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July 20, 2024
Issue No. 112
CURATOR:
Welcome to this week's AtherXplorer, covering the latest in gaming, blockchain, and everything in between.
This week’s top picks include:
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI Introduces GPT-4o mini
OpenAI introduced GPT-4o mini, a smaller and more affordable version of its multimodal GPT-4o model. GPT-4o mini costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens, making it 60% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo. It outperforms other similarly sized models on benchmarks while being as fast. The mini model can currently handle text and image inputs, with other modalities coming later.
GPT-4o mini will replace GPT-3.5 Turbo in ChatGPT for paying subscribers, providing improved performance. However, subscription prices don't change - only API developers see cost savings. Some developers like Ramp and Superhuman have tested GPT-4o mini successfully in their apps for tasks like receipt processing and email responses.
OpenAI is making GPT-4o mini available through Apple Intelligence this fall as part of its partnership. However, it will still run on OpenAI servers rather than devices. OpenAI also isn't deprecating GPT-3.5 Turbo yet to avoid breaking existing developer apps. Most are expected to migrate naturally due to lower costs and higher intelligence with GPT-4o mini.
Microsoft Designer App Arrives on iOS and Android with AI Tools
Microsoft's AI-powered Designer app is now publicly available on iOS and Android after being in preview for nearly a year. Designer allows users to create custom images, stickers, greeting cards and more using templates or by editing existing images with AI. Users can now use these creation and editing features directly from their mobile devices with the new standalone app.
Within Designer are tools like an avatar creator, options to restyle images, remove backgrounds or objects, and add text. Microsoft has also integrated Designer into other apps through Copilot, allowing image and design creation within Word and PowerPoint. Windows Insiders will now access Designer features within the Photos app on Windows 11.
The general public receives 15 free "boosts" per day to create or edit images using Designer's AI capabilities. Boosts are consumed anytime this is done in the Designer app or where it's integrated elsewhere. A paid Copilot Pro subscription provides 100 daily boosts. Microsoft aims to make AI-powered creation and editing widely available across its suite of products.
Anthropic Releases Claude on Android
Anthropic announced the launch of its Claude chatbot on the Android operating system, bringing the AI assistant to over 3 billion potential new users. The Android app mirrors Claude's capabilities on web and iOS, allowing natural language conversations and task assistance directly from mobile devices. This expansion is strategically important for Anthropic to rapidly grow its user base and compete with ChatGPT's dominance in the AI assistant market.
The Android release comes as the mobile AI assistant market is highly competitive. While ChatGPT has over 100 million users, Anthropic aims to close that gap with wider accessibility. Unlike its competitors, Anthropic maintains a strict privacy policy and does not use interactions to train models. A new feature called Claude Vision also allows users to upload photos for image analysis, expanding functionality.
Some key capabilities of the Android app include optimized performance on mobile devices, offline usage of certain functions, and integration with Android's sharing features. Claude Vision leverages multimodal abilities by describing and analyzing images, offering applications for students and professionals.
In Other AI News…
Gaming
Zenless Zone Zero Surpasses $50M in 11 Days
In the eleven days following its official release on July 4th, HoYoverse's new action RPG Zenless Zone Zero generated nearly $52 million in gross player spending across mobile platforms according to AppMagic. Players in China and Japan accounted for the majority of revenue, with China making up 47% and Japan 27%. The United States, South Korea, and Taiwan ranked third, fourth, and fifth respectively. Revenues peaked on July 5th at $7.4 million but have declined each day since, reaching $3 million on July 14th.
While $52 million in 11 days is notable, Zenless Zone Zero has not matched the performances of HoYoverse's previous games. During the same period, Genshin Impact achieved $90.1 million in player spending and Honkai: Star Rail reached $108.6 million. Nonetheless, Zenless Zone Zero stands among the most lucrative game launches of 2024 so far, surpassing Supercell's Squad Busters. However, the biggest launch this year remains Tencent and Nexon's Dungeon & Fighter Mobile which accumulated an estimated $500 million in its first month in China alone.
Dead by Daylight Gets Lara Croft Survivor, 2v8 Mode, and Upcoming Cross Progression
Dead by Daylight's 8th anniversary stream revealed several upcoming updates. Most immediately, Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider reboot joins as a new survivor today. She comes with three new perks - Finesse boosting fast vaults when healthy, Hardened revealing the Killer's aura after cleansing or blessing, and Specialist reducing generator progress needs when doing skill checks after searching chests.
On July 25th, a new 2v8 multiplayer mode will be added pitting two Killers against eight survivors. It takes place on expanded classic maps, with generators doubled to 13 that must be 8/13 repaired to escape. Survivors will now be directly caged instead of hooked. Perks have also been reworked into a new role system designed for teamwork in this mode.
Additionally, cross-progression is coming on July 22nd allowing players to sync their unlockables and customization options across platforms, except for some restrictions on the Switch version. This will let progression be shared regardless of which platform users own the game on.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Leaks Disappoint Developers
Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment expressed disappointment that an unfinished pirated build of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has begun circulating online. In a joint statement, the developers acknowledged the support from fans but asked them to avoid playing this early build in order to avoid spoilers. According to the statement, the leaked build is almost a year old and does not represent the quality of the completed game.
The companies emphasized the years of hard work the team had dedicated to the project. They said it was disheartening that secrets and surprises they aimed to keep for launch were spoiled. The statement noted the teams' commitment was to deliver the best experience possible, which was the driving force behind spending more time in development. To conclude, Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment once again asked fans to avoid this early build and not spoil the game for others, stating the best way to support their effort is to experience Space Marine 2 as intended at its official September 9th launch date.
In Other Gaming News…
Web3, Metaverse, and NFTs
Bridge & DEX Aggregator LI.FI Gets Hacked for over $10M
The Li.Fi protocol experienced a security breach on July 16th when hackers exploited a specific smart contract address, resulting in the loss of over $10 million worth of cryptocurrencies. Li.Fi is an API used for swaps and bridging on Ethereum Virtual Machine and Solana. A spokesperson from Li.Fi indicated that the smart contract exploit was contained and the affected smart contract was disabled.
According to security firm Cyvers, Li.Fi's systems had detected suspicious transactions involving a specific contract address. Cyvers recommended that users revoke approvals for some of their smart contract addresses. In an X post on July 16th, Li.Fi warned its community not to interact with any Li.Fi powered applications until further notice as they investigated the exploit.
For users who had manually set infinite approvals, the Li.Fi team stated that some of their smart contract addresses should be revoked. Later, Li.Fi updated users in an X post that the smart contract vulnerability was mitigated and there was no further risk to users. They noted that only a small number of wallets with infinite approvals had been affected.
Pixelverse Reveals ‘PixelTap’ Telegram Game Airdrop, Launches PIXFI Token, Plans for L2 on TON
Image Credits: Pixelverse
Pixelverse launched its PIXFI token on The Open Network (TON) and revealed plans to reward players of its successful PixelTap game on Telegram with an airdrop of NFTs and tokens. PIXFI began trading around $0.024 with varying assessments of its price changes. It has a total supply of 5 billion tokens and approximately $17 million market cap. Players will be able to claim NFTs on July 25th ranging from Common to Legendary, with rarer NFT holders able to receive PIXFI amounts based on engagement. While 10% can be immediately claimed, the full allotment unlocks through continued PixelTap and dashboard use.
Pixelverse also outlined coming activities within the TON ecosystem aligned with Telegram. It will deploy Pixelchain, the first EVM-compatible layer-2 scaling network launching on TON, to power future Pixelverse games and apps. The Pixelchain testnet is slated for next week.
Details on the technical implementation of Pixelchain's EVM-compatible architecture on TON were not provided. However, Pixelverse is demonstrating ongoing momentum and delivering on its product roadmap with the simultaneous PIXFI launch, airdrop plans tied to NFT drops, and upcoming blockchain developments designed to further decentralize and scale the Pixelverse gaming universe.
Ubisoft Launches Free NFT Mint for Champions Tactics
Major gaming company Ubisoft launched a free NFT mint for its upcoming blockchain strategy title Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles. Taking place on the Oasys gaming network, the mint distributed a total of 75,000 in-game champion figurine NFTs to players without gas fees. Initially, holders of Ubisoft's existing Warlords NFT profile pictures from last year could claim up to five champions starting Monday. These PFP NFTs currently sell for around $210 on secondary markets.
Anyone could freely mint champion NFTs on Oasys as long as they had a Ubisoft account and Oasys wallet while meeting the 18-year-old age requirement. Champions Tactics is Ubisoft's first original blockchain game that recently saw its first closed beta testing. Ubisoft worked with decentralized cloud firm Aleph.im, a long-time partner, to power the verifiably fair distribution of the champion assets to claiming users.
This free mass mint aimed to grow Champions Tactics' player base ahead of its full launch planned for later this year. It continued Ubisoft's foray into blockchain gaming following past NFT projects. Owners of the earlier Warlords NFTs received preferential early access to the new champions in this strategic release widening adoption of Ubisoft's gaming vision leveraging Web3 technologies.
In Other Web3 & Metaverse News…
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