Google enables WebGPU by default in Chrome 121

Google has enabled WebGPU support by default in the latest version of its Chrome browser, Chrome 121. WebGPU is a new web standard that provides low-level access to GPU hardware for high-performance 3D graphics and general purpose computing using JavaScript APIs. 

WebGPU support is now enabled on devices running Android 12 or later powered by Qualcomm and ARM GPUs. Support will expand to more Android devices in the near future, including those still on Android 11. The rollout...

19 January 2024 | Android

Valve clarifies what AI content it will allow on Steam

Valve has introduced new guidelines regarding what kinds of AI-generated content it will allow developers to include in games published on Steam. The move comes as AI tools that can automatically generate images, text, code, and other content have become more advanced and widely available.

In a post earlier today, Valve said it is updating its submission process to require developers to disclose if and how they used AI tools to create content for their games. Developers must...

10 January 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

Crypto developers plummet 22% despite increasing prices

Despite the positive price movement in recent weeks, the software development aspect of the crypto industry is trending in the opposite direction.

According to a report by venture firm Electric Capital, the number of active developers working on open-source crypto projects has declined by 22 percent over the past year.

In June, there were 21,300 active developers, compared to 27,200 the previous year. This decline may be attributed to developers finding more enticing...

10 July 2023 | Blockchain

GitHub now serves over 100M developers

GitHub has achieved its goal to serve 100 million developers with two years to spare.

In 2019, GitHub set a goal to have 100 million developers using the service by 2025. In a blog post, GitHub announced that it’s already reached that historic milestone.

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke wrote:

“Today, I’m excited to share that there are now officially more than 100 million developers using GitHub to build, maintain, and contribute to software...

30 January 2023 | Developer

Twitter’s relationship with developers has fallen apart

The already strained relationship between Twitter and developers has now completely fallen apart.

Over the years, Twitter has made a series of decisions that damaged its relationship with developers.

In 2012, Twitter limited the number of active tokens an app can have—essentially putting a cap on how successful a third-party app can become. A number of apps kicked the bucket after that decision.

Increasingly strict rate limits on things such as retweets and...

16 January 2023 | API

Stack Overflow: 74% of developers are open to new jobs

Research from Stack Overflow suggests that almost three-quarters (74%) of developers are open to new jobs.

The so-called “Great Resignation” is an ongoing post-covid economic trend where employees have voluntarily resigned over wage stagnation, poor treatment, inflexible remote working policies, lack of benefits, and general job dissatisfaction.

Developers haven’t been spared from mistreatment by employers, and it seems that many are keeping their minds open to new...

19 December 2022 | Research

Unaddressed developer burnout ‘risks derailing digital transformation’

A tired person lying on a bed.

The pandemic has caused a boom in digital transformation and investment in technology-driven services, but they are struggling to find fresh talent to aid stretched developer teams, according to global tech firm Dynatrace.

This has been made clear by research showing that 72% of tech teams have a skills shortage. Businesses are trying to fill these roles, with 2 million vacancies for tech jobs advertised between May 2021 and 2022. Organisations are also willing to reward...

8 December 2022 | Developer

Apple begins Small Developer Assistance Fund payouts

Apple has started paying out to small developers that qualify for a fund established as part of a class-action lawsuit.

A lawsuit was brought against Apple by US developers over the company’s “profit-killing” App Store commissions. As part of the settlement, Apple agreed to create a $100 million Small Developer Assistance Fund.

The fund was open to US developers who sold paid apps or offered in-app purchases through the App Store between 4th June 2015 and 26th...

24 October 2022 | App Stores

‘Ask Apple’ is an interactive Q&A series for developers

Apple is introducing an interactive Q&A series for developers that will provide opportunities to connect directly with the company’s experts.

‘Ask Apple’ is an extension to Cupertino’s existing ‘Tech Talks’ and ‘Meet with App Store Experts’ initiatives. Apple says the new series will “provide developers with even more opportunities to connect directly with Apple experts for insight, support, and feedback.”

“We’ve been listening to feedback...

12 October 2022 | App Stores

Unity CEO apologises for calling some game devs ‘the biggest fucking idiots’

Unity CEO John Riccitiello has apologised for a recent interview in which he called some game developers “the biggest fucking idiots”.

Pocket Gamer was interviewing Riccitiello about the game development platform’s merger with monetisation and distribution specialists ironSource when he made the comment.

Here’s the part of the interview in question (emphasis ours):

Pocket Gamer: Implementing monetisation earlier in the process and conversation is...

19 July 2022 | Gaming