In The News
Weekend in Review:
There’s only room for 1 in this shelter. “Bethesda Softworks filed a lawsuit this week against Behavior Interactive and Warner Bros.” Engadget’s Mallory Locklear writes, “alleging that the new Westworld mobile game is a ‘blatant rip-off’ of its Fallout Shelter.”
The National Health Service is funding “the first ever … internet addiction centre for young people and adults,” The Guardian’s Sarah Marsh reports. “The centre, run by the Central and North West London NHS foundation trust, will initially focus on gaming disorders.”
Acquisition News:
Immortals acquired “Brazilian brand MIBR and hired the team roster for the Brazilian SK Gaming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) team,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports. “Immortals is announcing sponsor partnerships with dating app Tinder and online gambling site Betway.”
Bluehole intends to acquire Delusion Studio, according to GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine. “Delusion Studio is a smaller mobile developer responsible for games such as Guardian Stone, Jellipo, House of Mice, and its most popular release, Castle Burn.”
Microsoft moved over to “blockchain-based process[ing] for paying publishers,” Valentine reports. “Microsoft’s new program uses blockchain through Microsoft Azure to calculate royalties for publishers on the Xbox platform.”
Op.gg launched its analytics app on Overwolf.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s director Scott Phillips did an interview with GameSpot’s Michael Higham about the upcoming game. Here’s a snippet: “‘When talking about what Assassin’s Creed Odyssey should be, we asked where do we want Assassin’s Creed to go, what does it need to evolve into?’”
Bandai Namco and Twitch are partnering for “the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour,” TEO’s Trent Murray writes. “Twitch will serve as managing partner for ‘league operations, circuit events, and content on a global scale.’”
Miscellaneous Esports News:
“Activision Blizzard is evaluating its options to move to a franchise model for its Call of Duty World League,” ESPN’s Jacob Wolf reports. “In the company’s franchise contracts with existing Overwatch League owners, those owners are granted a first right of negotiation for slots in the Call of Duty World League, league sources told ESPN.”
Nabil “Nebtune” Pervez did an interview with Wolf about esports life in Dallas-Fort Worth. Here’s a snippet: “Pervez rode through the small suburb of Dallas, with roughly 34,000 people at the time, and saw hills of green and cattle. Originally from Chicago, the big-city teen’s life had certainly changed.”
Conquest Esports’ Matthew “Kismet” Tinsley did an interview with Dot Esports’ Justin Binkowski after their surprise qualification at the 2018 CWL Anaheim Open.