In The News
Paradox Interactive’s Fredrik Wester called the 70/30 revenue split on platforms “outrageous” at Gamelab. He praised Epic Games for offering “a more reasonable alternative with its own store,” GI.biz’s Matthew Handrahan reports. “‘I think the platform holders are taking too much money. Everyone in the press here, just quote me on that.’”
Guy Beahm, the man behind the Dr Disrespect persona, released a TwitLonger apologizing for going into a public bathroom during his first IRL stream at E3 2019. Read it here.
Valve is looking into “making an untethered version of its Index virtual reality headset,” Handrahan reports.
Indievent has had its business license revoked in China, Game Informer’s Imran Khan writes. “The Chinese government revoked Indievent’s business license within the country. While China did not explicitly say their reasoning for this was because of Devotion, they did not give reasoning at all beyond saying that Indievent violated ‘relevant laws.’”
Sony:
Sony Interactive Entertainment is reportedly “considering the merger and acquisition of game development companies,” Gematsu’s Sal Romano writes. “According to Ryan, with companies such as Google entering the games industry, ‘content is becoming more important than ever before.’”
PlayStation Vue received as $5 price hike across all subscriptions, according to an announcement. PlayStation cited “costs rising each year for content.”
Soedesco Studios opened a second studio in the “Czech Republic to focus on development for the next generation of consoles,” GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine writes.
Japanese police are using Street Fighter to recruit new officers, Eurogamer’s Wesley Yin-Poole writes. “It turns out Capcom has been working with Osaka Prefectural Police and other nearby police forces on various crime prevention awareness campaigns since 2013.”
Interviews: EA’s Matt Bilbey (GI.biz).
Extra Esports News:
Call of Duty franchising announced both the Los Angeles and Minnesota spots, Engadget’s Kris Holt reports. “The LA team will be under the wing of Immortals Gaming Club, the organization that owns Immortals, OpTic Gaming and Overwatch League’s Los Angeles Valiant, among other esports brands. The Minnesota team, meanwhile, belongs to Wise Ventures, a Manhattan-based investment firm founded by Minnesota Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf.”
Partnerships & Sponsorships:
China Mobile, TJ Sports, NetEase and Blizzard Entertainment are all partnering “to host the ‘2019 China Mobile Cyber Competition’ featuring a total prize pool of over ¥1M RMB ($146K USD),” TEO’s Hongyu Chen writes.
We Are Nations is sponsoring Echo Fox, TEO’s Andrew Hayward reports. “The first clothing line is available now, and We Are Nations will produce new jerseys along with additional apparel for the team.”
Optus is sponsoring META High School Esports, Esports Insider’s Laura Byrne reports. “Optus was announced as a partner of Legacy Esports – which, like this league, was founded by Adelaide Football Club – in June.”