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EveOnlineTutorials's avatar

I think in any business, people buy up assets and then attempt to use those assets to increase the overall costs, this can lead to things like this where the bigger picture is not always clear.

We often see deals as "money grabbing" but because we are not privy to the overall details of the deal or the direction of the overall deal, it's hard for us to understand the motives.

Let's Look at Mojang, Minecraft was one the greatest inventions in gaming in years, the CEO seemed like he actually cared about the game, he was active on Twitter, and he seemed to really care, but then Microsoft turned around and said "Hey you, we'll give you billions if you give us Minecraft" So he did, he was then accused of selling out.

But would any of us do any differently? I know personally if I made a game that made millions of pounds and a company said to me "Hey, we'll give you 5 billion for your game" I'd sell up faster than I can "Yes", why? because I have a family and children.

So I'd say that this company messed up and need to now get their money back, but in the business world, this is normal.

Paul's avatar

It is easy to overlook the fact that this is what business do but I think the level in which Embracer did it was the issue and the stand out point for me. It seemed very short sighted of them.

To be fair, I would have sold Minecraft aswell.

Damien Mason's avatar

Rapid expansion is a plague on any industry, as we're seeing with so many layoffs. It's a race to inflate that bottom line and impress investors with projections, but the reality is that they're spending money they don't have.

Not that Just About would ever skimp on payouts, but if I were to buy a bunch of stuff knowing I'm going to get $90+ at the end of the month, there's a bug in the system resulting in no payout, and I can't make my rent/mortgage, the only person to blame is me. Unlike my hypothetical there, it's not the spender that suffers the most when 'it' hits the fan, it's the people that lose their jobs.

Hopefully, some of these studios retain their employees and end up with a better home, or even independent as the case may be. There's a lot of talent out there.

Paul's avatar

Thats a good hypothetical as it shows the difference in accountability for a smaller, passion driven company and a huge corporation. It feels like the more money is involved, the less accountability there is, which is twisted.

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