Tag Archives: developer

Train2Game News KISS Indie Games Funding

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Established Indie games publisher Kiss have launched a unique Intelligent Finance ISA Technology Bond as a way of attracting funding to develop and launch the companies most successful titles on console, mobile and streaming formats.

Since 2012, Kiss have launched over 150 titles plus numerous DLC on Steam and other PC vendors. Since 2016 they have been expanding their reach with versions of titles on iOS/Android, X-Box One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch from the top 10 products in their catalogue, as well as working on a number of newer franchises.

Working with finance partners Hamilton Rose Wealth Management and Money Link Financial, Kiss have created an Intelligent Finance ISA Technology Bond offering 34% return (6.8% p.a) on your investment over 5 years.

This is a forecast which is based on the terms of the bond and is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Although not unique as a finance solution run successfully by a number of companies, it is believed to be the first time it has been used by a company within the games industry sector.

Kiss CEO Darryl Still commented “In light of a number of recent good news stories related to the games industry, such as the recent £90M Curve Digital acquisition and the upcoming new technologies from Sony and Google, we have sat down with key financial partners to create an easy and tax efficient way for people, both inside and outside of the industry to invest into the fastest growing market in the entertainment industry”.

For further details please visit: www.kiss-isa.co.uk

or by emailing: invest@kiss-ltd.co.uk

Train2Game News Overwatch 2 Announced

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More than 50 million players worldwide have teamed up to capture objectives, push payloads, and fight for the future in Overwatch®, Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed team-based shooter.

Before a sold-out crowd of BlizzCon 2019 attendees and millions watching online, Blizzard Entertainment revealed Overwatch 2, a supercharged sequel that will send players deeper into the world and story of Overwatch and build upon the original game’s critically acclaimed foundation of world-class PvP competition.

In Overwatch 2, players will take on the roles of the world’s heroes in cooperative missions that challenge them to team up, power up, and stand together against an overwhelming outbreak of threats around the globe.

Players will also battle each other in the next evolution of competitive Overwatch play, which carries forward existing players’ accomplishments and loot collections and features the current complete Overwatch roster, a new generation of heroes, new internationally recognizable maps that widen the scope of the world, a new Push map type, and more.

“With Overwatch 2, we’re building the cooperative, narrative-driven game experience that players have been asking for since the original—and that we’ve wanted to make for a long time,” said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment.

“We’re looking forward to telling the next chapter of this epic story in-game, and we’re excited to give players a whole-new kind of co-op experience built around progressing and customizing their favorite heroes—all while providing even more of everything they love about Overwatch today.”

In the sequel’s action-packed cooperative Story Missions, players will experience the advent of a new Overwatch as Winston, Tracer, and other members of the original Overwatch join forces with a new generation of heroes. Players will take an active role in the Overwatch saga as a new global crisis unfolds through a series of intense, high-stakes four-player missions. As the story progresses, players will team up as different sets of heroes and fight to defend the world from the omnic forces of Null Sector, uncover the motives behind the robotic armies’ attacks, and come face-to-face with rising new threats around the globe.

The battle continues in Hero Missions, where the Overwatch team will be called upon to go beyond their limits as they deploy across the planet, defending cities against robot invasions, taking on elite Talon agents, and battling the villainous forces laying siege to the world. In this highly replayable mode, players can level up their favorite heroes and earn powerful customization options that supercharge their abilities in co-op play—such as altering Reinhardt’s Fire Strike to ignite nearby enemies or modifying Tracer’s Pulse Bomb to cause a devastating chain reaction—granting the extra edge they need against the overwhelming odds.

To help realize these missions, the sequel also introduces significant engine upgrades that support larger maps for co-op (PvE) play, as well as the wide variety of new enemies and factions that players will encounter on their missions. The game also introduces visual enhancements designed to bring players’ favorite heroes—and their new looks for Overwatch 2—to life in greater detail.

Overwatch 2 also represents the beginning of a new era for the series’ world-renowned competitive 6v6 play. In addition to carrying forward all of the original game’s heroes, maps, and modes—as well as existing Overwatch players’ accomplishments and loot collections—the sequel adds multiple new playable heroes to the ever-growing roster; widens the scope of the world with even more maps and locations; and adds a new Push map type, in which two teams compete to make a robot (that happens to be pretty good at pushing things) push the map’s objective to their opponent’s side.

Overwatch 2 also renews Blizzard’s commitment to continue supporting the existing Overwatch community. Current Overwatch players will battle side-by-side with Overwatch 2 players in PvP multiplayer. In addition, current Overwatch players will be able to play Overwatch 2 heroes and maps, ensuring the core PvP experience remains dynamic and vital for today’s community in the Overwatch 2 era. More details on Blizzard’s plans, including some of the new heroes joining the fray, will be announced in the future as development continues.

For more information on Overwatch 2, visit www.playoverwatch.com.

Train2Game News Ugly Nintendo Christmas Jumpers

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Geek Store, home of the best official video game, movie, TV show, and comic book merchandise, is always ready for Christmas.

That’s why they’re already preparing for the festive season – thanks to an official range of knitted Xmas sweaters!

Designed and manufactured by the merchandise experts at Numskull, the range of official sweaters features 18 new designs – including Spyro, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and more!

If you’re a fan of all things Nintendo, you’ll want to jump in early on the set of official Nintendo sweaters, exclusive to Geek Store!

Super Mario Christmas Jumper / Ugly Sweater

Ohhhh, Mamma Mia! What better garment to wear this festive season than rocking a 100% knitted Super Mario Christmas jumper? Charm the socks off Princess Peach with this winter piece, as it showcases all your favourite Mario characters in patch embroidery throughout the front. Not to forget, the gorgeous snowflake details and Power Stars dotted around makes this a staple wardrobe addition for any Mario enthusiast.

Official Pokémon Christmas Jumper / Ugly Sweater

Do you want to be the very best? Like no one ever was? Fulfil your potential as a true Pokémon master for Christmas with this high-quality knitted jumper. Emblazoned with a patch embroidery of Pikachu rocking a Santa hat and the three original starter Pokémon, this winter sweater is one for all Pokémon fans looking to embody the Christmas spirit!

Official Super Mario Princess Peach Christmas Jumper / Ugly Sweater

Gain a loyal following of Toads for the festive season with this high-quality knitted Christmas jumper, capturing Princess Peach’ iconic colours of pink. To add a classic seasonal taste, its decorated with cute snowflakes, bells and stars. Emblazoned with a patch embroidery of Princess Peach herself, this winter garment is sure to make you feel like a royal member of the Mushroom Kingdom!

These are:

– Official Nintendo products

– Exclusive to Geek Store

– 100% knitted (not printed!)

– Handcrafted high-quality patch embroidery and enhanced details

– Premium quality yarn for extra comfort

– Unisex design and fit, and can be worn all year round

– Available in sizes 2XS, XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL

– Worldwide shipping – available right now!

– Princess Peach size 4XL and Super Mario size S are currently on preorder, estimated release mid-November

Geek Store’s exclusive Nintendo Christmas sweaters are available worldwide.

Go here to find out more

Train2Game News Pixel Game Maker MV Game Development Challenge

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The Pixel Game Maker MV Game Development Challenge, a contest seeking talented developers using the intuitive yet fully-featured 2D game engine from Playism and Kadokawa Corporation, is now underway.

Taking place until March 30, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. PT, the competition offers a grand prize award of ¥1,000,000 JPY (approx. £7,539) and opportunities to be among the first Pixel Game Maker MV creations published on Nintendo Switch. In addition to the grand prize, there are award categories for side view, top view, multiplayer games, and more. Winning entries may also be adapted into books, comics, and more.

Sister software to RPG Maker, which sold more than 2,000,000 copies worldwide, Pixel Game Maker MV puts 2D game development in the hands of first-time developers with no programming knowledge while maintaining the flexibility, power, and depth required by long-time game creators through extensible scripting.

Featuring native physics and local multiplayer support as well as 20 sample games and a host of modern, sci-fi, and fantasy assets, Pixel Game Maker MV makes it easy to get started prototyping. Developers can carry their games through to completion using the assets to hand or import their own to create top-down or sidescrolling action games in any genre.

“If you can imagine it, you can create it with Pixel Game Maker MV,” said Noboru Mogami, producer, Kadokawa Corporation. “With this contest, we’re hoping to find amazing talents to highlight and nurture. We’ve already seen some truly wonderful things come out of our community so far and we’re looking forward to the delights our creators still have in store for us.”

Pixel Game Maker MV is available now on Steam in Japanese, English and Simplified Chinese for $84.99 USD/£67.99.

The full official rules can be found on the Pixel Game Maker MV Game Development Challenge page. For more information about the engine, please visit the Pixel Game Maker MV official website, Facebook page and follow @PixelGameMaker on Twitter.

Train2Game News Gayming Live Career Help

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A full day of careers advice, CV polishing, job opportunities and more will be held during the Gayming Live week, which is being held throughout London from Monday September 30th.

On Wednesday October 2nd, people interested in a career in games are invited along to Soho Radio on Great Windmill Street, London, where staff from multi-award-winning specialist games recruitment agency Amiqus will be on hand to provide advice on the multitude of positions options available – and, importantly, how to get a foot on the careers ladder.

What’s more, visitors to the event will be even be able to apply for jobs there and then.

This event is suitable for people of all levels, whether you’re new to the industry, or a seasoned pro looking for their next big move!

In addition, there will be a series of careers-focused radio shows broadcast throughout the day. These can be accessed via http://www.sohoradiolondon.com.

“We’re delighted to be able to be hosting the Careers Day during the Gayming Live week,” said Liz Prince, Business Manager at Amiqus. “We know that there are many, many students who desperately want to move into the exciting world of video games, but don’t know where to start. Similarly, we want to show those who aren’t necessarily gamers that there’s a place for them within games – whether that’s in programming, marketing, design, audio, media or beyond. We look forward to welcoming anyone with an interest in games to Soho Radio.”

Robin Gray, Co-Founder of Gayming Magazine, and the brainchild of Gayming Live added: “Our Careers Day during Gayming Live is for everyone with an interest in working in games, not just those within the LGBTQ community. We look forward to welcoming students and more along to Soho House, and hopefully kickstarting some new careers!”

Sponsored by Chappy, Green Man Gaming’s Pride Run, Mediatonic, Amiqus, Fusebox Games, Modern Wolf and Failbetter Games – and supported by Ditch The Label, Soho Radio, Jaegermeister and Magic Notion – Gayming Live will take place from September 30th until Saturday October 5th, with a series of events taking place at a pop-up shop in Great Windmill Street, London. A dedicated Gayming radio show will take also take place throughout the week, with all the events and initiatives throughout Gayming Live designed to bring the community together and replicate the ethos and fun of the Gayming magazine itself.

Highlights of the Gayming Live week include:

  • Discover the art of gaming – an exhibition of LGBTQ game artists
  • Pride Run preview & competition – check out the dance-tastic new game from Green Man Gaming
  • LGBTQ industry mixer – grab a drink and network with fellow industry professionals
  • Careers workshops – CV polishing and advice, courtesy of Amiqus
  • Ginny Lemon’s 8-Bit Drag Show – Video games meet drag queens
  • Writing for video games – Story writers from Fusebox Games will be offering top tips and ideas

These events are FREE to attend. The itinerary and locations can be found here – https://gaymingmag.com/gayminglive2019/

Train2Game News eSports and Gaming Increasing In Value

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The gaming and eSports industry is on track for $300 billion per year revenue by 2025 and continuing to grow in double digits.

But, investors seem to be missing the boat as this sector takes flight.

That comes from leading portfolio managers looking at the industry and its huge potential. They point to the fact that investors are “newbs” in this space and lack the experience when it comes to buying into the growing market.

The eGaming industry’s rapid growth is being driven by exciting innovations such as cloud gaming and online interaction. Companies looking to take the eSports category to the next level include Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO), and NVidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), who all have major investments in the development end of the business.

Other companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of the potential for massive ad revenue derived from the sector. Versus Systems Inc. has already put itself front and centre in the esports segment. Versus Systems (CSE: VS) (OTCQB: VRSSF) focuses on advertising and development of in-game promotion and prizing tools. The emerging Vancouver-based company is seeing an influx of gaming companies looking to use their system to tap eSports and eGaming ad revenue.

A Market That Just Can’t Be Ignored

It appears that the eSports trend is more than just a bubble. That’s what a prominent portfolio manager discovered at one event in Toronto, Canada. Nick Mersch says it was the giant line for the League of Legends’ semi-finals outside Toronto’s giant Scotiabank Arena that convinced him of the massive opportunity being ignored by many investors.

“The tickets were being resold for more than Leafs tickets,” Mersch is quoted as saying.

In looking at his firm’s figures, he realized the numbers were incredible. They predict combined video game and eSports revenue will hit US$149 billion this year, surpassing the US$140 billion that the traditional sports market is expected to generate.

“To me, it’s one of the most asymmetrically priced risk profiles in a lot of equities right now. Just because there’s not a lot of attention being paid to it,” Mersch said. “There are so many future monetization possibilities that it just has nowhere to go but up.”

It appears that Mersch has his metrics well researched. Figures reveal that the average NFL fan spends roughly US$60 per year, while the average eSports fan spends only around US$5. That’s a lot of room to grow revenue from an industry that has 700 million active players online and about 1.2 billion playing some form of games.

Versus Plugs in Its WINFINITE Platform to Monetize the Gaming Business

Versus Systems is one of the young, forward-thinking companies expected to benefit from their ability to generate revenue as developers increase their engagement and retention rates of using the WINFINITE platform. The platform will offer viewers and players the chance to play for real-world prizes they want while providing brands and businesses an opportunity to reach clients through a massive online pool of gamers and viewers.

For starters, giant HP, Inc. is on board with Versus. The company has just signed an agreement with Versus and says it will integrate the WINFINITE technology into its products. Versus is powering OMEN Rewards, a real-world prizing platform built into OMEN Command Center and available for download by any Win10 PC via the Windows Store.

Versus also entered an agreement with Animoca Brands Corporation Limited that will see the companies transfer shares. Versus Systems will benefit from the broad portfolio of Animoca offerings. That includes games like Crazy Defense Heroes, The Sandbox and Crazy Kings, as well as other intellectual properties like Garfield, Thomas & Friends and Doraemon.

Another early participant in the Versus universe is Ludare Games Group. Versus has already signed a partnership deal with Ludare Games. Ludare has worked with some of the most successful intellectual property in the world – including huge film, television, and gaming properties. Ludare plans to integrate the Versus System platform into its upcoming games, including augmented reality games.

Many Will Look for Winners

Professionals like Mersch, who co-manages a global investors fund, are constantly faced with how to best dive into the sea of gaming opportunities. His firm allocates about 20 per cent of its holdings towards the esports theme. In reviewing the options, they see three types of inroads for investors who want to take part now; publishers, teams and technology.

While publishers and teams offer tremendous direct input to the eSports category, they require a lot of backing and can take a long lead time to realize the revenue. New games, for instance, can take six years and more and US$500,000 to $1 million to develop traction. Early investors may be more attracted to the technology side as it gains attention from companies creating new ways to monetize and generate revenues that are immediate and scalable.

Large companies are already capitalizing with major inroads in the eGaming industry, including:

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) focuses on the development of video games consoles and gaming content for PCs and mobile devices. The game maker showed good progress in its latest earnings release. New content is already trickling out to player communities across Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, and the player response has been very positive so far.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) which owns video game publishers Rockstar Games and 2K, reported gross profits of $299 million in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2020. The majority of revenue over the period was generated by “recurrent consumer spending” — which includes in-game purchases and add-on content to existing titles — from titles such as Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) just announced an enterprise-grade hybrid cloud on AWS that is optimized for machine learning, AI, and data science workflows. The VMware Cloud on AWS with Nvidia is capable of operating from cloud and on-premise servers and will make it easier to migrate VMware vSphere-based applications to the cloud to accelerate high-performance computing or machine learning for research, experimentation, and deployment in production.

For a more on the potential of Versus Systems in the eGaming and eSports markets, view the report at USA News Group:

https://usanewsgroup.com/2019/09/23/get-ready-for-the-next-level-of-online-advertising-and-the-wild-profits-that-will-follow/

Train2Game News Pokemon Go Adds Unova Region

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Niantic and The Pokémon Company have announced that Pokémon from the Unova region will begin appearing in Pokémon GO along with additional rewards.

Trainers can now encounter Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Purrloin, Pidove, Blitzle and more Pokémon from the Unova region while exploring the world around them.

Additionally, Trainers can team up with their friends to challenge Lillipup, Patrat and Klink in Raid Battles.

More Pokémon originating from the Unova region will be making their way to Pokémon GO over the weeks and months ahead!

A new trailer celebrating Pokémon from the Unova region arriving to Pokémon GO can be found below…

Train2Game News Final Fantasy 8 Remastered OUT NOW

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One of gaming’s most cherished RPGs returns today on modern platforms with the release of FINAL FANTASY® VIII Remastered on the Nintendo Switch™ system, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, PC (STEAM®), and the Xbox One family of devices.

Marking the 20th anniversary of the game’s original release, FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered features newly rendered visuals that breathe life into the game’s characters like never before. Players step into the shoes of SeeD recruit Squall Leonhart and resistance fighter Rinoa Heartilly as they work together to save the world from the military nation of Galbadia.

The remastered version includes the following boosts to enhance the experience:

  • Battle Assist: The ability to always have maxed out HP and ATB, and trigger Limit Breaks at any time.
  • No Encounters: An enemy encounter option that allows players to enjoy the storyline uninterrupted. While enemy encounters are turned off, players can still enjoy the story’s event battles.
  • 3x Speed Boost: Play through the game with three times the speed.
  • The STEAM version will also receive additional functions, including All Items (possess all items except for a few certain items), All Abilities, GF Max Level, Max Gil, Max Magic, All Limit Breaks, and All Cards (possess max number of Triple Triad® Cards except for Rare Cards).

FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered is available now for £15.99 for the Nintendo Switch™ system, PlayStation®4 system, PC (STEAM), and the Xbox One family of devices.

For more information, visit http://www.ffviiiremastered.com

Train2Game News GamesAid Gets New Partner

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As part of their new relationship, GG Insurance Services will be donating a

percentage of their financial revenue to the charity to help support the fantastic work they do.

Funds received by GamesAid are distributed to a selected number of charities as nominated and voted by the charities members.

GamesAid chair Matt Spall says:

‘GamesAid is incredibly grateful to GG Insurance Services for their commitment to supporting our charity efforts.

GG are the first game industry business to support GamesAid, directly from their revenues in this way, and we very much hope it’ll be a catalyst for others to join them.”

GG Insurance Services provide expert protection for the games industry and
insurance policies that cater for a business’s individual needs.

With over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, their knowledge and professionalism ensure that a company and its assets are in trusted hands.

The company was developed to find the perfect insurance solution to the gaming industry through their access to the Lloyd’s market.

Their range of cover includes, Insurance for Game Developers &
Publishers, Insurance for Esports, Cyber, Intellectual Property and
Insurance for Events.

Train2Game News World of Warcraft Classic Live

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All current World of Warcraft subscribers can start playing Classic today at no additional cost!

WoW® Classic rings in the game’s 15th anniversary, with celebrations in Battle for Azeroth™ to follow in the coming months

Grizzled veterans and hardy newcomers alike can now experience Azeroth as it was in its earliest days with World of Warcraft® Classic, which is live starting today and included at no additional cost as part of everyone’s WoW® subscription globally. World of Warcraft Classic has been a labor of love for Blizzard, and the result is an authentic re-creation of the pre-expansion game in its most feature-complete state, as it was during 2006’s “Drums of War” update (patch 1.12.0). Blizzard has continued to bring WoW Classic realms online around the world to accommodate the more than two million players who have created characters in anticipation of today’s launch, and will work to add more based on player population trends.

World of Warcraft®, which has been played by more than 140 million players over the past 15 years,* has evolved considerably across seven expansions, with numerous features, enhancements, and quality-of-life improvements. In many ways, World of Warcraft Classic is more unrelenting and demanding of self-direction from players than today’s version of the game. Bonds among the community are paramount—activities like raids and dungeon runs must be organized collectively by players on the same realm, with the toughest challenges requiring 40 coordinated and committed souls to surmount.

Classic’s Azeroth is equal parts wonder and hazard, and its trials will push players to their limits. The Alliance and the Horde, in the midst of outright war, are made to reckon with forces whose powers transcend their own brutal conflict—including some of the most iconic and love-hated of villains of the Warcraft® universe, like Ragnaros the Firelord and the Archlich Kel’Thuzad.

“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re overjoyed to welcome our friends new and old to classic Azeroth,” said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “The community’s excitement is infectious and deeply motivating—it’s clear they’re as thrilled as we are to relive the World of Warcraft Classic experience. We look forward to rediscovering its wonders and challenges together with them, starting today.”

World of Warcraft Classic will continue to expand in the weeks and months following today’s launch, allowing players the opportunity to live through pivotal moments in Azeroth history previously lost to time. Among the host of features and activities set to be introduced to the game across six phases are iconic raids like Blackwing Lair, Zul’Gurub, and Naxxramas; player-versus-player battlegrounds like Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and the classic version of Alterac Valley; and time-limited server-wide events like the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort, and the Scourge Invasion.