From the folks who brought you the deceptively simple indie hits Threes and Ridiculous Fishing comes TumbleSeed -- another colorful game with a quirky premise, rolling onto PS4, Steam, macOS and Windows early next year. As developer Benedict Fritz describes the game, TumbleSeed is "a rolly roguelike" with a simple idea: to roll a seed to the top of a procedurally generated mountain.
Via: PlayStation
Source: TumbleSeed
On top of trying to outdo a beloved Disney classic, director Jon Favreau achieved a fascinating feat with his film adaption of The Jungle Book: Aside from its young actor portraying Mowgli, every other character and setting were built with CGI. But it seems he's still eager to make computer-created immersion. The first part of the filmmaker's next project, the fantasy VR experience Gnomes & Goblins, will be digitally released for free on September 8th.
Source: The New York Times
Linden Lab, the creative minds behind the bizarre social game Second Life, is unveiling its latest project, planted firmly within the roots of the virtual world.
Via: Variety
Yesterday, popular YouTube personality PewDiePie made minor headlines for losing his Twitter verification checkmark. Today, he was briefly suspended for the service. "I did this yesterday as a joke," he explained on Youtube, teasing users who view Twitter verification as a status symbol. "But then America woke up and that's when shit got stupid." Overnight, Kjellberg says an account parodying Sky News posted a fake news story claiming he lost his verification status for having "suspected relations with ISIS." Later, the YouTuber referenced the article on Twitter, joking that both he and JackSepticEye had joined the terrorist organization. Later, his account Twitter account was suspended.
NVIDI and LightSpeed Studio have teamed up to create Vault 1080, a special add-on level mod for Fallout 4.
Source: NVIDIA
After over a decade with a straight subscription model, the massively multiplayer space RPG EVE: Online is adding a free-to-play tier. While paid accounts will still exist for new and old players alike, the new free accounts will give gamers basic access to the vast EVE universe, "New Eden."
It's been surprising how long EVE developer CCP has held out on free-to-play. New Eden may have been home to some of the most famous conflicts in video game history, but that hasn't stopped subscribers leaving in droves. Introduced in 2003, the game peaked with 500,000 subscribers in 2013 (the last time CCP gave official figures). From comparing activity logs and historical player figures, the current subscriber count is likely less than half of that peak.
Source: CCP Games
You no longer have to stick to your desk to enjoy a flashy curved display. Acer is unveiling flood of new laptops at Germany's IFA show, and the highlight by far is the Predator 21 X -- according to Acer, the world's first curved screen laptop. As the name suggests, opening up this gigantic gaming portable reveals a 21-inch curved, ultra-wide display that promises more immersion than you're used to with portable gaming. It 'only' touts a 2,560 x 1,080 resolution, but NVIDIA G-Sync support should give you smoother, game-friendly output.
Source: Acer
When most people shop for a new broadband package, they're focused on download speeds. What can I expect when everyone in my home is trying to stream Netflix? Or downloading a game like Inside to their PlayStation 4? But, now more than ever before, customers are interested in upload speeds too. It can affect your performance in a game like Overwatch, as well as Twitch-style streaming and video uploads to sites like YouTube. Virgin Media is catering for this group with "VIVID 200 Gamer," an optional upgrade for its VIVID 200 tariff. If you're willing to spend an extra £5 per month, you'll have your upload speeds increased from 12 to 20Mbps.
While Virgin Media is targeting "gamers" (some cringeworthy advertising is no doubt in the pipeline), the plan could appeal to anyone that deals with large files and demanding services. Professional filmers who regularly upload footage, for instance. Or wedding photographers that need to quickly upload large image libraries. Of course, video games are a popular past-time, so it's easy for Virgin Media to market the new tariff this way. Anyone that's played a fast-paced shooter in the last few years, like Titanfall or Battlefield 4, will understand the frustration when it's your internet connection, rather than your thumbs, that result in a loss.
The developers behind TowerFall are working on more than just a game about climbing a mountain. That's right: Matt Thorson has also released an official mod that brings support for up to eight players to the charming, retro (and possibly violent, depending on your friends) local multiplayer component of TowerFall. It'll run you a fitting $8.88 to download from the game's itch.io page. Thorson is quick to note, however, that this isn't TowerFall proper.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: Itch.io
Sure, Sierra's biggest adventure game titles (such as King's Quest and Space Quest) have been around in their original forms on Steam for a while, but many gamers remember playing a lot more than that. What about arresting perps in Police Quest, or saving the day in Quest for Glory (aka Hero's Quest)? You're set from now on. Sierra and Activision have released a wave of further classics on Steam, including the Police Quest Collection, the original Gabriel Knight trilogy and the two Phantasmagoria games. You'll get a handful of non-adventure titles published under Sierra's wing, too, such as Arcanum and Caesar 4.
Source: Steam
Sony has confirmed its next game system, the PlayStation Neo (or PS4.5, given it won't be a full generation improvement), and will probably formally introduce it at an event on September 7th. But the console maker was heavily rumored to have a new thinner version of their current system, the PS4 Slim, but has refused to confirm that it exists. Eurogamer seemingly got a hold of one a week ago, but took down its video review after apparent legal pressure from Sony. Today, Laura K. Dale of games site Let's Play Video Games posted an unboxing report of what she alleges to be the new smaller console purchased from eBay. If true, it has a few improvements over the old model it's replacing, but we're still waiting for Sony to verify that this is indeed the final version of the system.
Source: Let's Play Video Games
Konami is bundling Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Online in a special package called Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience.
Via: Polygon
When Chris Kesler was six years old, he sat just outside of his cousin's room and peered at the flickering TV through a crack in the doorway. On-screen, in grainy VHS quality, a murderous red-haired doll in Cabbage Patch overalls laughed as it attempted to murder anyone in its path. Kesler was enraptured. He technically wasn't allowed to watch Child's Play, but he was drawn to its terror the way other kids gravitated toward Saturday morning cartoons.
"I was scared for days, but there was something really fascinating about it," Kesler recalls. "I think one of the major draws of horror is that there's a whole range of emotions that you can experience from the comfort and safety of your home."
Kesler's fascination with terror followed him into adulthood. He's the creator and lead developer of Allison Road, a first-person horror game that fans have been looking forward to since its reveal in late 2015. Allison Road gained early traction largely because of its similarities to PT, a high-profile mini-game from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro that served as the prequel to Silent Hills. The Silent Hill franchise is revered among horror fans and, at the time, its resurrection from two masters of storytelling was exciting news.
Sony was vague about when PlayStation Now would reach PCs, but apparently you didn't have to wait long at all -- it's available today. If you have a sufficiently beefy Windows PC (a 3.5GHz Core i3 or better), you can stream PS3 games to your computer that include recent additions like Tomb Raider: GOTY Edition or Heavy Rain. You'll still need a fairly pricey subscription and a DualShock 4 controller (either wired or through the $25 wireless adapter due in September) to play. However, Sony is sweetening the pot through a promo that gives you a year of PS Now for $100. That's inexpensive enough that it could be worth a shot, especially if you've never owned a PlayStation and want to see what the fuss is about.
Source: PlayStation Blog
I've been reading a really great story recently. By which I mean I have been playing a really great video game. Specifically, I've been playing adventure game Kentucky Route Zero, now on its fourth episode (of five). Despite being a video game, it is also one of the best magical-realist stories I've read in years. Kentucky Route Zero's existence is a testament to the steadily improving quality of prose writing in video games.
Microsoft is getting its proverbial development ducks in a row, with the addition of new capabilities to its Dev Center that should make multi-platform publishing a whole lot more straightforward, as well as provide more feedback to developers.
Source: Windows Blog
Polyphony Digital has a reputation for taking its sweet time to bring Gran Turismo games to Sony consoles, and Gran Turismo Sport won't be an exception to the rule. The studio has delayed its first PS4 racing game to sometime in 2017 after having previously committed to a November 2016 launch. Why the sudden change of plans? Polyphony chief Kazunori Yamauchi says his team doesn't want to "compromise the experience in any way" -- as is frequently the case, the company would rather be late than sully its obsessive vision. That's wise given the history of rushed driving game launches (case in point: Driveclub), but it's unfortunate for PS4 owners who've been waiting for what's likely to be their console's definitive racing title.
Source: PlayStation Blog
11 Bit Studios made a name for itself with This War of Mine, a powerful game about the civilian casualties of war, and now the company is back with a second experience that peers into the heart of humanity. Frostpunk is a dystopian look at society as it exists on an Earth that has completely frozen over. Humans rely on steam-powered machines, fighting the cold world with heat, and society as we know it has evaporated. People focus on survival, at times disposing of morality in order to continue existing. Frostpunk asks whether this societal change makes people stronger or weaker, more or less human.
Pokémon Go players who felt they were wrongly banned might get a reprieve. That's because developer Niantic has said that in its quest to block bots and data scrapers, some people who used third-party map apps to locate the virtual critters were wrongly blocked.
Source: Pokemon Go Live
LG has continued to push the limits of 21:9 aspect ratio monitors over the years and its latest three additions are something to behold. Ready to debut at IFA and coming to the US this fall, they include the "world's largest" 38-inch curved 38UC99 model that goes on sale in September for $1,500, a 34-inch curved 34UC79G due in October for $700, and the flat 34-inch 34UM79M coming in November for $600.
Source: LG Newsroom
PlayStation VR is going to launch with a game that allows players to sexually assault a woman who is actively asking them to stop. Yes, that's exactly as gross as it sounds and yes, of course the game is Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. The game's virtual reality update is slated to launch on the same day as PlayStation VR, and features a handful of experiences designed to let players ogle the female body. A video from Gamer.ne.jp shows that one of these game modes features active harassment -- allowing a player to continually touch a woman who is verbally protesting.
Via: Polygon
Source: YouTube
Google's first indie gaming festival is less than a month away, and today the company is announcing the 30 games that made the cut for the competition. You can find the whole list here, but note that you won't be able to try out all of them just yet -- 20 of the 30 games haven't been released in Google Play yet. Games that are out in the store now include Chetan Surpur's Orbit, High Score Hero's Hovercraft: Takedown, Double Coconut's Parallyzed and Roofboot (both still in beta) and Worthing & Moncrieff's A Matter of Murder. (The full list of games can be found here.)
Source: Google
Free-to-play games based on popular franchises were a huge trend for awhile. But, as Microsoft showed us this week by canceling Halo Online for Russia, there are no guarantees for success. Ubisoft is following suit and shutting down Ghost Recon Phantoms, formerly known as Ghost Recon Online. As Gamasutra writes, this was the publisher's maiden voyage into the market when it launched back in 2011.
Via: Gamasutra
Source: Ubisoft (1), (2)
Game demos are awesome, but they're usually the intro section of any given game. More than that, once you actually have the retail version, you're stuck working through the same portion of the game over again before getting to the meat of the experience. Playing early is a double-edged sword. NBA 2K17 is doing something different come September 9th, though. With "The Prelude," you'll have early access to the basketball game's career mode and will be able to play college games, interact with coaches during the mini-narrative and affect how you'll start MyCareer when the game arrives.
Source: Businesswire, NBA 2K (Twitter)
As originally announced in June, game developer Blizzard Entertainment and social media powerhouse Facebook have agreed to a deal that enables FB users to stream their Blizzard gameplay over Facebook Live. And, starting Friday (hey, that's today!), users will actually be able to.
Via: Verge
Source: Blizzard (YouTube)
Nintendo wants to make sure it "does better" next time when it comes to launching its NX platform.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: AList
Engadget is re-reviewing the current generation of game consoles, each of which has benefited from firmware updates, price drops and an improved selection of games. We've already revisited the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Now, at last, it's Nintendo's turn. Though we've raised our Wii U score to 74 from 70, you can still find our original review here, if you're curious to read what we said at launch.
It's hard to believe that the Wii U is only 4 years old. In the time since Nintendo released its last flagship console, we've seen four iPhones, as many Galaxy S handsets from Samsung, two models of the Xbox One and, of course, the PlayStation 4. All of which is to say, it feels like it's been much longer since the quirky console came out. Compared with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the Wii U has changed the least. Nintendo didn't release a slimmed-down version, nor has it offered additional storage options beyond the launch model's 32GB. Firmware updates have slightly changed the UI as well as delivered performance improvements, but there otherwise hasn't been a massive overhaul.
Nintendo is placing the spotlight squarely on a month's worth of independent games, introducing the #Nindies Summer Jam promotion going on in the Nintendo eShop.
Via: BusinessWire
Today on In Case You Missed It: Global pizza company Domino's is teaming up with drone delivery company Flirtey to launch an actual pie delivery service, via UAV, in New Zealand. The company has passed checks by the country's Civil Aviation Authority and aims to begin tests later this year.
Thanks to being a freebie for PlayStation Plus subscribers, Don't Starve earned a solid following on PlayStation 4. To reward that, the developers at Klei Entertainment have put together a massive bundle headlined by the console version of the multiplayer expansion, Don't Starve Together. The Don't Starve Mega Pack includes previous expansions Shipwrecked, Reign of Giants, the base game and a few themes based on Autumn and the nautical Shipwrecked pack.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Before Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, indie developer The Chinese Room (TCR) wowed people with Dear Esther. The first-person narrative started as a mod for Half-life 2 in 2008 before the team released it as a standalone game in 2012. At that point, the game sold 16,000 copies on Steam in its first five-and-a-half hours and the team recouped its development costs ($55,000) in one fell swoop. Next month, it'll finally grace the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the form of Dear Esther: Landmark Edition. Fun fact: Original financier Indie Fund proposed releasing the game on PlayStation Network instead of Steam. So this is kind of a four-years-in-the-making homecoming for the game.
Source: The Chinese Room
Remember that Halo game you heard about that wasn't launching in North America? Well, now it's not launching anywhere. Halo Online was originally intended to be a free, multiplayer game designed exclusively for the Russian market. Despite launching a closed beta in its target market, the project's staff has announced that Halo Online is no more. The game has been cancelled.
Via: Polygon
Source: Halo Online
Ubisoft's survival shooter multiplayer title The Division had a successful launch back in March, but unpolished design choices erupted into outright game-breaking bugs in the free content additions released in the months thereafter. While the game's DLC roadmap pegged its second paid expansion Survival to be the next out the door, the studio will push that back until later in 2017 and dedicate the upcoming October update to fixing the core game. That leaves the third planned release, Last Fall, delayed until sometime in 2018.
Via: Destructoid
Source: Ubisoft blog
Most folks know Justin Roiland as the co-creator and lead voice actor behind Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, but it's less widely known that he's obsessed with virtual reality. The entertainer was one of the first backers of Oculus' original Kickstarter, and has reportedly filled notebooks with game ideas and concepts. Now, he's is going all in on his obsession: today, in partnership with former Epic Games executive producer Tanya Watson, Roiland announced Squanchtendo Games. It's a VR game studio with, in Roiland's words, one simple goal: "We just want to make super duper games dooood."
Source: Squanchtendo Games
A Google search is handy for getting info on nearly anything, but now the company is making it easier to play two timeless games on both mobile and the web. When you search for "solitaire" or "tic-tac-toe," you'll be able to play them both from the comforts of your browser on the desktop or inside the Google app on your phone or tablet. The company has been keen on adding these bits of whimsy to its search tool for a while now as these games follow animal sounds and a coin flip. You know, in case you need to decide who's picking up the check in today's cashless society. There's also those Google Doodles that have been a mainstay for years, most recently offering Olympic-themed games.
Source: Google
Virginia, the long-awaited "first person interactive drama from" indie game studio Variable State will hit consoles and desktops on September 22nd. The game, which draws its inspiration from 90s supernatural thrillers like Twin Peaks and The X-Files, tells the story of FBI agent Anne Tarver working to solve a missing person investigation in Kingdom, Virginia -- a small town hiding a big secret.
Source: Variable State
Last weekend Titanfall 2 opened its doors for the first of two multiplayer test weekends, allowing fans to play an alpha version of the game for free on Xbox One and PS4. While it achieved a goal of testing out some of Respawn Entertainment's revamped cloud-based server technology (and will be followed by the second test this weekend running Friday through Sunday), players also had a lot of feedback about how the game plays.
Source: Titanfall 2 MP Tech Test and Your Feedback, MP Tech Test Successes
The asymmetric shooter Evolve is experiencing a renaissance. Reacting to dwindling player number, developer Turtle Rock made Evolve free to play, rebalanced the gameplay and promised more additions down the line. The changes, at least so far, have been a success, and now the developer is introducing a new mode that scraps the core 4-vs-1 dynamic in favor of a more traditional co-op experience. Called "The Deepest Dark," the mode sits alongside the other play options, rather than replacing them.
Via: Destructoid
Source: Turtle Rock
How do you attract developers to a fledgling virtual reality content delivery service for a VR headset that already has a shopping platform? With half a million dollars in cash and prizes, of course! Today, HTC announced the Viveport Development Awards: a contest with a $500,000 prize pool designed to attract developers the HTC's global VR app store.
Source: HTC Viveport
Considering how much the PlayStation Network breach cost Sony, it's kind of crazy that the service didn't offer two-factor login authentication before now. But, that's no longer the case. Protecting your PlayStation account is SMS-based (which has its own limitations) versus using an authenticator app, however. You can set up device passwords for the PlayStation 3 and Vita handheld, and, really, from there it doesn't differ much than you're used to with other apps and services.
Source: PlayStation
Battlefield 1's upcoming Premium Pass was officially announced today, and it'll run you $49.99 if you want to add all four of the planned expansion packs to your collection.
Source: Battlefield Blog
The decision to get a high-end virtual reality headset is as much about the software selection as the technology itself. So which platform is getting the most attention from developers? Apparently, it's HTC's Vive. A UBM Game Network industry report shows that 49 percent of VR developers are targeting the Vive, while 43 percent are writing software for the Oculus Rift. And the gap gets wider when it comes to the next game from these studios -- nearly 35 percent are building for the Vive, while a little over 23 percent are aiming at the Rift.
Source: Gamasutra
Adult Swim Games is stepping in to publish an all-new ToeJam and Earl game 25 years after the original made its Sega Genesis debut.
It won't take much longer before you can get a taste of Halo 5 on your PC. Microsoft and 343 Industries have revealed that Halo 5: Forge, the multiplayer level creation experience, will reach Windows 10 on September 8th. As mentioned earlier, it's all about playing multiplayer matches on custom maps created either on the PC or the Xbox One. You won't get either the single-player campaign (possibly a good thing) or the stock maps from the console release. You do get the perks of playing on more flexible hardware, though, such as support for 4K displays and a interface that takes advantage of finer-grained mouse and keyboard controls.
Source: Xbox Wire
In the recent hit game Inside, you play a child on the run through a mysterious and horrifying surveillance state straight out of 1984. Oxenfree stars a group of teenagers with a complicated history arriving at a spooky island for an ill-advised camping trip. Life Is Strange puts you in the shoes of a young girl at a boarding school with burgeoning time-warp powers and messed-up friends. The common thread among these three highly acclaimed indie games is obvious: They star youthful protagonists facing confusing coming-of-age moments in worlds tinted by magic and mystery. They're what you might call "young adult" video games.
Gamescom is over. The publishers have packed away their booths, and the lingering smell of sweaty, Kölsch-fueled gamers (and sweaty, coffee-fueled journalists) has finally started to dissipate. In the closing hours of our trip to Cologne, Germany, the "team" (Nick Summers and I) sat down to chat about our time at the video game show.
Talking points include the lack of press conferences this year; the myriad ways I made a fool of myself in VR; Outreach's fresh take on space exploration; Sea of Thieves actually looking pretty good; Metal Gear Survive really not looking good and Titanfall 2's new focus on plot. That's a wrap on our Gamescom coverage this year -- if you missed any of our stories, you can find them all here.
"Ideally we want the game to be in as many places as we can get it, but since we are a small developer and it's a complicated game, we can only do so much at once." That's The Witness developer Jonathan Blow describing to us his desire for the indie puzzler to be available on more than just PlayStation 4. All the way back in February 2013. Now those dreams are coming to fruition as The Witness will make its way to Xbox One on September 13th -- two and a half years after that interview with my coworker Jessica Conditt and six months after its debut on PS4 and PC. In a post on Xbox Wire, Blow lays out what new players should do when they get their hands on it.
Source: Xbox Wire
Despite its incredible initial popularity, Pokémon Go has faced a number of issues since launch beyond just keeping its servers working. A Bloomberg report cites analyst numbers claiming the game's active users have shrunk by more than 10 million from their mid-July peak, which makes keeping the remaining players happy even more important. An update that just arrived on Android and iOS is trying to address that, pulling in the recently-added Team Leader characters to give players advice on their Pokémon.
Source: Pokémon Go, iTunes, Google Play
Back before Call of Duty went full-on Michael Bay, the series focused on historical conflicts ignored by the then unstoppable Medal of Honor series. Xbox 360 launch title Call of Duty 2 was the last game in the series from original developer Infinity Ward to do such. And now, you have the chance to play through the Battle of Pointe du Hoc once again. How's that? The objective-based WWII shooter is now backward compatible on Xbox One. If nothing else, it's an interesting glimpse both at how much the franchise has changed and how FPS themselves have evolved over the past 11 years. Because, even in 2005, CoD 2 was considered a bit old-school in terms of design.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: Xbox Game Store