In The News
Roster Shuffle News:
Blair Brown is leaving BioWare to “join Respawn Entertainment in July where he will contribute to the team’s new Star Wars game,” GameSpot’s Eddie Makuch reports. He previously “worked on Mass Effect: Andromeda and Dragon Age: Inquisition.”
Gfinity “named Garry Cook as Executive Chairman,” TEO’s Trent Murray writes. “Cook previously worked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as chief global brand officer.”
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is phasing out “‘the Short Form’ process … The ESRB has said that even though it is phasing out the Short Form application, it will still be free for developers to get ratings for their digital games through the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC),” VentureBeat’s Stephanie Chan writes.
Revenue News:
Ubisoft “posted net revenues up nearly 19% to €1.73 billion ($2.04 billion), with net income up 29% to €139.5 million ($164.7 million),” GamesIndustry.biz’s Brendan Sinclair reports.
Paradox Interactive’s “revenues for the three months ended March 31st were reported as SEK 267 million ($30.5 million) – more than double the SEK 121.3 million ($13.9 million) achieved in the same period last year,” GamesIndustry.biz’s James Batchelor reports.
Netease “posted a 75 per cent increase in operating expenses for the quarter and a 20.4 per cent decrease in gross profit,” GamesIndustry.biz’s Rebekah Valentine writes. “Netease showed earned net revenue for Q1 2018 of $2.3 billion, a 3.9 per cent increase year over year.”
Nvidia’s “GAAP revenue for the quarter was $3.21B, up 66% from Q1 2017 (10% increase over Q4 2017),” Murray reports. “Gaming drove Nvidia’s success, totaling $1.72B in revenue, a 68% increase year-over-year.”
Partnership News:
Oculus and ESL “are renewing their partnership to operate a virtual reality esports league,” TEO’s Ferguson Mitchell reports.
Immortals and Razer are partnering, TEO’s Graham Ashton writes. “Immortals signs a two-year deal with Razer to sponsor its esports teams, including its Overwatch League franchise Los Angeles Valiant.”
CSM and Code Red are partnering, Esports Insider’s Sam Cooke writes. “The partnership is designed to ‘provide the first full service esports offering’, which will combine Code Red’s esports know-how and experience with the global reach and strategic thinking of CSM.”
Lenovo Legion and Ubisoft are partnering to sponsor Rainbow Six: Siege esports, Esports Insider’s Lydia Mitrevski reports. “This year-long partnership will extend the duration of the Pro League, from spring 2018 through spring 2019 across North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America.”
Gamelynx “raised $1.2 million to … [create] team-based competitive games on mobile,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports. “The company’s main investors include Y Combinator, Riot Games, Skycatcher Fund, and M Ventures.”
OrangeGames acquired the majority stake in Sulake.