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Escape Studios partners with Epic Games and leading European animation schools to deliver world’s largest training programme in Unreal Engine
Mark Flanagan, Education Partner Manager, Epic Games said: “The Summer of Unreal is an incredible opportunity that is open to professionals in animation and VFX all across Europe, and we couldn’t be happier to invite the industry to participate. Escape Studios is a wonderful partner who, along with a number of Europe’s best animation schools, are running this programme, which is set to be the biggest Unreal Engine training that we’ve undertaken to date. We’re excited to help all learners find new ways to tell awesome stories and express their creativity using Unreal Engine.”
Saint Walker, Deputy Dean of Escape Studios, said: “The Summer of Unreal is a fantastic opportunity for animation and 3D CGI professionals across Europe to discover more about the cutting-edge technology on offer with Unreal Engine.
“We’ve worked with top animation companies to create a novel animation-centric way of teaching Unreal Engine, in one of the most ambitious training programmes that Escape Studios has been involved with – our vision of a pan-European festival of learning in Unreal Engine has gained us amazing academic partners in the form of some of the best animation schools in the world. We invite learners across Europe to join us. Make your summer staycation Unreal!”
The Summer of Unreal will be taught online in English and is free-of-charge to professionals working in the animation, motion graphics and VFX industry who want an informal group experience of learning Unreal Engine over the holiday period. The course will feature daily workshops covering all the major aspects of using Unreal Engine interspersed with practice time, teamwork, as well as demonstrations and masterclasses from some of Europe’s premiere companies and artists showing how they use the platform in their work.
Mark Spevick, Escape Studios’ Head of 3D VFX will be the main ‘showrunner’ for the Summer of Unreal. The unique role used in Escapes’ larger courses ensures that tutors get to hear and address the most important questions from the online shop floor through Mark’s advocacy. Mark combines teaching and programme design with senior industry experience, having worked at Peerless Camera, the production house co-owned by Terry Gilliam.
Partner quotes
Timothy Leborgne, Head of Talent & Skills Development, The Animation Workshop/VIA University College
“A course such as Summer of Unreal is very welcome. Whether you look at film, animated series, or games we can all see a growing demand for rapid development and competent animators. And Unreal Engine is one particularly advanced tool and software we can’t avoid as professionals in the future. So, I am excited and happy we bring such a valuable course to professionals in our industry. By partnering with such competent institutions and studios across Europe, we have ensured that the course will deliver the best training.”
Gilbert Kiner, President, ARTFX
“Since its creation in 2004, ARTFX has been dedicated to training students using the latest technology and software. Beyond using this engine for our Games courses, Unreal has also been integrated into the previz pipeline for our VFX programs. We are very happy and proud to have been chosen as the exclusive French partner for this collaborative initiative.”
Felix Balbás, Area Director of Animation & VFX at La Salle-URL
“Unreal Engine is a reality we can’t ignore. No longer only in videogames and recently virtual production, now more than ever the future of any visual content creation and in particular animation and VFX, must take this evolution into account. Not only in previs stage, but also in full production. This is why La Salle-URL’s commitment towards promoting state-of-the-art training along with leader institutions at a European level is reflected in the Summer of Unreal.”
Miljana Jovović, Executive Director, Crater Training Center
“We are happy to join the Summer of Unreal as partners for Southeastern Europe, as we see this project as a great chance to upskill and connect professionals across the continent. We have spent the first part of 2021 educating university professors in Serbia in Unreal Engine so they could implement the newly-gained knowledge to their study programs and introduce the software to their students.”
Katja Schmid, Visual Effects and Post Production Professor, Hochschule der Medien
“Many artists in the industry have been waiting for this course. Now the time has come. At the moment, Unreal is one of the most in-demand tools in the industry. The response to the course announcement has been fantastic. It’s just an amazing opportunity not only to get trained for free but also to be part of a most inspiring community! We are very impressed by this large-scale project and excited to be contributing.”
Gareth Lee, Screen Skills Ireland Manager
“Screen Skills Ireland is hugely excited to be part of the Summer of Unreal. This is a unique opportunity for Irish screen sector professionals to learn about the powerful capabilities of Unreal Engine from industry experts, as well as connect with their peers across Europe.”
4 Gym Pigs: Porky Power
Gaming Corps flexes its muscles with 4 Gym Pigs: Porky Power
Gaming Corps, a publicly traded game development firm headquartered in Sweden, will debut its newest slot, 4 Gym Pigs: Porky Power, on May 7, presenting an energetic new title that replaces treasure-seeking with workout accomplishments, larger-than-life characters, and fitness-inspired excitement in the summer warmth.
Set in an outdoor gym and featuring four bodybuilding pigs pursuing fame instead of fortune, 4 Gym Pigs: Porky Power is designed on a 4×6 grid with 1024 winning combinations and incorporates workout-themed symbols along with a Hog & Win feature that underpins the gameplay experience with the intensity of a fully loaded barbell.
The Hog & Win feature, a swine variation of the traditional Hold & Win style, can be activated by Red, Yellow, Blue, or Beast Pig Coins. Every pig reveals a unique mode, covering Boost, Collect, Multi, and Beast.
Yellow Pig gathers Prize Coin values, Blue Pig uses multipliers of up to x5 throughout the grid, whereas Red Pig Coins convert into Weight Prize symbols from Mini to Mega. Beast Mode enlarges the grid to 5×6, enhances the pigs’ abilities, and can grant a special Grand Weight Prize, while a fully filled grid results in a 5,000x total bet payout.
Free Spins provide an additional pathway to the game’s significant highlights, with 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatter Symbols granting as many as 15 Free Spins. While Free Spins are active, any activated Hog & Win modes include extra respins, enhancing the feature duration and increasing winning opportunities.
Viacheslav Pecheryni, Product Owner at Gaming Corps, said: “4 Gym Pigs: Porky Power is a lot of fun. The whole idea was to take that over-the-top gym culture, mix it with the Pigs attitude and build a game that hits harder than leg day. At the same time, there is plenty going on in the gameplay, especially once the different Hog & Win modes start kicking in, so it is not just visually entertaining, it has real energy behind it too.”
The release also includes a range of additional feature options, including Random Mode Buy Bonus, Hot Bet, Coin Hunt and Gaming Corps’ very own Pulse Mode, a faster autoplay format designed to deliver a more focused gaming experience.
The post Gaming Corps flexes its muscles with 4 Gym Pigs: Porky Power appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
George Weaver
Weaver and Ward target more Royal Ascot glory via the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Trainer George Weaver will send Easy Life to Gulfstream Park this Saturday for her career debut in the $125,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies with the hope that the filly, owned by R A Hill Stable, BlackRidge Stables LLC and SGV Thoroughbreds, is destined for a future on turf.
“We don’t know if she is turf or dirt to be perfectly honest with you, but we’re going to ask her to turf to see if she can run at Royal Ascot,” Weaver said.
The Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies will co-headline Saturday’s Gulfstream card with the $125,000 Royal Palm Juvenile. The winners of both five-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-olds will each earn an automatic entry into one of six juvenile stakes during the Royal Ascot meeting (June 16-20) at Ascot Racecourse and a $25,000 equine travel stipend.
Weaver has enjoyed considerable success in Gulfstream’s Royal Palm stakes since their inception in 2023, when he saddled Crimson Advocate for a Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies victory and No Nay Mets for a win in the Royal Palm Juvenile. Crimson Advocate went on to capture the Queen Mary (G2) at Ascot Racecourse. No Nay Mets ran off the board in the Norfolk (G2).
“It’s a very, very hard place to win. It’s some of the best racing in the world that you can get. It’s not only great racing, it’s a great social scene, a great atmosphere,” said Weaver, who won the Royal Palm Juvenile last year with Sandal’s Song, who went on to finish third in the Norfolk at Royal Ascot. “When you’re there you feel like you’re participating in something special.”
Easy Life, a daughter of 2022 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) winner Life is Good, was purchased out of the OBS March sale for $300,000.
“She came out of the 2-year-old sale and had a nice breeze over there. She’s got some speed and we’ve been having a little progress with her since we got her,” said Weaver, who will also be represented at Gulfstream Saturday by Automatic Press in the Royal Palm Juvenile.
J.G. Torrealba has the mount on the filly who is priced at 6-1 on the morning line.
Joker’s Chic, trained by Wesley Ward, enters the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies with one-race experience, however disappointing her fourth-place finish may have been. The Twin Oaks Bloodstock LLC’s daughter of Practical Joke had trained sharply in preparation for her debut, particularly at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.
“She had a work at Palm Meadows on March 15 on turf. Joel Rosario breezed her. We sent her off behind two very nice fillies – two, three lengths behind – and she sat back there and she just eased out and went rolling by them,’ Ward recalled. “It was a very impressive workout.”
Joker’s Chic, a $200,000 purchase at the 2025 Keeneland September sale, prompted the early pace on her debut in a 4 ½-furlong maiden test over Keeneland’s main track before fading to fourth under Irad Ortiz Jr.
“When she ran, I was pretty confident with her. She broke and Irad had her in a beautiful position, but she didn’t make that explosive move she made at Palm Meadows,” Ward said. “I told the owner, ‘This must be a grass filly.’ If she runs back to her work at Palm Meadows, she’s going to be double tough to beat.”
Joao Moreira was named to ride Joker’s Chic at the time of entry but was unable to be released from commitments in Hong Kong. Joe Bravo will replace the international star aboard the Ward trainee, who is rated at 6-1 on the morning line.
Dew Sweepers’ Pot’s Right has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a field of nine fillies on the strength of her debut victory at Keeneland. The daughter of Bolt d’Oro overcame a slow start to rally for a 1 ½-length debut victory in a 4 ½-furlong maiden test on dirt.
The Phillip Antonacci-trained filly returned to Palm Meadows to become acquainted with turf during a four-furlong breeze last Friday.
Luis Saez will ride Pot’s Right for the first time on Saturday.
Arindel’s Boots, an impressive 3 ½-length winner of her 4 ½-furlong debut at Gulfstream April 16, is rated second on the morning-line for her turf debut in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies. The homebred daughter of Brethren, who debuted for trainer Jorge Delgado, will make her first start since being transferred to Carlos David.
Samy Camacho has the return call on Boots.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will be represented by D.J. Stable LLC’s Pros and Cons and Gary Barber’s Sass Sass, in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies. Pros and Cons, a $375,000 son of Triple Crown champion Justify, and Sass Sass, a homebred daughter of War of Will, will both make their debuts on Saturday.
Edwin Gonzalez has the call on Pros and Cons, while Martin Chuan will ride Sass Sass.
Mark B. Davis’s Dee Snook, an Irish-bred daughter of Sioux Nation trained by Doug O’Neill, and John Franklin and Diane Franklin’s Mo Town Foxy Brown, a Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained daughter of Mo Town, are entered to make their respective debuts.
Leonel Reyes has the mount on Dee Snook, while Nick Juarez has the call on Mo Town Foxy Brown.
Teresa and David Palmer’s Liberty Rings enters the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies off a rallying third-place finish, beaten by a half-length, on her debut on dirt at Gulfstream on April 19.
Miguel Vasquez has the return mount on the Nicholas Palmer-trained daughter of Awesome Slew.
Key takeaways from the Royal Palm>
- Winners of Gulfstream Park’s Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes (fillies’ and colts’ contests) receive free entry & travel stipends to any of Royal Ascot’s two-year-old races (six to choose from).
- Now in its fourth year, Gulfstream Park’s Royal Palm Juvenile Series started with a bang in 2023’s fillies’ division when Crimson Advocate landed a rare transatlantic double, before 2024 Juvenile victor Gabaldon finished second in the Windsor Castle Stakes.
- Five of the six Royal Palm winners have subsequently taken up their Royal Ascot engagements (with Lennilu and Sandal’s Song flying the flag by both recording third-placed finishes in 2025).
- Crimson Advocate was also subsequently bought by Wathnan Racing, rehomed in the UK, before going on to win last year’s Duke of Cambridge Stakes, demonstrating the long-term prospects of these juveniles.
The post Weaver and Ward target more Royal Ascot glory via the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Betflow
Odditt Launches its B2B Betting Content Platform
Odditt has announced the commercial launch of its B2B betting content platform. Powered by the same technology behind its consumer app, Betflow, the new content engine helps sportsbook operators, prediction markets, platform providers, DFS companies, and affiliates deliver parlays and automated betting content at scale.
Parlays are the highest-margin product in sports betting, but the volume of pre-built options on most platforms is a fraction of what users could engage with. Odditt produces more than 100,000 ready-to-deploy parlays and individual betting opportunities each day across 115+ leagues in 45 countries.
Each wager is paired with supporting context such as statistical trends, storylines, fun facts, and narrative angles.
“Operators know this is a problem. Most just don’t have the infrastructure to solve it at scale. We built the missing layer between odds feeds and end users. Once every bet has context, the entire sportsbook becomes more dynamic,” said Odditt’s CEO and Co-Founder Matt Bresler.
The engine supports more than 900 betting markets and is available through embeddable widgets, scrollable feeds, or API integrations. Content can be customized by brand and filtered across thousands of categories, including weather, streaks, rivalries, player bios, and team metadata.
Odditt’s CTO and Co-Founder, Elaine Milardo, was DraftKings’ first data hire and helped scale its data organization from one employee to more than 100 engineers through the company’s IPO.
“The challenge is no longer just about setting odds. It’s turning them into content users actually want to engage with, and doing it every day at scale. That’s what we built,” said Milardo.
Betflow was unveiled in late fall of last year and has already surpassed 6000 users and 1 million bets explored. Odditt says multiple customers are currently testing the platform.
The company is also raising a $1.5 million seed round to accelerate integrations and scale sales and engineering.
The post Odditt Launches its B2B Betting Content Platform appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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