Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi talks about reuniting with Square Enix to bring his company Mistwalker's Apple Arcade RPG Fantasian to PC and consoles — More than two decades ago, video-game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi parted ways with the company now called Square Enix Holding Co. At the time, it was an unexpected move.
A look at Meta's struggles to attract influencers to Threads, due to the platform's focus on text and its lack of a clear purpose for users — Threads launched a year ago Friday but has a fraction of the users of Meta's other platforms. Content creators say they don't consider it important.
TRM: cryptocurrency stolen through hacks more than doubled to $1.38N in H1 2024 from a year earlier; five large attacks accounted for 70% of the crypto stolen — - Attack on Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin was biggest in 2024 — Amount is still below the record 2022 level, TRM says
Epic says Apple is impeding its attempts to set up a games store on iPhones and iPads in Europe and that it has shared its concerns with the European Commission — “Fortnite” maker Epic Games said on Friday Apple was impeding its attempts to set up a games store on iPhones and iPads in Europe …
The EC asks Amazon to provide more information on its compliance with DSA provisions concerning the transparency of Amazon's recommender systems by July 26 — The European Commission said on Friday it had requesting Amazon (AMZN.O) provide more information on the measures the U.S. e-commerce giant …
YouTube releases an updated Erase Song tool for creators that uses AI to detect and remove any copyrighted music from their videos without impacting other audio — On July 4, YouTube released an updated eraser tool for creators so they can easily remove any copyrighted music …
Evan Blass leaks Samsung's entire specs sheets and marketing materials for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, expected at its Unpacked event on July 10 — We're only one week away from Samsung's next Unpacked event on July 10th, where we're expecting the company's Galaxy Z Fold 6 …
A look at the inaugural Esports World Cup, a multi-genre tournament in Riyadh funded by Saudi Arabia, featuring 1,500+ gamers and a record $60M+ prize pool — - Esports World Cup has record prize pool of $60 million — Crown Prince MBS wants to build esports capital in Riyadh
A look at a16z's Crypto Startup Accelerator, a Y Combinator-style program that provides $500K in funding and 10 weeks of coaching, most recently in London — Andreessen Horowitz is betting the house on crypto. (Yes, really.) This spring, the VC firm schooled a new batch of founders …
WIPO: between 2014 and 2023, 54K generative AI patents were filed, 25% of which were filed in 2023; China leads with 38K+ patents, followed by the US with 6,276 — China is far ahead of other countries in generative AI inventions like chatbots, filing six times more patents than its closest rival …
Reddit users: Netflix is following through on its plan to phase out its cheapest $11.99/month ad-free tier, instead pushing its $6.99, $15.49, and $22.99 tiers — Netflix is following through on its plan to phase out its cheapest ad-free tier for existing subscribers.
Proton launches Docs in Proton Drive, a privacy-focused alternate to Google Docs, after acquiring secure note-taking app Standard Notes in April 2024 — Proton, the Swiss-based pro-privacy productivity app maker, has a new feather in its cap after bringing document creation …
A look at why Japan, due to its culture and employment laws, is not undergoing mass layoffs in the gaming industry as Microsoft owned Tango Gameworks closes — After Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks, we look at the reasons why Japan has otherwise been sheltered (but not immune) to many of the layoffs and trends seen further afield
A look at the national security fears around Microsoft's deal with Abu Dhabi's G42, including US DOD's skepticism that G42 will entirely uncouple from China — US officials see the Microsoft-G42 partnership as way to help Washington combat Beijing's influence in the Global South. — LEARN MORE
VFX company DNEG raised $200M from Abu Dhabi's UASG at a $2B valuation, to expand its division Brahma, which is developing an AI-powered, photo-real CGI creator — London-based The DNEG Group has secured a $200M capital injection from Abu Dhabi investment firm United Al Saqer Group (UASG).
Riley Griffin / Bloomberg : Mark Zuckerberg lamented the rise of “culturally neutered” companies that have sought to distance themselves ...
