Jun 23

Microsoft kills Mixer, will pivot to Facebook Gaming

Posted in: Animation

The news caught the world off guard as Microsoft announced today that it would kill its Mixer streaming service and transition users to Facebook Gaming.

When Microsoft bought Mixer (formerly Beam) in 2016, it famously set about integrating streaming as a push-button feature. It’s still possible to configure other alternatives, like Twitch, but there’s currently no way to replicate the exact functionality Microsoft offers you with Mixer integration.

Facebook Gaming has no method of directly streaming from consoles. Microsoft refers to plans to bring that feature out in the future but had nothing ready for this announcement. This U-turn also arrives less than a year after Microsoft announced it had signed Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to a multi-year Mixer contract — and Blevins wasn’t the only streamer who moved to the platform.

Polygon reports that in exchange, Microsoft is getting Project xCloud support on Facebook Gaming. The app is winding down on 22 July 2020. The sudden move comes after Microsoft has put substantial efforts into its gaming-centric streaming service, acquiring streaming rights to some of the biggest esports personalities like Ninja and Shroud.

The company launched its Mixer service in 2017 after acquiring the gaming startup Beam Interactive in 2016. According to an interview in The Verge, top streamers like Ninja won’t be compelled to move to Facebook Gaming and will be able to rejoin Twitch if they choose. Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer attributed the shutdown on the service’s inability to catch up with competitors:

We started pretty far behind, in terms of where Mixer’s monthly active viewers were compared to some of the big players out there,” says Microsoft head of gaming Phil Spencer in an interview with The Verge. “I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has.

As per data from SensorTower, year-to-date downloads of the app on the App Store and Google Play were down 23% in 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, with the app seeing 3.4 million downloads this year. The company says their data shows that the app has been installed about 21 million times in total.

Microsoft, whose latest generation Xbox console is slated for launch later this year, said it will now focus on developing its XCloud video game streaming service and integrating it with Facebook’s gaming app.

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Jun 23

A classic tale of old vs. new in Pixar’s ‘Cars 3’ set to air as part of Big Flix on &flix

Posted in: Animation

In this latest instalment of Pixar animated series, Cars 3 returns with the iconic hot red racing car Lightening McQueen (Owen Wilson) in a modern take of old meets new. Not bred for an all new generation of modern supercars in Nascar racing, veteran racing cars bid goodbye as they make room for the all new class of sleek sports cars that now hold the reign in this new generation of racing.

As a desperate Lightening McQueen tries hard to resist change and retain his former title, he is placed under the guideship of Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) and is joined by his old pals Mater (Daniel Lawrence), Luigy (Tony Shalhoub) and Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt). Other characters lending their voice as part of this much-loved film franchise include Chris Cooper, Nathan Fillion and Armie Hammer.

As the series return for another thrilling race to the finish line, it will be airing on 28 June 2020 as part of the Big Flix property only on &flix and &flixHD.  

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Jun 23

Disney+Hotstar rents Ramoji Film City for three years

Posted in: Animation

In one of a kind event, Disney+Hotstar has taken Ramoji Film City on rent for three years.

Due to the pandemic, maximum OTT platforms have witnessed a huge spike in content consumption during the lockdown. Homebound to contain the spread, people resorted to OTT platforms for entertainment.

In fact, the lockdown saw many big banner Bollywood and other regional films having a direct-to-OTT release. Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Gulabo Sitabo released recently on Amazon Prime Video and will soon be followed by Akshay Kumar’s Laxxmi Bomb on Disney+Hotstar, Vidya Balan’s Shakuntala Devi on Amazon Prime Video, Ghoomketu on ZEE5 and Janhvi Kapoor’s Gunjan Saxena on Netflix. 

And probably considering this, the Disney owned streaming service has rented the world’s largest film city. The streaming service renting it can put an unofficial embargo on any other film unit shooting at the premise; thus ensuring seamless content production and having an advantageous venue.

Disney acquired Star India and Hotstar as a part of its Fox merger in 2019. The merger as well as the launch of Disney+ through it, has made Hotstar one of the most powerful OTT platforms in India. However, renting the Ramoji Film City is reportedly going to pose business threats to movie theatres given the uncertain scenario. However, OTT platforms wouldn’t be much of a saviour in case of big budget, action/drama/VFX heavy star studded films. 

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Jun 23

EA confirms ‘Apex Legends’ to enter mobile gaming space

Posted in: Animation

Last year, EA’s Apex Legends took the gaming world by storm, becoming one of the few Fortnite contenders. Apex Legends was available for free on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One platforms and now EA has confirmed that it will soon enter the mobile gaming space.

A video conference call showing EA CEO Andrew Wilson talking about mobile gaming has been leaked on Twitter by an Apex Legends leaks channel. In the video, Wilson reveals that the company is planning to soft launch Apex Legends — which is currently on PC and consoles — on mobile by the end of this year. This will be the first battle royale game that EA has launched on mobile.

The official Apex Legends Twitter handle has teased what looks like a mobile version of the game with the text, “Coming Fall 2020”. Back in 2019, EA confirmed that Apex Legends Mobile could be released by the end of 2020.

Wilson spoke about mobile gaming and plans of bringing several other games to the mobile platform. These games are in various stages of development. Apex Legends in particular, stood out as it will be EA’s first mobile battle royale game, building on its success on PC and console, and entering a market that, as of now, is dominated by PUBG Mobile.

Apex Legends released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in February last year as a free to play battle royale game. At the time, it rose in popularity due to its new mechanics like the ‘ping’ system that was later adopted by other battle royale games as well, and the ability to respawn teammates even after they have been killed. It also brought a selection of characters or ‘Legends’ that have their own abilities as well.

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Jun 23

Rocksteady is developing a ‘Suicide Squad’ Game

Posted in: Animation

The developer of the Batman: Arkham games, Rocksteady, is developing a Suicide Squad game. The name of the game is apparently Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League.

The news was confirmed after a report by Eurogamer. Rocksteady has apparently been working on the title for years. The report also mentions that the game’s domain is registered by WB Interactive, along with the domain for WB Montreal’s rumoured Batman: Court of Owls game. Both games may be revealed at DC’s Fandome event.

 

Rumours about this swirled when ResetEra user DriftingOrbit found registrations for “suicidesquadgame.com”, “suicidesquadkillthejusticeleague.com” and “gothamknightsgame.com.”

This would make a new Suicide Squad game very timely, although the rumors stress that Rocksteady’s project is still quite early in development. That being said, the possibility to control some of the various iconic characters who have operated in the group over the years – such as Deadshot, King Shark, and the ever-popular Harley Quinn – with the level of polish that Rocksteady has demonstrated in its universally acclaimed Batman Arkham series is an exciting prospect. Details about this new Suicide Squad game are still unknown, so fans should stay posted for future developments whenever they might surface.

DC Comics announced a virtual FanDome event, which is a free global 24-hour long fan experience. The DC FanDome event will be starting on August 22 at 10.30 PM IST.

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Jun 23

Nick brings brand new episodes for ‘Shiva’

Posted in: Animation

Nickelodeon (Nick) has come up with all new episodes of Shiva airing Monday to Friday at 11:30 am and 7:00 pm. The channel announced on its official Instagram account. 

Though country-wide lockdown has now been lifted, given the spike in COVID numbers, schools have still not resumed and kids are still enjoying an extended summer vacation. Thus, kids broadcasters like Nickelodeon and others have ordered new episodes and engaging content to keep kids occupied and entertained.

Produced by animation studio Cosmos-Maya and Viacom18, Shiva is one of the popular television kids shows in India. It revolves around Shiva, a young boy who lives with his grandparents in a fictional city named Vedas in India. He has supernatural powers and fights a lot of villains who are harmful for his city. A policeman named Mr. Laddo Singh who wants to catch the criminals but gets in trouble is helped by Shiva. Shiva and his friends are always rewarded by the Indian Government for their bravery.

Shiva is now available in eight languages – Hindi, Gujrati, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. It also streams on Viacom18 owned VOOT Kids. 

The new episodes are going to be filled with super cool actions, fun, entertainment, laughter and more. Earlier in 2016, Nick rebranded Sonic and moved Shiva to its subsidiary channel. 

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Jun 23

The Lovers, The Dreamers & Me

Posted in: Animation

Color is a powerful tool that can capture our attention and captivate the heart. The rainbow flag, a predominant symbol within the LGBTQ movement, is a great example of just this. What is behind the lasting relationship between human beings and this illusory phenomenon?

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Jun 23

M – Morris

Posted in: Animation
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Jun 22

‘Call of Duty: Mobile’ teases new map Highrise to be added soon

Posted in: Animation

Call of Duty: Mobile has teased yet another multiplayer map and many have figured out that the new map will be Highrise. Like most new multiplay maps added to the game, Highrise is also a classic map which was first introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and as you may have guessed from the name, features players battling it out on top of a building.

Last week, Call of Duty: Mobile added the new Gulag map in the 2v2 Gunfight mode. As part of the new season, the battle royale map has been expanded with seven  new areas including Black Market, Harbour, Sanitarium, Heat, Downtown, Frigid Wetlands, and Ski Town. Players can now even get a tank in battle royale mode.

The developers haven’t said when the new map will come, but they have stated that any teasers not a part of the season’s roadmap will not be added to the game in the current season at the very least. The developers note “if it is a big item, like a Multiplayer map, and it isn’t in our Roadmap, then it probably won’t be out this season.” So it’s pretty safe to say that players will have to wait a while before they can try out the new map for themselves.

The current season has also introduced a new battle royale class called Smoke Bomber. Smoke Bomber’s special ability, Cluster Smoke Grenade, disrupts enemies’ vision via projectiles that disperse smoke in a wide area.

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Jun 22

‘Lucifer’ Season 5 Netflix Premiere Date is out

Posted in: Animation

Netflix has confirmed that Lucifer season 5 will premiere on 21 August 2020. The streaming service revealed the release date for the next chapter of Lucifer by dropping a “66.6 second” trailer for season 5, which opens with a steamy look at show star Tom Ellis getting back to his devilish ways – and bedding quite a few ladies in the process along with a lot of obvious magical scenes created with the help of VFX.

Twitter account recently released the new footage and release date with the caption, “We know you can’t wait for Lucifer season five, so here’s a devilish 66.6 second to keep you sinful until Season Five pt. 1 drops on August 21st”.

Lucifer is an American urban fantasy television series developed by Tom Kapinos that premiered on Fox on January 25, 2016. It is based on the DC Comics character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg taken from the comic book series The Sandman, who later became the protagonist of a spin-off comic book series, both published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint. The series is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.

VFX for Lucifer will be worked upon by CoSA VFX

Lucifer Season 5 premieres on Netflix on 21 August 2020.

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