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The Transformers Universe MOBA is shutting down
Bad news today, folks: MOBA Transformers Universe will close before it even leaves beta as part of Jagex's and Hasbro's efforts to "realign their plans and focuses for 2015." UK developer Jagex had posted about impending layoffs for the TU team back in November, but it appears that it's really game over now: The shutdown period will begin from today. As part of the winding down we will be refunding all those that have purchased a Founders Pack, as well as anyone that has purchased relic bundles and starter packs. These refunds should be all processed in the next 30 days. In addition we will be closing the ability for new players to make accounts, those of you that already have accounts will continue to be able to use them until the closure date. [...] We will also be pushing an update live today that will switch off the ability for players to buy any more relic packs, or starter bundles. [O]n 31st Jan 2015 @ 10am GMT we will be shutting down all servers and forums and will freeze all Transformers Universe related accounts. These accounts will then be live for another 60 days (approx.) for any final queries before deletion on 31st March 2015. Between now and the date of closure the Jagex CM team will continue to operate on the forums and we will provide relevant updates on the website as necessary. Jagex asks players to contact the customer services team if they have not received their refunds by January 16th. Our hearts go out to the players and developers who hoped to see the title succeed.
Layoffs are probably in store for Transformers Universe
A staff reduction will be hitting Jagex's Transformers Universe team, and not for the first time. The studio has confirmed that it is in the process of examining duties and roles within the development team, with some team members facing reassignment to elsewhere in the company and others seen as redundant. No actual layoffs have taken place at this time, although "soon" is the watchword. The announcement does mention that there are opportunities in an as-yet-unannounced project currently in development behind the scenes at Jagex. Transformers Universe went into open beta in July and has a variety of founder's packs currently available to purchase; an official launch date has not been announced. Our condolences to all those affected by the upcoming layoffs.
Transformers Universe rolls out Pandemic and Outsider
Transformers Universe is currently attempting to make waves at Eurogamer Expo 2014 with tournaments, free play, and the addition of two new characters. Now in the game's beta test are Pandemic and Outsider. Pandemic is a Decepticon sports car controller who has a flexible weapon set that can mess with enemies and pin them down. Outsider is an Autobot who can teleport to and from the front lines of battle as well as yank enemies around with a gravity well. We've got the first look of these new warriors in a video after the break!
Transformers Universe introduces Macro and Firebreaker
Jagex hopes to add "diversity" to Transformers Universe's character roster with the addition of two new warriors announced today: Macro and Firebreaker. Macro, in his warrior form, carries a heavy broadsword for up close melee combat which he wields like a chivalrous knight. In addition, his shield dome cloaks all allies within its boundaries, removing them from enemy line of sight for a limited time. At the other end of the spectrum, Firebreaker is the first Decepticon in Transformers Universe to feature cloaking capabilities. Sacrificing his shield meter he can extend the duration of the cloak, and can also unleash a computer virus on himself that will devastate the first Autobot he comes into contact with. The studio says over 700,000 players have participated in beta so far. Videos for both characters are embedded below.
RuneScape announces Twitch integration
Do you want to show the world your adventures in playing RuneScape? It's going to be just a wee bit easier to do so now. Jagex has announced today Twitch has been successfully integrated into the game, allowing players to start streaming at a moment's notice with no need to run external software. The community team celebrated with a four-hour livestream event delving into the lair of the spider lord Araxxor, a new boss voted on by the player community as a whole. Jagex has gone on to announce that RuneScape will not be the only game to feature built-in streaming capability, with Transformers Universe (currently in open beta) set to receive the functionality as well. Marketing director Neil McClarty stated that RuneScape is already one of the most popular games in terms of audiance, so players taking part in the streaming process will find it that much easier to keep viewers happy with this integration. [Source: Jagex press release]
Transformers Universe launches open beta for the 4th of July
The Transformers Universe MOBA, whose first beta event kicked off last March, will formally enter open beta this weekend because nothing says Independence Day like battle robots, am I right? The open beta weekend will be marked by a double experience event, a 24-hour livestream starting at 11 a.m. EDT on July 5th, and "$75,000 in prizes to be won." In a press release issued today, Jagex CEO/CTO Mark Gerhard said the game had seen almost two million battle victories during the span of the closed beta. [Source: Jagex press release]
Transformers Universe offers a peek under the hood
It's taken a long time for it to approach launch, but Transformers Universe is closer to being ready for public consumption than ever before. It's got pre-launch bonus sales in effect, it's revealing Autobots and Decepticons alike, and it's showing off its gameplay. If you're excited to see more of what's going on behind the scenes, you'll be happy to learn that the development team has offered a peek into the development with a new series dubbed "Under the Hood." So what's in the first episode? Aside from a text-only Q&A with vice president David Nicholson, the episode looks at the Founders program, a peek at voices, and a detailed discussion of what the game will play like and where it's going in the future. That includes plenty of footage of robots turning into cars and beating the tar out of one another, for the record. Check out the video and the Q&A just past the break.
Transformers Universe adds Showdown and Mismatch to its roster
A pair of new bots joins the Transformers Universe roster today: Showdown and Mismatch. Showdown is a "crowd-pleasing, hard-scrapping Autobot" who "built his celebrity hammering 'Cons in the Kaon fight pits back in the dark days on Cybertron." He specializes in defending himself and his squad with shields. Mismatch, on the other hand, has thrown together his look from mismatched spare parts. "His minigun has been known to overheat and blow up in his face, but he'll roll with that because his enemies will taste the shrapnel too. When the dust settles, you'll find him scavenging for vital components." Rock out to the two new trailers, one for each character, embedded below. [Soure: Jagex press release]
Transformers Universe demos its MOTA gameplay
I have high hopes for what Transformers Universe could be. The game has changed a great deal from its original inception, going from an MMO tying into the then-current Prime series to a MOTA under the Generations banner. And you know that things have gotten at least a little odd when a game makes up an entirely new term to identify itself. What is a MOTA, anyway? From a look at the recent press preview event, I'd say it's World of Warcraft battlegrounds with League of Legends champions and some World of Tanks elements. Sort of. There might be more. As the above implies, we recently had the opportunity to take a look at some preview footage explaining how the game worked and what the actual play would be like. The game is certainly looking nice, especially when you consider that it's a free-to-play browser game built in Unity. But the proof is always going to be in the gameplay, and while it's hard to say for certain how well it delivers from mere preview videos, it's certainly intriguing.
Transformers Universe founder's program includes $450 bundle
Transformers Universe may have just won "Most Expensive Founder's Pack Ever" award, as Jagex rolled out a $450 pre-launch bundle today and began taking orders. The founder's packs for Transformers Universe begin at a saner $45 for a bronze pack and go up to $60 for a silver pack, $120 for a gold pack, and $450 for the aforementioned Cybernite pack. All of the founder's packs contain titles, an in-game honor roll mention, and varying levels of season pass access and relics. From the silver pack on up, players will also get early access Transformers and other goodies. So what do you get if you blow $450 on a video game that has yet to be released? The Cybernite pack comes with $250 worth of relics, a year combo season pass, six early access robots, tons of in-game consumables, a limited-edition figurine, and 18 characters when launch hits.
Transformers Universe shows off Catapult and Shellshock
Two new warriors are being shown off by Transformers Universe today. First on the list is Catapult, an Autobot sniper with a penchant for long-ranged abilities. Catapult's core arsenal depends upon her long-range sniper rifle and electro-cloud launcher, but she also carries a shotgun for backup in close-range combat. She also heals nearby Autobots slightly each time she manages to take a Decepticon off-line, making her ranged support that much more helpful to her allies in the fray. On the other side of the coin is Shellshock, a massive Decepticon warrior covered in heavy armor and wielding a pair of cannons and an axe. His two cannons focus on dealing shield damage or spark damage, while his axe allows him to carve up and knock down nearby enemies. Shellshock also heals nearby allies when he downs an opponent, making this behemoth a force to be reckoned with in closer engagements. To see a glimpse of both characters in action, check out the videos past the break. [Source: Jagex press release]
Transformers Universe opens up first-come, first-served beta signups
Do you want to be in the first wave of Transformers Universe testing? Then go sign up right now. No, don't finish reading the rest of this article, sign up right this moment. The first beta event is apparently taking place this weekend, March 15th and 16th, and invitations are being handed out according to the highly advanced metric of "the first people who ask for it get it." So go sign up, we'll be here when you get back. If you don't get in, you can still entertain yourself with two new character reveals past the cut. Front-Line is a big old hulk of an Autobot warrior with twin axes, a chaingun, and a massive hammer for use against the Decepticons. Conduit, meanwhile, takes care of the Deception medical needs while also providing fire support with his ranged rifle. You can take a look at both videos embedded just past the break. [Source: Jagex press release]
Transformers Universe won't be RuneScape with robots
Jagex Chief Creative Officer Alex Horton recently spoke to PC Gamer about the transformation of Transformers Universe and how the "MOTA" title will differ from the MMORPG sandbox Jagex is most famous for. "Whilst staying true to what Jagex is best at (pushing forward the free-to-play, browser-based gaming arena), we moved away from delivering 'RuneScape: The Cybertron Edition' and focused on upping the emphasis on action and the different skills of a collection of Transformers Warriors," he explained. "We've created a collaborative and competitive combat experience with deep MMO heritage. A game for today. The Transformers are the center of the game, rather than the original notion of building your own Transformers warrior that is your avatar." He also addresses balancing the game to appeal to casuals, core gamers, and genre fans.
Transformers Universe promises that beta is approaching
It's been a long wait for Transformers Universe hopefuls. The game has gone from MMO to MOBA to MOTA (which is still sort of a MOBA), its release date has been pushed back, and hopeful players could be forgiven for increasingly not expecting the game to ever come out. A new post on the official site confirms, however, that the game is approaching its next beta test in the very near future. Players who hope to be taking part in the beta are asked to fill in their computer specifications, giving the development team valuable information about the game's performance on various machines. They should also keep a close eye on their email inboxes; beta invitations will be sent out based in part upon the specifications filled in on the official site. So keep the faith, and before long you too could be swapping forms and blowing up other Transformers all over the place.
Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe
The first two soldiers in Transformers Universe have been revealed, along with a glimpse of how the game will actually play. Meltdown and Duststorm are the new entrants, with Meltdown representing the Autobots and Duststorm arriving with the Decepticons. Meltdown is a medical sort of 'bot, not dissimilar from Ratchet, sporting heavy weaponry along with a specialized repair beam for team support. He can repel enemies, fortify himself while attacking, and boost allies after a quick shot of repairs. By contrast, Duststorm is something of a vampiric sniper. She sports long-range weapons that can leave bombs, stun targets, or tear through shields, absorbing the energy of enemies that she demolishes. In desperate situations, she can also accelerate projectiles in close-range engagements to take out approaching foes. Check out the videos for both robots just past the break, showing off their skills in action as well as a glimpse of the game's battlefields. [Source: Jagex press release]
Transformers Universe delivers trailer
Yesterday we learned that Transformers Universe is no longer going to be an MMO, but a "MOTA" (massively online, tactical action game) instead. And delivering on CEO Mark Gerhard's promise that fans would see more about the game from here on out, Jagex has released a new trailer. Check out the action of Autobots and Decepticons battling it out in the clip below. The game, slated for release this summer, is accepting beta sign ups now. [Source: Jagex press release]
Jagex 'scales back' Transformers Universe team with layoffs
The development history of Transformers Universe has not been a smooth one, with the game going silent for long stretches of time and having changed focus once already. The latest news from the studio is not good, either; Jagex has laid off 13 employees from the game's development team. The reports indicate that there are internal concerns being raised about the title's overall quality, as the studio is under pressure from Hasbro to release before the end of the year. According to the developer, the game is in no danger and is progressing marvelously, but sources within the company claim that its position is "precarious," citing the switch to unfamiliar technology and the need for faster development. Jagex stressed that the changes in staff should not adversely impact the title, which was originally tracked for a release back in 2012. Our best wishes go out to those designers personally affected by these layoffs.
Transformers Universe launch window narrowed to fall 2013
Love MMOs but disappointed your wizard or elf or whatever can't turn into a car or tank? If your answer is, "Yes, I am absolutely tired of my characters not turning into vehicles," Transformers Universe might be the game you've been waiting for. The browser-based title, developed by Jagex with a little help from Hasbro Gaming, is currently slated for release in 2013. And while we still have no official launch date, comments by the Hasbro brand team at this year's Botcon 2013 have narrowed the release window down just a touch, confirming that the game is due this fall. Jagex has kept the game mostly under lock and key, but you can catch a glimpse of it by registering for closed beta and hoping the key-gods show you favor. [Thanks to Max for the tip!]
Jagex boasts best financial year ever
Jagex has announced today that the company has had its most successful year to date, earning £50 million for the first time in the studio's history. In addition, the largest independent game studio in the UK employs a staff of over 550 people with the potential to grow even further. "2013 is set to be an even bigger year for Jagex as we release the biggest update in RuneScape's history, launch Transformers Universe and publish a number of new titles." CEO Mark Gerhard pointed out in a press release this morning. The studio's flagship title, RuneScape, saw "tens of millions of new players enter the game for the first time during 2012," solidifying the classic MMO as a free-to-play powerhouse. [Source: Jagex press release]
Jagex appoints filmmaker as new creative director for Transformers Universe and RuneScape 3
Jagex has announced today the appointment of Alex de Rakoff as Creative Director to the popular MMO studio. Not only has de Rakoff directed award-winning music videos, but he's also well-known for his films, working with actors like Orlando Bloom and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. No, that doesn't mean Jagex is working on a Legolas or a gangsta rap MMO, but it does mean that the upcoming Transformers Universe and RuneScape 3 will both benefit from de Rakoff's experience and creativity. In fact, before being officially hired in-house by Jagex, de Rakoff had already been writing the story for Transformers Universe under contract. You can learn more about Alex on his IMDb profile. [Source: Jagex press release]
