Scope out a few of the news stories from the game industry this week below, hand-picked from across the world of games. This week’s focus covers a couple of the game industry events ahead and in the rearview mirror, plus a lot of data that reflects where gamers, game developers and game companies are at the midway point of 2020.
Index:
- What’s Coming Up at QuakeCon (at Home)?
- The Scoop From the Ubisoft Forward Event
- ESA Shares Data About the Demographics of Gamers
- How’s the Time of Pandemic Affecting Game Developers?
- The State of Game Industry Investments Through the First Half of 2020
- Devolver Digital Goes Meta with Devolverland Expo
What’s Coming Up at QuakeCon (at Home)?
Source:Â GameSpot
The details are out regarding the upcoming QuakeCon at Home virtual event:
“Video game investor ZeniMax Media has outlined this year’s QuakeCon. The event, which is scheduled to run from August 7-9, will be completely virtual and features an assortment of livestreams, tournaments, and more you can experience from the comfort of your home during the surging coronavirus pandemic.”
Check out the GameSpot story, linked above, for more info.
The Scoop From the Ubisoft Forward Event
Source:Â Tech Report
In case you missed the Ubisoft Forward online games reveal event, which is part of the ongoing Summer Game Fest, this story from Tech Report covers the key announcements for the company’s biggest franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs.
Speaking of Watch Dogs, it’s possible to download Unisoft’s Watch Dogs 2 for free, which is related, as a promotion with, the Ubisoft Forward event. For all the info on that, the story has the details on hows to snag a copy of this 2016 title.
ESA Shares Data About the Demographics of Gamers
Source:Â MCV/Develop
The ESA released a set of data touchpoints about who plays games, how they play, and how they connect through games, and more — at least in the United States.”The US trade body the ESA has released a bevy of stats to show the breadth of the games industry in 2020. With the standout number being that 214m of the 328m population play games. A figure that equates to at least one gamer in three-quarters of all households.”
How’s the Time of Pandemic Affecting Game Developers?
Source:Â Gamasutra
Months of COVID-19-related lockdown has been affecting many developers. Game Developers Conference released data about the impact that’s been felt in the game development community:
“This special survey compiles responses from over 2,500 game makers, and the results reveal that a majority of game developers have switched to working from home in the wake of widespread quarantine measures implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The data also shows that nearly half of devs report longer working hours and less productivity than before the global debut of COVID-19, while a third of devs have had a game delayed due to the pandemic.”
Check out more of the data from this survey in the Gamasutra story linked above.
The State of Game Industry Investments Through the First Half of 2020
Source:Â VentureBeat
We’ve got a more data to share in this post with how investments in the game industry look so far in 2020 via VentureBeat.
“The number of game investments and acquisitions in the second quarter of 2020 declined from the first quarter, but the value of the deals was higher, according to data collected by game investment specialist Sergei Evdokimov.
These figures indicate the game market is continuing to experience vibrant growth through investor deals, as the world realizes how resilient video games have been during the pandemic and deal-makers adapt to working remotely. Deal activity was roughly steady, with over 100 deals tracked (102 vs. 110 in Q1). But at $7.8 billion, the total value was 3.1 times higher in Q2 than Q1. Even more impressive, the deals happened in a quarter marked by huge layoffs and shakiness across venture capital investments.”
Devolver Digital Goes Meta with Devolverland Expo
Source:Â VG24/7
One of the clever offerings from the recent Devolver Direct 2020 online showcase is a mini-game that pokes a little fun at game events and marketing while also teasing at some as-of-yet unannounced games.
“Instead of an E3 booth, Devolver Digital revealed Devolverland Expo, its FPS minigame that lets you watch upcoming release trailers and hunt for rare collectibles.
In amongst the game booths, lasers and flying robots, you’ll be able to find items that will unlock a special screen at the end of the game that hints at three mystery unannounced games. As this is Devolver we’re talking about, that’s all you’ll be getting, so don’t get too excited.
You can explore the expo and earn different achievements for watching trailers, finding items and, of course, avoiding those aforementioned lasers. So, let’s take a look at where you can find these shiny collectibles.”
Do you have interesting news to share, or something coming up that would also fit into this regular feature? Let us know!
