Yanis Varoufakis, an economist who previously worked at Valve and served in Greece's Hellenic Parliament, believes tech companies—including those who operate game platforms like Apple and Google—should be taxed for how they run game platforms and control product choice.In an interview with Aftermath about his book Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, Varoufakis explained how tech platforms like Apple and Amazon have become "algorithm-powered fiefdoms," driving the titular "technofeudalism" he wrote about.Those companies (and possibly his former employer) have "extracted" people out of the market to replace it with one that greatly benefits them. He refers to the value these companies pull out of the market as "cloud capital"As he explains it, the government could (and should) have these corporations put 30 percent of shares into a commonwealth fund in what he calls a "cloud tax." That fund could then be evenly distributed to the public as a form of basic income.Varoufakis doesn't call Valve out by name (it's a smaller company operating in a relatively smaller market), but his arguments echo ones we've hea…
Author: Matthew Evans
A new indie publisher called Digital Bandidos has risen from the ashes of Versus Evil.Founded by Steve Escalante and Lance James, who held leadership roles at Versus Evil before The Banner Saga publisher was shuttered last year, Digital Bandidos wants to provide indies with "proven expertise and a unique publishing model" that will empower them to meet their goals.The company will deploy a new financing model that offers "small acquisition-type buyouts of existing games." It claims those buyouts will provide indies with a "flexible funding option, whether funding their next project, taking a well-deserved break, or simply stepping away.""Furthermore, a sliding scale of investment funds, ranging from long-term full-service funding to smaller-scale finishing funds and funds for specific projects like porting or marketing, is designed to help indie teams achieve their goals," adds a press release.Digital Bandidos is courting indie developers with a focus on PC and console titles and budgets of up to $3 million. The company is keen to "acquire new and established intellectual properties to bring them to new platforms and expand them with add…
Submissions for the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant 2024 are officially open, and that's good news for puzzle game developers from underrepresented backgrounds.Successful applicants will receive a grant worth $15,000 to support production on a 'thinky' puzzle title currently in active development. Applicants must have a playable prototype and should ideally be an "early-career or under-the-radar developer" who is part of an underrepresented group within the games industry."These grants are intended to support creators who are under-invested-in within today’s game industry or who do not receive much support from the existing structures," explains the Draknek website. There are no geographical restrictions to applicants.Draknek defines a puzzle game as any title that is "primarily about thinking/logical reasoning–and not primarily challenging due to execution/timing elements.""Puzzle games cover a wide range of subgenres, e.g. Patrick's Parabox, ElecHead, Myst, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Opus Magnum are five games with very different gameplay, which would all be considered relevant," it adds. "However, while Tetri…
According to IGN, Microsoft has just closed down a "major" team focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The cuts occurred last week and may signal a larger shift away from the movement which started in 2020.Reportedly, the DEI team shut down on July 1 due to "changing business needs." In an internal email obtained by the outlet, a former lead for the team believes the cuts were done to get ahead of the Project 2025 conservative policy plan."True systems change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020," they wrote. "The timing was impeccable, so businesses everywhere could reevaluate the path forward should their U.S. federal contracts be at risk if the work continues on its face."In that same email, the former lead alleges Microsoft executives were "investigated and [there was] evidence [of] discrimination, harassment, and toxicity" towards them during their tenure. Despite this, they stressed "impossible mountains were moved" by the DEI teams.