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Netflix's gaming arm is best known for its indie and mobile titles, but the company recently made a push into AAA by hiring execs from high-profile franchises like Halo, Overwatch and God of War. That strategy may be coming to an end, though, as Netflix is shutting down its AAA studio known as Team Blue, the company confirmed to Game File. In 2022, Netflix brought on former Overwatch boss Chacko Sonny to head up a new SoCal-based AAA studio. A year later, former Halo exec Joseph Staten was hired on as Creative Director, followed by God of War art director Rafael Grassetti. At the time, both Staten said he was working on a multi-platform AAA game with all-new IP. Those executives are no longer with the company and Netflix confirmed to Game File that Team Blue has been shut down. Engadget reached out to Staten and Grassetti for comment. Netflix got into gaming in 2017 with its retro-inspired Stranger Things mobile game. In the following years, its strategy was primarily centered around obtaining mobile publishing rights to respected indie titles like Into the Breach and Terra Nil. It also built a number of mobile games in-house. In 2023, Netflix had nearly 90 such titles in development with in-house and partner studios. Those can be accessed through Netflix's app and played directly on your device, so they fit in pretty well with its overall streaming strategy. The Team Blue studio venture didn't quite line up as neatly with that model, though, which made it a bit of a surprise. As Engadget's Igor Bonifacic noted at the time, "funding the development of a multiplatform AAA game is significantly more ambitious and, it should be noted, risky."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/netflix-has-closed-its-aaa-gaming-studio-133014946.html?src=rss
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When Elon Musk introduced Tesla's robotaxi, the Cybercab, earlier this month, he showed a slide during his presentation that probably looked familiar to Blade Runner 2049 fans. It featured the back of a person wearing a trench coat against a desert-like landscape with high-rise buildings in the background. Now, a producer behind the movie is suing him for copyright infringement. According to The New York Times, Alcon Entertainment accused him of using "AI-created images mirroring scenes from Blade Runner 2049, including one featuring a Ryan Gosling look-alike." It said that it previously denied a request by Musk, Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery to use imagery from the film as part of the Cybercab event. The companies were also named as defendants in the lawsuit. Alcon called Tesla's use of AI to create images nearly identical to scenes from the movie an "intentionally malicious gambit." It argued that by connecting the product announcement to the movie, the automaker made the event "more attractive to a global audience" and misappropriated "the Blade Runner 2049 brand to help sell Teslas." In its lawsuit, Alcon said that the connection between Musk and its film has a financial impact on the company, even going so far as calling the defendants' actions as a "massive economic theft," because it's currently in talks with other potential automative partners for its upcoming Blade Runner 2099 television series. "Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk's massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account," it reportedly wrote in its complaint. It said it "adamantly objected" to being associated with Musk or any of his companies, and that Musk was personally aware that it refused his company's request. "He thus personally knew and understood that to incorporate BR2049 into the event presentation at all would be improper and an unauthorized misappropriation of BR2049 goodwill," the producer wrote. It's worth noting that Musk mentioned Blade Runner during the event, saying that he loves the franchise, but he doesn't "know if we want that future." Musk is one of the biggest supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and is known for making divisive, controversial tweets. He had also been caught retweeting fake news in the past, including a doctored Kamala Harris video. Alcon called the movie still that Tesla allegedly copied "one of the most iconic images" from Blade Runner 2049. We took the image above from Tesla's live stream, and you can see the still from the film below. Warner Bros. Picture This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/blade-runner-2049-producer-sues-elon-musk-for-image-used-in-cybercab-launch-120048345.html?src=rss
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Ford has issued a bulletin urging people to stop using its Tesla Supercharger adapter. It says the adapter, which hooks Ford EVs up to any NACS charger, has an issue that risks reducing charging speed or even damage the port. The company says it will send a replacement adapter soon and asks users to return the faulty one. Both the replacement and the shipping cost to send back the original will be free of charge. Its another high-profile stumble for Ford, especially since this adapter was delayed several times already due to supplier issues. Plus, its not as if these adapters are toys, given theyre hooking up to Superchargers capable of pumping out 250kW. Ford must also be smarting that it had to sign a charging pact with Tesla in the first place and will adopt NACS as its charging standard in 2025. Dan Cooper Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest tech stories you missed Disneys Daredevil series lands March 4, 2025 Meta is bringing back facial recognition with new safety features for Facebook and Instagram Foursquare is killing its city guide app to focus on the check-in app Swarm Star Citizen spinoff Squadron 42 has been delayed again until 2026 The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition will only be sold in Korea and China iOS 18.1 launches next week with Apple Intelligence and AirPods Pro hearing tests and aids Star Trek: Section 31 will premiere on January 25 Wall Street Journal and New York Post are suing Perplexity AI for copyright infringement Yet another round of newspapers versus AI startups. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post are suing Perplexity AI for using their content without permission. It comes just a week after The New York Times did the same, with all three arguing that Perplexity is stealing their content. Let another round of AI vs. newspaper courtroom skirmish begin! Continue Reading. Nintendo Alarmo review: Charming yet frustrating Yes, we paid someone money to review an alarm clock. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Nintendo is such a storied company that even its silly side projects get a deep level of rigorous scrutiny. Devindra Hardawar has reviewed Alarmo, Nintendos attempt to bring a little bit of extra joy to waking up. Its designed to rouse you from your slumber with sounds from a variety of Nintendo titles, including Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild. Whether its worth the $100 asking price, youll have to read the review to learn why its both charming and frustrating. Continue Reading. Qualcomms Snapdragon 8 Elite is its next premium mobile chip I just wish the naming convention was easier to grasp. Qualcomm Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the companys newest premium smartphone system on chip. Its packing the Oryon CPU found in last years X Elite laptop chip and uses a 3nm process, which should offer significant leaps in performance. Itll be interesting to see which devices this pops up in and how much faster it is compared to its immediate predecessors. Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111538980.tml?src=rss
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