Reporting on the games made in Canada and the creators behind them
With Cuphead coming out later this fall, Microsoft and Studio MDHR are in full swing on marketing. Conan O'Brien featured Cuphead on his Clueless Gamer series, which you can check out below.
CONAN Highlight: Supermodel Kate Upton doesn't get any special treatment from Conan. Conan gets champagne and a live violinist for every Clueless Gamer guest. More CONAN @ http://teamcoco.com/video Team Coco is the official YouTube channel of late night host Conan O'Brien, CONAN on TBS & TeamCoco.com.
Fall Guys have announced the game will be getting Cuphead specific skins.
Tis the season of delays, and Studio MDHR is up next - announcing today that the DLC follow up to Cuphead is delayed.
Oakville and Regina-based game developers Studio MDHR (@StudioMDHR) have released the originally Xbox console exclusive Cuphead for PlayStation 4 today, the last major gaming platform it was absent from (besides Ouya).
Indie darling Cuphead has shipped 5 million copies across PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and is on sale to celebrate!
Teased earlier in the week, Blue Isle Studios formally announced their next game - Citadel: Forged with Fire. The game looks like a combination of Skyrim with some Harry Potter wand magic you'll play as a "newly minted apprentice of the magic arts" and will have complete freedom to shape their own destiny.
“Welcome to the magical world of Ignus: a 36 square kilometer landmass of sweeping plains, dense forests, craggy mountains, festering swamps and frozen tundra. Leave no stone unturned as you explore dangerous caves and ancient ruins to recover powerful artifacts and uncover a rich history spanning thousands of years. Embark on a journey across the land to find the perfect place for you and your allies to call home.”
You can check out the trailer below, and head over to the Steam page to check it out. The game will hit Early Access on July 26th with a full release planned for early 2018.
This massive online sandbox RPG features elements of magic, spellcasting, building, exploring and crafting. Tame mighty beasts, forge alliances, explore uncharted territories or fight for dominance in Citadel: Forged with Fire! Featuring music composed by the award-winning composer of "Ori and the Blind Forest" Gareth Coker!
Citadel: Forged With Fire from Blue Isle Studio has been out on Steam Early Access since 2016, and is now out in full on Steam, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
London based developer Digital Extremes have released an update for their popular free-to-play sci-fi ninja shooter Warframe. Chains of Harrow will provide players a new quest similar to a horror film.
"In response to a disturbing transmission from Palladino, the Red Veil Clan's spiritual medium, Tenno are compelled to investigate a dark, mysteriously abandoned Steel Meridian spacecraft found adrift. Inside the vessel, lights flicker and emergency lights strobe, revealing bodies of dead crew members. All is quiet except for whispers heard echoing throughout the lifeless craft. What does it all mean? Players must uncover the terrifying reality of what happened onboard, how the Red Veil might play a part in it, and more."
Check out below for the trailer, as well as the full Press Release. Warframe can be downloaded on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Harness the power of the Void to bolster allies' defenses and amplify their lethality with the newest Warframe, Harrow. Coming soon! https://www.warframe.com/chains-of-harrow
“NEW WARFRAME UPDATE EMERGES FROM THE DARKNESS WITH PRIEST-LIKE “HARROW”
A Brooding New Warframe with Quest, New Weapons, and Enemies
Set In New Gorgeous Graphic Overhaul “Earth Remastered”
LONDON, ON – June 28, 2017 – Materializing from the smoky darkness, Digital Extremes’ newest Warframe® update “Chains of Harrow” arrives on PC today introducing “Harrow,” a menacing new Warframe who wields priest-style powers and offers a terrifying new, lore-based quest.
With today’s update, the ever-evolving free-to-play action hit, sporting 30 million registered users and counting, also reveals the start of a planned graphical overhaul of the Solar System beginning with Earth. Dubbed “Earth Remastered,” the newly enhanced Earth — powered by Digital Extremes’ proprietary Evolution Engine — turns the formerly good-looking planet into a stunningly lush, beautifully lit, organically structured environment. According to PC Gamer: “The difference is stunning, with some scenes almost looking like an entirely different game.”
Download the new Chains of Harrow video, Earth Remastered video, Dual Wielding Video, plus screenshots, and key art here: digitalextremesltd.box.com/s/1x7odrb8sk9e4gc9kccfj2wato5wwpfi
Watch Harrow’s profile video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2HXpeUh2QY&t=4s
With Chains of Harrow, Warframe players (AKA Tenno) will descend into a haunting new quest resembling a horror film. In response to a disturbing transmission from Palladino, the Red Veil Clan’s spiritual medium, Tenno are compelled to investigate a dark, mysteriously abandoned Steel Meridian spacecraft found adrift. Inside the vessel, lights flicker and emergency lights strobe, revealing bodies of dead crew members. All is quiet except for whispers heard echoing throughout the lifeless craft. What does it all mean? Players must uncover the terrifying reality of what happened onboard, how the Red Veil might play a part in it, and more.
Chains of Harrow is loaded with additional content — from new enemies and weapons to new cosmetics, Captura tiles, an Octavia Instrument Pack, and more:
Play as Harrow: Harness the power of the Void to bolster allies’ defenses and amplify their lethality with Lotus’ newest Warrior, Harrow, using four deadly abilities:
Condemn – Cast a wave of energy that chains them where they stand. Each enemy held reinforces Harrow’s shields.
Penance – Sacrifice shields to boost reload, and fire rate while converting damage inflicted on enemies into health for Harrow and nearby allies.
Thurible – Channel Harrow’s energy into the Thurible to generate a buff. The more energy channeled, the longer the buff will last. Once finished, kill enemies to bestow nearby allies with bursts of energy. Headshots produce extra energy.
Covenant – Protect nearby allies with an energy force that absorbs all damage and converts it to a Critical Chance bonus for all those under the Covenant. Headshots are amplified even further.
Take the Quest: A disturbing transmission from Red Veil’s spiritual medium leads to an abandoned Steel Meridian vessel adrift on the outskirts of Earth. Inside, strange whispers echo throughout the lifeless vessel. What force unleashed this evil and how can it be stopped? (The Chains of Harrow Quest will appear in the Codex for those who have completed The War Within and unlocked Mot in the Void.)
Earth Remastered: Experience Earth like never before with the beautifully remastered Earth environments. Clash with Grineer amidst luscious vegetation and envelope your Warframe in the naturalistic lighting and a remastered soundscape. Visit any of the Earth Terrain Missions to experience this stunning overhaul.
New Grineer Enemy: Nox is a new enemy that is part of the Elite Chem Strike Unit. Nox wields a toxin-filled heavy gun that shoots blobs of toxic goo that attach themselves to targets before exploding. Take out these gruesome enemies by shooting their glass helmets and exposing their deteriorating skin. Beware of their final moments, as they explode into a lethal cloud.
New Weapons:
Knell (pistol): Ring the death knell. Every headshot from this scoped pistol increases Critical Chance for a short period.
Scourge (spear): Blast targets with corrosive plasma projectiles, or toss the scepter to inflict nearby enemies with an energy field that amplifies their brain waves to attract bullets.
New Syandana: A “priestly” addition, the Nave Syandana completes Harrow’s iconic look.
And More: Check out the new Captura Tiles (Forest tiles), Octavia’s Anthem-related Instrument Pack (Corpus & Grineer Packs), Glaive and Melee Rework (all melee throwing weapons can be used concurrently with secondary weapons), Alt-Helm, new Riven Mods for Melee Weapons, and more.
Chains of Harrow comes just before the development team hosts Warframe fans from around the world at the second annual TennoCon on Saturday, July 8 in London, Ontario, Canada. Tickets are nearly sold out but still available at Warframe.com/tennocon and for those unable to attend, viewers can tune into twitch.tv/warframe to watch the biggest reveal of the year coming to Warframe during TennoLive starting at 3 pm PST/ 6 pm EST on Saturday, July 8.
Chains of Harrow releases today on PC and will come to console shortly after. Please visit the official Warframe website at www.warframe.com to join the community on PC, Xbox One or PS4 and download the game for free. To keep up with the latest updates from the development team, be sure to follow Warframe on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
ABOUT DIGITAL EXTREMES
Founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, Digital Extremes ranks as one of the world’s top independent video game development studios. Originating with the co-creation of Epic Games’ multi-million unit selling Unreal® franchise including Unreal, Unreal Tournament – and all its iterations – Digital Extremes went on to develop Dark Sector®, BioShock® for the PlayStation®3, the BioShock 2 multi-player campaign, and The Darkness® II. The studio has reached its greatest critical and commercial success with the free-to-play action game, Warframe®, boasting a global community of more than 30 million registered players on PC, PS4™ and Xbox One. For more information about Digital Extremes, visit www.digitalextremes.com. To sign up for Warframe, visit www.warframe.com.”
Local Toronto developer Massive Damage Inc releases Halcyon 6 to critical acclaim, and now it looks like they are working on a big update which we'll learn about soon. Check out the below Tweets, and pick up the game on Steam.
We've been quiet lately but we're working hard on a huge update for Halcyon 6 and starting up something new :)#gamedev #pixelart #indiedev pic.twitter.com/YJ5vxICXgO
— Halcyon 6™ (@Halcyon6Game) May 25, 2017
Exciting news is forthcoming.. here's a #screenshotsaturday teaser ;)#gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #pixel_dailies #gameart #indiegame pic.twitter.com/IJH3HqPogF
— Halcyon 6™ (@Halcyon6Game) July 8, 2017
Toronto-based indie studio Massive Damage (@Massive_Damage) announced their upcoming tactical squad-based rogue-lite RPG Star Renegades (@starrenegades) is releasing on PC September 8, 2020.
Ubisoft Toronto (@UbisoftToronto) has announced that Vivid Foundry (@VividFoundry) has earned the Grand Prize and Kitten Cup Studio (@KittenCupStudio) has won the Special Prize in the 4th Indie Series, with Massive Damage (@massdmginc) getting an honourable distinction.
As announced last month, Will O'Neill's narrative focused game Little Red Lie is out now on Steam. The game will have you navigate conversations and environments recurring you to lie to yours and others.
Living in a common time and place, Little Red Lie alternates you through the perspectives of two individuals who never meet, but who are deeply connected nevertheless. Explore the dynamics of their lives, relationships and decisions as both of them come face-to-face with the consequences of who they are and where they come from.
You can pick up the game on Steam right here, which is currently 15% off.
Learn more at http://www.littleredlie.com
Canadian indie game studio Red Meat Games have released their episodic, narrative-driven audio game Project Dark on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
As part of the Mix Showcase last month, Toronto developer Kitten Cup Studio showed off some gameplay from their 2022 game Pekoe.
Quebec developer Norsfell have announced their 10-player co-op action-RPG Tribes of Midgard will be out on PlayStation, and Steam on July 27th - the game is also available for pre-order on both platforms.
Triversal, the puzzle game from Toronto developer Phantom Compass has a release date, and thankfully we won’t have to wait that long. The game comes out on July 13th, and you can wishlist it on Steam here.
BOMBING!!: A Graffiti Sandbox, the graffiti sandbox simulation game from indie dev (and friend of the site) Devon Wiersma, is out now on Steam, and itch.io.
After launching on Steam last year, St Catharines based Rocketship Park will be porting their puzzle story-driven adventure game LOVE to Nintendo Switch “soon”.
PixelNAUTS Games, who last released Lost Orbit: Terminal Velocity on various platforms have released a new trailer for their upcoming space-racing brawler Rocket Rumble. You can wishlist the game on Steam right now which is scheduled for sometime this year.
Mad Devils, the twin-stick shooter from Itzy Interactive got a new gameplay trailer ahead of its May 10th release date. Mad Devils is an arcade co-op shooter set during World War 2 but has Allied special forces hunting down Nazi occultists resurrected as demons
Fos is a 2D endless runner game with a unique twist: you can't move and see at the same time. The world is in darkness, and you must use up battery to provide light. There are three playable characters, each in their own unique part of the world.
This game was created by Terry Katsoulis. Check it out on Steam!
“In the distant future, an apocalyptic event has rendered the world in darkness, where robots seem to be all that survived. Ration your battery and memory to get as far as you can, but you can’t move and see at the same time, so memory use is vital. Mark carefully, as every jump can be fatal. ”
The debut game from a new Western Canada indie dev duo was revealed during Day of the Devs 2024.
Cat couple owner slash game dev studio Max Inferno announced a 2nd DLC pack for their tidy puzzler.
A year after being announced, Compulsion Games has shown some gameplay for their 3rd person, action-adventure game.
After severing ties with recently unionized QA studio Keywords and terminating 50 developers earlier this year, BioWare has rebranded their next game from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to Dragon Age: The Veilguard seemingly ruining years of perfectly good SEO.
Gears of War: E-Day was announced during Xbox’s Game Showcase, marking the second prequel in the Gears of War franchise.
Vancouver-based Company of Heroes 3 developer Relic Entertainment has secured funding from UK investment firm Emona Capital after laying off almost 200 staff since May 2023.
Victoria-based indie devs Hololabs have released their mobile AR game Sky Haven: AR Merge Adventure for iOS.
NetEase Games has announced the opening of a new game studio in Canada, named Bad Brain Games, to work on an "ambitious new franchise," which will be a story-driven open-world action-adventure game.
Bloom Digital Media have released a demo for their upcoming visual novel game Long Story 2, which is a sequel to the 2017 game.
Halifax-based devs Max Inferno have released Cupboards & Drawers DLC for their 2022 puzzler A Little to the Left.
Cuphead by Studio MDHR now has a release date of September 29, 2017. The developers also confirmed that it will only be available on Xbox One and Windows 10. When discussing the possibility of a Playstation 4 version, the developers shot that down:
“Yes, this Cuphead game is exclusive to Xbox and PC (with Steam and Win10 versions at launch and a GoG release likely shortly after) ... There will likely be a Mac version down the road and possibly a Linux version beyond that”
The all-cartoon Magical Wondergame! Cuphead will be available on September 29th for Xbox One, Windows 10 and Steam! Pre-Order now on Xbox One and Windows 10! http://cupheadgame.com
You can preorder Cuphead on the Microsoft store here.
Toronto developer Lightning Rod Games is currently hard at work developing A Fold Apart, which is a platformer based around a long distance relationship. It looks like they are also looking for testers in the Toronto area to come play this game - if interested, you can fill out this survey.
p.s. we're also looking for testers! https://t.co/IfmHoPgWvp #games #videogames #Toronto #puzzlegames #gamers
— Lightning Rod Games (@LRGthunder) July 2, 2017
Chivalry 2, the hotly anticipated sequel which is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S has gone gold ahead of its June 8th release date. The game, which will feature crossplay across the board, is also currently having an open Beta from May 27th to June 1st, the Beta is also cross-play enabled.
Triversal, the puzzle game from Toronto developer Phantom Compass has a release date, and thankfully we won’t have to wait that long. The game comes out on July 13th, and you can wishlist it on Steam here.
Toronto-based developer Snowman will be releasing their currently Apple-Arcade-only Skate City to Steam, Epic Game Store, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox on May 6th.
Having just released Mighty Fight Federation on PlayStation/Steam late last month, Komi Games is not done and have released their 3D brawler on Switch - and have included Cross-Play with all versions. you can pick up the game on Switch right here for $39.89.
Massive Damages Star Renegades, the rogue-lite RPG that is available on Xbox, and Steam, is out now on PlayStation. Currently going for $24.74 CAD with a PlayStation Plus discount, you can pick it up here.
Sokodice is a puzzle game where you must navigate dice through mind boggling levels to match the number of the dice with the number on a designated tile.
Toronto developer MegaPhemeral announced their upcoming Japanese inspired RPG Emergent Fates will be coming to iOS on July 7th. Offered as a “free-to-start”, and then a 5.99 USD price tag to unlock the game is currently up for preorder on the App Store.
P.A.M.E.L.A the Bioshock-inspired first-person shooter from Toronto based NVYVE Studios gets a full release on PC.
In a pretty surprising announcement, 13AM Games' Runbow will be making the jump to Xbox One next month. It will also be part of the Games with Gold, so Xbox Live members will get it for free from July 16th - August 15th.
Play together with Xbox Live Gold. July's 2017 Games with Gold lineup for Xbox One includes: GROW UP and Runbow. For Xbox 360 owners (and through Xbox One backward compatibility), July kicks off with Kane & Lynch 2, followed by LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean.
Did you see the news?! Runbow in all its multi-coloured glory is coming to Xbox One this July16 on Games With Gold! #GWG #XBOX #Runbow pic.twitter.com/xmiMCO0TZx
— 13AM Games (@13amgames) June 27, 2017
Solo indie dev expert and longtime friend-of-the-site Devon Wiersma joins us to talk their latest release Centauri Dark, working across AAA, mid-sized and solo indie dev and how to fix this goshdarn industry.
David B joins us from the west coast best coast to talk about the upcoming Quiver Games Incubator!
Bizdev extraordinaire Eric Beer joins us to give his Hades II impressions and chat v-bucks subsidized game preservation.
We break down Baldur Gate 3's unprecedented success & the knock-on effects it'll have on the industry and how we make games moving forward. We also speak to Ontario-based indie game devs Twinolli about their upcoming action-puzzler Highlighters which just got a (Dad Deck-verified) Steam demo!
We speak to Québécois game dev Dragon Slumber, creator of Tech Support, Aethernaut and many more!
We reveal the winners of our ‘23 Community Awards poll and discuss Drinkbox’s latest teaser for their next project- and more!
This week thousands more game developers join Stephan in the "terminated by evil, stupid people" camp as layoffs hit tons of studios all over Canada and the world. We discuss Sonic as well. Sonic supports Unionizing your Workplace!
Stephan got terminated but that’s okay he just has more time to cover Canadian games now.
Released last week on Steam, the sci-fi twin stick shooter was delayed for a week on PS4 and was released today. You can pick it up on the PlayStation store right now.
Available June 20th on Steam, June 27th on PS4 Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. It's up to you to strategize a plan of attack, pick an equipment loadout, and destroy the central core to be victorious.
Two videos for playing Apotheon! Remember that Cryptark comes out on Tuesday for PS4.
More E3 Talk! What did we think of the conference? Meanwhile lets play some battle mode for Apotheon. We go back in time to Ancient Greece to play a little bit of Apotheon, and talk about the developers next game - Cryptark. Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: https://patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: https://designbyhumans.com/shop/Toron...
Last E3 video! But we're still playing some Apotheon on PS4 (Steve is not good at teh game), and talking some final E3 thoughts. Remember to like and subscribe! Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: https://patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: https://designbyhumans.com/shop/Toron...
Solo indie dev expert and longtime friend-of-the-site Devon Wiersma joins us to talk their latest release Centauri Dark, working across AAA, mid-sized and solo indie dev and how to fix this goshdarn industry.
David B joins us from the west coast best coast to talk about the upcoming Quiver Games Incubator!
Bizdev extraordinaire Eric Beer joins us to give his Hades II impressions and chat v-bucks subsidized game preservation.
We break down Baldur Gate 3's unprecedented success & the knock-on effects it'll have on the industry and how we make games moving forward. We also speak to Ontario-based indie game devs Twinolli about their upcoming action-puzzler Highlighters which just got a (Dad Deck-verified) Steam demo!
We speak to Québécois game dev Dragon Slumber, creator of Tech Support, Aethernaut and many more!
We reveal the winners of our ‘23 Community Awards poll and discuss Drinkbox’s latest teaser for their next project- and more!
This week thousands more game developers join Stephan in the "terminated by evil, stupid people" camp as layoffs hit tons of studios all over Canada and the world. We discuss Sonic as well. Sonic supports Unionizing your Workplace!
Stephan got terminated but that’s okay he just has more time to cover Canadian games now.
Our friends over at Torn Banner Studios composed a list of the Toronto developed games that are on sales during the Steam summer sale.
It's a big list, some highlights include Torn Banner Studios own Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, and Mirage so check it out over on their website to see everything.
To celebrate Cryptark coming to PlayStation 4, and Steam this week Chris and I decided to play some Apotheon on PS4. Check it out below and remember to subscribe on Youtube.
We go back in time to Ancient Greece to play a little bit of Apotheon, and talk about the developers next game - Cryptark. Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: https://patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: https://designbyhumans.com/shop/Toron...
“Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi roguelike shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. It’s up to you to strategize a plan of attack, pick an equipment loadout, and destroy the central core to be victorious.”
Available June 20th on Steam, June 27th on PS4 Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. It's up to you to strategize a plan of attack, pick an equipment loadout, and destroy the central core to be victorious.
Crpytark was also scedhuled for release on PlayStation 4, but was delayed until the 27th.
Unfortunately due to a mistake our on end the PS4 version of Cryptark will now be out on the 27th - Steam version still out today at 11am
— Lee Vermeulen (@Alientrap) June 20, 2017
The debut game from a new Western Canada indie dev duo was revealed during Day of the Devs 2024.
Cat couple owner slash game dev studio Max Inferno announced a 2nd DLC pack for their tidy puzzler.
A year after being announced, Compulsion Games has shown some gameplay for their 3rd person, action-adventure game.
After severing ties with recently unionized QA studio Keywords and terminating 50 developers earlier this year, BioWare has rebranded their next game from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to Dragon Age: The Veilguard seemingly ruining years of perfectly good SEO.
Gears of War: E-Day was announced during Xbox’s Game Showcase, marking the second prequel in the Gears of War franchise.
Vancouver-based Company of Heroes 3 developer Relic Entertainment has secured funding from UK investment firm Emona Capital after laying off almost 200 staff since May 2023.
Victoria-based indie devs Hololabs have released their mobile AR game Sky Haven: AR Merge Adventure for iOS.
NetEase Games has announced the opening of a new game studio in Canada, named Bad Brain Games, to work on an "ambitious new franchise," which will be a story-driven open-world action-adventure game.
Bloom Digital Media have released a demo for their upcoming visual novel game Long Story 2, which is a sequel to the 2017 game.
Halifax-based devs Max Inferno have released Cupboards & Drawers DLC for their 2022 puzzler A Little to the Left.
Our friends over at Tiny Titan Studios is looking for play testers for Tiny Rails on Steam - if you recall, it got Greenlight on Steam earlier this year. You can check out the trailer for the Steam version below - and if you're interested in play testing it, you can email them at support@tinytitanstudios.com, or hit them up on Twitter.
Tiny Rails is coming to Steam! Check out our Greenlight trailer here and please vote for us!
In other news the studio did a Ask the Titans video talking about some of the updates coming to Tiny Rails, and other Tiny Titan games. A tease on their next game was "multiplayer".
Play Our Games Today!! https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=8964723379402809738&hl=en https://itunes.apple.com/ca/developer/tiny-titan-studios/id892108904
Cuphead is celebrating its initial launch on PC and Xbox One 5 years ago today, September 29, with the announcement of a physical copy of the game coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch.