According to media reports, Microsoft is considering the option of Activision Blizzard leaving the British market, Square Enix is allegedly concerned about the small number of Final Fantasy XVI pre-orders, owners of Russian and Belarusian accounts in Battle.net they can no longer receive gifts on the platform, — we tell you what happened in the gaming industry over the weekend.
Microsoft is thinking about closing a deal with Activision Blizzard, bypassing the ban of the UK regulator, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. One of the options considered by the corporation is to withdraw Activision Blizzard from the British market. Another option is to ignore the decision of the antimonopoly authorities and complete the purchase, despite the ban.
Former Game Informer editor Imran Khan claims that Square Enix is “slightly panicking” because of the number of pre-orders of Final Fantasy XVI. According to the journalist, the game is pre-ordered worse than Final Fantasy XV, even adjusted for the fact that it is available on fewer platforms. However, Khan notes, this does not mean that Final Fantasy XVI will fail. Gamers can start buying the game more actively after its release.
▪️Account holders in Battle.net the region of Russia and Belarus had problems with gifts on the platform. The network writes that foreign users can no longer give them games, DLC and other goods from the store. When trying to send a gift, the message “Your friend cannot receive this gift” appears. Technical support Battle.net confirmed that this is not an error, but a special restriction.
▪️In some EU countries, Steam has started showing the lowest prices for the last 30 days on the game pages. The SteamDB service drew attention to the change. Experts pointed out that the update is related to the Omnibus Directive operating in the European Union. The directive requires companies, in particular, to report the previous value of the product when selling it at a discount. For violating the directive, a fine of up to 4% of the annual turnover is threatened.
The Internet Development Institute (IRI) has announced that it will support the developers of four more games. He will allocate funds to the authors of the projects “Vasilisa and Baba Yaga”, “Three Heroes and the Magic City”, “Magic of Knowledge: literary Reading” and “Peter and the Wolf: The Case of the Artifact of Adventures”. All of them became winners of the competition for the creation of national content. How much money the developers will receive is not specified.