After five years in early access, multiplayer tactical shooter Squad finally launched this week. Up to 100 players can romp around big levels on foot and in vehicles, in action which sits somewhere between Battlefield and Arma on the simulated soldier seriousness scale. It was started by some of the folks behind Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality, y’see. Though just because the game’s now out of early access, doesn’t mean the devs are done with it. They’ve laid out plans for new modes, maps, and more that stretch into at least next year.

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Tactical sim-shooter Squad is an intimidating beast. Boasting realism up there with the Arma series, but the added pressure of having 39 other players relying on you, it seems like it should> have a tutorial. And now it does, coming just a few months after its December 15th early access debut. In 2015. Ah. Still, that intimidating first step hasn’t stopped it from becoming a big hit among the mil-sim crowd. The game has sold over a million copies, and devs Offworld Industries just rolled out a major update featuring the Russian BMP-2, which you can see a video breakdown of below.

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We’ve just passed the half-way point of 2018, so Ian Gatekeeper and all his fabulously wealthy chums over at Valve have revealed which hundred games have sold best on Steam over the past six months. It’s a list dominated by pre-2018 names, to be frank, a great many of which you’ll be expected, but there are a few surprises in there.

2018 releases Jurassic World Evolution, Far Cry 5 Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Warhammer: Vermintide II are wearing some spectacular money-hats, for example, while the relatively lesser-known likes of Raft, Eco and Deep Rock Galactic have made themselves heard above the din of triple-A marketing budgets. (more…)

You know what might relax you this weekend? Serious warfare. Squad, the early access FPS offering 40v40 tactical action with vehicles and all, is currently holding a free trial weekend on Steam. All and sundry are invited. If you played — and miss — the Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality, hey, most of Squad’s squad worked on that. Round up the gang and tell them to be polite, because they’re being invited into someone else’s community. (more…)

Take-Two Interactive Software, the owners of 2K Games and studios including Firaxis and Rockstar, have bought Kerbal Space Program [official site]. Unlike when Microsoft bought Minecraft gang Mojang, Take-Two are only buying the game and not the studio who make it, Squad. However, Squad will continue to work on the splendid spaceship-building sandbox game and its upcoming expansion. This acquisition is announced barely a week after Valve confirmed that several former KSP developers had joined them for something mysterious. Interesting times. … [visit site to read more]

The big boys at Valve have hired an unknown number of folks behind the space sim Kerbal Space Program [official site], RPS fanzine PC Gamer is reporting. A former Valve developer said as much in an interview on the podcast Game Dev Unchained and a current Valve spokesperson confirmed it to the mag, saying We ll be announcing more soon . Good work, everyone, I ve had to do absolutely no digging of my own. … [visit site to read more]

A mission editor is coming Kerbal Space Program [official site] as part of a paid expansion pack, developers Squad have announced. ‘Making History’ is its name, and recreating history is its game. The expansion will come with a set of missions inspired by real-world historical jaunts from the early days of spaceflights, along with tools to create your own missions or download missions other players have made. A little more purpose for the spaceship-building sandbox does sound good. … [visit site to read more]

Fancy some different FPS action this weekend? Rainbow Six Siege has a free trial with a taste of its wall-busting tactical action, as we’ve already mentioned, and the realistic action of Squad [official site] is open to all too. Squad is made by some folks who worked on the Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality and follows a similar path, offering 50v50 realistic-ish combined arms action. It’s still in early access but has been coming along, as you can see by playing it yourself. The full game is free to try this weekend on Steam and it’s on sale as well. … [visit site to read more]

“Beep beep beep beep,” said Leonard Nimoy, imitating his favourite piece of space hardware. But what is one voice in the vast night sky? You want yourself a satellite network, Len my son. That’s the focus of update 1.2 for Kerbal Space Program [official site], which launched last night. It lets players link satellites and other hardware to bounce and boost signals all over, and also use satellites to map terrain. Oh, and the update makes your wheeled vehicles and flying vehicles more stable, less prone to wonky physics explosions – unless that’s what you really want, of course. … [visit site to read more]

One thing I love about spaceflight simulator Kerbal Space Program [official site] is that I’m yet to find two players who’ve shared identical experiences. I’ve only ever played in short bursts myself, but mastering takeoff still heads my to do list. Others I’ve chatted with speak of grand space voyages and interesting discoveries. Heck, Adam even prefers the game as a spectator sport, which speaks volumes for its wide-reaching appeal.

Which is why it’s a surprise to learn that lead developer Felipe Falanghe has announced his departure from Kerbal Space Program after five and a half years of service.

… [visit site to read more]