The official release of Psychonauts 2 took place today. Judging by the first reviews of critics, the return of the cult platformer from Double Fine was successful. The average score of the game was 89/100 with the complete absence of negative reviews. It is praised for its inventive gameplay, elaborate story and lack of cliches.

Yesterday was the official release of King’s Bounty II — the continuation of the RPG series with tactical battles. The 1C Entertainment project got into the top Steam bestsellers, but the first reviews from fans of previous games were negative. In addition to the gameplay and visual style, the title is criticized, among other things, for non-obvious pricing.Briefly about the game

British developers actively use the right to tax benefits. In 2020, the studios received £180 million ($247 million) in compensation from the state. This is 48% more than in 2019.

The State of California believes that Activision Blizzard is obstructing an investigation into harassment. This includes the destruction of important documents. Against this background, the authorities expanded the lawsuit against the company, adding a number of changes and clarifications to it.Diablo II: Resurrected

Today, August 25, Gardenscapes celebrates its fifth birthday. In honor of this, Sensor Tower analysts said that at the moment gamers have spent over $ 3 billion in the mobile blockbuster Playrix.

Game development usually begins with the creation of a prototype. However, even before this stage, a fair amount of work needs to be done, says Rotem Eldor, product director at CrazyLabs. In an article for the Gamesindustry website.biz he told what the preparation for the creation of a successful hypercausal title should consist of.

Wanted: sound producer at RJ Games, project manager at WAZZAPPS and editor of commercial publications at WN Media Group.

It’s no secret that the Unity engine is used not only in video games — car brands, architects, military and many others also work with it. However, it turned out that Unity Technologies is in no hurry to tell employees which projects their work will be part of. Developers are afraid that developments can be taken without their knowledge to fulfill military orders.

A new Unity survey found that 7 out of 10 players experience toxic behavior in multiplayer games. To combat this phenomenon, the company acquired the OTO platform. It allows you to analyze audio messages in game chats in real time and identify toxic users. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Apple has updated the rules for receiving payments. Now developers will need to specify the address of the owner of the bank account in the App Store Connect. The new rules will come into force on October 22.By October 22, developers must provide information in the App Store Connect.

Electronic Art s wants as many people as possible to play video games comfortably. To do this, the company has opened access to five patented technologies for people with disabilities. This means that any developer will be able to use these solutions and implement them into their project.Apex Legends

Not only American officials are fighting the monopoly of Google and Apple in mobile stores. The South Korean authorities are preparing to adopt a law that will allow developers to use third-party payment systems and not pay a commission for transactions inside applications.

Google has announced changes to the app rating system in the Play Store. Starting in November, the estimates will be linked to the region. This means that users from Russia will not be able to see reviews and ratings from the USA and vice versa. The company wants the system to become more useful and convenient for developers.Google announced this in the official blog for Android developers.

Not all vishlists on Steam are converted into purchases. Less than 20% of players acquire the “desired” titles in the first week from the moment of release. A good way to push others to buy is to use FOMO. How exactly to do this, marketing consultant Chris Zukowski told in his column on the website How To Market A Game.

Supercell has launched a new Everdale game in softlonch. This is a casual urban planning simulator in a fabulous setting, focused on co-passing. If Everdale’s global launch does take place, it will be the first new IP of a Finnish company since Brawl Stars.

The Chinese authorities have tightened the requirements for the protection of personal data. Since November, a new law will come into force in China, which will allow tracking only the necessary minimum of information. After the news of the adoption of the law, the shares of local technology companies began to fall in price.

The purchase of the Chinese holding Leyou Technologies for $1.3 billion was one of Tencent’s largest investments last year. He has IP assets such as Warframe and Gears Tactics. However, in recent months, key employees have left Leyou en masse. And because of several cancelled projects, the holding itself has turned into almost an ordinary support studio.Warframe

The new leader in the Steam bestseller list last week was HUMANKIND, a turn—based 4X strategy game from Amplitude Studios. Thanks to various publications, she captured the first and third lines at once. The indie thriller about the time loop Twelve Minutes also got to the top, but it got only the eighth place.

Today, the number of UGC games in Roblox exceeds 20 million. The company itself regularly talks about the possibility of earning real money for young developers. However, in fact, the platform hides many pitfalls. The author of the People Make Games channel spoke about the means by which Roblox exploits and manipulates children.