Welcome to the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind for August 29, 2020 where we cover stories and events that we missed over the past week.
This past week had several stories break building up to gamescom 2020. Two stories that stood out was Curious Expedition 2 winning big and Last Oasis revealing a new cinematic teaser featuring the Exoskeleton. And for those keeping count, week three is now in the book for the Epic and Apple feud that continued to take more twist and turns.
Here is a quick recap, for those that missed, of a few stories NGN covered over the previous week. Game releases were abound all week long with the FMV title Jessika, gravity is challenged by Wira & Taksa and the shape-shifting pacifist SHEEPO hitting Steam. The 2D arcade shooter TinyShot showed off a trailer and Solasta: Crown of the Magister is coming to early access in fall. Lastly, starting on September 1 PC players can help guide Ki through the afterlife in Evergate.
Epic Games Battle with Apple Continues for the Third Week
Continuing with the Apple vs Epic or Epic vs Apple saga for August here are the developments in week three. On Sunday, August 23, Epic hosted #FreeFortnite Cup. The event was billed as one more Victory Royale with friends across all platforms before players on iOS get be left behind on August 27 when Chapter 2 Season 4 launches.
Monday things quickly took another twist and turn on this long road with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hearing oral arguments on a motion from Epic Games requesting a temporary restraining order against Apple on suspending their accounts. Two big things came from the court’s ruling. First Epic Games hasn’t demonstrated irreparable harm towards its games as Epic strategically breached its agreements with Apple. Secondly, the court ruled that Apple can’t cut off access to the Unreal Engine right now as it was Apple who chose to act severely.
The ruling was limited in scope and was done to protect the status quo while the court can hear more arguments in the future. A full hearing on the injunction is scheduled for September 28.
On August 27, the latest season of Fortnite went live and everyone on iOS devices was left behind. However, that was not the only thing to happen. On Friday, Apple continued the war effort against Epic Games by canceling the publisher’s account on the App Store. This move effectively banned the rest of Epic’s games on the App Store
Going forward no one can guess how long this battle will go on. It can be resolved next week, which seems unlikely given the war footing of both companies, or players might have to wait years for this to conclude. For game developers the Unreal Engine might not be compatible with Apple products in the distant future which makes starting new projects with the engine a real risky venture. As for gamers, the main takeaway from everything is that if one wants to play Fortnite or any other Epic Games content then they will need to find a device that is not an Apple iOS product.
Last Oasis Exosuit Cinematic
Indie developer Donkey Crew’s nomadic MMO, Last Oasis, is being featured on the Indie Arena Booth at gamescom 2020. To celebrate this event two things are happening. First, the developer has released a new cinematic teaser for the Exoskeleton. This exosuit like device has been a popular item demanded from the Last Oasis community that will protect players in combat and allow them to carry two ranged weapons.
The second thing happening is the Steam Indie Arena Booth sale that is discounting Last Oasis by 34%. In other words, the game is on sale at a great deal. Plus if you like the game’s soundtrack it too can be picked up at the 34% off discount. Note that this sale ends on August 31 at 10 AM Pacific.
Last Oasis is available in early access on Steam at a regular price of $29.99 USD. In addition, the Last Oasis Soundtrack is available as a separate DLC, regularly priced at $7.99 USD. For more information follow @OasisNomad on Twitter or join the Last Oasis Discord.
Curious Expedition 2 Wins ‘Best Indie Game’ at gamescom 2020
Berlin-based indie game studio Maschinen-Mensch and Thunderful Publishing won ‘Best Indie Game’ at gamescom 2020 for their turn-based expedition adventure sim, Curious Expedition 2. The nomination from more than 140 submissions was made by a jury comprised of German and international game journalists, YouTubers and other industry experts.
We’re humbled and honoured to receive this award with so many ridiculously talented indie developers participating in gamescom this year. Thank you!
Johannes Kristmann, Co-founder and Art Director, Maschinen-MenschCurious Expedition 2 is available as an early access game on Steam for $16.99 USD. The Windows PC title is expected to officially launch in Fall 2020. Players can pick up the original Curious Expedition on Humble Bundle and Steam.
Thank you for reading the August 29, 2020 Edition of the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind. Don’t forget to check back with us next Saturday for the next edition of Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind and until then, keep on gaming.
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