Daily Briefing: Monday 6th December

Activision Snubbed From Game Awards Amidst More Layoffs

Geoff Keighley announced on Twitter that Activision-Blizzard will not be a part of The Game Awards, outside of the 2 awards Call of Duty was nominated for. He said: "There is no place for abuse, harassment or predatory practices in any company or any community. I also realize we have a big platform which can accelerate and inspire change."

• While Call of Duty will still have a presence, Activision being effectively banned from one of the biggest game events of the year is substantial. No eyeballs on their games will hit them where they really care. As to whether this means Geoff didn't contact them for show prep, or if they removed planned elements after recent news, I suspect we'll never know.

Activision's Raven Software Faced Layoffs, So They Walked Out

Activision's Raven Software experienced "at least a dozen" layoffs among QA contractors on Friday. According to a Raven staffer, they were promised increased wages but instead have been laid off, after working substantial overtime ahead of Warzone's new map launch. In response, the rest of the Raven QA team and other members of staff are walking out today with one demand: Securing full-time positions for each member of the QA team, including those laid off. Activision-Blizzard responded, saying that contracts ended for 20 workers, but 500 roles will be converted to full-time in the coming months.

• Workers at ABK are definitely emboldened - walkouts are now a part of their tools to fight back, following earlier movements at Blizzard. The layoffs follow a sad industry trend - contractors, who have less protection than employees, are strung along with false promises and let go when they're no longer needed. Actiblizz's response however, is heartening. Progress!

Sony Claimed To Launch Game Pass Competitor In Spring, Forbes Disagrees

Bloomberg reported that PlayStation is planning to overhaul PS+/Now, combining them into one to compete with Game Pass. Tier 1 will be PS+ as it is, Tier 2 will include PS4 and eventually PS5 games, while Tier 3 will include extended demos, game streaming, and a library of older console games. Forbes however disagrees that it's a "Game Pass" competitor and more of a rebrand of existing services, as Sony won't go so far as to put their blockbusters on it day 1. An improvement of PS+, rather than a major move to fight Xbox.

• It would take a lot of money and a lot of effort to set up an opponent to Game Pass, and Sony have neither the coffers nor the position to do so. They would be conceding the millions and millions of revenue that their major games draw in, and in some small way, dilute their prestige.

Take-Two's Copyright Shenanigans Continue

It Takes Two, the game from Josef Fares, known for A Way Out and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, has had to abandon their copyright on its name - all thanks to a contest Take-Two. Basically, Take-Two is contesting a whole ton of relevant words to their properties, including anything with "Rockstar" in it. No information on if the game's name will change or if it will impact marketing. Richard Hoeg, of Virtual Legality, says there are a lot of people with legit applications choosing not to fight with Take-Two's tactics.

• It's just copyright bullying, there's no real further logic to it. Between this and their constant assault on fan mods and projects for GTA, their legal heavy-handedness is frustrating and damaging to the community at large.