Legal

Russian authorities intend to protect the country's residents from "destructive content" in video games. This was stated by the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, on his Telegram channel.

We continue to wrap up 2024 with top managers and experts from the gaming industry (and related fields). Up next is an interview with Artem Khandriko, the head of IT/IP practice at REVERA

The App2Top editorial team has analyzed the current state of the online gambling industry in Nigeria. They focused specifically on legal issues and the slots market.

We continue to review the results of 2024 together with top managers and experts from the gaming industry (and related sectors). Up next is an interview with Alexandra Kurdumova and Alina Davletshina from Futura Digital (their channel on Telegram)

Charlie the Unicorn is a series of web cartoons about a unicorn named Charlie that went viral in the early 2000s. Recently, it was featured in an advertisement for new skins for MultiVersus. This did not sit well with Charlie the Unicorn's creator, Jason Steele.

We continue to review the results of 2024 with top managers and experts from the gaming industry (and related fields). Up next is an interview with Natalia Yurkova, managing partner of i-Legal

Johnny Gioeli, a member of the rock band Crush 40, has initiated a lawsuit against Sega of America, a company he has collaborated with on musical projects for many years.

Musician Johnny Gioeli from the band Crush 40 has filed a lawsuit against SEGA. In it, he accuses the company of using the main theme he wrote for Sonic Adventure 2 in other projects without a license and not paying the due royalties.

According to an original story from December 17, 2024, a "network of illegal casinos" is reportedly allowing children to participate in gambling activities using their Roblox currency

In Germany, the age rating for games has been updated. A "risk factors" category has now been added to the standard list of criteria. This was reported by the German rating agency USK.

Among the trailers shown at The Game Awards 2024 ceremony, the trailer for Catly—an MMO featuring cats by the studio SuperAuthenti—caught some attention. Online suspicions arose that it, like the game itself, might have been created using generative artificial intelligence (AI). In a comment to IGN, the developers of Catly stated that this is not the case

Chris Barrett, who previously led the development of Marathon, is set to sue his former employers — Bungie and Sony. He accuses the companies of intentionally damaging his reputation and career.

The Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry (RVI) criticized the draft law "On the Activity of Developing and Distributing Video Games on the Territory of the Russian Federation." Representatives of the organization stated that the initiative would harm the domestic game development industry instead of helping it.

Chris Barrett, the onetime director of the Marathon reboot, has initiated legal action against Bungie and Sony. He alleges that the companies intentionally tarnished his reputation by wrongly and publicly suggesting they had conducted an investigation into his conduct and concluded he was involved in sexual misconduct. Barrett contends this was done to evade a $45 million payout owed to him.

Today, December 12, a bill titled "On the Activities of Developing and Distributing Video Games in the Russian Federation" was submitted for consideration to the State Duma. We asked Roman Lukyanov, the managing partner of the law firm Semenov&Pevzner, to share his opinion on the project.

We wrote in detail about the bill this morning, and now we'll note that the published final version is in essence no different from the one obtained by the editorial team the day before. However, there is a nuance

Epic Games has finalized an agreement with telecommunications firm Telefónica, which will result in the Epic Games Store and Fortnite being pre-installed on Android devices.

The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, believes that the government should restrict access to social media and online games for children under 16. In his opinion, this is necessary to protect young Turks from inappropriate content.

On the evening of December 11, Anton Gorelkin, a deputy and deputy chairman of the Committee on Information Policy, announced that on December 12, a draft law regulating the Russian gaming industry would be submitted to the State Duma for consideration. The editorial team of App2Top obtained the text of the draft law. Here's a straightforward explanation of what it entails.

Pocketpair has announced a few changes to the creature-summoning mechani  in Palworld. This comes amid the studio’s legal battle with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.

The Federal Trade Commission in the United States has initiated the process of reimbursing consumers who were affected by what are described as dark pattern tactics allegedly employed by Epic Games, resulting in unintended purchases

UK developers have initiated a class action lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the App Store's 30% commission is anti-competitive.

In October, the Korea Mobile Game Association urged South Korean gaming companies to join a class action lawsuit against Google and Apple concerning their monopoly on the mobile store market. Two months later, several organizations claimed that Google was persuading developers to withdraw from participating in the lawsuit

We continue summarizing the year 2024 with teams related to the gaming business. Up next is an interview with Roman Lukyanov, managing partner of the law firm Semenov&Pevzner

President Studio head Karol Konieczko announced that Crime Scene Cleaner has surpassed 500,000 copies sold. The game achieved this milestone in less than four months.

In Vietnam, a law will come into effect that controls the information distributed on the Internet. This will also impact the video game market. This was reported by the analytics company Niko Partners

Authorities in the UK, acting on a request from counter-terrorism officials, have withdrawn a pro-Palestinian shooter from sale.

According to BBC, publishers of only two out of the 26 highest-grossing games with loot boxes on Google Play clearly indicate the presence of this mechanic in their UK advertisements. The others remain silent about loot boxes, thereby violating the requirements of the UK's advertising regulator.

Microsoft plans to integrate a range of important features into the Xbox App for Android users in the United States. Gamers will be able to purchase games directly in the mobile app, bypassing Google Play, and launch them using cloud streaming

A long-running lawsuit against Steam’s 30% cut and its alleged antitrust behavior has been granted a class action status. The plaintiffs are now calling on other game developers to join in.

A new development in the investigation into the alleged Steam monopoly on the PC store market. The court has turned the lawsuit from Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios against Valve into a class action. Now, many other developers can join it.

Microsoft's initiative to allow Android users to purchase and play console games through the Xbox app has been postponed, apparently as a result of the ongoing legal battle between Google and Epic Games

Wolfire Studios and Dark Catt Studios have received class action status in their ongoing legal battle with Valve

The unions of several Ubisoft studios in Barcelona have protested against the company management, reports GamesIndustry. They have filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft due to the partial cancellation of remote work: starting in September, all employees are required to spend at least three days a week in the office.

Unions representing Ubisoft's AAA and mobile studios in Barcelona have initiated legal action against the company, known for publishing Assassin's Creed, concerning alterations in its remote work policy

The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK has requested a formal probe into Apple's and Google's control over the mobile market

A conflict has erupted between the leadership of Summer Eternal and Longdue Games—studios founded this fall by former ZA/UM employees. Argo Tuulik, co-founder of Summer Eternal, has been served with a court injunction prohibiting him from developing games at his studio. He is barred from engaging in this activity until April 2025

Tax incentives remain a key tool for governments in various countries to attract digital and R&D companies. This is especially true for corporate income tax (CIT), which is considered one of the most burdensome. Experts from Futura Digital, in a column for App2Top, discussed the most relevant types of CIT incentives for IT and GameDev companies that are in demand among their clients.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has conducted research into Steam. The organization found over 1.8 million instances of extremist or hateful content, stating that the platform needs to tackle these issues.

Valve has been accused by the Anti-Defamation League of "permitting the spread of hate" on its digital platform and marketplace, Steam.

From July to September 2024, Wargaming paid 4.3 million euros into Lithuania's treasury. This is 20% more compared to the previous year. This was reported by the portal dev.by, citing data from the Lithuanian tax service

On November 13, the State Duma of the Russian Federation passed a draft law in its first reading that obligates Apple to allow the installation of the RuStore app store on iPhones and iPads in Russia.

The Spanish studio Tequila Works has declared bankruptcy. It has filed the necessary paperwork, and all its founders have resigned

Neowiz has entered into an $8 million agreement with Warsaw-based developer Zakazane to publish its forthcoming neo-Western RPG

Two gamers from California have filed a class-action lawsuit against Ubisoft due to the shutdown of The Crew servers, accusing the company of selling activation keys instead of the full version of the game. The plaintiffs claim that the company effectively deprived them of the right to own the product.

Nintendo has initiated legal action against streamer Jesse "Every Game Guru" Keighin, accusing him of streaming gameplay from ten pirated games ahead of their official release dates.

The developer of Palworld, Pocketpair, has disclosed further information regarding the lawsuit brought against it by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The legal action concerns purported similarities between Pocketpair's monster-themed survival game and the well-known franchise associated with these companies.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA, the union for communications workers in the U.S.) criticized Sony for closing Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi, accusing it of attempting to strengthen its monopolistic position in the market

Valve has introduced new changes to Steam store pages. The new tool will help users see information about anti-cheat services used in games.

SAG-AFTRA has entered into an agreement with AI voice firm Ethovox to guarantee protection and equitable payment for performers.