Episode 170: Embracer Group Fire Sale Burns Labor (News Show)

Mar 29, 2024

We’ve come full circle. Embracer Group just took a massive loss to get some much-needed cash in hopes of filling a seemingly bottomless hole of debt. Saber is gone. Zen is gone. 4A is gone. Gearbox is gone. Also, SAG-AFTRA may strike against video game companies, some new studios are popping up, but many others are still laying off and closing.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:00:30] - GDC and PAX East Recap
• [00:11:27] - Gaming Safety Coalition
• [00:14:53] - Circana Report on U.S. Video Game Spending for February 2024
• [00:29:57] - GameStop Q4 FY24 Earnings
• [00:33:03] - Investment Interlude
• [00:47:40] - Divestment Dinterlude
• [01:03:42] - Quick Hits
• [01:16:04] - Labor Report

SOURCES

• Gaming Safety Coalition | Gaming Safety Coalition
• GameStop Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Results | GameStop
• Report: Australian studio Torus Games effectively shuts down after 30 years | Game Developer
• Eggnut is Closing | Eggnut (@eggnutgames) on Twitter
• Deviation Games is Closing | Kriste Stull on LinkedIn
• Rooster Teeth Shut Down By Warner Bros. Discovery | Deadline Hollywood
• Crop Circle Update | Jennifer Klasing on LinkedIn
• Velan Studios Layoffs | Velan Studios on LinkedIn
• Something Wicked Layoffs | Eric Webb on LinkedIn
• Smilegate Barcelona reportedly closed and all employees let go | VGC
• Nintendo makes cuts to US QA contractors | GamesIndustry
• A MESSAGE FROM MAX HOBERMAN, CEO OF CERTAIN AFFINITY | Certain Affinity
• SAG-AFTRA “50/50, If Not More Likely” To Strike Against Video Game Companies Soon | Deadline Hollywood
• Microsoft voluntarily recognizes 600-strong Activision Blizzard QA union | Game Developer
• Sega of America workers ratify union contract, protecting 150 employees | Polygon

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• TURTLE BEACH ANNOUNCES TRANSFORMATIONAL ACQUISITION OF PDP | Turtle Beach
• Virtuos acquires Beyond-FX | GamesIndustry
• Sensor Tower acquires Data.ai | GamesIndustry
• Stellar Blade studio Shift Up files for IPO | GamesIndustry
• Shinji Mikami founds new studio, Kamuy Inc. | Game Developer
• Popularium secures $2m seed funding for next game by Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield | GamesIndustry
• EMBRACER GROUP CEASES ALL OPERATIONS IN RUSSIA THROUGH THE DIVESTMENT OF SELECTED ASSETS FROM THE OPERATIVE GROUP SABER INTERACTIVE | Embracer Group
• Tencent reportedly takes over two ByteDance games teams | GamesIndustry
• The developer of the two-dimensional game "Nikke" applied for listing at a valuation of 3 trillion won, and Tencent held 24% of the shares Game Grand View | GameLook.com.cn