News Mash-Up - Week # 18

Top News Items

• • In a $300 million deal, the Embracer Group is to acquire three major Western studios from Japanese publisher Square Enix, as well as some of its most highly acclaimed IP. The three studios to be acquired will be Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain), Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex, Thief) and Square Enix Montreal (mobile games – Go series). The deal will not include external studios controlled by Square Enix, so franchises Life is Strange, Just Cause and Outriders are exempt. The deal is expected to close sometime in the Summer, by September, pending approval from regulators.

  • The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a probe into Sony's recent acquisition of Bungie. According to a source from Information.com, the $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie by Sony could be delayed by up to six months as a probe into the buyout has been launched. The FTC has reportedly voiced concerns that Bungie's future games may become Sony platform exclusives, something Sony denies.

  • The downturn reported by crypto data site NonFungible shows a transaction volume decrease of -47% in Q1’22 compared to the previous quarter, Q4’21. This follows a report in the Wall Street Journal that the NFT trading market has declined by over 90% since September 2021.

  • The US Securities and Exchange Commission fined Nvidia $5.5 million for failing to properly disclose the impact of cryptomining in their financial disclosure. The failure, the SEC states, "deprived investors of critical information [needed] to evaluate the company’s business in a key market".

  • According to investment bank Drake Star Partners, blockchain-related game companies have received a third of all game startup funding — with 128 companies receiving $1.2 billion during Q1’22 alone. GameBeat.com found that anywhere from 50% to 90% of investor pitches involve blockchain games in some way.

  • Activision Blizzard has written to shareholders urging them to vote against a New York State proposal to publish its report detailing accusations of abuse, harassment, and discrimination in Activision’s workplace. Similarly, it also wants shareholders to vote against a proposal to put an employee representative on its board.

  • Turtle Beach, the accessory maker, has advised shareholders that management are actively looking for someone to acquire them. In their 2021 fiscal the company generated $366 million with net income of $128 million. In the last year its share went from a high of $38 to the current low of $15. The company is currently valued at $274 million.
    

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Week commencing Monday 9 May 2022