Netflix acquires indie game developer Night School Studio

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

We know Netflix has plans to expand into gaming, and now we see their latest move. The company has acquired indie game developer Night School Studio, the team behind games Afterparty and Oxenfree. The latter reminds us a bit of Stranger Things, described as a "supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift." Night School Studio was even making a hybrid puzzle game based on the series back in 2018. But unexpected layoffs forced the project's sudden shutdown. 

This announcement comes a day after Netflix revealed that the early library of games it's testing out with Android users in Poland is coming to subscribers in Spain and Italy.

Source: Gizmodo

'The Book of Boba Fett' to debut on Disney+ on Dec. 29

Source: Disney

Disney will be releasing one more Star Wars series before the year ends. The media giant will be debuting The Book of Boba Fett on December 29 over at Disney+. The Mandalorian spin-off will take place after recent events in season two. It'll follow Boba Fett (played by Temeura Morrison) and his mercenary ally Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) in Tatooine. The series is still led by producers of The Mandalorian, including Jon Favreau, Robert Rodriguez, and Kathleen Kennedy. Unfortunately, if you're waiting for the next season of The Mandalorian, that third season will arrive after The Book of Boba Fett.

Source: Engadget

Amazon Glow is a video chat device for kids

Source: Amazon

Amazon's new video chat device is its take on Facebook's Portal, but it's specifically designed for kids to video chat with remote family and friends. The Amazon Glow is equipped with a vertical smartphone-like 8-inch LCD screen with a 19-inch touch-sensitive area and a giant speaker case. As Gizmodo describes it, the Glow looks like a big large '90s-era cellphone.

Kids can share their "virtual space" via the Amazon Glow app, and those on the other end (like grandparents) can use Alexa on Android and iOS to interact with the child. Strangely enough, Amazon hasn't brought compatibility to its Fire OS at launch. That's coming at a later date.

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Pinterest to hold second annual global Creators Festival on Oct. 20

Pinterest will be holding its Creators Festival in the coming month. The second global virtual event will feature internationally recognized talent from top emerging creators. You can expect to hear from Pinterest's executives and special guests as they talk about the site's newest creator products, experiences, and features on October 20. It will be hosted in countries like Canada, the US, Australia, the UK, Germany, and France.

The hour-long, live-streamed event will touch on topics, including growing an inspired audience, launching a brand, monetizing content, creating high-quality content, and tackling issues like creator burnout. You can register to attend the event here.