Microsoft is now the Disney of Video Games

We react to Microsoft gobbling up yet another game studio, chat about Crypto.com's recent $15M hack, the massive failure YouTube just admitted, and a few personal crew stories.

• Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard — Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush,” in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.
• Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 25 million subscribers
• Crypto.com Suffers Hack for At Least $15M in Ethereum — The crypto exchange has reportedly lost at least $15 million in Ethereum, and security experts believe the true losses could be much higher.
• Coinbase NFT Marketplace Will Enable Purchases With Mastercard — Crypto exchange Coinbase has announced a partnership with Mastercard to address the 'pain points' of purchasing NFTs.
• Intel to Unveil 'Ultra Low-Voltage Bitcoin Mining ASIC' in February — One of Intel's "highlighted chip releases" at the conference is entitled "Bonanza Mine: An Ultra-Low-Voltage Energy-Efficient Bitcoin Mining ASIC." The session is scheduled for Feb. 23.
• YouTube Shuts Down Original Content Group — “We will honor our commitment for already contracted shows in progress and creators who are involved with those shows should expect to hear from us directly in the coming days,” Kyncl wrote in the message posted to Twitter.
• Susanne Daniels Exits YouTube as Global Originals Head — Susanne Daniels is exiting YouTube after nearly seven years at the Google-owned global video-sharing company. The YouTube global head of original content will depart in March.
• Apple retakes top spot in global smartphone market in Q4 2021 — Apple accounted for 22% of worldwide smartphone shipments in Q4 2021, thanks to strong demand for the iPhone 13.