News

IGN Fires Longtime Editor-In-Chief For ‘Alleged Misconduct’

Published

5 years ago

January 4, 2018

Anthony DiMoro

IGN has parted ways with longtime editor-in-chief Steve Butts over what is being categorized as “alleged misconduct.”

“IGN initiated an investigation into alleged misconduct involving Steve Butts. As a result of the investigation, the Company has appropriately determined to part ways with Mr. Butts,” Mitch Galbraith, IGN’s executive vice president, said in a statement to Polygon.

IGN co-founder and chief content officer Peer Schneider will take over for Butts on an interim basis.

Kotaku first reported that IGN was looking into Butts’ behavior late last fall and the investigation ended with Butts’ termination this week.

An IGN staff member alleged that Butts had harassed her in meetings held with the popular website’s editorial team.

Kallie Plagge, an editor at GameSpot, went public about her experience working at IGN back in November of last year.

Plagge told of a senior staffer who targeted her and another female editor with “manipulative and abusive comments” on a regular basis.

“The harassment (and horribly mishandled HR investigation) was a major factor in leaving IGN,” Plagge wrote. “I have carried the disgust, fear, and disrespect with me since.”

Vince Ingenito, the editor named by Plagge, said he’d been let go from IGN in March 2017.

Plagge left IGN in December 2016.

Galbraith issued the following public statement in November:

“it is clear IGN can and must do better delivering on our commitment to a safe and harassment-free work environment for employees.”

Console

Microsoft Unveils Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit

Published

3 months ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

Xbox has officially unveiled the Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit which is aimed to help creators reduce energy consumption and measure carbon emissions during game development processes.

The Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit includes resources that include:

Power Monitor tools
Certification reports
Power consumption dashboards
Best practices

Ubisoft and 343 Industries were named as early users of the Xbox Developer Sustainability ToolKit with 343 Industries able to reduce energy use by 15% without impacting the player experience at all.

Ubisoft and Xbox are co-developing an energy-efficient eco-mode for users.

You can check out the full report right here.

Business

Epic Games Store Hits $820 Million in Player Spending During 2022

Published

3 months ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

Epic Games has officially released financial data related to it’s growing marketplace on PC, showing that $820 million was spent on the Epic Games Store during the 2022 year, and promised support for third-party subscription services and new ‘content hubs’ to help companies promote their titles.

According to the data:

The numbers

Total users of Epic Games Store PC: 230 million (up 19% year-on-year)
Epic cross-platform accounts: 732 million
Daily active users peak: 34.3 million
Monthly active users: 68 million (up 10%)

Total spending, incl. Epic’s games: $820 million (down 2%)
Spending on third-party games: $355 million (up 18%)
Free games claimed: 700 million
Number of new PC releases: 626
Total library of PC games: 1,548 (up 68%)

Epic Games stated on it’s blog that more PC games launched during the 2022 year than in any year prior.

Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, Rocket League, Genshin Impact, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands were among the most popular titles related to player engagement and player spending, and Epic Games looks to deepen their focus in 2023 as they aim to improve the store launcher’s performance.

Epic Games also aims to add support for subscription services from third-party publishers and live service products by the end of the 2023 year, adding that they are also working on ‘content hubs’ which will be separate from product pages and will enable publishers to “share information with users in a robust editorial format.”

Business

California Judge Dismisses Gamers Lawsuit Filed Against Microsoft

Published

3 months ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the group of 10 plaintiffs “[lacked] allegations” in their lawsuit filed last year that claimed Microsoft’s ownerships of Activision Blizzard would harm consumers and competition in the video games market, according to a filing shared by Reuters.

While US District Judge Jacqueline Corley dismissed the case, she also gave the plaintiffs 20 days to refine their lawsuit and resubmit it, and the group’s lawyer, Joseph Saveri, said that there are plans to officially submit an amended lawsuit with “additional factual detail” that will address the judge’s concerns.

It marks a victory for Microsoft, but their battles are far from over as they still face a hearing over the Federal Trade Commission’s legal complaint, which is currently slated to take place in August of this year.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard originally expected the transaction to be complete by June 30, 2023.