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You could say Walt Disney Imagineering has been on a decades-long journey with audio-animatronics, which is essentially the tech underneath iconic characters at parks worldwide. What started with Tiki Birds has since grown to give us legendary looks at other characters, and in recent years, Walt Disney himself.Just like the walking, talking Olaf roaming character, BDX Droids, or the Walt Disney animatronic, that innovation comes from a specific part of Walt Disney Imagineering, and that's the R&D (Research and Development) lab.In late November of 2025, Imagineering gave us an early first look at next-generation audio-animatronic technology, one that could be expressive in brand-new ways due to the fact it was using front-based projection.As Leslie Evans, Executive R&D Imagineer at Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, told me, "We're really going after more tools to just tell stories in an incredible way."Now, just seven months later, that same system is debuting inside a Disney Park for the very first time, and TechRadar has the exclusive first look, as I was one of the first to see it in Imagineering's R&D lab.(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)This next-generation pirate is making its debut at Disneyland in the iconic Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which reopens Friday, June 26, 2026. For the first time, guests floating past the treasure-filled grotto will witness a pirate atop a pile of cursed gold transform from a flesh-and-blood pirate to a skeleton in mere seconds. Choosing Pirates wasn't accidental — as Evans explained, the team was "looking for a figure where creatively we could do a great transformation," and ultimately landed on the conclusion that "this pirate transformation would be a great, great first place to do it." And considering it's a long-standing ride at the original Disney park filled with countless audio-animatronics, it makes sense that this next-generation technology is debuting there.(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)But let's roll it back from the ride itself and into Imagineering's fairly unassuming R&D lab in Glendale, California. I walked through a garage-like space with high ceilings and workstations, alongside generations of hydraulic animatronics — all the way through the A-1000 systems — before approaching a pirate figure elevated on scaffolding above a bank of workstations, Imagineers actively running it below. That staging is intentional — guests will look up at the figure from a boat, and the lab mirrors that sightline exactly. @techradar ♬ original sound - TechRadar The technology behind the illusion(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)That, in fact, was the new next-generation animatronic. At first glance, it reads almost deceptively simple. But as Evans explained, the ambition behind it runs deep. "How can we enable transformations that maybe previously are really challenging or in some cases impossible… I want characters that can blush, that can cry," she told me.Unlike traditional Audio-Animatronics, which rely on complex mechanical systems for facial movement, this figure begins with a 3D-printed shell and almost no visible mechanical articulation in the face.(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)Instead, expression is driven almost entirely by a high-fidelity front-projected image mapped directly onto the character, and considering how far computer graphics and rendering have come, this dramatically expands what Imagineers can create with physical characters. Think of a person crying, laughing, grinning with emotion, and ultimately being more human.What that process looks like up close is striking in its own right. During calibration, a blue and white mesh grid is projected across the entire figure — mapping the projection system precisely to every contour of the physical surface, from the brim of the hat down to the beads around the neck. It's a glimpse behind the curtain that makes the technology suddenly legible: this is how light becomes skin, or bone. Once that mapping is locked, the projected character snaps into place with a precision that's genuinely difficult to believe until you're standing in front of it.With the installation at Pirates of the Caribbean, this next-gen audio animatronic system has various sensors that complete calibration daily, as well as the necessary compute system and projection tech, and redundancies for all of these. Considering it’s operating on a dark, water ride as well, there is a cooling system and a filtration system for the various components to keep them running day in and day out.(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)That simplicity, though, was deliberate — the result of rigorous testing. Evans and her team actually built and evaluated versions of this next-gen tech with individual facial features, including the nose, projecting onto them and asking a pointed question each time: "Is this adding anything? Is this extra bit of complexity getting us something from a creative standpoint?" If the answer was no, it got cut.As Evans described it, "We started from that moment of 'let's test this, and we're only going to keep what we actually really need.'"The nose didn't make it. The jaw did.Disney's new blend of animatronics and game engines(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)Evans called it simply "a very exciting tool," and while she wouldn't be drawn on where it goes next beyond Pirates, that understatement might be the point.That shift moves expressive detail out of mechanics and into real-time rendering — powered by a digital pipeline that connects Unreal Engine-based systems and animation tools. Evans talked about the moment those pieces converged. "When you really had animatronic technology, real-time game engines, and incredible CG assets all together… that's when we said, wait, we've really got something here," she said.But getting there required pulling every discipline together. As Evans put it, "That's what's just absolutely magical about this team of people… when you bring them all together and say, 'this is the North Star, what are those key components that we need to go make it happen?'"What that unlocks is a character capable of real-time visual transformation. Because the projection is dynamic, the character can shift emotional tone and surface detail in ways traditional animatronics simply can't — from subtle expressions like sadness or joy, to more dramatic changes that reshape how the character is perceived entirely. In Pirates, that means watching a single figure move between pirate and skeleton in real time, telling a fuller version of a story.(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)The physical system underneath is still there, but simplified. The body retains enough traditional mechanical motion to interact with the environment, while the face becomes a canvas for projection-driven expression. Redundant projection systems are also built in for reliability — essential for a high-throughput attraction like Pirates of the Caribbean. And while Disney wouldn't go into full technical breakdowns, the compute setup running it sits closer in architecture to a high-end gaming PC than traditional show-control hardware. Though, as we’ve seen with Smugglers Run and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, the blur between ride systems and gaming is blurring.Disney engineers even mapped the ride path physically inside the R&D lab to simulate what guests will see from the boat vehicles, ensuring the transformation reads correctly from multiple angles.A platform, not just a pirate(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)Evans was clear about what drives all of it, telling me, "We want them to believe it's real… we're trying to make people feel."She added, "We don't build technology for technology's sake. Everything is about telling a great story to our guests."Proof that it works came not from the engineers who built it, but from the first people who hadn't. Evans described watching fresh audiences encounter the figure for the first time. "Our folks are standing in front of this character for minutes, just watching this cycling transformation happen over and over and over again, and are still kind of mesmerized by it. That's when we got that moment of going — yeah, I think we did something good," she said.And I can echo that. After the first glance, I stood in front of it, walking around from different angles, watching this pirate cycle from human to skeleton after taking the bait from a gold coin. It drives a genuine reaction of joy — it's deeply impressive, and I look forward to seeing it running at Disneyland alongside the other animatronics that have defined that ride for decades.It's a meshing of past, present, and future in terms of tech. And that's where things start to open up beyond Pirates. What Disney is building here is not a single animatronic, but a platform for bringing real-time characters with far more detailed expressions to physical environments and attractions in a very scalable way.So if a pirate can transform from human to skeleton in real time, the question becomes what happens when that system reaches the rest of Disney's universe of characters. Pirates of the Caribbean is where guests will see it first — but if Imagineering's trajectory is any indication, it won't be the last.(Image credit: Walt Disney Imagineering)

Her motivations for returning may be hard to gauge but there is no doubt the returning former champion will steal the early spotlight at SW19At the southernmost point of the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s vast grounds, Serena Williams was starting another day of training as the clock ticked down to her first singles match after four years of retirement. Her training partner for the morning, Marta Kostyuk, soon joined her on court 10 in Aorangi Park, the quaint practice area reserved only for players.Kostyuk is one of the more extroverted players on the tour and she is widely known for speaking her mind under all circumstances, but when Williams greeted Kostyuk and thanked her for the training session, for once the Ukrainian looked at a loss for words: “No, thank you for playing with me,” she responded. Continue reading...

With Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders live right now, many are wondering when the next big trailer will be. We've only had two released so far, and while they're both great showcases of the game's visuals, neither has really shown us any proper gameplay or explained any potential new mechanics.This would normally be pretty unusual—when was the last time you can remember being offered the chance to pre-order a game before you'd even seen any gameplay footage?—but not a big surprise coming from developer Rockstar Games.In fact, the GTA 6 marketing so far has played out in a very similar fashion to that of the studio's last release, Red Dead Redemption 2, and I think that looking back at the past gives us a pretty good idea of what to expect this year.If you're looking for a GTA 6 PS5 pre-order, then Amazon is an easy choice for convenience and one of the lowest prices by two cents. You can also get the game at the retailers below.Walmart - $79.97 | Best Buy - $79.99 | Target - $79.99 | GameStop - $79.99 View DealThose in the UK looking for a PS5 pre-order have a variety of options with Amazon as an obvious easy choice. A host of other retailers like the ones below have stock too.EE - £68 | Currys - £69.99 | Argos - £69.99 | Very - £69.99 | ShopTo - £69.85View DealXbox owners in the US can also lock down a GTA 6 pre-order at Amazon for ease or via the other retailers below.Walmart - $79.97 | Best Buy - $79.99 | Target - $79.99 | GameStop - $79.99 View DealXbox players also have plenty of options in the UK, and can take their pick from a whole bunch of retailers to secure their GTA 6 pre-order.EE - £68 | Currys - £69.99 | Argos - £69.99 | Very - £69.99 | ShopTo - £69.85View DealGTA 6 trailer 3 could arrive very soon(Image credit: Rockstar Games)After a few cryptic teasers, the first Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer dropped on October 20, 2016. It didn't tell us that much beyond introducing the setting and giving us our first look at the open world.It also ended with a release window, Fall 2017, which Rockstar failed to hit with the game actually finally releasing in 2018. The GTA 6 similarities should be obvious already. GTA 6 Trailer 1 was released in December 2023 and mainly focused on the upcoming game's Vice City setting and, just like Red Dead Redemption 2, gave us a 2025 release window that eventually turned out to be a year out thanks to delays.It took practically a whole year for the next Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer to appear, a big gap that we saw replicated when the second GTA 6 trailer took 518 days to arrive.There was then a much smaller seven-month wait between Red Dead Redemption 2 trailers 2 and 3, and I suspect we'll see a similar pattern this time. It's been over 400 days since GTA 6 trailer 2, so a third gameplay trailer coming in the next few weeks would still represent a smaller gap than that initial 518 days.I wouldn't be surprised if Rockstar Games has one in the bank for when GTA 6 pre-order hype starts to wane as a way to give sales a boost.Before we dive in, here's how to get your hands on a GTA 6 pre-order if you haven't placed one yet.What about gameplay?(Image credit: Rockstar Games)Red Dead Redemption 2 received two meaty gameplay trailers: one 85 days before its release and another 25 days before. It seems Rockstar likes to wait as long as possible before actually showing gameplay and, if GTA 6 follows the same pattern, we're likely seeing our first glimpse of gameplay about three months before launch.That means the first gameplay trailer is likely to drop sometime in early August. The second could then follow in late October, or even right at the start of November, when the November 19, 2026, release date is right around the corner.Expect GTA 6 Online after launch(Image credit: Rockstar Games)GTA Online launched on October 1, 2013 — just a few weeks after GTA 5 hit shelves.Red Dead Online followed a similar trajectory. It rolled out to players in a beta state on November 30, 2018 (or a few days earlier for Ultimate Edition owners). Both modes received standalone releases a few years down the line.The PlayStation Store listing for GTA 6 states that the game is strictly a "single-player experience," which rules out availability at launch. I predict that it will arrive in some form in December, even if that's just as an early access beta.If the previous games are anything to go by, this would be followed by a full release in 2027 and a standalone version a few years later.And finally a PC port after a year(Image credit: Rockstar Games)Red Dead Redemption 2's PC port took roughly a year to arrive, dropping in November 2019. As the most recent Rockstar Games release, I think it could give us an idea of when a GTA 6 PC version is likely to arrive.I predict that it will come out in December 2027 if it follows the same pattern. This might even coincide with the full release of GTA 6 Online in order to really drum up the excitement.Of course, all of this is speculation based on past events, and the release timeline could play out in any number of ways. We'll just have to wait and see whether Rockstar has any curveballs in store.