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#paramount #streaming #entertainment
Paramount Skydance isn't waiting around for its planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to bolster its flagship streaming service. Paramount's streaming leaders have told employees that they're planning major upgrades to Paramount+ in the coming weeks. An internal presentation, which was unveiled during a streaming town hall this week and viewed by Business Insider, shows "Product Priority Highlights" for Paramount's streaming business this quarter. These initiatives are part of Paramount CEO David Ellison's plan to improve the tech of a 114-year-old media company that trails Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney in streaming subscribers. Buying WBD would help Paramount catch up quickly and give it over 200 million streaming customers, the company has said. Read more about Paramount’s streaming projects on Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/eKfn9wyH (Credit: Getty Images) #paramount #streaming #entertainment
Bombshell memo shows Biden planned to leave Trump with even more massive immigration crisis
Sen. Eric Schmitt obtained a Biden White House memo revealing plans to expand TPS to over 3.1 million noncitizens in the administration's final days.
Colombia Schools, Businesses Urged to Go Remote on Natural Gas Pause
Colombia’s government is urging schools and businesses to operate remotely for several days starting next week as the nation braces for natural gas rationing during planned maintenance of its sole import terminal.
If PlayStation kills physical media, it should "get rid of the hardware" too, says the creator of popular RPG series Disgaea
Disgaea creator Sohei Niikawa has strong thoughts on Sony's planned move away from physical media.
TxDOT announces Business 6 Flyover closure in Navasota
he Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced the planned closure of the Northbound Business 6 flyover starting on July 24
The Trump Family Sparks a Revolution in Albania
A luxury development planned by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump has spurred anti-corruption protests.
McCormick unveils leadership, operating plan after Unilever Foods deal
Hunt Valley-based McCormick & Co. unveiled its leadership team and operating structure for its planned combination with Unilever’s Foods business.
Comcast earnings highlight NBCUniversal strength ahead of planned split
Comcast said earlier this year it would split the cable businesses from the media business, creating two separate publicly traded companies.
Planned Parenthood endorses Pingree for governor
After receiving the Planned Parenthood endorsement, Pingree said she will push for a state constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to abortion, look to partner with other states to ensure access to medication abortion and work to backfill gaps in federal funding.
7 events in Lancaster County this week, from a cat benefit car show to a Hispanic festival
With a beautiful weather forecast planned, there's no excuse to not get out and try something new this weekend.
Revel Entertainment plans to build new outdoor amphitheater
Revel’s owner wants to bring free community events, food trucks and live music to a new outdoor venue currently planned to fit 800 people.
Loads of fun planned for Sullivan Daze
The town of Sullivan will host Sullivan Daze, its annual “celebration of community and place,” at Sumner Park and other nearby locations on Friday and Saturday, July 31 and Aug.
Multi-Restaurant and Entertainment Concept The Forge Begins Soft Opening in Midtown Ocala
The Forge has officially entered its soft opening phase, with six restaurant concepts now open and additional businesses planned in the coming weeks and months.
VHC Health’s plans for S. Carlin Springs facility face questions from local residents
Future neighbors of a planned behavioral-health and rehabilitation compound on S. Carlin Springs Road are pressing for more details about management and oversight. Representatives of VHC Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health met with local residents during a July 16 meeting convened by the Glencarlyn Civic Association to discuss the proposed 146-bed facility. Under the plan moving
'Entertainment center' with bowling, arcade, restaurant, bar planned for southeast Mahomet
A 17,000-square-foot entertainment center, planned for Tabeling Development's Prairieview Commons subdivision, will include bowling, arcade games, a sports bar and a full-service restaurant.
'Entertainment center' with bowling, arcade, restaurant and bar planned for southeast Mahomet
A 17,000-square-foot entertainment center, planned for lots B and C of Tabeling Development's Prairieview subdivision, will include bowling, arcade games, a sports bar and a full-service restaurant.
Cheyenne Public Services Committee mulls planned business park addition, new Sweetgrass developments Monday
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The City of Cheyenne's Public Services Committee will meet Monday to discuss the proposed annexation and zoning of a 34-acre lot to be
Florida Hemp Businesses Hope Trump Can Save Them From Planned Federal Ban On THC Products
“The category’s too big to fail. The consumer demand is there. The infrastructure is in place. I don’t think that it’s going anywhere. It’s a matter of when and how we get regulated.” By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix On Saturday, St. Petersburg retailer Herban Flow hosted its third High and Dry Festival, which featured dozens […]
Eagles Can Only Trade Jalen Carter Under One Condition
If the Philadelphia Eagles planned to trade Jalen Carter, though I don't want to say that it absolutely would be the worst move ever, I think it's important to recognize that first-round picks and draft assets aren't always as promising as they seem.
Letters: Planned White House visit causing a stir among Dodger fans
Readers of the Los Angeles Times Sports section give their thoughts on the Dodgers' planned visit to the White House, the Angels and VAR (video assistant referee).
Letters to Sports: Planned White House visit causing a stir among Dodger fans
Readers of the Los Angeles Times Sports section give their thoughts on the Dodgers' planned visit to the White House, the Angels and VAR (video assistant referee).
SIFF Cinema Downtown workers walk out before ‘The Odyssey’ showings
Members of SIFF Cinema Workers Union took action before a sold-out matinee of the movie at SIFF Cinema Downtown on Friday. More walkouts are planned.
Trump urges Darline Graham to run for full Senate term as funeral planned for her brother
President Donald Trump said Friday that Darline Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, has his support to run for a full term to replace her brother in the U.S. Senate.
Fact-checking Trump's address on China, the 2020 election and what documents show
President Donald Trump quoted years-old intelligence community documents, including some that had been declassified or partially redacted, without noting a distinction between what China may have planned versus what analysts say it did.
Ribbon cutting, tours planned to celebrate completion of Kelce College of Business building and Besse Hotel renovation
Pittsburg State University and the community will celebrate the completion of two transformative projects with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and self-guided tours on Aug. 11.
Jayden Daniels Makes His Feelings on Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Clear
After a memorable rookie season that helped lead the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, Jayden Daniels’ sophomore campaign didn’t go as planned.Washington finished 5-12, and injuries limited Daniels to just seven games.Despite missing most of the season, Daniels became one of the four quarterbacks featured on Season 3 of Netflix’s Quarterback, which followed […] The post Jayden Daniels Makes His Feelings on Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Clear appeared first on HEAVY.
Soccer stadium partners with Rock Entertainment Group
Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) today announced that Rock Entertainment Group (REG) – the organization behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rocket Arena and Cleveland’s incoming WNBA franchise – will lead the naming rights and entitlement sales process for South Gateway Stadium, CSG’s planned 10,000-seat venue on the south side of downtown Cleveland. Read More
Hasbro announces new partnership with Nintendo for Zelda toys
Today, Hasbro announced a new licensing partnership with Nintendo for toys based on The Legend of Zelda. The collaboration begins in 2027. We should be getting our first look at what’s planned very soon. At San Diego Comic Con, three 6″ scale figures will be revealed. Comic Con takes place between July 23 and July 26. Billy Lagor, President Toys...
San Util Design gears up for move to Washington, announces business model changes
This article ran in the June issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry NewsWINTER PARK, Colo. — San Util Design, a company that handcrafts bags and gear for backcountry travel, bikepacking, and mountain biking, is moving operations from Colorado to Bellingham, Washington. The move, which was planned for the end of June, coincides with changes to San Util’s business model.
Healthcare – Democrats, Protect Our Care to launch $5M ad campaign attacking GOP health cuts
Presented by Planned Parenthood{beacon} View Online
County business park to get first infrastructure, new name
New Hanover County’s Holly Shelter Business Park could be getting its first infrastructure and a new name in the coming months. The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $6.5 million infrastructure construction contract and renaming on Monday. Once developed, the approximately 300-acre master-planned industrial park is expected to accommodate more than 2 million square feet of industrial space. The construction contract was awarded to Carolina Civilworks, which submitted the lowest responsive bid for the construction of the infrastructure, Akin Akinola, the county’s engineer, told commissioners on Monday. In May 2023, the county approved a development agreement with Sidbury Land & Property Company to establish the business park. The firm then conveyed approximately 52 acres to the county, giving officials the option to purchase another 200 acres, Akinola said. “The county’s role is to construct the initial public infrastructure that will make the site ready for future development,” he said. “Today’s contract award represents the first major construction phase of that project.” The first phase of development will include approximately 2,750 linear feet of business park roadway, a water main and fire hydrants, along with a sanitary sewer pump station, sewer force main and gravity sewer. Other infrastructure will include a right-turn lane on Holly Shelter Road, along with associated drainage, utilities and traffic control improvements. “Completing this work establishes the backbone infrastructure necessary to serve future development and positions the site for future economic investment,” Akinola said on Monday. County staff, in consultation with Wilmington Business Development officials, are also recommending renaming the park as the I-40 Coastal Commerce Park, said Jennifer Rigby, the county’s chief strategy officer. The new name would emphasize the park’s proximity to I-40 and its location on the coast, she said. Several county commissioners also asked to add New Hanover County's name to the business park's name to commemorate the county's contributions. “We are hoping to achieve space for our businesses to grow and expand here in New Hanover County,” Rigby said. “We’ve had great success with out Blue Clay Business Park and this is another opportunity to really provide locations for our businesses to grow and expand.”
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the trailers would have you believe. They’ve go their clips of Edward Kenway swinging his swords and steering his pirate ship into cannon-blasting combat against British frigates. Is Resynced truly a pirate game? Of the 47 hours I spent playing Resynced over the past few weeks, I will admit I spent maybe 44 (?) of them collecting plunder with Blackbeard, drinking rum with Anne Bonny and debating the pros and cons of the lawless pirate-run settlement Nassau with Benjamin Hornigold. I may in fact have spent dozens of hours sailing to remote islands, reading treasure maps, opening messages left in bottles, sinking the odd Man o’ War with a well-timed broadside, collecting sea shanties for my crew, befriending a pet monkey, and hunting whales. I am nevertheless neither so Gullible nor so Narrow-Minded as to call the magnificent Resynced a “pirate remake.” Oh no. Forget any reviews of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced you may have read. Forget what you yourself may have played, if you’ve spent any time with the game since its launch. What Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is really about I’m here to give you the scoop (spoilers for Resynced’s Animus menu lore, which many players are probably not going to see): Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the new game whose development was led by Ubisoft Singapore, is set in the year 2096. It’s about a societal split, about revolution, about an old Assassin’s Creed adventure repurposed in the series’ distant future as propaganda or samizdat. It’s about the overheated future of 2096, essentially conquered by the series’ well-established nefarious Templar-run company Abstergo. (In this future, Abstergo is, among other things, remaking a 2013 pirate movie called Devils of the Caribbean, but this time in VR. The VR version will be backed by a marketing plan that involves AI influencers, a 10,000-avatar “metaverse premiere event” and that manufacturing of memes aimed at “50 million VR nodes.” See what I mean about Abstergo being evil?) Resynced is about a late 21st-century population mollified by the widespread use of Abstergo’s Animus devices which let people experience the lives of historical figures culled from “genetic memories.” It’s about an insurgent faction of Assassins. And it’s about a plan to wake the population into revolutionary fervor by showing them the memories of 18th century pirate Edward Kenway, who—as depicted in the original Black Flag and again in Resynced—gradually comes to an understanding about the Assassins of his day and their centuries old fight for freedom. Resynced is also about an AI developed within the late 21st-century Animus, called Ego. It has found a way to alter genetic memories, to create and show Animus users false ones. The game is about Ego’s efforts to tell the people experiencing Edward Kenway’s memories that Kenway was wrong, that fighting against order is folly, that we should crave a world where “compliance is rewarded with power.” Who are we in this game? We’re an unnamed Animus user in 2096 who experiences Kenway’s journey virtually. At four moments during Kenway’s exploits in the Caribbean our virtual jaunt can be interrupted for 10-15 minutes, as we explore Animus “rifts” where Ego explicitly tries to tell us how wrong Kenway was. None of this is what 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was about, of course. That was a different game, even if you also spent dozens of hours pirating as Kenway in that game, across missions and a map that’s been faithfully reintroduced and rebuilt for Resynced. The 2013 Black Flag was about you playing as an unnamed researcher newly hired in 2013 by Abstergo Entertainment, the video game development wing of the Templars’ evil-corp. In that game, you were assigned to use the Animus to dive into the genetic memories of Desmond Miles, a man who died in Assassin’s Creed III and who was descended from a long line of Assassins (and at least one Templar) whose adventures were featured across the prior AC games. In 2013’s Black Flag, your mission was to plumb the Edward Kenway experience for material that Abstergo could use in productions such as the motion picture Devils of the Caribbean, though the Templars had some ulterior motives for the assignment. Resynced is therefore not a remake of 2013’s Black Flag. It’s a sequel. It is a new game about a new exploration of Edward Kenway’s pirate/assassin journey, set 83 years after the framing sequences of the original game. Resynced provides a new narrative framework that, thanks to the concept of an AI that wants to alter historical memories, arrives with creative justification to tweak a now-classic 13-year old game. That makes Resynced, already a hot seller, a tantalizing hint of where Ubisoft could go with a line of Assassin’s Creed remakes. They could remake the first game, the Ezio games, even the recent ones set in ancient Egypt and Greece. And for each, they could not just modernize the graphics and controls but expand and alter their sequences of events to use them as reference points for a conflict set in the late 21st century, as rival factions try to weaponize historical memories. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, even when that work consists of ravings about Assassin’s Creed’s modern day plot, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe A story most players will probably miss If you didn’t know any of this, I’m not surprised. If you played the game and still didn’t catch it, I’m not a bit shocked. If Ubisoft has no plans to do more of this, I won’t fall down. Almost all of what I’ve described is optional and missable in Black Flag Resynced. I nearly missed it myself, as I planned for a breezy playthrough of an old Assassin’s Creed favorite. Instead, I found myself in a 40+ hour hunt for the “real” story, buried deeper in Resynced than any gold-filled chest. The story of 2096 is Resynced’s meta-story, told in two remote pockets of the game: 1) four optional playable “rifts” that players may find as they proceed through Resynced’s pirate fantasy , 2) in dozens of text files tucked three menus deep in the game’s barely-interactive Animus hub. Assassin’s Creed games have almost always had a meta-story about people in the 21st century (usually matching the game’s release year) and their connections to the main history portions you play. Those meta-stories have always been squeezed into the margins, though seldom as severely and as, uh, graphiaclly simple, as in recent games. Back in 2013, the modern-day exploits of you as an Abstergo Entertainment employee were prominent. They were portrayed via first-person portions that occasionally interrupted the third-person Kenway experience and could be explored for hours, complete with their own missions, side quests and puzzles. Resynced’s 2096 story—of Assassin “Watchers” vs. Abstergo/Tempar goons, of rogue AIs, of panicking scientists, of a woman wondering why her Animus-addicted husband is muttering about Mary Read (“What does he mean by Assassins?”), of a fight for the population’s hearts and minds via varying interpretations of Edward Kenway’s life choices—is mostly told through unlockable text files. The files are interesting. Offered via diary entries, intercepted chats and news reports, they present varied perspectives of a world in crisis. One set works as a narrative puzzle as it reveals the Rashomonic interpretations of a massacre, or was that a successful Assassin hit? Another favorite reveals the rising bitterness of a person who, through Edward Kenway’s journey, now shakes at the ignored evil around him. One surmises that Ubisoft is averse to putting the Assassin’s Creed’s meta-story in the way of more marketable pirate playgrounds and ninja/samurai epics. Instead, we get a better-than-nothing text-in-menus approach introduced in 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In Shadows, players unlocked the meta-story text files largely via time-gated missions that called on the user to kill X number of enemy type Y, clear three enemy castles, re-win a three-phase fighting tournament, and other grinds. Time restrictions on accessing these missions and unlocking the files meant it could take players months to access the full story in-game. But even in the most hardcore Assassin’s Creed hangouts, the fanbase instead seemed to throw up their hands rather than grind to keep up. In Resynced, Ubisoft has shown some mercy, diminishing the amount of new text files that are tied to timed grinds. Now, most of the text-based 2096 lore are associated with “data file” collectibles that players can find in the world. That includes a batch of written entries that explain a historical link between the feudal Japan era in Shadows and the piracy adventures in Black Flag. Players who explore a lot will find dozens of data files, though the game does not appear to offer any in-game tracker for finding each one. You just need to keep looking for them. As of this writing, I have most of them, but not all. I can’t find any full guide for them online. And even Ubisoft’s optional $5 microtransaction that reveals lots of items in-game does not appear to reveal the locations of the text files (at least the official description omits them from its collectibles list). That’s not a huge bother, because tracking the data files down compelled me to re-explore the waves and islands of Black Flag. That was a thoroughly pleasant task to do for the first time in a dozen years. I expect many players, though, will be content to wait for the files to be reproduced in an online AC wiki somewhere, the easier to read on a web page. It may not seem enticing to play a video game in order to gradually unlock pages of text to read. Why not, you may ask, just read a book, where they put the pages in order? For one, they’ve not tucked this latest installment of Assassin’s Creed’s meta saga in a book. I also enjoy the unordered delivery, the dawning comprehension of a story about 2096’s desperate people and questionable tech, which I glimpsed first at its middle, then the end, then the front, then other moments in between1. I am also enamored with the idea of the Assassin’s Creed games I’ve previously played, including Black Flag, being repurposed for an information war. The ideas in Resynced’s meta-story, which builds off characters and ideas in Shadows’ chunks of text, are strong. The potential of where they could go with it is exciting. As for the pirate stuff? Looks great, controls pretty well, is fun to play and oh so speedy in terms of how much of a good time you can have with each sit-down. It never gets old to chase a new shanty page across a rooftop, bombard a fort with upgraded mortars or use a diving bell to explore sunken wrecks (hats off to the team at Ubisoft Barcelona that worked on the underwater portions in Resynced; that team is now facing layoffs, such is the misery of modern gaming and oft-troubled Ubisoft). New pirate missions in Resynced involving new ally characters are brief, dramatic and add more to Edward’s story, even if the gameplay perks they provide barely enhance the gameplay. A new denouement for high-class pirate Stede Bonnet is affecting; a new hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure is a welcome extra moment. A new epilogue to hunt down a pirate killer, on the other hand, over-complicates Kenway’s character. The ending credits remain my favorite of any game I’ve ever played. Black Flag provides great source material. The revisit is well-made and a great sign of what could be. It is offered in a different wrapper that hints at an opportunity for more interesting remakes to come, should Ubisoft choose to pursue such treasures—and as we brace to resist or comply with an Abstergo future. 1 The messages that Edward Kenway finds in bottles tell another out-of-order story, one about a man reckoning with the strange memories and voices he’s heard in his head since he was a boy. That tale was also in the 2013 game and develops into one of Black Flag’s most compelling character arcs. In Resynced, it has lost its climax, because the bottle story previously paid off in the halls of the first-person Abstergo Entertainment, which is exclusive to the older game. An altered resolution, written by the 2013 game’s lead writer is fine, doesn’t invalidate the 2013 version, but makes for an inferior final note.
The Spurs want input on a downtown arena and entertainment district. San Antonians are eager to weigh in.
San Antonio residents shared ideas and desires for a sports and entertainment district at the first of 10 planned listening sessions.
Ribbon cutting planned at Fort Dodge sports complex
Fort Dodge is unveiling upgrades at the Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex with a ribbon cutting and public tours Tuesday.
NASA selects four new Moon missions to build a permanent lunar base
NASA is ramping up its lunar ambitions by awarding nearly $600 million for four commercial Moon landings planned for late 2028. Each mission will carry the same trio of science instruments to improve lunar navigation, study dangerous dust kicked up during landings, and map the Moon's radiation environment. The agency also revealed plans for new rovers, communication satellites, and additional cargo missions as it lays the groundwork for a permanent Moon Base.
Abortion provider sues Ohio Department of Health for delay in licensing paperwork
Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio has filed the case in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.
Hochul wants answers from DHS on planned immigration detention centers in N.Y.
Gov. Hochul said in a letter the public did not hear about the projects from the federal government but from press reports and procurement records.
Minneapolis business owners seek delay in Lyndale Avenue construction
Business owners in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood are seeking to delay a planned construction project along Lyndale Avenue, as a deadline to use federal funding for the project approaches.
Apple M7 Ultra Chip Planned With Up to 1.5 TB of Unified Memory
Apple has recently overhauled its entire M-Series chip plans, scrapping the launch of the M6 Pro and M6 Max processors and jumping straight to the M7 series. While the base M6 SoC is expected to launch, Apple is moving into the M7 series without the M6 Pro/Max variants, with plans to offer some...
Super Bomberman Collection update announced, adding Panic Bomber W for free
A new update is in the works for Super Bomberman R which will add Panic Bomber W for free, Konami just announced. This is planned for August 20, 2026. Panic Bomber W originally released on the Super Famicom. It’s a puzzle game in which you can attack opponents with combos and “Big Bombs”. Super Bomberman Collection is already packed with...
What SoundHound AI (SOUN)'s S-4 Business Combination and Platform Expansion Means For Shareholders
In recent days, SoundHound AI, Inc. filed an S-4 registration statement for a planned business combination and confirmed strong year-over-year revenue growth alongside ongoing quarterly losses and a solid cash balance with no debt. At the same time, the company is pushing beyond its automotive roots into a broader enterprise AI platform, using acquisitions and subscription services to expand use cases across restaurants, healthcare, retail, financial services, and telecom. We’ll now examine...
Wes Anderson's needle-drop genius gets its due at his Hollywood Bowl tribute
Anderson’s score work is planned to exacting detail. But this three-night stand with Bill Murray, Beck, Jackson Browne and more was played in the spirit of the way fans revisit his beloved films.
Hyde Park Square business says it is relocating amid controversial redevelopment plans
A Hyde Park Square business says that it is being forced to relocate amid the controversial redevelopment plans that are planned for the neighborhood over the next few years.
Ryse: Son of Rome Is Now Just an Xbox One Memory, but in 2013 It Was Planned To Be an Era-Hopping Franchise To Rival Assassin’s Creed’s Global Ambition
Ryse: Son of Rome was originally planned to explore multiple eras, Assassin's Creed style, before critical and commercial failure sank Crytek and Xbox's ambition.
Letters: Another Dodgers visit to White House draws criticism
Readers of the Los Angeles Times Sports section criticize the Dodgers' planned visit to the White House as well as the World Cup, Lakers and Angels.
Serco CEO is leaving to lead KBR spinoff
Serco CEO Michael LaRouche is leaving the company to lead the planned spinoff of KBR's Mission Technology Solutions business.
Mamdani official's planned meeting with Iran envoy shut down by State Department
A Mamdani administration official planned to meet Iran's UN ambassador before the State Department intervened and canceled the diplomatic encounter.
Planned Parenthood sues Ohio health department over clinic license transfer
Planned Parenthood is asking the court to hold the Ohio Department of Health in contempt.
Report: Obsidian to work on Fallout title as unannounced projects cancelled
Game said to be led by New Vegas director Josh Sawyer, small team to continue work on planned Avowed sequel
Everything Coming in the 2026 Apple TV 4K
The Apple TV 4K hasn't been updated since 2022, and it's due for a refresh. An update is planned for 2026, but Apple is likely going to wait to launch it after Siri AI launches in iOS 27. Design Apple TV design updates don't happen often, and that's not changing. The next Apple TV is going to have the same squircle shape as the current model, and it'll continue to be made from a black plastic material.
Microsoft’s Xbox to Shift Obsidian Studio to New ‘Fallout’ Video Game
The game maker is also canceling a planned sequel to last year’s ‘Avowed’
Microsoft’s Xbox to Shift Obsidian Studio to New ‘Fallout’ Video Game
The game maker is also canceling a planned sequel to last year’s ‘Avowed’
Step forward for long-planned entertainment venue
Wolverhampton council’s cabinet agrees to appoint an operator for the "box space"-style site.
Secretive Chinese probe snaps first photo of Earth's mysterious 'quasi-moon' — and it may pose a big problem
China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has captured the first close-up photo of one of Earth's "quasi-moons," Kamo'oalewa. However, the image and the timing of its release suggest that it may be harder for the probe to collect samples from the space rock than originally planned.
Report: Cheaper Apple Vision Pro Display Work Winds Down at Samsung
Apple has suspended development of the display for a cheaper, lighter version of the Vision Pro that it originally planned to launch in the next few years, according to The Elec. The Korean outlet says Apple supplier Samsung Display is set to internally wind down the panel project – known in the industry as "G-VR" – with development set to be formally terminated by September.
VNA Health Group Announces Planned Retirement of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Rogers, CPA
NEPTUNE, NJ (July 8, 2026) – After more than two decades of service across two tenures with VNA Health Group and a distinguished career spanning more than 35 years in home-based healthcare, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Rogers, CPA, has announced his plans to retire from his full-time leadership role at the[...]
Neighbors pack public meeting over Midtown Costco’s planned conversion to business center
Residents packed a public meeting Tuesday night to confront Costco officials over plans to convert the Midtown Kansas City warehouse into a business center.
Neighbors pack public meeting over Midtown Costco’s planned conversion to business center
The meeting, held at the Westport branch of the Kansas City Public Library, was required by city rules before Costco can take its rezoning request to the Kansas City Plan Commission.
Samsung to Get Jump on Apple’s First Foldable With New Phones in July
Samsung Electronics Co. will host its next Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22, when the leading foldable phone maker is expected to unveil a Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a shorter and wider design that resembles Apple Inc.’s planned folding iPhone.
News | Bahraini investor backs South Florida sports and entertainment hub
ME&F Holdings closes first funding round for planned Miami FC stadium
Medicaid funding is resuming for Planned Parenthood, Maine provider
Planned Parenthood and two smaller regional abortion providers are resuming billing Medicaid for services other than abortion after being cut off for most of a year.
Men’s health fair planned Friday
PARKERSBURG — Youth participants in the Student Summit are addressing men’s mental health and will host a fair Friday at Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg. The summit is a leadership and advocacy program hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of America. Four club teens chose men’s health as the topic for their advocacy […]
Everything New in iOS 27 Beta 3
Apple is continuing to refine iOS 27 ahead of its planned September launch, and the third beta includes several new features. Siri is more customizable, there's a fun new wallpaper action, and some useful improvements to Photos and Shortcuts. Siri Voice Beta 3 adds support for Siri voice customization on compatible devices. The customization option existed in prior betas, but it was not active.
Rally planned at Hing Hay Park to draw World Cup fans to Chinatown-International District
With one FIFA World Cup match remaining in Seattle, business owners in the Chinatown-International District are making one final push to draw in global soccer fans as the neighborhood has struggled with sales.
Iridium folds Aireon aviation safety service into Rocket Lab-bound business
Iridium Communications has completed its takeover of Aireon, bringing the aircraft-tracking venture fully in-house ahead of the satellite operator’s planned $8 billion sale to Rocket Lab.
Fort Bend County Fair to Reveal 2026 Entertainment Lineup at Free Sugar Land Event
SUGAR LAND, Texas (Covering Katy News) — The Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo will reveal its 2026 entertainment lineup during a free public event Wednesday as the organization prepares to celebrate its 90th anniversary. Fort Bend County Fair 2026 Lineup Reveal Set for July 8 in Sugar Land The “Who’s Playing at the Fair?” gathering is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at Talyard Brewing Company, 1033 Imperial Blvd. Attendees will be the first to learn which artists are set to perform, with giveaways, special guests and family-friendly activities planned. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.2026 Fort Bend County Fair Dates and Schedule The fair’s Championship BBQ Cook-Off is set for Sept. 18-19, with the main fair and rodeo running Sept. 25 through Oct. 4. The events will feature nightly concerts, livestock shows, youth competitions, rodeo performances and carnival attractions. What to Expect at the Fort Bend County Fair 90th Anniversary Celebration "We’re excited to kick off our 90th year by answering the question everyone is asking — who’s playing at the fair?” Fair President Brian Graeber said. “This event is a chance for residents to come together, become part of our fair family, and get an early look at what’s in store for our milestone celebration.” Fort Bend County Fair Scholarship and Youth Impact For 90 years, the Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo has focused on benefiting youth, promoting agriculture and supporting education. This year, the organization awarded $250,000 in scholarships and generated more than $1.4 million through its junior livestock and other auctions. The lineup reveal is free and open to the public. For more information, visit fortbendcountyfair.com or follow the fair on social media. The fairgrounds are located at 4310 Hwy. 36 South in Rosenberg.
Comcast's Sky to Acquire ITV Networks, Streaming Unit
The ITV Studios production arm will become a standalone business after the planned transaction.
$28.5M modernization project planned at San Juan High School
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Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
What’s being built, bought and planned in Ascension Parish
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