🕹️ Twitch enhancements

Good Afternoon. Steam saw a record peak of 33.6 million concurrent users over the weekend. Did you chip away at your backlog?

—Tim Rhyne, Derek Neville

MAIN QUEST: NVIDIA swings for fences

Twitch, OBS, and NVIDIA have partnered together to launch the Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting beta. The goal is to address the challenge of choosing between higher resolution and reliable streaming, allowing streamers to broadcast concurrently multiple encodes, and providing optimal viewing experiences for a diverse audience. The feature, available in a few days to beta testers, leverages the dedicated encoder (NVENC) in modern GeForce RTX and GTX GPUs, enabling streamers to transmit up to three resolutions simultaneously at up to 1080p.

Additionally, NVIDIA announced an expansion to its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service to host multiple new AAA titles beginning in February. This will include HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail, and Activision Blizzard’s Diablo IV and Overwatch 2. The existing 10-year deal between NVIDIA and Microsoft was attributed to ABK titles being included.

Step Back: NVIDIA has been leading the charge in AI hardware technology and is continuing to bet on long-term gaming partnerships. This points toward a healthy outlook for games becoming simultaneously more accessible and cutting edge from both the player and viewer perspectives.

HUD

• 📈 Hogwarts Legacy sold 22 million copies in 2023, and Warner Bros is looking to continue building upon that by confirming that a quidditch game is in the works, although there is not a release date for that game yet.

• 📺️ Netflix is debating on serving ads in their games to ad-supported subscribers. Additional consideration is being given to microtransactions and additional costs for more “sophisticated” games.

• 🌏️ A 7.6 magnitude earthquake impacted Japan’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day. The Pokémon Company (US$345k) and Square Enix (US$34.5k) are among the companies that have donated to the relief efforts.

MAJOR W

• 🏆️ Amir Awards 2023 reminds us of the nearly 12,000 layoffs in 2023 and raised $1450 for Connecticut Children’s. Super Mario Bros Wonder was Amir’s 2023 Game of the Year citing its continued innovation within its genre.

• 🎷 Hi-Fi Rush, a first-party Microsoft exclusive, is rumored to be heading to Switch.

F IN THE CHAT

• 👓️ Apple Vision Pro releases February 2nd with the base 256GB model having a price tag set at $3,499.

• 😤 Wizards of the Coast “made a mistake” in saying they didn’t use AI in a recent Magic: The Gathering promotion. At least one notable artist announced they quit working with WotC and is now pleased with the company’s response.

CAREER CORNER

• Manager, Talent Development — Electronic Arts (Vancouver, BC)

• Senior Economy Designer — Intrepid Studios (San Diego, CA)

• Community Developer — SharkMob (Malmö, Sweden)

HIVE MIND

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