Ridgewood, NJ – July 30, 2015 – Citizens of Tropico rejoice! You asked, and your beloved leader listened. That’s right, the wait is finally over as El Presidente has declared that Tropico 5 is confirmed to launch on Xbox One in spring 2016! Not only will fans of the bearded despot be able to get to their hands on the latest installment of the highly acclaimed dictator sim for their Xbox One console, but they will also receive exclusive extra content.
Tropico 5Xbox One Edition will contain the full version of the game plus the ‘Bayo del Ofato,’ ‘Big Cheese,’ ‘Mad World,’ ‘Generalissimo’ and ‘Joint Venture’ add-ons, the first expansion pack ‘Waterborne,’ and five new, exclusive Xbox One sandbox maps as well as a new controller-optimized user interface and of course – Xbox Live Achievements. That’s a lot of content for your Tropican dollars!
Tropico 5 Xbox One Edition will launch in spring 2016 and more information on the title will follow soon. Keep up to date with all the latest Tropico news on the official website www.worldoftropico.com or like us on Facebook.
Austin, TX – July 30, 2015 – A trio of like-minded independent companies, video game developer Stoic, miniatures board game creator MegaCon Games, and video game publisher Versus Evil today announced The Banner Saga: Warbands, a miniatures board game based on the successful and critically acclaimed video game franchise The Banner Saga. With production already underway, a Kickstarter campaign will also be announced soon.
While no details about the miniatures board game have been released yet, an interest list is now forming and the MegaCon Games team, who are currently attending GenCon in Indianapolis this weekend at booth 1449, are soliciting fan interest for the forthcoming release. A website has been set up at www.bannersagawarbands.com for fans to receive more information as it becomes available.
July 30, 2015 — Wargaming is excited to announce WG Labs, a lean and agile platform designed to foster innovation within the video games industry. This platform will support external development teams in game creation and publishing, as well as generate, evaluate, and launch in-house products that go beyond the company’s paradigm.
WG Labs is interested in seeing playable prototypes and Alpha/Beta/Pre-Release versions of games. There are no restrictions in regards to platforms. WG Labs is looking to collaborate with development teams who are able to deliver a truly exceptional product in line with their own vision. In this partnership, WG Labs provides support in game production, monetization, analytics, marketing, customer services, QA, as well as other areas.
“Working with NGD Studios has been a very positive and rewarding collaboration,” said Victor Kislyi, Wargaming CEO. “Thoroughly impressed with their work, the project served as inspiration for us to create an actual innovation center within the company. WG Labs is set to become a breeding ground of ideas that inspire and resonate with both consumers and companies, and allow us to further foster partnerships like this.”
To learn more about WG Labs and also submit your project, please visit:
Universal City, Ca., Orlando, Fla., July 30, 2015 – The nation’s insatiable appetite for AMC’s “The Walking Dead” will continue to terrify Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort when the most intense moments from season 5 of the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award®-winning television series take a bite out of “Halloween Horror Nights,” beginning Friday, September 18, 2015.
Attempts to evade the terror of the undead and the inhumane brutality of mankind will be the underlying theme of these mazes as guests navigate authentic three-dimensional recreations of one of television’s most talked about shows, “The Walking Dead.”
Following in the footsteps of “The Walking Dead” cast, guests will begin their journey at the Terminus safe-haven compound, where an unspeakable hunger has consumed the demented souls of those dwelling within. As the chaos ensues, guests will encounter even greater atrocities as they stumble upon dismembered “W” walkers, witness the horror of victims besieged by the living dead, and step onto the loading dock of the Del Arno Food warehouse to face hordes of “W” walkers.
“I couldn’t be more delighted to continue and expand ‘The Walking Dead’ universe with Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando than by having fans experience some of the most harrowing and suspenseful moments of our show,” said Greg Nicotero, executive producer and special effects makeup supervisor for “The Walking Dead.” “‘Halloween Horror Nights’ is the gold standard to which all other Halloween-themed events try to emulate, so to bring authentic walkers to this event, alongside other horror greats, is the ultimate thrill.”
“We love giving fans of ‘The Walking Dead’ as many ways as possible to experience the series, so we’re thrilled to be collaborating once again with the teams at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando on these mazes that really bring the intensity of the show to life,” said Theresa Beyer, senior vice president of promotion, activation and partnerships for AMC. “We’re excited to have fans come face to face with some of the most memorable and shocking scenes of season 5.”
This year, when Universal Studios Hollywood introduces the all-original “The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far,” it will come to life as the biggest, longest, most gruesome maze ever built at the West Coast destination of “Halloween Horror Nights.” This all-new experience will feature twice as many, never-before-seen walkers and will be situated within an entirely new theme park location.
“Just like the fans who wait anxiously for the next episode or season return of ‘The Walking Dead,’ this phenom of a show has become a ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ tradition and our guests look forward to a new ‘Walking Dead’ maze each year,” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.” “We’re fortunate to have the expertise of the show’s creative team working collaboratively with us to create an authentic living representation of the series, and for fans, our maze experience is the next best thing to living in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.”
Universal Orlando’s “The Walking Dead” maze will feature hordes of walkers and eerily recreate the scenes, settings and terror that guests have seen on their TV screens. The twisted minds of Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights team are using first-ever tactics to bring the horror of season 5 to life in this year’s maze – even placing guests in the iconic flooded food bank scene where they’ll be surrounded by hundreds of gallons of water as flesh-hungry walkers attack.
“We’ve been fortunate to recreate many horrific moments over the past few years, and as the series raises its own bar every season, so have we with our environments, said Michael Aiello, Director of Creative Development for Universal Orlando’s Entertainment team. “Faithfully representing season 5 has brought with it all-new elements, and we will literally place our guests in the lead role as they escape hordes of walkers.”
Universal’s “Halloween Horror Nights” is the ultimate in extreme Halloween events. For more than 20 years, guests from around the world have visited “Halloween Horror Nights” in Orlando and Hollywood to become victims of their own horror movie. Multiple movie-quality haunted houses are constructed throughout the event, inspired by iconic slasher films, hit horror movies and television series or hauntingly real original stories. Numerous scare zones also infiltrate “Halloween Horror Nights,” designed to provoke an unrelenting sense of fear and terrorize guests as they navigate the darkness from one frightening maze to another.
Additional details about Universal’s “Halloween Horror Nights” will be revealed soon. For more information about “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.
July 30, 2015 – The Battle of Black Fire Pass, one of the many Quest Battles from Total War™: WARHAMMER®, is now available to view below.
Accompanied with developer commentary, this scripted battle demo is taken from work-in-progress code and depicts a desperate clash between the forces of the Empire led by Emperor Karl Franz and a Greenskin horde led by Orc Warboss Grimgor Ironhide.
The Battle of Black Fire Pass formed the basis for this year’s Total War: WARHAMMER E3 press demos, and offers a glimpse of the tremendous diversity of battlefield units, spells, war machines, monstrous creatures and fantasy environments that will appear in the final game. As a Quest Battle available specifically to Karl Franz, it represents one of many bespoke, optional encounters players will unlock as they progress through a campaign with their chosen Legendary Lord.
View the latest Total War: WARHAMMER in-engine cinematic trailer based on the Battle of Black Fire Pass here.
You can find out more about how our work in progress videos are classified and what you are seeing in this video here.
July 30, 2015 — Independent developer, Fatshark, today released the second installment of Inside the Vermintide (Part 2) for Warhammer: End Times Vermintide. Associate Producer Liam O’Neill and Game Designer Victor Magnuson talk co-op, design, lore, and much more for Part 2 of Inside the Vermintide.
In Vermintide, the city of Ubersreik is under siege as players select from a band of five heroes with different play-styles and abilities, all equipped with unique gear and personalities. Working together cooperatively, players must use their individual attributes to survive an apocalyptic invasion from hordes of relentless, power hungry Skaven, across a range of environments stretching from the top of the Magnus Tower to the bowels of the Under Empire.
July 29th, 2015 – Wroclaw, Poland/ In last week’s “Half a Year with Dying Light” video, Techland teased drivable all-terrain dirt buggies for Dying Light. Today Techland has confirmed that it is indeed working on Dying Light: The Following – afeature-heavy, story-based expansion pack.
“For Dying Light: The Following we’re adding a number of bold game-changers to create one massive expansion. Something big that will give the game a brand-new flavor. The new map alone is the same size as all the previous maps from Dying Light combined, so there is a lot we’re packing in here.
We also kept a close eye on player feedback to help tailor what we’ve created here. Hopefully people will see that this new expansion is first and foremost, for the fans.” – Tymon Smektala, producer, Dying Light: The Following
Techland announced that Dying Light: The Followingwill be available for purchase separately but will also be made free to allSeason Pass holders. The expansion pack is set to be showcased behind closed doors at Gamescom next month, with a full public reveal following shortly after.
July 29, 2015 — Harebrained Schemes is pleased to announce their return to Kickstarter this Fall to partner with backers in co-funding the creation of BATTLETECH. Jordan Weisman, the creator of BattleTech and MechWarrior, is back with the first turn-based BattleTech game for PC in over two decades. Steeped in the feudal political intrigue of the BattleTech universe, the game will feature an open-ended Mercenaries-style campaign that blends RPG ‘Mech and MechWarrior management with modern turn-based tactics.
The BATTLETECH Kickstarter comes on the heels of the wildly successful crowdfunding campaign for Shadowrun Hong Kong, which Harebrained Schemes will deliver as promised on August 20, 2015. Harebrained Schemes is one of the industry’s most dynamic independent game studios. The Seattle-based developer made headlines with its two previous Kickstarter successes: the visionary, digitally-enhanced miniatures boardgame Golem Arcana, and Shadowrun Returns, one of the first videogame Kickstarter projects to exceed one million dollars in funding.
Harebrained Schemes is thrilled to announce BATTLETECH at GenCon – GenCon attendees were among the earliest supporters of the franchise, and many milestones in BattleTech’s history took place at this legendary game convention. BATTLETECH will be coming to Kickstarter this fall, but visitors to Harebrained Schemes’ booth at Gen Con will have the opportunity to become early supporters of the project and receive an exclusive BattleTech collectible. Players can also sign up to join the BATTLETECH mailing list at www.battletechgame.com.
Also at the booth will be a playable version of Necropolis – Harebrained Scheme’s roguelike 3D action game of brutal combat and survival, set in a magical deathtrap that shifts and reconstructs itself around you.
At the Indiana Convention Center: Exhibit Hall, Booth #2343: Interviews with HBS creative leads, as well as one-on-one demonstrations of Necropolis and Golem Arcana, are available by appointment.
Exhibit Hall Hours: Thursday, July 30 – Saturday, August 1: 10am-6pm; Sunday, August 2: 10am–4pm
Baltimore, MD – July 29, 2015 – 2K and Firaxis Games today announced the second annual Firaxicon will be taking place at the Baltimore Convention Center on Saturday, October 3rd, with tickets on sale now. Hosted by the developers of the award-winning Civilizationand XCOM series, Firaxicon celebrates the passion and support of the studio’s biggest advocates.
“Firaxicon provides us with a rare opportunity to sit down and talk with the people who enjoy our games most,” said Sid Meier, Creative Director at Firaxis Games. “This has quickly become one of the studio’s most popular events of the year. Our team members very much look forward to giving the fans an in-depth look at our latest projects this fall.”
Fans attending this year’s event can look forward to a number of exciting activities, including:
Meet and greet members of the Firaxis team;
Enjoy in-depth panels hosted by the lead developers of XCOM and Civilization: Beyond Earth, as well as legendary game designer Sid Meier;
Experience Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide and XCOM 2 prior to launch;
Play board games against (and with) Firaxis Games’ designers;
Participate in fun community giveaways, challenges and competitions offering various XCOM and Civ themed prizes;
Get exclusive and commemorative merchandise.
Tickets to attend Firaxicon are priced at $40 (plus applicable taxes and fees), and are available today for purchase via Eventbrite at https://eventbrite.com/event/17520131184/.
For those who are unable to attend, but would still like to join in on the Firaxicon experience, GameSpot has partnered with 2K to be the official livestream partner for the event. Throughout the day, fans can look forward to viewing all-inclusive, online coverage of the Sid Meier,XCOM and Civilization panels via GameSpot.com.
For more information and additional details and programming information as the event draws near, please visit the official Firaxis Games website, follow the 2K blog, become a fan on Facebook, and like us on Twitter.
July 28, 2015 – One of the biggest losses of human life occurred in Starship Troopers during the Disaster on Klendathu. The Federation’s assault on the Arachnid planet Klendathu cost the lives of 308,563 human troops. Thanks to the latest episode of Real Fake History, we finally learn the causes behind this epic failure. When training consists of practice on human targets and taking hot co-ed showers every day, how can soldiers learn to kill bugs?
Please find the link to Starship Troopers: Disaster on Klendathu below:
Next week’s episode is Avengers: Battle of New York City
