Pixel P&L: Former Staff Allege Inappropriate Behavior at Skyesports; Management Denies

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 4 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

• Skyesports executives face workplace misconduct allegations from former staff — details below.

• Tencent launches massive initiative offering 28,000 internships amid China's graduate employment crisis.

• AppLovin cuts 97 jobs and decimates Machine Zone studio

• Gaming Matters Dubai: Network with 300+ industry executives on April 30th at this invitation-only event. Ten Pixel P&L subscribers will receive complimentary passes—details below.

• Krafton debuts Rookie Tales, a mobile strategy game through its Indian Incubator program. Let's get into it.

📊 Gaming Stocks Today

Skyesports Executives Face Misconduct Claims From Former Staff

Multiple former employees of Skyesports, a prominent Indian esports company, have come forward with workplace misconduct allegations against senior executives. The company's management has denied these allegations.

Mrinal Baranwal, who worked as a project coordinator until December 2024, alleged inappropriate behavior by CEO Shiva Nandy, Head of Esports Vijay Krishnan, and Global Business Partnership Head Sashank Bhandaru during her nine-month employment. Baranwal shared WhatsApp screenshots to support her claims.

According to Baranwal, Nandy encouraged her to consume alcohol with him in her hotel room during a business trip and made unwanted physical contact. She further alleged that executives discussed "grooming" her to become the company's public face while questioning her personal relationship plans. Baranwal claims her complaints to human resources went unaddressed until she threatened public disclosure. 

Former content strategist Priyanka Chaudhary alleged that Krishnan behaved inappropriately at an event in Bangalore, grabbing her hand despite her visible discomfort. Chaudhary resigned rather than relocate to the company's Chennai headquarters. Another former employee, Ananya Sadhak, corroborated these claims via social media.

Nandy has denied the allegations, describing the hotel meeting as consensual and characterizing any physical contact as fraternal consolation. He attributed the situation to Skyesports' informal culture while acknowledging the need for clearer professional boundaries.

Krishnan and Bhandaru have not issued public statements regarding the allegations at the time of writing.

Tencent Launches Major Hiring Initiative Amid China's Graduate Employment Crunch

Tencent Holdings reportedly unveiled an ambitious recruitment plan, offering 28,000 internships over three years as China grapples with placing its 12.2 million fresh graduates into the workforce.

The Shenzhen-based tech giant plans to hire 10,000 interns this year alone, with 6,000 positions focused on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, and gaming technologies. The company indicated it would convert more interns to permanent roles but didn't specify conversion rates.

This initiative comes as youth unemployment for Chinese non-students aged 16-24 remains elevated at 16.5%, significantly above the 5.2% overall urban jobless rate.

Other tech firms are making similar moves, with Alibaba offering 3,000 internships, ByteDance announcing 1,500 graduate vacancies, and Baidu opening 3,000 positions.

Tencent, which currently employs over 110,000 people across its operations, has been intensifying its AI investments, recently launching the Hunyuan T1 reasoning model and integrating AI capabilities into its WeChat platform.

⚡Quick Bytes

Krafton Debuts Mobile Strategy Game Through Indian Incubator

Krafton has soft-launched Rookie Tales, a strategy puzzle mobile game developed through its India Gaming Incubator program. The title combines board game mechanics with real-time action, featuring deck-building systems and tactical gameplay. The release marks an early success for KIGI, Krafton's mentorship initiative launched in October 2023 to support indie developers with development resources and marketing support across India.

Masala Games Unveils Launch Trailer for 'Detective Dotson'

Masala Games has released a launch trailer for "Detective Dotson," its adventure game launching April 24. The trailer highlights puzzle gameplay, character customization, and the game's storyline featuring a reluctant detective who abandoned Bollywood aspirations following his father's death. The title will be available on multiple platforms including PC, macOS, Linux, and Xbox consoles, with a playable demo currently available on Steam.

AppLovin Cuts 97 Jobs, Decimates Machine Zone Studio

AppLovin Corp. executed another round of layoffs, terminating 97 employees including "most of" its subsidiary Machine Zone studio (best known for their MMO strategy games Game of War: Fire Age and Mobile Strike) and its CEO, PocketGamer reports. The March cuts follow January's 89 job eliminations. Despite the ongoing reductions, which included Machine Zone's leadership team, AppLovin continues to recruit for new positions. The gaming industry has seen approximately 1,600 developer job losses in Q1 2025 alone.

⚔️Side Quest

📺 Watch: Thought you understood your favorite "morally complex" gaming anti-heroes? This brilliant analysis uses Silent Hill 2 to expose how abusers manipulate reality just like game devs manipulate players.

🎮 Play: Celebrating Indie Game Utsav, we're spotlighting Raji: An Ancient Epic, a stunning mythological action adventure where breathtaking Indian artistry and fluid combat transform demon-slaying into a mesmerizing cultural masterpiece you can't afford to miss.

📚 Read: This piece on gaming's “yellow paint problem” nails why we're all frustrated with hand-holding in modern games, showing how both devs and players have forgotten that getting a little lost is actually part of the fun.

💡Did You Know

During the UK's third COVID lockdown, two unemployed actors created "Grand Theft Hamlet," a groundbreaking documentary where they used in-game phone cameras to film an entire Shakespearean production inside Grand Theft Auto Online

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