VIKING SURVIVAL ROLEPLAYING VALNIR ROK ANNOUNCED – TO DEBUT AT GAMESCOM 2017
Explore and Survive a Mysterious Island of Dangerous Beasts, Violent Warrior Clans, and Mythic Deities in a Vast Multiplayer World

TWAIN HARTE, CA – August 1, 2017 – Independent game developer Encurio GmbH and indie games partner Reverb Triple XP officially announced today that Valnir Rok, an epic online Viking survival roleplaying adventure, will launch on Steam’s Early Access program this September. Set on a mystical Nordic island, gamers will fight for their life in the harsh, hostile environment where dangerous beasts of legend dwell, ruins of forgotten deities hold untold riches, and thriving villages of great clans can be joined or conquered.

Valnir Rok will make its playable debut at gamescom 2017. Media interested in an appointment for a personal demonstration of Valnir Rok from the development team.

Battles cries, blood-soaked fields, and monsters of legend – that is what’s best in Valnir Rok life.

“It’s the dream of every passionate gamer to make games and we take our first big step in making the dream into reality with the announcement of Valnir Rok,” states Sebastian Rahmel, Game Director at Encurio GmbH. “We love Vikings and survival games so it was natural for us to pursue our vision of a Viking survival roleplaying game. Our development team is very passionate about the project and we’re all looking forward to debuting the game at gamescom 2017.”

Valnir Rok is an online sandbox survival roleplaying game inspired by Norse mythology. Players will awaken to find themselves on Valnir Island and must do whatever it takes to survive in a land of wild animals, mythical beasts, and violent men. As a hardened Viking warrior, butcher your enemies in bloody combat, build and improve village structures, and form a clan to expand your power and reputation. Battle against opposing clans, place bounties on hated enemies, and discover ruin artifacts to gain favor with the gods with great deeds and holy sacrifices. Might makes right in the Viking world of Valnir Rok.

Valnir Rok will be launching on Steam Early Access in September 2017. Join the adventure filled with heroic deeds and legendary battles – follow the game development on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and visit the official site, www.valnir.net.

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ABOUT ENCURIO
Founded in 2007 by Sebastian Rahmel, Encurio is an internet company and game studio based in Cologne, Germany. Encurio has been developing software, portals, websites and online shops for the finance, beauty, gaming and entertainment industry. Using the knowledge and expertise from their internet and gaming business ventures has naturally led to the development of online games. Valnir Rok will be the first online game from Encurio GbmH.

ABOUT REVERB TRIPLE XP
Reverb Triple XP provides a spectrum of services customized to focus on the needs of indie game developers.  Triple XP titles stand out with excellent gameplay, creative design, and that elusive fun factor. Once identified, Reverb’s team of game industry veterans partner with the indie dev team, fully understand the game by actually playing it and provide world class marketing, PR, social, production and distribution services that are fitting for games of the highest quality. A cornerstone of the programs is that the developer retains creative control and ownership of its intellectual property as well as receiving a custom solution tailored to their exact needs.  Each year, only a handful of titles are chosen to be in Reverb Triple XP, prioritizing quality over quantity.

TEAM17’S GAMESCOM LINE-UP ANNOUNCED
Diverse hands-on offering for fans in the consumer halls and meetings in the business area for press and new partners

UK – 1^st August 2017 – Award-winning veteran games developer and international games label Team17 today announced its presence at gamescom, held from 22^nd – 26^th August, in Cologne, Germany.

Team17 will host press meetings, and meetings for potential new partners and developers that would like to pitch their games, by appointment only in the business area.

Public gamescom attendees will also be able to get hands-on with Team17’s highly anticipated line-up on the show floor at the Team17 booth, located in hall 8, throughout Wednesday 23^rd – Saturday 26^th August. Playable games include:

Genesis: Alpha One – World exclusive first hands-on!
In a near future ravaged by wars; corrupt regimes and global capitalism left unchecked have resulted in natural resource over-exploitation and pollution devastating the planet. As the Captain of a Genesis starship, you journey into uncharted space on the ultimate mission. Build and manage a space vessel, farm resources, deal with terrifying alien infestations, clone creatures and explore a vast, randomly generated universe.

Your goal: Find new homes for humanity’s DNA and save the species from extinction. Genesis: Alpha One will be heading to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in 2018.

GREY BOX, SIX FOOT AND YAGER’S DREADNOUGHT ENTERS OPEN BETA ON PLAYSTATION®4

HOUSTON and BERLIN – Aug. 1, 2017 – Grey Box, Six Foot and independent developer YAGER have launched Dreadnought, the class-based spaceship action game, into free-to-play open beta for all users on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system via the PlayStation®Store. The console-exclusive Hactar Hero Ship, a new ShareFactory theme, and two dynamic themes for the title are also available for free today through the PlayStation®Store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evsj0QdD3NY

In addition to the maps featured in closed beta, the PlayStation®4 open beta of Dreadnought introduces two game maps new to consoles and six bonus night map variations. It includes four game types: Team Deathmatch, Team Elimination, Training, and Havoc modes. Havoc is a cooperative mode exclusive to PlayStation®4 in which three players attempt to survive as long as possible against progressively tougher waves of enemies using ships they select and upgrade over the course of each match.

Dreadnought puts players in the captain’s chair of massive capital ships and on the front lines of tactical, team-based battles across a variety of competitive, multiplayer game modes. There are more than 50 playable vessels to master, each customizable with an array of weapons, modules, coatings and decals. Five distinct ship classes, specializing in vital roles like frontline assault, long-range bombardment, strategic support and more, offer captains unique powers to exploit the enemy team’s weaknesses and claim victory.

Dreadnought is being created for the PlayStation®4 by lead developer YAGER and co-developer Iron Galaxy Studios in partnership with Six Foot and Grey Box. It is also currently in open beta on Windows PC.

For further updates as open beta progresses, follow Dreadnought on Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.

About Grey Box

Grey Box is a video game publishing brand that champions the idea that games are an influential art form and players should be treated as sophisticated consumers. Grey Box aims to set a unique standard for quality in interactive entertainment. www.greybox.com

About Six Foot

Six Foot was founded in 2000 as an interactive agency, building digital experiences designed to make connections between people, brands and technology more human and meaningful. Now, as a full-service games company with offices in Houston, Los Angeles and Berlin, we apply that same passion to building extraordinary video games and providing creative direction, marketing and brand management, front- and back-end development, customer service and community support for game publishers. www.6ft.com

About YAGER

Founded in 1999 in the heart of Berlin, YAGER is one of the gaming veterans of AAA development. The award-winning studio is dedicated to the creation of vivid and meaningful multi-platform gaming experiences. The YAGER team comprises gaming enthusiasts, technical experts and creative minds from across the world who all share a passion for great action games. YAGER was most recently recognized for its gripping military shooter Spec Ops: The Line. www.yager.de

About Iron Galaxy Studios

Iron Galaxy is one of the world’s largest independent video game developers, delivering both home-built, original experiences and their partners’ visions to all platforms. Founded in 2008, Iron Galaxy has touched an astonishing number of projects, large and small. www.irongalaxystudios.com

Necrocosmos: There is no god up here launches KickStarter campaign

Andromeda Project’s first game will arrive to PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in late 2018

Madrid, Spain. August 1, 2017 – Necrocosmos: there is no god up here, developed by Spanish Project Andromeda Project, launches from 4.30pm (CEST) today its Kickstarter campaign. The initial goal of €45.000 would ensure the game’s release in late 2018 for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Necrocosmos: there is no god up here is an action game with Metroidvania mechanics, set in an open world galaxy with 8-bit aesthetics. In the year 5.135 NT (3.870.053.315 DC) Earth has been inhabitable for millennia, humankind survives fragmented in rival federations disseminated through the Milky Way, and peace is just a fragile illusion used by governments to keep population under control.

Max Weaver is a hardened, embittered bounty hunter who won’t hesitate to cross the galaxy in his ship, Atila-1, and break any boundary to get the job done. However, what was supposed to be an easy, boring mission to track down some missing scientists in Andromeda will turn into a nightmare when he finds that there is no god up there.

Necrocosmos: there is no god up here Kickstarter campaign is live at 4:30pm (CEST) today, and you can find all the information about the game’s initial goals and stretch goals here. For more information, please visit Necrocosmos.com.

Discover the Necrocosmos KickStarter page

About Andromeda Project
Based in Almería, Spain, Andromeda Project is a young team formed by 4 friends (Programmer, Physics Specialist, Animator and Artist), who have been working on their first project, “NECROCOSMOS: There is no god up here”, for the past three years. To learn more about Andromeda Project, please visit Necrocosmos.com.

About BadLand Games:
Based in Madrid, Spain and established in 2011, BadLand Games is an independent company specializing in the physical distribution and global publishing of video games. In Spain, BadLand Games is the official distributor of AAA titles for all platforms including, Minecraft: Story Mode, La Voz, Sniper Elite 4 and the popular Darksiders Warmastered Edition. BadLand Games is also the publisher of indie titles such as: Anima: Gate of Memories, Heart & Slash, Dex, Castles, Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today, Ginger: Beyond the Crystal, BOOR, Vostok Inc., Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition, Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition, The Sexy Brutale: Full House Edition, and the in-house developed game, Awe. To learn more about BadLand Games, please visit http://badlandgames.com.

OPTIC GAMING PREVAILS AT THE CALL OF DUTY WORLD (CWL) GLOBAL PRO LEAGUE STAGE 2 PLAYOFFS PRESENTED BY PLAYSTATION® 4

Field is Set for CWL Championship in August, Concludes this Season’s USD $4 Million Prize Pool, The Largest in Competitive Call of Duty History 

August 1, 2017 – The highly suspenseful Call of Duty World League Global Pro League Stage 2 Playoffs, hosted by Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG), has come to a close with OpTic Gaming winning Sunday’s Grand Final.

The eight best Call of Duty teams from around the world competed throughout the weekend, vying for their share of the USD $500,000 event prize pool and the goal to position themselves heading into the 2017 CWL Championship.

“It’s really crazy how we turned it around,” OpTic Gaming star Seth “Scump” Abner said of his team’s play during CWL Stage 2 following OpTic’s disappointing placement at CWL Anaheim 2017. “We’ve been putting a tonne of time in as a team and it’s just great that it showed off. I’m proud of every single one of these guys. Every single one of them stepped up when they needed to.” Scump’s teammate, Matthew “FormaL” Piper, was named CWL Stage 2 MVP following the CWL Stage 2 Playoff trophy presentation.

OpTic Gaming entered Sunday’s Grand Final from the loser bracket, forcing the team to win two separate best-of-five matches against Team EnVyUs to be crowned CWL Stage 2 champions.

Here are the final rankings after the CWL Global Pro League Stage 2 Playoffs:

• 1^st – OpTic Gaming
• 2^nd – Team EnVyUs
• 3^rd – eUnited
• 4^th – Luminosity
• 5^th/6^th – FaZe Clan
• 5^th/6^th – Fnatic
• 7^th/8^th – Enigma6
• 7^th/8^th – Splyce
• 9^th/12^th – Evil Geniuses
• 9^th/12^th – Ghost Gaming
• 9^th/12^th – Red Reserve
• 9^th/12^th – Cloud9
• 13^th/16^th – Mindfreak
• 13^th/16^th – Elevate
• 13^th/16^th – Rise Nation
• 13^th/16^th – Epsilon Esports

The CWL continues to heat up as the season draws to a close, culminating with the 2017 CWL Championship in Orlando, FL., August 9-13. Placement at the CWL Global Pro League Stage 2 Playoffs help determine seeding for the upcoming 2017 CWL Championship. At the 2017 CWL Championship, 32 teams will compete for their share of a USD $1.5 million prize pool, as part of the overall USD $4 million prize pool for the 2017 CWL season – the largest in Call of Duty esports history. Final seeding for the 2017 CWL Championship has now been released, watch the Live Group Draw Show here.

On Thursday, eight teams qualified at the North American Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ), including Echo Fox, Str8 Rippin and Rogue. These teams now move on to compete for the 2017 Call of Duty World League Championship in Orlando.

The eight qualifying teams from the North American Last Chance Qualifier are:

• 3sUP
• Allegiance
• Echo Fox
• Lethal Gaming
• Projekt Evil
• Rogue
• Str8 Rippin
• Team Kaliber

The CWL Championship General Admission (GA), three-day tickets, are now available online, starting at USD $53.99 (plus fees and taxes).

Activision and MLG (both part of Activision Blizzard, Inc.) join forces with PlayStation®4 to bring Call of Duty World League to a global audience, with the goal of providing fans the best esports experience at live events and broadcast on mlg.tv/callofduty.

For the latest intel on the Call of Duty World League Presented by PlayStation®4 and for live broadcasts check out: http://www.callofduty.com/cwl, tv.majorleaguegaming.com/channel/cwl, www.youtube.com/majorleaguegaming, or follow @CODWorldLeague on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company.  More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future including statements about the features and event timing of the 2017 CWL Championship, are forward-looking statements, that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

GAMBITIOUS DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES SOBAKA STUDIO’S BRUTE-FORCE ACTION BRAWLER REDEEMER ON WINDOWS PC

AMSTERDAM & MOSCOW – Aug.1, 2017 – Gambitious Digital Entertainment independent developer Sobaka Studio have released the top-down action game Redeemer on Windows PC via Steam for AU$16.99. Redeemer is a close-quarters brawler designed for fans of the genre, featuring a story-driven single-player campaign and challenging Arena Mode that pits players against hordes of enemies.

Redeemer’s single-player story follows a former elite operative whose violent past finally catches up with him after years of living in hiding within a remote mountain monastery. Punch, kick, hammer, hack, smash and shoot through hordes of enemies on a merciless mission for justice against the shadowy corporate forces you once worked for. From hard-hitting stealth takedowns to over-the-top environmental kills, every move bursts with raw energy and visceral sound design.

Sneak around levels undetected to perform silent takedowns, or charge through enemies with reckless fury, using the environment to smash, impale and set foes ablaze. Use unique combat moves to parry, disarm and dismember opponents, then execute the final blow with a collection of bone-crushing fighting strikes, combos and finishers.

For the latest updates from Redeemer, please visit http://store.steampowered.com/app/447290 or follow us on Twitter, @GambitiousInc.

Price: $14,99/£10.99/€14.99/pуб.349/R$27.99/CDN$16.99/A$16.99

BETA TEST BETTER TOGETHER!

Check out the beta of the new cross-platform Minecraft

As you may have heard, we’ll be soon releasing the Better Together update – the first step in our plan to unify versions of Minecraft for console, mobile and Windows 10. That means players on those platforms will be able to join each other in-game, create, cooperate or compete together on massive servers, and access whatever swish skins and Marketplace adventure maps they own on any of their compatible devices. You can read more about the fancy features coming with the update here.

If you own Minecraft: Xbox One Edition or Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition, you’ll receive the brand new version of Minecraft for free (and, don’t worry, if you’re attached to the old console version, you can still play that too). To make sure it’s all going to work properly, however, we’re rolling out a beta on Windows 10 and Android today, with Xbox One beta access to follow in the coming days!

As with all betas, the purpose is to help us stress-test what we’ve built so far and uncover any bugs so we can squish them before the official launch. So: expect some things to go wrong! It’s all part of the process of making sure they go right in the future!

The pay-off is that you get an early glimpse of the cool stuff we have lined up, like fireworks, parrots, armor stands, the recipe book, new game rules and – stealing the show entirely – the amazing, the one and only, the ultimate COARSE DIRT.

We’re not releasing all of Better Together’s planned features in one go, however. Servers aren’t yet in the beta (although the servers tab might look like it’s searching for them). We’ll add them in as they become ready. Meanwhile, Marketplace is in the Android, Windows 10 beta, but is yet to be confirmed for the Xbox One beta.

But the important thing is that you can still get in on that sweet COARSE DIRT action. Scroll below to see how!

New Features:

• Stained Glass
• Fireworks (with Elytra boost!)
• Parrots
• Banners
• Armor stands
• Jukebox and music discs
• Recipe Book
• Book and Quill
• Ravines
• COARSE DIRT – O to the M G
• New world start options: Starting Map, Bonus Chest, Trust Players
• New game rules: TNT Explodes, Natural Regeneration
• Added ‘/tickingarea’ command to create areas that still update when no players are there
• Player permissions
• Zombie Villager spawn egg
• In-game host options
• New loading screens with funny and helpful tips
• How to Play screen
• Remix 3D and structure blocks
• Split-screen (Console only)
• World conversion

We also made loads of tweaks. Here’s just a few: player limit has been increased on higher end devices, you can hold maps off-hand now, ice-blocks are transparent and you can change your skin from the pause menu. There’s so much more, not even including the list of bugs we fixed (such as correctly reorienting the moon). For the full changelog, please visit http://aka.ms/mcchangelogshttp://aka.ms/mcchangelogs.

WANNA TEST IT? HERE’S HOW!

Xbox One / Windows 10

You will need to own the digital version of the game. For the beta, disc owners are not supported – sorry!

Joining the Minecraft Beta on Windows 10 or Xbox One:

1. Go to the Store app on Xbox One or a Windows 10 PC.
2. Search for the Xbox Insider Hub app.
3. Download and install Xbox Insider Hub.
4. Launch the Xbox Insider Hub.
5. Navigate to Insider content > Minecraft Beta.
6. Select Join.
7. Have fun and find bugs!

Android

Head over here for a breakdown of how to access betas on Android.

We’d love it if you could report any bugs at bugs.mojang.com & please let us know what you think about the beta by pressing the feedback button in the game or visiting feedback.minecraft.net.

Please enjoy your COARSE DIRT, responsibly.