Category Archives: Video Games

SEGA gears up for 30 years of Sonic the Hedgehog with special virtual Sonic Central event

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SEGA is gearing up for the 30th anniversary of its most iconic Blue Blur, Sonic the Hedgehog with the launch of a special virtual event called Sonic Central on the brand’s official YouTube and Switch channels this week.

The event, taking place on Thursday, May 27th at 9am Pacific Time, will see SEGA’s own Sonic team joined by a cast of special guests to reveal a whole plethora of new partnerships, events, and upcoming projects spanning the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and beyond.

The virtual event will be just part of the celebrations surrounding the 30th anniversary of the company’s flagship character, an icon of retro video gaming that has built out a successful global franchise that over the course of its 30 years has spanned entertainment formats such as TV series, comic books, video games, films, and more.

Sonic the Hedgehog will be marking its official 30th anniversary on June 23rd this year. Ahead of the big day, SEGA has paid tribute to the brand’s legacy among a generation of fans with the launch of a new fan-appreciation video, showcasing a nostalgic look back at the franchise, as the Blue Blur ‘speeds forwards to inspire future generations.’

Developed by the creative agency Liquid+ Arcade, the Unstoppable campaign follows the experiences of several young Sonic fans throughout the decades – from the early ‘90s SEGA Genesis era to today, as Sonic ‘encourages them to reach higher, go faster and become a hero.’

Head down memory lane with Sonic and check out the new fan appreciation video below:

MGM to launch first Stargate SG-1 strategy PC game in Slitherine partnership

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MGM has partnered with the digital strategy games publisher, Slitherine to develop and publish the first strategy PC game based on the popular sci-fi series, Stargate SG-1.

Called Stargate: Timekeepers, the title will pick up from the end of the seventh season of the Stargate SG-1 main plot to create an original story that takes place during the Battle of Antartica, in which Command Eva McCain and her team are tasked with supporting the SG-1 against Anubis’ fleet.

The aftermath of the battle sees Commander McCain and her squad face an epic adventure that spans multiple original locations, while players will travel through time and space to save civilians from the threats of alien lords, rescue their friends and allies from danger, and more.

Over the course of 25 years, Stargate has become a cultural hit, capturing the imaginations of sci-fi lovers and inspiring an audience of fans around the world.  The franchise includes three films, three TV series broadcast in 64 countries, an animated series, and a web series. More than 56 million Stargate DVDs have been sold to date, while the franchise has also found its way to graphic novels, games, and more.

“Working on an IP like Stargate is an honor and a testament to our continued effort to reach a wider audience,” said Marco Minoli, Slitherine marketing director. “We strive to capture players’ imagination by creating our own worlds or by forging experiences based on existing, influential franchises. We look forward to bringing Stargate: Timekeepers to life and creating a long-lasting legacy of Stargate strategy games.”

Robert Marick, executive vice president, MGM Global Consumer Products and Experiences, said: “We’re thrilled to work with Slitherine to bring a new Stargate PC game to market, and provide fans the opportunity to experience the Stargate universe well beyond TV and movie screens.”

 Stargate: Timekeepers is a Real-Time-Tactics game developed by Creative Forge Games, an independent studio based in Warsaw, Poland, makers of Phantom Doctrine and Hard West.  The game will release on PC distribution platforms.

MGM now joins a growing roster of licensing partners to have worked with Slitherine in the games space, who has published a portfolio of award-winning titles for consoles, smartphones, and tablets. The publisher has previously worked with the likes of NBC Universal, Games Workshop, Sony Pictures, BBC, Osprey, and more.

Antstream Arcade strengthens exec team in move to be at the forefront of video game streaming

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Antstream Arcade has made a new move to ‘put itself at the forefront of video game streaming’, welcoming the games industry veteran, Mike Rouse to lead its production team and help build out its internal studio.

The move comes during a period of record user growth for the company following its establishment as the world’s first free-to-play game streaming platform.

With over 20 years’ experience in the games industry, Rouse joins Antstream from 2K’s Brighton based Hangar 13, where he was head of production and responsible for developing and co-ordinating strategy across the studio’s four global locations and 400 employees. His career has seen him work in key roles at Microsoft where he oversaw the development of Microsoft Hololens, and at Sony.

With extensive experience in pushing the boundaries of how players interact with games, Rouse will be looking to put Antsream Arcade at the forefront of video game streaming, helping the company to build upon the slate of licensing partnerships it has already secured with the likes of Disney and Bandai as it eyes growth in the market.

Rouse said: “As a lifelong fan of what we now have to call “vintage” games, working at Antstream Arcade represents the perfect combination of my passion for retro gaming and changing how players interact with games themselves. I think it is very likely that we are nearing the end of physical consoles – with physical media losing relevance to the rise of cloud-based gaming, it is all but inevitable.

“As the first company to successfully launch a free-to-play platform with thousands of games, Antstream is well placed to be at the forefront of this change.”

Steve Cottam, CEO of Antstream, said: “Between our new licensing partnerships with the likes of Disney and Bandai, and our decision to adopt a free-to-play model, we’re in a period of immense change here at Antstream. Bringing on someone with Mike’s expertise and experience in altering how people play games is a huge boost for us as video game streaming continues to drive the game industry forward as a whole.

“We look forward to working with him in taking our library of iconic video games to the biggest audience possible.”

Mike’s love of retro gaming is on full display on his Retro Gamer Boy YouTube channel, where he posts weekly unique videos delving into his own extensive retro gaming collection, and discussing the best retro games and consoles ever made.

His retro gaming goal is to collect every SEGA Megadrive game, with only a few notable holdouts like Pirates of Darkwater standing between him and the holy grail of completionism.

Coolabi’s Warrior Cats leaps onto Roblox with the new Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition game

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The independent media group, Coolabi Group, has partnered with the Roblox specialists, Aldrich-Callen Studios to develop a new 3D role play game for the global online Roblox platform, all based on its fantasy brand, Warrior Cats.

The new Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition game will be set in the Forest Territory from the successful book series and will invite players to create and customise their own cat character, explore the world of Warriors, join a Clan and interact with other players to make their own Warrior Cats story.

Warrior Cats is a feline fantasy book series about five clans of wild cats: ShadowClan, RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan and StarClan. The series was created by Working Partners, a Coolabi Group company, and has become a publishing hit with the release of over 80 titles, spanning 38 languages, and selling over 41 million books to date.

The most recent book, Warriors: The Broken Code: The Place of No Stars, is also a New York Times bestseller, debuting at number eight.

The news of the interactive game comes two years after the launch of the award-winning WarriorCats.com, an official digital destination for Warriors’ growing global fan community. The site attracted over 1.3 million visitors in 2020.

Since the book series launched fans across the globe have created fan art, animation and fiction, with user-generated content receiving over 42 million monthly views collectively on YouTube. There are also over 1000 dedicated Warriors YouTube channels with a new fan video uploaded every 30 mins on average.

Last year Coolabi Group conducted a survey with over 10,000 members of its Warrior Cats fanbase established that not only do they love gaming, but Roblox was one of the most popular online platforms.

Naomi Dare, director of digital at Coolabi Group, said: “We’re excited to be launching a Warriors game on Roblox as we know that so many nine to 12 year olds are on the platform, with over half of this age group in the USA playing on Roblox at least once a week.

“This tends to be the age that people start reading Warriors, so not only does it serve our existing fan base who are desperate to role play in a Warriors world, but it should also attract new fans to the brand too.”

The ‘Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition’ Roblox game is free to play on Roblox and out now.

Antstream Arcade strengthens exec team in move to be at the forefront of video game streaming

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The video game streaming platform, Antstream Arcade is continuing on its path to alter the way people play games, with the appointment of the games industry veteran Mike Rouse to lead its production team and build its internal studio. The move comes amid a period of record user growth for the company and its world’s first free-to-play game streaming platform.

Rouse joins Anstream from 2K’s Brighton based Hangar 13 where he was head of production and responsible for developing and co-ordinating strategy across the studio’s four global locations and 400 employees.

He brings with him over 20 years’ experience in the games industry, having worked with major companies including Microsoft, where he worked on projects including Hololens, and Sony. He brings his experience in pushing the boundaries of how players interact with games to his new role at Antstream Arcade, as it continues to expand its offering.

Rouse said: “As a lifelong fan of what we now have to call “vintage” games, working at Antstream Arcade represents the perfect combination of my passion for retro gaming and changing how players interact with games themselves. I think it is very likely that we are nearing the end of physical consoles – with physical media losing relevance to the rise of cloud-based gaming, it is all but inevitable.

“As the first company to successfully launch a free-to-play platform with thousands of games, Antstream is well placed to be at the forefront of this change.”

Steve Cottam, CEO of Antstream, added: “Between our new licensing partnerships with the likes of Disney and Bandai, and our decision to adopt a free-to-play model, we’re in a period of immense change here at Antstream. Bringing on someone with Mike’s expertise and experience in altering how people play games is a huge boost for us as video game streaming continues to drive the game industry forward as a whole.

“We look forward to working with him in taking our library of iconic video games to the biggest audience possible.”

Mike’s love of retro gaming is on full display on his Retro Gamer Boy YouTube channel, where he posts weekly unique videos delving into his own extensive retro gaming collection, and discussing the best retro games and consoles ever made. His retro gaming goal is to collect every SEGA Megadrive game, with only a few notable holdouts like Pirates of Darkwater standing between him and the holy grail of completionism.

Coolabi’s Warrior Cats leaps onto Roblox with the new Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition game

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The independent international media group, Coolabi  has partnered with Roblox specialists, Aldrich-Callen Studios to develop a new 3D role-play game for global online platform Roblox. The game will be based on its best-selling fantasy brand, Warrior Cats.

The new ‘Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition’ game will be set within the Forest Territory from the hit book series and will invite players to create and customise their own cat character, explore the vast world of Warriors, join a Clan, and interact with other players to make their own Warrior Cats story.

Warriors is a feline fantasy book series about five clans of wild cats – ShadowClan, RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan and StarClan. The series was created by Working Partners, a Coolabi Group company, and has become a publishing hit following the release of over 80 titles, spanning 38 languages and sold over 41 million copies to date. The most recent book, Warriors: The Broken Code: The Place of No Stars, is also a New York Times bestseller, debuting at number eight.

The news of the interactive game comes two years after the launch of the award-winning WarriorCats.com, an official digital destination for Warriors’ ever-growing global fan community, which attracted over 1.3 million visitors in 2020. Since the book series launched, legions of passionate fans across the globe have created fan art, animation and fiction, with user-generated content receiving over 42 million monthly views collectively on YouTube.

There are also over 1000 dedicated Warriors YouTube channels with a new fan video uploaded every 30 mins on average.

Last year Coolabi Group conducted a survey with over 10,000 members of its Warrior Cats fanbase established that not only do they love gaming, but Roblox was one of the most popular online platforms.

Naomi Dare, director of digital at Coolabi Group, said: “We’re excited to be launching a Warriors game on Roblox as we know that so many nine to 12 year olds are on the platform, with over half of this age group in the USA playing on Roblox at least once a week. This tends to be the age that people start reading Warriors, so not only does it serve our existing fan base who are desperate to role play in a Warriors world, but it should also attract new fans to the brand too.”

The ‘Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition’ Roblox game is free to play on Roblox and out now.

King Features builds global licensing slate for hit video game IP, Cuphead

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King Features Syndicate has detailed a ‘robust international expansion’ for its hit gaming property, Cuphead, with activity encompassing new agents and licensing deals on a global scale for the brand.

The raft of new signings will see Cuphead grow its domestic and international presence with products across apparel, accessories, novelties, publishing, and more, all of which will land ahead of the debut of The Cuphead Show this year. The series has been developed in partnership with Netflix Animation.

Studio MDHR’s award-winning video game will now come to life across the Asian market, with new accessories, apparel, houseware, novelties, toys and games from Ensky and Elsonic this year, along with a collection of apparel and accessories inspired by the game from GZ Fanthful.

Cuphead and Mugman will also be growing their presence in new territories as King Features taps new international licensing agents for the Cuphead brand. The property will be represented by Caravanserai in Spain and Portugal, and by Vertical Licensing in Brazil.

“Cuphead is a true gaming and pop culture sensation, with its popularity continuing to grow as it is discovered in new territories around the globe,” said King Features vice president and general manager, global head of licensing, Carla Silva.

“With the new animated series set to debut on Netflix later this year, we expect the demand for the property to skyrocket and we are thrilled to be expanding our licensing programs with new partnerships and renewed deals to continue bringing fans around the world products inspired by Cuphead, Mugman and their adventures.”

King Features is also growing Cuphead’s publishing program with additional graphic novels from Dark Horse Comics, which has renewed its worldwide deal to expand its existing lineup of Cuphead books. Dark Horse has also expanded its publishing programme internationally on behalf of the “Art of Cuphead” and the graphic novels, with Pix ‘N Love in France, Editoriale Cosmo in Italy, Norma in Spain, Comme il faut in Russia and Sebundo/G Novels in Japan.

Meanwhile, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, who released two Middle Grade novels inspired by the video game in 2020, is expanding its programme into Russia with the Exmo Publishing Group in 2021 and releasing a new “How To Draw” format in late 2022.

Last but not least, Running Press (a subsidiary of Hachette) is joining the roster of new partners with plans to release a Cuphead “Mini Kit” in Spring 2022, consisting of a mini book and a Cuphead character figure.

Cuphead-inspired apparel, accessories, art, toys, and novelty items are available from partners including Fifth Sun, PowerA, YouTooz, Forbidden Planet, Insert Coin Limited,

Asmodee’s Aconyte Books secures multi-year deal with Ubisoft to develop Assassin’s Creed novel series

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Asmodee Entertainment’s fiction publishing imprint, Aconyte, has secured a multi-year agreement with Ubisoft to create a series of new novels set within the worlds of the game giant’s Assassin’s Creed franchise. The deal builds on a previous agreement that saw Aconyte names publishing partner for Ubisoft titles Watch Dogs and Tom Clancy’s The Division.

Aconyte’s primary mission is to publish untold stories from new or under-explored corners of the game series’ history-spanning timeline, featuring both characters from the games and totally new creations.

The first fruits of the new deal will be the publication of The Ming Storm this June. The novel is the opening volume of an exciting trilogy set in 16th century China, featuring young assassin Shao Jun. Written by notable Chinese author Yen Leisheng, the novel has already been published in China and France, with editions in several other languages planned.

This will be followed in early 2022 by a new trilogy of novels set in the time of Ubisoft’s latest hit game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which offers players the experience of playing as a legendary Viking warrior leading their clan to glory in ninth century England. A third trilogy of novels in a wholly new historical setting is in development too

“We’re absolutely delighted to add Assassin’s Creed to our ranges of new adventures set in the amazing worlds of Ubisoft’s games,” said Aconyte’s publisher, Marc Gascoigne. “The chance to tell wholly new stories set this rich universe, featuring both new and fan-favourite characters, was far too tasty to miss.”

Julien Fabre, Ubisoft associate director, publishing and TV distribution, added: “We are really happy to team up with Asmodee Entertainment. Thanks to their expertise in transmedia storytelling and community engagement, we will expand the Assassin’s Creed universe with new, original stories told through a range of compelling novels.”

Moonpig details plans to become ‘the Home of Gaming’ for birthdays as it bolsters its brand portfolio

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The online greeting card and gifting platform, Moonpig has detailed its plans to become ‘the Home of Gaming’ for birthdays thanks to a new partnership with not only Nintendo but a wealth of gaming brands.

The new range is built on licensing partnerships with flagship brands such as Nintendo, Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog and SEGA, Warhammer, and Marvel Gameverse to name but a few. Moonpig has stated that it is still ‘actively recruiting gaming brands to fulfill their vision of being the ultimate gifting companion.’

“Gaming represents a huge opportunity for us at Moonpig and with incredible household brands – like Nintendo – on board, we’ve only just begun the journey to become the ultimate destination for birthday presents for every gaming fan,” said David Rimmer, commercial director at Moonpig.

“Our ambition is to have a brilliant range of cards that fans can’t find anywhere else and offer matching gifts for the perfect bundle.”

Victoria Connor, licensing executive at Moonpig, added: “We know how passionate people are about gaming and we’re looking forward to extending the licensed range  for cards as well as gifting with more gaming favourite brands.”

The first elements of the gaming range launched in September with a licensed partnership with Nintendo. The bespoke cards were designed by Moonpig’s in-house team, creating a diverse, personalisable range that is not available anywhere else, featuring Super Mario, Animal Crossing and Zelda among others.

Nelson Calvinho, head of marketing for Nintendo UK, said: “Nintendo prides itself on bringing people together through its games and putting smiles on people’s faces. We hope that this new range of cards from Moonpig, featuring many familiar characters from the world of Nintendo, will put a smile on the face of anyone receiving them.”

The next stage of the gaming campaign launched in April this year, featuring bespoke site looks as well as a number of competitions and giveaways on social media, giving participants the opportunity to win prizes, including a number of personalised Nintendo Switch Lite consoles and even a personalised Xbox Series S in partnership with gaming sensation Ali A.

Moonpig details plans to become ‘the Home of Gaming’ for birthdays as it bolsters its brand portfolio

Posted on by

The online greeting card and gifting platform, Moonpig has detailed its plans to become ‘the Home of Gaming’ for birthdays thanks to a new partnership with not only Nintendo but a wealth of gaming brands.

The new range is built on licensing partnerships with flagship brands such as Nintendo, Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog and SEGA, Warhammer, and Marvel Gameverse to name but a few. Moonpig has stated that it is still ‘actively recruiting gaming brands to fulfill their vision of being the ultimate gifting companion.’

“Gaming represents a huge opportunity for us at Moonpig and with incredible household brands – like Nintendo – on board, we’ve only just begun the journey to become the ultimate destination for birthday presents for every gaming fan,” said David Rimmer, commercial director at Moonpig.

“Our ambition is to have a brilliant range of cards that fans can’t find anywhere else and offer matching gifts for the perfect bundle.”

Victoria Connor, licensing executive at Moonpig, added: “We know how passionate people are about gaming and we’re looking forward to extending the licensed range  for cards as well as gifting with more gaming favourite brands.”

The first elements of the gaming range launched in September with a licensed partnership with Nintendo. The bespoke cards were designed by Moonpig’s in-house team, creating a diverse, personalisable range that is not available anywhere else, featuring Super Mario, Animal Crossing and Zelda among others.

Nelson Calvinho, head of marketing for Nintendo UK, said: “Nintendo prides itself on bringing people together through its games and putting smiles on people’s faces. We hope that this new range of cards from Moonpig, featuring many familiar characters from the world of Nintendo, will put a smile on the face of anyone receiving them.”

The next stage of the gaming campaign launched in April this year, featuring bespoke site looks as well as a number of competitions and giveaways on social media, giving participants the opportunity to win prizes, including a number of personalised Nintendo Switch Lite consoles and even a personalised Xbox Series S in partnership with gaming sensation Ali A.