Tag: Gaming

G2 Gozen crowned inaugural Red Bull Instalock Champions with Grand Finals sweep

• G2 Gozen were crowned inaugural champions of Red Bull Instalock in 3-1 win against VCT Game Changers 2023 champions Shopify Rebellion
• The invitational tournament ran from 20-21 April at the UK’s premier esports and gaming venue, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London
• Red Bull Instalock brought together some of the best women’s VALORANT GC teams from around the world including G2 Gozen, GIANTX, Shopify Rebellion and Karmine Corp
• The tournament was hosted by Yinsu Collins, with insights from Kieran “Kairo” Tulloch, Billie “BillieIDK” Purdie, Matt “Twiggy” Twigg, and Harry “Hazza” Chapman and an appearance from Megan “Megsoundslikeegg” Garner
• AGON by AOC was the official Monitor Partner for Red Bull Instalock, providing cutting-edge AGON PRO AG254FG monitors, featuring a 360 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response time, for the best in-game experience.

G2 Gozen have been crowned the inaugural Red Bull Instalock champions, claiming the victory across a weekend packed with exhilarating VALORANT matches and tactical plays. Streamed live from London’s premier esports and gaming venue, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere, Red Bull Instalock marked the UK’s first professional women’s VALORANT tournament of 2024.

Red Bull Instalock brought together four of the world’s best professional women’s VALORANT teams for a spectacle tournament, G2 Gozen, GIANTX, Karmine Crop, and 2023 VALORANT Champions Tour: Game Changers Championship winners Shopify Rebellion. Putting a unique twist on the traditional team composition, the competing teams were required to implement three of the game’s offensive class, duelists.

Red Bull Instalock quickly established itself as a high-stakes competition, with teams racing to dominate maps across a best-of-three format across the Upper Semi-Finals. The first game of the tournament saw powerhouse G2 Gozen battle it out against underdogs GIANTX, with GIANTX securing their position in the Upper Finals with a tiebreaker victory against G2 Gozen (2-1).

The second match featured North America’s Shopify Rebellion, who swiftly relegated the French force of Karmine Corp to the Lower Bracket (2-0). Facing off once again, G2 Gozen vanquished GIANTX in a Lower Bracket match underdog victory, securing themselves a position in the Grand Final to compete against Shopify Rebellion (2-0).

This Lower Bracket victory marked a turning point for G2 Gozen, who delivered a flawless masterclass in VALORANT against the North American titans Shopify Rebellion. The Grand Final was an intense showdown, pivoting to a best-of-five format in a battle for the crown. Shopify Rebellion started off strong, with a one-map lead, a reward following their success in the Semi-Finals, but G2 Gozen quickly closed in on that lead as they took the first and second maps. In a gripping third and final map, G2 Gozen swiftly closed out the tournament, claiming the win over the tournament frontrunners and Game Changers 2023 champions Shopify Rebellion (3-1).

The tournament also featured a show match featuring some of the UK’s most beloved VALORANT creators going head-to-head, including Talia Mar, Shan “ThePizzaWaffle” Hadden, Ella “Tenshi” Merry and Alexandra “LexieMariex” Butterfill. Hosted by British FNATIC content creator and partnered streamer Megan “Megsoundslikeegg” Garner, the nail biting creator show match saw Team Jupi take the win after a surprise comeback from Team Tenshi forced the match into overtime.

Kieran “Kairo” Tulloch, Billie “BillieIDK” Purdie, Matt “Twiggy” Twigg, and Harry “Hazza” Chapman were also part of the broadcast, providing live commentary and analysis.

Following the gripping grand finals, recently crowned Red Bull Instalock champion, G2 Gozen Pro and Red Bull Player Michaela “Mimi” Lintrup said: “We learned so much playing in this new format at Red Bull Instalock, how undisciplined people can be when playing something so chaotic. In the chaos, the thing that helped us to secure the win was to chill.”

Red Bull Instalock host Yinsu Collins also commented: “I loved my experience at the first ever Red Bull Instalock! The invited teams were incredibly competitive and tackled the format in a really unique way. Throughout the tournament, as the player’s normal game plan was out the window, we saw a lot of creativity, pros thinking on their feet, adaptation and some new approaches to how the game can be played.”

AGON by AOC, a global leader in gaming monitors, returned to join the Red Bull Gaming universe once again as the official Monitor Partner for Red Bull Instalock. Bringing the event to life and providing cutting-edge hardware for the esports tournament, AGON by AOC equipped the event with the AGON PRO AG254FG monitors, featuring a 360 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response time for the best in-game experience.

Check out redbull.com/gaming for more information.

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In a significant leap forward for the gaming and entertainment sectors, Sortium, a leader in the wave of generative AI within gaming, has launched innovative AI tools for artists and game developers, marking a new era of creativity and efficiency. These tools, leveraging the Polkadot infrastructure, are set to transform the gaming industry by enhancing the creative process, streamlining production workflows, and producing high-quality user-generated content.

This transformative step is supported by a successful funding round Sortium just closed, surpassing $4 million. The round was led by industry stalwarts such as Signum Growth, with significant contributions from a diverse array of investors, including Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management LLC, IDG Blockchain, IVC Fund, Polygon, and 1881 S Group AG. This wide-ranging support underscores the industry’s confidence in Sortium’s potential to revolutionize 3D video game design and entertainment production.

Sortium’s AI tools integrate seamlessly into existing game production ecosystems, automating challenging content creation tasks. This innovation enables studios to significantly speed up production times and reduce costs, allowing them to focus more on innovation and design while empowering users across any system to design their own characters, thereby opening new creative freedoms and revenue streams for developers and individual creators alike. Sortium’s team, with deep expertise in game development, AI, and IP rights management, ensures the smooth adoption of this technology.

According to Angela Dalton, CEO & Founder of Signum Growth, “The Sortium team’s technical capabilities are impressive. Perhaps even more importantly, they possess deep expertise, relationships and understanding across the traditional gaming industry. Generative AI is in its broader market experimentation phase, leading many to ignore IP rights in the spirit of progress and innovation. Sortium’s believes that IP rights will ultimately matter – baking them into the technology at the outset, and respecting artists’ work, are core tenets of the company that we fully support.”

Building on this foundation of technical excellence and ethical commitment, Sortium’s innovations also translate into tangible benefits for the gaming community.

“Sortium is leading the frontier of AI in gaming and creative applications. Sortium gives creatives unparalleled freedom in leading gaming environments like Unreal,” said Lex Avellino, Founder & CCO at Passage, one of Sortium’s partners. “The team is breaking technical barriers, and it adds a huge value for our consumer audiences who want to take advantage of the latest virtual tech but need to act with speed and simplicity.”

Sortium is actively forming partnerships with major intellectual properties and leading gaming platforms. A recent major collaboration with Bit Brawl, a game utilizing Sortium technology to deliver live content to over 5,000 users, showcases the versatile application of Sortium’s tools across various gaming environments. Its technology’s wide compatibility with leading development platforms ensures extensive adoption potential and effortless integration into professional industry practices. Sortium’s enterprise solutions, such as the LiveOps API, aim to enhance gaming experiences and enable continuous creativity through endless, tailored content generation.

Today sees a major update for the world’s most played mobile MOBA with new features and content aimed at making Honor of Kings even more enjoyable for both current players and newcomers alike. This is coupled with the announcement of a major esports initiative – The Open Series – aimed specifically at identifying and nurturing the stars of the future.
Level Infinite, publisher of Honor of Kings, has revealed that registration for the new Honor of Kings Open Series Split 1 will begin on April 15, 2024. This groundbreaking series offers amateur players a platform to showcase their skills globally, competing individually and in teams, with the chance to qualify for the prestigious Honor of Kings Invitational Season 2 tournament. With no rank requirements, teams from Türkiye, CIS, MENA, and Wildcard will clash in open qualifiers starting May 1, 2024. The series, featuring two stages, will culminate in the Finals in May, offering special in-game rewards for participants.

James Yang, Senior Director of Level Infinite Global Esports, expressed excitement for the series, emphasizing its role in fostering undiscovered talent and enriching the Honor of Kings esports ecosystem with a path-to-pro opportunity. Interested teams can register from April 15-26, 2024 (UTC+0), and follow official social media channels for updates.

“The Honor of Kings Open Series is an exciting step forward in our mission to grow Honor of Kings esports on the international stage,” said James Yang, Senior Director of Level Infinite Global Esports, Tencent Games. “ Part of Honor of Kings’ commitment in esports is to ensure we provide a path-to-pro for exciting undiscovered talent to put their skill on full display for the world and show fans that anyone is capable of being the best with hard work and dedication. We can’t wait to see what teams emerge from the Open Series to challenge the world’s best at the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 2 tournament.”

Sandsoft, the mobile-first game developer, publisher, and investor powered by world-leading games industry talent, has today announced the full-time appointments of Norah AlQuaydhib and Reham Yeshar, who join following their success in Sandsoft’s Press Start internship program.

Aligned with Vision 2030, and delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Press Start provides the opportunity for a diverse mix of entry-level game developers to design a mobile game from the ground up while receiving support from Sandsoft’s team of games industry experts.

Norah and Reham’s excellence in the program led to the offer of two full-time game development roles within the Riyadh Studio to create innovative, accessible core social games for players across the world.

Yahsir Qureshi, VP Head of Studio, Sandsoft, commented:

“The entire Sandsoft team was incredibly impressed with the fresh perspectives provided by Norah and Reham. As the games industry in the Middle East continues to expand, it’s hugely important to give up-and-coming talent from a range of backgrounds the opportunity to grow professionally. At Sandsoft, we’re committed to building a diverse team with 29% of our workforce being female, above the industry average. Whilst there’s still more to do in this area, we’re proud to nurture local and diverse talent, and I look forward to seeing Norah and Reham’s continued growth.”

Norah AlQuaydhib, Junior Game programmer, Sandsoft, added:

“I’ve loved working at Sandsoft for the past six months. Sharing an office with experienced gaming leaders has provided a great learning experience, and I can’t wait to discover even more.”

Reham Yeshar, Junior Game Artist, Sandsoft, commented:

“The Press Start program provided a great opportunity to work with like-minded developers eager to grow in their careers. It’s an incredibly exciting time for Sandsoft, and I’m excited to be involved. ”

In March 2024, Sandsoft announced a Joint Venture with NetEase Games to publish games within the MENA region.

AppGallery, a top-three app marketplace globally and the official app store for HUAWEI devices, today launches its third annual Ramadan gaming campaign, bringing exciting rewards to its dedicated users in Turkey.

Running from 8 March to 8 April, the highly anticipated event includes four promotional activities, where participants stand to win in-game resources and lucky draw rewards by completing in-app events.

Enjoy festive offerings only on AppGallery this Ramadan season

This year’s campaign celebrates the Islamic festival of Ramadan with promotions guaranteed to make it a joyous and fulfilling occasion, featuring prizes worth over 10,000,000 TL in total.

To join in the event, simply visit the campaign’s application page, participate in a game, make in-game purchases to earn Huawei points, and then redeem them for prizes. Huawei points serve as a virtual currency usable within AppGallery and Huawei GameCenter, where one Huawei point is equal to one local currency.

Back by popular demand, the Points Back activity returns after its resounding success in the past three Ramadan campaigns. This time, users can enjoy up to 10% points. You can earn 10% points back when you make a single payment exceeding 400 TL (TRY), while a single payment under 400 TL (TRY) still gets you a generous 5% points back. These points back may only be used for in-app purchases in gaming apps.

Among the thousands of participating games are some of the most sought-after titles globally, including Epic Seven, Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Game of Sultans, Doomsday: Last Survivors, and Honor of Kings.

In addition, there’s the sure-win Lucky Draw activity, where each AppGallery purchase of over 450 TL gives players one go at the lucky draw to win Huawei points.

Users can also participate in the Resource Exchange activity to earn up to 15% off coupons. Simply make in-game purchases in the participating games, collect lanterns, and exchange them for the coupons. A purchase of 50 TL entitles you to 1 Ramadan Light, exchangeable for in-game resources to elevate your gaming experience.

Spread the joy together with the Share and Win activity. Simply share the campaign link with friends and watch the rewards roll in. Share it 5 times for a 20 TL Conditional Coupon, 10 times for a 27 TL Conditional Coupon, and 15 times for a 26 TL Conditional Coupon. The more you share, the more you earn.

With a diverse range of prizes and activities, AppGallery’s annual Ramadan gaming campaign promises to offer something for every AppGallery user, fostering a sense of celebration and community during the holy month of Ramadan.

Don’t miss out on the chance to participate in this exclusive Ramadan celebration. All HUAWEI points and coupons are applicable solely to in-game apps. For more information, visit the Ramadan gaming campaign link.

Moreover, an additional AppGallery campaign running from 7 March to 10 April offers something extra for users searching for love this Ramadan season. Lucky ones stand to win prizes such as a 6-month Tinder Plus membership, making the season even more special. To participate, visit the campaign page, download the listed apps, and collect Huawei points which can be redeemed for prizes.

The award-winning 4x strategy game The Battle of Polytopia has joined Apple Arcade as a ‘plus’ version with all tribes and skins unlocked.

In The Battle of Polytopia, tribes offer new units, technology, and buildings for players to enjoy as they seek to gain the highest score or defeat their opponent in the turn-based game. Apple Arcade users can have instant access to all 16 Polytopia tribes without needing to buy them separately as DLC.

The game has already been enjoyed by more than 20 million users on mobile, Steam and Switch and has a string of high-profile fans including Deepmind´s CEO Demis Hassabis and MrBeast. The standard version of the game will remain available on the App Store.

Christian Lövstedt, General Manager for The Battle of Polytopia, commented:

“The Apple Arcade release of The Battle of Polytopia will make the game available for even more players to enjoy. Whether it’s the unique insect abilities of the Cymanti, or the icy powers of the Polaris, the special tribes of Polytopia each offer a new spin on gameplay. By making all 16 tribes available, players can enjoy everything Polytopia has to offer from the very start.”

As initially announced by Apple Arcade, The Battle of Polytopia joins Bloons TD Battles 2+ and Crayola Adventures as new additions to the subscription service.