It's not the sexiest news in our inbox today, but it may be the one that has the most impact for years to come. It was recently announced that the .game domain extension is launching for public purchases on May 17. A similar extension, .games, will come to market sometime in the third quarter.
Uniregistry is the company that won the auction to .game. It beat out four other bidders, including Google and Amazon. Meanwhile, Rightside has the rights to .games. More than two years ago, it was ruled that the plural of .game would only serve to confuse internet users; it's unclear what changed between then and now.
Both companies look as if they'll offer standard domains at reasonable prices. However, Uniregistry is holding an early access period where far more expensive premium domains can be secured. The likes of CallofDuty.game and Twitch.game will probably cost several thousand dollars. Rightside will likely do something comparable.
Rightside Gets .Games Will Launch in 3Q; Uniregistry Launching .Game This Week (Sunrise) [The Domains via GamesIndustry International]