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A new feature on Taco Bell's app puts customer spending control front and center. The app asks, "How much are you looking to spend?" After the user inputs their budget with a USD 5 minimum and USD 25 maximum the app generates combinations of menu items fitting that constraint. Drinks, combos, party packs and certain other items are excluded, but customers can pin preferred items to their cart and continue randomizing other options to complete their order.The fast-food chain's budget-oriented innovation comes as the industry continues to grapple with a slump in sales. While the usual response to inflation is price adjustments (both up and down, as with PepsiCo's recent de-shrinkflation), Taco Bell presents a new tactic for dealing with heightened price sensitivity. By allowing customers to mix and match a menu within a specific spending limit, its tool can transform budgeting into an engaging experience.
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Marketing and Advertising
New subscribers to Disney+ or Hulu will no longer be able to sign up through Apple's App Store, both Disney-owned platforms announced through updates to their help centers. Instead, individuals are encouraged to visit their browser sites and sign up directly with them. The reason is obvious: Apple takes a 30 percent cut on purchases made through iOS apps, majorly cutting into developers' (and massive companies like Disney's) profits. Existing customers can still manage their subscriptions through Apple, though Hulu notes, "If you no longer wish to be billed by Apple, you will need to subscribe directly through Hulu." Not them trying to plant an idea in your head or anything. You would have to cancel your subscription, though, and then sign up again. Hulu also limited Apple-billed subscribers to two options: Hulu with or without ads. Live TV and add ons have to come through its website. The move comes alongside price increases going into effect for Disney+ and Hulu. Announced back in August, these changes bring the ad-supported Disney+ Basic and Hulu plans to $10 monthly from 8 and the ad-free Disney+ Premium plan to $16 monthly from $14. Ad-free Hulu is now $20 a month, up from $18. Apple is unlikely to be thrilled with Disney's decision. The 30 percent cut and Apple's determination to keep it has led to a series of lawsuits over the years, with companies like Epic and Spotify claiming that Apple had blocked third-party purchases or app stores.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/you-can-no-longer-sign-up-for-hulu-or-disney-in-apples-app-store-123050085.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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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Marketing and Advertising
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