In The News
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Weekend in Review:
Nintendo came out on top for ad spend in August, according to VentureBeat’s Eleanor Semeraro. “Overall, gaming industry spend increased from July’s $18.3 million to $24.9 million in August, with 32 brands running 61 commercials over 15,200 times, generating over 2.2 billion TV ad impressions.”
Activision CMO Tim Ellis is leaving the company to join the NFL as its CMO.
Jagex “posted revenues of £84.9 million in its last financial year, a rise of 14.2% year-on-year,” GI.biz’s Christopher Dring reports. “Profit is up 51% to £43.5 million, making it the best performance in the company’s 18-year history.”
NantWorks is investing in Daybreak Games to “see the creation of NantG Mobile, which will see mobile versions of H1Z1 and EverQuest,” Esports Insider’s Lydia Mitrevski reports.
Interviews: Rockstar San Diego and North’s Josh Bass and Aaron Garbut (The Hollywood Reporter), Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot (GameSpot) and Fort Mason Games’ Kate Gorman (VentureBeat).
Extra Esports News:
Richard Lewis reported on a recent livestream that Overwatch League teams have been offered Call of Duty World League franchise spots.
“Lewis says that when Blizzard were organizing the OWL, they offered franchise spots in a Call of Duty league, as extra incentive for investors. He goes on to say that the potential investors in the Overwatch League wanted assurances that if and when a Call of Duty franchised league began, they would retain their city link,” Dexerto’s Calum Patterson reports Lewis as explaining. Excerpts from Lewis’s livestream can be found in Patterson’s article.
Gamer Sensei and The North American Dota Challengers League are partnering, Esports Insider’s David Hollingsworth writes. Top players will have the chance to become Gamer Sensei coaches.