Apex Legend‘s lack of content has often landed in the opprobrium of gamers. Things are about to change since recently Respawn Entertainment has confirmed that they will be solving the game’s content offering issues with new modes and different ways to experience the shoot in the days ahead.
Respawn was recently asked on Reddit by a player if it has been exploring new ways to play. The user then expressed many players want solo/duos added to the game, while others want features like private lobbies and skill-based matchmaking. Responding to this, a community manager for the studio confirmed it is considering, but, Respawn is not ready to talk about anything right now.
The community manager also confirmed that Respawn has heard the issues of the game’s higher level progression issues, mainly that progression is too sluggish and not encouraging enough.
The player also asked about in-game events and whether Respawn has any plans for them, which the community manager responded to with no comment which seems to suggest that, yes, it does.
And finally, the player raised with the community manager the pacing issues that sometimes happen in the middle of the games when the circle is too big for the number of squads left. Respawn is apparently aware of this issue, but for the moment, isn’t sure of the correct way to address it.
Recently, Respawn chalked out its plans for the immediate future — which includes fixing the game’s lag issues — and for Season 2 later this summer, which includes map alterations.
Apex Legends is available, for free, via the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Leading mobile gaming industry conference, Pocket Gamer Connects, returns to San Francisco in 2018 – bigger and better than ever. More than 1,000 delegates will gather at the Bespoke venue for the two days of May 14-15 to hear from 100 of the world’s leading authorities from the mobile gaming industry. Filling 10 wall-to-wall conference tracks across both days, they will share their expert insight on everything from monetisation to the latest development trends.
The readers of AnimationXpress can use the code XPRESS, and avail 20 per cent discount on the tickets!
Always Innovating
New conference tracks for 2018 are expected to keep the audience at the cutting edge of the industry, including influencer marketing and blockchain gaming, as well as company culture. Of course, the seminar schedule still includes classic topics such as market overviews, industry trends, and case studies. Check the website at http://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco for the latest speaker announcements.
They’ve also added an all-new dedicated workshop space to help you acquire or develop industry related skills that will help grow your career or business.
Networking For All
As ever, the conference schedule will be packed with the trademark short, sharp seminars. With no time to waffle, the speakers will get straight down to business – which is what you’ll be able to do too, networking with more than 1,000 industry professionals.
The event is called Connects because that’s what it help you do; connect with the whole mobile gaming industry, from students and indie studios to the media, international investors and publishers. Unlike other event organisers, it offers Pitch & Match meeting scheduler free to all delegates, so you can find that perfect contact and arrange to meet them in person.
No other event puts you in touch with the entire mobile gaming industry like Pocket Gamer Connects.
Pairing Developers With Publishers And Investors
The event’s SpeedMatch sessions pair developers in rapid succession with a series of publishers and investors in a series of speed-dating style meetings. These short, sharp encounters enable first contact for you to follow up with a longer meeting if you find a potential partner. It’s a shop window for devs to display their wares and a pipeline of prospects for anyone looking to sign up-and-coming talent.
Meet The Media
The team welcomes regional and international specialist media to the events so that your work reaches the widest audience possible. With its own publishing powerhouse behind the event, you are guaranteed that the industry journalists will be onsite for demos, interviews and other ways to raise awareness of your brand or project to the online community outside the walls of the event.
If you’re looking for feedback on a project, stop by the Journalist Bar for a free consultation from professional games journalists.
All About The Indies
Indie devs are the lifeblood of the mobile games industry and Pocket Gamer Connects champions their work to their international audience. Their hugely popular Big Indie Pitches will be back in force with indie devs competing to impress a panel of expert judges. The winners walk away with armfuls of prizes and online marketing worth thousands of dollars.
The showfloor has a dedicated Indie Showcase area for known names and newcomers alike to display their talent to an industry audience. This is a vibrant and varied expo area for publishers looking to sign promising titles.
Established International Audience
More than 13,000 industry professionals have attended the Connects international conference series since 2014. Since then, the roadshow has landed in the UK, North America, Canada, Finland, and India with a genuinely international client base; on average, delegates from more than 40 countries attend each event.
In 2016, the event became the biggest dedicated mobile games industry conference series in Europe and have stayed on top ever since. Every event has been bigger and better than the last – and San Francisco continues to grow year-on-year.
Not only have their previous delegates voted Connects the ‘best value conference’, but 97 per cent would recommend it to a colleague and 96 per cent tell us they’ll come back for more.
Previous speakers and delegates from all the key industry players include Supercell, King, TenCent, Telltale, Apple, Rovio, Disney, Wargaming, Kabam, NTT Docomo, Ubisoft, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Sega, Capcom, Unity, Twitter, Twitch and many, many, many more.
Party Hearty
And if that all sounds a bit serious, day one closes with the always entertaining powerpoint karaoke that is PechaKucha, before moving on to its infamous Global Connects party. That’s where the networking goes on into the night and you might just make lifelong friends, fortunes and memories…
Venue
Bespoke
Westfield San Francisco Centre, Level 4
845 Market Street
San Francisco
United States of America.
It’s game on for the first edition of Esports BAR Miami, scheduled to take place from 18 to 20 September, 2017. Following the success of February’s Esports BAR in Cannes, the Miami event is already attracting major esports companies and global brands that are looking to enter or develop their presence in the fast-growing esports ecosystem.
Joining the list of senior brand executives heading to Esports BAR Miami are Visa LAC head of sponsorships Yuri Morales and The Coca-Cola Company’s senior entertainment marketing manager Alban Dechelotte.
Esports observers (Source: Newzoo 2017 Global Esports Market Report) are predicting that the esports economy will grow to $696 million in 2017 (+42 per cent) with brands spending $516 million ($266 million in sponsorship, $155 million in advertising and $95 million in media rights). Revenues are expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2020, mainly driven by brand investment.
“Esports is developing at a phenomenal speed. Revenues are surging, with media rights tipped to show particularly strong growth this year having started from virtually nowhere two or three years ago,” notes Esports BAR development director Stephane Gambetta.
In the face of strong demand from brands to navigate the world of esports, Esports BAR Miami will host a session focusing on brand integration. Hosted by Activision Blizzard Senior VP and MLG co-founder Mike Sepso, the session will feature a discussion with a brand partner and focus on new ways brands can get involved in professional leagues for Call of Duty and Overwatch, as well as a look back at some of the early successes and pitfalls from the early days of competitive gaming. The session will be a part of the gold-standard Industry Insight Program which takes place on 18 September, 2017 before Esports BAR Miami’s one-to-one summit meetings begin.
“We’re seeing game publishers looking to develop their franchises, advertisers learning what fans will and will not enthuse about and broadcasters entering the sector. In terms of fans, Asia Pacific represents just over 50 per cent of esports enthusiasts while North America is leading the way in terms of revenue generation. In this rapidly evolving market, Esports BAR Miami will offer delegates a unique opportunity to discuss the developments, listen to forward-thinkers and meet 1-to-1 with potential business partners,” adds Gambetta.
Esports BAR Miami is supported by an Advisory Board of industry leaders who have now been joined by EA SVP and competitive gaming general manager Todd Sitrin.
“The United States is a big growth market for competitive gaming, so it makes perfect sense to bring Esports BAR to Miami. As an interactive entertainment leader, EA must keep abreast of developments in Esports, meet new business partners and help frame discussions about where this industry is heading. Based on our experience from Cannes, we’re confident that the Esports BAR format and those that attend will help us meet our objectives.” comments Sitrin.
The EA executive has joined an Esports BAR Advisory Board that now includes France esport strategy director, webedia and president Matthieu Dallon; Rox Tigers CEO and Rox Orcas Overwatch team Sidney Kim; ESL CEO Ralf Reichert; Activision Blizzard senior VP Mike Sepso; Twitch’s esports strategy director Stuart Saw; Fnatic CEO, Arnd Benninghoff EVPand MTG, MTGx Ventures CEO Wouter Sleijffers.
Esports BAR Miami is a ‘by invitation only’ event designed to bring together some 100 leaders from esports teams, leagues and tournaments, game publishers, brands, advertising agencies and related television and online platforms. In addition to the business insight conference sessions and networking events, the heart of Esports BAR Miami is its unique one-to-one summit which guarantees delegates a full schedule of pre-selected meetings with the fellow delegates they most want to see.
Companies that have already signed up for Esports BAR Miami include Activision Blizzard, Critical Force, DreamHack, Electronic Arts, ESL, ESWC, Fnatic, France Esports, Gameloft, IBM, MEDIAPRO, MLG, MTG/MTGx Ventures, Panda Global,Rox Tigers & Rox Orcas, SK Gaming GMBH, Super Channel, Super Evil Megacorp, The Coca-Cola Company, Turtle Entertainment GMBH, Twitch, VISAand Webedia among others.
The Esports BAR Miami edition will be in partnership with Dot Esports, DTVE, Esports Insider, Hurrah, MediaTainment Finance, Newzoo, TBI and Techmutiny.
Esports BAR provides the community of esports professionals with white papers and content featuring a combination of original research, interviews with industry experts and case studies designed to inform about the trends and strategic development of the esports rapidly evolving.
