Robotoki Closes, Human Element Put on Hold
Robert Bowling's studio, Robtoki, has been closed, and its first project is now on hiatus.
"This week we have ceased operations at Robotoki and the development of Human Element is on hiatus," Bowling told Joystiq. "We were actively negotiating a new publishing deal for the premium version of Human Element but unfortunately I was unable to continue to self-fund development until a deal was finalized."
IGN has reached out to Bowling for confirmation.
Bowling founded Robotoki in 2012 after his time working on Call of Duty at Infinity Ward. The reveal trailer for Human Element was released just last month when Robotoki announced Human Element would no longer be free to play.
Steam Broadcasting is Now Live
Steam Broadcasting, Valve's new streaming service, is now officially part of the Steam client for Windows users.
That means anyone with a PC can begin streaming games for their friends live, right in Steam. Valve promises Mac and Linux support "in the future."
While the official page for Steam Broadcasting still refers to it as in beta, the service is no longer limited on an opt-in basis, following a recent Steam client auto-update.
The Broadcast option under the Community tab also lets you watch public streams right in the Steam client or a browser. Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8 are the only supported browsers.
This Weekend Only, PSN Members Will Get a PS Store Discount
Sony is offering a one-time 10% discount on items available in the PlayStation store. The savings will only be available this weekend, from 9 a.m. PST January 23 until through 9 a.m. PST on January 26.
This savings comes in addition to Sony rewarding its users patience with a free five day PlayStation Plus extension. Anyone with an active PS Plus account or free trial on December 25 is eligible for both the savings coupon and the extension.
According to Sony, the discount will be good on "hundreds of thousands of items" in the store, including new releases, games, DLC, pre-orders, and even TVs and movies.
How the PlanetSide 2 Closed Beta Will Shape its Launch on PS4
PlanetSide 2, Sony Online Entertainment's free-to-play massively multiplayer first-person sci-fi shooter, has officially kicked off its closed beta today on the PlayStation 4.
Players who previously registered to participate in the beta should receive their digital golden tickets via the same email address used to register, granting them access to PlanetSide 2 on the other side of today's PlayStation Network update.
The beta will run as long as it's needed, with "a few thousand" codes going out to participants in the opening phase, based on the order in which they registered. The beta will operate during what Sony Online Entertainment described as good, peak hours for the PlayStation Network, with the play schedule unfolding as follows:
Podcast: Join the Digigods Oscar Pool to win prizes
From their secluded home-theater compound, film critics Wade Major and Mark Keizer mix insightful commentary with irreverent banter, covering the latest DVD and Blu-ray news and new releases of the week, including studio, independent, television and special-interest titles.
Digigods Podcast, 01/20/15 (MP3) -- 40.9 MB
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Battlefield Hardline’s ‘Crosshair’ Mode Revealed
Crosshair is Battlefield Hardline’s most hardcore and competitive multiplayer mode. Traditional Conquest, of course, sees big battles with vehicles, exploding skyscrapers, and huge heists, but Crosshair focuses down, amps up the difficulty, and puts everyone at a high level of risk. Nobody respawns when they’re killed, and it makes either hunting or rescuing a VIP that much more challenging.
Two teams of five face off in standard shooter style. Cops and criminals load up with weapons and gadgets, spawn opposite each other on a map, and attempt to wipe out the other team as quickly as possible – Crosshair’s three-minute timer forces the teams’ hands in that way. Amid all this, a player-controlled VIP has to extract at one of two designated points.
Remember Me and Life Is Strange Dev Making RPG Vampyr
Paris-based developer DontNod and Focus Home Interactive have revealed a new RPG titled Vampyr.
Details are scarce at the minute with only a tweet and an image to go on. That said, TheSixthAxis reports that the game is set just after the First World War, where players are cast into the role of a doctor who returns home to find his homeland ravaged by the Spanish Flu. After treating one of his patients, the doctor gets bitten, thus transforming him into a vampyr.
New Will Arnett Netflix Comedy Series for 2016
Netflix has announced a new original comedy series starring Will Arnett to debut in 2016.
Flaked stars Arnett as Chip, a "guru" in Venice, California who falls for his best friend's crush. He starts to stack lies on top of half-truths, and his life becomes a predictably tangled mess. The series will run for eight episodes.
Arnett co-created and co-wrote Flaked with Mark Chappell, and the executive producers includes Mitch Hurwitz, the creator of Arrested Development. Said Arnett, in a statement, "We're very excited to partner with Netflix-- the home of original, original content -- and the network I knew would be the ideal home for this passion project."
Will Arnett (seen here in The Millers).
Match Fixing Allegations at Top Level of American Counter-Strike
New evidence points to alleged match-fixing at the highest level of Counter-Strike eSport competition.
Back in August of 2014, one of the top Counter-Strike teams in the US, iBUYPOWER, fought a match against NetCodeGuides.com. iBUYPOWER went in as the favourite to win, but ended up losing 16-4 at the CEVO Professional Season 5.
Now, a new report from TheDailyDot claims to have evidence that indicts the competition may have been rigged.
According to the site, a day after the competition an eSports journalist got in touch with screencaps of a conversation between himself and professional player Shahzed ‘ShahZam’ Khan prior to the match. It’s alledged that Khan claims the match was fixed and iBUYPOWER were going to throw the match. After the match, it’s said Khan would reveal who was involved, but went on to only offer a “no comment.”
Justified: The Final Season Begins
Justified begins its final 13-episode season Tuesday night, which means anything can happen, now that the story of Raylan Givens is wrapping up. In fact, when I spoke to star Timothy Olyphant about this season, he told me, “Raylan dies in episode seven. People are going to be a little shocked!”
He was joking, I promise (unless he was really playing a mind game!), but obviously, things are going to be different knowing the end is coming.
As a reflection of that, as Season 6 begins, Raylan is finally out to truly take down Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), after the two have been at odds, yet always occupied with other obstacles, since the series began.
Justified: Season 6 Photos