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Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

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Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

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The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Techepic games

The party is over for group chat app Houseparty

By
Olga Kharif
Olga Kharif
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
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By
Olga Kharif
Olga Kharif
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
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September 9, 2021, 4:23 PM ET

Houseparty, a group chatting app that gained a following during pandemic lockdowns, will be shuttered by owner Epic Games, which will focus employees on other projects.

The app will be closed in October, according to a blog post on Thursday. “We do not take the decision to discontinue the app lightly,” the company said, noting that tens of millions of people around the world have used the service since it launched in 2016. 

Epic Games acquired Houseparty in 2019, with CEO Tim Sweeney saying the merger would allow it to “build even more fun” and create “positive social interactions in real time.” Epic Games went on to integrate Houseparty with Fortnite, adding a special mode to its popular battle royale game. 

But the focus drifted away from Houseparty itself.

“The Houseparty team’s social vision and core technology have already contributed to new features used by hundreds of millions of people in Fortnite and by developers around the world,” the company said. “As a result, we can’t give the app or our community the attention that it deserves.”

More tech coverage from Fortune:

  • China’s gaming market was built on free and addictive games. Can Beijing stop kids from playing them?
  • Inside Boeing’s sprint to keep up with the satellite revolution
  • Beijing’s new algorithm laws are a global first, but they might not work
  • Lyft and Uber to pay legal fees to drivers sued under Texas abortion law
  • Audi gives glimpse of its first self-driving car, a private jet on wheels

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