The NYT Games app has launched a new design that features streamlined navigation and game card designs that facilitate game discovery and track players' progress. This update reflects the app's evolution from exclusively offering crosswords to providing a broad array of games. It aims to be both inviting for new users and functional for experienced players.

LinkedIn is venturing into gaming to increase user engagement, developing puzzle-based games like "Queens," "Inference," and "Crossclimb." It is exploring gaming features possibly linked to workplaces, aligning with the popularity of casual games and drawing inspiration from the success of games like Wordle.

Neopets announced a rebrand in 2023 and has been consciously courting former fans with promises of reuniting them with old digital companions that have remained largely unchanged. The site's resurgence is led in large part by millennials, for whom the site brings feelings of nostalgia. This article looks at Neopets' strong start, long decline, and recent revival. Neopets' new owners seem to be actively engaging with the community, with several projects aimed at working with fans to improve the site and user experience.

A character control framework has been introduced that leverages motion diffusion probabilistic models to produce a variety of high-quality animations that respond instantly to dynamic user commands.

Yuga plans to refocus on gaming efforts in the 3D Otherside.

Microsoft is aiming to launch its Xbox mobile gaming store in July. The company plans to bring its own first-party portfolio to the store. The store will also provide key parts of the Xbox experience, allowing players' identities, libraries, and rewards to travel across ecosystems. It is unclear how Microsoft will position the store as an alternative for games already existing on rival app stores. The store will initially be web-only.

EA is considering a more aggressive in-game ad policy for its AAA games. The announcement has stirred controversy among fans, given EA's history of facing backlash over intrusive ad practices, such as the controversial update to The Sims 4 earlier this year.

Braindump allows developers to build top-down/2.5D games or interactive worlds by simply typing prompts. It generates 3D models, game data, and scripts to make prompts come to life. This article shares learnings from Braindump's development. Challenges in its development include designing a UX for prompting and a game API for large language models. The game API has opened up interesting UX flows like generated macros. While Braindump is pretty good at executing commands, its team wants to expand it to handle more vague and bigger tasks. Braindump will open up for alpha testing in the coming weeks.

Discord is refocusing on gaming by redesigning its app to enhance group messages, voice chats, and video calls, aiming to facilitate connections around games. The company is shifting from a broad community chat app to a gaming-centric platform amid changes like staff layoffs and increased regulatory scrutiny.

Media companies are expanding into gaming to capture user attention and tap into the $221 billion global gaming market. Netflix offers nearly 100 games, including titles tied to its original series. YouTube introduced "Playables," a collection of over 75 minigames accessible to all users on desktop and mobile without downloads. Sling TV launched "Arcade," which features 10 classic games playable alongside TV content. LinkedIn introduced 3 games designed to foster connections among users playable only with direct connections.

Former Google DeepMind scientists at Artificial Agency unveiled an AI behavior engine for dynamic NPCs in video games. They have raised $16 million to enhance in-game interactions. They're working with renowned AAA studios and expecting widespread adoption by 2025 despite potential cost implications. Their engine offers more realistic and responsive game characters without predefined scripts.

Nvidia's AI system ACE will power in-game character interactions in Mecha Break, a mech battle game launching in 2025. It uses GPT-4o and a mix of on-device and cloud-based AI for natural language processing and vocal generation. Initial demonstrations reveal lackluster NPC engagement, with concerns over response delays and uninspiring dialogue.

Rumors about the PS5 Pro have circulated since the PS5's release in 2020. The PS5 Pro packaging was recently leaked. It resembles the PS5 Slim with only one significant design addition. The leak has caught the attention of gamers and sparked curiosity.

Discord Activities allows game developers to launch games and apps directly on the platform. Given Discord's large, engaged gaming community and its social features, this initiative has significant potential to reshape web-based gaming. Previous attempts at integrating social elements with gaming have been met with mixed success. Discord's advantage lies in its existing gaming audience and integrated social features, which create immersive gaming experiences. Developers are encouraged to design games that leverage Discord's unique social channels and engage with the platform's community.

Black Myth Wukong is one of the fastest-selling games of all time. The game cost $70 million to make and has grossed close to $1 billion so far. The rise of regionally rooted AAA video games has been slower than in film due to their comparatively high production cost, the rate of technological, creative, and change, and a smaller market. The growing capability and ease of use of game engines as well as the affordability and size of asset store libraries will result in a growing number of hits that target non-Western regions, countries, and cultures, some of which will go far beyond those markets.