Take-Two doesn’t want anyone to trademark anything that includes the words “Rockstar” or “Take” or “Two” in a trademark dispute overreach. Also: A big labor update (Activision, Ubisoft, Sony, Microsoft), CD Projekt and EG7 earnings, Tencent in trouble at home, and Marty O’Donnell’s big mea culpa.

Excellent reporting from the Wall Street Journal and others have further exposed Activision’s c-suite crisis, as Microsoft and Sony call Bobby Kotick to account. Also: Embracer Group, Paradox, and Thunderful earnings and a FAFO award!

It’s the end of earnings season! This week: Sega, Konami, Digital Bros/505 Games, Remedy, Starbreeze, Roblox, Zynga, Unity. Also: NPD for October 2021, a FAFO award, and a bunch of quick hits!

Devolver Digital makes the move from indie to public company. Also: Take-Two, EA, Nintendo, Square Enix earnings, Blizzard loses its best hope for reform, Ubisoft employees call on the public for help, and Bowser is owes Nintendo $4.5M (and wins this week’s FAFO Award).

While Bobby Kotick takes a bow on his paycut, the stage manager is holding up a sign that says “He just got a $155 million payday!” Also: Sony, Microsoft, and Capcom earnings, the end of PAX South, Australian game developers take a stand against crypto and NFTs, and more. You can support Virtual Economy’s growth…

Activision Blizzard has tried and failed to pause the lawsuit brought by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Also: NPD acquired, death threats hit Abandoned dev Blue Box, Microsoft still hungry for more acquisitions, and Unity makes moves.

This week, we’re talking about big corporations, performative allyship, and why they aren’t your friends. Yes, that social media account is funny and has a rainbow version of their logo. No, the executives often don’t know or care about it. On this episode, we discussed Twitch, MercurySteam, the latest on the Activision Blizzard lawsuits, and…

I know. We don’t call. We don’t write. Life has been a little bananas. BUT WE’RE BACK! We’re catching up with a bunch of investment news and quick hits to set the table for a return to our regular schedule on Saturday. In this episode: Sony (finally) confirms its acquisition of Bluepoint, Netflix makes moves, and there’s some weirdness around a rumored Nintendo 4K dev kit.

Activision Blizzard is pissing off all the wrong people, including government regulatory agencies. Also: Twitch covers its butt with the music industry, high fashion comes to Fortnite, and Apple shuts down Epic’s hope of recovering its developer accounts and getting Fortnite back on the App Store.

Activision Blizzard is the subject of employee-driven National Labor Relations Board charges of anti-worker activity. Also: An update on Paradox and its union survey of work conditions in Sweden, NPD for August 2021, and App Annie is slapped with an SEC fine.