Tech companies dream of creating a virtual reality metaverse, but the current best use of VR is something far more quotidian: job training.
The big picture: VR offers everyone from NFL quarterbacks to Walmart sales associates a relatively inexpensive, scalable way to practice their job skills within a programmable virtual space.
In its seventh year, the writers of hit sci-fi war game "Destiny 2" have implemented— and mastered —the ability to tell players an interesting, episodic story that advances week by week.
Why it matters: Storytelling in games is often an afterthought, but two of the game’s lead writers tell Axios that one of their keys to success has been the narrative team’s work with the rest of the game’s creators.
A group of tech and gaming workers have slammed Activision Blizzard's planned settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying an $18 million compensation fund for employees who were harassed or discriminated against is not enough.
YouTube is beefing up its misinformation policies to crack down on anti-vaccine misinformation beyond COVID-19 vaccinations, executives told Axios.
Why it matters: Under the new policy, YouTube will terminate the channels of what it calls prominent vaccine misinformation spreaders, including the channel of the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-affiliated Children's Health Defense.
A majority of voters in battleground districts and states agree Big Tech companies are monopolies with too much power, according to new data shared exclusively with Axios — but those same voters are divided on what Congress should do in response.
Amazon added an experimental home robot to its line of Alexa-powered devices as part of a broad hardware launch that also included a home security drone and a combination projector/video chat device designed to bring kids closer to remote relatives by letting them play and read together.
The big picture: As usual, Amazon's fall lineup includes updates and extensions to its mainstream products as well as niche devices that push the envelope.
Reggaetón is more than just party music, it's "a story about la resistencia. Resistance," says Puerto Rican icon Ivy Queen in the first episode of the new podcast, "Loud."
Why it matters: The podcast comes as the genre's influence looms too large to ignore, with reggaetón rapper Bad Bunny named Spotify's most-streamed artist in 2020 and the music serving as the soundtrack to the movement that took down a Puerto Rican governor.
TikTok on Monday said that it has amassed more than 1 billion monthly active users in its short lifetime, joining an exclusive club of apps that have already reached that size.
Why it matters: TikTok has continued to grow despite enormous pressure from regulators around the globe and increased competition from copycat products built by its competitors.
Facebook on Monday said it will invest $50 million over two years in global research and program partners to ensure its metaverse products "are developed responsibly."
Why it matters: "It's almost the opposite of that now long-abandoned slogan of 'move fast and break things,'" Facebook's VP of global affairs Nick Clegg told Axios in an interview at The Atlantic Festival Monday.
Facebook's announcement Monday that it was "pausing development" on Instagram Kids did little to slow a wave of criticism of the project ahead of a Senate hearing Thursday.
Yes, but: There's an argument to be made for building kids' versions of popular apps, even if their adult versions are causing real-world harms.
Activision Blizzard announced plans Monday to settle a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hours after it was filed.
Why it matters: This is Activision's most visible acknowledgment of problems at the company, in the wake of a series of workplace misconduct lawsuits, complaints and investigations initiated against the "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" maker since the summer.
