Its a big month for Pokémon, with February 27 marking 30 years since the worlds highest-grossing media franchise first introduced itself in the shape of two Game Boy games. Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, which later arrived in the West as Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, kicked off a craze in Japan that would soon spread worldwide. And to mark the series 30th anniversary, the little turn-based RPGs that started it all are being re-released on Nintendo Switch.
Well, sort of. The versions were actually getting are the Game Boy Advance remakes, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version, which originally came out in 2004. Explaining its decision to bring back the enhanced GBA titles rather than the originals, Nintendo said in an FAQ that it thought Switch owners would like the opportunity to revisit the "ultimate versions of the original Pokémon adventures in the Kanto region."
Get ready to relive the Kanto region Trainers, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version are coming to Nintendo Switch!Pre-order here:https://t.co/WzCCWh1fn8https://t.co/5SdXjg75is https://t.co/XVYS5wVZYp Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 20, 2026
These arent modern remakes or remasters. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen will look and play pretty much the same as they did in 2004, just on a far superior display, obviously. Theres no online play, but the original games local multiplayer features return via the Switchs built-in wireless features. If youre playing on Switch 2, you can also play using GameChat. Other than that, it doesnt sound like there are any notable differences between the Switch and Switch 2 versions.
In a move that might surprise some, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen wont be available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online GBA library. In fact you dont even need an NSO membership to play them. Instead, the games are being sold as standalone titles for $20 in the eShop. No physical release is planned outside of Japan. Nintendo added in its FAQ that there are no current plans for more old-school Virtual Console-style releases beyond these ones, with the company still committed to building out its NSO subscription offerings.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen will be available to buy after a Pokémon Presents showcase that will air next Friday, February 27 (the day of Pokémons 30th anniversary), at 9am ET. And if you need yet more Pokémon after that, Pokémon Pokopia, which is the series long-awaited stab at a cozy Animal Crossing-like, arrives on March 5.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/pokemon-firered-and-leafgreen-are-coming-to-switch-next-week-for-the-series-30th-anniversary-123505741.html?src=rss
Apple has lined up its first event of the year. Already! Its taking place in New York City on March 4 at 9AM ET, but the company hasnt confirmed if it will stream the media event.
It seems likely the event will be mainly iPads and MacBooks so business as usual. However, it could include new entry-level MacBooks in a fresh array of colors. I think thats what everyones reading into the lemon-and-lime tinged invitation.
Im very much up for a return of the colorful Mac. The first Mac I ever used was one of those bubbly orange iMacs, interning at a video-game magazine. Yes, a magazine.
Were also expecting a 2026 MacBook Air and refreshed 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips also breaking cover. Is it too early for an iPhone 17e? Perhaps. Well be reporting from the event.
And for those asking about yesterday's newsletter, thanks for your continued support and we'll have more to say soon.
Mat Smith
The other big stories (and deals) this morning
Metas metaverse is going mobile-first
Meta reportedly plans to release a smartwatch this year
Ring could be planning to expand Search Party feature beyond dogs
Netflixs first MMA livestream is coming in May
Rousey v. Carano.
Netflix is streaming its very first live MMA fight on May 16. The combatants are Ronda Rousey, (last match 2016) and Gina Carano (2009). The streamer has had to pluck fighters out of retirement because more contemporary stars are under contract with various promotional entities. The featherweight bout will take place inside a hexagon cage and stream globally hopefully, Netflix can keep its stream up. The fight is co-hosted by Most Valuable Productions, Jake Pauls production company. Because of course it is.
Continue reading.
The Pixel 10a is your next midrange Android phone
It launches March 5.
Engadget
The worst-kept secret in value-for-money phones remains Googles Pixel A series. In recent years, the Android phone series has offered a great balance of specs, hardware design and software features that embarrass most phones in the same price point. Its camera performance is often better than devices that cost several hundred dollars more.
Its more of the same with the Pixel 10a. For $500, you get a 6.3-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3,000 nits of peak brightness, 8GB of RAM and a 48MP main camera, paired with a 13MP ultra-wide. Also: No. Camera. Bump. Innovation for $500, right there.
Continue reading.
Dysons tiny PencilVac gets turned into a floorwasher
This is the PencilWash.
Engadget
I wont shut up about floor cleaning. Im 41. Dyson has crunched its wet-floor tech into the same cylindrical profile of its Penac. I like the size, but how does it clean? Ill hold judgment till Ive tried it.
$600 is a lot more than a mop. Yes, I know thats not the point.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-122534537.html?src=rss
Bixby isnt typically part of the conversation when it comes to virtual assistants for mobile devices, but Samsung is clearly hoping that you would use it more. The company has launched the latest version of Bixby with the new One UI 8.5 beta, and it has been tweaked to work as a conversational agent. Samsung says youll now be able to talk to it and give it tasks using natural language, like how youd talk to other people or, these days, to chatbots. You dont have to remember exact commands or names for specific settings. You can just describe what you want to happen, such as I dont want the screen to time out while Im still looking at it. Bixby will then automatically turn on the Keep Screen on While Viewing setting. If you ask it a question, such as Why is my phone screen always on when its inside my pocket, it could provide several solutions you can choose from. In addition, the assistant can now access new and up-to-date information on the web. You do searches without opening a browser, and Bixby will display web results right within its interface. At the moment, the updated Bixby is only available in Samsungs home country of Korea, as well as in Germany, India, Poland, the UK and the US, but company will roll it out more widely in the future. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-updates-bixby-to-become-more-conversational-112649179.html?src=rss
Google has announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, significantly down from 2.36 million in 2024. The lower numbers this year, it said, are because its "AI-powered, multi-layer protections" are deterring bad actors from even trying to publish bad apps.
Google said it now runs more than 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues to recheck them after they're published. Its use of the latest generative AI models helps human reviewers discover malicious patterns more quickly, it added. The company also blocked 160 million spam ratings, preventing an average 0.5-star rating drop for apps targeted by review bombing. Finally, Google stopped 255,000 apps from gaining excessive access to sensitive user data in 2025, down from 1.3 million the year before.
Meanwhile, Google Play Protect, the company's Android defense system, sniffed out over 27 million new malicious apps, either warning users or preventing them from running. The company added that Play Protect's enhanced fraud protection now covers 2.8 billion Android devices in 185 markets and blocked 266 million risky "side-loading" installation attempts.
"Initiatives like developer verification, mandatory pre-review checks, and testing requirements have raised the bar for the Google Play ecosystem, significantly reducing the paths for bad actors to enter," the company said its blog. "This year, well continue to invest in AI-driven defenses to stay ahead of emerging threats and equip Android developers with the tools they need to build apps safely."
Google has steadfastly justified its relatively high fees on app purchases and subscriptions by touting its investments in app safety. However, its Play store has been under pressure from regulators in Europe and other regions that claim it amounts to a monopoly. Last year, the company changed its fee structure for developers using alternative payment channels, but EU regulators recently claimed the company still isn't complying with Digital Markets Act regulations. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-play-used-ai-to-help-block-175-million-bad-apps-in-2025-102208054.html?src=rss
Blizzard Entertainment has finally launched player housing in World of Warcraft (a feature its community had been requesting for decades), and Zillow is jumping in with a playful crossover. Zillow for Warcraft is a custom microsite that lets anyone browse a curated collection of in-game homes from the fantasy realm of Azeroth, complete with 3D tours and aerial-style visuals modeled on Zillow's real-world tools. Listings range from Stormwind townhouses to Horde-influenced bungalows, and the site will continue adding player-created homes over time.For Blizzard, the partnership lends its new housing feature cultural legitimacy beyond the gaming bubble. For Zillow, it's an entry point into one of the most loyal digital communities on earth, arriving at the precise moment players are most excited about making a space their own. The meaning transfer runs both ways: World of Warcraft channels its fandom's creative energy toward Zillow, while Zillow confers "home legitimacy" on virtual housing. If Zillow becomes synonymous with envisioning your future home whether that home is suburban, urban, or virtual the brand equity compounds across realities.TREND BITEAs the boundaries between physical and digital worlds dissolve, people are increasingly eager to play at the seams, exploring moments where the real and the imagined overlap. This collaboration works because it invites exactly that kind of play: browsing fantasy homes with real-world tools, treating a digital realm with the same aspirational energy usually reserved for Sunday afternoon Zillow scrolling. The takeaway for other brands? Don't just parachute into fantasy spaces. Instead, consider crafting singular moments that have one foot in the real and one in the constructed experiences that feel native to both worlds and forced in neither.
Formula 1 has been receiving star treatment from Apple for awhile, and now the racing series will literally be getting even bigger. Apple is partnering with IMAX to show five races from the 2026 season. The Miami Grand Prix on May 3, the Monaco Grand Prix on June 7, the British Grand Prix on July 5, the Italian Grand Prix on September 6 and the United States Grand Prix on October 25 will be aired live at select IMAX theaters in the US. Apple landed a five-year deal for the US broadcast rights to Formula 1 last fall and there's already a dedicated channel for the car races on Apple TV ahead of the season's start. It also got the rights for a splashy feature film about the racing league, which amassed more than $630 million at the global box office, including with some IMAX screenings. It's unclear if IMAX will be paying to host more live F1 races at its theaters in future years, but it should be a fun way for fans to get the most immersive experience possible short of actually attending the racetrack.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/apple-inks-deal-for-imax-screenings-of-live-formula-1-races-234003582.html?src=rss
Meta is formally sectioning off Horizon Worlds, the closest thing it has to a metaverse, from its Quest VR platform, according to a new blog post from Samantha Ryan, Meta's VP of Content, Reality Labs. While the decision runs counter to Meta's original plan to own an immersive virtual world that could serve as the future home for all online interaction, it fits with the recent cuts it made to its costly Reality Labs division, and Mark Zuckerberg's public commitment to focus the company on AI hardware like smart glasses going forward. "Were explicitly separating our Quest VR platform from our Worlds platform in order to create more space for both products to grow," Ryan writes in the blog post. "Were doubling down on the VR developer ecosystem while shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile. By breaking things down into two distinct platforms, well be better able to clearly focus on each."Meta has been developing mobile and web versions of Horizon Worlds in parallel with its VR app since at least 2023. Switching Worlds to being a mobile-first software platform isn't good for VR diehards, but it does make it a more natural competitor to something like Roblox or Fortnite, which also offer user-created and monetizable worlds and games. It's also a business Meta believes it can more easily scale because of its ability to connect games to "billions of people on the worlds biggest social networks."While Meta shuttered several of its own VR game studios earlier this year, it still wants to support third-party developers publishing games on its platform. The company says new monetization tools, better discoverability, a "Deals" tab and more ways for developers to talk to their customers should help make a difference. Maintaining the Quest's library of games could also be critical going forward. Business Insider reported in December 2025 that Meta was working on a gaming-focused Quest headset, and Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth confirmed earlier this February that the company still had multiple Quest devices on its roadmap.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/metas-metaverse-is-going-mobile-first-233030532.html?src=rss
Slay the Spire 2 will launch in early access next month. This sequel to the hugely popular 2019 roguelike deckbuilder hits early access on Steam beginning March 5, 2026. Along with releasing the teaser trailer above, developer Mega Crit shared some details about its goals for this phase ahead of the game's official release."Slay the Spire requires a lot of player feedback so we can balance content, add quality of life features, and make sure the game runs without issues," the developers explained. "Early Access is also a chance for us to test experimental features, try exotic designs, identify niche problems, and helps us make sure the game is headed in the right direction." Slay the Spire 2 is expected to be in early access for a year or two, or more generally "until the game feels great."Mega Crit has also revealed that it will be introducing a new co-op mode where up to four people can team up. This gameplay option will feature some unique cards just for multiplayer as well as some team-wide synergies. Some of the characters from Slay the Spire will be returning for the sequel alongside new ones. For anyone who hasn't yet experienced the original game, Slay the Spire is available on iOS, including as part of Apple Arcade. It's also on consoles and PC. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/slay-the-spire-2-will-enter-early-access-on-march-5-210338514.html?src=rss
Sony is closing Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls remakes, Bloomberg reports. Bluepoint's last major project was God of War: Ragnarok from 2022, which it co-developed with Sony Santa Monica. According to Bloomberg, Sony decided to shut down the studio following "a recent business review." Around 70 employees will lose their jobs as part of the studio closure, which will officially happen in March. "Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community," Sony said in a statement to Bloomberg. "We thank them for their passion, creativity and craftmanship."Following their work on Ragnarok, Bluepoint was reportedly tasked with developing a live-service game set in the God of War universe. That title was cancelled in 2025, alongside another game from Bend Studio. In the context of Sony's other live-service failures, the decision wasn't surprising. Sony shut down the servers for multiplayer shooter Concord just two weeks after its release. Not long after, it also closed Firewalk Studios, the developer behind the game.Bluepoint Games was originally acquired by Sony in 2021, when it seemed like the studio's expertise in remaking and remastering classic PlayStation games could be a major asset going forward. Why that changed isn't entirely clear, but Sony's mismanagement of its pivot into and out of publishing premium online multiplayer games may have played a role. Some of Sony's studios are still experimenting with live-service mechanics. Guerilla Games recently announced an online co-op game set in its Horizon universe. Destiny 2 developer Bungie is also releasing its extraction shooter Marathon in March. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-is-shutting-down-the-studio-behind-the-demons-souls-remake-195234213.html?src=rss
Meta is shutting down the standalone Messenger website, according to a company help page. The website will disappear in April, though web users will still be able to send and receive messages within Facebook.
"After messenger.com goes away, you will be automatically redirected to use facebook.com/messages for messaging on a computer," the help page reads. "You can continue your conversations there or on the Messenger mobile app."
Users will be able to restore their chat history after switching to the app by entering a PIN number. This is the same PIN that was used to initially create a backup on Messenger. It can be reset for those who simply don't have the bandwidth to remember yet another six-digit code.
Many users have expressed discontent over the decision to shut down the standalone website, according to a report by TechCrunch. This is particularly true for those who have deactivated their Facebook accounts but continued to use Messenger.
This comes just a few months after Meta shut down Messenger's standalone desktop apps. At that time, Meta directed existing users to Facebook to continue using the service and not the dedicated Messenger website. In other words, the writing has likely been on the wall since October.
Messenger has had a long and storied history. The platform first launched as Facebook Chat all the way back in 2008. Facebook Messenger became a standalone app in 2011. The company has long-tried to make Messenger a thing outside of Facebook. It removed messaging capabilities from the main Facebook app in 2014 and began directing users to the Messenger app. Meta began reintegrating Messenger back into the Facebook app in 2023 and now here we are.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/meta-is-shuttering-messengers-standalone-website-which-is-a-thing-that-exists-191808134.html?src=rss
