The new ReedPop-run E3 died before it could live… or was it… MURDERED?! (Spoiler: It was murdered.) Also: GameStop leans on cost cutting to finally turn a modest profit, Microsoft is one step closer to closing its Activision deal, established studios expand, while layoffs also run rampant.

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TIME STAMPS

• [00:01:54] - E3 is DED! (Again!)
• [00:17:46] - Circana US Video Game Spending Report for February
• [00:25:14] - GameStop FY 2023 Earnings
• [00:29:43] - Investment Interlude
• [00:41:51] - Quick Hits
• [00:53:02] - Labor Report

SOURCES

• GameStop Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Results | GameStop
• Epic-Owned Bandcamp is Unionizing | Bandcamp United (@bandcampunited) on Twitter
• Twitch lays off hundreds amid Amazon cuts | Polygon
• 16 Years Of Twitch | Twitch
• Layoffs reported at Worms maker Team17 | Eurogamer
• Logitech Cuts 300 Jobs on Post-Covid Slump in Computer Gadgets | Bloomberg (Paywall)
• An update on our people and business | EA
• Disney Shuts Down Metaverse Unit as Part of First Wave of Layoffs | Variety

INVESTMENT INTERLUDE

• UK regulator sides with Microsoft over Call of Duty on PlayStation concerns | The Verge
• Small band of gamers fail to block Microsoft Activision Blizzard bid | Eurogamer
• Ex-Blizzard leaders Jen Oneal and J. Allen Brack create startup studio Magic Soup Games | GamesBeat
• PCF GROUP (PEOPLE CAN FLY) WILL HAVE A NEW 10% SHAREHOLDER — KRAFTON INC., ONE OF SOUTH KOREA'S LARGEST GAME PUBLISHERS AND DEVELOPERS | People Can Fly
• Maximum Entertainment Completes the Acquisition of FUN Labs | Zordix
• Respawn opens third studio to keep Apex Legends going for '10 to 15 years' | GamesIndustry
• Total War makers open a third development studio | PC Gamer