Virtual Goods News

Icarus Studios and Live Gamer announced a partnership today to add the Live Gamer Exchange marketplace to the Icarus platform, allowing access to any and all development partners looking for a virtual goods and real-money transaction system. Icarus says it will work with Live Gamer to tailor the Exchange for specific partners, but that it expects to see adoption especially from clients  "specializing in mass-market entertainment products."

Across the board, though, partners may be interested in tapping in to what Live  Gamer says is a $2 billion virtual goods market.

"Customers have requested additional sources of revenue," Phil Hall, Icarus Vice President, Production, said via email. "We feel the Live Gamer Exchange marketplace will satisfy this need by providing our clients with a seamless and secure marketplace for the exchange of player-to-player virtual goods."

As for whether the Exchange would be used in specific titles, including the upcoming Fallen Earth, Hall was quiet, only noting that he looked forward to the opportunities that the Live Gamer partnership offered.

Specifics on integration are also slim, though Hall said that Icarus would work to make sure necessary features were present for each partner, including, if desired, the ability to trade between worlds and game.s

"We provide total solutions for our clients—everything from design and content production to hosting—and will include necessary inter-world game trade as part of the package," he explained. "We work with clients to determine specific needs for each project and look forward to adding this as another feature for our customers."