video games
Sora is the final ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ fighter
At the Nintendo Direct livestream a few weeks back, fans speculated that they might learn who the last remaining character in the extensive “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” lineup would be.…
Russian authorities arrest cybersecurity giant Group-IB’s CEO on treason charges
Russian authorities have arrested and detained Ilya Sachkov, the co-founder and chief executive of Group-IB — one of the biggest cybersecurity companies in the country — on charges of treason.…
Pokémon Unite is coming to iOS and Android on September 22
During today’s Pokémon Presents livestream, The Pokémon Company announced that Pokémon Unite will become available for iOS and Android on September 22. The strategic battle game came out for Nintendo…
Fortnite adds a new mode that’s basically Among Us
Fortnite now boasts its own version of one of the pandemic’s hottest games. Fortnite-maker Epic just introduced into the game a new limited-time mode called Impostors; it follows the hit…
Medal.tv, a video clipping service for gamers, enters the livestreaming market with Rawa.tv acquisition
Medal.tv, a short-form video clipping service and social network for gamers, is entering the livestreaming market with the acquisition of Rawa.tv, a Twitch rival based in Dubai, which had raised…
Pokémon GO influencers threaten a boycott after Niantic removes COVID safety measures
The creators of Pokémon GO, Niantic, developed one of the first mainstream augmented reality games, boasting 166 million users and over a billion dollars in revenue last year. Taking inspiration…
Fortnite’s mystery ‘superstar’ virtual music tour kicks off next week
Epic Games is teasing the biggest in-game event since Travis Scott psychedelically stomped through Fortnite’s virtual meadows. The mysterious new event, which Fortnite-maker Epic is calling the “Rift Tour,” will…
Creator tools startup Spore raises $1M to build closer bonds between influencers and their fans
Few spaces have grown hotter in the past year than the creator economy has, but for all of the new tools available to those starting a podcast, newsletter or storefront,…
TiMi Studios, one of the world’s most lucrative game makers and part of Tencent’s gargantuan digital entertainment empire, said Thursday that it has struck a strategic partnership with Xbox. The…
Amplitude, the well-funded product intelligence startup that helps businesses use their data to predict which features will drive the best business outcomes for them, today announced that it has acquired…
Snowman, the studio behind Alto’s Adventure and others, launches a kids app company, Pok Pok
Snowman, the small studio behind award-winning iOS games Alto’s Adventure, Alto’s Odyssey, Skate City and others, is spinning out a new company, Pok Pok, that will focus on educational children’s…
Manticore Games raises $100 million to build a ‘creator multiverse’
The gaming sector has never been hotter or had higher expectations from investors who are dumping billions into upstarts that can adjust to shifting tides faster that the existing giants…
5 mistakes creators make building new games on Roblox
Gamefam learned to develop on Roblox the hard way — by trial and error and by getting better at listening to the community’s unique gamer culture. Here are some common…
Rec Room raises at $1.25B valuation from Sequoia and Index as VCs push to find another Roblox
Investor FOMO following Roblox’s blockbuster public debut is pushing venture capitalists who missed out on that gaming giant to invest in competing platforms. Today, Rec Room announced it has raised…
Niantic announces partnership with Nintendo on new augmented reality ‘Pikmin’ title
Nearly five years after the launch of Pokémon GO, Niantic announced Monday they are partnering with Nintendo to co-develop a new title based on the company’s Pikmin franchise. Niantic says…
Nintendo buys Canadian game studio in rare acquisition
While gaming giants Sony and Microsoft have made M&A a critical part of their strategic growth plans, Nintendo has always seemed to be more reluctant to bring outside talent into…
How Niantic evolved Pokémon GO for the year no one could go anywhere
Pokémon GO was created to encourage players to explore the world while coordinating impromptu large group gatherings — activities we’ve all been encouraged to avoid since the pandemic began.
Colleges are diving into esports, with 115 different programs offering scholarships for esports and club programs are growing even faster. Certainly, it will help attract students, but monetization is really tricky.
To own an AR future, Niantic wants to build a smarter map of the world
Niantic is continuing to bet heavily on the idea that it knows where consumer computing is headed, namely toward augmented reality. The game development startup behind Pokémon GO has some…
Nvidia reportedly bringing Fortnite back to iOS through its cloud gaming service
Nvidia is bringing Fortnite back to iPhones and iPads, according to a report from the BBC. The British news service is reporting that Nvidia has developed a version of its…
UK’s ICO faces legal action after closing adtech complaint with nothing to show for it
The UK’s data watchdog is facing a legal challenge after it took the decision to quietly close a complaint against the adtech industry’s high velocity background trading of personal data.…
Scopely raises $340 million at a $3.3 billion valuation as gaming grabs investors’ interest
In a move to shore up institutional support in what’s likely to be it’s last fundraising as a private company, the Los Angeles-based mobile gaming behemoth Scopely has raised $340…
Tencent leads $100M Series B funding round into China-based esport provider VSPN
Further confirmation that the esports market is booming amid the pandemic comes today with the news that esports “total solutions provider” VSPN (Versus Programming Network) has raised what it describes…
As Blizzard sunsets StarCraft II, some of its key creators raise cash for a new gaming studio
Even as Blizzard pulls the plug on new updates for its StarCraft II game, nearly a decade after its launch, gaming investors are financing the next new thing coming from…
Analogue takes on the TurboGrafx-16 with its Duo retro console
Analogue’s beautiful, functional retro gaming consoles provide a sort of “archival quality” alternative to the cheap mini-consoles proliferating these days. The latest system to be resurrected by the company is…
Judge denies Epic’s request to force Apple to bring Fortnite back to App Store
The California judge in the legal skirmish between Epic Games and Apple has denied Epic’s request that Apple be forced to reinstate Fortnite in the App Store, but did affirm…
A PC gaming site had to ban political troll mods for games, because nowhere is safe
NexusMods, a large platform and gathering place for modding PC games, has banned all content relating to the U.S. elections following a flood of troll content, saying “we’ve decided to…
Made In Space is sending the first ceramic manufacturing facility in space to the ISS next week
In-space manufacturing company Made In Space is pushing the envelope on what can, well, be made in space with its next mission — which is set to launch aboard a…
Fortnite may not be available in VR (or on iOS), but Oculus Quest users will soon be getting their own Fortnite clone for virtual reality. Nearly two years after its…
PowerZ is a video game focused on education founded by Shadow founder
Meet PowerZ, a new French startup founded by Emmanuel Freund, the founder of popular cloud gaming service Shadow, as well as former Shadow employees. The company wants to develop a…
