Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, Destiny’s loot cave finds new life as a browser game, Alien: Isolation gets reviewed, and our editor-in-chief, Dan “Shoe” Hsu, has a very special announcement.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair
- The DeanBeat: Seattle makes its move to become the capital of virtual reality startups
- Great tabletop games for video gamers: Zombicide
- Super Smash Bros. for 3DS: The biggest changes from Brawl
- The best new characters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
- Meet the game developer who codes entirely with his feet
- I’m leaving gaming media
- Destiny’s infamous loot cave lives on in hilarious browser game
- Forza Horizon 2, The Crew, Driveclub, and Project Cars developers on why you should choose their game over the competitors
- Welcome to the Toy Box: The 5 wackiest items in Warcraft (guide)
- Great tabletop games for video gamers: 1st & Goal
- Here is a video of a bunch of Assassin’s Creed kittens
News
- Brainwash the public into accepting soldiers in schools, says Call of Duty director
- Twitch establishes guidelines for broadcasters accepting money to promote games
- Obsidian’s Kickstarter game Pillars of Eternity delayed into 2015
- State of Decay surpasses 2M copies sold with no marketing
- New Sorcerer King fantasy strategy game offers redemption to Stardock
- Ubisoft opens Moscow office to serve growing Russian gaming community
- Microsoft isn’t giving up on Xbox One in Japan
- Delayed PlayStation 4 racer Driveclub was ‘finished’ and shippable last November
- Roblox CEO: The future of player-powered platforms is in players making money
- Galactic Civilizations developer returns to the fantasy-strategy genre that once devastated the company (exclusive)
- Games are key to PayPal’s life after eBay
- Tencent makes more money than EA or Activision as global spending embraces PC, mobile over consoles
- Ms. Pac-Man joins the fight against breast cancer
- SteelSeries refreshes its Siberia audio headsets for gamers
- PS4 is getting the physical version of Minecraft a month before Xbox One
- Tetris film coming from the producers of ‘Platoon,’ ‘Terminator 2′
- Feds charge four men for stealing $100 million in Xbox code and U.S. military secrets
- Developer DICE is still making upgrades to Battlefield 4
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare preorders are still sluggish
- Steam competitor Green Man Gaming launches its own publishing arm, Green Man Loaded
- GameStop should feel threatened: Tiny startup GameLock is changing the game trade-in business
- Hacker group claims it took down Call of Duty, Destiny, and EA servers
- Samsung launches a curved LED monitor to immerse you in entertainment
- It’s official: Microsoft finally launches Xbox One in China
- Super Smash Bros. for 3DS’s humongous-character glitch is also in the North American version
- Battlefield: Hardline developer says it is ‘gonna work’
- Destiny bug teases future story content, strikes, raids, and multiplayer modes
- Square Enix gets into the MOBA game with Lord of Vermillion Arena
- Amazon completes its $970M acquisition of game-livestreaming firm Twitch
- SyFy’s ‘Defiance’ television show renewed for third season
- Condemned: PlayStation Home is coming to an end everywhere
Mobile and social
- Mobile games do innovate: Angry Birds vets mix cards and platforming
- Mobile marketing automation leader Appboy scores $15M to increase app & game engagement
- Angry Birds maker Rovio plans big job cuts as players leave the flock
- With the regulators looming, Google Play now shows a price range for in-app purchases
- Playstudios launches new MyVegas Blackjack mobile game with real-world rewards
- DeltaDNA’s and HP Vertica’s database research tools help you learn about your players
- JumpStart uses School of Dragons mobile puzzle game to teach chemistry
- Intergi Entertainment rebrands itself as Playwire Media to chase video ads
- Nordeus and Win launch a social sports-betting game on Facebook
- Pokémon Trading Card Game Online goes live for iPad in the U.S. tomorrow
- Tapjoy case study claims mobile developers are making more using the company’s ad-targeting technology
- Skillz raises $6M for its cash-wagering e-sports platform on mobile
Previews and interviews
- How the nonprofit GlassLab teamed up with NASA to make a game that teaches argumentation (interview)
- A mother wasn’t happy with Minecraft — so she’s making her own game
- FIFA 15 isn’t a game-changer, but you might still love it anyway
- Ultra-difficult roguelike shooters offer new tests for players and developers
- Civilization: Beyond Earth offers more than just hexes in space
Reviews