Most Recent: Mobile
Matt Groening and David X. Cohen will help bring Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow to mobile devices
Good news, everyone! Futurama, Matt Groening’s cartoon chronicle of the year 3000, will rise from the sitcom graveyard a third time as Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow, an upcoming mobile game from TinyCo.
TinyCo is best known as the developer of Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, and in addition to working with Groening, they’ve recruited Executive Producer David X. Cohen and the show’s original animators at Rough Draft Studios to help produce the game.
“Futurama is back, bigger and better than ever! Or possibly smaller and equally good. But either way, it’s back!” said Cohen. “We’ve got completely new stories from the original writers, cast, and animators. This is the real Futurama deal.”
“I love this game because it feels just like Futurama,” added Groening. “Except now you get to jab the characters in the face.”
TinyCo will unveil more details about Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow soon, and the game is expected to launch later this year for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire devices.
Bethesda’s Todd Howard said the developer has SEVEN projects in the works
Bethesda has always been one of the busiest studios in the business. In addition to producing multiple games at the same time, Bethesda is well known for producing each sprawling entry in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. But they’ve taken things up a notch with their current workload.
Speaking to IGN, Director Todd Howard has confirmed the company is currently working on seven different projects, though some of these games have been discussed before.
Howard specifically cited the upcoming Switch launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4 VR as two projects that were previously announced. The developer was extremely excited about Fallout 4 VR, adding that the game is playable “start to finish in VR” and is shaping up nicely:
“There’s no content that we removed or changed [for VR],” Howard explained, noting that the current work being done on it is related to how players actually interact with the experience.
“It’s interface work, it’s other things,” he said. “There are issues with locomotion, how you traverse that much space, and we’re hoping to support as many modes as possible… It’s not done yet, there’s work to do, but the parts that are there, I’m biased but it’s pretty incredible.”
Betehsda’s Director also reiterated the company is working on another mobile title that “would follow in the successful footsteps of Fallout Shelter,” though he didn’t say if it would be an original title or based on an existing franchise.
The seventh project remained a mystery, but with a final flourish, Howard told IGN that Bethesda’s two “big and crazy” projects announced during the 2016 DICE Summit are still in development, as is The Elder Scrolls VI, which was first mentioned at E3 2016 as being “a very long way off.”
Telltale Games is hiring for at least one unannounced project
Have you been looking to break into the video game industry? And do you love Telltale Games and their unique catalog of story driven titles? Then this news is for you.
Telltale Games recently updated their Jobs page and added a number of new open positions for some of the company’s future projects.
Want to make great games with fun people? Telltale is redefining the way the games industry works, and we’re looking for some new team members to help us forge the way. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, creative environment where the work you do will make a difference, we’d like to talk to you. Here are the positions we’re hiring for right now.
Telltale’s Eric Stirpe offered some advice for applicants on Twitter, but the developer is also searching for new Animators, Character Modelers, Front-End Developers, Voice Directors, Brand Managers, Programmers, and much more. But with so many new job openings, it’s very likely that Telltale is working on several new games. The question is, what?
Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to arrive “soon,” but so far, no release date has been announced. They are also working on Game of Thrones: Season 2, though we haven’t heard a peep about it since the first season ended. So it’s possible they could be hiring for work on either of the aforementioned games.
So it looks like Telltale has another huge batch of unannounced titles in the works. But right now, there’s only two ways to find out what they’re up to. You can try your hand at getting in on the ground floor by applying to one of their open positions. Or, you can wait for their next big announcement, whenever that may be.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is finished; Coming to Switch in March and other platforms in April
Yacht Club Games has announced (via Twitter) that they’ve completed development on Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, the latest expansion to their NES-inspired platformer, Shovel Knight. The developer expects to launch Specter of Torment first for the Nintendo Switch in March. It’ll later be available as a free update on all other platforms (3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One) in April.
The Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove compilation (as well as the Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows standalone campaigns) should also be available for the Switch in March, with additional platforms to follow a month later.
Specter Knight’s campaign will actually take place before the events of Shovel Knight, and will depict how The Enchantress was able to recruit the evil Order of No Quarter. If you’re interested in learning how it all went down, Yacht Club Games will be attending this year’s PAX East expo to give fans a taste of Specter of Torment before it launches. The Boston-based convention kicks off on March 10.
Niantic will add more than 80 Pokemon and new features to Pokemon Go this week
It’s time to “Catch ‘Em All” again…
Niantic has announced (via their official website) that Pokemon Go will be expanding once again later this week. The developer plans to add more than 80 new Pokemon from Pokemon Gold and Silver‘s Johto region to Pokemon Go, along with a variety of new features to enhance gameplay:
New Pokemon Go Features
- Additional Pokemon: More than 80 Pokemon that were originally discovered in the Johto region in the Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver video games, as well as Pokemon with gender-specific variations, will start rolling out in Pokemon Go.
- New Evolutions: There are now more opportunities to evolve your Pokemon in Pokemon Go than ever before. Some Pokemon originally discovered in the Kanto region will soon be able to evolve into Pokemon that inhabit the Johto region! Be on the lookout for new Evolution items at PokeStops, which you’ll need to evolve some Pokemon.
- New Encounter Gameplay: When you encounter Pokemon in the wild, don’t be surprised if they react in new ways as you’re trying to catch them. You’ll also notice the addition of new item carousels that allow you to select Berries and Poke Balls directly from the encounter screen. Hone your skills and catch those elusive Pokemon!
- New Berries: Pokemon enjoy eating Berries, and you’ll have the opportunity to get two new Berries by spinning the Photo Disc at PokeStops… Nanab Berries and Pinap Berries! Giving a Pokemon a Nanab Berry will slow its movements, making it easier to catch. The Pinap Berry doubles the amount of Candy you’ll receive if your next catch attempt succeeds.
- New Avatars and an Expanded Wardrobe: Now you’ll be able to give your avatar a complete upgrade! Customize your look with a whole new selection of hats, shirts, pants, and other items.
A new trailer for Pokemon Go is also available and its been embedded above.
No new Skylanders game in 2017, but multiple “Adventure Packs” coming
As part of their quarterly financial report yesterday, Activision executives confirmed that a new game in the Skylanders franchise won’t be released in 2017. However, fans should still expect plenty of new content to appear this year.
First and foremost, Skylanders Imaginators will make its Nintendo Switch debut on March 3. The “toys-to-life” franchise has been one of the few third party bright spots on the Wii U, so it’s good to see Activision continuing the tradition on the Switch. And with Imaginators in the spotlight for another year, COO Thomas Tippl confirmed that Activision plans to launch “multiple Adventure Packs, new characters, and new in-game content” for it throughout the year.
Tippl revealed that Netflix’s Skylanders Academy has also been well-received by fans. A second season will premiere on the streaming service sometime this year, and a third is already in the works.
Finally, Activision is working on a new mobile game set in the Skylanders universe, but that’s all we know at this point.
Episode 3 from The Walking Dead: A New Frontier will be released in March; Season Pass Disc coming February 28
Telltale Games has announced that The Walking Dead: A New Frontier‘s third episode, Above the Law, will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices beginning next month. According to the developer, they’ll unveil more details about the upcoming expansion to the story “in the coming weeks.”
In other Walking Dead: A New Frontier news, Telltale also confirmed that the Season Pass Disc will be available in stores on February 28. The Season Pass Disc will contain the season’s first two episodes, Ties That Bind Part I and Ties That Bind Part II, and include access to all subsequent episodes as they’re released.
A new trailer advertising The Walking Dead: A New Frontier’s Season Pass Disc has been embedded above.
SpellTower creator Zach Gage partners with Merriam-Webster for new word game
Mobile developer Zach Gage burst onto the scene in 2011 with SpellTower, a puzzle game that combined concepts from Tetris and Boggle into a new experience. After multiple updates, and an unlikely appearance in Stephen King’s End of Watch, SpellTower is still going strong on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
Even though it was released almost six years, Gage announced last week that SpellTower will receive another major update on February 9. SpellTower’s upcoming update will add an improved dictionary powered by Merriam-Webster, along with Zen Mode (a mode “without those pesky length requirements”), online multiplayer, an update visual design, and a Super Tower mode exclusive to the iPad Pro 12″.
In addition to improving SpellTower, Gage also revealed (via Twitter) that his partnership with Merriam-Webster will include a brand new word game. The developer wasn’t willing to share any additional details on this mystery project, but hopefully we’ll learn more about it soon.