Take control of the mysterious Grey Knights and strike down corruption as a new daemonic threat emerges from the shadows.
Cambridge, UK – September 2021. Frontier Foundry, the games label of Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV, ‘Frontier’), today offered players a first-look at gameplay for its turn-based tactical RPG Warhammer 40,000®: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters, coming up on PC in 2022 in partnership with Warhammer 40,000 creator Games Workshop®.
Assemble your squad, shaping their abilities through an in-depth skill tree and class system, and customising each Knight to a level worthy of the Emperor’s blessing. Not only will your team build experience from each bloody encounter, but you will also invest resources into the advancement of your Strike Cruiser, ‘The Baleful Edict’ as you hunt the plague from system to system, severing the tendrils of Chaos before they can spread their foul corruption.
Join your battle-brothers in the first-look gameplay trailer here:
Set across a multitude of evolving maps including crumbling gothic cathedrals and daemon-infested factorums, utilise the battlefield itself to your advantage. Target plasma generators to throw enemies from their hiding spots in the darkness, or bring a crumbling pillar crushing down upon them. Whether you choose to strike down the warp-spawn up close or from afar, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters adds a variety of new mechanics to the turn-based tactics genre.
Developed by Complex Games, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters places players in command of a squad of Grey Knights, humanity’s greatest weapon, as they battle the forces of Chaos. In an epic new story composed by New York Times bestselling author, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, players will purge the daemonic in brutal turn-based combat as they seek a cure to a mysterious plague sweeping the worlds of the 41st millennium.
In October, players can expect to find more information on the source of this galactic threat, as the bloom begins to take hold…
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters will release on PC in 2022 on Steam and the Epic Games Store, published by Frontier Foundry, and is available to wishlist now.
About Warhammer 40.000: Chaos Gate – DaemonhuntersLead the legendary Grey Knights against a galaxy-wide plot to infect worlds with cosmic plague in a turn-based tactical RPG set in the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe. Developed by Complex Games, in partnership with Frontier Foundry, and featuring a story penned by acclaimed Black Library author Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters offers satisfyingly strategic action in the 41st millennium.
About FrontierFrontier is a leading independent developer and publisher of videogames founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the iconic Elite game. Based in Cambridge, Frontier uses its proprietary COBRA game development technology to create innovative genre-leading games, primarily for personal computers and videogame consoles. As well as self-publishing internally developed games, Frontier also publishes games developed by carefully selected partner studios under its Frontier Foundry games label.
About Frontier Foundry Frontier Foundry is the dedicated games label of Frontier Developments. By forming partnerships with quality external developers and leveraging the company’s proven publishing expertise, Frontier Foundry is best placed to bring players unique and memorable new games that break boundaries and create legacies.
About Games Workshop Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:GAW.L), based in Nottingham, UK, produces the best fantasy miniatures in the world. Games Workshop designs, manufactures, retails, and distributes its range of Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 games, miniature soldiers, novels and model kits through more than 523 of its own stores (branded Games Workshop or Warhammer), its own web store, and independent retail channels in more than 50 countries worldwide. More information about Games Workshop and its other, related, brands and product ranges (including its publishing division ‘Black Library’ and its special resin miniatures studio ‘Forge World’) can be found at www.games-workshop.com.
About Complex Games Complex Games is a 20-year veteran Canadian independent videogame development studio. Having cut our teeth working on a ton of games for a variety of publishers and platforms over the years, we have since struck out on our own to create games that we are truly passionate about. Our first step on this new path of independence is Warhammer 40.000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters.
Slay mythological beasts and summon ferocious monsters in frenetic hack-and-slash combat
Hong Kong – September 30th, 2021 – Developer and publisher eastasiasoft is thrilled to announce that Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is out now digitally on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The first game in the 30-year-old legendary series to come to the West, this entry offers a standalone story following hero Taishi Zhao, making it the perfect entry point for newcomers.
For a full overview of Xuan Yuan Sword 7‘s story and gameplay, eastasiasoft has released the following gameplay commentary video exploring the game’s story, setting, and mechanics. Witness the game’s fantastical beasts, cryptic environmental puzzles, ancient board games, and a deep combat system that includes summon monsters!
Set 2000 years ago in China near the end of Western Han rule, Xuan Yuan Sword 7 sees Taishi following the trail of a mysterious bamboo slip from the crypt of Marquis of Liu that promised prosperity, but only brought famine and misery in its wake. To protect his family and seek out the truth of this calamity, Taishi Zhao embarks upon a journey through a mythological realm full of otherworldly beings bent on his destruction.
Players must master a variety of fighting techniques on their adventure, blocking, dodging, riposting and slashing their way through stylish combat encounters. They will also need to harness Taishi’s abilities to slow down time, absorb monsters and even alter the environment to succeed against the many mythological monsters that stand in their way.
This collaborative effort from eastasiasoft, SOFTSTAR and DOMO, published in partnership with Maximum Games in North America, Europe and Australia, is a celebration of ancient China’s landscape, civilization and culture. With a story deeply rooted in ancient Chinese history and mythology, Xuan Yuan Sword 7 reimagines both as one fantastical and chaotic realm under the governance of a new Xin Dynasty. Witness the final destiny of the Mohists who believed in an ancient philosophy of logic, rational thought, and science that was once as popular as Confucianism in China 2200 years ago.
“We’re thrilled that players can now get their hands on Xuan Yuan Sword 7 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One,” said Joshua M French, Community Manager at eastasiasoft. “It’s great that a series with such a long and storied legacy has finally made it to the West and that a whole new audience can experience the mythological wonders and exciting combat that it has to offer.”
Retail editions will be produced in partnership with Maximum Games, available at all major retailers in North America, Europe and Australia or directly from Maximum Games starting October 12th. About Eastasiasoft Limited Eastasiasoft Limited is an independent, Hong Kong–based developer and publisher of interactive entertainment specializing in video games and related media. Founded in 2007, eastasiasoft has published a diverse variety of titles in digital and physical format. Eastasiasoft is a licensed PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One publisher. Some of eastasiasoft’s recently licensed and published games are Moero Crystal H, Ghost Blade HD, Gunlord X, Sword & Fairy 6, Rainbow Skies, Rainbow Moon, and the Söldner-X franchise.
About SOFTSTAR Softstar Entertainment Inc. is a leading brand for PC games for the Chinese market and has created the Sword & Fairy, Xuan Yuan Sword, and Richman as the top three best known Chinese-speaking game IPs. It is also the very first Chinese game provider to invest in the development of spin-off products & services, presented in such diverse media as TV dramas, novels, comics, and physical games, so as to satisfy all the entertainment demands of its numerous and wide-ranging consumers. Up to date, Softstar owns a fan base of 500 million people in Greater China, as well as fan clubs across the whole China; its domestic and international business partners span across North East Asia, South East Asia, North America and Europe.
About DOMO Studio DOMO Studio is one of Softstar’s main development studios, led by the producers Yang Yuansheng and the “Father of Xuan Yuan Sword” Mark Tsay. DOMO Studio consists of more than 60 team members and is one of Taiwan’s leading game development studios.
In addition to “Xuan Yuan Sword” team members, DOMO Studio also includes a dozen senior animators, character artists, scenery artists, 3D designers and senior engineers who have participated in well-known game projects in Taiwan and abroad, as well as well-known novel authors, animation directors, senior animators, story writers, and others.
About Maximum Games Maximum Games ranks as a top 20 global video game publisher of interactive digital entertainment spanning all genres and supporting multi-platforms. The company’s mission is to provide a proven and strong hands-on approach to publishing, marketing, and distribution. Established in 2009, the company is led by female entrepreneur Christina Seelye, a seasoned executive of digital consumer products and channel marketing. Under Seelye’s leadership, the company has been recognized with numerous awards such as “Fastest Growing Tech Company” by American Business Awards and has made the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies for five consecutive years. Maximum Games has offices in both the US and UK and continues to expand its scope of global publishing and distribution via direct reach and strategic partnerships. For more information on Maximum Games, visit the company’s website at http://www.maximumgames.com.
The Tales series has become one of the longest running Japanese RPG franchises with consistent releases through the years and while every release has seen some form of upgrade or modification, few titles have really changed the mold in recent years. In fact, the gap between games in the franchise has always been small to the point that the release of Tales of Berseria nearly five years ago marked the largest time between releases in series history. As such, with Bandai Namco taking extra time to revitalize the franchise, have they managed to succeed with Tales of Arise? With a brand new engine, multiple modifications to a familiar combat system, and more, Tales of Arise may just be one of the best games in the series so far.
Story
Three hundred years ago the advanced planet of Rena invaded the medieval world of Dahna and took advantage of their technological supremacy to lay waste to the Dahnan population. After utterly destroying the planet’s forces, the Renans split the land into five separate regions and enslaved the Renan’s to do their bidding. So much time has passed since the invasion that the Renans’ spirits have been all but crushed to the point that almost nobody is willing to resist the Dahnan rule, even with the cruel slave labor being simply used to gather Astral Energy that is then gauged in a once every decade contest to select the next Renan king/queen from among the five ruling lords at the time.
Players take the role of Alphen, an amnesiac Dahnan slave who, until a few hours into the game, cannot even remember his name. To make things even stranger, he is incapable of feeling any kind of pain and ironically ends up teaming up with a Renan woman on the run named Shionne who suffers from a curse that shocks and hurts anyone who tries and touches her. With his inability to feel pain and her “thorns” the pair seem like a perfect match however that is far from the truth as long standing issues constantly keep the two at odds. Considering the two only begin working together simply because their abilities benefit one another, watching their relationship evolve throughout the story works incredibly well. In fact, while Alphen may not be the most interesting character around on his own, his interactions and growth with Shionne make for some of the best character moments in many recent Tales games.
Of course this is a bit expected because the relationships between party members and their interactions with one another has always been a key element in the franchise and that remains a strong element throughout Tales of Arise. Although the appearance of the classic “Skits” may have changed slightly they are still as numerous as ever and players will constantly be able to see their party members interacting with one another and talking about various things that either just happened, random cultural differences, or even just messing around. In fact, the campsites that players use to cook meals will also be a source of small conversations between the party as well as one on one interactions with Alphen and other party members. All of these moments of characters chiming in to have their own say helps develop their personalities and really give players a sense of the team and how they are growing throughout the journey. Of course it also helps that the characters themselves are strongly written on their own whether it be the pugilist Law, pampered Dohalim, or the owl toting Rinwell, every character in the group brings something to the table.
Outside of the actual character storylines and interactions the overall tale told in Tales of Arise may start a bit small and rather dark in nature as it deals heavily with enslavement and sacrifice, things eventually grow rather massive in scale as they tend to do with JRPGs. That being said, most of these massive twists and major reveals are paced out well enough to not entirely overwhelm the player and help let some of the heavier moments hit with enough emotional impact as a result. That being said, players should be ready for some of the smaller plot points to take quite a long time to be revealed as often a few elements are brought up, dropped for hours on end, only to be answered much later as a result of most of the aforementioned twists and reveals. As a result, Tales of Arise once again feels like the best parts of the story are the journey with the characters, though considering the cast assembled here, that is hardly a bad thing.
Gameplay
As players explore the various lands that they must travel through they will encounter a number of sprawling environments that have little goodies often hidden away. These can range from simple ingredients used for cooking or items with permanent stat boosts, ore used to craft accessories, or even chests and Owls. Alongside these items to track down players will encounter plenty of monsters, called Zeugles this time around, with a few occasionally appearing far beyond what the player may be capable of at the moment, instead serving as an optional boss fight at a later time. In rather interesting fashion, Tales of Arise allows players to make heavy use of quick travel between maps and, while the exploration and combat is incredibly satisfying, it is often great to be able to immediately return to a town and report a side-quest complete or travel to an old location in an instant should the need arise.
While the Tales franchise has always made use of a fairly fast paced battle system players will find that Tales of Arise has taken things a step further and made a number of changes throughout the system. Players will still be able to control only one character in their party at a time, though they can be swapped between at any time, and make use of standard attacks and Artes to chain together combos against enemies while also trying their best to avoid taking damage by almost always dodging out of the way. In fact, only Kisara is actually able to block attacks so players will want to definitely master being able to dodge attacks, especially since there is a counter option available for quick payback.
As usual, Artes cover any type of skill that players use in combat be it a weapon attack or magical ability but this time around rather than trying to tie it to a standard gauge, players will now have an “AG” (Artes Gauge) that dictates how many Artes the player can use before needing to be refilled either by taking a brief break from the fight or slowly while still pushing forward on offense. This gauge works rather well as it keeps players engaged and always wanting to try and come up with a combo that not only works best for them but also one that makes the most out of what their team is capable of pulling off. I say this because while players may initially only have three ground Artes and three arial Artes at the start, the combo list is expanded quite a bit into the game and gives players even more options to choose from.
Truly learning what your character is capable of with their combo attacks and what your party is doing at the same time has a number of advantages, especially thanks to the game’s break gauge that fills up quickly the higher a combo is on an opponent and the lower the health is. Once filled, players can call upon one of their teammates to pull off a two-man team attack that will either instantly kill a standard Zeugle or deal massive damage to a boss. Along these same lines every character in the player’s party will have a unique attack that can be called upon whenever their “boost gauge” is filled.
These Boost Attacks work similar to assists and can even bring reserve teammates into the fight temporarily. Shionne’s boost attack will instantly down flying enemies, Law can smash through enemy armor, Kisara can stop charging foes, and even Rinwell can not only put a stop to all enemies casting magic on the field but then use that same spell herself at a higher level. These Boost Attacks work incredibly well and fit perfectly into combat just like the aforementioned finishing blows as they never feel like they are interrupting a fight and instead feel integral to fights as a whole.
One of the most notable changes to the standard formula happens to come in the for of Cure Points. Rather than use a character’s Artes Gauge to cast healing Artes, these skills instead take CP every time they are used. This works as something of a double-edged sword as these healers can actively play a role in fights without diminishing their attack points but at the same time when CP is used up, players cannot heal outside of using items. CP is restored either through camping at a campfire, using Orange Gel, or slowly recovered with the help of food buffs, and it is also worth noting that certain field actions such as clearing obstacles or healing hurt civilians also takes CP, dipping even further into a player’s reserves. It is clear that Cure Points may be seen as a bit divisive but ultimately thanks to the ease of quick travel, ability to rest at campfires to restore it, and various ways to boost the total CP as a whole, players will rarely feel like they are completely out unless they happen to be fresh from a challenging boss battle.
With combat featuring a number of new enhancements and plenty of other smaller just as important mechanics that we’ve yet to mention, players will find plenty to do here in Tales of Arise. There also happens to be a large number of side-quests that generally are simplistic in nature but still rather fun to partake in, an enjoyable fishing mini-game that may seem challenging at first but quickly becomes an easy timesink, as well as a number of optional bosses and potential post-game content to take on once everything is said and done.
Visuals & Audio
The move from their previous long used engine to Unreal Engine has allowed Tales of Arise to make the largest graphical improvement in perhaps the series’ entire history. Almost every aspect of the game’s environments is gorgeously detailed and varied, with each region players explore having a unique theme to it while the character models are also incredibly detailed both in cutscenes and even in the skit segments. It is worth noting that while the action looks amazing as well, the game does still make use of far too many pallette swapped enemies to the point that even some bosses eventually begin appearing as standard field enemies.
The voice acting for the title is handled quite well with the English voice actors putting in a great performance, though it is worth noting that there are a few inconsistencies here and there between subtitled text and skill names and what is actually said out loud. The Japanese voice track is also included in the release for those who prefer that option. The soundtrack features a number of great pieces of music including a stellar battle theme and a classic opening track to accompany some gorgeous animation.
Overall
Featuring some of the fastest and most accessible combat the series has seen in years, Tales of Arise is a perfect jumping in point for those who haven’t tried the series before while also offering a great experience for longtime fans of the franchise. With a compelling cast of characters used to support a fairly dark story that has plenty of twists and turns and a gorgeous presentation, those looking to see what this long running series has to offer will find that Tales is as strong as ever, if not more so as Tales of Arise marks a clear step forward for the series.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Victory Heat Rally Hangs On to Classic Arcade Aesthetics with a Modern Gaming Twist
Derby, 30th September 2021: It’s 1985 and Hang On is drawing crowds in arcades all over the world as players line up to put down their loose change & experience the wonders of Superscaler technology. Fast forward to today and the world is a very different place but the thrill of classic games like Outrun, After Burner and Rad Mobile has stuck with the team at SkyDevilPalm so what better way to bring those childhood memories flooding back than to create their own racing game in homage to some of the greats?
Victory Heat Rally is a turbocharged, high energy racing game with Neo-Superscalar aesthetics that combines the arcade thrills of Out Run with the memorable, distinct characters of Golden Axe or the Sonic series.
“As the saying goes ‘They don’t make ‘em like they used to’ and that’s what really drew us to create Victory Heat Rally” shares Ian Cid, Co-Game Designer at SkyDevilPalm “Arcade racers have fallen out of fashion over the last few years and we wanted to bring back the joy, the visual appeal and over all the satisfaction we used to feel playing titles like Sega Rally, Ridge Racer and Jet Moto 2”
Gavin Price, CEO of Playtonic Friends, added “We all remember that thrill of piecing together a perfect race in Out Run or After Burner, how you’d drop one more coin in the slot to reach the top of that leaderboard and Victory Heat Rally really captures that ‘just one more go, I can go faster’ desire from the arcades, that desire to want to beat your friend’s lap times”.
Having successfully secured their target of just $25,000 through KickStarter, the team at SkyDevilPalm set out with the aim of creating VHR for PC but quickly passed their initial target and set out for their next stretch goal – bringing that arcade excitement to Nintendo Switch.
Originally unveiled as part of the Nintendo Life Indie Spotlight a little over one year ago, Victory Heat Rally most recently featured during the IndieLand charity event and will now be heading for full launch on Steam for Windows PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022.
Playtonic Games is an independent videogame developer, started by the creative talent behind some of the most popular platform games of the past (including Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie). Their aim is to bring fun games that everyone loves to play to new and old audiences alike across multiple platforms!
Their core team of veterans mixed with fresh, youthful talent has collectively notched up hundreds of years of videogame development. Their first release as Playtonic Games is Yooka-Laylee, launched in April 2017, and funded as a result of Europe’s biggest video game Kickstarter! They’re based in the heart of the Midlands in the UK near Burton upon Trent, within easy commuting distance of larger cities such as Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham.
The narrative-driven histrionic adventure launches on PC, Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One later this year.
Thursday, 30th September 2021 – Team17 and Infinigon Games have today announced that quirky narrative-driven cooking adventure Epic Chef will be launching on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 11th November. Epic Chef follows the adventures of Zest, a newcomer to Ambrosia – the culinary combat capital of Concordia – as he aims to become the best chef in the kingdom. Featuring a dynamic recipe system to rustle up over 100,000 unique dishes from ingredients grown and reared on his newly acquired dilapidated haunted villa, Zest must combine a litany of flavours with growing prowess in the kitchen to best the master chefs of Concordia at their own game and take the culinary crown.
Zest has prepared a delicious trailer to enjoy:
Key features
Story Time: A wonderfully crafted narrative unfolds as players journey to become the very best chef in Ambrosia
Delicious Dishes: Dynamic recipe creation means that players can experiment with thousands of different ingredient combinations to create a unique menu of delicious delights
Food Fights: Engage in battles across Ambrosia with master chefs; dishes are scored on a variety of things and no two judges have the same taste, meaning every battle is different
Home Sweet Home: Customise and repair the dilapidated (and slightly haunted) villa Zest calls home to its former glory
Discover Ambrosia: When the kitchen gets a little too hot players can go on spa trips, try fishing, or meet the friendly locals.
To keep up to date with all the information on Epic Chef, go to www.visitambrosia.com – the official website of the Concordian Tourism Board – like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and join us on Discord.
About Infinigon Games
Infinigon is the project of a group of hardcore gamers who happen to be video game industry professionals. Just a team of gamers working hard to create the games they love to play: unique indie products with an original perspective.
About Team17 Group plc Founded in 1990, Team17 Group plc is a leading developer, video games label, and creative partner for developers around the world. Floated on AIM in 2018, Team17, with its extensive portfolio of over 100 titles, embodies the spirit of independent games. In addition to the award-winning Overcooked!, Yoku’s Island Express, and the iconic Worms, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020, Team17 has helped bring critically acclaimed titles including Hell Let Loose, Moving Out, Golf With Your Friends, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, Blasphemous, and The Escapists to gamers everywhere.
Global publishing deal sees brutal sword fighting game coming to PC and consoles in 2022
Leamington Spa, UK – 30th September, 2021. Blending a unique fusion of fast-paced, sword fighting action with dynamic one-hit-kill combat, diverse weapon playstyles and online multiplayer, leading UK games publisher Kwalee is thrilled to be bringing Grindstone and Triple Hill Interactive’s highly anticipated title, Die by the Blade, to PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series S/X and Nintendo Switch in 2022.
Drawing inspiration from legendary titles such as Bushido Blade, Way of the Samurai and the Dark Souls series, Die by the Blade is coming to PC & Console with the support from publishing partner Kwalee. Developed by Grindstone and Triple Hill Interactive, players will be able to experience a fresh take on the fighting genre where every move counts when Die by the Blade arrives next year.
Blending strategic gameplay with a brutal, calculated touch, each weapon in Die by the Blade defines the moveset of the diverse roster of customisable characters. From the fine precision swing of the Katana, the fast, tactile maneuverability of the Wakizashi, to the heavy, brutal rhythm of the Nodachi, each weapon offers diverse playstyles in tense 1v1 battles across online and single player modes.
Bringing together a team studded with gaming veterans, including the co-founder of Codemasters, developer of NBA Jam and other senior executives, Kwalee’s ambitions in the PC & Console space has led to the establishment of a veteran department experienced in Premium Indie (III) and AAA chart-topping hits, with Die by the Blade set to be an exciting addition to Kwalee’s forthcoming catalogue of PC & Console games.
“Triple Hill Interactive are a fantastic development team and, as a huge fan of Bushido Blade back in the day, I could not be happier that Kwalee is partnering with them to bring the savage, one-hit-kill game Die by the Blade to PC & Console gamers next year.” highlighted Max Everingham, Head of PC & Console Publishing at Kwalee.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kwalee as global publisher for Die by the Blade”, commented Peter Nagy, founder and CEO of Grindstone. “It’s exciting to work with a partner who shares our vision and excitement for the game and with their publishing expertise we look forward to a worldwide multi-platform launch in 2022”
With 7 playable characters, all with their own unique backstories, alongside a wide range of customisation options, players have the chance to tailor their cosmetic style before testing their mettle across game modes including tournaments, ranked online modes and more (to be revealed soon!)
Having gone from strength to strength as a publisher with 700,000,000 downloads of hit mobile games such as Draw It, Shootout 3D and Object Hunt, Kwalee is ecstatic to be working with the hugely talented Grindstone and Triple Hill Interactive teams, with much more news on the game to be arriving soon!
Features of Die by the Blade
One-hit-kill – All it takes is one slice in tense, one-hit-kill based combat
Choose your playstyle – A diverse array of weapons with different movesets
Multiplayer showdowns – Take the battle online with ranked online modes
Customisation – Tailor your characters style to the way you see fit
Brutal encounters – Dismember your opponents with brutal precision
Welcome to “Samurai Punk” – Unique artstyle which merges a cyberpunk aesthetic with japanese-inspired themes.
Fans can wishlist the Die by the Blade on Steam now. Keep up to date with all the latest news by visiting the official social media channels – Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Discord
About Kwalee
Kwalee is an industry-leading multi-platform publisher made up of over 170 employees with offices all over the globe. Publishing on PC, Console, and mobile, Kwalee has achieved over 700,000,000 downloads across App stores in the hypercasual market with hit mobile games such as Draw It, Let’s be Cops 3D, Rocket Sky!, and more. More recently, Kwalee has also expanded into PC & Console publishing with a veteran team experienced in Premium Indie (III) and AAA chart-topping hits.
About Grindstone
Grindstone is the new age publisher from Slovakia founded by industry veteran Peter Nagy in 2015. Despite starting low profile, projects produced and supported by Grindstone stand out of the crowd with their unique concept, ideas and production quality. Beyond the production of games, Grindstone leads the growth of the regional game development ecosystem, organizes the international game conference Game Days, and aims to become a major global publishing and production company.
About Triple Hill Interactive
Triple Hill Interactive is a fast growing game development studio from Košice, Slovakia. Founded in 2015 by Peter Adamondy, Triple Hill is dedicated to bringing innovative and high quality projects to PC and consoles. Triple Hill released several mobile games and currently is working on Die by the Blade – innovative one-hit-kill sword combat game inspired by Bushido Blade slated for 2022 release.
New publisher, created by established games industry marketing talent, is offering indie game publishing with triple A values.
Cambridge, UK | October 1st, 2021 — Digital Matters Publishing (DMP) has been founded by UK gaming stalwarts, Spencer Crossley (SCEE, Warner Bros., Hasbro) and Mark Reed (Heaven Media), to bring a new dimension to digital publishing. Combining best-in-class brand management with a global resource of marketing experts, DMP can deliver the kind of resources usually reserved for AAA titles to exciting new projects from ambitious, younger studios.
Digital Matters was founded on a simple belief: today’s indie games have a marketing problem. With competition fiercer, and discovery more challenging than ever before, making a great game is no longer enough, and the importance of marketing in helping a game reach its commercial potential cannot be overstated.
Led by CEO Spencer Crossley, an industry veteran who has helped build some of the most successful franchises and startups in games and supported by over 100 staff located in multiple offices around the world, Digital Matters’ mission is clear — to put marketing front and centre. This means treating indie developers like superstars and their games like global franchises, and to help great game experiences find their audience more effectively than ever before.
DMP brings together these decades of publishing experience with one of the biggest international gaming marketing agencies, Heaven Media. Working alongside their global network of commercial, hardware, and peripheral partners, DMP can fully realise the launch and long-term potential of new titles.
Through leveraging partnerships, producing content, integrating into events, activating influencers, networking social media, as well as accessing our large and dedicated PR team, Digital Matters can provide resources and knowledge that most smaller developers simply can’t access, along with commercial expertise and assistance.
Spencer Crossley commented: ‘We’re giving developers access to enormous resources and expertise and more importantly, we’re treating them like the superstars they will become. Through funding for development, marketing expertise, and a wealth of publishing experience, we have the facilities to create success stories, and to get the best out of games and developers.’
Digital Matters Publishing will be making an appearance at the Develop:Brighton conference from 26th to 28th October, talking to developers and what they can offer to support their projects.
*ENDS*
About Digital Matters Publishing:
Digital Matters Publishing is a highly experienced and talented team of award-winners who have curated some of the world’s biggest gaming and entertainment brands. Headquartered in the UK with offices across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, Digital Matters Publishing is seeking passionate developers, looking to bring their visions to life across all platforms and territories through their creative excellence and unparalleled reach.
Wired Productions celebrates the news with cryptic new trailer and limited time demo on Steam tomorrow
Watford, UK, Thursday 30th September, 2021: It’s 1944, and a war that for so long seemed so far away is now creeping ever closer to home. As the Allies fight their way up the spine of Italy, Giulia has to battle her demons following the death of her twin sister Martha, just as her father, a General in the Wehrmacht, now finds himself on the front line…
Global Video Games Publishing Label, Wired Productions, and leading Italian studio, LKA, today lift the lid on a brand new trailer for forthcoming first-person psychological thriller Martha Is Dead, focusing on the Second World War’s impact on the game’s Tuscan setting.
Following the death of her twin sister Martha, Giulia finds herself battling her demons just as her German father Erich – a General serving in the Wehrmacht – fights to hold back the tide of war.
Wired Productions and LKA can also reveal Giulia’s father, Erich, will be voiced by celebrated German actor Udo Kier, who has been a leading figure in both German and International films for over 50 years. Most recently, Kier played the leading role in the critically acclaimed and award-winning film Swan Song. His role in Martha Is Dead – which came about as a result of a shared vision and belief in the project – sees him voice Erich in three languages; Italian, English, and his native German.
Watch the cryptic new World War II trailer:
“The setting has always been an incredibly important part of Martha Is Dead,” offersLuca Dalco, Founder & Director, LKA. “Italy in 1944 was a country paralysed by panic and paranoia. With the Germans occupying the north as the Allies liberated the south, loyalties were strained as the nation quite literally split in two.
“Udo Kier was a perfect fit for the role of German General and father of the twins. It is a real coup for the team to land him.”
In addition, the first-ever Martha Is Dead demo will launch as part of Steam Next Fest, which runs from Friday 1st October through to and including Thursday 7th October. Said demo will include different excerpts from the game, plus an exclusive ending scene and additional elements that won’t feature in the final release. These excerpts will serve as a consummate vertical slice to give players a feel for what’s to come, with at least an hour of playtime on offer.
“The German army thought they had an unbeatable code system. How wrong they were!” chimes in Leo Zullo, Managing Director, Wired Productions.
Built in Unreal® Engine 4, Martha Is Dead combines real-world locations, working in links to historical events, superstition, folklore, and deep psychological distress.
Martha Is Dead will launch on PC, PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5 and the Xbox family of devices. Players can add the title to their Steam Wishlist here.
ABOUT WIRED PRODUCTIONS
Wired Productions a video games publisher based in Watford, UK. Wired has produced and published award-winning titles across all major platforms for over a decade. Bringing games to market in both physical and digital media, notable launches to date include The Falconeer, Those Who Remain, Deliver Us The Moon, AVICII Invector, Close to the Sun, GRIP: Combat Racing, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and The Town of Light.
ABOUT LKA
LKA is a leading and award-winning video games studio based in Florence, Italy. Founded more than 20 years ago and specialising in artistic production across media, LKA’s debut video game The Town of Light received critical acclaim, including a Drago D’Oro award for Greatest Artistic Achievement. Martha Is Dead, LKA’s upcoming release continues the studio’s signature multi-layered narrative style combined with real world locations, and will release in 2021.
Martha Is Dead is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe Programme.
Latest Addition to Expansion Pass Four Available Now
STOCKHOLM – September 30, 2021 – Paradox Interactive, a company that excels at decoding age old riddles, today released the Ancient Relics Story Pack, available now for Playstation and Xbox gamers. The latest add-on to Expansion Pass Four is now available for console fans for $9.99/ £7.19/ €9.99*.
Players can also choose to purchase Ancient Relics along with the Federations and Necroids Species packs as part of the fourth expansion pass for $24.99/ £21.99/ €24.99*
Unveil new mysteries within the brand new launch trailer below!
Uncover the ruins of long-dead civilizations in Relic Worlds to piece together the story of their rise and eventual downfall. Mine their derelict cities and ships to unearth the truth, discover powerful relics and harness them for your own empire’s ambitions.
In all, Stellaris: Ancient Relics includes:
Said Ancient Relics: Collect and acquire valuable relics in your adventures as rewards for overcoming major crises or after completing a dig at an archaeological site and solving the chapters. Each relic gives significant benefits to your empire to aid in your interstellar escapades.
Those Who Came Before: Encounter clues about two extinct Precursor civilizations, the Baol and the Zroni, the former a sprawling hivemind of plantoids, the latter some of the most powerful psionics to have ever lived. Players can investigate these home systems to understand who they were and, more importantly, what one can learn from their demise.
Relic Worlds: Once filled with teeming life, these Relic Worlds now lie dead, replete with desolate ruins and dormant mysteries. Players can excavate guaranteed archeological sites on these worlds to explore these remnants and bring to light powerful relics and artifacts.
Dig In: Hit the dirt on a variety of enigmatic and alien worlds with more archeology sites available for your empire to study… or plunder. Each site begins a story with between one and six chapters to investigate. Retrace the history to discover artifacts and relics that can be boons to your empire.
Matter of Artifacts: Learning from history is much more than parables and antiques, it can often be the key to understanding one’s own place in the galaxy. Utilizing archaeological research, discover Minor Artifacts, a new resource type which can help empower one’s empire.
For more information about Stellaris: Console Edition, visit https://www.stellaris.com/en/console
* This represents suggested pricing. Pricing is set by the retailer and incremental differences may occur based on region.
Paradox Interactive is a leading global publisher of strategy games for PC and console. The company has developed and published a world-renowned catalog stretching back to 1999, with players hailing from all around the world.
The publisher’s steadily-growing portfolio includes firmly established franchises such as the critically acclaimed Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron, and Stellaris series created by Paradox Development Studio, the Age of Wonders series created by Triumph Studios, as well as award-winning titles such as Cities: Skylines, Pillars of Eternity, and more from a network of partner studios. Paradox is the owner of the World of Darkness IPs and is publishing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Today, over four million people play a Paradox game each month, and the number of registered Paradox users is over twelve million.
Paradox’s head offices are located in Stockholm, Sweden. Our development studios are located in Stockholm, Malmö and Umeå, Sweden, in Delft, The Netherlands, in Seattle, Washington, and in Berkeley, California. We share a passion for gaming and gamers, and our goal is to provide deep and challenging games with hours of gameplay and endless variety to our ever-growing community.
Tokyo, Japan – 30 September 2021. TAITO Corporation today released their puzzle platformer title BUBBLE BOBBLE 4 FRIENDS: THE BARON’S WORKSHOP with a 15% launch discount. It’s available from the Steam store page here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1287030/.
To celebrate the release and the Steam-exclusive Workshop mode, where players can create new stages and share them with players all around the world, a level design contest is open for entries from today! Check out this special video message from Bub as he tries some of the development team’s new stages which are waiting in Steam’s Workshop now!
About the contest:
Anyone can enter by simply creating a stage and adding the #BB4Fcontest hashtag to it when uploading to Steam’s Workshop. Ten inning entries will be selected and introduced by Bub in a Let’s Play… video on his YouTube channel in November. Further details can be found on Steam.
About the game:
The Steam release of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron’s Workshop features all the original and downloadable content from the PlayStation®4 and Nintendo Switch™ releases, plus a new PC-exclusive Baron’sWorkshop mode where players can create new stages using dozens of block types, enemies and gimmicks unlocked as they play through the game, then share them with players everywhere.
See Bubble Bobble 4 Friends:The Baron’s Workshop in the announce trailer here:
First launched in 1986, Bubble Bobble is an iconic arcade classic in which twins Bub and Bob clear stages of bullies by blowing and bursting bubbles. Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is the latest edition in the classic Bubble Bobble series and the first new sequel in 24 years. Join Bub and Bob as they journey with their friends Peb and Pab on a quest to defeat their old enemies Bonner and Baron von Blubba in 200 stages of platform puzzle action.
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron’s Workshop features:
The Baron’s Workshop – Exclusive to the Steam version, create, share and download new Bubble Bobble stages with players around the world. Unlock various blocks, enemies and gimmicks as you play through the main campaign.
1-4 player couch co-op.
4 Friends – With 100 stages to take on!
Arcade of the Future – Play 100 more super-difficult stages with no continues for pro Bubble Bobble players.
Original Arcade Mode – A faithful port of the classic Bubble Bobble for 1-2 players, with scanlines and screen ratio options for a truly authentic arcade experience.
Global online leaderboards – Challenge your friends’ best scores across every game mode.
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron’s Workshop is available now on Steam for $39.99 / £30.99 / €39.99 with a 15% off, one week launch discount.
The Bubble Bobble series is an action game with puzzle elements. First released to arcades in 1986, players control the bubble dragons, Bub and Bob, to clear stages. With numerous sequels and spinoffs across various hardware platforms, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is the first sequel in 24 years for the main series.
About Taito Corporation
TAITO Corporation (TAITO) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. With headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, TAITO operates core businesses such as game arcade operations, manufacturing coin-operated game machines, and mobile phone content services. A seminal part of gaming history, TAITO caused a worldwide sensation with its arcade legend, SPACE INVADERS, and developed such fan favorites as PUZZLE BOBBLE (BUST-A-MOVE) and ARKANOID. Today, TAITO continues to thrill game lovers of all generations by offering both classic and new family-oriented titles on the latest gaming platforms. TAITO delivers a wide range of entertainment experiences with the goal of providing consumers with fresh surprises and new discoveries.
