HeyWhatsNew: Discord Tightens Teen Safety With Age Verification and Simpsons Hit and Run Studio Rebrands as New Radical
Welcome back, Heyuppers! It’s been quite an exciting week, and we can’t wait to catch you up on everything that’s happened since February 24, 2026!
YouTube Premium Lite Adds Background Play and Offline Downloads at No Extra Cost
YouTube is adding background playback and offline downloads to its $7.99 per month YouTube Premium Lite subscription. The update allows users to continue playing videos while using other apps and to download videos for offline viewing. Premium Lite launched in the US about a year ago as a lower-cost, reduced-ad option but did not previously include these features. YouTube says the additions follow user feedback and will begin rolling out Tuesday, expanding to all Premium Lite markets in the coming weeks.
Premium Lite removes ads from most videos, though ads may still appear on music content, Shorts, and during search or browsing. Users who want a fully ad-free experience across YouTube and YouTube Music must subscribe to the full YouTube Premium plan, which costs $13.99 per month. Family and student plans are also available.
Canva Buys Animation and AI Marketing Startups
Canva has acquired two startups, Cavalry and MangoAI, to expand its creative and marketing tools. Cavalry is a U.K.-based company that specializes in 2D motion animation. Canva plans to add its animation technology to Affinity, its professional design software, which already supports photo, vector, and layout editing. Affinity was made free last year and has been downloaded more than 5 million times. The deal allows Canva to add motion editing to its professional suite.
MangoAI focuses on improving video ad performance using AI. Its founders, both former Netflix employees, are joining Canva, with Nirmal Govind becoming the company’s first chief algorithms officer. The acquisition supports Canva’s growing focus on marketing tools, following its earlier purchase of MagicBrief and the launch of Canva Grow. Canva closed 2025 with $4 billion in annualized revenue, over 265 million users, and 31 million paid subscribers.
Discord Sets Teen Safety Defaults and Expands Age Verification
Discord will default all accounts to teen safety settings starting in March, restricting access to adult content and spaces unless a user is verified as an adult. The platform, which has more than 200 million monthly active users, will use an age inference model based on signals such as account activity and tenure to identify likely adults. Users not assessed as adults must verify their age through ID submission or facial estimation handled by the third-party service k-ID. Adults will be able to access age-gated servers, unblur sensitive content, receive direct message requests, and speak on server stages.
The policy follows mounting pressure over teen safety, including a 2025 lawsuit involving Discord and Roblox. Discord previously introduced parental oversight tools and piloted age assurance measures in the UK and Australia. The company says submitted identity documents will be deleted quickly, though past incidents, including a breach affecting 70,000 government IDs through a third-party vendor, have raised privacy concerns. Discord describes the change as a foundational shift in how the platform manages safety and access.
Simpsons Hit & Run Studio Relaunches as New Radical Entertainment
Radical Entertainment, the studio behind The Simpsons Hit & Run, has relaunched under the name New Radical Entertainment with a new website and renewed focus. The company is known for licensed titles including The Simpsons Hit & Run, as well as games tied to The Simpsons, Crash Bandicoot, and other franchises. While no remasters or new projects have been announced, the studio says it specializes in remastering classic games for modern hardware.
New Radical states it is actively seeking development work, offering full game production, live operations support, optimization, and visual effects services. The company highlights remastering as a key strength, raising the possibility of revisiting older titles. It appears to remain a subsidiary of Activision, though no official remake plans have been confirmed.
Blizzard Announces Overwatch Rush for Mobile
Blizzard Entertainment has revealed Overwatch Rush, a new top-down hero shooter built specifically for iOS and Android. The game is not a port of Overwatch but a separate mobile experience featuring four player teams, touch controls, and familiar heroes such as Reinhardt, Mercy, Tracer, and Soldier 76. It will be developed by a separate Blizzard team with mobile expertise, while Team 4 continues working on the main Overwatch title.
Overwatch Rush is in early development with no release date yet. It will launch as a free-to-play game with optional in-app purchases, likely focused on cosmetics, though monetization may change based on playtest feedback. Public tests are planned ahead of release, initially limited to select regions. Minimum device requirements include 3GB RAM on both Android and iOS, with support starting from Apple’s A12 chip and devices such as the iPhone XS and newer.
Thanks for tuning in, Heyuppers! Catch us soon for more trending stories on tech, gaming, and the latest in innovation.
