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The Chinese Gaming Industry Is About To Start Moving Again After Devastating Nine-Month Freeze
11.4.2022
After a nine-month hiatus that put the Chinese games industry on edge, China’s culture regulators have finally started issuing new approvals for domestic games so they can be published within the country.Read more
Call Of Duty Maker Announces Raises For QA Workers Amid Unionization Fight
7.4.2022
Activision Blizzard announced a big win for its part-time developers today as it battles an ongoing union push at one of the big studios behind Call of Duty: Warzone. Contract QA staff across the company will be converted to full-time, and also see their minimum hourly rate raised to $20. That’s...
Report: Frustration At Riot After It Drops Vaccine Mandate In Rush Back To Office
7.4.2022
League of Legends maker Riot Games is back to the office beginning this week and not everyone’s happy about it, according to a new report by Waypoint. Following local guidelines, the LA-based company dropped its vaccine and mask mandates even as covid-19 continues to spread, leading one current...
One Of The Worst People In The World Now Owns Over 96% Of SNK
6.4.2022
Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), a subsidiary of a foundation run by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, now owns 96.18 percent of Japanese developer SNK following a massive investment.Read more
Military MMO Dev Wargaming Cuts Ties With Belarus, Russia Over Invasion works
4.4.2022
Hit freemium developer Wargaming is abandoning its operations in Belarus and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, now in its 39th day. The World of Tanks maker said it has turned over live operations of its games in both countries to its now-former studio in Russia and will “not profit from this...
Activision Blizzard Removes Vaccine Mandate, 'Effective Immediately'
1.4.2022
Activision Blizzard Chief Administrative Officer Brian Bulatao (above) emailed all employees of the company earlier today, informing them that “effective immediately” the publisher was removing the mandate for employees working from offices to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and hopes to have...
Activision Blizzard Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit For $18 Million
29.3.2022
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer approved a $18 million relief settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today. This settlement comes months after Activision Blizzard originally agreed to settle with the EEOC on September 27, 2021. But those attempting to hold the game publisher...
Call of Duty: Warzone Can’t Get More Maps Because Install Size Is ‘F**king Crazy’
28.3.2022
Free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone only has one main map, unlike other, similar shooters like Apex Legends or PUBG. And while many players and even the devs behind the game would love to add more, the game’s infamously large install size is apparently stopping them from expanding...
New Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment, Retaliation Endured By Woman For Years
24.3.2022
A new lawsuit against Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard by a current employee raises fresh allegations of sexual harassment at the publisher, this time focused on leaders in Blizzard’s IT department. According to the lawsuit, the current employee was repeatedly subjected to unwanted...
Jamie Lee Curtis Will Officiate Her Daughter’s Wedding In World of Warcraft Cosplay
24.3.2022
Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jamie Lee Curtis announced that, not only will she officiate her youngest daughter’s wedding in the actress’s backyard, but she will do so while wearing World of Warcraft cosplay. Read more
Report: Two Months Before Return, Overwatch League Still Has No Sponsors
19.3.2022
In less than seven weeks, in May, the fifth season of Activision Blizzard’s official Overwatch League starts, kicking off with a large live event in Texas. However, this close to the start, the league still lacks any sponsors. Officials claim there are “ongoing discussions” happening with various...
Report: Ori Studio Accused Of Being 'Oppressive,' 'Sexist' Workplace
18.3.2022
Moon Studios’ Ori games are some of the most excellent and beautiful platformers around. Some developers now claim that the same can’t be said for the founders of the studio that made them. According to a new report by VentureBeat, current and former developers say Moon could be an “oppressive”...
Russia May Legalize Software Piracy As Tech And Game Companies Continue To Pull Out
10.3.2022
The Russian government is looking to legalize at least some software piracy to help its citizens get around the growing list of tech, gaming, and software bans that the country faces due to its ongoing and destructive invasion of Ukraine. It seems Russian leaders and lawmakers are preparing to live...
Overwatch 2 Beta Launches April, Will Lack PvE
10.3.2022
Today, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2, the long-awaited sequel to its team-based hero shooter, isn’t dead and has a closed PvP beta out in late April. Read more
Sony Halts PlayStation Sales In Russia Due To Ukraine Invasion
9.3.2022
Sony announced today that it is officially halting the sale of PlayStation products—including PS5s and Gran Turismo 7—in Russia following its war on Ukraine. This comes after similar decisions by other major gaming companies including Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and EA. Read more
Sega And Koei Tecmo Donate To Humanitarian Efforts In Ukraine
9.3.2022
Earlier this week, Kotaku reported that Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft and Epic Games suspended Russian sales in the wake of the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Now, Japanese companies Sega and Koei Tecmo are doing their part in helping the Ukrainian people, by donating money to...
Nintendo Indefinitely Delays War Game Over Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
9.3.2022
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp no longer has a release date. Nintendo announced today it’s pushing back the Switch game’s launch as a result of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The news comes as many other gaming companies have instituted bans of certain products in Russia as the humanitarian...
Where Was Kotaku Last Week?
9.3.2022
So that just happened.Read more
Activision Stock Shenanigans Being Investigated By Justice Department, SEC
9.3.2022
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that three men—Fox co-founder Barry Diller, Reggie Miller-hating socialite Alexander von Furstenberg and music magnate David Geffen—are currently under two separate federal investigations over suspicions insider trading was involved in their purchase of millions...
Parents Sue Call Of Duty Maker, Alleging Sexual Harassment Led To Daughter’s Suicide
7.3.2022
Parents of an Activision Blizzard employee who died by suicide on a 2017 work retreat at Disneyland are now suing the Call of Duty publisher alleging workplace sexual harassment contributed to their daughter’s wrongful death. Activision Blizzard had previously dismissed the tragedy as having...