A vulnerability in Meccha Chameleon, which has already been patched, allowed multiple Steam Workshop maps to distribute malware to players.
As a post on Medium from user Feint discussed (via Kotaku), "A couple of my friends reported seeing a command prompt window briefly appear while Steam was downloading a custom workshop map … What I found was a seemingly ordinary workshop map that contained what appears to be a malware dropper, despite having passed workshop review."
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The full details regarding the map, Laser Tag Neon, are in the blog, though Feint updated the post to say another map called Chroma Grid Arena was uploaded in its place.
Meccha Chameleon developer Haganeiro confirmed the issue in a post on X Saturday, clarifying it has since been fixed. "The vulnerability in the custom maps described in today's update 3.1.0 has been fixed, so there are no issues after applying it," Haganeiro wrote. "We have also confirmed that the malware is disabled for the affected maps both before and after the update."
As comments like one from X user Jeff reading "Your discord is fucked man" indicate, malicious custom maps weren't the only issue the devs encountered this past week. The game's official Discord server, which has nearly 100,000 users, was hacked. This was confirmed and addressed in a Steam Community blog post yesterday. "We have already contacted Discord Support and are currently awaiting their response," it reads. "If the server cannot be recovered, we will set up a new one."
Developer lemorion_1224 confirmed in a post on X that this happened because a system engineer's PC was infected with malware while fixing the aforementioned vulnerabilities: "The hacker bypassed the engineer’s two-factor authentication on Discord, altered the server permissions, and banned all the staff members."
The affected PC, a backup device, was wiped and can't be used to edit game files, but lemorion_1224 warned players not to follow any "suspicious links" on the compromised Discord.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now... %!s()
Ryan Gosling will officially star in a Ghost Rider movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and according to MCU orchestrator Kevin Feige, he's already got a "specific vision" in mind for the character.
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The Marvel Studios boss spoke about Gosling's love for the Spirit of Vengeance during a post-Hall H interview with ComicBook at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026. We've known the Project Hail Mary star has wanted to play Ghost Rider for some time, but it sounds like Gosling has had his take on the character mentally mapped out for a while.
Feige played coy when asked if Gosling would portray Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch in the movie. Just moments removed from the big SDCC panel, it's no surprise to see Marvel playing it safe, but he was still willing to share at least a little bit about how the MCU Ghost Rider came to be.
(L) Ryan Gosling and (R) Kevin Feige Shake Hands at SDCC 2026. Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney.
"I am going to let Ryan reveal what he wants to reveal when he wants to reveal it, and what he wanted to reveal today was he's playing Ghost Rider," Fiege said with a smile.
"He's a huge fan of the comics. He did come to us, particularly with a specific vision based on some particular comics, but I'll let him unveil that as he wants to."
Gosling has been the rumored pick for a previously unannounced Ghost Rider movie for years. However, it wasn't until the actor confirmed he had spoken with Marvel Studios about playing the motorcycle-riding fireball that fans truly started to get their hopes up.
"We'll keep hope alive," Gosling told Happy, Sad, Confused in March. "Some discussions have been had. It's a complicated situation."
What those "discussions" involved might be particularly interesting for comic book readers, who will no doubt be revisiting some of the most iconic Ghost Rider stories as the movie moves forward. For now, we'll have to wait for Gosling and Feige to share more about how the MCU will bring in Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, or maybe someone else.
As announced last night, Ghost Rider is set to ride into theaters in 2028. It will be directed by Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy and written by Star Wars: Starfighter scribe Jonathan Tropper. Until then, you can check out everything Marvel Studios announced at its SDCC Hall H panel.
Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).%!s()
The image visualizes a quantum Otto engine driven by indefinite causal order. Blue streams from the cold reservoirs intertwine in a quantum-switch geometry and flow toward the central two-level system, representing anomalous heat transfer from colder to hotter. The golden arrow shows useful work output, while the minimal interferometer at the bottom recalls the photonic experiment. Credit: Rosario Lo Franco.
The laws of thermodynamics state that heat naturally flows from hotter systems or regions to colder systems or regions until a state of thermal equilibrium is reached. This simple principle underpins the operation of numerous technologies, ranging from refrigerators to power plants.
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Yet quantum systems, which are governed by quantum mechanics, can exhibit unusual behaviors that cannot be explained by classical physics. These behaviors could be used to create innovative thermal devices.
Researchers at Qufu Normal University, the University of Hong Kong and the University of Palermo recently observed an anomalous thermal effect that allows a quantum system to absorb heat from colder thermal reservoirs. This unusual effect, outlined in a paper in Physical Review Letters, was leveraged to develop a new quantum heat engine that simultaneously produces work (i.e., mechanical energy created by converting heat into motion or power) and refrigeration.
"Indefinite causal order (ICO) allows two events to occur in a superposition of orders," Zhong-Xiao Man, co-senior author of the paper, told Phys.org.
"In quantum thermodynamics, these events are modeled as thermalization channels acting on a system via a control qubit, creating an indefinite order. Previous work showed that even with identical channel temperatures, the system need not equilibrate to that temperature—a striking deviation from standard thermodynamics. Motivated by this, we asked: What happens to heat flow when the system and channels start at different temperatures?"
Designing a quantum engine with an unusual advantage
Building on earlier studies, Man and his colleagues set out to explore what happens to heat when a quantum system interacts with two thermal reservoirs. This led them to theoretically predict and experimentally demonstrate an anomalous reversed flow in which a quantum system absorbs heat from colder thermal reservoirs.
The researchers subsequently designed a new quantum Otto engine, a device that converts heat into useful work. In contrast with conventional Otto engines, however, the device they developed can simultaneously produce work and cool another system.
"We experimentally realized both the anomalous flow and the engine on a photonic platform, obtaining results that fully confirm our theoretical predictions," Man explained.
"The key idea behind our paper is that, in the quantum world, two thermal processes can occur in a superposition of different orders. This creates an unusual heat flow, allowing the engine to draw energy from a colder environment in a way that would not be possible classically."
The newly developed quantum heat engine uses the unusual heat flow to operate a quantum Otto cycle that concurrently generates useful work and provides refrigeration. This is a notable achievement, as enabling the two functionalities would typically require two separate and very different devices.
"First, we identified a new form of anomalous heat flow, showing that quantum coherence can fundamentally alter the way heat is exchanged between systems," said Giulio Chiribella, co-author of the paper.
"Second, we provided a complete theoretical and experimental demonstration of these unconventional thermodynamic effects in a photonic platform, bringing what was largely a theoretical concept closer to physical realization. Third, we clarified an important foundational issue by proving that these effects are not exclusive signatures of indefinite causal order but can also be reproduced within a definite causal structure."
Possible applications and future research avenues
In the future, the team's design and the anomalous heat flow they reported could be used to develop other promising quantum technologies that manipulate heat and energy in fundamentally new ways. While the engine introduced in the recent paper is still a proof of principle, it could potentially open new avenues for cooling quantum processors and managing heat in quantum sensors, imaging technologies or nanoscale devices.
"One area for future research is to move beyond idealized thermodynamic cycles and investigate more realistic implementations where all operations occur in a finite time," added Rosario Lo Franco, co-senior author of the paper.
"In practical devices, speed matters because it determines not only efficiency but also power output. Recent theoretical studies have shown that finite-time measurements and control operations can introduce fundamental trade-offs between energetic cost, information gain and performance, and we would like to understand how these limitations affect the type of engine proposed in our work."
Written for you by our author Ingrid Fadelli, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.
Freelance journalist with BSc Psychology and MA International Journalism. Covers AI, robotics, neuroscience, and astrophysics since 2018.
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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
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Tesla kicked off earnings season — at least for this sector — and the shareholder letter, along with Elon Musk’s remarks during the conference call, provided some pretty incredible disclosures I imagine have some investors concerned, or at least puzzled.
Tesla has backed off previous promises to reach “volume production” of the Cybercab, Tesla Semi, and Megapack 3 in 2026. And while the company has publicly touted expansions of its Tesla Robotaxi service into new cities in Florida and Texas, the quarter-over-quarter data shows a drop in paid robotaxi miles.
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane took a closer look at a graph shared in Tesla’s shareholder letter. At a passing glance, the chart appears to show steady growth in paid robotaxi rides between August 2025 and June 2026, O’Kane notes. But the numbers displayed are cumulative, and when broken down by quarter, they show that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet of Model Y SUVs carrying paying passengers covered around 1.1 million miles in the first quarter. That fell to roughly 700,000 miles in the second quarter, a decline of about 36%.
Musk also disclosed during the call that Tesla needs to accumulate driving data specific to the Cybercab before it can put large numbers of the vehicles on the road. That isn’t terribly surprising; the Cybercab is new, after all. But the reason got my attention. He explained that Tesla has to accumulate miles using Cybercabs retrofitted with steering wheels and accelerator and braking pedals so it can calibrate to the Cybercab chassis.
This marks a change from the company’s previous claims. For years, Tesla has said its fleet of nearly 10 million customer cars has been collecting data that could be used to train its advanced driver-assistance system, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and future robotaxis. Musk’s explanation suggests there is a misalignment between that fleet data and how it’s applied to the Cybercab.
On the financial front, Tesla’s Q2 earnings show a company plowing money into its next generation of products (CapEx has doubled, and the company is back in negative free cash flow territory). And even though revenue is up, the boost wasn’t enough to offset the cost of doing business. The company’s net income fell 5% year over year.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Travis Kalanick burst back onto the robotics and mobility scene earlier this year with Atoms — a rebranded holding company atop his ghost kitchen project — and a deal to acquire Anthony Levandowski’s industrial automation startup, Pronto. Now the Uber co-founder and former CEO has $1.7 billion in capital to play with. VC giant Andreessen Horowitz led the round with participation from Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and Uber. Ben Horowitz will join the company’s board following the investment.
This may seem inconceivable for those who remember Kalanick’s resignation from Uber’s top leadership spot nearly a decade ago — and the string of scandals and lawsuits in the year leading up to his departure. What’s even more incredible is that Uber participated in the funding round. The Information reported Uber invested $100 million into Atoms; conversations I’ve had since confirm that figure and provided new information, including that the investment was made six months ago.
Reminder: In 2016 and while Kalanick was CEO, Uber acquired Levandowski’s self-driving trucks startup Otto. Less than a year later, Levandowski’s former employer Waymo (Google self-driving project) sued Uber for trade secret theft. The companies settled on the fifth day of the trial.
There is a lot of history, much of it messy, between Kalanick and Uber (not to mention Levandowski). But it appears the ride-hailing company is still willing to invest in them.
So what is Atoms going to do with this capital? The details are vague, but a company email from Levandowski suggests that Pronto will be a big part of those plans.
The email states that “Atoms is investing heavily in Industrial AI and physical automation applied to mining and transport.” And later, “Pronto is a core strategic priority for Atoms, and this round is designed to accelerate exactly what matters most to your operations: scaling practical, OEM-agnostic autonomy.”
Other deals that got my attention …
Einride, the Swedish electric and autonomous trucking company, agreed to acquire EV charging startup Flipturn in an all-stock deal worth $38 million.
Sila, the battery materials startup, raised $300 million in a round led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures with participation from 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. The money will be used to expand Sila’s factory in Washington state to produce enough anode material for more than 100,000 EVs.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Aurora had some news this week that didn’t get a ton of attention, but probably should. The company launched its second-generation driverless trucks, which include new hardware that is smaller, as well as upgraded sensor-cleaning systems and extended range lidar — all of which is built for a million-mile service life. The initial fleet will be modest and used on its Dallas-to-Houston route. The fleet will eventually reach 200 driverless trucks by the end of the year and will be used to haul freight for customers like Hirschbach, Uber Freight, McLane, and Detmar, the company said. Importantly for Aurora, these trucks do not have a human observer in the cab.
Ford is turning to Apple for its next generation of EVs. Specifically, Ford is going to integrate Apple Maps navigation and mapping, using a new set of developer tools called MapKit for Automotive, into its new line of electric vehicles, starting with the $30,000 midsize truck in 2027. I asked Ford what this means for Google, which is an existing partner. A company spokesperson told me the Apple announcement “does not change the role of Google Automotive Services across our current and near-term production programs.”
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study called “Rise of the machines: crash experiences of highly automated vehicles and human drivers.” The organization used a far more clickbaity headline (Waymo’s driverless cars crash less often than people) to direct folks to its work. Unfortunately, that headline misses part of the point. The study does provide evidence that Waymo’s current robotaxis have lower crash involvement rates than human drivers. “Overall, when including police-reportable crashes, Waymo’s crash rate was 68% lower than that of human drivers,” the study reads. It also, importantly, concludes that national-crash and vehicle-miles-traveled data collection for Level 4 vehicles “can be improved for more timely and accurate safety evaluations.”
Mobileye founder and CEO Amnon Shashua plans to step down from the top leadership post after nearly three decades, just as the company pushes into robotaxis and humanoid robots.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will look into developing new requirements for automakers to ensure drivers and passengers can safely exit their vehicles — the result of a petition that asked the agency to open a safety defect investigation into the emergency mechanical door release design on 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. To be clear, this doesn’t mean there will be new rules.
Rivian has sued the U.S. government for a “full refund” on tariffs paid under President Trump’s “Liberation Day” taxes, which the Supreme Court later ruled unconstitutional.
Two Volkswagen engineers were charged with securities fraud after allegedly profiting off of insider information related to the German automaker’s joint venture with Rivian.
Waymo is having internal discussions over how to end its contract with Uber, the Financial Times reported. Close followers of this partnership might have read this, rolled their eyes, and said “DUH!” But there are some interesting details in here, including that Uber-Waymo contract that covers Atlanta and Austin ends in May 2028. Uber told TechCrunch that Waymo says it intends to launch its own app in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028.
WhatsApp is rolling out a suite of new features, including a revamped Apple CarPlay and Android Auto experience.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.%!s()
In the history of the X-Men's rogues' gallery, Magneto's always been #1 with a bullet, but Apocalypse is consistently a strong second in the rankings. Ever since his starring role in the Age of Apocalypse story arc back in the '90s, En Sabah Nur has been one of the most dangerous threats in the Marvel Universe, even and maybe especially when he's ostensibly on the X-Men's side.
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With his current featured role in X-Men '97 season 2, Apocalypse is enjoying another moment in the spotlight. Speculation is running high about what might happen next after the events of the latest episodes. Since X-Men '97 to date has been directly adapting/remixing some of the greatest storylines in X-Men history, from the fall of Genosha to “Lifedeath,” it's safe to assume that whatever happens next will take heavy cues from the comics.
The surprise is that Apocalypse doesn't actually have that much material to draw from. The comics have used him somewhat sparingly, all the better to make him a genuine threat when he does appear. As such, if the next step for Apocalypse is another direct adaptation, here are some of our best guesses as to what could be adapted, taken in order from entirely possible to highly unlikely.
Major spoilers follow for season 2 of X-Men '97.
1
The Twelve
The Sentinels' Master Mold searches for Cyclops and the Twelve (1986)Source: Walter Simonson for Marvel Comics
This is one of the rarest things in X-Men history: a long-running storyline that eventually reached a payoff. There's a deep graveyard of abandoned X-Men plot arcs, due to changes in the creative team, editorial interference, and/or simple human error, but The Twelve actually got an ending. It might not have been the original intended ending, but it still counts.
The Twelve were first mentioned in passing in X-Factor #14 (1986), as a group of mutants that were supposedly future leaders of the species, and were specifically targeted by particularly advanced Sentinels. Some of the identified members of the Twelve included Apocalypse, Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, Danielle Moonstar, and Franklin Richards.
As originally written, this was presumably meant as part of a low-profile, slow-burn storyline in the '80s X-books where multiple characters were preparing for some kind of imminent war between superhumans. This seems to have been conclusively abandoned around 1991 when long-time writer Chris Claremont left the books for a while.
Later writers (and Claremont eventually) revisited the concept of the Twelve for a storyline in the late ‘90s. It was revealed that the Sentinels had been given the names of the Twelve in the first place by a time-traveler and member of Clan Askani named Sanctity. She had gone back and uploaded the information to the Sentinels' database as an attempt to prevent a particularly dark future.
In the story as written, the Twelve were actually a specific group of mutants whose powers Apocalypse could steal and use to elevate himself to godhood. The list included some obvious names, such as Cyclops, Phoenix, Iceman, Storm, and Magneto, alongside some unexpected characters like Sunfire, Polaris, Bishop, Colossus's crazy brother Mikhail, and the obscure villain the Living Monolith.
The comics' resolution to the Twelve storyline is a particularly messy story in a messy era. It's from the period of time in Marvel history where absolutely everything was an overcomplicated crossover, and The Twelve doubled down with a couple of faked deaths, some time travel, a bunch of renegade Skrulls, and the death of Cyclops. (It didn't take. If you've ever wondered why Scott is so messed up at certain points in Grant Morrison's X-Men run, however, it's mostly due to lingering effects from The Twelve.)
That being said, this is exactly the kind of plot arc that X-Men '97 has seemingly specialized in. Abducting a bunch of seemingly random characters to power-drain them and become a god sounds like the sort of thing that the cartoon's version of Apocalypse would be interested in. Then again, if this season of X-Men '97 is setting up a scenario based on The Twelve, it's running out of time to reveal who those 12 mutants might be.
2
The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
Cyclops vs. Apocalypse in 1859, from The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix.Source: John Paul Leon for Marvel Comics
In the '90s, Marvel released a couple of different miniseries about a time-traveling Scott and Jean. The first one has already influenced X-Men '97, which suggests the possibility that we might see an animated adaptation of the second.
Peter Milligan and the late John Paul Leon's The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix is set in 1859, and serves as an origin story for Mr. Sinister. Back in Victorian London, he was just Nathaniel Essex, a scientist who wasn't yet mad but was absolutely getting there.
Essex might've died unknown, or more likely been beaten to death by an angry mob, if not for the sudden arrival of Apocalypse. Masquerading as a human, Apocalypse introduced Essex to the cocktail of bad decisions, alien technology, and Darwinian ethics that would eventually transform him into Mr. Sinister. Jean and Scott are then stolen from their proper timeline and unceremoniously dropped into 1859 by Sanctity (see above), with a mission to stop Apocalypse from conquering England and only 48 hours to figure out how.
This is the kind of story that animation is ideal for, where you turn the X-Men into a strange combination of superhero action and Oliver Twist for an episode or two. Call this one a strong possibility.
3
Apocalypse vs. the Brood
Imhotep leads an army that includes an ancient Moon Knight and a young Apocalypse against the Brood.Source: Dustin Weaver for Marvel Comics
Fun facts to know and tell about the comics’ En Sabah Nur: He was born 5,000 years ago in Egypt, where his grey skin and strange blue skin markings made him an outcast. He later stumbled upon alien artifacts that allowed him to enhance his powers to the point where he's been able to survive to the modern day. That puts Nur in a long list of immortals and time-travelers who've secretly been active throughout all of Marvel history.
At one point in 2620 BC, in a story that's been mentioned but never told in its entirety, Nur teamed up with the pharaoh Imhotep and that era's Moon Knight to defend Egypt from an invasion by the alien Brood. Their brief alliance would later give rise to the Brotherhood of the Shield, a secret organization that went on to inspire the creation of modern S.H.I.E.L.D.
It's not an entirely likely scene for X-Men '97, but watching Apocalypse and Moon Knight bash Temu Xenomorphs together would make for one hell of an episode.
4
Apocalypse vs. Dracula
Apocalypse (unsuccessfully) attempts to kill Dracula in 2006's X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula miniseries.Source: Clayton Henry for Marvel Comics
Speaking of Moon Knight: this obscure miniseries from 2006 dealt with a previously unknown blood feud between Nur and (Marvel's version of) Dracula, which began with a mortal Vlad Tepes barely surviving a run-in with Nur in 1400s Romania.
Centuries later, Dracula stumbles across a secret network of Apocalypse's descendants in 1897 London. Shortly afterward, those descendants start showing up in various states of exsanguination, which spurs the survivors to wake Nur to deal with the problem. Soon, Apocalypse has teamed up with vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing to fight Dracula and his minions.
Dracula has his own peculiar history with the X-Men, most of which comes from a famous '80s story where he almost turned Storm into a vampire. (That, in turn, led to an infamous '90s issue of What If where Wolverine usurped Dracula's position as king of Marvel's vampires.) Given X-Men '97's established love of making two major comic storylines do the fusion dance, some kind of Apocalypse vs. the X-Men vs. Dracula brawl could make for a fun episode.
5
Age of Apocalypse (1995)
In an alternate dimension, Magneto's squad of X-Men attack a group of Apocalypse's minions in order to save a time-displaced Bishop.Source: Roger Cruz and Steve Epting for Marvel Comics
30 years later, this is still the Apocalypse storyline. It's also the least likely of the available options. This section is here to sink hopes, not genuinely speculate.
The AoA event began when David "Legion" Haller, Charles Xavier's estranged son and a powerful mutant in his own right, decided to "fix" his life by going back in time and killing Magneto. Instead, David accidentally murdered Xavier.
Due to David's ability to manifest whatever super-power he feels like having, he was able to bypass both the grandfather paradox and the Marvel Universe's previously established rules about time travel. Instead of spinning off a new timeline, David changed the world. Now Apocalypse’s forces had conquered North America, and the only real forces left to oppose him were a handful of freedom fighters, a dramatically outgunned European blockade, and a few splintered groups of Magneto's X-Men. In the Age of Apocalypse, some heroes were villains, some heroes were villains, and the Avengers had never been formed at all.
An entire generation of ‘90s kids has wanted to see an animated adaptation of Age of Apocalypse for over 30 years, and at first glance, all the ingredients were present in season 2 of X-Men '97. Then episode 4 hit.
It's not impossible for a future arc or season of '97 to go in an Age of Apocalyptic direction, but its chances looked better a few episodes ago. In fact, one could go so far as to say that one of the boldest creative decisions X-Men '97 has made is not immediately zipping towards an Age of Apocalypse storyline as soon as humanly (mutantly?) possible. %!s()
