News

LimeWire Launches Nostalgic Browser Game With Crypto Rewards

The legendary file-sharing service has been resurrected as a browser-based game where players download virtual files and try to avoid viruses.

Published

3 years ago

April 17, 2023

Nour Nasir

limewire launches nostalgic browser game with crypto rewards

LimeWire, the early 2000s peer-to-peer file-sharing service, reinvented itself last year as a creator membership platform and NFT marketplace with a Patreon-style paywall feature. Since its relaunch, LimeWire has experienced trading volumes of over $1 million, with a waiting list of 3 million users and 20,000 active creators.

Now, in a flurry of nostalgia, LimeWire’s original music-sharing app has been resurrected in Web3 format as a unique music-downloading game.

limewire game screenshot

The browser-based game simulates an old Windows desktop with LimeWire software running. Players must enter an email address to play, and gameplay involves users pretending to search for music and movies to download, while avoiding viruses.

“Our approach in tapping into nostalgia to promote the new LimeWire was a conscious decision to acknowledge and celebrate our roots. The nostalgic connection not only resonates with those familiar with LimeWire in its early days but also introduces the younger generation to the rich history of LimeWire as we venture into the Web3 landscape,” says Julian Zehetmayr, LimeWire Co-CEO.

Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East

The game allows players to search for any musician, song, or movie popular in the early 2000s. When selected for a “download”, 10 points will be awarded. The simulation will continue until the timer runs out or a player accidentally unearths “a virus”.

It’s worth pointing out that we’re talking about a game here, so no illegal files or viruses are actually downloaded!

The LimeWire game will be available for one month, ending on May 15th. Players with the highest recorded scores will earn crypto rewards in the form of 150,000 LMWR (worth $30,000) — LimeWire’s upcoming ERC-20 token to be released next month.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.