In The News
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Activision reportedly “was granted a patent this month for a system it uses to convince people in multiplayer games to purchase items for a game through microtransactions,” Glixel’s Brian Crecente reports. Activision told Crecente the “technology is not currently in any games.”
Deliciou Bdubs is delving into esports with its inaugural partnership with Team Dignitas. “Buffalo Wild Wings becomes the ‘Official Hangout for Team Dignitas’ and receives prominent logo placement on the sleeve of Team Dignitas jerseys, player appearances at restaurants, exclusive content featuring players, and branding on monthly Team Dignitas live streams on Twitch and Facebook,” the press release reads.
Death is a distant rumor to the young, and almost 2 decades later, Visceral Games is closing its doors at EA’s beckoning. Kotaku’s Jason Schreier reports that “The Star Wars game in development at Visceral will be revamped and move to a different studio, EA says, although it will now be something completely different.”
Greed hath toppled a World of Warcraft legacy server, Kotaku’s Nathan Grayson reports. “A former team member embezzled thousands of dollars in donated funds” from the group that maintained the server. “One member named Sheena, former team members said in a statement posted yesterday, allegedly took over €2,000 (about $2,350) from a donations PayPal that was keeping the project afloat, using it for ‘personal financial reasons.’”
Deezer and Fnatic are coming together so “players will have a closer than ever relationship with their fans, connecting with them in real-time to share all of their personal playlists across Europe, North America and Asia,” the press release reads.
Tempo Storm and Red Bull struck a partnership, according to Venture Beat’s Stephanie Chan. “‘This partnership with Red Bull is something we’ve been working on for a very long time, and I couldn’t be more excited to get started,’ said Tempo Storm’s CEO Andrey ‘Reynad’ Yanyuk.”
Pokemon Go will hopefully, someday, move from your phone to a pair of glasses. “That is the future that John Hanke, founder and CEO of Niantic” wants, Engadget’s Nicole Lee reports. “‘I think it’s a few years out,’ he said. ‘We’ll have to give it multiple tries before it really breaks in.’”
“Halo: Master Chief Collection is getting updates, Xbox One X enhancements, and much-needed fixes coming next year,” writes Game Informer’s Imran Khan.
Ian Milham, the creative director behind Tomb Raider, has left Crystal Dynamics and will join Outpost Games as its creative director. “The studio, which was founded by his former colleagues at Visceral Games, is currently working on multiplayer survival game SOS,” GamesIndustry.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports.
Two hundred thousand sweet, sweet dollars. “The Alliance, Cloud9, and Gorilla Core Esports” will attend PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Invitational Nov. 18-19, Dot Esports’ Scott Duwe reports.