AI Games, New Studios, FTC Cracks Down, Xbox Game Pass Changes S5E26

In the latest episode of the M2 Podcast, we dive into a range of intriguing gaming industry updates. We discuss Volley's successful $55m Series C fundraising round and its rise as a leader in AI-powered games for smart TVs and Alexa devices. Next, we explore the formation of Pithead Studio by former Piranha Bytes developers Björn and Jennifer Pankratz, and the new joint venture Palworld Entertainment, created by Sony Music, Aniplex, and Pocketpair. We also cover the FTC's investigation into PC manufacturers ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac for illegal warranty practices. Lastly, we analyze Microsoft's controversial decision to exclude day one releases from the standard Xbox Game Pass tier while simultaneously increasing subscription prices. 0:00 Intro 0:47 Updates 16:21 Voice-controlled game developer closes Fundraising https://tinyurl.com/bdhhbtyn  24:07 Piranha Bytes devs form Pithead Studio https://tinyurl.com/4jrwymsy  36:16 Sony, Aniplex, and Pocketpair form Palworld Entertainment https://tinyurl.com/4c2ub6p9  44:27 The FTC is investigating PC manufacturers https://tinyurl.com/y5bk2a9m  53:42 Xbox Game Pass Microsoft Hikes Prices Again https://tinyurl.com/3hrmkt5u  1:11:25 Outro Leave a LIKE and a comment, thanks for watching/listening! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PODCAST ►► https://anchor.fm/m2podcast AMAZON Music ► https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/091902c3-b83b-487c-8fe7-4c96787434fe/M2-Podcast APPLE ► https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1531832410 BREAKER ► https://www.breaker.audio/m2-podcast-2 CASTRO ► https://castro.fm/podcast/6f69d373-d879-46d9-9f1c-bcf7c4bf1741 GOOGLE ► https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8zNTYwNWZiMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== OVERCAST ► https://overcast.fm/itunes1531832410/m2-podcast POCKETCASTS ► https://pca.st/5jghvf6e RADIOPUBLIC ► https://radiopublic.com/m2-podcast-GMZkY4 SPOTIFY ► https://open.spotify.com/show/2VedhO03IRoHERJqF6Sy87 STICHER ► https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/m2-podcast TUNEIN ► http://tun.in/pj3ZI #podcast JOIN THE DISCORD! ►► https://discord.gg/Kp5Gre6 FOLLOW THE TWITTER! ►►https://twitter.com/m2_podcast KyleHeath Socials: TWITTER ►► https://twitter.com/mrjkheath MadMikeWillEatU Socials: TWITTER ►► https://twitter.com/madmikewilleatu