Jamy Nigri

The Hidenburg report on Roblox is FUD and Joost van Dreunen rightly calls BS on the tone and superficial nature of the analysis. Every app on the Internet has bots in their numbers. But the level of deception that is being alleged here would be fraud and there would be jail time for execs if they were intentionally misleading the street - which I very seriously doubt is the case. Also, we dealt with this child predator problem on Club Penguin all the time. Barely a week went by that we didn't make a criminal referral. This is the whack-a-mole of running an online service with kids. Roblox has built an expertise in this type of moderation that's different from what Facebook's moderators do. Comparing numbers of mods is useless because they do different things. Joost rightly points out that incident reporting is the better way to measure this, and Roblox has far from the biggest problem. But evidence that there are referrals is not evidence of unrestrained abuse. To the contrary, its evidence of enforcement. Hindenburg is a short seller. Easy money to be made for them by FUDding the stock. I'd keep their agenda in mind when evaluating this. "The Hindenburg report presents a loud but largely toothless challenge for Roblox, even if it highlights issues that deserve more serious attention. What weakens Hindenburg’s claims is that despite its self-righteous tone, the research remains thin, decontextualized, and targeted. Instead of presenting a quantified assessment and comparative analysis (something you’d expect from a financial firm), it leans into openly accusing Roblox of deliberate malpractice and indifference toward child safety in favor of growth. It makes an emotionally evocative argument, certainly, and taps into the increasingly pronounced skepticism among regulators and researchers."

7

Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

9

As reported by VGC today, "Square Enix is set to make an unconfirmed number of layoffs as part of its ongoing company restructuring... According to people who were in attendance, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu said that both the company’s American and European arms would be hit with layoffs, which will happen over the course of the next month. The scale of the layoffs wasn’t shared, but staff were told that people working in publishing, IT, and Square Enix’s Collective indie games division would be predominantly affected. Those affected will be informed this week, staff were told. In the UK, employees will enter into a one-month consultancy period, as per local employment law, while US-based staff could leave their roles before June. Following the internal meetings on Monday, many of Square Enix’s main Slack channels were locked, VGC was told" https://lnkd.in/eaTMend9 I am so sorry to hear this news. If you want to prepare yourself in case you become affected by these cuts, or if you indeed become affected by these cuts this week, our community has three resource "homes" built to help you: HOME 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our hub offering 15 resources to help you find work, including a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility and we have done 97 of them. HOME 2 - 🔗 Please visit discord.gg/amirsatvat to join our Discord, a live extension of our community resources. With nearly 2,800 members, we are in an open-join phase. HOME 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes nearly 87,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. To our broader community, your involvement makes a difference. Here’s how you can help: - Spread the word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer support: Utilize the 13 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join our movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 1,800 jobs and 33,000 coaching conversations to date and has been visited by over 3,000,000 gamers lifetime. We're committed to providing daily encouragement and support during these challenging times. We will never stop fighting for you!

304

24 Comments

Forgive me, I want to repost this Games London update to do a classic LinkedIn 'reflect and tease' post. But hear me out. For just over eight years our Accelerator and other programmes (like the Pitch Training Bootcamp of old and now Game Changer) have supported new games businesses with workshops, mentoring and more. Today we pass another milestone as we kickstart the second Game Changer cohort with their first workshop, hosted at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly - fittingly the location for our first bootcamp back in 2017! - we've supported over 150 games studios with these programmes, giving them fast-track insight and connections. Well done again to the 2024 Accelerator cohort and thanks to our speakers, mentors and partners. Giving promising new businesses access and learning is so crucial to ensure emerging games studios can be sustainable and successful. Good luck to the Game Changer cohort who start their journey today (we'll be officially unveiling the cohort next week) - you're another ambitious and promising cohort. That said... there's now a bit of an oversupply in these programmes, we've got to admit. After we debuted the Accelerator in 2020, there's now similar programmes up and down the country. Brilliant! But there's nothing in the market to help studio start-ups convert to their first successful release, right? Publishers and investors faced with industry turmoil (or at least the perception of it!) are increasingly demanding that prospective developer partners have released at least one game on their own stead before starting a conversation. So now we're cooking something up to help businesses go from 'accelerator graduate' to successful debut launch. More news in Sept. Watch this space.

26

1 Comment

This week's Video Games Industry Memo - sponsored by Sumo Digital Ltd - hit over 2000 inboxes earlier today with an article exploring the economic impact of Roblox creators on the American economy. Between 2017 and 2023, experience makers have added $1.2bn in GDP, supported nearly 18,000 full time equivalents (jobs) and contributed more than $300m in tax. But while the headline figures may be a little less impressive than they sound, the trends driving those figures suggest the UGC economy could be a force for genuine economic value in the years to come. Along with the deep dive into Roblox, VGIM also contained: 📰 News about Russian intelligence agents targeting US gamers for misinformation campaigns 💼 All the big job moves and some great open roles at major games companies 📅 Forthcoming conferences including Nexus in Dublin, Tokyo Game Show and Game Connect Asia Pacific in Melbourne 🎮 Funko Pop Fusion heading up the round-up of the week's releases You can read Video Games Industry Memo now by searching for it on Substack, Google or by clicking the Newsletter link in my LinkedIn profile. And if you're not subscribed, make sure to sign up ahead of next Thursday's edition where we'll take a look inside a building described as the Large Hadron Collider for the Mind...

21

"When Giants Step Back: The Startup Opportunity in Mixed Reality Gaming" This is the title of my future SXSW London panel (if it gets accepted). And, to get it accepted, can you, please, vote for it? 🙏 It might ask you to create an account, just so you know. The link to the submission is in the comments below.

35

6 Comments

Notable: Wolfire & Dark Catt's antitrust suit against Steam has been certified as a 'class action', with 'all Steam devs who got paid out since 2017' now part of the eligible group suing over 'forced content & price parity' and the 30% price cut on the platform: https://lnkd.in/gxYUide8 (Doesn't mean the lawsuit succeeded, but it's an important milestone.)

6

The experts' guide to mobile games monetisation: Part one

6

Fallout London review: 9/10 “Fallout London is not just a miracle of the modding scene, nor is it a fleeting curiosity; it's the real deal - a sprawling, painstakingly conceived and authored RPG that almost resembles the idealized modern Fallout game.” #FalloutLondon #teamfolon #fallout4 #fallout https://lnkd.in/ekFu99a8

22

You know how much I appreciate Neil Long of mobilegamer.biz and what he does for the industry, so when he reached out to share my fav game of the year, I instantly dropped playing Royal Kingdom by Dream Games to tell him - it's Royal Kingdom, fam. I then continued playing Royal Kingdom. Now, I'm just sharing this article to let you know that my new favorite game of the year is Royal Kingdom. It turns out that Jens Lauritzson of Flexion also loves Royal Kingdom, which is cool. You can learn what other notable people in the industry played this year by clicking the link in the first comment. Also, go try Royal Kingdom. #mobilegames #gamingindustry #royalkingdom

37

3 Comments

I am thrilled to see star British jockey Saffie Osborne sporting the branding of The Winners Circle, the revolutionary fan engagement platform powered by the scalable and performant Zilliqa blockchain. Reflecting on this partnership and the intersection of #Web3 with traditional sport, it is plain to see a number of parallels between Zilliqa’s ethos and the values embodied in the sport of horse racing, four of which really stand out for me: 1️⃣ Equality and Inclusivity: Zilliqa's blockchain is designed to be inclusive, providing access and benefits to users of all sizes and capacities. Similarly, horse racing offers an inclusive arena where success is determined by talent and strategy, and anyone can compete in a fair race. 2️⃣ Scalability and Performance: Just as horse racing demands the performance possible from both horse and jockey, #Zilliqa focuses on high throughput and scalability, ensuring seamless operations even under high demand. 3️⃣ Community Engagement: Fans are the lifeblood of horse racing, driving the spectacle and excitement on race day. At Zilliqa, community involvement is also paramount, and our platform encourages participation in decision-making processes, mirroring the interactive and engaged community found in horse racing. 4️⃣ Global Accessibility: Zilliqa aims to make its platform universally accessible, fostering a global community. Horse racing, with its widespread appeal, is a prime example of a worldwide phenomenon - one that provides a perfect avenue for Zilliqa to showcase its technology across diverse markets. By powering The Winners Circle and integrating with a sport that embodies equality, performance, community engagement, and worldwide reach, Zilliqa amplifies these values and opens the door to a wider global audience of users for its high-throughput, low-cost network. Read more on The Winners Circle’s partnership with Saffie Osborne: https://lnkd.in/eEf7f_xy #TheWinnersCircle #FanEngagement #HorseRacing #Loyalty

23

3 Comments

A new Nintendo Patent Hints at Upscaling Technology for Switch 2 👀 The patent (link below) suggests the company is exploring the use of AI-powered upscaling technology for its upcoming Switch successor. This technology would allow games with 4K textures to be compressed onto smaller cartridges, potentially enabling the use of 32GB cartridges while maintaining high-resolution visuals. The patent, which dates back to July 2023, describes a system similar to Nvidia's DLSS and PlayStation 5's PSSR, where AI is used to upscale lower-resolution images to higher resolutions. This would significantly reduce the required storage space for games with high-resolution assets. While these are still just speculations, they provide further insights into Nintendo's plans for its next-generation console. Source: https://lnkd.in/e4KZPT4n

18

2 Comments

Code Coven is among the British Film Institute (BFI) National Lottery Innovation Challenge Fund recipients!  Aurora will empower game developers by providing them with the resources, mentorship, and support they need to bring their creative visions to life. A massive thank you to the BFI and National Lottery for believing in our mission to create a secure and sustainable games industry. Together, we’re taking significant steps toward a more equitable future for all creators. We’re honoured to be in the company of other innovative projects making waves in the industry, including Into Games with the Games Insights Database, OKRE with the UK Video Games Econometrics project, and London Games Festival with the Access to Market: Games Publishing Toolkit. Congratulations to all the recipients—together, we’re shaping the future of gaming! Fun facts: 💸  Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability. 📈  Organizations with ethnically diverse leadership teams are 36% more likely to outperform their peers. Resulting in innovation and success within the industry. 🫖 So, if all studios had diverse leadership teams, what would the next lever for competitive advantage be? ☕ We’re hyped to be working towards this answer with Aurora! The journey ahead is exciting, and we invite you to talk to us about partnerships and sponsorships that will amplify our impact. If you’re passionate about supporting the games industry and want to be part of this transformative movement, let’s connect! Join us in shaping the future of gaming.

48

3 Comments

Horrible news to hear about KeokeN Interactive having laid off their entire team today. In a statement published on X, CEO Koen Deetman and managing director Paul Deetman said the Netherlands-based studio was forced into the decision after exhausting all possible options for completing planned projects or taking on other work. To those affected, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,000 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eKAHK7VF ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,800 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eYdxANFM 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 440 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #keokeninteractive (source: https://lnkd.in/eWK2PgvX)

53

4 Comments

Have your say! If you haven’t already, please spare 2 mins to take part in AdInMo’s Hybrid Monetisation Survey. All participants will have exclusive early access to the results, plus a shot at winning a ticket to Gamesforum London in September. Take the survey  https://lnkd.in/e8DEp9S7 #InGamePlay #AdTech #ingameadvertising #admonetization

16

Wu-Tang Clan's Secret Album Released as $1 NFT on Base The Wu-Tang Clan's elusive album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," is now available to the public as a $1 NFT. PleasrDAO, a digital art collective, has collaborated with Privy, Crossmint, and Holograph to distribute the album via Base, a Layer 2 blockchain network by Coinbase. Fans can purchase and partially own the album, which was previously kept secret for 88 years, reducing its restricted period by 88 seconds for every dollar spent. In 2015, Martin Shkreli bought the album for $2 million, but it was later seized by the U.S. government following his conviction for securities fraud. PleasrDAO then acquired the album in 2021 for $4 million and has since aimed to democratize access to this unique piece of music history. Buyers will receive a five-minute sampler of the album, with the full release date still in the future. Importantly, cryptocurrency is not required for this purchase, making it accessible to a wider audience. To buy the album, users need to connect a digital wallet on platforms supporting Base, the blockchain network used for this NFT. This process is straightforward and guides buyers through creating and linking their wallet. This event highlights the growing significance of music NFTs, offering artists new ways to distribute their work and engage with fans, and underscores the role of Ethereum and Ethereum Layer 2 solutions in expanding the possibilities for decentralized applications. PleasrDAO’s initiative aligns with their mission to make art more accessible while preserving the artistic vision of creators. The sale proceeds will benefit the Wu-Tang Clan and producers RZA and Cilvaringz, ensuring they are compensated through this innovative distribution. This move also sparks discussions about the value of music in the digital age and how technology can redefine the relationship between artists and their audiences. #WuTangNFT #MusicNFT #DigitalArt #BlockchainMusic

13

5 Comments