Category: News

[Video] Kill Your eSports Career In 60 Seconds Or Less



(Video warning: Very loud, NSFW language)

How do you end your eSports career in less than the time it takes to order a Little Caesar’s Pizza? If you want the answer to this question, imagine the video above as something of a tutorial. Matt “Dellor” Vaughn, formerly of Toronto eSports, has left the scene after a mid-game tirade in Overwatch in which he shouts a racist slur for around 30 seconds straight after being killed by the other team’s Widowmaker, following a short exchange with his team.

Vaughn denies being racist in a subsequent message on Twitter, blaming everything from lack of sleep, frustration over internet problems, and the other player cheating.

The only thing I can say is that despite me using that word, I am not a racist. I was extremely upset, and I was trying to make the person I was angry with upset as well, and so I said the most offensive thing that came to mind.

Toronto eSports has posted a message that Vaughn has been removed from their organization.

Toronto Esports has today announced the release of Matt “Dellor” Vaughn from their organization, citing breach of contract. The circumstances of the dismissal relate to an incident where Dellor used abusive and discriminatory racial language while streaming. “Toronto Esports is an organization built on inclusivity, and we have always had a zero- tolerance policy for any forms of discrimination.” Said President Ryan Pallett. “Immediately upon learning of the incident, the player was interviewed, admitted to the offence, and was notified that his contract with the organization was being terminated”

This isn’t Vaughn’s first recorded incident of using racist language, another example can be found here.

(Source: Toronto eSports)

KingsIsle Wants Help Getting On Steam


KingsIsle, makers of popular MMOs including Wizard 101 and Pirate 101, have a new game coming out: EverClicker. If you can’t tell by the title, it is a clicker game. Effectively, KingsIsle wants to learn about the process of submitting and having a game put up on Steam, and EverClicker happens to be the guinea pig that will be going through said trial.

It’s easier to start our journey onto Steam with a game that isn’t hugely complicated with a lot of moving parts. Starting with EverClicker on Steam allows us to learn the process. If successful, we hope to be able to offer more of our games on Steam and other distribution outlets in the future, which could include games such as Wizard101 and Pirate101.

If you’d like to see more of KingsIsle’s games on Steam, head on over to the EverClicker page and check it out.

Marvel Heroes Hits Playstation 4, Xbox One Coming Later


Marvel Heroes has officially hit ground on the Playstation 4, launching its closed beta for those who purchase founder’s packs available on the Playstation Store. Founders packs start at $19.99 for the Spiderman or Deadpool packs, and go up to $59.99 for the Avengers pack. Every founders pack comes with bonus G’s (cash shop currency), heroes, costumes, boosts, and more. In addition, all players will receive a Daredevil hero at a later date regardless of buying a founder’s pack.

“There’s never been a better time to be a Marvel fan,” said David Von Dorman, CEO at Gazillion. “With so many exciting films, television shows, and comics coming soon, we’re beyond excited to be able to bring the characters, costumes, and adventures of the Marvel Universe to life in living rooms around the world. Marvel Heroes Omegahas been a true passion project and labor of love for everyone here at Gazillion — and we can’t wait for players to experience it for the first time themselves on consoles.”

(Source: Marvel Heroes)

The Exiled Makes Season 3 Free For All


Sandbox MMO The Exiled this week announced that Season 3 will be available for free, temporarily removing the seven day trial and allowing all players to play for the entirety of the month, regardless of if they’ve purchased the client. Seasons in The Exiled run for one month, after which progress is wiped and players start anew.

Unlimited Free Trial during Season #3: In order to make it easier for new players to get into The Exiled we have decided to get rid of the 7-day trial period during Season #3. Yes, that means that you and all of your friends can play The Exiled for free for the coming four weeks. Just start the game and you’re in. You can (and should) still buy a Supporter Pack to unlock more character slots and get unique visuals for your character but it is not required anymore to play the game

Check out The Exiled on Steam.

New Everquest Server Will Never Catch Up


Everquest pumps out progression servers on a pretty regular basis, but have you ever looked at them and wondered what life would be like if the community never voted to progress past Planes of Power, aka when the game stopped being good (your words, not mine). Well consider that thirst quenched, as Daybreak Game Company has announced that the next progression server will do just that.

When server Agnarr launches on May 24, it will unlock new expansions every 12 weeks, without interference or vote, until finally Planes of Power unlocks. After that, nothing more. The server is true box, meaning one client per computer. As always, All Access membership will be required.

More details can be found at the FAQ below.

(Source: Everquest)

Star Trek Online: Season 12 Hits Consoles


Perfect World Entertainment has released Season 12 of Star Trek Online: Reckoning for Xbox One and Playstation 4. The update introduces players to a dangerous new race, the Tzenkethi.

Season 12 – Reckoning continues the mission from the last major expansion to release on consoles, Agents of Yesterday. Captains have discovered an abandoned space station from Star Trek: The Original Series next to a remote planet in the Alpha Quadrant. Upon further investigation they learn the planet’s entire life force has been wiped out by a protomatter bomb. All signs point to the Tzenkethi as the culprit, a powerful and highly intelligent warp-capable species. Captains must now team up with the Lukari and a Klingon contingent led by General Rodek (voiced by actor Tony Todd) to stop the Tzenkethi forces from carrying out another cataclysmic attack.

Reckoning introduces a brand new feature episode, Of Signs and Portents, as well as a new crafting school, space queues, and reputation with the Lukari Restoration Initiative. With this update, console players will be back up to date with PC players.

(Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release)

Tencent Prepares To Take On Steam


Tencent appears to be aiming at PC juggernaut Valve by globalizing its own Steam-esque platform and rebranding as WeGame. Already massive in comparison to Steam, 200 million users in China compared to Steam’s 125 million worldwide, Tencent’s website indicates that the new WeGame platform will support global players on one client, expanding westward and introducing millions more to its ever expanding control of the market. The news comes from a splash page on Tencent’s website, translated and discussed by Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad.

For those vaguely familiar with Tencent’s name, the company owns League of Legends developer Riot Games and Clash of Clans developer Supercell. Its stock is currently worth around $30 USD, putting its value around the level of Sony ($31.79) and Nintendo ($30.41). Last month Tencent released its December quarter earnings, boasting 43.9 billion Yuan, $6.3 billion USD. If anyone has the finances to get a foot in the west and put the fear of God in Valve, it is probably Tencent.

(Source: Twitter)

Microsoft Adopts Valve Policy: Self-Service Refunds Coming


Those of you who game on consoles know one truth to be self evident: No refunds. Game comes out that is broken, missing features, or effectively sold on lies and fraud? In that last case, Sony did at least refund No Man’s Sky buyers. Otherwise, you’re out of luck if the game runs horribly or just plain sucks. At least until now, as Microsoft is expected to add a refund system to Xbox One and Windows 10. Discovered recently in the Xbox Preview Program, Microsoft’s refund policy matches that of Steam’s to a T, offering self-service refunds for games with less than two hours played within 14 days of purchase.

Simple as that. As we said, the policy is virtually identical to Steam, as in DLC and season passes are not eligible for refunds, with some extras. You’ll need to wait at least one day post launch for a refund request, and you have to actually have downloaded and launched the app in order to request a refund. Additionally, Microsoft reserves the right to shut down refund access to those who “abuse” the system, with no direct explanation of what constitutes abuse.

(Source: Eurogamer)

Twitch Prime Offers RuneScape Goodies For April


Amazon Prime subscribers, among their other perks, enjoy access to Twitch Prime, a service that offers free channel subscriptions in addition to other monthly goods. This month, Twitch has partnered with Jagex to hand out a month of free membership and a few other bonuses. Log in to Twitch between April 11th and May 8th to claim your code and redeem a month of membership, 200 RuneCoins, 15 treasure hunter keys, and a Prime Colossus Legendary Pet.

The code itself needs to be redeemed by June 9th, with certain items (Treasure Hunter keys) not available for Ironman RuneScape accounts. Check out the instructions on the Twitch page for more details.

(Source: Twitch)