Gaming
Co-creating for a safer web: Ahead of EU Cybersecurity Month, Google and Euroconsumers launch Space Shelter
A new web game to help people learn how to navigate the web safely — while having a blast
The Web has never had more potential to improve lives, but that’s only true as long as it is safe. Ahead of EU Cybersecurity Month in October, Google and Euroconsumers, with its local consumer associations in Italy (Altroconsumo), Spain (Ocu), Belgium (Test-Achats) and Portugal (DecoProteste), have joined forces to create “Space Shelter”. Choose your astronaut and beware of unexpected obstacles and aliens: this new web game will help people of all ages test their skills and learn new ones, all with a basic internet connection.
This is the first of many announcements that Google will have for EU Cybersecurity month. After a year of pandemic-driven tech acceleration and high-profile security threats, this work has gathered greater urgency. Every day, Google automatically blocks more than 100 million phishing attempts; Google Photos encrypts 4 billion photos, and Google Play Protect runs security scans on 100 billion installed apps. We check 900 million passwords daily, and automatically protect more than 4 billion devices with our Safe Browsing technology.
Still, a critical part of making the web safer is helping teach healthy digital habits. Google works directly with experts and educators to help people set boundaries and use technology in a way that is right for them and their families. That’s the objective of this initiative, and the purpose at the heart of our partnership with Euroconsumers. There’s no reason that work can’t also be fun.
A virtual trip to outer space
Who said we can’t travel in outer space from home? “Space Shelter” makes learning about online security an adventure, with smooth graphics and a top-level score and sound design. Players will select an avatar by choosing from a set of characters, and then will have to go through a series of five mini-games before ultimately docking at their destination: the Space Shelter. All the while, they’ll uncover the elements that make an internet account safe online, from using a password manager to understanding multi-factor authentication and widely available consumer privacy settings.
Making a difference by playing
The release of Space Shelter is the start of this partnership, but it’s not the end: Google will be making a contribution to support TechSoup, a non-profit organization that supports nonprofits, charities and libraries by providing access to donations and discounts on software, hardware, and services. TechSoup will run a series of nine training sessions on privacy and safety topics to NGOs in all the countries where this project will launch, with the goal of reaching as many as 3,000 NGOs.
The launch of Space Shelter will also be supported by 12 YouTubers from the four countries who, like real astronauts, will be receiving a survival kit and training from an authority: Paolo Nespoli, ex astronaut, science communicator and coach. These aspiring safety-nauts will be promoting the game to a wider group of consumers.
“We are glad to partner with Euroconsumers for a safer web for users. Google believes technology should improve life, which is why we have worked with experts in civil society and gaming to build a web game and help make the online universe safer.” – Karen Massin, Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy, European Institutions, Google.
“Space Shelter makes learning about cybersecurity more accessible, even fun,” said Marco Scialdone, Head of Litigation & Academic Outreach at Euroconsumers. “By raising awareness about cybersecurity, through initiatives such as Space Shelter, customers will feel able to benefit more from the huge opportunities presented by technology.”
Space Shelter is another fruitful product of the strategic partnership between Euroconsumers and Google. The internet offers great potential to improve lives – but only if it is safe to use. This is the reason for which Euroconsumers teamed up with Google to make the internet a more secure place for everyone, with a particular focus on digital well being, family safety, and online privacy. The Euroconsumers and Google partnership intends to accomplish these goals through empowering consumers with knowledge, tools, and programs, such as Space Shelter.
As technology becomes increasingly integral to everything we do, it can sometimes distract us from
the things that matter most to us. We are committed to giving everyone the tools they need to develop their own sense of digital wellbeing. This is why we are working hard to bring projects like this one to our Countries.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin Miner celebrates two years of hugely successful collaboration with ZBD
Bitcoin Miner, the world’s number one Bitcoin game, is celebrating two years of its collaboration with ZBD, a leading fintech company powering digital economies for gamers and developers. Since the partnership began, Bitcoin Miner has gone from a forgotten title with no players to becoming one of the largest play-and-earn games ever, with over 2 million lifetime users.
ZBD’s Lightning-powered payments technology enables developers to inject instant rewards into their games to boost retention and community engagement. Fumb Games, the studio behind Bitcoin Miner, partnered with ZBD in March 2022 to help revive its flagship title, enabling it to reward players with fragments of Bitcoin for playing the game as normal. From the outset, the integration of ZBD’s tech had a marked impact, leading to a 12x boost in 30-day retention. Two years on, Bitcoin Miner is achieving 40,000 daily active users, making it the biggest Bitcoin game by user count.
Besides the retention benefit of rewards, which leads to player retention that exceeds 6 months, the success of Bitcoin Miner has also been fueled by community-based features such as regular live events. The majority of Bitcoin Miner players are US-based millennial males who enjoy engaging with gaming communities, with weekly events leading to a 20% increase in revenue. As well as its own community of engaged players, Bitcoin Miner benefits from the ZBD app user base of more than a million gamers.
Paul West, Founder of Fumb Games, said “Bitcoin Miner has proven that US players love games that are fun, snackable and rewarding. The game is not only sustainable, but has soared to new heights since the partnership with ZBD. It’s no surprise that I’m very excited for the future of bitcoin and player-friendly rewarded games.”
Ben Cousens, Chief Strategy Officer at ZBD, said “The two-year collaboration with Paul and Fumb Games on Bitcoin Miner has been a quintessential success story for what we’re building at ZBD. It proves the value in offering rewards for gamers and the success of ZBD’s rewards and payments tech at making it possible at speed and scale. We will no doubt see further impressive numbers for Bitcoin Miner that cement its status as world’s number one Bitcoin game, and we also look forward to extending the potential benefits of Bitcoin rewards to more developers.”
In November 2023, Fumb Games also integrated ZBD’s technology in its idle tycoon RPG SpaceY. ZBD works with more than 100 game developers worldwide, including major brands such as Square Enix, and is also used by innovative adtech companies like Slice and AdInMo.
The post Bitcoin Miner celebrates two years of hugely successful collaboration with ZBD appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
UK Gaming Charity SpecialEffect to Receive Special Award at 20th BAFTA Games Awards
BAFTA has announced that UK gaming charity SpecialEffect, will receive the prestigious Special Award at the 20th BAFTA Games Awards. The award, which recognises outstanding contributions to games, film and television, is one of the highest accolades bestowed by BAFTA. Dr Mick Donegan MBE, founder and CEO of SpecialEffect, will pick up the Special Award at the annual BAFTA Games Awards ceremony on Thursday 11 April.
In 2007, Mick Donegan founded SpecialEffect to help people with even the most severe physical challenges to access video games. The organisation uses specialised technology to enhance access to video games and creative self-expression for people with a wide range of Disabilities.
SpecialEffect’s success began as a result of the collaboration between Mick, a specialist in assistive technology and his son Bill, a keen gamer with a background in product design. Since its creation, the charity has grown to thirty employees, raising all their own funds, and has provided specialist one-to-one assessments and support to severely disabled people throughout the UK and beyond.
Dr Mick Donegan MBE, SpecialEffect founder and CEO, said: “With a background in special education, I realised how much people with severe physical disabilities were missing out by not being able to play. I started SpecialEffect not only to help individuals to play video games but also to collaborate with the games industry to make their games more accessible ‘at source’. Since then, we have been privileged to be invited to share our ideas with more and more developers all over the world. Now, 17 years since SpecialEffect began, it’s an absolute honour for SpecialEffect’s work to be recognised by BAFTA.”
Emma Baehr, BAFTA executive director of awards and content, said: “SpecialEffect’s work is essential to the games world and is hugely deserving of a BAFTA Special Award. Their innovative and supportive approach to making games accessible drives progress within the industry, collaborating with developers and studios on new technologies to make games within reach to more people. We look forward to honouring their contribution to games at the ceremony on Thursday 11 April.”
Throughout the years, SpecialEffect has been involved in collaborating with Xbox, Sony and Logitech, to help design accessible controllers and a switch kit, enabling thousands more severely disabled players to access their games using a wide range of control devices. They have also worked with games studios and developers to help make their games more accessible. The organisation also developed EyeMine, a freely downloadable gaze-controlled interface to enable players to enjoy Minecraft through gaze-control alone.
Later this year will see the rollout of their EyeGaze Games (currently available on PC only) onto Android and iOS, games designed to be fully accessible for people with physical disabilities, whether they use gaze control, joysticks, switches or gamepads.
The post UK Gaming Charity SpecialEffect to Receive Special Award at 20th BAFTA Games Awards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
DPS
Industry heavyweights all set for biggest ever Indian Gaming Tradeshow
This year’s Indian Gaming Tradeshow, featuring the Digital Play Summit (DPS), will showcase more of the industry’s most high-profile operators than ever before, alongside a formidable line-up of its major providers.
Stand-out performers like iGT, Everi, Konami, Playtech, Chalkline, Continent 8, and GBank, as well as other stakeholders such as DraftKings and Fanduel, will be exhibiting at the Anaheim Convention Center, California, from April 8-11.
For the first time the 2024 event will also demonstrate tribal gaming’s adherence to player protection with the launch of a Sustainable Gambling Zone (SGZ).
The SGZ will be a focal point for collaboration where companies can discuss best practices, learn about the latest research and discover innovations in the area of harm prevention and long-term business and industry sustainability.
Presented as a physical area on the DPS show floor, it will feature kiosks where organizations committed to responsible gambling and players’ health will exhibit their services, products and tools.
The SGZ is supported by IGT and endorsed by the National Council on Problem Gambling, Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and The International Center for Responsible Gaming who were also among the first groups to confirm their presence with a kiosk.
The initiative, previously known as the Consumer Protection Zone at ICE London but unique for a North American gaming event, invites other organizations that put responsible gambling at the core of their practice to show their support.
Further exhibitors, sponsors and supporters of this key event in the industry calendar are expected in the next two weeks, all set to explore the incredible opportunities for growth in tribal gaming.
Ernie Stevens, Jr, Indian Gaming Association Chairman, said: “We’re delighted to have compiled such an expansive list of exhibitors as our stakeholders play a vital role in moving this industry forward, and positive progression is at the core of everything we do at the IGA.
“A key part of that is everybody working sustainably and progressively. The Sustainable Gambling Zone at Digital Play Summit is the perfect vehicle for that message and is a fantastic initiative.
“We’re excited to welcome exhibitors and visitors new and time-served to Anaheim to discover more of what we stand for and how working Indian country offers the opportunity to reap tangible rewards.”
Registration for the DigitalPlay Summit is included in all conference and tradeshow registration packages for the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention.
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