Gaming
Jagex announces partnership with indie studio Games by Malcs to publish Melvor Idle, a RuneScape-inspired idle game
Leading British video game publisher and developer Jagex, creator of the iconic living game RuneScape franchise, today announced that it will be working with indie developer Brendan Malcolm to publish Melvor Idle under the Jagex Partners banner. Currently in Early Access, Melvor Idle is a game heavily inspired by Jagex’s renowned RuneScape franchise and has already been downloaded more than 600,000 times across Steam, App Store and Google Play.
The brainchild of Australian solo developer Brendan Malcolm, a player of RuneScape since his youth, Melvor Idle was devised as a means of reimagining the core components of the RuneScape franchise in a way that they could be enjoyed casually, fitting around the busy schedule of his adult life. Taking inspiration from the setting, skills, combat and mechanics of RuneScape, he distilled the core components down into an idle game in the same vein as games such as Clicker Heroes and Egg Inc.
Jagex first became aware of Melvor Idle in early 2020, and was hugely impressed with the game, realising there was a significant opportunity to help support the game’s future development, and to reward a fan-made passion project and bring it to the attention of RuneScape players around the world. The game will come out of Early Access and release officially this November.
Chris Pfeiffer, Director of Product Management for Jagex Partners, said: “We are incredibly excited to be publishing Melvor Idle. Every once in a while, we come across a game and a developer that is so well aligned with our core values that it seems a natural fit for Jagex Partners. With so many of our staff being fans of the game, and seeing what Brendan has been able to achieve as a solo developer inspired by the games we have been developing for 20 years is truly magical. We very much look forward to using the skills and experience we have at Jagex Partners to support the future development of Melvor Idle, leveraging our marketing, communications and localisation resources to make sure the game reaches the widest possible audience and its full potential.”
Brendan Malcolm, Games by Malcs founder and the creator of Melvor Idle, said: “Being able to work with Jagex directly on this has been a dream come true. I never would have imagined when I started development on Melvor Idle back in 2018 that I would eventually receive the support of the very studio that inspired me in the first place. The support this partnership has provided me will not only enable me to reach even more players with Melvor Idle, but will help me really establish Games by Malcs as an up-and-coming studio with an office in Perth, Australia. I can’t wait to work with Jagex on making Melvor Idle an even bigger success than I had hoped for.”
Melvor Idle is currently in Early Access on Steam (with 93% positive reviews*) and will be launched in November priced at $9.99 / £7.19 / €8.19. The game is also free to try on iOS (4.9/5 review score*) and Android (4.8/5 review score*) with in-app purchase for the full version.
Melvor Idle is the game announced by Jagex Partners, with Space Punks, developed by Flying Wild Hog, currently in Early Access on Epic Games Store.
Jeff Pabst, Vice-President of Third-Party & Partnerships, said: “Jagex Partners continues its focus on becoming the go-to publisher for living games developers around the world. However, great community-led games like Melvor Idle have inspired us to broaden our search for development partners to include games that represent the community-first ethos Jagex has always followed. We look forward to more announcements as we close out the year and push onwards to 2022 and beyond.”
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Gaming
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
The post Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game
Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!
In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.
Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“
‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.
The post Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.
Back on course
The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.
The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.
Billions of players
Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.
“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.
Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.
“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.
Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.
Entering the mobile market
Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.
“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.
“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.
The post The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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