Funding
GFR Fund has put together a $20 million pot for esports, streaming and new technologies
"We are looking beyond traditional game developers to invest in disruptive entertainment technologies"
Hatching A Plan
Rovio in talks with several investors for Hatch streaming funding boost
Angry Birds developer wants extra investment for its subsidiary, while taking losses off its books may appease investors
Surprise Surprise!
Tencent and Intel partner for Instant Play streaming service
Details are scarce, but we'll likely know more at GDC
Money, Money, Money
Streaming toolkit Lightstream raises $8 million in initial funding
Chicago firm has accrued $9.8 million overall to date
Hatching A Partnership
Hatch partners with network operator Sprint for 5G game streaming
Sprint hopes Hatch's game streaming will prove the potential of its new 5G network
Tencent Rules
Tencent brings in new broadcasting rules to police hurtful content across its products
These updates prohibit discussions or behaviour that could cause offence to the company’s home market of China
Google
Google to unveil a mystery gaming project at this year’s GDC
"Gather round" for the web giant's next step into gaming on March 19th
5g By 2020
Hatch partners with DOCOMO to bring cloud gaming to mobiles and TVs in Japan
UNESCO agrees deal to publish games for Hatch Kids
Cloud
Report: Verizon is testing a new streaming service for smartphones and Nvidia Shield
Verizon Gaming will aim to run on the phone operator’s upcoming 5G capabilities
Hatched
Hatch set to bring games streaming service to Android TV as part of premium membership scheme
Premium scheme pencilled in for a Q1 2019 launch
Stream
5G game streaming app Hatch leaves beta in the UK, Ireland and Nordic countries
Free service will trial an ad-free premium subscription in early 2019
Stream
Amazon GameOn expands with Twitch-integrated Tournament organiser
The latest update to the cross-platform API lets viewers play alongside streamers
Going Mobile
Facebook tests fb.gg app for Android
The app is currently being tested with a 'limited set of features'
On The Tube
Subway Surfers developer SYBO set to tap into video streaming with new platform
SYBO TV is expected to land in the fourth quarter of 2018
Invested
Tencent invests $318 million in Chinese video-sharing company Bilibili
Publisher acquires 12.3 per cent of shares in a company that dabbles in running League of Legends and Overwatch esports teams
Stream On
Google tests games streaming tech in Chrome with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Odyssey
A select number of consumers can play the game in this way for free
Banned
China bans games streaming platform Twitch
The ban comes after the site experienced a popularity spike
Rip
YouTube Gaming is no more as company blames brand confusion for its demise
Gaming will still have a separate tab on the main YouTube site
One Hundred Million Dollars
Streaming platform Caffeine nets $100m investment from 21st Century Fox
Two companies form new joint venture called Caffeine Studios
South Africa
Emerge counts Arcade X platform a success in South Africa with over 500,000 games played
Esports company’s hybrid platform has served over 60,000 users in the country since launch
Limitless
Hatch is offering Deutsche Telekom subscribers in Germany limitless gaming data
Mobile provider's StreamOn program expands to include Hatch's streaming catalogue of games
Secret World
Netflix to air Niantic’s Ingress in October 2018
Ingress: The Animation set to release alongside a sequel to Niantic’s debut title
Live Drop
Live.me’s new streaming app Fluxr will promote Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds esports
Streaming platform’s new app is looking to grow the mobile esports market
Pgc Helsinki
Hatch headlines first ever Cloud Gaming track at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2018
CEO Juhani Honkala and co-founder Vesa Jutila set to speak at event
Googled
Report: Google eyes game dev acquisitions to work on new streaming service
The internet behemoth is said to have met with devs at E3
Xbox Mobile
Microsoft building Xbox streaming service to bring console games to any device
Looks like Xbox games could be coming to mobile
Level Up
Facebook's Level Up program gives game streamers new ways to build their brand
A new program from Facebook can help up and coming creators
Streamed
Ubisoft CEO predicts the industry will move entirely to streaming after next console generation
Yves Guillemot also reckons it’ll be for the better
Hatching A Plan
Hatch expands games catalogue with Noodlecake Studios partnership
The deal will see premium titles Death Road to Canada, Lumino City and Chameleon Run come to the streaming platform
East To West
Chinese livestreaming platform Huya raises $180 million in US IPO
15 million shares sold at $12 each
Streaming Ads
Synative’s HTML5 cloud tech offers a new streamable approach to playable ads
Founder Ken Liu on an interactive way to acquire users
Oops
Twitch, Nintendo, Vainglory and others blocked in Russia amidst Telegram crackdown
Attempts to ban messenger app result in other websites and services going offline
Jobs News
Ex-Fullscreen senior director joins livestreaming platform Mobcrush
Nina Kammer appointed head of sales
Watch This
Twitch pulls in 82% of viewership hours of top 20 streamed games in Q1 2018
Twitch and YouTube Gaming generated 2.5 billion viewing hours
Going Offline
China’s app crackdown removes 370 livestreaming apps
Major players like Douyu and Huya also under investigation
Going Public
Chinese livestreaming platform Huya files for $200m IPO in US
But no date set
Job Losses
Twitch lays off staff as company restructures
But firm claims it still wants to grow its headcount overall
Gotta Go Fast
Games streaming service Hatch brings classic Sega titles Crazy Taxi and Virtua Tennis to Android
Other games like Sonic Jump, Sonic 4 Episode 2 and Sonic CD also heading to the platform courtesy of Hatch
Playable Ads
How Synative’s streaming tech aims to fix mobile’s UA challenges through playables
How short game trials can grab new users
Money Stream
Tencent pumps $632 million into Chinese online games streaming platform Douyu
Follows $462 million funding in rival Huya
Set To Crush It?
Livestreaming service Mobcrush wants to democratise streaming with Go Live, Get Paid ads platform
CEO Mike Wann discusses the company's new strategy for paying content creators
Crushed It
Mobile streaming outfit Mobcrush recruits ex-Studio 71 COO Phil Ranta as head of creators
Phil Ranta joins up with Mobcrush to lead their creator community
Up In The Clouds
Mobile games-on-demand service Hatch partners with Qualcomm to power cloud-based gaming
Finnish firm to utilise 48-core Qualcomm Centriq 2400 server processors
Taking Flight
Mobile games-on-demand service Hatch extends beta to UK and Ireland
Streaming platform attracts over 100 games
Live From China
Google invests in Chinese mobile game live streaming platform Chushou
Company's total funding to date surpasses $120 million
Downloads Royale
NetEase's PUBG-like Rules of Survival racks up 15 million downloads
Chinese publisher sets up tournament featuring 30 popular streamers and content creators across the globe
Hatch-y Birthday
Hatch celebrates first anniversary by rolling out to five new countries
Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands can now start streaming games
A Slow Hatching
Hatch expands its open beta to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland
Also in limited release elsewhere in Europe
Monetising Streams
Genvid opens up interactive streaming SDK to all
Make livestreaming from your game even more appeaing with monetisation
Mix It Up
Microsoft’s Mixer Create mobile app lets players stream games from their phones
Co-streaming also available across PC and console