Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, which is co-developed by Portkey Games and NetEase, launched in mainland China on Sep 9 to claim the top spot on the country’s iOS revenue chart.

On September 10, a federal judge in California ruled that app developers can now direct users to payment options outside the App Store. That said, the court failed to “ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist.” Nor did the ruling force Apple into allowing third-party app stores on iOS. The iPhone maker was also allowed to keep its steep 30% commission. While Epic has lost on 9 of 10 counts, the Fortnite company might just have powerful…

Activision Blizzard employees and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), U.S.’s largest communications and media labor union, filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. The lawsuit, which is filed in California with the National Labor Relations Board, accuses Activision Blizzard of acting coercively to stop its workers from unionizing.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged App Annie and its co-founder and former CEO and Chairman Bertrand Schmitt with securities fraud. SEC found that the mobile analytics firm engaged “in deceptive practices” and made “material misrepresentations” about how it obtained its market data on mobile app performance. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, App Annie agreed to pay more than $10 million to settle the matter.

Mike Rose, the founder of indie publisher No More Robots, did a talk last month on how small studios should validate or adjust their development plans by setting realistic expectations about how much the development is going to cost them versus how much the game is going to bring in.

Chinese players have started to review-bomb Life is Strange: True Colors released on September 9. The game features the Tibetan flag, which can be seen above a shop’s entrance in the fictional town of Haven Springs.

As spotted by SteamDB, The Steam client was released on September 12, 2003.

Publisher MyGamez, which helps Western mobile devs launch their games in China, has commented on last week’s report that the Chinese government slowed down approval for all new online games.

On September 12, Epic Games appealed the September 10 ruling passed by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, which concluded the Epic Games v. Apple legal case.

Months-long legal battle between Epic and Apple has just culminated in Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ issuing a permanent injunction that compels Apple to allow independent payment systems.

Jack Buser, formerly Director for Games at Google Stadia, is leaving for Google Cloud. On September 13, Buser is stepping in as Google Cloud’s Director of Global Gaming Solutions.

Epic Games pulled Houseparty from stores and will discontinue the app for existing users in October.

After South Korea amended its Telecommunications Business Act last week, Epic Games has attempted to bring Fortnite back to the country’s App Store. To that effect, Epic has asked Apple to reinstate its developer account on iOS. Apple, though, respectfully declined.

In yet another curb on China’s video games industry, the country’s authorities told Tencent and NetEase to remove ambiguous representations of sexuality and identity from games. Content glorifying wealth should also be removed.

Chicago, Illinois–based developer Young Horses (Bugsnax, Octodad: Dadliest Catch) switched to four-day workweeks in July in the hopes of achieving a healthier work-life balance.

Stepping up the campaign to battle gaming addiction among minors, the Chinese government has slowed down approval for all new online games.

A new studio called 2.21 has been announced in Paris. It’s co-founded by Didier Chanfray, the creator of classic franchise Little Big Adventure. The studio is about to start the production of a new game in the series, although it’s unclear whether it will be a sequel or reboot.

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Firesprite Limited. The UK-based developer founded by industry veterans from SIE’s Studio Liverpool is known for developing games that showcase cutting-edge hardware.

Polish publisher Movie Games has launched Kickstarter campaign for MythBusters: The Game. The title is being developed by Byte Barrel with unspecified input from Discovery, which licensed the the IP.