Monthly Archives: July 2015

EVE Fanfest to run April 21-23, 2016

EVE Fanfest to run April 21-23, 2016 news header

EVE Fanfest is the massive, yearly gathering in Reykjavik, Iceland that celebrates the virtual worlds of the EVE Universe as well the players that call it home. Over a thousand EVE Online capsuleers, DUST 514 mercs, EVE: Valkyrie pilots and their friends and family will make their way to the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center set in beautiful downtown Reykjavik, Iceland.

Unique events will supplement in-depth panels, presentations, PvP tournaments, exotic local excursions, game demos, round tables, developer pub crawls, concerts, parties and unprecedented access to the development team. Highlights include:

  • An updated vision for EVE Online’s future as well as innumerable reveals from all parts of the development team
  • A larger presence for  the virtual reality space dogfighting game EVE: Valkyrie and its next steps as a premier VR platform launch game
  • An increased level of integration of the fans themselves with even more presentations from famous EVE player-experts
  • More deals from local vendors and excursion operators so attendees can make the most of their time in the land of fire and ice
  • More demos of and insight into other special projects from CCP Games

That’s just some of what EVE Universe fans will be able to look forward to. Much more will be revealed between now and the end of April-including the final schedule-with several surprises in store for the event itself.

Tickets for EVE Fanfest and more information about the event can be found at:  http://fanfest.eveonline.com.

Combat Arms is now Transatlantic

Combat Arms is now Transatlantic news header

European and North American territories are now under one server for popular free-to-play multiplayer shooter, Combat Arms. Nexon Europe had been working on service migration maintenance in order to merge players both in Europe and North America into one server, resulting in users in these territories battling it out against each other for the first time, today.

The merge into one global server maximises and unifies the player base, allowing for transatlantic matchmaking. All user account functionality, including friends’ lists, clan lists and in-game note histories are retained, whilst Rankings are now merged, intensifying the competition.

7 million European players have now been united with 6 million North American troops to join the cause, taking the total number of active Combat Arms users to over a staggering 13 million.

To celebrate the service migration, Nexon Europe is providing a variety of in-game rewards and prizes which are now attainable through a whole host of special events.

MTG to Acquire the Majority Stake in ESL

MTG to Acquire the Majority Stake in ESL news header

 

ESL today announced that it has reached an agreement with the international entertainment group, MTG, to acquire a majority stake in Turtle Entertainment GmbH, the holding company for ESL and its international subsidiaries. ESL, the world’s largest esports company and global esports leader, has innovated the industry in terms of broadcast values, production and event experience for the past 15 years across products such as the Intel Extreme Masters and ESL One, pioneering stadium events in the esports scene and consistently breaking industry records.

When we founded ESL 15 years ago, our goal was to bring esports to fans all around the world and establish it as a global sport. Today esports enjoys worldwide recognition and now, together with MTG, it is time to bring esports to the next level” said Ralf Reichert, CEO at ESL. “We are excited to partner with MTG, who share our enthusiasm for the sport and bring an entrepreneurial commitment to help make this dream come true. MTG’s extensive operational network in over 100 countries, and broadcast sports experience, will help us bring ESL and esports to many more places around the world, while allowing us to continue expanding on strong, strategic local partnerships. The ESL leadership team couldn’t be more excited to accelerate the entire esports industry forward together with MTG for the years to come.”

At MTG, we love sports and we love sports fans. Our TV channels and platforms are home to the world’s leading sports brands, and are watched by typically young audiences. Esports is fast becoming one of the most watched and passionately followed global sports categories amongst younger audiences, and there are now almost as many gamers in the world as traditional sports fans, and esports is set to become bigger than ice hockey during 2015. However, the average revenue generated per esports enthusiast in 2014 was just over USD 2, compared to USD 56 for traditional sports fans, so this global phenomenon has tremendous potential” said Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG President and CEO. “This investment is a key milestone in our digital development. We look forward to working with the talented Turtle team to grow the global esports community, and to make this exciting content even more broadly available online and on TV.”

Turtle Entertainment was established in 2000 and has since grown to include the world’s most prestigious esports brands and products, including Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One and the ESL ESEA Pro League. ESL’s management team will continue to run the ESL business and have signed long-term employment agreements to maintain expanding the brand globally through strategic international partnerships. Both Managing Directors, Ralf Reichert and Heinrich Zetlmayer, as well as the original founder Jens Hilgers and the inventor of the ESL Play platform Jan-Philipp Reining, will stay on ESL’s management team. The creative efforts for ESL products and white label productions will remain under leadership of Michal ‘Carmac’ Blicharz and James ‘Kennigit’ Lampkin from ESL’s office in the US and the headquarters in Cologne, Germany, respectively.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, MTG will acquire the majority of the outstanding shares of Turtle Entertainment for € 78 million.