According to the ESA’s annual assessment, the U.S. game industry once again saw a year-over-year increase in revenue, with this year’s numbers coming in at $36 billion in revenue between hardware, peripherals, software, in-game purchases, and subscriptions. 

By the ESA’s count, that makes for an 18 percent increase over the $30.4 billion reported in 2016. Those numbers were based on the NPD Group’s annual year-end reporting and supplemented with App Store and Google Play data from the mobile analytics firm App Annie.

Keep in mind however that the NPD’s reporting on game and downloadable content sales, particularly digital, isn’t an exact measurement. The report notes that its numbers don’t include digital sales for Switch and 3DS games, or PC digital sales from Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Battle.net, Origin, or Uplay. 

Game developers should be aware that data gaps like that have led to amended reports in the past, but, with that in mind, the NPD’s overall reports still offer a useful glimpse at larger trends in the game industry as a whole.

Looking at just the NPD Group’s record of game industry sales for 2017, video game hardware brought in a total of $4.7 billion in 2017, a 28 percent increase from the $3.6 billion sold in 2016. That same report clocked a 6 percent increase year-over-year in physical and digital games sold on consoles and handhelds, though these numbers exclude digital sales on Nintendo platforms. 

PC games, however, saw a 20 percent decrease in game sales between 2016 and 2017 on the platforms tracked by the NPD Group. By the NPD’s count, PC game software saw $275 million in sales this year, down from the $342 million reported in 2016. 

Across all platforms, the NPD says that Call of Duty: WWII saw the most money brought in from both physical and digital sales in 2017 though, as mentioned above, not all platforms or storefronts provided digital sale information to the group. Following that, NBA 2K18 falls in second place with Destiny 2 coming in third overall.

Looking at just December and, again, ranked by dollars in sales, Call of Duty: WWII was the highest selling game when comparing sales on all major platforms. Additionally, the game topped the charts for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One individually. Meanwhile, the Xbox console exclusive PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds saw the next most sales on the Xbox One while the runner-up on PlayStation 4 looks to be Star Wars: Battlefront II.

Facebook has signed an agreement that secures it exclusive broadcasting rights to both the CS:GO Pro League and ESL One eSports events. The social media site replaces YouTube as the sole stream provider for the upcoming competitions. 

Be it original content or live streaming video, Facebook has doubled its efforts in recent years to grow its social media site as a major video platform and its growth is something developers may want to pay attention to.

The ESL cites this effort as one of the reasons it opted to partner with Facebook this time around and notes that the arrangement has the benefit of making live events accessible to a large number of eSports fans with little friction thanks to the company’s Facebook Watch platform.

Those benefits, the ESL says, extend further to recently implemented social video experiences that let viewers form private stream chats with online friends or form virtual viewing parties through Facebook’s built-in messenger chat.

“For years ESL has used Facebook to nurture its global community while broadening the audience for eSports competition to millions of fans worldwide,” said Facebook Games Partnerships global director Leo Olebe in a statement “Having two of ESL’s most adored properties for [Counter-Strike: Global Offensive] and Dota 2 streaming exclusively on Facebook is the next step in our efforts to delight the passionate eSports community on Facebook.”

SteamWorld Dig is one of our favourite Wii U and 3DS eShop titles so the news that we’ll get the chance to play it a third time on Switch is very welcome indeed.

Image & Form’s Brjann Sigurgeirsson has stated that it’s coming on February 1st and will cost $9.99 in North America.

Sigurgeirsson said that he hopes bringing the original game to Switch will help fans see things have evolved when compared to the sequel. While it’s certainly true that SteamWorld Dig 2 is a more ambitious game, we have a real soft spot for the first title.

What about you? Will you be downloading this one on Switch?

Famous secret agent and ’80s cartoon sensation Danger Mouse is coming to the Nintendo Switch, courtesy of 9th Impact Studios.

Danger Mouse: The Danger Games features DM, Penfold and Silas Greenback as they race around the streets of London in an effort to prove who’s the fastest. The gameplay looks quite basic, which is no surprise when you learn that The Danger Games originally launched on smartphones. 

Still, after countless mornings spent watching DM’s heroic feats as children (as well as checking out the recent reboot when nobody else is in the room) we have to admit our love of the character may mean we overlook such issues. Maybe.

Let us know if you’ll be downloading this acclaimed secret agent’s latest game by posting a comment below.

The Red Strings Club is Now Available on Steam and is 15% off!*

The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk narrative experience about fate and happiness featuring the extensive use of pottery, bartending and impersonating people on the phone to take down a corporate conspiracy.

*Offer ends January 30 at 10AM Pacific Time

Signups now open for college esports tournaments featuring Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm®, Hearthstone®, and StarCraft® II

This year’s programs offer more opportunities—and scholarships—for college gamers across U.S. and Canada than ever before

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Student gamers everywhere can now matriculate in a full schedule of college esports programs, as Tespa, Blizzard Entertainment’s college esports network, has revealed its lineup of tournaments and events for this year, including the fourth edition of Heroes of the Dorm™. With programs for Hearthstone® and StarCraft® II in addition to Heroes of the Storm®, Tespa will award more than $1 million in scholarships and prizing by the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006267/en/

Now in its fourth year, Heroes of the Dorm is introducing regional play. More than $500,000 in scholarships and prizes are up for grabs in this premier collegiate esports competition. Regional winners and other top teams on the national leaderboard will be seeded into the 64-team National Championship bracket. The battle for the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship—and for the scholarship money each player receives for the remainder of their college careers—will be fierce. Fans can watch all the action on both www.twitch.tv/blizzheroes and www.mlg.com.

In a one-of-a-kind broadcast partnership with Raycom Sports, Heroes of the Dorm will have a dedicated, nationally-syndicated program during a five-week period of competition. Raycom will produce the weekly, one-hour Heroes of the Dorm program, featuring schools competing in the tournament’s Atlantic Coast Region. The original series, which will cover competition as well as spotlight player and team stories, will be broadcast across Raycom Sports’ syndicated network of affiliates in more than 50 markets in the United States.

“With intense student competition and an epic tournament bracket featuring schools across the United States and Canada, Heroes of the Dorm showcases the kind of excitement that can only come from college esports,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to cheering on all of the talented players who will be competing in Heroes of the Storm, as well as Hearthstone and StarCraft II, for their share of Tespa’s biggest scholarship prize pool ever.”

Starting today, eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up to compete in Heroes of the Dorm at www.heroesofthedorm.com. See the full schedule below:

Hearthstone Collegiate Championship

Teams vying for the 2018 Hearthstone Collegiate Championship will have their hands full as they battle for their share of $150,000 in scholarship prizing. Each team of three will have to battle through a seven-week regular season and the regional playoffs to make it to the single-elimination championship bracket. Fans can watch the tournament live on www.twitch.tv/playhearthstone.

Eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up to compete in the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship at compete.tespa.org starting today. See the full schedule below:

Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft

The first ever Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft will award $35,000 in total scholarship prizing to the top performers in the 16-team league. Teams of three players will battle it out in StarCraft II twice a week during the eight-week regular season, with four teams joining the tournament via the open qualifiers. Matches will be broadcast on www.twitch.tv/starcraft and www.mlg.com. Eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up for qualifiers at compete.tespa.org starting today. See the full schedule below:

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-one #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.

About Tespa

Tespa is the premier college gaming network in North America, dedicated to creating a home for gamers on every campus. Recognized as the leader in college esports, Tespa cultivates student communities that host epic gaming events on campuses in the United States and Canada, and plans to distribute more than $1 million in scholarship prizing in 2018 through intercollegiate leagues. Tespa has had more than 5000 teams from more than 1400 universities compete in its college tournaments and has empowered student leaders to become entrepreneurs in the gaming industry.

About Raycom Sports

Charlotte, N.C.-based Raycom Sports is a leader for compelling storytelling, production, and content distribution across all platforms. With an award-winning production team, Raycom creates original feature programming such as Football Saturdays. Raycom is the syndicated rightsholder of Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball and football since 1982, and manages live television broadcasting, original programming, archival footage, mobile applications, social media, the official ACC website and the ACC Official Corporate Champions program. Raycom also serves as the digital content, marketing, video and broadcast production partner of The Basketball Tournament (TBT). Raycom manages client activations and hospitality at ACC FanFest at the ACC Football Championship and ACC Basketball Tournaments.

Raycom Sports’ parent company Raycom Media, owns and/or provides services for 65 television stations and 2 radio stations located in 20 states covering 16% of U.S. television households.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the dates and features of Heroes of the Dorm 2018, the Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft, and the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’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 Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment 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 Blizzard Entertainment 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.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006267/en/

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Christy Um
Director, Esports Communications
949.955.1380 x61251
christy.um@blizzard.com
or
David Gordon
Global PR Manager, Esports
949.955.1380 x13506
dgordon@blizzard.com
or
Sara Zaidi
Global PR Manager
949.955.1380 x61091
szaidi@blizzard.com

Source: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

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