NetherRealm's found a new way to milk its beloved creation Mortal Kombat X. Today, the studio revealed a version of the title dubbed Mortal Kombat XL, which includes the main game and all downloadable content that's been available for it since launch -- namely, skin packs and characters such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface.
Source: NetherRealm
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey isn't going to escape that lawsuit over the alleged misuse of confidential data. A judge has ruled that Luckey has to face the core claim, which accuses him of breaching a contract with his former employer (Total Recall Technologies) by using its proprietary knowledge to get the early Oculus Rift off the ground. However, he is dodging a few bullets in the process -- the judge simultaneously tossed out several of the other claims, including fraud.
Source: Reuters
Beware browser add-ons that promise to boost your Steam-based games -- you might be in for a rude surprise. Security gurus have spotted a known scammer offering Chrome extensions that claim to change your Counter-Strike: Global Offensive theme or help you gamble, but do nothing more than steal from your Steam inventory. It's not the greatest loss if you're a victim (the malware isn't compromising the games or your Steam account), but it'll probably leave you crestfallen if you spent ages collecting rare virtual objects.
Source: Blaze's Security Blog, Teamfortress.tv
For an awfully long time, the only news we'd heard out of Ubisoft regarding the ultra-ambitious online shooter/role-playing game hybrid Tom Clancy's: The Division were release date delays. But now, a few months out from launch, the hype machine is in full force for a game that's looking quite a bit different than its debut at E3 2013. In an effort to fill in some of the game's backstory about a currency-based pandemic that strikes on Black Black Friday and brings society as we know it to a halt, the gaming powerhouse has teamed with noted YouTubers Devinsupertramp and RocketJump, and online production house Corridor Digital for a quartet of different stories set in the "mid-crisis" universe.
Source: YouTube (1), (2), (3), (4)
This article contains spoilers for That Dragon, Cancer.
My son died on May 27th 2005, the day after his extremely premature birth. I rarely talk about it, or even let my brain wander to the memories of what were some of the worst hours of my life. That Dragon, Cancer forced me to. It's a game that tells the true story of its creators, Amy and Ryan Green, struggling with the cancer of their son Joel. Diagnosed at one and given a few months to live, Joel lived to five years old. It's gut-wrenching stuff for any player, but as a father who has lost a child, it affected me deeply.
Facebook is about to open a facility dedicated to Oculus virtual reality research in Pittsburgh. The company confirmed the news to Venture Beat after a local paper noticed that it had leased a 20,000 square foot building in the city's Oakland neighborhood. Why Steeltown, you might ask? Facebook, which purchased Oculus in 2014, is attracted by the large pool of research talent coming out of Carnegie Mellon University and other local schools. In fact, It has already posted job listings for computer vision engineers, programmers and post-doctoral researchers. Those fields of expertise are also vital for self-driving cars, which is why Uber (and reportedly Apple) recently set up shop in the city.
Source: Venture Beat
Crytek is best known for Crysis, Far Cry and other games that push the limits of CryEngine, a developer tool that it licenses to other studios. Having gone through a bit of a rough patch, the company is focusing sharply on VR, developing new experiences and now academic partnerships that promote its engine. Called VR First, Crytek's latest initiative aims to help colleges set up dedicated VR labs on campus. It'll "encourage" them to do so and in return offer "full source code access" to CryEngine, as well as PCs and VR headsets supplied by partners.
Source: Bahçeşehir University, Crytek