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Sitting near a window inside Bostons Four Seasons Hotel, overlooking a duck pond in the citys Public Garden, Ray Kurzweil held up a sheet of paper showing the steady growth in the amount of raw computer power that a dollar could buy over the last 85 years.

A neon-green line rose steadily across the page, climbing like fireworks in the night sky.

That diagonal line, he said, showed why humanity was just 20 years away from the Singularity, a long hypothesized moment when people will merge with artificial intelligence and augment themselves with millions of times more computational power than their biological brains now provide.

If you create something that is thousands of times or millions of times more powerful than the brain, we cant anticipate what it is going to do, he said, wearing multicolored suspenders and a Mickey Mouse watch he bought at Disney World in the early 1980s.

Mr. Kurzweil, a renowned inventor and futurist who built a career on predictions that defy conventional wisdom, made the same claim in his 2005 book, The Singularity Is Near. After the arrival of A.I. technologies like ChatGPT and recent efforts to implant computer chips inside peoples heads, he believes the time is right to restate his claim. Last week, he published a sequel: The Singularity Is Nearer.

Now that Mr. Kurzweil is 76 years old and is moving a lot slower than he used to, his predictions carry an added edge. He has long said he plans to experience the Singularity, merge with A.I. and, in this way, live indefinitely. But if the Singularity arrives in 2045, as he claims it will, there is no guarantee he will be alive to see it.

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Ray Kurzweil Still Says He Will Merge With A.I. - The New York Times

Daybreak has acquired Singularity 6 as a wholly owned subsidiary.

The Palia developer will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its co-founders Anthony Leung and Aidan Karabiach.

Singularity 6 will use its expanded resources to invest in development, bring Palia to its 1.0 launch, and make the game available across multiple platforms.

"We ultimately want to get Palia into the hands of every gamer that wants to play it and we believe that we can best do so by partnering with Daybreak, who have a proven track record of building gaming communities that last for decades," said Leung.

"We look forward to benefiting from their experience, expertise, and investment into Singularity 6 and Palia."

Ham added: "Singularity 6 is an excellent addition to our development studios, renowned for their success in creating large-scale online games and content. Their debut title, Palia, is a fantastic addition to our online portfolio."

Daybreak is a subsidiary of Enad Global 7, which acquired the developer in 2020.

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Daybreak acquires Singularity 6 - GamesIndustry.biz

File this one under did not see this coming in a million years but also not sad about it whatsoever: Daybreak has acquired Palia studio Singularity 6.

Our team is absolutely thrilled to be joining forces with Daybreak Game Company, a subsidiary of Enad Global 7 AB (EG7), known for publishing and supporting some of the worlds most popular and successful online multiplayer franchises, such as EverQuest, H1Z1, The Lord of the Rings Online, and more, S6 announced this evening. The acquisition provides us with some incredible resources and support to continue developing Palia and elevate the product to meet the gold standard that our players expect, including engaging new content, impactful social features, and quality-of-life improvements across the board.

Singularity 6 says that it will continue operating independently under its co-founders and that its vision and creative direction will remain intact, which would generally be one of those lines in a press release like this that causes eyerolls, but it might actually be believable in this case, given how Daybreak has handled Standing Stone Games for the last many years now.

Daybreak, of course, was founded back in 2015 using the bones of SOE, but it was itself acquired by EG7, and since then, its basically taken over EG7 from the inside out. Its actually performed fairly well for EG7 over the last few years, though it dipped at the end of 2023, sold off the PlanetSide IP, and relinquished development of PlanetSide 2. Buying an existing studio and game actually aligns rather nicely with EG7s stated goals of running consistent mid-tier MMORPG moneymakers.

S6 has been struggling for the last many months as it appeared to be suffering serious financial difficulties and went through multiple rounds of layoffs as well as its Palia beta obfuscation fiasco, so its hard to see this as anything but good news for folks who wanted to see Palia stick around to actually see its real launch and/or see Daybreak expand and maybe even return to its glory days of bailing out floundering MMOs.

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Daybreak bought Palia studio Singularity 6 and aims to bring the game to launch - Massively Overpowered

Palia developer Singularity 6 is now part of the Daybreak Game Company, which announced today that it has acquired the studio "as a wholly owned subsidiary." The takeover comes less than two months after Singularity 6 laid off 36 employees, reportedly representing roughly 40 percent of its workforce.

"We are thrilled to welcome Singularity 6 to Daybreak Games," Daybreak Games CEO Ji Ham said in the acquisition announcement. "S6 is an excellent addition to our development studios, renowned for their success in creating large-scale online games and content.

"Their debut title, Palia, is a fantastic addition to our online portfolio. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with the S6 team to make Palia the best online experience possible across all major gaming platforms and to help continue expand their community of players for years to come."

Singularity 6 was founded in 2018 by ex-Riot Games developers Anthony Leung and Aidan Karabaich, and announced Palia in 2021. The game entered open beta in August 2023 and launched on Steam in March 2024. It's also available on the Epic Games Store and Nintendo Switch.

Despite a positive reception and good player numbersDaybreak said Palia has attracted more than four million players as of the end of June 2024, and that "over 100,000 players have been actively enjoying the game daily"Singularity 6 has struggled. It laid off 49 employees in April 2024, just a couple weeks after Palia arrived on Steam, and then cut 36 more in May, representing about 40 percent of its remaining employees.

Daybreak Game Company, a developer and publisher of MMOs including Everquest 2, DC Universe Online, Planetside 2, Lord of the Rings Online, and Dungeons and Dragons Online, has had some struggles of its own in recent years: In 2022 an in-development Marvel MMO was cancelled, and in February 2024 it laid off "less than 15" employees as part of a "recalibration of our business."

"From Day 1, we have always wanted to forge alternate worlds that help deepen players liveswe believe we are on the path to that with Palia and are ever grateful for the initial player reception and support," Leung said. "But we ultimately want to get Palia into the hands of every gamer that wants to play it and we believe that we can best do so by partnering up with Daybreak, who have a proven track record of building gaming communities that last for decades. We look forward to benefiting from their experience, expertise, and investment into Singularity 6 and Palia."

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

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Palia developer Singularity 6 is now part of the Daybreak Game Company - PC Gamer

Daybreak Game Company announced the acquisition of Singularity 6, the developer of the cozy MMO Palia. Singularity 6 will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Daybreak, a renowned publisher of large-scale online games.

Daybreak CEO Ji Ham expressed excitement about the acquisition, noting that Singularity 6s expertise in creating online games complements Daybreaks portfolio. He emphasized the potential of Palia, which has attracted over four million players, with more than 100k active daily users.

Singularity 6, founded by former Riot Games developers Anthony Leung and Aidan Karabaich, launched Palia in open beta in August 2023. The game is available on multiple platforms, including Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch.

Despite its success, Singularity 6 faced challenges, laying off 49 employees in April 2024 and another 36 in May. These layoffs, representing about 40% of the workforce, occurred shortly after Palias launch on Steam.

Daybreak, known for titles like EverQuest and DC Universe Online, aims to support Palias growth. Leung highlighted the benefits of partnering with Daybreak, citing their experience in building long-lasting gaming communities.

This acquisition marks a significant step for both companies. Daybreak gains a promising title in Palia, while Singularity 6 receives the support needed to enhance and expand its game. Fans can expect continued updates and new content as the collaboration progresses.

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Daybreak Acquires Palia Developer Singularity 6 - The Outerhaven