{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 202: The Last Gasp of a Brutal Year (Season Finale)","description":"2025 has continued the trend of layoffs, consolidation, and privatization. The gulf between AAA and everyone else is widening, as the AI bubble strains before an inevitable burst. With November\u2019s Circana report coming in bleak after months of stronger performance, 2026 will continue to challenge us all. BUT... there is reason to hope. Unions are growing in number and reach and studios doomed by AAA mega-corps are finding a way to survive. We need to stick together to not only survive, but thrive. You can support Virtual Economy\u2019s growth via our&amp;nbsp;Ko-Fi&amp;nbsp;and also purchase&amp;nbsp;Virtual Economy merchandise! TIME STAMPS  [00:07:28] - Circana Report on U.S. Video Game Spending for November 2025 [00:27:31] - Sony and Tencent Settle Light of Moritram Lawsuit [00:28:43] - Investment Interlude [00:37:27] - Quick Hits [00:43:53] - Labor Report&amp;nbsp;  SOURCES   Sony and Tencent settle lawsuit over &quot;slavish clone&quot; of Horizon: Zero Dawn | GamesIndustry  INVESTMENT INTERLUDE   Tencent makes minority investment in France's Drama Studios | GamesIndustry  Disney to Invest $1 Billion in OpenAI in Major Deal That Boosts Sora in Hollywood | The Hollywood Reporter  Bandai Namco sells Limbic Entertainment to &quot;private investor&quot; | GamesIndustry  LABOR REPORT   Naughty Dog Studio Orders Employee Overtime for \u2018Intergalactic\u2019 | Bloomberg (Paywall)  Days after launching their first indie game, everyone responsible for publishing it was laid off: 'We had a Slack channel with everyone in it, and then you see them leaving one by one' | PC Gamer We are crowd funding Wreckreation | Three Fields  Funcom may have closed down Metal: Hellsinger studio The Outsiders, but its co-founder and Battlefield vet David Goldfarb says it's not over yet | PC Gamer  The Studio Behind Doom Just Unionized | Kotaku  ","author_name":"Virtual Economy","author_url":"https:\/\/www.virtualeconcast.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/39507425\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/196810575"}