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, BioWare is working on a new franchise, the game industry speaks out against Trump, and we play the anticipated role-playing game Torment: Tides of Numenera.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: Announcing GamesBeat Summit 2017: How games, sci-fi, and tech create real-world magic
- The art of Fallout 4 gets its own print collection
- Fire Emblem 101: How Nintendo’s strategy franchise became a flagship series before mobile
- Cover your PlayStation 4 Pro in this real wood paneling, because you’re classy as hell
- How should Overwatch evolve in 2017? GamesBeat Decides
- Watch how Nintendo, Sony, and Sega opened up the first E3 in 1995
- Gaming-as-a-Service doesn’t have to mean more crunch time
News
- Devolver Digital will bring in games to GDC from devs who face Trump U.S. travel ban
- Hearthstone boss: Balance changes could be coming
- Indie platformer Little Bug reaches funding goal on Fig
- Small mistakes led to a $500 million verdict against Oculus
- Oculus’ John Carmack vents about $500 million ZeniMax jury verdict
- PlayStation Network is down for some on PS4
- Galactic Civilizations III’s next expansion is a Crusade
- Rocket League becomes real with new toy line
- Born from games, Skylanders Academy TV show gets extended for 3rd season on Netflix
- Sony posts healthy growth in PlayStation 4 sales for holiday quarter
- Blizzard Entertainment CEO weighs in as critic of Trump’s Muslim ban
- London’s Hutch raises $5.5 million for free-to-play racing games
- ZeniMax v. Oculus: Jury orders Facebook’s VR company to pay $500 million because Palmer Luckey broke his NDA
- Nintendo Switch’s online service could cost $30 a year or less
- GameStop is getting more PlayStation VR bundles
- Crytek cuts 15 more jobs from the publishing team at its Frankfurt office
- Activision Blizzard dives into consumer products division with ex-Mattel hire
- Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax acquires Doom co-developer Escalation Studios
- Nintendo will air its first-ever Super Bowl ad to support the launch of the Switch console
- Magic: The Gathering expands its Twitch presence to 36 Pro Tour and other events in 2017
- Kickstarter acquires video-streaming community platform Huzza, opens first office outside the U.S.
- Nintendo President spells out how Pokémon generated big financial results
- Nintendo still aims to ship 2 million Switch consoles by March
- Performance enhancers: Madden NFL 18 will run on Battlefield’s Frostbite graphics engine
- EA CEO unveils new BioWare game, Star Wars: Battlefront, Need for Speed, and more for coming year
- EA: Titanfall 2 didn’t meet sales expectations
- AMD CEO says Zen and Vega products are on track for big 2017 launches
- EA: ‘FIFA 17 was the best-selling console title in the world in 2016’
- AMD slightly beats earnings targets as revenue hits $1.1 billion in Q4
- Battlefield 1 helps EA beat quarterly earnings targets
- For Honor is having an open beta from February 9 to February 12
- The Elder Scrolls Online will finally visit the lands of Morrowind this June
- Call of Duty’s Sabotage expansion debuts on PlayStation 4 with 4 new maps and zany Zombie episode
- Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age launches July 11 for PlayStation 4
- Hoplon kicks off open beta for car combat title Heavy Metal Machines
- Nintendo reports big gains from Pokémon games in December results
- Insomniac CEO Ted Price pummels Trump’s Muslim ban in YouTube video
- Almost 10% of Resident Evil 7 users tried the game on PlayStation VR
- Namco founder, pioneer of Japan’s arcade industry, dies at 91
- Game Developers Conference will honor Prince of Persia creator and ex-White House game adviser
- Worms studio Team17 will publish indie sci-fi city builder Aven Colony
- Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin comes to PlayStation VR on February 21
- ESA trade group warns Trump White House that travel ban would disrupt game industry
- Brianna Wu appalled at FBI’s #GamerGate investigative report
- World of Warcraft showcased at Computer History Museum
- Andy Grove’s niece speaks out on behalf of immigrants
- Game developers rally against Trump’s Muslim ban
Mobile and social
- Fire Emblem: Heroes launches on iOS and Android as Nintendo unsheathes its free-to-play sword
- How Fire Emblem: Heroes adapted to its new mobile lifestyle
- Lannister Gold: Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead game maker Disruptor Beam raises $8.5 million
- Nexon launches retro arcade mobile game Evil Factory
- Rec Room social VR app creator Against Gravity raises $5 million
- Take-Two buys Spain’s Social Point mobile game studio for at least $250 million
- SuperData: Mobile games hit $40.6 billion in 2016, matching world box office numbers
- 1App put Android in the cloud so you can access apps instantly on any device
- FlowPlay launches Dynasty Football fantasy sports card strategy game
- Sensor Tower: Pokémon Go passes $1 billion in revenue on mobile devices
- Nexon acquires rights for Elsword Mobile game in Japan from China’s Kunlun
- Big online game publishers turn to Playwire to monetize through ads
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- Fire Emblem: Heroes first impressions — a much better adaptation than Super Mario Run
- 1 Hour with Horizon Zero Dawn: A total noob’s perspective
- Punch A Nazi is a game that lets you wail on Richard Spencer, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Adolf Hitler
- Torment: Tides of Numenera is a pimple-poppin’ journey in the belly of a transdimensional beast
- Jagex creates RuneScape audio adventure with Amazon Alexa
- Fire Emblem: Heroes is ready to put Nintendo into the free-to-play spotlight
- Ark: Survival Evolved’s biggest update is like Iron Man vs. dinosaurs
- Doom creator’s 12-year-old son releases first game on Steam: Gunman Taco Truck