The Iterative Digest #109

TIC at GDC & PAX EAST, Counter-Strike 2 and more!

Hello everyone and welcome to a fresh new week of the Digest! Did you hear? We’re heading over to GDC and PAX East this month! Plus Counter-Strike 2, upcoming indie games, and meet Ardhan Fadhlurrahman, our Regional Publishing Manager.

So without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s latest - curated by yours truly. If you like what you see, please don’t forget to share and subscribe! Your support means a lot to us!

• Counter-Strike 2 may reportedly launch this month. Esports journalist Richard Lewis broke the news saying the game has been in development at Value for some time.

• Bandai Namco and Fromsoftware have announced Elden Ring’s first expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree.

• Metroid Fusion is set to join the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on March 9th. The game originally launched on the Game Boy Advance in 2002.

• God of War Ragnarok has picked up 14 nominations for the BAFTA Game Awards, making it the most nominated game since the awards began in 2004.

• Sonic The Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka has admitted there is no doubt he committed insider trading regarding the purchase of stock prior to the announcement of a Dragon Quest mobile game and FF VII spin-off.

• IOC has announced the Olympic Esports Series for 2023 including titles such as Chess, Just Dance, Gran Turismo, and more.

• Xbox says it has GoldenEye type reveals planned over the coming months ahead of its major product showcase in June.

• EA has reportedly fired over 200 Apex Legends testers through Zoom. It’s reported that full-time supervisors were not given advanced warning of the lay-offs, and affected workers were escorted by security to collect their personal belongings.

• IO Interactive, the popular creator of the remake HITMAN games has announced that they will be venturing into creating a bold new online fantasy RPG.

• A Naughty Dog character artist has said there’s no excuse for modern games not to feature authentic high-quality Black hairstyles. Del Walker went on to discuss how changes in game development have changed how developers face approach black hair.

The Iterative Collective will be heading to GDC 2023! Catch up with Matthew Quek (CEO) and Haskel Chua (COO) at the event for a coffee or a drink and let us help you with your game development/publishing needs.

The Iterative Collective will also be heading to PAX East 2023! Come say hello to the team as they show off demos and new merchandise for Knight Crawlers, Sigil of the Magi, and Homeseek. We will have all the details for you next week!

Nintendo Switch - Mar 7th

Control the inexperienced Pronty and Bront the Javelin, a weaponized robotic swordfish that can fend off the sea creatures corrupted by toxic waste. Explore the deep sea, fight mutant sea creatures, and discover the secrets behind this new Atlantis in this beautiful action-packed adventure.

PC - Mar 10th

Masterplan Tycoon is a minimalistic resource management sim where everything in the game is simple and consistent. The nodes are buildings. The pins are contact points between them. The links are roads between buildings. Your task in this game is to manage the available space and connect everything correctly so the products get delivered to the intended destination.

Masterplan Tycoon depicts all the elements schematically, which means you may focus on managing the flow of resources with nothing to distract you from this exciting process.

PC - Mar 10th

Fire behind you. Detect invisible enemies in the mirror. See in the dark. In Hellscreen, use a rearview mirror to blast your way through a digital Hellscape in this 90s-inspired retro-fps. Shoot behind you, detect invisible enemies, and never fall victim to enemy traps. Find new weapons, unlock abilities, and warp to maps at any time.

Each week we aim to shed light on a hidden gem by small indie developers. Have a game you want to showcase? We’d love to hear from you - reach out to us at contact@theiterative.co!

Each week we will be introducing a member of The Iterative Collective team! This week get to meet Ardhan Fadhlurrahman, our Regional Publishing Manager. Learn about his career in gaming, his thoughts on the indie game ecosystem, and why he enjoys working at The Iterative Collective!

Like what you’ve been reading so far?

Do subscribe and/or forward this to your friends if you like what you see! Feel free to let us know how we can improve at contact@theiterative.co - Suggestions are welcome!

We are The Iterative Collective - an indie games incubator! Each week, we shed light on the latest gaming trends for all folks interested in the scene by going through a summary of the latest news from the industry as well as promising upcoming game releases! Click to learn more about us below!