In The News
Xbox revealed backwards compatibility numbers, and they’re looking good. “A couple milestones recently with players having enjoyed over 4 billion hours on games released through our ID@Xbox program and nearly 1 billion hours on games in our Xbox One Backward Compatibility library,” the press release reads.
Rex Dickson, EA’s Madden NFL creative director, is leaving the company after 6 years.
Google, according to Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier and Mark Bergen, “is secretly building a social-gaming startup … The founder and co-owner of the new firm, called Arcade, is Michael Sayman, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Revenue news:
When it comes to mobile, Fortnite beats PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, VentureBeat’s Stephanie Chan reports. “Comparing the two games’ first week revenue on the Apple App Store reveals PUBG generated about $700,000 while Fortnite raked in $3.7 million.”
CNBC’s Anita Balakrishnan reports Zynga “reported earnings on Wednesday, showing net income of $5.6 million on revenue of $208.2 million. Zynga also posting its highest mobile audience in four years.”
One change Nintendo’s incoming president intends to make is “the way video games are given the go-ahead within Nintendo,” Game Informer’s Imran Khan reports. CEO Shuntaro Furukawa said “it [is] so the executive board looks at game ideas and makes the decision on whether it makes sense to proceed.”
Partnership news:
The Esports Observer’s Trent Murray writes that FlyQuest and “Fathead, a sports and entertainment wall decal company,” signed a licensing deal.
Esports Insider’s Michael Moriarty reports Fnatic and Best Buy are partnering to “become Fnatic’s exclusive retail partner in the USA.”
The Esports Observer’s Ferguson Mitchell reports Razer and Singtel “are joining in a strategic partnership … Razer’s virtual currency zGold will be integrated into Singtel’s growing digital wallet network.”
Steam now offers support for “Nintendo’s Switch Pro Controller, which you can tinker around with right now, provided that you opt in to the latest Steam beta,” Eurogamer’s Matt Wales reports.
Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk, Tempo Storm’s owner, did an interview with Red Bull “on the rise of the esports genre.”
The Good Life is now fully funded. Meow.