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Rivian gives RJ Scaringe a new pay package worth up to $5B

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Rivian has given its founder and CEO RJ Scaringe a new performance-based stock award that could ultimately be worth around $5 billion if all the underlying goals are met, according to a new filing.

Scaringe’s salary is also being doubled to $2 million per year, and he was given a 10% stake in Rivian’s newest spinout Mind Robotics, the filing shows.

The announcement comes just one day after Tesla shareholders voted to approve a compensation package for its CEO Elon Musk that could be worth $1 trillion — the largest in corporate history.

Unlike Musk’s pay package, Scaringe’s isn’t subject to a shareholder vote. The compensation committee on Rivian’s board of directors has canceled a similar-sized performance award given to Scaringe in 2021 as part of a company-wide equity incentive plan adopted that year. The new award is being issued under the same, already-approved 2021 equity incentive plan.

The committee decided to cancel the 2021 performance award in part because of the “unlikeliness” that Scaringe could reach the goals required. The 2021 award consisted of 20,355,946 stock options that vested in part based on stock price increases. Six years past the grant date, if Rivian’s share price passed $110, $150, $220, and $295, Scaringe would be able to purchase the stock options in corresponding tranches for just $21.72.

Rivian’s stock shot up to around $129 following its IPO in November 2021. But it fell to around $30 over the next six months, and has spent the last few years typically trading between $10 and $20. This has made it harder for Scaringe to access even part of the 2021 award, let alone the total value of around $6 billion, according to the company. (Scaringe was awarded another 6.8 million stock options that simply vest over time in the 2021 award that were not tied to performance, and the company says those have not been canceled.)

In the filing, Rivian wrote that this created a “lack of incentive.” So the compensation committee decided to replace the old award with this new one.

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“Following a review, and input from an independent compensation consultant, the Compensation Committee cancelled our CEO’s 2021 Performance Grant and issued a new performance stock option and increased our CEO’s base salary,” Rivian said in a statement to TechCrunch. “This new award is designed to retain and incentivize RJ to execute on the Company’s critical next phase as it progresses its technology roadmap and launches R2.”

Similar to how Tesla pitched its new award to Musk, Rivian also said the performance grant to Scaringe is “structured in such a way that ensures the options only vest should the company deliver significant value to our shareholders.” The company pointed out that Scaringe won’t see $1 from the award before he helps add $32 billion in value to Rivian, and that shareholders will see “$153 billion of value creation” if he hits all milestones.

The maximum amount of shares available to Scaringe under new performance award is 36,500,000. He has 10 years to hit milestones that unlock the full amount, and if he does, he would own an additional 3% of the company. (Scaringe currently owns about 1% of Rivian, down from around 2% earlier this year after he transferred a portion of his holdings to his ex-wife as part of their divorce settlement, as TechCrunch first reported.)

A majority of those stock options — 22 million — is tied to new stock price hurdles. Scaringe will earn 2 million shares once Rivian’s stock hits $40, and then another 2 million shares for every $10 increase up to a stock price of $140.

The remaining 14,500,000 stock options are locked away until Rivian reaches certain adjusted operating income and cash flow targets. Scaringe will have to pay a strike price of $15.22 per share to exercise these options — a possible total of around $555 million.



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IKEA announces new Matter-compatible smart home products

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IKEA has officially announced its range of Matter-compatible smart home products. The Swedish furniture store is releasing 21 new items under the tentpoles of lighting, sensors and control. IKEA teased these releases back in July.

Part of the roll out will include updates to existing categories in order to work with Matter, an open source smart home standard. “We’re upgrading our most-appreciated products while also adding new ones to solve even more everyday challenges,” Stjepan Begic, product developer at IKEA. “Our focus has been on keeping things simple from setup to daily use, so it’s easy for people to start, use and grow a smart home.”

As for the products themselves, 11 come as part of the KAJPLATS smart bulb range. They will have a mix of shapes and sizes, along with dimming functionality. Then there’s the five smart sensors., starting with an indoor and outdoor motion sensor called MYGGSPRAY, which automatically turns on lights. Similarly, there’s MYGGBETT, which sends a notification when a door or window gets opened or closed.

On the more technical safety side are sensors like TIMMERFLOTTE, which monitors temerature and humidity. Then there’s ALPSTUGA, an air quality sensor and KLIPPBOK, a water leakage sensor.

Finishing the lineup is a range of remote controls and one smart plug, GRILLPLATS, which works with regular lamps and appliances to turn them on and off, along with tracking energy use. Then there’s the four BILRESA products, starting with a dual button remote control that can turn lights on and off, adjust the brightness, and create a preset scene. Meanwhile, the remote control with a scroll wheel does similar functions, along with dimming. Two kits of three controls each are available for each type.

IKEA doesn’t include exact pricing or release dates, noting that it might vary market to market. In its July teaser, the company said these products would be available come January next year.

The new products will further bolster IKEA’s smart home lineup, which often alternates between hot and cold. For instance, the company’s DIRIGERA smart hub debuted as far back as 2022, but the Swedish furnishing giant and Sonos dissolved their partnership earlier this year, despite the fact that many users (including us) found them to be an affordable alternative to more pricey Sonos-branded options.

Update Nov. 7 2025, 3:56PM ET: Added more context, including links to coverage of IKEA’s earlier forays into the smart home market.



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ADT offers Google Nest gear for 60% off with security system

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Google’s home security partner, ADT, has a big discount available for anyone looking to start off a new security system, or just their smart home. The discount includes 60% off of a starter package, which means over $400 off just the bare minimum.

As we noted in our review last year, ADT’s Google Nest-integrated security system puts forth a solid offer for those looking to use Google’s hardware, but use that with a proper, monitored security system.

Now, you can get into that system for less.

ADT is currently offering 60% off of its “Front Door Protection” package which includes a base package including Nest gear. The package includes:

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  • ADT+ Base (Hub)
  • 3 Door/Window Sensors
  • 1 Motion Sensor
  • 1 Yard Sign & Window Stickers
  • 1 Yale Smart Lock
  • 1 Google Nest Doorbell (battery)

That’s all sold for 60% off, with the usual $700+ cost down to just $295.

While you unfortunately can’t swap out the Nest Doorbell (battery) for a wired model, you can add on to this package while still getting a discount on adding anything. For example, adding a Nest Cam (indoor), usually $99, tacks just $40 onto the total – i.e., 60% off. The same applies if you’d like to add outdoor cameras, a floodlight, or even another doorbell.

There is a more modular “Video Essentials” package that includes your choice of camera, but add-ons aren’t discounted like with the “Front Door Protection” package.

You can install the system yourself, or have ADT Pros come and do that for you. The package includes automatic sign-up for ADT’s “Complete Monitoring Plan” for $40/month, but you can cancel that at any time if you wish to self-monitor. You only need to have it for a single month to get the discounts, ADT confirmed with us.

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Here are your rights if your flight is cancelled during government shutdown

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Many travelers could be faced with cancelled flights this weekend due to air traffic cuts mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

That will likely leave many searching for alternative travel plans or their money back, as major airports are required to cut 10% of their traffic. But what, exactly, can you expect from your airline if your flight is cancelled?

Many airlines will give you the option to take a different flight, often at no extra cost. Most will let you re-book on a later flight on the same airline to the same destination, provided there is space on the flight. Some will also allow you to book on other airlines if they have a partnership with that airline, so be sure to research other options.

The U.S. Department of Transportation provides a dashboard for travelers to check what different airlines offer in the event of a cancellation.

Following the announcement of the cuts this week, multiple major airlines have introduced new policies to make it easier for customers to change their flight or get a refund.

United Airlines has said it will provide refunds to anyone traveling during this time, even if their flight is not cancelled, and American Airlines is waiving change fees. Delta is allowing customers to re-book their flight without paying any difference in fare, as long as the rebooked flight is on or before Nov. 21.

Southwest Airlines will rebook travelers automatically if their flight is cancelled, or they may request a refund or to change to a different flight.

What does the law say?

Under federal law, customers are entitled to a refund on their ticket if the airline cancels a flight and the customer does not change to a different one. You may be offered travel credits or a voucher, but if you do not accept these, the airline is required to give you a refund. They are also required to let you know that you are entitled to a refund.

The same is true if your flight is significantly delayed. For domestic flights, this would mean arriving at your destination at least three hours later than scheduled, and for international flights, six hours later than scheduled.

Before you leave for the airport, be sure to check your flight status. Most airlines will contact you by email or phone if there are changes to your flight, or you can check their website or mobile app.

The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1 due to a deadlock in Congress over Democrats’ insistence on health care funding. It has become the longest shutdown in the country’s history.

This has left about 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers across the country working without pay for more than a month, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. This has led to staffing shortages, which have, in turn, led to delays and cancellations.

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‘Landfall’ spyware abused zero-day to hack Samsung Galaxy phones

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Security researchers have discovered an Android spyware that targeted Samsung Galaxy phones during a nearly year-long hacking campaign.

Researchers at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 said the spyware, which they call “Landfall,” was first detected in July 2024 and relied on exploiting a security flaw in the Galaxy phone software that was unknown to Samsung at the time, a type of vulnerability known as a zero-day

Unit 42 said the flaw could be abused by sending a maliciously crafted image to a victim’s phone, likely delivered through a messaging app, and that the attacks may not have required any interaction from the victim. 

Samsung patched the security flaw — tracked as CVE-2025-21042 — in April 2025, but details of the spyware campaign abusing the flaw have not been previously reported.

The researchers said in a blog post that it’s not known which surveillance vendor developed the Landfall spyware, nor is it known how many individuals were targeted as part of the campaign. But the researchers said that the attacks likely targeted individuals in the Middle East.

Itay Cohen, a senior principal researcher at Unit 42, told TechCrunch that the hacking campaign consisted of a “precision attack” on specific individuals and not a mass-distributed malware, which indicates that the attacks were likely driven by espionage.

Unit 42 found that the Landfall spyware shares overlapping digital infrastructure used by a known surveillance vendor dubbed Stealth Falcon, which has been previously seen in spyware attacks against Emirati journalists, activists, and dissidents as far back as 2012. But the researchers said that the links with Stealth Falcon, while intriguing, were not enough to clearly attribute the attacks to a particular government customer.

Unit 42 said that the Landfall spyware samples that they discovered had been uploaded to VirusTotal, a malware scanning service, from individuals in Morocco, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey throughout 2024 and early 2025.

Turkey’s national cyber readiness team, known as USOM, flagged one of the IP addresses that the Landfall spyware connected to as malicious, which Unit 42 said supports the theory that individuals in Turkey may have been targeted.

Much like other government spyware, Landfall is capable of broad device surveillance, such as accessing the victim’s data, including photos, messages, contacts and call logs, as well as the tapping of the device’s microphone and tracking their precise location.

Unit 42 found that the spyware’s source code referenced five specific Galaxy phones, including the Galaxy S22, S23, S24, and some Z models, as targets. Cohen said that the vulnerability may have also been present on other Galaxy devices, and affected Android versions 13 through 15. 

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment.



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Guillermo del Toro delivers a Frankenstein for the tech bro era

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There’s a reason the story of Frankenstein endures. Its examination of mankind’s hubris and inhumane scientific progress has only become more relevant since Mary Shelley’s time. The pursuit of “innovation at all costs” has led to new monsters, born from people who failed (or refused) to consider the consequences of their actions. So it’s no wonder that Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix adaptation feels so much like a modern day tech bro. He is practically their template.

Squint a bit, and you can see Frankenstein’s recklessness in Mark Zuckerberg ignoring Facebook’s role in promoting the genocide in Myanmar, with Elon Musk lying about Tesla’s real self-driving capabilities (potentially leading to several crashes), or Sam Altman’s OpenAI building a hallucinating AI search engine trained on stolen content. Screw the consequences, they just want to shout “it’s alive!” as their products go viral (and as their investors lap up the engagement).

Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a remix of the major elements of the novel — there’s the doomed love story, the mad scientist driven by his ego and the sympathetic monster who demonstrates far more humanity than his creator — refashioned in the director’s opulent style. But it’s also clear from the film’s explosive opening, where an Arctic ship encounters Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) being chased by a seemingly unkillable Creature (Jacob Elordi), that del Toro isn’t shying away from his campier horror roots. Arms are torn off, gallons of blood are spilled. This Frankenstein contains multitudes.

Why did Victor Frankenstein go through hell to reanimate the dead? Because he could. In the novel and this film, the whole ordeal was always about bragging rights and demonstrating his greatness as a scientist. He didn’t consider what he owed to the new life form, or the cruelty of bringing a being into the world with no companion. It didn’t matter who he hurt. Sound familiar?

Mia Goth and Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein

Mia Goth and Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein (Netflix)

What truly makes del Toro’s Frankenstein work is his understanding of the characters. As Victor Frankenstein, Oscar Isaac embodies the punk rock charm of a rebel scientist who thinks he alone can invent a way to reanimate life. But he also lives with the memory of an abusive father who likely killed his beloved mother. Elizabeth fascinates and intrigues Victor, but she’s also disgusted by his apathy for the natural world. It’s not hard to see why she feels immediate sympathy for the Creature, who is portrayed by Jacob Elordi as a sort of child-like super human. He’s an immediate disappointment to Frankenstein, who can’t help but repeat the cycle of abuse he experienced with his father.

Looking back at his career, it’s as if del Toro has been trying to adapt Shelley’s novel through all of his films. You can see elements of the story in his debut feature Cronos, which centers on a device that makes people immortal (but also curses them with a thirst for blood). The tragic father and son relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature is mapped directly onto the evil vampires in Blade 2. The Gothic romance between Frankenstein and his sister-in-law Elizabeth (who also has eyes for the Creature) echoes Crimson Peak. And the desire for a seemingly “evil” being to fit into normal human life is front and center in del Toro’s Hellboy films.

Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein

Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein (Netflix)

In an interview with NPR, del Toro mentioned that, as a child, seeing the monster appear for the first time in the 1931 Frankenstein film was “an epiphany.” It was an experience that helped him understand his own faith, and seemingly his entire view of life and art. His Frankenstein is the work of someone who has been living with the story for decades. It comes to life with lavish sets, his love of voluptuous colors (there’s a scene of a red scarf floating in the air that haunts me) and his fascination with the macabre.

There’s a lesson in Frankenstein for today’s tech elite, but given their current obsession with AI despite its potentially massive societal and environmental impacts, I have little hope they’ll learn anything from it. But when Guillermo del Toro was asked about using generative AI by NPR, he spoke as someone who truly understood Shelley’s novel. “I’d rather die,” he said.



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This Nothing Ear (Open) alternative costs less, but it’s just as good

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Over the past several months, the Nothing Ear (Open) have quickly become my favorite pair of earbuds thanks to their comfortable fit and ability to deliver excellent audio quality without blocking out the world around me. But the problem with open-ear headphones is that they’re only ever a secondary option, so price matters. That’s why this $80 alternative – which has been on sale for far less at times – to the Nothing Ear (Open) has been so compelling.


Update 11/6: This post has been updated and republished as Acefast Air is now on sale for Black Friday for just over $30, over half off its usual $80 cost.

The total cost comes out to $31.99 when redeeming an on-page coupon.

The post also now includes brief impressions of the upgraded Acefast Pro.

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Nothing Ear (Open) really surprised me last year. The excellent fit and shockingly great sound quality were things I just didn’t expect from a pair of open-ear headphones. I’ve been using them with every chance I’ve gotten, between my quiet home airport, cleaning around the house, and playing disc golf, they’ve really been my go-to in a ton of situations. But when I’m on a plane, walking through a bustling city, or anywhere else where there’s ambient noise, I end up having to grab something else – usually the regular Nothing Ear with their ANC support.

That shortcoming is exactly why it’s usually pretty hard to recommend a product like Nothing Ear (Open). They can only ever be “secondary” headphones because there are many situations where they quite literally just can’t work. At their usual $149 price – or even the $129 they’ve been discounted to lately – that’s a big downside.

The problem, though, is that many cheaper open-ear headphones fall flat where the Ear (Open) shines. They don’t fit as well or, more frequently, they just don’t sound as good. Some open-ear options I’ve tried sound fine, but hurt in my ears after a short time. Others just sound awful, with horrible tinny sounds, not enough volume, or at bare minimum a complete lack of depth to whatever you’re listening to.

I have been pleasantly surprised, though, by the Acefast AceFit Air.

These open-ear headphones are usually sold for around $80 – though they’re currently discounted to well under $70 – and they deliver on most of my favorite things about the Ear (Open). The biggest area these deliver on is the sound quality. It’s right up there with Nothing’s, though with a bit less depth to the audio at times. The placement of the speaker also sometimes means that the music ends up drowning out a bit more of the outside world than I’d prefer. But they sound really good and, like Nothing, actually have some good bass and kick. Occasionally I’ll hear a small whine from the speakers when music is low or paused, but it’s not been a huge issue.

The fit on Acefast AceFit Air is also quite good. They’re a bit more finicky to put on compared to Ear (Open) as they wrap around the front half of your ear instead of the full length, but they sit nicely, are comfortable, and don’t fall off easily. I was also pleasently surprised with the case. It’s quite thin and has strong magnets both to keep the lid closed and the earbuds in place. I don’t like how much bigger the footprint is compared to Nothing’s case (not to mention the awkward USB-C port placement), but it’s not bad at all.

You’ll also lose out on Google’s Fast Pair here, and pairing as a whole suffers the same problem as a lot of “cheap” earbuds. There’s no button on the case for pairing. Instead, they launch into pairing when you first open the case and then stay paired to your device until you unpair and, at that point, you can go and connect to something else. The idea of this “just works,” but the execution is always super mixed. These have worked well for me so far, but I’d really just prefer a button for pairing.

But, it’s hard to complain for the cost.

Acefast AceFit Air still isn’t “cheap” at around $80, but it’s considerably more affordable compared to the Nothing Ear (Open) while delivering on the most important aspect of the experience, and it’s also easy to find at a huge discount.

In my book, it’s a perfect alternative.

Meanwhile, the Acefast AceFit Pro offers the same form factor and sound quality as the Air, but with a couple of upgrades. This includes a transparent case that has the same vibes as Nothing’s, but with an LED battery meter that reads out the percentage.

The earbuds themselves also have an LED and a semi-transparent design. Acefast touts this as a safety feature of sorts, as the lights show while you’re wearing the earbuds, making them assist with nighttime visibility. It’s a good idea, but it’s also a double-edged sword as it means that both the earbuds and the case are a bit overly bright in a dark room. You can customize the color of the LED through Acefast’s app.

I struggle to find a reason to pay twice as much for these, but they’re certainly a solid pair of open-ear headphones if you’re in the market and happen to catch them on a good sale.

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Originally published February 2025, updated November 6, 2025

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Shays’ Rebellion records found in cardboard box in Hampshire Sheriff’s Office

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Shays Rebellion register of prisoners
A page of the register of prisoners recently found in the records at the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office that describes the incarceration of participants of Shays’ Rebellion. (Submitted photo)submitted photo

Jailhouse records describing the incarceration of dozens of participants of Shays’ Rebellion sat for decades in a cardboard box at the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office before state archivists discovered them.

The leatherbound register of prisoners, written on yellowed pages in looping cursive, described the charges of treason, sedition and taking up arms against the state leveled against 35 participants of the rebellion that ran from the summer of 1786 to early 1787. The sheriff’s office announced the discovery this week.

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Tesla delays reveal of production Roadster 2 to April Fools’ Day

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Thursday the company will reveal the production version of its second-generation Roadster supercar on April 1, 2026 — nearly nine years after he first revealed the project.

Musk, who is famous for missing deadlines, said during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting that he chose April Fools’ Day in part because it affords “some deniability.”

“Like, I could say I was just kidding” if it happens to be later, he said.

Revealing the production version of the new Roadster next year is in itself a delay. Just one week ago he appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and repeated his claim that he wanted to show off the car by year’s end.

Musk stressed Thursday the car “will be very different from what was shown previously,” and again teased that the demo will be the “most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product” — a not-so-sly nod to the fact that he’s spent years trying to make the new Roadster fly in some fashion, possibly with SpaceX-built thrusters.

Musk went on to say that he believes the second-generation Roadster won’t go into production until 12 to 18 months after the April reveal.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, one shareholder asked Musk if customers who preordered the “Founders Series” version of the new Roadsters could be invited to the reveal event. Those were the customers who plopped down $250,000 to secure special versions of the car in 2017.

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“Sure, absolutely,” Musk answered. “It’s the least we can do for our long-suffering Roadster reservation holders.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of those long-time sufferers who recently attempted to cancel the reservation — and initially failed to get a refund — for the long-promised EV.

Earlier this month, Altman posted on X a “tale in three acts,” which was comprised of several screenshots showing his initial reservation, a request for a refund of the $50,000 reservation fee, and his email bouncing back.

“I really was excited for the car!” Altman wrote. “And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.”

Musk, who has openly sparred with Altman for years, went on the attack. “And you forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours,” Musk wrote. “But that is in your nature.”



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Rise of Hydra has been delayed with no new release window

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Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has been delayed again. The project had already been pushed back in May from a planned 2025 release date to a rough early 2026 window. In a post on X today, Skydance Games said the title won’t be ready for even longer. “We’ve made the decision to shift our release window beyond 2026,” the statement reads.

Amy Hennig’s studio, which is part of Skydance, is the main driver of the project, which we know is a story-driven title with a quartet of Marvel characters in occupied Paris during World War II. Hennig was a core part of the creative team behind the Uncharted series, and was more recently a story consultant on Forspoken. She’s also been long tied to some mysterious Star Wars title, but that game has also been pretty light on details for a few years.

That’s two high-profile AAA delays in one afternoon. Fans worldwide will have to wait longer for the eventual arrival of Grand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar’s eventual mega-hit has been pushed to a November 19, 2026 launch date.



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