In The News
Considering swapping out the Battle Royale section for something else. Thoughts?
The Federal Commission on School Safety released its findings on video games after an investigation brought on by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The full report can be found here. As GI.biz’s Brendan Sinclair notes, “It offered up just three recommendations. First, the commission suggested state and local education agencies ensure that they are curbing students’ access to inappropriate content online. Second, it suggested schools work with parents ‘to strengthen internet safety measures at schools.’” The third recommendation is aimed at ratings agencies.
Check out the Steam Awards 2018 Nominees here.
Sales:
Red Dead Redemption II sits atop the NPD’s charts for November game sales, Game Informer’s Imran Khan reports. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII came in 2nd, Battlefield V in 3rd and Fallout 76 in 4th.
America’s fastest-selling console? The Nintendo Switch. “Nintendo sold more than 8.7 million Switch consoles in the US from its launch in March 2017 through November of 2018, putting it on a faster pace than the other ‘current generation’ consoles from Microsoft and Sony after the same amount of time following their releases,” Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham reports.
November was a “historical month” for hardware, GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine reports of NPD’s findings. “or the first time ever, three console platforms sold over one million units – the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One all sold over 1.3 million … Hardware spending was up 3% year-over-year to $3.9 billion.”
Investment:
Charter Communications invested in Blade, VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports.
Zwift has raised $120 million “in a series B round of funding led by Highland Europe. Additional investors include True, Causeway Media, and Novator,” VentureBeat’s Paul Sawers writes.
Congratulations 343 Industries’ Bonnie Ross is being honored as “The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ 23rd Hall of Fame recipient,” Game Informer’s Ben Reeves writes.
Read VentureBeat’s interview here.
Battlestate Games issued 47 DMCA “claims against YouTuber ‘Eroktic’ over spreading incorrect information and expressing overall negativity about their game,” Gamasutra’s Emma Kidwell reports.
Bethesda released a Fallout 76 Holidays Emote Bundle and players are (wait for it) not happy, Dexerto’s Wyatt Donigan reports.
Richard Boylan, the director behind fan-made “Warhammer 40,000,” “has been tapped to work on an official ‘Warhammer’ animated series dubbed ‘Angels of Death,’” Variety’s Brittany Vincent reports.
Players’ Lounge – Sponsored News:
Players’ Lounge redesigned its product, resulting in a 25% increase in week-over-week matches played for four weeks running.
Investors continue to assault our inboxes. Including a few billionaires. We’re holding strong.
Players’ Lounge is hiring a Senior Vice President of Engineering! Know a brilliant, competitive senior developer with PHP and AAA/F2P development experience? Slide into our DMs.
Extra Esports News:
Congratulations Alliance on winning MegaFon Champions League Season 2! They defeated HAPPY GUYS to take home $4,522. Team Spirit came in 3rd and Bursaspor Esports in 4th.
Happy birthday Otávio “Tavo” Gabriel!