An anonymous Arkane developer is alleging that Microsoft—the studio's parent company—has yet to issue any response to an August 12 open letter signed by workers calling for an end to its alleged relationship with the Israeli military. That relationship was uncovered by news outlets The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call in a joint investigation that alleged the Israeli spy agency Unit 8200 has used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to surveil phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have reportedly used information from those calls to coordinate airstrikes and "shape operations" of military forces in both regions. Arkane employees unionized under Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) joined other Microsoft employees in protesting these contracts—but the only answer they've received is silence.This information comes from Stephen Totilo at Game File, who spoke with an anonymous Arkane developer who went by the pseudonym "Manon." "No one has responded directly to our open letter, neither Microsoft, nor Bethesda, nor Arkane leadership," Manon told Game File. He said that the only acknowledgement came after the subject was brought up on the studio's internal chat system. "Arkane leadership invited everyone to be considerate when expressing their opinion, to maintain a peaceful exchange on the subject. They did not address the letter itself and remained neutral."Related:That silence has persisted over the past 10 days. Manon said that Microsoft was given a few hours' advance notice that workers were going public with their concerns. Despite that extra time, it's issued no internal response.Xbox has kept quiet on Microsoft's military contractsOn April 15, Microsoft announced it was undertaking a "formal review" of its contracts with the IDF. But even as more game developers join the ranks of employees protesting its role in the Gaza invasion, Xbox Game Studios has stayed strictly silent on the matter. The company only replied to our repeated quests for comment after Game Developer senior news editor Chris Kerr raised the topic during during our interview with Grounded 2 game director Chris Parker and Eidos Montreal creative director Justin Vazquez at Gamescom this week.During that conversation, PR representatives did not allow Vazquez and Parker to answer the question, later referring us back to Microsoft's April 15 blog.Said representatives also discouraged questions about Microsoft's decision to lay off over 9,000 employees on July 2, many of them employees of Xbox Game Studios subsidiaries like King and Zenimax. These layoffs also impacted the timing of the open letter published by the STJV workers at Arkane. Manon told Game File that the group was concerned the letter would be "muted" by the layoff news.Related:"Since then, it has been very difficult to find the correct timing, knowing that the situation in Gaza was deteriorating rapidly."Game Developer has reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story and will issue an update after the company responds.

I'll level with you. I'm keeping this intro brief because I'm currently plonked in the middle of a Manchester cafe that presumably doesn't realize the words 'air' and 'conditioning' can be combined to create a majestic climate control device. Fear not, dear reader, it's only a heatwave.This will be my final Patch Notes for a couple of weeks. I'll be jetting off to Cologne next Tuesday for my annual pilgrimage to Gamescom in pursuit of industry insights, decadent hummus (if you know you know), and perhaps even a bit of juicy gossip.  I'll be taking a much needed vacation when I return, so the next couple of editions will be penned by another member of our talented Game Developer team. Who exactly? No spoilers yet (mainly because we haven't decided).Oho. You almost got me rambling. Nobody needs that today—least of all you. In fact, I suspect what you really need is a concentrated dose of NEWS, and as luck would have it we have just the thing...Embracer will deploy 'targeted cost initiatives' and AI tech to unlock more valuevia Game Developer // You might not realise it from the headline, but layoff connoisseur Embracer Group recently switched out its CEO, Lars Wingefors, for a new chief executive in Crystal Dynamics veteran Phil Rogers. Alas, it seems the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. Rogers this week told investors that Embracer will deploy 'targeted cost initiatives' in relation to underperforming business. He confirmed that could mean additional divestments are in the offing. Will we also see layoffs? Who knows, but Embracer has been rather trigger happy in that regard previously. Rogers also explained that Embracer is keen to use AI technology to streamline its processes and support its teams. I'm sure they'll be thrilled.Related:Stripe Says Support Team Reps Were ‘Totally Wrong’ About LGBTQ Content Banvia Aftermath // Payment service provider Stripe has denied it is prohibiting the sale of LGBTQ+ content, including video game and media on platforms like Itch. The company spoke to Aftermath about the situation after its support team reportedly told anti-censorship campaigners that it won't be processing payments related to LGBTQ+ content. Stripe apologised for the conduction and claimed those employees were "mistaken." The full story is well worth a read, and comes after both Itch and Steam began heavily moderating the sale of adult content, reportedly at the behest of payment providers.Valve explain why using PayPal for Steam purchases isn't currently an option in a whole bunch of countriesRelated:via RockPaperShotgun // In related news, Valve recently told RPS that PayPal support for Steam has evaporated in some regions due to concerns over the type of content being sold on the platform. Valve previously confirmed that one of PayPal's acquiring banks axed support in some regions in early July, impacting consumers attempting to make Steam purchases via PayPal in currencies other than EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD and USD. On its support page, Valve said it is "uncertain" when the situation will be remedied. It then told RPS the withdrawal is "regarding content on Steam, related to what we’ve previously commented on surrounding Mastercard."Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development team has unionizedvia Game Developer // Another week, another union. We could get used to this. Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development (SFD) is the latest Microsoft-owned team to unionise in tandem with Communications Workers of America (CWA). SFD is the World of Warcraft maker's in-house cinematic, animation, and narrative department—and became the first union of its kind to form n North America. Parent company Microsoft has already recognised the union, whose members will join CWA Local 9510 in Orange County, Calif.  One member of the SFD organising committee said the unionised workers intend to preserve what makes Blizzard special. Related:Video games have a serious crediting problem, but unions can helpvia Game Developer // Speaking of unions, freelance reporter Nicole Carpenter this week laid out how the power of collective acton could enable the video game industry to address a longstanding miscrediting issue. It's not uncommon for developers (both in-house and external) to be omitted or improperly credited on projects they've worked on. It's a deeply harmful practice that can stall careers and create uncertainty as to who is actually making the games we play, but what is the solution? According to some people, unions might just hold the answer.'We would be in development for 30 years:' Krafton reiterates that Unknown Worlds founders 'abandoned' Subnautica 2via Game Developer // In what must be one of the game industry's most outrageous legal tit-for-tats, Krafton has responded to the lawsuit levelled against it by Unknown Worlds' former executive team with a series of claims that paint former studio leaders Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill as cash-grabbing truants. The South Korean publisher once again insisted that all three downed tools as soon as it purchased Unknown Worlds and placed their own "monetary interests" over those of the development team and Subnautica 2 itself. We've done our best to summarise the scathing rebuttal, and we expect this saga is far from over. 'Microsoft has no place being accomplice of a genocide:' Arkane union workers demand Xbox maker sever ties with Israelvia Game Developer // A group of unionized Arkane Studios workers in France this week published an open letter to leaders at Xbox and Microsoft to lend their support to the Palestinian-led BDS movement and demand their parent company sever ties with Israel. The move follows extensive reporting that indicates Microsoft cloud and AI technology is being used by the Israeli regime to monitor Palestinians and even plan military action. Union workers at Arkane, known for producing titles like Dishonored and Deathloop, accused Microsoft of being an "accomplice" to genocide. "Microsoft has failed both its teams & its customers by being actively complicit of the invasion and war crimes happening in Gaza," they wrote in the open letter. Microsoft has yet to respond to our request for comment, but has previously denied that its products have been used to "target or harm people" in Gaza. Bandai Namco is still working on new in-house game engine, update revealsvia Automation Media // Tekken and Ace Combat maker Bandai Namco is still working hard to create a new in-house game engine capable of supporting large-scale projects and open worlds. You might not even be aware this project was even in motion, and that's because it's been around three years since the Japanese company last spoke about the initiative. This week, however, the company posted a series of photographs on X to reveal it has been training employees how to use the mystery engine. It's hard to glean much from the snaps, although we can see what appears to be an ecstatic snowman in one shot. 10/10. No notes.PUBG is finally bidding farewell to last-generation consoles via Krafton // Pour one out for PUBG: Battlegrounds players who've yet to make the leap to current-generation hardware. This week, Krafton announced it will be ending support for the battle royale shooter on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November. The company said the shift will take place on November 13, 2025, and described it as a "necessary step toward aligning PUBG Console with current-gen consoles" and providing player with "more stable gameplay." Remarkably, the news comes around five years after both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S hit shelves, which shows just how blurred the lines between console generations have become in the current era. Even so, Krafton said the news is weighing heavily on the team and has requested a modicum of understanding during this trying time

Workers from Blizzard Entertainment's department for Story and Franchise Development have voted to unionize. Members of the team will become members of the Communication Workers of America and Microsoft has recognized the union. The SFD team is r