Gaming
G2 Gozen crowned inaugural Red Bull Instalock Champions with Grand Finals sweep
G2 Gozen crowned inaugural Red Bull Instalock Champions with Grand Finals sweep
- G2 Gozen were crowned inaugural champions of Red Bull Instalock in 3-1 win against VCT Game Changers 2023 champions Shopify Rebellion
- The invitational tournament ran from 20-21 April at the UK’s premier esports and gaming venue, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London
- Red Bull Instalock brought together some of the best women’s VALORANT GC teams from around the world including G2 Gozen, GIANTX, Shopify Rebellion and Karmine Corp
- The tournament was hosted by Yinsu Collins, with insights from Kieran “Kairo” Tulloch, Billie “BillieIDK” Purdie, Matt “Twiggy” Twigg, and Harry “Hazza” Chapman and an appearance from Megan “Megsoundslikeegg” Garner
- AGON by AOC was the official Monitor Partner for Red Bull Instalock, providing cutting-edge AGON PRO AG254FG monitors, featuring a 360 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response time, for the best in-game experience.
G2 Gozen have been crowned the inaugural Red Bull Instalock champions, claiming the victory across a weekend packed with exhilarating VALORANT matches and tactical plays. Streamed live from London’s premier esports and gaming venue, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere, Red Bull Instalock marked the UK’s first professional women’s VALORANT tournament of 2024.
Red Bull Instalock brought together four of the world’s best professional women’s VALORANT teams for a spectacle tournament, G2 Gozen, GIANTX, Karmine Crop, and 2023 VALORANT Champions Tour: Game Changers Championship winners Shopify Rebellion. Putting a unique twist on the traditional team composition, the competing teams were required to implement three of the game’s offensive class, duelists.
Red Bull Instalock quickly established itself as a high-stakes competition, with teams racing to dominate maps across a best-of-three format across the Upper Semi-Finals. The first game of the tournament saw powerhouse G2 Gozen battle it out against underdogs GIANTX, with GIANTX securing their position in the Upper Finals with a tiebreaker victory against G2 Gozen (2-1).
The second match featured North America’s Shopify Rebellion, who swiftly relegated the French force of Karmine Corp to the Lower Bracket (2-0). Facing off once again, G2 Gozen vanquished GIANTX in a Lower Bracket match underdog victory, securing themselves a position in the Grand Final to compete against Shopify Rebellion (2-0).
This Lower Bracket victory marked a turning point for G2 Gozen, who delivered a flawless masterclass in VALORANT against the North American titans Shopify Rebellion. The Grand Final was an intense showdown, pivoting to a best-of-five format in a battle for the crown. Shopify Rebellion started off strong, with a one-map lead, a reward following their success in the Semi-Finals, but G2 Gozen quickly closed in on that lead as they took the first and second maps. In a gripping third and final map, G2 Gozen swiftly closed out the tournament, claiming the win over the tournament frontrunners and Game Changers 2023 champions Shopify Rebellion (3-1).
The tournament also featured a show match featuring some of the UK’s most beloved VALORANT creators going head-to-head, including Talia Mar, Shan “ThePizzaWaffle” Hadden, Ella “Tenshi” Merry and Alexandra “LexieMariex” Butterfill. Hosted by British FNATIC content creator and partnered streamer Megan “Megsoundslikeegg” Garner, the nail biting creator show match saw Team Jupi take the win after a surprise comeback from Team Tenshi forced the match into overtime.
Kieran “Kairo” Tulloch, Billie “BillieIDK” Purdie, Matt “Twiggy” Twigg, and Harry “Hazza” Chapman were also part of the broadcast, providing live commentary and analysis.
Following the gripping grand finals, recently crowned Red Bull Instalock champion, G2 Gozen Pro and Red Bull Player Michaela “Mimi” Lintrup said: “We learned so much playing in this new format at Red Bull Instalock, how undisciplined people can be when playing something so chaotic. In the chaos, the thing that helped us to secure the win was to chill.”
Red Bull Instalock host Yinsu Collins also commented: “I loved my experience at the first ever Red Bull Instalock! The invited teams were incredibly competitive and tackled the format in a really unique way. Throughout the tournament, as the player’s normal game plan was out the window, we saw a lot of creativity, pros thinking on their feet, adaptation and some new approaches to how the game can be played.”
AGON by AOC, a global leader in gaming monitors, returned to join the Red Bull Gaming universe once again as the official Monitor Partner for Red Bull Instalock. Bringing the event to life and providing cutting-edge hardware for the esports tournament, AGON by AOC equipped the event with the AGON PRO AG254FG monitors, featuring a 360 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response time for the best in-game experience.
Check out redbull.com/gaming for more information.
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Gaming
THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA RELEASES NEW AQUARION SPECIAL SKIN IN LATEST UPDATE
Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia has today released a new Aquarion Special Skin, additional language options and balance updates to the recently reworked Aquarion tribe. Players will dive deep into the Ritiki Marshlands encountering a lost Aquarion outpost with the new skin known as “The Forgotten”.
Long ago, when the Aquarion Empire vanished beneath the waves. One remote outpost in the swampy atolls lost all contact, leading its inhabitants to believe they were the last of their kind. This forgotten tribe evolved in isolation, adapting to the marshy landscapes with squid-like appendages and unique abilities to command the swamp and its creatures.
Using the unique abilities of “The Forgotten”, players can build on water, summon giant squids, create speed enhancing bubbles, ride crocodiles, tame toads, and traverse their marshy terrains with ease.
In addition, the latest update to the game now offers expanded language options: Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Polish, Thai, Turkish & Vietnamese.
Christian Lövstedt, CEO of The Battle of Polytopia, commented: “I feel that this skin is one of the best we’ve created and has quickly become my personal favourite. Additionally, we have added Bubble Tech to the Aquarion Waterways, making that tribe even greater. With expanded language options and new gameplay mechanics, we’re inviting players to dive into the rich lore and strategy that make the Battle of Polytopia truly special.”
To celebrate the launch of the new update, Midjiwan hosted an exclusive livestream event, offering fans a unique look behind the scenes, live gameplay, and discussions with the development team – the livestream is available to watch now: The Forgotten livestrea m by Midjiwan.
Conferences in Europe
Gamecity Hamburg connects Decision Makers from International Studios with new “Portside Game Assembly” Conference Format
Gamecity Hamburg announces the premiere of the “Portside Game Assembly” (PSGA) for June 27, 2025. The new B2B conference format focuses on networking and the exchange of learnings between leading international indie game studios. Portside Game Assembly enables studio heads and decision-makers to exchange knowledge in a confidential setting in extraordinary locations of Hamburg, around the harbor – and on the water.
“The idea for Portside Game Assembly was born out of conversations with studio heads and managers from Hamburg and around Europe. Anyone navigating an indie studio through the games market benefits greatly from exchanging learnings with other decision-makers facing similar challenges. With a curated guest list and a focus on impulse talks and roundtables, PSGA will offer studio leads contacts and discussions which are highly relevant to their work and current developments in the industry,” explains Margarete Schneider, Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg.
“The heart of PSGA is the conference, which will be held on a ship sailing through the Hamburg harbor and to which we welcome attendees from all over Europe and beyond. The conference will be complemented by a networking brunch and two evening events, which invite PSGA participants to meet the vibrant and diverse Hamburg games scene,” adds Dennis Schoubye, Head of Gamecity Hamburg.
The conference program for decision-makers at game studios
On June 27, 2025, the first Portside Game Assembly will kick off with a networking brunch.
Afterwards, the studio managers and decision makers will enter the conference ship, which offers three decks for keynote speeches, roundtables and networking, including a cruise through the famous Hamburg harbor.
Studio managers and decision-makers from the following studios are already attending:
- bippinbits (Dome Keeper, PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant) / Germany
- Ghost Ship Publishing (Deep Rock Galactic) / Denmark
- Indoor Astronaut (Unrailed 1 & 2) / Switzerland
- Landfall Games (Content Warning, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator) / Sweden
- mooneye studios (Lost Ember) / Germany
- Maschinen-Mensch (Curious Expedition 1 & 2, Mother Machine, Codecks) / Germany
- Overhype Studios (Battle Brothers, Menace) / Germany
- Rockfish Games (Everspace 1 & 2) / Germany
- Torpor Games (Suzerain) / Germany
Leads and executives from established indie game studios can register to take part in the Portside Game Assembly via our registration form.
Networking events as part of the Portside Game Assembly
The evening closing event “Games Industry Party” brings conference guests and other members of the games industry together for networking with cool drinks and snacks. Tickets for the Indie Networking Brunch and the Games Industry Party are available separately for non-conference attendees and will go on sale at a later time.
On the evening before, June 26, 2025, there will be an “Opening Mixer” with a panoramic view over Hamburg’s famous St. Pauli district in the Astra Tower, at Bytro Labs office. Portside Game Assembly participants and contacts from the games industry in Hamburg will be invited.
Registration for studios and participants
The conference itself is aimed exclusively at studio managers and decision-makers from internationally successful indie game studios. To enable a curated selection of participants, there will be no direct ticket sales, but studios can register for participation here: registration form.
The conference ticket includes the Opening Mixer event the evening before, access to the Networking Brunch, the main Conference and the Games Industry Party for a total of 189 euros.
Asia
Nazara integrates with ONDC Network to Launch “gCommerce” in India, Unlocking a new era of In-Game Monetization
Nazara Technologies Limited, a leading diversified gaming and sports media platform, and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) are proud to announce their integration to launch “gCommerce” – an innovative in-game monetization platform that seamlessly integrates e-commerce within games.
The integration aims to address a persistent challenge for Indian game developers: low in-app purchase (IAP) conversion rates and poor yields from advertising. Through gCommerce, Nazara and ONDC Network are reimagining game monetization by leveraging India’s thriving e-commerce landscape and providing developers with new, scalable revenue streams.
This strategic integration will allow game developers to monetize through an affiliate revenue-sharing model, earning a commission on every successful transaction initiated by players through the gCommerce platform.
Creating Value for Developers and Gamers
ONDC Network’s expertise in creating an open, interoperable network for digital commerce will enable Nazara’s gCommerce platform to connect with a wide range of sellers across more than 10 categories, ensuring a rich diversity of product offering for gamers. This integration enhances the user experience by allowing them to make informed purchases while they continue their gaming journey.
“We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of gCommerce by Nazara via integration with the ONDC Network, as it represents a significant step forward in our mission to empower game developers with effective and innovative monetization solutions,” said Nitish Mittersain, CEO of Nazara Technologies. “We are not only creating new revenue opportunities for developers but also enriching the overall experience for our gamers.”
T Koshy, CEO of ONDC, added, “Nazara coming on ONDC Network to launch gCommerce is a testament to the versatility of the Network in supporting various industries and use cases. By bringing e-commerce into the gaming ecosystem, we are paving the way for a seamless blend of entertainment and shopping that adds value for players, developers, and the broader digital commerce network.”
The gCommerce platform is currently in soft launch and will be rolled out to game developers starting Q1, FY26.
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