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Ziff Davis in online, print media pact with Microsoft
MUMBAI:The New York-headquartered gaming magazine and online publisher Ziff Davis has announced an integrated media collaboration with Microsoft. Ziff Davis will serve as the independent editorial voice for Microsoft‘s Games for Windows initiative. As part of the strategic relationship, Ziff Davis is launching a new magazine called Games for Windows: The Official Magazine and a companion website on the 1UP Network.
Microsoft will drive traffic and readership to the magazine and to the 1UP Network, and will promote the Games for Windows magazine as part of their Games for Windows marketing efforts. The magazine and integrated online components will launch in Fall 2006, informs an official release.
Ziff Davis‘ online integration will include a Games for Windows website on the 1UP network. The website will host editorial features, social networking, and blogs, as well as game demos, patches, downloads, trailers and original video content from FileFront.com and GameVideos.com. In addition, Ziff Davis will collaborate with Microsoft in the area of online and interactive content for Games for Windows. Microsoft‘s website, GamesForWindows.com, will also link to the 1UP Network for users who want additional content, adds the release.
“We believe Ziff Davis Game Group is the ideal industry partner for Microsoft as we advance the Windows platform and Games for Windows initiative,” says Rich Wickham, director of Games for Windows at Microsoft. “We value Ziff Davis‘ innovation in integrating diverse media together and wanted that creative force driving the official Games for Windows magazine and website on the 1UP Network.”
The collaboration with Ziff Davis Game Group represents a significant step in Microsoft‘s larger marketing push for the Games for Windows brand: the magazine shares the same “Games for Windows” branding that will appear on game packaging and in leading retailers throughout the U.S. beginning this Fall.
“We share Microsoft‘s passion for expanding the Windows gaming market,” says Ziff Davis Game Group president Scott McCarthy. “This alliance will enable us to reach a wider audience than ever before, both in print and online, and it affirms Microsoft‘s commitment to gaming on the Windows platform. We‘re looking forward to working with Microsoft.”
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Canva acquires animation and AI startups Cavalry and MangoAI
The deals strengthen Canva’s push into enterprise and AI-led design workflows
AUSTRALIA: Global visual communication platform Canva has stepped up its acquisition drive, buying UK-based 2D animation platform Cavalry and US-based AI startup MangoAI to deepen its AI-powered creative stack.
Cavalry, whose tools are used by brands including Amazon, Meta, Google and Netflix, will strengthen Canva’s motion design capabilities. The deal builds on Canva’s 2024 acquisition of Affinity, which has crossed four million downloads since launch. With Cavalry, Canva now counts seven Europe-based acquisitions, underscoring its global expansion strategy.
MangoAI, an early-stage startup focused on video advertising optimisation, will integrate its reinforcement learning systems into Canva AI. The move aims to enable brands to generate personalised marketing content in real time, cutting production cycles while improving campaign performance. MangoAI co-founder Vinith Misra will join Canva as reinforcement learning lead in its research lab.
Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht said the acquisitions reflect the company’s ambition to make professional-grade creative tools more accessible without sidelining human creativity. The goal, he said, is to bring everything from vector to motion design into a single, integrated suite.
The company now reports 265 million active users, including 31 million paid subscribers, and $4 billion in annualised revenue, up 36 per cent year on year. The latest buys further position Canva against rivals such as Adobe and Apple’s Creator Studio as it pushes deeper into enterprise workflows.
Canva head of pro design marketing Liam Fisher, said AI is intended to act as a creative assistant rather than a replacement, reinforcing the primacy of craft and individual design judgement.
