Kenilworth Castle rebuilt Minecraft-style
The ruins of Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire have been “rebuilt” using the computer game Minecraft.

English Heritage commissioned the project as part of its Love Castles season.

14 Aug 2018

Minecraft fans rejoice! The largest convention for a single video game is coming to Austin Sept. 15-16. Minefaire is expected to bring 15,000 people to the Austin Convention Center to celebrate the game.
What’s the big deal about Minecraft? If you have a kid in elementary school, you know.

See a video of the convention:

Here are some of the things you can expect to see at Minefaire:

Minecraft Virtual Reality Experience: Play Minecraft with virtual reality.
Learning Lab: Learn from Minecraft Education Global Mentors who use Minecraft in the classroom.
Build Battles and Challenges: Compete in live gaming arenas, code within the game and learn to solve problems in creative ways.
Minecraft Costume Contest: Dress up, dance and have fun on stage as your favorite Minecraft characters.
YouTube Meet & Greets: Meet Minecraft YouTube superstars who will share their favorite tips and tricks.
Nonstop, Live Stage Shows: Multiple stages will show different Minecraft experiences for different skill levels.
World’s Largest Official Minecraft Merchandise: Of course, there will be shopping.
Tickets are $49-$69.50, but kids younger than 2 are free. Find them at Minefaire.com.

Microsoft is bringing ‘Minecraft: Education Edition’ to the iPad, allowing the version of the block-based construction game for schools to be used via the iPad, giving educators another way to use the game in the classroom.

The educational version of the game will be accessible on iPad from September, around the start of the new school year for most students. The app will be a free download from the App Store, and is designed for use with the Education Edition subscription sold from Microsoft.

Made to combine teaching with the popular building game, schools are able to license it through Microsoft 365 for Education or separate volume licenses, with free trials also available. The edition offers teachers a number of resources to incorporate Minecraft into their classes, including lesson plans, courses, technical support, and mentorship.

Subjects available range from the traditional STEM areas to other areas, including languages, art, and history, among other topics. As well as allowing students to build within the game, the Education Edition also adds in extra features to monitor progress and to allow teachers to lead lessons in the tool.

The move to iPad expands the educational version from Windows PCs and the Xbox, enabling it to be used by schools who have embraced Apple’s tablets in lessons.

“Minecraft: Eduction Edition on iPad unlocks new and intuitive ways of collaborating and sharing and has revolutionized the way our students and teachers explore curriculum and projects,” said Kyriakos Koursaris, head of education technology for PaRK International School. “The features allow for deep and meaningful learning, and the values it promotes, from inclusivity to 21 century skills, empower everyone to use technology with extraordinary results.”

At the same time, Microsoft advises some features from the Education Edition will be arriving in the consumer version. Users of the Windows 10 and Xbox console versions of Minecraft will soon be able to use the Chemistry Resource Pack, which teaches lessons about elements and compounds, the periodic table, and allows the creation of new items including helium balloons, sparklers, latex, and underwater torches.

A report claims that Microsoft is going to implement a new feature into Xbox One called Xbox Community Content that will bring mods and other creations into games at a system-wide level. Sound familiar? Well, it should. That’s similar to the Minecraft Marketplace, which had 295,850 downloads from players acquiring new content in May. And, as always, that content was a mix of worlds, skin packs, and more from the Minecraft Team and its third-party community partners.

But now that the Minecraft Marketplace has proven this can work, Microsoft seems to think it can bring it to other games on its platform. That’s something we’ve seen with Steam Workshop, but it could have an even bigger effect on consoles where modding a game outside of official channels is too difficult for most people.

I’ll be watching to see what Microsoft does with its Community Content platform. For now, it says it has nothing to announce on the subject. But we can still see what’s doing well on the Minecraft Marketplace.

Let’s do the charts.

Here are the top-10 most downloaded pieces of content from the Minecraft Marketplace in May 2018:

Click to view slideshow.
Here’s the top 10 downloads in list form:

City Life
Monsters of the Deep
Prison Escape
BrightStart Daycare
Wildlife: Savanna
Dinosaur Island
Abstraction: Cubes
The Bastion
Summer Mini Games Festival
Relics of the Sky
And here’s the top-grossing list for May 2018:

Click to view slideshow.
And the list:

City Life
Monsters of the Deep
Relics of the Sky
Wildlife: Savanna
Dinosaur Island
Super Racers!
HeroFair
Prison Escape
BrightStart Daycare
Primaveral Tropics
Next month, we’ll get the results from Minecraft Marketplace in June when the platform finally hit Nintendo’s Switch. It should be interesting to see if that causes an increase in downloads as a new platform gets access to community creations.

Even if you can’t quite place the name, there’s a very good chance that you’ve played games Certain Affinity has worked on. Across the last 12 years, the Austin-based developer has been involved with everything from the Call of Duty series to, most recently, World of Tanks’ World Cup soccer mode. Certain Affinity has made a name for itself as a co-developer, but two years into its second decade, the studio is undergoing some significant changes.

“Historically we’ve been super below the radar because we always end up supporting other people, almost always with their big internal development studios, who really, just to be frank, prefer to be the ones in the limelight,” says president and founder Max Hoberman. “A lot of that’s changing because we’re in the process of transitioning to lead development, with original IP development also being a much larger portion of what we do as a company.”

Before setting up Certain Affinity, Hoberman had worked at Bungie for a decade, from right out of college. That was 1997. By the time Halo 2 came around, Hoberman had moved from the publishing side to launching and running Bungie.net, and then again to working on Halo full time, specifically the multiplayer.

“It’s funny, all the ways people interact with games on their consoles today, all the staple foundational ones, I had a hand in,” says Hoberman. “It was a long time ago. But I remember there was a time where I was actually a developer full time, for five or six years. In another life?”

Spreading out
Though he got to wear a lot of hats, the future at Bungie was Halo and Destiny-shaped, and Hoberman wanted more variety. This isn’t the only reason Certain Affinity leaned towards partnering with other developers on projects like Doom’s multiplayer, however. At Bungie, Hoberman had seen the difficulty of moving from developing a single game, Myth, to working on multiple projects.

“I made a decision from the get-go that if we are going to be a multi-project studio, we should be that from day one,” Hoberman explains. “That really was what guided me. I’d say the variety was a fringe benefit in that respect. But the real driving force was this: when I started Certain Affinity, the long term ambition was to absolutely create a powerhouse, triple-A, world class, independent developer who was able to work on multiple franchises at once. Sort of modeled after Blizzard in a lot of ways.”

That sort of lofty goal isn’t something you reach quickly. For the first decade, Certain Affinity immersed itself in other developers’ worlds and designed ancillary content, jumping between them while occasionally working on original projects.

“What differentiates us is we’re really, at the core, a co-developer who will jump in—we’ll take on a chunk of people’s games and we’ll actually co-develop as an extension of their internal team,” Hoberman says. “We’ll take an entire chunk of the game and do lead development on it, soup to nuts. There are companies that really specialize. There’s an engineering shop where specialized engineers in networking will bring your game online. There are UI and UX specialists. There are people who specialize in ports and platform transitions and these sorts of things. But we’re actually similar to the core teams that are developing these games.

“Take Doom, for instance. We took on all the multiplayer development for Doom. We actually came on board at a time when their internal team and single-player, core game mechanics, everything, were in utter chaos. They were going through a lot of transitions of their own. We stepped in and we took on the multiplayer. We ended up working hand-in-hand with the team over at id as they got their stuff sorted out and ultimately made a really amazing game. We were there lockstep with them, really in many ways, an extension of their team.”

For the next decade, however, Certain Affinity wants to invert that. Original development will make up the bulk of the studio’s work, and partnering up with other developers will supplement that.

At the moment, the studio is in the midst of that transition. It’s not completely made the shift, but it’s already changed significantly over the last two years. Around 60-70 percent of the team are working on a pair of games where Certain Affinity is the lead developer. Since neither game has been released yet, Hoberman’s not quite ready to call the transition complete. He wants to repeat the process and show that this is the direction the studio is dedicated to.

This change in priorities has given the studio a chance to work on its own FPS, after years of working on the likes of Call of Duty and Halo. When co-development made up the bulk of its work, Hoberman was hesitant about any original project being an FPS because the designers were already involved in FPS co-development work.

“I was afraid that would create some real strain on our co-development, which was paying the bills,” Hoberman recalls. “So I always tried to do things that were a little bit different, not FPS explicitly. And I think in hindsight that was actually a big mistake. At that 10-year mark, when we did some reflection and looked back and thought about moving forward, it became apparent that we were really hamstringing ourselves by not working on FPS. We have so much FPS experience at the studio, and so much action shooter experience in general, the bulk of it being first-person. It seemed like we were shooting ourselves in the foot, not trying to go big with something that played to our strengths. We made a huge shift and really decided we’re going to do something original in FPS.”

A new expedition
With Last Expedition, Certain Affinity gets to do that. It’s a co-op FPS with a survival layer. Four unfortunate souls land on an alien world that is far from pleased to have human visitors; it’s determined to kill them. So the survivors have to band together, building and fending off the excitable local wildlife. Hoberman’s not revealing more than the broad strokes, but clearly has very high hopes for it.

“It’s highly, highly novel and original. The production quality is really high because that’s what we do. It’s going really well. We actually playtest several times a week. You go in there and everyone’s yelling and screaming and having a good time, which is the best measure of success–when you enjoy your own work and want to be in there playtesting it.”

Alongside that, the studio is also developing an original Transformers title. It’s the largest project at Certain Affinity right now, and the studio’s biggest to date. It’s still very much under wraps, however, locked up in a vault protected by burly Autobots.

When it was working primarily as a co-developer, Certain Affinity didn’t have to concern itself with a game’s business model, but the transition has now made that a priority. Like a lot of studio bosses, Hoberman believes that games as a service is the right way to go.

“Most of the huge success stories these days are games that operate as a service,” he says. “They’re not one and done, or one and wait a few years for the sequel. They really are these living, breathing, continuously enhanced and developed experiences. We’re wholly embracing that shift. As we shift into lead development, we also have to shift into a model where we’re primarily developing games as a service.”

“It’s interesting because that’s not the bulk of what we’ve worked on,” he continues. “The Halos and Dooms and Call of Dutys. There’s multiple transitions that we’re going through as a company as we prepare for this. In that sense, both the Transformers game and Last Expedition have been designed from the ground up to be games as a service, to be games that become people’s hobbies that they play day in and day out, for months and years, and that we’re continuously improving and enhancing.”

It’s been a challenge to get to this point, says Hoberman, which isn’t even the end, but rather another beginning. But it’s worked out for the studio, which has turned a profit every year and has done so without laying anyone off. That, in particular, is something he’s extremely proud of; that, and the culture that has been built up over the last 12 years.

“For the game industry, we’ve built an incredibly unusual place to work,” he says. “We have an incredibly diverse workforce, way more diverse than the game industry at large. A much higher percentage of women developers, that’s one example. We have an incredibly inclusive culture. We have an incredibly mature, no-bullshit, no-ego culture. We have a staff that’s unbelievably talented. Everyone says that, but it’s a fact around here. It’s required to do the type of work we do. Really high end, jumping in and putting out fires and taking things over at the last minute, knocking them out of the park on time and on budget.”

Now Certain Affinity gets to do the same for its own games.

The Minecraft Marketplace is about to get the followup on a serious 1-2 punch that could boost creator’s revenues and downloads through the end of July. The Minecraft Team at Microsoft launched the first Minecraft Summer Sale today. As part of this event, most of the content on the Marketplace is getting a steep discount.

While the Summer Sale may get fans downloading more content this month, last month it was the Nintendo Switch that helped fuel sales. The Minecraft Marketplace had 396,511 downloads in June, which is up from 285,816 in April. With the Marketplace hitting Switch for the first time beginning June 26, it’s likely that Nintendo’s platform contributed significantly to that total. You can see past results by tracking the Minecraft Marketplace sales charts here.

But now that Switch is integrated into the Minecraft platform, developers can focus on making their content and the Summer Sale. Some, like Gamemode One founder Sean Davidson, thinks discounts are exactly what some players are waiting for before they spend their money on Minecraft microtransactions.

“We hope and expect that the Minecraft Summer Sale will increase player accessibility to content and potentially drive increased traffic over the remainder of the year,” said Davidson. “Access to products at a discounted rate is a great way to give players and buyers on the fence a chance to see what the Marketplace has to offer.”

Developer Imagiverse has even spent the last few weeks preparing its Lapis Lagoon waterpark map for the sale (it’s already out). This update will roll out to everyone who owns it, and Imagiverse wants positive word-of-mouth to help it perform well in the sale.

“We focused on making sure Lapis Lagoon was going to give the player the best possible waterpark experience they could have in-game,” a spokesperson for Imagiverse explained in a note to GamesBeat. “Old and new players alike will appreciate the work we put into the map getting it ready for the sale.”

Let’s do the charts. Here are the 10 most downloaded pieces of content from the Minecraft Marketplace for June 2018:

Click to view slideshow.
Here it is in list form:

City Life
Mineville Highschool
Dinosaur Park
Planes
Dinosaur Island
Monsters of the Deep
Wildlife: Savanna
Mutant Battle Arena
Prison Escape
Lucky Block Escape
And here are the 10 highest-grossing pieces of content for June 2018:

Click to view slideshow.
List:

City Life
Dinosaur Park
Planes
Dinosaur Island
Monsters of the Deep
Wildlife: Savanna
Mutant Battle Arena
Mineville Highschool
Super Racers
Lucky Block Escape
Next month, we’ll get to see how the Summer Sale affects the charts. This is a big chance for Marketplace partners, and it could turn into one of the biggest months for the Minecraft store so far.

Correction, 12:14 p.m.: Sean Davidson’s name was misspelled as Sean David in the original article. We have corrected the error, and we apologize.

The Minecraft Team at Microsoft has landed a major combination with its first Summer Sale and the launch of the Minecraft Marketplace on the Nintendo Switch. Those big moves have led to a growth spurt for the block-building game’s content store, which served up a massive 669,795 downloads in July. That’s up from 396,511 downloads in June, which was already impressive on its own. The Minecraft Team doesn’t share how much money the Marketplace generates each month, but most creations sell for around $1-to-$5. At a hypothetical average of $2 per download, the store could have generated more than $1 million in sales last month.

Minecraft’s Marketplace Summer Sale began July 19 and through the end of the month. The game’s development team worked with its partners, many of whom are small third-party content creators, to discount their Marketplace products by as much as 50 percent. That fueled intense interest from fans who wanted to get the most bang for their buck.

This reveals that many fans are aware of the Minecraft Marketplace and think about using it regularly, but they want to hold off for better prices. That’s something that Mojang, the studio responsible for Minecraft, and Marketplace creators can take advantage of.

But enough of all that, let’s get to the charts.

Top 10 most downloaded
4. City Life 4. City Life
Here it is in list form:

Kingdom Survival
Millionaire Mansions
Mineville High School
City Life
Castles & Dragons
Dinosaur Park
Isles of Aloha
Spring Mini-Games Festival
Dinosaur Island
Prison Escape
Top 10 highest grossing
8. Chroma Hills 8. Chroma Hills
Here it is in list form:

Millionaire Mansions
City Life
Castles & Dragons
Dinosaur Park
Mineville High School
Dinosaur Island
Wildlife: Savanna
Chroma Hills
Planes
Dwarven Mining Company
We’ll be back with more news from the Minecraft Marketplace next month.

Anthem’s previously-announced demo will launch on February 1, developer BioWare has revealed during today’s Anthem PAX West 2018 panel.

Arriving on February 1 will put the demo exactly three weeks ahead of the game’s full release, and thus, the demo will be a complete demo of the final product, not simply a beta test shrouded as a demo.

Details on the nature of the demo – such as its length – haven’t been revealed, but it will presumably be of the game’s opening hours. Or maybe not. Who knows. Concrete details should arrive closer to February though.

In the build-up to said demo, BioWare plans on holding beta tests, though this won’t be as open as the demo. Details on said tests will be provided as they draw closer.

The demo will release on each of the game’s platforms – PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One – however, in order to gain access you will need to either pre-order a copy of the game or be subscribed to EA Access/Origin Access Premier. In other words, if you aren’t subscribed to EA’s games service or don’t want to pre-order, you won’t be seeing Anthem three weeks before launch.

To accompany the release date announcement of the demo, BioWare also revealed a brand-new trailer focused on the game’s story, its innovative storytelling techniques, and its shared, dynamic world.

Anthem is poised to release on February 22 via the PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One.

For all the recent news and media on the game, check out our previous coverage of the title by clicking here. Or if it’s simply more information about Anthem and its premise you’re after, then here’s a brief overview:

“In Anthem, up to four friends can unravel the world’s mysteries and take on its most fearsome challenges together. Shared danger means shared glory, and successful Freelancers will all be richly rewarded for successful exploits. Throughout their adventure, players can outfit their Freelancers with powerful Javelin exosuits, each of which are equipped with unique weapons and abilities. Players can also customize their Javelin with gear they earn and craft throughout the adventure, and leave a lasting mark on the world.”

An unofficial Pokemon guidebook is being crowdfunded on Kickstarter that takes a look at the original 151 Pokemon designs and the inspirations behind them.

Author Noah Shepherd combined backgrounds in biology and graphic design to create On the Origin: Kanto Edition, the Kickstarter project that’s seen here. An analysis of the original Generation I, all 151 Pokemon get double-page spreads that break down the creatures’ designs with explanations for the real-world organisms and effects that influenced them. An example of these pages, seen below, takes a look at Drowzee while the accompanying page further down gives the backstory on the Pokemon.

Drowzee Pokemon On the Origin
(Photo: Noah Shepherd)

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Shepherd said that his inspirations for the project were rooted in Pokemon Go and an encounter with a Wailmer.

“The idea came about when I was playing Pokémon Go whilst walking home from work along the river Thames,” he said. “A Wailmer encounter reminded me of the time that a real whale swum up the river, and in typical biologist fashion I started thinking about the type of whale that Wailmer is based on.”

That led to the creation of an Instagram page where Pokemon Go players shared images of Pokemon which Shepherd would then analyze from a biological perspective. From there, Shepherd took the idea and decided to put it into a physical form by starting the Kickstarter project for On the Origin: Kanto Edition.

Tracking towards the fully-funded goal of $19,441, the book project has currently raised $13,337 with one week to go at the time this is being published. Shepherd has a variety of pledge packages ranging from “Take a Chansey” to “Doduo Hardcovers,” the latter being one that grants backers two copies of the hardcover edition of the book. Several different pledge options are available through the Kickstarter page that offer PDF, softcover, and hardcover versions of the book among other incentives.

Drowzee Pokemon Backstory On the Origin
(Photo: Noah Shepherd)

Within the next week, Shepherd also added that he plans on adding stretch goals to the project to supplement the physical books with more features.

“One example stretch goal is a cover sleeve for the hardcover book,” he told us. The sleeve will display a map with an illustration of every Kanto Pokemon’s backstory located where it originates!”

When asked if the Kanto Edition could lead to other Pokemon guides that featured later generations, Shepherd told us that he’s focused on the Kanto Edition right now but added that analyzing other Generations with more guides is a dream of his.

The Kickstarter project for On the Origin: Kanto Edition currently has 266 backers and is scheduled to end on September 9.

Today, retailer Best Buy announced that new demo events for upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, will be coming to select stores starting next week.

Details on the actual content of the demo are unknown, but we do know the special event will last all the way until October 7 and hit multiple stores across the country, offering up a chance to virtually every hardcore Super Smash Bros. fan to get their hands on the game prior to its launch later this year.

Best Buy has also teased that special prizes will be handed out at the event, though unsurprisingly it didn’t provide any details on said prizes.

Anyway, here’s a rundown of every location the demo event will hit:

New York

Best Buy Upper West Side
1880 Broadway
New York, NY 10023

Saturday, September 8: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 9: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

San Francisco Bay Area

Best Buy San Jose
181 Curtner Ave.
San Jose, CA 95125

Saturday, September 8: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 9: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Chicago

Best Buy Bucktown
2100 N. Elston Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614

Saturday, September 15: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 16: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Los Angeles

Best Buy Torrance
3675 Pacific Coast Highway
Torrance, CA 90505

Saturday, September 15: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 16: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Minneapolis

Best Buy Richfield
1000 West 78th St
Richfield, MN 55423

Saturday, September 22: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 23: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Dallas

Best Buy Park Lane
9378 N. Central Expressway
Dallas, TX 75231

Saturday, September 22: 10 a.m.–7 p.m
Sunday, September 23: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Atlanta

Best Buy Buckhead
2537 Piedmont Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30324

Saturday, September 29: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 30: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Denver

Best Buy Colorado Blvd.
4100 E Mexico Ave.
Suite A
Denver, CO 80222

Saturday, September 29: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, September 30: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Miami

Best Buy Hialeah
4001 W 20th Ave.
Hialeah, FL 33012

Saturday, October 6: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, October 7: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Seattle

Best Buy Bellevue
457 120th Ave. NE
Bellevue, WA 98005

Saturday, October 6: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, October 7: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

You can find more information about the demo events here.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is scheduled to release on December 4 via the Nintendo Switch. For more news, media, and information on the game, be sure to check out our previous coverage of the title by clicking here.

Source: Nintendo Everything

February of next year can’t come soon enough for BioWare fans anxiously awaiting to try out the studio’s latest IP, Anthem. A big staple in BioWare games in the past such as the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series is that beautiful stories crafted in a way that throws the player all in. These branching narratives is what BioWare is known for but Anthem is shaking things up in more way than one. Luckily for those wanting to enjoy the online aspects but don’t have a steady group of friends to enjoy the co-op option, BioWare has confirmed that matchmaking will be available at launch for all content.

Much of the story can be done solo but there are certain in-game events available to earn higher level gear that does require four people. For those that don’t have a squad, matchmaking will be available so no one has to miss out on any part of the game. This is also applicable to generic quests and other undisclosed content options as well.

The confirmation comes from the developer team during the PAX West Anthem story as the team dove deep into the most asked questions they get from fans. We learned about character customization and how choices will matter, we learned more about the characters and how the story will progress – basically, a lot of those multiplayer fears have been sated thanks to the open transparency from the Executive producer and the rest of the BioWare Anthem team.

As a huge BioWare fan myself (shamefully admits I’m on playthrough 29 of the original Mass Effect trilogy), this does make me feel better about the upcoming game. Though I was impressed with my own hands-on time with the online title, it’s still hard not to feel the loss of the earlier Andromeda controversy. Luckily, it seems EA is giving BioWare the freedom they need to get this right – and for that, we thank them.

Interested in learning even more about the game? You can check out our Anthem community hub right here for all of our previous coverage regarding the latest venture for BioWare.

You can follow the author of this story over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy.

One of the all-time classic tactical role-playing games, Valkyria Chronicles, is coming to Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop on October 16, priced at $19.99 USD.

Further, players who purchase Valkyria Chronicles 4 on the Nintendo Switch digitally will be offered a 25 percent discount when purchasing Valkyria Chronicles.

For those that don’t know: Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is a remaster of the 2008 hit and critically acclaimed game that kicked off one of the most beloved tactical RPG series, which not only saw multiple different releases, but even spawned an anime.

Valkryia Chronicles Remastered is currently available for PlayStation 4. It will hit Nintendo Switch, in Japan, on September 27, and the west on October 16. You can read more about the game below:

Set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of the 1930s, Valkyria Chronicles depicts Europa, divided and ruled by two super powers: the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading the principality Gallia, which shares its borders with the two superpowers, in an attempt to secure an invaluable natural resource, Ragnite. Within this struggle a hero named Welkin, and his fellow soldiers of the Gallian Militia, ‘Squad 7’ are fighting back against the invasion and the Empire’s attempts to unify the continent under its power.

During the ensuing war, Squad 7 discovers that the Empire possesses a secret weapon, known as the “Valkyrur” – an ancient race with special powers thought to exist only in legends. With this new discovery, the fate of Gallia’s ability to defeat the Empire and save the lives of the Gallian citizens…

“CANVAS” graphics engine: A unique engine that produces breath taking images that look like watercolour paintings in motion.
“BLiTZ” tactical battle system: Experience strategic maneuvering of units combined with conventional RPG gameplay, all layered on top of the moment to moment action afforded by real-time controls as players command each squad member and tank in battle.
Epic storyline: Players will immerse themselves in the epic struggle for freedom, as the fate of the world lies in the hands of Welkin and the members of the 7th platoon.
Customisation: Over 100 customisable characters allow players to create a variety of platoons to suit each battle’s needs.
Beautifully rendered battlefields: Players explore 30 different environments, using unique terrain features to gain advantages in battle.

Fortnite just got a whole lot more groovy with tonight’s store update, which has added a brand-new set of gear, dubbed Flower Power.

Headlining the store update and Flower Power gear is two new outfits that find themselves dropping onto an island from a bus to murder people following a bad trip during day three of Woodstock. Accompanying the two new outfits is also a new tie-dye glider and an equally trippy harvesting tool.

The new outfits — dubbed “Far Out Man” and “Dreamflower” — are of Epic (purple) rarity, meaning they will cost a healthy 1,500 V-Bucks, each. Meanwhile, the new “Tie-Dye Flyer” glider and “Drumbeat” harvesting tool are Rare (blue) and Uncommon (green) rarity, respectively. The former costs 800 V-Bucks, while the latter comes in at 500.

In other words, if you want to channel your inner peace llama by obtaining the whole set, you will need to feed the corporate man 4,300 V-Bucks.

Speaking of Llamas, the new Llama Bell emote is back, so if you made the mistake of missing it the first time, don’t make the same mistake again.

Below, you can check out the new items, as well as every other item available in tonight’s store update:

By Saturday Fortnite store update standards, I must say this is a pretty good one, at least if you appreciate the new items, which I do. Unlike many outfits and items this season and last season, the Flower Power set reminds me of early Fortnite, which was less flashy, less clean, and more basic and silly.

Fortnite is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices. For more news, media, and information on the game, be sure to check out our previous coverage of the title that covers it extensively by clicking here.

As always, hit the comments section and let us know your thoughts and hot-takes. Planning on picking up any of these new items? I know I am, much to the displeasure of my wallet and good conscious. Curse you, Fortnite.

Minecraft, despite having been out for almost a decade now, continues to prove that the creatively driven title has a lot of life left it. The community is strong and never ceases to amaze with their amazing creations in-game. From epic crossovers, to just incredible innovation – the sky is the limit for these block creators and this recent Reddit post proves just that.

The building mechanics in this game are really limitless. For those that bypass the Survival mode and go right into the Creative one, it is a nice outlet for letting that inner artist shine. With the easy to use building mechanics and the incredibly soothing soundtrack, it’s really no wonder that so many still tank an impressive amount of hours into this game.

Posts like this always make me incredibly happy because you can just imagine the level of pride the creators are feeling with it. I can’t even seem to build a one-level house with four solid walls, so seeing entire realities coming to life is absolutely astounding to me.

Now that the “Build It Together” update is live, it’s even easier to create entire worlds. Excited to squad up with friends and family? Here’s what you can experience together with this expansive update:

“Explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles. Play in creative mode with unlimited resources or mine deep into the world in survival mode, crafting weapons and armor to fend off the dangerous mobs.”

Minecraft Marketplace
For the first time, skins, textures, and worlds designed by the community are available in the store. Buy once and enjoy across Xbox, Windows 10 and mobile devices!* (and soon, the Switch)
Endless exploration
Create and explore your very own world where the only limit is what you can imagine.
Build almost anything
Crafting has never been faster, easier or more fun!
Co-op play
Play with up to four players in split screen for free, or invite hundreds of friends to a massive gameplay server or your own private Realm!

Minefaire: The Ultimate Minecraft Experience event is coming to the Schaumburg Convention Center Saturday, Sept. 8 and Sunday, Sept. 9.

Between 12,000 to 15,000 attendees are expected to attend the event involving one of the most popular video games.

Minefaire is the brain child of two fathers who realized they needed to bridge the gap between children who love Minecraft, and parents who may not fully understand the game and its educational aspects.

“Minecraft was the ‘go-to’ activity for my four kids before dinner, and I realized how much the game was teaching them about topics like agriculture, history, geology and architecture — all without their feeling like they were being ‘taught,'” says Minefaire Co-Founder Gabe Young. “Kids at Minefaire get to grab their parents by the hand and say, ‘Look what I’m doing.’ As parents, we then have the chance to better understand our children and guide them.”

Minecraft is a virtual game where you build new worlds, block by block, by mining the resources you find and crafting them into structures that might include staircases, mazes and amusement parks. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to Minefaire.com.

Minecraft is a worldwide sensation which has sold millions upon millions of copies to date. The game is available on everything from desktops to mobile phones. A few years ago, Microsoft purchased the game from its creators and has since greatly expanded its scope. However, when it comes to games, the company has always struggled in the Japanese market. With Minecraft though, it seems like that’s changing.

According to a report in Nintendo Life, Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition sold 25,948 copies last week. So far, it’s sold over 212,170 units to date. Minecraft on Nintendo Switch beat games like Splatoon 2 and Mario Tennis Aces.

A few weeks ago, Minecraft on Nintendo Switch was updated to the “Bedrock” edition. This allows players to access a lot of new features and play with gamers on other platforms like Xbox One and Windows 10. If you already bought the old version on Nintendo Switch, you can download it for free. Sony still doesn’t support cross-play so the Bedrock version isn’t available on PlayStation 4.

Hopefully Microsoft’s success with Minecraft will result in more visibility for the company in the country. If you look at console sales figures, the Xbox One only sells a dozen or so units each week. Maybe if there were more Microsoft experiences like Minecraft that appealed to Japanese gamers, it would be a boost for the company’s console ambitions.

Director and co-writer Rob McElhenney is no longer working on Warner Bros.’s film adaptation of “Minecraft,” according to The Wrap.

The “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star was picked to direct the film in 2015, but now it’s not happening, he recently told The Wrap. Warner reportedly asked the writer/director duo of Adam and Aaron Nee to write a new script. “Wonder Woman” scribe Jason Fuchs wrote the previous draft with McElhenney. The Nee brothers are best known for “The Last Romantic” (2006) and “Band of Robbers” (2015). They’re also directing the upcoming “Masters of the Universe” film.

McElhenney is the second director to leave the project. Originally, “Night at the Museum” director Shawn Levy and writers Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney were brought in to work on the film, but they left in 2014 after reportedly presenting new ideas to the studio that didn’t mesh with what Mojang was looking for. Levy is now supposedly working on the upcoming “Uncharted” film starring Tom Holland as a young Nathan Drake.

The “Minecraft” film’s release date will be pushed back because of the shakeup, The Wrap reports. It was originally scheduled to come out on May 24, 2019.

“Minecraft” is a sandbox building game created by Markus Persson and later developed by Swedish developer Mojang. It launched in 2011 and is now the second best-selling video game of all time behind “Tetris,” with over 144 million copies sold across multiple platforms. Persson sold Mojang and “Minecraft” to Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5 billion.

Steve Carell is expected to star in the movie. Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the franchise from Mojang. Roy Lee is producing it through his Vertigo Entertainment production company with Jill Messick.

Building a great franchise, one block at a time

The first time I picked up the controller to play Minecraft I immediately wanted to set it down again. I was visiting my brother’s family and it was my nephew’s game du jour. Minecraft had never looked that appealing to me up to then, but I wanted the spend as much quality time with my nephew as I could. It’s like when I visit my parents and sit through five hours of Wahlburgers.

It only took about 20 minutes for him to notice I wasn’t having any fun. While he was off constructing a voxel McMansion with incredible deft and speed, I was still trying to figure out how to build a house that’d keep me safe overnight. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t able to. After my second time dying, we finally switched over Injustice, a game I could actually hold my own at because I’m super cheap with Batgirl.

Minecraft just never crossed my radar until then and after that moment I resided myself to the fact I’d probably never get into the genre. And that was absolutely true until Dragon Quest Builders walked into my life.

The game was announced in what would be a lull for franchise fans in the West. After a particularly bountiful Wii/DS era, the Dragon Quest well dried up at the beginning of our current generation. We didn’t get X, we didn’t get any of the new Dragon Quest Monsters titles, and that Theatrhythm title never made it to our shores. We did get Dragon Quest Heroes, but neither it nor its sequel really did anything for me beyond showing me how frickin’ gorgeous a Musou game can look.

I first experienced Dragon Quest Builders on my Vita with its demo. Going into it, I didn’t expect much more than Minecraft with a Dragon Quest dressing. I didn’t anticipate the thoughtfully created worlds, the amusing characters, the stunning look of everything, or the gameplay loop of quick missions that only take a few minutes to complete but eat up hours of your time when a case of “just one more mission” starts to kick in. I destroyed that demo and ate up a fine chunk of the final release when I finally had the money to pick it up.

This is how Minecraft clicked for me. The open-ended nature of the title is clearly enough for many, many people, but I couldn’t get into it without a little direction. I do know how to make my own fun in games, yes, and I enjoyed watching videos of the cat fountain as much as the next, but something about a lack of clear goals and progress were a barrier for me.

Dragon Quest Builders annihilated that barrier. Across all four chapters of the game, I transformed from a man who couldn’t see the fun in just assembling a crappy looking house to a guy who just had to create an entire village to perfection. Make that several villages. DQB got me excited about large-scale landscaping and city planning in ways I hadn’t been since SimCity 2000, but in a more personal manner. The absolute joy I found in crafting an entire town and castle allowed me to find the fun in regular Minecraft when I downloaded in on the 3DS and other games that use the formula, such as Harvest Moon: Skytree Village.

For as much time as I put into Builders on my Vita, I’ve doubled it on the Switch. The port is perfection and as of this writing, it stands as the title I’ve put the most time into on the console. My experience rebuilding Alefgard has not only captivated me into falling for a new spin-off of a franchise I adore, but of an entire genre I once thought beyond my appreciation. It’s funny how one exceptionally made game can do that to a person. I look forward to Dragon Quest Builders 2 and any other franchise looking to branch out into new, do-it-yourself worlds.

Microsoft announced this morning it’s bringing Minecraft: Education Edition to the iPad for the first time. The game, which first launched to the public in late 2016, has been previously available in schools on Windows 10 devices and on macOS. The iPad software will roll out to schools starting in September, the company says.

If the school is licensed through Microsoft 365 for Education (A3 or A5), teachers will already have access to Minecraft: Education Edition and may be able to download it onto iPads when it launches. However, the school administrator will need to assign the available licenses to the teachers who want to use it, in that case.

For schools without a license, there are volume licensing agreements available through the Microsoft Store for Education and other resellers. Schools pay for the software on an annual subscription basis, but are able to try it out for free for up to 25 teacher logins, and 10 student logins.

Designed for use in the classroom, Minecraft: Education Edition offers teachers a number of resources that help them to incorporate the software into their curriculum. These include lesson plans and courses, plus access to an online community, mentorship, and technical support. The resources are available through the Minecraft: Education Edition website, as before.

The iPad version of the app will include the “Update Aquatic,” which allows school children to create stories, experiment with chemistry, and document their learning via the camera and portfolio features. Other lessons in Minecraft: Education Edition can teach subjects like STEM, history, language, art, and more.

When Microsoft bought the game company, it was already being used in over 7,000 classrooms across 40 countries worldwide, even without Minecraft’s official involvement. Today, Microsoft says the software has been licensed by 35 million teachers and students across 115 countries.

“Minecraft: Education Edition on iPad unlocks new and intuitive ways of collaborating and sharing and has revolutionized the way our students and teachers explore curriculum and projects,” explained Kyriakos Koursaris, Head of Education Technology for PaRK International School, in a statement about the launch. “The features allow for deep and meaningful learning, and the values it promotes, from inclusivity to 21 century skills, empower everyone to use technology with extraordinary results,” Koursaris said.

In addition to the iPad launch, Microsoft said it’s bringing one of Minecraft: Education Edition’s resource packs to the consumer version for Windows 10 and Xbox.

These players can now use the Chemistry Resource Pack that will introduce elements and items that are craftable using chemistry features. With this installed, players create elements and combine them into compounds, build a periodic table and combine materials using chemistry to create new items like helium balloons, sparklers, latex, and underwater torches, Microsoft says.

To use this, parents will need to go to the “Create New World” option in the game, and toggle on “Education” under the “Cheats” menu.

Following a successful 2017, Minecraft has remained the most downloaded game on the Nintendo Switch in Japan for the first half of 2018.

The retail version simply titled “Minecraft” launched on June 21 as the Bedrock Edition update to the game, and in one month has managed to overtake the rest of the Switch’s packaged and download version library, including Kirby Star Allies, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and Mario Tennis Aces (in 2nd through 5th place, respectively).

Minecraft is also at the top of download-only software in a different incarnation. Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition was the download-only version of the game that was discontinued when the Bedrock Edition launched last month, though players who already owned the older version of the game were given the update for free. Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition was at the top of the download-only software chart for Japan in 2018 so far. It was followed by, in order, Human Fall Flat, Stardew Valley, Overcooked – Special Edition, and Arcade Archives vs. Super Mario Bros.

Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition was also the most downloaded digital-only game in Japan for the entirety of 2017. Stardew Valley took the top spot globally, with Minecraft: Nitnendo Switch Edition in second place.