In The News
Take a closer look at the “violent video game” debate, and you find there’s something much more concerning going on. Republicans and anti-gaming advocates are undermining the First Amendment to protect the Second, and it’s probably not intentional.
Here’s a snippet of “Here’s How Republicans Are Undermining The First Amendment To Protect The Second“:
“Most Republicans who assaulted the video game industry after the Florida rampage unintentionally showed they’re willing to destroy free speech to protect the right to bear arms.”
Telltale Games is being accused of fostering a toxic workplace. The Verge’s Megan Farokhmanesh reports “a culture that promoted constant overwork, toxic management, and creative stagnation.”
Epic Games news:
Chill with the success. Bloomberg’s Krista Gmelich writes that “Fortnite’s more than 45 million players are doing a number on Activision Blizzard Inc. and Take-Two … Take-Two is down 10 percent over the past week, and Activision 9 percent.”
Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney is watching the clock. Eventually, he says, Sony will cave on cross-platform play. “‘That one remaining barrier will inevitably come down,’” he said, according to GamesIndustry.biz’s Matthew Handrahan.
Check out Epic’s “Real-Time Ray Tracing Demo.”
IGN’s Shabana Arif writes that “Fortnite’s revenue topped that of its battle royale rival, PUBG, earning $126 million” in February.
Game Developers Conference news:
Congratulations to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on winning Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
GDC roundup posts: Day 1. Day 2.
Unionize game developers? A roundtable at GDC discussed just that, according to Game Informer’s Imran Khan. “The discussion, which was held and moderated by International Game Developers Association president Jen MacLean, involved a hundred or so developers.”
Tencent did alright in Q4, GamesIndustry.biz’s Ben Parfitt reports. It “reported a 105 per cent year-on-year increase in profit for its last quarter.”
Startup Gosu.ai raised $1.9 million. It’s a “training lab that combines artificial intelligence and personalized advice to come up with coaching tips for would-be esports athletes,” Dean Takahashi at VentureBeat reports.
Legal woes surrounding Star Control are getting worse, GamesIndustry.biz’s James Batchelor reports. “Developers Paul Reiche III and Frederick Ford released details of a settlement offer they claim to have been sent by Stardock.”
Joyce Adeluwoye-Adams joined King.
Facebook games partnerships director Leo Olebe did an interview with Engadget’s Edgar Alvarez about how Facebook intends to “build experiences that benefit both users and developers, and to try to lure creators that want an audience.”
Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode wasn’t originally free, PC Gamer’s James Davenport writes. “Because Save the World is still in paid early access, that means Battle Royale could have been stuck behind a $40 wall, which might have…”
Astralis and eSports.com signed a sponsorship deal “valued at roughly $2 million over the course of three years,” The Esports Observer’s Thiemo Bräutigam reports.
DreamHack Austin will have a PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds tournament with a $100,000 prize pool, Dot Esports’ Scott Duwe reports.
Hearthstone posted an article titled “New Year of the Raven Celebration.”
Happy birthday to StarCraft and Heroes of the Storm players Joona “Serral” Sotala and James “Firebat” Kostesich!