legal
How Pokemon Go company Niantic is collecting (and using) your life’s data
We probably don't need to tell our audience this, given that while yes, you all have phones, you're also typically not obsessive about gaming...
Blizzard dev says there’s no internal comms over Hong Kong fiasco: ‘It’s pulling our teams apart at the seams’
Blizzard has yet to publicly respond to the widespread outrage over its decision to ban professional Hearthstone player Blitzchung following his statement of support for...
Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet chased the 2016 Gaile Gray account hacker all the way to Germany – and lost
Back in 2016, MassivelyOP covered an odd story about the Guild Wars franchise and a hack that seemingly involved the account of then-ArenaNet employee...
Washington man charged with theft of $40,000 of games and equipment from Valve headquarters
In 2018, there was a break-in at Valve's offices in Bellevue, WA. Some 15 Xbox One and 23 PlayStation 4 games, between 15-20 Asus...
Players, pros, and politicians join in protest over Blizzard’s censorship of Hong Kong Hearthstone pro
The furor over Blizzard's ban of a Hong Kong Hearthstone pro player and apparent firing of two Taiwanese commentators has only increased since its...
Serious EA data breach exposes 1,600 FIFA 20 accounts
There is nothing quite like that gut-wrenching feeling when you hear a story about a data breach and then have to do that quick...
Montreal law firm wants to launch a class action lawsuit against Fortnite for being addictive to minors
Montreal law firm Calex Légal has officially filed a request to launch a class action lawsuit against Epic Games and its Canadian subsidiary for...
Lawful Neutral: Endorsements, disclosures, and the games industry
Infomercials are the worst. There's nothing quite as infuriating as turning on the TV only to find a 30-minute commercial about how people can't...
City of Heroes’ Homecoming rogue servers are now blocking copyright-infringing characters
Players on the City of Heroes Homecoming servers enjoyed a privilege they were never afforded during the game's pre-shutdown run time: While NCsoft was draconian...
Physical power armor helmet from Fallout 76 is being recalled due to mold
Remember when the worst thing about Fallout 76 merch was a crappy canvas bag? Get ready to feel the bottom dropping out as it's...
Australian police are investigating crimes linked to an Overwatch esports team
The obvious old joke to be made was that if esports were real sports, they'd be linked to organized crime. Alas, the joke no longer...
Steam users in France should be allowed to resell their games according to French court ruling
The Union fédérale des consommateurs (Federal Union of Consumers or UFC Que Choisir), a French consumer group, has been pursuing litigation against Valve over...
Gamer involved in swatting murder gets 15 months in prison and a two-year gaming ban
This past August, we followed up on efforts in Wichita, Kansas, to stop swatting after one such Call of Duty-related "prank" saw 28-year-old Andrew...
Lawful Neutral: Examining Ashes of Creation’s controversial referral program
I have a really hard time taking anything seriously that refers to money as "bucks." You'll recall that I opened the Lawful Neutral column...
Ashen Empires emulator Dransik Rebirth is allegedly shut down by a cease and desist order
In May, our roundup of MMOs you've never heard of offered a quick look at Dransik Rebirth, a rogue server of the old-school MMORPG...
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...
Nexon Korea employees stage a protest to stop restructuring and call for job security
In late August, we reported on plans for Nexon's union members to protest against efforts to restructure the company and demand assurances that their...
2017 Call of Duty swatting murder prompts swatting target registration program
The aftermath of a "swatting" incident that saw 28-year-old Andrew Finch of Wichita, Kansas, fatally shot by police has resulted in a new program...
Blizzard’s lawyers are busy again, this time suing yet another overseas company for ripping off WoW
Another day, another Blizzard lawsuit - this one lodged against the Chinese purveyor of Glorious Saga, a mobile/browser title from Joyfun/Sina Games that pretty...
Former Elder Scrolls and Guild Wars franchise composer is accused of sexual assault
The gaming industry is in the midst of its own #MeToo moment, and one of the industry vets who stands accused is popular composer...
