Ethereum still has the most Web 3.0 developers, but rivals are growing faster

Decentralised app platform Ethereum still has the most Web 3.0 developers, but it’s all to play for with rivals growing faster.

The data comes from research firm Electric Capital which released a report this week into the Web 3.0 development ecosystem.

Electric Capital found that more than 4,000 developers actively work on Ethereum per month. 

For comparison, just 680 developers actively work on Bitcoin per month. It’s a huge disparity, but it’s...

6 January 2022 | Blockchain

Unity is buying Peter Jackson’s visual effects company for $1.6B

Unity has announced that it’s entered a definitive agreement to acquire Peter Jackson’s visual effects company Weta Digital for $1.6 billion.

Weta Digital has worked on hit films including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Wonder Woman, and Black Widow. Unity says its acquisition will “democratise” Weta’s powerful tools to make them available for more creators.

“Weta Digital’s pipeline represents the most complete toolchain for 3D creation, simulation, and...

10 November 2021 | Development Tools

Lightship: Niantic empowers developers to start building the real-world metaverse

Niantic is opening its Lightship platform to empower developers to start building their visions for the real-world metaverse.

Metaverses have become an increasingly hot topic, especially since Facebook announced it was changing its company name to Meta to show its new focus.

As the creator of the world’s most popular AR game, Pokemon Go, it’s unsurprising that Niantic also wants to play its part in bringing metaverses to reality.

John Hanke, Founder and...

8 November 2021 | API

Huawei Developer Conference 2021: Building a thriving ecosystem ‘Together’

This year’s Huawei Developer Conference (HDC) has the theme of “Together” as the company calls on developers and its industry partners to help build a smart, safe, and flourishing ecosystem.

Huawei’s application store, AppGallery, is already one of the largest in the world. Earlier this year, Developer reported the store had enjoyed a 33 percent growth in monthly active users (MAUs) and distributed 83 percent more apps than over the previous 12 months.

AppGallery...

21 October 2021 | App Stores

Apple puts its weight behind Blender as it becomes a “Patron”

Developers who use Blender for creating 3D models will be pleased to know Apple has put its weight behind the popular software.

Apple has joined the Blender Development Fund as a “Patron” which means the Cupertino giant will support the future success of the software.

In an announcement, The Blender Foundation said that Apple will also “provide engineering expertise and additional resources to the Blender HQ and development community to help support Blender artists...

15 October 2021 | Development Tools

Nintendo denies handing out 4K Switch development kits

Nintendo has been forced to refute a Bloomberg report that it provided 4K-capable Switch development kits to select gaming studios.

This week, Bloomberg reported that at least 11 developers – including Zynga – were given kits to develop 4K resolution games for unannounced Switch hardware.

Following the report, Nintendo tweeted:

https://twitter.com/NintendoCoLtd/status/1443366440183074819

It’s a rare denial that has probably been issued out of concern...

30 September 2021 | Gaming

Facebook Gaming reopens applications for its Black Gaming Creator Program

Facebook Gaming has reopened applications for its Black Gaming Creator Program following a brief hiatus.

The initiative was announced in December to support the black gaming community with $10 million of funding provided to inspire and equip the next generation of creators.

“We firmly believe in positivity, inclusion, and diversity in everything we do,” the company wrote. “We want our creators and viewers to share their love for gaming in an environment that is...

24 August 2021 | Gaming

GDC kicks off with over 550 game dev sessions, will return as in-person event next year

This year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) kicks off today as a virtual event with over 550 sessions on all things game development.

GDC 2021 claims to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by virtual events. Back in 2020, around COVID-19’s historic peak, GDC was one of the first large events to be cancelled.

The organisers now have successive virtual events under their belt so it will be interesting to see how they’ve utilised their experience to...

19 July 2021 | Gaming

Nintendo announces Switch OLED with minor improvements

Nintendo has finally announced its long-awaited new Switch model but without many of the rumoured upgrades.

The new Switch OLED, as its name suggests, boasts a new display that should improve some of the complaints about previous models having poor contrast and brightness. However, the rumoured bump to 1080p hasn’t materialised and the screen is still just 720p.

Nintendo has increased the screen size from 6.2-inch to 7-inch so a boosted resolution would have been even...

6 July 2021 | Gaming

Developers claim that PlayStation is particularly difficult to work with

Independent game developers have bemoaned the difficulty of working with PlayStation over Xbox and Nintendo.

Iain Garner of independent game publisher Neon Doctrine recently posted a tirade on Twitter where he suggested that getting prominent promotion on the store of a “very successful console” that “does not have Games Pass” (i.e not Xbox, and presumably meaning PlayStation) costs at least $25,000.

Video game publication Kotaku first published the story and...

2 July 2021 | Gaming