miniclip-announces-evolution-of-web-gaming-platform-after-21-years-as-it-deepens-focus-on-mobile

Miniclip Announces Evolution of Web Gaming Platform After 21 Years as it Deepens Focus on Mobile

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Miniclip, a global leader in digital games, is celebrating its 21st anniversary and the evolution of the Miniclip.com this summer. The iconic game developer and publisher will continue its focus on bigger and better mobile first experiences for its global audience, while fan favourites 8 Ball Pool and Agar.io will continue to be accessible for web players.

Miniclip.com, which will continue in its current format until summer 2022, has been an important part of Miniclip’s legacy and laid the foundation for the company to grow into the influential position it finds itself in today, with a global audience of 250 million mobile monthly active users.

Launched by President and Co-Founder Rob Small and Tihan Presbie in 2001, the site first hosted a single title, Dancing Bush, programmed by the duo in their apartment. During its time, Miniclip.com has hit many industry defining milestones, such as:

  • Dancing Bush became one of the first viral interactive game hits and is one of the most successful and longest running viral game campaigns of all time.
  • com was the originator of the mass free rich media content syndication model, with no paid advertising, instead bringing players in purely through word of mouth.
  • com became the #1 online games website in 2005, with more users than any other domain in the world.

In the following years the site grew into a thriving international community and a beloved home for a wide variety of content, from games to animation. Following changes to Miniclip.com in the summer, the website will become a destination for potential partners, prospective candidates and other business interests to access news and information about the brand.

Miniclip’s mobile focus began in 2010, with the company quickly finding a large audience for its wide variety of titles. In the following years, Miniclip’s growth has continued rapidly, tripling revenues over the last three years. To strengthen development capacity, this year saw the expansion of operations in Portugal with a brand-new studio.

In March 2022, Miniclip announced that it had surpassed a cumulative total of over 4 billion downloads across a catalogue of games that include Agar.io, Soccer Stars, and 8 Ball Pool. 8 Ball Pool was recently announced to have hit a milestone of 1 billion downloads and holds the Guinness World Records title for the “most downloaded mobile pool game”. Both 8 Ball Pool and Agar.io will still be available to online players following the new direction for the site.

Now an industry leader publishing and developing their games for mobile, Miniclip has completed multiple key acquisitions to extend their portfolio and help talented studios release chart topping titles. Puzzling.com, Green Horse Games, and GameBasics, the most recent newcomers to the ever-expanding Miniclip Group, have seen continued growth across their games while working cooperatively and with support from Miniclip’s considerable industry expertise.

To share the legacy of Miniclip.com and thank the players that made the company a success, Miniclip has planned celebrations over the next few months, with more details to be announced soon.

Robert Small, President and Co-Founder at Miniclip, said: “Miniclip has been such an important part of my life, from the early days of frantic development on Dancing Bush to the global company it is today. It’s impossible to sum up the pride and gratitude I feel seeing how much we have grown since our humble start. Under the fresh leadership of Saad as CEO, Miniclip has an even brighter future ahead of it as we maintain our mobile focus, and our players around the world will have so much to look forward to.”

voodoo-launches-academy-programme-to-cultivate-hyper-casual-game-developers-of-tomorrow

Voodoo Launches Academy Programme to Cultivate Hyper-casual Game Developers of Tomorrow

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Voodoo, one of the world’s leading mobile games publishers, has announced the launch of its own Voodoo Academy – a learning programme designed to inspire and support the next generation of developers to build, test and improve hyper-casual mobile games.

The Voodoo Academy is a dedicated programme open to game development students, recent graduates and newcomers to the hyper-casual industry that have not yet published a game with another publisher. The programme includes an online training platform with new courses uploaded on a regular basis, live coaching sessions and direct contact with the Voodoo Publishing team, as well as prizes for students that hit different milestones throughout the programme. The prizes include $1,000 for the first three prototypes tested by Voodoo Academy members, and up to $3,000 for all high-potential prototypes tested.

Stanislas Marchand, Voodoo Academy Lead, said: “We believe that with the right training from Voodoo experts, budding hyper-casual game developers can gain years of experience in only a few months. With Voodoo Academy, we are putting this belief into practice by offering a free-to-access pathway for students to learn, share and build long-lasting success with Voodoo’s guidance. We’ve always been passionate about supporting our partners and the Voodoo Academy is a true embodiment of our commitment to this.”

Arthur Duverne, Co-Founder of OHM Games, the studio behind multiple hits including Run Rich 3D, Shortcut Run, Knock’em All and Push’em All, said: “We are delighted to be able to share our knowledge from developing and launching successful hyper-casual games. We believe newcomers to hyper-casual can bring fresh ideas, start new trends and become key members of a great community. We hope that the experience driven input we’ve shared with the Voodoo Academy will help fellow developers to succeed.”

Harvey Roberts, Co-Founder of Blue Monkey Studio which published the hit game Flex Run 3D just nine months after launching, said: “The Academy is a comprehensive all-in-one platform that gives young talent all the knowledge and tools they need to reach success. With the courses available, students can learn in hours what would typically take days or even weeks to learn live, avoiding potential mistakes and focussing on accelerating the production process.”

The programme will kick off with a live stream on April 14th, featuring Blue Monkey Studio, who will share their tips for a successful start in hyper-casual.

siq-and-gli-in-final-discussions-on-strategic-cooperation

SIQ and GLI in Final Discussions on Strategic Cooperation

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We are very pleased to announce that SIQ Ljubljana and GLI, the leading global provider of the gaming industry’s testing and certification services, are in final negotiations to cooperate in the field of gaming technologies. We strongly believe the agreement will bring additional benefits to our clients in terms of excellence, range of services, and responsiveness.

The alliance is to cover all SIQ’s gaming technology-related business activities in Slovenia, Italy, Spain, and South Africa, which allows SIQ to retain its total workforce and clients. GLI as a partner brings a great depth of knowledge across the globe, increased bandwidth, and gives SIQ’s clients further global reach. SIQ has cooperated with organizations in their endeavours to enter markets, increase productivity, improve quality, and reach excellence for nearly 60 years, and will continue to do so in the future.

For our clients, we see the new circumstances as “business as usual”, but with the added benefit of reaching over 475 jurisdictions globally, connecting with experts around the world, and leveraging each other’s testing results, thus reducing costs. Our customers will also have long-term support not only from the Slovenian team but also from 1200 colleagues globally. As with all important business decisions, we will work closely with our clients, partners, and employees to make the integration process productive and as smooth as possible.

format,-the-uk’s-biggest-games-industry-community-nightlife-event,-returns-with-its-largest-event-to-date-on-april-21st-live-from-manchester

FORMAT, the UK’s Biggest Games Industry Community Nightlife Event, returns with its Largest Event to Date on April 21st Live from Manchester

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Format.GG, the UK’s biggest games industry community nightlife event, is back with an exclusive line-up of game developers, publishers, and industry partners, live for one night only at the Impossible in Manchester on Thursday, April 21st 2022.

This year, Format.GG’s organisers are inviting the UK gaming community to Manchester for a night of celebrations. With 15+ game studio headliners taking the floor, game developers and creators in attendance, and tons of activities and giveaways to be a part of, this is the perfect opportunity to discover and play fantastic British and Global titles ahead of the pack!

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet BULKHEAD, studio behind the up and coming 5v5 tactical FPS ProMod, Humble Games, Humble Bundle’s publishing arm which will showcase Archvale, amongst an absolute killer line up. The Prominent North East based publishers Merge Games will also be attending to showcase new projects, and are open for publisher-pitching, so game developers in search for a publisher are in for a chance to pitch their games come April 21st.

Check out all the full event details on the official Fatsoma event page here, and don’t forget to book your spot with a 25% discount by using the checkout code “FORMAT_AP25”.

Full List of Attendees:

  • CoinMode
  • Noisy Head Games
  • Asobi Tech
  • Merge Games
  • Rezzil
  • Playtra Games
  • BULKHEAD
  • Huey Games
  • Laireon Games
  • Spilt Milk Studios
  • Anomaly Games
  • Humble Games
  • Ginger Biscuit Games
  • Flix Interactive

Also at the event will be an incredible line-up of partners, including Everyone Can UK, a Manchester based charity helping make gaming accessible to all, alongside Wraith Energy, Escape Technology, Sheridan’s Law, Rezzil, Noblechairs and GameByte, and others.

“FORMAT is the UK’s biggest games industry nightlife event and we’re ecstatic to be getting back to doing what we do best, uniting the best of the game development and gaming community for an evening of gaming, music, good food, and fantastic vibes!” Said Simran Whitham, Managing Director at Format.GG. “For our 2022 launch party, we’re collaborating with the largest number of game showcases, brands, content creators, and community leaders we’ve ever taken on, and we can’t wait to show everyone what we have in store.”

After postponing last year’s event for the health and safety of our community, the organisers want to ensure the safest event possible for everyone, guests joining Format will be required to provide either proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow test result taken within 48 hours to the start of the event.

everymatrix-launches-gamification-solution-jackpotengine-ahead-of-ice-2022

EveryMatrix launches gamification solution JackpotEngine ahead of ICE 2022

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EveryMatrix announces the launch of a new product for the casino vertical, JackpotEngine. The new gamification solution offers a comprehensive set of configurations that enables operators to manage complex jackpots and add an extra layer of excitement on top of the players’ ordinary betting.

JackpotEngine is the complete Jackpot Management System that allows operators to create their own jackpots for any selection of games across any casino vertical and segment of players.

This gamification solution offers iGaming operators full control over the selection of games where the jackpot is offered, player segmentation, winning probability, seed amounts, winning cap, contribution distribution, and the split of contribution funding between operators and players.

The granularity and range of configurations of the jackpots and the customization of the front-end presentation give operators unprecedented opportunities to create a value-adding and unique player experience.

One or multiple jackpot pools are presented to eligible player segments right in the game via an overlay, whether on a desktop or a mobile device, allowing players to opt-in, watch as jackpots grow, and eventually are won.

JackpotEngine is available to EveryMatrix’s operators using the iGaming Integration Platform CasinoEngine or the pure B2B aggregation solution SlotMatrix, powering any combination of the respective solutions’ entire portfolios of games across providers with customizable jackpots.

Stian Enger, CEO of CasinoEngine, says: “We’re proud to announce the official release of our gamification solution, JackpotEngine. This new module perfectly complements our casino solutions, CasinoEngine and SlotMatrix, to offer endless jackpot options to our operators.

“JackpotEngine has been built with regulated markets in mind and offers the possibility to stay compliant where traditional bonusing is limited or not an option at all.”

JackpotEngine is continuously developing new features that will further boost its acquisition and retention capabilities, setting operators apart from their competition and adding value to their brand.

Reach out to [email protected] for more details and meet us at ICE 2022 for a product demo.

beter’s-setka-cup-opens-new-table-tennis-arenas-in-europe

BETER’s Setka Cup opens new table tennis arenas in Europe

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International sports tournament platform, the Setka Cup, which is powered by BETER, a leading provider of next-gen betting and gaming solutions, has announced the opening of multiple new locations across Europe.

The move comes following the start of hostilities in Ukraine and is part of BETER’s response to ensure the stability of its events and services to the industry.

The first venue opened is its new table tennis arena in Nitra, Slovakia, which follows BETER’s continued contingency plans to resume continuity of its streaming service of the Setka Cup. Over 50 players are set to take part at the new arena, named Sydney, and will see players of all abilities compete from amateur to professional in more than 450 events per month.

Meanwhile, a further two arenas have been added at a new location in Moldova, named Mexico and Rio. These new facilities will add an additional 1,800 events per month to the Setka Cup’s schedule as the competition continues to upgrade and expand.

Elsewhere, the tournament has seen two additional arenas, Paris and Athens, added to its Prague base, which has enabled more than 1,600 matches per month in its Czech location.

The new schedule has also been updated on the official tournament website of Setka Cup, marking a significant boost in the supplier’s content.

 

Commenting on the opening of the new locations, CEO at BETER Gal Ehrlich said: 

“Expanding the Setka Cup to other locations in Europe actually began in 2021 in Prague and was something that was already part of our international development plans, and this is part of that in action. However, our recent relocation of sporting events from Ukraine is a decision that was sped up by Russia’s military invasion.

“We wish to thank our new host cities and partners for their hospitality, although our hearts are still in Ukraine, of course, a wonderful country from where we have a fantastic community of players and team members. 

“With a newly revamped schedule of tournaments and live action, I’m sure our partners will benefit from the wide selection of diversified tournaments – which we very much look forward to speaking about as we showcase our services at ICE London next week!”   

cirsa-appoints-antonio-hostench-as-ceo

CIRSA Appoints Antonio Hostench as CEO

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Grupo CIRSA has announced the appointment of Antonio Hostench as new Chief Executive of the Blackstone-owned Spanish markets gambling group.

The board of CIRSA informed stakeholders that it had decided to split the duties of CEO and Chairman that Joaquim Agut had served since 2018. Agut will now solely act as Executive Chairman of CIRSA, charged with leading the group’s corporate governance, leadership remuneration and appointment committees.

Promoted from his role as President of CIRSA’s Sportium sportsbook brand, Hostench will replace Agut as Group CEO, charged with overseeing the firm’s global growth strategy and management of the firm’s executive leadership team.

Agut welcomed the decision, stating that CIRSA was right to follow Spanish business’ Code on Best Corporate Governance.

Hostench’s appointment was deemed by Agut as “a natural decision that responds to the Group’s culture of believing in internal talent and promoting it”.

“Antonio has proven to be a key part in the process of professionalization of the company and its growth thanks to its deep knowledge of the sector acquired through its years of experience in CIRSA,” Agut added.

gadsme,-the-first-in-game-adtech-platform-allowing-performance-advertising,-raises-$8m-in-seed-round

Gadsme, the first In-Game AdTech Platform allowing performance advertising, raises $8m in seed round

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Popular industry seed round led by Galaxy Interactive is also joined by major game publishers, including Ubisoft.

AppLovin’s ex-VP Corporate Development Co-Founds Gadsme – a platform that is set to take AdTech into the Metaverse and backed by strategic multi-million-dollar investment from games industry giants

Gadsme, the only interactive AdTech platform that offers high quality immersive brand experiences through in-game advertising, has secured an $8m seed investment just 11 months after launch. With investors including Galaxy Interactive and Ubisoft, Gadsme will use the funding to structure and invest in key people to scale the business to meet demand. With Gadsme, Immersive Ads are now dynamically served and its unique technical capabilities enable, for the first time, true performance campaigns that benefit all advertisers, across all platforms. To further enhance their potential, Gadsme focuses its development exclusively on high quality inventory and games.

With more than 3 billion players worldwide, each playing their favorite games for many hours, trillions of ad impressions are available. Unlike full screen video display or interstitial ad formats, that can interrupt the playing experience, Gadsme focuses on non-intrusive ad formats that are blended, immersed and native to the gameplay. Those ad formats run across every game genre, all devices and geographies, and are particularly sought after by brand advertisers, who demand Gadsme’s guaranteed brand-safe environments and privacy compliant targeting capabilities.

Gadsme was created in 2019 by digital media experts Guillaume Monteux and Luc Vauvillier, whose previous company miLibris was sold to the Altice Group. Making up the trinity of the founding team is ex-AppLovin VP Corporate Development, Simon Spaull, who played an important part in AppLovin’s monumental growth.

This seed investment was strategically and selectively built from a pool of gaming and digital experts that believe in the Gadsme vision, and who also bring a wealth of experience and targeted expertise to develop the product and customer experience further. For Ubisoft, they first started to work with Gadsme before securing a strategic investment into the business, confirming market quality of Gadsme’s platform and the opportunity the sector presents. The gaming market was recently valued at $134 billion, cementing games as the new media of choice for brands.

“For more than 2 years, we three co-founders bootstrapped the company to build the most technically advanced Immersive Ads solution. When some of the best game companies in the world concurred, we knew we were ready to raise the money to grow. For our seed round we wanted to find partners that could bring vast knowledge and expertise into our business. Not just provide capital, but genuine experiences and learnings in the exact industry we operate in. With Galaxy Interactive, Ubisoft and other major games company founders as shareholders, we’re now poised and ready to execute on our vision.” said Guillaume Monteux, CEO & Co-Founder.

The result of their cooperation is Gadsme: Built, tested, and reworked into an innovative core product that is grounded in market-leading technology and now has unrivaled industry support with multi-million-dollar investments from some of the most well-known games publishers in the world. Gadsme’s immersive SDK is already integrated into a number of premium game studios, including Voodoo, Ubisoft, Tilting Point, TapNation and Lion Studios, offering brand-safe and prime quality-controlled ads to a large audience.

“We’d met various companies in the in-game Ad space, but Gadsme’s product and team really resonated with our beliefs and our vision. Guillaume and his team are a natural fit with our client portfolio, and their attention to detail, unique approach, and laser-focused vision, capture what we believe to be the right path forward. We’re excited by the space and look forward to helping Gadsme on their quest to put the player experience first in connecting brands with passionate audiences. These intersections will continue to play an important role in this new digital frontier, and we believe that the Gadsme team can make true impact” said Galaxy Interactive’s CEO, Sam Englebardt.

“Our cross-platform technology has been extremely carefully crafted to provide studios with a long-term partnership to drive continuous and new incremental revenues from their games. Whilst in-game advertising has been a subject for 20+ years, today we could see a clear opportunity in the marketplace to build something pristine and different, that drives revenue and measurable brand engagement In-Game.” said Simon Spaull, CRO and Co-Founder.

“Gadsme is the only In-Game company in the world that can run performance ads inside games, giving all brands the unique opportunity to measure KPIs, whilst attracting an audience within the walled gardens of games, but also allows studios to run cross-promotion to any other game in their portfolio. This is entirely unique and an important new business opportunity for the gaming ecosystem. Our technology fully integrates brand advertising into the gameplay experience with Immersive Ads that are dynamic, content targeted and serving positive experiences to players. We’re excited to see how the AdTech industry will develop further in 2022 and to be a key player in connecting studios and brands.” Spaull adds.

Gadsme’s product offers the same high quality, positive experience to brands and studios alike. Its patented technology for ad viewability is unique to the games industry, ensuring transparency and reliable reach for brands, whilst the combination of an intuitive self-serve platform and smooth SDK integration has ensured an overwhelmingly positive experience for developers. Gadsme’s next-generation platform has been engineered in-house for over 2 years, is metaverse-ready and uniquely placed to offer a variety of solutions to maximize results for advertisers and gaming studios alike.

Luc Vauvillier, CTO and Co-Founder adds “We knew exactly how to develop our product to ensure stability and success. We heard the many tech challenges studios had faced with In-Game ad platforms previously. From inception, our goal was to ensure our product was stable, reliable and fit for purpose. Our in-house architecture is ready for any and all future gaming and metaverse advertising opportunities”.

Gadsme is known for its technical excellence, now it is laser focused on delivering unbeatable returns to gaming companies, as well as driving superior ROAS to advertisers.

delasport-introduces-new-and-innovative-ifbet-function-with-18bet-&-casinowinbig

Delasport introduces new and innovative Ifbet function with 18bet & CasinoWinBig

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Delasport, in collaboration with top operators 18bet and CasinoWinBig, is happy to announce the debut of their new Ifbet function. Ifbet is a novel and creative feature that allows bettors to link several single bets with a single wager, thereby automating up to seven consecutive bets. The new feature adds to the betting experience by allowing players to cascade several bets with a single wager in a quick and automatic manner.

By introducing this new option to their customers, 18bet and CasinoWinBig will be able to provide a fresh and engaging method to bet, as well as setting themselves apart from the competition.

Ifbet allows bettors to make numerous selections of single bets for any single initial wager. If their initial pick loses, they lose the stake, and the rest of the underlying Ifbets are cancelled – but if it wins, the system will automatically place the following bet, using the original stake or, if chosen, with a multiply option that stacks the gains on.

Oren Shwartz, CEO of Delasport, elaborates: “Ifbet is yet another feature that we can add to our betting experience offering to enrich customer experiences. Ifbet is a great choice for players that like betting accumulators like a combo (parlay), but with a lower risk for a lower payout. With Ifbet, 18bet and CasinoWinBig players will be able to have a new and fun way to bet in a very simple and intuitive way”

Alex Schneider, VP Sportsbook and ESport, also comments:  “Ifbet is still a rare feature on the market, especially when it comes to multiply functionality, therefore we’re delighted to be one of the first to provide it to our worldwide player base.”

Steven Andrews, Head of Sport at SportEmpire, also adds: “Our collaboration with Delasport’s continues to provide outstanding outcomes. With the addition of the new Ifbet function, punters who want to get the most out of their betting experience will have even more options. Thank you to the Delasport team for recognizing the necessity to provide new betting options in the industry.”

tvbet-launches-poker-for-polish-market

TVBET launches Poker for Polish market

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The B2B provider of live games, TVBET, launches Poker specifically for the Polish market. The game is based on TVBET’s default poker version although adapted for Polish players. The provider strives to strengthen its position in Europe. Polish Poker from TVBET is already available for several Polish operators, and bettors can enjoy the localized game.

TVBET is known for providing live casino games and lotteries with a unique odds based betting software. Its main receipients are online and land-based operators. This year, the company decided to focus on improving existing products as well as localizing separate games. So, to gain a foothold in the igaming market of Poland and win the attention of even more operators and their players, TVBET has launched a localized version of its live Poker – Polish Poker.

Polish poker is already connected with such operators as Fuksiarz, Betclic, Superbet, LVBet, Noblebet, Forbet, Etoto, and anyone can get acquainted with the updated game. The rules of the game are the same as the default version of the Poker from TVBET. What’s new is the interface , adjusted to the tastes of Polish player. The Polish poker studio is designed in the style that casino of a sports bar with sports elements familiar to Polish players: famous football players’ jerseys, soccer balls, and other sports attributes.

Regarding the rules, the game is played according to the well-known rules of Texas Hold’em Poker. Poker uses one deck of 52 cards. The goal of the game is to collect the strongest combination compared to others. At the same time, participants can place bets on the victory of one of the six hands or the winning combination.

Players can already evaluate the new version of Poker by visiting the websites of the above operators. TVBET will continue improving and developing its products in co-operations with the Partners.