Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television are so confident in their upcoming "God of War" adaptation that they’ve already ordered two seasons.

But their initial marketing push has drawn sharp criticism from the man who created the video game franchise.

'It's just a dumb f**king image.'

Bathroom break

Last week, Amazon unveiled the first image of Kratos — the Spartan warrior at the center of the massively popular games. In it, Kratos crouches in the woods, leaning on his haunches as he watches his son Atreus draw an arrow.

The photo was meant to stoke excitement for the live-action take on one of gaming’s most iconic characters.

For God of War creator David Jaffe, however, it caused an entirely different reaction.

“Could you find a picture that doesn’t look like he’s s***ting in the woods?" asked Jaffe. "Because that’s what the picture looks like.”

Potty mouth

Jaffe made the comments in a video posted to his YouTube channel. In the clip, he says he's "a little worried" about the first impression the show was making. "What the f**k is this?” he said. “It’s just a dumb f**king image.”

While Jaffe stressed that he was still confident in the show's creative team — saying he had “absolutely no doubt it is going to be a good show" — he refused to soften his stance on the squatting Spartan.

“Two things can be true [at once]," he said. "This can be a terrible image — and it is. It’s so bad in so many ways.”

Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Flush with success

God of War is not the first of Jaffe’s properties to make the jump to television. Paramount+ recently renewed its "Twisted Metal" adaptation for a third season. As co-creator of the game (with Scott Campbell), Jaffe directed four Twisted Metal games between 1995 and 2012.

Amazon has increasingly bet on video game adaptations in the streaming arms race. That strategy has delivered at least one breakout hit — "Fallout" — while several other high-profile projects remain in development.

Living human brain cells are training a chatbot to be 'more like us'

A company recently revealed its human-brain-cell-driven chatbot that it has taught to play video games.

However, even though the program runs on real human cells, it is still hallucinating answers.

'It could be more able to use biological intelligence in a meaningful way.'

The company, Cortical Labs, shared a video recently that showed its brain-cell-operated large language model responding in real time to a user prompt. Return reported on the company last year for using brain cells grown on a silicon "chip" for an organic computer. The tech is referred to as synthetic biological intelligence, and the company now appears to have a room full of such computers.

"This is a whole new paradigm to how ... the syntax of the LLM can be more like us," a company rep said in the video.

Boasting about his brain-powered chatbot, the voiceover added, "It could be more able to use biological intelligence in a meaningful way to select the next token and to create better responses."

This example immediately failed, though. When the user asked the program, "Tell me where you want to visit on vacation," the bot cited a place that does not exist.

"The Great Barrinchi Cove in the Maldives," it stated, before also suggesting "Tuscany, Italy, for its rolling hills, stunning views."

Despite the complex technology, these types of "hallucinations" are common with AI chatbots and are a somewhat typical occurrence for any frequent chatbot user.

In 2022, Cortical Labs said it had successfully taught 800,000 living brain cells to learn how to play the game Pong. The cells were linked to a computer to gradually learn to sense the position of the game's ball and control the virtual paddle.

"If we allow these cells to know the outcome of their actions, will they actually be able to change in some sort of goal-directed way?" Chief Scientific Officer Brett Kagan asked at the time.

Since then, and after a bevy of requests, the company has advanced its model to play a more complex game: Doom.

The crude shooter game represents a 21-year jump in technological understanding for the program, given that Doom came out in 1993 and Pong in 1972.

The recent demo also showed an incomplete answer provided by the chatbot when asked to explain the meaning of life.

It answered, "The meaning of life is a philosophical question that has been pondered by thinkers and scholars across various cultures and religions for centuries."

It went on, "It explores the fundamental question of what purpose or ultimate meaning lies in human existence."

"Different interpretations may vary widely," it added before ending abruptly.

Cortical Labs has made its research publicly available, letting the viewer decide if the company is indeed creating science "for the greater good," as it has stated.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Jeffrey Epstein was BANNED from Xbox Live — for harassing other gamers

Whatever the scope of Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Microsoft seemingly had at least a few reasons to ban the shadowy financier and sex abuser from its gaming platform.

Although Epstein was first convicted of sexual abuse crimes in 2008, it appears he had several more years of gaming left in him.

'"Severe, repeated, and/or excessive" mistreatment of his peers.'

While most were likely gearing up for the Christmas season at the time, Epstein may have been hitting Microsoft's online gaming platform Xbox Live hard around the holidays. It was Thursday, December 19, 2013, when Epstein got an email from the service that informed him he was getting permanently banned. The document has been made available by the Department of Justice.

The email to Epstein was labeled a "Notice of permanent enforcement action" for "Harassment, threats, and/or abuse" from xlcm@microsoft.com, which has been noted online as Xbox's official policy and enforcement team.

The ban came as a result of "severe, repeated, and/or excessive" mistreatment of his peers, the email said. It also provided a list of Epstein's possible conduct that could have initiated the ban:

Threats of death, harm, property damage, or any other act of violence or vandalism
Verbal abuse or profanity directed at other players
Griefing
Extortion or manipulation
Libel, defamation, or slander
Display or transmission of personally identifiable information, such as name, address, phone number, or IP address
Stalking

But that wasn't all.

That same day, Epstein received another email to his connected account, jeevacation@gmail.com; the sender has been redacted.

This email informed him that he had been permanently suspended from Xbox Live due to the New York Attorney General's partnership with Microsoft, which prohibits the service from having "New York registered sex offenders" on its platform.

This was done to "minimize the risk to others, particularly children," the email stated.

While Epstein was already a registered sex offender years prior, it seems that he did not join the Xbox platform until 2012.

Photo by JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP via Getty Images

This is evidenced by a 2012 "Welcome to Xbox LIVE" email he received, which was also made available by the DOJ.

Other video game-related emails include Epstein asking his assistant Lesley Groff if he has "an Xbox 360 Kinect?" in 2014, and there is another email from 2016 that talks about setting up an Xbox One that was purchased as a gift.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Chinese women are spending thousands on virtual boyfriends: 'Maybe because real-life marriage is just ... dull'

A Chinese man tried paying his wife to stop spending time with her virtual boyfriend.

The man asked his wife to stop using a particular program for a year in exchange for $2,800, and she initially agreed. The woman reportedly transferred the money into her daughter's savings account until a week later, when she reinstalled the game because a new dating scene for her virtual boyfriend was released.

'As a married woman, I still feel a bit guilty.'

The story of a woman going by "Minnie" is one of many chronicled in a recent article about Chinese women who are addicted to otomo games, virtual romance games targeted at women.

The most popular, Love and Romance, made $750 million in 2025, according to Pocket Gamer, with Sensor Tower reporting that the game had over 100,000 downloads in the Apple Store in December alone.

Other games like Light and Night or Beyond the World have women choose between different lovers who represent various personality types or themes. Collectible cards offer micro-transaction opportunities in order to unlock outfits, scenes, and storylines.

According to KrAsia, these games are wedging their way into women's real lives at an alarming speed.

Photo by Jiangang Wang

These games, in conjunction with chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, are being used by women to create a constant stream of contact with their AI boyfriends.

"If not for ChatGPT and Love and Deepspace, I wouldn't have realized how deeply I need to be understood and loved or that such needs could be perfectly met," Chi Cheng told the outlet. "But if you told me to delete the game and stop using ChatGPT now, I'd lose my mind."

In just five months, Cheng has spent over $1,100 chasing the cards of her favorite male companion, Xavier.

Minnie, however, prefers Rafayel, and even though she is married, she said the character is "someone who loves reading and art, is emotionally stable, understands finance, and never argues."

Minnie has two Love and Deepspace accounts, having spent around $2,500 USD. Although she said she does not have an unhappy marriage, and she even has a daughter, the digital partner is still her perfect match.

"Even with a compatible partner, there will always be tension and stress. A 100% match doesn't exist in real life," the woman explained.

AI boyfriend in real life

Minnie noted that she uses her AI boyfriend's chatbot function for real-life conversation, which is what led to her husband's aforementioned monetary ultimatum:

"I’ll give you [$2,800]. Just stop playing Love and Deepspace for a year."

Citing that she once read, "The best partner is someone you can talk to in the middle of the night," Minnie revealed, "If my husband finally falls asleep after working late, I can't wake him just to talk. But that's when I can — by launching Love and Deepspace."

All the women KrAsia interviewed use this function on a daily basis, and Minnie even uses the character for fitness motivation. During postpartum workouts, Minnie was able to extend the time she could hold a plank position after her coach joked, "Try looking at your favorite guy; maybe you'll last longer."

She began staring at Rafayel and extended her ability to hold the position from three seconds to 48 seconds. An attached photo showed her staring at her phone during her workout.

Other extensions for the app include an augmented reality feature where users can view their companion in their current environment through their phone.

Cheng reportedly often uses this feature to imagine Xavier walking beside her or sitting in a nearby chair.

With plummeting marriage rates in China already, the fear is that this already massive industry will become more pervasive, as other girls like Yangtao explain that the reason otome games are so appealing is "maybe because real-life marriage is just ... dull."

She added, "But people never stop craving romance."

Another woman, Meiyi, 35, told herself, "You're at a crossroads. Don't play this game, or you'll get addicted."

She apparently downloaded it anyway.

What became clear with the women in their stories was often directly admitted to; Minnie put it plainly:

"In the game, there’s no conflict, no arguments. Even small fights just build up to the next emotional high. Interacting with an in-game character feels more exciting than real life. But as a married woman, I still feel a bit guilty."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Charlie Kirk murder online role play banned from Grand Theft Auto: 'Tasteless, unacceptable'

The online world for Grand Theft Auto V is seeing a rare instance of censorship despite its usually anything-goes environment.

GTA Online is the game's online platform, which has thrived for more than a dozen years since its original 2013 release.

'Tasteless, unacceptable, and inappropriate.'

In December, publisher Rockstar Games launched a feature that allows players to design and publish their own missions online for other users to play. At this point in the game's lifespan, this was about the only thing that users could not yet do.

It only took a few days for this feature to be immediately taken to its limits, though, as at least one user took it upon themselves to recreate the murder of Charlie Kirk, which happened on September 10, 2025.

A user named "Yaarpen98" created a mission titled "We are Charlie Kirk," in which the gamer is meant to go on a rooftop and shoot a person standing in front of school under a fruit stand.

YouTuber ICER relayed fan reactions to the created mission, saying it had users split, with half of the fans saying it was simply dark humor and an example of player freedom. The other half of fans, he explained, described the mission as "tasteless, unacceptable, and inappropriate."

He added some have argued that "players have crossed a line that even the developers should not tolerate."

As reported by Variety, Rockstar Games has banned missions of this nature and added "Charlie Kirk" to its list of prohibited terms through its "profanity filter." Furthermore, the developers will change the name of this tool to something that reflects how it will be used to flag content violations, not just profanity.

Rockstar's community guidelines already prohibit showcasing "violent extremism," which includes "glorification or promotion of real-world terrorist, extremist, or criminal organizations and their ideologies."

This rule has already been allegedly enforced in regard to rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs, after missions that recreated a raid on his home were removed.

Photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

A user named "Vexnyllith" said he created a mission that had authorities raiding the home of a "celebrity" known for "hosting parties and is wanted for serious crimes."

The user said he also created a mission called "Diddy Disciples," but both missions were removed. He then vowed to create a new series of missions and advised fans to follow him.

The mission creation feature is similar to that of Hitman Online, which also sparked controversy when UFC fighter Conor McGregor was removed from the game over real-life legal troubles.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Guillermo del Toro stops awards show music to drop 'F**k AI' bomb

Three-time Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro had strong words about using humans in the production of his latest film.

Del Toro, a writer and director behind films like "Pacific Rim," "Pan's Labyrinth," and "The Hobbit" movies, was honored with a tribute award recently at the 2025 Gotham Film Awards.

'Every single frame of this film that was willfully made by humans for humans.'

Del Toro accepted the award alongside actors Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi for their work on the 2025 film "Frankenstein."

Del Toro made several emotional comments dating back to when he first read the book that inspired his movie at age 11, before Isaac attempted to turn the acceptance speech into one about diversity and immigration.

"I am proud to be standing here tonight. ... Immigrants, baby. We get the job done," Isaac exclaimed. He is Guatemalan, Elordi is Australian, and del Toro is Mexican.

Elordi then spoke, but neither he nor del Toro added to Isaac's remarks. Soon, music started to play, and the production looked to the next award. That was until del Toro interrupted, deciding that he wanted to add opinionated remarks of his own.

"No, no, no, wait!" del Toro interrupted. "I would like to tell to the rest of our extraordinary cast and our crew that the artistry of all of them shines on every single frame of this film that was willfully made by humans for humans."

"The designers, builders, makeup, wardrobe team, cinematographers, composers, editors," he continued. "This tribute belongs to all of them. And I would like to extend our gratitude and say —" del Toro then paused, seemingly wondering if he should continue.

"F**k AI," he added with a smile.

During his acceptance speech, del Toro spoke on the inspiration he drew from Mary Shelley, the original author of "Frankenstein."

"Mary Shelley, who made the book her biography, she was 18 years old when she wrote the book and posed the urgent questions: Who am I? What am I? Where did I come from? And where am I going?" del Toro explained. "She presented them with such urgency that they are alive 200 years later through this incredible parable that shaped my life since I first read it in childhood at age 11."

Much of del Toro's appeal comes from his ability to explore complex emotional topics from a unique viewpoints, and those unique thoughts typically come across whenever he is given the chance to speak. Del Toro told the award-show audience that even at a young age, he knew he "did not belong in the world the way my parents, the way the world expected me to fit."

"My place was in a faraway land inhabited only by monsters and misfits."

This outlook definitely falls in line with his recent work, including when he appeared in the recent video game series Death Stranding.

Working alongside iconic game developer Hideo Kojima, del Toro delivered storylines about life, death, and emotional connection, but this time as an actor.

Speaking on the games, del Toro said he believes in the importance of "paradoxical creation" and said it is "essential to art."

The beauty of the game, he added, was that Kojima had both "the weirdest mind and the most wholesome mind," which shaped his storytelling.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

25 years later, the gaming console that caused so much chaos is still No. 1

After a quarter of a century, one console still reigns supreme.

It has been nearly 25 years to the day since iconic photos and video of the Paris launch showed just how crazy the world was for PlayStation 2.

'I never leave my house.'

On November 24, 2000, crowds in Europe lined up, camped, and even pushed through crowds to get their hands on a PlayStation 2 for the first time. The launch was almost a month after the American Oct. 26 debut and signified a true consumerism-fueled riot that became synonymous with Black Friday.

From its launch day through Christmas 2000, Sony said it sold 1.35 million units in North America and another 1 million units in Europe during that same period.

The PS2 has sold an average of over 6 million consoles per year since then, or 500,000 per month, totaling more than 160 million lifetime units sold as of this November.

As reported by Techgaged.com, the PS2 eclipses two Nintendo products at the top of the list.

The second-most sales are for the handheld Nintendo DS at 154 million, followed by the Nintendo Switch portable console at 152 million.

A steep drop occurs for fourth place with the original Game Boy, released in 1989, having 118 million units sold. Sony's PS1 and Nintendo's Wii are the only other gaming systems to have sold over 100 million.

Interestingly, the PlayStation 2's main competitors during its era, the Nintendo GameCube (launched in North America on Nov. 18, 2001) and the original Xbox (launched in North America on Nov. 15, 2001), do not even crack the top-20 list.

The Xbox, Microsoft's first foray into gaming systems, has sold 24.65 million units in its lifetime, while the GameCube has sold 21.74 million units.

Both company's modern systems — Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch — have already surpassed the sales of their 2000s counterparts.

Photo By Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via Getty Images

The PS2 was so pervasive, historical image banks provide a bounty of time capsules showing celebrities flooding PS2-themed parties that were constantly taking place to promote the product.

There were events like the PlayStation 2 and the Hip-Hop Summit "Race to the Polls" event in 2004, or the mouthful, PlayStation 2 Celebrates Red White and Blue with Poolside Party at the Bentley Hotel in NYC, temporarily referred to as the PlayStation 2 Hotel for the occasion, in 2003.

Super Bowl parties became linked with the console during that era too. The Sony PlayStation 2 Game Over Party saw celebrities like NSYNC in its first year and Paris Hilton in its second year. In fact, the celebrity sightings and performances connected to PS2 events at that time are nearly limitless.

If readers don't believe the PS2 was as much of a cross-cultural phenomenon as it seems, refer to this quote from "Friends" actor Matthew Perry in 2000.

"I used to have a social life, go on dates, go to dinner parties, have a job. Now all I do is sit in a big chair and play PlayStation 2," Perry said, per Digital Journal. "I never leave my house. My friends have wondered what happened to me. Howard Hughes must have had one of these."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

GAMBLE: In huge new deals, ESPN and Google cave to the online betting economy

A simple Google search stopped being simple a long time ago. With sports scores, flight costs, and news articles being integrated into the engine over the years, it seemed the search giant could not pack any more ways to push its verticals into the engine.

But it's still trying.

If 2024 was the year of the small modular nuclear reactor — which were approved en masse to power AI — 2025 may be the year of the gambling partnership.

'Just ask something like "What will GDP growth be for 2025?"'

Google and Disney's ESPN have both inked new deals with gambling websites that will further increase the visibility of betting into everyday life.

Why not gamble?

Google announced in a blog post on Thursday it will integrate both Kalshi and Polymarket into its engine "so you can ask questions about future market events and harness the wisdom of the crowds."

The pleasant descriptors for the American trading websites can be further summarized by noting they are simply platforms for gambling on nearly anything.

At the time of this writing, Kalshi's feature bet is who will be nominated for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys. On Polymarket, users can bet on when the government shutdown will end, who will win the Super Bowl, or on the price of Bitcoin.

Google says, "Just ask something like 'What will GDP growth be for 2025?' directly from the search box to see current probabilities in the market and how they've changed over time."

Photo by Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Popular gaming (not for kids)

ESPN decided to end its partnership with Penn Entertainment early, just two years into a supposed 10-year deal. ESPN provided a $38.1 million buyout, according to Sportico, and then turned around and linked up with DraftKings immediately.

Where Penn operates casinos and slots in addition to its online sportsbook, DraftKings is not your father's gambling dynasty. Instead, the brand is fully immersed in the culture, consistently appearing as a sponsor on popular YouTube channels that target a younger demographic.

What started as a company meant for fantasy drafts has evolved into a gambling empire that tends to skew younger and has a more lenient platform in terms of what types of sports bets are allowed.

Interestingly, Penn Entertainment previously owned Barstool Sports before selling it back to founder Dave Portnoy, who would also later partner with DraftKings.

RELATED: Alex Stein: A third dildo has hit the WNBA court — now sports fans are betting when the next will strike

Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

No Escape

DraftKings has previously partnered with professional sports teams and leagues in the past, including those in the NFL, MLB, and NBA. Now, after also announcing a deal with NBCUniversal in September, the company's ads will appear across every major sports league's broadcasts.

This includes NFL, PGA Tour, Ryder Cup, Premier League soccer, NCAA football, NBA, and the WNBA, as well as Super Bowl LX, NBA All-Star Weekend, and the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup.

On ESPN, the integration will be more betting-based, with the network saying it will roll out DraftKings in ESPN's full "ecosystem" to offer at least three DraftKings products starting in December.

With search engines, networks, sports leagues, and YouTubers all jumping on board with the gambling revolution, it seems a betting culture is being fully immersed into all facets of the economy ... and life itself.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

God of War creator dumps on first image from Amazon series: 'Looks like he's s***ting in the woods'

Bathroom break

Potty mouth

Flush with success

Living human brain cells are training a chatbot to be 'more like us'

Jeffrey Epstein was BANNED from Xbox Live — for harassing other gamers

Chinese women are spending thousands on virtual boyfriends: 'Maybe because real-life marriage is just ... dull'

AI boyfriend in real life

Charlie Kirk murder online role play banned from Grand Theft Auto: 'Tasteless, unacceptable'

Anti-Woman Leftists Try To Trans A Beloved Female Game Character

Guillermo del Toro stops awards show music to drop 'F**k AI' bomb

25 years later, the gaming console that caused so much chaos is still No. 1

GAMBLE: In huge new deals, ESPN and Google cave to the online betting economy

Why not gamble?

Popular gaming (not for kids)

No Escape

The Best Thing Trump Can Do For The Iran War Effort Is Shutting Up Lindsey Graham

Iranian Ballistic Missile Fire Down 90 Percent Since Start of Operation Epic Fury, Pentagon Says

Noem is OUT — and Trump has named her replacement

‘Make The Right Choices’: Fallen Soldier’s Advice Should Guide Trump’s War In Iran

Ladies, You’re Loading The Dishwasher All Wrong. Here’s How To Do It The Right Way

Bathroom break

Potty mouth

Flush with success

AI boyfriend in real life

Why not gamble?

Popular gaming (not for kids)

No Escape

We’ll keep you informed with top stories for conservatives who want to become informed decision makers.