Developed by Samsung Research, Gauss (named after mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss) powers several on-device AI technologies across Samsung products. It will have a few different facets but will do a lot of the same stuff we've seen from other generative AI (GAI) models. Gauss Language will handle tasks like translations and summarizing documents, while Gauss Code is a coding assistant. The latter can create images based on prompts and handle edits like style changes and additions. It will be able to upscale low-resolution images too.

When the Overwatch League launched its inaugural season in 2018, eager investors were sold on the promise of a booming future for esports, with participation in the league predicated on a $20 million franchise fee. Among those investors were Sacramento Kings co-owner Andy Miller, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke. In an approach that was unique in esports, the Overwatch League tied its teams to cities rather than esports organizations. This was intended to help teams capture and control certain markets which they could then work with advertisers to target.

"People who invest in these properties are expecting a very quick return. This isn't just in esports journalism, this is in esports in general," the esports journalist said. "It's why you [saw] so many teams and organizations jumping into the Overwatch League, previously." Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League launched in 2017, selling franchise slots to investors for upward of $20 million but has struggled to deliver returns to team owners like Robert Kraft and Stan Kroenke, owners of the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, respectively.

If you start counting what's actually new to Overwatch so far -- one hero, a few maps, a new game mode called Push -- you might find yourself disappointed. And plenty of people are. The YouTuber Jason Gastrow, known as Videogamedunkey, called the beta "a minor patch to an abandoned game" in a review that has more than 3 million views. But there's reason to be optimistic. Players, coaches and commentators in the Overwatch League have been testing the early version of the sequel for weeks now, preparing for the fifth season of the Overwatch League, which kicked off on Thursday.

Though 26 is a remarkably young age at which to retire in traditional sports, in esports it's the norm. In Activision's Call of Duty League, the average competitor is around 22 years old, according to league data. In Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch League, the average player is about 20 years old. In both leagues, players retire extremely young compared to traditional sports. While only six players have retired from the Call of Duty League since it was launched in 2020, the median age is 26.

The 2022 season of the Overwatch League will begin in April with a plan for teams to compete on an "early build" of "Overwatch 2," the much anticipated sequel to the six-year-old team-based shooter, according to a statement provided by the Overwatch League.

On "Plat Chat," a talk show that covers the Overwatch League, pink coffee mugs sporting "presented by T-Mobile" also disappeared. The podcast has a rotating cast of commentators, some of whom work full-time for the Overwatch League, though one host told The Post the podcast is completely separate from Activision Blizzard. The host declined to answer questions earlier this week because they said the show is still in active talks with T-Mobile.

Activision Blizzard first created the Overwatch League to be a city-based, international sports league that mirrored format of traditional sports franchises. Teams are set in local markets so fans can support their hometown. But OWL has never been able to fully realize that dream. The pandemic made it impossible to hold live events last season and some franchise owners were counting on ticket sales and local sponsorships to balance their team checkbooks. Ticket sales are one of the few revenue streams from which the league does not withhold a sizable percentage.

Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind Overwatch, has implemented a machine learning system in the game that it says is helping to dismantle the toxicity of chat in Overwatch. Unfortunately, in any game with a chat function, there will be those players who do not regard the feelings of others, have poor sportsmanship, or are downright offensive and not afraid to show it. A game as popular as Overwatch, with over 40 million players, is bound to have problems in the chat as people compete with others from all over the world. Overwatch is competitive by nature, pitting teams of six players against each other in a multiplayer first-person shooter. This year's Overwatch League wrapped up recently, but due to COVID-19 restrictions audiences could only watch from their homes online.

Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind Overwatch, has implemented a machine learning system in the game that it says is helping to dismantle the toxicity of chat in Overwatch. Unfortunately, in any game with a chat function, there will be those players who do not regard the feelings of others, have poor sportsmanship, or are downright offensive and not afraid to show it. A game as popular as Overwatch, with over 40 million players, is bound to have problems in the chat as people compete with others from all over the world. Overwatch is competitive by nature, pitting teams of six players against each other in a multiplayer first-person shooter. This year's Overwatch League wrapped up recently, but due to COVID-19 restrictions audiences could only watch from their homes online.