Gaming
Veloce Racing bow out of Island X Prix after pacey Sardinia outing
Veloce Racing’s hopes of a second Extreme E podium were extinguished at the Island X Prix in Sardinia following a dramatic barrel roll in the aptly named ‘Crazy Race’.
The London-based squad arrived in Italy with high hopes following the team’s efforts to the reach the final in Greenland, which ultimately fell short during Stéphane Sarrazin’s spirited excursion through the infamous ‘Rock Garden’.
Veloce got off to a strong start in Sardinia when Sarrazin and team-mate Emma Gilmour topped the timesheets in the initial practice runs and eventually finished third in the session.
Qualifying
Qualifying 1 in Sardinia was arguably the team’s most competitive outing of the inaugural Extreme E season. Calm and committed runs from both Gilmour and Sarrazin saw the duo finish an impressive third just 18 seconds adrift of pacesetters X44.
The team carried this momentum into the second qualifying session of the day and looked on course for another promising result as Sarrazin kept pace with X44 during the early stages of his run.
It was not to be, however, with the ODYSSEY 21’s front suspension failing during the course’s unforgiving second sector, forcing Sarrazin to grind to a halt and slip out of contention.
The disastrous Qualifying 2 run meant that Veloce Racing was eighth overall – just three points shy of second place, highlighting the volatility of the Island X Prix – and would take part in the Crazy Race on Sunday.
The Crazy Race
As the lights went out for the Crazy Race, Gilmour’s lightning-quick reactions weren’t enough to withstand the advances of Kevin Hansen in the JBXE car who capitalised taking the optimum route.
The New Zealander seized the initiative and switched lanes, trying an alternate line to gain the advantage into the first gate. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off and the Veloce Racing car slipped into third position.
Gilmour handed the reigns over to Sarrazin hot on the heels of Christine GZ. The Frenchman immediately began applying the pressure to the Italian, and it paid off as the second-place car pulled over with mechanical gremlins releasing Sarrazin to hunt down JBXE.
The attack was short-lived, however, as Sarrazin hit a dip and fired the back of the car up into the air, pitching the ODYSSEY 21 into a spectacular barrel roll. Mercifully, Sarrazin emerged from the wreckage unscathed, but the team’s aims of a second Extreme E podium were over.
As a result of the crash, the Veloce Racing ODYSSEY 21’s chassis was compromised and subsequently, the team are unable to take part in next week’s Extreme E damper test and rookie test.
Stéphane Sarrazin, Extreme E Driver, Veloce Racing said: “It was a crazy race. I did my best to catch the JBXE car, the team were keeping me updated on the time difference and I was catching.
We knew we had to win to get to the final so we had to push. I attacked one of the compressions straight instead of side on and unfortunately the car rolled. I’m disappointed for the whole team as we really had the pace to be at the front this weekend.
Emma Gilmour, Extreme E Driver, Veloce Racing said: “Absolutely gutted. Stéphane and I had such good pace this weekend and to end up in the Crazy Race was really disappointing to start with.
“Personally, I’m disappointed I didn’t get a better start, from then on we were struggling with the dust and I handed over to Stéphane in P3. He did a great job to get past Christine GZ but got caught out in the rough stuff so glad he’s OK but just really sad for the team as we had good pace this weekend and it started so positively.”
Daniel Bailey, CEO, Veloce Racing added: “Despite the setbacks we faced at the Island X Prix, I think there are a lot of positives that Veloce Racing can take away from Sardinia. Pace-wise, this was our most competitive outing so far.
“We were fast in practice setting the pace early on and ending up P3 and we followed that up with another P3 in Qualifying 1. We got unlucky in Qualifying 2 and in the Crazy Race but this is motorsport and these things happen. I think we’ll come away from this weekend as a stronger team and we’ll aim to finish on a high note in Dorset in December.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, Co-Founder, Veloce Racing commented: “The most important thing was to see that Stéphane [Sarrazin] is out of the car and seems OK. It’s a shame because Emma [Gilmour] did a great job to hand the car over within the 25-second range that we wanted. Stéphane knew he had to push very hard to get it done at the end of the race so it’s unfortunate.”
Now, the St. Helena – Extreme E’s floating paddock – makes the trip to Dorset, England (18-19 December) where the inaugural Extreme E season will reach its dramatic conclusion.
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Gaming
The German Games Industry Association congratulates all winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2024
• “EVERSPACE 2” by ROCKFISH Games is ‘Best German Game’ 2024
• Pixel Maniacs from Nuremberg wins in the ‘Studio of the Year’ category
• ‘Best International Game’ is Baldur’s Gate 3
• ‘Player of the Year’ is Maurice Weber
High-quality games, great entertainment and many well-known personalities from the games industry and the cultural, societal and political spheres – the German Computer Game Awards 2024 (DCP), presented this evening in Munich, featured all that and more. Numerous guests celebrated the best games from Germany and the creative minds behind them in person at Eisbach Studios in Munich. The award show, which was hosted by Katrin Bauerfeind and Uke Bosse, was additionally followed by hundreds of thousands of viewers via live stream. A total of 800,000 euros was awarded in cash prizes. “EVERSPACE 2” by ROCKFISH Games was chosen ‘Best German Game’. The ‘Studio of the Year’ award went to Pixel Maniacs from Nuremberg, which has made a name for itself with successful games like the party racing game “Can’t Drive This”, its multifaceted involvement in the game industry and its promotion of young talent, as well as with its innovations in the area of marketing. The ‘Special Jury Prize’ was awarded to the project “Gaming ohne Grenzen” (Gaming without Borders), an initiative that enables young people with disabilities to participate actively in game culture – for example, by assessing in inclusive game testing groups the accessibility of various games as well as the ability of certain technologies to help overcome barriers in video games. In voting by the community and the jury, Maurice Weber was selected ‘Player of the Year’. The games editor and Twitch streamer regularly analyses current developments in the games industry and takes a critical look at them, while at the same time formulating a clear stance for more diversity and against extremism in games and society.
The German Computer Game Awards, which honour the year’s best German-produced games, are hosted by the German Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and game – The German Games Industry Association.
‘Congratulations to all winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2024!’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Even in these very challenging times for many German firms in the industry, German games companies have created high-quality and successful games that have deservedly been honoured on the big stage of the DCP. Around half of these outstanding games were developed with the support of federal game funding. This once again demonstrates the potential that we can leverage when the underlying policy framework for game development in Germany provides for truly predictable and internationally competitive conditions – conditions that allow games from Germany to shine even more brightly all over the world and achieve even greater success on the national as well as international stage. We must make this our goal!’
Overview of all winners:
Best International Game (not endowed)
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Best German Game (endowed with 100,000 euros)
EVERSPACE 2 (ROCKFISH Games)
The other nominees will each receive 30,000:
Atlas Fallen (Deck 13 Interactive/Focus Entertainment)
Fall of Porcupine (Critical Rabbit/Assemble Entertainment)
Best Family Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Spells & Secrets (Alchemist Interactive/rokaplay)
Newcomer Award – Best Debut (endowed with 60,000 euros)
Ad Infinitum (Hekate/NACON)
The other nominees will receive 25,000 euros each:
Fall of Porcupine (Critical Rabbit/Assemble Entertainment)
Lose CTRL (Play From Your Heart)
Newcomer Award – Best Prototype (endowed with 50,000 euros)
Misgiven (Symmetry Break Studio)
The other nominees will receive 25,000 euros each:
Bloodletter (Katharina “Mikey” Müller, David Cafisso, Marvin Braun, Alica Schneider/Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin)
EcoGnomix (Lars Hinnerk Grevsmühl, Lars Eble, Bahy Nguyen, Marcel Zurawka, Alec Shae)
Footgun: Underground (Eduard Dobermann, Theo Lohmüller, Georg Nimke, Robert Pistea, Lukas Salewsky)
REPLICORE (Sarah Inés Roeder, Rody Nawezi, Leonhard Gläser, Maximilian Götz/ HAW Hamburg)
Best Innovation and Technology (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Marble Maze (Fox-Assembly)
Best Serious Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Friedrich Ebert – Der Weg zur Demokratie (Playing History/Stiftung Reichspräsident-Friedrich-Ebert-Gedenkstätte)
Best Audio Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Ad Infinitum (Hekate/NACON)
Best Game Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Lose CTRL (Play From Your Heart)
Best Graphic Design (endowed with 40,000 euros)
The Bear – A Story from the World of Gra (Mucks! Games)
Best Mobile Game (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Cat Rescue Story (Tivola Games)
Best Story (endowed with 40,000 euros)
Ad Infinitum (Hekate/NACON)
Studio of the Year (endowed with 50,000 euros)
Pixel Maniacs
Player of the Year (not endowed)
Maurice Weber
Special Jury Award (endowed with 10,000 euros)
Gaming ohne Grenzen
The post The German Games Industry Association congratulates all winners of the German Computer Game Awards 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
Flexion and Kabam Team Up to Bring Marvel Contest of Champions to the Alternative App Stores
Flexion, the games marketing company, and Kabam, one of the world’s leading game developers, announced a new partnership to bring Marvel Contest of Champions to alternative app stores. Flexion will distribute the game on the Amazon Appstore, Aptoide, ONE store, Samsung Galaxy Store, and Digital Turbine Hubs in 2024.
“We are excited to partner with Flexion to bring Marvel Contest of Champions to even more players. Flexion’s expertise, experience and technology make them the ideal partner for us. This collaboration will help us reach new audiences by making Marvel Contest of Champions available on even more app stores. This is especially exciting ahead of the game’s upcoming 10-year anniversary,” SeungWon Lee, CEO of Kabam, said.
“We are delighted to partner with Kabam, one of the world’s leading game developers, to bring their hit game to more players around the globe. This partnership is a win for Kabam and the app stores, which we will connect to drive audience engagement,” Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion, said.
Marvel Contest of Champions is an epic fighting RPG with over 260 iconic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains in the ultimate cosmic showdown. Players can collect and build a competitive team of Champions, compete against the world’s top Summoners, battle through an epic and deep Marvel story, and team up with powerful Summoners in alliances to become the Ultimate Marvel Champion.
“We’re delighted to add such a well-known and successful game like Marvel Contest of Champions to our portfolio. I am very positive about the growth potential of these alternative stores in 2024. There is no better time to expand to more audiences,” Jens added.
Marvel Contest of Champions will be available on the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Galaxy Store, Aptoide, and ONEstore Korea starting on April 29, 2024, with Samsung Gaming Hub, OneStore Global, and DT Games Hub following in the near future.
The post Flexion and Kabam Team Up to Bring Marvel Contest of Champions to the Alternative App Stores appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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.
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