Ahead of the European Commission’s closed-door hearing on the Microsoft-Activision merger in Brussels, Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Chris Shelton has sent a letter to Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, urging her to consider seriously the positive impact the merger could have on the video game labour market, as workers […]
The UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee is to question executives from Google, Microsoft and BT as part of its inquiry into the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). The tech giants will be quizzed on their use of AI, how the technology may develop, and their perspective on how it should be regulated. […]
Yahoo is the latest tech giant to announce significant lay-offs, with plans to cut more than 20 per cent of its total 8,600 workforce as part of a major restructuring. The veteran online brand is reorganising its advertising unit, which will lose more than half of the department by the end of 2023. “These decisions […]
An investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally concluded that Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers. The provisional findings follow a wide-ranging investigation conducted over the last five months to understand the market and potential impact of the deal. […]
Tech giant Microsoft has announced it will cut 10,000 jobs in the latest round of staff redundancies to hit the tech industry. It will affect up to 5 per cent of its global workforce (which consists of over 220,000) and cost the business some $1.2 billion (€1.1bn) in severance and reorganisation costs. Microsoft chief executive […]
A comprehensive eport from investment bank Exane/BNPP says it expects the Video Games sector to “rebound in 2023 helped by stronger line up of new games and better availability of new-generation consoles.” The bank reminds clients that 2022 proved to be a “corrective year” for the games sector, where the industry overall suffered a 10 […]
Microsoft and satellite operator Viasat have agreed a new partnership to help deliver Internet access to 10 million people around the globe, including 5 million across Africa. Viasat is the first satellite partner to work with Microsoft’s Airband Initiative, and together they will deepen Airband’s work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Guatemala, […]
The US Federal Trade Commission is preparing a legal battle with Microsoft to block its plan to purchase the Activision Blizzard video game studio. Regulators cited competition concerns, saying they feared that if the deal went through, Activision Blizzard’s games would stop being offered on non-Microsoft gaming consoles. The Activision Blizzard purchase was set to […]
Plume has revealed insights into the game console market from a study conducted from homes powered by its cloud-driven solution. The latest Plume IQ explores the rate at which Plume-powered homes are adding game consoles to their networks, the popularity of game console brands, and data usage, with new entrant Steam arriving to potentially disrupt […]
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly set to to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft’s $69 billion (€66.3bn) takeover bid for video game publisher Activision Blizzard. A lawsuit challenging the deal is not guaranteed – but FTC staff reviewing the deal are said to be sceptical of the companies’ arguments, according to […]