Gaming company stocks fell following news of Project Genie, the head of Ashes of Creation's development studio resigned in protest against the board's actions, and the Epstein files mentioned a former GTA producer — here are the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend. (UPDATED).
- Late last week, Google announced an expansion of access to Project Genie — an experimental generative AI prototype based on Genie 3 for creating small virtual worlds. The corporation decided to open the neural network to AI Ultra subscribers in the United States. Following this, videos featuring worlds inspired by GTA, The Legend of Zelda, DOOM, and other games surfaced online, prompting the stocks of gaming companies to fall. As reported by media, Nintendo's stock dropped by 4.79%, CD Projekt's by 8.9%, Take-Two Interactive's by 10.5%, Roblox's by 12.8%, and Unity's by 22.5% in a single day.
- Intrepid Studios, which recently released the MMORPG Ashes of Creation in early access, hit a rough patch. Its founder, Steven Sharif, announced on Discord that he is resigning. He admitted that he decided to leave the team because he lost control over Intrepid Studios some time ago — the studio is now controlled by the board of directors. Furthermore, top executives are issuing directives that Sharif vehemently disagrees with. Sharif added that along with him, a large portion of the leading specialists submitted their resignations, after which the board of directors expressed a desire to carry out mass layoffs. Sharif did not specify the extent of the layoffs but there are rumors that essentially all Intrepid Studios employees will be let go. Moreover, it is claimed that developers allegedly will not receive their last month's salary due to the studio's severe financial situation. Intrepid Studios' management has not yet commented on either Sharif's statement or the subsequent rumors.
- The U.S. Department of Justice released a new batch of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Among other things, they contain allegations against former GTA producer Leslie Benzies — according to a victim, he sexually assaulted her. The woman also claimed that Rockstar Games co-founder Sam Houser was at least aware of the situation. It should be noted that she has not filed any lawsuits against Benzies, and it is unclear whether this claim has been investigated.*
- A multi-year legal battle over loot boxes in the FIFA game series (now EA Sports FC) concluded in Austria. The country's Supreme Court ruled that loot boxes in the Ultimate Team mode are not a gambling mechanism and do not turn FIFA into a gambling game. After analyzing the gameplay, it concluded that winning matches depends not only on the cards randomly drawn from loot boxes but also on players' skills, which means there are no violations within the franchise. Recall that a group of Austrian gamers filed the lawsuit against Electronic Arts and Sony, which processed FIFA payments on PlayStation, in 2020. They demanded compensation of no less than 20,000 euros from the companies.
*Updated: In a comment to the media, Benzies denied the allegations of assault, calling them "false." He stated that he was in a romantic relationship with the woman who accused him — but it was consensual and lasted about three months. Benzies also emphasized that he never met Epstein, never visited his island, and never flew on his plane.