Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard for nearly 69 billion dollars
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- in News
[Update #2]: It looks like Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard won't be going through after all.
[Update]: Blizzard has announced a new survival game set in a completely original universe.
In what is quite possibly the biggest acquisition in the gaming world, Microsoft has just purchased Activision Blizzard, all of their studios and IPs for a whopping ~69 billion dollars. In other words, Microsoft now has access to Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft, Candy Crush, and a whole bunch more.
"Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently," reads the announcement from Phil Spencer. "Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming."
After nearly two years in Early Access, the political strategy game Democracy 4 has now fully launched
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Democracy 4, as you might imagine from the name alone, is a political simulator and strategy game about running a country... or rather, desperately trying to run a country while everything collapses around you! In order to bring your vision of the future to life you'll need to carefully handle an assortment of complicated topics, work on passing unpopular laws without losing too much support from your voters, wrangle with the ever-annoying opposition, and most importantly, do whatever you can to stay in power or else it will all go to waste!
How all of this madness translates into actual gameplay, that you can find out through the freshly posted launch trailer. Have a peek, it's a fairly short one:
Overprime is a third-person MOBA heavily based on Epic's long-canceled Paragon
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Given Paragon's constantly dwindling playerbase and the meteoric rise of Fortnite, Epic eventually decided to shut down their ambitious MOBA on April 26, 2018. In the process they did something a bit unexpected - they released all of Paragon's assets onto the Unreal Marketplace for absolutely no cost!
This is where the upcoming Overprime comes into play, as by using Paragon's elements as a base the Netmarble team is aiming to create a new and improved third-person MOBA. Rather than babble on, allow me to share with you one of the gameplay trailers. It's a little bit outdated at this point, but it should give you a pretty good idea of just what the team is trying to do with Overprime. Have a look:
PC version of Ys IX: Monstrum Nox has just added a local co-op mode
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- in News
[Update]: A year after launch, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox has just unleashed a surprise PC performance patch.
In an update that came pretty much out of nowhere, the PC version of Ys IX: Monstrum Nox has just received local co-op, which also includes online multiplayer through Steam's Remote Play Together feature! Under the co-op system both players will have access to all of the movement and combat abilities, will be able to discover landmarks and open chests, as well as initiate dialogue and start events. The only thing reserved for player one is the ability to interact with the menus, which includes the world map.
What this looks like in actual gameplay, however, that you can find out through the recently posted preview. Have a peek, it's pretty exciting stuff:
According to leaks, Total War: Warhammer 3 will let you design your own Daemon Prince and faction
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[Update #2]: Total War: Warhammer 3's newest and rather lengthy gameplay preview shows off the Chaos Undivided faction in action!
[Update]: The full reveal has now gone live, and I'm happy to say it's even better than expected!
While Creative Assembly has revealed the vast majority of content coming in with Total War: Warhammer 3, they have kept the identity of the final Legendary Lord a closely guarded secret. Considering his importance in the lore and his status among fans, I fully expected this to be Be'lakor at the head of a Chaos Undivided faction, but it looks like it's far more exciting than that!
According to a leak that has just sprung on the Total War subreddit, the final Legendary Lord will be the most awesome one in the entire setting - you! If this isn't some sort of elaborate hoax, it seems like Total War: Warhammer 3 will allow us to play as our very own Daemon Prince, dedicate ourselves to whichever gods we like, and then create our very own Chaos faction from their units.
Classic city builder Pharaoh is getting a modern remake in the near future
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- in News
When it comes to city building games you can't go far into a conversation without bringing up one of Impressions Games' classic series like Pharaoh, Caesar, Zeus or Emperor. With highly stylized visuals and deceptively addictive gameplay, these games have managed to stand the test of time and are still some of the finest examples of the genre today.
With that in mind, I'm quite happy to say that the original Pharaoh is getting a modern remake - Pharaoh: A New Era! The new and improved version will recreate the city-building classic with all-new code, 4K graphics, improved mechanics and UI, as well as an assortment of quality of life changes to make everything play just a bit smoother.
Mythic is an upcoming co-op focused roguelike with a stylish pixel art aesthetic
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Instead of sticking with the same formula as many of the other action-roguelikes on Steam, the upcoming Mythic is trying to push things in a more MMO direction. So rather than watch you brave the dangers of the world alone, Mythic will have you join forces with a large assortment of other wanderers as you move from map to map.
Naturally, since Mythic is a roguelike the world itself will be procedurally generated and filled with all sorts of goodies to collect and monsters to slay, while careless deaths will send you all the way back to the start of the region you're in. And in order to ensure you're always progressing forward, there will also be five unique skill trees to explore and customize your character with.