Meta to offer ad-free Facebook, Instagram subscriptions in Europe

This is the era of AI-powered chatbots. After the success of ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Copilot (formerly Bing AI), most tech platforms rushed to integrate similar tools. Discord got Clyde AI (which is soon going to be shut down), Snapchat introduced My AI, and China's Baidu launched its Ernie chatbot. Now, it's the turn of WhatsApp. As per reports, the instant messaging platform will soon get an AI chatbot too, and the latest beta version of the app also features a dedicated button to quickly launch it.

Half-Life will turn 25 years old on Nov. 19, and Valve is reflecting on this milestone with a surprising, yet fully deserved amount of pomp. The studio’s first game is not only free to download and keep, but it just got a big update full of additions, as well as bug fixes that have been hanging out in the code for the past quarter century.

Ubisoft has a number of Assassin’s Creed games in the works, several of which are trying new things that the franchise hasn’t dabbled much with much in the past. Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, for instance, represents the series’ first foray into virtual reality, and the game is now available on Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and Meta Quest Pro headsets. Check out the launch trailer below, which offers a glimpse of what its stealth, combat, and parkour look like in VR.

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The EU added Meta and Snap to a growing list of tech companies it is probing to see how they are complying with a new law meant to stop illegal content online. The European Commission said it has sent formal requests for information to Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, and Snap, which runs the Snapchat image and messaging app, on what measures they have taken to protect minors online. They have until December 1 to reply.

 Google — under fire in court for allegedly resting on its laurels thanks to its 90% market dominance — only made an effort to beef up the quality of its search engine in the European Union after being hit by a record antitrust fine, according to internal documents revealed in the US Justice Department's monopolization case against the tech giant.

Age of Wonders 4, easily Triumph's best 4X, received a meaty free update alongside its premium expansion this week. The expansion itself is pretty tantalising, introducing a new form with the Avians, the Reaver culture, new tomes and a whole lot more, but the free update feels almost as significant. 

Amazon and Facebook owner Meta have both voluntarily committed to changes to their retail platforms to help "protect fair competition", Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Friday.

PowerWash Simulator has made the jump to virtual reality with its new release on the Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro headsets. Developer FuturLab worked with nDreams to bring the game to VR. Check out the new trailer for PowerWash Simulator VR below.

The European data regulator has agreed to extend a ban imposed by non-EU member Norway on "behavioural advertising" on Facebook and Instagram to cover all 30 countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area, it said on Wednesday.

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) — all 66 pages of it — was activated almost exactly a year ago, became generally applicable this year on May 2, and will start to be enforced around March of next year. Its aim, of course, is to regulate major online platforms and gatekeepers, and the goal is to establish fair competition, consumer protection and data privacy. It’s pretty certain that the online global gaming industry, in which developers and game studios are profoundly affected by platform dynamics, will feel the brunt of the changes wrought by the DMA.

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