Legal

One year ago, we made some predictions on legal trends for 2023. Now it is time to look back and see where we have been right (+) and where we have been wrong (-), as well as making some new predictions for 2024. We've got more than a dozen topics to look at, so let's…

In the face of rampant cheating, it's time for game developers to hack the hackers. For video game developers, a large portion of revenue comes from additional purchases made by the player base, including purchases of expansions to the base game and purchases of in-game microtransactions. Maximizing this revenue stream requires the game to retain…

Jury says Google Play is an illegal monopoly, Google plans to challenge the verdict Epic Games has won its trial against Google over antitrust claims, with the jury deeming Google Play and its billing system to be an illegal monopoly. As reported by The Verge, the jury voted unanimously that Google's requirement for developers to…

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox This week's verdict in the antitrust trial between Epic and Google is not just a significant step forward for the former's legal crusade against app stores, but potentially a landmark moment in the evolution of the mobile market. The…

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry. Every now and then, piracy becomes relevant to the day-to-day reporting…

Loot boxes are still here with us in 2023, and some countries are finally catching up with regulation. The approach taken in the past few years has generally been to determine whether different types of loot boxes legally constitute 'gambling' in different countries and, if so, then seeking to regulate them using pre-existing laws. However,…

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. US court grants final approval of settlement, following $1.85 million agreement earlier this year CD Projekt has settled a class action lawsuit filed by its own investors, who claim they were misled over Cyberpunk 2077's…

Elsewhere, more details emerge over Google's plans to buy the Fortnite firm Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox As Epic's antitrust trial against Google continues, the former's CEO Tim Sweeney has revealed the campaign to open PlayStation to cross-play could have led to legal action.…

There has been a lot of activity recently from EU and UK legislators with each seeking to outdo the other with new laws being introduced at every turn. There is also increasing regulatory activity and enforcement relevant for the games industry, with consumer regulators building capabilities through investment into technology and staff. It doesn't look…

How will this deal shape the future of the games industry? Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox To report this morning that Microsoft has won over the UK regulator and can complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard was a relief. It was interesting, to begin…