MW3 Controversy / Live Service Evolutions / Roblox Earnings / Esports Woes

In this week's Roundtable, the squad tackles the contentious release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, scrutinizing Activision's bold pricing strategy for what many see as DLC-sized content. We then shift gears to the evolving stances of various companies regarding live service games, including noting where we are in the trend's hype cycle. The conversation pivots to Valve's unveiling of the Steam Deck OLED and what kind of platform the resurgence of handhelds could morph into. We next cover Roblox's recent earnings release and discuss both the tailwinds and headwinds the company faces. The discussion then takes a serious turn with Blizzard shuttering the Overwatch League due to financial woes, leading us to speculate on the future of other esports leagues and why ESL may be in a superior position. Finally, we examine Ubisoft's announcement of a new skin marketplace for the eight-year-old Rainbow Six: Siege and ponder its potential compared to Steam's established marketplace. Join us for all the latest games business news with Aaron Bush, Jonathan Anastas, and host Devin Becker.

We’d also like to thank Nexus for making this episode possible! Nexus’s creator program in-a-box makes it easy for game devs to build and manage a world-class creator program, driving significant growth in conversion, ARPPU, retention, and LTV. To learn more, go to http://nexus.gg/naavik

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Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.