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Google details how Play alternative billing could work in the UK
On today's episode of bending the knee
It seems like yesterday when Fortnite developer Epic Games dragged Google to court alleging Play Store billing practices for in-app purchases (IAPs) were unfair to app developers. Since then, legislators in various countries around the world have investigated Google’s practices and ruled mostly in favor of the app developers. Now, Google Play billing in the UK could change, leaving independent developers free to choose billing systems that suit them best.
Messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram aren't just always trying to grow their user bases with new features, but find new ways to monetize those users through paid services. Telegram has offered a Premium subscription since June, allowing users to follow more channels, download files faster, and access additional features. Now the service has been spotted with individual messages and media locked behind a paywall.
One Apple exec actually wanted to bring iMessage to Android back in 2013
Apple already admitted that iMessage for Android was killed to keep its walled garden
The legal conflict between Epic Games and Apple has already had some fairly substantial fallout. The court of public opinion pressed Apple and Google to reduce marketplace fees for developers on the App Store and Play Store, and a number of Apple's antics have fallen under the scrutiny of politicians and the general public. The hearing also shined light on iMessage's Apple exclusivity, with the company admitting that it kept the messaging platform from Android in order to create a lock-in effect. But apparently that stance wasn't shared with everyone across the board. It turns out that Apple executive Eddy Cue wanted to bring iMessage to Android in 2013, only to be shut down by peers, as a new deposition shows.
Genshin Impact is the new benchmark for free-to-play mobile games, out now
Quality graphics, an actual story, and a large open world worth exploring
Genshin Impact is a free-to-play RPG that has been frequently compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, thanks to a similar cell-shaded art style. As you would expect, many gamers have been eagerly anticipating the release of Genshin Impact, and now that it's here, it would seem the wait was actually worth it. Sure, this is a free-to-play release. It's also a gacha game. So all of the typical underpinnings of F2P titles are here. Thankfully genuine care was taken to craft an enjoyable game that doesn't teeter too far into pay-to-win territory, resulting in a game that's not only worth playing but elevates the F2P field by setting a high benchmark that's going to be tough to beat.
Tree Men Games racing series PAKO has found a fair bit of success thanks to its breezy controls and casual obstacle avoidance gameplay. The last title we covered was PAKO 2, which was released two years ago, and expanded on the original title's gameplay. It was an enjoyable release. Today Tree Men Games has launched PAKO Caravan. It, too, offers a bunch of casual avoidance fun, but it also provides a new mechanic where you'll collect cars in a line, much like the classic video game Snake, making for a familiar but unique experience for seasoned fans of the previous titles.
Soda Dungeon 2 is an idle dungeon crawler, and it's officially available on Android starting today
After two months of early access, Soda Dungeon 2 launches today
Afro-Ninja Productions and Armor Games have teamed up once again to bring a sequel to their successful idle RPG Soda Dungeon to a host of platforms on July 9th. Better yet, the publisher and developer duo have released Soda Dungeon 2 in early access on the Google Play Store ahead of its official launch, leaving PC and iOS in the dust. Much like the original, this sequel is a free-to-play release, which means eager fans can check out the game right now without spending a dime.
Forza Street first look: A generic racer by any other name (Update: Out now)
Tapping two buttons has never felt more boring
Read update
Samsung held its annual Unpacked event yesterday, revealing a plethora of products, such as the new S20 line of phones. In an effort to make these phones look appealing to gamers, Samsung also announced that Microsoft's racer Forza Street will come to the Galaxy Store this spring as a free-to-play release. Of course, the game is already available for pre-registration on the Google Play Store, and seeing that I'm an extremely impatient person, I've sideloaded the APK (V29.0.9) to take the title for a spin to see exactly what it has to offer.
D3 Go! has announced today that its next mobile game is called G.I. Joe: War On Cobra, and it will be officially launched on Android on January 20th. The title is already available for pre-registration on the Play Store, and for the most part, it would seem that this will exist as a branded release that contains the same amalgamation of gameplay mobile gaming is best known for. So if you're looking to play yet another gacha game that's betting on '80s nostalgia to get people interested in a title built around the same shallow card-based strategy mechanics we've all experienced over and over again, I suppose G.I. Joe: War On Cobra should be on your radar.
If you live in a smaller or more obscure country, chances are you won't have access to paid apps on the Play Store. Thankfully, Google is always looking to expand support to more nations, and another batch has just been added to the list, Iraq chief among them.
In this day and age, it's easy to be cynical about the games industry, advertising, and the general state of a lot of consumer technology. Google has magnanimously decided to help Android game developers increase monetization opportunities by offering means to re-capture wayward players and keep paying ones happy in ad-free bliss. How, you might ask? Two ways: using ads to draw people back into a game and by using machine learning to only serve advertisements to those deemed less likely to buy in-app purchases.
There is no doubt that Hipster Whale is best known for its immensely popular endless arcade hopper Crossy Road, but did you know this is also the same company that developed Pac-Man 256 and Shooty Skies? That's a solid track record that speaks for itself, but if you've been wondering what the studio has been up to since Disney Crossy Road landed on the Play Store in 2016, then you'll want to take a look at its new self-published title Piffle, an adorable multi-ball brick-breaking game that mixes in some of the familiar bubble popping gameplay from Bust-a-Move.
A few months ago I wrote about the pre-registration announcement for Bandai Namco's casual free-to-play fighter Dragon Ball Legends, and it was clear that the game was going to be a more cinematic take on Tekken Mobile with a Dragon Ball skin slapped on top. Tapping on cards to pull off a few power moves as you balance holding your thumb on the screen to charge their power is really all there is to it, which in the end plays out more like a game of rock paper scissors instead of the traditional fighting games we are all familiar with. This may appeal to some of you since it looks great in action and is easy to pick up, though I can see why the casual card-based fighting genre doesn't appeal to everyone
You may not have noticed in the rush of your weekday routine, but today is Friday the 13th. So what better day is there for the creators of the popular serial killer puzzle game Slayaway Camp to release their latest horror-filled puzzler Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle? Surprisingly the studio somehow gained permission from New Line Cinema Productions to use the Friday the 13th license, which means you can expect to stalk and slay human prey as you take on the role of the infamous Jason Voorhees.
PerBlue Entertainment's Disney Heroes: Battle Mode is an upcoming free-to-play hero collection auto-brawler that takes advantage of both Disney and Pixar licenses for its theme. I have been able to get my hands on a working pre-release version, so I figured why not give some insight on what this game has to offer before it officially releases so that our readers will have a good idea what to expect. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on the beta of Disney Heroes: Battle Mode.
Just this morning Jam City announced that the upcoming release for their choose your own adventure game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is slated for April 25th. But that isn't the only news coming from the studio. They have also announced that a few of the actors from the Warner Bros. Harry Potter films have provided voiceover work for the game.
Halfbrick Studios aren't having a good year. They recently laid off half of their workforce and with that sudden change have also decided to start concentrating all of their efforts on their two most successful licenses, Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. Their latest release on the Play Store is an open beta product still under development. It is called Fruit Ninja Fight, and as the name would suggest, it's a multiplayer-focused Fruit Ninja game.
In an article from earlier this month, I talked about how Madfinger Games was planning the upcoming release for their long-awaited title Shadowgun Legends. This was supposed to go down on March 22nd, and well, it's the 22nd somewhere in the world, which means it's right on time. So if you dig mobile first-person shooters with a penchant for high-quality graphics, then you are in luck because Shadowgun Legends is finally here.
My Tamagotchi Forever has been available as a soft-launch title in Canada for the past few months, but it looks as though Bandai Namco is ready for the rest of us to get a taste of its new free-to-play virtual pet simulation game thanks to it officially releasing today on the Play Store. You can expect plenty of traditional Tamagotchi gameplay such as feeding and washing your digital pet, though there are a few new mechanics added on top that extend the longevity while also stuffing in a few too many in-app purchases.
It isn't often that Atari brings new games to the Play Store, which is why I wanted to take a closer look at their upcoming release Night Driver. If the name sounds familiar, well, that is because it's an old arcade game originally developed by Atari back in 1976 that was also ported later to the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64. This soft-launched mobile version is supposed to be a reimagining of the original racer, with all-new graphics and gameplay. It's also a free-to-play title with plenty of in-app purchases. So don't get your hopes up too high just yet.
As any X-Files fan knows, the truth is out there. And well, the truth is The X-Files: Deep State is an appalling release. Even when you take into consideration that this is a casual free-to-play hidden object game, it's still bad when compared to any of the similar titles found within the genre.