Latest Hawken update may deploy by the end of month, should bring major changes

Crunchy, bullet-ridden, free-to-play mech shooter Hawken is currently getting a major overhaul that may go live by the end of the month, according to a by Adhesive Games producer Jason Hughes.

by Adhesive Games producer Jason Hughes. Current goals for the in-beta game include new matchmaking and customization tools as well as the integration of bots to training modes for new players, among many other proposed changes.

Developers have been active communicating their work on the game in and its integration with the Oculus Riftdisplay system and look in the upcoming patch to be prioritizing ways to boost Hawken's player base, according to recent public comments from Hughes. “Everything is going to be impacted,” Hughes told PCGamesN. “From my perspective, 'stickiness' with a game, especially with F2P—you need a lot of people playing, you need people telling their friends, you need a lot of people staying with the game and playing with the game. And that could have been a lot better for us. So we tried to look at places to go, where are we failing people where are people not sticking around? Where are players getting confused? And that was a big motivation for this update.”

Since it entered open beta in December of last year, Hawken has added maps, made changes to the way combat functions, and worked to create a broken-down, but still attractive, in-game universe for its pilots. As one-half—along with MechWarrior Online—of the first-person, mech-centered shooter community, it's clear there's stil room for some differentiation. But both games have carved out a distinct identity for themselves as they've stomped through their respective open beta phases and I'm eager to see what's in store for the community when Hawken's latest iteration eventually goes live.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Heart of the Swarm devs on multiplayer: "Nobody is close to figuring the game out yet."

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is still fresh off of the oozing, globular presses, and its community is still in a state of contention over the new units and the metagame still taking shape around them.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is still fresh off of the oozing, globular presses, and its community is still in a state of contention over the new units and the metagame still taking shape around them. A lot of the current concern is surrounding the new booster ability for Terran Medivacs, which allowed some relatively unknown players to defeat legendary Zerg players like Leenock in decisive fashion. Many have taken up the cry of "Nerf! Nerf! Nerf!" Blizzard, however, thinks the problem lies in the newness of the expansion more than the Medivac or another unit being overpowered.

In a post on the official forums, dev poster Dayvie laid out a list of the main issues the team sees as affecting the metagame right now:

The super aggressive play is turning out to be really fun to watch. Nobody is close to figuring the game out yet. A few players are really changing up their play and having completely different results than what's expected by the majority. Some of the initial balance concerns do seem to be continuing in games whereas the more creative players aren't struggling as much against them.

That last bullet point was illustrated beautifully at this weekend's MLG Winter Championships. In a bracket full of Terran upsets over Zerg and Protoss favorites, Zerg Player Life, of Team StarTale, fought his way to the final match. He was up against KT Rolster's Flash, the "God of Brood War," and probably the most skilled Terran in the tournament. Up against the same "overpowered" strategies that had defeated his swarm brethren, Life beat Flash 4-2, calling into question whether the Terran success early in the tournament was a game balance issue, or mainly one of a metagame that hasn't learned to deal with the expansion's new mechanics yet.

Dayvie concluded with a short outline of where efforts are being directed from here:

We'll try our best to not be too quick to make judgments on things that are allowing players to play a much more aggressive game. For example, yes Medivacs look strong but it's forcing even the opponents to play aggressive and the constant action throughout the game is looking to be really fun to watch. We'll continue watching all the pro and community concerns, but keep in mind we'd really like the game to settle before we step in and make a move.

This seems like a good decision to me. In an asymmetrical, competitive game like StarCraft II, the metagame is everything. Reactionary balance patches can quickly lead to a spiral of buffs and nerfs trying to fix what isn't actually broken. Only when one race has a clear advantage that can't be overcome by the kind of creative, exciting play we saw from Life at MLG do big changes need to happen.

Battlefront is matchmaking-only to ensure "fair and even playground"

A while back DICE revealed that Star Wars Battlefront would use a matchmaking system to get players into games, with no server browser option.

to get players into games, with no server browser option. We wondered if it was an accessibility decision to cater to the more casually inclined general Star Wars audience. Sam recently had a chance to ask design director Niklas Fegraeus about that very matter. Here is what he said.

PC Gamer: You guys have announced you're not supporting server browsing in the game. This got a heated response from our readers. I was wondering if you could explain that decision?

Fegraeus: The nature of the matchmaker that we have is to just ensure that people have a fair and even playground. That's the thing. We want all Star Wars fans to be able to play this game and have a good time, and in doing that, we want to make sure that whenever players jump in, they get matchmade to players of their own level, their own skill, so they can have fun and a fair playing field. That's a really important thing when it comes to the quality of experience for the wide audience of Star Wars fans out there.

PC Gamer: Is it about Star Wars specifically in terms of its audience?

Fegraeus: Well, it doesn't have to be, it can have to do with any type of casual or less experienced audience, and so on. It's just a general statement of, what do you want the first experience to be, and what do you want the general experience to be when you play?

The matchmaking system will let you specify which map you'd like to play on, which goes further than Titanfall's endless playlist rotations. What do you think? Would a lack of server browsers hurt your experience with the game?

New Hawken map, the Last Eco, takes players out to the woodshed

We recommend By Zergnet

What to Watch: The Week in eSports (March 15-21, 2013)

This week in eSports: MLG Winter is finally here!

This week in eSports: MLG Winter is finally here! Heart of the Swarm has launched, and now is as good a time as ever to start eSportsing. Plus, competitive gaming has earned itself a spot at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference. Have a look at all of this and more inside. gl hf!

eSports featured at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Here's some further ammo to fire at anyone who doubts the legitimacy of eSports: MIT's big sports conference this year featured a panel with Sundance DiGiovanni (MLG), Mike Morhaime (Blizzard), Kevin Lin (Twitch), and Daryl Morey (GM of the Houston Rockets, representing "regular sports"). The panel was moderated by Rod "Slasher" Breslau—who asked to "DM" me on Twitter the other day, forcing me to look up what that meant and realize how out of touch I am with Internet acronyms. Luckily, it wasn't some kind of hardcore eSports knowledge roast, as my worst fears suggested at the time.

StarCraft II

The biggest tournament of 2013 so far is kicking off tonight in Dallas, Texas. MLG's Winter Championships will pit 32 of the world's best Heart of the Swarm players against each other in a classic, single-elimination playoff for $75,000 in prizes. Players to watch include Flash, "The God of Brood War;" PartinG, winner of 2012's Battle.net World Championship; MC, a GSL and IEM champion widely considered one of the best Protoss players of all time; Polt, winner of Day[9]'s King of the Beta tournament; Life, an MLG and GSL Code S champion; Life, a previous IPL and MLG champion; Stephano, the French zerg player who is arguably the most successful non-Korean in the game's history; and HuK, a Canadian, 2-time MLG champion.

All matches will be broadcast for free, with HD stream upgrades available for $10. The action begins at 3 p.m. PDT.

If you're looking to watch the finals at a venue, and you live in the Bay Area, I'm planning to make an appearance at the Berkeley BarCrafton Sunday. If you're not sure who to look for, check out the interviews I did at the Heart of the Swarm launch event, featuring an interview with Robert Clotworthy (the voice of Jim Raynor.)

Watch it: Major League Gaming

The 2013 GSL Season 1 , and the last GSL to take place in Wings of Liberty, has wrapped, with dark horse RorO claiming his spot among the Code S champions. Season 2, which will be running Heart of the Swarm, officially started last week, and will run until May 11. The Code S champion this season will claim over $45,000 in prizes. After the Up/Down matches, FanTaSy, Crazy, Shine, Flying, Maru, and Soo have advanced from Code A to Code S. Sniper, Ryung, Keen, and, most notably, NesTea have dropped into Code A.

Watch it: GomTV

League of Legends

All eight teams in the North American LCS are primed to begin Week 5 (after a nice, long break) at MLG in Dallas tonight. Can Dignitas hang onto their lead? Can compLexity catch a freaking break? Who will come out ahead in the 3rd place deadlock between TSM Snapdragon and CLG? There's one way to find out...

Watch it: Major League Gaming

The EU LCS is headed to France next weekend, where Fnatic will be looking to regain the lead they lost to Gambit BenQ. Copenhagen Wolves, currently ranked last, may be making a comeback, however, with the return of Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, who was absent for a number of the matches they lost.

Still no word on whether "Dragonborns" have chosen to correct their name on my suggestion. (The plural of "Dragonborn" is "Dragonborn". Source: I'm one of those weird guys who memorizes video game lore.)

Watch it: League Championship Series EU

Other Stuff

Riot shoutcaster Leigh "Deman" Smith did an AMA on Redditthis week. Check it out to hear his take on which teams are the most fun to cover, and whether pants and/or breathing are optional for eSports casters.

Dota 2

In The Defense 3 , Team Liquid has fallen. Two matches remain before an overall winner is decided: Dignitas will face Fnatic on the 20th in the Lower Bracket Final, and the winner will go on to the Overall Final against the dominant Virtus.pro on the 30th. There's not a lot left to say about The Defense, which has been a staple of this column since its inception, except that we'll be sad to see it go.

Watch it: The Defense

The online DreamHack invitational has begun! the group stage play kicked off yesterday, and will run up until the end of the month. The top spot of the eight participating teams will claim $2,500 and, more importantly, a spot at the in-person DreamHack Winter.

Watch it: DreamHack TV

The long-standing Chinese G-League tournament was woefully omitted from last week's column. Both my all-seeing flaming eye set atop a dark tower and my two immortal ravens failed me utterly, and have been punished in accordance with their crimes. On the bright side, the final match of the tournament is available for posterityon joinDOTA, with Invictus Gaming triumphing over LGD International for the insane, $32,000 top prize.

That's it for this week, eSports faithful. Let us know in the comments what you think of this week's stories, if there's anything we missed, and what eSports events you're most looking forward to in the coming weeks. gg!

EA is adding more Star Wars Battlefront servers to cope with the load

EA first acknowledged the issue yesterday, when it tweeted , "A lot of interest around the beta.

Electronic Arts says it's adding more servers to the Star Wars Battlefrontbeta to address complaints that players are having trouble finding or staying connected to multiplayer matches.

, "A lot of interest around the beta. We're bringing more PC servers online and appreciate your patience." It followed that up with another tweetearlier today stating, "We're aware a small number of players may be unable to join a Multiplayer match and are working to resolve for those affected."

@BaronVonGamez We're aware that a number of players may be unable to join a Multiplayer match. We're working to resolve that, keep trying. October 9, 2015

We've actually had pretty good luck with the Star Wars Battlefront beta so far, and I was just now able to sink a few minutes into a battle with the villainous forces of the Empire myself. But online gaming can be a tricky business—it works, then it doesn't work, and then it works again. The problem may or may not be resolved at this point, in other words, although really, this is kind of the point of a beta test, isn't it?

The Star Wars Battlefront beta is live now and runs until October 12, and it's open to everyone. If you've tried it, let us know how it's working in the comments—and what you think about what you've seen so far.

Hawken map overview takes mech warfare to the Front Line

I feel a bit guilty watching this video overview of the new Hawken map Front Line.

map Front Line. Here's level designer Tyler Buser giving a full tour of the chokepoints, cover areas, symmetrical avenues, contestable turrets and vertical combat zones that the team have painstakingly worked on. And yet, when I inevitably blunder into the map, my appreciation for their effort will be replaced with thoughts like: "there's another robot. I'm going to shoot it. Hooray I shot it!"

At least the part of my brain that is overjoyed at robots and explosions will be able to appreciate the crisp and colourful design of the map - especially amid the brownish-grey battlezones that have dominated Hawken up to now. Front Line was released as part of the recent Facility update, and is available to play in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Missile Assault.

Thanks, Polygon.

What to Watch: The Week in eSports (March 8-14, 2013)

This week in eSports: the Swarm approaches, and vengeance is upon us all!

This week in eSports: the Swarm approaches, and vengeance is upon us all! By this time next week, we'll have a champion for the GSL and IEM, Heart of the Swarm will be burrowed on our hard drives... and that's just StarCraft. Get off one last inject on your hatch, then 1-A your way down into this week's eSports news. gl hf!

DreamHack is back!

The premier European eSports event (and one of my personal favorites) has announced its 2013 competition: the Dreamhack Eizo Open 2013 will commence in Stockholm on April 26, with the Summer Championships to follow in June. StarCraft II players will compete for a total of over $190,000 in prizes.

Check out the official DreamHack sitefor more.

Heart of the Swarm launch gets its own heading in T.J.'s eSports Column

How stoked are you for HotS? How loud did you groan when I actually just used the word "stoked"? The answers don't really matter, because StarCraft II's first expansion will be here in just a few short days, bringing with it a (swarm) host of new units and features, and some massive shifts in the competitive meta. I'll be on the ground at the midnight launch party outside Blizzard HQ in Irvine to snag some interviews with devs, pros, and casters about the expansion. Watch this space for more.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, we're about 10 hours away (from the writing of this post) to the GSL 2013 Season 1 Code S finals. To put that into layman's terms: The Super Bowl of StarCraft. Korean All-Stars Symbol and RorO, both making their first apperances in a Code S final, are set to compete for the honor of being the 12th player in the game's history to be crowned Code S champion. My fellow North American eSports fans, stock up on caffeine now. It's going to be a ZvZ to remember.

Watch it: GomTV

Oh yeah, there's also a little thing called the Intel Extreme Masters VII World Championships well underway in Hanover, Germany. The Semifinals are primed for tomorrow, with a number of high-profile players having already been eliminated. You should have just enough time to catch your breath and head out for a stimpack run after the GSL finals. It's going to be a long weekend...

Watch it: Intel Extreme Masters(Currently rebroadcasting the Round of 16)

Things are not going to slow down next weekend. MLG's Winter Championships are ready to drag you away from the HotS ladder to watch players who will make your greatest successes in the opening days seem childish and half-hearted. The Winter Showdowns have concluded, with Goswser, Minigun, State, ViBE, Suppy, KiLLeR, and HuK qualifying for the main event. DIMAGA has expressed that he is unable to attend, and was replaced by Feast in a consolation bracket made up of some of the other losing players from the Winter Showdowns series.

Watch it: Major League Gaming

Other Stuff:

Day[9] has revived the King of the Beta tournament from the pre-Wings of Liberty launch days, and only two players remain. Get caught up, and see who will claim a title that can only be awarded once an expansion.

Watch it: Day[9]TV

League of Legends

Dignitas has held onto the lead in the North American LCS, having not dropped a match since the GGU upset on the 27th. Curse still trails one win behind, with TSM Snapdragon and CLG tied for third. The North American teams are on a two-week break at the moment, but will resume on the 15th with TSM vs GGU at MLG Winter.

Watch it: LCS North America

Across the Atlantic, Gambit BenQ has overtaken Fnatic with a 9-2 record, over the latter's 8-3. SK Gaming hangs onto third at 7-4. The European season will continue on the 16th, with EG vs Dragonborns. (Note to whoever named that team: I'm pretty sure the plural of "Dragonborn" is just "Dragonborn.")

Watch it: LCS Europe

League also has a presence at the Intel Extreme Masters VII World Championships, with only three teams remaining: CJ Entus (formerly Azubu) has seen both their teams—Frost and Blaze—mow through the bracket. Only SK Telecom T1 remains to challenge the Entus Hegemony.

Watch it: Intel Extreme Masters

The MLG Winter Championships will play host to three League events: an international exhibition featuring Dignitas, Curse, Gambit, and KT Rolster B; the Summer Promotion Qualifier, and 12 (count 'em!) North American LCS matches. The action starts with TSM vs GGU in an LCS match on March 15th at 2:30 PST.

Watch it: Major League Gaming

Dota 2

The Defense 3 has left only four survivors: Virtus.pro has knocked Dignitas into the lower bracket, where they will face the winner of Team Liquid vs Fnatic.EU for one last chance to dethrone the Russian powerhouse in the Grand Final. The winners will walk away with 10 grand, and the first major tournament victory of 2013.

Watch it: The Defense

In just six days, DreamHack will begin the online DreamHack Dota 2 Invitational, with a $6000 prize pool and an invite to Dreamhack Summer (in Sweden this June) on the line. The eight invited teams are Dignitas, Empire, Evil Geniuses, Fnatic, Mousesports, No Tidehunter, QPAD Red Pandas, and Team Liquid.

Watch it: DreamHack

That's it for this week, eSports faithful. Let us know in the comments what you think of this week's stories, if there's anything we missed, and what eSports events you're most looking forward to in the coming weeks.

The Force can't stop Luke Skywalker getting pubstomped into paste

Star Wars Battlefront 's hero units are powerful, which means that the guy in this video doesn't have a chance against Luke Skywalker... Unless, of course, Luke Skywalker doesn't watch where he's Luke Skywalking.

's hero units are powerful, which means that the guy in this video doesn't have a chance against Luke Skywalker... Unless, of course, Luke Skywalker doesn't watch where he's Luke Skywalking. This is very much the sort of Battlefront we like to see: silly, ridiculous Battlefront.

There are still a few more days to play the beta. If you've tried it out already, how are you liking it so far?

(Thanks, GamesRadar.)

Latest Hawken update brings a new map: the desert-based Facility

A new Hawken patch introduces your latest glimpse of mechs banging around gracefully in the desertscape.

A new Hawken patch introduces your latest glimpse of mechs banging around gracefully in the desertscape. According to level designer Tyler Buser in this map overview video, Facility is a map carefully crafted so that "no capture point is ever too far to engage, nor too safe to leave undefended." Sounds like a good source of drama between our favorite giant robot buddies! This is the patch's biggest feature, which also comes with a slew of new customizations, as well as balancing and interface improvements.

Okay, so it looks decidedly underpopulated in this video, but you've got to admit it's quite beautiful. This is probably your only chance to enjoy the tiny details anyway, like those floating rocks, or the way sand blows off the flat cement surfaces—once players fill the map, you won't have any time to appreciate all the pretty stuff.

Additionally, a whole heap of fixes have been made—check out the patch notesfor more details. I envision that after-match taunting is about to get very, very popular.

What to Watch: The Week in eSports (March 1-8, 2013)

This week in eSports: the death knell sounds for IPL6, but an announcement from QuakeCon gives us something different to look forward to.

This week in eSports: the death knell sounds for IPL6, but an announcement from QuakeCon gives us something different to look forward to. Things have come right down to the wire in The Defense 3 and the GSL, and the next MLG is right around the corner. There may be no better time this year to 6 pool or gank your friends into giving eSports a look. gl hf!

IPL 6 officially canceled

Last week, we reported on how the restructuring at IGN had led to the parent company searching for a buyer for the IGN ProLeague. No further announcements have been made in terms of where it might end up, but we can now confirm that this month's IPL6 event has been canceled. Teams from StarCraft II and ShootMania Storm are having to cancel their plans, and GameSpotreports that the League of Legends Korean Qualifiers have been axed. We haven't heard from Riot or the teams themselves when the Koreans will get another shot, but we'll keep you posted.

QuakeCon 2013 announced

In significantly better news, we have dates for this year's QuakeCon in Dallas: August 1-4. This will be the 18th iteration of one of the world's biggest LAN parties, and an epicenter of competitive gaming since before "eSports" was even a word. The announcement page teases more details to come. We'll update you with the eSports-specific announcements as soon as we get them.

StarCraft II

Symbol. RorO. They may not be the most well-known names in Wings of Liberty outside of Korea, but that doesn't matter anymore. They are the only two players left standing in the GSL Code S. Playing for Azubu and Samsung Khan, respectively, the Zerg Ultra-Grandmasters will throw down in a best of seven a week from tomorrow, for possibly the most prestigious crown a single player can earn in eSports.

Watch it: GomTV

As if next week needed even more StarCraft (What am I saying? You can never have too much StarCraft), the Intel Extreme Masters Season VII World Championships go live on Tuesday in Hanover, Germany. 24 of the best players from South Korean and Europe will compete over four days for $100,000 in prizes, leaving off just in time for you to make a run to the store for a case of energy drinks and catch the GSL finals.

Watch it: Intel Extreme Masters

Make sure you're rested up for the week after, though. We've got the Heart of the Swarm Midnight Launch and the MLG 2013 Winter Championship coming up on the 14th and 15th, respectively. New qualifiers for the Winter Championship through the Winter Showdowns series since last week include Mvp, Seed, MarineKing, MC, TaeJa, Polt, Sen, Feast, and, in an upset over DongRaeGu, the relatively unknown jjakji. IdrA vs Minigun is set for this Sunday, one of the more anticpated matches of the series. Suppy, ViBE, Illusion, and HuK also still have their spots on the line.

Watch it online: Major League Gaming

Watch it in person: Passes are still available for the Winter Championships, but it probably won't stay that way for long. You can grab one for $35.

Other Stuff

The Heart of the Swarm midnight launch eventsare going to feature some high-profile show matches, and a who's who of the pro caster community. Blizzard has officially-sanctioned events going on in nine countries, and outlets like Team Liquid are organizing even more. If you're going to be in the Irvine, CA area on the 14th, you can join Day[9], Husky, Polt, MC... and myself, as well as several of the senior devs, for the U.S. event.

League of Legends

Dignitas has overtaken Curse in the North American LCS, with a 9-2 record over Curse's 8-2. Dignitas has an opportunity to tie that up tonight at 5 PST if they can topple TSM Snapdragon. A loss would tie them up with TSM (Currently 7-3) for the second place spot. CLG is hanging on in fourth with 6-4. compLexity and GGU still can't seem to catch a break, each with only one win so far.

Watch it: League Championship Series North America

Over on the European side of things, Fnatic holds the lead at 7-1, with Gambit BenQ close behind at 6-2. They face off tomorrow at 19:00 CET (Noon PST), in a match that could close the gap to almost nothing if Gambit pulls out a win (depending on what happens in Fnatic vs Copenhagen Wolves).

Watch it: League Championship Series Europe

Other Stuff

The League of Legends Mac client has gone into open beta, heralding the potential for even more explosive growth for Riot's rising star. You can download the betaand give it a shot for yourself right now.

Patch 3.03 is bringing some changes for Amumu (which is almost as hard to spell as banana), Taric, and Kale. You can check out all the details in the video above.

Dota 2

From the brutal fray, four teams are left standing in The Defense 3. North America's Dignitas and Russia's Virtus.Pro are set to reignite the Cold War in the upper bracket. Both dominated their Round 3 opponents 2-0, and have lost only one game each in the playoffs so far. In the lower bracket, the winner of Evil Geniuses vs Team Liquid (both of North America) will have a chance to face the loser of the upper bracket final for a spot in the championship match. Dignitas vs VP is scheduled for 11 a.m. PST tomorrow, with EG vs Liquid to immediately follow.

Watch it: The Defense

Other Stuff

The Dota 2 client has been updated to include the first part of the new player experience, unlocking a set of single-player tutorials with a loose story that are reminiscent of the old WarCraft 3 scenarios. According to the official blog post, "Dota's a deep game, and there's a lot of things to learn, but we felt it was important that the learning was entertaining in itself, so we've tried to avoid building a dry tutorial."

A lot of things can be said about Dota, but few would dispute the reality of its reputation for being punishing on newbies. If you're relatively fresh to the game and have had a minute to try the new tutorials out, we're curious to hear your thoughts.

That's it for this week, eSports faithful. Let us know in the comments what you think of this week's stories, if there's anything we missed, and what eSports events you're most looking forward to in the coming weeks.

gg!

Star Wars Battlefront has no server browser

Star Wars Battlefront will not have a server browser.

Star Wars Battlefront will not have a server browser. EA community manager Sledgehammer 70 posted the news on the Star Wars Battlefront subreddit, saying that Battlefront will "utilize a new skill based matchmaking system" instead.

The thread is full of disappointed players. The Battlefield games, and most shooters worth their salt, give players the option to join servers of their choosing. Server browsers give you greater control over the maps and modes you want to play, and can offer communities stable spots where they can meet and compete. The alternative, matchmaking, is a good way to quickly jump into a game, but is less likely to foster a community that will stick around on PC.

Server browsers can be inconvenient for developers who want to see the user base spread across all of the available maps and modes. Servers give the community the ability to flock to a limited set of favoured maps, to the exclusion of all others. which can effectively kill maps that fall out of favour. Is this why DICE has decided to go with a matchmaking-only option, or is it because accessibility is more important to the wide-ranging audience that a Star Wars game is likely to attract?

We'll find out how good the matchmaking is the "technical test" launches next month.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Hawken developer levels the gender playing field with Brosie the Riveter

As gender equality issues in the games industry continue to become more prominent, everyone is learning new lessons.

Meteor EntertainmentCEO Mark Long, for example, recently got hilariously pranked by a female employee who had something to say about a suggestive poster in the office.

In a guest post on The Hawkeye Initiative, a Tumblr dedicated to gender swappingsexually suggestive poses in comic art, the anonymous Hawken developer details how Long's favorite—and prominently displayed—poster of a scantily clad mechanic was replaced by art of a different persuasion: Brosie the Riveter.

“As the morning progressed, Brosie (ahem) revealed himself to our co-workers," the poster writes. “The air resounded with startled, suppressed gargles of mingled joy and horror. Some take pictures. Some instantly turn and flee. Several men blush and grin in vindicated solidarity. Several women ask us for prints.”

“[F]inally, our CEO arrives... We hear a loud: 'What the hell is this?!' And then all goes quiet. Ten minutes pass. We panic.”

According to the employee, Long admitted his short-shortsightedness and invited both of the pranksters out to lunch, saying:

"That was a brilliant prank. You called me on exactly the bullshit I need to be called on. I put up pictures of half-naked girls around the office all the time and I never think about it. I'm taking you and Sam to lunch. And after that, we're going to hang both prints, side by side."

For the full story, check out the post at The Hawkeye Initiative.

What to Watch: The Week in eSports (February 22-28, 2013)

This week in eSports: EVE Online gets its first ongoing, competitive league.

This week in eSports: EVE Online gets its first ongoing, competitive league. The IPL could be changing hands. And only the final four remain in the GSL Code S. Get ready to face-check your weekly helping of competitive gaming news. gl hf!

EVE launching Syndicate Competitive League

Organized, competitive spaceship scraps have been around for quite a while in EVE Online. Now, for the first time ever, the Syndicate Competitive Leagueis framing structured PvP in an ongoing format with regular, live streamed tournaments, commentators, and rankings. The prize pool will be drawn from sponsors within the EVE community, such as Monocle Madness and EVE-Bet.

You can check out the official sitefor more.

IGN ProLeague looking to change hands

As part of the restructuring that was announced for IGN and its affiliated sites this week, Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah has announced his intentions to sell off the IPL. He revealed in an e-mail (via Polygon) that Ziff is "actively engaged with parties interested in acquiring IPL. IGN's role going forward will be to broadcast and cover a variety of eSports events."

IPL is a relative newcomer to the eSports scene, having launched in 2011 with a focus on StarCraft II. Their most recent season offered a $100,000 prize pool, with the top spot claimed by Leenock. If you havee a chunk of change sitting around and want to own an eSports league, this kind of opportunity probably isn't going to come around terribly often.

We're not sure how this will affect the IPL Season 6, still tentatively scheduled for March 28-31 in Las Vegas. We'll let you know as soon as we know more.

StarCraft II

Blizzard released its final preview video for Heart of the Swarm this week, focusing on eSports-centric features. Resuming games from the exact moment of a hardware failure and fully-customizable observer UIs are sure to change the way we watch StarCraft II over the course of the next year. And it's all coming just in time for some of the most intense events of 2013.

Upcoming Events

Four players remain in the GSL Code S : Symbol, Curious, TaeJa, and RorO. By this time next week, only two will stand. The most prestigious match in all of competitive StarCraft, the GSL Code S finals, are scheduled for March 9.

Watch it: GomTV

MLG's Winter Championship Showdowns have qualified five more players for the main event in Dallas on March 15: Ret, Creator, Mvp, Seed, and MarineKing. We're more than halfway through the Showdowns series, with the qualification matches of prominent players such as MC, TaeJa, IdrA, and HuK still on the line. MC vs aLive, this Sunday at 2 p.m. PST is a particularly anticipated match.

Watch it: Major League Gaming

Other Stuff

In a cosmic twist of fate, Day[9]'s recent Funday Monday ( focused on Terran drop harassment) featured players "TheButcher" and "[QUAD]DaMilkMan," two current roommates who went to school with yours truly. In Johnson County, Kansas. Where Day[9] also went to school, a couple years earlier and a very short drive away. And here I am writing about it.

He also released a Heart of the Swarm-focused Newbie Tuesday, for those of you looking to jump in/jump back in when the expansion releases in a few short weeks.

In StarCraft, I constantly have this problem where I'm trying to engage something, but I've forgotten the rules for doing so. Axslav has us covered again this week, as usual, with Rules of Engagement. Check out the high-level breakdowns of the ongoing Winter Championship Showdowns. MVP vs Curiousis particularly interesting, showing off how a top-tier player uses Reapers in their new (and probably finalized for HotS at ship) role.

League of Legends

Curse is currently leading the LCS Season 3 with an undefeated 6-0 record, followed by Dignitas at 5-2 and TSM Snapdragon at 4-2. You can check out the full match schedule on Riot's eSports Pro Site. Check out some highlights from Week 2 put together by theoveNTVin the video above.

Other Stuff

New player looking to get in on the competitive LoL action but aren't sure where to start? Have a look at long-standing community resource site MobaFire. It's continually updated with guides for specific characters that are voted on by the community, and generally does a pretty good job of making sure things relevant to current patches and metagame strats are easy to find.

Dota 2

Eizo, prominent sponsors of DreamHack (possibly Europe's biggest eSports event) have announced a partnership with joinDOTA to bring their Eizo Cup to Valve's MOBA. 16 teams will compete every month for €1,750 in prizes. joinDOTA has announced coverage in English and Czech, with more languages provided by "all other streamers who are interested in broadcasting the matches." The fight begins Monday.

Watch it: Eizo Cup

The list of surviving teams in The Defense 3 is shrinking. Only Dignitas, Virtus Pro, Team Liquid, Mousesports, Evil Geniuses, and Fnatic remain. The next match is Liquid vs Mousesports in the lower bracket, scheduled for Monday.

Watch it: The Defense

Other Stuff

Valve has announced the addition of user-submitted Hero Guides to Steam. You'll be able to create, share, and browse strategies for specific heroes right from the Steam client, with more functionality than currently exists with the standard Steam Guides. You can read more in this blog post.

That's it for this week, eSports faithful. Let us know in the comments what you think of this week's stories, if there's anything to add, and what eSports events you're most looking forward to in the coming weeks.

gg!

Star Wars Battlefront has no server browser

Star Wars Battlefront will not have a server browser.

Star Wars Battlefront will not have a server browser. EA community manager Sledgehammer 70 posted the news on the Star Wars Battlefront subreddit, saying that Battlefront will "utilize a new skill based matchmaking system" instead.

The thread is full of disappointed players. The Battlefield games, and most shooters worth their salt, give players the option to join servers of their choosing. Server browsers give you greater control over the maps and modes you want to play, and can offer communities stable spots where they can meet and compete. The alternative, matchmaking, is a good way to quickly jump into a game, but is less likely to foster a community that will stick around on PC.

Server browsers can be inconvenient for developers who want to see the user base spread across all of the available maps and modes. Servers give the community the ability to flock to a limited set of favoured maps, to the exclusion of all others. which can effectively kill maps that fall out of favour. Is this why DICE has decided to go with a matchmaking-only option, or is it because accessibility is more important to the wide-ranging audience that a Star Wars game is likely to attract?

We'll find out how good the matchmaking is the "technical test" launches next month.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Hawken update to add support class, dramatically rebalance weapons

So far, Hawken has focused exclusively on warrin' mechs.

has focused exclusively on warrin' mechs. Understandable - giant robots and big explosions are both pluses in a video game - but there's a whole mech ecosystem to draw on. Assistant mechs, reporter mechs, accounting mechs (or 'calculators'). Admittedly, none of them are going to be particularly useful in a battlefield. Luckily, there's also medic mechs, and Hawken plans to add them into the game tomorrow, with their first support class: The Technician.

"The Technician is our big addition to the game, and this will obviously change the way some of you play," say the developers. "For others, it'll mean you can have increased sustain to rush in head-first. Don't mistake the Technician for a harmless medic: heat management, a dual-mode secondary weapon, and an always-available primary weapon means the Technician plays very differently than what you might expect. It's fun!" Which sounds like an implied technician burn. Are they normally not fun?

As well as the new class, tomorrow's patch will bring a huge selection of tweaks and balance changes, new Service Award Achievements, and a new "large-scale" map with support for all modes.

Full patch notes here.

Thanks, PCGamesN.

MLG announces League of Legends tournament structure and rewards for Winter 2013 season

League of Legends will feature prominently in Major League Gaming's 2013 Winter season.

League of Legends will feature prominently in Major League Gaming's 2013 Winter season. There has never really been any doubt about that. But now we've got info on how the competition will be structured, as well as how it will tie into Riot's own, year-spanning League Championship Series.

It all starts this time next week, in a sixteen-team qualifier with the top four going to the Winter Championship in Dallas next month. These four teams will compete for a $30,000 prize pool, and a spot in the LCS Promotion Tournament in May. Tournaments like these are one of the ways a team can qualify for the LCS this season, so spots are highly coveted. It's like competing for a spot in a tournament that could get you into the major league playoffs.

In addition, there will be a four-team International Exhibition, as well as eight teams already qualified for the North American LCS facing off in ranked matches. If you don't see yourself making it to Texas on March 15, you can watch the free 720p stream on MLG's Twitch channel.

Star Wars Battlefront beta will be open to everyone

Electronic Arts has let slip a little more information about the upcoming Star War Battlefront beta test.

beta test. There's still no date, but there is good news: While the nature of the beta wasn't made clear when it was announcedlast month, Community Manager Mathew Everett confirmed in the latestthat it will not be restricted to invitees—applicants, humans, members of the Secret Order of the Emperor, or whatever—but will instead be open to everyone.

Everett said that the beta will feature both offline and online modes, including split-screen co-op play, with the Walker Assault mode on Hoth and the new Drop Zone mode, as at least one of you hoped, on Sullust. There will also be a Survival Mission mode set on Tattoine that can be played solo, or with a local or online partner.

Everett answered a handful of "community questions" in the update as well. The Fighter Squadron mode will make use of bots (ten per side) in addition to humans, players will be equipped with a primary sidearm as well as a hand of customizable Star Cards, and the boxed version of the Deluxe Edition, which has the Ion Grenade, Ion Torpedo, DL-44, and Shock and Victory emotes all unlocked right from the start, will not be available for the PC. This will only be of concern to box collectors, though, since the Deluxe Edition on PC will be available digitally through Origin.

Star Wars Battlefront will be out on November 17.

Star Wars Battlefront beta is coming in October

Electronic Arts has announced that a Star Wars Battlefront "technical test" will take place in early October, with both a large-scale map—the 40-player Walker Assault on Hoth—and the smaller, more intimate two-player co-op Survival Mission on Tattoine set to appear.

"technical test" will take place in early October, with both a large-scale map—the 40-player Walker Assault on Hoth—and the smaller, more intimate two-player co-op Survival Mission on Tattoine set to appear. The beta will also include a brand-new mode called Drop Zone, which EA plans to reveal more about in the future.

We've seen Walker Assault and Survival in action already, thanks to their reveals at E3. Walker Assaultcomes is a riff on the opening Hoth battle in Empire Strikes Back, and features various sorts of ground and air units battling to take control of/escape from the rocky ball of ice. The map, and the beta, will also let players do battle as either Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader, two of the hero/villain characters that will appear in the game.

Survivalis a bit simpler: You and a fellow Rebel trooper are stranded on Tattoine—because it's always Tattoine, isn't it?—and must fight off increasingly difficult waves of Imperial forces, until they decide that you're too hot to handle and bugger off to do other things, like enforce the subclauses of an unfair trade agreement. Because who doesn't want to watch that, right George?

The beta will also see the launch of the Star Wars Battlefront Companion, a mobile app for iOS and Android that will feature the strategy card game Base Command and enable players to check their stats and progression, communicate with friends, and earn in-game credits used to unlock Star Cards, weapons, and other resources and assets.

EA hasn't revealed when the beta will take place any more precisely than "early October," nor has it said if it will be open or closed, or how you'll go about gaining access if it's the latter. You will have to use Origin to play the game, however, which shouldn't come as any surprise but is worth clarifying anyway, just in case.

Hey Hawken, you got lipstick on my giant, unstoppable killing machine

To celebrate both Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year, the good folk at Hawken developer Adhesive Games have unfurrowed their brows and added a touch of frivolity to their free-to-play mech fighter.

developer Adhesive Games have unfurrowed their brows and added a touch of frivolity to their free-to-play mech fighter. The latest content update, dubbed 'Hearts on Fire', brings four new camos and a novelty booster for a limited time. And as you can see, it's all a bit silly.

You can buy all the items right now (they're on sale until 26 Feb, after which they're gone) and cherish them forever, or you can rent them until 19 February. Y'know, to get into the spirit of things. The Valentine camos feature both hearts and lipstick, and they stand out impressively in Hawken's largely brown and grey maps. As an added bonus, you can grab the LESSTHAN-3 skin (that's the one with all the hearts on it) for free until the 19th, as a big old 'thank-you' from the Hawken devs to their community.

Hawken is currently in open-Beta, with a full release planned for 'later this year'. According to the developers there are plenty of changes plannedbetween now and then.

Interview: StarCraft II casters Axslav and Axeltoss

Maybe even more so than the players, casters are the public faces of eSports.

Maybe even more so than the players, casters are the public faces of eSports. Their engagement with the audience and the community has been a big part of growing and shaping the scene—even someone who couldn't name a single StarCraft II pro might recognize icons like Day[9] and TotalBiscuit.

We recently had the chance to pose some questions to two of the veteran StarCraft II casters who will be bringing you the play-by-plays at MLG's Winter Championship next month: Alex "Axeltoss" Rodriguez and Nick "Axslav" Ranish. Read on to learn how they got into the scene, which players are the hardest to cast, and where they'd like to see eSports in the not-so-distant future.

Nick "Axslav" Ranish

Axslav is a pro-level Protoss player for team Infinity Seven. He acted as an analyst at the first MLG 2012 Spring Arena, and has since come to be known as one of the more knowledgeable and in-depth casters in StarCraft II. He hosts Rules of Engagement, a nightly advice and analysis show aimed at all skill levels of StarCraft II players.

PC Gamer: How did you get involved in the eSports scene?

Axslav: Growing up, I always had a passion for strategy games. As I strived to become a better player, I naturally gravitated toward learning from the best and discovered the eSports scene. I started out watching/practicing, then competing, and now casting.

Can you identify a particular most surreal moment in the growth of the eSports phenomenon?

My most surreal moment was in March 2006. I made the final four of the Warcraft 3 GGL Trans-Atlantic Finals and got a free trip to New York to compete. While I didn't win first place, I still won a couple thousand dollars. I was in University studying computer science at the time and that was when I first realized playing video games could potentially be a career.

What has been your favorite event to cast so far?

My favorite event to cast was the 2012 MLG Fall Championship in Dallas. Leading up to the event, I worked full-time for MLG so I had the privilege of seeing all of the event components come together in the upcoming months to the tournament. When it finally all fell into place, it was a great sense of accomplishment.

Which player would you say is the most fun to cast? Which one is the most difficult?

While casting any world-class player is a treat, Leenock is the player I have the most fun casting. His intelligence and creativity is amazing to bear witness to. While many players come up with creative and unique strategies, Leenock's thought process in coming up with mid-game creative adaptations to the present situation is unparalleled. Flash is one of the more difficult players to cast because the casual observer won't notice his mind-blowing macro, and it can sometimes be difficult to convey just how amazing he is at the game.

Do you have a particular favorite player to follow?

I've been a fan of Stork for almost a decade, so while he's not currently one of the most dominant players, I still love to follow him. I also really enjoyed watching FanTaSy's play in SC1-Brood War and am hoping to see his multitasking harassment skill show in the upcoming release of SC2: Heart of the Swarm.

Where would you like to see eSports go in the next 5-10 years?

I find eSports to be extremely fun to watch. In the next 5-10 years, I would like everyone to at least be aware of eSports, and have the opportunity to enjoy watching as much as I do.

Where do you stand on the whole, "Is StarCraft technically a sport?" debate?

Whether StarCraft is technically a sport is not important to me. What is important, is that it is played professionally, and watching the professionals play is absolutely amazing and entertaining for the spectators.

Who do you see as the relatively unknown players right now who are going to be big in the future?

There are so many great players in the Proleague over in Korea that aren't yet known to most of the Western audiences. As they get more exposure I expect players like Soulkey, Hydra, Classic, Cure, and Effort to be really big.

What elements of eSports casting do you feel like aren't visible to viewers, but that they should be aware of?

I feel many viewers aren't up to speed with classic strategic concepts. Understanding these concepts makes a viewer able to be entertained not just by massive engagements, but also by watching the way the professionals tactically move their armies around the map.

Do you have a favorite new unit (or units) in Heart of the Swarm?

I really love the widow mines, and while Ravens aren't new to HotS, they've been changed so they're now super fun to play around with.

On the next page: Alex "Axeltoss" Rodriguez

Meaty new update for Hawken brings new Mech, map, the ability to robo-cuss

The Raider Mech is described as a medium class unit that specialises in quickly closing the gap between yourself and opponents, before dealing out substantial damage at close range.

The Raider Mech is described as a medium class unit that specialises in quickly closing the gap between yourself and opponents, before dealing out substantial damage at close range. It's a class B, has a Muller chassis, and is rated with a 4.0 difficulty.

This update also brings a stack of extra weapons and upgrades too, largely focused on short-range damage, to help you get the most out of the new Raider. Want fixes? Yeah, there are a bunch of these too. Full list here.

Finally, you can now use Mech Taunts to mock the opponents you kill. Each class has a pair of set phrases that you can unleash by tapping 'G', and they range from clichéd to downright cringe-worthy. You get one free for each class, and despite being a bit lame, they do neatly sidestep the embarrassment of being butchered as you diligently type out a full, weapons-grade insult towards the total stranger you just virtually killed.

What to Watch: The Week in eSports (February 15-21, 2013)

This week in eSports: which StarCraft II tournaments are making the switch to Heart of the Swarm, and which will hang onto Wings of Liberty a little longer?

This week in eSports: which StarCraft II tournaments are making the switch to Heart of the Swarm, and which will hang onto Wings of Liberty a little longer? We've got the answers. Also, could World of Tanks break into the eSports scene? With an announced $2.5 million prize pool, it might be on the right track.

Get it? Tanks... and tracks... and... yeah, forget I said anything. Actual content below!

Wargaming.net looks to roll onto the scene

Earlier this week, World of Tanks creator Wargaming.net announced an eSports tournament with a $2.5 million prize pool. Set to kick off some time in 2013, we're interested to see if World of Tanks might be the first non-RTS, non-MOBA to gain a widespread following as an eSport. With its huge player base, especially in the European market, it's certainly a possibility.

StarCraft II

The 2013 GSL Season 1 Code S has progressed to the quarterfinal stage, and both the MLG Winter Championships and the Intel Extreme Masters Season 7 World Championships are right around the corner. The next few weeks are going to be some of the most action-packed in StarCraft II this year, leading up to the release of the Heart of the Swarm expansion.

Upcoming Events

Only eight players remain in Code S for the 2013 GSL Season 1: INnoVation, Symbol, Curious, PartinG, Soulkey, TaeJa, RorO, and MC. The first quarterfinal match will take place Feb. 21, with the semifinals scheduled to start on the 28th, and the finals on March 9. Also of note, the GSL has announced that the Up and Down matches for the next GSL season will take place in Wings of Liberty, rather than Heart of the Swarm.

https://twitter.com/Khaldor/status/302337090199379969

However, the Code A qualifiers will be making the switch to HotS.

Watch it: GomTV

The Intel Extreme Masters Season 7 tournament will run from March 5 through 9 in Hanover, Germany, with a $100,000 prize pool. IEM has announced it will be holding the championship in Heart of the Swarm, and is being advertised as the first global HotS tournament. The 24 qualifiers include MC, Grubby, Socke, Mvp, TLO, Stephano, and viOLet.

Watch it: ESL TV

The MLG Winter Championship's Showdown matches are wrapping up Week 2, with winners of each single-elimination match automatically qualifying for the Winter Championship itself March 15-17. New qualifiers since last week include Rain, SaSe, BabyKnight, Stephano, Bly, and ThorZaIN. Upcoming matches include Ret vs Feast, Creator vs NesTea, and Mvp vs Curious.

Watch it: Major League Gaming

Other Stuff

This week, we got a chance to interview pro StarCraft II casters Alex “Axeltoss” Rodriguez and Nick “Axslav” Ranish.

Day[9]'s Funday Monday segment gives the Zergs their turnthis week, as he casts replays of fans operating under the restriction that they may only attack using Nydus Worms. If you're looking for something... marginally less cheesetastic, the Day[9] Daily has spent a couple days this week highlighting one of my favorite players since the StarCraft II beta: Team Liquid's TheLittleOne.

Axslav continues to break down the MLG Winter Championship Showdowns in Rules of Engagement. Have a look if you want to familiarize yourself with some of the developing pro strategies in HotS, and want to make intelligent-sounding comments to the people at the BarCraft when the big tournaments roll around in the coming weeks.

League of Legends

In a push to foster more college-level eSports, Riot has announced their official Collegiate Program for League. Using a dedicated site, you can search for an existing club at your school, or start one if such a thing doesn't already exist. We're curious to hear from the university eSports fans out there: Where does collegiate level play fit in, in a scene where so many of the pros are college-aged (younger, in some cases) in the first place?

Upcoming Events

Two teams have established strong dominance in Riot's Season 3 so far. On the North American Circuit, Team SoloMid lead with 1875 Circuit Points, with CLG Prime trailing in second with 1150. In Europe, Moscow Five are showing even greater supremacy: they stand with 1400 Circuit Points, over the mere 650 of second place CLG EU. The season is just getting started, however, and anything could happen. Upcoming matches include Curse vs Vulcun, Dignitas vs GGU, and SoloMid Snapdragon vs Team MRN.

Watch it: League of Legends Championship Series

Other Stuff

The 3.0.2 patch (previewed in the video above) brings some chase buffs for Nasus, adds some more rune choice flexibility for Akali, some power scaling changes to Riven, and some changes to items that reduce ability cooldowns.

Dota 2

In a rare MOBA crossover, successful European Dota 2 (and CS 1.6) team Natus Vincere are planning on opening a gaming house in the U.S., and, they told ESEA Newsthey're considering signing a (likely North American) StarCraft 2 or League of Legends squad. This announcement came on the heels of their Dota 2 team being knocked out of The Defense 3 in the lower bracket by Team Fnatic.

Along with Fnatic, Team Evil Geniuses still remains in the lower bracket, having been knocked down by Virtus Pro. They will have to best the winner of Mousesports vs Team Liquid for a shot at retribution. Fnatic's own fate will be decided when they pitted against the loser of Dignitas vs No Tidehunter, scheduled for tomorrow.

Watch it: The Defense

Other Stuff

Ymir the Tuskhas become the latest Dota hero to make his way into the game's current incarnation. Billed as a durable initiator, you can get introduced to him in the video at the top of this section from DotaCinema.

That's it for this week, eSports faithful. Let us know in the comments what you think of this week's stories, if there's anything we missed, and what eSports events you're most looking forward to in the coming weeks.

Star Wars: Battlefront 4K screens showcase the pale beauty of Hoth

The Star Wars: Battlefront alpha test videos we told you about last week have been removed by EA (which we kind of expected), but you can still feast your eyes on these 4K screenshots from an alpha battle on Hoth, posted on AllGamesBeta.

These are "Star Wars Battlefront Closed Alpha Hoth Multiplayer 4K Ultra Settings Screens," as AGB succinctly put it, which essentially means that they're as sexy as they can possibly be. There is literally no other information about them on the site, but what else do you really need to know? Check out the full gallery, which by my quick count is 31 images in total, at allgamesbeta.com.

Oculus Rift development kits are now shipping

It's April 1st, meaning there's a good chance that everything you read today will be a lie.

It's April 1st, meaning there's a good chance that everything you read today will be a lie. Even that last sentence? Well, it's April 1st, so best be safe and assume so. Luckily, the news that Oculus Rift development kits are now being shipped out comes from the tail end of last week, back when people weren't arbitrarily required to make stuff up.

"We actually started shipping on Wednesday, but we haven't shared tracking information yet because the team is still tied up at GDC in San Francisco," writesOculus VR's Palmer Luckey. This is the first batch to be dispatched, and Luckey notes that, with over 10,000 dev kits pre-ordered, it will take some time to complete the full order: "Hold fast — they're coming."

With the first round of dev kits now out, Oculus have also opened their Developer Centre, an online resource containing documents, videos and forums, as well as the SDK and previously promisedUnity and Unreal Engine integrations.

For owners who just want to see what's already possible with the device, Oculus Rift support has already been added to TF2and Hawken. In addition, there are mods that add Oculus support to both Half-Life 2and Crysis. Alternatively, if you're waiting for the consumer version of the kit, you can watch Owen get a taste of VR in our hands-on video.

Thanks, Polygon.

What to Watch: The Week in eSports (January 25-February 1, 2013)

This week in our new competitive gaming column: could PlanetSide 2 be the first competitive shooter to achieve RTS/MOBA-level worldwide success?

This week in our new competitive gaming column: could PlanetSide 2 be the first competitive shooter to achieve RTS/MOBA-level worldwide success? MLG and Sony think it just might. Plus: Who will secure their spots in Dota 2's The Defense 3 playoffs? This and much more below. gl hf!

PlanetSide 2 + MLG = Profit?

The big news today is that Major League Gaming has partnered with developers Sony Online Entertainment to bring PlanetSide 2 into the eSports spotlight. This is an interesting twist, as nothing on the scale of PlanetSide's continent-spanning warfare, often involving hundreds of soldiers, has been presented in a major, competitive context before now. Shooters in general, actually, tend to struggle in terms of viewership beside the more easily-readable presentation of top-down strategy and MOBA games.

The idea of PlanetSide as an eSport presents a lot of interesting questions. Could we see professional teams with dozens of members, operating under a military command structure? On top of this, MLG has officially announced two games for their Winter 2013 Pro Circuit season: League of Legends and Black Ops 2 (on the 360.) They are being rather mum about the unannounced third game. It seems almost ludicrous that a game with the worldwide popularity of StarCraft could get the boot, but this new partnership with Sony certainly has me wondering if we might be seeing Auraxis in place of Shakuras at the Winter Championship in Dallas this March.

StarCraft 2

IEM Katowice has concluded, with South Korea's First of Incredible Miracle and Dream of Team MVP claiming the first and second spots, respectively. [Insert "Who came in First?" joke here.] PartinG and Socke secured the 3rd-4th spots. All four of them will get the chance to face off again among the 24 qualified participants at the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship in Germany, starting on March 5. In the GSL, the unsponsored South Korean BBoongBBoong pulled a major Code S upset in group D, defeating StarTale's Squirtle in the winner's match.

Upcoming Events

The Iron Squid — Chapter II offline semifinals and finals are set to run this weekend in Paris, France, with a $12,500 top prize. From a bracket practically bursting with fan favorites, only four players remain: MarineKing, Life, NesTea, and DongRaeGu.

Watch it: Ironsquid.tv

Other Stuff

I got to sit down for a massive interview with StarCraft II Game Director Dustin Browderlast week. Give it a look to find out more about the state of Heart of the Swarm, and what's yet to come.

Day[9]'s Funday Mondaytopic this week: As Terran, you can only build one Factory and one Barracks. Check out some creative Terran air play in the Heart of the Swarm beta.

Axslav has a Rules of Engagementto help you learn how to stay cool and hold the line when you're being attacked from everywhere at once.

League of Legends

Two pro players have been issued lifetime bansfor toxic behavior: StunnedandSlayed and Veigodx of Team Solo Mebdi. This effectively disqualified the team from the LCS Qualifiers this weekend.

Upcoming Events

Riot's LCS European Qualifiers begin tonight (technically tomorrow) at 1 a.m. PST/4 a.m. EST. For us North Americans, that means some serious caffeine will probably be required to tune in live. There are definitely incentives to do so, however, as we'll get to see the likes of Curse EU and Fnatic compete for five spots in the Season 3 Championships.

Watch it: LeagueofLegends.com

Other Stuff

Thresh, the Chain Warden is now available for purchase. He's a support champion with some good tankiness and a focus on positional play.

Dota 2

The active player count in Dota 2 has climbed above three million per month. While still only a fraction of League's numbers, that's pretty impressive for a game that's not even technically released. Team Fnatic has also just announced that their North American team has released four of its five players. According to JoinDota, they hope to build around the remaining member, Johnathan "SMURF" Gorriz.

Upcoming Events

The Defense 3 group stage is getting down to the wire. Fnatic.eu has achieved a perfect 7-0 record. The 6-0 Mousesports would need to win their final game in Group A to catch up. Only one team from each group will advance to the playoffs, meaning we'll be seeing a couple of tiebreaker matches. The deadlock will have to be broken between Empire and Dignitas (both 6-1) in Group B. Group C also currently has a tie, as North American Evil Geniuses managed to match Sweden's No Tidehunter in Group C, at 5-2. The winners of these matches will go on to face Mousesports and Fnatic in a double-elimination bracket for the championship.

Watch it: The-Defense.com

Other Stuff

The Troll Warlord has just joined the roster of heroes, an Agility monster whose pedigree goes all the way back to the mohawk-sporting troll axe-throwers of WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness. His effectiveness up close and at range make him a very flexible carry.

That's it for this week, eSports faithful. Let us know in the comments what you think of this week's stories, and what eSports events you're most looking forward to in 2013.

gg!

Here's 30 seconds of Star Wars: Battlefront on PC

We've seen gameplay footage of Star Wars: Battlefront running on a PS4 , and Wes had hands-on with the console build at E3, but the video embedded above shows the forthcoming shooter in action on PC.

at E3, but the video embedded above shows the forthcoming shooter in action on PC. It's our first glimpse of the DICE-developed game operating on the platform, and while it's only a brief 30 second glimpse, it definitely looks like it works.

EA Tweeted the footage earlier today, with the YouTube version above courtesy of TubeGameVideo. Wes enjoyed what he played, but noted it lacked the silliness of the older games. "Without that silliness, the simplicity of the new Star Wars Battlefront ends up feeling a bit shallow," he wrote.

Stanley Parable co-creator teases incoming game

How do you move on from a game like The Stanley Parable ?

? It's hard not to typecast indie devs who suddenly find a breakout game to their name, but Stanley co-creator William Pugh's new studio, Crows Crows Crows, looks to have something... different in the works. Different how I couldn't tell you.

So far we have a mysterious countdown pageand a series of teasersbearing the brand of the Mayflower Networking System that appear to form part of an ongoing ARG that has Reddit stumped. "Stop opening boxes of birds in the corridors" is my favourite quote from the latter. The game seems to revolve around some sort of production: there are plentiful references to sets and catwalks and pyrotechnics accompanied by more fantastic hints at " Peculiar Disappearances Across Europe" and "Lunar Lighting". Stranger still, British comedian Simon Amstell is somehow involved.

A ~20 Minute Short Game made by me & Crows Crows Crows with @SimonAmstell out in 2 days. https://t.co/Cl4QOpO1G5 pic.twitter.com/o7N7SMs9VH December 2, 2015

So no, I'm not brave enough to offer a theory.

I'm excited by the idea of games as short, self-contained stories—games that are many and varied, because I'm greedy like that—so I find myself hoping that this 20-minute mystery project scratches an itch people didn't know they had.

Defense Of The Ancients Lead Developer Joins Valve

Mirror's Edge: Catalyst gameplay teaser is brief but striking

The city of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst is far more visually sophisticated than the original game, which is no surprise—it's been seven years, after all—but the stylistic similarities are obvious, and that's tremendously important.

Electronic Arts has dropped what appears to be the first look at Mirror's Edge: Catalystgameplay on Twitter, and while the clip is very brief, it's nothing short of striking.

The city of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst is far more visually sophisticated than the original game, which is no surprise—it's been seven years, after all—but the stylistic similarities are obvious, and that's tremendously important. There's more to a good game than good graphics, but the unique visual quality of Mirror's Edge is a big part of why it was so memorable. There was just nothing else quite like it, and it's heartening that EA appears to get that.

Faith's journey is just beginning. Subscribe to see it first: http://t.co/VHcEPctA36 #MirrorsEdge #EAgamescom https://t.co/4pVLNjINdI August 3, 2015

The entire video is just 23 seconds, and the gameplay accounts for no more than 15 of them, but they're 15 of the best videogame preview seconds you're likely to have all day. And we'll almost certainly be seeing more soon: EA tweetedover the weekend that gameplay will be on display at Gamescom, which begins on August 5.

The Stanley Parable has sold over 1 million units

It says a lot about the good health of games when The Stanley Parable , a strange narrative-driven adventure with origins in the modding community, can sell over 1 million copies.

, a strange narrative-driven adventure with origins in the modding community, can sell over 1 million copies. Developer Davey Wreden revealed the sales figure on Twitterearlier this week. "A few years ago no one had any idea who I was," he wrote. "Today The Stanley Parable has sold a million copies. Thank you."

The last we heard of the game's sales progress, it had shifted 100,000 unitsin its first week. PC Gamer's Phil Savage described it as " effortlessly inventive, frequently surprising and consistently hilarious" upon release, later naming it as his game of the year.

Originally a Source Engine mod, The Stanley Parable released as a standalone title on Steam in 2013.

Interview: PixelJunk Eden 's Baiyon Vs. Metroid 's Hip Tanaka

Battlefield is not an annualised series, despite rapid Hardline turnaround

Many assumed that with the announcement of Battlefield: Hardline, Electronic Arts had moved the series to an annual release schedule.

Many assumed that with the announcement of Battlefield: Hardline, Electronic Arts had moved the series to an annual release schedule. This is incorrect, according to EA Studios executive VP Patrick Söderlund, who insists that the quick turnaround for Hardline is more a result of the publisher allowing its studios to work on the games they want to make. In actual fact, the cops and robbers concept has been kicking around for more than a decade.

"Karl-Magnus Troedsson, who runs DICE studios, and Steve Papoutsis, who runs Visceral, basically met in Barcelona almost three years ago and they came to me and said 'Hey, we have an idea,'” Söderlund told Polygon. "Actually, the idea of a cops and robbers type Battlefield game has been with us — me and the DICE team — for more than ten years. There are early prototypes from, like, 2000 or 2001 of a game that we called back then Urban Combat. This has been lingering and we've been wanting to do something like this."

"It doesn't necessarily mean that we need to annualize Battlefield and that's the way it's going to be forever and ever," he continued. "I understand that some people may look at it that way but that's what happened.”

EA has traditionally rotated between two military shooter franchises on a two-year basis, but since the critical panning of Medal of Honour: Warfighterin 2012, the publisher has taken it out of rotation. That leaves the publisher with a big, military shooter sized gap in its two-year release schedule. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with in 2015. Maybe no military shooter at all? Imagine that.

We've played a bunch of Hardline. Check out our video impressionsand E3 hands-on preview.

Dota 2 gets meta with The Stanley Parable announcer pack, available now

Now you can get in the mood for DIGITAL SPORTS!

with the help of the smooth, comforting and somewhat sociopathic Narrator from The Stanley Parable. As teased all those months ago, his gently mocking wit is now available as a Dota 2 announcer pack. Sure, it's not hard to make fun of an incomprehensible game about internet wizards, but it takes skill to do it and still make the game's fans want to give you money.

The announcer pack was made by The Stanley Parable creator Davey Wreden and the Narrator's voice actor Kevan Brighting. According to Wreden—albeit jokingly—it aims to make Dota 2 "not only understandable but even downright accessible to the common layperson". Has it succeeded? If you'd rather not experience the pack in a live Dota environment, you can get a full preview at the Dota 2 wiki.

If you're so entrenched in Dota 2 that you don't know what The Stanley Parableis, you can find out via a 50% weekend sale. The Stanley Parable Announcer Pack is out now, and will be 10% off for 48 hours after release.

Release This: Pokemon Conquest, Lego Batman 2 premiere stateside

Battlefield is not an annualised series, despite rapid Hardline turnaround

Many assumed that with the announcement of Battlefield: Hardline, Electronic Arts had moved the series to an annual release schedule.

Many assumed that with the announcement of Battlefield: Hardline, Electronic Arts had moved the series to an annual release schedule. This is incorrect, according to EA Studios executive VP Patrick Söderlund, who insists that the quick turnaround for Hardline is more a result of the publisher allowing its studios to work on the games they want to make. In actual fact, the cops and robbers concept has been kicking around for more than a decade.

"Karl-Magnus Troedsson, who runs DICE studios, and Steve Papoutsis, who runs Visceral, basically met in Barcelona almost three years ago and they came to me and said 'Hey, we have an idea,'” Söderlund told Polygon. "Actually, the idea of a cops and robbers type Battlefield game has been with us — me and the DICE team — for more than ten years. There are early prototypes from, like, 2000 or 2001 of a game that we called back then Urban Combat. This has been lingering and we've been wanting to do something like this."

"It doesn't necessarily mean that we need to annualize Battlefield and that's the way it's going to be forever and ever," he continued. "I understand that some people may look at it that way but that's what happened.”

EA has traditionally rotated between two military shooter franchises on a two-year basis, but since the critical panning of Medal of Honour: Warfighterin 2012, the publisher has taken it out of rotation. That leaves the publisher with a big, military shooter sized gap in its two-year release schedule. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with in 2015. Maybe no military shooter at all? Imagine that.

We've played a bunch of Hardline. Check out our video impressionsand E3 hands-on preview.

IGF award nominees announced. Papers, Please and Stanley Parable lead the pack

The finalists for the 16th annual Independent Games Festival has been announced , and we're pleased to see some great games from 2013 are getting the recognition they deserve.

, and we're pleased to see some great games from 2013 are getting the recognition they deserve. In particular, Lucas Pope's brilliant Papers, Pleasehas been nominated for four awards and The Stanley Parablehas been nominated for three awards.

The IGF continues to grow, and 650 entries fought for the judges' love this year. Voting for the audience award winner will begin on February 18 ahead of the final award ceremony on March 19. In addition to the nominations, the honorable mention category gives a boost to a number of great PC games: Don't Starve received an honorable mention for excellence in visual art, and Kerbal Space Programgot an honorable mention slot for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Read on for the list of nominees.

The Stanley Parable, Don't Starve, Jazzpunk, Papers, Please, Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!"and mobile game DEVICE 6are all in contention for the $30,000 grand prize, so we'll keep an eye on the final result in March. Find the full list of nominees and honorable mentions below.

Excellence In Visual Art

DEVICE 6(Simogo)

Gorogoa(Jason Roberts)

The Banner Saga(Stoic)

Perfect Stride(Arcane Kids)

Samorost3(Amanita Design)

Drei(Etter)

Honorable mentions: Shelter(Might & Delight); Galak-Z(17-BIT); The Swapper(Facepalm Games); The Yawhg(Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll); Don't Starve(Klei Entertainment)

Excellence In Narrative

The Yawhg(Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll)

Paralect(Paralect Team)

DEVICE 6(Simogo)

Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!"(Deirdra Kiai Productions)

The Stanley Parable(Galactic Cafe)

Papers, Please(Lucas Pope)

Honorable mentions: Quadrilateral Cowboy(Blendo Games); Gorogoa(Jason Roberts); Redshirt(The Tiniest Shark); Detective Grimoire(SFB Games); Monster Loves You(Radial Games Corp. & Dejobaan Games, LLC.)

Excellence In Design

TowerFall Ascension(Matt Thorson)

868-HACK(Michael Brough)

Mushroom 11(Untame)

Papers, Please(Lucas Pope)

Don't Starve(Klei Entertainment)

Crypt of the NecroDancer(Brace Yourself Games)

Honorable mentions: The Banner Saga(Stoic); Perfect Stride(Arcane Kids); Threes(Asher Vollmer, Greg Wohlwend & Jimmy Hinson); DEVICE 6(Simogo); Gorogoa(Jason Roberts)

Excellence In Audio

Samorost3(Amanita Design)

Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!"(Deirdra Kiai Productions)

The Stanley Parable(Galactic Cafe)

Crypt of the NecroDancer(Brace Yourself Games)

DEVICE 6(Simogo)

The Yawhg(Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll)

Honorable mentions: Sokobond(Alan Hazelden, Harry Lee & Ryan Roth); The Banner Saga(Stoic); Potatoman Seeks the Troof(Pixeljam); Jazzpunk(Necrophone Games); Don't Starve(Klei Entertainment)

Nuovo Award

Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!"(Deirdra Kiai Productions)

Luxuria Superbia(Tale of Tales)

Extrasolar(Lazy 8 Studios)

Perfect Woman(Peter Lu and Lea Schonfelder)

SoundSelf(Robin Arnott)

Papers, Please(Lucas Pope)

Save the Date(Paper Dino Software)

Corrypt(Michael Brough)

Honorable mentions: Shelter(Might & Delight); DEVICE 6(Simogo); Elegy for a Dead World(Dejobaan Games with Popcannibal); SUPERHOT(SUPERHOT Team); 18 Cadence(Aaron A. Reed)

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

The Stanley Parable(Galactic Cafe)

Don't Starve(Klei Entertainment)

Jazzpunk(Necrophone Games)

Papers, Please(Lucas Pope)

DEVICE 6(Simogo)

Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!"(Deirdra Kiai Productions)

Honorable mentions: Crypt of the NecroDancer(Brace Yourself Games); TowerFall Ascension(Matt Thorson); Kerbal Space Program(Squad); 868-HACK(Michael Brough); The Yawhg(Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll)

This Week in Video Game Criticism: From Wasteland 2 to a Major in Sonic Studies

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is getting split screen co-op after all

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, Capcom has announced it will implement split screen co-op in Resident Evil: Revelations 2 for PC.

for PC. Better still it's accessible now, if you don't mind opting in to the open beta. The patch will also address some reported performance issues, according to a Capcom representative posting in the Steam forums.

The mode's unexplained absence caused a kerfufflelast week, resulting in refunds being extended. That was probably a wise idea on Capcom's part, since it was initially listed as a feature on Steam, though the official line post-launch was that the mode was cut "to ensure a stable user experience across a variety of different PC settings and devices".

Whatever the case, it's coming. The current open beta is missing some menu options and UI elements, as well as support for non-XInput controllers. You can learn how to access it over here, or read our review over here, wherein we describe it as a "so-so start".

Dota 2's The Stanley Parable announcer pack has been recorded, reveals narrator

This is the story of a videogame named Dota 2.

This is the story of a videogame named Dota 2. Dota 2 was a popular game about wizards and pushed lanes and unprompted apologies. It had absolutely nothing to do with another game, called The Stanley Parable, but for one exception: they both contained voice-overs. And so, last year, the creator of The Stanley Parable announced a desireto write and record a Dota 2 announcer pack featuring the meta-comedy's narrator. And, after a long silence, it was revealed that the pack had been recorded, and will likely soon be available to buy.

DOTA is done! The Narrator slumped into his chair and poured an incredibly large scotch. 'Twas a night to celebrate. April 21, 2014

The new dialogue—recorded by The Stanley Parable's calmly menacing Kevan Brighting—still needs to be correctly coded into Dota's many actions, which is why there isn't yet a release datefor the pack. When it does come out, players will have two disdainful announcement options; the 'Narrator' joining GLaDOSas a potential player-mocking companion.

It's a strange situation when a voice-pack becomes the impetus to play a game, but I can see myself giving Dota 2 another shot purely as an excuse to hear how TSP's meta-game commentary is transposed onto Valve's lane-pusher. After all, it's a game that features far more genuine choice than The Stanley Parable, albeit choice that revolves around whether or not to fire a ghost ship at an angry bear.

GDC 2011: 600,000 Sign Up For Battlefield Play4Free Beta

Warner Bros. is suspending sales of Arkham Knight on PC

We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC.

Batman: Arkham Knightpublisher Warner Bros. has announced it is suspending sales of the PC version of the game, following widespread criticism of the port.

We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards. We greatly value our customers and know that while there are a significant amount of players who are enjoying the game on PC, we want to do whatever we can to make the experience better for PC players overall.

Thank you to those players who have already given valuable feedback. We are continuously monitoring all threads posted in the Official Batman: Arkham Knight Community and Steam forums, as well as any issues logged with our Customer Support ( support.wbgames.com). If you purchased your copy of the game and are not satisfied with your experience, then we ask for your patience while these issues are resolved. If desired, you can request a refund at help.steampowered.com(Steam refund policies can be found here: http://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds) or the retail location where you purchased the game.

The Batman: Arkham fans have continually supported the franchise to its current height of success, and we want to thank you for your patience as we work to deliver an updated version of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC so you can all enjoy the final chapter of the Batman: Arkham series as it was meant to be played.

The move follows a disastrous launch for Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. The game's 30fps cap and stuttering were only the most noticeable problemssince its launch on Tuesday. PC Gamer's Chris Thursten acquired code earlier this week and published a thorough breakdownof the game's many issues. It got so bad that Green Man Gaming amended its refund policyto accommodate customers angry about the poor state of the game.

At the time of publishing it appears you can still add Batman: Arkham Knight to your cart and progress through the checkout process on Steam, but we'll keep an eye on it.

The game has since been removed from Steam, with the above statement posted on the store page.