Call of Duty Mobile had a strong start, and new estimates from a mobile tracking firm show its momentum has slowed but it’s still doing very well for itself. Sensor Tower says that in its first two months, it has hit more than 172 million downloads and generated almost $87 million in global player spending.

This represents a slowdown from its explosive launch, which hit 100 million in the first week alone, and about 148 million in its first month. This means it got about an additional 20 million downloads in November. November also added another $31 million in revenue. Sensor Tower says this is as compared to $55 million in October, which suggests that the decline in new downloads hasn’t led to a proportional slowdown in revenue.

The tracker also broke down some of the numbers further. The game is most popular in the US, where it has gotten about 17% of total worldwide downloads. That’s followed by India (10%) and Brazil (7%). The US is also home to most of the revenue generated (42%), followed by Japan (13%) and Great Britain (3%). The App Store also accounted for the lion’s share of revenue (59%) compared to Google Play ($41%).

Apple recently announced its most downloaded iPhone games of 2019, and surprisingly it wasn’t Call of Duty Mobile. Instead, it was Nintendo’s own Mario Kart Tour. Call of Duty did make the top five, however.

“Beyond its messy microtransaction menus and the slight time-saving purchases, there’s not much else in Call of Duty Mobile that detracts from its faithful recreation of the exhilarating and fast-paced multiplayer action of the core series,” Alessandro Barbosa wrote in GameSpot’s Call of Duty Mobile review. “It’s flexible and easy-to-use control scheme mitigates the lack of controller support, and its celebration of the best modes and maps the Black Ops and Modern Warfare series have produced makes it a pleasure to line up game after game.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-mobile-hits-estimated-170-million-dow/1100-6471984/

Phoenix Point, the XCOM-esque strategy game from Snapshot Games, has been delayed on Xbox Game Pass for PC for the foreseeable future. The title was supposed to release on December 3, the same day it successfully launched on the Epic Games Store, but it’s still absent.

Snapshot Games has now announced a delay, attributing the Game Pass no-show to a few issues, including Microsoft’s certification process.

“We know that some of you are waiting for our release on Microsoft Xbox Game Pass for PC and the Microsoft Windows Store,” a statement on the developer’s official forums says. “We want to update you on the status of that.

“The fact is we dropped the ball. We were exceedingly busy getting the game itself ready, and being inexperienced with Game Pass and the Microsoft Store, we simply had not properly prepared the groundwork to get the game released on time on these platforms. Compared to other platforms we’re on these platforms require a number of pre-requisites, from Microsoft certification to legal documentation review. While these are now mostly complete, they have given rise to a number of new delays.

“Specifically, we are currently unable to make the same content available on Microsoft’s platform that is available to players on other platforms. Since we want to make sure all players have access to all versions of Phoenix Point regardless of where they choose to play, we need to get this working before we can release.

“This issue was not anticipated by us and has caused unexpected delay over and above our delay waiting for certification. We had hoped to have Game Pass players, at least, up and running today, but it now seems like there will be further delays. We do not have an ETA for Phoenix Point on Game Pass or the Windows Store yet. Please know we are working as hard and as quickly as possible with our partners at Microsoft to resolve these issues and will keep you informed.”

First announced in 2016, the spiritual successor to XCOM was successfully funded via Fig, and was initially set to launch in 2018 before a delay pushed it back to July 2019. That eventually changed to September and then December, where it’s now available to buy on the Epic Games Store. An Xbox One release of Phoenix Point is due in early 2020, with a PlayStation 4 version to follow at a later date.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xcom-spiritual-successor-phoenix-point-delayed-on-/1100-6471982/

League of Legends developer Riot Games has announced its venture into video game publishing via a new publishing arm called Riot Forge. The goal of Riot Forge is to partner with experienced studios outside of Riot Games to create single-player, story-driven games set in League of Legends’ Runeterra universe.

Greg Street, Riot’s vice president of IP and entertainment, took to Twitter to celebrate the announcement, tweeting, “Riot Forge is something I am proud to have helped create. We are now an indie game publisher! The story-based games you want in the League universe are coming!”

Riot Forge will provide localization, research, marketing, voiceovers, QA, and other kinds of support to its development partners, and is currently searching for new studios to work with. The publishing arm’s first game is already in development, however, as The Game Awards has confirmed that the first Riot Forge developer will be revealing its new League of Legends game at the show on December 12.

It’s been a busy few months for Riot Games. This news follows last month’s announcement that the studio is also working on a first-person shooter and a fighting game. Riot’s company culture is also being overhauled in the aftermath of a $10 million gender discrimination lawsuit.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/riot-games-announces-riot-forge-teases-game-awards/1100-6471979/

The 2019 edition of The Game Awards takes place next week at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The annual event will hand out plenty of awards commemorating the year’s best games, content creators, and Esports personalities, alongside a host of new game reveals and surprise announcements. Show organiser Geoff Keighley has promised there will be 10 reveals during the show, saying that none of them have leaked thus far, so it’s sure to be worth tuning in for.

This year’s Game of the Year nominees are Control, Death Stranding, Resident Evil 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and The Outer Worlds. Three of those games–Control, Death Stranding, and Sekiro–are also nominated for Best Action/Adventure Game, Art Direction, Audio Design, and Game Direction.

Death Stranding leads the way with nine total nominations–including those for Mads Mikkelsen and Norman Reedus in the Performance category. Control follows with seven nominations, while Sekiro has five, Resident Evil 2 and Apex Legends both have four, and The Outer Worlds, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Gears 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Outer Wilds all have three each. Other categories include Narrative, Score and Music, Ongoing Game, Games for Impact, and a plethora of Esports awards. You can see everything in the full list of awards and nominees.

The show also promises to be full of new game reveals and announcements. WolfEye Studios–which is helmed by ex-Arkane developers–has confirmed it will be showing its first game at the show. League of Legends developer Riot’s publishing division, Riot Forge, is also confirmed to be showing a new game at the event next week.

Other than this, however, everything else has been kept under wraps. A new Batman game is reportedly on the way, and it’s been speculated that it will be revealed during the show, but nothing has been confirmed and no footage or art has leaked yet. We also know that the rumored Resident Evil 3 remake will not be at The Game Awards, according to Geoff Keighley. Aside from new game announcements, there will also be live performances from Chvrches and Green Day, and there are sure to be celebrity appearances as well.

When Is The Game Awards?

The 2019 Game Awards takes place on Thursday, December 12, in the United States.

• US East Coast: 8:30 PM ET
• US West Coast: 5:30 PM PT
• US Central: 7:30 PM CST
• London: 1:30 AM GMT (Friday)
• Syndey: 11:30 PM AET (Friday)

Where Can I Watch The Game Awards?

The Game Awards will be streaming live right here on GameSpot, but it will also be available on a wide range of other platforms. Those include:

• YouTube
• Twitch
• Mixer
• Steam
• PSN
• Xbox Live
• Twitter
• Facebook

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-2019-start-time-live-stream-and-wh/1100-6471978/

PlayStation has recently turned 25 years old, and the industry is looking back on Sony’s consoles and the legacy they have created. As developers who have worked with PlayStation for years taking a moment to reflect on the company’s past, some are also looking towards the future. In an interview with The Verge, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells has talked about his history in the industry, but has also discussed how the PlayStation 5 will be different from what has come before.

Naughty Dog’s history with PlayStation stretches back to the first console, and they’re responsible for series like Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted, and The Last of Us. Wells, who joined the studio after being impressed by the original Crash Bandicoot, reflects on how the PlayStation 2 was an “enormous leap” from the original, and how games now “require massive teams and lengthy development cycles.” Talking about the distinction between the first PlayStation and the PlayStation 4, Wells says “they’re barely recognizable as the same product.”

Wells goes on to talk about the PlayStation 5, and what he sees as the major change it will introduce for players. “I think it will allow us to deliver the content in a way that has no friction for the players,” he told The Verge. “They’ll never have to wait to dive back into their games.” This seems to be in reference to the system’s solid state drive, which will allow for much faster loading. It gives some insight into what developers will be able to achieve on the new system, too–it remains to be seen if more immediate experiences will change elements of how games are designed.

Naughty Dog’s next game, The Last of Us Part II, will release for PlayStation 4 on May 29, 2020.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/naughty-dog-boss-talks-25-years-of-playstation-and/1100-6471975/