Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news! It’s a bit of good news and bad news this time around, so let’s start things off with what is arguably some not great news, especially if you were hoping that lockboxes could be curtailed by world governments.
Austrian court says lockboxes aren’t gambling: Austria’s Higher Regional Court of Vienna has determined that the lockboxes in FIFA 23 don’t constitute gambling because the Ultimate Team packs found within can be used only in the game and therefore can’t be turned into profit and that the lockboxes pose no economic risk as outlined by the country’s Austrian Gaming Act. The case can be moved to the country’s Supreme Court, but EA called the decision “direction-setting.”
SAG-AFTRA lauds more game studio agreements: The SAG-AFTRA union that’s been holding strikes against video game companies that refuse to meet AI protection demands is claiming another victory this week, announcing that 49 companies and 120 games have entered into agreements that meet the requests of represented voice talent. This is the second time SAG has announced studio agreements, with the first being confirmed last month.
Roblox details meager safety updates: Roblox Corp has been repeatedly found to be extremely lax in protecting children from harmful experiences and dangerous people in its online space (despite the company claiming otherwise) multiple times, but next month the games platform is adding some more parental controls that require players under 13 years of age to get permission to use chat features and blocks certain games for nine year-olds and below.
However, as Kotaku points out, these blocks can be easily circumvented: New users can just assign a later date of birth, voice chat restrictions can be dodged with separate apps, and while games marked 17 and up need verification, many of the more problematic titles on the platform don’t use that tag – to say nothing of the fact that these preventative steps are only now coming to the game.
Activision-Blizzard workers rally for allies: Finally, today marks a rally being held by unionized Activision QA workers in Minnesota, specifically in support of better remote work provisions.
Today, AQAU-CWA members are holding a rally in protest of the company's unequal policy that has unquestionably harmed disabled employees and employees in need of work from home accommodations. Read our statement below and join us in saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. pic.twitter.com/pMqk4tMU34
— ABetterABK 💙 ABK Workers Alliance (@ABetterABK) October 25, 2024
