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A $5 first-person shooter called Hood Warfare 2 has gone from near-obscurity to one of Steam’s most talked-about releases in less than a week. Given the nature of the game, however, it's also drawn scrutiny for its content, its anonymous developers, and the creators who've played it live on stream.

Made by an anonymous dev team called TrapStar Games, Hood Warfare 2 is a gang-themed, multiplayer Call of Duty clone set in "the streets" of Chicago, Illinois. Like Call of Duty, it has killstreaks, including a "drive by" and a "snitch," its version of the UAV drone.

According to SteamDB data, it peaked at about 53 concurrent players on its Oct. 8 release day. Its player count climbed steadily before spiking past 11,700 on Oct. 12, with its all-time peak now at 15,258 as of this writing.

By Steam’s standards, that is a modest hit. The game's peak rank is around 1,151st all-time on SteamDB, and its current player count of roughly 4,000 puts it at 239th. Still, if Gamalytic's data is to be believed, Hood Warfare 2 has grossed $1.1 million with 219,000 units sold.

As you can tell from the title, the game is a sequel. TrapStar released Hood Warfare, a Detroit-based shooter, in 2023 to little fanfare, with an all-time Steam peak of 68 players. Hood Warfare 2 caught on in a big way thanks to a deluge of content creators and streamers amused by the exaggerated stereotyping of Black American gang culture.

That said, much of the online conversation does center on the game’s depiction of Chicago and Black communities.

Critics argue the game feeds a long-running narrative, pushed by right-wing outlets and influencers, that Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the country. The rankings they cite tell a different story. Despite being the nation's third-largest city, Chicago ranks outside the top 10 on a list of places with the highest crime risk, according to U.S. News & World Report. Others have noted that the game’s trailer uses virtually none of Chicago’s actual slang.

The popularity of these kinds of stereotypes of the Black community coincides with the rise of YouTube "gang war explainer" channels, such as TrapLoreRoss. These channels break down real local conflicts for largely outside audiences, turning figures like King Von and Chief Keef, along with the O-Block area around Parkway Gardens into a kind of online lore. On TikTok, you can find several videos of creators traveling to the Parkway Gardens area near 63rd Street and King Drive.

Speculation on social media about Hood Warfare 2 includes accusations of AI "vibe coding," astroturfing, and even claims that the game is a "CIA psyop." Defenders of the game are dismissing the backlash, stating that games like Hood Warfare 2 aren't meant to be taken seriously.

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The game holds a "Very Positive" rating on Steam, and many reviews lean into the stereotypes critics object to. One reviewer wrote that they could "feel the thrill as a white man roleplaying as an african american gang banger." Another called it "Counter-Strike meets Boyz n da Hood," a reference to John Singleton’s 1991 film, which is widely read as a critique of the forces that kill young Black men.

Playing a part in the game's growing popularity is the enthusiastic embrace from content creators and live streamers. Gameplay videos have spread quickly across YouTube and Twitch. Some thumbnails show creators, including white creators, posing in ski masks to match the game’s theme. Many YouTube uploads have titles that call the game "Hood Call of Duty."

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Not every attempt to stream the game has gone smoothly.

On Oct. 13, members of the YouTube comedy collective RDCWorld, which has 7.3 million YouTube subscribers and 963,000 Twitch followers, tried to play the game on stream after being repeatedly tagged in it posts about it on Twitter and Reddit. Much of their chat objected. The group dropped the game shortly after and moved on to Star Wars: Galactic Racer .

A clip of the exchange has since circulated on Reddit. In it, a viewer donates $20 with a message offering to pay the group not to play what they called a "racist cia made game." RDCWorld member Mark Phillips, who is Black, pushed back, saying he hadn’t expected viewers to go "straight think piece" on the game.

When Phillips questioned whether the group should then skip Grand Theft Auto VI, which launches in November, fellow member Dylan Patel said that both games are "the same thing." Critics argue that comparison is a false equivalence. Games like GTA and Def Jam have drawn their own controversy over how they portray Black communities, they say, but they’re fundamentally different from Hood Warfare 2 and shouldn’t be lumped in with it.

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Within the RDCWorld subreddit, many commenters criticized the group’s defensive response more than the attempt to play. Some accused stream moderators of timing out viewers who disagreed. Others defended RDCWorld, arguing that gang culture is not Black culture and that taking offense further entrenches that stereotype of the Black community. RDCWorld has not addressed the controversy outside the stream.

Who is behind TrapStar Games?

Little is known about who made Hood Warfare 2. The game appears to have been built in Unity 5, although there are unverified claims that it was AI vibe-coded.

The devs' purported website, Trapstar.games, was registered on Oct. 12, according to ICANN lookup data. The site displays a copyright notice, but a search of public copyright records found no registration under the name TrapStar Games.

The website's linked Twitter account also claims to represent the developer. It was created this month and has been promoting a cryptocurrency token called HW2. The account's bio lists New York, while its "About this account" panel shows it is based in the U.S. and connected through the Turkish App Store.

Neither the account nor the website could be confirmed to belong to the game’s developers, and it’s possible that a third party is exploiting the game’s popularity to run a pump-and-dump scheme. One reply to the account claims a developer denied any connection to that Twitter account and the crypto token on the game’s Discord server. That server could not be located.

A request for comment sent to an email address listed on the original Hood Warfare website has not been returned.

As Mashable and our colleagues at PCMag just reported, Grand Theft Auto VI leakers Cyberleek have seemingly abandoned their threats to leak a full build of the game – at least for now.

Why? Because the leakers had claimed that the release of the leaked build was tied to their memecoin. If GTA 6 fans pumped Cyberleek's cryptocurrency, they would receive the leaked game build as a reward.

That play failed spectacularly for Cyberleek. In fact, it seems to have fully backfired.

The Cyberleek memecoin's market cap hit a high of $7.8 million on October 11, shortly after the leakers claimed they would release the full build of GTA 6 supposedly in their possession. The catch? The Cyberleek memecoin had to hit a market cap of $30 million first.

While some GTA 6 fans appeared to have bought into the memecoin in an attempt to hit Cyberleek's goal, $7.8 million is still far short of the $30 million the leakers wanted. And since then, as it became obvious that most GTA 6 fans weren't going to give in to Cyberleek's demands, the memecoin has plunged even further, with a current market cap of $1.17 million.

Critics of Cyberleek celebrated the memecoin's failure, calling it a scam.

SEE ALSO: GTA 6 Cyberleek: Fans float leak conspiracy theories about marketing, possible in-game character

Cyberleek had been successful with their memecoin play before, giving those who bought their memecoin exclusive access to polls that determined what GTA 6 footage the leakers would release next.

However, it seems Cyberleek overplayed their hand this time around, and the full build, which they claim is 200GB, appears to be staying under wraps for now.

With that said, Cyberleek is still using their supposed access to a full build of GTA 6 to try to escape legal action from Take-Two, the parent company of GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games. The leakers claim that there is a "dead-man's switch" that will automatically release the ending of the game if there is an attempt to take down Cyberleek.

Aaron Sorkin, famed writer of The West Wing and Academy Award-winning The Social Network, is notoriously verbose. He has a reputation for linguistic flairs that some find awkward, and many find deeply compelling. 

But in The Social Reckoning, a follow-up to the 2010 tale of Facebook's founding, he is uncharacteristically sparing. 

Yes, Sorkin — who wrote and directed the new movie — crams the script with one-liners and existential metaphors, random pop culture references, and cries for change, but it's what he leaves out that viewers should pay attention to. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Social Reckoning' review: Aaron Sorkin's indulgences fail this Facebook follow-up What 'The Social Reckoning' omits

Through The Wall Street Journal's Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), The Social Reckoning recounts the two years of work that made up the publication's explosive 2021 series, The Facebook Files. The birth of the exposé, a series of insider accounts of Facebook's decision to reroute its algorithm in service of polarizing extremism, is presented in two competing timelines.

In one, Huagen and Horwitz attempt to penetrate the Silicon Valley giant's defenses to learn the true scope of its wrongdoing. In the other, CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong) readies himself to testify before Congress — as Jan. 6th insurrectionists storm the Capitol.

So it's strange that it's characters — real-life journalists, brave whistleblowers, and profit-driven tech overlords who had a direct role in the current administration's success — don't say the name "Trump."

Despite a third of the movie set in 2020, COVID-19 is largely referred to as "the novel virus." The movie skirts the rampant medical misinformation, spread by conservative conspiracy groups, that flourished on Meta platforms.

The movie also omits the full details of Facebook's startling algorithmic misconduct that surrounded and informed the events of The Social Reckoning. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Meta IRL

In 2018, the tech giant was implicated in a massive data breach that harvested user profiles to target U.S. voters ahead of President Donald Trump's 2016 election victory. Facebook had already been accused of a host of reported user privacy violations, including conducting an algorithm-based psychological study on unwitting users. Due to Facebook's outsized role in spreading fake news, the company's CEO was given the title "Misinformer of the Year" in 2017 by Media Matters for America. 

Civil rights organizations like GLAAD have long deemed Meta's platforms unsafe for LGBTQ users. Facebook's algorithm has not only helped foster discord on home soil, but is also alleged to have had a role in global cultural genocides by human rights groups like Amnesty International. 

Following Haugen's real-life congressional testimony, used as the final beat of Sorkin's film, the company was accused of exacerbating a youth mental health crisis, multiple deaths by suicide, and an explosion of real and synthetic child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The first point is briefly touched on in the film, while the last is completely sidelined.

Three weeks after Haugen's congressional appearance in 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta. The company then underwent a brief public-image overhaul — until Trump came back into power. Following his reelection, Meta gave $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. 

The Social Reckoning implores someone, anyone, to act. The film posits that the federal government may be able to hold Zuckerberg to account.

It hasn't. 

One character, a member of the company's civic integrity team who helps leak internal reports about Instagram's impact on teen mental health, tells Haugen that something needs to be done before the company proceeds with its plan for "Instagram Kids." 

In 2024, Meta debuted Teen Accounts to address growing unease about young people's online habits. Following studies that concluded the changes featured in Instagram's Teen Accounts were ineffective, the company overhauled them. In the months since the overhaul, advocates have alleged Teen Accounts are still failing to curb online abuse. 

Another real-life whistleblower, Arturo Béjar, has continued to testify to Meta's alleged intentional disregard for teen mental health in court. 

Will Meta change?

In the film's epilogue, Sorkin describes Haugen's disclosure as having "caused some pain" for the company.

"I would not call it a massive pain for Meta," said Christine McComas, founding member of child safety advocacy group Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS). "It was a moment of clarity for people to understand what's going on."

Unlike Sorkin's more timid portrayal, McComas describes Haugen as a person who knew what she needed to do. McComas credits Haugen with galvanizing the work of bereaved parents whose children had died by suicide following abusive social media interactions.

That is an inexcusable failure of leadership. - Ashwin Verghese, Fairplay

As of publishing, more than 3,000 federal lawsuits have been filed against Meta alleging intentional harm to teen users. The film briefly mentions the work of attorneys general in amplifying these claims. Many of these cases are still ongoing or have settled out of court, but a few have resulted in surface level changes to Meta platforms.

Much like Teen Accounts, researchers argue the changes did not do enough to protect young users. 

Concerted pressure from state leaders and child safety advocates has finally pushed Meta to agree to more substantive reform, such as algorithmic guardrails. Still, most argue that comprehensive federal regulation is the only way to truly curb Meta's harm. 

Congressional leaders have "completely failed" to hold Meta and its competitors accountable, says Ashwin Verghese, communications director of child safety nonprofit Fairplay. "In fact, Congress has not passed a bill focused on keeping kids safe online in nearly 30 years. That is an inexcusable failure of leadership," Verghese said.

SEE ALSO: Is Meta finally backing a federal kids safety bill, or is it all PR?

It has been years since the Wall Street Journal published The Facebook Files. To be fair to Sorkin, political change is slow. Courts have their limits when powerful, near monopolistic, companies are involved. 

But there's a lingering question that the movie, given its timeline and broad topics, only mildly addresses through its luddite journalist, Horwitz: If Congress won't act, why won't we, as a society, just stop using Meta's problematic products?

Meta, why can't we quit you?

Compared to Horwitz, who is comedically introduced as someone who can't even use a GPS, Sorkin depicts Haugen as an idealist, clinging to the democratizing potential of Facebook. Her movie self is a firm believer that the platform's ability to foster social connection is a societal good. The character doesn't rally for Meta's shuttering, but for its reform. 

In early 2026, professor and marketing expert Scott Galloway called for an industry-wide boycott of tech platforms with disproportionate political and economic power. Included in that list were Meta platforms WhatsApp and Facebook (Instagram is also in Meta's corporate roster). 

One year earlier, swaths of users threatened to delete their Meta accounts following platform changes that signaled its alignment with the Trump administration, including the erasure of hateful conduct protections for LGBTQ users and the shuttering of its fact checking program. Years before that, users attempted to galvanize change through the 2018 #DeleteFacebook trend.

Yet, even with these calls, Meta has yet to see a mass exodus of users. The company only recently reported a substantial decline in daily users across its platforms. The loss was just 20 million of a reported 3 billion users. After the launch of its new AI agent Muse, Meta regained almost 2 million daily users. 

Too many people are complacent because they don’t know an alternative. - Sam Hiner, Young People's Alliance

"Meta has spent millions of dollars in public relations campaigns to claim their platforms are safe while denying responsibility," said Maurine Molak, advocate and co-founder of ParentsSOS. Molak was one of a group of survivor parents who received an apology from Zuckerberg during his 2024 congressional testimony. 

Molak argues that Meta's billion-dollar PR spin has sowed confusion among parents, users, and even congressional leaders. Without clarity, users are more inclined to stay and avoid the pains of leaving.

"Too many people are complacent because they don’t know an alternative," explained Sam Hiner, executive director of the youth-led advocacy nonprofit Young People's Alliance. Hiner and Molak both argue one of the biggest hurdles to leaving Facebook is the Fear of Missing Out.

"If you’re not online, it feels like you’re missing out on an important cultural space," said Hiner. "It’s also hard for competitors to emerge because of the network effect — all of my friends are on Meta platforms, not whatever competitor may emerge."

Molak links this to Facebook's role as one of the first social media platforms. Millions, perhaps billions of adults, have spent nearly two decades building their accounts on Facebook and more than a decade on Instagram. Recntly, they have merged these accounts onto Meta's X-competitor Threads — a wave of users flocked to Threads after Elon Musk's take over of Twitter. It was the lesser of two evils.

Meta platforms are part of many's daily habit, maybe even their identity. With its foray into general AI and its diversification into massively popular chat platforms, users are getting wrenched deeper into Meta's web. 

"Algorithms aren't visible, so it's understandably been quite difficult for most folks to connect the harms they experience in their communities — more people angry and outraged, more mental health problems, more anxious children — with some computer code designed in a faraway lab," explained Julie Scelfo, founder and executive director of Mothers Against Media Addiction. 

This movie will not move the needle on Meta

Meta has not issued a statement on The Social Reckoning, and it probably never needs to. The film's opening weekend was an unequivocal flop.

The company is shielded by its buying power. In an April earnings call, the tech giant said it brought in $56.3 billion, probably tied to its ongoing generative AI investments.

"The monetary fines imposed on Meta are comparable to parking tickets," said Molak. In August, Meta settled out of a potentially consequential social media addiction lawsuit for the sum of $17 billion dollars — just one percent of its stock value, paid out over a decade. 

During one pivotal moment between Horwitz and Haugen in The Social Reckoning, Haugen ponders if it's possible to push powerful people toward change. 

"When it's about money, it's hard," says Horwitz. "When it's not about money, it's even harder."

On Oct. 14, one day after announcing its acquisition, Bumble launched handles as a way for users to connect with each other.

Bumble Handles is meant to be a way to share contact information, but not your phone number or social media account. "Your private and professional networks aren’t necessarily where you want your dating life to begin," Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd shared in a note about the new feature. "That's why we're launching Bumble Handles."

SEE ALSO: The 10 best hookup apps of 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

Verified Bumble users can create a custom handle to easily tell people to "Find them on Bumble." But making one is optional, and users can opt out of being discoverable by their handle at any time.

Exact handle names are required to search, and according to Wolfe Herd, "Discoverable doesn't mean accessible." While another user can express interest after finding someone else's profile, mutual interest is still required to start a conversation. Bumble's moderation guidelines apply when creating a handle, and the app stated it has put additional protections in place to reduce misuse, such as impersonation.

This is the latest in big changes that have come to the app this year, including how men can message women first in heterosexual matches. Yesterday, Bumble announced a deal to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings for $1.3 billion, and co-CEOs Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman have taken over from Wolfe Herd.

Bumble Handles are available to iOS users in the U.S.

RAMageddon is showing no sign of stopping, if the global smartphone market is to be believed.

A new report from Counterpoint, a market research firm, indicates that global smartphone shipments were down 20 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026. According to Counterpoint, they hit the lowest level measured since 2012, which was a time when smartphones were still not quite as prevalent in everyday life as they are now. The explanation, according to Counterpoint, is that "relentless increases" in memory prices have "significantly disrupted" shipments from manufacturers like Samsung and Apple.

SEE ALSO: Apple TV 4K: Where to buy the 4th generation of Apple TV

As a result, those companies have passed rising costs onto consumers, resulting in a 20 percent rise in smartphone retail prices in 2026. Per Counterpoint's research, this has led to customers holding onto older phones for longer and prioritizing high-end devices more than they might otherwise.

Samsung, for what it's worth, seems to have weathered the storm a little bit, with its market share increasing to 23 percent. Counterpoint attributes this to steady demand for the mid-range Galaxy A-series and high demand for premium devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Apple, meanwhile, also saw an increase in market share, while suffering a 22 percent decline in shipments year-over-year. Counterpoint theorizes that this had to do with the lack of a base iPhone 18 model in September; Apple is widely expected to launch that phone in early 2027 instead.

I would've never guessed that the 1998 cult-favorite Practical Magic would get a sequel in 2026, but here we are. Practical Magic 2 brings back Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's sister witches, as well as their on-screen aunties played by Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. But it also adds new faces like Joey King and Maisie Williams into the mix.

Whether you're a Practical Magic superfan or you're looking to get into the spirit of the season, the sequel 30 years in the making is now officially available to watch at home.

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Directed by Susanne Bier and written by Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett, the sequel is based on the final novel in Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic series, The Book of Magic. In her review, Mashable's entertainment editor calls it "a tale of love, loss, sisterhood, and magic that bounds across genres while being thoroughly entertaining."

Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Practical Magic 2, including when and where it'll be streaming this season.

What is Practical Magic 2 about?

The witchy Owens family is cursed to be loveless for centuries, but when Sally's (Bullock) daughter Kylie (King) falls in love and begins to uncover hidden family secrets, she sets off to break the spell.

The sequel covers a lot of ground and takes a "a wild ride into different genre influences," as Mashable's Kristy Puchko puts it, but ultimately it delivers.

Check out the official trailer for a taste of Practical Magic 2:

How to watch Practical Magic 2 at home Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

As of Oct. 13, you can officially watch the Practical Magic sequel at home. You can either buy it or rent it via digital-on-demand retailers, with a streaming option still to come. We've broken down the details below.

Buy or rent on digital

Practical Magic 2 made its at-home debut via digital-on-demand retailers on Oct. 13, 2026. It costs $24.99 to buy and $19.99 to rent, but here's a pro tip: those prices will likely drop significantly if you wait a few weeks. Another thing to note is if you choose the rental option, you have 30 days to start watching, but only 48 hours once you start.

Quick links to buy/rent Practical Magic 2 on digital:

• Apple TV —  buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Fandango at Home — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Prime Video —  buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• YouTube — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

Stream it on HBO Max

There's no official date yet, but we do know that Practical Magic 2 will make its streaming debut on HBO Max, as Warner Bros. Pictures theatrical releases exclusively stream on HBO Max before anywhere else. If it follows the same schedule as other recent Warner Bros. releases (like Wuthering Heights and The Conjuring: Last Rites), we expect a mid-November streaming release. Stay tuned.

HBO Max subscriptions start at $10.99 per month, but there are a few ways you can save money on your plan. Check out the best HBO Max streaming deals below.

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The best way to save some cash on HBO Max on any given day is by committing to an annual plan. Yes, it'll cost you more up front, but you'll save about 16% over the course of a year — or up to $45.89 in savings.

A monthly plan with ads typically costs $10.99 per month, but a full year costs $109.99, which breaks down the monthly cost to only $9.17. Want to go ad-free? The annual HBO Max Standard or Premium plans will also save you about 16% over their monthly equivalents. Standard subscriptions cost either $18.49 per month or $184.99 per year (which breaks down to $15.42 per month). Premium subscriptions cost $22.99 per month or $229.99 per year (about $19.17 per month). While both are ad-free plans, the Premium option also unlocks 4K Ultra HD video quality, Dolby Atmos, and the ability to download more offline content.

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While it's not the most convenient option, switching your phone plan to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan for $60 per month will get you HBO Max with ads for free. Once you're a Cricket customer, you can use your provider credentials to log in via the HBO Max app or website.

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College students can sign up for a whole year of HBO Max with ads for 50% off. Use UNiDAYS to prove your student status and you'll receive a unique discount code to shave the cost per month down from $10.99 to $5.49. The price will jump back to the full cost unless you cancel after 12 months.

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The Disney+ bundle deal, which includes HBO Max and Hulu, remains one of the best streaming deals around — even with its latest price increase. For just $21.99 per month, you'll get all three streaming libraries with ads, which is about $14 cheaper than paying for each one separately. Want to go ad-free? It'll run you $34.99 per month as opposed to $61.47 for all three. That's $26.48 in savings.

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If you're a Verizon customer on the Simplicity, Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plan, you can add the Netflix and HBO Max bundle perk (with ads) to your plan for only $13 per month. A $19.98 per month value, that's about $7 in savings each month. Once you enroll in the promo, you'll have to complete the account setup separately for each service. Check out Verizon's support page for all the eligibility details, terms, and FAQs. You can also upgrade to the ad-free bundle for $7.50 more per month.

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Xfinity Internet and TV customers can also get in on the bundle action with Xfinity StreamSaver packages. The package with Netflix Standard with ads ($8.99 per month), Peacock Premium ($10.99 per month), and HBO Max Basic with Ads ($10.99 per month) can be added to your existing Xfinity service for only $22 per month. It typically costs $30.97 for all three, so that's about $9 in savings monthly.

SAVE $65: As of Oct. 14, the Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camping Stove is on sale for $164.99 on Amazon (normally $229.99) — a 28% savings. You can add a cast-iron grill and griddle for $40 extra.

Opens in a new window Credit: Coleman Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camping Stove $164.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $65   Get Deal at Amazon Opens in a new window Credit: Coleman Coleman Cascade 3-in-1 Camping Stove $204.99 at Amazon
$274.99 Save $70 FYI: Not returnable. Get Deal at Amazon

Tired: waiting around for Lana Del Rey to release her new album, Stove (or whatever it's called these days). Wired: grabbing a new camping stove on sale while end-of-season clearance sales are in full swing.

Right now, Amazon has the top-rated Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camping Stove marked down to $164.99. That's 28% off its usual MSRP of $229.99 and its best price since summer, when it was just $11 cheaper.

For $40 extra, you can upgrade to a slightly more powerful version of this stove with a removable cast-iron grill and griddle. Just know that it's not returnable due to hazardous material regulations unless it arrives with damage or defects.

Credit: Coleman Credit: Coleman

This portable stove runs on propane fuel and offers 22,000 total BTUs of cooking power between its two burners. (The version that ships with those two accessories can hit up to 24,000 total BTUs.) It can fit 12- and 10-inch pans, and there are wind guards on either side of it to protect its flames.

When you're finished cooking, the Coleman Cascade 222 folds up and latches closed. There's a handle built into the bottom of it that makes it easy to carry.

TL;DR: As of Oct. 14, you can get the Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo 3D Printer for $328.99, down from $461.99. That's a 29% discount or $133 in savings.

Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo 3D Printer $328.99 at Amazon
$461.99 Save $133   Get Deal at Amazon

My nephew has been begging for a 3D printer, and frankly, I haven't felt too comfortable with the prices, and I thought the mechanics might be a little too advanced for a 13-year-old. But according to Mashable reviewer Adam Doud, the Centauri lineup is easy to use and budget-friendly.

In his review of the Centauri Carbon, Adam called it an "idiot-friendly 3D printer that even I could understand". He loved that it's "an entirely self-contained device" — meaning all the moving parts are housed safely inside an enclosure rather than exposed on an open table — and noted that the automated calibration and leveling save you from having to master complicated technical tasks on day one.

SEE ALSO: Find a gift that kids will actually like

So if your little ones have been asking for a more advanced gift this year, this might be the one to get. Right now, you can get the Elegoo Centauri 2 Combo 3D Printer for $328.99, down from $461.99. That's a 29% discount or $133 in savings.

This upgraded Centauri 2 Combo model makes things even easier for beginners with its CANVAS system, which handles four-color printing automatically without requiring anyone to manually pause and swap filaments. It also uses the ElegooSlicer app so they can queue projects and monitor prints right from a phone. Plus, it prints at high speeds (up to 500mm/s), so nobody has to wait all weekend for a single build to finish.

Is Google purposefully serving up false data to AI scrapers?

According to a new report from Nozzle, a search engine results page (SERP) monitoring firm, Google may be deliberately manipulating search results that are visible to rank-tracking tools and other automated services.

SERPs are the pages Google displays in response to a search query. Companies often pay service providers like Nozzle to monitor these results and track how their websites rank for targeted keywords.

While monitoring Google SERPs, Nozzle discovered evidence that the search giant appeared to be deliberately poisoning results pages accessed by rank trackers. Google has little apparent reason to serve misleading data specifically to these tools, suggesting that legitimate SEO services may be caught in the crossfire of Google's efforts to disrupt data scraping by AI bots.

For its report, Nozzle analyzed 27.5 million SERPs and found that more than 660,000 keywords were associated with poisoned results pages. According to the report, approximately 8 percent of SERPs were poisoned. The altered results appeared in both desktop and mobile versions of Google Search.

SEE ALSO: Google upgrades its AI detection tool. How to use SynthID.

What does a poisoned SERP look like? According to Nozzle, it looks much like a normal search results page. However, links that typically rank well in legitimate results may be replaced with less relevant or less accurate results, often from social media platforms.

Google has been battling third-party AI scrapers for some time. These automated bots collect Google's search data, potentially to power competing AI services or reverse-engineer the company's search algorithms. By poisoning search results, Google could undermine the value of the data collected by these bots.

The problem is that legitimate rank trackers and other search engine optimization (SEO) tools may also be receiving this misleading data.

It's also possible that Google's efforts are intended, at least in part, to target rank trackers themselves. Black-hat and gray-hat SEO techniques have evolved in recent years, with some practitioners using AI to manipulate search rankings. Google may have an incentive to make automated tracking and analysis more difficult for those attempting to game its search results.

However, Google could simply block requests from AI scrapers and other automated tools, as it has done in the past. Over the past month, Nozzle's findings suggest Google may have shifted from blocking certain requests to serving misleading results instead.

If so, that would point to a more active effort to poison the data available to AI scrapers.

SAVE $300: As of Oct. 14, get the Hisense C3 Triple Color RGB Smart Laser Projector for $1,699.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,999.99. That's a discount of 15%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Hisense C3 Triple Color RGB Smart Laser Projector $1,699.99 at Amazon
$1,999.99 Save $300   Get Deal at Amazon

Looking for a new way to experience your favorite movies at home? A projector is a good place to start. You can use an investment like this for the foreseeable future to create an at-home theatrical experience without breaking the bank, and Amazon is making that even easier right now with this deal.

As of Oct. 14, get the Hisense C3 Triple Color RGB Smart Laser Projector for $1,699.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,999.99. That's $300 off and a discount of 15%.

SEE ALSO: The ultimate 'GTA 6' upgrade: The TCL 65-inch QM6K Mini LED TV is $152 off at Amazon

This projector can cast a 65-inch image all the way up to a 300-inch picture for the movie night of your dreams. It has support for IMAX Enhanced and Dolby Vision certification as well, so you can host movie night outdoors, show the big game on your wall, or just enjoy some time outdoors with everyone's favorite music videos.

Show off movies and other content in striking 4K UHD resolution with pixel-by-pixel reconstruction with depth and motion clarity like you'd find with a pricey TV. Setup is easy as well, with a 360-degree horizontal and 135-degree vertical gimbal so you can get things situated and get movie night going quickly. You can point it at a fence, ceiling, ramp, or wherever works for your viewing party.

If you've been dreaming about an alternative way to enjoy movies and the like with friends and family, this is the perfect way to do so, and at a significant discount as well. Be sure to grab yours while you can.

Character.AI, the chatbot platform that lets people create and talk to AI characters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company filed a voluntary petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Oct. 12, according to court records. It is using the bankruptcy process to sell itself under court supervision.

SEE ALSO: Ask.com shuts down after 30 years

In a blog post announcing the decision, the company said it had spent the past year trying to sustain its business amid "significant legal, regulatory, and operational headwinds." The company also said that the board reviewed its options and decided a court-supervised sale offered the best chance "to maximize value for all of our stakeholders."

"The Character.ai platform remains up and running," the statement added.

Character.AI estimated both its assets and its liabilities at between $50 million and $100 million, TechCrunch reported. According to the filing, the board formed a restructuring committee on Oct. 8 to weigh its options given the company’s cash flow, liquidity, and potential legal liabilities. The committee approved the bankruptcy filing four days later.

A rocky five years

Former Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas founded Character.AI in late 2021. The startup reached a $1 billion valuation in 2022 after raising $150 million. In Aug. 2024, Google struck a $2.7 billion deal to license its models, and both founders went back to Google.

Usage stayed high afterward. By October 2024, Character.AI had 20 million monthly active users, part of a fast-growing AI companion community, and Sensor Tower data cited by TechCrunch ranks it among the top AI apps by time spent.

Then the lawsuits started to come in.

One came from the mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy who died by suicide; she says he had become obsessed with one of the platform’s chatbots. Texas also opened an investigation into whether Character.AI followed child privacy and safety laws. The company settled some of the lawsuits, added safety features, and banned minors.

In its coverage of the bankruptcy, 404 Media argued that Character.AI’s money problems aren’t unusual. Many AI companies spend heavily on computing power without the revenue to support it. The distinction, though, 404 Media wrote, is that the big companies like Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI are "able to repeatedly get injections of new cash." Meta and Google can also use their advertising businesses to pay for their AI products.

Disney has agreed to buy some of Character.AI’s assets for $20 million, along with a non-exclusive, perpetual license to its technology, TechCrunch reported. Former Character.AI staff who joined Disney last month, including former CEO Karandeep Singh Anand, will help with the transition.

The statement on Character.AI's website said the sale should close in late November or early December. However, if no workable offer comes in, Adams told the outlet, the platform "will be wound down."

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Showtime has released the first teaser for the fourth and final season of Yellowjackets, which reveals what happened after the Yellowjackets made it home from the Canadian wilderness.

SEE ALSO: 2026 fall TV preview: Every show you should know about

The teaser opens with video interviews from the teen versions of Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), Shauna (Sophie Nélisse), Melissa (Jenna Burgess), Misty (Samantha Hanratty), Travis (Kevin Alves), Van (Liv Hewson), and Lottie (Courtney Eaton), each giving what appears to be a coordinated account of their time in the wilderness. (Naturally, they leave all the cannibalism out.)

Based on our knowledge of Yellowjackets' present-day timeline, we already know that all of these characters got rescued, so their presence in these video interviews comes as no surprise. However, the teaser does give us a major update on the fate of a Yellowjacket we haven't met in the adult timeline yet: Akilah (Nia Sondaya).

Akilah is not in the video interviews shown in the teaser, which initially suggests that she did not make it out of the wilderness. However, she does appear briefly in the background of a shot at a memorial in the Wiskayok high school gym, sitting next to Melissa and Taissa.

Jenna Burgess, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Nia Sondaya in "Yellowjackets." Credit: Screenshot: Paramount+

That shot clearly confirms that Akilah is rescued alongside all the other surviving Yellowjackets. Perhaps the teaser intentionally left out any of her video interviews in order to conceal her fate further, or perhaps, more worryingly, something happens to Akilah after the memorial that means she is unable to participate in the interviews.

Either way, we know that Akilah made it back to Wiskayok alive, putting years of fan speculation about her fate in the wilderness to bed. Now, the question remains, did she survive to the adult timeline? Tragically, the teaser gives us few answers on that front. We'll have to wait until November to find out.

Yellowjackets Season 4 premieres Nov. 20 on Paramount+.

Sometimes a movie comes along that is so bizarre that a traditional review of it seems beside the point. Will audiences go to see Whalefall because they expect masterful cinema? Or will they go because the premise is so batshit nuts that you need to see it for yourself? Or maybe people will go because they've developed a crush on Austin Abrams or Josh Brolin?

Whatever your totally valid reason for being interested in Whalefall, here's what you need to know with only minor spoilers.

SEE ALSO: Best movies of 2026, and where to watch them now What is Whalefall about?

It's a tale as old as the Bible, sort of: man gets eaten by a whale.

Specifically, college student Jay Gardiner (Abrams) is grappling with the suicide by drowning of his gruff scuba-diving father on the one-year anniversary of the tragic event. The body of Mitt Gardiner (Brolin, brawny, tan, and covered in nautical tattoos) has never been recovered. So, to bring some solace to his sisters (Jane Levy and Emily Rudd) and widowed mother (Elisabeth Shue), Jay decides to go on a secret dive to reclaim at least some of his dad's remains from the ocean. ("Just one bone!" he says to psych himself up before taking the plunge.)

With one hour of oxygen in his tank and a lot of hard-won lessons from the bellowing, abusive Mitt, Jay sees this as an opportunity to prove his manhood to his deceased dad. However, his quest becomes a self-rescue mission when he gets snagged in a battle between a giant squid and a sperm whale.

Austin Abrams swims away from squid tentacles in "Whalefall." Credit: 20th Century Studios

Like the squid, he's swallowed by the whale. And now, he has under an hour to get out before he'll suffocate. Of course, a whale's innards are not hospitable to humans, which Jay learns the hard way as he falls from its mouth to its stomach and beyond.

Is Whalefall based on a true story?

No. It's based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Kraus.

The author collaborated on the adapted screenplay with writer/director Brian Duffield, who's previously helmed the dark comedy Spontaneous and sci-fi horror movie No One Will Save You. The former is a teen-centered movie about what happens when high school students begin to spontaneously combust. The latter is about a lonely woman who seeks escape when she learns her small town has been invaded by aliens.

SEE ALSO: 'Spontaneous' is the movie for anyone who feels ready to explode Does Whalefall explain its title?

It does.

Does Whalefall explain its title by having Josh Brolin saying "whalefall" to direct to camera? Josh Brolin plays Mitt Gardiner in "Whalefall." Credit: Jennifer Clasen / 20th Century Studios

You betcha.

Some context: While the story of Whalefall mostly takes place inside a whale, Jay's hour of oxygen allows him time to reflect on his relationship with his departed dad. Every time he takes a particularly gnarly blow, Whalefall knocks the audience back to a relevant memory through flashbacks. Sometimes, this is Mitt drunkenly screaming betrayal at Jay for leaving their coastal California town for college in Iowa (a word that Brolin manages to snarl as if it's a slur).

In another instance, Mitt is marveling about how the death of a whale can have an incredibly positive impact on the ocean. When a whale dies, its carcass sinks to the ocean floor, where it becomes food for many other creatures, from sharks to clams. In this way, it becomes an ecosystem of its own, its bones creating a reef-like structure for more life.

Mitt explains this occurrence, telling Jay in the memory that it's called "whalefall."

Featured Video For You My Fall 2: Deadpoint interview with the cast featured a ropes course Is Whalefall a good father-son drama?

Well, it's certainly a father-son drama.

Jay's battle to survive becomes a metaphorical battle to understand his father, and let go of his anger toward him. Flashbacks reveal both the highs and lows of their relationship, but also set up accidental lessons on how to survive this particular outlandish scenario.

As Jay's time is running out along with his oxygen, he begins to address the whale and hears his dad's voice. Think Star Wars and the "use the Force" of it all. In voiceover, Mitt begins to refer to "we" — seemingly meaning Mitt and the whale.

Did the whale eat Mitt?

Unclear.

Is Jay hallucinating, or is he talking to his ghost dad in the belly of a whale?

It's certainly open to interpretation. You say tomato, I say Jay's having a psychological breakdown because men would rather get eaten by a whale than go to therapy.

Austin Abrams being eaten by a whale. Credit: 20th Century Studios Is Whalefall funny?

Yes. Sometimes intentionally!

As fans have noted from Abrams' recent turn in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, this affable leading man has a great skill for physical comedy amid body horror. Whalefall puts his character into a literally tight space (whale innards), subjecting him to violence that is new nightmare fuel. But in that, Abrams plays Jay not like the rugged seaman his father was, but as a scrawny kid who's trying his best while freaking out regularly. And yeah, that's often pretty damn funny.

Jay talks to a bioluminescent jellyfish that he names "Glowy." He takes blows hard, with a sharp comedic timing that makes Whalefall fun rather than simply harrowing. But also, the earnestness of the father-son story is awkwardly stuffed amid these moments, making some of them laugh out loud silly. Like when Mitt says somberly, "The whale is forever."

What does 'The whale is forever mean'?

I don't know. The whale is the friends we made along the way?

Wait, is Whalefall gross?

Oh absolutely.

As teased in the trailers, there's solid action in this movie, including the battle of the squid and the whale, and Jay's determined efforts to climb his way out of the mighty marine mammal's open maw one tooth at a time. But for much of the movie, he's in the whales guts. It's basically spelunking in innards.

This means Jay's often surrounded by organ folds and sphincters, which — despite the pretty flecks of blue bioluminescent plankton — are pretty repulsive!

Things only get grosser as he battles stomach juices, saliva, and flesh-eating stomach bile as he navigates his escape. So, those crushing on Abrams may have a tough watch ahead of them, as he takes on some brutal physical abuse in the movie that results in gnarly prosthetic work.

Jay and Glowy in "Whalefall." Credit: 20th Century Studios Is Whalefall fun?

No question. It's like The Shallows, if The Shallows were way more ridiculous.

Pitched into this life-or-death sea creature situation, an average nautical sportsperson is challenged to survive with whatever they have handy — while battling their own grief and parental issues.

Whalefall has several exciting sequences, that are jaw-droppingly intense. Like, I've never thought about how it'd feel to climb up a whale's esophagus. Abrams makes it seem very exciting and terrifying. Props to him!

This journey is enhanced by Joseph Trapanese's score of screeching strings, along with cinematography by Aaron Morton that stays suffocatingly tight on Abrams' panicked face. His eyes bulge, his teeth are covered with spittle, and his face is pinched, communicating the pressure in that belly. Then, a sound effects team weaves together truly unnerving sounds to express the violence of this scenario, from the snapping beak of a furious squid to the booming explosion of a ruptured eardrum.

Editor Pietro Scalia smartly accentuates such moments by creating intervals of blackness and silence, allowing the audience to take a breath and let the horrors they've witnessed sink in (or to get our giggles out of the bonkers action onscreen).

Is Whalefall a good movie?

Let's not get carried away.

To Duffield's credit, he's made a movie that is exciting, funny, and gross in a thrilling way that makes Whalefall a fun film to see in theaters with a crowd. But the sentimentality of the father-son stuff becomes a drag, forcing Brolin into a caricature of an abusive, drunken working-class dad.

To Brolin's credit, he's never boring, and commits even when the dialogue gets treacly or confounding. But the emotional beats of the movie feel shallow in the midst of so many gross-out, goofy scenes about a dude trapped IN a whale.

Duffield does attempt to balance such spectacle with scenes of oceanic wonder outside the whale. The sperm whale plunging into the depths of the Pacific or pursued by a pod of orcas is gorgeously rendered. The sheer vastness of the sea making it seems as if Jay and the whale are swimming through deepest space. It's awe-inspiring, even when violent.

But the balance is off in terms of dialogue, where the living Mitt (in flashbacks) is incapable of spitting anything but insults and sharp-tongued advice, and the Mitt in Jay's mind is soft-spoken, encouraging, and spewing self-help book poetry.

Still, overall, Whalefall is a wild ride worth taking.

Whalefall opens in theaters Oct. 16.

Where to buy Pokémon Advent calendars: Best Pokémon Advent calendar overall Funko Pop! Countdown Calendar: Pokémon $56.94 Get Deal Best DIY option Pikachu, Fuecoco & Friends Pokémon Holiday Wood Countdown Calendar $49.99 Get Deal Best wearable Pokémon Advent calendar Get Trend Pokemon Novelty Socks $39.05 Get Deal Best puzzle Pokémon Advent calendar Pokémon 12 Day Advent Calendar $19.99 Get Deal Best mini figures Pokémon Advent calendar Funko Bitty POP! Countdown Calendar: Pokémon 34.99 Get Deal

Ready or not, the holidays are approaching quickly. If celebrating with 24 small surprises from an Advent calendar is one way you celebrate the season, it's time to get shopping. Popular models tend to sell out before Black Friday, and that's espeically true of calendars from franchises we love like Lego and Pokémon.

Before they sell out, here are our top picks if you're onboard with a Pokémon Advent calendar.

Opens in a new window Credit: Funko Pop! Funko Pop! Countdown Calendar: Pokémon $56.94 at Amazon
  Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

Funko Pop! makes some of the best collectible figures, and the 2026 Pokémon Advent calendar is a fantastic example. Each of the 24 vinyl pocket Pop figures will be a delight for fans of any age, and they're made for a fun final display collection.

More Pokémon Advent calendars

• Pokémon Halloween Calendar — $27.99 $34 (save $7.01)

• Jazwares Pokémon Holiday Calendar 2026 — $49.99

• Pokémon Deluxe Advent Calendar 2026 — $98.88

TL;DR: As of Oct. 14, you can get the Dreame A3 AWD 1000 LiDAR Robot Lawn Mower for $1,259, down from $2,199.99, with an on-screen coupon.

Dreame A3 AWD 1000 LiDAR Robot Lawn Mower $1,399.99 at Amazon
$2,199.99 Save $800.00   Get Deal at Amazon

I love my robot vacuum (it's a Dreame; all of my floor care products are), and I've been trying to convince my mom to get the lawn mower equivalent so she doesn't have to spend her time sweating outside. I haven't yet, but I'm not giving up.

SEE ALSO: We found the best robot vacuums for every floor, budget, and level of laziness

If you're ready to switch from manual to robotic mowing, the Dreame A3 AWD 1000 LiDAR Robot Lawn Mower is currently down to $1,259.99 on Amazon when you clip the 10% on-screen coupon. That's a $940.99 savings. It's also the lowest price we've seen on this model to date.

Instead of burying perimeter wires or dealing with finicky RTK antennas, the A3 AWD 1000 maps a quarter-acre yard on its own using 3D LiDAR and AI vision. Its all-wheel-drive system can handle steep 80 percent slopes without stalling, and it actively dodges whatever's left in the grass (like garden hoses and dog toys). Plus, when the battery gets low, it can go from 0 to 100 percent in just 45 minutes.

(Note: You have to manually click the 10% coupon box on the product page for the discount to apply in your cart!)

The streamer’s share price is down more than 40 percent over the last year as the company has struggled with stalling engagement.

TL;DR: Today's the last day to score Prime Day-level prices on EcoFlow products, including the EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra Plus. Get it now for $1,599, down from $2,199, at Amazon. That's a 27% discount or $600 in savings.

EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra Plus $1,599 at Amazon
$2,199 Save $600   Get Deal at Amazon

If you’ve been holding off on buying a heavy-duty portable power station (honestly, with the way the weather's been, you should probs just go ahead and buy one!), today's your last chance to shop EcoFlow's extended Prime Day deals before they disappear.

SEE ALSO: The 8 best portable power stations to stay charged up at home and on the go

When Mashable contributor Lauren Allain (our power station queen) tested the EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra Plus, she was so impressed by its performance that she gave it a Mashable Selects award.

In her hands-on review, she dubbed it a "workhorse warrior" that handles everything from powering high-draw home appliances like space heaters and microwaves to serving as an off-grid jobsite or camping power hub. It has a 3,072Wh capacity, 3,600W continuous output, a 30-amp RV plug, and an ultra-fast sub-10ms UPS switchover so your home electronics don't flicker during an outage.

Originally listed at $2,199, the EcoFlow Delta 3 Ultra Plus is currently marked down to $1,599. (That's a $600 savings for those of you counting.)

More EcoFlow Power Station & Solar Deals

• EcoFlow TRAIL 300 DC Power Station — $169 $199 (save $30)

• EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro Portable Power Station — $389 $429 (save $40)

• EcoFlow Delta 3 Classic Portable Power Station — $499 $559 (save $60)

• EcoFlow Delta 3 Max Portable Power Station with 220W Solar Panel— $1,149 $1,719 (save $570)

• EcoFlow Delta 3 Max Plus Portable Power Station — $1,149 $1,899 (save $750)

SAVE $70: As of Oct. 14, get the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones for $169.99 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $239.99. That's a discount of 29%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Noise Cancelling Headphones $169.99 at Amazon
$239.99 Save $70   Get Deal at Amazon

Looking for a new pair of headphones that you can rock out with every day? You don't have to spend an arm and a leg on something pricey. Not when Amazon is still serving up enticing deals long after its most recent Prime Day sale. If you're ready to drop some cash on a great pair of cans right now, there's one in mind that should be perfect for blocking outside noise so you can focus on the music.

As of Oct. 14, get the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones for $169.99 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $239.99. That's $70 off and a discount of 29%.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best headphones of 2026: We tested the top contenders from Sony, Apple, Bose, and Beats

These over-ear headphones are not only lightweight, but padded for your comfort during extended wear sessions. They offer two full-range 40mm drivers and additional dual bass drivers as well so you can feel the thump and driving beat of your songs no matter where you are.

They come equipped with 4-mic active noise cancellation as well, so no matter what you're doing, you can keep out the outside world, construction noise, crying children, whatever distractions you don't want to hear, so you can focus on your music, your podcast, or even your call.

With personalized sound options in the accompanying app and up to 60 hours of battery life per charge with 10 minutes getting you 4 more hours of listening, these headphones are great for anyone wanting a dance party on the go. If you're ready to scoop up a new pair for less, this is a good time to pounce on headphones that can deliver in multiple aspects.

Cyberleek might finally, mercifully, be done sharing Grand Theft Auto VI clips.

On the Cyberleek website, as spotted by Reddit and cited by Kotaku, the person or group of people behind all the recent GTA 6 leaks you may have seen on your social feeds appeared to call it quits. According to the post, the leaker's threat to release a full build of the game will seemingly go unfulfilled, as they did not meet the $30 million market value goal for their memecoin. However, the post did imply that there is a "dead man's switch" in place that will release the build, or some other kind of spoiler content, if anyone tries to "remove" Cyberleek.

SEE ALSO: Report indicates 'GTA 6' launching on PC in early 2027

"CL has the ending. It was considered. It would punish Take-Two greatly - but ruin the experience for the gamers, who did nothing wrong," the post said. "Take-Two would show CL no mercy - why should CL show any to them? Still: Take-Two was punished enough. The ending stays unpublished. Proof: the latest leek - clips from the final missions, out of context, revealing nothing. The dead man's switch is active - story spoilers only. Left alone, it never fires. Whoever removes CL chooses it."

Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive, the makers of GTA 6, have already subpoenaed Google, Microsoft, X, and Discord in their efforts to unmask and stop Cyberleek.

The leaker's post went on to defend the meme-coin at the center of the leaks, claiming it was not a "rugpull."

“CL was transparent about the token from day one: a donation, never an investment," Cyberleek said. "It changed nothing – influencers decided the story before the facts arrived. The Edict stands. The leeks stop here. For now.”

Over the past few months, the anonymous leaker has posted roughly 20 or so out-of-context clips that mostly showed the game's protagonists driving around and/or beating up NPCs, although the leaker did start sharing some story spoilers. By the end, they were showing both protagonists rendered completely nude, but it's arguable that none of the leaks told us as much about the game as Rockstar's own Netflix trailer did in August.

Regardless, it seems like this Cyberleek saga is over for the time being. It's only about a month until the game launches on Nov. 19, and gamers can preorder the game ahead of its release.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

SAVE $40: As of Oct. 14, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni wireless gaming headset is on sale at Amazon for $359.99 instead of $399.99. That's 10% in savings, its biggest discount to date.

Opens in a new window Credit: SteelSeries SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni wireless gaming headset $359.99 at Amazon
$399.99 Save $40   Get Deal at Amazon

With the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI launch next month, you might be looking to upgrade your gaming setup. As you overhaul your gear, a great headset is not to be overlooked. It can pull you deeper into the worlds on screen, enhance communication, and make for a more immersive experience overall. While there are a ton of options on the market, it doesn't get much better than upgrading to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni.

The Nova Pro Omni headset is expensive, but as of Oct. 14, you can save $40 on it at Amazon. That knocks about 10% off the $399.99 price tag, bringing the new total to $359.99. Sure, that's still a pretty big investment, but it's the lowest price to date.

Mashable's sister site PCMag crowned the Nova Pro Omni as "the best, most flexible gaming headset overall." It's an excellent follow-up to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, which Mashable contributor Ben Williams raved about in his review. It has a base station that lets you connect up to three devices over USB-C, dual batteries to keep you from having to plug it in, an excellent ClearCast Pro microphone, impressive ANC, and it's comfortable. Redditors also concluded it's the better option for pretty much anyone (except maybe extreme audiophiles) over the Nova Elite.

If you're willing to invest a hefty chunk of cash into a wireless headset, the Nova Pro Omni is the one to get. And you might as well save $40 while you can. Just imagine how good the GTA VI soundtrack will sound through this.