Technologies

Hands-On With Spellcasters Chronicles: 3 Things I Hope They Change Before the Closed Beta

The game is an interesting spin on the classic push-lanes-with-minions formula, but the action doesn’t yet feel satisfying.

Quantic Dream, the studio known for rich storytelling games like Detroit: Become Human, announced something totally different last month. Spellcasters Chronicles is a competitive three-on-three action-strategy game that promises to have an element of ongoing storytelling. And the develop just announced that it’s entering a closed beta from Dec. 4 to 7.

Spellcasters Chronicles follows the general mold of a multiplayer online battle arena game like League of Legends: Your team battles along three lanes, with player-controlled characters helping waves of computer-controlled minions as they push toward objectives («lifestones») deep in enemy territory. Player characters have different classes and abilities, giving them defined strengths and weaknesses.

I got to play an early build of the game earlier this month to get a sense of the gameplay loop and the general vibe of Spellcasters Chronicles. The usual caveats apply: This is an early build of the game, so things were not optimized, features may change and so on. I should also be clear that one or two matches played is not a lot of material to judge by, so I’ll be focusing on the broad strokes.

Based on a quick match-and-a-half, here are the three things I’m hoping the game changes.

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Put more action in the action-strategy

The match I played, which came down to the last dying seconds, felt like it was primarily decided by the two teams’ strategic decisions more than individual plays. Our opponents summoned an early titan, a massive creature that helped them gain control of most of the map, but my team worked together to stop it before it could damage our lifestone (each team’s most precious structure). We used that momentum to flip one of the lanes and ultimately destroy one of our opponents’ lifestones.

At the end of the game, the other team made another push with a titan while one of our teammates was on a long wait to respawn. But we had stocked up on resources and were able to dump everything into eliminating the titan before it took out one of our lifestones, though we cut it pretty close.

Those big swings felt like they came down to our strategy, rather than relying on landing important shots or abilities, which is what I’d hoped to see in an action-strategy game like this. And deckbuilding elements of selecting ability cards to bring into the match, which were limited in our playtest, further swing the game toward rewarding strategy over moment-to-moment combat skill. That’s certainly not unheard of for MOBA games, but I’d like the balance to shift more toward the action side, or at least somewhere more in the middle to reward great plays.

The existing action elements need some help

To be clear, the game does have action elements, but they probably need a little tweaking if Quantic Dream wants them to stand out. Flying around the map with dash abilities and raining spells down upon enemy summons were fun, and by far the most dynamic parts of the game, but other pieces of action came up a bit short.

The biggest thing for me was that it felt impossible to hit other spellcasters with primary attacks and abilities due to the travel time of projectiles and the small hitbox of the spellcasters. Maybe the struggles were particular to the spellcaster I was playing (the swamp witch), but about halfway through the game, I kind of just gave up on shooting at enemy spellcasters because I felt like a Death Star stormtrooper firing at Luke Skywalker. The swamp witch is listed as a duelist class, so I had hoped to feel more useful in 1v1s against other spellcasters.

Unlike traditional MOBA games, players have to manually summon minions, rather than having them automatically spawn from their base. This gives you some element of control — you can pick which lane to spawn them in, and as you gain map control, you can spawn them further up the lane. But spending time summoning minions felt like a bit of a chore, even if it happens pretty quickly. There were times when I wanted to rotate to another lane, but I felt like I had to hold off in order to summon more minions in the area I was currently in. In fairness, the deck I selected was very heavy on minions rather than spells or other effects, so other builds might have a different experience, but that doesn’t change the fact that the hands-on summoning process really slowed the game down for me.

The art style is engaging and enjoyable, but visually, a bit hard to read

The game has a bright, vivid art style that makes spells and parts of the scenery pop. But sometimes, there was a little too much popping. I’m a veteran of Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, so I’m no stranger to a barrage of particle effects, but there were moments where I got totally lost in Spellcasters. Three casters barraging a titan with spells in front of a glowing lifestone can be pretty visually disorienting.

In the visual style of Spellcasters Chronicles, size is power. Ultimate abilities have enormous areas of effect, and the most powerful summons, titans, are kaiju-sized threats that stomp across the battlefield, demanding your attention. In general, I think that works, but when those large elements all cluster together, it’s challenging to decipher what’s happening.

What’s next for Spellcasters Chronicles?

Spellcasters offers an interesting twist on a popular game type, and it’s already doing some things right. Games run 25 minutes long, which helps dodge the classic MOBA pitfall of feeling trapped in unwinnable games or slowly grinding out a victory for 45 minutes to an hour. (Though 20 minutes might be an even sweeter spot.)

Seeing a titan lumbering toward your lifestone is appropriately thrilling, and summoning one feels nicely cataclysmic. It’s one of the game’s biggest strengths in the current state.

But I hope Quantic Dream spends some time tightening up the action elements and some of the visual clutter. The early state of the game probably wouldn’t be enough to break into my rotation of other competitive games, but if spellcaster-to-spellcaster combat felt more consistent, and if the game depended a little more on landing shots and spellcaster abilities, it would be a more serious contender.

Technologies

The New Year Will Kick Off With a Supermoon. Here’s When to See It

January’s Wolf Moon will be the final of four consecutive supermoons.

Supermoons tend to come in packs, and Earth has just experienced three of them in a row, dating back to October. The final supermoon of this sequence is happening on Jan. 3, and it also happens to be the first supermoon of 2026. Skygazers will want to catch this one, since the next one won’t occur until next November.

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The moon tends to spend three to four months at a time in perigee, a fancy term that means it’s as close to Earth as its elliptical orbit will allow. During this time, humans refer to full moons as a supermoon. Since the moon is physically closer to Earth than it normally is, a full moon appears brighter and larger in the sky.

The difference can be a moon that is up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a micromoon, which occurs when the moon is at apogee, or the furthest point away from Earth. That brightness is the real differentiator, as a supermoon is bright enough to light up your backyard, especially if there is snow on the ground.

The odds of this are pretty good, as it is expected to snow in a few parts of the US between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

To see the moon at its brightest, you’ll want to stay up late on Jan. 2 or wake up very early on Jan. 3. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, January’s supermoon will rise from the eastern horizon and streak across the sky to settle in the west around sunrise. The moon will reach peak illumination at 5:03 a.m. ET. It should still be dark outside for the entire US during this time, so everyone will have a chance to see it.

If you can’t due to weather or other engagements, the Wolf Moon will be over 90% full from Dec. 31 through Jan. 5, which gives you almost a week at near-maximum illumination.

Since the moon is the largest and brightest object in the night sky, you also won’t need any special magnification devices to see it. However, a good pair of binoculars or a telescope makes the moon’s surface details easier to see, and helps photographers take some impressive moon shots.

The full moon in January is commonly called the Wolf Moon, and it’s due to increased activity from wolves during this time. Not only does January mark the beginning of the wolf’s winter mating season, but wolves are also typically more active during the dusk and dawn hours, and dusk happens pretty early in the day, right after the winter solstice. In the old days, this meant that people were much more likely to see a wolf or hear wolves howling during January.

Technologies

The FCC’s Foreign Drone Ban Is Bad News for Anyone Who Wants a DJI Device

The US government is making good on an anticipated ban on the import of foreign-made drones, including those from the world’s top seller.

If a DJI drone was on your list to buy going into 2026, you might want to act quickly. The Federal Communications Commission has made good on an anticipated ban on the import of foreign-made drones, including those made by DJI, the world’s top seller of the flying devices.

The FCC on Monday added uncrewed aircraft systems and their components that are produced in a foreign country to its Covered List, a record of gear and services deemed to «pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the US.»

According to the FCC’s public notice, that includes but isn’t limited to data transmission devices, flight controllers, sensors and cameras, batteries, motors and other drone components.

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In late October, the agency voted 3-0 to «close loopholes» that allow tech deemed a «national security risk» to be sold in the US. In plain English, the US government cleared the path to give DJI the same treatment it gave Chinese phone-maker Huawei, effectively banning its products from the American market.

In a statement, DJI said it was disappointed by the decision. «While DJI was not singled out, no information has been released regarding what information was used by the Executive Branch in reaching its determination,» a spokesperson said. «Concerns about DJI’s data security have not been grounded in evidence and instead reflect protectionism, contrary to the principles of an open market.»

DJI said it remains committed to the US market and that it’s possible future products could be cleared for launch here at the discretion of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.

Drones already in the hands of US consumers aren’t impacted: «This action does not affect any previously-purchased drone. Consumers can continue to use any drone they have already lawfully purchased or acquired,» the FCC said in a fact sheet about the change.

In its announcement, the government cited upcoming high-profile events including 2026’s FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics as mass-gathering events that could be put at risk by drones.

«The federal government is taking additional actions to safeguard Americans and restore American airspace sovereignty,» the FCC said.

The FCC has also been considering a separate ban on TP-Link routers, but that was not included in this December update to its Covered List.

DJI asked for a security audit before any ban

In October, DJI told CNET that the FCC appeared to be making its decision «without any evidence of wrongdoing or the right to appeal.»

Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said the company has repeatedly said it would be open to audit, but that «more than 10 months have now passed with no sign that the process has begun.»

«The US government has every right to strengthen national security measures, but this must go hand in hand with due process, fairness, and transparency,» Welsh said at the time.

Will DJI drone owners need to give them up?

Because the ban applies to new sales, not drones that have already been sold, a DJI drone you already own is still be legal to use — at least under current rules.

Government agencies, however, were already prohibited from purchasing or using drones from Chinese companies, including DJI.

DJI’s drones consistently rank high in their product category. In January, they dominated CNET’s list of best drones for 2025. But some of the company’s newest products, such as the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, haven’t been available for sale in the United States.

Even before the policy change, some DJI products were hard to find. The website UAV Coach has posted a guide to the bans and reports that, due to inventory issues, most DJI drone models were sold out at retailers.

Technologies

AT&T Just Revealed Which Holiday Has the Most Calls. And No, It’s Not Christmas.

You might be able to guess the biggest texting day of the year, but the Holiday with the most phone calls gave me chills.

The holidays are a time for connecting with friends and family, either by gathering in person or checking in remotely. So, naturally, you might think phone calls would be at their highest during the festive stretch at the end of the year. But according to new figures shared with CNET by AT&T, another holiday got the highest number of calls in 2025. Which one?

The answer might give you chills: AT&T’s subscribers conjured up around 651 million phone calls on… Halloween. The company shared no other data besides the massive number, leading me to wonder why the spooky season inspired so many calls. Lost trick-or-treaters calling their parents for rides? People in costumes at parties accidentally butt-dialing their friends? Poltergeists pilfering people’s phones? Only the spirits truly know.

Despite that one-day call volume, texting is vastly more popular than phone calls over the course of the year. Through Dec. 9, 2025, the network registered almost three times more texts than calls: 525 billion texts sent vs. 181 billion calls made during the year.

And the top texting day? Dec. 1, 2025, with around 2.3 billion (specifically 2,264,041,461) messages sent.

These figures represent traffic on AT&T’s mobile network, which does not include its home or business broadband services. And, of course, it’s a snapshot of just one provider. AT&T has around 119 million subscribers, according to Wikipedia.

When you’re looking at phone plans, even unlimited phone plans, using tens of gigabytes of data during a month sounds like a lot. But at the network level, the scale is staggering, even in limited areas.

For example, AT&T also broke out its three largest data events in 2025: Mardi Gras (March 4) logged 57.5 terabytes; South-by-Southwest (SXSW) (March 7 to 15) went through 34.1 terabytes; and the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix (May 4) burned 24 terabytes. (One terabyte is roughly equal to 1,000 gigabytes.)

Overall, across all of AT&T’s networks — mobile, broadband and enterprise — the company reported average data traffic of 1 exabyte per day. That’s 1 million terabytes.

With massive communications infrastructure built over the last few decades by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and others, we’re likely long past the days of phone networks getting clogged by the surge of calls on Christmas Day.

So make a point of calling your family this holiday, or at least send a text. The network should be able to handle it.