News Mash-Up - Week #26

• • Microsoft  and Activision Blizzard's rivalry is still ongoing as the FTC hearing began with a week of testimonials. As it turns out, FTC has been granted a temporary block with the FTC arguing that Microsoft's ownership of Activision will impact competition in the console space and affect consumers.
    Over the course of five days, several fascinating facts have come to life: 

• • • Activision successfully negotiated an 80/20 commission split for games sold 
    • Xbox VP confirmed Xbox Game Cloud is used primarily as a temporary service
    • Xbox expects the 10th console to start in 2028
    • The Activision deal would give Microsoft a step into the mobile market
    • Microsoft acquired Bethesda after it learned that Sony was planning an exclusive release of Starfield
    • Microsoft was considering numerous companies before deciding on Activision Blizzard
    • Call of Duty hit the records with $800M in Sony’s 2021 US revenues and $1.5B globally.
    • Sony banned Roblox from tap into into the PlayStation platform in concern for child safety. 
      
      
  • Alan Wake II is said to have a digital release only. Bethesda verified to Eurogamer that Starfield's physical Standard Edition for Xbox will contain a disc, however the physical Standard Edition for PC will include a digital download code for the game. 
    
    
  • Engine Maker Unity has revealed Unity Muse and Unity Sentis, its new AI development resource tools. Real time 3D applications, including video games, may be created more quickly thanks to Muse, a platform. The company stated that it wants users to be able to create anything in the Unity Editor using the application. 
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Week commencing Monday 03 July 2023