In The News
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Take-Two Interactive announced it has opened an indie label called Private Division. Private Division has “signed projects from a handful of former-AAA developers including an RPG from David Goldfarb … and an unannounced RPG from fan-favorite Obsidian Entertainment,” Engadget’s Timothy J. Seppala reports.
Matthew Handrahan at GamesIndustry.biz interviewed Take-Two Interactive’s Michael Worosz about Private Division. Here’s a portion: “‘We were seeing really experienced creatives on our doorstep, darkening our inbox with really compelling opportunities…’”
GamesIndustry.biz named Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick as one of its “People of the Year for 2017.” “Zelnick seems to have the publisher well positioned for the future, however it may turn out,” Brendan Sinclair writes.
Ataribox pre-orders are on hold.
November was a powerhouse month for Call of Duty: WWII. “Publisher Activision’s and developer Sledgehammer Games’s Call of Duty: WWII was the biggest winner last month, becoming the best-selling game of 2017 and for the past 12 months,” Stephanie Chan at VentureBeat reports. Total sales hit $2.68 billion — up “30 percent over November 2016.”
United Kingdom Gambling Commission executive director Tim Miller had this to say recently about loot boxes and gambling: “We obviously apply that definition to our work and we, in effect, patrol the line between what is and is not gambling. If a product crosses over that line, starts posing a threat to children and young people, then we are clear we will take action against that,” he told Eurogamer’s Vic Hood.
A tearful Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm said he’s taking a break from streaming after he cheated on his wife. “Beahm, who has 1.4 million Twitch followers, was awarded the Trending Gamer award at the Video Game Awards last week in Los Angeles,” Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett writes.
The Independent Game Developers’ Association released a “Brexit impact survey” showing “that 29% of respondents felt Brexit had been damaging to their business … However, 11% of respondents noted that Brexit has been positive,” GamesIndustry.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports.
DreamHack will work with CORSAIR for its esports ventures. “American peripherals producer CORSAIR and Swedish events organizer DreamHack signed a two-year strategic partnership, which will see CORSAIR becoming a title sponsor for DreamHack’s esports properties,” The Esports Observer’s Angelos Anastasopoulos reports.
Hearthstone player Jeffrey “Trump” Shih holds the only perfect score in the game’s ongoing $30,000 Dungeon Run challenge.
Enigma6 are changing their Call of Duty roster. “Casey ‘Pandur’ Romano and Adam ‘GodRx’ Brown will join Jordon General and Brandon ‘Dashy’ Otell on Enigma6, the organization announced earlier today,” according to Dot Esports’ Preston Byers.