Unity cuts jobs once again as it makes "important organisational changes"Cuts come as firm "responds to choices we're making about what direction Unity will take in the future"Image credit: Unity News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Feb. 11, 2025 Unity has reportedly implemented another round of layoffs.Numerous reports from Unity employees suggest the team behind visual tool Behavior has been cut, along with designers and artists.In an email reportedly sent to Unity staff seen by 80.lv, CRO Matthew Bromberg told employees the "important organisational changes" predominantly impacted "the CTO, Engine Product, and Ads teams", and were "a response to choices [Unity was] making about what direction Unity will take in the future".It is unclear at this time how many people have been affected by the cuts."People whose roles are being eliminated or those entering an employment consultation period will be notified over the course of the next couple of days, with instructions on next steps. We expect all notifications to be completed by EOD on Feb 12," Bromberg added.Town Hall meetings detailing the future of Unity are scheduled in Montreal, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Seoul, Tokyo, and San Francisco, with the first set to take place tomorrow, February 12, in Montreal.With a global workforce working across multiple timezones, impacted staff were notified simultaneously, which meant some staff on the West coast received notification that they had been laid off at 5 am."I was impacted by layoffs at Unity today, along with many talented and hardworking colleagues. While this news is tough, Im incredibly grateful for the nearly three years I spent at the company - working alongside brilliant artists and engineers, getting opportunities to further develop my graphics programming and Houdini skills, and forming meaningful friendships that extend beyond work," senior technical artist Peter Row wrote on Linkedin."That being said, I want to call out the way Unity chose to communicate these layoffs. Receiving a 5 am email from 'noreply@unity' informing me that my role was being 'eliminated' and that I'd lose system access by the end of the day, felt completely abrupt and impersonal. Unity must do better in how they treat their workers in hard times like this."In January 2024, Unity announced another round of layoffs as part of its restructuring efforts, resulting in the loss of 1,800 jobs.In 2025 alone, over 845 developers have lost their jobs, with cuts and closures at Freejam, Splash Damage, Piranha Games, Jar of Sparks, as well as cut at Ubisoft, ProbablyMonsters, Iron Galaxy and Sumo Group.GamesIndustry.biz has contacted Unity for comment.

Apple is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in its Maps app. The company started rolling out the name change for US users this afternoon, and Bloomberg reports that it will soon display the name for users globally, too.Google Maps started showing the Gulf of America for users in the US on Monday. President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the name change in January, and the change entered the federal naming database, the Geographic Names Information System, this week. Unlike Apple, Google Maps displays different names depending on a users location. Users in Mexico will continue to see the body of water labeled as the Gulf of Mexico, and users in other countries will see Gulf of Mexico alongside Gulf of America in parentheses. Other mapping apps, like Microsofts Bing and MapQuest, continue to show the Gulf of Mexico.Apple currently offers its Maps app across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and in beta on the web. The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for more information about the change but didnt immediately hear back.

Mark your calendars for Googles next developer conference.Googles next I/O developer conference will take place on May 20th and May 21st, the company announced today. The event will be open to everyone online and will include livestreamed keynotes and sessions, according to an FAQ. Like past years, there will also be an in-person component at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.The news comes after Google launched a fun puzzle game to help reveal the date of the event. (The company loves to release puzzles ahead of announcing its I/O dates.) This years show will run in the middle of Microsofts Build conference, which takes place from May 19th through May 22nd.The last Google I/O kicked off on May 14th, 2024. The event was packed with a ton of announcements, including new Gemini AI features and models, the Project Astra AI assistant, its Veo generative AI video model, and a big AI-focused overhaul for Google Search. The 2023 edition of I/O was filled with AI news, too, but at that show, Google also announced the Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet, and Pixel 7A.

LatestMachine LearningBias vs Variance The Mathematical Foundational Assessment of Models 0 like February 11, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): Kim Hyun Bin Originally published on Towards AI. This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.I am sure for many of you interested in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence, when you first started, you would have come across this term Bias and Variance trade off. For the majority of us, Im sure whoever was teaching us, be it YouTube, a Medium article or from school, have briefly explained about this from a conceptual point of view and highlighted the existence and importance of it. Sure, it is important and a foundational analysis of any statistical learning algorithm. But why and how did it come about and what makes it what it is?Maybe this thought have never crossed your mind and I dont blame you for it because there are so much more fascinating and interesting algorithms and concepts out there, tempting you to just skip over the foundations and jump right into the complex algorithms. However, I am a true believer in polishing your foundations, building from the ground up and ensuring that you know exactly what is going on. I believe only then can you tackle more challenging concetps and equations in this insanely fast evolving field.So today, I will Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

Author(s): Towards AI Editorial Team Originally published on Towards AI. What happened this week in AI by LouieThis week, Google DeepMind expanded access to Gemini 2.0, OpenAI increased transparency in ChatGPTs reasoning and thinking steps, and Mistral launched its rapid AI assistant app. OpenAI was also subject to a surprise $97bn hostile takeover offer from Elon Musk to acquire OpenAIs assets from its parent Charity (competing with Sam Altmans own proposal to acquire the charitys assets). Meanwhile, we learned ChatGPTs weekly active users tripled in 2024, jumping from 110 million to 350 million, while paid subscribers nearly tripled as well, reaching 15.8 million. OpenAIs API traffic also surged from 200 million to 1.4 billion tokens per minute, reflecting the growing demand for AI-powered workflows. Against this backdrop of accelerating adoption, Anthropics latest study provides the first large-scale empirical measurement of how AI is actually being used across the economy.Anthropic analyzed four million Claude conversations using an LLM agent to directly track how AI is used across different jobs and tasks. The data makes it clear that Claudes AI usage is highly concentrated in software-related professions, which account for 37.2% of all Claude interactions. The next largest category, writing and media occupations, accounts for just 10.3%, with other professional domains trailing further behind. AI use is almost nonexistent in jobs requiring physical labor, such as construction, transportation, and healthcare support. The extent of its use within any given job remains highly uneven. About 36% of occupations show AI being used for at least 25% of their associated tasks, but only 4% have AI usage covering 75% or more of their tasks.The types of tasks AI is being used for reflect its current strengths. Cognitive skills such as reading comprehension, writing, and critical thinking dominate AI-assisted work, whereas physical and managerial skills like installation, equipment maintenance, and negotiation see minimal AI involvement. Writing-heavy professions including technical writing, copywriting, and even archival work account for nearly 50% of AI usage.Across all analyzed conversations, 43% of AI interactions involved full automation, where the model performed a task with little or no human involvement (However, we note these responses have been edited outside the chat window). The remaining 57% of interactions suggested augmentation, where AI was used to refine, iterate, or enhance human work rather than replace it outright. This suggests that, at least for now, AI is complementing work rather than fully automating job roles. Automation was most prevalent in directive tasks, such as formatting documents or generating marketing copy, whereas augmentation dominated coding and debugging workflows, where users iterated with AI to resolve errors and refine solutions.Why should you care?For AI developers and businesses, this study also provides a roadmap for where the next wave of adoption is likely to occur. Software and technical writing tasks are already AI-heavy, but structured professions with lower AI adoption such as finance, legal work, and research are well-positioned for further integration. Meanwhile, the steady increase in automation suggests that customer support, routine business writing, and structured data analysis will likely see further AI-driven efficiency gains. We note that OpenAis API usage grew even faster than its ChatGPT users in 2024, and in part, this reflects the need for extra development and customization of LLMs (by external LLM Developers!) to achieve necessary performance and reliability for many task categories. As AIs role in economic workflows continues to evolve, empirical studies like this one will become increasingly valuable for tracking its real-world impact.Hottest News1. Gemini 2.0 Is Now Available to EveryoneGoogle DeepMind has launched the updated Gemini 2.0 Flash and an experimental Gemini 2.0 Pro, offering improved performance for developers via Google AI Studio and Vertex AI. The release also includes 2.0 Flash-Lite for cost efficiency and reinforces safety with new reinforcement learning techniques, underscoring Geminis enhanced capabilities for multimodal reasoning and coding.2. Elon Musks Consortium Makes $97.4B Bid to Acquire OpenAI, Disrupting Altmans For-Profit Transition PlanA consortium led by Elon Musk made a surprise $97.4 billion offer to purchase all assets of OpenAI, Inc. from the OpenAI parent Charity with funds to be used exclusively to further OpenAI, Inc.s original charitable mission. Recent reports suggest Sam Altman was offering the OpenAI charity a 25% equity stake in a new for-profit OpenAI entity to simplify its complicated structure. OpenAI was then planning to raise $40bn at a $260bn pre-money valuation as a regular for-profit company. OpenAI Charitys assets are very complex ownership over OpenAIs business profits, which become much more material after its investors have been repaid and AGI has been achieved. Elons new higher bid complicates the current plan to transform OpenAi into a for-profit entity.3. OpenAI Now Reveals More of Its o3-Mini Models Thought ProcessOpenAI announced that free and paid users of ChatGPT, the companys AI-powered chatbot platform, will see an updated chain of thought that shows more of the models reasoning steps and how it arrived at answers to questions. According to OpenAI, subscribers to premium ChatGPT plans who use o3-mini in the high reasoning configuration will also see this updated readout.4. Mistral Releases Its AI Assistant on iOS and AndroidMistral is releasing several updates to its AI assistant, Le Chat. In addition to a major web interface upgrade, the company is releasing a mobile app on iOS and Android. The mobile app features the usual chatbot interface. You can query Mistrals AI model and ask follow-up questions in a simple conversation-like interface.5. GitHub Introduced Agent Mode for GitHub CopilotGitHub introduced an agent mode for GitHub Copilot in VS Code. This new agent mode can iterate on its own code, recognize errors, and fix them automatically. It can suggest terminal commands and ask you to execute them. It can also analyze run-time errors with self-healing capabilities.6. AI-Designed Proteins Take On Deadly Snake VenomAI-driven research at the University of Washington created synthetic proteins that neutralize deadly snake venoms. Using NVIDIA GPUs, their AI models swiftly identified effective antitoxin designs. These proteins may offer a low-cost, quickly produced treatment, potentially transforming snakebite care worldwide and offering hope for other medical conditions.Five 5-minute reads/videos to keep you learning1. Open-Source DeepResearchThis article walks you through building an open-source Deep Research alternative to OpenAIs Deep Research. This system browses the web to summarize content and answers questions based on the summary.2. Achieve OpenAI o1-mini Level Reasoning with Open-Source ModelsThe article explores using open-source models to achieve OpenAIs GPT-4 Mini-level reasoning. It examines benchmarking results, techniques like distillation, supervised fine-tuning, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and how, with proper optimizations, open-source LLMs can approach GPT-4-level performance.3. The DeepSeek Effect Why Your Company Needs an AI Usage Policy and How to Create OneThe emergence of free and readily available AI models, like DeepSeek, offers impressive capabilities. However, their aggressive user data collection practices and security test failures are a stark warning. This article explores why this is a huge threat to your companys data, intellectual property, and security compliance and how to navigate it.4. Constitutional Classifiers: Defending Against Universal JailbreaksAnthropics new Constitutional Classifiers method robustly defends AI models against universal jailbreaks, reducing jailbreak success rates from 86% to 4.4% with minimal additional refusal rates and compute overhead. Participants testing the systems robustness failed to achieve universal jailbreaks, showing the classifiers effectiveness in safeguarding AI while maintaining practicality.5. How to Scale Your Model: A Systems View of LLMs on TPUsAuthors from Google DeepMind discuss scaling language models on TPUs, explaining model optimization, hardware communication, and parallelization techniques. They also explore Transformer architecture, TPU workings, and parallelism methods to achieve strong scaling without becoming communication-bound.Repositories & Tools1. GPT Researcher is an autonomous agent designed for comprehensive web and local research on any given task.2. Chatbox is a desktop client for ChatGPT, Claude, and other LLMs, available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.3. Hugging Face open-sourced DABStep, a multi-step reasoning benchmark consisting of 450 tasks. It is designed to evaluate the capabilities of state-of-the-art LLMs and AI agents.Top Papers of The Week1. DeepRAG: Thinking to Retrieval Step by Step for Large Language ModelsDeepRAG enhances retrieval-augmented reasoning by modeling it as a Markov Decision Process, improving accuracy. By iteratively decomposing queries, it strategically decides between retrieving external knowledge and relying on parametric reasoning, thus optimizing retrieval efficiency and minimizing noise. DeepRAG effectively addresses challenges in reasoning and retrieval integration for large language models.2. 1.58-bit FLUXResearchers introduced 1.58-bit FLUX, a method for quantizing the FLUX.1-dev text-to-image model using 1.58-bit weights, enhancing efficiency without sacrificing quality for 1024 x 1024 image generation. Their approach, relying on model self-supervision, achieves a 7.7x storage reduction, a 5.1x inference memory reduction, and improved latency, as verified on GenEval and T2I Compbench benchmarks.3. LIMO: Less is More for ReasoningLIMO challenges conventional beliefs about reasoning in language models by achieving high accuracy in mathematical tasks with minimal training data. Using only 817 samples, it achieves 57.1% on AIME and 94.8% on MATH, outperforming previous models. The Less-Is-More Reasoning Hypothesis suggests complex reasoning emerges from well-pre-trained models and effective cognitive templates.4. Efficient Memory Management for Large Language Model Serving with PagedAttentionThis paper proposes PagedAttention, an attention algorithm inspired by the classical virtual memory and paging techniques in operating systems. Researchers build vLLM, an LLM serving system that achieves near-zero waste in KV cache memory and flexible sharing of KV cache within and across requests to reduce memory usage further.5. SmolLM2: When Smol Goes Big Data-Centric Training of a Small Language ModelSmolLM2, a new small language model with 1.7 billion parameters, achieves superior performance by overtraining on 11 trillion tokens of diverse data, including specialized datasets like FineMath and Stack-Edu. Using an iterative dataset refinement process, SmolLM2 surpasses recent models such as Qwen2.51.5B and Llama3.21B.Quick Links1. Reuters reported that Ilya Sutskevers Safe Superintelligence Inc. is in talks to raise funding at a valuation of at least $20 billion. This is a significant jump from their $1bn raise at a $5bn valuation only 5 months ago. The company has not publicly disclosed any of its research or progress, but it does not plan to release any products before superintelligence.2. The European Union has published guidance on what constitutes an AI system under its new AI Act. Determining whether a particular software system falls within the acts scope will be a key consideration for AI developers with the risk of fines of up to 7% of global annual turnover for breaches.3. Meta allegedly downloaded over 81.7TB of pirated books to train its AI models, according to authors in a lawsuit. The plaintiffs claim Meta used torrent sites to acquire copyrighted material without permission. This adds to growing concerns about AI companies exploiting copyrighted content for model training.4. Sam Altman mentioned that an internal model has now hit the 50th best in the world in Codeforces vs. 175th for o3 in December. This suggests Codeforces Elo has climbed to ~3045 vs. 2727 for o3 (which used parallel samples) and 808 with 4o less than a year ago.It is unclear if this result is a later checkpoint of o3 after more RL steps or if its a coding Agent (Deep Research style specialist via further Reinforcement Learned), but either way, there is no dead-end yet for the new LLM RL paradigm.Whos Hiring in AIAI Workflow Specialist @Power Digital (US/Remote)AI Test Engineer @Noblis (Washington, DC, USA)AI Fullstack Engineer @Insight Global (Portland, OR, USA)R&D GenAI Product Owner @Sanofi Group (Paris, France/Hyrbid)Data Scientist (NLP) @Binance (Remote)Contract Fullstack Developer (Python/React) @The Motley Fool (US/Remote)Research Data Analyst @Stanford University (USA/Remote)Interested in sharing a job opportunity here? Contact [emailprotected].Think a friend would enjoy this too? Share the newsletter and let them join the conversation.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AI

The first season of Pokmon Horizons felt like a fresh start, a fun new frontier for a franchise well into its third decade of existence. With its second season, subtitled The Search for Laqua, Pokmon Horizons chickens out on committing to those changes and reverts to the old formula. While moments of humor, adventure, and heartwarming triumph break through, the result is largely disappointing and, in its noisy English-language dub, often a pain to the ears.Initially, Pokmon Horizons saw child protagonists Liko, Roy, and Dot journeying on an airship with its adult crew. They were seeking to understand the truth behind some mysterious relics, powerful enough that a rival team constantly pursued them. The airship truly felt like an exciting new frontier for Pokmon anime. It was the series equivalent of spending most of a video game traversing on foot and then suddenly well, getting an airship.But now, the airship is broken. Both the crew and the rival organization, the Explorers, are temporarily scattered. The kids are back in school. The Search for Laqua flips season 1's priorities, and Pokmon Horizons is worse for it. Instead of hunting down clues and training along the way, Liko and company are now training so that they can return to solving the core mystery down the road.And theyve enrolled in the most confounding school in the world, the Naranja Academy, in which Liko, Roy, and Dot are seemingly the only pupils in any given class. After a single day at Naranja, theyre sent off to journey across Paldea by twilight. Granted, the final two episodes of season 2 take place at the academy, but theyre just capstone battles. Not content with ditching one unique premise (at least for now), Horizons backs out of another, failing to fully explore what a Pokmon classroom drama could be.Happy Bday Pokmon Red & BlueAnd so, by episode 2, we have three teens traveling across the earth, endeavoring to become the best Pokmon trainers they can be by seeking out gym leaders. Occasionally, they come face-to-face with a villainous, male-female duo. Sound familiar?But that duo Cornbread and Seasoning, who are actually members of the Explorers fails to fulfill their promise. We barely see them after episode two. They dont have a chance to strike up any chemistry with our Pokmon-training heroes, to the point where I wondered why theyre part of the story at all.The Search for Laqua flips season ones priorities, and Pokmon Horizons is worse for it.There are ways that The Search for Laqua changes up the Pokmon formula. Likos Sprigatito the cute, curious feline who serves as Horizons primary Pokmon pal has evolved into the ninja-like Floragato. After years of Ashs Pikachu not evolving, one would think embracing this change would feel more exciting. While Floragatos Naruto run is amusing, trading an energetic little troublemaker for a distant, moody teen with a yo-yo is a major downgrade. But it doesnt have to be: Episode six puts some focus on the changing relationship between Liko and Floragato, specifically on how Floragato has become a reluctant babysitter who doesnt often get the attention it needs. This sincere subplot is one of the highlights of this batch of episodes.Such emotional honesty is Horizons secret weapon, and there are definitely moments where its expertly deployed. Dots struggles with her relationship to being filmed, and under what conditions, are engaging and relatable. Roy and his Fuecoco remain a delight, and any time Fuecoco uses Charming Voice is inherently funny. But these moments largely feel like they arise in spite of the overall direction of the English-language dub.During season 2 s first episode in particular, every character feels like theyre screaming. No character can finish their lines without another chiming in. The result is 20-odd minutes that feel like a deeply unpleasant vocal stampede. Fortunately, subsequent episodes chill out a bit. But theres still a feeling that no space, breath, or pause can be allowed.Pokmon is for kids, one might argue. Childrens media is loud and frantic. Except that we currently live in the age of Bluey, a childrens show defined as much by its gentleness as its wit and charm. Theres even a counterpoint to this notion within the Pokmon universe: The stop-motion Pokmon Concierge is a perfect nugget of a show that takes a Pixar-like approach of simultaneously holding its adult and child audiences in mind.What we said about Pokemon Horizons Season 1PlayPokmon Horizons is no Pokmon Concierge, and it very much has the energy of a childrens action-adventure series its the new mainline Pokmon show, so what can you expect? But with a delightful cast of new Pokmon (especially the grass cat and the screaming gator ball), a new mystery-driven plot, and a cast of characters with room to grow, at least the post-Ash era is off to a promising start. Kirsten CareyScore: 6Read the complete Pokmon Horizons: The Series Season 1 Review.Pokmon Horizons doesnt have to be like this. The Japanese version of season 2 which is not viewable in North America by legal means doesnt barrage its audiences quite as heavily as its English equivalent. In fact, the Japanese version can feel like an entirely different show and one I would give a higher score. As with Horizons first season, the sub and dub dont just differ in their voice performances, but in their music, too. Some of it stays in the English dub, but Japanese audiences are treated to a wider emotional variety in the score, plus more soaring, moving orchestral versions of familiar Pokmon themes. It all comes down to how the sound is mixed for each version: The Japanese Horizons audio prioritizes the music, while the English version puts the dialogue up top. This is why the episodes now streaming on Netflix so often feel like theyre screaming at you.They also feel subjected to multiple outdated interpretations of what people want from Pokmon, and who wants it in the first place. If this show is for kids, why do the new opening and ending riff so heavily on 1980s nostalgia? That being said, the new theme song, My Favorite Pokmon, is arguably the best part of The Search for Laqua particularly the instrumental version that plays over the end credits. With its Daft Punk-esque bassline, its a bonafide banger.Pokmon Horizons doesnt have to be like this.Its not all bad: When The Search for Laqua returns to the mystery-building of season 1, it restores some of the series lost luster. The seasons best episode focuses on one of the adult characters: airship commander Friede, who returns to the offices of an old corporate job to dig up some dirt. And Dots weariness of a mysterious teacher in the closing moments of the final episodes set up one of the seasons most interesting dynamics.All Horizons needs to do is commit to its own premise. If Sprigatito can evolve, so can the cornerstone Pokmon dub.

HP just added the option to add the GeForce RTX 5090 GPU as an upgrade to one of its flagship HP Omen 45L prebuilt gaming PCs and, fortunately, it is very reasonably priced for a prebuilt RTX 5090 desktop relative to what we've seen from other brands. Put your order in sooner than later because, unless HP has readily available 5090 GPUs in its inventory (unlikely), these prebuilts will probably have a bit of a lead time before they ship out.Preorder the HP Omen 45L RTX 5090 Prebuilt Gaming PCFirst Configurable HP Omen 45L RTX 5090 Prebuilt Gaming PCMust upgrade CPU, RAM, SSD, GPU, and Power Supply$4,729.99 at HPFollow these instructions you must add these upgrades to proceed to cart:Click HereSelect Graphics Card - Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (+$1,750)Select Processor - Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (+$170)Select Memory - Kingston Fury 64GB DDR5-5600 (+$210)Select Storage - 2 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD (+$200)Select Chassis & Power Supply - Front Bezel Black Glass and 1200W PSU (+$100)Proceed to shopping cartYour total should be $4,729.99 shipped (plus taxes)The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card EverThe Nvidia 50-series GPUs were officially announced at CES 2025. The emphasis for this round of cards has been on the new and improved AI features over hardware-based raster performance. DLSS 4 technology supposedly quadruples the number of frames with minimal visual compromise. These new GPUs do offer a modest performance boost, but opinions are mixed regarding their value for PC gamers relative to the previous generation RTX 40-series cards.In our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE review, Jackie Thomas wrote that "the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has officially taken the performance crown from the RTX 4090, but with less force than previous generations. When it comes to traditional non-AI gaming performance, the RTX 5090 provides one of the smallest generational uplifts in recent memory. However, in games that support it, DLSS 4 really does deliver huge performance gains you just have to make your peace with the fact that 75% of the frames are generated with AI."PlayWhy Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Captain America was at the forefront of Marvel before it was even called Marvel. The character has stood the test for decades, with a recent resurgence thanks to his rise in prominence in the MCU. And even though Steve Rogers retired in Avengers: Endgame, he passed on his shield to Sam Wilson, a new iteration of the hero who gets his big screen debut in Captain America: Brave New World.To celebrate the fourth Captain America picture, Den of Geek has compiled a list of the best Cap toys, new and old, starring both Captains Americas.LEGO 76292: Captain America vs. Red Hulk BattleAs per usual with new releases from Marvel Studios, theres a LEGO set tie-in to promote the film: 76292: Captain America vs. Red Hulk Battle. This 223-piece kit pictures Sam Wilson and his trusty sidekick Falcon battling against the Red Hulk, who also makes his MCU debut in Brave New World portrayed by the legendary Harrison Ford. This set is exciting not only because it includes a stellar Cap figure in his new getup from the film, but also the first MCU version of Thunderbolt Ross, aka the Red Hulk, as a LEGO minifigure. Additionally, its fun to see Ford receive a third LEGO figure, after decades of Han Solo and Indiana Jones outings.LEGO 76262: Captain Americas ShieldIf the smaller LEGO playset doesnt tickle your fancy, perhaps a 3,000-piece behemoth will. Introducing 76262: Captain Americas Shield. The LEGO system is infamously blocky, as the Danish toymaker has struggled to make more circular shapes for years. Thats what makes this design so impressive. The designers were able to expertly capture the disc of Caps beloved defense mechanism of choice with an immensely impressive build set to satisfy even the most hardcore master builder. Prepare yourself for lots of repetition when building 76262s unique shape. Did we mention this shield can be held? Were not sure how good it would be at deflecting bullets, but pair it with LEGO Marvel set 76209: Thors Hammer to get in Steve Rogerss mindset.Hot Toys Captain America (Avengers: Endgame)In the climax of Avengers: Endgame (2019), Captain America takes one last stand against the Mad Titan Thanos. In a moment that made movie theaters sound like a football stadium just after their team won the Super Bowl, Cap wields Thors hammer, Mjolnir, for the first time. Steve Rogers was worthy, and so is this excellent Hot Toys rendition of the character during this iconic sequence. Not only is Captain Americas scaly suit one of the best looks he sports in the MCU, but the figure comes with a multitude of accessories, including a broken shield to match the scene after Thanos destroys it. This allows collectors to display Cap in a few different poses to capture their favorite moment from Endgame, making this figure the ultimate Captain America Hot Toy.Hot Toys Captain America (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)If youre yearning for the current Captain America to add to your Hot Toys collection, stop the search here with Sam Wilsons first official Cap costume from the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). After a seasons worth of build-up to Sam taking the shield Steve Rogers bestowed on him at the end of Avengers: Endgame, the former Falcon finally took up the mantle of Captain America in the series finale. While many critics found the shows plotline a little scattered, its hard to deny how amazing the new suit looks. The seamless integration of Sam Wilsons Falcon suit with the stars and stripes of Captain Americas beloved attire created a spectacular-looking new design that translated effortlessly into Hot Toys form with an impressive wingspan. It might take up a hefty amount of shelf space because of the latter, but itll undoubtedly be worth it for the committed Marvel devotees.Marvel Funko Pop! No. 1476: Captain America (The First Avenger)We couldnt go through this entire list without some love for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Steve Rogers made his big-screen debut 14 years ago in a World War II-era period piece. Because of this, he dons a time-appropriate Cap costume that stands out among all the others the character has worn since. This beautifully low-tech look is one of the characters best, and Funko gave us an excellent version as part of their Infinity Saga line of Marvel Pop figures. This vinyl figure rendition of the Star Spangled Man features Funkos trademark expert molding, down to every stitch on his boots and strap on his vest. If youre looking for a definitive Steve Rogers figure for your collection, this is the one.2002 Marvel Legends Toybiz Captain AmericaYounger Marvel collectors might not even realize the beloved Marvel Legends line of 6-inch action figures had a home before Hasbro. In what many consider their heyday, the now-defunct manufacturer Toy Biz was in command of the wave, with many aficionados arguing these figurines are better than their modern-day counterparts. Regardless of where you stand in that debate, its impossible to deny the Toy Biz figures have a certain je ne sais quoi about them. They are jam-packed with as many muscles as the comic book heroes and contain as many points of articulation as humanly possible for a half-foot figure. The original Captain America figure from 2002 is emblematic of all that Toy Biz did with the Marvel Legends brand, even including a comic book alongside it for extra fanfare. While this figure will most certainly have to be purchased from a third-party seller like eBay, itll be worth it as a nostalgic reminder of a bygone era.Marvel Legends Captain Americas ShieldThe Marvel Legends line Hasbro has put a lot of effort into expanding into areas beyond just action figures. Many different props, including helmets and iconic weaponry, have received highly detailed recreations, so it should come as no surprise that Captain Americas shield has received this treatment in more ways than one. Were highlighting the classic look for the glorified frisbee, released to coincide with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Not only can this toy be used as an actual prop, its also easy to mount on the wall as a brilliant centerpiece of any Marvel display.Marvel Legends Avengers Captain America (Sam Wilson) & Captain America (Steve Rogers) Figures 2-PackAre you struggling to decide if you should get some Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson merchandise to represent Captain America in your collection? Well, why not acquire a figure for both? The Marvel Legends two-pack from Hasbro makes the transition between Caps seamless. Both characters are sporting the suits we highlighted earlier with their Hot Toys figures, but these Marvel Legends ring in at a much more affordable priceperfect for collectors on a budget. Two shields are included, along with a plethora of interchangeable accessories, such as hands, faces, and more. What better way to capture Captain America than with the ultimate two-pack of the iconic hero?

Andrzej Sapkowski, the Polish author who created The Witcher saga in his 90s book series, was known to repurpose fairytales for Geralt of Rivias adventures, particularly in the short story collection called Sword of Destiny. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is based on a tale therein called A Little Sacrifice, a version of Hans Christian Andersens The Little Mermaid. So it is perhaps only fitting that the new Netflix animated film of the same name refashions it again to include even more nods to the original tale, its other adaptations and an ending all Netflixs own.It might not seem all that different at first. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep begins as a very faithful adaptation, following Geralt and Jaskier on their travels to Bremervoord, a humble coastal kingdom known for its vibrant fishing industry. As in Sword of Destiny, Geralt is brooding over his hot-and-cold relationship with Yennefer, still in its early phases, while tackling a monster hunting job to distract himself.In the original story, the Witcher is hired merely as a translator, helping a somewhat boorish Prince Agloval in persuading a mermaid to give up her tail and join him on land as his wife. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep turns it into more of a story of star-crossed lovers, each trying to persuade their royal parents that a marriage could unite their divided nations while Geralt investigates the mysterious death of local pearl divers.The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep borrows from multiple sources to flesh out its tale. First, it adds vodnik, fish-men that act as a merfolk army, from elsewhere in Witcher lore, including the video games. It also expands upon the ruling family of Bremervoord, adding a king, a bastard son, and even a childhood conflict for Jaskier, who grew up in the town. But the biggest addition will be immediately recognizable to those familiar with Disneys iconic animated The Little Mermaid: the Sea Witch.The brewer of potions was in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, of course, but she was not in the original Sapkowski short story. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep brings her back in spectacular fashion, even adding some decidedly Ursula-like imagery to the mix. Her motivations for assisting Sheenaz, the mermaid who fell in love with a human, are less about taking over the mermaid kingdom and more about spreading total destruction in the Netflix film.There are also several nods to the title of the Sapkowski story throughout The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, including a song that carries the name, A Little Sacrifice. But one characters line points out the major flaw in its original meaning. In the story, Sheenaz gives up her tail to avert a war between merfolk and humans, but Essi, the local bard, scolds the Prince saying, All of your solutions require loss on her part and nothing from you. Not even a little sacrifice.And perhaps that is one of the most elegant modifications in The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Although the twist ending is predictable, it completely changes the dynamic of the story for the better. Even the implied dalliance between Essi and Geralt is handled more deftly in the movie, creating character relationships that actually make sense while still honoring one of the stories that made The Witcher into the global hitin every mediumthat it clearly is.Its not just that The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep gives more agency to its female characters than either the fairytale or the Disney movie do, although it certainly does. It also reminds us that The Witcher has always delivered commentary about human encroachment on the territory of others. In this way it not only contextualizes the world Ariel proposes to join in her song Part of Your World; but it also questions why she should have to give up her voice to find love. As incredulous as it sounds, it brings a measure of practicality and reality to a story about a fish that wants to be a woman.

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