TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the trending stories in gaming. In today’s news: G2A under fire from developers; Sony Interactive Entertainment considering game company acquisitions; more than one million people per month still playing Age of Empires.

G2A under fire from developers

Grey market key reseller G2A has come under fire from publishers and developers alike, following a recent paid search campaign on Google. A variety of industry professionals have taken to Twitter to criticise the placement of G2A ads above their own links, given that they receive no remuneration for codes sold via G2A, whilst having to deal with the extra customer support burden caused by consumers purchasing fake or deactivated keys via the marketplace.

“Please, if you’re going to buy a game from G2A, just pirate it instead!” stated Mike Rose, director of No More Robots. This view was supported by Rami Ismail, co-founder of the Vlambeer studio, who also added: “These sites cost us so much potential dev time in customer service, investigating fake key requests, figuring out credit card chargebacks, and more.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment considering game company acquisitions

Sony Interactive Entertainment is considering acquiring a selection of game developers to add to its SIE Worldwide Studios, according to president and CEO Jim Ryan. The news supports Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida’s statement that the company will target exclusive titles, along with AAA releases, for the next iteration of its PlayStation console, rather than working closely with independents.

“Content is becoming more important than ever before,” stated Ryan, who then pitched to prospective acquirees: “Sony Interactive Entertainment has 25 years of experience in the games industry and has big assets.”

More than one million people per month still playing Age of Empires

Over one million people each month are still playing games in the Age of Empires series, according to creative director Adam Isgreen. This comes despite the fact that there has been no new major release, barring remastered editions, in the series since Age of Empires III, which debuted in 2005.

“It can’t just be nostalgia, right?” Isgreen stated in an interview with PCGamesN. “There are new people coming into the franchise and playing it, and I think the interesting thing is that for a lot of RTS games, I think there is a pent-up demand, and the numbers seem to back this, for more ‘thinking games,’ the games that require you to plan and strategise and think.” Microsoft is planning to capitalise on this demand, with a remastered version of Age of Empires II later this year, followed by Age of Empires IV, which is expected to be released in 2020.