Nov 20, 2019
It's an exciting time to be a Path of Exile fan. This past weekend proved to be one of the most eventful in the game's history, as developer Grinding Gear Games hosted the first ever ExileCon in New Zealand. It was there a number of huge announcements were made, including Path of Exile 2, the game's 3.9 Conquerors of the Atlas update, and Path of Exile Mobile.
Following the weekend's festivities, we chatted with GGG managing director Chris Wilson about all the big news, including how long projects like Path of Exile 2 and Path of Exile Mobile have been in the works, the design philosophy behind Path of Exile 2, and how Blizzard's now infamous Diablo Immortal announcement last year helped inform how to announce Path of Exile Mobile.
Posted in: Interview: Chris Wilson on Path of Exile 2's Origins, the Future of ExileCon, and Learning From Blizzard's Mistakes
Nov 17, 2019
Big changes are coming to Path of Exile. Announced this weekend at the first ever ExileCon, developer Grinding Gear Games is bringing new content, visual improvements and sweeping gameplay system changes to their beloved action-RPG in the form of Path of Exile 2. But despite the name, Path of Exile 2 isn't a traditional sequel. Here's what we know so far.
Posted in: What Exactly is Path of Exile 2? Here's What to Expect
Nov 15, 2019
At the first Path of Exile convention, developer Grinding Gear Games dropped a slew of major announcements, including a new story campaign titled Path of Exile 2, Path of Exile: Mobile, and a new challenge league coming in the game's 3.9 update.
Posted in: Path of Exile 2, Path of Exile: Mobile Spearhead ExileCon Announcements
Oct 8, 2019
The original Fantasy General saw release in 1996, the third installment in Strategic Simulations’ Five Star General series. It may have been more than two decades later, but on September 5, 2019, Fantasy General II arrived to the joy of old-school strategy gamers everywhere, all made possible thanks to the efforts of developer Owned by Gravity and publisher Slitherine. But how did the revival of this classic strategy title come to be? We recently chatted with Jan Wagner, managing director of Owned by Gravity, to learn more.
Posted in: Interview: Fantasy General II Dev Jan Wagner Talks Reviving A Two Decade Old Series And What's Next
Sep 25, 2019
This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the beloved fantasy themed puzzle-platforming Trine franchise, and what better way to celebrate than with the release of Trine 4? Developer Frozenbyte is returning the series to its roots after 2015's Trine 3, a game that didn't quite capture the magic of previous entries in the franchise, in part due to the game's shift to 3D environments for the first time and a story that ended on an unexpected cliffhanger.
Thankfully, Trine 4 looks to be a dream come true for fans and is shaping up to be the most ambitious, visually impressive, and complex adventure in the series yet. Frozenbyte marketing manager Kai Tuovinen recently took the time to answer some questions on what both new players and franchise fans can expect when Trine 4 releases on October 3, and how lessons learned during the development of Trine 3 affected the game's development.
Posted in: Interview: Frozenbyte On Trine 4 — 2.5D Is 'Where Trine Belongs'
Aug 14, 2019
Thorium Entertainment's UnderMine is a new roguelike looking to go the distance, one where players take on the role of a peasant tasked with exploring the deep, dark, procedurally generated depths of a mysterious and monster-infested mine.
Developers Derek Johnson and Clint Tasker, the two creators behind UnderMine, hope players are up to the challenge. The two are former AAA game developers gone indie, and they have big hopes for what UnderMine could become. We recently chatted with Derek and Clint prior to UnderMine's Steam Early Access release to learn more about making the jump to indie game development, the genesis of UnderMine, being featured in Microsoft's E3 press briefing, and more.
Posted in: Interview: UnderMine Devs — 'Our Personal Goal is to Rival the Kings of the Genre'
Aug 16, 2019
The folks at Grinding Gear Games always have something entirely new up their sleeves. Whether it’s infiltrating a criminal syndicate, battling ancient armies, or delving deep into the hollows of the earth, Path of Exile is always reinventing itself with every major update, keeping players on their toes and coming back for more.
With that in mind, here’s two phrases you probably didn’t expect to hear together: Path of Exile and tower defense. Yes, GGG has done it again with their upcoming challenge league, called Blight, and it’s unlike anything that’s come to Path of Exile before.
Posted in: Tower Defense Meets Monster Slaying in Path of Exile: Blight
Jul 12, 2019
If you’ve glanced at the most played games on Twitch in the past few months, you’ve likely noticed a few unfamiliar titles rising to the top of the ranks. Team Fight Tactics? Dota Underlords? What is all this stuff? In short: it’s auto chess, and it’s gaming’s newest genre.
If you actually attempted to watch a stream of one of the above games being played, chances are you became even more confused. At any given moment there’s a ton of action happening on screen at once, but no clear reason as to how or why. But worry not. Auto chess games certainly look confusing on the surface, but once you have a basic understanding of what makes the genre tick, it will all fall into place.
Posted in: All About Auto Chess: A Starter Guide to Gaming's Newest Breakout Genre
Jun 7, 2019
Dauntless, the free-to-play Monster Hunter-esque co-op action game from developer Phoenix Labs, recently blasted onto consoles and the Epic Games Store to huge success.
With more than six million players playing shortly after launch and a recently announced Nintendo Switch version on the way, we chatted with Dauntless producer Chris Fox and Phoenix Labs public relations manager Andy Burt to learn more about the inspirations behind Dauntless, how a Behemoth is made, what to expect in the future, how cross-play came to be, and more.
Posted in: Interview: Dauntless Producer Chris Fox Talks Cross-play, Bringing The Monster Slaying Action To Switch, And More
May 16, 2019
Path of Exile has always been about defeating huge crowds of enemies, with players using an impressive assortment of spells and weapons to tear through everything in their way.
In Path of Exile: Legion, the game’s upcoming update, you’ll be able to do even more hacking and slashing through enemy hordes, but this time around there’s a twist — you’ll get a say in how many, and what kind of enemies specifically, you want to cut down. Not only that, but the way you actually hack and slash will be vastly improved as well, thanks to this update introducing a long awaited melee system overhaul. Here's what we learned from a recent preview, courtesy of developer Grinding Gear Games.
Posted in: Battle Armies Locked In An Eternal Struggle in the Upcoming Path of Exile: Legion Update
May 9, 2019
Originally released in 2013, the free-to-play, online action-RPG Path of Exile, developed by the New Zealand based Grinding Gear Games, continues to find a bigger and bigger audience. With multiple new expansions a year and having recently arrived on PlayStation 4, it's never been a better time to be a Path of Exile fan or to become one.
To learn what it's like managing the community for a game like
Path of Exile, we recently asked Grinding Gear Games Community Director and Producer
Bex some questions on what she thinks the key to being an effective community manager is, what impresses her most about the
Path of Exile community, and, of course, what kind of characters she likes to play in-game.
Posted in: Interview: Path of Exile Community Director Bex Talks Effective Community Management, Her Favorite League, And More
May 7, 2019
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, we recently chatted with Stack Up’s Overwatch Program Manager Mat Bergendahl to learn what was new with the military-focused gaming charity.
As it turns out — plenty. Not only did Stack Up recently receive a grant from the CDC that will allow the charity to train more volunteers as part of its StOP suicide prevention initiative, but the group is also gearing up for its biggest fundraising event of the year, Call to Arms, which will see various streamers playing games and raising money for Stack Up’s cause throughout the month.
Posted in: Mental Health Awareness Month — Supporting The Troops With Stack Up's Mat Bergendahl
Apr 11, 2019
Sea of Thieves, the shared world, sandbox pirate adventure from developer Rare, turned one-year-old on March 20. To celebrate, Rare is putting together one heck of a birthday bash. Coined the "Anniversary Update" and releasing on April 30, it will be the biggest addition of new content to Sea of Thieves yet, adding long-requested story missions in the form of Tall Tales, a new, action-packed competitive mode called The Arena, and features like fishing and cooking.
We chatted with Sea of Thieves executive producer Joe Neate to talk not only about the upcoming update, but also about lessons the team learned from launch a year ago and where the game might go in the future.
Posted in: Interview: Sea of Thieves' Joe Neate On The Huge Anniversary Update, The Impact Of Game Pass, And More
Mar 21, 2019
GTFO made a big splash at 2017's The Game Awards with a reveal trailer that promised a captivating and intense four-player survival-horror experience set for release in 2018. That release date didn't come to pass, and now developer 10 Chambers Collective has announced GTFO will be undergoing a series of alpha and beta tests leading up to the game's eventual Steam Early Access launch.
To learn more about the decision to launch into Early Access and more about the game in general, we recently chatted with 10 Chambers Collective's Simon Viklund.
Posted in: Interview: 10 Chambers Collective's Simon Viklund on GTFO's New Release Plan, Why Horror is Great for Co-op, and More
Feb 28, 2019
Sporting a new engine, big new features and even bigger ambition, Insurgency: Sandstorm, the sequel to the mod-turned-indie FPS hit Insurgency from developer New World Interactive, released at the end of last year to critical acclaim.
Now, with more than 500,000 players having played the tactical FPS and hot on the heels of the game’s first major content update, we spoke with New World Interactive community manager Alex Blonski to learn more about listening to player feedback, plans for the future, the newfound popularity of tactical shooters, whether or not Insurgency: Sandstorm might ever go into battle royale territory, and much, much more.
Posted in: Interview: Talking the Future of Insurgency: Sandstorm with New World Interactive's Alex Blonski