In The News
Weekend in Review:
Digi-Capital is predicting “combined gaming software and hardware revenues to top $200 billion by 2023,” GI.biz’s Brendan Sinclair reports. “The biggest contributor to that total is expected to be mobile games. Digi-Capital put last year’s mobile games worldwide total at $70 billion gross last year (including the app stores’ shares of revenues), and said that could top $100 billion in the next five years.”
There’s a bit more information out about Apple’s games subscription. “Apple is also working on a premium games subscription for its App Store and discussing it with potential partners,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. “This service won’t take on new cloud-based streaming offerings like Google Stadia. Instead, it will focus on iPhones and iPads and bundle together paid games from different developers that consumers can access for a monthly fee.”
Nintendo may launch two “new versions of its Switch gaming console as early as this summer,” The Wall Street Journal’s Takashi Mochizuki writes. “One version will have enhanced features targeted at avid videogamers, although it won’t be as powerful as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4 Pro or Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox One X, according to parts suppliers and software developers for Nintendo who have access to a prototype of the machine.”
Studio Roqovan has closed, VentureBeat’s Jamie Feltham reports. “CEO James Chung spoke a little about Roqovan’s demise. ‘Long story short, it just comes down to slow adaptation of VR market’s growth and my failure to bring in enough funding to launch World War Toons properly.’”
Xbox announced its ID@Xbox Game Pass in a blog post.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the “the biggest launch of any game on Steam this year so far,” PCGamesN’s Chris J Capel reports. “The game sold over 100,000 copies on PC in the first 24 hours of release, and hit a peak of 125,315 concurrent players.”
Valve added “a new feature to its Dota Plus service that allows subscribers to bet in-app currency on the outcome of Dota 2 matches,” GI.biz’s Matthew Handrahan reports.
Soon, you’ll no longer be able to buy Heroes of the Storm loot boxes with real money, Handrahan writes. “Blizzard said it would remove the direct link between loot boxes and Gems, the only currency in the game that can be purchased for real money.”
Interviews: Square Enix’s Naoki Yoshida (GameSpot).
Extra Esports News:
Congratulations to Vici Gaming on winning DreamLeague Season 11! They defeated Virtus.pro to take home $350,000. Fnatic came in 3rd and Team Secret in 4th.
G2 Esports raised “$17.3 million in a Series A funding round, bringing its total outside backing to $24.6 million,” Forbes’ Matt Perez reports. “With the influx of capital, the team is eyeing global expansion to further take advantage of what’s predicted to be a billion-dollar industry by the end of this year.”
Twitch will host “the first live Twitch Rivals competition at its inaugural TwitchCon Europe event. Created specifically for streamers, Twitch Rivals is normally used not as a standalone event, but to complement those organized by third-parties and developers,” TEO’s H.B. Duran reports.
ABC did a piece highlighting esports titled “These professional gamers have personal trainers, hordes of fans and make big bucks — for playing video games.”
Partnerships:
ELEAGUE and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are partnering to host “a Mortal Kombat 11 Twitch competition on March 31,” Duran writes.
eGG Network is partnering with DreamHack and VBL, Esports Insider’s Thomas Lace reports.
IN: Johanna Faries will be the commissioner of the upcoming Call of Duty franchise system.
Interviews: G2 Esports’ Lindsey Eckhouse (TEO).
Happy weekend birthday Cho “Trap” Sung Ho and Monday birthday Jake “NoRegreT” Umpleby!