It’s the end of the week, so it’s time for EarlyGame’s lightning-fast recap on the events from the video game business from the past 7 days. Record-shattering numbers? Check. Banned cheaters? Check. Among Us? Oh, yes. Check.
Discord Continues to Beat Its Own Record
Let’s face it, Discord is pretty great. It’s sleek, functional, and (mostly) nonsense-free. Therefore, it should be expected that it will continue to be the leader in communication services for gamers. However, the unexpected smash-hit Among Us that seemingly sprung out of nowhere and took the world by storm (even dethroning Fall Guys), has been cited as a huge boost for Discord’s user base. The app’s new downloads number reached 800,000 on September 27 alone. Basically, the instant messaging platform has been beating its own record every single day since September 5, amassing new users all the time, thanks to the back-stabbing party game, which, by the way, has been downloaded over 74 million times already. Wow!
Call of Duty Destroys Cheaters
Activision has had enough. This week, they turned against cheat-hosting site EngineOwning, banning some 20,000 users using its software, including popular streamer Wagnificent, who was banned in the middle of a game.
Looking at the aftermath, Infinity Ward has now sacked more than 200k accounts across Modern Warfare and Warzone, hammering home their zero-tolerance policy they hold when it comes to unfair advantage.
- READ MORE: Valorant Devs on How They Catch Cheaters
EA “Accidentally” Advertises Microtransactions to Kids
The fight against real-cash-based in-game loot goes on, as several courts and governments are investigating the issue for gambling law violation. This means that EA is growing more careful. This week, they’ve removed a FIFA ad from the Smyths Toys magazine - a UK-based toy retailer. According to EA, the microtransaction ads were never supposed to be targeted at children, which begs the question of why they were included in a toy magazine in the first place.
Hopefully, the resolution of this accident is a step in the right direction, and we’ll begin to see companies take greater care with their questionable marketing practices in the future.
Tencent Invests in Yet Another Western Studio
Lastly, we have another Tencent acquisition to report. The Chinese juggernaut has entered with a “major stake” inside Swedish developer 10 Chambers, the makers of GTFO - a co-op FPS currently in Early Access. Reportedly, the Swedes are happy with the financial backing, which they plan to use to achieve their goals. So far, Tencent has displayed very little involvement in the inner workings of the studios it has shares in (including Epic and Riot, among others), but its influence across the gaming world grows at a rapid rate. Take this for what it’s worth.
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