Meme stock AMC Entertainment Holdings soared in premarket trading on Monday after a judge blocked the theater chain's

The addition of women players in IShowSpeed's EA FC 24 card has generated a significant buzz online

After nearly two years and $69 billion, Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is finally complete. The Xbox maker and the game developer are joining together in the biggest purchase in gaming history. It is a vast business undertaking that will define the future of the two companies and the gaming industry more broadly. But what will it actually mean for the gamers who use Microsoft’s platforms and play Activision’s games – as well as those that don’t? What happened in the deal? Microsoft first announced that it wanted to buy Activision Blizzard in January last year. Microsoft makes the Xbox and Activision Blizzard makes many of the worlds biggest games – it is often associated with Call of Duty, but also makes World Of Warcraft, Overwatch and mobile giant Candy Crush, and more. In the time since, the deal has been hit by opposition from rivals, primarily PlayStation maker Sony, and has been undergoing scrutiny from regulators, who worried that it would give Microsoft too much power in the gaming market, and harm players as a result. Regulators across the world expressed those reservations, and in some cases required Microsoft to make changes to the deal. Chief among those changes were Microsoft’s decision to give French gaming company Ubisoft the rights to distribute Activision games in the cloud. This was a response to concerns from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which expressed concern specifically that the deal would give Microsoft too much power over cloud gaming. But there were a host of less dramatic and expensive commitments. That included signing deals with other companies such as Sony and Nintendo to commit to keep Call of Duty games on their platforms. What will it mean for Xbox players? At least initially, the biggest consequences of the deal are likely to be for Xbox’s Game Pass, the subscription platform that allows players to download and play games in return for a monthly fee. More Activision games are expected to come to that platform as a result of the acquisition. But even that won’t happen straight away, at least with all games. Activision said in a statement this week – before the deal closed – that its big titles won’t be coming to Game Pass this year, and has not made any commitments about which games will do so or when. “While we do not have plans to put Modern Warfare III or Diablo IV into Game Pass this year, once the deal closes, we expect to start working with Xbox to bring our titles to more players around the world,” Activision wrote in a tweet. “And we anticipate that we would begin adding games into Game Pass sometime in the course of next year.” What will it mean for gamers on other platforms? Much of the discussion with regulators has been about this question. And many of the concessions that Microsoft gave over the deal were done with the aim of ensuring that the answer is: not that much, at least at first. Xbox has committed to keep making its games available on other platforms such as PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, as well as on cloud platforms. And Xbox chief Phil Spencer echoed that commitment in the announcement that the deal was completed. “Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome here - and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn’t where you play your favourite franchise. Because when everyone plays, we all win,” he wrote. But the bigger question might be about new games, especially those that come out after the initial commitments are over. Microsoft has committed to keep Call of Duty on rival platforms for 10 years, for instance – but things could change in the years after that, and with other, new games. When Microsoft bought another game developer Bethesda in 2020, for instance, there were questions over what it would mean for players on other platforms, and whether its games would be exclusive to Microsoft. Its most recent game Starcraft was available only on the Xbox and PC, and the upcoming Elder Scrolls VI is likely to be the same. Read More Nasa launches Psyche mission to study an ancient metal asteroid Microsoft buys Call of Duty developer in biggest deal in gaming history Microsoft gets go-ahead to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Nasa launches Psyche mission to study an ancient metal asteroid Microsoft buys Call of Duty developer in biggest deal in gaming history Microsoft gets go-ahead to buy Call of Duty maker Activision

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 18, 2023--

Executives from two major AI companies asked senators on Tuesday to pass regulations for the ground-breaking but nascent

Joe Rogan has raised concerns about TikTok's privacy, claiming the app is tracking user data for the Chinese

Some of America’s bigger internet providers don’t like the taste of one ingredient in a

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 24, 2023--

By David Shepardson and Christopher Bing WASHINGTON U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo was among a group of

Mark Zuckerberg is being criticised by some for perceived hypocrisy, after the Facebook co-founder posted a 4th of July photo of his family but obscured the faces of his daughters. To celebrate Independence Day, the tech billionaire posted on one of the tech platforms he oversees, Instagram, sharing a photo of himself, his wife Priscilla Chan, and their three daughters, Aurelia, Maxima, and August. “Happy July 4th!” the caption on the post reads. “Lots to be grateful for this year. As the big girls get older, I love talking to them about why America is so great. Looking forward to discussing with little Aurelia soon too.” The post was met with mixed reactions, with some arguing it was hypocritical for Zuckerberg to seek to protect the privacy of his children, when Facebook and Instagram have been accused of violating people’s privacy in the past. One of the top comments on the photo came from an Instagram user who argued, “Even Zuck doesn’t trust his platforms to put his kids faces up.” Many agreed. As Shanon Palus wrote in Slate, “I almost feel some schadenfreude imagining Zuckerberg also agonizing over being public or private on social media. After all, he got us into this mess!” “Fascinated by Zuck’s choice to not have his kids’ faces on his social media platform,” added Bloomberg reporter Reyhan Harmanci in a post on Twitter. Zuckerberg companies have faced multiple high-profile settlements surrounding privacy in recent months. In May, the Federal Trade Commission accused Facebook of violating a 2020 order and misleading parents about their ability to control whom their children communicated with on the Messenger Kids app, as well as misrepresenting what kind of access developers had to private user data. “Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, told The Associated Press at the time. “The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures.” Meta has said the FTC is incorrect and it will “vigorously fight” the allegations. That same month, the European Union fined Meta $1.3bn for transferring user data to the US, which the body said didn’t sufficiently protect users from US spy agencies. Meta has said it will appeal the fine. In 2022, the company paid $725m to settle a lawsuit alleging Facebook allowed millions of users’ personal data to be fed without consent to Cambridge Analytica, a firm which supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Prior to that, the FTC fined the company $5bn for privacy violations and mishandling user data. The Independent has contacted Meta for comment. Read More Twitter threatens legal action against Meta over new ‘Threads’ app Mark Zuckerberg trolls Elon Musk by posting Spider-Man meme on Twitter after launching rival Threads What is Threads? All your questions about Meta's new Twitter rival, answered. Twitter threatens legal action against Meta over new ‘Threads’ app What is Threads? All your questions about Meta's new Twitter rival, answered. Mark Zuckerberg trolls Elon Musk with Spider-Man meme after launching Twitter rival

It all started when Mizkif announced that Team Athletes had won against Team Nerds

STERLING, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2023--