SpaceX’s first civilian lunar mission will take BIGBANG’S T.O.P and DJ Steve Aoki to the Moon

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has picked his companions for SpaceX’s first all-civilian mission to the Moon over a year after he put out a call for potential private astronauts. He chose eight crew members and two backups from various backgrounds to be part of the mission called “dearMoon,” and while application was open to everyone, some of the names will likely stand out when you review the list. One of the people flying with Maezawa on SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft is Choi Seung Hyun, better known as T.O.P. from the Korean boy band BIGBANG. 

DJ Steve Aoki is also part of the crew, as well as Tim Dodd, who’s known for creating space-themed content as a photographer and host of YouTube channel Everyday Astronaut. The other crew members include Rhiannon Adam, a photographic artist from Ireland who now works in London and the US, and Yemi A.D., a designer, director, choreographer and non-profit org founder from the Czech Republic. Brendan Hall, a filmmaker who directed projects for National Geographic, Karim Iliya, a filmmaker who documents whales, birds and other threatened species, and Dev D. Joshi, an actor from India, round up the main crew list. Meanwhile, snowboarding Olympic gold medalist Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu were named as backup crew. 

Maezawa said the project received about a million applications from interested individuals around the world who went through a strict selection process. The inclusion of musicians and other creatives doesn’t come as a surprise, since the billionaire originally intended to bring artists with him on the trip in hopes that it would inspire them to create something that promotes world peace. He didn’t say why he chose T.O.P. specifically, but the star did rap at an astronaut for one of BIGBANG’s music videos.

The dearMoon project was launched in 2018 after Maezawa purchased all the seats for a six-day trip to the Moon from SpaceX. It will fly a single circumlunar trajectory around Earth’s faithful companion and is expected to take place sometime next year, though the actual date depends on Starship’s development. To prepare for the dearMoon mission, Maezawa flew to the ISS last year and spent 12 days on the flying lab shooting videos about life in space. 

Elon Musk says Twitter is developing a feature that shows if you’ve been ‘shadowbanned’

Elon Musk has announced that Twitter is currently working on a software update that will give you access to a tool that can clearly show whether you’ve been shadowbanned. The term means different things for different platforms, but being shadowbanned typically makes your posts invisible to other users or makes your profile hard to find without your knowledge. Musk says the upcoming tool will also explain the reason why you’ve been shadowbanned and will give you instructions on how to submit an appeal. 

Instagram has just launched a similar feature with its latest update, letting you know whether you’re currently blocked from recommendations. At the moment, it can only show if you’ve been blocked from recommendations in Explore, Feed and Reels, but Instagram is working on expanding the tool so that you can see if you’re also blocked from showing up in “suggested accounts.” 

Musk didn’t talk about how Twitter will be implementing the feature, but he made the announcement shortly after Bari Weiss released part two of The Twitter Files. In the thread, Weiss said that Twitter used “Visibility Filtering,” which is apparently just another term for shadowbanning, on some conservative personalities. Musk once called himself a “free speech absolutist.” After taking control of Twitter, he started lifting the bans on several controversial users, including former President Donald Trump, The Daily Stormer’sinfamous neo-Nazi creator Andrew Anglin and other white nationalists. 

Advertisers have been fleeing the platform since Musk took over due to concerns about policy changes and the reinstatement of banned accounts. In a blog post late last month, Twitter assured advertisers that “none of [its] policies have changed.” And according to a new report by Reuters, Twitter is gearing up to release a set of ad controls in an effort to lure advertisers back to the website. The controls, which could launch as soon as next week, will reportedly allow advertisers to prevent their ads from appearing above or below tweets with the specific keywords they choose.

FromSoftware’s next game is ‘Armored Core VI’, arriving in 2023

Although The Game Awards didn’t bring news of a major Elden Ring expansion, there was another juicy announcement for FromSoftware fans. The revered studio is bringing back the Armored Core series after a decade of dormancy. Best of all, you won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. It’s coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Steam in 2023.

From and publisher Bandai Namco announced the game with a trailer that shows mechs emerging from the embers of an apocalyptic event. The clip doesn’t offer a ton of story details, but it doesn’t have to. The footage is gorgeously detailed and richly rendered enough that the plot can easily take a back seat for now.

What we do know is that you’ll be able to assemble your own mech and freely explore the environment, seemingly with slow, steady movements. According to the Japanese version of the trailer’s YouTube description, you’ll be able to utilize more dynamic movements, fire weapons and engage in close combat when you battle enemies. 

This will be the first mainline Armored Core game since 2012’s Armored Core V (a standalone expansion followed in 2013). After the mammoth success of Elden Ring, From has set its standards extremely high. But if any studio can clear that bar, it’s probably this one.

Idris Elba is coming to ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ in 2023

The first major bit of DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 — unless you count a buttload of patches — is due out in 2023 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Phantom Liberty is a spy thriller, and it introduces a new character, FIA agent Solomon Reed, who’s played by Idris Elba. The DLC also includes new missions and a new district in Night City, all of it culminating in “an impossible mission of espionage and survival,” according to developer CD Projekt Red.

Phantom Liberty will be the first batch of paid DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, though there’s no word on exactly how much it will cost.

Cyberpunk 2077 came out in December 2020 and was immediately lambasted as a glitchy, unpolished mess by many players and reviewers. CD Projekt Red released a series of fixes for the game and, over time, it’s stabilized and players have found the fun that was hiding there all along.

Elba joins fellow mainstream actor Keanu Reeves in the Cyberpunk universe, and this won’t be the last we’ll hear of the franchise. There’s a fabulous Netflix anime based on the game and CD Projekt Red is already building a full-on sequel, codenamed “Orion.”

‘Crash Team Rumble’ expands the Bandicootverse into team-based fruit collection

A new Crash Bandicoot online multiplayer game is on the way. The 4v4 team-based Crash Team Rumble launches on PS5 and PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. The game, which supports cross-platform play, will arrive in 2023.In the game, you team up with thr…

‘Horizon Burning Shores’ will take Aloy to a volcanic Los Angeles on April 19th

Just like its predecessor, Horizon Forbidden West is getting an expansion. As revealed at The Game Awards, the Burning Shores DLC will arrive on April 19th. 

The DLC will pick up from where the sprawling story of Forbidden West left off. It will see Aloy travel to what was once Los Angeles, a region that’s now home to a volcanic archipelago. She’ll be able to explore the area by water or on the back of a Sunwing, a flying mount. Guerrilla Games says you can expect to encounter new characters and adventures. Ultimately, Aloy will have to battle an enormous machine and use all of her skills and abilities to take it down.

Unfortunately for fans who haven’t been able to get their hands on a PS5, Burning Shores won’t be coming to PS4. “To achieve this grand vision technically and creatively, we’ve made the difficult decision to focus all our efforts on making an incredible experience exclusively for the PlayStation 5 console,” Guerrilla said. The studio plans to reveal more details about the DLC in the coming months.

Guerilla has at least one other Horizon project in the works. It will release Horizon Call of the Mountain as a PS VR2 launch title in February.

‘Diablo IV’ arrives June 6th, 2023

After more than a decade, the next desktop Diablo game is close at hand. Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo IV will be available on June 6th, 2023. That’s not completely surprising when the public beta is due early next year, but it’s worth noting if you’ve been looking forward to the click-fest action RPG for years.

Diablo IV promises to be a revival of a franchise that some say went awry with the third game. You can expect the usual round of new classes and some familiar game mechanics (such as D2‘s skill trees), but the open world title now has more tactical depth, more experimentation and, crucially, a narrative that has a proper chance to unfold. The new story centers around fighting the banished Lilith, Daughter of Hatred, as she returns to Sanctuary.

And yes, Blizzard has promised that there won’t be pay-to-win microtransactions. You’ll only pay for cosmetics and season passes that help you earn those visual upgrades faster. If you hated the D3 auction house, you’ll be glad to know it isn’t here. Equipment upgrades will come through gameplay, not spending real money.

Amazon Games will bring Bandai Namco’s ‘Blue Protocol’ to the west

At the Game Awards, Amazon Games announced it will be publishing Bandai Namco’s forthcoming free-to-play online RPG, Blue Protocol in the west. A new teaser trailer offer views of the game’s beautiful cel-shaded world, multiple character classes and weapons. It’s an action RPG, with the ability to play both solo and cooperatively. You’ll apparently be able to participate in raids with up to 30 other players.

While the game will be coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, Blue Protocol is designed to be played on controllers, with aim-assist support for people not using a mouse and keyboard. In fact, each class will have different sliders to adjust controls for smoother playstyles. Talking of style, you’ll apparently be able to customize your character deeply, across hairstyles, clothing accessories and even mounts – yes you’ll have your own fantasy steed a little like Pokemon Legends Arceus.

You’ll be able to pick from five classes at launch. The Blade Warden uses both a sword and shield, a Twin Striker that excels at short-range damage with double axes and the Keen Strider is an agile class with bow-based long-range attacks and area effects. Rounding out the lineup, the Spell Weaver is your magic wielder, while Foe Breaker has a massive hammer and can even fire a short-range cannonball. Somehow.

It’s 2022, so while you will be able to play the whole story without spending, there will be cosmetic upgrades available to buy, as well as features that will apparently help play the game. I get the feeling there’s more than a little inspiration gleaned from Genshin Impact, the free-to-play action RPG that’s been extremely lucrative for its creators – and a huge global hit. It’ll be intriguing to see how Bandai Namco’s new game compares. It’s also an unusual team-up with Amazon Games. 

According to the press release, Blue Protocol will be the “latest title in Amazon Games’ portfolio of high-quality live service games” including New World, an MMORPG – which makes some sense. Perhaps Amazon Games can offer some insight into ensuring Blue Protocol runs smoothly from a technical standpoint. The game is now set to launch in the second half of 2023, but expect a closed beta to run early next year. You’ll be able to sign up for that soon, online.

‘Earthblade’ is the next game from the team behind ‘Celeste’

Extremely OK Games, the developer behind the award-winning platformer Celeste, has revealed its new project at this year’s Game Awards. It’s called Earthblade, and just like Celeste, it’s a 2D exploration-action game set in a pixel world. In Earthblade, you’ll play Névoa, which the developer describes as an “enigmatic child of Fate” (with horns) who’s returning to Earth. The trailer shows you some of the obstacles you’ll have to face and the foes you’ll have to defeat while exploring the remnants of a ruined world. Extremely OK also says you’ll be piecing together Earth’s fractured history as you play. 

We wouldn’t be surprised if you have high expectations for Earthblade, seeing as Celeste had won several awards after it was launched. At The Game Awards in 2018, it won best independent release of the year. (Extremely OK didn’t get its winged statue after the show ended, but a fan unknowingly purchased it from eBay and sent it to the developer just earlier this year.) It will take some time before you can play Earthblade and go on an adventure with Névoa, though: The game won’t be available until 2024.