Runway’s AI video creation and editing service has added the promised video-to-video revamp feature to its Gen-3 Alpha model platform. The video-to-video tool lets you submit a video and a text prompt to alter it. The changes can adjust the setting, performers, or other elements of the video to match the text prompt or any of a handful of preset style suggestions.

Video-to-video is the last major addition to Runway’s video creation options. Runway already allows users to start with either text or images to define the look and motion of the video. Now, by starting with a real-world video, users can define the motion upfront and then use AI to alter the design and aesthetics. Runway trained the feature on a large set of videos and images captioned with details to teach the AI model how to understand uploaded films and the prompts for changing them. It’s like seeing a new video from another universe entirely. You can see how it works below.

The first major DLC for Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong reportedly has a release window set for early 2025, just in time for Chinese New Year celebrations. Black Myth: Wukong is expected to receive two major DLCs that will add a slew of new content, if rumors turn out to be accurate.

Released on August 20 for PlayStation 5 and PC, Black Myth: Wukong quickly became one of 2024’s most successful game releases. B lack Myth: Wukong has sold over 18 million copies worldwide and generated roughly $700 million in revenue in just two weeks after the game’s launch. In addition, PlayStation confirmed that Black Myth: Wukong was the most downloaded PlayStation 5 game of August 2024 in North America, Europe, and Japan. Black Myth: Wukong sets a precedent for new IPs as one of the fastest selling games of all time, and its momentum may carry over into the release of the game’s first DLC.

According to gaming analyst Daniel Camilo on Twitter, sources close to Game Science claim that DLC for Black Myth: Wukong will release sometime near Chinese New Year festivities, which take place on January 29, 2025. This means that the DLC could release at the very end of January or sometime soon after in February, but a specific release date is not set in stone yet. Details about the DLC’s story and content are still unclear as well.

Black Myth: Wukong DLC Could Release in January 2025

• A release is reportedly planned around the Chinese New Year celebration on January 29, 2025.
• Information about the DLC’s story and content is still unknown.

Camilo claims that Black Myth: Wukong sales have already surpassed 20 million units as of September 2024, with 70% of total sales coming from the player base in China. The analyst estimates that around 20% of the game’s total player base, or roughly four million players, will purchase the upcoming DLC. According to Camilo, “novelty and national pride” are factors that contributed to Black Myth: Wukong’s strong initial sales, but this will play less of a role once the DLC is close to releasing. The game’s challenging nature is also considered as a factor, since millions of casual gamers in China may not be interested in purchasing the DLC if they do not proceed further with their Black Myth: Wukong playthrough.

It’s worth noting that the Black Myth: Wukong developers did not officially unveil the new DLC or comment on its development status. Rumors suggest that two major DLCs for Black Myth: Wukong are planned, and the game’s Xbox Series X|S version is still coming soon. Like the DLC, Black Myth: Wukong for Xbox Series X|S does not have a release date.

Netflix’s anime series, Terminator Zero, is an adaptation of the legendary Terminator franchise, and it has reignited the age-old struggle between humanity and Skynet. However, unlike the film, humanity’s hope in the anime does not lie in the birth of a resistance leader post-judgment day.

Through breathtaking animation and compelling characters, the anime dives deep into the horrifying reality of living in a world controlled by a malevolent AI and injects fresh life into the franchise. Even though humanity’s fight against Skynet has been futile, this time, they have a trump card that still gives them a chance as the fight rages on.

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The Threat Of Skynet

The Challenges Ahead For Humanity

In Terminator Zero, Skynet is no longer just a supercomputer controlling an army of machines; it has transcended its original form. Skynet’s motivations go beyond simply annihilating humanity; it seeks to create a world where it is the supreme entity devoid of any organic life. This revelation and fear fueled Malcolm Lee’s invention of Kokoro. In the anime, Kokoro is presented as a highly advanced AI capable of learning, growing, and even experiencing emotions on a level that challenges Skynet’s conception of what it means to be sentient.

Malcolm programmed Kokoro to process human feelings and emotions and to give it the ability to make its own decisions. In other words, Kokoro was humanity’s gamble to escape Skynet’s horror. However, while Skynet comes alive and destroys every other country in the world, Malcolm hopes to save his country, Japan, with Kokoro’s help. The series introduces Skynet as an adaptable entity that evolves with every failed human attack or error. This means every battle lost or won by the Resistance is a lesson learned for Skynet, making it stronger and harder to outmaneuver. Skynet sends its Terminator to the past to eliminate Malcolm and stop him from activating Kokoro. Since Kokoro is humanity’s last hope, it will hinder Skynet’s mission to destroy the whole world and make it its purgatory.

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Even in the face of a common enemy, humanity in Terminator Zero is deeply fractured. The post-judgment day Resistance Army Malcom was born is far from a unified front, and they became divided due to the fear the Terminator poses. Skynet’s true power doesn’t just lie in its advanced technology; it’s in how it manipulates human emotions and vulnerabilities. Skynet understands that people are driven by fear, anger, and desperation and uses these emotions to control them. If Malcolm had not resisted his fellow soldiers’ order to stop experimentation on machines, humanity wouldn’t have had a fighting chance. Malcolm even killed his fellow soldiers to travel back in time to 1983 and stop Judgment Day. Also, he refused to open the Kokoro’s chamber door for Kenta, his eldest son, even when the Terminator threatened to kill his son. For Malcolm, the end justifies the means; hence, his aim to build an AI with emotion and activate Kokoro is worth every drop of blood spilled. In this vein, Skynet sows the seeds of doubt and mistrust within humanity, which erodes them to create a united front and fight tooth and nail against Skynet.

Can Humanity Win?

Human Resilience and Adaptation

Skynet, in Terminator Zero, is far more than just a malevolent AI. It has adapted beyond mere machines of war—it is now a global intelligence capable of controlling and manipulating all technology. This presence of Skynet leaves little room for human error, and the human resistance is forced to adapt or die. Characters like Malcolm and Eiko embody the survivalist spirit that gives humanity hope. Malcolm knows that brute force or continuous resistance is not enough to defeat Skynet, hence his desire to build humanity’s own AI even with his subordinates’ disapproval. Eiko has hope for humanity’s survival, because why else does she venture into the past without knowing what awaits her? Despite overwhelming odds, she remains committed to the idea that humans can survive Synet’s planned Doomsday.

Moreover, Kokoro, the AI created by Malcolm, stands as a symbol of what makes humanity different from Skynet. Where Skynet sees humans as expendable and inefficient, Kokoro later understands the emotional depth and complexity that drives human survival through the actions that led to the death of Malcolm. Kokoro’s temporary alliance with humanity at the end of the series gives humanity an edge that Skynet doesn’t expect —empathy. Kokoro’s interactions with Kenta after his father’s death show that while machines like Skynet lack emotional intelligence, she fills in the gap in that area and can connect with people. In this way, this unusual alliance can allow the Resistance to exploit Skynet’s blind spots. However, Kokoro’s alliance with the humans is fragile because she can decide to align with Skynet and destroy humanity. Hence, it is a risky gambit for humanity’s survival.

At the end of the series, the question of whether humanity can win against Skynet is not easily answered, considering the repetitive time loops —time travel is bound to happen. Skynet is a near-unstoppable force, but the series constantly reminds viewers that human resilience and adaptability are their greatest weapons. The series portrays humanity’s resilience through the likes of Malcolm, Eiko, and even his daughter, Reika. Thus, Skynet’s rigidity and the hell-bent desire to annihilate humanity make it predictable. While humanity’s ability to adapt and learn is its greatest asset, it can’t truly overcome the might of Skynet. Hence, humanity has a higher chance with Kokoro, as it is portrayed at the end of the series, but even that is a risky bet as the AI represents a lesser evil.