Episode 115: LEGO of Your Crunch Culture (News Show)

Virtual Economy

TT Games, the studio behind the LEGO games, has a deep history of crunch and bad management according to a Polygon report. Also, the latest on Activision Blizzard, unionization at Raven, dispelling the myth of BioWare Magic, NPD for December and 2021, and a look at this year's State of the Industry report.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:33] - NPD for December 2021 and Full Year 2021
• [00:28:22] - Investment Interlude
• [00:35:04] - Quick Hits
• [00:43:55] - Labor Report
• [01:17:04] - State of the Industry Report for 2022

SOURCES

• Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) on Twitter re NPD for December 2021 and full-year 2021
• Activision Blizzard SEC Filing - FAQ for Employees
• PUTTING OUR TEAMS AND PLAYERS AT THE FOREFRONT OF EVERYTHING WE DO
• Activision Blizzard employees at Raven Software ask management to recognize new union | Washington Post
• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has led to extensive crunch at TT Games | Polygon
• Old Game Dev Advice (Mark Darrah) | YouTube

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• Spyke Games Raises Record-Breaking $55 Million Seed Round For Social Mobile Games from World’s Leading Gaming VC Griffin Gaming Partners
• Mythical Games Acquires Metaverse Streaming Platform Polystream
• NDREAMS STUDIO ELEVATION ANNOUNCEMENT
• Bit Reactor, LLC. Founded by Industry Veterans to Take Turn-Based Tactics Games to Next Level