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Archived News:
Blizzard announces seven million players are currently enjoying Overwatch,
their new first-person shooter, saying players have racked up 119 million hours
of play in the game's first week. This is in spite of the fact that they have
been wielding their ban hammer in Overwatch, as though they haven't made public
comment about this in the west since
the beta, the
Chinese Overwatch forums name and shame 1,572 players before showing them
the virtual door.
PC
Gamer also notes that reports from those who have been banned elsewhere are
widespread, and they link to a forum where cheats are sold where there is much
hand-wringing about "customer service" for all the cheaters there who have been
booted from the game. Blizzard seem to be approaching this with a
Terminator-like zeal, as PC Gamer relates an anecdote from one cheater who
deleted cleaned his PC and even used a VPN to try and return to the game with
fresh copies, but has been repeatedly re-banned.
Prepare to have your mind blown, as
Mojang announces that Minecraft has sold more than 100 million copies. In an
analogy we're prone to invoking here, they point out that if all Minecraft
players were a country, that country would have the world's 12th largest
population. Word is: After a certain number of sales it’s only
appropriate that an infographic be made, and said infographic shared for
players, parents, and games journalists. So feast your eyes upon the two images
displayed in this post!
We’d like to offer our heartfelt thanks to every one of you who’s bought
Minecraft over the past few years, no matter which platform you play on. We’re
constantly in awe of our community and the amazing things you achieve together.
You really are the best. <3
Boss Key Productions announces they will conduct some closed alpha testing of
Lawbreakers this month, which will offer a first chance to check out the
upcoming first-person shooter from Cliff Bleszinski. The former Epic Games
design director will reveal more details about the planned test at the
PC Gaming Show at E3 on June 13th.
They also reveal plans to livestream some gameplay between prominent Twitch
personalities on June 6th and June 8th, which will presumably be shown on the
LawBreakers Twitch channel.
Here's word on the game and testing: LawBreakers promises a bloodbath of
role-based vertical team conflict, creating endless mastery and competition
across an alternate American landscape. Players will choose whether to kill to
uphold the “Law,” or go out for blood as a “Breaker,” as they take part in the
combat raging across iconic locations including the boiling oceans off the Santa
Monica coastline, a gravity-ravaged Grand Canyon and beyond.
The studio is currently hosting a series of small pre-alpha tests to prepare the
servers for the upcoming closed alpha. Registrations are still open on
www.lawbreakers.com for players interested in a chance to join the early action
when the closed alpha officially begins in the coming weeks. The closed alpha
will continue intermittently throughout the summer and availability will be
limited, but scaled, as part of the ongoing plan to stress test the servers in
addition to testing gameplay and content.
Meridian: Squad 22 is now available
on Steam, offering early
access to this science-fiction, real-time strategy sequel to Meridian: New
World. The trailer
accompanying the news is from a couple of months ago, and
this announcement has some details: Thanks again for all your
interest. We are proud to announce Meridian: Squad 22 has been launched on Early
Access!
During Early Access, you can jump into discussions over on the community hub and
help shape the game as we head for launch! All of your feedback is greatly
appreciated!
Also, we have the full original soundtrack out now with of all 31 tracks in mp3
format that you can play in your Steam client or take from your SteamApps folder
if you prefer!
Thanks again everyone, let your friends know about Meridian: Squad 22 and have
fun!
Continue here to read the full story.
This forum post announces the
launch of new Builder's Kit DLC for Galactic Civilizations III,
offering more than 100 new parts to allow players to explore their creativity in
creating new starships for Stardock's space strategy sequel. The DLC also
includes new ship labeling options, and a new Raider ship style set. Word is:"
"We have a huge amount of talent in our community," said Galactic Civilizations
III lead designer, Paul Boyer. "I have seen some absolutely incredible designs
on Steam Workshop and we really wanted to give players an opportunity to explore
even more options for customization. We’re looking forward to seeing what people
are able to build with all of these extra parts." You can get this on
Steam or directly from
Stardock. Here's more: The
DLC will contain dozens of new core parts in functional shapes such as disks,
boxes, and more, as well as additional specialized parts in more unique shapes
like cockpits and fins. Players will now also be able to add letters and numbers
to their ships with the new labeling system. “We’ve seen some pretty creative
ship names,” said Boyer. “And now designers can display them directly on the
sides of their ships.”
The
Activision Games blog announces the release of The Giant as a standalone map
for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. This was previously only available in
special editions or a season pass, but now can be purchased separately. It's
interesting to see the price they arrived at: $5.99 USD, or 10% of the price of
the entire game. Here's word: The Giant, a remake of Der Riese, one of
the all-time fan favorite Treyarch Zombies maps, is now available for a la carte
purchase for Call of Duty: Black Ops III players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and
PC for the suggested retail price of $5.99. The Giant was previously only
available as a bonus, included with the Call of Duty: Black Ops III Juggernog
Edition, Hardened Edition and Digital Deluxe Editions as well as part of the
Call of Duty: Black Ops III Season Pass, but is now available as a stand-alone
offering for eager Zombies fans.
The Giant takes players back to a secret research facility of Treyarch's classic
Der Riese Zombies map, picking up the Zombies story with classic characters
Dempsey, Nikolai, Richtofen and Takeo.
The Sims website
announces The Sims 4 has added new gender customization options to better
reflect the real world, offering
this trailer to show off how this works (thanks
The Verge). Here's word on the game's newly enhanced diversity: For more than 16 years, The Sims
franchise has empowered players to express themselves through open gameplay and
endless customization. That's why we're so excited that today's free* update to
The Sims 4 features an expanded Create A Sim mode with new gender customization
options, and gives our players even more ways to play with life.
For the first time, you'll be able to customize your Sims without the gender
boundaries previously set in place. This means you can now create Sims with any
type of physique, walk style, and tone of voice you choose – regardless of their
gender.
We've also made clothing, hair, jewelry, and other visual options available to
all Sims. Over 700 pieces of content previously only available to either male or
female Sims, have now been made available to all Sims regardless of initial
gender selection. This includes content from The Sims 4 base game and previously
launched packs.
You can now dress your Sims in any attire, give them short, long or styled hair,
or customize them with some personal accessories to top off their look. Through
the addition of new filters and sorts in Create A Sim, what you do with these
new options is entirely up to you!
The Sims is made by a diverse team for a diverse audience, and it's really
important to us that players are able to be creative and express themselves
through our games. We want to make sure players can create characters they can
identify with or relate to through powerful tools that give them influence over
a Sims gender, age, ethnicity, body type and more.
So, no matter how you like to play, we hope this update to Create A Sim gives
you plenty of new options. Personally, we've had a ton of fun exploring how good
many of the short hair male hairstyles look on the female Sims, and vice versa.
And we’re just getting started checking out how outfits and styles look on
totally different body types.
We can't wait to continue to hear from you about all the ways you use the game
to play with life.
Continue here to read the full story.
Dejobaan Games announces a release date for Tick Tock Bang Bang,
specifying June 9th as the time they will release this first-person shooter (see
what we did there?). The Dejobaan
Games website has details on the game as well as
this new teaser trailer
showing it off. Here's more on the plan: Dejobaan combines time bending
with Hollywood blockbuster stunts on June 9, 2016 Dejobaan Games, creators of
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! and Drunken Robot Pornography, have announced Tick
Tock Bang Bang. Bend time to execute stunts on the set of a Hollywood
blockbuster. The first-person shooter launches for Windows on Steam on June 9,
2016.
- THE SETUP: A 30-ton garbage truck screams
towards you, plowing through a sea of pedestrians. A flying drone pins you
down with laser fire. Fifty androids race your way, primed to explode on
contact. You ready your gun.
- THE PLAY: Time creeps along while you stand
your ground, so aim carefully. Bang! Your shot cuts the drone down in slow
motion. That leaves the garbage truck and the fifty kamikaze androids. You
target the lead 'bot, pull the trigger, and break to the right.
- THE PAYOFF: As you run, time returns to
normal. Your bullet strikes the android, causing it to explode, setting off
a chain reaction. As the garbage truck slams into the wall behind you, you
turn to the camera for your one-liner: "Time to take out the trash."
Time bending; self-immolating androids; 90-car pileups; flaming meteors;
giant flying robots with lasers -- and the ability to put these all together in
your own scenes in a drag-and-drop level editor. This is Tick Tock Bang Bang.
The movie will probably be rated R for the exploding school buses.
Continue here to read the full story.
Gamious announces they have stirred up turmoil with the release of Turmoil
on Steam after almost a
year in early access for this "tongue-in-cheek oil boom simulator." They
celebrate the news with
a new
launch trailer and a 10% discount on the game for the next week. Don't mind
me while you read this pitch, I'll be drinking your milkshake: Turmoil is a simulation game set during the 19th century oil rush
in North America, in which players earn money by prospecting for oil and setting
up efficient pipe networks to excavate the oil. As the mining seasons float by,
the town goes through different stages of growth, and new upgrades as well as
alluring new territories with oil-rich grounds become available. When players
become wealthy enough they can even acquire town shares in a bid to beat out
competitors to become the town’s next mayor.
Turmoil offers a rich single player campaign featuring dozens of upgrades and
new technology to improve mining operations, as well as colourful characters
that bring the game’s world to life with their welcoming and helpful chit-chat.
The game also features Steam Achievements, Badges, Trading Cards and Cloud
Saving.
Continue here to read the full story.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen narrowed the release window for Titanfall 2 to the
six weeks surrounding the release of Battlefield 1, reports
Videogamer, saying the revelation came during yesterday's 2016 Global
Technology Conference. He said Titanfall 2 will come out within three weeks of
the new Battlefield game, though he does not specify which game will come out
first, and Battlefield 1 is expected
on October 21st, so it sounds like Titanfall 2 should come sometime between October 1st and November 14th.
Cyan announces a release date for Obduction, as the Myst developer says
their crowdfunded VR game will be released for all platforms on July 26th. They
will also be showing off the game in a couple of weeks at E3, and in the
meantime, offer a new
teaser trailer and the following outline of their plans: Cyan, Inc.
the award-winning creators of Myst and Riven, today announced that Obduction,
their highly-anticipated adventure game, will be launching simultaneously on PC,
Mac and Oculus Rift, and will be available for download from Steam, GOG.com,
Humble Store, Mac App Store, and the Oculus Store on July 26, 2016 for $29.99.
An official selection of the IndieCade @ E3 Showcase, Obduction will have a new
world playable at E3, Kaptar, which features soaring cliffs with precarious
pathways that lead to ancient architecture, gargantuan machinery, and curious
lifeforms. Also available for play at E3 will be a demo of the unusual world of
Hunrath, a bizarre scoop of Earth that includes red rock canyons and a
midwestern farmhouse complete with white picket fence - nestled eerily in an
alien landscape. Obduction’s first playable VR demo will be unveiled at the
E3 UploadVR Party where Cyan’s co-founder Rand Miller will discuss unique
features of the game and the development experience.
Continue here to read the full story.
Hourences and Grip Games announce a June 7th release date for the full version
of The Solus Project, following the mystery/adventure game's episodic
early access release. This
release trailer celebrates the news with a look at gameplay, and here's more
of the news: The Solus Project is an exploration and story driven
adventure. Experienced in first person, it is a singleplayer experience with
survival gameplay elements.
Earth has been destroyed and mankind lingers on in a small fleet of ships near
Pluto. As humanity's last hope, you are sent to scout a distant planet as a
potential location for a colony. After years of space travel disaster strikes
however, and your ship is destroyed when approaching the planet...
With your team members dead and your equipment gone you have no way of
communicating or receiving help from anyone... you are completely and utterly
alone...
Desperately you look for a way of phoning home, but as you explore the seemingly
desolate planet, you uncover the dark secrets buried within the depths. In this
otherworldly odyssey you uncover mystery upon mystery as you try to survive the
harsh climate.
Continue here to read the full story.
This announcement celebrates the first anniversary of the release of ARK:
Survival Evolved, saying patch 242 is now live, adding a bunch of new content to
the dinosaur survival game, and launching a birthday celebration.
This trailer notes the
news and shows everything off, and here's a bit on what's going on:
Studio Wildcard, the studio that never sleeps, updated ARK: Survival
Evolved for Steam PC today with a slew of diseases (and cures!), a 10-seat Dino
Taxi ride to the nearest watering hole, and a new Boss Fighting Pit where a
massive dragon likes to come and play. Yes, it’s ARK Dev Update #242 and it’s
loaded to the primordial gills with cool stuff!
View the ARK: Survival Evolved Update Event Trailer on YouTube HERE:
Youtu.be/SCptFi1elDQ
New and experienced players will enjoy two newly added creatures: Diplodocus, a
sturdy slow-moving dinosaur capable of carrying as many as 10 simultaneous
players, and the horrific Leech, a nasty disease-carrying blood-sucker that
attaches to you en masse.
Alongside these new dinos, the new structure Training Dummy displays floating
Damage Per Second values indicating how strong each dino attack actually is,
while the new mechanic, Permanent Diseases & Cures, enables players to
deliberately infect Dodos to use them as Disease Vectors! If you get a permanent
disease, it persists even beyond respawn and you need to cure it with an
antidote to get rid of it.
On Thursday, June 2, ARK: Survival Evolved officially turns one year old and to
celebrate Studio Wildcard is running a one-week “ARK Birthday Event” where
players can find Candles from Supply Crates to craft ARK Birthday Cakes. When
each candle is blown out, a special message to the players occurs and exclusive
items are gifted, including: player and dino party hats, as well as "Birthday
Suits" which make the character appear naked (with censor-pixelization). Then
devour the tasty Cake for a major XP buff!
Continue here to read the full story.
Kasedo Games now offers
a teaser trailer from Project Highrise, their upcoming skyscraper management
simulation. The Steam page
for the project is also now online, as the plan is for this to break ground this
summer. Here's a bit on this game that seems like an attempt to find the
middle ground between Sim City and The Sims: In this deep and
multi-faceted management sim, you will create a vertical ecosystem from a wide
variety of units, including offices, retail outlets, restaurants, bars and many
more. Your Highrise must become the go-to destination in the city for corporate
activities, shopping and socialising or face financially uncertainty and an
almost certain tenant exodus. Keep your tenants happy, and your skyscraper will
thrive, but fail them and they will be sure to let you know what they think.
Rent too high? Too much noise? Bad smells from neighbouring units? Poor
transport links? You must balance it all if you are to be a success.
Continue here to read the full story.
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Membrain gets Steam Greenlight approval. "In Membrain, you can build
your own solutions to the puzzles. Need to cross a gap? Place down a Block
or Launch node. Can’t quite reach that higher platform? Throw down a Jump
node. Forcefield blocking your way? Teleport right through it after placing
down a Blink node." They currently list a May 2016 release date, but we're
betting they miss that.
Well the Gunnar-man came out of the other side of his grooming experience pretty
successfully. In exchange for a few hours of separation anxiety (Gunnar probably
was nervous too) our little Poodle looks, well, like a Poodle! He really does
look perfect, and he seems pretty pleased with himself as a result. I saw a
request for pictures, and I would happily comply, but the beauty of his cut
isn't as evident in pictures as in person (the black hair doesn't provide a lot
of contrast), and it's hard to get him to pose in
the first place, so I haven't been able really get a shot that properly shows
him off. If I manage to get one that works I'll post it, but otherwise you'll
have to take my word for what a star he looks like now.
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