Dec 15 2017
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Hyper Universe

Play Side-scrolling MOBA Hyper Universe Free This Weekend

Posted by | News, PC | No Comments

Side-scrolling, 2D MOBA Hyper Universe is gearing up to leave Early Access by hosting a its final free weekend event on Steam, starting today. The free weekend event ends December 20. The official release date has not yet been announced.

“We were excited to offer our passionate community the opportunity to join Hyper Universe’s Early Access period, allowing them to test the game and provide their valuable feedback,” said Jungsoo Lee, General Manager of Nexon America. “The development team has made great strides since beginning the process and remain committed to supporting Hyper Universe through launch and beyond. We’re looking forward to getting the final game into the hands of our loyal fans and new players soon after gathering feedback from this important test period.”

Hyper Universe is also currently on sale. Until January 4, 2018, you can grab the Founder’s Pack for $7.99, 50% off. The Founder’s Pack grants access to all 24 characters, called Hypers. When the game officially launches it will be free-to-play, but you’ll have to purchase (or earn) each Hyper.

A patch released today adds a new Bruiser Hyper, Hongdukei, as well as the new Ranked mode. Players must be level 5 and own at least 12 Hypers to access Ranked, which only be available until December 21. On December 21, a new update will add holiday-themed maps and skins.

Given the timing of this free weekend, Hyper Universe will most likely launch in early 2018. If you want to purchase all the heroes, now would be the time to do it. Otherwise wait until release and play the game for free, earning Hypers along the way.

The Hyper Universe free weekend begins today, and ends December 20.

Sep 18 2017
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battleborn

Gearbox Officially Ceasing Updates on Battleborn

Posted by | News, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | No Comments

Poor Battleborn. Gearbox’s hopeful MOBA-Hero Shooter had high hopes but was a complete non-starter when it launched a week before Overwatch in May of last year.

After a year and a half of updates developer Gearbox Software has officially pulled the plug. Battleborn’s servers will continue to stay up, but the game will essentially remain in maintenance mode, with no new updates forthcoming after the final planned Fall Update.

Battleborn’s Creative Director Randy Varnell took to the official forums to deliver news: “As of this week, there will be no more Battleplans and there is currently no planned content after the Fall Update. Details of any future changes or news will be made on our forums or through social media, so keep your radars on.”

“I want to personally thank you for giving Battleborn a chance, and dipping down into a new universe with us,” Varnell continued. “We make games for you. And many of you have shared with us how much Battleborn has meant to you personally.”

Varnell mentioned that he and “many folks at Gearbox are working on a highly anticipated project,” confirming what Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford teased during their PAX West 2017 panel. Clearly they’re busy working on Borderlands 3, though it’s yet to be formally announced or revealed.

As a final gift, there’s a free SHiFT code to unlock a skin for Deande. You can enter the following code in the ShiFT Menu under Extras. You have to redeem it by October 2.

ZKK33-FT59R-KCK3S-XCR33-B56HB

Since launch Battleborn added 5 new DLC characters to bring the total number of heroes to 30. Two more multiplayer modes were also added as well as five story missions.

After failing to garner a healthy multiplayer audience, Battleborn transitioned to a free-to-play model earlier this summer. The Free Trial offered a rotation of heroes. In-game currency could be earned to purchase more, like most free-to-play MOBAs, or to unlock the full game, including the co-op story missions.

My own thoughts on the game were mixed; you can read my review here.