Episode 147: Ubisoft in Crisis (Season 4 Premiere)

Jan 17, 2023

We’re back for Season 4! Good thing we’re not on HBO Max, amirite? The ghosts of Ubisoft’s failure to care for its employees are now haunting its financial performance. Also: Let’s talk about D&D and Hasbro’s huge, shortsighted missteps with the OGL, Epic has been slapped with a fine over Fortnite, Zenimax QA workers unionize, while Activision Blizzard moves to make things hard for workers at recently acquired Proletariat.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:02:34] - Dungeons & Dragons Rolls a Critical Miss
• [00:23:13] - Ubisoft’s No Good, Very Bad Day
• [00:34:48] - A Pair of Fortnite Stories
• [00:48:47] - Investment Interlude
• [01:05:02] - Quick Hits
• [01:19:40] - Labor Report

SOURCES

• Dungeons & Dragons’ New License Tightens Its Grip on Competition | Gizmodo
• Let’s Take A Minute To Talk About D&D’s Open Gaming License (OGL) | Noah Downs on Medium
• A Legal Perspective on the OGL | Chris Reid (@NYGameLawyer) on Twitter
• Paizo Announces System-Neutral Open RPG License | Paizo
• An Update on the Open Game License (OGL)
• Canceled D&D Beyond Subscriptions Forced Hasbro's Hand | Gizmodo
• UBISOFT STRENGTHENS STRATEGIC FOCUS… | Ubisoft
• Ubisoft Delays Skull And Bones, Cancels More Games, And Announces New Cuts | Kotaku
• Parents say game developer made ‘Fortnite’ as ‘addictive as possible’ | Washington Post
• Epic Games Fined by FTC in Children’s ‘Fortnite’ Privacy Case | Bloomberg Law
• Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast Cancels Video Game Projects | Bloomberg (Paywall) 
• Playtika to lay off over 600 staff; studios at risk, three games canned | Mobilegamer.biz
• Microsoft game makers unionize after vote passes by "supermajority" | Axios
• Proletariat Workers Become Third Group of Activision Blizzard Workers to Form Union with Communications Workers of America | Communications Workers of America
• EVERYONE DESERVES A VOTE | Proletariat

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• MICROSOFT/ACTIVISION BLIZZARD PHASE 2 MERGER INQUIRY | UK Competition Markets Authority
• UK regulator extends deadline for investigation into Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal | Game Developer
• Exclusive: Microsoft, Activision back off aggressive claim in FTC case | Axios
• Microsoft Sued by Gamers Over $69 Billion Activision Deal (2) | Bloomberg Law
• Google, Nvidia Express Concerns to FTC About Microsoft’s Activision Deal | Bloomberg (Paywall)
• Yuga Labs Appoints Activision Blizzard President and COO Daniel Alegre as New CEO | Yuga Labs
• Jagex Acquires SCUM Developer Gamepires | Jagex
• NDREAMS ACQUIRES NEAR LIGHT | nDreams
• SkyBox Labs is joining NetEase Games | NetEase
• GEARBOX ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF CAPTURED DIMENSIONS | Gearbox
• ATARI: OPENING OF THE FRIENDLY TENDER OFFER FOR ATARI SHARES | Atari
• MY.GAMES ANNOUNCES BUSINESS RESTRUCTURING AND DECISION TO CEASE OPERATIONS IN THE RUSSIAN MARKET | My.Games