Games

https://web.archive.org/web/20230808090638/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/valve-asks-i-dota-2-i-players-to-stop-monetizing-their-custom-games

Several custom games for Dota 2 have gone offline after Valve asked players to put an end to the monetization within those modes.

As spotted by PCGamer, SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik revealed creators of these modes were contacted by Valve in recent weeks. The developer's notice requested their custom monetization be shut down by next Thursday, August 17.

"The license provided for the DOTA Workshop is strictly non-commercial," reads Valve's notice. "We have to ask that you stop selling virtual items for your custom game immediately and report to us the scope of your monetization, broken down by territory and payment method."

Notably, this extends to player-made battle passes (which Valve officially ended in June), subscriptions, and even third-party payment methods. Dota 2's workshop has been around for years, and several of its games allow for players to pay for items using real world money via Patreon or PayPal.

While plenty of online games like the Halo series allow for player-made modes to be created and shared by the community, not all of them let players make money off them. It presents a potential legal issue if things were to get out of control, which may explain why Valve has suddenly cracked down.

Valve used to be hands-off with the Workshop's monetization, like it was for similar economies within Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2. But this and the recent focus by Twitch to curb gambling in Counter-Strike signify a change Valve and unofficial money-making ways.

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/climate-seasons

https://nitter.net/gbvs_official/status/1688268691249709056

GBVS/Granblue Fantasy Versus
@GBVS_Official

GBVSR will release with a Standard Edition, Deluxe Edition, and a Free Edition that will allow players to enjoy the game for free! Jump into the story, online matches, and even Grand Bruise! tourneys with your friends on release day!

Certain game modes and features will not be accessible in the Free Edition.

Each edition will be available to preorder from August 7 (PT) on the official site along with its new unveiling, so check it out for more details!

Embracer announced in June it was closing down studios and laying off staff as the company restructures.

A tech overhaul is afoot at Nintendo with Pikmin 4 making the jump to Unreal Engine - doing away with its in-house engine. The results impress: it moves to a dynamic 900p, boosts lighting and material quality and adds  a host of post-effects to the experience. All round, the result is one of the Switch's best looking releases.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Our latest update brings a wealth of changes to improve your time in BattleBit Remastered. While some may seem overdue, it was very important to us that we take our time with aspects that may alter the core gameplay. We poured over all of your feedback constantly, to provide what we hope you will find as healthy additions to the game. In short, you can expect faster progression, an additional healing method available to all classes, TWO new map reworks and further polish/bug fixes. We've also made major progress with our Community Server API and will expand our testing as we lead up to a larger rollout of access.

One blade, one purpose. Yet this steel doesn’t get any lighter.

Play Yasuo, the Unforgiven, along with Darius, Ekko, and Ahri at EVO 2023.

Magic: The Gathering is nearly 30 years old, which is an auspicious anniversary. On Saturday, Wizards of the Coast announced new Universes Beyond collaborations, which bring other iconic IPs into the collectible card game.

Fallout, the post-apocalyptic RPG property from Bethesda Game Studios, will be showing up in the Magic: The Gathering. A set of Commander Decks will be released in March 2024, with each deck representing a wasteland faction like the Brotherhood of Steel or the Enclave. We can also expect to see Assassin’s Creed show up in Magic: The Gathering, which is a franchise with a rich library of heroes and historical settings to pull from.

The announcement covered material coming after 2024 as well. Cards based on the Final Fantasy franchise will come to Magic: The Gathering in 2025. The set will encompass every Final Fantasy game, from the original 1987 Final Fantasy to the recently released Final Fantasy 16.

Wizards of the Coast has collaborated with several different brands and IPs to bring them into the collectible card game. Jurassic World is another combination in the works, with cards from the popular movie franchise coming to the game. Japanese horror manga artist Junji Ito has created several cards in his uniquely stark style, and the Secret Lair series has introduced Transformers, Warhammer 40,000, and even Fortnite to Magic.

Wizards also shared a series of sets it will be releasing in 2024, including a Modern Horizons set, a remastered collection of cards from Ravnica, which originally debuted in 2005, a Clue edition of the Ravnica setting, and the cute and cozy world of Bloomburrow.