Hydratac, with just seven people working on a next-generation "extremely realistic" shooter game, has raised $3 million.Read More

Roblox revenues rose 29% during 2024User-generated content platform saw daily active user count of 85 million in Q4Image credit: Roblox News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on Feb. 11, 2025 Roblox reported its financial results for Q4 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, demonstrating that the platform continues to increase growth as it begins to see a slight decrease in net losses.The numbers:Q4Revenue: $988.2 million, up 32% year-on-yearBookings: $1.36 billion, up 21% year-on-yearNet losses: $218.4 million, compared to $325 million in the same quarter last yearFull-yearRevenue: $3.6 billion, up 29% year-on-yearBookings: $4.36 billion, up 24% year-on-yearNet losses: $935.5 million, compared to $1.16 billion last yearThe highlights:The firm finished Q4 and the fiscal year on a strong note, with revenue and bookings up on both fronts.While it's still posting significant losses, the company has seen a drop in the reported amount compared to the previously recorded periods."Roblox had a strong 2024, driven by our commitment to innovation and community," said CEO and founder David Baszucki. "As we aim to support 10% of the world's global gaming market, we'll continue investing in our virtual economy, app performance, and AI-powered discovery and safety, empowering creators and user experience."Daily active users grew by 19% to 85.3 million during Roblox's fourth quarter. It experienced 18.7 billion hours of engagement, representing a growth of 21% year-on-year.The platform's average monthly unique payers hit 18.9 million during Q4, with players spending an average of $23.97 each month.Roblox partly attributed this rise to its virtual currency, Robux, being offered on lower-cost platforms towards the end of 2024."We believe several key drivers enabled us to accelerate growth in 2024 over the prior year and to deliver strong top line growth in Q4 2024," it said. "These are trends that we have discussed previously and we believe provide us with momentum in 2025 and for several years to come."These trends include investments in technology and improvements to the platform's infrastructure to support more concurrent users.However, Roblox did note that it experienced "difficult growth comparisons" during its fourth quarter following its expansions on PlayStation and "significant Xbox update" in October 2023, followed by a "large prepaid card purchase in November 2023."Looking ahead, Roblox expects revenue to be between $4.24 billion and $4.34 billion, with bookings between $5.2 billion and $5.3 billion. As for net losses, it forecasts these to be between $1.07 billion and $995 million.

Chris Kerr, News EditorFebruary 11, 20251 Min ReadImage via Koei TecmoDynasty Warriors and Ninja Gaiden developer Koei Tecmo has appointed Hisashi Koinuma as its new CEO.Koinuma will begin his tenure as representative director, president, and CEO starting on April 1, 2025. He previously served as representative director and COO of Koei Tecmo Games.He replaces outgoing president and CEO, Yoichi Erikawa, who will remain with the company as representative director and chairman of Koei Tecmo Holdings.It's a notable shift for the Japanese company. Yoichi Erikawa founded Koei Tecmo alongside his wife Keiko Erikawa in 1978. Back then, the company was simply known as 'Koei' and focused on personal computer sales. It soon pivoted into game development and eventually adopted its current moniker following a merger with Tecmo in 2008.Keiko Erikawa will also be shuffling roles and intends to step down as representative director and chairman to become director and chairman emeritus.Both co-founders will also relinquish their leadership positions within Koei Tecmo Games. Hisashi Koinuma will subsequently lead the division as representative director, president, CEO, and COO.With that leadership shift on the horizon, Koei Tecmo will initiate an absorption-type company split to establish Koei Tecmo Corporate Finance as a new subsidiary. The investment functions of Koei Tecmo Games will be bundled into the new division.The Japanese company said the move will "strengthen governance related to investment functions and achieve optimal cash management." Koei Tecmo Games will continue conducting business as usual following the split.Looking ahead, Koei Tecmo said it intends to become the "world's number one digital entertainment company" under its new leadership team by channelling the spirit of "creativity and contribution."About the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Meta has partnered with the nonprofit organization Childhelp to create a curriculum that will teach middle schoolers how to recognize forms of online exploitation, such as sextortion scams and grooming. The curriculum was fully funded by Meta and is free for any school, parent, or organization to access.Meta says the curriculum consists of lesson plans, interactive classroom activities, and videos to help kids navigate both the online and offline world safely. It was developed with child safety experts from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Department of Homeland Security, the nonprofit organization Thorn, Purdue University, and the Crimes against Children Research Center.Childhelp is an organization that assists neglected and abused children. It also aims to increase awareness about child abuse.Meta has ramped up efforts to make its platforms safer for kids as lawmakers focus on child safety. Last year, Instagram started putting all teens into more private and restricted accounts and began automatically blurring nude images sent to minors. The platform also introduced new features to fight sextortion scams, including preventing users from screenshotting disappearing photos in private chats.At the same time, bills like the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0 have made their way through the Senate, while the recently introduced Kids Off Social Media Act aims to prevent kids under the age of 13 from creating social media accounts. Some states have passed social media safety laws of their own, though most of them are facing legal challenges.At Meta, we continue to do all we can to protect young people on our apps, Antigone Davis, Metas global safety head, said in the press release. Those protections will be even more effective if teens also feel confident in spotting potential harms and know where to go for help.

Civilization 7 developer Firaxis has released patch 1.0.1 just in time for the strategy games full launch following an advanced access period that was met with a mixed user review rating on Steam.Firaxis is working on addressing various community complaints, most of which revolve around the user interface, a lack of map variety, and a feeling that the game has launched without a number of key features fans have come to expect.In an interview with IGN ahead of the release of its third quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that Civilization 7 had received some negative reviews from press and players, but insisted that the legacy Civ audience will come around the more they play, and called Civilization 7s early performance very encouraging.Now Civilization 7 is available to all and not just those willing to pay more for advanced access, Firaxis has released Patch 2, which is only for PC/Mac/Linux/Steam Deck. In a post on Steam, Firaxis said it is the first in a series of upcoming patches intended to address feedback from advanced access. The patch notes in full are below.It's worth noting that Firaxis has temporarily disabled crossplay multiplayer "to expedite" updates to the PC version. This means the developer will sometimes deploy patches to PC at a different "cadence" than on consoles, and indeed that includes patch 1.0.1. This will have no impact on console players attempting cross-platform play with other console players, nor on PC-to-PC multiplayer, Firaxis clarified.Looking for tips to help you take over the world? Check out our guide to completing every Civ 7 victory, our run down of the biggest Civ 7 changes for Civ 6 players, and the 14 crucial Civ 7 mistakes to avoid. Weve also got explanations on all the Civ 7 map types and difficulty settings so you know what youre getting into.Civilization 7 1.0.1 Patch 2 - February 10, 2025GameplayWindows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam DeckFixed an issue causing Ages in Epic and Marathon speed games to be shorter than intended.City States will now turn into Friendly Independent Powers on Age Transition instead of disappearing completely. They will also now start with more units in Exploration and Modern Ages.Fixed inconsistencies with Naval Combat.Naval Units will use the correct Combat Strength values when attacking another Naval Unit in all instances.Naval Units will properly take reciprocal damage after attacking another Naval Unit.Naval Units will more consistently move into the attacked tile after defeating another Naval Unit.Completing the final milestone of a Legacy Path no longer adds Age Progress in the Modern Age to ensure you have more time to complete a Victory.Towns will now switch their focus back to Growing town automatically if they are no longer eligible for their chosen Focus (for example, if their population decreases) until they are eligible again.Future Civic is now repeatable in all Ages. The cost of Future Tech and Future Civic will now increase more when repeated.Fixed an issue after too many bonuses to Growth where Food needed for the next growth event became negative.Improvements to Rail Networks aimed at increasing the reliability of Settlements connecting to the Rail Network over water by building Ports. This should apply as long as the Capital either has a Port or is connected by rail to a settlement with a Port.Made improvements to the Loyalty Crisis in the Antiquity Age, including giving the ability to purchase Villas in towns during this crisis, giving another way to manage the happiness of your settlements.A note about cross-play multiplayer: To expedite updates to the PC experience, we will sometimes deploy patches to PC at a different cadence than we do on consoles - including today's Patch 1.0.1. As a result, cross-play between PC players and console players is temporarily disabled. This will have no impact on console players attempting cross-platform play with other console players, nor on PC-to-PC multiplayer.AIWindows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam DeckAI will now offer high-value Cities less often during Peace Deals.In Modern, AI will now declare war less often at the start of the age.In Modern, AI will now consider Ideology more before Declaring War or offering Peace.Other Leaders now have a decreased desire for war if neither party has an Ideology.Other Leaders now have an increased desire for war with players of Opposing ideologies.Other Leaders now have a decreased desire for Peace with players of opposing Ideologies.CameraWindows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam DeckFixed an issue on native-resolutions where the camera would focus on the lower end of the map when clicking on the minimap.UIWindows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam DeckReplaced the Simplified Chinese font with the font used in Civilization VI while we work on additional improvements for future patches.Fixed an issue where the Settlement menu fails to open when clicking on a non-player's Settlement Banner in gameplay.Fixed an issue where yield icons fail to populate on the now available buildings when converting a town to city.Fixed an issue where some text was cut off on the Global Yields Breakdown screen.Added a notification for completed Espionage actions, so that you can more easily check the results of their Espionage actions.City projects no longer appear to be purchasable.Your current religion is now displayed first in the belief picker tabs.Fixed an issue where a Districts health bar would remain on-screen after being fully healed.Fixed an issue where Leaders fail to have a portrait when the relationship has changed during gameplay.Improved the alignment of leader names and portraits on the Age Summary, when viewing the Overview screen of the Victories Rankings.Fixed an issue where the background color remains the default color when the user changes it in the Player Customize tab.Improved the spacing between Civ descriptions, unique units and building icons on loading screen.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

A Ukrainian drone tech firm has unveiled an alternative to GPS navigation.Sine.Engineering built the system to counter Russias electronic warfare, which has wreaked havoc on GPS signals.To dodge the interference, Sine invented a satellite-free replacement.The approach is inspired by time-of-flight (ToF) methods, which began tracking aircraft long before the advent of GPS.Register NowUnlike GPS, ToF systems dont rely on satellites.Instead, they measure the time it takes a signal tobetween a transmitter and a target.In Sines framework, the calculations come from a communication module for drones.Smaller than a playing card, the module shares signals with a ground station and two beacons. It then measures how long the signals take to travel. As the beacons and ground station have known, static coordinates, the software can precisely determine a drones coordinates. And because the module runs on multiple bandwidths, the aircraft can elude jamming that targets specific frequencies.Crucially, the system is also relatively cheap. By providing affordable accuracy, Sine plans to accelerate Ukraines transition to autonomous drones.The countrys armed forces have backed the plans. Already, they have deployed Sines module in military operations.New route for dronesAccording to Sine, the system is already active in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.The next target is first-person view (FPV) drones cheap but effective aircraft equipped with cameras that send footage to remote pilots.Testing on the FPVs began last month.We expect battlefield deployment in the near future, Andriy Chulyk, Sines CEO and co-founder, told TNW via email.Alongside autonomous FPVs, Chulyk plans to support swarm operations. Our technology enables coordinated flights of multiple drones, allowing them to operate as cohesive units, he said.Yet autonomy is not the sole objective. Sines module also aims to lower entry barriers for human pilots of unmanned aircraft.It significantly simplifies drone operation through automation and intuitive control interfaces similar to consumer drones like Mavic, Chulyk said.This positioning capability is built into the core communication module. Credit: Sine.EngineeringGoing to marketSine was founded in 2022 to counter Russian drone operations. As the aerial combat evolved, the startup began exploring new navigation systems.Due to widespread jamming and spoofing, GPS had become a critical vulnerability. At the same time, cheap FPV drones were transforming the battlefields. Yet their positioning systems lacked sophistication.Sines founders decided to build an affordable upgrade. Their invention promises to improve navigation, expand autonomy, and evade electronic warfare.In Chulyks view, such enhancements are becoming essential.Without reliable navigation capabilities, the transition to autonomous operations necessary for true scalability remains out of reach, he said.This creates a critical capability gap in modern warfare, where the ability to deploy large numbers of autonomous platforms could provide decisive advantages. Story by Thomas Macaulay Managing editor Thomas is the managing editor of TNW. He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers. Away from work, he e (show all) Thomas is the managing editor of TNW. He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers. Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse). Get the TNW newsletterGet the most important tech news in your inbox each week.Also tagged with

European tech leaders Helsing and Mistral have formed a pact to build new military AI systems.The partnership brings together two of Europes top startups. Helsing, a defence tech firm based in Germany, was valued at 5bn last year. Founded in 2021, the company develops software for weapons, vehicles, and military strategy. Its systems have been deployed in battlefield simulations, fighter jets, and drones in Ukraine.Mistral, meanwhile, is widely considered Europes closest competitor to OpenAI. The French startup has also become a favourite of investors, raising at 600mn at a valuation of 5.8bn last year.The partners announced their alliance today at a landmark AI summit in Paris. In a statement, they pledged to develop systems for the defence of Europe.Their collaboration will focus on vision-language-action (VLA) models. An emerging field of AI, VLA blends visual perception, language understanding, and outputs for robotics.Register NowHelsing and Mistral will bring the models into defence platforms. The startups said the integration will boost decision-making, understanding of environments, and communication with operators.Military AI on the rise in EuropeHelsing and was signed amid a boom for European defence tech. Anxieties around Russias imperial ambitions and Donald Trumps threats to NATO have led military budgets to soar across the continent.Last month, the European Commission allocated over 1bn to defence R&D projects. VC spending on military tech is also surging in Europe.A big chunk of these funds is flowing towards AI systems. Helsing, for instance, raised a whopping 450mn last June. By combining forces with Mistral, the startup plans to shape the future of defence tech.Europe needs to assert its strength as a geopolitical actor, and AI leadership is the key to that strength and Europes future security and prosperity, said Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of Helsing.As Europes fastest and most ambitious companies in the space, we will advance this leadership for the next generation of defence systems. Defence tech is a key theme of this years Assembly, the invite-only policy track of TNW Conference. The event takes place on June 19 and 20 a week before the NATO Summit arrives in Amsterdam. Tickets for TNW Conference are now on sale. Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 for an exclusive subscriber discount. Story by Thomas Macaulay Managing editor Thomas is the managing editor of TNW. He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers. Away from work, he e (show all) Thomas is the managing editor of TNW. He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers. Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse). Get the TNW newsletterGet the most important tech news in your inbox each week.Also tagged with

A supply chain report on Samsung Display confirms expectations that the first OLED MacBook Pro models will launch in 2026. It says that the company is current working on the first samples of the displays, and expects to be in full production in 2026.The report also suggests that well have to wait even longer than expected for the first MacBook Air models with OLED screens OLED MacBook Pro launchCurrent MacBook Pro screens are IPS LCD with mini-LED backlighting an older display technology given a refresh by more precisely-controllable backlights.There had initially been some disagreement between Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and display analyst Ross Young on when we could expect MacBook Pro screens to switch to OLED. Kuo suggested 2025, while Young said 2026. Last year, however, Kuo deferred to Ross, agreeing that 2026 was the date.A supply-chain report in TheElec provides sufficient detail to essentially confirm this. It says that Samsung Display is currently working on sample OLED panels for the MacBook Pro, and will enter full production next year, with Apple as the primary customer.Samsung Display IT 8th generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) line (A6) will be completed in the first half of the year. The first depositioner (unione 1) is expected to be OLED for Apples MacBook Pro []Using the first plant, it plans to make a panel for Apple OLED MacBook Pro, which is expected to be released in 2026 [] OLED MacBook Pro shipment forecast is 3 million to 5 million units per year.Were expecting a total redesign of the MacBook Pro as part of its switch to OLED, with the notch replaced by a punch-hole for the webcam and a thinner and lighter form factor.OLED MacBook Air postponed to 2029 or laterEarly reports indicated that Apple was planning to transition the MacBook Air to OLED in 2027, with subsequent ones suggesting this had been pushed back to 2028.However, todays report is even more pessimistic, saying that Apple has pushed back the date to after 2029. Machine translation is often flakey with it comes to these things, so its likely this refers to no earlier than 2029.Even when it does arrive, were expecting the MacBook Air to get an older and less sophisticated OLED panel than the MacBook Pro. The OLED MacBook Air is also expected to get a standard single-stack display, rather than the more sophisticated Two-Stack Tandem displayswe reported on for the MacBook Pro.Single-stack displays have one red, green and blue layer, while two-stack tandem OLED has a second RGB layer. Two layers stacked in tandem increases the brightness of the screen, while also increasing longevity.Photo byJn VlauhaonUnsplashAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Skip to main contentApple @ Work Podcast: Catching up with Tailscale CEO Avery Pennarun Bradley C|Feb 11 2025 - 3:00 am PTApple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle,the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost.Request your EXTENDED TRIALtoday and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.In this episode of Apple @ Work, I talk with Avery Pennarun, CEO and Co-Founder of Tailscale, about the benefits of their VPN implementation, MDM integration, and more.Show NotesHow our free plan stays freeConnect with BradleyListen and subscribeListen to Past EpisodesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel Featuredfrom 9to5Mac9to5Mac Logo Manage push notificationsAllPost

Feb 11, 2025Ravie LakshmananNetwork Security / VulnerabilityProgress Software has addressed multiple high-severity security flaws in its LoadMaster software that could be exploited by malicious actors to execute arbitrary system commands or download any file from the system.Kemp LoadMaster is a high-performance application delivery controller (ADC) and load balancer that provides availability, scalability, performance, and security for business-critical applications and websites.The identified vulnerabilities are listed below -CVE-2024-56134 (CVSS score: 8.4) - An improper input validation vulnerability that allows remote malicious actors who gain access to the management interface of LoadMaster and successfully authenticate to download the content of any file on the system via a carefully crafted HTTP requestThe following versions of the software are affected by the flaws -LoadMaster versions from 7.2.55.0 to 7.2.60.1 (inclusive)- Fixed in 7.2.61.0 (GA)LoadMaster versions from 7.2.49.0 to 7.2.54.12 (inclusive) - Fixed in 7.2.54.13 (LTSF)LoadMaster version 7.2.48.12 and prior - Upgrade to LTSF or GA Multi-Tenant LoadMaster version 7.1.35.12 and prior - Fixed in 7.1.35.13 (GA)Progress Software noted that it has no evidence that any of the aforementioned vulnerabilities have been exploited in the wild. That said, with previously disclosed flaws weaponized by threat actors in the past, it's essential that customers apply the latest patches for optimal protection.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE