Johnny Reboot comes to KickStarter!

Edmonton, Canada – March 21: Today Virtual Plague Studios are pleased to announce the start of their Kickstarter for Johnny Reboot, a Metroidvanian inspired brawler that aims to tell the story of one man’s battle with a psychological disorder.

Johnny Reboot and the Legendary Upgrade is an original idea inspired by the personal experiences of the games’ Creative Director. Featuring a character that lives within the internet – A comedian with an ego who has a soft interior, while having a rough exterior.

“The story of Johnny Reboot is very personal to me, because it is based on a time in my life where I suffered from agoraphobia,” said Martyn Tranter Creative Director  “As a studio, we’re aiming to use the game as a way to show everyone that has agoraphobia, and other psychological disorders, that anything is possible in life, you just got to keep going forward. So not only will backers have a fabulous game but they’re also helping raise public awareness of such mental conditions.”

Featuring:

• Large Cyber Fantasy World
• A narrative covering Agoraphobia
• Paths open based on discovered abilities
• Brawler combat with a mix of short to long range weapons
• Weapon augments change game play to suit your style or needs
• A custom dark ambient sound track coupled with high energy combat tracks by Evan Collingwood of Psykkle

For more information visit the KickStarter page: http://goo.gl/6mRMyr

About Virtual Plague Studios

Virtual Plague Studios is a collection of skilled individuals whom are seeking to create fun games. Conceived January 18th and comprises of 12 highly-skilled, committed and enthusiactic artists, modeler, animator, programmers and musicians.

­­­Crytek and DeNA Squad Up to Launch Mobile Action Game The Collectables Worldwide

SAN FRANCISCO, USA and FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany – March 21, 2014 – Crytek and DeNA have partnered together to release The Collectables, a tactical action game with revolutionary visuals that is now available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Players assemble a squad of misfit mercenaries in The Collectables and command each soldier through fast-paced third-person tactical combat scenarios. As the action intensifies, they’ll upgrade their crews using a collecting card system that unlocks new ways to wipe out the varied enemy types and negotiate the game’s immersive 3D environments.

“As a pioneer in the mobile space, DeNA helps to ensure that the unique, action-packed experience we’ve created in The Collectables reaches as many players as possible through their groundbreaking Mobage platform,” said Kristoffer Waardahl, studio manager at Crytek Budapest.

“Crytek managed to do the unthinkable and integrate their remarkable CRYENGINE technology into the company’s first free-to-play mobile game,” said Barry Dorf, head of strategic partnerships at DeNA. “The Collectables is a visually stunning and explosive gameplay experience that pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved on mobile devices.”

The Collectables is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPad at www.AppStore.com.

A new trailer for The Collectables is available for you to watch and embed on your website via this link: http://youtu.be/AKYJ6h-KLpc

The Collectables is also coming to Android devices soon. Players can preregister and receive an email alert when the game is available for free download via Google Play. They will also receive an exclusive version of the in-game character RELOAD equipped with limited-edition gear by preregistering on The Collectables website: www.thecollectablesgame.com

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About DeNA

DeNA (pronounced “D-N-A”) is a global leader of developing and operating mobile services including free-to-play games, the Mobage social games platform, e-commerce and other online offerings. Founded in 1999, DeNA is headquartered in Tokyo with offices and game development studios across the globe. DeNA Co., Ltd. is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2432). For more information, visit:http://www.dena.com

About Crytek

Crytek GmbH (“Crytek”) is an independent company at the forefront of the interactive entertainment industry, and is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of gaming by creating standout experiences for consoles, PC, mobile devices and games-as-service using their cutting-edge 3D-Game-Technology, CRYENGINE®.

The company’s headquarters are in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Crytek also has studios in Kiev (Ukraine), Budapest (Hungary), Sofia (Bulgaria), Seoul (South Korea), Nottingham (UK), Shanghai (China), Istanbul (Turkey) and Austin (USA).

Since its foundation in 1999, Crytek has consistently been recognized for excellence in its field, earning accolades such as the 2011 Develop Award for Best Independent Studio, and two Red Dot Design Awards (in 2010 and 2013). Its multi-award winning games include Far Cry®, Crysis® (awarded best PC Game of E3 2007 and Best Technology at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards), Crysis Warhead® (awarded Best Graphics Technology at IGN Best of 2008 Awards), Crysis® 2 (awarded Best Shooter of E3 2010 and Gamescom 2010), Crysis® 3 and Warface (awarded Best Social/Casual/Online Game of Gamescom 2012). For more information, please visit http://www.crytek.com.

ReignMaker Greenlit on Steam – Play it at PAX East!

Lexington, KY – March 21, 2014 – Frogdice, an indie game studio founded in 1996, has announced that ReignMaker, a city building political strategy game with match-3 tower defense combat, has been Greenlit on Steam. ReignMaker is a unique mix of puzzle and core mechanics that makes for a fun and engaging, deep yet approachable, gameplay experience.

“Our team has poured their hearts and souls into this game to make it as wonderful as possible. We have agonized over so many details and decisions to make ReignMaker a delight to play,” said Michael Hartman, CEO of Frogdice.  “Being Greenlit on Steam is a testament to Frogdice’s progression as a studio. Each game builds on the last and they keep getting better and better.”

Frogdice will be an exhibitor at PAX East, April 11-13, 2014. Attendees will be able to play ReignMaker on PC, iPad, Android, and Windows Surface. Mac and Linux platforms will also be fully supported at launch.

“One of the features I am most proud of is the Policy System. It introduces role playing elements to a city building game,” said Pang Hartman, VP and Creative Director of Frogdice and lead designer on ReignMaker. She added, “I also worked into the story homages to players who have been with us for up to 17 years, and Twitch streamers that have supported us for 7 months.”

Frogdice devotes tremendous effort towards maintaining a positive and safe community for their players. This includes online and offline games. The result is a welcoming and fanatically loyal community of gamers and fans. Being Greenlit on Steam is yet another example of the community’s tremendous support.

Gamers who would like to learn more about ReignMaker should visit the website at: http://reignmaker.frogdice.com

Michael and Pang are active on twitter @muckbeast and @dalaena respectively.

===== About Frogdice =====

Frogdice was founded by Michael Hartman in 1996 while attending the University of Georgia School of Law. The studio’s oldest game is an online text RPG (MUD) called Threshold that is still in operation and is arguably the oldest F2P game on the internet.

Michael met his wife, Pang, on that first game, Threshold, and now she’s the VP, Creative Director, and Lead Designer at Frogdice. Over the last few years the company has grown to 7 full time staff and a number of part time and volunteer members.

My.com to Expand Games Division with Four New Games in 2014

Partners with Blue Chip Developers in Addition to Internal Game Development

March 21, 2014, San Francisco – Today, at Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, My.com announced its myGames division with four new gaming properties developed in cooperation with renowned game studios Obsidian Entertainment and Slightly Mad Studios.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Mail.Ru Group (MRG), My.com aims to bring “communitainment” – a cohesive communication and entertainment platform – to the masses. The new MMO’s expand the My.com footprint into AAA games, and build off of MRG’s experience operating the largest Eastern European online entertainment market. Each new title will be free-to-play and offer optional in-game purchases that enhance user experience or speed progression through the game. The games include:

●     Armored Warfare – unveiled during the Game Developer Conference Choice Awards and developed by Obsidian Entertainment, this action-based MMO features modern tank combat with player vs environment (pve) or player vs player (pvp) gameplay
●     Skyforge – developed by Mail.Ru’s Allods team in cooperation with Obsidian Entertainment, this next-generation action MMORPG experience challenges players to become Gods
●     Evolution – developed by ITT Studios from within Mail.Ru’s games division, Evolution is a mobile science fiction RPG bringing together AAA graphics, solo action combat, player vs player missions and deep, engaging story and world-building
●     World of Speed – developed by Slightly Mad Studios, a graphically stunning racing MMO that combines an innovative approach to racing with a strong focus on social elements such as team play and auto clubs

“Our first game offering was Jungle Heat, a very successful project with over 10M installations and nearly 90% revenues outside of Russia, and the US market is a significant part of it,” said Dmitry Grishin, CEO and co-founder of Mail.Ru Group. “It’s very encouraging and leads us to believe that our new AAA games, both client and mobile, are going to be successful abroad.”

With over 30 online games in its portfolio, games represent nearly 25% of MRG annual revenue. As MRG’s publishing brand of MMO games in non-Russian speaking markets,My.com games will also be available for gamers across the world, including the highly lucrative Russian market, where online-gaming generated more than $1.3 billion dollars in revenue for 2012. As a publisher, Mail.Ru Group works with developers around the world and focuses on those who share the same passion for high-quality graphics and exciting gameplay experiences.

My.com launched in November 2013 with a family of communication applications – myMail and myChat – and with myGames, a portfolio of mobile games on Android and iOS. For more information, visit http://games.my.com.

About My.com
My.com is a subsidiary of Mail.Ru Group , the largest Internet company in Russian-speaking countries with the audience more than 100 million users (comScore, September 2013), that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:MAIL, listed since November 5, 2010).
My.com’s vision is to build an integrated communication and entertainment platform, dubbed ‘Communitainment,’ beginning with a family of mobile apps: myMail, myChat, and myGames.