TRIPLEPOINTS OF INTEREST: JAN. 4

This week, Activision Blizzard fired CFO Spencer Neumann for an undisclosed reason and he was then hired as CFO of Netflix, Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju has put his company up for sale at $9 billion and Tencent is a potential buyer, and Soulja Boy has ended the development of his emulator console.

Netflix hires former Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann to be new CFO

On Monday, Dec. 31, Activision Blizzard had announced the firing of its CFO Spencer Neumann for reasons unrelated to recent financial problems. Shortly after the news was announced, Reuters reported that Netflix had poached Neumann as its new CFO and will succeed David Wells. Reuters stated, “The source said Netflix, which is making more of its own films and series, would like its next CFO to be based in Los Angeles with a focus on production finance.” The news was also picked up by multiple outlets across various trades such as The Hollywood Reporter, MarketWatch, IGN, CNBC, PC Gamer, and more.

South Korean Gaming Giant Nexon is Up for Sale

The Korea Economic Daily Newspaper originally reported that Nexon, the South Korean gaming giant, is being put up for sale with 99% of stocks available for purchase by founder Kim Jung-ju. This would be the largest M&A in South Korean history and Tencent is rumored as a potential new owners for Nexon. The estimated value of the sale would be nearly $9 billion according to the paper. The news was picked up by Reuters, Korea Times, Kotaku, Destructoid, TechCrunch, Korea Herald, Variety, and more.

Soulja Boy Ends Development of Console After Potential Lawsuit

Engadget reported that Soulja Boy had had pulled SouljaGames emulators off his official SouljaWatch merchandise website possibly due to a lawsuit. On Twitter, the rapper’s only response was “I had to boss up, I didn’t have a choice.” Engadget stated “Keen-eyed observers who visited the retailer noticed that many of his products looked similar to the sort of IP-infringing wares you’ll find on Alibaba or Wish.” VG 24/7 also reported the news adding that “everyone was pretty much expecting this to happen, so the news shouldn’t come as a surprise.” Many media expressed their disdain for the console, such as GamesRadar, who stated, “in the first place, all of Soulja Boy’s consoles were nothing more than bootleg systems being resold at a dramatic mark-up.” The news was also reported by IGN, Rolling Stone, GameRevolution, TechCrunch, and others.