Ubisoft is working with Nvidia and Inworld AI to explore using generative artificial intelligence to power non-playable characters (NPCs) in future games. The French game publisher announced on its website that generative AI will change the narratives of NPCs in future video games.

At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Ubisoft released a preview of the company’s latest AI prototypes called ‘NEO NPCs.’ These new NPCs are developed and designed to interact with players in real-time within the game. In addition, the NEO NPCs will be able to interact with other characters around them differently without any input from the player.

In the demo at GDC, players could interact with the NEO NPCs using voice commands. According to Ubisoft, the NEO NPCs are not created by machine but instead created by a human writer. The writer helped create the character, backstory, conversation style and later helped improve improvising dialogues.

The NEO NPCs are developed at Ubisoft Paris using Nvidia’s Audio2Face technology with Inworld AI’s character engine and LLM technology.

With NEO NPCs, Ubisoft’s narrative and animation designers blended the reliability of scripted game elements with the dynamism of spontaneous player interactions, nudging the future of game development towards new horizons.

AI is a powerful tool that can greatly enhance players’ experiences by making games more dynamic, immersive and unique.We are thrilled to partner with Ubisoft to leverage NVIDIA ACE in the advancement of digital characters.

Nvidia on working with Ubisoft

Ubisoft stated that its NEO NPCs will take some time to appear in games. They will transform how players interact with non-playable characters (NPCs), offering more immersive experiences and propelling the integration and development of artificial intelligence in gaming.

Read More: Expert Hacker Reviews Whether Apex Legends Has RCE Vulnerability and If It Is Safe to Play Right Now

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According to reports from Insider Gaming, the leaked specs for the PlayStation 5 Pro earlier today were real, and Sony is reportedly targeting a 2024 holiday release. On March 15, the YouTube channel Moore’s Law is Dead posted a video about leaked documents from Sony that showed the specs for the PlayStation 5 Pro. Later, Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson confirmed that the leaked PS5 Pro specs document was real.

As per Insider Gaming’s report, the leaked document is from a PlayStation developer portal sent to first-party developers within Sony. Henderson’s report suggests that first-party PlayStation studios have been testing the PlayStation 5 Pro devkit since September last year, and third-party studios reportedly got access this January.

Sony has been developing the PlayStation 5 Pro under the codename ‘Trinity’, and the console will be targeting improved performance and consistent frames at 4K resolution. In addition, the Pro model will also introduce a new ‘Performance Mode’ for 8K resolution. Furthermore, the Pro model could come with a much more powerful GPU than the current PS5 models, which could be up to three times faster.

The leaked document also mentioned PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which is rumoured to be PlayStation’s machine learning for image upscaling, similar to Nvidia’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR. The PSSR will be able to upscale up to 8K resolution and improve ray tracing performance on the PlayStation 5 Pro.

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Electronic Arts announced today that the company is laying off approximately 5% of its employees as part of a restructuring plan that reduces real estate and office space as the video game industry struggles to grow due to high-interest rates. In the most recent yearly report, Electronic Arts published the headcount at 13,400 as of the end of March 2023, revealing that around 670 people will lose their jobs.

Big game publishers like Sony, Microsoft, and Riot Games have also laid off thousands of employees in recent months due to a slow recovery in the gaming market. It was also revealed that Electronic Arts is also moving away from the development of future licensed IP, which will not be successful in the future.

Read More: Hackers Reportedly Stole Nearly 200GB of Epic Games’ Data

Electronic Arts Cutting Off 5% of Its Workforce

CEO Andrew Wilson explained in a letter to employees that the publisher will be moving away from developing future games based on licensed IP and informed the employees about the reduction in workforce.

Given how and where we are working, we are continuing to optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business. We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.

This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities — including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities — to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow. Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.

In this time of change, we expect these decisions to impact approximately 5 percent of our workforce. I understand this will create uncertainty and be challenging for many who have worked with such dedication and passion and have made important contributions to our company. While not every team will be impacted, this is the hardest part of these changes, and we have deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams.

Our primary goal is to provide team members with opportunities to find new roles and paths to transition onto other projects. Where that’s not possible, we will support and work with each colleague with the utmost attention, care, and respect. Communicating these impacts has already begun and will be largely completed by early next quarter.

I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who has helped contribute to EA’s ongoing story. We are a team that leans into our values to lead the future of entertainment, and I look forward to what we will create together. Thank you for all that you do.

Andrew Wilson, Electronic Arts’ CEO

According to Electronic Arts, the restructuring plan’s related actions are expected to be substantially complete by the end of this year. CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned in his letter that the publisher will move away from developing games based on licensed IP, which has caused them to cancel several projects.

A representative of EA has confirmed that Marvel’s Black Panther and Iron Man games are still being developed. However, the publisher has cancelled the Star Wars Mandalorian game, which was in development at Respawn Entertainment.

Read More: Hunt or Be Hunted During the Inner Beast Collection Event Coming to Apex Legends on March 5

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The Mogilevich ransomware group said it breached Epic Games’ Fortnite last night and stole nearly 200GB of data, including “emails, passwords, full names, payment information, source code,” and others. The group posted on the dark web that the stolen data are currently listed for sale.

The ransomware group claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Bazaarvoice, a Texas-based technology company that connects brands and retailers with their customers. Mogilevich group successfully infiltrated Bazaarvoice’s systems and revealed the organization’s staggering $350.2 million revenue to the public.

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Mogilevich Reportedly Hacked Epic Games’ Internal Data

First reported by Cyber Daily, a Mogilevich representative gave additional details regarding the claimed leak of the Epic Games Store and Fortnite companies in a message posted on their darknet leak website. The group has set a deadline of March 4th for someone to purchase the data, but it hasn’t disclosed an exact amount or revealed its plans for the data if the deadline is missed.

We have quietly carried out an attack to Epic Games’ servers. If you are an employee of the company or someone who would like to buy the data, click on me.

Mogilevich’s Statement on the Epic Games’ Attack

Mogilevich is a relatively new ransomware group and probably originated in Russia. The group first attacked on February 20 on Nissan’s subsidiary Infiniti USA, followed by Bazaarvoice and Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. Epic Games is reportedly the fourth victim of the ransomware group.

After the news of the stolen data was published on the dark web, Epic Games responded to the group’s claim and calmed the community of the potential ransomware attack. The makers of Fortnite later stated that the company is currently investigating the matter and claimed that there is zero evidence that the claims are legitimate.

Read More: Twisted Metal Live Service Game Reportedly Cancelled Following PlayStation Layoffs

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Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) has announced today that the company has decided to lay off around 900 employees, around 8% of the company’s global workforce. Sony’s layoffs are the latest wave that has impacted the gaming and tech industries throughout 2024, after Riot Games and Microsoft.

Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced the news earlier today and shared the email sent to the employees. According to Jim Ryan’s announcements, several PlayStation studios will be affected, and employees across America, EMEA, Japan, and APAC will be severely impacted.

Read More: Nintendo Switch 2 Reportedly Targeting For March 2025 Release

PlayStation Cuts Off 8% Workforce Globally

On February 27, 2024, Jim Ryan emailed PlayStation employees that the company had decided to reduce the workforce. In addition, Ryan also shared the news on Sony Interactive Entertainment’s website.

The PlayStation community means everything to us, so I felt it was important to update you on a difficult day at our company. We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8% or about 900 people, subject to local law and consultation processes. Employees across the globe, including our studios, are impacted.  

These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success, and we are very grateful for their contributions. However, the industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead. We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.

Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment

Several PlayStation studios are impacted because of the global reduction in workforce, including Sony, which has decided to close the London Studio entirely. Jim Ryan’s email also mentioned that the impacted employees will be notified today.

Read More: Persona 6 Will Take Place In A High School Again, Leaker Claimed

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According to new reports, Nintendo will release the successor to the Switch game console in March 2025. Like the current Switch, the upcoming console will also feature a stationary and portable version. It was previously rumored that Nintendo would release the console sometime in 2024, but the company decided to delay the release to 2025 so the console would have enough games at the time of release.

Insider Gaming reported that Nintendo had informed game publishers that the upcoming console will launch in Q1 2025. The report claimed that third-party game companies were recently informed about an internal delay in Nintendo’s plans to launch the next generation of consoles later in 2024 rather than earlier in 2025.

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Switch 2 Releasing In March 2025

According to a report published by Japanese media outlet Nikkei, which claimed that Nintendo has reportedly delayed the release of the Switch successor to avoid potential hardware supply issues. Apart from preventing the hardware supply issues, Nintendo reportedly delayed the console’s launch window so that the company will have enough games available for the console when it is launched next year.

Nikkei’s report stated that the console will be a hybrid portable-stationary device, similar to the current Switch. Moreover, the report also mentioned that the next generation Switch will feature a larger display than the original Switch’s 6.2-inch display.

Nikkei reported that Nintendo could further delay the release of the Switch 2 until after March 2025, depending on manufacturing and whether the console’s software is ready for launch.

Read More: Does Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7R) Demo Progress Carry Over?

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Twitch has been fined 435 million won or $327,00 by Korea for suspending the video-on-demand (VOD) service in the country in 2023. The Korea Telecommunications Commission (KCC) concluded that the VOD service suspension violated the local telecommunications business law by undermining user interests.

Twitch Interactive, the service operator, reduced the live stream video quality from 1080p to 720p in September 2022 and terminated the VOD service five months later in South Korea. To determine whether Twitch had legitimate reasons for restricting the highest viewing quality, the Korean Telecommunications Commission requested relevant data. However, Twitch declined the KCC’s request, citing contract confidentiality obligations.

Read More: Twitch and Kick Banned in Turkey Over Gambling Concerns

Twitch Fined By The Korean Telecommunications Commission

According to the South Korean media portal Yonhap, the Korean Telecommunications Commission slapped a fine of 435 million won ($327,000) on Friday, stating that Twitch violated the local telecommunications business law after suspending the VOD services. The KCC also imposed another fine of 15 million won on Twitch for failing to implement the system to prevent the distribution of illegal footage.

Twitch stated that the suspension was necessary for businesses to keep offering the service in Korea. Still, the commission rejected this argument, stating that live streaming and video-on-demand services are not independent telecommunications services.

The KCC has mandated that Twitch disclose the receipt of these orders and take preventative action before resuming business operations in Korea as part of the corrective measures.

In December 2023, Twitch announced that the company would end service in South Korea because operating there is expensive. CEO Dan Clancy said that operations in Twitch in South Korea are incredibly high, and the company will stop service in Korea on February 27, 2024.

Streamers who selected Korea as their onboarding country will no longer be able to monetize through Twitch. In addition, Twitch users in South Korea can no longer purchase any content on the platform. Content creators who selected Korea as their country of residence will receive their final payout in March 2024.

Read More: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Update Will Bring New Modes and Free DLC

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The Turkish government has banned Twitch and Kick over gambling content concerns. A few days ago, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority(ICTA) issued a nationwide ban on Kick. The authority was under the impression that Kick would influence the youth of the country to play roulette and promote gambling.

After broadcasters on Kick pointed out similar content being streamed on the Twitch platform, the ICTA launched an investigation into the platform. Two days after the nationwide ban on Kick, the government also banned Twitch, and that access to the site would be cut off. The decision angered the Twitch community in Turkey, mainly because viewers and some content creators had strong feelings against gambling content for a long time.

Read More: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Update Will Bring New Modes and Free DLC

Turkey Banned Twitch and Kick Nationwide

In February 2024, Turkish journalist Ibrahim Haskoloğlu first reported the ICTA’s concerns over Kick’s operations within the country. According to the officials, Kick was not just a platform for streaming but a Trojan horse for international gambling companies to target the youth in Turkey. The ICTA launched the investigation on February 13, 2024, and properly inspected the platform’s associations and content.

On February 21, Haskoloğlu confirmed that the government of Turkey had issued a nationwide ban on Kick, shocking content creators and viewers across the country.

After Kick was banned within the country, the viewers and content creators of the website raised an issue that the Amazon-owned platform Twitch also broadcasted similar content. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority of Turkey launched another investigation on Twitch after taking in the problems from the Kick community.

Two days after Kick got banned in the country, the ICTA issued a ban on Twitch and announced that access to the website would be closed within 24 hours. Journalist Ibrahim Haskoloğlu tweeted the information from BTK’s website, which stated that the General Directorate of National Lottery Administration decided to block Twitch in the country.

Read More: Mortal Kombat 1 Adds John Cena’s Peacemaker

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TenZ is one of the most influential personalities in the VALORANT community. He is currently playing under Sentinels, a reputed organization in North America and is considered one of the world’s best players. TenZ is also a content creator with a huge following on Twitch and other social platforms.

If you are a gamer or a fan of TenZ, you must have heard of the brand Finalmouse. Finalmouse is one of the pioneers of lightweight mice in the industry, and they make quite brilliant mice used by many pros, including TenZ.

Finalmouse has a quite variety of mice under their brand, and they often collaborate with content creators and pros to market their product to the audience. This time, Finalmouse collaborated with TenZ and introduced a new variety of Starlight Pro.

Read More: Riot Dev Hints a Potential Nerf Coming For Chamber in Upcoming VALORANT Patch

TenZ’s Finalmouse Grossed $7.6M With Starlight Pro Within 3 Hours

On July 18, 2022, TenZ made an announcement of his collaboration with Finalmouse on Twitter. Like other Finalmouse versions, the new Starlight Pro – TenZ edition has a similar design but with improved features.

The Starlight Pro – TenZ has a new and better chassis made of magnesium alloy. Because of its base structure, the mice still weigh 40gm even after having the next-gen wireless functionality. On the same day, Tyson made another post on his Twitter, and surprisingly, every single unit of the mouse was already sold out.

According to Prodigy Agency (TenZ’s representation agency), there were a total of 40,000 units for Starlight Pro – TenZ, and every unit sold out within only 3 hours.

The agency further shared, “It’s a groundbreaking deal, and probably by far the biggest for an active esports player in the world. it’s real proof that esports players can actually SELL products.”

TenZ was happy and delighted with the outcome of his collaboration with Finalmouse. He shared his gratitude to his fans for their love and support. TenZ is also willing to involve in collaboration with Finalmouse in the future.

Read More: VALORANT: How to Get a Riot Gun Buddy

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Following the overwhelming demand from the community, Finalmouse has once again refilled their crates one last time as there were still many users with golden keys. FPS game enthusiasts that still couldn’t get their hands on Finalmouse’s latest 37 gm wireless mice can finally get another chance to get the mouse for free using their loot box system.

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On top of that, Finalmouse has apparently pushed out a new patch that includes new abilities and fixes for Aim Gods. People who still have a lot of golden keys left can still use them to literally win a mouse for free.

Finalmouse re-enables drops on Twitch

How to get a free finalmouse from Twitch drops?

Basically, you have to watch streamers on twitch who have the “drops enabled” tag on their Aim Gods stream. But in order to receive drops, you will need to connect your Aim Gods account with your Twitch account. After watching the stream for an hour, people will be eligible to get some keys. Later, they can use those keys to unlock loot boxes on Aim Gods.

If you are lucky enough to be blessed by the RNG gods, you may even get a $299 mouse for free. This is probably the first time a mouse maker has decided to give away their mouse via Twitch drops.

Since Finalmouse likes to do things slightly different than all of their competitors, they literally made an FPS game to sell their new lightweight wireless mouse. Public reaction has been pretty mixed regarding the whole situation.

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Some people are still not happy with the way Finalmouse like to sell their mouse by artificially limiting supply and increasing demands. The hype behind this mouse is unreal. Some lucky scalpers are actually bidding these mice on eBay and it reached over $6000.

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