Walt Disney Co. announced the acquisition of a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic Games, intended to create what the company describes as a “persistent universe”. This project, which is subject to regulatory approval, promises to be a revolutionary gaming experience that will integrate with Epic’s popular game, Fortnite.

According to a statement issued on February 7, Disney plans to develop a “universe of games and entertainment” that will allow users to interact with Disney’s iconic content, characters and stories. Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, highlighting the building of a persistent and open ecosystem. For his part, Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, described this initiative as the company’s biggest step in the world of games.

The project, backed by Epic’s powerful Unreal Engine, aims to give gamers the ability to create their own stories and experiences within the digital universe. However, details on the launch date of this ambitious metaverse project have not been revealed.

Disney’s strategic move comes less than a year after closing its metaverse division in an attempt to cut operating costs, demonstrating a significant shift in its focus toward gaming and digital entertainment.

Tim Sweeney maintained an optimistic stance on the potential of metaverse, challenging claims about its decline and citing the large number of monthly active users on various metaverses.

This partnership between Disney and Epic Games also coincides with Disney’s fiscal first quarter 2024 report, in which the company surpassed Wall Street revenue estimates, generating $23.6 billion in revenue. Despite this success, revenue growth remained stable compared to the same period of the previous year.

In addition, Disney announced a 50 % increase in the dividend per share and experienced a 7 % increase in the price of its shares in off-hours operations.

This strategic partnership between two entertainment giants promises to redefine the gaming and digital entertainment landscape, offering users an immersive and exciting experience within an ever-changing digital universe.

K. Tovar

Source: Walt Disney Company

(Reference image source: Travis Gergen at Unsplash)

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During the second edition of Madeira Blockchain 2023, local advances in Web3 were highlighted, along with the strategy of the Portuguese islands to attract startups and technological talent, thus boosting economic growth in the digital age.

At a crucial roundtable during the conference, studies focused on blockchain functions analysed the challenges associated with integrating this technology into games. The discussion included crucial issues such as acceptance by developers, players and editors.

Redcatpig, a leading Web3 study specializing in the development of blockchain functions, shared its experiences and obstacles at the roundtable. Marco Bettencourt, CEO of Redcatpig, highlighted the difficulty of communicating internally to convey the enormous advantage that blockchain technology can bring to gamers and improve games.

Despite the challenges, Redcatpig is immersed in creating blockchain-based gaming solutions. Its first release, HoverShock, will hit the market in 2024 and will feature skins and drones based on non-expendable tokens, available for exchange in an in-game market, purchaseable with cash or cryptocurrencies.

The study adopted a unique perspective, avoiding the trends associated with blockchain technology. Bettencourt stressed: “Players don’t need to know the buzzwords. The only thing they need to know is that when they buy a skin, they own it and can sell it whenever they want.”

In addition, the integration of blockchain into game development has generated some controversy. VEU, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in AI-based solutions for virtual environments, faced criticism from its own community for the introduction of blockchain technology.

Nuno Rivotti, Head of Product at VEU, commented on the situation: “Players just need to perceive the product, they don’t need to understand the technology. I think the industry needs to take that turn, similar to how other technologies were accepted when they stopped being a topic of conversation.”

Despite the adverse reactions, game developers in Portugal continue with blockchain integration, backed by the eGames Lab. This consortium, made up of 22 public and private entities, is committed to supporting the video game industry in its internationalization, turning blockchain technology into a key innovation for the government’s product lines and investment strategies.

Pedro Dominguinhos, President of the National Commission for the Follow-up of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) of Portugal, said: “As part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, there is a specific agenda for blockchain, which includes training, research and development, software production and marketing.”

K. Tovar

Source: Cointelegraph

(Reference image source: Unsplash+)

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Microsoft has added a new section in the Xbox Home interface called ‘Friends and community updates’, which will allow users to access their achievements, game clips and screenshots that they share with friends or clubs.

Microsoft began testing its new user interface for Xbox consoles in September last year, when the Redmond company said it would turn your home screen into a very personal space.

Then, some news was announced, such as that the panel would have a new ‘Quick Restart’ section and that the development of it would bet on visual coherence with identifiers focused on a familiar experience for players.

Microsoft has now announced that the new interface will have a section dedicated to ‘Friends and community updates’, designed to achieve a more social gaming experience. This is a channel where users can see their achievements, game clips, screenshots, and posts from friends or games they follow.

This space has been available since this week for users of the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings, who will be able to try it out and send comments to the company, which has not provided further details on how this section works.

Source: dpa

(Reference image source: Microsoft, Europa Press / dpa)

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The company Sony Interactive Entertainment, in charge of the PlayStation brand, recently announced an NFT patent that will allow “the transfer and use of digital content on gaming platforms to its patent portfolio”.

According to the company, it will be possible to license NFT ownership to third-party organizations, thus allowing their own use in the simulations and platforms.

When the NFT patent is complete, it will allow PlayStation 5 players to enjoy popular games that include the technology. On the other hand, it will be compatible with devices outside the Sony ecosystem.

Sony’s intention is to test new ways to transfer digital assets, including in non-ecosystem environments such as in the cloud, across tablets, desktops, smartphones and game consoles.

Without a doubt, it will be a new and better experience for video game fans, who will be able to measure their level as well as the accumulation of points and then transfer or sell them in NFT format.

M.Pino

Source: coinunited

(Reference image source: Eugene Chystiakov, Unsplash)

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Xbox is working on a mobile game store that will compete directly with those of Google and Apple, taking advantage of the capabilities of Activision Blizzard after the acquisition agreement announced earlier this year.

Microsoft reached an agreement in January to buy the video game publisher and developer Activision Blizzard for 68.7 billion dollars, with the intention of incorporating the game catalog, which includes franchises such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch or Candy Crush, to your Game Pass subscription.

This agreement is being reviewed by the corresponding authorities in different countries. In the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initiated the second phase of the investigation, in which Microsoft has had the opportunity to respond to the decisions adopted at the end of the first phase.

In this response, the American company reflects its intention to “create the next generation of game store”, with the ability to operate between different devices, including mobile phones, and thanks to the content it incorporates from Activision Blizzard.

This publisher currently has a large community of mobile game users, thanks to franchises such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush, whose games can be found in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Microsoft seeks to attract this community of players to a new mobile games store, Xbox Mobile Platform, according to the text presented to the CMA. Its main attraction would be a catalog of popular games, although it recognizes that moving them away from the Google and Apple stores would require “a major change in consumer behavior.”

K. Tovar

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Source: Xataka

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TikTok’s corporate parent, ByteDance, is preparing to invest large amounts of money in the development of Virtual Reality (VR) games and experiences through Pico.

The Chinese company posted a series of job posts for Pico Interactive, the Chinese manufacturer of VR headsets that the Chinese multinational acquired last year.

Among the vacancies announced on LinkedIn, where around 40 jobs are available to be filled, are those of Director of VR Strategy and Operations Manager of this type of content.

In addition to management positions, ByteDance opened a recruitment process to fill several positions focused on technical development and innovation, both on  hardware and software.

Another of the job offers is that of head of Consumer Sales, also responsible for marketing the product in the United States, which could indicate that the Chinese company is seeking to promote this business in the North American country first.

Most of these jobs are spread across Pico Studios’ West Coast branches in this country, whether in California, Seattle or San Diego.

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Source: dpa

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The company DappRadar, a specialist in DApps (decentralized applications) market data, reported that blockchain-powered games grew by 2,000 % in one year.

According to DappRadar, this result was obtained by the number of unique active wallets -UAW- daily during the month of March 2022, exceeding 1.22 million, which is equivalent to 2000% more than what is registered annually.

Additionally, the company highlights in the report presented that investors continue to supply “billions in the blockchain gaming sector”, confident in the advantages, development and great benefits that will occur in the future of this block technology sector.

DappRadar stated that during the first quarter of this year a collection equivalent to “2.5 billion dollars” was obtained and according to its projections “at this rate, investments in 2022 will be 150 % higher than last year”.

Top blockchain-based games

Blockchain-based games like Polygon (MATIC), an Ethereum sidechain, continue to grow and gain “momentum as a challenge to the leading gaming ecosystems of Wax (WAXP), Harmony (ONE), and BNB Chain.” Gaming DApps on Polygon gained an average of 114,000 UAWs daily in the first three months of 2022 and 173,000 in the month of March.

Another of the main blockchain-based games, Axie Infinity (AXS), one of the most popular video games in the ecosystem, is going through a “difficult period” after it was recently the victim of one of the “biggest hacks in the history of the sector”.

Sky Mavis, one of the main players in the industry, the video game reached its peak last January when it registered an average of more than 55,000 UAWs per day. But in March it dropped to nearly 22,000 UAWs a day.

According to DappRadar’s report, “Axie Infinity is in the top 10 most played games” on a daily basis and the game continues to captivate more than 1.5 million daily active users.

M. Rodríguez

Source: crypto247.com

La entrada Blockchain-powered games grew 2,000 % annually apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The National Cryptocurrency Association (Asonacrip) reported that Axie Infinity, academies and organizations from Latin America will be holding various tournaments on the continent, including the Venezuelan Championship, which will be run by the BlockEsports Latin America team.

The Venezuelan Championship will be taking place from April 16 to May 22 in Venezuela and will be sponsored by the main team of Axie Infinity. In the event, around 120 AXS will be distributed in prizes, which are equivalent to approximately 8 thousand dollars.

El evento, patrocinado por el equipo principal de Axie Infinity, iniciará el 16 de abril y finalizará el 22 de mayo. En el mismo se repartirá una cantidad total de 120 AXS en premios, equivalentes a más de 8mil dólares a día de hoy 8 de febrero.

— Asonacrip (Asociación Nacional de Criptomonedas) (@AsonacripVe) February 9, 2022

This tournament will become the second season of competitive events financed and promoted by Axie Infinity and is part of its strategy to consolidate the game among one of the main references of eSports, electronic sports in the world.

All those players who are interested in participating in the event must keep alert on “the registration links that will be published by @BlockEsportsLA”.

M. Rodriguez

Source: bancaynegocios.com

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Microsoft celebrated the 20th anniversary of the launch of its Xbox console at a streaming event. Along with the first season of the game, it presented the free multiplayer beta of Halo Infinite, which is now available to all Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One and PC players.

The purpose of the launch of the beta version is to diagnose possible failures or errors in the video game, prior to its final launch that will take place on December 8. Additionally, the company reported that everything that users earn or buy will remain in the final version.

Joseph Staten, one of the creators of Halo Infinite, reported that the “Battle Pass” of the first season will be valid until May 2022. With this measure the company intends to give more time to its developers to work with calm the second season and thus improve everything they have to optimize.

Gifts for players

Microsoft indicated that it will reward its players, during that time, with additional events where they plan to include customization elements, and other content to make it a very rich experience from start to finish.

Starting Monday, November 23, it will be possible to log into Halo Infinite to unlock a free collection of accessories themed for the console’s 20th anniversary, and the “Fracture: Tenrai” event will start for free. It will last for one week and can be accessed by PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S users.

Other games that will be available and are compatible with Auto HDR are: Star Wars Jedi Knight II, Star Wars: Starfighter, Otogi, F.E.A.R., the Max Payne installments or the Dead or Alive Ultimate saga.

You can also check the list on the website of the programming director of the Microsoft Xbox live game network, Larry Hryb, better known as ‘Major Nelson’.

M. Rodríguez

Source: notimerica.com

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The video game studio Electronic Arts (EA) assessed the impact of the cryptographic format of the NFT in the video game sector and, although it acknowledges that its status is still “very early”, it estimates that “an important part” of the future of the sector is in this technology.

This was stated by the CEO of EA, Andrew Wilson, in statements during the presentation of the latest economic results of the study, for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, as recorded in the transcript of the meeting.

During the presentation of results, Wilson was asked about new technologies such as non-fungible tokens or “play to earn”, a ‘play to win’ video game model that financially rewards each user who adds value by playing and spending time in gaming ecosystem.

Wilson said that “the conversation about play to earn and NFT is still very, very early”, but that it is a highly debated topic. The executive also acknowledged that there is “a lot of expectation in this regard.”

“I think it will be an important part of the future of our industry”, the CEO of EA went on to affirm, although he estimates that “it is still too early to find out how it will work.”

The executive has also made his own predictions about the future of tokens in video games. “I believe that in the context of the games we create and the live services we offer, collectible digital content is going to play a significant role in our future.”

Source: dpa

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