Category: Technology

Microsoft and Unity announced that Microsoft’s Azure had been named the official cloud partner of the Unity game engine.

Game engines like Unity allow for the game and digital experience creators to design and realize 3D environments and assets for games, training tools, and other digital experiences. The Unity engine itself has powered a slew of popular games since its launch in 2005, with some notable recent releases including Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and shining Pearl, Fall Guys, Genshin Impactand many others.

Also: How Microsoft and Samsung may finally take cloud gaming mainstream

Now, Unity is hoping to leverage this new, official partnership with Microsoft’s Azure to expand into non-gaming spaces as well. The company hinted at new plans to turn the Unity engine into a “platform-agnostic, cloud-native solution that meets the wide-ranging needs of all developers from enterprise through citizen creators.” It plans to do this by leveraging Azure’s cloud-based systems to provide the real-time 3D (RT3D) simulation tools needed to develop digital twins of real-world places and objects for a variety of training and simulation applications.

The duo believes real-time 3D simulation will become “central to every industry ranging from e-commerce to energy, manufacturing to medical and more.”

Also: Microsoft to allow Xbox Cloud Gaming users to bring their own games later this year

Developers creating games and non-gaming experiences within the Unity engine will now also be able to deploy their creations more quickly and easily to Windows and Xbox devices. Unity and Microsoft plan to make this possible by “leveraging the latest platform innovation from silicon to cloud, and simplifying the publishing experience.”

No timeframe was mentioned for when the first collaborative publishing tools or services might be available.

The US Google Store is running a rather notable trade-in promotion for the Pixel 6a that significantly increases the trade-in value of older Pixel, as well as iPhone and Samsung, devices.

Update 8/8: Google has brought back the significant boost to trade-in values ​​for the Pixel 6a until Saturday, September 24. The difference is that there’s no free Pixel Buds A-Series offer, and it comes just after the $50 Google Store credit ended.

This applies to all 6a models sold on store.google.comincluding Unlocked, Google Fi, Verizon, and AT&T.

Like before, the chart below assumes that your Pixel turns on, is free of cracks, and has a working screen. To see how much Google increased the trade-in values ​​for what’s basically a $149 Pixel 6a, we show the credit you’ll get when buying the Pixel 6.

Update 7/26: As a reminder, the boosted trade-in expires on Wednesday (July 27, 2022 at 11:59 pm PT) before the Pixel 6a hits retail. You also have until then to get Pixel Buds A-Series for free with your 6th pre-order. Depending on your location, Friday delivery (in the US) is still possible if you order today.

Genuine 7/21: When buying the Pixel 6a through the US google storetrade-in values ​​have significantly increased to a maximum of $300 if your Google device is in the best condition possible.

The Pixel 3a and 3a XL are the oldest phones eligible for the $300 trade-in credit. Others include the Pixel 4, 4 XL, 4a, 4a 5G, 5, and even last year’s 5a. (For comparison, the Pixel 3 XL tops out at $110.)

This boosted trade-in ends on Wednesday, July 27 at 11:59 pm PT, or just before the Pixel 6a hits retail. Remember that you’ll also get Pixel Buds A-Series with your pre-order, which is another $99 value. Check out the terms and conditions:

Trade-in values ​​vary based on condition, year, and configuration of your eligible device, and are subject to change upon inspection. Credit card refund available only on a card used to purchase the Pixel phone. Phone trade-in credit will be issued as a refund back on the credit card used for the phone purchase at Google Store or in the form of Store Credit if the purchased phone has already been returned. Refund is based on (and paid after) phone received matching the description provided at time of estimate and will be issued to form of payment used for order. Phones sent for trade-in must be received within 30 days of initiation of trade-in process, provided the purchased device has not been returned during that time.

As we noted in our review this morning, the Pixel 6a is a great upgrade for current Pixel 3a and 3a XL owners that are no longer receiving updates.

In terms of size, the Pixel 6a is roughly the same size as the standard Pixel 3a, just with smaller bezels. It also comes with the addition of an ultrawide camera, a much better display, and, most crucially, the major chip upgrade that is Google Tensor. Compared to the Snapdragon 670 found in that 2019 phone, Tensor is a massive upgrade.

You also get 50% more RAM, double the storage at 128GB, 5G, hole-punch screen, larger battery (4,410 vs 3,000 mAh), and IP67 water resistance.

Be sure to tell us in the comments below if you’re taking advantage of this Pixel 6a trade-in.

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Microtransactions aren’t about to end.

Activision Blizzard is one of the biggest gaming companies. The California-based organization is behind some popular licenses like Call of Duty, Devil, Overwatchor world of warcraft. If for years the core of Activision Blizzard activities was focused on PC gaming, this trend has shifted with the release of various mobile titles. The latest and most controversial one is Devil Immortal and its microtransactions.

“Do you guys not have phones?” When Blizzard developer Wyatt Cheng said this during BlizzCon 2018, gamers got their pitchforks out. But mobile games might become the new trend for Activision Blizzard, considering this is now the biggest source of revenue for the company.

The organization’s latest financial report reveals that during the second quarter of 2022, more than half of Activision Blizzard’s revenues came from mobile games. The company earned $332 million from PC in this period, and $376 million on combined console sales. Mobile gaming brought in more than PC and console combined, with over $831 million in revenue.

Last year, the revenues from mobile gaming were roughly the same as consoles – mobiles made $795 million, while consoles brought it $740 million. Consoles sold more last year than this one thanks to the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard. A new installment in this series will come out later in 2022, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II coming out on October 28.

While Activision’s 2022 catalog has been pretty thin on consoles, Devil Immortal turned into a cash machine for the company on mobile platforms. This free-to-play game became controversial among players because of its emphasis on micro-transactions. But if that didn’t make gamers happy, it seemed to have fulfilled its goal of bringing some money for Activision Blizzard.

Two months after its release, Devil Immortal surpassed $100 million in global player spending. Micro-transactions are everywhere, and some players even paid $100,000 to improve their character.

Last January, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for the whopping amount of $68.7 billion. If this purchase may change the controversial company culture, it seems unlikely Microsoft would turn down the immense profits that come from mobile gaming.

Source

A putative class action lawsuit has been filed against Google in California by early adopters who are unhappy about the ads company’s decision to demand fees for its Workspace productivity suite.

At the $5 million suit’s core is an allegation that Google promised early adopters of what would later become Google Workspace that they would get to use a free version of the service for as long as the search giant offered it.

Google Apps first arrived in 2006, was rebranded G Suite in 2016 and, in 2020, the rebranding-wand was waved once again to give customers the Google Workspace of today.

The complaint [PDF]filed on August 5 in a San Jose district court, alleges: “From 2006 until 2012, in order to convince potential users to leave well-developed suites of services offered by Google’s competitors (eg, Microsoft Office), Google made a promise to early adopters of Google Workspace. Google promised that such users would always be provided a free version of Workspace (including at least the features that the service had when these customers signed up) as long as Google offered the Workspace service.”

As far as Workspace is concerned, after being referred to as a legacy service, the freebie G-Suite apps were discontinued in favor of Workspace this year, although one could continue to use the tools for personal use.

Key to the complaint is an allegation that the workplace apps that first emerged in 2006 were refined with the assistance of feedback from those early adopters, resulting in something that was professional enough to actually charge for by 2012.

As well as punishing Google for dropping its “don’t be evil” slogan (“Google’s abandonment of the creed “don’t be evil” is well-illustrated in this case,” the lawyers claimed), the complaint reproduced statements from the search giant at the time, including:

“…organizations that sign up during the beta period will not ever have to pay for users accepted during that period (provided Google continues to offer the service).”

The Register asked Google for its reaction to the complaint, and we will update this piece should a response be forthcoming. ®

Apple’s devices and App Store are generally considered more secure compared to competitors like Android or Windows. Apple has greater control and curation over the software it allows on the App Store, making malware much less common than on, say, Google Play. However, as the last few weeks have shown, even reputable-seeming, frequently downloaded apps can secretly be malware — yes, even on Apple platforms.

Most recently, security research Alex Kleber discovered seven malware apps hiding in plain sight on the Mac App Store. All seven apps were apparently made by separate publishers according to the App Store listings, but Kleber discovered they were actually made by a single group based in China.

The apps in question include:

• PDF Reader for Adobe PDF Files (Sunnet Technology Inc.)
• Word Writer Pro (Netozo Limited)
• Screen Recorder (Safeharbour Technology L Ltd.)
• Webcam Expert (Wildfire Technology Inc.)
• Streaming Browser Video Player (Boulevard Technology Ltd.)
• PDF Editor for Adobe Files (Polarnet Limited)
• PDF Reader (Xu Lu, apparently associated with Sunnet Technology Inc.)

While Apple has scrubbed these apps from the macOS App Store, they won’t be removed from any devices that downloaded them. If you have any of these apps on your Mac, delete them as soon as possible.

All of these apps ranked among the top 100 most-downloaded apps in the US App Store ranks, some of which climbed within the top 10, and PDF Reader for Adobe PDF Files ranked number 1 in the Education category.

Uploading malware to Apple’s App Store is difficult, but clearly not impossible. The developers behind the seven malware apps submitted “benign” versions of apps that hid dangerous code in its encrypted database. Once the app passed certification and was available on the App Store, it essentially “morphed” and activated the hidden malware. Many Android malware apps use a similar strategy to circumvent the Play Store’s security checks.

Apple removed all seven apps following Kleber’s disclosure, but their existence shows how easy it is for malware to appear anywhere, even on seemingly secure platforms like Apple’s App Store.

In fact, last week MacRumors reported on a high-ranking third-party Facebook Ad management app that was stealing user data, taking over their accounts, and using the account owner’s ad budget to promote ads for the malicious app developer’s software. Apple also removed the unnamed fraudulent app from the iOS App Store, but it apparently racked up over 250,000 downloads before it was disabled.

While you’re safe from this recently-identified App Store malware, let this serve as a warning against downloading unknown apps from any platform. No platform is completely safe, and if fake apps can climb the rankings like this, it’s likely there’s other malware hiding on the App Store right now.

Malicious app developers go to great lengths to appear legitimate. Some apps will imitate, or outright steal, the interfaces and features of other software. They will normally work as intended, too, while hiding scams or invasive data-stealing functions. These intrusive features usually — though not always — require high privilege permissions that are unrelated to the app’s advertised use.

Many hackers even create fake companies, including fake websites and privacy policies (which are requirements for submitting an app to Apple). We’ve seen other fraudulent apps use fake privacy policies on the App Store, but they’re easy to spot if you look closely. Many appear on random domains unrelated to the app or its publisher — the seven apps found by Kleber all used a single GoDaddy domain, for example. Similarly, the apps will often feature suspiciously high ratings and glowing user reviews, which is why it’s important to read more than just the highest-rated or top-listed user comments.

Still, even if you’re hyper-vigilant, the best way to keep you and your devices safe is to only download well-known apps from trusted publishers.

[Mac Observer]

Another day, another destiny 2 leak.

Fans of Bungie’s much-loved online shooter are no strangers to purported leaks about changes that may be coming to the game in the future. Many of these rumors amount to nothing, but every now and then you’ll hear one that strikes a chord.

This time, the destiny 2 rumor in question has to do with Power Level, the game’s metric for a player character’s overall in-game strength; specifically, that Bungie has plans to do away with it.

The rumor comes from DestinyTwoLeaks on Twitter, an account that has proven to be one of the more reliable sources of D2 leaks in the past. One of its most recent called shots was that Bungie would introduce three new Battlegrounds during the recent witch-queen expansion, a leak that struck the nail cleanly on the head.

From what I heard way back in Splicer, the team planned on removing power levels and making it all one big Artifact level. Except the main way to rank up would be activities and not bounties.

— Destiny Leaks (@DestinyTwoLeaks) August 4, 2022

Effectively, DTL suggests that Bungie is looking at removing destiny 2‘s long-running Power Level system in favor of one more reliant on Artifact Level. This won’t be a new rumor to most who follow the game on social media — several rumors about Power Level changes have been rattling around for over a year. What makes this one different is that it comes from a source with a fairly strong hit rate.

Currently, Artifact Levels are seasonal buffs that can help boost your character’s abilities beyond the current power cap. If you hover the cursor over your Power Level in the menu you can get an idea of ​​your true PL and how much your Artifact Level is helping you out. Your Power Level, as granted by the gear you have equipped, will be represented by a number in white. Your Artifact Level sits alongside this, represented by a number in blue. Because Artifact Levels have no cap, dedicated players can effectively grind them upward indefinitely. As things stand, Artifact Levels are a fast and convenient way for players to quickly hit Recommended Power Levels for attempting certain events.

So, if they’re currently a secondary system designed to appeal to the rise-and-grinders, why would Bungie want to put them in the driver’s seat? One reason could be that Power Level has, over time and multiple destiny 2 expansions, become rather vestigial. Every recent expansion pack has included an automatic Power Level buff that brings players up to around the level required to start the new content. Bungie has been doing this so no player gets left behind the pack for long. Bungie also introduced Legend, Master, and Grandmaster difficulty tiers in most of its endgame content, like Strikes and Raids, and these get bumped up each season.

Therefore, if no one’s getting left behind, and no one’s really on the standard loot treadmill anymore, does your Power Level still mean anything?

DTL’s leak suggests Bungie would pivot the current total Power Level system to one built around seasonal progression with interstitial resets. The thinking in the community is that this would streamline the seasonal grind and make things simpler for returning players, who are often overwhelmed by the total tonnage of destiny 2‘s systems.

I pass this one off to you, Kotaku readers. Thoughts on a change like this? Would prefer Artifact grinding over the day-to-day loot grind that’s been a staple since launch? Sound off in the comments, I’d like to hear your take.