GAMERS THREAD

[Battle]

Saturday, 11th  December  Twenty One

Playstation Executive Terminated!!!

by Will Feuer

A top Sony executive has been fired after he was allegedly caught in an amateur pedophilia sting operation posted on YouTube.

George Cacioppo — the senior vice president from the team behind PlayStation — allegedly tried to arrange a meeting with a 15-year-old boy, according to a video posted by the YouTube channel People v. Preds.

Cacioppo has been at PlayStation for more than eight years, according to his LinkedIn profile, and he most recently served as senior vice president of engineering.

“We are aware of the situation and the employee in question has been terminated from employment,” Sony said Sunday in a statement to CNET.

Cacioppo didn’t return The Post’s request for comment.

He has not been criminally charged [yet].

Adam Sharki, a spokesman for the San Diego Police Department, said “there is an active investigation being led by the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).”

People v. Preds, an amateur sting operation meant to catch sexual predators who meet victims online, identified Cacioppo as a 64-year-old who was allegedly trying to arrange a meeting with a 15-year-old boy at 4:30 a.m.

In the video, the cameraman walks down a street toward a house that Cacioppo — wearing a black PlayStation 5 T-shirt — is standing in front of.

The cameraman, referring to Cacioppo as “Jeff,” asks him whom he’s planning on meeting.

“We can have a conversation or I can call the cops,” the cameraman says as Cacioppo turns around and begins to walk back into the house.

Cacioppo closes the door to the house and the cameraman then begins shouting threats that he’ll call the police.

The video has racked up more than 112,000 views since it was streamed live Friday.

The Post could not access the alleged chat logs between Cacioppo and People v. Peds, but CNET reported that Cacioppo contacted the decoy minor on Grindr, a dating app for gay, bi, trans and queer people.

The two exchanged pictures and Cacioppo told the decoy that his name was “Jeff,” according to CNET.

He then allegedly gave his address in order to have sex with the purported 15-year-old boy, according to CNET’s review of the logs.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://nypost.com/2021/12/06/sony-fires-playstation-executive-accused-of-pedophilia/

Would You Like To See More?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrTWxt_A9DU

[Battle]

Sunday, 12th  December  ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

Play 600+ Hours of Ghost Recon & All You Get Is This Lousy Helm

by Zack Zwiezen

I’d like to go one weekend without having to write or think about NFTs, but apparently, we all live in Hell.

I mean, how else do you explain a Ghost Recon NFT helmet that can only be acquired after playing the game for 600 hours?

The Wolf Enhanced Helmet A is a new NFT item for Ghost Recon Breakpoint that Ubisoft just launched today, as part of the company’s ongoing experiment with the blockchain.

The publisher isn’t selling these digital items but instead giving them away for free to qualifying players.

In this case, to get this “Digit”—Ubisoft’s term for these NFT in-game items—you need to have played over 600 hours of mediocre open-world shooter Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

This terrible nightmare scenario—asking someone to play 25 days of Ghost Recon to get a stupid-looking NFT helmet—is part of Ubisoft Quartz, an NFT initiative that allows people to buy artificially scarce digital items using cryptocurrency.

Quartz allows players to purchase Digits, which are in-game weapons, vehicles, and cosmetics, that players can acquire in limited drops and sell freely via their preferred crypto wallets.

The program relies on Tezos, a proof-of-stake currency that claims to be energy efficient.

However, I suspect 600 hours of running your console or PC is using up a nice chunk of energy.

As of this writing, players who want this helmet and who have also played over 600 hours of Breakpoint currently have about 110 hours to grab the grey, drab helmet.

According to Ubisoft, there are only 250 NFT helmets available.

As for what you can do with this helmet, well you can... uh wear it in the game.

I wouldn’t, it looks boring.

And I don’t want to play anymore Breakpoint.

Ubisoft also states that its NFTs can be sold outside of the Ubisoft ecosystem as a way of “grant[ing] players more control than ever.”

Not sure how many people are going to be willing to pay you money, even weird crypto coins, for a bland-looking hat that can only be used in a years-old shooter that nobody really liked, but there you go.

Consider it an investment, I guess.

Ubisoft’s next NFT, a pair of pants, will thankfully only require you to play 100 hours of Breakpoint to pick them up.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/we-live-in-hell-and-this-ubisoft-nft-that-requires-you-to-play-600-hours-of-ghost-recon-is-proof/ar-AARK3Pv?ocid=msedgntp

https://kotaku.com/ubisofts-nft-announcement-has-been-intensely-disliked-1848182203

[Emperorjones]

Halo Infinite Can't Decide If It's a Breakup Game or a Dad Game

https://gizmodo.com/halo-infinite-cant-decide-if-its-a-breakup-game-or-a-da-1848201181

http://www.cbr.com/halo-infinite-best-easter-eggs/

[Emperorjones]

Polygon's 50 Best Games of 2021

http://www.polygon.com/c/22796149/50-best-video-games-of-2021-polygon-goty

[Battle]

Thursday, 16th   December   ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

CD Projekt will pay $1.85 million in class-action settlement

by Sean Hollister

Last week, we reported that game developer CD Projekt was negotiating to settle a class-action lawsuit over the infamously botched launch of Cyberpunk 2077, a game that came riddled with bugs and poor enough performance on consoles that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store and many storefronts offered refunds.

CD Projekt says those negotiations are now concluded, and here’s how much it’s agreed to pay:
$1,850,000 USD.

While the settlement will likely have to be approved by a court, it sounds like the lead plaintiffs and their lawyers negotiated for a fairly tiny sum here in exchange for “relinquish[ing] any and all claims against the Company and members of its Management Board.”

That’s when you consider that the game had a development budget of over $316 million (according to GamesIndustry.biz), recouped that entire development and marketing budget in pre-orders alone, and didn’t actually see a huge impact from refunds.

Perhaps the plaintiffs didn’t have much of a case?

It’s worth noting that this lawsuit (technically, four lawsuits that had been rolled into one) were brought by shareholders who believed they were misled by the company about the game’s performance, not gamers who purchased the game.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/cyberpunk-2077-developer-cd-projekt-will-pay-just-1-85-million-in-proposed-class-action-settlement/ar-AARRWj7?ocid=msedgntp

[Battle]

Saturday, 18th December  ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

French union files collective lawsuit against Ubisoft

by Brendan Sinclair

French union Solidaires Informatique today announced that it has filed a collective action lawsuit against Ubisoft alleging institutional sexual harassment.

The union said it filed the suit in a French court yesterday.

It first announced its intention to file suit a year ago, as a wave of allegations were made against various senior Ubisoft leadership.

It believes the publisher is guilty of "putting in place, maintaining and strengthening a system where sexual harassment is tolerated because it is more profitable for the company to keep harassers in place than to protect its employees."

Solidaires Informatique names chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, head of HR Cécile Cornet, editorial department member Tommy François, and CEO Yves Guillemot as targets of the suit, as well as Hascoët's assistant and multiple other members of the HR team.

Hascoët and François left the company after investigations into their behavior.

Cornet originally stepped down from her role but remained with the publisher.

Her LinkedIn profile suggests she parted ways with Ubisoft in March.

Solidaires Informatique said Guillemot is named because the CEO should be held responsible for what happens at the company.

Of the people named above, only Guillemot remains with the company and in the same role.

The union says it still wants other people abused by Ubisoft or its employees to testify or sign on to the suit.

It said it would cover all legal costs of doing so, and does not require people participating to be members of the union.

When reached for comment, an Ubisoft representative said, "We do not have further details regarding the claim filed against Ubisoft" and referred us to a statement made by Guillemot in May saying that "considerable progress" had been made since the allegations first surfaced.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-07-16-french-union-files-collective-lawsuit-against-ubisoft

https://www.pcgamer.com/french-game-workers-union-sues-ubisoft-for-institutional-sexual-harassment/

COMMENTS SECTION

Sailorjeff
Ethan Gach
10/21/21 12:45pm
Honestly, I feel like this is why AAA studio output has felt stale to me for quite a while. Unhappy creatives will not make quality work, not unlike any unhappy employee at any job. In the realm of creative jobs, I feel this comes through in the work much more keenly than other professions though.



ClamoringMass
Sailorjeff
10/21/21 5:00pm
That has more to do with executive/financial based decision making.

Past products were monetarily successful, so don’t do anything that might risk upsetting whatever resulted in that success.

Progress requires risk. These companies don’t do risk. So their games are all more or less the same. Slap on a new coat of paint with each release but never stray too far into “experimental” territory.


Sailorjeff
ClamoringMass
10/22/21 10:27am
Oh sure, It definitely isn’t the only reason and I’m definitely aware of the risk-adverse attitudes the big publishers are taking. That said, I still think that an unhappy workforce can contribute to a lack in quality as well.



EmIsMe
ClamoringMass
10/22/21 12:42pm
You’re not wrong, but if your company’s responses to turmoil and general hiring practices make it an unappealing place to work for anyone with half a heart, the talent you have certainly isn’t going to be very invested in trying to do much of anything unique or interesting. When I like where I am and feel safe, I love trying to come up with something fun to bring to the table and actually feel like it’s worth my effort to do so.



ClenchMask
Ethan Gach
10/21/21 1:36pm
This isn’t boast, but I cannot think of an Ubisoft title I’ve played since Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Think I dipped my toes in FarCry3 and jumped back out. They just don’t make games I enjoy. I’m not the wokest of people either, but the content I have consumed via streamers has just always put me off. Again I’m not hating on their wares in hindsight, it’s just, inexplicable to me that nothing they produce trips my trigger. Same with Gearbox.

Anyone else in the same boat?



Niko
ClenchMask
10/21/21 3:31pm
I’m in the opposite boat - can’t help but love most of what they make. I despise the way the company has been operating, and Yves needs to effin GO, but I’m always up for their open world titles to relax the afternoon/evening away after work.
My last few games this month have been Far Cry 5, then New Dawn, now I’m back to Watch Dogs: Legion after barely getting started in it earlier this year. Not to mention all the AC games that I’ve platinumed. Yikes.



ClamoringMass
ClenchMask
10/21/21 4:55pm
Their whole schtick is CoD but open world action RPG.

More a check list of features than games with any artistry.

Nothing wrong with just checking off boxes and selling a competent commodity. But that’s all their games are. It’s not what I tend to play video games for.



boobsandbacon
Ethan Gach
10/21/21 12:51pm
It really sucks we keep getting these reports and it also sucks that the same places that report this will also report about the latest asscreed dlc. As long as we keep rewarding this behavior, they won’t stop.



AuroraBlaize
boobsandbacon
10/22/21 2:17am
This. For all their reporting of the matter, I really wish Kotaku would be all “No, we’re not covering your games any more. Fuk you guys.”



SmaugTheUnpretentious
AuroraBlaize
10/22/21 2:32pm
That sounds like a good way for Kotaku to go out of business

Kotaku can report on both things



AuroraBlaize
SmaugTheUnpretentious
10/23/21 6:50pm
“Ubisoft has a pretty terrible workplace culture. They don’t do anything about harassment. They really are pretty f*cking horrible. Oh, but this latest Assassin’s Creed DLC is absolutely great. Kudos to them.”

If more sites would agree not to cover a sh*tty company because of sh*tty policies, then maybe the sh*tty company will actually have some motivation to actually do better.



Verklemptomaniac
Ethan Gach
10/21/21 10:38am
In response, Ubisoft will be rolling out two new reporting platforms that they guarantee will handle all complaints with the respect they deserve: Incinérateur and Trou Noir.

[Battle]

Monday, 20th December ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

Hades Makes History As First Video Game To Win A Hugo Award

by Zack Zwiezen

Hades made history by becoming the first video game to ever win a Hugo Award, an annual literary award presented to the best science fiction or fantasy works from the previous year.

Hades was developed by Supergiant Games and released after a period in early access last year.

Supergiant Games creative director, Greg Kasvin, tweeted his reaction to Hades winning the historic award, stating that although he wasn’t able to make it to the award ceremony, he was “grateful” that the Hugo Awards are “recognizing work in this category, much less the work we did!”

Hades, developed by Supergiant Games, was a smash hit last year, winning plenty of awards.

We even called it one of the best games of 2020.

The roguelike was based on Greek mythology and told the story of Hades’ son Zagreus escaping the underworld, after dying a lot.

The other games nominated by the Hugo Awards this year were: Spiritfarer, The Last of Us 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Blaseball.

The Hugo Awards are an annual literary award given to various sci-fi and fantasy works at the World Science Fiction Convention every year.

Normally, video games aren’t nominated for the award, however, this year a new category was introduced for video games.

This follows years of conversations among the governing members behind the prestigious and long-running Hugo Awards.

The new category is only, at least for now, a one-off thing, but it could continue in the future.

In recent years, the Hugo Awards have continued to expand beyond traditional literary works and authors.

Past new categories added to the prestigious awards include Best Fanzine or Best Fancast, an award honoring great sci-fi and fantasy-focused podcasts and video series.

It’s likely that, as gaming becomes more popular and continues to tell bigger, better stories involving sci-fi or fantasy, the Hugo Awards will look to add a more permanent award category for video games.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/hades-wins-a-hugo-award-making-history-as-first-video-game-to-ever-do-so/ar-AARY7Je?ocid=msedgntp

Comments Section

Michael Vickery
interesting to a few, those of us who are 60 year old games knew about games as a literary and story based ideas that can only be expressed in the digital gaming world.  Glad they caught up to the obvious after 50 years

[Battle]

Wednesday, 22nd  December ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

Ubisoft facing developer ‘exodus'

by Nicole Carpenter

Ubisoft is losing developers in what some employees are calling a “great exodus,” according to a new Axios report.

Low pay, better opportunities, and frustration with the company’s workplace misconduct allegations are cited as reasons for the higher attrition rate.

Axios interviewed 12 current and former Ubisoft developers about the resignations, noting that five “top 25-credited” developers on Far Cry 6 have left the studio.

Twelve people out of the “top 50”-credited developers from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla left, too.

But it’s not just big name leads and developers: Axios said Ubisoft’s Canadian studios have seeing losses.

Two developers said the resignations have “stalled or slowed projects” at the studio.

Ubisoft reportedly offered pay raises to all employees at its Canadian studios in an attempt to stop workers from leaving, Kotaku reported in November.

Ubisoft chief people officer Anika Grant told Axios that the raises helped improve retention by 50%, with retention rate sitting at 12%.

However, the raises only applied to Canadian studios, and other Ubisoft developers are frustrated that they haven’t gotten raises.

Ubisoft, like Activision/blizzard, has faced allegations of workplace misconduct and the mishandling of sexual harassment cases in recent years.

A Kotaku report in 2020 outlined a culture at Ubisoft in which sexism and harassment are normalized.

“[Bosses] constantly emphasized ‘moving on’ and ‘looking forward’ while ignoring the complaints, concerns and cries of their employees,” one developer told Axios.

The departure of workers at Ubisoft appears to be in line with what some are calling “the Great Resignation,” a movement in which people across industries are quitting jobs at record rates.

Montreal, Canada home to Ubisoft’s biggest studio with more than 4,000 employees, is an expanding game development hub, making it easier for workers to look for something new in the city they already work in.

Ubisoft has not responded to Polygon’s request for comment, though a spokesperson told Axios that it has hired 2,600 workers since April.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.polygon.com/22847176/ubisoft-developer-exodus-axios-report

[Battle]

Wednesday, 22nd  December ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

Ubisoft becomes world’s most hated game developer

by Evgeny Obedkov

Product review website Rave Reviews has published its research on the world’s most hated brands.

When it comes to video games, no company is hated more than Ubisoft.

The Rave Reviews’ research is based on the analysis of over a million brand-related tweets.

“We calculated the hate rate (% of negative tweets) and ranked the brands by location and category to find the most hated brands in every country,” the company said.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://gameworldobserver.com/2021/09/28/report-ubisoft-becomes-worlds-most-hated-game-developer-competing-with-capcom-and-game-freak

https://www.ravereviews.org/brands/the-most-hated-brands-in-every-country/

[Battle]

Saturday, 25th December  ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

According to Santa Ricky at Twitter, "The website domain for Steam has been blocked by China ~8 hours"

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/the-global-version-of-steam-appears-to-be-banned-in-china/ar-AAS8QOx?ocid=msedgntp

[Battle]

Monday, 27th December  ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

Final Fantasy 16 development delayed ‘almost half a year’ due to COVID-19

by Michael McWhertor

Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida prepared fans of the franchise for a longer wait for that game in an update on development published Monday.

Yoshida, who also serves as producer on Final Fantasy 14 Online and the MMO’s recently released Endwalker expansion, said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted development of Final Fantasy 16, leading to a delay “by almost half a year.”

Square Enix first announced Final Fantasy 16 in September 2020, but did not provide a release window for the PlayStation 5 and Windows PC game.

Yoshida and the Final Fantasy 16 team did pledge to offer an update on the highly anticipated game by the end of this year.

That reveal has summarily been delayed.

“I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021,” Yoshida said in a statement posted to the Final Fantasy 16 Twitter account Monday.

“However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise as complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game’s development by almost a half year.”

Yoshida said that Final Fantasy 16 “has amassed a sizable team composed of talented creators from around the world” and that to combat the spread of COVID-19, that team has been working from home.

“This has unfortunately hampered communication from the Tokyo office, which, in turn, has to led to delays in — or in extreme cases, cancellations of — asset deliveries from our outsource partners,” Yoshida said.

“That said, we have spent much of 2021 addressing this issue and hope to see its impact to a minimum by the new year, allowing us to better focus on the tasks at hand: increasing graphic resource quality, refining combat mechanics, fleshing out individual battles, putting the finishing touches on cutscenes, and conducting overall graphical optimization. Our primary goal is now to be as hands on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished.”

Yoshida said that the Final Fantasy 16 team plans “to conduct our next big reveal in spring of 2022 as we seek to build excitement leading up to the game’s eventual release.”

Yoshida did not offer any additional clarity as to when the game would be released, but fans probably shouldn’t expect the full game in 2022 at this rate.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/final-fantasy-16-development-delayed-almost-half-a-year-due-to-covid-19/ar-AASbdPW?ocid=msedgntp

[Battle]

Monday, 27th December ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

Final Fantasy 6's pixel remaster comes out in February 2022

by Kyle Campbell

Few JRPG enthusiasts would dispute the importance of Final Fantasy 6, and the pixel remaster is nearly upon us.

Slowly but steadily, Square Enix is remastering many classic mainline Final Fantasy games.

Both Final Fantasy 4  and Final Fantasy 5  got stunning touch-ups recently, but most people are eager to hear more about the pixel remaster for Final Fantasy 6.

Well, Square Enix finally gave us some details on we can expect Kefka’s return.

The Final Fantasy 6  pixel remaster will release in February 2022.

A reminder that this version of the game is only available on Steam for now.

“In order to bring you the best experience possible, we’re giving ourselves the necessary time to apply final polish while finishing development on the game,” Square Enix said  on Twitter.

“We’re looking forward to sharing the final title in our pixel remaster series with you all early next year and we hope you’re looking forward to it.”

There are still no screenshots or videos of this version of Final Fantasy 6, but if Final Fantasy 5  pixel remaster is any indication, it’ll be gorgeous.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/final-fantasy-6-s-pixel-remaster-comes-out-in-february-2022/ar-AAS1PKw?ocid=msedgntp

[Battle]

Wednesday, 29th December  ~Two Thousand & Twenty One

The story on how John Madden came to be involved with wildly popular EA Sports NFL video game

by Lorenzo Reyes

If the creators of the NFL video game so many millions of people have played had their way, the wildly popular franchise would not have been known simply as Madden.

According to a story ESPN published in 2016, legendary coach and analyst John Madden was the third choice of Trip Hawkins, the eventual founder of video game maker Electronic Arts (EA), to be the pitchman of the game that eventually became Madden NFL.

An avid football fan, Hawkins' first choice was legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and former Vikings and Patriots quarterback and Cal Bears coach Joe Kapp.

Madden, who passed away at the age of 85 Tuesday, continues to be one of the game's most prominent icons.

He was first a player, though a knee injury in his rookie season in 1958 with the Philadelphia Eagles cut his career short.

He went on to be the head coach of the Raiders, where he won a Super Bowl.

He became a television analyst during NFL games and made the game accessible for millions of viewers.

He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2006.

But it's his constant presence on the video game franchise, arguably, that serves as his strongest connection to new generations of football fans and gamers alike.

According to ESPN, Montana could not be involved because he had a conflicting endorsement deal with video game console maker Atari, while Kapp wanted royalties.

According to the article, Madden was so impressed with Hawkins' credentials — he went to Harvard and worked at Apple — that he agreed to sign on.

It proved to be a shrewd decision.

Despite slow production and years of releases before it became a household name, Madden NFL has generated more than $4 billion since its inception and has sold more than 130 million copies, according to EA.

Barron's estimates that Madden NFL generates around $600 million annually for EA.

Still, Madden lamented one major mistake that cost him millions more.

According to ESPN, after "John Madden Football" was released in 1988, Hawkins approached Madden and said EA was about to have an initial public offering and that Madden could "have as much stock" as he wanted, though he would have to pay the initial price of $7.50 per share.

"Hell, I'm just a football coach," Madden told ESPN.

"I pointed with my finger, all knowing, and said, 'I gave you my time. I'm not giving you my money.' I showed him!"

In only the 10 years from 1989 to 1999, the price soared to $70 per share, according to ESPN.

Said Madden: "That was the dumbest thing I ever did in my life."

Originally, the game was planned as being a seven-on-seven competition, due to the limitations of computing back when it was being initially programmed.

Madden, however, balked at that idea and wanted the game — if he was going to appear on its cover — to be as authentic as possible.

"If it wasn’t real football, I didn’t want my name on it," Madden told Grantland in January 2012.

"I wanted it to be real football — pro football — with the sideline, the numbers, the hash marks. Everything had to be pro football."

One other unique aspect of the game is how the plays and formations users can call and execute are taken directly from NFL playbooks.

Madden sent a 1980 Oakland Raiders playbook to Hawkins and former EA producer Joe Ybarra.

To elaborate on that, the game's producers sought to mimic the playbooks of the teams featured in the game.

"For our playbooks, I would say to (former San Francisco Examiner beat writer and consultant) Frank (Cooney), 'Go find out what a team's five signature plays are,' " Hawkins told ESPN.

"He would go up to the assistant coaches, hand them paper. And they would draw up plays! We collected a huge amount of plays that way."

The video game franchise has evolved over the years to incorporate new game play modes and features, as well as tweaks to game play.

Its reach across the NFL is comprehensive.

Gamers within each locker room undoubtedly have their own copies and challenge each other during games.

Even one of the game's most reserved and self-controlled figures — and one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport — has his own exposure to the video game.

“I haven't played it in quite a while," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday after he opened his press conference with a tribute to Madden.

"When my kids were growing up, they would play it and I would watch them. They would beat me."

Belichick grinned as he told that anecdote, likely thinking back on those memories with his children —two of whom, sons Steve (outside linebackers) and Brian (safeties), are assistants on New England's staff.

Perhaps that's the enduring legacy of the Madden NFL franchise.

Similar to the way he used charm and humor in the broadcast booth to make the sport appealing to all, the video game allows even those without expertise in the NFL or even in football to simulate the strategy behind it.

"It’s a way for people to learn the game and participate in the game at a pretty sophisticated level," Madden told Grantland.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-story-on-how-john-madden-came-to-be-involved-with-wildly-popular-ea-sports-nfl-video-game/ar-AASfBcb?ocid=msedgntp

[Battle]

Wednesday, 20th  January  ~Two Thousand & Twenty Two

Activision Blizzard Fired Nearly 40 Employees Accused Of Misconduct

by Jessica Howard

Since July 2021, Activision Blizzard has reportedly fired or pushed out more than three dozen employees and disciplined nearly 40 others as part of its efforts to address the company's allegations of sexual harassment and
unethical working conditions, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The terminations follow nearly 700 reports of employee concern over misconduct within the company, as well as "regulatory probes" into Activision blizzard's workplace culture from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Activision spokesperson Helaine Klasky confirmed the departures Monday, January 17, starting that, so far, "37 people have 'exited' and 44 have been disciplined as part of the company’s investigation."

Klasky also contested the figure that there have been 700 reports, claiming that "employee comments included statements on social media, and the issues raised ranged from what she described as benign workplace concerns to 'a small number' of potentially serious assertions, which the company has investigated."
 
According to the report, this was something Kotick intended to address prior to the holidays, however the CEO ultimately chose to withhold the information after determining it could "make the company’s workplace problems seem bigger than is already known."

This news comes in the midst of Microsoft announcing its intentions to purchase Activision blizzard for a staggering $68.7 billion.

While questions of what this acquisition means for consumers and Microsoft's competition have been circulating ever since, several larger questions still remain with perhaps even less clear answers--questions like what this will mean for Activision Blizzard's ongoing workplace turmoil and CEO Bobby

Kotick, and why Microsoft felt comfortable enough to buy the company in the midst of such unprecedented tension.

According to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, the answer to that last question largely came down to the changes Activision has made thus far.

“We see the progress that they’re making that was pretty fundamental to us deciding to go forward here,” Spencer said.

In addition to the terminations, Activision Blizzard has also seen a shift in management and a dramatic pay cut for Kotick.

However, one large point of contention remains: Kotick himself.

Despite Microsoft formerly condemning Kotick's handling of Activision blizzard's allegations, several claims that he actively covered up workplace harassment and threatened a female co-worker, and roughly 10,000 Activision

Blizzard employees signing a petition demanding his resignation, Microsoft has stated Kotick will remain in power throughout the acquisition.

According to Activision:

"Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he

and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further

strengthen the company's culture and accelerate business growth."


Ultimately, this decision doesn't come as too much of a surprise.

Considering the purchase involves regulatory approval, Microsoft can't make any decisions about Kotick's future yet.

However, following the sale, it is anticipated that Kotick will step down from the company. Whether this actually comes to fruition is yet to be determined.

Regardless, Kotick's departure from the company would reportedly come at great profit to the CEO and only scratch the surface of the demands made by several Activision Blizzard employees, many of whom are currently on strike following the sudden termination of 12 contracted Raven Software QA testers.

Since the strike first began on December 7th, 2021, Activision has remained silent regarding the worker's demands for a more transparent workplace, all while taking taking actions characterized as union-busting by critics.

Ultimately, what Microsoft's purchase of the company means for current Activision Blizzard employees remains largely unclear.

Would You Like To Know More?
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-blizzard-fired-nearly-40-employees-accused-of-misconduct-since-july-2021/1100-6499735/

[Emperorjones]

‘GameStop: Rise of the Players’ Is the Underdog Doc of 2022

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/gamestop-rise-of-the-players-documentary-1235083506/