industry Archives

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

Jack Black’s ‘Steve’s Lava Chicken’ Jockeys to No. 1 on Top Movie Songs Chart

Jack Black's song "Steve's Lava Chicken" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Movie Songs chart for April and is the shortest song to ever appear on the Billboard Hot 100, clocking in at 34 seconds. The song achieved 20.1 million official on-demand streams and sold 3,000 downloads in April, debuting at No. 78 on the Hot 100. It outperformed other songs, including "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which was No. 2 with 14.6 million streams, and "Casual" by Chappell Roan at No. 3 with 13.8 million streams. Rod Wave's "Sinners" debuted at No. 5 with 14.3 million streams, and Eric Prydz's "Call On Me" returned to the charts at No. 7 with 2.6 million streams. The top 10 includes songs from various films, including contributions from Snow White and Holland.

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

One of the best puzzle games on Steam just got its first update in 11 years and is also verified for Steam Deck: ‘We couldn’t resist including some visual, aural, and input adjustments’

The Swapper is a sci-fi puzzle game originally launched in 2013 that involves cloning mechanics and explores themes of personal identity, presented in a unique Claymation art style. Recently, Facepalm Games released significant updates for the beta version of The Swapper on Steam, the first in over a decade, aimed at addressing bit rot and enhancing the game with visual, aural, and input adjustments. The updates include light dithering, improved depth of field, updated textures, and bump-map anti-aliasing for better visuals, as well as natural sound panning and louder text blips for improved audio. The update also fixed various bugs, including critical issues related to hidden terminals. The developers of The Swapper later created the successful roguelike Noita, and the game's writer contributed to The Talos Principle and its sequel.

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

Random: Xenoblade Chronicles X Pops Up On Microsoft PC Game Page

Monolith Soft's game, Xenoblade Chronicles X, has appeared on a Microsoft PC webpage for "enhanced games for Microsoft Edge Game Assist," alongside titles like World of Warcraft and Half-Life 2. The listing suggests that Microsoft Edge Game Assist will provide tips and guides for popular PC games. This unexpected appearance has led to speculation among fans about its validity, with some considering it a possible error. Monolith Soft is now owned by Nintendo, which recently released Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for the Switch. While it seems unlikely that major Nintendo titles will be available on Xbox, Microsoft has shown interest in bringing select first-party games to Nintendo platforms.

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

Ubisoft marks 10 years of trolling Splinter Cell fans with a new tease and I can’t believe I’m saying this but they used the wrong picture of Sam Fisher

Fans of the Splinter Cell series have been waiting for a remake announced nearly four years ago, but June 2024 passed without significant updates. Instead, an animated series on Netflix was announced, which will not feature Michael Ironside's voice, and a Splinter Cell movie starring Tom Hardy received a formal nod after being announced in 2012. The remake was unveiled in December 2021, but updates have indicated it is being rewritten for a modern audience, and the director has stepped down, leading to fan disillusionment. Speculation exists that Ubisoft may reveal news at the Summer Game Fest or an upcoming Ubisoft Forward event, but concerns about disappointment are growing. Ubisoft shared an image of Sam Fisher that confused fans, as it was from Pandora Tomorrow instead of Chaos Theory, raising doubts about the company's commitment to the franchise. The ongoing situation has led to speculation that it may be an elaborate prank, while fans continue to hope for the remake's eventual release.

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

Minecraft mobile revenue surges 44% following movie release

Mobile in-app purchases for Minecraft increased by 44% following the release of A Minecraft Movie. There was a 9% rise in active users on mobile platforms and a 41% increase on consoles. From January to mid-May 2025, daily active users for Minecraft on mobile fluctuated between 8.5 million and 10.5 million, with a peak above 10.5 million in early April. In April, Minecraft’s mobile revenue reached a three-year high of 9,000 in gross player spending. For Fallout, the release of the Fallout TV show led to a 77% rise in daily active users for Fallout Shelter and a 150% increase in in-app purchase revenue, reaching nearly 0,000 in daily mobile IAP revenue. Fallout 4 on PC saw daily unit sales peak at over 25,000 units. This engagement peak for Fallout titles occurred around mid-April and returned to baseline levels by July 2024.

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

What’s New On Max In June 2025? ‘A Minecraft Movie,’ ‘The Gilded Age’ And More Streaming

Warner Bros.' streaming service, Max, will feature the arrival of A Minecraft Movie, which follows a group of heroes transported into the Minecraft universe. The film does not have a specific release date. The third season of The Gilded Age premieres on June 22, focusing on the rivalry between wealthy families in 1800s New York. The reboot of Sex and the City, And Just Like That…, will continue with new episodes throughout June. Max will also offer a variety of films, including Bullet Train, Parasite, and the entire Hunger Games series. New content on Max in June includes: - June 1: A Hologram for the King, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Casino, Fight Club, Parasite, and The Hunger Games series. - June 2: BBQ Brawl, Season 6. - June 3: Bullet Train. - June 4: 1000-lb Roomies, Fatal Destination. - June 5: Bea’s Block, Chespirito: Not Really on Purpose. - June 6: House Hunters International, Parthenope. - June 10: Virgins. - June 11: Guy’s Grocery Games. - June 12: Bitchin’ Rides, Mini Beat Power Rockers. - June 13: Cleaner, House Hunters, Maine Cabin Masters, Super Sara, Toad & Friends. - June 16: Hero Ball. - June 17: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Animal Pharm, Super Mega Cakes. - June 19: Expedition Unknown, Mystery At Blind Frog Ranch. - June 20: House Hunters, Lu & The Bally Bunch, Now or Never: FC Montfermeil, Teen Titans Go!. - June 21: The Kitchen, The Never Ever Mets. - June 22: The Gilded Age, Season 3. - June 23: Match Me Abroad. - June 24: Enigma, Mean Girl Murders, The Invitation. - June 25: Rehab Addict. - June 27: House Hunters, My Mom Jayne, Pati, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. - June 29: #Somebody’s Son, Family or Fiancé. - June 30: 90 Day Fiancé: Pillow Talk, Truck U.

AppWizard

May 30, 2025

Ready at Dawn and Ubisoft vets found new studio Atlantis

A new gaming venture, Atlantis Studio, has been formed by former employees from Ready at Dawn, Ubisoft, and Midgar Studio. It is led by Ru Weerasuriya, founder of Ready at Dawn, and writer Nico Augusto. Weerasuriya previously worked at Blizzard and was the studio head at Ready at Dawn until March 2025, after its acquisition by Meta. Atlantis Studio aims to create a collaborative environment for game development and will focus on titles for PC and console platforms using Unreal Engine 5.

AppWizard

May 29, 2025

I love that DOOM: The Dark Ages requires ray tracing, and I hope more games follow

DOOM: The Dark Ages requires a graphics card with ray tracing hardware, specifically at least an NVIDIA 20-series card, making older models like the GTX 1080 incompatible. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also necessitates ray tracing capabilities, raising concerns about performance on existing hardware. Billy Khan from id Software stated that ray tracing significantly reduces game development time, allowing for real-time adjustments. Ray tracing has been part of the graphics card landscape for over seven years, with all current consoles supporting it. NVIDIA's latest RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 cards have faced driver issues affecting gameplay, while alternatives from AMD and Intel, as well as NVIDIA’s 30 and 40-series cards, can still provide good performance. Other studios, like 4A Games, have begun incorporating ray tracing into their development processes.

AppWizard

May 29, 2025

The Game Informer archive just got upgraded with its entire backlog, so go experience the eye-melting world of ’90s game advertising

Game Informer has made a comeback after its closure last fall, supported by financial backing from Gunzilla. The publication announced a return to print and has made its complete archive of physical issues available online, spanning from 1991 to the present. Users can access the archive by creating an account on the Game Informer website. Editor-in-chief Matt Miller mentioned plans to highlight specific legacy articles in the future.

Winsage

May 29, 2025

Microsoft Opens Windows Update to 3rd-Party Apps

Microsoft is enhancing its Windows Update tool to manage updates for both its products and third-party applications, aiming to streamline the update process. A private preview for developers will be initiated, focusing on business applications but eventually accommodating a wider range of apps. The new "Windows Update orchestration platform" will allow developers to integrate their applications into a unified system that intelligently schedules updates based on factors like user activity and battery status. This platform will provide an API for updates through Windows Update, improving user experience by centralizing updates and allowing better control over the update process. The initiative addresses the fragmented experience IT administrators face and aims to create a cohesive update process. Critics note the delay in implementing a unified update framework, while the initiative also seeks to enhance security by consolidating updates and reducing the risks associated with ad-hoc update agents.