metaverse

AppWizard
May 30, 2025
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 7, 2025
Microsoft has discontinued support for virtual reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) in Minecraft with the release of Bedrock Edition version 1.21.80. This decision is part of a broader strategy to phase out its MR technology. Players can still use the Vivecraft mod to play Minecraft on Oculus or Windows MR devices, but this requires the original PC Java version of the game. Microsoft announced that VR/MR support would end after March 2025 and assured players that updates for the non-VR version would continue, along with access to Marketplace purchases.
AppWizard
February 21, 2025
Brendan Greene, known for creating PUBG, is working on a new project called Prologue, which tests innovative terrain generation technology for his larger vision, Project Artemis. Prologue aims to refine machine learning algorithms that can produce over 4 billion unique map configurations. Greene acknowledges past leadership challenges but credits CTO Laurent Gorga for fostering a collaborative development approach. He estimates that achieving Project Artemis could take up to a decade and emphasizes the importance of Prologue's commercial success for securing resources. Greene envisions Project Artemis as a vast, player-driven universe, inspired by games like Minecraft and No Man's Sky, with a world measuring 10,000 square kilometers. He aims to create an environment where players can craft diverse experiences and distances himself from commercial interpretations of the Metaverse, focusing instead on genuine user-generated experiences.
TrendTechie
February 7, 2025
Meta is alleged to have unlawfully used pirated books for training its AI models, downloading at least 81.7 terabytes of data from torrent sources, including 35.7 terabytes from Z-Library. Internal communications reveal employee concerns about the legality of downloading pirated content, while leadership reportedly obscured their activities and operated in "stealth mode." Plaintiffs are seeking renewed interrogations of Meta personnel, claiming previous testimonies were misleading, and asserting that Meta's copyright infringements may involve distribution of pirated books. Meta defends its actions as falling under "fair use" and intends to challenge the allegations. Additionally, Meta and its products are prohibited in the Russian Federation due to being designated as extremist.
BetaBeacon
February 7, 2025
Nintendo's shift to a Blue Ocean strategy with the Wii led to higher sales than competitors, attracting new gamers. Meta's Meta Quest platform is seeing a demographic shift, with more young users and a decrease in interest in AAA games. The platform is focusing more on free-to-play titles and social apps, leading to challenges for developers of big-budget games. Indie games are becoming more prominent on the platform, signaling a shift away from big-name titles.
AppWizard
December 12, 2024
Since 1 p.m. ET, users nationwide have reported outages affecting Facebook and Instagram, with over 105,000 reports for Facebook, 11,000 for Messenger, and 70,590 for Instagram by 1:20 p.m. ET. Most issues are linked to the mobile app, with 78 percent of Instagram users reporting app-related problems. Chicago is particularly affected, although reports come from various regions. Meta confirmed the outages, stating they are aware of the technical issues impacting user access and are working to resolve them. WhatsApp reported 8,234 outages, with 82 percent experiencing message-sending issues, while Threads had 892 outages, with 70 percent attributed to the app. This is not the first outage for Meta, which previously faced similar issues nine months ago.
AppWizard
October 17, 2024
The gaming landscape is set for significant changes in 2025, with many new titles expected to be released. Notable upcoming games include Avowed, scheduled for February 18, 2025, alongside Civilization 7 and Assassin's Creed: Shadows on February 11, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. GTA 6 is anticipated for a 2025 launch, though no specific date has been confirmed. The January 2025 release schedule includes: - January 16: Assetto Corsa EVO (Steam) - January 16: Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Steam) - January 28: The Stone of Madness (Steam) - January 28: Warside (Steam) February 2025 releases include: - February 11: Civilization 7 (Steam) - February 11: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Steam) - February 14: Assassin's Creed: Shadows (Epic) - February 14: Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered (Steam) - February 18: Avowed (Steam) - February 28: Monster Hunter Wilds (Steam) March 2025 will see: - March 4: Two Point Museum (Steam) - March 20: Atelier Yumia (Steam) - March 25: Tales of the Shire (Steam) Several games are generating interest without specific release dates, including Grand Theft Auto 6, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Other notable upcoming games include Control 2, Fable, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
AppWizard
October 9, 2024
Epic Games has experienced significant layoffs, with over 800 employees let go last year, but has since stabilized its finances. CEO Tim Sweeney acknowledged that the company's previous investment strategy for Fortnite was overly ambitious. Epic is now focusing on Unreal Engine 6, which aims to create an interoperable metaverse platform that allows developers to sell digital assets transferable across various games. The company plans to launch the Fab digital assets marketplace, enabling assets to be compatible with non-Unreal Engine games like Minecraft and Roblox. Sweeney emphasized the importance of seamless content movement for the metaverse's success. Epic is also collaborating with Disney to merge their universes and is involved in ongoing legal disputes with Google regarding Fortnite's mobile access.
AppWizard
October 8, 2024
Epic Games aims to create an interoperable metaverse by integrating popular games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox, with the upcoming Unreal 6 gaming engine as a key component. CEO Tim Sweeney highlighted the importance of a game-agnostic digital assets marketplace for player interaction and investment in digital items. He noted the trend of players preferring games that allow them to engage with friends and invest in lasting digital goods. In 2022, Epic Games raised significant funding to support its metaverse ambitions and invested in metaverse infrastructure developer Hadean. Executive vice president Saxs Persson expressed a vision for seamless connectivity between different gaming platforms to enhance player engagement.
AppWizard
October 7, 2024
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, discussed the company's future plans, including a 16% workforce reduction last year. He emphasized the potential of a "metaverse" that promotes interoperability among assets and marketplaces, particularly between Fortnite and Unreal Engine projects, including a collaboration with Disney. Epic's financial situation has improved, with a deficit that has narrowed to just above its revenue, following a period of overspending. Forbes estimated Epic's revenue to exceed billion in 2022, while the Epic Game Store reported approximately 0 million in sales for 2023. Epic's financial strength, largely from Fortnite, allows it to engage in legal battles with companies like Google and Apple. Unreal Engine has gained popularity beyond gaming, being used in Hollywood for CGI production, with notable transitions from other engines to Unreal Engine 5 by companies like CD Projekt and Halo Studios. Despite investments in the Epic Game Store, it remains behind Steam in the PC launcher market, with exclusive titles often achieving success only after being released on Steam. The future of gaming remains uncertain, with Epic's vision of a Fortnite-Disney-Unreal metaverse potentially materializing by 2029.
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