GamesBeat weekly roundup: Square Enix’s Marvel deal, and GTA vet’s new studio

Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we play Resident Evil VII (which or may not be scary, depending on which of our staff you ask), Overwatch passes 25 million players, and a new Pokémon game releases for mobile.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Pieces of flair and opinion

• The DeanBeat: How Warner Bros. rescued Avalanche Studios after Disney buried it
• The Top 5 3DS games? GamesBeat Decides
• Is Nintendo Switch going to completely replace the 3DS? GamesBeat Decides
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s theme music is better than anything coming out of Hollywood
• Resident Evil VII’s excellent, chilling design isn’t that scary for someone used to death
• Xbox One Creators Update: Here’s what’s different
• How Heroes of the Storm is evolving its esports scene
• Ashley Judd scorches the game industry for profiting from misogyny

Above: Overwatch keeps on trucking (or in D.Va’s case, meching).

Image Credit: Blizzard

News

• Overwatch blitzes past 25 million players on PS4, Xbox One, and PC
• Nintendo ad shows off Switch’s killer feature: It works in the bathroom
• Mass Effect: Andromeda’s marketing campaign amps up with a trailer that teases the story
• Grand Theft Auto V veteran Leslie Benzies forms studio to make open-world game Everywhere
• Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is Obsidian’s first stab at crowdfunding on Fig
• 2016 saw $30.3 billion in gaming mergers, acquisitions, and investments
• Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is Bandai Namco’s latest console series to join the PC ranks
• Digital game sales grew 10% in December while retail sales crashed
• Square Enix is making a Marvel Avengers game with Tomb Raider and Deus Ex developers
• Microsoft’s next Windows 10 preview build will include Game Mode
• Hi-Rez Studios partners with Uproar to get players to keep playing Paladins (update)
• Amazon’s latest version of Lumberyard game engine targets accessibility
• Rogue One special effects team to speak at Game Developers Conference
• Pokémon Sun and Moon now work with the 3DS’s Pokémon Bank storage app
• Square Enix teases ‘exciting announcement’
• Ghost Recon Wildlands could take forever to finish
• Heroes of the Dorm ditches ESPN for Facebook
• Video site Rooster Teeth launches its own game publishing business
• Prey will bring you more aliens to slaughter on May 5
• Conan Exiles is a brutal survival world debuting January 31
• Germany’s Goodgame Studios sheds 200 employees and focuses on core business
• Warner Bros. picks up Avalanche team to make Cars 3 game for Disney
• Overwatch’s Chinese New Year event launches with new Capture the Flag mode
• Vive Studios takes a swing at VR boxing with Knockout League
• Microsoft has early Xbox One Scorpio units working and running games
• EA announces Battlefield 1’s first expansion: They Shall Not Pass
• The new Call of Duty Zombies episode to feature ‘Clerks’ actor Kevin Smith
• The Banner Saga 3 starts Kickstarter campaign to finish the trilogy
• Minecraft: Education Edition’s free update adds teacher pause button and taller buildings
• Razer launches BlackWidow keyboard with 16.8 million colors
• Dishonored 2’s free update adds Custom Difficulty and Mission Select features
• Morgan Stanley raises Battlefield 1 sales estimate to 15 million
• Crowdfunding site Indiegogo appoints Nate Murray to lead gaming
• Fighting game Tekken 7 debuts June 2 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC

Above: WWE Champions on mobile.

Image Credit: Scopely

Mobile and social

• Squad Wars: Death Division is the latest attempt to make multiplayer shooters work on mobile
• Classic games Myst and Riven to debut on Android
• WWE teams up with Scopely for new puzzle RPG, WWE Champions
• Ludacris launches Scrabble-like Slang N’ Friendz mobile game
• nWay and Lionsgate show off Power Rangers: Legacy Wars mobile game
• Virtual reality fishing game Bait set for Google Daydream after catching 1 million players
• Flappy Bird creator releases extremely difficult Ninja Spinki Challenges mobile game
• Sensor Tower: King’s Bubble Witch 3 Saga crosses 10 million downloads since January 11 launch
• Pokémon Duel lacks Pokémon Go’s big draw: simplicity
• Apocalypse Now is finally going to get a video game
• Activision’s King quietly acquires analytics firm Omniata
• Pokémon Duel launches on iOS and Android
• Get Qurious Maker Box introduces kids to augmented reality play
• Spellsouls: Duel of Legends combines the MOBA and card game experience for mobile
• Fingersoft’s Hill Climb Racing 2 mobile game surpasses 40 million downloads

Reviews, previews, and interviews

• How Grand Theft Auto leader Leslie Benzies conceived Everywhere after rocky Rockstar departure
• Dauntless’s Owlbear-like Shrike is an homage to a classic D&D beast (update)
• How Ubisoft built Ghost Recon Wildlands as a huge open world where you can do anything
• The spooky beginning of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
• Capcom producer explains Resident Evil 7: Biohazard’s return to horror
• Decksplash is Bossa Studios’ zany skateboarding game for PCs