Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers 
Elon Musk Ties SpaceX IPO Access to Mandatory Grok AI Subscriptions 
SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn 
California's AI Executive Order Pushes Responsible Tech Use in State Contracts 
Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco 
Nike Beats Q3 Estimates but China Weakness and Margin Pressure Weigh on Outlook 
Jefferies Upgrades Sodexo to Buy With €55 Target After Historic CEO Appointment 
McDonald's and Restaurant Brands International Face Headwinds Amid Iran Conflict and Rising Costs 
UAE's Largest Natural Gas Facility Suspended After Attack-Triggered Fire 
Microsoft's $10 Billion Japan Investment: AI Infrastructure and Data Sovereignty Push 
SpaceX Eyes Historic IPO at $1.75 Trillion Valuation 
TSMC Japan's Second Fab to Produce 3nm Chips by 2028 
Microsoft Eyes $7B Texas Energy Deal to Power AI Data Centers 
Luxury Car Sales in the Middle East Take a Hit Amid Iran War 
Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push 
SpaceX IPO Filing Expected This Week as Valuation Could Surpass $75 Billion 
KPMG UK Cuts 440 Audit Jobs Amid Low Attrition and Cooling Professional Services Demand 
“Pokémon Go” developer Niantic Labs reminded players of the upcoming price increases on in-game items in some regions. The changes are caused by recent updates on App Store pricing, but Niantic confirmed the price hikes would be implemented on Android devices as well.
Niantic released a blog post this week, reminding players of the price hikes on in-game items offered on “Pokémon Go,” “Ingress,” and “Pikmin Bloom.” Players in affected regions will start seeing the new prices on Thursday, Oct. 5.
“This update is due to changes in App Store price tiers,” Niantic said. “We will also make similar changes on other mobile platforms.” Niantic’s post did not elaborate on why the price hikes will be implemented on Android and other platforms even though the main reason mentioned was Apple’s updated app pricing. Google has yet to announce a similar pricing update for any region.
“While we will not be taking any immediate action in response to this change, we’ll be monitoring its impact and discussing how to navigate changing conditions globally,” Niantic added.
The iPhone maker notified App Store developers last month of the price and tax changes affecting users in Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, and all regions that use the Euro currency. Apple said the update will not affect auto-renewable subscriptions, but developers were given the option to include them in the price hikes.
“Pokémon Go” players on Reddit are not thrilled about the announcement. One user expressed disappointment that Android players have to bear the cost of the App Store’s price hikes. Another player called out Niantic for referring to its Oct. 3 blog post as a “proactive notice” even though the changes will be implemented only two days later.
On Twitter, several players took the announcement as a chance to complain about the quality of “Pokémon Go” boxes. One user said the items included in the boxes make the price hike announcement worse.
Photo by Cyrus Crossan on Unsplash
