Research shows that 55% of Americans picked up a video game during the pandemic, and by December 2020, the global gaming industry was estimated to have generated $160 billion in revenue that year. Gaming has never been bigger and keeps growing — and that means the stakes of gaming as a digital economy and as a social ecosystem keep getting higher.
Axios Re:Cap is joined by Axios Gaming newsletter writers Stephen Totilo and Megan Farokhmanesh to discuss the launch of their newsletter and why gaming matters now more than ever.
Court filings from the Apple and Epic Games faceoff offer a peek at the inner workings of some major players in gaming.
Why it matters: Gaming is as secretive an industry as it gets, and companies such as Microsoft are locked into years-long competitive cycles against the likes of Nintendo and Sony.
Verizon on Monday announced that it will sell its digital media unit, including Yahoo and AOL, to private equity firm Apollo Global Management.
Details: Apollo will pay $5 billion for a 90% stake in the business, with Verizon retaining a 10% stake. It's a slightly higher price than what was expected, but still far short of the $9 billion that Verizon paid to acquire the businesses.
A federal court in Oakland will on Monday begin hearing Epic Games' antitrust suit against Apple, a case that could radically reshape the way iPhone apps and services are sold.
Why it matters: Fortnite maker Epic Games is asking the court to invalidate the entire business model behind the iOS ecosystem, seeking to bar Apple from requiring developers to use its in-app purchases for digital goods and services.
