The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann exits HBO show
Halley Gross, another prominent writer for the game and show, also departed.
Samuel Axon
–
|
100
Samuel Axon
Senior Editor
[email protected]
Samuel Axon is the editorial lead for tech and gaming coverage at Ars Technica. He covers AI, software development, gaming, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.
Recent stories by
Samuel Axon
What’s wrong with AAA games? The development of the next Battlefield has answers.
EA insiders describe stress and setbacks in a project that's too big to fail.
Samuel Axon
–
|
240
Analyst: M5 Vision Pro, Vision Air, and smart glasses coming in 2026–2028
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Quo lays out a whole roadmap for Apple XR devices.
Samuel Axon
–
|
96
Curated realities: An AI film festival and the future of human expression
We saw 10 AI films and interviewed Runway's CEO as well as Hollywood pros.
Samuel Axon
–
|
119
With 1.2.2 update, Civilization VII tries to win back traditionalists
Players can now disable Legacy Paths, Crisis, and quite a bit more.
Samuel Axon
–
|
153
With visionOS 26, Apple begins to zero-in on what the Vision Pro is actually used for
Local multi-user experiences and widgets headline Apple's annual software update.
Samuel Axon
–
|
75
Want a humanoid, open source robot for just $3,000? Hugging Face is on it.
The HopeJR will compete with Unitree's G1 and other early offerings.
Samuel Axon
–
|
67
Anno 117 Pax Romana hands-on: Gorgeous, deep, and tricky to learn
After a return to form in Anno 1800, 117 aims to seize an even bigger audience.
Samuel Axon
–
|
52
Most Read
OpenAI introduces Codex, its first full-fledged AI agent for coding
It replicates your development environment and takes up to 30 minutes per task.
Samuel Axon
–
|
176
Cue: Apple will add AI search in mobile Safari, challenging Google
“Prior to AI, my feeling around this was none of the others were valid choices."
Samuel Axon
–
|
109
Netflix introduces a new kind of subtitles for the non-hearing impaired
Just the dialogue—no sound effects or music cues.
Samuel Axon
–
|
229
Elle Fanning teams up with a predator in first Predator: Badlands trailer
Live-action film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg of Prey fame.
Samuel Axon
–
|
110
You can play the Unreal-powered The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster today
"Surprise" dropped today, the game overhauls leveling and graphics.
Samuel Axon
–
|
215
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the dad rock of video games, and I love it
It also proves AAA publishers should be more willing to delay their games.
Samuel Axon
–
|
90
AI isn’t ready to replace human coders for debugging, researchers say
Even when given access to tools, AI agents can't reliably debug software.
Samuel Axon
–
|
211
ChatGPT can now remember and reference all your previous chats
Before, ChatGPT just remembered a few facts. Now it can remember much more.
Samuel Axon
–
|
72
Midjourney introduces first new image generation model in over a year
The new model is now in public alpha and has personalization enabled by default.
Samuel Axon
–
|
84
With new Gen-4 model, Runway claims to have finally achieved consistency in AI videos
The new model is rolling out to paid users starting today.
Samuel Axon
–
|
119
Discord is planning an IPO this year, and big changes could be on the horizon
IPO will mean more revenue pressure and possibly more ads.
Samuel Axon
–
|
198
2025 iPad Air hands-on: Why mess with a good thing?
Apple’s annual refresh is a minor one, but not much needed to change anyway.
Samuel Axon
–
|
66
Civilization VII, one month later: The community and developers chime in
Executive Producer Dennis Shirk talks with Ars about the state of the game.
Samuel Axon
–
|
131
iPhone 16e review: The most expensive cheap iPhone yet
The iPhone 16e rethinks—and prices up—the basic iPhone.
Samuel Axon
–
|
211
On May 5, Microsoft’s Skype will shut down for good
Skype users will be able to move into Teams with their existing accounts.
Samuel Axon
–
|
141
Microsoft brings an official Copilot app to macOS for the first time
It looks and works just like similar apps from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Samuel Axon
–
|
37
The PlayStation VR2 will get a drastic price cut, but that might not be enough
This could revitalize the platform—or demonstrate that things aren't going well.
Samuel Axon
–
|
153
Perplexity wants to reinvent the web browser with AI—but there’s fierce competition
Comet joins Cursor and others in an early wave of AI takes on traditional apps.
Samuel Axon
–
|
89
The Sims re-release shows what’s wrong with big publishers and single-player games
Opinion: EA might be done with single-player games—but we're not.
Samuel Axon
–
|
135
Civilization VII review: A major overhaul solves Civ’s oldest problems
Not all changes will be popular, but it's a great launching point for a new age.
Samuel Axon
–
|
250
The Severance writer and cast on corporate cults, sci-fi, and more
Cult documentaries, science fiction classics are named as the show's influences.
Samuel Axon
–
|
107
In Apple’s first-quarter earnings, the Mac leads the way in sales growth
CEO Tim Cook says iPhones sell better in countries with Apple Intelligence.
Samuel Axon
–
|
103
Sony removes PlayStation account requirement from 4 single-player Steam games
In-game goodies still provide incentives even though the requirement is gone.
Samuel Axon
–
|
52
With iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence is now on by default
Apple has released software updates for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and more.
Samuel Axon
–
|
112
RIP EA’s Origin launcher: We knew ye all too well, unfortunately
End of 32-bit Windows support offered an excuse to put the nail in the coffin.
Samuel Axon
–
|
119
Google is about to make Gemini a core part of Workspaces—with price changes
New plans will be cheaper for those who want Gemini, pricier for those who don't.
Samuel Axon
–
|
111
Civilization VII preview: The most complete package since IV
15 hours in, it seems like an improvement on Civilization VI's missteps.
Samuel Axon
–
|
158
ChatGPT becomes more Siri-like with new scheduled tasks feature
Two distinct universes of AI tools are merging.
Samuel Axon
–
|
24