Value Pulls 200+ ‘Shovelware’ Titles From Steam, Shutting Down Developer
Infamous "shovelware" developer Silicon Echo Studios has been forced to shut down after Valve pulled over 200 of the company's titles from Steam.
After a series of user reviews called Echo Studio’s titles “asset flips,” (games with pre-bought assets copy and pasted on to simple gameplay mechanics), Valve has stepped in and removed all of them.
In an email to Polygon, a representative for Echo Studios claims that this take down was done without warning and that the studio's “reputation is destroyed beyond repair.” Silicon Echo claims that Valve told the studio is its games were consistently reported “primarily for practices that are deceptive to the customers,” and that they felt that this was not grounds for “complete account and business termination.”
Rumor: PUBG’s Xbox Exclusivity Could be Extended
We learned yesterday that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer Bluehole is in talks with Sony about a PS4 release for its game - but the Korean company may be keeping its options open by also talking to Microsoft about extending the game's Xbox exclusivity.
According to Bloomberg sources, Bluehole is "likely" to offer Microsoft a longer console exclusivity period, with that period lasting "until the middle of next year or longer". Microsoft has refused to comment on the issue.
Every Upcoming Gender-Swapped TV and Movie Reboot
Reboots, re-imaginings, and reboot-quels have been a driving force in Hollywood for a long time. And now with Ocean's 8 on its way, we figured it was the perfect time to look once again at the many projects that are not just retooling a popular film, show or franchise, but are also rethinking them with female leads replacing the traditional male ones.
In addition to Ocean's 8, which stars Sandra Bullock in a new spin on the Ocean's series, there's also talk of Shane Black's The Nice Guys, which starred Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, being turned into a TV show with female leads, and famed '70s series Kung-Fu, featuring David Carradine, getting a sequel show with a central female character.
Game of Thrones: Conquest Release Date Announced
Game of Thrones: Conquest, an MMO mobile game based on HBO's hit series, will be released on October 19.
Developed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's Turbine studio, Conquest will be free to download via the App Store and Google Play. Check out the teaser trailer for Conquest below.
The strategy game has players forge alliances, raise armies, command their own small councils, and navigate Westeros’ deadly political landscape, all for a chance to sit on the Iron Throne. With the game free to download, there will be the expected in-app purchases to help acquire gold, weapons, objects, and other resources.
Those who pre-register for Conquest will receive the Prepare for War Bundle only on the first week of launch. The bundle includes $50 worth of exclusive Night’s Watch training gear, as well as gold and resources to aid in your fight for the Iron Throne.
Fallout 4 VR Now Free With HTC Vive Purchase
The HTC Vive virtual reality headset now comes packaged with a free copy of Fallout 4 VR.
As detailed on HTC's website, with every purchase of the Vive, which is priced at $600, customers will get a free redemption code to be used when Fallout 4 VR launches on December 12.
The game is priced at $60 on its own. And there's no word on just how long the promotion will last. For those who already own a Vive headset, HTC will be offering a a free 3-month Viveport subscription as a consolation prize. The subscription lets you play any of Viveport's 200-plus games.
A Visual History of The Flash
The Flash has one of the most iconic superhero costumes ever It's sleek, colorful and perfect for a guy who's always on the move. But even though it's a design that has stood the test of time, Flash's costume has evolved quite a bit as the mantle has passed from hero to hero and the Scarlet Speedster has made the jump from comics to TV and movies.
To celebrate the imminent start of The Flash: Season 4 on The CW, and the upcoming release of the Justice League movie, we've put together a slideshow spotlighting the most memorable Flash costumes from the last 75 years.
What's your favorite version of The Flash? Let us know in the comments below.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Check Out 18 Minutes of Brand New WWE 2K18 Gameplay
We recently got our hands on WWE 2K18 and went straight for the good stuff! We're talking ladders, we're talking scary demon men and we're talking two fellas going at it in a grown-up's office.
Check out some of our favourite bits of WWE 2K18 gameplay below.
There's something magical about seeing 8 men beat the living snot out of each other with ladders in the middle of a wrestling ring, and for the first time ever you can do that in WWE 2K18.
This year's Backstage Brawl mode has three-times the items for you to whack each other about with.
One of our favourite things about the new game has been seeing Finn Bálor's demon entrance in all its WWE 2K18 glory.
Bots Bought 30,000 Hamilton Tickets, Alleges Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster is alleging that bots were used to snap up over 30,000 tickets for the popular Broadway musical, Hamilton.
The company filed a federal lawsuit against Prestige Entertainment, who is alleged to have acquired up to 30-40% of all the available Hamilton tickets through illicit means, with a view to re-selling them at a higher price.
The lawsuit, which you can read here, alleges that Prestige used bot technology to make 313,528 orders from January 2015 to September 2016.
An excerpt from the suit reads: "(Prestige Entertainment) have been using bots to access and navigate through Ticketmaster's website and mobile app, and through such unlawful use, improperly procure tickets for the purpose of reselling them at a substantial profit"
Unity Working on Improving Switch Development
Unity says it's working with Nintendo to improve its engine for Switch development.
Some developers have reported issues with the much-used engine when working on Switch - most notably, the release of Yooka-Laylee on the platform has been held up due to technical issues.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Unity Japan regional director, Hiroki Omae said, "we continue to partner closely with Nintendo to optimize Unity on Switch".
Omae also points out the relative popularity of Unity for Switch development:
Spotify On Xbox One Means The Death Of Groove Music
Microsoft is migrating all Groove Music Pass subscribers to Spotify before killing off the streaming service on December 31.
In a post to its support page, Microsoft revealed it would be following suit with Sony and getting out of the music streaming game in favour of partnering with industry monolith, Spotify.
The Groove Music Pass service will be ending on December 31st and all streaming, explore playlists and anything that a user owns and hasn’t downloaded, will not be available from that date onward. The app will however continue to function as a music player, so any (owned) music that is downloaded to a device or uploaded to OneDrive will work as normal. If you’ve got music that you actually purchased on the service, now is the time to download it.