Join independent journalists and industry decision-makers at GamesBeat NEXT, returning to San Francisco November 2–3. The event brings together 500 executives, founders, investors and tech leaders shaping the $200 billion interactive economy for candid discussions on gaming, entertainment, technology and AI, plus executive networking and opportunities to build partnerships and close major deals.
Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we checked out Final Fantasy XII’s remaster, Star Wars: Battlefront II announced when its beta test will start, and RPG maker InXile got a big investment.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: Game industry’s leaders share more wisdom
- PC Gaming Weekly: Overwatch steps into the esports spotlight
- Conan and Kate Upton got to play Cuphead — maybe we’re next
- AR/VR Weekly: Surviving the desert
- Is Switch getting more third-party support? GamesBeat Decides
- From murderbots to Groza drops: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds plays of the week
- Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age tips for new and returning players
- This Steam Controller analysis may make you rethink Valve’s PC gamepad
News
- Games software/hardware revenue to top $150 billion in 2017
- Facebook’s rumored $200 standalone VR headset is not a Rift replacement
- AMD’s Threadripper CPUs undercut Intel chips by up to $1,000
- Shadow.LoL provides analytics and visualization for League of Legends esports teams
- Peter Molyneux’s The Trail: Frontier Challenge is coming to Steam (update)
- Games for Change’s 14th festival showcases social impact with diverse finalists
- Africade will showcase video games from all over Africa starting July 29
- What Remains of Edith Finch launches July 19 on Xbox One
- InXile gets $4.5 million investment from Gumi for an open-world survival RPG VR game
- Overwatch League’s first 7 teams include New England Patriots, New York Mets owners
- Logitech acquires Astro Gaming to form an audio-headset behemoth
- Google Play’s Indie Games Festival now taking submissions until August 6
- Ex-Activision veterans raise $7 million for Velan Studios game startup
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is ‘retiring’ from Steam
- Smithsonian highlights indie game makers with museum arcade
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds gets official streams on Facebook Live
- Star Wars: Battlefront II multiplayer open beta begins October 6
- WWE 2K18 tags Nintendo back in with a Switch release (Updated)
Mobile and social
- Mobile game revenue finally surpasses PC and consoles
- Sensor Tower: Pokémon Go’s Japanese players outspend the U.S. nearly 4-to-1
- LiquidSky lets you play your PC games on Android devices
- Jam City launches Snoopy Pop mobile game and donates money to Canine Companions charity
- Fiksu: iOS marketing costs fell 7% in May but Android rose 28%
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- Splatoon 2’s campaign features unfurling bridges and rail grinding
- Figment is a surreal puzzler that brings dreamscapes alive with music
- MXGP3 captures the weight and speed of motocross racing
- Nex Machina blasts your eyeballs with its Robotron-like hordes
- Splatoon 2 gameplay: Watch us fight a samurai octopus on a unicycle
- War of the Chosen promises a deeper, better XCOM 2
- Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates turns New York into a Neo-Victorian Waterworld
- Why Kabam cofounder Kevin Chou is diving into esports with Overwatch League’s Seoul franchise
- Splatoon 2 gameplay: Watch us fight a monster. Or a toaster oven. Or a monster toaster oven
- Splatoon 2’s single-player campaign inks my heart
- Ultima creator Richard Garriott looks back on nearly four decades making video games
- Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age review — a more convenient classic