Some things have unexpectedly been coming to end, while the industry continues to turn with new surprises.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. The CMA cited concerns about Microsoft having too much of an authority in “cloud gaming” as the primary reason for their interception. Brad Smith, CEO of Microsoft, has stated that the company intends on appealing the decision.
Waypoint, launched in 2016 as Vice Media’s dedicated games section, will be shutting down on June 2. Vice is also shuttering its Vice News Tonight program as part of a series of other major cuts in midst of the restructuring of the company.
I'm not sure where to begin, except to say, with equal parts fury and sadness, that Waypoint is over. The team, myself included, have been terminated by VICE, and our final day running the website, the podcasts, and streams, will come to an end on June 2nd.
— Patrick Klepek 🎃 (@patrickklepek) April 27, 2023
Sega of America unionizes as the Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA (AEGIS) with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). AEGIS-CWA will be the first union in the video games industry that encompasses several departments, comprising of members from the departments of marketing, games as a service, localization, product development, and quality assurance.
Powerhouse Animation Studios, the studio behind the Netflix, animated adaptation of Castlevania, its upcoming sequel, and an anticipated adaption to Tomb Raider, has also announced their unionization with the Animation Guild.
Great news! Congrats to #animation workers at Powerhouse in #Texas for unionizing with the #AnimationGuild! Let's show our support for this historic effort as they seek voluntary recognion. #Power2Powerhouse#WeAre839 #WePowerAnimation@LATimes @AustinChronicle @Variety @THR pic.twitter.com/3uPRYwkxnH
— The Animation Guild // #WeAre839 (@animationguild) April 24, 2023
Nintendo will be exhibiting at Gamescom 2023. This will be the company’s first big, in-person appearance at a major games trade show since E3 2012. Gamescom is set for August 23 to 27 in Cologne, Germany.
Square Enix’s attempts as remaking The Portopia Serial Murder Case as an “AI tech preview” has been met with scrutiny across the board. The game relies on a machine learning text input system that has been quickly found to be incredibly faulty, rendering progress difficult and nearly unplayable. The game is free to download, and currently has an over 90% “Very Negative” reviews on Steam.
the portopia serial murder case is an excellent example of why stapling "AI" to your game doesn't in fact guarantee your game will work pic.twitter.com/WX9v6VZrGD
— Aura (MOOMANIBE@Cohost) (@MOOMANiBE) April 24, 2023
Developer Young Horses has made their early catalog of games free to play, such as the original version of Octodad.
A new entry to the Armored Core series has been announced, and Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is set to be released around late August.
The Guinness World Record of the most people playing Dungeons & Dragons at a time was broken in a mall in Provo, Utah. Over 1,200 aspiring adventurers took place in the nerdy gathering crowding the Provo Towne Centre mall.
On the other hand, Wizards of the Coast continues to be off their rocks and hired and sent security agents to a YouTuber’s home to shut down a leak of their latest Magic: The Gathering set, “March of the Machine: The Aftermath.”
YouTuber Oldschoolmtg cooperated with the agents to hand over the set, and explains that the set was mistakenly sent to him. WotC has yet to release a statement about the incident, and is currently unclear if Oldschoolmtg will be compensated for the goods they have had to turn in.