GYGO: Cuts and Con Cancellations

What is time? Apparently, it is something I don’t have enough of, which means I have not been gaming nearly as much as I would like to be these days. But the gaming industry continues on without me. Here’s what’s been happening in the past week.

FaZe Clan Goes Public Through a SPAC Deal

If you’re looking to diversify your investment portfolio, think about investing with FaZe Clan! Perfect for millennials, the “gaming, lifestyle and media platform,” is going public with a valuation of… uh… *checks notes* $1 billion.

Convention Cancellations

Blizzard Entertainment is having a good long think about its annual event and that harassment business. The company recently announced that BlizzCon 2022, planned as a virtual event, would be canceled: “At this time, we feel the energy it would take to put on a show like this is best directed towards supporting our teams and progressing development of our games and experiences.”

Citing the pandemic and a lack of overall growth since its 2015 launch, PAX South organizers tweeted the cancellation of their show for the foreseeable future following notification sent by ReedPOP to their “PAX South Fans.”

ActiVision Putting Its Money Where Its Mouth Is?

Addressing their investors, ActiVision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick outlined a series of updates and steps the company is taking as part of the company’s commitment to becoming “the most welcoming, inclusive company in our industry.” This includes an investment of $250 million to support opportunities for diverse talent, which is in line with their goal to “increase the percentage of women and non-binary people in our workforce by 50%.” In addition to the list, Kotick indicated that he has requested a reduction in his salary—including benefits and bonuses—”to the lowest amount California law will allow for people earning a salary, which this year is $62,500.”

Facebook Keeps on Ticking

Remember when Facebook went down and Zuck’s stocks dropped by $8 billion and everyone was like “oh no it’s the end of Facebook!” Well, it wasn’t. In fact, Facebook’s streaming platform, Streamlabs, reported third-quarter viewership that has surpassed YouTube gaming for the first time with a 59% increase to YouTube’s 32.5% decrease.

This news came shortly before the announcement that the social media app we know as Facebook is now going to be part of the “Metaverse” as Mark Zuckerberg’s company becomes “Meta.”

NFTs Won’t Go Away Either

Blockchain Game Alliance, Fight for the Future, and 26 blockchain gaming companies are calling on Valve to end its ban on blockchain games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Steam. “Blockchain games are pioneering a number of new concepts that will invigorate the gaming industry for players and publishers alike. To cut-off this burgeoning sector at such a crucial stage of development is to ignore the remarkable progress we have achieved this year, while creating unfair access to market for incumbents,” says Sebastien Borget, President of the Blockchain Game Alliance in an open letter to Valve. Is the success of blockchain MMO The Legends of Bezogia proof of the way of the future?

Pathfinder Nexus Coming in 2022

Keep up with your Pathfinder hero digitally with Pathfinder Nexus, the official digital toolset for Pathfinder Second Edition. Created in partnership with Demiplane, the digital resource will offer “a game compendium, digital reader, character builder, and interactive digital character sheet, as well as a playspace with video chat that seamlessly integrates all the other tools.” Players can register now, ahead of the 2022 release date, at www.PathfinderNexus.com.