DigiHom Update: Tons of Games Disappear From Greenlight


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[Update: Several errors have been fixed or clarified in bold below. MMO Fallout apologizes for the inconvenience]

Digital Homicide’s James Romine may be throwing a temper tantrum right now, and for good reason: Close to two dozen of his games have been removed from Steam.

We’ve been covering Digital Homicide filling its Greenlight queue up with spam filler ever since the developer uploaded dozens of titles back in June, a majority of them simple Space Invaders games and clones of one another. Last month I noted that Valve’s Greenlight team seems to be unsure as to whether or not DigiHom’s games qualify for Steam, with the titles being tagged incompatible on and off on a nearly daily basisJames Romine has commented that this is actually due to modifications made to Steam’s API resulting in numerous games being falsely tagged and untagged.

It appears we have our answer. Digital Homicide’s list of Greenlight items now stands at 27 from its high at 50. Of the 27 that remain, four have been greenlit and already released. All of Digital Homicide’s games (19 at the time of this publishing) carry a negative, “mostly negative,” or “very negative,” approval rating.

For continuing updates on the lawsuit against James Stanton (Jim Sterling), stay tuned.

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Nexon Q2 Quarterly Revenues Hit “Strong,”


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Nexon, developer of everything and publisher of everything else, has finally announced their second quarter results for the 2016 fiscal year, referencing their performance as “strong” despite lower than expected revenue.

Second quarter revenues reached 38 billion yen, down 11% over last year with net income amounting to 7.6 billion yen over the same period. Nexon blamed the majority of the loss on foreign exchange losses from money deposited overseas. Despite these losses, Nexon grew slightly in revenue over the first half of 2016 compared to the first half of 2015, however income has taken a huge hit due to impairment loss taken in the first quarter.

For the unaware, impairment loss refers to a product whose future earnings are lower than the cost of acquisition. In this case, Nexon purchased mobile developer Gloop a few years back and the developer isn’t making money.

“Our solid second quarter results reflect strong execution and good performance from our China business,” said Owen Mahoney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexon. “I am also pleased with the important strategic progress we made during the quarter, including our partnership with renowned Japanese developer Sansho Studios and our acquisition of wellgames, the Korean developer of SPECIAL SOLDIER, a high-quality first person shooter for mobile devices. Our best-in-class roster of partnerships remains a cornerstone of our strategy to deliver high-quality, tailored content to players around the world.”

Nexon has a number of games in its publishing pipeline for this year and next, including Riders of Icarus, Lawbreakers, Titanfall, Final Fantasy XI Mobile, Lego Mobile, and more.

(Source: Nexon)

Dungeon Fighter Online Is Back, Hits Steam Today


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Dungeon Fighter Online is back, and by the time you read this will probably already be up and running. Initially shut down back in 2013, publishing for Dungeon Fighter Online was picked up by Neople and reopened in beta to the public last year. Today marks the game’s official launch on Steam. Servers open at approximately 10:00am PST, or in just under two hours as of this publishing.

If you have fond memories of Dungeon Fighter Online, let us know in the comments section below.

(Source: Steam)

Curt Schilling Is Running For President


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If you thought presidential politics wasn’t crazy enough, just wait until you see who is stepping into the ring. Curt Schilling, former Red Sox pitcher and head of defunct game developer 38 Studios has announced his plans to run for president in 2024, or possibly in 2020 should Hillary Clinton be elected by some means (which Schilling refers to as an ‘amazingly illegal event.’). Schilling’s comments were made on his Facebook page in a discussion with another user.

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Schilling has been involved in a lawsuit for the past few years after his game developer 38 Studios went belly up, leaving a bill of over $100 million in an unpaid loan on the plate of state taxpayers. The lawsuit alleged that several parties, including 38 Studios, Schilling, and Wells Fargo, were fully aware that the loan would be insufficient to cover the cost of development and hid that information from investors.

The charges against Schilling, which he has referred to as a ‘fake ass witch hunt,’ were dropped late last month. Schilling was fired from his job at ESPN after a Facebook post led to complaints over transphobic commentary.

As for this election, Schilling is backing Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Survarium Kills Off More Cheaters


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Survarium developer Vostok Games has announced a new ban wave of 139 players over the past week for the use of prohibited software. For those unaware, Vostok Games is one of the few developers willing to name and shame the players who are punished in their public announcements. You can find the entire list below, however many of the names will be illegible if you don’t happen to read Cyrillic.

For more coverage of Survarium, check out our first impressions.

(Source: Survarium)

[Humor] Broadsword Games Plagiarizes Sony’s Terms of Service


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It isn’t too unsurprising to see a smaller game developer plagiarize a larger company’s legal agreements, but it is hilarious when they forget to take out key words such as the company’s name. MMO Fallout has been covering these incidences since way back in 2010 with Quest Online stealing the fourth pillar speech from Bioware, and since I tend to receive nasty letters from humorless lawyers whenever this story comes up, I’d like to reiterate the humor tag at the top of the page. This is all in good fun.

Broadsword Entertainment has been caught plagiarizing Sony’s terms of service for the Playstation Network from 2013. The original you can read here:

NOTE: THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISION IN SECTION 17 THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO ANY “DISPUTE” (AS DEFINED BELOW) BETWEEN YOU AND SNEI, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC, THEIR AFFILIATES, PARENTS OR SUBSIDIARIES (COLLECTIVELY, “SONY ENTITIES”). YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF THE BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISIONS AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 17.

And the version in Ultima Online via this player’s screenshot. Goofs on legal pads are always funny, like when Star Vault threatened to punish in-game malfeasance with a ban from Eve Online.

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Atlas Reactor Is Going Free Again


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Atlas Reactor is going free, following the news from earlier this year that the game would be buy to play. In a post on the official website, Trion Worlds announced that players will have access to free character lists that rotate every week and are unique to the player. Reward caches are doled out as you play, handing out random assortments from the game’s hundreds of banners, emotes, titles, icons, taunts, etc.

We want to thank you all for the terrific feedback you’ve offered us in Beta. The launch of Free Mode accompanies Revised Player Progression, which will make obtaining rewards even clearer and more fun than it is today.

You can read the rest of the announcement at the link below.

(Source: Atlas Reactor)

“Fake Ass Witch Hunt” Against Curt Schilling Results In No Charges


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The case of 38 Studios is finally coming to a close as the Rhode Island state attorney general Peter Kilmartin has declined to press charges against Curt Schilling and members of the state economic development board. According to an eight page report filed by the attorney general, there is not sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. While the decision means that no charges will be levied at this time, it does not interfere with the ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission charges levied against the state, nor does it prevent a later case being picked up should new evidence come to light.

Curt Schilling called the investigation a “fake ass witch hunt”

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling been the center of attention since the collapse of his game developer 38 Studios in 2012 and the ensuing investigation over a $75 million loan backed by the state of Rhode Island. The loan is being investigated over allegations that the parties involved knew that it would not be sufficient to complete work on Project Copernicus (the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO). The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp as well as Wells Fargo have been charged with fraud in relation to the loan.

(Source: Game Informer)

Nexon Chairman Indicted On Corruption Charges, Bribes His Prosecutor


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A three week investigation has concluded that Nexon founder and chairman Kim Jung-ju likely gave more than eight hundred thousand in bribes to high ranking prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon, in a case regarding suspicious stock transactions. According to ongoing investigations, Jin received 425 million won from Nexon to buy stocks in the company, allowing the prosecutor to amass billions in profit in 2015.

Jin also received tens of millions of won from Kim for travel expenses and other luxuries including a company car and certain business deals. The 49 year old prosecutor has been dismissed from his position and is still investigating other claims of corruption against Kim. Kim Jung-ju, in related news, has stepped down from his position at Nexon.

It is important to note that Kim Jung-ju was found to be working alone. No charges have been, or are expected to be, brought against Nexon or its subsidiaries.

(Source: yonhapnews)

Riders of Icarus Blight of Frost Keep Update Drops Today


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Riders of Icarus players will receive a wealth of new content today in the first major update for the game since it arrived in Open Beta earlier this month. With a level increase to 35, Riders will now have an all-new zone to explore, with its own unique mounts to capture and tame, dungeons to conquer and bosses to vanquish. The “Blight of Frost Keep” update brings content including:

  • Parna’s Coast: Enter the new snow-covered lands of Parna’s Coast to discover new dangers and new mounts as you explore this fascinating new high-level region. With powerful monsters and a misty frost that permeates the area and can affect a players’ mobility if they’re not prepared, Riders will want to team up with others to succeed in the new ‘Field Raid’.
  • The Frost Keep: Riders level 34 and above will find an icy challenge awaiting them in the new Frost Keep dungeon, the stronghold of the Frost Guard and their enigmatic leader. In this barren and lifeless keep, players will have the chance to add ghostly new mounts to their collection.
  • Cavern of the Veil: More mysteries will be unearthed by Riders level 28 and above in the Cavern of the Veil, where they will face off against a variety of deadly bosses deep underground. As players explore, they should keep their eyes peeled to find and tame a rare mount!
  • New Mounts: Parna’s Coast has its own unique environment, and with it comes new mounts to capture and tame, including the Venomous Caspert, Karas and Terror Kerav, who will lend an advantage in the frosty lands.
  • Guild Alliances: Forge strategic alliances with other guilds in preparation for future large scale PVP war events! Players’ efforts will see their alliances grow stronger and their fame spread throughout the land.

This high-level content is the first of several planned updates that will provide new challenges for players to experience, offering added depth to the game and its ever-expanding world of mounts to capture, tame and collect.

“We are excited and grateful to see such a positive response from players in Open Beta,” said Hoon Seok, producer, WeMade. “We have so much more content to come, and can’t wait until it’s ready to share with the community. Their feedback continues to be immensely valuable in helping us grow and shape the game.”

To download  Riders of Icarus and delve into the frostbitten Parna’s Coast, and to stay up-to-date on the latest news and announcements, join the community today:  ridersoficarus.com