Legal

In November 2024, the Spanish studio Tequila Works announced that due to a crisis in the gaming industry, it was forced to initiate bankruptcy proceedings. Nearly six months later, the team began auctioning off its intangible assets

Ubisoft has taken action to address a class action lawsuit filed in California concerning the discontinuation of the 2014 racing game, The Crew, by submitting a motion to have the case dismissed.

Bill Petras, the art director known for his work on Overwatch and World of Warcraft, has passed away

The company Movie Games, which published the drug dealer simulator duology Drug Dealer Simulator, suspects the creators of the indie hit Schedule I of infringing on its copyrights. The company has decided to investigate the game for plagiarism.

Ubisoft's shares have dropped in value again. On the afternoon of April 4, their price fell to 8.86 euros per share. This is the worst performance in nearly 12 years

In 2023, Unity found itself at the center of a scandal over the monetization of its engine by introducing a Runtime Fee for game installations, which greatly displeased developers. In an interview with The Verge, the company's CEO, Matthew Bromberg, stated that Unity's actions at the time sparked a true war between the company and its clients

On the Cyprus Lawyers Association website, App2Top discovered documents related to a legal dispute between gaming companies Beresnev Games and SayGames. According to these documents, the development studio requested the court to prohibit the publisher from distributing and monetizing its game. The editorial team spoke with the studio's founder, Oleg Beresnev, to find out what's happening.

Thorsten Wiedemann, the founder and director of Amaze, has "stepped back" and issued an apology, acknowledging in a public statement that he behaved "inappropriately" and was "verbally offensive" toward colleagues and guests during an August event.

The Australian Classification Board has confirmed that Silent Hill F has not been denied classification within the country.

Square Enix filed a lawsuit against one of its former contractors. The main accusation is the illegal use of intellectual property under the Front Mission brand.

Fntastic has a talent for generating controversial situations. This case is no exception.

Ubisoft is not disclosing much to its investors, according to the CEO of AJ Investments, an investment fund that owns less than 1% of the company's shares. Specifically, they are allegedly withholding information about strategically important decisions

Dino Patti, co-founder of Playdead, faces potential legal action after sharing a now-deleted LinkedIn post that included an "unauthorized" photograph of fellow co-founder Arnt Jensen.

Apple will be fined by the European Union, according to Reuters sources. The agency reports that the European Commission has decided to penalize the corporation for stifling competition on iOS, which constitutes a violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA)

The Danish studio Playdead is indeed demanding that its co-founder and former CEO Dino Patti pay $72,600 in compensation due to a social media post. The studio confirmed its claims in a comment to the Game Developer portal

The Polish studio Reality Games announced the successful acquisition of investments. They have secured $4.7 million, which they plan to spend on further development and testing of a mobile geolocation game inspired by "Monopoly"—Monopoly World.

Nintendo has emerged victorious in an extended legal dispute with the French file-hosting company Dstorage.

Hidden Variable stated that starting January 21, 2025, it would cease its involvement in developing Skullgirls Mobile and 2nd Encore due to a "dispute with Autumn Games"

The free-to-play version of Dark and Darker, which was initially launched on the Epic Games Store in March 2024, has been removed from the platform for the second time, a year after its debut.

Ironmace Games has faced another hurdle due to its legal dispute with South Korea publisher Nexon. As a result, Dark and Darker has been removed from the Epic Games Store.

The authorities in the province of British Columbia, Canada have decided to increase the size of the tax credit for what are known as "interactive digital media" — Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (IDMTC). Game developers, among others, can qualify for this benefit

The free-to-play text-based MMO browser game, Urban Dead, is set to shut down shortly before reaching its 20th anniversary due to the implementation of the UK's Online Safety Act

In a recent report on mobile game advertising, developers Microfun, Nanobit, and Magic Tavern have come under scrutiny for allegedly perpetuating harmful stereotypes and gender-based violence.

Two short-selling firms have issued reports on AppLovin, accusing the company of inflaiting its metrics and engaging in illegal practices. This led to sotck market turmoil, with the CEO refuting all the claims and calling them misleading.

The firms Culper Research and Fuzzy Panda Research released scathing reports focused on AppLovin. They claimed that AppLovin significantly inflates ad metrics and engages in unethical and even illegal practices.

The authors of the bill regulating the gaming industry in Russia show little interest in the opinions of independent developers. This is the view of former Moscow City Duma deputy Elena Yanchuk. She decided to survey indie teams herself

The Pokémon Company has reached a settlement in its lawsuit against Pocket Monster: Remake

Vadim Subbotin, the deputy head of Roskomnadzor, stated in an interview with TASS that the agency supports the December bill on games. At least the part that addresses the need for game labeling

Balatro has won an appeal to lower its age restriction from 18+ to 12 across European countries.

The discussion around the gaming law in Russia continues. The Video Game Industry Development Organization (VGIDO) proposed splitting the December bill into two separate laws at a meeting in the State Duma. They are willing to personally handle one of them

European authorities have adopted a 16th package of sanctions against Russia. The App2Top editorial team reviewed documents on the European Council's website and did not find the previously promised ban on the supply of gaming consoles to the country.

The law firm Semenov&Pevzner has prepared a global report on legal conflicts in the gaming industry over the past six months

Sony has responded to allegations that it damaged the reputation of former Marathon reboot director Chris Barrett. The company asserts that its investigations revealed "consistent" misconduct, where Barrett allegedly targeted a "lower-level, female employee he wasn't working with directly." The interactions reportedly began as friendly conversations and gradually escalated, with Barrett "often referencing his wealth and his ability to advance their careers."

Sony Corporation responded to a lawsuit filed by former Marathon game director Christopher Barrett against them and Bungie in December of last year. In the complaint, the developer claimed that he was terminated to avoid paying him the $45 million owed in compensation.

It looks like a legal dispute between Nexon and Ironmace Games has finally been settled. The Dark and Darker developer will have to pay monetary compensation to the South Korean publisher.

Embracer Group released a report detailing its earnings for October-December 2024. It also disclosed current sales figures for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and shared results for other games.

Anton Gorelkin is a State Duma deputy and one of the authors of the bill "On the Development and Distribution of Video Games in the Russian Federation." In his Telegram channel, he commented on the amendments being submitted

The State Duma continues to receive proposals on how to refine the much-discussed bill "On the Development and Distribution of Video Games in the Russian Federation." Recently, the Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry (ODVGI) sent amendments to the deputies

A group of Russian companies has submitted its proposals to the State Duma of the Russian Federation regarding what should be amended in the bill regulating the gaming industry in the country. In their opinion, a significant portion of the requirements needs to be changed.

Recently, "Buka" presented a list of amendments and recommendations for the draft law "On the Activity of Developing and Distributing Video Games in the Russian Federation," which was submitted for consideration to the State Duma on December 12 by a group of deputies and senators led by Anton Gorelkin. App2Top's editorial team spoke with Alexander Tebuev, CEO of "Buka," about why the company took on the task of preparing comments and whether legislators will consider them

China's antitrust regulator is preparing to investigate Apple, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the situation. The potential subject of the proceedings is the App Store policy

The China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) has updated the standards for game advertising in China. One of the new provisions aims to combat advertising that misleads players

The topic of age ratings has been actively discussed in the Russian gaming industry over the past year due to the labels proposed by the RWU and APRIORI associations. Considering that one of these might be required on all gaming projects distributed in Russia, it's a good time to look at international practices. In her column for App2Top, Svetlana Gordey, a leading lawyer at REVERA, discussed the history of ratings and the various forms they take

The US Copyright Office has clarified that works produced with generative AI are ineligible for copyright protection unless an author or artist is involved in the "creative process".

Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director of Final Fantasy 14, has released a statement addressing players about the controversy surrounding the "Playerscope" mod, which is alleged to track players' activity across characters without their permission.

The European Union (EU) is preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia, with the latest package featuring a ban on game console sales to the country.

The European Union authorities plan to include PlayStation and Xbox consoles in the next package of sanctions against Russia. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing a statement from Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

In March 2025, the Japanese release of Assassin's Creed Shadows will undergo censorship.

Alexander Zhuravlev is a managing partner at the law firm "EBR" and a member of the working group on video games at the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. He spoke to the newspaper "Kommersant" about the nuances of a draft law regulating the gaming industry in Russia. Below are the main points from the interview

The Russian authorities continue to work on a bill regulating the video game market in the country. According to TASS, the State Duma has formed a special inter-factional working group to refine it.