Tag: microsoft
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Microsoft Officially Closes Activision Blizzard Deal Bringing Hit Gaming Franchises Under Xbox Umbrella
Microsoft officially owns Activision Blizzard and King, marking the largest gaming deal in the U.S. to date. Hit franchises like Pitfall, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga will be more formally part of the Xbox family. The deal closed ahead of Microsoft’s estimated original October 18 date. “Together, we’ll create new worlds…
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FTC May Continue Fighting Microsoft-Activision Merger – Even After the Deal Closes
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will challenge Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard, despite already losing the trial to block the deal. On Tuesday, the agency issued an order to resume its review of the merger, meaning it will continue to challenge the deal. “The Commission has determined that the public…
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Amazon CEO Confirms Former Microsoft Product Chief Panos Panay Will Join Online Retail Giant
It’s official: Panos Panay, who led Microsoft’s efforts to transform into a hardware maker, will join Amazon to run its devices and services team. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Wednesday confirmed the move, which had leaked earlier shortly after Panay said he was leaving Microsoft after 19 years. Panay will take the reins from Dave…
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Leaked Email Says Microsoft Wanted To Buy Nintendo
Microsoft’s acquisitions wish list was even longer than imagined. An internal email, reportedly leaked by Microsoft itself, from 2020 said that Xbox boss Phil Spencer was interested in buying Nintendo. Spencer also mentioned Steam owner Valve, Warner Bros.’ network of video game studios and Bethesda owner Zenimax, the latter of which Microsoft has since purchased.…
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Nintendo’s Next-Gen Switch Will Be as Powerful as an Xbox One, PS4, Activision Email Says
Nintendo in December briefed video game developer Activision Blizzard about its plans for a next-generation follow-up to the hit console Switch, which is expected to be comparable to the Xbox One and Playstation 4 in performance. That’s according to an Activision email that was released publicly as part of the Federal Trade Commission’s trial against…
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Amazon Reportedly Hires Away Microsoft’s Product Guru To Help With Alexa and Echo Devices
Panos Panay, the chief architect of Microsoft’s Surface device strategy and product family, may be moving to another tech giant. Panay, who earlier on Monday announced he was leaving Microsoft, where he served as chief product officer, is heading to Amazon to serve a similar role, according to Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources. This comes after…
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Microsoft is Expected to Lay Off Thousands of Employees Tomorrow
In 2022 Microsoft reportedly laid off about 1% of its workforce. Now it is being reported by Sky News that a second round of cuts will, this time lay off about 5% of Microsoft’s workforce. Right now, Microsoft has about 220,000 employees, if the 5 number is correct, this round of layoffs could top 10,000…
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Microsoft Plans to Offer Xbox Game Pass Through Smart TVs, Dedicated Streaming Stick
Microsoft is gearing up to offer its Xbox Game Pass subscription service through more than just its dedicated game consoles. At a press briefing ahead of the E3 gaming conference, the company shared that it’s working with smart TV makers to include an Xbox app. Beyond that, Microsoft also shared that it’s working on its…
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Starry Internet and Microsoft Partner to Provide Free Connection to Low Income Housing
Starry Internet and Microsoft have partnered together to speed up the process of providing accessible internet connections to low-income households, starting with four public housing communities in the Los Angeles area. Additionally, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new initiative to provide six months of free internet to new customers in those housing units. After six…
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Sony PlayStation 5 Launches on Nov. 12 for $499.99, Digital Edition Priced at $399.99 (Update: Preorders Underway)
Last week, we learned about several key details about Microsoft’s upcoming next-gen Xbox consoles (perhaps sooner than Microsoft might have planned), and today, we’ve heard Sony’s response. In an online presentation Sony dubbed the “PlayStation 5 Showcase,” the company finally shared more info for its own next-gen hardware. The PlayStation 5 will launch first in…