The user milestone was achieved following two major Hearthstone developments in April: the release of the Blackrock Mountain expansion and the game's arrival for phones.
Being a free-to-play game, Blizzard doesn't make money from installs alone. Importantly, the company did not specify how many of those 30 million players have actually spent any money on the game. But Blizzard is no doubt happy that Hearthtone, which reached 20 million players in September, continues to grow.
Activision Blizzard will report earnings for its latest financial period tomorrow, May 6, when the company is expected to talk more about Hearthstone's business performance. Ahead of the earnings report, industry analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen & Company writes in a note to investors that Hearthstone has been a significant money-maker for Activision Blizzard.
Citing App Annie data, Creutz writes that Hearthstone has regularly found itself near the front of the top-grossing charts on iTunes and Google Play. The game is also performing well on PC, he said, noting that Hearthstone has driven an estimate $250 million in revenue across all platforms in the past year.
"The game's recent performance is being buoyed by the release of the Blackrock Mountain expansion pack, which began rolling out content in early April," he said. "Additionally, we do not know to what extent the smartphone spending is incremental to or cannibalizing the existing PC/tablet base. Still, we view the performance as a very positive indicator for the trajectory of the game."
Even with a lack of support from Rockstar--and official patches even temporarily breaking them--mods continue to pour in for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V. The latest mod of note is one that introduces a gravity gun to the open-world game.
Much the like the tool of the same name in Half-Life 2, the gravity gun allows you to pick up and fling objects throughout the world. Those objects can be everything from street signs to people to vehicles; in the latter case, they can be launched with enough force that they explode upon running into something.
The mod adds this functionality to the stun gun--unfortunately, it doesn't also include a model resembling Half-Life 2's weapon or anything of the sort. The E key is used to pick objects up, while hitting the fire button launches them.
Based on the videos showing off its use online (you can see one above), the mod looks to be a bit janky at times, but it still looks like great fun. You can download it here. But be wary--using mods, especially if you connect to GTA Online, runs the risk of getting you banned. We're trying to find out from Rockstar exactly what warrants a ban.
As noted above, a recent GTA V patch broke support for Script Hook V, which is used for enabling mods in the game (which offers no official support of any kind). Script Hook has fortunately already been updated to get it working again with GTA V, meaning players don't have to avoid updating in order to use mods.
When Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012 for $4 billion, the House of Mouse not only acquired the rights to George Lucas' mammoth Star Wars series, but also the Indiana Jones franchise. Disney has made its plans known for Star Wars (at least three more movies and spinoffs), but what of the Indiana Jones series?
Now we have a better idea, as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirms in a new interview with Vanity Fair that she's confident a new Indiana Jones movie will be made, but probably not soon.
A follow-up to 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull "will one day be made inside this company," she told the magazine. "When it will happen, I'm not quite sure. We haven't started working on a script yet, but we are talking about it."
Kennedy's comments are far more positive than what Disney chairman Alan Horn said in December 2013. At the time, he bluntly explained to Variety: "We haven't done anything."
Vanity Fair also points out that Kennedy worked as executive producer alongside Lucas on every Indiana Jones movie--and in fact, every Lucas project from 1982-2012. That is to say, she obviously has the kind of experience and passion for the series fans would want from someone tasked with carrying it forward.
It's unclear if Harrison Ford, who has portrayed Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones in every movie so far, would reprise his role for the next film. Ford is 72 years old, and with the new film clearly not anywhere near release, him picking up the whip and fedora for another go-around seems quite unlikely.
Who would you like to see take on the role of Indiana Jones in the next movie? I'd like to see Bradley Cooper play the part. Let us know who you think would be a good fit in the comments below.
Disney Infinity 3.0 will introduce the Star Wars universe to the toys-to-life title when it is released this fall, publisher Disney has announced.
Revealed by Game Informer as its next cover title, the latest entry will feature "Luke, Leia, Anakin, and more" joining the growing stable of Disney Infinity properties.
Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive, is once again leading development, with DmC: Devil May Cry and Heavenly Sword studio Ninja Theory returning to create the Twilight of the Republic playset, which follows Anakin and Ahsoka as they fight to uncover who is behind the creation of a new droid army. The studio will also tweak the combat gameplay. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing developer Sumo Digital, meanwhile, will handle the development of the driving gameplay.
Disney Infinity 3.0's Star Wars story is set after the events of Star Wars: Episode II. The game will feature land and space battles, along with a focus on melee combat.
Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Darth Vader, and Yoda will be available as additional characters and figures. Star Wars characters will be able to merge playsets, allowing for canon-breaking in-game scenarios.
Disney Infinity 3.0's Rise Against the Empire playset has been crafted by Studio Gobo, which previously worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean set. It follows Luke and Leia through memorable sequences in which they come to blows with Darth Vader and his forces. The battle of Yavin, Hoth, and Tatooine have been mentioned as events and locations that will be included.
A second Star Wars playset, based on The Force Awakens, has also been announced for this winter, along with sets based on Pixar's Inside Out.
Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games is working on new Marvel characters, including the Hulkbuster Iron Man, Ultron, and more.
Finally, it has also been confirmed that additional Disney Infinity 3.0 figures include Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Tron: Legacy's Sam Flynn and Quorra, Mulan, Olaf, "and more" will be available.
Tony Hawk is returning to the video game skateboard scene later this year with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5--the first original Pro Skater game since 2002's THPS4--it was revealed today.
Developed by Robomodo, the studio responsible for Tony Hawk Ride, Shred, and Pro Skater HD, the game takes the style the Tony Hawk franchise was initially known for--hence the return to the Pro Skater name--and introduces some new wrinkles. These include power-ups and at least one mission-specific ability that allows you to shoot some kind of projectile.
You'll be able to play through those missions either on your own or online, both competitively and cooperatively. Your character and progress can be moved back and forth between the online and offline portions of the game, with Game Informer describing the transition as "seamless." Players will also be able to design skate parks that can be shared online.
Skaters from past games will return alongside newer members of the scene; Hawk, Nyjah Huston, Aaron Homoki, Ishod Wair, Riley Hawk (Tony Hawk's son), Lizzie Armanto, Chris Cole, David Gonzalez, Leticia Bufoni, and Andrew Reynolds are all confirmed to be included.
Pro Skater 5 will be released on PS4 and Xbox One before the end of the year, with PS3 and Xbox 360 versions coming at some point after that. More details are available in the June issue of Game Informer.
$20 gets you the Early Access version of Black Mesa, which contains roughly 85 percent of the single-player campaign. This represents an estimated 10 hours of gameplay right now--everything up to the Lambda Core chapter. That means the Xen chunks of Half-Life still aren't here; they were also missing from the free, unfinished version of the game released in 2012.
This Early Access release also offers multiplayer, with deathmatch and team deathmatch modes on six "completely reimagined" maps from the original Half-Life currently available.
The developer isn't saying how long it believes it will take to finish the remainder of the campaign. It'll involve working with the community, and its plans for Xen--maybe the weakest aspect of Half-Life--go further than simply recreating it.
"For the last 15 percent we want to not only recreate it, but improve upon it to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience," the Steam page explains. "We feel it will take us considerable time to get the last 15 percent up to our standards, and putting a time estimate on it would be a total guess."
Whenever the full version is released, it will offer the remainder of the campaign, more polish for the chapters set on Earth, and additional multiplayer maps and modes. There will also be a different price after Early Access ends, though what that will be wasn't announced.
Black Mesa started out as a Half-Life: Source mod almost a decade ago, with a playable (but unfinished) version being released in 2012. It was then approved for Steam Greenlight in 2013, though this is the first time Black Mesa has appeared on Steam's storefront.
The developers previously stated a free version of Black Mesa would be available alongside the one available for purchase, but the status of that version going forward is unknown.
CD Projekt Red has released a new developer diary delving into the creative process behind designing the fantastical creatures of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
In the video, which you can watch below, character artist Bill Daly discusses balancing fantasy with reality in creating the game's monsters.
Senior gameplay designer Damien Monnier, meanwhile, provides an overview of the process by which players track these monsters, while lead animator Jamie Bury details all the tools at Geralt's disposal for fighting enemies.
The video also shines a spotlight on a few of the game's monsters, including the airborne Harpies and the swamp-dwelling Drowners, as well the complex ecosystem Geralt and the monsters exist within.
Microsoft is also offering up a free car to all players this month, the 1992 Bugatti EB110 SS, which can reach speeds of up to 200mph. Head to the Xbox Wire for a comprehensive breakdown of each car.
LEGO Dimensions, the upcoming Skylanders-style toys-to-life game from Warner Bros., already has an impressive lineup of franchises, including Lord of the Rings, Batman, Back to the Future, and Wizard of Oz. But now, new playsets have been revealed based on other popular series, including Portal, Jurassic Park, The Simpsons, and Scooby Doo.
That's according to Walmart listings that have now been removed, but not before LEGO fansite Brick Enquirer saw them. According to the site, LEGO Dimensions will offer Team Packs based on Jurassic World and Scooby Doo, while Level Packs for The Simpsons and Portal will be available.
Team Packs ($15) come with plastic toys only, while Level Packs ($30) offer the toys and in-game content. The LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack, meanwhile, costs $100 and comes with the game, a Toy Pad (similar to the Portal of Power from Skylanders), three minifigures (Gandalf, Batman, Wyldstyle), and a Batmobile toy.
The Old Blood is available now across digital channels for $20. A disc-based version will be available in Australia/New Zealand on May 14, followed by a boxed release in Europe on May 15.
The game comes with eight chapters spread across two main campaigns: Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves and The Dark Secrets of Helga Von Schabbs You play as BJ Blazkowicz in the year 1946 as the Nazis are on the verge of securing victory in World War II. In the first chapter, you break into Castle Wolfenstein in an effort to steal the coordinates to General Deathshead's compound.
In the second, you follow the coordinates to the city of Wulfburg "where an obsessed Nazi archaeologist is exhuming mysterious artefacts that threaten to unleash a dark and ancient power."
Overall, developer MachineGames is aiming to achieve a "pulp B-movie vibe" for The Old Blood.
In an official statement, the hardware manufacturer said both games benefit from Nvidia GameWorks, its middleware software suite that brings together rendering, visual effects, and physics development modules.
"Both Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt raise the bar for graphics, rendering two very different open worlds with a level of detail that we could only dream of last decade," the company said.
"On the PC, each game is also bolstered by Nvidia GameWorks--increasing fidelity, realism, and immersion."
Meanwhile, the Batman: Arkham Knight release date is set for June 23. Publisher Warner Bros. recently responded to criticism over the pricing of its $40 (£32.99) season pass by detailing some of the content that will be offered to purchasers, such as a prequel campaign featuring Batgirl, character skins, and additional story missions.
Look below for some of our favorite Batman: Arkham Knight images.
Click on the thumbnails below to view in full screen
Following an initial tease last month, Valve and Zen Studios on Tuesday officially announced a collaboration that will see a table based on the Portal series come to Zen's pinball franchise later this month.
The Portal table, called "Aperture Science Heuristic Portal Pinball Device," will be available starting May 26. You can see the table in action through the video below. A variety of screenshots follow.
Similar to Zen's other licensed tables--like those based on Star Wars, South Park, and Marvel--Portal Pinball features sights and sounds from the Portal franchise. You'll spot Chell and Wheatley and hear GlaDOS' distinctive voice, while ATLAS and P-Body will also make appearances.
Check out the full list of discounted games below, broken down by platform. Most of the deals do require an Xbox Live Gold subscription, though some do not. These are denoted with an asterisk.
Happy shopping! Let us know what you pick up in the comments below. All deals expire May 11.
With Slightly Mad's gorgeous-looking racing game Project Cars slated to arrive later this week, the developer has now released a launch trailer. Check out the video below, which highlights the game's varied environments, cars, and tracks--it also features the Deadmau5 song "My Pet Coelacanth."
Project Cars has been in development for more than four years and was delayed three times before publisher Bandai Namco recently confirmed a "guaranteed" release date of May 7. That date applies to the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions, while the Wii U edition is coming later.
The game has 110+ locations, more than 65 cars (with more coming every month), and runs at 60fps. The PS4 edition runs at 1080p, while the Xbox One version outputs at 900p. The PC edition, meanwhile, supports resolutions up to 12K and also works with the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.
Project Cars on console also features PC-style graphics options. That's because console players deserve them, according to creative director Andy Tudor. For more on Project Cars, check out the game's soundtrack and some images below.
Polish developer CD Projekt Red is more than just the game studio behind The Witcher. The company is also gearing up to release its own DRM-free platform called GOG Galaxy. CD Projekt Red got one step closer today as the platform on Tuesday entered open beta, following a closed testing period earlier.
CD Projekt Red didn't say exactly when GOG Galaxy will launch in full, but the first major release will be--you guessed it--The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which arrives on May 19. Other AAA games will follow.
GOG Galaxy was announced during CD Projekt Red's annual summer show last year.
The platform will replicate some of the features offered through Steam, like the ability to automatically update games, chat with friends, and compare achievements. While certain functionality--like playing online or talking to other people--will of course require an Internet connection, GOG customers who opt to make use of Galaxy will be free to play all of their games offline without any online activations required.
GOG Galaxy users are also free to download a standalone, DRM-free backup of every game in their library. This is to ensure that "keeping purchases safe is easier than ever," CD Projekt Red explains.
"For us, quality trumps quantity. We meticulously think about every feature and how can we make it better." GOG executive Piotr Karwowski said in a statement. "We also know that people want to have freedom of choice, so GOG Galaxy and its features are not forced on you. Making it optional is the best motivation for us to make it better; we want it to be so good that you'll actually want to use it."
Some other GOG Galaxy features include:
Friends lists
Game time tracking
Achievements
Chat
Cross-platform play (where supported)
Platform-independent multiplayer between GOG and Steam
You can sign up for the GOG Galaxy open beta here.
Social gaming giant Zynga on Tuesday released the mobile version of its modern military strategy game Empires & Allies. The game was previously released on Facebook. One of the biggest differences with the new mobile version is its realistic visuals, compared to the cartoony nature of the browser version.
But that's just one change Zynga has made.
Empires & Allies was developed by what Zynga calls a "seasoned team of developers," led by Mark Skaggs. He's the vice president of games for Zynga, and created the massive FarmVille property that the company is perhaps best known for. Before joining Zynga in 2008, he worked on popular RTS games for console and PC including the Command & Conquer series and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth.
The new mobile version of Empires & Allies aims to capture the spirit of traditional RTS games and apply that formula to mobile and tablet devices. Not such a simple task. RTS games for PC are known for their long play sessions while mobile games are often played for shorter durations of time.
This is one of the issues I asked Skaggs about in a recent interview. He says PC and mobile games aren't an either/or situation. "You can sit down at your PC for a deep, extended play session in let's say StarCraft 2, and pick up Empires & Allies and play on your way to work," he explains.
You can view our full conversation (which also touches on pay-to-win concerns and more), as well as images and download links, below. But first, some more game details.
Empires & Allies for mobile sees players assembling a military force comprised of troops, tanks, helicopters, and warplanes. Players will need to build their army and then utilize their unique attributes to defend their base. Aiding in your defense are a variety of weapons, including tactical nukes, hellfire missiles, and even "orbital strikes." Zynga promises "over-the-top, Hollywood-style explosions" and more.
Another new feature for Empires & Allies on mobile is connectivity with friends, highlighting the "allies" part of the game. You can sync up with friends and utilize in-game chat to devise strategies or leverage a new feature called Strike Force. This lets you assign your allies to specific positions, which yield boost rewards.
Empires & Allies for mobile has been available through a geo-lock beta in nine countries for the past few months. But the free game launches today, May 5, in full on iOS and Android.
You can download Empires & Allies today from iTunes and Google Play.
Q&A:
You come from a strong PC gaming background with Command & Conquer; so I'm sure some will be surprised to know you're working on this mobile game. PC gaming is booming at the moment, so why do you think Empires & Allies is a good fit for mobile?
For as long as there have been games, there have been platform transitions. Whether it's been new PC hardware, a new generation of consoles, the introduction of mobile and social gaming... the idea of transitioning to new platforms just feels natural and normal to me.
What makes Empires & Allies a great fit on mobile is that we're bringing all the fun, action, and excitement from modern military RTS games--something fans of the genre should remember--but we've crafted it specifically for mobile and tablet devices. The play patterns of a mobile game, compared to traditional PC games are much different, so we've made a changes ensure a great mobile experience, while still adding a lot of strategy and depth that traditional RTS gamers can enjoy. For example, we changed up the gameplay to be shorter sessions. We changed the controls to be easier to manage on your mobile device. On one hand, we eliminated a lot of the micromanagement of troops and units found in traditional RTS games, but we gave players more control in different ways through the optional command groups and units.
As an RTS game maker, it's been inspiring to see a new category and format for strategy games find a home on mobile over the last few years. What's particularly exciting is that PC and mobile games aren't an "either" / "or" proposition. You can sit down at your PC for a deep, extended play session in let's say StarCraft 2, and pick up Empires & Allies and play on your way to work.
We've heard that Empires & Allies is being designed to feel more like a PC title and appeal to core gamers--what does that mean to you and how are you going about delivering that?
We know that there are a fun set of experiences that modern military RTS games have traditionally delivered, and we've tried to pull those experiences through in a few ways. The first is the "feel" of the game. For us great military strategy games were always about the 'BOOM' – the Hollywood style explosions, the bad guys, the feeling of playing with toys in a sandbox that you may remember from some classic games. That sense of building your army, going into battle and watching the mayhem as you attack somebody else's base, dropping super weapons, fighting with tanks and helicopters, jets, drones and all those fun toys--you'll get all of that from Empires & Allies.
"We want players to feel like they're making interesting choices over the course of every battle--and that's something that you don't often see in mobile strategy games"
The other area lies in the strategy and control that I was mentioning before. We want players to feel like they're making interesting choices over the course of every battle--and that's something that you don't often see in mobile strategy games. The trick is designing it to work well on mobile. Rather than give players the ability to micro-manage each unit, we've added command groups for players to set and deploy en masse, we've added command points which unlock over the course of each battle and let players decide which super weapon to use, we've added flares which let you control your troop directions in real time.
All of that is crafted for the player, the device and the context of which they're playing. It offers more depth and strategy for players that want it, while also offering a quick pick up and play experience for players that want to play more casually.
Generally, how do player expectations vary for RTS games from PC to mobile and how is Empires & Allies designed to reflect that?
A key difference in expectations between RTS and mobile games is time. RTS gamers most often are sitting down for extended play sessions--anywhere from 20 minutes to multiple hours--and looking for a long session experience. Headphones are on, they have their PC rig set up, they settle into a comfy chair. Mobile players are looking for a great game experience often times in shorter sessions in multiple settings--the bus, at work, or waiting in line at the store. We've tried to design Empires & Allies with these short sessions in mind--a multiplayer match lasts about three minutes in length.
For mobile play we've designed the timers to work for short sessions and so people can play multiple short sessions in a row. We don't want players to hit these hard gates and have to wait hours to come back and play. We want you to be able to get right into the fighting and the strategy and the fun.
The thing PC RTS gamers are going to like about Empires & Allies is that it delivers on that feeling of creating a strategy, creating an army, attacking a base, fighting battles on dynamic battlefields, and collecting resources. We just delivered it and packaged it in a different way that is much more fun for when you're walking around with your mobile device.
Can you talk about the differences between the original Empires & Allies game for Facebook and this new version of mobile? Outside of the visuals, what's different?
Aside from sharing the same name, Empires & Allies on mobile is totally different in terms of gameplay. The original Empires & Allies on Facebook was more of an invest and express game and perfect Facebook game for its time.
After speaking with players, we saw that there was a demand for a more realistic, modern military game with a splash of Hollywood, so we decided to take the new Empires & Allies in that direction. We were really excited to hear players were craving that type of experience because it's one as game makers that we love to play, and have deep experience in making.
How do the play patterns vary in your eyes for RTS games on PC compared to mobile? I know when I play a mobile game I have different expectations than when I sit down for a PC title…
Similar to what I mentioned earlier, there are different expectations in terms of time commitments--PC games being more of an extended play session whereas mobile games being shorter session. One thing we've tried to change is the expectation that some RTS gamers may have that strategy games on mobile can't be rich with strategic depth and tactical control. We've tried to find ways to add that depth. For example, one of the things we put in Empires & Allies are control groups. This is very similar to what you used to do back in the old days of RTS games where you would set a group of helicopters to "Control 1" and that would set them to be your Group 1. In Empires & Allies, you'd set one of your tarmacs to be your "Charlie" group, and so while you're playing you'd hit the C button and that would select those units. Then you'd go ahead and be able to direct them around the battlefield. It's little things like that that people recognize, feel, and understand.
Another thing we learned way, way back was that there are a class of strategy game players who love the RTS experience but want to play it in solo play. We've spent a lot of time developing a rich single-player experience in Empires & Allies based on this insight. At launch we have about 250 different player-versus-environment missions on the globe. Along similar lines, we've made it so that friends are a force multiplier in game but aren't required in order to advance or get ahead in the game.
You've been at Zynga for a long time now and have worked on some marquee franchises like FarmVille and CityVille--do you think Empires & Allies can match the profile of those games?
You know, this may sound strange, but it's not something we spend too much time thinking about. To be honest, it's not something you can really plan for or control. When we made FarmVille and saw it take off, that surprised us. Then I thought there was no way a game could be as big as FarmVille, but then we made CityVille and it got pretty close. What we focus on is building a great team and work hard to try to make this the best game we can make.
Fortunately, some of the early soft launch data from our initial geo-lock beta shows that players love the game, and it's been encouraging to see the excitement and passion from players over our last few months of testing.
Empires & Allies certainly won't be the only strategy game available for mobile devices; what do you think will set your game apart from the pack?
We've tried to add new layers of control and strategy for players to make meaningful choices throughout each battle than a lot of the other games I've seen out there. Players can decide which units to deploy, whether they are multiple units or one unit at a time, or set control groups, as well as direct units where to go on the battlefield. We've also extended this to base defense where you can hide and set up different units on your base to trap and surprise your enemies.
"Our goal is to create an experience that players love so much that they want to pay, not an experience where they feel like they have to pay"
The other thing is we've got a clear vision in the style that we're following. We know that people like modern military strategy games. We know they like Hollywood-style effects. We know that people like what we call balanced high or dramatic fun experiences and we're delivering all those. In addition to the strategy game experience that some of us have, we also have a team of very experienced game makers. The team is made up of not only a few of us folks who worked on strategy games before, but also folks who worked on highly successful social games here at Zynga.
I honestly believe the product is a reflection of the team. Instantly, you put all that stuff together, and now we've got a good leg up, but we also have been working at this for now quite a while in terms of making the game, testing it with consumers, going in the soft launch and we just know that we got something special here.
The game has been in a geo-lock beta for some time now; what kind of feedback have you heard? And how is the game changing as a result?
We've heard feedback--everything from "there's bugs," "my game doesn't run right," "there's network connectivity issues," and all kinds of basics that you first learn when you launch something into the world of mobile. We also had people talking about parts of the game being too hard around the globe. We do listen to our community and read the reports every single day about what the players are saying and how they're reacting, which is essential to making the game better.
One of the things we do is we get a list of features that we're thinking about building for the game and we ask our players what they want. The last time we did that, the item that came to the top of the list was "Strike Force." That's using your friends in battle. We said, "Hey, this is really obvious. We like this feature and players want it," and that's how we got Strike Force into the game.
In-app purchases/microtransactions are a hot topic for mobile games today--what approach is Empires & Allies taking in this department?
In general--and this just comes from my experience on PC console games and now mobile games--our goal is to create an experience that players love so much that they want to pay, not an experience where they feel like they have to pay. This gets back to the point earlier about being careful to make cooldown times short and not a barrier to fun--we want players to get into the action and having fun as soon as possible
The other approach we've taken is to maintain the balance needed to make a competitive mobile game fun--which is to avoid pay-to-win scenarios. Just because you spend money, you can't get a special tank or some super power that nobody else can get. We've kept the option for making in-game purchases solely focused on speeding things up, and that helps create a more level playing field.
Anything else you want to share that people should know about Empires & Allies?
It's important to mention that this is really just the beginning for us--working on mobile games are like MMOs in that your game is a live service, and it's critical to listen to players and deliver what they want.
For so many of us on the team, Empires & Allies is a way for us to return to our roots from classic RTS games and re-craft and evolve that experience to be one that we hope both fans of the genre and new players really enjoy on their mobile and tablet devices.
Coffee Stain Studios has announced new downloadable content for its wacky action game Goat Simulator themed around zombies. Called "GoatZ," the $5 DLC is due to launch May 7 on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.
It wasn't mentioned if the content would be released for the Xbox versions of Goat Simulator.
In a press release announcing GoatZ, Coffee Stain said it was previously planning for the Goat Simulator MMO expansion to be the game's last add-on. However, the studio received an "avalanche" of requests for more DLC. "So, with that said, here you. Zombies," Coffee Stain explained.
Coffee Stain has enlisted the help of Gone North Games to develop the GoatZ expansion. That studio worked on PC game A Story About My Uncle, which Coffee Stain published.
The name GoatZ bears a resemblance to another zombie game, Dean Hall's DayZ, while the overall tone seems similar to Garry Newman's survival-themed Rust. With that in mind, Coffee Stain said today, "Garry and Dean, please don't sue us. Be cool."
For more on GoatZ, check out a list of features below, courtesy of Coffee Stain. You can also find some haunting images in the gallery at the bottom of this post.
Mandatory crafting system because everyone else is doing it
Zombies that bug out. There's a pun here about actual living bugs, but we're not going to bother
You can craft anything in the world, as long as it's one of the half dozen weapons in the game
Zombies, because this is a zombie game, remember?
A pretty big new map with some stuff in it
Completely realistic survival mode where you have to eat every damn five minutes to survive because Dean Hall & Garry Newman said so
Tons of unlockable new goats with special powers (wow, never thought I'd ever write that sentence a couple of years ago. Also hi mom)
During a livestream event this week, Mortal Kombat X developer NetherRealm Studios announced that it is currently developing new patches for the fighting game that should improve online play and spruce up the PC edition, among other things.
As reported by Polygon, series co-creator Ed Boon said NetherRealm is far from happy regarding Mortal Kombat X's current netcode. It has improved since release, but needs to get better, he stressed.
"We are constantly working on the online, [that] back and forth," Boon explained. "We've taken steps to improve on it. It's certainly better than where we were at launch, but by no means do we feel like we're at where we want or need to be."
Boon went on to say that NetherRealm will soon update Mortal Kombat X to include a new feature that lets players leave an online match if both parties don't have a solid connection. Players will even be able to determine a "connection threshold" to make better matches, the report states.
Other Mortal Kombat X changes mentioned during the livestream included updates for the PlayStation 4 and PC versions. For the PS4 edition, NetherRealm is preparing an update--due to launch any day now--aimed at "dramatically" speeding up the time it takes to download living towers.
The PC version of Mortal Kombat X, meanwhile, will see "huge improvements" through a soon-to-be-released patch. This update "literally brings the PC version to parity with the console versions," Boon said. Mortal Kombat X for PC was developed externally by High Voltage Software.
Mortal Kombat X is currently available for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and mobile. The last-generation versions have been delayed and are now due out sometime this summer.
[UPDATE] Konami has confirmed to IGN that The 1984 Collection is a clothing line, not a new video game.
The original story is below.
Japanese publisher Konami--a regular newsmaker of late--on Tuesday announced something called Metal Gear Solid: The 1984 Collection.
The company shared the image you see below through its social channels, using the caption: "Step back into the 80's with our new MGS collection coming very soon! Stay tuned!"
Konami did not share any further information about what The 1984 Collection might be. Some fans are speculating that it could be a bundle of remastered Metal Gear Solid games, while others take the "Collection" description to suggest this is something other than a game project.
Others still have pointed out how The 1984 Collection's logo very closely resembles that of Ubisoft's Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, featuring similar fonts, color patters, and grid background.
We'll bring you new details on The 1984 Collection as they become available. But for now, what do you hope it is? Let us know in the comments below.
The next game in the Metal Gear Solid series is Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which comes to console and PC in September. Series creator Hideo Kojima will reportedly leave Konami after that project is out the door, as a result of an apparent power struggle with Konami.
It's a big day for Dragon Age: Inquisition, as BioWare on Tuesday will release two free expansion packs and a major patch for the open-world role-playing game. The two free add-ons, which were announced last week, are Dragonslayer (a new multiplayer scenario) and The Black Emporium (an in-game shopping destination).
Both expansions will be available to download today at no cost for all platforms. You can read more about the add-ons through these links: Dragonslayer, The Black Emporium.
Accompanying the new Inquisition DLC is an extensive patch that fixes various bugs and should improve overall stability, among other things. You can see the full Inquisition Patch 7 notes below, with descriptions courtesy of BioWare.
In other recent Inquisition news, BioWare has announced that the game's first major story expansion, Jaws of Hakkon, will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on May 26. The content was released first on Xbox One by way of an exclusivity deal between Microsoft and Electronic Arts.
[PC] Added new feature that allows users to sheathe and unsheathe their weapons. This feature can be accessed via the key-binding screen.
[PC] Fixed an issue which could result in fog looking wrong when running SLI/Crossfire configurations
[PC] Fixed an issue which would place the AOE targetting reticule to be placed in odd locations when using the mouse look toggle feature
[PC] Fixed some issues which could cause flickering when alt-tabbing while running the game under SLI / Crossfire.
[PC][Xbox 360][Xbox One] Fix for Dragon's Bane Achievement to unlock after killing any 10 High Dragons.
[PS3][PS4] Added trophies for the upcoming "Jaws of Hakkon" DLC
[PS3][PS4] Fix for Dragon's Bane Trophy to unlock after killing any 10 High Dragons.
Added some thrones in Skyhold for players who own DA1 and/or DA2.
Added the ability to salvage multiple items at the same time in multiplayer. This can be done in the inventory screen or while you are purchasing packs.
Balance changed on Arcane Warriors. "Spirit Blade" now costs more and does less damage to Barriers and Guard in multiplayer. "Spirit Blade" no longer applies a damage bonus in both play modes.
Balance changed on Templar's Wrath of Heaven ability in multiplayer. The stun will now be shorter.
Fixed a couple animals so they will now drop their research items
Fixed a few beards which did not align with player faces correctly
Fixed a few pieces of amour which incorrectly allowed Qunari to equip them and looked incorrect when worn by them. Qunari can no longer wear these items.
Fixed an incorrect message that indicated you did not have enough platinum to buy a pack when you had exactly the same amount of platinum as the purchase price.
Fixed an issue that allowed players to leave a multiplayer match then rejoin it and transfer the earned experience to the character they rejoined with.
Fixed an issue that could cause players to become stuck if they spoke to Cullen while doing Sera's prank.
Fixed an issue that could cause the dragon in Jaws of Hakkon to get stuck on a perch during combat.
Fixed an issue that could occur when using Hail of Arrows followed by Leaping Shot
Fixed an issue that could trap the player on the first island in the final fight of the game.
Fixed an issue where a quest that was supposed to be removed from the game would start when purchasing the Avvar Heraldry. The quest will no longer start.
Fixed an issue where eyelashes on female Qunari do not align with their eyelids when using the eye shape furthest right on the slider in character generation
Fixed an issue where light conversation could break if fast travel was used while the conversation was still active
Fixed an issue where one piece of the Archdemon mosaic set would not appear on the wall in Skyhold.
Fixed an issue which allowed players to destroy a door that would result in the quest "For the Empire" becoming blocked in certain circumstances.
Fixed an issue which allowed players to get into Redcliffe before they were supposed to be there.
Fixed an issue which caused a couple creature research codex entries to not increment correctly.
Fixed an issue which caused characters using evade abilities to visibly pop to different locations in multiplayer
Fixed an issue which could cause the quest "Tomb of Fairel" to become blocked in certain circumstances.
Fixed an issue which could result "In Hushed Whispers" to not advance if players entered Redcliffe on a galloping horse.
Fixed an issue which could result in an infinite load when attempting to access the Challenges screen.
Fixed an issue which could result in enemies teleporting to some locations that players cannot reach.
Fixed an issue which could result in party switching becoming permanently disabled during looting.
Fixed an issue which could result in players late-joining into wave 5 spawning inside the airlock in multiplayer
Fixed an issue which could result in the "Wounded Chevalier" being non-interactive in certain cases which would block the plot related to him.
Fixed an issue which could result in the final combat breaking between stages
Fixed an issue which could result in the new host being stuck in a screen after a host migration occurs.
Fixed an issue which could result in the wheel in the tavern becoming permanently non-interactive in Crestwood and blocking the draining of the lake.
Fixed an issue which was causing missing banners to not be added to the appropriate store in Val Royeaux
Fixed an issue which would allow players to repeatedly stack the effects of "Fade-Touched Silk Brocade" until abilities and spells were free.
Fixed an issue which would prevent the Inquisition Banner Crown from unlocking if players collected the headpiece from the Storm Coast prior to capturing the keeps.
Fixed an issue with "All New, Faded For Her" which would not proceed correctly if players were mounted when the cutscene should have fired in the Exalted Plains.
Fixed an issue with Fade-Touched Imperial Vestment Cotton that would cause its effect to occur at fixed rates for players. It will now correctly fire at a random rate.
Fixed an issue with the Citadelle du Corbeau quest that can block the Revenant from reaching the player
Fixed Fade-Touched Silk Brocade to actually apply a 15% discount instead of 150%
Fixed item property descriptions on crafted weapons that had Bleed effects to say Sunder
Fixed the "Shadow Strike" ability being incompatible with the "I Was Never Here" and the "Knife in the Shadows" passive abilities
Fixed the issue where Deathroot appeared in the Nursery. The corresponding collection entry has also been updated to reflect that Deathroot is not counted towards it, and Deathroot seeds should no longer be found in the world.
Fixed the issue with Ice Dragon Bone and Veil Quartz giving 0 Armor Rating when crafting shields with those materials.
Publisher Warner Bros has claimed a third consecutive week at number one in the UK all format chart with its popular fighting title Mortal Kombat X.
Sales of NetherRealm's latest MK title actually had fallen by 32 percent week-on-week, but still managed to hold off Grand Theft Auto V, which held second spot after an 11 percent climb in sales.
If Mortal Kombat X remains in the same position next Monday, it will match Battlefield: Hardline's record of four weeks at the top of the UK charts in 2015.
A lack of new game releases has meant the top ten looks noticeably familiar, with flagship series dominated the list. Despite this, overall entertainment software sales climbed during the bank holiday climbed 6 percent software.
The PlayStation 4 has accumulated two million sales in the UK, reaching the milestone faster than the best-selling console in the company's history, the PlayStation 2.
According to trade publication MCV, the feat was achieved over the weekend, with PS4 extending its lead as the UK's best-selling games console this year so far.
"Reaching the milestone of two million PS4 consoles in the UK in less than 18 months is an achievement we are very proud of," said PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara
"To be the best selling 'next generation' console in Britain--installing faster even than the PlayStation 2--is testament to an amazing and constantly improving product, the hard work of our trade partners and the team at PlayStation UK, and most importantly, the passion of the players. I would like to thank everyone involved in helping us achieve this landmark."
It is not clear whether PlayStation 4 is the fastest console ever to reach two million sales in the UK, as detailed historical figures are not publicly available. However, previous reports indicate that Nintendo's Wii managed to sell 1.1 million units in its first nine months in the UK, and within 24 months had managed 3.6 million. Those numbers would suggest that Nintendo's best-selling console remains the fastest to reach two million units.
Sony has announced that its PlayStation Now game streaming service is coming to the PlayStation 3 on May 12. As detailed on the PlayStation Blog, the service will also be available on "select Sony Blu-ray players and TVs."
Sony also confirmed a list of games that will be added to PlayStation Now this month. This includes Fat Princess, F1 2014, Sanctum 2, Dynasty Warriors 2: Strikeforce, and Farming Simulator. More games will continue to be added each month. In response to fan questions, Sony also confirmed that the subscription service would be officially launching on the PlayStation Vita "soon." At the moment, existing subscribers are able to access PlayStation Now using the Vita by navigating to the rental menu.
A single subscription to PlayStation Now will allow the service to be accessed from any platform. A month's subscription will set you back $19.99, or a three month subscription can be purchased for $44.99. We reviewed PlayStation Now when it launched earlier this year with a library of over 100 PlayStation 3 games. Sony also offers a free seven-day trial for those wanting to try the service before committing to a subscription.
Sonic and Total War publisher Sega has confirmed that it will not have a booth on the show floor at E3 2015 next month in Los Angeles. A representative for the company confirmed the news today to Game Informer.
The move comes after Sega announced a restructuring plan at the end of January that would see the company's San Francisco office relocated to southern California. That was one of the reasons Sega offered in explaining why it wouldn't have a booth at E3 this year.
"Over the next months, Sega of America will be focusing on the restructure and relocation to southern California, and we have decided to not attend E3 with our own booth this year," the spokesperson said.
"With the majority of our bigger titles launching later in 2015/2016, particularly those from our AAA studios Relic Entertainment (Company of Heroes), Sports Interactive (Football Manager), and Creative Assembly (Total War), we are concentrating our efforts for some of these major announcements after our relocation. Instead, we will be collaborating with our various business partners for this year's E3 show."
Sega paid $26.6 million back in January 2013 to buy Relic Entertainment and the Company of Heroes franchise as part of the THQ bankruptcy auction. In other recent news, Sega has announced the next Total War game, Total War: Warhammer, which is currently in development for PC.
E3 2015 runs June 16-18 in Los Angeles. GameSpot will be reporting live from the show all week long.
Blizzard Entertainment has posted several screenshots from its games in reference to May the fourth, also known to some as Star Wars Day. Uploaded on Facebook, the images show a variety of Star Wars references spliced into screenshots from World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm.
Check out some of the screenshots below.
The Khala is a religion of the Protoss race.Separated at birth.
These weapons are already available in-game.Can you tell which is the original?
A small handful of Star Wars Xbox 360 games are currently discounted on the Xbox Marketplace, such as the Lego Star Wars games and the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series.
Following a questioning post from gaming forum NeoGaf that uncovered developer Spark Unlimited's office equipment up for auction, company representatives revealed that it would no longer be developing games.
"It's the end of Spark as a game developer," former Spark Unlimited CTO John Butrovich told Polygon in a statement. The story also reports that the company has laid off all its employees. All of the company's current project have been canceled, including an in-develoopment free-to-play title, while projects that continue to generate revenue will be shifted to a trustee.
We've reached out to company representatives for further details about the closure and will update this story with new details as they're made available.
Modders should be able to make money from their work. That's according to veteran game designer John Romero, who co-created iconic shooter franchises like Doom and Quake at id Software in the 1990s.
In the interview, Romero not only says modders should be able to make money, but he reveals that id Software even experimented with a paid mod system with Quake back in 1995.
"I've always believed that mod makers should be able to make money from their creations," Romero said. "In 1995, while we were making Quake, we had the idea to start a company called id Net. This company would be the portal that players would connect to and play other mod maker's creations. It was to be a curated site, levels and mods chosen by us at id, and if we put your content on our network we would pay you an amount equal to the traffic that your content drove to the site."
The idea for id Net was abandoned, according to Romero, because the team was stretched enough as it was just to release Quake. But Romero still believes in the concept, saying creators ought to be "rewarded for their hard work."
Quake, of course, was the basis for the free Team Fortress mod. That game later spawned a full sequel--Team Fortress 2--which has become one of Valve's most recognizable titles.
"We thought this would result in better mods for everyone, both free and paid," Valve said at the time. "We wanted more great mods becoming great products, like Dota, Counter-Strike, DayZ, and Killing Floor, and we wanted that to happen organically for any mod maker who wanted to take a shot at it."
"It's clear we didn't understand exactly what we were doing."
What do you make of Romero's comments? Should modders be able to make money from their work? Let us know in the comments below.
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