Marketing July 5, 2021

Electronic Arts has rejected information that it will embed video ads in its games

One of the most high-profile topics of last week was the appearance of the playerWON platform. Its goal is to embed commercials in console and PC games. However, Electronic Arts rejected reports of signing an agreement with the new site. The publisher is not going to introduce such advertising into its games yet.This was announced by an EA representative in an official comment to PC Gamer.

Games July 5, 2021

Sea of Thieves topped the chart of the best-selling Steam games for the second week in a row

The summer sale on Steam continues, so there are no new games in the weekly bestseller chart, and there are almost no changes. Unless Horizon Zero Dawn disappeared from the list, instead of which Red Dead Redemption 2 entered the top.

Investments and transactions July 2, 2021

MTG acquired Indian studio PlaySimple for $360 million

Swedish media corporation The Modern Times Group (MTG) has announced another takeover. She was joined by PlaySimple, a mobile developer from India, known for word games Word Jam and Word Wars. The transaction amount was $359.6 million.

Industry July 2, 2021

Rumor: Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Hauser has opened a new game studio

In March last year, Dan Houser left the Rockstar Games company, which he and his brother headed for two decades. But perhaps he will continue to play video games. Documents about the registration of a new company, in which Hauser is listed as a director, surfaced on the web.

Industry July 2, 2021

Tax deductions and courtesy: how Canada created an ecosystem for game developers

Today, Canada is one of the most favorable places to create games. However, this was not always the case. Game consultant Pierre Moisan told about how the country has gone from an economic crisis to the creation of a thriving ecosystem for developers in just over 20 years. At one time, he helped Ubisoft open an office in Quebec, and today he works with indie studios.

Platforms July 2, 2021

Facebook’s cloud gaming service has reached a monthly audience of 1.5 million players

Cloud gaming on Facebook is becoming more popular. The company reported that 1.5 million people use the service every month. The social network also shared plans for the development of this area and announced a partnership with Ubisoft.Assassin’s Creed Rebellion

Marketing July 2, 2021

There will be built-in advertising in console and PC games. How did the industry react to this?

The format of viewing ads for a fee, popular in mobile, will soon come to the market of console and PC games. The new playerWON platform will embed small videos made on the principle of TV advertising into titles. EA and Tencent have already signed an agreement with it. However, many players and some developers took this news negatively.

Money July 2, 2021

Nexters has updated its financial forecast for 2021 — now it plans to earn $ 610 million

A gaming company with Russian roots Nexters reported for the first quarter of 2021. It turned out to be so good that the company revised its forecast for the whole year and raised its expected financial indicators.

Investments and transactions July 2, 2021

Media: Hideo Kojima signed an agreement with Microsoft to publish the next game on Xbox

The new game Hideo Kojima (Hideo Kojima) can be released on Xbox. According to the VentureBeat portal, the Japanese game designer and Microsoft have signed a corresponding agreement of intent. There are few details about the game yet.

Analytics July 1, 2021

Newzoo: By the end of 2021, there will be 3 billion gamers in the world. More than half are from Asia

The analytical company Newzoo told what will happen to the video game industry in 2021. Despite the fact that the revenue will be less than last year, the market will continue to grow. The number of gamers will jump by 150 million people.

Industry July 1, 2021

The GameMaker Studio engine has an unlimited free version again. But there are also limitations

The GameMaker Studio game engine can now again be used for free for longer than 30 days. YoYo Games studio has provided free access to the engine, but with the condition that it can be done only for familiarization.

Industry July 1, 2021

Ukrainian outsourcer Room 8 Studio opens a new office in Montreal

Room 8 Studio is a Ukrainian outsourcer that helps other companies with the development and porting of games. Yesterday, the studio announced the opening of a new office in Montreal as part of its global expansion strategy.Room 8 Studio announced this on June 30 on its official website.

Platforms July 1, 2021

It turned out that PlayStation charges $25 thousand for the feature. How did indie developers react to this?

Indie developers have repeatedly talked about the negative experience of working with PlayStation. Yesterday it turned out that the feature in the PS Store costs $ 25 thousand. After that, Sony was hit by a new wave of criticism. Developers began to point out many other problems of the company — including lack of support, poor game findability, and, as a result, low sales of indie games.

Industry July 1, 2021

Blizzard veterans together with Tencent launched Uncapped Games Studio

China’s Tencent has grown by another studio. Its subsidiary Lightspeed and Quantum Studios Group, which is developing the Chinese version of PUBG Mobile, has announced the launch of an American division — Uncapped Games Studios. It was headed by people from Blizzard.

Games June 30, 2021

Among Us has collected 15 million downloads during the distribution in the Epic Games Store

The developers from InnerSloth told about the new achievement of their hit Among Us. During the week of the free distribution of the title in the Epic Games Store, the game was downloaded by 15 million people.

Money June 30, 2021

In 11 days, players spent more than $100 million on Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds

Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds is a new role—playing Asian blockbuster that can compete with Genshin Impact. Only 11 days after the release, the players left about $ 100 million in the project. Thanks to this, the game stayed in second place in the world in earnings for a week (only Honor of Kings earned more).

Investments and transactions June 30, 2021

KONAMI has entered into a strategic partnership with the authors of Polish horror films

Japanese publisher KONAMI has started working with the Polish studio Bloober Team, specializing in horror games. The companies are going to “develop selected content together and share their accumulated experience.”

Investments and transactions June 30, 2021

The authors of the Turkish match-3 Royal Match were estimated at $1 billion. The studio received $155 million

The largest series of investments in the history of Turkey took place. Within the framework of this round, the game startup Dream Games raised $ 155 million. The assessment of the entire studio, which had previously been noted for only one match3 game, amounted to $ 1 billion.

Investments and transactions June 30, 2021

The budget of the new cooperative game Remedy will be €25 million

Finnish Remedy has signed a contract with 505 Games to develop and co-publish a multiplayer spin-off Control. For the production of the game, codenamed Condor, the companies laid a budget of € 25 million.

Investments and transactions June 30, 2021

How and why the founder of Green Grey invested $4 million in the MERCS mobile shooter: interview with Dima Morozov

The Green Grey company has become more active. After two PR campaigns — involving Zurab Tsereteli in the creation of the Mountain Goat Cup for developers and launching a program about games on Muz-TV — the company announced the first deal. She invests $4 million in a joint mobile shooter of the designer of the Corsairs series and a serial IT entrepreneur. Details about the deal and the publisher itself are in our material.

All publications of the author

Electronic Arts has rejected information that it will embed video ads in its games

Sea of Thieves topped the chart of the best-selling Steam games for the second week in a row

MTG acquired Indian studio PlaySimple for $360 million

Rumor: Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Hauser has opened a new game studio

Tax deductions and courtesy: how Canada created an ecosystem for game developers

Facebook’s cloud gaming service has reached a monthly audience of 1.5 million players

There will be built-in advertising in console and PC games. How did the industry react to this?

Nexters has updated its financial forecast for 2021 — now it plans to earn $ 610 million

Media: Hideo Kojima signed an agreement with Microsoft to publish the next game on Xbox

Newzoo: By the end of 2021, there will be 3 billion gamers in the world. More than half are from Asia

The GameMaker Studio engine has an unlimited free version again. But there are also limitations

Ukrainian outsourcer Room 8 Studio opens a new office in Montreal

It turned out that PlayStation charges $25 thousand for the feature. How did indie developers react to this?

Blizzard veterans together with Tencent launched Uncapped Games Studio

Among Us has collected 15 million downloads during the distribution in the Epic Games Store

In 11 days, players spent more than $100 million on Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds

KONAMI has entered into a strategic partnership with the authors of Polish horror films

The authors of the Turkish match-3 Royal Match were estimated at $1 billion. The studio received $155 million

The budget of the new cooperative game Remedy will be €25 million

How and why the founder of Green Grey invested $4 million in the MERCS mobile shooter: interview with Dima Morozov