Microsoft plans to raise Xbox Series X price by $50 to $649.99 and Series S by $20 to $399.99 starting Oct. 3, citing “changes in the macroeconomic environment”
second price increase of 2025 comes as shifting tariffs continue to plague tech prices Vikki Blake / Eurogamer.net : U.S. Xbox fans hit with another hardware price hike just four months after the last...
Valve adds credit card-based age checks for UK users to access “mature content” games on Steam; Discord and others are using selfies for verification
UK's Online Safety Act requires blocking minors from accessing mature content Asha Bardon / CBR : Steam Now Needs Your Age & ID Verified When You Buy Mature Video Games Richard Devine / Windows Centra...
Microsoft shuts down the Movies & TV storefront on the Microsoft Store on Windows and Xbox; users will continue to be able to access their past purchases
what happens to the stuff you bought Bruce Gil / Gizmodo : Microsoft Quietly Pulls the Plug on Its Movies and TV Store Bryant Francis / Game Developer : Microsoft no longer selling Movies and TV on Xb...
Trump says a 25%+ tariff “must be paid by Apple” on iPhones not made in the US, and he told Tim Cook long ago that iPhones sold in the US must be made in the US
will other tech companies face the heat? Here's what the US President said The Economic Times : Trump threatens 25% tariff on iPhones not made in US, targets India production Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, ...
Nintendo delays Switch 2 preorders, which were set to start on April 9, “to assess the potential impact” of Trump's tariffs; the June 5 launch date is unchanged
June 5 launch date still on schedule Charles Harte / Game Informer : Trump Tariff Plans Delay Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Order Date Arol Wright / How-To Geek : Tariffs Just Killed Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Ord...
In a rare move, Apple publishes a statement and a support document listing all ByteDance apps inaccessible in the US alongside TikTok, including Lemon8 and Lark
So even though we banned TikTok, ostensibly for security reasons, we end up creating an even bigger security problem when millions of people install some app that can read and modify all traffic. Dare...
Apple updates App Store guidelines, allowing game emulators for the first time globally, and letting music streaming apps in the EU link to external websites
After @altstore announces their own third-party App Store, which will be a haven for emulators, Apple changes their rules to allow it. — https://9to5mac.com/... Matt Edwards / @matt@toot.mattedwards...
The EU opens formal DMA probes into Apple and Google over letting developers “steer” users from their app stores, and Meta over its “pay or consent” model
Apple fans: “The EU must approve of Apple's plans, otherwise Apple wouldn't have announced them” — The EU: “Hang on a minute...” https://www.theverge.com/... Jan Penfrat / @ilumium@eupolicy.social :...
Meta plans to offer an ad-free option for Instagram and Facebook in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland, charging €9.99/month on the web or €12.99/month on mobile
who are, by definition, comfortable with having their data processed for the purposes of ads personalization — will choose to subscribe to avoid it. Sam Schechner / @samschech : Meta's going with the ...
The UK CMA says Microsoft's revised offer to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69B, which includes selling some gaming rights to Ubisoft, addresses its concerns
new consultation suggests an end to the drawn-out Activision Blizzard acquisition saga Oli Welsh / Polygon : A Ubisoft sale clears the final obstruction for the Microsoft-Activision merger Siôn Geschw...