business
Funcom reports that 2017 was the most profitable year in its history
With significantly higher revenue and sales coming in 2017, Funcom announced to its investors that it just came off the most profitable year in...
MMO Business Roundup: EA Spouse 14 years later, PUBG poaching from Riot, and Funcom financials
Welcome back to another edition of our informal business roundup, where we wedge all the fun MMO industry tidbits that pile up in our...
Steam terminates its relationship with MMO company Insel Games over alleged review manipulation
It's really unusual to see publishers outright booted off of Steam, but Valve has done exactly that to Insel Games following reports of review...
Ubisoft investor presentation highlights the profit benefits of ‘games as a service’
Have you wondered why it is Ubisoft is so dedicated to putting out a continual string of games as a service, even its ostensibly...
EA filed an ‘Engagement Optimized Matchmaking’ patent in 2016
Remember Activision's rather skeezy matchmaking patent from last year? That one was pretty straightforward in how it worked, if unpleasant: You buy something from...
Gaming industry roundup: SWBG2’s poor sales, Gambling Commission, slot machines, and parody games
Don't agree that lockboxes, lootboxes, and gambleboxes were the biggest story of the year? We've collected so many news tidbits just on that over...
The Soapbox: Evaluating gaming monetization through the lens of Nintendo’s mobile history
Bloggers and journalists throughout the online gaming industry have been talking about monetization a lot lately. It's not just lockbox/gachapon scandals, or their relationship...
EA lockbox debacle wipes out billions in stock as SuperData forecasts regulation
It looks as though the rebels may have defeated the empire -- or at least struck a mighty blow to give the latter pause.
CNBC...
Massively Overthinking: Are modern games too cheap?
This week's Massively Overthinking topic is a submission from reader and commenter camelotcrusade, who takes the industry's current fight over monetization in a different...
EA drops the costs of heroes – and reward payouts – in Star Wars: Battlefront II by 75%
Don't be too proud of the barrier to entry you've constructed; the ability to make in-game unlocks incredibly expensive is insignificant next to the...
CCP Games ceases VR development, closes two studios – no negative impact on EVE Online
Icelandic business website mbl.is has just reported that EVE Online developer CCP Games is planning to close two of its offices and cease all...
Activision secures patent for software to trick you into buying cash shop stuff, seriously
Hey, gang, this is absolutely wonderful. Activision has filed and been granted a patent for software designed to push you into buying cash shop...
Stephan Frost’s Nexon project gains former Amazon gameplay engineer
The handrubbing intrigue over Stephan Frost's mysterious project at Nexon ramped up this week with the announcement of another member that has signed up...
No, exploitative gacha mechanics are not a good idea for western devs
We've been talking about exploitative gacha games and related business models on Massively OP for a long time, most recently and notably in depth earlier...
Secret World Legends outlines how its free-to-play model allows you to unlock things without cash
The good news for Secret World Legends players is that you won't need to pay money for the game. You won't even need to...
Ashes of Creation’s Steven Sharif on his business history, $30M funding goal, and PvP
As I put this piece together Thursday morning, Ashes of Creation's Kickstarter has far exceeded its $750,000 goal, surging along toward stretch goals with...
Crowfall reaches a funding stretch goal and aims for one last target
Back in November, Crowfall studio ArtCraft joined Indiegogo's fledgling equity crowdfunding platform, which makes use of brand-new laws that allow non-accredited investors to invest in...
Game companies launch countermeasures against striking voice actor union with website
A coalition of companies targeted by the voice actor strike ongoing since earlier this month have created a website to argue their point of...
Daybreak is cutting out game cards
If you're a big fan of buying game cards for Daybreak's various online offerings, you should go snap them up now before they're gone....
Pokemon Go has dropped 79% of its players, but it’s still making money
The number of people playing Pokémon Go has declined by 79% since its peak, according to market analysis firm Slice Intelligence. That's a pretty...
