MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY 

1. CRTC Issues Guidance for Avoiding Indirect Liability for CASL Violations
2. Minnesota AG Just The Latest To Ding Comcast For Shady Fees 
3. Ajit Pai thanks Congress for helping him kill net neutrality rules 
4. The FCC Is Closing, So Hold Your Cell Phone Service Gripes
5. CBS Eyes Ditching Nielsen As Streaming, Cord Cutting Change The Game
6. AT&T Attempts A Head Fake With ‘Fake 5G’
7. Who is leading the 5G patent race? 

DIGITAL

1. Ninth Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Materially Supporting Terrorists” Fails–Clayborn v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
2. Jake Paul, RiceGum Called Out For Promoting Mystery Box ‘Gambling’ Site To Kids
3. Antipiracy Outfits Routinely Claim Copyright Infringement Against Sites That Simply Report When Torrents Are Released 
4. Jack Black’s YouTube Channel Nabs 2.5 Million Subscribers In Less Than Two Weeks
5. Jack Black Launches YouTube Channel, Nabbing 600,000 Subscribers In 5 Days
6. Pentatonix, Mariah Carey, ‘Frozen’ Top YouTube’s Top 10 Christmas Songs Of 2018 
7. Famebit, YouTube’s Influencer Marketing Platform, Says It Can Measure Organic Views Like They’re Ads 
8. MrBeast Has Given Away $1 Million On His Ascent To Digital Stardom: “YouTube Pays Better Than You Think”
9. YouTube Science Star Mark Rober Apologizes After Unwittingly Including Fake Footage In Viral Glitter Bomb Video
10. YouTube Apologizes For Repurposing Creator’s Video Without Credit In Corporate Tweet
11. Facebook’s worst year ever is now over. Here’s how its scandals affected the stock: After a year of scandals, Facebook’s stock ended the year lower than the previous one for the first time since its debut on the public market in 2012 – The stock tanked 25
12. Trump may ban U.S. companies from buying Huawei tech: report
13. UK defense minister admits ‘grave concerns’ over Huawei 5G equipment
14. China releases Canadian teacher but others still held in Huawei row 
15. An App That Does Your Homework For You Is Now Worth $3 Billion
16. Disney World Fans Demand Justice for Animatronic Robot Robbed of His Hands and Clothes 
17. LinkedIn Co-Founder Apologizes for the Mess He’s Made
18. Big Tech’s net loss: How governments can turn anger into action (Taylor Owen)
19. UK Cops Have Decided Impolite Online Speech Is Worth A Visit From An Officer
20. It Is Both Ridiculous And Dangerous To Make Domain Registrars Liable For Content On Domains
21. Iranian Government To Ban Instagram, Citing National Security Concerns
22. Oh God What Did They Just Do to Instagram [Updated]
23. Instagram Swipes Back On Horizontal Test After It Deploys To More Users Than Expected
24. Instagram Network Doing Things Acquires Three New Accounts, Boosting Follower Base To 33 Million 
25. FTC Warns of Sketchy Netflix Phishing Scam Asking for Payment Details 
26. Netflix Pulls American TV Episode in Saudi Arabia That Criticizes Khashoggi Murder and Silicon Valley Investment
27. Saudi Arabia Discovers The Streisand Effect; Gets Netflix To Take Down Hasan Minhaj’s Show About MBS’s Atrocities 
28. Black Mirror creators broke Netflix’s script writing tool with Bandersnatch
29. Netflix’s Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Film ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ Has More Than 1 Trillion Potential Story Arrangements
30. Netflix’s Bandersnatch Teases The Future Of Entertainment
31. The Hidden Beauty of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’s Best Ending
32. That New Black Mirror Interactive Film From Netflix Doesn’t Work on Apple TV
33. Netflix is curbing a $256 million revenue stream for Apple by circumventing iTunes billing
34. Netflix delivers a blow to Apple’s services story by ending in-app subscriptions
35. Apple Reveals It Underestimated Challenges in China, Revises Guidance for Holiday Quarter
36. The Silver Lining In Apple’s Very Bad iPhone News 
37. Apple’s Stock Decline Is Bringing Out All of the Opinions 
38. Judge Approves $20.4 Million Attorneys’ Fee Award in Continuing Dish Network Saga  
39. Millions Upon Millions Of ‘Takedown’ Notices To Google… For Links That Aren’t Even In Google 
40. Google is Reportedly Rolling Out a Feature to Fight Spam in Your Texts
41. Microsoft closes out 2018 as the top public company
42. Why Copyright Will Be The Biggest Issue For Youtube In 2019
43. How Much of the Internet Is Fake? Turns Out, a Lot of It, Actually.
44. There’s Something Sinister Afoot In Macaulay Culkin’s Yule Log Video 
45. The Unlikely Origins of the First Quantum Computer
46. The hype around driverless cars came crashing down in 2018
47. How Chip Makers Are Circumventing Moore’s Law to Build Super-Fast CPUs of Tomorrow
48. The Ongoing Saga of the Florida Bar’s Angst About Competitive Keyword Advertising (Eric Goldman)
49. CanLII Top Ten Accessed Cases from 2018
50. Looking Back at 2018: My Top Ten Posts (Michael Geist)
51. 35 years ago, Isaac Asimov was asked by the Star to predict the world of 2019. Here is what he wrote
52. Technology, Ranked 

CREATIVITY

1. Mickey Mouse will be public domain soon—here’s what that means
2. Announcing The Public Domain Game Jam: Gaming Like It’s 1923
3. ‘Fake News’ Results In Real Jail Time For Ohio Woman
4. Why does flat Earth belief still exist?: Our latest video looks at what can motivate people to believe the impossible.
5. People adopt made-up social rules to be part of a group: It happens when the rule is useless and nobody will ever meet anyone affected by it.
6. When a $1M+ Publicity Rights Damages Award Isn’t a Win–Olive v. GNC
7. Students Make A Video Depicting A School Shooting; Sheriff Decides Everyone Needs To Have Their Rights Violated
8. Thanks to higher resolution image, American Airlines has eventually managed to register its logo with the US Copyright Office
9. 100 Year Old Trademarks In 2019
10. Hopepunk, the latest storytelling trend, is all about weaponized optimism: In the era of Trump and apocalyptic change, Hopepunk is a storytelling template for #resistance – and hanging onto your humanity at all costs.

 SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Google Photos Defeats Privacy Lawsuit Over Face Scans–Rivera v. Google (Eric Goldman)
2. Foreign Cyberattack Cripples Major U.S. Newspapers
3. EFF Wins FOIA Lawsuit Against DEA, Forces The Release Of More Info About Its Hemisphere Program
4. Personal Data of Nearly 1,000 North Korean Defectors Reportedly Stolen in Hack
5. Indian Government Wants Tech Companies To Give Law Enforcement 24-Hour Access To User Data And Broken Encryption
6. Once Again, GDPR Is A Potential Privacy Nightmare: Amazon Sends 1,700 Voice Recordings To The Wrong User In GDPR Request

GAMES

1. Star Control: Origins pulled from sale following DMCA takedown notice
2. Star Control creators block Origins release: Stardock denied injunction against Ford and Reiche’s DMCA notice, title removed from GOG and Steam
3. Original Star Control creators deploy nuclear option against Stardock [Updated]
4. China issues 80 new game licenses, Tencent not included
5. China lifts a freeze on new video games but excludes its biggest player: It allows 80 new titles to be released but none from Tencent
6. Tencent and Netease absent in first wave of China game approvals: 80 titles given the green light in December, but none from nation’s market leaders
7. Creators Of Dance Moves Suing Creators Of Fortnite Over Copyright Infringement That Can’t Possibly Have Happened
8. Moments of 2018: When Fortnite stopped everything for a butterfly
9. Fortnite Dance, Potato Roll Recipe Clip Are BuzzFeed’s Most Viral Videos Of 2018
10. BioWare co-founders inducted into the Order of Canada
11. Rebellion’s Chris Kingsley receives OBE
12. Rebellion co-founder Chris Kingsley to receive OBE
13. Game Workers Unite working with devs from a dozen studios towards unionization
14. Steel Division dev Eugen Systems fires six employees involved in pay dispute
15. CIS region game devs hit with 7.4% decline in median salary last year: Women lost 10% of their salary as gender pay gap increased to $6,000
16. Blizzard hopes linked Battle.net accounts will solve toxic Twitch chats
17. Fired Activision Blizzard CFO picked up by Netflix as chief financial officer
18. Activision Blizzard terminates CFO Spencer Neumann: Previous CFO Denis Durkin returns to position effective immediately
19. Killing in the name of: The US Army and video games
20. Video: Astronaut Scott Kelly teaches orbital mechanics with Kerbal Space Program
21. Caltech scientists use DNA tiles to play tic-tac-toe at the nanoscale
22. A bewildered, far-from-conclusive look at the state of public gaming in Tokyo
23. Twitch Star DrLupo Raised $1.3 Million For St. Jude Children’s Hospital This Year 
24. PlayStation Classic Gets Huge Price Cut, Which Says A Lot
25. Sony: Home of the Whopper – 10 Years Ago This Month –  Kaz Hirai discovers heretofore unexplored levels of spin in promoting the PS3 as the global economic meltdown ripples through the industry
26. Gumi Inc. acquires stake in blockchain game developer Double Jump.Tokyo: Investment follows launch of publisher’s $30 million blockchain fund in May last year
27. Rami Ismail launches game-a-day collection Meditations: Free downloadable launcher will offer a different five-minute experience every day
28. A game studio with zero hardware experience is building a VR-ready console
29. Project Cars dev Slightly Mad Studios is working on a VR-friendly game console  
30. Valve Reveals Top Selling VR Games on Steam in 2018
31. Valve shares data on Steam’s most popular game/controller pairings  
32. Steam rounds up 2018’s best sellers, top new releases, and more  
33. Ninja To Stream ‘Fortnite’ For 12 Hours On New Year’s Eve In Times Square
34. Twitch Viewers Watched 226.85 Million Hours’ Worth Of Ninja’s Content This Year
35. Pro-PewDiePie Printer Hacker Returns, Making 5,500+ Smart TVs, Google Devices Urge Users To Subscribe
36. UK boxed software sales slip in 2018, but hardware is up: PS4 dominates the market, as Switch rises sharply
37. Best of 2018: How Baldi’s Basics taps into the real horror of ’90s edutainment
38. Best of 2018: The Heartbeat Symposium – Exploring love, sex, and intimacy in games
39. Eurogamer’s game of the year 2018 is Tetris Effect
40. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: The top 10 game developers of the year
41. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: The top 10 games of the year
42. Best of 2018: Gamasutra’s top games, devs, events and trends
43. What is the industry looking forward to in 2019?: Most anticipated games, sporting victories, disruption, innovation and more on leaders’ wishlists
44. What lies ahead? Analysts make 2019 predictions: Industry watchers assess the likelihood of new console hardware, the growth potential of streaming, AR or esports breakthroughs, and more 

Jon

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY 

1. Telecom Train Wreck: Why It Is Time for the Government to Address the Mess That Is The CRTC (Michael Geist)
2. Stepping In It: Why Navdeep Bains’ Failing Wireless Strategy is Not a Step in the Right Direction (Michael Geist)
3. Big Telecom Claims Oversight & Accountability Violates Its First Amendment Rights 
4. FCC Does Wireless Carriers Another Favor By Reclassifying Text Messages
5. FCC forces California to drop plan for government fees on text messages
6. FCC’s O’Rielly Keeps Claiming, With Zero Evidence, That Community Broadband Is An ‘Ominous’ Threat To Free Speech
7. 2018 Year In FCC Review 
8. Report: T-Mobile’s Merger With Sprint Is the Latest Battleground Over Huawei
9. Growing security fears hobble global ambitions of Chinese tech giant Huawei
10. T-Mobile lied to the FCC about its 4G coverage, small carriers say
11. T-Mobile denies lying to FCC about size of its 4G network 
12. FCC Says It Will Finally Investigate Nation’s BS Broadband Availability Maps. Maybe.
13. FCC Eliminates Broadcast License Posting Requirement and Begins Quadrennial Media Ownership Rulemaking Proceeding
14. Charter users who didn’t get promised speeds will get $75 or $150 refunds
15. Bahnhof Now Facing Net Neutrality Investigation Over Its ‘Protest’ Blocking Of Elsevier

DIGITAL 

1.  No More Settlement Demands: New Rules for Canadian Copyright Notice-and-Notice System Receive Royal Assent (Michael Geist)
2. Music to Copyright Owners’ Ears: Second Circuit Affirms Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc.
3. No Agreement Made On EU Copyright Directive, As Recording Industry Freaks Out About Safe Harbors Too
4. Top EU Court’s Advocate General Says German Link Tax Should Not Be Applied — But On A Technicality
5. Judge Sides With BuzzFeed Over Publication of Steele Dossier
6. Screenshotting a Newspaper Page May Infringe a Licensed Photo–Hirsch v. Complex (Eric Goldman)
7. Two Pro Se Section 230 Rulings–Scott v. Carlson & Watkins v. Carr (Eric Goldman) 
8. Arkansas Politician Introduces Bill To Make It Illegal For Social Media Companies To Block Content He Likes
9. Report: Facebook let major tech firms access private messages, friends lists
10. Facebook let Netflix, Spotify, and other companies read your private messages: Between 2010 and today, Facebook shared users’ private data, including private messages and contact info, with more than 150 companies. 
11. Turning Off Facebook Location Tracking Doesn’t Stop It From Tracking Your Location  (Kashmir Hill)
12. Facebook’s Latest Privacy Screwup Shows How Facebook’s Worst Enemy Is Still Facebook
13. Netflix Denies Exploiting Its Alleged Ability To Read, Write, And Delete Facebook Users’ Private Messages
14. Big Telecom Wants To Tax Netflix To Pay For Broadband Upgrades ISPs Refuse To Deploy Themselves
15. Study Shows That No, Netflix Isn’t Killing Movie Theaters
16. DC sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal
17. “We’re sorry,” Facebook says, again—new photo bug affects millions
18. Facebook says a bug affecting up to 6.8 million users exposed photos they hadn’t shared
19. Facebook Watch Clocks 400 Million Monthly Viewers, Rolls Out Ad Breaks To 40 Countries 
20. Instagram May Have Been Key Tool in Russia’s Manipulation of U.S. Voters
21. Massive scale of Russian election trolling revealed in draft Senate report 
22. Social Media’s Forever War 
23. As NAACP kicks off boycott, Facebook says content moderation, infrastructure changes are coming in 2019
24. Amazon and Facebook Reportedly Had a Secret Data-Sharing Agreement, and It Explains So Much
25. Facebook “partner” arrangements: Are they as bad as they look?
26. NY Times Columnist Nick Kristof Led The Charge To Get Facebook To Censor Content, Now Whining That Facebook Censors His Content
27. Hundreds March on Amazon Fulfillment Center in Minnesota
28. Amazon Is Reportedly Sick of Hawking You Cheap ‘Crap’ That Doesn’t Make It Any Money 
29. Amazon Slapped With Trademark, Patent Lawsuit by Williams-Sonoma Over Chair Design, Storefront
30. Screenshotting a Newspaper Page May Infringe a Licensed Photo – Hirsch v. Complex
31. Clinic Releases Guide to Anti-Circumvention Exemption for Software Preservation
32. Social Media Is Ruining Our Minds—It Also Might Save Them 
33. Apple will spend $1 billion and hire up to 15,000 people for new Austin office
34. Apple to bring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts to its streaming service
35. Apple’s iOS 12.1.2 fixes eSIM and cellular bugs, but there might be more to it
36. Apple says iOS update will avoid Qualcomm patents, China iPhone ban
37. Microsoft unveils Windows Sandbox: Run any app in a disposable virtual machine
38. Microsoft issues emergency update to fix critical IE flaw under active exploit
39. Report Finds Huge Gender Gap in Artificial Intelligence Workforce
40. Why algorithms need auditing
41. Embracing AI for the Social Good
42. Artificial Intelligence and Ethics: Ethics and the dawn of decision-making machines 
43. Don’t Worry About Deepfakes. Worry About Why People Fall for Them.: The focus on the technology behind fake media obscures more pressing questions about the psychology and sociology of viral false narratives.
44. Should We Be Worried About Computerized Facial Recognition?: The technology could revolutionize policing, medicine, even agriculture—but its applications can easily be weaponized.
45. YouTube Announces Sitewide Spam Purge That Will See Reduced Sub Counts 
46. YouTube Deletes Hundreds Of Strange, Sexually Suggestive Mom And Kids Videos 
47. YouTube’s Own ‘Rewind 2018’ Becomes Most-Disliked Video Ever In Less Than A Week
48. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 12/16/2018
49. YouTube Integrating New Music Charts As Live Playlists In ‘YouTube Music’ App
50. Celebrated Author Alice Walker Recommends Conspiratorial, Anti-Semitic YouTube Videos 
51. Telemundo to Launch First English-Language Newscast on YouTube
52. Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas’ Tops YouTube’s Holiday Songs Chart
53. For the first time ever, Disney posts a Pixar “short” on YouTube for free
54. Internal Google Docs Warn Not to Gift Contractors Shirts in Case They Start Thinking They’re Employees: Report
55. The Pixel 3 Is Proof That Google Doesn’t Care About Hardware
56. Google Chrome wants to stop back-button hijacking
57. Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to
58. Google announces major expansion in New York City
59. The Biggest Tech Lies of 2018
60. CenturyLink blocked its customers’ Internet access in order to show an ad
61. Broadband ISP CenturyLink Is Blocking Users’ Internet Access Just To Show An Ad
62. It’s time for a Bill of Data Rights
63. Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaha Launches Podcast Network, Seeks Women And Nonbinary Podcasters
64. Insights: When You Legally Can’t Give It Away–Is Marijuana The Toughest Job In Influencer Marketing? 
65. Instagram Influencer Charged $500 for Social Media Master Class Scam: ‘I Wanted the Price to Be Painful’ 
66. FBI Secretly Collected Data on Aaron Swartz Earlier Than We Thought—in a Case Involving Al Qaeda
67. FBI Swept Up Info About Aaron Swartz While Pursuing An Al-Qaeda Investigation 
68. Wall Street Journal Site Hacked With Pro-PewDiePie Message 
69. Hackers Replace Wall Street Journal Page With Pro-PewDiePie Message
70. Signal app to Australia: Good luck with that crypto ban – Country’s efforts to slow Signal and other apps is a “disappointing development.”
71. BBB Launches New Online Tool to Report Bad Ads 
72. Twitter Is Indeed Toxic For Women, Amnesty Report Says
73. Twitter is relaunching the reverse-chronological feed as an option for all users starting today
74. Verizon says Oath is dead. Meet Verizon Media Group.: The un-rebranding of Verizon’s AOL/Yahoo properties comes just a week after the company told federal regulators the brand was all but worthless.
75. Verizon cuts 10,000 jobs and admits its Yahoo/AOL division is a failure 
76. As A Final FU To Free Speech On Tumblr, Verizon Blocked Archivists
77. Insights: As Tumblr Implodes Amid NSFW Ban And Protests, What Platform Steps Up? 
78. Twitch sells Curse Media after two years  
79. Twitch is giving more creators money, but it couldn’t keep YouTube’s biggest names
80. YouTube’s $100 Million Upload Filter Failures Demonstrate What A Disaster Article 13 Will Be For The Internet
81. Netflix Joins Forces With Taylor Swift To Air ‘Reputation’ Tour Film On New Year’s Eve
82. Netflix Testing New Feature That Asks Users If They Want To Instant-Replay Popular Scenes
83. Netflix To Adapt John Green Holiday Novel ‘Let It Snow’ Into Feature Film 
84. ‘Little Baby Bum’ Owner Moonbug Raises $145 Million To Build Brand-Safe Kids’ Content Empire
85. 7-Year-Old Ryan ToysReview Unveils Sponsorship With Mandarin Orange Brand
86. Samsung Can’t Afford to Hold Back Anymore
87. The Deadly Recklessness of the Self-Driving Car Industry
88. How ’90s Cybersex Pioneers Looked for Action and Found Community
89. HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder dead at 34
90. HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder found dead: Colin Kroll believed to have died from drug overdose on Sunday morning
91. Computing pioneer Evelyn Berezin died this week—she should be remembered
92. U.S. Grocer Kroger Has Begun Making Autonomous Deliveries
93. A Child Was Immunized By the World’s First Drone-Delivered Vaccine
94. Ohio Congressman: We can fund border wall with “WallCoin”
95. Mass email hoax causes closures across the US and Canada: Emails threaten explosions unless people pay $20,000 in Bitcoin.

CREATIVITY

1. Super Injunction Silences News About Vatican Official’s Child Molestation Conviction
2. Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio Claims Three Publications Did $300 Million In Damage To His Pristine Reputation
3. Blurred legal lines (part two) – the copyright debate
4. Greene v. Paramount Pictures Corp.
5. The law of journalist-source privilege is still taking shape
6. Faith Goldy ordered to pay Bell Media more than $43,000 in legal fees: Faith Goldy had sued Bell over its refusal to air her campaign advertisements on a local television station, but the suit was tossed in October
7. UK Advertising Codes to Ban Gender Stereotypes
8. Iranian phishers bypass 2fa protections offered by Yahoo Mail and Gmail
9. Thinking of Using Kim Jong-un in Your Marketing?
10. Court Awards Six Figures to Model Falsely “Diagnosed” with HIV in Ad Campaign
11. No Actual Malice In The Wolf Of Wall Street Lawsuit: Judge Tosses Defamation Claim Brought By Former Stratton Oakmont Executive 
12. Oxford University Gets Opposition To Its Attempt To Trademark ‘Oxford’ For All The Things
13. If Your Trademark Case Depends on Showing Initial Interest Confusion, Save Your Money–Select Comfort v. John Baxter (Eric Goldman)
14. Former NASA Engineer Builds Impressive Glitter Bomb to Make Life Hell for Package Thieves

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Supreme Court of Canada Protects Digital Privacy in Shared Devices
2. Reasonable expectation of privacy exists in shared electronic devices: SCC
3. R v Reeves (2018 SCC 56)
4. Federal Court Says Massachusetts’ Wiretap Law Can’t Be Used To Arrest People For Recording Public Officials
5. Man sues feds after being detained for refusing to unlock his phone at airport
6. German City Wants Names And Addresses Of Airbnb Hosts; Chinese Province Demands Full Details Of Every Guest Too
7. Central Londoners to be subjected to facial recognition test this week
8. How computers got shockingly good at recognizing images
9. Data privacy: how much consent is enough consent? 
10. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake: Smart toys and regulating the IoT in Canada
11. Senators aim to give internet companies doctor-like duties to protect our data
12. Takeaways from the First GDPR Fines
13. Navigating the New Data Privacy Landscape: A Guide for OTT Providers
14. If Data is Exposed But No One is Around to Steal It, Can a Data-Breach Plaintiff Still Sue? 
15. OCIE Publishes Risk Alert Regarding Electronic Messaging
16. Locational Tracking on iOS and Android Devices: Check the Platform’s Rules!
17. Momentum Builds for a National Privacy Law in the United States
18. The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2018 Will Make You Feel Like a Security Genius
19. He’s Making a List. Will Regulators Check His Privacy Practices Twice? 

GAMES

1. US School Safety Commission largely gives games a pass: Group convened by Trump in wake of mass shooting earlier this year suggests schools monitor internet access, media ratings bodies review policies
2. 68% of games depict violence, says US school safety report
3. South Korea Continues To Criminalize Behavior Around Online Gaming At The Behest Of Video Game Industry
4. The first union for game industry workers has launched in the UK  
5. IWGB launches video game workers union branch: “The game workers’ decision to unionise with the IWGB should be a wake up call for the UK’s gaming industry,” says IWGB general secretary
6. Escape From Tarkov devs file DMCA takedown over false accusations 
7. Escape from Tarkov developer issues DMCA to stop story about user info leaks: Battlestate Games issues takedown on over 40 videos from YouTuber Eroktic due to “misinformation” and “negative hype”
8. Game Developer Admits It Filed Bogus Copyright Claims, But Says It Had No Other Way To Silence A Critic
9. Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward evacuated after bomb threat
10. Infinity Ward receives bomb threat – Report: Call of Duty development studio among dozens of businesses, schools, news outlets receiving threats today
11. Fresh Prince star Alfonso Ribeiro suing Epic over Fortnitedance
12. ‘Fresh Prince’ star Alfonso Ribeiro sues Fortnite over use of dance his character Carlton popularized
13. Fresh Prince actor sues Fortnite for use of ‘iconic’ Carlton dance: Alfonso Ribeiro wants to stop the makers of Fortnite and NBA 2K from using the dance he first performed on the 1990s sitcom
14. CAA Signs First Gamers, Facebook Star StoneMountain64 And ‘Fortnite’ Pro Nick Eh 30
15. People of the Year 2018: Epic Games: Despite a year peppered with controversy, the Fortnite developer’s influence on 2018 remains undeniable
16. Forget Fortnite—my son is still obsessed with Minecraft
17. Minecraft lays its last brick on Xbox 360, other last-gen consoles
18. Consumer advocates want FTC to investigate kids apps: Group files formal complaint alleging COPPA violations, spotlights on inappropriate titles
19. GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2018: The global games market value, most watched YouTube videos, biggest mobile games and more
20. Global games market value rising to $134.9bn in 2018: Revenues grew by over 10%, mobile accounts for almost half at $63.2 billion
21. Sony inadvertently leaks player counts for PS4 titles
22. Sony accidentally revealed playercounts for nearly every PS4 game
23. Sony accidentally reveals PS4 player counts: Grand Theft Auto V the highest number pulled at 51.7 million
24. Sony Released Its Playstation Classic Console In A Way That Makes It Eminently Hackable
25. Kingdom Hearts 3 Leaked on Facebook Marketplace Six Weeks Before Release Date
26. One of the most anticipated games of the decade has leaked over a month early, and outraged fans are trying to punish the person they think did it
27. PUBG now has over 200 million registered players on mobile alone
28. PUBG Mobile reaches 200 million downloads: Fortnite hit 200 million milestone across all platforms last month
29. Industry experts worry some esports orgs are overvalued and headed for trouble
30. The state of esports: Radical growth and inevitable failure – 2018 in Review – League of Legends soars, esports are subbed by the Olympics, and PUBG flounders
31. Blizzard pulls devs off Heroes of the Storm and cuts eSports support
32. Blizzard cancels Heroes of the Storm Global Championship: Devs to be reassigned elsewhere, but game will continue to receive live support
33. Blizzard Abruptly Kills Heroes of the Storm Esports, Leaving Players And Casters Fuming
34. Blizzard shifts developers away from Heroes of the Storm
35. Check out our 16-page Game Publisher’s Guide To Esports: Produced in partnership with Esports BAR
36. Intel and ESL announce $100m esports investment: Longest-running partnership in sector extended to 2021
37. Esports BAR’s mission to get non-gaming brands excited about pro-gaming: Orange, AirAsia and Dominos amongst attendees at Cannes event in February
38. Evil Geniuses founder unites esports agencies to form Popdog: Alex Garfield acquires Loaded, NoScope, and esports division of Catalyst; launches with $9m funding round
39. Riot reportedly suspends COO over misconduct at work: Riot offers statement, full internal email confirms suspension
40. Riot Games suspends COO Scott Gelb for workplace misconduct
41. Epic shuts down Fortnite data miner: Developer says the takedown was for promoting and advertising game mod tools, “not directly related” to leaking
42. Fortnite dev team removes Infinity Blade for being ‘overpowered’
43. Fortnite Season Five announcement most watched trailer on YouTube in 2018: Viewed 46.8 million times, the trailer beat both the Fallout 76 and Red Dead Redemption II reveals
44. Discord Store to offer developers 90 percent of game revenues
45. Discord aims to disrupt by opening storefront to devs, offering 90% revenue share
46. Why even avid Steam gamers should celebrate Epic’s new store: Bulkhead Interactive CEO Joe Brammer expects major gains from Epic’s new store — now it’s time for Valve to react and evolve
47. Steam’s ‘Top Wishlists’ filter ranks recent wishlist numbers for unreleased games
48. Epic’s Fortnite was the highest trending game on Google US in 2018: Red Dead Redemption 2 and Fallout 76 were second and third
49. Capcom responds to complaints over Street Fighter’s in-game ads: Publisher will “consider how we can improve this new feature” based on community feedback
50. Battlefield 5 is having trouble balancing for both new and experienced players
51. Atari acquires stake in Animoca Brands as part of blockchain game deal: Partnership will see Animoca Brands develop blockchain version of RollerCoaster Tycoon
52. Red Dead Redemption 2 reclaims No.1 in UK charts: Super Smash Bros tumbles to No.4
53. Epic to launch cross-platform services for developers: Tools built for Fortnite will be made free and open for all engines, platforms, and stores
54. EGX Rezzed 2019 sees return of Epic’s Powered by Unreal Engine zone: Unreal Engine devs exhibiting at the London show next March eligible to have their space doubled
55. Facebook & ZeniMax Settle Major Legal Dispute Over VR Intellectual Property
56. IMAX Officially Bails on VR Business
57. IMAX to Close Down All Remaining IMAX VR Centres Soon
58. Image courtesy Brilliant Sole: Brilliant Sole Wants to Put a VR Controller in Your Shoes 
59. HTC Thinks Virtual Reality’s Killer App Could Be Christianity: Christians adapted radio and rock music. Maybe VR will be next. 
60. DeltaDNA: In-game ads beginning to catch IAP as viable revenue stream – Study indicates that both casual and core mobile free-to-play games are making an increasing percentage of their revenue from ads
61. Formula 1, Hutch partner on mobile games: Hutch to create official, licensed racing titles for iOS, Android in the new year
62. What a Mobile App Lawyer Can Do for You
63. The UK industry stares down a Brexit disaster – 2018 in Review – There are no silver linings to Brexit for the UK industry, as uncertainty and the threat of No Deal create a difficult business climate
64. A German regulator is taking Nintendo to court over eShop preorder policies  
65. Nintendo: Red Dead 2 not being on Switch was down to timing – Reggie Fils-Aime says Switch emerged too late for Rockstar to consider the platform for its hit game
66. ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ Fastest Selling Nintendo Switch Game
67. Super Smash Bros Ultimate shoots to the top of EMEAA charts: Nintendo’s first-party line-up continues to pay dividends, Just Cause 4 the only other new entry in the top ten
68. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate US sales reach 3 million: Switch is the fastest-selling US console this generation, and Smash Bros. is the fastest-selling Nintendo home console game ever in Europe
69. Smash Bros. Ultimate has sold over 3M copies in the U.S. 
70. Report: Pokemon Go creator Niantic close to $3.9 billion valuation 
71. NPD: Switch, PS4, Xbox One all sell over 1.3 million units in November – This is the first time in history that three console platforms have all sold over one million in a single month
72. Hands-on: Switch’s NES controllers offer unmatched old-school authenticity
73. Minecraft modders form Hypixel Studios: Riot Games and former Blizzard exec Rob Pardo among initial investors as new developer announces debut title
74. Twitch saw over 3 million streamers per month in 2018: Platform sees biggest year yet for streamers, viewership, Affiliates, and Partners
75. Twitch sells Curse Media: Video streaming site offloads gaming media network to Fandom two years after acquiring it alongside Curse client and chat services
76. Number Of Creators Monetizing On Twitch Grew By 86% This Year, Platform Confirms In Holiday Stream
77. Ninja Scores Commentator Role For Tonight’s NFL Game, Streamed On Twitch
78. Number Of Creators Monetizing On Twitch Grew By 86% This Year, Platform Confirms In Holiday Stream
79. F2P dev survey: In-game mobile ads becoming viable revenue source
80. Making Project Hospital: A realistic approach to medical simulation
81. Why go for a surprise launch?: Studio Wildcard and Grapeshot Games co-founders Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak discuss the pros and cons of debuting their new MMO Atlas on short notice 
82. “Apathy is how games die”: Nathan Vella tells us how Capy has done everything it can to ensure Below is worth the five-year wait 
83. Supermassive Games: “We used to think awards didn’t matter” – On its tenth birthday, we ask the UK studio about its history and what its Dark Pictures Anthology says about the future
84. Apptopia November report: Football Manager 2019 on Android outpaces all other new releases – Hyper casual continues to dominate the new release download charts
85. AppsFlyer: Ads now generate more revenue than IAP in casual mobile games – Midcore games also see decline in share of IAP revenue, but ads still only make up 30%
86. Razer launches cryptocurrency initiative: Peripheral maker asks users to install mining software in exchange for Razer Silver loyalty reward points
87. Jägermeister launches video game soundtrack competition for indie studios: Track and Build contest open to all indies releasing game in 2019 
88. Keeping The Outer Worlds rewarding, no matter someone’s play style
89. Blog: Putting a thought into play
90. Blog: How to turn your mod into an indie game
91. Blog: Why being an indie game dev is harder than ever
92. Video: Total War: Rome II devs built all of Europe—and the AI ignored most of it
93. How ‘user stories’ can help players grasp new content
94. Human values in game design: An approach for emergent storytelling
95. Old ways can still be the best ways – Why I Love: YoYo Games’ Mike Dailly explains how tech from the 1988 Commodore 64 shooter Armalyte is still used today
96. League of Legends will no longer support Windows XP and Vista in 2019  
97. Blog: What trends should you know about going into 2019?
98. People of the Year: Phil Spencer – PlayStation may have dominated the charts, but it was Xbox that got the games industry talking
99. People of the Year: Rami Ismail – Vlambeer’s co-founder received the GDC Ambassador award, in recognition of years spent reaching out and giving voice to the world’s emerging development communities
100. People of the Year 2018: Hello Games – After criticism, setbacks, investigations, and a PR nightmare, the creators of No Man’s Sky emerged this year to an optimistic future
101. Best of 2018: Reimagining failure in strategy game design in Into the Breach
102. Best of 2018: Dealing with the scourge of burnout in game dev
103. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Alex Wawro’s top 8 games
104. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Alissa McAloon’s top 10 games
105. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Chris Kerr’s top 5 games
106. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Bryant Francis’ top 10 games
107. 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2018
108. The Best Video Game Surprises of 2018
109. The Biggest Video Game Disappointments of 2018
110. 5 events that rocked the game industry in 2018
111. 343 Industries is teaming up with Limbitless to provideHalo-themed prosthetics

Jon

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY 

1. Boycott: What If The CRTC Launched a Consumer Internet Code and Consumer Groups Refused to Participate in its Development? (Michael Geist)
2. FCC Commissioner Accuses Her Own Agency Of A Net Neutrality Cover Up
3. “What is the FCC hiding?” Pai still won’t release net neutrality server logs
4. Wireless Carriers Won’t Comment On 5G’s Most Important Question: How Much Will It Cost?
5. Ajit Pai buries 2-year-old speed test data in appendix of 762-page report
6. Senators Continue To Point Out Our Broadband Maps Suck
7. How a phone app detected Sprint’s alleged throttling of Skype
8. Verizon/AOL helped advertisers track kids online, must now pay $5M fine
9. Nota Bene Episode 14: Net Neutrality Essentials 
10. UK ISPs Demand Ad Watchdog Crack Down On ‘Fake Fiber’ Broadband 

DIGITAL

1. Lawmakers Say Facebook Struck Deals Over Personal Data 
2. Mark Zuckerberg Was ‘Skeptical’ About Risk of Leaks Like Cambridge Analytica, Emails Show
3. Facebook also let dating apps have further access to Graph API back in 2015
4. Good For The World, But Not Good For Us: The Really Damning Bits Of The Facebook Revelations 
5. ACLU Wants Release of Secret Court Order Demanding Facebook Build Surveillance Backdoor
6. EFF, ACLU Petition Court To Unseal Documents From DOJ’s Latest Anti-Encryption Efforts 
7. Want to Quit Facebook? These Are the Best Alternatives for Most of What Facebook Does
8. Facebook is betting that shows with cult followings like ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ can juice up Facebook Watch and bring in millennial viewers
9. App Developers Suing Facebook Suffer Redaction Failure, Expose Discussions About Pay-For-Play API Access
10. Judge slams bikini-app maker’s lawyers in legal clash with Facebook
11. Facebook’s Policy Team Steamrolled On FOSTA By Sheryl Sandberg’s Personal Priorities
12. The Utter Failure Of FOSTA: More Lives At Risk… And Sex Ads Have Increased, Not Decreased
13. Philpot v. Alternet Media, Inc.
14. Eighth Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Materially Supporting Terrorists” Fails–Copeland v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
15. Giuliani can’t figure out how URLs work, blames Twitter for liberal bias
16. Rudy Giuliani’s Paranoid Nonsense Tweet Is A Good Reminder That We Need Actual Cybersecurity Experts In Government
17. I Wanted to Stream Buffy, Angel, and Firefly for Free, But Not Like This
18. Marvel and Netflix Have Canceled Daredevil
19. The bloodbath continues: Netflix cancels Daredevil after three seasons
20. Fans Are Really Mad Netflix Cancelled Marvel’s Daredevil
21. Head of Alibaba’s Youku Sacked, Under Police Investigation for Corruption
22. Casey Neistat Books Part In Netflix Film With Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
23. Ariana Grande Blasts Past Record For Biggest YouTube Debut In 24 Hours
24. Ariana Grande Sets YouTube, Vevo Record
25. YouTube’s Oldest Star, Indian Chef ‘Mastanamma’, Has Passed Away At 107
26. 7-Year-Old Ryan ToysReview Reportedly Earned $22 Million On YouTube Last Year
27. Byeeeee, Logan Paul: Brands Prefer ‘Micro Influencers’ Now
28. How YouTube Star Logan Paul Made $14.5 Million Amid Scandal
29. Under Armour is running a YouTube series on IGTV
30. YouTube Expands ‘Stories’ Feature To All Creators With At Least 10,000 Subscribers
31. Hacker Rigs Printers To Spit Out Pro-PewDiePie Propaganda In Fight Against T-Series
32. PewDiePie Battles Racist Fan Comments By Raising Money For Indian Child Rights Charity
33. Adult Swim, Crunchyroll announce first-ever co-production: A Blade Runner anime
34. ESPN Has Lost 14 Million Viewers In 7 Years Thanks To Cord Cutting
35. Behind-the-Scenes NBA Content Is Coming to New YouTube Channel: Part of a continuing partnership between the league and BBTV
36. BBTV and NBA Launch NBA Playmakers Youtube Channel: Channel to Feature Original Shows Starring Some of the Most Talented Digital Influencers
37. YouTube Aims To Boost Video Engagement With Home Feed Autoplay
38. Pentatonix Sets 3rd NBC Christmas Special With Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, More
39. AT&T May Sell 10% Stake in Hulu, Worth Up to $930 Million, Potentially Giving Disney More Control
40. AT&T makes it more expensive to cancel DirecTV or Internet service
41. WarnerMedia Considering Selling Its $930 Million Hulu Stake Ahead Of Launching Its Own Streaming Service
42. WarnerMedia’s Forthcoming Streaming Service To Offer 3 Content Tiers
43. Hulu Lands Funimation First-Look Deal for Japanese Anime Series
44. Hulu, AT&T Considering Ads That Will Play When Viewers Pause
45. AT&T’s Otter Media Lays Off 10% of Staff, Will Absorb Machinima in Reorg
46. Otter Media Lays Off 140 Staffers Amid Reorganization Of Rooster Teeth, Fullscreen, Machinima, More
47. Verizon Dinged Again For Privacy Violations, This Time For Slinging Personalized Ads To Kids
48. Verizon takes aim at Tumblr’s kneecaps, bans all adult content
49. Tumblr to Ban All Adult Content
50. Tumblr Updates Guidelines to Prohibit “Adult Content”
51. Tumblr’s porn ban is going about as badly as expected
52. Tumblr’s New Ban on Adult Content Is a Bigger Deal Than You Think
53. Tumblr’s Porn Ban Is Off to a Predictably Stupid Start
54. Tumblr’s New ‘No Sex’ Rules Show The Problems Of FOSTA And EU Copyright Directive In One Easy Move
55. Fandom’s Fate Is Not Tied to Tumblr’s: If Tumblr doesn’t learn from history, it will be headed for the same fate as LiveJournal.
56. A Logan Paul Vlog Led To The Arrest Of Man Who Mistreated Baby Tiger, Investigators Say
57. Tumblr’s Porn-Detecting Ai Has One Job – And It’s Bad At It
58. The Year’s Most Popular Digital Celebrities And Web Series On Tumblr (Exclusive)
59. In Video Debut, CIMON the ISS Robot Throws an Unexpected Tantrum
60. Study: People Are Chill With Robot Brothels – For Singles
61. Judge says AI could have been used: Courts mindful of technology 
62. AI is here to stay
63. Why AI Needs To Reflect Society
64. Listen To An AI’s Nightmarish Beatboxing: You’ve been warned.
65. FTC Hearings Exploring Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Predictive Analytics Focus on Notions of Fairness, Transparency and Ethical Uses 
66. How We Can Prepare for Catastrophically Dangerous AI—and Why We Can’t Wait
67. More than an auto-pilot, AI charts its course in aviation
68. Why the United States Needs a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and What It Should Look Like
69. This Startup Says It Can Tell From Your Eyes If You’re Lying
70. Are ethical guidelines needed for autonomous vehicles? 
71. Reddit Co-founder Mocks Elon Musk’s Warnings About AI: But then he issued a warning of his own.
72. Tech Policy In Times Of Trouble
73. In Year-End Review, Reddit Touts 1.4 Billion Monthly Native Video Views
74. First punch: Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled settle with SEC over unlawful touting of Icos 
75. How Podcast Platforms Respond to Hate Speech: Clinic Releases New Memo
76. Drake, Ariana Grande Top Spotify’s Year-End ‘Wrapped’ Charts 
77. Drake Can’t Be Stopped As Apple Music 2018 Artist of the Year
78. Apple Music arrives on Amazon’s Echo speakers starting December 17
79. Apple published a surprising amount of detail about how the HomePod works
80. Tim Cook: Apple won’t tolerate white supremacists, conspiracy theorists
81. iOS apps used Touch ID feature to trick users into paying hefty fees
82. Google’s cross-platform mobile app dev kit Flutter hits v. 1.0
83. Google bridges Android and iOS development with Flutter 1.0
84. Palm Phone Review: Fun, endearing, and bad at everything
85. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Mastered The Politics Of Digital Intimacy: The congresswoman-elect connects with young voters, promoting progressive positions while chopping peppers and making noodles.
86. Digital Divide Is Wider Than We Think, Study Says
87. Tech Giants Wake Up to EU Copyright Plan That Threatens to Nuke the Web
88. Latest On EU Copyright Directive: No One’s Happy With Article 13, So Maybe Let’s Drop It?
89. Introduction of the Geo-Blocking Regulation: Update for Website Operators 
90. Don’t let the new geo-blocking rules ruin your Christmas
91. The EU Anti-Geoblocking Regulation Becomes Effective Today (Guest Blog Post)
92. Some EU Nations Still Haven’t Implemented The 2013 Marrakesh Treaty For The Blind
93. Starbucks will begin filtering pornography from its Wi-Fi networks
94. The Best (Free) Streaming Service You’ve Never Heard Of
95. ATF: Indian Streaming Platform, Eros Now to Invest $70 Million in Original Content
96. Hooking them young? “Amazon Teen” is targeting kids on Snapchat
97. Congress: Amazon didn’t give “sufficient answers” about facial recognition
98. An Amazon revolt could be brewing as the tech giant exerts more control over brands: Some companies are choosing to end their relationship with Amazon rather than cave to the online retailer’s demands.
99. Amazon Is Offering Gift Cards to Customers Who Complain About Its Data Breach: Report
100. Alert! Alert! The information demands on the modern digital journalist are overwhelming and leading to burnout: “We have a problem with the ways traditional managers view technology in this new environment.” 
101. Data Scraping: Theft or Fair Game?
102. Feds: AriseBank duped investors out of over $4M in cryptocurrency scam
103. Floyd Mayweather fined $600,000 for undisclosed cryptocurrency plugs
104. 69-Year-Old Troll Loses Case to Make Himself 20 Years Younger
105. Media Newsletter – Defamation by retweet, blocking websites and Jeff Koons liable for copying advert
106. The Vice Squad: A Case Commentary on R v Vice Media Canada Inc (Lisa Silver) 

CREATIVITY

1. R. v. Vice Media Canada Inc. (2018 SCC 53)
2. This Is a Dark Day for Press Freedom: Our editorial response to today’s Supreme Court of Canada ruling.
3. ‘Dark day for press freedom’: Vice must give ISIS notes to police, top court rules – But justices say journalists should be present to argue their side when police seek production orders
4. Canada Rejects A Free Press: Supreme Court Says Journalist Must Hand Over Sources
5. Stephen Colbert accuses Donald Trump of stealing his material
6. Framework for media production orders stands, with some refinement: SCC
7. Fake News on Fair Dealing from Michael Enright Himself and the CBC Sunday Edition
8. ECtHR rules that prohibiting linking to defamatory content might be freedom of expression violation: what implications (if any) for copyright? (Eleonora Rosati)
9. Using a Competitor’s Trademark as a Keyword in Keyword Advertising is Not an Actionable Trademark Use
10. Music modernization act 
11. Ramble on Back to Court: Led Zeppelin Can’t Shake “Stairway” Infringement Claims
12. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 8: The Access Copyright Fight Against Transactional Licensing (Michael Geist)
13. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 9: The Remarkable Growth of Free and Open Materials (Michael Geist)
14. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 10: Rejecting Access Copyright’s Demand to Force Its Licence on Canadian Education (Michael Geist)
15. Complex networks study ranks the most influential films of all time
16. How to patent an infotainment system
17. Our Bipolar Free-Speech Disorder And How To Fix It (Part 2)
18. Our Bipolar Free-Speech Disorder And How To Fix It (Part 3)

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. China Forces Tesla and Other EV Makers to Turn Over Driver Data: Every vehicle in the nation shares 61 data points – including its real-time location.
2. Google Shut Out Privacy And Security Teams From Secret China Project
3. Google Faces European Consumer Group Complaints Alleging GDPR Violations for Improper Collection of Location Tracking Data 
4. FBI Faked Up A FedEx Website To Track Down A Scam Artist
5. Deputy AG Claims There’s No Market For Better Security While Complaining About Encryption At A Cybercrime Conference
6. GCHQ Propose A ‘Going Dark’ Workaround That Creates The Same User Trust Problem Encryption Backdoors Do
7. Lawsuit: Boston PD’s ‘Gang Database’ Says People Who Wear Nikes And Have Been Beat Up By Gang Members Are ‘Gang Associates’
8. How Civil Subpoenas Are Used To Unmask Online Speakers, And How A Recent Decision Will Help Deter Bogus Ones
9. Iranians indicted in Atlanta city government ransomware attack
10. Thousands of sensitive emails stolen in intrusion of Republican campaign arm
11. Marriott breach leaves 500 million exposed with passport, card numbers stolen
12. Mass router hack exposes millions of devices to potent NSA exploit
13. EternalSuffering: NSA Exploits Still Being Successfully Used To Hijack Computers More Than A Year After Patching
14. Hackers breach Quora.com and steal password data for 100 million users
15. What Can and Should the Law Do About ‘Deepfake’: An Update
16. The Hack of 100 Million Quora Users Could Be Even Bigger Than It Sounds
17. DOJ Tells Tech Companies to Develop “Responsible Encryption”
18. FTC Issues Online Ad-Tracking Recommendations
19. FTC Commissioners Call for Federal Privacy Legislation and Highlight Lack of Civil Penalty Enforcement in Senate Hearing 
20. New EU ePrivacy Regulation to come into force in 2019: What to expect

GAMES

1. Games Done Quick bans two runners over sexist, transphobic remarks: GoldenEye 007 runners barred “indefinitely” from GDQ events after troubling screenshots circulate
2. Bethesda issues permanent ban to Fallout 76 players involved in homophobic harassment: Player forced to report harassers over Twitter due to lack of in-game systems
3. Bethesda Support Leaks Fallout 76 Customer Names, Addresses & Phone Numbers
4. Bethesda’s attempt to fix a Fallout 76 blunder leaks angry shoppers’ PID [Updated]
5. Bethesda responds to Fallout 76 collector’s edition complaints: Developer offers $5 of in-game currency to fans after misrepresenting $200 Power Armor Edition
6. Bethesda promising replacement bags after Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition backlash – Beleaguered publisher is “finalising manufacturing plans” for those canvas bags it originally advertised
7. Bethesda To Replace Nylon Bags With Promised Canvas Bags For Owners Of Fallout 76’s $200 Power Armor Edition
8. Don’t Miss: 20 years of Fallout: Lessons learned shipping games in the wasteland
9. Swedish authorities raid Starbreeze on suspicion of insider trading
10. Starbreeze raided by authorities, one person arrested: Swedish Economic Crime Authority have seized computers and documents from troubled publisher this morning
11. Starbreeze faces insolvency, CEO steps down: Swedish firm has applied for “reconstruction” with Stockholm courts as financial impact of Overkill’s The Walking Dead becomes clear
12. Starbreeze slashes price of Overkill’s The Walking Dead due to low sales: Content sold for $60 one month ago now available for $30
13. Starbreeze CEO departs as company files for administration
14. Pokémon Go trespassing lawsuit settled: No terms disclosed, but both parties targeting approval next February
15. Kareem Hunt removed from Madden NFL 19: Former Chiefs running back cut from both real life and in-game team after assault video emerges
16. ‘This can’t go on too long:’ Artists demand compensation as Fortnite takes their dances – Rapper 2 Milly has threatened to sue the company. Will others follow suit?
17. 2 Milly sues over Fortnite dance: Rapper enlists firm from Gears of War Cole Train suit to go after Epic Games for selling Milly Rock emote to players
18. Epic Games is being sued over one of Fortnite’s dance emotes
19. Fortnite and copyright: Can you steal a dance routine?: Reed Smith’s Gregor Pryor on the potential copyright issues surrounding Fortnite’s dance emotes
20. Ninja’s Spent 3,800 Hours Streaming ‘Fortnite’ This Year. That’s The Equivalent Of 95 40-Hour Workweeks.
21. Epic unveils new Fortnite Creative mode focused on building
22. ‘Fortnite’ Was The Most Talked About Game on Twitter in 2018
23. Valve offers explanation for October drop in Steam traffic: Indie complaints prompt run-down of algorithm shift, unintended functionality of promotion tools
24. Valve’s Steam Link app lands on Raspberry Pi
25. Steam Link is now in beta for Raspberry Pi: Micro-computer costs less to buy than the now discontinued Steam Link hardware
26. Valve creates new rev share tiers to give big sellers a break
27. Indie developers are unhappy with Steam’s new revenue sharing tiers: Developers take to social media to voice concerns that Valve is pushing out indies as it courts AAA
28. Steam is under attack from all sides: Valve changes its revenue share as its world becomes increasingly hostile
29. Devs say a problem with the Steam algorithm has severely hurt store page traffic
30. Valve explains recent Steam store traffic changes
31. Valve changes developer terms to try to retain top games
32. Valve adds revenue share tiers for developers: Other updates include confidentiality clarification to allow developers to share their own sales data
33. Artifact and the Five Currencies: An economic deep dive into Valve’s card game
34. Opinion: It’s ‘Store Wars’ in the 21st century
35. Epic Games launching Steam competitor with 88% revenue share for devs
36. Epic undercuts Steam with new store that gives devs more money
37. Epic Aims to Take on Steam with Newly Announced Epic Games Store
38. Epic launching Steam rival with 88% revenue share for developers: Free games, direct access to customers, mod support and more; Tim Sweeney reveals the plan for the Epic Games Store
39. Epic Games is no longer actively developing Unreal Tournament
40. Quake Champions to introduce a paid battle pass
41. Stardew Valley dev announces decision to self-publish
42. Stardew Valley switches to self-publishing on most platforms: Chucklefish to remain at the helm for Nintendo Switch, mobile versions
43. Nintendo Game Content Guidelines for Online Video & Image Sharing Platforms
44. Nintendo ends controversial YouTube revenue-sharing program
45. Nintendo Shuttering Controversial ‘Creators Program,’ Widening Monetization Prospects For YouTube And Twitch Gamers
46. Nintendo pulls plug on YouTube Creators Program: Switch maker will stop taking a cut of revenue from people making original videos about Nintendo games
47. Nintendo Shuts Down Its ‘Creators’ YouTuber Program, Replaces It With Simpler But Still Confusing Guidelines For Streaming
48. Strategy Analytics: Nintendo to take back console market leadership in 2019 – Analyst predicts Nintendo will sell 17.3 million consoles in 2019, overtaking both Microsoft and Sony
49. Nintendo bets heavily on the holidays: While Sony and Microsoft have spread sales over the year, Nintendo is laser-focused on the holiday season – and this year it needs every Switch sale it can get
50. Nintendo’s new content guidelines will make monetization easier for YouTubers
51. Virtuos offers dev advice on porting games to the Switch
52. Blog: A look at the cinematic music of Breath of the Wild
53. Blog: What anthropology has to say about games
54. Players find secret emulation menu hidden in PlayStation Classic
55. Dozens of hidden game names found in PlayStation Classic source files
56. PlayStation Classic’s hidden settings accessible through USB keyboards
57. IGDA calls for industry action on loot boxes: Developer group says publishers should clearly disclose odds, commit to not marketing loot boxes to children
58. IGDA urges devs to self-regulate loot boxes — while they still can
59. The FTC is Searching for the Value in Loot 
60. Senators Seek FTC Scrutiny of Children’s Apps 
61. Console loot boxes haven’t ‘achieved the trust’, says Gameloft – DLC: Plus the link between death metal drummers and Media Molecule’s hiring process, and marketing tips from a sandwich shop
62. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Unpacking loot boxes – Download our latest episode now, exploring how the industry can handle its monetisation more responsibly
63. UK gambling commission in talks with Twitch over casino streams: Two unlicensed sites have been played by Twitch streamers in its popular casino category recently
64. Why are AAA single-player games viable again? – 2018 in Review: A look at the good and bad of an industry where the biggest players can make a business catering to those who fly solo
65. US game industry revenues up 24% in third quarter – NPD Group: Mobile games and digital content growth help push third quarter consumer spending on games up to $9.1 billion
66. GameStop reports $488.6 million loss despite strong software sales
67. The year games retail (didn’t) die – 2018 In Review: As store closures mount up, is there hope left for physical games outlets?
68. Farming Simulator 19 most-downloaded game on EMEAA charts this week: FIFA 19 dominates combined retail and digital charts once more
69. Niantic invests in holographic AR display outfit: Pokemon Go creator among latest backers in DigiLens’ Series C funding round
70. Blog: Why I lost $42,500 making a VR game
71. To the ‘VR is Dying’ Crowd: There’s More VR Users on Steam Than Ever Before
72. US Army awards $480 million contract for Microsoft’s Hololens: Augmented reality headset prototypes will be developed to increase “lethality, mobility, and situational awareness”
73. Microsoft wins $480 million military contract to bring HoloLens to the battlefield
74. GameStop reports strong quarterly sales, $488.6 million loss: Asset impairment charge due to slumping stock price wipes out gains from Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
75. Soulja Boy Is Selling Some Kind Of Game Consoles, But People Are Suspicious
76. Hard drive share as a strategic weapon for console publishers: MIDiA Research’s Karol Severin on why AAA publishers need to dominate your storage – until streaming kicks off, of course
77. Beware the corporate video game canon
78. Play Ventures aims to invest $30 million in video game startups
79. Voice actors launch free initiative to help developers improve their scripts: Mass Effect, Firewatch, and Gone Home voice actors found Specialized Workshops And Actor Tactics
80. App Annie: Mobile to take 60% of worldwide gaming revenue – Cross-platform play on mobile, improved smartphones are driving the rise in market share
81. Playgroundz: Women dominate mobile gaming and spending, are scarce on YouTube and Twitch – Women make up only 30% of gamers on YouTube, 22% of esports team members, and 19.5% of gamers on Twitch
82. Building EA’s real-time esports strategy: Competitive gaming commissioner Evan Denbaum and GM Michael Martinez discuss EA’s foray into mobile esports with Command & Conquer Rivals
83. Super Evil Megacorp partners with NetEase to launch Vainglory in China
84. Blog: What differentiates players in the U.S. and China?
85. Video: How developers can collaborate and manage conflict 
86. Layoffs at Jam City as mobile studio ‘reallocates resources’
87. Jam City reportedly lays off large number of employees across multiple studios – Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery developer undergoes “organizational changes” following multiple acquisitions
88. Government report values UK games industry at just over £1bn: Ukie suggests that figure might be substantially higher
89. Mobile studio Playtika acquires Wooga to bolster its casual games offerings
90. Playtika acquires German casual studio Wooga: Deal is worth a reported $100 million, with no layoffs to Wooga’s 180-strong team
91. Carmageddon is the latest property to be acquired by THQ Nordic
92. Rovio acquires Eve: War of Ascension dev PlayRaven
93. Rovio acquires Finnish mobile studio PlayRaven: Deal covers all shares in PlayRaven and its staff of 25 people
94. Ubisoft acquires game server provider i3D.net 
95. Ubisoft acquires server company i3D.net: Publisher hopes to strengthen online and multiplayer experiences with help of Dutch provider
96. EVE Online dev halts production on Project Nova
97. CCP halts production of EVE-based FPS Project Nova: Icelandic studio is going “back to the drawing board” more than a year after announcement
98. New AI Dreams Up Trippy Video Games Based on Real Life Video: All it took was a graphics card, a game engine, a software engineer, and AI.
99. Microsoft publishes Xbox Family Guide to educate parents ahead of Christmas: “It’s important parents take an active role in managing their children’s access to online content and gaming,” says director Harvey Eagle
100. Don’t Miss: Fostering camaraderie in game communities from the ground up
101. Four design lessons which were really obvious to everyone but me
102. People of the Year 2018: The Xbox Adaptive Controller team – Microsoft’s team didn’t just create an excellent, accessible controller; they also set a new industry precedent
103. PUBG Mobile grabs Best Game in 2018 Google Play Awards
104. PUBG Mobile leads winners in Android Game of the Year Awards: 20 titles celebrated for innovation, competitive multiplayers, and casual accessibility
105. Brenda Romero, Jade Raymond and Fumito Ueda to be honoured at Fun & Serious Festival 2018: Bilbao event will also host two days of talks from Rare, Ubisoft, Tencent, Women in Games, and more
106. Apple names Donut County and Gorogoa best iOS games of 2018
107. Donut County and Gorogoa triumph in Apple Game of the Year Awards: Meanwhile, Apple Design Awards highlight Florence, Inside, Alto’s Odyssey and more
108. Former Sierra On-Line dev posts original source codes to eBay
109. Al Lowe reveals his Sierra source code collection—then puts all of it on eBay
110. NVIDIA’s physics engine is now open source
111. Video games and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Christmas: 10 Years Ago This Month: The global economic downturn leads to a holiday season full of closures, layoffs, bankruptcies, and all-around bummers

Jon

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Court Again Rules That Cable Giants Can’t Weaponize The First Amendment
2. Charter, Comcast don’t have 1st Amendment right to discriminate, court rules
3. Comcast To Battle Cord Cutting By… Reinventing The Closed Cable Box
4. Ajit Pai isn’t saying whether ISPs deliver the broadband speeds you pay for
5. Ajit Pai wants to raise rural broadband speeds from 10Mbps to 25Mbps
6. FCC’s proposed robotext crackdown could block legal messages, critics say 
7. FCC Accused Of Burying Data Highlighting Sorry State Of US Broadband
8. US Has Some Of The Most Expensive Mobile Data Prices In The Developed World
9. Sprint Throttled Skype Without Telling Anyone… And Nobody Seems To Care Much
10. Wireless throttling: Senators ask four major carriers about video slowdowns
11. Senators Press Wireless Carriers On Streaming Video Throttling
12. California’s Net Neutrality Law Remains in Neutral
13. Donald Trump Suddenly Pretends To Care About Comcast Antitrust Violations
14. AT&T CEO Continues His Fake Calls For Real Privacy, Net Neutrality Laws 
15. Cord Cutting Sets More Records, Yet Many Cable Giants Still Refuse To Compete On Price 

DIGITAL

1. Facebook drops PR firm after revelation of anti-Soros campaign
2. Facebook’s Use Of Smear Merchants Is The Norm, Not The Exception
3. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook isn’t a “positive force”
4. Mark Zuckerberg: ‘I Didn’t Know’
5. Zuckerberg won’t step down as Facebook chairman
6. Facebook Responds to New York Times Exposé: ‘There Are a Number of Inaccuracies’
7. Inside Facebook, denial, tension and finger-pointing as sense of crisis builds: “It’s total arrogance,” one Facebook employee said of company leadership’s willingness to blame its communications team for recent crises.
8. Obscure Concealed-Carry Group Spent Millions On Facebook Political Ads
9. Rights Groups Demand Facebook Set Up Real Due Process Around Content Moderation
10. Facebook Messenger Is Down With Global Outages
11. Facebook is on track to post its longest losing streak ever, and some say there’s more pain ahead
12. Does Facebook’s management structure need to be revamped?
13. Facebook put profits above care for liberal democracy: Social media giant’s top leadership is not liberal, but selfishly libertarian
14. The Guy Behind Net Neutrality Wants to Break Up Facebook
15. Google and Facebook can’t be put in the same category, expert says
16. Facebook Increasingly Reliant on A.I. To Predict Suicide Risk
17. Study: It only takes a few seconds for bots to spread misinformation
18. Report: Charges against Assange relate to Russian hacking
19. Ukraine detects new Pterodo backdoor malware, warns of Russian cyberattack
20. Russia’s Cozy Bear comes out of hiding with post-election spear-phishing blitz 
21. Fake news is responsible for Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil: The misinformation and intimidation campaign was intense.
22. “The leaders of the big technology think themselves smarter than the others”
23. Bitcoin and Ethereum fall to lows not seen since 2017
24. Blockchain Voting: Solves None Of The Actual Problems Of Online Voting; Leverages None Of The Benefits Of Blockchain
25. Snapchat parent hands over data for US inquiry: Investors claim in class-action suit the company did not reveal the extent of the threat of Instagram
26. Instagram To Purge Inauthentic Likes, Follows, And Comments To Ratchet Down Fake Engagement
27. Inside The Pricey War To Influence Your Instagram Feed
28. Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Defy Media, Claims Of Fraudulent Behavior From Former Generate Partners
29. But Her Emails: Ivanka Trump Also Used A Private Email Account For Official Government Business
30. Ivanka Trump used personal email for official White House business
31. In A Speech Any Autocrat Would Love, French President Macron Insists The Internet Must Be Regulated
32. Another YouTube Remove-and-Relocate Case Fails–Kinney v. YouTube (Eric Goldman)
33. YouTube Now Offering 100 Films, Including ‘Rocky’ and ‘Legally Blonde’, For Free
34. YouTube Music To Serve As Presenting Sponsor Of ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ In Expanded Pact With Dick Clark
35. YouTube’s Lyor Cohen Posts Fiery Op-Ed Opposing EU Copyright Directive; Industry Executives Respond
36. European Music Societies Slam YouTube’s ‘Fact Free Fear-Mongering’
37. YouTube Is Now Running Pop-Ups To Warn EU Viewers About Article 13
38. The “Kim Kardashian tax” – three key problems
39. Laura Lee And Manny MUA Are Rebuilding On YouTube. But Will Fans Still Buy What They’re Selling?
40. Paramount And Pocket.watch Are Turning YouTube’s Viral ‘Unboxing’ Trend Into A Feature Film 
41. YouTube Wildlife Guru Coyote Peterson Treks Onto TV With Animal Planet
42. YouTube Teams With BuzzFeed, Sony For Ken Jeong-Starring Holiday Special 
43. SoundCloud Troll Getting DMCA Takedowns Shows The Weakness Of Notice And Takedown Systems 
44. David Dobrik Nabs Kendall Jenner For Latest Vlog Cameo 
45. Jimmy Fallon’s TikTok Partnership Resulted In Record Engagement Spike For The App
46. Insights: Nano NoNos—Brands Target Unsophisticated New Influencers Without A Net
47. After Shane Dawson Collab, Jake Paul To Premiere His Own ‘Uncut’ Docuseries 
48. As it considers mergers, BuzzFeed makes asking for money part of its revenue strategy
49. Consumer Groups Call for FTC Investigation of Android Apps 
50. Google Axes ‘Fanfiction’ Tab That Suggested Grinchand Minions Porn
51. Google adds indoor positioning to Android’s Find My Device
52. Disney Pegs Hulu’s Value At $9.3 Billion 
53. Paramount And Netflix Set Multi-Picture Film Deal 
54. Apple Inks Multi-Film Deal With Acclaimed Indie Studio A24
55. Apple inks deal with Ex Machina-maker A24 studio to create original films
56. Second Bite at Apple Fails in California Court
57. Tim Cook defends using Google as primary search engine on Apple devices
58. Apple, Amazon Team Up To ‘Enhance Customer Experience’ By Limiting Customers’ Options
59. Another Suspended Twitter User Loses in Court–Kimbrell v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
60. WarnerMedia-Owned Machinima To Become Part Of AT&T’s Otter Media
61. Palm’s Ultra Tiny Phone Is an Absolute Snack
62. Instagram Adds Ecommerce Capabilities For Select Video Posts
63. Instagram Is Purging Fake Followers Obtained Through Third-Party Apps
64. Microsoft Realizes We Don’t Actually Want Ads in Our Mail and Gmail Is Just an Exception
65. Experts Warn Of Amazon’s Accent-Detecting Technology
66. Amazon trying to buy 22 cable TV sports channels, including Yankees network
67. Amazon Among Bidders for Fox Regional Sports Networks: Report
68. Amazon says it mistakenly shared customer emails and names due to technical error
69. Amazon customers’ names and email addresses disclosed by website error
70. Bezos Coughs Up $97.5 Million for Charity
71. Airtable, maker of a coding platform for non-techies, raises $100M at a $1.1B valuation
72. Couple and Homeless Man Said to Have Made Up Story Behind $400,000 GoFundMe Campaign 
73. Couple and Homeless Man Charged With Conspiracy Over $400,000 GoFundMe
74. FOSTA’s Political Curse (Eric Goldman)
75. Not Even Hiding It Any More: EU Council Explicitly Pushing For Mandatory Upload Filters
76. Why Europe Will Never Build Its Own Digital Giants
77. Study: Over 20 years, Silicon Valley workers’ median wage has fallen by 14%
78. Silk Road’s alleged hitman, “redandwhite,” arrested in Vancouver
79. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms (Michael Geist)
80. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 2: Why Access Copyright’s Claim of 600 Million Uncompensated Copies Doesn’t Add Up (Michael Geist)
81. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 3: Data Shows Books Are Rapidly Declining as Part of Coursepack Materials (Michael Geist) 

CREATIVITY

1. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms (Michael Geist)
2. New Bill C-86 introduces many more changes to IP laws
3. USMCA, the new NAFTA: What changes we can expect in Canadian IP Law 
4. Canadian Politician Hangs Out With Racists; Issues Legal Threats To People Calling Him A Racist
5. Judge rejects neo-Nazi’s First Amendment argument in harassment case
6. Judge Blocks White House From Pulling Jim Acosta’s Press Pass, But The Battle Continues
7. Artist plans to whitewash a Banksy following half million pound sale
8. Not Funny: The Conan O’Brien Joke-Stealing Lawsuit Is Still Going On
9. NRA Is Full of Beans, Claims Sculpture Artist in Copyright Suit 
10. Dolce & Gabbana is Under Fire for “Eating With Chopsticks” Videos
11. Convicted tax fraudster sues CNBC for defamation, says he’s not a “hacker”
12. College Athletes Fumble Publicity Rights Suit
13. Red Bull Fails To Block Trademark Registration In EU Over Logos That Aren’t All That Similar
14. I Watched The Phantom Menace Trailer 6 Times in One Day at the Same Theater
15. The Wonky Donkey: How Infringement Helped Create A Best Seller… Which Would Be Impossible Under Article 13

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Prosecutors Charge Suspect With Evidence Tampering After A Seized iPhone Is Wiped Remotely
2. Facebook Releases 13 NSLs, Reports Another Big Increase In US Government Demands For Info
3. A New Senate Bill Would Hit Robocallers With Up to a $10,000 Fine for Every Call
4. IoT Liability: Playing the Blame Game
5. Kid Tracking ‘Smart’ Watches, Like Most IOT Devices, Prove Not So Smart, Easy To Hack
6. Database leak exposes millions of two-factor codes and reset links sent by SMS
7. E-commerce site is infected not by one, but two card skimmers
8. Yet Another GDPR Disaster: Journalists Ordered To Hand Over Secret Sources Under ‘Data Protection’ Law
9. After Being Hit With A ‘Motion For Return Of Property,’ Gov’t Agrees To Delete Data Copied From A Traveler’s Phone
10. The Snowden Legacy, part one: What’s changed, really?

GAMES

1. Gamer Behind Fatal ‘Call Of Duty’ Swatting Faces At Least 20 Years In Prison After Guilty Plea
2. 2 Milly, Scrubs’ Donald Faison accuse Fortnite of stealing dance moves: “I don’t want to even bash them for all the millions… I just feel like I have to protect what’s mine,” says rapper
3. Fortnite and God of War win big at the Golden Joystick awards
4. PUBG Corp. details the results of its 3-month ‘Fix PUBG’ push
5. Nintendo Gets Huge Settlement Against ROM Site Probably Just To Scare Other ROM Sites
6. Pokemon: Let’s Go has more than tripled Switch sales in Japan
7. Nintendo’s biggest Switch-download sale yet includes legitimately good offers [Updated]
8. One thing gaming could learn from Stan Lee: On the late comic legend’s legacy and the idea of games as a recruiting ground for hate groups
9. The Strong Museum debuts exhibit focusing on women in the industry
10. Strong Museum launches Women in Games exhibit: Museum invites women pioneers in gaming to open exhibit with speeches, celebration
11. On Ubisoft’s pandering to unreasonable players: Ubisoft’s decision to reverse minor aesthetic changes in Rainbow Six Siege sets an unwanted – and unnecessary – new precedent
12. Ubisoft: “Loot crates have been a huge boon for the gaming industry” – Publisher representative defends Trials microtransactions, saying “If player players didn’t buy them, they would not be added in future”
13. Number of child gamblers quadruples in just two years
14. Opinion: World of Warcraft: Classic will disappoint you
15. Activision ignores accessibility guidelines, skips Spyro subtitles
16. Activision addresses why Spyro Reignited Trilogy has no subtitles
17. Activision on Spyro’s missing subtitles: “there’s no industry standard”: Toys for Bob opted not to include subtitles for video cutscenes in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, may consider adding
18. Former Activision Blizzard devs launch Mythical Games, securing $16M in funding
19. Mythical Games will “usher in a shift in player behaviour” with blockchain platform: Start-up formed by ex-Activision and Blizzard execs raises $16 million towards platform for ‘player-owned economies’
20. Diablo Immortal exists because ‘China really wants it’, says Blizzard dev
21. Hi-Rez Studios bringing cross-platform play to Smite,Paladins, and Realm Royale
22. Delver devs release their tech publicly under open source license
23. Battlefield V: Critical Consensus – EA’s latest blockbuster receives mixed reviews over scattered content launches and tonal inconsistencies
24. Battlefield V delay triggers EA share plummet, hedge fund exodus: Activision and Take-Two’s stocks also take a hit in turbulent and competitive Q4
25. EA, Take-Two and Ubisoft shrug off China games crisis: Analysts expect China’s big games companies to invest further in Western firms
26. Changyou signs deal to bring Tetris to smartphones in China
27. Changyou receives license to develop Tetris mobile games for China
28. Despite China’s game freeze, mobile game revenue is still on the rise at Tencent
29. NetEase: Anti-addiction measures “should not only be focused on online games” – But Chinese publisher supports ongoing efforts to restrict screen time for young children
30. NetEase sees Q3 growth with mobile titles, Western partnerships
31. Valve under fire for ‘greedy’ Artifact monetisation system: Developer introducing new features during the game’s beta to alleviate some concerns
32. Valve has quietly discontinued the Steam Link
33. Valve quietly discontinues Steam Link hardware production
34. Steam currency gaffe leaves Australians unable to buy some games 9
35. Skybound restarts work on The Walking Dead with original Telltale devs
36. Telltale’s The Walking Dead back in development: Skybound begins work on final two episodes with some original team members
37. Telltale games delisted from Steam as studio begins liquidation process
38. Telltale undergoing liquidation, removing games from Steam: Back to the Future, Tales of Monkey Island de-listed, employee health benefits set to end soon
39. Discord’s digital storefront now supports early access games
40. A peek at the experiments Spelunky players use to manipulate the game’s code
41. Paradox taking control of White Wolf after Vampire: The Masquerade LGBTQ+ controversy
42. THQ Nordic acquires rights to Expeditions franchise
43. Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Keep Finding Creepy Easter Eggs
44. NPD: Skipping single player didn’t hurt sales for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
45. NPD: Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption lead record October – 2018’s top two best-selling titles (so far) drive highest October sales NPD has reported
46. Publishers say early access is boosting sales of special edition games: And we can expect dual release dates to continue, say publishers
47. As Half-Life turns 20, Black Mesa unveils a reimagined Xen
48. Don’t Miss: The making of Half-Life 2
49. Super.com launches new funding program for Unreal Engine devs
50. I’d rather have bad reviews than no reviews
51. Experience, knowledge, operation, and luck – how to tackle the crowded mobile market
52. Gameloft: You don’t have to be No.1 to be No.1 on mobile – Publisher discusses how catering to different audiences has enabled it to stay on top in the competitive smartphone market
53. PS4: Over 86.1 million sold – Five years into its lifespan, Sony’s latest console has already topped the PS3’s lifetime total, but trails PS2’s record-setting pace
54. GTA, Call of Duty, and FIFA claim the top 5 best-selling PS4 games of all time
55. Sony is skipping E3 2019
56. Sony will not be present at E3 2019 
57. Turkish Ministry of Commerce investigating PlayStation over price increases: Red Dead Redemption 2, other major titles in Turkish PS Store see high prices in the midst of country’s inflation
58. Microsoft deal will help InXile escape ‘uncanny valley’ of game development
59. Microsoft acquisition gives inXile ‘safe harbour’ – Fargo: Founder of RPG outfit says costs of AA development have tripled since 2012, selling to Xbox maker gives studio resources to keep up
60. Microsoft reportedly planning release of digital-only Xbox One: Disc-less console would be considerably cheaper, come alongside disc-to-digital program
61. Report: Cheaper, disc-free Xbox One option coming next year
62. Report: Microsoft plans to launch a disc-free Xbox One in 2019
63. Supercell sinks $5.7M into smartwatch game dev Everywear Games
64. Supercell invests €5m in Apple Watch dev Everywear Games
65. Star Citizen has now crowdfunded over $200 million in 6 years
66. Star Citizen crowdfunding has passed $200m: Chris Roberts reports the game now has backers in 171 countries, has smashed all crowdfunding records
67. DayZ reaches 4 million units sold: Milestone reached one week after launch of PC beta
68. Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver has shut down 
69. Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver shuts down: Tekken mobile developer down to skeleton crew as publisher dismisses majority of staff
70. Rovio looking to ‘accelerate growth’ with new games asAngry Birds 2 revenue climbs
71. Rovio quarterlies flying slightly higher: Angry Birds maker modestly profitable, but management says “it is clear that we need new games in order to accelerate growth”
72. Niantic partners with United Nations to boost tourism using AR games
73. Niantic working with United Nations to promote tourism through its games: New partnership will Pokémon Go and Ingress events built around local culture and history
74. Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee Versus Pikachu: Which To Get
75. Pokémon’s strategy is cross-generational: By balancing nostalgia for parents with appeal to children, Nintendo hopes to create gaming’s first cross-generational franchise
76. Pokémon and Spyro top hyper competitive week at UK games retail: It’s a tough start for Fallout 76 and Hitman 2
77. Hitman 2’s Denuvo Protection Busted 3 Days Before The Game’s Launch
78. Fallout 76 is online and lonelier than ever
79. Two years on, Overwatch’s producers talk toxicity, crunch, and live game dev
80. Engagement is the lifeblood of online games, saysOverwatch producer  
81. Toronto Esports Club Leaves Overwatch Citing Name Dispute with Blizzard
82. H1Z1 Pro League shuts down – Report: Competitive league surrounding Daybreak shooter calling it quits halfway through inaugural season
83. With investors knocking, PlayVS opens the door to a $30M Series B
84. High school esports platform PlayVS receives $30.5m investment: PlayVS will have “profound impact on the future of youth sports across the country” says LA Dodgers CFO
85. Blizzard: ‘We [are] now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs’ – Developer is working with external partners and internal teams on mobile version of all its properties
86. Dude, Where’s My Money? Part Four: Localization  – AurumDust’s Nikolay Bondarenko turns to the perks, processes and prices of translating your game for different markets
87. Oculus now part of Facebook Technologies: But social network says this will have “no change or impact on the Oculus brand or business”
88. Magic Leap announces Independent Creator Program
89. Magic Leap Is Tendering $500,000 Grants Via New ‘Independent Creator Program’
90. Magic Leap is offering grants of up to $500,000 to AR devs
91. Forget VR treadmills—Google patents motorized, omnidirectional VR sneakers
92. This Game Uses Artificial Intelligence to Recruit New Players: Your next recruiter could be an AI.
93. Brexit draft agreement “not ideal” for UK games industry: Trade bodies and other industry organisations warn of further uncertainty following Prime Minister’s proposed withdrawal deal
94. Blog: The risks of making safe games
95. Blog: A checklist for creating better game settings options
96. “I am NEVER making another game” – Bleszinski: Boss Key co-founder announces departure from development on Twitter, later confirms “I’m done.”
97. Charity gaming marathon Desert Bus for Hope raises $730,000
98. GoFundMe, Doom auction seek to raise funds for devs affected by California fires
99. TwitchCon is heading to Europe for the first time

Jon