mobile games
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The QuizUp team is back with a battle royale trivia game
Trivia Royale's animated avatars are a fun spin on Memoji.
Call of Duty: Mobile's $1 million esports tournament starts April 30th
If you're ranked veteran or higher, you can compete for the 'Call of Duty: Mobile' world championship.
NASA's supercomputer needs your help to map coral reefs
NASA usually studies space, but the agency is currently hoping to save ocean wildlife with this game.
‘War of the Visions’ is a mobile spin on ‘Final Fantasy Tactics’
It's been a while since we've gotten a proper Final Fantasy Tactics game, but the latest release from Square Enix may just scratch that itch -- as long as you're okay with it taking the form of a free-to-play mobile game. After first launching in Japan last year, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is now available globally on iOS and Android.
Niantic cancels ‘Pokémon Go’ and ‘Wizards Unite’ community days
Niantic is postponing the Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite community days for March due to concerns around COVID-19. In a statement, the company said that the safety of its players is its "top priority," and that it will adjust its games to better suit current public health advice. Consequently, as well as cancelling the community days, Niantic is making it easier to play Pokémon Go at home.
Google Play Store redesign makes it easier to find games
The go-to destination for Android apps has undergone some changes. Google announced today that it has rolled out a visual redesign of the Google Play Store. The refreshed interface should make hunting for apps easier for the app store's two billion monthly active users. Especially if you're a player of mobile games.
PS3 hit 'Journey' unexpectedly arrives on iOS
Thanks to a surprise release from Annapurna Interactive, the PlayStation 3 classic, Journey, is available on iOS.
'Dr. Mario World' hits iOS and Android a day early (updated)
The doctor is in. Nintendo's latest mobile game, Dr. Mario World, has arrived a day early on iOS and Android. Several Engadget editors were able to play Nintendo's match-three puzzler before the expected launch date of July 10th. The new mobile title hit iOS early today before it became available on Android as well.
Facebook game developers get more options for monetization
Facebook game players will soon encounter more advertising tied to in-game rewards. The social media platform will be giving publishers more options to monetize their mobile games. Developers can now display in-app "rewarded video" ads and advertise their games with previews that play right on News Feed.
'League of Legends' might be coming to smartphones
League of Legends might eventually take up residence on fans' iOS and Android homescreens. Developer Riot is said to be working with parent company Tencent on a mobile version of the ultra-popular MOBA.
The puzzling chaos of ‘Human: Fall Flat’ is coming to phones
Soon it won't just be Switch owners who get to play indie platform-puzzler Human: Fall Flat on the go. After shifting five million copies across PC, Mac and consoles, the game is heading to mobiles. For the uninitiated, Human stars a claymation-style character named Bob, who walks like he's drunk. Your job is to steer him across a series of floating levels, each with increasingly difficult physics-based puzzles. But if you're easily distracted, chances are you'll use the props on-hand (think catapults, forklifts, and wrecking balls) to cause happy accidents.
NCsoft snaps up more mobile studios
Does NCsoft see mobile gaming as the wave of the future? If its business acquisitions are any indication, it definitely has a strong interest in that field. The mega-publisher recently picked up two indie studios, NOVN and Dotomchi Games, for $740,500. It is looking at a third mobile studio as well. Last year, NCsoft announced that it is working on mobile versions of Aion, Blade & Soul, and Lineage Eternal, among other titles. We've got trailers for those titles after the break to refresh your memory.
Perfect World Entertainment announces Dawn of the Immortals
Perfect World Entertainment is expanding its catalog of games and heading off of your desktop. While the company already runs several free-to-play games, thus far almost all of them have been shackled to your home computer. Dawn of the Immortals is not; instead, it's shackled to your tablet or your phone. That's right, it's a 3D mobile action MMO for both Android and iOS devices, albeit one not currently available for beta testing. At this point there's very little hard information about the game available -- a 15-second trailer past the break, the promise of both major mobile platforms, and the opportunity to sign up for a mailing list. Signing up for that list will also net you a little in-game doodad, which is probably nice, and it will also prepare you for when the game finally does head into the beta arena.
Wargaming founds mobile game studio
It seems as though the Wargaming empire is expanding its reach, as the company recently founded a new mobile game studio in Seattle. The studio, which currently lacks a public name, is headed up by mobile game vet David Bluhm. Wargaming is giving the start-up freedom to choose its own direction and business strategy while providing it with its funding, global marketing, and distribution. This studio is separate from Wargaming Seattle (formerly Gas Powered Games). Bluhm had a few words to say about his team's mission: "We think mobile games is still a relatively new space with massive upside. Mobile is ripe for innovative and new core game mechanics." He said that more information about the studio's upcoming titles will be revealed soon.
Browser game market in China 'booming'
If you love to hate on browser-based MMOs and feel as though their time has passed, China might like to have a word or two with you. Sales of browser-based titles in the country have risen substantially in the past two years, increasing 46% in 2011 and 35% in 2012 according to a Taiwanese games company president, whereas client-based MMOs only made a 13% increase in growth in 2012. XPEC's Aaron Hsu said that the figures showed that browser games are far from finished in the region: "I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but the browser game market in mainland China is just booming. It's just like the MMORPG market in 2003, for China. I feel like the Chinese developers have created a new business model for browser games there." Due to the success of several lucrative browser games, Chinese developers are actively pursuing the browser -- not mobile -- platform. Hsu recommended that Western developers should concentrate on finding a Chinese publisher or partner to help ease into this different market instead of trying to break in solo.
Rumor: BioWare San Francisco shuts down
According to GamesRadar's unnamed sources, BioWare San Francisco has reportedly been shut down as of today, resulting in the layoffs of 25-30 employees associated with the studio. The studio formerly known as EA2D was responsible for the Dragon Age Legends Facebook game and the browser-based Mirror's Edge 2D. While it was focused on developing mobile and social games, Electronic Arts found that handling development in the area was too expensive and has shut down operations. Our condolences to all those affected by this shutdown.
Chinese game industry saw $9.7 billion in revenue last year
Video games are a pretty big deal in China. How big? According to TechWeb the Chinese gaming industry brought in a whopping $9.7 billion last year, which marks a 35.1 per cent year-on-year growth rate from 2011. Online gaming accounted for 90% of total revenue, with mobile gaming and hardware making up the remaining 10%. The report also predicts significant future growth for China's games industry, with revenue expected to top $21.7 billion by 2017.
Feel the Force: Angry Birds Star Wars coming November 8th to iOS, Android, WP, Kindle Fire and computers
Rovio teased a certain film-inspired Angry Birds picture a long, long last week, and as expected, it's another new game -- Angry Birds Star Wars. Our furious feathered friends are assuming the likenesses of characters from the epic saga, with the trusty Red Bird taking on Luke Skywalker's role. It wouldn't be the Rebel Alliance without a dark side to fight, which is where the Pigs fit into the storyline; even the music and levels for gravity-based play will hark back to the film franchise. In addition to the software, details of related merchandise have also been uncovered, including table games, toys and costumes. The game is out on November 8th for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Kindle Fire and computers, and if it follows the original storyline, we wonder how Red Bird's going to feel about his porcine family history.
Rovio hints at Angry Birds tie-in with Star Wars on October 8th, Red Bird Five standing by
The green pigs have had their moment in the sun: it's time for the Angry Birds to come back. Rovio Mobile has posted a teaser of a collaboration between its frustrated avians and Star Wars that will get a grand reveal on October 8th at Toys R Us' Times Square location in New York City. No clear giveaways exist as to what's coming, although Rovio is promising animations, comics and other material in the weeks ahead -- we imagine it means more than a toy line, as unique as that can be. But does it mean an Angry Birds Space add-on that goes well beyond the Martian landscape, an entirely new game or something else altogether? We've asked the company for more details and will let you know if we're given more information. In the meantime, get ready for what's likely to be a geek culture explosion. [Thanks, Jaakko]
BitGym Motion SDK brings Kinect-style games to Android and iOS, no huge living room required (video)
If there's a common barrier to playing with a Kinect controller, it's free space. The sheer amount of necessary distance between sensor and player is fine for suburbanites with expansive living rooms, but not so hot for apartment dwellers. Thankfully, BitGym is doing its best to bring hands-free gaming to small spaces with a new Motion SDK for Android and iOS developers. The kit takes advantage of the front cameras on phones and tablets to track three-axis movement, leans and multiple players without any special hardware -- and without necessarily rearranging the furniture. It's built to work with Unity 3D and most common app code on both platforms, all with a reportedly low overhead for mobile processors. Just don't anticipate any leaps and sidesteps in your loft for the next little while. Although the SDK is ready today, we won't see shipping games built on the motion-friendly framework until early 2013.
