Xiaomi Gets Out Of US Blacklist Following Lawsuit

Earlier in the year, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi sued the US government, asking to be taken of the blacklist by the previous administration. It looks like that has finally happened, as an agreement has been reached between the two.

Bloomberg reports that while the main point of contention has been addressed, no details like conditions for removal were disclosed by the filing. Both parties will file a separate joint proposal by 20 May after negotiating specific terms.

Being on the blacklist meant that US investors were banned from investing in the company. Beyond that, investors will also have to divest all their holdings. Xiaomi was first put there due to suspicions of it having links to the Chinese military.

This marks one of the few times a Chinese company escapes the Trump administration’s crosshairs relatively unscathed. Video platform TikTok got out back in September, but at the cost of owner ByteDance having decreasing control over it.

Huawei, the first and hardest hit, has been slapped with another set of restrictions in March. And it’s worth noting that the new restrictions are being put in place by the new Biden administration. So it looks like Xiaomi is not exactly a barometer for relations between the US and Chinese companies.

EA Suspends Content Granting Indefinitely Following EA Gate

Electronic Arts has been hit over the second half of last week with what the community is calling EA Gate. Basically, it’s a scandal where a suspected employee of the publisher was selling FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) cards for ludicrous prices on the black market. these prices range from EUR750 (~RM3688) to EUR1000 (~RM4918), with a set of three Prime Icon Moments (PIM) cards selling for EUR1700 (~RM8360).

Over the weekend, the publisher has responded to the situation over on the EA Sports website. In essence, the company says it will take action against any employee involved. Players who bought FUT cards this way will also face a permanent ban. As a temporary measure, it is also suspending indefinitely what it calls content granting.

The term basically means the ability for the company to give out stuff to players. This is usually very rare, and it’s only done to replace lost content, or specially issued to EA partners and employees, or even actual athletes. And it’s likely this mechanic that the reported employee used to sell FUT cards.

Electronic Arts has always maintained that the Ultimate Teams mode, and lootboxes in general, are not gambling. The argument is that that these cards have no inherent value, and thus cannot be cashed out. But as this EA Gate episode shows, there is obviously a whole lot of value in the valuable cards with high stats. And it’s enough for some countries to deem the game mode illegal.

EA To Make New Racing Game Every Year Following Codemasters Acquisition

Back in December, EA announced that it will be acquiring racing game maker Codemasters. Now that the deal is officially closed, the former says it wants to make a new racing game every year.

On its own, EA has one notable racing series that’s still alive in Need for Speed. It also has the Burnout series, but the last notable game in this was Burnout Paradise, which was released all the way back in 2008. With the acquisition of Codemasters, it adds the F1, WRC, Dirt, Grid and Project Cars series to its own library.

In its financial report, the company tells investors that the Codemasters acquisition will help the company become a “global leader in racing entertainment”. It also claims that the latter’s games were a “natural fit” with “clear opportunities” for EA Sports. Which may not necessarily be a good thing. As Eurogamer points out, this opens up the possibility of an F1 Ultimate Team.

The possibility for that happening is very real, and may explain why EA is so interested in acquiring Codemasters. Back in November, racing game maker was in talks with Take-Two instead for the latter to acquire the company. EA stepped in with a bigger offer a month later, and the rest is history.