StarCraft 2 artwork for a Dark Templar

If you ever wanted to give StarCraft 2 a try, but you didn't really feel like buying three 'different' games in order to do so, you're in luck as Blizzard has just announced that StarCraft 2 is going free-to-play! You can go through the entire Terran campaign, play as all three races in casual or competitive multiplayer, experience the co-op missions as a variety of different characters, and naturally, mess around with custom maps in the Arcade when you get tired of all the competition.

You can get a good glimpse at what all of this looks like in-game, as well as more details about each of the free-to-play game modes, in the announcement video below. Have a gander, its not a very long:

H1Z1 screenshot of two players sizing each other up

The Humble Monthly Bundle is a $12 subscription service that instantly gives you access to one or two games, and then a whole bunch more once the next month rolls over. Last time around the featured games were an awesome combination of Quake Champions, The Elder Scrolls Online, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends, while this time you're looking at H1Z1 and two of its in-game Loot Boxes.

While I have recommend every single Humble Monthly Bundle so far because I thought it was genuinely good value for your time and money, I'm not so sure about this one. H1Z1 is currently $20 on Steam, so you're not getting much of a discount, and its also a bit of mediocre game given the consistently mixed reviews over the course of its lifespan. I'm not sure how valuable those two Loot Boxes truly are, but I can't imagine its enough to push this bundle over the edge, at least not for me.

Hearthstone's Kobolds & Catacombs expansion official artwork without logo

It was known for a while that Blizzard will announce the next batch of cards during Blizzcon 2017, but what no one could've guessed is that they will also reveal a repeatable single-player adventure! Each run through the dungeon will help you strengthen your hero and your pre-built deck, with the end goal being to defeat eight progressively more challenging bosses. A pretty damn good concept in my eyes, especially since all of it will come for free to all players!

The recently posted trailer won't exactly give you a good look at the gameplay side of things, but I would still suggest you give it a look as it helps set the tone quite nicely. Have a look, its a rather fun trailer:

Total War: Rome 2 screenshot of war elephants on the march

Creative Assembly is currently working on Total War: Warhammer 2 and its DLC, an unannounced historical Total War game, and Total War: Saga - a spin-off series focusing on pivotal moments in history. What might come as a bit of a surprise, however, is that they are apparently working on Total War: Rome 2 as well!

This announcement comes to us via a rather intriguing Tweet that simply states: "Is this the end of the Empire? Or just the beginning...". I would love to tell you more, but I'm afraid there are currently no details available. This could be an update in order to bring Total War: Rome 2 up to par with Attila, or it could even be a brand new expansion, we simply do not know right now.

Screenshot from the PC version of Nioh showing our protagonist and a demon enemy

Nioh is a samurai action-RPG released on the PlayStation 4 back in February to some overwhelmingly positive reviews. People often compare it to Dark Souls or Bloodborne, and while there are definitely some similarities when it comes to the combat, the overall experience is a lot different, albeit still enjoyable. As such, I am very glad to say that Nioh is soon coming to PC via Steam!

Besides all of the content and expansions bundled into one neat package, the PC version of Nioh will also bring improved performance, high-resolution graphics, and naturally, support for resolutions up to 4K. Depending on your PC configuration it will offer you two different modes to choose from: Action Mode that ensures a stable 60fps, and Movie Mode that goes all-out in terms of visuals. Its not exactly a common, or even sensible way of doing things, but if the Action Mode can truly keep a stable framerate on middle-of-the-line configurations I'd still call that a net positive.

Total War: Warhammer 2 artwork of Karl Franz attacking Lizardmen

Total War: Warhammer 2 has recently been updated with the Mortal Empires campaign. It brought with it a massive world that consists of campaign maps from Total War: Warhammer 1 and 2, as well as all of the Legendary Lords and factions they lead. The end result, as you might imagine, is a world filled to the brim with battles to fight, regions to conquer, and ancient enemies to annihilate.

However, while the concept behind Mortal Empires is beyond amazing, the actual campaign arrived alongside a plethora of bugs, some of which are so major they can completely ruin a playthrough. For example, the massive Chaos and Norsca invasions do not declare war on anyone but the player, which means you have to fight off an absolutely gigantic stack of armies without a single shred of help. Its not exactly fun or fair, which is why I'm very glad to say that the newest beta build has now corrected the issue.

Screenshot of Hob, Runic Games' last game

Runic Games just recently released Hob, an action-adventure with a focus on exploration, puzzle-solving, and beating up a variety of adorable little aliens with a giant robo-fist. It received some very positive reviews, especially on Steam where it currently stands at 88% approval rating, but apparently it wasn't much of a commercial success.

As such, and with great sadness, I have to announce that Runic Games is now shutting down. There aren't many details available, especially since the decision came from Perfect World, but here's the official farewell message from Runic Games:

Overwatch screenshot of a very early build of Symmetra

Blizzard released an absolute storm of announcements yesterday, revealing major content and side-activities for pretty much all of their games (sorry Diablo fans). While it ended up being slightly overshadowed by all of the new features and esports craziness, the Overwatch developers also held an immensely interesting presentation where they delved into Overwatch's history and how exactly it came to be what it is today.

I won't show the full presentation as its quite lengthy, but if you're interested in seeing how Overwatch developed over time I would highly recommend you give the video below a look. It was captured directly from the stream so the quality isn't perfect, but its still offers an amazing look at some of the earliest stages of Overwatch. Have a gander, its well worth the 6 minutes:

Overwatch screenshot of the Butcher Roadhog cosmetic

During the initial burst of announcements Blizzard revealed a brand new Hybrid Overwatch map - Blizzard World. While I still consider it to be a bit too self-referential for my tastes, I am very glad to say that it will be accompanied by some downright amazing cosmetics inspired by Blizzard's various games. In fact, the cosmetics are so good I am starting to think that Blizzard designed the entire Blizzard World map just so they could find some sort of excuse to fit them in!

You can look forward to things like Nova Widowmaker, Magni Torbjorn, Butcher Roadhog, Barbarian Zarya, and the list goes on for a while. The video quality isn't the greatest since it was ripped straight from the Blizzcon stream, but you can get a good look at new skins right below. Have a gander:

Overwatch map Blizzard World screenshot of the Stormwind entrance

Out of all the announcements that came with this year's Blizzcon, the upcoming "Blizzard World" Overwatch map might just be the strangest one. Instead of having something that even loosely fits the Overwatch world, the new map is essentially a theme park celebrating Blizzard's various games. While I'm not exactly a fan of this sort of silliness and self-referential humor, I am very glad to say that Blizzard World will be a Hybrid map (like Hollywood, King's Row, etc.)!

If you're interested in seeing what Blizzard World might look like in-game, you'll find what you're looking for in the recently posted teaser trailer down below. Its not very long, but it goes over pretty much all of the important areas. Have a look: