AppMagic, a service used to determine the market for mobile apps and games, has raised $3 million in a new round of seed funding.The bulk of it ($2.5 million) comes from Gem Capital, a Cyprus-based company that's previously aided developers like Mundfish and Sad Cat Studios. With the funding, AppMagic plans to build out staff for international territories.Per the press release, that expansion will involve dedicated teams recognizing the "specific sales approaches" for the US, China, Korea, and Japan.Gem managing director Kirill Guskiy explained the firm was impressed with AppMagic growing into "the third-largest mobile marketing intelligence tool" by client numbers. The funding was also spurred by fellow analyst tool Data.ai being acquired by Sensor Tower in March.…
Dying Light developer Techland is adopting a new work model wherein staff will either work in-office or split their time between that and remote work.As confirmed by GamesIndustry, a spokesperson for the developer said the change would "create a more collaborative work environment." Sources speaking to Polish site CD Action claim team leadership was informed of the change 24 hours before they had to tell their employees.Studios enacted remote work in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over time, many opted to have staff come back to the office, either full-time (often to staff's dismay) or with similar hybrid policies.The return-to-office mandate was particularly tough on developers who moved to less expensive cities during the remote period, and disabled staff who fou…
Atari-owned publishing label Infogrames has acquired the Surgeon Simulator franchise from Tinybuild.Surgeon Simulator is over a decade old, having debuted with the release of the original title in 2013. Since then, the franchise has expanded with a VR spin-off called Surgeon Simulator VR: Meet the Medic. It also ventured onto Switch in the form of Surgeon Simulator CPR, before a full-blown sequel, Surgeon Simulator 2: Access All Areas, was released in 2020.Infogrames hopes to expand distribution, potentially develop new titles or content, and explore brand and merchandising collaborations as part of a long-term plan to "preserve and expand" the series. The company didn't disclose how much it paid for the franchise.
Swedish video game trade association, Dataspelsbranschen, has selected 15 titles it believes should be added to the country's "cultural canon" to improve recognition of the artform.The list includes classic and contemporary titles such as Stugan, BackPacker, Ground Control, Minecraft, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, It Takes Two, and Sayonara Wild Hearts.It was curated by a panel of expert historians, industry leaders, and academics following hundreds of nominations from the general public. Dataspelsbranschen has released the list after Sweden's minister for culture Parisa Liljestrand laid out plans to develop an official culture canon.Although Liljestrand didn't specific which artforms would be included in that canon, Dataspelsbranschen began developing one for video g…
Swedish video game trade association, Dataspelsbranschen, has selected 15 titles it believes should be added to the country's "cultural canon" to improve recognition of the artform.The list includes classic and contemporary titles such as Stugan, BackPacker, Ground Control, Minecraft, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, It Takes Two, and Sayonara Wild Hearts.It was curated by a panel of expert historians, industry leaders, and academics following hundreds of nominations from the general public. Dataspelsbranschen has released the list after Sweden's minister for culture Parisa Liljestrand laid out plans to develop an official culture canon.Although Liljestrand didn't specific which artforms would be included in that canon, Dataspelsbranschen began developing one for video g…
While Netflix is still figuring out where it stands in the games space, the streamer thinks it's sorted out most of its growing pains and knows what to do next.Talking to the Washington Post, external games VP Leanne Loombe spoke about how the company's video game umbrella will keep its eye on mobile titles, at least for now. According to her, Netflix's 270 million subscribers are a fan of quick-hit "snackable" phone games.As such, it's looking at being a home for smaller studios with mobile expertise, but don't want to be locked to free-to-play games. Getting a mobile foothold is "definitely first" in what Loombe said would be a "phased approach" toward expanding Netflix Games' reach.Visibility has one of the service's large…
Embracer has secured a new €600 million revolving credit facility with a two-year tenor.The Swedish conglomerate has an option to extend its new credit line for an additional year and claims it will help reduce interest expenses through "improved terms and a reduced financial leverage."The new facility will replace Embracer's remaining SEK 4.8 billion (€420 million) revolving credit facility, which matures in May 2025."Thanks to the significant measures taken throughout the current calendar year, we have strengthened our financial structure and responsibly reduced our financial leverage," said Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors. "This step is part of our transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company."
Within its first three days of release, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree topped 5 million copies in sales.FromSoftware's one and only expansion for its 2022 hit started off strong, with the milestone deemed the result of "tremendous support from players all over the world, to whom we express our heartfelt gratitude.""To the many who tread the path left by Kindly Miquella, we extend our heartfelt gratitude," it added.When Elden Ring's base version released two years ago, it sold 12 million copies within a month. With critical acclaim and strong word of mouth, it's gone on to net 25 million copies and players, and was a big driver for Bandai Namco's 2022-2023 fiscal year.The expansion met similar acclaim, and further shows how much FromSoftware's…
Within its first three days of release, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree topped 5 million copies in sales.FromSoftware's one and only expansion for its 2022 hit started off strong, with the milestone deemed the result of "tremendous support from players all over the world, to whom we express our heartfelt gratitude.""To the many who tread the path left by Kindly Miquella, we extend our heartfelt gratitude," it added.When Elden Ring's base version released two years ago, it sold 12 million copies within a month. With critical acclaim and strong word of mouth, it's gone on to net 25 million copies and players, and was a big driver for Bandai Namco's 2022-2023 fiscal year.The expansion met similar acclaim, and further shows how much FromSoftware's…
Shift Up considers Stellar Blade a successful launch and claims its sales have surpassed 1 million copies worldwide over the past two months.Per Game World Observer and GameMeca, the South Korean studio held a recent press conference for its future IPO. During the conference, CFO Ahn Jae-woo noted the PlayStation 5 exclusive's "smooth" launch.Sony has yet to comment on Stellar Blade's commercial performance, which may cause some discrepancies with Shift Up's numbers. But in May, the studio claimed the game "exceeded expectations," and other developers (namely Koei Tecmo) have also been open about the launches of their recent games.Shift Up further claimed Stellar Blade made 22 billion won (or 15.8 million) in royalties from Sony. 15.7 billion won came fro…
Since its reveal in May, Assassin's Creed Shadows has courted racist backlash due to its co-lead Yasuke (famously known as the first Black samurai), and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has no time for it.During a newly published company Q&A, Guillemot was asked about facets of the industry he's disappointed by. He went on to talk about the "malicious and personal attacks" directed at Ubisoft staff, some of which came courtesy of Twitter head Elon Musk."I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms," said Guillemot, "and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to denounce them, too."The Assassin's Creed franchise has never been a stranger to historical fiction, but Yasuke marks the…
Mystic Forge, a self-styled boutique publisher based in the Netherlands, has secured €2 million ($2.1 million) in funding.The investment round was led by ForsVS and ROM Utrecht Region and will enable the publisher to expand its portfolio.Mystic Forge was founded by Good Shepherd Entertainment vets Paul Hanraets, Randy Greenback, and Vernon Vrolijk, and wants to make and impact within the indie game market by deploying an "innovative collaboration model.""Specializing in strategy, simulation, and RPG games for PC, Mystic Forge adopts a proactive approach, selecting projects meticulously but also initiating collaborations by connecting developers within its extensive network," reads a press release."This strategy allows the company to dedicate substantial resources…