Newzoo analysis: Cloud gaming market will generate $2.4 billion in revenue this year
A new report from Newzoo says the cloud gaming market will generate $2.4 billion this year. According to the 2022 Global Cloud Gaming Report, this number will increase by 74% year-on-year.
From the perspective of the region of cloud game consumption, the Asia-Pacific region is the first, accounting for 36.5% of the total revenue. Europe followed with a 30% gain, and North America came in third with 27%. The report also said that by 2022, 31.7 million consumers will pay for cloud gaming services.
In addition, the Newzoo report also commented on the possible impact of the Stadia closure on the market. In this report, Newzoo analyzes positive developments in the cloud gaming market that will support the technology’s prospects, but that won’t go away with Stadia’s shutdown. Google’s previous refund compensation also prevented a wider negative impact on players’ perceptions of cloud gaming. Looking ahead, Newzoo predicts that the cloud gaming market will generate $8.2 billion in revenue by 2025.
Tencent invests in “Dead Link” developer and becomes a minority shareholder of the company
Game developer Gruby Entertainment recently announced that Tencent Group has now become a minority shareholder in the studio. In the announcement, the official did not disclose the specific amount of the investment.
However, the developer said Tencent aims to expand the Polish gaming company’s future prospects. The studio plans to release its first game, Dead Link, a cyberpunk-style FPS later this month. The game’s Steam page is now online.
In addition, according to Reuters, Tencent is currently actively seeking to acquire game companies, and is especially interested in game companies in Europe. Tencent told Reuters that it had long been investing overseas “long before any new policies were introduced” and that it was also looking for “innovative companies with excellent management teams” and giving them room to grow independently.
Bandai Europe acquires majority stake in Tycoon 6 developer
Following its December 2020 purchase of a minority stake in Limbic Entertainment, the developer of Tycoon 6, Bandai Europe has now increased its investment, buying a majority stake in the German developer. The acquisition will allow Limbic Entertainment to fully leverage Bandai Namco’s logistics and distribution and distribution expertise.
Limbic Entertainment was established in 2002 and has developed over 20 games. Its most recent work, Rhapsody, is the first game in collaboration with Bandai. The studio currently has 90 employees and is working on several games.
Fandom acquires GameSpot, Giant Bomb, Metacritic and other media
Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, announced the acquisition of a range of entertainment and gaming brands – GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News and Comic Vine – from Red Ventures. Financials of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal will continue to expand Fandom’s global fan platform, providing super services to entertainment and gaming fans and partners. The new combined platform will drive engagement at every step of the consumer journey – references, communities, trends, ratings, reviews, news and commerce. With the addition of these gaming, film and TV platforms, Fandom will expand its 360 program for its advertising partners, including game publishers, studios and streaming services, and enhance the data and insights capabilities of Fandom’s proprietary data platform, FanDNA . Additionally, the deal will boost Fandom’s affiliate and commerce businesses, including accelerating revenue from its gaming commerce business, Fanatical.
Gamurs acquires several well-known Enthusiast gaming sites
Esports media group Gamurs is acquiring a series of gaming sites from Enthusiast Gaming,media reported. Well-known sites Upcomer, Destructoid and The Escapist, as well as other lesser known “media properties” will be sold.
In addition to the above sites, Gamurs also owns various gaming and media sites, including Siliconera, Addicting Games, The Sims Resource, and PC Invasiong. They also own the Steel Media Group, which includes mobile gaming industry news site PocketGamer.biz, PC Games Insider and a number of other related online events.
Gamurs raises $12 million for acquisition
Esports media network Gamurs announced that it has raised $12 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Elysian Park Ventures, the investment arm of the LA Dogers Ownership Group, and Cerro Capital, a sports-focused capital fund. Venture capital funds Powerhouse Capital, Aura Ventures and Artesian also participated in the round.
Gamurs’ announcement said the funds will be used “primarily for further acquisition opportunities.” Commenting on the round, Gamurs founder Riad Chikhani commented: “This round provides not only a fresh infusion of growth capital, but also an opportunity to partner with strategically minded investors who will continue to redefine gaming and entertainment media as we move forward. Actively add value to the journey.”
Mihayou was selected as one of the top ten cases of cultural and tourism digital innovation practice
Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China issued a notice of “Culture and Tourism Digital Innovation Practice Cases in 2022”, announcing the top ten cases of culture and tourism digital innovation practice in 2022, as well as the excellent cases of culture and tourism digital innovation practice in 2022. Among them, Shanghai Mihayou Tianming Technology Co., Ltd.’s “Exploration of Cultural Communication and Tourism Promotion Models Using Games as a Carrier” was selected into the list of top ten cases of cultural and tourism digital innovation practice.
Former Ubisoft advanced animation program joins Tencent
On September 28, Tencent Tianmei Studio Group announced that Simon Clavet, a former Ubisoft advanced animation program and known as the “Father of Motion Matchin Technology”, has joined Tianmei Montreal Studio as the chief animation program and is participating in research and development. An undisclosed AAA open world multiplayer game.
During his 16-year tenure at Ubisoft, Simon Clavet participated in the development of many works such as “Splinter Cell: Conviction”, “Avatar”, “Far Cry 3”, “Assassin’s Creed 3”, “For Honor” and so on.
Station B applies for conversion to dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
According to news on September 29, the official website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed that Bilibili Co., Ltd. changed from a secondary listing to a primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which came into effect on October 3. By then, Bilibili will become the first company among China’s TMT (technology, media, and communications) companies to voluntarily convert from a secondary listing in Hong Kong to a dual primary listing.
Analysts believe that after the conversion to a dual main listing, Station B can attract more potential investors on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and improve the liquidity of the company’s stock and flexibility in the capital market. In addition, after the dual main listing, Station B is also expected to be eligible to be included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect in the near future. After being included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, mainland Chinese investors will be able to directly trade the company’s stocks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and invest directly for mainland Chinese investors. Station B creates more convenience.
At the same time, the Class Z ordinary shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the United States are convertible. As of 10 a.m. on September 29, the total market value of station B was HK$49.4 billion.
“Watch Dogs” creative director joins NetEase
NetEase announced that it has hired Jonathan Morin, the creative director of Watch Dogs 1 and Watch Dogs 2, to join the Montreal studio as the creative director of the new IP game. In terms of hiring talent, in addition to Jonathan Morin, “Far Cry” producer Emile Liang earlier joined NetEase’s Montreal studio.
“Genshin Impact” announced overseas in-app purchase price adjustments, including Japan, South Korea and the euro zone, etc.
Recently, Mihayou announced in the HOYOLAB community that in response to the impact of the platform price policy, the in-app purchase price of “Genshin Impact” will be adjusted in some regions, including Chile, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, Sweden, Vietnam and The euro area and the country are not affected for the time being.
The content of the adjustment is currently unknown, and it is impossible to determine whether the price will be increased or decreased, but considering that the Apple App Store announced that it will increase prices in Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam and the euro area from October 5th, Therefore, there is a high probability that the shopping items in “Genshin Impact” will increase in price.
The board game, chess and card carnival at station B opens
The new Bilibili Board Game Chess and Cards Carnival has started. The exclusive press conference will be held on the evening of October 2. The exclusive content information of 35 board game cards will be exposed to players. The event will last for one month. Some board game information is as follows:
Netflix launches first native game studio
Netflix has set up its first in-house game development studio to reduce its reliance on third-party developers. The new studio, located in Helsinki, Finland, is led by former Zynga and EA executive Marko Lastikka.
Amir Rahimi, vice president of Netflix Game Studios, said that this is another step in Netflix’s vision of building a world-class game studio. It is still early days and there is still a lot of work to be done to provide a great gaming experience on Netflix. He also said that in the future, Netflix’s world-class studio will bring hundreds of millions of members around the world a variety of enjoyable, deeply engaging original games – no ads, no in-app purchases.
Official: E3 2023 will be held in Los Angeles on June 13
According to official news, the E3 2023 game conference will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 13th to 16th. Among them, the online exhibition will start on June 11, the media conference will be held on June 13-15, and the public opening day will be held on June 15-16.
Sony reiterates: First-party paid games will not launch on PS Plus
At GI Live 2022, PlayStation Indie Developer Program head Shuhei Yoshida discussed the expansion of the PlayStation Plus service and how the company views adding new games to the service at launch.
He reiterated Sony’s commitment to releasing games as paid titles first. Unlike Microsoft, Sony’s paid first-party games won’t debut on PS Plus, but will be added a few months later.
Epic Store launches first NFT game
On September 27, Blankos Block Party, the first NFT game on the platform, appeared on the Epic game store. This is a creative sandbox game similar to “Roblox”, using Web3 and blockchain technology to provide support.
The game was previously unveiled at the 2020 PC Game Show, where the show’s organizer PC Gamer predicted the future of the game, with a report at that time stating: “Because some Blankos villains are seasonal or limited editions, some Some characters have a certain rarity. In that sense, it follows the same logic as the physical collectible toy design.”
Officials say Blankos Block Party has a “powerful map editor” that allows players to create maps and gameplay themselves, and it’s also a “multiplayer social queuing game.” This is no different from “Roblox” or other similar platforms.
According to WorthPlaying, the game’s developer, Mythical Games, claims that it has 1 million player accounts in December 2021, but the game has not appeared in the game community’s field of vision, nor can it be seen on the live broadcast website.
Saudi Arabia to invest $13 billion to acquire a leading game publisher
Saudi Arabia will continue to invest $37.8 billion in gaming industry acquisitions. These include: $18.6 billion to acquire stakes in “multiple key companies” to support Savvy’s game development agenda, $13.3 billion to acquire a leading game publisher to become a strategic development partner, and $481 million to invest in “industry” Disruptor Development Stage Early Game” and esports companies, $4.8 billion will be invested in “established industry partners,” adding value and expertise to Savvy’s existing portfolio.
The investment will be funded by Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, which is part of the sovereign wealth fund PIF and aims to become a major player in the gaming industry. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a statement: “Savvy Games Group is part of our ambitious strategy to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for the gaming and esports industry by 2030. We are leveraging the entire esports and esports industry. The untapped potential of the gaming industry to diversify our economy, drive innovation in the industry, and further expand the scale of entertainment and esports competition offerings across the kingdom.”
Google’s official announcement: Stadia platform will be shut down on January 18, 2023
Google announced that it will shut down Stadia, a cloud gaming service platform, on January 18, 2023. All hardware purchased through the Google Store, and all games and add-ons purchased through Stadia will be refunded by mid-January 2023.
Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Stadia, explained in a blog post that the closure of the platform was because it did not have the user support it had expected, and said it would remain committed to the gaming space and would continue to invest in new tools, Technologies and platforms that drive success for developers, industry partners, cloud customers and creators. “
In response, Bethesda issued an announcement confirming that players of The Elder Scrolls Online using the platform can transfer account data to PC. In addition to Bethesda, manufacturers such as “Hitman” developer IO and Ubisoft are currently considering ways to transfer archived data to other platforms.
The Japanese factory launched a new plan to treat children with amblyopia through VR games
On September 29, Japan’s three major medical giants jointly announced that they will develop a new medical APP to treat children’s amblyopia through VR games. It is planned to apply for medical device license qualification in 2025 and officially launch in 2027. The planners include Shuntian Eye Research Group, InnoJin and Sumitomo Corporation, and VR company ImaCreate.
The plan will use a headset-type VR headset to display a blurred kendama ball (a Japanese folk game) on healthy eyes, and a more contrasting portrait on the eyes with amblyopia disorders, allowing patients to play through the game. Exercise the eyes with amblyopia.
Officials said that other types of VR games will continue to be developed in the future to treat children with amblyopia.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard faces antitrust probe
October 1 news, the European Union antitrust regulator submitted documents on Friday that the agency will decide by November 8 whether to approve Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The UK competition watchdog then set a March 1, 2023 deadline on October 5 to publish the results of its review of Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. And in this acquisition, the UK has been extremely tough on Microsoft.
However, on the same day, the Brazilian Economic Protection Administration (CADE) announced that it had approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard without any restrictions. Brazil’s CADE is also the second regulator, after the Saudi Arabian Competition Authority, to confirm approval of the acquisition.
In addition to antitrust pressure, Sony, possibly the biggest loser in the deal, is actively “blocking” the deal, with Jim Ryan, president and representative director of Sony’s PlayStation Interactive Entertainment, making a special trip last month. Fly to Brussels to meet EU regulators to express concerns about Microsoft’s Xbox acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Still, Microsoft seems confident, adding a new dedicated page to Microsoft’s official website that lays out all the good things about the company’s impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Sony to step up investment in multi-terminal and service-based games
According to Reuters, PlayStation Studios president Hermen Hulst said PlayStation is seeking further investment to support expansion in PC and mobile games.
Currently, Sony is battling rivals for talent, and industry mergers and acquisitions are heating up.
PlayStation studio head Herman Hulst also said recently that Sony is focusing on real-time service games, but that doesn’t mean they intend to stop making the single-player, story-driven gaming experiences the company is known for.
Nintendo Pictures is officially established
Earlier, Nintendo announced in July that it planned to acquire Japanese CG company Dynamo Pictures and renamed it “Nintendo Pictures” (Nintendo Pictures). On October 3, the transaction was officially completed, and the official website of Nintendo Pictures was launched.
Dynamo Pictures is involved in a wide range of businesses, including live-action advertising, game CG, drama, film, VR and other businesses. After being acquired by Nintendo, it will use Nintendo’s own IP to produce “visual content”.
In the early morning of the 7th, Nintendo released the trailer for the “Super Mario” animated movie at the NYCC New York Comic Con, which will be released in North America on April 7, 2023, jointly created by Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment.
Ubisoft launches global creative office to ensure high-quality games
According to gamesindustry, Ubisoft has opened a new global creative office, which the company says will boost the creativity of the team and ensure high-quality games. The organization will focus on its own areas of expertise, such as users, game design and technology.
Ubisoft says a centralized creative agency can better support the various departments of the company. In addition, the announcement stated that Chief Creative Officer Igor Manceau will be leaving Ubisoft at the end of next month. Manceau will revamp the creative office with studio senior vice president Marie-Sophie de Waubert, senior vice president Martin Schelling and chief portfolio officer Sandrine Caloiaro. Senior Vice President and Studio Managing Director Guillemette Picard will also work with the team. Following Manceau’s resignation, Guillemette Picard will temporarily manage the global creative office.
Epic Games CEO fights Apple’s price hikes in the App Store
Apple is now implementing App Store price increases in all regions and countries that use the euro, due to the euro’s weakness against the dollar. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, weighed in on the price update, saying there was no reason for Apple to do it. In a statement, Sweeney likened Apple to a landlord with tenants who had nowhere to go because there was no alternative App Store for developers to use.
Meanwhile, Epic Games and Apple have been engaged in a long-running legal battle over Apple’s App Store policies. Sweeney and his company deliberately violated the rules of the App Store and then filed a lawsuit against Apple, hoping a court would order Apple to allow third-party app stores to operate on iOS devices.
The lawsuit didn’t work in Epic Games’ favor, and Apple wasn’t ordered to support an alternate app store. And Apple is also facing legislation in multiple countries that could eventually require it to make some changes to allow sideloading apps.
CDPR co-founder steps down as CEO after 30 years at company
CDPR co-founder and CEO Marcin Iwinski has announced that he is stepping down. Iwinski, who has been with CDPR for nearly 30 years, will step down as co-CEO and submit his candidacy as chairman of the company’s supervisory board for a non-executive role.
Along with Iwinski’s announcement was a strategy update from CDPR, the company with more than 1,200 employees said they will support three series in the future: Cyberpunk (already developing a sequel) + The Witcher (new trilogy + Derivative works + outsourced works) + original IP.
Sony Loyalty Program Draws Player Criticism
Sony’s new loyalty program “PlayStation Stars” will open to the European and American markets in October, and has already landed in the Japanese market. However, Japanese players strongly criticized one of the settings in this project.
One of the highest levels of bonus content in the PlayStation Stars program is “better customer service.” The PlayStation Stars program has 4 tiers. All players start at level 1, and the level will gradually increase with the purchase and play of the game and the acquisition of trophies. To reach level 4, players need to purchase at least 4 full-priced games in the PS store, and get 128 rare trophies, and then players can get the reward of priority reception by customer service.
This practice of classifying players into grades and grades has drawn criticism from a large number of Japanese players, saying that high-quality customer service should not be earned by players themselves.
Sony has yet to respond to the criticism, nor has it released details on the rewards for the European and American versions of PlayStation Stars.
Many of Ubisoft’s old games will stop online services
A large number of Ubisoft’s old games will stop online services on October 1st, including “Assassin’s Creed 2”, “Assassin’s Creed 3”, “Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood”, “Assassin’s Creed: Revelations”, “Hurricane: San Francisco” and “Far Cry 3” Splinter Cell: Blacklist and other games.
EA shuts down online services for some old games
Following the cessation of online services for many of Ubisoft’s old games, the online services of many of EA’s old games will also be closed. EA explained that the online service was shut down because “player numbers dropped to low levels.”
Games to close include:
October 22: “Twin: Day 40” and “Twin: Alliance of Demons”;
November 9: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (PS3/Xbox 360), Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars + Kane’s Wrath (Xbox 360), Mercenaries 2: War is Coming, PS3/Xbox 360;
11.30: Onrush
Nintendo reportedly adjusts game distribution policy to ban bad game content
According to foreign media eurogamer, a game publisher named Gamuzumi revealed that Nintendo has revised its game release policy on Switch.
Publisher Gamuzumi revealed that due to Nintendo’s policy changes, the release of two of its games on the platform has been blocked. In response to their email, Nintendo said: “Unmoderated game content featuring anime women will not be allowed on the Switch platform, as some inappropriate content may seriously damage the brand’s image and violate relevant policies.”
In a follow-up tweet, Gamuzumi said it will now review its games and try to submit them to Nintendo for release on Switch again.
Many Blizzard games require mobile phone number registration to resist cheating
Recently, foreign media PC Gamer pointed out that Blizzard’s “Call of Duty 19: Modern Warfare 2” and “Overwatch: Homecoming” both require players to use their mobile phone numbers for account verification to play normally. Blizzard said that a player can only register one. Mobile phone number, which can greatly increase the cost of being banned, thereby reducing the phenomenon of cheating.
It is worth mentioning that this verification method has also caused problems for some players. For example, a large number of players in the country cannot experience the newly launched “Overwatch: Homecoming” on the PS platform, because the version downloaded from the Hong Kong server store requires them A mobile phone number in Hong Kong must be registered.
Steam’s weekly sales list: handhelds dominate the FIFA 23 dual version list for 19 consecutive weeks
Steam announced the weekly sales list from October 3rd to October 9th. Valve’s own handheld Steam Deck still ranks first. This is also the 19th week of its domination of the list. The recently launched handheld docking station Sales also increased rapidly, ranking second on this week’s sales list.
List details:
1) Steam Deck
2) Steam Deck Dock
3) FIFA23
4) “Need for Speed: Heat”
5) “Interstellar Pirates”
6) “Cyberpunk 2077”
7) “Confinement to Survive”
8) FIFA23
9) “Call of Duty 19: Modern Warfare 2”
10) Slime Farm 2