Unity IAP 5.4 brings direct-to-consumer commerce into the Unity Dashboard, with Coda as a payment provider, making it easier for developers to launch branded webstores and grow revenue beyond the app stores.

SINGAPORE, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Coda, a global leader in digital monetization and distribution, announced that its payment platform is now integrated with Unity’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) solution now available through Unity IAP 5.4, giving game developers a faster path to building and scaling a D2C business.

Developers can now activate Coda directly from the Unity Dashboard to:

Accept local payment methods through a single global integration with CodapayScale globally with Coda, managing payments, tax, fraud, compliance, and Merchant of Record services

With Codapay, Unity developers can accept more than 400 local and global payment methods across 80+ markets. That means reaching more paying players, improving payment access in markets where cards are not the default, and expanding into new markets without building payment integrations country by country.

This means game developers can:

Reach more paying players with the local payment methods they already use and trustGrow direct revenue across 80+ markets through a single global integrationLaunch in new markets faster without integrating and managing payment methods one by oneScale with Coda, managing payments, tax, fraud, and regulatory compliance through its Merchant of Record services

“Game studios should be able to sell to players anywhere in the world,” said Shane Happach, Chief Executive Officer of Coda. “Coda has spent more than a decade building the payment reach and local infrastructure to make that possible. Bringing Coda into Unity’s D2C commerce solution gives studios a faster way to reach more paying players, grow direct revenue, and expand into new markets.”

The launch builds on the partnership announced between Coda and Unity earlier this year, bringing Coda’s global payments infrastructure directly into the tools developers already use to manage their games.

For studios looking to grow direct revenue, payment reach matters. Players are more likely to buy when they can pay in the ways they know and use every day. With Coda, Unity developers can now reach players across some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing games markets through a simple integration.

About Coda

Coda is a global leader in monetization, distribution, and commerce, trusted by the biggest names in gaming, entertainment, and technology, including Activision, Electronic Arts, Riot Games, Ubisoft, and Moonton. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Singapore, Coda operates with 600+ employees worldwide, with core hubs in Asia and Europe. Coda combines payments, commerce, distribution, and rewards to drive global revenue growth for brands and publishers.

Coda’s products include Codapay, which provides access to 400+ payment methods across 80+ markets through a single API integration; Coda Webstore, which powers fully customized direct-to-consumer storefronts; Coda Consumer Platforms, including Codashop, Recharge.com, and Startselect.com; Coda Distribution, which extends reach through a network of commerce partners; and Giftcloud, a UK-based rewards business serving enterprise customers across Europe.

Coda is backed by Apis Partners, Insight Partners, Smash Capital, and GIC, and has been named an APAC High Growth Company (2023) by Financial Times, one of Granite Asia’s NextGenTech 30 (2024), a payments leader on Fortune’s Fintech Innovation Asia list (2024), and listed among The Straits Times Fastest Growing Fintechs (2024). For more on Coda, visit coda.co.

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SOURCE Coda

For the fourth year in a row, the Beehive State ranks No. 1 in rankings that measure healthcare, education, economy and more.

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, today announced the 2026 Best States rankings. The 2026 rankings evaluate all 50 states to capture how they best serve their citizens across a range of categories, including Healthcare, Education, Economy, Infrastructure, Opportunity, Fiscal Stability, Crime & Correctionsand Natural Environment. For the fourth consecutive year, Utah earned top recognition as the No. 1 state in the country.

“The U.S. News & World Report Best States rankings serve as a critical tool for understanding what drives long-term success in states across the country,” said U.S. News Executive Chairman & CEO Eric Gertler. “These rankings objectively evaluate performance, identify opportunities for improvement and ways to learn from the successes of other states. By translating data into actionable insights, the rankings help policymakers, business leaders and residents make informed decisions to improve their lives.”

“Being named the No. 1 state is an honor, but what matters most is what that ranking represents: hardworking people, strong families, and neighbors who look out for one another,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “Utah’s success has never been about government. It comes from Utahns who serve, build, innovate, and invest in the future. I’m grateful to everyone who helps make our state the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Key findings in the 2026 Best States rankings:

Utah, No. 1 overall, achieved Top 10 results in five of the eight categories, with the highest rankings in Economy (No. 2), Fiscal Stability (No. 2) and Infrastructure (No. 4). However, it underperforms in the Natural Environment category (where it ranks No. 48).In a competitive landscape, Texas ranks No. 1 in Economy. Leading the nation in job growth and achieving among the highest scores in the nation in GDP growth, net migration and youth population growth, Texas rose from No. 2 in the Economy category in 2025 to No. 1 in 2026. Sun Belt and Midwest states saw the biggest positive shifts, driven by major swings in job and GDP growth.Colorado advanced from No. 3 to No. 1 in Education. Colorado’s rise was powered by increases in associate’s degree completion and attainment rates, as well as substantial growth in preschool enrollment enabled by the Colorado Universal Preschool program.The Dakotas jumped up the rankings from 2025 to 2026, shifting the overall Top 5 heavily into the Midwest. North Dakota rose from No. 12 to No. 4, largely due to upward movement in Fiscal Stability, Economy and Education. South Dakota climbed from No. 8 to No. 2, driven by positive swings in Healthcare, Economy and Opportunity.

The 2026 Best States rankings draw upon 71 metrics and thousands of data points to measure how well U.S. states are performing for their citizens. In addition to healthcare and education, the metrics take into account a state’s economic growth; its roads, bridges, internet access and other infrastructure; its public safety record; the fiscal stability of state government; and the opportunity it affords its residents. More weight was accorded to some metric categories based on surveys of what matters most to residents. Read more about the methodology here.

2026 Best States Rankings

*See the full rankings here.

Overall – Top 10

UtahSouth DakotaMinnesotaNorth DakotaNebraskaNew HampshireIdahoFloridaWashingtonVermont 

Healthcare

HawaiiMassachusettsConnecticut 

Education

ColoradoNew JerseyFlorida

Economy

Texas Utah Idaho 

Infrastructure

NevadaOregonNebraska 

Opportunity

Vermont Iowa Maine 

Fiscal Stability 

WyomingUtahNorth Dakota

Crime & Corrections

New Hampshire Maine Vermont 

Natural Environment

HawaiiSouth DakotaNew Hampshire  

The 2026 Best States rankings are unpacked in data-driven stories, including a look at why Utah is America’s Best State, how the Northeast excels in healthcare and why Colorado leads the nation in education. Readers can also take a U.S. News quiz to find out which is the best state for them.

The Best States rankings are the centerpiece of the U.S. News Best States portal, a platform combining analysis, daily reporting, historical information and photography on state issues. Best States is part of U.S. News’ civic journalism portfolio, which includes the Best Countries rankings.

To view the full rankings and search state profiles, visit USNews.com/states. For more information on the 2026 Best States rankings, review the methodology, FAQ and project overview. Join the conversation by using #BestStates on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader for journalism that empowers consumers, citizens, business leaders and policy officials to make confident decisions in all aspects of their lives and communities. A multifaceted media company, U.S. News provides unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer advice to millions of people on USNews.com each month. A pillar in Washington for more than 90 years, U.S. News is the trusted home for in-depth and exclusive insights on education, health, politics, the economy, insurance, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services.

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SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P.

The platform that drew 100,000 sign-ups for 100 beta spots brings its team of seven AI agents — from scriptwriter to sound director — to U.S. creators and studios.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — OiiOii AI, the world’s first AI agent platform built specifically for animation, today announced its U.S. launch. OiiOii lets a single creator direct an entire animation production — from script to finished short film — while keeping full creative control in human hands.

How OiiOii Works

Most AI video tools work like a manual transmission: write and memorize elaborate prompts, chain nodes together, and troubleshoot every output by hand. OiiOii works like an automatic. Describe an idea in plain language and seven specialized AI agents take the wheel — handling scriptwriting, character and scene design, storyboarding, music, and final video synthesis, coordinated automatically from a single prompt. Open a project, and you’re not prompting “the AI”; you’re directing a team.

Built for Consistency

That approach targets the problem that trips up raw generators: consistency. A dedicated face-ID system holds character likeness across every cut, and independent asset libraries keep characters, scenes, and style coherent across a full sequence — not just a single clip. OiiOii integrates 30+ leading foundation models (full-capacity Seedance 2.0 access without queuing today, Seedance 2.5 arriving soon) and a 200+ style library spanning the most in-demand aesthetics. Creators own everything they generate and are free to use it commercially.

The launch lands as three currents converge — the shift to AI agents, the rise of the creator economy, and a hunger across gaming and entertainment for faster, cheaper animated content. OiiOii’s mission is creative equality: making animation depend on imagination rather than budget or technical training. Its stated goal is to empower 100 million people by 2030 to create their own animations and games.

A New Music Video Feature: Built to Understand the Song, Not Just Generate to It

The same philosophy powers OiiOii’s latest Music Video feature, which turns a song into a fully realized AI-generated video from start to finish. OiiOii’s Music Video feature transforms a song into a fully realized, AI-generated music video through an end-to-end creative workflow that analyzes music and lyrics, develops a narrative script, generates visual assets, creates shot-by-shot prompts, and produces a professionally edited final video with cinematic subtitles. Unlike conventional AI video tools that focus primarily on speed, OiiOii is designed to understand the structure, emotion, and rhythm of a song, using proprietary script writing and scene generation to create videos that authentically reflect the music. Creators can choose from three distinct creative modes—Narrative, Visual FX, and Performance—each with its own pacing, storytelling style, and visual language, allowing every music video to capture the unique personality of the track.

From Beta to Launch

The appetite is already visible. OiiOii’s beta drew more than 100,000 sign-ups for just 100 spots, and the company has used that community’s feedback to sharpen consistency and usability in near real time.

“Great animation has always demanded a full team, a long timeline and a real budget — which is why most people never get to make it,” said Naonao, founder of OiiOii AI. “I spent years wanting to make animation and finding the tools out of reach. We built OiiOii so anyone can direct that team: you bring the story, the agents handle the craft. Bringing that to creators across the U.S. is exactly why we’re here.”

OiiOii’s founder is a former product leader at Tencent (WeChat), ByteDance (CapCut), and Bilibili, where she ran the animation division.

OiiOii is available now in the U.S. at oiioii.ai.

About OiiOii AI

OiiOii AI is the world’s first AI animation agent platform, built to democratize animation creation and put filmmaking power directly in creators’ hands. Founded in 2025, OiiOii enables a single creator to guide the entire animation production pipeline while keeping full creative control in human hands. By streamlining complex production workflows, OiiOii serves as a creative partner, helping filmmakers, studios, and independent creators bring high-quality animated stories to life more efficiently. OiiOii is on a mission of creative equality — to empower 100 million people by 2030 to create their own animations and games.

Learn more at oiioii.ai  •  X @OiiOii_AI  •  Instagram @oiioii_ai  •  YouTube @OiiOii_AI.

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amy@bigpicpr.com
415-350-3154

HOGI.AI
Sherry Liu
sherry@hogi.ai
626-975-8455

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SOURCE OiiOii AI