2023-11-18 21:00:35
Krafton, the developer of PUBG, announced its next huge game under the name Project Black Budget, and revealed that it will be released in 2024. The game is of the shooting type and in the Extraction style, meaning entering an area, collecting resources, and escaping. Among the most famous games of this type are Hunt: Showdown, Escape From Tarvok, and more recently Marauders. . The announcement came in its latest fiscal year report when Krafton stated the game would be released during the second half of 2024, and did not reveal any details other than the codename and game type. Krafton sees extraction shooters as an opportunity to make a massive shooter. But there is a risk here, as most extractive shooter games have not been able to achieve the desired success or leave a mark in the industry. Indeed, industry giants have tried to include the same style with Call of Duty and Battlefield games, but their attempts have ultimately failed to achieve their desired goal. Krafton certainly knows the danger of what it is undertaking, but it draws its confidence from its previous successful projects, the most famous of which is certainly PUBG, which is the first game on Steam whose number of concurrent players exceeds 2 million players and reaches 3.2 million players! Fortunately, many developers of the famous battle royale game are working on developing Project Black Budget. We cannot predict the game’s success or failure at all from now, but we can be certain that Krafton wants to embark on a new direction in shooting games, and all we have to do is wait for more details regarding Project Black Budget.
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#PUBG #developer #preparing #launch #huge #shooting #game
2023-06-15 07:52:09
“Titanfall 2” (Titanfall 2) produced by Respawn Entertainment in 2016 is a classic masterpiece in the hearts of all fans, but it is a pity that the sequel “Titanfall 3” has not been seen for many years. It is related to the decision-making of EA’s high-level executives, but according to the former developer of “Titans 2”, the cancellation of the third generation does not seem to be EA’s fault, but the decision to reborn itself.
The person who revealed this news was the former Iranian game designer Mohammad Alavi of Respawn Studios. He is best known for developing the well-known mission “Crew Expendable” in “Decisive Moment: Modern Warfare” in 2007 and the sniper level “All Ghillied Up” and the designer behind the 2009 Modern Warfare 2 story mission “No Russian”.
After that, Alavi came to Rebirth Studio in 2010. He not only assisted in the development of the first and second generations of “Titans Coming”, but also participated in the story brand development of “Apex Heroes”. After leaving Rebirth, he joined the team consisting of several Rebirth members. Wildlight Entertainment invested in new project development.
Going back to “Titanfall”, Alavi revealed in an interview with the host of “The Burnettwork” that Rebirth had developed “Titanfall 3” for regarding 10 months, and also made a “playable version”. However, the team responsible for the multiplayer mode was struggling with how to solve the difficulties encountered by the previous two generations of games, because in fact, there were not many players in the multiplayer mode of “Titanfall”.
“There are people who like the multiplayer in Titanfall 2,” Alavi said. “But the number of people who like the multiplayer in Titanfall 2 is very limited. Most people will get tired of it following a while. They will say , “It’s a great multiplayer game, but I mightn’t keep playing it for a year or two. “”
However, the advent of “PUBG” (Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds; PUBG) changed everything. Reborn members became fascinated by this battle royale game, and used the mods of “Titans 3” to create their own battle royale game mode. This is the predecessor of the later “Apex Heroes”.
“I had just become the lead story designer for Titanfall 3, and I had just come up with a story for the game that I and Manny (probably Respawn narrative director Manny Hagopian) had come up with, and had a big presentation, and then we went on vacation. , we talked regarding it following the holidays, and we said, “Yeah, we need to change direction, we have to go make this game.”
“We actually canceled Titanfall 3 ourselves because we thought, we can make this game, it’s going to be a slightly better version of Titanfall 2, or we can do that,” Alavi said. , because it’s obviously an amazing game.”
“It was a crazy shift. So crazy that EA didn’t know it for six months until we built a working prototype and showed them.”
According to Alavi’s description, when Vince Zampella, co-founder of Respawn Studios, briefed EA executives on “Apex Heroes”, although Alavi was not present, he heard that the reaction was not good.
Alavi smiled in the interview and imagined that EA executives might shout, “We bought the studio to have the “Titanfall” IP so that you can make “Titanfall 3″, and then you ran to tell We you guys going to make a free-to-play game that isn’t Titanfall? What the hell is going on?”
I uh… I don’t understand why this blew up. This isn’t news. It’s been public knowledge that TF3 was in development before the team pivoted to Apex Legends. It’s no mystery that the Titanfall team made Apex or that experimentation in TF3 development led to Apex.
— Badmofo | Mohammad Alavi (@iambadmofo) June 14, 2023
However, Alavi emphasized that this is the case. Although EA bears the most notorious game company meme, the responsibility of “Titanfall 3” cannot be attributed to them. After the news was exposed, it also triggered discussions overseas. Obviously, EA really took the innocent charge this time.
Still, players looking forward to Titanfall 3 still have hope. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella said in April that he hoped to make that happen someday, but before the studio took action,Must make sure “everything is in the right direction”。
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#developer #Titans #canceled #Respawn #turned #Apex #Heroes #4Gamers
2023-04-26 18:26:13
(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)
The gynecologist and researcher at the American University of Beirut, Faisal Al-Qaq, was chosen by the President of the World Health Organization to be a member of the organization’s expert group and advisory board for a period of 3 years.
This selection came thanks to what Dr. Al-Qaq, from the town of Marj Al-Bekaa, presented in his field of specialization, both locally and internationally.
The role of the group of “foreign policy experts” in the organization:
The group of experts is considered one of the most important and highest groups of the World Health Organization.
The group advises on the international health policies of the organization, especially those related to policies on women’s health, newborns and adolescents, reproductive health and nutrition.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia, Al-Qaq said, “This center is the culmination of my continuous efforts, from the local to the regional to the global.”
And he added, “I was in other specialized groups in the World Health Organization, where I was previously assigned as Vice President of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.”
What does the arrival of a Lebanese to this position mean?
In this context, Dr. Al Qaq said: “The important thing in this matter is that a person from a third world country has proven that he can reach international centers and focus on health issues of concern to the region, with all the additional problems it suffers from because of the refugees and the weakness of the health system there.”
What regarding his role in the organization?
The Lebanese doctor explained that “his role in the organization is advisory in planning public policies with a focus on the health of mothers, newborns and children, and it is one of the urgent matters on the World Health Organization’s agenda, which means achieving the 2030 Millennium Goals.”
Al-Qaq said, “I will also have a role in participating in periodic meetings and following up on studies and proposals, so that we are always aware of what will be presented to these countries or to the organization at the world level.”
developments in his field
Al-Qaq believed that “there is a development and progress in the field of women’s and reproductive health that focuses on a deep understanding of women’s sexual health, fertility, improving its rates, cancer treatment, pregnancy and childbirth.”
He added, “We must enter the sphere of reproductive health, and whenever we are able to gather more participation in health and preventive services in an integrated manner, we will be able to improve people’s health more, and this is the desired goal of our global participation.”
Objectives
Al-Qaq continued, “The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals focus on identifying factors related to reproductive and sexual health, pregnancy diseases, violence, unsafe abortion, and cancer.”
Al-Qaq confirmed that he would not leave Lebanon despite the difficult circumstances, and said, “The new position requires me to follow up through regular communication.”
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#great #achievement. #Lebanese #doctor #member #World #Health #Organization
(MENAFN-Al-Bayan)
Agility, a long-term investor and operator in supply chain services, infrastructure and innovation, announced its financial results for the year 2022, achieving profits of KD 68 million (813 million dirhams), equivalent to 26.83 fils per share, an increase of 180.7% compared to the same period in 2022. 2021, following excluding the results of the integrated global logistics services activity that was sold during 2021. EBITDA increased during the year by 65.7% to reach KD 180.5 million, and revenues increased to KD 863.4 million, an increase of 77.6%.
The results include five months of performance for Menzies Aviation Services, which was acquired by Agility in 2022, and four months of results for HG Storage, which was acquired by Tristar.
On a like-for-like basis, excluding the performance of Menzies, HG Storage, and Global Integrated Logistics numbers, Agility profits are up 153.5% since 2021, EBITDA is up 44.1% to KD 157 million, and revenues are up 21.2%. .
As for the fourth quarter of 2022, Agility’s profits amounted to KD 26.6 million, an increase of 4218%, and EBITDA increased by 196.7% to reach KD 63.8 million, and revenues increased to KD 336.5 million, an increase of 137.8%.
2022 overview
Tariq Sultan, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Agility, explained: “Agility’s performance was strong during 2022, supported by the two acquisitions that reshaped the company’s structure and created promising new opportunities. At the same time, as is the case with all companies, we are currently going through a state of uncertainty, given the performance of the global economy during 2023, in addition to uncertainty regarding the land leasing policy in Kuwait.
He continued, saying: “It is important to stress that we adopt a long-term view as a company that creates and maximizes value. When it comes to our controlled business, the acquisition of Menzies by Agility and the acquisition by Tristar of HG Storage helped accelerate our growth, expand our geographical reach and increase our investments in sectors that have Strong growth potential in the future. On the part of the uncontrolled investment sector, stock market fluctuations affected the value of our investments, but despite the daily stock price movements, we look beyond that, represented by the strategic value, growth and returns that we believe our investments will achieve for our shareholders in the long term.
Sultan added: “Today, Agility is diversified geographically, operationally and financially, and this helps us reduce our dependence on one country, sector or asset. Our controlled companies employ a workforce of 45,000 people operating on six continents. In conclusion, today we are a different company than we were two years ago, and we continue to develop and grow and enhance value for our shareholders, customers, employees and the communities in which we operate.
Dividend recommendation
As a result of the uncertainty caused by the government’s policy regarding land use and the role of the private sector in the economy, the Board of Directors has recommended not to distribute dividends for the year 2022. This recommendation is subject to the approval of the General Assembly of the Company’s shareholders.
The Board of Directors will closely monitor events and evaluate developments related to government policy, and accordingly will assess the feasibility of distributing interim quarterly dividends during the 2023 fiscal year.
Controlled Agility Companies
Agility controlled companies are companies that it controls and manages, and whose financial performance is listed and reported on Agility’s profit and loss statement. In our 2022 consolidated statement, our controlled companies collectively achieved EBITDA of KD 195.1 million, and revenue of KD 863.4 million, up by 57% and 77.6% respectively compared to 2021.
The performance of this segment will be reported under three main groups: aviation services, fuel logistics, and other controlled companies, which include Agility Logistics Parks, UPAC, Global Clearinghouse Systems, and others.
Aviation services
Agility acquired Menzies in August 2022 and merged it with the business of National Flight Services (NAS), Agility’s ground handling business. As a result of this acquisition and merger, Agility’s global presence expanded, which had shrunk following the sale of the global integrated logistics business in 2021. The acquisition of Menzies gives Agility the ability to leverage this segment for future growth. The process of integrating the two companies is nearing completion, as the process was relatively automatic; Given that the two companies complement each other’s geographical footprint and operations.
In the aviation services sector, Agility announced EBITDA of KD 41.5 million in 2022, and revenues of KD 294 million. These results include the full year performance of “NAS”,
Plus five months of Menzies’ results in 2022.
The recovery of air traffic following “Covid 19” resulted in passenger and cargo volumes,
This led to growth in ground handling services during 2022. The recovery was offset by a slight decline in revenue from COVID-related services, which were mainly provided in Kuwait. The strongest overall recovery was an increase in passenger flights across the Americas. It is worth noting that cargo volumes began to slow towards the end of 2022.
Fuel logistics
Tristar’s revenues for 2022 grew by 60.1% to reach KD 252.9 million compared to 2021, and EBITDA increased by 39% to reach KD 53.1 million compared to 2021. The marine fuel freight and warehousing sector in Tristar achieved the highest growth rate . A major driver of Tristar’s performance in 2022 was its recent acquisition of a 51% stake in HG Storage International, which was completed at the end of August, as well as the renewal of two large long-term international peacekeeping contracts, making Tristar the largest supplier. to the United Nations (as listed on the United Nations Procurement website), as well as a boom in marine fuel shipments.
In 2023 Tristar is focused on growing and deepening its relationship with premium clients, and its well-balanced portfolio has helped deliver long-term sustainable value for shareholders.
Other controlled businesses
For the year 2022, this group recorded EBITDA of KD 100.4 million and revenue of KD 316.6 million, increasing by 42.3% and 14.4% respectively compared to 2021.