Legal
Ousted Vungle CEO Zain Jaffer takes his former company to court for $100 million
Jaffer is seeking compensation after being cleared of assault and sexual abuse charges
Exploits Children
Epic Games embroiled in further lawsuit over loot boxes
Another week, another court case
The Hungry Caterpillar
Epic Games faces another Fortnite lawsuit over Running Man dance
Former Maryland basketball players Jared Nickens and Jayen Brantley front the claim
Grim
Epic shuts down shabby Fortnite Live festival organiser
"These proceedings by Epic Games has had a catastrophic impact on the company's ability to trade"
Oh No
Swedish tax agency demands $370 million from Candy Crush Saga maker King
Skatteverket claims King owes substantial taxes after its acquisition by Activision in 2016
Shutdown
Updated: Behaviour claims Westworld Mobile shutdown unrelated to Bethesda lawsuit
Game to go offline for good on April 16th
Gone West
Fallout Shelter publisher Bethesda ends legal battle against Warner Bros over Westworld "rip-off"
The dispute between the two mobile management games has been "amicably resolved"
Court Battle
Qualcomm insists Apple is in breach of Chinese court order it claims prohibits iPhone sales
“Apple’s statements have been deliberate attempts to obfuscate and misdirect”
Legal
iPhone XS and XR could be banned in China amid Apple-Qualcomm battle
Though Apple maintains that its handsets are still for sale in the People's Republic
Legal Battle
Apple heads to Supreme Court over App Store 'monopoly'
Is Apple's dominance over its closed-off iOS ecosystem inflating prices?
Not Appy
US Senators urge FTC to investigate ‘manipulative marketing practices by apps designed for children’
Also described as “unfair and deceptive”
Toll
Google will charge phone-makers if they want to use Google Play following European Commission ruling
Following a European Commission ruling earlier this year resulting in a $5 billion fine
Legal Rift
John Carmack's legal dispute with Zenimax Media ends
But the fight for Oculus isn’t over yet
The Big Freeze
"I don’t think the Chinese government is ready to lose its title as the world’s biggest games market"
Taptica division CEO Rivi Bloch discusses market expansion and the big freeze
Off Course
Nintendo successfully sues Tokyo’s unofficial Mario Kart tours for $89,000
Real-life Mario Kart operator MariCar ordered to stop using Nintendo's property immediately
Legal
Former employee hits Telltale Games with a class action lawsuit
Redundancies made “without cause” may have broken state and federal labour laws
Guide To China
China's temporary games approval freeze - Your key questions answered
Niko Partners offers a complete breakdown of the current market situation in China and who it's likely to affect
Blurred Lines
European regulators claim “blurring of lines” between gambling and gaming in joint statement
"We have joined forces to call on video games companies to address the clear public concern around the risks gambling and some video games can pose to children"
Restrictive Policies
China’s block on new game licenses could be coming to an end - but fresh regulations are incoming
Calls to restrict the number of new game releases
China Lockdown
What the hell is happening to games in China?
Conspiracy or cock-up?
Spending Spree
US Librarian spends $89,000 of public money on Game of War
Adam Winger sells his home and drains retirement fund to pay back the appropriated funds
Banned
No end in sight as South Korean games companies locked out of China for over a year
No signs of issues being resolved
Games Suspended
China hasn't approved any new mobile games since March 28th
Market sees single-digit growth in first half of the year, the slowest since at least 2009
Swift Action
SwiftLife swiftly sues Taylor Swift over Taylor Swift: The Swift Life
New York computer consulting service isn't happy with a new app from the singer holding the same name as its business
Caught In The Act
Alleged stalker arrested by police claims he was just playing Pokemon Go
Report suggests man has a history of stalking the same woman
Callin' Hacks
Credit card thieves reportedly laundering money through Clash of Clans and Clash Royale
Kabam’s Marvel Contest of Champions also said to be a target
No Biggie
Nintendo’s lawsuit against Japanese publisher Colopl won’t stall White Cat Project Switch release
Console giant says these are "completely separate matters"
Legal
San Mateo County drops charges against Vungle founder Zain Jaffer
Child abuse and assault against the former CEO cleared by district attorney
Loot Boxes
French regulator concerned about loot boxes but concedes it isn't gambling
Paris proves less hostile to the practice than its Dutch and Belgian counterparts
Goodnite
PUBG Corp ends Epic Games lawsuit over PUBG and Fortnite copyright infringement claims
Brings end to battle royale spat
Ruled Out
Judge halves Facebook’s Zenimax payout to $250 million in Oculus dispute
Headset sales won’t be blocked either, Judge rules
Fallout
Warner Bros labels Bethesda lawsuit over Westworld mobile game "baseless"
Skyrim developer accused Warner Bros and Behaviour Interactive of snagging code from Fallout Shelter
Fallout World
Fallout Shelter publisher Bethesda sues Warner Bros over “blatant rip-off” Westworld
Lawsuit claims "highly similar" game design, art style, animations and features
Legal Dispute
Former Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner sues studio over alleged contract breach
Claims the developer failed to fulfil obligations after stepping down in 2017
Opinion
PUBG Corp's lawsuit against Epic's Fortnite could set an uncomfortable precedent
This market has been built on a cycle of iteration and improvement which could end if the Playerunknown's Battlegrounds firm wins this case
There Can Be Only One
PUBG Corp sues Epic over Fortnite Battle Royale
Follows threats last September and a lawsuit against NetEase
Whoops
"Lack of oversight" to blame for Overwatch art in Paladins Strike ad
Hi-Rez art director was swift to assure that the matter was being looked into
Giving Loot The Boot
Top games ruled to be breaking Dutch gambling laws with loot boxes
The authoritative body investigated 10 unnamed titles after concerns were raised by players, parents and addiction care workers
Going Offline
China’s app crackdown removes 370 livestreaming apps
Major players like Douyu and Huya also under investigation
Bust
Free-to-play casino games land four gaming companies with online gambling lawsuits
Legal action follows a similar ruling that found Big Fish Games’ casino experiences to have violated Washington state law
Legal Investigation
Report: South Korea’s FTC investigates Google Play over claims it abused market leading position
Storefront accounted for 60 per cent of all mobile app content sales in 2017
Crack Down
South Korea’s FTC deals out fines to Nexon, Netmarble and NextFloor over misleading loot box promotions
Nexon Korea hit by $887,000 penalty
Clone Dinner
PUBG developer sues NetEase over mobile 'clones' Rules of Survival and Knives Out
Lawsuit demands removal of titles
Something Of Value
Big Fish Casino constitutes “illegal gambling”, rules US federal appeals court
Case set to rumble on after victory for the plaintiff
Settlement Reality
Niantic settles Pokemon Go Fest class action lawsuit for $1.6 million
Attendees can claim for airfares, hotel expenses, parking fees and more
Tapped Out
Chinese online games portal TapTap shut down for three months as government cracks down on rule breakers
Tencent, 360, Xiaomi and more also slapped with fines
Trolls
“Patent trolls” threaten Clicker Heroes dev with legal action over virtual currency
PlaySaurus asked to pay $35 million licensing fee for violating a patent concerning the sale of virtual currency
Ace Attorney
European law firm Fieldfisher hires video games lawyer Brian Chadwick
Plans to expand games industry-related services
Hammer Time
Epic crackdown on copyrighted Unreal Engine 4 Marketplace assets
Audit to take place over the next few months
Zynga Legal
Zynga hires former Associate General Counsel for Tesla as its new Chief Legal Officer
Phuong Phillips to oversee legal affairs for the whole company