Episode 123: What Sony is *Really* Doing with PlayStation Plus (News Show)

Apr 3, 2022

We’re back from GDC and we have a lot to discuss. This week: PlayStation Plus gets a makeover, Bobby Kotick’s buddies accused of insider trading, indie studio bad behavior in the spotlight, and Sony’s own labor issues mount as more women come forward.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:02:19] - GDC 2022 Recap
• [00:27:20] - GameStop Earnings
• [00:42:00] - Investment Interlude
• [00:56:44] - Quick Hits
• [01:08:27] - Labor Report (Activision, Undead Labs, Sony, Moon Studios, PMG Report)
• [01:31:43] - The New PlayStation Plus

SOURCES

• GameStop Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Results | GameStop
• Activision Blizzard officially settles federal sexual harassment suit for $18 million | Washington Post
• Activision Blizzard disinvited from speaking at SXSW due to misconduct allegations | Washington Post
• Activision Faces New Suit From Worker Alleging ‘Rampant Sexism’ | Bloomberg Law
• Four U.S. Senators Cite Microsoft-Activision Deal Concern in FTC Letter | WSJ (Paywall)
• Allegations Of Sexism, Bullying, And Burnout: Inside The Microsoft Studio Behind State Of Decay 3 | Kotaku
• Eight more women allege sexism at PlayStation, intensifying lawsuit | Axios
• Despite its beautiful Ori games, Moon Studios is called an ‘oppressive’ place to work | GamesBeat
• Investigating Three Indie Superstars Accused of Emotional Abuse | People Make Games
• All-new PlayStation Plus launches in June with 700+ games and more value than ever | PlayStation Blog

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• Welcoming Haven Studios to the PlayStation Studios family | PlayStation Blog
• Game Developer Boss Fight Entertainment Joins Netflix | Netflix
• Roberto Barrera Announces New Role at Netflix | LinkedIn
• TEQUILA WORKS WELCOMES TENCENT AS A MAJORITY INVESTOR | Tequila Works
• Welcoming WebAR Development Platform 8th Wall To Niantic | Niantic
• Saudi Arabia’s PIF ups invest in NCSoft for second largest ownership, shares rally | Pulse
• Scopely partners with game development team Burlingame Studios, investing $20 million in new studio | Scopely
• Griffin Fund II Announcement | Griffin Gaming Partners
• NDreams Receives $35M Investment from The Aonic Group | NDreams
• U.S. Probes Options Trade That Gained on Microsoft-Activision Deal | WSJ (Paywall)
• U.S. Probes Meeting Between Activision CEO and Option Buyer | WSJ (Paywall)