Dota 2 will be out in early August
Dota 2 will launch proper in early August, Valve has confirmed.
Speaking with Gamespot, Valve VP of marketing Doug Lombardi said that the full game would be available before this year's The International championship, which begins on August 7.
The International’s top prize is US$1 million, and this will be the tournament’s third year.
Dota 2 entered beta in 2011, and early access keys are still available for US$30 via Steam. However, once the game launches, it will employ a free-to-play business model.
Dota 2 holds the record for the most concurrent users in Steam history with around 330,000 simultaneous players online in May of this year. That figure was higher than the rest of Steam’s top ten games combined.
Hotline Miami 2 is darker, more emotional, out this year
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number will be out later this year, says Dennaton co-founder Denis Wedin.
Speaking with Joystiq at E3, Wedlin said the “late 2013” release will be available on Windows, Mac, and Linux via Steam.
When questioned if like the original it would get a Vita release, Wedlin said, “We hope so”.
State of Decay sequel likely as game crosses half million sold mark
Although State of Decay is the fastest-selling original game in Xbox Live Arcade history, developer Undead Labs is still waiting for its sequel to be given the go-ahead by IP holder Microsoft.
An open world zombie sandbox title, State of Decay has sold over half a million copies since its launch on June 5, with half those sales occurring within its first two days on the market. That makes it the fastest-selling XBLA original game in the platform's history.
The proposed follow-up, codenamed Class4, would be an MMO according to Undead Labs.
Xbox One gets The Witcher 3 so players aren't "punished" – CDPR
Although it disagrees with Microsoft’s DRM policies, CD Projeckt Red says The Witcher 3 will be released on Xbox One so no-one misses out on playing it.
However, those wanting to play the game DRM-free should do so on PC, The Witcher 3 game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz told Gameplanet.
“We have the same philosophy we had before. On the first day [of release] the game will be available on gog.com without any DRM. At the same time, we cannot punish players who don’t have PCs.
E3: Mirror's Edge 2 announced, coming "when it's ready"
A sequel to cult hit first-person parkour action game Mirror's Edge is in the works, EA announced during its E3 press conference.
EA DICE is developing Mirror's Edge 2 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC platforms. It will run on the Frostbite 3 engine.
A release date was not given, with EA instead saying the game will launch "when it's ready".
Serious Sam 4 will be partially funded via Humble Bundle
Money raised by a Humble Bundle offering will be used to partially fund development of Serious Sam 4, Croteam has announced.
The developer is offering a week-long pay-what-you-want deal for Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, Serious Sam Double D, Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack, and Serious Sam Public Test 2 DRM-free on PC, with some Mac, Linux, and Android versions also available.
“All funds to Croteam will go towards making the upcoming Serious Sam 4 the craziest and greatest Serious Sam game EVER,” said the company.
Duke Nukem lawsuit evidence Apogee "unable to accept reality" – Gearbox
Apogee Software is suing Gearbox Software for unpaid royalties and fees related to 2011's widely-loathed Duke Nukem Forever.
As reported by Polygon, Apogee claims it is owed US$2 million (AU$2.1 million) in unpaid royalties in addition to an unspecified sum from when Gearbox purchased the franchise. It also claims that Gearbox has refused to allow it to independently verify how much money the game made.
In response, Gearbox said that it had fulfilled all its commitments to Apogee/3D Realms (3DR), and that in doing so, Gearbox “enriched 3DR, saved 3DR from its debts, and rescued 3DR from its litigation surrounding its failed dozen-plus year attempt to ship Duke Nukem Forever”.
"Ironically, Scott Miller [founder of Apogee] himself provided the best response when he wrote: '…filed lawsuits are entirely one-sided statements, based on knee-deep BS and with more spin than a top,'" said Gearbox.
"Everyone wished that 3DR's game was better received by the market for the benefit of gamers and profit to its creators. While 3DR might not wish the reality that the results make clear, 3DR turned out to be the only beneficiary of the deal. Gearbox Software, meanwhile, experienced damage to its credibility and loss of its money.
Watch Dogs E3 trailer leaks out early
A CGI trailer for Watch Dogs has apparently leaked onto the Internet early, ahead of Ubisoft's E3 press conference tomorrow.
The trailer shows the open-world action game's protagonist, hacker Aiden Pearce, tracking a suspected human trafficker. Pearce needs just "four seconds and a clear signal" to hack the suspect's cellphone as he brushes past him on the street, obtaining an access code. He is then able to use that to infiltrate what appears to be some sort of strip club (complete with naked ladies used as tableware), where he apprehends the suspect after a melee battle with multiple goons.
Pearce teaches the suspect a lesson before fleeing as police arrive. To escape, he hacks the city's electrical grid, distracting the officers long enough for him to disappear as the lights go out.
Respawn's debut title is mech-centric FPS Titanfall
A leak has revealed that Respawn Entertainment's first game is a first-person shooter called Titanfall.
According to a post on NeoGAF that cites an upcoming issue of Game Informer, Titanfall will release on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox 360, with development of the latter being outsourced by Respawn.
The game will have a strong multiplayer focus, and dedicated servers will and handle complex physics calculations, AI bots, and improve matchmaking.
State of Decay misses global release date in ANZ
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Zombie survival sim State of Decay released on Xbox Live today, but gamers in Australia and New Zealand have missed out.
The Australian Classification Board has not yet reached a verdict on the game.
“Australia, I am so sorry. We cannot ship to you tomorrow,” reads a post on developer Undead Labs’ Facebook page. “We are still waiting for the Australian Ratings Board to certify the game, and unfortunately we have no control over their response time.”
New Diablo III game director appointed, talks future
Josh Mosqueira has taken over from Jay Wilson as Diablo III game director.
Wilson left the role in January this year after a turbulent nine months.
Mosqueira steps up to the role from his position as lead on the upcoming console editions of Diablo III. In a lengthy introductory post on Battle.net, Mosqueira discusses his past, working with White Wolf on pen-and-paper RPG Vampire: The Masquerade, and a number of popular game franchises such as Homeworld, Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and Far Cry.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow coming to PC
Surprise 2010 hit Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is finally coming to PC this August.
Upon its console release, Gameplanet said that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow’s presentation elevates it “above the sum of its pilfered parts and allows it stand on its own two feet as a game of some note.”
The PC edition will feature the game’s lengthy singleplayer campaign, in addition to the two downloadable chapters released after the game’s launch.
The next Halo is a top-down twin-stick shooter
The latest Halo title is a top-down twin-stick shooter for Windows 8 devices.
Halo: Spartan Assault will be co-produced by Halo 4 developer 343 Industries and Gatling Gears studio Vanguard Games.
It will run on Windows 8 PCs, as well as Microsoft’s Surface tablets and Windows 8 smartphones.
Rumour: Prey 2 sank amid Bethesda buy-out attempt
Development on Prey 2 broke down when Human Head refused a buy-out offer from publisher Bethesda, reports IGN.
According to multiple anonymous sources cited by the website, independent studio Human Head had contract with Bethesda that prevented it from leading development on any other projects while Prey 2 was in the works.
The sources claim that after a promising showing at E3 2011, Bethesda informally agreed to extend the development deadline by an additional six months to a year in order to bring the game up to a satisfactory standard for release.
However, the sources go on to allege that Bethesda reneged on that informal agreement, and when Human Head ran out of funds to continue development on Prey 2, the publisher came forward with a buy-out proposal.
Bethesda “thought they could bully [Human Head] into a corner,” said one source that worked for the developer. “They wanted to buy us at a sweet price.”
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