industry news
Disney axes its fledgling metaverse division as part of a 7,000 employee layoff round
How long does it take for the House of Mouse to decide the metaverse isn't worth it? Roughly a year, apparently, as Disney has...
FTC finalizes fine for Fortnite’s dark patterns as Epic talks up NFT ‘games’ on EGS
Usually when people says things are going "pretty well," your first sympathetic instinct is to ask about what might be troubling them; those words...
Roblox confirms that it had $150M in Silicon Valley Bank, now shut down by regulators
We would love to be in the kind of position where seeing millions of dollars disappear registers an "everything is fine" response. That looks...
E3 2023 unveils plans for a week-long series of digital pre-event showcases starting June 11
Most gamers are now familiar that E3 is coming back this June in two flavors - one for industry pros, press, and influencers, and...
Congress is very disappointed in gaming’s response to extremism in games as the ESA downplays the problem
In mid-December, members of the US Congress sent signed letters to major game companies about what they're doing to combat the rise of online...
Sega plans to raise the salaries of its Japanese workforce starting in July, but they still fall short of national averages
At first blush, there's some good news coming out of Sega for its Japanese workforce, as the company announced plans to raise pay rates...
UK regulators suggest Microsoft choked Google Stadia out of the cloud gaming market
The findings shared by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) related to Microsoft's buyout of Activision-Blizzard already had a few things to say...
Microsoft and Unity collectively shed over 10,000 employees in latest round of tech layoffs
Another round of layoffs are coming to both Microsoft and Unity. Both tech companies are dropping more employees from their respective workforces, with Unity...
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...
Odin Valhalla Rising’s Lionheart Studio retracts IPO listing plans over valuation issues and market fatigue
Earlier this month we reported on Odin: Valhalla Rising developer Lionheart Studio's plans to list its IPO on the Korean KOSDAQ stock exchange, which...
No, Amazon is not trying to buy EA, probably
If your gaming-related social media feeds were full of breathless hot takes and panicked concern over rumors that Amazon was looking to buy up...
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...
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,...
Cyberpunk 2077 creative director joins Blizzard to work on an unannounced new project
A sudden shake-up has occurred at Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red, as it appears that the game's creative director, Sebastian Stępień, has left...
2018 was the year of Fortnite and free-to-play games, according to Superdata research
"2018 was the biggest year for digital games and interactive entertainment. Ever." So sayeth gaming-trend research company Superdata, which recently published its year-in-review data...
Funcom is hiring for 40 new positions at its Oslo and North Carolina studios
The folks over at Funcom are looking to bring some fresh blood on board at their Oslo, Norway, and Durham, North Carolina, studios. According...
Heavy Gear Assault’s development may be in trouble
Remember Heavy Gear Assault? Maybe not, but it was announced last year as a satisfyingly stomp-happy arena-based PvP game. It's in early access now,...
Pathfinder Online has a new investor interested in taking over the game
Acting CEO Lisa Stevens has good news for Pathfinder Online fans - the game may have found the investors it has been looking for....
Codemasters CEO leaves company to join Jagex
There's a new boss in town at Jagex. Rod Cousens, previously the CEO of Codemasters, has moved shop to be the new CEO of...
