Meta revealed it Opening the Quest operating system to third-party companies, allowing them to create their own headphones. Quest OS is being rebranded as Meta Horizon OS and two companies are already interested.
ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand is working on new “performance gaming” headsets, while Lenovo is focusing on devices for “productivity, learning and entertainment.” However, perhaps most interestingly, Meta said it’s also working on a limited-edition Xbox “inspired” Quest headset. (Microsoft and Meta recently worked together Bring Xbox cloud gaming to Quest.) Although this could just be a modified Quest 3, this collaboration could lead to headsets made entirely for Microsoft’s consoles in the future. If the PlayStation can have VR, surely the Xbox can too.
– Matt Smith
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This is the result of a more comprehensive investigation since February.
The European Union (EU) has launched a second official investigation into TikTok. The probe covers the addictive nature of TikTok Lite, a smaller version of the app that takes up less memory and is built to run on slower internet connections. The wrinkle could be a design aspect that allows users to earn points by watching and liking videos. These points can be exchanged for TikTok’s special digital currency and even Amazon vouchers. The EU Commission expressed concern that this type of “task and reward” design language could affect the mental health of young users by “stimulating addictive behaviour”.
Andy Stone was convicted of “openly advocating terrorism”.
A Moscow court in February issued an arrest warrant for Meta spokesman Andy Stone on several terror-related charges, months after Russian authorities searched for him and launched a criminal investigation. It referred to Stone’s allegation of “promotion of terrorist activity, open calls for terrorist activity, public justification of terrorism or promotion of terrorism, and open calls for extremist activities.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee opened an investigation into Meta in March 2022. He alleged that Stone incited extremist activity after removing “a ban on calls for violence against the Russian military on his platforms.” Stone said Meta had “temporarily” allowed some posts it had previously taken down for promoting violence to remain on its platform, but noted the company would still outlaw “credible calls for violence against Russian citizens.”
They will specialize in AAA, desktop and indie titles.
The company announced plans to split into three separate parts. The first is Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, which specializes in AAA games Grave robber and Dead Island – and of course anything about The Lord of the Rings. Asmodee will handle the board game segment including Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, Azul, CATAN, Dobble and Exploding Kittens. It will be the company’s indie-focused group with properties including Coffee Stain & Friends A deep rock galaxy and Goat simulator.
