Ars Technica’s Top 20 video games of 2025
A mix of expected sequels and out-of-nowhere indie gems made 2025 a joy.
Kyle Orland
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122
Features
TV Technica: Our favorite shows of 2025
Netflix and Apple TV dominate this year’s list with thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, and murder.
Jennifer Ouellette
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185
No one loves President Trump more than FCC Chairman Brendan Carr
Carr used to insist on FCC independence. Now he uses FCC to fight Trump’s battles.
Jon Brodkin
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94
Discworld, Daleks, and Deep 13: A geeky holiday TV and movie watchlist
There’s obviously more to Christmas flicks than Netflix romcoms.
Anna Washenko
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122
The inside story of SpaceX’s historic rocket landing that changed launch forever
“It’s hard to describe how epic this comeback was after our first Falcon 9 launch failure.”
Eric Berger
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180
“A Band-Aid on a giant gash”: Trump’s attacks on science may ruin his AI moonshot
Trump’s AI “Manhattan Project” will fail if DOGE cuts are kept, critics say.
Ashley Belanger
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98
Verizon refused to unlock man’s iPhone, so he sued the carrier and won
Verizon changed policy after he bought the phone, wouldn’t unlock it despite FCC rule.
Jon Brodkin
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180
How to break free from smart TV ads and tracking
Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options.
Scharon Harding
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279
Most Read
Win hardware, collectibles, and more in the 2025 Ars Technica Charity Drive
Help yourself to prizes by helping us raise money for good causes.
Kyle Orland
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23
Please send help. I can’t stop playing these roguelikes.
2025 was a very good year for my favorite genre.
Aaron Zimmerman
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187
A massive, Chinese-backed port could push the Amazon Rainforest over the edge
The port will revolutionize global trade, but it’s sparking destructive rainforest routes.
Inside Climate News
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176
The NPU in your phone keeps improving—why isn’t that making AI better?
Shrinking AI for your phone is no simple matter.
Ryan Whitwam
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157
“Players are selfish”: Fallout 2’s Chris Avellone describes his game design philosophy
Avellone recaps his journey from learning on a TRS-80 to today.
Alan Bradley
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77
After 40 years of adventure games, Ron Gilbert pivots to outrunning Death
Interview: Storied designer talks lost RPG, a 3D Monkey Island, “Eat the Rich” philosophy.
Kyle Orland
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82
We put the new pocket-size vinyl format to the test—with mixed results
It’s a fun new format, but finding a place in the market may be challenging.
Chris Foresman
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233
Vision Pro M5 review: It’s time for Apple to make some tough choices
A state of the union from someone who actually sort of uses the thing.
Samuel Axon
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229
“Go generate a bridge and jump off it”: How video pros are navigating AI
I talked with nine creators about economic pressures and fan backlash.
Kai Williams
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173
Stoke Space goes for broke to solve the only launch problem that “moves the needle”
“Does the world really need a 151st rocket company?”
Eric Berger
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147
OnePlus 15 review: The end of range anxiety
OnePlus delivers its second super-fast phone of 2025.
Ryan Whitwam
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98
I’ve already been using a “Steam Machine” for months, and I think it’s great
With a little know-how, you can get yourself a Steam Machine right this minute.
Andrew Cunningham
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198
US spy satellites built by SpaceX send signals in the “wrong direction”
It seems US didn’t coordinate Starshield’s unusual spectrum use with other countries.
Jon Brodkin
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122
What if the aliens come and we just can’t communicate?
Ars chats with particle physicist Daniel Whiteson about his new book Do Aliens Speak Physics?
Jennifer Ouellette
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306
Review: New Framework Laptop 16 takes a fresh stab at the upgradeable laptop GPU
New components make it more useful and powerful but no less odd.
Andrew Cunningham
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80
You won’t believe the excuses lawyers have after getting busted for using AI
I got hacked; I lost my login; it was a rough draft; toggling windows is hard.
Ashley Belanger
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177
NASA is kind of a mess: Here are the top priorities for a new administrator
“He inevitably will have to make tough calls.”
Eric Berger
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214
Mark Zuckerberg’s illegal school drove his neighbors crazy
Neighbors complained about noise, security guards, and hordes of traffic.
WIRED
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200
How to declutter, quiet down, and take the AI out of Windows 11 25H2
A new major Windows 11 release means a new guide for cleaning up the OS.
Andrew Cunningham
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212
Internet Archive’s legal fights are over, but its founder mourns what was lost
“We survived, but it wiped out the library,” Internet Archive’s founder says.
Ashley Belanger
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219
“Unexpectedly, a deer briefly entered the family room”: Living with Gemini Home
Gemini for Home unleashes gen AI on your Nest camera footage, but it gets a lot wrong.
Ryan Whitwam
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173
Halloween film fest: 15 classic ghost stories
From The Uninvited to Crimson Peak, these films will help you set the tone for spooky season.
Jennifer Ouellette
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118
New physical attacks are quickly diluting secure enclave defenses from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel
On-chip TEEs withstand rooted OSes but fall instantly to cheap physical attacks.
Dan Goodin
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87
10M people watched a YouTuber shim a lock; the lock company sued him. Bad idea.
It’s still legal to pick locks, even when you swing your legs.
Nate Anderson
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368
We let OpenAI’s “Agent Mode” surf the web for us—here’s what happened
From scanning emails to building fansites, Atlas can ably automate some web-based tasks.
Kyle Orland
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153
Google has a useful quantum algorithm that outperforms a supercomputer
An approach it calls “quantum echoes” takes 13,000 times longer on a supercomputer.
John Timmer
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74
MacBook Pro review: Apple’s most awkward laptop is the first to show off Apple M5
Apple M5 trades blows with Pro and Max chips from older generations.
Andrew Cunningham
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172
Should an AI copy of you help decide if you live or die?
Doctors share top concerns of AI surrogates aiding life-or-death decisions.
Ashley Belanger
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223