediatonic will also make changes to the current Finals and Level selections in hopes of improving the Fall Guys fans’ experience.
Recently, we reported on the Fortnite X Fall Guys crossover, which was intended to test the brand’s strength and its immersion in the looter-shooter’s extended offerings.
LEGO’s crossover with Fortnite warranted a standalone brick-based world-building title, but Fall Guys was relegated to the background and was a limited-time event for in-game content.
So it begs the question of how serious Epic is about Fall Guys, and will it become a standalone part of the arcade-style pathways we see with other parts of the Fortniteverse?
Mediatonic has asked fans of the series to keep an eye on “@FallGuysOwl for further updates on when these changes are live! We appreciate all the feedback since Fall Forever has launched and we will continue to make improvements to ensure you are having a great time in the Blunderdome!”
Image: Mediatonic.
The post Fall Guys fans still not happy with new update features appeared first on ReadWrite.