Gaming's great convergence

The influx of new industry actors will challenge gaming's edge

[I’m on my way to Austin for SXSW. Hit me up if you’re there and come see my talk!]

In Brooklyn, the so-called Spring of Deception has just ended, and we have arrived at the Third, and final, leg of Winter. To give you an idea of what that’s like: yesterday it was 70F/20C and today there is snow.

Change, of course, is the only reliable constant. It presents us with the opportunity for continuous renewal. So, too, in the business of games. This week several senior figures from Activision Blizzard learned that their actions, or rather their inactions, had not gone unnoticed by everyone else.

And for good reason.

Despite having previously expressed some doubt as to whether or not the industry would still care about the growing list of workplace toxicity at Activision Blizzard, I’m starting to see seasonal change. Not in the least because the list is growing longer and darker. This week added a wrongful death suit by the family of a former finance manager who was found dead at a company ret…