DEVCOM DEVELOPER CONFERENCE BREAKS ALL RECORDS IN NEW LOCATION
Smell-o-Vision Becomes Reality – MovieScent Brings Sense of Smell to Home Entertainment
Social First raises $4.2M seed funding to redefine social gaming
devcom Developer Conference 2024 Announces New Speakers and Program Highlights
Devcom Developer Conference 2024 publishes early event updates
New tech could help travelling VR gamers experience ‘ludicrous speed’ without motion sickness
Safe In Our World and BAFTA To Host Games Mental Health Summit 2024
NG24 Spring: Celebrating 20 Years of Nordic Game
devcom Developer Conference: Call for speakers, early bird phase and new venue announced
Global Leaderboards and Accessibility Feature Update now live for C-Smash VRS for PSVR2
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First Asian Games Core Systems to be Hosted on Alibaba Cloud
In a mission to accelerate the digitalization of the Asian Games, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) has launched its core systems on Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Cloud's robust, reliable and secure technologies will support the first "Asian Games on the Cloud", to facilitate more intelligent, sustainable, sophisticated and efficient Asian Games - to be held in Hangzhou, the company's headquarters, from September 23 to October 8. The core systems, comprising Games Management Systems (GMS), Results Distribution Systems (RDS) and Games Support Systems (GSS), will support around-the-clock operations of 56 competition venues and other critical facilities such as the information technology management center, main media center and the Hangzhou Asian Games Villages, serving more than 100,000 registered users, including the athletes, broadcasters, journalists, staff and volunteers from 45 countries and regions across the globe. As the Games' official information technology integrator and cloud service provider, Alibaba Cloud is responsible for running an all-on-cloud Asian Games, leveraging its proven track record in supporting large-scale worldwide sports events. Selina Yuan, President of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, said: "We have extensive experience supporting large-scale global sports events building upon our proven cloud technologies and trusted services. We are proud and excited to return to our headquarters this year to help deliver an innovative, efficient, sustainable and inclusive Asian Games in Hangzhou. With the even more advanced core systems support, we are committed to an effective collaboration with the Games' stakeholders, and with further improved cloud broadcast technologies, we will bring more engaging viewing experience to the global audience and sport fans." "The Hangzhou Asian Games will be another milestone for Alibaba Cloud to show how robust, scalable and secure cloud computing technologies can help drive digital transformation of large-scale sports events to bring sports and entertainment to every corner of the world," Yuan added. State-of-the art architecture seamlessly integrates with cloud-native core systems Alibaba Cloud provides the fundamental architecture that supports the seamless integration of the core systems as well as intelligent applications such as cloud broadcasting and event organization and communications. For example, at the end of each competition the Results Distribution System will receive data from the timing and scoring system at the venue, which will be further integrated into the central system for distribution in different formats through different application programming interfaces (APIs), such as the results display and news feeds. All of these are built on the Alibaba Cloud to ensure efficient, accurate and stable results distributions. Using cloud-native technology and running it on Alibaba Cloud's container services, the company enables more agile, scalable and efficient operations of the event. In addition, there is no longer a need for physical data centers that require large dedicated space and maintenance facilities to run. Cloud resources will be released once the event is concluded, making the games more environmentally friendly. More than 5,000 hours of excitement transmitted through live cloud broadcasting The Hangzhou Asian Games will also be the first in the games' history during which Rights-Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) will receive live footage through public cloud infrastructure. Alibaba Cloud expects to transmit more than 5,000 hours of live footage through as many as 68 high-definition(HD) and ultra-high-definition (UHD) feeds during the event. In addition to live broadcast, the cloud-based content platform delivers footage in HD or UHD, highlights of the Games and news flashes for RHBs to present to the audience's mobile or other devices. During the Games, the cloud broadcasting will transcend physical boundaries and bring the excitement to audiences across Asia and the rest of the world, through Alibaba Cloud's infrastructure and services in Hangzhou to ApsaraVideo Live Centers in Shanghai and Beijing as well as regional cloud resources in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Singapore. Prior to cloud broadcasting, broadcasters had to rely on dedicated and more costly international telecommunication optical circuits and spend a considerable amount of time to set up the equipment, in order to send live footage halfway across the globe back to their home countries. Now leveraging the highly scalable, resilient and secure global infrastructure of Alibaba Cloud and its network acceleration service – Global Accelerator, live multilateral content in high quality over the public cloud with a fraction of the cost and minimum time for set-up can be delivered. Cloud technology helps bring smart Asian Games Villages The Hangzhou Asian Games has launched an Intelligent Operation Platform to manage the operation of the three Asian Games Villages, which is expected to host over 20,000 athletes, reporters and officials. The platform leverages Alibaba Cloud's advanced visualization tool to analyze real-time intelligence to further streamline the management system, while providing more seamless user experience for those who live in the Villages. For example, Alibaba Cloud's solution utilizes real-time information to analyze traffic and crowd management. A warning will be provided on a dashboard if a public area gets too crowded for public safety. Extreme weather, power failure and fire warnings are also available for organizer's intelligence-driven decisions. With Alibaba Cloud's natural language processing (NLP) technology, an intelligent service robot will also provide all-day online consulting services in both English and Chinese for people living in the Asian Games Villages through a web application service. The chatbot can provide real-time responses related to the services available in the Villages.
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The Game Industry Conference (GIC) 2023 - First Speakers Announced
The Game Industry Conference, a premier European gaming conference based in Poland, is set to return once again, and this time, it is expected to be even bigger than before, with an estimated 4000 attendees. Mark your calendars for GIC'23, scheduled to take place from October 5th to 8th, running alongside the Poznan Game Arena (PGA). Prominent GIC'23 speakers and the topics of their speeches Grzegorz Wątroba, honored as the Best Programming Talk of GIC21, returns with "A Few Words About Leadership in Code Teams". Grzegorz stands as a Principal Software Engineer at PixelAnt Games (Polish division of Sumo Digital). With an impressive 13-year tenure as a C programmer across diverse companies such as Bloober Team, One More Level, and Fool's Theory, his expertise is undeniable. Beyond his programming prowess, Grzegorz is recognized as a dedicated teacher, speaker, and community organizer, contributing extensively to the industry. Mike Haruki Yamazaki, an experienced industry professional, comes from Tokyo to present "Why Does Your Idea Suck? Turn it into a Million-Dollar Project". With a background as an Ex-Business Producer at Mobcast and Marvelous, and as the founder of Japan's first indie game incubator, he offers valuable insights into transforming ideas into successful ventures. Additionally, he represents the Japanese Online Game Association and the Visual Industry Promotion Organization, showcasing his influence in the industry. Skilled Game Developer Robert Asaftei, Programmer at Wube Software, the team behind the CEEGA award-winning game Factorio, will share his expertise in his talk "Adding Controller Support to Your Game". Drawing from his experience of mapping 146 controls to just 16 buttons for Factorio, he offers insights into this intricate process. Notably, Robert played a significant role in creating the game's circuit network, contributing to its unique gameplay mechanics. Yaroslav Diatel from Techland will explore the intricacies of AI life in Dying Light 2, focusing on the routines and schedules of NPCs in his talk titled "AI Life in Dying Light 2, NPC's Routines and Schedules" With over 8 years of experience as a programmer in the gaming industry, Yaroslav has spent the past 5 years at Techland. His contributions include released titles like Dying Light 2, the Switch port of Dying Light 1, Dying Light 1 GAAS, and Pure Farming 2018. Currently, he is actively engaged in developing an unannounced AAA Open World Action-RPG at Techland. Artur Ganszyniec, an industry veteran with over 15 years of experience, known for leading story design on The Witcher 1 and 2, will present a unique feature at GIC. His stand-up comedy routine, "Dumpster Fire: Gamedev Comedy Special" offers a lighthearted yet insightful take on the game development industry's amusing and challenging aspects. With his current role as Chief Art Officer at an undisclosed studio, Tramell Ray Isaac brings 29 years of experience crafting timeless RPGs and FPS games, including titles like Fallout 1 & 2, Planetside 1 & 2, Duke Nukem Forever, Predator: Hunting Grounds, and more. Throughout his extensive career, Isaac has predominantly held positions as a manager, mentor, and leader of artists, animators, and technical personnel. His expertise lies in fostering improved group cohesion and team dynamics. This rich experience will be showcased in his presentation at GIC'23, where he will share insights under the topic "Art Directing Small Teams for Big Impact." The diverse group of speakers at GIC brings a wide range of perspectives and experiences to the conference. GIC's commitment to showcasing industry trends, challenges, and opportunities through this diversity enhances the gaming community and advances the industry on a global level. Candidates for Speakers and machine learning The GIC has gained a reputation as one of the most selective and challenging conferences for speakers to secure a slot. The review process is meticulous and professional, ensuring that only the most exceptional talks make it to the event's lineup. Regardless of their status or fame, every speaker's proposal undergoes a rigorous evaluation. This approach fosters an atmosphere of fairness and equal opportunity, where even the most renowned industry figures must present their ideas convincingly to earn a speaking spot. To aid candidates in presenting their best work, GIC is incorporating cutting-edge machine learning technology which assists potential speakers by offering valuable feedback and suggestions to enhance the quality and clarity of their submissions. Tickets are available at https://gic.gd/tickets/ For more information, please visit GIC’s official website.
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devcom adds Trading Cards for speakers plus next Session Highlights
Leading up to devcom developer conference 2023, taking place from August 20-22 in Cologne, speakers are now rewarded with a unique goody: their very own ”Speaker Trading Card“ – an hommage to classic Trading Card Games and a ’Thank You!‘ to all of our 150+ speakers who’ll be hitting a total of 13 stages in Koelnmesse’s Congress Center East. Each card features individual profession symbols, the speaker’s name and picture, role and studio, as well as their favourite quotes and special abilities. All speakers can participate and add their card to the collection which will be revealed in booster packs – to start with, just digitally. But if the overwhelming feedback the team has received so far is anything to go by, a physical edition may well be issued in the future. The speaker and session lineup is growing constantly, in biweekly updates. Some of the latest additions include none other than Ron Gilbert (Double Fine), who will join the ”Beneath The Return to Monkey Island“ panel on Monday, August 21. In addition, devcom attendees can look forward to talks, panels and fireside chats by EA DICE, Behaviour Interactive, Respawn Entertainment, and RocketRide Games giving the attendees insights on the development of Battlefield 2042, Dead by Daylight, Jedi Survivor and how to combine game development business with art. For smaller groups we will offer a great selection of roundtable discussions and workshops hosted by renowned industry experts. "Our conference program is one of devcom‘s main pillars – a place to learn and exchange knowledge between fellow industry folks. None of this would be possible without the dozens – no, hundreds of speakers who put in the work to make all of this happen, and I have massive respect for everyone hitting the stage. So, we were looking for something special, something unique, a memento for a good time at devcom. And I think our speaker trading cards are a great first step in the right direction!“
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Replica Studios Offers AI Voice Plugin for Unity on the New AI Marketplace in Unity’s Asset Store
Replica Studios is proud to announce that it has joined Unity's Verified Solutions Program and is now offering its Replica Studios AI Voice Plugin on Unity's new AI marketplace. The new AI marketplace allows creators to discover an ecosystem of curated solutions to accelerate AI-driven game development and gameplay enhancements. Easily accessible from the Unity Editor, Verified Solutions in the Unity Asset Store makes it convenient for developers to search for assets, preview them, and import them directly into their projects. With the new AI marketplace, it is now quicker and easier for creators to harness the power of AI in their game development. "We are excited to announce that Replica Studios AI Voice Plugin is now available on Unity's AI marketplace in the Asset Store," said Shreyas Nivas, CEO of Replica Studios. "By making our cutting-edge Generative AI Voice technology readily accessible for Unity developers, we are excited to help shape the future of gaming and provide developers with the tools they need to create the best experiences possible." As part of this program, Replica Studios provides Unity developers with access to its AI Voice Plugin, which offers a library of licensed, highly realistic and emotive AI voices perfect for video game characters, dialogue and voice overs. The AI Voice Plugin, will enable Unity developers to utilise Replica Studios licensed AI voice library featuring over 120 voices to legally and ethically create engaging and immersive gaming experiences while speeding up development and reducing overall production costs that stem from voice capture bottlenecks. The Unity plugin integrates directly with Replica Studios’ desktop app so developers can seamlessly generate and transfer voiceovers directly into active Unity projects. The plugin is and will continue to be compatible with the latest Unity releases. “There is a growing appetite from game developers for more AI tools and we expect the new AI marketplace in the Unity Asset Store to accelerate discovery of more AI solutions for creators, by creators,” said Ralph Hauwert, SVP & GM, Unity Runtime, Editor and Ecosystems. “Today’s new Unity Verified Solutions showcases a broad range of AI-driven capabilities that can help creators accelerate game development. They are professional-quality solutions that have undergone enhanced vetting by Unity for compatibility.” For more information about Replica Studio's AI Voice Plugin and its integration with Unity, please visit Replica Studios website, its Asset Store page and the AI marketplace in the Unity Asset Store.
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Replica Studios introduces AI-Powered Smart NPCs for Unreal Engine
Replica Studios, developer of a leading artificial intelligence (AI) voice platform for video games, has announced Replica Studios AI Powered Smart NPCs (non-playable characters), a plugin coming to Unreal Engine later this year. Smart NPCs are powered by OpenAI or the user’s own AI language model, and Replica’s library of over 120+ ethically licensed AI voices, allowing game developers to develop games at scale and create new dynamic gaming experiences. To showcase the revolutionary technology, Replica has released a Smart NPC demo experience utilising a modified version of Unreal Engine’s Matrix Awakens sample project to showcase some of the features that will be available with the plugin. Watch the trailer here. “At Replica, we believe AI Voice technology has two-fold potential for furthering narrative-heavy games: eliminating critical bottlenecks in the development process, enabling studios to tell ever bigger and immersive stories, and allowing for the creation of never seen before living-world gaming experiences that shape around the player in real-time,” said Shreyas Nivas, CEO of Replica Studios. “Smart NPCs will allow smaller studios who don’t have the resources to script and vocalise on scale to dream big and scale their games 10x or 100x into the epic adventure they’ve always wanted to make.” In Replica’s Smart NPC Experience, AI-powered NPCs will dynamically respond to the player’s in-game voice in real time. Characters will change their dialogue, emotional tone and body gestures in reaction to how the player speaks to them. Replica Studios’ NPCs now have a broader range of emotions thanks to Replica’s recent Style Morphing update. Game designers can also alter the information provided to the AI characters to instruct them to behave differently or have certain personalities, or incorporate their own AI language models to suit their project. “Just as live service games and battle royale have emerged as popular gaming experiences in the last decade, we see AI creating a new category of virtual experiences known for depth of narrative and dynamic storytelling with hundreds of characters, ever expanding quests and stories,” said Nivas. “When teams begin adopting AI to create these new experiences, we will see the role of writers and narrative designers evolve. Rather than writing complete narrative arcs, they’ll create and fine-tune the conditions that power these AI Smart NPCs - game lore, backstories and motivations - to add a human element that will lead to an engaging live player experience.” When Replica’s Smart NPC plugin launches for Unreal Engine later this year, game developers will be able to integrate Smart NPCs into their own projects to begin scaling up characters in their games. The plugin integrates AI language model smarts along with Replica’s text-to-speech models and animates the characters in real-time by outputting sound phonemes and timelines to match an audio stream, while using a customised blend space for facial animations to power accurate lip sync, and custom animation blueprints to send body gesture messages for NPCs during their listening, thinking and speaking phases. The result is a natural looking and behaving NPC that can surprise and delight players with thoughtful, funny, and provocative responses, depending on their personal contexts as well as the voice input directly captured from players’ microphones. The demo will initially run as a cloud based solution but is working towards a locally based solution to give a low latency, multi-user concurrent live experience. “Within the next technology hop we will see AI powered Smart NPC live games and virtual experiences with hundreds of live concurrent players and NPCs all together, with no more latency than a zoom video call that has hundreds of participants,” concluded Nivas. Access to Replica Studios’ Smart NPC playable demo is available on the official website. To sign up for the Smart NPC beta, please visit the registration page. For more information about Smart NPCs, please read the official blog post.
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Skillprint Launches an “AdaptivePlay” AI Platform in Private Beta that Dynamically Personalizes Games
Skillprint, a pioneer in personalizing games to match the personality, cognitive skills, and motivations of players, is announcing that its solution for the game industry, “AdaptivePlay”, is now in private beta for game developers. The AI platform is accessible via an API and SDK that provides personalized results for players surfacing their cognitive skills, personality, and performance in the game, resulting in increased engagement and user fulfillment. It also offers players personalized game recommendations that align with their cognitive skills, personality, and motivations. Finally, it enables game developers to dynamically personalize the game experience for each player real-time. Skillprint is currently accepting applications for the Private Beta of AdaptivePlay with a focus on mobile games in the near-term and plans to expand to other platforms in the future. “With AdaptivePlay, developers can leverage their gameplay data to personalize gameplay and recommendations. We believe this will drive innovation in game design and increase player engagement and retention,” said Chethan Ramachandran, CEO of Skillprint. “At the same time, we’re also giving players insights into their minds - how they think and act, and how they might develop their talents to achieve their life goals including their desired mood, relationships, careers, and other pursuits.” AdaptivePlay offers a differentiated approach by providing a real-time and automated way for game developers to optimize a player’s gameplay experience. By enabling game developers to truly personalize the game experience, the platform helps prevent players from getting frustrated, or bored by games that are not designed for their unique playstyle, and instead helps players have more fun and receive greater fulfillment. Over time, AdaptivePlay will provide developers with the ability to balance the game’s difficulty, progression, rewards, and gameplay in real-time based on the player's personality, behaviors, and abilities. By understanding the player's gameplay data, the platform will ensure a personalized gaming experience for each player. It will also incorporate the player's expressed intent or inferred goals to relax, focus, collaborate, explore, compete or challenge themselves, and dynamically change the game to match their preferences. Game developers interested in participating in the AdaptivePlay Private Beta can sign up by visiting Skillprint's website: https://www.skillprint.co/game-devs
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Tencent Games to Showcase Latest Innovations in Game Development at GDC 2023
Tencent Games, the world's leading game development, publishing, and operation platform, is pleased to announce its presence at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2023, from March 20 to 24. With a record number of 18 sessions and a booth exhibition, Tencent Games will showcase its latest innovations and share its experience and knowledge in mobile game development with the industry. The sessions will cover a wide range of topics, including machine learning, large-scale and cinematic rendering, next-generation mobile game development techniques, audio techniques, and efficiency tools for pipeline management. The lineup includes many of Tencent Games' exciting titles, including Honor of Kings and Return to Empire from TiMi Studio Group, START Cloud Game, upcoming title Arena Breakout from Morefun Studio and Funcom's highly anticipated Dune: Awakening, as well as a presentation on the game development tool CloudFlow Pipeline and the CROS Game Engine developed by Tencent Games Common R&D and Operation System (CROS). At the Tencent Games booth, attendees can experience the power of game technology through the Digital Great Wall cloud game, a cultural heritage conservation project, using CROS Game Engine to create a cloud-based video game of the Great Wall in China. The booth will showcase Tencent Games' latest game development tools, such as Game AIR, a platform for game AI development based on machine learning; Artigician, a series of smart tools for art production; and Anti-Cheat Expert, an anti-cheating product developed by Tencent Games CROS. Tencent Games invites all game developers and enthusiasts to visit its booth and attend its sessions at GDC 2023. Don't miss this opportunity to experience the power of game technology. Tencent Games @ GDC 2023 [Tencent Games Developer Summit] Building A Digital Great Wall with A New Game Engine Yingpeng Zhang | Technical Expert, CROS, Tencent Games Tuesday, March 21 | 9:30am - 10:00am Room 3022, West Hall Cloudflow Pipeline: A Catalyst for the Improvement of R&D Efficiency Rui Ryan Su | Senior SRE Manager, Tencent Games Tuesday, March 21 | 10:00am - 10:30am Room 3022, West Hall Arena Breakout: Creating A Next-gen FPS Game on Mobile Yiming Sun | Producer of Arena Breakout, Morefun Studio, Tencent Games Tuesday, March 21 | 10:50am - 11:20am Room 3022, West Hall TiMi Audio Lab: Sound Design for Honor of Kings Hongfei Zhao | Deputy Director, TiMi Audio Lab, Tencent Games Tuesday, March 21 | 11:20am - 11:50am Room 3022, West Hall [Conference] Machine Learning Summit: Differentiable Rendering for Scalable Asset Pipeline in 'Honor of Kings' Fei Ling | Lead Engine Programmer, TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games Frei Zhang | Senior Engine Programmer, TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games Tuesday, March 21 | 5:30pm - 6:30pm Room 2010, West Hall Machine Learning Summit: Advanced Heightmap Compression Using Deep Learning in 'Dune: Awakening' Calle Lejdfors | R&D Technical Director, Level Infinite, Tencent Games Clemens Rögner | Senior R&D Programmer, Level Infinite, Tencent Games Tuesday, March 21 | 1:20pm - 1:50pm Room 2010, West Hall Practical High-Performance Rendering On Mobile Platforms Xiaoxin Guo | Senior Rendering Engineer, TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games Thursday, March 23 | 2:00pm - 2:30pm Room 2016, West Hall Thousands of Soldiers Battle on One Mobile Screen: Applications of Unity's DOTS in 'Return to Empire' Jian Xiao | Lead Client Programmer, TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games Cangjian Hou | Lead Engine Programmer, TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games Thursday, March 23 | 3:00pm - 3:30pm Room 2002, West Hall BroadLeaf: Real-Time Cinematic Rendering of Large-Scale Forests Yixin Hu | Senior Graphics Researcher, Pixel Lab, Tencent Games Thursday, March 23 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm Room 301, South Hall [Expo] Gameplay - Digital Great Wall Cloud Game Tech Show - Anti-Cheating Expert / Digital Content Creation (Artigician) / Game AI (Game AIR) March 22-24 Booth No.S963
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ARCHEAGE 2 IS HAPPENING - KAKAO GAMES AND XLGAMES SIGN AGREEMENT FOR SEQUEL
Kakao Games is excited to announce a publishing agreement with XLGAMES for the upcoming MMORPG ArcheAge 2, which is currently in development. ArcheAge 2 is expected to launch in 2024, and has gained immense interest since 2020 following the success and intrinsic gameplay of ArcheAge. XLGAMES’ CEO Jake Song will also be leading the development of the game, which is characterized by its vast, seamless open world and combat action. Over 100 developers are working to bring the game to fruition, and are aiming to deliver spectacular action, as well as AAA-standard storytelling. Kakao Games’ CEO, Kyehyun Cho, also spoke about the publishing agreement: “The expectations for ArcheAge 2 are high, as it is a big title in which the years of development knowledge and experience of XLGAMES has been poured into. Together we will work hard to ensure that it becomes a success, and as we have obtained the global service rights through this contract, we aim to strengthen our MMORPG lineup.” XLGAMES’ CEO, Jake Song, also added: “We are happy to join forces with Kakao Games with whom we’ve been working together for a long time. We hope to create a high quality game that remains faithful to the core elements that make MMORPGs fun — especially for all the ArcheAge players who have been waiting for a sequel.” ArcheAge 2’s predecessor, ArcheAge is a large-scale MMORPG that gained its popularity due to the high degree of freedom in gameplay. It remains beloved with a loyal fan base, after having attained 20 million cumulative registered users across 64 countries including North America, Europe, Japan, and China since its release in January 2013. Kakao Games plans to announce a more detailed service plan regarding ArcheAge 2 and will reveal more information about the game in the future.
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ALTAIR BREAKER Featured in New Developer Diary Video
Enjoy this preview and behind-the-scenes look at "ALTAIR BREAKER", coming out later this summer. Game Producer Teruyuki Toriyama, Battle Director Taro Matsuda and Composer Hideki Sakamoto (noisycroak) gather together for this video interview to talk about the world view of the game, the original sound that incorporates "digital noises", the "VR-optimized auto-lock-on system" that enables intense sword-fighting action, and more behind-the-scene stories that you can only see in the developer diary video. "ALTAIR BREAKER" is a next-generation VR transcendent sword-fighting action game scheduled for release in the summer of 2022. The game features high-speed sword-fighting action, blow-ups, aerial combos, and wide-area attacks with special moves. [About ALTAIR BREAKER] Supported Platforms: Meta Quest 2, PCVR Genre: VR Multiplayer Sword-fighting Release Date: Summer 2022 Price: to be announced Players: Up to 4 player online co-op Developer/Publisher: Thirdverse, Co., Ltd. Meta Quest Store: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/4599090550122539 Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1909820/ALTAIR_BREAKER/ Official Website: https://altair-breaker.com/
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User Acquisition on Unity in 2022
Consumer Acquisition today published a new infographic on User Acquisition on Unity that summarizes Unity’s growth along with creative specs, campaign tactics, and platform comparisons. The recent announcement of the Unity and ironSource merger brings exciting opportunities for advertisers looking to diversify their acquisition portfolios beyond Facebook and Google. Unity CEO John Riccitiello highlighted how the merger means more tools “to create and grow successful apps in gaming and other consumer-facing verticals like e-commerce.” With identity systems tied into behavioral dynamics and layered with contextual advertising, Unity and ironSource provide valuable first-party data amidst declining ad visibility. Key insights from the infographic: Unity Growth in 2022: 3.4B monthly active users feeding Unity’s contextual advertising models 3X growth in mobile ad revenue in the Americas +32% IAP revenue growth globally across Unity games In-Game Ad Receptivity 62% of players engage with one or more rewarded videos a day 94% of mobile game devs use ads in their free-to-play games 74% of high-income users prefer opt-in rewarded video over interstitials Consumer Acquisition’s industry expertise comes from managing over $3.5 billion in creative and paid social spend for the world’s largest mobile apps and performance advertisers. Some of them include Glu, Roblox, Wooga, Zynga, and Skillz. Its proprietary full-stack marketing platform AdRules provides real-time business intelligence and creative research from 3.5 million video ads across social channels.
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2022 and beyond: Teslasuit and a New Dimension for the Youniverse
The global leader in human-to-digital interface technology, Teslasuit looks forward to new and innovative game-changing hardware and software developments, while establishing exciting new use cases to drive humankind towards a better future. Since 2016, when Teslasuit first launched its eponymous bodysuit designed to merge the virtual with the physical using groundbreaking haptic feedback technology, the company has been at the vanguard of VR and AR technology, creating innovative hardware and software products able to improve people’s lives, and raise their possibilities to a new level across multiple industries. From medical rehabilitation to sports performance and gaming via defence and industrial training, the ways in which the Teslasuit can be deployed are only just beginning to evolve. In a world in which human movement can be digitalised, commodified, and examined like never before, Teslasuit is very excited to be launching its haptic glove later this year, which combines haptic feedback, force feedback, finger tracking and a biometric system to give the user an unparalleled and literal grasp of the human-to-digital interface. In anticipation of this event, Teslasuit have launched a new website together with a rebranding package designed to mark a new dimension in the brand’s scientific and technological development. The new Teslasuit logo, based on an electric impulse, is formed of three mutual and dynamic parts, representing the technology’s three key applications: professional training, research and rehabilitation, and development. Through an unprecedented merger of the virtual world with the physical realm, Teslasuit products will create a new dimension of human movement and sensory experience where the digital environment directly interacts with the material world, creating an informational and emotional osmosis.
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Zero Latency Pushes Immersive Entertainment Industry Forward With Next Generation Platform Release, Available Globally Now
Zero Latency, the company that introduced the world to free-roam VR, has partnered with tech giant HTC to launch a first-of-its-kind multiplayer immersive entertainment platform. For the first time ever, groups as large as eight can discover Zero Latency’s award-winning experiences with nothing more than a headset – the game-changing HTC VIVE Focus 3. The new platform uses an exclusive remote rendering stack and the latest 6E wireless technology to seamlessly stream 5K VR to up to 8 players simultaneously, delivering up to 16x performance over traditional all-in-one headsets. With no backpack computers, sensors, or other distractions, Zero Latency’s world-first platform offers players the deepest, most effortless immersive experience available today. “With this new partnership, we’re taking a giant leap in the virtual entertainment space,” said Tim Ruse, chief executive officer at Zero Latency. “The evolution to remote rendering and 6E streaming not only improves performance, but removes the need for backpack PCs, cables, and other player distractions–it’s the most streamlined, natural experience yet for both our customers and our operators. Zero Latency has always invested heavily in innovation, and we’re excited to once again push the industry forward in partnership with HTC.” Zero Latency’s new platform is the best way yet to discover Zero Latency’s award-winning library of experiences, including Ubisoft’s AAA exclusive, Far Cry VR; cooperative zombie survival adventure, Undead Arena; mind-bending space mission, Singularity; and the all-action competitive world of Sol Raiders VR eSports. Players can take advantage of Zero Latency’s custom-designed VR gun controller to get in the thick of the action; the company is also investigating the use of hand-tracking in future titles. “Our customers often tell us Zero Latency is the best VR experience they’ve ever had,” said Scott Vandonkelaar, chief technology officer at Zero Latency. “Delivering experiences as deep and interactive as ours has never been possible with an all-in-one headset, so we built our own solution. Remote rendering and 6E wireless streaming means we can deliver our experiences at previously impossible performance levels, with less technology and fewer player distractions than ever. We’re blown away by the results and can’t wait for customers to experience it for themselves.” The new generation of Zero Latency is made possible in part through an exciting partnership with VR technology veterans HTC. “Partnering with Zero Latency to expand customer access to truly immersive virtual entertainment is a massive win for the industry,” said Thomas Dexmier, HTC Vive ANZ - Country Manager. “Bringing the VIVE Focus 3 headset to a company with the size and scale of Zero Latency reduces complicated hardware needs and ensures an interruption-free experience for players worldwide.” The VIVE Focus 3 headset brings a new set of unique capabilities to players, including: (1) An innovative design: The VIVE Focus 3 is the most ergonomic and comfortable VR headset yet with an innovative counterweight design with equivalent front-back balance, perfect for intense, extended gameplay sessions. The new headset suits a wide range of both face shapes and vision types – including those with glasses (2) High-resolution video: The headset features industry-leading 5K resolution (a combined resolution of 4896 x 2448 pixels), a wide 120-degree field of view, and a smooth 90-hertz refresh rate, delivering crisp and natural visuals (3) Immersive sound: Featuring dual microphones with noise cancellation, the headset delivers 3D spatial sound and sound leakage reduction for unparalleled immersion (4) Map sharing and LBE mode: Heavily customized for the location-based entertainment (LBE) industry, the VIVE Focus 3 headset allows users to create boundaries based on the available space and operate accurate co-location tracking to deliver a realistic, free-roaming experience (5) Designed for high-traffic venues: Made with durable materials, the VIVE Focus 3 delivers long-lasting VR performance with its swappable battery, dramatically reducing the operational complexity in the venues. The headset is easy to clean with its magnetic cushions. And in an effort to optimize the customer turnaround, HTC’s patented quick-release button allows users to easily put on the headset to start playing without delays. For more information about Zero Latency, go to https://zerolatencyvr.com/
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Focus Entertainment partners up with Two Horizons to publish Hotel Renovator
Focus Entertainment today unveils a brand new publishing partnership for the next title from Two Horizons. A proven expert in delivering quality simulation games, the studio is currently working on Hotel Renovator, for which Focus will bring its expertise in publishing simulation titles such as Farming Simulator, SnowRunner and Hardspace: Shipbreaker. Combining construction, decoration and renovation with a realistic render, Hotel Renovator enriches Focus’ portfolio and its SIM SERIES range. Focus has always been keen to offer a varied catalog for players worldwide, and Two Horizon’s new title is set to be a unique, immersive new experience. “Our entire team is very excited to be working alongside Focus Entertainment to bring Hotel Renovator to players worldwide.” said Krzysztof Wagner, CEO of Two Horizons. “From a simple idea of restoring and decorating an old hotel, our game is becoming something more significant than we first expected. We firmly believe that together with a partner like Focus, we will take our game to a new dimension.“ “With this partnership, Focus continues to offer unique experiences to players, through games that bring fresh perspectives and exciting twists to familiar genres.” explains Yves Le Yaouanq, Chief Content Officer of Focus Entertainment. “Two Horizons' talented team delivers an original blend of simulation, management and storytelling, backed by photorealistic graphics. A coherent vision of "4D" gameplay (Destroy, Design, Decorate and Develop), the experience is reinforced by a dynamic narrative layer with a light tone. The game also has solid foundations on which to build ambitious live and post-launch intentions. This collaboration corresponds to what we want to bring to Focus: provide tools for players to deploy their creativity.”
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Gaming/careers: Analysis reveals more younger people look to make a living as a social media influencer
Analysis* of data from over 900,000 people who play the best-selling digital game, The Game of Life 2, reveals 7% of those aged 25 and under are choosing to become social media influencers and video bloggers for their jobs. The corresponding figure for those aged 25 and over is 4% Cristina Mereuta, co-CEO at Marmalade Game Studio, said they are seeing more people choosing this career when playing the game, and this is perhaps not surprising given the high profile of some social media influencers, and the money they are earning. Mereuta said: “On average influencers earn around $3,000 a month from their Instagram accounts, but those with over 1 million followers are earning well over $15,000 a month.** “As more brands are turning to smaller ‘creators’ such as ‘nano’ and ‘micro’ influencers who have under 100,000 followers, establishing a career as a creator is becoming more feasible for many.” The hit game from Marmalade Game Studio simulates a person’s travels through their life, from college to careers, marriage, and children, pets, buying a house right through to retirement. Other new types of career choices selected include being an app developer (11% chose this in 2021), a video game designer (7% of gamers chose this) and 4% who want to be a pet groomer. With growing concerns about the rising cost of living, the analysis of how people play Marmalade’s The Game of Life 2 reveals a big shift towards asking for a pay rise as opposed to looking for a new job. This is probably fuelled by people becoming increasingly worried about the risks associated with switching employers, whilst their cost of living is going up. In 2021, 70% of those playing the game opted for a pay rise compared to 30% who wanted to switch jobs, and the corresponding figures in 2020 are 60% and 40% respectively. The Game of Life 2 from digital publishers Marmalade Game Studio has updated the classic Hasbro board game, The Game of Life, offering more choices and more freedom and enabling players to join friends and family for the multiplayer adventure. In the updated game adapted to today’s society there are more and new choices including: ● Getting married early or late or not at all ● Leaving important decisions until later in the game with an additional crossroad moment ● Having children, or adopting a pet, choosing both, or neither ● Playing as the Pink, Blue or new Purple Peg ● Getting a modern job, like a Vlogger or Wind Turbine Engineer ● Retiring to a luxury retirement home, or continuing their journey and fulfilling their bucket list ● Winning through wealth - just like the original - or earning points for Knowledge and happiness The Game of Life 2 is just one of Marmalade Game Studio’s roster of high-quality adaptations of beloved Hasbro board games including Monopoly, Clue/Cluedo, Battleship and the original The Game of Life. ### Notes to editors * Analysis of Game of Life 2 data from 923,507 total Players across Mobile, PC and Nintendo Switch ** HypeAuditor’s Influencer Income Survey
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Internet Vikings surges deeper into the U.S. as they take their game to Michigan
Internet Vikings has officially launched its iGaming operations in the state of Michigan. Beginning in July 2021, the globally renowned European hosting provider has strategically expanded into one state after another, and now offer their services in most of the iGaming compliant states in America. Setting up and going live in Michigan is a carefully planned move for the company, where they once again will provide their full suite of bespoke iGaming hosting services. The company founder and CCO Rickard Vikström expressed his excitement: “We are thrilled to have secured our positions in yet another US territory. We consider the establishment of our operations in Michigan being a major win.” The state of Michigan is presently one of the largest U.S. iGaming markets and therefore one of the most sought-after in the country. Their online sportsbooks handle for December saw a boost of +2.3% MoM, hitting a whopping $485m. While Michigan’s iGaming gross revenue for 2021 hit a new high of $121.8m. Elena Kvakova, the Head of the U.S. expansion for Internet Vikings said: “In addition to high revenues, Michigan is one of just six states in America which specifically allow online casinos.” The others being New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Connecticut. Unlike some other gaming-compliant states, suppliers are not required to possess any type of license if they want to operate in Michigan. It must however, be taken into consideration that in order to operate in Michigan, all online casinos and all companies or individuals working within the industry must have a vendor license, no matter their size or level. Elena continued: “Recognizing the state as the next important strategic step in our U.S. expansion, after studying the relevant legislation and obtaining the required documentation since April, we worked as a team to establish our next U.S. base.” Internet Vikings quickly acquired their first client in May, and applied for their vendor license in June. After months of waiting, Michigan Gaming Control Board has finally completed the evaluation and issued the Swedish Hosting Services Provider with a valid license. “We are extremely proud to be able to support our clients in multiple locations across the U.S. and globally. I can confirm that we will continue expanding and growing both territorially and as a company as a whole. Making sure that iGaming businesses worldwide have access to reliable hosting services anywhere anytime.” Internet Vikings have established a solid reputation as a global hosting services provider, with operations active and thriving on 6 continents. Offering the best in online gaming hosting, their current focus is on the blooming U.S. market, where they have already gone live in most of the compliant states, with more to come in the following months. They have also taken on other new frontiers and set up in Ontario, Canada. Having acquired the necessary experience and strategy, they are ready to take on new locations across America and will soon be operational in all compliant states.
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Could RichCast be the ultimate Game Jam tool?
RichCast, the new creative studio and publishing platform, has partnered with Global Game Jam to support its 2022 event. RichCast (www.richcast.com), which recently won a prestigious TIGA Award for Best Technical Innovation, is now inviting anyone to build and publish their own interactive narrative experiences and games using its simple, intuitive ‘no code’ drag and drop interface. The Global Game Jam is the world's largest game creation event, taking place from January 20th-30th 2022 - and Jammer registrations are open now. The annual GGJ weekend (https://globalgamejam.org) stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. RichCast is the brainchild of three highly respected and experienced UK games industry veterans: Neil Campbell, plus Philip and Andrew Oliver – aka The Oliver Twins. It enables people of all ages* to create original and diverse content that blurs the line between literature and entertainment, complete with voice and touchscreen controls, HD video, audio-visual effects and AI voices that bring new worlds – and words – to life. Creating a RichCast experience requires no knowledge of programming or script languages, making it the simplest way to create original interactive content. It’s even easier to use than the Scratch programming language. RichCast also has a competition open to creators, with £10,000 (~US$13,200) of prize money up for grabs. Head to www.richcast.com, download the Early Access RichCast App for PC or Mac, and hit Create to get started. Enter the competition at www.richcast.com/competition and submit your best RichCasts by midnight on January 7th 2022. There are four categories: Best Fiction Best Non-Fiction Best Use of Audio Best Use of Visuals The winner of each category will receive £2,000 each, while runners-up will each receive £500. The competition is free to enter and open to anyone over 13 years of age. For full terms and conditions, visit www.richcast.com/competition. RichCast is currently free, with the plan to add fair monetisation in 2022 to ensure content creators receive royalties for their great experiences. “The RichCast software has been developed with a goal of democratising the creation and distribution of high quality, interactive narrative content,” explained Philip Oliver, CEO of PANIVOX, the start-up behind RichCast. “Global Game Jam is a much-respected event that encourages creativity in interactive entertainment around the world, and urges the individuals who take part to try out new technology. The synergies between our two organisations couldn’t be stronger, so we’re delighted to be partnering with them to help more people take part in this brilliant annual event.” Rich Hebblewhite, Senior Lecturer in Computing at Wrexham University and GGJ 2022 Regional Organiser (UK & Ireland), said: “The GGJ embodies the idea that in today's connected world, we can come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using games as a medium. As such, promoting tools that empower people from all backgrounds and skill sets is hugely important to us - and the PANIVOX team has produced such a platform with RichCast. “Having been involved with Global Game Jam for more than a decade, it’s exciting to see new technology such as RichCast driving creativity and innovation at the grass roots of the industry.” To learn more about RichCast and register for Early Access visit www.RichCast.com For RichCast media assets, visit: https://bit.ly/RichCastLaunchAssets RichCast Launch Video: https://bit.ly/RichCastRevealVideo
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SMPTE Rapid Industry Solutions (RIS) On-Set Virtual Production Initiative Receives Epic MegaGrant
SMPTE®, the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today announced that SMPTE — through its newest program, Rapid Industry Solutions (RIS) On-Set Virtual Production Initiative (OSVP) — has received a prestigious Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games. Drawing on the expertise and contributions of diverse technology and thought leaders, the RIS OSVP is working quickly to assess challenges; establish goals; and make interoperability specifications, workflows, and best practices open and free to the industry along with supporting educational courses and webcasts. The $150,000 Epic MegaGrant will empower SMPTE to deliver even more quickly on the promise of this first RIS Initiative. "This Epic MegaGrant is a wonderful validation of the work we've done so far, the model we're using to deliver results, and our ultimate goal of making those results open and free to the industry," said SMPTE Executive Director Barbara Lange. "We formed the RIS On-Set Virtual Production Initiative to address an important and specific industry need, and this support will add to our momentum and accelerate our work. Speaking on behalf of the SMPTE RIS OSVP community, I can say we're all tremendously grateful." SMPTE developed the RIS model to address rapidly evolving technologies and their application across the media and entertainment industry. Providing a clear, readily accessible framework for on-set virtual production, as well as much-needed resources for education and professional development, the SMPTE RIS OSVP Initiative will empower creatives, technologists, and executives to explore the full potential of powerful, real-time, 3D creative tools, including Epic's Unreal Engine. More than 40 companies and individual contributors from across the industry are collaborating as part of the RIS OSVP community to achieve this goal. Establishing interoperability standards and best practices for film and episodic content creators is essential to making virtual production workflows accessible to all storytellers. This initiative from SMPTE marks an important step forward for virtual production, a technique centered around use of Unreal Engine that has revolutionized the creation of interactive storytelling and entertainment. We are pleased to support this effort through Epic MegaGrants, accelerating SMPTE's mission to drive the industry forward," said David Morin, industry manager, media & entertainment, Epic Games. More about Epic MegaGrants can be found at unrealengine.com/en-US/megagrants. More information about the SMPTE RIS OSVP Initiative is available at smpte.org/rapid-industry-solutions. Further information about SMPTE is available at smpte.org
