In The News
Two-thirds of online gamers have experienced “severe” harassment, according to the Anti-Defamation League. “More than half of the respondents said they’ve been targeted based on their race, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. Nearly 30 percent claim they’ve been doxed in an online game, and nearly a quarter of respondents say they’ve been exposed to white supremacist ideology,” Engadget’s Christine Fisher reports.
Acquisitions:
What about Activision Blizzard? At least one investor thinks Disney should take a look at ATVI, Bloomberg’s Kamaron Leach writes. The investor “sees potential benefits between Activision’s growing esports business and Disney’s TV networks. He also sees an opportunity for Disney to leverage its film and TV characters.”
Bigben Interactive acquired “French developer Spiders today. The new acquisition is best known for games like Bound By Flame and the upcoming release of Greedfall,” Game Informer’s Imran Khan writes.
Corsair acquired Origin PC. Origin specializes in “delivering hand-built, personalized PCs aimed at delivering the best gaming experience possible,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reports.
Tilting Point invested “$30 million in Mino Games’ recent iOS and Android release, Cat Game. The $30 million, which is Tilting Point’s largest funding commitment so far, will go toward user acquisition for Cat Game,” GI.biz’s Rebekah Valentine reports.
My.Games, the games division of Mail.Ru, “saw revenues rise by 33.7% to 7.5 billion rubles ($116.9 million) for the three months ended June 30, 2019,” GI.biz’s James Batchelor writes. “69% of this revenue came from international markets — up from 67% for the first quarter of the year.”
Dragalia Lost is now the “second highest-grossing mobile game” for Nintendo, GI.biz’s Haydn Taylor reports. “It has grossed $100 million since launching in September 2018, and boasts player spending of $33 per install.”
Interviews: Devcom’s Nico Balletta (GI.biz).
Extra Esports News:
Japan is holding its first disabled gamer esports tournament in Takasaki. “Their game of choice? Massively popular battle arena title League of Legends, which will see four five-player teams duke it out for the cash, as told by Gunma Prefecture’s esports association,” Dexerto’s Virginia Glaze reports.
IN: FanAI hired Randy Stude and Karim Varela.
Happy birthday Lee “INnoVation” Shin Hyung!