McKinsey Authors: James Manyika | San FranciscoSusan Lund | WashingtonJacques Bughin | BrusselsKelsey Robinson | San FranciscoJan Mischke | ZurichDeepa Mahajan | San Francisco

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Anyone who has ever felt trapped in a cubicle, annoyed by a micromanaging boss, or fed up with office politics has probably dreamed of leaving it all behind and going it alone.

The powerful opening line from the 148 page report (published in 2014) sets the tone of the report and shows one of the underlying reasons the freelancer market has grown double-digits since then.

In this article, I’ll summarize the most important points and statistics of the report. I’ll also give some quotes. You can see the original document here. The report is based on 8000 participants of a McKinsey survey.

Statistics

The report states the following statistics (highlights by me):

• 20 to 30 percent of the working-age population in the United States and the EU-15, or up to 162 million individuals, engage in independent work
• At least 15 percent of workers use online platforms such as Uber and Upwork (in 2015)
• 30 percent are “free agents,” who actively choose independent work and derive their primary income from it.
• Approximately 40 percent are “casual earners,” who use independent work for supplemental income and do so by choice
• “Reluctants,” who make their primary living from independent work but would prefer traditional jobs, make up 14 percent.
• The “financially strapped,” who do supplemental independent work out of necessity, account for 16 percent.

Quotes

Interesting Nuggets

Unreal Engine is increasingly being used for virtual production in TV and Film, perhaps most famously in recent productions such as the Mandalorian.  This move to real-time tools in VFX development is only going to become more common and to encourage growth, Epic Games have launched the Unreal Fellowship program.

The Unreal Fellowship is a 30-day intensive online workshop during which experienced industry professionals can learn Unreal Engine, master state-of-the-art virtual production tools, and develop the skills to build teams proficient in the emerging field of real-time production.

The Fellowship provides $10,000 in financial assistance to each participant to ensure they are able to dedicate ample time to complete the rigorous curriculum.
Top VFX veterans will be joined by guest speakers in hands-on sessions that teach Unreal Engine fundamentals, model ingestion, animation, mocap integration, lookdev, lighting setups, and cinematic storytelling.

With a strong focus on practical work, participants will learn real-time workflows through the production of animated content and other projects. Fellows will have direct access to trainers with weekly team mentor sessions, a weekly four-hour open lab, and a dedicated Slack channel with specific hours for help.

Applications for the Fellowship are open until Monday, July 27 at 11:59 PM EDT. A minimum of five years of experience in commercial film and television production, immersive entertainment or game development is required, along with the ability to commit to the Fellowship full-time from August 21 to September 21. Don’t miss out—there are only 50 spaces available!

The application form and further details are available here.  You can learn more about the fellowship in the video below.

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News Unreal

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Today only, Apple Authorized Reseller B&H Photo has issued a $39 discount on AirPods Pro bundled with AppleCare during its Deal Zone event.

Flash AirPods Pro deal

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Crytek has just released a half-hour video which shows Crysis Remastered running on Switch, and has also confirmed the resolutions that the game runs at in both docked and handheld modes.

According to the developers, the game hovers around the 720p-900p mark when played docked. In handheld mode, it’s hitting between 540p-720p. It was also noted that while the PS4 and Xbox One editions will have software-based ray tracing, that’s not going to be present on the Switch version.

Check out the video and let us know what you think of Crysis Remastered on Switch by leaving a comment below.

Crysis Remastered launches on Switch on July 23rd.

Japanese developer Qureate has confirmed that it is bringing its visual novel KukkoroDays to the Switch later this year.

The game places you in the role of a young man who happens to find a “lady knight from another world” has arrived in his bedroom. Very much like Qureate’s thematically-similar NinNinDays, the story revolves around keeping your new friend happy in a world which is totally unfamiliar to her.

Qureate’s E-mote system delivers smooth animation, and you’ll need to play through the game several times to experience every possible outcome.

Here’s some PR:

The appearance of a lady knight reincarnated from another world turns a mundane everyday life upside down!In this love-adventure game set in Akihabara, you can enjoy living together with a lady knight.
It’s a little serious, a little sad, and a little sexy, but most of all, it’s fun!

The “E-mote” engine that can move illustrations smoothly and three-dimensionally is used for standing pictures in the game. The characters displayed on the screen move as if they were alive.

The main character’s mundane daily life is turned upside down when a certain woman appears in his life.

One day, a magic circle suddenly appears in the main character’s room, out of which materializes an injured woman holding a sword and clothed in knight’s armor.

This woman’s name is “Cattleya”.
She claims to have been reincarnated from another world.
Until she finds a way to return to her own world, she will be an unexpected guest in the main character’s home…

Will Cattleya be able to safely return to her own world? Or could her fate take another turn…

KukkoroDays arrives on August 6th, according to the game’s eShop page.

Launching today on Nintendo Switch is Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, a slightly bonkers take on tower-defence from Modus Games and developers ACE Team and Giant Monkey Robot.

It’s actually described as competitive tower-defence and arcade action all rolled into one. It brings back everything we liked about its predecessor, but adds a brand new level creator to take things one step further. With this, players can design their own courses and share them with others, potentially opening the door for endless creations.

Here’s a feature list:

Key Features:
– Make & Break Worlds: Design and build your own levels in the easy-to-use editor and share your creations with players from all over the world for nearly limitless creative fun!
– Competitive Tower Defense: Build defenses and race to destroy your opponents’ in up to 4-player online multiplayer, or head-to-head in 2-player split-screen action.
– Boulder-Smashing Arcade Action: Crash your way through everything in your path as fast as you can in six distinct and arcadey game modes with over 20 zany boulders!
– Absurdly Funny: Take a ride on the wild side with ACE Team’s hilarious story – everyone from Caesar and Moctezuma to Krampus and the Spaghetti Monster make an appearance in an expansive campaign across history and beyond.
– Game Modes Galore: Defend your base in the new Boulder Avalanche, perfect your rolling skills in the fragile Humpty-Dumpty Mode, race the clock in Time Trials, or create your own unique gameplay with the creator for hundreds of hours of fun!

You can go ahead and grab it from the eShop for £24.99, or you can also pick up a physical copy from select retailers. We’ll have a review of this one for you as soon as we can, so feel free to keep an eye on the site if you want to read our thoughts before diving in.

Have you played past Rock of Ages games? Will you be giving this one a go? Let us know with a comment.

My new fam ??? #TWD #TWDFamily https://t.co/Jv8TaHLWay

— Margot Bingham (@MargotBingham) July 20, 2020

Com2uS has announced a team-up with Skybound comics to create a spin-off of Summoners War, its popular RPG. Summoners War: Legacy was revealed during a panel at the Skybound Xpo and acts as a prequel to the main game. Set 35 years before the climactic events of the original, Legacy explores new characters such as Abuus, Rai, and Tomas, delves further into the land Alea, and looks more closely at the fate of Durand’s parents. Legacy also represents an opportunity to expand the lore of the original, while also giving fans a new story experience.

“Summoners War is one of the world’s top mobile games thanks to its rabid fanbase, roaring esports community, and a rich in-game universe,” says John Nam, VP of Summoners War’s IP strategy department. “We’re expanding the IP into new frontiers by partnering with Skybound Entertainment on our first official comic book series, Summoners War: Legacy. Our friends at Skybound are a powerhouse of imagination and a perfect partner for helping Com2uS grow Summoners War in new directions.”

Summoners War: Legacy runs to around 40 pages, and you can pre-order it right now on the Skybound site.

If you want a look at the actual game, here’s a trailer for Summoner’s War:

For those that don’t know, Summoner’s War is a fantasy RPG that sees you enter the Sky Arena and face off against a variety of monstrous foes. Summoner’s War is also one of the most popular games on mobile with over a 100 million players, and over a billion dollars in lifetime revenue.

If you want to play Summoner’s War for yourself, you can find it on Google Play and the App Store. If you’re looking for some similar games, be sure to check out our list of the best mobile RPGs!