Hasta La Gadget!

“He has a point,” the game show later said on social media.

As the Super Bowl approaches, Airbnb rival Vrbo announced its use of “unauthorized event prevention technology,” algorithms that try to avoid house parties at rental properties. Similar to a credit system, the tech generates a risk score for each booking, giving hosts a chance to call it off.

The Expedia-owned company will score renters based on their length of stay, lead time, number of guests and other factors. Vrbo is careful to add that it doesn’t use demographical information (race, sex, gender, age and so on) to evaluate risk. If a renter triggers a warning, Vrbo sends the host an email alert, giving them the option to cancel without a penalty; guests also receive a message reminding them of the policy.

Although Vrbo is rolling out the new system nationally, it recently conducted a yearlong pilot test in the Phoenix area, where Super Bowl LVII takes place on February 12th. The trial allegedly prevented over 500 unauthorized bookings in the US, saving hosts $2.5 million in cleanup and repairs. Vrbo will also restrict same-day bookings, team up with noise-monitoring and neighborhood watch services and share data with Airbnb about troublesome renters.

The new system will automatically apply to all US bookings. Vrbo says fewer than 0.25 percent of all weekend bookings in the US have led to party-related complaints.

Peacock has stopped offerings its free tier to new customers. As first reported by The Streamable, potential subscribers who visit Peacock’s website will now only see two ways to access the platform: Peacock Premium and Premium Plus. Either way, if you’re new to Peacock, you’ll need to pay to access the service’s library of content. The free tier still exists but is only available to current users who cancel their Premium subscription or those who had access to one of the paid tiers for free — for example, Cox internet customers. 

A Peacock spokesperson told Engadget the move is reflective of a strategy shift within NBCUniversal. The company believes Peacock’s paid tiers are the best way to experience what the service has to offer. By the end of the year, Peacock Premium will offer more than 100,000 hours of content for subscribers to watch, including live sports content from the Premier League and Women’s World Cup, as well as next-day streaming of Bravo shows and originals like Bel-Air. The platform’s subscriber total grew to 20 million in 2022, up from 9 million the year before. However, Peacock has yet to generate a profit for NBCUniversal owner Comcast. The company expects the service to start inching toward profitability in 2024. Presumably, it hopes to accelerate that timeline by doubling down on Peacock’s Premium tiers. 

To make up for the removal, Peacock is offering a promotion to new subscribers. You can get an annual subscription to the ad-supported Premium tier for $30, down from $50 normally. 

Update 5:45PM ET: Added context from NBCUniversal. 

If your Apple Watch is having problems or you’d just like to wipe it clean and start over again, it’s easy to do. Get your watch back to the factory defaults.

343 Industries and Halo may be here to stay despite Microsoft’s mass layoffs, but that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual for the franchise. Bloombergsources claim 343 is effectively restarting Halo development between multiple changes that include the loss of “at least” 95 jobs, including directors and key contractors. Notably, the studio is reportedly switching to Epic’s Unreal Engine after both a leadership shuffle and struggling with its aging in-house platform (Slipspace) — it’s even breaking from its familiar story-driven gameplay, according to the tipsters.

The 343 team is understood to be using Unreal for an unannounced game, nicknamed “Tatanka,” developed with the help of long-time ally Certain Affinity. It was originally built as a battle royale title but might “evolve” into other forms, the sources say. While some at 343 are supposedly worried Unreal might affect how Halo feels to play, Slipspace’s glitches and hard-to-use tech have apparently held back multiplayer features in Halo Infinite that include past favorites like Assault and Extraction.

Many of the laid off workers were crafting game prototypes in Unreal rather than producing new missions for Halo Infinite, Bloomberg says. 343 had considered switching engines for the past decade, the insiders claim, but it wasn’t until studio lead Bonnie Ross and engine overseer David Berger left in late 2022 that the company committed to the change. Pierre Hintze, who replaced Ross, is said to have focused the company on “greenlighting” new tech while expanding Infinite.

Microsoft has declined to comment. A revamped strategy wouldn’t be surprising even without layoffs. While Infinite was well-received on launch, delayed modes, seasons and even a cancelled split-screen mode haven’t helped its reputation. 343 has also played a role in some of the Halo series’ less-than-stellar projects, including the problematic Halo: Master Chief Collection and offshoots like Halo Wars 2. A fresh start isn’t guaranteed to reinvigorate the sci-fi shooter, but it may address lingering concerns.