Latest

Legal

activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-sexual-harassment-and-bullying-allegations VG247

Activision Blizzard sued by California over sexual harassment and bullying allegations

July 22, 2021VG247

A two-year investigation by the state of California has ended in a lawsuit aimed at Activision Blizzard, citing sexual harassment, bullying, unfair pay, and more besides.Following a two-year investigation by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the state has filed a lawsuit against the publisher and developer, alleging the company incubated a “frat boy” culture (via Bloomberg Law).The lawsuit alleges that female employees working for the company – who make up roughly 20% of the workforce – are victims of discrimination in terms of unequal pay, sexual harassment, bullying, and retaliation.CONTENT WARNINGThe investigation that brought the lawsuit to Activision…

Read More
frazier-kay-to-sue-coffeezilla-over-save-the-kids-crypto-investigation ESports News UK

Frazier Kay to sue Coffeezilla over Save the Kids crypto investigation

July 14, 2021E-SportsNewsUK

The legal representatives of Frazier Kay (pictured left), the British content creator that was recently booted out of FaZe Clan for his involvement in a scandalous Save the Kids cryptocurrency operation, have threatened to sue a journalist who helped expose it. Coffeezilla (pictured right) has claimed he received a cease and desist letter from Kay’s lawyers, demanding he retract his public statements about Kay or face litigation. They claim Coffeezilla’s statements about Kay are ‘false and defamatory’ and that he could ‘lose millions of dollars in revenue’ for publishing them. Continue reading Frazier Kay to sue Coffeezilla over Save the…

Read More
facebook-gaming-terminates-partner-status-with-jeff-leach-and-nitrolukedx:-spat-between-british-content-creators-nitrolukedx-and-jeff-leach-gets-ugly-after-video-prompts-activision-to-sever-ties-with-cod-ghost-voice-actor-over-sexism-claims ESports News UK

Facebook Gaming terminates partner status with Jeff Leach and NitroLukeDX: Spat between British content creators NitroLukeDX and Jeff Leach gets ugly after video prompts Activision to sever ties with CoD Ghost voice actor over sexism claims

May 13, 2021E-SportsNewsUK

UPDATE (May 13th 2021): Facebook Gaming has dropped both Jeff Leach and NitroLukeDX following the below incidents, reports Bleeding Cool. “We expect our Facebook Gaming partners to model a high standard of conduct,” Facebook said in a statement. “We have ended our contract with Jeff Leach and terminated his partner status with Facebook Gaming. We’ve done the same with NitroLukeDX due to his behavior on prior streams.” The news comes after Dexerto reported that sponsors are also dropping Jeff Leach. Continue reading Facebook Gaming terminates partner status with Jeff Leach and NitroLukeDX: Spat between British content creators NitroLukeDX and Jeff…

Read More
‘i’m-excited-to-speak-to-my-lawyers’-–-spat-between-british-content-creators-nitrolukedx-and-jeff-leach-gets-ugly-after-video-prompts-activision-to-sever-ties-with-cod-ghost-voice-actor-over-sexism-claims ESports News UK

‘I’m excited to speak to my lawyers’ – spat between British content creators NitroLukeDX and Jeff Leach gets ugly after video prompts Activision to sever ties with CoD Ghost voice actor over sexism claims

May 10, 2021E-SportsNewsUK

Jeff Leach, British streamer, stand-up comedian and the voice of Ghost in recent Call of Duty games (pictured left), has announced he is taking legal action against fellow British content creator NitroLukeDX (pictured right). NitroLukeDX, aka Luke Pickering, published a video on May 7th containing several foul-mouthed out-of-context clips of Jeff Leach followed by a discussion panel between women gamers denouncing his behaviour. The first clip is from Jeff’s 2017 appearance on a show known as Tauntfest, where he spoke in a derogatory manner about female streamer ZombiUnicorn, who declined to attend because of him being on the show. Continue…

Read More
playstation-is-fortnite’s-biggest-platform VG247

PlayStation is Fortnite’s biggest platform

April 29, 2021VG247

By Dom Peppiatt 29 April 2021 10:40 GMT Documents relating to the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic have revealed that PlayStation is in fact Fortnite‘s biggest platform.Court documents that have been disclosed ahead of the legal battle proper reveal that PlayStation 4 generated 46.8% of Fortnite’s total revenue from March 2018 until July 2020 – nearly half of the game’s full revenue stream (thanks, The Verge).In contrast, Xbox One was second-highest with only 27.5%, showing that Sony’s last-gen platform really did rake in the players (and the money) at the height of Fortnite’s popularity.In 2019, the game earned…

Read More
apple-is-trying-to-drag-valve-into-its-on-going-legal-battle-with-epic VG247

Apple is trying to drag Valve into its on-going legal battle with Epic

February 21, 2021VG247

Against its will, Valve is being dragged into the Epic vs. Apple antitrust lawsuit, with new documents revealing Apple has asked Valve to hand over financial data.Various court documents have revealed that Valve has been subpoenaed by Apple for Steam commercial data, with Tim Cook’s tech giant requesting years of in-depth sales information from the Steam platform owner.“Apple and Valve have engaged in several meet and confers, but Valve has refused to produce information responsive to Requests 2 and 32,” says the joint discovery letter.Apple notes that “Epic’s various mobile and non-mobile distribution options are central to disputed issues of market…

Read More
valve-hit-with-$4-million-fine-over-steam-controller-patent-infringement VG247

Valve hit with $4 million fine over Steam Controller patent infringement

February 3, 2021VG247

By Alex Calvin, Wednesday, 3 February 2021 17:58 GMT Corsair’s Scuf Gaming claimed gamepad’s paddles violated its patent.Valve has been fined $4 million for patent infringement with its Steam Controller.As reported by Law360, Valve was taken to court by Corsair’s Scuf Gaming and its IP-holding Ironburg Inventions, who alleged that the gamepad infringed its patent with the Steam Controller’s use of back paddles. This is the same patent that Microsoft paid Ironburg to use with its own Xbox Elite controllers. The firm took Valve to court in 2015.A jury found Valve had infringed upon all seven of Ironburg’s claims, with…

Read More
take-two-shuts-down-gta-online-cheat-maker VG247

Take-Two shuts down GTA Online cheat maker

January 26, 2021VG247

By Alex Calvin, Tuesday, 26 January 2021 12:07 GMT Company donating proceeds to a charity of the publishing giant’s choosing.Video games giant Take-Two Interactive has killed a website that made and distributed exploits for GTA Online.As spotted by Eurogamer, LunaCheats has been shut down after having had “discussions” with – read: legal threats from – Rockstar’s parent company. This has resulted in the outfit closing down its business, with its website saying that it will be donating proceeds from selling GTA Online cheats to a charity of Take-Two’s choosing.“After discussions with Take-Two Interactive, we are immediately ceasing all maintenance, development,…

Read More
valve-and-five-publishers-fined-e7.8-million-for-geo-blocking-steam-keys Rock,Paper,Shotgun

Valve and five publishers fined €7.8 million for geo-blocking Steam keys

January 20, 2021RockPaperShotgun

Valve and a handful of game publishers have landed themselves in hot water with the European Commision for geo-blocking Steam keys in certain regions in Europe. The Steam owners, along with Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax (Bethesda’s parent company), have been collectively fined €7.8 million (around £6.9 million) for “breaching EU antitrust rules”. (more…)

Read More
uri-geller-allows-the-pokemon-company-to-print-kadabra-on-pokemon-cards-again VG247

Uri Geller allows The Pokemon Company to print Kadabra on Pokemon cards again

November 29, 2020VG247

By Dom Peppiatt, Sunday, 29 November 2020 13:02 GMT Spoon-bending magician Uri Geller has finally given Nintendo permission to print Kadabra on Pokémon cards again after a 20 year legal battle in which Geller claimed the character’s likeness was too familiar to his own.After an article over on The Gamer once again dug into why the mid-stage evolution psychic Pokemon hasn’t appeared on Pokemon cards in about two decades, Geller appears to have enjoyed a change of heart.“I am truly sorry for what I did 20 years ago,” Geller tweeted. “Kids and grownups I am releasing the ban. It’s now…

Read More