Game industry business news

Record digital sales for Activision as Call of Duty: Ghosts numbers are withheld

Activision has reported a slight decline in year-on-year net revenue for the quarter ending March 31st. Total net revenue for the period reaches $1,111m, down from $1,324m the year before. Of this, product sales fell from $990m to $769m although subscription, licensing and other revenues climbed from $334m to $342m. …

Read More »

Strong Q4 leads to annual profit for EA; US Titanfall sales revealed and Respawn deal extended

A decline in physical sales was not enough to stop a strong Q4 help EA to an annual profit for the year ending March 31st. GAAP income for the quarter hit $367m, up from $323m the year before. Digital revenue grew from $453m last year to $491m while physical game …

Read More »

Nintendo posts third year of losses as Wii U misses targets, expects machine to increase sales in year ahead

Wii U fell just short of Nintendo’s already reduced sales forecasts in Nintendo’s last financial year, leading to a third straight annual loss for the firm. In 2010 Nintendo posted its first ever annual loss, but a repeat in 2013 and yet again in its most recent year makes for …

Read More »

Microsoft in negotiations with Showtime for Halo TV deal – report

Microsoft Xbox Entertainment Studios is reportedly in deep negotiations” with cable television network Showtime to create a live-action Halo drama series. Variety reports the two companies are close to a deal,” with the current hangup apparently revolving around how the series would be aired between Showtime’s network and Microsoft’s Xbox …

Read More »

Oculus envisions VR MMO with 1bn people

Oculus VR’s future plans include the possibility of an MMO that would simultaneously support 1bn players, CEO Brendan Iribe revealed during technology conference TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2014. The unbelievable number is only possible, Iribe explains, thanks to the company’s recent $2bn Facebook deal – though the executive admits the technology …

Read More »

Valve pulls Early Access game Earth: Year 2066 from Steam

Valve has removed Steam Early Access title Earth: Year 2066 from the Steam store, offering refunds to anyone who purchased the title for a limited time. The pulling comes following mounting criticism that the title was released in a disastrous state – with the game being repeatedly labeled as broken,” …

Read More »

Harmonix takes to Kickstarter to fund a new Amplitude

2003 rhythm action title Amplitude could be the subject of an HD remake if a new Kickstarter from Harmonix is successful. The Rock Band and Dance Central developer is looking for $775k to fund the PS4 and PS3 title, of which it has raised $143k with 17 days left to …

Read More »

UK boxed game sales collapse as release schedule dries up

The UK games market plunged to its lowest figure all year last month as the number of new releases slowed dramatically. Only 7.9m was made in revenue for the week ending April 26th – a fall of 34 per cent week-on-week – according to GfK Chart-Track. The biggest launches of …

Read More »

Lick PR emerges from the ashes of Lunch

Former members of now defunct PR agency Lunch have formed a new company – Lick PR. The firm is made up of team director Lucy Starvis, account manager Ian Dickson, account executive Colette Barr and MD Kat Osman. Based in Central London, the game, technology and event PR agency was …

Read More »