Gaming
Lockwood Publishing announces games industry recruitment expert Peter Lovell as new Strategic Director of Talent Acquisition
Former Jagex, Zynga and NaturalMotion star to lead talent acquisition drive as Lockwood Publishing and Avakin Life look to become gaming’s biggest mobile metaverse creators.
With over 14 years of games industry, in-house recruitment experience, Peter Lovell has transformed some the UK games industry’s most renowned studios. He joins Lockwood Publishing after a landmark year for the developer, during which its globally loved 3D social app, Avakin Life, attracted its 200 millionth registered user and won a third TIGA Game of the Year award in-a-row.
“I’m blown away by the vision, ambitions and talent of this amazing company, and by the passion of its leaders and their values,” said Peter Lovell. “I’m truly excited to be joining at this important juncture as we supercharge Lockwood Publishing to the next level and beyond.”
Commenting on the stellar new addition to Lockwood Publishing, CEO, Halli Bjornsson, said: “We’re excited to bring Peter on board to grow our global top talent outreach and acquisitions, as we build Avakin further as an award-winning mobile metaverse. His energy and proven track record in the games industry is a great asset for Lockwood.”
“Lockwood has had phenomenal growth over the last few years with Avakin Life and we still have a long way to go to create an immersive virtual world for our users,” added Lockwood Publishing’s Studios Director, Karl Hilton. “Peter will continue to handpick the high-performance teams that can deliver the Avakin Life experience to millions more users across the globe.”
With more than 2,000,000 downloads each month and 70,000,000 chat messages sent every day, Avakin Life was recently highlighted as “pioneering the mobile metaverse space” in Newzoo’s games industry report “Intro to the Metaverse”. It embraces a new normal where everyone is free to be anyone in the digital world, and Lockwood Publishing calls on a global workforce to design that vision, with offices in Nottingham and Newcastle in the UK, as well as in Lisbon, Portugal and Vilnius, Lithuania.
Powered by WPeMatico
Battle of the Tribes
POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Celebrated strategy game The Battle of Polytopia confirms its first ever World Championships has exceeded expectations with over 10,000 sign-ups in its qualifying rounds. While no stranger to tournaments, previously hosting smaller scale, local tournaments called ‘Polysseums’, developer Midjiwan’s first step into global esports has been met with extreme success. The inclusive esports event has a $10,000 prize pool and will conclude on 6 December 2025, 14:00-21:00.
The finals will take place in front of a live-studio audience, with expert commentary and a chance to peek behind the scenes at Midjiwan itself. First place will receive $4,000, the runner-up will take away $2,000, the third and fourth place finishers will get $1,500, and the fifth and sixth place $500.
The Polytopia World Championship 2025 is being hosted by eSports platform, Challengermode, who Midjiwan has relied on for its monthly local tournaments since 2022. Midjiwan also partnered with Black Molly Entertainment to help organise and manage the event. Black Molly Entertainment have years of experience managing eSports tournaments, with notable events including the Geoguesser World Cup and CS:GO Pinnacle Cup Championship.
Midjiwan has worked closely with its community to ensure engagement is high with each round, building a bespoke ‘Spectator Mode’ into the game so fans can watch each game live through the game itself. In the spectator mode the viewer has visibility of all players simultaneously, with stats on how many cities, technologies, kills and more available for quick access.
Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan commented:
“Polytopia has always been about welcoming all kinds of players into the world of 4X strategy. That’s why our championship is open to everyone – not just pros with sponsors. We’ve been thrilled at the amount of interest this tournament received from our community, reaching participation numbers way beyond our expectations. We’re excited to bring the finalists to Stockholm and can’t wait to see the strategies that emerge.”
The Polytopia World Championship 2025 kicked off in September, with its ‘Battle of the Tribes’ qualifying round – weekly battles where players competed to be the best in each of the game’s 12 tribes. After an exciting six weeks, the top player from each tribe faced-off, reducing the qualifiers to six finalists. These six winners are listed down below.
|
Tribe |
Qualifying Player |
|
IMPERIUS |
ArthurL248 |
|
BARDUR |
slimmingboy |
|
OUMAJI |
Dreamlander3000 |
|
HOODRICK |
Theetat |
|
XIN-Xi |
LeLiberateur |
|
LUXIDOOR |
Meisterlampe |
Recaps of each round of the tournament prior to the finals can be watched on the official Battle of Polytopia YouTube channel.
-
Part 1: Polytopia World Championship 1st Qualifiers Wrap-Up – BARDUR, IMPERIUS, KICKOO, ZEBASI
-
Part 2: Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Oumaji Hoodrick Yadakk & Quetzali – World Champoinship 2025
-
Part 3: Final Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Xin-Xi, Luxidoor, Ai-Mo & Vengir – World Championship 2025
-
Face-off stream: https://youtube.com/live/GnU6mWPoJiY?feature=share
To watch the finals live on December 6,visit here: https://polytopia.io/stream/
To stay up to date on the Polytopia World Championship 2025, or purchase one of the limited tickets for the live event, visit the official website or join the Official Polytopia Discord.
The post POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Betiator
Delasport Unveils a Crash Game for Sports Betting
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Leading iGaming supplier Delasport teases a one-of-a-kind sports betting crash game called Betiator – a new in-play experience that merges live sports with the tension and excitement of crash games.
Inspired by the groundbreaking casino genre, the company once again pushes the whole industry to a new phase in evolution by allowing sports bettors to play in the same easy and fun way as fellow casino players. Crash games are booming in the casino world, showing that players crave more emotional, fast, and visually engaging formats – and Betiator brings that same adrenaline-charged energy to the sportsbook.
It changes the scene by introducing a truly innovative way to bet on sports, keeping players at the edge of their seats during the game. Designed to excite both sports bettors and casino players, it marks a defining moment for innovation.
This product comes as a logical next step in the evolution of live betting and the company’s goal to disrupt the iGaming industry. It demonstrates Delasport’s successful commitment to unique innovation: a strategy they call “Going Beyond Content” –building on the success of products and features like SuperPot, My Sportsbook, My Combo, Double My Winnings, and many more.
“Sports bettors deserve the same level of innovation and excitement that casino players get all the time,” Delasport’s CEO Oren Cohen Shwartz says. “At Delasport we’re taking the whole game to a new playing field with Betiator. Live betting won’t feel outdated anymore as we’re bringing in the thrill of the casino to sports betting.”
While details about Betiator remain under wraps for now, Delasport promises a completely new way to experience live sports. Operators and partners eager to see it in action can schedule exclusive demos and discover more at ICE Barcelona 2026, taking place January 19–21, where Betiator will make its official debut.
The post Delasport Unveils a Crash Game for Sports Betting appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Central Europe
game’s 2026 industry barometer – the mood in the German games industry is beginning to brighten
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The post game’s 2026 industry barometer – the mood in the German games industry is beginning to brighten appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Latest News7 days agoNagoshi Studio Unveils GANG OF DRAGON, a New Action-Adventure Game from Director Toshihiro Nagoshi
-
Latest News7 days agoBlask & Gamblers Connect Enter A New Media Partnership
-
Dominic Sawyer VP Growth at Tequity4 days agoTequity and iBankroll forge strategic partnership
-
Fortune of Olympus4 days agoPRAGMATIC PLAY STRIKES GOLD WITH FORTUNE OF OLYMPUS
-
Latest News1 day agoVegangster Gives Operators Real-Time Jackpot Control and a New Revenue Stream with Sharedluck’s JackpotX
-
Latest News2 days agoTop 5 Newest High-RTP Slots at Social Casinos This Month
-
Gamepop3 days agoGAMEPOP: The Culture of Play by Red Bull Media House – the first bookazine devoted entirely to video game culture
-
Christos Zoulianitis Chief Commercial Officer at ENJOY4 days agoENJOY expands distribution through SoftGamings partnership



