Become a member of GB MAX to gain exclusive access to the industry and to the most influential global B2B leadership community in the business of gaming, entertainment, and tech. Join now and also get a VIP ticket to GamesBeat Next (Nov 2-3, SF).
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