Your Gaming and Esports Update
Deals
Microsoft Acquires Smash.gg
Microsoft has acquired esports tournament and event organization platform Smash.gg for an undisclosed amount. The news was shared today by the Smash.gg Twitter account and confirmed by Microsoft via its MSN Esports socials. Smash.gg launched in 2015 as an esports tournament and event organization platform, including brackets set-up and registration support for both online and live events.
Daybreak Game Company Acquired for $300M
EG7 announced today that it has acquired Daybreak Games, the development studio best known for online role-playing games like EverQuest and DC Universe, in a deal valued at $300 million. EG7 is a group that contains over 170 developers, including Sniper Elite studio Sold Out. Most of its dev houses are on the smaller side, making Daybreak Games an immediate standout in its stable.
Blue Hat Signs Agreement to Acquire Fuzhou Csfctech
Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology, a leading producer, developer, and operator of augmented reality (“AR”) interactive entertainment games, toys and educational materials in China, today announced the entry of a definitive agreement in connection with the acquisition of 51% of Fuzhou Csfctech Co., Ltd. and its two subsidiaries.
PUBG Merges with KRAFTON, leaving Bluehole
PUBG Corporation has a new name after fully merging into Krafton Inc, which is responsible for games like Tera — an online MMO — and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. After being a subsidiary studio under Krafton, PUBG Corporation is now fully under the umbrella of Krafton, and its new name is PUBG Studio.
Updates
PlayKids Opens Afterverse Division
PlayKids has opened its new Afterverse division to make social games for all ages. While it’s a new company, it will be the home for PK XD, a wildly successful sandbox game for preteen kids that has grown to 25 million users in the first year. Afterverse’s job will be to grow it further and to launch new games that will appeal to all ages, from children to teens to adults, the company said. The goal is to break down physical, social, and cultural barriers through games.
Apple names Genshin Impact as iPhone Game of the Year
Apple has named the App Store’s best games and apps of 2020, and Genshin Impact won the iPhone Game of the Year award. The game caused Chinese game studio MiHoYo to become recognized on a global stage — and reap an estimated $393 million in revenues in its first two months, according to measurement firm Sensor Tower. Other game-winners included Legends of Runeterra, Disco Elysium, Dandara Trials of Fear, and Apple Arcade’s Sneaky Sasquatch. Pokémon Go was recognized for reinventing its popular outdoor location-based game with at-home experiences. To reward the winners, Apple crafted an App Store logo out of recycled aluminum, with the name of the winner engraved on the other side.
Facebook Launches Rival Peak
Facebook Watch is set to launch the first-ever interactive AI reality series, titled “Rival Peak,” on Dec. 2. Hailing from dj2 Entertainment, Pipeworks Studios, and Genvid Technologies, the series places twelve AI contestants in the Pacific Northwest where they must survive elimination and solve the mystery that brought them together. Viewers can observe, help, or hinder one or more AI contestants via the 24/7 character-dedicated, interactive livestreams throughout the show’s initial 12-week season. Viewers’ voting will eliminate one contestant from the competition, but not the story, each week.
