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Kinetix Launches $1M Fund to Accelerate AI-UGC in Gaming
Kinetix has announced the launch of its AI-UGC Fund – a $1 million initiative designed to support game developers and modders to put Generative AI technologies directly into the hands of gamers. SmokeSpot Games, the makers of customisable fighting and fashion title Dropcult, is the first studio to receive support from the Fund.
Kinetix provides game developers with its Embeddable AI Emote Creator, allowing players to create custom 3D animations from videos directly within the game. This enables game studios to turn their players into creators, addressing the growing demand for customization and fresh content. Additionally, it boosts user-created videos shared on social media by players – who eagerly share their best creations on TikTok – hence amplifying user acquisition through virality.
This technology has already been embraced by industry leaders like OVERDARE, the new UGC game from South Korean publishing giant KRAFTON.
The Fund aims to accelerate the adoption of AI-UGC features by game studios. Selected developers will receive up to $75,000 each to bring Kinetix’s User-Generated Emote technology to life in their games or mods, as well as dedicated integration and marketing support.
The User-Generated Emote technology is leading the charge towards a future of gaming experiences which is expected to be enhanced by numerous AI features, impacting everything from interactions with non-playable characters to creation of entire virtual worlds. Enabling players to express themselves through their own emotes satisfies gamers’ increasing needs for endless customisation and opportunities to create the content they want and which reflects their identities. And, by transforming players into active creators, Kinetix helps create an endless flow of content for games and gaming platforms at minimal cost.
“While recent developments in AI make it easy for anyone to create content, this revolution is yet to be provided to players, directly in 3D games. With this Fund and our SDK, we intend to bring Generative AI capabilities into the hands of gamers, like we already did in OVERDARE or Dropcult,” said Yassine Tahi, CEO of Kinetix.
Yuriy Ternovski, CEO of SmokeSpot Games, said: “We centered Dropcult around customizable avatars, fashion and dynamic gameplay that can be streamed and shared on social media. Partnering with Kinetix took this further by letting our community express themselves through movement. Players like to create and share their creations. Everyone wins and we grew a large community around this!”
The AI-UGC Fund Programme is a selective, application-based program designed to identify and support projects with the greatest potential to shape the future of gaming on any platform. Its initial focus will be on live games or those in open/closed beta with established 3D avatar systems and growing monthly active users (MAUs). Applications are open on a rolling basis, early submissions are encouraged. To apply, developers will need to provide detailed information about their project, plans for integrating AI technology, a visual deck or short video and the amount of funding requested.
The post Kinetix Launches $1M Fund to Accelerate AI-UGC in Gaming appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Eight creators compete across five timed stages with eliminations, broadcast on Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Red Bull will stage a one-day Balatro speedrun competition, Red Bull Boss Rush, on April 17, 2026. The event brings together eight creators for timed runs in the roguelike deckbuilder, with viewers able to follow via individual creator POV streams and a central hub broadcast.
The competitor lineup includes Red Bull Player Ludwig, plus The Spiffing Brit, FrostPrime, Feinberg, Adef, Yahiamice, mbtyugioh and dreads. Red Bull said live commentary will be provided by esports host Yinsu ‘Yinsu’ Collins, card-game specialist Blake ‘Rarran’ Eram, and DrSpectered.
Boss Rush is structured as five 30-minute stages, with players ranked by completion time. Red Bull said the opening three stages use a shared random seed with unlimited resets, and points are awarded by placement each stage; the bottom four are eliminated after stage 3. Stage 4 determines the finalists, followed by a final winner-takes-all matchup.
The event also includes a downloadable Red Bull Boss Rush mod featuring a custom-branded deck and new Red Bull-themed Jokers, Bosses and Skip Tags. Red Bull highlighted additions including ‘Witch’, ‘Princess and Frog’, ‘Zebra’, Old Dog, ‘Pirate’, ‘Genie’, ‘Prince Charming’, and ‘Jester’, each designed to alter scoring or run economics.
Red Bull Boss Rush will stream on twitch.tv/redbull and Red Bull’s YouTube Gaming channel. Scan is supplying gaming PCs for the competition, according to the company.
Relevant data as follows:
- Red Bull Gaming on Twitch; https://www.twitch.tv/redbull Primary broadcast destination for the event.
- Red Bull Gaming on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/redbullgaming Secondary broadcast destination cited in the release.
- Red Bull Gaming: https://www.redbull.com/ Official Red Bull site for event context and confirmation.
- Balatro on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/ Authoritative reference for the game featured in the competition.
- Scan Computers: https://www.scan.co.uk/ PC supplier mentioned as providing systems for the event.
The post Red Bull runs one-day Balatro speedrun event, Boss Rush, on April 17 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Brazil stands out for crash-game visibility, while Argentina fragments across 15 providers, according to Blask’s review of five markets.
Blask has published new data on casino lobby distribution across five Latin American markets—Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru—finding a shared baseline of Pragmatic Play dominance but sharply different secondary content patterns by country.
Across all five markets, Pragmatic Play “consistently dominates the top 30 most-distributed titles,” accounting for up to 16 positions in each country, Blask said. Beyond that layer, Blask argues there is “no single playbook” for how operators and aggregators build lobbies.
Brazil is the clearest outlier for mechanics, with crash-style titles such as Aviator and JetX appearing in the top 30, while similar formats are “largely absent” in the other markets analyzed. Blask also points to Brazil as the only country where Pocket Games Soft holds a meaningful distribution share, driven by its Fortune series.
Mexico shows the opposite pattern: the highest concentration of Pragmatic Play titles and a thinner secondary layer. Blask flagged Endorphina as an example of a provider appearing in Mexico’s top 30 but not elsewhere in its dataset.
Argentina is described as the most fragmented market, with 15 different providers represented in the top 30—more than any other country in the analysis—and broader visibility for live and table content. Chile “closely mirrors Mexico” structurally, Blask said, but includes a single non-Pragmatic title with near-ubiquitous placement across operator lobbies. Peru, meanwhile, spreads remaining top-30 positions across 12 providers, including studios not seen in the other markets and “legacy European brands such as Novomatic.”
Blask’s conclusion is that operators should not assume a winning lobby mix in one country will translate regionally. “Beyond the dominant layer, performance is defined not by regional trends, but by local player behavior and demand signals,” the company said.
The post Blask data shows LATAM casino lobbies diverge beyond Pragmatic Play’s baseline appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Casino lobbies across Latin America may look similar at first glance — but a deeper look reveals they operate on entirely different logic. According to new data from Blask, all five major region players (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru) share one common layer: Pragmatic Play consistently dominates the top 30 most-distributed titles, accounting for up to 16 positions in each market. But everything beyond that baseline tells a different story.
Crash games cluster in Brazil but not elsewhere
Brazil is the only market where crash-style mechanics achieve consistent visibility at the lobby level. Titles like Aviator and JetX both rank among the top 30, while similar formats are largely absent in the other four markets. At the same time, Brazil is the only country where a second provider, Pocket Games Soft, secures a meaningful share of distribution, driven entirely by its Fortune series. This dual pattern suggests a highly specific local demand profile rather than a regional trend.
Mexico runs on a tighter playbook
While Brazil expands, Mexico narrows. The market shows the highest concentration of Pragmatic Play titles and one of the most limited secondary layers. At the same time, it introduces isolated signals that don’t scale regionally such as the presence of Endorphina, which appears in the Mexican top 30 but nowhere else in the dataset.
Argentina breaks the pattern entirely
Argentina stands apart as the most fragmented market in the region. Its top 30 includes 15 different providers which is more than any other country analyzed. Unlike neighboring markets, where a handful of suppliers dominate, Argentina distributes visibility across a wide range of studios, particularly in live and table segments. The result is a lobby structure that resists standardization.
Chile shows how a single game can outperform the system
Chile closely mirrors Mexico in overall structure but with one key exception. A single non-Pragmatic title achieves near-ubiquitous placement across operator lobbies, becoming one of the strongest outliers in the entire dataset.This suggests that even in highly concentrated markets, individual titles can break through if they match local demand precisely.
Peru stretches the long tail further than anyone else
Peru takes the opposite approach to Mexico. While maintaining the same Pragmatic baseline, it distributes the remaining positions across 12 different providers, many of which do not appear in any other LATAM market analyzed. This includes both niche studios and legacy European brands such as Novomatic, pointing to a mix of underserved demand segments and alternative content sourcing strategies.
One region, no single playbook
The key takeaway from the analysis is simple: LATAM is not a unified market when it comes to content distribution. The same providers appear everywhere but the way their games are positioned, combined, and supplemented varies dramatically from country to country. For operators, this means that copying a successful lobby structure from one market to another is unlikely to work. Beyond the dominant layer, performance is defined not by regional trends, but by local player behavior and demand signals.
The post Same providers, different games: Blask uncovers hidden patterns in LATAM casino lobbies appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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