Ars Technica Gaming

1. Are Roblox’s new AI coding and art tools the future of game development?

   New initiative aims to take game development past "the hands of the skilled few."

2. 8BitDo makes the Mac great for retro games—iPhone? Not so much

   On the iPhone, 8BitDo's SN30 Pro is a waste with no emulator support.

3. Tiny “nano-sponges” inspire killer moves in 2023 Dance Your PhD winning video

   The fun side of serious science: "We’re just normal, fun, creative people.”

4. Microsoft plans mobile games app store to rival Apple and Google

   Store could launch as soon as next year if regulators clear Activision Blizzard deal.

5. Bent nails at Roman burial site form “magical barrier” to keep dead from rising

   Cremated remains were also covered in brick tiles and a thick layer of lime.

6. Valve’s year-old Steam Deck is on sale for the first time

   Save 10 percent on any hardware configuration until March 23.

7. Star Citizen still hasn’t launched, but it’s facing server failures

   RSI apologizes for "super rough start" to "persistent universe" alpha update.

8. 20 years later, Second Life is launching on mobile

   The so-called proto-metaverse will leap from desktops for the first time.

9. New theory re-ignites debate about identity of Leonardo da Vinci’s mother

   Was Caterina a slave kidnapped from the Caucasus region?

10. Why game archivists are dreading this month’s 3DS/Wii U eShop shutdown

    Industry lobbying against remote access leaves researchers cut off from game archives.

11. Microsoft signs another Call of Duty deal in bid to impress regulators [Updated]

    Microsoft says Boosteroid deal should make cross-platform intent "clear to regulators."

12. Check out the winners of this year’s Gallery of Soft Matter Physics

    Submissions were judged on both striking visual qualities and scientific interest.

13. System Shock gets May 30 PC release date after successful demo

    It's been a long road since the project's 2016 Kickstarter funding.

14. Why Sony says it can’t trust Microsoft’s Call of Duty offer? One word: Bethesda

    Worries over "myriad ways Microsoft could circumvent its [cross-platform] obligations."

15. Making sense of The Last of Us’s thrilling, affecting season finale

    Kyle & Andrew try to separate the heroes from the anti-heroes.

16. Sales of vinyl albums overtake CDs for the first time since the late ’80s

    Streaming still accounts for 84% of music revenue, but vinyl is having a moment.

17. PlayStation’s new Discord integration is a key step for the cross-play dream

    Before this week, there was no universal VoIP platform for online games.

18. Apple Music Classical will give your smartphone some culture on March 28

    Classical music app will be included with an Apple One or Apple Music sub.

19. Rare, pristine first edition of Copernicus’ De Revolutionibus up for sale

    Edition will be exhibited at New York International Antiquarian Book Fair next month.

20. Discord hops the generative AI train with ChatGPT-style tools

    Discord rolling out AI chatbot, moderation, summaries, and avatar remixer features.