Hasta La Gadget!

Twitch has announced a significant change to its policy amidst rising concerns about the presence of gambling streams on the platform. On Twitter, Twitch said it will prohibit the streaming of gambling websites that feature slots, roulette and dice games unlicensed in the US and other regions that “provide sufficient consumer protection.” The policy change will take effect on October 18th, and Twitch promises to release the full policy language and more details before that date.

So far, the list of banned sites include some of the most well-known ones out there, including Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com and Roobet.com. Not a surprise, since you could already find plenty of streams on Twitch with gambling content from those domains. Twitch says that it “may identify others” going forward, so the list of banned websites will likely grow longer. The website will continue allowing websites that focus on certain types of gambling content, though, including sports betting, fantasy sports and poker. 

Twitch issued the statement after some of the platform’s most popular streamers, including Pokimane and DevinNash, threatened to boycott it on Christmas week if it doesn’t ban gambling streams and sponsorships. They banded together in response to one streamer’s admission that he had scammed followers and fellow streamers out of around $200,000 to feed his addiction to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. As Kotaku explains, CS:GO features weapon skins that have real-world monetary value, and gambling websites use them as casino chips. The revelation reopened the discussion of gambling streams on Twitch in a big way, with people pointing out that they could lead to deceitful behavior by streamers and could be damaging to the website’s young users.

EA’s Motive Studio is putting the finishing touches on its solid-looking Dead Space remake, but it’s already looking ahead to other projects. EA announced that Motive has teamed up with Marvel to make an Iron Man game.

Although the title is in early development, the company has teased out a few details. It will be a single-player, third-person, action-adventure game with an original story. The idea is that you’ll be able to “feel what it’s like to truly play as Iron Man,” EA claimed in a statement.

The Motive team working on the project will be led by Olivier Proulx, who was a senior producer on last year’s surprisingly great Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Proulx also worked on the single-player side of Marvel’s Avengers and so won’t be a stranger to Iron Man. “We have a great opportunity to create a new and unique story that we can call our own. Marvel is encouraging us to create something fresh,” Proulx said.

EA said the Iron Man game marks the beginning of its partnership with Marvel as it’s the first of several titles they’ll make together. Rumors suggest one of those is a Black Panther game.

Hertz is once again growing its EV fleet, announcing Tuesday that it has struck a deal with General Motors to purchase 175,000 electric vehicles from the automaker’s Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop brands over the next five years. Customers will see the first offerings, namely the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, arrive on Hertz lots beginning in the first quarter next year. 

The deal, which runs through 2027, will bring a wide variety of models to Hertz’s growing EV herd. Between now and 2027, the rental company expects its customers to drive about 8 billion miles in said EVs, preventing an estimated 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released. Hertz plans to convert a quarter of its rental fleet to battery electric by 2024. 

This news follows Hertz’s 65,000-vehicle order from Polestar in April, which the performance EV maker has already begun deliveries on. An earlier announcement in 2021 had many believing that Tesla would be supplying the Hertz fleet with 100,000 vehicles, worth an estimated $4.2 billion, was quickly kiboshed by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Hertz is already planning to rent 50,000 Tesla EVs to Uber drivers, which now operate in 25 North American cities, there’s no word on whether GM’s vehicles will be offered under similar terms.

For folks who are already in line, having ordered a GM EV and are waiting on delivery, don’t fret. This deal with Hertz shouldn’t impact your existing delivery date. “Our first priority is delivering vehicles to customers holding reservations,” a GM rep told Engadget via email Tuesday. “GM is installing capacity to meet demand from all customers, with annual capacity in North America rising to more than one million units in 2025.”

Charles Leclerc could effortlessly amass a fancy and expensive car collection with all those earnings, but which is the fairest (and costliest) of the lot?

The married Maroon 5 singer admitted he “crossed a line” but said he “did not have an affair” with Instagram influencer Sumner Stroh.