government
UK government body issues order that blocks Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard from ‘acquiring an interest’ in each other
Despite the multi-billion dollar deal between Activision-Blizzard and Microsoft slowly making forward movement in multiple smaller markets and potentially one very large market, the...
Microsoft welcomes UK governing body’s reassessment of ActiBlizz buyout while Sony cries foul
This is one of those "water is wet" news stories considering the parties involved, but in the interest of continuing to follow the ever-lengthening...
Workers call out Activision-Blizzard management as it reaches $35M settlement with SEC
A Better ABK, the proto-union workers group that supports the developers at Activision-Blizzard, has once more thrown a spotlight on management malfeasance, sharing its...
Germany’s games ratings board creates new labels with warnings about lootboxes, MTX, and online chat
The physical and digital packaging of video games in Germany is going to have a lot more granular detail thanks to updates being applied...
US Senator calls out Steam’s lax moderation of neo-Nazis and hate
The fact that Steam is extremely hands-off in regard to moderation isn't really news. Readers will recall it was referenced in a video report...
US Department of Homeland Security issues a nearly $700K grant to research extremism in gaming
There are toxic people in games chat, and then there are people who use video gaming platforms as a ways to encourage extremism and...
Singapore creates a government body to regulate lootboxes, citing a blurred line between gambling and gaming
The government of Singapore is becoming another country that's less friendly to the monetization practice of lootboxes thanks to the formation of a new...
China’s restrictions on game time sees a drop in minors’ gaming engagement in the country
Last year, the Chinese government tightened the screws on minors' gaming access, limiting play time to only three hours a week at specific times...
Chinese regulators draft ‘youth mode’ requirement for online games and more
It appears that China's gaming industry still hasn't come close to hitting rock bottom. According to the South China Morning Post, China's Cyberspace Administration...
China now limits minors’ gaming time to three hours a week, indicates anti-monopoly policies are forthcoming
The Chinese government is introducing a significant crackdown on gaming for minors as state media has reported that children will only be allowed to...
Australian MP plans to introduce a bill banning lockbox sales to minors
You may remember back last year that there was some noise made in Australia about banning the sale of video game lootboxes to people...
The US government is now probing Epic and Riot in relation to Tencent’s data security
Remember back in August when the Trump administration made noise about trying to ban WeChat and Tencent from transactions with folks in the US?...
China is really adding that youth gaming curfew and block on sex and gore in games
Sometimes it's easy to forget that gamers over in China have it very different than we do in the west. If you need a...
UK’s children’s commissioner calls for tighter legislation on lootboxes
A report from UK children's commissioner Anne Longfield is calling for stricter laws on lootboxes and to amend current gambling laws to include lootboxes,...
UK parliament committee calls for ban on selling lockboxes to kids, deems games industry ‘wilfully obtuse’
As gamers will recall, the UK government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee panel has been investigating addictive technologies for the better part...
Recapping the whole 38 Studios mess as Curt Schilling contemplates run for Congress
You folks remember 38 Studios, right? The studio at the heart of one of the most scandalous fiascos in the whole MMO genre? It's...
US Federal Trade Commission outlines the agenda for a lootbox-related workshop on August 7
Conversations, studies, and outright rancor over video game lockbox practices have caught the notice of several world governments as readers of MOP already know,...
Fortnite and PUBG are banned by the Iraq parliament
Yet another country has decided to ban online games over fears of addiction and negative influence on youth. The Iraqi parliament voted this past...
Ashes of Creation gets into the nitty-gritty of node operations
It's been "node this" and "node that" with Ashes of Creation these past couple of weeks, but with an in-depth Q&A session with the...
The FTC commits to investigating video game lootboxes following US Senate subcommittee hearing
Readers following the long-running lootbox/lockbox debate will recall that back in February of this year, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan, who sits on the...
