We’re back from GDC and we have a lot to discuss. This week: PlayStation Plus gets a makeover, Bobby Kotick’s buddies accused of insider trading, indie studio bad behavior in the spotlight, and Sony’s own labor issues mount as more women come forward.
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TIME STAMPS
- [00:02:19] – GDC 2022 Recap
- [00:27:20] – GameStop Earnings
- [00:42:00] – Investment Interlude
- [00:56:44] – Quick Hits
- [01:08:27] – Labor Report (Activision, Undead Labs, Sony, Moon Studios, PMG Report)
- [01:31:43] – The New PlayStation Plus
SOURCES
- GameStop Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Results | GameStop
- Activision Blizzard officially settles federal sexual harassment suit for $18 million | Washington Post
- Activision Blizzard disinvited from speaking at SXSW due to misconduct allegations | Washington Post
- Activision Faces New Suit From Worker Alleging ‘Rampant Sexism’ | Bloomberg Law
- Four U.S. Senators Cite Microsoft-Activision Deal Concern in FTC Letter | WSJ (Paywall)
- Allegations Of Sexism, Bullying, And Burnout: Inside The Microsoft Studio Behind State Of Decay 3 | Kotaku
- Eight more women allege sexism at PlayStation, intensifying lawsuit | Axios
- Despite its beautiful Ori games, Moon Studios is called an ‘oppressive’ place to work | GamesBeat
- Investigating Three Indie Superstars Accused of Emotional Abuse | People Make Games
- All-new PlayStation Plus launches in June with 700+ games and more value than ever | PlayStation Blog
INVESTMENT INTERLUDE
- Welcoming Haven Studios to the PlayStation Studios family | PlayStation Blog
- Game Developer Boss Fight Entertainment Joins Netflix | Netflix
- Roberto Barrera Announces New Role at Netflix | LinkedIn
- TEQUILA WORKS WELCOMES TENCENT AS A MAJORITY INVESTOR | Tequila Works
- Welcoming WebAR Development Platform 8th Wall To Niantic | Niantic
- Saudi Arabia’s PIF ups invest in NCSoft for second largest ownership, shares rally | Pulse
- Scopely partners with game development team Burlingame Studios, investing $20 million in new studio | Scopely
- Griffin Fund II Announcement | Griffin Gaming Partners
- NDreams Receives $35M Investment from The Aonic Group | NDreams
- U.S. Probes Options Trade That Gained on Microsoft-Activision Deal | WSJ (Paywall)
- U.S. Probes Meeting Between Activision CEO and Option Buyer | WSJ (Paywall)