Sam Dyer preserves the history of video games in hardcover

Bitmap Books is a design minded video game book publisher. That said, Bitmap founder, creative director and sole employee Sam Dyer is all about creating tangible art that's as good for the coffee table and collector's shelf as it is for reading from cover to cover. Maintaining this balance of aesthetic punch and informational acuity … Read more

Merak Capital launches $80 million fund to support gaming startups in the MENA region

Merak Capital has announced an $80 million gaming fund and accelerator for gaming startups in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The investment firm aims to support 15 to 20 startups in the gaming industry through Exel by Merak, including developers, game technologies, publishing platforms and other services. The accelerator will provide these … Read more

Play Ventures raises $140 million in third gaming fund

Play Ventures closed its third gaming fund, raising $140 million. As GamesBeat reported, Play Ventures will continue to invest in early-stage gaming companies. However, this round will focus on mobile free-to-play games and AI-enhanced infrastructure and game tools. Play Ventures has made eight investments since closing its third round in June 2023, including AI startup … Read more

Roblox is adding more changes to security systems and parental controls

Roblox has announced significant changes to its security systems and parental controls to protect children under the age of 13. Starting today, Roblox will implement changes to Remote Parental Controls, updated communication settings, and adding content labels to the environment. Parents and carers will be able to view and manage their child's account remotely, where … Read more

Unity CEO addresses decision to scrap controversial runtime fee

Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg has spoken out about the runtime fee dispute and why it took the company a year to reverse its decision. Speaking at GamesBeat Next 2024 in October, Bromberg said solving the runtime fee was his first priority after being named CEO in May. “The first thing I did was get on … Read more

Half-Life 2 hits a new record with over 60,000 concurrent players

Half-Life 2 reached over 60,000 concurrent players on Steam over the weekend following its 20th anniversary celebrations. At the time of writing, its current peak is 64,085 concurrent players. According to Steam DB, this is the game's highest peak since the site began tracking player counts in 2008. The game's previous peak was 16,101 concurrent … Read more

Microsoft's move to Xbox is moving into high gear | Opinion

It's been clear for quite a few years now that Microsoft's idea of ​​what “Xbox” actually means has evolved well past the physical consoles themselves. It now describes an entire ecosystem of software and services that spans all kinds of devices and is itself just one outlet for Microsoft's massive game publishing business. It took … Read more

Ubisoft's Splinter Cell movie has been cancelled

Ubisoft's film adaptation of Splinter Cell has been canceled, according to one of the film's producers. As reported by The Direct, producer Basil Iwanyk confirmed that the adaptation is no longer in production. Iwanyk signed on for the film in 2013. “A movie would be amazing […] I just couldn't get it right in terms … Read more

EA's four evergreen principles to keep your service games fresh

There are many aspects to consider when planning an update and expansion of a live service title, but the main one is what players respond to best. That's according to Electronic Arts chief operating officer Arjun Balaram, who gave a presentation at the India Game Developers Conference in Hyderabad this week on the evergreen principles … Read more