This Week in Games

Eric McConnell

Eric McConnell bringing you all the game industry news for the week

  1. 12/07/2020

    #123 - Ubisoft loses more execs, Sony invest into Epic and I will be on a short hiatus

    Ubisoft axes 3 more executives. Sony makes a massive investment into Epic. I will be sharing my learnings over the last 2 ½ years. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://ubistatic19-a.akamaihd.net/comsite_common/en-US/images/pressrelease_downloadablemm_20200711_103822_20200711_pressreleaseen_tcm99-362812_tcm99-196733-32.pdf https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-08-manticore-games-launches-usd1m-creator-payout-pilot-program-for-propriety-game-dev-platform https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-09-electronic-arts-addicted-to-overpaying-executives-says-investment-group https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/technology/ninja-fortnite-youtube.html https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/9/21318965/sony-epic-games-investment-fortnite-unreal-engine https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/epic-games-2#section-funding-rounds https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/0710/2020071000536.pdf https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-10/tencent-is-said-in-talks-for-hong-kong-listed-gaming-firm-leyou https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/73862/traplight-9-million-usd-funding-launches-battle-legion/ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/traplight-games#section-funding-rounds

    37 min

  2. 06/07/2020

    #122 - What is Amazon Game Studios doing and are web portal games dead?

    Kongregate effectively ends its web portal. Sexual assault allegations hit the fighting game industry. Amazon Game Studios pulls down it’s only live game. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365842/COVID19_and_pivot_towards_game_development_lead_to_layoffs_at_Kongregate.php https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365787/Kongregate_shuts_off_game_submissions_as_Flashs_final_days_approach.php https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/2/21311251/nba-2k21-price-ps5-xbox-series-x-cover-athletes-special-editions https://kotaku.com/amazons-crucible-flopped-so-hard-its-being-un-released-1844222299 https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365769/The_Ubisoft_paradox_How_the_publisher_enabled_a_culture_of_abuse_and_control.php https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365922/Ubisoft_exec_Maxime_Beland_has_resigned_after_harassment_and_assault_allegations.php https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-04-ubisofts-maxime-b-land-resigns-amid-allegations-of-misconduct https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-03-nintendo-condemns-abuse-as-allegations-spread-across-smash-bros-community https://screenrant.com/smash-bros-pros-accused-sexual-assault-pedophilia/ https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2020/jul/02/joey-mr-wizard-cuellar-placed-administrative-leave-evo-staff-following-misconduct-accusations/ https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2020/jul/02/evo-2020-online-canceled-joey-cuellar-removed-ceo/ https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/gambling-committee/news-parliament-2019/lords-gambling-report-published/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/06/30/discord-was-once-the-alt-rights-favorite-chat-app-now-its-gone-mainstream-and-scored-a-new-35-billion-valuation/#9b50c76b6b2e https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/discord#section-funding-rounds

    28 min

  3. 29/06/2020

    #121 - Microsoft abandons Mixer and a wave of allegations hits the game industry

    A large wave of allegations send ripples through the game industry. Twitch makes sweeping bans including one of their biggest streamers. Facebook acquires another top Oculus developer. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365581/Report_Ubisoft_has_suspended_two_executives_accused_of_sexual_and_physical_abuse.php https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/365316/Ubisoft_deeply_concerned_with_sexual_assault_allegations_against_multiple_employees.php https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-24-ubisoft-and-insomniac-face-dozens-of-allegations-over-mistreatment-of-women https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/24/21302033/assassins-creed-valhalla-creative-director-steps-down-ubisoft https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365416/Insomniac_responds_to_allegations_from_former_staff_about_culture_of_harassment.php https://kotaku.com/multiple-women-accuse-games-writer-chris-avellone-of-se-1844135498 https://kotaku.com/wizards-of-the-coast-cut-ties-with-sexual-predator-1844140031 https://kotaku.com/cards-against-humanity-co-founder-quits-after-complaint-1844139756 https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21299032/microsoft-mixer-closing-facebook-gaming-partnership-xcloud-features https://kotaku.com/twitch-bans-dr-disrespect-1844182541 https://kotaku.com/twitch-finally-starts-banning-streamers-accused-of-sexu-1844164469 https://kotaku.com/a-wave-of-sexual-abuse-stories-is-causing-a-reckoning-i-1844122735 https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2020/06/24/an-update-to-our-community/ https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/06/23/learn-premium-is-now-available-to-everyone-at-no-cost-forever/ https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21299814/apple-app-store-policies-ios-bug-fixes-approval-dispute-appeal https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/22/facebook-acquires-lone-echo-vr-game-maker-ready-at-dawn/ https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/22/overwolf-acquires-mod-repository-curseforge-from-twitch/ https://www.overwolf.com/curseforge/ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/treehouse-games#section-lists-featuring-this-company https://gamasutra.com/view/news/365510/Focus_Home_Interactive_acquires_Lords_of_the_Fallen_dev_Deck13_for_79M.php https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-26-admix-raises-USD7m-in-funding-for-non-intrusive-ads https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/advir#section-funding-rounds https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-24-treehouse-games-lands-usd2-6-million-for-collaborative-games https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/treehouse-games#section-lists-featuring-this-company

    25 min

  4. 21/06/2020

    #120 - Epic Games mysterious fundraising and Google Stadia repricing woes

    Apple is in hot water with loot box lawsuits and app store policies. Stadia hopes a reprice reinvigorates Stadia interest. Epic Games is fundraising again but for what? Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/06/13/apple-sued-for-allowing-apps-with-loot-boxes-onto-app-store https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/technology/apple-ios-facebook-gaming-app.html https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/18/21296180/apple-hey-email-app-basecamp-rejection-response-controversy-antitrust-regulation https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/google-stadia-premiere-edition-price-cut/#:~:text=Google%20has%20slashed%20the%20price,online%20in%20Google's%20Chrome%20browser. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/fortnite-maker-epic-is-said-to-near-funding-at-17-billion-value https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/epic-games-2#section-funding-rounds https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-has-raised-over-dollar300-million-now/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-15-ziggurat-interactive-acquires-bloodrayne-and-other-majesco-licenses https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ziggurat-interactive#section-overview

    21 min

  5. 14/06/2020

    #119 - Sony reveals the PS5 and is WB Games really worth $4 billion?

    Sony drops a massive PS5 reveal. The Last of Us 2 makes us question modern game design. WB Games is reportedly looking for buyers at a pricy $4 billion. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NH4csfipes https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/11/21288494/sony-ps5-playstation-5-hd-camera-dualsense-charging-dock-pulse-accessories https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2020/6/12/21288535/the-last-of-us-part-2-review-ps4-naughty-dog-ellie-joel-violence https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=468&v=GB20A8CitRU&feature=emb_title https://www.shacknews.com/article/118614/exec-ron-johnson-no-longer-with-riot-games-following-comments-about-george-floyd https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/att-seeks-sale-for-warner-gaming-unit-could-fetch-4-billion.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Interactive_Entertainment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Warner_Bros._Interactive_Entertainment_video_games https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/10/wave-raises-30-million-for-superstars-to-stage-virtual-concerts/#:~:text=Wave%2C%20the%20virtual%20concert%20company,animated%20characters%20in%20virtual%20worlds. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/thewave#section-funding-rounds https://www.playableworlds.com/news/playable-worlds-raises-dollar10m-for-the-creation-of-its-cloud-native-sandbox-mmo/ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/playable-worlds#section-funding-rounds https://boom.tv/about https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-09-boom-tv-raises-USD10m-in-series-a-funding https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/boom-tv#section-funding-rounds https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-11-luckbox-closes-usd3-8m-investment-round

    32 min

  6. 07/06/2020

    #118 - Guest host Jenny Tai, DoP at Jam City, helps cover the Zynga-Peak Games acquisition and more

    Director of Product at Jam City Jenny Tai is here to co-host. Zynga acquires Peak Games. Playtika plans a $10 billion IPO. Playrix acquires a PC game studio. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Guest-host Jenny Tai: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennywtai/ Show Notes: https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/01/zynga-acquires-turkeys-peak-games-for-1-8b-after-buying-its-card-games-studio-for-100m-in-2017/#:~:text=Social%20gaming%20company%20Zynga%20confirmed,%24900%20million%20in%20Zynga%20shares. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/peak-games#section-funding-rounds https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-playtika-plans-wall-street-ipo-at-10b-valuation-report-1001331200 https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/playtika#section-funding-rounds https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-06-04-playrix-acquires-croatian-pc-developer-cateia-games https://www.cateia.com/games/games.php

    26 min

  7. 31/05/2020

    #117 - Loaded signs more Twitch exclusivity deals, Tencent takes a stake in a Japanese publisher

    Twitch signs more exclusivity deals, but from who. League of Legends is introducing in-game veiwerside advertisements. Tencent takes a large stake in a Japanese publisher. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/05/26/popular-streamers-summit1g-dakotaz-joshog-re-sign-with-twitch/ https://loaded.gg/ https://www.pcgamer.com/league-of-legends-is-about-to-get-in-game-ads-during-official-matches/ https://watch.lolesports.com/article/introducing-summoner%E2%80%99s-rift-arena-banners/bltfed23f2200f71ae7 https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/28/magic-leap-ceo-rony-abovitz-is-stepping-down/ https://www.magicleap.com/en-us/news/news/a-message-from-rony https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/28/21270647/madden-nfl-ea-renew-contract-license-football https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-25/tencent-to-become-largest-shareholder-in-japan-s-marvelous https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/marvelous-japan#section-funding-rounds https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-29-netease-to-open-secondary-listing-on-hong-kong-stock-exchange https://www1.hkexnews.hk/app/sehk/2020/101923/documents/sehk20052900324.pdf https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/stockmultipleexchanges.asp https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-28-african-mobile-startup-carry1st-raises-usd2-5m https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/adg-technology-inc#section-funding-rounds

    19 min

  8. 24/05/2020

    #116 - Amazon Games actually releases a game and Magic Leap raises another massive round

    Amazon Game Studios abruptly releases a game. Take-two claims nearly 100 new game to be released by 2025. Magic Leap somehow raises a $350 million lifeline. Music by Proviant Audio: http://freemusiarchive.org/music/Proviant_Audio/Welcome_Wilderness/Just_Like_That Show Notes: https://www.reuters.com/article/esports-business-amazon-crucible/amazon-launches-first-big-budget-game-title-crucible-idUSFLM13S4tM https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-20-take-two-plans-to-release-93-full-titles-in-the-next-five-years https://igda.org/resources/game-industry-standards/ https://igda.org/resources/event-diversity/ https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2020/05/20/stadia-exclusivity-will-keep-serious-sam-4-off-ps4-and-xbox-until-2021 https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/interview-platinumgames-on-next-gen-and-its-next-steps/ https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3085074/tencent-hires-big-names-including-ken-ichiro-imaizumi-scott-warner https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/news/development-update-self-refund-keyless-partner-integration-and-changes-to-ownership-authorization https://gamasutra.com/view/news/363410/G2A_to_pay_Factorio_dev_39600_after_allowing_illegal_game_key_sales.php https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/8879ae https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/magic-leap#section-funding-rounds https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/21/magic-leap-has-apparently-raised-another-350-million-in-spite-of-itself/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-20-amplifier-game-invest-acquires-destinybit

    24 min
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About

Eric McConnell bringing you all the game industry news for the week

Information

  • Creator
    Eric McConnell
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2020
  • Episodes
    123
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    This Week in Games