In The News
Take-Two Interactive founder Ryan Brant has passed away at 49 years old.
Apple:
Watch the Apple Arcade announcement here. Apple Arcade is “intended as a game subscription service focused on games that would otherwise be premium releases, and will work alongside the regular App Store for games in its own dedicated tab,” GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine writes. Both KO_OP and ustwo games are releasing games as Apple Arcade exclusives, Gamasutra’s Emma Kidwell reports.
All relevant information from Apple’s service event, like Apple News+ and Apple Card, can be found here.
GDC 2019 set an attendance record at “29,000 industry professionals in San Francisco last week for the conference — an improvement on the 28,000 who attended last year,” GI.biz’s James Batchelor reports.
1939 Games has raised “$3.6 million to deliver it’s cross-platform digital collectible card title Kards to gamers on PC and mobile in 2019,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports.
Kabam acquired Riposte Games & Co, GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine writes. “As a part of the acquisition, Riposte will operate under Kabam’s label, but will continue development and support for its existing titles Mini Guns and Dungeon Stars.”
Partnerships:
EA and Vicarious Visions have signed a publishing deal for Visions’ Velan Studios, according to a press release. “EA Partners will publish Velan’s first original IP for consoles, PC and mobile.”
HTC and Qualcomm are partnering to allow HTC’s Vive division to use “Qualcomm’s technologies for XR Standalone and 5G smartphone in its Vive Wave mobile virtual reality platform,” Takahashi writes.
Summit Wireless and THX are partnering “to bring high-resolution wireless sound to games, esports, and home entertainment,” Takahashi reports.
VR:
Sony “has already sold over 4.2 million PlayStation VR systems as of March 3rd, 2019, less than three years after it started selling the device,” Engadget’s Mariella Moon reports.
HTC will sell its Vive Focus Plus “standalone virtual reality headset for $800 starting April 15,” Takahashi reports.
Sony is halting “selling digital versions of full games via physical retail, as of next month,” Bathcelor reports.
Bethesda announced RAGE 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot and DOOM Eternal are coming to Steam.
Twitch has disabled “the ability to make subscriptions with both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash,” Dot Esports’ Jerome Heath reports. “The new development has frustrated some users, with multiple people vowing to send tickets to the streaming company, insisting that it reinstates the payment option.”
Extra Esports News:
Partnerships:
Natus Vincere and LeetDesk are partnering, according to a press release.
HitmarkerJobs.com and Radiant Esports are partnering “as they make a run at the world record for longest video livestream!”