In the wake of her split from Eamonn Holmes after a 14-year marriage, Ruth Langsford is navigating her new life as a single woman.
The news, which shocked many, claimed that Eamonn had moved out of their Surrey home prior to the announcement.
Now, Ruth is facing single life and co-parenting her 22-year-old son, Jack, with Eamonn.
Ruth Langsford is reportedly concerned about her son (Credit: ITV)
Ruth Langsford news
As the festive season approaches, the former couple will be forced to decide how they will spend Christmas as a blended family.
In a heartfelt interview with Woman & Home, Loose Women star Ruth recently expressed that she wants “happiness” for son Jack.
She said: “When you have children, you look at them starting out in life and just want everything to be good for them, for them to be happy and to not have their hearts broken. You can’t guarantee any of that, but that’s what I want most for Jack.”
Sources close to Ruth now reveal that Jack’s wellbeing has become her predominant focus.
A source shared with OK! Magazine: “Ruth has been keeping her head down since she and Eamonn split, and her main focus is always on Jack. She just wants to protect him and put his happiness first as they navigate this next chapter.
“Ruth admitted recently that she never wants Jack’s heart to get broken – this is her way of saying she’s still hurting and never wants her children to go through the pain she has. Happiness is all she’s ever wanted and she’s still hurting.”
ED! has contacted reps for Ruth for comment.
Ruth and Eamonn announced their split in May (Credit: SplashNews)
Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford split
Reportedly, Eamonn may have found love with Katie Alexander, a 42-year-old relationship counsellor, and has been seen spending time with her abroad.
Amid these changes, Ruth has to brace herself for the upcoming holiday season. This will be her first Christmas since the separation.
In a past interview, Ruth admitted that she didn’t mind spending the holidays away from Eamonn: “Being apart for Christmas has never been a problem. I wouldn’t be going to Belfast this year because I need to be with my mum. It’s about family for me.”
However, this year’s separation will be different.
Sources suggest that although Ruth is dreading the festive season, she is staying strong.
“Ruth is dreading Christmas coming up, because it will be her first one apart from Eamonn – who could be spending it with his new partner,” the source added to OK!.
Jack might also choose to spend the holiday differently, which the source claims adds another concern for Ruth.
Amidst her struggles, Ruth has been spotted with a new hairstyle and spending time with friends, including This Morning presenter Rylan Clark.
ED! has contacted reps for Ruth for comment.
Read more: Loose Women pulled from schedule today as Ruth Langsford makes announcement on air
What do you think of Eamonn and Ruth’s split? Tell us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.
Published: October 30, 2024 at 11:22 am Updated: October 30, 2024 at 11:22 am
by Ana
Edited and fact-checked:
October 30, 2024 at 11:22 am
To improve your local-language experience, sometimes we employ an auto-translation plugin. Please note auto-translation may not be accurate, so read original article for precise information.
In Brief
Morph launches its mainnet, offering developers scalable, secure, and user-friendly blockchain experience while opening up possibilities for consumer app development.
Ethereum Layer 2 consumer blockchain Morph announced the launch of its mainnet, aiming to facilitate the next generation of applications that will appeal to everyday users.
Morph’s consumer layer is designed to tackle the fundamental barriers hindering blockchain adoption. It enables participants in the ecosystem to trade real assets and conduct transactions efficiently. Projects currently in development on Morph can now migrate to the mainnet, allowing them to continue enhancing their technologies.
The Morph consumer layer represents a well-structured ecosystem that integrates various technologies, services, and features, utilizing both optimistic and zero-knowledge rollups to enhance security and performance. The newly launched mainnet provides builders with a scalable, secure, and user-friendly blockchain experience tailored for non-crypto users, opening up possibilities for consumer applications development.
The mainnet promises to deliver high performance through its implementation of optimistic and zero-knowledge rollups. It includes features such as EIP-4844 to reduce transaction costs and facilitates streamlined withdrawals via single-transaction bridging.
Furthermore, Morph aims to equip developers with essential resources to prioritize consumer needs. Its comprehensive builder ecosystem now offers direct access to leading exchanges through its Centralized Exchange Coalition, funding opportunities via its VC Alliance network, extensive incubation and acceleration support, marketing and user acquisition assistance, and technical guidance and resources.
Morph’s Mainnet Builds On Holesky Testnet’s Success With 6M Wallets And 100M Transactions
The launch of Morph’s mainnet comes on the heels of its previous Holesky Testnet, which has demonstrated strong user interest by generating over 6 million unique wallet addresses. Additionally, the testnet has facilitated more than 100 million transactions, indicating the network’s reliability.
With over 200 projects currently in development, Morph showcases the growing demand for consumer-oriented blockchain solutions, supported by a community of more than 1 million members who align with its vision.
Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, please note that the information provided on this page is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other form of advice. It is important to only invest what you can afford to lose and to seek independent financial advice if you have any doubts. For further information, we suggest referring to the terms and conditions as well as the help and support pages provided by the issuer or advertiser. MetaversePost is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice.
About The Author
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
More articles
Alisa Davidson
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
Shopify and Roblox unlock a new quest for innovative brands: real-world commerce capabilities on the ultra-popular gaming platform—coming in 2025. Blurring the lines between gaming and e-commerce, this new partnership enables brands on Shopify to sell physical items directly within their custom Roblox activation. While the ability to purchase real, physical items in an immersive (and/or gamified) experience is not new (peep virtual stores) this integration is a huge leap for commerce in the immersive media space.
In a world where consumer attention spans are ever-dwindling, gamified experiences reign supreme due to the heightened level of interactivity; brands build on gaming platforms such as Roblox to deepen consumer connections and build brand affinity. With 80 million daily active users and counting, Roblox brand collaborations are a natural tactic to build online communities and cultivate brand loyalty, especially amongst young, gaming-native generations. At 2.4 hours spent daily per user—more daily time spent than YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Netflix combined—brands are able to reach new and existing customers at scale.
Learn how to Build Your Brand on Roblox.
Brands can leverage Roblox’s deeply-rooted social and gaming elements to not only build community among the platform’s hyper-engaged user base, but also incentivize product discovery and encourage purchases with the launch of real-world commerce capabilities. Introducing Shopify checkout functionality into Roblox enables brands on the platform to blend entertainment and commerce.
With the Shopify integration, Roblox becomes an innovative shopping platform for cutting-edge brands to seamlessly sell physical and digital goods—diverging from traditional e-commerce interfaces into immersive 3D environments. Rather than developing Roblox activations as solely immersive brand marketing or loyalty experiences, brands will be able to adopt gaming as a way to expand their virtual online selling channels. This integration offers brands an opportunity to tap into the lucrative (and growing) gaming market with a clear ROI: driving revenue.
Without real-world commerce functionality, brands on Roblox are limited to selling digital products for user avatars called UGCs. These popular, digital items range from branded clothing, shoes and accessories to custom hairstyles and makeup looks, and empower user personalization. As players purchase and wear these items across brand worlds, it increases product visibility to the platform’s large, built-in user base.
By selling physical merchandise alongside digital goods, brands can drive revenue from both realms through their Roblox activations. This is especially significant as many Roblox users emphasize the importance of digital self-expression, and how it relates to their personal, physical style. In a survey conducted by Roblox of 1,500+ Gen Z members, 84% claim their physical style is inspired by their avatar—these respondents reported they were more likely to purchase from a brand in the physical world after trying on their items in a virtual space.
According to Roblox, 43% of Gen Z users on Roblox want to see brands create twinning items in the physical and digital worlds. This appetite for consumers to match their avatars will help inform brand strategy as the Shopify X Roblox partnership continues to be adopted; brands are likely to tie UGCs with physical goods so that shoppers are able to wear both in real life and virtually. Launching real-world commerce capabilities from Shopify makes this endeavor a seamless experience as players are able to purchase a physical copy along with the digital.
What The Shopify X Roblox Integration Means for the Future of Immersive Retail
As this integration unfolds, we can expect to see innovative retail strategies that redefine the future of commerce. For brands looking to expand their Roblox presence, the Shopify partnership will shift their metaverse strategy to include more shopping focused Roblox experiences: immersive product launch campaigns, virtual experiences for exclusive collectibles, virtual pop-up shops and more. And brands previously reluctant to develop an experience on the platform will be more open as the partnership yields a tangible ROI, with easy-to-digest KPIs.
As major players in their respective spaces, the Shopify X Roblox integration signals a rise in appetite for the immersive commerce market, bringing awareness to what’s possible even outside of the platform. Brands will eventually want to bring the gamification element inherent to Roblox back to their own websites. More control over the look and feel of brand worlds will entice brands to create their own immersive retail experiences such as virtual stores.
How Brands Can Capitalize on Immersive Commerce
Obsess is the leading immersive shopping platform, building shopping-focused experiences for brands on Roblox. Each Obsess-powered virtual store on Roblox encourages product sales, leveraging custom branded mini-games and tactical merchandising to promote physical and digital purchases. From layout to merchandising, each aspect of design is based on 3D spatial data from over 350 virtual stores. Brands can also extend ROI and distribute their Roblox virtual store across multiple channels and devices: web-based browser experiences, spatial computers like Apple Vision Pro and VR headsets like Meta Quest.
Whether you’re a brand looking to expand your reach or a player eager to explore new shopping experiences, this collaboration marks an exciting new chapter in the evolution of online commerce in 3D. To learn more about creating shopping-focused experiences on Roblox, book a demo or email contact@obsessvr.com.
Did you know that you can use Copilot in Viva Engage to create more engaging posts, and get personalized suggestions how to improve your post? Or that you just can have a sparring conversation with AI when you are thinking about posting a message to your community? Copilot in Viva Engage can help you out as it became generally available at the end of April 2024, so this is not something really new but as autumn advances it a good to remind what you can do with Copilot in Viva Engage. I don’t write about Viva Engage much, but as I had some recent work involving Viva Engage it sparked the idea for this one. Today Viva Engage integrates pretty well with Microsoft Teams, and it allows a great way to create and foster communities along with Teams teams for larger organizations.
Copilot in Viva Engage is your personal AI assistant that can help you with post creation and recommendations to improve your online presence and engagement in the Engage Teams app or on the web. Copilot in Viva Engage is powered by large language model (LLM), which are a type of technology that can generate natural language text based on your input and context. Microsoft 365 Copilot is running GPT-4o already, so if Copilot in Viva Engage isn’t running that yet it soon will. With Copilot, you can access the power and flexibility of LLMs, with Microsoft Responsible AI protections – right inside your Viva Engage.
How Copilot in Viva Engage handles your data?
Just like all Copilots in Microsoft 365, Copilot in Viva Engage does not store or retain any of the text that you generate or edit with it. Your text or data is not used to train the model.
It only processes the text that you explicitly provide to it, such as when you type in the Copilot box, click on a suggestion, or ask for feedback.
It respects your privacy and does not share any of your text or data with third parties. Copilot in Viva Engage also follows your organization’s data governance policies and settings, such as data residency, retention, and deletion.
Read more the Learn about Data, Privacy and Security for Copilot in Viva Engage.
It is available worldwide for Viva Engage users who have a premium license, which is available with Viva Suite and Communities and Communications licenses. Here are the licensing options for Copilot in Viva Engage:
Microsoft 365 Copilot + Viva Suite = You have Copilot in Viva Engage
Microsoft 365 Copilot + Viva Engage Communications & Communities = You have Copilot in Viva Engage
Viva Suite or Viva Engage Communications & Communities = You have Copilot in Viva Engage
If you have only the Microsoft 365 Copilot license (no Viva Suite or Viva Engage C&C) then you are missing out Copilot in Viva Engage. While it is good that Copilot is available in Viva Engage with Viva Suite and Viva Engage Communications & Communities, I find it a bit odd that Microsoft 365 Copilot license alone doesn’t add Copilot to Viva Engage.
Copilot in Viva Engage is on by default. If you meet the licensing requirements and you don’t see it, it is time to contact your IT Admins and ask why they have disabled it.
You can access Copilot in Viva Engage anywhere you create posts: on the home feed, in a community, a campaign, or on your storyline. When you start writing a new post (or question, poll or any other Viva Engage post type) you can open the Copilot. Viva Engage highlights to open Copilot quite prominently when you are writing the post. Where you don’t see the Copilot, is that if you open your profile and start writing a post to your Storyline from there – probably a bug, since you can click Storyline from the left navigation and start writing a post with Copilot from there.
After clicking Open Copilot, you get a familiar view where Copilot is on the side of your post.
You just tell Copilot what you need. From the “sparkle” button you can open the Prompt guide with predefined prompts – I treat these as shortcuts and ideas. You will end up using your own prompts for the most of the time, especially when creating something unique. I can use Copilot also in Finnish, as it is one of languages Microsoft 365 Copilot 365 supports.
And as with Copilot typically, I can continue the conversation to tune the response.
And when you are happy with Copilots output, just click + Add to post and Copilot will add the text to your draft. If you already have text there, it stays as text is added and it doesn’t replace anything when used this way.
After adding the text, Copilot will notify and remind you about to Keep it authentic with some tips.
Show me how is a useful action, as you can just try it out to see what Copilot suggests.
I took the advantage of Copilot and let it invent my personal story to be added. This is just one example, how you can provide just a minimal information and use AI to create the text for you quickly in all Copilots – not just in Copilot in Viva Engage.
After each response from the Copilot, you can also see shortcuts to “Can you provide a different response?” and “Try again, but this time..”.
Let’s add that to our text. Notice, when clicking Add to post you get a reminder about keeping the text authentic.
Now, I could utilize Copilot more to get some feedback. Note: these are just ideas for you – feel free to use your own words when asking questions from Copilot!
It wasn’t the worst list of questions it predicted. Skipping those, you have of course the full freedom to edit your draft as you like. Copilot is only providing you drafts and suggestions.
Don’t drop reading, there is more! If you select a text in your post, you can tell Copilot to focus on that selected text only.
And you can also return the focus to all text with a click of a button or by pressing the shortcut CTRL+\ (in US keyboards at least, I didn’t yet find the shortcut for Finnish keyboard layout).
Now, let’s get a more click-bait starter line.
Notice that you have the option to add the new text to the post, or directly replace your selection with the generated text.
With a bit of edits, we have a post ready for publishing.
The latest addition to Copilot in Viva Engage is the Copilot adoption community, which became available July 2024. The Copilot adoption community is a community that can be set up to help people to learn more about Copilot in Viva Engage, share their experiences, ask questions, and get tips and best practices from other users and experts. It can also contain learning resources, such as videos, articles, and courses, to help employees get the most out of Copilot in Viva Engage.
Setting the community up is easy. Just create a new community with the wizard when you see it at Viva Engage.
You get default selections, which you can change as per to your needs.
And that’s it. You have a base community for driving Copilot Adoption.
In short, Copilot Adoption Community is just like any other community in Viva Engage. The added part was a wizard that setups up the community and there is also a banner “Welcome to your new community” visible, that reminds to Pin resources, Add members, Review suggested and Write your first post.
What is cool, a standard feature in Viva Engage communities, is the Intelligent importer. You can easily bring in questions and answers from Word, PDF or .txt file. The Intelligent importer is part of Viva Answers, and is there if you have a Viva Suite or Communities & Communications license. So, if you have Copilot in Viva Engage, you also have the Intelligent importer.
Note: Copilot Adoption Community doesn’t do the adoption job for you, it is just a community that you can set up easily and start using it!
Sharing is Caring! #CommunityRocks
Aiheeseen liittyy
Published by Vesa Nopanen
Vesa “Vesku” Nopanen, Principal Consultant and Microsoft MVP (M365 and AI Platform) working on Future Work at Sulava.
I work, blog and speak about Future Work : AI, Microsoft 365, Copilot, Microsoft Mesh, Metaverse, and other services & platforms in the cloud connecting digital and physical and people together.
I have about 30 years of experience in IT business on multiple industries, domains, and roles.
View all posts by Vesa Nopanen
More Amiga news this week as looking through the itch io website, we’ve found out that the developer of Electric Black Sheep. Who was behind games such as DUEL, Tale Of Evil and The Tower of Evil. Has released the Commodore Amiga game of Pumpkin! A 2024 Halloween edition of the classic Pac-man game for the amiga requiring only 1Mb Chip-Ram. To coincide with this news, Saberman has provided a game play video which as ever can be viewed below.
From what we can tell from the video above, this looks to be a good homage for those of you who remember the classic from 1982. As not only does it have all the chomping goodness you could want in a Pac-Man Arcade game, but it mixes it up for Halloween with creepy ghosts, a large chomping Pumpkin, and skulls to munch on. Certainly one of the best games by far released by Electric Black Sheep!
This Morning hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary welcomed The Piano winner Lucy Illingworth, 14, to the show today (October 30).
Lucy, who is blind and has a rare condition that affects her mental health, was interviewed alongside her mother Candice. She then performed the first single from her self-titled album, Lucy.
However, the segment was quickly met with backlash on the This Morning hashtag on Twitter.
Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond welcomed Lucy to This Morning today (Credit: ITV)
This Morning today: Lucy Illingworth interview branded ‘cruel’
Welcoming Lucy to the show, Alison said: “Good morning to everyone.” Ignoring the hosts, Lucy asked her mum if she was with “Danielle”, to which Candice replied: “No, Danielle’s not here darling,” before Alison said: “It’s Alison and Dermot here, and we’re very excited to meet you.”
As Lucy put her fingers in her ears, her mum urged Lucy to say hello. “Are you going to say hello?” “Hello,” Lucy politely responded. Candice then started to explain how she feels nervous when Lucy performs but Lucy goes out and “smashes it”.
The youngster then asked for someone called Adam, before starting to rub her eyes, as her mum urged her not to worry and held Lucy’s hand. As Candice explained how Lucy discovered her love of music, Lucy put her head down and put her fingers in her ears, briefly raising her head and clapping as they spoke about her debut album.
Speaking more softly, Alison and Dermot then spoke to Lucy’s composer Debbie Wiseman. However, Lucy remained sitting with her head down and her fingers in her ears.
Wrapping up the interview, Alison said softly: “You’re going to perform today Lucy and we’re very excited about that. So, do you guys want to go and get ready, and you Mum, you can go as well.”
Lucy then headed over to the piano to give a beautiful performance of her debut single I’m Walking With You.
Lucy appeared to find the interview a little overwhelming (Credit: ITV)
Viewers react
This Morning viewers were quick to hop onto the hashtag and brand the interview with Lucy “cruel”.
“This feels cruel,” said one. Another then added: “Really talented lady, but maybe they should’ve interviewed her in in surroundings where she feels more comfortable.”
A third commented: “They talk to massive stars in pre-recorded interviews but when it’s a girl who’s incredibly talented and is clearly not in her comfort zone they interview her on LIVE TV?? I don’t get it.”
Another said: “This is very uncomfortable viewing. Poor Lucy. Must be very overwhelming for her.” “Right can we wrap this up, it’s clearly uncomfortable for her, feels quite cruel watching this,” another urged.
“Bad show, #ThisMorning. Very bad show indeed. Everyone involved should be disappointed with that interview. They really need to have a hard look at the welfare of their guests on and off-screen, because this is just not on. At all,” said another.
“Can’t you see that she was uncomfortable on the sofa? This programme should have thought of another way to conduct the interview. It was sensory overload for her,” said another.
Lucy spent the majority of the This Morning interview with her fingers in her ears (Credit: ITV)
Piano playing
However, when Lucy headed over to the piano, she was clearly in her element, delivering a beautiful performance of her debut single and leaving many viewers in tears.
“She is absolutely amazing, very talented,” said one. “So beautiful and played so well. Fighting off the tears atm,” another admitted.
“She’s at home in front of the piano,” said another. “I might have something in my eyes.”
ED! has contacted This Morning for comment.
Read more: This Morning host Cat Deeley poses in her ‘birthday suit’ as fans swoon
Did you enjoy Lucy’s appearance on This Morning today? Tell us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.
In an exciting move for the generative art and NFT community, OpenSea has partnered with Art Blocks, the leading platform for generative digital art. This collaboration marks a pivotal step in expanding access to generative art, fostering more opportunities for creators, and building a powerful new set of tools on OpenSea’s platform. Here’s a look at what this partnership means for creators, collectors, and the generative art ecosystem as a whole.
We’re excited to announce a partnership with our friends @OpenSea! This partnership opens up a dynamic chapter in the world of generative art as we work together to further support and empower creators.
As part of this collaboration, we’ll be teaming up to develop a custom Art… pic.twitter.com/NOlIhgUrRI
— Art Blocks (@artblocks_io) October 28, 2024
A Partnership to Empower Creators
Generative art has been a driving force behind the NFT movement, with Art Blocks leading the charge by showcasing some of the most compelling works in the space. Now, through this partnership, OpenSea and Art Blocks aim to push the boundaries of what’s possible by combining their strengths: Art Blocks’ innovative approach to generative minting and OpenSea’s unparalleled reach and user experience.
Key Highlights of the Collaboration
Art Blocks Engine Contract: At the heart of this collaboration is a unique Art Blocks Engine contract. This custom contract will enable generative minting directly on OpenSea’s platform, bringing a seamless experience for both creators and collectors. Art Blocks Engine has powered successful collections like Provenance and Factory, known for their dynamic, code-generated art. By integrating this capability on OpenSea, the partnership is opening doors for more creators to produce and mint generative art while connecting with OpenSea’s vast user base.
Guiding OpenSea’s Roadmap for Creators: Art Blocks’ founder, Erick Calderon (ArtOnBlockchain), and the Art Blocks team will collaborate closely with OpenSea to shape a creator-centric roadmap. This advisory role means new features and tools will roll out on OpenSea, specifically designed with generative artists in mind, creating a more supportive environment for innovation in digital art.
Art Blocks x OpenSea Artist Residency: To further empower artists, the partnership introduces the Art Blocks x OpenSea Artist Residency. This program will spotlight outstanding talent in the generative art space, offering artists the resources and visibility to explore new creative directions. More details about the residency will be unveiled during Art Blocks Marfa Weekend in mid-November, a significant event for the Art Blocks community and generative art enthusiasts.
Expanding the Reach of Generative Art
Generative art stands as a unique digital art form, combining code, creativity, and chance to produce one-of-a-kind pieces. This partnership allows OpenSea users easier access to this distinctive form of art by bringing generative minting to a familiar platform, which could inspire a new wave of collectors and foster a deeper appreciation of generative art.
This collaboration is also significant for OpenSea, which has continued to explore ways to support creators beyond traditional NFT minting. By integrating the Art Blocks Engine, OpenSea will not only provide artists with a space to mint generative art but also introduce more collectors to the distinctive experience of owning pieces that are truly unique and born from intricate algorithms.
Art Blocks Marfa Weekend: A Preview of What’s to Come
OpenSea and Art Blocks will reveal more about their joint vision during Art Blocks Marfa Weekend in mid-November, a gathering that celebrates generative art in the Texas town where Art Blocks originated. This event will be an opportunity for fans and creators to learn more about the Art Blocks x OpenSea Artist Residency, as well as other projects that this partnership will bring to life.
The Artist Residency is particularly exciting, as it is set to support artists at various stages of their careers and provide them with resources to advance their work in generative art. By elevating artists and introducing generative minting to OpenSea’s marketplace, this partnership not only honors Art Blocks’ legacy but also expands the horizons for digital art on OpenSea.
The Future of Generative Art and NFTs
This collaboration between OpenSea and Art Blocks is more than just a partnership—it’s a vision for the future of digital art. By creating opportunities for artists to mint generative art in a decentralized environment, it opens up new creative possibilities and fosters a more inclusive ecosystem. OpenSea’s sponsorship of upcoming events also underscores its commitment to growing the generative art movement and supporting artists who push the boundaries of what digital art can be.
As OpenSea and Art Blocks pave the way for the next wave of generative digital art, they invite the community to join them in Marfa for a first look at what’s in store. With both platforms dedicated to empowering creators, the future of generative art looks more promising than ever.
TL;DR
OpenSea and Art Blocks have partnered to bring generative art to a wider audience. With a new Art Blocks Engine contract for minting, a creator-focused roadmap, and an Artist Residency program, this collaboration is set to elevate generative digital art. More details will be shared during Art Blocks Marfa Weekend in November, where the community can learn about exciting new opportunities for creators on OpenSea.
The highly anticipated Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles has finally launched, bringing Ubisoft’s latest entry into the world of blockchain-powered gaming to players worldwide. This dark fantasy, turn-based RPG invites players to craft their legend in Grimoria, diving into its rich lore and strategic combat. However, while Champions Tactics brings exciting innovations, the launch also highlights a persistent issue: mainstream media’s reluctance to embrace Web3 gaming.
Mainstream Media’s Resistance to Web3: Why It’s Holding Gaming Back
While Champions Tactics has excited its community, major outlets like Polygon, Kotaku, and IGN remain hesitant, if not outright dismissive, of blockchain and Web3 gaming. These platforms have shown little enthusiasm for the technological advancements that Web3 can bring to gaming—decentralized asset ownership, player-driven economies, and new layers of strategy and engagement.
Despite Web3’s potential to reshape how players experience and interact with games, the mainstream media’s skepticism often overshadows the benefits. Rather than focusing on innovations that can enhance gameplay, they tend to fixate on perceived pitfalls—security concerns, misunderstandings around NFTs, or fear of change. This cautious, often negative stance has dampened broader excitement around blockchain-based titles and left many in the gaming and crypto communities wondering: When will mainstream media finally get it?
What Blockchain Brings to Games Like Champions Tactics
Blockchain technology isn’t just a buzzword in Champions Tactics; it’s the backbone of many of the game’s most compelling features:
True Ownership: Players can truly own their in-game assets, from Ethereal Champions to rare items, and trade or sell them in a fully open marketplace.
Community-Driven Economies: The blockchain marketplace in Champions Tactics allows players to buy, sell, and trade Champions freely, creating an economy that goes beyond the game’s traditional boundaries.
Player Agency and Innovation: With Web3, games can give players more control and a greater stake in the worlds they love. In Grimoria, every Champion a player forges, collects, or sells becomes part of their journey, permanently recorded on the blockchain.
These are not just abstract benefits—they’re innovations that stand to reshape how players engage with their favorite titles, giving them both financial and emotional investment in their virtual experiences.
Why It Matters: Innovating Gaming with Blockchain
Mainstream media’s reluctance to embrace Web3 gaming has real consequences for the industry’s evolution. Blockchain technology is set to transform the gaming landscape, but slow acceptance from influential voices has led to a lag in widespread adoption. While gaming continues to innovate at a technological level, public discourse hasn’t kept pace, often sidelining the potential benefits and stalling progress on what could be gaming’s next evolutionary leap.
It’s disappointing that mainstream outlets haven’t given more space to discussing how Web3 empowers players or how blockchain could change the economic and strategic dynamics of gaming for the better. Instead, the conversation often stays focused on criticisms, leaving the gaming community to fill in the gaps on why this technology matters.
Champions Tactics: Pioneering the Future of Web3 Gaming
The launch of Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles proves that Web3 gaming has the potential to captivate audiences, and it is one of several titles leading the way. As players step into Grimoria, they will experience first-hand how blockchain technology can elevate gameplay, allowing deeper immersion, asset ownership, and a genuine sense of impact on the world. It’s an exciting time, but one tempered by the knowledge that broader acceptance is still needed.
As Web3 continues to gain traction, perhaps mainstream media will eventually see the benefits, moving beyond skepticism to understand that blockchain is not just about “crypto hype” but about creating innovative, player-driven experiences. Until then, it’s up to pioneers like Champions Tactics and its community to demonstrate what the future could look like.
TL;DR
Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles is officially live, showcasing the potential of Web3 in gaming with features like asset ownership and player-driven economies. However, mainstream media—like Polygon, Kotaku, and IGN—remain hesitant, focusing on perceived downsides over the benefits of blockchain. This reluctance to explore Web3’s potential is holding back gaming’s next big evolution. Champions Tactics invites players to experience these innovations first-hand, proving that blockchain-powered games are here to stay.
The atmosphere of this game is simply fantastic. The protagonist/main character is both likable and relatable. Not only have I replayed the game several times on my iPad, I also bought the PC version as soon as it came out. It actually makes me grateful for…
Well polished bagatelle
This is a rather short game with stylish graphics and a fairly nice science fiction plot. The difficulty level is unfortunately as low as they come, with always just one obvious thing to do. I am not a proponent of extremely hard puzzles but need some kind…
Surprisingly great!
I enjoyed the simplicity of this game and its original time traveling theme. When is the next episode schedule to be deployed?…
The Chainlink Platform is evolving to give developers substantially more power, freedom, and reach than ever before through a highly self-serve, scalable, and programmable architecture. The core functions of oracle networks are becoming reusable modular capabilities that developers can compose in any way into workflows and run via the new Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE). Developers will be able to seamlessly combine all Chainlink capabilities to create customized apps and unlock use cases not bound by any chain, offchain resource, or product integration. The upgrade of the Chainlink Platform is key to expanding Chainlink to thousands of blockchains and meeting the growing demand from capital markets and Web3.
On the Main Stage at SmartCon 2024 today, we announced a major upgrade to the Chainlink Platform. This upgrade is designed to scale Chainlink across thousands of blockchains, meet the growing demand from financial institutions, and empower developers to build with Chainlink faster, more easily, and with more reach and flexibility than ever before.
Underpinning this initiative is a deep re-architecture of the Chainlink Platform. Drawing inspiration from microservices architecture, the Chainlink node software that manages decentralized oracle networks (DONs) is being broken down into distinct, modular capabilities (e.g., read chain, perform consensus, etc.) that are each secured by independent DONs. Developers can seamlessly combine these capabilities in any number of ways into executable workflows that run via the newly developed Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE)—the system of DON-based capabilities, DON-to-DON communications, capability orchestration, and code execution on which workflows run with the appropriate consensus model.
The Chainlink Platform architecture will have DONs that each specialize in a capability, as well as empower developers to string together these capabilities to form workflows that the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) DON executes.
The result of this upgrade is developers being able to build substantially quicker, connect their apps seamlessly across all chains connected to the Chainlink Platform, and create more powerful applications, including purpose-built financial apps that interact with capital markets infrastructure, incorporate custom compliance policies, and handle sensitive information in a privacy-preserving manner.
While developers will continue to write core application logic as onchain smart contracts, CRE enables them to deploy code directly on the Chainlink Platform for building and composing capabilities, removing the need to add Chainlink-specific code to their onchain contracts. This allows developers to leverage Chainlink’s capabilities regardless of which blockchains their application is deployed to, leading to unified applications secured end-to-end by consensus computing.
The Evolution Toward a Modular Developer Platform
Existing Platform
To date, the Chainlink Platform consists of a series of prepackaged services, with each service akin to a set of pre-assembled lego pieces that form a single design pattern (i.e., workflow). For example, Chainlink Automation combines 5-6 separate capabilities into a smart contract automation workflow. Each capability has its own parameters, and capabilities must be executed in order to produce a valid workflow output.
This service-oriented architecture helped scale Chainlink from 0 to 1, and in the process enabled Chainlink to become the most widely used oracle platform, with the most secure and reliable services across data, smart contract automation, verifiable randomness, cross-chain interoperability, and more.
However, to hyperscale Chainlink to thousands of chains, support millions of new developers at faster development speeds, and unlock a wider range of use cases and customizations across DeFi and fast-emerging TradFi adoption, an upgrade to the architecture of the Chainlink Platform is necessary. And since Chainlink is currently enabling trillions of dollars in transaction value, this transition must take place without any disruption to the security and reliability of existing Chainlink services.
CRE-Based Platform
Chainlink has embarked on a multi-phased initiative to re-architect the Chainlink Platform so developers can build their own custom workflows in a self-serve manner. Essential to this vision is distilling the bare essential functions of an oracle network (e.g., chain read, chain write, fetch API, do compute, etc.) into modular capabilities that developers can directly piece together into their own workflows.
Each capability in a workflow is run by a separate DON (i.e., akin to a microservice) as opposed to the previous architecture where the same DON executes all the capabilities of a particular workflow. For example, instead of having a single DON responsible for executing all 5-6 capabilities of Chainlink Automation, there is one DON per capability and all capability DONs are combined to form a workflow.
With DONs purpose-built to perform one capability, they are able to provide highly reliable and predictable services and quickly scale their support to many different users. Furthermore, the platform itself becomes more efficient as already developed capabilities can be reused as opposed to building the same ones from scratch.
The upgraded Chainlink Platform enables developers to compose individual capabilities of the Chainlink Network into workflows rather than only having access to a prepackaged service.
Chainlink Workflows
Workflows are the new programs that developers build and run on the Chainlink Platform. Instead of integrating a prepackaged service, developers can build their own workflows using different Chainlink capabilities. Capabilities can be bucketed into two categories: 1) trigger capabilities that start the workflow and 2) execution capabilities that compose and constitute the workflow.
We plan to support workflow development in Go, TypeScript, and other programming languages, which the platform compiles into WASM for execution by Chainlink nodes. Developers can create and manage their workflows using their IDE and the Chainlink SDK and CLI, as well as view and manage them in a UI.
During the initial launch phases, pre-built capabilities will be provided to devs that they can use to create their custom workflows. The longer-term plan is to enable anyone to create and deploy their own capabilities (e.g., custom self-serve chain integrations, connectivity to permissioned systems, etc.).
A Chainlink Workflow that calls an API, performs a consensus computation, and then writes the result onchain for a smart contract to consume.
Chainlink Runtime Environment
The Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE)—the engine of the Chainlink Platform—executes developers’ workflows in a decentralized manner by interacting with different capability DONs. CRE provides the coordination of the DONs for each of the capabilities invoked in a workflow, as well as combines them with the right consensus overlay.
“The Chainlink Runtime Environment pulls all of the capabilities together by executing the workflows whenever their triggers fire and using DON-to-DON communications to connect the various capability DONs.” —Uri Sarid, Chainlink Labs Chief Architect
*For a deeper understanding of the different technical terms, refer to the References section at the end of this blog.
The Benefits of the Upgraded Chainlink Platform
The upgraded Chainlink Platform powered by CRE unlocks numerous benefits for developers, the Chainlink Platform itself, and the industry as a whole.
Limitless Developer Innovation
Easy to use: Effortlessly create workflows with programming languages you already know via a comprehensive set of SDKs and an intuitive CLI.
Customizable and programmable: Build to fit your bespoke needs with fully programmable workflows.
Seamless integration: Connect with offchain APIs and multiple blockchains within a single workflow using standardized components.
Secure: Safeguard your users by leveraging Chainlink’s proven security, providing consensus guarantees for offchain applications.
In the previous architecture, for example, standing up a single Proof of Reserve (POR) feed required carefully coordinated operational processes across multiple teams and components. This involved complex customization, deployment, and ongoing maintenance. Chainlink’s new architecture removes the complexity of customizing, setting up, and linking disparate components and reduces the required ongoing maintenance. In a few hours, a single developer can express a fully customized POR feed that writes to multiple chains as a workflow and leverages CRE to monitor and reliably execute it. This frees up precious development and maintenance time, so teams can focus more on meeting customer needs.
Next-Generation Platform
Hyper-scaling: Since capabilities can be long-standing and easily reused for new integrations, new chains can be adopted by simply creating a new read chain / write chain capability, which can then be leveraged by all other Chainlink capabilities to interact with those chains. Instead of a new EVM chain integration for multiple Chainlink products taking weeks, developers can compose workflows that use all Chainlink capabilities within a number of days.
Financial market workflows: Banks can connect the Chainlink Platform to their internal private chains and systems and seamlessly interface across other private and public chains. Financial institutions can also create workflows that work in compliance prior to onchain execution, such as building custom policy capabilities into their workflows.
Limitless use cases: Developers’ full creative potential is unlocked as capabilities can be programmed and combined in ways currently not possible to expand to new offchain resources and unlock innovative use cases.
Increased network efficiency: Optimized DON configurations mean less operational overhead for both Chainlink and Node Operators (NOPs). For example, existing DONs can be reused as Chainlink grows rather than the linear DON growth of today. Other efficiencies include more optimized utilization across DON deployments, more economical and efficient products, more sustainable NOP business models, and more efficient provisioning and revenue generation through a compute marketplace.
Overall Industry Growth
With app composability being a main driver in the expansion of DeFi, the composability of offchain services and onchain smart contracts across all blockchains can supercharge a similar expansion in onchain innovation. Every chain stands to benefit, as blockspace becomes more in demand thanks to more users, more transactions, and easier access and deployment to chains.
Making Consensus Computing the Way All Markets Work
The underlying power of Chainlink is greatly expanding the use of consensus computing, with the goal of making it an industry standard throughout financial markets, user applications, and beyond.
Consensus computing is when a decentralized network of nodes must form consensus as part of the network storing and executing code. It’s an evolution in computing because it provides users with unique guarantees such as tamper-resistance, hyper-availability, trust minimization, enhanced composability, and permissionless and universal accessibility.
On the foundation of consensus computing, truly secure and reliable automated services can begin to thrive, opening up major efficiency and utility gains and increasing global connectivity.
Blockchains first introduced consensus computing to store and maintain a permissionless and immutable asset ledger. Blockchain-based consensus computing then expanded to include smart contracts, where ledger transactions could have conditions attached to their execution, making way for decentralized applications (dApps).
While blockchains will continue to power asset ledgers and dApps, they have limitations. Blockchain-based consensus is only focused on the validity and ordering of transactions, and produce deterministic results, which can be reproduced by anyone based on historical state. However, there is a much broader set of things that consensus could be generated about that blockchains are not applicable for, such as consensus with a median output based on data sources not available onchain (e.g., calculating the current temperature using data from multiple offchain APIs).
Chainlink expands consensus computing to virtually anything and enables the use of any offchain data and offchain computing method. This includes consensus computing on the current price of an asset, transmission of data between disparate networks, triggering smart contracts based on events, and now coordinating consensus across onchain and offchain systems. This expansion enables consensus computing to secure the entire application—such as its offchain data, offchain computation, and interoperability—and not just the state of its onchain code. Through doing so, consensus computing can fulfill a much wider range of use cases while bringing users newfound levels of confidence and verifiability to how the world actually works.
Blockchains use consensus computing to order transactions and validate the state of a ledger, while Chainlink is applying consensus computing to any offchain service.
Rolling Out the Upgraded Chainlink Platform
Similar to how Ethereum uses a phased-upgrade model, the Chainlink Platform upgrade is rolling out in phases to ensure that existing users of Chainlink services are unaffected throughout the transition. This is critical since Chainlink services are currently enabling trillions of dollars in value and securing critical functions for many of the most widely used onchain applications.
The initial phase involves the transition of Chainlink services like CCIP to the upgraded platform architecture. This will help Chainlink scale to chains faster and meet unique and immediate customer requirements. In parallel, the upgraded platform architecture is being implemented into new chain integrations, such as the integration of the Aptos blockchain with Chainlink. Furthermore, the upgraded Chainlink Platform architecture is also being leveraged by financial institutions to seamlessly connect existing infrastructure to blockchains for workflows such as Delivery vs. Payment.
If you are a developer, established application, or financial institution and want to start building and testing workflows using the Chainlink Runtime Environment, sign up for early access.
To learn more about Chainlink, visit chain.link, subscribe to the Chainlink newsletter, and follow Chainlink on Twitter and YouTube.
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References
Consensus Computing—The broader computing paradigm that requires decentralized consensus as part of executing software and storing information.
Chainlink Platform—The totality of software and node networks that enable development and perform capabilities on Chainlink.
Capabilities—Individual functions of decentralized oracle networks on Chainlink, such as read chain, write chain, call an API, execute compute, apply a policy, etc.
DONs—Decentralized Oracle Networks that execute the capabilities requested by users.
Chainlink Network—All Chainlink nodes and DONs that are currently in operation.
Chainlink Workflows—What developers build in the Chainlink Platform. Developers combine Chainlink capabilities into their own workflows.
Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE)—The engine of the Chainlink Platform, which executes workflows and provides a programming model on how to program workflows.
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Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and contains statements about the future, including anticipated product features, development, and timelines for the rollout of these features. These statements are only predictions and reflect current beliefs and expectations with respect to future events; they are based on assumptions and are subject to risk, uncertainties, and changes at any time. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed in these statements, although we believe them to be based on reasonable assumptions. All statements are valid only as of the date first posted. These statements may not reflect future developments due to user feedback or later events and we may not update this post in response. Please review the Chainlink Terms of Service, which provides important information and disclosures.
Posted by Totter on Jul 5, 2019
