Author: Melanie Kramer

  • Billionaire Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan Invests Millions in eSports Industry

    Billionaire Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan Invests Millions in eSports Industry

    Min-Liang Tan, CEO of gaming hardware maker and eSports pioneer Razer, invests heavily into eSports both in his native Singapore and in Malaysia.

    Recently, Tan has had to defend a $3.3 million investment into Malaysian eSports, over criticism that the billionaire wasn’t doing enough for his own country of Singapore.

    Malaysia’s Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng committed the equivalent to $3.3 million to the “Malaysian Digital Economy for eSports” in Malaysia’s 2019 budget speech. Razer, and Tan, followed by also promising $3.3 million to the Malaysian eSports industry.

    In a tweet on Friday, November 2, 2018, Tan described the Malaysian budget as progressive, saying he was also committed to bringing eSports to the next level. The next day on Facebook Tan said:

    “After my commitment to invest MYR10M into Malaysian esports in 2019, I got a slew of abusive messages saying we don’t do anything for esports in Singapore.”

    In his defense, Tan pointed out that Razer sponsors eSports contests in Singapore like Hyperplay, the SEA Majors, and the PVP eSports Championships.

    Razer has also sponsored individual athletes like professional Street Fighter player Ho Kun Xian and employs hundreds of staff in Singapore focused on the eSports market. Tan wrote:

    “My investment in Malaysian eSports is a good thing for the entire community, and Singaporeans should be happy that the entire region is going to grow in eSports.”

    Tan believes that instead of criticism:

    “We should be celebrating the fact that we will be seeing the growth of esports in the region and we, at Razer, are committed to spearheading it.”

    Asia made up half of the global gaming market by the end of 2017 according to researcher Newzoo.

    Min-Liang Tan and Razer

    Tan, an entrepreneur from Singapore and colleague Robert Krakoff founded Razer in 2005, now one of the leading brands in gaming device and accessory manufacturing.

    Razer went public on the Hong Kong Stock exchange in November 2017. As it did so, Tan became an instant billionaire at the age of 40 with a net worth of $1.6 billion. He also became the youngest self-made Singaporean billionaire.

    Tan still oversees the design and development of all Razer products, despite being a lawyer before getting into gaming. In 2015 Tan was named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential Leaders in Tech,” by Juniper Research. He’s also been ranked one of the most powerful people in gaming by Kotaku.

    Ex-competitive gamer Tan, speaking to Bloomberg in October 2018, described the growth of eSports as “explosive” and “exponential” in both American and Asian markets.

    The top ten eSports teams are worth a combined $1.5 billion and the eSports market as a whole should reach revenue of over $900 billion in 2018.

    Featured image from Twitter.

  • In China 5-Year-Olds Have 15-Page Resumes

    In China 5-Year-Olds Have 15-Page Resumes

    The entry process to top private schools in China is so competitive that five-year-olds have 15-page resumes.

    Recent reporting highlights how one child’s resume, longer than most top executives, went viral on a Chinese social media network.

    One five-year-old’s resume. Source: The Telegraph

    The unnamed Chinese boy, according to his resume, had read over 10,000 English and Chinese books, traveled the world, and had numerous hobbies many teens would be envious of. It said:

    “I write three English essays per week to express my feelings.”

    Another resume of a six-year-old from China went viral earlier in 2018 revealing the child could talk at three months old, and by six, could carry out basic computer programming. That child beat 8,000 other applicants to gain a place at an elite private primary school in China.

    It’s no secret that Chinese kids are driven, both by their own desire to succeed and their aptly described “tiger parents,” who are keen for their children to do well.

    Parents In China Are Assessed Too

    Template resumes for children are available widely online in China and even parents are often vetted for their intelligence and achievements by top schools.

    In Shanghai, students can freely attend public primary schools near to them, but places at Shanghai’s private junior schools are fiercely coveted. There are often 70 applications for each place.

    Two private primary schools in Shanghai were accused in May 2017 of vetting both parents and grandparents’ qualifications and abilities. Another school was accused of discriminating against children whose parents were overweight.

    Yangpu Primary School made parents do a timed math test, and Qingpu World Foreign Language School quizzed parents on their education. Both were subsequently contacted by the Shanghai Education Commission which ordered the tests to be removed and said:

    “What they did violated the compulsory education law. It has violated principles in promoting educational fairness and students’ rights in education.”

    The Yangpu Primary School issued a statement explaining the test was for parent’s “entertainment” and for research.

    Though Shanghai’s private schools still conduct admissions tests and interviews for their selection processes, resumes and parent assessments were banned earlier this year.

    China’s parents certainly aren’t alone in pushing their kids to do well or creating elaborate CV’s based on early-age and extra-curricular activities. It’s a similar story in the UK and indeed around the world, but not for every parent. Many others believe that children should be allowed to be children for as long as possible.

    There is certainly plenty of inspiration to gain a good education here–China currently has nearly 2,000 “super-rich” and over 600 billionaires–perhaps explaining why five-year-olds have 15-page resumes.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • China Has More $1 Billion Unicorns Than the US

    China Has More $1 Billion Unicorns Than the US

    The latest Hurun Report from China on Friday revealed the number of Chinese startups worth $1 billion has overtaken the number of US startups worth the same amount.

    China has added 34 “unicorns” in Q3 of 2018, taking China’s total to 181 compared to 138 in the US, according to the South China Morning Post. The country’s 181 thriving new enterprises are worth a combined 4.8 trillion yuan, the equivalent to $696 billion.

    Rupert Hoogewer, chief researcher of the Hurun report said of China’s startups:

    “These unicorns, mostly in the new economy, are the fastest-growing companies with the most potential to grow big against a slowing economy.”

    Despite this, China’s overall growth is slowing, Q3 saw its slowest quarterly growth as a country since the economic crisis which began a decade ago. Its stock markets have also tumbled with the Shenzhen and Shanghai declining over 25% this year alone.

    Many of these “unicorn” companies in the US and China are technology startups, with China’s new companies innovating in anything from fintech to e-commerce and artificial intelligence.

    China’s determined technology focus has been rewarded with much early investment capital sourced both nationally and internationally. More specifically, 45 of China’s unicorns are internet services related businesses and 21 are in internet finance.

    That said, China’s peer-to-peer lending business, much of it internet based, is under severe regulatory pressure and has declined rapidly over the last 12 months.

    15 of China’s billion-dollar startups surpassed their $1-billion thresholds within three years of their creation.

    The latest Hurun list doesn’t include the 20 Chinese companies that have become publicly listed already and 2018, and three which had merged.

    China’s Biggest Unicorns

    Billionaires in China, Jack Ma
    Jack Ma, image from Forbes

    China’s largest unicorn is, no surprise, Ant Financial an affiliate to Alibaba and the world’s most valuable unicorn with a valuation surpassing $150 billion and 1 trillion yuan. Alibaba and Ant Financial founder Jack Ma, at 54, is China’s richest man with a net worth of $39 billion.

    Ma founded Ant Financial, which rebranded from Alipay in 2014. In 2017 Ant Financial handled more payments than Mastercard and its online payments platform completed more than $8 trillion worth of transactions.

    It controls the world’s largest money-market fund, has made loans to tens of millions of people and is now the world’s biggest fintech firm.

    The second-largest Chinese startup is Jinri Toutiao, a news aggregation application owned by Bytedance Technology and with a value of over $75 billion or around 500 billion Chinese yuan.

    US Unicorns

    The US figure of 138 billion-dollar startups is taken from CB Insights and Pitchbook data from August 2018. A recent analysis of 91 U.S unicorns found over half had been founded by modern-day American immigrants.

    Uber is the most valuable U.S unicorn at $72 billion, followed by Elon Musk’s Tesla at $21 billion. If Uber decides to go public it could achieve an IPO valuation of $120 billion.

    Featured image from Alibaba.

  • “Taunt” Your Friends While Watching eSports This Weekend?

    “Taunt” Your Friends While Watching eSports This Weekend?

    Free mobile application Taunt lets users play, win, and interact with friends while watching their favorite eSports competitions.

    The Taunt application launched officially on Friday on iOS and Android in the US and Canada. It’s designed to enhance the eSports viewing experience for fans, in a market that’s growing exponentially.

    Image Source: PlayTaunt.com

    Like similar applications for traditional sports, it allows fans to interact socially and make predictions about game-play and outcomes. Jon David, CEO at Taunt says:

    “For too long, it’s only been traditional sports fans that have been able to enjoy rich, engaging social interactions while viewing their favorite sports. At Taunt, we believe esports fans deserve exactly the same.”

    The fan engagement application is targeted at League of Legends fans, to begin with, and has been released ahead of this weekend’s World Championships. The application streams eSports matches while users interact with and “taunt” other users with challenges and even “flashbulbs” to distract peers. David says:

    “Fans are looking for a new way to enhance their gameday experience, and that’s exactly what Taunt delivers.”

    Taunt users compete with each other during live eSports matches by supporting their favorite players. Taunt players have their own scoreboards and if the player they back do well the Taunt player earns points. More points are available for challenges and power-ups.

    https://twitter.com/PlayTaunt/status/1037031175116615680

    Up to now, Taunt was only in closed beta while it gained feedback and made improvements. Now Taunt is ready for anyone to use, beginning with League of Legends matches, and rolling out to other popular eSports games later.

    Seattle-based Taunt already has a team of 15 and has raised investment of $3 million, including capital from technology investors Foundry Group.

    Foundry Group, led by American entrepreneur Brad Feld, was an early investor in Fitbit and recently raised $750 million itself to invest in early-stage technology startups like Taunt.

    eSports is predicted to have an audience 437 million strong by 2019 and an overall industry value of an estimated $906 billion for 2018.

    As the industry grows, it’s taking on more and more of the features of traditional sports, with fan engagement applications like the new Taunt, million-dollar teams, and even creating new careers for young eSports coaches.

    Featured image from Playtaunt.com

  • This Gamer is Paying for College by Being a Fortnite Coach

    This Gamer is Paying for College by Being a Fortnite Coach

    UnknownAvix, Twitter.

    Emerging industries create new career options. eSports and games like Fortnite are creating opportunities for the youngest gaming generation. One gamer, Troy Hanson, has become a Fortnite coach to pay for his education.

    Hanson, aka “UnknownAvix,” attends college in California, studying Liberal Arts and to become an Elementary teacher. He provides Fortnite coaching to players of all levels through video links and the Gamer Sensei website.

    Hanson is a semi-professional player of games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), at 20, he boasts over ten years of gaming experience and three years and 3000 hours of play for Fortnite.

    Yes, despite playing what could have been an average of 20 hours of Fortnite per week for the last three years, it looks like Hanson’s education is going well and he has career prospects.

    eSports is booming and the similarities between traditional sports and new screen-based competing are narrowing. The eSports industry is worth billions, big brand sponsorships are on the rise and now gaming coaching is an absolutely real thing.

    MIT Technology Review tried out a session with Hanson, the correlation with learning traditional sports was clear, it’s not just about strategy, Hanson taught, but also muscle memory. The coaching recipient Alex Anthony said:

    “I found myself reminded of the time a batting coach assigned me to square up to an imaginary home plate and take 100 practice swings a day.”

    Creating Careers for a Gaming Generation

    Hanson’s now coaching Fortnite for 50 to 60 hours per week, often with students 12 or younger, many of whom’s parents view video games as valid hobbies. Hanson said:

    “Four or five years ago, gaming was the nerdiest thing you could do. But now it’s cooler, and that’s yielding a larger audience of people looking to get better.”

    Some of the top Fortnite players have earned hundreds of thousands in just prizes alone this year. Others are making millions from playing and streaming on YouTube and Twitch. eSports team owners are valued in the millions. eSports playing, and coaching has, in a few short years, become a career.

    Even colleges in the U.S have their own teams and coaches and budding players can earn their college scholarships by playing games like Fortnite.

    In the U.S state of Oregan, Northwest Christian University (NCU) became the first recently in the state to fully fund its own eSports team. Gamer Michael Hoffman said:

    “I never thought that I would come to college to play esports, something that I love.”

    Gamers are no longer nerds giving ground to football playing college athletes. They are athletes themselves. NCU eSports coach Taylor Lind says:

    “Statistics and predictions say that by 2020 that the most watched activity, besides football, will be esports.”

    Hoffman says, like football, eSports is hard work and competitive. Lind points out the importance to the gaming generation:

    “Really it’s an opportunity for a lot of these guys – to get a scholarship and do something that they love – and compete against schools across the country.”

    Our lifestyle, work, and play is changing. In this technological era, concerns grow about opportunities for the young and the need to educate in science and technology subjects from an early age. As older generations who govern and legislate mull this over, the youngest generation, born technologists, are carving out opportunities for themselves.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Even Warren Buffet’s Investments Have Been Affected by Market Volatility

    Even Warren Buffet’s Investments Have Been Affected by Market Volatility

    Shares in Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway portfolio are down 4% in October and only up 4% so far across 2018. Warren Buffet has been affected by market ups and downs, just like many other investors large or small.

    The “Oracle of Omaha”

    Buffet is one of the most successful and followed investors of all time. He’s also the third-richest person in the world and was in 2008, the richest person in the world. Buffet, known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” is worth around $84.3 billion.

    His holding and investment company Berkshire Hathaway is the third largest public company in the world and has nearly $800 billion worth of assets.

    It owns Dairycrest, Fruit of the Loom, GEICO, and BNSF Railway, among others, outright. It also owns 26.7% of Kraft Heinz Company, 17.6% of American Express, 9.4% of Coca-Cola, 6.8% of the Bank of America, and 5.22% of Apple.

    More recently, Berkshire Hathaway has increased its holdings in the major US airline carriers including United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

    Philanthropy and Frugality

    Buffet, at aged 88, is still Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO. He’s known for his investment acumen, his philanthropic efforts, and his frugal lifestyle.

    The investor has pledged to give 99% of his fortune to charitable causes and he donates significantly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with Bill Gates, Buffet founded The Giving Pledge in 2009 where billionaires commit to contributing to more than half of wealth to philanthropic causes.

    Buffet’s 2018 Investment Performance

    Berkshire Hathaway shares, the most expensive shares in history, are down 4% in October 2018, down 8% on an overall 12-month high, but up more than 4% this year. The 4% increase marginally beats the overall performance of the Dow and S&P 500.

    One of the biggest sources of Buffet’s current underperformance is the investment in Kraft Heinz, a purchase with equity firm 3G in 2013 and a further deal in 2015.

    Berkshire Hathaway owns 325 million shares in Kraft Heinz forming its third-largest holding. Kraft Heinz stocks are down 30% this year and due to report its latest earnings this week. Shares and earnings for Kraft Heinz are forecasted to drop even further as consumers choose healthier foods over processed ones.

    Berkshire Hathaway’s financial investments are also performing poorly led by 12% drops in Wells Fargo and Bank of New York Mellon stocks. Other stocks, like American Express, Moody’s, Coca Cola and Delta shares are also relatively flat for Berkshire Hathaway. General Motors stocks, another of the giant’s investments, are also down more than 10% this year.

    Saving Berkshire Hathaway’s performance for 2018 is its investment in Apple, its largest holding. Buffet’s company owns 252 million shares worth $55 billion. Apple’s latest earnings are due out any second and may determine Buffet’s success for the rest of the year.

    Featured image by Mark Hirschey.

  • Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Summoned by UK and Canadian Parliaments

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Summoned by UK and Canadian Parliaments

    In what is being described as an “unprecedented” joint move by the UK and Canadian governments, Zuckerberg is to appear before parliamentary committee members from both countries.

    Two separate parliamentary committees in the two countries have joined forces in requesting Zuckerberg to personally answer questions relating to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Following new data breaches, both parliaments are asking for explanations regarding Facebook’s policies and data management.

    Both the UK and Canada are investigating the impact on democracy, privacy, and the incentives and rewards pertaining to false information published via social media, and in particular on Facebook.

    A Never Before Seen International Grand Committee

    The UK’s House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee has announced the intention to hold a joint hearing with its Canadian counterpart to pressure Zuckerberg into speaking directly to the UK and Canada.

    The hearing will be held in the UK parliament’s home of Westminster, London, at the end of November. According to reports, it has been dubbed the “international grand committee on disinformation and fake news.”

    Zuckerberg has appeared in front of the US Congress and Senate and the EU Parliament but has so far refused to appear in front of other parliaments. He has, however, sent junior Facebook executives.

    The UK parliamentary committee has invited other parliamentary committees from around the world to send representatives. Conservative party MP Damian Collins and Canadian MP Bob Zimmer have co-signed a letter to Zuckerberg. The letter reveals:

    “No such joint hearing has ever been held. Given your self-declared objective to “fix” Facebook, and to prevent the platform’s malign use in world affairs and democratic process, we would like to give you the chance to appear at this hearing.”

    The letter also notes that although they realize he cannot appear in front of all governments:

    “We believe that your users in other countries need a line of accountability to your organisation – directly, via yourself. We would have thought that this responsibility is something that you would want to take up.”

    Declaring that both MPs plan to issue final reports on the matter by the end of December 2018, they add:

    “The hearing of your evidence is now overdue, and urgent.”

    The UK DCMS committee called for urgent action to combat online disinformation and defend democracy a few months ago. It also suggested a charge to social media platforms to fund programs in digital literacy to better educate social media users.

    Canada’s Concerns

    Zimmer leads the Canadian Standing Committee on Access to information, Privacy, and Ethics (SCAIPE). It is concerned about a company connected to Cambridge Analytica, AggregateIQ, which is based in British Columbia, Canada. AggregateIQ provided online advertising services to the “Vote Leave” campaign in the UK during the 2016 referendum on leaving the EU, now known as Brexit.

    AggregateIQ once served as a data handler and system developer for Cambridge Analytica. The SCAIPE committee has already questioned executives from the company.

    Zimmer, potentially with colleagues, will attend the hearing in the UK which according to reports will proceed with or without, the Facebook CEO’s attendance. Zuckerberg has been given to November 7, 2018, to confirm his attendance. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed:

    “We’ve received the committee’s letter and will respond to Mr Collins by his deadline.”

    Zuckerberg has directly refused the UK DCMS committee before and the committee responded with the threat of a formal summons when he next arrived in the UK. Zuckerberg has not visited the UK since the threat was made. The joint international request to Zuckerberg is a new tactic, and the question is very much open as to whether the CEO will attend.

    Facebook’s latest data breach exposed 29 million user’s personal information, news that hasn’t helped Facebook after months of defending itself over Cambridge Analytica. On release of its Q3 earnings, it’s apparent that Facebook is beginning to feel the financial effect of the negative press and critical data privacy concerns.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Pizza Hut and Toyota Build a Pizza Making Truck

    Pizza Hut and Toyota Build a Pizza Making Truck

    The global pizza giant and vehicle-maker Toyota have teamed up to create a prototype truck that can cook your pizza in seven minutes while it’s being delivered.

    In a bid to keep ahead in the still growing market for pizza delivery, worth an expected $76 billion by 2022, Pizza Hut is thinking out of the box.

    Pizza Hut COO Nicolas Burquier wants to bring Pizza Hut’s ovens closer to the customer’s door, saying:

    “We’re exploring any opportunities to streamline our processes and systems that impact our team members’ experiences and making their lives easier and safer, and then we’re looking at how that impacts the customer experience.”

    The “Tundra PIE Pro.” Source: Pizza Hut

    The new mobile pizza maker, the “Tundra PIE Pro,” is being revealed at specialty automotive show SEMA 2018 this week in Las Vegas and has a refrigerator, computer-controlled robotic arms, and a portable oven.

    “The Kitchen” sits in the back of the truck bed and the whole cooking process is performed by the robot while out of delivery. Burquier said:

    “Our obsession is always the same: How do we reduce the gap between the moment when the pizza comes out of the oven and when the customer starts to enjoy eating our product?”

    The robot can pick out a pizza, place it on a conveyor that goes through a high-speed oven, and slice it and box the pizza when it’s cooked.

    The truck and its mobile kitchen are fuelled by hydrogen-fuel-cell electric power.

    The Tundra PIE Pro is actually the second prototype for Pizza Hut and Toyota. The pair’s first automation partnership was a blueprint for driverless delivery vans revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

    If Pizza Hut and Toyota combine mobile pizza making with self-driving trucks in a few years’ pizza deliveries could be completely automated. Burquier said:

    “We’re going to play with this prototype and then figure out what we can learn in order to build the future of our processes and our systems.”

    The Tundra PIE Pro might seem a little too “out of the box,” but maybe not when futuristic hot food delivery is being explored by other brands too. Domino’s Pizza has already tested pizza delivery drones in New Zealand and Uber is looking at a similar concept.

    Robot-powered manufacturing and automation in all industries is growing, creating global concern about the future jobs market and employment prospects for more manual workers.

    Industrial robot-makers ABB has recently ramped up its robot producing capacity to meet worldwide demand with plans for a new $150 million factory in China.

    Featured image from Pizza Hut.

  • Sony Reports $2 Billion in Q2 Profits Fuelled By Growth in Gaming Revenue

    Sony Reports $2 Billion in Q2 Profits Fuelled By Growth in Gaming Revenue

    Sony has reported record Q2 profits of $2.1 billion this week off the back of a 27% increase in its gaming revenue and the success of the Sony PlayStation.

    PlayStation has delivered $4.9 billion in console sales for Sony, with an operating profit for the PlayStation business alone of $800 million. The popular gaming consoles figures are up 65% year-on-year.

    A total of 86 million PS4 consoles have sold to date including 3.9 billion of the machines in Q2 illustrating the excellent performance of the latest PlayStation Model. According to reports, total sales of the PS3 were 80 million in 2013. Total sales for the first PlayStation model were 102 million.

    For recently released game titles, both “God of War” and “Spider-Man” sold over 3 million copies in their first three days after release.

    Sony’s other business areas are also delivering for the $60 billion company. Its financial services division and second-largest source of revenue, founded in 2004, offers life insurance and payments services. This side of Sony’s business also delivered a 27% rise in revenue.

    Sony’s Semiconductor Solutions Corporation builds imaging and sensing technology, it too delivered a revenue increase of 11%.

    Letting Sony down recently is Sony Mobile Communications where revenue fell 32% and losses reached $265 million for Q2.

    Sony’s Acquisition of EMI Music Publishing

    In May 2018, Sony announced a $2.3 billion deal to increase its stake in the world’s largest music publisher EMI which is thriving on new revenue from streaming services. Speaking at the time Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said:

    “This investment in content intellectual property is a key stepping stone for our long-term growth.”

    In the deal, Sony’s 39.8% share in EMI Music Publishing increases to full control with its acquisition of both Mubadala Investment Company’s equity and the Michael Jackson Estate’s stake in EMI. The takeover of EMI was approved by the European Commission late this October, leaving Sony to reap the benefits.

    The company is confident on its overall results for 2018, with the inclusion of revenue from EMI, raising its operating profit forecast for the year to $7.7 billion and exceeding its original goal by 30%. Delivering on Sony’s year-end ambitions would deliver the company a record annual profit figure.

    Sony follows HSBC this week in reporting growth for 2018. HSBC’s Q3 earnings were also up 28% on Q3 2017.

    Featured image from Shutterstock.

  • Fortnite Adds Balloons and a Half-Price Deal on Fortnite Save the World

    Fortnite Adds Balloons and a Half-Price Deal on Fortnite Save the World

    Fortnite Save the World is now half-price until November 6, 2018–and balloons have been added to Battle Royale!

    After rumors that Fortnite’s original player versus environment Save the World version could become free to play by the end of 2018, sadly, it won’t be. But, Epic Games has compensated somewhat by reducing the original price of Save the World by half on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

    There are four paid editions of Save the World and they are all half price and available on the Fortnite website. Standard Edition is $19.99, Deluxe $29.99, Super Deluxe $44.99, and the Limited Edition is now $74.99. The half price offer will run until November 6, 2018.

    Fortnite’s Deluxe Pack, for example, comes with the Save the World campaign, a Rare Starter Weapon Pack, a Starter Hero pack, 33 Pinata Packs, 50 extra vault inventory slots, and 10 in-game banner icons.

    Some players have been taking advantage of the ability to earn V-Bucks in Save the World, knowing they are able to spend them in any version of the game for the chance to pick up some of the latest, super cool skins or even buy a Battle Pass. Epic Games confirms in its FAQ:

    “Any V-Bucks earned/bought in Save the World or Battle Royale can be spent in the other game modes.”

    Save the World does give a daily V-Buck reward just for logging in, then more can be earned in individual quests like Storm Shield Defense quests at 100 V-Bucks a pop. Daily quests start from around 50 V-Bucks each. Leveling up the Collection Book is also a good source of free V-Bucks.

    Balloons Are Coming to Fortnite

    The update for Fortnite is likely to include a new item, balloon rumors have also been circulating for a while with news this week that Fortnite is ready to add them to Battle Royale.

    Details on how balloons will work, be found, or be equipped are thin on the ground with some speculating they could be a replacement mobility item for grappler hooks and jetpacks.

    Fortnite YouTuber “Hollow” speculates they could be another way for Fortnite to speed up in-game transit. Especially following the recent upgrade to the battle bus which cut down traveling time, making it faster to get into the real gameplay. Hollow says:

    “Fast gameplay is what people enjoy.”

    He also ruminates whether balloons, as a way of gaining altitude and mobility in-game, could be to be shot down by other players. Balloon users will need to watch out for damage when they unexpectedly hit the ground. The in-game announcement says:

    “Inflate balloons to defy gravity! Add balloons to increase your altitude!”

    Epic Games certainly isn’t holding back with its additions and upgrades to Fortnite to keep its massive fan base entertained and retain its most-popular position. Announced last week, Epic has also raised $1.25 billion in funding from new partnerships to continue to build on its success.

    Featured image from Epic Games.