Actors raise concern at "groundbreaking" SAG-AFTRA AI voice agreement

Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2024 has wrapped after a nonstop weeklong speedrunning marathon. This year’s charity raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Other highlights included four broken world records and a dog named Peanut Butter beating the oddball NES classic Gyromite.

Pre-orders of the $3,499 Apple Vision Pro commenced last week, and with three storage variants available at different pricing tiers, there were a few options that customers could choose from. Now, one analyst estimates that the AR headset was a phenomenal hit, reaching up to 180,000 units, but that does not necessarily mean that the same momentum will be carried out through the year, as several factors will determine the device's success.

2024 had a rough start for Japan, beginning with a 7.6 earthquake at 16:10 on New Year's Day in Ishikawa Prefecture. The earthquake did a significant amount of damage and even caused a minor tsunami along the coastline. Less than a month later, Ishikawa Prefecture is still rebuilding and recovering, and now there is something special and easy that anime fans can do to help.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, who has been working to raise billions of dollars from global investors for a chip venture, aims to use the funds to set up a network of factories to manufacture semiconductors, according to several people with knowledge of the plans.

For the many fans who have completed the game’s level cap is often a controversial element, but there is a simple way developer Larian Studios could increase the maximum level without significant changes to the game simply by leveraging the rules of 5e. The video game caps characters at level 12, while actual 5e extends to level 20. Players who stick mostly with the main questline may finish the game around level nine or 10, but many players hit the level cap early into the game’s third act. New equipment can still increase characters’ power, but gaining experience points is no longer relevant.

At this week’s ongoing Awesome Games Done Quick event, a very talented dog managed to speedrun a lesser-known NES game for charity, to the delight of both their owner and viewers all around the world. For the past decade or so, Awesome Games Done Quick has been held every January to raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The past three Awesome Games Done Quick events were held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year is seeing the show return to a live format at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from January 14 to the 21st.

Build a Rocket Boy, a Scotland-headquartered game development company founded by one of the former lead developers behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, today announced it has raised $110 million in a Series D round of funding.

An upcoming RTS game from Warcraft and StarCraft veterans has managed to gain 1875% of its original Kickstarter goal, with just over two weeks left to go on its campaign. 

If you think there’s been plenty of news about Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League recently, you’re not wrong. The game is coming out on February 2nd, and a recent preview video highlighted the divisive nature that the game is building up before its release. In short, while the story and characters, along with the cutscenes that have been viewed, are seen as pretty solid, the gameplay and other elements like the “live service” model haven’t made gamers content. There’s plenty of uncertainty going into it all. But, like in all things, there is a small bit of light that everyone can agree is good.

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By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

Major actors’ union SAG-AFTRA have raised hackles among a number of voice game performers after striking a deal with a company that wants to create AI replicas of actors’ voices for use in games, among other things. While the union claim that their agreement with Replica will allow for a “fair” and “ethical” approach to creating AI voices, it’s clear that a number of actors with credits in games from Baldur’s Gate 3, Mortal Kombat and Starfield to Apex Legends, World of Warcraft and Genshin Impact don’t agree.