Bethesda, takeover of Activision Blizzard, Cyberbunk 2077… The business news of the week

business news Bethesda, takeover of Activision Blizzard, Cyberbunk 2077… The business news of the week

The largest internal union of American video games has just been born at Microsoft!

The momentum is on, and it now seems difficult to imagine that it will stop there. For many months, many unions were born within the studios and publishers video games, especially in the United States. From Keywords to Activision-Blizzardmany employees have united under the same banner, and particularly on the side of the quality assurance teams. Little developed in video games, unionism is now a real issue in the industry. Activision-Blizzard took a dim view of the birth of these groups, and sought to oppose their creation, without success. The company being launched in a process of takeover by Microsoft, GAFAM had to speak out.

Very quickly, Microsoft indicated that it would recognize unions born at Activision-Blizzard if the takeover was validated. A question of image of course, but also a strategic lever to reassure the employees who will discover a whole new organization if the operation goes to the end. But in the meantime, Microsoft had to pass a first test, this time with ZeniMax (Bethesda). Bought for 8.1 billion dollars (7.5 billion announced) in 2020, the parent company of the publisher behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Doom Eternal or Deathloop, has just experienced the birth of the largest union ever created internally in the American video game. Following a ballot held over several months, 300 workers of ZeniMax’s quality assurance division validated “by a very large majority” the creation of a union:

Today, we, a majority of quality assurance workers at ZeniMax, are proud to announce the launch of our union with CODE-CWA. We are the first group of Microsoft workers to officially unionize. We are empowered to defend our interests and build a future where we can thrive alongside the company.

Because yes, this union is not only the largest ever created in a company dedicated to the creation of video games, but also the very first union to be born at Microsoft. Workers have the fundamental right to form a union, but companies are generally reluctant to let this happen. Microsoft had pledged to remain neutral vis-à-vis these demands, and the Communications Workers of America has indicated that this promise has been fulfilled. Microsoft immediately recognized the unionand is now preparing for the upcoming negotiations:

Microsoft has lived up to its commitment to its workers and let them decide for themselves if they want a union. Other gaming and tech giants made the conscious choice to attack, undermine and demoralize their own employees when they banded together to form a union. Microsoft is charting a different course that will strengthen its corporate culture and its ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and a role model for regulators, said CWA Chairman Chris Shelton.

Activision Blizzard: Microsoft, FTC, CMA, takeover update

The process of acquisition of Activision Blizzard follows its course, and it is in the company of the FTC, the American policeman of competition, that we find Microsoft. The FTC made known its intention to block the takeover or at least slow it down to obtain concessions, and therefore took the case to administrative court. Early January, the FTC and Microsoft have therefore agreed to meet for a preliminary hearingwhich turned out to be less tense than one might have imagined.

The FTC has indeed indicated that it did not, for the moment in any case, intend to appeal to the Federal Court, and that she was determined to get new concessions and deals from Microsoft to make things work for the better. A softened position which does not validate the takeover, but which shows that the door is far from closed. With some sense of timing, Microsoft is finally backtracked on his remarks accusing the FTC of acting unconstitutionally. David Cuddy, GAFAM’s public relations spokesman, said Microsoft shouldn’t have used these terms:

The FTC has an important mission to protect competition and consumers, and we quickly updated our response to omit language suggesting otherwise based on the Constitution (…) We initially put all potential arguments on the table internally and we should have dropped those defenses before filing the case.

This change of position is obviously followed by Activision, who also drops this accusation. Everyone is therefore doing their part, pending the outcome and the start of substantive discussions. This outcome, it could begin on the side of the European Union, which will deliver its verdict, if all goes well, April 11. Indeed, the CMAthe UK equivalent of the FTC, announced this week the postponement of the publication of its conclusions to April 26. A delay of 8 weeks, motivated by the complexity of the file and the number of elements to be taken into account.

In reaching this decision, the investigation panel took into account the scope and complexity of the investigation and the need to consider a large number of pieces of evidence as well as submissions from the main parties and third parties, the need to allow sufficient time to take full account of the observations which will be received in response to the provisional conclusions of the investigation group in due time and to reach a fully reasoned final decision within the legal deadline.

CD Projekt Investors’ Complaint Against Studio Settled

That was two years ago, and a lot has happened since Cyberpunk 2077 was released. of CD Projekt investors felt cheated. A first class action lawsuit was filed by the law firm Rosen, followed by a second action, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. In both cases, the Polish studio was accused of lying about the state of Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 and Xbox Oneand therefore to have misled investors.

At the beginning of 2023, Games Industry reported that an agreement had been reached between the plaintiffs and CD Projekt, a deal billed for $1.85 million. The studio will therefore have to pay the sum to the investors, in exchange for which it will not have to answer for the charges, nor to admit publicly anything. The case will therefore not go to court and will remain there. We now expect to talk new agreementsthe complaint of the firm Rosen having not yet been settled.

In the meantime, all is well for CD Projekt, which announced a 70% increase in revenues for the third quarter of 2022, and which has many ongoing projects. A new The Witcher trilogy is planned with the Unreal Engine 5, accompanied by a remake of the first The Witcher and another title. As for Cyberpunk 2077, it is awaiting its extension, Phantom Liberty, and a sequel is already in the cards. In the meantime, it is still possible to take a look at the excellent anime cyberpunk edge runnercreated by CD Projekt and Trigger, and streamed on Netflix.

Briefly in the business news of the week

• The license The Last of Us, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide, all versions combined. The series adaptation by HBO will arrive as a reminder on January 15 (where the service is available).
• After 13 years of service, Mike Uyama, founder of Games Done Quick, leaves the organization. He will be replaced by Matt Merkle, who is on deck from January 8 to 15 for the AGDQ 2023.
• The SELL sales chart for the penultimate week of 2022 has fallen, and it’s God of War: Ragnarok that dominates in its PS5 version. It is followed by FIFA 23, the unshakeable Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokémon Violet and Pokémon Scarlet.
• Wizards of the Coast, holder of the rights to Dungeons & Dragons, would have canceled at least 5 games dedicated to the mythical franchise of role-playing games.
• Players of Marvel Snap, the hit free-to-play card game, have spent over $30 million on the app.
• 44 foreign games have been approved by the Chinese government. We find there in particular Pokémon Unite or Valorant.