Ubisoft is continuing its efforts to course-correct after several challenging years. Today, the video game company announced that it will launch a subsidiary centered around three of its most familiar franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. The as-yet-unnamed subsidiary will fold in the teams working on those three series, including Ubisoft studios in Montral, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona and Sofia.This new business will receive an investment of 1.16 billion (roughly $1.25 billion) from its longstanding partner Tencent, granting the conglomerate a minority ownership stake. Following the transaction, Ubisoft will narrow focus to its other franchises, such as The Division and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon."Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history," CEO and Co-Founder Yves Guillemot said. "As we accelerate the companys transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisofts operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious."Ubisoft has been cutting costs and jobs over the past several months after several of its new projects flopped. There have been hints for a while that the company's leaders were interested in either finding a buyer or exploring a joint venture with Tencent to help reverse its fortunes. It's encouraging that the recent Assassin's Creed: Shadows has already reached 3 million players, but Ubisoft will probably need a few more wins to fully stabilize.There is some extra good news in the announcement. The description of the new subsidiary does specify that "it will drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences." So while we can expect to also see multiplayer and free-to-play offerings from the Ubisoft umbrella, they aren't giving up on single-player games.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-spins-out-subsidiary-with-a-billion-dollar-investment-from-tencent-183516992.html?src=rss

Meta has spent the last few years remaking Facebooks main feed into a discovery engine that primarily serves up recommended content from pages, groups and accounts users dont already follow. But while the company has said the change is necessary to compete with TikTok, its also frustrated Facebook users who miss seeing posts from people they actually know.Now, Meta is trying to remedy this with a revamped Friends section of the app that will only show posts and content related to your Facebook friends. The company says the update is the first of many meant to bring OG features back into the 21-year-old social network.With the update, the Friends tab of the Facebook app that used to only be for friend requests will now be home to a feed exclusively made up of content related to your friends. This includes feed and Story posts, as well as Reels, birthdays, friend requests and people you may know suggestions.While Meta is spinning the change as a part of a larger push to make Facebook feel more social, its not the first time the company has offered dedicated feeds for friend only content. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg showed off dedicated friends feed in 2022 amid the companys push to bring more recommendations to users home feeds. That feed, which surfaces posts from friends in reverse chronological order, is still available, though its somewhat buried in the app.Its not clear what else Meta has in store for other OG Facebook features that could play on nostalgia for the 21-year-old social network. (Facebooks once infamous poke feature already had a brief resurgence last year.) But its apparently a priority for Zuckerberg.I actually think that there's this whole opportunity that I think is going to be pretty fun to to go after and build which is just to kind of go one-by-one and build up a a bunch of these things that used to be these joyful experiences that people had as part of Facebook that just kind of don't exist on the internet today, Zuckerberg said in a podcast appearance promoting the change.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-decides-content-from-your-actual-friends-is-an-og-facebook-feature-180803853.html?src=rss

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After a yearlong search, theSundance Film Festivalannounced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, keeping Sundance in the mountains but moving it out of Park City, the Utah ski town that had for decades provided the premier independent film gathering its picturesque snowy backdrop.Organizers said that after 40 years in the mountains, the festival hadoutgrown Park City,which they say lacks the theaters and affordable housing necessary to continue hosting what has become one of North Americas most sprawling movie events. Sundance hadnarrowed down the optionsto Salt Lake City (with a smaller presence in Park City), Cincinnati, and Boulder.Boulder, organizers said, emerged as their choice due to its close proximity to nature, its small-town charm, and an engaged community that provides Sundance the ideal setting for its future.Boulder is a tech town, its a college town, its an arts town, and its a mountain town, Amanda Kelso, acting chief executive of the Sundance Institute, said in an interview Thursday from Boulder. At 100,000 people, a larger town than Park City, it gives us the space to expand.Kelso, Sundance Institute board chair Ebs Burnough and Eugene Hernandez, director of the festival and head of programming, spoke shortly before announcing the festivals move in Boulder. Local officials, who helped lure Sundance with $34 million in tax credits over 10 years, applauded the decision.Here in our state we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator and important contributor to our thriving culture, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement.A changed endorsed by Sundance founder Robert RedfordA shift from Park City to Boulder means Sundance stays at altitude but gives up being located in an expensive ski town. The mile-high Colorado city set in the foothills of the Rockies also maintains a sense of surrounding naturesomething organizers stressed as a factor in their decision. Boulders four-block pedestrian mall on Pearl Street, with nearby theaters, could also provide a similar sense of central hub like Park Citys Main Street.The Sundance Institute was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, who sought a location far from Hollywood to foster independent voices in film. In 1984, the institute took over the Sundance Film Festival, but the nonprofits mission of helping young filmmakers grow through labs and workshopsRedfords real passioncontinued year-round away from the festival.The 88-year-old Redford, who attended the University of Colorado in Boulder in his youth, gave the move his blessing.Words cannot express the sincere gratitude I have for Park City, the state of Utah, and all those in the Utah community that have helped to build the organization, Redford said in a statement. What weve created is remarkably special and defining. As change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival.How Sundance chose its new homeThe festival made ethos and equity values one of its criteria, prompting many to wonder how much local politics would influence the choice by Sundance, which emphasizes inclusivity. Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox is currently weighing a bill that would ban the flying of certain flags at schools and government buildings, including the LGBTQ pride flag.Organizers said Boulders welcoming environment aligns with the ethos the Sundance Film Festival developed in Park City.This process started 18 months ago and weve been in Utah for 40 years. So politics really didnt guide the process, Burnough said Thursday. It was really and truly about evolution. Thats where it landed. We didnt constantly spend time examining what bill was going forward or may or may not be signed.With its current contract expiration date looming, thehunt for a new host citybegan in earnest in April 2024. The initial group of six contenders also included Atlanta; Louisville, Kentucky; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.What Sundance has meant for Park City, and the film worldBefore packing up, Sundance will have one last edition in Park City in January 2026.The Sundance Film Festival will be the Sundance Film Festival wherever we go. Whats consistent is our mission, said Hernandez. This is a festival of global discovery. Whats exciting about Boulder is this is a place we can build.Over the years, Sundance in Park City swelled into a premier marketplace for American film, drawing studio executives and parka-wearing celebrities into the Wasatch mountains every January. It helped launch countless filmmakers over the years, from Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape) to Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station). Sundance scored its first best picture winner withCODAin 2022.Sundance meant big business forUtah and Park City. In 2024, the festival had some 72,840 in-person attendees, 24,200 of whom were coming from out of state. According to the festivals economic impact report, out-of-state visitors spent an estimated $106.4 million in Utah during the festival. Its total economic impact was estimated to be $132 million, with 1,730 jobs for Utah residents and $69.7 million in Utah wages.But the festival had also sparred with local ski resortsPark Citys other major moneymakeras festivalgoers filled the hotels and left the slopes virtually empty for two weeks during peak ski season. The festival was a boon to some local businesses, but a hindrance to others. For visitors flying into the 10-day festival, ballooning rental costs increasingly factored into attending.Cox had urged Sundance to stay in Utah, but has said the states economy would be okay if it lost the festival.All three top contenders budgeted millions to lure the lucrative festival to their city. Cincinnati set aside $2.5 million for Sundance and another $2.5 million to come if it was chosen. Salt Lake City offered Sundance $3.5 million to stay in Utah.By Jake Coyle, AP film writerAssociated Press Writer Hannah Schoenbaum and Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.

Place names are more than just labels on a map. They influence how people learn about the world around them and perceive their place in it.Names can send messages and suggest what is and isnt valued in society. And the way that they are changed over time can signal cultural shifts.The United States is in the midst of a place-renaming moment. From the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, to the return of Forts Bragg and Benning and the newly re-renamed Mount McKinley in Alaskas Denali National Park, we are witnessing a consequential shift in the politics of place naming.This sudden rewriting of the nations mapdone to restore American greatness, according to President Donald Trumps executive order that made some of them officialis part of a name game that recognizes place names as powerful brands and political tools.In our research on place naming, we explore how this name game is used to assert control over shared symbols and embed subtle and not-so-subtle messages in the landscape.As geography teachers and researchers, we also recognize the educational and emotional impact the name game can have on the public.Place names can have psychological effectsRenaming a place is always an act of power.People in power have long used place naming to claim control over the identity of the place, bolster their reputations, retaliate against opponents, and achieve political goals.These moves can have strong psychological effects, particularly when the name evokes something threatening. Changing a place name can fundamentally shift how people view, relate to, or feel that they belong within that place.In Shenandoah County, Virginia, students at two schools originally named for Confederate generals have been on an emotional roller coaster of name changes in recent years. The schools were renamed Mountain View and Honey Run in 2020 amid the national uproar over the murder of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.Four years later, the local school board reinstated the original Confederate names after conservatives took control of the board.Last night in a 5 to 1 vote, the Shenandoah County, Virginia school board decided to reverse an earlier decision to rename three schools that honor Confederate leaders. Stonewall Jackson HS opened just a couple years after Brown v. Board of Ed. #CivilWarMemory www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/u[image or embed] Kevin M. Levin (@civilwarmemory.bsky.social) May 10, 2024 at 2:52 AMOne Black eighth grader at Mountain View High Schoolnow re-renamed Stonewall Jackson High Schooltestified at a board meeting about how the planned change would affect her:I would have to represent a man that fought for my ancestors to be slaves. If this board decides to restore the names, I would not feel like I was valued and respected, she said. The board still approved the change, 51.Even outside of schools, place names operate as a hidden curriculum. They provide narratives to the public about how the community or nation sees itselfas well as whose histories and perspectives it considers important or worthy of public attention.Place names affect how people perceive, experience, and emotionally connect to their surroundings in both conscious and subconscious ways. Psychologists, sociologists, and geographers have explored how this sense of place manifests itself into the psyche, creating either attachment or aversion to place, whether its a school, mountain, or park.A tale of two fortsRenaming places can rally a leaders supporters through rebranding.Trumps orders to restore the names Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, both originally named for Confederate generals, illustrate this effect. The names were changed to Fort Liberty and Fort Moore in 2023 after Congress passed a law banning the use of Confederate names for federal installations.Veterans and other guests posed in 2023 next to a newly unveiled sign for Fort Moore, named for Lt. Gen. Harold Hal Moore, who served in Vietnam, and his wife, Julia Moore. In 2025, President Donald Trump reverted the name back to Fort Benning. [Photo: Cheney Orr/AFP/Getty Images]Trump made a campaign promise to his followers to bring back the name of Fort Bragg if reelected.To get around the federal ban, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth identified two unrelated decorated Army veterans with the same last namesBragg and Benningbut without any Confederate connections, to honor instead.Call it a sleight of hand or a stroke of genius if youd like, this tactic allowed the Department of Defense to revive politically charged names without violating the law.The restoration of the names Bragg and Benning may feel like a symbolic homecoming for those who resisted the original name change or have emotional ties to the names through their memories of living and serving on the base, rather than a connection to the specific namesakes.However, the names are still reminders of the military bases original association with defenders of slavery.The place-renaming gameA wave of place-name changes during the Obama and Biden administrations focused on removing offensive or derogatory place names and recognizing Indigenous names.For example, Clingmans Dome, the highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains, was renamed to Kuwohi in September 2024, shifting the name from a Confederate general to a Cherokee word meaning the mulberry place.Under the Trump administration, however, place-name changes are being advanced explicitly to push back against reform efforts, part of a broader assault on what Trump calls woke culture.The view from a lookout tower on Kuwohi, formerly known as Clingmans Dome, in the Great Smoky Mountains. [Photo: National Park Service]President Barack Obama changed Alaskas Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015 to acknowledge Indigenous heritage and a long-standing name for the mountain. Officials in Alaska had requested the name change to Denali years earlier and supported the name change in 2015.Trump, on his first day in office in January 2025, moved to rename Denali back to Mount McKinley, over the opposition of Republican politicians in Alaska. The state Legislature passed a resolution a few days later asking Trump to reconsider.Georgia Rep. Earl Buddy Carter made a recent legislative proposal to rename Greenland as Red, White, and Blueland in support of Trumps expansionist desire to purchase the island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.Danish officials and Greenlanders saw Carters absurd proposal as insulting and damaging to diplomatic relations. It is not the first time that place renaming has been used as a form of symbolic insult in international relations.Renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America might have initially seemed improbable, but it is already reflected in common navigation apps.Google Maps displays the name Gulf of America instead of Gulf of Mexico in March 2025. [Image: Google INEGI]A better way to choose place namesWhen leaders rename a place in an abrupt, unilateral fashionoften for ideological reasonsthey risk alienating communities that deeply connect with those names as a form of memory, identity, and place attachment.A better alternative, in our view, would be to make renaming shared landscapes participatory, with opportunities for meaningful public involvement in the renaming process.This approach does not avoid name changes, but it suggests the changes should respond to the social and psychological needs of communities and the evolving cultural identity of placesand not simply be used to score political points.Instead, encouraging public participationsuch as through landscape impact assessments and critical audits that take the needs of affected communities seriouslycan cultivate a sense of shared ownership in the decision that may give those names more staying power.The latest place renamings are already affecting the classroom experience. Students are not just memorizing new place labels, but they are also being asked to reevaluate the meaning of those places and their own relationship with the nation and the world.As history has shown around the world, one of the major downsides of leaders imposing name changes is that the names can be easily replaced as soon as the next regime takes power. The result can be a never-ending name game.Seth T. Kannarr is a PhD candidate in geography at the University of Tennessee. Derek H. Alderman is a chancellors professor of geography at the University of Tennessee.Jordan Brasher is a visiting assistant professor of geography at Macalester College.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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