THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH AND THE STAFF OF DOOM LAUNCHING ON CONSOLES AND PC IN 2021

A brand-new action-adventure video game based on max brallier’s best-selling books and Emmy award-winning Netflix series

Outright Games, the leading global publisher of family friendly interactive entertainment, together with Atomic Cartoons (a Thunderbird Entertainment Group company), development studio Stage Clear Studios and Cyber Group Studios (Atomic’s worldwide agent for merchandise, licensing and videogames), are excited to reveal that The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom will be released in 2021. This all new, kid friendly zombie and monster action game will be available on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®, Xbox and Steam.

“Along with Max Brallier and our partners at Atomic Cartoons, “We are delighted that the collaboration with Atomic Cartoons and Outright Games is resulting in a very compelling game based on The Last Kids on Earth said Terry Malham, CEO of Outright Games. “The Last Kids on Earth is a hugely successful book and TV series, and the story lends itself perfectly to an action-adventure game.”

Taking place in the spooktacular world of The Last Kids on Earth, fans can immerse themselves in an all new story with massive levels to explore and hordes of zombies to defeat, in up to four player couch and online co-op action. Fans can play as the series’ legendary heroes Jack, Quint, June and Dirk, as they search for the missing pieces of the ultra-powerful Staff of Doom and try to overcome Malondre the Queen of the Slime Monsters, as she seeks to summon Rezzoch the Ancient, Destructor of Worlds.

The original voice cast from the Netflix series returns to voice their respective characters including, Nick Wolfhard, Montse Hernandez, Garland Whitt and Charles Demers.

“While the adventures of Jack, June, Dirk and Quint continue on the page, it is incredibly humbling and inspiring to see them also take on new lives through the animated series, toys, apparel and now a video game,” says Max Brallier, best-selling author, creator and executive producer on the series. “I am extremely fortunate to be collaborating on the game with such talented partners who are helping my dream for this story come true.”

To date, The Last Kids on Earth book series has sold more than five million copies in print around the world, with eight titles from Penguin Young Readers. The latest book in the series, The Last Kids on Earth and the Skeleton Road, released on September 15, 2020 was an instant New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal best seller. The latest instalment of the Netflix animated series debuted on October 16, 2020.

“When we first teamed up with Max [Brallier] to develop The Last Kids on Earth TV series a few years ago, we dreamed that we might one day have an opportunity to bring the franchise to life as a video game,” said Matthew Berkowitz, Chief Creative Officer, Atomic Cartoons and Thunderbird Entertainment. “Now we’re taking the Last Kids experience to another level with this game, and we are so excited for gamers around the world to play The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom.”

IP rights for The Last Kids on Earth were optioned in 2017 by Thunderbird Entertainment Group, the parent company of Atomic Cartoons. The animated Netflix series debuted in September 2019 with a special 66-minute episode that went on to win a 2020 Emmy award in the category of “Outstanding Special Class Program.” Season Two began streaming in April 2020, and alongside the upcoming Season Three there is an interactive episode currently in production. Atomic, together with Cyber Group Studios, has also launched a toy and merchandise line based on the series with JAKKS Pacific, and a T-Shirt line with Hot Topic.

“We are delighted that the collaboration with Atomic Cartoons and Outright Games in a very compelling game based on The Last Kids on Earth. The combination of this wonderful IP and the very promising game design made by Outright Games will deliver an amazing video game, which will expand The Last Kids on Earth universe,” added Dominique Bourse COO and Thierry Braille, Vice President, Interactive and Video Game Division of Cyber Group Studios.

The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom releases in 2021 on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®, Xbox and Steam with pre-orders now available.

For more information about the game and other products from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Australia and New Zealand, visit our website or follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major video game consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including PAC-MAN™, GALAGA™, TEKKEN™, SOULCALIBUR™, ACE COMBAT™ and DARK SOULS™. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe is the premier publisher for anime-based video games including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL™, and ONE PIECE™.

For more information please visit www.bandainamcoent.eu . All the BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment products are available on the official store https://store.bandainamcoent.eu

Find out more:

Website: Outright Games
Twitter: @Outright_Games
Facebook: Outright Games Ltd
Instagram: Outright_games

About Outright Games:

Outright Games is a global video games publisher with a focus on quality family entertainment to a worldwide audience. Founded in 2016, Outright Games has established its place in the market delivering engaging interactive games of beloved entertainment licenses globally. Outright Games brings stories and characters to life with titles including favourites such as Jumanji: The Video Game with Sony Pictures, Paw Patrol: On a Roll with Nickelodeon, Ben 10 with Cartoon Network, and Dragons: Dawn of New Risers with NBC Universal. With an Outright Games title there will be fun for all the family to enjoy. For more information please visit: www.outrightgames.com

About Stage Clear Studios:

Stage Clear Studios is a long-established, award-winning game development studio based in Madrid, Spain. The company portfolio encompasses more than 30 releases on PC and console, ranging from platform ports to full releases on the latest platforms. The goal is always the same: reward the trust of both player and publisher with a quality game. www.stageclearstudios.com

About Cyber Group Studios:

Cyber Group Studios is a leading producer and distributor of animated series and a developer of global entertainment brands for children and families worldwide. Founded in 2005 and employing around 150 people, the company has set offices in Paris (France) and Los Angeles (USA), studios in Paris and Roubaix (France) and has structured strategic partnerships in Russia and China.  Cyber Groups Studios creates and promotes content for Broadcasters, Digital Platforms, Theatres and Direct-to-Consumers (home entertainment, interactive games, consumer products).  The company’s dedication for managing content resonating with kids and families globally has earned Cyber Group Studios multiple international awards.  For more information, visit: www.cybergroupstudios.com

 About Atomic Cartoons and Thunderbird Entertainment:

Thunderbird Entertainment Group (TSXV:TBRD, OTC – THBRF) is a global award-winning, full-service, multiplatform production, distribution, and rights management company, headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Ottawa. Thunderbird creates award-winning scripted, unscripted, and animated programming for the world’s leading digital platforms, as well as Canadian and international broadcasters. Thunderbird’s vision is to produce high quality, socially responsible content that makes the world a better place. The Company develops, produces, and distributes animated, factual, and scripted content through its various divisions, including Thunderbird kids and family (Atomic Cartoons), Thunderbird factual (Great Pacific Media) and Thunderbird productions. Thunderbird is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @tbirdent. For more information, visit: www.thunderbird.tv.

Press Release © 2020 BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S.

Distributed in Europe by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S. and its subsidiaries. 

Features include multiplayer, online co-op, and photo modes, VR support, photorealistic graphics, and a physics-based destruction model. Powered by Unreal Engine 5 and coming to current-gen and next-gen platforms, Dreamhouse: The Game is the project to follow.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 24th, Warsaw, Poland.

Become a novice construction engineer with one big dream: earn enough money to build your dream house with your own hands. Start your company and accept all sorts of orders, from general ruined property renovations to leveling undeveloped land and house foundation excavation. Take on projects from constructing a small hut in the forest to a real hacienda on a sandy beach. Once you have earned enough funds and experience, you will finally have the chance to build your very own home from scratch.

Add the game to your Steam Wishlist (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1468400/Dreamhouse_The_Game) not to miss any construction tips.

Draw up a design and follow the construction plans accordingly. Take care of every detail, from the foundation, through pipes and electricity, to buying flower pots and hanging pictures on the walls. Make every important decision affecting the property’s functionality. And if something goes wrong? Get back to the drawing board, re-work your design, and destroy what’s already been built to re-build it again differently. In the end, building a house is an extremely difficult process that requires expert knowledge from many different fields. That’s why Dreamhouse: The Game will teach you all the secrets and steps necessary in creating your perfect home.

DREAMHOUSE: THE GAME – MAIN FEATURES

• Single-player, multiplayer, and online co-op modes – Cooperate with your friends or compete against them online. Boast about your designs and compare them with others on the leaderboards.
• VR support – Fully immerse yourself in the world of Dreamhouse: The Game and look at your interior design from an entirely new perspective.
• Photo mode – Build your home, photograph it, create a making-of album or film, and share it with others via the in-game social sharing feature.
• A game that merges with reality – Import real objects into the game or export your designs to use them in real life.
• Interior and exterior design features – Once your home is done, don’t forget to design its surroundings. Set stones in a forest, place lanterns in a town, build fences in a village, or plant some trees to add shade at the beach.
• Photorealistic graphics – These will better showcase the character of your designs.
• Advanced AI – Specialized algorithms will rate your style, cost, speed, and accuracy to ensure your actions meet every building standard.
• An experience suited for gamers of all levels – Whether you’re a beginner or an expert in the genre, Dreamhouse: The Game will offer the challenge that’s right for you.
• A physics-based destruction model – Or, as we like to call it, “chaos technology,” meaning that everything built can also be destroyed.

Dreamhouse: The Game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5 by DeSand Game Studios and will come to PC, VR, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation.

More information about the game can be found on its official website and Steam.

About DeSand Game Studios
DeSand is a new game studio focusing on research and development, consisting of industry pioneers with many years of experience. The developers aim to create high-quality, constantly evolving, and innovative games. At the same time, the team makes every effort to create new solutions and new technologies, such as the dynamic lighting system (DDAGLS). https://www.desand.us/

CD PROJEKT RED today revealed a Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay video, captured on PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation 5.

The video showcases Cyberpunk 2077 running on both PlayStation 4 Pro, and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility. The gameplay is taken from the Nomad lifepath, one of the three playable backstories players can choose to jump into when they begin their adventure. Featuring action from the Badlands — the desert area which surrounds Night City — as well as from the streets of Night City itself, the PlayStation footage is available to watch on Cyberpunk 2077’s YouTube channel right now.

Cyberpunk 2077 will release December 10th, 2020, for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Stadia. The game will also be playable on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 consoles. At a later date, a free upgrade to Cyberpunk 2077, taking full advantage of next-gen hardware, will become available for owners of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions respectively.

For more information regarding the game, follow Facebook, Twitter, and visit cyberpunk.net.

About Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is a narrative-driven, open world RPG set in the most vibrant and dangerous metropolis of the future — Night City. The game follows the story of V, a hired gun on the rise in a world of cyberenhanced street warriors, tech-savvy netrunners and corporate life-hackers. Featuring CD PROJEKT RED’s hallmark concept of choices and consequences, players will face difficult decisions that ripple through the entire game. Winner of over 200 awards, Cyberpunk 2077 is set in the universe of the classic pen & paper RPG system, Cyberpunk 2020.

About CD PROJEKT RED
CD PROJEKT RED is a game development studio founded in 2002. It develops and publishes video games for personal computers and video game consoles. The studio’s flagship titles include The Witcher series of games, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, GWENT: The Witcher Card Game and the upcoming futuristic AAA role-playing game — Cyberpunk 2077. Together with GOG.COM, a game store offering hand-picked titles for PC and Mac, CD PROJEKT RED is part of the CD PROJEKT Capital Group. CD PROJEKT S.A. is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (ISIN: PLOPTTC00011).

SHISUI UCHIHA FLICKERS INTO THE FIGHT OF NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER TODAY

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced that Shisui Uchiha is now available as a playable DLC character in NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER as part of Season Pass 3. Renowned as “Shisui of the Body Flicker” for his unrivaled mobility on the battlefield, Shisui joins the NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER roster as an Attack-type Master Character wielding both exceptional prowess in the Uchiha clan’s signature Shuriken Jutsu and the most feared Mangekyo Sharingan ability, Kotoamatsukami, which allows him to both protect his allies and confuse all opponents simultaneously.

To see this fearsomely talented Uchiha in action, check out a newly released gameplay trailer below.

In addition to Shisui, NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER Season Pass 3 also features the previously released Neji Hyuga (Shippuden) and Kakashi Hatake (Double Sharingan), as well as two unannounced characters. By purchasing Season Pass 3 for $14.99, players will gain immediate access to all three currently available characters, along with the two remaining characters as they release. Characters may also be purchased individually for $3.99.

NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER is available now for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC via STEAM®.

Unique Online Platform Encourages Communities to Contribute to Critical Causes without Spending a Dime

DIAMOND BAR, CA (November 24, 2020) — The world faces serious challenges: widespread poverty, a global pandemic, approaching irreversible climate change, to name just a few. Today, a group of passionate individuals from across gaming and technology are ready to take constructive action while change is still possible. Announcing Leyline — a new and ambitious nonprofit platform to revolutionize how gaming communities connect to charitable causes to make a real difference in the world.
 
Leyline is creating a digital economy that enables anyone with a PC or select mobile device to contribute to the causes they care about, while earning prizes that include gift cards and digital items. Participants choose their causes from a growing number of focus areas, ranging from supporting research for COVID-19 to combating climate change, or even volunteering at the local level. Leyline believes that with over 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, even a sustained effort by a fraction could move mountains.
 
For each contribution made — whether donating idle processing power, volunteering time, giving blood, or something else — participants earn points in the Leyline Marketplace. These points can be exchanged for gift cards, digital codes, or in-game items for fan-favorite games. Points and items are tied to a user’s account and secured in a dedicated blockchain-based wallet, accessible only by that user.

Founded and led by Jeremy Dela Rosa, a former member of Blizzard Entertainment who has over two decades of tech and game industry experience, Leyline has over 50 staff and volunteers with backgrounds in video games, technology, politics, and education. Driven to make a meaningful change in this world, Dela Rosa bootstrapped Leyline by liquidating his retirement savings and selling his home. He is now pursuing corporate and private investments and charitable contributions, along with a GoFundMe campaign to scale the in-development Leyline platform.

“We have always been passionate about trying to make a big positive impact in the world,” said Jeremy Dela Rosa, Founder & CEO of Leyline. “We realize that everyone wants to contribute to making the world a better place, but it can be needlessly complex. Through Leyline, we want to create an online ecosystem that rewards doing good things in the real world.”

As a first significant step, Leyline has partnered with the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC). Formed in 2002,  BOINC is an open platform that allows users to donate their unused PC or mobile device CPU resources to help create a distributed “supercomputer.” This computing power can then be used to crunch data, run massive calculations, and conduct complex models and simulations to accelerate scientific research, including a current focus on a cure for COVID-19. By harnessing the combined power of even one percent of the world’s gaming population, Leyline users could contribute 7,800 petaflops –  each petaflop equates to one thousand million million (10¹⁵) floating-point operations per second – of distributed research computing power.

Leyline is also supported by several industry-leading companies, including Geek Therapeutics, Nodwin Gaming, NZXT, and XIDAX, who have not only donated incentive items for platform contributors, but are also providing engineers, designers, and additional staff and services to help scale the nonprofit’s efforts.

Leyline’s just-launched GoFundMe page can be found here: https://uberstrategist.link/Leyline-GoFundMe.

Register to be among the first invited to try out Leyline by signing up here: https://leyline.gg/account-registration/signup-provider.

Follow Leyline on Twitter and Instagram, “like” them on Facebook, or visit the official website to keep up to date with the latest information.

About Leyline
 
Founded on their belief in a compassionate future, Leyline is a non-profit organization that believes in transparency and being open-source and open knowledge with all tools, processes, and source code available to the public. The organization is creating a digital economy that rewards people for contributing to causes they care about. By connecting people with the innovators accelerating solutions for humanity’s challenges, Leyline makes it easy to make a difference. Leyline strives to be a dynamic, empathic, flourishing, empowered, aspirational, and transparent company that amplifies altruistic causes while using our economy for good, in their mission to defeat COVID-19, eradicate poverty, and solve the climate crisis.
 
For more information about Leyline, please visit the official website: https://leyline.gg/.

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Surrounded by quaint rural villages, Spintires®: China Adventure DLC takes you on a journey through the dense, muddy forests of Wusu Foshan National Park and over the steep, dangerous mountain ranges of the Dushanzi Grand Canyon.  

China Adventure DLC is Spintires’ largest and most daring DLC to date, featuring:

●    Two new maps; “China Village” and “China Canyons” based on the Wusu Foshan National Forest Park and Dushanzi Grand Canyon

●    The B-CA30, a heavy-duty 6X6 Chinese truck with excellent cross-country capabilities including a standard exhaust, fireproof exhaust, flatbed, fuel cistern, spare wheel, garage parts, two utility loads, and two standby fuel tanks add-ons

●    The C-EQ2081, a heavy-duty 6X6 Chinese cargo truck, with its powerful diesel engine, intended for operations in mountainous areas. The C-EQ2081 features include a crane, crane support, flatbed, fuel cistern, garage parts, spare wheel, standby fuel tank, and utility load add-on

●    The B-CA10, a light weight but capable 4X2 Chinese truck, perfectly suited for the narrow pathways in the “China Villages”. The B-CA10 features include a standard exhaust, fireproof exhaust, flatbed, fuel cistern, spare wheel, garage parts, and standby fuel tank add-ons

●    New load types specifically tailored to the DLC – rice cargo and industrial steel pipe cargo

●    New challenging achievements 

Spintires®: China Adventure DLC will be available on the 15th December 2020.  

You can wishlist Spintires®: China Adventure DLC on Steam here:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/1472710/Spintires__China_Adventure_DLC/

The ‘Art of the Duo’ comes to a close with T-Pain and Herman Li’s apocalyptic music videos

ROG 24.11.20 | Armed with the firepower of the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 laptop, T-Pain and Herman Li went into the final round of their rivalry with an apocalyptic theme. As the Art of the Duo campaign reaches an entertaining conclusion, these musical talents reflect on their experience of Art of the Duo, the creativity in working with Kingdom of Something and Rafael Varona, and the artistic choices made by voters.

Herman Li, the British-Chinese musician and co-lead guitarist with London’s premier power metal band, DragonForce, and his creative counterpart, the Amsterdam-based animation team, Kingdom of Something, scored the first victory with their fantasy video “The Hero”. However, their steadfast opponents — American rapper, songwriter and record producer, T-Pain, and his teammate, South American animator Rafael Varona — struck back in the second round with their Action video “High Drive”.

In round three, T-Pain and Rafael Varona broke the stalemate with their High Tech Highway video, shooting them into the lead as both teams headed into the final round. With both teams releasing their fourth and final video with an apocalyptic theme, T-Pain and Rafael managed to solidify their lead, dashing Herman Li and Kingdom of Something’s chances of ending the competition in a draw.

A suite of features and cutting-edge tools helped the teams as they drew on ASUS’ innovation to deliver animated creativity. The ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 gave the teams, amongst other things, a patented ROG ScreenPad, a secondary display, innovative liquid metal cooling, and a groundbreaking thermal design unleashIng peak power from a 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 CPU and NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 SUPER™ GPU; it also runs 48GB of the fastest 3200-DDR4 RAM.

With the Art of the Duo campaign ending, Herman Li reflected on weeks of creative collaboration: “Taking part in the Art of the Duo campaign has been brilliant, and working with Kingdom of Something has made it even better. We’re disappointed we didn’t win the final round, but even so it’s been awesome”.

T-Pain also took the time to look back at the campaign. “Art of the Duo has been a blast! Thanks to ASUS and the fans both me and Rafael have been able to go wild with creating sweet music videos. I’m stoked we won this thing in the final round!”

The final videos created by both teams, and the ultimate result of the Art of the Duo campaign, have been revealed now. Be sure to head to the official website to look at all the amazing content created by the teams throughout the campaign!

This almighty battle of creative supremacy has finally reached its climactic finish. To catch a glimpse at both teams, and the ferocious finale, check out the details here.

About Republic of Gamers
Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world’s best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktops, monitors, audio equipment, routers and peripherals. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events. ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and it continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Learn more about the choice of champions at http://rog.asus.com.

Wizard Brands, Inc. Appoints Scott D. Kaufman Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Heidi C. Bowman as CFO; Mike Rees appointed CEO of Jevo Holdings, LLCPeter Katz appointed President Of Wizard Special Events, LLC

LOS ANGELES, November 24, 2020–Wizard Brands, Inc. (OTCBB WIZD) today announced the appointment of Scott Kaufman as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The Company also announced that finance and accounting executive Heidi C. Bowman has been appointed CFO for Wizard Brands, Inc. and distribution executive Mike Rees will take over as CEO of Jevo Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wizard Brands, Inc.

“Scott Kaufman brings to Wizard Brands his solid business experience and proven success in corporate finance and strategic operational and financial development. With Scott’s experienced leadership and knowledge in guiding companies on the path to financial success, Wizard Brands is poised to expand its already significant footprint. Scott will work with us to guide the company through its next phase of growth and beyond. Mike Rees, with his years of operating experience as a distributor, will expertly guide the Jevo unit,” said Paul Kessler, Chairman of the Wizard Brands Board of Directors.

Jevo Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wizard Brands, Inc. will be overseen by CEO Michael R. Rees, who has spent the better part of his career in the private business sector launching and building innovative companies with extensive experience in distribution. Mr. Rees’ expertise includes creating and managing distributorships and the managing and training of sales and marketing teams.

Jevo Holdings, LLC manufactures, markets and distributes the patented ‘JEVO’ Automated Gelatin Shot Maker for various applications in the hospitality, skilled nursing, pharmaceuticals, health, and cannabis segments.  A consumer unit of the ‘Jevo’ machine is in the initial phases of research and development. 

Wizard Special Events LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wizard Brands, Inc., operates Wizard World Virtual, Wizard World Vault, and Wizard World pop culture festivals. Peter Katz has been named President, and Joseph Avino has been named Executive Vice President, of Wizard Special Events, LLC.  Both Mr. Katz and Mr. Avino are experienced long-tenured executives in the exhibition industry.

Scott D. Kaufman, currently an Independent Director at Wizard Brands, Inc., and a founding member of Barlock Capital Management LLC and Hillair Capital Management LLC, will continue his role at Bristol Capital Advisors in the capacity of Institutional Investor in Residency. Mr. Kaufman has over twenty years of experience investing in private and public companies, trading securities and managing investment portfolios.  Mr. Kaufman received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Joining Mr. Kaufman in the executive management of Wizard Brands, Inc. is Heidi C. Bowman, who has been appointed as CFO. Ms. Bowman brings with over 30 years of finance and accounting experience in a variety of industries including private equity, oil & gas and real estate.  Ms. Bowman received her undergraduate degree from UCLA in Economics. 

Wizard Brands, Inc., is a dynamic and multi-faceted holding company comprised of growing brands, led by a management team with proven success and experience tasked with the execution of a twofold strategy: (i) continue to execute on the business plan of the wholly-owned operating companies while growing and enhancing its business operations and financial position,(ii)  pursue opportunities to acquire complementary businesses that will create value for Wizard Brands customer base and stakeholders. Current Executive Chairman Paul Kessler and current CEO John D. Maatta will remain as members of the Wizard Brands, Inc. Board of Directors. The appointments of Mr. Kaufman, Ms. Bowman, Mr. Rees and Mr. Katz and Mr. Avino are effective as of November 24, 2020. 

Following Minority Stake Investment from Cloud Imperium Games in 2019, Turbulent Opens Montreal Studio Devoted to AAA Sci-Fi Game Development

Montreal, Canada, November 24, 2020 – Turbulent will open a Montreal game studio focused on building star systems for Cloud Imperium Game’s sci-fi Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game of unprecedented scale and uncompromising vision: Star Citizen. The studio will be directed by Benoit Beausejour (CTO and co-founder) and industry veterans Guillaume Voghel (Producer), Pierre-Luc Boulais (Art Director) and Louis Rousseau (Lead Game Designer).

The goal is to build a fully-fledged independent studio, with its own unique Montréal culture. This studio will contribute to the larger, global development pipeline of Star Citizen, which is currently distributed across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

This newly formed team in Turbulent has already added staff and continues to grow as it creates content in lockstep with Star Citizen’s senior development leadership, including Chief Development Officer Erin Roberts and Game Director Todd Papy. The remit of the Turbulent Star Citizen team is to develop new tools to enhance and expand the existing pipeline, create new locations and features and also build entire new star systems for Star Citizen,which will make their way into the Star Citizen universe on an ongoing basis. Over the next three years, Turbulent and CIG have plans to grow the studio to 100 developers.

“I am extremely proud to officially announce the creation of a Star Citizen development team in Montreal at Turbulent. Montreal has an amazing talent pool of developers and a rich video game history, and we couldn’t be happier to add the very best local talent to work with the CIG family on the focused goal of building worlds for this unprecedented persistent universe. ”- Benoit Beausejour, CTO and co-founder of Turbulent

“Over the years, Turbulent has proven themselves to be an extremely reliable and creative partner. We entered into a partnership with Benoit and the team at Turbulent eight years ago, first to help us develop our web presence and then our publishing and platform capabilities. Their hard work and efforts have been integral to our success. It’s a natural progression of our close relationship that we have now asked them to build out a dedicated content team from Montreal’s finest developers to help us create entire new star systems for the Star Citizen Persistent Universe. I couldn’t be happier to welcome Guillaume, Pierre-Luc, and Louis to the CIG and Star Citizen team.” – Erin Roberts, Chief Development Officer and co-founder of Cloud Imperium Games.

This exciting new endeavor for Turbulent comes after Cloud Imperium Games acquired a minority stake in the company in 2019.

About Cloud Imperium Games

Cloud Imperium is a new kind of independent studio dedicated to delivering AAA games outside the established publisher system. Founded in 2012 by renowned visionary game developer Chris Roberts (Wing Commander series, Freelancer, Privateer), Sandi Gardiner, and international media lawyer and producer Ortwin Freyermuth (Carlito’s Way, Shattered, Das Boot – Director’s Cut), with industry veteran and Chief Development Officer Erin Roberts (Lego videogame series, Starlancer, Privateer) joining the team in 2013. Cloud Imperium is creating Star Citizen, a record-shattering largely crowdfunded space sim, and Squadron 42, a Hollywood-caliber story-driven single-player game set in the same universe. Cloud Imperium operates in “open development” – sharing progress and updates with our backers in near real time. This paradigm-shifting development process (game development usually occurs behind closed doors) means players know the ins and outs of Star Citizen and Squadron 42’s development, interact with and give feedback to our developers, and ensures that we are making the games they want to play.

About Turbulent

Turbulent helps ambitious companies unlock the potential of their audience. Through an approach that is fun and transparent, they co-create improbable impact. Immersing themselves in the business of their client they deliver strategic guidance and craft custom technology that increases revenue, improves processes and enriches user experience.

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Precision Farming DLC available on December 8th

Farming Simulator 19 becomes more realistic by introducing Precision Farming: A free DLC featuring “smart farming” technology will be available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on December 8th. The DLC is part of the ‘Precision Farming Project’ funded by EIT Food, Europe’s leading Food Innovation Initiative. Developed by GIANTS Software, the DLC features new gameplay elements for more eco-friendly farming. 

EU project led by John Deere, raising agricultural awareness

Initiated by acclaimed agricultural machine manufacturer John Deere, the project is set to take place over two years and involves a variety of collaborating partners of the European Union, including two universities involved in the concept and ongoing testing of the gameplay features.

“As John Deere’s project manager of this EIT Food funded project I’m impressed by the great and very effective cooperation with GIANTS Software and our partners”, explains Dr. Thomas Engel, Technology Innovation Strategy Manager at John Deere. “The first version of the DLC already offers more than I expected. Features like soil sampling and variable fertilizing offer a great introduction into the world of Precision Farming. I’m convinced that we’re able to massively strengthen the knowledge about modern agriculture within the gaming community.”

The goal of the Precision Farming Project is rooted in the fact that public knowledge about farming is in decline. With the link between society living in big metropolitan areas and modern agricultural technology almost severed. Modern precision farming technologies are introduced in the Farming Simulator product as one of EITs multiple efforts to change this false perception and raise awareness for sustainable farming in the general public.

New gameplay features make virtual farms more efficient and eco-friendlier

Players will be able to optimize their yield by taking soil samples to identify four different soil types with individual requirements. They need to take pH values and nitrogen content in the soil into account. Dynamic application rates based on soil properties allow saving resources like seeds, fertilizer, fuel, maintenance cost and more, saving money while operating more environmentally-friendly.

“We’re excited to elevate the aspect of realism in Farming Simulator with the expertise of our partner John Deere while contributing to the solution of an agricultural challenge. We hope the new gameplay features will please our fans while spreading awareness of modern agricultural technology”, says Christian Ammann, CEO of GIANTS Software.

Project and DLC to evolve even further

Releasing this DLC marks only the first step for the game: While the exact course of further development is yet to be determined together with the University of Hohenheim (Germany) and University of Reading (Great Britain) as well as player feedback, the continuation of the project is about to bring even more gameplay-features and build a closer connection between modern society and agriculture. More information is available on farming-simulator.com.

Farming Simulator is now available for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The Premium Edition including base game and all DLCs is also available everywhere, for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in digital or retail stores.

About Focus Home Interactive

Focus Home Interactive is a French publisher based in Paris, France. Known for the quality, diversity and originality of its catalogue, Focus has published and distributed original titles (A Plague Tale: Innocence, Vampyr, Farming Simulator, Call of Cthulhu, Insurgency: Sandstorm, MudRunner, GreedFall, The Surge 2, SnowRunner, Necromunda: Underhive Wars…) that have become benchmark titles worldwide, available both in store and for download across the world. Focus publishes games on all major platforms, consoles and PC. The publisher’s catalogue will get even richer in the coming months and years with eagerly awaited games such as Hood: Outlaws & Legends, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground as well as future updates of Curse of the Dead Gods, and Hardspace: Shipbreaker.More information on the website: www.focus-home.com