GYGO: Wizards Unite, Teamfight Tactics, LGBTQ+ Steam Tag

Happy Wednesday! What games are you playing lately? I’ve been playing Destiny 2. In my search for games on Switch that are similar to GTA V and Watch Dogs 2, I’ve been watching playthroughs of Lego City Undercover. I also watched playthroughs of Life is Strange by Materwelonz and QueenTofu and highly recommend them! Let us know on Twitter what games you’re playing, thinking about, and looking forward to! Here’s some news that was on our minds this past week:

Wizards Unite

Wizards Unite, the new mobile game set in the world of Harry Potter, released last week. Here’s a beginner’s guide to help you get started. The game is developed by Niantic, the makers of Pokemon Go. Nicole Carpenter at Polygon got an in-depth look at its development.

The full trailer for the game doesn’t show much about the game itself, but is fun to watch nonetheless:

Teamfight Tactics

Teamfight Tactics, the new game mode in League of Legends that was previously in public beta, officially released this week. If you spent time on Twitch last week and follow any League streamers, you’ve probably seen many trying out this new mode. Here’s a quick introduction to the game and a summary of its upcoming features.

Steam Adds LGBTQ+ Tag

Steam, the dominant PC games marketplace that has existed since 2003 and made over $4 billion in 2017 alone, finally added a LGBTQ+ tag. Polygon reports there are about 100 games with the LGBTQ+ tag currently in Steam’s “What’s Popular” tab.

Do you have thoughts on Steam, LGBTQ+ games, or the future of games marketplaces? Sidequest is open to pitches!

Gears 5: No Season Pass, No Loot Boxes

Gears 5, an upcoming shooter from Microsoft which will release in September, has announced an uncommon model for its future game content releases. The game will have no season pass, no loot boxes, and free DLC maps. The game will have different types of cosmetics that can be bought with real money.

Sea of Solitude and Mental Health

Ahead of its long-anticipated release next week on July 5, Sea of Solitude‘s developer’s CEO, Cornelia Geppert, shared briefly about how the game explores mental health.

First Look at Link’s Awakening Gameplay on Switch

I know it’s been a couple weeks since E3, but since the Link’s Awakening remake on Switch (out on September 20, 2019) news might have been buried under the mountain of other news, here’s ten minutes of gameplay:

More News and Links

In a brilliant, cheeky middle finger to Nintendo, the makers of Mario Royale, a browser-based multiplayer game based on Super Mario Bros., have renamed it DMCA Royale.

In E3 news I completely missed: Elder Scrolls Blades is coming to Switch this fall, and will have cross-play and cross-save with mobile devices.

Breath of the Wild modders, using an emulated version of the game, have built impressive new dungeons.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, the DLC which releases on September 6, has a public beta. Here’s gameplay of one of the new hunts: