In The News
SuperData’s out with a report claiming “subscribers pay 45 per cent more for games ‘upfront’ than non-subscribers. Meanwhile, this audience spends twice the amount than non-subscribers,” PC Games Insider’s Alex Calvin writes. “The Top Five video games subscription services made $273m in revenue between July and September 2018.”
Earnings:
Red Dead 2 lookin’ real swole. Take-Two Interactive announced in its Q2 report that it “sold-in more units in its first 8 days than the original blockbuster Red Dead Redemption sold in its first 8 years and, as of today, the title has sold-in over 17 million units worldwide.” Additionally, “Q2 revenue has increased 11% to $492.7 million,” GI.biz’s Christopher Dring reports. “Income rose from a $2.7 million loss last year to $25.4 million profit.”
GAME “reports revenues of £782.3 million (just 0.1 per cent lower than the £782.9 million recorded last year) and a 4.3 per cent year-on-year decline in profits, not at £196.2 million” in “the 52 weeks ended July 28th, 2018,” GI.biz’s James Batchelor writes.
Nexon “earned ¥69.3 billion in revenue, up 15% over the same quarter last year. Net profit for the quarter was ¥22.3 billion, up 14% year-on-year” in “the three month period ended September 30,” GI.biz’s Matthew Handrahan writes.
Square Enix:
Hajime Tabata is resigning, Game Informer’s Imran Khan writes. Seventy-five percent of Final Fantasy XV’s DLC is also being cancelled.
Square Enix filed “trademark dispute against a Malta-based indie developer for using the word ‘Conflict’ in the title of its game,” GI.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports.
Three games have been yanked from Belgium over its loot box crackdown, Niche Gamer’s Ryan Pearson writes.
Investments:
Nexon is investing in Embark Studios, VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports. Nexon “serve as worldwide publisher for titles developed by the new company.”
Drivetime has “raised $4 million to provide voice-based games for drivers,” Takahashi reports. “Drivetime also announced the launch of its first product, the Drivetime mobile app on iOS and Android.”
Blizzard’s Allen Adham says Blizzard is working on a host of mobile games, PC Gamer’s Andy Chalk writes. “‘Many of us over the last few years have shifted from playing primarily desktop to playing many hours on mobile, and we have many of our best developers now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs.’”
The Game Gym announced “IGNITE, a live, amateurs only esports competition featuring League of Legends and Overwatch” in partnership with Stevenson University Esports and the gym’s sponsors. “Over time, is our goal for IGNITE to become the premier showcase of amateur talent in the DMV area and be a launching pad for those interested in pursuing esports at the next level,” the press release reads.
Here’s an article from Dot Esports’ Callum Leslie and Preston Byers estimating how much Tyler “Ninja” Blevins earns. Sponsor the newsletter kthanks.
Austin Thompson, 23, pleaded (not plead) guilty “in federal court on Tuesday and admitted to carrying out a series of denial-of-service (‘DOS’) attacks in 2013 and 2014 that mainly targeted online gaming companies and servers,” Variety’s Stefanie Fogel writes.
Players’ Lounge – Sponsored News:
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Extra Esports News:
Rocket League:
Turner Sports’ ELEAGUE Cup: Rocket League “tournament returns on November 30,” TEO’s Andrew Hayward reports. “The live-streamed tournament will feature eight teams and a $150K prize pool. TBS will air a four-part series featuring highlights and storylines, beginning December 7.”
But are teams wary of Rocket League? Hayward spoke with “organizations and others within the pro scene to get their view on Rocket League‘s sustainability.” Here’s a snippet:
“Sources claim that queries from organizations about in-game items and revenue sharing were typically met with vague responses, if anything at all…”
Who’s the fairest of them all? With Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode, the game saw a 279% increase in hours watched on Twitch in the first 7 days to 34 million from WW2’s 9 million.
Pepsi is sponsoring Gamefy’s “2018 G-League esports tournament in Shanghai, which boasts a prize pool of over ¥1.67M RMB ($241K USD),” TEO’s Hongyu Chen reports.
Dota 2 Kuala Lumpur Major groups were announced. SAP is an official partner for the event.
IN: Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios joined Tempo Storm. His farewell to Team SoloMid is here.
Daniel “Pierce” Seraphin joined Tempo Storm.