In The News
Dennis “INTERNETHULK” Hawelka’s parents and brothers put out a statement regarding his passing. It reads, in part: “Dear friends of Dennis, many of you have said that our beloved Son and brother helped them and that he had a big heart. The irony of fate is that…”
“Gaming Disorder” is officially a thing, according to Glixel’s Blake Hester. “The World Health Organization (WHO) is recognizing ‘gaming disorder’ as a mental health issue in the beta draft of its upcoming 11th International Classification of Diseases.”
SuperData Research’s Elena Fedina and Newzoo’s Tom Wijman have some stats on video game growth for 2017: “The console market grew by 12 percent and the PC gaming market similarly grew by 11 percent in 2017 compared to 2016,” AListDaily’s Steven Wong reports. “‘It was inevitable that there would be a clash between gamers and publishers…’”
“Australia’s Full Court of the Federal Court has dismissed Valve’s appeals of a ruling and accompanying fine (worth $2.2 million US) over its allegedly misleading Steam customer guarantees,” Engadget’s Jon Fingas writes.
CCP Games is hiring. “‘CCP is currently building a team in London to lead development on a new and highly ambitious MMORPG,’ the lead designer listing says. ‘We are looking to grow a relatively small, tight-knit team, capable of delivering big ideas through experience, smart process, and world-class tools,’” PC Gamer’s Andy Chalk reports.
Any takers? “EA Sports is looking to sell” FIFA eWorld Cup’s broadcasting rights, The Esports Observer’s Angelos Anastasopoulos writes.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds finally launched, so what’s next? Kotaku’s Nathan Grayson spoke with Brendan Greene. Here’s a portion of the interview: “‘There are crashes still. There’s some rubberbanding. But these are problems we’re working to fix. It’s a marathon for us.’”
On that note, PCGamesN’s Ali Jones reports that 1.5 million cheaters have been banned.
Artifact, Valve’s upcoming card game, is being tested by esports players. “The PC gaming giant [Valve] is lining up esports teams including Virtus Pro to try out an early build,” PC Gamer’s Samuel Horti reports. “The organisation is planning to put together an Artifact team and that the game is currently playable at Valve HQ.”
Nintendo wants to sell 20 million Switchs “by April 2019,” Game Informer’s Imran Khan writes.
Sometimes the Internet gods smile upon us. At least, that’s what Juan is probably feeling. He lost his Nintendo Switch at the airport, Kotaku’s Cecilia D’Anastasio reports. But fear not, Reddit saved the day.