Asia
Google Play Best of 2020 Awards’ declares World Cricket Championship 3 as winner

Prior to this, the WCC franchise has been featured in Google Editor’s Choice and Google’s Best of Games
World Cricket Championship 3 (WCC 3), the third edition of the award winning cricket gaming franchise, by Next Wave Multimedia Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Ltd., today won the ‘Google Play Best of 2020 award’ in the ‘Users’ Choice’ category. Earlier this year, the second edition, WCC 2, won the AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge conducted by the Government of India.
The ‘Google Play Best of 2020 Awards’ are bestowed upon the most voted apps in different categories on the Google Play Store. The voting process took place on Google Play Store between 10 to 23 November this year with WCC3 being declared a winner on 30 November, 2020.
The WCC franchise crossed 143+ million downloads globally since its inception. As live cricket came to a grinding halt during the pandemic, this ‘Made in India’ game franchise gave players a taste of the sport and got more than 22 million downloads between February and August, 2020. Alongside this, it also recently witnessed more than 100% growth in-app purchases between February to November 2020.
Commenting on the victory, Next Wave Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.’s Co-founder and CEO P.R. Rajendran said, “We are absolutely elated by this recognition and would like to credit the fans of WCC for this feat! Being a fan driven game, we plan to continue to innovate and usher more features and engage even more players. WCC is the longest running mobile cricket gaming franchise from India and we’re thrilled that the recently launched third edition of the game was the only cricket game to make it to the top 10 list of nominations in this category, this year. This award is dedicated to all the WCC fans out there!”
The recently launched third edition of WCC has been infused with a host of innovative and engaging features which aims to provide an immersive gaming experience to the players. The game also includes a comprehensive career mode set across 3 brackets, 25 series, and 400+ matches with a built-in challenging performance decision system which determines your rise in ranks starting from a local club to the national or international level. The much-awaited Women’s Cricket mode which is a tribute to the changing face of women’s cricket across the globe, is also a part of the latest edition.
To add a dash of extra realism, the game has further been polished with simulation of actual cricket, updated gameplay features like brand new controls, animations, real-time motions of athletes and professional cricketers, bilingual commentary by professional cricketers such as Aakash Chopra and Matthew Hayden and much more.
This latest award for the franchise will add to the list of previously garnered awards including Google Editor’s Choice (2016-2020). WCC2 has also been listed as Google’s Best of Games in 2015, 2016 & 2017 and Apple’s Best of Games 2016, 2017 & 2018.
Furthermore, the cricket game has also been featured among the Top 10 Games for Monthly Active Users by the App Annie Report for 3 years in a row (2016-2018) and was also listed under Top 10 games by time spent in Android & IOS by App Annie 2016 report.
The game is available on Google Play and App Store.
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Asia
Macau Government Extends Lottery Concession of Macau Slot Until 5 June 2026

The Macau government has extended the lottery concession of Macau Slot Co Ltd for one year until 5 June 2026.
The concession renewal was published in the official gazette on Wednesday. Further extensions may be granted, subject to mutual agreement between the Macau government and Macau Slot.
As part of the renewal terms, Macau Slot is required to gradually reduce its number of non-resident employees and actively collaborate with the government to recruit and retain local talent.
Earlier this month, the government held a meeting with Macau Slot representatives to discuss the extension. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), the city’s industry regulator, Macau Slot committed to cutting 35% of its non-local, non-skilled workforce—equivalent to 26 positions—by the first quarter of 2026. The company also pledged to make further reductions to its foreign labour quota in the future. Currently, non-local staff account for 15% of the total workforce at Macau Slot.
“Over the past year, despite fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment and slower economic recovery in neighbouring regions, the local economy has remained relatively stable under the guidance of the Macau SAR government’s policies,” Macau Slot said in a statement.
“Looking ahead, we are committed to further diversifying our sports betting products to meet customer demand, while upgrading our information technology infrastructure to stay current and deliver more comprehensive sports betting services.”
The post Macau Government Extends Lottery Concession of Macau Slot Until 5 June 2026 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Asia
QTech Games strengthens its elite suite with Bigpot Gaming

Emerging-markets leader expands its all-encompassing library with exciting new slots portfolio
The post QTech Games strengthens its elite suite with Bigpot Gaming appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Asia
Polemos Announces Partnership with Guinevere Capital

Polemos, a Web3 gaming infrastructure platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Guinevere Capital, a prominent esports and gaming investment firm known for its investments and advisory roles in projects such as GiantX, iTero, Perion, Skybox and various other projects across the industry. Guinevere Capital has established a strong reputation for its work across global Web2 gaming titles, including League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League and many more. This partnership aims to leverage the combined expertise of Polemos.io and Guinevere Capital to enhance and further monetise audiences across publishers, infrastructure players, gaming companies, studios and platforms.
The collaboration will focus on integrating advanced asset management and engagement tools from Polemos.io’s Forge platform with Guinevere Capital’s extensive network and experience in both Web2 and esports ecosystems. This will create new monetisation opportunities and improve player experiences by bridging traditional gaming with blockchain-enabled innovations.
Carl Wilgenbus, CEO of Polemos.io, said: “Partnering with Guinevere Capital marks a significant milestone in our mission to expand access to gaming rewards and unlock new revenue streams for the entire gaming industry. Together, we will empower publishers and studios to better engage their audiences and capitalize on the evolving landscape of gaming and esports.”
“Polemos has built an impressive piece of infrastructure that has plugged a huge gap in the gaming sector. We look forward to working with them to commercialise this,” said Dave Harris, a partner at Guinevere Capital.
Dave’s previous experience includes investing in and operating top teams and leagues in the Riot Games and Activision Blizzard ecosystems.
Guinevere Capital’s strategic involvement will accelerate the adoption of blockchain gaming infrastructure while supporting the growth of esports and gaming communities worldwide. This alliance underscores a shared vision to drive innovation, education and monetisation in the gaming sector by combining Web2’s reach with Web3’s potential.
The post Polemos Announces Partnership with Guinevere Capital appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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