Episode 66: How A Daytrader Reddit War Made GameStop the Biggest News of the Week (News Show)

Jan 23, 2021

GameStop stock jumped 80% as Redditors threw down with a short-seller analyst firm. We also discuss the Xbox Live price hike, Vicarious Visions’ new home at Blizzard, the EU fining Valve and five publishers, and more.

TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:37] - MGI purchases KingsIsle Entertainment
• [00:08:53] - Opera purchases YoYo Games
• [00:14:05] - Team17 acquires Blacklight Interactive
• [00:17:01] - Tencent makes significant investment in Klei
• [00:20:59] - Steam, five publishers fined by EU for geoblocking
• [00:31:14] - Quick Hits
• [00:45:55] - Listener Question from Pauleto G
• [01:00:16] - Resident Evil Showcase
• [01:13:33] - Vicarious Visions folded into Activision Blizzard
• [01:19:50] - CD Projekt facing a second investor lawsuit
• [01:23:15] - Microsoft faces backlash over (and swiftly retracts) Xbox Live price hike
• [01:35:54] - GameStop’s wacky week and short squeezin’
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Sources:

• Media and Games Invest entered into an agreement to acquire U.S. game developer KingsIsle Entertainment Inc... : https://press.mgi.group/correction-of-a-release-from-16012021-0026-cetcest-media-and-games-invest-entered-into-an-agreement-to-acquire-kingsisle-entertainment-inc-for-usd-126m-plus-earn-outs-in-this-context-oaktree-is-subscribing-for-a-eur-25m-share-issue
• Opera opens new video game division and confirms YoYo Games purchase (Gamasutra): https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/376454/Opera_opens_new_video_game_division_and_confirms_YoYo_Games_purchase.php
• Team 17 acquires Golf With Your Friends franchise for $16.4 million (Gamasutra): https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/376492/Team_17_acquires_Golf_With_Your_Friends_franchise_for_164_million.php
• Studio Announcement (Klei): https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/126355-studio-announcement/
• Antitrust: Commission fines Valve and five publishers of PC video games € 7.8 million for “geo-blocking” practices (European Commission): https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_170
• Coding Prodigy Behind Hit Game PUBG Eyes IPO Worth Billions (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2021-01-18/coding-prodigy-behind-hit-game-pubg-eyes-ipo-worth-billions
• GDC Showcase: https://gdconf.com/showcase
• LudoNarraCon: LudoNarraCon.com
• Capcom Announces Revision of Consolidated Full-Year Earnings Forecast…: https://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/news/html/e210121b.html
• Vicarious Visions merged into Blizzard (GamesIndustry): https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-22-vicarious-visions-merged-into-blizzard
• CD Projekt faces a second class-action lawsuit over Cyberpunk 2077 (GamesIndustry): https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-19-cd-projekt-faces-a-second-class-action-lawsuit-over-cyberpunk-2077
• Current report no. 4/2021 (CD Projekt): https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/investors/regulatory-announcements/current-report-no-4-2021/
• People Are Getting 'Cyberpunk 2077' Refunds and Getting to Keep The Game (Vice): https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bmmx/people-are-getting-cyberpunk-2077-refunds-and-getting-to-keep-the-game