January Game Releases, Nvidia ACE, Unity Layoffs and Fruitlab Fixes
Welcome to the first edition of the Fruitlab newsletter in 2024. We hope you all had a wonderful break for the holidays and managed to pack plenty of gaming hours in. We’re changing our schedule this year and the newsletter will now be arriving on Tuesdays.
Our new tech team continues to work on everything covered in our latest Development Update. You should now be able to make orders from the shop as usual and upload thumbnails at the recommended size.
The majority of pending transactions have now resolved. This is a priority for us and we will continue to update you on the outstanding ones along with the status of failed transactions. We are addressing the issues with Fruitlab Gaming and will provide more information as soon as possible.
Below you’ll find the usual mix of awesome Fruitlab content and news from the gaming industry to kick-start the year!
Weekly Top Content
Dive into the future of gaming this year with GamingNewsWeekly’s exclusive list of the Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2024. Get ready for a year packed with excitement!
Uncover the mystery behind Valorant’s beloved agent Gekko as Kaizen delves into his captivating lore. Is Gekko truly a radiant or is he human?
Huntwrrt does something a little different in this challenge video — every time he dies he has to switch the entire game. He starts of in Minecraft, where do you think he’ll end up?
Exciting Game Releases for January 2024: From Yakuza Adventures to Tekken Showdowns
As January kicks off 2024, gamers can anticipate a diverse lineup of releases. Yakuza enthusiasts will delve into the latest chapter, “Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth,” offering a captivating adventure across Japan and Honolulu. Additionally, the beloved “Tekken” franchise is set to make a splash with “Tekken 8,” boasting refined gameplay and a substantial roster of 32 fighters. Remaster fans can look forward to “The Last of Us Part II Remastered” on PS5, featuring a roguelike survival mode and director’s commentary.
Indie gems like “Bulletstorm VR” and “Palworld” promise unique experiences, while Ubisoft’s “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown” mixes 2D action-adventure with an anime flair. The month also introduces quirky titles like “Turnip Boy Robs a Bank” and a remake of the cult classic “Another Code Recollection” on Nintendo Switch, making this January a promising start.
Ubisoft and MiHoYo Join Nvidia’s Avatar Cloud Engine for AI-Generated Game Characters
Ubisoft and MiHoYo - renowned for their work on Assassin’s Creed and Genshin Impact respectively - have embraced Nvidia’s Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), a novel AI platform designed to craft more realistic video game characters. Nvidia’s ACE utilizes generative AI technology, processing players’ voices through speech recognition and incorporating them into a language model. This model’s responses are then transformed through text-to-speech and animation, producing in-game characters capable of dynamic interactions with players.
Nvidia showcased this technology at CES 2024, featuring dialogue between AI-generated NPCs and a human demonstrator. Tencent, NetEase, and other notable developers are also exploring the potential of ACE, which can operate in real-time through the cloud or offline on local hardware, compatible with engines like Unreal Engine 5. The technology, introduced at Computex 2023, is trained on secure data, marking a significant development in AI’s integration into game development processes.
Unity Plans Another Significant Workforce Reduction, Potentially Cutting 25% of Staff
Unity Technologies is reportedly gearing up for another round of layoffs, marking its fifth staff reduction in the past two years. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Unity is considering cutting approximately 25% of its workforce, amounting to around 1,800 employees. The tumultuous year of 2023 saw Unity facing challenges, including controversy over its pricing model update and a change in CEO leadership.
The latest layoffs are viewed as part of the company’s efforts to restructure and refocus on its core business for long-term profitability. Unity had previously announced staff cuts in November 2023, but this recent announcement marks the most substantial reduction in its workforce within a two-year period, raising industry concerns about the impact on the gaming giant and the broader gaming landscape in 2024.
That’s all for now — thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time!
