scandals and controversies Latest news
Corruption and Collapse of Values - ex-Blizzard Employee on Chinese Influence
Mark Kern, former Team Lead at Blizzard Entertainment, responded on Twitter to the high-profile Hong Kong protest scandal. In his opinion, the company is acting against its own values. The developer also quotes several stories that illustrate the extent of influence and methods of Chinese companies in the gaming industry.
video games
Bart Swiatek
October 11, 2019
Apple Removes HKMap.live App After Pressure From Chinese Authorities
Apple succumbed to pressure from the Communist Party of China and removed the HKmap.live app from the App Store. The app is used by Hong Kong protesters to track police activity.
hardware & software
Adrian Werner
October 10, 2019
Blizzard Prevents Users From Deleting Accounts After Hong Kong Affair?
Blizzard scores another PR blow right after the Chung „Blitzchung” Ng Wai affair at the Hearthstone Tournament in Hong Kong. According to reports, Blizzard accounts have become much more difficult and often impossible to remove. The studio is suspected of intervening and actively blocking the possibility of saying goodbye to the account.
other
October 10, 2019
Tim Sweeney: „Epic Will not Punish Fortnite Players for Talking Politics”
Tim Sweeney from Epic Games referred to the controversy surrounding the suspension of Chung „blitzchung” Ng Wai by Blizzard for a political statement during a Hearthstone tournament. The CEO assured that he would not allow Fortnite players to be punished for their political statements.
video games
Jacob Blazewicz
October 9, 2019
Community Stands With Blitzchung, Blizzard in Memes and Comments
After the penalty imposed by Blizzard on Blitzchung for publicly supporting protests in Hong Kong, savage flak of comments and criticisms hits the company from numerous sides. The community is calling for a boycott. The publisher's employees also reacted, and the player himself briefly referred to the penalty.
other
Julia Dragovic
October 9, 2019
A Clinic For Treating Gaming Addiction Opens in UK
The British Health Service has announced the opening of the country's first clinic for technology addiction. The facility will treat cases of addiction to video games, social media and the Internet in general.
video games
Jacob Blazewicz
October 8, 2019
Blizzard Punishes Gamer for Supporting Hong Kong Protests
Chung „blitzchung” Ng Wai supported the protests in Hong Kong in a recent in an interview after winning Hearthstone Grandmasters. Blizzard quickly removed Twitch streams and imposed severe penalties on the gamer - including a one-year suspension.
video games
Julia Dragovic
October 8, 2019
Epic is Not Just Against Steam - 30% is the Industry Standard
IGN conducted an analysis which shows that Steam's 30% revenue share does not differ from the industry standards. Only a few other distributors apply different rules - including, of course, Epic Games Store, which often accuses Valve of engaging in shameful practices.
video games
Bart Swiatek
October 8, 2019
Chinese Authorities Purge the Local Internet from South Park
In the latest episode of the animated series South Park Town, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have decided to address the subject of Chinese censorship. As a result, they fell victim to it themselves - the series completely disappeared from the Internet available in China within a few days.
movies & tv series
October 8, 2019
Epic Games Accused of Not Telling us Fortnite Might be Addictive
A Canadian law firm accuses Epic Games of deliberately making Fornite an addictive game and not informing users of the resulting threat. Lawyers are preparing a class action lawsuit, indicating, among other things, this year's World Health Organization ruling and a similar case against a cigarette manufacturer.
video games
Bart Swiatek
October 7, 2019
FIFA User Data Leak; EA Struggles to Contain the Problem
Problems with the FIFA Global Series gameplay registration system that launched yesterday led to a serious leak of user data. The registration website has been taken offline. Electronic Arts is in the process of analyzing the situation.
video games
Bart Swiatek
October 4, 2019
Blizzard Entertainment Once Again Assures That It Loves the PC
J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment, reaffirmed that his company does not intend to abandon the PC market. PC remains a key platform for the developer.
video games
Bart Swiatek
October 3, 2019
Not Only Rockstar - Sony and Other Giants Avoid Paying Taxes in UK
As it turns out, Rockstar is not the only company that avoids tax authorities in Great Britain. Using methods similar to those of the creators of GTA V, giants such as Warner, Sony and Sega earned hundreds of millions of pounds in tax credits. They were all beneficiaries of a scheme intended to support domestic video game developers.
video games
Michael Kulakowski
October 2, 2019
CS:GO - French Gamers Get a Lootbox Scanner With a Catch
French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players now have the option - and even the obligation - to scan their equipment boxes before buying them. This feature is likely to have been implemented as a result of planned changes to the Anti-Gambling Act and its use is severely restricted.
video games
Bart Swiatek
October 2, 2019
Amazon's Sidewalk Network Can Track Millions of People
The recently announced new connectivity standard called Sidewalk can enable Amazon to track millions of users of its mobile devices. This also applies to people who do not intend to use the network created by the company.
hardware & software
Bart Swiatek
October 2, 2019
Rumor: CoD Modern Warfare Loses Pre-orders Over Controversy?
Activision and Infinity Ward again discuss the microtransaction formula in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Recent leaks have reportedly caused a significant drop in number of pre-orders.
video games
Darius Matusiak
September 30, 2019
Mario Kart Tour is a Record Mobile Debut With Nasty Microtransactions
Mario Kart Tour's recent debut proved to be record-breaking among mobile games, easily outperforming the previously unbeatable Pokemon GO. Unfortunately, the success of the game was overshadowed by the stink raised by extremely nasty microtransactions.
gramynawynos.pl
Jacob Blazewicz
September 28, 2019
FIFA 20 Lauches to Problems With Career Mode
FIFA 20 debuts on PC and Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch today, but not everyone is excited about the new installment of EA's footbal series. Players report significant problems in the career mode, some of which have not been resolved despite promises.
video games
Jacob Blazewicz
September 27, 2019
Frogwares at War With Focus Home - Sherlock Holmes Games Pulled From Sale
Focus Home Interactive does not intend to return the rights to sell the games from the Sherlock Holmes series to their creators, i.e. the team at Frogwares. As a result, all fruits of the cooperation between the two entities are being pulled from some digital stores.
video games
Christian Pieniazek
September 26, 2019
Fallout 76 Collector's Helmets Sprout Mold and Get Recalled
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission calls for refraining from the use of T-51b Power Armor collector's helmets from Fallout 76 that were sold GameStop. The use of the item may pose a health hazard.
video games
Barth Faryna
September 24, 2019