The 5 biggest scandals in the gaming industry in 2020

There’s no denying that 2020 is a special year for the video game market. Many factors have played a role in the explosion of the gaming market, including the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the launch of Xbox Series X and Xbox One. PS5. The increase in digital game sales and the popularity of mobile games in countries like India also contributed significantly to this achievement. However, besides the impressive development, 2020 also left many controversies in the gaming industry: from the ban PUBG Mobile In India, the case between Apple and Epic Games until the buggy debut of Cyberpunk 2077.

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India bans PUBG Mobile
Perhaps the story that left the biggest impression in the video game industry this year was the ban of PUBG Mobile in India. In September, the Indian government decided to ban PUBG Mobile and 117 apps linked to China due to concerns about threats to national security. Mobile version of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, aka PUBG Mobile, had almost 175 million installs prior to the ban, making the title the most popular mobile game in India. A few days after the ban was issued, PUBG Corporation said it would remove Tencent from its position as the publisher of PUBG in India. The developer also promised to launch PUBG again with the criterion “only for the Indian market” and also committed to invest $100 million in this market. Even PUBG Corporation announced that PUBG Mobile will be hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud.

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The lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games
Next on the list is the antitrust lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple. In August, Epic added a “direct” payment service option to Fortnite. This move is an attempt to circumvent the law of sharing commissions (with a rate of 30%) on Apple’s purchasing system. In response to Epic, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and accused Epic of violating Apple App Store rules. The battle between the tech giant and the multi-billion dollar game developer is still going on. The legal battle between Apple and Epic Games has raised a number of related questions about whether companies like Apple and Google have become too monopolistic in their control of the major app stores.

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The phenomenon of PS5 and Xbox Series X/WORLD
$2000 is the price users pay for the next generation console from Sony. This is the price pushed up by PS5 resellers, who buy the device at original price and then resell it at exorbitant prices on sites like eBay. This price tag phenomenon is still a thorny issue in the video game industry, especially every time a new gaming device hits the market. This year, resellers have made nearly $60 million in profits from the sale of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The reason is that the two consoles above are mainly sold online and the COVID pandemic has disrupted production, especially for PS5. Some people have used bots to create fake accounts to bypass console distributors. The pricing situation also occurs with new graphics cards from both Nvidia and AMD. For the first time, the issue was discussed at the international level, when a group of British MPs urged the government to introduce legislation to prevent price increases for consoles.

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CD Projekt Red release Cyberpunk 2077
Seven years of production and a massive scale comparable to the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series couldn’t save Cyberpunk 2077 from being labeled a “joke” at launch. No one would have imagined that the biggest game of the year, starring Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves, was plagued with technical problems and graphical glitches. It is nearly impossible for users to play CyberPunk 2077 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As a result, Sony had to remove the game from the PlayStation store. Microsoft also made a commitment to extend the refund policy for this game. The launch of Cyberpunk 2077 led to a class action lawsuit against CD Projekt Red. Despite selling 13 million copies in just three weeks, Cyberpunk 2077’s poor debut also took a heavy toll on Project Red’s reputation.

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Microsoft delayed the release date Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite was predicted to be the best-selling game on Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft’s new gaming console. However, this game has now been delayed to the fall of 2021, instead of the end of 2020 as previously planned. The delay in the release of Halo Infinite is seen as a step backwards for Microsoft and the Xbox brand. Although Microsoft explained that COVID-19 was the reason for this delay, many believe that the negative response to the game’s first promotional trailer was the main reason. Some commented that Halo Infinite looks good, but the graphics seem outdated for a game that serves as an Xbox Series X/S promotional product. Some sources even suggested that Microsoft had to delay the release of this highly anticipated game because of the departure of Chris Lee, the director of Halo Infinite. Halo Infinite was developed by 343 Industries under Microsoft and was first announced at E3 2018.