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Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup. This time, Horizon: Zero Dawn has a strong first two weeks of sales, we get a look at Sonic’s next two games, and YouTube gets exclusive broadcasting rights to a big Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: Experiential Technology event shows how far VR has to go
- I hate the beards in Mass Effect: Andromeda
- Panel will buck the status quo at GamesBeat Summit
- This hack enables you to see your cat when you’re in VR
- GamesBeat is hiring a general assignment reporter
- GamesBeat is hiring a guest posts editor for PC gaming channel
- Our preliminary agenda for GamesBeat Summit 2017
- Does The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild end with a whimper? GamesBeat Decides
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild tips: How to kill Guardians, climb in the rain, and more
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s saving system is kind and magical
- How Yoot Saito designed the quirky Seaman for Sega Dreamcast
- How VR startups can survive the slow growth of 2017
News
- Path of Exile’s last update brought a record 40% more players to the online Diablo-like
- Sonic Forces gameplay trailer has the hedgehog outrunning disaster
- Hollywood studio DMG Entertainment moves into VR
- Casual Connect shifts cities for its big game events
- February 2017 NPD: For Honor and Resident Evil 7 top another month of lower revenues for game industry
- Xbox One’s backward compatibility resurrects sleeper indie hit Poker Smash
- Gwent: The Witcher Card Game pits its fans against pros with $100,000 on the line
- Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner resigns; cofounder Dan Connors takes over
- Horizon Zero Dawn sells 2.6 million copies in first two weeks
- YouTube becomes the exclusive home for Esports Championship Series’ Counter-Strike: GO matches
- Sony dominates console market with 57% share worldwide
- Makeblock raises $30 million for education robots
- Poland’s Intel Extreme Masters was biggest event in esports history with 173,000 spectators
- Survios launches cross-platform Raw Data shooter on the Oculus Rift/Touch
- AMD will launch four mainstream Ryzen desktop processors on April 11
- Mass Effect: Andromeda trial is available to download now for EA Access members
- Xbox One controller battery packs recalled due to burning risk
- Capcom will launch The Disney Afternoon Collection of six Nintendo classics on April 18 (update)
- Xbox cofounder Seamus Blackley takes R&D post at augmented reality firm Daqri
- H1Z1: King of the Kill’s active player count has grown 1,000% since September
- Gallium Nitride maker EPC takes a big step forward in its quest to kill silicon chips
- System Shock 3 receives funding and publishing help from Starbreeze
- Nintendo Switch’s traffic data proves new consoles are the lifeblood of retail
- BlizzCon 2017 tickets go on sale April 5 and April 8
- Hearthstone warns of Un’Goro Crater’s hidden dangers in new video series
- Overwatch launches its latest hero, Orisa, on March 21
- Full Throttle Remastered rolls out April 18 for PlayStation 4, Vita, and PC
- Paladins enters closed beta on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
- Newzoo: The esports economy will grow 41% to $696 million in 2017
- Roblox raises $92 million in funding for its Lego-like virtual game world
- JustAd launches Game Zone playable ad platform
- Frostkeep Studios comes out of stealth with Rend fantasy survival game
- Heroes of the Storm’s next college competition is giving bracket-makers a chance at $10,000
- GDC drew more than 26,000 attendees to 2017 event, down slightly
- The Making of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will show how Nintendo made its open-world hit
- Rocket League’s new mode has players fighting over a collapsing floor
- They Shall Not Pass expansion brings trench warfare to Battlefield 1
- Nintendo Switch has reportedly been hacked using old browser exploit
Mobile and social
- Tokaido will soon trek from the tabletop to iOS and Android devices
- Indie publisher Elephant Mouse launches Twisty Sky endless climber on iOS
- Transformers: Earth Wars update is all about Autobots and Decepticons becoming BFFs
- Zynga adds Boggle to its With Friends lineup
- Mag Interactive hits revenues of $29.8 million in 2016 via casual puzzle mobile games
- Lithuania’s Nordcurrent rides Cooking Fever beyond 100 million downloads
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- Mass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayer is still rooted in the hordes of the Milky Way
- David Jaffe’s Drawn to Death is an ode to crazy and creative video games
- Why Xbox cofounder Seamus Blackley is diving into instant 3D printing
- David Jaffe shows off a not-so-superficial arena shooter Drawn to Death
- Everything makes you feel small as you grasp how all life is connected
- Watch us revel in Mass Effect: Andromeda’s airborne ‘extreme strafing’
- Diablo III’s Necromancer is aiming to be more than a nostalgic act
- Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass hands-on gameplay videos
- First impressions of Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass expansion
- Prey’s Asian protagonist is refreshing in a sea of bearded white dudes
- Sonic Mania has this long-time Sonic fan confident in its greatness