Episode 103: Bobby Kotick Got Subpoenaed By The SEC… LET’S GOOOOOO! (News Show)

Sep 28, 2021

Activision Blizzard is pissing off all the wrong people, including government regulatory agencies. Also: Twitch covers its butt with the music industry, high fashion comes to Fortnite, and Apple shuts down Epic’s hope of recovering its developer accounts and getting Fortnite back on the App Store.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:34] - Twitch covers its butt in deal with NMPA
• [00:11:44] - Activision gets sued by SEC, but gets off easy with EEOC
• [00:35:58] - Investment Interlude
• [00:40:23] - Quick Hits
• [00:49:41] - Fortnite x Balenciaga - High Fashion Gets in the Game
• [01:01:32] - This Week’s FAFO Award: Epic Games

SOURCES

• TWITCH STRIKES DEAL WITH MUSIC PUBLISHERS
• Noah Downs on Twitter re Twitch / NMPA
• NMPA AND ROBLOX STRIKE INDUSTRY-WIDE AGREEMENT
• SEC Is Investigating Activision Blizzard Over Workplace Practices, Disclosures (WSJ)
• SOC Investment Group: Activision Blizzard execs need to be held accountable for toxic working culture (GamesIndustry.biz)
• Activision Blizzard Provides Update on Workplace Initiatives
• Blizzard Entertainment's chief legal officer departs as lawsuits stack up (gamedeveloper.com)
• Overwatch 2 chief leaves Activision Blizzard (Polygon)
• Activision Blizzard Commits to Expanded Workplace Initiatives, Reaches Agreement with the EEOC
• Balenciaga Brings High Fashion to Fortnite - Epic Games
• Tim Sweeney on Twitter re Apple decision not to reinstate Epic’s developer accounts (1) (2)

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• MY.GAMES ACQUIRES HYPER CASUAL PUBLISHER, MAMBOO GAMES
• FuzzyBot raises $3.5m in seed funding round (Games Industry)
• StreamElements nabs $100M as it passes 1.1M creators using its platform to build and monetize video content (TechCrunch)