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.
Hello, and welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we got to check out the anticipated shooter Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Middle-earth: Shadow of War is heading to mobile, and Overwatch released its 25th character.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: Pittsburgh steels itself to become a regional game hub
- PC Gaming Weekly: Have you heard of … Roblox?
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds: Watch us earn chicken bucks
- GamesBeat 2017 announces three more decision makers from gaming’s past and future
- AR/VR Weekly: Headsets and glasses go beyond games
- Will Nintendo put out the Switch Online dumpster fire? GamesBeat Decides
- AR/VR Weekly: Back into the metaverse
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds hero spends whole match hiding in a car
- Why Discord is my new online home
- PC Gaming Weekly: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds could still get much bigger
News
- Final Fantasy’s card game is hot at tabletop shops, shipping 5.5 million packs
- Dragon Quest XI is coming to the West in 2018
- Electronic Arts is spending even more on ‘influencers’
- EA’s boss isn’t bullish on mass-market VR
- Electronic Arts’ digital sales jumped 23% over the last 12 months
- The Sims 4 sees 20% year-over-year surge in monthly players
- EA’s live-service games like FIFA and Battlefield boost Q2 numbers
- Overwatch’s Doomfist is now live
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is now standalone on PC and Xbox One
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds gets fix for aiming bug
- For Honor is getting two new seasons and dedicated servers
- New U.K. publisher No More Robots will launch Descenders free-riding game
- AMD launches its low-end Ryzen 3 gaming and VR processors
- Bethesda unveils Wolfenstein II — The Freedom Chronicles Season Pass
- HTC announces standalone VR headset for Chinese market
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds microtransactions lead to first major fan backlash
- AMD releases its biggest Radeon driver update of the year
- Walmart cancels every Super NES Classic Edition preorder
- Frontier Developments announces expo celebrating Elite: Dangerous and Planet Coaster
- Dying Light studio Techland launches Gemly, its Steam-like digital store
- Blizzard promises Overwatch League players at least $50,000 per year
- Former GDC boss Meggan Scavio will run an elite game academy
- Take This and Wired Productions team up to raise awareness about mental health
- Nintendo’s sales soar thanks to the Switch
- AMD CEO: Cryptocurrency mining and gaming will boost Q3 graphics shipments
- AMD posts a small Q2 loss despite its most competitive chips in a decade
- Devolver Digital backs another indie on Kickstarter: Torla, a surreal RPG
- Katie Stern is the Game Developers Conference’s new general manager
- PUBG guns for your wallet with early microtransaction test
- Grand Theft Auto: Online is Power Mad with its fancy new car
- Heroes of the Storm’s championships will let viewers tip teams for loot
- BrightLocker launches platform to connect developers with players
- CleverPet’s game console for dogs shows they can see colors
- Independent Games Festival is now taking submissions for GDC 2018
- Overcooked will appear on the Nintendo Switch’s menu July 27
Mobile and social
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War shines the Eye of Sauron on iOS and Android
- FoxNext Games’ Aftershock will make a Marvel mobile game as its first title
- Megacool raises $1.5 million to solve user acquisition with GIFs
- Sensor Tower: Pokémon Go iOS revenues soar thanks to legendary monsters
- Streamlabs brings its livestreaming app to Android
- Candy Crush Saga teams up with The Emoji Movie
- Scopely’s Walking Dead fans revolt over glitches
- Sensor Tower: Mobile game revenues grew 32% in Q2 as Asian titles surged
Reviews, interviews, and previews
- Sundered review — the beauty of exploration and death
- Wolfenstein II creative director reveals more about a Nazified America
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus dances between agony and ecstasy
- HyperX’s Alloy Elite mechanical keyboard keeps the Cherry switches and adds media controls
- Blindfold is a disturbing VR tale about the torture of journalists
- Sound BlasterX AE-5 sound card will get the most from your headphones
- Naughty Dog fleshes out its main female characters in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy features a vast level where you can roam with your jeep
- Pyre review — RPG dodgeball is as stylish as it sounds