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Archived News:
Valve announces that the Steam Link app is now available for iOS and Apple
TV: The Steam Link app, designed to extend Steam's suite of services and
accessibility, is now available free of charge for iOS and Apple TV users (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/steam-link/id1246969117).
The Steam Link app allows gamers to experience their Steam library of games on
Apple (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV) devices while connected via 5Ghz network or wired
Ethernet to a host computer running Steam. The Steam Link app features support
for the Steam Controller, MFI controllers, and more.
Ubisoft's fourth quarter misses company's expectations report Reuters in
reflecting the company's Q4 results. Here's word: "French video game producer
Ubisoft on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net bookings of 676.7 million
euros, below company’s expectations of approximately 698.0 million euros.
Fourth-quarter sales stood at 516.5 million euros ($578.69 million), also
missing the company’s target of around 571.0 million euros." The
full-year 2018-19 earnings figures offer further detail. In a related note,
Game Informer has word from their post-earnings conference call saying
Ubisoft "revealed that three 'unannounced' titles will be arriving between
January and March 2020," so you can breathe a sigh of relief if you were
concerned the company would not be releasing games in the coming year. On the
down side, Skull & Bones will not be one of them, as
they
note it's been delayed until March 2020 at the earliest.
There's
a report on Paradox Interactive's Q1 2019 financials on GamesIndustry.biz
noting that both revenue and profits are down year-on-year amid what the
publisher calls "record high" investments at as they "focus on long-term growth
and expansion in several of our core areas." Here are the specifics: "According
to the company's Q1 2019 financial report, revenue for the period was down 11%
year-on-year to SEK 238.3 million ($24.7 million), from SEK 267 million ($27.7
million). Meanwhile, operating profit for the period was down 55% year-on-year
to SEK 62.7 million ($6.5 million) from SEK 140.5 million ($14.6 million)." They
offer the following rundown on the company's game releases during the quarter:
While Q1 2019 saw fewer major game releases, it's slate of expansions for
existing titles performed above expectations. Man the Guns expansion for Hearts
of Iron IV sold more than any of the game's previous expansions during the same
time period, a trend repeated with expansions for games such as Europa
Universalis IV, Crusader Kings II and Cities: Skylines.
It's earnings season, so
GamesIndustry.biz also has full year fiscal reporting from Bandai Namco, who
report increased sales and profits led by the gaming segment. Here's a rundown:
For the full year, Bandai Namco's net sales were up 8% year-over-year to
¥732 billion ($6.7 billion) and its operating profit was up 12% year-over-year
to ¥84 billion ($770 million). This is all well above the company's guidance,
which predicted sales would actually be down 4% to ¥650 billion ($5.9 billion)
and a 20% lower operating profit to ¥60 billion ($550 million).
For the fourth quarter alone, Bandai Namco saw net sales of ¥204 billion ($1.9
billion) and an operating profit of ¥14 billion ($128 million).
Looking ahead to next year, the company is once again making lower predictions,
suggesting ¥720 billion ($6.6 billion) in net sales (which would be down 1.7%
year-over-year) and ¥70 billion ($640 million) in operating profit (down
16.7%).
Steam Database
tweets that the Steam Summer Sale start date has leaked "as per tradition,"
saying SteamCN reveals this to be
June 25th, right after the actual start of summer. They say this is also
"confirmed by multiple sources" (thanks
PC Gamer).
Word is: 🕶 Steam Summer Sale 2019 date leaked as per tradition, it will
begin on June 25, 2019 at 10AM PST and will last for two weeks.
via SteamCN and confirmed by multiple sources.
Speaking of Valve rumors,
a trademark
filing from Valve Corporation uncovered by
PCGamesN is for
"DOTA UNDERLORDS." The intent of this is not clear, but the listing of the goods
and services this is for doesn't rule out a new Dota game, as they say this
covers "Computer game software; Electronic game software; Video game software."
Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is now available on
GOG.com and
Steam, offering a single-player turn-based RPG for Windows from the
co-creators of Legend of Grimrock. Word is this is inspired by tabletop
games: "Druidstone is a tactical, single-player, turn-based roleplaying game,
which combines the best qualities of modern RPGs with the elegance of tactical
boardgames. Every action, every turn counts as you control your party of heroes
through handcrafted, challenging missions with varying, and often surprising,
objectives." The release is accompanied by a
new trailer showing
off a full 15 minutes of gameplay. Here's more: Druidstone: The Secret of
the Menhir Forest is a labor of love from the co-creators of the critically
acclaimed Legend of Grimrock series. Druidstone is a tactical, single-player,
turn-based roleplaying game, which combines the best qualities of modern RPGs
with the elegance of tactical boardgames. Every action, every turn counts as you
control your party of heroes through handcrafted, challenging missions with
varying, and often surprising, objectives.
Set in a unique fantasy world, Druidstone is filled with ancient lush forests,
standing stones, snow-topped mountains, deadly creatures and puzzle-ridden
ruins. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, caught in the flow of events,
are Aava, the archdruid's daughter, who must now shoulder his responsibilities,
Leonhard, a warden with a mysterious past and a lethal destiny, and Oiko, the
failed Red Priest who is living proof that one may be very smart without being
particularly wise. Along the way, they meet companions and villains, whose
unique personalities and abilities make every encounter memorable.
Continue here to read the full story.
Boss Crushers is out of Early Access
on Steam,
offering the official release of this Windows multiplayer Roguelike. A
new gameplay trailer
helps celebrate the news, and
this post has details on all the changes that come with version 1.0. "It’s
been a year since we published the first version of Boss Crushers," says Alexey
Chernov, CEO at Space Horse. "We are extremely proud to be leaving Early Access
with so many new features." Here's word on the game and the new version:
The Full Version of Boss Crushers contains new spells, new items, new
locations, and new enemies and bosses. Experience death to gain experience and
unlock all the content within the game.
Features
- Multiplayer mode. Complete levels with your
friends or strangers.
- Hardcore bosses. Each boss possesses unique
mechanics, behavior, and abilities. To defeat a boss, think like a boss,
live like a boss, be a boss.
- Random generation of the game environment. Each
new run is a new labyrinth of rooms with a unique set of enemies and bosses.
- High difficulty level. The game becomes difficult
very quickly. You have virtually no chance of winning during your first
attempts to beat the game.
- Die to win. Your character is mortal, but each
death does not go in vain – your battle experience benefits your mercenary
guild.
- Random character generation. Prior to venturing
into a dungeon, you pick a mercenary with randomly generated
characteristics, such as “drunken master”, “peterman”, “pyromancer” or
“horsepower”.
- Gradual unlocking of the game content. Unlock new
items, skills, enemies and other game elements as you progress.
Continue here to read the full story.
GameSpot offers what they say is an "exclusive" reveal trailer for the
Toreador Clan in Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2. Here's what they
say about this latest look at the RPG sequel: The next full-blood Vampire
clan in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been revealed by Paradox
Interactive - Toreador! Also known as the Clan of the Rose, Toreador are
creators of art and beauty known for their hedonistic ways.
- Total War: Three Kingdoms on
IGN.
THQ Nordic announces a May 28th release date for SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest, the
standalone expansion for SpellForce 3 that adds a new Dark Elves race to the
strategy sequel. They celebrate the news with a new
faction trailer
showing the Dark Elves exerting their influence on the battlefield. The
announcement and the clip have a distinctly zerg vibe: They are
different. They are a swarm. They serve something greater than you could ever
imagine. The Dark Elves are here and their mission is clear: They will reap the
souls of the fallen and reanimate their hulls as their servants. Will you join
them or will you feed their appetite for blood? Watch the new faction trailer
and pick your side! The stand-alone expansion SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest will
launch on May 28th, 2019 on PC for an SRP of $24.99 | £19.99 | €24.99!
Features:
- Build distinct heroes through various options and
combinations on a skilltree
- Lead your army to victory in a reworked
sector-based RTS system
- Use unique mechanics of your army units to win
epic battles
- Use flying units for even more advance tactics
- Epic fantasy soundtrack and bleeding edge top down
graphics
Multiplayer Features:
- Each faction has two unique heroes that compliment
individual play styles
- A modern multiplayer lobby will allow easier
matchmaking and ranked play
- Create your own maps with the powerful modding
tools.
New features compared to SpellForce 3:
- All-New Campaign: Featuring new storyline with
over 20 hours of content
- All-New abilities and skilltrees for even more
diverse heroes
- All-New RTS Gameplay: Sector-based system with a
focus on global resource distribution and unique faction mechanic
- Unique mechanics and unique unit kits make the
races feel very diverse and offer replay-value in the campaign
- Flying units allow more tactical elements
- New factions: Dwarves and Dark Elves
- Overhauled UI makes the game more pleasant to look
at and more readable
Continue here to read the full story.
Steam now offers the release of Fighter Royale - Last Ace Flying, a
flying combat action battle royale game from Axion Ventures that challenges
players to be the last pilot standing. Or, you know, flying. This free-to-play
game is set in the south pacific, and puts you behind the yoke of World War II
era aircraft in battle for air superiority in an ever-shrinking airspace.
This teaser showing
off gameplay is over a year old, and their is a series of short clips on various
aspects of the game on their
YouTube Channel, but they are all from about 10 months ago. Here's word on
the game, including an unexpected Earth, Wind, & Fire pun: FIGHTER ROYALE
– LAST ACE FLYING is an arena style, air combat game of WWII dogfighting. You
and up to 100 other players compete for supremacy in an expansive, 50 km world
filled with opportunities to upgrade your plane and weapons, and tangle with
other pilots. As the game progresses, the air combat space slowly shrinks,
forcing players into close proximity and resulting in wild and unpredictable
dogfights until eventually only one pilot remains: The Last Ace Flying!
The stage for this bogie wonderland is a South Pacific themed island chain,
filled with volcanoes, narrow canyons, steep cliffs, military installations and
an armada at sea gunning for you is designed to increase the intensity of the
dogfights. Take out a bomber sortie or torpedoing an enemy battleship- the game
world is full of juicy air, ground and sea targets- but the real challenge will
be the other player pilots, and the innovative shrinking combat space ensures
that players can’t simply avoid conflict- as the combat zone gets smaller you
must engage the enemy to survive.
This isn’t just a dogfight… this is Fighter Royale!
Continue here to read the full story.
Publisher 2tainment GmbH and developer Mardonpol announce a release date for
Tech Corp., saying this strategy simulation will come to Windows on June 20th.
This will allow the player the chance to run their own tech startup beginning in
the late 1990s. The game's
Steam Listing
is online, calling this an Early Access game, but offers no way to actually pick
up a copy, and the game's
announcement trailer only states that you can now wishlist the game. Here
are some details: With an in-game timeline starting in the late ‘90s and
continuing on into the present year, Tech Corp. challenges players to take
leadership of a small start-up. They’ll begin by choosing which country to
launch the company, hire employees, develop, manufacture and launch their first
product — then the worldwide tech industry takeover begins! Along with the
ability to design, produce, and launch a variety of tech products, players are
also responsible for taking them through to a successful global launch. Just
about everything can be managed and customized in Tech Corp., from the memory
space in a console’s hard drive to the logos on the cases for the video games
players create!
Along with the design, production, and marketing of products, special apps
similar to Steam, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and Spotify can be developed. With
this, players create games, television shows, movies, YouTube channels, and
music playlists for each respective platform — all of which receive real-time
comments and feedback from the in-game public.
Continue here to read the full story.
GOG.com is offering those
who subscribe to their newsletter a free Card Keg for GWENT: The Witcher Card
Game (thanks
DSOGaming). This offer also includes a free copy of The Witcher: Enhanced
Edition for those who have not picked up this classic RPG already, as it has
previously been given away for free more than once. The catch here is that you
must already own a copy of GWENT, but that's a trivial concern, since that is a
game you can pick
up for free as well.
Like the escapees of the Matrix, I and many other Knicks fans hinged our hopes on
Zion. But after the
NBA lottery I'm like Morpheus. "I have dreamed a dream... but now that dream
has gone from me." Actually, I don't follow college hoops enough to have a
strong
opinion on the draft class, I'm just taking the word of the experts on this. But
with the expanded lottery, this could have been so much worse. So it's hard to deny
things are looking up for Dolan's Dolts. With the third pick in the draft, a ton
of cap space, and signs in the tea leaves the team may well sign some top talent
free agents, things are about as optimistic for the Knicks as they could
possibly be for a team that had the worst record in the league.
R.I.P.:
Machiko Kyo, Japanese Actress, Dies at 95.
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