Latest news with #Editions
Engadget
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Chaotic deliveries, colorful co-op action RPGs and other new indie games worth checking out
Hey there! Welcome to our weekly indie games roundup. We've got lots to get through this time, including some news before we highlight some brand-new games you can play right now. Indie journal publisher Lost in Cult is moving into physical game releases with a label called Editions. The focus here is on preservation — all of the games that it releases will be available to play offline, with no updates required. Physical game preservation team Does it Play? is playtesting each release. There are premium, limited-edition versions of each game with a slipcase cover, essay booklet, poster and more, as well as retail copies. There will be new releases every month, and the first batch includes a couple of humdingers: Immortality and Thank Goodness You're Here . The Excavation of Hob's Barrow , a point-and-click folk horror game rounds out the trio of debut titles. Really looking forward to seeing where Editions goes from here. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. The latest Six One Indie showcase took place this week. I've mentioned a game or two that was featured in it below ( Game Informer has a list of all the announcements), but I just want to call out a couple of things here. The score for 1000xResist , one of the best-received games of 2024, is getting a vinyl release in October. Pre-orders are open now. Also, the game that closed out the show has somehow flown under my radar. Dinoblade is an upcoming hack-and-slash action RPG that puts big blades in the jaws of big dinosaurs. Hell yeah. Meanwhile, the folks behind the showcase have set up their own publishing label, Six One Indie Publishing. We've got a ton of other gaming showcases coming up over the next few weeks as Summer Game Fest bobbles on the horizon. Fans of brainteasers may want to catch the Thinky Direct showcase from the Thinky Games community. The hour-long stream starts on May 29 at 1PM ET (just as the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase begins on Steam) It will focus on, you guessed it, puzzle games and other titles that should give your brain a workout. You'll be able to watch the stream on YouTube. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Meanwhile, a fun showcase of spy games just premiered. The 25-minute video highlights games across several genres that are largely about snoopin' and sneakin'. All of them, including a bundle of the I Expect You To Die VR trilogy, are featured in the Spy Video Game Rendezvous festival on Steam. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Deliver At All Costs was among this week's newcomers. It's an action game in which you play a courier in the '50s. As the name suggests, your primary goal is to deliver your cargo, no matter what. Reviews are mixed for this one but, hey, it's free on the Epic Games Store until 11AM ET on May 29. You can also get it on Steam for 10 percent off the regular price of $30 for the time being. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Speaking of vehicle-oriented destruction, it can be a chore to get the first few Grand Theft Auto games running on modern hardware. I live for chaos and Maniac , from Transhuman Design and publisher Skystone Games, reminds me a bit of those early, top-down GTA entries (which were made in my hometown, fact fans). It's out now on Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, a little over a year after debuting on Steam. I can't promise it'll tide you over for a year until GTA 6 drops, but Maniac will run you just five bucks. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Lynked: Banner of the Spark is a co-op action RPG that just came out of early access on Steam and landed on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. With its colorful visuals, it reminds me a bit of Hi-Fi Rush , aesthetically. There's a town-building aspect to this as well. I didn't get around to digging into the game during early access. Reviews have been pretty solid so far, though, so I'm hoping to try out Lynked (from FuzzyBot and publisher Dreamhaven) soon. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. A few seconds into the latest trailer for Tales of Seikyu , I spotted a centaur, which was enough to catch my attention. This yokai fantasy life sim from ACE Entertainment and Fireshine Games is out now in early access on Steam. You can morph into other forms (including a slime!) to help with navigation and combat in this one. Centaurs and slimes, what's not to love? To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Here's one for the turn-based strategy/history enthusiasts out there. Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution (the debut game from Studio Imugi) sees you take control of units like a giant commandant mech in a battle for the future of France. Expect some political intrigue from this one, which is out now on Steam early access. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Chrono Odyssey has picked up plenty of momentum, as more than 400,000 people have already signed up to try it out. The horror-tinged, open-world MMORPG from Kakao Games and Chrono Studio will have a closed beta on Steam next month. It's also set to be featured at the Summer Game Fest Live showcase on June 6. The latest trailer looks deliciously creepy. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Any game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi is worth paying attention to. Even more so when publisher Annapurna Interactive is on board. And when it's a game that has a "call unicycle" button, I'm triple sold. Life-sim To a T tells the story of a teenager whose body gets stuck in a T-pose, with their arms stuck out to the sides. Thankfully, they have a cute pup who helps them actually do things. A delightful demo is out now on Steam, and the game will hit PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 28. This one will be available day one on Game Pass. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. We've mentioned The Wandering Village a few times over the years and the game is finally coming out of early access on Steam on July 17. It'll also hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on the same day. This is a city-building sim that takes place on the back of a giant creature. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. I do enjoy the voxel destruction of sandbox heist game Teardown . So I was happy to hear that Tuxedo Labs and Coffee Stain are set to release another expansion next month. This time, we're going to space, as all great franchises (i.e the Leprechaun movies) eventually do. The Greenwash Gambit DLC will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on June 24. It'll cost $8, but owners of the season pass and ultimate edition will get access at no extra cost. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Artis Impact 's pretty pixel art made an immediate impression on me during the Six One Indie showcase. It took Malaysian solo developer Mas four years to make this cozy RPG, which is "set in a decaying world ruled by rogue AI." Although the game has a main, linear main path, there are side quests, hidden interactions and random events to experience. A demo for Artis Impact is out now, and the full game is coming to Steam on August 7.
Global News
21-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Shopify to lean more on AI with tools to create online stores, shopping assistants
Shopify Inc.'s latest round of product developments are leaning on artificial intelligence to help merchants and developers create everything from online stores to shopping assistants. The technology figures into many of the 150 product launches or enhancements the e-commerce software company announced Wednesday through its semi-annual Editions showcase. Shopify said the updates are part of a 'broader shift' it's making toward 'declarative commerce, where business owners simply express their goals, and AI handles the rest, freeing entrepreneurs to focus on creativity and growth rather than technical complexity.' Some of the buzziest changes target Sidekick, a tool it debuted in 2023 for some merchant customers to ask questions about their business operations. 3:42 The Future of AI: What's next for shopping, communication, and more? With the chatbot now equipped with advanced reasoning capabilities, Shopify's vice-president of product Vanessa Lee says merchants can turn to Sidekick with more practical questions like, 'My sales dropped last month – what caused that?' Story continues below advertisement Sidekick will then trawl through the store's analytics, including sales figures, order history, product performance and customer purchase patterns. From there, it will calculate things like sales declines and revenue comparisons over specific time frames and can offer breakdowns based on specific geographies, customer segments or sales channels. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Lee said the idea is to produce data that points to exactly what is going wrong, so merchants can determine how to turn things around. If the merchant thinks discounts or marketing campaigns is the answer, Sidekick can guide them through the process. If they want to sell across borders or target new customer segments, the tool is capable of setting them up for that as well. Sidekick, which is being upgraded to support voice chat and screen sharing, can also come in handy when merchants need art. The tool now has image generation capabilities, allowing users to type in a description of a photo they want to create and within moments, be sent that image back. In addition to Sidekick, Shopify is also deploying AI within its other software, so merchants can input a few descriptive keywords to instantly design online stores and all the images and text that go with them. Developers, who make their money selling tools that plug into Shopify's software, will also see a boost from AI. Story continues below advertisement 2:58 How AI advanced in 2024, and how it will look in 2025 They will now be able to develop AI-powered shopping assistants with real-time access to Shopify data. The capability is being built on Anthropic's Model Context Protocol, an open standard for connecting AI assistants to the systems where data lives. In Shopify's case, developers will be able to use third-party AI agents to seamlessly search product catalogs, manage carts, access customer orders and retrieve accurate store policies, to personalize conversations assistants have with customers. The AI updates come a month after Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told staff AI is a 'fundamental expectation' for all employees and will be embedded into everything from performance reviews to product development. 1:52 Telus and Nvidia to launch AI factory in Canada Away from AI, Shopify said it has redesigned its point-of-sale app to make workflows more intuitive and upgraded its payments platform so merchants can use a single store to sell from multiple business entities globally. Story continues below advertisement The payments update removes the burden of duplicative admin systems and will help merchants accept more than 130 currencies and settle in up to eight, so they can minimize foreign exchange fees on payouts, refunds, chargebacks and supplier payments.
Winnipeg Free Press
21-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Shopify doubles down on AI with tools to create online stores, shopping assistants
TORONTO – Shopify Inc.'s latest round of product developments are leaning on artificial intelligence to help merchants and developers create everything from online stores to shopping assistants. The technology figures into many of the 150 product launches or enhancements the e-commerce software company announced Wednesday through its semi-annual Editions showcase. Shopify said the updates are part of a 'broader shift' it's making toward 'declarative commerce, where business owners simply express their goals, and AI handles the rest, freeing entrepreneurs to focus on creativity and growth rather than technical complexity.' Some of the buzziest changes target Sidekick, a tool it debuted in 2023 for some merchant customers to ask questions about their business operations. With the chatbot now equipped with advanced reasoning capabilities, Shopify's vice-president of product Vanessa Lee says merchants can turn to Sidekick with more practical questions like, 'My sales dropped last month — what caused that?' Sidekick will then trawl through the store's analytics, including sales figures, order history, product performance and customer purchase patterns. From there, it will calculate things like sales declines and revenue comparisons over specific time frames and can offer breakdowns based on specific geographies, customer segments or sales channels. Lee said the idea is to produce data that points to exactly what is going wrong, so merchants can determine how to turn things around. If the merchant thinks discounts or marketing campaigns is the answer, Sidekick can guide them through the process. If they want to sell across borders or target new customer segments, the tool is capable of setting them up for that as well. Sidekick, which is being upgraded to support voice chat and screen sharing, can also come in handy when merchants need art. The tool now has image generation capabilities, allowing users to type in a description of a photo they want to create and within moments, be sent that image back. In addition to Sidekick, Shopify is also deploying AI within its other software, so merchants can input a few descriptive keywords to instantly design online stores and all the images and text that go with them. Developers, who make their money selling tools that plug into Shopify's software, will also see a boost from AI. They will now be able to develop AI-powered shopping assistants with real-time access to Shopify data. The capability is being built on Anthropic's Model Context Protocol, an open standard for connecting AI assistants to the systems where data lives. In Shopify's case, developers will be able to use third-party AI agents to seamlessly search product catalogs, manage carts, access customer orders and retrieve accurate store policies, to personalize conversations assistants have with customers. Wednesdays A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future. The AI updates come a month after Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told staff AI is a 'fundamental expectation' for all employees and will be embedded into everything from performance reviews to product development. Away from AI, Shopify said it has redesigned its point-of-sale app to make workflows more intuitive and upgraded its payments platform so merchants can use a single store to sell from multiple business entities globally. The payments update removes the burden of duplicative admin systems and will help merchants accept more than 130 currencies and settle in up to eight, so they can minimize foreign exchange fees on payouts, refunds, chargebacks and supplier payments. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shopify doubles down on AI with tools to create online stores, shopping assistants
TORONTO — Shopify Inc.'s latest round of product developments are leaning on artificial intelligence to help merchants and developers create everything from online stores to shopping assistants. The technology figures into many of the 150 product launches or enhancements the e-commerce software company announced Wednesday through its semi-annual Editions showcase. Shopify said the updates are part of a "broader shift" it's making toward "declarative commerce, where business owners simply express their goals, and AI handles the rest, freeing entrepreneurs to focus on creativity and growth rather than technical complexity." Some of the buzziest changes target Sidekick, a tool it debuted in 2023 for some merchant customers to ask questions about their business operations. With the chatbot now equipped with advanced reasoning capabilities, Shopify's vice-president of product Vanessa Lee says merchants can turn to Sidekick with more practical questions like, "My sales dropped last month — what caused that?" Sidekick will then trawl through the store's analytics, including sales figures, order history, product performance and customer purchase patterns. From there, it will calculate things like sales declines and revenue comparisons over specific time frames and can offer breakdowns based on specific geographies, customer segments or sales channels. Lee said the idea is to produce data that points to exactly what is going wrong, so merchants can determine how to turn things around. If the merchant thinks discounts or marketing campaigns is the answer, Sidekick can guide them through the process. If they want to sell across borders or target new customer segments, the tool is capable of setting them up for that as well. Sidekick, which is being upgraded to support voice chat and screen sharing, can also come in handy when merchants need art. The tool now has image generation capabilities, allowing users to type in a description of a photo they want to create and within moments, be sent that image back. In addition to Sidekick, Shopify is also deploying AI within its other software, so merchants can input a few descriptive keywords to instantly design online stores and all the images and text that go with them. Developers, who make their money selling tools that plug into Shopify's software, will also see a boost from AI. They will now be able to develop AI-powered shopping assistants with real-time access to Shopify data. The capability is being built on Anthropic's Model Context Protocol, an open standard for connecting AI assistants to the systems where data lives. In Shopify's case, developers will be able to use third-party AI agents to seamlessly search product catalogs, manage carts, access customer orders and retrieve accurate store policies, to personalize conversations assistants have with customers. The AI updates come a month after Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told staff AI is a "fundamental expectation" for all employees and will be embedded into everything from performance reviews to product development. Away from AI, Shopify said it has redesigned its point-of-sale app to make workflows more intuitive and upgraded its payments platform so merchants can use a single store to sell from multiple business entities globally. The payments update removes the burden of duplicative admin systems and will help merchants accept more than 130 currencies and settle in up to eight, so they can minimize foreign exchange fees on payouts, refunds, chargebacks and supplier payments. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP) Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Digital Trends
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
The Criterion Collection of video games is finally here
Video game design studio Lost in Cult announced a new physical game label called Editions. The label will release 'prestige' editions of beloved games that include original box art, 40-page booklets, and other extras. Lost in Cult is best known for releasing books on video game through its Design Works series, as well as vinyl records featuring game soundtracks. Editions is an extension of that work, continuing the design company's focus on game preservation and curated content. Think of the project as a Criterion Collection for video games, preserving prestigious titles and bundling them with additional context that underlines their importance to the medium. Recommended Videos Three games have been announced for the first wave of releases: Immortality, Thank Goodness You're Here, and The Excavation of Hob's Barrow. All three are critically acclaimed indies from this decade (Immortality was Digital Trends' runner-up choice for game of the year in 2022, narrowly losing to Elden Ring). Each comes with a poster, art cards, a booklet featuring essays and interviews, and more physical extras. All three are available to order now and will retail for £60. Lost in Cult will ship Editions worldwide and says that they will ship within six months, though it is targeting a three month turnaround. At launch, Editions will only get PS5 and Nintendo Switch releases. Thank Goodness You're Here will be available on both platforms, Immortality is getting a PS5-only release, and The Excavation of Hobb's Barrow will be for Switch. There will be a limited number of copies to order for each platform, though Lost in Cult says that it will release standard edition versions of the game at retailers too. Lost in Cult confirms that Nintendo Switch 2 Editions (not to be confused with … Nintendo Switch 2 Editions) are planned for the future and those will always be 'full editions' rather than Game-Key Cards. More titles are coming soon. While Lost in Cult will skip June, it plans to release its next Edition in July for Nintendo Switch and PS5. It teases that it's an 'artful' game. Future release are planned through 2026. The first three Editions are available to order now via Lost in Cult.
