South of Midnightgot an impressive new gameplay showcase at Microsofts recent Xbox Developer_Direct presentation, with a release date also being announced. Alongside that, developer Compulsion Games has also now revealed the full system requirements for the upcoming action-adventure titles PC version, courtesy of its Steam page.Unlikely fellow upcoming first-party Xbox releaseDOOM: The Dark Ages,South of Midnightsrequirements are relatively much more reasonable. On minimum settings, the game will require either an i3-8100 or a Ryzen 3 1300X, along with either a GeForce GTX 1060 or a Radeon RX 580, and 12 GB of RAM (erroneously written as MB on the Steam page at the time of writing).Meanwhile, on recommended settings, youll need either an i5-7600K or a Ryzen 5 1600X, along with either a GeForce RTX 2060, a Radeon RX 6600, or an Arc A580, and 16 GB of RAM. Regardless of setup, youll also need an SSD and roughly 55 GB of free storage space.South of Midnight is due out on April 8 for PC and Xbox Series X/S. Premium Edition owners will get early access starting April 3.

id Softwares DOOM: The Dark Ages has finally received a release date, launching this May for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. However, for those who want to start slightly earlier, its confirmed that pre-orders willr eceive two days early access.They also get the Void Slayer Skin, which coats the Slayers armor in a silvery black. While the Standard Edition retails for $69.99, theres also a Premium Edition for $99.99. It includes the same benefits but also packs a soundtrack, art book, and the Divinity Slayer Pack containing skins for the Slayer, Dragon, and Atlan mech.Players will also receive the upcoming campaign DLC, though it will be revealed and released later. Game Pass players can upgrade to the Premium Edition for $34.99 and avail the same benefits.For physical collectors, theres the Collectors Bundle for $199.99 (payable in four interest-free installments). It contains the Premium Edition, a SteelBook Case, a 12-inch DOOM Slayer statue with shotgun and flail accessories, and metal red key card replica.DOOM: The Dark Ages launches on May 15th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out the PC requirements or head here to learn how its id Softwares biggest campaign yet.

Parts of the deep Pacific Ocean are covered in metallic lumps known as polymetallic nodules. A study published last year suggested they produce oxygen without sunlight. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea ExplorationResearchers who discovered dark oxygen on the ocean floor are planning a new project to learn even more about their mysteriousand controversialfinding.Last year, the scientists made headlines when they published a paper about an unexpected revelation: They found evidence that naturally occurring battery rocks on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, some 13,000 feet below the surface, were producing oxygen. These potato-sized lumps of metal, known more formally as polymetallic nodules, were generating oxygen electrochemically and without light, they wroteby splitting water molecules into their hydrogen and oxygen components. Thats unusual, as oxygen is typically produced by plants through photosynthesis.The discovery of this dark oxygen was a big deal, prompting scientists to reconsider their long-held beliefs about how complex life might have evolved on Earth. The findings raised the possibility that aerobic life had begun by feeding off oxygen produced by metals, instead of oxygen produced by photosynthesizing cyanobacteria, as was previously thought.But the research was also controversial. After the paper was published in July in the journal Nature Geoscience, some scientists and deep-sea mining companies began to criticize the studyincluding The Metals Company, which funded some of the research. The firm plans to mine the polymetallic nodules for valuable rare earth metals like cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese, which are used in solar panels, smartphones, wind turbines and batteries.The companys leaders say they have submitted a rebuttal to the Nature Geoscience paper, but its still undergoing the peer-review process, per CNNs Katie Hunt. The rebuttal has been posted to the preprint server EarthArXiv.After decades of research using the same methods, no credible scientist has ever reported evidence of dark oxygen, Gerard Barron, The Metals Companys chief executive officer and chairman, said in a statement shared with New Scientists Madeleine Cuff. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Were still waiting.Other scientists are also trying to replicate the teams findings. Scientific research is a process, and it may be some time before a conclusive answer is reached, Amy Gartman, a geochemist at the U.S. Geological Surveys Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, tells CNN.Against this backdrop, the team behind the initial dark oxygen discovery is planning to launch a new, three-year project in hopes of reproducing their original findings and investigating the underlying mechanisms at play in the deep ocean.Our discovery of dark oxygen was a paradigm shift in our understanding of the deep sea and potentially life on Earth, but it threw up more questions than answers, says Andrew Sweetman, lead author of the Nature Geoscience paper and the leader of the new three-year project, in a statement. This new research will enable us to probe some of these scientific questions.More specifically, the team hopes to explore whether microbial reactions also play a part in the production of deep-sea oxygen. They also want to learn more about how hydrogen is released during the process, as well as whether that hydrogen might be a source of energy for microbial life on the ocean floor.With funding from the Nippon Foundation in Japan, the team will deploy custom-built equipment that can descend 36,000 feet below sea level to collect samples of water. The first research expedition is scheduled to depart from San Diego in January 2026, per New Scientist.Learning more about dark oxygen could have major implications for several scientific fields, including space exploration. If oxygen can form without sunlight-driven photosynthesis in plants, then perhaps life could exist on cold, dark planets.If we show that oxygen production is possible in the absence of photosynthesis, it changes the way we look at the possibility of life on other planets, too, says Sweetman, an ecologist with the Scottish Association for Marine Science, in the statement. Indeed, we are already in conversation with experts at NASA who believe dark oxygen could reshape our understanding of how life might be sustained on other planets without direct sunlight.In the meantime, the scientists hope that deep-sea mining companies will consider postponing their projects until researchers can learn more about the potential production of dark oxygen and its effects on the worlds oceans.More broadly, the burgeoning deep-sea mining industry is facing pushback from scientists, policy experts, governments and corporations. Opponents argue that mining operations could harm marine life, damage underwater ecosystems, contribute to underwater pollution (including noise and light pollution) and reduce the seafloors ability to sequster carbon.Before we do anything, we need toas best as possibleunderstand the [deep sea] ecosystem, Sweetman told reporters last week, perBBC News Victoria Gill. I think the right decision is to hold off before we decide if this is the right thing to do as a global society.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Chemistry, Conservation, Evolution, Microbes, Bacteria, Viruses, Minerals, Mining, New Research, Oceans, Pacific Ocean, Scientists, Water

An artists visualization of WASP-127b ESO / L. CaladaThe fastest wind ever measured in our solar system was on Neptune, with gusts of more than 1,100 miles per hour. But those powerful gales are nothing compared to the supersonic winds that astronomers have just discovered on the giant exoplanet WASP-127b.Reaching up to a whopping 20,505 miles per houror more than 5 miles per secondthese winds create the fastest jet stream around a planet that scientists have ever measured. The discovery was published Tuesday in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.This is something we havent seen before, lead author Lisa Nortmann, an astrophysicist at the University of Gttingen in Germany, says in a statement.To compare those speeds with something closer to home, WASP-127bs equatorial winds are about 1,000 times stronger than the gales on New Hampshires Mount Washington, one of the windiest places on Earth, per Discover magazines Paul Smaglik.Discovered in 2016, WASP-127b is a gas giant within the Milky Way, located more than 500 light-years from Earth. Its a little bigger than Jupiter, but with a much smaller mass, leading scientists to describe it as puffy.WASP-127b is a gas giant planet, which means that it has no rocky or solid surface beneath its atmospheric layers. Instead, below the observed atmosphere lies gas that becomes denser and more pressurized the deeper one goes into the planet, David Cont, an astrophysicist at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and a study co-author, tells Reuters Will Dunham.An exoplanet with extreme supersonic winds | ESO NewsWatch on The team used an instrument calledCRIRES+ on the European Southern Observatorys (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to collect the data. When WASP-127b moved between Earth and its host star, the instrument measured starlight that traveled through part of the gas giants atmosphere to reach us.With these observations, the researchers identified the presence of carbon monoxide molecules as well as water vapor in the atmosphere of the exoplanet. They then measured the speed of these molecules and were shocked by what they found: a double peak. Simply put, that meant one part of the planets atmosphere is moving away from us, while the other side is moving toward usat the same high speed.This shows us that there is a very fast, supersonic, jet wind around the planets equator, Nortmann explains in the statement.Wind speeds on Jupiter, a planet known for its storms, are less than one mile per second, so this is really an order of magnitude larger, Vivien Parmentier, a physicist at the University of Oxford in England who did not participate in the study, tells New Scientists Alex Wilkins.The researchers also discovered that the exoplanets poles are cooler than the rest of it. Among other factors, this suggests WASP-127b has complex weather patterns, similar to Earth.While the primary source of energy for the supersonic winds is radiation from the gas giants host star, answering the question of what drives these intense winds is challenging, as several factors influence wind patterns in exoplanet atmospheres, Cont explains to Reuters.Understanding such exoplanet mechanisms could hold implications for scientists knowledge of planet formation or even the origin of the solar system, Cont adds in the statement.The recent discovery is also a demonstration of how far exoplanet research has come. Just a few years ago, scientists had limited data on planets beyond our solar systemnow, we understand that even Earths most ferocious winds are nothing compared to those whipping around WASP-127b.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Astronomers, Astronomy, Astrophysics, New Research, Planets, Solar System, Weather

The developers of games like Street Fighter are using generative AI to take the busywork out of development.Read More

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Circana confirms Black Ops 6 is 2024's biggest hit, but overall game spend in the US falls 9% YoYPlayer spend on games and hardware is also down - 5% and 29%, respectivelyImage credit: Treyarch / Activision News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 23, 2025 Circana has published its December 2024 US recap, revealing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 finished the year as the best-selling premium game of both the month and, indeed, the whole of 2024.This makes Activision's Call of Duty franchise the best-selling series for a record 16th consecutive year.Roblox also "had a great December," with consumer spend up 24% over November and spiking sharply on Christmas, clocking up nearly $12 million in US mobile consumer spend.Although Christmas is "the biggest day of the year for Roblox every year," Sensor Tower posits that this year's Christmas was "especially huge," bringing in 35% more US consumer spend this year than last.Furthermore, according to Circanas December report, 2024 projected US consumer spending on video game hardware, content, and accessories declined 8.9% to $7.5 billion compared to a year ago, with overall US consumer spend on the total video game market also falling 1.1% to $58.7 billion compared to $59.2 billion in 2023.Total video game sales* in December 2023: $8,282mTotal video game sales* in December 2024: $7,543m (-9%)Total video game sales** for 2023: $59,294mTotal video game sales** for 2024: $58,659m (-1%)*projected to total market**December 30 2023-January 4 2025Player spend on games content and hardware is also down - 5% and 29%, respectively - whilst video game accessory spend remains flat year-over-year.The analysis reports that a 21% drop in content spending on console when coupled with a 1% decline in mobile offsets the 13% growth elsewhere in PC, cloud, and non-console VR.The huge drop in hardware spend year-on-year is most noticeable for Xbox and Nintendo, with both the Xbox Series and Switch declining by 38%, and Sony's PS5 by 18%.49% of PS5 and 43% of Xbox Series hardware sold in December did not include a physical disc drive, with the former cementing itself as the US' third-biggest console in terms of lifetime sales, now trailing only Switch and Xbox 360.PlayStation Portal was the best-selling accessory both in December 2024 and across the whole of last year, although the in terms of actual units sold, the PS5 DualSense controller tops both periods.Whilst Black Ops 6 topped the annual chart, EA Sports College Football 25 took second place as the second best-selling game of 2024, although Marvel Rivals debuted at the top spot when it comes to monthly active users on Steam, and third across both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series."Roblox retook the #2 spot on the top 10 games by US mobile consumer spend for the first time since August, said Samuel Aune of Sensor Tower."Roblox had a great December, with consumer spend up 24% over November. Roblox revenue spiked sharply on Christmas, raking in nearly $12 million in US mobile consumer spend. Christmas is the biggest day of the year for Roblox every year, but this year's Christmas was especially huge, bringing in 35% more US consumer spend than last year.Another game that saw impressive growth in the last month of 2024 was Call of Duty: Mobile, which grew US consumer spend by 20% with the beginning of Season 11: Winter War 2."

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorJanuary 23, 20252 Min ReadImage via Insomniac Games/PlayStation.At a GlanceThe AIAS is recognizing Price for starting Insomniac and growing it into 'one of the industry's most prolific developers.'Before he retires from Insomniac Games, founder and CEO Ted Price will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' (AIAS) Hall of Fame.Price will be honored during February's DICE Awards in recognition for his long tenure at the PlayStation studio. In its announcement, Academy president Meggan Scavio deemed him "a visionary and steadfast leader. Ted has left an indelible mark on our industry, and his legacy encompasses a portfolio of beloved and critically acclaimed games, a studio that holds him in the highest regard, and a profound impact on the Academy itself."Earlier this week, Price revealed he's going to leave Insomniac and the larger game industry in March. After his departure, Insomniac will be led by longtime employees Ryan Scheider, Jen Huang, and Chad Dezern.Schneider will present the award to Price, and described him to the Academy as "a Hall of Fame game development leader and an even better human. [...] He embodies Insomniacs vision of making a positive and lasting impact on peoples lives, inspiring countless employees, partners and players in a truly remarkable legacy."Ted Price and PlayStation's AIAS historyPreviously, Price served as the Academy's chairman and vice chairman, and hosted its Game Maker's Notebook podcast. He joins previous Hall of Fame inductees such as longtime Mario composer Koji Kondo, NetherRealm's Ed Boon, and fellow PlayStation alum Connie Booth.During her time at PlayStation, Booth had a key hand in developing several key franchises for the brand, including Insomniac's very own Ratchet and Clank, Resistance, and Marvel's Spider-Man. The pair make for the only two Sony representatives in the Hall of Fame.The DICE Awards, and Price's induction into the AIAS Hall of Fame, will air on Thursday, February 13.Read more about:[Company] PlayStationAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

TerraPower, a nuclear energy startup founded by Bill Gates, struck a deal this week with one of the largest data center developers in the US to deploy advanced nuclear reactors. TerraPower and Sabey Data Centers (SDC) are working together on a plan to run existing and future facilities on nuclear energy from small reactors.Tech companies are scrambling to determine where to get all the electricity theyll need for energy-hungry AI data centers that are putting growing pressure on power grids. Theyre increasingly turning to nuclear energy, including next-generation reactors that startups like TerraPower are developing.The energy sector is transforming at an unprecedented pace.The energy sector is transforming at an unprecedented pace after decades of business as usual, and meaningful progress will require strategic collaboration across industries, TerraPowerPresident and CEO Chris Levesque said in a press release. A memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies establishes a strategic collaboration thatll initially look into the potential for new nuclear power plants in Texas and the Rocky Mountain region that would power SDCs data centers.Theres still a long road ahead before that can become a reality. The technology TerraPower and similar nuclear energy startups are developing still have to make it through regulatory hurdles and prove that they can be commercially viable. Compared to older, larger nuclear power plants, the next generation of reactors are supposed to be smaller and easier to site. Nuclear energy is seen as an alternative to fossil fuels that are causing climate change. But it still faces opposition from some advocates concerned about the impact of uranium mining and storing radioactive waste near communities.Im a big believer that nuclear energy can help us solve the climate problem, which is very, very important. There are designs that, in terms of their safety or fuel use or how they handle waste, I think, minimize those problems, Gates told The Verge last year.TerraPowers reactor design for this collaboration, Natrium, isthe only advanced technology of its kind with a construction permit application for a commercial reactor pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the company. The company just broke ground on a demonstration project in Wyoming last year, and expects it to come online in 2030. Electricity demand from data centers has tripled over the past decade, according to theLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). That demand is only expected to grow with the rise of AI, a trend that could prolong the lives of aging fossil fuel power plants and revive retired nuclear plants.Microsoftmade a deal in September to help restart a retired reactor at Three Mile Island. BothGoogleandAmazon, meanwhile,announced plans last year to support the development of advanced reactors to power their data centers.

Though Nintendo can technically claim it had the first big gaming news event of the year, at least Xboxs Developer Direct actually showed off some games and let us know when we can play them. The showcase was anchored by deep dives into the biggest games coming down the green pipe like Doom: The Dark Ages and Compulsion Games South of Midnight, with a couple of surprises to fill out the nearly one-hour-long runtime. Here are the highlights from the show.Ninja Gaiden 4Xbox kicked off the Direct with the surprise reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4. The game is being codeveloped by Koei Tecmos Team Ninja and Bayonetta studio PlatinumGames. Ninja Gaiden 4 revives the series bloody, fast-paced combat and high-stakes (but often frustrating) platforming with a new face, the ninja Yakumo. Yakumo will use his unique fighting styles to defeat the Divine Dragon Order thats turned Tokyo into a dystopian, crumbling mess. Gaidens former protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, will also make an appearance as a playable character and Yakumos rival.Ninja Gaiden 4 will launch in the fall of this year, but if you dont want to wait for your bloody ninja action, you dont have to. Xbox stealth dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a remake of Ninja Gaiden II, and its available right now on Xbox and Game Pass.South of MidnightThe developers at Compulsion Games went into detail about South of Midnights gameplay and story. You play as Hazel who must use her powers as a Weaver, fighting monsters and traversing the haunted landscape, to rescue her mother who gets swept away in a hurricane. With this, everything Ive seen about South of Midnight makes it seem like itll be one of my games of the year. Its got a Black protagonist, features characters and tropes that harken to Southern gothic folklore, and its stop-motion art style makes it immediately stand out. I cannot wait to get my hands on this game when it releases on April 8th.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Sandfall Interactive was founded in Montpellier, France, in 2020 with a team led by former Ubisoft developers. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the studios first game a turn-based RPG with a compelling narrative hook. The world has been ravaged by a being known as the Paintress. Every year, she writes down a number, and everyone older than that number disappears. Expeditions are sent out to stop the Paintress, and the game will follow Expedition 33 in their attempt to save humanity. In addition to an interesting Persona 5-style take on turn-based combat, Expedition 33 features some serious voice acting talent, starring Charlie Cox, Jennifer English, Ben Starr, and Andy Serkis. Cant wait to hear them perform when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launches on April 24th.Doom: The Dark AgesTo close out the Direct, Xbox gave us another look at Doom: The Dark Ages, the prequel to id Softwares 2016 Doom reboot and Doom Eternal. It will, of course, feature all the ripping and tearing a Doom enjoyer could want, along with an interesting focus on narrative something the series isnt really known for. But I suspect folks are far more interested in piloting a 30-story Doomguy-shaped mech suit when the game releases on May 15th.