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Below are the news stories that may not have made the headlines today but are worth reading!
Gamers never die…..
Just like the Games of Our Lives…
/// GAMES FEATURED
►Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
►Just Cause 3
►Final Fantasy IX
►The Witness
/// Activision Blizzard Acquires the Business of Major League Gaming!
Activision Blizzard today announced the acquisition of the business of Major League Gaming (MLG). MLG is a leader in creating and streaming premium live gaming events, organizing professional competitions and running competitive gaming leagues. The acquisition expands Activision Blizzard’s reach across the rapidly-growing esports ecosystem by adding proven live streaming capabilities and technologies to the Activision Blizzard Media Networks division, led by former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein and MLG Co-founder Mike Sepso.
Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, said, “Our acquisition of Major League Gaming’s business furthers our plans to create the ESPN of esports. MLG’s ability to create premium content and its proven broadcast technology platform – including its live streaming capabilities – strengthens our strategic position in competitive gaming. MLG has an incredibly strong and seasoned team and a thriving community. Together, we will create new ways to celebrate players and their unique skills, dedication and commitment to gaming. We are excited to add Sundance and the entire MLG esports team to our competitive gaming initiatives.”
MLG will continue to operate MLG.tv, MLG Pro Circuit and GameBattles platforms, and will continue to work with its partners and other publishers across the industry. MLG.tv is a premium online broadcast network for professional-level esports and the MLG Pro Circuit is the longest-running esports league in North America. GameBattles is the largest online gaming tournament system across consoles, PC and mobile platforms.
/// Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 ‘New vs. Old’ Gameplay!
/// Oculus Rift pre-orders to open on January 6
Today, we’re excited to announce that pre-orders for Rift will open on Oculus.com at 8am Pacific Time on January 6! We’ll be sharing everything you need to know to order your Rift on Wednesday when pre-orders go live.
As a reminder, every Rift comes bundled with Lucky’s Tale by Playful, and we’re also including CCP’s EVE: Valkyrie for free with every pre-order!
This is going to be an exciting week for VR, so Oculus founder Palmer Luckey will be answering all your questions during a Reddit AMA this Wednesday, January 6 at 6pm Pacific Time. We look forward to hearing from you.
Stay tuned for more updates this week. We can’t wait to share what’s coming next!
| Source
/// Just Cause 3 Multiplayer Mod in the Works!
SECOND HALF
/// Final Fantasy IX Coming to PC & Smartphones!
/// Gears of War 4 Beta Coming Spring 2016, ReCore Confirmed for PC, More!
Microsoft published a list of upcoming releases and a look back at 2015. In it, the platform holder revealed the release dates, release windows, and launch platforms for many titles.
Mike Nichols, corporate vice president of marketing for Xbox said that all Xbox One exclusive titles that came out around the holidays has each sold over 1 million units. This includes Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and Forza 6.
As for this year, Nichols revealed more information about some of the announced games, such as a spring 2016 window for the Gears of War 4 and Fable Legends betas, a confirmation that ReCore is also coming to PC, and more. Minecraft will also be update in 2016, on all platforms.
Find the full details below:
►Gears of War 4 (Xbox One) – Multiplayer Beta in spring 2016/launch in fall 2016
►Quantum Break (Xbox One) – April 5, 2016
►Halo Wars 2 (Xbox One & Windows 10) – Fall 2016
►Crackdown 3 (Xbox One) – Multiplayer in summer 2016
►Fable Legends Open Beta (Xbox One & Windows 10) – Spring 2016
►ReCore (Xbox One & Windows 10) – 2016
►Sea of Thieves (Xbox One & Windows 10) – 2016
►Gigantic (Xbox One & Windows 10) – 2016
►Killer Instinct: Season 3 (Xbox One & Windows 10) – March 2016
►Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Windows 10) – Spring 2016
►Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (Xbox One & Windows 10) – Spring 2016
►Cobalt (Xbox One, Xbox 360 & Steam) – Feb 2, 2016
| Source
/// Jonathan Blow on Puzzles in The Witness: “I’m Not Tricking You Into Feeling Smart!”
Ahead of the release of The Witness on January 26 for PlayStation 4 and PC, Thekla President President Jonathan Blow sat down with Gamasutra, saying, “The Witness is way, way bigger [than Braid], and I think of it as a more mature designer’s game.”
/// REMINDER: Sony’s CES 2016 Press Conference Takes Place on Tuesday!
Sony will be holding its Consumer Electronics Show 2016 press conference on Tuesday, January 5, at 5pm PST. You can watch the conference live here.
