Latest News
Colt Canyon crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ at GameMaker Awards 2021
The judges have deliberated. Over 33,000 votes have been cast. And we can now reveal that Colt Canyon has been crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ game of the year, at the GameMaker Awards 2021.
Created by German-based developer Retrific, Colt Canyon is a stylish western-themed pixel art shooter combining roguelike elements with real-time combat. The judges were impressed with Colt Canyon’s highly engaging gameplay and heavily pixelated artist style. While in the popular vote, members of the GameMaker and Opera GX communities voted Colt Canyon the clear winner.
The other finalists for ‘Best Game’ included: Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Jet Lancer, Post Void and Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!.
The winner of ‘Most Anticipated’ game is LUNARK, from Canari Games. LUNARK is a 2D cinematic platformer, designed in the vein of ’80s and ’90s classics. The game challenges players to run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot their way through a kaleidoscope of different environments. These include mysterious alien ruins, a flying penitentiary, a high-tech megalopolis, and a majestic forest.
The judges were blown away with how the Canari Games team have pushed the creative limits of cutscenes and pixel art in GameMaker, to create a game that is both visually stunning and great to play. Set for release later this year, LUNARK also made a big impression with the voters – who overwhelmingly crowned it the ‘Most Anticipated’ game of 2021.
The other finalists for ‘Most Anticipated’ game included: NYKRA, Jitsu Squad, APICO and Toodee and Topdee.
The GameMaker Awards, in partnership with SpecialEffect, a charity that uses video games to enhance the lives of those people with physical disabilities, celebrate creativity and innovation in Indie game development, honouring the best games created using GameMaker Studio 2 as well as the Indies and Studios that designed them.
From over 200 entries, only 5 games for each category were selected by an expert panel of industry peers, including GameMaker Studio CTO Russell Kay, Opera GX Product Director Maciej Kocemba, and Into Indie Games Editor Harry Cole.
Russell Kay, CTO, GameMaker Studio, said: “This year’s GameMaker Awards has redefined what we’ve come to expect from the indies and studios that choose GameMaker as their creative engine of choice. Each of the finalists have demonstrated both amazing creativity, plus the technical ability to harness GameMaker’s powerful functionality to design a game that really pushes the boundaries. Given the incredible standard of this year’s entries, I am only glad that the final decision was left in the hands of our loyal GameMaker and Opera GX communities.”
Jonathan Mannshoven of Retrific, said: “Colt Canyon wasn’t a bestseller when it launched last year. It wasn’t free from criticism either. But by working closely with the community, I’ve been able to make many improvements to the game which have helped turn a lot of criticism into positive feedback. Having all that hard work now paying off with Colt Canyon winning ‘Best Game’ at the GameMaker Awards 2021 is an overwhelming and surreal feeling – just incredible!
“GameMaker has always been my engine of choice as it is just so easy to use yet also powerful, enabling me to reach maximum productivity. Which as a solo developer is extremely valuable. Put simply – I wouldn’t be a game developer now if it wasn’t for GameMaker.”
Johan Vinet of Canari Games, added: “LUNARK started as a passion project to create a game in the genre I loved in my youth. Making it a reality became so clear that I decided to quit my job, start my own studio and launch a Kickstarter campaign. Winning the “Most Anticipated Game” award is an incredible recognition from the players and the GameMaker Community, which brings some welcome legitimacy and a massive confidence boost to actually finish the game! Thank you!”
Argentina
Betano partners Fundación Empate on adapted football program in Argentina
Betano says it will fund weekly training for 192 athletes with Down syndrome and support the FUT21 National Tournament pathway ahead of October.
Betano has partnered with Fundación Empate to launch an adapted football-friendly tournament in Argentina, as part of the operator’s “Desafiá tus límites” (Challenge Your Limits) corporate responsibility programme.
The company said the partnership will support 192 athletes with Down syndrome by funding weekly practices, while also providing operational resources to strengthen training in the run-up to the FUT21 National Tournament in October. Fundación Empate describes FUT21 as Argentina’s main futsal competition for athletes with Down syndrome, bringing together delegations from across the country.
Germán Laborda, President of Fundación Empate, said: “For us, this support means much more than financial aid. It is a concrete opportunity for our players to keep growing, training, and showcasing all their talent. Having companies like Betano get involved in real inclusion helps bring visibility to the enormous effort and commitment of each member of our foundation.”
Alvaro Ferreres, Betano Country Manager for Argentina, added: “At Betano, we understand that social responsibility means getting truly involved and supporting the people behind every story. Supporting the players of Fundación Empate means proving that a company can be an ally that drives opportunities, inclusion, and development through sports.”
Beyond athlete funding, Betano said it will develop Teacher Training Workshops for Inclusive Sports aimed at more than 800 sports professionals, including coaches, physical education teachers and physiotherapists, as well as teams for athletes with Down Syndrome. The company positioned the initiative as part of its broader adapted sports activity under “Desafiá tus límites”, which it said also includes support for Argentina’s national blind football team, Los Murciélagos (The Bats).
The post Betano partners Fundación Empate on adapted football program in Argentina appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
adtech
PropellerAds says Social Traffic lifts game registrations 34.5% in Nigeria test
In a seven-day Onclick campaign, Social Traffic delivered 23.3% of registrations from 17.3% of impressions, the company reports.
PropellerAds has published new user acquisition results from a seven-day game registration campaign in Nigeria, reporting that its “Social Traffic” segment outperformed overall traffic on registrations and revenue efficiency.
According to the company, Social Traffic represented 17.3% of total impressions (20,076 of 115,671) but delivered 23.3% of registrations (199 of 853) and 24.5% of revenue ($96.06 of $392.46). Registrations per 1,000 impressions rose to 9.91 for Social Traffic versus 7.37 campaign-wide, a 34.5% increase. Revenue per 1,000 impressions (RPM) increased to $4.78 versus $3.39, up 41%.
Social Traffic is a targeting subtype within PropellerAds’ Onclick/Popunder format. When enabled on the company’s Self-Service Platform (SSP), ads are served only in placements where a user arrived from a social network such as Facebook or Instagram immediately before landing on the publisher’s page.
PropellerAds attributed the performance gap to browsing context and user intent, arguing that users coming from social platforms are more likely to complete multi-step actions such as registration. Petros Sofroniou, Account Strategist at PropellerAds, said: “In highly competitive user acquisition environments, traffic quality is increasingly critical. In practice, Social Traffic helps advertisers reach users who are more engaged and willing to take action, thereby improving registration performance in campaigns.”
The company positioned the results against what it described as a rapidly expanding Nigerian games market, citing estimates of a $3.5 billion market with roughly 60 million active users and 61% year-over-year growth. PropellerAds said it recommends testing Social Traffic as a dedicated segment and, where results hold, splitting it into a separate campaign for clearer optimization signals; it also suggested using roughly 20× target CPA as a test budget and running tests for 36–48 hours, while noting performance can vary by market and product.
The post PropellerAds says Social Traffic lifts game registrations 34.5% in Nigeria test appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Latest News
Betnacional realiza o maior São João brasileiro fora do Brasil em Miami
Créditos: Giovanna Shirassu/CriaMov
Marca reuniu mais de mil convidados entre ex-atletas, influenciadores e artistas para celebração inspirada em uma das tradições culturais mais populares do país, durante o principal momento do futebol internacional em 2026
O maior São João brasileiro realizado fora do Brasil tomou conta de Miami na última terça-feira (23). Promovido pela Betnacional e organizado pela AMG, agência especializada em posicionar grandes marcas brasileiras nos Estados Unidos, reuniu mais de mil convidados e levou uma das manifestações culturais mais populares do país para os Estados Unidos justamente no período em que a cidade concentra milhares de brasileiros acompanhando o principal momento do futebol mundial.
Realizado no Jóia Beach Club, o São João Betnacional transformou o espaço em um grande arraial à beira-mar, reunindo música, gastronomia típica, experiências interativas e referências às tradições juninas celebradas em todas as regiões do Brasil. A proposta foi transportar para Miami a atmosfera de uma das festas mais emblemáticas da cultura brasileira e proporcionar aos convidados uma experiência de conexão com suas origens mesmo longe de casa.
“Tem coisa mais brasileira do que isso? De um lado, milhares de pessoas reunidas para viver a emoção de acompanhar a Seleção. Do outro, o São João acontecendo por todo o país. A gente quis trazer essas duas paixões para o mesmo lugar. E não de qualquer jeito. Fizemos questão de construir um São João de verdade, com respeito às tradições, à música, à cultura e às pessoas que fazem essa festa ser tão especial. Ter o Movimento Verde e Amarelo com a gente tornou tudo ainda mais simbólico. Foi uma noite para celebrar o Brasil em sua essência”, afirma Jorge Peixoto, Head de Brand Experience da Betnacional.
E o encontro entre essas paixões também se refletiu no público presente. O evento reuniu personalidades brasileiras, influenciadores, atletas, artistas e convidados especiais, que vem acompanhando a trajetória da seleção nos Estados Unidos.
Tradição brasileira em solo americano
A autenticidade da experiência também esteve presente nas atrações da noite. Entre os destaques da programação estavam a apresentação da quadrilha junina e os shows da cantora Gabi Lacombe, artista radicada nos Estados Unidos que levou ao evento o tradicional forró pé de serra, e do músico Rafa Mesquita, com um repertório marcado pela música brasileira contemporânea. Com apresentações cheias de energia e identidade, os artistas ajudaram a transportar para Miami o clima característico do São João brasileiro.
The post Betnacional realiza o maior São João brasileiro fora do Brasil em Miami appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
-
Australia5 days agoFormer Star Entertainment Executives Mathias Bekier and Paula Martin Disqualified and Ordered to Pay Penalties
-
CFTC6 days agoNovig Secures CFTC Designation, Bringing the First Prediction Market Built for Sports Fans Nationwide
-
LatAm7 days agoInnovative payment solutions provider teams up with leading LATAM fintech platform to expand digital wallet access for online betting customers in Mexico
-
Alberta7 days agoWhy Alberta Represents the Next Major Growth Opportunity for Gaming Operators
-
Alberta7 days agoMediaTroopers lines up eight operator partners ahead of Alberta launch
-
Alina Mihaela Popa Chief Commercial Officer at ICONIC217 days agoICONIC21 launches live casino and RNG titles with Maxbet in Romania
-
Aviator Studio7 days agoAviator Studio Secures Significant Legal Victory in Brazil as Federal Court Suspends Spribe’s Aviator Trademark Rights
-
ATG6 days agoATG Casino player in Sweden wins €2m jackpot powered by EveryMatrix



