French video game publisher Ubisoft has created a subsidiary focused on three of its most iconic and narratively cohesive brands: the worlds of the time-shifting actioner “Assassin’s Creed,” anthology mystery “Far Cry,” and tactical combat thriller “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.” Essentially a spin-off unit, Ubisoft has secured backing from its minority investor Tencent, which is plowing $1.25 billion into the new venture. The Chinese game giant — sixteenth on the Companies Market Cap list of the world’s most valuable companies, at $593 billion as of this month — in September 2022 upped its stake to 10 percent of Ubisoft. Continue reading Tencent Builds on Ubisoft Stake with $1.25B for New Venture

Samsung Electronics has unveiled three new Odyssey game monitor lineup, including the the glasses-free Odyssey 3D, a 27-inch display that achieves an immersive, off-the-screen effect through a combination of advanced eye-tracking and proprietary lenticular lens technology. Also featured is a 27-inch 4K monitor, the Odssey OLED G8 that Samsung says is the first in the industry to deliver a 4K image at a 240Hz refresh rate. The curved G9 series is updated with a 49-inch ultrawide. Samsung also introduced a new professional monitor, the 37-inch ViewFinity S8, a 4K monitor that offers more screen space and meticulous color specs. Continue reading New Samsung Glasses-Free 3D Game Monitor May Cost $2K

The Entertainment Software Association is rolling out the Accessible Games Initiative, a cross-industry reference resource that provides information about accessibility features in video games. The effort launches with a set of 24 “tags” advising of the features. The ESA announced the effort at the Game Developers Conference with representatives from five founding member companies: Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo and Ubisoft. The goal is to have participating companies include the tags with their game product info in digital storefronts, on product pages and elsewhere to help provide players, parents and teachers details about accessibility features. Continue reading ESA Initiative Provides Accessibility Transparency for Games

Speaking in San Francisco during the Game Developers Conference this week, Netflix Games President Alain Tascan discussed how its gaming content can keep the platform’s 700 million-plus customers entertained between seasons. “We are not yet the Netflix of games, but that is where we are headed,” the executive said, calling gaming “the biggest shift in entertainment in the last 30 years.” In light of global youth’s involvement with games, “we see we need to be there,” Tascan said. Netflix added its first mobile games in 2021 and has since expanded by purchasing video game studios and building one from scratch. Continue reading Netflix Execs Discuss a Continued Push into Gaming Business

A new Discord Social SDK allows developers to integrate the platform in-app for games. Discord is massively popular with gamers; the company estimates PC players alone spend more than 1.5 billion hours each month on the platform. This free SDK can extend the user experience beyond the third-party content in which it becomes embedded to reach the platform’s community of over 200 million monthly active users. “Developers can power friends lists, cross-platform messaging, voice and more for all players — with or without a Discord account,” the company announced. Continue reading New Discord Social SDK Integrates Platform In-App for Games

San Mateo, California-based game developer Roblox has released a 3D object generator called Cube 3D, the first of several models the company plans to make available. Cube currently generates 3D models and environments from text, and in the future the company plans to add image inputs. Roblox says it is open-sourcing the tool, making it available to users on and off the platform. Cube will serve as the core generative AI system for Roblox’s 3D and 4D plans, the latter referring to interactive responsiveness. The launch coincides with the Game Developers Conference, running through Friday in San Francisco. Continue reading Roblox Reveals Its Generative AI System Cube for 3D and 4D

CES 2025 welcomed over 141,000 attendees from around the globe to Las Vegas. With more than 4,500 exhibitors, including 1,400 startups, and more than 6,000 media attendees, CES highlights the innovation and technology trends addressing global challenges and shaping the future. This year’s show focused on artificial intelligence, unveiling a wave of innovative offerings — whether practical, visionary or experimental. Among the show’s major trends were AI integration across all industries, shifting demographics and purchasing patterns (with Gen Z the one to watch), sustainability and security, and smart devices and smarter homes. ETC@USC attended the conference for live reporting on products and services. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading ETC’s CES 2025 Report: Focus on AI Innovation & Integration

Staircase Studios AI — the film, television and gaming studio launched by “Divergent” franchise producer Pouya Shahbazian — has announced its investors and shared plans to produce more than 30 projects at budgets under $500,000 over the next 3-4 years. The company will be using a proprietary AI workflow it invented called ForwardMotion that the company says will revolutionize film and television production. The company has acquired multiple pieces of IP, including more than 20 scripts that have appeared on the Black List, which tallies the most popular unproduced scripts. Continue reading Staircase Studios AI Plans 30 Projects Over Next 3 to 4 Years

LG Electronics is expanding distribution of the Gaming Portal unveiled at CES 2025 for LG Smart TVs. LG says that since that curtain-raiser, the platform has become available in 19 global markets for LG Smart TVs running webOS 23 and above. Starting in Q2, it will become available in additional markets on devices including LG Smart Monitors and StanbyME lifestyle screens. The LG Gaming Portal has partnerships with cloud game services including Xbox, Nvidia GeForce NOW and Amazon Luna, as well as the lesser-known Boosteroid, Blacknut and some native webOS app games. Continue reading LG Rolls Out Its All-in-One Gaming Portal to Multiple Platforms

Comcast is introducing the first customers in the world to a pioneering new, ultra-low lag connectivity experience when they use interactive applications like gaming, videoconferencing and virtual reality. The rollout is already underway in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Rockville, Maryland. Aimed primarily at gamers on Nvidia GeForce NOW and Valve’s Steam, it will also improve videoconferencing and content streaming, some Meta XR headset experiences and any other applications that choose to leverage the open standard technology in the future, Comcast says. Continue reading Comcast Launches Ultra Low-Latency Internet for Xfinity Subs

At CES 2025 this month, LG Electronics debuted its LG UltraGear OLED Bendable Gaming Monitor, positioning it as the world’s first 5K2K-resolution bendable OLED display. The 45-inch 45GX990A can transition from completely flat to a 900R curvature within seconds, allowing users to customize their gaming experience. An upgraded Dual-Mode feature can switch easily between resolution and refresh rate presets, accommodating different aspect ratios and picture sizes. And the zippy 0.03ms (GtG) response time aims to provide heightened immersion. It did not go unnoticed at the show that the display also offers smart streaming options. Continue reading CES: LG Debuts a Dual-Mode Bendable 5K2K Game Monitor

Play For Dream Technology made a splash at CES 2025 with a new mixed reality headset inspired by the Apple Vision Pro, which the startup described as “the world’s first Android-based spatial computer.” Play For Dream MR has been applauded by some analysts for its user interface, eye tracking, media capture and overall performance. The company, which announced a new strategic partnership with Tobii, is targeting consumers and B2B applications with “customized solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of various industries,” such as media, entertainment, gaming, medical, healthcare, education, research, automotive and aviation. Continue reading CES: Play For Dream Touts ‘World’s First’ Android MR Headset

At this year’s CES, London-based 3D holographic system maker HYPERVSN presented its latest portfolio of solutions built with its LED-based rotor technology and specialized accessories. At the center of the exhibit was a nearly 30-feet tall version of the company’s SmartV Wall that manifested 3D objects in a futuristic circular glass case. Next to that display was a 3D human-sized digital avatar integrated with ChatGPT that interacted with attendees in real time. Also competing for attention was a live-streamed 3D hologram of a person presented via a camera and green-screen setup. Continue reading CES: HYPERVSN Showcases Latest 3D Holographic Solutions

Panasonic reinforced its 2024 reentry into the U.S. television market, introducing three new models including the flagship Z95B OLED at CES 2025. Some say the company’s new top-of-the-line torch bearer — with spatial audio and sizes up to 77 inches — is competitive with premium models from top manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung and LG. The Z95B features a “next-generation” OLED panel “with Primary RGB Tandem technology, which employs a four-layer emission structure that refines the wavelength of light and increases color purity, thus enhancing light efficiency by 40 percent,” according to Panasonic. Continue reading CES: Panasonic OLED is Competitive in Premium TV Category

Lenovo announced the Legion Go S, the first device outside of Valve’s own hardware to officially ship with SteamOS. Launching in May 2025, the $499 handheld gaming PC joins Valve’s Steam Deck in the lower-price segment of the PC handheld market. The device features an 8-inch display with 120Hz variable refresh rate and runs on a Lenovo-exclusive AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip. Lenovo plans to release both SteamOS and Windows versions, with the Windows variant arriving first. The device introduces several technical improvements over its predecessor, replacing detachable controllers with an integrated grip design. Continue reading CES: Lenovo Reveals Third-Party SteamOS Gaming Handheld