Snail Games today announced that its open world voxel-based sandbox survival game PixARK will be entering Early Access on Steam and Xbox Games Preview in March. Additionally, the game will be coming to retail and digital distribution on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox One X later in 2018.
Montreal-based indie studio Tribute Games today announced that Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition, a revamp of its 2D side-scrolling platformer currently available on PlayStation 4 and PC, will be coming to the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One.
Obsidian Entertainment, in partnership with publisher Versus Evil, announced the launch of pre-orders today for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Consumers can now digitally pre-order the Standard, Deluxe, and Obsidian Editions through Steam, GOG.com, and Obsidian.net, as well as other digital retailers. The physical Obsidian Edition of the game, which includes additional in-game content and physical items, is available for pre-order at all major retail stores. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will launch this April 3rd on PC.
By pre-ordering the Standard, Deluxe, or Obsidian Edition, fans will receive three unique in-game digital items:
The standard edition of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will cost $49.99, digital and physical retail, while the Deluxe Edition will be priced at $59.99. The Deluxe Edition will include the game’s official soundtrack composed by Justin Bell. Additionally, the Deluxe Edition includes: an in-game pet, a Deadfire themed special in-game item, a digital pen and paper RPG starter guide, a high-resolution game map, and Volume II of the digital guide book.
The Obsidian Edition is priced at $74.99 for the digital version, and includes everything that comes in the Deluxe Edition as well as the first three DLC expansions for Pillars of Eternity II, which each cost $9.99 to purchase separately, although these will not be available for separate purchase until the game’s official launch.
The physical version of the Obsidian Edition will cost $79.99, and will include the same content as its digital cousin, but also additional, physical rewards: a cloth map of the Deadfire region, an Explorer’s notepad and a set of postcards that render the Deadfire Archipelago.
Motion Twin today announced that Dead Cells will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this year. A release date will be announced at a later time. Dead Cells is currently available in Early Access on Steam and GOG.com for $19.99 USD.
Natsume today announced Wild Guns Reloaded for the Nintendo Switch; coming early 2018. Currently available on Steam and PlayStation 4, Wild Guns Reloaded is a fast-paced gallery style shooter mixing the Wild West with steampunk.
Sega and Amplitude Studios today announced the Vaulters, the first expansion for the grand strategy title Endless Space 2, is now available on Steam for $10.99. A civilization of nomads, wandering for centuries among the stars. Always in search of their promised land: a new planet to call home. Will you be the one to help them at last?
DONTNOD Entertainment invites fans to their studio for a second time, further revealing the creative process behind their upcoming action-RPG, Vampyr. Dontnod Presents Vampyr – Episode 2: Architects of the Obscure unveils more exclusive gameplay footage, while the creative team delves into the visuals and music that bring 1918 London to life.
Vampyr releases Spring 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Today, Ubisoft announced Sam, the company’s first personal gaming assistant to enhance players’ gaming experience. Sam leverages players’ profile information, game library, friends, community and Ubisoft services to deliver tailored tips and information. Sam is in open beta and can be accessed now through the free Ubisoft Club mobile app. Currently, Sam is available in English only in Canada, with plans to extend the open beta to more markets in the coming months.
When gamers want to know about a release date, watch a trailer, discover Easter Eggs in a game or chat with Sam about the best Assassin in the series, Sam will direct them to the appropriate page on the Ubisoft website or elsewhere on the web. By chatting through voice or text input, players can ask Sam anything about Ubisoft games and services through Sam’s chatbot Q&A feature. Sam is directly linked to a player’s Ubisoft account, which allows it to analyze their latest matches and provide tailored hints and tips through the Daily Login feature which is introduced with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. Sam will analyze why a player is struggling during matches and will proactively send a video tip from the community. As Sam is in beta, additional features are planned in the coming months to enrich the service offered to the Ubisoft players.
Sam leverages Google Cloud’s Dialogflow Enterprise Edition, an end-to-end development suite that uses natural language processing to build conversational interfaces. This technology will continue to help the dev team interpret and answer questions from users, as well as highlight the frequently asked questions for faster addition to Sam’s database.
XSEED Games today announced the launch of Zwei: The Arges Adventure for PC via Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store by Humble Bundle with a limited-time 10% launch discount from its regular price of $19.99 USD. Zwei: The Arges Adventure is the original entry in the Zwei series from developer Nihon Falcom, and a standalone predecessor to Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection. Take to the “low fantasy” floating continent of Arges for a self-aware RPG adventure starring two step-siblings who are barely qualified to do anything at all: the ‘puntificating’ brother, Pokkle, and his savagely honest sister, Pipiro.
The 2018 Game Developers Conference (GDC) has released the results of the sixth annual State of the Industry Survey, revealing trends in the games industry ahead of GDC 2018 this March. With responses from nearly 4,000 game developers, this year’s survey results reflect a growing level of developer interest in the Nintendo Switch, with 12% of respondents currently developing games for Nintendo’s console. This represents a significant jump from last year’s survey, in which only 3% of respondents said they were working on a Switch title.
Other findings include a continued investment in “Loot Boxes,” with one in 10 developers planning support for the practice, despite recent pushback from press and consumers. While interest in PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One development has gone up since last year, interest in mobile game development and VR, while still strong, has begun to slip this year.
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