Gaming

Veloce Racing bow out of Island X Prix after pacey Sardinia outing

Published

2 years ago

October 25, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Extreme E team show strong speed in penultimate round of the season but ultimately fail to reach the final following spectacular crash for Sarrazin

Veloce Racing’s hopes of a second Extreme E podium were extinguished at the Island X Prix in Sardinia following a dramatic barrel roll in the aptly named ‘Crazy Race’.

The London-based squad arrived in Italy with high hopes following the team’s efforts to the reach the final in Greenland, which ultimately fell short during Stéphane Sarrazin’s spirited excursion through the infamous ‘Rock Garden’.

Veloce got off to a strong start in Sardinia when Sarrazin and team-mate Emma Gilmour topped the timesheets in the initial practice runs and eventually finished third in the session.

Qualifying

Qualifying 1 in Sardinia was arguably the team’s most competitive outing of the inaugural Extreme E season. Calm and committed runs from both Gilmour and Sarrazin saw the duo finish an impressive third just 18 seconds adrift of pacesetters X44.

The team carried this momentum into the second qualifying session of the day and looked on course for another promising result as Sarrazin kept pace with X44 during the early stages of his run.

It was not to be, however, with the ODYSSEY 21’s front suspension failing during the course’s unforgiving second sector, forcing Sarrazin to grind to a halt and slip out of contention.

The disastrous Qualifying 2 run meant that Veloce Racing was eighth overall – just three points shy of second place, highlighting the volatility of the Island X Prix – and would take part in the Crazy Race on Sunday.

The Crazy Race

As the lights went out for the Crazy Race, Gilmour’s lightning-quick reactions weren’t enough to withstand the advances of Kevin Hansen in the JBXE car who capitalised taking the optimum route.

The New Zealander seized the initiative and switched lanes, trying an alternate line to gain the advantage into the first gate. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off and the Veloce Racing car slipped into third position.

Gilmour handed the reigns over to Sarrazin hot on the heels of Christine GZ. The Frenchman immediately began applying the pressure to the Italian, and it paid off as the second-place car pulled over with mechanical gremlins releasing Sarrazin to hunt down JBXE.

The attack was short-lived, however, as Sarrazin hit a dip and fired the back of the car up into the air, pitching the ODYSSEY 21 into a spectacular barrel roll. Mercifully, Sarrazin emerged from the wreckage unscathed, but the team’s aims of a second Extreme E podium were over.

As a result of the crash, the Veloce Racing ODYSSEY 21’s chassis was compromised and subsequently, the team are unable to take part in next week’s Extreme E damper test and rookie test.

Stéphane Sarrazin, Extreme E Driver, Veloce Racing said: “It was a crazy race. I did my best to catch the JBXE car, the team were keeping me updated on the time difference and I was catching.

We knew we had to win to get to the final so we had to push. I attacked one of the compressions straight instead of side on and unfortunately the car rolled. I’m disappointed for the whole team as we really had the pace to be at the front this weekend.

Emma Gilmour, Extreme E Driver, Veloce Racing said: “Absolutely gutted. Stéphane and I had such good pace this weekend and to end up in the Crazy Race was really disappointing to start with.

“Personally, I’m disappointed I didn’t get a better start, from then on we were struggling with the dust and I handed over to Stéphane in P3. He did a great job to get past Christine GZ but got caught out in the rough stuff so glad he’s OK but just really sad for the team as we had good pace this weekend and it started so positively.”

Daniel Bailey, CEO, Veloce Racing added: “Despite the setbacks we faced at the Island X Prix, I think there are a lot of positives that Veloce Racing can take away from Sardinia. Pace-wise, this was our most competitive outing so far.

“We were fast in practice setting the pace early on and ending up P3 and we followed that up with another P3 in Qualifying 1. We got unlucky in Qualifying 2 and in the Crazy Race but this is motorsport and these things happen. I think we’ll come away from this weekend as a stronger team and we’ll aim to finish on a high note in Dorset in December.”

Jean-Eric Vergne, Co-Founder, Veloce Racing commented: “The most important thing was to see that Stéphane [Sarrazin] is out of the car and seems OK. It’s a shame because Emma [Gilmour] did a great job to hand the car over within the 25-second range that we wanted. Stéphane knew he had to push very hard to get it done at the end of the race so it’s unfortunate.”

Now, the St. Helena – Extreme E’s floating paddock – makes the trip to Dorset, England (18-19 December) where the inaugural Extreme E season will reach its dramatic conclusion.

Gaming

Midjiwan opens Stockholm’s first co-working space for game developers

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia, today announces the opening of Game Town, Stockholm’s first coworking space for game developers.

In addition to being a new home for Midjiwan, Game Town will also serve as a base for Toppluva AB, the makers of Grand Mountain Adventure; Warm Kitten AB, the developers behind Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack; Gro Play AB, a studio creating educational games; and Dataspelsbranschen, Sweden’s trade association for video game companies. More game development companies are expected to join over the next few months.

The Swedish games industry, including subsidiaries abroad, generated SEK 86.5 billion (USD $7.9 billion) in 2022, according to a Dataspelsbranschen report. Gaming is a strong growth industry, accounting for over 4 percent of Sweden’s total service exports. Game Town will become a creative, innovative, and social meeting place, further solidifying Stockholm as a key games industry hub with industry meetups, mixers, and game showcases hosted for indie and AAA developers.

Södermalm, the Stockholm island where Game Town is located, has one of the highest concentrations of game developers. The nearby areas constitute a cluster for companies within game development, housing among others Paradox, DICE, Fatshark, and Epic Games.

Christian Lövstedt, General Manager at Midjiwan, commented:

“Game Town will become a professional and playful environment for smaller game studios that want to work and develop among other developers. We’re looking to create a community of people who share our same passion for gaming and game development. Game Town will bring together indie developers and freelancers to create an open and welcoming place for the entire industry to gather.”

Per Strömbäck, Chairman of Dataspelsbranschen.

“Within a kilometer radius of Södermalm, there are at least 3,000 game developers, making it perhaps the most densely populated place for game developers in the world. Here, games are created for billions of players worldwide. Perhaps there is something in the Earth’s magnetic field that makes local games particularly good? Game Town will be located right in the middle of this hub, so it is only right that our own office should be right here.”

The post Midjiwan opens Stockholm’s first co-working space for game developers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gaming

Metaverse Studio Karta Reaches Huge Milestone with New Game Beat Builder

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Alan Campbell

metaverse-studio-karta-reaches-huge-milestone-with-new-game-beat-builder

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Karta pushes the boundaries of music game innovation with Built Builder on Fortnite – reaching 100k players

Beat Builder is Fortnite’s first-ever build-based rhythm game
Karta partners with NoCopyrightSounds for the game’s music library
Two new big songs just added: Royalty by Egzod & Maestro Chives and Invincible by Deaf Kev

Karta, an award-winning metaverse studio pioneering the world of in-game experiential marketing, continues to push the boundaries of music game innovation as its latest project, Beat Builder, reaches 100,000 players.

Beat Builder is an interactive music rhythm game where players put down walls, ramps, floors and cones to the beat of the music. Centred on building a core Fortnite gameplay feature used in its very popular Battle Royal, Beat Builder is the first-ever build-based rhythm game on the platform. As well as being a music-filled experience played for fun, the game is also used as a practice tool for players to improve their game-playing skills on Fortnite.

To create the game’s eclectic music library, Karta has partnered with NoCopyrightSounds, a copyright-free record label and music platform. Focusing on drumstep, phonk and trap electronic music for now, with artists such as Twisted, if found, XTOM and Lost Sky, players interact with the stems of each song that have their own visual world to match the vibe. Karta aims to develop the game further, updating it with a plethora of new music and genres such as metal, K-pop and rock. The long-term aim of Beat Builder is to integrate artists into Fortnite to share their music with fans, with the game becoming a recognised platform for exploring new artists and music.

Reaching 100,000 players is a significant milestone for a new metaverse game with Beat Builder continuing to grow in popularity since its launch recently. To mark the milestone, Karta has updated the game with two of NCS biggest songs; Royalty by Egzod & Maestro Chives and Invincible by Deaf Kev and is already planning further extensions, partnerships and new seasons.

“We’re thrilled that Beat Builder has gotten off to such a great start,” the Chief Executive Officer for Karta, Erik Londre, said. “We wanted to create a rhythm game that felt 100% Fortnite native, where the music is connected to the platform’s core building gameplay. A rhythm game that makes you a better gamer is an idea that excites us a lot.”

“Beat Builder truly encapsulates what Karta is all about; innovative and forward-thinking design that combines incredible music with interactive gaming in one entertaining place,” the Chief Growth Officer for Karta, Tony Barnes, said. “Music’s presence in the metaverse is evolving and we think Beat Builder has the potential to become its own platform for artists and brands to authentically connect to a Fortnite audience through gameplay and new music. We can’t wait to develop it and see how it grows.”

Since launching in 2021, Karta has worked with brands such as Amazon Music, McDonald’s and Hugo Boss. As well as working with Spotify on its iconic global campaign, Spotify Wrapped, to gamify the listening habits of Spotify users and bring this into the metaverse. Through these partnerships, Karta is reshaping entertainment experiences in the metaverse and creating meaningful connections between brands and their audiences. In the past year, the London-based studio has also worked with global artists like Nicki Minaj for her Gag City experience in Roblox, K-pop giant Blackpink with its hugely popular Blackpink the Palace and Twice with its Twice Square, which has become the most successful persistent music experience on Roblox.

“We’re very happy to provide the music for Beat Builder, a brilliant new game that gives players the chance to interact with the music like never before,” the Brand Manager for NCS, Charlotte Lee, said. “It has the potential to become a go-to platform for music gaming and we’re proud to support it.”

Beat Builder is available now to explore on Fortnite. For more information, go to www. Karta. game.

The post Metaverse Studio Karta Reaches Huge Milestone with New Game Beat Builder appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

eSports

Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov is a New Virtus.pro Player

Published

4 days ago

April 15, 2024

Alan Campbell

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov (pictured), one of the most decorated and famous players in CS2, a Major champion and winner of the Intel Grand Slam, is moving to Virtus.pro.

“The arrival of star players always generates excitement within the club and among its fans,” the Chief Executive Officer for Virtus.pro, Nikolai Petrossian, said. “Denis is a well-known figure in the world of eSports with an impressive list of major victories and exceptional skill. Few players won both at Major and Intel Grand Slam events.

“Our CS2 roster is strong thanks to teamwork, a clearly defined playstyle and the individual talents of our players. Transferring players with outstanding skills to improve specific areas is a common practice in sports. I am confident that Denis joining will give a powerful boost to the team in the upcoming challenges in Dallas, London and beyond.

“Denis will replace Nikolay ‘mir’ Bityukov in the VP lineup. Nikolay has been a loyal and valuable member of our team and we express our gratitude for his contributions. Nikolay ‘mir’ Bityukov is open to offers from other teams.”

“Virtus.pro is a top team,” Sharipov said. “The core of the roster has won a Major not a while ago and all the players are in their prime and ready for victories right now. We share the same ambitions and goals. Besides, I’m also excited about the idea of playing with Jame as he’s one of the most unique IGLs in the game. Can’t wait to adapt to my new team and start doing what I came here for, winning trophies.”

Sharipov has dozens of victories at elite tournaments, including: