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Thursday November 9, 2023
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Good morning! It’s Thursday and this is your early morning Esports and Gaming brief.
The Legend of Zelda franchise is the latest game series to take up the big-screen trend. Nintendo and Sony are collaborating on a live-action movie for The Legend of Zelda, the companies announced, with legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and former Marvel Studios CEO and founder Avi Arad producing the film. Wes Ball, who is known for his adaptations of novels to live entertainment and his work on the recent live Spider-Man Marvel film series and animated Spider-Man feature films, will direct the new take on the Zelda universe.
The Legend of Zelda film is the latest in a line of both animated and live adaptations of high-profile video game franchises, including Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie earlier this year and the HBO series of The Last of Us, which was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Both IPs generated were smash hits for series fans and the casual audience alike, as was the most recent game-to-big-screen success, Five Nights at Freddy’s.
The trend shows just how passionate gamers are about the series they love and their appetite for exploring fandom beyond the games they play. Whether The Legend of Zelda’s theater debut is another hit or a dud, expect studios and brands to continue to capitalize on the crossover between games and entertainment – and the near-constant success that blending has had in the past few years.
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COMPETITION AND GAMING NEWS
The League of Legends World Championship is down to its final four teams, with three Chinese squads and South Korean powerhouse T1 still in the running. The tournament will continue this weekend at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea, with T1 and League of Legends GOAT Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok hoping to continue their run toward a fourth Worlds title with a win over JD Gaming, which will aim to make it an all-League of Legends Pro League final. LPL rivals Bilibili Gaming and Weibo Gaming will also square off for a spot in the final, which will take place at a Korean Baseball Organization stadium, the Gocheok Sky Dome, on Nov. 19.
Nearly 45 million people flocked to Fortnite late last week as developer Epic Games brought back the original map for the battle royale title, prompting an en masse nostalgic return to one of the biggest video games in the world. Over the weekend, the title reportedly drew 6.2 million concurrent players, resulting in 44.7 million users and 102 million hours of gameplay by the end of the day Sunday. The move has been hailed as one of the most successful re-engagement campaigns in the history of video games, and it’s another feather in the cap for the franchise that helped bring gaming and esports into the mainstream zeitgeist.
Miles Morales will be the primary Spider-Man video game protagonist in Insomniac titles moving forward, the game developer announced, with Peter Parker handing over the reins entirely in-game. Morales is the main protagonist of the animated “Into the Spiderverse” saga that smashed box office expectations in 2018 and continued to do so with this year’s “Across the Spiderverse” release. He was also the primary character in Spider-Man: Miles Morales, one of the first PlayStation 5 releases, though Parker also made appearances in that title.
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SPONSORSHIP & ACTIVATION
NRG and used car retailer Carvana have announced the Carvana | NRG Combine, a scouting event for Rocket League pro talent. Along with the Combine collaboration, Carvana has provided NRG with a team content hub with a twist: The Dub Wagon, a custom-wrapped SUV, will give NRG the opportunity to hit the road and produce content as well as take esports competitors to tournaments and events. “Our goal is to help find the next pro Rocket League player and help them reach the next level of their career as an esports athlete, but we also wanted to help team NRG level up in a cool, interactive way that reflected our new partnership” Ryan Keeton, Carvana co-founder and Chief Brand Officer, said in a statement. “We’re excited to see the trove of new content that comes from team NRG in the Dub Wagon.”
Esports and gaming personality Britanni Johnson has launched a new talent platform, TVRN, to help casters, analysts, and hosts find work in the industry. TVRN will serve as a liaison between its talent and event organizers to connect fresh faces and veterans with opportunities that line up with their interests and skillsets. Johnson, who has a decade of experience as a broadcaster at the cross-section of gaming, esports and entertainment, said companies including Brag House, Epic Games and Red Bull are already onboard on the events side.
M80, an esports entertainment organization, has partnered with recently launched gaming platform Forge to drive attention and new opportunities to reward its fans for casual and competitive play. Forge, which recently announced an $11 million seed funding round, provides players with a place to connect all of their in-game accounts and social platforms. Forge users can earn rewards like in-game currency and cosmetics by playing games on their linked accounts. M80’s support of the platform will include Forge branding on team jerseys as well as bringing its players to Forge as both users and ambassadors.
Brag House announced its partnership with Coca-Cola and McDonald’s will continue, with the collegiate-focused esports platform expanding its reach following the success of series run at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as in regional markets. Included in the announcement was the reveal of the Golden Royale Cup, which began last weekend as an open competition for college players in Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Southern California, and Washington. The event runs through Nov. 18, with the winner earning $5,000 in scholarship funding. The runners-up will earn $3,000, and third-place finishers will take home $1,000.
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STREAMHATCHET
Fortnite Hits Highest Live-Streaming Viewership #s Since 2019 With Release of Original Map
With the original map returning to the Fortnite servers last week, Epic Games was able to tap into nostalgia and generate excitement from gamers and streamers alike.
In its first day back with the OG season, Fortnite generated 14.4 million hours watched across major live-streaming platforms. This was the highest daily viewership for the game since October 2019!
The game also hit 1.6 million peak viewers on its first day back, the highest since December 2022. 255K unique channels also streamed the game on November 3rd, the most since December of 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
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Cynopsis Conferences & Awards Programs
RIGHT ON TIME
Cynopsis’ 2024 event lineup covers both annual and brand new programs – such as none other than our First Look 2024: Political Ad Spend Virtual Conference (coming soon). Take your pick and mark your calendar! |
YOUGOV LIVING DATA INSIGHTS
Analyzing PC gamer sentiment towards processor brands in the US
Among PC gamers in the US, Intel has generated widespread positive sentiment with a significant 67% approval rating, underlining its strong reputation. AMD, a formidable competitor with a strong presence in both CPU and GPU markets, maintains a favorable image, with 54% expressing positive sentiment towards the brand. Nvidia, a leading GPU manufacturer, secures a commendable 58% positive sentiment. While Intel’s positive to negative perception ratio is enviable, what’s even more commendable perhaps is its brand recognition with only 2% of PC gamers saying they haven’t heard of the brand. In contrast, 13% say they haven’t heard of Nvidia and nearly a quarter 24% say the same about AMD.
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TEAMS
Esports organization 100 Thieves has undergone layoffs and spun off two business units as it looks to “refocus on our core business,” president and COO John Robinson said in a statement. As part of the restructuring, 100 Thieves has spun off its drink product, Juvee, and its game studio to put esports, content creation, and apparel back at the forefront of the company’s efforts. “100 Thieves is committed to making esports sustainable,” Robinson said. “These changes will help 100 Thieves become a healthier company and ensure that we’re focusing our money and attention on the most important part of our business.”
Soccer star Lionel Messi is now an esports team owner with a stake in KRÜ Esports, the team and 2023 Ballon D’or winner announced. KRÜ, an Argentinian organization formed in 2020, also features former teammate Sergio Agüero as a founder, though the Messi move holds additional weight amidst a difficult financial period for esports organizations. “I’m happy to share a club with Leo, of course now in a new stage and with other challenges,” Agüero said. “It’s an honor to have him as a part of KRÜ. He’s the best footballer in history, and he’s also a great friend.”
Luminosity Gaming is returning to Rocket League with the signing of former OpTic Gaming players Slater “Retals” Thomas and Christopher “MaJicBear” Acevedo, the team announced. The organization plans to announce its third player in the coming weeks. “We have been waiting on the sidelines to find the right team to return to Rocket League, and we couldn’t be more excited that two of the most sought after talents of the off-season, Retals and MaJicBear, have decided to join Luminosity,” Head of Luminosity Gaming Alex Gonzalez said in a statement. “Our new roster is sure to be a fan favorite and positions us well to win championships.”
Esports organization KOI is ending its strategic partnership with Infinite Reality, a metaverse-focused company, the parties announced. KOI, a popular Spanish organization with teams in VALORANT, League of Legends and more, will retain its ownership of its League of Legends SuperLiga spot and its franchise slot for the VALORANT Champions Tour Europe/Middle East/Africa circuit along with its football esports squad. Meanwhile, ReKTGlobal, the esports company under the Infinite Reality brand, will hold onto the formerly shared League of Legends EMEA Championship franchise spot and its Call of Duty League franchise position as well as ReKTGlobal’s affiliated Rainbow Six Siege and Rocket League squads.
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INDUSTRY
Embracer Group COO Egil Strunke has resigned amid a difficult year for the gaming conglomerate, which missed out on an expected $2 billion in investment heading into 2023. Embracer has undergone layoffs and studio closures throughout the year in the fallout from the final-hour disruption of that investment. Strunke is moving on to an individual project, Strunke games, but expects Embracer can still turn things around as it exits investment mode and focuses on right-sizing the business. ““Although the last year has been rough,” Strunke said in a statement. “… I am positive that Embracer will come out stronger and with a long, bright future ahead of them.”
The entire staff of gaming publication The Escapist have left the outlet following the firing of its editor-in-chief Nick Calandra by parent company GAMURS Group. The surprise move by GAMURS, which laid off around 50 employees earlier this year, came “for ‘not achieving goals’ that were never properly set out for us, and a lack of understanding of our audience and the team that built that audience.” The story is a familiar one amongst GAMURS employees, but this is the largest disruption for the parent company as a result of those decisions with the rest of The Escapist’s staff also opting to leave to support Calandra’s new project, Second Wind. The video-focused team had reached more than 40,000 subscribers without posting a single video as of Wednesday morning.
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CynPros
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TRIVIA
Congrats on the extra hour of sleep this week! On what day does daylight saving time begin again in 2024? (Email [email protected] with your answer, and be sure to include your name, company and city).
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What company did MMO developer Greg Street work at prior to joining Riot Games? Answer: Blizzard Entertainment. Kudos: Michael Goodman | Radio One Atlanta; Tom Moore | Kalt Productions, Los Angeles; David Westberg | SAG•AFTRA Federal Credit Union, Burbank, California |
DIRECTOR, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
HALLMARK MEDIA
NYC
Execute communications objectives and develop strategies to elevate Hallmark Media, its workforce, and business entities. Evaluate existing communications program in the context of its ability to support strategic planning and operating objectives. Minimum of 10+ years progressive PR/Communications Industry Experience. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
FUTURE TODAY
CHICAGO
Represent Future Today, selling an expansive portfolio of O&O CTV apps, inclusive of HappyKids, Fawesome, The LEGO Channel, FilmRise, Blippi. 5+years selling linear/streaming/OLV exp req.Biz dev position inclusive of direct, pmp/pg.Solid relationships; agency & client. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
TV ONE
NYC, Hybrid, Remote
Communicate the value & brand strength of Urban One Networks to advertisers & agencies. Create compelling presentations that convey the benefits & features of our programming and the viewing audiences. Proactively keep clients informed of pertinent account and network information. Min. 4+ yrs national advertising sales or equivalent sales exp. Full info HERE
VP/HEAD OF ADVERTISING SALES
FREEBEE
FL/NYC Remote
Lead, manage, develop, and grow Ad Sales teams. Attract and retain the best talent. Work with leadership team to set, achieve, and grow revenue targets across OOH, Digital and Experiential. Instrumental in driving the team to exceed all expectations and goals. 15+ years’ experience in advertising, media, and relevant sales management roles. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
FREEBEE
MIAMI
Achieve revenue and growth targets across linear and digital. Identify and execute strategies which result in exceeding revenue targets. Develop and execute effective sales strategies that showcase as well as maximize overall revenues for the overarching National Sales division. 7-10 yrs exp. in advertising, media & relevant sales management roles. Full info HERE
SENIOR AUDIO/VIDEO PROMOTION PRODUCER >>
WHYY/PHILADELPHIA: Produce best-in-class promotional spots, accurately reflecting WHYY’s brand mission, from strategy through management approvals. Write killer scripts for audio and video to engage audiences. Organize promotional spot production schedule for video and audio spots needed for TV, FM, digital and social platforms. 10-15+ years’ experience. Full info HERE
DIGITAL DIRECTOR, NEWS >>
WHYY/PHILADELPHIA: Develop a cogent strategy for developing and publishing WHYY news content across social media and emerging digital platforms. Convey and create SEO, social media and digital best practices in concert with the digital staff with the focus of informing and developing the newsroom’s digital muscles. Five or more years of journalism experience. Full info HERE
SENIOR STUDIO TECHNICAL MANAGER
A+E NETWORKS
HYBRID NYC
Technical manager for live, studio, productions/events. Provides technical oversight, support, solutions, troubleshooting, and in-house technical resource. Functions as Studio and Tech Manager for Studio and Tech Manager for remote productions, on-site and off-site corporate events. Requires 5-7 years production technical management experience. Full info HERE
SENIOR DIRECTOR, DIGITAL CONTENT LICENSING
A+E NETWORKS
REMOTE
Negotiate, draft & review agreements for owned & operated platforms/services, third-party platform. Exp. in digital media, content licensing (domestic/international), linear & on-demand rights & distribution, Privacy & Data Security preferred. Min 5 yrs of exp. supporting digital media at media company or streaming platform. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT TV
NYC
Represent FETV & FMC to media community via ongoing communications & relationship building. Maintain & develop strong working relationships w/both agencies & internal departments in support of sales efforts. Work w/sales management, pricing & planning to achieve quarterly revenue goals. 5+ yrs media sales exp. preferably in cable TV- agency exp. +. Full info HERE
BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS AND DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE >>
HEARST MEDIA PRODUCTION GROUP/CHARLOTTE, NC: Proactively identify, research, and develop new opportunities for our family-friendly programming blocks on ABC, CBS, NBC, The CW, Telemundo, & other media & digital/social outlets. Support creation and present strategic, cross-media concepts to multiple stakeholder groups that meet our client’s business objectives. 8 + yrs of business dev. exp. Full info HERE
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR >>
BIG FISH ENTERTAINMENT/NYC/NJ: Coordinating onboarding for all new hires.
Administering the benefits and payroll changes for employees accurately.
Maintaining an efficient filing system—paper and electronic, for employee and company records related to their job functions. Building a successful bridge between management and employees. 7 yrs entertainment exp. preferred. Full Info HERE
DIRECTOR, MEDIA SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS >>
PBS DISTRIBUTION/ARLINGTON VA, Hybrid: Oversee media systems operations, including daily operations as well as development and implementation of overall media supply chain. Work with external vendors and internal stakeholders on design and implementation of hardware and software solutions for media systems. 7+ yrs of work exp. in the areas of television, media, or consumer products. Full info HERE
TV/VIDEO SPONSORSHIP-PRODUCT INTEGRATION SALES REPRESENTATIVE >>
GAME ON MEDIA SOLUTIONS/Remote: Game On Media Solutions is looking for an independent business development oriented sponsorship sales representative. Focus will be on TV/Streaming project opportunities for brands that include product integration and placement. This is an Independent Contractor performance compensated opening. Attractive fees can be earned for closed deals. Full info HERE
BRAND ASSISTANT >>
THE LEDE COMPANY/NYC: Full-service communication, strategy, and social impact consulting firm, specializing in corporate, brand, entertainment, and nonprofit sectors, is seeking a Brand Assistant to join the Brand team in our New York office. The Assistant will play an integral role in supporting accounts for a wide variety of Fashion, Beauty, CPG and Lifestyle clients. Full info HERE
TALENT ASSISTANT >>
THE LEDE COMPANY/LA: Full-service strategy, communications and social impact consulting firm, specializing in corporate, entertainment and nonprofit sectors. We are looking for a Talent Assistant to a Talent Publicist in Los Angeles. We are seeking enthusiastic candidates who can work in a fast-paced environment, are driven & have strong communication and writing skills. Full info HERE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR NATIONAL POLITICAL SHOW >>
BAHAKEL COMMUNICATIONS/CHARLOTTE NC: Develop and oversee the production of a daily or weekly national political show that covers the most important political news and events of the day. Develop and execute strategies to increase the show’s audience and engagement. At least 5 years of experience as an executive producer for a political show or similar program. Full info HERE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF NEWS/ENTERTAINMENT >>
BAHAKEL COMMUNICATIONS/CHARLOTTE NC: Oversee all editorial and entertainment content, news production and presentation. Responsible for day-to-day operations of the show: producing, writing, and guiding creative. Develop content for the News @ TEN, plan, assign and create production schedules. 7 years of experience as executive producer or show producer. Network experience preferred. Full info HERE |
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OTHER JOBS OF INTEREST
Responsible for managing all logistics partners from 3PL warehouse, freight forwarder, to trucking companies.
Senior Logistics Specialist
NZXT, Inc.
City of Industry, CA
https://nzxt.com/careers
Responsible for supporting all finance IT system needs and managing business systems projects that improve finance processes.
Sr Business Systems Analyst, Finance
NETGEAR
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https://www.netgear.com/about/careers/
Be sole point of contact for establishing business relationships with third party and cloud hosting providers, customer support, quality assurance, NOC and localization.
Head of Game Operations
Turtle Rock
Orange County, CA
https://www.turtlerockstudios.com/careers
Work with Directors and the Executive Producer on internal initiatives for improving internal pipelines, creating long term plans, and ensuring deadlines are met.
Lead Producer
Turtle Rock
Orange County, CA
https://www.turtlerockstudios.com/careers
Build, and manage our production systems as well as design and develop networking software.
Senior Site Reliability Engineer – DNS Infrastructure
Roblox
San Mateo, CA
https://corp.roblox.com/careers/
Leads strategic consultation and support for business leaders around Talent Management needs.
Senior Talent Management Partner
Nintendo Co.
Redmond, WA
https://www.nintendo.com/corp/jobs.jsp#
Establish and maintain ongoing business relationships with key stakeholders at external publishers and developers in the games industry.
Sr. Manager, Partner Management
Nintendo Co.
Redmond, WA
https://www.nintendo.com/corp/jobs.jsp#
Design and build an automation testing platform that is scalable and meets operational needs.
QA Engineer
Hi-Rez Studios
Alpharetta, GA
https://www.hirezstudios.com/careers/
Coordinate, track, and manage the activities of project resources to ensure that project tasks are completed on time, within scope, and at acceptable quality.
Project Manager, Technical Operations
Daybreak
San Diego, CA
https://www.daybreakgames.com/careers
Designs and implements solutions for Magic: The Gathering Online in alignment with architectural designs and program needs.
Software Development Engineer II
Daybreak
Renton, WA
https://www.daybreakgames.com/careers
Develop in-game animation features including animation tools and pipelines, improving existing animation systems and integrating latest animation technologies.
Senior Software Engineer (Animation) – American Football
Orlando, FL
EA Sports
http://careers.ea.com
Develop, optimize, and maintain core rendering features, engine components, and tools shipping within a live game environment.
Lead Rendering Engineer (Apex Legends)
Los Angeles, CA
EA Sports
http://careers.ea.com
Project plan, both short and long-term, for Media Systems projects, including defining deliverables, required resources, outlining budgets, and establishing scope.
Project Manager: Media Systems
Rockstar Games
New York, NY
http://www.rockstargames.com/careers/
Conceptualize, design, build and support electronic devices, not limited to cameras and sensors, to be used for performance capture.
Senior Electronics Engineer
Rockstar Games
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.rockstargames.com/careers/ |
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