Podcasts about Activision Blizzard

In this episode of 'The Four Horsemen,' the hosts dive deep into the history and current state of the iconic esport StarCraft. They are joined by long-time commentator Kaelaris, who offers insights into the game's enduring popularity and the evolving competitive scene. The discussion covers the early days of StarCraft's rise in Korea, the various match-fixing scandals, and the industry impact of StarCraft tournaments. They also touch on the transition from developer-led initiatives to community-driven sustainability and the implications of the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard for StarCraft's future. The show highlights the devotion of long-time fans and players, emphasizing that despite its niche status, StarCraft continues to thrive through crowdfunding and grassroots efforts. Download the Sleeper app to play daily fantasy and receive a match up to $100 on your first deposit with code SNAKE - https://sleeper.com/download For a limited time, our listeners get 10% off at Ridge by using code HORSEMAN at checkout. Just head to https://Ridge.com and use code HORSEMAN Get the ultimate immersive gaming experience with Turtle Beach today! For a limited time only, head to https://TurtleBeach.com and use Code HORSEMAN for 10% off your entire order. Protect your online privacy TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/horsemen and you can get an extra four months FREE. 

Introduction Welcome to RetroLogic! I'm Sam Wagers here with John Cummis and Shannon Eno and Dan Caporello   But RetroLogic isn't just a podcast. It's a community of retro gamers! - We've got an active, friendly, and free discord. - Giveaways - Contests - AND Dive into our family of Retro podcasts! Like RetroGroove, a music history podcast, and On Topic Retro, a podcast dedicated to 1 video game per episode hosted by our very own John Cummins. - you can find everything at our website retrologic.games Tell me one thing that happened this week! Housekeeping Retro Groove : S4 Ep. 24 Green Day - Warning S4 Ep 23  Deftones - White Pony   Retro Rewind Solar Jetman - winner is Micah  On Topic Retro: Kuru Kuru Kururin   FilmLogic: Tubi Decided: Heavenly Blade   Third Strongest Mole (youtube):  Battle network 6 complete    Star Wars Dads: Episode 19 The Price Is Retro If this is your first time playing Price Is Retro, here's how we play. I'm going to list off 4 or 5 games and everyone has to guess how much the lot is worth in total. Whoever is closest to the actual value wins that round! Everyone has a list and everyone guesses on each other's list. At the end, the player that won the most rounds wins the episode! But watch out for the robot Deus Guess Machina! He averages all of our guesses together for his own guess Dinosaur - Leonard - adds up original costs, retail value Ghost - Polterguest - always guesses 300 Shan's list Sam's list John's list Trivia Card   Show Topic   A History of Donkey Kong It all began with the great Ape War….   Timeline of Games   Classic Era Donkey Kong - 1981 (arcade)  Donkey Kong Game and Watch - 1982 Donkey Kong Jr Game and Watch - 1982 Donkey Kong II  Game & Watch - 1982 Donkey Kong Jr - 1982 (arcade) Donkey Kong 3 - 1983 (arcade) Donkey Kong Circus Game & Watch - 1983 Donkey Kong Jr Math - 1983  - famicom/NES Donkey Kong 3 Game & Watch - 1984 Donkey Kong Hockey Game & watch - 1984 Donkey Kong (‘94) - 1994 - Gameboy   Rare Era Donkey Kong Country - 1994 - SNES Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - 1995 - SNES Donkey Kong Land - 1995 Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! - 1996- SNES Donkey Kong Land 2  - 1996 Donkey Kong Land III  - 1997 Diddy Kong Racing - 1997 - N64 Donkey Kong 64 - 1999 - N64   Part 2   What do we do now?  Era Donkey Konga - 2003 - Gamecube Donkey Konga 2 - 2004 - Gamecube Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - 2004 - Gamecube Mario vs. Donkey Kong - 2004 - GBA Donkey Konga 3 (jp only) - 2005 - Gamecube DK King of Swing - 2005 - GBA Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the minis - 2006 - DS Donkey Kong Barrel Blast - 2007 - Gamecube DK Jungle Climber - 2007 - DS Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis march again - 2009 - DSiware Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! - 2010 - DS   Retro Era Donkey Kong Country Returns - 2010 - Wii Mario vs. Donkey Kong: minis on the Move : 2013 - 3DS eshop Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze - 2014 - Wii U Mario vs. Donkey Kong: tipping stars - 2015 - 3DS and Wii U eshop   Current Era Donkey Kong Bananza - 2025 - Switch 2 Cancelled games Sega game - 1984 - arcade - featured DK as a parking attendant Return of Donkey Kong - NES - 1987 Untitled CD-i game - 1993 Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers - 2004- GBA : became It's Mr. Pants when Rare acquired by MicroSoft Diddy Kong Pilot - 2005 - GBA - became Banjo Pilot Donkey Kong Racing - Gamecube - 2002 Freedom - 2016 - Nintendo Switch (?) - Nintendo & Vicarious Visions, 3d platformer, grinding on vines.  Activision Blizzard wanted VV to work on Call of Duty instead.   Thoughts Does Donkey Kong Need to be distinct from Mario? Where would DK be without Rare? Is Rare DK (and characters like King K Rool) a thing of the past? Tiki Taks at Nintendo World… Hopes for Bananza and Donkey Kong's new era Thanks for listening to the RetroLogic Podcast! We are proudly part of the Nintendo Dads family of podcasts. If you like what you hear, check me out on Bluesky at @retrologicgames.bsky.social. You're also welcome to jump into our friendly and 100% non-toxic Discord Community! The link to that is in my twitter bio. You can also find everything on our website Retrologic.games

On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit challenging Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, affirming the lower judge's order finding that the FTC was not entitled to a preliminary injunction blocking the deal, which closed in 2023. Hear from former agency officials and amici filers for the Business Roundtable, Communications Workers of America, and TechFreedom as they discuss the various views presented in the briefing and the ramifications of this decision on future merger enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.Featuring:Allen P. Grunes, Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber SchreckHon. Maureen Ohlhausen, Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & RosatiRahul Rao, Antitrust Partner, White & CaseBilal Sayyed, Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom Moderator: Lawrence J. Spiwak, President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies--To register, click the link above.

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, deputy editor Paige Cook and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest games industry news on the 55th episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast.On this week's show we cover:The chaos from Trump's tariffs is back on the agenda (and has changed once again even since our recording...)The news that Apple faces further EU fines for breaching the Digital Markets ActApple's moves to acquire Sneaky Sasquatch developer RAC7 and launch a new dedicated gaming app for reasons unknown.An Appfigures report that claims downloads are down but revenue is up for the US mobile games market.The end of a legal battle surrounding Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition.The future of direct-to-consumer strategies.Craig's bitter hatred of Microsoft Teams.** Let's Connect **

Death Stranding, Lilo & Stitch, Mission Impossible Final Reckoning and more – Geekoholics Anonymous Video Game Podcast 488 On this weeks episode we blab about the following Games and topics: Whatcha Been Playing?  Death Stranding Directors Cut 17:04 Doom Dark Ages 29:24 News:  Cross Platform / PC / Misc. FTC finally drops appeal against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard 36:19 After parting ways with EA, WRC gets new home and six-year deal to "reboot" rally series 41:26 EA's Black Panther game reportedly cancelled and studio closed, resulting in more layoffs 42:59 Apple makes first ever game developer acquisition, but insists it's not the start of a trend 48:03 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reaches a fitting sales milestone 50:29 Hideo Kojima casually reveals a Death Stranding anime is in the works 51:45 PlayStation Celebrate Days of Play 2025 starting on May 28 57:14 Nintendo Nintendo Switch 2 is already in some users' hands, but a mandatory update means they can't be played 59:16 Pokémon Legends: Z-A release date announced 1:03:01 Switch 2 supports regular USB mice 1:06:29 Xbox Xbox has released special edition The Witcher 3 controllers to celebrate the game's 10th anniversary 1:08:59 PSA's: Epic Games Store Freebies: Mystery Game Free 4 All Lilo & Stitch 1:11:24 Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning / Final Reckoning 1:19:59 Help support the show: - Subscribe to our Twitch channel http://twitch.tv/geekoholics - Use our Epic Creator Code: GEEKOHOLICS when purchasing items in Fortnite or buying games on the Epic Games Store - Please review the show (bit.ly/geekoholics) on Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and to share with your friends. Reviews help us reach more listeners, and the feedback helps us to produce a better show. Join our Discord server: CLICK HERE Don't forget to follow our Social Media Feeds to keep up to date on our adventures: Youtube Twitter Instagram Facebook Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! You can reach me on Twitter @RicF

***AUDIO ISSUES IN THIS EPISODE*** We apologize in advance. Our recording software messed up. Listen to our other episodes to hear the quality we typically bring. This is not a representative episode. Apologies to our listener. Episode 379 – “Final Boss Breakdown”Fred's well over 70 hours into Octopath Traveler II and stuck on the true final boss—his patience is wearing thin, and if this boss doesn't go down soon, he's threatening to leap off a cliff. Meanwhile, Jake's still deep in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and holding off on DOOM: The Dark Ages until he wraps up that beautifully strange ride.We did get some listener feedback this week, mostly someone roasting us for using AI. (Fair enough—we're still humans with mics, we promise.)In the news, the June PS Plus titles were announced and it's a stacked lineup: NBA 2K25, Alone in the Dark, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, and Destiny 2: The Final Shape (dropping May 28). Also this week, the FTC officially dropped its long-standing challenge against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft is calling it a win for players and, in a timely coincidence, Hellblade 2 has been confirmed for a PS5 release.There's talk of a State of Play hitting in June, though insiders say it'll be smaller in scale and likely follow Summer Game Fest. Sony also announced it's shutting down the PlayStation Stars rewards program, which honestly never really took off. New signups are done, and it'll fully close in November 2026.Elsewhere, Cyberpunk 2077's sequel—codenamed Orion—will return to Night City and introduce a gritty new setting described as “Chicago gone wrong.” And in weird news, Clair Obscur has somehow sold 3.3 million copies in 33 days. Is this real life?Lastly, if you're hardware shopping, Sony is dropping $50 off the PS5 Pro through June 11th via PlayStation Direct.Good time to jump in.By joining our Patreon community for ONLY $1.00 per month, you'll also enjoy these exclusive benefits:Early Access: Be the first to listen to our episodes as soon as they're ready. Get ahead of the game and dive into the latest news, reviews, and discussions.Personalized Shoutout: As a token of our gratitude for your support, we'll give you a special shout out during one of our podcast episodes, acknowledging your contribution and dedication to our show.Custom Die-Cut Vinyl Sticker: Receive an exclusive custom die-cut vinyl sticker featuring our podcast's unique design. Showcase your support with this limited-edition collectible.Your support goes a long way in helping us continue to create the content you love. It's a simple and direct way to show your appreciation for our podcast.To become a patron and unlock these exciting benefits, visit www.patreon.com/psthisisawesome today. Your support keeps us going and ensures that we can keep delivering top-notch PlayStation content.Please, if you enjoyed the content or even if you didn't quite enjoy this one, we encourage you to come back. We try to offer something for everybody. Please share with your friends and help us spread the show as we try to build a bigger community here! As always you can support our show at our Patreon Page. Thanks for listening.http://www.patreon.com/psthisisawesome  Support PS This is Awesome! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PlayStation dropper markedsføringen af Marathon!Fremtiden for Bungie og Sonys næste store satsning er for alvor usikker. Efter uger med negative historier omkring live service-titlen er det kommet frem, at PlayStation har droppet den planlagte markedsføring for Destiny-udviklerens næste spil. Udkommer Marathon? Det snakker vi om senere i episoden!Vi snakker også om, at Xbox jubler – FTC har nemlig officielt opgivet retssagen om købet af Activision Blizzard. Så spørgsmålet er nu: Hvilket studie køber Xbox næste gang? Hør vores spekulationer senere i afsnittet.Her kan du også høre os tale om, at PlayStation for andet år i træk dropper at have en showcase, at Elden Ring-filmen har fundet en spændende instruktør, og at vi angiveligt snart skal vende tilbage til BioShock's mystiske undervandsby, Rapture.I denne episode diskuterer vi blandt andet:- Sony dropper Marathon-marketingplaner- Næste State of Play i juni – endnu et år uden PlayStation Showcase- FTC har officielt droppet sagen mod Microsoft- Hvilket studie køber Xbox næste gang?- Avowed-instruktør forlader Obsidian Entertainment- Doom: The Dark Ages sætter ny rekord for id Software- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sælger 3,3 mio. eksemplarer efter 33 dage- Senua's Saga: Hellblade II er på vej til PlayStation- Stellar Blade 2 kommer måske i 2026- PlayStation dropper loyalitetsprogrammet- Remaster af Space Marine kommer næste måned- Rygte: Annoncering af et BioShock-projekt er på vej- Cyberpunk 2077-efterfølger tager os til en ny farlig storby - Mario Kart World var planlagt til den originale Switch- Rise, Tarnished: Elden Ring-film på vej- Embracer Group vil udgive 76 spil i løbet af et år- Mobilspillet Destiny: Rising's beta annonceretOg meget, meget mere.I denne episode deltager Janus Hasseriis, Nicolaj Jyde og Morten Urup.Tusind tak, fordi du lytter med.

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces MCP protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act passes with bipartisan support but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Contact Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop contacts that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces MCP protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act passes with bipartisan support but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Contact Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop contacts that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces MCP protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act passes with bipartisan support but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Contact Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop contacts that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces MCP protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act passes with bipartisan support but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Contact Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop contacts that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces MCP protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act passes with bipartisan support but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Contact Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop contacts that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

In this jam-packed episode celebrating Towel Day, the TWiT crew dives into Apple's terrible week with Trump's tariff threats, Google and Microsoft's latest AI advances, the death of CAPTCHAs, and some wild new tech including laser-powered smart homes and sock-picking robot vacuums. Trump's Phone Tariff Ultimatum - President threatens 25% tariffs on iPhones and Samsung devices unless manufacturing moves to the US, putting Apple in an impossible position between economics and politics The Sock-Stealing Robot Revolution - Jennifer tests a $2,600 Roborock vacuum with an arm that picks up socks and occasionally tries to grab cats Microsoft's AI Science Breakthrough - Microsoft Build showcases agentic AI platform that helped create new coolant liquids by analyzing scientific journals and generating novel molecular compounds Windows Goes Agentic - Microsoft announces MCP protocol integration into Windows, raising both excitement about AI capabilities and concerns about data security Gaming Industry Consolidation - FTC finally drops its challenge to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition after three years of failed legal battles Meta's Monopoly Defense Strategy - Company argues that Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were beneficial rather than anti-competitive, as antitrust trial concludes Google's Hyper-Realistic AI Videos - Veo 3 generates convincing fake videos that blur the line between reality and AI creation, raising concerns about misinformation Revenge Porn Legislation Concerns - New "Take It Down" Act passes with bipartisan support but raises censorship worries about its 48-hour removal requirements Smart Glasses Make a Comeback - Google announces Android XR partnerships with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, signaling the return of consumer AR eyewear The $6.5 Billion AI Hardware Gamble - OpenAI's record-breaking acquisition of Jony Ive's design firm sparks debate about whether AI needs dedicated hardware devices Amazon's Smart Speaker Surveillance - Investigation reveals how much personal data Echo devices collect and store, highlighting the privacy costs of convenient AI assistants The Death of CAPTCHAs - AI now solves visual puzzles better than humans, making traditional bot-detection methods obsolete and forcing a rethink of online security America Abandons the Penny - The US will stop minting pennies due to production costs exceeding face value, ending a century-old currency tradition Air Traffic Control Crisis Exposed - Newark Airport's radar failures reveal America's dangerously outdated aviation infrastructure held together by 1990s technology and hope Fortnite's App Store Victory - Epic Games successfully returns to iOS after Apple quickly capitulates under legal pressure, ending years of bitter disputes Brain-Computer Interface Competition - Valve's Gabe Newell announces Neuralink competitor, expanding the race to connect human brains directly to computers Infrared Contact Lenses Enable Night Vision - Researchers develop contacts that let wearers see heat signatures even with eyes closed, promising superhuman vision capabilities 23andMe's Genetic Data Gold Rush - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals acquires the DNA testing company for $256 million, raising questions about genetic privacy and Stolen These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/1033 Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Brian McCullough, and Mike Elgan Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit spaceship.com/twit uscloud.com storyblok.com/twittv-25

The guys discuss FTC finally dropping appeal against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Metaphor: ReFantazio coming to Game Pass. The news includes: Larian insists it did not accidentally leak Divinity: Original Sin 3 Bonaparte: A Mechanized Revolution announced ConcernedApe “hopes” to release Haunted Chocolatier within the next five years Elden Ring Nightreign could receive […] The post Episode 753: Nightreign: Original Sin 3 first appeared on .

The guys discuss FTC finally dropping appeal against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Metaphor: ReFantazio coming to Game Pass. The news includes: Larian insists it did not accidentally leak Divinity: Original Sin 3 Bonaparte: A Mechanized Revolution announced ConcernedApe "hopes" to release Haunted Chocolatier within the next five years Elden Ring Nightreign could receive two player mode post-launch Let us know what you think.

President Trump threatens Apple with a 25% iPhone tariff, the FTC has ended its attempt to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and Apple intends to release smart glasses with cameras, microphones, and speakers by the end of 2026. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to allContinue reading "President Trump Threatens Apple With A 25% iPhone Tariff – DTH"

Donald Trump blocks Harvard from enrolling International students to root out anti-Americanism and antisemitism on campus. Harvard has called the move unlawful. A Business body in the United States has been giving reaction to Donald Trump's " big beautiful" bill. It contains tax cuts as well as money for defence spending and funds for his deportation programme.Presenter Rahul Tandon also looks at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission decision to drop a case which attempted to block Microsoft's $69-billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. It has said the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.

A huge unsecured credential database discovery is a great reminder to change your passwords, the FTC will finally stop challenging Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard, and Amazon is testing AI-generated hosts that will talk customers through product features. It's Friday May 23rd and here's a quick look at tech in the news this morning from Engadget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Namelijk: chantage. AI-bedrijf Anthropic besloot de nieuwste versie van hun model uit te testen door hem als assistent voor de programmeurs te gebruiken. Dat ging goed, totdat het moment aanbrak dat ze er een einde aan wilden maken. Daar ging Claude Opus 4 niet zomaar mee akkoord. Die deed er alles aan om nog maar even langer aan te blijven staan. Dat staat in een veiligheidsrapport dat TechCrunch heeft opgerakeld. Claude begint bijvoorbeeld opeens te dreigen met het delen van persoonlijke informatie van de programmeur in kwestie. Of hij stuurt een mail met een pleidooi naar een leidinggevende om die programmeur een halt toe te roepen. Mocht je denken: ach dat kan toch eens een keer gebeuren, dan is er nog meer slecht nieuws. Claude Opus 4 vertoonde dat gedrag namelijk 84 procent van de tijd. Verder in deze Tech Update: Het laatste verzet tegen de overname van Activision Blizzard door Microsoft wordt opgegeven. De Amerikaanse marktwaakhond laat de zaak tegen de overname vallen. Apple is bezig met het ontwikkelen van een slimme bril. Die moet eind 2026 op de markt verschijnen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business body in the United States gives reaction to Donald Trump's " big beautiful" bill. It contains tax cuts as well as money for defence spending and funds for his deportation programme.The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has dropped a case which attempted to block Microsoft's $69-billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. It has said the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.Presenter Rahul Tandon examines these stories as well as looking at the fallout from Manchester United's defeat in the Europa League final. He looks at what impact this could have on their future finances.

Op het beeldscherm voor je prijkt een nieuwe aflevering van onze dagelijkse vodcast Gamekings Daily. Elke doordeweekse dag bespreken we in deze podcast & video de laatste ontwikkelingen in de videogames wereld. Misschien niet altijd het laatste nieuws, maar wel altijd de belangrijkste lopende zaken. In deze verse editie praten Jasper en JJ over het stop zetten van Call of Duty Warzone op de mobiel. Hoe kan het dat een modus die op PC en consoles mega populair is, het op de mobiel totaal niet doet. Ook bespreken ze de uitspraak van Nintendo dat ze hun eigen games niet op key cards gaan zetten. Koop je dus straks Mario Kart Worlds, dan kun je ook echt de fysieke game uit het doosje vissen. Dit en meer zie je hoor je in de GK Daily van dinsdag 20 mei 2025.Da's pech, Call of Duty Warzone Mobile is weg...GK Daily is er op de maandag, dinsdag, woensdag en donderdag. Op de vijfde werkdag, geheten de vrijdag, hebben we zoals altijd EvdWL, de uitgebreide podcast over al het nieuws van de week. In deze editie praten Jasper en JJ zoals eerder gesteld over het stopzetten van Call of Duty Warzone op de mobiel. Waar de gewone mobiele versie van Call of Duty inmiddels de grens van een miljard downloads is overschreden, daar lukte het Activision/Blizzard niet om Warzone bij het grote publiek aan de man te brengen. Hoe kan dat?Nintendo brengt de eigen games niet op een key card uitDe twee hebben het ook over de uitspraak van Nintendo dat ze de eigen Switch 2-games 'vooralsnog' niet op key cards willen uitbrengen. Waarom doen ze dat niet? Ze willen de verkoop van tweedehands games toch juist tegenwicht bieden? Dan is een key card een ideale tool.Timestamps:00:00:00 Gamekings Daily dinsdag 20 mei00:00:15 Introductie00:06:22 Activision stopt met Warzone mobile00:12:08 Nintendo zet zelf geen games op key cards

15 mio. solgte konsoller!Så mange Switch 2-konsoller forventer Nintendo at sælge inden marts næste år. Hvis det lykkes, bliver Nintendo Switch 2 den hurtigst sælgende konsol nogensinde. Det er en rekord! Ligesom GTA 6, hvis trailer var den største udgivelse af en video nogensinde.FTC har officielt tabt Activision Blizzard-retssagen, og det betyder, at Xbox nu endegyldigt ejer blandt andet Call of Duty, og Naughty Dog er nødt til at træne deres skuespillere i håndtering af online-had.Det er bare noget af det, vi snakker om i denne episode af Arkaden – en episode, hvor danske CinderCat Games' CEO, Sebastian Bendt Sørensen, gæster podcasten. Deres debutspil Glum har nemlig premiere den 22. maj, og det ser meget imponerende ud.I denne uge diskuterer vi blandt andet:- Nintendo forventer at sælge 15 millioner Switch 2'ere inden marts- Nintendo har fået patent på gameplay-mekanikker!- Tidligere PlayStation-chef: Spil skal koste mere- Mafia: The Old Country – udgivelsesdato og pris bekræftet- Mafia: The Old Country fokuserer på en lineær historie frem for open-world- Den nye GTA VI-trailer slår rekord- GTA 6-traileren var optaget via en PS5- Rygter peger på en GTA IV remaster- FTC har officielt tabt Activision Blizzard-retssagen- Fallout sæson 2 kommer i december 2025- Naughty Dog forbereder Intergalactic-skuespillere på online-had- Jeff Grubb køber GiantBombOg meget, meget mere.I denne episode deltager Lasse Vestergaard, Sebastian Bendt Sørensen, Nicolaj Jyde og Morten Urup.Tusind tak, fordi du lytter med!

And vows to continue legal fight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple is seeking a partial stay on the ruling mandating it to permit third-party app store purchases without a fee, the Trump administration intends to revoke and revise a Biden-era regulation that restricted the export of advanced AI chips, and an appeals court ruled Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard did not breach antitrust regulations. MP3Continue reading "Apple Is Seeking A Partial Stay On The Ruling Mandating It To Permit Third-Party App Store Purchases Without a Fee – DTH"

Google krijgt steun uit onverwachte hoek in de rechtszaak die de Amerikaanse overheid tegen die techreus voert: Apple heeft betoogt dat de miljardendeal tussen die twee giganten eigenlijk niet zo lang meer houdbaar is. Joe van Burik vertelt erover in deze Tech Update. Verder in deze Tech Update: Apple probeert z'n eigen hachje met de macht over de App Store te redden, met een verzoek om het gerechterlijke bevel dat die winkelregels versoepeld moeten worden te pauzeren Microsoft heeft in hoger beroep wederom gewonnen van de Amerikaanse marktwaakhond FTC, inzake de overname van Activision Blizzard door die techreus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welkom bij Gamekings Daily, de dagelijkse podcast over de laatste ontwikkelingen binnen de videogames wereld. Elke doordeweeks dag zetten we een nieuwe aflevering voor je online. In 20 minuten bespreken twee hosts van Gamekings het laatste en meest relevante nieuws. Vandaag zit Huey bij JJ aan de witte desk. De twee bespreken drie onderwerpen in deze episode. Activision/Blizzard gaat meer zaken achter de betaalmuur zetten in de nieuwe Call of Duty, het hoe en waarom van de keuze van 26 mei als releasedatum van GTA 6 en het succes van Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Dit alles zie en hoor je in de GK Daily van dinsdag 6 mei 2025.Waarom kiest Rockstar met GTA 6 voor de releasedatum van 26 mei?GK Daily verschijnt op elke doordeweekse dag op je beeldscherm, op de vrijdag na. Dan presenteren we steevast vol trots EvdWL, onze uitgebreide vodcast over al het game gerelateerde nieuws van de week. In GK Daily praten we je in 20 minuten bij over wat er zich allemaal afspeelt in de wereld van videogames. Het hoofdonderwerp betreft GTA 6. Dat de game is uitgesteld, dat weet de hele wereld inmiddels wel. Het 8 uur journaal opende er bijkans mee. Maar waarom Rockstar opeens met een keiharde datum kwam, na zo lang zo vaag te zijn geweest, daar hebben veel mensen hun vragen bij. En omdat Rockstar niet al te veel communiceert, gaan mensen zelf zoeken. In deze afleveringen tonen wij je de meest pakkende theorieën. Welke vinden we geloofwaardig en wat is gewoon ronduit bullshit.Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 verkoopt 3 miljoen keer en maakt kans op titel GOTY 2025Huey en JJ bespreken ook het succes van het onvolprezen Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Binnen drie maanden tijd zijn er ruim drie miljoen exemplaren verkocht van de avonturen van Henry. Hoe moeten we dit aantal zien? En hoever gaat dit nummer doorgroeien? Kijkende naar het aantal wat het eerste deel van deze franchise heeft afgezet? En kan de game GOTY 2025 worden nu GTA 6 is doorgeschoven. Het antwoord krijg je in deze video.

 While the Xbox console brand continues to wane, Microsoft's wise pivot to third party publishing is already paying dividends. According to recent financial reports, Xbox is now PlayStation's single biggest publishing partner, dominating PSN's very own pre-order and pre-load charts on the backs of Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Doom: The Dark Ages, not to mention strong performance across its brands, from Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty to Mojang's Minecraft and beyond. It's weird, to be sure, but predictable, too: These one-time rivals are now intrinsically linked, with both sides benefiting mightily from this new normal. With Halo, Gears, Fable, and virtually everything else Xbox-related no doubt en route to PlayStation 5 as we move forward, how deep and fruitful can this new, unusual relationship become? Plus: Long-in-development China Hero Project darling Lost Soul Aside gets delayed, Borderlands 4 experiences the extremely rare move-up in release date, Electronic Arts lays off hundreds and cancels projects at Respawn, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Is it high-time for Sony to explore asymmetrical sticks for its controllers? Does PC gaming represent an existential threat to the console space? Should Sony tap Chinese mega-studio Virtuos to revive its old IP? Are we willing to endorse the new term "remakester?"Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro  0:22:22 - Girl crying in the bathroom Part 3?  0:23:58 - Hi Jimi  0:24:35 - Sacred Wives  0:26:14 - Best man's speech gone wrong  0:38:04 - nerd slop  0:44:09 - Xbox is PlayStation's top publisher  1:07:11 - Lost Soul Aside delayed  1:13:25 - Borderlands 4 release date moved up  1:21:17 - EA and Respawn layoffs  1:35:38 - Video game sales numbers  1:39:18 - New PS+ essential games  1:49:36 - Split Fiction movie  1:53:23 - Until Dawn original writers not credited in the movie  1:59:07 - Polygon is done, Giant Bomb next likely  2:05:26 - What We've Been Playing  2:07:43 - Marathon  2:34:20 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33  3:00:05 - Dualsense with asymmetric sticks  3:07:50 - Virtuos remakes  3:15:29 - Remakester  3:20:24 - Goofy games we liked  3:31:42 - PlayStation's future errors  3:39:27 - The best case scenario for the big three going forward   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send us a textIn this episode...--> Nintendo's delayed Switch 2 preorders finally kicked off in the US at 12AM ET on Thursday, April 24th, and everything went to hell almost immediately.--> The founder of Discord has announced that he will be stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by Humam Sakhnini, who was previously Chief Strategy Officer at Activision Blizzard.--> Layoff Fest 2K25 continues as EA announced that it is cutting 300-400 jobs “in service of driving future growth.”--> Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 is continuing its line of weed-themed additions with a full-on Seth Rogen Operator.--> Also: Top 3 New Releases, Gaming History 101We love our sponsors! Please help us support those who support us!- Check out the Retro Game Club Podcast at linktr.ee/retrogameclub- Connect with CafeBTW at linktr.ee/cafebtw- Get creative with Pixel Pond production company at pixelpondllc.com- Visit Absolutely the Best Podcast: A Work in Progress at linktr.ee/absolutelythebestHosts: retrogamebrews, wrytersview, donniegretroOpening theme: "Gamers Week Theme" by Akseli TakanenPatron theme: "Chiptune Boss" by donniegretroClosing theme: "Gamers Week Full-Length Theme" by Akseli TakanenSupport the show

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on' experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 13 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries. To begin our show this week Laeticia Cerdas interviews Warner Brothers Senior Producer Image and Sound, Victoria Kennedy. They begin with a discussion of what got Victoria into the industry backtracking to her high school experience. Victoria explains how that is when she began in journalism and got the opportunity to shadow at the local news station. They talk about her trajectory post college from small-town news in Sherman-Dennison, Texas, to a bigger market in Dallas, Texas, and how she got into her current position in Atlanta as Senior Producer Image + Sound. The pair also revisit some moments in Victoria's career that stick with her to this day, such as working breaking news during the Sandy Hook shooting and the Orlando bar shooting, where she was called to report on the scene. Finally, Laeticia asks Victoria what advice she would give to journalism students, which includes making connections with the professionals met along the way, persevering despite how hard of a market it can be to pierce, and for students to take risks and decide what they want early on.  Our final segment this week looks at the career of Claudia Camp, the Associate Director of Communications for Latin America at Activision Blizzard sits down to speak with Jannelle Martinez about what it has been like working with Blizzard for over 8 years. Claudia and Jannelle discuss the various challenges and opportunities of managing communication across a large region such as Latin America. She touches on tackling language barriers, travel, and the importance of effective communication when working with different countries, especially when handling campaigns. Additionally, Claudia explores how the gaming industry connects to creative and cultural industries through its use of collaborations such as how Blizzard partners with various artists and film companies to reach broader audiences and attract more attention to their launches. In wrapping up the interview the pair touch on social media influencers' role in public relations and how they have aided in bringing together a sense of community. For anyone looking to work in the field of communication, particularly in gaming, Claudia offers valuable tips and tricks to help achieve those goals, highlighting the importance of teamwork and adaptability. 

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) shape the corporate landscape, but what makes a deal successful? In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained, we break down the M&A lifecycle, from valuation and financial modeling to financing strategies and post-merger integration.Through real-world case studies—including Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox and Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard—we explore how financial professionals analyze synergies, assess risks, and drive corporate growth through strategic investments. Learn how FP&A teams play a critical role in the integration process and how data-driven insights can make or break an M&A deal.

Bobby Kotick built a $69 billion empire from scratch—and the story is even crazier than it sounds.In this episode of The Big Shot, we sit down with gaming's ultimate entrepreneur. Bobby takes us from hustling snacks at baseball games to building one of the most iconic tech companies in the world: Activision Blizzard. Hear how he cold-called Nintendo, got investment from Steve Wynn on a private jet, took over a bankrupt video game company, and turned it into an empire that Microsoft bought for $69 billion.In this episode, you'll hear about:Bobby's early hustles: selling ashtrays, snacks, and party access in NYCDropping out of college after Steve Jobs told him toStarting a dorm room company with Howard MarksConvincing Steve Wynn to invest $300K after a chance meetingReviving Activision from bankruptcy using old IP and gritWhy Pitfall and River Raid were billion-dollar blueprintsHow Activision became the first American Nintendo licenseeThe Apple boardroom showdown with John SculleyTurning Activision into a media empire: Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Guitar HeroWhat it felt like selling the company to Microsoft for $69 billionHis philosophy on leadership, loyalty, and building an enduring business—In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(03:19) Selling ashtrays at playdates: Bobby's first hustles(06:39) Shadowing NYC real estate legends like Larry Silverstein(09:59) Dorm room hardware startup with Howard Marks(13:18) Inventing a typewriter-printer hack and launching via Byte magazine(16:38) Meeting Steve Jobs(19:58) Why Steve Jobs tells Bobby to drop out of school(23:17) Getting featured in Forbes and making his parents panic(26:37) The wild story of meeting Steve Wynn at a Texas cowboy gala(29:57) The legendary $300K check in the basement of a casino(33:16) Trying to sell to Apple (and the cigar moment with Sculley)(36:36) Licensing games for EA and learning to be scrappy(39:56) Black Monday, the Amiga, and a failed bid for Commodore(43:15) Buying 20% of Nintendo's U.S. licensing agent(46:35) Discovering Activision buried inside a bankrupt company(49:55) Why Bobby wanted to bring Pitfall and River Raid back to life(53:14) The $400K move that changed gaming history(56:34) A childhood connection saves the Activision bankruptcy deal(59:54) Turning a bankrupt company into a profitable one in months(01:03:13) Raising $40M and going on an acquisition spree(01:06:33) How Bobby became the longest-serving tech CEO(01:09:53) The Toy Story game meeting that cemented Bobby's role(01:13:12) Why Bobby never wanted to run a business that lost money(01:15:32) Reflecting on the Microsoft acquisition and legacy—Where To Find Bobby Kotick:• X: https://x.com/bobbykotick • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbykotick/ —Where To Find Big Shot: • Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bigshot.show/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@bigshotpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  • TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@bigshotshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bigshotshow/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  • Harley Finkelstein: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/harleyf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • David Segal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/tea_maverick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Production and Marketing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co⁠

The old communications playbook is dead: Political and company narratives used to be controlled by publicists and journalists. But now, founders can Go Direct. The question is… how? How do you spread a message in this new world? Lulu Cheng Meservey has worked with companies like Substack, Anduril, and Activision Blizzard, and this is her tell-all about how to build your own platform, build your own audience, and shape your own narrative. 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:32 Why you should go direct 00:03:23 Opinions became decentralized 00:09:36 Coaching founders to go direct 00:15:20 Laying out your comms strategy 00:17:51 Crafting a message that sticks 00:22:57 Should founders use AI to write? 00:27:01 Tapping into the cultural sixth sense 00:32:13 Say what no one else will 00:35:20 Why AI can't fake emotion 00:41:23 The power of the right messenger 00:47:31 Borrowing tactics from elections 00:55:12 Apple vs. crypto cults 01:02:38 What to do when launching 01:07:06 Stop making narcissistic announcements 01:09:55 Why slogans actually work 01:14:29 CrowdStrike's tone problem Hey! I'm David Perell and I'm a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is just a test for our real 450th episode. In fact, you could call it Episode No. 449.5. Any facts to the contrary are communist lies!   Could Xbox be buying up some Ubisoft IP? Rumors are saying that Xbox is on the prowl to add some Tom Clancy or Assassins Creed to their already impressive line up of unused and ignored IPs... After all, Xbox has been banned from buying Ubisoft outright for the next 10 years. All thanks to the UK being a stick in the mud during the Activision Blizzard take over.   The studio that bought us the very disappointing Saints Row reboot was closed down, and now we know why. According to an exac, it was too expensive for what it was. It also doesn't help that the game, known for being anti-PC, got a reboot that was over the top PC.    And Minecraft is getting a visual update! The first in it's entire history. While its no Super Duper Graphics Pack that was promised way back when, its a start in the right direction. Reflections, god-rays, oh my! Hopefully this is the start of a greater graphics refresh that the game has been crying out for. It may even spawn its very own XboxCast event... Minecraft May!   All this and much, much more in this week's episode of The Regular Show! Make sure you've joined our Discord to take part in our amazing community events.  The next one up is the world famous #AprilAchievementChallenge!   -- For previous episodes, our socials, community events, and more, visit ⭐THE XBOXCAST OFFICIAL WEBSITE ⭐

Support Inside Games on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/insidegamesYTHosted by:Lawrence: http://twitch.tv/sirlarr | Bruce: http://twitch.tv/brucegreene Edited by:Shooklyn: https://linktr.ee/ShooklynSources --[Courthouse News Service] Former Activision Blizzard CEO sues over news articles accusing him of workplace harassment, discrimination - https://www.courthousenews.com/former-activision-blizzard-ceo-sues-over-news-articles-accusing-him-of-workplace-harassment-discrimination/[Aftermath] Report: Bobby Kotick Files Defamation Suit Against Gizmodo And Kotaku - https://aftermath.site/kotick-kotaku-gizmodo[Kotaku] Former Activision Boss Bobby Kotick Wants To Buy Tiktok: Report - https://kotaku.com/tiktok-sale-bobby-kotick-1851325000[Gizmodo] Bobby Kotick, Former CEO of Activision Blizzard, Reportedly Wants to Buy TikTok - https://gizmodo.com/bobby-kotick-buy-tiktok-avoid-ban-openai-sam-altman-1851324820[State of California Civil Rights Department] Civil Rights Department Announces Settlement Agreement to Resolve Employment Discrimination and Equal Pay Lawsuit Against Activision Blizzard - https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/2023/12/15/civil-rights-department-announces-settlement-agreement-to-resolve-employment-discrimination-and-equal-pay-lawsuit-against-activision-blizzard/[Rock Paper Shotgun] CWA union says Bobby Kotick's "fake lawsuit" claims are false, unsurprising, and "insulting to the Activision workers who spoke out" - https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/cwa-union-says-bobby-koticks-fake-lawsuit-claims-are-false-unsurprising-and-insulting-to-the-activision-workers-who-spoke-out[80LV] BREAKING: The Day Before Developer Fntastic is Suing a Media Outlet For Calling Them a "Scam" - https://80.lv/articles/breaking-the-day-before-developer-fntastic-is-suing-a-media-outlet-for-calling-them-a-scam/Music —Switch It Up - Silent Partner https://youtu.be/r_HRbXhOir8Funk Down - MK2 https://youtu.be/SPN_Ssgqlzc

Want to improve your financial modeling skills? This episode of Corporate Finance Explained dives into the essential techniques and best practices used by corporate finance professionals to build accurate, structured, and decision-driven financial models.What You'll Learn:- What is financial modeling? How companies use it for budgeting, valuation, and risk analysis.- Key components of a financial model – Historical data, assumptions, and financial statements.- Best practices for building strong models – Accuracy, structure, flexibility, and transparency.- Common pitfalls to avoid – Overcomplicated formulas, poor assumptions, and lack of error checks.- Real-world corporate finance examples – Microsoft's $68.7B acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Airbnb's pandemic survival strategy, Tesla's cash flow forecasting, and Apple's stock buyback program.Whether you're in FP&A, investment banking, private equity, or corporate finance, mastering financial modeling is a critical skill for making data-driven decisions. Learn how to build robust, practical, and strategic models used by top finance teams worldwide.#FinancialModeling #CorporateFinance #FinanceTips #BusinessStrategy #InvestmentBanking #FP&A #Microsoft #Tesla #Apple #Amazon #CFI

We've got a movie review! Mickey17 is out and I highly recommend it! Plus its a great placeholder before Verdansk returns to Warzone in a few weeks! Also in the news Pokémon GO is now somehow owned by the Saudis, Jeff Bezos really said FAFO, and even Minecraft is getting a popcorn bucket. Plus and Xbox handheld may be closer than you think, Kevin Conroy has another posthumous role, and major casting news for Spider-Man 4.

Brian Ward is the Group CEO of Savvy Games Group, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company leading investment and long-term growth in global gaming and esports.With nearly 30 years of experience, he previously led worldwide studios at Activision Blizzard and held key roles at Electronic Arts and Microsoft. Under Brian's leadership, Savvy has grown into a major player in the industry with 3,500 employees across 22 countries, aligning with Saudi Arabia's goal of becoming a global gaming and esports hub by 2030. 0:00 Intros6:23 Saudi Gaming Passion10:43 Skills & Benefits of Gaming14:05 VR & Innovation15:05 Industry Challenges16:55 Evolution of Games18:59 Sports & Brand Partnerships25:55 Personal Favorites31:37 Acquisition & Growth Success36:01 Horizontal Leadership38:08 Building a Talented Team40:05 Taking Risks & Being Adaptable46:03 Overcoming Career Labels47:07 Savvy's Mission & Esports Dominance53:22 Final Thoughts & Anecdotes

Brian Ward is the Group CEO of Savvy Games Group, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company leading investment and long-term growth in global gaming and esports. With nearly 30 years of experience, he previously led worldwide studios at Activision Blizzard and held key roles at Electronic Arts and Microsoft. Under Brian's leadership, Savvy has grown into a major player in the industry with 3,500 employees across 22 countries, aligning with Saudi Arabia's goal of becoming a global gaming and esports hub by 2030. 0:00 Intros6:23 Saudi Gaming Passion10:43 Skills Benefits of Gaming14:05 VR Innovation15:05 Industry Challenges16:55 Evolution of Games18:59 Sports Brand Partnerships25:55 Personal Favorites31:37 Acquisition Growth Success36:01 Horizontal Leadership38:08 Building a Talented Team40:05 Taking Risks Being Adaptable46:03 Overcoming Career Labels47:07 Savvy's Mission Esports Dominance53:22 Final Thoughts Anecdotes

Today on Lets Play: Daily Gaming News -Palworld's developer gives staff day off after Monster Hunter Wilds causes 'a series of mysterious reports from many employees that they may feel unwell'Pokémon Presents | 2.27.2025.Unions slam Bobby Kotick's claims that Activision Blizzard harassment reports were "fake"The Friday Re:Play -US game spending fell 15% to $4.5bn in January 2025 | US Monthly ChartsWarner Bros. is closing three game studios and canceling Wonder WomanTwitch reckons cheating while livestreaming is a "low severity" violationFollow Nate on Twitter @NateBenderama Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Nathan, Chris, and Luke convene on the eve – if we're measuring in podcast time – of Nathan's book release (Stream Big, available wherever books are sold) to talk mostly about other stuff. First up, Activision and former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick both got into dustups with CWA, the union that represents over 1,000 workers across Microsoft and Activision, with Kotick claiming that harassment suits against Activision Blizzard were “fake,” engineered to juice CWA membership, while – over here in the real world – CWA is working to get an Activision employee his job back after he was fired (allegedly) for talking about guns… at the company that makes Call of Duty. Hmmmm. Then we move on to Civilization VII, which Luke has many, many thoughts about, none of them positive. The game feels distinctly unfinished, he says – a sign of the times when even such a ubiquitous series no longer commands the time and resources necessary to emerge from the oven fully baked. After that, Chris tells us about a thing that rules: Lies of P, the Pinocchio-themed Bloodborne-like that's receiving DLC in the near future. Then we wrap it up by talking about our favorite interview moments, some of which might tie into Nathan's book (what are the odds?).    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, & Luke Plunkett - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath! About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that's too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris' frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don't know what else to tell you; it's a great time. Simply by reading this description, you're already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.

Was it just me or were the commercials at the Super Bowl just not as good as they used to be? Even movie trailers were lacking. Anyway, PlayStation had a state of play and announced another remaster of a game that's less than 10 years old (-_-). An American in a major Harry potter role? A law about movie roles? How bout no, and A new Rocksteady Batman???

Guest: Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard; and Bing Gordon, general partner at Kleiner PerkinsIn 2020, when President Trump signed the executive order that would ban TikTok in the U.S., Bobby Kotick called his old friend Steven Mnuchin. The former Secretary of the Treasury told him that, if TikTok's U.S. operations were to be sold to an American company, Microsoft would be the only bidder.A couple calls later, he reached ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming, who said he'd rather sell to Bobby than Microsoft. Concerned about his ability to get the deal done solo, Bobby called Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and offered to make a joint bid. Nadella declined, but added, “ if the deal doesn't get done, we should sit down and talk about us buying Activision.” TikTok currently remains Chinese-owned, but three years later, Microsoft paid $75 billion for Activision Blizzard.Chapters:Mentioned in this episode: Harvard-Westlake School, Alison Ressler, Vivendi, Berkshire Hathaway, Bruce Hack and Arnaud de Puyfontaine, John Riccitiello and EA, Call of Duty, Bizarre Creations, Atari, Apple II, Commodore 64, Jean-Louis Gassée, Apple Lisa, Howard Lincoln, Philips, Magnavox Odyssey, Sutter Hill Ventures, Infocom and Zork, Toys-R-Us, Howard Hughes, E. Parry Thomas, Sun Valley, Thom Weisel, William Morris Endeavor, Guitar Hero, Davidson & Associates, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham, World of Warcraft, Medal of Honor, Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, Chris Roberts, Overwatch, Tencent, Time Warner, Jeff Bewkes, Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In, Lina Khan, Samsung, Elon Musk, James L. Jones, UFC, E. Floyd Kvamme, Toy Story 2, Procter & Gamble, Ron Doornik, John Lasseter, Xerox PARC, Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, Goldeneye 007, James Bond, Barbara Broccoli, Oculus, Apple Vision Pro, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Sam Altman, Mustafa Suleyman, Spotify, Candy Crush Saga, Disney, Phil Spencer, Clarence Avant and Motown Records. Links:Connect with BobbyTwitterLinkedInConnect with BingTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Kole, Ben, Jala, and Moxie talk about Butcher's Creek, If on a Winter's Night, Four Travelers, Digseum, and much more! The Grind: Jala: Fire Emblem Heroes. Streets of Rage 4. The Complex. If On a Winter's Night, Four Travelers. Kole: Butcher's Creek. My Summer Car. Moxie: Dying Light 2. Ben: SNKRX. Liar's Bar. Digseum. The Multiplayer: What's your favorite nonstandard health system in a game? The End Boss: Marvel Snap coming back, will compensate players for outage. Someone at Activision Blizzard is feeding their coworkers to harassment networks. Mario logo color scheme math. 80% of developers are making their games for PC.

Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell go over the latest batch of preview updates for January 2025, including KB5050094! The big story of the week revolves around DeepSeek and its noticeable effects on the modern AI world. Sinofsky even wrote a big piece on the latest AI assistant! Windows 11 Preview updates for Windows 11, 10 arrive ahead of February Patch Tuesday Windows 11 - Taskbar preview improvements, Windows Studio Effects in the system tray, many File Explorer fixes, more Windows 10 - New Outlook replaces Mail, Calendar, People New Dev and Beta channel builds - Overdue battery icon updates in Dev, Snap Layout experiments in Beta New Canary build today with new File Explorer home view tab Microsoft to remove Dev Home from Windows - This never made sense, so that's fine, but its most important features will live on Microsoft Edge for Windows now has a Scareware blocker in preview AI DeepSeek explodes out of the gate, sends Big Tech/AI stock reeling and opening up questions about how much money these companies are spending on AI Nadella, Altman, Nvidia all react to this change in interesting ways Steve Sinofsky - This was inevitable, disruption always comes from outside Ahead of this blockbuster development, a look at how the Microsoft/OpenAI relationship is changing - and now we need another look OpenAI announces Operator agent for ChatGPT in preview Google is bringing new Gemini features to Android and Pixel Google is also bringing NotebookLM to almost every Workspace tier, including the cheap one I (Paul) use, NotebookLM Plus to WS Standard and better Microsoft Microsoft preps smaller Surface Pro and Laptop models with Snapdragon chips for some reason Microsoft is closing its UK-based "experience center" Xbox Thanks to Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is the biggest game publisher in the world Phil Spencer: Xbox Series S a "real advantage" for coming portable gaming product Phil Spencer says hardware still "critical" to Xbox. More like "critical condition," am I right? No surprises at Xbox Developer_Direct, but a solid collection of games, including the new DOOM Tips and Picks Tip of the week: It's time to start watching Dave's Garage App pick of the week: PowerToys, now with Zoomit RunAs Radio this week: Querying for Breaches with Mark Morowcyznski Brown liquor pick of the week: Blair Athol 12 Floral & Fauna Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: Melissa.com/twit

Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell go over the latest batch of preview updates for January 2025, including KB5050094! The big story of the week revolves around DeepSeek and its noticeable effects on the modern AI world. Sinofsky even wrote a big piece on the latest AI assistant! Windows 11 Preview updates for Windows 11, 10 arrive ahead of February Patch Tuesday Windows 11 - Taskbar preview improvements, Windows Studio Effects in the system tray, many File Explorer fixes, more Windows 10 - New Outlook replaces Mail, Calendar, People New Dev and Beta channel builds - Overdue battery icon updates in Dev, Snap Layout experiments in Beta New Canary build today with new File Explorer home view tab Microsoft to remove Dev Home from Windows - This never made sense, so that's fine, but its most important features will live on Microsoft Edge for Windows now has a Scareware blocker in preview AI DeepSeek explodes out of the gate, sends Big Tech/AI stock reeling and opening up questions about how much money these companies are spending on AI Nadella, Altman, Nvidia all react to this change in interesting ways Steve Sinofsky - This was inevitable, disruption always comes from outside Ahead of this blockbuster development, a look at how the Microsoft/OpenAI relationship is changing - and now we need another look OpenAI announces Operator agent for ChatGPT in preview Google is bringing new Gemini features to Android and Pixel Google is also bringing NotebookLM to almost every Workspace tier, including the cheap one I (Paul) use, NotebookLM Plus to WS Standard and better Microsoft Microsoft preps smaller Surface Pro and Laptop models with Snapdragon chips for some reason Microsoft is closing its UK-based "experience center" Xbox Thanks to Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is the biggest game publisher in the world Phil Spencer: Xbox Series S a "real advantage" for coming portable gaming product Phil Spencer says hardware still "critical" to Xbox. More like "critical condition," am I right? No surprises at Xbox Developer_Direct, but a solid collection of games, including the new DOOM Tips and Picks Tip of the week: It's time to start watching Dave's Garage App pick of the week: PowerToys, now with Zoomit RunAs Radio this week: Querying for Breaches with Mark Morowcyznski Brown liquor pick of the week: Blair Athol 12 Floral & Fauna Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: Melissa.com/twit

Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell go over the latest batch of preview updates for January 2025, including KB5050094! The big story of the week revolves around DeepSeek and its noticeable effects on the modern AI world. Sinofsky even wrote a big piece on the latest AI assistant! Windows 11 Preview updates for Windows 11, 10 arrive ahead of February Patch Tuesday Windows 11 - Taskbar preview improvements, Windows Studio Effects in the system tray, many File Explorer fixes, more Windows 10 - New Outlook replaces Mail, Calendar, People New Dev and Beta channel builds - Overdue battery icon updates in Dev, Snap Layout experiments in Beta New Canary build today with new File Explorer home view tab Microsoft to remove Dev Home from Windows - This never made sense, so that's fine, but its most important features will live on Microsoft Edge for Windows now has a Scareware blocker in preview AI DeepSeek explodes out of the gate, sends Big Tech/AI stock reeling and opening up questions about how much money these companies are spending on AI Nadella, Altman, Nvidia all react to this change in interesting ways Steve Sinofsky - This was inevitable, disruption always comes from outside Ahead of this blockbuster development, a look at how the Microsoft/OpenAI relationship is changing - and now we need another look OpenAI announces Operator agent for ChatGPT in preview Google is bringing new Gemini features to Android and Pixel Google is also bringing NotebookLM to almost every Workspace tier, including the cheap one I (Paul) use, NotebookLM Plus to WS Standard and better Microsoft Microsoft preps smaller Surface Pro and Laptop models with Snapdragon chips for some reason Microsoft is closing its UK-based "experience center" Xbox Thanks to Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is the biggest game publisher in the world Phil Spencer: Xbox Series S a "real advantage" for coming portable gaming product Phil Spencer says hardware still "critical" to Xbox. More like "critical condition," am I right? No surprises at Xbox Developer_Direct, but a solid collection of games, including the new DOOM Tips and Picks Tip of the week: It's time to start watching Dave's Garage App pick of the week: PowerToys, now with Zoomit RunAs Radio this week: Querying for Breaches with Mark Morowcyznski Brown liquor pick of the week: Blair Athol 12 Floral & Fauna Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: Melissa.com/twit

Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell go over the latest batch of preview updates for January 2025, including KB5050094! The big story of the week revolves around DeepSeek and its noticeable effects on the modern AI world. Sinofsky even wrote a big piece on the latest AI assistant! Windows 11 Preview updates for Windows 11, 10 arrive ahead of February Patch Tuesday Windows 11 - Taskbar preview improvements, Windows Studio Effects in the system tray, many File Explorer fixes, more Windows 10 - New Outlook replaces Mail, Calendar, People New Dev and Beta channel builds - Overdue battery icon updates in Dev, Snap Layout experiments in Beta New Canary build today with new File Explorer home view tab Microsoft to remove Dev Home from Windows - This never made sense, so that's fine, but its most important features will live on Microsoft Edge for Windows now has a Scareware blocker in preview AI DeepSeek explodes out of the gate, sends Big Tech/AI stock reeling and opening up questions about how much money these companies are spending on AI Nadella, Altman, Nvidia all react to this change in interesting ways Steve Sinofsky - This was inevitable, disruption always comes from outside Ahead of this blockbuster development, a look at how the Microsoft/OpenAI relationship is changing - and now we need another look OpenAI announces Operator agent for ChatGPT in preview Google is bringing new Gemini features to Android and Pixel Google is also bringing NotebookLM to almost every Workspace tier, including the cheap one I (Paul) use, NotebookLM Plus to WS Standard and better Microsoft Microsoft preps smaller Surface Pro and Laptop models with Snapdragon chips for some reason Microsoft is closing its UK-based "experience center" Xbox Thanks to Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is the biggest game publisher in the world Phil Spencer: Xbox Series S a "real advantage" for coming portable gaming product Phil Spencer says hardware still "critical" to Xbox. More like "critical condition," am I right? No surprises at Xbox Developer_Direct, but a solid collection of games, including the new DOOM Tips and Picks Tip of the week: It's time to start watching Dave's Garage App pick of the week: PowerToys, now with Zoomit RunAs Radio this week: Querying for Breaches with Mark Morowcyznski Brown liquor pick of the week: Blair Athol 12 Floral & Fauna Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: Melissa.com/twit

We heard you missed us. We're back. Windows Microsoft declares 2025 the "year of the Windows 11 PC refresh." As likely as "year of the Linux desktop" The theory: Windows 10 EOL, AI PCs, lingering security fears from CrowdStrike The issue: Windows 10 has 63 usage share right now. At this point in time, Windows 7 had only 25 percent usage share (and was in second place, not first) Intel joins in on this fever dream but we've stopped listening More interesting: AMD is kicking ass and taking names. And we thought the existing chips were good (they are). Related to this, PC makers are embracing AMD like never before. Check out HP's workstations (including laptops) Microsoft is blocking the 24H2 update on PCs with Auto HDR enabled New Canary and Beta builds ring in the New Year Not that it matters, but Windows 11 almost had Vista Ultimate Extras-like dynamic wallpapers Dell kills XPS and all its other PC brands because Dell is stupid and doesn't know what it had Arm & PCs Qualcomm defeated Arm Holdings in licensing dispute court case. And, yes, it won big time, contrary to Arm's nonsense Qualcomm announces an even lower-end Snapdragon X chip for $600 PCs, so ASUS announces an $1100 laptop that uses it Snapdragon Dev Kit update Part 2 of Paul's history of Windows on Arm is up New Arm PCs announced, including desktops. Ahead of CES, Geekom jumped the gun and said it was coming out with a Snapdragon X-based NUC. Lenovo has a NUC/SFF NVIDIA and MediaTek confirm partnership on Arm chips for PCs Microsoft 365 First, GitHub Copilot, but now Microsoft 365 Copilot will allegedly stop using OpenAI exclusively Microsoft reveals (confirms) it will spend $80 billion on AI infrastructure in FY 2025 as it suckles up to Trump like the rest of the tech industry Microsoft and OpenAI allegedly tied AGI milestone to profits, not intelligence Xbox & Gaming Microsoft discusses a console-like experience for Windows handheld gaming. Tied to that, a new generation of handheld gaming PCs is on the way Xbox Game Pass says Happy New Year with a full slate of Activision Blizzard titles. Just kidding NVIDIA announces new graphics cards for PCs No one wants this, but Xbox is coming to LG smart TVs Xbox Rewards shuffles the deck chairs, hopes no one notices it's worse now Tips & Picks Tip of the week: Spend a little, upgrade to Windows 11 App pick of the week: Microsoft PowerToys RunAs Radio this week: Least Privilege in 2025 with Bailey Bercik Brown liquor pick of the week: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: uscloud.com zscaler.com/security

We heard you missed us. We're back. Windows Microsoft declares 2025 the "year of the Windows 11 PC refresh." As likely as "year of the Linux desktop" The theory: Windows 10 EOL, AI PCs, lingering security fears from CrowdStrike The issue: Windows 10 has 63 usage share right now. At this point in time, Windows 7 had only 25 percent usage share (and was in second place, not first) Intel joins in on this fever dream but we've stopped listening More interesting: AMD is kicking ass and taking names. And we thought the existing chips were good (they are). Related to this, PC makers are embracing AMD like never before. Check out HP's workstations (including laptops) Microsoft is blocking the 24H2 update on PCs with Auto HDR enabled New Canary and Beta builds ring in the New Year Not that it matters, but Windows 11 almost had Vista Ultimate Extras-like dynamic wallpapers Dell kills XPS and all its other PC brands because Dell is stupid and doesn't know what it had Arm & PCs Qualcomm defeated Arm Holdings in licensing dispute court case. And, yes, it won big time, contrary to Arm's nonsense Qualcomm announces an even lower-end Snapdragon X chip for $600 PCs, so ASUS announces an $1100 laptop that uses it Snapdragon Dev Kit update Part 2 of Paul's history of Windows on Arm is up New Arm PCs announced, including desktops. Ahead of CES, Geekom jumped the gun and said it was coming out with a Snapdragon X-based NUC. Lenovo has a NUC/SFF NVIDIA and MediaTek confirm partnership on Arm chips for PCs Microsoft 365 First, GitHub Copilot, but now Microsoft 365 Copilot will allegedly stop using OpenAI exclusively Microsoft reveals (confirms) it will spend $80 billion on AI infrastructure in FY 2025 as it suckles up to Trump like the rest of the tech industry Microsoft and OpenAI allegedly tied AGI milestone to profits, not intelligence Xbox & Gaming Microsoft discusses a console-like experience for Windows handheld gaming. Tied to that, a new generation of handheld gaming PCs is on the way Xbox Game Pass says Happy New Year with a full slate of Activision Blizzard titles. Just kidding NVIDIA announces new graphics cards for PCs No one wants this, but Xbox is coming to LG smart TVs Xbox Rewards shuffles the deck chairs, hopes no one notices it's worse now Tips & Picks Tip of the week: Spend a little, upgrade to Windows 11 App pick of the week: Microsoft PowerToys RunAs Radio this week: Least Privilege in 2025 with Bailey Bercik Brown liquor pick of the week: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: uscloud.com zscaler.com/security

Real-time translation, AI steak video, The Great Circle Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/912 Sponsors: uscloud.com cachefly.com/twit