Google: Third-party stores in Play Store would cost over $61M

In the wake of Epic Games' victory against Google last December, where a jury ruled that the Google Play app store and Google Play Billing constitute illegal monopolies, the tech giant has revealed the potential costs of implementing court-ordered changes to Android.

Google estimates that integrating third-party app stores within its Play Store would cost between $61.3 million and $137 million, according to documents submitted to the court. This comes in response to Judge James...

25 June 2024 | Android

Microsoft unveils DirectSR to unify super resolution technologies

Microsoft has announced the preview release of DirectSR, a new API designed to standardise super resolution (SR) support in Direct3D 12 titles. The company has collaborated with AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA to build this API, enabling developers to seamlessly leverage their in-market upscaling technologies through a common set of inputs and outputs.

DirectSR aims to simplify the integration of SR by providing a single code path to exercise DLSS Super Resolution, FidelityFX Super...

30 May 2024 | API

Microsoft to launch web-based mobile app store in July

At the Bloomberg Technology Summit, Microsoft’s President of Xbox, Sarah Bond, declared that the company is set to launch its new mobile store this July. This long-discussed move aims to establish an alternative to dominant marketplaces like the App Store and Play Store.

Unlike traditional approaches, Microsoft plans to roll out its mobile game store via the web, rather than as a native application. This strategy allows the company to circumvent restrictive app store policies...

10 May 2024 | Android

Unreal Engine 5.4 brings animation, rendering, and AI upgrades

Epic Games has released Unreal Engine 5.4, packed with new features and improvements aimed at benefiting game developers and creators across industries. The latest version delivers toolsets used internally by Epic to build high-profile releases like Fortnite Chapter 5, Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival, and LEGO Fortnite.

"Unreal Engine 5.4 is here, and it's packed with new features and improvements to performance, visual fidelity, and productivity that will benefit game developers...

24 April 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

Apple relaxes App Store rules to permit game emulators

Apple has loosened its App Store rules to permit the inclusion of "retro game console emulator apps" on its platform.

This move comes after years of pressure from users and legislators, particularly in Europe, where enthusiasts previously had to resort to jailbreaking their devices or using complex workarounds to access emulation apps on their iPhones.

In an update to its App Review Guidelines at the end of last week, Apple confirmed the policy change. While app...

8 April 2024 | App Stores

AI in game development grows despite concerns

A growing number of game development studios are embracing AI to streamline their processes, according to a new industry report from Unity.

The report finds that 62 percent of studios now utilise AI tools at some stage of development. The top use cases include improving character animations, code writing assistance, art and level generation, narrative design, and automated playtesting:

Credit: Unity

68 percent leverage AI specifically to accelerate prototyping. World...

18 March 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

Discord announces SDK for in-app experiences

Discord has announced the upcoming launch of its Embedded App SDK, allowing developers to build apps and games that can be played directly within the platform.

Set to become available globally on March 18th, the Embedded App SDK lets developers create apps embedded in an iframe within Discord, essentially enabling the creation of new 'Activities' that users can play together.

"We want Discord to grow into the best place for developers to do it all: build, share,...

14 March 2024 | Developer

Microsoft’s latest Agility SDK packs cutting-edge graphics features

Microsoft has released the latest version of its Agility SDK, packed with innovative graphics features that will be showcased at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024.

The SDK 1.613.0 introduces Work Graphs, Shader Model 6.8, GPU Upload Heaps, and several other enhancements aimed at empowering game developers to create more efficient, flexible, and creative experiences.

Work Graphs: Unlocking the full potential of GPUs

The highlight of the Agility SDK is Work...

12 March 2024 | Developer

Apple faces EU scrutiny for terminating Epic’s developer account

Apple finds itself under the European Union's microscope following its decision to terminate Epic Games’ developer account, blocking the gaming company from establishing its own app store for iPhone users in Europe. This move has reignited the ongoing feud between the two tech giants and raised concerns over potential violations of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Epic Games – the creator of popular game Fortnite – expressed outrage after Apple abruptly ended its...

7 March 2024 | App Stores

Asahi Linux’s OpenGL support leapfrogs Apple’s on M-chip Macs

The team behind the Asahi Linux project, which aims to support Linux on Apple Silicon Macs, has achieved a major milestone: its open-source graphics driver now fully supports up to OpenGL 4.6 and OpenGL ES 3.2, surpassing the OpenGL 4.1 support currently offered in macOS.

Asahi developer Alyssa Rosenzweig announced the new driver in a blog post, noting it had to pass "over 100,000 tests" to be deemed officially conformant with the OpenGL standards. This was achieved despite...

15 February 2024 | Gaming