Minesweeper Genius Makes its Explosive Debut on Console Today

SYDNEY, NSW – Feb. 12, 2019 – Minesweeper Genius, the modern take on the classic game of logic from developer Mgaia Studio and publisher Blowfish Studios, is now available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

In Minesweeper Genius, aliens have acquired Aristotle’s DNA and cloned him to conduct experiments in labs filled with explosive land mines. It’s up to players to sweep their way through each level, moving Aristotle from one square to the next en route to the exit while avoiding subterranean dangers. Numbers on each row and column indicate how many mines are near, tasking players with working out where they are without making a costly mistake.

Aristotle’s challenge gets more complicated when special tiles come into play, introducing new obstacles that alter or restrict his movement around the alien labs. Use flags to keep track of where hidden hazards are and enjoy relaxing music while working out solutions.

Minesweeper Genius helps make the rules of Minesweeper more accessible with a learning curve that acclimates players to the mechanics and logic required to solve puzzles in the game’s 130 standard levels. Puzzle experts can then try to sweep through the 55 extra difficult stages. Conquer everything and need a new test? Take on the console-exclusive Custom Level mode, where new puzzles are procedurally generated based on adjustable settings.

“Minesweeper Genius takes me back to our uni days, when we’d procrastinate on preparing for exams by trying to conquer the most ridiculous Minesweeper grids possible,” said Ben Lee, CEO, Blowfish Studios. “I look forward to a new generation enjoying Mgaia’s wonderfully original take on this classic experience now that Minesweeper Genius is available for consoles.”

Minesweeper Genius is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One for $5.99 USD / £4.99 GBP / € 5.99 / 7.99 AUD. The game supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese.

For more on Minesweeper Genius, please follow Blowfish Studios and Mgaia Studio on Twitter.

About Blowfish Studios

Blowfish Studios is an award-winning independent game developer and publisher based in Sydney, Australia. We strive to release original multi-platform games, while also collaborating with developers from around the world. As developers first, we bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to any partnership. Our team provides development services to get the game release ready, porting to all major platforms, platform approval, marketing and promotion to the world.

To learn more about Blowfish Studios please visit the team’s website.

About Mgaia Studio

Based out of the São Paulo countryside in Brazil and founded from the ashes of an advergaming company in 2013, Mgaia’s two-person team seeks to live out their childhood dream of making games for a living. A four-time SBGames Festival Award winner, Mgaia creates titles with original IP for mobile, PC, and now console with Minesweeper Genius.

To learn more about Mgaia Studio, please visit the team’s website

Red Dead Online Beta Update

New Features and More Coming February 26

The next set of updates and new features is set to be added to the Red Dead Online Beta on February 26^th as we implement many new improvements and enhancements to the game’s open world, including a new Law and Bounty system, weapons balancing, changes to player blips on the mini-map and more. Read on for details about these changes and stay tuned next week to learn more about some of the other new content coming in this update.

Player Visibility

As part of our response to community feedback on how to minimize certain types of destructive player behavior, we’ve made some changes to the way player blips will appear on the map.

Firstly, we’re reducing the visibility of blips over long distances – your map position won’t display to other players unless you are nearby (within 150 meters) and if you are slightly further away you will only appear when firing your weapon.  Players in other towns or regions, for example, won’t be visible. This prevents players from being repeatedly targeted across the map at long distances.

We’re also introducing a new system that highlights overly aggressive players. If your style of play becomes more hostile, your map position (and the position of your Posse members) will become more visible to other players with a progressively darkening dot that incrementally shifts from blue to dark red. Your visibility increases through bad deeds such as attacking and killing other players or their horses outside of a structured mode, Free Roam Mission, event or competition, and the shorter the time between bad acts, the more your visibility increases. Shift back to a more righteous path and your visibility will fade over time.

We’re also introducing Posse-wide Parleys and improving Feuds. You’ll soon be able to initiate Parley that applies to your attacker’s entire Posse after just a single kill. Alternatively, if you’d rather challenge your opponent, you can initiate a Feud, Posse Feud or Leader Feud after one kill, quickly turning a dispute into a timed mini-deathmatch for rival players to fight out amongst themselves in Free Roam, earning points for each kill on the opposing player.

Bounty Hunters & Law Balancing

At the same time, players who have racked up high bounties will have a chance to be beset by NPC Bounty Hunters who will attempt to kill them and collect their reward.

Criminal behavior will have bounty values and honor consequences that scale based on the severity of the crime. For example, killing another player can incur a higher bounty, while assaulting townsfolk or animal cruelty could give you a lesser bounty if the crime is reported, while lower level crimes like looting and ransacking will only decrease your honor.

If your bounty exceeds a certain threshold and Bounty Hunters take notice, you will be wanted dead and alerted to their pursuit. The higher your bounty, the greater your value and the more difficult the pursuit becomes for you and your Posse.

Daily Challenges

We will also be adding a variety of Daily Challenges to take on across the Red Dead Online Beta. Complete individual objectives that cover every aspect of life on the frontier to earn Gold Nuggets and XP. Challenges will range from foraging for herbs, selling items at a Fence, hunting and skinning animals, clearing hideouts, winning Feuds and so much more. These Daily Challenges will continue to expand and evolve over time bringing specialty challenges and rewards, streak bonuses and more.

Other Fixes and More

Your feedback has been invaluable so please keep it coming. In addition to these updates we are planning to address several additional changes based on community feedback received thus far – select weapons will be re-balanced including the Varmint Rifle, which will have its accuracy brought more in line with other longarm weapons ;  voice chat will be reduced to work at closer proximity, and while fixes to horse cargo are numerous and ongoing we plan to introduce some improvements to making pelts and carcasses more persistent after death or respawning.

We will have more details on additional content in the February 26^th update next week. We are excited about the future of Red Dead Online and look forward to sharing lots more in the weeks and months ahead.

Meanwhile, there are chances to earn more XP to rank up ahead of February 26^th. Playing in a Posse will bring benefits like earning increased XP in Free Roam Missions and Free Roam Events. Posse up this week to earn twice as much increased XP on these activities, and next week earn 20% more XP across all activities in the Red Dead Online Beta.

Rad Rodgers: Radical Edition Debuts Co-Op, New Characters on Nintendo Switch™ 26 February

Free Update Arriving Simultaneously For PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC

AALBORG, Denmark / GIEBELSTADT, Germany 12 February 2019 — Rad Rodgers, an homage to classic ’90s-era platformers from developer Slipgate Studios and publishers 3D Realms and HandyGames, a THQ Nordic company, locks and loads on Nintendo Switch 26 February with all-new content including local co-op, versus mode, and the King himself, Duke Nukem. Every new addition will come to the PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC via a free update.

Fight alongside or against buddies in Radical Edition’s new local co-op and versus modes. Plop down with a buddy to team up to take down the baddies and save the videogame world. Need to get out some aggression? Lay on the smack down in Battle Mode to show them who’s boss.

The Radical Edition adds ‘90s gaming icons Duke Nukem, Lo Wang from Shadow Warrior, Cosmo from Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure and Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison from Bombshell and the upcoming Ion Maiden. Let Rad catch some Z’s and take one of these mondo classic characters for a spin. Oh, and, hail to the king baby, Jon St. John is back to reprise his role as Duke Nukem. Other totally tubular features include new levels, abilities, mini-games, a new overworld and tons of new secrets, collectables and unlockables.

“We love Rad, and we thought he deserved some awesome new friends to play with,” said Frederik Schreiber, co-owner of 3D Realms. “With new levels, weapons, couch co-op and a versus mode, I think our fans may have a hard time putting this game down.”

Rad Rodgers: Radical Edition is developed by Slipgate Studios and will be published by 3D Realms and HandyGames. Rad Rodgers: Radical Edition launches on Nintendo Switch™ 26 February, with a free content update to PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, across the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X and PC at launch.

For more information, please visit the official Rad Rodgers website, and also check out 3D Realms, HandyGames and Slipgate Studios webpages.

About Rad Rodgers

After being sucked into the gaming world, Rad Rodgers and his foul-mouthed living game console Dusty set out on a totally awesome quest inspired by ‘90s classics like Commander Keen and Jazz Jackrabbit. Jump, run and gun across seven gorgeous, vibrant levels filled with action. Rad wields wicked weapons like Bolt Blasters and Phoenix Cannons to blast baddies. Dusty helps out by crossing into The Pixelverse, a behind-the-scenes area that enables him to fix broken parts of the game world.

To learn more about Rad Rodgers, please visit the game’s official website.

About 3D Realms

Founded 30 years ago, 3D Realms was the publisher, developer and creator of many legendary gaming franchises, most still going strong: Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Max Payne and Prey.

To learn more about 3D Realms please visit the studio’s official website.

About Slipgate Studios

Established in 2017, Slipgate Studios was formed by the former Interceptor Entertainment team.

Slipgate is an independent Game Development Studio based in Aalborg, Denmark, led by a team of dedicated and talented professionals. The team is a long-time partner of 3D Realms, and was responsible for the critically acclaimed First Person Shooter Rise of the Triad, which won several awards. Most recently the team successfully released the first version of Rad Rodgers, partnered with THQ Nordic and started development on a new version of Rad Rodgers.

About HandyGames

HandyGames™ is a THQ Nordic family member and operates as an international publisher for mid-sized projects and developers for a worldwide audience.

The focus lies on creating and publishing games for current gen consoles like PlayStation®4, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X or Nintendo Switch™ as well as games for Steam and many other PC gaming distribution channels. HandyGames™ produces titles for new innovative gaming platforms, for example VR (Virtual Reality) on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR, but also offers games of all kind of genres for Android smartphones and tablets, Apple iPhones, iPads and many other mobile and smart devices.

Hyper Jam Takes Synthwave-fueled Combat to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC Today

Neon-Soaked Multiplayer Arena Brawler Now Available

MELBOURNE, VIC. – 13 Feb, 2019 – Hyper Jam, the neon-soaked arena brawler from Bit Dragon, invites all challengers to join the fight now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Step into the ring and annihilate the competition with a combined arsenal of lethal weaponry and superpowers. Wield katanas, rocket launchers, crossbows, and other deadly arms in lightning-fast matches that support up to four players both locally and online with cross-platform matchmaking. Upgrade characters between rounds by drafting from a range of transformative perks that amplify one another, open up new strategies, and create destructive combinations.

Hyper Jam’s furious tempo rewards constant movement, but mind the surroundings while dodging incoming attacks and pursuing enemies. Each stage features environmental hazards, like the Miami hotel’s treacherous ledges or Neo-Tokyo’s speeding subway trains, that can neutralize a player as quickly as any weapon.

Once dispatched, a fallen player can fire laser strikes at their living counterparts to finish them off. They will also receive priority over the others when drafting perks for the next round, giving underdogs an opportunity to come back after the leaders with their preferred powerups. Winners will have to make do with whatever is left – and to pull off an ultimate victory after reaching the score limit, they will need to outlast everyone in one final round to become champion. 

“Hyper Jam has been a labor of love for our team,” said Roman Maksymyschyn, Director, Bit Dragon. “It combines our love of fast-paced multiplayer action and ‘80s aesthetics into an incredible experience whether you’re looking for a party game to enjoy casually with friends or something more strategic and seriously competitive. No matter which camp you fall into, we hope you’ll give Hyper Jam a go now that it’s available for consoles and PC.”

Drawing inspiration from the ‘80s in more ways than one, Hyper Jam pairs its retrofuturistic visuals with a killer synthwave soundtrack featuring familiar tracks from Carpenter Brut, Dance With the Dead, and other favorites that echo the intense gameplay on-screen.

Hyper Jam is out now for $14.99 / €14.99 / $22.45 AUD across both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On PC, the game is available for $12.99 / €10.79 / $18.50 AUD. Meanwhile, Steam users and North American PlayStation Plus subscribers can currently purchase Hyper Jam at a 10% discount, while European PlayStation Plus subscribers receive 15% off. The arena brawler features English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish language support options.

To learn more about Hyper Jam, please visit the official website, follow the game on Twitter, Instagram, like it on Facebook, and join the Discord server.

About Bit Dragon

Bit Dragon is a small indie studio based in Melbourne, Australia. This group of talented young developers are dedicated to crafting unforgettable and highly-polished multiplayer experiences.

PSYONIX ANNOUNCES FRIENDS UPDATE FOR
ROCKET LEAGUE®

Cross-Platform Party System and Season 9 Rewards Available on February 19
 

SAN DIEGO – February 12, 2019 – Psyonix, independent video game developer and publisher, has announced that the ‘Friends Update’ will go live in Rocket League on February 19 for all platforms (pending first party certifications).

The content included in the Friends Update is:

• Friends List – The update will see the introduction of Friends List (previously referred to as RocketID), the long awaited Cross-Platform Party system. For the first time in Rocket League, players will be able to invite friends from other gaming platforms to Parties and Clubs. For more information, check out the blog post HERE
• Season 9 Rewards and Start of Season 10 – Season 9 Competitive and Extra Mode Rewards will be available and the update will also signal the beginning of Competitive Season 10. Take a look at Season 9 Rewards HERE
• Various Quality of Life Improvements

ABOUT ROCKET LEAGUE
Winner or nominee of more than 150 “Game of the Year” awards, Rocket League is one of the most critically-acclaimed sports games of our generation. Boasting a community of more than 55 million players, Rocket Leagueis a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem with easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition. Available on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, Windows PC, Mac, and SteamOS via Steam, Rocket Leagueincludes more than 500 trillion possible customization combinations, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely.

To learn more about Rocket League, please visit www.RocketLeague.com, “Like” it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter @RocketLeague for all the latest developer updates and news.

ABOUT PSYONIX™
Based in San Diego, CA, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed independent video game developer and leading experts in Unreal Engine technology. For more than 15 years, the studio has been a driving force behind some of the most successful games in the industry, including Gears of War, Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Bulletstorm, Unreal Tournament III, Unreal Tournament 2004, and the award-winning Sports-Action hit, Rocket League®.

© 2015-2019 Psyonix Inc. Rocket League, Psyonix, and all related marks and logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Psyonix Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SABER INTERACTIVE’S WORLD WAR Z LAUNCHES APRIL 16 ON PLAYSTATION®4, XBOX ONE AND WINDOWS PC

Pre-order the highly anticipated co-op action game today and get the Lobo Weapon Pack!

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. – Feb. 12, 2019 – Saber Interactive, in partnership with Focus Home Interactive, has announced that World War Z, the highly anticipated co-op shooter inspired by Paramount Pictures’ blockbuster film, will launch on April 16, 2019, for the PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Windows PC via the Epic Games store.

To celebrate the announcement of the long-awaited release date, World War Z is now available to pre-order! Full pre-order info can be found at: http://wwzgame.com/buy.

All pre-orders of World War Z will come with the Lobo Weapon Pack at no extra charge. This special in-game loot drop features golden skins for three weapons – the ARK-103 assault rifle, Keris V10 SMG and 1911 Protector – as well as the ultimate zombie-slaying tool, the Lobo melee weapon, a dual-bladed spade perfect for making mincemeat of the undead.

Powered by Saber’s dynamic Swarm Engine™, World War Z unleashes hundreds of fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies at a time for a one-of-a-kind action experience. Outlive the dead through intense four-player co-op campaign missions around the world, and battle both zombies and real human opponents in competitive, team-based Players vs. Players vs. Zombies (PvPvZ) multiplayer. Play in co-op with up to three friends using six distinct classes and an arsenal of deadly weapons, explosives, turrets and traps to decimate the undead and live to fight another day.

World War Z will launch on April 16, 2019, on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Windows PC via the Epic Games store. For more information, visit http://wwzgame.com, and follow the game on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WWZGame, Twitter @WWZTheGame, and Instagram @WWZGame.

About Saber Interactive

Based in the U.S., Russia and Spain, Saber Interactive is an independent developer whose credits include Quake Champions, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and others. Saber’s NBA Playgrounds is one of the best-selling digital console titles of 2017. The company has multiple development studios across the world making great games and bringing fun interactive experiences to life.

About Focus Home Interactive

Focus Home Interactive is a French publisher based in Paris, France. Known for the quality, diversity and originality of its catalogue, Focus has published and distributed original titles (Vampyr, Farming Simulator, Call of Cthulhu, Insurgency: Sandstorm) that have become benchmark titles worldwide, available both in store and for download across the world. Focus publishes games on all major platforms, consoles and PC. The publisher’s catalogue will get even richer in the coming months and years with eagerly awaited games such as A Plague Tale: Innocence, World War Z, The Surge 2, MudRunner 2, GreedFall and many more.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Players, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

TM & © 2019 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Daedalic Entertainment Reveals Railroad-building Rogue-like Unrailed!

Play the upcoming rogue-like multiplayer game for the first time ever at DreamHack Leipzig’s Indie Arena Booth from Feb. 15–17 

HAMBURG, Germany – Feb. 12, 2019 – Delayed trains and cancelations – sound painfully familiar? Well soon players can prove that they can do better. Unrailed!, the new railroad-building rogue-like from publisher Daedalic Entertainment and developer Indoor Astronaut, is all about getting an unstoppable train safely to the station through a variety of maps featuring cooperative and competitive online and local multiplayer.  

This train just doesn’t stop: while you’re fighting for resources against the clock and gluttonous camels, communication is key. The railroad leads you through procedurally generated landscapes, each with its own obstacles, geographic peculiarities and weird inhabitants, some of whom mean the track-laying troupe no good. With a variety of modes available for two to four players in several difficulty settings, Unrailed! offers nearly limitless replay value.

Key Features:

• Unstoppable train action!
• Rogue-like gameplay: Procedurally generated worlds for immense replay value.
• Various landscapes, inhabitants and quests.
• “Endless mode“: Constant new challenges with various difficulty settings.
• Crafting elements: Railroad tracks don’t construct themselves, after all.
• Co-op multiplayer: Online or locally in Party Mode.
• Versus Mode for competitive track-laying.

The early access version of Unrailed! will be available this summer for PC. If you’re interested in trying out the game earlier, you can do so at DreamHack 2019 in Leipzig. From Feb. 15-17, Daedalic and Indoor Astronaut will showcase the title at the Indie Arena Booth, where the team is looking forward to meeting many amateur railroaders!  

Information about DreamHack can be found here: http://www.dreamhack-leipzig.de/en/.

About Daedalic Entertainment

Daedalic Entertainment publishes and develops computer and video games for all platforms. The studio focuses on interactive literature and character- and narrative-driven games like adventures and RPGs. Daedalic Entertainment has a staff of more than 70 employees. Since May 2014, Daedalic has been part of the Bastei Lübbe group of companies.

Daedalic has won the German Developer Award 31 times (“Studio of the Year“ 2009 and 2013, among others). In 2013, the studio won the prestigious German Games Award for “Best German Game” with Chaos on Deponia. Daedalic Entertainment is also the eleven-time winner of the German Video Game Award and the European Games Award.

About Indoor Astronaut

Indoor Astronaut is a young team of developers from Switzerland made up of ETH Zürich graduates. The rogue-like multiplayer title Unrailed! is the indie studio’s first game.

EA AND BIOWARE PARTNER WITH ACCLAIMED SCI-FI HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR NEILL BLOMKAMP TO CREATE CONVICTION

Based on the Highly Anticipated Game, Anthem, This Live Action Short Will Debut on February 14

AUSTRALIA – February 13, 2019 – Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and Neill Blomkamp, the Academy Award-nominated director of District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, have announced that they have collaborated on Conviction, an original live-action short-film based on BioWare’s Anthem™. In Conviction, Blomkamp brings the vast world of Anthem to life with his own story set decades before the beginning of the game. This live-action short invites viewers to experience Blomkamp’s unique style of creating photorealistic visual effects and bringing them seamlessly into the real world, this time with EA’s highly-anticipated new game.
 
A teaser of Blomkamp’s Conviction is now live, with the full short going live February 14 on the Oats Studios YouTube channel. In the short, people will see the player city of Fort Tarsis in the game come to life, and the freelancers that live within it. These freelancers who use Javelin exosuits, have been re-created by Neill’s team to show them in live action as they fight off the main villain and head of the evil Dominion faction, the Monitor.
 
“I was really blown away by this incredible world BioWare created the very first time I saw Anthem,” said Neill Blomkamp. “Conviction sets the stage with a narrative that touches on Anthem’s beautiful and immersive world, which is ripe for exploration by these powerful Javelins. A world where danger is lurking on every ledge and in each valley.”
 
In Anthem, players can play with up to three friends to explore and battle in a dangerous, mysterious world with great characters and a unique BioWare story. As freelancers, players don Javelin exosuits, making them powerful heroes with strong weapons and incredible special abilities to help them survive in an ever-changing, unfinished world. Players will be able to customize and personalize their Javelins with unique paint jobs and gear so they’ll have the right tools to confront almost any situation and look good doing it. As players work together to find vast ruins, defeat deadly enemies and claim otherworldly artifacts, they’ll be unlocking their own individual story fighting against The Dominion, a ferocious militaristic society.
 
Players can unleash their power in Anthem worldwide on February 22 for Origin for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Origin Access Premier members can be the first to play the full game with unlimited access on PC starting February 15, and EA Access and Origin Access Basic members can enjoy up to 10 hours of play time as part of the Play First Trial.*
 
Fans who wish to learn more about Anthem can visit the official website, as well as get the latest news and updates on Twitter and Facebook.
 
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company develops and delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal computers. EA has more than 300 million registered players around the world.
 
In fiscal year 2018, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $5.15 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Need for Speed™, Dragon Age™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. More information about EA is available at http://www.ea.com/au/news.
 
EA SPORTS, Battlefield, The Sims, Need for Speed, Dragon Age, and Plants vs. Zombies are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. John Madden, NFL, NBA, UFC, NHL, and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.
 
*CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS APPLY. SEE ea.com/ea-access/terms  AND origin.com/store/origin-access/terms FOR DETAILS.