Going Old School
Old School RuneScape hits new concurrent record of 157k players
Follows launch of new Leagues II: Trailblazer content
Staff
Alex Forbes-Calvin
Job Title
PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor
Contact editorial@steelmedia.co.uk
About Alex Forbes-Calvin is a freelance writer and photographer, mostly operating within the games industry. Over his career, he has written for the likes of MCV, Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, The Observer, VGC and Esquire. That's on top of writing books for Dark Horse on RuneScape, Assassin's Creed, Dead Island 2 and more.
Articles by Alex Forbes-Calvin
Making Amends
Lab Zero vet Zaimont suspended from work on Guilty Gear
Follows accusations of misconduct at his studio
Come One Come All
Activision Blizzard hiring for over 2k staff following 800 layoffs last year
CEO Kotick says it needs more employees to help meet its production demand
Going Virtual
SuperData: Oculus quest was the best-selling VR headset last quarter
Investment in VR and AR firms will hit $915 million this year
A Lot Of Loot
Netherlands Gambling Authority charges EA $5.86m over FIFA loot boxes
But the publishing giant plans to appeal the decision
Two Become One
Devolver picks up Serious Sam developer Croteam
No figure placed on the deal, first acquisition for the indie publisher
Loot Boxes
EA faces Canadian class action lawsuit over loot boxes
Publisher facing legal action over its implementation of the business model
Talking Strategy
Blizzard veterans raise $4.7m to fund new studio Frost Giant
Venture to focus on real-time strategy titles
Getting Competitive
UK trade body Ukie outlines ways to increase esports sector
New research shows that country's pro-gaming sector saw 8.5% jobs increase annually between 2016 and 2019
Welcome Aboard
Sumo Leamington appoints Codemasters vet as technical director
“Although a lot has changed during my time in the industry, my commitment to video games remains the same"
Nvm Support
UK National Videogame Museum receives $522,000 grant
Cash will keep the organisation going until next spring
For Equality
Employees speak out about systematic sexism, racism and abuse at Twitch
Streaming platform denies the allegations levelled against it
You Want S.t.a.r.s
Resident Evil film reboot cast unveiled
This new take will be closer to the source material than the Paul WS Andersen series
Time To Hunt
It appears Netflix's The Witcher is getting a third series
Showrunner and executive producer Hissrich still attached
Infinite Darkness
Netflix is releasing a Resident Evil TV show in 2021
Stars Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, seperate to the live-action series that is also in the works
Under Investigation
Report: US government is investigating Tencent's games investments
Trump administration asking Epic and Riot about how their user data security
Farewell
Ubisoft veteran Michel Ancel has quit the games industry
Rayman creator says he'll be focusing on his second passion, wild life
New Hardware
Facebook officially reveals Oculus Quest 2
Hardware starts shipping next month, comes with $299 price tag
Welcome To The Family
Keywords acquires Heavy Iron Studios
Developer has worked on Marvel's Avengers, the Call of Duty series, and Disney Infinity in the past
New Acquisition
Embracer Group picks up VR firm Vertigo Games
THQ Nordic parent company made the acquisition through its Koch Media subsidiary
Data Breach
Razer accidentally leaks info of over 100,000 customers
Data including phone numbers, email and mailing address were made public on website
Not In The Clouds
Take-Two's Zelnick continues to play down cloud gaming hype
Exec says that the market for video games isn't going to expand in the way people think thanks to this new tech
Financials
CD Projekt's revenue increases 70% year-on-year
"The mobile editions of our games – another first for us – have met with very positive reception among gamers"
Moving Up
Modern Times Group appoints Maria Redin as CEO
Follows Lindemann vacating the position in July
Event Hybrid
Gamescom 2021 will combine physical and digital events
Follows this year's real-life show being canned thanks to coronavirus
Staying Put
Report: AT&T is no longer selling the Warner Bros games arm
Follows interactive entertainment boom thanks to COVID-19
Farewell
Indie studio Vlambeer is shutting down after 10 years
The developer's upcoming title Ultrabugs is still on the way though
Staying Put
Facebook claims Oculus brand isn't going anywhere
Follows confusing announcement from the social media giant
Acquisition
Keywords acquires creative agency Maverick Media
"Maverick is a strong brand with a 25-year body of work in servicing video games publishers and developers and has grown successfully with the industry"
On The Rise
Polish games earned over $555 million in 2019
That's an increase of 32 per cent year-on-year
New Identity
Oculus rebrands as Facebook Reality Labs
"Together, AR and VR will change how we work, interact, and play, with novel use cases we haven’t even begun to imagine"
Worthy Cause
Summer Games Done Quick raises $2.3 million for charity
Brings the total raised to $28.5 million
Possible Acquisition
Report: Tencent closing in on Leyou Tech Holdings acquisition
Follows a long list of suitors for the Hong Kong company
Farewell
En Masse Entertainment is shutting its doors
"Our focus in the coming weeks and months will be on our team, helping them to find new opportunities, and on our games, to ensure a seamless transition for you"
See You In Court
EA faces lawsuit over Ultimate Team loot boxes
Firm facing a class-action lawsuit in California
Work Hard
Electronic Arts leadership has been in "wartime" mode since coronavirus pandemic
"We had to roll up sleeves and get in to work with our teams"
Discussions Ongoing
EA considering acquisition strategy for WB Games
"It is very rare that we don't get a chance to look at anything that's up for sale"
Farewell
Sega president Kenji Matsubara resigns
Comes just months after he was giving chief publishing officer role
I Spy
Ubisoft's Splinter Cell to be made into Netflix anime show
Two 16-episodes series have apparently been ordered
Stand Alone
SuperData thinks that publishers are doing fine without E3
Research firm sees triple-A firms drawing big audiences with online shows
Oh Dear
Riot ends partnership with Saudi Arabia's Neom
"As a company and as a league, we know that it’s important to recognise when we make mistakes and quickly work to correct them"
Game On
Esports firm Vindex to buy Belong brand from GAME for around $50 million
Plans to invest $300 million over the next five years
Money Money Money
SuperData: XR will generate $6.9bn in 2020
That's $600m more than previously predicted, but well below the $7.7bn it had originally forecast
A Lot Of Loot
Report: EU should treat loot boxes as a consumer protection matter rather than gambling
Research says that parental controls should be easier to understand
Where It All Began
Netflix's The Witcher is getting a prequel TV show
Set 1,200 years before the previous series on the streaming platform
Not Great
Report: Ubisoft told staff to discuss harassment with harasser before HR
According to document sent to staff at the French firm's Canadian studios last year
See You In Court
French union Solidaires Informatique will take Ubisoft to court
Over allegations of harassment and abuse at the company
Behind The Wheel
Rocket League is going free-to-play
"The game wouldn't be where it is today without our dedicated and amazing community"
#metoo
Ubisoft dismisses PR director Stone Chin
"I can see that my actions as a manager over the years while at the company have hurt people"
Oh Dear
Former Ubisoft HR employee claims management distrusted harassment victims
Marketing team and execs apparently said that female protagonists don't sell games