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May 2019 Archive

    1. Time to take responsibility over gaming disorder | Opinion
    2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare "eliminates season pass" - so how will it fund DLC? | Opinion
    3. Ten years after Farmville, Zynga's still standing | Opinion
    4. Migration Advisory Committee recommends games roles be added to UK shortage list
    5. G Into Gaming launches industry diversity charter
    6. Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime to receive Gamelab Honor Award
    7. Twitch adds mandatory two-factor authentication to prevent non-games streams
    8. Management reshuffle at GameStop
    9. The games industry and mental health | Opinion
    10. Square Enix to publish Dying Light 2
    11. Raw Fury acquires rights to the Kingdom IP
    1. Take-Two head likens free-to-play publishing to gambling
    2. The clash between storytelling and selling in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
    3. Google Play mandates odds disclosure for loot boxes
    4. Microsoft to launch Xbox Game Pass on PC
    5. Gears 5 to launch on Steam as Xbox opens up to other PC stores
    6. Iron Maiden sue 3D Realms over Early Access title Ion Maiden
    7. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Pod of Duty Modern Warfare Plus+
    8. Mail.ru plans to enter digital distribution space with launch of new gaming brand
    9. Riot Games launches premium viewing service for LoL esports
    10. Failbetter Games' quest to eradicate crunch
    11. UK's first Microsoft store opens in July
    12. Google introduces stricter Families policies to protect younger players
    13. Three Kingdoms breaks Total War records with 1m sold
    14. Zynga sells San Francisco headquarters for $600m
    15. Bossa Studios to close Worlds Adrift in July
    1. Starbreeze applies for second extension on reconstruction period
    2. Pokémon is a masterclass in brand management | Opinion
    3. Roblox targets China with Tencent education partnership
    4. 11 bit Studios embraces "limitless" potential as a publisher
    5. Pokémon Home adds cloud service to series
    6. How everything has fallen into place for Tetris
    7. Gamescom expands to Asia in 2020
    8. Sony Europe taken to court for alleged consumer rights violations
    9. YouTube Gaming app to be retired this month
    10. Riccardo Zacconi to step down as CEO of King
    1. WeQ acquires Booster Studios
    2. South Korean government split on gaming disorder
    3. Dauntless tops 6 million users a week after launch
    4. Playdate handheld pressured Playdate event to change name, says organizer
    5. Sony: Next PlayStation's success will depend on backwards compatibility and streaming
    6. Superhot passes two million lifetime sales
    7. Games industry being "dragged through the mud" by Belgian loot box ruling
    8. A Way Out picks up Game of the Year at Nordic Game Awards
    9. Patrice Désilets' Ancestors will be exclusive to Epic Games Store for three months
    10. Cory Barlog, Randy Pitchford, Brendan Greene and David Cage to speak at Gamelab 2019
    11. Subway Surfers passes 2.5bn downloads
    12. Overwatch League commissioner joins Epic's Fortnite esports push
    13. Google investing €600m into Finnish data centre ahead of Stadia
    14. Phoenix Labs' Dauntless hits 5m players
    15. GDPR: One year in | Opinion
    1. UK charts: Team Sonic Racing laps the competition
    2. VR and AR will converge, says Unity XR lead
    3. Trade groups decry gaming disorder classification
    1. World Health Organization makes 'gaming disorder' a recognised illness
    1. US considers 25% tariff on game consoles
    2. Sonic the Hedgehog film delayed
    3. US loot box bill receives bipartisan support
    4. Putting PlayStation on the silver screen
    5. ZeniMax amicably resolves "Redfall" trademark dispute
    6. GitHub starts Patreon-like Sponsors initiative
    7. Gearbox didn't file a grievance against former legal counsel
    8. How Total War conquered China to break franchise records
    9. Dead Cells has sold 2m copies in less than a year
    10. All Telltale Games to be pulled from GOG next week
    1. EA exec lays out a vision of the future
    2. GOG Galaxy overhaul will unite users' game libraries
    3. From Rockstar Lincoln studio head to anti-crunch advocate
    4. Submissions open for 2019 GamesIndustry.biz Best Places To Work Awards UK
    5. TIGA: UK industry now contributes record £1.8b to GDP
    6. Leigh Alexander: "Power fantasies are boring"
    7. Superdata: Apex Legends digital revenue down 74% in two months
    8. Razer signals the end of Ouya with online store closure
    9. Firewatch publisher unveils Playdate gaming handheld
    10. Animoca Brands raises $2.5m for blockchain gaming platform
    1. Riot forms governing body for scholastic esports
    2. Valve making its own version of popular Dota 2 mod
    3. Shawn Layden stresses importance of diverse teams
    4. Valve launches free Steam Chat app for mobile
    5. Sega's Judgement will be available in Japan again in July
    6. Rovio joins Staff for UNICEF pilot program
    7. The accidental authenticity of Devolver Digital
    8. World War Z closes first month with almost 2m sold
    9. Google reveals new $999 Glass AR headset
    10. Metro Exodus recoups all costs, boosts Q1 revenue at THQ Nordic
    11. Inside Station F: The grander ambitions of Ubisoft
    12. Mortal Kombat 11 is the second best-selling game of 2019 in the US
    13. THQ Nordic acquires Gothic developer Piranha Bytes
    1. Tencent acquires Sharkmob
    2. Zynga on licensing and addiction
    3. Nintendo to halt service of two mobile games in Belgium amid loot box debacle
    4. God of War reaches ten million lifetime sales
    5. Five sessions to watch at the Nordic Game Conference 2019
    6. Critical Consensus: Rage 2
    7. Valve lets players avoid toxic people in DOTA 2, charges for the privilege
    8. Record quarter for Garena Free Fire with $90m revenue
    9. Playtika aims for cheaper, faster development with internal Games Lab
    10. RageSquid's Descenders hits 250k players on PC, Xbox
    1. Streamer Tfue sues esports organization for illegal operation as a talent agency
    2. Red Dead Online's in-game poker unavailable in certain regions
    3. Sony announces PlayStation Productions to bring gaming IP to film and TV
    4. Bandai Namco partners with ISKN to build new "creative entertainment platform"
    5. NetEase reveals game deals with Pokémon and Marvel
    6. PlayStack makes PC/console move with a Doctor Who VR game
    7. Tilting Point tips its focus into co-development
    8. Nippon Ichi Software reportedly unable to pay staff after Disgaea RPG teething problems
    9. Unity slammed over engine features supporting the gambling industry
    10. Xbox: “We have a huge responsibility to a healthy gaming lifestyle”
    11. Defiant Studios dropped as developer of Lords of the Fallen 2
    12. 2K halts Borderlands 3 pre-orders during Epic Games Store Mega Sale
    13. Marvelous CEO Haruki Nakayama steps down due to ill health
    14. UK Charts: Rage 2 is No.1 but fails to match original
    1. CD Projekt Red wants to be "known for treating developers with respect"
    2. Minecraft has sold 176 million copies worldwide
    3. Riot Games stands firm against walkout employees' demands
    4. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Microsoft and Sony's cloud co-operation
    5. Minecraft Earth gives franchise a Pokémon Go twist
    6. Games2win launches $1.4m fund for Indian startups
    7. Xbox's Gaming for Everyone: "Diversity has always been here"
    8. Nvidia anticipates growth despite steep drop in Q1 profit
    9. Magic Leap acquires holographic communication startup Mimesys
    10. Paradox pulls Bloodlines 2 from Epic Store during Mega Sale
    11. Apple ruling opens a can of worms for digital storefronts | Opinion
    1. No show floor booth for Activision at E3
    2. Kickstarter won't recognize employee union without an election
    3. Sony and Microsoft partner for cloud, AI innovations
    4. Epic Games store eats cost of site-wide sale
    5. Why we're headed toward loot box legislation | Opinion
    6. Who is responsible for loot boxes?
    7. Re-Logic won't "sell our souls" with Epic Games Store exclusivity
    8. Uplay boost fails to prevent The Division 2 missing sales targets
    9. NetEase pushed Minecraft to 200m registered Chinese users in Q1
    10. Steam Link finally available for iOS
    1. Tencent games business remains steady in lingering effects of license freeze
    2. GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit heads to Seattle
    3. Ubisoft posts record sales again, delays Skull & Bones again
    4. Nintendo Switch sales pass PS4 in Japan
    5. What yesterday's EU court ruling means for the games industry
    6. Epic Games Store stealth launches in China
    7. Take-Two: Investors are re-rating the games business
    8. Kahoot acquires edutainment developer Poio
    9. Profit and revenue down at Paradox as investments reach "record high"
    10. Tencent adds 'Gameplay Management' system to PUBG Mobile to encourage "healthy gaming"
    1. Sweden investigating loot boxes
    2. BAFTA presenting Epic Games with Special Award
    3. Studio Istolia closes down
    4. Killing Floor games have sold nearly 10m units
    5. Bigben Interactive aims to be "the middleweight champion" of games publishing
    6. Employers must track staff working hours, EU court rules
    7. The timeless magic of Shadow of the Colossus
    8. WWE 2K dev establishing second wrestling IP to foster internal competition
    9. TinyBuild: Development to publishing, and back again
    10. High Fidelity lays of 25% of staff and pivots to virtual communications
    11. Nier: Automata breaches four million units sold
    12. Epic Games acquires Twinmotion
    1. Grand Theft Auto V has sold nearly 110m copies
    2. Take-Two ends fiscal year with a group effort
    3. US Supreme Court says Apple can be sued for monopolization
    4. Rockstar acquires Dhruva Interactive from Starbreeze for $7.9m
    5. Bandai Namco sales and profits up last year, led by gaming segment
    6. ESA names Stanley Pierre-Louis CEO
    7. Assassin's Creed should partner with Stranger Things: Lessons from Changing Channels
    8. Discord reaches 250m users after just four years
    9. Fig-funded Outer Wilds will be a timed exclusive on Epic Games Store
    10. Profits tumble at Square Enix due to escalating launch costs
    11. Sean Murray to keynote Develop:Brighton 2019
    12. DeNA reveals new Pokémon mobile game amid declining revenue
    13. Detective Pikachu earned $161m worldwide in its opening weekend
    14. UK Charts: Days Gone scores third No.1 in very quiet week for games retail
    15. Following your dreams: Pursuing a career making games | Opinion
    16. Sony releases feature length God of War documentary
    17. Australian Labor party pledges to reinstate $25m Interactive Games Fund
    1. ESA reportedly troubled by eroded trust, harsh management styles
    2. Newzoo: More than one billion women are active gamers
    3. Challenging player entitlement by making them homeless
    4. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Crunch and walkouts are failures of management
    5. Valve Index asks for innovation without incentive | Opinion
    6. Record-breaking Q1 revenues for Nexon at $840m
    7. Ghost Recon Breakpoint will skip Steam for Epic Games Store
    8. Capcom creates feeder leagues to grow Street Fighter esports
    9. EA and Activision need to show us something new | Opinion
    10. Facebook's VP of VR Hugo Barra steps down
    11. Unity seeks another $125 million in funding
    1. NetherRealm reportedly responding to crunch concerns with meeting, survey
    2. Scopely acquires Digit Game Studios
    3. 11 bit Studios: Expanding the horizons of Frostpunk
    4. Emily Greer: "New stores are changing the expectation that only Steam matters"
    5. ESA: Gamers are college educated, will vote
    6. Reevaluating the success of Nintendo 3DS | Opinion
    7. Konami enjoys fifth consecutive year of profit growth
    8. Educational games firm Kahoot makes its first acquisition
    9. Google Play ratings system overhauled to account for recent scores
    10. Days Gone outperforms God of War in Japanese debut
    11. Sega acquires Two Point Studios
    1. Fig announces open-ended crowdfunding program Open Access
    2. Leigh Alexander, Meg Jayanth forming Red Queens
    3. US legislator proposes loot box ban
    4. United devs stand, divided they crunch | Opinion
    5. Nintendo: "The reality is that the Chinese market is almost all mobile and PC games"
    6. GWU calls for testimonies against reported sexual predators at Quantic Dream
    7. How can universities better support the UK games industry
    8. Echo developer Ultra Ultra has closed down
    9. Claptrap voice actor accuses Randy Pitchford of assault amid pay dispute
    10. Google pivots away from VR hardware to focus on software
    11. Tales Of series hits 20 million sales
    12. Supercell invests €3.4m in Swedish startup Luau Games
    13. Tencent gives up on monetising PUBG in China
    1. Niko Partners: Chinese mobile gaming revenue up 29% last year despite license freeze
    2. EA's plan for a record year revolves around ongoing games
    3. Apex Legends, Anthem can't save EA's fourth quarter
    4. Global console content, services spend reaches record high in 2018
    5. Microsoft files patent for controller accessory with Braille input and output
    6. EA Access is launching on PlayStation 4 in July
    7. The Terrawurm experiment: Can indies work together on multiple games?
    8. What responsibility do leaders have to their developers?
    9. Dundee launches Summer of Games
    10. Germany considers new youth protection guidelines for mobile monetisation
    11. Starbreeze seeks funding to avoid imminent "liquidity shortfall"
    12. WHO gaming disorder could cost South Korean economy over $9bn
    13. NetherRealms Studios investigating crunch and toxicity allegations
    14. Developing out loud for Amazon Alexa
    15. Triternion's Mordhau sells 500k copies in one week on Steam
    16. Capcom's full-year results boosted by software strength
    1. Riot Games employees hold walkout over forced arbitration
    2. UK Charts: In quiet release week, top ten still led by Days Gone, Mortal Kombat 11
    3. Niko Partners: China online PC gaming revenue saw slight decline in 2018
    4. Xbox Live coming to select Gameloft mobile titles
    5. Study sees link between loot boxes and gambling
    6. Brexit and its impact on the gaming sector | Opinion
    1. Apex Legends has now banned 770k players
    2. Star Citizen development reportedly troubled by mishandled money, micromanagement
    3. NetherRealm's self-sustaining culture of crunch
    4. Risk of Rain 2 sold 1m units in a month on Early Access
    5. Nordic Game Discovery Contest reveals 15 finalists for 2019
    6. How Denuvo is tackling cheaters who think outside the box
    7. Phoenix Games' first acquisition is UK developer Well Played Games
    8. Developer's edition of HoloLens 2 launches today at $3,500
    9. Riot Games will drop mandatory arbitration following walkout threats
    10. Path of Exile devs "sometimes feel we are being asked to crunch" by fan demands
    11. Gamescom's Indie Arena Booth is offering free space to devs through Utomik partnership
    12. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: How to spoil your own announcement
    13. Sonic The Hedgehog film character design will change, says director
    1. GameClub raises $2.5m for premium mobile game development
    2. Activision Blizzard looks to esports, mobile, free-to-play during company transition
    3. Activision Blizzard sees predicted Q1 start to "transition year"
    4. Microsoft joins Climate Leadership Council
    5. Emily Greer departs Kongregate for new gaming venture
    6. Microsoft Solitaire, three others join World Video Game Hall of Fame
    7. Sindiecate founders go AWOL, owing staff and contractors over €30,000
    8. Remedy: "Single-player games are stronger than they have ever been"
    9. Ubisoft and Genba to "kill the grey market" with silent key activation
    10. GTA V becomes third most-watched game on Twitch thanks to role playing server
    11. Danish government launches esport strategy to foster growth and tackle toxicity
    12. Google Stadia caused investors to walk away from Slightly Mad's console
    13. World War Z sold 320k on Epic Games Store
    1. Immortals rebrands, raises $30m in Series B funding
    2. Capcom restructures esports and media licensing business units
    3. Original Earthworm Jim team reunites for new, Intellivision Amico-exclusive entry
    4. Zynga's Q1 revenues, losses top expectations
    5. Squad sells 1m copies
    6. Epic Games acquires Psyonix
    7. Borderlands 3 is about more bullets, not new bullet points
    8. What does "additional polish" mean?
    9. Adventure Academy: The educational MMO made by WoW, LOTRO devs
    10. Plague Inc. has been downloaded by 120m people
    11. Sega to reduce digital development after rocky performance last year
    12. World of Goo gets a "gentle remastering" after a decade of silence
    13. Sci-fi sex game Subverse passes £1.5m on Kickstarter
    14. Anki shuts down
    15. Fnatic appoints new leadership after securing $19m investment
    16. Oculus Quest and Rift S to start shipping on May 21