Welcome to our 200th Weekly News Roundup
Weekly gaming news, but without the clickbait!

Epic v Google: Match Group settles, Epic pushes forward
Online dating giant and Epic "Coalition for App Fairness" partner the Match Group announced on Tuesday that they had reached a settlement with Google over their long running dispute with the giant over its Play Store policies, with both parties filing to dismiss the lawsuit.

Epic - specifically Sweeney - reacted by stating that they will go to trial against Google alone.
The Verge Archive[archive.ph]

• Bandcamp United files complaint against Epic Games and Songtradr accusing their former and current parent companies of engaging in unfair labor practices against union members.
  Resident Advisor Archive[archive.ph]
  
  
• Epic faces newly revived lawsuit alleging the "misuse" of a choreographers dance moves by using them in Fortnite emotes.
  Reuters Archive[archive.ph]

Thank you for reading and have a good weekend everyone.
Au revoir.
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Welcome to our 199th Weekly News Roundup
Weekly gaming news, but without the clickbait!

Epic launches "Now on Epic"
The newest scheme by Epic to lure developers to EGS this week comes in the form of "Now on Epic", offering 100% revenue for 6 months for games already released on Steam and GOG.

The new program accompanies "Epic First Run"; an identical program aimed at making EGS exclusives out of new and upcoming game releases.
Eurogamer Archive[archive.ph]

• Epic lays off half of Bandcamp staff (mostly Bandcamp United union members) amid its sale to Songtradr.
  Pocketgamer Archive[archive.ph]
  
  
• Blockchain Brawlers becomes the newest crypto game to launch on EGS.
  CryptoNews Archive[archive.ph]

Thank you for reading and have a good weekend everyone. For reviews, news & disclaimers on Epic exclusives, give our group curator a glance.

Please do not post this anywhere else without asking permission. Please keep the comment thread civil.

Welcome to our 198th Weekly News Roundup
Weekly gaming news, but without the clickbait!

Epic to remove Rocket League item trading, prompting backlash
Epics' announcement that all RL item trading will be disabled from December 5th has been met with a negative response from much of the playerbase, with anger from the Rocket League subreddit and a petition aimed at protesting/reversing the policy change being created.
IGN Archive[archive.ph]

• Unity CEO John Riccitiello steps down.
  Wired Archive[archive.ph]
  
  
• The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approves the Microsoft acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.
  BBC Archive[archive.ph]

Thank you for reading and have a good weekend everyone. For reviews, news & disclaimers on Epic exclusives, give our group curator a glance.

Please do not post this anywhere else without asking permission. Please keep the comment thread civil.

Welcome to our 197th Weekly News Roundup
Weekly gaming news, but without the clickbait!

Galyonkin leaves Epic
Epics' Director of Publishing Strategy and the man behind EGS Sergey Galyonkin announced his departure from Epic this week, coinciding with ongoing layoffs. Citing that he is not a good fit for the "new version of Epic", Galyonkin exits Epic after 8 years with the company.

"Epic 5.0" - as Galyonkin labels it - is part of Epics' continued push into becoming a "metaverse" platform despite the multiple failed attempts by numerous other tech firms to successfully establish one.
Eurogamer Archive[archive.ph]

• Epic to update pricing/subscription model for non-game development usage of Unreal Engine.
  Game World Observer Archive[archive.ph]
  
  
• Bandcamp employees reportedly locked out of critical systems amid handover to new parent Songtradr.
  CDM Archive[archive.ph]

Thank you for reading and have a good weekend everyone. For reviews, news & disclaimers on Epic exclusives, give our group curator a glance.
Please do not post this anywhere else without asking permission. Please keep the comment thread civil.

Welcome to our 196th Weekly News Roundup
Weekly gaming news, but without the clickbait!

Epic lays off 870 employees, sells off Bandcamp
Epic announced that it will be laying off around 16% of its employees, which includes much of Fall Guys developer Mediatonic. Epic explains its need to lay off employees as due to it spending more money than it earns for a long time. Epic also claims that it is a "lower margin business than we had when Fortnite Battle Royale took off and began funding our expansion".

Epic also announced the sale of Bandcamp to Songtradr, marking the second time the company is sold inside a year.
Push Square Archive[archive.ph]
Pitchfork Archive[archive.ph]

• Ubisoft CEO believes that game streaming will become much more popular in the next 5 to 10 years.
  Eurogamer Archive[archive.ph]
  
  
• Apple asks U.S. Supreme Court to strike down order requiring them to make changes to their app store as part of the long running Epic v Apple lawsuit.
  Reuters Archive[archive.ph]

Thank you for reading and have a good weekend everyone. For reviews, news & disclaimers on Epic exclusives, give our group curator a glance.
Please do not post this anywhere else without asking permission. Please keep the comment thread civil.