Alexa to provide branded answers to your pressing questions

See, the problem is that people simply aren’t buying enough. To rectify this issue, Amazon announced on Thursday that it is introducing a new Alexa feature, dubbed “Customers Ask Alexa,” wherein “expert brands” provide answers to customer questions like “How can I remove pet hair from my carpet?” that also just so happen to prominently feature that brand’s particular product.

Per the company, brands will have to first sign up to the Amazon Brand Registry to gain access to the sellers hub where they can view and answer questions that customers ask their networked Alexa devices. Both questions and answers reportedly pass through the company’s content moderation team before the most relevant answers are pushed live.

The program launches on limited release this October before expanding out to all eligible US brands by 2023. Alexa users will see the responses appear in late 2022 in the Amazon search bar and on Echo devices by the middle of next year.

While this isn’t the creepiest use of Alexa we’ve seen from the company in Q3 2022 — that honor goes to the ghouls who think using your Nan’s vocal imprints like an auditory marionette is a good idea — but it is among the most concerning. Amazon has made no secret of its goal to surveil (and subsequently profit from) every aspect of our public and private lives that it can worm itself access into — whether that’s knowing our shopping habits, viewing habits, eating habits, obviously our cleaning habits, and potentially soon, our healthcare habits. And if this announcement holds any portent for the future, getting reliable answers to even basic questions is going to get a lot harder for anyone navigating Amazon’s sprawling online ecosphere.

‘Warzone’ is going mobile in 2023

Call of Duty is doubling down on mobile play with Warzone Mobile, a battle royale heading to Android and iOS devices in 2023. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will feature 120-player matches with operators, weapons, locations and combat familiar to existing Warzone fans. The game will support a shared Battle Pass, social features and cross-progression with Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0, both of which are due out at the end of 2022. The base game will be free.

Activision hasn’t shared details about potential microtransactions in Warzone Mobile, but that’ll likely be the case. In-game purchases have been built into Call of Duty: Mobile since its debut in 2019, and that plan seems to have worked out just fine for Activision — the studio has made more than $1.5 billion off of Android and iOS players in less than three years, according to SensorTower. Call of Duty: Mobile has been downloaded more than 650 million times globally.

If Call of Duty: Mobile was a test run, Warzone Mobile is Activision’s end game. Warzone Mobile is part of a unification scheme for the entire Call of Duty franchise, with Activision pulling the annual installment, Warzone and mobile play into one ecosystem with the same underlying technology. This move unlocks shared progression, socializing and payments across platforms and titles, transforming Call of Duty into more of a state of mind than a video game.

Though the franchise is coming together in new ways, Warzone Mobile will feature mobile-specific playlists, events and content. Activision also promises deep customization options for handheld play. The game is being developed with input from multiple studios, including Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Digital Legends and Solid State Studios. Pre-registration for Warzone Mobile is live now on Google Play.

‘Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0’ goes live November 16th

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 will officially land on November 16th, bringing Modern Warfare II environments, gameplay and technology to a large-scale battlefield. This release date has been floating around the internet for a few months now, and Activision confirmed it today during a showcase about the new, connected future of Call of Duty.

Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 will mark a turning point for the Call of Duty franchise, with a focus on cross-progression and shared technology among its various versions. MWII comes out on October 28th, just a few weeks before Warzone 2.0. Both games will use the same underlying technology, a fresh version of the IW engine that powered 2019’s Modern Warfare. 

Warzone 2.0 will serve as an extension of MWII multiplayer, set in a fictional region of Western Asia called Al Mazrah. The battle royale has a revamped circle mechanic for end-game play, with multiple enclosures dropping down, rather than a single shrinking circle. There’s also a new sandbox experience called DMZ and a revamped Gulag, where killed players can fight for the chance to rejoin a match in 2-on-2 skirmishes.

AI mechanics in Warzone 2.0 will be ripped from the mainline installment as well — MWII will feature AI-driven advancements in squad positioning and enemy behavior, offering more lifelike reactions to player movement across the board. This AI system will also be live in Warzone 2.0. Both titles will use Activision’s Ricochet Anti-Cheat, a kernel-level solution that monitors your rig while the games are active.

MWII multiplayer emphasizes amphibious play, stealth and vehicular combat, and later this year it’ll get a new 3-v-3 Raids mode. The MWII multiplayer open beta goes live September 16th on PlayStation, and September 22nd on Xbox and PC (and still PlayStation). This’ll be open to folks who pre-ordered the game.

Warzone 2.0 will be free-to-play, just like its granddaddy, Warzone.

Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will face ‘in-depth’ UK investigation

Microsoft might want to abandon the hope of a speedy merger with Activision Blizzard. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is referring the takeover for an “in-depth” (Phase 2, in CMA lingo) investigation. The regulator is still concerned the buyout could lead to a “substantial lessening” of competition in the country after launching a basic inquiry in July. 

The Authority signalled its intention to launch a deeper investigation on September 1st. It gave Microsoft until September 8th to propose acceptable concessions. Microsoft declined, and the CMA stepped up its scrutiny. In a statement to Engadget, Microsoft President Brad Smith said his company was “ready” to work with the CMA and that it wanted people to have “more access to games, not less.” You can read the full statement below.

The investigation won’t necessarily block the deal. It could significantly delay the proposed union, however, and might demand more compromises on Microsoft’s part. With that said, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard previously said they’ll cooperate with regulators. Microsoft gaming lead Phil Spencer said his company would keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, for example. Unless the CMA has strong objections, it may be more a question of when the merger completes than whether it happens at all.

“We’re ready to work with the CMA on next steps and address any of its concerns. Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about Call of Duty, but we’ve said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation. We want people to have more access to games, not less.”

Blizzard explains how ‘Overwatch 2’ battle passes work

Blizzard just clarified how Overwatch 2‘s switch to a battle pass system will work in practice. When the team shooter debuts on October 4th, there will be both free and $10 premium battle passes like you see in other free-to-play titles. You’ll similarly deal with a virtual currency, Overwatch Coins, that you use to buy the pass and other items. Unlike some games, though, you can earn those coins for free simply by playing frequently. If you play often enough (grouping and weekly challenges will accelerate this), you can upgrade to the premium track without paying a cent.

The developer also further explained how you’ll unlock heroes. If you want the new support Kiriko (shown above) or other heroes for free, you’ll have to reach tier 55 — a lot of work, but it’s achievable. The catch, of course, is that premium battle pass owners will have immediate access to these characters and can practice with them sooner. New heroes are expected every other season after Season Two, and Blizzard will let you acquire past seasons’ champions by either completing challenges or buying them with Overwatch Coins.

As explained earlier, Blizzard primarily intends to profit from purchases of cosmetic items that now include “Mythic” skins with customizable layers. You’ll get one Mythic skin with every season’s battle pass. Everyone will have access to new maps at no charge, with new playing fields arriving on alternate seasons. PvE (that is, the more story-oriented mode) is still slated for 2023.

The approach might be welcome if you were worried Blizzard might make it too difficult to earn heroes or some desirable cosmetics without spending real money. With that said, there’s still a strong incentive to pay — particularly if you don’t have the time or inclination to grind tiers.

Zoom suffered a major outage that may have cancelled your video meetings

If you couldn’t join a must-attend Zoom meeting this morning, you weren’t alone. Zoom is recovering from a major outage that prevented users from starting or joining meetings. The company didn’t yet have an explanation for the problem, but said it had “identified” the cause and continue investigating the fault. It also vowed to monitor the situation.

The company first flagged the outage at 11:17AM Eastern, shortly after users began reporting that zoom.us was unavailable. It pinpointed the issue at about 11:30AM and said it had fixed the problem several minutes later.

Zoom outages aren’t unheard of. Notably, the service had a rough morning in August 2020 that left meetings unavailable for hours. This downtime has become rarer, though, and outages like these are all the more painful as a result. Look at it this way, though: this might be welcome if you’re tired of lengthy video calls that could have been replaced with a simple email.

‘Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves’ collection hits PCs on October 19th

Sony and developer Naughty Dog confirmed today that its excellent bundle of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are coming to the PC on October 19th. As announced last year, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection will bring these two games to the PC for the first time, following the collection’s release for the PS5 this past January. 

This news lines up with a leak last week that showed a listing for the game on the Epic Games Store with an October 19th release date. This confirmation comes after Sony had delayed the game’s release from its original “early 2022” timeline. As you’d expect, there are a host of features relevant to PC players, including ultra widescreen monitor support and a host of graphics adjustment options including texture and model quality, anisotropic filtering, shadows, reflections and ambient occlusion. The UI has also been tweaked to better fit on PC and you can remap all controls as you see fit.

Speaking of controls, you can also play this game wirelessly with the PS4’s DualShock 4 controller; if you plug in a PS5 DualSense controller, you’ll get more advanced haptic feedback.

If you’re interested, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves is up for pre-order on Steam and the Epic Games Store for $49.99. It’s the first Naughty Dog title to hit the PC, but a number of other high-profile Sony exclusives (including Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War) have come to the PC in recent years. And Naughty Dog’s latest release, the remade The Last of Us Part I will also be released for the PC, though there’s no timeframe just yet.

TikTok experiment asks you to share BeReal-style daily posts with friends

Instagram isn’t the only one hoping to capitalize on the daily photo sharing trend. TikTok has unveiled an experimental Now feature that, much like BeReal, asks you to post either a photo (using front and back cameras) or 10-second video to tell friends what you’re doing each day. You’ll have a limited window to share content after you receive a randomly-timed prompt. Effectively, it’s a visual status update.

The test will run over the “coming weeks,” according to the social network. TikTok Now is available through the usual app in the US, but you may also find it as a dedicated app in other countries. Not surprisingly, the company is limiting some features for teens. Anyone under 16 who creates an account in the Now app will default to private viewing. Teens between 13 and 15 can only receive comments from friends, and everyone under 18 can’t share their content on Explore.

TikTok is more used to rivals duping its features than the other way around. However, it’s easy to see the reasons for borrowing BeReal’s core concept. Daily posts could keep you coming back to TikTok. They also elevate the importance of friends — you might want to add more people to your social circle if you know you’ll see frequent updates. In that sense, Now could change TikTok’s role as much as it could improve the company’s bottom line.

Adobe acquires collaborative design platform Figma for $20 billion

Adobe just made a big move into team-based creative work. The company is acquiring the online collaborative design platform Figma for roughly $20 billion in cash and shares. That’s the largest buyout of a private software company to date, according to Bloomberg‘s Katie Roof. Adobe hopes the deal will “accelerate” web creativity and put more of the Creative Cloud suite’s technology on the internet. You can expect to see Adobe’s visual editing features find their way into Figma’s platform.

The two firms expect the purchase to close sometime in 2023 if it receives approval from regulators and shareholders. Figma co-founder and chief Dylan Field will continue to lead his company if and when the takeover finalizes, but will report to Adobe’s digital media lead David Wadhwani.

Don’t worry that Adobe will completely revamp Figma, at least not at first. Field stressed in a blog post that Adobe was “deeply committed” to keeping Figma an autonomous company. There’s “no plan” at the moment to change Figma’s pricing, and it will remain free for education users. While the executive hoped to draw on Adobe’s know-how for upgrades, he also expected to keep running Figma as he did before.

While the acquisition is huge, it’s not surprising given Adobe’s past moves. It bought the video collaboration platform Frame.io in 2021, and has been making moves into web-based tools with offerings like Creative Cloud Express. Figma is a logical (if major) extension of that strategy — it could help make online teamwork a staple of the creative process in companies that regularly use software like Photoshop and Premiere.