In The News
PSA: There will be no Friday or Monday newsletters while I am traveling for CWL Fort Worth.
Sony may be interested in attempting to acquire Take-Two Interactive if a small snippet about a rumor is anything to go by, Market Watch’s Sue Chang writes. “Joel Kulina, head of technology and media trading at Wedbush Securities, referenced rumors about potential takeover interest from Sony Corp. SNE, -1.26% in a note to clients.”
Mobile:
Google debuted “new advertising campaign features that will enable mobile game developers to grow their business,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports. The new tools target everything from pre-launch registration campaigns to post-launch player retention.”
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery pulled in “an estimated $110 million in worldwide player spending in less than a year,” Sensor Tower reports. It’s now Jam City’s “most lucrative title since its April 2018 release, accounting for approximately 30 percent of all revenue across the App Store and Google Play.”
Jump Holdings raised “$1 million in seed funding to launch Inventure, an alternative reality mobile game that leverages interactive storytelling and artificial intelligence,” Takahashi writes.
Tencent shares bounced back to “a six-month high after the Chinese internet giant saw its market value enter freefall in 2018,” GI.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports. “Year-to-date, its stock value has climbed 17.4%, and is currently valued at HKD$360.”
Catalis acquired Runner Duck, GI.biz’s James Batchelor reports. “”Now Runner Duck will be part of the same family as Curve, alongside other Catalis acquisitions Testronic and Kuju.”
Computer monitor prices have reportedly fallen “as more China-based flat panel makers have jumped on the bandwagon heating up competition, according to industry sources,” DIGITIMES’ Rebecca Kuo writes. “Prices of 144Hz and below gaming panels fell 10% on average in 2018 and has dropped another 5% so far in 2019.”
HTC’s Viveport Infinity VR subscription service “will launch on April 2, and cost $12.99 per month, or $99 per year for users who pre-pay all 12 months,” Variety’s Janko Roettgers reports.
Anthem Global Community Manager Jesse Anderson responded to a rash of criticisms about Anthem on Reddit.
Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek is out of the hospital after injuring himself on a scooter but will require another surgery.
Xbox One’s Wireless Display app has been updated to allow users to “stream PC games to the console,” Gamasutra’s Emma Kidwell writes.
Extra Esports News:
Red Bull Racing Esports and G2 Esports are coming together “to combine our esports operations and sim racing experience with Red Bull Racing professionals to bring the ultimate sim racing competitive squad,” according to a press release. “Red Bull Racing Esports is a merger of the former G2 Esports drivers and new talents.”
Partnerships & Sponsorships:
RFRSH Entertainment and Komodo are partnering “for BLAST Pro Series Madrid,” TEO’s H.B. Duran reports. “This will be the first BLAST Pro Series to be held in Spain.”
OMEN by HP is sponsoring the Mythic Invitational, Esports Insider’s Adam Fitch reports. “Held at PAX East in Boston, the competition will take place over March 28th-31st with a total prize pool of $1 million (£757,215).”
Singtel is sponsoring Team Singapore for the upcoming 2019 SEA Games, Esports Insider’s Joe Wong reports.
Call of Duty World League franchise spots will allegedly be offered at $25 million, ESPN’s Jacob Wolf reports. “Activision Blizzard revealed their intentions to franchise the Call of Duty esports league during their financial call in February, stating they plan to launch a city based league for Call of Duty soon … Activision did not respond to ESPN for a comment.” Activision hasn’t confirmed the franchise spot prices.
NACE is holding “the 2019 NACE National Convention … July 17-19 in Harrisburg, Pa. The convention will be held on location with NACE member institution Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU),” Inven Global’s Byungho “Haao” Kim reports.
IN: Fernando Alonso acquired 7 players for his “racing sim squad for FA Racing Logitech G,” TEO’s Graham Ashton reports.