The Petfinder Foundation, Dog Shelter Sim To The Rescue! Celebrate National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day with Official Charity Partnership

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – 30 April, 2021 – To The Rescue!, the heartfelt dog shelter management sim from developer Little Rock Games and publisher Freedom Games, celebrates National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day today by announcing its official charity companion, The Petfinder Foundation.

Help dogs find their forever homes in the virtual world and real-life alike with To the Rescue!. This sim follows the journey of one dog lover’s mission to open a shelter, care for canines, and unite man’s best friend with loving new families. In addition to enjoying this uplifting adventure, every purchase of the game will benefit the efforts of the organizations and animals who inspired this tale, as Little Rock Games will be donating 20% of the title’s profits to The Petfinder Foundation.

The Petfinder Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that gives grants to shelters and rescue groups across North America to increase the effectiveness of animal adoption programs. These critical practices are also reflected in To The Rescue!, where volunteers will get to know the pups’ personalities and individual needs and use this invaluable information to make matches that will last a lifetime.

In addition to meeting with prospective new dog moms and dads and playing with the puppers, life as a volunteer in To The Rescue! spans the full shelter experience, from feeding hungry mouths and managing medication to behind-the-scenes efforts like financing the operation.   

“When we chose the charity partner for our game we wanted to make sure our donation would have the biggest impact possible,” said Olivia Dunlap, co-founder, Little Rock Games. “We’re proud to partner with the Petfinder Foundation and are overjoyed that To The Rescue! will have a tangible impact both raising awareness of animal shelters and helping fund their amazing efforts.

To The Rescue! launches Q3 2021 on Nintendo Switch and Steam via Windows PC and Mac for $19.99.

For more information about To The Rescue!, please visit the official Little Rock Games website and join the community on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Little Rock Games

Little Rock Games is a community-based tabletop game development studio with To The Rescue! Being its first digital video game title. Focusing on making humane games that emphasize local, ethical, and impactful elements, the studio aims to raise awareness of professions and social issues as well as donating profits to organizations whose work is relevant to the subject material in their games.

To learn more, visit the official Little Rock Games website.

About Freedom Games

Freedom Games is a publisher dedicated to offering best-in-class services to partners and providing players around the world with unique and memorable experiences. With over 50 years of combined industry experience at the executive level, Freedom Games seeks to leverage its expertise to facilitate great games and even better publishing experiences.

For more information, visit the official Freedom Games website.

NEW PUBLISHING PLATFORM FOR BITCOIN NFT-COMPATIBLE GAMES LAUNCHES LATER THIS YEAR

Alicante, Spain, April 30, 2021 – Satoshi’s Games has announced that the long-awaited, first-ever NFT marketplace for games based on Bitcoin, Elixir, is now available. The marketplace utilizes the latest technology from the Liquid sidechain, Lightning Network, IPFS and L-SAT to replicate the behavior of NFTs and crypto-collectibles through Bitcoin.

Elixir is live ahead of the launch of a dedicated publishing platform for NFT-compatible games due to the Light Nite community’s request for a system to trade the tokenized in-game gear they acquire from the battle royale third person shooter. The publishing platform will be available later this year. The NFT marketplace may be found at http://market.elixir.app.

Take a look at Elixir’s magic in motion with the trailer below:

“The NFTs in our titles aren’t just collectibles,” explains Carlos Roldan at Satoshi’s Games. “We want our players to have greater control and ownership of their in-game items while still being able to use them on the digital battlefield.”

Satoshi’s Games’ Light Nite allows players to collect bitcoin just to stack sats or to obtain in-game gear that’s been tokenized with Liquid (a Bitcoin sidechain). NFTs may be earned while playing, purchased or traded in the Elixir marketplace. Users can also withdraw NFTs to their own wallet if they prefer to custody them. 

The Elixir marketplace will eventually become part of Satoshi’s Games’ greater Elixir publishing platform, due out later this year. The platform will allow any developer to publish games with features such as bitcoin Micro-Rewards and Asset Tokenization. These features have already been implemented in Light Nite, meaning fans of the title already have access to the marketplace.  

For more information about Elixir and Satoshi’s Games, please follow us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, join our Discord, or visit our website.

About Satoshi’s Games
Founded in 2018, Satoshi’s Games is pioneering the micro-reward gaming industry by creating games and gaming platforms, enabling a new level of interaction between gamers and developers. Bitcoin micropayments, tokenized items and improved security will give users greater confidence to manage their assets and empower developers/publishers to offer consumers higher value.

About Elixir
Elixir is the first Bitcoin native platform for game distribution. Since the presentation of the first lightning-based micro-rewards gaming platform in 2018 as a proof of concept, Satoshis Games has been working to offer the game developer industry a place where any studio can easily integrate bitcoin-based rewards and tokenization, and safely distribute their products to the gaming community. This multi-genre platform will also provide users with a framework to intuitively manage their sat balance and tokenized gear for all of their games in a single place.

About Light Nite
Light Nite is a multiplayer  battle royale third-person shooter title with in-game bitcoin rewards and a beautiful, minimalistic and cartoonish design. Bitcoin microtransactions add a new level of interaction, as players can earn bitcoin instantly when they shoot opponents and withdraw balances whenever they wish. All in-game items have a real value that players can gift or trade, allowing them to feel in control of their gaming world.

In-Game Character and Content Pack Co-Designed by Decorated Army Combat Medic, with Net Proceeds Going towards Veteran Employment; Goal is to place 5,800 Veterans through Campaign

Activision Blizzard Donating $1 for Every Player Who Revives Five Teammates in Call of Duty®: Warzone

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – April 30, 2021 – In celebration of Military Appreciation Month, the Call of Duty Endowment today announced the #CODEMedicalHeroes campaign to honor veteran medics and hospital corpsmen and to bring attention to the difficulties that they face finding jobs in the civilian healthcare industry. Through a series of Call of Duty®: Warzone™ in-game activations, exclusive content packs, and partnerships beginning today and throughout the month of May, the #CODEMedicalHeroes campaign aims to raise a total of $3 million to fund veteran employment efforts, placing over 5,800 veterans into jobs.

The centerpiece of the campaign is the Call of Duty Endowment Battle Doc Pack, now available in both Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone. All of Activision’s net proceeds for the pack will go to the Endowment. The pack features a brand-new Operator Skin created in partnership with Army Veteran Combat Medic Timothy Hobbs Jr., an avid Call of Duty player who the Endowment helped place into a high-quality job through our grantee Still Serving Veterans. Sergeant First Class Timothy Hobbs was deployed on four combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and on one humanitarian mission in Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

“The Call of Duty Endowment is dedicated to unlocking the value that veterans can bring to the civilian workforce,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “Unemployment and underemployment have often hit veterans hard, even more so during the ongoing pandemic, and we want to support our amazing partners who work tirelessly transitioning former service members into meaningful employment.”

“The #CODEMedicalHeroes campaign will reach a wide audience of Call of Duty players through in-game activations and a new content pack, all to raise awareness and honor our veteran medics and hospital corpsmen,” said Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. “Veterans bring incredible value to the workforce, and we want to do our part to help find them high-quality jobs.”

#CODEMedicalHeroes will also honor medical servicemembers in-game through the Revival Challenge in Call of Duty: Warzone. From now until May 9, players who revive five people while playing Warzone will unlock a unique Call of Duty Endowment calling card. If one million players complete the challenge, a double-XP Day will be given to all Call of Duty: Warzone players. Additionally, Activision Blizzard will donate $1 to the Endowment for each player that completes the challenge, up to $1 million.

“There is a disconnect for transitioning medical servicemembers. Many highly qualified veterans are being left out of the hiring process because they lack the proper civilian certifications, but I hope we can change that,” said Timothy Hobbs Jr. “As a success story and a believer in the Call of Duty Endowment, I applaud the work the Endowment is doing for the medical servicemember community to help them address this growing issue.”

Pilot Company, one of the largest operators of travel centers in North America and a key supporter of the Endowment, continued to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to veteran employment by donating $100,000 in honor of Military Appreciation Month. Their contribution will fund the placement almost 200 veterans into high-quality jobs.

The Call of Duty Endowment has funded the placement of more than 81,000 veterans into high-quality employment since its inception and aims to place 100,000 veterans into meaningful jobs by 2024. The Endowment’s 2020 cost to place a veteran was $515, providing employment at about 1/6 the cost of US Department of Labor efforts.

To help get veterans back to work, please visit: www.callofdutyendowment.org/help.

About the Call of Duty Endowment

The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization co-founded by Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. The Endowment seeks to help veterans find high-quality careers by supporting groups that prepare them for the job market and by raising awareness of the value vets bring to the workplace. For more information about the Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.

© 2021 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, WARZONE and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

Ahoy Pathfinders! Today ATLAS delivered the long awaited Trade Winds function, along with Platform Saddles, new tameable creatures and Modular Ship Railings. So Pirates its time to put the wind to your back, raise the main sails and discover new horizons!

Watch the Trade Winds Update trailer

ATLAS has been changed forever with the introduction of Trade Winds, predictable trade routes around the map which provide ships with a major wind boost when traveling along the wind’s trajectory. Even the most veteran of captains will need to learn a few techniques to master these new travel corridors and fully utilize their strategic potential. Maps have been altered to accommodate these new windy routes, as well as provide new strategic zones and opportunities for satisfying engagement.

Next, ride in style on the Platform Saddle while laying waste to your enemies! Platform Saddles can now be placed on the Elephant, Crab, and Grand Tortuga, allowing these giant tames to load up with cannons, torpedoes and other armaments to wreak maximum havoc on your foes.

Three fearsome creatures are now ready to be tamed: The Crocodile, the Yeti, and the Spider. Each creature comes with its own unique set of useful characteristics and will be available with the update, but engage at your own risk.

Modular Ship Railings are the first part in a series of customizations for the Modular Ships system! This first set of interchangeable railings allows pathfinders to pick and choose their best loadout choice before each voyage. Need extra firepower? Slap on a few cannons. Going to do some salvaging? Add the diving board or cargo railing. It’s all up to you.

ATLAS is an early access game with lots of changes happening as the game evolves! The full changelog for this week can be found HERE: playatlas.com/index.php?/atlas-news/news/patch-52410-trade-winds-major-update-r413/

With this update comes a fresh wipe of the game servers, so its a great time to jump back in to play. For those still yearning to be a pirate, ATLAS is now on sale for 50% off on Steam until May 5th at 10AM PST.

ATLAS pirates will stake their claim in this vast open world while endeavoring to construct custom ships, search for buried treasure, siege and conquer fortresses, plunder traveling merchants, then recruit a crew to join their powerful Armada and engage in the ultimate quest for fortune and glory! ATLAS has full cross-platform support, allowing Xbox and Steam PC players to battle together in the same gigantic world.

For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS, keep yer one good eye trained on this here information:

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New screens, price and launch discount info also made available

Sydney, Australia – Friday 30 April 2021, 22:00 AEST: Koch Media and Black Eye Games have confirmed the launch date for Siege Survival: Gloria Victis – Tuesday 18 of May. The game will be available on Steam, Epic and GOG with a RRP of $35.95 AUD with a launch discount of 20% off for the first week.

The medieval survival management strategy game tells the story of how a humble band of civilians, trapped by a besieging army in the small keep of the city, attempts to keep the last defending troops equipped – and the survivors alive – as they wait for a desperately needed relief force to end their suffering. Build your base, craft supplies, scavenge the fallen city for resources and carefully manage your survivors to keep them alive and able to support the last remaining troops standing between you and the invading barbarians.

There’s also a recently updated, fully playable demo that allows users to experience the first seven days of the campaign available on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1167140/Siege_Survival_Gloria_Victis/

There are three core elements to the game:

• Crafting & resource management: You need better weapons, a roof over your head, hot food and all the other trappings that just existing entail; and the only way you’ll get these is if you and your team craft them. But resources are scarce and you’ll need to manage them wisely to make it through in one piece.
• Scavenging: Venturing out from the safety of your keep, you have to explore the ransacked city at night to collect raw materials, abandoned goods and weapons that you need to survive and hold out long enough for the reinforcements to arrive. Unlock new routes to various districts of the city, recruit more survivors and avoid enemy soldiers patrolling at night. If you don’t make it back by dawn, you’re as good as dead.
• Surviving the siege: Defending what’s left of your city are a few tired troops in dire need of arrows, weapons and armour; along with treatment for the wounded. You need to keep this squad supplied and supported in every way possible ahead of their battles every few days; otherwise the enemy will storm the keep. Although you don’t participate in the fighting directly, the fate of the city lies in your hands.

All this is woven into a grim narrative with numerous moral dilemmas, forcing the player to regularly make tough decisions as they scavenge the city of Edring and desperately try to save it and themselves from impending doom. Sustain the troops or keep the civilians alive? Only the player can decide.

Siege Survival: Gloria Victis will be published on Koch Media’s Ravenscourt label: www.ravenscourt.games

About Black Eye Games

Founded in 2012, Black Eye Games are a team of developers based in Lublin in Poland, releasing their first title – the MMORPG Gloria Victis – in June 2016. Originally created remotely and “after hours” by an independent team of 7 developers with no initial budget, the game sold hundreds of thousands of copies since launch and has continued to expand its community and player base year after year.

About Koch Media

The Koch Media Group is a global developer, publisher and distributor of video games, VR games, gaming hardware and merchandise.

The group’s publishing activities, marketing and distribution extend throughout Europe, America, Australia and Asia. Koch Media has more than 25 years of experience in the digital media business and has risen to become a leading global publishing partner. The Koch Media Group runs a multi-label strategy with fully owned publishing units such as Deep Silver, Milestone, Vertigo Games and Ravenscourt which publish games for consoles, PC and VR platforms across all physical and digital channels.

Additionally, as global publishing partner Koch Media has formed long-term multi-national publishing collaborations with numerous game publishers including Bethesda, Capcom, Codemasters, Konami, Koei Tecmo, Sega, Square Enix, Warner Bros and many others. With its parent company in Höfen, Austria, and the Publishing HQ in Munich, Germany, Koch Media owns local publishing companies in Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, the United States as well as Japan and Hong Kong.

The Koch Media Group owns seven game development studios: Deep Silver Volition (Champaign, IL / USA), Deep Silver Dambuster Studios (Nottingham / UK), Deep Silver Fishlabs (Hamburg / Germany), Warhorse Studios (Prague / Czech Republic), Milestone (Milan / Italy), Voxler (Paris / France) and Vertigo Games (Rotterdam /The Netherlands). Additionally, the Koch Media Group collaborates with numerous independent development studios around the world.  

Part of the Koch Media Group is also Koch Films, a European independent film distributor with business primarily in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy as a cinema, TV, online and Home Entertainment distributor. The Koch Media Group also owns Gaya Entertainment, a leading video game merchandise company in Munich, Germany, and the Quality Assurance Facility in Olomouc, Czech Republic.

Koch Media is an Embracer Group company.

A new Hot Wheels Unleashed™ gameplay video unveils the second environment: the Skyscraper

Don’t look down…if you’re afraid of heights!

Mattel and Milestone released today a new Hot Wheels Unleashed™ gameplay trailer unveiling its second stunning environment, the Skyscraper.

After revealing the rusty and dark Garage, with its underground mood, it is now time to have a look at this new environment where verticality becomes the protagonist. Set in a construction site, Skyscraper will include tracks set on three different floors of the building under construction, with areas that will definitely test players’ fear of heights.

The new gameplay video also unveiled six new vehicles out of the 60+ plus vehicles available on day 1. The new six revealed are: Bump Around™, Mountain Mauler™, Sandivore™, Boom Car™, Buns of Steel™, Fast Gassin™ and Motosaurus™.

Hot Wheels Unleashed offers players the opportunity to drive the cars as if they were playing with the die-cast toys. The gameplay includes adrenaline-filled races, an extended choice of Hot Wheels vehicles with different attributes and rarity levels that players can customise with different skins, and jaw-dropping tracks set in everyday-life locations with special track pieces and interactive items. The game also features a revolutionary Track Editor enabling players to customise tracks in any game environment and share them with the game’s community.

For more information and where to pre-order, visithotwheelsunleashed.com. Drivers can also join the #HotWheelsUnleashed conversation online at Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

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About Milestone

Founded in Milan in 1996, Milestone S.r.l. is one of the leading and longest established racing game developers in the world.  The 200+ people team is responsible for hit series like MotoGP™, MXGP and Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame, as well as RIDE and Gravel, Milestone’s own IPs.

For more information please visit  www.milestone.it

About Mattel

Mattel is a leading global toy company and owner of one of the strongest catalogs of children’s and family entertainment franchises in the world. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play. We engage consumers through our portfolio of iconic brands, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends™, UNO® and MEGA®, as well as other popular intellectual properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include film and television content, gaming, music and live events. We operate in 35 locations and our products are available in more than 150 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and e-commerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering children to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Triple Rewards in Motor Wars All Month Long Plus Get Double Rewards This Week on Bunker Sell Missions and the Bunker Series, Exclusive Bonuses, and More

Gunrunning: The time-honored occupation of choice for those in Southern San Andreas with aspirations of upward mobility combined with an insatiable appetite for investing in military grade weapon and vehicle technology. Arms trafficking veterans and aspiring weapons entrepreneurs alike can reap the benefits of this highly lucrative industry all month long in GTA Online — with a cavalcade of bonus rewards and special discounts beginning this week.

If you have yet to launch your Gunrunning business, Maze Bank Foreclosures is kicking things off proper this week with a 50% off discount on all Bunker properties, the essential subterranean installation required to get your enterprise up and running. For those who have already established their underground base of operations, there’s also half-off on all Bunker Upgrades and Modifications.

So whether you’re the type who likes to amass a stockpile like a militarized dragon perched atop its hoard, or someone who enjoys competitive skirmishes like Motor Wars and the Bunker Series Adversary Modes, or you simply prefer the armored comforts of heavy machinery, suit up in your favorite sweat-stained camo because this week and the weeks to come are for you.

3X GTA$ and RP on Motor Wars until June 2nd

Paradrop into a red-hot landing zone with nothing to your name but a pistol and survive by scavenging for weapons and vehicles and pulp anyone standing in your way. Motor Wars — that pulse-pounding dress rehearsal for an aerial invasion — is doling out 3X GTA$ and RP to all fearless competitors, all month long. 

2X GTA$ and RP on Bunker Series

If you would rather fight it out in the halls of an underground lair or in the underbelly of Mt. Chiliad, be our guest: subterranean versions of Every Bullet Counts, Juggernaut, Slasher, Kill Quota and more are dishing out double GTA$ and RP to all comers as part of the Bunker Series.

2X GTA$ and RP on Bunker Sell Missions

Does your cup overflow? Are the storage shelves in your Bunker jam-packed with supplies? If so, it might be time to offload. Successfully moving stock around the map in Bunker Sell Missions will yield a doubled payday of both GTA$ and RP for the next seven days.

Free Hawk & Little Hoodie for Bunker Owners

All players and aspiring warlords who purchase a Bunker this week (including those who have previously made the investment in one) will receive the Black Hawk & Little Hoodie for free next week.

Free Trees Camo Livery for Players Above Rank 100

It takes true grit to rise up the ranks — to celebrate long-time loyal players and recent albeit dedicated converts alike, GTA Online will be rewarding all players above Rank 100 with the Trees Camo Livery for the HVY APC. Claim and apply it in any Weaponized Vehicle Workshop so your transport can blend into its surroundings a tad less conspicuously. You will receive the Livery up to 72 hours after you login on May 3rd.

On the Podium This Week: Übermacht Revolter

Once you’re done delivering your contraband, stop by the lobby of The Diamond Resort & Casino: the Lucky Wheel is stocked with GTA$, RP, clothing, mystery prizes, and more. In keeping with this month’s theme, the vehicle on the podium this week is none other than the Übermacht Revolter — a sedan that looks innocent enough, unless you install a driver-operated machine gun from the Weaponized Vehicle Workshop, that is. You can always plead innocent, but we’d recommend hiring an attorney.

Discounts

Those aspiring tyrants still looking for that perfect lair can take half off the retail cost of all Bunker properties, as well as all respective Upgrades and Modifications. Elsewhere, players can take 40% off a range of vehicles, both military and otherwise, as well as a selection of futuristic weaponry. See below for the complete list:

Real Estate:

• Bunkers – 50% off
• Bunker Upgrades & Modifications – 50% off

Vehicles:

• HVY APC – 40% off
• Bravado Half-Track – 40% off
• Ocelot Ardent – 40% off
• Enus Paragon R – 40% off

Weapons:

• Widowmaker – 40% off
• Up-n-Atomizer – 40% off
• Unholy Hellbringer – 40% off

Prime Gaming Bonuses and Benefits

GTA Online players who successfully connect their Rockstar Games Social Club account with Prime Gaming will receive the Kosatka submarine’s Sonar Station for free, along with GTA$200K just for playing any time this week.

In addition, Prime Gaming members receive exclusive discounts, including 70% off the spy-friendly Dewbauchee JB 700W and Brute Armored Boxville RV, plus 35% off the Weaponized Dinghy.

To ensure access to future benefits, make sure to visit Prime Gaming and sign up.

Check Rockstar Support for details and limitations.