Month: October 2026

World of Warcraft is one of the greatest video games of all time. Whether you like it or not, its history and its importance within the medium, within MMORPGs, and in the lives of millions of people is undeniable. Its impact is absolutely colossal and even today it continues to have an impact in the medium in countless ways. And while in 2026 it no longer has the same impact as in 2006, because that’s impossible, it’s undeniable that it remains an enormous presence in video game culture.

That’s why it’s no surprise that it remains an huge presence. And that it appears where we least expect it. So when Wizards of the Coast decided to extend its Universe Beyond, bringing other companies’ IPs into its own products, all the way to Dungeons & Dragons, one obvious candidate stood out. The worlds of Azeroth were quite simply the perfect candidate to make an excellent campaign book for Dungeons & Dragons.

Adapting the video game to the role-playing game

While the Warcraft universe has a very rich and complex narrative, developed over the decades, when we think about World of Warcraft we think of three things. The first is the factions. The second is the raids. And the third is its dungeons and its quests. And it’s precisely these last two that will be explored most fully in D&D: World of Warcraft.

With seven iconic dungeons rebuilt for this book, each of these maps has been reconstructed to replicate the video game experience, but taking into account that in Dungeons & Dragons you do more than just fight. Adding components of exploration, stealth, and negotiation, reinforcing the non-linear design of the dungeons, and reinforcing the possibility of adding more or fewer encounters in each of the dungeons, each of these places feels familiar, while a completely new experience unfolds.

What contributes to this is that D&D: WoW focuses, particularly, on two aspects: boss encounters and non-combat solutions. The first is obvious enough. What is most memorable about World of Warcraft is the raids and their powerful bosses, which here come to life in particularly intense fights. Which explains the second. Because by putting more weight on the other aspects of role-playing, these combats feel even more intense and unique, by not being just another encounter inside the dungeons.

Also because this book introduces new mechanics to make sure these combats feel truly unique and enormous. Mythic actions allow bosses to act in a completely unexpected way, giving the sense that they evolve throughout the combat. And the introduction of loot drops invites you to defeat them again if you want to replicate the feeling of repeating a raid to get exactly the item you wanted.

The importance of social aspects

Another aspect that we shouldn’t overlook, and that even Dungeons & Dragons players without any special interest in World of Warcraft will appreciate, is the introduction of professions. A new mechanic that will allow you to create items or obtain all kinds of upgrades or items as long as you meet the requirements, such as having the necessary tools and being in the right environment. That way, with professions such as alchemist, blacksmith, enchanter, engineer, or jeweler, now you’ll be able to customize your character more than ever.

Likewise, we couldn’t talk about World of Warcraft without factions. And your characters will be able to belong to the Alliance or the Horde, but also to other smaller factions such as Kirin Tor, the Cenarion Circle, or the Explorer’s League and the Reliquary. As long as they meet their requirements.

All of this will be accompanied, as you’d expect, by 6 new subclasses, 13 classes with World of Warcraft-specific alterations, 16 new Azeroth species (11 of them new), 50 monsters, and new spells and magic items. All of it in a standard edition and a special edition that will come out in 2027. So if you’re in love with Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft, don’t miss this book, because it’s made specifically for you.

A rumored Google laptop, the so-called “Googlebook,” has apparently surfaced with phone integration tied to Android 17. That creates a pretty big catch for anyone still using an older Android handset. Late-2024 public information, though, still didn’t point to an official Googlebook or an Android 17 release.

The report says task continuity between phone and laptop, shared file or storage access, app streaming, and synced notifications would all require Android 17 on the phone you pair with it. That’s a steep requirement, especially since late-2024 public information still showed no official Googlebook or Android 17, and Android 15 was still the latest official version.

So you could end up with a basic laptop experience, but miss the main selling point. At launch, the safest bets would probably be newer Google Pixel phones, along with some recent Samsung Galaxy flagships and foldables. A lot of older Android phones and plenty of mid-range models, may not make the cut.

If deep phone-and-laptop integration is what you care about, this rumored Googlebook is only worth grabbing if your current phone is new enough. App streaming may come with its own limits too, blocking DRM video and sensitive apps such as banking tools behind a privacy screen, much like Samsung DeX and other mirroring systems.

There’s nothing to download yet, and for now this just looks like a rumored Google laptop aimed at a relatively small slice of high-end Android owners.

Tesla has pushed its Austin robotaxi hours out to 11 p.m., extending the service beyond where it stood after the June 2025 launch. Elon Musk says the cars still have to avoid “grey kittens on grey tarmac in the dark.”

That points straight at the weak spot in Tesla’s camera-first approach. In low light, animals, people in dark clothing, and road debris can all fade into the road. Musk still calls lidar a “fool’s errand” and argues that adding extra sensors creates “sensor contention,” but lidar and radar can spot or map objects in darkness when cameras have a harder time.

It also helps explain why Waymo still looks ahead in Austin on round-the-clock service. Waymo uses cameras, lidar, and radar. Reports did say that in 2025 a Waymo vehicle hit a tabby cat named KitKat, but a deeper sensor stack can still lower some of the risk that comes with nighttime driving.

Critics have already pointed out that Austin gets pretty dark before 10 p.m., and reports said Tesla’s robotaxi service was running until midnight after the June 2025 launch. Put together, that makes this look less like a real breakthrough and more like getting back part of what was there before.

The service is also still confined to Austin while Tesla’s Cybercab plans run into regulatory hurdles. The company’s fleet projections swing from small unsupervised tests to more than 500 vehicles in Texas by October 2026. And the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still scrutinizing Tesla over low-visibility performance, earlier driver-assist crashes, and episodes of unexpected stopping.

CNN reports that Mark Thompson will stay on as chairman and CEO when Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merge into Skydance on October 6, 2026, the date the roughly $110 billion to $111 billion deal is expected to close. Thompson told staff, CNN says, that he expects Skydance to support independent journalism. That would put CNN and CBS News under the same parent company soon, even if both outlets are still expected to keep operating separately for now. CNN also reports that a settlement with 12 U.S. states will require independent editorial oversight for CNN and CBS News, though the exact authority those boards will have still hasn’t been clearly spelled out.

If you’re tracking the merger, the leadership picture matters. CNN reports that David Ellison is lined up to serve as chairman and CEO, with Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO and Andy Gordon as president. Casey Bloys is expected to oversee streaming and content. Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg will run the film studio. George Cheeks will lead TV. James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain in place at DC Studios. Bari Weiss, meanwhile, is expected to stay at CBS News.

There are still big unanswered questions in CNN’s reporting. You still don’t know how international operations will be handled, how CNN and CBS might coordinate, what restructuring will look like, or how the combined company plans to deal with debt that could climb past $80 billion.

CNN also says the combined company is expected to trade under the ticker SKYD once the deal formally closes.