MovieStarPlanet https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/ Fame, Fortune and Friends. Fri, 31 Mar 2023 11:46:18 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.3 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/mspcorporate/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/logo-150x150.png MovieStarPlanet https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/ 32 32 Claus Lykke Jensen, CEO, encourages to get in touch after the restructuring announcement yesterday https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/claus-lykke-jensen-ceo-encourages-to-get-in-touch-after-the-restructuring-announcement-yesterday/ Fri, 31 Mar 2023 11:46:17 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34210 Yesterday was a tough day in the history of MovieStarPlanet. A day with consequences for many great people. Over the...

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Yesterday was a tough day in the history of MovieStarPlanet. A day with consequences for many great people.

Over the past 14 years, MovieStarPlanet has developed fun, social, and creative games for kids all over the world. MovieStarPlanet continues to be the stepping stone for friendships, creativity, a place for expression, and a place to belong. We are developing a true community with the kids at the center of all we do. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far. And one thing is certain; this has only been possible because of the highly talented and creative people who are MovieStarPlanet.

But the world is changing, and due to the economic climate and the fact that we have not been able to secure an investment, I yesterday had to present a restructuring plan to ensure the company’s financial stability. Unfortunately, it also meant a significant reduction in the number of employees.

With the new restructuring plan set in motion, we have a positive outlook for the future. I firmly believe that MovieStarPlanet will come out of this challenging time even stronger, and we will continue to support, grow and expand the fantastic games and communities MovieStarPlanet is known for.

Throughout the years, the people leaving MovieStarPlanet have contributed enormously to the milestones we have achieved. I am really grateful for all their hard work and dedication, and they will undoubtedly bring a lot of talent, experience, and joy to any business that is lucky enough to hire them.

So, if you are hiring, I encourage you to reach out to alumni@moviestarplanet.com so that we can connect you with some very talented people.

Best Regards, 
Claus

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MovieStarPlanet announces restructuring plan https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/moviestarplanet-announces-restructuring-plan/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 08:29:02 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34207 Thursday, March 30th, was a difficult day in the MovieStarPlanet history. CEO Claus Lykke Jensen presented a restructuring plan to...

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Thursday, March 30th, was a difficult day in the MovieStarPlanet history.

CEO Claus Lykke Jensen presented a restructuring plan to ensure the company’s future financial stability to all employees at a town hall meeting.

Claus Lykke Jensen, CEO, says, “We are saddened to announce that our company has not been able to secure an investment despite our best efforts. Due to the challenging economic climate, we have been unable to convince investors of the huge potential of MovieStarPlanet in its current state”.

As a result, MovieStarPlanet will begin implementing a restructuring plan to ensure the company’s financial stability. Many actions have already been taken to lower costs and streamline operations, but unfortunately, more is needed, and it is, therefore, necessary to reduce the workforce.

The employees have always been the heart of MovieStarPlanet, and it is saddening that we must let some of them go. There are so many talented people here, and we appreciate all the hard work and dedication everyone has put into their work at MovieStarPlanet.

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Safer Internet Day 2023 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/safer-internet-day-2023/ Thu, 09 Feb 2023 13:34:51 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34154 Tuesday, February 7th, was the annual Safer Internet Day (SID).It was the 20th anniversary of Safer Internet Day, and bringing...

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Tuesday, February 7th, was the annual Safer Internet Day (SID).
It was the 20th anniversary of Safer Internet Day, and bringing awareness about staying safe online has never been more important in this digital age in which our kids are growing up.

With the tagline “Together for a better Internet,” SID is a cause close to our hearts at MovieStarPlanet. Therefore, Tuesday was dedicated to spreading awareness of securing a “better internet for everyone”.

Ingame all players got a gift with the SID logo on, we had SID content in the weekly themes, and of course, also promoting it on social media was some of the things we did this year.

Happy Safer Internet Day every day – Let’s be together for a better Internet!

Social media post showing the SID giff all players received when logging in, and some of the 
SID content in the clothing shop
MovieStarPlanet Instagram

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MovieStarPlanet presenting for the UK Parliament https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/moviestarplanet-presenting-for-the-uk-parliament/ Thu, 28 Oct 2021 13:20:11 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34126 MovieStarPlanet takes part in the APPG for Video Games & Esports Games and Online Safety for young players in the...

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MovieStarPlanet takes part in the APPG for Video Games & Esports Games and Online Safety for young players in the UK

Due to homeschooling and lock-downs during the Covid-19 pandemic, playing online games have been incredibly popular among kids in most age groups. With the draft Online Safety Bill in the UK having been undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny, there is a concern whether the frequency and severity of harms to young players have equally increased. With this in mind, the APPG, All-Party Parliamentary Group, for Video Games and Esports met to uncover what the level of risks are and how they have been dealt with by the online games producers. The MovieStarPlanet Head of Safety and Support, Vernon Jones, was one of the speakers invited to unfold and debate this important topic. 

MovieStarPlanet presenting for the UK parliament

Having been part of the National Crime Agency Games Sector Group Roundtable on Safeguarding Children for over three years, MovieStarPlanet has been invited to speak to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Video Games and Esports meeting on online safety, about how it tackles the challenges of safeguarding children online. The meeting will hear that this complex task is achieved by using a combination of Automated Intelligence and trained human moderators to safeguard children. A further discussion point is how the Online Safety Bill can assist the games industry in handling these issues.

“It is always an honour to speak to the legislative parliament members and guide them on the important work we do to safeguard children on an everyday basis”, says Head of Safety and Support Vernon Jones, who will be presenting at the online event on Oct.21st, 2021.

If you want to learn more about the work we do on online safety, Vernon Jones, has shared some of the principles he and his team works with in relation to online child safeguarding.

The commitment to Online Trust and Safety  

The safety of children who interact with the games produced by MovieStarPlanet, is of paramount concern to everyone employed at the company. There are numerous safeguarding measures and resources in place that ensure the games offer a safe and fun environment, where children can explore the creative and fun world that the games provide. This strategy is incorporated within a commitment to comply with governmental legislation and self regulatory industry standards, in relation to Trust and Safety issues.

Child Safeguarding Commitment

MovieStarPlanet is committed to making the online community a safe and fun environment for all children who engage with the games that we produce. We continuously aim to reduce, or where possible eliminate inappropriate behaviour and content. Our goal is to deal with child safeguarding concerns in a professional manner by having appropriate moderation and child safeguarding measures in place.

At MovieStarPlanet, there is a trained and dedicated team of Moderators and Support Managers who assess online content, implement safety measures and provide online support to children using the games. All moderators undergo a comprehensive induction course. They have also received specialised training in relation to online grooming, conflict resolution, cyber bullying and other online safety issues, from the dedicated Safety Team. Training has also been held in cooperation with Save the Children Denmark and other experts who specialise in online child safeguarding training.

Online Child Safeguarding  is Based on Five Core Pillars:

Together these pillars form an intricate, holistic security system that ensures the best possible child safeguarding system and appropriate social networking experience.

To oversee these measures I am employed as the dedicated Head of Safety and Support. My role at the company is to oversee all aspects of online Safety, Customer Support and Trust issues. As a Registered Social Worker in the UK, and a member of the Danish Association of Social Workers I have over 25 years’ experience in working internationally with frontline child protection and online child safeguarding issues. This includes working within the online child protection team at Save the Children Denmark and several statutory Social Service Departments in Denmark and the UK.

Professionally Moderating Online Games – Advanced filtering

To ensure the language used throughout the games is appropriate for children, we use a combination of AI (Artificial Intelligence) automated content management systems and live moderation by trained Moderators. We believe this offers a comprehensive, pedagogical approach to monitoring chat rooms and ensures that age appropriate standards are maintained. It also allows children to express themselves in a safe and appropriate online environment, which is also important for children who play online games.

At MovieStarPlanet, we constantly review our child safeguarding measures and do not hesitate to implement new technologies that will further improve child safeguarding mechanisms. A commitment to Safety by Design principals is fundamental to making the games safe from the design to the implementation phase of game development.   

Two Hat Community Sift Artificial Intelligence System – Advanced filtering

MovieStarPlanet has introduced the Two Hats Community Sift into its online moderation, word filtering and child safeguarding processes. Community Sift is a comprehensive set of chat filtering tools that works to enhance our already comprehensive child safeguarding measures. The system considers all common avoidance techniques such as 133t speak and phonetic replacements as well as false positive detection (Scunthorpe). The introduction of Community Sift has fundamentally changed and improved the way we detect and deal with inappropriate language and behaviour.

User Reporting and Feedback – Self- control systems

MovieStarPlanet encourages users to report inappropriate behaviour through the user-based report form, as well as through email support and forums. These reports are especially important in highlighting unusual and newly discovered methods being used to circumvent the automatic filtering systems which can then be adjusted accordingly. We actively encourage parent and user engagement to help keep the site safe by reporting problematic behaviour to our trained Support Team.

Monitoring Chat Rooms – Live moderation

The Moderators are trained employees, with real knowledge about the issues and challenges involved in safeguarding children within an online games community. The Moderators and Support Managers receive specific training and supervision in relation to the complex task of monitoring online activity from qualified experts working with online child protection issues.

The monitoring of chat rooms and other content  is undertaken by a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems described above, and by live Human Moderation. Due to the vast amount of generated content, the automated filter systems are employed as a first response to inappropriate language. This system alerts Moderators to inappropriate language or content so that they can systematically review and assess the chat logs. Moderators can notify the user of their inappropriate behaviour through the display of an automated message and activation of the user block for a specified time depending on the severity of the breach.

Cooperation with Law Enforcement Agencies – External cooperation

MovieStarPlanet is recognised as meeting all legislative requirements regarding implementing online child safeguarding measures in the countries where we operate. We act on any child protection concerns through direct contact with the appropriate police department or other statutory Law Enforcement Agencies in all countries where the games we produce are operational. These statutory agencies have the responsibility and authority to make inquiries and take necessary action to protect the child. We also cooperate internationally with Law Enforcement and other Child Protection agencies such as Interpol and Europol.

After comprehensive assessments in relation to child safeguarding and privacy issues, MovieStarPlanet was awarded membership to Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter (FSM)  in Germany, and The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS). 

In the United States, the games have been assessed as being COPPA  (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) compliant and meeting stringent safety standards by the Federal Trade Commission certified company, KidSAFE .

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A front-running backend https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/a-front-running-backend/ Thu, 23 Sep 2021 10:55:15 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34098 How moving to a microservice architecture saved us 40% in hosting costs and laid the foundation for our game engine...

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How moving to a microservice architecture saved us 40% in hosting costs and laid the foundation for our game engine success

At MovieStarPlanet we recently changed our back-end architecture from a classical SQL-based monolith to microservices. Why is that interesting to write a blog post about? Because not only did it reduce our hosting costs, the benefits are a huge part of making our game engine, Nebula, the success we are aiming for. 

If you’re not deeply involved in developing highly available and super scalable back-end solutions, you’ve probably never heard about microservices. Although it’s been a buzzword for some years in the tech industry. 

In the monolithic architecture, MovieStarPlanet had before, all features are built together and hosted together on the same server that reads and writes to a SQL database. The client asks the server for specific data, and the server fetches the data from the database and returns it to the client. It doesn’t matter if it’s requesting your friend list, logging in, or anything else. It’s all handled by the same server.

In a microservice architecture, we split everything horizontally into features that are hosted individually. The client will then ask one service for getting the friend list and another service for getting the inventory and so on. This gives us a lot of flexibility such as:

  • The microservices don’t all have to use SQL databases, which means we are free to choose database tech per service. 
  • We can scale microservices much more efficiently. Some services are heavily used, some more rarely.  Because we can scale much more fine-grained now and only need to scale up the services that are getting the most traffic, we have reduced hosting costs by 40%. 
  • We can now scale much faster, so we don’t end up in situations where our users experience downtime due to rapid incremental load.

    Image credit: https://laptrinhx.com/
    Image credit: https://laptrinhx.com/

In the monolithic approach, all code exists in the same project. This is where the so-called spaghetti code can happen. The code-base grows over time and can become quite overwhelming. In microservices, the code is split into individual projects, which makes it much easier to keep the code clean. The much smaller chunks of code also make it much faster for the developers to get an overview and identify bugs. After introducing microservices we have reduced our time to fix bugs from days to hours. So now our talented backend developers can spend more of their valuable time creating new features rather than fixing bugs.

The last huge benefit is also the one that will bring us smoothly into the future. The tech stack and the architecture we have now are generic enough that all our current and future games can run on the same back-end. Previously we had a huge and expensive monolith for each game, now we have a single one-size-fits-all back-end. This will dramatically reduce our hosting costs when we develop new games in the not-so-far future. Why? Because the base cost will be shared by all games. It also means that time-to-market for new games will be much shorter than previously. And this means lower production costs and it gives us a competitive edge.

It’s been a tough ride and a lot of hard work to bring us where we are today. But it’s definitely worth every drop of sweat. We will soon start marketing MovieStarPlanet2 and BlockStarPlanet and we are very fortunate to be in a position where we are ready to scale and welcome a lot of new players.

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MovieStarPlanet Magazine: The 100th Anniversary Issue https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/moviestarplanet-magazine-100th-anniversary-issue/ Fri, 27 Aug 2021 12:29:39 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34080 The year 2013 marks the birth of the Polish MovieStarPlanet magazine. Ever since, on a monthly basis, a new issue...

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The year 2013 marks the birth of the Polish MovieStarPlanet magazine. Ever since, on a monthly basis, a new issue of the colorful and MovieStar-studded magazine has grazed the shelves of the local press outlets all over Poland.

For the past 8 years, loyal MovieStarPlanet fans and newcomers alike have been able to enjoy all the latest news from the world of MovieStarPlanet, participate in competitions, redeem digital content for their in-game avatars and keep up with fashion and celebrity news from real life. The magazine has always been a nice cocktail of Fun, Fashion, Friendships, and Fame. Just like MovieStarPlanet!

This summer Egmont Poland released the 100th-anniversary issue of the MovieStarPlanet magazine. A milestone that marks, not only the tremendous success of the magazine and the MovieStarPlanet brand in the Polish market, but also the dedication of the editorial team at Egmont Poland. They are experts in creating relevant and fresh content and keeping the MovieStarPlanet fans engaged all these years.

100th anniversary magazine cover

We at MovieStarPlanet greatly value our long-standing partnership with Egmont Poland and are proud to celebrate the anniversary of the 100th issue. We truly appreciate the work that goes into creating and running a successful magazine in the kids’ category. The magazine’s success is a testament to the value that can be created by combining a physical product, with a popular digital property like MovieStarPlanet. When done right, the two worlds can complement each other and create a unique offering with a loyal and highly engaged fanbase.

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Let the creativity loose https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/let-the-creativity-loose/ Mon, 14 Jun 2021 15:57:42 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34059 One of the keystones in all our games is creativity. All our games have creative features that encourage the players...

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One of the keystones in all our games is creativity. All our games have creative features that encourage the players to be inventive and express themselves, and every day we are amazed at what our players create. The creativity seems to be endless.

We have just run a competition on BlockStarPlanet where we asked the players to create a portrait. All contributions were stunning. If you also want to be amazed, spend 45 sec watching the video of just some of the winners.

This proves that gaming is not “just” a pastime activity but can also be a creative space where kids truly can let their creativity loose.

We are impressed. We think you will be too. Enjoy!

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BlockStarPlanet wins BEST LIVE GAME at Spilprisen 2021 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/blockstarplanet-wins-best-live-game-at-spilprisen-2021/ Thu, 29 Apr 2021 14:58:31 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=34019 Yesterday, Wednesday, April 28th, Spilprisen 2021 took place. Like most other events this year, the award show and yearly social...

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Yesterday, Wednesday, April 28th, Spilprisen 2021 took place. Like most other events this year, the award show and yearly social event, Spilprisen, was turned into a digital event.

MovieStarPlanet, and especially the BlockStarPlanet team, followed the show extra closely, as BlockStarPlanet was nominated in the category Best Live Game. 

The BlockStarPlanetPlanet team has been working hard the last year on making the game more content-driven. A big part of this journey has been adding Seasons. Regularly launching new Seasons based on a creative narrative, combined with the users’ creativity, makes BlockStarPlanet a lively universe that constantly changes and evolves. We are extremely proud of not only being nominated but also WINNING Best Live Game of the year 2021.

Senior Game Designer of BlockStarPlanet, Daniel Traun, dedicated the award to the players and said, “we are amazed by the users’ creativity every day”. 

The competition in the category was fierce and we are happy to receive this recognition, but we are also extremely proud of being part of an industry with so much talent and capabilities. Without a doubt, the Danish games industry has a lot to offer in the years to come. And we are proud to be part of it!

But today, we celebrate BlockStarPlanet and the amazing team behind the game!! Congratulations!!

Spilprisen is a tribute to the best Danish-developed games. Spilprisen is the gaming industry’s own price. It is organized by The Danish Producers’ Association, which is an industry organization for producers of film, television and games.

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MovieStarPlanet Partners up with Panini to Launch Trading Cards in Poland https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/moviestarplanet-partners-up-with-panini-to-launch-trading-cards-in-poland/ Fri, 26 Feb 2021 12:00:32 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=33974 We at MovieStarPlanet are proud to announce that Panini, the International brand leader within the world of trading card collectables,...

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We at MovieStarPlanet are proud to announce that Panini, the International brand leader within the world of trading card collectables, has launched a MovieStarPlanet 2 trading card collection in Poland on the 23rd of February.

The MovieStarPlanet 2 trading cards represent the perfect opportunity to combine the digital world with a physical product. In addition to giving the collectors a beautiful set of trading cards to complete, each package of trading cards includes a redeem code that gives access to collectable fashion items on MovieStarPlanet 2 – only available through the cards.

The MovieStarPlanet 2 trading card collection includes 220 different card designs, in 6 different categories. The categories, such as BFF Cards, Theme Cards, and Diamond Cards, are based on key elements from the game. The cards are designed to provide plenty of fun for both avid card collectors and MovieStarPlanet 2 players alike. Creativity and self-expression are at the core of the MovieStarPlanet universe and the trading cards mirror this with a special category of transparent cards that give the collectors the freedom to play dress up and create countless different looks.

Poland has always manifested as a great market for our licensing products. The MovieStarPlanet magazine, published by Egmont, is approaching its 9th year on the market. We believe the Panini trading cards have all the ingredients to become a success and aspire to a possible expansion to more markets.

The trading cards are available for purchase at local press outlets throughout Poland as well as on www.panini.pl

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MovieStarPlanet supports book about healthy gaming habits! https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/moviestarplanet-supports-book-about-healthy-gaming-habits/ Thu, 18 Feb 2021 15:04:01 +0000 https://corporate.moviestarplanet.com/?p=33968 Helping parents to navigate the world of gaming is of great importance to us at MovieStarPlanet, so supporting journalist Andy...

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Helping parents to navigate the world of gaming is of great importance to us at MovieStarPlanet, so supporting journalist Andy Robertson with his book “Taming Gaming was an easy decision.

The book provides parents practical advice and insights so games can be less of a worry and start being a connecting experience families can share. Andy combines his own experiences as a father of 3, and as a journalist covering this topic for several years, with the latest research from psychologists, industry experts, and children charities.

“It was crucial to have help of MovieStarPlanet and our other supporters. It’s an ambitious project, and wouldn’t exist in so full a form without their help. Many parents have already been telling me how they have more confidence to guide their children’s gaming.” Andy Robertson Taming Gaming http://www.taminggaming.com

MovieStarPlanet is part of the recipe section, where Andy provides some insights and practical information about various games.

The book is now available in stores. We hope it will be an inspiration for many families.

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