Valve buys ‘Firewatch’ developer Campo Santo

Firewatch

Valve has just purchased game developer Campo Santo. The small 12-person team known for its game Firewatch will be relocating to the video game developer’s headquarters in Seattle. In a blog post announcing the sale, Campo Santo claims they “found a group of folks who, to their core, feel the same way about the work that they do” in Valve. The studio has confirmed that they will continue working on its next game In The Valley of Gods and that this game won’t be a PC-exclusive under Valve. Campo Santo also plans to continue supporting Firewatch and will still release its literary journal, The Quarterly Review.

Source: The Verge

Android Auto now gives you access to your contact list

Google is bringing in more features to its Android Auto platform. The newest one is being able to access your entire contact list right from the in-car system. Before you’d need to use Google Assistant to get someone from your contact list or it’ll show you your starred contacts, recent calls, or let you dial a number. Now, you just need to head to the phone tab within Android Auto. Tap on the hamburger menu icon and select Contacts. If you’re not in motion, your access to the contact list is unrestricted. But if you’re driving you’ll only be able to tap down the list a few times. That said, this is a reminder to limit the amount of distractions you have when driving.

Source: 9to5Google

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Pro photo hosting service SmugMug buys Flickr

After Flickr’s fate has been put up in the air with Yahoo’s sale to Verizon and being joined with AOL in Verizon’s Oath subsidiary, professional photo hosting service SmugMug wanted to help out. The company has just bought Flickr for an undisclosed amount. The photo service hasn’t been able to mount a successful comeback with tough competition in its space because of services like Instagram. But SmugMug is confident it can thrive still. SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill told USA Today “Flickr has survived through thick-and-thin and is core to the entire fabric of the internet.”

Now, whether SmugMug can revive the service is something we can’t say yet at the moment. The company promises to keep Flickr as a standalone community and will supposedly get the focus and resources it needs.