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‘Avatar: Seven Havens’ review: Beloved franchise gets vibrant expansion

The sequel to "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra," premiering Friday on Paramount+, is a worthwhile franchise addition, writes our reviewer.

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Oct 9 • 4:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • yakimaherald.com
Netflix’s Summer of Bummer

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today, I’ve got a guest post from longtime friend of the newsletter, Brandon Katz. I’ve been trying to find time all summer to look at Netflix’s straight-to-streaming film slate, but between a pre-planned trip and Nielsen moving up their streaming data timeline, I’ve been swamped. So I reached out to Brandon, one of my favorite fellow analysts, to write about it. And I feel like he captured the tone and data focus of the newsletter perfectly. You can connect with Brandon on LinkedIn and Twitter. Enjoy! Don’t worry, folks. You’re in safe hands with me. To ease any anxieties about an interloper in ESG’s domain, I’ll start by stealing one of his best framing devices: headlines. Box office flops are covered in the same way the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eye pizza: with cartoonish insatiability. I would know. I’m a former reporter who wrote nearly identical headlines: Yet, intentionally or not, streaming misses get treated with kids gloves, filtered through a rosy lens: In the last six years, U.S. streaming viewership has become nearly as transparent as the box office, but the data often arrives weeks later, in a number of less intuitive metrics, and with nary an official budget to be found. This plays into the Wall Street-whispering narratives major streamers have been cultivating for years. They get a pass in a way that theatrical studios simply don’t. Subscribe Netflix’s Summer Slate Not a single Netflix original film released between May and August this year opened above 20 million U.S. TV hours, per Nielsen. That benchmark usually serves as the EntStrategyGuy’s floor for a streaming hit on Netflix. None of these films enjoyed a hit-cementing single week of 20-plus million hours during their runs. Netflix’s two best films were true crime docs, Maternal Instinct (16.5 million hours) and The Crash (19.7 million), the best overall week for a film this summer. Great for most other streamers, but not necessarily what we’re used to seeing from Netflix. For an overly-dramatic comparison, Happy Gilmore 2 opened last summer to around 47 million hours (celebrity cameos, baby!). Zooming out, the picture looks even worse. In 2026, Netflix’s five biggest scripted summer films posted the lowest average (28.6 million hours) and median (28.8 million hours) eight-week viewership totals of the past four years. Now, it’s unrealistic and unfair to expect Netflix to deliver a _KPop Demon Hunters-_sized hit every year. But it’s also not ideal to see the size of their hits shrinking over the last few summers. Let’s quickly run through some of the notable summer misses. Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein’s perfectly fine romcom, Office Romance, fell off the charts after 20 million hours in its first two weeks. Top films usually last for four-plus weeks. Starry titles ideally don’t decay that fast either. Homegrown star Millie Bobby Brown couldn’t prevent the snappy Enola Holmes franchise from diminishing returns. At 14.3 million U.S. hours, the third film posted roughly half of what the first two films did in their first two weeks. What’s on Netflix calculated that per-day global views were down nearly 60% from the second movie. The Whisper Man did okay with more than 36 million hours over its first four weeks. But I expected a little more juice from a film featuring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott. Kevin Hart’s Ladies First collected just 11.2 million hours total across two weeks. That’s a big miss for one of Netflix’s go-to stars. Plopping into the same bucket are Sunny Sandler’s Don’t Say Good Luck (10.3 million in two weeks) and John Cena’s Little Brother (17.5 million). Meanwhile, English-language originals Color Book (June 19), In the Hand of Dante (June 24) and Heartstopper Forever (July 17) never sniffed Nielsen’s Top 10 at all, despite needing only 2 to 5 million hours to land in the top ten most weeks. (By my count, eleven English-language scripted original films released between May and August did chart). It’s only fair to mention that Swapped (1-May) posted nearly 42 million U.S. hours over five weeks (the longest Netflix original run this summer) and is currently their eighth most-watched English-language film ever worldwide. Remarkably Bright Creatures (37 million, 4 weeks) and Voicemails for Isabelle (27 million, 4 weeks) weren’t bombs either. Still, overall, I think it’s fair to say this was a quieter summer season than we’re used to seeing from the market-leader. You might not realize that given the language commonly used in public analysis. The Twist Despite the starkly black-and-white tone of the coverage, here’s the twist: when many box office bombs arrive on streaming, their viewership looks a whole lot like many of Netflix’s supposedly successful summer releases. Hmm, where have we heard that one before? Masters of the Universe topped out at $65 million stateside against a $170 million budget_._ I’ll admit, Skeletor ripping sleeveless curls as a gym bro and bodyslamming Adam’s co-workers was funny. But, much to the chagrin of my bank account, my laughter doesn’t launch franchises. Yet the He-Man reboot opened to 19.6 million hours (from a Wednesday five-day opening instead of just one weekend), on par with Hoppers on Disney+ (19.4 million). It put up nearly 47 million hours over its first six weeks, bigger than all of Netflix’s summer releases. Pretty darn healthy and likely to land among the 25 most-watched movies on streaming this year. Sticking with Amazon, The Sheep Detectives just barely broke even at the box office with $133 million worldwide (and only $66 million domestic). I never expected cloven-hooved, cud-chewing mammals to be able to bring me to tears. Yet that’s exactly how I found myself at the end of this surprisingly affecting movie (#NoShame). It was likely the unexpected quality in a family-friendly film that powered its streaming over-performance. Sheep Detectives delivered a solid run for Prime video netting 26.2 million hours! How about franchise IP? Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu had the lowest opening ($81 million) and lowest-grossing Disney-era live-action Star Wars film ($178 million domestic). One day before release, its Heat score (19.8%)—audiences who list their interest as a 7/7—fell behind blockbusters Wicked (21%), Superman (23%), Fantastic Four: First Steps (23%), Michael (23%), Toy Story 5 (26%) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (27%), according to Greenlight Analytics. The urgent enthusiasm just wasn’t there. On streaming, Mando opened to weeks of 12.1 million, 6.1 million and 2.7 million hours (21 million total) over its first three frames. Not the numbers Lucasfilm was hoping for nor the numbers of a streaming hit. But they’re in the same vicinity as some Netflix summer releases with $345 million at the global box office to offset a smidgen of the pain. Final Thoughts So why oh why does this nuance gap exist? Four key reasons: Data Literacy: A “$100 million opening” just makes sense. After decades of box office reporting, even casual movie fans are well-versed in the benchmarks of hits and home runs. There’s an immediate shorthand. But “16.5 million” hours doesn’t land nearly as cleanly. Despite leaps of progress, the streaming ratings era is still in its infancy compared to theatrical. The EntStrategyGuy and I met thanks to a late 2010s group chat of data nerds hungry to find a shred of certainty in nebulous streaming performance. I’m not surprised to see “No. 1 on Netflix” still getting misconstrued out in the wild. Timing: By Friday morning, we have the box office’s Thursday night previews totaled, allowing us to better project the weekend’s expectations. From there, ticket sales are reported daily. By Sunday, the film’s fate is usually finalized, at least in terms of public perception. In streaming, Nielsen recently improved its delay to…two weeks. The medium isn’t forced to contend with instant gratification as harshly. Financials: Theatrical film budgets are a mere Google away. Profit and loss is calculated in the cold and unforgiving naked light of day for all to see. But finding the vast majority of streaming exclusive movie budgets requires the forensic investigation skills of a Criminal Minds detective. Also, it’s very difficult to calculate how much revenue/value a straight-to-streaming films provides a streamer. This is why there are so few stories about streaming original movies “losing X amount of money”. On top of that, marketing budgets are far greater for theatrical movies than streaming exclusive movies, which leads to earlier and better awareness. This then translates to a wider pool of potential interest. Narrative Control: Netflix is the only major streaming service to publish weekly first-hand viewership data and annual engagement reports. Naturally, some headlines borrow their first-hand framing**.** Other streamers benefit from their comparative lack of transparency. They may occasionally announce vague performance platitudes such as Apple TV’s Mayday becoming its “biggest film debut on the platform to date over its first 18 days,” and that it ranked No. 1 with left-handed viewers in its first weekend. (Fine, I made up that second one). But, for the most part, they keep first-hand viewership shrouded in mystery to avoid bad press. Especially for outlets that demand multiple articles per day from their writers, it’s an easy (and understandable) way for some reporters to hit their daily article quota by just repeating what the streamers have told them. TL:DR version: Streaming-exclusive movies are asked to do different things than theatrical movies, but that doesn’t mean they should escape judgment. Both still need to draw enough eyeballs to justify their cost within the proper performance contexts. The more cleanly we can inject a little nuance into streaming analysis, the better we’ll understand the audience and content trends that drive this industry. And that’s what all of this is really about: knowing what audiences actually want! Brandon Katz is the Director of Insights & Content Strategy at Greenlight Analytics where he focuses on evaluating the ever-fluid media landscape to unearth understanding, opportunity and value. Greenlight Analytics is the entertainment intelligence consulting company redefining how Hollywood finds, understands, and activates audiences. Prior to joining Greenlight Analytics, he served as the senior entertainment industry strategist at Parrot Analytics, and as a full-time entertainment industry reporter covering the Xs and Os of Hollywood, most notably with TheWrap and the Observer.

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'Avatar: The Last Airbender' reveals fourth series, this one based on Avatar Kuruk

News out of New York Comic Con!

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Oct 9 • 12:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • mashable.com
Avatar Kuruk gets his own animated TV series in “Wave of Chaos” first look

Paramount+ revealed imagery of young Kuruk and his animal companion, Nikik.

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Oct 9 • 12:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
'Avatar: Seven Havens' renewed for Seasons 3 and 4 on Paramount+

Get ready for a lot more Avatar.

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Oct 9 • 12:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • mashable.com
'Avatar: Seven Havens' review: The Avatar apocalypse is a bold, brilliant addition to the franchise

"Avatar: Seven Havens" blows everything up, and the franchise is better for it.

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Oct 9 • 3:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • mashable.com
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Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds DLC ‘Avatar Legends Pack’ launches October 14

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds downloadable content “Avatar Legends Pack” will launch on October 14, SEGA announced. It is also available as part of the $29.99 Season Pass.

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Oct 7 • 3:40 PM EDT • Technology • gematsu.com
In Tabuk, humanity and compassion came before politics

In Tabuk, humanity and compassion came before politics

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Oct 3 • 1:27 PM EDT • Politics • arabnews.com
Free Play Days – FARCRY 6, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Skull and Bones, The Crew Motorfest

This weekend, Polterguys: Possession Party is available this weekend for XBOX Game Pass members, while WWE 2K26 and Wildgate are free for all. Jump in!

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Oct 1 • 11:30 AM EDT • Technology • news.xbox.com
The Last of Us Day Marked with PS5 Avatars, Ghost of Yotei DLC, Figures

Get your redemption code here

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Sep 28 • 2:30 PM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com
The Last of Us Day Reveals Ghost of Yotei Collab Content and Ambience Video as Fans Beg Naughty Dog for TLOU 3

Naughty Dog has revealed it's celebrating The Last of Us Day 2026 with Ghost of Yotei content, player avatars on PlayStation and Steam, and an hour-long ambience video as fans continue begging for any updates on The Last of Us Part 3.

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Sep 28 • 1:59 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
The ‘Israeli question’ and American politics

The ‘Israeli question’ and American politics

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Sep 27 • 2:31 PM EDT • Politics • arabnews.com
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I created an interactive digital avatar of myself — and you can talk to it

After obtaining an interactive avatar and training it to discuss venture fraud, I have mixed feelings about making AI clones of ourselves.

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Sep 26 • 10:00 AM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
The Christmas of politics is here again

The Christmas of politics is here again

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Sep 25 • 9:06 AM EDT • Politics • arabnews.com
Google Adds Creepy Avatars To Gemini 3.8 Live's Agents

Google has introduced Gemini 3.8 live avatars designed for customer service and other tasks.

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Sep 25 • 6:53 AM EDT • Technology • engadget.com
Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar gives Google’s AI a face

The AI avatar can transition between 97 languages.

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Sep 24 • 3:59 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
Meta's New Holographic Avatars Are Here And They're Surprisingly Real

They're a notable improvement over the company's earlier attempts at digital likeness.

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Sep 23 • 7:53 PM EDT • Technology • engadget.com
Google expands free AI video generation in Google Vids

Google expands Google Vids: create free AI videos with Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, 1080p HD, avatars & SynthID watermark.

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Sep 23 • 4:02 PM EDT • Technology • seekingalpha.com
The 6 Best Science Fantasy Movies Released Since 2010, Ranked

From Everything Everywhere All at Once to Avatar: The Way of Water, these science fantasy epics balance awe and heart.

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Sep 21 • 7:21 AM EDT • Science • collider.com
Oz says ‘AI-based avatars’ can help rural communities. Some leaders disagree

Feds invest in AI for heart failure, vaccines and this year's midterms, and more health news from Morning Rounds

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Sep 10 • 7:34 AM EDT • Health • statnews.com
Ashley St. Clair and Alex Gibney on AI and the dangers of Elon Musk

A new documentary about Elon Musk uses an AI avatar to simulate an interview with him, using real quotes.

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Sep 8 • 9:06 AM EDT • Entertainment • seattletimes.com
Ashley St. Clair and Alex Gibney on AI and the dangers of Elon Musk

A new documentary about Elon Musk uses an AI avatar to simulate an interview with him, using real quotes | KNSS Radio

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Sep 8 • 9:05 AM EDT • Entertainment • audacy.com
Ashley St. Clair and Alex Gibney on AI and the dangers of Elon Musk

A new documentary about Elon Musk uses an AI avatar to simulate an interview with him, using real quotes.

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Sep 8 • 9:05 AM EDT • Entertainment • wsls.com
Sony and Microsoft say they’re not obligated to pass U.S. tariff refunds to consumers, echoing Nintendo

Back in July, Sony executives told investors that the company expected to receive $508 million in refunds from the U.S. government, after tariffs that the PlayStation-maker paid were ruled mostly in 2025 were found to be illegal. “Most” of the refund would by recouped by Sony’s gaming division, its chief financial officer said. This week, Sony’s lawyers are arguing that the company is not legally obligated to pass those proceeds on to consumers who paid for recently price-hiked PlayStation consoles. That’s in the face of a lawsuit from gamers calling on them to do exactly that. “Paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact,” the lawyers wrote in a legal motion filed on Monday, as they asked a judge in California’s Northern District to dismiss a potential class action lawsuit over the tariff refunds. Microsoft made a similar argument two weeks ahead of Sony’s lawyers, in a similar lawsuit brought by a gamer in federal court in Washington State. As Microsoft’s legal team put it on August 21, in their request for a dismissal of that lawsuit: “There is nothing unjust about Plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price and getting exactly what he paid for—regardless of whatever theory he devised months later about Microsoft’s cost structure.” Both legal fights are set to go on for some time. How things got to this point U.S. tariffs impacting a wide range of imported goods, including game consoles, had kicked off in early 2025. In May 2025, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox consoles, citing “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” They raised them again that September. In August of that year, Sony raised the price of PlayStation 5 consoles, citing “a challenging economic environment.” Sony later told investors that its tariff fees for the fall quarter were nearly $200 million. in February of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 2025 tariffs illegal, prompting impacted companies to begin to request refunds. In turn, consumers began suing the likes of Sony and Microsoft to get what they said was their share. The gamers in the Microsoft and Sony lawsuits argue that the 2025 price hikes of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, which added $50 or more to their sticker price, were due to illegal tariffs and should now be returned to consumers. The Sony suit started in May, when a group of gamers sued in federal court in California, saying Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) would be unjustly enriching itself if it did not pass tariff refunds to its PS5 buyers. “Sony is poised to be paid twice for the same unlawful tariff burden: once by its customers (through elevated prices) and once by the U.S. government (through tariff refunds),” the gamers’ lawyers wrote at the time. They called for Sony to partially reimburse anyone who bought a PlayStation in the U.S. since August 1, 2025. The Microsoft suit, filed by gamer Trevor Hastings against the Xbox giant in July, made similar claims. The console makers push back In late July, Nintendo’s lawyers, facing a similar suit accusing them of double-dipping on tariffs and refunds, replied with arguments that previewed Microsoft’s and Sony’s: “Nintendo or one of its retailers set a price for each product, and consumers decided whether that price was worth paying,” they wrote. Sony has buttressed that Nintendo-style argument this week by saying that the gamers have failed to prove that tariffs were the reason for its August 2025 PS5 price hike. They call thatclaim “speculative and illogical.” Other factors, including “inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competitive dynamics, or demand,” could have played a role. (No, the Sony lawyers do not break down the costs and factors that officially triggered the price increases). Microsoft has also argued that there’s no proof in these lawsuits that tariffs drove all or some of the price increase, as it seeks to dismiss the tariff refund suit it’s facing: “Plaintiff provides no specific allegations that would establish any pricing differential attributable to tariffs or suggest any possibility that Microsoft applied then or could recreate now any dollar-for-dollar calculation of tariff-related pricing—any more than it could any other market factor that affects pricing.” To further skewer the gamer side’s argument in its case, Sony’s lawyers have pointed to what might be a surprising defense: yet another PlayStation 5 price hike from this past spring, after the tariffs were ruled illegal. “If the original price increase were attributable to tariffs, SIE [Sony Interactive Entertainment, aka PlayStation] would have had no reason to raise prices again after the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs.” … “If tariffs were the cause of the price increases, one would expect SIE to lower prices once the tariffs were eliminated—not raise them again. Instead, the timeline confirms that the pricing of PlayStation consoles includes a diverse and dynamic set of input costs.” Judges have not yet ruled on the arguments made by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. Last week, Panic, the company behind the small, yellow Playdate handheld said it would be passing its tariff refunds on to consumers. It is the only gaming hardware maker to have made such a pledge. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: A reporter’s second Second Life Wagner James Au, who from 2003-2006 was paid by San Francisco-based tech company Linden Lab to be a full-time journalist embedded in their virtual world Second Life, is returning to the company. This time, he’ll be an editorial advisor and business development specialist, he tells Game File. The new role will involve trying to share the stories of people inhabiting Second Life’s ongoing online world with reporters and by extension the public. Au plans to continue to also chronicle some of that through his long-running blog New World Notes. I’ve known Au since the mid-2000s and featured him in a 2007 article for the Columbia Journalism Review about reporters like him opening up virtual news outlets within Second Life. As I wrote at the time: On April 22, 2003, writing as Hamlet Linden for the New World Notes blog on Second Life’s Web site, Au introduced himself. “For the next few months, Linden Lab has invited me to set aside my journalist cap, and instead, don the digital beanie of their in-house virtual correspondent.” He wasn’t paid to keep it positive. He wrote about builders and eccentrics, but then in August of that year, he reported on a tax revolt against Linden Lab (a complaint about the fees it charges users who build stuff) led by a resident whose avatar was a big cat. Second Life has always been less of a video game and more of a virtual world where people can live, hang out, make art, sell virtual items and flirt. Back in 2007, Au described touring it as “sort of like underwater lucid dreaming.” For the past two decades, Au has maintained New World Notes as an independent publication. But he said he’s been drawn back to Second Life and Linden Lab as a place to directly work. The virtual world has around 650,000 monthly active users, he said, “which is actually about what it was during the hype wave.” Au says he’s still finding rich stories in Second Life, the kind that keep him interested 20 years into the beat: “Over the last few months for instance, I wrote about an SL creator in Venezuela whose apartment was destroyed by the earthquakes, so the global SL community rallied to get him back on his feet,” he told me. “Then there’s the woman from a Middle Eastern country who explored her lesbian sexuality in SL, then earned enough from her virtual jewelry to escape her abusive family situation and country.” Au wants to beckon more reporters to give Second Life another look. He argues that it is often ahead of internet trends, noting, for example, an early backlash in the community against AI-made art. Now the platform is drawing curiosity from more of the user-generated content community who’ve grown up with the likes of Roblox, according to Au. “Second Life was too early during its hype wave in 2005-2010, but it now feels right for a new wave of interest,” he told me.

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Sep 2 • 8:21 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Ace Combat 8 reveals live service online multiplayer modes that include PvE, PvP, PvPvE battles, and a hangout space

Bandai Namco has revealed the full scope of its Ace Combat Online online modes, including PvP, PvE, and a social space for player avatars.

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Sep 2 • 12:28 PM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
MBA Roundup: Harvard Business School Uses AI Faculty Avatars To Teach Entrepreneurship Bootcamp

Harvard Business School introduces AI clones of faculty members to help teach students in its HBS Foundry course.

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Aug 24 • 8:58 PM EDT • Business • poetsandquants.com
Xbox's Free 25th Anniversary Gifts Include A Dynamic Theme And Avatars

Xbox's free 25th anniversary gifts include a dynamic theme and avatars.

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Aug 4 • 3:47 PM EDT • Technology • engadget.com
Sony Up Quarterly Home Entertainment Revenue 4% to $110 Million

Sony Pictures Entertainment July 31 reported $110 million in home entertainment revenue for the first quarter ended June 30, up 4% from revenue of $106 million during the previous year period. Top-selling titles in the quarter included Avatar: Fire and Ash, Hoppers, Ready of Not 2: Here I Come, Avatar: 3 Movie Collection, 28 Years … Continue reading "Sony Up Quarterly Home Entertainment Revenue 4% to $110 Million"

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Jul 31 • 3:09 AM EDT • Entertainment • mediaplaynews.com
The latest trailer for Jumanji: Open World brings its avatars into the real world.

This time around, Jumanji’s avatars, played by Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black, escape the game in “demo mode,” before a family jumps into their bodies to fix things. The trilogy’s final film is set to release in theaters on December 25th. [Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhApeaHMvfs]

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Jul 29 • 2:32 PM EDT • Entertainment • theverge.com
Beyond Content Creation: How Wizstar Helps Enterprises Scale AI Across Business

As AI adoption continues to expand across enterprises, businesses are seeking more efficient, intelligent, and scalable ways to create content and streamline operations. Addressing these evolving needs, Wizstar provides a comprehensive AI digital human solution covering AIGC video generation, real-time interactive avatars, and AI-powered live streaming. Designed for marketing, customer service, training, and live commerce, the platform helps organizations improve content production efficiency, e

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Jul 29 • 4:05 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
July 23 is about to be a super busy day for millions of gamers

It's an unusually busy week during a typically slow season

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Jul 19 • 11:30 AM EDT • Technology • polygon.com
Google Vids now lets you star in your own AI videos

Google is adding personalized AI avatars to Vids that let users create videos starring a digital version of themselves, alongside Gemini Omni-powered tools for generating and editing videos from prompts and reference images.

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Jul 16 • 2:32 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
PS Plus Extra Games July 2026: Avatar, Rise Of The Ronin, And Dying Light

Also Citizen Sleeper 2 is coming to PlayStation's Extra

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Jul 15 • 1:01 PM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com
July’s PS Plus Game Catalog titles include Rise of the Ronin and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Indigo Prophecy / Fahrenheit is also one of two Classics Catalog titles this month…

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Jul 15 • 11:44 AM EDT • Technology • videogameschronicle.com
PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for July 2026 Confirmed

Sony has confirmed the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for July 2026, which is headlined by Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Rise of the Ronin, and two PS2 classics.

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Jul 15 • 11:44 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Skullgirls Dev Accused Of Misconduct Working On Avatar Fighter

Paramount confirmed that the former Skullgirls and Indivisible CEO 'holds a position as an individual contributor' on its upcoming game

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Jul 15 • 9:17 AM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com
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.

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Jul 14 • 3:17 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows

Pivoting to short form video isn’t going to fix things.

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Jul 7 • 5:58 PM EDT • Entertainment • theverge.com
‘Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender’ ‘official’ first look (exclusive)

‘Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender’ creators exclusively delve inside Team Avatar’s animated movie, address that leak, and discuss the Aang Gang as adults.

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Jul 7 • 11:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Netflix and Superheroes Are Having a Rough Stretch on Streaming....

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) I have a quick prediction before we start today’s article: You might see this data in future news articles. Not my specific charts or analysis, but the core trend I’ve been monitoring—Netflix is having a lackluster Q2—will become inescapable. Often, folks want to know “What does the data say?” Well, that’s what it says. I haven’t seen this analysis hit the trades really yet, but I have a feeling some other outlets are going to start making this case soon. Remember, you read it here first. You probably have read about the problems facing superhero films at the box office this weekend. Well, this week, I explore whether superheroes are dying on TV as well! And the data says: definitely maybe! We have a lot to cover in today’s Streaming Ratings Report, which covers the two weeks of 18-May and 25-May. Today, I’m just looking at TV, like Netflix’s disappointing Q2, superhero shows underwhelming, a few TV shows dropping off the charts, The Pitt finally ending its epic run on the viewership charts (and whether “view counts” change its status as one of the biggest shows of all time), all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Tomorrow, I’ve got a great rundown of the film side of things. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, Showlabs, TV Time trend data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of May 18th to May 31st, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Netflix’s Q2 Slump Continues Having analyzed streaming ratings for going on half a decade, I have learned to trust my gut, but I’m always relieved when I can find actual data to back it up. For example, after a string of very popular shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent came out, week after week, in January and February, my gut wondered if Netflix had enough new and returning TV shows to sustain them throughout the year. Since then, Netflix’s post-March slate of shows has not impressed me. This week seemed to feature a potential new hit, but then, like a classic Duffer Bros. TV show, there was a twist. I speak of The Boroughs, Netflix’s latest (and last) Duffer Bros. produced show. The pitch is “Stranger Things with older actors”. And it topped the Nielsen charts: With just two weeks of viewership, The Boroughs would have been a top 25 debut show last year: But here’s the twist: Netflix has already cancelled The Boroughs! What happened? Likely a few things. First, the show didn’t do as well globally as it did in the US. As What’s on Netflix showed, it lagged behind several other shows that got cancelled. Second, its completion rate was likely low; after an initial burst of interest, it quickly dropped off on the Samba TV and Luminate charts. Third, the Duffer Bros. left Netflix for Paramount, and that may have factored into Netflix’s decision here. (Though I tend to believe that if a show is doing well, Netflix would have kept greenlighting seasons.) Still, just because I can explain why Netflix may have cancelled this show doesn’t mean I’m justifying it. In particular, as I’ve noted before, Netflix is losing a lot of their bigger shows as they reach their natural ends, and they need to replace those shows. This show had the hallmarks of a big new genre show, and it’s their biggest hit of the last few months (in the US at least), but now it’s done. Netflix’s other show this week—The Four Seasons, the second season of the “hit” show from last year—definitely disappointed. Its sophomore season had about half the viewership of the first, only 12.7 million hours. It also only had a two week run on Samba TV, and its numbers were all down on Luminate too. In other words, even with two successes, the Q2 slump for Netflix looks real: I could add to the list of disappointments: Both Lord of the Files and Man on Fire had short runs on the Nielsen charts. Running Point’s sophomore season also opened to about half its viewership, similar to The Four Seasons. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s second season—see below—didn’t even make any of the three viewership charts I track, unlike the first season. Netflix is absolutely having a dismal second three months of 2026. If this Nielsen data is any indication, and I think it is, I think this will show up in Netflix’s engagement report, and maybe even their financial outcomes. And the rest of June doesn’t look much better. We have two hit shows coming back—Sweet Magnolias, one of their quietest big shows, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a big hit for them in 2024—but the other big swings are limited series crime thrillers i.e. no future season potential. Like I said above, sometimes when I uncover a juicy nugget like this, other outlets end up writing very similar articles mimicking the data without credit. We’ll see if that happens this time! Share Television - The State of Superhero Shows on Streaming When I first heard the pitch for Spider-Noir—a Sony TV show on Prime Video that binge-released eight episodes first on MGM+ then on Prime Video two days later—I had my doubts. It’s a live-action Spider-Man show set in the 1930s, starring Nicholas Cage, based on a cameo of a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. No, seriously, that’s the pitch. That could either go terrifically well or horribly wrong. Great because, Spider-Man. He’s the biggest superhero we have. I’ve seen tracking numbers that put the new _Spider-Man: Brand New Da_y as the blockbuster of the year and initial pre-sales back that up. And yet this Spider-Noir pitch feels very esoteric. (Also, the eight-episode binge release feels very “Amazon copying Netflix” again.) So what’s the data say? And what does this say about the future of superhero shows?

Star Fox Players Are Up To Debauchery With Its VTuber Avatars

Who could have foreseen this?

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Jun 25 • 12:30 PM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com
KISS looks ahead as sons rise, Vegas avatar show looms

NEW YORK - When Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley enter a room, people pay attention.

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Jun 19 • 10:46 AM EDT • Entertainment • centraloregondaily.com
Jack and Sharon Osbourne comment on plans for AI Ozzy

She said that creating the Ozzy avatar was about keeping up with the times and evolving technology, in addition to keeping the singer’s legacy alive.

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Jun 6 • 8:09 PM EDT • Entertainment • seattletimes.com
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds announces Godzilla and Evangelion DLC

More DLC is on the way to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, with SEGA revealing new collaborations featuring Godzilla and Evangelion. Release timing will be given in the future. We also have an update on previously-announced DLC. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is coming in July, followed by Avatar Legends in October. Note that SEGA has even more DLC coming for Sonic Racing:...

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Jun 5 • 6:29 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com
How 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2 delivers Toph and 'Fire Nation succession' (exclusive)

On set for 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2 as the cast and crew preview what's to come (and look ahead to season 3).

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Jun 3 • 10:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
You’re an ‘Avatar in a VR Game,’ Scientist Claims—Meaning Reality Isn’t What It Seems

Donald Hoffman’s interface theory claims space-time may be more like a VR dashboard than reality itself—and some physics may point the same way.

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May 31 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • yahoo.com
PS Store Codes for Free PS5, PS4 Days of Play 2026 Downloads

Sony has rolled out free PS5 and PS4 goodies for Days of Play 2026 ahead of schedule, and we have all the PS Store download codes for our readers. All PlayStation players can grab free avatars from popular indie games using the codes below. PS Store codes for free PS5, PS4 Days of Play 2026 […]

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May 28 • 8:34 AM EDT • Technology • playstationlifestyle.net
Star Fox will have a day one update on Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo is planning a day one update for the new Star Fox game on Nintendo Switch 2, the company has confirmed. The patch is one you’ll want to download as it’s bringing in major features. Battle Mode as well as GameChat character avatars and AR filters will be properly supported with the update. As previously detailed, Battle Mode features 4-vs-4...

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May 23 • 4:00 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Season 2 Reveals New Trailer, Images

Plus, everything you need to know about the new season.

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May 21 • 11:54 AM EDT • Entertainment • cbs19news.com
I Cloned Myself With Gemini’s AI Avatar Tool. The Result Was Unnervingly Me

I used the Gemini app to generate lifelike videos featuring a digital clone of myself. Google sees this as the future of creation. I’m still creeped out.

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May 21 • 11:48 AM EDT • Technology • wired.com
What’s Next for Artemis II AVATARs

Organ chips from Artemis II's AVATAR investigation have arrived at the laboratory at Emulate, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts for analysis. The AVATAR (A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response) investigation uses personalized organ chips made from each astronaut's own cells to study the impacts of space radiation and microgravity on human health.

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May 18 • 9:46 AM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov
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Digital piracy is on the rise and the entertainment industry is losing billions

“Avatar” film leaked early, costing Paramount profits. Digital piracy costs entertainment $75B annually, driven by subscription fatigue and rising costs.

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May 16 • 1:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
MediaDailyNews: TikTok Updates Ad Offerings, Entertainment, AI, Shopping, Avatars, Creator Collaboration

During its TikTok World event Wednesday, the company announced updates designed to enhance campaign visibility, in-app shopping, creator collaborations, mini games and original series, AI-powered ad creation and more.

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May 14 • 3:45 PM EDT • Entertainment • mediapost.com
Free Uncharted 4 Theme and Avatars Adventure to PS5, But You'll Need These Codes

Treasured memories

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May 11 • 1:30 PM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com
Ryan Bergara & Kevin Kreider To Lead ‘Trüebadour’; Avatar Entertainment Debuting Jennifer Zhang Pic At Cannes Market

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Bergara (BuzzFeed Unsolved, Ghost Files) and Kevin Kreider (Bling Empire, The Traitors) will star in Jennifer Zhang’s Cannes-bound feature Trüebadour. Avatar Entertainment will introdu...

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May 8 • 12:06 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Free Saros PS5 Avatars Are Available for You to Claim Right Now

Here's how you get them

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May 3 • 8:30 AM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com
A Look At WEBTOON Entertainment (WBTN) Valuation As Genies Partnership Expands 3D Avatar Opportunities

WEBTOON Entertainment (WBTN) recently announced a partnership with AI avatar company Genies to bring its English platform characters into interactive 3D chat experiences, digital collectibles, and creator tailored avatar tools. See our latest analysis for WEBTOON Entertainment. The Genies partnership arrives after a sharp pickup in momentum, with WEBTOON Entertainment’s 30-day share price return of 35.79% and 7-day return of 18.96% lifting the latest price to $13.24. The 1-year total...

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May 2 • 9:17 PM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com
ChatGPT Images 2.0 is a hit in India, but not a big winner elsewhere, yet

Users in India are embracing ChatGPT Images 2.0 for creative, personal visuals — from avatars to cinematic portraits.

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Apr 30 • 10:00 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
Google Photos to Get AI 'Wardrobe' Feature

Google Photos is getting a new wardrobe planning feature that will help you decide what to wear. AI will pull in images of clothing from the Google Photos library, organizing clothing items into a digital closet. You will be able to put items together to create outfits, and even virtually try them with a digital avatar on to see how they'll look. The Google Photos app will show all items of clothing in a new Wardrobe section in the Collections tab.

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Apr 29 • 6:50 PM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
WEBTOON Entertainment Partners With Genies to Expand Character-Driven Fan Experiences With Digital Avatars

LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2026--WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: WBTN), a global entertainment company and home to some of the world’s largest storytelling platforms, today announced a strategic partnership with Genies, the AI avatar technology company powering the next era of interactive digital identity, to develop character-driven chat and digital experiences.

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Apr 27 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com
WEBTOON Entertainment Partners With Genies to Expand Character-Driven Fan Experiences With Digital Avatars

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: WBTN), a global entertainment company and home to some of the world’s largest storytelling platforms, today announced a s...

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Apr 27 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • businesswire.com
'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Remains No. 1 on Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through April 22

Director James Cameron’s sci-fi fantasy Avatar: Fire and Ash remained atop the Official Film Chart, the U.K. home entertainment sales chart, for a third week through April 22. The title held off Universal’s Oscar winner Hamnet, which climbed six spots to No. 2 in its 10th week on the chart, followed by the studio’s Wicked: For Good, … Continue reading "‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Remains No. 1 on Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through April 22"

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Apr 22 • 12:31 PM EDT • Entertainment • mediaplaynews.com
'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Remains No. 1 on Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through April 22

Director James Cameron’s sci-fi fantasy Avatar: Fire and Ash remained atop the Official Film Chart, the U.K. home entertainment sales chart, for a third week through April 22. The title held off Universal’s Oscar winner Hamnet, which climbed six spots to No. 2 in its 10th week on the chart, followed by the studio’s Wicked: For Good, … Continue reading "‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Remains No. 1 on Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through April 22"

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Apr 22 • 12:31 PM EDT • Entertainment • mediaplaynews.com
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Google introduces AI-generated avatars to YouTube Shorts

The new feature was teased earlier this year and is now rolling out gradually.

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Apr 9 • 10:02 AM EDT • Technology • engadget.com
Google makes it easy to deepfake yourself

Avatars that look and sound like you.

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Apr 9 • 6:53 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
YouTube Shorts will use AI to make avatars that look and sound like you

YouTube is now letting users create an AI avatar that looks and sounds likes them for use in Shorts. The feature...

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Apr 8 • 5:39 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5google.com
Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis Next announced for Nintendo Switch

Today, Gameloft unveiled Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis Next for Nintendo Switch. The game is launching on May 28, 2026. Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis is a fast-paced arcade tennis game featuring popular characters from SpongeBob, Avatar, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more. Expect character customization, a story mode, split-screen multiplayer, and more. Here’s an official overview: Become your favorite Nickelodeon character, like SpongeBob...

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Apr 7 • 12:22 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com
San Diego Politics Show: CA-48 candidate Marni von Wilpert

The latest episode of the San Diego Politics welcomed Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert on to discuss her 48th Congressional District campaign.

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Apr 6 • 6:42 PM EDT • Politics • timesofsandiego.com
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'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' & 'Avatar 3' Leak on Twitter

If you're still hanging around on Twitter, you've probably seen 'Avatar 3' and 'The Super Mario Galaxy' leaks on there. Second verse...

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Apr 5 • 2:50 PM EDT • Technology • gizmodo.com
Grab These Resident Evil PSN Avatars for Free This Month

Mark the 30th anniversary on your PSN profile

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Apr 2 • 12:00 PM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com
Google now lets you direct avatars through prompts in its Vids app

Google is adding a way to customize and instruct avatars for video creation in the Vids app

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Apr 2 • 12:00 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
Best girl Azula gets new gameplay details revealed with two distinct movesets based on her mental state in Avatar Legends

After coming back from being canceled, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game has quickly risen up the ranks to become one of the most anticipated titles of the genre this year.Following the most recent Avatar character and release date announcements ...

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Mar 30 • 7:06 PM EDT • Technology • eventhubs.com
Even the 'Avatar' Fighting Game Is Disrespecting 'Legend of Korra'

The roster for 'Avatar Legends' doesn't play favorites, but at launch, it doesn't really care for 'Legend of Korra.'

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Mar 29 • 4:15 PM EDT • Technology • gizmodo.com
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game Hits Switch 1 & 2 This July

New trailer released

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Mar 29 • 1:45 AM EDT • Technology • nintendolife.com
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game launches July 2

Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC via Steam on July 2, Gameplay Group announced. PC pre-orders are available now. PlayStation St…

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Mar 28 • 9:14 PM EDT • Technology • gematsu.com
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Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game reveals three new characters, launches in July

Aang, Korra, Zuko, Katara, Toph, Sokka and Azula have already been revealed for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game. Earlier today during the Evo Awards 2026, a new trailer revealed the eighth, ninth and tenth characters for the game.Indeed, Zaheer ...

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Mar 28 • 5:33 PM EDT • Technology • eventhubs.com
Synthesia's top lawyer vibe-coded an AI version of himself

Gabe Stern, Synthesia's general counsel, says he's developing a lawyer avatar built to negotiate his company's contracts.

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Mar 25 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
G-MODE Archives+ Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner: A’s TEST Server announced for Switch, PC

G-MODE will release ATLUS-developed game Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner: A’s TEST Server as a G-MODE Archives+ title for Switch via Nintendo eShop and PC via Steam in Japan, the company ann…

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Mar 8 • 11:15 PM EDT • Technology • gematsu.com
Dr. Oz pushes AI avatars as a fix for rural health care. Not so fast, critics say

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is advancing a $50 billion plan to modernize rural health care.

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Feb 14 • 5:00 AM EST • Health • npr.org
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Coming to Xbox Game Pass: High on Life 2, Madden NFL 26, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and More

Coming soon to Xbox Game Pass: High on Life 2, Madden NFL 26, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and more!

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Feb 3 • 9:00 AM EST • Technology • news.xbox.com
Disney's first quarter is powered by box-office hits 'Zootopia 2' and 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

Disney is posting strong first quarter numbers, powered by box-office hits “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”The Walt Disney Co. earned $2.4 billion, or $1.34 per share, for the three...

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Feb 2 • 7:35 AM EST • Entertainment • sfchronicle.com
'Mercy' unseats 'Avatar: Fire & Ash' atop the box office

Some 250 theaters were forced to close, from Texas to Maine

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Jan 25 • 3:49 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
'Mercy' unseats 'Avatar: Fire & Ash' atop the box office

Some 250 theaters were forced to close, from Texas to Maine

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Jan 25 • 3:49 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
'Mercy' unseats 'Avatar: Fire & Ash' atop the box office

Some 250 theaters were forced to close, from Texas to Maine

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Jan 25 • 3:49 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ opens behind ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

"The Bone Temple," directed by Nia DaCosta, landed in second place with $13 million through Sunday

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Jan 18 • 5:49 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
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Box Office: ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ opens behind ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continues to dominate the North American box office, topping charts for the fifth weekend with $13.3 million in sales.

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Jan 18 • 12:37 PM EST • Entertainment • click2houston.com
Why AMC Entertainment (AMC) Stock Is Trading Up Today

Shares of theater company AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) jumped 3.8% in the afternoon session after a recent surge in box office attendance, followed the successful release of "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

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Jan 15 • 3:45 PM EST • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com
Has Joe Rogan fully soured on Trump’s presidency?

With a huge audience and serving as an avatar for millions of centrist Americans, Rogan compares ICE raids to Gestapo

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Jan 15 • 8:00 AM EST • Politics • theguardian.com
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Ubisoft hits The Division and Avatar studio, Massive Entertainment, with layoffs

Around 55 roles could be affected; Studio remains focused on future of The Division…

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Jan 13 • 6:27 AM EST • Entertainment • videogameschronicle.com
'Avatar: Fire and Ash' tops box office for fourth straight week

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” continues to dominate the box office, holding the top spot for a fourth consecutive week

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Jan 11 • 2:10 PM EST • Entertainment • abcnews.go.com
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James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' crosses $1B

"Fire and Ash" is doing its biggest business overseas

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Jan 4 • 7:55 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' crosses $1B

"Fire and Ash" is doing its biggest business overseas

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Jan 4 • 7:55 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' crosses $1B

"Fire and Ash" is doing its biggest business overseas

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Jan 4 • 7:55 PM EST • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com
Turn Over a New Leaf with Budew in Pokémon Trading Card Game Live

Budew was a breakout star of 2025, and Pokémon TCG Live is itching to celebrate with deck cosmetics, avatar outfits, and more.

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Dec 31, 2025 • 7:00 PM EST • Technology • pokemon.com
Even 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' can't lift 2025 box office out of pandemic-crisis doldrums

After a roller coaster year, the domestic box office is expected to finish only marginally better than last year and remains down more than 20% from pre-pandemic levels.

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Dec 29, 2025 • 6:00 AM EST • Entertainment • latimes.com
How to watch the ‘Avatar’ movies on Prime Video

Before you see ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash,’ check out the first two ‘Avatar’ movies on Prime Video.

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Dec 26, 2025 • 9:00 AM EST • Entertainment • aboutamazon.com
AMC Entertainment Stock Hits All-Time Low Despite Avatar Success, Billionaire Buy-In

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) stock hit a new all-time low Tuesday at $1.64, even as the company reported its strongest pre-Christmas weekend since 2021. Here’s what investors need to know. Don't Miss: These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion – they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends 7 Million Gamers Already Trust Gameflip With Their Digital Assets — Now You Can Own a Stake in the Platform What To Know: The bearish price action s

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Dec 24, 2025 • 10:31 PM EST • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com
Avatar Entertainment Buys Paul A. Mendelson’s Sci-Fi-Tinged Romantic Comedy Novel ‘Seville’

Paul A. Mendelson's novel 'Seville' is set for a film adaptation, with Avatar Entertainment acquiring rights to the sc-fi/romantic comedy.

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Dec 24, 2025 • 9:00 AM EST • Entertainment • deadline.com
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Lemon Slice nabs $10.5M from YC and Matrix to build out its digital avatar tech

Digital avatar generation company Lemon Slice is working to add a video layer to AI chatbots with a new diffusion model that can create digital avatars from a single image.

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Dec 23, 2025 • 11:00 AM EST • Technology • techcrunch.com
James Cameron explains 'the power couple from hell' at the core of 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

With the help of the VFX experts at Wēta FX, the filmmaker turned his focus to the physics of fire for 'Avatar 3' — and forged a villain alliance like no other.

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Dec 22, 2025 • 12:00 PM EST • Entertainment • latimes.com