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Valve updates 'Dota' card game with open tournaments and chat options
Valve has delivered the first large upgrade to Artifact since it premiered in late November, and it's clear there's lots of headroom for the Dota card game to grow. The 1.1 update adds short Open Tournaments that anyone can join. You don't have to chat up players or advertise them on social networks -- you just have to hop in and wait for Valve to pair you with an opponent. There's also a Free-for-All tourney mode that asks you to play as many people you can within three hours, awarding the win to whoever wins the most games in that time span.
Discord will let anyone sell games on its platform
In an effort to usurp Steam's position as the one-stop shop for gamers, Discord announced that it will open up its game store for all developers in 2019. Game makers who choose to use the Discord store will receive 90 percent of the revenue share. Meanwhile, gamers will get the ability to build up their library in Discord, giving them one less reason to ever close the app.
IMAX drops VR, will close its last three locations next year
Two years ago, IMAX had big plans for VR experiences, with its CEO anticipating 10-minute movie tie-ins that people would pay up to $10 to try at one of its locations. Now that dream is dead, as Variety points out an SEC filing from the company revealing that in Q1 2019 it will close the last three of its virtual reality installations, including the flagship location that opened last year in LA. It also cited a quote from CEO Richard Gelford telling investors on a recent earnings call that despite positive reactions from customers, "the numbers just weren't there." At one point, IMAX had worked on raising $50 million to invest in 25 locations, filled with VR headsets from Starbreeze and HTC, plus Subpac's vibration-emitting vests to build a cinematic experience. However, four of the seven locations it opened have already shut down, while Google and IMAX previously confirmed that work on a "cinema-quality" VR camera would pause. Now it's cancelled the entire experiment, however UploadVR reports other companies like The VOID and Dreamscape Immersive still have plans for VR experience locations to roll out in 2019.
'Shattered State' is a VR political thriller designed for the Netflix crowd
Supermassive Games is best known, at least in recent times, for the story-driven horror title Until Dawn, which spawned both a spin-off and a prequel in subsequent years. Other than occasionally flirting with Windows over its nigh decade-long history, Supermassive has focused on developing games for several generations of PlayStation consoles. Its latest project takes it into entirely new territory, however. Political thriller Shattered State is a VR experience that launches today on Google's Daydream platform, and so is available to anyone with a compatible phone or headset.
Kartridge is a curated game store, now with more Indie Megabooth
With the surprise launch of the Epic Games Store last week, followed by scores of news articles and tweets proclaiming war between Steam and Epic, it might be shocking to hear that there are other digital video game marketplaces on the internet. Kartridge, for instance, is a game store from Kongregate that offers a curated selection of independent titles -- rather than a holding cell for every project under the sun, as Steam has become for many players. Today, Kartridge announced a partnership with the Indie Megabooth to spotlight prominent games from the group's six-year history as a traveling showcase. Titles on Kartridge from IMB alumni will be clearly marked and featured on the store's main page, and the list will be updated quarterly with fresh games.
The Epic Games Store is the best thing that could happen to Steam
By the time The Game Awards cameras switched off on December 6th, after three hours of sternum-pounding concerts, raucous celebration and heartfelt speeches, the video game landscape had changed in a massive way. In the show's first hour, the studio behind Fortnite and the Unreal Engine launched its new digital marketplace, The Epic Games Store, and its simple gray-and-white logo became a consistent theme throughout the night. It seemed that every time a trailer for a new game faded to black, the Epic Games Store emblem was there.
Facebook and ZeniMax settle VR copyright lawsuit
John Carmack isn't the only one ending a legal fight with ZeniMax. Facebook and ZeniMax have agreed to settle a lawsuit that had accused Facebook and Oculus of violating copyright for the alleged "unlawful misappropriation" of ZeniMax VR code. The two haven't revealed terms of the deal, but ZeniMax claimed that it was "fully satisfied" with the result. We've asked Facebook if it can comment.
StarVR puts its developer headsets on hold amid financial woes
StarVR's headset plans are facing a serious setback. The company has confirmed to UploadVR that it's putting its StarVR One developer program "on hold" a month after starting sign-ups due to both problems with its "key overseas shareholder" and while it's in the midst of becoming a private company. One of StarVR's main stakeholders, Starbreeze, both filed for reconstruction (akin to bankruptcy) in Sweden and had to grapple with an arrest for insider trading. StarVR itself, meanwhile, has delisted itself from the Taipei Exchange Emerging Markets over concerns about the state of the VR industry.
The Epic Games Store is live
The Epic Games Store is live and it's not messing around. Epic threw it live during The Game Awards, where a handful of titles debuted as Epic Games Store exclusives. This comes just two days after announcing a digital marketplace with a significantly more profitable pricing model for developers than Steam.
Valve makes 'Counter-Strike: GO' free and adds battle royale
The current environment for shooting games is centered around the two tentpole features embodied by the genre's current leader Fortnite: free-to-play and battle royale mode. In an adjustment acknowledging the situation, Valve's latest rework of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive adds both elements to the game that originally launched in 2012 and a series that has been running since CS launched as a Half-Life mod 19 years ago. Mimicking Call of Duty's addition of 'Blackout' mode to the mix in this year's game, CS:GO now includes Danger Zone, with players dropping in solo, as a duo or in three-player squads to fight for survival. PlayerUnknown's: Battlegrounds popularized the style last year and now any game without it risks being seen as stale. According to Valve, Danger Zone games should last around ten minutes, keeping the pace and action up. Whether that's your preferred style or not, the entire game is now F2P with in-game purchases supporting its economy, while existing players will immediately see their accounts updated to Prime Status. That's otherwise available as a $15 upgrade, and according to its listing: "Players with Prime Status are matched with other Prime Status players and are eligible to receive Prime-exclusive souvenir items, item drops, and weapon cases."
Indie roguelike 'Below' has a release date: December 14th
More than five years after its original reveal, Capybara Games is ready to deliver Below, a much-anticipated indie title. Engadget spoke to co-founder Nathan Vella a few months ago about the stresses of running a successful small game studio working on such a complex game. At the time, he said that: "Fear of letting people down, and the kind of trust that people have put in us, are the two biggest motivating factors." Below throws gamers into procedurally-generated dungeons with a shield and weapon, and keeps the pressure up with permadeath. In a 2016 interview, creative director Kris Piotrowski said "The answer to 'What lies below?' is the main thing we're holding back." Now, the game is ready to ship on Xbox One and Steam, with a brief preview trailer teasing the adventures players have ahead of them.
YouTube and National Geographic team up for three VR series
National Geographic and YouTube are teaming up on three VR projects, the first of which is set to debut on December 11th. The virtual reality series will add to YouTube's already large collection of VR content. "National Geographic has always pushed the boundaries of visual storytelling," Jenna Pirog, National Geographic's senior director of video and immersive experiences, said in a statement. "We're looking forward to a long-term partnership with YouTube that will allow us to remain industry stewards for marrying immersive technology with impactful storytelling."
Valve helps Raspberry Pi owners build their own Steam Link box
Steam Link boxes are no more. The simple black micro PCs designed to let you play games in the living room -- or anywhere else in the house away from your gaming rig -- is sold out everywhere and it seems Valve has no plans to produce more. The Steam Link app continues to live on in mobile devices and smart TVs, so it's not the end of days, but this doesn't offer the same latency-mitigating clout as Ethernet-wired hardware. Valve, however, is offering an alternative, and it comes in the form of Raspberry Pi.
'Firewatch' comes to Nintendo Switch on December 17th
After a months-long wait, Firewatch is just about ready for the Nintendo Switch. Campo Santo has announced that its outdoor adventure (and journey of self-discovery) will reach the hybrid console on December 17th through the Nintendo eShop in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Japan. It's the same game as you'll find on other consoles (with a "few tiny things" thrown in, the studio said), but that does mean you'll get post-launch additions like free roaming. There's no mention of pricing, but hey -- now's your chance to go on a virtual hike when you're outdoors in real life.
Steam gives successful developers a larger cut of game revenue
Valve wants to make Steam more alluring for large developers, and it's willing to give up a slice of the pie to make that happen. The company has revised Steam's Distribution Agreement to give its most successful publishers a larger cut of their revenue from games, add-ons and in-app purchases. Any game that has earned over $10 million on Steam since October 1st, 2018 will provide developers a 75 percent cut of future revenue rather than the usual 70 percent. If they make at least $50 million, they'll take home 80 percent on any subsequent earnings. A blockbuster hit could easily generate significantly more cash.
The best VR gifts
Virtual reality offers all manner of immersive experiences, including short films, but gaming is where VR really shines right now. So, if you have a gamer in your life who seems to already have everything, consider giving them some of the VR gear from our holiday gift guide. They'll need some hardware to get started with, so among our six choices are three headsets -- two Oculus devices and PlayStation VR. If you opt for the latter, the PSVR Aim Controller will come in handy for certain games. Speaking of which, we've also picked a couple of quality games to help that special someone get their VR library up and running.
HTC Vive Pro McLaren Edition is made for Formula One fans
When HTC and McLaren announced their multi-year partnership back in May, the two had already teased an upcoming limited edition Vive headset along with some special VR content. Well, the wait is finally over for hardcore Formula One fans. As announced at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, said hardware turns out to be based on the Vive Pro full kit (not to be confused with the cheaper starter kit), which makes sense given that the Vive Pro is the official VR device for McLaren's eSports competition, Shadow Project. The Vive Pro McLaren Limited Edition is accented with the racing team's signature orange around the headset's front cameras, as well as on the menu button and strap on the controllers (2018 version, to go with the bundled Base Station 2.0 units). Naturally, this package comes with its very own box artwork. The damage for all of this is $1,549, which is a tad more than the standard full kit's $1,199 holiday offer.
How to get a coding job at Google with an art degree
I wasn't really aware as a kid that game development was a career that I could have, especially from an artist's perspective." That's Ashley Pinnick, a 28-year-old artist and game developer living in San Francisco. Pinnick is a VR Technical Artist for Google, where she's working on Playground, the company's augmented reality app. But three years ago, she was an art school graduate and self-taught virtual reality developer with an uncertain future at her feet. "I was playing games and I knew that there was art there," Pinnick said. "I just didn't put two and two together."
Robert Rodriguez releases over-the-top VR film 'The Limit'
Want to see how well Robert Rodriguez' directorial skills translate to virtual reality? Now's your chance. Rodriguez and STX have released The Limit on nearly every major VR-capable platform, including Oculus headsets, HTC's Vive line, Android, iOS, PlayStation VR and Windows Mixed Reality. Shell out $10 ($8 on phones, and half-off during the launch period) and you'll take part in a 20-minute film where you recruit a "super-assassin" (Michelle Rodriguez) to recover your identity and seek justice. To no one's surprise, this involves a whole lot of punching, shooting and gratuitous explosions. Norman Reedus also plays a pivotal role, although the trailer suggests he might not be so friendly.
Google envisions smart roller skates for walking endlessly in VR
Right now the solutions for walking through large virtual reality environments are quite limited. You're typically looking at either a 360-degree treadmill or playing in a gigantic physical space. Google, however, might have a better solution -- although we're not sure if we'd call it elegant. The company has applied for a patent on VR shoes (really, roller skates) that would let you walk anywhere in VR without bumping into a very real wall. The technology would track your feet and use motorized wheels on the footwear to bring you back to a "return zone" whenever you venture beyond a safe area. You'd avoid embarrassing collisions -- though you'd also look like a massive dork, if Google's less-than-flattering illustrations are any indication.

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