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The videogame industry is seeing a sharp slowdown in growth as people are going out again after a pandemic-fueled spurt of spending on game software, hardware and accessories.Industry executives and analysts say the easing of the health crisis is a leading factor. They also pointed to rising prices for essential goods, the war in Ukraine and a dearth of new blockbusters as other causes for the deceleration. Activision Blizzard Inc. —which is in the process of being acquired by…

The videogame publisher’s adjusted per-share earnings slipped from the year-ago period but met analysts’ estimates. Photo: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg News…

Competitors accuse the software giant of abusing its position as the world’s second-largest cloud company after Amazon.com Inc. to outflank European companies. Microsoft is responding with a mixture of perks and persuasion—and in some cases struggling to make headway. After German cloud-computing company Nextcloud GmbH filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, a lawyer for the U.S. giant called Nextcloud with an offer, said its chief executive,…

LONDON—The U.K’s antitrust agency opened probes into Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT 1.28% proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI -0.63% and into Amazon. AMZN 0.73% com Inc.’s business practices, solidifying the U.K. as a new regulatory power that Silicon Valley must reckon with. The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said…

The review, conducted by independent directors on the Activision board’s Workplace Responsibility Committee and external advisers, also didn’t unearth any evidence to suggest that any senior executive or employee tried to conceal information from the board. “Contrary to many of the allegations, the Board and its external advisers have determined that there is no evidence to suggest that Activision Blizzard senior executives ever intentionally ignored or attempted to downplay the instances of gender harassment that…

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a set of principles to demonstrate its willingness to work with unions. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News…

Microsoft Corp. MSFT -4.46% is rolling out a Netflix Inc. -like app on Samsung smart TVs that will allow users to play Xbox games without a console, in a push to increase subscribers of its videogame streaming service. The move, announced Thursday, is part of an industrywide trend to put gaming on the cloud and lock in players to subscriptions. Microsoft’s subscription…

Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI -0.39% said it will open talks to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with the Communications Workers of America after a small group of workers voted in favor of forming a union, a first for a major U.S. videogame publisher. In a letter to all U.S. employees sent Friday, Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said the company will engage in good-faith negotiations…

The lawyers investigating Facebook operating chief Sheryl Sandberg’s use of corporate resources are examining behavior going back several years, said people familiar with the matter, focusing on the extent to which staffers worked on her personal projects. A number of employees have been interviewed as part of the investigation by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., META -3.71% the people said, adding that the review has been under way…

A small number of workers at one of Activision ATVI -0.26% Blizzard Inc.’s studios has voted in favor of unionizing with the Communications Workers of America, a first for a major U.S. videogame publisher and another example of new groups organizing amid a labor crunch. Twenty-two quality-assurance testers at the studio—Middleton, Wis.-based Raven—took part in the vote Monday in the face of opposition from Activision management. They…