The United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (UK-CMA) on Wednesday blocked the proposed $68.7 billion merger of Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard. In its press-releasing announcing its final decision into an investigation on the question of how the merger will affect consumer-choice and innovation in the market, the CMA says that the merger would alter the future of cloud gaming, and lead to "reduced innovation and less choice for United Kingdom gamers over the years to come." Cloud gaming in this context would be games rendered on the cloud, and consumed on the edge by gamers. NVIDIA's GeForce NOW is one such service.

Microsoft Azure is one of the big-three cloud computing providers (besides AWS and Google Cloud), and the CMA fears that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard IP (besides its control over the Xbox and Windows PC ecosystems), would "strengthen that advantage giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors." The CMA report continues: "Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice. That is best achieved by allowing the current competitive dynamics in cloud gaming to continue to do their job." Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard are unsurprisingly unhappy with the verdict.

The Sky UK news network has gathered intel from industry and government sources about an industry event that is due to take place next week at a very famous location - 10 Downing Street - the residence of the UK's Prime Minister. Sky News has been informed that Microsoft has been invited to attend the showcase by the UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) industry organization - best described as the main trade body for the nation's games and interactive entertainment sector. The American technology behemoth is expected to display and demonstrate their Xbox gaming product range in front of top politicians and key entertainment industry figures. There is no mention of representatives from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) being invited to attend in a similar capacity. The timing of this UKIE organized event (to take place on April 26) is highly controversial as it will coincide with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority's statutory deadline to deliver a Phase-2 verdict on Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulatory body has already delivered a provisional approval of the aforementioned deal, but stated that it required more time to investigate the potential for irregularities in competition within the cloud gaming sector. The Phase-2 verdict, due to be delivered next week, is anticipated to include the antitrust watchdog's finalized judgement on cloud gaming market affairs. Sky's insider sources in the city of London have speculated that Microsoft could face a humiliating situation at the 10 Downing-hosted party, if by coincidence the CMA changes its opinion on the Activision Blizzard takeover bid. If the competition regulator stays consistent with its (earlier) provisional decision, Microsoft could be criticized for its extensive courting of government organizations - not only in the UK, but around the world.

Nitro Concepts' first-ever line of Special Edition gaming chairs is here and they're more than meets the eye! Inspired by the heroic Autobots, villainous Decepticons, and the legendary Optimus Prime himself, these gaming chairs really have got the touch. Innovative Design with Intense Colors! The Nitro Concepts X1000 sets itself apart from its competitors through its vibrant colors and ergonomic design.

Featuring high quality PU leather ensures that whether the X1000 is used for work or play, the user will remain comfortable over hours of use. To make the X1000 even more comfortable, there are many options to adjust it to your preference. While the cold foam upholstery ensures the X1000 is comfortable even on hot summer days, the design features a fresh and angular shape, combining for a chair fit for any situation.

Sony is not happy about the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recent provisional approval of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and has highlighted the apparent removal of a Microsoft-owned game from being developed on the PlayStation 5. According to legal documents submitted to the UK government, Sony has taken issue with the watchdog's sudden change in opinion - the CMA's position was highly critical at the start of the year - and suspects that Microsoft's expensive PR campaign and submitting of "new evidence" to international competition regulators have influenced a change in direction of rulings. Sony's statement bears down on the unfair nature of the bid's approval: "The CMA's reversal of its position on its consoles theory of harm is surprising, unprecedented, and irrational."

Japan's Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) was the latest anti-trust governing body to give the takeover a thumbs-up, almost two weeks ago - a dramatic turn of events given that it happened on Sony's home turf. The embattled electronics corporation has taken notice of fresh developments in the press, and proceeded to mention controversy surrounding the Redfall platform war. Harvey Smith, the game's creative director, let slip too many details during a promotion tour and seemingly admitted that the higher-ups at Microsoft's Xbox division had decided to can the PlayStation 5 version of Redfall in favor of keeping it exclusive to Xbox, Game Pass and PC. Arkane Studios, as part of the ZeniMax Media Group, was acquired by Microsoft in 2021 - and certain games, already in development, were later released on the PlayStation 5 as timed exclusives, Deathloop being a prime example of this.

Smartphone specialists Oppo and OnePlus have responded to the rumors of both companies exiting several European markets, as well as the UK. In a joint statement provided to Android Authority the message was a promise to stay put in 2023: "OPPO and OnePlus are committed to all the existing European markets. We had a great start in 2023 with the successful launches of several products in Europe and have a line-up of upcoming products for the rest of the year. As always, OPPO and OnePlus will continue to provide more innovative products and the best-in-class service for users moving forward."

Starting yesterday, industry tipsters issued posts about Oppo and OnePlus withdrawing from markets in Europe, with more immediate exits from key territories - France, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The cited reasons for exiting the aforementioned markets include a massive slowdown in regional sales and legal cases levied by competitors in regard to patent infringements on Oppo's part. The lawsuits that were levied by Nokia have resulted in a number of Oppo and OnePlus devices being banned from sale in Germany.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulatory body has today delivered its provisional approval of Microsoft's proposed purchase of the Activision Blizzard group, but has added that it will conduct further reviews into the topic of whether the buyout will have any detrimental effect on competition in the area of cloud gaming services: "where the CMA is continuing to carefully consider the responses provided in relation to the original provisional findings. The CMA's merger investigation continues, and it remains due to issue its final report by 26 April 2023."

The antitrust watchdog's stance looks to have changed in a significant way since February, when it declared that Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard had the potential to "harm U.K. gamers". New evidence has been presented to the CMA in recent weeks, and its members have moved to provisionally conclude that: "overall, the transaction will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK."

Amazon is today expanding its Luna cloud gaming service into three new territories - Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. This is the first sign of the online retail giant's goal to broaden the service beyond the initial launch base in the USA. The company is clearly excited to offer their cloud games library to a larger customer base: "Gamers in the U.S. have been enjoying Luna for the past year and we're thrilled to expand the service, giving more customers the opportunity to play high-quality, immersive games without expensive gaming hardware or lengthy downloads."

These new territories have been granted access to Luna's full package which now consists of Ubisoft+, Jackbox Games, and Luna+ subscription services. The Luna app can be launched on 'select devices', which means a wide range of modern bits of kit can run it: Fire TV, Fire Tablets, Windows PCs, Chromebooks, Macs, iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets. Amazon confirmed that its Official Luna Wireless Controller is also being made available to customers in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom - which is an exclusive item to the Amazon Store. It should be noted that you can run other compatible control devices via Bluetooth, including a wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as the Xbox One and PlayStation DualShock 4 gamepads.

We're starting to open access to Bard, an early experiment that lets you collaborate with generative AI. We're beginning with the U.S. and the U.K., and will expand to more countries and languages over time. Today we're starting to open access to Bard, an early experiment that lets you collaborate with generative AI. This follows our announcements from last week as we continue to bring helpful AI experiences to people, businesses and communities.

You can use Bard to boost your productivity, accelerate your ideas and fuel your curiosity. You might ask Bard to give you tips to reach your goal of reading more books this year, explain quantum physics in simple terms or spark your creativity by outlining a blog post. We've learned a lot so far by testing Bard, and the next critical step in improving it is to get feedback from more people.

It was only Monday this week that ASUS announced the official launch of the ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM, but now retailers have started to put the display up for pre-order and it looks like for once, ASUS hasn't priced its products higher than the competition. In the US, it appears that the PG27AQDM will retail for US$999, which is the same price that LG is asking for its equivalent Ultragear OLED 27GR95QE-B. ASUS does claim to have higher typical brightness at 450 cd/m² vs a mere 200 cd/m² for the LG, yet somehow also claim to have half the power consumption.

A swift jump over the pond and the PG27AQDM looks a little less exciting, with it coming in at £1,098.95 in the UK and €1,299.99 in Germany and as much as 14,990 kr in Sweden, which puts all three nations at well over US$1,100 excluding any local VAT. That makes LG's Ultragear OLED the far more attractive option in Europe, as it's cheaper in all three countries by the equivalent of around US$100. For those still interested, the bad news is that the display won't arrive in retail until sometime in mid or end of April, depending on the country you live in.

The Creative Assembly Ltd., part of SEGA Europe Ltd., today announced a third development location in Newcastle, UK. This new studio sits alongside the studio's headquarters in Sussex, UK and their European studio in Sofia, Bulgaria, across which there are over 850 permanent employees.

The newly established Creative Assembly (CA) North is home to a growing flexible working team developing a project in collaboration with the studio's Sussex team. While the project is yet to be announced it promises to give players an unforgettable experience. CA North is also home to a newly formed team focused on continuous improvement. This team is dedicated to collaborating across Creative Assembly with the goal of sustained continuous improvement in tools, workflows and development experience.

ASUS UK launched a trade-in program for graphics not unlike the Apple trade-in program for the latest iPhones. The company is offering cash payments ranging between GBP £65 to £300 for trading in your old graphics card. The way this works is, you purchase an ASUS GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" graphics card from the company's ROG Strix or TUF Gaming series, by paying its full price upfront. You then submit a trade-in claim on the ASUS website within 15 days of delivery of your new graphics card. You then mail in your old graphics card within 30 days of receiving a trade-in approval from ASUS. Within 30 days of ASUS receiving your old graphics card, assuming it's in working condition and matches your trade-in claim, ASUS pays you the trade-in price directly to your bank account. For now the program is limited to the UK, and to participating online retailers, only UK residents can avail it, and the qualifying new graphics cards only cover the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4080 (but not the RTX 4090).

This page lists out the participating retailers, qualifying new graphics cards, qualifying old graphics cards, and the money you stand to receive when everything checks out.

According to multiple reports and sources close to Tom's Hardware, Intel and Microsoft have quietly resumed operations and a basic level of support in Russia. As to comply with sanctions imposed by Europe, the UK, and US, Intel and Microsoft are forbidden to sell any new technology within the state of Russia. This has made Intel and Microsoft block official software downloads. However, Intel has stated that the company is obliged to provide warranty services that are a part of purchasing an Intel product. "Intel continues to comply with all applicable export regulations and sanctions in the countries in which it operates. This includes compliance with the sanctions and export controls against Russia and Belarus issued by the US and allied nations. Access to resources that meet driver update needs, such as the Intel Download Center and Intel Download Support Assistant (IDSA), are part of Intel's warranty obligations," said Intel, adding that "There have been no recent changes to our operations."

These changes are not exactly "recent," as reports close to Tom's Hardware have noted that downloads were resumed towards the end of 2022. Izvestia and CNews reported that users could access the Intel download portal without VPN and IP masking. This required finding a download section through Google/Yandex, as the official Intel Russia website is still not officially reachable by Russian IPs.

The United States has recently imposed several sanctions on technology exports to China. These sanctions are designed to restrict the transfer of specific technologies and sensitive information to Chinese entities, particularly those with ties to the Chinese military or government. The primary motivation behind these sanctions is to protect American national security interests, as well as to protect American companies from unfair competition. According to Financial Times, we have information that Chinese tech Giant, Alibaba, can not access Arm licenses for Neoverse V1 technology. Generally, the technology group where Neoverse V-series falls in is called Wassenaar -- multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 42 participating states. This agreement prohibits the sale of technology that could be used for military purposes.

The US argues that Arm's Neoverse V1 IP is not only a product from UK's Arm but a design made in the US as well, meaning that it is a US technology. Since Alibaba's T-Head group responsible for designing processors that go into Alibaba's cloud services can not use Neoverse V1, it has to look for alternative solutions. The Neoverse V1 and V2 can not be sold in China, while Neoverse N1 and N2 can. Alibaba's T-Head engineer argued, "We feel that the western world sees us as second-class people. They won't sell good products to us even if we have money."

Over the past few weeks, the legal dispute between Arm Ltd. and Qualcomm Inc. has been warming up the eyes of the entire tech community. However, as per the latest court filing, Arm could change its licensing strategy and shift its whole business model into a new direction that would benefit the company directly. Currently, the company provides the intellectual property (IP) that chip makers can use and add to designs mixed with other IPs and custom in-house solutions. That is how the world of electronics design (EDA) works and how many companies operate. However, in the Qualcomm-Arm legal battle, Qualcomm's counterclaim has brought new light about Arm's plans for licensing its hardware designs past 2024.

According to Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis, who examined court documents, Arm will reportedly change terms to use its IP where the use of other IP mixed with Arm IP is prohibited. If a chip maker plans to use Arm CPU IP, they must also use Arm's GPU/NPU/ISP/DSP IPs. This would result in devices that utilize every design the UK-based designer has to offer, and other IP makers will have to exclude their designs from the SoC. By doing this, Arm directly stands against deals like the Samsung-AMD deal, where AMD provides RDNA GPU IP and would force Samsung to use Arm's Mali GPU IP instead. This change should take effect in 2025 when every new license agreement has to comply with new rules.

There have been some rumours circulating about Intel looking at increasing the pricing for its CPUs and if a screenshot from Amazon UK posted by @momomo_us on Twitter is to be believed, it looks like it'll be a significant increase in price. The Core i9-13900KF is listed with a price of £750.12, or almost US$815, admittedly including 20 percent VAT. That's a significant price increase over the Core i9-12900KF which normally retails for £679, but is currently offered for £608.99 by Amazon UK. It doesn't look better further down the stack either, with the Core i7-13700K coming in at £547.22 compared to a retail price of £409.88 for the Core i7-12700K.

The Core i7-13700KF should land at £516.58, versus £396.40 for the Core i7-12700KF. Finally the Core i5-13600KF ends up at £349.75 versus £272.99 for the Core i5-12600KF. As such, we're looking at a price increase of somewhere between around £80 and £140 depending on the SKU. These are not insignificant price increases if these are the actual retail prices we can expect when Intel launches its 13th gen Core processors in October. Hopefully we'll get some clarity next week, when Intel is said to be announcing the new CPUs. @momomo_us also provided some box art for the new processor boxes, for your viewing pleasure.

The world of semiconductor IP licensing is complex by nature. If you use a company's IP, you must agree to its licensing terms. Today, it is precisely those terms that are being breached in the event of Arm Ltd. filing a lawsuit against one of its biggest customers, Qualcomm. When Qualcomm acquired Nuvia Inc., regarded as one of the best CPU design teams in the industry, it transferred Arm-Nuvia license agreements as its own. It continued the development of Arm IP under Qualcomm's name. This is a standard restriction, as Arm's licensing prohibits these sorts of IP transfers among companies to protect the IP.

As the UK-headquartered company reports: "Because Qualcomm attempted to transfer Nuvia licenses without Arm's consent, which is a standard restriction under Arm's license agreements, Nuvia's licenses terminated in March 2022. Before and after that date, Arm made multiple good faith efforts to seek a resolution. In contrast, Qualcomm has breached the terms of the Arm license agreement by continuing development under the terminated licenses. Arm was left with no choice other than to bring this claim against Qualcomm and Nuvia to protect our IP, our business, and to ensure customers are able to access valid Arm-based products."

NVIDIA's long-awaited acquisition of Arm Ltd. is collapsing, confirm Financial Times and Reuters. According to the latest information, the deal is not happening, and the previously agreed terms are no longer valid. As we now know, NVIDIA will have to pay Softbank (Arm's owner) a break-up fee of $1.25 billion, which was the deal that the two settled on if the acquisition fails. NVIDIA has originally planned to purchase Arm for $40 billion. However, the regulators from UK and EU have been blocking the deal from happening on the terms that it would hurt competition and block innovation.

What is next for Arm Ltd. is to go public and list itself on one of the world's biggest stock exchanges, either domestically or overseas in the US. The IPO efforts of Arm are estimated to be worth around $80 billion, representing a double amount of what NVIDIA wanted to purchase the company for.Update 08:35 UTC: Here is the official press release from NVIDIA and Softbank below:

EU antitrust regulators have paused their probe into NVIDIA's proposed $40 billion acquisition of ARM as they await further information. This takeover which would be the largest chip merger in history is now "highly unlikely" according to analysts as regulators from the FTC in the US are suing to block the deal. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is also undergoing an in-depth investigation to discover potential national security risks and competition concerns. These competition concerns are shared by the FTC who state that the acquisition would stifle innovation in next-generation technologies and would distort Arm's incentives to benefit NVIDIA by undermining rivals. NVIDIA has originally hoped to complete the deal within 2 years however this timeline is now unachievable as noted by CEO Jensen Huang in August.

The two leading companies in the quantum computing industry have combined to create Quantinuum, thereby accelerating the development of quantum computing and innovation of quantum technologies in a platform agnostic manner to deliver real-world quantum-enabled solutions for some of the most intractable problems that classical computers have not been able to solve.

Cambridge Quantum, the pioneer in quantum software, operating systems, and cybersecurity, and Honeywell Quantum Solutions, which has built the highest-performing quantum hardware, based on trapped-ion technologies, today announced they have satisfied all of the conditions required to close the business combination and formed the new company, now called Quantinuum.

In an interview with the BBC, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the company is no longer considering the UK as a site for a chip fab, due to Brexit, something the company had apparently done prior to Brexit. Now the company is looking for a location in another EU country for a US$95 billion investment for a new semiconductor plant, as well as upgrades to its current plants in Ireland.

Although Intel had not made any firm decisions on a site location prior to Brexit, Gelsinger is quoted as saying "I have no idea whether we would have had a superior site from the UK, but we now have about 70 proposals for sites across Europe from maybe 10 different countries." He continues "We're hopeful that we'll get to agreement on a site, as well as support from the EU... before the end of this year."

Hyland Headphones, a boutique manufacturer of headphones based in Watford, on the outskirts of London, UK, has introduced their newest headphones: the Eclipse—the first closed-back model in the firm's line-up—and the Venus, the latest step up in the open-back range. The new headphones are the latest products of Hyland Headphones' research and development and feature the firm's widely applauded approach to building their products with care, and in small quantities, from beautiful, ethically sourced hardwoods.

The closed-back Eclipse (priced at £850) uses a complex cup design machined from separate pieces of wood in a two-step, two-day process, to give a sound quality that is the equal of their open-backed designs, but with the advantage of the passive noise cancelling that makes a closed-back design so appealing. The cup features an inner and outer chamber, with sound-absorbent damping in the outer chamber to ensure no stray reflections colour or distort the sound that reaches the listener's ear. The multi-wood design of the Eclipse also allows for additional customisation options: "...how about a creamy white Maple cup with a deep red Padauk top? Or a dark, gold flecked Panga Panga cup combined with the beautiful figuring of rippled Ash?"

The proposed $40 billion acquisition of Arm Holdings Plc from SoftBank by NVIDIA raises "significant competition concerns," says the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The scathing report by the UK's competition regulator goes on to say that the merger will stifle innovation. "We're concerned that NVIDIA controlling Arm could create real problems for NVIDIA's rivals by limiting their access to key technologies, and ultimately stifling innovation across a number of important and growing markets. This could end up with consumers missing out on new products, or prices going up," it reads.

In its first reaction, NVIDIA sought time to address CMA's concerns. "We look forward to the opportunity to address the CMA's initial views and resolve any concerns the Government may have. We remain confident that this transaction will be beneficial to Arm, its licensees, competition, and the UK," the company said. Although a subsidiary of Japan's Softbank, the report by UK's competition regulator does have some bearing on the fate of Arm, which remains headquartered in the UK.

NVIDIA, the maker of high-performance GPUs, has yesterday announced that the company will be investing at least 100 million US Dollars into UK's most powerful supercomputer. Back in October of 2020, NVIDIA announced that it will be building a supercomputer in Cambridge, UK, that will be called Cambridge-1. However, the original plan suggested that the investment would amount to around 40 million GBP, which is roughly 55.6 million USD. Now, it seems that NVIDIA is doubling the initial investment plan and the company now wants to invest 100 million USD, just at the initial phase, which would mean that the total budget could be much greater.

As the company is facing difficulties in the process of acquiring Arm Ltd. from Softbank, by building the most powerful supercomputer in the UK, it hopes to show its commitment to growing UK's Arm operations. And more specifically, it is building the Cambridge-1 in the same place as Arm's HQ, which is also Cambridge. In terms of technologies that will end up in this supercomputer, we are still not supplied with exact information, however, we can expect it to combine the latest CPU, GPU, and networking technologies into one powerful machine.