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Epic Games founder and majority stakeholder Tim Sweeney took to Twitter to congratulate Microsoft for overtaking Apple as the world's most valuable company by market value. He also criticized Apple and Google in the same tweet.

Xbox maker Microsoft surpassed Apple this week to become the world’s most valuable company in terms of market value.

Pokemon has a weird thing with father figures, stemming all the way back to the release of the Pokemon anime and Ash Ketchum's constantly missing dad. Throughout most of the games, you only have your mother as a parental figure, as it seems like every main character's father just suddenly vanishes upon turning 10. Thankfully, other Pokemon characters have much more supportive father figures, including Penny from Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

A new miniature console based on the Atari 400 has been announced by the makers of the C64 Mini and Amiga 500 Mini.

Game designer Jennell Jaquays, who was a level designer on Quake 2 and 3, the writer of notable Dungeons & Dragons adventures and more, has died at the age of 67. 

A return to the zombie-infested world of 28 Days Later has long been rumored, but we finally have something concrete. A sequel is in the works with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, who directed and wrote the 2002 original movie respectively, working on the third film, 28 Years Later.

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HBO's The Last of Us has finally unveiled its Abby and it's Kaitlyn Dever, the actor known for her roles in Booksmart, No One Will Save You, and that other Naughty Dog game you may have heard of, Uncharted 4.

Warner Bros. has teased plans to release more games based on in its Wizarding World franchise following Hogwarts Legacy’s success.

Nvidia revealed the GeForce RTX 40 Super Series of GPUs at CES in Las Vegas on Monday.

To say that there was a lot of intrigue going into the latest edition of the award show slate would be an understatement, and sadly, it was a tale of “Two Shows.” You see, at the “Creative Arts Emmys,” The Last Of Us won eight times, including for many of their actors. However, the next night at The Golden Globes, the show didn’t get a single victory, which many will see as odd for one reason or another. However, one of the victories the show got at the Creative Arts Emmy was for Nick Offerman’s role as Bill in the first season’s iconic third episode.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

HBO’s The Last of Us TV series has won 8 Creative Arts Emmys.

All good Metroidvanias must eventually make their way to Nintendo Switch, and that’s the next stop for GRIME. Publisher Akupara Games and developer Clover Bite announced that the side-scrolling action-RPG is coming to Switch on January 25. 

Best deals on top 10 room heaters: In the chilly months of January, room heaters are like warm hugs for your home, making it a snug retreat. These little gadgets do a great job of keeping you toasty when it's freezing outside. There are different types of room heaters, like radiant heaters, convection heaters, or fan-forced heaters, and they come in all shapes and sizes, offering various technologies with unique benefits. Filament room heaters provide instant warmth, oil-filled radiators are energy-efficient, and halogen room heaters give you a quick and comfy embrace.

Consumer Softproducts’ follow-up to 2021’s shared fever dream, Cruelty Squad, is now listed on Steam. Psycho Patrol R is now available for wishlisting, though there is no announced release window.

As someone who desperately wanted the highly sought-after Buzz Lightyear toy after seeing Toy Story at the cinema as a kid, I know there's nothing quite like getting physical versions of characters from movies and games you love. Mario Kart has been that for multiple generations, but never more so than right now following the racing sequence from The Super Mario Bros. Movie. No sequel in 2024, nor any news on the next Mario Kart game, but we are getting some new Mario Kart Hot Wheels toys.

Followers of the movie release calendar just can’t get a moment’s peace: As soon as COVID-19-era disruptions were smoothed out and production pipelines mostly restored in 2023, a lengthy two-guild strike threw everything out of whack again. Delays, shifts, and cancellations galore added to the usual mix of theatrical releases and (fewer, but still notable) direct-to-streaming productions.

India enacted new laws on data privacy and storage as it moved to a higher gear to safeguard users and define the compliance framework for BigTech in 2023 when technology galloped at an unprecedented pace.

Making money online should be a relatively simple process. You provide your goods and services, those interested purchase them, and there’s usually some division of the profits between you and the distributor.

Limited Run Games has been working tirelessly to re-release a bunch of retro classics, both in physical and digital format. Unfortunately, it seems even the preservation specialist’s efforts have a shelf life. Writing on Twitter earlier this week, CEO Josh Fairhurst revealed that Bill & Ted’s Excellent Retro Collection will be removed from the PS Store on 1st January – despite it launching less than a year ago!

Season’s greetings, Polygon readers. We’re smack-dab in the sleepy, liminal interzone between the Christmas holiday and New Year’s Eve. Be that as it may, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple new movies on streaming to watch this weekend as we barrell into 2024.

Diablo 4 has given us many incredible challenges, breathtaking cinematics, and most of all — memorable boss fights. We're ranking the top 10 hardest bosses in Diablo 4: from campaign encounters to pinnacle conquests, there's a boss for everyone! Diablo 4 Boss Guide Hub Diablo 4 Campaign Overview

It’s the final days of 2023, and voices everywhere are predicting the final days of the superhero movie. Even that bastion of the mainstream, the New York Times, is getting in on the eulogies. It’s no wonder, with this year’s solid string of financial and critical flops ebbing into 2024’s low-tide lineup of a mere three “interconnected universe” movies, Deadpool 3, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter.

With 2023 nearing its end, it is safe to say that artificial intelligence (AI) has been the buzzword of the year. Throughout the year, we've not only seen the rise of AI chatbots, but also the integration of AI into legacy applications such as Microsoft Office, and Adobe Photoshop. New AI tools have also surfaced, that make light work of tasks like image generation, and copywriting. One such AI-powered tool that aims to automate your social media content creation and AI marketing is Copy.ai. Know what is it and how it works.

Alphabet Inc.'s Google considered changing its app store pricing model to circumvent a regulatory crackdown, but abandoned a proposal to charge a set fee per app after it became clear that could cost the company billions of dollars, according to documents released late Thursday.

What has been a bizarre development and release saga for The Day Before is coming to an end, after it has been announced by Mytona that the game will shutdown on January 22nd. The Day Before was billed as an open world survival MMO, but the actual released game was far from what was expected, receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews. The game was released on December 7th, yet a few days later developer Fntastic closed its doors.

Steam’s Winter Sale 2023 is now live.

Have you or someone you know been a victim of fraud? If so, that's not unusual. The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a rise of 25 per cent in the number of fraud offences in 2021 compared to 2020 in the UK. Representing over 40 per cent of all crimes against individuals, fraud is the most common crime in the UK.

The Indian Telecommunications Bill 2023, also known as the Telecom Bill 2023, was tabled by the Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw earlier today, and it has been passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill, which seeks to supersede the existing regulations, was presented and cleared during the Winter Session of Parliament. The new legislation is intended to serve as a replacement for three existing Acts: the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act of 1950. The bill grants the government more power over telecom services in the interest of national security. Let us take a look at the major highlights of the bill and how it may shape the telecom industry in the coming years.

Playstation CEO Jim Ryan has recently sold a certain number of shares of his stock in the Sony.

A trade group that represents TikTok and other major tech companies sued Utah on Monday over its first-in-the-nation laws requiring children and teens to obtain parental consent to use social media apps.

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

 India aims to reform its century-old telecommunications law by introducing a new bill as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to make the sector investor friendly. The government is exploring abolishing the concept of licensing with “authorization,” said a person familiar with the matter, who requested not to be identified as the bill is before lawmakers. This is expected to give the government flexibility to cope with advances made in technology.

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Sony has updated the Last Chance to Play section of the PS Plus Extra tab on PS5, revealing what games will be leaving the service in January. Nine titles will be banished, with the biggest losses being Devil May Cry 5 and It Takes Two. The full list looks like this:

The saga of Lawrence Sullivan, AKA the «Florida Joker», continues, as the self-appointed supervillain has again upped the ante in his effort to extract money from Rockstar Games for allegedly using his likeness in GTA 6. Dying his hair purple and donning an orange prison jumpsuit, Sullivan is adding to Rockstar's alleged bill, which he's now set at $3 million, issuing a three-day deadline for compliance before his lawyers «go crazy on this case».

Eiyuden Chronicle was first unveiled three and a half years ago, but players haven’t had many opportunities to get their hands on this fabled RPG. It was billed as a spiritual successor to Konami’s Suikoden series, the signature title from Rabbit & Bear Studios. To fill the void from the announcement until its inevitable release, Eiyuden Chronicle launched a spinoff action RPG known as Eiyuden Chronicle Rising to set the stage. 

Missed Black Friday deals on Portable Power Station? Guess what, Christmas savings are coming. BLUETTI, a leading brand in portable power solutions, is giving you one last chance to get the power station of your dreams at a massive discount, up to 38% off during Dec.11 to Dec. 25.

Google losing the antitrust lawsuit brought by Epic Games concerning the Play Store will have far-reaching implications for the mobile app economy.

The Epic Games Store will give away 17 free games over the Christmas period.

Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi has labelled Gran Turismo 7 a “success”.

Epic Games came out victorious in the monumental legal battle against Google over the company's monopoly over the Android app marketplace and alleged the company used off-handed tactics to keep its control over the space thereby denying a fair chance for others to participate in the business on an equal footing. The San Francisco jury on Monday, December 11 unanimously delivered the decision in the Google antitrust case, deciding Google's tie between the Google Play app store and its Google Play Billing payment services was illegal, and Project Hug deals with game developers and OEMs, which dictated the distribution agreement were all noncompetitive. Now, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has given an interview explaining the details of the lawsuit and the main reason why the company lost against Apple but managed to win against Google.

Tim Sweeney finally has a win.

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

Google's legal defeat at the hands of Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. threatens to roil an app store duopoly with Apple Inc. that generates close to $200 billion a year and dictates how billions of consumers use mobile devices. 

Google has lost its antitrust trial to Epic Games, in a decision that could have major ramifications for app stores in the future.

If you still think of Fortnite as a colorful, cartoony battle royale game, you might be surprised to learn the extent of Epic’s true ambitions.

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Do you want to get the latest gaming industry news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our daily and weekly newsletters here .

The Epic vs. Google verdict is in, and it's a resounding victory for the developer Fortnite. A jury found that Google used it monopoly power on Android to injure Epic, turning the tables in the developer's years-long series of legal battles. The news was first reported by The Verge.

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

Spiders are a popular video game enemy that have the unfortunate side effect of triggering arachnophobia, a common fear. What’s a developer to do if their creative vision requires a big scary spider, but they don’t want to make their game unplayable to those who can’t stand the eight-legged little guys? Arachnophobia modes are not unprecedented; Grounded includes a whole slider that makes spiders increasingly less spider-y. But Lethal Company’s new arachnophobia mode offers an elegant solution that is making players marvel at the ingenuity.

Epic Games has confirmed that Fortnite’s trio of new game modes are permanent additions to the free-to-play title.

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

Google searches of 2023: Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived. Well, actually, the world's. On Monday, the California-based tech giant released its “Year in Search,” a roundup of 2023's top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer ), to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news carrying worldwide repercussions.

Monster Hunter Wilds fans are very intrigued about one little creature in the game's new trailer.

Pokemon proved it can collaborate with just about anything and cause a stir when it announced a crossover with the Van Gogh Museum. Revealing a line of products inspired by the iconic Dutch artist's work, Pokemon fans were so eager to get their hands on a promotional Pikachu card that replaced Van Gogh with Pikachu in the former's famous self-portrait, it caused a frenzy at the museum store that led to the card being removed from sale at the store.

Rise of the Ronin is slated to launch next year on March 22, and is billed as Team Ninja's "biggest game to date."

Sharkmob, best known as the maker of Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale game Bloodhunt, is wading into the increasingly crowded extraction shooter waters. Its next game is Exoborne, a tactical open-world extraction shooter built around mech-lite exo-rigs that'll help you compete and survive in a post-apocalyptic world beset by cataclysmic natural disasters. 

10 Chambers, the studio founded by Payday and Payday 2 lead Ulf Andersson, is now working on a heist shooter of its own. After finding success with hit co-op horror shooter GTFO, the studio's going back to the roots of much of its staff with Den of Wolves, a cyberpunk heist shooter coming to PC and consoles.

Next week’s free Epic Games Store title hasn’t been revealed as usual, with Epic instead saying it plans to offer a “mystery game.”

After months of speculation and the odd leak, AMD has finally announced the first models in its new lineup of processors to feature the Ryzen 8000 branding at its Advancing AI event in San Jose, California. Specifically, a raft of new mobile chips under the codename «Hawk Point'' were unveiled, although those of you expecting something particularly exciting may be left wanting.

Diablo 4's infamous new Abattoir of Zir event is primed for changes, thanks to developers listening to feedback.

A ban report posted to the Nexus Mods forum on Dec. 4 announced the removal of a Baldur’s Gate 3 mod known to be part of a larger anti-LGBTQ+ modpack.

The Ghibli inspired game Europa has been given a release date of April 16th, with a demo now available on Steam. The premise behind Europa is that players are an android named Zee, who is exploring Europa. It is a game that is being billed as relaxing and mediative, giving players a laid back experience to explore the moon of Europa.

Diablo 4's brand-new endgame content, billed as a challenge that almost no-one would be able to complete, is living up to the hype - but not in a way that players actually appear to be enjoying.

Twitch has announced it's pulling its service from South Korea in less than three months, citing high operation costs as the reason why.

Social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, has defended its response to recent rioting in Dublin that was in part fuelled by far-right users of the platform. X described as "inaccurate" claims by Ireland's justice minister Helen McEntee that it did not engage with Irish police during the November 23 unrest.

While most folks are desperate to know when Rockstar Games will release Grand Theft Auto 6 after teasing a 2025 window in the highly anticipated game’s first trailer, I’ve spent all day trying to answer a much different question: When the heck does GTA 6 actually take place?

After a runaway launch, Lethal Company's solo developer is hard at work on a new update that started out simply "because it's funny," but has since snowballed into something... more.

I have spent 15 days reporting live from the Epic v. Google trial: an antitrust dispute over whether Google's Android app store is an unfair monopoly. I’ve watched a parade of witnesses go by, including Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. We’re now in a weeklong break before both parties return on December 11th to make their closing arguments, after which a jury will decide who’s right. I’ve chronicled every major thrust, parry, and riposte leading up to that in our Verge StoryStream, writing nearly 600 dispatches from the courtroom so far.

Antony Starr says he was open to voicing Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1, after it was confirmed that the actor will not be reprising his role for the game's DLC. Responding to a disappointed fan, Starr says, "I was open to it", making his absence in the game all the more baffling.

Loot boxes are still here with us in 2023, and some countries are finally catching up with regulation.

Rockstar dropped the trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI ahead of schedule to counter a leak and confirmed the title will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S in 2025.

CD Projekt has released an overview trailer and the patch notes for Cyberpunk 2077’s last major update.

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

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The Ouroboros King is one of the most quietly successful Steam games of 2023.

Samsung’s smartphone chipset expenditure is slowly creeping upwards to a point where the Korean behemoth is now being forced to compromise on the features that ship with its overall Galaxy range. Due to an extreme reliance on external companies such as Qualcomm and its Snapdragon chipsets, Samsung’s costs have risen to almost $7 billion alone this year, which is more than a 200 percent increase compared to the $2.3 billion it paid back in 2019.