There’s a pleasing rhythm to cozy life sims. The virtual days pass, filled with chores of tending crops or running a business, punctuated by strange mysteries or evolving relationships. At their best, these games merge busywork with exploration and storytelling, in a way that makes them hard to step away from. Discounty, from developer Crinkle Cut Games, applies this idea to running a small-town supermarket. And while in many ways it can still be considered “cozy” like its contemporaries, it also comes with a bit of bite.
Instead of starting up your own business from scratch, Discounty has you taking over a grocery franchise from your cranky aunt in a small town that has seen better days. It’s a strange place; the most famous resident is the inventor of the keyring, and parts of the surrounding woods have been closed off for safety reasons. But it’s still friendly and comforting in the way small towns are, with a handful of residents who you’re really able to get to know over the course of the game. There’s also plenty of drama.
Actually running the store is your main job. From open to close, you are the only employee, so you have to deal with everything from managing the cash register — which involves, gasp, doing math — and keeping the shelves stocked so no one complains there’s no coffee or shampoo. But you also handle all the behind-the-scenes work: ordering new products, organizing the storage area, throwing out the trash, even negotiating with local vendors for fresh fish and produce. This part of the game is satisfying because it requires you to focus on what’s immediately in front of you (a bunch of picky customers) while also planning and strategizing for the future.
As you progress, your shop will expand both in terms of what you can sell and its physical size, which in turn makes the core gameplay loop more complex and challenging. In order to move things forward, though, you’ll have to get involved with the townsfolk. Working with local vendors usually means doing them some kind of favor, whether it’s finding some lost sheep or stocking gross Christmas-themed fish sticks. This can pull you down all kinds of narrative rabbit holes.
What’s most interesting about Discounty’s story is how it explores a number of real-world issues in its otherwise cozy and silly world. For starters, not everyone is happy about a big chain moving into town. When I finally expanded my shop’s footprint, usually a moment to celebrate in these kinds of games, everyone was mad because I did it by taking over an adjacent tea shop. The cafe had been shut down for years, but everyone still viewed it as an important part of the fabric of the community, and I was dismantling that.
Sometimes succeeding in the game isn’t actually good for the town itself. And while these threads often hide their darker edge behind humor — in order to get a construction permit, I had to help a city clerk dispose of environmental impact reports — Discounty is surprisingly sharp with its commentary, even if it never goes especially hard at any of its targets.
That mixture of satisfying gameplay and a story that’s both relatable and genuinely funny is what makes Discounty work so well. It’s not an escape to an idyllic farm or mountain getaway. It’s you doing a job that’s hard and not always pretty, while trying to make the best of things. Most of us know just what that’s like.
Discounty is available now on the Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Source link
#Discounty #adds #bite #cozy #life #sims
![Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder. | TechCrunch
At a trendy venue near the San Francisco pier, Sam Altman’s verification project World celebrated its next evolution and rapid expansion of its ambitions. And it’s starting with Tinder.
Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind the World project, announced Friday plans to integrate its verification tech into dating apps, event and concert ticketing systems, business organizations, email, and other arenas of public life.
“The world is getting close to very powerful AI, and this is doing a lot of wonderful things,” said Altman, speaking before a packed crowd at The Midway. “We are also heading to a world now where there’s going to be more stuff generated by AI than by humans,” he added. “I’m sure many of you [have had moments] where you’re like, ‘Am I interacting with an AI or a person, or how much of each, and how do I know?”
World (formerly Worldcoin) distinguishes itself from many of its ID verification peers by offering the ability to verify that a real, living human is using a digital service while still protecting that person’s anonymity. There is some complex cryptographic alchemy behind this (something called “zero-knowledge proof-based authentication”). The upshot: The company is creating what it calls “proof of human” tools, which are mechanisms that can verify human activity in a world rife with AI agents and bots.
Its chief tool for verification is a spherical digital reader called the Orb that scans a user’s eyes, converting their iris into a unique and anonymous cryptographic identifier (known as a verified World ID). This can then be used to access World’s services, although users can also access World’s app without one.
Altman kept his remarks brief on Friday (TFH’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Blania, was absent due to a last-minute hand surgery, Altman said). He then turned much of the presentation over to World’s chief product officer, Tiago Sada, and his team.
Sada explained that World was launching the newest version of its app (the last version was launched at an event in December), along with a plethora of new integrations for its technology.
World has been preparing, for some time, to deploy a verification service for dating apps — most notably, Tinder. Last year, Tinder launched a World ID pilot program in Japan. That pilot was apparently a success because World announced that Tinder would be launching its verification integration in global markets —including the U.S. The program integrates a World ID emblem into the profiles of users who have gone through its verification processes, thus authenticating them as a real person.
Image Credits:World
World is also courting the entertainment industry by launching a new feature called Concert Kit, where musical artists can reserve a certain number of concert tickets for World ID-verified humans. This is designed to ensure that fans are safe from scalpers who often use automated ticket-buying bots to scarf up seats. Concert Kit is compatible with major ticketing systems, including Ticketmaster and Eventbrite, and the company is promoting it via partnerships with 30 Seconds to Mars and Bruno Mars — both of whom plan to use it for their upcoming tours.
The event was full of many other announcements, including some aimed at businesses. A Zoom/World ID verification integration seeks to battle a supposed deepfake threat to business calls, and a Docusign partnership is designed to ensure signatures come from authentic users.
The company is also working on a number of features in anticipation of the Wild West of the agentic web, including one called “agent delegation,” in which a person can delegate their World ID to an agent to carry out online activities on their behalf. A partnership with authentication firm Okta has also created a system (currently in beta) that verifies that an agent is acting on behalf of a human. The system is set up so that a World ID can be tied to a specific agent and then, when the agent goes out into the web to operate on that person’s behalf, websites will know a verified person is behind the behavior, said Okta’s chief product officer, Gareth Davies, at the event.
So far, it’s been difficult for World to scale, due largely to the verification process itself. For much of the company’s history, to get its gold standard, you had to travel to one of its offices and have your eyeballs scanned by an Orb — a fairly inconvenient (not to mention weird) experience.
Image Credits:World
However, World has continually made moves to increase the ease and incentive structure for verification. In the past, it offered its crypto asset, Worldcoin, to some members who signed up and has distributed its Orbs into big retail chains so that users can verify themselves while they’re out shopping or getting a coffee. Now the company is announcing that it is significantly expanding its Orb saturation in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The company also promoted a service where interested users could have World bring an Orb to their location for remote verification.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, Sada also shared that World has attempted to solve the scaling problem by creating different tiers of verification. The highest tier is Orb verification, but below that, World has previously offered a mid-level tier, which uses an anonymized scan of an official government ID via the card’s NFC chip.
The company also introduced a low-level tier, or what Sada called “low friction”— meaning low effort, I guess, but also “low security” — which involves merely taking a selfie.
Selfie Check, which Sada’s team presented during the event, is designed to maintain user privacy.
“Selfie is private by design,” said Daniel Shorr, one of TFH’s executives, during the presentation. “That means that we maximize the local processing that’s happening on your device, on your phone, which means that your images are yours.”
Selfie verification obviously isn’t new, and fraudsters have long managed to spoof it. “Obviously, we do our best, and it’s like one of the best systems that you’ll see for this. But it has limits,” Sada told TechCrunch. Developers looking to integrate World’s services can choose from the three different verification tiers depending on the level of security that’s important to them, he noted.
#Sam #Altmans #project #World #scale #human #verification #empire #stop #Tinder #TechCrunchDocuSign,sam altman,Tinder,World,Worldcoin,zoom Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder. | TechCrunch
At a trendy venue near the San Francisco pier, Sam Altman’s verification project World celebrated its next evolution and rapid expansion of its ambitions. And it’s starting with Tinder.
Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind the World project, announced Friday plans to integrate its verification tech into dating apps, event and concert ticketing systems, business organizations, email, and other arenas of public life.
“The world is getting close to very powerful AI, and this is doing a lot of wonderful things,” said Altman, speaking before a packed crowd at The Midway. “We are also heading to a world now where there’s going to be more stuff generated by AI than by humans,” he added. “I’m sure many of you [have had moments] where you’re like, ‘Am I interacting with an AI or a person, or how much of each, and how do I know?”
World (formerly Worldcoin) distinguishes itself from many of its ID verification peers by offering the ability to verify that a real, living human is using a digital service while still protecting that person’s anonymity. There is some complex cryptographic alchemy behind this (something called “zero-knowledge proof-based authentication”). The upshot: The company is creating what it calls “proof of human” tools, which are mechanisms that can verify human activity in a world rife with AI agents and bots.
Its chief tool for verification is a spherical digital reader called the Orb that scans a user’s eyes, converting their iris into a unique and anonymous cryptographic identifier (known as a verified World ID). This can then be used to access World’s services, although users can also access World’s app without one.
Altman kept his remarks brief on Friday (TFH’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Blania, was absent due to a last-minute hand surgery, Altman said). He then turned much of the presentation over to World’s chief product officer, Tiago Sada, and his team.
Sada explained that World was launching the newest version of its app (the last version was launched at an event in December), along with a plethora of new integrations for its technology.
World has been preparing, for some time, to deploy a verification service for dating apps — most notably, Tinder. Last year, Tinder launched a World ID pilot program in Japan. That pilot was apparently a success because World announced that Tinder would be launching its verification integration in global markets —including the U.S. The program integrates a World ID emblem into the profiles of users who have gone through its verification processes, thus authenticating them as a real person.
Image Credits:World
World is also courting the entertainment industry by launching a new feature called Concert Kit, where musical artists can reserve a certain number of concert tickets for World ID-verified humans. This is designed to ensure that fans are safe from scalpers who often use automated ticket-buying bots to scarf up seats. Concert Kit is compatible with major ticketing systems, including Ticketmaster and Eventbrite, and the company is promoting it via partnerships with 30 Seconds to Mars and Bruno Mars — both of whom plan to use it for their upcoming tours.
The event was full of many other announcements, including some aimed at businesses. A Zoom/World ID verification integration seeks to battle a supposed deepfake threat to business calls, and a Docusign partnership is designed to ensure signatures come from authentic users.
The company is also working on a number of features in anticipation of the Wild West of the agentic web, including one called “agent delegation,” in which a person can delegate their World ID to an agent to carry out online activities on their behalf. A partnership with authentication firm Okta has also created a system (currently in beta) that verifies that an agent is acting on behalf of a human. The system is set up so that a World ID can be tied to a specific agent and then, when the agent goes out into the web to operate on that person’s behalf, websites will know a verified person is behind the behavior, said Okta’s chief product officer, Gareth Davies, at the event.
So far, it’s been difficult for World to scale, due largely to the verification process itself. For much of the company’s history, to get its gold standard, you had to travel to one of its offices and have your eyeballs scanned by an Orb — a fairly inconvenient (not to mention weird) experience.
Image Credits:World
However, World has continually made moves to increase the ease and incentive structure for verification. In the past, it offered its crypto asset, Worldcoin, to some members who signed up and has distributed its Orbs into big retail chains so that users can verify themselves while they’re out shopping or getting a coffee. Now the company is announcing that it is significantly expanding its Orb saturation in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The company also promoted a service where interested users could have World bring an Orb to their location for remote verification.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, Sada also shared that World has attempted to solve the scaling problem by creating different tiers of verification. The highest tier is Orb verification, but below that, World has previously offered a mid-level tier, which uses an anonymized scan of an official government ID via the card’s NFC chip.
The company also introduced a low-level tier, or what Sada called “low friction”— meaning low effort, I guess, but also “low security” — which involves merely taking a selfie.
Selfie Check, which Sada’s team presented during the event, is designed to maintain user privacy.
“Selfie is private by design,” said Daniel Shorr, one of TFH’s executives, during the presentation. “That means that we maximize the local processing that’s happening on your device, on your phone, which means that your images are yours.”
Selfie verification obviously isn’t new, and fraudsters have long managed to spoof it. “Obviously, we do our best, and it’s like one of the best systems that you’ll see for this. But it has limits,” Sada told TechCrunch. Developers looking to integrate World’s services can choose from the three different verification tiers depending on the level of security that’s important to them, he noted.
#Sam #Altmans #project #World #scale #human #verification #empire #stop #Tinder #TechCrunchDocuSign,sam altman,Tinder,World,Worldcoin,zoom](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-17-at-1.55.00-PM.png?w=680)






![‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon
With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer. During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.
We announced yesterday that MGM is extending the exclusive theatrical window for PROJECT HAIL MARY so it won’t be on streaming anytime soon. This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen – and w a full return to IMAX screens for 1 week only starting this weekend, make… https://t.co/suK8NYpgWM — Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) April 16, 2026 “It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.” Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.
At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming ‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon
With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer. During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.
We announced yesterday that MGM is extending the exclusive theatrical window for PROJECT HAIL MARY so it won’t be on streaming anytime soon. This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen – and w a full return to IMAX screens for 1 week only starting this weekend, make… https://t.co/suK8NYpgWM — Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) April 16, 2026 “It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.” Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.
At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/04/project-hail-mary-ryan-gosling-1280x853.jpg)
Post Comment