Episode 115: LEGO of Your Crunch Culture (News Show)

TT Games, the studio behind the LEGO games, has a deep history of crunch and bad management according to a Polygon report. Also, the latest on Activision Blizzard, unionization at Raven, dispelling the myth of BioWare Magic, NPD for December and 2021, and a look at this year's State of the Industry report. You can watch the streamed VOD of this episode at Twitch.tv/VirtualEconomy and support our growth via our Ko-Fi and also purchase Virtual Economy merchandise! TIME STAMPS [00:01:33] - NPD for December 2021 and Full Year 2021 [00:28:22] - Investment Interlude [00:35:04] - Quick Hits [00:43:55] - Labor Report [01:17:04] - State of the Industry Report for 2022 SOURCES Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) on Twitter re NPD for December 2021 and full-year 2021 Activision Blizzard SEC Filing - FAQ for Employees PUTTING OUR TEAMS AND PLAYERS AT THE FOREFRONT OF EVERYTHING WE DO Activision Blizzard employees at Raven Software ask management to recognize new union | Washington Post Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has led to extensive crunch at TT Games | Polygon Old Game Dev Advice (Mark Darrah) | YouTube INVESTMENT INTERLUDE Spyke Games Raises Record-Breaking $55 Million Seed Round For Social Mobile Games from World’s Leading Gaming VC Griffin Gaming Partners Mythical Games Acquires Metaverse Streaming Platform Polystream NDREAMS STUDIO ELEVATION ANNOUNCEMENT Bit Reactor, LLC. Founded by Industry Veterans to Take Turn-Based Tactics Games to Next Level