EPTThe Games Industry And ATVI - Page 77
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Broetchenholer
Germany1963 Posts
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27203 Posts
On July 20 2025 11:33 Razyda wrote: There is quite a bit of wrong in this post. Payment providers dont have to cover their arses ( thats sort of goes back to 2008 and to big to fail thing). Steam generally have light handed moderation (which I btw consider good thing). Problem is once you get strongarmed into one thing, more things will follow. I am not really sure what you dont know/understand. Digital payments are pretty much default setting now, idea that corporation can come and say: "no my dude you are not spending your money on that" is deranged. I don’t know who or particularly why this move was made, as I said in my post a few times. Lacking that info, the possibilities range quite a bit from the relatively benign, to the more insidious. | ||
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Razyda
1046 Posts
Regarding preordering games. Honestly I am guilty of that, however it is limited to From Software and Cyberpunk franchise ( I got lucky and only got some irrelevant bugs on PC). I somehow feel like this is vote of confidence/support and I am ok to loose some peanut money in result of supporting those 2. To clarify if From (or cyberpunk franchise) release bunch of shitty games I will stop. | ||
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ETisME
12763 Posts
On July 19 2025 23:58 Razyda wrote: Not sure if thats correct topic to post this, but seems to be most relevant. https://www.engadget.com/gaming/steam-now-bans-games-that-violate-the-rules-and-standards-of-payment-processors-and-banks-164222173.html "In other words, if credit card companies get mad about something, they could actually have the power to ban a game. The clause goes on to say that this will affect "certain kinds of adult-only content." I think something similar happened in Japan with some anime websites earlier this year (or previous). I would say it is extremely worrying trend. I have complained about this a long time ago, the payment processing companies have massive monopoly (and banking sector as well). They have so much power over whether a business can survive or not, with a global reach. It's like sanction but at a more relevant day to day level. Whether you can get a loan, whether you can get a bank account, now whether you can even get paid is all upto them. Happened to Wikileaks, porn sites giants and now gaming. And people are still using "crypto fund terrorists" as an excuse, as if fiat is not heavily being 24/7 traded, implicit in all kinds of drugs and black markets etc. | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27203 Posts
On August 07 2025 16:40 ETisME wrote: I have complained about this a long time ago, the payment processing companies have massive monopoly (and banking sector as well). They have so much power over whether a business can survive or not, with a global reach. It's like sanction but at a more relevant day to day level. Whether you can get a loan, whether you can get a bank account, now whether you can even get paid is all upto them. Happened to Wikileaks, porn sites giants and now gaming. And people are still using "crypto fund terrorists" as an excuse, as if fiat is not heavily being 24/7 traded, implicit in all kinds of drugs and black markets etc. It’s a problem for sure but like, not one crypto is going to solve anytime soon. | ||
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ETisME
12763 Posts
On August 08 2025 01:21 WombaT wrote: It’s a problem for sure but like, not one crypto is going to solve anytime soon. | ||
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ETisME
12763 Posts
On August 08 2025 01:21 WombaT wrote: It’s a problem for sure but like, not one crypto is going to solve anytime soon. It's a proven working solution already. It's not the problem of crypto if the platform don't put it as a payment option. | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27203 Posts
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Acrofales
Spain18364 Posts
On August 13 2025 10:01 WombaT wrote: If people couldn’t be arsed dealing with often hugely unstable currencies I’d contend that maybe is a crypto problem Stablecoins exist for exactly that reason. | ||
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iPlaY.NettleS
Australia4428 Posts
On August 07 2025 16:40 ETisME wrote: I have complained about this a long time ago, the payment processing companies have massive monopoly (and banking sector as well). They have so much power over whether a business can survive or not, with a global reach. It's like sanction but at a more relevant day to day level. Whether you can get a loan, whether you can get a bank account, now whether you can even get paid is all upto them. Happened to Wikileaks, porn sites giants and now gaming. And people are still using "crypto fund terrorists" as an excuse, as if fiat is not heavily being 24/7 traded, implicit in all kinds of drugs and black markets etc. This is the whole point of the upcoming CBDC's they are pushing as well though right, makes it far easier to control your spending away from things they don't want you buying.Red meat, gasoline, airplane tickets or whatever. Regards the crypto, in Australia you now have to give your photo ID to exchange sites to buy or sell it, they brought this in a few years back.Also very hard to buy the most private crypto out there, Monero.Regulators really going hard on that one. Personally, not that i buy many games but i am buying more on GoG now as you can just download the entire file and play offline.I expect steam to be covered by the Governments new 'social media' ID requirements come December meaning you need to upload ID or do a facescan to log in. | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27203 Posts
On August 13 2025 14:32 Acrofales wrote: Stablecoins exist for exactly that reason. It’s my understanding that they’re less widely adopted though, in general, I may be wrong. I’m a bit behind the times! I think there are cool applications of crypto, but broadly speaking for at least 10, 15 or however many years I haven’t seen much of that. At least in terms of big enough adoption to shift things along So I somewhat stopped paying attention, which does open me up to being completely out of touch of catastrophically wrong on developments that have occurred in said period. | ||
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ETisME
12763 Posts
On August 14 2025 08:15 WombaT wrote: It’s my understanding that they’re less widely adopted though, in general, I may be wrong. I’m a bit behind the times! I think there are cool applications of crypto, but broadly speaking for at least 10, 15 or however many years I haven’t seen much of that. At least in terms of big enough adoption to shift things along So I somewhat stopped paying attention, which does open me up to being completely out of touch of catastrophically wrong on developments that have occurred in said period. That answers it then. In no situation volatility or "adoption" is an issue when the entire platform is being choke hold to death. Simply adding a button for payment option is better than none. | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27203 Posts
On August 14 2025 11:23 ETisME wrote: That answers it then. In no situation volatility or "adoption" is an issue when the entire platform is being choke hold to death. Simply adding a button for payment option is better than none. To solve what problem? If Steam doesn’t want to host a game for whatever reason how does crypto fix that issue? | ||
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ETisME
12763 Posts
On August 14 2025 11:39 WombaT wrote: To solve what problem? If Steam doesn’t want to host a game for whatever reason how does crypto fix that issue? Are you not understanding the issue on purpose? Steam is being forced to not host a game. It's being forced to do so by being chokeholded by payment giants. And payment giants are the one setting the bar, not steam. This is bigger than just steam. Otherwise what's the issue you think we are having? | ||
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RvB
Netherlands6290 Posts
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27203 Posts
On August 14 2025 15:08 ETisME wrote: Are you not understanding the issue on purpose? Steam is being forced to not host a game. It's being forced to do so by being chokeholded by payment giants. And payment giants are the one setting the bar, not steam. This is bigger than just steam. Otherwise what's the issue you think we are having? I don’t know why these particular items saw that payment processor pressure to begin with. The article doesn’t really go into much depth there. I’d say there are two main possibilities: 1. They did so unilaterally, off their own bat for whatever reason, maybe reputation, or not wanting to be associated with certain things. 2. They were pressured by government(s) in various locales to do so, and it’s easier to pressure a store front not to stock certain products than vet all their transactions and inventory on a rotating basis. If it is option 1, hey that sucks. If it’s option 2, all governments have to do is go directly after a Steam in future, rather than payment providers. It doesn’t matter how many payment methods Steam offer if they stop stocking the item, in that hypothetical. I’ll add that I absolutely think the main payment processors having a de facto monopoly over the digital economy is a problem. Especially if they’re bound by little in the way of an international regulatory framework, and can arbitrarily decide to do things, and if you’re on the wrong side of that you’re just fucked. | ||
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ETisME
12763 Posts
On August 15 2025 00:33 WombaT wrote: I don’t know why these particular items saw that payment processor pressure to begin with. The article doesn’t really go into much depth there. I’d say there are two main possibilities: 1. They did so unilaterally, off their own bat for whatever reason, maybe reputation, or not wanting to be associated with certain things. 2. They were pressured by government(s) in various locales to do so, and it’s easier to pressure a store front not to stock certain products than vet all their transactions and inventory on a rotating basis. If it is option 1, hey that sucks. If it’s option 2, all governments have to do is go directly after a Steam in future, rather than payment providers. It doesn’t matter how many payment methods Steam offer if they stop stocking the item, in that hypothetical. I’ll add that I absolutely think the main payment processors having a de facto monopoly over the digital economy is a problem. Especially if they’re bound by little in the way of an international regulatory framework, and can arbitrarily decide to do things, and if you’re on the wrong side of that you’re just fucked. Its option 3. there is a few anti porn activist groups that are pressuring payment providers to cease service platforms like steam and itchi.io So the entire business model is being threatened not by anyone else but standards that this group like Collective shout is setting. pornhub was targeted and now accepting crypto as their main payment provider, surely there are a few other. And i wouldn't be surprised if OF will go through the same. Same with gaming, itchi is hit hard and it doesnt have that steam popularity to fight back. These always hit the vulnerable industries first before it goes after whatever is next | ||
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JimmyJRaynor
Canada17682 Posts
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/blizzard-co-founder-mike-morhaime-announces-layoffs-at-his-new-company-dreamhaven/ Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc. Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule. Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy. I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.  | ||
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iPlaY.NettleS
Australia4428 Posts
On September 06 2025 20:04 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Mike Morhaime's studio is laying off people because Dreamhaven's games did not sell enough. https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/blizzard-co-founder-mike-morhaime-announces-layoffs-at-his-new-company-dreamhaven/ Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc. Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule. Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy. I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid. Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply. Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game. | ||
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Fleetfeet
Canada2793 Posts
On September 07 2025 05:33 iPlaY.NettleS wrote: Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply. Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game. Why is it a bad thing for gamers? A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us. If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience. Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little. | ||
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