Monthly Archives: April 2015

Train2Game News Newzoo predict games industry growth

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Newzoo’s upcoming 2015 Global Games Market Report shows that the global games market will jump from $83.6Bn last year to $91.5Bn this year, an increase of 9.4% year-on-year.

At this pace, global revenues will reach $107Bn in 2017. The latest estimates also show that China, with an anticipated growth of +23% this year, could move ahead of the US and become the world’s largest games market by revenues in 2015, one year sooner than previously anticipated. China is expected to outgrow the US as the biggest market by the smallest of margins: $22.2Bn versus $22.0Bn. The Global Games Market Report will be launched on June 8th and include projections toward 2018, as well as the top trends that will define success several years from now.

Newzoo first introduced its Screen Segmentation Model in early 2012 in response to the evolving market and disappearing boundaries in the traditional market segments. With global revenues continuing to grow toward a more equal divide across the four screens, the Screen Segmentation Model is standing the test of time as the primary model for understanding growth opportunities. In terms of screens, the Computer Screen (PC/Mac) with $33.7Bn will take the biggest chunk of the $91.5Bn pie this year: 37%. On a global scale, the Entertainment Screen (TV/Console, VR) is at 27%. Rapidly growing in its share, the Personal Screen (Phones, Smartwatches) takes 23%, leaving 13% for the Floating Screen (Tablets, Handhelds).  The fastest growing segment is the Personal Screen, with a year-on-year growth of +21%. A steep decline in handheld console revenues of -16% will be offset by a +27% increase in tablet revenues, resulting in a healthy +14% overall growth for the Floating Screen.

While VR and smartwatch revenues are still too small to report, Newzoo has included them in the Screen Segmentation Model, with VR categorized in the Entertainment Screen segment and smartwatches in the Personal Screen segment. Google, Sony, Samsung and Facebook are among the many tech giants developing and investing in VR technology. The primary reason for their involvement is the realization that in the long-term, interaction will not always require a screen and augmented reality will become part of the daily lives of consumers. Short- to medium-term VR revenues will be limited and largely cannibalize on current console and PC game spending as a share of game enthusiasts invest in the latest technology and richest experience that VR offers. Smartwatches will be a success but not add significant “new” revenues to the $20.6Bn spent on smartphones this year.

APAC and LATAM Lead in Growth as China Rivals the US
Newzoo estimates total revenues in APAC to increase by 15% in 2015. This is well above the global year-on-year growth of 9% and will bring revenues in APAC to $43.1Bn, nearly equaling the revenues of NAM and EMEA combined. LATAM, while still accounting for only 4% of total global games revenues, is the fastest growing region; revenues in LATAM will reach $4.0Bn this year, up 18% from 2014. The US market will grow by 3% this year and total $22.0Bn. In addition to a stabilized console gaming market, growth in the US continues to be driven by smartphone and tablet game revenues, which will see a healthy year-on-year growth of +15%. While growth in mobile revenues in the US has slowed from a 2013-2014 year-on-year growth of +45%, the US mobile gaming market is in no way saturated as several analyst reports suggest.

Newzoo performs continuous analysis of the global games markets and individual public and non-public company performance. To generate reliable player and revenue data on a global level as well as for the top 130 countries in the world, they combine an array of data sources, including primary consumer research in twenty five countries, quarterly revenues of public companies, transactional data and third-party research.

Train2Game News Minecraft shaping Australia

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The South Australian State Government is asking kids to design changes to the state’s national parks using the video game Minecraft.

Upper primary school students will use the internationally acclaimed “sandbox” video game to design their ideal national park from scratch, or to design changes to an existing park.

The winning designs will help guide national park upgrades worth around $10 million.

Minecraft allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a pixelated three-dimensional world.

The competition is open to students in years four, five, six and seven in Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills.

“The parks they design as part of this competition might include trails for bushwalking, mountain biking or horse riding, barbecue and picnic areas, public toilets, wheelchair accessible areas, campgrounds, scenic lookouts, adventure playgrounds, interpretive trails, places to launch canoes – or something completely different,” said Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Minister Ian Hunter.

“Whatever they create on the screen needs to be able to be translated into the real world.

“We’d like to see trails and other built features that are creative, practical, usable and sustainable, that complement the natural environment and the plants and animals living in it.”

The winning class will win a government-funded excursion to the Belair National Park.

“They’ll spend the day with a ranger, walking and cycling, playing tennis, enjoying the adventure playground, learning about nature, exploring and having fun, which is something our parks are fantastic for,” said Hunter.

People involved in community, education and tourism organisations will be asked to sift through the entries and deliver their recommendations to the government.

Environment department community consultation officer Georgia Gowing, who came up with the idea, said kids were unlikely to respond to normal consultation methods and that something innovative was required to involve them in the process.

“We’re looking for new ways to get people to talk to us,” she said.

“We’ve got an online survey for the adults, but for the kids, we thought we’d have a go at doing something a bit innovative.

“We want to know what children want from national parks. Do they want more mountain bike trails? Do they want rock-climbing walls? Do they want natural play areas?”

“It’s a really good thing to get kids using (video games) as a positive.

“They do this stuff on a screen and then they get out into a real national park.”

She said the government would be taking all practical suggestions seriously.

“We’re not going to design an entire park around what each kid wants to do, but we’re going to take the elements.”

The competition closes June 12, with the winner announced the following day.

Train2Game News Interview with Peter Law Part 1

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“My name is Peter Law, and I’m attempting to be an indie game developer.” Part 1

This week Train2Game caught up with Peter Law, the forum favourite that operates under the username: Carwash. He’s helped many other students with their Train2Game related queries and assisted lots of people on their games creation journeys.

Not a lot of people actually know that Peter has been working in the games industry for years. He’s now working on his own projects and has recently released two titles under his independent label, Enigma 23.
This is the first part of the interview, where we asked Peter about his history with games and what he’s currently working on.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your love of gaming?

“I probably started gaming on the Atari 2600 (“Light Sixer”), I’ve no idea at what age. I still remember getting the Atari 5200ST one Christmas, which came with around 25 games, Gauntlet; Bomb Jack; Space Harrier and so many more I enjoyed many, many … many hours playing – I wish I still had it. The thrill and enjoyment of coming home with a new Atari game I remember fondly. Another Christmas I got a Super NES and a TV for my room, again many hours spent on Mario All Stars; Mario Kart; Donkey Kong Country et al – thankfully I still have my Super NES and Atari 2600.

It was probably the Super NES that incepted me with games as more than a pastime, then the N64 which progressed me more into the world of gaming – I read so much about the N64 before its release it became somewhat of an obsession. It was PC gaming, the internet and online multiplayer that solidified the desire to work in the games industry.
So I started gaming back when games were hard, back when you had to think, there was no hand holding in games (certainly not to the extreme extent many games have today).

I started off working in the games industry for EA, in their QA department. Since then I’ve worked for SEGA, Microsoft, ChangYou (a fairly big Chinese MMO developer/ publisher) and some non-gaming companies. After 8 years in QA I got the chance to take some time off and do my own thing, teach myself a lot more of C# and Unity, and make some games – that’s what I’ve been doing since October 2014 with Enigma 23.

Over the years, I have always dabbled in creating something, be it websites (HTML and CSS); levels (Hammer – TFC, GtkRadieant – Q3); flash (websites and animations); games (UDK – my own stuff) but they never really got fully completed, it wasn’t until picking up Unity at around version 3.5 that I started to be able to progress and finish a game.

My hobby is my career, and my career is my hobby.

Can you tell us about Shh, Zombies?

“Shh, Zombies originally started out as a companion mobile game to an MMO game idea I had years ago, but as that MMO was never going to get made I turned SZ into its own, full game. Shh, Zombies is a puzzle game where the player must get Jim safely to the exit, they do this by placing waypoints down to complete a path to the exit and then watch the action unfold. There are two types of zombies to avoid: the idle, but ever watching, zombie – if they spot Jim they will give chase. Then there’s the walker, these just walk in a straight line, oblivious to what’s going on around them.

There are 40 levels, set during the day and at night. Night levels offer greater difficulty, as it is night time there are more zombies and lower lighting. Each level has 2 objectives:

1- Complete the level in a set number of moves (par).
2- Collect all the zombie heads.”

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And its release?

“As this was my first time publishing a game I decided to launch on the Windows Store (desktop) first, using it as a platform to do a soft release and learn about the process of submitting to a store, iOS and Android were then a fairly easy submission process for me.

I didn’t expect to make anywhere near my money back on SZ, but I expected it to do better than it did – mainly because of friends and colleagues saying they’d buy it when it was released, most didn’t, but very thankful to those who did

I have a blog post that goes into more detail about the release than I’ve got room for here (http://enigma23.co.uk/blog/shh-zombies-sales-post-mortem/)”

And can you tell us about Minecart Runner? And describe the game?

“’Shh, Zombies’ took me approximately 18 months from start of development to first release, and nearly 2 years until I decided it was “finished”, for my second game I wanted something that wouldn’t take as long, 2 to 3 months. In December I started prototyping an infinite runner, and I forget why exactly now, but started to remember the mine cart levels on Donkey Kong Country, so I took inspiration from that and made ‘Minecart Runner’.

There are 2 modes in the game, a Normal mode, where the cart is on rails and the player must jump over gaps and obstacles, collecting items along the way; and then Krazy Mode, which is procedurally generated, is quite difficult and has “crazy” physics (the cart spins around 360). Krazy mode is how MCR started out and wasn’t supposed to be in the game, but during prototyping quite a few people said to me they’d play that, so I kept it in as an additional mode.
MCR has been out, on iOS, since Friday 17th and has had nearly 400 downloads so far – it’s doing a lot better than I expected. Most people are playing the normal mode at the moment. I released Android a little over a week ago, but it hasn’t been picked up as well on there.”

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Why Enigma 23?

“The 23 enigma refers to the belief that most incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23, some modification of the number 23, or a number related to the number 23. Though, this belief isn’t something I personally believe, I do find it interesting and use it as a meta game, hiding 23 where I can.”

How many people in your studio, just yourself?

“Just me, though my wife is a graphic designer, so she helps me out with art when I need it – mainly UI, icons, promo assets etc.”

What are your responsibilities?

“Everything. Game design; coding; UX/ UI design; producer; marketing; PR; community management; testing; even did a bit of 3d work for my first game.”

Who did the artwork?

“For ‘Shh, Zombies’ I had a friend helping me with the UI assets, and he did an awesome job. I did all the 3d work for SZ, using a program called Qubicle. Then my wife has done UI assets, icons and promo assets for both SZ and ‘Minecart Runner’. Other than that I buy game assets from the Unity asset store or Game Dev Market.”

How is it working independently?

“Besides the lack of income? It’s great! Doing what I want and working making games. It is hard though, working at home alone, the main challenges that come with that are not being left alone by my family, and not having someone to work with, discuss ideas with, and get motivation from. To help with motivation I’ve started going to indie developer meetups/ events in my area, which gives a huge boost to motivation – just to be around other developers is a great help.”

You can keep up to date with the company on there social media at

Twitter: https://twitter.com/en9g131
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/en9g131

Or the company site http://enigma23.co.uk/

Train2Game News Mad Catz helping create Rock Band 4

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Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced today an extension of their agreement with Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. to co-publish Rock Band 4, the next generation of the award-winning social and interactive music-gaming platform.

Due for release in 2015 for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Mad Catz will handle global retail sales, promotion and distribution of the Rock Band 4 game and hardware bundles, while Harmonix will handle all digital sales and content. In addition to co-publishing the game, Mad Catz is developing a new generation of Rock Band 4 wireless music game controllers that will give players the chance to rock as the biggest guitarists, bassists, drummers and singers of all time.

Announced in March 2015, Rock Band 4 has been welcomed with universal excitement from gamers and music fans worldwide. Featuring an unrivalled and diverse collection of music across the spectrum of rock, Rock Band 4 will provide gamers with access to over 2,000 compatible tracks via DLC, as well as integrate much of the music they may already own through previous interactions of the franchise*. Already one of the year’s most anticipated games, Rock Band 4 features a host of cutting-edge social and gameplay innovations, as well as a new generation of music game controllers designed to deliver the most authentic band experience ever brought to console.

“Since the announcement of Rock Band 4, we’ve been thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response of passionate fans and gamers worldwide. The time is right to re-introduce the franchise to the new generation of consoles and our co-publishing agreement is a natural extension of the excellent relationship both companies share in realizing that vision,” said Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz.  “We’re excited to extend our agreement with Harmonix, and are confident that Mad Catz’ global sales force, distribution channels and retail marketing expertise will deliver the retail success we believe Rock Band 4 will achieve in 2015 and beyond.”

Daniel Sussman, Product Manager for Harmonix commented, “We’ve been thrilled by the positive response to our announcement earlier this past March. Its proof of what we’ve known all along: music games are alive and well and there’s a huge appetite for a game that can deliver a great experience on guitar, bass, drums and vocals, either solo or as a band. We couldn’t be happier to be working closely with Mad Catz to deliver Rock Band 4 on Xbox One and PlayStation®4 to a worldwide audience this year.”

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., visit: http://www.harmonixmusic.com/games/rock-band/

Train2Game News Planet of the apps

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Fresh-faced technology show Planet of the Apps, produced by international broadcaster Ginx TV, returns this April for an exclusive season packed with the latest trends for mobile devices and gadgets.

Hosted by technology journalists David McClelland (BBC Rip Off Britain, ITV Good Morning Britain, Computer Weekly), Lucy Hedges (London Live, Rinse FM, Stuff) and presenter Adam Savage (ITN, The First Hour), Planet of the Apps is the essential urban guide to all things mobile, lifting the lid on how smartphones and tablets, apps and accessories are revolutionising our daily lives. Each week the Planet of the Apps team takes a burning tech topic, gets hands-on with the hottest in gaming technology and gadgets, and hears from leading industry experts.

Made by mobile and gadget aficionados for the tech geeks, the brand new season sees the team explore whether the smartphone is killing gaming consoles, marvel at the rise of mobile virtual reality and test out whether wearable tech really can help keep us fit.

Technology and games featuring in this series include the 3DS XL, Sony Xperia Z3 and the PS4 Remote Play, GoPro Hero 4 Black, Google Glasses, Oculus Rift, Hololens, HTC Vive, Galaxy VR and Parrot BeBop drone. Key names in the new series include Dr Jo Twist, CEO of UKIE, and Andy Milnes.

Executive Producer of Planet of the Apps, James Neal said: “Season 4 will see Lucy, David and Adam investigate how the ubiquitous world of mobile tech is influencing mainstream culture. They will be championing the huge growth in crowdsourced projects and the people behind them. Mobile tech is now, quite literally, in the hands of the people and Planet of the Apps will be right there with them.”

The brand new series starts From Tuesday April 21st, 19:00, available  on Virgin Media Channel 286 in the UK and worlwide on Ginx Tv.

Train2Game News Get your game at Develop

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Develop:Brighton’s annual search for the next big thing in independent games development is underway as submissions open for its fifth Indie Showcase at www.developconference.com.

The conference’s free-to-enter Indie Showcase celebrates the very best of indie game development with an exhibition featuring the ten best entries as chosen by a panel of experts, chaired by Assyria Games’ Adam Green.

All 10 finalists receive two free Indie Dev Day conference passes, up to five Expo passes, pre-event publicity and a profile on the event website, plus the opportunity to show off their games to around 1,800 developers and publishers at the event.

Over the past four years, more than 250 indie developers have submitted their games to the judging panel. Alumni winners include critically acclaimed 2013 Editor’s Choice winner, Gunpoint, 2014 Editor’s Choice winner Darklings which has made it into the top-100 grossing games chart on iOS and 2013 People’s Choice winner, That Dragon Cancer.

“The quality of the games submitted to the Develop Indie Showcase last year was nothing short of astounding, and it’s great to see so many previous winners going onto both commercial and critical success,” said Andy Lane, managing director of conference organisers Tandem Events.

“The showcase is now in its fifth year and continues to be a fantastic opportunity for indie developers to get their games in front of publishers, the gaming press and their fellow peers,” added Adam Green, managing director of Assyria Games and chair of the judging panel.

“Last year had a record number of games submitted to the competition and what really stood out were the diversity of the entries; everything from highly polished commercial titles, to deeply artistic emotive personal projects and everything in-between. I can’t wait to see what this year’s selection has to offer!”

Constantin Graf, developer of iOS title SwapQuest and 2014 Indie Showcase winner commented “The first thing I would say is do it! It doesn’t really matter if you’re on a very tight budget, just take your chances, somehow you’ll be able to make it in the end. The other thing I’d say is you shouldn’t just do it for the chance of winning, but for the experience of meeting up with like-minded people that can give you some real insight.”

Submissions for the Develop Indie Showcase are now open and it’s completely free to apply. Applicants wishing to enter must comply with the following rule:

– Studios with no more than 15 people
– Studios – and games – that are non-publisher funded
– Games which are not published by a third party at the time of submission
– Games that have a development budget of less than £1million
– Games that are created in the “indie spirit”
– More information and application forms can be found on the website www.developconference.com

The deadline to enter is 11 May and the overall Indie Showcase and People’s Choice winners will be announced to press and delegates at the Develop:Brighton Conference on Thursday 16 July 2015.

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 20.04.15

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Mortal Kombat xA new week means new charts and Mortal Kombat X has fought its way to number one, knocking Battlefield Hardline down to number three and GTA V has popped back up to number two. There are no other new games in the charts this week.

All formats

Week ending 18 April 2015

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 MORTAL KOMBAT X WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
2 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 3
3 BATTLEFIELD HARDLINE EA GAMES 1
4 FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 2
5 BLOODBORNE SONY COMPUTER ENT. 6
6 FAR CRY 4 UBISOFT 4
7 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 5
8 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 10
9 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 14
10 DYING LIGHT WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
11 BORDERLANDS: THE HANDSOME COLLECTION 2K GAMES 8
12 – WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 12
13 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 7
14 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MICROSOFT 9
15 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 DISNEY INFINITY 16
16 TERRARIA XBOX 360 CLASSICS 17
17 DARK SOULS II: SCHOLAR OF THE FIRST SIN BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT 15
18 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
19 RIDE MILESTONE 18
20 THE CREW UBISOFT –
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News Star Wars Battlefront release date

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DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) studio, and Lucasfilm announced today that Star Wars Battlefront will be released on November 20, 2015 in the United Kingdom (November 17 in North America and starting November 19 in Europe) as the first full-length trailer for this highly anticipated title premiered to thousands of fans at Star Wars Celebration.

Combining an unprecedented collaboration with Lucasfilm and the award-winning Frostbite game engine, Star Wars Battlefront will deliver an incredibly authentic and immersive interactive entertainment experience featuring photorealistic visuals and epic action in iconic Star Wars locations. See how this comes to life in-engine by experiencing the newest trailer for Star Wars Battlefront below.

“Like so many others around the world, everyone at DICE is a tremendous fan of the Star Wars universe,” said Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir, Senior Producer of Star Wars Battlefront. “To be working on a Star Wars project and knowing we are helping to represent the universe we love to our generation and a legion of new Star Wars fans is truly an honor. Thanks to the access and knowledge shared with us by Lucasfilm, and the passion and talent of our team, we plan to deliver an amazing game that puts you right in the middle of the Star Wars battles you always imagined playing.”

Star Wars Battlefront will allow fans to live out a wide range of heroic moments and intense battle fantasies of their own – firing blasters, riding speeder bikes and snow speeders, commanding AT-ATs and piloting TIE fighters and the Millennium Falcon. These battles will take place on some of the most iconic planets in the Star Wars universe, including Endor, Hoth, Tatooine and the previously unexplored planet, Sullust. Gamers will be able to play as some of the most memorable characters in the original trilogy such as Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Star Wars Battlefront will feature a wide range of modes tailored for different types of battles, from larger 40-person competitive multiplayer to crafted missions that are played solo, with a friend via split-screen offline or co-operatively online.

Fans who pre-order Star Wars Battlefront will be among the first players to experience the Battle of Jakku, the pivotal moment when the New Republic confronted key Imperial holdouts on a remote desert planet on the Outer Rim. Taking place in the aftermath of the Rebel victory in the Battle of Endor, players will experience the events that created the massive, battle-scarred landscape of Jakku shown in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Players who pre-order Star Wars Battlefront can fight the battle one-week early starting on December 1, 2015. All other players will get access to this free† content on December 8, 2015.

Star Wars Battlefront will be available in the United Kingdom on November 20 (North America on November 17 and starting November 19 in Europe) for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and on Origin for PC.

Train2Game News Unity supports Nintendo 3DS

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Unity Technologies announced plans for Unity to support the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL, new portable game systems from Nintendo, during the keynote speech at Unite 2015 Tokyo.

The new Unity platform support will be available to Nintendo, Nintendo’s 3rd party developers and over 4 million registered Unity developers.

The new Unity platform support allows Nintendo’s in-house developers and 3rd party developers to use Unity’s powerful engine and development environment to create games and apps for the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL.

It also opens the door for tens of thousands of studios and over 4 million developers using the Unity development platform to bring exciting new mobile and social games, introduce their amazing existing games to a new audience, and create new games using innovative functions of the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL systems.

Unite is the official conference series held by Unity to provide developers with the latest information about the Unity development platform and attend practical sessions including introduction to core techniques, best practices, and post-mortems by Unity employees and members of the Unity community of developers. Unite conferences, now in their 9th year, have been previously held in various cities around the world such as Amsterdam, Vancouver, Seattle, Beijing and Seoul.

For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com.

Train2Game News Curse Voice protection

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Curse Inc.’s proprietary voice communication platform, Curse Voice, offers a secure option for gamers to communicate worldwide, eliminating the growing threat of online identity theft and other malicious attacks.

On June 28, 2014 Max and Victoria Zeisberg and their three children had their home raided by the Harriman Police Department’s SWAT team – but only after enduring hours of threats from anonymous phone calls threatening their lives and their family.  During the ordeal, both Max and Victoria were temporarily restrained, and the family was forced to watch on while their home was given a thorough search before they were released from police custody.

Their crime? Streaming Call of Duty.

Swatting is common enough to have made its way into mainstream vernacular, but it’s a malicious form of harassment that not everyone understands. Unprotected VoIP is one of the many ways online information can be unintentionally revealed, and while it may not be the only way that personal information can be leaked, it remains to be one of the most vulnerable security loopholes currently available.

John Russo, writer/creator of Night of the Living Dead stated, “This kind of thing is one more example of the disappearance of manners, politeness, and civility in modern life. It is mean-spirited at its core and probably has its roots in the mindless envy that the perpetrators may have for anyone who is more successful or more famous or more notable than they are. Things may get a lot worse before they get better – if things ever do. I hope we’re not all on a hopeless downhill spiral from which we may never recover.”

Creating safer online tools is the first step in stopping the hazards of swatting. Several companies that provide online tools, like Cisco, Arbor Networks and Curse, are joining up to fight the epidemic with better DDoS protection for their users. The Black Lotus Q4 2014 Threat Report showed that the average packet volume for DDoS attacks increased 340 percent to 4.36 Mpps.

“Since we’re all so connected, personal information like names, addresses and phone numbers are easier than ever to find online, and the swatting and doxing situations only worsen from large company’s breaches like Sony or Anthem. We found in Black Lotus’ Q4 2014 Threat Report that cyberattackers are using increasingly complex DDoS attacks to act as smokescreens while they dig into organizations’ networks for credentials that can bring them financial gain. Just this month, Twitch, the streaming service popular with online gamers, was hacked and its users’ passwords, credit cards and other information were stolen. The ease with which individuals can port victims’ phone numbers or fake their security authentication makes it tougher to track and stop swatting. These attacks can also unfortunately have life-or-death implications, since they tie up law enforcement or first responders and delay them from real emergencies that may be in progress,” stated Shawn Marck, Chief security Officer and Co-founder of Black Lotus.

Companies in the space have started to take note of the hazards of online swatting and are developing better tools to give users a safer environment to play in. With 2 million users across 42 games, Curse Voice is rapidly being established as the industry’s most versatile tool.  Able to connect friends and strangers across a growing number of multiplayer games, Curse Voice has established its place in the gaming community as reliable, easy to use, and most importantly – safe.

Curse Founder & CEO, Hubert Thieblot, voiced his concerns on the matter, “We want players to feel safe, and this is why we specifically built our client in the cloud, providing extra security and protection for the individuals that use it.” He adds, “No swapping of server information or passwords occurs in order to prevent your IP from falling into the wrong hands.”

Curse has managed to create an online communications platform with Curse Voice that keeps the player’s security in mind while enhancing their overall game satisfaction.

    Keeping yourself anonymous online is difficult, but Curse Voice makes it easier by minimizing the amount of information you share with others.

    Information handled on Curse is completely independent from other popular game servers, keeping players safe from the same compromising security leaks that can occur.

    Over 9.9 million counts of identity theft occur each year in the United States alone. By using secure, private servers, every single one of Curse Voice’s players keeps their IP address and personal information safe.

    Protection from brute force attempts to keep parties private, while server information used for services like Ventrillo, Mumble, or Raidcall is difficult to hide once exposed to the public.

    Curse Voice’s simple overlay makes it easy to use for PC streaming, and group chats created via Curse Voice allow for the same social connectivity without the security risks.

IT security service spending for 2015 was estimated to be around 49,140 million, while the consulting segment is expected to reach 12,152 million worldwide. The VoIP global business market is estimated to grow to just over $88 billion by 2018. Many consumers pay extra for the added security of knowing their information is safe, but such a ‘feature’ comes standard with Curse Voice. Keeping yourself safe from dangerous online threats like swatting is more than just a matter of using a secure VoIP – but it’s a strong step in the right direction. 

Curse Voice is the only VoIP gaming service that offers a controlled and safe environment to meet other gamers and make friends without any cost to the user.