Welcome to week three of Industry Intel, the series where EarlyGame updates you with all the major gaming industry news from the past week in quick, bite-sized chunks. Go, go, go!
Publishers are happy
Indies - probably not so much. The developers of Gang Beasts have been unhappy with a recent announcement that Double Fine will be “winding down” their publishing division. This is blamed on Double Fine being acquired by Microsoft and becoming one of the Xbox Games studios. Tim Schafer’s company is currently at work finishing the already delayed Psychonauts sequel.
Another happy publisher is Epic Games. Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney stated that the free games they’ve been giving away each week actually boost sales. The company has been doubling down on their free game practice and boosting the titles from critically acclaimed indy games to AAA powerhouses such as GTA V.
Paradox must be happy with the state of their brand, because they are opening a brand new studio in Barcelona. The dev house is dubbed Paradox Tinto and will be working on Europa Universalis IV. Another Paradox strategy, Crusader Kings 3, is coming out in September.
Investors are unhappy
Activision Blizzard shareholders are angry about CEO Bobby Kotick’s salary. CtW Investment Group is talking to investors to vote against further increasing the paychecks of the ActiBlizz boss, who reportedly made $30 million in 2019. In a statement, the company defended their leader, stating his salary is performance-based and he earned every cent with his contribution.
Lastly, Sony has canceled its massive PlayStation 5 event due to the ongoing protests. In an official statement, the console-makers declared that the show is postponed for now, as they “do not feel that right now is a time for celebration”. This is yet another massive delay in the video game industry, but the first big one not caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
For more news, analysis, and opinions, stay right here on EarlyGame!
