All the news that happened while you were asleep.
Microsoft announces Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft has announced Xbox Game Pass, a service that offers "unlimited access to over one hundred great Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles" as part of a monthly subscription of $9.99 USD per month, which appears to be Microsoft's answer to Sony's PlayStation Now service. The service is expected to launch within the next couple of months, and will only be available on the Xbox One. On Xbox's website, Microsoft has stated that some of the games available on the service at launch will include Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16, and Lego Batman. New games will be added to the catalogue of games available on the service every month as others are removed. The website states that the games will be downloaded "directly to your console and play online or offline in full-fidelity, without any streaming or connectivity issues." Those that subscribe will also be given a 20% discount on purchasing a game from the catalogue and 10% off "all related add-ons." Discounts to add-ons are only available "while the base game is currently in the catalogue." Xbox Live Gold is not required to play Xbox Pass games, though you'll still need a Gold membership to play multiplayer in those titles. For more information, see the full story on GameSpot.
LG is making a Steam VR headset
Reports are saying that LG is working on a device that will utilize both OpenVR and SteamVR Tracking, which will make the HTC Vive no longer the only VR headset designs for Steam's OpenVR platform. Little is known about LG’s headset, aside from the fact it is being built specifically for SteamVR. Valve has said that the peripheral is “designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience” and that the prototype will be shown off at GDC sometime this week. HTC has already indicated that LG’s joining of the SteamVR party in no way affects the relationship between Valve and HTC Vive. The pricing, technical specifications and release date of LG's virtual reality headset is not expected to be revealed for some time. For more information, see the full story on MCVUK.
Ark: Survival Evolved modders will be paid $4,000 a month
Studio Wildcard, the development studio behind Ark: Survival Evolved, has announced a new initiative for the Ark: Survival Evolved community, paying the 15 best modders $4,000 a month to create content for the game. Studio Wildcard's co-creative director, Jeremy Stieglitz, has given some advance details about how the initiative will work. Each month, the company will select 15 modders who will be paid $4,000 each to further develop the content for that period of time. The mods will be assessed at the end of the month, with some modders paid to keep going and others replaced. According to Stieglitz, the number of modders could grow beyond 15 based on the success of the initiative and the quality of the content produced. "The hope is that with this kind of stipend, these authors, who really are hobbyists and have day jobs so they can't really afford to spend as much time as they'd like on modding, that this will let them spend more time on modding, and ideally, hopefully, take some of these mods to completion." For more information, see the full story on Gamesindustry.biz.
Conan Exiles hits 12-month sales target in 28 days
Funcom has announced that Conan Exiles, they're title currently in early access, has hit its 12-month sale target of 480,000 copies in just 28 days, and as a result, Funcom will be putting more than $10-million worth of additional funding into the game. This additional funding will go towards covering content and technical updates, PR and marketing, and launches for the game on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Funcom expects Conan Exiles to remain in Early Access for the rest of this year. There are two other projects currently in development: another game based on the Conan IP at the company's Oslo studio, and another, more mysterious title at its North Carolina office. Funcom expects to grow its team from 103 people to as much as 130 by the end of calendar 2017. For more information, see the full story on Gamesindustry.biz.
Peter Moore is leaving EA
Electronic Arts' chief competition officer Peter Moore will soon join Liverpool Football Club, the English soccer team, as its new chief executive officer. Moore, who is a lifelong fan of the team and was born in Liverpool, will begin his new role at the football club in June. The move comes as a surprise, as Moore only entered his current role less than a year ago when EA founded its own competitive gaming division. He previously served as the company's chief operating officer and the president of EA Sports. Prior to that, he was best known in the gaming industry for his time spent heading up Microsoft's Xbox business and Sega of America. EA's CEO Andrew Wilson spoke about the departure, saying "Peter has been with us here at EA for nearly 10 years, and I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside him for that entire journey," he said. "If you've seen him on stage, or follow him on Twitter, or have ever read an interview with him, you will have a sense of Peter's wit and charisma. What you should also know is that he is an unbelievable teammate, a tireless leader for our people, and his deep appreciation for great games and the passionate players in our communities is unwavering." For more information, see the full story on GameSpot.