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Visual Concepts

Visual Concepts Entertainment, Inc. is an headquartered in , specializing in sports simulations and founded in 1988 by brothers Greg Thomas and Jeff Thomas alongside programmer . The studio is best known for creating the long-running basketball video game franchise, which debuted in 1999 and has since become one of the most successful sports game series, with annual installments featuring realistic , licensed NBA teams, and advanced . It also develops titles like wrestling games and , a released in 2023, often under the publishing umbrella of its parent company, 2K, a division of . Originally an independent developer, Visual Concepts produced a variety of games across platforms including , , and , with early titles such as Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf (1992) and (1994), which helped establish its reputation for innovative action and sports titles. In May 1999, Sega Enterprises acquired the company for approximately $10 million to bolster its sports game portfolio for the console, leading Visual Concepts to focus exclusively on sports simulations under the Sports brand, including acclaimed releases like (2004), often praised for its fluid controls and multiplayer features. In January 2005, Sega sold Visual Concepts—along with its sister studio Kush Games and major sports licenses—to Take-Two Interactive for $24 million, integrating it into the newly formed 2K Sports division and enabling the continuation of the NBA 2K and NFL 2K series (though the latter ended due to licensing shifts to EA Sports). Under Take-Two, the studio expanded its operations to multiple locations, including Austin, Texas; Irvine, California; and Shanghai, China, employing between 500 and 1,000 people across nine studios as of 2025 to support large-scale development for consoles, PC, and mobile platforms. Visual Concepts has earned recognition for its consistent quality in sports gaming, with NBA 2K titles frequently topping sales charts and receiving awards for innovation in areas like player motion capture and online modes.

Overview

Founding and Early Operations

Visual Concepts was founded in May 1988 by programmer and brothers Greg and Jeff Thomas in the . The studio began operations from a small office above a bank in , where it established its headquarters, focusing initially on developing games for emerging platforms like the . With a modest team, the company aimed to create innovative titles blending simulation and entertainment, starting with edutainment software such as Super Spellicopter, an educational spelling game where players piloted a to collect and spell words while avoiding obstacles. The studio's early efforts emphasized accessible gameplay for personal computers, releasing titles like Gnarly Golf in 1989, a mini-golf simulation featuring 18 whimsical, physics-based holes with creative obstacles such as moving platforms and bumpers to challenge players' precision and strategy. This period marked Visual Concepts' entry into sports-themed simulations, driven by the founders' interest in modeling realistic mechanics within limited hardware constraints. By the early , the company expanded to console , securing contracts for ports and original titles. Visual Concepts' first major sports release was Bill Walsh College Football in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, a simulation emphasizing authentic college athletics with licensed teams from the 1992 season and historical squads. The game introduced innovative on-field camera angles, including dynamic sideline and end-zone views for immersive playcalling, alongside intuitive player control systems that allowed real-time management of formations, passes, and tackles to replicate strategic depth in American football. Despite these advancements, Visual Concepts encountered early financial challenges, particularly after a failed attempt to develop for the in 1995, which strained resources and led to a pivot toward contract development for publishers including . This shift to licensed work, such as SNES and ports of sports titles, helped stabilize operations during the mid-1990s. The studio's acquisition by in May 1999 ultimately provided a key stabilizing factor, enabling focused growth in sports gaming.

Current Scope and Role in Industry

Visual Concepts Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of 2K Games under , operates as a key developer in the sports gaming sector, primarily focusing on annual releases such as the and series, alongside emerging titles like LEGO 2K Drive. The studio maintains a global presence with nine specialized locations, including its headquarters in , and additional sites in ; ; , Hungary; and research-focused teams in , and , enabling collaborative development across time zones. With approximately employees distributed across these studios, Visual Concepts emphasizes a workforce dedicated to sports simulation innovation, where the majority contribute to iterative annual updates and new feature integrations for flagship franchises. As part of 2K's portfolio, the company plays a pivotal role in Take-Two's gaming ecosystem, driving significant revenue streams estimated at over $1 billion annually from its titles, bolstered by strong performance from the series and ongoing contributions to recurrent . In recent years, Visual Concepts has expanded into live-service models and cross-platform play to enhance player engagement, incorporating features like online multiplayer modes and seasonal content updates that extend game longevity beyond initial launches. Notable advancements include the enhancements to NBA 2K26 (released September 2025), which introduced an all-new Dynamic Motion Engine powered by ProPLAY technology using machine-learning to generate realistic player movements from real NBA footage, improving immersion across platforms. Additionally, the studio supports esports initiatives through official partnerships, such as contributions to the NBA 2K League, where its Irvine team aids in competitive ecosystem development. Visual Concepts also commits to diversity efforts by fostering inclusive teams, as highlighted in its studio descriptions emphasizing empowered and diverse collaboration on projects like WWE 2K.

History

Pre-Acquisition Period (1988–1999)

Visual Concepts, founded in 1988 by Scott Patterson and brothers Greg and Jeff Thomas in Novato, California, initially focused on action and sports titles for platforms like the Apple IIGS before expanding into the 16-bit console market. The company's early portfolio included conversions and original sports games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), such as the SNES port of Madden NFL '94 (1994), which featured enhanced graphics and gameplay adapted from the Sega Genesis version to compete in the growing football simulation genre. This period marked a shift toward sports titles, with Visual Concepts developing Bill Walsh College Football (SNES, 1994), introducing detailed college team rosters and play-calling mechanics based on the foundational team's expertise in simulation design. By the mid-1990s, the studio broadened its scope to include fighting games like ClayFighter (SNES, 1994), which utilized claymation-style animations for unique character models, demonstrating versatility beyond pure sports simulations. Strategic partnerships with (EA) were pivotal to Visual Concepts' growth, including EA's acquisition of a minority stake in the company on January 25, 1995, which provided financial stability and access to licensed sports properties. This collaboration led to key releases like (SNES and , 1994), the first console baseball game to feature official (MLBPA) licensing with real player names, statistics, and over 700 motion-captured animations for realistic fielding and batting. The title's multi-platform approach—releasing on both and Sega systems—helped establish market presence, contributing to the studio's profitability through diversified revenue streams by the mid-1990s. Additional EA-backed projects, such as Weaponlord (, 1995), a with innovative combo-based combat, further diversified the portfolio while leveraging EA's distribution network. Internal innovations during this era included early adoption of 3D modeling techniques, notably in NBA Action '98 (Sega , 1997), which integrated polygonal player models and advanced play-calling systems to simulate professional strategies more dynamically than contemporaries. Visual Concepts also experimented with for titles like the port of Madden NFL 97 (1996), aiming to replicate authentic athlete movements, though initial CD-ROM loading issues highlighted technical hurdles in the transition to 32-bit hardware. These efforts positioned the studio as a technical innovator amid fierce competition from EA's in-house teams, which dominated sports genres, forcing Visual Concepts to differentiate through port quality and niche features like real-time stat integration in simulations. The shift from 16-bit systems (SNES and ) to 32-bit consoles ( and Saturn) presented challenges, including adapting engines for varying hardware capabilities and navigating exclusive licensing deals that limited cross-platform parity. Despite these obstacles, the pre-acquisition years solidified Visual Concepts' reputation for high-fidelity sports adaptations, setting the stage for broader industry impact.

Sega Ownership Era (1999–2005)

In May 1999, Sega Enterprises acquired Visual Concepts for $10 million, aiming to enhance its sports game offerings ahead of the Dreamcast console's launch later that year. The purchase provided Sega with a talented developer experienced in simulation-style titles, enabling rapid production of high-quality sports simulations to compete against rivals like Electronic Arts. Under Sega's ownership, Visual Concepts' operations, based near Sega's San Francisco headquarters, streamlined collaboration on Dreamcast-exclusive projects. The acquisition marked a pivotal shift, as Visual Concepts transitioned to exclusive development for Sega platforms, concentrating on and simulations to fill gaps in Sega's lineup. This focus debuted with the NFL 2K series, launching in September 1999 as the first title under 's banner, praised for its realistic physics and detailed player animations. The series evolved quickly, with in October 2000 introducing pioneering online multiplayer for up to eight players via SegaNet, allowing cross-country matches that set new standards for console sports gaming connectivity. Similarly, Visual Concepts expanded into basketball with in November 2000, the inaugural entry in the franchise, which incorporated motion-captured player movements for more fluid on-court actions and supported online play as a series first. These innovations, including broadcast-inspired presentation elements like dynamic camera angles, helped establish the 2K brand's reputation for immersive simulations during the era. Internal restructuring emphasized and NBA titles, with teams optimizing for Dreamcast's capabilities while preparing for multi-platform releases as Sega's hardware strategy evolved. By early 2005, following 's 2001 exit from console manufacturing and pivot to third-party publishing, the company sold —along with its affiliate Kush Games—to for approximately $24 million in cash, transferring rights to the core sports intellectual properties. This transaction allowed to refocus on and non-sports development, while enabling Visual Concepts to broaden its scope beyond Sega-exclusive titles.

Take-Two Integration and Modern Developments (2005–Present)

Following its acquisition by in January 2005 for approximately $24 million, Visual Concepts was integrated into the newly established 2K Sports publishing label, enabling the studio to leverage Take-Two's resources for broader multi-platform development. This transition marked a pivotal shift, with Visual Concepts releasing in September 2005 as its first title under 2K Sports, which introduced enhanced visuals and mechanics that solidified the series' dominance across consoles like , , and Xbox 360. The integration fostered synergies with Take-Two's ecosystem, allowing Visual Concepts to focus on annual iterations of sports franchises while expanding their technical scope. In 2013, Visual Concepts expanded into games by co-developing with , marking the studio's entry into the WWE-licensed series and its rebranding from the prior lineup. This collaboration introduced next-generation features on and , such as improved wrestler animations and storytelling modes, setting the stage for Visual Concepts' growing role in the genre. By 2019, following departure from the project, Visual Concepts assumed lead development responsibilities for and subsequent entries, refining core mechanics like match simulations and roster management to enhance player immersion. The 2010s brought challenges for Visual Concepts, particularly with NBA 2K titles facing backlash over systems, including (VC) purchases that critics argued promoted addictive spending patterns among players. These controversies peaked around releases like and , prompting discussions on ethical monetization in sports gaming and leading to adjustments in in-game economy designs. Entering the , the studio shifted focus to next-generation hardware, launching as a day-one title for and in November 2020, with rebuilt engines delivering , faster load times via SSD integration, and advanced player models for more realistic simulations. Recent milestones include enhancements in NBA 2K25, released in September 2024, where the MyNBA mode introduced the Era as a new historical starting point, alongside expanded MyGM elements exclusive to next-gen consoles and PC, allowing deeper franchise customization and dynamic staff interactions. In March 2025, the studio released WWE 2K25, earning an 84 score for its refined mechanics and animations. In response to industry shifts, Visual Concepts adapted to during the , with implementing flexible policies that converted skeptics and enabled continued production; by 2023, specialized teams like the WWE development group operated fully remote to maintain collaboration. Additionally, under 's broader initiatives, Visual Concepts contributed to sustainability efforts, including transitions to in studio operations and eco-friendly practices in game development as detailed in the company's 2023 and 2025 impact reports.

Games and Franchises

Early Titles (1989–2004)

Visual Concepts began its development career in with modest titles targeted at the and IIGS platforms, reflecting the company's early focus on accessible, genre-diverse games amid the transitioning home computer market. The studio's debut releases included Gnarly Golf, a whimsical mini-golf featuring 18 unique holes with unconventional obstacles like ramps and loops, and Great Western Shootout, a first-person shooting gallery where players control a lawman targeting in a Wild West setting. These games, published by Britannica Software, showcased basic but engaging mechanics suited to the era's hardware limitations, emphasizing mouse-driven controls and simple physics. By 1990, Visual Concepts expanded its portfolio with , a involving tactical planning in a context on the , and a port of the puzzle game , highlighting the studio's growing expertise in adapting arcade-style titles for personal computers. The early 1990s saw a shift toward console ports, diversifying into non-sports genres as Visual Concepts secured contracts with publishers like and Interplay. Notable non-sports efforts included the 1991 NES port of Trog!, an action-platformer with dinosaur-themed levels, and the 1992 SNES adaptation of Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf, a helicopter-based that introduced scrolling and mission-based gameplay to broader audiences. In 1993, the studio developed for SNES, an original distinguished by its stop-motion aesthetic and roster of quirky characters like Bad Rap and The Blob, which innovated on the genre with deformable models and humorous combat. Visual Concepts' experimentation with non-sports continued into the mid-1990s, including WeaponLord (1995) for SNES and Sega Genesis, a fighting game with deep combo systems and frame-by-frame animation for weapon-based battles, praised for its technical ambition on 16-bit hardware. Other ventures like the 1997 PlayStation puzzle title One and the 2001 Dreamcast adventure Floigan Bros.: Episode 1 demonstrated versatility, with the latter incorporating platforming and environmental puzzles in a cartoonish world. However, by the early 1990s, sports titles began to emerge as a core strength, starting with ports and adaptations such as Madden NFL '94 (1993) for SNES, which featured licensed NFL teams and improved AI for play-calling. Championship Soccer '94 (1993, SNES), a port of Sensible Soccer, brought fast-paced top-down soccer simulation with customizable leagues, marking an early foray into international sports. The late 1990s and early 2000s solidified Visual Concepts' reputation through innovative sports series, blending technical advancements with engaging gameplay. The debut of the series in 1999 on introduced realistic player models and fluid animations, evolving with (2001) on multiple platforms, which pioneered online multiplayer features allowing head-to-head matches over connections—a rarity at the time. Similarly, the NFL 2K series launched in 2000, with titles like (2004) on PS2 and emphasizing physics-based tackling and career modes. These games incorporated (FMV) cutscenes for immersive storytelling, such as quarterback decision-making sequences in earlier iterations, enhancing narrative depth. Commercially, the NFL 2K series achieved significant success, selling nearly 10 million units across its run and outselling rivals like EA's Madden in several years due to superior graphics and gameplay depth. The period up to 2004 represented Visual Concepts' broadest creative range, with non-sports experiments providing creative outlets while sports titles built technical prowess. However, the 2004 NFL licensing exclusivity deal with prompted a strategic pivot, leading the studio to phase out non-sports development and focus exclusively on and other non-NFL sports under Sega and later Take-Two ownership, culminating in the end of the line after . This transition underscored the industry's consolidating trends, where licensing battles reshaped developer priorities.

Flagship Sports Series (2005–Present)

The flagship sports series developed by Visual Concepts since 2005 represent the studio's core contributions to the gaming industry, evolving from its early sports roots in and simulations into enduring franchises that emphasize realistic , deep customization, and competitive modes. The series, launched annually starting with , has become the cornerstone, delivering simulations that prioritize authentic player movements, team strategies, and league management through modes like MyNBA and MyCAREER. Key milestones include , which introduced the Challenge mode allowing players to relive 10 iconic moments from his career, earning widespread acclaim for its historical depth and cover featuring the NBA legend. Subsequent releases like NBA 2K25 (2024) enhanced and mechanics, while NBA 2K26 (September 2025) introduced Gen 9 improvements, including an evolved ProPLAY system for more dynamic animations. By May 2025, the franchise had exceeded 160 million units sold worldwide, underscoring its commercial dominance and cultural resonance. Complementing this, the WWE 2K series marked Visual Concepts' entry into professional wrestling simulations with WWE 2K14 in 2013, reestablishing the franchise on current-generation consoles after the transition from THQ to 2K publishing, with Visual Concepts providing co-development support alongside Yuke's. Subsequent iterations shifted primary development to Visual Concepts, expanding the robust creation suite for custom wrestlers, arenas, and entrances, which has become a hallmark for fan-driven content. The 2024 release, WWE 2K24, featured a roster exceeding 250 playable superstars and legends, including current WWE talent and historical figures, while introducing new match types like ambulance and gauntlet eliminator to enhance variety. The 2025 installment, WWE 2K25, added features such as Intergender Matches and 4-player online play in MyGM mode. Annual post-launch patches address gameplay bugs, balance issues in animations, and roster updates to align with real-world WWE events, ensuring longevity across platforms. Beyond traditional sports, Visual Concepts diversified into other genres with titles like in 2023, a that blends open-world exploration, vehicle building using bricks, and competitive multiplayer races across diverse environments from streets to seas. This series integrates the studio's expertise in physics-based interactions and , allowing players to construct and modify vehicles brick-by-brick for personalized . The series, debuting in 2020 under but aligned with 2K's sports portfolio since the 2021 acquisition of the studio, incorporates realistic physics modeled from real-world data for ball flight, bounce, and environmental factors, though Visual Concepts' direct involvement remains supplementary through shared publishing resources. These franchises have fostered dedicated esports ecosystems, notably the launched in 2018 as the first official esports league partnered with the NBA, featuring professional teams, seasonal tournaments, and player archetypes that mirror real roles to promote competitive integrity. However, the series face ongoing criticisms regarding the balance between hyper-realism—such as precise shot timing and defensive —and for casual players, with some reviews noting that intricate controls can alienate newcomers despite tutorial improvements. Visual Concepts mitigates this through iterative updates, including difficulty sliders and simplified modes, while annual patches fix exploits and refine animations to maintain fairness without overcomplicating core experiences.

Key Technological and Design Innovations in Games

Visual Concepts has been instrumental in evolving the 2K Engine, a proprietary game engine that powers many of its titles, with roots tracing back to the original NBA 2K in 1999, where it introduced groundbreaking realistic basketball simulations emphasizing precise ball physics and player interactions. Developed by Visual Concepts for Sega Sports, this early iteration set a new standard for authentic sports gameplay mechanics, including physics-based ball handling that allowed for natural dribbling, passing, and shooting behaviors unprecedented at the time. Over the decades, variants of the engine have incorporated advanced rendering techniques, culminating in NBA 2K25's integration of ray-tracing technology on compatible hardware like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, which enhances lighting, reflections, and overall visual fidelity in dynamic game environments such as arenas. Motion capture advancements represent another cornerstone of Visual Concepts' innovations, leveraging partnerships with the NBA and NBPA to capture authentic player movements for hyper-realistic animations in titles like NBA 2K. Through ProPLAY technology, introduced in NBA 2K24 and refined in subsequent releases, the studio analyzes real NBA footage to translate professional athletes' actions—such as dribbles, crossovers, and defensive stances—directly into in-game mechanics, ensuring fluid and contextually accurate behaviors. This approach extends to WWE 2K series, where motion capture sessions with wrestlers inform detailed entrance systems, capturing nuanced gestures, poses, and crowd interactions to recreate the spectacle of live events with over 4,800 new or updated animations per title. In AI development, Visual Concepts has advanced predictive player behavior models within its sports simulations, incorporating to enable dynamic strategies and opponent adaptations since the mid-2010s. Building on foundational AI for teammate control and decision-making, recent enhancements via the ProPLAY Motion Engine use algorithms to process vast NBA datasets, predicting and simulating player tendencies like shot selection or defensive rotations in real-time for more immersive and responsive gameplay. These models draw from historical and live footage to forecast behaviors, improving strategic depth in modes like MyTEAM across franchises. Cross-platform tools form a critical part of Visual Concepts' design philosophy, with unified development pipelines supporting seamless integration across PC, consoles, and mobile platforms to deliver consistent experiences. This infrastructure enables features like crossplay between and Xbox Series X|S in NBA 2K25, allowing multiplayer continuity without platform barriers, alongside cloud save functionalities introduced in 2020s titles for preserving progress—such as MyCAREER builds—via server-based syncing on systems like Xbox and . Visual Concepts has also secured patents for key simulation technologies, which underpin physics simulations in basketball and other titles. This technology has been transferred and licensed internally within 2K studios, influencing crowd simulation elements in arena presentations, such as dynamic audience reactions and atmospheric effects that enhance immersion in NBA 2K and WWE 2K games.

Corporate Structure and Impact

Studios and Global Presence

Visual Concepts maintains its headquarters and primary development studio in , established in 1988 and housed in a converted airplane hangar in Marin County. This facility serves as the central hub for the company's core teams, particularly those dedicated to the franchise, integrating veteran expertise with innovative technologies to drive major title production. The company has grown its operational footprint across North America, Europe, and Asia, operating nine studios as of 2025 to support parallel development on multiple franchises including NBA 2K, WWE 2K, and LEGO 2K Drive. In the United States, additional sites include the Austin, Texas studio, which contributes to core franchise titles; the Irvine, California facility with modern amenities like a dedicated theater; Foothill Ranch, California (known as VC South), focused on projects such as LEGO 2K Drive; Agoura Hills, California; and the Blueshift team spanning Meridian, Idaho, and Parksville, British Columbia, which has supported NBA 2K iterations since 2019. Internationally, Visual Concepts operates outposts in , , opened in 2018 to bolster global development for and , and in , , which leverages local expertise for localization and market-specific adaptations. A studio in Seoul, South Korea's , further extends this presence, drawing on longstanding contributions to 2K sports titles. These locations facilitate localization efforts and cultural integration for international releases. Since 2020, Visual Concepts has adopted hybrid and remote work models across its studios, enhancing flexibility while maintaining collaborative development environments equipped with advanced tools for online multiplayer features. This expansion, driven in part by acquisitions under Take-Two Interactive, has enabled the company to scale operations for concurrent project pipelines.

Leadership and Key Personnel

Visual Concepts was founded in 1988 by programmer Scott Patterson and brothers Greg Thomas and Jeff Thomas, who established the studio's initial focus on sports and action video games. Under their leadership, the company developed early titles like TV Sports: Football (1990), laying the groundwork for its expertise in realistic sports simulations. Greg Thomas, a co-founder, has served as since the studio's inception and played a pivotal role in its growth, particularly following the 2005 acquisition by through its 2K label. Thomas has been credited with expanding key franchises, such as enhancing WNBA integration in recent NBA 2K titles like and graphical realism in next-generation iterations like . His oversight has guided Visual Concepts through transitions, including the post-Sega era, maintaining continuity in creative direction while integrating with Take-Two's broader portfolio. As part of , Visual Concepts operates under the strategic oversight of CEO , who has emphasized innovation in interactive entertainment since assuming the role in 2011. Zelnick's at the parent company has supported Visual Concepts' expansion into global studios, such as those in Austin and , to bolster development capacity for flagship series.

Industry Influence and Acquisitions

Visual Concepts has significantly shaped the video game genre through its emphasis on realistic simulations and innovative mechanics. The studio's development of the series, particularly ESPN NFL 2K5 in 2004, set new benchmarks for fluid controls, strategic depth, and broadcast-style presentation, which pressured competitors like ' Madden series to enhance their realism and features in response. This competition ultimately led to EA securing an exclusive NFL licensing deal in 2005, effectively ending third-party NFL simulations and consolidating market control, but it also elevated overall standards for titles. By 2025, Visual Concepts' franchise maintains dominant market position in gaming, outselling rivals like EA's by wide margins and capturing the vast majority of the segment through superior simulation and community engagement. The studio's corporate trajectory has been marked by key acquisitions that influenced broader industry structures. In May 1999, Sega acquired to bolster its console's sports lineup, shifting the studio toward exclusive sports development and integrating it into Sega Sports, which expanded console-based athletic simulations during the late 1990s hardware wars. This move helped compete in the sports genre but contributed to resource strains amid the console's market challenges. In January 2005, purchased Visual Concepts and its subsidiary from Sega for $24 million, forming the foundation of 2K Sports and enabling Take-Two to challenge EA's dominance in licensed sports titles by leveraging Visual Concepts' expertise. On the outbound side, Visual Concepts expanded in 2021 by acquiring the HookBang game division from , rebranding it as Visual Concepts Austin to integrate mobile and casual gaming capabilities into its portfolio. Beyond mechanics, Visual Concepts has left a cultural imprint through NBA 2K's integration of and media. The franchise has been instrumental in popularizing competitive gaming, with the —launched in 2018 and relaunched in November 2025 as an "entertainment universe" blending pro players, creators, and fan competitions—driving league engagement and establishing as a viable extension of professional . Additionally, NBA 2K's soundtracks have become a cultural bridge between and , featuring artists like and since the series' inception, providing a platform for emerging talent and reinforcing the genre's ties to urban music scenes over 25 years. Looking ahead, Visual Concepts is positioned for immersive expansions amid evolving landscapes. NBA 2K continues to explore integrations, building on NBA-wide VR experiences like those in Meta's , with potential for deeper features in future iterations to enhance fan interaction beyond traditional consoles. Meanwhile, Take-Two faces ongoing regulatory attention in the sector, including a 2025 antitrust dismissal involving disputes, highlighting broader scrutiny of consolidations and licensing practices.

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