Every
Sunday Electronista and
MacNN report on some of the happenings of the video game industry during the past week. In this week's edition, we take a look at Microsoft's purchase of Mojang finalizing, Blizzard's new expansions for
Starcraft II and
Hearthstone, Unity asset development payouts,
Grand Theft Auto 5 first-person mode on next-gen consoles, and Electronic Arts terminating its multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game,
Dawngate.
Blizzard announces that new Starcraft II, Hearthstone expansions are coming
On top of announcing
Overwatch at BlizzCon 2014, Blizzard added that two existing franchises are getting expansions. While some developers had already mentioned that the expansions were on the way, Blizzard officially
announced Hearthstone: Goblins vs. Gnomes. The expansion brings more than 120 cards to the game, adding them to arena packs for players to try out, even if they haven't earned or purchased the cards. The
add-on is coming in December for iOS, OS X and Windows.
Not to leave its real-time strategy game out, Blizzard
said that
Starcraft II is getting an expansion titled
Legacy of the Void. The expansion focuses on the Protoss, as they attempt to retake their home world from the Zerg. The new expansion follows on from
Heart of the Swarm, wrapping up the storylines for each of the three races that started with
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty in 2010.
Legacy of the Void comes with three new multiplayer modes, and adds automated tournaments, "Archon Mode" for a co-op experience that focuses on sharing one resource base, and "Allied Commanders" for objective-based co-op. No release date is set.
Electronic Arts kills Dawngate MOBA before it can exit beta, refunds issued
Electronic Arts (EA) said it's terminating its entry in the MOBA genre, closing down
Dawngate in the next 90 days. The game spent 18 months in beta, entering an open beta stage about six months ago. EA was attempting to enter a crowded space, trying to compete with games like
Smite,
Dota 2,
Heart of the Storm, and one of the most successful games currently running,
League of Legends. EA Group General Manager Matt Bromberg
said Dawngate wasn't progressing as far as the company would have liked, leading to the decision to shut it down. Any players that spent money on
Dawngate will receive full refunds before November 14, as long as a current payment method is on file.
Microsoft's $2.5B acquisition of Minecraft developer Mojang officially closes
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced on Twitter that the software company now officially owns
Mojang and its associated game
Minecraft. The closure wasn't met with any specific fanfare from either company, though Mojang co-founder Markus "Notch" Persson officially left the studio on November 5. The deal brings yet another gaming studio under Microsoft, with Mojang joining the likes of 343 Industries, BigPark, Black Tusk, Lionhead Studios, Press Play, Turn 10 Studios, and Twisted Pixel. Microsoft anticipates that its investment will "break-even" in fiscal year 15, based on GAAP basis.
Unity says that top sellers on Asset Store make more than $30,000 a month
Unity says that developers are making a significant profit from their sales on the Unity Asset Store, with some pulling in more than $30,000 per month. The figure is at least double what the highest earners made after the first quarter of the service's launch in 2010. Unity credits the jump in earnings to the shift in game development, as the storefront allows people to save time and money compared to developing pieces internally. By the
company's estimates, the Unity Asset Store saves the gaming industry approximately $1.4 billion in work per year.
Rockstar confirms Grand Theft Auto 5 is getting a first-person mode for PC, next-gen consoles
Rockstar Games
admitted to
IGN that it's including a first-person perspective mode in the
Grand Theft Auto 5 when it makes the jump to the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Rockstar Animation Director Rob Nelson told the publication that the studio wanted to bring a new experience to
Grand Theft Auto 5 for those that played it upon its initial release. Nelson added that a first-person view is something the team always wanted to put in, but couldn't due to time constraints. The technical limitations also held back the feature, since Rockstar struggled with memory issues in last-generation consoles. The new view required the team to completely rebuild portions of
Grand Theft Auto 5.
Notable releases for the week of November 9
Assassin's Creed Unity (PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) – November11
Assassin's Creed Rogue (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) – November 11
Halo: The Master Chief Edition (Xbox One) – November11
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (3DS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One) – November 11
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) – November 11
This War of Mine (Linux, OS X and PC) – November 14
- Jordan Anderson (
@draeno)
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