SPLYCE TRIUMPHS AT THE CWL GLOBAL PRO LEAGUE STAGE 1 PLAYOFFS 

All Eyes Now Focus on CWL Anaheim on June 16-18 and CWL Stage 2, Beginning June 30 

May 31, 2017 – This weekend, the culmination of weeks of thrilling Call of Duty World League competition concluded with Splyce, the lone European representative, capturing top honours for the first time on North American soil at the CWL Global Pro League Stage 1 Playoffs. Over three days, eight of the top teams from CWL Global Pro League Stage 1 battled to determine the winner in a double elimination tournament.

After all top seeds from each group fell to the Loser Bracket following Day One of competition, it was ultimately Splyce and Luminosity battling for the lion’s share of the Global Pro League Stage 1 $700,000 prize pool.

“Splyce came into the weekend as the sole representative of any teams outside of North America and they showed up in a massive way, striking early and refusing to slow down,” MLG Call of Duty play-by-play caster Chris Puckett said of the Grand Finals winner. “In the Grand Finals, it was a superstar show from all four Splyce pros – including team newcomer Trei ‘Zer0’ Morris, who captured MVP honours.”

Here are the final rankings for the CWL Stage 1 Playoffs:

• 1^st – Splyce
• 2^nd – Luminosity
• 3^rd – FaZe Clan
• 4^th – OpTic Gaming
• 5^th/6^th – eUnited
• 5^th/6^th – Enigma6
• 7^th/8^th – Evil Geniuses
• 7^th/8^th – Team EnVyUs

The top 12 teams from Stage 1 will qualify for CWL Global Pro League Stage 2, which begins June 30. Beginning June 15 and continuing through the CWL Anaheim Open (June 16 – 18), the last-place team from each group of Stage 1 will try to re-earn their spot in the CWL Global Pro League Stage 2 series via a Relegation Tournament against the top teams, based on CWL Pro Points for teams not already in the Global Pro League. One team each from APAC and Europe will join two North American teams to compete for the opportunity to play against the bottom Stage 1 teams. The top four teams from Relegation will be placed in CWL Global Pro League Stage 2. All Stage 2 teams also secure a spot in the 2017 CWL Championships, taking place in Orlando, FL., August 9 – 13.

For teams that are not participating in Stage 2, the Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) will give them the opportunity to compete for placement at the 2017 CWL Championships. Each region will have its own LCQ event, taking place as follows:

• EU: Runs July 1-3 at the Gfinity Arena in London. The top 16 teams from Europe based on CWL Pro Points will battle it out, and the top six teams from the event will go to the CWL Championships. Roster lock deadline is June 26^th. EU players can register here.
• APAC: Runs July 7-9 in Melbourne, Australia. The top 16 teams from the Asia/Pacific region based on CWL Pro Points will compete, and the top two teams will head to the CWL Championships. Roster lock deadline is June 26^th. APAC players can register here.
• NA: Set for July 25 at the MLG Arena in Columbus, Ohio, where the top 16 North American teams based on CWL Pro Points will compete for a chance to be one of the eight teams sent to the CWL Championships from this qualifier. Roster lock deadline is July 10^th. NA players can register here.

Be sure to check out https://www.callofduty.com/esports and follow @CODWorldLeague on Twitter , Instagram and Twitch for the latest CWL updates.

Call of Duty World League Presented by PlayStation®4 is proud to partner with Major League Gaming Corp. as the North American tournament operator and broadcast partner for the upcoming season.  Through MLG’s proven live streaming capabilities and technology, MLG.tv will help to deliver the CWL Pro League across mlg.tv/callofduty.

For the latest intel on the Call of Duty World League Presented by PlayStation®4 and for live broadcasts check out: http://www.callofduty.com/cwl, tv.majorleaguegaming.com/channel/cwl, www.youtube.com/majorleaguegaming.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company.  More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website,www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future including statements about the features and event timing of the CWL Global Pro League Stage 2, Relegation Tournament, 2017 CWL Championships and Last Chance Qualifiers, are forward-looking statements, that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

BIRTHDAYS THE BEGINNING NOW AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND FOR PS4, & FREE DLCS!

NIS America is proud to announce that Birthdays the Beginning is now available for the PlayStation®4  in Australia and New Zealand! The game is also available digitally on Steam® (Windows).

Two decorative DLC items, “Crashed UFO” and “Boxasaurus Rex”, will be available for free on PSN from May 17.  See below for more details! Eight additional DLC bundles and two individual DLC will be arriving soon to give all players a chance to make their world even more unique!

The game will contain in-game text in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. The Steam® version will also contain in-game text in Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. 

https://youtu.be/l7eqzvLm3Fg 

About the game:

From the legendary creator Mr. Yasuhiro Wada (TOYBOX Inc.), comes Birthdays the Beginning: a new sandbox game in which players create cube-shaped worlds that give rise to diverse and unique lifeforms. With careful experimentation, players can shape the geography and alter the temperature of each world to create the conditions for life and witness the birth of an entire ecosystem!

About the DLCs:
Crashed UFO – Give your world some intergalactic charm with this UFO crash site decoration! What other secrets does the universe hold…?

Boxasaurus Rex – Decorate your world with the most dangerous dinosaur in all of prehistory! Made out of 100% recyclable materials! The Boxasaurus Rex decorative DLC item will available free from 17 May until 24 May. After 24 May, it will no longer be available for download.

Key Features:

A World All Your Own – Create any world you can imagine! From staggering mountains and sprawling forests to a deep sea dotted with islands, there’s no limit to your creations.

Life from the Beginning – Discover the history of everything as you foster life of all shapes and sizes – from single-celled organisms to complex multicellular life, including plants, mammals, dinosaurs, and more!

Cultivate Your Imagination – Imagine, Experiment, Create! Shape your planet and decide how plant and animal life evolves. No two planets will ever be truly alike.

READY YOUR CREW AND PREPARE FOR WARP in STAR TREK^TM: BRIDGE CREW, available now

Step Aboard a Federation Starship in a New Virtual Reality Game from Ubisoft^® to Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before 

Sydney, Australia — May 31, 2017 — Today, Ubisoft^® announced that Star Trek™: Bridge Crew, the virtual reality game where players explore space as a member of Starfleet, is now available for Oculus Rift, PlayStation^®VR and HTC Vive. Developed by Red Storm Entertainment, a Ubisoft studio, under license by CBS Consumer Products, Star Trek: Bridge Crew is playable cross-platform.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew immerses fans into the Star Trek universe as they assume the role of a Starfleet officer and complete missions that will determine the fate of their ship and crew. Playable cooperatively online with a crew, or solo as Captain, Star Trek: Bridge Crew puts players and their friends directly onto the bridge of a new starship, the U.S.S. Aegis, as they are dispatched to explore an uncharted sector of space.

In addition to an engaging story campaign, Star Trek: Bridge Crew features an Ongoing Voyages mode featuring randomized missions for countless hours of solo and co-op adventures on board the U.S.S Aegis or the legendary U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, authentically recreated from Star Trek: The Original Series.

Created exclusively for VR, Star Trek: Bridge Crew utilizes the powerful sense of social presence possible through virtual reality. Through hand tracking and full-body avatars, including real-time lip-sync, players can live out their Star Trek fantasies as they operate the Starfleet ship as Captain, Engineer, Helm or Tactical. Each role is crucial to the success of the varied missions players face, and only by working together can the crew complete their objectives.

Additionally, Star Trek: Bridge Crew will include IBM Watson interactive speech and cognitive capabilities during an experimental beta period this summer. With IBM Watson, players will be able to use their voice and natural-language commands to interact with their virtual Starfleet crew members.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew marks the most recent project in virtual reality for Ubisoft, which believes in the strong potential of VR to redefine social gaming with a unique sense of reality. Ubisoft recently released Werewolves Within™ and Eagle Flight^®, and announced a VR partnership with the film company SpectreVision.

For more information about Star Trek: Bridge Crew, please visit startrekbridgecrew.com.

About CBS Consumer Products

CBS Consumer Products manages worldwide licensing and merchandising for a diverse slate of television brands and series from CBS, CBS Television Studios and CBS Television Distribution, as well as from the company’s extensive library of titles, Showtime and CBS Films. Additionally, the group oversees online sales of programming merchandise.  For more information, visit www.cbsconsumerproducts.com.

About IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing

Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world in a way more similar to humans: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.

As part of IBM’s strategy to accelerate the growth of cognitive computing, Watson is open to the world, allowing a growing community of developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to easily tap into the most advanced and diverse cognitive computing platform available today. Watson solutions are being built, used and deployed in more than 45 countries and across 20 different industries.

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/Watson and ibm.com/press/watson. Join the conversation at #ibmwatson.

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, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs. 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 2016–17 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,460 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

TM & © 2017 CBS Studios Inc. © 2017 Paramount Pictures Corp. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. Game software © 2017 Ubisoft Entertainment. Eagle Flight and Werewolves Within © 2016 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. The Eagle Flight logo, the Werewolves Within logo, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries.

WARFRAME CREATOR DIGITAL EXTREMES PARTNERS WITH TOP COW ON ORIGINAL COMIC SERIES

Get the First Exclusive Edition at TennoCon 2017 This July
LONDON, ON – May 30, 2017 – Leading up to its second annual Warframe® fan convention, TennoCon 2017, independent game developer and publisher Digital Extremes announced today it has partnered with famed indie label Top Cow Comics to create an original Warframe comic series. Based on source material from the cooperative online action game and in collaboration with the Warframe development team, the series is written by Top Cow President/COO and Writer Matt Hawkins (Think Tank, The Tithe, Aphrodite IX) and Top Cow Editor Ryan Cady. An exclusive Con edition of Issue #1 will be distributed for the first time to all TennoCon attendees for free on Saturday, July 8.

Download the Warframe comic cover and the first pages here: digitalextremesltd.box.com/s/qize4biwjp91ql3hoao4ehc5c9hl26o2

This five-issue series expands the Warframe universe with intriguing new characters and original locations, and offers an imaginative character-driven tone to Warframe players and comic book fans alike. The narrative hinges on the lone Warframe, Excalibur, who is determined to protect a blinded young girl, the last survivor of a recently destroyed village on Earth. Seasoned Tenno may even find hints to future game updates in the series not yet revealed in the Warframe universe.
“I was immediately attracted to Warframe because of its storyline,” said Top Cow President/COO and Writer Matt Hawkins. “For a writer, it’s a very fertile place to create something fresh, from the mysterious Tenno origins to the faction battles to the Grineer Queens and more. It’s a fantastic universe where I have lost many late night hours playing the game.”

When Digital Extremes sought an experienced, gamer-savvy comic book publisher that could handle the complex, evolving Warframe universe and transpose it into the comic book medium, its first stop was with Top Cow. A leading independent comic book publisher with hits ranging from original titles such as Witchblade and The Darkness, Top Cow’s keen understanding of the comic book scene and its ability to consistently recruit top level artist and writers has enabled the company to thrive and succeed for more than 25 years. Digital Extremes has worked with Top Cow on more than one occasion, creating an original comic book for the company’s original game property, Dark Sector, along with collaboration in developing the video game based on the licensed comic book hit, The Darkness II.

“Matt and his team at Top Cow understand how to handle original story material with a sense of purpose, subtlety and urgency,” said Sheldon Carter, studio head, Digital Extremes. “Their full embrace and understanding of the Warframe universe won us over and we couldn’t be prouder of this first issue.”

TennoCon attendees will have the opportunity to hear Hawkins speak in person at the TennoCon Panel, “Making of the first Warframe Comic.” While TennoCon attendees will be the first to receive the exclusive Con issue, San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic-Con attendees also have a chance to grab the Con exclusive free copy from the Top Cow booth. The Warframe comic will release to retail in October 2017.

For more information about Warframe and to download it for free on PC, Xbox One or PS4, visit the official website at warframe.com.

ABOUT TOP COW COMICS
Top Cow Productions, Inc. (http://www.topcow.com/), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The 2008 film WANTED, starring Angelina Jolie, the TNT TV series Witchblade, the Japanese anime Witchblade and the two The Darkness video games for XBOX 360 and PS3 are all based on Top Cow properties.  The company has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games, and roleplaying games.

ABOUT DIGITAL EXTREMES
Founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, Digital Extremes ranks as one of the world’s top independent video game development studios. Originating with the co-creation of Epic Games’ multi-million unit selling Unreal® franchise including Unreal, Unreal Tournament – and all its iterations – Digital Extremes went on to develop Dark Sector®, BioShock® for the PlayStation®3, the BioShock 2 multi-player campaign, and The Darkness® II. The studio reached its greatest critical and commercial success with the free-to-play action game, Warframe®, boasting a global community of more than 26 million registered players on PC, PS4™ and Xbox One. For more information about Digital Extremes, visit www.digitalextremes.com. To sign up for Warframe, visit www.warframe.com.

Riot Games Oceania partners with Twitter to Live Stream League of Legends: League of Origin esports tournament

Two days and 16 hours of live programming featuring New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland and Victorian teams to be Live Streamed Globally

SYDNEY, May 31, 2017 — Twitter today announced that it has partnered with leading videogame publisher, and eSports tournament organiser Riot Games Oceania to live stream the inaugural League of Legends: League of Origin tournament globally on Twitter and connected devices.

Taking place June 3-4 from the ESL Studios in Sydney, Australia, League of Legends: League of Origin will feature an array of esports stars representing New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. They will clash head-on for two days of intense League of Legends matches, where only one region can emerge victorious. Regions will be piloted by an affiliated caster, who have each selected a coach and team to represent their turf, with the most stellar Oceanic Pro League (OPL) and Oceanic Challenger Series (OCS) players their region has to offer.

“Esports is growing at a rapid pace in Australia and globally, and this partnership is a great way to tap into the engaged audience of gamers that are already using Twitter as a primary source of content,” said Olly Wilton, Head of Sports at Twitter Australia. “By partnering with leading esports competitions like League of Origin, we look forward to bringing the best of esports live video and conversation together on Twitter.”

“Twitter is one of the most engaging platforms for fans of the OPL and OCS esports leagues, so it made sense to team up for League of Origin,” said Daniel Ringland, Head of Esports at Riot Games Oceania. “The livestream on Twitter will be a shortcut for fans in Oceania and around the world, as they can both watch and engage on the platform at the same time.”

To celebrate the inaugural League of Legends: League of Origin, Twitter is also launching  special tournament emojis. Users can Tweet with #LoLOrigin or one of the team hashtags (#NSWWIN, #NZWIN, #QLDWIN and #VICWIN) to add a custom emoji automatically to their Tweets.

The live content on Twitter, which is set to begin on June 3, will be available globally at Leagueoflegends.twitter.com.

About Twitter
Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) is what’s happening in the world and what people are talking about right now. On Twitter, live comes to life as conversations unfold, showing you all sides of the story. From breaking news and entertainment to sports, politics and everyday interests, when things happen in the world, they happen first on Twitter. Twitter is available in more than 40 languages around the world. The service can be accessed at twitter.com, on a variety of mobile devices and via SMS. For more information, visit about.twitter.com or follow @twitter. For information on how to download the Twitter and Periscope apps, visit twitter.com/download and periscope.tv.

About Riot Games
Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. Riot’s mission is to be the most player-focused company in the world.

About League of Legends
League of Legends is a fast-paced & skill based competitive online game. Two teams of powerful champions, each with a unique design and play-style, battle head-to-head across multiple battlefields and game modes. With an ever-expanding roster of champions, frequent updates and a thriving tournament scene, League of Legends offers endless replayability for players of every skill level. Over 100 million people globally play every month.

About Oceanic Pro League (OPL) and Oceanic Challenger Series (OCS)
Esports is the highest level of competitive League of Legends play: professional competition on a global scale. The Oceanic Pro League (OPL) is the League of Legends professional esports league in Oceania and features the top eight teams in the region. The Oceanic Challenger Series (OCS) feeds into the OPL and features the next best eight Oceania semi-pro teams.

WIRED PRODUCTIONS LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVE STORE WITH VICTOR VRAN: OVERKILL EDITION FEATURING MOTÖRHEAD and The town of light Collector’s Editions

Exclusive Motörhead Merchandise & Inspiring Photo Books Star in New Collector’s Editions 

Watford, U.K – May 30, 2017 – Wired Productions, an independent videogames publisher is pleased to announce the launch of its online store to support the launches of Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, developed by Haemimont Games and The Town of Light, developed by LKA.it.  The collector’s editions for each game will be available on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows.

As part of its commitment to its development partners and fans alike, the online store will offer exclusive collectors editions which go beyond traditional initiatives, with more content, incredible value and unique offerings, including specially created extremely limited edition products.

The Wired Productions Store launches today alongside the Victor Vran: Overkill Edition Collector’s Edition featuring Motörhead, a must have for any dedicated Action RPG fan and Motörheadbanger, containing officially licensed merchandise and exclusive Motörhead Through the Ages goodness. Additionally, the exclusive The Town of Light Collector’s Edition, provides a never before seen glimpse at the development of a reality based adventure game and a photographic extravaganza of the world which inspired it. Both collector’s editions will be available for shipping to worldwide locations.

Click here to visit the new Wired Productions Store

Leo Zullo, Managing Director, Wired Productions commented, “Providing a broad support structure for our development partners has been key to our strong and lasting relationships – this next step is designed to further that offering. Providing our fans an exciting opportunity to get closer to the titles they love, furthering our support to developers and supporting, not competing with, our retail partners is key.”

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition features brand new content and complete with visual enhancements alongside outstanding performance at 60fps. Two new content expansions included in the Overkill Edition, are the ethereal Fractured Worlds, a challenging and empowering new chapter in the story of Victor Vran, and Motörhead: Through the Ages – a wild, heavy metal adventure inspired by, officially endorsed and starring the loudest band in the world.

Based on extensive research and inspired by real facts, The Town of Light is played through the fictional eyes of Renée, a 16-year-old girl who suffers from the symptoms of mental illness. She is searching for answers to the many questions from her past, while she explores and uncovers the place where she spent most of her youth. What happens next is a dark and emotional journey where the lines of interactive entertainment, storytelling, and reality frequently tend to blur.

For more information and to stay versed with the latest news on Victor Vran, please visit the official website at www.VictorVran.com, Like the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VictorVran, and follow the official Twitter account at https://twitter.com/VictorVran.

For more information on The Town of Light, visit:

http://www.thetownoflight.com/ | facebook.com/TheTownOfLight | twitter.com/thetownoflight