Google is laying off 12,000 employees

Google parent Alphabet is cutting around 12,000 jobs, or around six percent of its global workforce, it wrote in a company-wide email sent to employees. CEO Sundar Pichai said that he was “deeply sorry” to workers that will be let go and that it was a “difficult decision to set us up for the future.” The layoffs will be felt globally and across the entire company, and Pichai said he takes “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.” 

Alphabet went on a hiring spree over the last few years during a period of “dramatic growth,” but Pichai said that “we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.” Over the past few weeks Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and others instituted equally painful and dramatic job cuts due to economic conditions. 

Google is the last of those to implement layoffs, thanks in part to its powerful ad and cloud-computing divisions. However, the company saw a 27 percent drop in profit last quarter compared to the year before, and Pichai said Alphabet would need to reduce expenses and hiring. However, activists and analysts called for more aggressive cuts, noting that the company’s headcount had gone up 20 percent since 2017, according to Bloomberg.

Pichai said that that employees would be paid during the full notification period of 60 days minimum. Alphabet will also offer severance packages starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google “and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU vesting.” It’ll also pay 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time, while offering 6 months of healthcare, job placement services, and “immigration support for those affected.”

Over just the past two weeks, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta laid off 10,000, 18,000 and 11,000 employees respectively. Google has cut other expenses of late as well, shutting down Stadia, cancelling the next-generation Pixelbook laptops and more. It plans to focus even more strongly on AI, saying its “getting ready to share some entirely new experiences for users, developers and businesses.” 

Bungie offers displaced Stadia ‘Destiny 2’ players a free month of GeForce Now

Now that Stadia is gone, Bungie is steering players toward NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. The developer has offered Destiny 2 users a free month on the game streaming service, sending unique codes to each user, according to an email seen by 9to5Google. “We managed to snag some free codes for NVIDIA’s high-performance cloud gaming platform,” Bungie wrote. “Redeem your one-month code of a GeForce Now priority membership, for free.” 

Destiny 2 featured prominently in Stadia’s marketing up until the end, but also figured in GeForce Now promotion for various devices, as shown in the image above. Of the remaining cloud services, Destiny 2 is available on GeForce Now but not Xbox Cloud, Amazon’s Luna or PlayStation Now. 

Google announced in September that it would shut down Stadia for good as the service failed to gain traction with users. It refunded all game and hardware sales, and some game studios stepped in to help port games over to other services. If you have a Stadia controller, you can enable Bluetooth support via an online tool so it can be used with PC, iOS or Android devices.

Bungie’s offer was sent to each Destiny 2 user, so check your inbox for the invitation and unique code, then be sure to redeem it before February 19th. That will give you a free month of GeForce Now Priority, which offers 1080p gaming, 6-hour session lengths and up to 60fps refresh rates (it’ll cost $10 per month or $50 for six months after that). The service just introduced a new Ultimate membership tier with a new RTX 4080 boost that offers 4K resolutions, 8-hour sessions and up to 120 fps for $20 per month, or $100 for six months.

T-Mobile data breach compromised 37 million customers’ data

T-Mobile has admitted that hackers were able to steal the information of around 37 million postpaid and prepaid customers in another major data breach. The carrier said in a regulatory filing that it discovered the issue on January 5th, but that it bel…

Epic and Match antitrust case against Google goes to trial November 6th

Epic Games and Match Group now have a court date for their antitrust case against Google. A Northern District of California judge has set the start of a jury trial for November 6th. Both Epic and Match accuse Google of abusing its control of Android app distribution through the Play Store by establishing unfair fees and requirements for in-app purchases. This comes alongside a lawsuit from 39 attorneys general as well as a customer class action suit demanding $4.7 billion in damages.

Epic sued Google in 2020 after the Android creator kicked Fortnite out of the Play Store for letting customers use an alternative in-app payment system. Match sued Google last year over the “exorbitant” store fee. Epic and Match consolidated their case and a filed motion last fall to expand their allegations, accusing Google of further antitrust violations by paying major developers hundreds of millions of dollars to keep their apps in the Play Store. 

Unlike Epic’s partially successful lawsuit against Apple, this case has to acknowledge that customers do have a choice. Where Apple requires that all regular app downloads go through the App Store, Android’s sideloading option lets customers install software without downloading it from Google. The issue, as you might imagine, is that those apps are both harder to install and less likely to be noticed when the Play Store is included by default on many Android phones.

Google denies misusing its power, and argues that the fees are necessary to maintain and invest in the Play Store. It maintains that the incentive program doesn’t forbid developers from launching third-party stores, and that its portal competes fairly. In December, Google called on the court to deny the expanded requests over timing and other issues.

Google has made some concessions, including a test program for Play Store billing alternatives. That pilot still gives Google a cut of each transaction, though, and it remains to be seen if moves like that will satisfy the court and regulators. As it is, the internet pioneer is facing a raft of other antitrust cases that include a Justice Department lawsuit from 2020. Even if Google prevails against Epic and Match, it may not escape unscathed.

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO

One of streaming’s most influential figures is stepping away from the spotlight. Netflix co-creator Reed Hastings is stepping down as the company’s co-CEO. Ted Sarandos, who has been co-CEO since July 2020, will share the reins with newly promoted operations chief Greg Peters. The change takes effect today. Hastings says he’ll remain involved as Executive Chairman, serving as a “bridge” between the board of directors and the new CEOs.

The departing leader characterized the move as a long-expected transition. Sarandos and Peters have “increasingly” managed the company for the past two and a half years, Hastings says. This was merely the “right time” to implement a succession that has been in development for years, he adds. Sarandos is credited with leading Netflix’s move into original content, while Peters has been key to forming partnerships and helming the company’s push into gaming.

Hastings’ departure comes as Netflix seems to be slowly recovering from a grim 2022. It lost subscribers for the first time in over a decade, and blamed a combination of fiercer competition, limited opportunities to grow and widespread account sharing. In its just-issued fourth quarter earnings report, however, it reported adding 7.66 million new customers, reaching a total of 230.75 million subscribers. That appears to have come at the expense of profit (Netflix made just $55 million in net income), but it’s a marked turnaround from the first half of 2022.

Netflix says the end-of-year performance beat its forecast, and that it’s “pleased” with the early performance of its $7 ad-supported plan. The company isn’t saying how many customers are subscribed to this lower-priced tier. Instead, it credits the better-than-expected results to a strong content lineup that includes the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion, Harry & Meghan and the Addams Family spinoff Wednesday.

The company is cautiously optimistic about the first quarter of 2023. It believes it will see a “modest” boost to its subscriber base, and plans to roll out paid account sharing “more broadly” later in the period. In that sense, Hastings is leaving at a good moment for the business he helped create. While Netflix isn’t back to its peak form, it’s in a more stable position that could provide its new leadership with a better start.

‘Tron 3’ may finally be happening with Jared Leto

It’s been over 12 years since Tron: Legacy debuted and those who’ve been longing for a third entry in the classic sci-fi series may have wished for it on a monkey’s paw. Tron: Ares, as the film may be called, could start filming this August with Jared Leto, ol’ Morbius himself, reportedly set to star. Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) is in talks to direct, according to Deadline.

As Variety notes, Leto first signed on back in 2017, but Disney has had a third movie on the backburner since long before then. Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski (who went on to make Top Gun: Maverick) said in an interview that he wrote and storyboarded a sequel “that takes place on the internet with Yahoo and Google and all those sites.” Kosinski said he was close to moving forward with it in 2015 but suggested Disney “pulled the plug” as it had Marvel and Star Wars to focus on.

This time around, Tron: Ares could finally be happening. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Daft Punk will return to deliver another banger of a score. The iconic duo split up in 2021.

Sony confirms 13 more PS VR2 games, including ‘Tetris Effect’ and ‘Rez Infinite’

Sony will start shipping PS VR2 in little over a month and it has revealed more details about games coming to the platform as well as the launch lineup. The company has confirmed 13 additional titles for PS VR2, all of which are already available on PS VR or other platforms.

Tetris Effect: Connected, Rez Infinite and Thumper are among the original PS VR titles that will hit the new headset. Those who already own Tetris Effect or Rez Infinite for PS4 and PS VR will be able to upgrade to the PS5 (they’re playable without the headset) and PS VR2 version for $10 — PS VR versions aren’t compatible with the new hardware.

In Rez Infinite, you’ll be able to track and aim at enemies using your eyes. PS VR2’s eye tracking will also be at the forefront in Before Your Eyes, a game that advances time when you blink.

NFL Pro Era, multiplayer shooter Pavlov VR, the impressive-looking Kayak VR: Mirage and What The Bat? (from the folks behind What The Golf?) are also coming to PS VR2. If you own 3D jigsaw title Puzzling Places or rhythm game Synth Riders for PS VR, you’ll get a free upgrade. Rounding out the latest announcements are Song in the Smoke: Rekindled, Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition and The Last Clockwinder.

PS VR2 will arrive on February 22nd. The base package, which comes with Sense controllers and stereo headphones, costs $550. You’ll also need a PS5 to use the headset. Sony expects that more than 30 titles will be available for the platform by the end of March, including:

  • After the Fall

  • Altair Breaker

  • Before Your Eyes

  • Cities VR

  • Cosmonious High

  • Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition

  • The Dark Pictures: Switchback

  • Demeo

  • Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate

  • Fantavision 202X

  • Gran Turismo 7 (free update to PS5 version)

  • Horizon Call of the Mountain

  • Job Simulator

  • Jurassic World Aftermath

  • Kayak VR: Mirage

  • Kizuna AI – Touch the Beat!

  • The Last Clockwinder

  • The Light Brigade (purchase includes both PS VR and PS VR2 versions)

  • Moss 1 & 2 Remaster

  • NFL Pro Era (free upgrade)

  • No Man’s Sky

  • Pavlov VR

  • Pistol Whip (free upgrade)

  • Puzzling Places (free upgrade)

  • Resident Evil Village (free update for the PS5 version)

  • Rez Infinite

  • Song in the Smoke

  • Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge

  • Synth Riders (free upgrade)

  • The Tale of Onogoro

  • Tentacular

  • Tetris Effect: Connected

  • Thumper

  • The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners: Ch. 2: Retribution

  • Vacation Simulator

  • What the Bat?

  • Zenith: The Last City (free upgrade)

This list suggests you’ll need to wait a while longer for the likes of Among Us VR,Beat Saber and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord. There’s still no word if or when Half-Life: Alyx is coming to PS VR2, unfortunately.

Meanwhile, Polyphony revealed a few more details about the free PS VR2 update for Gran Turismo 7, which should be available on launch day. You’ll be able to play almost the entire game, including online races, in virtual reality. However, you won’t be able to enjoy splitscreen two-player races while you have the headset on.