In The News
Epic Games:
A host of exclusives are coming to the Epic Store, including “big upcoming titles from Take-Two Interactive, the back-catalog from Quantic Dream, and more,” GameSpot’s Steve Watts writes. The Outer Worlds, Heavy Rain and more will head to the store.
Epic claims Metro Exodus sold “2.5 times better on the Epic Store than Metro: Last Light did on Steam,” PC Gamer’s Tyler Wilde reports. “Metro: Last Light released in 2013, and the PC audience has grown significantly since then.”
Epic announced its Epic MegaGrants initiative, “a new $100 million fund for Unreal-powered projects and launched a free suite of tools for developers with online multiplayer games,” GI.biz’s James Batchelor reports.
Partnerships:
Epic and Humble Store are partnering “to sell keys to Epic games — most notably, giving gamers an alternative to buying exclusives like Metro Exodus and upcoming The Sinking City directly from Epic. Epic says it won’t take a cut out of sales from Humble as it does from its own store,” CNET’s Lori Grunin reports.
Ubisoft and Epic Games are extending their Epic Store partnering, Wilde reports.
Gaming Services:
Walmart is interested in a streaming service, USG’s Matt Kim writes. “Multiple sources familiar with Walmart’s plans, who wish to remain anonymous, confirmed to USG that the retail giant is exploring its own platform … No other details were revealed other than it will be a streaming service for video games.”
Snapchat “plans to announce its long-rumored gaming platform for developers next month,” Cheddar’s Alex Heath reports. “The mobile game platform, internally codenamed ‘Project Cognac,’ will feature a handful of games from outside developers.”
Microsoft:
Microsoft is disputing the FCC’s upcoming internet access report, MediaPost’s Wendy Davis reports. “In a filing submitted Friday, Microsoft says company employees met with FCC officials and informed them that the report relies on data that ‘appears to overstate the extent to which broadband is actually available throughout the nation.’”
The Xbox One S All-Digital console “will be entirely digital,” Windows Central’s Jez Corden and Matt Brown write. “Additional documents we received indicate that this launch date could be May 7, 2019, with all existing Xbox markets targeted in a global simultaneous release.”
GAME revenue “has fallen 4.7 per cent to £492.9 million for the half-year to January 26th, 2019. But pre-tax profit has risen sharply to £14.8 million, a rise of more than 20 per cent year-on-year,” GI.biz’s Christopher Dring reports.
WarDucks raised “$3.8 million in funding to launch a location-based augmented reality game studio,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports.
The NPD Group and IGDA are partnering “to provide its members with access to actionable insights and analysis of current market trends,” a press release reads.
Oculus introduced the Oculus Rift S, what will become the successor to the Oculus Rift. “Most notably, the Rift S features Oculus Insight, a series on cameras on the headset itself that enable inside-out tracking for room-scale virtual reality and remove the need to set up external trackers around the user,” Batchelor writes.
The GDC/IGF Awards winners can be found here.
Announcements from Nintendo’s Indie Showcase can be found here.
Interviews: Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney (VentureBeat, Engadget), Stadia’s Phil Harrison (GI.biz), Stadia’s Jack Buser (Gamasutra), From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki (The Verge).
Extra Esports News:
Pringles is going all-in on esports, AdAge’s Ilyse Liffreing reports. “The Kellogg brand has nearly doubled its investment when it comes to sponsorships … Now, in 2019, Pringles will sponsor seven ESL esports tournaments across 13 European countries from Sweden to Romania.”
DreamHack’s CORSAIR DreamLeague and Caffeine are partnering, with Caffeine becoming the official streaming platform for the broadcast. “Caffeine previously partnered with ESL and Natus Vincere, and received a $100M investment from 21st Century Fox last September,” TEO’s Andrew Hayward reports.
IN: Hoa “Anakin” Luu joined Radiance.
Happy birthday Matic “Zarmony” Mikec!