Episode 154: What Happens When a $2B Deal Evaporates Overnight? (News Show)

On the eve of its earnings announcement, Embracer Group saw a nearly-signed $2B deal fall apart. We discuss the potential impact. Also: GameStop back in crisis, a huge number of layoffs, and the strange tale of Disco Elysium continues. Note: We discuss Cyberpunk 2077 and the Phantom Liberty DLC during this episode. While we were confused that Phantom Liberty was a no-show during Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest presentation, the game did make an appearance during the Xbox event. You can support Virtual Economy’s growth via our Ko-Fi and also purchase Virtual Economy merchandise! TIME STAMPS [00:02:11] - Embracer Group Earnings for FY23 [00:10:02] - Sony Business Segment Meeting - New Data [00:21:25] - GameStop Earnings for Q1 2023 [00:29:11] - Investment Interlude [00:38:38] - Quick Hits [00:57:28] - Labor Report [01:19:48] - Microsoft Hit with $20M COPPA Violation Fine  [01:23:51] - Apple’s Vision Pro and the $3,500 Price Tag SOURCES Embracer Group Interim Report - Q4 and FY23 | Embracer Group Sony Business Segment Meeting 2023 Game & Network Services Segment | Sony CD Projekt Q1 2023 Earnings | CD Projekt GameStop Discloses First Quarter 2023 Results | GameStop Rising Storm studio Antimatter Games is being closed | PC Gamer Stranger Things 3 game developer BonusXP to close down | Game Developer Kirby support developer Vanpool has shut down | Game Developer Relic Layoffs | Relic Entertainment (@relicgames) on Twitter Life is Strange dev Deck Nine Games hit with staff layoffs | Game Developer Firaxis is latest video game studio hit by layoffs | Axios CD Projekt Red to Lay Off Around 30 Employees as Gwent Development Winds Down | IGN Redundancies hit Marvel Contest of Champions publisher Kabam | GamesIndustry Meta is laying off employees for the third time in less than three months | Engadget EA reportedly lays off two thirds of Firemonkeys Studio | GamesIndustry Star Wars: The Old Republic Going Third-Party as BioWare Focuses on Mass Effect and Dragon Age Bandcamp has successfully unionized at Epic Games | Game Developer Many teams, one Goodbye. Thank you for playing Blaseball. | The Game Band Investigation: Who’s Telling the Truth about Disco Elysium? | People Make Games FTC Will Require Microsoft to Pay $20 million | FTC Xbox FTC Settlement and Reimagining the Future of Safety on Xbox | Microsoft INVESTMENT INTERLUDE NetEase Games Introduces Bad Brain Game Studios, a New Studio Based in Canada | PR Newswire God of War Art Director Raf Grassetti forms new studio for Netflix | Raf Grassetti (@rafagrassetti) on Twitter Shareholders call for a sale of EG7 | GamesIndustry