Tech Roundup: NYT Buys Wordle, Sony Buys Bungie & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• China tests using blockchain across 15 cities and 164 organizations in manufacturing, energy, government data sharing and services, law enforcement, taxation, criminal trials, inspection, copyright, civil affairs, human society, education, healthcare, trade finance, risk control management, equity market and cross-border finance.
• Sony announces plans to purchase Destiny and Halo maker Bungie for US$ 3.6 billion, capping what’s an absolutely massive month for gaming acquisitions; comes on the heels of Take-Two's deal to buy Zynga for US$ 12.7 billion and Microsoft's US$ 68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
• Music streamer Spotify publishes its long-standing Platform Rules and says it is working to add a content advisory to podcast episodes that include a discussion about COVID-19.
• Pinterest introduces a new augmented reality tool for home furniture, letting users preview how furniture and other home decor will look in their space via its mobile app.
• Meta-backed doomed cryptocurrency project, Diem (formerly Libra), officially shutters after it sells its assets for around $200 million to Silvergate, a crypto-focused bank; to also wind down Express Wi-Fi later this year, a program which it launched in 2016 to extend public Wi-Fi access by partnering with ISPs, MNOs in more than 30 countries.
• SXM Media, which owns SiriusXM, Pandora, and Stitcher Radio, debuts a new kind of "listener identity solution" called AudioID that enables marketers to serve targeted ads based on the users' music and podcast listening habits, as companies like Apple and Google tighten rules surrounding tracking cookies.

• Discord begins rolling out the ability for U.S. PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 owners to link their PSN accounts with the messaging platform, with support for more countries on the way.
• Popular web-based word guessing game Wordle gets acquired by the New York Times for "low-seven figures" to join the media publication's roster of word and puzzle games that have been played 500 million times in 2021.
• Sonos acquires Louisville, an audio startup specialising in implementations of Bluetooth LE Audio, for an undisclosed sum.
• Canada-based BlackBerry sells its mobile and messaging patents for US$ 600 million to a new company called Catapult IP Innovations, "a special purpose vehicle formed to acquire the BlackBerry patent assets," after ending support for its phones earlier this month.
• Meta becomes the latest company to join the Crypto Open Patent Alliance, expanding the pool of intellectual property that could be used to defend the industry; introduces support for 3D avatars in Instagram Stories as well update their profile pictures across its platforms with virtual avatars.
• Gay dating service Grindr removes its app from Apple's App Store in China, citing difficulties keeping it in compliance with the country's new Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) data protection regulation that requires any cross-border data transfers to be approved by the Cyberspace Administration.
• Smartphone sales in Europe rise 8% YoY in 2021; Samsung leads with a 32% share, followed by Apple (26%), Xiaomi (20%), and Oppo (8%), as Huawei falls from fourth to eighth spot.