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Apex Legends Mobile is here, warts and all
Electronic arts brings its battle royale hero shooter to Android as a bite-sized offering
We've known since April 2021 that Apex Legends would be going mobile, with the release date finally revealed last week, set for May 17th. Well, that's today, and so the game is officially available. While it took its time coming, now that Apex Legends Mobile is here, it's time to see exactly how the mobile offering stacks up to its console and PC brethren.
SteelSeries Stratus+ hands-on: The best controller for Android just got better
An already great controller, now with USB-C and a phone clip
I've been using the SteelSeries Stratus Duo for many years as my go-to Android controller when testing games, but there's no doubt it was growing old with its micro USB port. Thankfully, SteelSeries has updated the iconic Stratus Duo, launching the Stratus+, complete with some handy upgrades, such as USB-C support and a new controller clip (now packed in the box). However, the 2.4GHz WiFi support found in the Stratus Duo is gone, along with the USB dongle. Still, the Stratus+ is the Duo perfected, and here's why.
Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds is bringing Studio Ghibli charm to Android this month
This stylish MMORPG is two weeks away from release
Last month we learned that Netmarble's mobile MMORPG Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds entered into pre-registration, signaling we were nearing release. As of this morning, the game's official Twitter account announced the release date. The game is set to launch on May 25th, which is only two weeks away, bringing with it a bunch of original animations from Studio Ghibli.
Apex Legends Mobile finally has a release date, and it's very soon
A new exclusive mobile character is expected with the launch
We first learned that Electronic Art's popular battle royale Apex Legends would be coming to mobile back in April of 2021, more than a year ago. During this time, EA kicked off pre-registration as well as regional launches in select countries. Of course, we've been waiting to hear what the official global release date would be, and today it's been revealed that the game will land on May 17th, which is less than a week away.
PUBG Mobile introduces the Official Livik map
2.0 is here bringing new weapons, a new vehicle, and classic map improvements
It's been two months since the last update for PUBG Mobile, and so it's time again for some fresh content to land as the game enters into its 2.0 release. As of this morning, PUBG Mobile's 2.0 update will start rolling out to players, bringing with it the Official Livik map (freshly out of beta), along with some new weapons, a new vehicle, and classic map improvements. Of course, a new season will be starting soon, ushering in Royale Pass Month 11, otherwise known as Hidden Hunters. So let's dig in and see what's new.
Bandai Namco announces the end date for Tales of Luminaria — six months after it launched
The developer admits it didn't "do enough"
Tales of Luminaria is a mobile gacha game in the Tales series from Bandai Namco; described as a high-quality anime RPG, but in reality, it started off rough in the West and apparently never got better. Well, Bandai announced early this morning that the game isn't long for this world, set to close down in two months. The typical we're sorry post is available on Twitter, thanking players while apologizing for not "doing enough." Sadly, the game will end in the middle of its planned story, though one last episode is scheduled for the end of May, with the game's servers going offline on July 19th.
Electronic Arts is working on a Lord of the Rings game and it sounds awful
You guessed correctly, it's free to play, and you'll collect LoTR characters
There's a new Lord of the Rings game coming to Android, this time from Electronic Arts. It's called The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, and it will be set in Tolkien's literature world (not to be confused with the Warner Brothers movie world), as EA has partnered with Middle-earth Enterprises and not Warner Bros. (like NetEase did with The Lord of the Rings: War). The game will offer collectible characters and is set to enter regional beta this summer, currently being worked on by Capital Games, the same developer behind the pay-to-win cash-grab Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes.
Genshin Impact has reportedly pulled in a stunning $3 billion on mobile so far
The game is averaging $1 billion every six months
The highly-popular gacha collection game Genshin Impact launched on mobile, PCs, and consoles in 2020 and has seen resounding success for the last two years despite its free-to-play gacha underpinnings (or perhaps because of). To say the game has been racking up moolah since its release is an understatement, as it's easily one of the best Android games around. Well, the digital analytics platform Sensor Tower recently reported the game earned a whopping $3 billion on Android and iOS. That's a heck of a lot of waifus sold worldwide, no doubt about it.
Rainbow Six Mobile hands-on: A promising start, even in alpha
A controller is definitely recommended for this tactical shooting game
Yesterday the first closed alpha for Rainbow Six Mobile started rolling out, and Ubisoft has been kind enough to grant Android Police access so that I can share my thoughts with everyone. Keep in mind that this is an alpha, so this bite-sized version of Siege currently exists in an unfinished state where there are only two maps and sixteen characters available. But if you're curious to see precisely how the development of Rainbow Six Mobile is stacking up, we have a 20+ minute gameplay video to share with everyone to illustrate exactly how the alpha plays on Android.
Rainbow Six Mobile fires its first shot — closed alpha starts today
Count yourself lucky if you've got an invite and a supported device
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Like all mobile game releases, a trickle of information to keep eager players hyped is the typical strategy for publishers, and so it comes as no surprise to see Ubisoft plugging a fresh dev diary video that covers the details for the upcoming closed alpha for Rainbow Six Mobile. Earlier this month, Ubisoft officially announced that this bite-sized mobile version of Siege would be landing this year, and today we learn that the first closed alpha will kick off at the beginning of May.
Warcraft Arclight Rumble first look: Blizzard has a brand new RTS for mobile
Let's dig into the gameplay to see how it stacks up
Diablo Immortal isn't the only mobile game coming from Blizzard this year. The studio has been working on a Warcraft title specifically for portable play, known as Warcraft Arclight Rumble. It's still a work in progress, but the official reveal is today. At first glance, the game might look like a Clash Royale clone, but once you dig in, it's easy to see there's a little more going on within Warcraft Arclight Rumble, thanks to its focus on single-player content. Sure, PvP will exist, along with co-op, but what takes center stage is the primary campaign that offers 70+ missions. So let's dig in and see what Warcraft Arclight Rumble is all about!
Relic Hunters brings its looter-shooter gameplay to Netflix Games
Rogue Snail is going mobile with the release of Relic Hunters Rebels
Netflix is very much all-in with its gaming division, launching new titles on the regular. As it stands, we already know an Exploding Kittens game is coming this month, but ahead of that release comes the arrival of a Relic Hunters: Rebels. This is a title described as a looter shooter RPG, which is essentially a bite-sized offering of the series' shooter combat on mobile, built without the explicit need for heavy monetization like so many competitors on the Play Store, as the game is free to play with a Netflix subscription.
Tenet in grainy B&W on the Playdate is just the sort of trolling Christopher Nolan's been asking for
Why watch in the theater when you can view the film on a tiny pixelated screen
As we all know, some directors can be pretentious auteurs (or at least some can be perceived this way), so it didn't come as much of a surprise to hear Christopher Nolan (director of The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar) made a stink about seeing Tenet in theaters back in 2020. Thanks to this meme-worthy outlook during a time people were self-distancing, it's a prime target for trolling, which is precisely why an enterprising user on Twitter has loaded the movie onto the tiny black and white pixelated screen of the adorable new handheld gaming device known as the Playdate.
Hands-on with Echoes of Mana: A patchwork of nostalgia enveloped in a gacha wrapper
The latest game in the ARPG series, but it doesn't stack up to the originals
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Over the last year, Square Enix has been busy celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Mana action RPG series, launching classic remasters like Trials of Mana and Legends of Mana on the Play Store. Of course, these are older games despite their remastering, so it's about time something new was brought to the table, and so Square Enix has developed an all-new title in the Mana series called Echoes of Mana. It's a free-to-play gacha game that offers a new story, and it just launched this past week, which is precisely why we've revisited our guide to ensure it's up-to-date for the global launch. So if you're interested to see how the global version of the game stacks up now that it's out across the world, you've come to the right place.
Catalyst Black is your next competitive obsession, and it's coming next month
The new hero shooter from the makers of Vainglory
Super Evil Megacorp capitalized on the lack of MOBAs on mobile with the release of Vainglory back in 2014, and the game found a lot of success, thanks to fair pricing and balanced gameplay. Well, the developer has a new game in the works, called Catalyst Black, and it's coming to Android and iOS on May 25th.
Echoes of Mana is now available on Android as a free-to-play release
The game brings a fresh story to the classic action RPG series
We first learned about Echoes of Mana back in June 2021, and the game finally entered into pre-registration this past March, signaling Square Enix was ramping up to the global release. While the initial Apple App Store listing touted an April 30th release date, Square confirmed at the end of last week the game would launch on the 27th. Coincidentally, that's today, and as of early this morning the servers for Echoes of Mana are live.
Street of Rage 4 will launch on mobile with optional Mr. X's Nightmare DLC
For $3 the DLC nets you a few new characters and an excellent survival mode
Streets of Rage 4 is styled after the classic Streets of Rage games originally developed and published by Sega on the Sega Genesis. Twenty-five years after Streets of Rage 3, a direct sequel was released by Dotemu after reaching a licensing agreement with Sega. This game is known as Streets of Rage 4, and it's thankfully a fantastic followup, so much so that the game has seen tons of success across consoles and PC. Well, as of this morning, Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games have announced that Playdigious will be bringing Streets of Rage 4 to Android and iOS this year.
Get an early look at Niantic's new AR game Peridot as gameplay video surfaces
As promised, you'll raise adorable augmented reality creatures in real-world environments
Earlier this month, we learned that Niantic is working on a new augmented reality game where you'll raise and breed adorable creatures. This is the developer that's best known for creating Pokémon GO, and its upcoming release, Peridot, sounds pretty familiar. However, if you've been curious to see what precisely Peridot brings to the table, thanks to a recent soft launch in Malaysia, the title's gameplay has finally leaked online. While we knew this soft launch would kick off sooner rather than later, now that it's underway, we can all get an eyeful of what the augmented reality pet raising game has to offer.
Diablo Immortal release date set for June 2022
Blizzard confirms the long-awaited action role-playing game is coming to mobile and PC soon
On the cusp of the weekend, Blizzard announced it would hold a YouTube Premier event on April 25th, at the early hours of 7:30 am Eastern. Well, this event has just revealed Diablo Immortal's long-awaited release date. The game is almost ready after four years of development, set to arrive on the Play Store this June.
Diablo Immortal announcement incoming: Here's where to watch
Will Blizzard finally reveal the game's release date?
It's no secret that Diablo Immortal was stuck in development for the last four years after a particularly rememberable announcement at BlizzCon 2018 to a jeering audience. In the following years, an alpha and beta passed us by, and in that time, Blizzard has been busy continually polishing the game, and so it would appear that we are finally reaching endgame, as Blizzard has announced through a recent tweet that it will be holding a YouTube Premiere event this morning, Monday, April 25th.