Monthly Archives: March 2018

PUBG Is the 3rd Largest Selling Game in Steam History

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is the third highest selling game in Steam's history, says Valve's Gabe Newell.

Newell briefly touched on the title during a press presentation about the new DOTA 2 card game, Artifact, yesterday.

Talking about the investment Valve has made in hardware and technology, Newell said that there was a "big hole" left in the market after the release of DOTA 2 that PUBG stepped in to fill.

"You can have a relatively new game like PUBG, and

they can capitalise on all the other multiplayer games, and all of the technology,

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Gabe Newell: “Valve Is Going to Start Shipping Games Again”

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has said that the legendary developer-turned-retailer "is going to start shipping games again".

Speaking at the press presentation for Valve's latest, Artifact, Newell said: "Artifact is the first of several games that are going to be coming from us, so that’s sort of good news. Hurray! Valve is going to start shipping games again."

Valve made its name with a series of classic games, including Half-Life, Portal and Counter-Strike, but has been much quieter on the development front in recent years, focusing more on its Steam platform and hardware creation.

It sounds as though Valve's work with hardware will be a part of its future games, however:

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Barack Obama in Talks to Produce Shows for Netflix

Former president of the U.S., Barack Obama, is in talks with Netflix to produce an original series, and is spit-balling concepts with the streaming giant.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, both Barack and Michelle Obama will feature in the show, which will centre around uplifting, inspirational stories, as opposed to direct political commentary on the White House.

Obama already has a huge reach on social media, with 101 million followers on Twitter, so his presence on Netflix will be a boon for the streaming service, while giving him a platform to reach even more people.

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See First Screenshots of Valve’s Next Game, Artifact

Valve has finally revealed the first details about its upcoming Dota 2-themed card game, Artifact, and we've got a first look.

It's an extremely unique take on the digital card game genre, with three lanes of play, hero cards that respawn on death, and items to buy and equip them with. Take a look at the gallery of screenshots below, along with some of the card art for the game.

We got our hands on Artifact today, so be sure to keep an eye on IGN for our first impressions and in the meantime here's everything we know about it - including the fact that it has three new Dota 2 heroes.

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Valve’s Artifact Contains Three New Dota Characters

Valve announced the first details about their digital card game Artifact today, and along with it three new Dota characters.

Artifact is Valve's upcoming card game based on the Dota universe. We learned today that the game contains over 280 cards already, and features 44 heroes. Many of these are familiar faces to Dota players, such as Legion Commander and Phantom Assassin, but we noticed a few fresh faces as well.

First up is Sorla Khan, a spear wielding warrior who hails from the same tribe as Axe. According to the lore, she became the leader of Axe's Red Mist army after he left. The second new character is Kanna, a mysterious horned character with a demon-like appearance. Not many details are known about them outside of a single voice line spoken by Juggernaut: "Azwraith, you haven't heard any rumors of Kanna's return have you?" The final new character is Rix. He appears to be some kind of humanoid-wolf, and wields a sword. According to an in-game voice line, he has some past relationship with Legion Commander.

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Nintendo Direct Impressions – NVC Ep. 398

Weeelcooome to episode 398 of our weekly Nintendo show and podcast, Nintendo Voice Chat. This week, Lily Zaldivar joins the panel to discuss Super Smash Bros. for Switch, Splatoon 2 DLC, Super Smash Bros, Dark Souls, Super Smash Bros, and all the big announcements from the latest Nintendo Direct. Oh, and Super Smash Bros!

As always, you can watch NVC here on IGN and on our YouTube channel (subscribe and hit that bell! It gives fairies wings!) or listen to it on your commute in audio format. If you enjoy the show, share it with other Nintendo fans, leave us a comment, and give us a thumbs up or leave us a review! If you prefer audio over video, please subscribe to NVC on iTunes or your podcast service of choice. You can also download and listen to the Latest Episode of NVC Right Here.

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Valve Releases First Details About Artifact

Valve announced the first details about Artifact, the Dota 2 card game, in a closed doors presentation today.

Valve President Gabe Newell sat down with members of the games press to reveal the first details about Artifact, the digital card game that was announced during last year's International. The presentation contained a wealth of information about the upcoming game, most important of which is that the game will not be free-to-play like many of its competitors.

The game will feature high production values, novel mechanics (such as a "shopping phase"), and an AI that teaches the player how to play. Newell also stated that opening packs and building your deck will be "a social and competitive experience". Additionally, Artifact will feature a marketplace and workshop, much like the one that Dota 2 players can use to buy and sell in-game items.

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Ready Player One Tracking for Underwhelming Opening Weekend

Ready Player One is heading toward a potentially disappointing opening weekend when it hits theaters on March 29.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Steven Spielberg-directed film is tracking for a North American box office debut of around $35 million. Spielberg and Warner Bros. are trying to crack $50 million for the opening weekend. Warner Bros. has already pushed the release date up to a Thursday—instead of the traditional Friday—and will continue making its marketing push throughout March.

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Fortnite Battle Royale Announced for Mobile

Epic Games has announced its free Fortnite Battle Royale mode will be available to play on both iOS and Android — and you'll be able to play with other players on other platforms.

Starting next Monday, March 12, interested players can sign up at Fortnite's official website for the iOS "Invite Event." Invitations via email will be sent out to players soon after, offering a link to download the game. Epic will be regularly inviting players to the game over the coming months. Support for Android platers will follow in the next few months, though no exact window is announced.

Fortnite Battle Royale is the same 100-player mode players already know, with Epic promising "same gameplay, same map, same content, same weekly updates." It will also feature cross play and cross-progression between PS4, PC, Mac, iOS, and also on Android when the game comes to that platform.

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