Technology

Activision Blizzard on Tuesday said it was laying off about 50 people across various divisions dealing predominantly with live events and esports as part of a restructuring. The company cites the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on both the viability of live productions for its esports leagues and the changing viewership habits of its core audience over the past year. “Players are increasingly choosing to connect with our games digitally and the e-sports team, much like traditional sports, entertainment, and broadcasting industries, has had to adapt its business due to the impact the pandemic has had on live events,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Bloomberg in a statement. According to Bloomberg, laid-off employees will receive three months’ severance, health benefits for the next 12 ...

Microsoft has once again reiterated that VR support for Xbox was not a focus for the company, following reports earlier today that hinted it was working on a VR headset compatible with the Xbox Series X / S. The rumor first surfaced after IGN Italy reported that some Italian Xbox users received messages, which translated to “[a]n update for the VR headset is available” and “[u]pdate VR headset,” when connecting the recently released Xbox Wireless Headset to their Xbox Series X or Series S consoles. My colleague, Cameron Faulkner, reviewed the Xbox Wireless headset and did not encounter this pop-up message while using the headset on an Xbox Series X console in the US. “VR for console is not a focus for us at this time.” A Microsoft representative told The Verge that “the copy in this error ...

Apple announced today that Apple Maps has been updated with vaccine locations from VaccineFinder, a site run by Boston Children’s Hospital that provides information on vaccine eligibility and availability. People can search for nearby vaccination sites in Apple Maps or ask Siri, “Where can I get a COVID vaccination?” Over 20,000 locations are now listed, with more to be added in the coming weeks. Vaccination sites in Apple MapsImage: Apple Each vaccine site listing in Apple Maps includes the operating hours and contact information for the site, with a link to the provider’s website to find vaccine availability and make an appointment. With the new feature, Apple joins a number of other tech companies offering more ways for people to check their eligibility, locate vaccination sites, and ge...

Huawei has a plan to compete in 5G without being able to sell its 5G phones everywhere. Today, the technology company announced that it intends to seek royalties from companies like Apple and Samsung in exchange for the use of its patents, according to Bloomberg. Huawei believes it can strike licensing deals despite sanctions in the US, and it plans to use its earnings to invest even further into research and development. Huawei obtained patents on new technology during the development of the larger 5G standard — alongside companies like Qualcomm and Ericsson — that are needed for interoperability between different 5G networks, according to CNBC. “Huawei has been the largest technical contributor to 5G standards,” Huawei’s head of intellectual property rights, Jason Ding, said in a stateme...

The excellent and massively popular anime Demon Slayer has had as successful of a run at the box office as you can get in Japan — the movie adaptation of its “Mugen Train” manga arc is the highest-grossest film in the country’s history. Now, the film is finally coming to North America, starting with a theatrical run in the US and Canada on April 23rd with distribution from Aniplex of America and Funimation. The film’s official title, in true anime style, is a bit of a mouthful: Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. But that hasn’t stopped the film from its box office domination. It broke the $100 million milestone in Japan in just 10 days, and it’s since grossed nearly $400 million in the country alone, beating out Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Titanic for the all-...

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ already robust design tools are getting some improvements with a free update hitting March 18th. One new addition is a big upgrade to the NookPhone’s design app that will let you customize umbrellas, small flags, uchiwa fans, and photo stands. The app already let you make designs for shirts, dresses, and hats, so with the upgrade, you’ll be able to tailor an even more custom look (and make a fun photo stand while you’re at it). The upgraded app will also add 50 design slots to both the normal and Pro custom design modes, allowing you to create and save even more designs than before. You can make designs for new items in the New Horizons update. Image: Nintendo You’ll be able to buy the app upgrade with Nook Miles at the terminal in the Resident Services build...

Longtime industry veteran Jade Raymond is heading up a new studio that will create original games for PlayStation. Raymond announced the news today via the PlayStation Blog. “We want to create worlds where players can escape, have fun, express themselves, and find community,” Raymond wrote about the new studio, Haven. “We want to pour our passion into a project. We want to make something wondrous for people to experience.” Raymond is one of the game industry’s most prolific developers; her career’s spanned major stints at companies like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft in leadership roles. Most recently, she was leading Google’s first-party games studio, Stadia Games and Entertainment. Earlier this year, however, Google shut down its in-house developer. Although many other devs shifted to new r...

The chairman of Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn says the electronics giant is considering making electric vehicles at its mostly empty worksite in Wisconsin, where the company originally planned to make LCD panels. Either that, or Foxconn may make EVs in Mexico. The decision will be made by July 1st, chairman Young Liu said at a press conference Tuesday. Best known for manufacturing iPhones, Foxconn has recently shifted some of its attention to the booming electric vehicle space as a way to diversify its revenue. Late last year, the conglomerate announced an EV platform on which other companies could build. This year, Foxconn announced tie-ups with China’s largest private automaker, Geely, and with a number of EV startups. It has agreed to build an electric vehicle with Fisker Inc., struggl...

Google has announced a new version of its Nest Hub smart display. The updated Nest Hub includes several enhancements over the model that debuted as the Home Hub in 2018, including a refined design, faster processor, and louder speaker. But the most significant upgrade is found in its ability to measure your sleep without requiring you to wear anything. The new Nest Hub is $99.99, comes in four colors, and will be shipping on March 30th, with preorders starting today, March 16th. The new Nest Hub looks basically identical to the prior model, but you can now get it in a light blue color (Google calls it “mist”) in addition to the light pink, light gray, and dark gray options. Google says it has refined the bezel around the screen to be flush with the rest of the frame, which should make it e...

Dropbox is adding a new feature on top of its usual offerings of storage and file sharing for free Basic accounts. Dropbox Passwords, the password management feature the company introduced for paying customers in 2020, will be free for Dropbox Basic accounts in April — with a new, arbitrary limit of 50 passwords that makes it seem suspiciously like a way to upsell you on a paid Dropbox account. Now that LastPass is putting a device limit on its free plans, many are looking for a free alternative, and Dropbox Passwords will indeed allow you to sync your passwords across three devices for free. Like other password managers, it exists as a web browser extension, a mobile app on iOS and Android, and desktop applications on MacOS, Windows, and Linux. But other free password managers, like Bitwa...