Have you visited SMITE‘s official website lately? You may have noticed something odd. Hirez has placed a not so subtle acorn over their site skin bar, just tempting you to click on it. Try and it hides off screen, only to return to tease you once more once you’ve given up. Look at the site code and you’ll discover this object is being described as ‘not an acorn.’ What could it all mean?

Those SMITE players following the datamining community will be aware that the next Norse god planned for release to the roster is none other than the message of the Yggdrasil tree (and notorious deity of trolling, yes Norse has at least two such deities), Ratatoskr. Why an acorn? Well he’s kind of a squirrel. Beyond that he seems to use a variety of magic infused acorns to wreck you day in a kit that, while not fully revealed, is shaping up to be one of the most annoying kits to deal in some time. Not OP annoying Bellona, just flat out “Ugh stop hitting me with an acorn” style annoying.

We’ll be keeping a close eye out as Hirez is sure to be revealing further details on Ratatoskr in the coming days.

Ironclad’s new dark fantasy MOBA, Sins of a Dark Age, is now available to play for free.
 
The launch also includes reworks for Atasha, Slag, Khagas and Adventurer’s Bounty; new tutorials; AI upgrades, and more. The full update notes are available here.
 
You can find Sins of a Dark Age on Steam.

Netmarble EMEA is excited to announce improvements via the latest content update of Hounds: The Last Hope. The patch brings a Sub Mission Update, three PvP Maps, and New Challenge Level Missions. Also Netmarble has increased ‘Legendary Find Rate’ for Random Boxes.
 
You can find what is included in the updates in further detail:
 
Sub Mission Update
 
Street Map will be added to the game with a new patch. Users can play this map to reach 2,000 Kills in Challenge Mode. In order to earn more gold than other maps, you better try this. (Challenge Mode).
 
Warning: Players cannot earn new items after completing this map.
 
Three New PvP Maps
 
This patch brings three new PvP maps for Warzone, Sabotage, and Close Combat Modes. Names of these maps are; Underground Waterway, Train Station, and Closed Factory.
 
New Challenge Level Missions
 
All Challenge Missions and Intermissions in Hounds have new bonus Challenge Level Quests and rewards. Completing these bonus missions will award new rewards at every turn. Don’t forget to visit Town to take your brand new quests.
 
Random Box Drop Rate Changes
 
The rate of Legendary Find Rate for Random Boxes has been significantly increased. The overall rates of legendary items are increased three times for all available Weapon and Armour Random Boxes.
 
Click here to check the special page for Hounds: The Last Hope May Patch.

Independent developer Studio Wildcard has pulled back the curtains on its Jurassic creation today with the announcement of ARK: Survival Evolved, an open-world dinosaur survival game where players fight for every breath amongst the most ferocious creatures to ever walk the earth. In development for PlayStation^®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC, Mac, and Linux, ARK: Survival Evolved will launch on Steam’s Early Access program June 2, 2015, for survivors to begin exploring the vast, formidable environment and its many secrets.
 
Powered by Unreal Engine 4, ARK: Survival Evolved takes on the survival genre with a unique blend of emergent multiplayer cooperation and competition. Players awake naked and starving on the beach of a mysterious island among a herd of other confused humans. On ARK, they must then hunt, harvest, craft, research technology, and build shelters to protect against scorching days, freezing nights, volatile weather systems, dangerous wildlife, and potential enemies.
 
Use cunning strategy and tactics to tame and ride the many dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the dynamic, persistent ecosystems across land, sea, air, and even underground. Build your character’s strengths and gain items, skills, and pet creatures using in-depth role-playing systems. Start a tribe with hundreds of other players to survive and dominate competing tribes…and ultimately discover the ARK’s true purpose.
 
“ARK taps into the scale, size, and wildly unpredictable nature of the dinosaur eras like no other game before it, then pairs it with the wonders of exploration and technological discovery,” said Jesse Rapczak, co-founder and co-creative director, Studio Wildcard. “We’re particularly excited to bring ARK to consoles, as open-world survival gameplay is typically found solely in PC games.”
 
Tame one of 60 amazing dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, including gargantuan creatures on a scale never before seen in video games! Fly a Pterodactyl squadron over the snow-capped mountains, race through the deep jungle with your pack of trained Raptors, tromp through a fortified enemy base along a convoy of gigantic Brontosaurus, or chase down prey on the back of a raging T-Rex. Players will quickly learn that dinosaurs aren’t the only dangerous creatures on the island. Other players are organizing rebel tribes to accumulate resources, experience, re-spawn points, and to construct sprawling villages and cities, with technology spanning the primitive stone-age to the modern electric-powered era and beyond. And they will fight to destroy anything they see as a threat.
 
ARK: Survival Evolved will launch in early 2016 on PlayStation^®4, Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program and Steam, including Oculus Rift VR support and a thorough integration of Steam community features such as Steam Economy and Steam Workshop for custom maps and mods. The world of ARK is designed to be player-oriented and ever-expanding!

Game Publisher NGames is excited to announce that they are going to launch one of their latest mobile game titles: HeroCraft Z, the English version for one of the most acclaimed mobile games in Chinese community.
 
Starting from 8pm PST on May 11, 2015, this game will be available via both Google Play and iTunes.
 
For those of you looking forward to add a new game to your devices, here are some reasons why the game is worth trying:
 
Real-time battles powered by Unity3D engine
The game offers smooth game sessions with Stunning Graphics. The developers effectively took advantage of the engine and made a good combination of ACT elements with RPG Genre. It looks like they are trying to recreate MMORPG experience on mobile devices, and guess what, they did it.
 
Gather and build up your adventuring party
There are 50+ collectable companions in the game, each one packed with 3 or 4 unique abilities. Trying out new settings or combinations will greatly affect player’s strength. And applying new tactics against different enemies is very important later in the game. So it is wise to have some smart combos up your sleeves.
 
Prove yourself a winner in multiple game modes
The game offers mixed server for Android and iOS players without any regional separation. Players will have to face down challenges from a global players’ community. Also, Players will have options for other interactions.
 
Co-op and PVP features offer solid rewards to inspire players to make friends as well as “enemies” in the game.
 
TAP-AND-PLAY & THINK-TO-WIN
The game supports smooth controlling with mobile devices. Players can give moving or attacking orders simply by taping locations or targets. It is very easy to learn and there is large space for advanced techniques.