Saber Interactive confirmed Wednesday that it’s pulling Evil Dead: The Game from Steam and other digital storefronts, it said in a post on its Steam page. “We can confirm we’ve begun the process of removing the game from digital storefronts,” developer Saber Interactive wrote. “Anyone who has purchased the game will still be able to play it as we plan to keep our servers online for everyone.” Evil Dead: The Game was released in 2022. It combined elements of survival horror like Dead by Daylight with action horror games like Left 4 Dead. Evil Dead: The Game reportedly sold more than 500,000 copies in the first five days after launch. It was originally released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC via the Epic Games Store, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. It was released on Steam in 2023, where it reached a peak of 586 players, according to SteamDB. The game was intended to be released on Nintendo Switch, but that version was officially announced as canceled in September 2023. Saber Interactive also announced at that time that it was not going to develop any new content for the game. “We will keep the servers up for the foreseeable future and address any major issues that arise,” it said. Keeping the servers on is still seemingly the case for Evil Dead: The Game, despite it being delisted from digital storefronts. Players noticed earlier this week that it had already been pulled from both Epic Games’ and Sony’s digital stores. The company did not provide any reasoning for the game’s removal. Video games have been being delisted from digital storefronts at a seemingly increasing rate, but reasons vary. Spec Ops: The Line, for instance, was removed due to licensing issues in 2024, according to 2K Games. Several Adult Swim games were removed from sale for “logistical and resource constraints.” Sometimes, games remain playable if servers remain online, but other times, like with Ubisoft’s The Crew, players lose access to the title. Polygon has reached out to Saber Interactive for more information.

EA studio Codemasters had two major announcements for players, one to do with the WRC and DiRT games, and the other with F1 25. F1 25 fans get the 'good news' end of the deal, with Codemasters showing off the first gameplay for F1 25, highlighting the reversed tracks, the improvements players will enjoy in F1 25 due to LIDAR scanning, and all the little details in these tracks being rebuilt to really add that extra layer of realism for players keen to jump behind the wheel. WRC and DiRT fans aren't as lucky, with the confirmation that the 2024 season expansion for EA Sports WRC 2023 is the last expansion from the team, and Codemasters is officially pausing development on future rally racing titles. "After releasing EA SPORTS WRC in 2023, the 2024 season, including the recently released Hard Chargers Content pack, will be our last expansion. For now, we are pausing development plans on future rally titles. Rest assured, EA SPORTS WRC will continue to be available for existing and new players," Codemasters wrote in a blog post on the EA Sports WRC website. "Our WRC partnership was a culmination of sorts for our Codemasters journey with off-road racing, spanning decades through titles like Colin McRae Rally, and DiRT. We've provided a home for every rally enthusiast, striving tirelessly to push the boundaries and deliver the exhilarating thrill of driving on the ragged edge...Thank you to all the fans who have and continue to be part of our rally journey." Back to F1 25, the new gameplay trailer showcases four of the five updated circuits and digs into the improvements made in this iteration. "The tech behind LIDAR gives players unprecedented levels of detail, bringing them closer to each race weekend," creative director at Codemasters Gavin Cooper said in a press release. "Also, we’ve carefully selected the three reverse circuits to provide a unique and engaging experience for our players that feels polished, authentic, and fun. The process includes reworking DRS zones, retraining AI, recalibrating sector boundaries, repositioning the starting grid and pit lanes, and more, delivering new thrills and challenges." F1 25 will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC this coming May 30, 2025.

تستثمر ميتا بشكل متزايد في الذكاء الاصطناعي، حيث تمتلك نماذج Llama وبرنامج الدردشة Meta AI. في السابق، كان هذا الدردشة متاحًا فقط عبر تطبيقات التواصل الاجتماعي والمراسلة الخاصة بالشركة. الآن، أصبح Meta AI متاحًا كتطبيق مستقل على أندرويد وiOS.أعلنت ميتا عن عملها على تطبيق مستقل في فبراير 2024، وبعد أكثر من عام، أصبح التطبيق متاحًا للتحميل من متجري Google Play وApp Store.يعتمد التطبيق على نموذج Llama 4 للذكاء الاصطناعي، ويقدم تجربة محادثة وصوت أكثر شخصية. كما يتضمن التطبيق ميزات مثل الذاكرة المتقدمة، مما يسمح له بتذكر المحادثات السابقة لتقديم تجربة أكثر تخصيصًا، ولكن هذه الميزة متاحة حاليًا في كندا والولايات المتحدة فقط.الميزة الفريدة الأخرى هي وضع “Full-Duplex”، الذي يتيح تجربة محادثة مستمرة مشابهة لـ Gemini Live، وهو قيد التجريب حاليًا في أربع دول فقط.إضافة إلى ذلك، يمكن لـ Meta AI استخدام بياناتك الاجتماعية لتخصيص تجربتك، مما يتيح له التعرف على اهتماماتك ومحتوياتك المفضلة. يوفر التطبيق أيضًا ميزة تحرير الصور وإنشاءها من النصوص، بالإضافة إلى تغذية Discover حيث يمكن للمستخدمين مشاركة مطالباتهم الذكية مع الآخرين.المصدر

تجربة Qwen3 الذكاء اصطناعي مجاني من علي بابا! يتفوق على DeepSeek R1

Turning game dev failure into success w/ Emily Pitcher (Lily's World XD)

Cuts hit Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi teams at Respawn, as EA axes multiple projects including a Titanfall spin-off.

Senior Technical Artist - Tools & PipelineCD ProjektBoston MA us14 minutes agoApplyJob DescriptionCD PROJEKT RED is looking for a Senior Technical Artist with a focus in Tools and Pipelines to join our studio to work on Project Orion, the follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077. In this role you will help contribute to the research and development of our in-house tools and pipeline solutions to enable development teams to meet our creative and technical goals.Daily Responsibilities:Work closely with designers, artists and other developers to understand their needs and ensure the tools and pipelines.Extend and enhance Digital Content Creation applications such as Maya, Motionbuilder, or other DCC applications.Ensure tools scale without sacrificing performance, maintaining efficient smooth workflows for content teams.Write high-quality code that is optimised, bug-free, and aligned with project goals.Prototype, research, extend, and integrate in-house tools and third party solutions leveraged by our content development teams.Documentation, training, and guidance for development teams.Foster cross-functional collaboration to ensure developed tools and pipelines contribute effectively to all game systems and components.QualificationsAt least 5 years of professional experience as a tools & pipeline developer or technical artist within the game or film industry.Strong C++, C#, and/or Python tool/plugin development and scripting professional experience.Familiarity with content creation software (Blender, Autodesk Maya, Substance Painter).A good understanding of content creation processes and supporting varied content development teams.Experience creating, extending, and maintaining API’s for co-developers.Familiarity with developing application interoperability.Experience with network automation, batching, and packaged environment setups.Ability to think creatively and strategically to overcome technical challenges and drive innovation in technology.Demonstrated commitment to taking ownership, setting goals, exchanging knowledge and driving initiatives independently.Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.Nice to have:(Please note that these skills are not required to apply for the position)Familiarity with procedural content systems.Familiarity with UI/UX design patterns and paradigms.Familiarity with Unreal Engine 5.Experience in content performance/memory optimization.Additional InformationThis job can be fully remote from the USA or Canada.Health & Well-beingCompany paid medical healthcare (dental vision & mental).Paid Leave — 20 days of holiday for every team member per year (26 days after two years).No dress-code — we like to keep it casual.401K with employer matching.Gym Membership Reimbursement.Perks & Professional GrowthFlexible working hours.Trainings, lectures and courses — internal workshops, knowledge-sharing initiatives, online tutorials, and e-learning classes are all available. There’s always something to learn!Merch — gifts for newborn rebels and regular chances to nab some cool swag!A welcome pack filled with goodies — to help you feel right at home once you join the team.Life in the OfficeDog-friendly office — dog owner? Bring your pooch with you and look after them while working! There’s always a furry friend or two to meet at the studio.Truly international working environment — a chance to meet and work with a diverse selection of people from all around the world.If you have observed any irregularities in our recruitment process please click here to report them.Company DescriptionTo create revolutionary, story-driven RPGs which go straight to the hearts of gamers — this is our mission. Want to dive deeper into our company’s culture? Explore our social media and check out our YouTube channel where we share behind-the-scenes insights and stories direct from our team members! Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

It all began with Cube Escape back in April 2015. Two mobile games were released simultaneously, Cube Escape: The Lake and Cube Escape: Seasons. Each, at first glance, appeared to be part of the current trend for both digital and real-world escape room games, in which you solved puzzles to set yourself free from some kind of intricately locked enclosure. But very quickly it became apparent that this was something different. Rusty Lake is not the sort of place from which anyone escapes. And ten years later, with a brand new game to celebrate, we’re still trapped within its Lynchian aberrations.Suggested ReadingThe Week In Games: Dark Knights And Dark Princes Share SubtitlesOffEnglishSuggested ReadingThe Week In Games: Dark Knights And Dark Princes Share SubtitlesOffEnglishThe Week In Games: Dark Knights And Dark PrincesTen years and an extraordinary 18 games, one film, and a table-top RPG later, people are still trying to piece together the mysteries of Rusty Lake, the various buildings in the very small town (the Cabin, the Chapel, a Cave, a Mill, the Vanderboom home, and of course the Hotel), and the unsettling figures who appear throughout its history like Mr Crow and Mr Owl. We know the Lake needs our memories, and we know that once the negative ones are extracted from people—in the form of black cubes—they become Corrupted Souls. And we know there’s a damned weird obsession with shrimps. But the real joy of Rusty Lake is that, as with the David Lynch films that heavily inspired it, we also know complete, coherent answers will always be just out of reach.Screenshot: Rusty Lake / KotakuEarlier this year, with the 10th anniversary looming, I thought it would be a good time to replay every game in the series, in release order, to try to get myself on top of what these games are about. I’m genuinely delighted to report that at the end of this process, from Cube Escape: The Lake through to Underground Blossom, and indeed the shadow-dropped-as-this-post-goes-live The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show, I’m none the wiser. I can tell you these are games about burdened families, dark secrets passed through generations, and a lake with an insatiable desire for memories, but the “why” and the “how” fade into irrelevance in the shadow of such an incredible atmosphere of haunting malevolence, and a permanent wicked glint in the series’ eye.On a more pragmatic level, these are games created in that modern, touchscreen-driven style of a point-and-click puzzle game. You explore locations, gather items for your inventory, and listen to the peculiar utterings of the inhabitants, attempting to solve puzzles that usually end up pointing toward the appearance of mystical cubes. But rather than the genre’s usual predictable results, in a Rusty Lake game you’re far more likely to discover that using the hammer on the nail causes a crack in a wall to unveil a fish, which when used on the right character will cause them to die, falling to the ground with their mouth open, into which you then travel to discover an impossible chamber within their body. There’s one game in which you slice off a man’s nipple in order to travel into the bizarre realm hidden behind it.Yet despite this overtly surreal approach, the Rusty Lake games maintain a sense of order, a notion that—even if you can never quite grasp their wraith-like tendrils—there is an internal coherence here. (The wonderful Mike Fahey (RIP) wrote about that aspect here.) In the same way as Lynch’s Lost Highway confidently casts a dream-like spell on you such that you understand why watching a video of a man murdering his wife would mean the same events now have to have happened in reality, these peculiar games sweep you up in their own internal rationale.Screenshot: Rusty Lake / KotakuOver the years I’ve been covering the series, I’ve commented that Rusty Lake’s weakness is that it wears its Lynch influences too clearly on its sleeve. Sharing an interest in the inherent spookiness of owls is one thing; writing “THE OWLS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM” on a wall in Rusty Lake Paradise was pushing it too far. But, importantly, the series has established so many of its own distinctive themes that crop up throughout, giving that sense of timelessness to a collection of games that can be set a hundred years apart.So in the end, it’s really rather incredibly lovely that the new game, surprise-released today, features a small, lovely tribute to the late filmmaker. And fittingly, it’s hidden outside of the game within the game...Yeah, it’s appropriately strange.Screenshot: Rusty Lake / KotakuThe Mr. Rabbit Magic Show is seemingly a game dedicated to the rabbit-headed character who first appeared in Rusty Lake Hotel, and indeed is served as the game’s second dinner. (Seriously, you have to play it.) It’s presented as a series of mini-puzzles, a stage show being put on by the magician rabbit, in which you must arrange objects and colors or successfully sproing baby rabbits from a top hat such that they land in another hat on the floor (rather than miss and land in a bloody splat), in order to bring on the next scene. And honestly, as I was playing, I was thinking—hmmm, this isn’t quite it. But the game knew that, and then a whole bunch of other stuff happens, and it’s yours to discover.But it’s safe to say it’s a fittingly unnerving celebration of ten years of these unnerving games, deliberately indulgent, and packed with fun callbacks to the series. It’s going to be fun to discover if it’s ever considered canon, but since Mr. Rabbit has been haunting the Lake in his altogether more unpleasant form since 1894, we have to assume that his magic act took place before he arrived in the Hotel, so pre-1893.Screenshot: Rusty Lake / KotakuWhat’s so fun here is Magic Show allows the developers to let their usual sly winks come to the forefront, break the frame a little, and make sure you know that they know that you know they’re playing you. In fact, despite ostensibly having finished it, I’m still plugging away at a few remaining—extremely difficult—puzzles, to try to find every Easter egg hidden within.And, at the same time, there’s also a new short film—The Intern—to complement the new game! It’s 10 minutes long, and has the developers wonderfully spoofing themselves as an intern tries to publish Mr. Rabbit, but discovers the Rusty Lake office is as much of a series of weird puzzles as the games they make.Rusty LakeIf you want to get started with the Rusty Lake games, there’s no better place to begin than the Cube Escape Collection. Because those original games were made in Flash, and Flash is no more, they’ve been remade in a modern engine, and re-released in one package which—ludicrously—only costs $5 on Steam, and is a free download on iOS and Android, with similarly priced in-app purchases to unlock the all nine games.Beyond the Cube Escape series, there are what seem to be known as the “Premium Games,” all of which are included in Steam’s Rusty Lake Bundle alongside the Cube Escape Collection and the separately released Cube Escape: Paradox. The latter is something quite extraordinary—a two part game that’s emboldened by a live-action short film. You can also watch that film for free via Steam, or indeed on YouTube, immediately below.Rusty LakeOf those premium games, not all have “Rusty Lake” in the name. So make sure not to miss The White Door (an incredible story of a man trapped in an asylum), Underground Blossom (the most recent full game, entirely set on a train platform), and 2022's The Past Within, a co-op puzzle game set in the Rusty Lake universe in which each player sees a completely different version of the game, requiring you to coordinate to solve its puzzles. (And don’t forget the remastered Samsara Room, a game originally released in 2013 before Rusty Lake, but very much in the same universe.) They’re all on Steam and mobile, and personally, I prefer to play them as mobile games, ideally on a good-sized tablet.I have so much fondness for this series, and am constantly impressed by the lengths to which the Dutch developers have gone to innovate within their deranged little world. I love how chilling it can feel, despite being a cartoonish series filled with tongue-in-cheek goriness. I love that every time I see a Corrupted Soul, no matter how much they appear in every game, I get the shivers. I also love how many questions I have, and how much I don’t want them answered. Congrats on ten years, Rusty Lake, now please make me many more games..

We’re excited to announce that Unity Muse users can now use all five Muse capabilities directly in the Unity Editor. By bringing AI abilities to where you create, you can now more easily and conveniently use Muse to complement your creative process and streamline development.While you may already be familiar with Muse Sprite for creating original 2D assets and the recently improved Muse Texture generation for creating a breadth of unique textures for 3D objects, this update brings three exciting improvements:A new Editor-integrated version of Muse Chat provides project-aware responses.Now available to all users, Muse Animate allows you to create animations within the context of your project.LLM-powered Muse Behavior, which you can use to set up character interactions with an intuitive AI-assisted interface, is now available to anyone using Muse.Following Muse’s launch last year, we asked for feedback on how we can continue to improve the chat experience. What we heard was an overwhelming desire to be able to troubleshoot errors without leaving the Editor. We received feedback that it would be helpful for Muse Chat to automatically know more details of a project to reduce the time spent giving context and get more relevant answers faster. We’ve heard your feedback, and are excited to announce that Muse Chat is now available as an in-Editor package. This update also provides a foundation for providing project-aware responses. Muse Chat will now be able to retrieve key details about your project, including the Unity version, active render pipeline, input system used, target platforms, API compatibility, and other project settings.One example of how this update will simplify troubleshooting issues is solving console errors. When you have an error, you can now click on it and ask “How can I fix this error?” Muse will automatically retrieve information on what’s causing the issue and provide a suggestion for how to resolve it.Muse Chat will also continue to provide usable scripts that you can plug and play, just as it has before. Over time, Muse Chat will continue to evolve and become a more intelligent chat-based assistant that can provide tailored answers and information, code snippets, and smarter integrations with the Editor.Animation is a complex craft. Prototyping basic movements capable of plugging into game mechanics early can save you a lot of time in later stages of development. Muse Animate is perfect for helping you rapidly generate humanoid animations through natural language.Similar to Muse Chat’s feedback, we commonly heard that Muse Animate needed to be more deeply integrated in-editor. Based on that resounding feedback, we’ve launched a new in-Editor Muse Animate prerelease package that’s available for all Muse users. With this new version, you can create Unity Animation Clips directly within the Unity Editor and easily retarget them to work with characters that use the Unity Humanoid Rig.You can also edit your generated animations with Muse by selecting an animation to decompose it into multiple poses. From there, you can select effectors (little orange dots on some of the character’s joints) to more finely adjust the movements. Muse Animate will process your changes and regenerate the animation. The package also makes additional editing features available, such as extrapolated posing, loop to first pose, and transition duration.With this release, we are also actively working on enhancements to the existing AI animation model and introducing new ways to generate and modify animations, including the ability to create animations from sketches or videos.We’ve received a lot of requests for a built-in behavior tree that would allow you to bring game characters to life with NPC interaction abilities. Last year, we started a closed prerelease of Muse’s Behavior capability – our take on LLM-powered decision trees – to allow you to create custom logic for characters and objects in an easy-to-use workflow. This set of features also included generative abilities to help you set up more complex interactions.Now, the Muse Behavior prerelease package with LLM features is available to all Muse users. We’ve designed and improved this package to make it easier to use and for more intuitive editing. Like a classic behavior tree model, Muse Behavior consists of nodes and branches that are human-readable, allowing you to create representations that read like stories.Words within a node’s story are tagged as inputs used by the node’s internal logic. The words are then automatically converted into fields so you can embed data directly into the node. Want your character to speak? Add the talk node, provide the words and just like that, your character will have dialog that’s triggered by player interactions.Muse Behavior also includes a blackboard, which contains variables that can be reused in nodes across the graph. Simply click on the link button of a field, then choose from a menu of assignable options. Variables in the blackboard can be assigned values in code or assigned through the Behavior Graph Agent component in the Inspector window. This ability to set up and then duplicate repeatable actions makes it faster and easier to create complex and repeating interactions.With Muse Behavior, you can create custom actions that give you control over the high-level structure and narrative of your behavior trees. And don’t worry if you’re totally new to creating behavior trees – the node wizard guides you step by step through the process of creating a new action type and adding to the graph. You can also use the LLM feature to automatically generate your tree.As we continue to improve Muse Behavior, you can expect more generative features to further simplify complex behavior tree setups.These new packages and improvements are just the start. We’re continuing to innovate on existing capabilities like Muse Texture, where we’re leveraging new original research and proprietary models to generate true PBR materials for 3D objects. This means that you’ll be able to produce a multi-material UV texture that can wrap onto an object directly, and it will react more accurately to lighting.We also understand the importance of audio for setting the scene, so later this year, we’ll release Muse Sound so you can produce AI-generated, prompt-to-sound effects such as movement and environmental sounds.At GDC, we showcased how you could use all five Muse capabilities together to customize a game loop in the garden scene of our URP sample project. Check out our session Unity Muse: Accelerating prototyping in the Unity Editor with AI to learn how you can use all of Muse’s abilities to quickly customize a project scene and gameplay.We’ve updated the Muse onboarding experience to make it easier to start a free trial of Muse and add the Muse packages to your projects. Visit the new Muse Explore page to get started, and let us know what you think of the newest capabilities and improvements in Discussions.

Companies of all sizes are recognizing the game-changing possibilities of AI. Despite the excitement about the new technology, most of their pilot projects don’t make it into production. Gruve.ai, a startup founded by the team behind Rahi Systems aims to help enterprises get AI solutions out of testing phase and into real-world application by using AI to deliver its services. Rahi Systems is an IT solutions company acquired by Wesco for $225 million in 2022.  IT services firms, including major players like Accenture, have long been the go-to consultants to implement new tech projects for companies when they don’t have the skilled staff in-house. However, given that their work relies on humans, their expertise often comes with a steep price tag. “Technology services industry hasn’t been disrupted in the last 25 to 30 years,” Tarun Raisoni, CEO of Gruve, told TechCrunch. “AI truly changes that dynamic.” Gruve hopes to change the traditional IT consultancy model in two key ways: first, by reducing the need to hire a large staff of consultants by using AI agents for repetitive tasks. Second, by charging clients based on usage rather than on an hourly basis. In the past, VCs were generally not interested in investing in IT services in large part because their reliance on human labor made these businesses hard to scale. But by using AI agents instead of human consultants, Gruve can deliver software-like gross margins of 70% to 80%, which is significantly higher than the margins of traditional tech consultancies, said Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield. Techcrunch event Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 BOOK NOW Gruve’s innovative model and its team’s experience building Rahi Systems has helped it raise a $20 million Series A round led by Mayfield, with participation from Cisco Investments and other investors. The fresh capital brings Gruve’s total funding to $37.5 million. Raisoni said that his team first meets with the client to determine their AI needs and prepares their data to support AI applications before recommending and implementing AI solutions. “You must understand your customer’s business before you can implement because their business processes are different, their workflows are different. How they service their clients is different,” he said. But once Gruve is ready to deploy, AI agents will handle tasks such as security breach detection and the transition from on-premises to cloud CRM. Similar to traditional IT consultancies, the company partners with select trusted tech vendors to implement their solutions for clients. Gruve’s current partners include large companies like Cisco, IBM’s Red Hat, and Google, as well as about a dozen AI-native startups like Glean and Supervity. But unlike most tech consultancies, Gruve won’t bill its clients when the solution is first implemented. Their “services are available on demand, the same way electricity is provided or the same way cloud computing is provided,” Chaddha said. For example, if Gruve has implemented AI for security, the company will only charge the client upon a security breach detected and analyzed by the installed AI.