Hello! Another brisk intro this week. I’m still finding my bearings after spending a very long weekend in Valencia, where I ate more cheese, meat, and bread (smothered in garlic aioli) in 72 hours than I have in the past decade. All washed down with ample amounts of ice cold beer and vermouth, naturally. The Spanish know how to live.
As always when I’m out of the office for more than a day, I often feel like years have slipped by upon my return. It means this week has been an exercise in catching myself up—but hopefully that’ll stand you in pretty good stead, too.
Turns out quite a bit has happened while I was lolling around the continent, so let’s get stuck in and see what I missed.
via Game Developer // To say GameStop’s proposed $55.5 billion takeover of eBay was categorically rebuffed would be an understatement. The eBay board mulled over the offer for a week before branding the proposal ‘neither credible nor attractive.’ That has to sting a little.
via Aftermath // Psychonauts maker Double Fine has petitioned to unionize under the CWA banner. The Microsoft-owned studio explained the union will include all regular full-time and part-time employees. In a statement to Aftermath, the CWA said Double Fine is organizing to “preserve and extend the studio’s commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life.”
via Game Developer // If you’re from my neck of the woods, this one is for you. A group of industry veterans from Greater Manchester have rallied together to raise the profile of the region’s video game industry. The UK’s second city (we all know it’s true) is a hive of arts and culture, but it feels like the local video game scene is underserved and underrepresented. Manchester Games Network wants to change that.
via Game Developer // Somebody is finally saying the quiet part out loud. During a recent earnings Q&A, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explained the recent Switch 2 price hike was a response to rising memory and oil prices. In short: you’re paying more for console hardware because of Donald Trump’s war on Iran and generative AI hucksters.
via Bluesky // Long-awaited sequel Subnautica 2 topped 1 million sales around one hour after launching into early access. The title finally debuted after a high-profile legal tussle between developer Unknown Words and publisher Krafton (which owns the studio).
via Eurogamer // Scottish politicians have accused Rockstar of being uncooperative when responding to union busting allegations. The Grand Theft Auto maker was last year accused of ousting employees for engaging in trade union activity. The studio claimed they were fired for gross misconduct. A legal battle is ongoing, but multiple Scottish Labor ministers claim the studio has “failed to cooperate with basic disclosure requests, refused to provide evidence in full and investigation reports, and denied workers their right of appeal.”
via Kotaku // You probably shouldn’t be hurling a $99 gamepad around the room, but if the Steam Controller does manage to escape your grasp during a particularly sweaty encounter, you might be treated to a little Easter egg. As the device plummets to the ground, it might let out a rather iconic yelp. Poor thing.
via Game Developer // Microsoft’s Israel GM Alon Haimovich announced his departure this week. The news comes after the Xbox maker was accused by The Guardian of supporting the Israeli military by providing technology used to surveil civilians in Gaza and facilitate the preparation of airstrikes. Microsoft eventually confirmed “elements” of that reporting were accurate and ceased and disabled some services it had been providing to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. That came after widespread protests and condemnation by Microsoft employees, including union members at Arkane Studios in France.
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