Earlier in the week, AMD's unannounced Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics card design was linked to a possible public announcement at this year's edition of Computex. Naturally, Team Red has missed an opportunity to take on Team Green with a parallel launch of rival products. Leaks have pointed to the existence of two Radeon RX 9060 XT variants; one with 16 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and another with an 8 GB pool. The cheaper end of RDNA 4—including a mysterious Radeon RX 9050 model—seems to be geared up to take on NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 cards. Further rumors have emerged; following initial hints of a formal introduction at an important late Spring event.

Chiphell's chief reviewer and editor reckons that Radeon RX 9060 XT cards will arrive at retail in May. This Chinese PC hardware forum is a notorious source of leaks—around early January, participants were boasting about having extremely early access to Radeon RX 9070 XT samples. In response to this morning's relevant VideoCardz report, Hoang Anh Phu weighed in with a new prediction—AMD and board partners could launch Radeon RX 9060 XT products two weeks after an official reveal at Computex 2025. Team Red is likely mapping out a new pricing strategy, due to NVIDIA's launch of "cheaper than expected" new models. So far, brand-new GeForce RTX 5060 Ti options have received a largely lukewarm welcome. Another Chiphell member has picked up on regional whispers about "starter" price points (including VAT)—reports suggest that the: "(Radeon RX) 9060 XT 8 GB version is 3100 yuan (~$422 USD, and the 16 GB variant is 3500 yuan (~$476 USD)."

According to the latest South Korean semiconductor industry whispers, Samsung's 2 nm GAA node process (aka SF2) development team has hit another pleasing experimental production milestone. An Asia Economy SK news article has sourced insights from inside track players—one unnamed mole posited that: "the 2 nm yield currently under development at Samsung Foundry is much better than previously known...and more positive than the (reportedly abandoned) 3 nm process." A combination of relatively new leadership and a rumored welcoming of first wave High-NA EUV equipment has likely bolstered next-gen efforts, after late 2024's alleged failure of 3 nm prototypes. Leaks from earlier in 2025 indicated SF2 test yields wavering around 20-30%; far from ideal—back then, insider reports suggested that TSMC was well on the way to achieving 60% rates with a competing 2 nm product line. Asia Economy has picked up on mutterings about Samsung's current progress—latest outputs: "have exceeded 40% in the wafer testing stage at a post-processing company."

Industry watchdogs reckon that the South Korean's foundry business is making good progress; perhaps on track to commence speculated mass production by the third quarter of this year—just in time to get finalized flagship "Exynos 2600" mobile chips in the manufacturing pipeline. The Taiwanese rumor mill indicated a major milestone "completion" of TSMC's 2 nm trial phase at some point last month—insiders mentioned excellent yield rates: in the region of 70-80%. Cross-facility mass production could start later this year, but experts propose that the market leader will be implementing price hikes. These "elevated charges" could send loyal TSMC customers in the direction of an alternate source of 2 nm wafers: Samsung. Fresh semicon biz gossip has the likes of Apple, AMD and NVIDIA in the picture.

GIGABYTE has registered an (overall) impressive number of unannounced AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti custom models in South Korea. The early April filings were spotted by harukaze5719—evidence of this "official" leak was posted to social media this afternoon. The South Korean Radio Agency (RRA) registrations indicate an imminent arrival of cheaper offerings from the opposing teams—possibly within proximity of each other, time-wise. GIGABYTE's collection of forthcoming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB SKUs includes AERO, AORUS ELITE, EAGLE, GAMING, and WINDFORCE options.

By comparison, their Radeon RX 9060 XT portfolio is looking thoroughly threadbare—with the registration of two RDNA 4 GAMING OC cards; sporting 16 GB and 8 GB VRAM configurations. As reported late last month, ASUS seems to have three budget-friendly Radeon product lines—DUAL, PRIME and TUF—in the pipeline. It is possible that another set of cards are in line for processing at the RRA. So far, GIGABYTE's custom GeForce RTX 5060 Ti SKU filings are all 16 GB variants. 8 GB cards could be stuck in a queue. NVIDIA's board partners are expected to launch the first wave of GB206 "Blackwell" GPU-based desktop gaming solutions next week; "adjusted" speculative price points were leaked a day or two ago.

Earlier today, ZOTAC unveiled a special edition spin-off of its relatively new GeForce RTX 5070 X-Gaming 12 GB design. The manufacturer's Weibo channel outlined the very exclusive nature of this MMORPG-themed offering (via machine translation): "watch the finals and get a graphics card! ZOTAC and the first 'Jian Wang 3' competitive group hero joint customized graphics card, fine customization, supports NVIDIA DLSS 4 and Reflex 2 technology, excellent performance. On April 12-13, Nanjing Ledongli Jiangning International E-sports Center, watch the heroes aiming for the top!" According to an ITHome report, the Chinese brand has redecorated its overclocked GeForce RTX 5070 X-Gaming model with Jian Wang 3 characters. ZOTAC's promotional shots showcase a customized backplate, and the same illustration of Jian Wang 3's main cast adorning the card's retail box.

Late last month, Kuroutoshikou Japan introduced a less impressive Blade and Soul NEO-themed rebadge of their standard Radeon RX 7600 SKU—essentially, PowerColor's Fighter RX 7600 design. ITHome noted that ZOTAC has a short-ish history of readying very limited edition designs for past Jian Wang 3 Masters Tournaments. 2024's prize was based on the manufacturer's GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER TRINITY OC White SKU. 2023 finalists were gifted with customized GeForce RTX 4070 Ti X-Gaming OC cards. Both of the previous gen tie-in designs sported Jian Wang 3 graphics or symbols on their shrouds, while the latest entry simply reuses its base SKU's "youthful graffiti" aesthetic.

A farcical "GIGABYTE RTX 5090 Super Bundle" was highlighted by PC hardware media outlets last week—the steep demand for flagship and high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" graphics cards has prompted the creation of many "innovative" anti-scalper selling strategies. Another ludicrous example has emerged courtesy of fresh news coverage focusing on an "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign." This competition is open to residents of India—EliteHubs advertises itself as a popular regional "computer accessories store and Esports tournament organizer." Unfortunately, current global market conditions have inflated prices of recently launched new generation graphics card models—the "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign" apparently rallies against such practices, albeit in an extremely limited fashion. The competition's author delivered crucial details: "we're thrilled to announce an exclusive opportunity where three lucky winners will each receive a brand-new COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra White OC graphics card—one unit per person! This powerhouse graphics card is available at the official NVIDIA MSRP of Rs. 1,10,000 (~$1265 USD)."

According to TechSpot, a quick investigation revealed that the advertised cost of ownership was accurate—they noted: "checking other online stores in India shows all the COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra W OC models are priced above that MSRP. This is a higher-end third-party card, admittedly, so it appears participants are getting the chance to buy it at a slightly cheaper price than usual. Still, most people expect competitions to have actual prizes, and the fact there will be only three winners is a bit comical." Prior to official launch—in late January—a Vietnamese customer managed to bag themselves the same model for a princely sum of $1400. VideoCardz did not receive a response from COLORFUL, prior to the publication of their news coverage. The Chinese AIB did not provide comment when asked about said promotional campaign.

According to ITHome, AMD is preparing to disrupt its competition with aggressive pricing for its upcoming RX 9000 series. The RX 9070 XT, built on the RDNA 4 architecture, is expected to launch at $599, positioning it directly against NVIDIA's RTX 5070 Ti, which carries a $749 price tag. With this competitive pricing, AMD aims to revitalize its market position following lower-than-expected sales of the RX 7000 series, causing it to lose some market share. The upcoming RX 9070 XT features the Navi 48 core running at 2.97 GHz, complemented by 16 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit bus. Architecture's enhanced AI upscaling capabilities, already demonstrated in the PlayStation 5 Pro, could offer compelling performance advantages over current-generation cards. The base RX 9070 model is anticipated to debut at $499, creating a focused attack on multiple market segments, including NVIDIA's RTX 5070, priced at $549.

AMD reportedly plans to accelerate the end-of-life timeline for its RX 7800 XT, currently priced at $479. Sources from IT Home suggest production ceased as early as January, months ahead of the planned initial third-quarter 2025 termination. This accelerated timeline suggests AMD's confidence in the RX 9000 series' ability to deliver superior price-to-performance metrics. The March 2025 launch window for the RX 9000 series arrives at a critical point in the GPU market, as NVIDIA rolls out its Blackwell-based RTX 50 series. AMD's aggressive pricing strategy and the architectural improvements in RDNA 4 positions the company to challenge NVIDIA's market dominance, at least in the $500-$600 price range. This competitive positioning could trigger NVIDIA price adjustments, potentially benefiting consumers who have faced consistently high GPU prices in recent years.

Razer has solidified its position as the ultimate choice for esports professionals with the Razer Viper V3 Pro officially crowned the #1 most-used gaming mouse by esports pros, according to Prosettings.net (as of December 2024). This monumental achievement completes our pro peripherals trifecta of dominance, with the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro reigning as the #1 most used esports headset as of December 2024 and the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro TKL leading as the #1 most used esports keyboard as of December 2024.

What Sets the Razer Viper V3 Pro Apart
Razer's long-standing dedication to esports innovation has led to the creation of groundbreaking gear trusted by champions. The Razer Viper V3 Pro is not just another gaming mouse; its precision-engineered excellence is designed for, and by, esports pro athletes. From its ultra-lightweight form to next-gen sensor, the Razer Viper V3 Pro is meticulously engineered to meet the uncompromising demands of competitive gaming where a single millisecond makes all the difference. Extensive feedback on shape, weight, button placement and feel of switches were taken from pro players, with more than 45 of them testing the mouse across major tournaments such as the BLAST Fall Finals 2024 Copenhagen. We listened—and the result is a mouse that transcends expectations. Read more about "The Rise of the Razer Viper V3 Pro" on Prosettings.net.

Intel's taking a different path with its Gaudi 3 accelerator chips. It's staying away from the high-demand market for training big AI models, which has made NVIDIA so successful. Instead, Intel wants to help businesses that need cheaper AI solutions to train and run smaller specific models and open-source options. At a recent event, Intel talked up Gaudi 3's "price performance advantage" over NVIDIA's H100 GPU for inference tasks. Intel says Gaudi 3 is faster and more cost-effective than the H100 when running Llama 3 and Llama 2 models of different sizes.

Intel also claims that Gaudi 3 is as power-efficient as the H100 for large language model (LLM) inference with small token outputs and does even better with larger outputs. The company even suggests Gaudi 3 beats NVIDIA's newer H200 in LLM inference throughput for large token outputs. However, Gaudi 3 doesn't match up to the H100 in overall floating-point operation throughput for 16-bit and 8-bit formats. For bfloat16 and 8-bit floating-point precision matrix math, Gaudi 3 hits 1,835 TFLOPS in each format, while the H100 reaches 1,979 TFLOPS for BF16 and 3,958 TFLOPS for FP8.

Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, kicked off the "2024 Thermaltake RAM MOD Invitational" an annual competition that gathers modders from all corners of the world to mod the designated Thermaltake ram into their own masterpiece. This year we invited six modders from Austria, Italy, Japan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom to modify the TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 Memory DDR5.

Participating modders are given a specific time frame to modify the RAM heatsinks, without changing the overall appearance and layout of the RAM itself. Contestants must only use our TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 modules and cannot add the ram to a motherboard or a PC build. However, they can create a stand or platform for the modules but the overall modules must remain intact with the original design as the main focus.

On July 1st, Reuters reported that the French antitrust authority plans to file charges against NVIDIA for alleged anti-competitive practices, marking France as the first country to take such action against the tech giant. This follows a raid on NVIDIA's local offices in September 2023, as we reported here, which was part of a broader investigation into the graphics card and cloud computing sectors. A recent report released by French authorities regarding competition in generative AI highlighted concerns about potential abuses of power by chip suppliers, specifically noting the industry reliance on NVIDIA. If NVIDIA is to be found guilty of charges made by French authorities it can be facing fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue. However, NVIDIA may have the option to make concessions to avoid such penalties.

As the world's largest manufacturer of AI chips and computer graphics cards, NVIDIA is under intense scrutiny from antitrust authorities in Europe and the United States. The European Commission is gathering informal feedback to assess whether NVIDIA had breached its antitrust rules, though it has not yet launched a formal investigation. The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are reportedly conducting joint investigations into NVIDIA, Microsoft, and OpenAI, reflecting growing regulatory concern in the United States over these tech giants' market influence.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to showcase multiple new products at Computex 2024, including new DDR5 memory, peripherals, and PC cases for PC enthusiasts. G.SKILL will also host two major annual extreme overclocking events at the G.SKILL Computex booth - the 10th Annual OC World Record Stage 2024 and the 8th Annual OC World Cup 2024 - as well as the 4th Annual G.SKILL Extreme Mod Stage 2024 to showcase creative system mods. G.SKILL sincerely invites you to come visit our booth at Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1 (TaiNEX 1), 1F, Booth J0601a during Computex from June 4 to June 7, 2024.

G.SKILL OC World Record Stage has been a highly anticipated overclocking event in the extreme overclocking community. It's a great venue where the world's top professional overclockers gather at the G.SKILL Computex booth and try to achieve as many overclocking records as possible using liquid nitrogen (LN2) for extreme cooling. This year, this extreme overclocking event features high-end performance motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, GIGABYTE, and MSI, the latest Intel platform, and G.SKILL DDR5 memory.

Xbox and Fallout fans, rejoice! Today, we are thrilled to announce a striking collaboration between Xbox and new series on Prime Video "Fallout", premiering on April 11. Introducing the Xbox and Fallout Vault Box—a custom collaboration that combines the rugged essence of the Fallout universe with the unparalleled security of a Fort Knox vault. Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, "Fallout" is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there's almost nothing left to have. Two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.

The series comes from Kilter Films and executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Nolan directed the first three episodes. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner serve as executive producers, writers and co-showrunners. The series stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Aaron Moten (Emancipation) and Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight). Athena Wickham of Kilter Films also executive produces along with Todd Howard for Bethesda Game Studios and James Altman for Bethesda Softworks. Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films produce in association with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Commerce publicly announced two new notices of intent—as reported by Tom's Hardware, this involves the latest distributions from the CHIPS Act's $11 billion R&D budget: "$300 million is to be made available across multiple awards of up to $100 million (not including voluntary co-investment) for research on advanced packaging, while another $200 million (or more) is set aside to create the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute. Companies will have to compete for the funds by filing an application." The Act's primary $39 billion tranche is designated to new construction endeavors, e.g. the founding of manufacturing facilities.

A grand total of $52 billion was set aside for the CHIPS Act in 2022, which immediately attracted the attention of several semiconductor industry giants. Companies with headquarters outside of North America were allowed to send in applications. Last year, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, made some controversial statements regarding his company's worthiness of government funding. In his opinion, Team Blue is due the "lion's share" due to his operation being a USA firm—the likes of TSMC and Samsung are far less deserving of subsidies.

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company, and Intel, have today announced the extension and expansion of their partnership with Acer. As the exclusive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partner, Acer's gaming brand Predator will empower EFG Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 competitions across 2024. Intel and EFG have been partners in the esports space for over 20 years, fostering and supporting a passionate global community through world-leading esports events, activations and opportunities. Their vision is shared by Acer, and the mutual desire for progress, innovation, and delivering exceptional experiences has been the catalyst in the success, and now renewal, of their partnership.

"Acer's partnership with Intel and EFG is driven by our shared commitment of supporting the esports community, bringing gameplay to new heights," said Vincent Lin, Associate Vice President, Global Product Marketing and Planning, Acer Inc. "Our latest Predator gaming laptops powered by Intel Core 14th Gen processors provide powerful performance and combine AI-powered features that enhance the overall gaming experience."

Starfield is the first new universe in over 25 years from the award-winning creators behind Skyrim and Fallout 4, Bethesda Game Studios. Gamers from around the world were excited to jump into this interstellar universe rich with adventure, peril, and excitement. But before anyone hops into space, they need something critical: a spacesuit. So, Xbox has partnered up with the European Space Agency (ESA) to give Starfield fans around the world a chance to win the spacesuit of their dreams, in real life, in addition to other incredible Xbox prizes. This is a physical, wearable, one-of-a-kind garment, fabricated for the most intrepid explorers.

Whether using a provided template as a base, or pushing their imagination to the limit with any creative format of their choice, fans will be asked to provide both a visual illustration of the suit from all sides—hand-drawn, 3D-rendered, or however their vision sees fit—as well as a description of the inspiration of the suit. More specifically, Xbox, Bethesda and the ESA want to know what you would wear in outer space - how would your spacesuit reflect your personal style, individuality and vision for space travel?

LaminiAI appeared to be one of the first customers to receive an initial shipment of AMD's Instinct MI300X accelerators, as disclosed by their CEO posting about functioning hardware on social media late last week. A recent Taiwan Economic Daily article states that the "MI300X is rumored to have begun supply"—we are not sure about why they have adopted a semi-secretive tone in their news piece, but a couple of anonymous sources are cited. A person familiar with supply chains in Taiwan divulged that: "(they have) been receiving AMD MI300X chips one after another...due to the huge shortage of NVIDIA AI chips, the arrival of new AMD products is really a timely rainfall." Favorable industry analysis (from earlier this month) has placed Team Red in a position of strength, due to growing interest in their very performant flagship AI accelerator.

The secrecy seems to lie in Team Red's negotiation strategies in Taiwan—the news piece alleges that big manufacturers in the region have been courted. AMD has been aggressive in a push to: "cooperate and seize AI business opportunities, with GIGABYTE taking the lead and attracting the most attention. Not only was GIGABYTE the first to obtain a partnership with AMD's MI300A chip, which had previously been mass-produced, but GIGABYTE was also one of the few Taiwanese manufacturers included in AMD's first batch of MI300X partners." GIGABYTE is expected to release two new "G593" product lines of server hardware later this year, based on combinations of AMD's Instinct MI300X accelerator and EPYC 9004 series processors.

AMD is readying its Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) technology for public release later this month (January 24 to be exact). Aaron Steinman, a Senior Radeon Manager, believes that arch rival NVIDIA will need to take some drastic steps once AFMF arrives due to its more open nature. He stated in a short interaction with PC Gamer: "I would be curious to know if NVIDIA feels now they have to match what we've done in making some of these solutions driver-based." His software engineering buddies have already released the Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) technology, which functions via in-driver operation.

Unlike Team Red's heavily marketed FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) system, AFMF and RSR are not reliant on official support from games developers. The driver-based solutions will be packaged within an upcoming version of AMD's HYPR-RX feature set. Steinman continued with his statement: "I think what we're gonna start seeing, DLSS is only available on certain solutions, so either NVIDIA is going to have to benefit from our solution because we did make it open-source and cross-vendor, or they're probably going to need to do something similar." The publication points out that Team Green has something in the same ballpark—NVIDIA Image Scaling—but its nowhere near as advanced as their headlining "AI-infused" DLSS tech. Steinman conceded to PC Gamer that his main opponent will inevitably pull ahead in the future: "I mean, the competition will never end, right? We'll have new technologies, they (NVIDIA) will have new technologies."

NVIDIA's presence at CES 2024 has focused mainly on the introduction of new GeForce RTX 40-series SUPER graphics cards—TPU spent some quality time over at Team Green's Las Vegas Convention Center booth where a plethora of the latest Ada Lovelace gaming products were on display. To coincide with this event, interested punters on social media or in-person can enter a competition—NVIDIA is giving away two Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics cards (valued at $999 per unit) with something extra courtesy of the technology company's esteemed CEO.

The competition page states: "We have two Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics cards signed by NVIDIA's founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, that we're giving away, one for our social channels and one for CES attendees. The first chance to win is by following our GeForce social channels on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and by looking for key prompts and instructions (please check the complete set of rules for the giveaway here)."

Logitech G, a brand of Logitech and leading innovator of gaming technologies and gear, and McLaren Racing are excited to announce the sixth season of the Logitech McLaren G Challenge racing competition, featuring the genre's hottest new title, Forza Motorsport by Turn 10 Studios. Last year, over 3,500 gamers participated in four months of exciting competition that came down to the wire, with the winners from Singapore, Germany, Canada, Chile, and Ireland, taking home the grand prize. For motorsports enthusiasts and amateur drivers, the official 2023-24 Logitech McLaren G Challenge racing season launches on November 16th, 2023 and will feature several opportunities to win prizes for both casual and hardcore drivers.

"We are excited for this new season of the Logitech McLaren G Challenge," said Joseph Bentley, Head of Logitech G's Experiences & Production Team. "We wanted to make this season a special one, so we're excited to share that this year's G Challenge will be integrated in-game using Forza Motorsport's Rivals system, as well as include live semi and grand final grid races. We look forward to hosting an awesome G Challenge that is sure to thrill racing fans worldwide."

During the Q3 2023 earnings call, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger was answering some questions from analysts regarding the company's future and its position on emerging competition. One of the most significant problems the company could face is the potential Arm-based chip development not coming from x86 vendors like Intel and AMD. Instead, there could be fierce competition in the near future with the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite X, possible NVIDIA Arm-based PC processor, and in the future, even more Arm CPU providers that Intel would have to compete against in the client segment. During the call, Pat Gelsinger noted that "Arm and Windows client alternatives, generally, they've been relegated to pretty insignificant roles in the PC business. And we take all competition seriously. But I think history as our guide here, we don't see these potentially being all that significant overall. Our momentum is strong. We have a strong roadmap."

Additionally, the CEO noted: "When thinking about other alternative architectures like Arm, we also say, wow, what a great opportunity for our foundry business." If the adoption of Arm-based CPUs for Windows PCs becomes more present, Intel plans to compete with its next-generation x86 offerings like Meteor Lake, Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake, and even Panther Lake in the future. As stated, the CEO expects the competition to manufacture its chips at Intel's foundries so that Intel can provide a platform for these companies to serve the PC ecosystem.

Bloomberg reports that French competition regulators have raided a business alleged to be engaging in "anti-competitive practices in the graphics cards sector," which the Wall Street Journal identified as NVIDIA. The dawn raid was authorized by a liberty and custody judge, France's competition authority said in its statement, where it did not name NVIDIA. The regulator clarified that raids "do not presuppose the existence of a breach of law, which only a full investigation into the merits of the case could establish, if appropriate."

It's pertinent to note here, that while the anti-competitive allegations concern "graphics cards," the allegation is that the company (identified by WSJ as NVIDIA) has cornered the AI GPU market, and which is responsible for the rise of NVIDIA as the largest hardware company in Silicon Valley by market capitalization. While NVIDIA's AI HPC processors lack any raster graphics components, they are still considered GPUs, as they are built on the same principles, and for the most part, share a microarchitecture with gaming GPUs. Meanwhile, Bloomberg notes that the NVIDIA stock remains completely unfazed by the developments in France. "The shares gained 1.5% to $430.89 at the close in New York trading Thursday, bringing their year-to-date gain to 195%," it wrote.

The European Commission has re-imposed a fine of around €376.36 million on Intel for a previously established abuse of dominant position in the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units ('CPUs'). Intel engaged in a series of anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding competitors from the relevant market in breach of EU antitrust rules.

With today's decision, we are re-imposing a €376.36 million fine on Intel for having abused its dominant position in the computer chips market. Intel paid its customers to limit, delay or cancel the sale of products containing computer chips of its main rival. This is illegal under our competition rules. Our decision shows the Commission's commitment to ensure that very serious antitrust breaches do not go unsanctioned. - Commissioner Didier Reynders, in charge of competition policy

Microsoft's proposed $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard got the "go ahead" from the vast majority of regulatory bodies around the world, but the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ultimately chucked a spanner into the works—consequently the deal's signing off date was delayed into the autumn. The top brass at Microsoft and Acti-Blizz have worked on a revised set of terms (to address concerns raised earlier this year), and the outcome has been semi-positive. The competition watchdog appears to be satisfied, prior to making a concrete announcement: "While the CMA has identified limited residual concerns with the new deal, Microsoft has put forward remedies which the CMA has provisionally concluded should address these issues. The CMA is now consulting on the remedies before making a final decision."

Under the newly redrafted deal—submitted for approval last month—Microsoft has agreed to transfer the rights to stream Activision games from the cloud to French video games publisher—Ubisoft—for a 15 year long term. The CMA's freshly published press release provides an insight into future infrastructures: "Under that new deal, Microsoft will not purchase the cloud gaming rights held by Activision, which will instead be sold to an independent third party, Ubisoft Entertainment SA (Ubisoft), before the deal is completed. The prior sale of the cloud gaming rights will establish Ubisoft as a key supplier of content to cloud gaming services, replicating the role that Activision would have played in the market as an independent player."

Microsoft and Xbox leaders have declared that the Call of Duty series will remain on PlayStation systems for the next ten years, following a possible successful acquisition of the (current owners of the IP) Activision Blizzard video game holding company. Phil Spencer, the outspoken head of Xbox stated via Twitter: "We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games."

His superior, Brad Smith (vice chair and president of Microsoft) added: "From Day One of this acquisition, we've been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after we cross the finish line for this deal's approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before." The silence on Sony/PlayStation's part is very telling, they are perhaps resigned to the merger becoming concrete this summer. Fans of the series (who favor Sony systems) will be relieved to know that PlayStation 5 and its possible successor are covered for another decade—it will be interesting to see how Sony's planned cloud gaming service will operate with the CoD franchise in mind. Microsoft has been presenting ten-year deals to a variety of rivals over the past year, with Sony and Nintendo courted alongside a number of different organizations. NVIDIA and Nintendo agreed on 10-year partnerships with Xbox earlier this year.

Microsoft is closing in on its proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard—the company is celebrating another victory, following the conclusion of a crucial court case against the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Both parties were recently engaged in five days of arguments and deliberation—yesterday Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley's final ruling stated: Microsoft's acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history. It deserves scrutiny. That scrutiny has paid off: Microsoft has committed in writing, in public, and in court to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years on parity with Xbox. It made an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And it entered several agreements to for the first time bring Activision's content to several cloud gaming services."

The lady justice continued: "This Court's responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore DENIED."