UE5.7 Preview 🎮, Google Play Gemini 🤖, Skich Store 🧭
Tools & Engine Upgrades 🛠️
UE5.7 Preview Drops Nanite Foliage and Production-Ready PCG
Unreal Engine 5.7 preview is live with experimental Nanite Foliage for dense, high-detail vegetation at 60 FPS and a new PCG-based Procedural Vegetation Editor for in-editor tree sculpting. The PCG framework is now production-ready and nearly 2x faster than 5.5, with GPU overrides, FastGeo support, and standalone graph execution. MegaLights enters beta with broader light support and better performance. Also included: production-ready Substrate, MetaHuman real-time camera animation, animation/rigging upgrades, and the AI-powered Epic Developer Assistant.
Master 2D Cinemachine: Confines, Triggers, Zoom, and Shake
Learn how to build polished 2D camera behavior in Unity with Cinemachine. This tutorial covers a 2D virtual camera setup, constraining movement with the Confiner (including oversize window), creating trigger-based zooms, and adding satisfying camera shake via Cinemachine Impulse. It wraps with a 2D platformer example and links to a sample project and docs—part 3 of a five-part series.
Platforms & Distribution 🌐
Google Play Levels Up: Gemini Coaching, Leagues, and PC Release
Google Play is rolling out Sidekick, an AI assistant using Gemini Live to deliver real-time, in-game coaching without leaving your session. Play Games Leagues debut with Subway Surfers from Oct 10–23, rewarding players with Play Points. A personalized “You” tab and enhanced Game Detail Pages deepen engagement, with Q&A arriving soon. Plus, Google Play Games on PC exits beta, extending a 200,000+ title catalog with stronger mobile-to-PC continuity.
Alternative App Store Skich Bets on Discovery Over Pay-to-Rank
Skich is positioning itself as “Steam for mobile,” fixing discoverability with swipe-driven recommendations, 240 genres, curated lists, and social features—without ads or paid placement. The store takes a 15% cut and targets midcore/hardcore players underserved by existing platforms. While DTC improves margins, Skich says it doesn’t bring new users; discovery does. Regulatory wins from the DMA and Epic cases could speed adoption as installs and catalog access open up.
Industry Moves & Insights 📈
AI 3D Animation Startup Swoove Studios Acquired by Mystery Buyer
Belgium’s Swoove Studios, maker of an AI-powered platform for real-time 3D animation, has been acquired by an undisclosed buyer. The tool, used by thousands of creators across 100+ countries, lowers the barrier to creating animated content. Following a Q4 2024 strategic review, Lazarus Consulting advised on the sale. With $7.5M raised last year (total $11M since 2020), the deal underscores accelerating consolidation in AI creative tools.
From Hit to Hurdles: The Brutally Honest Between Horizons Post‑Mortem
DigiTales’ CEO explains why Between Horizons underperformed despite strong reviews, and how post‑Lacuna success tempted harmful growth. The post-mortem urges devs to avoid scaling without a concept that demands it, validate ideas early, and prioritize player-visible value over pristine code. It also breaks down modern marketing pitfalls—For You feeds, weak event ROI, and PR uncertainty—and argues mid-sized indies are getting squeezed between tiny, bold projects and AA-scale productions.