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5 CommentsPitfall! now free-to-play on iOS, update adds new Relic Rush mode
By Dave Tach on Nov 27, 2012 11.27.12
The iOS port of Pitfall!, the Temple Run-inspired remake of the classic 1982 Atari game, became permanently free-to-play today and added a new mode called Relic Rush, according to a post on One of Swords. A promotion that began recently to temporarily reduce the price to free is now permanent. Today's Relic Rush mode update introduces time trials, more hidden treasures and gives Pitfall Harry's outfits the ability to provide bonuses. Released earlier this year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original, the game is the first created by developer Blast Furnace, formerly known as Activision Leeds. Be sure to check out our review of Pitfall!, which called it a "fun, bombastic and greedy reimagining of the 1980s original" before you download the now-free game on the iOS App Store....
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6 CommentsActivision-Blizzard launches social games platform
By Tracey Lien on Oct 30, 2012 10.30.12
Activision-Blizzard is launching its own social and mobile game platform after announcing two new Skylanders mobile games today. Named Activate, the mobile and social platform will put Activision in competition with the likes of Gree's OpenFeint and DeNA's Mobage. Inside Mobile Apps reports that Activate will allow users to access mobile games by logging in with their Facebook credentials or with an Activate account. This will then give them access to their friends list. Some games, like the two upcoming Skylanders games, will support cloud storage, which will allow users to access their games on any iOS device. Inside Mobile Apps adds that Activate will be getting social multiplayer features later this year. Activision-Blizzard opened its first mobile-only studio, The Blast...
Activision's mobile studio renamed The Blast Furnace, adds former Rockstar Leeds president
By Samit Sarkar on Aug 09, 2012 08.09.12
The Blast Furnace is the new name of Activision Leeds, the publisher's only development house dedicated solely to mobile games, which recently hired former Rockstar Leeds president Gordon Hall. Activision originally opened its Leeds studio last November, and previously revealed the developer would be working on mobile and handheld Call of Duty games. Hall is the co-founder of Mobius Entertainment, a developer of Game Boy Advance titles, and comes to The Blast Furnace from a post as president Rockstar Leeds, a studio known for handheld and mobile versions of games such as Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and The Warriors. He will act as the head of The Blast Furnace, and as chief creative officer for Activision Mobile. "We have to make sure we're innovating," Hall told GamesBeat,...
