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Daily Briefing: Monday 8th March
🕑 Added 2021-03-08 17:22:40 +0000 UTCMicrosoft's Bethesda acquisition has been approved by the EU
The European Union's antitrust regulator has approved the proposed $7.5bn acquisition in another step towards its final completion. The acquisition was cleared without concessions during the regulator's preliminary review.
- This is the latest sign that things are very close to wrapping up in acquisition land. Last week Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm that used to own around 75% of Bethesda parent Zenimax, removed the company from its website portfolio. With the regulators happy, Microsoft are on the right track.
New Xbox console browser can run Google Stadia, if you're into that sort of thing
Xbox testers in the Alpha Skip-Ahead group can now access the updated version of Microsoft's edge browsers across the Xbox family of consoles. This update version has improved compatibility with Chromium - meaning that it can run Google Stadia through the console's in-built browser.
- Thurrott's Brad Sams pointed out a perhaps more desirable application of this technology - the improved browser could allow players to stream games to their console using Microsoft's own xCloud service once browser support is publicly available. Accessible game streaming like this could help bridge the hardware gap between Xbox consoles, so watch this space.
Rockstar reckon players are "ready" for $70 games
That comes courtesy of Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick who, responding to questions at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference last week, stated that the decision to charge $69.99 for the next-gen versions of NBA 2K21 was the correct one - as the public was "ready" for the price increase.
- Zelnick stopped short of confirming whether games will continue to cost $70. Take-Two's justification for the price hike with NBA 2K21 was its "array of extraordinary experiences [and] lots of replayability" and, with Zelnick reconfirming that pricing decisions will be made on a title-by-title basis, maybe some future Take-Two titles won't meet these criteria.
Ubisoft indefinitely delay Watch Dogs: Legion's bug-riddled multiplayer mode
Ubisoft made the announcement on Twitter over the weekend. The PC version of Watchdogs' multiplayer has been delayed definitely due to some serious game-crashing bugs, while some parts of the console version's multiplayer have also been delayed.
- Ubisoft have stated that they will communicate the new PC launch date as soon as possible but, as it stands, the (apparently incomplete) console multiplayer modes are set to launch tomorrow. Legion has been a bit of a bug-fest in general since it launch (PlayStation text chat is still broken), and it isn't really showing signs of getting better.
