Axios

2023 has the potential to be one of gaming’s grandest years.

Driving the news: An abundance of major game delays in the past 12 months has set up an unprecedented cascade of releases for 2023 — a year that will also see the completion or collapse of the biggest attempted video game merger of all time.

The latest group of game developers to try to form a union at an Activision Blizzard studio is hitting a familiar snag.

Driving the news: After workers at Proletariat Inc., a Boston-based game studio that’s part of Activision Blizzard, took steps to organize, studio leaders have declined to voluntarily recognize the union. Instead they are asking the National Labor Relations Board to administer an anonymous vote.

Over the next two weeks, a group of nations is trying to answer one of the most basic questions in cybersecurity: What exactly is considered cybercrime?

Driving the news: A United Nations committee — whose members include delegates from the U.S., China and Russia — is meeting throughout this week and next to continue negotiations for a new international cybercrime treaty.

Malicious hackers are already using the flashy new AI chatbot, ChatGPT, to create new low-level cyber tools, including malware and encryption scripts, according to a recent report.

Why it matters: Security experts have been warning that OpenAI's ChatGPT tool could help cybercriminals speed up their attacks, and it all happened fast.

The arrival of generative artificial intelligence technologies heralds a once-a-decade platform shift as big as the advent of the smartphone or the Web, many tech observers believe.

Yes, but: The wave of investment and hype recalls similar recent surges around Web3 and the metaverse. Those projects are now faltering, and the jury is out on whether the new AI boom will pay off.

Crypto shops weary from last year's sequence of unfortunate events likely have strenuous regulatory calisthenics waiting for them, and executives see compliance costs rising across the board.

Why it matters: Regulators' hawkish stance on the industry signals a coming torrent of enforcement action — one that the major exchanges might be able to withstand, but that could choke out smaller firms, their products, or shrink the number of jurisdictions they operate in.

House Republicans plan to launch a new investigative panel this week that will demand copies of White House emails, memos and other communications with Big Tech companies, top sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans a quick spate of red-meat actions and announcements to reward hardliners who backed him through his harrowing fight for the gavel.

TikTok enters 2023 facing deepening doubts in Washington about its future in the U.S. thanks to its ownership by China-based ByteDance.

Why it matters: The short-video colossus now dominates the American social media landscape, raising concerns among lawmakers, competitors and users over data security, privacy and freedom of speech.

Seattle Public Schools is suing social media companies including TikTok and Meta, saying the tech giants' "misconduct has been a substantial factor in causing a youth mental health crisis."

Driving the news: "This mental health crisis is no accident. It is the result of the Defendants’ deliberate choices and affirmative actions to design and market their social media platforms to attract youth," the lawsuit states.