Some indie games leave Steam for Epic Games Store

Aside from not launching its popular game Fortnite on Steam, Epic Games is now looking to compete directly against Steam. An attractive incentive that seems to be luring some developers to join them is a new revenue sharing model. Epic will just be taking 12 percent of the revenue as opposed to the industry standard of 30. And it seems this approach is paying off. A couple of indie game developers are following Epic to its new storefront. Coffee Stain Studios confirmed that its game Satisfactory will only be released through Epic. Another is the game Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. Its developer Double Damage is giving the Epic Store a 12-month window before it releases the game on Steam. We won’t be surprised if we hear more from other developers soon. If you want to check out the store, it’s now open with a free game coming every fortnight.

Source: The Next Web

'Stardew Valley's brings multiplayer mode to the Switch this week

It's not news that Stardew Valley is getting a multiplayer mode. It was announced at Nintendo Direct last year that it was coming to the Switch. But now, we get a release date. Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone announced it'll be coming to the Switch on December 12, Wednesday.

This cooperative online multiplayer mode will let up to four  players coexist on one farm. The host player will live in the farmhouse while the other players get cabins.The players get to work together and share the spoils of hard labour. While the world state and overall pool of cash are shared among all players, ConcernedApe reminds players in his latest blog post, "inventories, skills, achievements, collections, individual relationships, quests, and crafting/cooking recipes" are unique to individuals. The update brings with it a new voice chat and text-based communication tool. The update will come for free to all Switch players. Meanwhile, PS4 and Xbox One should expect the update soon.

Source: Eurogamer

Googlers hope to inspire young girls and children of colour to pursue STEM careers

You've probably heard countless of times proclamations that we need more diversity in the STEM field. Here are some figures to think about: Girls start doubting their STEM intelligence by age six. Women make up only 25 percent of the STEM workforce. Black men and black women only make up to 3 percent and 2 percent of scientists, respectively. Not exactly the best representation, right?

That's why these Google engineers hope to inspire young girls and children of colour with a passion project in the form of the picture book, Ara The Star Engineer. Komal Singh, together with fellow female Google engineers, was inspired to start the project when her four-year-old daughter said, "Engineers are boys!" This book is not an official Google product but one that came about from passionate Googlers who want to see more of themselves in the field. All profits from the book sales will be donated to charities encouraging girls’ and underrepresented groups’ participation in STEM fields. 

OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition might have 50W Warp Charging

Aside from carrying what's most likely going to be a really expensive price tag, there's one feature coming to the limited edition OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. The latest teaser from OnePlus suggests the phone will be "charging is about to hit warp speed." What does warp speed mean? In this case, it's going to most likely get a 50W charger in the box.

Earlier this year, OnePlus trademarked Warp Charge, not soon after its sibling company OPPO unveiled Super VOOC (50W) charging for its own supercar-themed OPPO Find X Lamborghini Edition. Aside from possibly getting 50W charging, OnePlus is ditching its signature red charging cable for an orange one to match McLaren's signature colour. We should know more once the phone launches in London on December 11th.

Source: GSMArena