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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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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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