Monthly Archives: February 2015

Crusader Kings II Turns Three Years Old

Crusader Kings 2

This weekend, Paradox Development Studio is marking the third anniversary of its much-loved medieval grand strategy game Crusader Kings II. Since its release in February 2012, Crusader Kings II has become a game recognized worldwide for its clever mixture of high politics, low scheming, immersive role-playing and thrilling stories. That’s three years of usurping thrones, marrying for power, converting pagans and throwing heirs off of parapets. The royal life is a challenging one.

Data compiled by the studio shows that Crusader Kings II has sold 1.1 million copies of the base game and over 2.5 million copies of its various expansions. If you include the cosmetic DLC for sale, that adds up to over 8 million add-ons for the base game. Over the last year of its lifetime, Crusader Kings II is still averaging over a hundred thousand monthly active users on Steam – a clear sign that a vast audience is still finding something special in what has sometimes been seen as a “niche” title.

“We continue to be overwhelmed by the popularity of Crusader Kings II,” says lead designer Henrik Fahraeus. “For many thousands of people, this is their first Paradox game, and people continue to tell us about the rise and fall of their dynasties and empires. Our games at PDS have always been about stories, but Crusader Kings II gives you characters sometimes doing petty things on a grand stage. I think people like that.”

To celebrate this anniversary, Paradox is offering a week’s worth of special discounts on a selection of Crusader Kings II related products at the official webstore and select partners: https://www.paradoxplaza.com/games/featured-deals

Block N’ Load Hosts Valentine’s Day Weekend

Block N Load

Big bombs are red, acid is green; Eliza and Tony make a cute/deadly team! Love is in the air in Block N Load this weekend, with the launch of a new 8-bit inspired Valentine’s Day map called Love Hurts, as well as the beta debut of the game’s ranked mode. Playable from today until 15th February, ranked mode is open to any player with a level 20 hero and who have completed 10 matches of the game.

The limited access to ranked mode is the first opportunity for competitive players to come together and fight it out to top the tiered rankings.

“Naturally, there’s a lot of love in the team for Block N Load, so we wanted to share some of that with our fantastic band of beta players,” said David Solari, vice president of Block N Load. “The limited time availability of the game’s ranked mode will give us valuable feedback and insight into where we can improve things ahead of launch. We are eager to receive as many opinions and thoughts from players following their experience with the new mode this weekend.”

“We’re also looking forward to seeing relationships tested to breaking point as teams face off in the new Love Hurts arena,” he continued. “We think we’re onto a win-win situation visually. If you like your Valentine’s a bit saccharine, then all well and good. If not… well, you can always go for some explosive remodelling!”

Fable Legends Introduces New Hero: Evienne

Fable Legends

A new hero has recently been announced for Fable Legends, an upcoming action/adventure RPG. Keeper of the legendary sword Brobdingnagian (Brob, for short), Evienne is a spirited and feisty melee character. Her ancestors waited patiently in the lake for a hero to claim the sword, but Evienne has taken it upon herself to go out and become a hero herself.

For more info, visit https://www.fablelegends.com/heroes/evienne

The Repopulation: Silver Membership, 15.1.1, and PAX East

The Repopulation

The Repopulation team has recently announced that the Silver Membership Package is now available for $19.99 on both Steam and on their website. This offers a lower tier package with just the Silver Membership, 1 Repop Token, Name Reservation, and Early Access.

They also wanted to provide some updated information about the upcoming 15.1.1 build that just went to QA and should be available at the end of month. Some major changes to combat, harvesters, performance fixes, and a variety of other changes are detailed. Speaking of QA, there is also now a new QA Application form as we are looking for testers to help test the patches/builds before they go to the Live/Production servers

Finally, The Repopulation will be at PAX East this year doing a panel tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

For more info, visit https://www.therepopulation.com/index.php/news/184-silver-membership-and-15-1-1-update

SkySaga: US & Canada Alpha starts Feb 19th

SkySaga

Radiant Worlds is excited to announce that SkySaga will be inviting North American players into our closed alpha tests! We will start letting NA players in from Thursday, February 19th, 2015, allowing players to experience their upcoming sandbox adventure game and give feedback, as well.

Players must sign up at http://us.skysaga.com/account/new in order to be approved for an account.

For more info, visit http://us.skysaga.com/

Daybreak Games’ John Smedley Reassures that EQNext Still Going Strong

Everquest-NextLayoffs

Despite the recent string of layoffs at Daybreak Games and just announced resignation of Matt Hiby, former creative director for Planetside 2, President Smedley has sent out a message on twitter that their flagship title, Everquest Next is still safe and sound.

“EQN has the largest development team at SOE. It is going to be more than ok,” states Smedley.

The impact of the removal of these key personal still remains to be seen. Overall this feels like an attempt to cut costs to meet the goals of the new investment owners of Daybreak Games by removing the highest paid industry veterans from the pool, while maintaining the rest of their development team in the hopes that they can steer the boat safely to shore without their captains.