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2026 has been a huge year for Jensen Ackles fans, who watched the star return as Soldier Boy in the fifth and final season of The Boys on Prime Video. Ackles was absent from the series finale that aired just a few months ago, but he’s confirmed to return as Soldier Boy in 2027 to lead a new spin-off, Vought Rising . Aya Cash will also star as Clara Vought in the new Boys offshoot, and Prime Video even dropped the first trailer for the show days after The Boys finale. Ackles also starred in a fan-favorite crime thriller back in 2025 on Prime Video with Countdown , alongside the late Eric Dane . However, despite intense demand from fans for more seasons of the show, Prime Video made the tough decision to cancel it after only one season .

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Chery has unveiled the interior of the upcoming Freelander 8.

Cabin sports a minimalist design with 15.6- and 46.3-inch displays.

Range-extended SUV arrives later this year with a boxy design.

Chery and Jaguar Land Rover teamed up to introduce the Freelander 8 in April, but little is known about the upcoming model. That’s slowly starting to change as the new brand has unveiled the crossover’s minimalist interior.

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Billed as a “generational revolution in flagship cabins,” the interior is said to embrace luxury, space, and technology. While details are few and far between, we can see the Freelander 8 will have a pillar-to-pillar panoramic display that resides at the base of the windscreen.

More: The Freelander 8 Debuts And It’s Bigger Than A Defender 110

The section in front of the driver shows a speedometer as well as a gear indicator on the upper left side. The middle section houses vehicle information, while the passenger side is dominated by a large clock. However, the displays are likely customizable and the front passenger section undoubtedly doubles as an entertainment system.

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Sticking with screens, there’s a rectangular infotainment system with a freestanding design. It’s joined by a row of physical switchgear with a metallic finish.

Elsewhere, we can see a wide center console with wood trim and what appears to be a dual wireless smartphone charger. They’re accompanied by a chunky steering wheel, metallic accents, and minimalist door handles. Other notable highlights include an ambient lighting system and what looks to be a driver monitoring system.

While the social media post was coy on specifics, Yiche reports the Freelander 8 will have a 46.3-inch panoramic display as well as a 15.6-inch infotainment system. The model is also said to have a 256-color ambient lighting system as well as a fragrance diffuser that wafts the scent of an English manor into the cabin.

The Freelander 8 is also said to have a “LADY” front seat. It’s apparently highly adjustable, so those riding shotgun can sit back and relax in comfort.

The model is scheduled to arrive later this year and reports out of China suggest it will have a range-extended powertrain that consist of a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine and a 60.3 kWh battery pack. This will reportedly give the crossover an electric-only range of 137 miles (221 km).

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H/T to CarNewsChina

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Blizzard has announced that it's ending support for Overwatch's MOBA-inspired Stadium mode due to low player numbers.

In a new blog post , game director Aaron Keller breaks down the different Overwatch modes by the amount of players they're attracting, and well, it's easy to see why Blizzard has decided not to bother making new content for Stadium.

The main unranked 5v5 queue is unsurprisingly the most popular and accounts for 54% of daily players, while 34% of players up the stakes for ranked 5v5 queue. From there, 19% and 8% log in for unranked and ranked open queue 6v6, respectively, and just 4% are playing unranked mystery heroes 6v6. All the way at the bottom is poor old Stadium mode, whose ranked and unranked queues are seeing just 3% of the player base tune in.

Keller notes that there's overlap in the data accounting for players who play different modes in the same session, which is why the percentages don't add up to a perfect 100%, but the numbers don't lie: Stadium just isn't very popular.

"With this in mind, while we'll continue supporting Stadium with seasonal balance updates, rank resets, and rewards," says Keller. "We're not planning on expanding Stadium with new Heroes or maps. Instead, we're taking what lessons we've gleaned from building it and applying those lessons (and those talented devs) to our future plans."

In the same blog, Keller also announced two new experimental 6v6 modes that'll be tested in the back half of season 3. The new modes are aimed at finding "ways of making matches more dynamic in Role Queue, improving the tank experience, and removing some of the volatility of team fights while also removing some of the pain points that players have with our current formats.

The first test runs this week from July 16 through July 19 and turns Quick Play into a "Flex Queue" where each team will always have at least one tank, three flex damage dealers, and two supports. The rub is that, at any point in the match, one of the team's damage dealers will have the option to swap into the tank role with a different hero, which Keller hopes will reduce queue times, make for a "slightly more dynamic experience" than the regular 2-2-2 team makeup, and provide a "more consistent" experience than open queue.

"There are a few downsides to this format and the biggest is the potential social pressure for Damage dealers to play Tank," says Keller. "But if the burden is shared among 3 people with more freedom to play different Heroes, will it feel acceptable? We're hoping to find out!"

Another test will run from July 28 to August 3 and is being called "Dynamic Queue," featuring a "blend" of Flex Queue and Role Queue elements. This time around, whether team composition is decided by the Flex Queue rules depends on how many people queue up for Tank, which is Blizzard's "current bottleneck."

"Think of the shift into Flex Queue format as a 'release valve' for the 2-2-2 queue," Keller explains, adding that the upside here is that it'll often result in "what we anticipate will be the most preferred format, 2-2-2." The downside is that the loss of consistency could make matches feel less competitive, which is something Blizzard will be keeping tabs on.

As if eulogizing Stadium, Keller encourages players to engage in these more experimental modes. "Give them a chance and go into those queues with an open mind. The pace of fights and general vibe of these matches may seem very different. Spend time getting used to how they feel and see if your initial reactions change over the mode's duration," he says.

Overwatch escapes "Mostly Negative" Steam reviews 3 years after becoming the worst-rated game on Valve's store: "In 2026, we finally got back to just Overwatch"

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Getting lost in history in Assassin's Creed Origins

By Andy Kelly

In Assassin’s Creed we usually visit civilisations at their peak, whether it’s Renaissance Italy or London at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Ubisoft could have done this for Origins too, taking us to the golden age of Ancient Egypt. But instead we visit this period of history in its twilight years. The pharaonic line is coming to an end and the Greeks have dramatically transformed the landscape, culture and religious practices of this part of the world.

(Image credit: Ubisoft) This makes for a fascinating architectural contrast. In the largest cities you see statues of Egyptian gods crumbling and forgotten, outnumbered by pristine, polished marble statues of Greek legends. And even monuments, like the pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, are already falling apart. There’s a tragedy to seeing this grand civilisation fade away as foreign invaders erect gleaming temples and acropolises across the desert.

It might be the best open world Ubisoft has ever created. While riding through the barren Green Mountains region on horseback, idly exploring with no specific goal in mind, I crested a hill and saw a sprawling Roman city resting in a misty valley below. It stopped me in my tracks. The scale is breathtaking, making even the vast cities of previous Assassin’s Creed games seem small in comparison.

Size isn’t everything when it comes to open worlds, of course. Just look at something like Just Cause, which is enormous but consists of little more than large swathes of dull, featureless countryside and a few unconvincing cities. Origins keeps things interesting by splitting its world up into distinct regions, from the oasis town of Siwa and the rocky canyons of the Black Desert, to the ruin-littered sands of Giza and the cultural epicentre that is Alexandria.

Crocodile tears

Faiyum is one of the prettiest and most interesting locations in the game. Founded to worship Sobek, who takes the form of a crocodile, this city is built around a network of canals and dominated by a beautiful, ornate temple dedicated to the god.

Inside, the priests worship a giant crocodile adorned with gold and jewels who they believe is the embodiment of Sobek, and one quest involves hero Bayek trying to find out why the sacred creature has mysteriously started weeping blood.

It took me a hefty 27 hours to finish Origins and there are still areas on the map cloaked in black, indicating that I haven’t travelled there yet. It’s obscenely huge, although the length is artificially extended somewhat by forcing you to reach a certain level before attempting the next story quest.

Exploring Egypt isn’t as thrilling as sailing the Caribbean in Black Flag, which remains my favourite entry in the series. But it’s a much richer, more convincing world overall, and a precious chance to step into history and experience it firsthand.

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The Daihatsu Taft returns with fresh styling, updated tech, and more safety.

Two new editions, Rugged Venture and Active Mode, expand the range.

Buyers can still choose the turbocharged 4WD version for extra capability.

Daihatsu has updated the Taft for the Japanese market, six years after the kei crossover first arrived. The refresh brings two new special editions along with upgraded technology and a more comprehensive suite of safety gear.

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The goal is to keep the little crossover competitive against the recently facelifted Suzuki Hustler and the Mitsubishi Delica Mini, and Daihatsu has gone about it by expanding its range. The two additions are the Rugged Venture and Active Mode special editions, both built on the high-spec G and G Turbo trims, targeting buyers with an active lifestyle.

More: Japan Gets A New Manual Kei Van For $7,200, The Rest Of Us Get Envy

Starting with the Rugged Venture, it is distinguished by the custom grille and tailgate garnish finished in Smoked Chrome and Black. The model rides on 15-inch alloy wheels finished in Gunmetal, with matching accents inside the cabin.

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Daihatsu Taft Rugged Venture and Rugged Style Accessories

The Active Mode gets the same components but strikes a stealthier pose thanks to its darker finish. For anyone after a splash of color, the optional Active Mode Style kit throws orange accents onto the grille, profile, wheels, fog lights, and reflectors.

More: Mitsubishi’s Building A Kei-Sized Pajero

Despite having been around since 2020 , the regular lineup of the Taft doesn’t get any styling updates. In fact, the only change is the addition of the new Spark Orange shade in the color palette.

Daihatsu Taft Active Mode and Active Mode Style Accessories

Inside, the kei crossover gains a digital instrument cluster with a 7-inch display and sharper graphics, though the 9-inch infotainment stays optional. Daihatsu has also added a removable under-luggage box for extra practicality and still offers the panoramic sunroof.

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More: Japan’s Favorite Kei Trucks Get Smarter And Still Cost Under $7,000

Another worthwhile update is the improved safety kit with new sensors that fall in line with Japanese regulations. The Taft can now detect cyclists, oncoming traffic when turning right at intersections, and pedestrians crossing when turning on either side. The maximum speed threshold for the pedestrian collision avoidance system has climbed to 80 km/h (50 mph), while the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist have been recalibrated for smoother operation.

Daihatsu Taft

The powertrain carries over from the outgoing Taft, with the familiar 658 cc three-cylinder producing 51 hp (38 kW / 52 PS) in naturally aspirated form and 63 hp (47 kW / 64 PS) with the turbo. Both engines pair exclusively with a CVT, offering a choice between FWD and 4WD layouts.

More: Daihatsu Revives Tiny Japanese Legend With An Electric Twist

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Prices for the updated 2026 Daihatsu Taft in Japan start at ¥1,435,500 ($8,800) for the cheapest naturally aspirated FWD trim and climb to ¥1,930,500 ($11,900) for the fully loaded Active Mode special edition with a turbo 4WD setup.