Simone Biles Details Bad Botox Experience That Stopped Her From Getting the Cosmetic Procedure

Simone Biles Reveals Why She's "Not Doing" Botox Ever Again

Simone Biles is not flipping over a cosmetic procedure she had done earlier this year.

The Olympian shared a negative experience she had with Botox after getting the injections done for her 27th birthday in March.

“I did not like it,” Simone confessed in a video posted to TikTok Aug. 2. “I haven’t got it again”

As for why the gold medalist wasn’t a fan? She recalled a “funny story” about one of the side effects of the procedure, which consists of injecting a prescription drug called botulinum toxin into facial muscles to temporarily prevent them from moving, according to Mayo Clinic.

“I would be standing at practice and then my eyebrow would be slowly going up like this,” she explained while noticeably arching her right eyebrow. “[My teammate] would be like ‘Simone, your eyebrow’s doing it again!’ I’m like, ‘I feel it.’ I couldn…

Mary Lou Retton Tears Up Over Inspirational Messages From Her 1984 Olympic Teammates

Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Addresses Health Battle

For Mary Lou Retton, the 1984 Olympics yielded a sisterhood that has lasted 40 years.

So the gold medalist could not help but be moved to tears when she was surprised with a special videotaped message from all five of her former teammates—Michelle Dusserre, 55, Pam Bileck, 55, Tracee Talavera, 57, Julianne McNamara, 58, and Kathy Johnson, 64—on the Kelly Clarkson Show July 25.

Dusserre said she was glad Retton, who was hospitalized last fall with a rare form of pneumonia, was feeling better, adding, "Keep getting better."

Johnson, meanwhile, told Retton, "We have your back. Always have, always will. You got this."

As for how Retton, 56, reacted to the moment? Emotional, the retired gymnast called the video "so special."

Of course, this isn’t …

Laneige Is 30% Off Post-Prime Day in Case You Missed Picks From Alix Earle, Sydney Sweeney & More Celebs

E! Illustration; Photos Courtesy of Rich Polk/NBC, Todd Williamson/NBC, Charles Sykes/Bravo

We shared these celebrity-chosen items because we think you'll like their picks at these prices. Some of the products shown are from a brand they are paid to endorse. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links.  Some of the brands featured in this article are partners of Amazon's Creator Connections program, which means E! may make an increased commission on your purchase if you buy something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. Prices are accurate as of publish time.

If you are having post-Prime Day regrets, I totally understand. There are so many products I wish I bought this year, but I hesitated and missed the discounts. Thankfully, there's still a chance to save 30% on celeb-loved Laneige beauty products.

If you're looking to shop like a star, don’t miss these …

The Apprentice Film Is a Subtle Act of Resistance

Documentaries aside, few American filmmakers will attempt making any sort of overt political statement these days. If your money is coming from a streamer or a larger studio, forget it. Gone, long gone, are the days a Francis Ford Coppola or an Alan Pakula might venture to make a picture like The Conversation or All the President’s Men. Even Jonathan Demme’s remake of John Frankenheimer’s great 1962 political chiller The Manchurian Candidate is now 20 years old, though both films have turned out to more prescient than anyone would have believed two decades ago, or six—you could consider them quasi-documentaries.

Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, which premiered here in Cannes on May 20, arrives at just the right time. And if it isn’t a great movie, it’s at least a fascinating and thoughtful one, an even-handed film that doesn’t need to resort to extremes to paint an accurate picture of what America and the world are up against right…

2024 Paris Olympics- You'll Want to Stand and Cheer for These Candid Photos

2024 Olympics: Jimmy Fallon Reveals How He's Preparing to Host the Closing Ceremony

Give these athletes a perfect 10 for having a ball.

As the 2024 Summer Olympics kick off July 26 on NBC and Peacock, all your favorite Olympians from around the world have descended upon Paris to find out who will be taking home a gold medal for their country.

But it's not just all about competition, as there's plenty of fun to be had across the 39 sports and 329 events taking place from now until August 11.

When it comes to the sweetest candid moments, Team USA's gymnasts, including Simone BilesSuni LeeJade CareyJordan ChilesHezly Rivera, and traveling alternates Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson, have already been sharing hugs and laughs while supporting each other as they prepare for the grueling weeks of competition.

The Truth About Olympic Village’s Air Conditioning Ban

2024 Olympics: Meet the Couples Competing at the Paris Games

The 2024 Olympics are going to get steamy—and not because of the cardboard beds.

When it was announced the Olympic Village at the Paris Games wouldn’t have air conditioning (instead using water pipes in the floors to keep things cool), countries quickly expressed their outcry on behalf of their teams.

So to prevent a heated situation—and to not leave visiting athletes at the mercy of the summer heat, which broke records in France last year—the Paris organizers partially conceded and allowed countries to purchase window units for their athletes.

The result was swift: back in April, Euro News reported that 2,500 units had been ordered, with the numbers only increasing in the months since.

And during a June 21 briefing, CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Sarah Hirschland confirmed the American Olympic teams would be among those getting cooled off by their…

Taylor Swift's Alleged Stalker, Accused of Threatening Travis Kelce, Arrested at Germany Eras Tour

Taylor Swift’s Alleged Stalker, Accused of Threatening Travis Kelce, Arrested at Germany Eras Tour

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are shaking off this scary situation.

Just before Swift’s Eras Tour concert in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, July 17, an American man—who has allegedly made threats against the “Karma” singer and her Kansas City Chiefs player boyfriend on social media—was arrested, authorities told the Associated Press

The 34-year-old man, whose name was not shared, had a ticket to Taylor’s July 17 show at the Veltins-Arena. He was arrested upon his entry into the stadium, as authorities noted they could not ascertain risk upon an initial investigation. Police informed the Associated Press that the man was detained “following tips from organizers of the event.”

A local court ordered for the man to remain in custody for the entire duration of Swift’s Eras Tour residency in the city a…

Gabourey Sidibe Shares Sweet Photo of Her 4-Month-Old Twin Babies

Gabourey Sidibe Shares Sweet New Photo of Her 4-Month-Old Twin Babies

Gabourey Sidibe is living a double life. 

After all, the Precious star became a mom of two after welcoming twins Maya and Cooper with husband Brandon Frankel in April. And she recently gave an update on navigating life with the 4-month-olds. 

In an Aug. 1 Instagram photo, the 41-year-old snapped her babies lounging in bouncer chairs with The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton opened to its title page, adding, “Story Time” with a heart eye emoji in the caption. 

And while Gabourey and her husband of three years expanded their family in the spring, they only revealed the exciting news of their birth in June. 

“Our babies arrived in April and brought so much life and excitement into our existence,” the Empire actress wrote in a June 8 Instagram post alongside an adorable family …

Shannon Beador Breaks Silence on Her Ex John Janssen and Costar Alexis Bellino's Engagement Plans

Shannon Beador BREAKS SILENCE on DUI Sentencing

Shannon Beador isn't surprised her ex-boyfriend John Janssen plans to marry her Real Housewives of Orange County costar Alexis Bellino after less than a year of dating.

"That's John Janssen," Shannon exclusively told E! News. "At two weeks, he said I was his person and his future, so they're following the John Janssen course. I didn't get a ring, but I thought right away that I was going to spend the rest of my life with John. He moves very quickly."

However, the Bravo star—who split with the businessman in 2022—after three years of dating, isn't bothered by the couple's fast-track path to an engagement.

"Good for them, be happy," Shannon added. "From the outside looking in, it looks to me that there are ulterior motives on both sides for them to be in a relationship, so we'll s…

Ryan Gosling’s Full Statement on Oscars Nomination

Ryan Gosling released a strongly-worded statement in response to what may be the most controversial snubbing of the 2024 Oscar nominations.

Gosling, who played the role of Ken in last summer’s box-office blockbuster Barbie, was nominated for best supporting actor at the Academy Awards. But neither director Greta Gerwig nor star Margot Robbie, who together brought the doll to life and were each nominees at both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this month, received a nod in their respective categories.

Read More: The Internet Has Thoughts on Ken Getting an Oscar Nomination Over Barbie

Gosling expressed his delight for his own recognition and disappointment for his colleagues in a statement late Tuesday.

Ryan Gosling’s full statement

“I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films. And I never thought I’d being saying …

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Lea Michele Reveals Gender of Baby No. 2!

The Chanels are back in action.

It was one for the books as Lea Michele gave a glimpse into her Hamptons reunion with Scream Queens costar Emma Roberts.

The Glee alum posted a slew of photo to Instagram July 12 showing off her "Hamptons summer," and included a sweet pic with Emma. In the image, Lea could be seen showing off her pregnant belly in a fitted beige dress, paired with gold jewelry and a black purse. As for Emma, the American Horror Story star kept it casual in a striped blue and white button down tucked into blue jeans. She finished off her look with a simple necklace and cat eye sunglasses.

Emma, 33, and Lea, 37—who costarred on the Ryan Murphy show from 2015 to 2016—have often gotten together in the years following the show's cancellation.

In fact, Emma—who shares son Rhodes

Splash Into Summer With Lands’ End 40% off Sitewide & 75% off Clearance Sale on Swimwear, Coverups & More

Courtesy of Lands' End

We independently selected these deals and products because we love them, and we think you might like them at these prices. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. Prices are accurate as of publish time.

Summer's in full effect, and it's time to snag those Insta-worthy swimsuits! But first, finding the perfect swimwear can be tricky. You obviously want something that makes you feel fab and confident. Plus, a great deal never hurts, right? Enter the Lands' End Summer Clearance Sale. From now until July 24th, score 40% off most full price styles, up to 75% off most sale and clearance styles online, in-store, or by phone, plus free shipping on orders over $99 by using code CLASSIC. Stylish and affordable swimwear? Yes, please!

Lands' End has it all—tops, bottoms, one-pieces, tankinis, swim s…

Taylor Swift's BFF Abigail Anderson Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Charles Berard

Ryan Reynolds Jokes Nanny Taylor Swift Is Costing Him a Fortune

You should see your faces…

Because Taylor Swift’s childhood BFF Abigail Anderson Berard is pregnant with her and husband Charles Berard’s first child. And naturally, Abigail channeled Taylor for the special announcement.

In an homage to “But Daddy I Love Him” off The Tortured Poets Department, Abigail captioned her July 24 Instagram post, “I’m having his babyyy…”

But while the next line of Taylor’s song says, “No, I’m not”—yes, Abigail is. After all, her growing baby bump is out and proud in her post, which features the 34-year-old snacking on some Cheez-Its.

And Taylor herself was quick to comment on the iconic photo. "When the internet says 'MOTHER,'" the 34-year-old wrote on Abigail's post, "I feel like this pic is actually what they mean."

A blue heart in t…

Shawn Johnson Reveals 4-Year-Old Daughter Drew's Super Sweet Nickname for Simone Biles

2024 Olympics: Simone Biles Wins Gold at Gymnastics All-Around Final

What's in a name? Would a GOAT by any other name dominate so hard?

Well, yes, of course. But if Simone Biles is in the market for a new nickname, Shawn Johnson East's 4-year-old daughter Drew has a suggestion. 

While watching the women's gymnastics' individual all-around competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, "She kept asking, 'Mama, where's The Best?'" Shawn revealed in an exclusive interview with E! News. "And it's because I kept talking about Simone, how she's the best. So instead of calling her Simone, she's like, 'Mama, where's The Best?'" 

And though the gymnast—who nabbed a gold medal and three silvers while competing at the 2008 Games in Beijing—admitted she wasn't sure if her eldest "would last two minutes, 10 minutes or the whole ti…

Save 75% on Lands' End, 70% on Kate Spade, 60% on Beyond Yoga, 60% on Wayfair & Today's Best Deals

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We independently selected these deals and products because we love them, and we think you might like them at these prices. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. Prices are accurate as of publish time.

I've got you covered with the best deals and sales of the day! After digging through hundreds of sites this morning, I’ve put together a list of the ultimate bargains just for you. My goal? To save you time and money on the products you love.

From beauty products and stylish outfits to home essentials, today's top deals have something for everyone. These handpicked offers are too good to miss, so sit back, relax, and get ready to snag some amazing savings!

E! Shopping Editor Picks

  • Michael Kors: Take an EXTRA 20% off Michael…

The Story Behind Netflix’s 7M Docuseries

Almost every internet personality creating content on social media has the same goal: become a TikTok star by making posts that hopefully go viral and earn money. The major challenge facing all of them is figuring out how to sustain that popularity and translate it into a prosperous career. That’s where management companies come in—they play a part by helping creators devise posting plans and finding publicity opportunities. At least, that’s what they are supposed to do.

The documentary series Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, now streaming on Netflix, traces the formation of the management company 7M Films by founder, Robert Shinn, who is also a Shekinah church pastor. Over three episodes, Dancing for the Devil reveals claims from multiple former 7M members about how Shinn abused and manipulated them and created a cult-like environment.

The series largely focuses on the stories of two different pairs of sisters who worked with Shinn—t…

Shoko Miyata, Japanese Gymnastics Team Captain, to Miss 2024 Olympics for Smoking Violation

Simone Biles Explains Olympics Withdrawal: "I Didn't Quit"

Shoko Miyata won’t be landing any moves in France.

One week before the 2024 Paris Olympics begin, the captain of Team Japan’s women’s gymnastics squad will no longer compete after violating the team’s code of conduct by smoking at their training camp in Monaco.

"With her confirmation and after discussions on all sides,” Japan Gymnastics Association secretary general Kenji Nishimura told reporters at a media conference in Tokyo July 19, per the BBC, “it has been decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics.”

The JGA confirmed that the 19-year-old’s removal from the event would mean that four athletes would compete instead of five. The association’s president Tadashi Fujita added, with a deep bow, “We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this.”

Shoko had proven her talent in the sport, winning …

Paris Olympics- Why Fries and Avocados Are Banned in the Olympic Village

How to Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics: Everything You Need to Know

Athletes will have to say au revoir to a few foods during their visit to France.

With the 2024 Olympics in full swing, competitors staying in the Olympic Village won’t be finding some specific foods, including french fries and avocados. But the ban isn’t just a random policy to deprive competitors of guacamolé or their side of fries.

“French fries are too risky because of fire-hazard concerns over deep-fat fryers,” Charles Guilloy, one of the village’s chefs in charge, told The New York Times in March. “No to foie gras because animal well-being is on everyone’s mind, and no to avocados because they are imported from a great distance and consume a lot of water.”

For Charles and fellow chef Stéphane Chicheri, the Olympic Games’ carbon footprint played a major role in the menu. But it doesn’t mean the athletes won’t have en…

The Internet Stars in Abbott Elementary

The latest season of Abbott Elementary is filled with guest appearances from internet stars. Since it premiered in 2021, the Emmy-winning workplace sitcom, set at an underfunded Philadelphia public school, has consistently woven internet culture into its plots—and the show’s lightning-fast, blink-or-you’ll-miss-it jokes routinely go viral online. It makes sense given that Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson got her start in comedy making videos online, producing series for BuzzFeed and other platforms that are now cemented in internet culture lexicon.

Now, familiar faces from TikTok and YouTube videos are getting their moment to shine on a traditional sitcom. See the viral stars who have made appearances on Abbott Elementary below.

Quinta Brunson

Quinta Brunson was regularly featured in videos across BuzzFeed’s different channels before breaking off to work on her own projects that she pitched to d…

The Story Behind Black Barbie

Wednesday marks Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the day enslaved people in Texas first learned of their emancipation. It’s an occasion for Americans to reflect on how much progress has been made since that day in 1865, while also acknowledging how much work there is left to do. One area for reflection is to consider how Black people are represented in American culture

A Netflix documentary called Black Barbie, to be released Juneteenth (June 19), hopes to playfully jumpstart those conversations.

The film examines the creation of the first Black Barbie doll in 1980 and features Black celebrities who had Barbie dolls made in their likeness. They include television mogul Shonda Rhimes, who is the film’s producer, ballet star Misty Copeland, and Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who all talk about what it took to break barriers in their own fields. Psychology experts also weigh in on why it’s so important for Black children to be able to choose f…

Black Desert asks the question- What if we made an MMO expansion and didn’t invite any monsters–

Black Desert Online has been around since 2014, and has been enchanting players with its limitless progression, fighting-game style combat, and gigantic roster of playable classes. There’s no level limit—once you hit the ‘soft cap’ of 62, experience gain slows to a crawl, but it’s still there. In the last decade the studio has released updates that focus on PvP, PvE, and PvT. 

(That’s player versus tree. There’s so much crafting.)

What the studio hasn’t done, however, is release an expansion focused more on story than on having tons of monsters to grind. Until now.

Land of the Morning Light is the new update for BDO, out June 14. It features a brand new continent, found far to the northwest of the lands currently occupied by heroes grinding just a few more blood wolves before bedtime. It’s inspired heavily by Korean myths and medieval culture, and developer Pearl Abyss hopes that global players who’ve been exposed to more Korean media o…

‘RPG shooter’ Witchfire comes to Steam, and after a year of early access on Epic it’s finally turning into the game I always wanted it to be


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Ara- History Untold review – A thin but accessible 4X that’s not a threat to Civ’s crown

George Washington and I go way back—around three millennia, give or take a hundred years. He may have been Buddhist while my Korean people were devoted to the pantheon of Hellenic gods, but we traded goods and propelled each other’s research, arriving in Ara: History Untold’s Era of Antiquity with the world at our feet.

One of our projects was to build a great road between our capitals, but the Ethiopians—whose territory this road was to pass through—refused us access. So George and I flattened Addis Ababa to make way for our old-world trade highway. All was wonderful, but over the centuries our two territories came to fill the void left behind by Ethiopia. We eventually came to share a border and, in a tale as old as Sid Meier, were doomed to become rivals; it was just a question of who would make the land grab first. What George didn’t know is that I’ve been playing 4X games since the original Civilization, and by the time he declared war, my mangonels we…

A singleplayer Dead by Daylight game is coming from the makers of The Dark Pictures Anthology-

The long-running multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight is about to move into the singleplayer realm courtesy of a new project in development at Supermassive Games, the developer of Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry.

Details on the Supermassive project won’t be announced until later this year, but Dead by Daylight studio Behaviour Interactive said it “will offer players an intense narrative experience filled with powerful life-or-death choices set within the backdrop of Dead by Daylight.”

“We’ve been working hard to blend intention, agency, and the branching storytelling of a Supermassive game together with Dead by Daylight’s mythology to create an intense narrative experience filled with power life-or-death choices,” executive producer Traci Tufte said during today’s Year 7 anniversary broadcast. “Our game will be set outside the Entity’s realm and features the story of a new cast of characters, who players will follow for an unprecedent…

ASRock heard you like AMD X670 mobos, so it turned a B650 into an X670 with an add-in card-

The quirky cats at Asrock have come up with another offbeat idea. Adding a second chipset to an AMD motherboard via a PCIe add-in card. Yup, really. The starting point is an ASRock B650 LiveMixer board to which a second AM5-spec chipset is added to the setup using an extra board adapter. Genius, right? Kinda.

Numerous caveats ensue, and ultimately this is a recipe for spending more money that you would have on the X670 motherboard in the first place, only to have the X670 chipset bit hobbled by the PCIe interface. But hold that thought. 

As Level1Techs explain, the whole idea hinges on the fact that the AMD AM5 platform can support multiple chipsets either directly connected to the CPU or via daisychaining. That’s how it differentiates between X670 and B650 motherboards, one has two chipsets dies and the budget version just one. So, ASRock decided to add a second chipset via a PCIe add-in card.

The X670 expansion kit comprises an add-in board with dual quad-la…

Apex Legends hits all-time player count peak on PC following team deathmatch update, free hero giveaway-

As spotted by Kotaku, Apex Legends surpassed its all-time peak Steam player count on February 15, logging 610,433 concurrent gamers and blowing away its previous high of 510,000 last August. This milestone comes in the midst of a beefy four-year anniversary update to the game that added a new class system to organize its heroes, a team deathmatch mode, and free hero giveaways.

The new class system is probably the biggest long-term change to Apex. The preexisting heroes have been organized into team roles in a similar fashion to Overwatch, and the new archetypes confer additional bonuses to their respective heroes. There’s a full breakdown in Apex Legends’ Revelry patch notes, but the new classes are as follows:

  • Assault: More ammo per stack, can access “red bins.” Bangalore, Ash, Fuse, Mad Maggie, Revenant
  • Skirmisher: Can reveal care packages. Wraith, Valkyrie, Octane, Horizon, Mirage, Pathfinder
  • Recon

Baldur’s Gate 3 used intimacy coordinators for sex scenes- ‘I never felt ‘yuck’ in a recording session at all,’ says actor-

When we talk about videogames taking cues from Hollywood, it’s normally a reference to bombastic cinematics or a stacked cameo cast, not really behind the scenes staff. That’s the case for Baldur’s Gate 3 though, which used intimacy coordinators—professional advocates for actors appearing in explicit scenes—to help manage production of its romances between characters.

As we’ve already seen, Baldur’s Gate 3 romances can get quite spicy, and Larian used motion capture with actors to create its cinematics, as seen in a cinematics explainer video from a couple years ago. There was lots of combat and conversation to capture, but also sex. Thus the professionals that Larian called in.

According to SAG-AFTRA, “an intimacy coordinator is an advocate, a liaison between actors and production, and a movement coach and/or choreographer in regards to nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes.”

Unlike movies and TV, moc…

Baldur’s Gate 3 dev says it’s Larian’s philosophy to ‘fuel and reward’ player creativity- ‘They found a way to exploit the game, let them have it, it’s awesome’-

At a games conference in Sofia, Bulgaria earlier this year, Larian gameplay scripter Mihail Kostov gave a presentation outlining the philosophies and strategies the studio employs to ensure games like Baldur’s Gate 3 stay playable even as players are actively tearing them apart. Recently made public on YouTube (via GamesRadar), Kostov’s talk explains how Larian addresses “edge cases”—times when “player action may push a system to the extreme”—with solutions that reward, rather than stifle, creativity.

We’ve written about the near-absurd depth of contingencies Baldur’s Gate 3 has in place to account for player chaos, like its roster of purpose-built backup NPCs who stand ready to replace any plot-relevant characters you might murder (and replacements for those replacements). While every developer designs with edge cases in mind, Kostov says Larian likes to “draw the line further out.”

Larian goes to such lengths to accommodate edge cases because,…

Bandai Namco officially announces Bryan Fury for Tekken 8, after accidentally announcing Bryan Fury for Tekken 8-

Bryan Fury is coming to Tekken 8, Bandai Namco has revealed. Twice.

Everyone’s favourite deranged zombie cyborg was confirmed for Tekken 8’s character roster at this year’s Combo Breaker fighting tournament, held over the weekend. The announcement came in the form of a trailer, viewable above, with the tagline “A wildcard for violence and destruction”.

The announcement didn’t go entirely smoothly, however. As reported by VGC, the trailer was apparently posted to an official Instagram account earlier than intended, left up long enough to start circulating among YouTube channels before being pulled offline.

Tekken producer Michael Murray issued an apology for the premature reveal on Twitter, stating “I apologise to fans who saw that particular thing in not the way @Harada_Tekken and I had wanted it to happen,” Murray added. “I feel bad for all you guys.”

According to VGC, Tekken 8’s director Katsuhiro Harada also commented on the leak in a subsequently deleted …

Baldur’s Gate 3 was so big that Larian has developed a ‘Simpsons did it’ problem- ‘Whenever we’re talking about things, we say we did that in BG3’-

Larian is following up Baldur’s Gate 3 with not one but two new RPGs. And, unsurprisingly, they’ll likely be big ‘uns. That’s just Larian’s style, but it does come with some problems, especially when they’re following a game as massive and elaborate as Baldur’s Gate 3. 

One of the challenges inherent in following up a massive RPG with more beefy RPGs is finding original ideas to fill them with. Chatting with writing director Adam Smith for Baldur’s Gate 3’s first anniversary (check out the full interview on Larian’s past, present and future), he tells me that this is an issue Larian’s currently bumping up against. 

“One of the biggest problems we have now is that whenever we’re talking about things, we say we did that in BG3,” says Smith. “And it turns out, we did a lot of things in BG3 when we think back to it.” It’s the classic ‘Simpsons did it’ problem. 

This isn’t a new concern for Larian, though. The first Divinity: Original Sin was also pretty …

Baldur’s Gate 3 player finds an edge case the game doesn’t account for- Reverse-pickpocketing a dead wizard into the devil’s inventory like a Trojan nuke-

Baldur’s Gate 3 has choices—oodles of ’em. Choices that Larian’s accounted for, for the most part. In my recent playthrough, instead of taking a certain character to a certain body for a story quest, I picked up the corpse and dumped it back in camp like a cat bringing their owner a dead bird. The dialogue still worked (though I had to have them in my party) besides one or two out-of-context lines. 

However, one player has found an edge-case scenario that the game doesn’t account for at all, and it’s honestly pretty reasonable when you break it down. Spoilers for Act 1 and Gale’s storyline to follow, as well as a minor Act 3 spoiler. 

As outlined by ThePawn08 on the game’s subreddit, reverse-pickpocketing a dead wizard onto the devil incarnate isn’t on the list of things Larian thought to program. For context: Gale of Waterdeep (ponderer of orbs and all-around dweeb) has a sphere of Netherese mag…

After Life by You’s disastrous end, Paradox chalks up a 90% drop in operating profit for Q2- ‘We end the second quarter of the year with mixed feelings’

It’s been a rough time for Paradox. Bloodlines 2 has been a (wrong kind of) nightmare, it cut ties with Harebrained Schemes after Lamplighters League underperformed, Cities: Skylines 2 came out with a raft of tech bugs, Millennia disappointed, and, of course, the company totally canned its Sims competitor Life by You and shuttered the studio making it.

So it’s not surprising that the company’s Interim Report, released today, contains the kind of news that will make you suck air through your teeth. The good news? The company was still operating at a profit in its second quarter, which lasted from April 1 to June 30 this year. The bad news? It was only by the skin of its teeth, and only really thanks to its homegrown stalwarts—CK3, Victoria 3, Hearts of Iron 4—rather than any of the risks it’s taken in the last few years. Though Age of Wonders 4, from Triumph Studios, has also done well for Paradox.

The headline number is a decrease in operating profit of 90%…

An official Cult of the Lamb comic was funded in just 6 minutes, and I’m getting serious FOMO from the limited-time donator bonuses-

Just when I thought I couldn’t get more invested in the adorably bloody roguelike world of Cult of the Lamb, developer Devolver Digital teamed up with comic book publisher Oni Press to launch a new comic series, Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse, written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Troy Little. 

As someone who has only just begun their descent into a cult (thanks to some very enthusiastic pestering from a friend), this comic series looks like a brilliant way to get to know all the creatures that I’ll eventually encounter in Cult of the Lamb. The series will also follow the star of the show, The Lamb, as they forge ahead on their path of recruiting new followers and expanding their religious cult. 

It’s clear that I’m not the only one excited by this prospect. With 30 days to go until the all-or-nothing deadline of April 12, Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse reached its goal of £7,800 in just six minutes—now the pledges are sitting at $89,500/&poun…

As a recent D&D to Pathfinder 2e convert, this Humble Bundle’s value is absurd—getting you everything you need to start playing, plus extra adventures, for $15

I’ve recently started running a Pathfinder 2e edition game for my formerly 5e friend group—and while I’m not abandoning D&D in its entirety, I’ve been super impressed with the system so far.

One blessing to my wallet is how much of it you get for basically free—Archives of Nethys is an officially-supported hub that has all of the player content, creatures, and so on from all sources. It feels like piracy from a sketchy wiki—but it’s not, Paizo’s 100% okay with it.

It’s not in lockstep with official content, but it’s bountiful enough that I’ve not minded one bit. Conversely, its Foundry Virtual Tabletop (VTT) integration just… gives you everything bar the adventures themselves.

Basically, Paizo makes most of its money through official adventure paths, which, as a DM who runs exclusively homebrew, makes me feel like I’ve been robbing Paizo, somehow. Well, great news: There’s now a way for me to feel like even more of a cheapskate, as th…

AMD confirms imminent launch of ‘new enthusiast-class Radeon 7000-series cards’-

AMD is finally committing to rounding out its RDNA 3 GPU stack, with Dr. Lisa Su promising it is going to be launching new “enthusiast-class” graphics cards before the end of October. We’ve already had sources suggesting an August reveal for new cards, and a September launch is looking pretty good right now.

It’s promising that Dr. Su is stating publicly that AMD is going to be releasing multiple cards, which implies that we will see both the RX 7800 and RX 7700 GPUs dropping in the next few months. After it dropped a solo Radeon RX 7600 at the end of May, there was maybe some concern that it would continue to drip-feed us RDNA 3 cards.

The announcement came in the recent AMD Q2 financials call, where some more green shoots of the PC industry revival have been noted. Those shoots are still pretty fragile, though, as AMD’s gaming segment is still suffering from lower GPU sales, down both year-on-year and compared to the previous three months. Thankfully, it’s semi-custom&…