FNaF 2 crushes box office expectations, proving (again) that game IP owns Hollywood. We break down Matthew Ball’s take on the EA/PIF deal, why 93% ownership signals a sports-media empire play, not an LBO, and why the press got the story wrong. Then: the Nex Playground, a $200 kids’ console that quietly outsold PS5 in November. Is this the next underserved frontier in family gaming? We also tear into UA financing schemes masquerading as “cohort funding.” Spoiler: the effective interest rates rhyme with credit-card debt, and studios have died using them. Call of Duty launches an apology tour for Black Ops 7 and vows to stop annualized crunch. We assess the odds. And we close with AppLovin beating Google on Android e-commerce ads, inside Google’s own OS. A massive signal for the future of UA as e-comm competition starts eating the gaming pie.
