Disney invests $1.5bn in Epic Games to create new Fortnite universe
Disney has just secured a $1.5bn stake in Epic Games to develop a new Fortnite universe incorporating all of its major properties – including Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, ESPN, and more. Epic Games has done it again! The latest major coup for the publisher comes in the form of a hefty...
Current in Gaming
Xbox gamers are not happy about full-screen ads
Unexpected changes to the Xbox dashboard have become commonplace in recent years, but the unsolicited introduction of full-screen ads is arguably the worst to date. If there’s one unforgiving community you really don’t want to antagonise, it’s gamers. A bona fide way of doing so is to immediately interrupt our sessions...
Hackers leak more than a terabyte of Insomniac Games’ private data
A week after unsuccessfully blackmailing Sony for a $2 million payout, a ransomware outfit has leaked a trove of internal data from Insomniac Games totalling 1.67 terabytes. Oh, to be a game developer. In what is becoming an alarmingly regular occurrence, yet another major game studio has fallen victim to an...
‘The Day Before’ shuts down four days after launching
Our hunch was correct. After five years of so-called development, post-apocalyptic MMO ‘The Day Before’ has vanished from stores four days into release. Its studio, Fntastic, has also liquidated. All signs point to a scam. A few hundred days late, and more than a buck short. RIP ‘The Day Before’...
Game industry to surpass $300bn and 3.8bn players by 2030
The gaming industry is expected to reach a global annual revenue of $300bn and 3.8bn active players by 2030, according to research from Midia. The gaming industry is the undisputed king of the entertainment farmyard, boasting three times the revenue of music and almost four times that of the silver...
Shell partners with Fortnite to push gasoline
In arguably the most brazen example of gross product placement in recent times, Shell is pushing gasoline propaganda through the vehicle of Fortnite. What are kids most worried about, climate change... what do kids really like, Fortnite. Roll out the prop! In what feels like a work of fiction Black Mirror...
Developer protests force Unity to backtrack on greedy policy change
More than 500 game developers signed a collective letter threatening to turn off Unity ad monetisation in response to greedy and blindsiding policy changes announced earlier this month. Unity is already backtracking. Game developers are refusing to be taken for a ride, and we’re here for it. Earlier this month, Unity Technologies – the company behind the cross-platform game engine Unity – blindsided hundreds of game developers with a slew of...
Broken achievements & trophies should not still be a thing
For the ‘completionists’ among us gamers, there’s nothing more frustrating than fulfilling the requirements for a trophy or achievement and seeing it remain locked. Though rarely talked about, this is a significant point of tension between consumers and studios. Picture this, you’ve just completed an entire playthrough of a game on the hardest difficulty setting without dying or restarting a checkpoint, it’s been a 16-hour slog. Having failed several times prior,...
Xbox introduces strict ‘strike’ system to prevent online abuse
Microsoft’s latest effort to curtail online abuse on Xbox will involve a new ‘strike’ system which may see offending players suspended for up to a year. The tired misconception that the gaming community is toxic has largely been dispelled, but there’s always room for improvement. The latest in a slew of efforts to curb harassment, bullying, and hate speech has seen Microsoft introduce a new ‘strike’ system for Xbox, which...
Microsoft beats FTC in historic bid to land Activision Blizzard
Microsoft has passed arguably the most vital hurdle to becoming sole owners of Activision Blizzard in the most expensive tech deal of all time. Is this the beginning of an anti-competitive market within gaming? The controversial deal which will dwarf what Disney paid for Marvel is a huge leap closer to getting done. First announcing its bid to buy Activision Blizzard – the acclaimed publisher behind Call of Duty, World of...
