Latest News
Amazon Games Expands Global Footprint with New Development Studio in Europe
Amazon Games announced it has opened a new game development studio in Europe, based in Bucharest, Romania. The studio expands Amazon’s commitment to developing and publishing games as it joins the ranks of the existing development teams in Orange County, Montreal, San Diego, and Seattle. The new studio will focus on supporting Amazon Games’ diverse portfolio of games now and in the future. Amazon Games is actively hiring to build out the talented team, with many active roles open now.
“Amazon Games is focused on developing and publishing great games, and we have an ambitious long-term roadmap in front of us,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games. “Expanding our internal development teams into Europe was a natural next step for us as we tackle our broad portfolio. Bucharest is known as one of the top emerging European cities for game development and we look forward to tapping into the rich talent pool.”
Amazon Games has hired industry veteran Cristian Pana to lead the studio. Cristian brings more than 20 years of experience building video games, most recently serving as the Managing Director at Ubisoft Bucharest. Cristian’s experience spans some of video games’ biggest games and franchises, including Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Crew, Far Cry, and Avatar and diverse genres, from driving games, action adventure open world games to shooter RPGs.
“I’m thrilled to join Amazon Games at a time when the team is actively building across an exciting roadmap,” said Cristian Pana, Studio Head for Amazon Games Bucharest. “I’ve built and led outstanding teams in the past and I know this area of Europe is a hot spot for some of the very best talent in gaming.”
The new studio supports Amazon Games’ vision of developing and publishing games that foster community in and around its games. The expanding portfolio from Amazon Games includes two launched live-service games, New World and Lost Ark, announced projects including Tomb Raider, The Lord of the Rings, and Throne and Liberty, as well as unannounced projects from our San Diego and Montreal studios, and the independent studio Glowmade in the UK.
The post Amazon Games Expands Global Footprint with New Development Studio in Europe appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Levy announcement: GamCare statement and data
Statement:
Mark Weiss, Deputy CEO and Director of Communications and External Affairs at GamCare, commented: “We welcome today’s announcement from the Government on the statutory levy and look forward to working with the NHS, other providers and future commissioners to ensure the success of the new treatment, prevention and research system.
“At GamCare, our priority is making sure that people who need support for gambling harms receive it as quickly and effectively as possible. With a record 55,000 people calling the National Gambling Helpline last year alone, now is the right time for this important clarity on the future system.
“With 27 years’ experience running the National Gambling Helpline, GamCare plays a vital role ensuring people can access gambling harms support when they need it most.
“Just as we welcome this renewed focus on treatment, we recognise the importance of protecting vulnerable people, particularly children, before harms escalate. That’s why we welcome the Government’s emphasis on prevention. Having witnessed a steep rise in our Helpline callers citing difficulties with online slots, GamCare further welcomes the introduction of new youth-focussed stake limits – an important step in preventing future harm.”
Additional new data from GamCare
- Almost half of calls (45%) to the National Gambling Helpline now cite issues with online slot machine games.
- The proportion of calls to the National Gambling Helpline citing issues with online slot machine games has increased by one-third since the pandemic, according to the gambling support charity GamCare.
- The charity found that, of the 6697 callers who disclosed a form of gambling to Advisers on the Helpline in 2023-2024*, 45 per cent cited challenges with gambling on online slot games, a figure which stood at 34 per cent in 2020-2021.
Activity | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 |
Online Slots | 33.6% | 45.8% | 43.9% | 44.6% |
The post Levy announcement: GamCare statement and data appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Play’n GO announces exclusive game launch with Hard Rock Bet
Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced the release of a new game title available exclusively to Hard Rock Bet online casino players in New Jersey.
Play’n GO recently announced the beginning of its partnership with Hard Rock Digital to provide premium content for its highly-rated Hard Rock Bet online casino in New Jersey.
The Swedish-founded gaming giant partnered up with the renowned global entertainment brand to create Hard Rock Pork N Roll, a spin-off of another wildly popular Play’n GO title, Piggy Blitz. The resulting game is the outcome of many months of collaboration and is predicted to entertain Hard Rock Bet players in the same style as its predecessor.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Play’n GO, commented “Our formal partnership with Hard Rock Digital is still in its relative infancy, but many months of work have gone into both the partnership itself and the design of this game, with input from both businesses. We’re excited by this new exclusive title, and it is a testament to the innovation and creativity of our game designers to create a fun spin-off of one of our classic titles. Hard Rock Pork N Roll is sure to be a huge success- the name of the game alone makes it stand out as an instant classic! This game is evidence of our ability to create top-quality, bespoke content for all of our customers, something we’re looking forward to doing more of in future.”
Grant Williams, SVP-Casino, Hard Rock Digital added “Our ‘Only at Hard Rock’ section continues to grow with another exclusive, bespoke experience and the addition of Hard Rock Pork N Roll—an immersive title that seamlessly weaves signature Hard Rock elements into the gameplay. Working with Play’n Go on this custom creation has set the standard for future collaboration, and we’re confident that Hard Rock Pork N Roll will quickly become a headliner among the 2,300+ games on our top-rated app.”
To find out more about Play’n GO and its Hard Rock Digital partnership, as well as its US activity, please visit playngo.com.
The post Play’n GO announces exclusive game launch with Hard Rock Bet appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Stretch Network announces Black Friday Weekend Tournament
Black Friday Weekend is here! Stretch Network introduces another player-focused initiative – the Black Friday Weekend promotion. Running from November 29th to December 1st, this event offers up to 90% discounts on buy-ins for the World Poker League tournament series.
Here’s how it works:
- Players register for special phase tournaments at a reduced cost.
- These 2-minute events don’t require player actions and provide the same starting stack as the target tournament.
- After the phase tournament ends, players are automatically registered for the main event.
- Players already in the target tournament will have their stacks combined for added excitement.
Raise with us to go all-in on player satisfaction.
The post Stretch Network announces Black Friday Weekend Tournament appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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