In The News
Sony and Microsoft are allegedly toning down console production in China, Nikkei Asian Review reports. They’re “all looking to shift substantial production capacity out of China, joining a growing exodus that threatens to undermine the country’s position as the world’s powerhouse for tech gadgets.”
G2A is taking heat from “indie developers and publishers for selling stolen keys but insists this is not the case,” James Batchelor at GI.biz reports. “The backlash was triggered by a tweet from Mike Rose, who complained about G2A’s sponsored ads on Google.” G2A provided a statement to GI.biz which reads, in part, “If any developer suspects there are keys on the marketplace that shouldn’t be there, there’s a quick and easy way to report it.” There is a petition telling G2A to “stop selling indie titles on your platform.”
Interviews: Kitfox Games’ Tanya Short (VentureBeat), GameDev.World’s Sarah Elmaleh (VentureBeat), Glass Bottom Games’ Megan Fox (GI.biz), Obsidian’s Leonard Boyarsky (VGC).
Extra Esports News:
Esports by prize pools in the first half of 2019 saw Fortnite on top with $14.7 million, followed by CS:GO at $8.6 million and DOTA 2 at $8.37 million, TEO reports.
Following up on that, the highest-earning esports teams in that time frame include Team Liquid on top at $2.17 million, followed by G2 Esports at $1.73 million and Team Secret at $1.13 million, TEO reports.
Axcel has acquired a majority stake in SteelSeries, TEO’s Andrew Hayward writes. “SteelSeries was purchased from American private equity firm L Catterton, and terms were not disclosed.”
Guinevere Capital is divesting its shares in Dire Wolves, Esports Insider’s Adam Fitch writes. “All of the shareholders in Dire Wolves that also have a stake in Excel Esports need to be replaced.”
Team Griffin signed HUYA as its Chinese streaming platform, Hayward reports. “Chinese live streaming restrictions make it difficult for outside organizations to reach fans, leading to the recent trend of partnerships with Chinese streaming platforms.”
Grimme and AMAZONE are both participating in the Farming Simulator League, Fitch writes. “The two brands will be joined by others in the farming industry by competing in the league once it kicks off on July 27th at FarmCon 19.”
Partnerships:
Team Flash and Fitlion are partnering, Esports Insider’s Laura Byrne reports. “The deal covers Team Flash’s current and future esports athletes in Southeast Asia and sees Fitlion become the organisation’s official nutrition partner.”
BIG Digital and Luminosity Gaming are partnering, Hayward writes. “The interactive experience featured playable games and esports-related content.”
OUT: Team Dignitas founder ODEE “has departed from the organization in a controversial move that’s sending ripples throughout its fan base,” Dexerto’s Alan Bernal reports.
Ally retired from Smash competition “after confessing he lied about having a relationship with fellow pro player Zack ‘CaptainZack’ Lauth, now 17, which he previously denied,” Dexerto’s Calum Patterson reports. His made the announcement and apologized on Twitter.
Happy Thursday birthday Timothy John “Tims” Randrup and Gabriel “HeRoMaRinE” Segat!