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 look ahead to 2017’s game release dates, Mega Man goes to mobile, and XCOM 2 is getting new content thanks to an upcoming mod.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: Great gadgets, moments, and trends at CES 2017
- How French studio DotEmu specializes in resurrecting lost classics like Windjammers
- 2017 game release-date calendar
- What are the best-looking video game consoles of all time? GamesBeat Decides
- Ganondorf’s weakness to fishing poles and other Zelda trivia
- AMD debuts Radeon FreeSync 2 for gaming displays with stunning image quality
- GamesBeat’s games of the year — staff lists and our overall picks
News
- Professional Esports Association cancels Counter-Strike league after team drama
- Focus Home Interactive enlists Asobo Studio for its mysterious Plague
- Pro athletes will compete in EA Sports games during Super Bowl week
- XCOM 2 is getting a sequel to the series’ popular Long War mod
- Nintendo will talk Switch games on January 13
- Paragon’s newest hero fights with the light and darkness
- Smite Tactics enters its closed beta test on PC
- Pico Technology reveals untethered virtual reality headset
- AMD unwraps its Vega graphics architecture with promise of rich, lavish virtual worlds
- Lumus unveils AR displays for smartglasses with wide field of view
- Ambarella unveils 4K and 8K imaging chips for cars, drones, VR, and sports cameras
- Nvidia announces GeForce Now cloud gaming for PCs
- Nvidia connects the GeForce Experience game capture to Facebook Live
- Intel demos untethered Project Alloy virtual reality multiplayer experience
- Sony sells 6.2 million PlayStation 4s during holiday season
- Intel holds its CES press event inside virtual reality
- Heroes of the Storm trolls its players with its latest hero, Warcraft’s Zul’jin
- Violent hack-‘n’-slash game Let It Die passes 1 million downloads
- ‘Brooklyn 99’ star Terry Crews wants to voice an Overwatch character
- Little Bug seeks funding on Fig to bring a cute platformer to life
- Mass Effect: Andromeda gets March 21 launch date for PS4, Xbox One, and PC
- Beautiful indie game Firewatch passes 1 million copies sold
- Linden Lab debuts marketplace for Sansar VR world
- Merge VR shows off Holo Cube holographic toy
- Peloton launches immersive fitness bike for commercial gyms
- Vuze, an $800 VR camera for consumers, is shipping in March 2017 with support for 3D audio
- Leading Heroes of the Storm esports squad resigns with Team Dignitas
- Overwatch’s new Oasis map is now out
- PlayStation Plus free games for January are now live: Day of the Tentacle and 5 more
- Windows 10 adoption passes 50% on Steam
Mobile and social
- Mega Man’s 6 NES games are now out on iOS and Android
- Smite’s new game takes the MOBA to the digital card game arena
- Samsung confirms it sold 5 million Gear VR mobile headsets
- Changhong’s H2 smartphone lets you scan objects for molecular authenticity
- 4 mobile gaming predictions for 2017 — like esports on national TV
- Wonder is an enigmatic mobile hardware company with a VR twist and a focus on gamers
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- AMD’s leaders believe that hardware is hot again
- Insta360 Pro is an 8K 360-degree virtual reality camera
- Nvidia CEO says graphics chips and deep learning are driving huge innovations
- HyperX reveals Cloud Revolver S headset with plug-and-play Dolby Surround Sound
- 3dRudder Wireless lets you control VR games — with your feet