The relationship between tech companies and influencers can be murky. A recent post on Threads showed part of the sign-up form to receive Pixel devices for influencers and YouTubers, requiring signers to present Google hardware “instead of any competing mobile device” or else “we will have to terminate the relationship between the brand and the creator.”
First of all, our Engadget editors didn't get it when they signed up to receive test samples of the four (yes, four) new Pixel phones. It turned out that this was for the Team Pixel program, created by Google to communicate with creators and, apparently, send them devices.
Google responded: “The goal of #TeamPixel is to get Pixel devices into the hands of content creators, not the press and tech reviewers. We missed the mark with this new language that appeared in the #TeamPixel form yesterday, and we’ve removed it.”
It’s not yet clear whether these Team Pixel members have been given a new deal, but will the demands remain in place, just not be written into a Google form or contract? The company is sending out devices so creators can test (and promote) the Pixel 9 series; if they don’t, Google may not see the point.
—Mat Smith
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Fall Guys is also coming to smartphones for the first time.
Epic has finally brought the Epic Games Store to mobile devices. The app store is now available on iOS in the European Union (after the bloc required Apple to allow third-party app stores on iPhone and iPad) and on Android worldwide. As a result, Fortnite is available again on iOS without the need for laborious workarounds. The store is bringing Fall Guys to iOS and Android for the first time, with almost complete parity with the console and PC versions, minus the level builder.
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And the grand opening night streaming.
Gamescom is Germany's big annual video game trade show. This year, Microsoft has announced a major Xbox presence throughout the event. The first is the opening night livestream, which begins on August 20th at 2:00pm US Eastern Time. While that stream isn't Xbox-centric, we're expecting some relevant news during the main presentation. It will be available through Gamescom YouTube PageThen there are three Xbox streams, each focusing on a different list of games.
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