Game Control: Microsoft To Likely Own Activision Blizzard, SEGA Unionizes, And Roblox Joins VR

Microsoft

Console: The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request for injunctive relief in its case against Microsoft has been further denied in an appellate court by the Ninth Circuit just two days after the commission filed the appeal. This caps off an eventful week in the related court drama between Microsoft and the FTC as the tech giant sought to close its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, announced over a year and a half ago. The presiding judge's ruling landed on Tuesday, July 11, and denied the FTC an injunction. A day later, the FTC moved to appeal that ruling and found its injunction in the appellate court but was denied. It's very likely Microsoft will now close on the deal, perhaps as soon as Monday, July 17. Xbox's parent company still needs to work things out with the UK's regulatory body, the CMA, as the regulators were concerned about Microsoft's potential for future cloud monopolization.

AEGIS-CWA (Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega in partnership with the Communication Workers of America), the Sega of America union filed back in April, has won its union election, with 91 votes in favor and 26 against it. With this election won, AEGIS-CWA is now the largest multi-department union of organized workers in the entire games industry. AEGIS-CWA tweeted about the news, stating it is "so excited to celebrate this win and head to the bargaining table [with Sega] to continue building this company we love." The vote was held after Sega management opted not to recognize it voluntarily. As a result, the group has now officially organized with the Communications Workers of America. The union comprises more than 200 workers in various departments across the company, including brand marketing, games as a service, localization, marketing services, product development, sales, and quality assurance teams.

Ubisoft has clarified that gamers who fail to log in to their Ubisoft account regularly run the risk of losing their account and all purchased games. This move could potentially lead players to reconsider purchasing Ubisoft games. As the publisher behind iconic franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, Ubisoft has earned a mixed reputation with gamers over the years. This player fatigue is apparent in the publisher’s open-world titles, with many gamers decrying Ubisoft’s frequent reliance on a formulaic gameplay loop. Unsurprisingly, players took to social media to express their unhappiness with Ubisoft’s response. Several replies noted that if Ubisoft didn’t want customers to lose access to their purchases, it shouldn’t have a system that makes it possible. Another response pointed out that the publisher’s policy is illegal in some countries, including Ubisoft’s home country of France. Other responses saw the unusual account policy as a calculated move to get gamers to subscribe to the publisher’s Ubisoft+ subscription service.

Bungie

PC: Bungie has won close to $500,000 in damages from an individual who perpetrated a campaign of harassment and terror against a Destiny 2 community manager and his wife for highlighting the art of a Black community member. The judgment was issued in default to defendant Jesse James Comer, who failed to turn up to defend themselves in the superior court of the state of Washington. Comer has been ordered to pay Bungie $489,435.52 in damages, costs, and legal fees, with 12% post-judgment interest being added for each year that the sum is left unpaid. The new precedent will allow employers to recover the costs incurred while investigating the identity of an anonymous harasser and putting a stop to their actions, regardless of whether other causes for awarding damages are available.

Two voice actors from Genshin Impact have claimed they have gone almost half a year without payment for their work, pulling their support and calling for the game to become a union production. Brandon Winckler, who has performed several minor roles and additional voices for HoYoverse's RPG, was the first to tweet about the issues they've faced in the last few months. Winckler claimed to have sent five emails with no response, "Inexcusable for us as actors to be waiting 4+ months for pay when you have $86 million per month. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem". Soon after, one of Genshin Impact's most prominent voice actors, Corina Boetther, also spoke out. Boettger—the English voice behind Paimon, the main character's companion—didn't mention HoYoverse or Genshin by name in their original tweet but replies and retweets have firmly established that they're referring to the same game as Winckler.

Activision Blizzard revealed in its second-quarter earnings report that it has started laying off esports employees ahead of changes to the Overwatch League. This has left teams with the chance to vote to continue with the "updated operating agreement," and if they choose not to, they will receive a termination fee of $6 million. Essentially, teams will vote on whether Overwatch League continues or ends. The Overwatch League has been in a problematic financial position for the past few years. According to released financial records, the esports group makes up less than one percent of Activision Blizzard’s consolidated net revenues. In 2022, Esports itself is in a troubling position, as live stream views are down from what they were in the pandemic, and ad budgets are decreasing in preparation for a recession. Esports companies, which typically rely on sponsorships, are being hit. This could lead to shutting down teams, diversifying beyond esports, or making significant cuts. Given these developments, it seems likely that teams will take the buyout and the Overwatch League will die out.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure - Sunblink

Mobile: Game developers Sunblink and Sanrio have announced the upcoming launch of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, landing on iOS devices via Apple Arcade on July 28th. Players can look forward to diving into a narrative-driven life sim where friendship takes center stage with Hello Kitty and her buddies. In Hello Kitty Island Adventure, players will be tasked to restore a theme park and create their very own tropical paradise along with Sanrio characters such as Cinnamoroll, Kuromi, Aggretsuko, Badtz-Maru, Chococat, and much more. In a press release, Jill Koch, Senior VP of Marketing, Brand Management, and Creative at Sanrio, Inc, said, “At the heart of everything we do at Sanrio are our core values of friendship, kindness, and inclusivity," adding "In our newest game featuring Hello Kitty and friends, giving gifts, spreading kindness, and creating smiles is front-and-center.”

Niantic dropped a content update for Pokémon Go in the form of Routes, a new user-generated feature that allows players to venture out on paths created by their fellow trainers. It offers a brand-new way to explore the world, with the feature premiering in a special event. Pokémon Go is hosting the Blazing Trails event to celebrate the arrival of Routes. It was available until July 24th at 8:00 pm local time. The event encourages trainers to create their routes or walk the path made by others to find hidden secrets. While walking around, trainers will encounter the new Pokémon, Zygarde, who finally debuts in the AR game. Zygarde will be found more frequently in the wild and from the special From A to Zygarde Research, bearing some special connection with the Routes feature.

Home - Stream

VR: A new VR stealth game featuring West African culture and mythology called Home will release in late 2023 on Steam. Created by solo developer Tade "gazuntype" Ajiboye, Home combines "the intrigue of West African myths and legends with particularly unique stealth challenges." It follows the story of Efe, a young girl who finds monsters have invaded her boarding school, and the player is tasked with helping her escape. Gazuntype calls this "the first VR game of its kind to come out of Africa." Gazuntype claims stealth is the primary tool of the player and states Efe can't attack enemies, adding, "Use your wits, cunning, and sometimes a little juju (magic) to slip by monsters undetected but be warned, they are always watching and listening." Players can also find artifacts along the journey that aid Efe, like giving her powers.

Roblox, one of the biggest names in social gaming, is coming to Meta Quest. Meta confirmed on July 12, 2023, that Roblox is coming to Quest as an Open Beta on App Lab before eventually modifying to a full launch on the main Quest store. This new development in VR gaming has resulted in varying opinions. On the one hand, the move could be a big step forward for Meta. Roblox is one of the most popular social gaming and user-generated content platforms that stand among the likes of Minecraft and Fortnite. Getting Roblox onto Quest brings a valuable and recognizable IP to the platform with a new social graph of non-VR players. However, Roblox is almost a direct competitor to Meta’s social VR platform, Horizon Worlds. Both are heavily focused on social experiences and user-generated content. Compared to Horizon Worlds, which caters only to the smaller demographic of VR players, Roblox has some 66 million daily active players across Xbox, iOS, Android, and desktop.