Google Maps Creates “New” Snake Game; Will Be Available For One Week

Google Maps has released a “new game” for April Fool’s Day called Snake. The title is free-to-play, and doesn’t require any sort of download. This new game does actually exist, unlike some other April Fools’ Day jokes, and you can play it right now. The joke Google is making is that Snake–a game that’s decades old–is somehow new.

Google’s Snake is relatively simple. After booting it up, you select one of seven different locations–Cairo, São Paulo, London, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo, or the whole world. You then take control of a train that’s constantly moving forward, which you can redirect with the arrow keys on your computer. Your goal is to pick up passengers and drop them off at city landmarks, all while avoiding driving into the ocean. As you pick up passengers, the train grows longer, making it easier for you to accidentally corner yourself.

According to GameSpot sister site CNET, a Google spokesperson said that Snake will remain available to play on Google Maps for about a week. This isn’t the first time Google has made an old-school style game for April Fools’ Day, as, back in 2015, a Pac-Man game was added to Google Maps. For more gaming-related April Fool’s Day gags going on this year, check out our round-up.

The original Snake released on the Nokia 6110 back in 1997. In it, you did play as an actual snake. The mechanics and goals of the game are similar to Google Maps’ title, only you were eating little dots as opposed to picking up passengers.

Google recently made a fairly large splash in the gaming industry with the announcement of Stadia, a cloud-based streaming service designed solely for video games. The service is scheduled to launch in the US, Canada, UK, and most of Europe within 2019. Both Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Doom Eternal have been confirmed for the platform. With Stadia, games can be streamed to any Google-connected device, whether that’s a mobile phone, tablet, computer, or TV. We had the opportunity to try Stadia at GDC 2019, and though we weren’t blown away, Google’s service has potential.

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PlayerUnknown Is Done With Battle Royale, Won’t Make PUBG 2

Battle royale is everywhere, from Battlefield V to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Even Tetris has been infected, with Tetris 99 offering the same every-player-for-themself design in the Tetris universe. While the genre’s overflowing with a myriad of titles, the man who popularized it in the video game space, Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, is moving on to something new.

Greene recently announced that his “new day-to-day focus will be heading up to a new division of PUBG Corp.: PUBG Special Projects.” Green served as both the director and designer of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and while he’ll “remain as a consulting creative director on PUBG,” he’s leaving the project behind to concentrate on new initiatives for the company. He’s also leaving PUBG Corp.’s headquarters in Seoul, which will continue to work on PUBG, and moving to the newly-established Amsterdam office where he’ll put his attention “on building out an entirely new division to focus on research & game development.”

In a new interview, Greene signaled that he’s also done with the battle royale genre. “The last man standing concept is great, but I’ve done that,” Greene said in a GamesIndustry.biz interview. “I don’t really intend to make PUBG 2. I’ve done battle royale, it’s time to try something else.” Greene also doesn’t have much interest in players killing each other anymore, either. “I think I’ve provided others with a good way of killing each other. But I want to explore some other things.”

So what exactly is Greene doing now? According to GI.Biz, PUBG Corp. CEO Chang Han Kim approached Greene about taking the ideas in his head and “[turning them] into something that may be playable.” Kim’s allowing Greene to form a new team in a new location to create new things. The purpose of Special Projects, it seems, is to experiment. There are no in-depth details “because I don’t have them yet,” Greene said, but he does want to continue “[exploring] online experiences and how to connect people in ways that we haven’t really done before.”

Greene’s considered the father of the battle royale gaming genre. With both H1Z1 and PUBG, Greene’s proved that it’s possible–albeit difficult–to strike gold twice. However, according to Greene, there’s no pressure to strike gold again with Special Projects. “There is no deadline here, this is us with a few years to play,” he said. “Gaming and the industry has become so hard this is a very lucky thing to have. We can genuinely explore and be curious for some time.”

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Wrestlemania: Someone May Win $1 Million If They Can Beat AJ Styles At WWE 2K19

When 2K released its latest installment of its wrestling series, WWE 2K19, there was an interesting challenge included in the game. If the player could beat an ultra-hard mode, they would have a chance to face WWE superstar AJ Styles in a one-on-one match, and if successful, they’d win $1 million. And the finals for the event will take place during Wrestlemania weekend.

On Friday, April 5, 2K and WWE will host the semifinals for the Million Dollar Challenge at Wrestlemania Axxess at Pier 12 in Brooklyn, New York. The finals will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and those who aren’t in attendance will be able to at least watch the finale, which is taking place during the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn preshow. At 6:30 ET, it will be streamed on multiple platforms: Fox Sports digital platforms, WWE Network, WWE on YouTube, WWE 2K on Facebook and Twitter, on-demand after air on the USA Network.

During the event, WWE superstar Kofi Kingson, Big E, Paige, Ember Moon, and the Miz will be in attendance to coach the final four participants. The winner of the challengers will then take on AJ Styles one-on-one. If they win, they’ll be awarded with $1 million. Gregory Davis from Jacksonville, Florida; Stephan T. Benson from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; David Hoey from Sydney, Australia; and Roman Droßard from Pfalzfeld, Germany are the final four that will compete in this tournament.

Head back to GameSpot during Wrestlemania week for coverage of the Million Dollar Challenge from the event, including interviews with competitors and WWE superstars as well as live results and a review of Wrestlemania.

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Borderlands 3’s Release Date May Have Leaked

Borderlands 3 had weeks of build-up for a PAX East announcement that put a proverbial ring on it, officially announcing the anticipated loot-shooter. But like a Russian nesting doll, that was yet another teaser, for more details to come on April 3. Those details may have leaked, with a social media post that appears to have dropped the release date.

The official Borderlands account tweeted (and subsequently deleted) word that the game is coming on September 13, and teased a Gold Weapon Skins Pack for pre-orders. The tweet is still visible through Archive.org, so we can say with certainty that it did exist at one point. Another tweet made a second mention of a Gold Weapons Skins pack, and yet another contained a video ad that showed the Epic Store logo. This suggests the game may be the latest to see an exclusive release there, rather than on Steam.

It is April 1, mind, so these accidental leaks may not be accidental at all, and instead a bit of playful high-level trolling. Still, this at least makes a September 13 release date, and exclusivity on the Epic Store, distinct possibilities. We’ll probably know for sure once the official reveal event comes on April 3.

For better or worse, the initial reveal trailer left us a bit underwhelmed, so the event later will give Gearbox a chance to show off the game in detail. So far we only know what we could glean from the initial trailers, so check out everything we know.

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