Justin Carter, Contributing EditorJanuary 13, 20251 Min ReadImage via Counterplay Games/Gearbox Publishing.At a GlanceCounterplay was reportedly co-developing an unannounced project with Jackalyptic Games it was 'disbanded' sometime last year.A developer at Jackalyptic Games claims Godfall creator Counterplay Games closed its doors over the holiday break.PlayStation Lifestyle spotted a LinkedIn post from an anonymous employee, who revealed the two studios were at work on an unannounced project. This title was said to be "supercharged" by Counterplay's contribution, and they said it was "impossible to overstate [the team's] impact. From the very first day, that team put their shoulders to the wheel like it was their baby.""Unfortunately," the Jackalyptic developer continued, "we were unable to continue our partnership into the new year, and CPG was disbanded." Game Developer can corroborate the post's existence, which was later edited to remove the mention of the studio's closure.Godfall was Counterplay's last major release, and was originally a PlayStation 5 and PC title before it was ported to other consoles. The following year, the action-looter game received a single expansion, Fire and Darkness.Prior to that game, it made Duelyst, which went offline in 2020. Last March, Counterplay reportedly laid off several staff members.At time of writing, Godfall is still purchasable on platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store. Game Developer can confirm Counterplay's website is still active, but has no job openings listed or makes any mention of future projects.The studio's alleged closure comes following last week's shut downs of Toadman Interactive and Freejam. The former was a support studio for Warhammer Vermintide, and the latter made the Robocraft series. Jar of Sparks, an independent studio, also ceased operations last week as its leaders look for a partner to fund its debut project.Similarly, layoffs have recently befallen studios like Rocksteady, Splash Damage, and Piranha Games.Read more about:LayoffsAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Google Clouds new Automotive AI Agent platform promises to continue conversations and reference information throughout users drives, and the first car announced with it is the new Mercedes CLA. That car has the next-generation MB.OS operating system with an upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant. When Mercedes revealed it at CES in 2024, it didnt say which companys LLM it was running on. Meanwhile, the existing MBUX Voice Assistant system that could handle about 20 commands triggered with Hey Mercedes now includes results provided by OpenAIs ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing, but its not a conversational platform. According to Mercedes, theres a plan to roll out this upgraded system to further models that run the older Voice Assistant, but it didnt specify which ones.The new MBUX Virtual Assistant will feature four personality traits, including natural, predictive, personal, and empathetic. It can also ask you questions for additional clarity to get you what you need.RelatedGoogles new AI Agent is tailor-made to automotive uses, leveraging Google Maps data to find points of interest, look up restaurant reviews for you, give you recommendations, answer follow-up questions, and more. Google says MBUX Virtual Assistantusers will get access to nearly real time Google Maps updates. It also says it can handle complex, multi-turn dialog.The agent uses Gemini and runs on Google Clouds Vertex AI development platform, designed to help companies build out AI experiences. This is just the beginning of how agentic capabilities can transform the automotive industry, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated in a press release.

Large reasoning models are developed to solve difficult problems by breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps and solving each step individually. The models use reinforcement learning to enhance their reasoning abilities and develop very detailed and logical solutions. However, while this method is effective, it has its challenges. Overthinking and error in missing or insufficient knowledge result from the extended reasoning process. Gaps in understanding may disrupt the entire reasoning chain, making it harder to arrive at accurate conclusions.Traditional methods in large reasoning models aim to enhance performance by increasing model size or expanding training data during the training phase. While test-time scaling shows potential, current approaches rely heavily on static, parameterized models that cannot utilize external knowledge when internal understanding is insufficient. Techniques like policy-reward combinations with Monte Carlo Tree Search, deliberate error integration, and data distillation improve reasoning but fail to internalize or adapt reasoning abilities fully. Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems address some limitations by incorporating external knowledge retrieval but struggle to integrate the strong reasoning capabilities seen in advanced models. These gaps limit the ability to solve complex, knowledge-intensive tasks effectively.To solve the challenge of multi-step reasoning tasks requiring external knowledge, researchers from the Renmin University of China and Tsinghua University proposed the Search-o1 framework. The framework integrates task instructions, questions, and dynamically retrieved knowledge documents into a coherent reasoning chain to derive logical solutions and answers. Unlike traditional models that struggle with missing knowledge, Search-o1 extends the retrieval-augmented generation mechanism by including a Reason-in-Documents module. This module condenses lengthy retrieved information into precise steps, ensuring a logical flow. The iterative process continues until a complete reasoning chain and final answer are formed.The framework was compared with vanilla reasoning and basic retrieval-augmented methods. Vanilla reasoning often fails when knowledge gaps arise, while basic augmented methods retrieve overly detailed and redundant documents, disrupting reasoning coherence. The Search-o1 framework avoids these by creating searches on the fly whenever required, extracting documents, and transforming them into clear and related reasoning steps. The agentic mechanism is another feeder that guarantees appropriate knowledge integration, and the Reason-in-Documents proved to be coherent, hence keeping the reasoning quite accurate and stable.Researchers evaluated the framework on two categories of tasks: challenging reasoning tasks and open-domain question-answering (QA) tasks. The challenging reasoning tasks included GPQA, a PhD-level science multiple-choice QA dataset; mathematical benchmarks such as MATH500, AMC2023, and AIME2024; and LiveCodeBench to assess coding capabilities. The open-domain QA tasks were tested using datasets like Natural Questions (NQ), TriviaQA, HotpotQA, 2WikiMultihopQA, MuSiQue, and Bamboogle. The evaluation involved comparisons with baseline methods, including direct reasoning approaches, retrieval-augmented reasoning, and the Search-o1 framework proposed by the researchers. Tests were conducted under varying conditions using a consistent setup, which included the QwQ32B-Preview model as the backbone and the Bing Web Search API for retrieval.Results showed that QwQ-32B-Preview excelled across reasoning tasks, surpassing larger models like Qwen2.5-72B and Llama3.3-70B. Search-o1 outperformed retrieval-augmented approaches like RAgent-QwQ-32B with notable coherence and knowledge integration gains. For example, on average, Search-o1 exceeded RAgent-QwQ-32B and QwQ-32B by 4.7% and 3.1%, respectively, and achieved a 44.7% improvement over smaller models like Qwen2.5-32B. Comparisons with human experts on the GPQA extended set revealed Search-o1s superiority in integrating reasoning strategies, particularly in science-related tasks.In conclusion, the proposed framework addressed the problem of knowledge inadequacy in large reasoning models by combining retrieval-augmented generation with a Reason-in-Documents module to allow better use of external knowledge. This framework can be a baseline for future research to enhance retrieval systems, document analysis, and intelligent problem-solving across complex domains.Check out the Paper and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our65k+ ML SubReddit. Divyesh Vitthal Jawkhede+ postsDivyesh is a consulting intern at Marktechpost. He is pursuing a BTech in Agricultural and Food Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is a Data Science and Machine learning enthusiast who wants to integrate these leading technologies into the agricultural domain and solve challenges. [Recommended Read] Nebius AI Studio expands with vision models, new language models, embeddings and LoRA (Promoted)

Dynasty Warriors: Origins comes out for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on January 14 but only if you buy the more expensive digital deluxe edition. The standard edition is out January 17 (see it at Best Buy, where you'll also get a free $10 gift card with preorder). The latest is a series that dates back to the 1990s, Dynasty Warrior: Origins is a good starting point for newcomers, because it effectively reboots the series. Its also terrific see our 9/10 Dynasty Warriors: Origins review for details. The game is available to preorder now in two editions, complete with different preorder bonuses. Read on for the breakdown of what comes with each edition.Dynasty Warriors: Origins - Standard EditionFree $10 Gift Card IncludedDynasty Warriors: Origins (PS5)Out January 17.$69.99 at Best BuyPS5Get it at Amazon - $69.99Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 - (free $10 gift card)Get it at GameStop - $69.99Get it at Target - $69.99Get it at Walmart - $69.99Get it at PS Store (digital) - $69.99Xbox Series X|SGet it at Amazon - $69.99Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 - (free $10 gift card)Get it at GameStop - $69.99Get it at Target - $69.99Get it at Walmart - $69.99Get it at Xbox Store (digital) - $69.99PCGet it on Steam - $69.99Preorder a the standard edition, and youll receive the game itself, plus the preorder bonus DLC costumes (see below).Dynasty Warriors: Origins - Digital Deluxe EditionPS5: PS Store - $89.99XSX: Best Buy | GameStop | Walmart | Xbox Store - $89.99PC: Steam - $89.99The digital deluxe edition gets you the following:72 hours of early access (starting January 14)Official Book & Original Soundtrack (Digital Edition): The Official Book & Original Soundtrack can be accessed in game. The Official Book is full of original illustrations of major events in the Three Kingdoms period, along with never-before-seen information about characters and charts depicting their relationships to one another, all centered around the grand story of the new "Dynasty Warriors," told from the perspective of a single protagonist. The Original Soundtrack includes the 20 original tracks that have been arranged for this title.Letters: Letters provide gold for buying things like weapons and portable items, and pyroxene for creating gems. When you select "New Game" and play through the story, letters will be delivered to you at Inns. The letter that provide pyroxene will only be delivered after you reach the point in the game where it becomes possible to create gems.Dynasty Warriors: Origins Preorder BonusesThe preorder bonus situation for Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a bit complicated, so bear with me here. You get different stuff depending on which edition you preorder, and whether you preorder a physical or digital copy. Heres the breakdown:Preorder a physical copy of the game, and youll receive the following protagonist DLC costumes:"Garb of the Azure Bird""Garb of the Crimson Bird""Garb of the Emerald Bird""Garb of the Violet Bird"Preorder a digital copy of the standard edition, and youll get the following DLC costume:Protagonist's costume "Nameless Warrior Garb, a Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty collaboration costume that can be worn in the gamePreorder the digital deluxe edition, and youll get the following:72 hour early access (January 14)Early Works Soundtrack Collection (Digital Edition): A soundtrack featuring a total of 191 original music tracks from the series, including background music from titles spanning from "Dynasty Warriors 2" to "Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires," as well Omega Force's first title, "Dynasty Warriors." The soundtrack can be played by accessing the main menu, Special Content, and then Music, and selecting "Early Works Soundtrack Collection."Protagonist's costume "Nameless Warrior Garb, a Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty collaboration costume that can be worn in the gameAdditionally, Best Buy is offering a preorder bonus of its own:Best Buy - $10 digital gift cardPhew.Dynasty Warriors: Origins DemoNot sure if you want to put your money down for this one? You can try a demo of the game for free.What Is Dynasty Warriors: Origins?PlayDynasty Warriors: Origins is a hack-and-slash game that features a new nameless hero protagonist, which is meant to act as an on-ramp for anyone whos never tried the series before. This installment is billed as having the most exhilarating action in the series' history, Dynasty Warriors: Origins also harnesses the power of modern gaming hardware to pit your character against the most onscreen enemies ever.And if you want to know why its so good, in IGNs Dynasty Warriors: Origins review, critic Jada Griffin wrote:If Dynasty Warriors: Origins is meant to be a new beginning, its one that gets off to a masterful start. It doesnt just have the largest amount of enemies the series has thrown on screen at once, it also deepens its combat, improves its storytelling without getting in the way of the action, and provides a healthy amount of replayability and postgame content all while looking better than ever. Your amnesiac hero is a bit too much of a blank slate at times, but the impressive ensemble cast made this story sing as I grew to care about the characters around him, big and small. Origins is both a great entry point for newcomers and a triumphant return for veterans like me who felt the last few entries had become stale or missed the mark. It feels like the series I once loved is finally back. Other Preorder GuidesChris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

Electric Boogaloo. Die Harder. 2 Fast 2 Furious. Movie continuations are a wonderful thing, if only because they give us these wonderful titles.Sadly, 2025 doesnt offer anything quite so iconic in the way of nomenclature, but it does feature plenty of sequels and prequels that check in on our favorite movie characters. Whether its Rene Zellwegers Bridget Jones back for another awkward outing or John Kramer continuing his unique form of self-help, 2025 is full of continuing stories and first chapters.What started as a modern update on Pride and Prejudice has taken on a life of its own, as the never-not-nervous Bridget Jones continues to make the worst possible decisions. Nine years after the third installment, Bridget Joness Baby, Rene Zellwegers beloved character now lives as a widowed mother of two and finds herself once again courted by two suitors.This time, the potentials include the much younger but also incredibly handsome Roxster (Leo Woodall) and the more age-appropriate and also incredibly handsome Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Of course, her old interests Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) are still around, although the latter in the form of a ghost.Paddington in Peru (Feb 14)Paddington the Bear taught us that if were kind and polite, the world will be right. Well, the world is certainly not right, so its a good thing that Paddingtons back with more words of comfort and wisdom.Paddington in Peru sends Paddington (voiced with warmth and kindness by Ben Wishaw) and his adoptive family the Browns to Peru, where he comes to the aid of his wise Aunt Lucy. Paul King, who directed Paddingtons first two outings, sits out this adventure and music video veteran Dougal Wilson steps in. UK viewers, who got to see Paddington in Peru in November 2024, didnt mind the change, as it currently sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.Final Destination: Bloodlines (May 16)Unlike most series on this list, time doesnt diminish the power of the Final Destination franchise. After all, Death never ages. And thats a good thing too, since its been 14 years since the last entry, the excellent Final Destination 5. Even better, Final Destination: Bloodlines features one last appearance by Tony Todd as knowing mortician William Bludworth, before the actors untimely death last year.Outside of that, we dont know much about Bloodlines. Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein step in as directors, having earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for the Disney XD series Mech-X4. Stargirls Brec Bassinger takes the lead, but the real star of a Final Destination movie is always the invisible presence of Death and the outlandish ways it kills people.Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning (May 23)Our lives are not defined by any one action, intones IMF computer whiz Luther (Ving Rhames) at the start of the trailer for Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning. Its a good thing that the Mission: Impossible movies have lots and lots actions to choose from.Still, its clear that The Final Reckoning intends to put a definite note on the series. Originally titled Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part Two, The Final Reckoning isnt just about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) facing off against an evil AI called the Entity. It also serves as a summation of Hunts career, alongside old friends Luther and Benji (Simon Pegg), as well as new edition Grace (Hayley Atwell).Karate Kid: Legends (May 30)We know the reason that studios like legacy sequels, as the name recognition all but guarantees an audience. At the same time, legacy sequels sometimes obscure the fact that, if a concept is good enough, then people will show up regardless of whos involved.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Thats certainly the case with Karate Kid: Legends. Yes, the legacy sequel pairs original kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), most recently seen on Cobra Kai, with Jackie Chan as Mr. Han, the teacher in the 2010 reboot movie The Karate Kid. But the real appeal is always going to be the story of a youngster learning how to do cool martial arts, in this case Li Fong (Ben Wang).The Accountant 2 (April 25)Lots of movies have tried to present autism as some sort of superpower, but few have pulled it off like The Accountant (2016). Directed by Gavin OConnor, The Accountant stars Ben Affleck as a man whose tendencies make him excellent as an accountant for criminal organizations, until hes forced to work for the Treasury Department by Director King (J.K. Simmons). The film has become something of a cult favorite since its initial release, leading the way to The Accountant 2, once against directed by OConnor and starring Affleck. The Account 2 finds Afflecks Christian Wolff teaming with his brother Brax (Jon Bernthal) to investigate the death of a friend. Anna Kendrick, who played a woman in peril in the first film, does not return, replaced by Daniella Pineda.From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (June 6)Half the fun of the John Wick franchise has been the slow revelation of the byzantine assassin network that gets fleshed out with each film in the series. At least, thats what Lionsgate is counting on, given that they cant really keep making movies about Keanu Reevess dog-lover/hired killer.From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (yes, that is the official title and therefore it must be always used) switches gears from Wick to Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), a dancer learning the ways of the Ruska Roma killers. Because its set between Chapters 3 and 4 of John Wick, Reeves will appear as Wick, as will Ian McShane as Winston and the late, great Lance Reddick as Charon.28 Years Later (June 20)28 Years Later ranks high on the most anticipated movies on this list, in part because of the delay between its release and the original 28 Days Later in 2002 (no disrespect to the solid but less effective 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo). It also ranks high because 28 Years Later marks a new collaboration between director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland, the latter of whom has moved on to making his own features, such as last years Civil War.That said, one person who wont be returning for the sequel is Cillian Murphy, contrary to initial reports. Instead, 28 Years Later will follow a man played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who must leave his peaceful island home and brave the Rage Virus-infested mainland. Along the way, hell meet fellow survivors played by Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Comer.M3GAN 2.0 (June 27)At this point, we still dont know anything about the plot to M3GAN 2.0, Blumhouses follow-up to the surprise hit about an AI doll that gets a little murder-y when protecting orphan Cady (Violet McGraw), even if it means killing Cadys aunt and M3GANs creator Gemma (Allison Williams).Still, Blumhouse seems determined to stick to the formula of the first movie. Gerard Johnstone and Akela Cooper return to direct and write, respectively, and the addition of Jemaine Clement to the cast suggests that theyll keep the comedic tone. Well also get a focus on practical effects, with dancer Amie Donald giving M3GAN her uncanny body language, while YouTuber Jenna Davis is back as the dolls voice.Jurassic World: Rebirth (July 2)Like Karate Kid: Legends, Jurassic World: Rebirth seems like a legacy sequel that misses the primary appeal of its movie. If you make a cool dinosaur movie, well probably go and see it. Dinosaurs are awesome (it does, however, have to be a cool dinosaur moviesomething the makers of 65 forgot).Jurassic World: Rebirth will certainly have cool dinosaurs, especially since it comes from director Gareth Edwards. Evans got his start on the impressive looking indie Monsters, which got him a gig directing the MonsterVerse Godzilla. However, it also has big name stars such as Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, and it builds off the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, all of which might distract from the joy of just seeing thunder lizards on screen.I Know What You Did Last Summer (July 18)Okay, this one might not actually fit on this list, because were not 100% if I Know What You Did Last Summer is a sequel or a reboot. Heck, were not even completely sure if the movies going to be called I Know What You Did Last Summer. Initial reports suggested that the film would be a reboot/remake, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson directing the story of teenagers, led by Madelyn Cline of Glass Onion, hunted by a killer who knows their dirty secret. But now, original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr. have joined the cast, which indicates a continuation of the first film, which already had multiple sequels. Just how many yellow-coated stragglers did these people kill?Based on the kids book by Aaron Blabey, The Bad Guys was a unexpected family hit for DreamWorks, thanks to its slick presentation and evergreen story about villains doing the right thing. Thats enough to justify a sequel, coming later this Summer.The Bad Guys 2 reunites Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina). This time, the team meets its match in the Bad Girls, a rival team voiced by Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne, and Maria Bakalova.Freakier Friday (August 8)Jamie Lee Curtis takes a break from reprising her role as Laurie Strode to reprise a very different beloved character, Tess Coleman. The mother of Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan), Tess got to know her daughter real well when the two of them swapped bodies in the 2003 comedy Freaky Friday.Late Night and The High Note director Nisha Ganatra checks in on the Colemans 20 years later, when they swap bodies once again. Most of the original movies cast returns, including Mark Harmon as Tesss husband and Chad Michael Murray as Annas (ex?) boyfriend Jake. Theyll be joined by Julia Butters (best known as the littlest acting judge in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Manny Jacinto from The Good Place and The Acolyte.Nobody 2 (August 15)The strange late-career of Bob Odenkirk continues with action movie Nobody 2. Unlike his slick loser Saul Goodman or his little-women-hugging dad, Odenkirks Nobody character Hutch Mansell is a former government assassin who just wants a normal life in the suburbs, but must take up killing after a drug lord threatens his family.Derek Kolstad, co-creator of John Wick and writer of the first film, returns as one of the writers for Nobody 2, which puts Hutch on a new mission. Indonesian action director Timothy Tjahjanto takes over for this adventure, which adds to the cast Chris Pine, McKenna Grace, and John Ortiz.Initially, it looked like Insidious: The Red Door would close the Insidious franchise in 2023. But that movie turned a profit that Blumhouse couldnt ignore, resulting in a return visit to the supernatural world that James Wan and Leigh Whannell created with Insidious in 2010.As its title suggests, Thread: An Insidious Tale wont focus on the Lambert family nor on investigator Elise Rainier. Instead, Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani will play new characters, in a film written and directed by Jeremy Slater, writer of Fantastic Four (2015) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.The Conjuring: Last Rites (September 5)Insidious isnt the only James Wan movie to get a sequel in 2025. The Conjuring universe continues with a fourth entry in the mainline series, The Conjuring: Last Rites.Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are back as real-world investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Wan has stated that Last Rites will put an end to the duos adventures, which may or may not mean that the movies adapting one of the final cases of the actual Warrens. Michael Chaves, who made lesser Conjuring Universe entries The Curse of La Llorona and The Nun II, returns to direct, having made The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.Downton Abbey 3 (September 12)The Downton Abbey movies from 2019 and 2022 felt like delightful bonuses, one last chance to visit the Crawleys and the people who work in the titular house. 2022s Downton Abbey: A New Era felt like the end of the story, with matriarch Lady Violet dying at the end of the film, before the actor Maggie Smiths own passing in 2024.But this fall sees a new Downton Abbey film, one that brings back creator Julian Fellowes and director Simon Curtis, as well as the principal cast, including Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern as Robert and Cora Crawly, Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael as their daughters Mary and Edith, and Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan as chief servants Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes. Paul Giamatti returns as Coras brother Harold Levinson.Saw XI (September 26)Another month, another sequel to a James Wan and Leigh Whannel movie! When Saw X proved an unlikely hit in 2023, production began on Saw XI, with Kevin Greutert directing and Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan writing.Yet, we dont have any idea what Saw XI will be about, or even when it will take place. Before you get snotty and point out that Saw movies are just about gory kills, keep in mind that the series has an insanely layered narrative, one that keeps bringing Tobin Bell back to the series, even though his character John Kramer died at the end of the third film. Will Saw XI be another prequel, like its immediate predecessor? Or will we keep moving forward with new revelations? As long as Chris Rocks not involved, everyone will certainly be happy.Tron: Ares (October 10)Tron and Tron: Legacy have a fairly straightforward premise. A human goes inside of a computer and discovers a world ruled by cool neon costumes. Tron: Ares seeks to flip the series on its head with an inverted story.Directed by Joachim Rnning and written by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne, Tron: Ares stars Jared Leto as Ares, a program who leaves the system and joins the real world. The reversal gives the film a chance to look at the way AI has bled into modern society, and hopefully wont lose any of the franchises distinctive visuals.The Black Phone 2 (October 17)Extraneous and unlikely sequels are nothing new to the horror genre (see: the Saw XI entry above). But weve been scratching our heads ever since director Scott Derrickson announced The Black Phone 2. After all, the 2021 originalco-written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill and based on a Joe Hill storyended kind of definitively. Finney (Mason Thames) escaped the basement of the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), thanks to his psychic sister (Madeleine McGraw) and a phone that allowed him to communicate with past victims.How the heck is Finney going to use another black phone? You know what, as long as Derrickson directs The Black Phone 2 with as much style as he did the original, and as long as we get more fantastic performances from the cast, we can probably stop worrying about the plot contrivances, just like we do for every other horror sequel.Mortal Kombat 2 (October 24)Heres the thing about the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie directed by Simon McQuoid. It had a lot of good things going for it, including cool takes on classic characters Kano (Josh Lawson), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), and Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim). And it had a compelling lead in new character Cole Young (Lewis Tan).But it didnt actually feature the titular Mortal Kombat tournament, which is the whole point of the story. So hopefully Mortal Kombat 2, once again directed by McQuoid but now written by Jeremy Slater, can rectify the problem. Theyre off to a good start with the addition of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. If we can get some justice for Goro, too, then we might have the first good Mortal Kombat movie on our hands.Predator: Badlands (November 7)Director Dan Trachtenberg shocked everyone with Prey, a Predator sequel that pit a Comanche woman against an alien hunter in 1719. Hopefully, Trachtenberg can do the same with the follow-up Predator: Badlands.Badlands leaps from the past to the far future, where Elle Fanning plays twin sisters trying to survive an apocalyptic wasteland. Early reports have suggested that the wasteland serves as a training ground for Predators, which sounds an awful lot like 2010s underrated Predators. But its hard to believe that Trachtenberg doesnt have something more unexpected in mind for this latest entry.Now You See Me 3 (November 14)With its third entry, Now You See Me is establishing itself as the mid-level blockbuster franchise that we rarely get these days, something that everyone sees, everyone enjoys, and then everyone seems to forget about, at least until the next one comes around.Now You See Me 3 brings in Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer as the latest slick filmmaker to drive the series, taking over from Louis Leterrier on the first one and Jon M. Chu from the sequel. Fleischer reunites with mainstays Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson who, along with Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fischer, and Morgan Freeman, play magicians who pull off unlikely heists.Wicked: For Good (November 21)Speaking of Jon M. Chu, whats he up to these days? Oh yeah, he made the third-biggest movie of 2024, Wicked. And hes back for the second part of the Broadway musical, now titled Wicked: For Good.Wicked: For Good picks up after Elphabas (Cynthia Erivo) gravity-defying rejection to help the duplicitous Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum as himself), leaving behind her popular friend Galinda (Ariana Grande). Musical fans have warned that the second act of Wicked pales in comparison to the first, but Chus convinced hes got enough tricks to make For Good just as good as its predecessor.Zootopia 2 (November 26)Honestly, it feels a bit like tempting fate for Disney to return to the world of Zootopia. The first movies colorful visuals and excellent voice acting distracted from a creaky central metaphor that falls apart under the slightest scrutiny.Still, theres no denying that Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman created two of Disneys best new characters, so we cant get too grouchy about them returning for a second go. This time, theyll be joined by Ke Huy Quan, the latest quarry for Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. Five Nights at Freddys 2 (December 5)To anyone over the age of 25, Five Nights at Freddys seems like a pretty basic premise, one that was exhausted in the first movie. Theres a scary pizza place, animatronics come to life, they spook the new watchman. We get it.Anyone under the age of 25 can tell you that creator Scott Cawthon created a rich, spiraling mythology for the Five Nights at Freddys games. Five Nights at Freddys 2, which will feature Matthew Lillard again, is just bringing that mythology to life, adapting the second game in the long-running series.The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (December 19)Given that The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) has one of the funniest moments in cinematic history (Goofy Goober Rock), its hard to begrudge a fourth film in the franchise.In this latest entry, SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) faces off with the mystical force known as the Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill). What more do you need? There will be lots of absurdity, Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) will be dumb, Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) will be grouchy, and youll still laugh like you did when you were six years old.Avatar: Fire and Ash (December 19)First, he gave you trees. Then, he gave you water. Now, Academy Award winner James Cameron gives you fire! Yes, its easy to mock the Avatar series, which has been called Dances With Smurfs since its first outing in 2009. But as hes proved then, and then again with 2022s Avatar: The Way of Water, and really throughout his career, no one does spectacle like James Cameron.So well stop pretending were too good for Avatar: Fire and Ash and instead well get excited to see how Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaa), and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) deal with Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) this time. And well get even more excited about how Cameron will push cinema forward by finding new ways to capture the allure of fire.Dirty Dancing 2 (TBA)For decades, Dirty Dancings just been sitting in the corner, languishing while an NPR hosts script about the Cuban revolution got retrofitted and stripped of all character to become the disastrous Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (seriously, its a crazy story). Well no more!Jennifer Grey is back as Baby Houseman, the young woman who came out of her shell in 1963, thanks to teacher Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Jonathan Levine, director of Long Shot and 50/50, will guide the new project, which is in production for Lionsgate.The Strangers: Chapter 2 (TBA)Among the many terrifying parts of The Strangers (2008) was the moment when a victim (Liv Tyler) asked the masked trio why they were torturing her and her boyfriend. Because you were home, comes the answer, chilling for its lack of meaning. Somehow, neither a sequel nor the reimagining The Strangers: Chapter 1 has ruined that moment by telling us too much about that killer.And yet, despite the risk the series runsand, honestly, despite the lukewarm response to The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Strangers: Chapter 2 continues siccing Scarecrow, Dollface, and Pin-up Girl on unsuspecting victims. Veteran Renny Harlin is back to continue the story, as is the last films survivor, played by Madelaine Petsch.Happy Gilmore 2 (TBA)Like the great Carl Weathers who played him, Chubbs Peterson might be up in heaven with an alligator and Abraham Lincoln, but Happy Gilmore lives on. Adam Sandler returns to the character he last played in 1996 for Happy Gilmore 2, alongside Julie Bowen as his love interest Virginia and Christopher McDonald as the pompous Shooter McGavin.Back in 1996, Sandlers absurd look at the world of professional golf seemed fresh and exciting. It will be interesting to see if Sandler, whos dulled his comic persona with endless middling comedies, can find the fire needed to play a hockey player turned golf pro.Even the most cynical movie-goer, the type of person who grouches about the endless sequels and dearth of originality in Hollywood, has to like the Knives Out movies. After all, theyre less continuing stories and more new mysteries each time, the sole connecting tissue being the Southern fried detective Benoit Blanc, played with droll charisma by Daniel Craig.As with the previous outings Knives Out and Glass Onion, Rian Johnson has assembled a fantastic cast to play the suspects in Blancs latest whodunit. Newcomers include Josh OConnor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, and more. And surely, Johnsons regulars Noah Segan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will show up in some capacity. As long as Johnson keeps getting wonderful performances out of Craig, hes free to make these movies until the end of time.

A huge data breach involving Gravy Analytics has appeared to expose precise location data for millions of users of popular smartphone apps like Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal, and more. Heres what you should know about the unfolding breach.Gravy Analytics breach impacts users of many top smartphone appsGravy Analytics, a location data broker that holds data from millions of iPhone and Android users, has been hacked.Last week, a hacker claimed to have pulled off the breach, as was first reported by 404Media. But now, data has started being released that confirms the assertionand shows just how bad it is.Millions of pieces of precise location data have been released, showing users most visited locations such as their home, workplace, and more. The existence of this data reportedly finds its origins in an app bidding process called real-time bidding, which determines the ads that get shown to users.Zach Whittaker at TechCrunch explains:During that near-instant auction, all of the bidding advertisers can see some information about your device, such as the maker and model type, its IP addresses (which can be used to infer a persons approximate location), and in some cases, more precise location data if granted by the app user, along with other technical factors that help determine which ad a user will be displayed. But as a byproduct of this process, any advertiser that bids or anyone closely monitoring these auctions can also access that trove of so-called bidstream data containing device information. Data brokers, including those who sell to governments, can combine that collected information with other data about those individuals from other sources to paint a detailed picture of someones life and whereabouts.Gravy Analytics is one such data broker, and now its data has been breached and has begun leaking publicly online.Users of many popular ad-serving apps have been impacted.Joseph Cox at WIRED writes:The list includes dating sites Tinder and Grindr; massive games such as Candy Crush, Temple Run, Subway Surfers, and Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells; transit app Moovit; My Period Calendar & Tracker, a period-tracking app with more than 10 million downloads; popular fitness app MyFitnessPal; social network Tumblr; Yahoos email client; Microsofts 365 office app; and flight tracker Flightradar24. The list also mentions multiple religious-focused apps such as Muslim prayer and Christian Bible apps, various pregnancy trackers, and many VPN apps, which some users may download, ironically, in an attempt to protect their privacy.You can find a full list that someone has compiled here.Good news for iPhone users?Information on the breach is still emerging, but theres one early sign of good news for iPhone users in particular.Baptiste Robert, CEO of digital security firm Predicta Lab, told TechCrunch that if you rejected an apps request to track you, your data has not been shared by that app.Roberts referring to the Ask App Not to Track permission prompt Apple has built into iOS.In a post on X, Robert further encourages users to go to Settings Privacy & Security Tracking and disable apps from even being allowed to ask to track you. Youll also see on that screen if youve ever previously granted tracking permission or not.Theres been no official statement from Apple to this point, but if Robert is correct, then there should be far fewer iPhone users impacted by the Gravy Analytics breach as a result.Well keep you posted on key developments in the Gravy Analytics breach as more information is revealed.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Image by Patricia de Melo Moreira / AFP via Getty / FuturismIn his quest to cheat death, 47-year-old tech founder Bryan Johnson says he's become ravenous for something besides everlasting life.Johnson admitted during the course of filming "Don't Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever," a new Netflix documentary about his biohacking travails, that the strict diet he follows leaves him seriously craving more.The Kernel and Braintree founder who was also an early investor in Futurism, but has had no involvement with the site for years follows an extreme diet that consists mostly of veggie bowls and fruity, nutty puddings. Back in 2023, when Johnson's bizarre anti-aging "blueprint protocol" started to hit the mainstream, social media users were startled to discover that he eats all his meals between 6 and 11 AM.During an interaction with a curious visitor to his home in "Don't Die," Johnson was asked if he was "ever hungry.""Im pretty hungry," the millionaire confessed. "The saddest part of my day is the last bite."Though there's some evidence that short-term "fasting-mimicking diets" can reduce some signs of aging, but recent research has found links between the practice and an increased risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and Johnson's restrictive eating habits sometimes sound more like avery expensive eating disorder than anything else.Nevertheless, Johnson insists in "Don't Die" that his diet which accompanies the many other bizarre methods he uses to try to reduce his biological age back to 18, including siphoning his own son's blood into his body and injecting Botox into his penis [i simply...] makes him feel amazing."I have found more relief in demoting my mind and elevating my body than I have in my entire life," he explained. "It feels so liberating to me because my entire life, I was desperate to be free from myself."As the New York Post reports, Johnson also divulged after filming that one of the 54 pills he takes every morning as he tries to turn back the hands of time may actually have been accelerating his aging.After boasting about the potential "longevity benefits" of rapamycin a cancer drug that was shown to have some anti-aging effects in mice trials that Johnson took for years despite it not being FDA-approved for such usage during the filming of "Don't Die," the tech guru admitted after the documentary wrapped that he now believes it was doing the opposite."Despite the immense potential from pre-clinical trials," he wrote in a post on X-formerly-Twitter in September, "my team and I came to the conclusion that the benefits of lifelong dosing of rapamycin do not justify the hefty side-effects."Among those adverse effects were, as Johnson expounded, "intermittent skin/soft tissue infections, lipid abnormalities, glucose elevations, and increased resting heart rate." Translation: something in his massive pharmaceutical cocktail was inducing physical effects that seem a lot like those that happen as humans age."With no other underlying causes identified," he continued in the lengthy post, "we suspected Rapamycin, and since dosage adjustments had no effect, we decided to discontinue it entirely."Between being hungry all the time and taking medications off-label that made him age faster, Johnson seems to believe that spending tons of money to reverse the natural processes of life is worthwhile. Far be it from us to criticize the way he chooses to spend his money and time, but that does seem like a great way to waste both wealth and middle age.More on Johnson's aging "hacks": Anti-Aging CEO Injects Face With Strange Treatment, Experiences Bizarre ReactionShare This Article

Time zones: EST (UTC -5), MST (UTC -7), ART (UTC -3), UTC -4, UTC -4:30, UTC -3, UTC -2We are looking for a dynamic UI/UX designer. Who will be responsible for the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design of our various digital assets. You will ensure that all elements of the online user experience are optimized for improved usability, usefulness, and exceptional visual design.The successful candidate will evidence a passion for delivering adaptive and creative solutions to UI/UX design problems by staying up to date with best practices and emerging trends in user experience design and user interface technology.Job ResponsibilitiesInvestigating user experience design requirements for our suite of digital assets.Developing and conceptualizing a comprehensive UI/UX design strategy for the brand.Producing high-quality UX design solutions through wireframes, visual and graphic designs, flow diagrams, storyboards, site maps, and prototypes.Designing UI elements and tools such as navigation menus, search boxes, tabs, and widgets for our digital assets.Testing UI elements such as CTAs, banners, page layouts, page designs, page flows, and target links for landing pages.Job Requirements2+ years of proven experience as a UI Designer or in a similar role.A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional UI designs that reflect contemporary US design trends and standards.Proficiency in Figma and a solid understanding of design principles, typography, color theory, and layout.

The winner of the estimated 250,000 contract will draw up plans to redesign the level two south gallery within Tate Moderns Herzog & de Meuron-designed Switch House extension and to introduce new modular, movable and re-configurable walls.The project aims to reduce the costs and environmental impact of staging multiple temporary exhibitions within the space displaying a wide variety of artwork typologies with different wall configurations. Last financial year Tate Modern spent 400,000 on gallery space alterations.According to the brief: Last financial year, a large proportion of Tate Modern's Curatorial budget was spent on alternations of the gallery spaces, mainly dismantling and re-building walls, to suit the layout requirements for each exhibition. This practise also contributes to one of the largest portions of the carbon footprint generated by exhibitions production.AdvertisementTate Modern would like to turn this challenge into an opportunity, where we are taking advantage of a completely empty space to design a new gallery that could be adapted for multiple exhibition projects in a low cost and circular way.This project will commission specialised designers to design a set of modular, movable and re-configurable walls to use in Blavatnik L2 South Gallery. This would allow us to respond to project-specific spatial needs by achieving multiple layouts with flexible setworks, making substantial efficiencies in construction costs, materials, labour and waste.The Herzog & de Meuron-designed Tate Modern opened inside Londons former Bankside Power Station 24 years ago. The practice completed the Switch House extension to Tate Modern in 2016.The latest project will explore the potential for creating a modular, re-configurable, and sustainable set of walls which could be used to reduce fit-out costs and the environmental footprint of staging temporary exhibitions.A request for information was published notifying designers of the upcoming opportunity late last year.AdvertisementBids for the latest commission will be evaluated 100 per cent on quality. Applicants must hold employers liability insurance of 5 million, public liability insurance of 5 million and professional indemnity insurance of 5 million.Competition detailsProject title Tate - Tate Modern Blavatnik L2 South Gallery re-design - Creating a flexible and sustainable exhibition spaceClientContract value 250,000First round deadline Midday, 7 February 2025Restrictions TbcMore information https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/502cad43-3692-4578-bcef-c1ff0198f0eb

Dig out your dancing shoes for this closer look at our teams work on Venom: The Last DanceAfter working as lead VFX partner on the first two films of Sonys hit anti-hero trilogy, we were thrilled to return to the franchise this year to help bring the epic finale to life!The Last Dance gave our talented teams the chance to flex their character building, animation and FX simulation skills, delivering just under 500 shots across 11 key sequences. In a series of recent interviews, VFX Supervisor David Lee has been sharing detailed behind-the-scenes insights on the work our amazing global crews delivered on the film.Read on for a closer look at our work! Wraith VenomIn The Last Dance, Venom couldnt become his full form without attracting the Xenophages, which meant Wraith Venom, the version of the symbiote that comes out through tendrils attached to Eddie, played a much larger role.This, coupled with the scenery we find them in during The Last Dance, provided an interesting challenge for our team. Venoms lighting is driven primarily by reflections, which, in the previous films, typically consisted of dark, moody settings. In contrast, the desert environment with only the sun as a single, direct light source meant that the team had to adapt Venoms lighting so as to not lose any intricate detailing.To do this, they added a sense of iridescence to his skin to give an additional layer of complexity in the light. In an interview with Digital Media World, David said, We started adding multiple, smaller light sources, but biasing them towards the key light direction to keep to the lighting on the plates. This gave us the improved form and detailing, allowing him to keep a similar aesthetic to the previous films and not just losing him to one large, hot reflection coming in from the Image-Based Lighting. The increased specular points of interest gave us nice, tight highlights to illustrate the wet, fluid nature of Wraith, which we combined with a soft subtle bounce to help him form without flattening him out from broad, bright sky reflections.Venom HorseDeveloping the Venom Horse was another key challenge for our team to overcome. Referencing the filmed performance of a real horse on set, the team built a full CG asset, rather than use a tracking model, in order to keep the movement looking natural while incorporating Venoms additional size and muscle mass.Venom is always a much larger character than the characters he has inhabited, but Kelly [Marcel] really wanted to emphasise the size and power of the Venom Horse, so we ended up even a little bigger than our references on set, David told Digital Media World.The decision to keep Venom Horses strides longer and stronger than a normal horse emphasized the symbiotes power and speed and allowed our team to play around with other elements of his personality. Speaking with Post Magazine, David shared, We leaned into accentuating the comic nature of the horse in performance such as the tongue flopping out of the mouth and hitting Eddie as he rides!It was also important that the design of Venom Horse incorporate aspects of the original character, creating one cohesive look across the symbiotes different physical forms. For example, the mane and tail are a mass of tendrils that mesh together when they collide, giving a liquid-like behaviour and look similar to the Wraiths tendrils that attach to Eddies back.XenophagesOur crew also developed the look of the fearsome Xenophages, drawing inspiration from a variety of animals from praying mantises and crocodiles to snakes and porcupines!Because development started from a visual point of view before being passed over to our Build and Animation crews, the Xenophages movements could only be designed once the base look was more defined one of the primary challenges that arose when developing these creatures, particularly when it came to the leg articulation.How it moved was a fun challenge for the animation team, led by Chris Lentz, which spent a lot of time playing around with different movement styles, David shared with Digital Media World. It became an important step in the development process to run the asset through animation as quickly as possible, so adjustments could be made to avoid biomechanical issues while trying to limit changes to its look.David shared with Art of VFX, We settled on a variety of insectoid type movements to give us a staccato motion, with limbs and head movements that were almost mechanical, as evident in some larger beetles and spiders. As the animation team worked through their motion tests, we fed this back into adjustments to the model itself to ensure everything worked correctly, before updating to a fully functioning rig for the final asset.Another signature physical trait of the Xenophages is the mouth full of rotating teeth, which came to life through a combined effort between our Build and Effects teams. Speaking with Animation World Network, David said, We would have our build department construct the external teeth, which were rigid. Our effects team would populate the interior of the mouth with these rotating teeth that pop out through these little gummy slits. Its almost like a conveyor belt and then they come back down again.Green SymbioteOf the new symbiotes the film introduced, our team worked on the the Green symbiote bonded to Officer Mulligan. Director Kelly Marcel wanted a distinctly different look and feel for this symbiote. Leaning into the concept of a translucent type appearance that showed aspects of the internal structure and vascular system, our team added complexity to the design with a rougher exterior surface, dialling iridescence onto the torso to produce a cyan-ish shimmer as it catches the light, and finished it off with a subtle, almost frosted quality to the exterior.To compliment the symbiotes unique look, it needed a distinct style of movement. David told Art of VFX, The addition of a tail that split into multiple lengths allowed us to lean into a more smooth, hypnotic type of motion. Similar to a snakes movements, its calm and slow, and belies the power he could unleash if he so wanted.Aeroplane FightOur work also included the aeroplane fight between Venom and the Xenophage, which consisted of extensive environment and skyscape build, creature animation for both characters, and complex FX work for the cloudscapes and plane damage.Despite some of the sequence being shot in the studio with a section of a real plane, the final scene ended up being a fully CG sequence save for Tom Hardys face and arms, which were taken from his performance in the studio, where he was shot on wires on the side of the plane.We had a lot of fans going when we were shooting, but it just didnt have the terminal velocity that is so fast. David explained to Digital Media World. Given the extremity of the environment we would be adding in post, we would require the greater control working digitally would give us over such aspects as reflections, lighting and the character interactions as they fight.Driving home the speed and drama during the battle on top of the plane, additional cloth simulations were added to Venom to enhance the sense of him being liquid at his core. His entire body, head and skin start to get this flutter like a dog hanging out a window of a fast-moving car! David told Animation World Network.Dancing QueenOur team put on their dancing shoes to create another first: the iconic Venom and Mrs. Chen dance sequence! This light-hearted scene also featured work from our DNEG 360 team, who provided mocap services on set.One of the challenges of this sequence came again from Venoms size. When filming the choreography with the stand-in, the distance between the performers had to allow for the symbiotes true stature, which was achieved with extendable forearms as a guide for his reach, and a large head piece to account for his height and provide an eyeline for Peggy Lus Mrs. Chen.Another consideration was how Venoms size would impact the way he moved as a dancer. David told Digital Media World, Initially, we thought we would have to apply a much greater sense of weight and slower speed for Venoms character compared to our dancers performance, but it became apparent looking at reference material of dancers that these big guys can be pretty light on their feet. So we kept Venom a little bit pacier than anticipated, and let the contrast between his normal style of movement compared to his dancing add to the humour of the situation. We just made little adjustments where required to prevent him from feeling too light it was a fine balance.Sharing his thoughts on the film as a whole, David told Animation World Network, It was fun for me to work on this kind of film because if youve got an idea about how something can be more exciting or might help the narrative then everyone is open to those types of ideas, which is fantastic.Want a closer look at our work on Venom: The Last Dance? Check out our VFX Breakdown!