Game industry business news

Xbox One sells 2m units in 18 days

Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox One has sold 2m units on its first 18 days of availability. That equates to a daily average of 111,111 unit sales, which represents a new record for the Xbox brand. We continue to be humbled and overwhelmed by the positive response from our fans,” …

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F2P: The next generation of free

Last year one of the questions was whether free-to-play was really a legitimate business model or a temporary fad? One year on and we have our answer. It is definitely here to stay. And the model has evolved and changed even further. From its humble beginnings on PC with the …

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F2P: The state of free-to-play

Jagex is one of the oldest names in free-to-play games, having launched RuneScape in 2001. MCV talks to the firm’s Tim Hodges and Neil McClarty for their insight into the modern free-to-play gaming market the modern free-to-play market… We’re in the midst of the F2P boom. How do you make …

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F2P: Has F2P killed the subscription MMO?

If you listen to everything the media has to say on the MMO genre then you’d be led to believe it’s in a state of decline. The vast majority of games in the space are now turning F2P while only the market leaders maintain their subscription models. One example is …

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F2P: The real cost of micro-transactions

It’s been a tough year for free-to-play. Of course, the number of people playing these cost-free games continues to rise at a rapid rate. But free-to-play has certainly taken a beating in the media. When the UK’s red tops aren’t leading a witch-hunt against the likes of Grand Theft Auto …

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Jagex: Retail can sell free games

Shops can help sell free games, says free-to-play specialist Jagex. The firm predicts stores will experiment with selling add-ons for games such as Killer Instinct, a free-to-play launch title on Xbox One. I think there are plenty of opportunities for retail to be involved in F2P,” said Jagex marketing director …

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Premium pricing will survive but console F2P important for new IP

Free games are not a threat to triple-A console releases. That’s according to experts from the biggest free-to-play companies. Execs at CCP and Wargaming dismiss the idea that all games in the future will be free, but tell MCV that free-to-play is a great way to break new IP. It …

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Publishers ready to engage YouTube in copyright battle

Video creators who have suddenly been hit with copyright claims on their YouTube videos are being offered a helping hand by publishers. Google’s use of a new audio detection software that is scanning its content has led to hundreds of video game YouTube users having their content removed. The implementation …

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