Mighty Polygon and Koch Media team up for the release of physics-based puzzle game Relicta

Mighty Polygon and Koch Media collaborate to let players explore a mysterious moon base and solve physics-based puzzles

Sydney, Australia, January 28, 2020 – Mighty Polygon and Koch Media team up to release Relicta, a thrilling first-person physics-based puzzle game. Koch Media is responsible for the digital publishing of Mighty Polygon’s vision of an adventurous puzzle challenge that comes without any wormhole-creating guns but even more fun to play with elements and riddles.

Santi Alex Mañas, Founder of Mighty Polygon: “We are thrilled to be working with Koch Media to bring Relicta to life. As a small indie studio, their experience as a world-leading publisher is invaluable to us and it will help us to bring our game to a wider audience. This partnership allows us to focus on the development to create an amazing game alongside the team at Koch Media and bring it to more platforms.”

Jeremy Zitna, Business Development Manager at Koch Media states: “Indie studios have a special place in our heart and we are extremely excited to have the opportunity to support the team at Mighty Polygon with all our publishing knowledge. Everybody here in our teams loves the game and is ready to move all the boxes in the right spots to set Relicta on a course of success!”

About Relicta

Relicta is a first-person physics-based puzzle game where you need to creatively combine magnetism and gravity in order to unravel the secrets of Chandra Base. Alone in the treacherous depths of the Moon, your scientific mind is the only thing that can keep your daughter alive…

Play as a top physicist stranded on an eerie, derelict Moon base. Find your way around the enigmatic, terraformed craters by bending gravity and magnetism to your will in order to solve physical puzzles. Will you rush straight ahead and try to reach safety – or will you take your time to gather clues and unravel the intrigues of 22nd century orbital politics? Buried in the eternal darkness of the lunar craters lies a secret that might claim your daughter’s life – or change the fate of humanity forever. Are you ready to face the ultimate consequences of your research?

About Mighty Polygon

Mighty Polygon is an independent game studio established in 2016 based in Valencia, Spain. Our focus is to create original games with strong narratives, that are easy on the eyes and have great mechanics. We make the kind of games we like to play.

About Koch Media

Koch Media is a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products (games, films and software). The company’s own publishing activities, marketing and distribution extend throughout Europe, North America and Australia. The Koch Media group has more than 20 years of experience in the digital media business, and has risen to become the number one publishing partner in Europe. It has also formed strategic alliances with numerous games and software publishers: Bethesda, Capcom, Codemasters, Kaspersky Labs, Konami, Koei Tecmo, Milestone, Sega, Square Enix, etc. in various European countries. With Headquarter in Höfen, Austria Koch Media owns branches in Germany, England, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Nordic regions, Benelux, Australia, Czech Republic, Poland, and the United States.

All product titles, publisher names, trademarks, artwork and associated imagery are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright material of the respective owners. All rights reserved.

TEKKEN 7 & SOULCALIBUR VI News Round-Up from EVO Japan

The excitement of EVO Japan was palpable all weekend as the best of the best fighting game competitors came together at EVO Japan for knock-down drag-out bouts of high-level fighting game action. This made for the perfect time to share updates pertaining to two of BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s premiere fighting game franchises, starting off with…

TEKKEN 7 dropped details about a new Developer Diary featuring a behind the scenes look at the development of two of the game’s most electrifying new characters, Leroy Smith (Wing Chun style) and Fahkumram (Muay Thai style).

Head over to the following YouTube link (ready for embedding) to get an insider’s look at the development of Leroy Smith and Fahkumram:

The TEKKEN team also shared details about Game Update 3.2 which will be released on January 28, 2020.

TEKKEN 7 Game Update 3.2 will include:

• New feature called “My Replay & Tips” which will enable players to watch replays of their matches and receive tips for how to improve their performance. 
• Gameplay balance adjustments

SOULCALIBUR VI will welcome a new swordsman to the stage of history with the addition of “Haohmaru” from SNK’s Samurai Showdown franchise. The SOULCALIBUR franchise is known for having awesome crossover appearances and the addition of Haohmaru and his stage-of-battle will surely fire up SOULCALIBUR VI players. Check out the first look at Haohmaru and his stage in a brand new gameplay trailer

SAM’S STORY, THE SECOND MAJOR DLC EXPANSION FOR METRO EXODUS ARRIVES ON FEB 11, 2020

EXPLORE THE RUINS OF VLADIVOSTOK IN A BRAND NEW ‘SANDBOX SURVIVAL’ LEVEL

Larkspur, Calif. | Jan. 27, 2020 | Deep Silver and 4A Games today revealed more details for Sam’s Story, the second major story DLC for Metro Exodus, and confirmed that it will release on Feb. 11, 2020.  

Sam’s Story follows former U.S. Marine Sam, a Spartan Ranger who has worked under Colonel Miller since the nuclear war devastated Moscow, and followed Artyom in search of a world outside of the Metro.  Sam had long dreamed of returning to his homeland, and perhaps even finding his father alive. The prospect seemed impossible in the darkened tunnels of the Metro, but when the Spartans discovered that Moscow was not the only city left alive after the war, holding out hope didn’t feel so foolish anymore.  

Sam, determined to find a way back to the U.S., departed from the Aurora to make his way through Vladivostok’s tsunami-ravaged harbours, ruined industrial buildings, and crumbling residential districts. However, to complete his journey, Sam will discover that he needs every tactic he has learned so far to survive, as his surroundings prove to be far trickier than expected.  

In this expansive ‘sandbox survival’ level, players will experience another gripping storyline featuring new characters, weapons, and mutant variants in a huge, non-linear environment that offers hours of gameplay.

Sam’s Story will be available to purchase on Feb 11, 2020 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia – links will be available from launch at https://www.metrothegame.com/buynow. It is included in the Metro Exodus Expansion Pass, which also entitles holders to the acclaimed DLC, The Two Colonels, which was released in August 2019.

Metro Exodus Expansion Pass Store Links
PlayStation Store: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2047-CUSA11408_00-METROEXODUSEASON
Microsoft Store: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/metro-exodus-expansion-pass/bt97gwv28b9z
Epic Games Store: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/metro-exodus/expansion-pass

Be the first to learn more about Metro Exodus by registering for updates at MetroTheGame.com, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @MetroVideoGame or on Facebook at Facebook.com/MetroVideoGame.

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© 2020 Koch Media GmbH and published by Deep Silver. Developed by 4A Games. 4A Games Limited and their respective logo are trademarks of 4A Games Limited. Metro Exodus is inspired by the internationally best-selling novel Metro 2035 by Dmitry Glukhovsky. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

ABOUT DEEP SILVER

Deep Silver develops and distributes interactive games for all platforms. The Deep Silver label means to captivate all gamers who have a passion for thrilling gameplay in exciting game worlds by creating products of the highest possible quality, always focusing on what the customer desires.

Deep Silver has published more than 200 games since 2003, including its own brands like the open world extravaganza Saints Row, the zombie action franchise Dead Island, and the gritty, post-apocalyptic Metro series. Upcoming highlights from Deep Silver include the next entries into the Saints Row, TimeSplitters and Dead Island franchises. Deep Silver also owns the development studios Deep Silver Dambuster Studios in Nottingham, UK; Deep Silver Fishlabs in Hamburg, Germany, and Deep Silver Volition based in Champaign, IL, USA. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com

Koch Media is a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products (software, games and films). The company’s own publishing activities, marketing and distribution extend throughout Europe and the USA. The Koch Media group has more than 20 years of experience in the digital media business, and has risen to become the number one distributor in Europe. It has also formed strategic alliances with numerous games and software publishers: Bethesda, Capcom, Kaspersky Labs, NC SOFT, Sega, Square Enix and Tecmo-Koei, etc. in various European countries. With Headquarters in Planegg near Munich/Germany, Koch Media owns branches in Germany, England, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Nordic regions, Benelux and the United States.

All product titles, publisher names, trademarks, artwork and associated imagery are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright material of the respective owners. All rights reserved.

ABOUT 4A GAMES

4A Games is a multicultural, multinational video game development studio with offices in both Malta and Ukraine – known for its atmospheric first-person shooters Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light, and Metro Redux.

Established in Kiev, Ukraine in 2005, the studio was founded by a passionate team of game industry veterans with the goal of creating AAA-quality games for current gaming PCs and then “next-gen” game consoles. In 2014, the studio moved its headquarters – along with more than 50 team members and their families — from Ukraine to the island of Malta.

Currently at the heart of the company are over 100 talented designers, programmers, artists, effects specialists, and writers from all over the world with a diverse and unique set of backgrounds – bringing countless years of experience in software development and computer games in particular. To learn more, please visit www.4A-Games.com

ABOUT DMITRY GLUKHOVSKY

Dmitry Glukhovsky is the author of the internationally best-selling series of Metro novels and creator of the expanded Metro universe which includes the video games by 4A Games.

Born in Moscow, Glukhovsky has also lived in Israel, Germany and France and is fluent in English, German, Spanish, French, Hebrew and Russian. He released his debut novel Metro 2033 online as a free-to-read in 2002, and since then the series has grown to become a multi-author franchise in which professional authors and fans alike from across the world have been writing their own stories set in the post-apocalyptic world of Metro.

Metro Exodus continues the storyline as told in the games Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, and interweaves with the wider Metro saga contained in Dmitry’s novels, Metro 2033, Metro 2034 and Metro 2035. The storyline of Metro Exodus was co-developed in close collaboration with Dmitry to bring Metro fans the next chapter in Artyom’s adventures.

First Atari Hotel to Begin Construction in Phoenix in Mid-2020 

New York, NY (January 27, 2020) – Atari® — one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and entertainment producers — today announced a deal with GSD Group — a leading innovation and strategy agency, led by founder Shelly Murphy and partner Napoleon Smith III — to acquire the rights to build video game-themed Atari Hotels in the United States, with the first location breaking ground in Phoenix, AZ later this year. 

Atari, a trailblazer in the gaming industry, is pioneering an exciting new concept: a unique lodging experience combining the iconic brand with a one-of-a-kind video game-themed destination. Atari Hotels level up hotel entertainment with fully immersive experiences for every age and gaming ability, including the latest in VR and AR (Virtual and Augmented Reality). Select hotels will also feature state-of-the-art venues and studios to accommodate esports events. 

Hotel development and design is being led by Shelly Murphy’s GSD Group and Napoleon Smith III, producer of the wildly successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise reboot. True North Studio, a leading Phoenix, AZ-based real estate developer — currently working alongside GSD Group with Steve Wozniak’s Woz Innovation Foundation — will develop the first Atari- branded hotel.

“We are thrilled to partner with GSD Group and True North Studio to build the first-ever Atari branded hotels across the United States. Together we’ll build a space that will be much more than just a place to stay,” said Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari. “Atari is an iconic global brand that resonates with people of all ages, countries, cultures and ethnic backgrounds and we cannot wait for our fans and their families to enjoy this new hotel concept.” 

More than 2.5 billion gamers across the world spent more than $152.1 billion (US) on games in 2019 alone; an increase of +9.6% year on year. One of the most distinctive trends in gaming is gamers gravitating toward recognizable intellectual property. Atari Hotels will offer consumers exactly that, marrying the origins of gaming and the future of the booming industry into a fun and unique travel destination. 

“When creating this brand-new hotel concept, we knew that Atari would be the perfect way to give guests the ‘nostalgic and retro meets modern’ look and feel we were going for. Let’s face it, how cool will it be to stay inside an Atari?!” said Napoleon Smith III. 

“Atari Hotels will be the first of their kind in the U.S., offering gamers of all ages the ultimate in immersive entertainment and in every aspect of gaming. We’re excited to be working on this project with such great partners and to bring a big win to Arizona,” added Shelly Murphy.

The first of the Atari Hotels is planned to break ground in 2020 in Phoenix, AZ with initial additional hotels planned in Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose. For more information about Atari Hotels, please visit www.atarihotels.com.

About GSD Group 
GSD Group is a leading innovation and strategy group — with experience in finance, education, entertainment and creating innovative verticals with legacy brands. GSD Group is associated with Steve Wozniak’s Woz Innovation Foundation and DesTechAZ. 

About True North Studio 
True North Studio is a collection of talented professionals that hail from a variety of specialties, but share a common goal — to create and curate exceptional spaces where incredible things happen on a daily basis. And they have the expertise and acumen to make it work. The founders have decades of experience in commercial real estate construction, development, finance, and accounting and have been involved in more than $6 billion in projects around the world. The team consists of some of the best people and partners in the industry and the portfolio of properties is carefully managed, and provides an incredible array of opportunities and experiences. 

About Atari 
Atari is an interactive entertainment company. As an iconic brand that transcends generations and audiences, the company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari has offices in New York and Paris. Visit us online at www.Atari.com. 

© 2020 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. 

Disclaimer: The realization of the plans, and their operational budget and financing plan remain inherently uncertain, and the non-realization of these assumptions may impact their value.

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, announce that Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is now available for Nintendo Switch!

Thronebreaker is a single player role-playing game that combines narrative-driven exploration with unique puzzles and turn-based battles, and spins the tale of Meve, war-veteran queen of two Northern Realms — Lyria and Rivia. Facing an imminent Nilfgaardian invasion, Meve is forced to once again enter the warpath and set out on a dark journey of destruction and revenge.

A set of free digital goodies comes with Thronebreaker, including the official soundtrack, concept art from the game, as well as an annotated map of Lyria. Details on how to claim these goodies can be found on the dedicated website. 

Ported to the Nintendo Switch by Crunching Koalas, in close cooperation with CD PROJEKT RED, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales can be purchased right now from the Nintendo eShop. The title is also available on GOG.COM, Steam, as well as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For more information regarding the game, visit thewitcher.com/thronebreaker.

About The Witcher franchise
Created by CD PROJEKT RED, The Witcher is a series of fantasy role-playing games following the adventures professional monster slayer Geralt of Rivia. To date, the series has sold over 33 million copies worldwide and garnered over 1000 awards. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which released in 2015 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, won a total of 250 Game of the Year awards. The Witcher games are based on the prose of Andrzej Sapkowski.

About CD PROJEKT RED CD PROJEKT RED is a game development studio founded in 2002. It develops and publishes video games for personal computers and video game consoles. The studio’s flagship titles include The Witcher series of games, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, GWENT: The Witcher Card Game and the upcoming futuristic AAA role-playing game — Cyberpunk 2077. Together with GOG.COM, a game store offering hand-picked titles for PC and Mac, CD PROJEKT RED is part of the CD PROJEKT Capital Group. CD PROJEKT S.A. is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (ISIN: PLOPTTC00011).

Activision Blizzard And Google Enter Into Multi-Year Strategic Relationship To Power New Player Experiences

Together, companies will usher in a new era of gaming experiences through Google Cloud as Activision Blizzard’s preferred cloud provider and YouTube as its exclusive live esports streaming destination

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 24, 2020 — Activision Blizzard and Google announced today a multi-year strategic relationship to power new player experiences. Google Cloud will serve as the preferred provider for Activision Blizzard’s game hosting infrastructure and YouTube as its exclusive streaming partner worldwide, excluding China, for live broadcasts of its popular esports leagues and events — including Overwatch League, Call of Duty League, Hearthstone Esports, and more. 

With hundreds of millions of monthly active users around the world, Activision Blizzard sought a partner to help enhance its gaming infrastructure, as well as deliver superior, low-latency player experiences. The company turned to Google Cloud because of its highly reliable global footprint, advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and commitment to open source, creating a platform for building future gaming innovations.

Players will benefit by experiencing premium network quality-of-service, including low latency and packet loss when playing high-fidelity games on any device. They will also have optimal personalized interactions, as Activision Blizzard can tap into Google Cloud’s AI tools to offer curated recommendations for in-game offers and differentiated gaming experiences. 

“We’ve worked closely with Activision Blizzard for the past few years across mobile titles to boost its analytics capabilities and overall player experience,” said Sunil Rayan, Head of Gaming, Google Cloud. “We are excited to now expand our relationship and help power one of the largest and most renowned game developers in the world.”

“We’re excited to partner with Google to drive the next generation of gaming innovation for the industry. Google Cloud’s best-in-class infrastructure gives us the confidence to deliver great entertainment to our fans around the world,” said Jacques Erasmus, Chief Information Officer, Activision Blizzard.

Additionally, beginning this week, YouTube will host the official live broadcasts of Activision Blizzard’s popular esports leagues and events including the newly created Call of Duty League, Overwatch League, Hearthstone Esports, and more. The inaugural Call of Duty League season kicks off on Friday, January 24, with 12 teams competing in Minnesota, and the Overwatch League’s 2020 season will follow on February 8. All competitions will be livestreamed on each league’s YouTube channel and will include archived and other special content. 

“With more than 200 million gamers a day watching more than 50 billion hours of gaming content per year, YouTube provides gamers and their passionate fans with the most popular video gaming platform in the world,” said Ryan Wyatt, Head of Gaming, YouTube. “Both the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League are the quintessential examples of world class esports content. As a former Call of Duty esports commentator myself, I couldn’t be more excited for Activision Blizzard to choose YouTube as its exclusive home for the digital live streaming of both leagues. This partnership further demonstrates our dedication to having a world class live streaming product for gaming.” 

“This is an exciting year for Activision Blizzard Esports as we head into the inaugural season of Call of Duty League and our first ever season of homestands for Overwatch League all around the world,” said Pete Vlastelica, CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports. “It’s our mission to deliver high-quality competitive entertainment that our fans can follow globally, live or on-demand, and to celebrate our players as the superstars that they are. This partnership will help us deliver on that promise at new levels, by combining our passionate communities of fans and players with YouTube’s powerful content platform and exciting history of supporting next-generation entertainment.”

This collaboration with Activision Blizzard represents Google’s ongoing commitment to supporting game developer success around the globe. Across its business units, Google offers comprehensive solutions for game developers, empowering them to create great games, connect with players, and scale their businesses.

About Google
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., connects and engages the world through epic entertainment. A member of the Fortune 500 and S&P 500, Activision Blizzard is a leading interactive entertainment company. We delight hundreds of millions of monthly active users around the world through franchises including Call of Duty®, Spyro®, and Crash Bandicoot™, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, Diablo®, StarCraft®, and Heroes of the Storm®, and King’s Candy Crush™, Bubble Witch™, and Farm Heroes™. The company is one of the Fortune “100 Best Companies To Work For®.” Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

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Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD now available on Nintendo Switch!

Sydney, Australia, January 24, 2020 – Oddworld Inhabitants Inc., creators of the upcoming 2020 release Oddworld: Soulstorm, announced that their award-winning classic action adventure game, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is now available for Nintendo Switch.

Co-published with Microids, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is available beginning today in the Nintendo eShop.  Microids and Oddworld will release standard and limited boxed editions at retail later this year.  

Originally released in 2005, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath earned a Metacritic score of 88/100 due to its potent mix of unique gameplay, engrossing storytelling and universal philosophical themes. The HD version for Nintendo Switch offers the same innovative mix of shooter, platformer and puzzle genres with a hybrid viewpoint that allows the player to switch between 1st person action with 3rd person exploration.

Complete with new graphical and performance upgrades, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD offers dramatically improved audio and full 1080 HD graphics at 60 fps, super tight gyro-aiming for fine adjustments, and blazing-fast load times.

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is a classic 10-plus hour Western motif with sci-fi and socially conscious elements. For completionists, there is an additional five hours of side missions. Coming shortly after launch players will be able to download a free patch providing subtitles for all language in-game (cut scenes already have subtitles) in English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Swedish, Finnish and Simplified Chinese.

Stranger is a mysterious bounty hunter in poor health who refuses to use guns. Needing an exorbitant amount of Moolah to buy the lifesaving surgery he desperately needs, Stranger decides to help the local town folk capture wanted outlaws and scoundrels before accepting the ultimate bounty. Rather than traditional shooters with bullets and bombs, Stranger takes a more organic approach to ammunition, using various critters (Live Ammo) to launch at enemies from his crossbow.

Led by founders Sherry McKenna and Lorne Lanning, the storytellers at Oddworld Inhabitants fashion cinematic experiences within the Oddworld universe as analogous to that of our own world. Mindfully balancing compelling storylines with propulsive gameplay, Stranger’s Wrath is able to examine timely philosophical themes such as the displacement of indigenous people, the privatization of natural resources, and the rising cost of health care without sacrificing fun.