Tag: billion
Rocket-fueled by NSFW Skyrim add-ons, Nexus Mods hits the 10 billion downloads milestone
One of the world’s biggest modding platforms, Nexus Mods, has just smashed through the incredibly huge total of 10 billion total downloads across its entire catalogue of games. And yes, NSFW Skyrim mods definitely played a part in the achievement.
Apparently this is something the team behind Nexus Mods has had its eye on for a while (the milestone that is, not the NSFW mods), and it’s a cool way to see just how popular modding has become, even if it’s been a thing for a decently long time. There’s even been some interesting pizza maths done to put the numbers into context, which I’m about to try and shamelessly one-up by talking about smut.
In a news post, Nexus Mods community manager Demorphic explained: “These 10,000,000,000 downloads are spread across 539,682 mod files, created by a vibrant community of 128,361 mod authors, serving over 47 million total members, modding 2,683 different games.”
Ransomware operations made more than $1 billion in 2023
Chainalysis has just released its latest report on the ransomware business in 2023. According to data analyzed by the “blockchain data platform” company, ransomware actors intensified their operations, choosing their targets among “high-profile” organizations and critical infrastructures, including hospitals, schools, and government agencies.
TSMC To Build Second Japan Chip Factory, Raising Investment To $20 Billion
TSMC’s expansion in Kyushu is central to the Japanese government’s efforts to rebuild the country’s position as a leading chip manufacturing centre and ensure the stable supply of chips amid trade tensions between the United States and China. The decision to build a second fab is a vote of confidence by TSMC in Japan where construction of the first fab has run smoothly and which, Reuters has reported, it sees as a source of diligent workers with a government that is easy to deal with.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Disney Invests $1.5 Billion In Fortnite Maker To Build Persistent Game Universe
“It’s not just our parks where we’re creating new opportunities for consumers to engage with the characters and franchises they love,” Iger said in an analyst call. In our new relationship with Epic Games, we’re creating a transformational games and entertainment universe that integrates Disney’s world-class storytelling into Epic’s cultural phenomenon Fortnite, enabling consumers to play, watch, create, and shop for both digital and physical goods. This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of video games, and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. The new immersive universe will unleash their own creativity and experience the Disney stories that they love in groundbreaking new ways.”
Iger added, “Younger audiences in particular are huge consumers of video games. In fact, among millennials, Gen Z and Gen Z is a significant amount of time spent on screen-based platforms, playing video games. This new universe from Disney and Epic provides us with a tremendous opportunity to not only meet more consumers where they are and to allow more audiences to cultivate a bond with Disney’s iconic brands and franchises, including Marvel, Star Wars, and much more.” The $1.5 billion transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. In addition to being a world-class games experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more. Fortnite teased the partnership in a new video posted on YouTube. The official announcement can be read here.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic, announces new ‘entertainment universe’ in Fortnite
Disney is investing $1.5 billion in Epic Games to create a ‘games and entertainment universe’
Disney will invest $1.5 billion in Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, the company announced on Wednesday. As part of the initiative, Disney and Epic Games will create a brand new “games and entertainment universe” over the next few years, Disney said in a statement.
“Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disneys beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games an entertainment universe,” wrote Disney CEO Bob Iger in the statement. “This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion.”
Players will be able to “play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more” in the new entertainment universe, which will be powered by Epic’s flagship Unreal Engine. Disney currently uses Unreal Engine to produce movies, video games, and content used in Disney theme parks around the world. It has also partnered with Epic Games previously to bring characters from Marvel, Tron, and Star Wars to Fortnite.
Neither company disclosed how much the valuation of Epic Games, a private company, would be after Disney’s investment. Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent currently owns 40 percent of Epic Games, while Sony owns just over 5 percent.
“[We] are collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities,” said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney in the statement. “Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite[.]”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/disney-is-investing-15-billion-in-epic-games-to-create-a-games-and-entertainment-universe-215015443.html?src=rss
Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic to create ‘persistent universe’ tied to Fortnite
Disney and Fortnite maker Epic Games are teaming up to build what’s being described as an “expansive and open games and entertainment universe.” As part of the announcement, Disney revealed that it is investing $1.5 billion in an equity stake in Epic.
Details on what this metaverse-like project will look like are sparse, but here’s how Disney explains it:
In addition to being a world-class games experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more. Players, gamers, and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express…