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ANSAN, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2023--

Microsoft has made a major change to its proposed takeover of the developer of Call of Duty, in yet another attempt to get it completed. The company is hoping to buy Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, or £54 billion, in what would be one of the biggest sales ever. But it has faced intense regulatory scrutiny, including by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which has looked to block the deal. Now it has said that it has sent a fresh proposal for how the takeover would work in an attempt to convince the CMA that the deal should go ahead. But it has stressed that there is still no “green light” for the deal. It came as the regulator confirmed on Tuesday that Microsoft‘s original plan to buy the computer games company “cannot proceed”. Under the new proposal, Microsoft would sell off its rights to offer games via the cloud for new or existing Activision PC or console games for the next 15 years outside the European Economic Area (EEA). It will instead sell those rights to Ubisoft, a rival developer known for the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games series. This is designed to ensure that gamers have access to Activision Blizzard’s games, even on consoles and computers not made by Microsoft. The CMA will now launch a new probe into this deal, a so-called Phase 1 investigation. CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “The CMA has today confirmed that Microsoft‘s acquisition of Activision, as originally proposed, cannot proceed. “Separately, Microsoft has notified a new and restructured deal, which is substantially different from what was put on the table previously “This is not a green light. We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments.” Microsoft president Brad Smith said: “Under the restructured transaction, Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.” It marks a new twist in the case, the biggest fight the CMA has taken on since gaining new post-Brexit powers. At one point the case looked like as though it would only end after a court battle. In January 2022 Microsoft announced that it planned to buy Activision Blizzard, the company behind the Call Of Duty and World Of Warcraft games, for an eye-watering sum. When the UK was still an EU member, a deal of that size would have been assessed by regulators in Brussels. But after Brexit the CMA now has the power to investigate such deals itself. Although both companies are American, both have significant businesses in the UK so their tie-up could have a significant impact on competition here. Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick said: “For us, nothing substantially changes with the addition of this divestiture: our merger agreement with Microsoft, closing deadline, and the cash consideration to be paid for each Activision Blizzard share at closing remain the same. “We will continue to work closely with Microsoft and the CMA throughout the remaining review process, and we are committed to help Microsoft clear any final hurdles as quickly as possible. “This has been a longer journey than expected, and I am very proud of how focused everyone has remained on delivering great games.” Additional reporting by agencies Read More Meta could finally launch Threads feature everyone is waiting for Japanese scientists hoping for a message from alien life imminently iPhone 15 could bring two major changes to fix battery life Meta could finally launch Threads feature everyone is waiting for Japanese scientists hoping for a message from alien life imminently iPhone 15 could bring two major changes to fix battery life

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We’re used to hearing tales of OnlyFans creators who have been disowned by friends and loved-ones over their line of work. But one star of the platform has been left with “family trauma” over her content for a very different reason. Australian model Taila Maddison posted a TikTok on Tuesday detailing how she’d “ruined” her mum’s marriage after uncovering the true identity of her X-rated account's top subscriber. “When I first started my website, I had this customer who was my number one customer, bought every single thing that I sent him, he was pretty much a follower since the beginning,” she began her confession. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “We would talk every day, he made custom requests – very specific things – and he also had a very specific username on the website.” Within two months, he had spent $2,000 AUD (around £1,000) on raunchy pictures and videos of Taila. It was at this point that someone with the exact same username as the mystery man viewed her TikTok page, and she spotted a note saying that the person was “from [her] contacts.” “I went absolutely mental trying to figure out who this person was from my contacts,” she continued. “I narrowed it down to six people, and one of them was my stepdad. I went with my gut feeling and I messaged the website account and I said, ‘I know who this is.’ “Within two minutes, I got a text from my stepdad saying, ‘Hey Tai, can we talk?’” @ta1laaa Do we need a part 2??? #fup #viral #scandal #drama #tea In a follow-up video, Taila explained that her stepfather had been part of her life since she was 11 years old. “When I caught him, he denied it to all of his friends, and obviously my mum got rid of him straight away,” she confirmed. “But yeah, if you want to talk about family trauma, my stepdad watched me have sex with my partner for two months.” @ta1laaa TRAUMAAAAA #fyp #viral #drama #tea Her two videos racked up nearly two million views in just one day as commentators voiced their horror at the revelation. “That means he's been looking at you in that way since day one..a warning to all mothers here for sure,” one pointed out. “He’s probably still subscribed, but under a different username,” suggested another, to which Taila replied: “His phone is blocked, but [possibly] from another device!” “Are you OK?” asked a third. “That must have been really hard for you emotionally.” “I’m okay now,” Taila responded. “At the time I couldn’t leave the house for a couple of days. I was still working in retail and was too anxious to be at the shopping centre worried that he would be there.” Inevitably, scores of users wanted more details on the kind of content the disgraced stepdad was requesting. So Taila duly obliged in another follow-up. “Like I said, in a previous video, we messaged every single day on the website, and he would make requests almost every single day,” she said. “One of them was to see the underwear that I was wearing every day. At the time I was working still, so I was out of the house five days a week, and he would ask for pictures in the bathroom or the changing rooms of wherever I was. “He also requested that when I was filming solo content at home, that I would not do it in the bathroom or in the shower. He always wanted it to be on my bed or on the floor of my bedroom.” Further underlining the creepiness of his actions, she added: “He had access to this room every single day. He also was helping out do the washing at home with said underwear.” @ta1laaa I cant believe i did this #fyp #viral #drama #scandal Taila later confirmed that she had cut all contact with her now ex-stepdad and had blocked him “from my pages on all platforms”. “I have not heard from him since the day I called him out,” she said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. “He wouldn’t even come into the house to collect his belongings while I was there.” She then urged other OnlyFans creators to get to grips with the fact that it is “highly likely someone from your school, gym, workplace or family is watching your every move”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Sam Altman, the chief executive of ChatGPT's OpenAI, told US lawmakers on Tuesday that regulating artificial intelligence was essential, after...

VENTURA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 13, 2023--