Mojang plan to pre-release Minecraft 1.8 this Thursday
What is a Minecraft 1.8? We’ve waited so long that it bears repeating: Minecraft’s 1.8 update constitutes the most significant injection of new surprises into Survival mode in years. Expect Endermites, Guardians and rabbits. And expect it all within the week.
Activision want to be "involved" in the indie movement: hence Sierra's return
Depending on your age and allegiances, you’ll know Sierra either as a) the true kings of ‘80s adventure games, b) the great enemy of Guybrushes everywhere, or c) the publishers Valve spent half of the last decade suing over Half-Life.
Activision have taken advantage of those divergent identities by relaunching Sierra as a catch-all label for all their indie-ish ventures.
“The indie movement is happening,” said Sierra’s MacLean Marshall. “And for Activision not to be involved in that... it has the big brands sure, but I think it would be a miss if we didn’t look at the indie movement as well.”
Alienware: Steam Machine owners will "sacrifice content" for the sake of Linux
It’s been tough to parse Alienware’s position on the Linux-based SteamOS. At E3 they told us that the Steam Machine will increase Linux gamers by “20, 30 fold, overnight”. But with the first Steam Machines delayed into 2015, they’ve upstaged their own Linux box with a Windows-based living room PC: the Alienware Alpha.
So who would win in a fight, Alienware? A living room PC running Windows, or the same PC running SteamOS?
“It depends on what you’re looking for; there’s advantages to both,” said Alienware general manager Frank Azor. “[With] the Linux version I do think you’re going to sacrifice a little bit of content.”
Pillars of Eternity backer beta now open to higher tier pledgers
From one angle, it’s a surprise to see the classic RPG do so well out of early access. How can a genre which thrives on density and choice find success in letting players potter about the map before it’s fully drawn?
InXile made it work by fencing off regions in Wasteland 2’s beta, and Obidian have taken a similar tack for Pillars of Eternity. Their new beta, open to select backers, consists of the village of Dyrford and its busy environs - and is entirely spoiler-free.
The Odyssey is the Smite World Championship's answer to the Dota 2 Compendium
That whole Dota 2 Compendium thingymabob was a bit of a success wasn’t it? It certainly generated a substantial prize pool for the International. Now Smite developer Hi-Rez are doing something similar with The Odyssey.
It’s a program for the Smite World Championships, where new items will be put up for sale, special Odyssey items, and each purchase will add more to the Championship prize pool. Will any of these items turn enemies into pigs? Allow players to disguise themselves as beggars? Probably not.
Here's Johnny: Geralt makes a new chum in this 35 minute demo of The Witcher 3
CD Projekt Red have released footage from the Gamescom and E3 demo of The Witcher 3, so now you can all slap your eyes on it.
It’s set after Geralt has taken care of a naughty griffon, separating its head from its feathery body. The 35 minute demo takes him from the massive hub city of Novigrad to the marshes, forests and mountains on the south. He also makes a new friend, Johnny.
The Humble Jumble Bundle will keep you in strategy games for a good long while
The Humble Jumbo Bundle 2 is a good ‘un. For the next fortnight, you can pay anything for The Incredible Adventure of Van Helsing Complete Pack, Deadlight and Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition. All three are good fun, but GalCiv’s the real gem in the trio. It’s a cracking space 4X game, and should keep you going until Galactic Civilizations III leaves beta.
Hatoful Boyfriend flies the nest on September 4th
I am crushed. I’d planned on finally finding out what it’s like to date a pigeon on Thursday, but Devolver Digital dashed my dreams against the rocks today when it tweeted pigeon dating simulator Hatoful Boyfriend’s delay today.
It’s now due out in a fortnight, on September 4th.
Rad news: Wasteland 2 is only a month away
If you’ve been feeling a bit shitty about the world lately, fret not, because come September 19th, you’ll be able to leave it for a post-apocalyptic wasteland in inXile’s Wasteland 2.
Brian Fargo tweeted the news today, though a release date had already been hinted. It was going to launch this month, but inXile warned that it could be delayed until September, which it has been.
Tee off: The Golf Club launches
Yesterday, Steve stepped up to the tee and dispensed his hands-on impressions of The Golf Club. If it sounded like something you’d like to hit a few balls on, then you’re in luck, since The Golf Club, with its impressive course creator, launched today.
£26.99/$34.99 is what you’ll need to throw Steam’s way if you want to launch tiny balls across impossible mountains or into groups of unsuspecting deer.
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