Jagex Issues Warning To Mobile Apps


With the launch of RuneScape on mobile devices, Jagex this week announced that they will be changing their policy in regards to how the company approaches mobile app developers using RuneScape’s IP to create unofficial companion programs. In a post published this week, the UK developer stated that they will be reaching out to app developers to discuss applying for a license to use the IP, and may seek removal of apps that do not meet their standards.

We are in the process of reviewing existing unofficial and unlicensed mobile apps and as a part of this process, we will be reaching out to the developers of existing mobile apps which utilise our IP, to explain our rights and we may give certain app owners the opportunity to discuss and apply for a licence to use our IP in relation to their existing app.

In cases where unofficial apps in our opinion do not meet our requirements or standards, or where license terms cannot be agreed we will seek their removal from mobile stores. We are constantly reviewing and updating the use of our IP and it is important to note that this current review only affects mobile apps.

Please note this is only for existing apps, and we will not be accepting any licence requests for new apps.  If you have a current live mobile app, we will contact you in the near future.

Source: RuneScape.com

Galactic Combat Game Master of Eternity Adds New Year Update


Master of Eternity (M.O.E, get it?), the turn-based mobile strategy game, this week launched its new year’s update delivering an overhaul of fresh content, including exclusive costumes and events. The Cheerleader Costume Event is now live for a limited time and the game is available for free on Android and iOS devices.

In Master of Eternity, players command PIxies armed with formidable mech suits. The Cheerleader Costume Event boasts several new features, including:

  •  Exclusive Costumes – Unlock two new cheerleader costumes through gems and a special mission event to customize M.O.E.’s Pixies;
  •  Festive Sales – Take advantage of rare sale prices of suits, generic seeds and parts for the limited-time New Year’s sale;
  •  Weekly Special Events – Play the Galactic Pension Expedition during weekdays and Ancient Relic Loot Battles during weekends to acquire modified materials and items;
  •  Premium Modification Package – For the duration of the event, the component quantity of existing sales products increases.

More information can be found at the official Facebook page. Master of Eternity was developed by Nexon Korea Corporation, subsidiary of Nexon Co.

IPE: Former Gearbox Counsel Accuses Randy Pitchford of Possessing Underage Pornography (Updates)


(Editor’s Note: It should be noted that any accusations made in this lawsuit are alleged and no presumption of guilt for accusations against either party should be presumed, either implied or otherwise. MMO Fallout makes no conclusion of guilt or innocence on either party.)

(Update Jan 11 6:40p.m.) Gearbox has released a statement to Kotaku that they will be filing a grievance with the STate Bar of Texas against Wade Callender for knowingly filing documents containing false accusations.

(Update Jan 11 6:25p.m.) Randy Pitchford has responded to the allegations in a series of messages on his Twitter account. Pitchford denies the allegations, classifying them as a “shake down” and part of a “greedy pursuit for money.” Randy is confident that he will prevail in the ongoing litigation between both parties.

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Ars Technica has found a podcast in which Randy Pitchford describes that the material left on the USB stick was not “underage” as claimed in the lawsuit. Viewers are only recommended to follow the above link if you really want to know what Randy Pitchford is into.

(Original Story) A former general counsel for Gearbox and Randy Pitchford are currently embroiled in a rather nasty string of lawsuits against one another for a multitude of charges, however a recent court filing has accused the Gearbox CEO of possessing underage pornography.

Both lawsuits detail a myriad of claims regarding breach of duty towards Gearbox as a developer, with Pitchford himself being accused of siphoning a $12 million bonus payment from the company into his personal account, as well as various claims of breach of contract revolving around the developer as well as a separate real estate company. Pitchford is suing, and being sued by, a man named Wade Callender. Callender is a former Navy Lieutenant Commander who worked as General Counsel to Gearbox from 2010 to 2018.

Callender is himself the target of a lawsuit by Gearbox, who accuse him in turn of owing money loaned for a home loan and tuition as well as abusing a company credit card for personal purchases.

 

But a part of this lawsuit comes in the form of a claim against Pitchford that the CEO in 2014 lost a USB drive at a Medieval Times restaurant containing sensitive Gearbox corporate material, which was found by a good samaritan who contacted Gearbox via email to return the device. Pitchford intervened before the data on the drive could be copied, however Callender is claiming that the device contained Pitchford’s personal collection of underage pornography.

“On information and belief, Randy Pitchford’s USB drive contained much more than the sensitive corporate documents of Gearbox and business partners like Take-Two Interactive, 2K Games, Sega, Microsoft, Sony, etc. Upon information and belief, Randy Pitchford’s USB drive also contained Randy Pitchford’s personal collection of “underage” pornography.”

Callender goes on to claim that Pitchford syphoned Gearbox profits to fund parties thrown by himself and his wife. The parties, termed “peacock parties,” in which adult men allegedly exposed themseves to minors, to the amusement of Pitchford himself. Links to both lawsuit filings are below.

Source: Scribd, Scribd

Diaries From Guild Wars 2: It’s Time To Kill Kralkatorrik


“I don’t know.”

(Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead for the latest Guild Wars 2 episode; All Or Nothing. If you don’t want the ending spoiled, stop reading now.)

I don’t know. The final words spoken by The Commander as the screen fades to black and the latest episode in the Guild Wars 2 living story comes to an end.

This month’s episode of Living Story pulled off the kind of twist I’d expect to see in a Game of Thrones arc. Those of us who have been following the living story have been adventuring with Aurene for over three years, from the day she hatched to putting her through tests so that she might one day be a blessing on Tyria instead of a burden, through her battles over the course of the Path of Fire expansion story, and now through Season 4 as we’ve exhaustively built her powers and learned that Aurene was Glint’s second scion, destined to destroy Kralkatorrik with the help of her champion (us) and take her rightful place as a powerful elder dragon. And in this episode we successfully made it through Glint’s trials, forged the new dragonblood weapons, and finally executed the plan to kill Kralkatorrik once and for all.

And then she died.

In one swift motion, everything that we worked for was destroyed. And as the commander comes forward to view her mangled body and our friends mourn the loss of their friend and only hope for stopping the end of the world, Braham wonders what we could possibly do now. And our commander, the single person that they depend on to lead the crew and know just the right way to solve any dilemma is forced to admit: “I don’t know.” Maybe it is all hopeless.

The writing team for the Guild Wars 2 Living Story deserves an award for this quarter’s episode in how masterfully it built up our expectations only to shoot them right in the heart. Talk about playing the long game. I went into this episode of two minds, the first being that there was no way they could possibly kill Kralkatorrik when this is definitely not the season finale. The other half reminded me that I didn’t think they would kill Palawa Joko as early as episode three, and yet they did it anyway.

BUT…

I’m going to go straight into the denial stage and say that I’m not entirely convinced that Aurene is gone for good. This is Guild Wars 2, after all, a world where necromancers exist, the afterlife is occasionally a suggestion more than a demand, and people and beings have come back from the dead. Aurene did eat the lich king after all, perhaps some of his powers of resurrection transferred over to her?

Another thing to think about is the Domain of the Lost. We know that Kralkatorrik was tearing it apart before our big battle, I don’t think it would have been so specifically discussed if it wasn’t important. Since Aurene died how she did, it’s likely we will find her in the Domain, and we know from past experience that it is possible to escape and return to the living world. We did it, Balthazar did it, Joko did it, in fact there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of protection to make sure that the dead actually stay dead in this world.

There are a lot of questions to be answered going into episode 6. What did Aurene see when she went through the portal and spoke to Glint? What effect will Aurene’s connection with Caithe bring? Can we get back into the Domain of the Lost to retrieve Aurene? Was everything that happened part of Glint’s plan? It looked like Aurene managed to brand Kralkatorrik during the fight, what effect will that have? Why did Kralkatorrik just leave when the fight was virtually won, and he could have destroyed the Commander and the remaining forces right then and there?

I can say that if Aurene is dead for good, the world just got a whole lot more bleak. Our weapon against an increasingly rampaging Kralkatorrik is gone and we have no ideas on what to do next. Unfortunately we really needed a dragon to replace Kralkatorrik, because in the world of Guild Wars 2 killing an elder dragon without at least an intern to replace them will just cause an imbalance and destroy the world anyway.

We’ll find out next time on Season 4 Episode 6: The Search for Aurene (Not the actual title). In the meantime, I’m going to go back to chopping these onions. It’s the onions, I swear!

Another thought about the episode, I really enjoyed the fact that Arenanet avoided going down the standard route of having the story peppered with several fights against small health sponges leading up to the big long fight against the large health sponge. They should do this more for future episodes, in my humbled opinion.

Bungie Announces Split From Activision, Retains Destiny IP


To the surprise of just about everyone, Bungie made the announcement today that they are splitting ways with Activision, with the former retaining publishing rights and control of the Destiny game going forward. In a joint statement released alongside this news, Activision/Bungie noted “going forward, Bungie will own and develop the franchise, and Activision will increase its focus on owned IP and other projects. Activision and Bungie are committed to a seamless transition for the Destiny franchise and will continue to work closely together during the transition on behalf of the community of Destiny players around the world.”

Activision stock has dropped nearly 7% after trading hours following this announcement.

Source: Activision Press Release

Maplestory 2 Launches Second Phase of Skybound Expansion


Maplestory 2 has launched the second phase of the Skybound Expansion today. The update introduces the Fortress Rumble Dungeon, and players who reach “trusted” reputation can enter five types of single player dungeons offering rewards including legendary weapons and armor. The update also introduces the Wrath of Infernog Chaos Raid, available to players at level 50 with a minimum of 9,000 gear score. Rewards for the dungeon include Pluto’s accessory set, the first legendary tier accessories available in game.

And finally, players can participate in the following events until January 31.

  • Infernog Expedition Support  –  Players level 10 and above can obtain Expedition Commemorative Coins based on cumulative login time

  • 2019 Lucky Pouch – Players level 10 and above can complete various quests to obtain a Lucky Pouch, and additionally can earn rewards by opening specific numbers of Lucky Pouches.

  • Hide-and-Seek Hijinks – Players level 10 and above must complete 16 various quests based on the corresponding NPCs. Players who complete quests will obtain rewards.  Players who became “Friend of the Day” and contributed to the quest condition check will get a buff.

More information can be found on Maplestory 2 at the official website.

[Video] Daybreak Game Company Discusses Weapons/Vehicles In Planetside Arena


A new video has released for the upcoming Battle Royale shooter Planetside Arena showcasing weapons and vehicles that will be available to players when the game launches on January 29. Senior Artist Chris Bishop and Senior Game Designer Troy Schram showcase weapons and upgrades as well as mobility and the role of vehicles.

Planetside Arena launches into Early Access later this month.

The Fantastic Four Arrive In Marvel Future Fight


Netmarble Corp announced today that the Fantastic Four have arrived in Marvel Future Fight, bringing with them Dr. Doom and his champion Victorious. In addition to the new characters, Crystal and She-Hulk will receive Fantastic Four uniforms with Moon Girl receiving a Monsters Unleashed battle armor uniform.

“Everyone at Marvel is so excited to see the Fantastic Four, who many consider kicked off the ‘Marvel Age of Comics’ with their debut, added to Marvel Future Fight,” said Marvel Games executive creative director Bill Rosemann. “While they may have awesome powers and go on amazing journeys into the unknown, at their heart the Fantastic Four are a family who may argue and bicker from time to time, but who ultimately stand with each other to protect the world against the universe’s greatest sci-fi threats.”

Along with the new characters and uniforms, the update also introduces a new Epic Quest for Mr. Fantastic, new rank boards, new comic cards, new uniform collections, and more. Marvel Future Fight is available on iOS and Android.

Source: Netmarble Press Release

Watch Paladins On Mixer, Get Rewards


Hi-Rez Studios wants you to play Paladins, but they would also like you to watch Paladins. This month, Hi-Rez launched the Mixer store in Paladins that incentivizes players to watch game streams for rewards. By linking your Mixer account and watching Paladins streams, you’ll receive coins that can be redeemed for skins and other cosmetics.

Players who link their accounts will receive a quest for a limited Khan skin (as shown above). The mixer store is only around for a limited time, and points are obtained at a rate of 1 per 12 minutes.

Source: Paladins

The Division 2 Snubs Steam For The Epic Game Store


 

The Division 2 is the latest title to be poached by Epic Games, as the news broke today that the title will not be released on Steam but will instead be exclusive to the Epic Store and Ubisoft’s own UPlay platform. Set for release on March 15, The Division 2 is the sequel to the title of the same name.

Epic Games fully launched its store just a few months back and is seeking to compete with Valve’s Steam platform through a combination of leveraging its massive userbase thanks to Fortnite, by offering competitive revenue sharing plans, and through securing exclusive titles from The Walking Dead: Final Season and now The Division 2.

Source: Ubisoft Press Release