Paul Reiche, the former head of Activision studio Toys for Bob, is questioning the path forward for current Activision leadership, amid calls for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign.
Why it matters: Activision's current studio heads have not commented on this week's explosive allegations in the Wall Street Journal that Kotick knew of sexual misconduct at the company.
The developers of the much-delayed "Halo Infinite" spent an unexpected extra year polishing their game ahead of its December 2021 launch, but restrained themselves from making massive changes.
Why it matters: In an era of games that are rushed to release, the team for "Halo Infinite" got to explore what happens when the publisher hits the brakes.
Big Tech giants and their adversaries are both trying to enlist a powerful constituency in their battle over looming antitrust legislation: small businesses.
Why it matters: Small businesses can have outsize sway with Washington lawmakers, and the fight for their support will shape the fate of Congress' crusade to limit tech power.
A new report from Kagan, the media research unit of S&P Global, shows that broadband subscriber growth has "cooled significantly in the third quarter," stalling in growth for the first time in three years.
Why it matters: The decline can be attributed to "a difficult comparison with the booming gains of 2020," the report says.
Starting today, drones shaped like miniature airplanes will drop packages of 4 pounds or less in customers' yards when they order from a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Northwest Arkansas.
Why it matters: The era of ubiquitous delivery by drone is inching forward, with scattered pilot programs involving pizzas and other light shipments — and the imprimatur of Walmart on this service is a big deal.
A coalition of state attorneys general is launching an investigation into how Instagram, owned by Meta, draws in young users and affects their well-being, some of the states involved announced Thursday.
Why it matters:Meta has made it clear it wants to entice young users in order to compete with companies that have been more popular with kids and teenagers, like TikTok and Snapchat.
New data finds the share of audio consumed by people ages 13+ in the U.S. that includes the spoken word — podcasts, audiobooks, live talk shows, etc. — has increased by 40% since 2014, while the share of music vs other mediums has decreased by 8 percentage points in that time.
Why it matters: Streaming has made it much easier for consumers to convert hobbies from the analog world, like listening to the radio or reading a book, to the digital world.
Subscriber growth slowed last quarter for most of the major streaming services, prompting analysts to consider whether the subscription streamers are prepared to compete globally as the U.S. market saturates.
Why it matters: "Consumers sampled many different SVODs during the height of the pandemic. Churn is a challenge as consumers get back to a new normal routine," said Andrew Hare, SVP of research for global media & entertainment at media research firm Magid.
Facebook on Thursday said it is expanding the controls it gives advertisers to make it easier for them to limit the types of News Feed content their ads show up next to. Excludable categories include news and politics, tragedy and conflict and debated social issues.
Why it matters: The move ispart of a wider effort by Facebook to help advertisers avoid misinformation, hate speech or other content that may not be deemed "brand safe."
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursdayto require phone companies to route text messages sent to "988" to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Why it matters: By making it easier to text the Lifeline, the FCC aims to increase accessibility for communities at a higher risk of suicide and mental health crises.
The artificial intelligence research company OpenAI will eliminate the waiting list for access to the API of its natural language processing program (NLP) GPT-3.
Why it matters: The move will accelerate access to the world's best-known reading and writing AI model, and is a sign that OpenAI believes the program is safe enough — and can be monitored sufficiently — to be disseminated more widely.
A federal move to promote texting the national suicide hotline for help could strain crisis center capacity.
Why it matters: Texting can make reaching help more accessible for vulnerable communities, including young people and members of the LGBTQ community, but many insist the system will need more resources.
Crypto has gone Hollywood, and vice versa, as the two industries are deepening their financial and strategic ties.
The big picture: For crypto, these partnerships are about building brand awareness. For entertainers and entertainment companies, it's about fear of missing out on the next big thing.
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