2015
Company
Documents about 2015
NineBot Becomes Official Chinese Partner of Valorant Champions Tour and Valorant Masters
NineBot, a China-based electronic motorcycle manufacturer, has entered into a strategic partnership with TJ Sports to become the official Chinese partner for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) and Valorant Masters.
- NineBot has signed a partnership with TJ Sports to become the official Chinese partner for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) China region and Valorant Masters.
- The partnership will debut at Valorant Masters Bangkok, which runs from February 20 to March 2, 2025.
- Financial terms of the deal between NineBot and TJ Sports were not disclosed.
Is This the Future of Indie Game Publishing?
The current landscape of indie game publishing is shifting away from the traditional model of building a catalog of mid-to-high-budget titles, which proved successful between 2015 and 2021.
- The indie publishing model is shifting from mid-to-high-budget catalogs toward agile, low-cost strategies that prioritize rapid iteration and gameplay-led concepts.
- Rogue Duck Interactive generated $1.75 million in gross revenue and 300,000 units sold since March 2024 by focusing on strategy games priced between $6 and $12.
- High-velocity development cycles and social media-driven virality can lead to significant post-launch scaling, with successful titles seeing 30-day earnings reach ten times their day-one revenue.
Feminist Pinball: How Women Are Changing Competitive Play and the Industry
Competitive pinball has long been shaped by a masculine culture, and this analysis argues that women's underrepresentation stems from hostile social environments and sexualized game design rather than any biological difference.
- Roughly 94 percent of the more than 125,000 listed IFPA pinball players are male, and only three women reached the top one hundred world rankings in 2023, up from a single woman, Helena Walter Higgins, who held a place until then.
- The report attributes women's underrepresentation in competitive pinball to hostile social environments, gatekeeping, and sexualized game design rather than any biological difference.
- Sexualized imagery runs through pinball history, from 1950s pin-up art to the 1970s, when many games from major manufacturers featured sexualized women, and the report cites Stern's Whoa Nellie! (2015) and a 2002 Playboy machine as recent examples drawing scrutiny.
Gaming Across Boundaries: The MSP Challenge as Boundary Object for Learning in Maritime Spatial Planning Communities
The MSP Challenge serious games are examined as boundary objects that support learning in maritime spatial planning (MSP), with the central argument that their effectiveness depends on the interplay between the game object, the activity design, and the boundary space in which participants interact.
- The study is a mixed-methods qualitative case study of the MSP Challenge serious games, drawing on 62 workshops held between 2016 and 2020 with over 1,100 participants, 935 questionnaire responses, and 33 stakeholder interviews.
- Effectiveness is framed as depending on the interplay between the game object, the activity design, and the boundary space in which participants interact, rather than on the game alone.
- Board game workshops generally produced high enjoyment and improved MSP understanding, with MSP Global 2030 sessions scoring highest, though outcomes varied with group size, workshop duration, facilitation quality, and participant background.
UK Games Fund Enters 10th Year
The UK Games Fund marks its tenth year of operation, reflecting on a decade of sustained support for the domestic video game development sector.
- The UK Games Fund has supported over 400 indie game projects with more than £20 million in grant funding since its establishment in 2015.
- The organization has conducted 15 rounds of open calls for applications from developers over the past nine years.
- The Content Fund, launched approximately one year ago, has received applications from over 300 developers seeking grants ranging from £50,000 to £150,000.
Revisiting the Aura of Token in Museological Puzzle Adventure Gamebook Migong
This paper examines the Migong series of puzzle adventure gamebooks published by the Forbidden City Publishing House, focusing on how historically themed physical tokens function as game items that evoke what Walter Benjamin termed "aura."
- The Migong series' first title, Migong: Ruyi Linlang Tuji, was crowdfunded in October 2018 against a goal of 100,000 RMB, ultimately raising 20.2 million RMB and pre-selling 122,000 copies by late November 2018.
- The series is built on historically themed physical tokens, such as Qing court paintings, a Qianlong Tongbao coin, and Yanpi Xuan paper, which players observe, touch, place, and manipulate during puzzle-solving.
- The authors draw on Walter Benjamin's concept of "aura" to argue that analog puzzle play can restore a sense of "here and now" immediacy within a mechanically reproduced medium, offering a counterpoint to digital environments where authenticity is diminished.
The Play Pendulum: A Theory of Innovation Cycles in Interactive Entertainment
The Play Pendulum theory proposes that the interactive entertainment industry operates in decadal cycles, oscillating between periods of content innovation and distribution innovation.
- The gaming industry operates in decadal cycles that oscillate between content innovation and distribution innovation rather than being driven solely by technological advancement.
- As of 2024, the industry is transitioning into a distribution innovation phase, shifting focus toward transmedia adaptations and user-generated content platforms like Roblox and Fortnite’s Unreal Editor.
- Market concentration reached a peak in 2023, with the ten largest gaming companies controlling 65% of the market, up from 58% in 2020.
G2 Esports Names Mathieu Lacrouts Head of Media House
G2 Esports has appointed Mathieu Lacrouts as the new head of its Media House division, a strategic move aimed at broadening the organization’s brand reach beyond traditional gaming and esports.
- G2 Esports has appointed Mathieu Lacrouts as the new Head of its Media House division to lead a strategic expansion beyond traditional gaming and esports.
- Lacrouts’ appointment coincides with the official closure of Hurrah, the gaming and esports marketing agency he founded in 2015.
- The Media House division operates as a work-for-hire entertainment unit, providing advertising services and content creation for blue-chip brands, rightsholders, and game publishers.
Rainbow Six Siege, Marvel Rivals Receive Game Approval in China
China’s National Press and Publication Administration has granted official game approval to Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege and NetEase’s Marvel Rivals.
- China’s National Press and Publication Administration has officially approved Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege and NetEase’s Marvel Rivals for release in the Chinese market.
- Tencent will serve as the distributor for Rainbow Six Siege on both PC and mobile platforms and is expected to lead the game's esports operations in China.
- The approval of Rainbow Six Siege authorizes the game to be streamed on major Chinese platforms including Douyu, Huya, and Bilibili, all of which are backed by Tencent.
Who Wins? Royal Match vs. Monopoly Go
This analysis evaluates the competitive landscape between two dominant mobile titles, Royal Match and Monopoly Go, to determine which game holds greater long-term potential.
- Monopoly Go has experienced a significant decline in performance, with monthly downloads dropping 65% from a peak of 13.9 million in August 2023 to 4.8 million in June 2024, and revenue falling 31% from $132 million in March 2024 to $91 million in June 2024.
- Royal Match has overtaken Monopoly Go in worldwide revenue rankings as of June 2024, signaling a potential long-term shift in market leadership between the two titles.
- Royal Match maintains the highest Revenue Per Download (RPD) in the match-3 genre at $7.51, outperforming other top competitors who remain below $6.
Taobao Sponsors LGD Gaming Dota 2 Team
Taobao, the e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group, has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Chinese esports organization LGD Gaming.
- Taobao, the e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group, has signed a sponsorship deal with the LGD Gaming Dota 2 division.
- The partnership is exclusive to the LGD Gaming Dota 2 team and does not extend to other divisions operated by the organization.
- As part of the branding agreement, the Taobao logo will be displayed on the center chest of the team's official jerseys.
Did Vindex’s Sale to EFG Leave Esports Engine Employees Empty-Handed?
The acquisition of Vindex by ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) in March 2023 has drawn scrutiny regarding the treatment of employees at Esports Engine, a Vindex subsidiary.
- When Vindex was sold to ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) in March 2023, most Esports Engine employees with equity received no financial benefit from the sale, mirroring a similar outcome for staff during the 2015 sale of Major League Gaming to Activision Blizzard for $46 million.
- The acquisition deal was structured to prioritize debt repayment and retention pools, effectively keeping the final sale price below the threshold required to trigger equity payouts for employees.
- Esports Engine management and staff were largely excluded from the acquisition negotiations, with many learning of the finalized deal only after it had closed.