Hobby World, the largest Russian table top game publisher, is launching the English edition of its most famous product.

Berserk: War of the Realms is a tactical card game of skill and strategy. Created and developed in Russia by two co-authors, Berserk was first published in 2003. Over the years, it has been hugely successful in Russia and the former USSR countries. More than 20 expansions and over 4000 different cards with beautiful illustrations were released.

Berserk has become a local phenomenon. It boasts a highly detailed fantasy universe and outstanding fantasy artwork. Four Berserk novels and an art book were published in Russian. Three PC games based on the world of Berserk were successfully launched, two of them browser-based: Berserk Cataclysm and the more hardcore Berserk Universe.

Berserk is a tactical wargame in which players use cards instead of miniatures. This simplifies and speeds up the game considerably, with no need to refer to character manuals.

The authors of Berserk enhanced the basic rules of the game and chose the best illustrations and mechanics for the English edition. The Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded in just 4 days. The game is expected to be delivered to its supporters in the fall of 2013. The basic Kickstarter edition consists of 6 ready-to-play decks, special dice, and rules including a comic strip. The deluxe edition adds two game boards, a bonus deck for customizing, more dice and some Kickstarter exclusives. You may support Berserk: War of the Realms at its Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1194220798/berserk-war-of-the-realms

About Hobby World
Hobby World is the premier Russian publisher of European board games. The first game was launched in 2001, and it was followed by the Russian edition of The Settlers of Catan in 2002. Carcassonne and Munchkin were published in the following years. The first English games were introduced in 2011. In 2012, Hobby World was the largest Russian game publisher by turnover and print runs, having hundreds of titles in its portfolio.

Hobby World is based in Moscow, Russia, has a branch in Kiev, Ukraine, and an international office in Celle, Germany. Hobby World USA was found in 2013 to run Kickstarter campaigns.
Official site: http://international.hobbyworld.ru

 
 
Hero Of Many takes you on an epic journey as a tiny hero in a dangerous world. But you’re not alone; you lead a swarm of water-beings through fierce battles for freedom across four different worlds and twenty-six choreographed levels.

It’s an atmospheric action adventure that takes you deep into underwater caverns. You explore mysterious places, save friends, learn how to lead a group and learn how to survive. You discover new powers, face an array of challenges and defeat monsters in a story told with no words.

Its combination of puzzle design, beautiful art direction, and original immersive soundtrack, make it a unique audiovisual interactive experience.

Hero Of Many is a game for iPad 2 (and higher) and upgrade Android phones and tablets.

It’s coming to the Appstore and Google Play on June 18^th 2013 and there will be 50% launch sale for the first two days of release!

 
 
AT&T and WildTangent expand mobile games collaboration to provide developers with continued go-to-market opportunities

REDMOND, WASH., June 12, 2013 — Swinging from AT&T* hackathon success to consumers’ devices, AT&T and WildTangent today celebrated the launch of Android-based mobile app Africa Swing, which won the first in a series of gaming-themed AT&T Mobile App Hackathons. As part of the first-place prize package, the AT&T Developer Program awarded team Africa Swing with WildTangent’s hands-on support to bring the app to market, which is now available via WildTangent’s mobile game service.

At the AT&T-hosted hackathon this past January, participants, including eventual winners Linghua Jin and Xiaomi Mao, were challenged to create a mobile gaming app in 28 hours. There, Jin and Mao developed a prototype for Africa Swing, a mobile game that challenges players to dodge obstacles while collecting points with upcoming actions signaled by the rhythm of the in-app music.

“AT&T hackathons provide a great opportunity to experience game development from concept to execution,” said Jin. “AT&T and WildTangent gave us the tools and resources we needed to build a fun game, and now we have a chance to share it with consumers.”

Through continued collaboration with the AT&T Developer Program, WildTangent will provide go-to-market support for winning developers participating in future gaming-themed AT&T Mobile App Hackathons.

“AT&T is committed to empowering the developer community with the right resources, expertise and environment to help them quickly create innovative apps and services,” said Carolyn Billings, associate vice president, AT&T Developer Program. “Heightening the value we are able to provide to developers attending our hackathons, we work to bring the right collaborators, such as WildTangent, to the table to accelerate an app’s time to market. The result is new apps like Africa Swing that enhance consumers’ wireless experience.”

To ensure that AT&T subscribers have the opportunity to download Africa Swing and other exciting apps available through the WildTangent mobile game service, the company is exclusively offering AT&T subscribers 25 WildCoins – WildTangent’s digital currency – for registering with the free game service. The WildCoins can be used to purchase games, in-game items and game rentals. AT&T subscribers can also apply any game purchases or rentals directly to their AT&T account.

“Mobile leader AT&T is embracing our one-of-a-kind games service,” said Sean Vanderdasson, senior vice president of WildTangent. “WildTangent gives customers more choices for how they discover and play games, and we look forward to bringing these choices to AT&T’s subscribers as well as introducing consumers to new, cool apps that we help bring to market through AT&T hackathons.”

AT&T subscribers can download the WildTangent games app by visiting http://m.wildtangent.com/gamesapp?dp=att on their Android smartphones and tablets.

For more information on the AT&T Developer Program or upcoming AT&T Mobile App Hackathons, visit http://developer.att.com/hackathon.

 
 
Leading Destination for Prize-Driven Entertainment Gives Players More Chances to Win All Summer Long

WALTHAM, MA—(June 10, 2013) – GSN Digital today announced the launch of its Summer Promotion, which will award a total of $50,000 in cash prizes throughout the summer season. As a leader in mobile, social and online games that awards real cash, prizes and virtual rewards, GSN Digital is giving players more chances to win the more they play.

Players can enter the Promotion on GSN.com or its cash tournament site, WorldWinner.com. On GSN.com, players can receive entries into the Promotion by purchasing Tokens, which are used to play virtual casino games including Wheel of Fortune® Slots, Video Bingo and Triple Play Black Jack. Bonus entries are also awarded for additional token purchases. On WorldWinner, players can receive entries into the Promotion for every 1,000 Premier Points earned playing cash tournaments, with bonus entries awarded when a player earns more Premier Points. Players may also receive entries without making a purchase.

“With millions of dollars in cash and prizes awarded annually on our destination sites, GSN provides our players with many ways to win and have fun,” said Peter Blacklow, president of WorldWinner and executive vice president of GSN Digital. “We’re thrilled to award $50,000 in additional prizing through our Summer Promotion, giving players yet another reason to kick back and play games all summer long.”

The Summer Promotion will run through August 31, 2013 on both GSN.com and WorldWinner.com. To enter on GSN.com, please visit www.gsn.com/SummerSweeps. On WorldWinner,  information is available at http://www.worldwinner.com/cgi/promos/308.

About GSN
GSN is a multimedia entertainment company that offers original and classic game programming and competitive entertainment via its 77-million subscriber television network and online game sites. GSN’s cross-platform content gives game lovers the opportunity to win cash and prizes, whether through GSN’s popular TV game shows or through GSN Digital’s free casual games, mobile and social games, and cash competitions. GSN is distributed throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Canada by all major cable operators, satellite providers and telcos. GSN and its subsidiary, WorldWinner.com, Inc., are owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and DIRECTV. For further information, please visit GSNTV.com.

Cash games are only available where legal. Players must be 18 years of age to compete. See terms and conditions at http://www.worldwinner.com/cgi/legal/terms.html for details, including where WorldWinner/ GSN Cash Games operates and additional eligibility restrictions.

GSN Casino games are only available where legal. See terms and conditions at http://www.gsn.com/cgi/corporate/tokens_terms.html for details.

For complete GSN.com Summer Promotion terms and conditions, including how to enter without making a purchase, please visit http://www.gsn.com/cgi/disclaimer/disclaimer_full.html?id=495. See the WorldWinner/ GSN Cash Games Summer Promotion terms and conditions at http://www.worldwinner.com/cgi/promos/tandc/101/page.html.

 
 
Global Games Market Grows to $70.4bn in 2013. Number of Gamers Worldwide Will Rise Above 1.2 Billion This Year

AMSTERDAM, June 5, 2013 – According to Newzoo’s 2013 Global Games Market Report, game revenues will grow to $70.4 billion worldwide this year, representing a  6% year-on-year increase. The number of gamers is expected to surpass 1.2 billion by the end of the year. Regional growth in game spending is highest in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region: 11%. North America and Europe will show very modest growth. The market for smartphone and tablet games will grow 35% to $12.3bn, easily outpacing any other segment.  In terms of game spending per screen, the PC grosses the largest share with 39% or $27.6bn.

The 2013 Global Games Market Report is a result of a continuous research effort combining transactional data, primary consumer research and extensive analysis of reported revenues into Newzoo’s new global data model. This model calculates the absolute numbers of players, payers and average spend per segment for over 100 individual countries, representing over 90% of the worldwide population and is continuously updated with new information. The complete report will  be released on June 6th and is available.

Market by Region in 2013

The Asia-Pacific market will reach $25.1 billion this year, making it the biggest games market in the world.  Despite a year-on-year increase of 11%, Latin America remains a relatively small market with revenues of $3.0 billion. The North American market will total $22.8 billion (+2% y-o-y) followed by EMEA with $19.5 billion (+4% y-o-y) .

Peter Warman, CEO of Newzoo, adds: “Over the past year, we have received an increasing number of enquiries about the availability of a consistent and clearly defined set of numbers showing the “total picture” for the games market: not just revenues, but also the absolute numbers of players as well as paying players broken down in segments and regions. I am very pleased we are now able to provide this resource to our clients using our new Global Data Model, which we started to develop in 2012.”

Market by Segment in 2013

Consoles remain the highest revenue generating platform, with $30.6 billion (-1%  y-o-y) equal to 43% of global games revenues. This includes all DLC spend and business-to-consumer second-hand trade. Traditional PC gaming (downloads and boxed) contracts slightly to $6.0 billion (-7% y-o-y), but this is offset by 14% year-on-year growth for MMO games, totaling $14.9 billion. Game revenues generated by tablet and smartphones will gross 18% of the global games market, surpassing $12bn, which is roughly double the amount spent on games for handheld consoles.

Market by Screen in 2013

In response to market changes and disappearing boundaries, Newzoo has developed an alternative segmentation model, the Newzoo Screen Segmentation ModelTM.

When plotting the 2013 revenue estimates in this model, the largest screen is the Computer Screen - this encompasses boxed or downloaded, casual, social and MMO games – , generating 39% of all revenues compared to 36% for the TV or Entertainment Screen. The Personal Screen or mobile phone, will show global growth of 22% y-o-y and accounts for 12% of global games market revenues. Within the category of Floating Screens, the shift from handheld consoles to tablets is illustrated by the anticipated 78% growth for tablets and 21% decline in spending on handheld console games. Over time, global revenues are expected to grow towards a more equal divide across the four typical screens.

2013 Global Games Market Report

The report is specifically designed to meet the demand for a global perspective on the games industry, filling the gap created by the current pace of change. The report focuses on global consumer revenues generated by companies in the games industry. Market size estimates exclude consumer-to-consumer second hand trade and sales taxes. Excluded are also hardware sales, business-to-business services and online gambling and betting revenues from regulated betting and gambling companies. The full 2013 Global Games Market report contains global projections for 2013 to 2016 for all regions and segments as well as key data points for the top 50 revenue-generating countries. The quarterly calendarized game revenues of the top 35 public game companies for 2011 and 2012 are included in the report. For twelve key countries the report also showcases key franchise popularity and gamer demographics. Forecasts assume constant US$ exchange rates for local currencies as per year-end 2012. Historic foreign currency revenues have been converted to US$ using the year-end exchange rate.

The 45-page report is priced at$1,950. For more information on the scope of the report please contact Wanda Meloni at wanda@m2research.com.

 
 
IGF finalist and IndieCade showcase selection sells for $15 from Steam and Mousechief.com

SAN FRANCISCO – June 7, 2013 – Mousechief Co. announces the official release of 7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat, available now for PC and Mac. This unique casual game was a finalist in this year’s Independent Game Festival and was recently selected for the IndieCade showcase at E3. The game costs $15 from Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/238930) and Mousechief.com. Customers who purchase directly from the developer’s website will receive a free MP3 soundtrack.

Inspired by the coin-operated attractions of San Francisco’s Musee Mechanique, 7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat is a strategy game that uses a board game mechanic to advance a rich, intimate narrative. By choosing how to use resources, whom to marry, and which opportunities to pursue, players build family legacies that stretch across dozens of generations. During this progression brief text vignettes, adding up to the length of two novels, expose how the trials endured by our western ancestors influence our lives today.

While nurturing and guiding families across four social classes that change with the ages, players will discover up to 70 inventions that changed the world, brave a score of heroic adventures, and face the challenges of three mini-ruling games. A 15-20 hour gameplay experience each time through, 7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat offers a unique take on the human experience with every replay.

7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat is the first of an intended series that will cover the full sweep of the rise of western civilization. Review copies are available for interested press; contact keithn@mousechief.com to request one.

About Mousechief

Mousechief, since 2003, has been an independent developer of sophisticated, casual games with meaningful stories. Our previous, critically-acclaimed title, Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!, was nominated by the Writer’s Guild of America for Outstanding Script, an IndieCade finalist, and winner of the Casual Game Association’s prize for Most Innovative Game. Other games include The Witch’s Yarn, an IGF finalist in 2006, and Flagship Champion, an IGF finalist in 1999.

 
 
French Developer Shifts Direction with the Launch of its Latest Free-to-Play, Multi-Platform Game

Paris, FR – June 6, 2013 – Kobojo, the French developer creating engaging, multi-platform games with an artistic flair for mid-core players, today announced Mario Rizzo as chief executive officer. With Rizzo’s appointment comes a new business strategy for the studio and the first details of Kobojo’s upcoming multi-platform, free-to-play game, Mutants: Genetic Gladiators.

Rizzo has been at the forefront of developing and managing free-to-play, multiplayer games, having worked for some of the most prestigious developers in the world. Previously, he was head of Free-to-Play at Ubisoft’s Worldwide Studios, where he managed the central free-to-play team and supported game development at Ubisoft studios around the globe. Rizzo also has held leadership positions at Electronic Arts, Sony Online Entertainment and Realtime Worlds. At Kobojo, he takes the reins from Franck Tetzlaff, co-founder and previous CEO, who transitioned to the studio’s board of directors in early 2013.

“With more than 50M users playing games such as Goobox, Pyramid Valley, Atlantis Fantasy and others, Kobojo has acquired an in-depth knowledge of how to produce and manage fun, highly-polished, free-to-play products,” said Philippe Desgranges, co-founder and member, Kobojo Board of Directors. “Mario brings the perfect combination of intelligence and experience as our new leader and the person to take the company to the next level.”

With Rizzo as CEO, Kobojo is preparing to launch its free-to-play, multi-platform game Mutants: Genetic Gladiators, which will debut on Facebook this summer and then on mobile shortly thereafter. Mutants, a mid-core gaming experience, is the first product to represent Kobojo’s updated business strategy. In 2008, the studio was founded as a social game developer, focusing on more casual game types and genres strictly for the Facebook platform. Five years later, the company has transformed – concentrating on creating accessible, artistic and engaging multi-platform experiences for the gaming audience.

“At Kobojo, we believe that the future of games lies in integrating advanced social mechanics into multi-platform, free-to-play experiences,” said Rizzo. “‘Multi-platform’ in our case means not only making games available through Facebook, iOS and Android, but also playing these games on next-generation consoles, through Steam, etc. Mutants: Genetic Gladiators will be the first game to launch under Kobojo’s new strategy and it will eventually be available so that users can truly play on whichever platform they choose.”

Mutants: Genetic Gladiators is currently in closed beta. Kobojo also has another title in development, which will be announced later this year.

About Kobojo

Kobojo creates engaging, multi-platform, free-to-play games with an artistic flair for mid-core players. The company is passionate about developing high-quality multiplayer game mechanics and is known for its extraordinary hand-drawn 2D graphics. It has created and is currently managing six games: Atlantis Fantasy, Goobox, Pyramid Valley, Pyramid Valley Adventure, Questionary and Tiki Blocks.

Kobojo is a private company which was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Current investors include Idinvest Partners and Endeavor Vision.

 
 
New Features, New Game Modes, New Challenges and More in Highly-Anticipated Sequel to the Bestselling Cubemen

June 6th, 2013 – Melbourne, Australia – Indie development studio, 3 Sprockets today announced that Cubeman 2 is now available through the Mac App Store and iOS App Store for devices including the iPad (2+), iPad Mini, iPhone (4s+) and iPod Touch (4+) for the limited time launch price of $1.99. Featuring more of the addictive gameplay and unique features that made the original 3D strategy action game a cult smash on its release in 2012, Cubemen 2 is a fast paced, action packed, original 3D Strategy game where you use your little Cubemen units to defend and attack enemies in a range of awesome game modes including CTF, Skirmish, Territory and more.

“Cubemen became a cult smash when we originally launched on iOS and Mac in 2012 – the sequel brings many new features, modes and challenges into the mix”, said Seon Rozenblum, Director of 3 Sprockets, “We now support phones as well as tablets and all platforms are on perfect feature parity, which is super exciting for us.”

Based around the age-old struggle of Good vs. Evil, Blue vs. Red and Little Men vs. Little Men, Cubemen 2 tasks players to use their Cubemen units strategically to defend and attack enemies in a range of game modes. Up to six players can battle in cross-platform, multi-player carnage with nine specialised unit types, including new units such as path blockers, mines and freeze lightning. Gamers can also customize their Cubemen units with all-new skins and play as Cowboys, Knights, Luchadores and more!

For those preferring a single-player experience, Cubemen 2 offers two unique game modes specifically for single-player, in addition to the first of many Campaign modes. All game modes have online rankings so that players can see how they measure up against the world’s best. Additionally, Cubemen 2 offers a user-friendly built in level editor that lets players create and share their levels with players around the globe. Levels can be themed in a range of superb skins and are stored locally for easy access even when players are offline.

Key Features

·           Customizable unit skins… Play as Cowboys, Knights or even Luchadores!

·           No static towers. Move your Cubemen around the level and attack or defend at will

·           Campaign mode where you compete against others for a global ranking

·           More than 1200 new online levels to play with a single click

·           Real 3D levels with Teleporters, Healing Stations and floating platforms

·           Online ranking for all game modes

·           Teams and individual multi-player games against Humans, AI or both!

For more information about Three Sprockets and the latest news:

Visit our website: www.3sprockets.com

Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/3sprockets

Visit the Cubemen 2 website: www.cubemen2.com

About 3 Sprockets

Based in Melbourne, Australia, 3 Sprockets is a small development company that specialises in making really cool Games for Desktop, Console and Mobile devices. Between us we have decades of game design and development experience on mobile, desktop and consoles and we are super excited to be developing our own titles to share with the world.

 
 
Customize your character, kill monsters, and collect loot in this pirate-themed match-3 / RPG mash-up

WOODINVILLE, Wash. – June 6, 2013 – Indie developer Beep Games today announced the launch of its Scurvy Scallywags in The Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Scurvy Scallywags is a pirate-themed game created by game industry veterans Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, The Cave) and Clayton Kauzlaric (Voodoo Vince).

This app is a match-3 game, RPG, and Broadway musical all combined in one. Each user has a pirate character that appears on a classic style match-3 game board, along with loot to be plundered, valuable quest items, and enemies who want you dead. When you match three or more tiles the board shifts in the direction you swiped, so you can use strategy to line up your pirate with items you need or avoid monsters stronger than you. This game is entirely fun and will keep players engaged.

Features:

• Travel through four mysterious lands to find all 16 hidden verses of the Ultimate Sea Shanty, a long-lost ditty brimming with secret pirate lore by acclaimed composer Steve Kirk.
• Dress up your character in funny costumes, build ships, and choose from a long list of special abilities, moves, and weapons to give your pirate an edge in combat.
• Complete 50 GameCenter achievements and keep plundering randomly generated islands long after you’ve finished the game’s main story.
• Continue the voyage on any iOS device thanks to convenient iCloud saves and share exploits and pictures of your pirate through Facebook and Twitter integration.

The Scurvy Scallywags in The Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty app is currently available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, or at https://itunes.apple.com/app/scurvy-scallywags/id593299847.

About Beep Games, Inc.

Beep Games, Inc. is based near Seattle, Washington in the pleasant town of Woodinville. The company has been creating offbeat, quality casual games for iOS and PC since 2003, before it was cool. Scurvy Scallywags in The Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty is the studio’s third iOS game and ninth overall title. Learn more at http://www.beepgames.com.

 
 
(June 2013) — iAMFAM, the popular life simulation game offered by American Family Insurance, has added another new feature – a hidden object game.

Offered in a web-based format and as a mobile game, iAMFAM simulates real life, giving players a chance to build a career, furnish their homes, take care of their families and tend to their yards. Players earn coins for working and happiness points for things like exercising, sleeping or gardening. They can connect with Facebook to build an online neighborhood with friends.

The hidden object game invites players to check their attics and find the 10 hidden objects. Ten of 50 hidden items are randomly chosen to keep players coming back. Players earn points and awards for speed, accuracy and helpfulness.

The game was developed by American Family Insurance as a fun way to help people learn about insurance. New features are added periodically, such as a garden enhancement where players can buy and plant personal gardens, or a driving game where players earn safety points if they avoid obstacles on the road.

iAMFAM was introduced more than three years ago and remains a popular game. Its audience continues to grow, with a 25 percent increase in new users from 2011 to 2012. iAMFAM players come back an average of 4.5 times per month to play, and average game play is 14:36 minutes per session.

“iAMFAM has a wide appeal because it’s fun for people of all ages,” says Michele Wingate, American Family’s social media manager. “And regularly adding new features, like a hidden object game which is extremely popular with gaming enthusiasts, keeps players coming back.”

iAMFAM is one of the only games of its kind that can be accessed from many platforms, including the Web, Facebook, Android and iOS devices, including the iPad. Users need to register only once, and can then play anywhere. iAMFAM players can also join the new Google+ iAMFAM community and be the first to know about game updates.

Web: American Family Insurance; Facebook: www.facebook.com/amfam; Twitter: www.twitter.com/amfam.