In The News
TDW Exclusive Esports/Gaming National Survey
TDW has partnered with Øptimus to do a bi-annual national survey of people in the US who play video games and consume esports/gaming media and compare it with a survey of TDW subscribers. What’s one cool thing we learned?
Age demographic of the general population who play at least 1 hour of video games a week:
- Age 18-34: 53%
- Age 35-54: 42%
- Age 55+: 38%
Weekend in Review:
PSA: While at E3 the newsletter will come out at noon ET. There will be no newsletter Thursday-Monday while I’m at CWL Anaheim.
E3 News:
Bethesda news is here.
Microsoft news is here.
Devolver Digital news is here.
Ben “Dr Lupo” Lupo and 7-Eleven are partnering for E3. “Dr Lupo will participate in a meet-and-greet and other activations as part of 7-Eleven’s sponsorship of E3. 7-Eleven will also give away promotional items through other activations to promote its delivery app 7NOW,” TEO’s Trent Murray reports.
Former Unity executive Anne Evans filed a lawsuit against CEO John Riccitiello alleging sexual harassment, Variety’s Liz Lanier reports. Evans alleges “sexual harassment from CEO John Riccitiello and others in management positions as well as retaliation for reporting it and unlawful termination.” Unity released a statement refuting the allegations, which reads in part, “Following a third-party investigation that surfaced facts that Evans engaged in serious misconduct and established multiple instances in which she demonstrated a gross lapse in judgment, Unity terminated her employment.”
Xseed Games credits are taking criticism as the company apparently seems to remove former employees from them if they leave. Xseed’s statement says, in part, “We appreciate the hard work of everyone who contributes to our releases, but it is and always has been company policy that only current members of our staff are credited.” This came in response to “Brittany Avery, who worked in various roles at the firm from 2011 to 2018, reported via Twitter that she has been removed from the ending credits for the PS4 version of the original Cold Steel,” GI.biz’s James Batchelor reports.
Elder Scrolls Online has amassed a 13.5 million players, USGamer’s Mike Williams writes. “That’s 2.5 million new players in a single year, up from the 11 million announced during Bethesda’s E3 2018 presentation. Bethesda stresses that this number does not count free trials, but does count those who play on Xbox Game Pass.”
Intellivision Entertainment is opening a European office in July in Nuremberg, Batchelor writes.
Extra Esports News:
Looks like Immortals Gaming Club has purchased Infinite Esports & Entertainment. ESPN’s Jacob Wolf reports the bid included “cash and equity worth $35 to $45 million,” according to sources. “Immortals Gaming Club will absorb all of OpTic Gaming and their League of Legends slot. The company is also now responsible for all of Infinite’s financial obligations.”
Super League Gaming acquired “Framerate, one of the largest and fastest-growing independent social video networks in esports and gaming. The deal price is split between $1.5 million in cash and $1 million in stock,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi writes.
TJ Sports launched “Asia’s largest esports live broadcast centre,” Esports Insider’s Chenglu Zhang reports. “TJ Sports launched their new esports live broadcast centre, which offers high-quality broadcast production and meets the demand of broadcasting more overseas and international esports events.”
Partnerships:
Devils.one and TRITON Racing are partnering, Esports Insider’s Adam Fitch writes. “As part of the deal, DV1 TRITON Racing – a sim racing team for devils.one – has been formed.”
FACEIT and Caffeine are partnering, Esports Insider’s Thomas Lace reports. “Branded ‘ECS After Dark’, the new after-action talk show runs following the closure of each day’s competition and is broadcast on Caffeine’s FACEIT channel.”
FACEIT and Genvid are partnering “for the Esports Championship Series (ECS) Season 7 Finals. The partnership provides CS:GO fans with the option to purchase the ECS Season 7 Premium Pass to enhance their viewing experience via the official FACEIT Twitch channel,” Lace writes.
Interviews: Hearthstone’s Jacob “Apxvoid” Coen (Dot Esports).
Happy weekend birthday Ryan “La Luna” Coker-Welch!