Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, has said that he doesn’t believe Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be blocked by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Talking to the Financial Times, Nadella said that the deal would only place Microsoft as the third largest player in the video games industry, and the fragmentation of the market would prevent them from gaining a monopoly.

“At the end of the day, all the analysis here has to be done through a lens of what’s the category we’re talking about, and what about the market structure?” said Nadella. “Even post-this acquisition, we will be number three with sort of low teens [market] share, where even the highest player is also [in the] teens [for market] share. It shows how fragmented content creation platforms are. And so, that’s the fundamental category. Yes, we will be a big player in what is a highly fragmented place.”

Should the deal go ahead, Microsoft will still be behind Sony and Tencent in terms of industry size.

Nadella also noted that distribution is an important factor to consider, and that Microsoft is currently not even the biggest games provider on its own operating system. “Also, the analysis will have to extend to say: Why are these content companies trying to become bigger? It’s because the place where the constraints really are is distribution. The only open distribution platform for any gaming content — guess what? — is Windows . . . the biggest store on Windows is Steam. It’s not ours. People can do any payment instrument, whereas all the other gaming distribution platforms are closed.”

The Microsoft/Activision Blizzard buyout will be investigated by the FTC, which reportedly has concerns around Big Tech companies such as Microsoft. The US commission has recently sued to block two major tech takeovers: Nvidia's purchase of Arm, and Lockheed Martin's takeover of rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings.

For more on the deal, check out our full breakdown.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, has said that he doesn’t believe Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be blocked by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Talking to the Financial Times, Nadella said that the deal would only place Microsoft as the third largest player in the video games industry, and the fragmentation of the market would prevent them from gaining a monopoly.

“At the end of the day, all the analysis here has to be done through a lens of what’s the category we’re talking about, and what about the market structure?” said Nadella. “Even post-this acquisition, we will be number three with sort of low teens [market] share, where even the highest player is also [in the] teens [for market] share. It shows how fragmented content creation platforms are. And so, that’s the fundamental category. Yes, we will be a big player in what is a highly fragmented place.”

Should the deal go ahead, Microsoft will still be behind Sony and Tencent in terms of industry size.

Nadella also noted that distribution is an important factor to consider, and that Microsoft is currently not even the biggest games provider on its own operating system. “Also, the analysis will have to extend to say: Why are these content companies trying to become bigger? It’s because the place where the constraints really are is distribution. The only open distribution platform for any gaming content — guess what? — is Windows . . . the biggest store on Windows is Steam. It’s not ours. People can do any payment instrument, whereas all the other gaming distribution platforms are closed.”

The Microsoft/Activision Blizzard buyout will be investigated by the FTC, which reportedly has concerns around Big Tech companies such as Microsoft. The US commission has recently sued to block two major tech takeovers: Nvidia's purchase of Arm, and Lockheed Martin's takeover of rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings.

For more on the deal, check out our full breakdown.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home!

It looks as though Spider-Man: No Way Home’s deleted scenes include even more footage of some fan-pleasing cameos.

Movie insider Amit Chaudhury has revealed that the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home DVD and Blu-ray release will include over 100 minutes of bonus footage – and that seemingly includes some additional scenes from some of the coolest cameo appearances.

Of course, the biggest cameo was the return of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as the multiverse portals opened up to reveal the former Spider-Man actors. As you'd expect, it looks as though we’ll be getting additional footage of them hanging out.

The deleted scene in question is simply titled “The Spideys Hang Out” and runs for approximately 4 minutes 25 seconds. What’s it about? At this stage, we have absolutely no idea, but more footage of the three Spideys goofing around is fine by me.

Perhaps more interestingly, it looks as though we’ll be getting even more of Charlie Cox’s cameo appearance, when he appeared as Matt Murdock, finally bringing Daredevil in the MCU.

This clip is titled “Happy’s Very Good Lawyer” and will likely feature Happy Hogan getting some legal advice courtesy of Nelson and Murdock’s finest. This deleted scene runs for a far shorter 1 minute and 35 seconds.

List of #SpiderManNoWayHome's 100 Mins. of bonus content: https://t.co/kOteYqMshl pic.twitter.com/luigWtzzdy

— Amit Chaudhari (@5150Aamrit) February 3, 2022

Elsewhere, it looks as though Dakota Johnson will be joining the Spider-Verse, too, as Marvel’s Madame Web. And while Tom Holland isn’t ready to stop being Spider-Man just yet, it looks as though he wants to see Andrew Garfield pick up The Amazing Spider-Man 3 after fans made the canceled movie trend on Twitter.

Spider-Man: No Way Home stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker, along with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their own versions of Spider-Man. They’re joined by Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jon Favreau.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home!

It looks as though Spider-Man: No Way Home’s deleted scenes include even more footage of some fan-pleasing cameos.

Movie insider Amit Chaudhury has revealed that the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home DVD and Blu-ray release will include over 100 minutes of bonus footage – and that seemingly includes some additional scenes from some of the coolest cameo appearances.

Of course, the biggest cameo was the return of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as the multiverse portals opened up to reveal the former Spider-Man actors. As you'd expect, it looks as though we’ll be getting additional footage of them hanging out.

The deleted scene in question is simply titled “The Spideys Hang Out” and runs for approximately 4 minutes 25 seconds. What’s it about? At this stage, we have absolutely no idea, but more footage of the three Spideys goofing around is fine by me.

Perhaps more interestingly, it looks as though we’ll be getting even more of Charlie Cox’s cameo appearance, when he appeared as Matt Murdock, finally bringing Daredevil in the MCU.

This clip is titled “Happy’s Very Good Lawyer” and will likely feature Happy Hogan getting some legal advice courtesy of Nelson and Murdock’s finest. This deleted scene runs for a far shorter 1 minute and 35 seconds.

List of #SpiderManNoWayHome's 100 Mins. of bonus content: https://t.co/kOteYqMshl pic.twitter.com/luigWtzzdy

— Amit Chaudhari (@5150Aamrit) February 3, 2022

Elsewhere, it looks as though Dakota Johnson will be joining the Spider-Verse, too, as Marvel’s Madame Web. And while Tom Holland isn’t ready to stop being Spider-Man just yet, it looks as though he wants to see Andrew Garfield pick up The Amazing Spider-Man 3 after fans made the canceled movie trend on Twitter.

Spider-Man: No Way Home stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker, along with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their own versions of Spider-Man. They’re joined by Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jon Favreau.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

One of the biggest changes to the Xbox business in the past five years has been the introduction of the Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft Games CEO Phil Spencer has been its biggest champion, and according to a new profile, a major reason why Microsoft took a chance on the experimental gaming service in the first place.

In a profile by the Wall Street Journal, Xbox Game Pass — a service where for a monthly fee players can download and play from a library of games, including Xbox first-party titles — was born from Microsoft’s success with its cloud service business. But it was never a guarantee Microsoft would go through with the proposal.

“In meetings, Mr. Spencer’s staff would present arguments for why Game Pass Wouldn’t work — publishers wouldn’t participate, or it would eat into profits,” says former Xbox veteran Richard Irving.

“‘[Phil Spencer] wouldn’t take no for an answer,’” Irving added, saying Spencer was at the center of pushing forward with Xbox Game Pass. “He was always trying to find a way to make it work.”

While Xbox Game Pass has been touted as a success with around 25 million subscribers. There are reports that PlayStation is working on a similar service codenamed Project Spartacus.

Unlike Netflix which streams movies and TV shows to devices, Game Pass subscribers can download games to their PC or consoles locally, though Xbox also offers Cloud Streaming as well. Another feature of Xbox Game Pass is being able to access first-party Xbox titles on day one when they’re released.

Spencer is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Annual DICE Awards for his work at Microsoft, which includes introducing services like Game Pass. He has also overseen Xbox’s major acquisitions including Activision Blizzard and last year’s ZeniMax Media.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

While most folks are still chewing their way through the hours of adventure available in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, if you're close to wrapping up the main story, you might be wondering whether DLC will be on the table. Though there's no official word yet, Legends: Arceus fortunately leaves open quite a few possibilities for where a potential DLC could go.

Warning: Minor spoilers for story and locations in Pokemon Legends: Arceus (or, rather, locations not in Legends: Arceus) follow.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus does a fairly good job of canvassing the breadth of "vast Hisui," but there are a handful of key locations that appear in Diamond and Pearl that we never actually get to visit in its past-tense Hisui that could be ripe for some kind of DLC area down the line, big or small.

On the main continent itself, two that spring immediately to mind are Eterna Forest and Canalave City. Though it seems like we visit the forest in the Obsidian Fieldlands, Eterna Forest is located to the north of Jubilife in Diamond and Pearl, while the Heartwood is far to the south in an area we don't really visit in Diamond and Pearl. Canalave is actually in a similar boat, as it's located to the west of Jubilife in an area that appears covered by ocean on the Hisui map. Both of these are relatively small spots though, so they're less interesting DLC fodder than other possibilities.

A slightly more interesting possibility is Iron Island, an area you visit in Diamond and Pearl and traverse alongside Riley. This could be fleshed out to be a small new area in Legends: Arceus, and even opens up the possibility of including the Regi trio in an update, as Platinum included the Iron Ruins and Registeel within. That would also mean adding Regice and Regirock to their respective locations in Mt. Coronet and (presumably) a cave in the Cobalt Coastlands, though.

But this is small potatoes. Let's think big. How about the Underground? In Diamond and Pearl, the Underground is a sprawling cave system used for secret bases and gem mining, but in the more recent remakes there are massive caverns full of different types of Pokemon waiting to be caught, many of which expand the Sinnoh Dex past what it was in the originals. A Hisuian version of this cave system could be an extremely fun place to explore, and could open up interesting possibilities for what Pokemon might appear there...as well as the possibility of proper online play.

And finally, what if we went even bigger? The legendary Pokemon Giratina makes an appearance in Legends: Arceus, so what if we traveled to its Distortion World? This seems like a bit more of a stretch. It's hard to say what kinds of Pokemon might appear there or what we might even been doing there given Giratina is available in the main game already. Plus, Distortion World wasn't in the recent Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes at all. But it's nonetheless an interesting possibility to puzzle over.

One last possibility is the appearance of other regions in Legends: Arceus. This seems unlikely, as Game Freak would be more likely to save these for other, future Legends games. But multiple characters do reference other regions, including Alola, Kanto, Johto, and Galar. So we know it's possible to travel to them from Hisui, and even if it's just a small appearance, it would be cool to see a glimpse of the historical version of any of these familiar places.

Aside from location, Legends: Arceus certainly has plenty of story threads it could still wrap up with DLC. The end of the game leaves open a lot of possibilities for the future of Jubilife, other towns that might one day be built, various mysteries scattered around the world such as the Old Verses, characters that didn't really get conclusive endings, and more. Hopefully, Game Freak has more in the works for the world of Hisui that will tie at least some of these ends up.

Fortunately, there's still plenty to do in Legends: Arceus for the time being. To help you out, we have tons of guides to anything you might want to know about its Pokemon, story, or mechanics, as well as our review of the entire game.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Just ahead of The Batman's theatrical release, DC Comics is releasing nine — count 'em, nine — variant covers of various Batman universe comics in March, all inspired by the gritty look of Matt Reeves' new dark knight adventure.

Check out the gallery below for a look at the covers

In order of appearance the variant covers will be available for:

• Batman #121 (on sale March 1) – variant cover by Lee Bermejo
• Batman: Killing Time #1 (on sale March 1) – variant cover by Carlos D’Anda
• Batgirls #4 (on sale March 8) – variant cover by Jonboy Meyers
• Detective Comics #1056 (on sale March 8) – variant cover by Puppeteer Lee
• Batman: The Knight #3 (on sale March 8) – variant cover by Rafael Albuquerque
• Catwoman #41 (on sale March 15) – variant cover by Jenny Frison
• Justice League #74 (on sale March 15) – variant cover by Ben Oliver
• Nightwing #90 (on sale March 15) – variant cover by Riccardo Federici
• Harley Quinn #13 (on sale March 22) – variant cover by Simone Bianchi

My particular favorites? Catwoman wielding a bike chain like a whip, and Paul Dano's Riddler looking like the Zodiac Killer on a particularly gruesome day.

You can pre-order each comic at your local comic book store now. In the meantime, The Batman releases in theaters on March 4, and you can read about how Colin Farrel's version of the Penguin was inspired by The Godfather, or how Robert Pattinson's agent was shocked to hear he wanted the role of Batman.

We've also got a whole three minutes of footage from The Batman, which director Matt Reeves posted following a leak. If Batman isn't your speed, check out every other upcoming DC show and movie.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Credit: DC Comics

A new Halo Infinite patch appears to have finally fixed its Big Team Battle mode's matchmaking issues, which have persisted since early December.

In a tweet posted earlier today, the official Halo Infinite Twitter account confirmed the improvements to matchmaking in Big Team Battle. Players are being asked to close and relaunch Halo Infinite to install the patch.

In addition to the problems with Big Team Battle, the new patch also resolved known campaign issues while also making balanced changes. A few of the most notable changes can be found here:

• Local Area Network (LAN) multiplayer is now available. There is a known issue for LAN multiplayer: Match settings changed in the Mode Editor still show as the defaults. The changed settings work as expected once the match begins.

• Players with AMD Radeon RX 500 Series GPUs no longer experience crashes because Async Compute in Video Settings is turned on.

• Players who have turned off Async Compute because of this can now turn it back on.

• If Halo Infinite is launched without an internet connection, players can connect to the internet while on the main menu and play online. This does not resolve all scenarios where the game is launched connected to the internet, later loses internet connection, and is stuck offline until the game is restarted.

• When launching in windowed mode on Steam, the window shows correct borders.

The post also includes several known campaign issues and workarounds for players who experience them. Meanwhile, Halo Infinite players are being compensated with five XP boosts and five Challenge Swaps, which are available to collect until February 16.

Halo Infinite was released late last year to great success, but it has faced plenty of criticism for its handling of its Battle Pass among other issues. Players are still awaiting more info on the release of campaign co-op and the Forge map creation, which are still in development.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Amazon is raising the price of a Prime membership for the first time in four years, the company announced during its quarterly earnings report on Thursday. Amazon cited its new NFL deal to stream Thursday Night Football and expanded entertainment offerings, THR reports.

An annual Amazon Prime membership will go from $119 to $139, while monthly will go from $12.99 to $14.99. Price changes go into effect on February 18 for new subscribers, while current subscribers will see their first renewal period after March 25 reflect the change.

In addition to paying the NFL $1 billion for the rights to stream Thursday Night Football, Amazon has also significantly expanded its streaming library with exclusives like The Boys, Wheel of Time, and the upcoming Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series. Buying the rights to Lord of the Rings in 2017 cost Amazon more than $200 million, and a first season that reportedly cost more than $465 million to produce, making it one of the most expensive television series ever made.

Amazon also said that more than 200 million Prime members had streamed its library of shows and movies, and cited same-day delivery, pharmacy delivery, and Amazon Music as factors in its decision to raise Prime costs.

Amazon reported other Q4 results, including $137.4 billion in net sales and $14.3 billion in net income. For 2021, it generated $470 billion in total net sales and $33.4 billion in net income. Amazon says it expects to have net sales in 2022 totaling somewhere between $112 billion and $117 billion.

Image credit: Daniela Vasquez/Getty Images.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Ghostwire: Tokyo has been something of a mystery since Bethesda unveiled the game in 2019, but a new gameplay deep-dive has finally shed light on how the game actually works, including its open world and combat mechanics.

Tango Gameworks, developers of The Evil Within, revealed the game is an open world set in a haunted Tokyo following "the Vanishing", a paranormal occurance where 99% of the population vanished.

The city has become overrun with spirits from Japanese mythology and the player must use a combined arsenal of supernatural powers and traditional weaponry to save it.

Open World

Ghostwire: Tokyo's open world, despite its fairly unique setting, appears to take on more traditional elements of the genre

A standard menu map allows the navigation of a Tokyo packed with main missions, side quests, and points of interest that involve defeating enemies within a certain location to clear surrounding fog.

These areas are marked by corrupted torii gates that players must cleanse in order to clear the fog, and there are several – big and small – scattered throughout Tokyo.

Another open world activity is the inclusion of strange spaces throughout the map that lean back into Tango Gameworks' horror past. The player must walk through corridors "where time and space cannot be trusted" which look to be something like a toned-down version of P.T. "The only way to complete your mission is to power through," the deep-dive narrator explains.

Traversal around the city is also "an essential part" of Ghostwire: Tokyo and the player has access to what is essentially a grapple-hook, known here as the Tengu Ability. The player can latch onto flying Tengu monsters to leap onto and across rooftops, and appears to have a glide ability as well.

There's also a "Spectral Vision" pulse , essentially a detective mode, that reveals enemies and points of interest in the vicinity.

Combat

At the centre of Ghostwire: Tokyo's combat is a skill called "Ethereal Weaving" that's used to fight the monsters that appeared after the Vanishing.

It fuses spiritual energy with fire, air, or water to launch close or long-range attacks at the variety of enemies that require different playstyles to defeat.

Incoming attacks can also be parried and the player's supernatural powers can be charged up to enter "Wire-In" mode and unleash more powerful attacks.

The player will also unlock more "traditional" weapons such as a bow and arrow (the gameplay showed regular and explosive arrows) and talismans that explode with lightning.

Ghostwire: Tokyo also features stealth gameplay and has dedicated stealth sections where the player's supernatural abilities are stripped away, forcing a reliance on "wits and traditional weapons".

Typical RPG mechanics are also present, with earned skill points used to unlock different "abilities" and "Ethereal Weaving" power-ups.

Story

Ghostwire: Tokyo opens as main character Akito wakes up after the Vanishing. 99% of the population is gone, the city is flooded with supernatural creatures, and there's a demon called K.K. in your head. What a morning.

Akito must master his new abilities to fight ghouls and figure out what happened to Tokyo, not to mention save it. From there, it's anyone's guess where we'll go next.

The game will finally arrive on March 25, and will likely be the last PlayStation console-exclusive Bethesda game. We know that Tango Gameworks is already hard at work on the next game after Ghostwire too.