November 2022

The CMA has opened a public call for evidence regarding Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard.

This comes a week after the governing body released its issues statement, which further detailed its concerns over the merger and dismissed Xbox's arguments over aspects like Call of Duty exclusivity.

"At this point we invite anyone, including members of the public, to share their views with us," the UK regulator said.

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Why I Love is a series of guest editorials on GamesIndustry.biz intended to showcase the ways in which game developers appreciate each other's work. This entry was contributed by Tri Do Dinh, game director at ClockStone Studio, developer of Lego Bricktales, published by Thunderful that is now available on PC and console platforms.

It's 1994. I'm in a shopping mall after school with friends. A SNES console is sitting in a locked display case. Those 16-bits of advertised processor power is just a number, but the figure seems mythical; it's twice as much as 8-bit, after all.

A friend is talking to a salesperson – "Have you seen Donkey Kong Country? The graphics are crazy." With the lack of visuals my imagination runs wild. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, so the saying goes. And for a little kid, video games might as well be magic.

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Nominations are now open for the next round of Game Changers – and this time, we're doing things a little differently.

In case you've missed this series in previous years, Game Changers is our look at the unsung heroes – both individuals and organisations – from across the games industry trying to make it a better place for everyone, as nominated by their peers.

For the first two years, we ran a series of short profiles on those who made the final list, giving you a brief insight into their impact on the industry. This year, we aim to dig deeper.

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When we hear the word 'actor', we often think of celebrities on the red carpet, of millionaires of pull franchises with their star power, and of the glittering but opaque world of the entertainment industry. It's this conception that may make it difficult to believe that voiceover talent, for all that they have the same skills as on-screen actors, make much less money.

However, due to notoriously poor pay transparency in the games industry and the creative industries at large, most of the public may not even know that, or even what a voice actor's job in games entails.

Last weekend, actress Hellena Taylor took to Twitter and revealed that due to a payment dispute with developer PlatinumGames, she would not be reprising the role of Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3. Taylor said that this was due to her allegedly being offered a flat rate of $4,000 for her work on the game, an offer that she felt was "insulting" due to skill as an actress, her previous contributions to the series and the franchise's popularity with players.

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In 2017, Nintendo's Mario series and Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids franchise crossed over, resulting in the tactical Nintendo Switch RPG Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

The game went on to be well received by critics, having earned a Metacritic score of 85, and earlier this year passed 10 million players.

Last month we spoke to the game's creative director Davide Soliani about the pressure of following up on this surprise hit — and reviews suggest he and his team have been successful.

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After years of rumours, Konami has finally dusted off its popular horror brand Silent Hill with the announcement of five new projects.

The Japanese publisher gave the first details for each during a digital presentation last night, not only revealing multiple new Silent Hill video games but also ventures into other forms of entertainment.

These included:

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Rooster Teeth will be reducing its programming this week following the latest accusations of unhealthy work culture against the company.

In a thread posted on Twitter yesterday, the company addressed some of the allegations that were published by former director and content creator Kdin Jenzen. The thread was posted after an official statement was already published over the weekend, and an internal email was sent by general manager Jordan Levin on Monday.

In that internal message, he dismissed some of the accusations as "past events," focusing on recent changes made at the company, and referred to unpaid VO work as a "perk."

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Valve announced that a Cave Johnson voice pack is coming to Dota 2 via a new video starring Valve president Gabe Newell. Cave Johnson is a fan-favorite character from Valve's first-person puzzler Portal 2.

The Cave Johnson Mega Kills pack will be included in as part of the upcoming Battle Pass: Part 2, which drops on November 3. Cave Johnson is the former CEO and founder of the fictional Aperture Science in the Portal games. He is voiced by the beloved, Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons.

The video begins with Dota 2 personalities and hosts Kaci Aitchison and Jake Kanner (aka Sir ActionSlacks) trapped in a recording studio. A looming and distracted Gabe Newell forces the two hosts to record a Mega Kills pack. After their efforts prove to be subpar, Gabe makes a potato-powered phone call from one Tech CEO to another. It's a funny video, laden with Dota 2 and Valve references. It's worth watching if you are a Dota 2 diehard or you long for the days when Valve made video games and would like to see them poke a little fun at themselves.

Dota 2 is no stranger to goofy voice packs, as it has received Rick and Morty and The Stanley Parable themed packs. Portal's charismatic AI villian GlaDos also has her own voice pack. Gabe Newell even voiced one himself for Dota 2's last battle pass.

Master Nightfall Strikes are one of the most challenging PvE activities in Destiny 2, but if that activity isn't challenging enough, try doing it with your movement keys disabled entirely. That's just what YouTuber Esoterickk did, as they not only completed the challenge with their movement entirely sealed off, but they did so without any teammates to offer battlefield support.

According to the rules that Esoterickk set, the WASD keys were disabled, but jumping, access to a Sparrow transport, and boost control on their Titan was still allowed. For additional movement, sword attacks, the Titan Arc subclass ability Thruster, and Super attacks could propel them forwards.

"Obviously, Arc and Lightning Crystals make this much easier than it otherwise would be, and also being a Master Nightfall instead of a Grandmaster," Esoterickk wrote. "Otherwise I felt it would be way too tedious and long to do, so at least this way it's somewhat entertaining still. Not really all that difficult at the end of the day, just something different to do I guess."

The ongoing pandemic threw a spanner in the works for the majority of industries around the world, and one that really received a beating was the cinematic and theatrical experience that we all know and love today. Fortunately, thanks to streaming, many of the films that were impacted by stringent restrictions and social distancing rules – which would go on to release to little fanfare in cinemas – are now finally beginning to receive a second wind on Netflix, HBO, Hulu et al.

Case in point: 2021’s Antlers is seeing a big resurgence in popularity on Hulu right now in the US, thanks to landing a number nine spot in the Top 10 most-watched films today, according to Flix Patrol. Not only was Antlers delayed on two separate occasions due to the global pandemic, but it also released to a fairly tepid box office reception most likely directly impacted by audience’s preferring to stay home, and stay safe.

Marvel Snap has set itself apart from other digital card battlers by introducing the titular snapping mechanic. It functions very similarly to poker, where players can up the ante, or simply fold if they feel their hand isn’t strong enough. It might sound simple, but much of your success in this game revolves around snapping. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of when you should snap or retreat in Marvel Snap.

Snapping and Retreating Strategies in Marvel Snap

To put things simply, you’ll want to snap in Marvel Snap when you’re ahead, and retreat when you think you’re going to lose. Sounds easy, right? That’s the basic concept, but you’ll find that it’s much harder to put into practice.

We’ll talk about retreating first. Generally speaking, if you get an awful hand in a game of Marvel Snap, you might be tempted to retreat, and that’s usually the best course of action. After all, it’s more efficient to just back out of an uphill battle and try your luck in another match. That being said, if your opponent hasn’t snapped, there is no reason to retreat just yet.

As long as the stakes are still low, and your opponent hasn’t snapped to double the cube count, there’s absolutely no harm in staying in the game for another turn to see how things shake out, or if the tide will turn in your favor. If you have a bad starting hand, and your opponent snaps, then you should retreat and cut your losses early instead of losing two or potentially four cubes to them.

How to Snap Effectively in Marvel Snap

Things are definitely trickier when it comes to snapping. Generally, you’ll want to snap right when you have a favorable hand, but before you make your key play.

Severance is one of the biggest surprise hits from Apple TV+ this year, and it’s no surprise to see that it quickly got renewed for a second season. The show stars Adam Scott in its leading role, and season 2 will be adding even more familiar faces to the cast.

For starters, John Noble (best known for his appearances in Fringe and The Lord of the Rings) and Gwendoline Christie (who played Brienne in HBO’s Game of Thrones) will be joining the cast in season 2, as reported by TV Line.

In addition to that, we’ll also see Alia Shawkat (Whip It, Arrested Development), Merritt Wever, Bob Balaban, Robby Benson, and Olafur Darri Olafsson join the already impressive looking cast of Severance. Of course, recurring characters from season 1 will also be returning for season 2, including Patricia Arquette and Christopher Walken.

Apple announced earlier today that season 2 of Severance is now in production. With the first season ending on a bit of a cliffhanger, it’ll definitely be exciting to see what the second season has in store for us.

Severance is now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+.

If you’re someone who likes to keep up with gaming news, there’s a fairly good chance you’re a follower of the pseudonymous Twitter account @Nibellion, along with almost half a million others. Except, not anymore, as the individual behind the account announced that he’s closing it all down, citing a lack of Patreon…

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Sega announced last year that they intended to create what they called a "super game", a huge project with global appeal which could cost as much as $1 billion to develop. In their latest company report, Sega offered an update, saying that they're targeting relese by March 2026 and hope the in-development project will appeal to streamers.

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My strongest memory from my 100-hour-long first playthrough of Horizon Zero Dawn was the first time I took on a Thunderjaw. A colossal T-Rex-esque machine with powerful legs, twisted metal horns, and artillery cannons strapped to its back, it loomed larger than any other enemy I'd seen so far in the game. My first thought as I crouched behind a nearby rock and surveyed its chromium splendour was: "I am definitely not yet ready to fight this thing."

My second thought came quickly after the first, when my cover was blown by a nearby Watcher that immediately reared back and emitted a shrill noise that alerted the Thunderjaw to my presence. "Oh shite. Here we go."

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Overwatch 2’s arctic scientist Mei has had a notable bug in her toolkit since launch, but the problem is becoming more persistent for some players. All of Mei’s abilities revolve around ice, whether slowing down enemies with a snowy spray or incubating in a cocoon of ice. However, a compilation on Reddit showcases various problems with her Ice Wall ability, which seems to be in need of some serious TLC.

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You can now test a new version of Steam's Big Picture mode which applies the interface Valve designed for Steam Deck. It includes several of the handy features of the Deck's UI, including a new home screen, universal search, and more. Find more details and how to opt-in to the beta below.

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Wanna get into the Halloween spirit but are a bit of a wimp (100% guilty), or just struggle with horror games in general (1000% guilty)? No worries; I got you. Here's a list of the best spooky games for non-horror fans.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Halloween, I just don’t want to have the bejesus scared outta me, you know? I like games that give me a lil bit of spooky-ookiness, but not like bone-chilling, stomach-churning, nightmare inducing, wont-sleep-for-a-week horror games. Absolutely not. You won’t find any Resident Evil or Silent Hill recommendations here! Feel safe knowing that the spooky-not-scary games you'll find below will get you thoroughly into the Halloween mood, just without all the over-the-top violence and buckets of gore. Enjoy!

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Happy skeleton war month, ya filty animals! This week on the Electronic Wireless Show we talk about dread, as in, the thing Matthew feels when confronted with glistening food, or when he knows he has to record a podcast with us. We talk about some cracking scary games, going a bit down the beaten track and away from our normal path of least resistance (talking about Red Dead Redemption 2 and BioWare games). We also have some spooky recommendations for you to spice up your Halloween! Plus, it's Nate turn to produce a Cavern Of Lies. More like Cavern Of Jump Scares! And we coin a couple of new euphemisms you're sure to work into your every day language.

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BioWare have announced, via a blog post by general manager Gary McKay, that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the fourth game in their fantasy RPG series, has completed its Alpha milestone. If that means nothing to you, BioWare describe it as the moment “a game all comes together… we can experience the entire game, from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end.” The Dragon Age sequel was officially announced in 2018, but it was initially conceived as a game about wizard heists before restarting development. So, Dreadwolf's progress should be encouraging to fans of the series.

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I didn't have the greatest understanding of how one is meant to play a real-time strategy game as a child. It wasn't a neck-and-neck, ebb-and-flow struggle between two equal powers. Instead I played RTS games as though they were city-builders, with the added bonus of absolutely steamrolling through the AI when I'd had enough fun.

This was true of basically every RTS I played back then. In Starcraft I'd amass an army of Protoss Carriers and launch them across the map. In Supreme Commander, I'd tech all the way up to the Experimental Weapons, and then send the colossal CZAR Mothership to Independence-Day the entire enemy base. But my favourite variation of this was in Impossible Creatures: a wonderful early noughties strategy game where you create your own units by stitching together parts from different animals.

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To coincide with the game’s 15th anniversary today, CD Projekt Red have announced that The Witcher Remake is currently in the early stages of development. The “full-fledged” remake of 2007’s RPG is being developed from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5 and will use the same toolsets that CDPR is creating for their upcoming Witcher trilogy. The studio call the project a “modern reimagining” and say they’re “updating the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it.”

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To celebrate Fallout's 25th anniversary this week, Amazon Prime Video have released the first official glimpse of their upcoming Fallout TV show. Amazon posted a screengrab from the show on Twitter last night, depicting three Vault 33 dwellers staring at a silhouette coming in or out of the Vault - and what appears to be a body lying on the ground beside them. This is the first and only proper look we've had at the adaptation since August’s leaked set images mysteriously disappeared from the internet, but that hasn’t stopped fans from wildly theorising about what's going on.

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Horror games are usually a bit too scary for me to play alone. I actually barely manage to play them at all, though not for lack of trying. Whenever I load them up, I just can’t help but pause every five seconds for a breather. Multiplayer games are far more manageable, though, and often also turn stifled screams into contagious laughter as your friends terrorise each other.

If you’re a scaredy cat like me and would rather scream at the horrors of your unhinged mates than at unpredictable AIs and scripted jump scares, then you’re in the right spot. Here are five games in which your mates can play as the monster. Some are creepy, some are cute, and none of them will force you to run around alone. If you're looking to get monstrous yourself this Halloween, Liam's done a list all about games that make you the monster. No overlap, promise.

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It’s been two years since developer Origame Digital released the beloved photography game Umurangi Generation and since then, the team have been relatively quiet. That all changed over the weekend when Umurangi’s composer, ThorHighHeels, posted a YouTube video showcasing three obscure horror games. A short teaser for Origame’s FiveSeven was mysteriously tucked in the middle of it.

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The Activision Blizzard King Workers Alliance have teamed up with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union to file another charge of unfair labour practices against Activision Blizzard. The filing is in response to a message described as anti-union that was sent by Activision Blizzard’s communications executive, Lulu Meservey, to 18,000 employees last week. The CWA had previously filed a charge of unfair labour practices in September 2021, accusing the company of violating US labour laws and stopping employees from discussing working conditions. Last year’s complaint was closed just a month later.

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The Angel of Darkness gets blamed for a lot of the Tomb Raider franchise's failures in the early-to-mid 2000s — whether it's the downfall of Core Design, the box office flop of the second Angelina Jolie movie, or the continuity reboot the series needed before anyone would agree to publish another one of its games. While I have to admit there's some pretty damning circumstantial evidence there and that not every accusation is exactly unfounded, the game's memetic unpopularity even among people who never played it still feels harsher than is warranted.

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Unlike the slightly dark tone of the Nahida character trailer, her demo for Genshin Impact has a much more playful vibe. Aside from showing off her kit, there are some scenes such as Nahida flying through the air on manta rays. Nahida will appear for a limited time in the gacha from November 2, 2022, when Genshin Impact Version 3.2 launches.

You can watch the Nahida demo trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpZhGzZ3hNc

As a reminder, Nahida’s Elemental Skill will deal AoE Dendro DMG and link together up to eight enemies. If you hold down her Elemental Skill, you can aim her Skill in order to target enemies out of her immediate range. Her Elemental Burst creates a Shrine of Maya that will buff her abilities depending on the elements in your party.

While the character trailer had a few spoilers for the Sumeru Archon Quest, Nahida’s demo trailer focuses only on what she will bring to the table as a playable character. Her Normal Attacks will create Dendro shapes that shoot along the ground and then spring up. There is also what appears to be an idle stance, with her using her Dendro powers to create a swing that she plays with.

Sega predicts that its "Super Game" project will be able to deliver lifetime sales of at least 100 billion yen or about $672 million. If things go as Sega plans, then this Super Game will be on the market by March 2026. Not only does Sega believe that this game will generate an incredible profit, it also believes that it will have more active users than any Sega game to date. [Thanks, Game Developer!]

According to CEO Haruki Satomi, he wants to create a game that is “so revolutionary that it attracts far more active users than any of the Group’s games to date.” In order to achieve this goal, he outlines online communities such as streamers. As people create and consume content outside of the game, it adds value separate from what the developers intended. This can then attract more peripheral players, which will in turn increase the game’s population.

In order to make enough money for this project, Sega plans on focus on global franchises like Sonic, Persona, and Total War. Satomi has also said that he wants to create “hit titles that represent Japan,” and Super Game will help Sega to do so. When Sega first discussed Super Game in April 2022, the company said that it is “the development of triple-A titles that cross over Sega’s comprehensive range of technologies.”

HoYoVerse says it's time to duel, as it will introduce the Genius Invokation TCG mode in Genshin Impact. It will not be part of the next update, which is Version 3.2. Instead, the card game will be available in Version 3.3. Genius Invokation TCG will mostly be PvE, though there will be a PvP mode as well.

https://twitter.com/GenshinImpact/status/1587029125792923650

There will be no reward system in the PvP mode. Playing against NPCs will net you all the rewards, which means that players who do not wish to go up against real people will never have to. You will also be able to get all the cards within the game. So it seems that HoYoVerse has no plans at the moment to lock cards behind a paywall.

Cards will use existing characters, items, and monsters. For example, HoYoVerse has shown off cards depicting Maguu Kenki, Ningguang, and Katheryne. There is also a card that looks like Ganyu’s name card. Not only will you be able to challenge NPCs, but you can also challenge different characters. This implies that you can play Genius Invokation TCG against playable characters such as Cyno. In lore, Cyno is an avid lover of Genius Invokation, which means he may be involved if Genius Invokation TCG has its own story or event quest.

Bandai Spirits will release a Dragon Ball Z Frieza Capsule Pod cushion. Pre-orders for the cushion are immediately available through the Bandai Spirits official website. It will cost 29,700 yen (roughly $200 dollars). Expected delivery for the item is scheduled sometime in February 2023.  People will have until November 21, 2022 to reserve this item. [Thanks, denfamicogamer!]

Not only is the cushion large enough to sit in, it also features a small transparent pocket to store your mobile phone. This means that folks will be able to watch videos while seated in the capsule pod. It is approximately 95cm x 70cm, which makes it fairly spacious, though not an entirely 1:1 replica of Frieza's pod from Dragon Ball Z.

You can take a look at the Capsule Pod cushion below.

[gallery columns="4" link="file" ids="938608,938609,938611,938612"]

In July 2022, Bandai Namco announced the production of a San Diego Comic Con (or SDCC) exclusive Dragon Ball Z figures. This the announcements included a Goku and Shenron figure, alongside a Majin Buu and Android 16 figure. The figures will come with several accessories, and in some cases interchangeable parts. These figures were exclusively available to SDCC, and were not made available to obtain outside of the event.

There’s a new music video and song from Hololive Vtuber Calliope Mori and rapper JP THE WAVY out now called “I’m Greedy.” The official music video is now online. People can also stream it or purchase the single from places like e-onkyo music for ￥523 (~$3.50).

Here's the full music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOJOaq22nug&ab_channel=MoriCalliopeCh.hololive-EN

Since debuting with Hololive English Myth, Calliope Mori released songs at a fairly steady rate. In addition to EPs like Dead Beats, which featured "Dead Beats" and "Excuse My Rudeness, But Could You Please RIP?," she's also released full albums. For example, in March 2022 she released Unalive. Her debut concert New Underworld Order was held in Japan in July 2022.

The next Calliope Mori album will be Sinderella. It is set to debut on December 16, 2022. It is being billed as her "first major album."

JP the Wavy released two albums in Japan, Life is Wavy and Wavy Tape 2. In addition to the artist’s music appearing in Japan, it’s also shown up worldwide as well. For example, “Bushido” was a part of the F9 (Fast & Furious 9) soundtrack.

Indoor will host a Clock Tower pop-up shop in Japan starting on November 3, 2022. It will be held at THE AKIHABARA CONTAiNER location in Tokyo, Japan. The pop-up shop will feature merchandise from Clock Tower and Clock Tower 2: The Struggle Within (also known as Clock Tower 2: Ghost Head in Japan). People will have until November 23, 2022 to purchase this exclusive merchandise. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

More than a handful of Clock Tower related goods will be available to purchase through the pop-up shop. This includes an assortment of keychains and acrylic standees, along with branded t-shirts and sweaters. One of the more notable pieces of merchandise includes a vintage looking alarm clock that plays the Clock Tower theme. Other goods include a tote bag, wall scroll, and mug. You can take a look at the merchandise that will be available below.

Developer KLab announced total worldwide downloads for Bleach: Brave Souls surpassed 70 million. To commemorate this milestone, a series of special in-game rewards will be distributed to players. Starting on October 31, 2022, players will receive daily rewards for logging into Bleach: Brave Souls during the "70 Million Downloads Commemoration Campaign." Additionally, players will be able to perform daily x10 rolls on a special commemorative banner, with a total of 100 x10 roles possible until November 15, 2022. The download campaign will last from October 31, 2022 to November 3, 2022. [Thanks, Gamer!]

Other rewards include a special Six-Star Summons Ticket. This item will be available to obtain until the campaign period ends in late-November. Players will also receive a special commemorative pack, a commemorative enhancement set, with a special series of quests to appear.

Additionally, several game updates will appear. This includes bug fixes, changes to the Extreme Co-Op time table, the inclusion of more bonus abilities, and the adjustment of ad summons. KLab has also released a statement regarding in-game cheating. It is currently discussing steps on how to proper address this issue. More information about how KLab will solve the persistent issue of in-game cheating will be shared in the future.

MegaHouse confirmed Chainsaw Man Denji and Power Look Up figure pre-orders are open in Japan. People can find them on Premium-Bandai. Each one will cost ¥3,799 (~$26). They are both expected to ship in April 2023. A North American release window isn't available yet.

The point of the line is to be able to pose characters so they appear to be looking up at someone. So the characters' heads' positions can be adjusted. You can slightly tilt them up or down or left or right.

First, here's how Denji will look.
[gallery ids="938579,938580,938578" link="file"]

Next, this is what the Chainsaw Man Power figure will look like.
[gallery ids="938581,938583,938582" link="file"]

Both of the characters are wearing their Public Safety Devil Hunters uniforms. Power also has blond hair in this figure. (In some instances, she's shown with pink hair.)

At our recent GI Academy Live event, Sam Barlow of Her Story, Telling Lies and Immortality fame laid out his thoughts on creating narrative-centric video games.

In his talk, which was aimed at inspiring and giving advice to students, Barlow first explained the specificities of narrative in games, exploring why the medium differs from other forms of entertainment, before sharing his own core ideas for building stories.

To start with, the developer explained why he felt telling stories in the medium of video games was a more exciting proposition than other forms of art. The first is that there is challenge, inherent obstacles that players have to overcome.

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An Epic Games contractor has been accused of using system resources for financial gain.

The allegations include selling Fortnite weapon codes on the black market, and boosting the discoverability of maps made by his friends in the battle royale.

News of these alleged actions was brought to Epic's attention on Twitter by fan-run channel FN News. The account highlighted that Epic had already pulled down multiple videos regarding the situation.

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Fortnite is hosting a Star Wars week, and introducing skins for Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo alongside a range of classic trilogy-themed acessories.

Each of the three skins includes multiple designs based on costumes worn throughout the original trilogy - so, Luke in his white farmhand tunic but also his darker Return of the Jedi look, while Leia rocks her bounty hunter disguise as well as her iconic ear buns.

The game's ever-popular Lightsaber weapons are back, as is the return of Darth Vader and various Stormtroopers to defeat. In a nice touch, the Junk Rift item (which plummets an object onto a specific location, squashing anyone below it) can now drop Luke's landspeeder.

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The option to use Steam's family sharing function with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been disabled.

An update last night removed this feature for the game.

Steam's family sharing feature offers users exactly what you would expect. It allows players to share the games in their Steam library with their nearest and dearest. They can then go on to earn their own achievements and save any progress made in a shared game on the Steam Cloud.

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