Tag Archives: VGAME

Technology

Microsoft faces EU antitrust warning over Activision deal – sources

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BRUSSELS, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Microsoft (MSFT.O) is likely to receive an EU antitrust warning about its $69 billion bid for “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O), people familiar with the matter said, that could pose another challenge to completing the deal.

The European Commission is readying a charge sheet known as a statement of objections setting out its concerns about the deal which will be sent to Microsoft in the coming weeks, the people said.

The EU antitrust watchdog, which has set an April 11 deadline for its decision on the deal, declined to comment.

Microsoft said: “We’re continuing to work with the European Commission to address any marketplace concerns. Our goal is to bring more games to more people, and this deal will further that goal.”

The U.S. software giant and Xbox maker announced the acquisition in January last year to help it compete better with leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T).

U.S. and UK regulators, however, have voiced concerns, with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission going to court to block the deal.

Microsoft was expected to offer remedies to EU regulators in an attempt to avert a statement of charge and shorten the regulatory process, other sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in November.

The EU competition enforcer, however, is not expected to be open to remedies without first sending out its charge sheet, although there are ongoing informal discussions on concessions, the people said.

Microsoft last month reached a 10-year deal with Nintendo (7974.T) to make “Call of Duty” available on Nintendo consoles, saying it was open to a similar agreement with Sony, which is critical of the acquisition.

The deal has received the green light without conditions in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Serbia.

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee
Editing by Mark Potter

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Technology

Video gamers sue Microsoft in U.S. court to stop Activision takeover

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Dec 20 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) was hit on Tuesday in U.S. court with a private consumer lawsuit claiming the technology company’s $69 billion bid to purchase “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) will unlawfully squelch competition in the video game industry.

The complaint filed in federal court in California comes about two weeks after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a case with an administrative law judge seeking to stop Microsoft, owner of the Xbox console, from completing the largest-ever acquisition in the video-gaming market.

The private lawsuit also seeks an order blocking Microsoft from acquiring Activision. It was filed on behalf of 10 video game players in California, New Mexico and New Jersey.

The proposed acquisition would give Microsoft “far-outsized market power in the video game industry,” the complaint alleged, “with the ability to foreclose rivals, limit output, reduce consumer choice, raise prices, and further inhibit competition.”

Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

A Microsoft representative on Tuesday defended the deal, saying in a statement that it “will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers.” After the FTC sued, Microsoft President Brad Smith said, “We have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court.”

In a statement, plaintiffs’ attorney Joseph Saveri in San Francisco said, “As the video game industry continues to grow and evolve, it’s critical that we protect the market from monopolistic mergers that will harm consumers in the long run.”

Private plaintiffs can pursue antitrust claims in U.S. court, even while a related U.S. agency case is pending. The takeover, announced in January, also faces antitrust scrutiny in the European Union.

The FTC previously said it sued to stop “Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio.” The agency said the merger would harm competition among rival gaming platforms from Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T) and Sony Group Corp (6758.T).

Reporting by Mike Scarcella; editing by Leigh Jones, Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis

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Technology

FTC likely to file lawsuit to block Microsoft bid for Activision -Politico

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Nov 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) $69 billion takeover bid for video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O), Politico reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A lawsuit challenging the deal is not guaranteed, and the FTC’s four commissioners have yet to vote out a complaint or meet with lawyers for the companies, the report said, adding that the FTC staff reviewing the deal are skeptical of the companies’ arguments.

The FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

“We are committed to continuing to work cooperatively with regulators around the globe to allow the transaction to proceed, but won’t hesitate to fight to defend the transaction if required,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson said. Any suggestion that the transaction could lead to anticompetitive effects is “completely absurd,” the spokesperson added.

Shares of Activision fell about 2% in extended trading after closing 1% higher.

Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game console, announced in January the deal to buy Activision, the maker of “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush” games, in the biggest gaming industry deal in history as global technology giants staked their claims to a virtual future.

[1/4] Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Microsoft is betting on the acquisition to help it compete better with videogame leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T).

The deal is also facing scrutiny outside the U.S. The EU opened a full-scale investigation earlier this month. The EU competition enforcer said it would decide by March 23, 2023, whether to clear or block the deal.

Britain’s antitrust watchdog in September said it would launch a full-scale probe.

The acquisition could damage the industry if Microsoft refused to give rivals access to Activision’s best-selling games, Britain’s antitrust regulator has said.

The deal has drawn criticism from Sony, maker of the Playstation console, citing Microsoft’s control of games like “Call of Duty.”

“Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about ‘Call of Duty,’ but we’ve said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation,” Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith has said.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said: “We are prepared to address the concerns of regulators, including the FTC, and Sony to ensure the deal closes with confidence. We’ll still trail Sony and Tencent in the market after the deal closes, and together Activision and Xbox will benefit gamers and developers and make the industry more competitive.”

Reporting by Tiyashi Dattaa and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Leslie Adler

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Technology

Sony to expand Chinese game incubator in Microsoft head-to-head

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HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Sony Group Corp (6758.T) said it plans to expand a programme to identify and incubate Chinese-made games, in a race with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) to tap China’s gaming market.

The programme will invest more than 1 million yuan ($140,080) in each game it enrols, and will not only fund small teams but also big teams with dozens of engineers or more, Bao Bo, Sony’s director of China game production, said

The Japanese tech giant’s plans were made public during an event live-streamed on Tuesday from the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu to restart the China Hero Project programme, which ground to a halt due to COVID-19.

“The scale of the third phase will far exceed the previous two,” Bao said, adding that Sony will publish some games and its PlayStation Studios will support enrolled projects.

Sony said that it will be the publisher of Lost Soul Aside and Convallaria, two games enrolled in the previous two phases.

The China Hero Project unveiled its first two batches of games in 2017 and 2019 and has supported 17 titles, of which seven have reached the market.

Bao told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that the new batch aims to include 10 titles or more, and it welcomes games of all genres.

It marks the latest in Sony’s years-long approach to China, which ultimately led it to a lucrative exclusivity deal with the Chinese hit game “Genshin Impact” outside of the China Hero Project. Little known before its 2019 launch, it became of the world’s most profitable games.

Reuters reported last month that Sony’s success with “Genshin Impact” has driven Microsoft to aggressively woo Chinese game developers with big licensing deals.

To accelerate its expansion, Sony announced that it has formed the “China Game Production” team to oversee Chinese-made games. The Shanghai branch of Sony’s gaming-focused subsidiary, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) now employs just under 100 people after it entered China in 2014.

Tatsuo Eguchi, president of SIE Shanghai，said the success of Genshin Impact convinced Sony’s management that Chinese games are important, adding that Sony is allocating more resources than ever there. He also said that Sony’s partnership with Genshin Impact’s developer, miHoYO, is going strong.

Sony sells the PlayStation (PS) consoles in China, where people have traditionally preferred playing mobile-based games.

It has sold more than 3.5 million PS4 consoles in China and Jim Ryan, CEO of SIE, said it had sold about 670,000 units of PS5 there since its Chinese launch in May 2021.

Eguchi said that Sony’s goal is to sell twice as many PS5 consoles as it had for the PS4 and believed the China Hero Project could help meet this goal.

“We want gamers around the world to better understand the creativity that comes from China. I have always had a dream which is for console gaming to become a regular part of daily entertainment for Chinese people,” he said.

(This story has been corrected to say just under (not more than) 100 people, in paragraph 10)

($1 = 7.1388 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Josh Ye; Editing by Alexander Smith and Louise Heavens

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Business

Gamers lament end of Warcraft in China as Blizzard and NetEase part ways

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Nov 17 (Reuters) – Blizzard Entertainment (ATVI.O) and NetEase (9999.HK) caused dismay among thousands of gamers on Thursday by saying hits such as ‘World of Warcraft’ will not be available in China from next year as a 14-year partnership ended.

NetEase shares closed 9% lower in Hong Kong after Blizzard said it was unable to reach a deal with the Hangzhou-based company that was consistent with the California-based firm’s “operating principles and commitments to players and employees”.

Blizzard’s announcement, which gave no further detail, was the top trending topic on China’s Weibo platform with more than 100 million views as users expressed shock and sadness. Many said they had played its games for more than a decade.

“My youth was heavily marked by playing Hearthstone,” said one, while another lamented: “I’m so sad. I started playing Blizzard games from 2008… how do I say good bye?”.

Blizzard said new sales would be suspended in the coming days and players would receive further details.

The games to be suspended by midnight on Jan. 24 include ‘World of Warcraft’, ‘Hearthstone’, ‘Warcraft III: Reforged’, Overwatch’, the ‘StarCraft’ series, ‘Diablo III’, and ‘Heroes of the Storm’, Blizzard said.

NetEase rose to become China’s second-biggest gaming company behind Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) in large part due to the deals it clinched in 2008 to be Blizzard’s publishing partner in China, when Blizzard ended its deal with The9 Ltd (NCTY.O).

NetEase later issued a statement in Chinese saying it was sorry to see Blizzard’s disclosure, while confirming that the two firms were unable to agree on key terms of cooperation.

In a statement in English, NetEase said that ending the licence agreements, which are set to expire on Jan. 23, would have no “material impact” on its results.

“We will continue our promise to serve our players well until the last minute. We will make sure our players’ data and assets are well protected in all of our games,” NetEase CEO William Ding said in a statement.

NetEase said the recently published ‘Diablo Immortal’, co-developed by NetEase and Blizzard, is covered by a separate long-term agreement, allowing its service to continue in China.

It said Blizzard’s games contributed a low-single-digit percentage to its total net revenue and net income in 2021 and the first nine months of 2022.

In a research report on Nov. 9, Daiwa Capital Markets estimated that the absence of Blizzard games could lower NetEase’s revenue by 6-8% next year.

This was based on an estimate that licensed games account for around 10% of NetEase’s total revenue and Blizzard accounts for 60-80% of licensed games.

Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Savio D’Souza, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alexander Smith

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Technology

PlayStation eyes new investment for PC, mobile push

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TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Sony Group Corp’s (6758.T) gaming business is looking at fresh investment to bolster its push into PC and mobile, a senior executive said, as the PlayStation 5 maker competes for talent with deep-pocketed rivals and as industry dealmaking heats up.

“Further investments in areas that will strengthen the expansion on to PC, on to mobile and into live services, that’s definitely a possibility for us,” Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, told Reuters in an interview without providing further detail.

Sony, whose studios are known for single player console games such as “Spider-Man” and “God of War”, has outlined ambitious plans to release titles on PC and mobile and offer live service games, which provide continuous updated play.

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The radical shift is reflected in its recent deals including the $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, the studio behind the multiplayer “Destiny” franchise, which Sony operates outside its PlayStation Studios network.

Other investments include the purchase of a minority stake in Japanese developer FromSoftware, whose action role playing game “Elden Ring” has sold more than 16.6 million units.

“You should think of collaborations on the game development side first and foremost, but it’s also not unthinkable with our PlayStation Productions efforts that we explore opportunities,” Hulst said of the FromSoftware investment.

Sony is producing a growing number of game adaptations, with this year’s “Uncharted” movie grossing more than $400 million globally and a TV series based on “The Last of Us” franchise from its Naughty Dog studio launching on HBO next year.

Hulst, who is based in the Netherlands and took up his post in 2019, has overseen the growth of PlayStation Studios to 19 studios, with additions including Nixxes, which ports console games to PC, and mobile developer Savage Game Studios.

KEY DIFFERENTIATOR

Given the scope of the transformation targeted by the gaming business, analysts expect further dealmaking from Sony.

“I think that they’re still going to add studios,” said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.

The strength of PlayStation’s studio network has drawn praise as a key differentiator with Xbox maker Microsoft (MSFT.O), which is trying to buy Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O).

Sony gaming chief Jim Ryan has raised objection about the $69 billion mega-deal’s potential impact on PlayStation users.

“If Sony can pull off what they did with single player experiences but (as) multiplayer experiences across platforms, on the PC, on consoles and maybe even on the phone, then all bets are off,” said Toto, pointing to the success of online games such as Fortnite from Epic Games.

Sony’s push on to other platforms comes as it has struggled to produce enough PlayStation 5 units due to supply chain snarls. Its in-house studios are also developing titles for the next generation PlayStation VR2 headset, due to launch early next year.

Such headsets, which have attracted investment from players including Facebook parent Meta (META.O), are yet to break through and become a primary method for playing games. Pricing for the device has not been announced.

While “Horizon Forbidden West”, which launched in February, is “an open world and that’s not necessarily very suitable to a PSVR2 game,” Sony is designing “bespoke” titles such as “Horizon Call of the Mountain” for the system, Hulst said.

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Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

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Business

Ubisoft CEO says still open to other partners after Tencent deal

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Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, speaks on stage during the Ubisoft E3 conference at the Orpheum theatre in Los Angeles, California June 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

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  • ‘We can do whatever we want,’ founder CEO says
  • Ubisoft to create three mobile games with Netflix
  • Tencent deal comes on heels of M&A wave in gaming industry

PARIS, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Ubisoft (UBIP.PA), France’s biggest video games maker, is still open to other partners after a deal in which China’s Tencent (0700.HK) will raise its stake in the company, its co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said on Thursday.

Guillemot’s comments, made at a closed press event whose content the company asked not to be made public before a showcase event online on Saturday, came on the heels of a rough day for Ubisoft’s stock, which tumbled 17% after the group announced Tencent would become its single biggest shareholder with an overall stake of 11%. read more

The deal values the “Assassin’s Creed” maker at about $10 billion.

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“We remain totally independent and we can act with any outside company if we want to,” said Guillemot, who along his four brothers founded Ubisoft in 1986. “That was a big negotiation with Tencent,” he added. “We can do whatever we want.”

Traders and analysts have said the Tencent deal, which sees the world’s largest games firm by revenue enter into a shareholder pact with the Guillemots, removed the speculative appeal of Ubisoft shares.

The group has long been seen as a takeover target as the Guillemots hold a minority stake in the group. Still, the Guillemot brothers managed to fend off a raid by French tycoon Vincent Bollore via his media group Vivendi (VIV.PA).

Smaller mobile video game maker Gameloft, formerly led by Yves Guillemot’s brother Michel, was gobbled up by Vivendi six years ago.

The secretive siblings, sons of agricultural traders from a small town in Brittany, western France, have vowed to protect their independence, a goal which Yves Guillemot, 62, reasserted on Thursday. “Our first intention is to own our destiny,” he said.

MEANINGFUL PROGRESS

That prospect was tested recently by a combination of weak financial results and allegations of sexual harassment, that led to a revamp of the company’s governance and pledges to change a corporate culture described as sexist by some former employees.

“Yes, we stumbled, and we acknowledge that”, Guillemot said. “We learned a lot along the way and have made meaningful progress with concrete action plans collectively led by our leaders.”

Ubisoft burnt through about 200 million euros in cash operationally during its 2020/2021 financial year, having generated 169 million of operational cash flow the year before.

The company’s financial woes came on top of several delays in the release of new video games and heightened pressure on management, in the midst of a boom and M&A wave in the video game industry.

These were notably marked by Microsoft’s plan to acquire “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.

As part of its plan to return to growth, Ubisoft is aiming to deploy its three “pillar” games – “Assassin’s Creed”, “Far Cry” and “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six” – on all digital platforms, Guillemot said.

The group aims for these three brands to reach a total of 2 billion euros in annual revenue within five years, Guillemot said.

Guillemot said “Assassin’s Creed” will release its next edition “Mirage” in 2023. Ubisoft is also partnering with streaming platform Netflix (NFLX.O) to develop three original mobile games, including one based on Assassin’s Creed.

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Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by David Holmes

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Technology

India blocks Krafton’s game under law it has used to ban China apps-source

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A Google sign is pictured outside the Google office in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

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NEW DELHI, July 29 (Reuters) – India blocked a popular battle-royale format game from Krafton Inc (259960.KS), a South Korean company backed by China’s Tencent (0700.HK), using a law it has invoked since 2020 to ban Chinese apps on national security concerns, a source said.

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was removed from Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google Play Store and Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) App Store as of Thursday evening in India.

The removal of BGMI, which had more than 100 million users in India, comes after India’s 2020 ban of another Krafton title, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).

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The PUBG crackdown was part of New Delhi’s ban of more than 100 mobile apps of Chinese origins, following a months-long border standoff between the nuclear-armed rivals.

The ban has expanded since to cover more than 300 apps, including popular gaming app ‘Free Fire’, owned by Singapore’s technology group Sea Ltd (SE.N).

Tencent held a 13.5% stake in Krafton as of end-March through an investment vehicle, according to Krafton’s regulatory filing.

Krafton shares slumped more than 9% on the news on Friday, later paring losses to trade down 4.5% as of afternoon trade in Seoul. The company said in May India accounted for a high single digit percentage of its revenue in the first quarter of this year.

A Google spokesperson said it blocked the game following a government directive, while India’s IT ministry and Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

In Seoul, a Krafton spokesperson said the developer was talking to relevant authorities and companies to figure out the exact situation regarding the suspension in the two major app stores in India.

“The government does not intervene in which apps can function and which cannot. They intervene in digital security and privacy concerns, and BGMI complies with all guidelines. MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) has also noted that PUBG and BGMI are different games,” Krafton’s India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn told news portal TechCrunch earlier this week.

‘CHINA INFLUENCE’

India invoked a section of its IT law to impose the ban, the source, who had direct knowledge but declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.

Section 69A of India’s IT law allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security, among other reasons. Orders issued under the section are generally confidential in nature.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and non-profit Prahar had repeatedly asked the government to investigate “China influence” of BGMI, Prahar president Abhay Mishra said. SJM is the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an influential Hindu nationalist group close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.

“In the so-called new avatar, the BGMI was no different from erstwhile PUBG with Tencent still controlling it in the background,” Mishra said.

The ban elicited strong online reactions from popular gamers in India on Twitter and YouTube.

“I hope our government understands that thousands of esports athletes and content creators and their life is dependent on BGMI,” tweeted Abhijeet Andhare, a Twitter user with more than 92,000 followers.

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Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil in New Delhi, Joyce Lee in Seoul; Additional reporting by Nupur Anand; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Clarence Fernandez and Muralikumar Anantharaman

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Technology

Groups urge U.S. to probe ‘loot box’ on Electronic Arts video game

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WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) – Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to investigate video game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the misleading use of a digital “loot box” that “aggressively” urges players to spend more money while playing a popular soccer game.

The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA game “FIFA: Ultimate Team”.

In the game, players build a soccer team using avatars of real players and compete against other teams. In a letter to the FTC, the groups said the game usually costs $50 to $100 but that the company pushed push players to spend more.

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“It entices players to buy packs in search of special players,” said the letter sent by these groups along with the Consumer Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot boxes, are packages of digital content sometimes purchased with real money that give the purchaser a potential advantage in a game. They can be purchased with digital currency, which can obscure how much is spent, they said.

“The chances of opening a coveted card, such as a Player of the Year, are miniscule unless a gamer spends thousands of dollars on points or plays for thousands of hours to earn coins,” the groups said in the letter.

Electronic Arts said in a statement on Thursday that of the game’s millions of players, 78% have not made an in-game purchase.

“Spending is always optional,” a company spokesperson said in an email statement. “We encourage the use of parental controls, including spend controls, that are available for every major gaming platform, including EA’s own platforms.”

The spokesperson also said the company created a dashboard so players would track how much time they played, how many packs they opened and what purchases were made.

The FTC, which goes after companies engaged in deceptive behavior, held a workshop on loot boxes in 2019. In a “staff perspective” which followed, the agency noted that video game microtransactions have become a multibillion-dollar market.

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Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington
Editing by David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis

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Business

GameStop quarterly revenue beats estimates on higher demand for video games

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People walk by a GameStop in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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June 1 (Reuters) – GameStop Corp (GME.N) reported first-quarter revenue that exceeded market expectations on Wednesday, as the video game retailer pivots toward a more online-focused model amid increasing competition from large retailers such as Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

Store closures during the COVID-19 pandemic affected GameStop’s physical retail business, for which it is primarily known. The company has been bolstering its online sales capabilities as shopping trends towards e-commerce accelerated during the pandemic.

The company’s shares soared 687% last year as it was at the center of a battle between retail investors coordinating on online forums and Wall Street hedge funds that had taken short positions in GameStop, in what is called a “short-squeeze”.

Net sales were $1.38 billion in the quarter ended April 30, above analysts’ average estimate of $1.32 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Net loss widened to $157.9 million, or $2.08 per share, for the first quarter, from $66.8 million, or $1.01 per share, a year earlier.

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Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri

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