Tech
Microsoft Reportedly Plans To Close Activision Deal Next Week
Nearly two years after announcing its intent to buy Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may finally be coming to a close on the deal. The company is reportedly eyeing a closing date of October 13 for the $68.7 billion USD sale, sources close to the matter told The Verge.Over the past year especially, the tech industry has bore witness to the countless hurdles Microsoft has faced in its acquisition of Activision. After receiving preliminary approval from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month, the US governing body, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), stepped in to block the deal once again.The FTC determined that the buyout could only proceed if Microsoft sold off Activision’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in order to avoid giving the company a monopoly over the cloud gami...
FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial for fraud and conspiracy
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is on trial for seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. Bankman-Fried founded FTX because he was frustrated with other exchanges used by his crypto trading firm Alameda Research, according to a profile from FTX investors Sequoia Capital. But FTX was a fraud “from the start,” the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges. Bankman-Fried is accused of misappropriating and embezzling FTX customer deposits, according to the superseding indictment. He represented himself as the Good Boy of Crypto, “spending millions of dollars to promote FTX and its sister company FTX.US as safe places to invest in cryptocurrency,” the indictment says. Meanwhile, “FTX’s finances contained a multi-billion-dollar deficiency caused by his own...
Silent Hill: Ascension premieres on Halloween
/ The interactive choose-your-own-adventure series will start at 9PM ET on the 31st, with new scenes being released daily for six months. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Silent Hill: Ascension, the interactive streaming series set in the universe of the classic horror games, will have its “world premiere” on October 31st at 9PM ET, says Jacob Navok, the game’s executive producer and CEO of developer Genvid. If you want to take part you’ll be able to participate through Ascension’s iOS and Android apps, or by visiting Ascension.com. “I use the phrase ‘world premiere’ intentionally because Silent Hill: Ascension is not a game,” Navok explains. “It is a streaming series where you, the audience, par...
Uber Launches a “Package Returns” Feature
Uber has unveiled a new feature aimed at simplifying the often tiresome task of returning packages. Through its Uber Connect platform, initially launched three years ago to facilitate local item deliveries, Uber has now added a "Return a Package" feature.The novel service is designed to relieve the hassle associated with trips to the post office for package returns and is possibly a step closer toward its TaskRabbit-like service tentatively titled "Uber Chore."With just one tap in the Uber or Uber Eats apps, users can now schedule a courier to pick up their prepaid and sealed packages, up to five at a time, for drop-off at local post offices, UPS, or FedEx outlets. Live tracking is enabled so customers can follow their package in real-time within the Uber app, receiving visual confirmation...
Meta Could Soon Offer Ad-Free Subscription Service
Word has begun to circulate that Meta could soon begin to offer a paid ad-free subscription service or tier for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe. The news comes just as TikTok begins to test a similar plan, also for users outside of the United States.First reported by The New York Times, it seems that the social and tech giant is exploring these options in response to pressure from EU regulators in regard to data privacy and ads. Having been going back and forth with regulators for some time on the allegations of alleged privacy violations from its ad-tracking services and data transfers, the potential paid ad-free service might bring the company some relief.However, it would take a substantial amount of subscribers to recoup the $1.3 billion USD that Ireland's Data Protection Commis...
Was Sam Bankman-Fried’s bean bag chair a lie too?
Two of Bankman-Fried’s MIT roommates make a damning case for the prosecution. By Elizabeth Lopatto, a reporter who writes about tech, money, and human behavior. She joined The Verge in 2014 as science editor. Previously, she was a reporter at Bloomberg. Share this story a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Drew Angerer, Getty Images The difficult part of a fraud case is usually establishing a defendant knowingly lied — unless, apparently, the defendant is Sam Bankman-Fried. Today the government has made a brisk case for on...
Canada isn’t trying to silence podcasters
/ The reaction to a CRTC registration requirement may be overblown. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
Forza Motorsport looks and feels like Forza but with an RPG hiding under the hood
The new Forza Motorsport’s strengths are in the sections you can’t see with your eyes, like better physics, AI, and audio. By Richard Lawler, a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget. Share this story Not long into playing my preview copy of Forza Motorsport, I was intrigued but not that impressed — until I went back and played Forza Motorsport 7 for a while. Arriving six years after the last entry and as the first game in the series built for the new generation of hardware, this latest Forza doesn’t make the biggest graphical leap in the series’ history. But after about 10 hours of driving in the game’s single and multiplayer events with the game, I felt like everything else yo...
Forza Motorsport looks and feels like Forza but with an RPG hiding under the hood
The new Forza Motorsport’s strengths are in the sections you can’t see with your eyes, like better physics, AI, and audio. By Richard Lawler, a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget. Share this story Not long into playing my preview copy of Forza Motorsport, I was intrigued but not that impressed — until I went back and played Forza Motorsport 7 for a while. Arriving six years after the last entry and as the first game in the series built for the new generation of hardware, this latest Forza doesn’t make the biggest graphical leap in the series’ history. But after about 10 hours of driving in the game’s single and multiplayer events with the game, I felt like everything else yo...
Elon Musk is stonewalling the SEC, and now he’s getting sued
/ Musk refused to show up to testimony after receiving a subpoena. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing Elon Musk over his refusal to testify in an investigation into Musk’s purchase of Twitter stock in 2022. According to the SEC’s complaint, Musk was scheduled to appear for testimony on September 15th after receiving a subpoena. However, “two days before his scheduled testimony, Musk abruptly notified the SEC staff that he would not appear” and apparently raised “several spurious objecti...
Google Pixel 8 & Pixel Pro 8 Boast Impressive A.I. Enhancements
It’s Google’s turn to show the world what its latest smartphones and wearables can do that the competition can’t. On Wednesday, October 4, Google unveiled its new Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphone lineup, Pixel Buds Pro, and two new smartwatches, the Fitbit Charge 6 plus Pixel Watch 2. Here is everything we […]
Here’s the first proof a refreshed Steam Deck is nigh
/ Pay less attention to the Wi-Fi — and more attention to Valve sneaking through the FCC. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>The Steam Deck, in its bundled carry case.a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: FCC a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:sh...
