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1695 transmissions indexed — page 33 of 85

[ 2025 ]

3 entries
641|blog.unity.com

Games made with Unity: December 2024 in review

As 2024 came to a close, some of the most exciting releases of the year hit just in time for the holidays—many of them showcasing the power and versatility of what devs can do with Unity. From the long-awaited 1.0 release of Caves of Qud, a 14-year labor of love, to the retro-inspired MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. Other standout titles included the latest from the ATOM RPG team, Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy, and the inventive, experimental Mini Mini Golf Golf. Let's dive into some of the most exciting releases that closed out the year.Made with Unity Steam Curator Page If you haven't yet, please follow our new Steam Curator page this year, and let us know any games we've missed!Working on a game in Unity? We’d love to help you spread the word. Be sure to submit your project.Without further ado, to the best of our abilities, here’s a non-exhaustive list of games made with Unity and launched in December 2024, either into early access or full release. Add to the list by sharing any that you think we missed.Casual and partySquid Game: Unleashed, Netflix, Inc., Boss Fight Entertainment, Amber Studio (December 17)Cards, dice, and deckbuildersDeathless. Tales of Old Rus, 1C Game Studios (December 12)City and colony builderOverthrown, Brimstone (December 5 – early access)FPSBattle Shapers, Metric Empire (December 4)HorrorMiSide, AIHASTO (December 10)Zort, Londer Software (December 7 – early access)Narrative and mysteryMini Mini Golf Golf, Three More Years (December 12)On Your Tail, Memorable Games (December 16)The Midnight Crimes, DeadlyCrow Games (December 25)PlatformerSymphonia, Sunny Peak (December 5)Get To Work, Isto Inc. (December 2)Magenta Horizon - Neverending Harvest, Maddison Baek(Hellfire Railway Interactive) (December 6)Puzzle adventureNAIAD, HiWarp (December 10)Roguelike/liteCaves of Qud, Freehold Games (December 5)Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. (December 11 - Steam release)RPGFANTASIAN Neo Dimension, Mistwalker Corporation (December 5)Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, Visionary Realms (December 13 – early access)Chrono Sword, 21cDucks co., Ltd. (December 6 – early access)Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy, AtomTeam (December 11 – early access)SandboxMythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, Polygon Treehouse (December 5)Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG, Innervoid Interactive (December 5 – early access)SimulationShort Trip, Alexander Perrin (December 11 - Steam release)OHV, Przemysław Hadała (December 18)SimRail - The Railway Simulator, SimRail S.A. (December 13)That’s a wrap for December 2024. Want more Made with Unity and community news as it happens? Don’t forget to follow us on social media: Bluesky, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch.

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642|blog.unity.com

2025 Mobile gaming trends: Industry perspectives

2024 was a year of stability and back-to-basics for the mobile gaming industry. We saw more developers and publishers prioritize successful live titles within their genres of expertise, instead of launching new titles in different categories. This focus transformed the 2024 landscape, driving record-breaking growth for evergreen titles and making reliance on established IP and strong branding essential for capturing growth.In 2024, the Apple App Store & Google Play store topped 80 billion USD in consumer revenue, representing 4% YoY growth. We also saw double digit global growth in the 3 core genres of casual, casino, and strategy games, signaling healthy consumer demand for mobile games. This hyper focus on live titles led to fewer publishers taking the lion’s share of revenue in a given category. In casual games, the top 5 publishers generated 62% of total revenue, while in casino games, the top 5 publishers accounted for 72% of total revenue.What’s in store for the year ahead? We project a continuation of 2024 trends, with steady growth led by evergreen and pre-established brands. We expect that better market conditions and more title releases in the coming year will continue to boost publishers' confidence.Below, industry leaders dive into their 2025 predictions, from advances in user-level customization, and AI’s growing role in game development, to which genres are positioned to gain traction, and more.Hybrid-casual monetization will drive a shift toward user-level customizationTraditionally, monetization strategies have been designed based on game genres. For example, idle games often leverage rewarded videos (RV), hyper-casual games focus on interstitials, and 4X games emphasize in-app purchases (IAP). However, with the maturity of hybrid monetization systems, the next evolution will drive a shift towards user-level customization.By leveraging contextual data gathered early in a user’s journey, publishers can dynamically adapt and balance the monetization experience for each individual. This approach utilizes the full spectrum of monetization options available, including RV, interstitials, IAP, subscriptions, offerwalls, audio ads, in-game advertising, and more. This user-specific strategy will ensure a more personalized experience, enhancing engagement while optimizing revenue potential across diverse user segments.IP games are set to surgeIntellectual Property (IP) games will witness heightened success in the charts for 2025, exemplified by the continued dominance of Monopoly Go!. Hasbro and Mattel in particular have experienced significant success in 2024, showcasing the convergence of games and other entertainment forms in transmedia.This provides studios with even more strategic opportunities, leaning on brand recognition and large existing audiences to reduce CAC (increase in organics + reductions in CPI’s). Equally the rise in "integrations," or limited timed IP events, have been big wins for the likes of Supercell (Godzilla) and Voodoo (Transformers), creating spikes in re-engagement, short term retention and percentage of paying users for unique event driven IAP's.Puzzle games will be an unstoppable force in VietnamPuzzle games have risen to dominate Vietnam’s gaming market, which saw a 17% YoY increase in IAP generated revenue, fueled by the shift to merge mechanics and genre blending. This evolution has broadened their appeal, attracting a wider audience. In 2025, puzzle games are set to continue their profitable trajectory, with developers fine-tuning monetization strategies and user acquisition approaches.Thanks to solid retention rates and strong ad revenue potential, puzzle games are positioned not just to maintain their dominance but to experience even greater growth in 2025, further solidifying their place as a powerhouse in the gaming industry.Growing maturity in Programmatic TV streaming will lead to greater accountabilityProgrammatic CTV is nearing maturity, with steady advances in available inventory, bid density, and measurement. AdExchanger notes that according to the IAB, about three-quarters of all CTV transactions have been programmatic in 2024, as advertisers sought greater scale, optimization, and ROI. Advertisers want to use their preferred demand-side platforms to find their customers on TV streaming platforms. In turn, these content distributors have responded by bringing more premium inventory to the biddable marketplace, along with the data and insights needed to enhance targeting and deliver more transparent and performant results.Waves of technology innovation—like clean rooms and data partnerships—have elevated reach and transparency in the TV streaming ecosystem, supporting programmatic growth. Advertisers now routinely require that data be applicable and akin across platforms. With this progression, the programmatic benefits marketers have yielded in digital and online video are now easily accessible on the TV screen. Broad availability and access to these benefits will put pressure on the major walled gardens in TV to become more transparent. A growing maturity means growing accountability. In 2025, we predict advertisers will demand to understand their streaming campaigns’ real contribution to marketing KPIs—and plan future investments accordingly.AI will redefine game design, offering personalized gameplay experiencesIn 2025, AI will revolutionize gaming, unlocking real-time, player-driven experiences such as dynamic content, adaptive levels, and storylines that evolve to match each player’s unique playstyle. At Block Blast!, we’re fully embracing AI to push the boundaries of game design and A/B testing, delivering more engaging and personalized experiences for our players.As AI continues to evolve, it will become an increasingly powerful tool for enhancing efficiency and unlocking groundbreaking development capabilities in the gaming industry. By combining creativity with cutting-edge technology, we’re not just envisioning the future of gaming—we’re actively creating it.Interested in more 2025 insights? Check out what Unity experts have to say in the second part of this blog series here:2025 Mobile gaming trends: Unity perspectives

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643|blog.unity.com

2025 Mobile gaming trends: Unity perspectives

The mobile gaming industry experienced yet another transformative year in 2024, with the continuation of key trends and the emergence of new opportunities for growth in 2025. As Sensor Tower highlights in the industry perspectives part of this blog series, the mobile gaming industry is on the rise. According to Sensor Tower data, consumer revenue from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store exceeded 80 billion USD, representing a 4% increase from 2023. In 2024, apps surpassed games in install numbers, prompting developers to adopt monetization and user acquisition strategies similar to those used in mobile gaming while exploring new ad formats. Building on the success of past years, 2024 also saw exponential growth in the rewarded space, with even more growth anticipated in the year ahead. Ad quality was another big focus this past year, and we expect it to continue to be a key area in 2025 as developers implement new strategies for improving user experience.What else is in store for 2025? From strategic shifts in ad monetization to a resurgence of midmarket titles and the APAC market’s projected growth trajectory, Unity experts weigh in with predictions for the mobile gaming industry in 2025.Rewarded marketplaces will expand beyond games and mobileIn the last couple of years, the rewarded space has seen significant yet fragmented growth. More apps and networks are providing a rewards experience to developers and the users they serve. On the other side of this marketplace, more advertisers are recognizing the value of this channel and allocating more of their budget to this growing trend, creating a win-win for all stakeholders. As the market continues to mature in the year ahead, major players will solidify their positions and improve their offerings.Will this accelerated growth continue? As with most maturing markets, continued growth is likely, though it may be at a slower pace than before. As we approach 2025, expansion of the rewards space could shift further, with rewarded channels making a stronger move into non-gaming app segments. Additionally, while most opportunities today are largely app-based, we see growing interest around extending these opportunities to the web. As a result, the growth trajectory of rewarded marketplaces may extend into web assets in the coming year.More subscription apps will adopt ad-supported modelsIn 2025, several key factors will drive more subscription apps to incorporate ads as an additional revenue stream. Last year, market saturation and consumer price sensitivity contributed to diminishing returns on subscription models. At the same time, the potential for diverse and scalable income from ad monetization attracted more subscription-apps to integrate ads. Advances in ad personalization and better ad visibility make ad monetization even more appealing.Consumer preferences are also evolving. We’re seeing more consumers interact with ads in exchange for reduced subscription costs or extra features. Additionally, we expect to see more subscription apps adopt hybrid and freemium business models, both of which present greater opportunities for sustainable growth. As more apps integrate ads in the year ahead, consideration should be given to how best to preserve a positive user experience, ensure non-disruptive ads, and implement strong data protection.The resurgence of midmarket titles will bring an abundance of high-quality contentIn 2024, we’ve witnessed a notable resurgence in the development of “midmarket” PC and console titles, bridging the gap between prominent AAA blockbusters and minimalist indie releases. These mid-tier games often emerge from smaller studios who focus on delivering shorter, more streamlined experiences.Within a market that features both expansive franchises and retro-inspired indie hits, we’ve seen that this midmarket space encourages greater experimentation by focusing on niche genres or franchises. Many of these developers are prioritizing quality over sheer scale, knowing that gamers respond strongly to thoughtfully designed worlds and well-crafted content. I’m genuinely excited for 2025, when many of these titles are set to mature and release.Hybrid-casual game growth will reshape ad strategiesIn 2025, hybrid-casual games are expected to dominate the mobile gaming ad landscape with their unique mix of scale, quality, and diversity. Because of their ability to balance volume with attracting high-quality audiences, we’ll see hybrid-casual games solidify their position as a core advertising channel in the coming year.Continued hybrid-casual growth will reshape ad strategies. Advertisers will lean more heavily on rewarded video (RV) ads, which allow for longer, more engaging creative stories that perform better. Additionally, the variety of hybrid sub-genres, like puzzles, simulation, and action, will encourage advertisers to diversify their creative approaches, tailoring campaigns to the preferences of these high-value user bases. Looking ahead, hybrid-casual’s rise signals scalable, sustainable user acquisition opportunities for 2025 and beyond, driving innovation across the industry.Game developers in the APAC region will expand their global reachDevelopers in the APAC mobile gaming market are poised for remarkable growth and global influence in 2025. Currently, developers from China, Japan, and Korea are not only dominating their local markets, but they’re also capturing a significant share of the global mobile gaming landscape - a trend that will continue to gain momentum throughout the year ahead.Their innovative approaches, including cutting-edge game mechanics, immersive storytelling, and advancements in AI-driven gameplay, will continue to set new industry standards. We truly believe more and more developers will succeed in the global market in 2025.Implementing long-format playables to scaleIn 2025, long-format creatives could hold the secret to scaling, particularly in puzzle games. Videos of up to 60 seconds, or up to 120 seconds in some networks, are known to boost engagement. Standalone playables with more than 20 interactions, or 1-2 minutes of playtime, are also effective at increasing engagement. These long formats give users sufficient time to interact with the ads and become emotionally invested. Additionally, long standalone playables provide users with a clear goal, challenging gameplay, and enough time to experience core mechanics.Unlike shorter formats where users are directed to the store after a few clicks, long playables send users to download mid-game, after they're fully immersed in gameplay and are on the verge of completing a challenge or level. Re-engagement via level progression, a combination of mechanics, or a display of diverse game features is key to sustaining user interaction with these creatives. AI’s capability to generate a wide range of concepts can help ensure the experience remains engaging throughout the long format’s full timeline.Interested in more 2025 insights? Check out what industry leaders have to say in the first part of our blog series here:2025 Mobile gaming trends: Industry perspectives

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[ 2024 ]

17 entries
644|blog.unity.com

Games made with Unity: 2024 in review

Wondering what games were Made with Unity in 2024? We've done our best to collate as many as possible. This is a long list, so we’ve attempted to categorize projects by genre (including Action, Comedy, Horror, Metroidvania, and Survival) to make it easier to parse. Hopefully, you can find something that inspires what you’re making or playing in 2025 and beyond. If you want to dive into how some of these games were made, I recommend checking out this recent recap of dev stories.Made with Unity Steam Curator Page We also launched our official Steam Curator page this year, be sure to check it out and let us know any games we've missed!Working on a game in Unity? We’d love to help you spread the word. Be sure to submit your project.Without further ado, to the best of our abilities, here’s a non-exhaustive list of games made with Unity and launched in 2024, either into early access or full release. Add to the list by sharing any that you think we missed.ActionBatman: Arkham Shadow, Camouflaj (October 22)#BLUD, Exit 73 Studios (June 18) Fight Crab 2, Calappa Games (February 13 – early access)Raw Metal, Team Crucible (March 19)Minishoot' Adventures, SoulGame Studio (April 2)Surmount: A Mountain Climbing Adventure, Jasper Oprel, Indiana-Jonas (May 2)Seal: WHAT the FUN, PLAYWITH GAMES Inc. (May 3 – early access)Nerobi, SANOBUSINESS S.R.L. (May 7 – early access)SMYS : Show Me Your Stairs, StarvingFox Studio (May 15)Pre Dusk, Okba Amrate (May 18)Unlanded, Eki-Eki-Eki (June 7)Perfect World, Michael Overton Brown (June 13)Astrodle, Robin Nicolet (June 19)Frogun Encore, Molegato (June 25)OutRage: Fight Fest, Hardball Games Ltd (July 16)Metal Slug: Awakening, Tencent (July 16)ONE BTN BOSSES, Midnight Munchies (August 6)Slash Quest!, Big Green Pillow, Mother Gaia Studio (August 15)CyberCorp, Megame (August 19 – early access)Dustborn, Red Thread Games (August 20)Insect Swarm, Parallel Portal (September 12)NanoApostle, 18Light Game Ltd. (September 12)Stardiver, Green Planet Games (September 12)Perennial Order, Gardenfiend Games (September 6)KILL KNIGHT, PlaySide (October 2)Bullet heavenDeep Rock Galactic: Survivor, Funday Games (February 14 – early access)Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok, Noxfall Studios (April 26)Deathless: Survivors, OneTwoPlay (July 29 – early access)Defenders of the Omniverse, Babushka Entertainment (August 26 – early access)The Spell Brigade, Bolt Blaster Games (September 16 – early access)Vampire Hunters, Gamecraft Studios (October 30)NIMRODS: GunCraft Survivor, Fiveamp (October 28 – early access)Temtem: Swarm, Crema, GGTech Studios (November 13 – early access)Cards, dice, and deckbuildersLiar's Bar, Curve Animation (October 2 – early access)Dicefolk, LEAP Game Studios, Tiny Ghoul (February 27)Zet Zillions, OTA IMON Studios (May 23)Rune Gate, Devwind (June 6)Dice & Fold, Tinymice Entertainment (June 24)Dragon Eclipse, Fardust (June 24 – early access)Union of Gnomes, Hoolignomes (July 18 – early access)Rune Coliseum, Rafale Software (September 23 – early access)Breachway, Edgeflow Studio (September 26 – early access)DICEOMANCER, 超厚皮猪猪 Ultra Piggy Studio (October 10)Menace from the Deep, Flatcoon (November 11)Dungeon Clawler, Stray Fawn Studio (November 21 – early access)Deathless. Tales of Old Rus, 1C Game Studios (December 12)Casual and partyDEATH NOTE Killer Within, Grounding Inc. (November 5)Hamster Playground, Mass Creation (July 11)ODDADA, Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann (August 15)Mirth Melody, Clay Game Studio (August 15)Mika and The Witch’s Mountain, Chibig, Nukefist (August 21 – early access)Melobot – A Last Song, Anomalie Studio (September 16)Starstruck: Hands of Time, Createdelic, LLC (September 16)City and colony builderEndzone 2, Gentlymad Studios (August 26 – early access)Fabledom, Grenaa Games (May 13)Synergy, Leikir Studio (May 21 – early access)El Dorado: The Golden City Builder, Hobo Bunch, Gameparic (June 17)Go-Go Town!, Prideful Sloth (June 18 – early access)Dystopika, Voids Within (June 21)Nekokami – The Human Restoration Project, Rocket-in-Bottle (June 25 – early access)Preserve, Bitmap Galaxy (August 8 – early access)Mini Settlers, Knight Owl Games (August 8 – early access)MEMORIAPOLIS, 5PM Studio (August 29 – early access)Roots of Yggdrasil, ManaVoid Entertainment (September 6)Goblin Camp, Korppi Games Ltd (September 17 – early access)EcoGnomix, Irox Games (September 30)Citadelum, Abylight Barcelona (October 17)Worshippers of Cthulhu, Crazy Goat Games (October 21 – early access)Technotopia, Yustas (October 23)Overthrown, Brimstone (December 5 – early access)ComedyThank Goodness You’re Here!, Coal Supper (August 1)Inkulinati, Yaza Games (February 22)Fireside, Emergo Entertainment (June 4)They Can Fart, Les Crafteurs (June 18)Thought Experiment Simulator, HoHo Game Studio (July 22)RAWMEN: Food Fighter Arena, ANIMAL (July 23)Exhausted Man, Candleman Games (July 24)Just Crow Things, Unbound Creations (August 15)WHAT THE CAR?, Triband (September 9 – Steam release)Great God Grove, LimboLane (November 15)FPSI Am Your Beast, Strange Scaffold (September 10)Shady Knight, Alexey 'cptnsigh' (October 9)MULLET MADJACK, HAMMER95 (May 15)Anger Foot, Free Lives (July 11)SENTRY, Fireblade Software (March 25 – early access)CONVRGENCE, Monkey-With-a-Bomb (April 22 – early access)ROBOBEAT, Simon Fredholm (May 14)Fallen Aces, Trey Powell, Jason Bond (June 14 – early access)Histera, StickyLock Games (June 20 – early access)Zero Hour, M7 Productions, Attrito (September 9)Chains of Fury, Cobble Games (September 16)Wild Bastards, Blue Manchu (September 12)STRAFTAT, Sirius Lemaitre, Leonard Lemaitre (October 24)Devilated, Trunka (October 28)SULFUR, Perfect Random (October 28 – early access)420BLAZEIT 2: GAME OF THE YEAR -=Dank Dreams and Goated Memes=- [#wow/11 Like and Subscribe] Poggerz Edition, Normal Wholesome Games (November 14)Battle Shapers, Metric Empire (December 4)HorrorContent Warning, Philip, thePetHen, Skog, Zorro, Wilnyl (April 1)POOLS, Tensori (April 26)Crow Country, SFB Games (May 9)Mouthwashing, Wrong Organ (September 26)Sorry We're Closed, à la mode games (November 14)REVEIL, Pixelsplit (March 6)The Tower on the Borderland, DascuMaru (May 20)Imaginary Friend Asylum, Grant Marrs (May 20)Let Me Out, 4Happy Studio (August 8)Envelope, Skaar Game Productions, Numme (September 4)Hollowbody, Headware Games (September 12)Fears to Fathom –Woodbury Getaway, Rayll Studios (September 12)Grunn, Sokpop Collective, Tom van den Boogaart (October 4)Sniper Killer, Black Eyed Priest, Henry Hoare (October 17)Tormenture, Croxel Studios (October 21)I'm on Observation Duty 7, Notovia, Dreamloop Games (October 22)Fear the Spotlight, Cozy Game Pals (October 22)The Scourge | Tai Ương, Rare Reversee, Beaztek (October 23 – early access)The Hungry Fly, Erupting Avocado (October 23)CROWDED. FOLLOWED., NIGHT DIAL (October 24)Absolute Insanity, Chris Danelon (November 5)Angel Wings: Endless Night, RumR Design (November 6)Is this Game Trying to Kill Me?, Stately Snail (November 13)Enigma of Fear, Dumativa, Cellbit (November 28)Zort, Londer Software (December 7 – early access)Management and automationRusty's Retirement, Mister Morris Games (April 26)shapez 2, tobspr Games (August 15 – early access)Minami Lane, Doot, Blibloop, Zakku (February 28)FOUNDRY, Channel 3 Entertainment (May 2 – early access)Coffee Caravan, Broccoli Games (May 20)Galacticare, Brightrock Games (May 23)Rebots, FlatPonies (October 7)Amber Isle, Ambertail Games (October 10)Techtonica, Fire Hose Games (November 7)MetroidvaniaPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ubisoft Montpellier (January 18)Ultros, Hadoque (February 13)Nine Sols, RedCandleGames (May 29)Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, Bombservice (January 11)Airhead, Octato, Massive Miniteam (February 12)Cosmic: A Journey Among Shadows, King's Pleasure (May 6 – early access)Arcane Assembly, Isaac Lee (May 17)Genopanic, Mobirate (May 17)Venture to the Vile, Studio Cut to Bits (May 22)Gestalt: Steam & Cinder, Metamorphosis Games (July 16)Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist (July 17)Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune, IceSitruuna (July 26)DEVIATOR, Gami Studio (August 1 – early access)Anima Flux, Anima Flux (October 7)AWAKEN - Astral Blade, Dark Pigeon Games (October 22)Voidwrought, Powersnake (October 24)Last Vanguard, Cool Tapir Studios LLC (November 5 – early access)Narrative and mystery1000xRESIST, sunset visitor 斜陽過客 (May 9)Harold Halibut, Slow Bros. (April 16)Phoenix Springs, Calligram Studio (October 7)Deep Beyond, Avix Games (May 15)Pine Hearts, Hyper Luminal Games Ltd (May 23)Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, Happy Broccoli Games (May 23)Tavern Talk, Gentle Troll Entertainment (June 20)Ghost Boy, Two Blackbirds (June 25)Vampire Therapist, Little Bat Games (July 18)The Operator, Silver Lining Studio (July 22)The Star Named EOS, Silver Lining Studio (July 23)Closer the Distance, Osmotic Studios (August 2)Farewell North, Kyle Banks (August 16)Copycat, Spoonful Of Wonder (September 19)Mexico, 1921. A Deep Slumber., Mácula Interactive (September 13)Chicken Police: Into the HIVE!, The Wild Gentlemen (November 7)Deathless Death, Dream Delivery Center (November 13)Loco Motive, Robust Games (November 21)Mercury Abbey, YiTi Games (November 22)PlatformerNeva, Nomada Studio (October 15)SCHiM, Ewoud van der Werf, Nils Slijkerman (July 18)Lorn’s Lure, Rubeki Games (September 20)A Difficult Game About Climbing, Pontypants (March 6)Anomaly Agent, Phew Phew Games (January 24)Unleaving, orangutan matter (March 27)Moen, Ambient Melancholy (July 12)Valley Peaks, Tub Club (July 24)Unrooted, 85 Plus Games (August 2)Max Mustard, Toast Interactive (October 16)Mind Over Magnet, Game Maker's Toolkit (November 13)Get To Work, Isto Inc. (December 2)Symphonia, Sunny Peak (December 5)Magenta Horizon - Neverending Harvest, Maddison Baek(Hellfire Railway Interactive) (December 6)Puzzle adventureLorelei and the Laser Eyes, Simogo (May 16)Please, Touch The Artwork 2, Thomas Waterzooi (February 19)Children of the Sun, René Rother (April 9)Paper Trail, Newfangled Games (May 21)CLeM, Mango Protocol (February 6)Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, Hyper Games (March 7)Botany Manor, Balloon Studios (April 9)Gift, Toydium, Million Edge (May 8)Ouros, Michael Kamm (May 22)Hauntii, Moonloop Games (May 23)The Abandoned Planet, Dexter Team Games (July 14)Linkito, Kalinarm (July 23)Été, Impossible (July 23)Slider, boomo (July 24)Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure, Furniture & Mattress LLC (July 25)Ogu and the Secret Forest, Moonlab Studio, Sinkhole Studio (July 29)Leximan, Knights of Borria (August 13)Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery, Rogueside (August 13)PRIM, Common Colors, Application Systems Heidelberg (October 24)Little Big Adventure – Twinsen’s Quest, [2.21] (November 14)Roguelike/liteCaves of Qud, Freehold Games (December 5)Void Crew, Hutlihut Games (November 25)Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. (December 11)Windblown, Motion Twin (October 24 – early access)Oblivion Override, Humble Mill (January 24)BlazBlue Entropy Effect, 91Act (February 14)Spiritfall, Gentle Giant (February 28)Beat Slayer, ByteRockers' Games (April 4)Inkbound, Shiny Shoe (April 9)Rogue Voltage, Horizont Computergrafik(May 10 – early access)The Land Beneath Us, FairPlay Studios Co. Ltd (May 13)Gatekeeper, Gravity Lagoon (May 13 – early access)Never Mourn, Primal Seed (May 13 – early access)Terra Randoma, Deniz K. (May 23)Dragon Is Dead, TeamSuneat (June 7 – early access)Into the Emberlands, Tiny Roar (June 19 – early access)Sandwalkers, Goblinz Studio (June 19 - early access)GUNCHO, Arnold Rauers, Terri Vellmann, Sam Webster (June 25)Valefor: Roguelike Tactics, Valefor Ltd (July 19)Little Scavenger, CodeRed Studio (July 27)Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD, Mini Fun Games (July 29)Cubed and Dangerous, Ace High Arcade (August 1)snatch&swallow, megatouch (August 6 – early access)Loopstructor, Pone Games (August 8)Feed the Deep, Luke Muscat (August 16)StormEdge, Shieldbreaking Games (September 13)Shogun Showdown, Roboatino (September 5)Rogue Waters, Ice Code Games (September 30)Up to Par, It's Anecdotal (October 14)Elin, Lafrontier (November 1 – early access)Munch, Mac n Cheese Games (November 4)ShapeHero Factory, Asobism.Co.,Ltd (November 5 – early access)Ammo and Oxygen, Juvty Worlds (November 7 – early access)Atomic Picnic, BitCake Studio (November 7 – early access)RPGLast Epoch, Eleventh Hour Games (February 21)No Rest for the Wicked, Moon Studios GmbH (April 18 – early access)Another Crab's Treasure, Aggro Crab (April 25)Dread Delusion, Lovely Hellplace (May 14)FANTASIAN Neo Dimension, Mistwalker Corporation (December 5)Cryptmaster, Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games (May 9)Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun, ZUIJIANGYUE Game (January 18)Stolen Realm, Burst2Flame Entertainment (March 8)Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Rabbit & Bear Studios (April 23)Fay's Factory, egor dorogov (May 8 – early access)Plushie from the Sky, fishwind (May 6)Seablip, Jardar Solli (May 17 – early access)SKALD: Against the Black Priory, High North Studios AS (May 30)Vendir: Plague of Lies, Early Morning Studio (May 30)Zenless Zone Zero, miHoYo (July 4)Yaoling: Mythical Journey, RAYKA STUDIO (July 16 – early access)Dungeons of Hinterberg, Microbird Games (July 18)Minds Beneath Us, BearBoneStudio (July 31)Cat Quest III, The Gentlebros (August 8)Depersonalization, MeowNature (August 8)Realm of Ink, Leap Studio (September 26 – early access)Banquet for Fools, Hannah and Joseph Games (September 30 – early access)Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire, Octeto Studios (October 10)Drova - Forsaken Kin, Just2D (October 15)Reverse: 1999, BLUEPOCH GAMES CO., LIMITED (October 8)Metal Slug Tactics, Leikir Studio (November 5)Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade, BILIBILI HK LIMITED (November 7)Void Sols, Finite Reflection Studios (November 12)ATLYSS, Kiseff (November 22 – early access)Neon Blood, ChaoticBrain Studios (November 26)Chrono Sword, 21cDucks co., Ltd. (December 6 – early access)SandboxBulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles, Tomas Sala (March 26)Little Kitty, Big City, Double Dagger Studio (May 9)Shadows of Doubt, ColePowered Games (September 26)SUMMERHOUSE, Double Dagger Studio (May 9)Mirthwood, Bad Ridge Games (November 6)Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, Polygon Treehouse (December 5)Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG, Innervoid Interactive (December 5 – early access)SimulationSupermarket Simulator, Nokta Games (February 20 – early access)TCG Card Shop Simulator, OPNeon Games (September 15 – early access)Brocula, Destroyer Doggo (May 9)Cozy Caravan, 5 Lives Studios (May 16 – early access)Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends, Catch & Release, LLC (June 4)Everafter Falls, SquareHusky (June 20)Contraband Police Mobile, PlayWay SA (July 9)The Last Alchemist, Vile Monarch (July 12)Critter Crops, Skyreach Studio (July 22)Farlands, JanduSoft, Eric Rodríguez (July 24 – early access)The Crush House, Nerial (August 9)Crime Scene Cleaner, President Studio (August 14)Star Trucker, Monster and Monster (September 3)Critter Cove, Gentleman Rat Studios (September 10 – early access)Recycling Center Simulator, Balas Games (October 2)Old Market Simulator, Alcedo Games (October 3)Gunsmith Simulator, GameHunters (October 4)Extra Coin, CINIC Games (October 8)Fruitbus, Krillbite Studio (October 28)Dustland Delivery, Neutron Star Studio (November 5)Everholm, Chonky Loaf (November 11)Luma Island, Feel Free Games (November 20)Short Trip, Alexander Perrin (December 11)Sports and drivingTurbo Golf Racing, Hugecalf Studios (April 4)Heading Out, Serious Sim (May 7)Blacktop Hoops, Vinci Games (May 16)Motördoom, Hobo Cat Games (August 2)Phantom Spark, Ghosts (August 15)#DRIVE Rally, Pixel Perfect Dude (September 25 – early access)Stampede: Racing Royale, Sumo Digital (October 10)StrategyCataclismo, Digital Sun (July 22 – early access)Tactical Breach Wizards, Suspicious Developments Inc (August 22)Diplomacy is Not an Option, Door 407 (October 4)Thronefall, GrizzlyGames (October 11)Crab God, Chaos Theory Games (June 20)Solium Infernum, League of Geeks (February 22)Godsworn, Thunderoak Interactive (March 28 – early access)Songs of Conquest, Lavapotion (May 20)Dethroned, Irid Games (May 26 – early access)clickyland, Sokpop Collective (June 3)Emberward, ReficGames (June 25)Artisan TD, 4rtisans (July 22)ARC SEED, Massive Galaxy Studios (July 30 – early access)Operation: Polygon Storm, Toxic Studio (August 12)Toy Shire, Bluespy Studios (August 26 – early access)Mechabellum, Game River (September 26)Silence of the Siren, Oxymoron Games (September 30 – early access)Sainthood, Bisong Taiwo (November 1)Skill Legends Royale, ZGGame (November 4)Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, Ocean Drive Studio, Inc. (November 5 – early access)Tower Factory, Gius Caminiti (November 7 – early access)Songs of Silence, Chimera Entertainment (November 13)SurvivalSons of the Forest, Endnight Games Ltd (February 22)Planet Crafter, Miju Games (April 10)V Rising, Stunlock Studios (May 8)7 Days to Die, The Fun Pimps (July 25)Core Keeper, Pugstorm (August 27)When the Light Dies, Electric Monkeys, Secret Level Studios (May 2 – early access)Carth, Deidre Reay Studios LLC (May 15 – early access)ASKA, Sand Sailor Studio (June 20 – early access)REKA, Emberstorm Entertainment (September 12 – early access)The Last Plague: Blight, Original Studios (October 3 – early access)Bad 2 Bad: Apocalypse, DAWINSTONE (October 30)I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival, Mandragora (November 13)That’s a wrap for 2024. Want more Made with Unity and community news as it happens? Don’t forget to follow us on social media: Bluesky, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch.

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645|openai.com

Why OpenAI’s structure must evolve to advance our mission

A stronger non-profit supported by the for-profit’s success.

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646|openai.com

Deliberative alignment: reasoning enables safer language models

Deliberative alignment: reasoning enables safer language models Introducing our new alignment strategy for o1 models, which are directly taught safety specifications and how to reason over them.

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647|blog.unity.com

Celebrating Unity games this awards season

It’s December once again, which can only mean one thing – the video games award season is in full swing! Following the excitement of last week’s wins and reveals at The Game Awards, we wanted to round up some of the exciting news and the Unity games that have been honored at some recent events.Amid a slew of world premieres and new announcements at The Game Awards on December 12th, the team from 10 Chambers debuted a new trailer from their upcoming co-op heist FPS Den of Wolves. Rendered entirely in Unity 6, the heart-pounding video gave an exciting first look at gameplay from the highly anticipated project. Attendees at and around the event were also treated to a spectacular drone show, where images and scenes from the game were projected over the Los Angeles Convention Center.Other Unity developers were also present at the show, with Nómada Studios taking home the Games for Impact Award for Neva, Camouflaj winning Best VR Game for Batman: Arkham Shadow, and Ubisoft Montpellier’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown winning the award for Innovation in Accessibility. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!The Golden Joystick Awards kicked off the season last month, announcing their winners on November 21st. After tallying over 12 million public votes several of the prestigious prizes were taken home by made with Unity games including Best Indie Game (Self-published) for Another Crab's Treasure, Still Playing Award (Mobile) for Honkai: Star Rail, and Best Early Access Game for Lethal Company.This October, we also hosted the Unity Awards Showcase, our first-ever awards livestream where we highlighted Unity creators around the world and celebrated their inspiring achievements across games, Asset Store tools, community, education, social impact, and industry applications. Narrowing down the winners from over 160 nominees across 22 awards was no easy feat, and we truly appreciate everyone who took the time to nominate games and vote for the winners.Golden Cube: COCOON by Geometric Interactive | Annapurna InteractiveBest Desktop/Console: Super Mario RPG by NintendoBest 3D Visuals: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown by Ubisoft MontpellierBest 2D Visuals: Cat Garden by msgsquare | DAERI SOFTBest Mobile: Hello Kitty Island Adventure by SunblinkBest Multiplayer: Party Animals by Recreate GamesMost Anticipated: Hollow Knight: Silksong by Team CherryBest AR/VR: Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR by Red Storm Entertainment | UbisoftBest Artistic Tool: COZY: Stylized Weather 3 by Distant LandsBest Artistic Content: Stylized Nature by HivemindBest Development Tool: Gaia Pro 2023 – Terrain & Scene Generator by Procedural WorldsPublisher of the Year: NatureManufactureBest Tutorial Series: Code MonkeyBest Devlog Series: SamyamBest Livestreamer: The Game Dev ShowBest Training Application: Virtual Hangar by Mass VirtualBest Embedded System Project: MB.OS by MercedesMost Innovative Customer Experience: AR Tryout by KohlerInnovation Award: H-Meta Automation of VWMS 3D Logistics Operation/Measurement Technologies based on Meta Factory Environment by Hyundai Motor CompanyYouth Creators Award: OriPal by Spes😊DojoBest Student Project: The WereCleaner by USC GamesBest Social Impact Project: Crab God by Chaos Theory GamesOf course, there are many awards still to be announced as we move into 2025, and we'll keep celebrating all the Unity games and creators that are nominated and win big at these future events. In the meantime a heartfelt congratulations to our incredible community of developers, creators, and players alike. See you in 2025!

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It’s a wrap: 2024 technical content roundup

A few years ago, we created our first 100+ page e-book on performance optimization for mobile games, and quickly followed up with a similar guide for PC and consoles. We wanted to share the insights and general best practices from Unity support engineers who have worked on numerous Unity games with the rest of the community.From the start, our aim was to publish a collection of in-depth guides to cover major themes, from graphics rendering with the SRPs, to 2D development, visual effects, writing clean code with C#, implementing programming design patterns in your projects, and architecting with ScriptableObjects.So far, we've published more than 35 free e-books, over 40 video tutorials, 8 sample projects, and 50+ articles to help programmers, artists, technical artists, and game designers work as efficiently as possible with Unity. You can find all of these resources on unity.com/how-to. Our main focus in 2024 has been on updating many of these resources to Unity 6 so you can get the most out of the latest release. We’ll continue to release Unity 6 versions of the e-books and samples in 2025. As we’re about to wrap up the year, we want to thank everyone who provided feedback along the way. Now let’s take a quick look at some of the technical content from 2024 that we hope you’ll find helpful.From tips to increase productivity in Unity 2022 LTS, to our first-ever guides on DOTS and multiplayer networking, updated best practices e-books for performance optimization across many platforms in Unity, and actionable examples for game programming patterns, here are some of the highlights for programmers in 2024:Technical e-book: Introduction to the Data-Oriented Technology Stack for advanced Unity developersSample project: Level up your code with design patterns and SOLIDVideo tutorials: Game programming patterns YouTube playlistFrom instructions for working with URP in Unity 2022 LTS and Unity 6, to creating advanced visual effects using the VFX Graph, as well as comprehensive guides to creating animations, and mixed and virtual reality experiences in Unity, here are some of the highlights for artists, technical artists, and game designers in 2024:Technical e-book: The definitive guide to animation in UnitySample project: Gem Hunter Match - 2D Sample ProjectVideo tutorial: Deep dive into the HDRP water systemWe want to continue helping your team work effectively with versioning, managing your builds, and keeping track of your assets. In 2024 we’ve updated our guide and video tutorials for version control and project organization. Here are the highlights:Technical e-book: Best practices for project organization and version control (Unity 6 edition)Video tutorial: Getting started with Unity Version ControlVideo tutorial: A quick guide to the Asset Manager in UnityAs a reminder, you can watch all the tutorials in this YouTube playlist: Unity Tutorials: Create Games in Unity.We hope you find the e-books, sample projects, tutorials, and Discussions articles helpful in your day-to-day work in Unity. We'll be developing more resources in the coming months in 2025.Be sure to bookmark this link to easily access all the upcoming learning content.Thank you for reading. See you in 2025!

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649|openai.com

OpenAI o1 and new tools for developers

Introducing OpenAI o1, Realtime API improvements, a new fine-tuning method and more for developers.

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650|blog.unity.com

Spotlight on mobile game growth: 2024 customer successes and insights

2024 was a monumental year for studios of all sizes in the gaming and app industry. Our customer stories highlight the achievements of these studios, while our industry reports and trend pieces provide data-driven insights to help studios of all sizes inform their growth strategies.Let’s dive into the customer success stories, reports, and articles that helped shape the state of game growth throughout this past year. Reports and trends:We tapped into a wealth of data to compile 2024’s reports, trends, tips, and thought leadership from Unity experts, to help inform game or app growth strategies.The 2024 Mobile Growth and Monetization ReportAdapting to market and industry changes is challenging, but understanding trends and benchmarks for user acquisition (UA), in-app purchases (IAPs), and in-app advertising (IAA) can help teams optimize and grow their games.In 2024, we found that global ad engagement increased 3.2% year-over-year. Since economic challenges make it difficult for some users to pay for IAPs, ads offer a great alternative to access in-game content, making them valuable to both the player and the studio alike. The report also shows that users who engage with offerwalls have 2–7x higher retention than non-offerwall users.Mobile gaming trends in 2024In January, we published our top trends for mobile gaming in 2024 and had Unity experts weigh in on what they thought would be the biggest opportunities this year. We discussed everything from how AI can improve creativity, the rise of hybrid-casual games, puzzle genre’s year of continued success, and more. Even if they are 2024 predictions – many of these trends we’ll see well into 2025.Advertisers playbook to win the 2024 holiday seasonUnity surveyed 4,094 U.S. adults aged 18+ to uncover insights that can help your brand land on the nice list this year. With many having more downtime over the holiday season, 37% of Gen Z expect to increase their playtime during the holidays, while 29% of Millennials feel the same way – with 13% of respondents saying they’ll likely play for 5 or more hours a day, making the holidays a prime season to engage with players.Helpful tips for sustained app growth:Implementing ads without cannibalizing subscription conversionsAs premium subscription service apps expand their business models to include ad-based tiers, they must implement ads strategically to avoid cannibalizing subscription conversions. We dove into how a subscription based app might go about this, by strategically using various ad formats, and segmenting users based on factors like region, mobile device model, and more.Addressing addressability: How brand marketers can adapt their mobile programmatic strategyATT and cookie deprecation signifies more than just a technological shift – it challenges mobile advertising marketers to adapt their strategies to reach consumers in-app. By leveraging first-party data, exploring alternative ID solutions, and segmenting non-addressable users based on contextual information, marketers can be successful in this new environment.How Nexters increase ad engagement by 73% with Unity’s ad consultancy teamNexters partnered with Unity’s ad consultancy team to optimize their rewarded video placement strategy for their hit game, Hero Wars. By implementing their recommendations, Nexters saw a 73% increase in engagement rate, and 59% increase in daily engaged users. See how the teams collaborated on strategy to get these winning results.Customer success stories:Discover the studios that soared to new heights over the last year.User Acquisition success stories:Kwalee improves D0 Ad Revenue ROAS by 22% with Unity AdsKwalee’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in gaming and their team of skilled professionals, like Head of Growth Alexey Gusev, are key to bringing great players to fun games. Gusev shares how his team used D0 Ad Revenue ROAS campaigns from Unity Ads to boost profits and expand to new markets.How Lihuhu increased average install CVR by 15% (and ARPDAU by 10%!)In a competitive mobile genre like match-three, how can a studio rise to the top? By identifying the right type of user acquisition (UA) campaign optimization, providing rewarded ads to help player progression, and leaning into in-app bidding, Lihuhu created a continuous cycle of game growth in order to reach the top of the match-three genre.How Audiomack uses Unity LevelPlay to scale up globallyWe sat down with Dave Edwards, Chief Revenue Officer at Audiomack, to learn how working with the team at Unity LevelPlay helped them scale efficiently in global markets with tools like the Unity Ads bidder and A/B testing tool.Monetization success stories:How Pocket FM boosted revenue 20%Pocket FM Corp., a studio known for its popular audiobook app Pocket FM, wanted to monetize their non-paying users and decided to implement a hybrid monetization strategy. We met with Sujit Jha, their Senior Product Manager to understand how incorporating ad formats and the offerwall (a rewarded marketplace) into their app successfully boosted both their revenue and retention by 20%.How LBC Studios boosted ARPDAU 37%LBC Studios sought to boost revenue for their hit game, Hempire, and partnered with the Unity LevelPlay team to optimize their rewarded video strategy and A/B test video capping rates. Gene Park, Director of Marketing at LBC Studios shares how they boosted ARPDAU by 37%.Qcplay increased ad ARPDAU 29%Qcplay’s idle-RPG game, Super Snail, needed further ad monetization optimization and user engagement in order to grow efficiently. We met with Yifei Wang, Operation Manager, at Qcplay to understand how the Unity Ads bidder helped increase ad ARPDAU by 29%.How OK Cashbag boosted revenue with Unity LevelPlay and the Tapjoy offerwallOK Cashbag had two goals for their app: build a more comprehensive monetization strategy while maintaining, and even improving, their users’ experience. Implementing rewarded video ads and the Tapjoy offerwall helped the studio boost quarterly revenue by a staggering 288%, and eCPM by 270%.How CashWalk increased revenue by 225% and engagement rate by 5xCashWalk, an app based out of Korea, lets you earn rewards for walking or running, which can be exchanged for gift cards from leading brands and products. Looking to increase revenue and engagement, the team turned to the experts to scale their business.Learn how Jungsin Park, CEO of CashWalk, increased revenue by 225% and engagement rate by 5x for the app working with Unity LevelPlay and Unity’s app design consultancy.Tapjoy from Unity’s offerwall success stories:Crazy Maple Studio exceeded their D7 ROAS goal by 150% and drove 120% higher LTVWe met with Yana Kong, UA lead at Crazy Maple Studio to understand how implementing a Daily Reward CPE campaign on the Tapjoy from Unity’s offerwall drove incremental scale, with 50% growth in installs, and a 120% lift in user LTV compared to users acquired from video UA channels.How Appynation multiplied iOS revenue 9x and increased Android revenue 2x – without cannibalizing IAPAppynation, a UK-based mobile game developer and publisher, aimed to increase revenue and boost conversions for their puzzle game Picture Cross. By implementing the Message to Earn feature on the offerwall, iOS revenue increased by 9x, and Android by 2x.How King drove incremental scale with Daily Rewards, exceeding their D7 ROAS goal by 1.5xHaving used the Tapjoy from Unity offerwall for several years, King was seeking to further optimize the channel to drive incremental scale and ROAS. The team turned to Tapjoy’s Daily Rewards CPE campaigns to help drive user engagement, and in turn, boosting their D7 ROAS goal.How Lotte Members boosted ad revenue and increased eCPM 10xHyohun Jung, Team Leader, Digital Marketing Business Team at Lotte Members, explains how implementing the offerwall maximized their monetization strategy, boosting ad revenue 20x and increasing eCPM 10x.Programmatic success stories:In the competitive world of advertising, making your brand stand out and drive engagement can be challenging. Over the past year, we collaborated with brands to realize their campaign visions through programmatic solutions, resulting in being shortlisted for five prestigious award nominations from Digiday, MediaPost's OMMA, and AdExchanger, as we helped clients engage new users globally.Maniko Nails programmatic: The easiest manicure in the world meets mobile gaming audiencesA finalist in both Adexchanger Awards and OMMA Awards, the Maniko Nails case study is a prime example of standing out in a crowded market by leveraging innovative programmatic mobile marketing strategies.By collaborating with Kayzen and Unity, Maniko was able to tap into the highly engaged mobile gaming audience and implement a full-funnel attribution solution. This approach allowed them to effectively reach and retarget potential customers, showcasing their unique product benefits through memorable ad experiences. The results generated 13.6M impressions and sent 1.9M unique users to Maniko's e-commerce site.It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and we’re honored to share these success stories and insights that can encourage your game growth for years to come.

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Beyond gaming: 2024’s biggest XR innovations across industries

In 2024, extended reality (XR) technology continued to gain momentum across industries, transforming how businesses operate, innovate, connect with consumers, and deliver value. From immersive virtual retail showrooms to precision-driven manufacturing simulations, XR is proving to be a critical enabler — unlocking new opportunities for engagement, efficiency, and extraordinary customer experiences.Groundbreaking applications of XR technology are delivering tangible results across industries in areas like automotive design, healthcare innovation, and beyond. As adoption accelerates, XR is poised to become a foundational element of business strategy, positioning forward-thinking organizations at the forefront of industry transformation.These standout industry stories of 2024 highlight how leading enterprises are harnessing the power of next-generation immersive technology to push boundaries and solve real-world challenges—streamlining operations, optimizing efficiency, increasing productivity, enhancing customer experiences and trust, and creating meaningful connections with their audience.Whether you're curious about the future of immersive technology in retail or how extended reality is revolutionizing manufacturing and healthcare, or delivering measurable ROI for the aviation and automotive industry, this article will provide insights from the cutting edge of innovation.The rise of AR and VR across industriesAugmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are already proving to be game changers for industries like healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, retail, and beyond. Extended reality (XR), which encompasses the whole spectrum of reality technologies, is not just a small shift, it's a sea change in how businesses create, design, and interact with their digital spaces.In healthcare, for example, it has an unprecedented and life-changing impact that ranges from improving patient outcomes to surgical robotics simulations, and 3D anatomical visualizations as proven in incredible medical success stories such as VirtaMed.This comprehensive article explores how AR and VR are transforming how we experience products and services, streamline operations, and help us innovate in everything from manufacturing and shopping, to cars, shipping, and construction.It explores the measurable outcomes of adopting XR technologies and looks at inspiring case studies and exciting customer success stories from across industries such as:Mazda and Unity: Pioneering a new future for automotive cockpit HMICincinnati Children’s Hospital: Innovating surgery planningGucci Ancora: Immersive Experience for Gucci ProspettiveHow Camille Fournet creates immersive shopping experiencesImproving sales with Bosch Rexroth’s virtual showroomMaking ports safer with simulation trainingHow Carl’s Jr. uses immersive tech to reinvent facility operationsTravancore Analytics: Elevating forklift training with virtual realityHow BMW is leveraging Unity to open up new dimensions for the driving experienceThe BMW Group has always been a trailblazer when it comes to pioneering digital innovations in the automotive industry. This past decade in particular, they have made some incredible strides in delivering superior engine performance and creating elevated driving experiences. Now, they are pushing the envelope even further by bringing AR to their vehicles.In this interview feature, BMW research engineers Manfred Pauli and Wolfgang Haberl shared their vision for the future of driving, how BMW is transforming the in-vehicle experience with AR, and how Unity is engrained throughout their product lifecycle, enabling them to create novel immersive experiences and tools such as designing heads-up display graphics.They also provide a sneak peek into 2025 and the anticipated launch of a new user interface with the BMW Panoramic Vision in series vehicles.How extended reality reinvents the factory floorAdvancements in XR, the broad category of technologies that includes VR and AR, are reshaping the manufacturing landscape and revolutionizing industrial processes. XR solutions offer unprecedented 3D visualization and contextual depth. By integrating XR into their operations, leading manufacturers and equipment suppliers are future-proofing their workflows, transforming sales operations, and streamlining testing processes. It’s become an indispensable tool for companies looking to maintain a competitive edge.This article explores how Unity Industry is helping manufacturers create practical and cutting-edge XR applications for their workforces and deep dive into industrial use cases such as AR inspection toolkits, AI robotics simulations, collaborative VR maintenance, AR technical training, and virtual product showcases.Also, check out this e-book that deep dives into 8 manufacturing processes improved with AR,VR and MR.3 developer strategies to boost customer engagement with XRImmersive customer experiences have powerful implications for not only specialized products but across industries such as retail and automotive — think virtual showrooms and driving simulators. Virtual showrooms, in particular, allow businesses to showcase a diverse range of products without the need to ship physical demonstrator models, significantly minimizing costs and the need for on-site visits. This approach not only enhances customer engagement but also streamlines sales operations by providing versatile, on-demand opportunities for product demonstrations, even in remote settings.Analysts predict that the global XR market could top $1.9 trillion (USD) by 2032, fueled by consumer’s online shopping trends and growing appetite for ‘try-before-you-buy’ approach, and the increasing affordability of virtual technology. There is no better time to invest in developing immersive customer experiences as this is an increasingly competitive, innovative, and lucrative field.The simplest immersive customer experiences only require a smartphone or tablet, but modern 3D development frameworks can also be used to build robust virtual reality applications that expand marketing touchpoints. In this blog post, we share the top strategies for unlocking the potential of these technologies, and how leading enterprises like Audi and Volvo are reaping unprecedented dividends by embracing XR in the automotive industry.XR training for logistics, travel, and transportationNow that consumer-grade VR headsets and mobile devices come equipped with LiDAR emitters and multispectral cameras, it is more cost-effective than ever to digitize real-world settings in high fidelity. This opens the door for new opportunities in logistics and transportation, where immersive training scenarios are already providing first-hand experience with complex processes and safety skills.The technology used to build interactive games is revolutionizing transportation industries around the world. XR training offers a safer, smarter way to upskill teams that improves skills retention outcomes and accelerates continuous development at scale.In this article, we learn about the myriad benefits of using XR in training contexts, and explore real-world success stories from expert developers in travel and logistics such as engineers from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines XR Center of Excellence and how they leveraged Unity’s Pixyz plugin. With Unity Industry the possibilities are limitlessUnity Industry combines the Unity Editor’s real-time 3D toolkit and dynamic rendering pipelines with industry-leading data ingestion and ongoing Industry Success support to facilitate your digital transformation. The included Pixyz Plugin can parse over 70 file types, including CAD and BIM, with options for dynamic mesh tesselation and polygon decimation that make it easy to develop XR apps with 3D data.

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652|blog.unity.com

Google Play Indie Games Fund 2024 - Games Made with Unity

Google Play’s annual Indie Games Fund for LATAM is back with $2 million in funding and hands-on support to empower Latin America’s brightest game creators. Designed to uplift small studios, this program offers not only financial backing but also expert guidance and technical resources, ensuring developers can bring their creative visions to life. For the last two years, Unity has partnered with Google to provide expert guidance and support to the winners, with last year’s crop including, My Zombie World, Wind Peaks, Slash Quest, Legend of the Skyfish 2, Lonesome Village, Fighters of Fate: Card Duel, and Golazo!This year, every winning game was crafted with Unity, and we’re excited to continue offering the same support to these teams.Latin America is rapidly emerging as a hub for innovative and culturally rich gaming experiences, and the Indie Games Fund is one of many outlets to amplify those voices on a global stage. With the 2024 winners leading the charge, these games are proof of the extraordinary talent in the region—and a testament to the boundless possibilities for indie developers in LATAM and beyond.Chessarama, Minimol Games (Brazil)Planet Cube: Edge, Sunna Entertainment (Costa Rica)The Lullaby of Life, 1 Simple Game (Mexico)Dicefolk, Leap Game Studios (Peru)Play Together TV, Plot Kids (Brazil)Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles, Little Leo Games (Brazil)Just King, VISH GAME STUDIO (Brazil)Running Fable, Seashell Studio (Mexico)Dandy Ace, Mad Mimic (Brazil)Greak: Memories of Azur, Navegante (Mexico)Working on a game in Unity? We’d love to help you spread the word. Be sure to submit your project. Don’t forget to follow us on social media: Bluesky, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch.

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653|openai.com

Elon Musk wanted an OpenAI for-profit

Elon Musk’s latest legal filing against OpenAI marks his fourth attempt in less than a year to reframe his claims. However, his own words and actions speak for themselves—in 2017, Elon not only wanted, but actually created, a for-profit as OpenAI’s proposed new structure.

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Breaking down Match Triple 3D: What game developers can learn from Lihuhu’s monetization strategy

With over 10 million mobile downloads, Lihuhu’s Match Triple 3D sets the standard in the puzzle game genre - particularly for its winning monetization strategy.Lihuhu has a multifaceted growth strategy that has consistently included one key element: consulting with experts. Lihuhu has partnered with Unity’s Game Design & Revenue Consultancy, making data-informed tweaks to Match Triple’s 3D’s to optimize its monetization setup.Arjun Gohil, Senior Game Analytics Consultant, shares some of the most important ingredients to Match Triple 3D’s continued success. Let’s dive in.Match Triple 3D’s game strategy, in a nutshellLihuhu’s Match Triple 3D is a classic Match-3 game with a twist: not only are players matching items, they’re also tasked with cleaning up toys in a house. The game utilizes a simple core loop - players collect the toys in groups of three, then advance to the next level once the room is tidy.Match Triple 3D players are motivated by the satisfaction of making matches and cleaning each room. As levels grow more complex, players get to face new challenges and continually prove their matching skills.Monetization overviewTo monetize their players, Match Triple 3D uses a hybrid monetization model, featuring in-app purchases like coins and boosters, and ad formats like rewarded videos and interstitials.After completing each level, players receive in-game currency (coins), which they can use to purchase boosters. But as players progress to more challenging levels, they often need extra resources to advance. In Match Triple 3D, they have two options to get extra resources: make an in-app purchase or watch a rewarded video ad. This way, Lihuhu can monetize both their paying and non-paying players.Let’s get into the deeper breakdown, starting with Lihuhu’s ad placements and how they complement the core loop.Building a player-oriented ad strategyWhen it comes to monetizing any game, player engagement leads to profitability. By focusing on retention and creating a positive experience, players will naturally want to play - and revenue will naturally grow.To ensure players have a great in-game experience, ads should complement a game’s core loop. Here's how Lihuhu puts this into practice. Minimizing churn through player revivalMatch Triple 3D excels at offering ads exactly where you’d expect them: at the end of the core loop. For example, since puzzle games tend to have long levels, some players run out of lives before completing a level. To prevent any player churn, Lihuhu uses an essential placement: revival rewarded videos.Each and any time a player loses their lives in the game, they are presented with a simple offer: watch this ad to “revive” yourself and stay in the game. It’s a win-win - players don’t have to lose their hard-earned spots in the game, and Lihuhu can minimize churn.In fact, Lihuhu takes an extra step to maximize their revenue potential: If players want to continue playing the game but don’t want to watch an ad, they can spend 100 coins to skip it.Placing interstitials at player-friendly momentsWhile interstitials are key for a winning monetization strategy, they should be placed very carefully to maximize retention. Initially, Lihuhu placed interstitials very early in the Match Triple 3D experience, but this might cause players to think the game is very ad-heavy, and even lead to player dropout. But churned players might not need to be monetized through ads - perhaps some churned players will become payers at a later point in their game experience.To ensure a positive in-game experience and minimize dropout, we recommend not placing interstitials in the first week or two of the game experience. The ideal timing depends on the game genre - casual game developers can wait just a week to use interstitials, but RPG and simulation games tend to have longer onboarding periods, so those developers should wait a full two weeks.Demonstrating the benefits of in-app purchasesIn addition to ads, in-app purchases are an essential element of Match Triple 3D’s game experience. Let’s explore how Lihuhu maximizes revenue by familiarizing players with their in-app purchases: boosters.Offering a free booster experienceWhile using boosters is the fastest way to advance in Match Triple 3D, many players hesitate to pay for them. That’s why Lihuhu implemented an intuitive strategy - when they introduce players to boosters, they gift one free booster.Imagine that a player is struggling to finish a level, but they’ve received a free magnet booster that automatically makes 3 matches. This free booster can significantly accelerate the player’s progress, empowering them to continue playing the game and finish the level.According to our data, players who get to experience a booster are more likely to actually purchase a booster later on - especially if they run out of in-game currency. This ability to turn players into payers is a game changer for any monetization strategy.Signposting important and new featuresMobile games have a very broad audience, including people who don’t consistently play mobile games. That means developers should create a straightforward and intuitive onboarding experience. For example, to simplify Match Triple 3D’s onboarding, we suggested that new players skip the main menu and automatically get started with level one.We also recommend spoon-feeding, or signposting, each new feature to users - even if it requires pausing the game (e.g. “Drag this”, “Tap here”). To build an optimized monetization strategy, signposting is especially important for in-app purchases. After all, if players don’t have a clear understanding of how in-app purchases work, they aren’t as likely to make them.Shifting between easier and harder levelsWhen configuring their games, many developers tend to make their difficulty curve linear, so each level is slightly more challenging than the last. In theory, this is a great strategy, and one that Lihuhu has utilized in the past, but as each level becomes more challenging, developers are likely to see a dropoff in players. Why? A steep difficulty incline doesn’t necessarily feel rewarding, which creates a less positive player experience.That’s why we suggested that the difficulty of each Match Triple 3D level should vary. For example, instead of starting with four easy levels, then jumping to a difficult level five, we recommend a different setup - three easy levels, two harder levels, then another easier level. This way, the game progression isn’t predictable - players can continually experience the highs of completing levels and the excitement of facing new challenges.From a monetization perspective, we call these “sinks and sources.” During sinks, or harder levels, players are more inclined to watch an ad/make a purchase - then, during sources, or easier levels, players can quickly make up their currency. There should be a tug-of-war between sinks and sources, so developers like Lihuhu can keep the game engaging over time while also maximizing revenue.Note: The sinks and sources data was collected in the third quarter of 2023. Ultimately, by continually measuring, analyzing, and tweaking their monetization strategy with Unity's Game Design & Revenue Consultancy, Lihuhu’s Match Triple 3D exemplifies what it means to go beyond a standard monetization strategy, maximizing engagement and growth.

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655|blog.unity.com

Mobile Gaming’s Shift from Hyper to Hybrid-Casual Games

In the State of Play series, we share in-depth interviews with featured industry experts at Unity events.In our first interview, we sat down with Samantha Benjamin, Director of Growth and LiveOps at Supersonic from Unity. At Appfest 2024, Samantha analyzed mobile gaming’s industry-wide shift from hyper-casual to hybrid-casual games. Here, she shares her insights into the trends that brought about the transition, what the shift means for both publishers and advertisers, and Supersonic’s approach to both defining and publishing hybrid-casual games.1. What is the current state of the hyper-casual market and how did we get here?The hyper-casual market has seen significant growth since its emergence around 2016. It was once a fast-growing genre, bringing in a huge number of new players and offering advertisers massive volumes of ad inventory. However, as of 2022-2023, it faces a decline in installs and market interest.This slowdown is attributed to factors such as post-COVID economic adjustments, rising user acquisition (UA) costs, and diminishing eCPMs. As advertisers face more competitive markets and declining returns, hyper-casual’s once-dominant position has been challenged. Despite these challenges, it still accounts for around a third of mobile gaming ad impressions, which shows its lasting importance as a supply source.2. How has hyper-casual contributed to the current state of the mobile gaming and app ecosystem?The hyper-casual genre played a pivotal role in bringing new players into the mobile gaming ecosystem. By offering easy-to-understand gameplay and high marketability, it effectively acted as a "funnel" for converting non-gamers into mobile gamers. Furthermore, hyper-casual helped expand the ad ecosystem by generating a massive volume of impressions that advertisers could buy. This expanded supply helped major gaming studios diversify their UA strategies, reaching users more effectively through ad-supported apps.3. As you mentioned, UA is highly competitive today. But eCPMs are still rising. What has contributed to this and what can we take from this trend?The rise in eCPMs is largely due to the maturing ad networks and improvements in their data science and optimization algorithms. As the mobile gaming industry faced challenges such as privacy restrictions and rising costs, networks focused on improving targeting precision, ad placements, and data analytics. This optimization has allowed for better monetization, even in a more competitive environment.For us, the key takeaway is that while UA costs are higher, we now have the tools and models to maximize revenue potential by making better use of the available inventory and targeting the right user segments more efficiently.4. How have the changes in CPI rates affected game publishers and studios?As CPI rates have risen, publishers and studios have been forced to adapt by increasing their focus on lifetime value (LTV) and retention. With higher UA costs, studios now need to ensure they can generate sufficient revenue from users over a longer period. This has led to greater adoption of hybrid monetization models and a focus on optimizing the user experience to improve engagement and monetization. And as a result a new mobile game genre has emerged, hybrid-casual.5. How does Supersonic define a hybrid-casual game?At Supersonic, we see hybrid-casual games as a combination of the mass appeal and marketability of hyper-casual games with the deeper, more engaging gameplay and content usually affiliated with casual games. Hybrid-casual games usually offer a balance between ad-based monetization (IAA) and in-app purchases (IAP), with IAP becoming a significant revenue stream.For us, a hybrid-casual game must appeal to a broad audience while also providing enough complexity to retain and monetize users long-term. It integrates mechanics and monetization strategies from both the hyper-casual and casual game genres.6. How does Supersonic evaluate the success of a hybrid-casual prototype in terms of both its UA and monetization?When evaluating a hybrid-casual game prototype, we focus on several key metrics:User Acquisition: Strong marketability and a good CPI-to-LTV ratio are critical. The game should have a broad appeal and show potential for scale.Monetization: We assess both IAP and IAA performance. The game should show healthy IAP conversion rates and a mix of monetization strategies (e.g., rewarded ads, interstitials, and in-app purchases).Engagement: Retention metrics (especially Day 7) and user engagement (e.g. session length, playtime) are key to assessing long-term potential.Balance: A successful prototype will offer a balanced monetization strategy, where ads and in-app purchases co-exist without cannibalizing each other."Hybrid-casual games represent the future of mobile gaming, providing publishers and studios with the ability to scale their games more sustainably."7. How long does it typically take to create a hybrid-casual game and what kind of resources are required?Typically, the development time for a hybrid-casual game is longer than a hyper-casual game - taking around 12-18 months from initial concept to launch, as the game requires more complex mechanics and content.Additionally, you also have to balance the game economy to effectively create pressure points to monetize users through IAP and ad offers. So, a strong development team is required to handle the core gameplay and complex monetization mechanics as well as balance the game’s economy.8. How does Supersonic optimize and iterate on hybrid-casual games?We apply a rigorous testing and iteration process for hybrid-casual games that includes constant A/B testing and retention and engagement optimization, particularly for Day 7 and beyond. We also employ creative iterations for UA and data-driven adjustments to improve monetization models.9. How do creative strategies differ for hybrid-casual games compared to hyper-casual?Creative strategies for hybrid-casual games are more complex and targeted than for hyper-casual games. For hybrid-casual games, we focus on deeper, more engaging gameplay in the ad creatives, that highlight both IAP and ad monetization opportunities and segment ads based on user behavior. 10. What will be the long-term impact of the hybrid-casual genre for publishers and studios?Hybrid-casual games represent the future of mobile gaming, providing publishers and studios with the ability to scale their games more sustainably. Over the long term, we expect more stable revenue generation due to a balanced monetization model, a lower volatility in user acquisition costs compared to hyper-casual games, and a higher quality of user. Hybrid-casual games will also encourage greater innovation in game development and monetization strategies.11. From an advertiser’s perspective, what does the continued rise and dominance of hybrid-casual games mean?For advertisers, the rise of hybrid-casual games is a positive development. It offers high-volume impressions from games with a broad appeal, while creating new avenues to reach higher-quality users who are more likely to make in-app purchases and engage with ads. Hybrid-casual games also provide longer engagement and more playable ad opportunities, especially with rewarded videos. These represent better monetization opportunities for advertisers and the ability to target a more diverse inventory which can help scale campaigns in a more sustainable way.

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656|blog.unity.com

Get our new technical e-book on multiplayer networking for Unity developers

Are you an experienced developer of single-player games that plans to make your first multiplayer project in Unity? Then be sure to check out our new technical e-book for multiplayer networking, which is now available to download.We made this all-new guide with a twofold aim: First, to provide you with a foundational, detailed explanation of the core concepts in multiplayer networking. Second, to guide you on how to use Unity networking and multiplayer features by walking you through a sample multiplayer project based on Netcode for GameObjects.If you’re just getting started on your multiplayer developer journey you’ll find helpful tips on what common pitfalls to avoid and how to choose the multiplayer solutions that will work best for your project. You’ll also get a handy overview of the many Unity networking samples to explore as your next steps. Ultimately, we want you to be able to start prototyping and developing your own multiplayer game features as efficiently as possible.This guide assumes you are familiar with Unity and C# development but new to or just getting started with networking.It might feel a bit daunting to get started with multiplayer development but the journey becomes easier if you first gain an understanding of the core networking concepts.We kick off the guide by explaining the simplest parts in networking architecture, like the role of clients and servers and how they communicate by exchanging data packets using standard Internet protocols like UDP (User Datagram Protocol). You’ll learn about what ticks, updates, and latency are. There’s an introduction to techniques for network synchronization like state synchronization, remote procedure calls (RPCs), and bandwidth management. You’ll find explanations of the different network topology models, which define how devices are connected and communicate in a multiplayer environment. Topologies can impact the game's architecture, performance, and the overall player experience. Choosing one for your game depends on what type of game it is, the desired level of control over the game state, and the resources available for server infrastructure. Thus, the guide will help inform you on what factors to consider so you can make the right choice.You can follow along in the guide with a workflow for your networking projects that focuses on local testing, simulating network conditions, managing client-connection, debugging tools, and using a command line helper.We also look at the reasons why network synchronization is essential for maintaining a consistent – and fair – gaming experience for all players. You’ll learn how to set up client-server communication for gameplay actions, where the player may interact with part of the game environment. This involves implementing networked game states and sending remote procedure calls (RPCs) to and from the server. Some of the additional concepts covered in the guide include: RPCs versus NetworkVariablesDesigning for multiplayerNetwork latency and performanceSimulating latencyUnity Transport Debug SimulatorClient-side interpolationClient-side prediction and anticipationWhy server authorityHow client-side prediction worksReconciliation and rollbackClient-side anticipation in Netcode for GameObjectsDeterministic physicsClient-side prediction in Netcode for EntitiesFinally, we introduce you to Unity’s multiplayer development tools and solutions: The Netcode for GameObjects and Netcode for Entities frameworks, services like Game Server Hosting (Multiplay), Relay, and Vivox for voice and text chat, and more. This also includes an introduction to Unity 6 features for multiplayer games that make integration, iteration, and deployment more reliable and faster than ever.We put theory into action in the e-book by providing a practical, hands-on example for how to set up and create your first Unity Netcode for GameObjects project. The example is a simple sample project that uses assets from the Starter Assets – ThirdPerson package. This simulates 3D gameplay with a humanoid character using the Universal Render Pipeline (URP). It includes a small testing playground scene and a configurable third-person controller. If you follow along with the example, you’ll get familiar with concepts such as:Installing Netcode for GameObjectsAdding the NetworkManagerNetworkObjectsPlayer NetworkObjectsCreating a Player NetworkObjectMultiplayer Play ModeCreating your own UI start buttonsAdding NetworkBehaviourAuthority and ownership propertiesSync using a NetworkTransform and NetworkAnimatorApplying client authorityOwner authoritative mode componentsSyncing with server authoritySingleton design patternAlongside the e-book you can also watch this new tutorial that covers the key steps in setting up a multiplayer game with Netcode for GameObjects:The e-book concludes with a detailed overview of Unity’s latest sample projects which you might want to check out as the next step in your learning journey. The samples are designed to help you get started with Netcode for GameObjects and Netcode for Entities. These include the new VR Multiplayer template, updated Learn tutorials, the Bitesize Samples repository, ECS Netcode samples and the Megacity Metro sample.We hope the new multiplayer e-book and additional sample resources will help you get started efficiently with multiplayer game development in Unity 6. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post them to this Discussions article. Finally, make sure to check out some of the other latest Unity resources at unity.com/how-to.

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657|openai.com

Sora is here

Our video generation model, Sora, is now available to use at sora.com. Users can generate videos up to 1080p resolution, up to 20 sec long, and in widescreen, vertical or square aspect ratios. You can bring your own assets to extend, remix, and blend, or generate entirely new content from text.

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658|openai.com

Minne Atairu & Sora

Interdisciplinary artist Minne Atairu discusses how Sora helps realize her vision.

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659|openai.com

Vallée Duhamel & Sora

Filmmaking duo Vallée Duhamel explains how Sora helps build new worlds.

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660|openai.com

Put AI to work for your product team

Put AI to work for your product team

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