The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Pod of Duty Modern Warfare Plus+

Almost the entire team is assembled for this week's episode of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, with Matt, James, Chris, Haydn and Rebekah (on holiday in the UK) gathering around the mic to discuss the latest gaming headlines.

The big topic of the week is World Health Organisation's decision to classify 'gaming disorder' as a recognised illness. We debate whether the industry trade bodies could have done more to defend against this, or whether it even needs defending against.

This conversation also veered towards loot boxes and the recent news that a proposed bill in the US has received support from both major political parties. As we once again discuss the intricacies of this divisive and potentially exploitative mechanic, we dip down the rabbit hole of what even counts as a loot box.

On a lighter note, we discuss this week's Pokémon announcements, including a cloud storage service and sleep tracking app, and why The Pokémon Company remains the master of brand management.

And finally, in anticipation of today's expected Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reveal, we try to get to the bottom of why games publishers struggle to name their games sensibly. Will the new game be confused for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or the more recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered? What on Earth do you call the inevitable fifth (or is it second?) Modern Warfare? And how can Infinity Ward bring something fresh and special to such a long-running series?

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All our previous episodes can be found here.