Tag Archives: developer

Train2Game News British eSports Finals

Posted on by

The British Esports Association, the not-for-profit organisation set up to promote and support grassroots esports, has announced the dates for its student grand finals.

The 2019/20 British Esports Championships will once again conclude at the Birmingham NEC’s Insomnia Gaming Festival, which runs from April 10th to 13th. The tournament is for students aged 12 and above in secondary schools, alternative provision schools and further education colleges across the UK.

The specific dates for each of the three finals are as follows:

Overwatch: Friday April 10th, 10am

Rocket League: Friday April 10th, 12pm

League of Legends: Saturday April 11th, 10am

The finals will see the winners of our winter championship face off against the winners of the spring championship, which has just got underway.

Team BTC (Bridgwater & Taunton College), Clyde Hot Shots (Glasgow Clyde College) and Sunderland Seers (Sunderland College) have already qualified for the League of Legends, Rocket League and Overwatch finals respectively, with the slots for their opponents currently up for grabs.

The news comes as the British Esports Championships continue to draw growing numbers of participants, following record sign-ups last October.
For the 2019/20 season, 72 individual schools and colleges are taking part, representing a 94.59% increase over the 2018/19 season.

In terms of the number of teams, 259 signed up for 2019/20, a year-on-year rise of 93.28%.

Mary Antieul, head of esports at Insomnia and BELONG, commented: “We are delighted to be hosting the 2020 Championship finals at Insomnia 66, the UK’s largest gaming festival. We look forward to watching the school and college teams compete alongside the best of our Insomnia BYOC teams and BELONG Arena Clash teams.”

Elliot Bond and Alice Leaman, British Esports school and college liaison officers, said in a joint statement: “We’re delighted to bring the finals of the British Esports Championships back to Insomnia for another two days of epic grassroots esports action. Some fierce rivalries have formed between the different teams over the past few months and we look forward to watching them culminate on the big stage come April.”

Elsewhere, a separate tournament for alternative provision schools will take place again this year, following a competition in 2019. Further details about this will be announced in due course.

If you would like to watch the finals live, you can purchase tickets to Insomnia here: https://www.seetickets.com/tour/insomnia

Train2Game News Dan Houser Resigns From Rockstar Games

Posted on by

Dan Houser has parted ways with Rockstar Games!

Mr Houser co-founded the studio behind GTA and Red Dead in 1998 with his brother and a couple of other games developers.

And now, Dan will be officially parting ways from the company at the beginning of March.

Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, said it was “extremely grateful for his contributions” but stressed in a statement that his brother Sam continues to work for the business.

The reason for Dan’s resignation has not been confirmed but reportedly, he has been taking an extended break since the beginning of Spring 2019.

What this means for the companies future, and games like GTA 6 remains to be seen.

Train2Game News Magic ManaStrike Launched

Posted on by

Today, Netmarble Corp. is officially summoning Magic: ManaStrike worldwide, its first-ever game for the Wizards of the Coast franchise Magic: The Gathering.

Players can now bring Magic to life by downloading the game on the App Store and Google Play.

Magic: ManaStrike is an all-new game that takes the excitement of Magic: The Gathering’s vast lore in a whole new direction with a fast-paced PVP strategy game.

After losing a war with the Planeswalkers, Magic: The Gathering’s most powerful villain Nicol Bolas creates a parallel universe to find the Planeswalkers’ weaknesses. Players enter a contract with Nicol Bolas to provide combat data by controlling Planeswalkers and units in his universe.

“Netmarble and Wizards of the Coast worked closely for a long time to ensure Magic: ManaStrike is a new gameplay style that will be enjoyable for all players, but stays true to Magic: The Gathering’s roots and is authentic and enjoyable to fans,” said Joe Lee, Executive Producer at Netmarble. “Thanks to our partnership, we are excited to deliver a Magic: The Gathering experience that introduces real-time battles for mobile players, yet maintains core features from the original IP for fans.”

Fast-paced and easy to learn, fans can experience dynamic real-time battles with anyone from around the world in three-minute matches. During battle, players will be able to summon units, cast spells, and command powerful Planeswalkers with simple tap and drag gameplay and iconic Magic: The Gathering cards re-envisioned through high-quality 3D. By collecting new cards from Magic’s five unique Mana colors – White, Blue, Black, Red and Green, players will learn to understand each color’s traits, and create unique strategies that lead the way to victory.

“With Magic: ManaStrike, we were impressed with Netmarble’s ability to encapsulate Magic: The Gathering’s 25-year history into a mobile game that stays true to what Magic fans want in other mediums,” said Eugene Evans, VP of Business Development and Strategy at Wizards of the Coast. “Seeing our cards and Planeswalkers stepping into the 3D battlefield, along with our card effects translated from strategic turn-based gameplay into real-time combat, is a delight to see and we can’t wait to see how Magic: ManaStrike develops over time.”

At launch, players that pre-registered to download Magic: ManaStrike can look forward to receiving rewards like Gold (in-game currency), Gems (premium currency), one Player Icon, and ten emoji themed after Magic: The Gathering’s Planeswalkers. Other events and rewards awaiting players include:

– Seven Days Check-In Event: Gold, Gems, and Card Packs will be given to players for seven days

– New Planeswalkers

Ob Nixilis: Players can achieve this Planeswalker through Magic Pass upgrade

Calix: Available for purchase regardless of Magic Pass An all-new Gideon skin

– Theros-Themed Map: In celebration of Magic: The Gathering’s new Theros Beyond Death expansion, an all-new Theros-themed map is available for players over Rank 5 to experience.

Magic: ManaStrike is available to download on the App Store and Google Play and is globally launched, and supports 13 languages including English, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Indonesian, Thai, Russian and Portuguese.

For more information, please visit Magic: ManaStrike’s official website and forum.

Train2Game News Pokémon Home Details

Posted on by

Today, The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo announced more details for the new cloud service app Pokémon HOME.

The app enables Trainers to continue their Pokémon adventures beyond a single game system and manage their collection of Pokémon across many of their games. Pokémon HOME will launch in February 2020 for iOS and Android devices as well as Nintendo Switch.
 
Designed as a place where all Pokémon can gather, Pokémon HOME will enable Trainers to bring over Pokémon from linked Pokémon series games and deposit them in Pokémon Boxes in the cloud or move them around to linked compatible games.

Also, by linking the same Nintendo Account to both the Nintendo Switch version and the mobile device version, fans will be able to access the same Pokémon Boxes from both hardware platforms. The Nintendo Switch version of Pokémon HOME supports connectivity with the Nintendo Switch games Pokémon Sword, Pokémon Shield, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! Both the Nintendo Switch version and the mobile device version of Pokémon HOME support connectivity with the Nintendo 3DS software Pokémon Bank.

Support for Pokémon GO is also in development.

Connecting Pokémon HOME to Pokémon Games
 
Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield can link to the Nintendo Switch version of Pokémon HOME. Once the games are linked, users can deposit or retrieve Pokémon that can be obtained using those games.
 
Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! can link to the Nintendo Switch version of Pokémon HOME. Users can move Pokémon back and forth between Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! or into Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Once a Pokémon from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! is moved to Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield, it cannot be returned to its original game.
 
If a user is enrolled in a Premium Plan (paid), they will be able to move Pokémon from Nintendo 3DS Pokémon titles to Pokémon HOME using Pokémon Bank. Once a Pokémon from Pokémon Bank is moved into Pokémon HOME, it cannot be moved back to Pokémon Bank.
 
To celebrate the release of Pokémon HOME, Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter will be available at no cost for a one-month period after Pokémon HOME is released. Trainers will be able to bring over Pokémon from various Pokémon series games using Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter. Once they have their Pokémon in Pokémon Bank, Trainers will then be able to move the Pokémon to Pokémon HOME.
 
Trade Pokémon


There are four ways to trade Pokémon using Pokémon HOME on a mobile device. This makes it possible to trade Pokémon anywhere and anytime.
 

  • Pokémon placed in the Wonder Box can be traded with people around the world. Pokémon placed in the Wonder Box will be traded even when Pokémon HOME is not being used.
  • With the Global Trade System (GTS), fans can specify which Pokémon they want to trade and which Pokémon they want to receive. They will then be matched with a Trainer if both meet each other’s criteria.
  • Room Trade lets Trainers create a room and trade Pokémon among the people who join. Each room can hold up to 20 people. Trading in rooms has no cost, but users will only be able to create rooms when enrolled in a Premium Plan (paid).
  • Friend Trade allows Trainers to trade their Pokémon with nearby users who they have become friends with in Pokémon HOME. Trainers can add friends using the Add Friend feature in Pokémon HOME.

More Features
Pokémon HOME has many features that Trainers can use to connect with games in the Pokémon series and more.

  • Pokémon will be registered to the National Pokédex when users deposit them in the Boxes in Pokémon HOME. If users deposit a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve or Gigantamax, then these forms will also be registered. In the National Pokédex, Trainers will be able to see Pokédex entries from various games in one place. With the mobile device version of Pokémon HOME, users will also be able to search by Pokémon Abilities or moves.
  • Trainers can receive Mystery Gifts in the mobile device version of Pokémon HOME. With this feature, they can receive Mystery Gifts for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield as well as gifts specifically for Pokémon HOME. Pokémon received in Pokémon HOME can be directly deposited in a Box in Pokémon HOME. Trainers can also receive some gifts, such as items for Pokémon, by receiving a code for a Mystery Gift in Pokémon HOME and then using that code in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield.
  • If a Trainer has enrolled in a Premium Plan, they will have access to the Judge function, which allows them to check how strong their Pokémon are.
  • In the Your Room section, Trainers will be able to see all sorts of information about events or the games they’ve connected to Pokémon HOME. They’ll also be able to edit their profile using stickers. They can obtain stickers in Pokémon HOME when they meet certain conditions or perform certain tasks known as Challenges.
  • In the mobile device version of Pokémon HOME, users can check out how Ranked Battles and various Online Competitions in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are going, as well as the rankings of the Pokémon being used in them. By going to Battle Data, they’ll be able to see the battle records of each Trainer as well as information about what moves are popular among the Pokémon in the competitions.
  • In Pokémon HOME for mobile devices, Trainers will be able to receive news about Pokémon being distributed as gifts and information about Online Competitions for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
  • Pokémon HOME Points are points that accumulate in Pokémon HOME as Trainers deposit more Pokémon. When using the Nintendo Switch version of Pokémon HOME, Trainers will be able to exchange their Pokémon HOME Points for BP (Battle Points) to be used in core Pokémon series games.

There are some differences in what the Nintendo Switch version and the mobile device version of Pokémon HOME can do.

Certain features can be expanded or added when Trainers enroll in a Premium Plan.

The Premium Plan has a few different subscription options.

Nintendo eShop pricing structure:

-1 month (30 days)£2.69

-3 months (90 days)£4.49

-12 months (365 days)£14.39 

iOS and Android device pricing structure:


-1 month (30 days)£2.99

-3 months (90 days)£4.99

-12 months (365 days)£15.99 

For more information about Pokémon HOME, please visit https://home.pokemon.com/en-gb/

Train2Game News 8th Annual VFX Festival

Posted on by

The 8th annual VFX Festival, hosted by Escape Studios, returns to the Southbank Centre from 16 – 18 March 2020, with a focus on discovering and developing new and emerging talent, featuring sessions on Fortnite and Spider-Man.

The VFX Festival is an annual celebration of visual effects, animation, games and motion graphics. It’s an event for emerging talent to explore the creative industries; it’s also an opportunity for creative professionals to share their insights on award-winning productions.

The VFX Festival EDU will take place on Monday 16 March 2020 at the Southbank Centre. It’s an event for school and college students who want to learn about the world of VFX, Games, Animation and Motion Graphics through inspiring talks and meetings with industry professionals.

The VFX Festival Emerging Talent will take place from Tuesday 17 March – Wednesday 18 March 2020, also at the Southbank Centre. It’s an event for students currently studying within higher education and young professionals who are looking to kick start a career in the creative industries. The festival will be filled with inspiring talks, panel discussions and a recruitment exhibition zone.

The VFX Festival After Hours will take place on 16 – 18 March 2020 at Escape Studios in in centralLondon, within walking distance from numerous award winning studios. These late afternoon technical talks and advanced workshops are aimed at experienced industry professionals looking for knowledge-building opportunities and the chance to network. The sessions are also suitable for young professionals looking to progress their career in the creative industries.

Dr Ian Palmer, Director of Escape Studios, said: “We are thrilled to be going into our 8th year of the VFX Festival, which is testament to our commitment to the creative industries in the UK and our ongoing pledge to create studio-ready talent. 2020 sees another year attracting and showcasing the latest expertise that our fast-growing industry offers; whether it’s from VFX, animation, games or motion graphics. If you’re established in the industry, looking to network and raise your profile, or want to find out how to get your first break, we’ve something for everyone.”

Over the three days festival attendees will have a chance to participate in talks on award winning projects, includingHis Dark Materials: Animating the daemons - Marion Strunck, Lead Animator at Framestore Fortnite World Cup Tournament: Real Time in VFX - Eolan Power, AR Director at NVIZ Creating the dazzling ‘Illusion Battle’ sequence in Spider-Man: Far From Home - Alexis Wajsbrot, VFX Supervisor at Framestore Of Rats and Goop, Stranger Things Monsters by Rodeo FX - Yvon Jardel, Animation Supervisor at Rodeo FX

In addition,attendees will receive encouragement and advice from experts in careers and recruitment::

Panel Discussions:VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics - Monday 16 March - Panel hosted by Access: VFX VFX and Animation - Tuesday 17 March Games - Wednesday 18 March

As part of the Recruitment Exhibition Zone, attendees will have the opportunity to speak with representatives from studios, to discover more about their available roles, career pathways and progression. Studios confirmed for the Exhibition include Bluezoo,The Focus, DNEG, RodeoFX and Framestore.

Train2Game News Enthusiast Gaming Largest In UK & US

Posted on by

Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. is excited to announce that its digital media network of websites and YouTube channels has been further verified as the largest gaming information network in North America and the United Kingdom by Comscore, a leading third party media measurement and analytics company.

The measurement firm recently verified the network as the largest gaming information network in the U.S. and has now extended that to include all of North America and the U.K., which combined represent the largest developed global digital advertising markets and account for a major share of global gaming revenue.

Generating almost one billion total views a month, Enthusiast Gaming’s network of over 100 gaming websites and 900 YouTube channels now reaches more combined unique visitors across desktop, mobile and video platforms than any other gaming information entity in each market.

In North America, this reach is now 44% greater than the next nearest entity, while in the U.K. this reach is now 102% greater than the next nearest entity.

Menashe Kestenbaum, President of Enthusiast Gaming commented, “We now have the largest gaming network in two of the largest developed gaming markets in the world, verified by Comscore.

Our network has amassed significant size and scale in a short period of time, and we can now focus on our strategy of delivering unique and effective direct advertising and sponsorship experiences for our clients.

Being verified by a trusted third party analytics company like Comscore gives our sales team a significant advantage when speaking to brands and agencies about how Enthusiast’s integrated advertising platform can be uniquely leveraged to reach more gamers than any other platform in North America or the U.K.”

The gaming industry is rapidly growing, and is now bigger than the music industry and box office combined.

Being verified as the largest gaming network in North America and U.K., positions Enthusiast Gaming as a leading platform for brands and agencies trying to reach the elusive gamer demographic. With the global gaming market set to reach almost $200bn by 2022, according to Newzoo, the Company continues to focus on its growth strategy of increasing revenue per user by driving direct sales and unlocking new revenue opportunities to capitalize on the increasing share of wallet moving to the gaming industry.

Click here to visit the site

Train2Game News Bungie Raised $1.6 Million For Charity

Posted on by

Bungie Foundation is proud to confirm the success of its first Game2give charity event with over 1.6 million dollars raised to support Bungie Foundation’s iPads for Kids Program and Children’s Miracle Network benefitting kids in hospitals across the United States and Canada.

Destiny fans proved once again their commitment and generosity through 40,000 individual contributions and the support of 5.5K streamers across 104 countries.

“At Bungie, our purpose is to create worlds that inspire friendship, and we are so very grateful for our community to embrace this so strongly.

We see this play out each and every day as lifelong friendships are forged, Guardians support their fellow Guardians both inside and outside of our game, and when our community rallies together for incredible causes such as supporting kids in hospitals.” declared Christine Edwards, Sr. Manager, Bungie Foundation.

Fore more information about Bungie Foundation, please visit bungiefoundation.org

Train2Game News Golden Joystick 2019 Results

Posted on by

The wait is finally over as the results of the 37th Golden Joystick Awards are revealed.

The winners were announced today at the award ceremony held at London’s Bloomsbury Big Top and live streamed on Twitch and YouTube.

More than 3.5 million public votes were cast to determine the winners in 19 categories, including Ultimate Game of the Year, Most Wanted Game and PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Games of the Year. Five critics choice awards were also revealed, including Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Contribution, Breakthrough Award and the Critics Choice.

The 2019 Golden Joystick Award winners are:

Best Storytelling: Days Gone
Best Multiplayer Game in partnership with Servers and Gameye: Apex Legends
Still Playing Award: Minecraft
Best Visual Design: Devil May Cry 5
Best Indie Game: Outer Wilds
Esports Game of the Year in partnership with Corsair: Fortnite
Best Audio: Resident Evil 2
Best Game Expansion: GTA Online – Diamond Casino Update
Best VR / AR Game: Beat Saber
Best Gaming Hardware: Nvidia 20-series Super graphics cards
Best Performer: Logan Marshall-Green
Studio of the Year: Epic Games
Best New Streamer / Broadcaster: Ewok
Breakthrough Award: Untitled Goose Game, House House
Mobile Game of the Year: BTS World
Outstanding Contribution: Life is Strange
PC Game of the Year in partnership with Magic: The Gathering Arena: World of Warcraft Classic
PlayStation Game of the Year: Days Gone
Xbox Game of the Year: Gears 5
Nintendo Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Most Wanted Game: Cyberpunk 2077
Critics Choice Award: Control
Lifetime Achievement: Yu Suzuki
Ultimate Game of the Year: Resident Evil 2

Daniel Dawkins, Content Director, Games and Film at GamesRadar+ said:

“What a fantastic night and what a year it has been. The Golden Joystick Awards is now in its 37th year – the longest running video gaming awards ever – and each year it just keeps getting bigger and better. We had a whopping 3.5 million public votes this year and we are so honoured to have developers from all over the world with us tonight to collect their awards. But, the biggest thank you of all goes to the amazing gaming public who took the time to vote and watch the awards tonight. We are humbled by your support.”

The winners were announced live at The Golden Joystick Awards event in London tonight. The excitement kicked off at 3.15pm GMT with the pre-show, hosted by Alix Wilton Regan featuring an exclusive ‘Making of Arise: A Simple Story’ featurette. The packed show also included a special ‘Year in Review’ created by SpecialGun Productions (the team behind Videogamer) starring leading journalists and industry guests; plus a visit to CD PROJEKT RED, for a never seen before look inside the studio behind Cyberpunk 2077, complete with new interviews with the development team. This was followed by the main awards at 4pm GMT, hosted by comedian Danny Wallace.

You can catch up on all the action on:
Twitch – The Golden Joystick Awards
YouTube – GamesRadar
Twitter / Facebook – @goldenjoysticks

Train2Game News How To Watch The Golden Joystick Awards

Posted on by

The 37th Golden Joystick Awards ceremony takes place this Friday 15th November in central London, when the great and the good of gaming will come together to recognise the games that have wowed the public and critics this year.

But don’t worry if you don’t have a ticket, you can watch all the action live on Twitch and YouTube from 7.15am PST / 10.15am EST / 3.15pm GMT.

Dan Dawkins, Content Director, Games and Film at Future said: ‘Yet again the competition has been fierce with record numbers of votes cast in many categories. With many games having multiple nominations such as Outer Wilds, Control, Resident Evil 2, Days Gone, Sunless Skies and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I can’t wait to see who comes out on top this Friday.”

The excitement kicks off at 3.15pm with the pre-show, hosted by Alix Wilton Regan featuring an exclusive ‘Making of Arise: A Simple Story’ featurette.

The packed show also includes a special ‘Year in Review’ created by Special Gun Productions (the team behind Videogamer) starring leading journalists and industry guests; plus a visit to CD PROJEKT RED, where we’ll get a never seen before look inside the studio behind Cyberpunk 2077, complete with new interviews with the development team.

This is all followed by the main awards at 4pm, hosted by comedian Danny Wallace.

More than 3.5 million public votes were cast this year to determine the winners in 19 categories, including Ultimate Game of the Year, Most Wanted Game and PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Games of the Year. Five critics choice awards will also be revealed on the night, including Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Contribution, Breakthrough Award and the Critics Choice Award.

You can follow all the action on:

Twitch – The Golden Joystick Awards

YouTube – GamesRadar

Train2Game News Magic ManaStrike

Posted on by

Netmarble Corp. is proud to announce new details for Magic: ManaStrike, its first-ever game for Wizards of the Coast franchise Magic: The Gathering.

Developed under license exclusively by the Netmarble Monster studio, Magic: ManaStrike is a mobile synchronous combat game that brings fan-favorite spells, and characters, such as Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren and more – to life in an all-new genre.

Easy to play but hard to master, Magic: ManaStrike offers simple, tactical, and strategic gameplay through its user-friendly interface.

Gameplay spotlights many customized strategies between opponents in intense Player vs. Player (PvP) matches. Players can experience Magic: The Gathering’s vast universe of original spells and characters presented with amazing visuals in high-quality 3D, all in the palm of their hand.

“Working with Wizards of the Coast on Magic: ManaStrike was great, and we are proud of the experiences we built together to bring the brand to a whole new genre of gameplay,” said Seungwon Lee, Chief Global Officer of Netmarble.

“More details on Magic: ManaStrike will be shared soon. We want to assure fans our game acts as a fresh new addition to Magic: The Gathering, and we are eager to introduce what makes Magic: The Gathering special to even more players.”

Players begin with a detailed tutorial, which guides them through the game’s early stages. After choosing a pre-made deck of cards from one of Magic’s five iconic colors – White, Blue, Black, Red or Green – players will fight against live opponents, where quick tactics and fast play reign supreme on the battlefield. As they progress, players will collect new cards and enhance their units (inspired by Magic: The Gathering’s deep library of creatures) to suit their individual playstyles and strategies.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Netmarble to bring Magic: ManaStrike to mobile gaming fans around the world,” said Eugene Evans, VP, Business Development, Wizards of the Coast. “We were drawn by Netmarble’s reputation as a global leader in mobile games and its known passion for putting a unique twist on the genre. As a new Magic-inspired experience, Magic: ManaStrike is an action-packed way to discover the Magic multiverse, and we can’t wait to welcome new players to the community.”

More details, including a gameplay first look for Magic: ManaStrike will be formally revealed at this year’s G-Star tradeshow in Busan, South Korea available from 14-17 November.