In The News
BAFTA 2018 winners have been decided. Big names include Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Overwatch and What Remains Of Edith Finch. The full list can be found here.
Boop. The Federal Trade Commission smacked Nintendo and Sony on the nose with illegal warranty warnings, GamesIndustry.biz’s James Batchelor writes. “The warnings express concerns about warranty policies that state consumers ‘must use specified parts or service providers’ in order to ensure their products are still covered. The FTC declares that these are generally prohibited by law – specifically the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.”
Electronic Arts is shuffling its executives, according to a blog post. Here’s just a few changes: “Patrick Söderlund will step up into the role of Chief Design Officer … Laura Miele will become our Chief Studios Officer … Blake Jorgensen will be our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer … Chris Bruzzo will lead a new Marketing, Publishing and Analytics organization as CMO.”
Congratulations to Warhammer: Vermintide 2 on 1 million copies sold and Rainbow Six Siege on surpassing 30 million players.
Eugen Systems employees ended their strike, GamesIndustry.biz’s Brendan Sinclair reports. “While the strike is over, more than a dozen of the developers will continue pursuing action against Eugen Systems in French labour court.”
Partnership news:
The Esports Observer’s Thiemo Bräutigam writes that Riot Games and MTV are partnering “to launch Hyperplay, a music and esports festival in Singapore.”
Esports Insider’s Adam Fitch writes Counter Logic Gaming and KIA are partnering for CLG’s Rocket League team.
The Esports Observer’s Ferguson Mitchell reports Manchester City and Nexon are partnering to “target Korean soccer fans by creating unique features within the game and unique events across the country.”
The king is dead, long live the king. Billy Mitchell is no more in the Kong world, Venture Beat’s Jeff Grubb reports. Twin Galaxies “determined that he did misrepresent how he played Nintendo’s arcade classic in his three highest-scoring runs.” He’s since been banned “‘from participating in our competitive leaderboards.’”
Nintendo wants to know about your Nintendo Switch ideas. It “partnered with Scrum Ventures to find companies tinkering with new ways to play with or use Nintendo’s flagship console,” Engadget’s David Lumb writes.
The Ivy Esports Conference launched yesterday, Unikrn’s Dustin Steiner reports. “The Conference is set to begin hosting tournaments this October, with official competition in League of Legends, Hearthstone, and Overwatch headlining the event.”
Why’d Call of Juarez disappear? Here’s what Ubisoft told Game Informer’s Imran Khan in a statement: “‘Call of Juarez The Cartel and Call of Juarez Gunslinger licensing/publishing rights have reverted back to Techland, while others remain active with Ubisoft.’”
Call of Duty roster changes can be followed courtesy of Dot Esports’ Justin Binkowski.
Happy birthday to Heroes of the Storm player John “KingCaffeine” Paul Lopez!