GamesBeat Weekly Roundup

Here are some of the stories that ran on GamesBeat this week. We’re running more articles exclusively in the GamesBeat section of VentureBeat, particularly when they’re mainly of interest to our game readers. The broader-interest posts will continue to run on VentureBeat as well. Please visit the GamesBeat section to catch up on the latest game news. We’re ramping up our game coverage, so you’ll find a larger amount of deeper news at GamesBeat.

[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":409890,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,games,","session":"A"}']

Here are the best stories that appeared exclusively on GamesBeat this week:

Minecraft makes multimedia history with a novel-inspired adventure map

Armored Core V: A blend of motorheads and samurai

4 things you won’t see in Assassin’s Creed III

At 700K now, this dude is aiming for 1M gamerscore on the Xbox 360

Martha Stewart guest stars in Zynga’s CastleVille social game

Sony readies three new freemium PlayStation Home games

An in-depth preview of SimCity reveals an intricately crafted experience

[aditude-amp id="medium1" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":409890,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,games,","session":"A"}']

Meet the one OMGPOP employee who turned down a new job at Zynga

Mobile search ad StartApp raises $4M in first round of funding

Call of Duty front man resigns from Infinity Ward

Troubled U.K. retailer Game closes 277 stores

[aditude-amp id="medium2" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":409890,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,games,","session":"A"}']

Mass Effect 3: Character deaths

Mass Effect 3: Romances

Mass Effect 3: Endings, analyses, and theories

And here are some of the big game stories of the week:

[aditude-amp id="medium3" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":409890,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,games,","session":"A"}']

Disney and DeNa to collaborate on mobile social games

THQ lays off 118 people and downsizes ambitions for Warhammer 40K game

Worldwide mobile gaming revenue could reach $7.5 billion by 2015

Journey team loses one of its co-founders

[aditude-amp id="medium4" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":409890,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,games,","session":"A"}']

Badgeville powers gamified reality TV show Escape Routes

Sony’s PlayStation 4 may be code-named Orbis

Outbid mixes gamification and social networks with real-time online auctions

Kinect for Windows 1.5 will have better tracking and broader reach

[aditude-amp id="medium5" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":409890,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,games,","session":"A"}']

Mob Science raises $1M for social games on Zynga’s platform

Angry Birds creator Rovio acquires Futuremark Games Studio

Angry Birds Space zooms to 10M downloads in just three days

Guild Wars 2 challenges MMO establishment with hybrid business model (preview)