March 14, 2019 – As the industry prepares for next week’s GDC, Valve has launched two new service features for Steam – Steam Link Anywhere and the Steam Networking Sockets APIs.
Steam Link Anywhere, an extension of the Steam Link functionality that allows you to connect to your computer and play games from anywhere, is now available in early beta. The service is available free of charge to all Steam users through the Steam Link hardware or the Steam Link app, and can be used to connect to any computer running Steam. Note: A high upload speed from your computer and strong network connection to your Steam Link device are required to use Steam Link Anywhere. More information is available here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/353380/discussions/0/3362406825533023360/
Today Valve also released the Steam Networking Sockets APIs, which give all Steam developers access to the technologies and infrastructure built to support CS:GO and Dota 2. This enables you to relay your game traffic over Valve’s private gaming network, giving your players faster and more secure connections. The service is offered free of charge to Steam developers and a large portion of the API has been open-sourced. A more detailed write may be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks#announcements/detail/1791775741704351698
Available now, these updates and other new features coming to Steam will be discussed at next Thursday’s Steam Platform Update talk at GDC, happening at 12:45 pm in Moscone West Hall 2011.
San Diego, CA and Hamburg, Germany – March 14, 2019 –Turtle Beach (Nasdaq: HEAR), the global leader in gaming headsets and audio accessories, today announced the entry into an agreement to acquire ROCCAT – a top German PC peripherals company with a history of producing innovative, award-winning gaming mice, keyboards and other accessories.
With ROCCAT’s powerful product lineup added to Turtle Beach’s broad market position and leading headset brand, the acquisition significantly accelerates Turtle Beach’s planned expansion into the $2.9 billion1 market for PC gaming headsets, mice and keyboards. By acquiring ROCCAT, Turtle Beach further strengthens its market position in key PC-centric European territories, including Germany where ROCCAT is already a well-respected leading brand. Additionally, ROCCAT will see the benefits of Turtle Beach’s strong sales and distribution in North America and across Europe, while Turtle Beach will gain distribution into new Asian markets through ROCCAT’s presence in those markets.
Turtle Beach is acquiring ROCCAT for $14.8 million in cash, net of a working capital adjustment, $1 million in cash or stock (company option), plus up to approximately $3.4 million in earnout payments.2 Following the completion of the transaction, which is expected in the second quarter, ROCCAT’s partial year contribution to Turtle Beach’s 2019 net revenue is expected to be approximately $20–$24 million. The Company expects revenues from ROCCAT products to be over $30 million in 2020, and that the acquisition will be accretive to net income and EPS in 2020.
“This is a dynamic and strategically important deal for Turtle Beach,” said Juergen Stark, CEO of Turtle Beach. “We are adding a complementary portfolio of PC gaming mice and keyboards, a skilled PC accessories team, and a highly synergistic distribution footprint.
“The acquisition is also a key step in achieving our goal of building a $100 million PC gaming accessories business in the coming years. ROCCAT accelerates our expansion into the roughly $1.6 billion3 PC gaming headset market, as well as directly enables us to address the roughly $1.3 billion4 PC gaming keyboard and mice market. We believe our combined product portfolio is one of the strongest in the industry, covering gaming headsets for consoles and PC’s, gaming keyboards and mice. Together we will have 48 core product models to pursue the total addressable market of over $4.7 billion in North America, Europe and Asia.”
Stark continued, “We are thrilled to welcome René Korte and the ROCCAT team to the Turtle Beach family, as they are a highly talented group with deep experience in PC accessories and have a similar focus on providing high quality, innovative products to gamers worldwide.”
René Korte, CEO of ROCCAT, added, “We’ve long admired how Turtle Beach’s pioneering headsets have elevated gaming and it is an honor to join forces and bring our great products to more gamers. I have no doubt that combining ROCCAT’s strength in the PC peripherals market with Turtle Beach’s 45 years of experience, impressive technology, console dominance, and strong brand will bring even more victories to gamers around the world.”
ROCCAT has been ranked as one of the top 10 best-selling gaming peripheral brands in Europe, and per recent Newzoo consumer survey data3, is one of the top four brands for awareness, purchase consideration, and preference for gaming keyboards and mice in the German PC gaming peripheral market.
ROCCAT recently launched its new Vulcan Mechanical Gaming Keyboard and latest Kone AIMO RGBA Smart Customization Gaming Mouse to high editorial and fan praise. The original Kone mouse has been acclaimed as one of the most ergonomic gaming mouse shapes on the market and was the first mouse to incorporate RGB lighting into its design. The new Kone AIMO mouse was the best-selling PC gaming mouse in Germany in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The Vulcan keyboard introduced ROCCAT’s proprietary Titan mechanical switch and has become one of the top three best-selling gaming keyboards in Germany, as well as a best-selling product in its price tier. The Vulcan’s design was also recognized by winning the 2019 iF Design Award for its product category.
Turtle Beach is the global leader in gaming headsets and audio accessories, having held over 40% share of the console gaming headset market for the past nine consecutive years. In 2018, Turtle Beach extended its reach beyond the console space, launching a new lineup of Atlas PC headsets that drew high praise from leading PC writers and gamers alike.
For the latest information on ROCCAT’s lineup of PC gaming accessories, visit https://en.roccat.org/.
Wedbush Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor and Morgan Lewis acted as legal advisor to Turtle Beach on the transaction. CatCap GmbH acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Lutz Abel acted as legal advisor to ROCCAT.
San Francisco, CA – March 14, 2019– Today, VIVEPORTTM announced that Viveport Infinity, the first unlimited VR subscription service, launching on April 2nd, will be available for $12.99 a month or $99 a year. In the largest upgrade to the platform yet, Viveport Infinity members will gain unrestricted access to the service’s library of over 600 apps and games in addition to exclusive membership benefits such as the revamped Viveport Video application. Current members, including those with pre-paid subscriptions, and new members who sign up before April 2nd, will keep their current price through the end of 2019.
Viveport Infinity offers a diverse library of popular and indie VR titles. At just $12.99 a month or less with a prepaid annual subscription, members can save thousands of dollars on top-quality content while aiding them in the discovery of hidden gems throughout the service. Popular titles, such as Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, have timed their launch in Subscription to coincide with their global release, giving members optimal choice and affordability when it comes to trailling new content in Viveport’s Subscription service. New Viveport customers can sign up anytime for a free 2-week membership to experience unlimited gaming with Viveport Infinity.
“We have built a new model for VR that shines a light on the great library of VR content this industry has developed and gives users a reason to spend more time in headset than ever before,” said Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport. “At the same time, we’re increasing developer reach and potential revenue as more developers can monetize a single Infinity user. We believe this model matches how consumers want to experience VR”
Viveport Infinity will be available to VIVE and Oculus Rift owners. For compatible titles, Viveport Infinity will also travel with members to any standalone headset built on VIVE’s WAVE platform. This hardware agnostic and cross-platform approach is bringing the service to a whole new category of VR devices while broadening a developer’s reach and audience pool.
“Through Viveport’s subscription service, we’ve been able to increase our player pool and build a bigger community around The Wizards,” said Paweł Gajda, Head of Marketing and Publishing, Carbon Studios. “Viveport Subscription has become a significant part of our revenue and we can’t wait to connect with even more players thought Infinity.”
To further support Viveport Infinity developers, Viveport is increasing the developer’s share of revenue earned to 80/20 up from 70/30. Running from April 1st through the end of 2019, this increase in profits applies to all titles in Viveport Infinity. In addition, with a consumer’s unlimited access to content, more developers can monetize a single member with Viveport Infinity, increasing potential revenue for a developer.
Membership Promotions
All Viveport Infinity members will enjoy exclusive perks such as weekend deals on select titles, free title giveaways, and monthly coupons. Starting April 2nd, members will automatically receive a 10% coupon at the beginning of every month to spend on any Viveport store purchase. Viveport will also hold a store-wide sale on over 100 titles to celebrate the launch of Infinity from April 2nd – April 7th.
New members can start their free trial today to lock in the current $8.99 price before Viveport Infinity launches on April 2nd. In addition, all current monthly Viveport Subscribers and those with pre-paid Subscription bundles will also keep their current low price through 2019.
March 14, 2019 – Developer Blind Squirrel Games announced today that it has secured $5 million in funding from an external source to complete the development and publishing of their highly anticipated game, “Drifters”. For the last year and a half, the studio has invested its own capital, time and resources in the development of the F2P 5v5 hero action shooter, centered around a ragtag team of intergalactic raiders, fighting and looting the galaxy. The additional funding will not only help to complete the remaining development of the game, it provides the necessary funding to self-publish the game directly to consumers.
“We are super thrilled to have the opportunity to finish and launch the game on our own,” said Brad Hendricks, CEO of Blind Squirrel Games. “In addition, self-publishing will allow us to become the masters of our own destiny and give us the ability to make the game the way we intended. We have already shared a peek of the game with the community, and the reception has been amazing so far”.
“Drifters” is a F2P 5v5 hero action shooter that revolves around a ragtag team of intergalactic raiders living outside the boundaries of normal society, looting abandoned warships, space stations, and a variety of other exotic and dangerous locales for valuable relics and supplies. With a diverse set of heroes and play styles, “Drifters” will offer customizable abilities and skill trees for each character. Gameplay will blow players away with a unique grapple traversal mechanism, arcade style gameplay and the high intensity of a typical shooter. With plenty of irreverent humor, “Drifters” will deliver a unique experience that combines humor, the flare of traditional arcade games and the personality and choice of a hero shooter.
Upon launch, the game will include a set of unique characters with diverse abilities, several multiplayer maps and a variety of game modes, including a unique mode called plunder.
Subscribe for the Latest Drifters News & Updates at: Driftersgame.com
Auckland, New Zealand – March 14, 2019 – Grinding Gear Games announced today the first convention dedicated to their award-winning RPG, Path of Exile. ExileCon will be a two-day (November 16-17, 2019) celebration of all things Path of Exile, including multiple earth-shaking announcements and previews, competitions, talks given by Grinding Gear Games developers and hands on demos of unreleased new content. The event culminates with the spectacular closing ExileCon Party.
ExileCon will take place over two full days at the beautiful Aotea Centre in Auckland. Regular, VIP and “Ultra VIP” Tickets (featuring a homecooked BBQ dinner with Grinding Gear founders Chris Wilson, Jonathan Rodgers and Erik Olofsson) are available now alongside full details at www.pathofexile.com/exilecon.
Path of Exile continues to be one of the largest online Action RPGs with continual, massive audience growth. Launches on the Xbox One (and soon, PlayStation 4) as well as in China have more than doubled the Path of Exile player community since August 2017, with over 3.5 million players having played the game’s 2017 expansion, Path of Exile: The Fall of Oriath. In 2018, Path of Exile saw an increase in total play-hours of over 26% and the Betrayal expansion set a new record of 188,970 players online simultaneously.
Path of Exile was released in October 2013 to critical acclaim including winning GameSpot’s PC Game of the Year award. Since its launch, Path of Exile has become a global community of over 20 million players including localized versions in English, German, French, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Russian, Thai and Brazilian Portuguese. Path of Exile was listed as one of the top ten most-played games on Steam in 2018.
Burlingame, Calif. – March 14, 2019 – KOEI TECMO America revealed today the latest entry in their best-selling Attack on Titan game franchise: Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle. The new gaming experience follows Attack on Titan’s Season 3 adventure through the actions of specific characters; capturing all of the conflict of the popular anime series like never before.
Taking place throughout Attack on Titan Season 3’s timeline, Final Battle’s Story mode plays through selected characters’ points of view with major heroes active in Season 3 – now playable for the first time – boosting the total number of playable characters to over 40. In addition to the content covering all three seasons of the popular anime series, developers will also include original episodes to create a more fulfilling Attack on Titan experience.
Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle will feature two new gameplay experiences: A frenetic anti-personnel combat feature using anti-personnel omni directional mobility gear and an all-new wall reclamation mode focused on recovering outside territories. Here, players will have an ability to choose a leader of their squad, pick out the members they want to include – even members who were never together in the original work, and set out to reclaim the lands from the Titans. Thunder Spears will also be equipped for battle for the first time, allowing the take down of the Armored Titan when a normal blade just won’t cut it.
Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle is being developed by OMEGA Force, and will be available July 5, 2019 for the PlayStation®4 Computer Entertainment System, Nintendo Switch™, the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X, and digitally on Windows PC via Steam®. The title will be made available for digital purchase as an Upgrade Pack to fans who already own Attack on Titan 2, and it will also be available for purchase as special digital or physical bundle; combining the experience of Attack on Titan 2 alongside the new Season 3 content in one unique package.
March 14, 2019 – Saber Interactive and Focus Home Interactive have just released an official developer diary video for World War Z, the highly anticipated co-op shooter inspired by Paramount Pictures’ blockbuster film. This behind-the-scenes dive into the game explores how the movie’s iconic images of zombies swarming en masse over anything in their path inspired the team to capture that terror in a thrilling action experience. We took this inspiration and created totally new characters and storylines true to the universe, building something familiar with a brand new twist.
Powered by Saber’s dynamic Swarm Engine™, World War Z unleashes hundreds of fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies – able to move as one collective horde as well as break off as individuals units – at a time on players. Choose from six distinct classes and an arsenal of deadly weapons, explosives, turrets and traps. Outlive the dead through intense four-player co-op campaign missions around the world, and battle both zombies and real human opponents in competitive, team-based Players vs. Players vs. Zombies (PvPvZ) multiplayer.
World War Z is expected to launch on April 16, 2019, for the PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Windows PC via the Epic Games Store. The game is available to pre-order on all platforms digitally and at retail in North America at https://wwzgame.com/buy. All pre-orders come with the free Lobo Weapon Pack, featuring three golden weapon skins and the dual-bladed Lobo spade.
March 13, 2019 – From the first heart-racing Chestburster scene to the last horrifying Xenomorph attack, ALIEN has terrified audiences around the world for decades, building a loyal fanbase with its unforgettable moments of jump-scare suspense, acid-bleeding Aliens, and strong female heroines. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this groundbreaking sci-fi horror film, Twentieth Century Fox Film partnered with global creative community Tongal to offer die-hard fans an opportunity to develop and produce wholly original shorts set in the world of ALIEN.
After reviewing over 550 pitches from filmmakers, six final stories were chosen. The filmmakers were given unprecedented access to the franchise, including storytelling elements, creatures, and characters, to bring a new, terrifying experience to life for audiences. Each of the six shorts brings forth an exciting new narrative for fans while paying homage to the original film.
Rollout of the six shorts will begin this week, with exclusive fan screenings of the first four at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle on Friday, March 15th, followed by C2E2 in Chicago on Saturday, March 23rd. The final two shorts, both helmed by female filmmakers, will screen exclusively for fans at WonderCon on Saturday, March 30th, followed by a moderated panel with the directors. The shorts will be released weekly on IGN, starting on March 29th. Then, beginning May 3rd, they will be available on the official @AlienAnthology social channels and AlienUniverse.com, along with exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
ALIEN: 40th Anniversary Shorts Synopses:
ALIEN: Alone – Hope, an abandoned crew member aboard the derelict chemical hauler Otranto, has spent a year trying to keep her ship and herself alive as both slowly fall apart. After discovering hidden cargo, she risks it all to power up the broken ship in search of human life. Written and Directed by Noah Miller
ALIEN: Containment – Four survivors find themselves stranded aboard a small escape pod in deep space. Trying to piece together the details around the outbreak that led to their ship’s destruction, they find themselves unsure to trust whether or not one of them might be infected. Written and Directed by Chris Reading
ALIEN: Harvest – The surviving crew of a damaged deep-space harvester have minutes to reach the emergency evacuation shuttle. A motion sensor is their only navigation tool leading them to safety while a creature in the shadows terrorizes the crew. However, the greatest threat might have been hiding in plain sight all along. Directed by Benjamin Howdeshell
ALIEN: Night Shift – When a missing space trucker is discovered hungover and disoriented, his co-worker suggests a nightcap as a remedy. Near closing time, they are reluctantly allowed inside the colony supply depot where the trucker’s condition worsens, leaving a young supply worker alone to take matters into her own hands. Written and Directed by Aidan Breznick
ALIEN: Ore – As a hard-working miner of a planet mining colony, Lorraine longs to make a better life for her daughter and grandchildren. When her shift uncovers the death of a fellow miner under mysterious circumstances, Lorraine is forced to choose between escape or defying management orders and facing her fears to fight for the safety of her family. Written and Directed by the Spear Sisters
ALIEN: Specimen – It’s the night shift in a colony greenhouse, and Julie, a botanist, does her best to contain suspicious soil samples that have triggered her sensitive lab dog. Despite her best efforts the lab unexpectedly goes into full shutdown and she is trapped inside. Little does she know, an alien specimen has escaped the mysterious cargo, and a game of cat and mouse ensues as the creature searches for a host. Directed by Kelsey Taylor
In addition to the shorts series, Fox has launched several other exciting initiatives around the 40thAnniversary of the premiere of the original ALIEN film. The USC School of Cinematic Arts is currently hosting a special exhibit of elements from all six films in the ALIEN franchise, including concept art by Academy Award winner H.R. Giger, plus costumes, props, memorabilia, and fan art. Everything ALIEN will culminate in a 24-hour, worldwide celebration on ALIEN DAY, Friday, April 26th. Join the conversation and follow @AlienAnthology on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and dive deeper into the terrifying world of ALIEN on AlienUniverse.com.
Pomona, CA – Since announcing their partnership with Sega® at CES 2018, the gaming community and media outlets have been waiting in anticipation for the launch of the gaming industry’s most sought-after controllers. Retro-Bit® is proud to announce their line of six officially-licensed controllers will be available world-wide this spring 2019. The line-up includes controllers in various colors of Sega Genesis®, Mega Drive and Sega Saturn® with original and USB®-ports.
Many gamers and media outlets have had the opportunity to demo and review these controllers where both enthusiastic and well-received responses were recognized by experts in the gaming community.
With Retro-Bit®’s global audience, the line-up carries the Sega Genesis® controllers which has original and USB® ports with all original-grade quality as their original Sega® counterparts, and are available in black and clear blue; while the Sega Saturn® for Original and USB® are brought to you in black and slate grey. Similar to North America, Retro-Bit®’s European controller lineup includes both Original Port and USB® versions of the Sega® Mega Drive and Sega Saturn® controllers with the same color options.
Some of the notable differences gamers can identify with the controller line is the quality grade cord, now extended to 10-feet (3 meters) and made for ultimate mobility while in play. During development of the controllers, additional detail was placed in the performance of the D-Pad which is often a scrutinized component to retro gaming fans. However, the Retro-Bit®controllers have been well-received among media for this feature.
One update Retro-Bit® included to enhance gameplay is a repositioned mode button in the controller with USB® port to make it more ergonomic and cater to the gamer’s alternative gaming options.
However, Retro-Bit® did not stray too far from the classics. The alp shoulder buttons are a nostalgic nod to the original Sega® controllers, and Retro-Bit® saw the sentiment as an opportunity to preserve the best practice. “We are extremely happy to have collaborated with Sega to bring the world of gaming these timeless classics back with a special touch of Retro-Bit. We made very precise revisions to absolutely perfect them in order to bring the best quality of controllers for the gaming community. Just in the same quality that Sega always has. I believe we’ve achieved just that”, said Richard Igros, Marketing Manager atInnex Inc., Retro-Bit’s exclusive distributor.
For any details on each Retro-Bit® controller and where to purchase, visit the Retro-Bit® website at retro-bit.com.
Universal City, CA, March 13, 2019 – Universal Studios Hollywood adds a second day to its popular Running Universal 5K Minion Run due to registration sell out on Saturday, May 11, offering fitness buffs, runners and walkers alike another chance to partake in the fun on Sunday, May 12.
The inaugural Minion Run, featuring Illumination’s mischievous Minions from the popular “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” ride cheering from the side lines, invites participants ages five and older (of all experience levels) to wind their way around Universal Studios Hollywood and through parts of Universal Studios’ historic backlot, made famous in more than 8,000 movies and television shows. The Minion Run will give participants an unprecedented insider’s view of the world renowned movie and television production lot.
Starting at Universal Studios Hollywood’s iconic front gates, participants will pass through some of the theme park’s immersive areas and attractions before winding their way along the historic backlot and into the magical world of movie-making as they head toward the finish line at CityWalk’s 5 Towers outdoor concert stage. Highlights along the way include the Psycho House, the eerie War of the Worlds set and the colorful Who-ville backdrop from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Along the 3.1 mile course, participants will be entertained by some of their favorite Universal Studios Hollywood characters, including the Minions.
The program will begin at 6 a.m. and culminate at 7:30 a.m. with a memorable awards and closing ceremony in which all participants will receive a commemorative limited-edition Minion medallion that features an exuberant Minion running through the finish-line holding two bananas.
Register here for the event which will fill up quickly as space is limited. For more information about the standard, VIP and Fan packages, visit www.RunningUniversal.com.
