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In a new episode of the Retro Rebel Gamecast, co-hosts Stacy and Amanda catch up on personal news, discuss their recent gaming habits, and dive deep into a major shake-up in the industry: the $55 billion acquisition of EA Games.
Retro Rebels Return: EA Acquisition, Diablo IV Builds, and the Power of Indie Gaming
Host Updates: Wedding Bells and Goodbye WoW
Amanda shared joyous personal news, revealing she recently got remarried and celebrated the occasion with a trip to Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Stacy announced a more somber, albeit long-anticipated, departure from a 20-year phase of his life: he has canceled his World of Warcraft subscription. Despite buying the latest expansion, the commitment required for the daily grind became too much. Serving as a clear sign it was time to move on.
What the Rebels Are Playing
The co-hosts revealed a pivot to a blend of digital and tabletop experiences.
Amanda’s Tabletop and Text-Based Adventures
Amanda has been playing a large number of board games, often with a space or fishing theme, including:
- Welcome to the Moon: A roll-and-write game where players try to launch a rocket into space.
- Mlem: A unique cat space agency game.
- FinSpan and Lure: A vertical-board game for collecting deep-sea fish and a dice-rolling fishing game, respectively.
She also runs a gaming group of nearly 4,000 people and has introduced new social deduction games like Blood on the Clock Tower. On the digital side, she recently rediscovered and logged into the decade-old text-based browser game Torn.
Stacy’s Necromancer Build and Classic Gaming
Stacy has been heavily invested in Diablo IV, taking co-host Amanda’s past advice to utilize the Necromancer class. By maxing out his skeletal mages and warriors, he has adopted a build that allows him to “break the game,” sitting back to watch his “bone boys” kill everything. This experience offers a satisfying, fun contrast to more difficult gaming styles.
Major Industry Shake-Up: The EA Acquisition
The most significant news discussed was the massive $55 billion acquisition of EA Games. The purchasing entities were named as Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (largely owned by the crown prince), Silver Lake (an investment firm), and Jared Kushner’s Infinity Partners.
The purchase price represents a 25% premium on EA’s current market value. Post-acquisition, the company is set to take on $20 billion in debt. This will need to be serviced by the revenue from major franchises like EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield 6. The deal is the second-largest in gaming history, following Microsoft’s $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard.
Concerns and Cultural Optics
There are concerns that this debt burden and the private nature of the new ownership could lead to pressure for layoffs. As well as a greater push for short-term profits via predatory practices like microtransactions and season passes.
From a cultural perspective, purchasing a major hallmark of Western culture like a gaming company could be seen as an effort by the Saudi entities to be on the same playing field as Western nations and influence public opinion. Furthermore, it was noted that the Saudi Investment Fund has quietly been buying into other major gaming companies. Including acquiring a controlling interest in Niantic (the makers of Pokémon Go) and growing an interest in Nintendo to 8.2% in 2023.
The Indie Powerhouse: Silksong Forces AAA Shifts
In a reassuring development for gamers, Stacy highlighted the surprise, two-week notice release of the indie game Silksong. The follow-up to the beloved Hollow Knight was so anticipated that multiple AAA games moved their release dates to avoid competing with it.
Stacy called this a positive story, demonstrating that a game with a smaller budget and staff can still have such a strong fan base and high quality that major studios clear the window for its release.
Upcoming Games & The Expedition 33 Discussion
Stacy shared his excitement for the upcoming release of Ghosts of Yotei, the sequel to Ghosts of Tsushima. He looks forward to its new mechanics, including a female main character whose play style focuses on finesse and distance weapons, contrasting with the brute samurai style of the first game. Amanda is looking forward to Outer Worlds 2, a follow-up to the “zany sci-fi Western” original, which is due out at the end of the month.
Finally, the hosts dove into a long-anticipated discussion of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. (Spoiler Warning: Discussion may contain spoilers for the game).
Stacy offered high praise, calling the game’s story one of his favorites in gaming. He noted that while he initially thought the game would not be for him, it “nailed game mechanics” as a turn-based RPG with an unexpected twist. Amanda agreed, stating she enjoyed the combat and found the characters “endearing and fun to hang out with” up until the third act.
Where to Highlights:
Time Stamps
- 01:00:25 – Welcome to Retro Rebel & Where to Find Us
- 01:00:59 – Life Update: Amanda Gets Remarried!
- 01:01:38 – Stacy’s Gaming Update: Quitting World of Warcraft (WoW)
- 01:02:50 – What We’re Playing: Board Games (Welcome to the Moon, FinSpan) & Amanda’s 4000-Person Gaming Group
- 01:04:16 – What We’re Playing: Tabletop Classics (Sorry!) & Mastering Diablo 4 Necromancers
- 01:06:44 – What We’re Looking Forward To: Ghosts of Yōtei and Outer Worlds 2
- 01:08:25 – Gaming News: The Controversial $55B EA Games Acquisition
- 01:23:37 – Gaming News: The Indie Game Silksong Scares AAA Studios
- 01:26:08 – Game Recap & Spoiler Review: Claire Obscure / Expedition 33
