Apple Appoints Amar Subramanya as New Vice President of AI Amid Push to Accelerate Innovation 
Banks Consider $38 Billion Funding Boost for Oracle, Vantage, and OpenAI Expansion 
Intel Boosts Malaysia Operations with Additional RM860 Million Investment 
Coupang Apologizes After Massive Data Breach Affecting 33.7 Million Users 
Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation 
Australia Moves Forward With Teen Social Media Ban as Platforms Begin Lockouts 
Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature 
Microchip Technology Boosts Q3 Outlook on Strong Bookings Momentum 
EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp 
Samsung Launches Galaxy Z TriFold to Elevate Its Position in the Foldable Smartphone Market 
Quantum Systems Projects Revenue Surge as It Eyes IPO or Private Sale 
AI-Guided Drones Transform Ukraine’s Battlefield Strategy 
Norway’s Wealth Fund Backs Shareholder Push for Microsoft Human-Rights Risk Report 
ByteDance Unveils New AI Voice Assistant for ZTE Smartphones 
TSMC Accuses Former Executive of Leaking Trade Secrets as Taiwan Prosecutors Launch Investigation 
Apple Alerts EU Regulators That Apple Ads and Maps Meet DMA Gatekeeper Thresholds 
Amazon and Google Launch New Multicloud Networking Service to Boost High-Speed Cloud Connectivity 
Microsoft has huge offers for Xbox Game Pass members at the beginning of 2022. The remastered trilogy of “Mass Effect” is one of the titles to be added to the subscription service this week, while the company also announced a free launch-day access to the upcoming “Rainbow Six Extraction.”
The “Mass Effect Legendary Edition” will be added to the EA Play library, which means it is going to be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members. The subscription plans, which costs $14.99 and $9.99 respectively, both include a free EA Play membership. The bundle, which includes remastered versions of the original “Mass Effect” trilogy, will be available starting Thursday, Jan. 6.
Several games from indie studios will be added to the Xbox Game Pass catalog this month, including Mobius Digital’s “Outer Wilds.” In the game, players are stuck in 22-minute time loops, but they gain and retain new knowledge that they can then use in the next cycle. The 2019 action-adventure title, which won the Best Game recognition at the 16th British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA), will be available on Thursday as well.
Meanwhile, there is a brewing partnership between Ubisoft and Xbox. The former said in a recent statement The announcement has since led to speculations that it could lead to a similar deal that brought EA Play to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass plans without added cost to the members.
As mentioned, “Rainbow Six Extraction” will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on day one when it launches on Thursday, Jan. 20. It features PvE gameplay with familiar operators from “Rainbow Six Siege” and will allow players to complete missions alone or in squads with up to three members. But this is not the only thing Ubisoft has planned for its fans on Xbox.
Ubisoft announced this week that its “Ubisoft+ subscription service will be coming to Xbox in the future.” Ubisoft+ is also a subscription service, but it is primarily offered on PC and other devices through cloud gaming for $14.99 per month. It is unknown yet if the announcement meant that Ubisoft+ would be offered to Xbox Game Pass members similar to EA Play, but the addition of “Rainbow Six Extraction” seems to be a test in the water for Ubisoft.
