PAX East isn’t the show it was 10 years ago. With most AAA developers staying away, indies take center stage. Also: Circana report for April 2025, GameStop sells off its Canadian holdings, Curve Games has a new owner, the SAG-AFTRA voice performer strike enters the endgame, and much more.
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Note: Yes. We know. The show doesn’t sound great this week. We’re still moving into the new office and are getting ready to install sound dampening panels that will prevent us from sounding like we’re podcasting in a cave.
TIME STAMPS
- [00:03:10] – Circana Report on U.S. Video Game Spending for April 2025
- [00:17:36] – PAX East Recap
- [00:52:48] – Investment Interlude
- [01:09:12] – Quick Hits
- [01:17:15] – Labor Report
- [01:34:37] – Listener Questions
INVESTMENT INTERLUDE
- Universal Distribution completes Alliance Game Distributors buyout from Diamond Comics after chaotic bankruptcy auction | BoardGameWire
- Curve Games Acquired by Nazara Technologies | Curve Games
- Apple acquires RAC7, its first-ever video game studio | Digital Trends
- NCsoft makes “strategic equity investment” in Empty Vessel | GamesIndustry
- Griffin Gaming Partners Leads €12M Series A in Amplitude Studios | Griffin Gaming Partners
- Sony PlayStation establishes new studio, teamLFG, to work on “an ambitious incubation project” | GamesIndustry
- Starbreeze acquires publishing rights to troubled Payday 3, says move will ‘accelerate development roadmap’ | Eurogamer
- Brightika expands to PC and console with $3m investment for indie devs | GamesIndustry
LABOR REPORT
- EA Cancels Black Panther Game, Closes Cliffhanger Games | IGN
- Microsoft announces plans to lay off thousands more workers | VGC
- Video Game Companies Release Final Offer to SAG-AFTRA Addressing AI Demands Amid 9-Month Strike (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety
- Video Game Companies Remove AI Provision on Unlimited Digital Replicas From ‘Best, Last and Final’ Offer to Actors Union (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety
- SAG-AFTRA’s Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Responds to Video Game Employers | SAG-AFTRA
- SAG-AFTRA Statement on Fortnite’s Use of A.I. Darth Vader Voice and ULP Filing | SAG-AFTRA
- THQ Nordic studio that was set to be closed in 2023 somehow escaped the Embracer death spiral and is now working on a new RPG | PC Gamer