The 2022 season will kick off on January 28 with the online Winter Championship and conclude with the largest fighting game tournament prize pool ever.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – January 19, 2022 – Today, Ubisoft announced the details for Brawlhalla Esports Year Seven, which will feature a series of events in which players can earn points in Brawlhalla Power Rankings and their share of the USD $1,320,000 total prize pool. Players from across the world will compete in 1v1 and 2v2 matches during online Seasonal Championships in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. The season will kick off with the Winter Championship on January 28, which will run for two consecutive weekends until February 6. The matches will be streamed at https://twitch.tv/brawlhalla and https://youtube.com/brawlhalla. Players can register for the Winter Championship 2022 and, when the brackets are live, every other open tournament here: https://smash.gg/brawlhalla.

On top of the seasonal competitions, Year Seven will also feature many other unique pro player invitationals. The first will be the OMEN Oasis Online Championship, which will see the top players in the Power Rankings from North America and Europe battle it out online in their respective regions in February. Future competition will see the top 32 players in the worldwide Power Rankings compete at the Mid-Season Invitational Championship in June 2022. More information on these upcoming tournaments soon.

The competitive season will conclude in November with the seventh annual Brawlhalla World Championship, also known as BCX, which will feature the largest fighting game tournament prize pool ever. As a true celebration of the year, BCX 2022 will be an open sign-up competition, giving every player, regardless of their ranking, a chance to compete for the most prestigious title in Brawlhalla Esports and a share of USD $500,000. Details will be communicated over the coming months.

Lastly, the 2022 season will also feature new additions to its esports ecosystem, with an improved Viewership Rewards system to offer new rewards for fans, and the first ever official online Japanese tournament in Brawlhalla. More details will be shared at a later date.

Developed by Blue Mammoth, Brawlhalla is an epic free-to-play platform fighting game that transports over 80 million players to a fight for glory in the halls of Valhalla. Choosing from more than 50 unique characters, players can jump into single-player and co-op modes as well as online and local competitions. Brawlhalla also supports cross-platform play between the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch™ system, PlayStation 4^® and PlayStation 5^® system, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices where players can play custom games and queue together for all online matchmaking.

For more information on Brawlhalla, please visit: https://www.brawlhalla.com/

For more information on Year Seven of Brawlhalla Esports, please visit: https://brawlhalla.com/esports

For the latest news on Brawlhallaand all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit: https://news.ubisoft.com/

# # #

About Blue Mammoth

Founded in 2009 and acquired by Ubisoft in 2018, Blue Mammoth Games is a development studio based in Atlanta, Georgia. The experienced team specializes in online multiplayer games with large player bases.

Blue Mammoth develops Brawlhalla, a Free-To-Play fighting game on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Mac, PlayStation® 4 and PlayStation 5® system, iOS, and Android devices. Brawlhalla has over 80 million players and is currently the most played fighting game on Steam.

About Ubisoft 

Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, For Honor, Just Dance, Watch Dogs, and Tom Clancy’s video game series including Ghost Recon®, Rainbow Six and The Division. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated net bookings of €2,241 million. To learn more, please visit: http://www.ubisoftgroup.com. 

© 2022 Ubisoft. All Rights Reserved. Brawlhalla is a registered or unregistered trademark of Blue Mammoth Games in the US and/or other countries. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are registered or unregistered trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries. Blue Mammoth Games is a Ubisoft Entertainment company.

Welcoming the Incredible Teams and Legendary Franchises of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming

by Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming

Creators of Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft and more join Team Xbox

• Today, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, Inc., a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher.
• This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft´s gaming business across mobile, PC, console, and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.
• The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.
• Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash.
• Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company´s culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
• When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
• The acquisition bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass.
• Game Pass has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers.
• With Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and billion-dollar franchises, this acquisition will make Game Pass one of the most compelling and diverse line-ups of gaming content in the industry.
• Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.

As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment worldwide and we’ve experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible.

As we pursue that mission, it is incredibly exciting to announce that Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard.

Over many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast wellsprings of joy and respect from billions of people all over the world. We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.

Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.

Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog. We also announced today that Game Pass now has more than 25 million subscribers. As always, we look forward to continuing to add more value and more great games to Game Pass.

The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own. Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.

As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.

Around the world, there is no more exciting venue for fun and connection than video games. And there has never been a better time to play than right now. As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we look forward to welcoming all of our friends at Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming.

UBISOFT’S THE CREW^® 2 SEASON FOUR EPISODE TWO: THE CONTRACTOR, AVAILABLE VIA FREE UPDATE 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – January 19^th, 2022 – Today, Ubisoft announced that The Crew® 2 Season 4 Episode 2: The Contractor, the latest update brought to Ubisoft’s open-world motorsports game, will be available tomorrow on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, as well as Windows PC through the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store. Players can also subscribe to Ubisoft+ on PC. 

After travelling through America’s most iconic cities to complete missions for Marco’s Cab, Diamond Limousine and Rocket Co., Season 4 Episode 2: The Contractor will allow players to explore the wildest spots of the United States by making deliveries for two brand-new companies: Intrepid Outdoor, specialized in the delivery of camping equipment, and US Wildlife Watchers, a charity dedicated to the protection of animals and their reintroduction to nature.  

Season 4 Episode 2: The Contractor will be accompanied by a brand-new Motorpass. It will offer 50 tiers of new exclusive rewards, both free and premium, including vehicles such as the Koenigsegg Gemera Outclassed Edition (Hypercar), the Land Rover Defender V8 Works Intrepid Outdoors (Rally Raid), the Hummer H1 Alpha US Wildlife Watchers (Rally Raid) and a brand-new creation by the Ubisoft Ivory Tower team, the Creators Hunter 51 (Rally Raid). 

Apart from the Motorpass, Season 4 Episode 2: The Contractor will continue its free monthly vehicle drops, letting players enjoy and drive new vehicles including the Chevrolet Silverado Intrepid Outdoors (Rally Raid) or the Ariel Atom (Street Race), both available on January 19. Additional vehicles will be available over the course of the Episode alongside new vanity items, including new animated rooftops, as well as smokes, tires, underglows and window tints. 

The LIVE Summit experience also continues during this Episode with a new batch of weekly iterations. During LIVE Summits, there is only one objective: getting as high up the leaderboard as possible. Each week, the best players will be rewarded with exclusive items and vehicles based on their ranking. In addition, no less than 3 fully-modded LIVE Summits will be playable during this Episode, including one of the most ambitious events released to date. 

For the latest news on The Crew and all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit: news.ubisoft.com 

For more information about The Crew 2, please visit thecrewgame.com and please follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/thecrewgame.usa and on Twitter at twitter.com/TheCrewGame or #TheCrew2.   

ABOUT THE CREW® 2 

Developed by Ubisoft Ivory Tower, a studio based in Lyon, France, The Crew® 2 lets players experience the thrill of the American motorsports spirit inside a fully redesigned USA. The game’s playground pushes physical boundaries to let driving and open world fans test their skills in nonstop competition and exploration. From coast to coast, drivers can explore America and compete to become the greatest motorsports champion by collecting a wide variety of exotic cars, bikes, boats and planes, and dominating the motorsports scene on land, on water and in the air. They can find challenges and inspiration among four different motorsports families: street racing, off-road, pro-racing and freestyle, and will be given a broad set of options among a wide selection of vehicle types.    Now in its fourth year of live support, The Crew 2 introduced a new seasonal system, centered around a fictional new company, Motorflix, a television production company known for creating the very best motor-fueled action flicks. Players will be recruited to play the starring role in different TV series with themed episodes per Season. Every Season lasts four months and is comprised of two successive Episodes running for two months. 

About Ubisoft 

Ubisoft is a creator of worlds, committed to enriching players’ lives with original and memorable entertainment experiences. Ubisoft’s global teams create and develop a deep and diverse portfolio of games, featuring brands such as Assassin’s Creed ®, Brawlhalla®, For Honor®, Far Cry®, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon®, Just Dance®, Rabbids, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®, The Crew®, Tom Clancy’s The Division®, and Watch Dogs®. Through Ubisoft Connect, players can enjoy an ecosystem of services to enhance their gaming experience, get rewards and connect with friends across platforms. With Ubisoft+, the subscription service, they can access a growing catalog of more than 100 Ubisoft games and DLC. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated net bookings of €2,241 million. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com. 

Sydney, Australia – January 19^th, 2022 – Prime Matter and Smilegate are announcing that the non-stop action fest real time strategy (RTS) Crossfire: Legion will enter Early Access on Steam in Spring 2022. Based on the hugely popular Crossfire universe, the game pits player against player as rival factions battle for global domination.

Going into early access will allow players, across the world,  to experience a true modern day action RTS – with a historical nod to the original games that defined the genre – allowing them to shape and define the game; from game modes to maps and units. The game is being developed by Canadian developers Blackbird Interactive. Maurice Grela (Game Designer) said community and player feedback was a key element on how they wanted the game to shape up. “RTS gamers know what they want and what a modern-day game should deliver. Who better to make sure that we are in synch?

“We are offering all fans of the genre the chance to be involved in how we grow the game. We have some great features and game modes to reveal to you over the next months and look to add a wealth of content as we enter early access”.

The developers have also unveiled a roadmap outlining all the upcoming activities ahead of the early access launch, including a new third faction.

Players who would like to get into the action can do so by signing up for the chance to join the Technical Test where they have the opportunity to choose from one of two factions – Blacklist or Global Risk – along with the respective commander. They’ll then be able to battle it out across two very diverse maps in either 1v1 or 3v3 multiplayer.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a brand new trailer teasing the upcoming game and giving players a sneak-peak of the characters and action.
Watch the trailer here

For more information including sign up for a chance to participate in the Technical Test please visit :
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072190/Crossfire_Legion/

Logos, assets, screens and more can be downloaded here:

About Smilegate  smilegate.com

Smilegate is a global gaming company that owns global game IPs, including the world’s No.1 online FPS game ‘CROSSFIRE’, blockbuster hack & slash MMORPG ‘Lost Ark’, and mobile turn-based RPG ‘Epic Seven’. With roots in game development, Smilegate now also provides game publishing and investment business and is expanding as a global company with regional offices in the US, China, Southeast Asia and Europe. Its flagship IP, ‘CROSSFIRE,’ is one of the largest and most successful franchises in gaming history, with more than 670 million registered users to date and over 8 million concurrent players globally.

About Blackbird Interactive blackbirdinteractive.com
Blackbird Interactive is an independent game development studio – headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia – dedicated to creating world-class, immersive, compelling and stylish interactive experiences. We are committed to building engaging gameplay, telling amazing stories, and delivering uncompromising quality to all of our customers. The company was founded in 2007 and became operational in 2010. The founders are a team of experienced video game industry veterans including senior EA staff and founders of Relic Entertainment.

About Prime Matter primematter.gg

Headquartered in Munich, Prime Matter is a premium gaming label dedicated to delivering a range of immersive and diverse games from amazing gaming development talent all around the globe.

Working across projects of all styles, scopes and sizes, from distribution, to publishing, from ambitious indies taking their first step that need full support without compromising their dream, to larger established studios searching that next step in the global market and building of brands.

Prime Matter looks to lead through creativity, expression and passion, with games that will grip and enchant with enthralling story-telling, winning an audience with its incredible moments and larger-than-life experiences.

Military Gaming Charity Stack Up Sets New Annual $1 Million Fundraising Record in 2021

LOS ANGELES – 19 Jan 2022 — Stack Up, the 501(c)3 military charity dedicated to supporting US and Allied Veterans’ mental health through gaming and working to end the epidemic of veteran suicide, announces a new fundraising record of $1,204,343 in 2021, the charity’s first time breaking the $1 million mark in cash donations and crossing the seven-figure milestone.

Stack Up set a new record for the second consecutive year, setting a previous high of $942,038 in 2020. The real heroes came from the Twitch and Facebook Gaming streaming community, with veteran-allied livestreamers raising over $810,000 over the course of 2021. The streamer community also helped set this goal by generously exceeding Stack Up’s $50,000 goal during the remote Call to Arms Live event over Veterans Day weekend in 2021.

Cash and in-kind contributions support active duty and recuperating service members in the United States and allied nation militaries, through the proven therapeutic benefits of gaming. Stack Up’s first initiative, still going strong to this day, provides Supply Crates, video game care packages containing games, systems, and accessories, to provide much-needed respite and interaction with friends and family.

With more events returning to in-person experiences, Stack Up will continue its Air Assaults thanks to these contributions, providing all-inclusive trips enabling veterans to attend pop culture and video game events. These opportunities create long-lasting memories and friendships, connect people with similar interests, and let those who attend know that they are not alone.

Funds also go toward supporting the Stack Up Overwatch Program (StOP), which provides round-the-clock mental health support from trained crisis management volunteers for those who deal with PTSD, depression, and emotional distress. StOP earned a 2019 Newman’s Own award for its efforts in supporting the military community and a grant from the Centers for Disease Control.

“It’s easy to keep track of fundraising, and we’re proud of our numbers, but we can’t forget that this is about the people we’re helping. Our Overwatch program alone had over 430 interactions with veterans in need, almost three times as many as we had in 2020,” said Stephen Machuga, Executive Director, Stack Up. “We couldn’t have gotten there without our amazing team, as well as all the incredible fans believing in what we’re doing for veterans who donate to Stack Up year over year! But if you think this is great news, wait until you see what we’ve got in store for 2022 with our new effort, codenamed the ‘PHALANX Project’!” 

To learn more about Stack Up, please visit their website at www.stackup.org. To donate directly to Stack Up, please visit Stack Up’s Donation page.

About Stack Up

Founded in 2015, Stack Up brings both veterans and civilians together through a shared love of video gaming. Through programs such as The Stacks, Supply Crates, Air Assaults and the Stack Up Overwatch Program (StOP), Stack Up has helped more than 36,000 U.S. and Allied military service members get through deployments to combat zones and recover from traumatic physical and emotional injuries through the power of video gaming.

Watch the latest Dying 2 Know More episode for a special interview about parkour and plenty of surprising new details

Wrocław, Poland — 19 January 2022 — Today, Techland released the latest Dying 2 Know More video, diving even deeper into one of the core game mechanics of Dying Light 2 Stay Human—parkour! In this special interview with Lead Game Designer Tymon Smektała, viewers learn more about the parkour mechanics, in-game gravity, how to make a game close to reality—but not too close!—and why this realism is important for the player experience. 

The new episode of Dying 2 Know More is available now on YouTube, and check out the final episode of Dying 2 Know alongside a new gameplay trailer, “The Reason”.

The world premiere of Dying Light 2 Stay Human is just around the corner, so don’t miss any episode of the Dying 2 Know web series (all available here) and if you’re Dying 2 Know More, go further behind the scenes with more episodes of exclusive interviews.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human, published by Techland, launches on 4 February 2022 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch (Cloud Version).

Pre-orders are available via dyinglightgame.com/preorder. All pre-orders will come with the exclusive digital Reload Packand Reach for the Sky Pack, featuring unique outfits, weapons, backpack and paraglider skins. Reach for the Sky Pack, was created in collaboration with Rosario Dawson (The Mandalorian, Sin City), who plays Lawan, a key character whose fate connects with main protagonist Aiden during his journey.

Band together with fellow survivors on Discord, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Media and content creators are invited to join the Dying Light 2 Stay Human press center at dl2.dyinglightgame.com/press-center/.

###

About Dying Light 2 Stay Human

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is a story-driven open-world action role-playing game, a sequel to the critically acclaimed Dying Light published in 2015, which has been played by over twenty million people all over the world. This time players are visiting the City – mankind’s last stronghold in the fight against the virus. Developed parkour mechanics enable players to explore the vast open world and master tactical combat. This lost civilization, a world set in the modern dark ages, requires creative approaches to finding items and crafting gear. Gameplay shifts during a day and night cycle, so players can dare to plunder abandoned lairs of infected at night and discover the dark secrets of those in power by day. Players must choose which side they want to take and write their own story.

About Techland

Founded in 1991 in Poland, Techland is a renowned independent game developer and distributor for all leading platforms, including PC, Sony PlayStation, and the Xbox family of devices. Techland is best known for the original Dead Island games, the Call of Juarez series, and the Dying Light franchise, a global phenomenon played by over 20 million unique players to date. To top that, Techland’s experienced teams allow the developer to work on two of its own AAA titles at the same time. Comprising over 400 professionals across three offices in Poland, the company is committed to delivering unforgettable experiences and using the latest technology for innovative entertainment, which includes the proprietary C-Engine. For more information about the company itself, visit the official website at: www.techland.net.

All product titles, publisher names, trademarks, artwork, and associated imagery are trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or copyright material of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Happy New Year! The New Year is a time to reflect and today we thought it would be appropriate to look back at last year’s inaugural DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour event for a snapshot of what DRAGON BALL gamers and fans can expect for this year’s event.

This year’s DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour 2022 event will be packed with even more news on the best the DRAGON BALL franchisehas to offer, including exciting updates on manga, animation, video games, and action figures.

Now, jump on your Nimbus Cloud and fly over to watch the DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour look-back trailer:

DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour 2022, an online event broadcast around the world (certain countries and regions excluded),will be held over two days with the support of SHUEISHA Inc. and TOEI ANIMATION Co. LTD. In the Americas, the event hours are as follows:

–  Day 1: 2/18 (Fri) 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM EST / 2/18 (Fri) 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM PST

–  Day 2: 2/19 (Sat) 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST/ 2/19 (Sat) 9:00 AM PST – 5:00 PM PST

*Date and time subject to change

For more on DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour 2022, please visit: https://dbgbh.bn-ent.net/en or join the conversation on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/db_eventpj

Gearing up for Beta testing in February

Rotterdam, The Netherlands – 18 January 2022 – Recently, SOEDESCO announced their collaboration with Australian developer Pixel Heart Studio to publish Zelda-inspired pixel-art adventure Airoheart. Today, SOEDESCO reveals the new key art for the game, which depicts a rich and vibrant open world filled with adventure waiting to be explored. Samuel North, solo developer of Pixel Heart Studio, describes the key art as ‘an outstanding portrayal of Airoheart’s personality and features, as well as a beautiful rendition of the game world and its inhabitants’.  

With a new logo, SOEDESCO and Pixel Heart Studio aims to convey the story of Airoheart’s fantasy adventure and combat game better. As a top-down puzzle-platformer with classic real-time combat, Airoheart is packed with fully animated story scenes. 

Visit the ‘Airoheart’ game page: https://www.soedesco.com/games/airoheart

Closed Beta in February 
Pixel Heart Studio will launch the Closed Beta on February 24, allowing select Kickstarter backers and handpicked players to gain access to an early version of the game and share their thoughts directly with the developer. Players can learn more about the Closed Beta on the Airoheart Kickstarter page. 

About Airoheart
Airoheart is a top-down story based, puzzle platformer with classic real-time combat, crafted in a nostalgic 16-bit pixel art style. Embark on a quest to save Engard and encounter strange and fascinating characters, with unique and interweaving stories. Conquer dungeons and bosses each with their own theme and ever increasing difficulty. Can you save Engard from this dark and sinister plot?

Features

• Explore a huge hand-crafted open world pixel art puzzle platformer
• Engage in real-time combat action inspired by classics
• Experience fully choreographed and animated story scenes
• Embark on quests in this homage to classic top-down adventure games

About SOEDESCO®
SOEDESCO is an independent video game developer, publisher and distributor founded in 2002 with its headquarters in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We create interactive entertainment for a large and diverse community to enjoy.

At SOEDESCO we strive to bring fun and engaging gaming experiences to a worldwide audience. Our portfolio consists of titles such as Monster Crown, Saint Kotar, Kaze and the Wild Masks, Owlboy, Among the Sleep and Monstrum as well as original SOEDESCO IPs including Truck Driver®, Adam’s Venture®, Real Farm and Dollhouse.

Next-Generation Games Technology Studio Mythical Adds Command Streaming Entertainment Platform to its Portfolio

LOS ANGELES – Jan. 18, 2022 – Mythical Games, a leader in the growing play-to-earn gaming industry, today announced its acquisition of Polystream, whose interactive streaming platform transforms how real-time 3D content is streamed at scale. Polystream’s breakthrough technology seamlessly delivers everything required for outstanding interactive 3D consumer entertainment, enabling gamers and non-gamers alike to instantly engage with the content they love, without the need for massive game client downloads. The acquisition follows Mythical’s Series C raise in November 2021 of $150m at a $1.25b valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz, and the announcement of the first developer partners signed to the Mythical Platform.

Leveraging the Polystream cloud-native infrastructure as well as its own proprietary economic engine, Mythical aims to decentralize how game publishing works and more fully bridge the gap between blockchain and mainstream gaming. Through Polystream’s “extended reality” technology, games and content become more accessible to all players across more devices and platforms. In early tests with Mythical’s Blankos Block Party game, a full 4GB game client was reduced to a 5MB PC client and downloaded in a matter of seconds. This technology not only enables more players on more devices to nearly instantly enjoy the game, it also ensures the game is always current without needing any additional updates when content changes.

“Over the last few years Mythical has grown to one of the largest gaming communities utilizing player-owned economies in video games. With this growth, we have seen increasing interest every month from non-traditional gamers and consumers wanting to be in immersive 3D game worlds. This new player demographic is not always the same as the ‘hardcore gamers’ we have seen before in PC and console, but very much want to interact and transact in these worlds,” said John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games. “I believe the combination of the Mythical Platform and Polystream’s revolutionary approach to command streaming fulfills massive components of the web3 ideology referred to as the ‘Metaverse’. Mythical now has not only the economic engine but a proprietary, patented streaming tech stack to deliver these incredible 3D worlds in a matter of seconds across nearly any platform. In addition, Polystream’s technology delivers this experience on CPU cloud hardware, allowing us to scale faster, and at a fraction of the cost of cloud streaming platforms.”

Polystream’s headquarters in Guildford UK will provide Mythical with a European hub that will become the epicenter for cloud-native, blockchain-based technology and games, and Polystream co-founders Bruce Grove and Adam Billyard will become part of the senior leadership team. 

“Our mission, from day one, was to disrupt everything we know about cloud native gaming. I can’t express how excited I am today that now, as part of Mythical Games, our platform will bridge the gap between blockchain-based technology and millions of consumers, bringing the benefits of NFT gaming to an even larger stage via accessible mass-market games,” said Bruce Grove, co-founder and CEO of Polystream. “We’ve been following Mythical for a long time, and they share our vision of a metaverse that not only hands ownership of IP back to the creators and the users, but importantly, makes it fun. I’m so proud of all my team for never giving up on building the impossible, and we can’t wait to start working with our new friends and colleagues at Mythical.” 

The acquisition of Polystream brings the total number of Mythical employees to over 200, and the company, named one of Inc.’s 2021 Best Places to Work, is continuing to hire for roles globally. For a listing of open positions, please visit: mythicalgames.com/careers. 

About Mythical Games

Acknowledged by Forbes’ Disruptive Technology Companies To Watch in 2019 and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2021, Mythical is a next-generation games technology company creating a universal gaming ecosystem by leveraging blockchain technology and playable NFTs for tools that enable players, creators, artists, brands and game developers to become stakeholders and owners in new play-to-earn game economies. 

Led by gaming industry veterans, the team specializes in building games around player-owned economies and has helped develop major franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, Marvel Strike Force and Skylanders. 

The Mythical Platform is built on an EVM-compatible sidechain using a Proof of Authority consensus model that is more environmentally friendly and sustainable than the Proof of Work model. Minting NFTs and integrating the Marketplace via the Mythical Platform do not require any mining or cryptocurrency to operate, or for players to participate.

Mythical is a registered trademark, and Mythical Games and Mythical Marketplace are trademarks of Mythical, Inc. All other marks are the trademarks of their respective owners.

About Polystream

Amazing experiences at unimaginable scale, Polystream is the ONLY platform making the metaverse real. Our breakthrough Web 3.0 command streaming technology instantly delivers everything required for outstanding 3D consumer entertainment experiences and unprecedented business productivity.

Founded in 2015 and based in Guildford UK (the “Hollywood of Games”) Polystream is a team of ambitious disruptors, led by pioneers in graphics and cloud technologies, Bruce Grove and Adam Billyard; formally Sun Microsystems, Dell XPS, OnLive, Renderware, Criterion Games, and EA.

Polystream’s metaverse is the successor to the modern internet; an interoperable virtual experience that seamlessly knits together incredibly immersive games, interactive apps and NFTs, and synchronously social experiences that are delivered instantly to new communities around the world. We want to positively connect people to each other in ways never before imagined. www.Polystream.com

Krakow, Poland — January 18, 2022  Video game publisher All in! Games and development studio The Farm 51 are pleased to announce that Monster Hunt, the first of many free content updates for Chernobylite is available on consoles. The paid weapon skin pack, Autumn Dread will also be available on Xbox from January 18th and on PlayStation from January 25th. In addition, console players will be able to update Chernobylite with a ‘mega patch’ that improves the Black Stalker’s mechanics, based on player feedback, as well as other fixes and tweaks.

Monster Hunt adds three new monster types to the deadly array of challenges waiting for you in the Zone, the toughest you’ll encounter yet. Each monster comes with its own unique abilities, so you’ll need to be prepared if you want to survive.

Before hunting down the novel monsters, console players will be able to deck out their gear in the eerie Autumn Dread weapon skin pack to add some style to their combat for just $3.99/€3.99/£3.29.

More information about Chernobylite can be found via the official Website, Steam, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Discord.

About Chernobylite
Chernobylite is a science-fiction survival horror RPG, set in the hyper-realistic, 3D-scanned recreation of Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone. You’ll take on the role of Igor, a physicist and ex-employee of the Chernobyl Power Plant, returning to Pripyat to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his fiancee, 30 years prior. Compete with a hostile military presence and other stalkers, face supernatural creatures as well as a harsh and unforgiving environment in your search to uncover the truth. Get ready for a thrilling adventure of survival, conspiracy, horror, love, and obsession. Will you survive your fears?

About All in! Games

All in! Games is a publicly traded video game publishing and production house based in Krakow, Poland. Founded in 2018, the team creates and supports local and international games for PC and consoles. All in! Games’ portfolio features titles such as Chernobylite (The Farm 51), Paradise Lost (PolyAmorous), Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms (Gamera Interactive), Tools Up! (The Knights of Unity), and many more. For more information, visit: https://www.allingames.com/