NFT, Activision-Blizzard, Focus Entertainment… This week’s business news

news business NFT, Activision-Blizzard, Focus Entertainment… This week’s business news

NFT: Ubisoft gives in, Square Enix makes it possible

To say that Ubisoft has responded by launching its Quartz platform, which focuses on NFTs and blockchain, is an understatement. Between total rejection and public excitement, the initiative left no one indifferent. Introduced in 2021, Quartz has for now anyway only sold items related to Ghost Recon Breakpoint. We felt it was a dry run, but everything indicated that this first step would be followed by others fairly quickly. Ubisoft also expressed great confidence, as pointed out by Nicolas Poulard, vice president of the Strategic Innovation Laboratory, that people reject NFTs did not understand what advantages they represented. But the future of NFTs at Ubisoft doesn’t seem so safe anymore. In an exchange with Eurogamer, Yves Guillemot finally explained that Quartz and NFTs were just a “test”. :

We really look at all new technologies. We are very strong in the cloud, on the new generation of voxels, and we are looking at all the possibilities of Web3. We recently tested a few things that give us more information on how it can be used and what we should do with it in the video game world. So we’re testing games that… We’re going to see if they really fit the needs of the players, and then they’ll be released. But we’re still in research mode, I’d say. (…) We should have said we’re working on it and if we have something that will give you a real benefit, we will bring it to you. (…)

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s always about making sure we can offer players a new experience that’s innovative and interesting. The goal of business is always to create the best experience and new technology is always good for that because there is less competition and people are more interested in trying new things with new technology. .

This shift in discourse may appear as a reversal, echoing that Statements by Former Data Analystsinterviewed by our colleagues from iGamesNews last July, as well as at 96 successful transactions on quartz according to Ars Technica:

We did a small study where we skimmed a few things on Reddit summarizing the positions of players talking about NFTs, it was very negative. Obviously, we didn’t want to have people throwing up their hands and saying, “Yeah, give us NFTs in Ghost Recon.” In fact, it’s a study that was done in a bit of a hurry because we didn’t have much time to try and tell Yves Guillemot not to do it.

If you know anything about Yves’ character, he was thorough. Once it’s bullshit marketing that makes money, it’s gone. So he asks our department if we have any information on NFTs. The director then asks a team leader, who in turn asks someone on my team, who starts an analysis for them by collecting data from social networks and comparing it with other data. He relays his analysis to the team leader, who then replies, “Oh no, we can’t tell Yves that”. That’s it, end of story.

On his side, Square Enix has long expressed interest for the blockchain and NFTs, but we were still waiting to know how this would all come about. This week, the Japanese publisher announced that was the case joins the Oasys blockchain with a holiday starting until the end of the year. The project will be followed by about twenty other companies who, like Square Enix, will validate the nodes. Oasys presents itself as environmentally friendly, while the publisher sees it as a way Exploit User Submissions. In short, and despite the vagueness currently surrounding Web3 and cryptocurrencies, Square Enix concretized his intentions.

Acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft: Great Britain and the European Union interfere

We suspected it, but Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King won’t go through like a letter to La Poste. Estimated at almost $70 billionthe process is scrutinized very closely by the tax authorities, but also by the competition, Sony at the top. The PS5 maker tells anyone who will listen that Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Tell them Call of Duty is licensed would have a huge negative impact on consumers, but Microsoft responded by stating that removing Call of Duty from PlayStation players would be commercial nonsense.

The acquisition has already been validated by Saudi Arabia and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is expected to decide for the United States. This could deepen the investigation, since this should be the case in Western Europe. In fact, the UK’s Competition Markets Authority announced last week that it was considering such an arrangement could possibly be extended.

Following our Phase 1 investigation, we are concerned that Microsoft could use its post-merger control of popular games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft to compete, including current and future competitors, in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming to harm.

An idea what could follow the European Union according to the Financial Times, with statements of great caution from the authorities:

Regulators and other parties involved in the transaction expect a lengthy EU investigation when Microsoft officially files its case in Brussels in the coming weeks. People familiar with the EU said regulators would take time to review the deal because of the size, the nature of the buyer and growing concerns from competitors, including Sony.

Halo: 343 Industries is losing its founder and director

15 years after the founding of 343 Industries, Bonnie Ross, founder and head of the studio, has announced that she is leaving the company. The situation of Halo Infinite is obviously unrelated to this exit, the prospect stated that she is leaving to manage a medical issue in her family. It is with regret that she announced her departure on Twitter via a press release.

While I was hoping to take care of Halo by the time the Winter Update was released, I’m announcing that I will be leaving 343 (Industries) to attend to a medical issue in the family. I’m incredibly proud of the work everyone at 343 Industries has done with Halo Infinite, the Master Chief Collection, the Halo TV series, and more. It has been an honor to serve alongside the team for the past 15 years and to be part of a world I love. Thanks to everyone in the Halo community for their support. The future of Halo is bright. I can’t wait to show you what we have in store during the Halo World Championship in October and to root for you fans!

A departure that is likely to change the studio as she will be handed over to three people. Studio veteran Pierre Hintze takes over the management with immediate effect of the latter while leading the roadmap for Halo Infinite and The Master Chief Collection and future productions. Elizabeth Van Wyck will oversee the business and operations commercial while Bryan Koscki will oversee the franchises.

Focus Entertainment Presents BlackMill Games (WW1)

Founded in 1996 under the name Focus Home Interactive, the French publisher has been embarking on a gentle but sensitive transformation for a few years. The editor 2018 change of presidencypasses from Cédric Lagarrigue to Jurgen Goeldner and gradually offers Deck13 (The Surge), Douze Dixièmes, DotEmu or Leikir Studio. Assisted Acquisitions 2021 from a name changewith a publisher that must now be called Focus Entertainment.

Ambition remains the keyword at the publisher, which retains its niche of producing double-A, medium/high budget games. A desire for growth that has continued with the in recent times Acquisition of a majority stake in BlackMill Games. Focus Entertainment bought M2H’s stake and now owns 66.6% of the shares from the studio. Jos Hoebe, the studio’s founder and creative director, will retain the company’s remaining equity and management. To make things easier, M2H takes care of the transition:

We know that the WW1 Game Series is in the capable hands of Jos and Focus Entertainment and we are confident that together they can make the series bigger than ever. While we can’t wait to start work on an exciting new project, we’ll be sure to share our knowledge and expertise over the coming year to ensure a smooth transition. We can’t wait to see what the new owners bring to the WW1 Game Series,” said Matt Hergaarden, co-founder of M2H.

Briefly in the business news of the week

• 3.45 million copies in three days is the score of Splatoon 3 in Japan! A complete success for Nintendo’s new production. In five years, Splatoon 2 has sold 13.3 million copies.
• Roblox will launch in-game advertising next year
• Activision has suspended over half a million Call of Duty accounts.
• THQ Nordic has officially opened its new studio, referred to as the Campfire Cabal. The latter is to develop RPGs.
• Garena (Free Fire) is said to have laid off 15% of its Shanghai workforce as part of a global restructuring.
• From August 29 to September 4, 2022, The Last of Us Part I on PS5 dominated the physical retail market in France in terms of value, according to SELL. Horizon: Forbidden West (PS5), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons follow.