SAG-AFTRA is objecting to the use of AI to recreate the late James Earl Jones’ bass intonations of Darth Vader in Epic Games’ “Fortnite.” The actors union said Epic-owned Llama Productions “chose to replace the work of human performers with AI technology” for the Star Wars-themed Fortnite Battle Royale mini-season that launched last week. “Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms.” As such, SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Llama Productions. Related Stories Reps for Epic Games did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Popular on Variety Jones, who died in 2024 at 93, had signed off an agreement to allow his archival voice recordings to be used to recreate his younger voice from the Star Wars films for future Lucasfilm projects. In addition, Jones’ family had granted permission for the use of his voice in “Fortnite,” according to Disney, Lucasfilm and Epic Games. “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it,” his family said in a statement. “We hope that this collaboration with ‘Fortnite’ will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.” But SAG-AFTRA said “Fortnite’s” use of Jones’ AI-generated voice was not cleared by the union. In its statement, the union said, “We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles. However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.” Actors repped by SAG-AFTRA have been on strike against several game companies (including Epic’s Llama Productions) since July 16, 2024. In their “best, last and final” offer on a new contract sent to SAG-AFTRA last week, the game companies made concessions with respect to AI. The most significant of these was the removal of a one-time payment option for unlimited pre-generated content per game; with that change, performers who consent to the use of an AI-generated digital replica would receive compensation for that use comparable to what they would have received had they directly provided services. Last week, Darth Vader returned to “Fortnite” as a Battle Royale boss, letting players scheme with the ultimate Sith Lord and speak with him using conversational AI. “Be the first to recruit him and your whole team will be able to take turns talking to the Dark Lord,” Epic said in a May 16 blog post. In “Fortnite,” when players talk to the Darth Vader character, Epic Games “securely processes the voice audio to generate Vader’s responses, but audio and transcriptions of the conversation are not stored,” according to Disney.

Jaredus Member Jan 19, 2025 218 https://www.dualshockers.com/stellar-blade-pc-can-run-better-with-denuvo-than-without-claims-devs/ With Stellar Blade's debut on PC slated for next month, gamers should be happy that another PS5-exclusive will be playable on another platform. However, some of that enthusiasm has dampened somewhat with the news that the game will be region-locked. Not only will the game be region-locked, but it will even feature Denuvo for anti-piracy measures, which is something most people won't be happy with given the tool's penchant for being a resource hog. Shift Up has also said that performance of Stellar Blade on PC with Denuvo on is better, which is honestly the first time I've ever seen this claim made. The table below from Shift Up lists Stellar Blade's performance with and without "protection." Click to expand... Click to shrink...   nsilvias Member Oct 25, 2017 30,083 This is Margin for Error tier   Qikz Member Oct 25, 2017 13,753 There's been so many releases with denuvo up to this point and I think every single one has ran worse. I don't think for one second somehow this one game runs better with denuvo than without, and if it does. Why? Why would you want to lock your games performance to a third party system that could disappear at any time. Region locking a PC release as well is crazy.  gbrlrd Member Jul 5, 2018 3,231 Brazil   Bodhi Member Oct 5, 2022 2,410 Unprotected sex is no-no   wagon Member Jan 6, 2025 426 yuh huh   Randam Member Oct 27, 2017 8,803 Germany So?   Linus815 Member Oct 29, 2017 24,084 its clearly run variance/margin of errror but gotta love those unreal eninge 1% & 0.1% lows lol   Ravelle Member Oct 31, 2017 20,323 Things nobody ever said, Alex.   Ouroboros Member Oct 27, 2017 16,097   Winnie Member Mar 12, 2020 3,064 Sure jan   Tsunami561 Member Mar 7, 2023 5,346 How does that minimum framerate reading make any sense, minimum is usually the lowest the number drops right? So how are 1% and 0.1% lower? If you ignore that, the others are within margin of error   The Spoony Hou Member Oct 27, 2017 3,459 Brazilian in the USA The port must be REALLY bad, then.   DespiteTheNora Member Jan 30, 2025 1,678 Playing the game via only looking at the skybox doesn't make it better, sorry Shift Up.   Atom Member Jul 25, 2021 15,304 Classic UE4 1% lows lmao.   Tsumami Member Feb 3, 2022 6,860 Ok.   MadJosh04 Member Nov 9, 2022 2,756   Apollo Corrupted by Vengeance Avenger Oct 25, 2017 10,044 haha   Buckle Member Oct 27, 2017 44,624   RGB Member Nov 13, 2017 803 They said in the tweet in bold the same average frame rate. Followed with a note that they saw a higher minimum in some cases. You can see it's margin for error stuff. But hey that wont stop a good headline.   super moustique Member Oct 31, 2017 9,769 What is the framerate when denuvo's servers are down?   Kouriozan Member Oct 25, 2017 24,773 Shocking news, Denuvo IMPROVES performance, get it now ! *wink wink*   Gestault Member Oct 26, 2017 14,681 I question the wisdom of even making a claim like that re: Denuvo. The server interaction requirement is a big part of people's objection, which is another variable that can potentially go wrong for legitimate buyers. I do think it's good if the performance difference is negligible, and I've been pleased to see the subset of games that do remove Denuvo a few years after release. I'm curious if the region locking is something they want in-place to give themselves more options when it comes to future crossovers (e.g., partnerships may want to be able to limit markets for their own licensing purposes). On principle, I don't love that when it's being sold on what I think of as an international digital storefront.  nihilence nøthing but silence Moderator Oct 25, 2017 18,949 From 'quake area to big OH. Cherry picking numbers no doubt.   Shinrou Member Oct 28, 2017 2,191 Finland Oh yeah I'm sure it will. Makes sense. Denuvo is protecting against the frame drops.   Angst Member Oct 27, 2017 4,290 so did they code it poorly or something? lol   raketenrolf Member Oct 28, 2017 5,912 Germany Seems legit.   CheapJi Member Apr 24, 2018 4,151 Sure lol, everyone knows that adding unnecessary friction to something makes it go faster!   Dogui Member Oct 28, 2017 10,976 Brazil This is not possible unless there's a really weird pc exclusive code line that artificially clutters the game when not identifying denuvo or something bizarre like this lol   MacheteSquadSteve Member Jan 6, 2025 275 When life hands you lemons (poor frame times) make lemonade (a spurious claim)   ProdigyZA Member Jun 9, 2024 1,491 This seems like dualshockers is making it more than what they were saying, but it makes a good headline though to get the general public up in arms.   Dictator Digital Foundry Verified Oct 26, 2017 5,520 Berlin, 'SCHLAND M68K Member May 7, 2025 56 Dictator said: Lmao they are running it unprotected First with shader comp stutters and then protecter after Click to expand... Click to shrink... Have you considered maybe Denuvo comes with an ini mod.   Duxxy3 Member Oct 27, 2017 24,756 USA So you see, an unprotected game is like a plain round ball. It can go only so far and so fast. Denuvo is like a golf ball. You would think it wouldn't go as far because of the hundreds of dents, but it decreases the friction of the blast processor to make the games cyber engine run faster.   Falchion Member Oct 25, 2017 44,386 This isn't the take.....   Bodhi Member Oct 5, 2022 2,410 PC players thinkng they can escape the PS tax, smh   Sirank Member Oct 27, 2017 1,608 They didn't really say that? Makes for a spicy headline though.   ProdigyZA Member Jun 9, 2024 1,491 Dictator said: Lmao they are running it unprotected First with shader comp stutters and then protecter after Click to expand... Click to shrink... Aren't those framerates too close for what you are saying to be true.   Friendly Bear Member Jan 11, 2019 3,892 I Don’t Care Where (Just Far) I literally laughed out loud when I read that headline.   mclem Member Oct 25, 2017 14,381 I'd love to hear their technical explanation for why this is.   duckgrease Member Nov 24, 2024 158 AHAHAHAHA Is Stellar Blade's writing as funny as this? Because then I gotta check this game out.  03-AALIYAH Member Jul 21, 2023 1,372 Preach, brother ! I keep telling to my boss at work that adding bloat to our software will make it run better, but so far I haven't convinced him.  P40L0 Member Jun 12, 2018 9,552 Italy   Ant_17 Member Oct 28, 2017 2,938 Greece Fuck you, Sony   JigglesBunny Prophet of Truth Avenger Oct 27, 2017 36,091 Chicago This is just… supremely stupid.   Conkerkid11 Avenger Oct 25, 2017 14,868 Sirank said: They didn't really say that? Makes for a spicy headline though. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, this. Bad article. Thread should just be about the Tweet the article references, because that's the only actual news here.   Dictator Digital Foundry Verified Oct 26, 2017 5,520 Berlin, 'SCHLAND ProdigyZA said: Aren't those framerates too close for what you are saying to be true. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Framerate is not frametimes - .1% Low and 1% Low represent stutters. Average FPS Van be similar but a great disparity in the 1% lows Like their Chart has indicates that one recording stuttered in frametimes while the other did not   ProdigyZA Member Jun 9, 2024 1,491 Sirank said: They didn't really say that? Makes for a spicy headline though. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yup. Headline of the OP quotes the headline of the article, which isn't even quoting the developers - super misleading but it catches the naive fish, hook line and sinker.  Duxxy3 Member Oct 27, 2017 24,756 USA ProdigyZA said: Aren't those framerates too close for what you are saying to be true. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Nah that looks about right. Minimum framerates would be hit the hardest when shader comp runs for the first time. Dictator is most likely correct.  MrBob Member Oct 25, 2017 6,835 Dictator said: Lmao they are running it unprotected First with shader comp stutters and then protecter after Click to expand... Click to shrink... This is hilarious 🤣  

Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech Mobile Samsung Reportedly Upgrading Galaxy Z Fold 7 And Tri-Fold With Titanium Hinges For Enhanced Durability And Thinness, While Flip 7 Misses Out Ezza Ijaz • May 19, 2025 at 05:29pm EDT While Samsung has quite a lot of products and announcements in store this year, it seems to be that the South Korean tech giant is especially focused on its foldable this year and ensuring they are able to bring back its A-game and give tough competition to others in the foldable space. We have seen varied speculations about the upcoming foldable and what to expect from them, and as we near the unveiling, more leaks give away key information about the fold models. Now, a new report suggests we could see a titanium hinge on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the company's first tri-fold phone. Samsung would reportedly now be opting for a titanium hinge upgrade for its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy G Fold Samsung seems to be gearing up for its Unpacked event, which will be held in July 2025 and mainly entail the launch of the company's much-anticipated foldable models,, with the focus being on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7. We are expecting some major improvements this year, especially with the company promising some significant upgrades. We will also be getting to see more of the tech giant's first tri-fold phone, which could come out as the Galaxy G Fold later in Q4 of 2025. The rumor mill seems to be churning in full swing, and now, new speculation seems to be letting us into a major update. As per a report by The Elec, Samsung will feature a titanium hinge this year on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Galaxy G Fold, but what is surprising is that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will not be coming with the same upgrade. Samsung has been actively working on improving the form factor of its foldable models. By opting for a titanium hinge on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the tech giant would be significantly reducing the device's thickness and even making it more durable. Similarly, a triple-display format coming with this upgrade could also help the company's tri-fold truly stand out. It could be that the company is leaving out the Galaxy Z Flip 7 intentionally in order to keep the costs lower for the model and also help differentiate between the company's premium offerings. Previously, Samsung has been opting for stainless steel hinges for its foldable models, but a titanium hinge was used in the Galaxy Z Fold SE last year, and if we see it being continued for the upcoming fold models this year, it could help the company not only improve the model's design but also be a stepping stone in achieving more durability. Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Author It’s not about designer numbers this timeIf I call QueryPerformanceCounter I have to use a large integer. After the call lets say the number that gets stored to that large integer is 68 trilionIf I convert that number to a float it becomes 6.8etc8e+13 does it mean that the precision is lost after conversion? 32 bit is 4 bilion maximum or ten digit number. The numbers that do not get displayed are replaced with 0 or what?Thank you for your time. I was having this discussion with JoeJ initially, I’m learning a lot from what he is posting

Mercatorio season 4 kicks off on Friday May 16th. The season includes new resources, buildings, products and productions methods. This time it’s especially the forging and textile classes that are expanding. Posted by rune1 on May 14th, 2025 Mercatorio season 4 kicks off on Friday May 16th. The season includes new resources, buildings, products and productions methods. This time it’s especially the forging and textile classes that are expanding. The medieval trade and economy simulator with true markets is getting more products to produce and trade, new places to produce them, more ways to upgrade buildings and new, more intuitive, game mechanics. The Season 4 map Season 4 will take place on a new map, with most of the towns located on the two large landmasses in the south and east. Other than a new geography, the new map contains the new resources tin and silver. Buildings With new resources comes the need for new buildings to mine and process them. Along with some expansion of the production chains for existing products. Updates: Added mines for tin and silver The foundry splits of processing of ores into the new building the smeltery Added alloy smelter for production of bronze from copper and tin Added carding and fulling houses for processing wool and wool cloth Added tapestry weaver Added armoury for production of plate armour Added bell tower upgrades to religious prestige buildings Flax farm upgrade beehives removed (covered by apiary) Pasture fermentory removed (covered by dairy) Product updates Added fleece: wool as cut from the sheep, before carding Added raw cloth: cloth weaved from wool, before fulling Added tapestries: luxurious fabrics weaved from thread and dyed yarn, potentially incorporating silver and gold Added dyed yarn for use in tapestries Added tin ore and ingots Added silver ore Added bronze ingots Added bells Added plate armour Increased unit size for belts to bundles of 5, making storage and transportation easier Reduced premium of dyed cloth over cloth, both production and consumption increased accordingly Renamed light armor to light armour Production chain updates As usual there are many balancing adjustments and updates across all production chains, but as outlined above there are especially two areas that see major changes this time: Smelting and casting have many new production methods with the inclusion of tin, silver and bronze. The new smeltery deals with all ore processing (except iron), while the alloy forge alloys copper and tin into bronze. The foundry retains casting functions, including casting of the new bells. The textile production chain has been reworked by adding additional (optional) carding and fulling steps for wool, as well as reducing throughput of buildings lower in the chain while increasing garments production throughput Prestige and worker bonuses More tenants from prestige Less management points from prestige, making hiring and training apprentices a relatively more important source of management points Additional bonuses at high levels of prestige Specialist worker bonus reduced from 20% to 12% Game mechanics changes Season 4 will also see two significant changes to the game mechanics, relating to production at buildings and operation linked to a warehouse as well as how services and non-durable production function. Sequential operation The buildings and operations linked to a warehouse will now consume and produce products in the order they are listed, with outputs becoming immediately available to the operations coming after them. For durable goods this reduced the required buffer somewhat and gives quicker feedback when adjustments are made. Services are now truly intra-turn Services and non-durable / perishable products generally can’t be stored or transported, but due to the delayed operation of linked buildings previously, the labour from a farmstead would only become usable the turn after it was produced. This is now changing such that produced labour and other services becomes available for use immediately, allowing adjustments to production to take effect as you make them. In the case services are produced for sale, this means the production has to be finalized at the start of the turn instead of the end (remember production and consumption numbers are usually projections of what will take place at the end of the turn), in order to be available at the start-of-turn auction. This is the same concept that is already used for transports, which consume their inputs as they move, not at the end of the turn. How to start playing? Go to Mercatorio.io to play and join the discord server to meet other players, plan strategies and strike deals.

The studio admitted that artwork was used without permission in various assets found in Marathon's Closed Alpha.

Machine Learning Engineering Manager – MarketplaceRobloxSan Mateo, CA, United States2 hours agoApplyEvery day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect with friends in 3D immersive digital experiences– all created by our global community of developers and creators.At Roblox, we’re building the tools and platform that empower our community to bring any experience that they can imagine to life. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together, from anywhere in the world, and on any device. We’re on a mission to connect a billion people with optimism and civility, and looking for amazing talent to help us get there.A career at Roblox means you’ll be working to shape the future of human interaction, solving unique technical challenges at scale, and helping to create safer, more civil shared experiences for everyone.Machine Learning Engineering Manager – MarketplaceAt Roblox, our Marketplace Search & Recommendation team powers the discovery of avatar content across the platform—from bodies, clothing, and accessories to fully styled outfits—spanning the Roblox app and immersive in-experience surfaces. We’re reimagining how discovery and personalization can unlock creativity and economic opportunity for millions of users and creators.We’re looking for a Machine Learning Engineering Manager to lead a team of exceptional ML engineers tackling core challenges across ranking, retrieval, and multimodal content understanding. This includes everything from advancing deep learning models for search and recommendation, to developing systems that understand the textual and visual semantics of avatar content and drive long-term value for the Roblox economy.You Will::Define and drive the technical roadmap for ML across Search, Recommendation, and Content Understanding.Lead the development of scalable, production-ready ML systems—from raw data to model deployment.Collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and data science to build intelligent discovery experiences.Recruit, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of ML engineers.Establish engineering best practices to ensure system reliability, extensibility, and performance.You Have:Leadership Experience: 3+ years managing ML engineers or scientists; 5+ years building ML systems at scale in search, recommender systems, or ads.Strong Technical Foundation: Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, Physics, or a related field—or equivalent hands-on experience.Depth in ML: Proven track record shipping deep learning models across ranking, retrieval, NLP, computer vision, or multimodal pipelines. Experience using transformer architectures and LLMs in production systems is a strong plus.End-to-End Execution: You’ve built ML systems from data ingestion to serving in production.Strategic Thinking: You’re comfortable balancing near-term impact with long-term innovation.Team-first Mindset: A collaborative leader who thrives on mentoring and enabling others to succeed.For roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay for this position is as shown below. The actual base pay is dependent upon a variety of job-related factors such as professional background, training, work experience, location, business needs and market demand. Therefore, in some circumstances, the actual salary could fall outside of this expected range. This pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity compensation and for benefits.Annual Salary Range$289,460 — $338,270 USDRoles that are based in our San Mateo, CA Headquarters are in-office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with optional in-office on Monday and Friday (unless otherwise noted).Roblox provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Roblox also provides reasonable accommodations for all candidates during the interview process. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

activisionByZack ZwiezenPublished2 hours agoWe may earn a commission from links on this page.Screenshot: Epic / Lucasfilm / KotakuSAG-AFTRA, the massive actors and media union with over 160,000 members, has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Epic Games over its inclusion of an AI-powered Darth Vader in a recent Fortnite update. Suggested ReadingNintendo Switch 2 Price Is Set at $450 for Now, But Could Go Higher Share SubtitlesOffEnglishSuggested ReadingNintendo Switch 2 Price Is Set at $450 for Now, But Could Go Higher Share SubtitlesOffEnglishNintendo Switch 2 Price Is Set at $450 for Now, But Could Go HigherYou might have heard about the AI-powered Darth Vader that was added to Epic’s popular battle royale game last week as part of an ongoing Star Wars-themed season. Players could talk to this AI-powered Vader and ask him questions. The AI character’s voice was designed to mimic that of the late James Earl Jones and was done with his and his estate’s permission. Pretty quickly after he was added to the game, players got him to say slurs, swears, and other questionable stuff. Epic patched him up and seems to have gotten the Sith Lord under control. But now the developer is in hot water with one of the largest media unions in the country because it included this AI-powered Vader without first communicating or bargaining with SAG-AFTRA.On May 19, as reported by Eurogamer, SAG-AFTRA announced that it had filed an unfair labor practice charge against Epic Games and its subsidiary, Llama Productions. “We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles,” said SAG-AFTRA in a statement. “However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.”SAG-AFTRA says that Epic and Llama Productions “chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I.” and did so without “providing any notice of their intent to do this” and without allowing the union to bargain over fair terms.SAG-AFTRA voice actors are currently on strike against large video game companies including EA and Activision over various issues. The strike started in 2024. One of the big ones is more protection against AI copies, like Darth Vader in Fortnite.   .

Because strategy games tend to be so intricately designed, we often see developers try to create equally intricate ad monetization strategies. However, overcomplicating ad placements can actually harm potential revenue. Meanwhile, keeping placements simple makes them feel like a natural part of the user experience - enabling you to engage players without disrupting your game economy.In this article, we’ll get into our recommendations for rewarded video ad placements that work best in strategy games and tips on how to integrate them. But first, let’s talk about some common mistakes we see strategy game developers make when they first start monetizing.Top 3 rewarded video mistakes for strategy gamesMistake #1: “I’ll just place a rewarded video anywhere I want”Your first instinct may be to place rewarded video traffic drivers in many - sometimes random - places throughout the game, like inside the mini games. But more isn’t always better, and can even hurt the game economy. Instead, you want to start simply and turn to your core game loop. That’s because by adjusting your rewarded video placements to meet the basic needs of your players, you’re encouraging more engagement with your ads - ultimately increasing revenue.For example, to progress through a game, strategy players constantly need basic resources like coins, wood, or mana - but this currency comes and goes quickly throughout levels. By offering users to watch a rewarded video in exchange for these basic resources, they’re more likely to engage because they’ll get what they need. When you offer them outside the core loop, they have no need for the reward - so there’s less of a reason for them to engage.Another example? If the core loop dictates that users need to buy a new weapon for soft currency, then you can make coins a reward users receive.Mistake #2: “I’ll offer rare currency to all my players”It’s true that rewarded video placements should be available to all players, but the rewards should differ depending on the players’ level - are they beginner or advanced? For beginners, currency should mostly be easy to get. For advanced players, offer rare currency at higher levels in the game. Why? If you offer rare currency to all your players in the first few levels of the game, beginners may not know what to do with it - so they won’t engage with the rewarded video. That’s why saving rare currency for advanced players, and offering basic currency early in the game helps you capture a wider audience and increase engagement.Mistake #3: “I want to make additional rewarded video currency to reward players because it’s easier to develop”The easier it is for strategy players to reach the resource they need, the more they’ll continue engaging with rewarded videos. Often we see strategy games create an additional currency just for rewarded video, which players then need to cash in later to receive the game’s actual core currency. But this puts an extra step in between the users and what they really want: immediate rewards. Not only is a third currency an additional step for players, they’ll often forget about spending it, delaying their reward.In fact, one of our developer partners originally created movie tickets as an additional currency for rewarded video but then ended up switching their strategy. They kept the movie ticket placement but also added a new placement without movie tickets, so that the players could have the option to receive a direct reward of gold coins.The developer saw a huge spike in all KPIs with no harm to the game economy and IAP. The placement worked well because it eliminated the in-between currency (movie tickets) while giving direct access to the currency (gold coins) players wanted.Top 5 rewarded video placements for strategy gamesAs a general rule of thumb, rewarded video works best when it’s shown as often as possible. Start monetizing users starting on D0, but also focus monetization efforts on D7 and D30. The players who stay beyond these days are the ones that rewarded video can be most useful for. That’s because the more players progress in a strategy game, the more valuable the rewards will be for them to stay and succeed.With that in mind, let’s dive deeper into how to boost ad engagement with rewarded video placements.1. Home screenStrategy players spend most of their time on the home screen, toggling between different actions to take - so rewarded video here is potentially your top placement. Because this placement will be your most exposed, users have more opportunities to engage with it.Turn to your core loop to decide what rewards users will be looking for the most, but always A/B test so you know which rewards drive the most revenue and engagement. The most common rewards to offer on the home screen are basic resources, soft currency, and gachas, since players constantly need these to progress through the game.To increase engagement rates, you can also add a time limit to the home screen placement. This will give your players a sense of urgency - encouraging them to engage immediately. They’re more likely to tap the button to watch an ad because they’re afraid of missing out on the opportunity.2. In-game storeStrategy players who need hard currency are most likely to head to the in-game store. Since the majority of players don’t spend real money to earn rewards, offering a rewarded video here in return for valuable resources is a great opportunity. Generally, rewards in the store aren't specific items but still give value - like treasure chests or other gachas.To get users to keep coming back to the store, set the pace for rewarded videos to be between 4 to 6 hours. Use this as a starting point and then keep A/B testing to find the ideal pace for your game. Not only does this promote more traffic to the store, but done right, users might also make an in-app purchase down the line - a double win for you.3. Pre and post level boostersLevel-based games like match-3 often show rewarded videos before and after levels to engage users at critical moments - giving users the resources they need to progress. Though strategy games aren’t centered around levels in the same way, the ones that do have level-based gameplay, can also leverage this placement.For example, your pre-level booster can offer users to upgrade their characters or get additional resources they need to complete that level - essentially giving them a leg up before they start. Your post-level booster can extend play sessions when players fail (think: earning an additional life).Be sure to carefully limit this placement, as it can be risky if players are given too much help. If players can too easily boost their performance and pass levels a lot faster, they’ll get bored and leave the game. It’s about finding the right balance.4. Time boostFor strategy games where wait time for tasks increase depending on progress, a time boost placement will help them progress faster.When using this placement, make sure that it’s aligned with a player’s progression and level. For example, if a player needs to wait 20 minutes, cutting their time by 10 minutes would be substantial. But if a player needs to wait 3 hours, you’d want to adapt the time you’re taking off for them and cut their time by an hour or so. Again, make sure to A/B test the amount of time you’re reducing for players - since it’ll depend on the game.5. Daily reward multiplierFor games that have a daily reward, you can add a placement that multiplies it - giving users an extra reason to engage. During the first week and month of a player’s life in the game, daily rewards are really valuable. You’re essentially giving players a taste of what your game is like and are drawing them in. From the start, if players need 100 coins in a game, giving them 80 coins for free in the daily check-in and 20 through rewarded video is an easy way to motivate players to continue. It’ll help to A/B test these rewards to find the right ratio whether that’s 50/50, 80/20, or so on.Make sure this isn’t your only placement. Strategy players only get one shot per day to use it - meaning you can’t monetize players more than once per day.Learn more about ironSource’s game design consultancy. Get in touch.

Semiconductor giant AMD followed through with its plan to spin out ZT Systems’ server-manufacturing business. AMD announced on Monday that it was selling ZT Systems’ server-manufacturing business to electronic manufacturing services company Sanmina. The $3 billion deal is a mix of cash and stock: $2.25 billion in cash; a $300 million premium, including 50% cash and 50% equity; and a $450 million contingent payment based on financial performance over the next three years, according to Reuters. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approval. After this divestiture, AMD will maintain control of ZT Systems’ rack-scale AI solutions design business. This announcement isn’t a shock. When AMD announced its intent to acquire ZT Systems, an AI and cloud infrastructure company, for $4.9 billion in August 2024, the company said at the time that it planned to divest that part of ZT Systems’ business after the deal formally closed. AMD’s acquisition of ZT Systems officially closed in March 2025, according to Reuters. Alongside this announcement, AMD said that Sanmina will become a “preferred” new product introduction manufacturing partner for AMD cloud rack and cluster-scale AI solutions. ​​“By combining the deep experience of our AI systems design team with our new preferred NPI partnership with Sanmina, we expect to strengthen our U.S-based manufacturing capabilities for rack and cluster-scale AI systems and accelerate quality and time-to-market for our cloud customers,” said Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager, data center solutions business unit at AMD, in the company’s announcement. TechCrunch reached out to AMD for comment. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. 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 REGISTER NOW