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 an independent game festival Brazil, we played around with PlayerUnkown’s Battleground’s new zombie mode, and Rocket League got a new anniversary update.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: 9 industry leaders sound off on the state of gaming in 2017
- PC Gaming Weekly: Strategy’s resurgence is no Paradox
- Why Hearthstone’s Frozen Throne expansion matters to Warcraft fans
- Bluehole built PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ for livestream viewers
- Brazil’s Independent Games Festival goes beyond games to business
- Should Nintendo make Zelda’s map DLC a freebie? GamesBeat Decides
- The Future Group changes both game shows and live events with mixed reality
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the most important shooter since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Game investor Phil Harrison sees the broader view of games beyond Sony and Microsoft
- Nintendo’s conundrum: Classic Editions or Virtual Console?
News
- Recoil updates laser tag with a modern Wi-Fi-enabled outdoor battlefield
- Hearthstone’s Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion will launch in August
- Overwatch reveals Doomfist as its 25th hero
- Destiny 2 open beta hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on July 21
- Dinosaur shooter Island 359 launches on Oculus VR early access
- PlayStation Now, welcome to 2014: PS4 games coming to Sony’s streaming library
- How Haste reduces lag in League of Legends and Overwatch
- Rocket League’s anniversary update: New arena, animated decals, and customizable trails
- Splatoon 2 is getting its own Nintendo Direct
- The Elder Scrolls Online is giving its premium membership to all players for a week
Mobile and social
- Survey says: Pokémon Go’s loyal fans remain everyday players, even as craze dies down
- Siege: Titan Wars has a new strategy in its cards
- Marvel: Future Fight just got a slew of Spider-Man: Homecoming content
- King brings Candy Crush TV show host Mario Lopez into mobile games
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- Sword Legacy is a Brazilian indie strategy game with global ambitions
- Watch us play Doomfist in Overwatch: Blizzard’s Street Fighter hero
- Minority Media’s Vander Caballero on how to survive the VR desert
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds zombies shuffle between boredom and action
- Remedy’s Sam Lake on 21 years of game storytelling and transmedia
- RuneScape developer reflects on 15 years of making games
- Why Pay Day 2 game publisher Starbreeze made its crazy dive into VR hardware