Cecilia D'Anastasio
@cecianasta.bsky.social
reporter covering video games and digital culture for Bloomberg News www.cecianasta.com Discord: ehvee Signal: Cecilia.01
New: Did you know the Mormon church has an influencer marketing arm? And on top of that, the church owns several advertising agencies with influencer marketing arms through its for-profit subsidiary? Here's how paid (and unpaid) internet stars spread the gospel: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Influencers Are Being Paid to Spread the Mormon Church's Gospel
Through its for-profit subsidiary, the church owns several advertising companies with influencer-marketing arms
bloomberg.com
Bloomberg: How does Sony discontinuing PlayStation discs impact GameStop? Ryan Cohen: It doesn't matter at all. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
GameStop CEO Says Physical Video-Game Sales Are ‘Irrelevant’ to Business
GameStop Corp. Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen dismissed concerns about the demise of physical discs for video games, insisting that those sales make up a small part of the company’s overall busine...
bloomberg.com
Great reporting, as always. If the goal is to sell subscriptions, you do exactly what Xbox did with Game Pass. Problem is, outside of the enthusiast core, few cared. The mass market didn't want to play lots of different games. It wanted to play Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox.
Cecilia D'Anastasio@cecianasta.bsky.social · 4w agoNew: Behind Xbox's big reset was a failed Game Pass strategy. Xbox spent nearly $80b in deals for content that it hoped would grow the subscription service. Instead, Game Pass lost subscribers. Deep dive: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
New: Behind Xbox's big reset was a failed Game Pass strategy. Xbox spent nearly $80b in deals for content that it hoped would grow the subscription service. Instead, Game Pass lost subscribers. Deep dive: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Behind Xbox’s Big Layoffs, a Streaming Strategy That Failed
Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox spent nearly $80 billion in the last decade on deals that would give it popular video game titles like Call of Duty and Skyrim, betting that gamers would flock to its Netflix-li...
bloomberg.com
BREAKING: Xbox will cut 3,200 jobs as part of a major reorganization, and divest from five studios: - Compulsion and Double Fine will go indie - Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will be sold - Arkane to enter consultation process Here's the full story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Microsoft’s Xbox to Cut 3,200 Jobs, Divest Five Studios in Major Overhaul
Compulsion and Double Fine studios will become independent; Undead Labs and Ninja Theory will be sold. Xbox will also look to sell or spin out Arkane Studios.
bloomberg.com
New: Age-assurance and loot box regulations in Europe could cost the already-struggling games industry billions a year in revenue, Bloomberg understands. Story with @gmvolpi.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Video Games in Europe Face New Restrictions on Age, ‘Loot Boxes’
The video-game industry is bracing for a wave of European regulations that could limit kids’ access to some video games, potentially crimping sales across the globe.
bloomberg.com
New: American otaku can't get our hands on official merch and it is driving us insane!!! anime is a huge industry!! it's been decades of this!! what is going on!!!! (with @mochi.bsky.social) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Otaku in America Can’t Get Their Hands on Authentic Anime Merch
New Yorker Armani Kaity has to pay a hefty premium for imported merchandise featuring her favorite character in the Japanese anime series My Hero Academia, a tragic villain intent on destroying the wo...
bloomberg.com
New: Twitch streamer Hasan Piker helped usher in last night's socialist wave in NYC. Here's what he had to say about the landmark wins and the role he played (and didn't): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Twitch Star Hasan Piker Notches a Win With NYC’s Socialists
If Tuesday’s sweep by Democratic socialists across New York validated Mayor Zohran Mamdani as the city’s kingmaker, it also established controversial streamer Hasan Piker as an emerging power behind t...
bloomberg.com
Scoop: Tencent is considering exiting from its minority investments in video game studios globally while it plays catch-up in the AI race against peers. Story with @mochi.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Tencent Is Said to Mull Exits From Game Studios Like Marvelous
Tencent Holdings Ltd. is negotiating exits from several game studio investments in Japan, including Tokyo-traded Marvelous Inc., as part of a reassessment of the company’s global portfolio, people wit...
bloomberg.com
Google Search seems to be working just fine, if you don't want to, you know, search for a website
BREAKING: Xbox is planning major layoffs next month, Bloomberg has learned, as new CEO Asha Sharma confronts a bleak picture and plans what she calls a "reset" of the business www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Xbox Plans Significant Layoffs as It Transforms Under New CEO
Asha Sharma’s first major cuts will arrive in July
bloomberg.com
New: Child sex abuse victims sued Roblox, but they may never have their day in court. Roblox wants to compel these kids and their parents into closed-door arbitration. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Roblox Wants Deluge of Child Sex Abuse Cases Moved Out of Court
Myra’s daughter got a Roblox account when she was 8. For more than a decade, the immersive gaming platform had advertised itself as a safe place for kids to play, and during the pandemic, there weren’...
bloomberg.com
Powerful. AI firms are "hijacking" the public square, "strip-mining" news sites and, despite their combined $11 trillion+ valuation, using less than 0.5% of that investment to compensate companies that provide them data -- as the newsrooms they rely on suffer. Per NYT: www.nytco.com/press/a-i-jo...
A.I., Journalism and the Uncertain Future of the Public Square
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warns A.I. companies are violating settled law and urges news organizations to stand up for their rights to ensure a sustainable future for reporting.
nytco.com
New -- Valve: anticorporate hero or big tech but small? Gamers know Valve as a freewheeling enterprise, but previously unreported docs show controversial business practices that, critics say, restrict both gamers and game-makers. Feature w @austincarr.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Valve, the Anticorporate Hero of the Games Industry, Has Its Antitrust Moment
Lawsuits in the US and the UK allege the company’s Steam store is abusing its market power. Valve disagrees.
bloomberg.com
New: Xbox's new Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball spoke with Bloomberg about his approach to the Xbox business turnaround. Console is a focus: That business is “important, durable and still growing," he says. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Microsoft Turns to Video-Game Researcher to Fire Up Xbox Revival
Microsoft Corp. hired a longtime video-game industry analyst to help turn around its Xbox division.
bloomberg.com
Thank you for having me on to talk about Roblox, @slate.com! slate.com/podcasts/wha...
TBD Tries…Roblox
Putting the protections to the test.
slate.com
Gamble With Your Friends made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to die
Exclusive: Behind Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is a new video game holding company, GreaterThan Group. Led by a former NetEase exec, GTG is also funding a new shooter from COD legend David Vonderhaar www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NetEase Veteran Raises $100 Million, Backs Gaming Royalty for ‘Star-Wars’-Led Comeback
Simon Zhu’s new GreaterThan Group is investing in revered video-game creators, including ‘Mass Effect’ director Casey Hudson
bloomberg.com
2026 is shaping up to be a great year for heavy rock ..... new albums from Elder, Monolord, Truckfighters, REZN, Kal-El, All Them Witches.. 🖤
Exclusive: Google DeepMind will train its AI technology on EVE Online after Google took a multi-million-dollar stake in the sci-fi MMORPG's developer. EVE Online is famous for players' corporate espionage, economic maneuvering and politicking. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Google DeepMind Takes Minority Stake in Maker of ‘Eve Online’
Artificial intelligence research is plunging further into video games.
bloomberg.com
New: GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen wants to "save the American economy from mediocrity." How does his $56 billion bid for eBay -- MANY times GameStop's size -- play into that plan? Analysts say the math doesn't math, but Cohen seems unphased. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
GameStop's Cohen Sees New Target and Big Possible Payday in eBay
The CEO who helped define the meme-stock era has proposed a brash, unsolicited $56 billion offer for the online commerce company.
bloomberg.com
New: Roblox lowered its full-year bookings guidance by about $1 billion after implementing child-safety updates that the company says slowed user growth. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Roblox Shares Tumble After User Numbers Fall Short
Roblox Corp. reported first-quarter users that fell short of analysts’ expectations after implementing safety features restricting how kids, who make up a majority of its audience, can use the platfor...
bloomberg.com
If you like this story, you will LOVE our year-long investigation into the crypto casino Stake's paid influencers: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
Unlikely Wins and Comped Spins: Inside Stake’s Empire
Crypto casino Stake pays Drake and other stars to bet, spreading clips of big wins to impressionable gamblers. A sample of data from last summer showed unusual luck at work.
bloomberg.com
Cecilia D'Anastasio@cecianasta.bsky.social · 3mo agoNew: Manosphere influencer Clavicular is everywhere, and that’s not an accident. A paid marketing campaign is spreading video clips of his controversial antics across social media. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
New: Manosphere influencer Clavicular is everywhere, and that’s not an accident. A paid marketing campaign is spreading video clips of his controversial antics across social media. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The Video Clipping Machine Behind Clavicular’s Viral Fame
Videos of the influencer Clavicular are inescapable online. Social media is awash with clips of his sharp-featured face and muscular body — the result of a “looksmaxxing” regimen that can include test...
bloomberg.com
Scoop: Clavicular banned from YouTube www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
‘Looksmaxxing’ Influencer Clavicular Kicked Off YouTube Again
Controversial social-media figure Clavicular, known for his extreme approach to achieving male beauty standards, had his videos removed again from YouTube on Wednesday night.
bloomberg.com
Call of Duty will no longer release day-one on Game Pass. Xbox gave up more than $300 million in Call of Duty sales after the game started launching on Game Pass, I reported last year after speaking with current and former employees www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Xbox Cuts Game Pass Price, Will No Longer Include New ‘Call of Duty’
Less than a year after hiking the price of Game Pass, Xbox is bringing it back down.
bloomberg.com
New: Apple and Google have directed users to dozens of nudifying apps, per new report. The apps, found by searching "undress" or "nudify," have earned $122 million and were downloaded 483 million times. w/ @julialove.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Apple, Google Offer ‘Nudify’ Apps Despite Policies Against Them
Apple Inc. and Google have continued to offer mobile apps that let users make nonconsensual sexualized images of people despite their policies prohibiting such content, according to a report published...
bloomberg.com
Scoop: Epic is working on a Disney extraction shooter Ahead of its slated Nov launch employees say they're worried about Epic's pattern of "Version 0.5" releases - a challenge they say may have hurt adoption for the Epic Games Store, mobile store and Fortnite modes www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
New: Can you steal "Steal A Brainrot"? Countless games inspired by the Roblox mega-hit have overtaken UGC platforms. And some of them are getting sued! www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Roblox’s Hit Game ‘Steal A Brainrot’ Battles Its Many Imitators
In the popular video game Steal A Brainrot, the object is petty theft. But now that the internet is awash with knockoffs of the runaway Roblox Corp. hit, its makers are defending their turf.
bloomberg.com
New: Epic is laying off 1,000 employees, sources tell Bloomberg News. The company blamed a downturn in Fortnite engagement. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Fortnite Maker Epic Games Cuts About 1,000 Jobs Across Company
The company is seeing a downturn in engagement on Fortnite
bloomberg.com