Weekly News Recap - Epic Games & PlayVS to Bring “Fortnite” Competitions to Colleges & High Schools

Weekly News Recap – Epic Games & PlayVS to Bring “Fortnite” Competitions to Colleges & High Schools

The latest Microsoft Edge browser is now available for Windows 10 and MacOS. The new browser is powered by Chromium, the same engine behind Google’s Chrome browser. (CNET)
Huawei announced shipping 6.9 million 5G phones in 2019. The company released eight 5G smartphones in 2019, a result of its multi-billion-dollar 5G campaign. (TechRadar)
Seattle residents will be able to vote in an official election via smartphone for the first time in U.S. history. The digital voting option seeks to remedy the district’s historically low voter turnout. (NPR)
Facebook’s dark mode is now available for Android devices. Facebook-owned WhatsApp is also testing a dark mode for mobile users. (TechRadar)
Samsung is building its own variant of Airdrop, titled Quick Share. The new feature is available exclusively for Galaxy phones, and will likely launch with Samsung’s upcoming flagship devices. (Engadget)

“Fortnite” is revamping its physics engine, moving to Unreal’s new Chaos physics engine. The update will delay the second season of “Fortnite,” which is now set to kick off on February 20. (Polygon)
“The Witcher” is being adapted into an anime film by the studio behind “The Legend of Korra.” The production will be led by Netflix, which is also currently publishing a live-action “The Witcher” television show. (Engadget)
The latest “Call of Duty” update introduces a new weapon – the crossbow. The update also includes several bug fixes and new content for players to experience. (GameSpot)
A new prequel DLC is available for “Frostpunk,” the post-apocalyptic city builder. Titled “The Last Autumn,” the new DLC explores the events leading up to the apocalypse. (Polygon)
A new “Kingdom Hearts” game is coming to mobile devices. Titled “Project Xehanort,” the game is set to launch in spring 2020. (Kotaku)

Epic Games and PlayVS are partnering to bring “Fortnite” competitions to colleges and high schools. These competitions will be officially sponsored and supported by Epic Games, with players competing as duos in private lobbies. (The Washington Post)
Tencent has finalized a $148 million acquisition of Funcom, the developer of the “Conan” game franchise. Tencent is already one of the world’s largest game companies and holds shares in businesses including Supercell, Ubisoft, Riot Games, Epic Games, Paradox Interactive, and Miniclip. (TechCrunch)
Gen. G has teamed up with Benefit Cosmetics to produce a content series highlighting women streamers and gamers. The series will feature segments showing each player’s respective beauty routines. (Esports Insider)
Stillfront Group has acquired California mobile gaming studio Storm8 for $300 million. Storm8 creates casual mobile games, with an audience primarily composed of women ages 25 to 45. (VentureBeat)
Disney is selling its FoxNext games studio to mobile game developer Scopely. Scopely passed $1 billion in revenue last year, and develops games for franchises like “Star Trek” and “The Walking Dead.” (The Hollywood Reporter)