The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

James Batchelor and Christopher Dring discuss a busy week in the ongoing saga that is Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.Following the denial of the FTC's preliminary injunction, the denial of its request for an extension to the temporary restraining order, and the denial of its appeal, there is seemingly nothing to stop Microsoft completing the deal in the US before its deadline tomorrow. And with a ten-year deal signed with Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, the barriers do seem to be lowering.We discuss all of the above, plus the CMA's decision to consider proposals of a modified deal and how Nintendo might secretly be one of the biggest winners from the past week's events.As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest episode of Playable Futures features a conversation with Deborah Mensah-Bonsu, who is the founder of dmb crew. Her flagship initiative is Games for Good, which focuses on helping studios and the wider industry harness games for social impact. Will and Deborah discuss the opportunity presented by the proliferation of games on mobile to unlock societal and behavioural change for good. “People are starting to understand that what it means to be a gamer is not what it was ten years ago,” Deborah says, adding later - “There is a potential for mobile to engage with people who didn’t consider themselves gamers. Mobile is leading on that.” Whilst the discussion touches the familiar themes of mobile gaming such as monetisation - with Deborah saying that “it’s not wrong to spend money on something that you think is bringing you value,” - and discoverability, the podcast equally focuses on the potential of the medium to effect change, with Deborah being optimistic about mobile as a platform for innovation and connection, with games offering tremendous potential to take us beyond the horizon of our ambition.The Playable Futures Podcast accompanies Playable Futures, a collection of insights, interviews and articles from global games leaders sharing their visions of where the industry and medium will go next. A series of ten articles so far have been published on GamesIndustry.biz, with more planned. Playable Futures is a collaborative project brought to you in partnership with GI.biz, UKIE and Diva. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast is back. In today's episode, James Batchelor and Chris Dring reflect on the revelations so far from the court hearing between the Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft over the latter's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.As you can tell from our ongoing roundup, it's hard to gauge whether any progress is actually being made here but there are certainly some interesting tidbits coming out from the various parties involved that make for great headlines.We discuss the moments and quotes that stood out the most to us, as well as the general context around this legal clash and what (if anything) might happen next.You can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to reflect on this year's cavalcade of video game showcases.We've already shared our favourite indie titles from the likes of Summer Game Fest, Xbox Games Showcase, Day of the Devs, Wholesome Direct and more, while Chris Dring reviewed his experience of the first physical Summer Game Fest event.Now we discuss the overall line-up of the week-and-a-bit, our personal highlights, areas we'd like to see improvement, and how we think this collection of events might evolve if the central pillar of E3 does not return.As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shawne Benson, Global Head of Third Party Portfolio & Acquisitions at Sony Interactive Entertainment and Laila Shabirm, Founder & CEO of Girls Make Games speak to Will Freeman for the latest instalment of our Playable Futures Series.Our eighth outing sees us tackling what continues to be a prominent talking point within the industry - women in games. For a sector often associated with toxic stereotypes around gender, this enlightening chat looks at the ways in which the industry has changed to encompass more diverse voices and the future benefits of doing so. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James and Brendan discuss two of the biggest stories of the day in our latest GamesIndustry.biz Microcast.We start by wrapping up our coverage of the major summer games showcases, discussing the line-up at yesterday's Ubisoft Forward. The conversation touches on everything from the narrative dilemmas of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to the more-than-a-little awkward introduction of Netflix animated series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.Then we turn our attention to this morning's announcement that Embracer Group is embarking on a restructuring program that will result in the closure of studios, cancellation of games, and an unknown number of layoffs. We discuss the events that may have led up to this, and what happens next.As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing our breakdown of the biggest summer games showcases, James and Marie reflect on the line-up Microsoft showed off at last night's Xbox Games Showcase.Headlined by the likes of Fable and Star Wars: Outlaws, with a good old fashioned hardware reveal and a lot more information on the upcoming Starfield, the showcase gave a great insight into what Microsoft's first-party studios are working on as it continues to beef up its offering.We discuss our highlights of the show, but be sure to read our handy roundup to check there's nothing you have missed.As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GamesIndustry.biz microcast returns as we discuss the biggest announcements from this year's Summer Game Fest: Kickoff Live.James and Marie share their thoughts on the most promising games, as well as the tone and quality of the overall line-up. And, inevitably, the conversation shifts towards the usual 'do we need E3/Not-E3?' discourse.If you missed this year's Summer Game Fest, be sure to catch up on all the news with our handy roundup.As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GamesIndustry.biz team gathers around their mics to discuss the biggest stories in the business of video games.This week, we dive deeper into the potential for cloud gaming - a technology the UK competition regulator believes will become so big that it's using this as ground to block the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard.Following our recent conversation with analysts on the true impact cloud streaming might have on the industry, we share our own thoughts on the many, many barriers games companies will need to overcome before streaming becomes as dominant as it has in music, film and TV.We also look ahead to the string of showcases happening this month in the void where E3 once was, which kicks off on Thursday with Summer Games Fest. What do we expect to see from this year's events?(And don't worry, we're still experimenting with our new Microcast format and will likely have more for you after the showcases this month)As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and James offer a bite-sized breakdown of yesterday's PlayStation Showcase, from the new hardware revealed to the glimpses at Sony's future first-party line-up.As well as rounding up some of the highlights, the discussion dives a little deeper into the potential audience and use cases for the Project Q handheld streaming device, Remedy's decision to release Alan Wake 2 as a digital-only title, and Sony's latest steps into the live service arena.You can get more news, analysis and insight at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices