Tencent has acquired a majority stake in Path of Exile studio Grinding Gear Games.
The New Zealand Herald reports that the Kiwi developer has sold up 80 per cent of its shares to the Chinese Internet giant.
In a blog post, Grinding Gear studio head Chris Wilson assured players that the acquisition won’t change how the studio operates.
“We want to reassure the community that this will not affect the development and operations of Path of Exile,” he wrote.
“Tencent owns giant franchises like League of Legends and Clash of Clans and has a strong reputation for respecting the design decisions of developers and studios they invest in, allowing a high level of autonomy in continuing to operate and develop their games.
Sydney Drop Bears have won the inaugural Overwatch Contenders Australia title, sweeping Masterminds GC 4-0 in the grand final.
You can see the grand final action over on Twitch.
Overwatch Contenders is the official path-to-pro for Overwatch in Australia and New Zealand. Competitors vie for bragging rights, the opportunity to be noticed by Overwatch League teams around the globe, and a share in more than US$150,000 of prize money worldwide.
Epic Games is providing a US$100 million prize pool for Fortnite’s first esports season.
Yes, 100 million.
“We’re getting behind competitive play in a big way, but our approach will be different – we plan to be more inclusive, and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game,” said Epic.
A supposed leak and the migration of key staff to Infinity Ward has some convinced that next year’s Call of Duty is another Modern Warfare.
A small-time site called Gaming Intel claimed yesterday that 2019’s CoD is Modern Warfare 4.
Gaming Intel said its sources reckon Modern Warfare 4 is a “fully fledged” title that unlike BLOPS 4 will have a campaign.
Resident Evil 7 is coming to Switch this week in Japan.
However, as Resident Evil 7 Cloud Version’s name suggests, the game can only be played by streaming it to a Switch – the install file is only 45MB – therefore, it can’t be played offline.
A second catch: your first 15 minutes are free, but then it’s 2000 yen (about NZ$26 / AU$24) for 180 days of play.
Paradox Interactive announced two new games, three new expansions, and board game versions of its biggest franchises at Paradox Con over the weekend.
Imperator: Rome is a new grand strategy property that looks to explore alternate histories.
“What we think of as ‘western civilization’ was not guaranteed,” the game’s pitch reads.
Microsoft has unveiled a piece of hardware it believes will enable and empower gamers with limited mobility: The Xbox Adaptive Controller.
The controller’s inclusive design approach is for gamers who might not be able to reach all the bumpers and triggers, or hold a controller for an extended period of time, for example.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller was developed in partnership with organisations including The AbleGamers Charity, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Craig Hospital, SpecialEffect, and Warfighter Engaged.
Ubisoft's open-world pirate game Skull and Bones has been delayed.
Originally due later this year, it now won’t hit the high seas until the next financial year, which begins next April.
"Ubisoft has decided to give itself more time to develop Skull & Bones to offer players an even more engaging experience," said Ubisoft in its latest financial report.
Activision has officially unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, with no fewer than six trailers.
As was rumoured in April, there is no campaign mode for the first time in Call of Duty history. Instead, there are solo trials missions, and you can play Zombies mode with bots.
As was also suggested months ago, there is a battle royale mode. It is called Blackout, and includes famous characters from Black Ops series and the original Zombies mode, as well as air, sea and land vehicles.
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