The AstraZeneca vaccine forms the bulk of the stockpile acquired by a UN-backed effort to deploy vaccines globally.
Read Live Updates On Donald Trump’s Impeachment Trial
Microsoft Creating New Company, Vault, to House ZeniMax and Bethesda
Legal documents indicate that Microsoft intends to create a new wholly-owned subsidiary called Vault to complete its ZeniMax Media acquisition deal. It’s not clear if ZeniMax will be known as Vault after the deal closes.
The European Union is currently deciding whether to approve the $7.5 billion acquisition that was revealed back in September 2020. Documents seen on the European Union Law website EUR-Lex refer to the logistics of the acquisition, mentioning a “merger pursuant to which a newly created Microsoft subsidiary (‘Vault’) will be merged with and into ZeniMax.”
While it’s not clear exactly how this will work, the ‘Vault’ subsidiary would be a good way to house Microsoft’s new acquisitions under one quasi-independent banner, affording ZeniMax’s studios (which includes Bethesda, Arkane, MachineGames, and more) a level of freedom while still being owned by Microsoft. The text explicitly says that Microsoft will acquire “sole control of the whole of ZeniMax,” regardless, but the document suggests they will be accomplishing this via the Vault subsidiary. We’ll be sure to learn more once the deal gets the all-clear from the European Union.
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It’s a different approach to Microsoft’s previous acquisitions, such as Obsidian, Ninja Theory and Double Fine, which were formally made a part of Microsoft and housed under its Xbox Game Studios brand. Whether ZeniMax’s studios become known as part of Vault or not, the move to create a Microsoft subsidiary to complete the merger seems to mark a level of independence compared to other acquired companies.
This tallies with previous reporting about Bethesda’s semi-independence under Microsoft. Phil Spencer told CNET in September that “they’re not about becoming us,” in reference to the deal. Bethesda SVP of global marketing Pete Hines backed this up, saying in a statement that “we’re still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us,” around the same time.
We still haven’t heard how the acquisition will work in regards to the exclusivity of future Bethesda games. However, Bethesda head honcho Todd Howard recently said that it’s “hard to imagine” a game like Elder Scrolls 6 being Xbox-exclusive. Arkane’s Deathloop will launch later this year as a timed PS5 exclusive, with Microsoft honouring the deal after acquiring Arkane as part of the ZeniMax acquisition.
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
US election: Criminal probe into Trump Georgia election call
Prosecutors look into the ex-president’s phone call asking an official to “find” votes from the election.
New Bravely Default 2 Trailer Explains The Game’s Battle System
Bravely Default II arrives on Nintendo Switch later this month, and ahead of its release, Nintendo and Square Enix have shared a new trailer that provides an overview of the game’s unique battle system.
Like many classical RPGs, Bravely Default II features turn-based combat, but it weaves in an extra layer of strategy with its titular Brave and Default mechanics. Selecting Default makes your character assume a defensive stance, forgoing their turn to amass one Brave Point. The Brave command, meanwhile, lets you use bankedBrave Points to perform multiple actions in a single turn. As the new trailer explains, carefully utilizing both the Brave and Default commands will be vital to defeating many of the game’s tougher adversaries.
Despite the number in its title, Bravely Default II is actually the third proper entry in its series. This entry follows four heroes of light–Seth the sailor, Gloria the princess, Adele the mercenary, and Elvis the scholar–as they set out on an adventure across the continent of Excillant to restore the magical Crystals. The game was originally slated to release in 2020 but was pushed back to further fine-tune the experience.
TikTok Won’t Be Sold After All
The proposed sale of TikTok’s US operations to Oracle and Walmart has been halted. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the deal has been “shelved indefinitely.”
The deal was initially pushed by then-President Donald Trump over concerns about the company’s Chinese ownership, but President Biden is said to have put a stop to the sale as his own administration conducts a review of its own for possible security risks.
TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is currently engaged with members of US national security teams to look into data security and specifically how TikTok collects data from American users and how such data might be accessed by the government in China.
Valheim Has Sold Over One Million Copies In Its First Week On Steam
Valheim has already surpassed one million sales in its first week on Steam Early Access. The PvE exploration and survival game is set in a procedurally generated purgatory inspired by Viking culture. Up to 10 players can populate a single server to raise mead halls and farms, forge weapons and armor, build and sail ships, and defeat primordial bosses of myth and legend.
Valheim has been an early hit right out of the gate, with a peak of 160,000 concurrent users and over 127,000 peak viewers on Twitch. Developer Iron Gate Studio says it’s hard at work addressing some of the issues players have reported since the game’s launch on February 2.
The studio also has plans for the next year of Early Access, though details are relatively sparse right now. Valheim’s roadmap promises four significant updates throughout 2021, along with some other bonuses “If Odin wills it.” The first, titled Hearth and Home, will presumably focus on home customisation and fortification, while Ships and the Sea will improve the game’s sailing. Cult of the Wolf is more mysterious, and the final update of the year will introduce a new biome.
PS5 DualSense Controller Drift: US Law Firm Investigating Class Action Suit
A US law firm that has already filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo for Joy-Con drift is now “investigating” a similar case against Sony, alleging analog stick drift in the PS5 DualSense controller.
Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP has set up a questionnaire page, asking for PS5 owners to report instances of drift (in which the console registers stick input, even if the controller isn’t being touched).
“CSK&D is investigating a potential class action based upon reports that Sony PS5 DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5 console can experience drift issues and/or fail prematurely,” reads the page introduction. “Specifically, it is reported that the joystick on certain PS5 DualSense controllers will automatically register movement when the joystick is not being controlled and interfere with gameplay.”
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Reports have begun to emerge around alleged drift on PS5 DualSense controllers in recent days, although it’s not clear how widespread an issue it is at this point. CSK&D’s questionnaire is likely an effort to find out just that, before embarking on any formal legal proceedings.
CSK&D is in the midst of a class-action suit against Nintendo, which was compelled to arbitration after a judge refused to dismiss the case – a case which began with a similar survey of users. It’s one of a number of worldwide cases about and investigations into drift on Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers.
Recent patents have suggested Sony may be looking to upgrade the DualSense, although those patterns did not mention changes to analog stick design. We awarded the DualSense a 9/10 review, saying “Sony has both made a more comfortable gamepad for traditional gameplay, and introduced some very exciting features.”
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Xbox Series X|S Controllers Have A Conveniently Hidden Trick To Switch Devices
If you’ve ever found it frustrating to move your Xbox controller over from your console to PC or a mobile device, this curiously hidden trick will likely save you a lot of time going forward.
The new range of Xbox Series X|S controllers all work with the new consoles, older Xbox One consoles, and Bluetooth devices such as PC and smartphones, but they also feature a new convenient way to switch between them without much fuss. Catalogued on Reddit and demonstrated by Timo Wolf on Twitter, you can quickly switch from console to PC/mobile by holding the controller’s sync button, and then switch back to console with a double tap.
This Co-Op Puzzle Game Just Launched For Free On PS5 And PS4
If you’re looking for a fun game to play with friends or loved ones while social distancing, there’s a new freebie up for grabs on the PlayStation Store. We Were Here, the 2017 co-op puzzle game from Total Mayhem Games, is free to download until February 23 for PS5 and PS4.
We Were Here is a two-player online co-op game set inside an abandoned castle in Antarctica. You and your partner have been separated. One player is locked away in a small area in the castle, while the other player must work through the rooms in order to find them The end goal is to escape the castle, and in order to do this, you’ll have to communicate effectively through a walkie-talkie. Along the way, you’ll solve puzzles by working together. Essentially, it’s a giant escape room, with each player assuming a unique role.
We Were Here currently holds a “Very Positive” user rating on Steam. Due to the premise, you cannot play local co-op, and a PlayStation Plus subscription is required to play We Were Here.