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Speakers, assemble! Industry pioneers confirmed as speakers in the first ever Scottish Games Week

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Twenty-three industry-leading speakers have been confirmed for the first ever Scottish Games Week, taking place across Scotland between 24 and 28 October – with more to come.

Speakers range from designers, developers and audio engineers, to investors, marketers, and business leaders. Legendary game director, producer and designer David Mullich (Heroes of Might and Magic III, Duck Hunt) and marketing maven Patty Toledo (4Players), will cover a wide variety of disciplines and specialities across the games, tech and creative sectors at three events: More Than Games, the Education Symposium, and the two-day SGW Industry Conference.

David Mullich, Director of the critically acclaimed Heroes of Might and Magic III said: “I’m thrilled to be participating in the first-ever Scottish Games Week and celebrating Scotland’s thriving game industry.  It’s an honour to be in a gathering of such an innovative and accomplished game development community.”

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Patty Toledo, Marketing Director at 4Players said: “Scotland’s games ecosystem is growing and evolving rapidly. Now is such a great time to get involved and really bring to light the importance games have to not only the creative industries but the tech industries as well.”

More Than Games (24 October) – Glasgow

More Than Games is a first-of-its-kind event, highlighting the transformative potential of the games ecosystem to the wider digital and creative industries. Attendees of More Than Games will be treated to presentations, provocation and panels covering topics from the convergence between games and screen, health, education, inclusion, transmedia and exploring how Scotland can harness the true power of creative media (spoiler: it’s by integrating games) – with speakers including:

  • Jamie Bankhead (CEO at Konglomorate Games)
  • Mick Cooke (Composer at MakeFire Music)
  • HaZ Dulull (Producer/Director at HaZimation)
  • John Gordon (CEO at Incentive Games)
  • Chris Hainsworth (CFO at The Game CFO)
  • Elena Höge (Founder of Yaldi Games)
  • Houston Howard (Chief Storyteller at One 3 Creative)
  • Neil McPhillips (Head of Games at Blazing Griffin)
  • John Thornewill (Co-Founder and CEO at Zappaty)

Education Symposium (25 October) – Edinburgh

The Education Symposium brings together educators, institutions, stakeholders and students across Scotland for a practical hands-on day of workshops, and sessions created to debate, challenge and change the teaching of games skills in Scotland.

The symposium will focus on the ways in which games-related skills are taught and how to ensure Scotland has the talent pipeline it needs for the rapidly evolving global games ecosystem. Those confirmed to participate in the Education Symposium include:

  • Brian Baglow (Founder and director of the Scottish Games Network, Lecturer at Edinburgh University and Editor in Chief of PocketGamer.biz)
  • Julie Drybrough – chair (Founder and CEO of fuchsia blue)
  • Dr Amanda Ford (Lecturer in Computing at West College Scotland)
  • William Huber (Head of Centre for Excellence in Game Education at Abertay University)

SGW Industry Conference (27 – 28 October) – Dundee

The SGW Industry Conference is a two-day long event held in Dundee, the beating heart of Scotland’s games community. The conference features founders, pioneers, leaders and innovators from around the world, offering expertise and insight and from the forefront of the global games market.

The key trends from the forefront of games, as well as personal reflection and deep technical understanding are on offer from speakers which range from veteran global Scots, through to up-and-coming studios with their whole future ahead.

No matter your role within the games ecosystem, there’s something for every designer, developer, creator, publisher, educator, academic and organisation within the programme.

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Speakers include:

  • Mitchell Baxter (Director, Designer at Lazy Monday Games)
  • Lisa Bennett (Manager at Dimoso Scotland)
  • Craig Chapple (EMEA Mobile Insights Strategies at Sensor Tower)
  • Graeme Devine (Creative Technical Officer at QXR Studios)
  • Stephen Hey (Consultant at HeyStephenHey)
  • Vaughan Holloway (CEO at Primordial Game Studios)
  • Simon Meek (Founder of The Secret Experiment)
  • David Mullich (Designer and Director of Heroes of Might and Magic III)
  • Patty Toledo (Marketing Director at 4Players)
  • Brentton White (CEO at North Sea Games)

Brian Baglow, Founder of the Scottish Games Network and Director of Scottish Games Week said: “The global games ecosystem is far larger and extends much further than the games industry. It encompasses education, creative industries, applied games, academia and much, much more. For the first ever Scottish Games Week we wanted to reflect this ecosystem and pull in speakers from around the whole who can offer perspective, insight and experience that will give context for the ongoing evolution of the world of gaming. I am thrilled to have so many wonderful speakers joining us at Scottish Games Week and believe we have a world class programme to offer visitors across every event.”

Tickets on sale for Scottish Games Week now. Early Bird prices are going fast and close on Friday 2 September 2022. Get Yours Now.

Entries are open for the Scottish Games Awards. With 12 categories on offer, covering individuals, organisations and games, there’s an opportunity for everyone to enter. To find out more and apply (free) visit the Scottish Games Awards page.

To find out more about all of the events taking place across Scottish Games Week, visit gamesweek.scot.

Scottish Games Week is being delivered by the Scottish Games Network and is supported by the Scottish Government’s Ecosystem Fund, delivered as part of its Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER) programme.

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Flexion and Kabam Team Up to Bring Marvel Contest of Champions to the Alternative App Stores

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Flexion, the games marketing company, and Kabam, one of the world’s leading game developers, announced a new partnership to bring Marvel Contest of Champions to alternative app stores. Flexion will distribute the game on the Amazon Appstore, Aptoide, ONE store, Samsung Galaxy Store, and Digital Turbine Hubs in 2024.

“We are excited to partner with Flexion to bring Marvel Contest of Champions to even more players. Flexion’s expertise, experience and technology make them the ideal partner for us. This collaboration will help us reach new audiences by making Marvel Contest of Champions available on even more app stores. This is especially exciting ahead of the game’s upcoming 10-year anniversary,” SeungWon Lee, CEO of Kabam, said.

“We are delighted to partner with Kabam, one of the world’s leading game developers, to bring their hit game to more players around the globe. This partnership is a win for Kabam and the app stores, which we will connect to drive audience engagement,” Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion, said.

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Marvel Contest of Champions is an epic fighting RPG with over 260 iconic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains in the ultimate cosmic showdown. Players can collect and build a competitive team of Champions, compete against the world’s top Summoners, battle through an epic and deep Marvel story, and team up with powerful Summoners in alliances to become the Ultimate Marvel Champion.

“We’re delighted to add such a well-known and successful game like Marvel Contest of Champions to our portfolio. I am very positive about the growth potential of these alternative stores in 2024. There is no better time to expand to more audiences,” Jens added.

Marvel Contest of Champions will be available on the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Galaxy Store, Aptoide, and ONEstore Korea starting on April 29, 2024, with Samsung Gaming Hub, OneStore Global, and DT Games Hub following in the near future.

The post Flexion and Kabam Team Up to Bring Marvel Contest of Champions to the Alternative App Stores appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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The German Games Industry Association congratulates all winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2024

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• “EVERSPACE 2” by ROCKFISH Games is ‘Best German Game’ 2024
• Pixel Maniacs from Nuremberg wins in the ‘Studio of the Year’ category
• ‘Best International Game’ is Baldur’s Gate 3
• ‘Player of the Year’ is Maurice Weber

High-quality games, great entertainment and many well-known personalities from the games industry and the cultural, societal and political spheres – the German Computer Game Awards 2024 (DCP), presented this evening in Munich, featured all that and more. Numerous guests celebrated the best games from Germany and the creative minds behind them in person at Eisbach Studios in Munich. The award show, which was hosted by Katrin Bauerfeind and Uke Bosse, was additionally followed by hundreds of thousands of viewers via live stream. A total of 800,000 euros was awarded in cash prizes. “EVERSPACE 2” by ROCKFISH Games was chosen ‘Best German Game’. The ‘Studio of the Year’ award went to Pixel Maniacs from Nuremberg, which has made a name for itself with successful games like the party racing game “Can’t Drive This”, its multifaceted involvement in the game industry and its promotion of young talent, as well as with its innovations in the area of marketing. The ‘Special Jury Prize’ was awarded to the project “Gaming ohne Grenzen” (Gaming without Borders), an initiative that enables young people with disabilities to participate actively in game culture – for example, by assessing in inclusive game testing groups the accessibility of various games as well as the ability of certain technologies to help overcome barriers in video games. In voting by the community and the jury, Maurice Weber was selected ‘Player of the Year’. The games editor and Twitch streamer regularly analyses current developments in the games industry and takes a critical look at them, while at the same time formulating a clear stance for more diversity and against extremism in games and society.

The German Computer Game Awards, which honour the year’s best German-produced games, are hosted by the German Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and game – The German Games Industry Association.

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‘Congratulations to all winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2024!’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Even in these very challenging times for many German firms in the industry, German games companies have created high-quality and successful games that have deservedly been honoured on the big stage of the DCP. Around half of these outstanding games were developed with the support of federal game funding. This once again demonstrates the potential that we can leverage when the underlying policy framework for game development in Germany provides for truly predictable and internationally competitive conditions – conditions that allow games from Germany to shine even more brightly all over the world and achieve even greater success on the national as well as international stage. We must make this our goal!’

Overview of all winners:
Best International Game (not endowed)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

 

Best German Game (endowed with 100,000 euros)

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EVERSPACE 2 (ROCKFISH Games)

 

The other nominees will each receive 30,000:

Atlas Fallen (Deck 13 Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Fall of Porcupine (Critical Rabbit/Assemble Entertainment)

 

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Best Family Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)

Spells & Secrets (Alchemist Interactive/rokaplay)

 

Newcomer Award – Best Debut (endowed with 60,000 euros)

Ad Infinitum (Hekate/NACON)

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The other nominees will receive 25,000 euros each:

Fall of Porcupine (Critical Rabbit/Assemble Entertainment)
Lose CTRL (Play From Your Heart)

 

Newcomer Award – Best Prototype (endowed with 50,000 euros)

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Misgiven (Symmetry Break Studio)

 

The other nominees will receive 25,000 euros each:

Bloodletter (Katharina “Mikey” Müller, David Cafisso, Marvin Braun, Alica Schneider/Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin)
EcoGnomix (Lars Hinnerk Grevsmühl, Lars Eble, Bahy Nguyen, Marcel Zurawka, Alec Shae)
Footgun: Underground (Eduard Dobermann, Theo Lohmüller, Georg Nimke, Robert Pistea, Lukas Salewsky)
REPLICORE (Sarah Inés Roeder, Rody Nawezi, Leonhard Gläser, Maximilian Götz/ HAW Hamburg)

 

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Best Innovation and Technology (endowed with 40,000 euros)

Marble Maze (Fox-Assembly)

 

Best Serious Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)

Friedrich Ebert – Der Weg zur Demokratie (Playing History/Stiftung Reichspräsident-Friedrich-Ebert-Gedenkstätte)

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Best Audio Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)

Ad Infinitum (Hekate/NACON)

 

Best Game Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)

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Lose CTRL (Play From Your Heart)

 

Best Graphic Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)

The Bear – A Story from the World of Gra (Mucks! Games)

Best Mobile Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)

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Cat Rescue Story (Tivola Games)

 

Best Story (endowed with 40,000 euros)

Ad Infinitum (Hekate/NACON)

 

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Studio of the Year (endowed with 50,000 euros)

Pixel Maniacs

 

Player of the Year (not endowed)

Maurice Weber

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Special Jury Award (endowed with 10,000 euros)

Gaming ohne Grenzen

The post The German Games Industry Association congratulates all winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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World’s Best Teams to Compete in UK’s First Professional Women’s VALORANT Tournament in 2024, Red Bull Instalock

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The UK’s first professional women’s esports tournament of 2024, Red Bull Instalock, is set to take over the Bull Gaming Sphere in Shoreditch, London for two days of thrilling VALORANT action from April 20 to 21. Red Bull Instalock will invite four of the world’s best women’s VALORANT teams to battle it out to become inaugural champions.

Promising a thrilling experience for viewers worldwide, the invited teams list includes G2 Gozen, GIANTX, Karmine Corp and Shopify Rebellion. Boasting four of the best women’s VALORANT teams globally, Red Bull Instalock will be a must-watch for VALORANT fans.

The LAN tournament will be broadcast from London’s premier gaming and esports venue, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in Shoreditch, which will be transformed to replicate the in-game atmosphere of the legendary VALORANT map “Icebox”.

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A unique format will be deployed to shake up traditional team compositions. Each team will be required to use three duelists, the game’s dedicated offensive class, which will encourage aggressive plays while rewarding tactical expertise and clutch skills to promise viewers worldwide an exhilarating viewing experience.

The Semi-Finals on Saturday 20th will set the stage for a pulse-racing Final day on Sunday 21st. Red Bull Instalock will also host a one-of-a-kind exhibition match, featuring a star-studded cast of fan-favourite VALORANT creators.

Renowned British esports host, Yinsu Collins, will be headlining the broadcast, with commentary provided by Kieran “Kairo” Tulloch, Billie “BillieIDK” Purdie, Matt “Twiggy” Twigg, and Harry “Hazza” Chapman. British FNATIC content creator and partnered streamer Megan ‘Megsoundslikeegg’ Garner will host the creator showmatch on Sunday 21st.

Looking ahead to the tournament, Red Bull Player and member of G2 Gozen Michaela “mimi” Lintrup said: “It’s fantastic to see another event for women’s VALORANT come into play and Red Bull Instalock is another amazing step into making a really lively competitive scene. It’s also going to be great for fans, with the format twist bringing a really exciting and new edge to every matchup.”

Red Bull Instalock will be broadcast live on Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channels, featuring top talent from the UK and around the world.

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AGON by AOC, a global leader in gaming monitors, returns to join the Red Bull Gaming universe once again as the official Monitor Partner for Red Bull Instalock. Bringing the event to life and providing cutting-edge hardware for the esports tournament, AGON by AOC is equipping the event with the AGON PRO AG254FG monitors, featuring a 360 Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time for the best in-game experience.

The post World’s Best Teams to Compete in UK’s First Professional Women’s VALORANT Tournament in 2024, Red Bull Instalock appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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