An exclusive Seeker vehicle skin is available for those who take part in the beta, and signups are open right now ahead of the first weekend. An exclusive one-of-a-kind artwork can also be won by those who share their content from the game.
Cambridge, UK – Tuesday, 20th July 2021 – Publisher Digital Matters and developer Redcatpig have revealed that their new high-octane vehicle combat game KEO is kicking off the first of three consecutive Steam open beta weekends on 24th July. Each weekend will feature its own game mode for players to drive, fight, and survive in with a number of vehicles and devastating customisable weaponry.
Players who sign up for the beta will not only get access to the exclusive Seeker skin for use in the full game on release, but those who share content from the beta using the hashtag #KEOCraze will also be in with the chance of winning a unique artwork from the team at Redcatpig. This will be signed by the developers and sent to the winner as the ultimate prize for KEO players.
See the newest KEO trailer down below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HSsx43-mw
Key features of KEO:
Heart-pumping vehicle-to-vehicle combat: Put pedal to the metal to blast through opponents and secure victory, whether you’re a casual cruiser or a hardened gamer
Three fierce game modes: Deathmatch, Domination, and Racing await those who are brave enough to enter the battlefield
Expand and upgrade: From weapons to cosmetics, each vehicle can be personalised and upgraded to deliver flair and ferocity
Multiple vehicles: There are many war machines of all shapes and sizes to utilise on the battlefield, varying in abilities, speed, armour, and more
KEO will welcome players when it launches into Steam Early Access later this year, but players can sign up for the beta right now at this link. The full game will release in September 2021, and a brand new trailer showcases what players can expect from KEO.
About KEO:
KEO is a thrilling, fast-paced game of multiplayer vehicle combat for players of all ages and skill levels, with a variety of game modes to suit every taste. Decades after a nuclear apocalypse, what remains of humanity creates a new sport, battling with Radio Controlled Vehicles for control of essential resources. Players choose from one of nine vehicles, each with a wide selection of offensive and defensive weapons, and then enter the arena to fight for survival!
About Redcatpig:
Redcatpig is a team of passionate gamers that embarked on a journey to make their own games, located in Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal. For more information about Redcatpig go to this link.
About Digital Matters Publishing:
Digital Matters Publishing is a highly experienced and talented team of award-winning publishers who have curated some of the world’s biggest gaming and entertainment brands. Headquartered in the UK with offices across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, Digital Matters Publishing is seeking passionate developers, looking to bring their visions to life across all platforms and territories through their creative excellence and unparalleled reach.
JOIN THE PARTY AND TEAM UP IN A CLASH OF UNIVERSES, IN TOM CLANCY’S XDEFIANT
Sign up today to get the latest updates on Tom Clancy’s XDefiant
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — July 20, 2021 — Today, Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, an upcoming free-to-play FPS blending fast-paced 6-v-6 arena combat with faction-based abilities. XDefiant will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, PlayStation®5 and PlayStation®4, as well as on Stadia, Luna and Ubisoft Connect, with full crossplay expected at launch. Players can register now at www.playxdefiant.com to get the latest news, updates and a chance to play in early tests. The initial test begins August 5, and players are encouraged to sign up quickly for a chance to play first.* Additional tests are planned for this summer.
During the past 21 years, the Tom Clancy universe has become a major part of Ubisoft’s history and a reference for tactical shooters and immersive universes. Ubisoft is proud to announce the expansion of the Tom Clancy universe with a game that will let all the fans play with – and against – some of the most recognizable maverick groups from across fan-favorite franchises.
Developed by Ubisoft San Francisco and led by seasoned FPS expert Mark Rubin (Executive Producer) and Ubisoft San Francisco veteran Jason Schroeder (Creative Director), XDefiant brings players an all-new experience to Tom Clancy games. Factions, and the characters – Defiants – that make them up, are all inspired by Tom Clancy games and beyond. Whether players are looking to play competitively or casually, Tom Clancy’s XDefiant is sure to bring a thrilling experience for all. For those seeking an early look at the game, register now at playxdefiant.com for a chance to play early. The first test begins August 5, and players are encouraged to sign up quickly for a chance to play first.*
XDefiant, a Ubisoft Original, is Ubisoft’s newest take on a competitive FPS that offers players a high-octane gameplay experience, combining fluid and visceral combat with unprecedented freedom and personalization. XDefiant will immerse players at the forefront of the Tom Clancy universe at iconic locations in the throes of technicolor chaos, with a mix of indoor and outdoor maps, ensuring smooth gameplay and unpredictable engagements.
Additional features include:
Personalised Playstyle: Players can personalise their Defiant to match their playstyle. Players can choose a faction, traits, abilities, and ultras, then select from an arsenal of primary and secondary weapons, attachments, and a device to complete their loadout – and even tweak it on the fly (after respawning) to adapt to an ever-changing battlefield.
Competitive Clashes: XDefiant offers a variety of competitive 6-v-6 arena and linear game modes, such as Domination and Escort. Combine that with a large pool of uniquely designed maps in rotation and no two matches will feel the same.
Diverse Factions of Defiants: XDefiant will initially feature factions such as the Wolves (Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon), the Echelon (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell) and the Outcasts and Cleaners (Tom Clancy’s The Division) battling across iconic locations. Additional Defiants will be added as the game evolves, drawing on a range of characters and abilities from the Tom Clancy universe … and beyond.
Game modes: XDefiant will have a variety of game modes to match players’ unique playstyles and allow them to channel their team-based, competitive nature. Players can choose competitive modes like Team Deathmatch or Domination, as well as linear modes such as Escort.
Players can go to www.playxdefiant.com to register for upcoming news, information and game tests (the first test begins August 5*)
* August 5 test only available for PC in the United States and Canda. Additional tests will be available later this year.
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: www.ubisoftgroup.com.
NETMARBLE LAUNCHES FIRST CHAPTER OF ‘RAGNAROK’ –AN ORIGINAL AND GRANDIOSE CONTINUATION OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: GRAND CROSS VIDEO GAME
New Story Chapter Equivalent to One Full Anime Season; Experience the World of Midgard inspired by Norse Mythology and Collect All-New Original Heroes
LOS ANGELES – JULY 19, 2021 – Fans of The Seven Deadly Sins IP eager to see the continuation of Meliodas and The Seven Deadly Sins are in luck as Netmarble is thrilled to announce that ‘Ragnarok.’- an all-new continuing story for its cinematic adventure role-playing game (RPG) The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross for the App Store and Google Play– is now live as a substantial in-game update for players to experience. To celebrate, Netmarble is gifting all players 100x Diamonds alongside 1x SSR [Warrior of Justice] Wanderer Thonar hero, and a full costume set for Wanderer Thonar.
‘Ragnarok’ is a wholly-original story made exclusively for The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, and it is an ambitious and grandiose content update that expands the fan-favorite lore of The Seven Deadly Sins, while introducing new and diverse gameplay elements for experienced players. Players can look forward to the first chapter of the ‘Ragnarok’ story, which is equivalent to a full season of The Seven Deadly Sins anime. Additional updates, including all-new story Chapters, stunning Ragnarok characters, and more, will be added continuously for the game.
The story of ‘Ragnarok’ starts when Meliodas happens upon a forgotten library and discovers a book titled ‘Legends of Yggdrasil’ where he, along with the rest of The Seven Deadly Sins, are transported to the world of Midgard, a world nearing its end due to a three-year winter foretold by prophecy. New adventures await as Meliodas meets new Heroes from Norse mythology, explores an all-new world, and conquers dangerous dungeons to become even stronger.
Players can look forward to the following at launch:
Chapter 1 of ‘Ragnarok Story’ – Experience the first part of Netmarble’s wholly-original storytelling that is equivalent of one full anime season. New chapter updates will introduce new Ragnarok heroes, related content, and new gameplay elements. Further details on chapters will be shared at a later date.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Ragnarok Exclusive Heroes – An all-new set of original Heroes are now available to collect. These include SSR [Wielder of Gram] Prince Sigurd, SSR [Ragnarok] Lostvayne Meliodas, and [Warrior of Justice] Wanderer Thonar among others.
World Tree Tower / Grimnirs Book
In World Tree Tower, players can conquer an all-new dungeon based on the world of Ragnarok and farm for upgrade materials in this new area.
The all-new Grimnir’s Book allows players to learn more about the world of Ragnarok, its setting, and other facts about the world. Each update will add new content players can check to learn even more.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross translates the storytelling and adventures of [The Seven Deadly Sins] into a highly engaging and entertaining mobile gaming experience, featuring stunning, high-resolution 3D graphics, with more than 150 characters, 200 costumes, and 200 dramatic cutscenes. The game is brought to life with the cast of the original Japanese voice actors reprising their characters. Since its launch in March 2020, the game surpassed 30 million cumulative downloads in a year across the world.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross is now available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, please visit the game’s official website and Facebook.
Based on the manga “Nanatsu no Taizai” by Nakaba Suzuki originally serialized in the weekly SHONEN MAGAZINE published by Kodansha Ltd.
Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a top developer and publisher pushing the boundaries of the mobile gaming experience with highly innovative games including Lineage 2: Revolution, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Blade & Soul Revolution and MARVEL Future Fight. As a parent company of Kabam, and a major shareholder of Jam City and HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), Netmarble strives to entertain audiences around the world with a variety of mobile games based on its powerful franchises and collaborations with IP holders worldwide. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com.
BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT INC. INVITES PLAYERS TO JUMP OFF THE COUCH AND INTO ACTIVE LIFE OUTDOOR CHALLENGE
Switch-exclusive Title to Bring a Suite of Real-life Exercise-based Games and Activities on September 3, 2021
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (July 19, 2021) – Leading video game publisher and developer BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced that ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge will release for Nintendo Switch on September 3, 2021, and will be available exclusively at Target stores and Target.com in the United States. Originally released for the Nintendo Wii, ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge returns to invite players to engage in real-life exercises while completing a variety of fun, family-friendly mini-games.
Featuring 16 games in total with activities ranging from river rafting to log jumping, ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge provides a fun fitness experience great for players of all skill levels to enjoy together. Players can expect to work up a sweat with the game’s simple, yet unique controls, which feature a pack-in Leg Strap that uses the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con to measure players’ movements. ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge detects a wide variety of players’ activities, including running, jumping, squatting and stomping, through the left Joy-Con, which is inserted into the Leg Strap and worn on the left leg. The player will also hold the right Joy-Con in their right hand to measure the arm’s accompanying movements.
ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge comes with two Leg Straps, and those with two sets of Joy-Cons can enjoy competitive and cooperative minigames with their families and friends in Multiplayer mode. Each minigame lasts between one to three minutes, and with the vibrant and colorful animations, players can bring the outdoors inside for an engaging and active gameplay experience.
“ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge consists of a unique, heart-pumping set of minigames, making it the perfect customizable workout for families of all ages,” said Summer Nguyen, Associate Brand Manager at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “Players can expect an immersive workout experience by turning in-game movements into real-world exercises which are a fun, safe, and easy way to stay active and moving!”
ACTIVE LIFE Outdoor Challenge will be available for Nintendo Switch on September 3, 2021. To learn more about the game’s exclusive availability through Target in the United States, please visit: https://www.target.com/p/-/A-83498615. For information on other products from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS, or join the conversation on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS.
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About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major video game consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including PAC-MAN®, GALAGA®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, and ACE COMBAT®. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. is the premier publisher in the Western hemisphere for anime based video games including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL Z®, and ONE PIECE®. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS
Developer Poised To Cancel Golf Club: Wasteland for Public Sale | Lists One-off “My Ticket Outta Here” Edition for $500 Million Instead
Demagog Studio founder intends to sell the game to one “stinking rich” individual to fund his own escape from Earth
19 July 2021, Warsaw Poland + Belgrade, Serbia | Indie game publisher Untold Tales is sad to announce that Golf Club: Wasteland, the apocalypse themed golf game set around the story of the ultra-rich fleeing to Mars, will potentially no longer be available to the general public.
With just a month before release and on the eve of yet another tech billionaire friting himself into space, Demagog Studio creative director Igor Simic has had a “wake up call”. He wants to pull the sale of his game from the public and instead sell it to one extravagantly rich individual. The sale is intended to help Simic secure his own ticket off Earth before the “inevitable climate, financial and political apocalypse comes for the rest of us plebs.”
Golf Club: Wasteland started off as pure satire. The ultra-rich playing golf on the remains of civilization after initially fleeing to Mars as Earth crumbled thanks to consumerism, climate disaster and Silicon Valley-fuelled greed. Well, now I’m not laughing anymore. These rocket obsessed billionaires like Musk, Bezos and Branson are already packing their designer bags, so it’s time I sorted out my own ticket off this doomed planet. – Igor Simic, Demagog Studio Founder
The one-off edition of Golf Club: Wasteland, titled My Ticket Outta Here Edition by Simic, will be priced at around $ 500 million* and will be made exclusively available to one buyer.
“Since tickets for a recent 12 or so minute private space flight went for $28 million a pop, I’m hoping $500 million should be enough to at least get me a cheap seat next to the toilets for the final Mars flight. I’ve been told the price also needs to be adequate enough so that the potential buyer can reassuringly brag about it to their friends and Forbes Magazine.”
“To further secure the game’s value and exclusivity, I’ve decided to put this one-off version of the game entirely on floppy disks. This method will also allow me to use a custom formatting and copying process that so inefficiently uses computing power, it takes around 7 months to copy data onto one disk. This will help maximise the amount of environmental damage my video game can do, since I heard that’s also really important.“
As the publisher of the game, Untold Tales is still contractually obligated to deliver this version of the game to the market. “With floppy disks having a capacity of around 1.44mb each, the buyer of Golf Club: Wasteland should expect to get a canvas nylon duffel bag with around 750 plastic disks. I’ll see if we can put in a free t-shirt too. – Greg Pauper, Marketing Intern, Untold Tales.
The publisher also stated that all other currently existing versions of the game will be deleted, buried in a New Mexico landfill, or reprogrammed to run on Linux, thus ensuring nobody else will ever play it.
When asked how the rest of the Demagog team felt about their collective work being used to benefit only one person, someone from HR (who assured us they were not Igor) robotically responded with: “At Demagog, we are a family and feel we are in this all together, no matter what. The reward is the work itself and knowing we achieved something great, as a family. Also please don’t try to unionize.”
For any parties interested in purchasing this edition, please contact Untold Tales via their website with the subject line “I have more money than sense”
Publisher donating $5,000 to Save the Children, Colombia
Walnut Creek, Calif. (July 19, 2021) – Modus Games today announced that their Games Giving Back initiative, which sees the label celebrating new game releases with charitable donations, will continue with Cris Tales. The game’s July 20 release will align with a $5,000 donation to Save the Children, Colombia.
Save the Children, Colombia helps to protect the children of Colombia from violence, malnutrition, and displacement. According to the charity, “…Colombia has the largest number of displaced people in the world, an alarming 7.3 million. The number of families and children in Colombia in need has only grown since August 2017 when violence and a severe lack of food and medicine forced millions of neighboring Venezuelan families to cross the border into Colombia.” Learn more about Save the Children, Colombia here: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/colombia
Cris Tales is developed by the Colombian studio Dreams Uncorporated and is based heavily in Colombian heritage and iconography. The game’s release, which coincides with Colombian Independence Day, will be aligned with the donation to Save the Children, Colombia – a charity that Modus Games CEO Christina Seelye is incredibly passionate about.
“Save the Children, Colombia is an incredible organization that does amazing work,” Seelye said. “With so many children in Colombia being displaced or living under the threat of armed violence every day, any donation that we can make to help is something that we consider extremely important. We couldn’t be prouder to have Save the Children, Colombia as a partner in this endeavor.”
Cris Tales launches tomorrow on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Stadia. To learn more about the game, visit www.cristalesgame.com, join Modus’ Discord channel (modus.games/discord), and follow Modus on Twitter (@Modus_Games).
About Modus Games Modus Games is one of the fastest-growing video game publishers in the world. The label prides itself on providing AAA publishing services to talented independent developers across the globe. For more information, visit www.modusgames.com.
About SYCK With gameplay, art or mechanics, a team of artists, geeks and pirates are creating delightfully enjoyable experiences to bring a smile to the child inside all of us.
About Dreams Uncorporated Dreams Uncorporated is a game studio focused on using innovative gameplay and art style to tell stories that reach the world. Inspired by the art that raised us, we’re bringing our dreams into reality and sharing them through experiences never seen before.
Award-Winning Graphic Novel Publisher to Launch Multiple Tabletop RPGs Based on Original IPs and Classic Properties
ST. LOUIS, MO (JULY 19, 2021) — Acclaimed publisher of graphic novels and art books, Magnetic Press, (a Polarity-owned company) today announced the formation of “Magnetic Press Play,” a new imprint focused on tabletop games and transmedia properties. The first project to launch under the company’s banner will be Carbon Grey, an original Tabletop Role-Playing Game based on the popular graphic novel series by Hoang Nguyen and originally published by Image Comics. Other projects in the works include games and supplements based on popular licenses such as Chaosium’s Call Of Cthulhu and several beloved anime series. More details on these, and additional projects, will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Tabletop gaming is all about creating new stories through gameplay, and it’s the kind of experience I’ve wanted to return to since leaving a 20-year career in video games,” said Mike Kennedy, Founder and Publisher of Magnetic Press Play. “We’ve put an incredible amount of time and effort into creating a tabletop company and putting together our product lineup, and it’s exciting to finally pull back the curtain on them!”
Magnetic’s first project under the new imprint is also the first to capitalize on their licensing partnership with the well-known game publishing house, West End Games, best known for their D6 System role-playing ruleset. This ruleset served as the core for several top-selling (and beloved to this day) licensed tabletop RPGs, including the original Star Wars and Ghostbusters RPGs, and will serve as the foundation of Carbon Grey’s gameplay mechanics.
“We’re very excited to work with Magnetic Press Play on their lineup of D6 System-based titles,” said Steve Wieck for West End Games and Nocturnal Media. “We’re honored that they chose West End Game’s time-tested system as the core of Carbon Grey and their other planned titles and can’t wait to see the results when it hits tables.”
Magnetic Press Play’s first title, Carbon Grey, sets players in a unique alternate history reminiscent of World War I-era Europe, but with fantastic dieselpunk technologies and elements of the paranormal. In the game, players will explore a war-torn universe filled with mystery, prophecy, and intrigue. The sourcebook is being written and overseen by game designer and graphic novelist Andrew E.C. Gaska, an ENnie and UKGE award winner for his work on the recent Alien RPG from Free League and the lead writer of the Terminator RPG from Nightfall Games.
Other titles coming from Magnetic Press Play include a series of expansions for Chaosium’s popular RPG Call of Cthulhu that will make use of Magnetic Press’s background in the graphic novel marketplace, as well as games based on various anime and manga licenses.
More info about Magnetic Press Play is available on Facebook, Twitter, and the official website.
About Magnetic Press Play An imprint of the award-winning publishing house Magnetic Press, LLC, Magnetic Press Play seeks to bring interactive experiences to their library of award-winning graphic novels, art books, and periodicals, with a focus on tabletop gaming and new media.
Magnetic Press Play, founded and led by entertainment, comics, and game industry veteran Mike Kennedy (Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Electronic Arts, Activision, and others), brings several decades of experience and expertise to each and every project. Currently announced projects and properties include Carbon Grey, based on the Image Comics series by Hoang Nguyen, and an official expansion to Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu role-playing universe.
About Polarity David Steward II’s Polarity is a diversified global media company with a mission to bring authentic content to a diverse global audience. To create a richer content experience and offering, the company believes in the value of embracing diversity and highlighting previously unheard voices, as well as new and emerging views and voices. In addition to Magnetic Press, the Polarity portfolio also includes Lion Forge Animation, Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group, and Illustrated Syndicate.
With broad operations in animation, publishing and general media, Polarity has established itself as an impactful force in the entertainment industry. Steward II has been putting resources behind his vision of expanding the market for comics and comic-related pop culture to new age groups and demographics since the early 2010s, building a portfolio of titles and imprints that feature characters and creators from a wide variety of backgrounds. He’s extended that vision and ethic to the larger media landscape with an organization that can orchestrate content development, production, financing and distribution across different channels.
CD PROJEKT RED announces that Thanedd Coup — the next expansion for GWENT: The Witcher Card Game — is coming for free to PC, Apple M1 Macs, iOS, and Android.
Releasing on August 3rd, Thanedd Coup will introduce 26 new cards to GWENT — 4 cards of different rarities per faction and 2 neutrals — offering fresh tactics and tricks for players to utilize during battle. It will also continue the storyline of the Price of Power expansion set — this time revolving around the Thanedd Coup itself; a deadly clash between mages of Nilfgaard and mages of the North which occurred during a conclave held on Thanedd Island.
Watch the Thanedd Coup Expansion Teaser
Thanedd Coup is the second installment of the three-part expansion set titled Price of Power. In anticipation of the upcoming release, players can take advantage of the Price of Power Expansion Pass offer — which features a set of vanities, including the exclusive Pyre coin, as well as instant access to all premium Price of Power cards from each of the set’s expansions as they’re made available. More details on the Expansion Pass can be found by checking out the in-game store, as well as the official Price of Power website.
GWENT: The Witcher Card Game is available for free on PC via GOG.COM and Steam, Apple M1 Macs running macOS, as well as on Android and iOS. For more information on GWENT, visit playgwent.com.
About GWENT: The Witcher Card Game
In GWENT: The Witcher Card Game, gamers clash with their friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction. The game is played over a best-of-three series of rounds, as players unleash their hand by slinging spells and diverse units with special abilities, and use clever tricks to deceive their opponents.
About CD PROJEKT RED CD PROJEKT RED is a game development studio founded in 2002. It develops and publishes video games for personal computers and video game consoles. The studio’s flagship titles include The Witcher series of games, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, GWENT: The Witcher Card Game and the futuristic AAA role-playing game — Cyberpunk 2077. Together with GOG.COM, a game store offering hand-picked titles for PC and Mac, CD PROJEKT RED is part of the CD PROJEKT Capital Group. CD PROJEKT S.A. is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (ISIN: PLOPTTC00011).
Stockholm, 19 July 2021: Leading global esports platform Challengermode will be the home of this year’s “PSL Elisa Esports PUBG Autumn Showdown” as well as the “Winter Challenge” – organized by PUBG Finland. This partnership will provide all PUBG players with the opportunity to compete in high-level tournaments and win prize money, with Challengermode’s streamlined and automated tournament solution enabling PUBG Finland staff to focus on their high level event production.
PSL will be hosting tournaments on Challengermode’s platform with prizes of 500 EUR every week. Each tournament will consist of a massive open qualifier on day 1, where the best teams advance into the second day to win a share of the prize pool. The top 4 teams each week will also qualify for a special Monthly Final with a larger prizepool of 1000 EUR up for grabs. All matches will be played with the SUPER scoring system with which PUBG players are familiar.
Winners of the Monthly Finals will also secure a spot in PSL Season 10, where the best EMEA-teams will compete for a 15 000 EUR prize pool over seven rounds of non-stop PUBG action. Any players engaging with PSL through the Challengermode platform will also be able to unlock even more competitions to compete in weekly subscriber-only tournaments that boast their own prize pools, and guarantee top-level competition.
Phil Hubner, CBDO of Challengermode: “Tournaments like the PSL Elisa Esports PUBG Autumn Showdown & Winter Challenge are at the very heart of what Challengermode supports as a business. The grassroots and amateur levels of competition in the esports space are the industry’s lifeblood, and giving players the opportunity to play in a professional environment and compete for prizes is essential to its growth and continued success. It has been rewarding to see our platform’s automation and scalability be put to the best possible use with PUBG Finland, as it helps them make esports more accessible to all.”
Matti Korvenmaa, Development Manager at PUBG Finland: “PUBG Finland and PSL have always been about creating new opportunities and finding optimal ways of exploring them. When we saw Challengermode’s latest developments on their platform, we immediately knew that they have taken technological leadership amongst PUBG esport platforms. They enable us to do things which simply were not possible for us before. For tournament organizers they provide unmatched features together with important high level support for our staff, which can now focus on core elements of our operations instead of technical details.”
Contenders can sign-up on the Challengermode platform, with the first round taking place today. All Weekly tournament finals and monthly finals will be broadcast. Challengermode will also be hosting the PSL Elisa Esports PUBG Winter Challenge, beginning on 27/09/2021, with a winner being crowned on 06/11/2021.
About Challengermode
Challengermode is a Swedish technology company founded in 2014, with the mission to make esports truly accessible for gamers. Today we’re building a platform that provides the fundamental online esports infrastructure for all relevant stakeholders within the ecosystem. With 2.5billion people world-wide playing computer games and hundreds of millions of people watching professional esports tournaments monthly, Challengermode’s platform – which has hosted millions of competitions – is becoming the place for regular gamers to congregate, practice or compete in esports. Our best-in-class tech automates complex tournament infrastructure through game integrations and allows gamers to easily play in competitions, tournaments and leagues across any device or console, while enabling community building and monetization at scale for organizers of all kinds.
When I was a kid, I lived off of syndication and months of on and off cable. My parents were a lot older than the other kids’ parents, so most of my entertainment was their idea of what “entertainment” should be in terms of cartoons and media in general. I guess that is why I was kind of handed Looney Tunes. It was safe, attractive to youth and adults alike, and something we could all kind of bond over. As I grew up, I could probably recite most of the shorts by heart. My favorite character was Sylvester. Oh, and I learned how to draw and attempt paper flip-book animation because I was so inspired by the characters within this wacky universe.
In the era of Nicktoons that were edgy, spin-off products that were meta and made fun of everything your parents liked (like Tiny Toons and Animaniacs), and teenage animation such as Beevis and Butthead, Looney Tunes were the neutral choice. It was kind of a medium that most consumed daily, but didn’t fully discuss outright because it was old hat, even for its time. Then came Space Jam. This little movie had several characters from Looney Tunes partner with Michael Jordan to take on a team of evil aliens in a basketball game. It was such a wild concept, but despite critical ire – it worked, and Bugs, Daffy, Fudd, and all the rest went through one of the biggest resurgences of popularity in modern history. A then sixty-year-old cartoon was revitalized for a new generation. Kids who didn’t know about basketball got hooked on the sport, and kids who never gave the old toon the time of day began to watch as Nickelodeon and several other networks picked up the classics. There were backpacks, toys, and so on just for this film, and forgotten characters were now at the forefront of television yet again – only to fade away as interest waned due to overexposure.
I personally don’t think I have thought about sitting down and watching Looney Tunes for a revisit as it feels like something I have yet to yearn for in terms of nostalgia. Sure, I loved the show, but there is only so many times you can watch Bugs Bunny before you just grow tired of the same shtick and routine. All these years later, Warner Bros. brought out Space Jam: A New Legacy. The concept of the film is about the same, but with a heavier focus on references and celebration of Warner Bros. In general. Add in Labron James, who basically fills the Michael Jordan role this time around, a silly plot about bonding with his son – and you have a sequel that no one really asked for but got anyway. It is a film with rather innocent intentions, attempting to appeal to a modern audience so Looney Tunes can basically make lightning strike twice. I remember rumors of this sequel since the first released, so seeing it finally come to be after twenty-five years wasn’t really surprising.
Before I can really make my point on why I am even writing about something like Space Jam: A New Legacy, I want to take a moment to share my thoughts on the film and get that out of the way.
Space Jam 2 is silly, overstuffed, and sometimes confusing. There is a lot of fun to be had by seeing so many old faces and I even got nostalgic at times with this little cartoon cast that I watched religiously in the 90’s. That said, the movie is long. Like, way too long, and seems to be that length so it can both carry a plot for two full hours and pack in as many references to the Warner Bros. Universe in order to make up for the heart it seems to lack. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is fun and I liked it more than I thought I would. I just wish there was a bit more care applied in many parts to make it stand toe to toe with the first flick. Space Jam was great because it managed to find an odd balance of chaos and warmth. The addition of Jordan was well done as it managed to address his career while telling a story that was accessible enough for kids to understand. The sequel really tries hard to do this as well, but gets in its own way too often with forced gags that kind of ruin the overall flow and consistency of the film.
I don’t know Lebron all too well as I don’t follow the sport anymore, but he does well enough here. Cheadle makes a great antagonist, and even though his role is a bit nonsensical (even for Looney Tunes), you can see that the creators went in with well enough intentions, so it is hard to label A New Legacy as a complete waste of time. Again, I do not know who it really will appeal to in this generation, but it is one of those like it or leave it flicks that I am sure will find an audience somewhere. Also, I am old and think that soundtrack was awful. I kind of summed it up after watching as “eh, it wasn’t my thing but it was fun”. That is really all there is to say critically about this sequel as it’s hard to review something serious when you go in knowing that it isn’t really applying for your own critique.
That is really my whole issue with the existence of Space Jam: A New Legacy. Instead of just letting it be, A New Legacy now seems to have taken the role of the awkward kid on the playground, and has become this universal target on all of social media and news outlets alike. The biggest thing to change since the first film is undoubtedly the very machine that the sequel gets most of its plot from. The internet, or cyber “space”- if you will. Everyone is a critic, and everyone has something to say, whether they know the product or not. I am not saying that people online can’t have a voice, but do we need to really hate this movie that much? I was in a store earlier, and one of the cashiers was asking how this movie was to a co-worker, and the conversation went something like this:
Cashier 1: “Yo, you see the new Space Jam? Heard it sucked!”
Cashier 2: “Yeah man, it was so bad”
Cashier 1: ”Was Rick and Morty at least cool”
Cashier 2: “Nah, the whole thing was bad, reviewers hated it!”
Innocent enough, right? Go onto Youtube and watch the trailer for the movie. Go ahead.
Now go back, and enjoy an algorithm of content that shows around fifty to a hundred men in their late twenties to early thirties in thumbnails with the logo, all putting their hands in their face, acting as if these two hours of time somehow robbed them of oxygen. The reaction is just so cringe. Before anyone states it, no I am not trying to police the internet and I do not care about people having opinions, but A New Legacy is a fine example of why this generation is so terrible and sharing thought that can be taken seriously. What makes things even more ugly is that major publications basically do the same exact thing to quickly draw views as they now compete for views and sponsorship on the same platform, so you have everyone basically bullying a cartoon into submission at once. Even people who did like it utilize the same formula, forming their headlines as a question like “Did Space Jam 2 Suck?”, with a thumbnail that sports a crying Bugs Bunny. These people are being paid to do this. Audiences are viewing all of it.
The issue is not the movie as much as it is what modern “reviewers” consider to be a review. Long ago, reviews used to be a great way to tell someone your own opinion of something, providing a general synopsis of a product with a bit of a personal touch added in so you could share an experience with someone. Now, the concept seems to be to get a click, lean as if you are promoting negativity towards said product, and basically regurgitate the same bit of information that everyone else is parroting on social media. Like it or not, these people have obtained a platform, and they use it in such a negative way, when that negativity is on full display and so impressionable to others. I remember when I was on the playground as a kid, I would always want to play Power Rangers. Well, the world one day decided it was time for me to grow up, and older kids began to make fun of my backpack, my clothes, and any other branded item I owned so I eventually just stopped sharing my own likes and opted to just nod my head and act like I enjoyed the same things everyone else did. That sucked. Considering how big Youtube is with kids, I couldn’t imagine the hatred a kid donning a Looney Tunes sticker on their folder would get, all from just the reaction of this movie.
I can name so many other video games, celebrities, and so on that get this same treatment constantly online. Remember Rebecca Black? She made a song that people hated so much that they universally put their care of the Japanese earthquake on hold to mock a 13-year-old girl. What about Sonic? Who here can go freely into a game store and say they love Sonic without having to pick and choose the parts of the franchise they like in order to simply validate their own opinion, mainly because someone like AdventureBob32 made a meme in his video that said it sucks? Social media allows everyone to have a voice, and it is great for that. Youtube and other video platforms allow normal people like you and me to create accessible content for an audience so our voice is louder. Instead of creating intelligent conversation that provokes thought and answers, people who are old and intelligent enough to know better are basically making careers out of pasting negative garbage that attempts to be objective and true, despite the fact that comes out as drivel.
Everything these content creators are putting out right now about Space Jam’s sequel are exactly what they are making fun of. Videos full of (unrelated) memes and clips, attempting to tear a movie apart without providing any history or context of why they actually hated the film. You say you hate the movie, great! Now tell me why without cursing like you’re twelve, and provide meaningful feedback to the creator with the intention of seeing better movies made in the future. That is what a review should be, and there are a very small group of people who manage to execute this well enough to stand out from the crowd. Is your personal touch you add negativity and foul language because you’re edgy? Great, be mad and stay mad about a movie as that kind of attitude can be entertaining, but educate and inform your audience well enough for them to understand why, so they can then take that opinion away and create thoughtful conversations elsewhere.
I am leaning into my mid-thirties now, and I have written here at Capsule for over ten years. One thing I have learned over time is that a product you review isn’t yours. It belongs to someone else, and your ability to have a platform to voice that opinion it should be valued as it is technically a privilege. I get that a hot topic can make for a lot of views and hits, and the attention and extra revenue you make off it is nice, but can we ease up on the mob mentality when it comes to clicks and hits and simply just share thoughts without stapling the same streams of text together in the same way? Our platform is important. We have the power to potential create positive change across multiple industries. Years ago, an “angry” reviewer spent five minutes bitching about a mediocre game from a publisher, and he did it in a childish manner that was repeated by hundreds of other channels. He got slapped with a copyright claim by the publisher, then made a video of himself whining about freedom – when he just made thousands making a mockery of someone else’s creation. Entitlement is a strong thing.
At the end of the day, I am not going to think too much about Space Jam 2 as I didn’t like it enough to care. I did get a bit of youthful wonder however thinking about my old Looney Tune friends from my childhood, and really hate the idea that they are doomed to the same fate of the Star Wars Prequels/Sequels, with everyone bound to continue the mockery for what will be years to come, all because the same set of content creators and publications utilized their opportunity to share such empty thoughts on multiple platforms. Clickbait is so tiresome anymore, and Space Jam, Looney Tunes, Star Wars, and so on don’t suck, our execution of how we share opinions does, and we need to change that. If we don’t, we are doomed to continue to get the very content we create – entertainment full of references, one-note jokes, and a cringy thumbnails that we then vomit back up to continue the cycle, because that is what gets views and makes money.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is a product of its own critics. Enjoy your creations and the many more that are to follow, but don’t forget to like, subscribe, and ring that bell for even more content in the future.
