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Avatar fans noticed on Wednesday that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender appeared on the AMC Theatres website. A poster for the animated feature film made it explicitly clear: Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender was landing in theaters on July 24, one day before the film officially starts streaming on Paramount Plus.

Image: Nickelodeon/Paramount

Unfortunately for Avatar fans, the film's theatrical release will be extremely limited. According to a report from Variety, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will have a one-week theatrical run, from July 24 to 30, and only at two theaters: the AMC Burbank 8 in Los Angeles and the AMC Empire 25 in New York City. There will reportedly be just three showings per day at each location, though the AMC website currently displays five showings per day at the AMC Empire 25 in NYC. Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creator Bryan Konietzko described the release as a "very limited, award-qualifying theatrical run" in an Instagram story.

Tickets for Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will go on sale on Thursday, July 16 at 9 a.m. EDT / 6 a.m. PDT. The film is also showing at San Diego Comic-Con on July 24.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, the sequel to the beloved Nickelodeon animated series, has had a troubled road to release. Originally scheduled to arrive in 2025, the film was delayed, had its theatrical release scrapped (much to the dismay of fans), and then had footage leaked. The person alleged to have leaked the film was later arrested.

At the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang and his allies have ended the Fire Nation’s genocidal war and began a new age of peace. But as the show’s name implies, Aang doesn’t get to fully celebrate. The Air Nomads were eradicated by the Fire Nation to keep the Avatar from interfering with their conquest. But Aang finds new hope for his people when he wasn’t the only Airbender to spend a century frozen in an iceberg. According to an official synopsis of the film, here's what Avatar fans should expect in the animated series' sequel:

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is about Avatar Aang, the world’s last Airbender, all grown up, who learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and upends the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender stars Eric Nam as Aang, Dave Bautista as Tagah, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, Steven Yeun as Zuko, Dionne Quan as Toph, and Dee Bradley Baker as Aang’s pets Appa and Momo. Rounding out the cast are celebrity voices Freida Pinto, Ke Huy Quan, Taika Waititi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ronny Chieng, and Ken Jeong. %!s()

It's really not that simple at all, as Witcher and Witcher 2 designer Artur Ganszyniec explained to Polish site Chip. Going open world means there's more space that has to be filled with things for players to do, and developers also have to figure out how to make all that new content work with the old content, while simultaneously figuring out how to make the old content work in ways it was never meant to.

"In The Witcher 1, many things worked because we knew exactly where the player would be at any given moment," Ganszyniec said (Google translated). "We could trigger a trigger, launch a scene, or insert Alvin between the fields and the village. In an open world, this would have to be handled completely differently."

("Alvin," for the record, is not a machine translation botch: He's an NPC who plays a significant role in both the game's major events and Geralt's ongoing problems with the ladies.)

In an open world, developers don't have that luxury: Players are able to approach locations, monsters, and puzzles in ways that don't follow the intended progression, and developers have to prepare for that or everything falls apart. It's a problem maybe most aptly illustrated by the classic "square hole" video:

Happy 4 years of the square hole - YouTube

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Ganszyniec's words provide a little bit of insight into why, four years after The Witcher remake was announced, we still don't have any concrete information on it beyond the fact that it's happening: It's a do-over that's changing the fundamental nature of the game, and that kind of ambition is not easy to execute.

That's not just speculation on his part. Aside from the fact that he worked on the first two Witcher games, Ganszyniec's most recent credit on Moby is as a narrative and story consultant on The Thaumaturge, a very good RPG developed by Fool's Theory—The Witcher remake studio—that came out on 2024.

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And despite his history with CD Projekt's groundbreaking RPG series, it does sound just a little bit like Ganszyniec is happy that he doesn't have to deal with this one.

"When everything falls into place on the map around Lake Vizima in the fifth act, one might ask a simple question: if this were an open world, would I have a boat?" Ganszyniec asked rhetorically about one of The Witcher's pivotal late-game moments. "What's stopping me from getting on a boat on the outskirts of Vizima and sailing straight to the old manor? As a player, I might be happy about that, but as a designer, I'm starting to get gray."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill. %!s()

The deal, which was revealed today in Paris, France at the 2026 Esports World Cup, will see Faker join soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and chess legend Magnus Carlsen in the ambassador program. From now until 2028, Faker will represent the perspective of esports players across the Foundation’s international events, athlete initiatives, media engagements and leadership forums. Essentially that means you’ll see Faker pop up across almost everything the Esports Foundation does over the next couple of years.

With the initial two ambassadors in the program not being esports stars, it makes sense to bring in the most recognisable face from the world of competitive gaming. It would honestly have been a little strange if the first true esports star to join as an ambassador was anyone other than Faker, so it really feels like a perfect match for the two parties.

“You can’t talk about esports without mentioning Faker. He is the defining athlete of competitive gaming: a champion whose excellence, discipline and longevity have inspired an entire generation,” said Ralf Reichert, Chief Executive Officer of the Esports Foundation. “As our Game Ambassador, Faker represents something fundamental to the Ambassador Program: esports creates its own global sporting icons. Across EWC, ENC and NGSC, he will help ensure that the players who built this sport have a voice in shaping where it goes next.”

Bringing in Faker means that the Foundation’s ambassador program has three key pillars, all superstars in their chosen field who have transcended their game of choice to become true international icons. Chances are that a significant portion of people in the world would recognise at least one of members, with Faker bringing in a unique audience of gamers, esports fans and likely a large portion of the South Korean population.

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“Faker represents three dimensions of what esports has become,” said Hans Jagnow, Director of Club, National Team & Player Relations at the Esports Foundation. “In the T1 jersey, he is the ultimate symbol of competitive excellence: the most decorated player in League of Legends history, still competing at the highest level and adding the inaugural Esports World Cup title to a career that has defined the game. In the jersey of the Republic of Korea, he is a national hero who carries the expectations of a country that has helped shape modern esports, and who will bring that responsibility to the Esports Nations Cup. Beyond any jersey, he is a cultural icon and the voice of a generation whose identities, communities and ambitions have been shaped through games.

“It is a privilege for the Esports Foundation to work with Faker across each of these roles,” continued Jagnow. “Our responsibility is not simply to celebrate what he has already achieved, but to give his experience and influence a platform across the full breadth of our ecosystem, from the Esports World Cup and Esports Nations Cup to the New Global Sport Conference. By connecting his voice with players, fans, media, global leaders and decision-makers, we can ensure that one of esports’ defining figures also helps shape where the sport goes next.”

The deal was announced on the first day of the League of Legends tournament at the 2026 Esports World Cup, with Faker and his T1 squad taking down GAM Esports to kick off the group stage. After winning at the inaugural Esports World Cup, but falling short last year, Faker will be looking to reclaim the EWC trophy and likely add a few more to his collection over the coming years.

“Competition has shaped my life, and I am proud to join the Esports Foundation as Game Ambassador,” said Faker. “I want to continue competing for the biggest titles with T1 while representing the players and fans who have helped esports grow worldwide. Through the Esports World Cup, Esports Nations Cup and the Foundation’s wider platforms, I hope to inspire the next generation to pursue excellence, remain resilient and believe in how far competitive gaming can take them. There is still much more to achieve.”

With a career that spans well over a decade, Faker is one of the most tenured stars to play at the 2026 Esports World Cup, and will lead his team into national competition at the Esports Nations Cup later this year. There is no sign his playing career will come to an end anytime soon, but this deal makes it clear that when that time does come, there will still be a lot of demand for the experience and wisdom of one of the greatest gamers of all time. %!s()

While numerous studies have documented microplastic contamination in coastal waters and surface oceans, little has been known about its presence in the deep sea, which accounts for nearly 90% of the world's marine environment. In particular, hydrothermal vent ecosystems—unique deep-sea habitats that support diverse life despite the absence of sunlight—have remained largely unexplored with respect to microplastic pollution.

A research team led by Dr. Se-Joo Kim and Dr. Jinyoung Jeong at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), in collaboration with researchers from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), has conducted the world's first comparative study to reveal how microplastics accumulate in animals inhabiting hydrothermal vents in two different oceans.

The researchers analyzed deep-sea snails and mussels collected by KIOST from hydrothermal vents located more than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) below the surface in the North Fiji Basin of the southwestern Pacific Ocean and the Central Indian Ridge in the Indian Ocean. KRIBB researchers subsequently performed detailed microplastic analyses and ecological interpretations of the collected specimens.

Microplastics found across vent species

The study detected microplastics in 92% of all animals examined, with an average of 3.42 particles per individual, demonstrating that even remote deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems are already contaminated by plastic pollution. Among the detected polymers, polystyrene, widely used in consumer products and packaging materials, was the most abundant.

The researchers further discovered that feeding behavior plays a major role in determining where microplastics accumulate within the body.

In grazing snails that feed on microbial mats covering the seafloor, microplastics were concentrated primarily in the digestive organs. By contrast, filter-feeding mussels exhibited a relatively even distribution of microplastics throughout their tissues, indicating that biological characteristics strongly influence the pathways through which microplastics enter and accumulate within marine organisms.

Sharp differences between ocean basins

The comparison between two ocean basins also revealed substantial regional differences.

Animals collected from the Indian Ocean contained significantly higher concentrations of microplastics than those from the southwestern Pacific. After normalizing for body weight, Indian Ocean specimens contained up to 14.7 times higher microplastic concentrations. The researchers suggest that differences in surrounding human activities, riverine plastic inputs and large-scale ocean circulation likely contributed to these regional variations.

Evidence reaching the deep ocean

The findings provide the first scientific evidence that plastic pollution generated at the ocean surface can be transported thousands of meters downward, reaching one of Earth's most remote and extreme marine ecosystems.

The study also demonstrates that biological characteristics such as feeding strategy influence how microplastics accumulate within organisms, while regional environmental conditions determine the overall level of contamination.

These findings are expected to contribute to future deep-sea environmental monitoring, environmental impact assessments for deep-sea mineral resource development and long-term conservation strategies for deep-sea ecosystems.

"Plastic pollution has now spread even to deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems that were once considered among the most isolated environments on Earth," said Kim, one of the corresponding authors of the study. "Our findings provide important scientific evidence for establishing future deep-sea environmental monitoring systems and conservation policies."

Publication details

Won-Kyung Lee et al, Oceanic determinants of microplastic bioaccumulation in fauna of deep-sea hydrothermal vents: Comparative study of the southwestern Pacific and Indian Oceans, Water Research (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2026.126245

Who's behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Microplastics reach even 2,000 meters below the ocean surface, study finds (2026, July 15) retrieved 16 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-microplastics-meters-ocean-surface.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. %!s()

At first, these letters were received by the public as possibly either a clerical error or a glitch in the system. Not so, according to a California DMV spokesperson, who said that internal monitoring had flagged some patterns that indicated the possibility that cheating had occurred. Those who received letters were told to retake the test and pass within 30 days or have their driver's license revoked on the spot.

Hardly anyone finds visiting their local DMV office a fun outing, to the point that the Zootopia cast sloths as customer service employees as an easy joke. And a funny one, fair play to the animators. Tedious form-filling and waiting around are the hallmarks of bureaucracy.

However, in an age when everyone has a phone in their pocket that has the answers to every kind of question, there's at least the temptation to look up answers if you get stuck. The large scale of California's reaction seems to indicate widespread problems.

It is also causing problems for some drivers. Getting around in California isn't easy if you don't have a car, and having the threat of your license being taken away can seriously disrupt your life. It's one thing to study for the written test, and perhaps retake it if you miss something or get confused by the way a question is worded. It's something else entirely to have an established pattern to your life and then be told to write a test or lose that license in the span of a month.

Already, there are stories of people who have previously passed a written driving exam and then failed on their second attempt, and that doesn't mean they cheated. Two California state senators have written to the DMV asking for reasons why these tests were flagged, and asking for transparency on what was done to trigger this mass letter campaign.

At the same time, anyone who has spent any time on the highways of Los Angeles knows that it's not exactly textbook driving etiquette and peace and harmony out there. As Homer Simpson observed, "Gas brake honk. Gas brake honk. Honk honk punch. Gas gas gas." If people are trying to game the written test by whatever means, then the DMV needs to be vigilant.

So, on one hand, cheaters shouldn't prosper. And on the other hand, how easily would you sail through a written driving test tomorrow if you had to know the rules of the road down to the last letter? Who has the right of way when two cars pull up to a four-way stop at the same time again? Perhaps it's time for a quick refresher, DMV letter or not.

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Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. %!s()