It’s nearly the end of the year, which means the news cycle is winding down for the holidays. But before many companies shut down for a break, some big stories came out this week. From the ongoing saga of Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard to Windows 95 making headlines, here are the biggest news stories from the last seven days.
Sony blocks Xbox games forever
As part of the ongoing saga surrounding the Activision Blizzard purchase, Microsoft has issued responses to the US FTC lawsuit and the UK’s Competitive Markets Authority (CMA). It was highlighted this week that, in its response to the CMA, Microsoft confirmed that several popular titles will forever remain PlayStation exclusives.
Bloodborne, Final Fantasy XVI and the upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2 will be permanent exclusives for Sony’s console platform.
While exclusives are relatively common in the gaming industry, Sony has pushed the envelope on their appropriateness. For one thing, Sony has called on government agencies to stop Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, largely because of the exclusivity Microsoft would get if the deal goes through. On the other hand, Sony has several notable exclusive offerings, including recently highlighted titles like Final Fantasy XVI.
Our Editor-in-Chief Jez Corden discussed how the recently revealed exclusives impact Microsoft’s acquisition of Blizzard.
Windows 95 theme for Windows 11
Windows 11 may be Microsoft’s latest operating system, but that doesn’t mean everyone likes the way it looks. If you long for the past and look of Windows 95, Stardock has released a theme that is worth checking out. WindowBlinds 11, which lets you customize the look of Windows 11 and Windows 10, got a classic Windows theme this week.
With the theme, users can make the taskbar, window frames, and other elements of modern versions of Windows look like its ancient predecessor. You can extend the Windows 95 aesthetic to more operating systems by pairing WindowBlinds 11 with Start 11.
Elon Musk steps down as CEO of Twitter
While not strictly Microsoft or Windows news, Twitter is the hottest topic in technology right now. Our colleagues at iMore have a live blogging to help you keep up with the social media drama. The biggest news this week is the fact that Elon Musk has confirmed that he will step down as CEO of the social media platform.
The Twitter CEO shared a poll on Dec. 18, 2022 asking whether he should step down as head of Twitter. He has pledged to abide by the vote, which means he will have to step down, as 57% of respondents said he should step down as CEO of Twitter.
Musk also made headlines for instituting a new policy that blocked links or directed people to Facebook, Instagram, and various other platforms. This policy has since been reversed.
Maybe polls aren’t the best way to run a multi-billion dollar business. Or maybe Snoop Dogg should be running Twitter.
Review summary
Our experts have been sifting through a few pieces of tech for some of our late 2022 reviews. This week, they’ve been reviewing Chained Echoes on Xbox and a set of flight controls for Honeycomb.
