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, Nintendo is bringing more indies love to the Switch, Pokémon Go adds more Legendaries, and we check out Mario + Rabbids and the Destiny 2 PC beta.
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: The Leisure Economy — where we all get paid to play games
- PC Gaming Weekly: Where will you meet your Destiny?
- Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is an abomination of UI design
- Watch Final Fantasy XV running at 4K and 60 FPS on PC
- GameMaker Studio 2 makes it easier to create 2D games on the Mac
- AR/VR Weekly: Google makes augmented reality waves
- Every game announced during the Nintendo Switch indie showcase
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds: I can’t believe this 50 vs. 50 match actually worked
- Overwatch’s Deathmatch mode is a great way to practice
- Why is Valve done with Half-Life? GamesBeat Decides
- GamesBeat 2017’s newest speakers features execs from Telltale, Twitch, and SuperData
- Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire takes a different approach to the loyal mount
- 5 Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle tips: managing money, weapons, healing, and more
- YouTube still wants gamers to ‘earn money’ — and provide content
- Destiny 2 PC beta gameplay — watch Jeff nod at the correct way to play
News
- The GameWorks arcade chain is about to get an esports makeover
- Twitch’s new Extensions add customization options for streamers, like games and music
- Sonic Forces is out for Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 7
- Annapurna Interactive will publish Keita Takahashi’s wacky Wattam in 2018
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is down so Bluehole can remove the wack esports graffiti
- H1Z1 update borrows from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Kentucky Route Zero’s last chapter is finally coming out — on the Switch in 2018
- No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again brings the series to Switch with a Hotline Miami twist
- Shovel Knight: King of the Cards digs into the 2018’s game release schedule
- Super Meat Boy Forever is coming to Nintendo Switch
- I Expect You to Die solves VR puzzle: Over $1 million in revenue since December
- Vuze VR camera will soon support Macs, livestreaming, and underwater filming
- BM will derive highlights for U.S. Open tennis matches using Watson AI
- Asus shows off 35-inch gaming monitor and Republic of Gamers Chimera laptop
- Acer’s latest gamer hardware includes an 8K graphics rig
- Dell unveils 34-inch Alienware monitor, Inspiron gaming laptop and desktop
- Logitech launches wireless gaming mouse and mechanical keyboard
- 7 arguments to convince your Destiny 2 friends to skip the console launch
- CCP launches Tron-like sports game Sparc for PSVR
- Cyan partners with Legendary Pictures to add backstory to Obduction
- Rune: Ragnarok is Human Head’s return to Norse mythology after 17 years
- A new Halo is coming to Windows Mixed Reality
- Google Play Indie Games Festival unveils 20 finalists
- Dell dives into virtual reality with Visor headset coming in October
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds just beat Dota 2 for concurrent players
Mobile and social
- Pokémon Go adds three more Legendary creatures
- Sims pioneer Rod Humble takes over Jam City’s TinyCo studio
- Hard Rock teams up with game studio to make mobile puzzle-match game
- The Walking Dead joins Game of Thrones and Star Trek in Disruptor Beam’s social game stable
- Gram Games’ puzzle masters unleash Merge Town
- 8th Wall raises $2.4 million for augmented reality tools
- Nexon and Finland’s Grand Cru contemplate making mobile games that last for years
Reviews, previews, and interviews
- Last Day of June impressions — the mesmerizing game isn’t all sunshine and flowers
- Angry Birds Match is a match-3 mobile game that hatches nothing new
- Orwell: Ignorance is Strength takes on fake news in Season Two
- Game boss interview: Epic’s Tim Sweeney on blockchain, digital humans, and Fortnite
- Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire designer explains why their mounts stand out in the MMO crowd
- Humble Grove’s 29 explores a metaphysical choose-your-own-adventure story
- The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor review — hitting the same beat too often
- Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle review — tactics fun for everyone
- Game Boss interview: Grand Theft Auto creator wants to bring realism to massive online games