Gaming
The Sandbox Partners with Snoop Dogg to Bring the Legendary Icon into the Metaverse
The Doggfather is recreating his mansion in The Sandbox virtual gaming world, allowing players to experience concerts and parties and even play as Snoop Dogg
The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced that it has partnered with Snoop Dogg to bring the legendary rapper, actor, songwriter, entrepreneur and entertainer to The Sandbox gaming metaverse.
Snoop Dogg will enter the metaverse by owning his own virtual land in The Sandbox, where he will set up his mansion. Snoop Dogg will also launch his NFT collection including player avatars and a limited ‘Snoop Dogg Private Party Pass’ that gives users VIP access to concerts, events, Q&As, and dedicated NFT drops. Snoop Dogg will also launch a 3D avatar collection inside The Sandbox and players will be able to create games using virtual “Doggfather” items such as Snoop Dogg’s personal car collection, dogs, statues, memorabilia, and more. All info on Snoop Dogg entering The Sandbox, as well as the Private Party Pass can be found on https://sandbox.game/snoopdogg/
Snoop Dogg has always been on the cutting edge of new technologies, investing in telemedicine and launching his own esports tournament series, the Gangsta Gaming League, in 2019. In April of this year, he dropped “A Journey with the Dogg,” a select set of NFTs designed to offer a look into his life that included the exclusive track NFT. His next step into the NFT world is The Sandbox, the fast-growing decentralized gaming platform where Snoop Dogg can share his NFT collection and lifestyle with players around the world.
To mark the occasion, The Sandbox will hold a LAND sale on September 30th, 2021 at 1 p.m. (UTC), which will allow fans to buy LANDS adjacent to the property of Snoop Dogg’s, thus becoming the Doggfather’s virtual neighbors in the metaverse.
“I’m always on the look-out for new ways of connecting with fans and what we’ve created in The Sandbox is the future of virtual hangouts, NFT drops and exclusive concerts,” said Snoop Dogg. “We’ll have a fresh set of Dogg style NFTs that players can integrate into the game experiences to take this online experience to the next level for sure.”
“The idea of having hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg as your next-door neighbor in The Sandbox metaverse is mind blowing – and being able to have a unique Snoop NFT as your in-game avatar is even cooler,” said Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “By entering the next generation of entertainment where fans, creators, and players can connect and play-to-earn in a gaming virtual world, the Doggfather continues to be a pioneer. I can’t wait to attend the first Snoop Dogg live concert in the metaverse alongside our players!”
“We are building the future of entertainment where everyone will enjoy creating and sharing their very own virtual experiences,” said Arthur Madrid, CEO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “The Sandbox is bringing iconic culture with Snoop Dogg and enhancing it through innovation with NFTs and virtual experiences. Snoop’s LAND is decentralized; 100% owned by him to develop through his creative genius. I can’t wait to join his first private party in The Sandbox!”
“We are entering into a new age of creative potential that was never possible bound by the laws of the physical world and are excited to help Snoop continue to provide innovative entertainment for his millions of fans all across the globe,” said Alex Livian, Founder of Cultivate Studios, and representative of The Sandbox & Snoop Dogg collaboration.
As with all The Sandbox partnerships, the collaboration will include carefully curated and designed experiences and specific assets that players can purchase and use in their original creations. This will allow players to step into Snoop’s virtual mansion to join an exclusive pool party experience, enjoy Snoop Dogg’s extensive collection of NFT art, or explore Snoop Dogg’s car collection. Players will also be able to insert voxel versions of Snoop Dogg’s dogs, cars, and other items in their virtual experiences.
Part virtual real-estate, part amusement park, The Sandbox fully embraces the idea of the metaverse as a continuous shared digital space where worlds and heroes collide to make rainbow-colored magic (think Ready Player One). Snoop Dogg joins over 165 existing partnerships including The Walking Dead, deadmau5, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO, and CryptoKitties, all following The Sandbox team’s vision of empowering players to create their own experiences using both original and well-known characters and worlds.
The Sandbox is scheduled to launch its first public Alpha for players in Q4 2021, enabling anyone to experience a social hub and gain the power to build a fantastic collection of fantasy and role-playing adventures that can be traded with other players, creators, and artists on the platform.
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Gaming
World’s Best Teams to Compete in UK’s First Professional Women’s VALORANT Tournament in 2024, Red Bull Instalock
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”.
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.
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.
Central Europe
German games market in 2023: strong development in turbulent times
The German games market once again grew significantly overall in 2023: sales of games, games hardware and gaming online services rose by 6 per cent to around 9.97 billion euros. This is a significant increase after sales had only risen by 1 per cent in the previous year. The biggest growth drivers include games consoles and their accessories as well as in-game and in-app purchases. Despite the large number of top-class titles, which increased sales of games purchases by 4 per cent, the number of games sold fell by 8 per cent at the same time. There were also significant declines in some cases for gaming PCs and laptops. The data on the German games market is based on surveys conducted by the consumer panel services GfK and data.ai. The different developments in the individual market segments also show that 2023 was a year of contrasts for the games industry as a whole: on the one hand, more high-calibre titles were released within twelve months than ever before. On the other hand, some sales expectations were not met, particularly due to this abundance of outstanding games. Combined with generally high interest rates and a slowdown in the investment market, a wave of consolidation began worldwide, as a result of which developer studios are still being downsized or even closed and jobs are being cut.
‘The German games market continues to grow, but a close look at the data shows just how challenging these times are for game companies,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘This is particularly true for small to medium-sized companies in Germany, most of which have only thin capital cover and therefore feel the impact of the tougher investment climate especially quickly. In such turbulent times reliable and internationally competitive political solutions are needed more than ever.’
Major differences between categories of games hardware
Sales revenues from various categories of games hardware developed very differently last year. Game consoles were among the most important growth drivers, posting a revenue increase of 44 per cent to break the billion-euro threshold, with total revenues of 1.1 billion euros. Demand for game console accessories was similarly robust, if at a slightly lower level. Sales revenues in this area jumped 32 per cent, to 374 million euros. In stark contrast, gaming PCs registered a clear decline as revenues from PCs and laptops marketed specially for games dropped by 17 per cent, to 547 million euros. Accessories for gaming PCs – including special input devices, graphic cards, etc. – fared only slightly better, with revenues falling by 7 per cent, to just under 1.3 billion euros.
‘Last year was the first year in a long time in which all current game consoles were easily available on the market,’ says Felix Falk. ‘The huge revenue gain in this category in 2023 shows how great the pent-up demand was among players. On the other hand, there was a clear drop in sales revenues from gaming PCs. After investing in PCs and laptops during the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of video game players seem to be well-equipped for the moment.’
Sales revenue from games rises and gaming online services stabilise at a high level
Sales revenue from games developed positively overall in 2023. Across all platforms, purchases of PC and console games generated 4 per cent more revenue than in the year before. Total sales revenues in this area increased to around 1.1 billion euros. Considering the many high-quality game releases, however, this rise seems rather low. Indeed, the number of games sold actually dropped by 8 per cent. This reveals that the growth in revenue here is attributable exclusively to higher average prices. Last year, many video game players appear to have purchased high-quality titles shortly after their release and not waited for discounts. Also, because many of the top titles of 2023 are especially time-intensive, they didn’t leave room for players to acquire a larger number of games. In contrast, the market development for in-game and in-app purchases was significantly more positive, showing a revenue increase of about 6 per cent, to 4.7 billion euros. From an upgrade in a player character’s armour, to a season pass with a lot of additional content, to completely new campaigns, it has become ever more common for the playing time of a game to be extended or individualised through additional content. This trend continued in 2023. In-game sales revenues contribute significantly to covering continuously rising game development costs.
After a number of years of strong growth, sales revenues from online gaming services stabilised at a high level. Among the categories in this segment are fee-based subscription services that provide access to a large selection of games, cloud-based gaming, online multiplayer functions and the ability to save game progress in the cloud. Examples of these services include EA Play, Nintendo Switch Online, PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass and Ubisoft+. Revenue from these services fell by 1 per cent in 2023, to 860 million euros.
The post German games market in 2023: strong development in turbulent times appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Fortnite Battle Royale
Fortnite Battle Royale Global Championship and Rocket League World Championship Head to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, This September
The location for upcoming Fortnite Battle Royale and Rocket League in-person Championship events has been revealed! Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas will host both the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) Global Championship 2024 and Rocket League World Championship 2024 this September.
FNCS Global Championship 2024
Mark your calendars for September 7-8: the in-person FNCS Global Championship will feature 50 of the top Fortnite Competitive duos from around the globe, competing for a share of the $2,002,000 USD prize pool.
Qualification, format, and key dates for the Global Championship can be found in the FNCS 2024 Details blog post.
Ticketing information will be revealed in the coming month, with updates to be posted on the Fortnite Competitive website and social media channels. For more information, check out the reveal blog.
RLCS World Championship 2024
This year’s Rocket League World Championship runs from September 10-15 and returns to Dickies Arena on September 13-15 for the final two days of competition in front of a live audience. The culmination of the RLCS 2024 season, the Rocket League World Championship will feature the 16 best international teams and a $1,165,000 USD prize pool.
Rocket League World Championship 2024 qualification, format, and key dates can be found in the 2024 season announcement blog.
Ticketing information will be revealed in the coming month, with updates to be posted on the Rocket League Esports website and social media channels. For more information, check out the reveal blog.
BLAST, Rocket League Esports and Fortnite Competitive have teamed up with the Fort Worth Sports Commission, an international sports destination agency, and C3 Presents, Texas’ leading event promotion companies, to help support and promote both events coming to Fort-Worth, Texas in September 2024.
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