In The News
Weekend in Review:
Activision Blizzard:
Intends to announce a rash of layoffs tomorrow, Bloomberg’s Christopher Palmeri reports. “The layoffs, which could number in the hundreds, are part of a restructuring aimed at centralizing functions and boosting profit, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the changes haven’t been announced. Activision employed 9,800 people at the end of 2017.”
King just received a hefty fine of almost $390 million from Sweden’s Tax Agency. “The agency, Skatteverket, claims that Sweden lost the immaterial rights to games such as Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga when the company was sold to Activision Blizzard in 2016,” GI.biz’s James Batchelor reports.
Activision is issuing Guitar Hero Live refunds for anyone who bought the game between Dec. 1, 2017 and Jan. 1, 2019.
The Steam Awards winners can be found here.
PlayStation is still on top for ad spend, VentureBeat’s Eleanor Semeraro reports. “Sony’s console brand accounted for over 43 percent of all industry spend in January … January saw a big dip in game industry spend, down to an estimated $29.7 million from December’s $90.5 million … PlayStation led the pack with an estimated spend of $12.9 million for five ads that aired 958 times, generating 510.3 million TV ad impressions.”
Lower its cut? Ha! That’ll be a “no” from Google, fam. Google won’t lower its 30% cut on the Google Play store, Batchelor reports, despite companies like Epic Games attempting to circumvent Google Play all together.
Jeff Drobick is the new CEO of Tapjoy.
Sumo Digital opened a new studio in Leamington Spa.
Interviews: Newzoo CEO Peter Warman (TEO).
Extra Esports News:
Tournaments:
Dota 2’s next major will take place at Disneyland Paris, Esports Insider’s Mark Mantle reports. “The information initially came to light following a recruitment consultant advertising a role including sales for the ‘Dota 2 Major Paris.’”
StarLadder will host 4 Hearthstone tournaments “this winter, spring, summer, and autumn,” according to a press release. Hearthstone posted the “2019 Wild Open – Qualified Players.”
Bird & Bird will offer “complimentary legal support service for those in the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC),” Esports Insider’s Adam Fitch writes. “Those who are part of the not-for-profit association will be entitled to three hours of legal advice on three separate legal queries each year.”
Planet Comicon Kansas City “will immerse attendees in an extensive gaming area inside Planet Comicon’s Planet Entertainment Zone. Gamers will compete for $20,000 in prizes in Planet Comicon’s Esports gaming tournament,” a press release reads.
IN: Paris Saint-Germain picked up a Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team.
HyperX picked up Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus as a brand ambassador.
LFT: NRG Esports is “recruiting players and content creators” for Apex Legends.
OUT: Team Liquid dropped their Heroes of the Storm team.
Collegiate Starleague posted “SJSU Spartan Esports: Success, Adversity, & Spartan Future [DOCUMENTARY].”
Happy weekend birthdays to Caleb “Moses” Nichols and Mark “Markydooda” Exton and Monday birthdays to Kam “Moon” Boon Seng and Lyubomir “Splendour” Kozlovski!